The Ultimate Weapon (Naruto Fanfic)

42-Love

Walking into the shared room, Aoi made his way calmly to his bed before taking a seat and closing his eyes. Kodomo turned his attention from caring for his weapons to study him, taking in the slight weariness that he could sense coming off the boy. Looking back at his kunai, he hesitated a moment before deciding they were sharp enough. Though he hadn't talked to Aoi too often after the events with Kaori, he decided that they were still friends, or at least comrades.

Hovering slightly to Aoi's left, Kodomo awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before speaking. "Is something wrong Aoi?" Blue eyes snapped open to meet Kodomo's black and for a second Aoi didn't say anything.

"I'm not sure, but I do not think that everything is well."

"What's on your mind, if you don't mind telling me?" Without asking, Kodomo took a seat on the foot of Aoi's bed, tucking a leg beneath him.

Aoi seemed to consider this before speaking. "I suppose my father is. I'm unable to know how he'll react to things or how to respond to what he does. It is..." He seemed to search for a moment before finding the word he was looking for, "frustrating."

Nodding slightly, Kodomo spoke. "That does seem to be a frustrating situation. Has it been a while since you last saw each other or something?" Oblivious to Aoi's situation, he felt that was the only explanation for it. "He's a mist shinobi isn't he? How did you end up being in the leaf and him in the mist?"

There was a faint creak, but the two either didn't notice or didn't care that the door had opened slightly. "This is my first time meeting him. I was born in the mist, but was kidnapped after and taken away."

"What?" Widening his eyes, Kodomo sat up straighter as Aoi said that in his stoic manner. "You were kidnapped? How old were you?"

"From my understanding, I had just been born." Trying to deduce if it were a lie or not, Kodomo stared at Aoi. The look in his blue eyes showed no sign of deceit though. Thinking back on how Aoi acted, the younger boy could now understand better why he had seemed out of place.

Kodomo wanted to know more about Aoi's past, becoming more intrigued the more he found out, but knew they were straying away from the topic that had started the conversation. "I see why you don't know your father that well. Do you know anything about him at all?" Aoi shook his head in a denying gesture. "Well why don't you sit and have a conversation or something? Get to know him a little more. I'm sure you two could get along if you tried."

Standing, Kodomo walked back to his bed and started to stow his weapons where they went. Aoi thought on his words for a while before finally speaking. "How would I go about getting to know him?"

Supressing a laugh at Aoi's clueless nature, Kodomo responded. "Just ask him questions, favorite food, color, how he became a shinobi... really anything. It isn't that hard." He paused, looking at Aoi. "Well, it isn't hard for most people. Anyways, I'm off to start training. There are only three more weeks before the tournament."

Aoi watched him go, thinking over what he had said. Before he could dwell on it too long though, there was a brief knock before the door opened. Migota peeked her head in, looking around before noticing Aoi.

"Hey, I guess it's your turn to keep an eye on the princess. It was Shikamaru's but he disappeared and now that you're back I guess you get to take his shift." Opening the door fully, Migota left the doorway. "I'm going to find a bath house, in case you need me."

Migota walked off then, not leaving Aoi time to reply. As he walked over to the princess's room, he couldn't help but remember that Migota was supposed to be his subordinate, and follow his orders. He didn't mind taking a turn, though it raised the question of where Shikamaru went. Pushing aside the pointless thoughts, Aoi knocked on Kou's door.