Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

29. Down, Up, Down, Down, Down

As soon as I make it home, I kick my sandals off in the doorway and debate just lying down here and not moving. Maybe then I won't have to go on the mission.

"Maya?" Asuma emerges from the kitchen, cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Hey, Asuma." I sound totally drained, even to my own ears. Asuma frowns.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"You look... tired."

"Gee, thanks."

"Seriously, Maya. Have you been getting enough sleep?" Before I have to answer that, Yoko runs out of the kitchen at high speed and tackles me, nearly knocking me down flat.

"Welcome home, Maya-chan!" She cries to my knees. What?

"Since when am I Maya-chan?" I laugh, picking her up under her arms and perching her on my hip.

"Ino-chan says that the best way to show someone you like them is to give them a cute nickname!"

"Wha- hey, Ino, stop teaching my niece weird things!" Asuma yells over his shoulder. Almost immediately, a pretty blond girl pokes her head around the door.

"It's not weird it's sweet and - oh! Is this her, Yoko-chan?" Her gaze is totally fixed on me, and I shift Yoko awkwardly in my arms.

"Yup! Maya-chan, this is Ino Yamanaka." Yoko introduces us, and I give her a little wave. Ino... Why does her name sound so familiar?

"Wow, it's nice to finally meet you, Maya-chan! Yoko's been telling us all about you."

"All good things, I hope." I laugh, setting Yoko down.

"Come sit, I'd love to chat."

"Sorry, but I can't. Squad 7 and I have a mission, and I need to get some things together." I keep my hand resting on Yoko's head.

"You're going away too, Maya-chan?" She looks up at me with big, teary eyes, and in that moment I really, truly, don't want to go. I kneel in front of her so we're eye to eye.

"Yeah, but only for a little while. We're just helping an old man get back home. It shouldn't take more than a week."

"I'll miss you."

"Come on, Yoko-chan, I've only been here for a few weeks."

"I'll still miss you!" Yoko protests, staring at me, resolute. I can't help but smile.

"I'll miss you too," I rest my forehead against hers, "but your uncle Asuma will be here, and you'll have Konohamaru."

"They can't cook eggs like you do..."

"So that's it," I lean back on my heels with a grin, "you'll miss my cooking, not me?" I tease.

"That's not true! I'll miss Maya!" She says it so seriously that I giggle, letting my head tilt to the side.

"I won't," I look up to see Konohamaru at the top of the stairs, "I wish you'd stay gone." He's glaring hard at me over the top of his scarf.

"Konohamaru..." Asuma sighs, running a hand through his hair. He's not quite as used to Konohamaru's hatred for me as Masumi and Tsuyoshi are.

"That's an awful thing to say!" Ino scolds him.

"It's alright. I'm used to it." I stand and stretch. Ino turns her glare on me.

"You shouldn't be used to it! You've got to stick up for yourself!"

"Even against a little kid?"

"I am not a little-"

"Especially against little kids. How else are they going to learn how to behave." Ino completely ignores Konohamaru's protests, continuing as though he's not even there.

"I guess you do have a point..." I admit.

"Of course I do." Ino folds her arms behind her head. What is with the people here and doing that? Is it really that comfy?

"Hey, what're you coming over here for?!" Konohamaru yells as I start to head towards the stairs.

"I need to get my stuff together?" I raise an eyebrow at him, and he flushes and runs off. I hear the door to his bedroom slam a moment later, and sigh.

"He'll warm up to you eventually," Asuma says, but it's half-hearted at best, "you don't know what you'll need, right? I'll give you a hand." He follows me up both sets of stairs to my bed/storage room.

"They still haven't cleared out these boxes, huh?" He chuckles, nudging one with his foot.

"No, but I've learned to live around them."

"Do you know what's in them?" He's still staring down at the boxes.

"Some." I admit.

"Been snooping?"

"Only in the open ones."

"Nothing important then."

"What's in them?"

"History." Something inside me pulls tight, and I whip around to glare at him.

"What is it with you jonin and being so goddamn cryptic?" I yell, eyes burning. Ugh... I lower my head and scrub hard at my eyes.

"Uh..." Asuma stares at me, wide-eyed, cigarette close to falling from his lips.

"Just- leave me alone." My voice catches, and I can feel the tears coming.

"Kids are such a hassle." Asuma sighs, but the next instant warm, strong arms wrap around my shoulders, and my head is tucked under a bearded chin.

"Wha-" I blink, but he hushes me.

"Sh, just listen," he murmurs, "I know this is hard, and it must be pretty scary, but Masumi and Tsuyoshi and I, even Kakashi, we're all here to take care of you. That's our job."

"I'm not upset-"

"No?" Asuma leans back and gives me an incredulous look, "you look pretty upset to me." It's true - my eyes are probably red and puffy already.

"I-" I have to bite my lip against the sob that rises. Asuma pulls me close again, one big hand cradling the back of my head.

"I'm not - great with kids." He says simply. No one here seems to be. I dig my fingers into his flak jacket and press my face tighter into his chest.

"Feeling better?" He asks as I hiccup myself into silence, stepping back and wiping my eyes on my sleeve. I nod, sniffing quietly.

"Good. I have something to give you - well, lend." He says, and reaches behind him. When he holds out his hand, a weird-looking knife rests across it.

"What is it?" I ask, gingerly picking it up.

"It's a chakra blade. You hold it like-" he guides my fingers through the holes in the hilt and closes my hand into a fist around it, "this."

"How do I use it?"

"If you had chakra control, you'd send it through the metal, but since you don't, just punch or stab or slice until you hit something."

"Why are you giving me a weapon?" I move away from him and swing the knife experimentally. It barely weighs a thing.

"I trust Kakashi and Squad 7 to take care of you, but I think you'll feel better if you have something to protect yourself with." Asuma watches me slice at the air, his eyes following the arc of the sharpened edge. 

"Are you sure it's okay for me to borrow this?" I ask. 

"I wouldn't have given it to you if it weren't. Now then, let's get you ready for your mission."

A/N: ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST! This will not be the end of it, since Maya's going to the Land of Waves, things are gonna get tough for her. In the wise words of Scar: 

BE PREPAAAAAAAAARED

Ta-ta~