A Minor Hurdle

My mind runs at a thousand miles a second as I come up with an answer.

I give Okimi a very serious look, the kind only the very young or the very determined can muster up. "I'm training!" I pronounce with the gravity of one coming down from the mountain with rules from god. "I'm gonna be real strong like Tokei so that I can protect Mother!"

If I weren't closely watching Okimi's eyes I would miss the emotions running through them. First, suspicion. Then recognition when I say Tokei's name. Finally, a bit of realization. She knows who I am.

None of that shows anywhere but the corners of her eyes though. Her face remains in the same placid smile it was when she came to the field. "Well, that's a really big goal for you to have!" she answers. "And it's a worthy one too! There's nothing more important than family."

I nod quickly and shoot a glare over my shoulder at Mr. Straw. "It's… it's harder than I thought it would be."

"Anything worth doing normally is," Okimi quotes. She pauses a moment, and her smile twists into a small frown. "And while I respect that goal of yours, I'm afraid I'm going to have to walk you home."

"Huh?!" you grunt out.

"This isn't really a place you can be without permission," she explains, hands spread wide. "It's like your Mother's bedroom. You can't go in there without your Mother telling you it's okay, right?"

She's not wrong. "Yeah," I say reluctantly.

Okimi extends her hand. I take it reluctantly and she turns, walking slowly so I don't have to trot on the uneven ground to keep up. "There are plenty of ways to train without coming out here," she says as we walk. "There are some exercises you can do to get started right near your house. Let me tell you about them."

The walk home is long, but still shorter than I expected. Apparently I took the long way to get to Training Ground The entire trip home is spent listening to Okimi talk about training exercises I can do that don't involve punching Mr. Straw. I listen attentively and file them away as best I can, with a few even triggering new repeatable quests. They're useless towards my goal of punching Mr. Straw a thousand times but that doesn't mean they're useless in general.

The sun has fully set by the time Okimi escorts me to my door. She gestures towards it, and I try the handle. Locked. You knock once-

The door slides open so quickly my knuckles get a little friction burn. Mother stands behind it. Her eyes are wide and scared, her usual elaborate hairstyle a mess of of braids and tangles.

Those eyes land on me and contract. Her hands lash out like grasping tentacles and pull me in, clutching me closely. "Where have you been?!" she hisses, fear and worry making her voice hard. "Do you have any idea what time it is? How long you've been gone? Did you even think before wandering off into who knows where? Tokei's been out hunting for you for hours! When's the last time you ate? You're filthy, I-"

Mother could go on for another ten minutes without having to stop to breathe; she's done it before.

But thankfully she's interrupted by Okimi clearing her throat. "Please don't be too harsh on him, Satomura-san. Daisuke got lost out near the training grounds. I'm sure he would have been home much sooner had he been able."

I shoot a confused glance over my shoulder at Okimi. She's covering for my ass. Why? I don't get an answer, but I get a nearly imperceptible wink.

The interruption is enough to derail Mother's train of thought. She stands, brushing past me to put herself between me and the stranger. "Oh. I see. Thank you so much for escorting him home…" Her eyes scan Okimi closely, taking in details that I'm sure I've missed. "… Sarutobi-san. If he caused you any trouble, then allow me to tender my most sincere apologies."

It's a good thing I'm behind Mother's skirts right now. I don't think I'd be able to disguise how my eyes bugged out on hearing the name. Sarutobi. As in the Third- and reigning- Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. As in the future sensei of my friends, Sarutobi Asuma. That Sarutobi.

If it bothers her to be recognized, Okimi doesn't let it show. She waves off Mother's apologies with a careless hand. "Don't think twice about it. I'm a new mother myself, and I'd like to think that this village is a place where everyone looks out for everyone else's children."

Mother gives her a small nod. "Still, if you will not accept my apologies, accept my thanks. I greatly appreciate you finding my son. If something happened to him…" her voice quavers slightly at the thought before she catches it and banishes it completly. "And allow me to give you a reward."

At that, Okimi's hands come up as she tries to ward away Mother's generosity. "No, honestly, that is not necessary in the least. It is part of my duty as a Shinobi of Konoha to do whatever I can to aid the rest of the village-"

"And as a Shinobi, you get paid for doing your duty," Mother counters. Her voice is implacable. Okimi is getting a reward today, whether she likes it or not. "No matter how large or small the task is the Shinobi always gets compensated. I will not let this be the acception. I believe that the standard rate for a lower class mission is somewhere near Seven Hundred Ryo, correct?"

I push my eyes back into my head and find my voice as I peek around Mother at Okimi. "You should take it," I chirp. "Otherwise Mother will make you."

The Shinobi chuckles awkwardly at that. "How?" she asks me. "Is she going to force the money into my hands."

"No, your pockets," I answer. "It's happened before."

At the Sarutobi's questioning look, Mother sniffs. "The landscaper would not accept his tip."

The fight goes out of Okimi, and she stands there as Mother rummages through her carry-all. Several crisp bills are pushed into the kunoichi's hands. "Thank you again," Mother says. "It is greatly appreciated, and it will not be forgotten."

Okimi pockets the ryo and nods again. "Um, you're welcome. But it really wasn't a big deal."

Pleasantries are exchanged for another few moments before Okimi turns to leave. The shinobi gives me one more look before she goes. "Remember what I said, Daisuke. Start small." With that last word, she vanishes in a gust of wind.

I stare at the blank spot for a very long time. It's one thing to know I'm in the Elemental Nations and to know that around me are hundreds of ninja. It's another thing to see ninjutsu used right in front of me- and so casually at that! It's like magic- no, there's no 'like' in there. That was magic, plain and simple.

Mother doesn't share my wonder. She spins and pulls me inside, closing the door behind her. Her worry is back full force. "When did you last eat? Was it breakfast? It was, wasn't it? Go take a bath. Dinner will be ready when you're done."

I mutely follow orders. It's best not to push her right now. Besides, she's not wrong. My motives are flashing brightly in the corner of my eye. I scrub myself clean, and by the time I am done, food is on the table. More than that, Mother seems to have calmed down after doing a familiar task.

She's calm enough to ask about my day, and once I get started talking about all the exploring I did, Mother seems to relax completely. Tokei makes it home before I'm done. He shows no reaction to seeing me home safe. He just notes it, catalogs it, and resumes his normal position of standing still in a corner.

Mother tucks me into bed as soon as I'm done eating. It's a little earlier than I usually go to sleep, but I'm weary from my day and made drowsy by a full stomach. I'm not going to complain.

But one thing I can complain about, and do in my head once Mother closes the door, is that I didn't make any headway towards my goal. Mr. Straw remains unpunched.

I need to fix that if I want to clear the achievement.