Chapter 32: Chapter 32: The Red Panda
"Hmm…" a spiky white haired man bent over the glass counter, pondering over the choice between the various assortments of sweets and dairy deliciousness that had been presented before him for viewing. Beyond the counter stood a portly man with an annoyed look and a blood pressure on a constant rise until it finally exploded and the fat man spoke kindly, "Dear customer, do you need some help choosing?"
The white haired man looked up and smiled through his face mask, "Oh I'm sorry. It's just that I am visiting… a friend and I just don't know what to get him." The portly man gave his fakest smile while offering his "Kind" suggestions, "Well how about our best selling Coffee cake? No? How about the Chocolate moose? No? Perhaps if you could share the occasion then I might offer an appropriate suggestion."
The white haired man could visibly see the man's blood starting to boil as he apologized once again, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I am just not that familiar with his tastes so I just don't know which to pick. All I know is that he is a regular here." At the mention of being his regular the portly man calmed down a bit, if it was for a regular then he could afford to endure this frustrating man that couldn't even choose which cake to buy for 20 minutes!
"Well, who is he? If he is a regular then I can help; I am very familiar with all my regulars!" the man smiled and the white haired man thanked him, "Thank you, he's a young kid named Shin Hirano."
Kakashi saw the other man go through a visible shift in expressions as he suddenly became serious and spoke in a light voice, "Please wait." The man took a chocolate cupcake from the display and put it in a small box, "I know that boy… He's been coming here since before he was born… I made the cake for his 1st birthday and every birthday after that…" he spoke with a small smile.
"The Hirano tried for years to have a child and just when everything seemed to fail, he was born… like a miracle and what a miracle he was! I have never seen a child with such talent in all my years!" he looked at the white haired man with a proud smile, "You may think I don't know what I'm talking about but I am nearly 60 years old! I've been running this shop for half my life! I've seen many famous geniuses of the village! I've even sold my cakes to the first Hokage and every Hokage ever since!" he spoke with a prideful smugness.
"I've seen many geniuses, Like the fourth Hokage, the white fang and the sannin! But that boy… there is something about that boy… I remember when his parents first brought him to me and I saw his eyes…" he seemed to get lost in a memory, "His eyes… they seemed to contain stars! I know many people say that about their kids but it was different… his eyes seemed to contain an intelligent recognition of everything around him!" He shook his head and proceeded to pack the box.
"No matter, I admire the boy's talent but I don't envy his fate. Just last year his mother died and I thought it would destroy him but then that Uchiha girl started dragging him around heheh… they made such a cute couple." He smiled before sighing again, "Such a pity…"
Kakashi listened to the man in silence, nodding at the end, "Yah…" Shin's story was even more tragic than his own, his entire family dead,his friend betrayed the village and he even had to kill his own best friend who was as close as a brother. Kakashi paid for the cupcake and was about to leave when the fat stuffed another box inside the bag, waving him off, "Tell him it was prepaid. I'm just delivering it."
Kakashi nodded and left the shop, making his way towards Shin's house. He had been requested by the Hokage to visit Shin and check up on him, he hoped that their similar circumstances would allow Shin to come out of his depression and instead try and find some new reason to live on.
Kakashi stood outside Shin's house and sighed, 'Am I really the best person for this?' nonetheless, he still rang the bell and waited. After a few seconds of wait he rang the bell once more, 'What would I even say to him?' he wondered as he heard footsteps from the inside.
The door handle turned and the door opened, revealing a young boy with pure black eyes and his hair containing streaks of white, tied behind his head in a small loose ponytail barely a few inches in length and wearing casual khaki pants and a loose full sleeve blue cotton shirt.
Kakashi just raised his hand that carried the bag and smiled behind his mask, "Hi, I hope you don't mind my unannounced visit. I brought cake." he saw the boy's eyes fade for a moment before regaining clarity as he spoke in a surprised tone, "What are you doing here… Kakashi?" Kakashi replied with a casual tone, "Just visiting, mind if I come in?"
The duo came inside and Kakashi sat in the lounge, avoiding the hissing cat as it smelled the dawg on him. Shin hushed Pineapple and brought two plates to the table, taking out the items inside. Kakashi passed the Patissier's message as he saw Shin halt for a second before putting the chocolate cupcake in front of Kakashi and taking the other one; it was a vanilla cake with a strawberry on top and Pineapple sat on the table next to Shin while keeping her sharp gaze on the white haired man, watching for any sudden movements..
The two ate in silence for a while and just as Kakashi got fed up with the silence and decided to break it, Shin spoke up, " Senpai, do you know the location where Fujio sensei was found?" Kakashi nodded in affirmative as Shin continued, "Can you take me there?" Kakashi pondered for a bit before replying, "Sure, how about tomorrow? I have something to do today." Shin nodded and the two spent a few more brief moments in silence before Kakashi left.
After leaving Shin's house, he reported to the Hokage who accepted his request to let Shin visit the place of Fujio's death. So Kakashi came to get Shin early morning the next day and the two traveled out of the village and to a location several miles east.
Shin knew they had arrived at the location when he saw clear signs of battle; the uneven ground, a byproduct of earth release, broken trees and the thing that attracted his attention the most… glass. There were shards of glass scattered across the battlefield, a result of powerful lightning coming into contact with the earth. And Just beyond the broken trees and the shards of glass, was a sense of devastation; a barren land that stretched 100 meters in every direction and at its center lay a pure shimmering light.
At the center of the field the earth was cracked as glass spread in the form of crystalline branches. Shin knelt down and gently touched the scorched earth, 'Final strike… why did you have to be so reckless sensei…'
As Shin was observing the battlefield, Kakashi was observing Shin. He had already been here and looked around, he was aware of his cusion's abilities but he didn't know the extent of their power. He was both surprised and proud but above all else he was simply regretful, wondering if he could have saved her if he had been here.
He looked at Shin and knew what he was doing, he had heard of Shin's prowess as a hunter and Shin was looking for clues. He also knew that his cousin had taught him her lightning style kenjutsu, she had told him that herself, so he was sure Shin would be able to piece together everything that happened here. 'I guess, that's why they tagged along.' he glanced at the trees surrounding them. There were men in cloaks and masks hidden all around them. The village had just suffered a great loss, the Hokage was adamant about making sure that he didn't lose another one of the prodigies.
As slow got up from his position, his eyes still glued to the ground, hidden from any onlookers and a good thing too as they had turned red. His mind however remained calm and his thoughts didn't wander, there was only one thing on his mind right now, 'Rejoice, Danzo… You just made number 1 on my list.'
Shin returned home and Kakashi went his own way. Pineapple had followed them along and was now tired and just wanted to rest on Shin's lap but the boy had other plans. He took out his spare scrolls and started to write. He had been casually trying to replicated fuinjutu seals in english but now he was adamant about succeeding. This would give him a massive edge as no one would be able to decipher his seal, essentially making them unbreakable.
Unknown to him, a pair of red and blue eyes were looking at him with complex emotion as Pineapple left the house in a hurry. By the time she returned, it was already late in the night and the first thing she saw was Shin still scribbling on the paper.
With a cute- I mean resolute look in her eyes, she went to Shin and pawed him while speaking in an anxious tone, "Meow! >w<" Shin looked at the cat and raised an eyebrow, "You want to show me something? Can't it wait, I'm a little busy right now." the response Shin got however was a "Meow! -_-" Shin sighed looking at the cat and nodded, "Alright, it better not be another dead mouse again!" he warned the cat who showed an offended expression.
Shin left a shadow clone to continue the work while he escaped the surveillance through the system 's observing skill to locate the spies and then escape through the underground. Shin appeared a few blocks away from his house and so did Pineapple who then proceeded to lead him towards a secluded place in the many mini forests inside Konoha.
Shin was led to a small clearing, he could see several stumps and speculated that this clearing was a recent result of someone practicing some jutsu but failed to see anything of interest. In the end he looked at Pineapple with an inquiring look as she slowly started to back away towards the trees, "Pineapple, what-" Shin's senses flared as he ducked his head in a hurry.
*Swish swish* two bamboo leaves cut through the air and barely missed him. It wasn't over however as he heard a rustle and a shadow flew up into the sky. Shin jumped away just in time to avoid a bamboo striking the ground with such force that nearly half a foot was buried inside and a shadow landed onto the bamboo shoot before standing on it, "Is this what you've brought me? Hardly seems worth my time!" the shadow spoke with a haughty confidence.
Shin was surprised when he saw the creature, he recognised it immediately and was even more surprised when he heard it speak. "A red…panda?" he asked in confusion.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
HermitOfLifeMount
HermitOfLifeMount This has been livin gin my head rent free for weeks now, It's time to pay up!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone