The tension was unbearable, her expression was a mix of resignation and disappointment before she broke the tension, "Take it to your room." she said, leaving us behind and retrating upstairs. Tomo said she was going to go check on Amaya halfway up but I knew this was just her way of escaping the situation.

Sasuke looked at Tomo leaving without saying much, he just grabbed the duffel bag and headed to his room silently, the previous gloating gone.

Needless to say, I wanted more answers.

"Sasuk- Sasu!" I called out, arriving next to the kid and grabbing one of the duffel bag's straps, lightening his load.

"Let me help you with that…" I said.

Sasuke looked at me for a second before huffing and continuing, since he didn't object I held on until we arrived at his room.

It was a little awkward, we had gotten on each other's nerves at the start but now Tomo was the one who we were worried about.

"Why's granny upset?" I asked the boy.

Sasuke looked a little conflicted before turning around, "You're just gonna leave soon anyway, it's none of your business, kid."

It was hard to ignore the snarkyness but I did for the sake of understanding that exchange between them.

"Sasu I'm not going anywhere, I live here now," I said, causing the boy to have a surprised expression.

"Huh? Really? You must've lived outside the compound 'cause I've never seen you before!" He said, his tone became much more friendly than before.

"Yeah… something like that." I Couldn't exactly tell the boy a Sannin chucked me in a tank of green goop so I went with this instead.

"Well then it's nice to meet you Aoki!" Sasuke said, this time initiating a handshake which I promptly returned.

I didn't wait any longer before talking about the elephant in the room, "What was all that about Sasu?" I could guess that it was due to Tomo's dislike of ninja but I knew it went deeper than that. Sasuke heaved a sigh and sat down on his bed.

"… Tomo doesn't like it when we try to become ninjas," said the boy.

"Us?"

"I mean all of us at the house, she doesn't like it." He explained.

"Why though? Did she give you a reason?" I asked, imploring him to explain more.

"Hmph no! The old lady just hates it when we talk about anything to do with ninjas! I brought a Kunai back home when I was a kid and she threw it out the window! But now that I'm an academy student she can't do that anymore, she must be angry that I brought them in." Sasuke said, beginning to unpack his weapons from the bag.

'Hates it when the kids become ninjas huh… in a clan like the Sarutobi who have deep ties to the village's ninja population, the number must not be small.' I thought.

I could only think of one reason that she would have this stance; the danger that came with being a ninja. The pain that she must go through every time one of the kids she helps raise doesn't come back from a mission must be significant, and judging by her age, it's something she's been going through for many years.

I had grown close enough to Tomo that I didn't want to see her hurt or upset, but at the same time, I couldn't halt my plans of becoming a ninja. Although Sasuke's the one she's upset at right now, one day it would be me.

"Sasu, has Granny Tomo always been like this?" I asked, maybe if this was recent, I might be able to get her on my side more easily.

"Yeah! When I was a kid she tried to make me go to the civilian school! Can you believe it? A Sarutobi who's not a ninja! Ha!" scoffed the baldie.

'I see, that means that she's kept this opinion for a long time… I probably won't be able to change her mind regarding this issue' I thought. If I were in Tomo's shoes and had to raise generation after generation of children who go on to be ninjas and head to an early grave, I too would grow cynical of the profession.

Truth be told, the reasoning behind her dislike for ninjas wasn't hard to decipher, its just that I was looking at it from the viewpoint of "why would she logically discriminate against the ninja profession" instead of, "why would she feel bad about us becoming ninja". I needed to develop my thinking into one that focused less on objective reasoning and more on empathy; it seems my lack of emotional IQ is hampering my ability to deduce information. I need to develop that skill.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

"Oi, Aoki, you good?" Sasuke asked, poking me on the shoulder.

"Hm? Oh yeah, everything's fine…I just feel bad about Granny Tomo…" I said.

Sasuke didn't say anything in return and instead picked up a kunai, twirling it in his hands before handing it to me, "Wanna hold one? I never got the chance at your age!" said the boy.

Even if I felt like I was betraying Tomo a little bit, I couldn't help myself and eagerly grabbed the knife, it was lighter than I expected but the tool's purpose to kill made it sit heavy in my palms.

Sasuke grinned and asked, "Aoki, you wanna be a ninja too right?!" he asked a little excitedly.

"Yeah! I wanna be a ninja!" I said with a similar grin. It felt surreal to say it out loud, I think I've only parroted it inside my head before.

"Awesome! Hey, now that you're living here we can play ninja all the time!" Sasuke said holding a kunai.

Seeing a kid talk about a profession where one of their main responsibilities was warfare in the same breath as "play" felt a little surreal. I knew that there were kids who "played soldier" back on Earth but none of those kids were already enlisted!

"Sure Sasuke!" I said, while playing wasn't really on the agenda, Sasuke held a lot of information about the academy and ninja life as a whole that I had no access to previously. This bald kid would be my gateway into the ninja world!

Sasuke was thrilled at my acceptance and said that he wanted to play right after he took a shower, I wasn't gonna bring it up but the boy did smell like he needed one so I left him to it and went back to the living room, there I saw an old lady reading the newspaper I abandoned, sipping a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

*Ahem* I cleared my throat, "Feeling better granny?" I asked with a nonchalant expression.

"Sure." She said, not taking her eyes off the newspaper.

'Whenever something annoys her she clams up and stops talking, I'd rather she just yells and gets it over with, this is way harder to deal with!' I complained internally.

'Should I say something? I mean… does it even matter?' I started to reason with myself while taking a seat opposite Tomo in one of the many couches.

'Granny Tomo's nice but why should I care about what she thinks? Will her saying something against my choice change my mind? I don't think so. I need to be a ninja, I need to be strong, if I grow strong enough then I can live however I want…' I started to think, but I noticed some holes in my thought process.

'But is strength my goal? The path of a ninja is full of peril and danger, at the end of the day I'm only using the job as a means to an end, a way for me to grow. To not be thrown around by those stronger than me who have malicious intentions….'

'Strength isn't my goal, strength is a way to preserve my life until I reach said goal… in that case, what is it that I truly want to achieve? In a world as big as this with mysteries beyond what I can comprehend, what is it that I'm living for? A life where I focus purely on power seems like a bleak one to live…' I understood how surface-level my goals were, I was living just for the sake of living.

While I was furrowing my brows and having a pseudo-existential crisis, the old woman looked at me with a raised eyebrow, probably wondering what there was for a kid to be thinking so deeply about.

'This chance I have, this precious chance I have to live again in a world as beautiful, deadly and magical as this one; that kind of chance is not one I can waste. If I wasted it, I'll come to hate myself.'

I looked at my hands, the body that I once felt was that of a stranger felt like home; so much more so than the sick and broken one I inhabited previously. Granny Tomo, who I've only known for a week already felt like a good friend, even the two twins who clung to me and asked to play… they also meant something to me…

Was I getting close to them too quickly? Maybe, but I couldn't help it. I was starved of connections, I knew this. Other than my parents who looked at me with pitying eyes, I had no one. Not a soul to share a laugh or cry with.

'No one's poop to clean either' I thought, lightening the mood a bit.

I tried to think about it more but I kept hitting roadblocks in my mind, it seemed that even with the level of resolve I have toward survival, I hadn't placed much thought into living.

I looked at the grumpy Granny, sipping her coffee while pretending not to look at me, I got the sense that she was curious about what I was doing here though. It was because of her that I was able to better understand this about myself, at the very least I owed her something more than being an awkward coffee companion.

"Granny Tomo, one day I'll be a ninja too." I looked at the old lady and smiled at her.

She was surprised by my declaration but unlike what I expected she didn't frown or leave the room, she just gave me a curt nod and continued sipping her coffee.

"I'll be strong Granny Tomo! I'll be strong and I'll become someone who'll do a lot of important stuff, even more than gramps!" I continued.

"Mhm." said the old lady, sparing me a short glance before returning to the newspaper.

'I already read that, there's nothing that interesting on there woman! Look at me!' I had to hold myself back from shouting.

"Granny Tomo, when I become a ninja I hope you can wish me well ok!? Until then, Sasu and I are going to train!"

".... Hm? He's Sasu now?" asked the lady with a sly smile after a pause.

"Of course! Future ninjas need to be able to work together!" I said puffing my chest out and imitating the ridiculous stance Sasuke used to declare himself as "Sasu".

*Shoom*

Granny Tomo hid under the newspaper, I swear I saw her stifle a chuckle just then.

"I swear, you kids are kooky…" she said hiding under the paper.

I don't know why but I felt a lot better, it felt like I had an Akimichi sitting on my chest and he had decided to jump off! I smiled, happy that I could relieve some of her tension after she helped me see the path forward a little more clearly.

"Thanks granny…" I murmured.

"Eh? For what?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, I guess I'm pretty kooky..."

Granny scoffed and returned to the newspaper, her sour expression sweetened a little and I was all the more happy for it.