A Whole New World

There's always something strange about waking up in an unfamiliar setting, for Son'Rei this was no different. His eyes flickered open and a look of fear mixed with confusion quickly spread across his face, this was not a place he knew, Son'Rei would jump from where he had been laying and backing into the corner of the room. After a few seconds the boy realized he had been on a couch, he would slowly look around the rest of the room, it was not big nor was it decorated with much other than the couch he was on, a chair, and a table, though it was a lot cozier feeling than his former accommodations. The couch where he had been alone was ten times softer than the bed he had been sleeping on for the past 9 years, it was then that it all came flooding back to him, from him running away from home to finding the lady in the desert. 'The Lady!' Son'Rei thought as he remembered his last moments of consciousness, the small boy would attempt to quickly run to the window of the room and look out to get his first glimpse of the Village Hidden in the Sand, however what ended up happening was him tripping over himself crashing to the floor and rolling into the wall. This didn't discouraged the boy however, as he quickly jump back to his feet to look out the window paying no attention to the noise he had been making since he awoke.

Getting to the window his hope of seeing the village was quickly squashed by the fact that he couldn't see anything more than the street, though he learned he was on the second floor of the building. Son'Rei realized that the only way he would get a good view of the village was to figure out a way to get to the roof, after a few more seconds looking out the window Son'Rei would turn to begin looking for the door.

Ei had set the small boy snug down on the couch in her living room as soon as she returned home with his unconscious body, tucking him in with several warm blankets from her bedroom. She had set off to cook him a meal in the meanwhile. While she hadn’t done any cooking for maybe years, having instead prefered to live entirely on pre-made foods from the market, she couldn’t very well feed that to a child. After she cleaned her apartment up the best she could and removed all the trash, and organized her painting equipment to look neat, she would set to work on breaking out all her old cooking equipment. While she was rusty Ei still could remember how to cook, having memorized a variety of cookbooks years ago. This was one of those situations where a perfect memory came in handy. Although the next problem came that she had very little fresh supplies on hand. Unwilling to abandon Son’Rei in her home while she bought something fresh, Ei would settle on working with what she had. She settled on a delicious but simple curry with rice. She did have a variety of vegetables and spices stored away, most of which were fresh enough to use. As soon as the bubbling of the pot would begin a delicious smell would waft through her apartment, and a smile would curve across her cheeks. Even if she was fine with eating premade meals from the market, Son’Rei deserved better than that. She would have to start buying fresh vegetables and other things in order to prepare proper meals for him. He was a growing boy, after all. He would need plenty of food.

The sudden tripping and crashing of Son’Rei to the floor would immediately alert Ei, and she would turn away from her bubbling pot of curry. Rushing out into the living room she would be greeted by Son’Rei at the window, looking out towards the door.

“You’re awake already, Boy? … Ah, are you in a rush to leave already?” The woman would frown a bit as she saw where he was looking at. “I’ve just prepared a meal for you. You must be starving after your journey across the desert. Why don’t you sit down with me, and we enjoy ourselves together. Tell me all about your travels. Then, if you wish, I could show you around the village.

The sound of the woman's voice surprised the boy, much like it had in the desert. He had not thought of the lady being here, nor that she had been cooking. Son'Rei had been so distracted by his excitement of seeing the village that he had not even thought of his stomach, however now that the woman mentioned the food his brain registered the smell of the curry and rice, causing his stomach to growl in protest to him trying to leave. A profound smile crossed the boys face as he reached with one hand to scratch the back of his head, "well now that you mention it, I guess seeing the village can wait a while longer. There is no sense in wasting that delicious smelling food, though you didn't have to go through all this trouble just for me." Son'Rei would say as he walked over to the table and wait for the woman to join him.

"I'm afraid my story is not something all that interesting ma'am, for the better part of my life I have been ill or at least that's what they tell me. I don't really remember much from back then other than an uncomfortable bed and them never letting me do anything fun. When new came about the village, I snuck out in the middle of the night to find it. Thankfully I found you though, probably would have died if it had not been for you, you are like my guardian angel." The boy would be eating the entire time he spoke, speaking through a mouthful of food, the lack of proper manners or rather ignorance of them obvious to anyone except the boy. Scraping the bottom of the bowl for every last bit, Son'Rei would look to the woman. "May I have some more please, Ma'am?"

The smile on Son’Rei’s face would invoke a bright, warm smile on Ei. Seeing him light up on this brought a great warmth into her chest, as if she had done something truly important. She would lead him over to the kitchen without another word. There would be a small table in the room, only containing two chairs, and she would pull out a seat for the young boy. Soon after Ei would set the table, placing out a plate for him and generously filling it with both curry and rice. A glass of milk would be produced beside the plate as well, filled to the top. Children needed to drink milk, right? It was high in calcium and other vitamins. It was one of those things Ei always had tons of in her fridge, due to how much of it she drank herself. As Son’Rei began eating she would take a seat across from him, warmly watching him eat as she listened to his story.

Nothing made her happier than hearing the guardian angel comment. As soon as he asked for another helping she would generously fill his plate again. She had an entire pot of it after all, and so Son’Rei would be allowed to eat until he was completely full.

“Have as much as you want. Please. You deserve a full meal after all you went through. Eat until you’re full, and then some. Drink your milk too. It’ll help you grow strong.”

Hearing that he could eat as much as he wanted caused the boy's eyes to widen in shock and disbelief, it was as if the woman had prepared a feast just for the boy. He would waste no time stuffing his face with the delicious food and drinking the milk as the woman suggested. Son'Rei couldn't think of a time when he had been able to eat this much, the food at his former home being so scarce he was only give enough to sustain him. As he continued to scarf down bowl after bowl of the woman's cooking, it would appear as though he had been starved his whole life.

It wouldn't be until he had ate the entirety of the woman's cooking and finished his third glass of milk that the boy would speak again. Leaning back in the chair to ease some of the pressure on his stomach from all the food. "I really must thank you ma'am, that was some mighty good food, you are a magnificent cook. But I must to ask, that is if you don't mind, why are you being so kind to me? You saved me from the desert, you made me all of that delicious food, and yet I don't even know you're name. You have nothing to gain from me, as I have nothing. So why, what is in this for you?"

That he kept on eating and eating almost made her more concerned. When was the last time this child had eaten? Had it been days? She knew growing young boys ate a lot, but she really didn’t expect him to go through the entire pot like this. She was more than happy to keep on providing him with more until he couldn’t eat any longer though. Everytime he would finish his plate Ei would serve him more, and the same was true with the milk he drank. After the entire pot of curry was gone and three glasses of milk down he seemed to be appeased though, luckily for her. She was half convinced she would have to go back and do some more cooking, which she gladly would have, but that would have taken time to get things prepared. She wasn’t sure if she had the ingredients for anything else either.

“Ah? Why am I being so kind?” She would lean back in the chair she had sat down in, laughing a bit to herself at the question. “Is it not normal to show this sort of hospitality? Especially to a child found out alone in the desert, starving and exhausted? If not, I believe it should be. There’s nothing a sadder sight than a hungry child. Seeing you out there I couldn't help but want to take care of you.”

Speaking of, she would stand now, walking over to inspect the child a bit closer. Her hand would press down to his head, patting at him for a moment before she would stroke her fingers through his hair. “You need a bath. Would you mind staying a little longer, Son’Rei? I’ll draw you a warm bath, and wash the outfit you have while you bathe. I would offer you a spare, but unfortunately I don’t think I’d have anything that would fit you.” She would laugh a bit at that last bit.

The woman seemed to have this belief others deserved what she referred to as kindness, this would be an alien concept to the boy however who was taught that you can only rely on yourself and your abilities and everyone else was just baggage that would only weight you down. The fact that the woman believed a child deserved it more would also be more alien to the boy, for someone to be judged merely by their age rather than their skill was yet another strange concept for the boy. His clan held one's skill above everything else, especially age, forpA you have no measure of one's skill based by their age. This woman despite the alien concept of everything happening was exactly what the boy had been missing in his life, even though he did not know it yet.

The woman then stood walking towards him before pressing her hand to his head, he hand so cool to the touch it caused a chill down the boys spine. With his base temp beinàag that of 126°, the woman's q the desert, the boy did not understand why he liked this so much but it was as if an uncontrollable sensation of peace to wash over the boy taking away all of his cares and worries. He was brought out of this trance when the woman used a word he had not heard before, followed by another involving his clothes. "I don't mind staying ma'am, but you're gonna have to tell me what a bath is and what you mean to do with my clothes."

The boy’s hand was warm. It was a surprise. Ei’s body heat was so high naturally it was usually the opposite, that everyone felt cool against her skin, and her own body heat was so high that others were uncomfortable being around her. She was afraid for a second. Was this child okay? Did he need to see a doctor? Those thoughts faded quickly though when she recalled how her own body was unique in a similar way. Perhaps she had just found someone like herself? Even if the boy’s body was a good deal hotter than her own.

At his words her worries would be turned into a different kind, although at the same time she would nearly laugh. The questions were so ridiculous she almost couldn’t believe he was asking them, and the reaction she had of laughter was out of disbelief. It hard to believe. He was how old? She couldn’t really guess, but definitely old enough that he should know what bathing was, and how to wash himself. Was he capable of proper hygiene? Did he know how to brush his teeth and how to wipe himself when using the toilet? She would frown. She couldn’t imagine what sort of hell this child must have lived through. It wasn’t funny at all.

“A bath… A bath is… It’s when you fill a tub with warm water, and go into it without any clothing. You do it to clean yourself and wash any dirt off yourself, in the same way that you would wash dirty dishes, if you’re familiar with the process.” She hoped he was, or else she wouldn’t have any other way to make reference to the process. “I’ll do the same process to your clothing while you bathe, in order to ensure they’re nice and clean as well.”

Son'Rei would not pay any attention to the woman laughter at his question, simply maintainig the quizzical look upon his face until she answered. The woman's explanation of the bath was insightful, yet the boy still seemed unable to comprehend the point of it. "Do people clean themselves often, it seems with all the sand around everywhere you would need to live in this bath just to stay 'clean'. What is the point of that, when there is so much fun to be had. There's nothing wrong with dirt is there?" The whole time he spoke Son'Rei carried a tone of child-like understanding and his view on the matter seemed lacking that of an actual point. "They never had me take, what was the word 'bath?' at the compound. Course they never let me do much of anything for that matter, so I'm not really surprised. However if this is something you wish for me to do, I will do it though I will be dirty again as soon as I go outside. After all what harm could a little water do."

“Usually it’s done every second or third day or so. I understand how you must feel if you haven’t done it for your entire life, but it’s necessary for the health of the body. Without proper cleaning sickness could result, or other bad things.” Bad things like being a very stinky little boy. She hadn’t smelled him when she brought him back, but perhaps that was just because the scent of sand was so deeply embedded into him. But with the way he was sounding, there were a lot of things she would be busy having to teach him. “What about… brushing your teeth? Do you know what that is?” She would ask, a little bit afraid of the answer. She was going to have to teach him the basics of hygiene, it seemed.

“I have a spare, so don’t worry, but…” She would sigh, not sure exactly what to say. “How about… Tell me what you do know, instead of me asking what you don’t. Here. Come with me.” She would take the small child by the hand and lead him across the house now until they reached her bathroom. It was a meager little room, about what you would expect from an apartment, but it was still fully equipped with a bath, shower, sink, and toilet. All the necessities, along with a small closet for supplies and a medicine cabinet behind a mirror above the sink. Once inside the room she would pull Son’Rei in, and then gesture around.

“I pray that you at least know what a toilet is… But tell me how you would normally start your day, please? Just whatever routine you might have.”

The woman seemed to have a strange concern about this hygiene thing, though the boy had no idea as to why it was so important to her. He would follow her down the hallway as she took him by the hand and led him to another room,  it appeared that the woman had a separate room for her toilet and sink which was different for the boy who had been raised in a single room which had the toilet and sink in it.

"Yes ma'am I know what the toilet is, though my room held mine in the corner rather than a separate room for it. Your mirror is larger than mine and not broken, but my daily routine consists of using the toilet and then looking in the mirror and checking my teeth picking whatever out with my tongue if there was anything stuck in there from my dinner the night before. Get a drink from the sink and then I sit on my bed until the door is unlocked and they bring in my food. After breakfast it's straight to the training grounds for the rest of the day and then at sun down back it's back to the room for dinner and then sleep. Repeat."

Son'Rei spoke as if this was a normal occurrence for a life like this, though it was the reasoning behind why he wanted to be a Shinobi. He wanted to do more than just train all day long, he wanted adventure. "Do you think I will be able to speak to the Kage soon, it's important that I speak with him before it is too late and they find me." The woman would eventually agree to take Son'Rei to the Kage only after he had what she called a bath, it was a strange process for the boy sitting in a large amount of drinking water that had strange bubble in it and tasted very nasty. After sitting in in this strange bubble water for about an hour and a half the woman would re-enter the room and had a displeased look upon her face, "am I not doing this right?" The boy would ask as he recognized this look from the superiors at the compound when he did something they did not approve of. The woman would smile as she walked to the young boy in the tub and pull out a bottle of a liquid in his hair and began scrubbing it.

After a bit of time the boy was redressed and felt a feeling he had never felt before, clean. Even the boys hair had a shine to it rather than the full color he had always thought he had, once the woman was ready they would leave out from the apartment to meet with the Kazekage and be made an official Genin of the Hidden Sand Village.

{Exit Thread}

The realization that the boy had spent his entire life raised in what was essentially a prison cell horrified and disgusted her. Once he finished his description of his normal routine, Ei would kneel down and hug him, squeezing Son’Rei’s warm little form tightly for a few moments. She had to. He of course wouldn’t understand, but it was completely necessary, and after a few moments she would let him go and return to normal. Her expression had shifted downwards this time, clearly distraught about what he had told her.

“That’s…” She didn’t know what to say. Instead a great big sigh would just come out of her, and she would shake her head. “I’ll…” In addition to what she just heard, there was this business with the Kage. “I’ll take you to the Kage, or whatever needs to be done in order to sign you up as a Genin in Sunagakure officially. Don’t worry. Just…” She would push him to the bath, instructing him quickly on what he had to do. Once he had stripped she would collect his clothing, taking it off into another room in order to wash it all while he got to work in the bathtub.

While originally content to respect his privacy, when Son’Rei stayed in the bath for over an hour and a half, Ei was forced to return to check on him. Seeing that he had simply been sitting in the bubble bath motionless for this entire time, Ei saw that she had to intervene. With a sigh, Ei would get to work on washing his hair.


[Exit]