Yuji took Sasori to eat seafood ramen.
The shop owner tried to refuse payment. Yuji was a regular who had just returned from a long deployment, earned battlefield recognition, and been promoted to chunin. On top of that, it was Sasori's first time in the shop. The owner wanted to celebrate and waive the bill for both of them.
But Yuji talked him out of it with a few well-placed words, and the man accepted the money in the end.
He did give them a discount, though.
After eating, the two parted ways. Sasori planned to stay in the village for a while this time, not to rest, but to focus on his puppet research. The puppet core, specifically.
Walking home alone through the quiet streets, Yuji pulled up the system interface.
[Negative Experience Points: 3,268]
He smiled.
Six months in the Land of Grass had been productive. The body count far exceeded what he'd accumulated during the single month at the Amegakure border.
But the efficiency had been worse.
The two missions were fundamentally different in nature. In the Land of Grass, the majority of their time was spent moving, hiding, gathering intelligence, and planning. Even the actual ambushes required extensive preparation beforehand. The time spent fighting and killing was a small fraction of the deployment.
Harder work for slower returns.
He'd also noticed something else. As his own strength grew, the experience yield per kill shifted. Back when he was weaker, killing Amegakure shinobi gave solid returns. Now, even though the Konoha targets were objectively stronger than the Rain ninja had been, the points per kill had dropped.
The system scaled with relative difficulty, not absolute.
"The stronger the target compared to me, the more I earn," Yuji murmured. "Makes sense."
He shrugged it off. Even small gains stacked up over time. Profit was profit.
"Yuji."
A familiar voice called out as he turned a corner.
Pakura jogged over from the direction of his house. She'd gone looking for him and, finding him absent, had waited at the intersection instead.
"I heard you passed the chunin exam."
"That's right." Yuji grinned, tugging at the forehead protector hanging around his neck with exaggerated pride. "Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Don't get arrogant." Pakura's eyes betrayed a flicker of admiration, but her voice was stubborn. "I'll catch up to you."
Then she pulled a neatly wrapped gift box from behind her back.
"What's this?"
"It's for you. Congratulations on becoming a chunin." She coughed, her cheeks coloring slightly. "Don't misunderstand. I'm just celebrating as your friend. I happened to pass by a store yesterday and bought it. It was just... incidental..."
Before she could finish explaining, Yuji reached out and took it.
"Got it. Thank you." He smiled. "When you graduate from the academy and become a genin, I'll definitely prepare a big gift for you too."
He patted her hair.
"Who cares," Pakura muttered.
Yuji shook the box. "What's inside?"
He started to open it.
"Who opens a gift right in front of the person who gave it?!" Pakura snatched at his hands, her voice rising.
"Sorry, sorry. This is the first gift I've ever received from someone." Yuji scratched his head sheepishly.
"I didn't know what you liked anyway..." Pakura mumbled, looking away.
"It's fine. If you picked it out, I'm sure I'll like it."
Pakura's eyes went wide.
"..."
Yuji realized a beat too late that what he'd said sounded... off.
"I mean, when a younger sister buys something for her older brother, the older brother naturally..."
Pakura spun around and bolted before he could finish the sentence.
"..."
Yuji's mouth twitched. He shook his head and headed home.
He made it to his doorstep and stopped.
A woman was standing at his door. Shoulder-length sandy blonde hair. Gentle posture. A soft, easy smile.
She'd been waiting for him.
"You must be Yuji, right?"
She walked over, bent slightly at the waist with her hands on her knees, and asked warmly.
"And you are?"
"My name is Karura. Grandma Chiyo asked me to come and help clean your house. She was worried that a boy living alone might not keep things in order." Karura smiled. "Boys aren't always as meticulous as girls, after all."
Karura.
Gaara's mother.
Yuji kept his expression neutral, but he was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected to meet her like this. Since arriving in this world, he'd been quietly identifying the characters he recognized, but he couldn't be obvious about it. People like Sasori, Chiyo, and Rasa were easy to confirm through fame and distinct traits. Someone like Karura was harder to pin down from memory alone.
But here she was.
"Is this convenient for you?" Karura tilted her head. "If you'd rather not be disturbed, that's perfectly fine. I..."
She knew Yuji was an orphan. She was being careful.
"It's fine." Yuji waved his hand and opened the door, inviting her in.
Within minutes of conversation, his impression was confirmed. She was exactly as he remembered from the source material. Kind. Warm. The sort of person who made a room feel lighter just by being in it.
"Uh..." Yuji glanced around the apartment. It was a mess. He felt a twinge of embarrassment.
"Yuji, you're ten this year, right?" Karura asked, already moving to tidy up.
"Yeah."
"I have a younger brother named Yashamaru. He's two years older than you. If you don't mind, just call me big sister."
"Okay." Yuji laughed. "Yashamaru... I think Teacher Min mentioned him back at the academy."
"If you get the chance, you two should meet," Karura said, folding clothes and organizing scattered items with effortless efficiency.
The initial awkwardness faded quickly. Karura had a natural way of making conversation feel easy, and before long, the two were chatting comfortably.
While she worked, Yuji opened Pakura's gift.
Inside was a high-quality kunai, tied with a decorative ribbon.
He turned it over in his hands. He'd never use it in combat. But he'd carry it.
By the time Karura finished, the apartment looked like a different place. Everything organized. Every surface clean. Even the air seemed fresher.
"My house isn't far from here," Karura said as she prepared to leave. "I heard from Grandma Chiyo that you usually eat out. If it's not too much trouble, you're welcome to come by and try my cooking sometime."
She paused at the door.
"And starting today, we're acquainted. I'm eight years older than you, so I'm your big sister. If you ever need help with anything in daily life, just come find me. It'd also be a good chance for you to meet Yashamaru. He really looks up to you."
She kept it brief. Warm but not overbearing. Smart enough to know that pushing too hard on a first meeting would push the boy away.
"Okay," Yuji said.
"Then it's a promise." Karura held out her pinky.
Yuji linked his with hers.
He thanked her again and watched her leave, waving until she turned the corner.
...
Bonus @200