(Several years ago…)
Haru and Naru were walking through a substantially underprivileged town in silence, watching and observing the people, the evolution of the present day and comparing it to that of the past. They were out on their century based trip to the society to survey. The town was in an exceedingly deprived condition, the residences were worn down from seeing the sands of time, and the doors were practically non-existent.
The people were wearing rags as their clothing, those few who were rich enough were noticeably better than the rest. Children were begging here and there for food, but were refused as there was no food to be given. The few things sprawled on stalls and stands couldn't even be called food.
All in all, the town was ready to collapse anytime.
The clothing that Haru and Naru wore was the source of attention from the town's people, as they appeared to be rich. But no one had the guts to ask them as they appeared to be of noble heritage. Haru had a frown on his face as he observed the condition of the people, especially the children.
They walked through the town without any interruption to the outskirts of the town, with Haru's Shakujo jingling away. On their way to the surrounding forest, something bumped into Haru from behind followed by a small yelp and the sound of something hitting the floor as well as the sound of rapid footsteps.
Haru spun around to see who bumped into him and saw a cute little undernourished blonde girl, around the age of 5 with a loaf of bread clutched tightly in her small hands as she rubbed her sore behind. Haru and Naru had to prevent themselves from hugging the poor girl to death as she made adorable sounds and stood up with a pout.
"Sorry for bumping into you mister," the blonde girl apologized meekly.
"No problem child," Haru replied with a kind smile and ruffled her hair. "Why were you running anyway?"
Hearing the hasty footsteps and yelling approaching their location, the girl appeared alarmed and prepared herself to start off sprinting once more, but was blocked by Haru as he smiled at her kind-heartedly and concealed her behind his legs.
The shouting neared as the visage of a fuming male holding a large wooden stick appeared and approached the duo. The small girl tried to make herself invisible as she buried her head in the blond man's pants.
"Where is that little thief?" the fuming man asked as he treaded heavily towards them with unobstructed intention of harming the girl. Regarding the small girl hiding behind the tall blonde man, he sneered in anger "There you are, you little shit!"
"Is something the matter?" Haru inquired politely.
"Yes, hand over the girl now!"
"Why?"
"You ask why? She stole that bread from me!" the man shouted in anger.
"So does that justify your action of trying to harm her?"
"I have no time to waste with you, just hand over the girl" the man answered rudely and pointed at a shivering Rangiku.
"Here, take this cash." Haru said smoothly and offered the man a few notes "I believe it should be more than sufficient for the loaf of bread that she robbed from you."
He was tempted to ram the man's face in due to his arrogant behavior, but he didn't want the small girl to witness something that violent. The man nodded in approval and with one last glare at the small girl, stomped away.
"Thank you mister," the girl spoke merrily when she saw the man go away without hurting or taking the bread from her.
Haru just ruffled her hair in affection and smiled.
"What is your name, little one?" Naru asked with a kind smile as she knelt down to the girl's eye level.
"Rangiku," she declared cheerfully with a beaming grin on her face, while Haru and Naru smiled in affection. Who would want to hurt such a bright and adorable child? "What's yours?"
"My name is the Great Haru Uzumaki-sama and the lovely lady here is my wife, Naru."
"What kind of idiot introduces himself with 'Great Uzumaki Haru-sama'?" Rangiku asked with a snicker, causing Haru's eyes to twitch.
"Who's you call idiot, cheeky brat! I'm the Great Haru Uzumaki-sama, and no one calls me an idiot," Haru said as the little blonde stuck her tongue out.
"Idiot."
"Why you little…"
Naru giggled gently as she listened to the two bicker. It had been only a few minutes and yet they were bickering as if they were a father and his daughter. That was the kind of effect Haru had on people. No matter how cold someone may try to be, he would always wear their walls down with his comforting aura and cheerful attitude.
But what Haru was trying to do now and was apparently succeeding, was the fact that he wanted to make the girl forget what she had been through even if for a little while, but if she had anything to say about the fond look on Haru's face, she had a feeling they would be staying here for quite a while.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Haru shouted as he chased after the energetic blonde girl.
"Catch me if you can, stupid old man" Rangiku yelled cheerfully as she stuck her tongue out at the chasing tall blond, irritating him even more.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD, YOU BRAT?"
"All right, stop it both of you," Naru announced firmly as they came to a screeching halt, both wheezing from exhaustion. Haru was glaring daggers at the cheeky little blonde girl as she kept grinning at him with a victory sign.
"You're whipped." Rangiku snickered quietly as Haru glared even harder with a small blush, knowing it was true to some extent. Hey, he sometimes preferred to let Naru take charge but he was still an Uzumaki and Uzumaki's never ever let anyone dominate them!
"Haru, I believe we should be on our way."
The girl looked downtrodden when she heard that they were going to leave her alone. She had more entertainment with the funny man in a few minutes than she had in her entire life. She didn't have any friends since she was an orphan. These people didn't care if she was an orphan or if she was poor, the blonde man even paid for her bread and played with her.
"I think we can postpone our journey for a few hours," Haru responded with a smile and looked at the now beaming child.
He had seen her sad and depressed look when Naru mentioned their departure. While he knew they had to go, he couldn't possibly bring himself to leave such an innocent and cheerful child so downtrodden. Gazing at the small ball of energy, he smiled kindly, took a hold of her armpits and placed her on his shoulders as she giggled cheerfully.
"Why don't you show us where you live?"
Rangiku nodded enthusiastically and grabbed a hold of his hair as handholds to direct them to her house.
They walked all the way through the woods and out of town, Rangiku cheerfully telling them her life story while Haru and Naru listened with smiles on their faces. Coming to a stop in the middle of a small clearing, Haru and Naru looked around in confusion but found no house or anything remotely resembling a place of residence.
Only a huge tree in the middle of the clearing was the most noteworthy feature.
"Where is your house?" Haru questioned in puzzlement and gently let the girl down.
"Oh, actually it's not a house per se, but it's home for me " Rangiku said sheepishly and pointed to the huge tree, where a small hollow spot was visible. Haru tightened his fists so tight; blood was dripping from his palms.
A child so small and adorable living alone in a place like this all by herself! Witnessing events like these is what brought the undeniably heartrending memories of the hellish life he had endured when he had been a kid.
Well, he was not about to let another undergo what he had lived through while he lived. He reached for his black coat's pocket and produced a few apples and gave it to a wide eyed Rangiku. Seeing as he could create anything from nothing, fabricating a few fruits was nothing at all "Take this."
The girl's eyes were brimming with tears, her lips trembled as she was given the first gift of her life. She took the fruit with shaking hands and hugged the tall red haired man and blond woman.
"Naru, why don't you take Ran-chan to town and buy her something sweet. I have something to do." Haru offered gently, earning a loving smile from Naru as she nodded and walked away with a cheerful Rangiku in tow.
Seeing as they walked out of the woods, Haru turned around with a serious look on his face. Raising a hand, the soil in the middle of the clearing separated and a wooden two story Japanese house emerged on the surface, the ground in front of the house caved in and turned into a large fresh water pond with numerous fishes swimming around.
With a snap of his finger, a small lookout hut appeared above the huge tree with a wooden ladder reaching up to it.
Haru walked up to the front of the newly made house and entered the door with the insignia of a Whirlpool engraved on it. The house was decorated with beautiful wooden furniture here and there. It was enough for a small family as it had everything a family would need. A spacious Living Room, a master Bedroom, a medium Kitchen, and a Bathroom.
He ambled up the stairs to the master bedroom and walked in. The bed was made of red rose petals and moose with silky sheets. The room had a specialized bathroom attached to its right side, with a large walk in closet. The only thing left to do was to make clothes for the blonde ball of sunshine, as he was not about to let her wear those rags anymore.
Seeing as he had some time and his work was done, he walked out of the room towards the kitchen to prepare a large meal for the girl. He was going to turn that scrawny little girl into a healthy one in no time at all.
An hour later, he sensed the presence of Naru and the ball of energy known as Rangiku entered the woods.
He left the kitchen and walked up to the huge tree as he leaned on it blissfully, masking the house with a simple cloaking Genjutsu. Naru entered the clearing with Rangiku happily munching on a bar of pockey, no doubt made by Naru as there was no edible food in town.
"Hey idiot old man, look what big sister bought for me!" Rangiku yelled cheerfully and waved the box full of chocolate bars as Haru's eyebrow twitched in irritation.
"I told you to stop calling me that! Why are calling her big sister and not calling me big brother?" Haru complained.
"Because she is not an idiot." Rangiku deadpanned while Naru roared with laughter.
Haru was left sulking in a corner with a visible rain cloud above his head as he muttered something about "mean cheeky brat" and "no respect".
"All right Ran-chan, I have a surprise for you." Haru declared as he released the Genjutsu.
Rangiku's eyes bugged out of her eye sockets as she beheld the beautiful sight of the house and the blue shining surface of the large fond with tears welling up in her eyes. She ran forward and enveloped Haru and Naru in a tight hug, thanking them over and over.
Her childish mind didn't even question how Haru was able to build something so big and beautiful in only a few minutes, too ecstatic and happy to finally have a real home and someone as kind and loving as friends. Haru and Naru smiled kindly at the small adorable girl and returned the hug with equal warmth and love. "All right, enough of this mushy stuff! Let's go inside as I have another surprise for my little Ran-chan."
Rangiku let out a gleeful shout and dashed to the house.