Ｖｏｌｕｍｅ Ｏｎｅ
１／３
E/c eyes watched from afar, observing the small town and everything it had to offer. The smell of food was what lured the small child there, and it was the interesting people that prompted her to enter.
She looked for a sign first, wanting to know where she was. She only knew how to read a little, and she practiced her numbers every single day so she wouldn't forget.
Shukuba Town. That was where she was.
Not wishing to startle any of the locals, she set down the kanabou which she tirelessly carried with her. She wouldn't have to worry about thieves... but maybe she should leave a note to avoid any accidents.
The child retrieved a stick and scratched a message into the dirt with it, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Do nott touche. Fairy dangous.
Excellent. That'd be sufficient.
The child was dressed in tattered clothing, covered in dirt and what held the appearance and didn't metallic smell of dried blood from encounters with enemies or simple accidents.
The child wearing the clothes was just as dirty, twigs and leaves sticking from her h/c hair as she stuck to the alleyways.
Making her way through the town was easy, especially when she stayed in the shadows.
She knew better than to walk in the open street.
The disgusted stares were hurtful enough, she didn't want to be hit again for accidentally bumping into someone and dirtying their nice clothes.
Something to eat. That was all she was here for.
She had some money, not a lot, but maybe it'd be enough for her to buy something to eat.
...
Okay, maybe not.
The child had not spoken aloud to another person in a while. For the few months she spent wandering alone, she was far too scared to even think of approaching anyone.
She was beginning to wish she'd stayed in the shadows, especially as people began to look.
Her voice had come out a little raspy due to her having only just recovered from an illness she didn't know enough about to treat on her own. She just ate stuff in the forest till something made her better.
Or she killed off the virus with all that stuff she was eating, that was a possibility as well.
Either way, her voice startled the vendor and he screamed. Her appearance didn't help either and he must've assumed she was a wild animal.
"Scram! Get out of here!" the man snapped, grabbing a broom. The little girl flinched at the sight of the broom, immediately recalling the others times she hadn't moved fast enough to avoid being whacked.
She turned and fled in a hurry, running until she had left the town far behind her. It seemed as though she'd be spending another even having a conversation with her belly.
She retrieved her kanabou, giving the body of an unfortunate passerby a sad look. Was her warning not descriptive enough? She should've tried harder...
It was important that she got as far away from the town as possible before nightfall. After all, she didn't want to be caught of guard by any dangerous animals or shinobi.
After some wandering, she found a very big looking wall... no problem. She just had to go through it.
The child glanced at the kanabou she carried.
"It's like taking care of a dog, in an odd way. Feed it, love it, and take good care of it, and it will take good care of you in return, y/n. Remember that."
Y/n exhaled quietly, the little oni bringing the kanabou closer to whisper, "You were protecting yourself... right?"
No reply.
The little oni blinked back tears, "You're just trying to survive like me, right? That's why you... y'know."
No reply.
"I see." the oni glanced at the wall before turning away, "I can make a ladder. Trees is all we need."
Y/n gave the kanabou a quick pat before resting it against the wall. She inhaled deeply then grinned.
"Alright! Here I go!"
She did a few squats before running at a tree and slamming her body into it full force. The wood stood no chance, splintering and giving way as the oni took it to the ground as if she were tackling a person.
The branches and the leaves shook as the tree hit the earth but y/n perceived it as the tree shaking in fear.
"There, there, it's okay."
Maybe that tree was shaking in fear.
Either way, y/n had managed to convince herself that the tree was crying as she broke it up and used every last bit of it to make a ladder.
She made a grave for it and profusely apologized to the other trees in the area before putting together her ladder. Y/n rested it against the wall when it was finished and stepped on it a few times to make sure it wouldn't give way and break.
She climbed up, taking her kanabou with her, and sat in the very top of the wall to marvel at the village.
It was far bigger than the ones she was used to seeing.
It was very pretty as well.
Plus, there were so many different types of those chakra thingies her Father told her about.
Her belly rumbled and she rubbed it with a fitful, "I know, I know. I'll find food soon. Just wait."
She pulled the ladder up and over the wall, setting it down on the other side after a few minutes of fumbling with it, before clambering down on the other side of the wall.
Y/n landed lightly and hid her ladder amongst some bushes in someone's garden before setting off to find a place to sleep.
She settled for a pit of sand in the nearest playground, burrowing into it as she tried to get comfortable.
Eventually, she found herself laying in the sand pit with her horns peeking out of the sand and the handle of her kanabou poking out as well as she clung to it.
After a few minutes of trying to fall asleep but being unable to breathe, she settled for a spot beside a tree instead. There was a discarded blanket there too, so she used it to get comfy.
She thought of better times in order to help herself fall asleep, and kept herself going the next morning by recalling fond memories from those happy days.
As y/n was out searching for food, she found a chubby little kid around her age peacefully enjoying some potato chips. As she was hiding in the bushes, she concluded that he would be very comfy to hug.
She wasn't looking for a pillow at the moment so she'd be sure to memorize his unique chakra signature to find him another time for that purpose. For now...
The little boy flinched when a small hand with sharp nails emerged from the bushes, palm up as if asking for something.
The child gave the hand a wary stare, seemingly frightened, "Uhm... do you want something...?"
There was silence and a sudden rumble caused the little boy to jump, startled by the unexpected noise.
"F...Food." came y/n's voice.
Hoarse, of course. The noise seemed to scare the little boy even further but he forced down his fear and shakily placed a single potato chip into the hand.
It was after he withdrew that the hand disappeared into the bush again and there was the sound of the poor little potato chip being devoured.
After a moment, the hand emerged from the bush again with an almost timid, "Another, please."
The little boy glanced at his bag of chips and the two other bags he still had before he placed another chip into the outstretched hand.
This process repeated, the little boy offering food to the little girl who hid in the bushes, though he would eat the last chip in each bag. By the time he reached the final one, the hand no longer emerged from the bush.
It was quiet for a while before he asked, "H-Hello?"
"Yummy." y/n stated, "Thank you."
"Are you an animal?"
"No."
"So you're human then?"
"No, not really."
"Not really?"
Y/n lifted her head a little so her horns would peek out of the bushes, "Not many humans look like me. I'm an oni!"
"An Oni..." the little boy murmured, "Well, do you maybe have a name? Or is your name just Oni?"
"Y/n is my name. What's yours, Cuddle Boy?"
The boy tilted his head, "...Cuddle Boy?"
"You look cuddly."
"Oh, thank you!" the boy smiled warmly, "I'm Choji! It's very nice to meet you, y/n! Will you be here again?"
"Maybe."
"Well, I'll come back tomorrow to give you more potato chips!" Choji decided, "Sound good?"
Y/n was delighted by this, "Yes! Very good!"
She stuck her hand out of the bush and waved goodbye to the boy as he got up and hurried away.
She decided to make the bush her temporary home. The beetles living there didn't seem to mind the extra roommate so she would make that spot her new abode.
It took a few hours but she decided to venture out of her bush and observe this new environment.
What did it have to offer? How many new people would y/n meet? Would she be welcome here?
Well... the boy seemed nice enough.
No other way to find out than to see for herself.
As usual, she stuck to the alleyways and lingered in the shadows as she closely observed the locals.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, really.
They all had normal chakra signatures, though some folks had chakra stronger than others, and were leading pretty simple and relatively normal lives.
Besides, this village looked quite lovely.
If needed, she would leave.
But, there was no need for that at the moment, so she'd be sure to stick around to eat chips with Choji again.