A Shinobi Approaches

When Shiro woke up he was not sure where he was at first.
Sitting up and observing the room and the bed he slowly remembered - and smiled.
Quickly he got out of bed, into the bathroom and finally to Kai.
Kai was reading and Shiro did not want to disturb him, so the boy snuck into the room silently, sitting on the floor where he could watch his chosen elder brother.

Kai had noticed Shiro, "I can see you" Kai lowered his book and took a look to the side.
"Good Morning. There's nothing good in the fridge or cupboards so we'll have to wait until we buy something." We're going to be heading into the village in one hour, so if you need or want to do anything, you need to do it now." Kai looked at Shrio and smiled.

"I didn't want to interrupt", Shiro shyly said and smiled.
"And I don't need anything, I can wait", he added.
He had eaten for several days straight, so he had probably had more food than he usually had for a whole month. There was nothing he would need. "Do you need to work today? I can help you, I won't cause trouble, I promise", Shiro almost begged to go with Kai where ever the elder went. He did not want to stay alone.

"We just need to buy some stuff..." Kai said, "and I apologize in advance but tommorow I'll be doing missions so you're going to be alone for a few hours."

Kai tried to plan the day in his head, it'd be best to buy the groceries first, then clothes and some drawers to put them in and then the bed at the end.

"Can't I come with you?", Shiro begged, he did not want to stay here alone.
As much as he liked Kai's home, he wanted to make sure Kai was alright.
Also, he was not sure if Kai would really come back to him...
What if something happened and Shiro could not help him?

"I'm sorry but you can't, but don't worry, I'll check in on you after every mission. I promise."
Kai took a look outside... "Come on we need to go and buy the groceries and you're going to have to help me carry them."

Shiro nodded and got up slowly.
He was already nervous although Kai said the missions would start tomorrow.
"What if those men find out where I am? What if they come here?", Shiro asked.
Kai had not told him yet what he had done to them, so Shiro thought they were still around.

"We're in a village full of Ninja, they dont know where we are and I'd say knowing them, they have probably got themselves killed, they'll be laying in a ditch somewhere. Kai was correct but this didn't give away what he had done.

"Alright first stop groceries..." It took an hour or so but Kai and Shiro returned with enough Groceries to last the week and after spending half an hour packing everything away... It was time to go and shop for clothes so Shiro had something to wear.

"Well we need some shoes, T-Shirts, trousers or shorts and underwear and socks... So let's get a move on!" Kai smiled, he was happy that he could take care of someone but he was scared at the same time... Responsibility was a scary thing.

"Underwear?!", Shiro asked, not sure if Kai was kidding.
Shiro had not been raised by anyone so he only knew what he had taught himself.
Even to a child it was obvious people were wearing clothes.
However, what a child did not see a child could not know.
"What's underwear?", Shiro asked, frowning.
Who would wear clothes beneath their clothes?
Wasn't that awfully hot?

Kai was stunned... "It's so it covers yourself... and it's not really that hot because its like a small cloth that covers your lower body..." Kai was bright red... it was a subject that was rarely taught...

"Just come on..." Kai dragged Shiro round shops and bought clothes that matched his size, they then went to pick up some drawers so they could put away the clothes. Kai took them back home and began to build the drawers... "Gah! These instructions dont make sense..." Kai was getting frustrated the instructions referred to pieces that wernt there or were missing. "So... How do you like your new clothes" as Kai made a breakthrough in building.

"I like them very much. Thank you for giving them to me. But... I still don't understand underwear. Why do you use it? Is it necessary? You... you don't see what it covers anyway, when you're dressed. That's what you have trousers for, right? And... when you take them off... then because you want to be naked. So you don't need underwear then, right?", Shiro mused, looking at the small pants Kai had bought him. This was really weird. But many things Shiro did not know seemed weird to him.

"It's complicated... You just wear them..." Kai sighed... He had finally finished building the drawers and set it into the corner of the room... He then began folding the newly bought clothes and placing them in different draws. "This one is for T-Shirts, this one for socks and underwear, this one for trousers and shorts and this is for anything else..."

Kai finally took a rest and laid down on his bed... they had to move again in an hour so they could buy and build the bed, and make something to eat.

"Shiro, can you get me a drink, pleeeaassseee, I'm too lazzzyyy" Kai chuckled.

Shiro put his clothes into the drawers the way Kai had told him but without folding them.
He was not used to owning more than what he wore.
When he was done the drawers were cramped and Shiro was proud.
Kai asked for a drink and the younger beamed at him.
"Of course", he said, taking of to the kitchen quickly.
A moment later he had come back. "Uhm... what do you want?", he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"A glass of water will do fine... In a minute we'll be heading out again..."
It was a busy day today but for Kai this was only the calm before the storm for tommorow he was going to do a lot of quick missions for a lot of quick cash.

He was glad though, Shiro would be happy drawing, but Kai did feel a little guilty leaving him alone but it'd be easier to keep him protected if he was kept inside the village. He just had to keep him occupied...

Shiro rushed to get Kai his water, bringing it back carefully as to not spill anything.
"Where will we go this time? What do we need?", Shiro asked, he had already forgotten about the bed.
Sitting next to Kai he leaned on his shoulder.
Shiro himself did not notice but although he was already fifteen years old, he was behaving rather infantile, maybe to catch up on his lost childhood, maybe because he did not know better.

Kai sighed, "Your bed, we still need to get it" Kai said, he looked at his water for a second before drinking it all... Kai exhaled loudly... It was refreshing... He held in it has hands at looked into the glass...

"Oh... yeah... the bed", Shiro mumbled, a little sad that he could not sleep next to Kai any longer.
"Where are we going to put it?", he asked, trying to find a reason not to buy a second bed.

"Well it's simple by placing it in that corner, we'll put the drawers next to it, move the lounger closer to the bookshelf and then it'll fit..." Kai got up and put his glass in the sink, it was a tiring day and he knew tommorow would be worse.

Kai and Shiro left to buy the bed and had already got back ad finished assembling it... It was time for the dinner and Kai called Shiro over, "You can help me with cooking and you'll learn how to do it in the process. Today we'll cook Pasta." After 30 of preparing and cooking the food it was ready and it smelled good...

Shiro helped Kai with anything he needed to do, even cooking though he did not have a clue what to do. He ate hungrily and felt very tired when they had finished eating. It had been an exhausting day, full of running around and seeing new things. He had to behave himself well at all times and did not have much time to take a break. Still, he wanted to spend as much time with Kai as possible, because tomorrow the elder would leave him, even though it was not for long. "Can we do something? I'm not tired yet. We can read", Shiro suggested. Well, he was not going to read, just stare at the pages, but he would sit close to Kai and feel his warmth and smell him. That was good enough for him.

"Whats wrong with your drawing pad?" Kai asked, Half serious, half joking... By having to spend a lot and severly denting his savings he had to be a little more stingy when it came to spending money... If it wasnt going to be used it wasnt going to be bought... Kai raised an eyebrow and looked at Shiro, waiting for a response.

Shiro blinked at him. Why did he ask that? Maybe Kai did not want to spend time with Shiro and wanted him to do something on his own? Or maybe he had not listened? Or misunderstood? Shiro was confused. "Nothing's wrong with it... I... just wanted to... sit down with you and... read", the boy replied, not sure if he had said something wrong or not.

"Alright" Kai sighed... in his mind atleast he didn't want to appear as if he was being forced to do this... Kai got up to find the book he had been reading 'The tale of a gutsy ninja.'
"Chapter 1..." Kai began to read out loud so Shiro could hear the story too.

Shiro was surprised Kai was reading out to him. He had expected the elder to hand him a book and let him read by himself. It was fine like this, too, although they were not sitting next to each other. Soon Shiro was lost in the story and a little later he had fallen asleep to the sound of Kai's voice right where he sat.

Kai carried on reading out loud for half an hour before he realised Shiro had fallen asleep... Kai wasnt particularly pleased... He had bought him a bed for this very reason... Kai sighed and picked up the sleeping Shiro and placed him on his bed... Kai then turned out the lights, got changed and then went to bed. It was going to be a long day tommorow...

Shiro woke up twice this night, sinking back to sleep mumbling quietly.
He was upset about tomorrow.
When he woke up it was almost noon, his head hurt and Kai was not in his bed.
Was he already gone? Sleepily Shiro climbed onto the elders bed, curling up in his blanket.
He did not feel like getting up and looking for Kai only to find he was gone.