Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

11. Intruder Alert

Konohamaru, Masumi and Tsuyoshi's son, has been giving me the evil eye all through dinner. He's glaring at me over the top of his massive blue scarf, as I quietly sip my tea at the still full table.

"Stop staring, Konohamaru." Tsuyoshi sighs as he starts piling dishes to be whisked away by Masumi.

"I don't see why we have to take her." He complains loudly. Well, that explains a lot.

"Because your grandfather asked us to. Yoko, try not to make so much of a mess." Tsuyoshi wipes the face of his youngest child, a bright-eyed little girl with powdered sugar all around her mouth and across her cheeks from her mochi.

"Well, why couldn't he pick someone else?" Konohamaru will not be silenced, and he keeps glaring at me, as if any of this was my idea.

"That's not a question we need to ask." Masumi says simply.

"Why not?" It sounds petulant, said with a pout.

"Because."

"Because what?"

"That's enough, Konohamaru, you're making our guest uncomfortable." Tsuyoshi scolds, noticing the almost violent shade of red I've turned.

"She's not a guest, she's an intruder!" Konohamaru shouts, and I want to cry. I take a deep breath, and have one more sip of my tea before setting my cup down firmly on the table.

"I get that you're frustrated, but I'm as opposed to this situation as you are. I didn't ask to be here, and if it were up to me I would just go home, but it's not, and I can't, so I guess we're both going to have to just get over it." My voice shakes a little, but other than that my words come out totally calm. Sometimes channeling my mother really is the best thing.

Konohamaru stares long and hard at me, and Masumi peers at me over the rim of her cup. Did I... Say too much? Then he flushes slightly, and ducks his head down.

"Apologise properly, Konohamaru." Tsuyoshi sighs.

"... I'm sorry." Konohamaru mumbles.

"How about you help Maya set out her futon." Masumi suggests, though there's no real choice in it.

Konohamaru slips slowly off his stool and shuffles upstairs, me following close on his heels.

He doesn't say a word to me the entire time, dragging the futon out of the cupboard and along behind him with a scowl. He dumps it, and the sheets, onto the floor in the middle of what probably used to be a storage room. Cardboard boxes have been shoved against all four of the walls and piled up high, leaving only a small space in the middle for me to sleep in.

"My parents are going to clean it out properly on their next day off." Is all Konohamaru says before stalking out, still sulking.

The pile of sheets looks pretty pitiful, and I stare down at it for a while. This is... Surreal. Just a few hours ago I was crawling out of my warm, comfy bed with bright sheets, ready for the summer fair. Now I'm in a strange world, all alone, owning nothing but some soiled old clothes in a sack.

I can't even bring myself to open the futon up before I start to cry, just sinking down onto the pile with a quiet sob and burying my face in my hands. I didn't think I had any tears left after today, but now they won't stop, and it's all I can do to keep quiet.

"Are you crying because Konohamaru won't help?" A soft voice asks, and my head jerks upright. Yoko stands in my doorway, fingers twisting nervously in the fabric of her kimono.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come up." I sniff, scrubbing hard at my eyes. Yoko chews on her lower lip for a moment before padding over to me and wrapping her little arms around my shoulders.

"Konohamaru already has a sister," she tells me in a whisper, "so I don't think he wants another one. I think I would be upset if I had to have another brother because brothers are mean, but I've always wanted a big sister."

I can't fight back the sob, and it rips out of me as I bury my face in her chest and wrap my arms around her. 12 years old and relying on a little girl to comfort me, how sad is that? But that doesn't stop me crying and clinging to her like my world will collapse if I let go.

"Thank you..." It sounds awful, a snotty, gurgling gasp, but Yoko squeezes me tighter and stands strong.

"Do you want me to tell mama? She'll make Konohamaru help you."

"No, it's alright, Yoko, I'm not upset because Konohamaru didn't help." I explain.

"Then why were you crying?"

"Because I'm scared, and sad. I don't know when I'll be able to see my parents again, and I didn't get to say goodbye properly, because I didn't know any of this would be happening." Tears threaten again, and I bite down on the inside of my lip. I've done more than enough crying for one day.

"I think... I would be sad, if I couldn't see mama and papa again." Yoko says slowly, wrapping her head around it. You can tell she takes after her mother - she looks like she rolls every word around on her tongue before setting it free.

"Right. So you don't have to tell your mama, or your papa."

"Do you want me to help you put your futon out?" She asks.

"That's alright, I'll do it. Thank you for comforting me." Yoko nods and runs out, her soft feet barely sounding on the wooden floor.

I sigh heavily and force myself to stand up and step away from the futon. The world doesn't stop just because you do, as my mother always says. So I open up the futon and spread the sheets over it, making it as neat as possible. Something's not right though...

It's the boxes that give me the idea. They're mid-weight, and look like they're full of papers. Full of potential. I pick a corner far from the door and start dragging boxes into the middle of the room.

Once my futon is tucked neatly into the corner, I stack the boxes back along the bottom and the edge.

"There." I step back with a grin. It's not much, but it's a start.

Maybe I can make this work.