Chapter 5: Mend

(Credits to the miraculous shann for the gorgeous cover art. Be sure to check out her instagram, @shannanigans_and_such! I have asked for permission to use this artwork, proof will be provided at the end of the blog)

Bonjour mes amis! Happy December! I seriously haven’t updated anther chapter of this fanfic since August, and for that I sincerely apologize. Sadly it’ll have to be like this for a bit longer since life just got in the way of my writing again, T-T

Due to some personal reasons, I might not be able to finish the next chapter of my AU till most likely late February/ Early March of 2019. Trust me, I’m just as depressed about this as well, T-T

Moving on, the Naruto song of the chapter is the beautiful third OP of the show, “Turning Sadness into Kindness”

(Kanashimi o Yasashisa ni) created by little by little!

Happy reading miraculers, dattebayo!

Word Count: 3495

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Edit: 12th feature! Thank you! :two_hearts:

***

Chapter 5: Mend

Wang Fu gently sipped the bittersweet tea given to him, tilting the cup with each unnoticeable slurp. Feeling nothing less than satisfied, he relaxed on top the wooden stool next to the plain kitchen island.

“Thank you for the tea, Tom. It’s quite delectable.” As if to prove his point, Fu drank another mouthful, finishing the remaining droplets.

After returning the empty cup to his old friend, Fu couldn’t help but ire the coziness and comfort of the place Tom calls home. His kitchen was simple yet clean. On the marble kitchen island was a golden brown basket full of fruit and a polished vase bursting with blooming buds.

A few feet away was a spruce wood bookshelf and beside that were some small grass green couches with plushy pillows and a coffee table.

The family bakery resided on the first floor of their mansion, and on the second story was the living space clustered with bits of furniture here and there. Above that were the bedrooms and the rooftop balcony.

So, this is where you’ve been living all these years, Tom. Not bad, not bad at all, Fu thought.

Tom wiped the sweat off his brow, but gave a tired, almost forced smile. “Your welcome, Lord Hokage.”

Fu rolled his eyes in amused irritation and threw his arms in the air in disbelief. “How many times do I have to keep telling people not to call me that? Is it really that hard?”

The baker chuckled. “It comes with the job.”

The Hokage sighed exasperatedly. “Alas you’re right, but it makes me feel so...old.” He shivered at the thought like the temperature had lowered to below freezing point. He wouldn’t accept the mere thought of him turning old.

“You are though.” His former student deadpanned as he grasped the delicate teapot and poured Fu more tea.

“Uh, no. I’m only 186. Kids these days, ugh. No respect for their elders,” Fu stated half-jokingly with a laugh. “Say, where did your daughter run off to?” He inquired, curious. Their home couldn’t possibly be that huge.

“Marinette? She should be upstairs, in her room, washing up. Why?” Tom replied, suspicious as to why his teacher would be asking about his daughter.

“I was just curious, it was as if she vanished into thin air. She has been keeping me company today you see.” The Hokage stood up from his seat and sauntered over to the nearby bookshelf layered with rows of dusty, thick novels and a few bronze picture frames.

Absentmindedly, he picked up one of the the pictures and ired the photograph’s subtle glow in the evening light; it must have been the most valuable object in their house.

The image depicted a young, beautiful woman in a traditional ceremonial gown from Suna with short hair the color of black pearls that were pinned up by pink cherry blossoms. She had ochre brown eyes drizzling with love and the warmest smile you could ever see on a person’s face.

“I hope she didn’t cause you too much trouble today, sir.” His student apologized, cleaning up the used glass cups and teacup plates.

“Not at all,” Fu said cheerily, “quite the opposite in fact. She has been nothing less but a great help today. Her mother must be proud of giving birth to such a wonderful daughter.”

He traced his thumbs over the woman’s face. She couldn’t have been much older than twenty at the time when the picture was taken.

Placing the photograph back, his hand gravitated to the picture beside it. The photo illustrated an exasperated, younger version of himself with a lopsided forehead protector and three teenagers; two boys and a girl.

One boy had jagged platinum hair and grey-colored eyes. The other boy was undoubtedly Tom when he was younger with his boyish face and chocolate brown hair. The sheepish girl separating the two had the same black-blue hair from the woman in the photo from earlier.

Bittersweet memories rushed to his brain like a flowing stream of his encounter with his team and the tragic path each of them followed. Teary-eyed, he returned the picture frame to its original place.

“Hm...” The baker furrowed his brows in suspicion. “Lord Hokage, tell me this. Why are you really here to see me today? I highly doubt it’s because you had a sudden urge to learn how to bake macaroons.”

Wang Fu tightened his grip on his cane. Confrontation wasn’t exactly his strong suit. He wiped away all signs of sadness and plastered a grin on his face.

“Can’t a teacher visit his former pupil?” He asked innocently. “I purely wished to see with my own two eyes that my old student was taking well enough care of himself and his daughter. After Sabine and Shion left us, and you cut away your shinobi ties, I grew worried about your state of mind.”

Tom narrowed his eyes, still remaining unconvinced.

Fu sighed at his failed attempt to lie. “I could never get anything you. You are right, I am also here for another just as important reason as your wellbeing. I hate to ask you this, but I need a favor.”

The caramel-haired man rolled his eyes, expecting as much from his former instructor. “Alright fine, what is it you need, sir? Another ferocious cat on the loose?”

He referenced his days as a young genin, barely surviving those kittens’ sharp as knife claws.

The Hokage rapped his wooden cane against the ground in amusement. “Hah, that brings me back but no. What I’m about to tell you must remain top secret; I think you very well understand what I mean, Tom.”

Though still skeptical, Tom nodded. Years of being a shinobi had engrained the laws of secrecy into his mind, reciting it would be like second nature to him even if he had left them. “I do, sir.”

“A few hours ago, a young boy was found drifting down the old stream a couple miles away from your residence. The unidentified boy was rescued and immediately taken for treatment at Konoha hospital.”

“What does this have anything to do with your favor, Master?” Tom inquired, unsure of what to make of the information.

“Ah, ah, ah. Patience my grasshopper. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my lessons already,” The Hokage smirked much to Tom’s chagrin. “Now as I was saying, I had the Elders look into it, and once they shared their findings, we discovered that there are no records of this boy at all. So we concluded that he must have come from a different village.”

It took very little time for Tom to process his teacher’s discovery. An unknown boy in the Hidden Leaf? Such a thing wasn’t uncommon, since many of the villages are currently at war with one another. The boy and his family could have been easily swept in the current of the uprising conflicts.

“Alright, so what do you need me for? Do you want me to track down his family or something? If so, you do that I’m not a Sensory type ninja right?” Tom said bluntly, feeling like his former sensei was wasting his time.

Fu laughed awkwardly, “Not exactly. The job you’re required to do is a bit more daunting. You see, while I’m having one of my top elite teams scour the lands for this boy’s family, I am going to need someone to take care of him until we can find them.” He subtly hinted at a certain burly baker.

One of Tom’s eyes twitched. “You’re not possibly thinking what I’m thinking of, right?” He asked with uncertainty.

“I think you know who I’m asking for Tom,” Fu replied. “So, what do you say? Will you take the job?”

“No.” The answer was immediate.

The Hokage sweat-dropped. He knew for a fact that Tom would at first reject the idea of watching over another kid, but all he needed was a bit of persuasion. However, he was definitely not expecting Tom to have the audacity to flat-out say no. To his former teacher no less.

“N-Now wait a second, I know it’s a bit strange and sudden for me to ask you to temporarily take care of another child considering you already have a lot on your plate, but I was hoping you would at least think about it-“

“What were you expecting me to say, Master?!” Tom yelled, slamming his fist onto the stone, making the porcelain vase of flowers rattle.

“That I would do it without a second thought? Do you really think that I’d sacrifice more than I already have for you and your orders? I don’t care if you already know this, but let me make it clear. I have a DAUGHTER to take care of and a bakery to run. I don’t have the spare time nor funds to take in some lost orphan!”

His sonorous shouts reverberated across the kitchen like a ferocious lion’s roar, making Fu jump.

“It’s only temporary Tom! He may still have family out there!” Fu tried to reason.

“And he may not! For all I know, thousands of other orphans around the shinobi world could be starving and without a place to call home, but my house is not an orphanage nor a charity,” the former shinobi said sternly. He took a deep breath to cool off his head and lowered his volume. “Now with all due respect my lord, if you have nothing more to say, I would appreciate it if you leave. Please.”

His voice cracked with hysteria. He was desperate to let this nightmare of an evening end, and to make everything the way it was before. Before his master appeared in front of his house out of nowhere.

A final attempt. Fu’s final chance. “Tom...All I wanted was-“

“Go.” The former shinobi’s eyes were ice cold yet brimming with tears. “You’ve said enough.”

And like dust, that chance vanished into smoke just like all the others.

Guilt-ridden, the Hokage hung his head in a low bow, not daring to look his former pupil in the eye.

A moment of silence drifted through the atmosphere. So tense a knife could slice through it so smoothly that the air itself would not realize that it had been cut.

“Very well,” Fu finally said somberly, arching his small frame back up. “Forgive me for wasting your time, I’ll take my leave now.”

He turned away from his old friend and trudged towards the exit; his cane clobbering against the ground like a endlessly ticking clock. Fu could feel his student’s gaze protruding his back as he walked closer and closer to the door.

Just as he slipped his sandals on, the voice of his soul whispered to try once more. Fu didn’t know why he even bothered. Haven’t all of these heart-stricken years taught him anything? No, they did, he just never seemed to learn his lesson.

His heart and mind weren’t one. His mind was rationally telling him to turn away, to acknowledge that at least he had tried. His mind wanted him to make the smart decision.

But, his heart just wouldn’t give in. His heart hasn’t given in not since Sabine left. Not since Shion left. Not since Tom left his forehead protector on his office desk. No, his heart would never give in. Not now, not ever.

Fu was determined from the start to mend his shattered relationship with his last remaining student. Not thinking twice about his final choice, Fu whirled around in a frenzy.

“Tom, wait! I-“

Before Tom could push his teacher out of his life again, a tumble of clunky noises bursted into a cacophony of sound from the adjacent room.

“Ouch...”

The two adults rushed to the other room, shocked to find the silhouette of a familiar girl with torn clothes and twin-tails.

“Marinette?” Fu queried, surprise evident on his face. He was certainly not expecting this development.

“Marinette!” Tom rushed over to her side, checking her head for any welts or bruises. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Papa. Sorry for scaring you.” The timid girl said meekly.

“Never mind that, what in the world were you doing in there?! Shouldn’t you be in your room?” Tom questioned.

Marinette lowered her head bashfully when she saw the Hokage standing behind her father. She twiddled her thumbs, unsure of what to say. To Fu, she looked like she was preparing herself for a massive scolding as if she were about to steal the last treat from the cookie jar without permission.

“I w-was going to,” the bluenette muttered. “But I overheard you both talking, and I wanted to know what was going on. And then I heard...” She gulped in nervousness. “Shouting.”

Tom glanced over to Fu in aggravation to which he turned away, whistling a merry tune like he was the innocent angel of the group.

“Papa, why were you and Lord Hokage yelling?”

The baker sighed in exasperation. He stroked his daughter’s head affectionately. “It’s nothing sweetheart, why don’t you-“

“Is it about the boy from today?” Her question threw him off. He didn’t expect his daughter to be so on point.

Fu secretly chuckled in the background at his pupil’s bewilderment. “What a clever one she is,” he murmured to himself.

“Papa, he has nowhere to go! When I found him, he was all alone! Can’t we help him!” Her genuine plea floored Tom, leaving him utterly speechless. Just what connection did his daughter have to this boy whom he just heard about?

Turning away from his daughter for a split-second, the former shinobi directed a fierce sharp glare at his old sensei. “Master...what exactly are you hiding from me?” His tone was dangerously low, holding murderous intent. If Fu involved his daughter in some sort of world-wide scandal, gods help him, Tom was gonna-

The bearded man bantered nervously, sensing Tom’s growing animosity. “Well...I may or may not forgot to mention that your daughter was the one who saved the drowning lad, hehe.”

The look on Tom’s face was so priceless that Fu might have laughed his head off if not for the fact that Tom was about to bite that head of his off.

“And you didn’t bother to tell me?!” Tom hollered, his voice raising his volumes by the second. “Now, my little girl won’t stop begging her heart out until I actually agree to let the boy stay!”

“I was counting on that fact you see Tom,” Fu revealed. “Your daughter’s quite the stubborn one.”

“Exactly! Which is why-“ A light tug at his frilly apron hindered his argument. Tom glanced down to find his daughter’s delicate fingers clutching at his kitchen garments.

“Please, can he stay here Papa? Pul-eese?” Her grip tightened, and her baby blue eyes seemed to sparkle all the brighter.

Cringing at the effort it took to stop himself from staring right back into her hypnotizing orbs, Tom released a defeated sigh.

“....Agh, very well,” he receded; his soul sobbed inside to bits. His daughter and his former master on the other hand, were both doing their own victory dances.

“Looks like we have finally come to an agreement,” Fu said slyly, earning himself a piercing glare. “Now, if it isn’t too much to ask, may I request another favor?”

With a roll of his eyes, Tom sighed for the millionth time. “Fine, what else is it that you need?”

“I want you to allow Marinette to attend Konoha Academy. I plan on sending Adrien there as well since the two youngsters both require an education if they are ever to become full-fledged citizens of Konoha,” Fu said, his voice full of sadistic glee.

“Say what?!”

***

Adrien gaped at the colossus building that Marinette called “her home” in iration.

With nothing with him but the clothes on his back (that the hospital was kind enough to donate to him), a small handbag full of the strangest objects he had ever seen that the Hokage had called “euros”, and his silver ring, Adrien felt exposed like he was naked underneath the presence of the gigantic structure.

He didn’t really understand much of what the kind, elderly man who had healed him yesterday told him. When the man had bursted into his hospital room at nearly midnight, clearly breathless.

His explanation for why he arrived so late at night and couldn’t wait till morning was a jumble of incoherent words. For the most part, Adrien didn’t understand a single word Fu was saying. To him, it seemed as though Fu was speaking in tongues or in some sort of alien language.

He managed to translate that Fu had found a place for him to stay until his biological family is found. While he was elated to discover that he wouldn’t be living on the streets, What the sandy-haired boy didn’t expect was for that new home to actually be his savior’s house.

So a few days after when he was at last discharged, Fu gave him the directions to follow to find his new home’s address.

His hands trembled, his nerves getting the better of him. Using his other hand, Adrien staunched the circulation of anxiety flowing through his body.

Why am I so nervous, he kept asking himself. Is it because I’m don’t know what to expect?

He knew he was was being ridiculous, but he just couldn’t help it. A nagging feeling kept him back whether it was out of fear or of anxiety, he didn’t know. It was as if something inside him was holding him back; a former habit of his that he couldn’t .

Damn his amnesia.

Gathering all of his remaining courage, he tentatively knocked on one of the wooden double-doors. With a slight creak of the silvery rusted door hinges, one of the doors opened unveiling a familiar face.

“Marinette,” his voice barely above a whisper.

Her cheeks enflamed to the color of roses. Her pretty sapphire orbs casted downward almost like she was...shy?

But it wasn’t for long till a beaming smile lit up her face making it glow like fireflies. “Hi Adrien, welcome to your new home.”

Adrien gulped at her warm greeting, taking in a massive breath of oxygen. Just as he was about to step through the door, a foot as large as a bear’s beat him to it. Raising his head, Adrien’s eyes met with a pair of dark chocolate eyes.

Startled, Adrien leaped backwards. The giant of a man came out of the shadows of the door frame and into the yellow sun.

“It’s good to finally meet you,” his voice was of a lighter tone than Adrien would have expected of a man of his size. “Adrien, I believe wasn’t it?”

“Yes sir.” Adrien felt the need to straighten his back like a soldier responding back to his commander.

The man slightly nodded in affirmation. “If you didn’t know already, I’m Marinette’s father. My name is Tom. I’ve been informed you’ll be staying with us for the time being till your birth family is found, is that correct?”

“Yes sir.” Adrien repeated, unsure of what to say. Rummaging through the pockets of his new pants, he dug out the wallet and held it out. “The man who told me to come here wanted me to give this to you.”

He would never say it straight to his face, but Marientte’s father was a bit intimidating to say the least. The way he spoke was as if he were an interrogator and Adrien were the perpetrator caught right in the midst of a crime.

“Fu?” Tom asked.

Skeptical, Tom cautiously let the blond drop the leather container into his hand. Just as he opened it, his eyes widened to the size of saucers. Glancing back and forth between Adrien and the money inside, his jaw dropped.

A nudge jabbed at Tom’s hip causing him to wince, causing him to snap out of his shock. “Papa,” came Marinette’s chiding voice. Her face was wrinkled in an adorable pout.

Tom sighed and threw his hands up in the air in mock surrender, “Alright, alright we’ll do it your way, my macaroon. Let’s go shopping.” He walked back inside of the house and came out with a tattered handbag.

“Shopping?” The idea was foreign to the golden-haired boy.

“Yes, we have to purchase some new clothes for the both of you since you’ll be going to school in a few days,” Tom replied, still eyeing the money while pondering how much money exactly did the Hokage make on a daily basis.

School?

“Yeah! Have you ever gone shopping before?” The raven-haired girl queried kindly.

Shaking his head, he was gently dragged by her hand toward the center marketplace.

Meanwhile in the background, Tom was counting the copious amount of earnings inside the wallet to no avail while wondering what the heck he was getting himself into.

***

Whew, another chapter done ;)

I’m sorry if this chapter seemed like filler since there wasn’t much action and plot, but mostly REALLY heavy dialogue between the ing roles. I wanted you guys to know exactly how Marinette’s and Adrien’s chance encounter went and how their intertwined lives change due to the presence of the other as they grow up. Yes there will be a huge time skip, spoilers haha.

But do not worry, in about two more chapters, the plot will FINALLY start to pick up. Yes, I know I’m keeping y’all on the dark for too long, but there will be light soon enough hehe :P

Until next time! Queen Out!

- :crown: PrettyQueen :crown:

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