Chapter 7

When he woke up, it was early morning, and Kuma felt his entire body from the inside out sore. 

Kuma just laid there awake, thinking about the previous battle. Was he really that weak, or were they really that strong? He felt so confident in himself, but it felt like they each had their own way of handling him.

He thought his Glass Jutsu and Mirror Jutsu would easily give them trouble, but it seemed like they could handle anything he used.

Even at the end, Kuma came up with that method of attack on the spot, but it didn't even give any major injuries.

It felt like all his hard work had been for naught. A thought then passed through his mind. How long has he really been practicing? A year? All the other genin had been practicing most of their lives. 

It was then he realized that this wasn't just a manga or anime he was living in. This was a real world, and while he had some advantages, nothing garenteed his success. Just because he worked hard, didn't entitle him to be a ninja.

Why did he want to be a ninja anyway? To be on a team? To have adventures? To help people? To get stronger? He didn't need to be a ninja to do any of these things. In fact, becoming a ninja would tie him down to this world, this village. 

Kuma stared at himself in silence, taking a deep breath, and let out a sigh before going back to sleep with a smile. 'I think I'll do what I want. I never wanted to be the Hokage. Who says people can't hire me as a helper or bodyguard instead of a ninja anyway?

And with that, Kuma took a nap till late noon, as his stomach wouldn't stop growling. He left the alley, going to stall after stall, restaurant after restaurant offering work in exchange for food.

Eventually he found a bakery owned by a middle aged man in glasses that didn't want to waste money hiring ninja to handle thugs or thieves. His name was Haru Hideo, and he made a deal with Kuma. In exchange for food and water, Kuma would handle anyone causing trouble at the bakery, which Kuma quickly accepted.

Each day from sunrise to sunset, Kuma would either sit inside the bakery or outside, drinking or eating while waiting for something to happen. As expected, aside from a thief or two, nobody usually made trouble at a bakery of all places. 

Whenever Mr. Hideo gave him a day off, Kuma would either train at his usual training grounds fiercely, find other odd jobs, or just relax around the village.

Once or twice he'd run into his former classmates, but he tried his best to avoid Shikamaru's team and Naruto's team. Kuma knew that Shikamaru's team technically failed their mission because of him so he felt a little guilty, and he always felt Kakashi could see right through him.

After about a month, Kuma had gotten fairly used to this kind of life, and even had a bit of spending money. He'd been kicked out of the orphanage so he stayed at the homes of his clients or sleep on rooftops, but otherwise life was good.

Today however, was different. After taking a nap on a rooftop, he woke up in the room of the Hokage. The Third Hokage himself was even at his desk, which was cluttered with paperwork.

The elderly man himself stopped and smiled at him when he saw Kuma was awake. 

"Hello Kuma. I am the Third Hokage. Do you have any questions?" He asked calmly.

Kuma felt uneasy, he knew that this man was a good person from the manga and anime, but considering the people standing next to him was Kakashi and the smoking man in charge of Shikamaru's team, he guessed this wasn't the time to ask questions.