On a wooden bench, Hiruko kept his eyes on Arata, who was sitting to the left of him and who had his eyes focused on the bustling streets of Konoha.
"You know at first when Mother told me she was taking you in I was worried; I knew nothing about you or your personality. Even though I have one of the strongest families out there, I still worry about them," Arata said honestly.
At this Hiruko kept quiet; he knew Arata wasn't finished, and he was right. After taking a glance at Hiruko's quiet self, Arata continued.
"Before my dad died, he told me two things: to protect this village and protect our family, and I won't let anyone hurt either." Arata said, his voice full of conviction,
"I—" Hiruko was about to speak up. He wanted to tell Arata he had no plans on hurting his family and that he would never do that.
But Arata silenced him once again. "Let me finish." Arata said,
"Just like my father told me this before, I am now telling you, I know you may not care for the village that much, but I do; it's my father's legacy, but while I protect the village, I need you to protect our family when I'm not able to because now this is your family too." Arata said, smiling at Hiruko sitting
"Our family?" Hiruko asked quietly, his head hanging low, almost as if more to himself, trying to understand the words' implications.
Arata, hearing this, just continued to smile while stretching out his hand and rubbing Hiruko's white hair.
"Yes, our family, Hiruko, you want to know a secret? I've always wanted a little brother," Arata said.
Hiruko picked his head up, his eyes watery, looked at Arata's smiling face, and hugged him. "You know I've always wanted a big brother too." Hiruko said, his voice barely above a whisper.
But again Arata heard him and hugged him back.
After a minute both brothers pulled back, and Hiruko started wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
"Now Hiruko, the girls might take a minute. Is there anything you want to buy? Don't worry, it's on me, and don't worry if it's expensive; we are kind of rich." Arata said sheepishly he knew his family was more than just rich; they could probably never run out of money.
Hiruko, after pondering for a minute, said, "Well, I have taken an interest in swordsmanship and have wanted to buy a sword."
"Okay, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Arata said, pulling Hiruko up from the bench and walking over to the best sword shop in Konoha.
—
"Here we are," Arata said as they stood in front of an old wooden store with the words "Al's Sword Shop" written on a banner hung on the building.
Arata, smiling, walked towards the wooden door and opened it with vigor. "Old man Al, I'm here!!" Arata yelled.
Suddenly an old man appeared behind Arata, hitting him in the head.
"Brat! How many times have I told you to stop coming into my shop yelling like a banshee?" Said an old man with white hair and beard, his eyes were blue.
Turning around to look at Hiruko, the man whose name was Al asked Arata, "Who's this kid? I've never seen him around. He has an impressive build for a kid though."
'I didn't even see him.' Hiruko thought still in shock
"He's my younger brother, freshly adopted. Introduce yourself." Arata said, slightly elbowing Hiruko,
Hiruko, coming out of his stupor, immediately bowed. "Hello, sir, my name is Hiruko."
"Hmm, good kid, better than you at least." He said, turning to Arata, who sheepishly scratched his head at Al's comment.
"So what do you want, kid? The last time you were in here was when you were five," Al asked.
At this Arata gave a small smile, recalling old memories.
"I would like a sword, a ninjatō more specifically," Hiruko said, speaking up for himself.
'Interesting kid,' Al thought, but hiding his interest, he just turned around, pointing to a bucket of swords.
"Pick from those." Al said simply,
"Wait, why have him pick from a bucket?" Arata spoke.
Al looked back and simply said, "It doesn't matter what sword he picks; it matters how he uses it."
"Bu—" Arata started to speak, but Hiruko cut him off.
"It's okay, Arata, he's right," he said, starting to walk over to the bucket under the eyes of Arata and Al.
Looking over the bucket of swords, only one caught Hiruko's eye; its hilt was the same white as his hair. Picking it up, Hiruko turned to Al.
"What's its name?" Hiruko asked, mesmerized by the shining steel.
"Good eye, kid. That's a chakra blade named 'Miyuki.'" Al said, with a slight smile on his face,
"I'll take it. How much?" Hiruko said, looking at Al, his face full of determination.
"Take it, kid, free of charge; that sword seems as if it was made for you." Al said, disappearing into the back room.
—
Walking down the streets of Konoha, Hiruko, who had his sword 'Miyuki' strapped on his back due to his small stature, turned to Arata.
"If you don't mind me asking, who is that old guy?" He said his personality was completely different from when he was in the store.
"His name is Al, a craftsman who lived in the land of iron when he was younger. One day he came across my father and…his friend. Believing in the peace my father was trying to achieve, he supported them, even making their battle armor. But after his son's death, he retired from craftsmanship and opened a shop." Arata said, his expression crestfallen. Hiruko could tell there was more, but he decided not to pry.
Soon the two of them reached the center plaza and, after a few minutes of waiting, saw Mito, who carried a sleeping Tsunade on her back.
"You guys didn't buy anything." Arata asked, surprised.
"Of course we did; we just sent it all to the house since you two weren't there to carry it," Yuri said simply.
Mito, smiling creepily to the side, said, "Hiruko!!" I got so many clothes for you to try on! Hearing this, Hiruko felt his body instinctively shiver.
'I'm sorry, brother, but I cannot help you; if not for my father, I would've never gotten away from her.' Arata thought solemnly, internally mourning his brother's fate.
"Hey Hiruko, did you just get that sword? I never knew you had an interest in swordsmanship." Yuri said, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I have a small interest in swords, and its name is 'Miyuki.'" Hiruko said with a hint of pride.
Mito, watching this, gave a small smile. 'So you've taken a liking to him, huh, Al?' Mito thought.
"Okay, let's go home, guys." Mito said, energetically jumping onto Hiruko slightly.
Outside the walls of the Senju estate, Hiruko was in awe at the massive home. It was a beautiful wooden estate with an earthly aura all around it; birds flew and squirrels ran. It was like a forest and a home in one.
Before they went in, Mito spoke up, "Hey Hiruko, stay back. The rest of you guys go in, and Arata, make sure Hiruko's room is ready, please."
Arata looked back confused, but after looking in his mother's eyes and taking a second, he nodded, leading Yuri and the sleeping Tsunade into the estate.
After they left, Hiruko asked Mito, "What's wrong, Lady Mito?"
Mito, turning from the estate to the path they came from, spoke calmly but firmly: "Come out, child; I've sensed you following us all day."
A few seconds after Mito's declaration, a pale-skinned boy with golden snake-like eyes appeared from behind a tree holding a small jar.
"Orochimaru?" Hiruko asked, confused.
At his name being called, Orochimaru visibly flinched as if a child was caught by his mother doing something bad.
"What are you doing here, child?" Mito asked calmly.
Orochimaru, his head slightly down and his face hidden behind his hair, spoke in a quite hoarse voice, "I—I, um, came to give Hiruko something."
"And what might that be, child?" Mito asked.
Orochimaru held out the jar in his hand toward Mito; in it was a white spider with small purple dots lined around its body in a circle. Its eight eyes fixated on Hiruko. "Um, this is a spider I found in a forest, and it reminded me of Hiruko's hair, so I thought I'd give it to him." Orochimaru said meekly,
Seeing the child's obvious anxiety, Mito lightly jabbed the confused Hiruko.
"Well, boy, he's giving you a gift. What do you say?"
Hiruko, being knocked out of his stupor, turned and looked at Mito before finally speaking.
"Oh yeah, um, thank you, Orochimaru," Hiruko said, walking towards Orochimaru and lightly accepting the jar from him.
Looking at the spider, its round eight eyes holding a kind of charm, Hiruko thought it was kind of cute. He looked up from the jar, planning to thank Orochimaru and ask for its name, but he was already gone. Where he once stood was a note; Hiruko, seeing it, lightly picked it up and read it.
{Dear Hiruko,
The spider is a girl, and its name is Hakuja.
Goodbye and have good dreams.
Sincerely, Orochimaru }
'Well, he gets to the point.' Hiruko thought before pocketing the note