Dosu's Great Escape

Chapter Six: Revelation

The grocery store Kin picked was a pretty large one. Lots of aisles and plenty of different kinds of food. Inwardly she wished she could get some organic stuff, but that was too expensive. So she went for the cheaper kind of healthy.

"So what exactly are you buying?" asked Naruto, looking at the cart.

"Just some essentials," said Kin. "Beans, rice, that sort of thing."

"Why not instant ramen?" asked Naruto.

"Because instant ramen is instant," said Kin. Didn't this kid think of anything else? "It isn't as good as the real thing. Don't you cook any of your own meals?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why would I? There is no greater food than ramen."

"Okay, fine, but there's something to be said for variety," said Kin. "Seriously, eating just ramen isn't healthy. You need to vary what kinds of foods you eat, or you'll get malnourished."

"Mal-what?" asked Naruto.

"Stop pretending to be stupid, Naruto," said Kin. "You aren't as dumb as you pretend to be." No one as dumb as he appeared could outrun elite ANBU black ops.

"Oh come on," said Naruto with a smile, "just tell me."

Kin sighed. "It means you start starving to death." She looked past him at the wall. "Hey, could you get me that box of seasoning over there. No, not that one. The orange one." Naruto pulled it out and set it in the cart. "Thanks." She looked at what she'd gathered. "Okay, this should be enough for now."

"Why all the canned stuff?" asked Naruto.

Kin turned the cart around and began to make for the register. She was certain that Naruto was genuinely ignorant about some things. He was legitimately deficient in some areas, and also desperate for attention. But he picked up new skills quickly. "Well, sometimes we like to take these things to go so I can cook them in the field."

Naruto fell silent for a moment. "Hey, mind if I ask you something.

"Go ahead," said Kin.

"What happened to Dosu?" asked Naruto. "I mean, uh..."

"He caught a skin disease, and he didn't have the money to pay for treatment," said Kin. "It killed his parents, half-blinded him and ruined his appearance. That's why he always wears those bandages. He was noble. After that, he became a beggar."

"Geeze," said Naruto. "Didn't anyone try to help him?"

"Lord Orochimaru did," said Kin. "He treated him and offered to give him training as a shinobi. Zaku was the same starving on the streets before he was brought in."

"Wow, this Orochimaru guy sounds really nice," said Naruto.

He was probing, wasn't he? Kin laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Naruto.

"Trust me, he's really not," said Kin. "He helped us because in exchange we'd give him our loyalty and help him. It's a quid pro quo.

"He gave us a purpose, and we fulfill that purpose in exchange."

"Well, what happens once you fulfill it?" asked Naruto.

Keen, wasn't he. "He finds a new purpose for us, I guess. Come on, let's get these things to the front."

She approached the counter. The woman glared at Naruto as Kin set her groceries on the counter. She'd glared daggers at them when they first entered too, come to think of it. What had Naruto done to these people? "Hey, these are-"

"I refuse service." said the woman.

"Excuse me?" asked Kin.

"I have the right to refuse service." said the woman.