Life of a Salesman

[Yura]

"Did we really fight our way through an academy full of mildly sadistic children just to spend our first real mission babysitting a bunch of even younger, possibly even more sadistic, children?" Sadako groaned as she and Kazuma walked along one of the busier streets of Iwagakure. The clear blue sky and seasonal heat did not reflect her inner mood. Quite the opposite in fact.

The note had come this morning, delivered first thing to their shared apartment:

"Mr. Kazuma and Ms. Sadako,

A rather urgent request has been submitted by Lady Inoue, the charitable matriarch of one of Iwagakure's prominent merchant families. She has requested the assistance of a pair of youthful shinobi to entertain and monitor her young grandchildren while she tends to business on behalf of her husband just outside of the village. No imminent danger to the children is expected, but they have a history of running off. Report to her home at 1000 hours for further debrief."

"I mean, if they are so wealthy, why can't they just hire actual babysitters for this?" She knew the answer of course. They HAD hired babysitters. She and Kazuma were the hired help, if only temporary. It gave her a feeling that she didn't exactly know how to describe. She and Kazuma had grown up with little to nothing. Sure they had been fed, clothed and housed, but that was about it. Orphanages rarely had enough money to do more than that. And now, after clawing her way to the top bracket of her graduating class of the academy, she was about to spend her first official mission making sure children, who's clothes likely cost more money that everything that she had ever owned in her entire life, didn't wander off and hurt themselves.

"You're probably excited for this, aren't you?" She asked dryly.

[Amy]

Kazuma yawned, only half listening to Sadako rant about the mission as they walked along the street. He had not planned on being up early but the knock on their door had ruined his plans of sleeping in. So now, instead of getting some well-deserved shut eye, he was listening to his best friend and housemate complain about children. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to manage the mess as he hadn’t bothered to brush it before they left.

“They’re just kids, Sadako. I don’t think either of them are going to be sadistic.”

Popping a hard candy into his mouth, Kazuma shook his head. He knew why Sadako was actually frustrated. They had excelled in the academy, her way more than him, and they were starting their new genin career with what was likely the worst mission available. If there was a missing cat, Kazuma was positive that that’s what they would have been given instead. Anything that could be considered good or fun at their rank was going to go to any team with a member from a long line of shinobi. Poor little orphans didn’t get such kindness. Just like in the academy, they were going to have to work twice as hard to prove themselves to the village.

“Not sure excited is the right word, just not as much of a sourpuss as a certain someone else. Here,” he said. His hand shot up and before she could protest he had shoved a hard candy into her mouth. “Suck on this and sweeten up a bit or you’re gonna make the kids cry.”

Leaving her behind before she could hit him, Kazuma dashed up the steps to the large house that they had come to a stop in front of. Lady Inoue’s house was bigger than the entire orphanage they had grown up in along with dozens of other kids. Seemed a little unnecessary but, whatever. Kazuma rapped loudly and rapidly on the door before stepping back, pulling his hair into a bundle at the back of his head before tying a leather strip around it. Didn’t need any grubby little kid hands pulling his hair out.

[Yura]

Sadako recoiled at the sudden intrusion into her personal space and mouth. She had stopped walking and stared open-mouthed in shock, unsure of what to say or do, as Kazuma quickly moved himself out of her striking distance and the tiny candy that he had shoved into her mouth slowly started to dissolve. How dare he!

“You’re lucky it’s cherry!” She screamed at him as she regained control of her body and quickly ascended the stairs to meet her friend. “Don’t think I’m just going to let you get away with that.” She added more quietly as she met him on the top step, “Beating you senseless on our client's front step would be in poor taste, but we will definitely be discussing this later.”

Having recomposed herself, Sadako took the opportunity to gaze up at the estate while they waited. It was an expansive estate, easily 3 stories high and stretched out wide across the property. They had had to walk up a rather long well maintained path to approach the home with a small equally maintained pond a short distance from the path, and part of her was mildly surprised that there hadn’t been some form of security monitoring the exterior for approaching visitors.

Before she could closely examine much more, the door swung open. In the doorframe stood an older man in traditional servant's robes.

“Yes?” He asked, his voice surprisingly authoritative and direct given the single word he spoke. “We are rather busy at the moment so if you are selling something, we will have to decline.”

“Yes sir, we are here about Lady Inoue’s request.” Sadako replied, “The village sent us to watch her grandchildren while she is away on business.” She took the moment to examine the man more closely, noticing that his servant robes glimmered in the sunlight, suggesting a higher quality than she had initially expected.

“I see.” The man grumbled, “Well get on in here and I will fetch the Great Lady.”

He waved them on in, ushering them in through the foyer and into a somewhat formal sitting area just beyond it before abandoning them to track down his employer. “Well he’s a nice fellow, isn’t he.” Sadako muttered sarcastically. The room was well furnished, though not overly so. Much of the furniture was ornate, quite expensive looking, and the walls decorated with artwork of various sizes, explicitly placed to fit perfectly with their surroundings. “Everything in this room is tailored within an inch of its life.” she said absently, "I wonder how long she will make us wait."

[Amy]

Kazuma couldn’t keep his lip from picking up in mild disgust as they were led into the house, his teammate’s threat soon forgotten. They had discussions all the time which made Kazuma well-practiced in how to placate his friend, so he didn’t waste any more time thinking about it. Instead, he found himself wondering how many meals one of these gaudy items could have bought for the orphanage he grew up in. Not to mention that despite the fact they were there for a job the butler, who was also there for a job, seemed disgusted to even let them in the house. Like they were bringing down the value just by being there.

“Why, Sadako, are you judging our wonderful employer and her taste? Shame on you,” Kazuma said as he threw himself onto the biggest couch in the room. He emitted a loud groan as he wriggled himself deeper into the cushions. “They may be snooty rich people but this couch is more comfortable than my bed. Think they’ll let us take it as a bonus if the kiddies eat some vegetables?”

Kazuma had just closed his eyes to avoid seeing the look Sadako was sure to give him when the butler’s voice boomed through the room.

”Young man, just what do you think you are doing!? Get off of that!”

Kazuma shot to his feet, confusion drawing his brows together as he looked between the butler and Sadako. “I’m-” He started and stopped, finally settling on looking at Sadako.

“Do rich people not sit on their couches?” His voice was low and secretive but as the butler was no further away than Sadako was they both heard him equally well.

”Sit, yes. Lay, no.” He opened his mouth to further chastise Kazuma but was interrupted by the refined voice of an older woman.

“Leave them be, now. They’re not here to learn manners,” a woman's voice called from the hallway.

The butler glared at Kazuma once more before stepping aside for who could only be Lady Inoue and her two grandchildren. She was a short woman with black hair that was greying around the crown of her head and around the edges of her face. She was dressed smartly and had such a command of the atmosphere around her that Kazuma found himself bowing politely in greeting. He also found himself praying to the gods that Sadako would handle most of the talking. Behind the woman, also looking slightly subdued by her presence were their two young wards for the day. One boy who looked to be around seven or eight and a girl who couldn’t be older than five.

“I’m Kazuma and this is my teammate Sadako. What are your names?”

Kazuma directed his introduction at each of the three figures but directed his question at the two children only.

“That’s not how you’re supposed to formally introduce yourself,” the little girl chided him, her nose so high in the air it nearly pointed straight at the ceiling. "You do it like this.” The girl offered him an elaborate bow and her tiny voice chirped “My name is Higashi Nanako. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The girl then turned to her brother and glared at him with a look that Kazuma recognized all too well.

“My name is Higashi Yukiharu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her brother dutifully performed, offering his own elaborate bow.

“See,” the little girl huffed. “You’re supposed to use both of your names so that we may address you properly.”

Oh no, Kazuma thought to himself, his eyes shooting over to Sadako. Desperately trying to convey that she could not get them fired on their first mission.

[Yura]

Contrary to what Kazuma may have expected, Sadako didn't have much of a response to his random question. She was used to them by now and she was getting good at ignoring them. She herself remained standing, lest she accidentally scratch something and suddenly be on the hook for repaying these rich folk by any means necessary. The butlers booming voice suddenly breaking the silence, however, did get her attention. Spinning around to face the man, she looked over at her partner, gave him her trademark glare and then just placed a hand to her shaking head.

The arrival of the older woman, the presumed petitioner of their presence here, cause Sadako to straighten her back and present herself as best as she could. The woman had a justifiable air of importance around her and she was trailed by a pair of young children. Cringing slightly at Kazuma's inelegant introduction, Sadako was more put off by the children's robotic and rather rude response. The little girl's remarks made Sadako's left eye twitch for a moment and she could feeeeeel Kazuma staring at her, silently pleading with her not to murder the child. This was exactly the attitude that she had expected and yet confronting it still got a bit of a rise out of her. Still, she had had enough experiencing shoving down her anger and feelings in situations such as these. She took a deep breath to calm herself and rid her mind of all of the mean things she wanted to say. "I'm sure that's true, Lady Nanako, unfortunately some of us aren't lucky enough to have a family name to call our own." She said evenly, "I too lack a family name, so you may simply call me Sadako as my friend said. It is a pleasure to meet you all." She added a slight bow to her introduction. Rich people always liked it when people bowed to them.

The young girl opened her mouth as if to respond, only to be waved off and interrupted by her grandmother. "That's enough Nanako, it is not our job to ensure that others use proper etiquette." The elder woman said. Whether she had intended her words to be as dismissive towards the shinobi pair as they were to her own grandchildren was debatable, but it briefly elicited that twinge of annoyance that Sadako had felt moments before. It's not our fault that we weren't raised with a silver spoon in our mouths she thought to herself.

"Perhaps, Lady Inoue, you can give us some more detail as to why we are here?"

"It's simple really, my nanny for the children gave her notice last night and I find myself needing to travel out of the village today on business. I will likely be gone for the night and be back in the morning, and poor old Osamu cannot be expected to care for both the house and the children while I am gone."

"I could have managed, my Lady." The old man grumbled.

"Even so, you have your responsibilities while I am away, and now so do they." She replied gesturing towards the shinobi pair. Sadako was mildly surprised that the woman had replied so calmly to the servant man's interruption.

"So you just need us to keep an eye on the children, ma'am." Sadako clarified, suppressing her looming dread.

"I need you to keep them entertained and out of trouble. I do not expect you to continue their private lessons as their nanny usually would, but I would ask that you remain overnight to make sure that their needs are met. The village has assured me that you are equipped for this task, so I will trust in their judgement. The children know their schedules and my expectations of them and Osamu can get you whatever you need." Inoue explained. "Now unfortunately, I must be off if I am going to make it to my destination. Be good for your sitters children. I will be expecting a full report upon my return."

As the woman walked away, Sadako couldn't help but wonder about her final words. Would she be expecting a full report from her and Kazuma? Or were the children expected to be giving her a report on them? Either way, it would seem that for the next 24 hours they would all be stuck together. Let's just hope it goes by quick.

[Amy]

Kazuma swiveled his head intently between each person who spoke, with the full intent to give them his undivided attention. Unfortunately, he was so focused on looking serious and involved that he forgot to listen to anything anyone said. He instead found himself wondering how they were supposed to entertain the children, having assumed that they would just be…watching them. Sadako always told him how unamusing he was, so he was concerned that he would be rather disappointing to the children. He was really going to have to up his game if he wanted to be able to turn in a good report after the mission. How did you entertain children? Kazuma didn’t remember anyone trying to entertain him when he was younger. He had tried to get Sadako to entertain him but she mostly tried to hit him with things and he didn’t think these kids would find that as funny as he had.

“Oh,” he said suddenly, realizing that the lady of the house had left and the children were staring at him while he stared at Sadako. “Guess we’re on our own now, huh?” It seemed that the butler had taken his leave also, probably still annoyed that they were in the house and didn’t have to obey his rules. “So uh, what do you want to do?” Kazuma asked, choosing to look at Yukiharu instead of his sister who seemed a little mean.

“Uh…” was all Yukiharu managed to say before he turned to look at his sister for help but she only glared back at Yukiharu. Kazuma’s brows drew together as he scratched at his shoulder, turning to look at Sadako for help. These kids were weird and unhelpful. He had hoped Sadako would help but she only glared back at him, significantly more scary than Nanako. He shuddered, feeling sorry for future Yukiharu.

“Okay well then, if no one else has any ideas I say we all go outside an-”

“Absolutely not,” Nanako interrupted, stomping her weak little foot on the carpet that muffled the sound completely.

Kazuma sighed, squatting down so that he could look the little monster in the eye. “Well then, Nanako, what would you like to do.”

“Lady Nanako.”

Blinking slowly, resisting the urge to push the little girl onto her bottom, Kazuma took a moment before responding.

“What would you like to do, Lady Nanako?”

“We’re going to go for a house tour and then we’re going to have tea. Then you may play outside.”

As she walked out the door, Yukiharu following sullenly behind, Kazuma stretched to his full light and walked the couple of steps over to Sadako and stood nose to nose with her.

“Then you may play outside she says,” he whispered, this time quietly enough that only Sadako could hear him. “I think she has a bigger attitude than you do.” Grinning quickly, Kazuma ducked and dashed out the door to where the kids were waiting for them. If he was already in trouble, he might as well make it double.

[Yura]

She had to give the girl some respect. Despite her age, Nanako deftly wielded the "rules" well enough to subvert her older brother's will and command control over the poor boy of little willpower. Did that attitude come from years of suffering under the overbearing nature of a rich matriarch? Perhaps, but it was still impressive. If only Kazuma was so easily broken…

"This is our classroom," Nanako announced as they rounded a corner into a wide open room. Two large desks sat in the center of the room with bookcases lining the walls around the perimeter of the room, each one packed to the max with variously colored/sized leather bound books, stacks of scrolls, and other items one would expect to find in one of the more high end research facilities of the village. Given how large the room was, it made for a lot of books. "Lady Chiyo, the nanny that just left our employ, would give us lessons in this room every day. Our grandmother insists that we get a good education so that we can join the family business when we are old enough."

Left our employ? Sadako thought to herself. The statement itself wasn't a question, the whole reason that they were here was because the nanny had left unexpectedly. But this girl had to be what, 7? At best? Yet she spoke more eloquently than some adults that Sadako knew. "Hopefully she would give you time for fun as well, Lady Nanako." Sadako commented as the group returned to the hallway. She noticed that the boy, Yukiharu, opened his mouth to comment, but he was quickly interrupted and overruled by this younger sister.

"Of course we have fun. Two half hour breaks to practice one the arts and another for exercise." Nanako replied as they continued down the hallway. As they walked, they were shown a sitting room, a grand dining space and the kitchens before stopping at the bottom of a grand staircase. "Our rooms are up there on the second floor, after dinner we each spend time in our rooms until it is time for bed. The top floor contains some guest quarters and our Grandmother's office." She explained all of this with a wide arching arm gesture. It truly was a large home, and unusual in its layout compared to your more typical family home there were doors that they had passed in the halls that clearly led somewhere that they were not shown, so there was definitely more to this house. "That will conclude our house tour, and now if you'll excuse me, I've been learning the harp for one of our assignments and I need to practice before Grandmother returns."

"C'mon Nanako," Yukiharu said aloud as the young girl started to ascend the steps, "We finally have a day off, no lessons, no nanny, no one to force us to study or anything like that. Why don't we go outside and play or something for once?"

Stopping partway up the staircase, Nanako stopped and turned to look at her brother. "Just because no one is here to force us, doesn't mean we shouldn't stick to our study schedules." She replied, her tone a tad biting. "If you would prefer to waste Grandmother's efforts by going outside to play instead of studying, then so be it. I will be in my room." With that, she turned and ascended the rest of the staircase, disappearing from view as she turned down a hallway.

Her brother looked sullen at her reply, her words clearly cutting deep. Sadako gave Kazuma a look, accompanied by a nod towards the boy that conveyed a meaning of 'this one's yours'. The kid clearly needed some cheering up and that was absolutely not Sadako's wheelhouse. Insufferable little girls though? It wasn't her preferred way to spend an evening, but at least she knew how to handle them. Sorta.

"I'll accompany Lady Nanako to her room and make sure she doesn't need anything." Sadako sighed as she started up the steps, "Kazuma, why don't you take Yukiharu outside for a bit while it's still light out?"

[Amy]

The longer he spent around this child the more he disliked her. Their house was nothing more than room after room of displays of money with no real personality anywhere to be found. No toys, no candid pictures, no signs of a happy family at all. Just weird large portraits that lined every hallway and room that no one was smiling in. They were creepy to look at, their dead eyes starting to follow you if you stared too long. Realizing he was falling behind after getting trapped by a particularly horrific one he ran to catch up. Yukiharu was trailing behind Sadako and his sister, his feet literally dragging trails in the carpet. Once he caught up, Kazuma dropped his arm around the kid's shoulders, feeling sorry for him.

“Guess you don’t share your sister's opinion on art and exercise being fun, eh?”

Yukiharu glanced up, a grimace on his face. “No. But don’t tell her that or she’ll throw a fit. I’m not allowed to have my own opinions.”

Kazuma sighed quietly. He knew a little bit of what Yukiharu was going through but he wasn’t handling it at all like Kazuma had. Sadako wasn’t as bad as Nanako but she had her own quirks, that was for sure. Instead of just bending to her will though, Kazuma had always been pretty unbothered by her tantrums. In fact, he found her tantrums pretty adorable and often antagonized her into them on purpose. A grin formed on his face at the same time a plan formed right in front of his eyes. He threw Sadako a quick thumbs up at her suggestion.

“Don’t gotta tell me twice. Let's go, Yuki!”

He dashed down the stairs, pulling Yuki behind him. The young boy objected but Kazuma didn’t bother listening. At least, not until he realized that he had taken several turns and seemed no closer to getting them outside.

“Maybe you should lead the way.”

Yukiharu sighed heavily and trudged along, leading them outside in barely any time at all.

“Don’t suppose you have any sports equipment? A ball or something? A stick?” Kazuma kept listing things but Yuki kept shaking his head. “Alright then. Guess we’ll jump right into it. You gonna let your sister bully you into not having a personality your whole life?”

Yuki visibly startled. Clearly, no one had ever spoken to him like that. “I don’t let her bully me…”

“I’ve been watching her bully you since I got here. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. She’s strong willed, I get it. But you gotta keep your own power too. Can’t let her have all of it.”

Yuki looked confused but interested. “How do I do that?

Kazuma grinned wickedly. “Which window is your sister’s?”

[Yura]

Sadako followed Nanako at a distance, up the stairs and down the hallway until they came to a solid wooden door. Without a word, the young girl pulled a small metal key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock of the door in one swift motion. With a twist of her wrist she unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing a rather large bedroom, larger than anything Sadako could ever imagine even sleeping in, with the bed in the center, a large oak desk in the corner, and plenty of room for other activities. An entire wall of the room was once again covered in a bookcase, filled to the brim with leatherbound books and near the window Sadako noticed a setup for the harp that she assumed Nanako had come here to practice.

"Your room is gorgeous, Lady Nanako." Sadako commented as she entered the room behind the girl. And she truly meant it. Each item of furniture seemed to be crafted with the finest of solid oak, likely decades old and passed down through the family with each individual item likely worth more than the amount she was about to make on this mission. It gave her the urge to reach up and touch the pendant around her neck, the only item that she had inherited from her past, but she did not do so; this prepubescent girl was likely to find a way to use it to insult her if she gave her the opening.

"Really?" Nanako replied, "A lot of the furniture used to belong to my grandmother apparently. I don't love all of the wood tone, but I don't get to choose I guess…" there was a bit of sadness and frustration in her tone with the end of that sentence, but Sadako was not about to ask about it. This girl had significantly more available to her than she had ever had, so she didn't really care if the girl didn't love the furniture provided for her.

"You're brother really seemed upset when you called him out for not taking his studies seriously." Sadako said, attempting to change the subject.

"Yes, well, that is because he hate's studying." Nanako replied as she moved towards the harp, settling herself into the seat along it. "He has never been the studious type, hates reading and always complains when our Grandmother insists on him being tutored in math and bookkeeping. He joined the academy a few months ago and claims he wants to be a shinobi now, but Grandmother has forbidden it. He's the heir to the business after all." The young girl plucked at a few of the strings of her harp, tuning it as she went until it produced the sound that she wanted. "He really doesn't seem to understand what is expected of him."

"Maybe he does understand but simply refuses to let his future be dictated by other people." Sadako responded as she moved across the room, positioning herself in the windowsill alongside the harp. She looked out the window and noticed that it had an expansive view of the rear property. An acre of flat land lined with sturdy fencing displayed itself in front of her, the inner edges of which were lined with various vegetation and foliage.

"Then he is a fool." Nanako said with a harumph. Without further comment she began plucking at the strings of her harp, quickly weaving into a coherent melody and putting an end to further discussion on the topic.

Taking the hint, Sadako gazed at the window as she listened to the girl play. With no frame of reference, she couldn't say whether or not the Nanako was playing correctly, but the melody that she played was pleasant to her ears. She was just starting to zone out when Sadako noticed two shapes emerge from the house and burst out into the backyard of the home, immediately recognizing them as Yuki and Kazuma. Part of her was relieved that Kazuma had managed to get the boy outside, clearly the kid had wanted to do something other than sit in the house and study, but the more she watched them interact the more suspicious of them she became. She knew Kazuma, and she knew his mannerisms. She could tell when he was up to something and when that something was less than appropriate. When he turned and started looking up at the house, clearly looking for something, Sadako could tell that he was looking for something specific and having known him so well, the only thing he would be looking for would be which room she and Nanako were in.

She didn't know what he was planning, but as she and him briefly made eye contact, she grabbed the drapes to either side of her and pulled them closed. She had a bad feeling about the mischievous look that she saw on Kazuma's face, causing her to make her way over to the door of the room and twist the lock shut. Please don't do anything stupid… she thought to herself.

[Amy]

“I really don’t think we should do anything to my sister,” Yuki said nervously, sweat visible on his pale skin. His hands wrung in front of him and his face was so pinched it looked like he was about to start crying.

“Why?” Kazuma demanded, watching Sadako close the curtain. As though that would stop him. He had suggested a dozen different ideas from soaking the girls with the hose to simply trying to give them a little scare. But the child had vehemently rejected each and every idea and for some reason seemed content to just…stand outside and do nothing. And Kazuma didn’t understand it. The boy didn’t seem shy or uninterested. He just seemed scared. Sadako sent them outdoors together so that the boy would cheer up but what was he supposed to say? Kazuma had dozens of reasons to be miserable but he simply chose not to act that way and find amusement where he could. Yuki seemed to prefer wallowing which really seemed like it was more up Sadako’s alley.

Lost in thought about what to do with the sullen boy, he finally spoke up. “Why did you become a ninja?”

Kazuma focused his gaze on the boy, his face void of any emotion other than confusion. “Didn’t really have a choice. It’s the only thing I could do.” It wasn’t entirely the truth but it was close enough. Kazuma could have tried to get a mentorship under a merchant or other businessman but with no familial connections it would have been nearly impossible. The academy didn’t care about him having a family. They needed disposable bodies and who better than an orphan with only one person to miss him. “That what you want to do? Become a ninja?” Yuki’s cheeks colored slightly, his eyes focused on the ground at his feet. A clear answer if Kazuma had ever seen one. He knew what he wanted to say but he also knew he had to be careful.

“You have every opportunity in the world. I guess your family knows what they want you to do already.” Yuki nodded softly. “Just do what you wanna do. No one can make you do anything, only make you feel that way.”

“But it’s hard…” Now he didn’t only look like he was going to cry, he sounded like it too.

The lighthearted look that had been on Kazuma’s face since he arrived at the mansion finally disappeared. He was pretty sure a part of him hated this kid. Imagine feeling sorry for yourself in this situation. Despite his best effort, his voice had lost some of its friendly tone also when he finally reeled his emotions in enough to speak. “A lot of things in life are hard, Yuki, and this is only the beginning. It’s gonna be a lot harder if you don’t learn to stand up for yourself.” Yuki swiped a couple of tears from his face.

“You probably think I am a coward.”

“I do, Kazuma boldly replied. “But I also think that there is no better time than now to change that. So, are we going to take action or pout out here until your grandma gets home?”


And suddenly, for the first time that day, a small sparkle appeared in Yuki’s eyes. “Well…I guess that one idea you had sounded fun…”

Twenty minutes later, Yuki had his arms wrapped tightly around Kazuma’s neck as the older boy scaled the outside of the house. The plan was simple. They had captured a few ladybugs from the garden, currently secured inside of Yuki’s small fists. They would knock on the window and then hide, waiting until Sadako got so frustrated she inevitably opened the window. Then, Kazuma would toss Yuki inside where he could release the bugs. It was one of his less destructive ideas but probably for the best. Not even he was fool enough to risk damage to the home.

“Get ready,” Kazuma whispered. “She’ll open it any moment now and then we’ll have to move quick.”

[Yura]

“Is there a reason you are locking us into my room?” Nanako asked aloud as she finished playing one of her practice pieces. Though she had been plucking away at her harp, her eyes had watched Sadako abruptly close the curtains and move to the entrance of the room to turn the lock shut.

“Just making sure that we’re not disturbed while you practice.” Sadako lied as she made her way back to the curtain drawn window. Nanako gave her a look of annoyance as she peek through the gap between the pair of fabric, her eyes darting around looking for the pair of boys that had just been within sight. Damn, she thought to herself. She couldn’t see them anywhere which only made her more concerned.

“I may be young, but even I can tell that that was a total lie Lady Sadako.” Nanako said with a bit of a huff. “I demand you tell me what is going on right now.”

Sadako rolled her eyes at the girls understandable yet bratty outburst before turning to face her. “Fine, I can’t see the boys out in the yard anymore and I’m pretty sure that means Kazuma has convinced your brother to do something…mischievous.” Sadako replied, “Probably a prank of some kind. And knowing Kazuma, it could range from something innocent for a few laughs to outright destruction so-“ just as she neared the end of her sentence, a few sharp taps came from the windows glass, causing her to pause. “Well that’s clearly a trap.” Sadako said aloud. With the curtains still drawn there was no way for her to see beyond them but she had a hunch that her teammate was somewhere on the other side of that window.

“Nonsense.” Nanako said as she moved towards the window, “It’s probably just a few little birds tapping on the glass, it happens sometimes when the sun hits the glass just right". As she raised her hand to pull aside the curtain, Sadako grabbed the girls hand and pulled her back. “What are you doing?!” The girl exclaimed, “I did not give you permission to touch me!”

Shhhhhh was Sadako’s response, “I am telling you, this is the boys playing some sort of prank, we hold an advantage by not opening the curtain or window and keeping quiet.” She added in a more whisper of a tone.

Another round of taps came from the window. “Oh this is absurd! My brother may be weak willed but he’s never pulled a prank in his life, I can’t imagine he’s going to start now!”

“Yeah, well, one of Kazuma’s many talents is convincing people to do things that they shouldn’t.” Sadako replied as she moved towards the window on the adjacent wall and throwing it open. “I’m going to go try and catch them in the act, you just stay here and whatever you do, do not open that window.” With that, she slipped out the window with an intent to round the corner and chastise the boys she assumed would be there.

Nanako, of course, wouldn’t heed Sadako’s warning. With a look of defiance and a stomp of her foot, she marched her way over to the window when the tap tap tap came again, confident that she would be proven correct. Throwing open the curtains and unlatching the window, she threw it open to let in the fresh air and the little birdies that she assumed would be there.

[Amy]

A child’s scream pierced the air right as Sadako appeared in front of Kazuma. A grin was plastered across his face as more screaming started happening through the open window he was standing in front of. “You did warn her not to open it didn’t you?” When Sadako sighed and nodded, he shrugged, the smile slipping from his face. He sat at the edge of the window, leaning against the frame so he could watch the ensuing chaos and make sure no one would get hurt. He motioned for Sadako to take a seat on the opposite side of the window but didn’t look up to see if she would take it.

“Why would you do that!?” Nanako screeched, tears trickling down her cheeks. “Get them out of here right now!”

“No! I’m sick of always doing what you want!”

Kazuma sighed, glad to be able to take a break from being what he would describe as charming. It was exhausting to try to be personable but he didn’t have the luxury that Sadako did. Not only was she always the smartest one around but she was also a girl. A cute girl. And cute girls were allowed to be mean for the most part. Nanako was the perfect example of that. She was still a tiny child but no one had ever stood up to her before. And worse than Sadako, Nanako was just a bully. A whiny bully. And Yuki just let her walk all over him and it would continue that way forever if no one did anything about it.

He glanced over at Sadako, seeing his own exhaustion mirrored on her face. There was no way they hadn’t been sent on this mission on purpose. Everyone else he talked to had been sent to local shops to help out or sent on escort missions around the village for visitors or something similar. And the one mission that required babysitting two spoiled brats in their expensive mansion full of expensive things had been given to the two orphans. A nice little reminder, he was sure, of what their options in life were.

“They’re just bugs, Nanako! You love ladybugs, you’ve said it bunches of times!”

“A bunch! A bunch! Not 'it bunches'! And I like them outside, not in my room!”

“You can’t even let me talk the way I want to!”

Kazuma shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He glanced at Sadako again and shrugged lightly.

“Maybe not my finest moment. But these kids really tick me off. Yuki asked me why I decided to become a ninja.” He scoffed lightly. “Did you enjoy your private concert from Lady Nanako at least?”

[Yura]

The scream told her all she needed to know. Clearly the girl, against her explicit warning, decided to open the damn window the moment she had left the room. As she rounded the corner, she found Kazuma grinning ear to ear while peering into the open window where the sound of the siblings screaming at each other flowed out. "You know I did," Sadako sighed in response to his initial question, "It was so clearly a trap." She should be mad at him, probably smack him upside the head like she normally would, but there was a part of her that felt like the girl deserved it, even if she was young and naïve. She had warned her, used logic and reason to explain exactly why she shouldn't open the window, and Nanako still decided to do what she wanted, disregarding Sadako's informed opinion. There was a level of pride and stubbornness and entitlement there and now she experiencing the consequences of her decisions.

As the screaming grew louder, Sadako decided to join him near the window and watch the chaos unfold. "It must be nice to be able to choose this life and not have it be your only option for survival." Sadako replied. Sure, every citizen had to do their time in the basics of the academy to get to the rank of genin, but people like Sadako and Kazuma, orphans with little to their name and no other way to reliably earn money for the essentials, rarely had the option to do anything else. They didn't have grandparents that ran successful merchant operations or family connections to get a high paying job. The only way they ate was if they earned and the most reliable way to ear was to fight. "And, considering her mouth was closed, the music was actually quite a pleasant experience."

The pair sat in silence watching the siblings continue to fight, both of them knowing that they should probably intervene yet neither motivated to actually do so. "I have to say, given your history this is a relatively tame prank for you." She stated, breaking the silence, "I'm not sure what I expected, but I can honestly say 'ladybug attack' was not on the list."

Suddenly, amongst all the arguing, there came several loud knocks at Nanako's bedroom door. "Young Masters!" came a call from the other side, causing Sadako to perk up. "Is everything alright in there?!"

"Shit…" Sadako said aloud. She had honestly forgotten about the old butler. It was only natural that he would come running when he heard the children screaming at each other especially considering that they had been left with two complete strangers to watch them. The last thing she and Kazuma needed was for these two little rich kids to tell him that Kazuma had encouraged Yuki to prank his sister and that Sadako had failed to stop it. It didn't make for good optics and they needed a good report from this mission to make sure that they didn't have to be sent on others like it.

"Osamu!" Nanako exclaimed, "It's just awful! Yukiharu ju-" Before she could finish, Sadako was already through the window and crossing the room, reaching Nanako and slapping her hand over the already traumatized girl's mouth.

"My apologies Osamu!" Sadako called out while Nanako struggled in her grasp, "I'm afraid we were playing a game and Lady Nanako is upset that she lost to her brother." At this, Nanako began fighting her harder, apparently angered more by the implication that she could lose to her brother than the fact that Sadako was currently keeping her quiet. "Keep quiet and I promise you can have your revenge." She whispered to her captive. This seemed to calm the girl, at least a little, though Sadako didn't trust her enough to remove her hand from the girl's mouth just yet.

"It sounded much more serious than that!" The old man replied. The rapid jiggling of the door handle signifying his desire to get in and Sadako was glad that she had had the foresight to lock it earlier, even if it had been for a different reason. "Open this door so that I may speak with the children myself!"

Well he's clearly mistrustful of us… she thought to herself. Then again, she was currently holding a child against her will with her hand acting as a muzzle so. Maybe the mistrust was deserved. Out of ideas, Sadako shot Kazuma a look, hoping against hope that he could find a way out of this that didn't involve them getting dismissed.

[Amy]

Kazuma was about to explain that Yuki had not liked any of his other ideas and so the ‘bugs in the room’ had been a last resort to get the kid to take any action but before he could there was loud knocking on the girl’s door. He shared a quick look with Sadako before they went into action. She ran to Lady Nanako and quickly silenced the girl with a hand over the mouth. Kazuma grinned as the little girl practically turned purple with rage. Yuki was about to open his mouth but having no idea what he was going to say to the butler, Kazuma shook his head forcefully at the boy. He was still upset and was likely to tell the butler about how it was “just a prank” and all hell would really break loose after that. A cold sweat pricked at the back of his neck at the thought of having to make a report explaining why he encouraged the young noble into such terrible behavior. His mind started to drift into wondering what horrific missions they would be forced into as a punishment. What was worse than this? Not even he could imagine such monstrosities.

Before he spiraled too far he caught Sadako’s gaze, her intentions clear. He tossed her a quick thumbs up in order to reassure her that he definitely had this under control. He moved in front of the trio, glancing from one to the next, an entirely blank expression on his face. But he was thinking hard about how to solve this. He had been pulling pranks on Sadako to make her laugh or get her mad since they were Nanako and Yuki’s ages. They always made up even when Sadako got mad though. His brows lowered as he tried to think faster, the butler demanding access to the children. And that’s when he figured it out. Kazuma squatted down in front of Yuki, laying a hand on his shoulder.

“Listen, bud,” he said in a whisper so the butler couldn’t hear him. “Sometimes, when you take chances you also have to accept the consequences. Prepare yourself.”

He then stood up and moved over to kneel in front of Nanako, his face holding as much respect as he could pull from his being. “Lady Nanako, I know that you are upset. I understand. But I know what will make you feel better.” The young girl calmed down a little more, listening carefully to what he had to say. Probably, in that moment, he was a lot less scary than the girl holding her captive and silent. “When I play pranks on Sadako there’s a rule. She gets one free hit as retaliation. Now, you have probably never hit anyone right?” She nodded as much as she could while still being held.

“That’s what I thought. I know it might seem harsh but, all that anger and hurt you feel right now? If you hit Yuki you’re going to feel better instantly. Do you want to try?” Nanako thought about it for a second before nodding. Kazuma breathed a heavy sigh of relief, glad he didn’t have to try any harder to cater to her. “Then you have to make the butler go away. Tell him everything is fine and you can get your hit in and then we’ll all clean up your room together. I counted every bug we caught so I’ll know when they’re all gone. Deal?” This time Nanako didn’t have to think before nodding enthusiastically. Kazuma motioned for Sadako to release her mouth and prayed that the girl wasn’t playing a fast one on them.

“All is fine, Osamu. I was just…overreacting. Yuki told me we could play again, though, so I could have another chance. Please leave us now.” There was silence outside the door for a moment before a heavy sigh sounded. The tired butler didn’t even bother replying before he shuffled off.

Nanko huffed loudly and turned towards the very concerned looking Yuki who remained shocked into silence. “Teach me how to hit him.”

Kazuma patted Yuki on the shoulder and stood by his side. “Don’t worry, you’re going to get a lesson too.” He winked at Sadako and tossed her another candy, the same kind from that morning. He knew he had it coming his way. “Cherry’s your favorite, right?”

[Yura]

Sadako caught the candy and looked from it to Kazuma as she slowly approached the boy. For a brief moment she met his gaze, silently staring him in the eyes with a blank expression as he grinned back at her. He knew what was coming. Without any ceremony, and knowing full well that the children were watching, Sadako wound her hand back and swiftly brought it forward, striking Kazuma across his right cheek with her open palm. By this point in their lives the boy would be used to the impact of her strike and it would likely barely react to it physically, but it was message it sent rather than the damage it did.

With her revenge taken Sadako turned from away from Kazuma and walked over to Nanako, crouching down to look the girl in the eyes. "First and foremost, you need good wrist control if you want to minimize any injury to yourself." She said as she took the girl's hand, positioning it with the arm slightly bent, the wrist straight and the palm open. "Now the key to a good slap is a nice fluid motion, with enough room for the arm to get some momentum, but a swift flick of the wrist just before impact to maximize it." As she spoke she maneuvered the girl's arm through a suggested motion, trying to get her used to the way in which she should strike.

"About how much force should I use?" Nanako asked. She seemed, rather unexpectedly, very captivated by the lesson she was being given and began performing practice swings in the air. For someone who had seemingly never struck someone before, she was picking up the motion of it rather nicely.

"Depends on how much he's pissed you off." Sadako replied, "I typically use a little less than everything I've got. That way he's always surprised when I hit him with the full thing." The younger girl just nodded in response and seemed entirely focused on practicing and perfecting her technique. To some degree Sadako was impressed by the girl's determination to get the perfect strike and a small part of her worried what kind of monster she was creating.

Turning to look at Yuki, she could see the look of dismay on his face and noticed that he had backed a few feet away from his initial positioning. "You really don't think you're going to get out of this without getting slapped, do you?" She said to the boy as she watched his eyes flick towards the window, "I can promise you the fall from this height will be worse than the temporary sting that a slap from your sister will bring. Now get over here and accept your fate."

With a look at Kazuma, who simply nodded in his direction, Yuki gave a great sigh and begrudgingly inched towards Sadako and his sister. The moment that he was within reach, Sadako reached out and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him in and holding him there so that he couldn't run away. "Alright, moment of truth. Are you ready?"

"No""Yes" The siblings spoke at the same time, one with dread and the other with a touch of glee.

"Alright, whenever you're ready." Sadako moved to give Nanako the room she would need, keeping a hand on Yuki's shoulder to ensure that the boy didn't move. As the girl wound her hand back, Sadako noticed the boy preemptively wince, unable to stop herself from silently judging him. It was just a slap after all, and from his sister. Nanako's strike came quickly, sharply moving through the air, but only connecting her fingertips with her brother's cheek resulting in a rather anti-climatic strike. You wouldn't know it from the way Yuki reacted, however. The boy gave a shout and brought his own hand to his face despite the fact that his sisters strike had barely connected.

"I think I messed up," Nanako said with a pout and an air of disappointment.

"What do you mean you messed up?!" Yuki exclaimed while holding his cheek, "You just hit me!"

"Oh calm down, she barely grazed you." Sadako replied, "If you're planning to be a shinobi, you better be prepared to take hits much more serious than that." It was pathetic really. One could argue that he was still young and therefore didn't deserve the rebuke that she gave him, but better he understood now than when he was in the midst of battle. If he couldn't take a slight hit from his sister, then he had no business becoming a shinobi.

"Alright now this time, I want you to give a little more follow through and make sure that you strike with the palm of your hand rather than your finger tips." Sadako said, turning back to Nanako.

"This time?!" Yuki cried, "You said she gets one hit and she did!"

Without warning, Sadako reached out and grabbed Yuki by the chin and pulled him in close, eliciting a yelp from the boy. "Listen up because I'm only going to say this once. You need to stop acting like the victim in this situation and accept your proper punishment or I'm going to be the one to administer it instead of her." Staring at her in stunned silence, Yuki simply nodded and seemingly accepted his fate. In the back of her mind, Sadako acknowledged that his had the potential to end poorly for she and Kazuma should either of the children inform their grandmother what had transpired here today, they were supposed to be 'watching' the children after all, but part of her really didn't care. "Alright Lady Nanako, make this one count[/color]."

With a nod, Nanako moved closer to her brother than she had the first time around and looked him straight in the eyes. She once again wound her arm back and this time, with a much more fluid motion, brought the palm of her hand cracking across Yuki's face with a sound that echoed throughout the room and sent the boy reeling to the side with a yelp. A grin was plastered across Nanako's face with a clear feeling of accomplishment.

"Well done!" Sadako exclaimed with a slight grin of her own, "That was much better, how did that feel?"

"I quite enjoyed it actually." Nanako replied, looking at her hand, "It was like playing a song perfectly for the first time. What a rush."

Deep down, Sadako was slightly worried that she had just created a monster, but that wasn't really her problem was it? After all she was just here for the day/night, after which the children would be someone else's problem. If that person had to deal with Nanako slapping her brother silly every time he pissed her off, that was on them. "Just be sure not to abuse this newfound power." Sadako said with a little bit of a chuckle "And, I believe that deserves a piece of candy." She added, looking at Kazuma before popping her own piece into her mouth.

[Amy]

Kazuma took advantage of the worryingly serious lesson Sadako was giving to rub his own cheek. It had taken years to get good at remaining neutral enough when she hit him so that he didn’t give her too much satisfaction but also so that she didn’t start hitting him harder. It was still worth it but Sadako was strong and sometimes he worried she was going to accidentally hurt him. He would never admit it but she was a much bigger motivation for training than anything else in his life. While Sadako scarred Yuki for life Kazuma tried to remember how many ladybugs they had caught. He hadn’t been entirely lying to Nanako when he said that he counted them. He did count them. He just…didn’t remember. It wasn’t a lot, he didn’t think. Maybe ten…or fifteen. Kazuma held up his fingers, trying to remember each one they found but they had both been catching them. It definitely wasn’t more than thirty…

Suddenly, Kazuma realized that the other three were all staring at him. Teary-eyed Yuki, satisfied looking Nanako, and Sadako who just stared at him expectantly. He stared back for a moment, his eyes wide and empty. “Oh, candy, right.” Kazuma dug into his pocket and let each of the kids pick a candy out of his hand. He observed them carefully for a moment and was surprised to see that there was already some effect showing. Yuki still had some tears in his eyes but he didn’t complain when his sister handed him her candy to open for her. Nanako didn’t demand Yuki open it for her and actually thanked him when he did and took the trash from him. Was it really that simple? For now, at least, Kazuma would take it.

“OK kiddos we only have about an hour before dinner so we gotta clean up this room in a hurry. Lady Nanako, if you don’t want to touch the bugs you can just point them out and one of us will grab them for you, ok?” The little girl nodded, a look of relief flooding over her face. And so, for the next hour, they hunted down as many of the lady bugs as they could. Once they hit fifteen and the bugs started getting harder to find Kazuma told everyone there were eighteen total so they were close. He prayed they were able to find three more bugs.

"I found the last one!” Lady Nanako’s proud voice sounded from the corner of the room. Her brother was right by her side and he swiftly scooped the bug up and tossed it out the window.

“Ok!” Kazuma practically shouted, throwing the door open. “Let’s head down to dinner. Double dessert tonight because of your hard work!” The two kids shared a look before exiting the room. As Sadako walked out he noticed two more bugs crawling on the walls. His eyes drifted to Sadako’s and he couldn’t help the grin that showed on his face. “I’m sure it will be fine,” he whispered to her before closing the door behind them.

Luckily, dinner was completely uneventful and the children didn’t mention any of the shenanigans that had gone on. Kazuma thoroughly enjoyed the fanciest meal he had ever eaten. He savored every single bite and drink knowing that he would never again taste such fine food. After dinner the children showed them to the room they would be sharing and retired to their respective rooms. Closing the door shut behind them, Kazuma wasted no time flopping onto the one large bed in the room.

"I’m so tired. This bed is so soft. I’m so full.” They just had to survive the morning and report to their grandmother. And, hopefully, it would be a much calmer morning that this afternoon had been.

[Yura]

Sadako noticed the same subtle changes in the children as Kazuma and actually viewed the pair as truly being siblings for the first time since they had arrived. Sure they had bickered as siblings often did, but here there was an undertone of love and acceptance between their actions and Sadako didn't fully understand, but recognized.

Joining in on the hunt for the ladybugs, Sadako moved quickly around the room, checking under bedsheets and behind curtains, at one point lifting Lady Nanako up so that she could bravely grab one from one of the many bookshelves and proceeding to shriek "GET IT OFF ME" as soon as she had it in her hand. Sadako silently cursed at Kazuma. Sure it was the 'tamest' of his pranks that he had done in a while, but the cleanup for this one was just as annoying. Still, the kids had seemed to make a game out of it, each keeping a tally to see who one (it was Nanako, of course). She locked eyes with Kazuma as she moved towards the exit, having noticed two more lady bugs crawling up the wall and matched his shrug with her own. Honestly, it wasn't really her problem. Hopefully by the time the pair of insects made themselves known to Nanako, the pair of shinobi would be long gone.

The dinner served that night was easily the most well prepared meals Sadako had ever had, a fact that she requested old Osamu communicate to whoever had been the one to prepare it. She took note of the fact that neither child had seemed to be phased by the quality of the food or the ceremony of its presentation and figure that this was probably just a regular weeknight dinner for them. They'd likely never had to survive on table scraps or gone without eating for a few days when food was nowhere to be found. Still, she couldn't resent them for it, at least not in the moment, as the pair expertly carried the conversation and made sure to tell the old butler how great of a day it had been with several lies.

With a stomach more than stuffed and well satiated, Sadako followed the children as they led the way to the guest room that she and Kazuma would be sharing. With some cordial goodbyes, and even a bow from each of the children, she and Kazuma were left to their own devices. Which of course meant that Kazuma immediately jumped onto the only bed in the room and starfished to take up as much of it as he possibly could.

"You'd have thought that in a house this big there would be more than just a single guest room so that we wouldn't have to share." Sadako said with a sigh as she removed her shoes and walked over to the bed and took a seat at the edge of it. It wasn't that she particularly minded sharing with Kazuma, it was far from the first time that they had had to share a room or even a bed out of necessity, it just felt like a subtle dig to the pair that they weren't worth dirtying two rooms for and that made Sadako a tad resentful. For people so vocal about proper manners and hospitality, they didn't seem to be extending it in that moment. Still, the bed was probably the biggest that she'd ever slept in, more than enough room for the pair, and judging by what it felt like just to sit on it she was sure that it was going to be one of, if not the most comfortable bed that she had ever slept in.

"I can honestly say that babysitting a couple rich kids isn't how I expected our day to go when we woke up this morning." She said aloud as she bought her legs up into a crosslegged position and turned toward Kazuma who was still spread out on the rest of the bed. "Having to be all proper all day and not just slapping both of those kids whenever their mouths opened was exhausting." She continued, starting to pick at her nails. She was only half kidding about the slapping. "I really don't think they grasp just how good they have it."

[Amy]

Kazuma sighed at Sadako’s words. She wasn’t wrong, that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that she was right and it was exhausting. The whole day had been a giant bummer of seeing how good some people had it. It wasn’t like they weren’t used to it. None of the other kids in the orphanage had been their age so their class was just them and everyone else. Everyone else who had a home to go back to. At least one parent waiting at home. They didn’t have older kids trying to steal their dinner or their blankets. Kazuma blinked heavily, his jaw clenching. There were a lot of things from their days in the orphanage that he didn’t like thinking about. He pulled his arms and legs in, freeing up more space for Sadako as she turned towards him.

"Yeah. They probably won’t even think about it after we leave tomorrow.” It was sad, but true. Sure, they had helped the kids get along just a little better but they were nothing in these people’s lives. They were just cheap hired help, backed by the village in case something went wrong. If they had broken something or stolen something all they would have to do is report it to the village to get reimbursed and his and Sadako’s lives would officially be over. He had to believe it wouldn’t always be this hard at least. If they could get strong they could earn some respect in the village. Go on better missions, higher paying missions. They might not ever have it good but…maybe it wouldn’t always have to be so hard.

Kazuma sat up slowly, a smile replacing the frown on his face. "I’m surprised they didn’t make us sleep outside. Or, sleep with the dogs maybe? I guess they were probably worried we would give them fleas.” He crawled closer to her, blowing into her hair slightly to tickle her scalp. "Funny, I think I see some fleas in there right now.”

He dodged away from her slap and laughed, smothering the sounds with his hand. "I can’t believe they let us eat at their dinner table. They gave us so much silverware I could have taken each bite with a different one and never ran out!” Kazuma continued on and on, saying the most ridiculous things that he could think of until Sadako finally relented and laughed. The day had sucked and he wanted to move on from it as fast as possible and get back to normal, boring lives. But he didn’t want Sadako to sit and stew all night. Once he had gotten his well deserved chuckle from her he slid under the sheets, holding the other side open for her to slide into.

Kazuma yawned loudly as he snuggled into the warmest, softest bed that he thought had ever existed. It didn’t take long for sleep to drag him down but he did manage to make one request of Sadako before he fell under completely. He knew it bothered her, but he was secretly glad there was only one bed in the room.

"I wanna be the little spoon tonight.”

~~~

Kazuma woke with a start, his eyes flying awake while he forced his body to hold still. His teeth were clenched together so tightly that he felt like he had to pry them apart. His eyes traveled slowly around the sun-rise brightened room memories of where they were slowly drifting back to him. It had just been a bad dream, after all. He couldn’t say that he found any comfort in the four walls that surrounded them but at least they weren’t back at the orphanage.

"Sadako?” He whispered. He didn’t want to wake her up if she was still asleep. When she didn’t respond his hand slid around under the covers until he found her hand and held it in his. He then closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep so that when she woke up, she would think she was up first. And, he held onto her hand the whole time, just in case she had a nightmare too, she wouldn’t feel alone.

[Yura]

Sadako’s eye twitched at the sensation of Kazuma’s breath on her scalp, prompting her to swing high and just barely miss catching him across the face with the back of her hand. She wasn’t surprised that he had dodged, he had gotten pretty good over the years at predicting her response to his shenanigans. Some might say that she needed to learn to respond without violence, but those people didn’t have Kazuma as a constant in their lives. Besides, she was pretty sure he found it endearing. She was going to have to learn some new moves to keep him on his toes. “You’re lucky I like you.” She said, glaring at her teammate as he giggled into the sheets, clearly satisfied with himself. She moved herself onto the bed proper, taking up the space that Kazuma had made and positioning herself in a sitting position with her back up against the headboard.

For the next half hour she endured Kazuma’s random ramblings and humor as every thought in his head poured out of his mouth. She knew that he was trying to distract her, this was typically what he did when she got hyper focused on a topic and he didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It was almost endearing in a way. She could tell that he was beginning to fall asleep as he sank deeper and deeper into the fluffy pillows and blankets. With a roll of her eyes at his ‘little spoon’ comment, she turned out the light and laid down next to him, just as the first snores erupted from his mouth.

———

Despite Kazuma’s best attempts, as soon as the lights were out and he had fallen asleep Sadako’s mind wandered back to the events of the day. She thought about every word spoken, every action taken, every reaction made. When they had first arrived that morning, she had had her expectations of what it was going to be like babysitting children of wealth, and so much of those expectation had been correct, but they had challenged her expectations as well. Yes the children were rude and they were entitled, but they weren’t bad people. Yuki and Nanako were products of their environment and upbringing just as she and Kazuma were a product of their own. At their age, it wasn’t their fault that they had been sheltered from the world and provided for in excess. If Yuki was serious about being a shinobi once the village mandated academy training was complete, he would be more exposed to the world, he would see how the other side lived and what they did to survive. If he truly did want to be a shinobi it meant he actually believed in the cause, that he actually wanted to help people. He wouldn’t be risking his life because he needed the money, like she and Kazuma. It was honorable really, worthy of at least some respect. Maybe she had misjudged them, or at least him. As she continued to ponder, sleep slowly took her.

———

Sadako woke with a gasp, her body lifting partially from the mattress. For a moment she forgot where she was, the events of the previous day slowly coming back to her as the first light of the day peeked through the window. She couldn’t remember what she had been dreaming about that and forced her awake, but whatever it was had left her heart hammering in her chest. Nightmares weren’t uncommon, and she didn’t always remember them. It was better that way sometimes. As she worked to slow her heart rate, an unexpected movement from beside her reminded her that she wasn’t alone in the room. She looked over to Kazuma’s still form, her eyes drifting to his hand resting on hers. She let it linger for a moment. She must not have been the only one having bad dreams despite their surroundings.

“Wake up, Kazuma.” She said, pulling her hand away from his and using it to jostle him awake, “It’s morning and the kids’ grandmother should be back soon.”

[Amy]

Kazuma stretched and pretended to yawn as Sadako urged him awake, hiding the fact that he had been the one waiting for her to wake up. When they were younger they shared their nightmares with each other a lot. But as they got older and the things they dreamed about started changing, they started keeping them to themselves. Occasionally, if it was really bad, one of them would share. But otherwise it was easier to just pretend they didn’t notice and try to help in other ways. Sadako would never ask him to hold her hand but every time he did it, she let him do it. He wished he could do more, but for now, this was what he had.

“Hopefully the kids are as good at lying to their grandmother as they are the butler.” The grandmother believing everything went well was way more important than whatever the butler thought. She was the one who would give the report on how their mission went. It wasn’t even thought that things had been a disaster. Sure, they had had a few…hiccups, but, what mission didn’t? No one got hurt at least. And they didn’t break anything.

After the two took some time to freshen up in the attached bathroom they headed back to the entry room where they had been told to meet the children in the morning. Both Yuki and Nanako were already waiting as they entered the room.

“Good morning, Yuki, Nanako.” Kazuma yawned, flopping down in a chair just as the two children stood up.

"We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes. Do you always sleep in so late?”

Kazuma groaned loudly before quickly cutting the sound off. But when he looked over at Nanako she actually had a small smile on her face. Kazuma’s brow drew low as he considered what seemed almost impossible - Nanako was teasing him. Her tone of voice was off the mark for sure, just as biting as it had been the day before. But that little smile….Kazuma shook his head and smiled back at her.

“Only after an intense ladybug hunt.”

Yuki giggled, smiling at his sister who smiled back at him.

Kazuma looked over at Sadako, his eyes wide. Before either of them could remark on the sudden friendliness between the children, someone beat them to it.

“Are my grandchildren laughing instead of fighting?”

“Welcome home, Grandmother.””Welcome home, Grandmother.”

The children spoke at the exact same time and though their voices were completely respectful, it was clear they were happy their grandmother was home. After all, Kazuma thought to himself, she was the only family they had aside from each other.

“Did they give you much trouble? Kazuma glanced over at Sadako but she looked at him expectantly.

“No, ma’am. They were very well behaved.[/color]”

Their grandmother huffed but looked between Sadako and Kazuma with a kind glint in her eyes. “I’m afraid I can’t invite you two to stay for breakfast as I have a client coming over shortly. There is a waiter standing at the front door with a bag for you to take with you. I shall have someone run a report to the offices later this afternoon. Children, please see them out and thank them as well.”

As requested, the two children walked them to the door. Kazuma was not surprised when the children offered them respectable bows rather than hugs. There were no promises to see each other again or anything sentimental like that. It was very business-like.

But as the two orphans walked off towards home, praying for a good report, Kazuma glanced back at the house one time. And he smiled when he saw the two children watching from the window, waving.