Naruto: Akatsuki

Leisurely, but at a certain pace. Without much time having passed, I arrived at the hub of the village, and found one woman at twenties that I was looking for.

"Kanae-san!" I called out to her while waving my hand wildly, to which she perked up upon hearing. With a smile, she waved back to me.

"Long time no see, Akatsuki-kun. How is your body?"

"Getting fatter and stronger. Thanks for asking." I replied while puffing out my chest, before asking, "And how have you been?"

"Oh well, same as always... actually not!" Kanae said cheerfully.

"Something happened?" I asked casually while handing her the appropriate amount of ryo and placing the sac in the basket.

Taking the ryo with her eyes headed elsewhere, she nodded, "Gin has returned."

My eyes widened, "For real?"

"Yep!"

Gin. The wandering swordsman who occasionally visits his hometown. He was the man who discovered me at a nearly dead state, and brought me to Hidemitsu-san before my life was gone.

Up until now, I didn't even manage to get a glimpse of his face, for he left the village while I was recuperating.

"Do you know where he is?" I asked in anticipation. Gin was my benefactor, the man whom I had to give my thanks to.

"If I am not wrong," Kanae pointed at the distant ramen stand, "he should be busy eating."

"Alright, thanks, Kanae-san!" I had to hurry. Placing the basket full of herbs back on, I left the hub and ran to where the ramen stand stood. Within minutes, here I was, and I saw...

One man with the long and black messy hair covering his face, and dirty black beard not taken care of. He wore dirty and loose clothes, and if not for one sword that was strapped around his waist, I would've mistaken him for a beggar.

But never judge others by their appearances.

"Are you Gin-san?" With my fists clenched tight, I spoke up to the man who was busy emptying a bowl after bowl.

...No response. The man, Gin, continued to storm through his ramen bowls. H-he... he was literally drinking the entire bowl—hey, at least chew once!

"MORE!" Gin then shouted madly all of a sudden as he slammed the empty bowl down, before chugging down a bottle that sat next to the bowl.

"Hey, kid." Another man, who was eating his ramen just like anyone would do, chuckled at me, "Is it your first time seeing Gin in live?"

I nodded.

"Let him be. No one can stop him while he's eating. Take a seat next to him and wait till he's done."

"Thanks for the tip."

Taking in the advice from the man, I took a seat on Gin's left.

Then all of a sudden, the demeanour of the man who gave me the advice changed, "Welcome, customer! What would you like to have?"

S***. I was tricked, wasn't I. To think this young dude was a freaking ramen chef... oh well. Never judge others by their appearances.

"Give me a cup of water."

'Heh, take that.' I thought with a smile as I saw the ramen chef's facial expression turning into a frown.

"One cup of rotten water, coming up!"

Ho...

My eyes gleamed in amusement.

The ramen chef's frown morphed into a daring grin.

"Bring it on, kid."

"You're so on."

"...What the f*** are you two doing?"

The two of us froze, before turning to the source of the voice: Gin.

With ramen broth having soaked his lion-like hair and beard, he stared at us as if looking at something pathetic.

"What are you, a kid?"

I nodded, since I actually was. However, as for the ramen chef, Gin's statement served as a crifical hit.

He was knocked out of his seat comically—I found myself laughing slightly.

"O-one cup of water, coming up—"

"When is my next bowl of ramen coming?!!"

"O-one b-bowl of ramen, coming u-up!"

I pointed at the half-finished bowl that the chef was eating, "You didn't even finish yours."

"O-One bowl of ramen, finishing..." The ramen chef automatically responded, before stopping in the middle. He then stared at me with a tickmark on his head.

My win. Heh.

"So? Why were you looking for me?" Ignoring the chef, Gin asked without looking at me, as if uninterested. When looking closely, you'd see that he was still drooling in hunger.

Losing my goofiness, I said seriously, "I wanted to thank you for saving me."

If it weren't for this man in front of me, I would've been holding a shinigami's hand by now.

"...Yatta yatta, whatever." After a momentary pause, Gin raised his bottle and chugged down again. Placing it back down after, he burped.

"I don't even remember doing that, and I don't care."

He shifted his eyes to where I sat by, and sighed in annoyance, while shooing me off.

"But if you really are thankful to me, then go away. Go play with those other dumb kids or whatever. Dealing with little punks like you is the last thing I want."

Then, as another ramen bowl came out, Gin immediately went back to devouring it.

"O...kay...?"

That was the first time I met Gin.

_________

A day has quickly passed, and it was very early in the morning. I, having slept soundly, have woke up before Hidemitsu did.

In a secluded room, I sat in the dark, in a lotus position. With my eyes closed, I began what is considered as a meditation—an exercise that is said to train one's spiritual energy.

Hidemitsu said that this can potentially be a helpful method to restore my lost memory.

"Hu..."

Breathe out. Breathe in. I felt the warm energy circulating in my body as I breathed slowly.

"Ha..."

There was no need to hurry. Step by step. Foundation matters. Hone my mind, and calm my soul. Ready myself for the moment where I need to be alert.

Then, my eye opened. Standing up and opening the door, I silently walked outside.

Walking up to the nearby well, I used a bowl to pull up the water and quenched my thirst. After, I yawned while walking to the open ground right behind the house.

'Exercise.'

Starting from today, I will add exercise routines to my schedule. The exercises aren't much, comprised of the recommendations that Hidemitsu gave me.

First, stretch. Neck, shoulders, arms, torso, legs—you name it. To ensure that my muscles don't clump up, they had to be done thoroughly before and after exercise.

"Phew," I let out a deep breath after the stretches were done,

"And now, let's start the painful preparation for my future."

'Hope I have enough strength left to chop woods after this,' I had to suppress a groan.