Chapter Eleven: Sweet Home

The apartment complex was dull. It was mostly made of stone and was lucky enough to be painted over in bland colors. A staircase winded up all seven stories.

Raio looked at Anko, who had her hands on her hips. "I'm gonna be living here?"

"Yep." She nodded and breezed up the staircase.

Huh. He scratched his cheek and tilted his head back. There were windows of the individual rooms looking out at the village. It wasn't a bad location; there was a clear view of Hokage Rock, and it smelled like it was a short walk away from the restaurant and market sector of the village.

The warm sun on his skin was a feeling he thought he'd never get used to. He stared up at the apartment windows, and–

Oh? Someone was staring at him. Barely just peeking over the windowsill, Raio caught an unruly head of hair through the grime-tinted pane. Were those goggles over his forehead? Some sort of binoculars he wasn't using?

Upon making eye contact, the young boy dropped back into his room.

I hope that's not my roommate… With that, Raio followed Anko up the staircase. It was a secluded space, and he could hear if anyone was approaching or not. So he ran up it on his hands and feet. It was faster that way!

Up the stairs, until they cut off, Raio turned his head around the corner. Anko was little ways down the hall. With her hands in her pockets, she stood in front of a blue door.

"I hope this thing isn't locked," Anko huffed when he drew closer, "Ibiki didn't give me a key."

"This is my door, right?" Raio peered. She answered with a nod before turning the doorknob. With a hearty push, the door careened open with a bang. Raio flinched. He supposed it was a good thing that the door was second to last and not in the middle of all these rooms. Minimized the number of people they might've disturbed.

"Oops. Guess it wasn't locked," Putting her foot forward, she made like she was going to enter– before grandiosely gesturing to the doorframe. "You first, kid. This is your pad!"

The same light flutter took root in his stomach. He squeezed past her, nearly running in. What awaited him was a sight like no other.

A one-bedroom apartment. He found himself in the living room, first, though he supposed it was a living-kitchen room. The window was the only decoration in the room. For furniture, a plain wooden table with four chairs was pushed under it. A patchy circular carpet cushioned the floorboards under it. To its side were counters and cupboards, a fridge against the wall, and a gas stove.

"This is…" Raio took note before his head turned. There were two more doors. He bolted to the first one, nearly kicking it down.

Anko leisurely strolled after him.

The bedroom had a single twin-sized bed and a lonely nightstand next to it. There was a window in this room, too, with dusty curtains that had never been used before. The once-blue comforter had a patch where it had been bleached by the direct sunlight.

Raio skittered from the room, going straight through the last door.

Ah. Just the bathroom.

Circling back, he met with Anko, who was standing at the desolate table in the room. "Hey kid, you know how to read, right?"

"What? Yeah, I'm not dumb," Raio huffed and crept closer to her. She was holding something in her hands: a sheet of paper in one, and an envelope in the other. Anko's face was scrunching in a rather displeased manner at its contents. "What's that say?"

"Stuff from the Hokage," Anko absentmindedly handed him the packet before craning her head to look at everything. "Wow, this place is kinda–"

"Great," He cut in, a genuine enthusiasm supporting his words. "The walls are sound, the doors are heavy, I have a bed– I have a kitchen! That's so cool!"

She smiled. "Yeah, kiddo. You do."

Quickly he scanned over the letter in his hand. It was more like a paper with little less than a paragraph written on it, but still important.

"Young Raio,

Welcome to your new home.

You will be given a monthly pension to buy necessities such as food, clothing, toiletries, and the like. To get you started there are clothes in the wardrobe of your new room. – Don't spend it all in one place!

The bills for the apartment will be covered as long as it does not exceed a certain quota. If you use electricity, water, or AC more than allotted, you must cover the extra costs."

It wasn't even signed.

Anko looked at the little mutant, an indiscernible look on her face. "Hey, kid. You… you know about money, right?"

"Of course I do," He quickly shrugged the question off. He turned the envelope over so that a copper key hit the table, followed by a multitude of coins and bills. "So I'm gonna get money monthly to buy stuff?"

She nodded. In a tick he couldn't quite place, she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you know how to budget and stuff too, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Raio waved her concern off. He couldn't understand what she was so worried about. A kid like him could manage his expenses just fine. Though– "Are you worried about me?"

"Pfft," She harmlessly hit his shoulder with her knuckles, "Worried about you? Nah. I know you're gonna be just fine here. You're a tough kid."

He looked away. A sudden bashfulness ticked his skin, and he let his long hair fall over his face. Lips twitching, he mimicked her body language and crossed his arms. "Yeah well. Whatever. Are you gonna show me where to get dango now?"

Anko rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. When she looked away, just briefly, Raio's stomach churned. The same mantra from earlier repeated in his head. Honeyed words. Of course they were.

"Well," She leaned against the countertop, "I'm still technically on duty right now, y'know? I can take you on one of my days off though. I'll come right up here and knock on your door. But I can't go do stuff withcha right now."

The disappointment stung. "That makes sense."

"I know you don't believe me right now, but I'll come and grab you and show you around soon," Anko said, holding her hands up in a defensive manner. "Just not right now! I should probably go get your ruined futon and stuff from the interrogation room, right?"

"Oh," A soft breath and Raio's eyebrows raised. There was a genuine and pleasant surprise that she had remembered his request and her vow. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good kid," She reached and ruffled his hair, a manner he found so strikingly odd, he didn't dare move. Instead, he blinked at her with heavy-lidded suspicion. "I'll be back. Oh, here's a tip. I know you're settling in, but… start with a shower. You stink!"

"What!?" Squeaking indignantly, he recoiled when she pushed off from the countertop and trotted through the open door. "No, I don't!"

"Yeah, you do!" Anko called, waving through the doorframe before her footsteps went down the hall.

She hadn't even bothered closing the door.

Raio took a moment to think. His sharp eyes went across his new apartment and he greedily drank in the finer details of everything. The architecture, the hue of the paint, and what little cracks and dives in the paint weren't so clear. He traced his hands over everything.

His… This house was his. When Anko was in the room, he couldn't properly convey it, but the fluttering in his chest grew and enveloped his whole heart.

"I'm home." He mumbled to himself. Yet, it didn't feel real. Not really. So he circled the living kitchen room again before stepping out from the doorway. He was standing in the little stone hall, but more importantly, led to the outside. Raio allowed himself a moment to lean against the chest-high fencing.

Here, he could easily see the civilians that bustled in the market sector. Going to and from all of the restaurants, some laden with shopping bags. He could see a few nuclear families. They didn't interest him, so he turned to his door.

One last step.

In a puff of smoke, the Transformation technique was modified. His left index finger revealed a dark, curved talon. A hint of normalcy. Holding the doorknob to keep the door sturdy, very roughly he began carving his name in the wooden door.

A click. The door next to him was opening. Sharp, bristling, Raio turned his head to the intrusion. Any other time he would've backed away.

Not now. Not when he was holding something so dear in just the palm of his hand. Raio's hold on his apartment door tightened when the other swung open.

The same blond kid with messy hair and blue goggles stomped into the hallway. This stranger kept his squinted blue eyes on Raio and pointed a finger at him accusatorially.

"And who are you supposed to be!?"