Weeds, Bugs, No!!

[Tatsuo]

After a long day at the academy one of Yaboi’s teachers asked the boy to assist his mother with some of the weeds in her garden. He promised to excuse him from that day’s homework if he managed to do it, but because of school meetings and the likes he wasn’t able to help her himself. So he offered up the help of a young academy student, today being Yaboi.

It was beginning to cool in Konoha, clouds had covered the sky making the day look later than it really is. It was maybe three or four o’clock, but looked closer to six. The directions the teacher gave Yaboi took him to the outskirts of the village to a small, simple home, with an overgrown garden and a woman sitting on her porch knitting. When she saw Yaboi she flased him a toothy smile and asked, “How are you doing, sonny? I don’t recognize you, are you lost?” The house itself seemed to be very old school, the porch had a few broken segments of screen wire. The door was a glass door in front of a large thick wooden one. The porch was cleaned and well maintained, but the garden was obviously the issue in the house. Weeds grew tall and the grass was high, it seemed like whoever was in charge of taking care of it wasn’t able to maintain it well.

 

[Kenroujima]

The boy's eyes widened as the old woman spoke to him 'Ah.. Guess the teacher didn't have time to tell her, silly me.' he said in his head before kindly returning the smile. "Hi Obaasan." he greeted her politely "Not lost this time. Can I help with your garden, it looks like the weeds are going to eat your house soon!" the boy said jovially. Yaboi wore a white tank top with green shorts, forgetting his sandals at shoes again and simply walks bare foot. He was surprisingly fit for his age, having been getting plenty of exercising during his life in Konoha. Yaboi brings up his right arm and flexes his bicep, patting it with his left hand "I'm ready for work.".

WC: 123

 

[Tatsuo]

The old lady looked down to him and smiled as she stood up. "Ah! Did my son send someone over? He's so sweet, always busy with work but still worries about his mother!" she said as she hobbled over to the small wooden shed on the house. It was obviously old, probably built years before Yaboi was even an idea. She opened the door, there were a few cobwebs here and there. The lady grimaced as she knocked them out of the way and looked to him and sighed. "These are my late husbands." she said with an acute amount of reverence. "Please be careful with them, but he would love to see them worked with again." she said as she stepped back letting him get a good look inside the shed.

There was quite a collection of tools inside, shovels, rakes, a motion powered lawn mower, and a huge assortment of other things that one might expect to find in a shed. It was all well organized for the most part, the husband must have did well in maintaining it as everything had a place even if it was a bit cluttered. But someone of Yaboi's stature would have no trouble bobbing and weaving through all of the tools, tables, and other mess.

 

[Kenroujima]

Yaboi bowed his head to the old woman and turns to the entrance of the shed, he takes a step back before rushing forward and diving into the sea of tools. He makes his way to the back of the shed, grabbing interesting looking tools while avoiding all the clutter. He places his selection out on a rather empty table; shovel, gloves, weed-whacker and a giant pair of scissors. 'I know exactly what I need.' the boy thinks to himself, putting the gloves on immediately and grabbing the shovel. The child places everything else he had collected at the back of the shed in the places he found them, muttering a small prayer for the dead. Emerging from the shed with a shovel and gloves "Lots of tools." he says idly.

WC: 131
TWC: 254

 

[Tatsuo]

After grabbing his tools, Yaboi finally got a good, up close look of the yard. The woman at one point or another had tried to maintain a garden but after time, perhaps with age, she wasn't able to keep up with all the work. Her beautiful flower beds were now infested with weeds, bugs, and even in the far off corner he could see a small burrow of chipmunks buried into the mounds. This job would take the better part of the day and Yaboi didn't have a lot of time to finish it. If he was ever going to finish he would need to get started soon or he'd be here until it was too dark to see.

 

[Kenroujima]

Yaboi tapped his barefoot against the earthy floor of the garden 'Guess I should start with the mound.' he thought to himself. He proceeded towards the mound, stepping over rock outcroppings and uncomfortable weeds without a second thought. Yaboi always thought he had some strange skin on his feet, never once has he cut his foot against a rock while walking barefoot. It always felt more comfortable to walk barefoot knowing your feet will be safe from debris, this was the general reason why Yaboi is constantly leaving his sandals at the classroom. 'Wow.' Yaboi thought as his gaze set upon the entirety of the mound, having approached for a closer inspection. Just by looking at the mound one would not be able to determine if it was currently occupied by the rodents, yet Yaboi knew. He knew deep down at his core but never quite understood why it was that he knew. In truth, it was in his blood.

The Kyoujouran, attuned to the earth and a forgotten line. Yaboi felt the rodents scurry deep into their home through vibrations he could feel through his deep connection to the earth. 'Poor things will have to be moved' the boy thought to himself, resting the shovel down beside the mound. Yaboi turned back to the shed to retrieve something, having a great idea to solve the rodent problem. He fetched a large water jug from the shed and filled it about half-way with water. Lugging it back was a breeze the child thought idly, placing the jug down next to his shovel and the mound. The child peered at the mound once more, concentrating on the feeling at his core. The rodents had once more scurried into a far corner of their den, subsequently the vibrations felt again. He nodded to himself as if coming to a decision in silence, turning to the jug and sticking it into the mound. The water pours into the home of the animals and they frantically scurry up the oncoming water in fear of drowning. They shoot themselves up into the soon empty jug, caught successfully. 'Perfect!' thought Yaboi, carrying the jug off to a nearby tree and leaving it there, and once the rodents felt it was safe they could make their grand escape and climb up a tree.

Back at the garden, Yaboi stared at all the work he had left to do. "Still lots to do, but at least this is the easy part.'" the boy said to himself, picking up the shovel and caving in the burrow and fixing up the earth evenly as if the rodents had never been there. The child looked to all the weeds littering the garden and absolutely ruining it. The child began to rip the weeds out by hand after setting the shovel back into the shed. Energetic, but still slow. 'Who cares if I get dirty.. I can get this done quicker.' the child thought, standing up and looking to the late husbands gardening gloves. Freshly dirtied after so long. "Thank you." said the child quietly, abandoning the gloves with a few flicks of his wrist. Once more the borrowed tools were brought back to the shed, the gloves resting in the spot it was originally left at. The child took a large breathe inward as he exited the shed, staring at the sky as if to just check on where the sun might be. Yaboi stretched out his arms, getting back to work. With bare hands and a good bit of sweat the child eagerly worked through a section of the garden at a very good pace. The boy looked to his dirtied hands and grinned 'That was fast.. But I can do better.' he challenged himself in his head. He clapped his hands and looked to the next section of the garden and nodded singularly. With quick and barely any wasted motion the child worked through the garden, ripping weed after weed out in quick succession. As his hands pierced the earth Yaboi felt at ease. With that it was a good bit of effort and plenty of heart that he pushed himself.

Beads of sweat dripped down the boys forehead, bringing his forearm up to quickly wipe it. 'I should clear the dead plants and that should get rid of the bugs.' the child thought to himself idly as he assessed all the work he has done. Heading back into the shed Yaboi wheeled out and wheelbarrow, setting it off to the side. The boy slapped his cheeks and getting back to work once more on the garden. He cleared away deadplants that he could only imagine how long they had been there. Flies, and bugs in general had buzzed around as Yaboi worked. They did not bother him too much, and when they became a problem Yaboi simply waved his hand to get the insect to bugger off. A few handfuls of deadplants, Yaboi went back to dump them into the wheelbarrow. Lifting it up a bit he was easily able to move it further into the garden to make the walk shorter as he progressed through the garden. Soon after some time and a good bit of effort, the garden had been cleared of plenty of bugs and deadplants, having a mountain of deadplants in the wheelbarrow like a trophy. The boy laughed to himself, looking over his work.

WC: 901
TWC: 1155

 

[Tatsuo]

After a long period of work, the garden was already looking like it was never dirty. Whoever raised Yaboi, did it right. Out from the door came the old lady with a tray in her hands, a large pitcher an two tall glasses. "I don't think you ever told me your name, sonny." she said as she walked over, placing the tray on a small wooden bench in the yard. "Are you thirsty? I'd assume after all that work you would be." the elderly lady took a seat on the wooden bench. "You did a great job, usually it takes a couple of days to get rid of all that mess. Kids these days." she said shaking her head laughing. "Your generation really is a good one, so helpful to old people!"

"Come, come, drink! Take a little break I think you did most of the work already so if you want to head home that's fine. But at least try my lemonade before you go. It's a family recipe older than the both of us together!" she said joking as she poured two glasses with the pitcher. The sun had begun to go down, hues of red and purple painted the landscape in a beautiful scene. It was almost idyllic, a little kid and an old lady sharing a glass of lemonade after a days hard work.

 

[Kenroujima]

The boy sure could use a cold glass of lemonade after working on that garden and challenging himself. He'd turn to the old woman with a smile on his face "Thanks Obaasan. My name is Yaboi!" he proclaimed proudly. He quickly cleaned off his hands and rushed back over to take a filled glass of lemonade "Thanks again!". The boy took a few sips from the glass 'Hey. That's pretty good.' he thought to himself. "I live with Baba, so she taught me to respect my elders. I'm used to helping out the elders in my neighborhood." the child said in between sips from the glass of lemonade. He thought about how Kitsune was doing at home, he was sure she was fine since she did raise him but he could never be too sure. Age was nobodies friend after all. "I put all the tools away aswell, back where I found them." he said idly.

WC: 156
TWC: 1311

 

[Tatsuo]

The lady smiled and thanked Yaboi, "Ah thank you, Yaboi. You are quite a good young man, whoever raised you, raised you right." She said with a sigh as she sipped on her lemonade, looking over her now clean yard. "Do you mind if I tell you a quick story before you leave? I'd like to explain a little bit about the Will of Fire. You know what that is, right Yaboi?" she said leaning back in her chair. Something in the air changed, while she was still the same sweet old woman she was moments ago, there was a greater air of seriousness surrounding her. Her chair rocked back and forth, the creaks coming from the chair was the only noise interrupting their moment of silence. "Tell me what you think the Will of Fire is, before I start."

 

[Kenroujima]

Yaboi laughed quietly at the old woman's compliment of his upbringing. 'Kitsune will be happy to hear that, I'm sure.' the boy thought to himself, holding his smile as he listened to the old woman. As the air changed around them into a change of seriousness Yaboi grew still. He was calm, and at the back of his mind he knew that this story and conversation was going to be a serious one at any rate. 'Will of Fire.' he repeated in his head as the old woman asked him what he thought it was. 'Protect the village and your people as your own right..? Like family. Or is she implying there is a deeper meaning?' the boy said in his mind, staring at his glass of lemonade 'This recipe was from many generations before her, so that would mean the Will of Fire is rather old too.'. The boy thought deeply about the old woman's words, was the village that important to him for him to truly protect it and everyone within it like his own? It was thanks to war that Yaboi hardly knew his parents, and thanks to it that his father had died. Yet, Yaboi knew from stories that his parents truly loved the village, it was the clear reason why his father died to protect the retreat of citizens who had got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time. The boy lifted his head, emitting his own air of seriousness around him as he spoke with and unbreakable confidence like steel "To me, its the will of our previous generations. To treat everyone in the village as if they were your own.".

WC: 280
TWC: 1591

 

[Tatsuo]

"That's part of it, yes." she said quietly, lowering her voice with a certain amount of reverence required for a conversation like this. "You were born on the coat tails of a terrible time to be raised, I think you're just a few years past the civil war, but the scars that injured the Fire Country are definitely still there. Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters all lost for a senseless war. However, the people who died, died to protect that Will of Fire. You're right, it is about treating everyone in the village as your own. But that is only a small part of it. My Will of Fire, is to protect your generation, to help train them so they can be strong so they can one day protect the generation coming. Take me for example, many of young criminals could kill me with ease. But I have lived a full life, i've raised three sons, had an excellent husband." She said with a nostalgic smile as she sipped from her lemonade once again. "My death would be nothing in comparison to the loss of such a bright soul such as yours. The loss of a life like yours pains me a hundred times more than that of my Husband, even some of my sons. They have lived for much longer than you. Some of my sons even have kids of their own, they've gotten a chance to show Will of Fire."

She shook her head and laughed a bit. "I'm sorry, thank you for listening to the rambles of an old woman. I didn't mean to talk so much." she stood up, taking the tray. "Before you go, would you like a cookie or two? They're chocolate chip, my son's favorite." she called out to him as she walked to the door, stopping at the door way to hear his response.

 

[Kenroujima]

'Ah.. Just like Baba after all.' Yaboi thought to himself as the old woman professed her meaning of the Will of Fire. The boy did not know that it could be interpreted in such a manner, yet it oddly made allot of sense to him. It was similar to his own and without a doubt the possibility that when Yaboi grew as old as she is that he too would believe in it the same way that she does. 'I wonder if dad thought the same way.' the child mulled over in his head, bringing the glass of lemonade up to his lips and partaking of the last bit of liquid the drink had to offer him. With a quiet exhale the boy wiped his mouth off on his forearm and placed the empty glass back on the platter as the old woman made her way to the door. When asked about cookies the boy paused for a moment 'Cookies are not exactly healthy.. But I don't think it will hurt to have one, I can head home and work it off anyway.'. "Yes, Obaasan. I'll have a cookie." he admitted with a small giggle and a happy smile.

The boy waited patiently for the cookie offering, once again looking over his work on the garden 'I can do better next time, y'know. I can go faster and be stronger with more training.' he said to himself under his breath. Yaboi had signed up for the student tournament only recently, he had a long way to go to catch up with his fellow classmates but he was prepared to do what was necessary to play catch up. The boy wanted to push himself harder and harder each and every day. He thought back to a class he had taken, the students who arrived on time had listened to instructions without thinking too much into it and had gotten poisoned. Yaboi was late and became a middleman for all the students to the teacher to pass the class. It was after that class that Yaboi really had to sit down and think about what the teacher had said and all the reactions the students had. 'I have to believe in what I think is right, being indecisive will lead to the failure of a shinobi.' the boy thought to himself as the old lady had brought out a tray of cookies 'A-Ah.. I said one..' he grumbled in his mind before shrugging. "Thank you!" he said politely, taking two cookies and quickly munching one down with a few bites "Mmmf.. Ish real good!" said the boy with a mouthful of cookie. Yaboi shook his head and quickly bowed "Ah, sorry. I have to head out now. Nice to meet you!" the boy said with a quick wave with his free hand.

The boy had begun walking home, not wanting to run and eat a cookie at the same time. He would take idle bites out of the delicious cookie every now and then as he'd pass by all the villagers on his way home. Upon coming into his house the cookie was finished and the boy inhaled a quick breathe of air "I'm home!" he hollered. Expecting the usual response the child brought his hands up to his ears to cover them. "You forgot your sandals at class again didn't you, Yaboi! Get in here, dinner is ready." was the response of his guardian; Hitsune, an old family friend to Yaboi's parents and caregiver to him after the war.

WC: 588
TWC: 2179

[Word Count and Post Count complete!]
[Exit thread]

 

[Tatsuo]

The old woman handed Yaboi a small bag with the cookies, stuffing another one even if the decided to be temperate. A simple gesture for helping her, as Yaboi ran off into the distance at only a speed youth could provide she grinned happily before sitting back on her porch and looking at her freshly weeded garden. It had been almost a year before it looked half as nice as this, she hoped that she would always be able to keep it so nice. But as she grew older it was harder and harder to maintain, but what she appreciated more than any garden was being able to teach the new generation. Especially about the Will of Fire. Today it was impossible to argue that it did not grow bright from her home on the outskirts of the village. As night began to wash over Konoha she stayed out for a little while to enjoy the cooling of the night. As she grew older she began to appreciate things like this more than her youth, she thought about many things. From Yaboi to her own sons, from her late husband to the war that plagued the land just years ago.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but something, something in the village was changing. The Will of Fire seemed to grow bright in this generation, it would lead to innovation and victories the Leaf had not experienced since days of old. As they say, sometimes the brightest phoenix is reformed from the blackest of ashes. And that was obviously true with this newest generation. Born from the fury, flames, and the pain of the Civil War they grew back ten fold. Ready to protect the village with all they had. Whether it was the wisdom only age could provide, or a mother's intuition she knew something was going to happen soon. Something that would interrupt this brief stint of peace that the village enjoyed. She prayed that her revelation was only an old woman's worrying, but the feeling in her gut could not be ignored. Yaboi and the other ninja of this generation would need these lessons if they were going to secure the future of Konoha. To secure the future of the Will of Fire.

After what felt like hours of just sitting in the dark contemplating the future, she sighed. A firefly flew past her landing on the arm of her chair and shone brightly. Despite the darkness covering everything around them that one source of light gave her hope. She knew no matter what would happen there would be people like Yaboi to fight back any darkness that encroached on the village much like the light bug right at her arm. She got up and not only did the old chair creak her bones did too. With age came less mobility and it was harder and harder to move around. In her youth she was quite the ninja, but as time went on she grew older and a new generation was there to protect the Will of Fire. Her children, her children's children and now even their children. It was time to pass on that torch to the younger generation, as she got weaker it used to scare her that she wouldn't be able to protect those who needed it, but as things went on that fear began to wash away under the realization that the newest generation was even stronger than the last. Someday to be strong enough to prevent anyone from worrying again. She shook her head and laughed, perhaps she was getting old. There would always be bad for good, but as long as the good guys won in the end things would continue to get better.

After a long drawn out sigh she called it a night and decided to call it a night. Closing her door she went into her house, turned off the lights and laid in bed. All these thoughts reinvigorated her, no matter how much it would hurt her tomorrow. She would work on her garden, Yaboi had done most of the hard work it wouldn't be hard for her to maintain most of it. She got a warm feeling inside her stomach as she thought of working in a garden again, when she was young she would do it even during war time she maintained a small garden so they could have fresh produce. Despite handing the Will of Fire to the next generation, it didn't mean she couldn't do her part. And if maintaining a garden, giving them lemonade and telling them stories was what she had to do. It's what she would do.