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(Naruto) Little Toy Shop - G, 1939 words
Title: Little Toy Shop
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: G
Words: 1939
Pairings/Characters: Naruto
Spoilers: ...once again, nope. Takes place pre-series.
Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rachecho and finally put on this journal. ^^;;
He paused at the shop window several times during the past two weeks, gazing at the contents within the store, the frivolous and marvellous items that decorated its walls; children parading in and out while clinging onto the arms of adults, laughing and beaming with delight as they clutched bags tightly in their small hands. It was just a little toy shop at a busy intersection of the marketplace, brand new and nearly bursting at the seams with the amount of items the store held. He passed it on his way to and from the Academy nearly everyday, dragging his steps a little more just to gaze longingly at the shelves of toys and immaterial items that lined the counters out of the corner of his eye.
To him, the little toy shop was both a blessing and a curse. Excluding the fact that he longed to go in, it also signified the start and end of schooldays. He saw it in the mornings when he was racing off to the Academy, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t be late to Iruka-sensei’s class again (stupid teachers. They never understood why he was late, and he just made it a point never to give a reason anymore. He could just sneak into class anyway as a testament to his ninja skills!) and have to serve detention… it was also the start of his day where he could actually spend time with other people, with other children who saw him as just another child.
Naruto had never thought he would make friends like Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba, but he was glad for them nevertheless. Those three didn’t exclude him like the rest of the class did. They could play together all day until their parents picked them up.
And after the parents were gone, Naruto would trudge his way home, shuffling his feet with his hands in his pockets as he went down that same road home, passing by that same toy shop where bright lights were hung decoratively.
It was stupid, Naruto scowled to himself regularly, kicking at pebbles in the streets, since he had no use for things like what the store had to offer. He could barely afford to make ends meet as it was, and what little money he had went into buying kunai and shuriken, into food and bills and things that would actually matter to his life. He had no use for toys, especially since toys could be made so easily. He could fold his own paper airplanes, and fashion dummies out of sticks. He was Uzumaki Naruto! He knew how to entertain himself just fine without falling into having to spend money to play.
But he couldn’t help but stop there just once, just once to gaze opening through its windows at the brightly coloured displays. He might have even gone in if he had money on him, just because he wanted to. Just because he wanted to know what it was like to see things from inside the store rather than from the outside. He didn’t care if they wouldn’t want him there or not- he shouldn’t care about things like that because if he did, then he’d never stop caring.
But he didn’t have the money with him, and he didn’t have an excuse to go into the store, so Naruto just stared at the windows for a moment, big blue eyes taking in the assortment of stuffed animals and colourfully printed pyjamas, the odds and ends trinkets displayed by the window case.
He didn’t hear the footsteps so much as he heard the tinkle of bells that sounded as the doors opened, and a sickly looking young lady stepped out, wiping her hands on the bright blue apron with the store logo on it, smiling as she saw him standing there, just staring at her cautiously. She looked pale, and he couldn’t remember having seen her around before.
“Oh, hello there,” she bent down slightly to talk to him, despite the fact that there were still several feet separating her and him. Her voice was warm, though, and kind. “Are you lost? Where are your parents? A little boy like you shouldn’t be out wandering alone so late.”
Naruto stared at her blankly for a moment, not able to comprehend that she was speaking to him. Him! The one person that the entire village usually tried to avoid like a plague.
She looked concerned as he didn’t answer her, too stunned to shout out anything like he usually did with that fox grin on his face. “Child? Are you alright? Do you need to come inside for a sit? Are your guardians about or were you sent on an errand alone?”
She reached for him, and for some reason, Naruto withdrew from her, flinching back just a bit as her pale hand came close to his face. She looked hurt at the motion, and Naruto immediately regretted it. She looked genuinely concerned, and Naruto opened his mouth to say something to her, he didn’t know what exactly, maybe to accept her offer so that he could have a reason to venture inside the little toy shop, so that she might smile at him and tell him about what toys were on sale, and he would come back to buy it, no matter how frivolous because she had shown him concern.
“Mari! We’re closing down the shop soon- and you aren’t supposed to be outside!”
Another young woman came out the door, the tinkling of bells trailing behind her steps. She looked a little like the pale woman, enough that Naruto wondered vaguely if they were related. Sisters, maybe? Maybe they fought all the time at home, and were forced to work together by their parents and then finally found a common interest with each other in accordance to the little toy shop?
The young woman’s eyes hardened with she saw him, though, and Naruto just knew that staying to gaze at the shop had been a mistake.
“Mari,” the newcomer said sharply, her eyes still sharp and focused on Naruto look a hawk. “Come inside now. You’ve barely just recovered from your injuries. Mother thought you would never wake from your coma after the fight with the demon fox.” She sneered the last title at Naruto for some reason, and he glared back defiantly. The blatant hate like that was something he could deal with, something he was used to. It had been the outright concern that had thrown him in a loop before.
“Ah- yes!” The pale young woman straightened and patted her apron again, looking to go back into the shop when she hesitated just a moment, then turned back and patted Naruto on the head briefly, smiling. “You should head home. I’m sure your parents will take you here next time. And I’ll give you a personal tour of the shop, okay?”
He wanted to nod, but the other woman’s eyes were fixed on him, daring him to make a gesture she didn’t approve of. Naruto had no doubts that he would never be invited into that store at all, and that the moment his back was turned, the nice lady would be warned all about him, warned to stay away from him and taught how to glare at him, how to hate him.
So he reacted in the only manner he could.
He scowled and swatted her hand away, missing the warmth before it had left. “Who said I wanted to visit this shop anyway?” He stuck his tongue out at the surprised lady and spun on his heel, running off before he could hear another person being taught to hate him for reasons he didn’t know of.
Surprisingly, though, all he could hear even through the pounding of his heart with the pounding of his footsteps, was a warm chuckle from behind him, and the other woman yelling loudly at him, telling him to never come back. Somehow, the chuckle warmed his thoughts just a bit.
Naruto ran all the way home, racing up the stairs to his small apartment and ignoring the people who banging on their walls furiously as he slammed the door shut, breathing hard through his nose and wearing a silly grin on his face. It had felt nice. Even if it had only been for a moment, even if the pale lady might never again look at him without contempt, it had felt nice to be treated normally for even just that one moment. It had felt nice to hear her laughing at him not in malice, but in amusement of his antics.
He went to sleep that night with a smile, wondering if the nice lady might have stood up for him even after being told to hate him by her supposed sister. It probably wouldn’t work out that way, and Naruto wasn’t going back to the store to check. He would find another route to school, and leave this memory untainted. Maybe she would have stood up for him. Maybe she would have been waiting for him to appear in the shop one day, and take up that offer to tell him all about the toys there.
But either way, he was through with the little toy store on the corner of the marketplace.
And the next morning when Naruto got up, he found a small wrapped parcel on his kitchen table, a bright blue ribbon wrapped around the box. He blinked, then pinched himself, and the rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t dream and wasn’t seeing things that weren’t there. After taking a minute to decide that he really had received a present for no reason, Naruto reached out to pick up the box, savouring the nice wrapping paper and the bright ribbon. He thought for a moment to keep the box unopened forever, just so he could look at the nice package and feel this strange warmth knowing that it had been left for him.
But why…?
It took a few seconds, but his curiousity got the better of him, and Naruto went in search for one of his kunai, grinning and giving a happy shout. He tripped over several rooms before he sat down to open the package as carefully as he could, gnawing on his lower lip and concentrating hard to make sure that he wouldn’t have to cut the ribbon, that the wrapping paper would still be usable so that he could keep it, and that the box wouldn’t be crushed after he opened it.
There was a bit of cloth lying at the bottom of the box, and Naruto blinked as he pulled out what looked like a strange black and white hat. It was a hat that had eyes and teeth protruding from the bottom! Dazed, he ran a finger over the brim and turned it over to see the small but evenly stitched logo of the small toy shop at the corner of the marketplace. One of their odds and ends, frivolities.
His grin grew even wider as he yanked the cap on over his head, pushing himself to his feet to run for the bathroom, wanting to know what it would look like on his head. Would it look silly? After all, there were teeth on that cap! It might look like it was trying to eat his head or something!
**
Outside the apartment, Sandaime puffed out a breath of smoke from his pipe and gave a small smile when he heard the amused laughter from inside the apartment. Then he turned and walked away.
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: G
Words: 1939
Pairings/Characters: Naruto
Spoilers: ...once again, nope. Takes place pre-series.
Written for
rachecho and finally put on this journal. ^^;;He paused at the shop window several times during the past two weeks, gazing at the contents within the store, the frivolous and marvellous items that decorated its walls; children parading in and out while clinging onto the arms of adults, laughing and beaming with delight as they clutched bags tightly in their small hands. It was just a little toy shop at a busy intersection of the marketplace, brand new and nearly bursting at the seams with the amount of items the store held. He passed it on his way to and from the Academy nearly everyday, dragging his steps a little more just to gaze longingly at the shelves of toys and immaterial items that lined the counters out of the corner of his eye.
To him, the little toy shop was both a blessing and a curse. Excluding the fact that he longed to go in, it also signified the start and end of schooldays. He saw it in the mornings when he was racing off to the Academy, hoping against all hope that he wouldn’t be late to Iruka-sensei’s class again (stupid teachers. They never understood why he was late, and he just made it a point never to give a reason anymore. He could just sneak into class anyway as a testament to his ninja skills!) and have to serve detention… it was also the start of his day where he could actually spend time with other people, with other children who saw him as just another child.
Naruto had never thought he would make friends like Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba, but he was glad for them nevertheless. Those three didn’t exclude him like the rest of the class did. They could play together all day until their parents picked them up.
And after the parents were gone, Naruto would trudge his way home, shuffling his feet with his hands in his pockets as he went down that same road home, passing by that same toy shop where bright lights were hung decoratively.
It was stupid, Naruto scowled to himself regularly, kicking at pebbles in the streets, since he had no use for things like what the store had to offer. He could barely afford to make ends meet as it was, and what little money he had went into buying kunai and shuriken, into food and bills and things that would actually matter to his life. He had no use for toys, especially since toys could be made so easily. He could fold his own paper airplanes, and fashion dummies out of sticks. He was Uzumaki Naruto! He knew how to entertain himself just fine without falling into having to spend money to play.
But he couldn’t help but stop there just once, just once to gaze opening through its windows at the brightly coloured displays. He might have even gone in if he had money on him, just because he wanted to. Just because he wanted to know what it was like to see things from inside the store rather than from the outside. He didn’t care if they wouldn’t want him there or not- he shouldn’t care about things like that because if he did, then he’d never stop caring.
But he didn’t have the money with him, and he didn’t have an excuse to go into the store, so Naruto just stared at the windows for a moment, big blue eyes taking in the assortment of stuffed animals and colourfully printed pyjamas, the odds and ends trinkets displayed by the window case.
He didn’t hear the footsteps so much as he heard the tinkle of bells that sounded as the doors opened, and a sickly looking young lady stepped out, wiping her hands on the bright blue apron with the store logo on it, smiling as she saw him standing there, just staring at her cautiously. She looked pale, and he couldn’t remember having seen her around before.
“Oh, hello there,” she bent down slightly to talk to him, despite the fact that there were still several feet separating her and him. Her voice was warm, though, and kind. “Are you lost? Where are your parents? A little boy like you shouldn’t be out wandering alone so late.”
Naruto stared at her blankly for a moment, not able to comprehend that she was speaking to him. Him! The one person that the entire village usually tried to avoid like a plague.
She looked concerned as he didn’t answer her, too stunned to shout out anything like he usually did with that fox grin on his face. “Child? Are you alright? Do you need to come inside for a sit? Are your guardians about or were you sent on an errand alone?”
She reached for him, and for some reason, Naruto withdrew from her, flinching back just a bit as her pale hand came close to his face. She looked hurt at the motion, and Naruto immediately regretted it. She looked genuinely concerned, and Naruto opened his mouth to say something to her, he didn’t know what exactly, maybe to accept her offer so that he could have a reason to venture inside the little toy shop, so that she might smile at him and tell him about what toys were on sale, and he would come back to buy it, no matter how frivolous because she had shown him concern.
“Mari! We’re closing down the shop soon- and you aren’t supposed to be outside!”
Another young woman came out the door, the tinkling of bells trailing behind her steps. She looked a little like the pale woman, enough that Naruto wondered vaguely if they were related. Sisters, maybe? Maybe they fought all the time at home, and were forced to work together by their parents and then finally found a common interest with each other in accordance to the little toy shop?
The young woman’s eyes hardened with she saw him, though, and Naruto just knew that staying to gaze at the shop had been a mistake.
“Mari,” the newcomer said sharply, her eyes still sharp and focused on Naruto look a hawk. “Come inside now. You’ve barely just recovered from your injuries. Mother thought you would never wake from your coma after the fight with the demon fox.” She sneered the last title at Naruto for some reason, and he glared back defiantly. The blatant hate like that was something he could deal with, something he was used to. It had been the outright concern that had thrown him in a loop before.
“Ah- yes!” The pale young woman straightened and patted her apron again, looking to go back into the shop when she hesitated just a moment, then turned back and patted Naruto on the head briefly, smiling. “You should head home. I’m sure your parents will take you here next time. And I’ll give you a personal tour of the shop, okay?”
He wanted to nod, but the other woman’s eyes were fixed on him, daring him to make a gesture she didn’t approve of. Naruto had no doubts that he would never be invited into that store at all, and that the moment his back was turned, the nice lady would be warned all about him, warned to stay away from him and taught how to glare at him, how to hate him.
So he reacted in the only manner he could.
He scowled and swatted her hand away, missing the warmth before it had left. “Who said I wanted to visit this shop anyway?” He stuck his tongue out at the surprised lady and spun on his heel, running off before he could hear another person being taught to hate him for reasons he didn’t know of.
Surprisingly, though, all he could hear even through the pounding of his heart with the pounding of his footsteps, was a warm chuckle from behind him, and the other woman yelling loudly at him, telling him to never come back. Somehow, the chuckle warmed his thoughts just a bit.
Naruto ran all the way home, racing up the stairs to his small apartment and ignoring the people who banging on their walls furiously as he slammed the door shut, breathing hard through his nose and wearing a silly grin on his face. It had felt nice. Even if it had only been for a moment, even if the pale lady might never again look at him without contempt, it had felt nice to be treated normally for even just that one moment. It had felt nice to hear her laughing at him not in malice, but in amusement of his antics.
He went to sleep that night with a smile, wondering if the nice lady might have stood up for him even after being told to hate him by her supposed sister. It probably wouldn’t work out that way, and Naruto wasn’t going back to the store to check. He would find another route to school, and leave this memory untainted. Maybe she would have stood up for him. Maybe she would have been waiting for him to appear in the shop one day, and take up that offer to tell him all about the toys there.
But either way, he was through with the little toy store on the corner of the marketplace.
And the next morning when Naruto got up, he found a small wrapped parcel on his kitchen table, a bright blue ribbon wrapped around the box. He blinked, then pinched himself, and the rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t dream and wasn’t seeing things that weren’t there. After taking a minute to decide that he really had received a present for no reason, Naruto reached out to pick up the box, savouring the nice wrapping paper and the bright ribbon. He thought for a moment to keep the box unopened forever, just so he could look at the nice package and feel this strange warmth knowing that it had been left for him.
But why…?
It took a few seconds, but his curiousity got the better of him, and Naruto went in search for one of his kunai, grinning and giving a happy shout. He tripped over several rooms before he sat down to open the package as carefully as he could, gnawing on his lower lip and concentrating hard to make sure that he wouldn’t have to cut the ribbon, that the wrapping paper would still be usable so that he could keep it, and that the box wouldn’t be crushed after he opened it.
There was a bit of cloth lying at the bottom of the box, and Naruto blinked as he pulled out what looked like a strange black and white hat. It was a hat that had eyes and teeth protruding from the bottom! Dazed, he ran a finger over the brim and turned it over to see the small but evenly stitched logo of the small toy shop at the corner of the marketplace. One of their odds and ends, frivolities.
His grin grew even wider as he yanked the cap on over his head, pushing himself to his feet to run for the bathroom, wanting to know what it would look like on his head. Would it look silly? After all, there were teeth on that cap! It might look like it was trying to eat his head or something!
**
Outside the apartment, Sandaime puffed out a breath of smoke from his pipe and gave a small smile when he heard the amused laughter from inside the apartment. Then he turned and walked away.
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