Confused would be an understatement to describe myself at the current moment. It was really dark, but then I opened my eyes in a strange and unrecognizable room surrounded by people that I knew and didn’t know at the same time. From that point it was hazy memories for a semi-conscious time which shouldn’t be possible and I couldn’t understand myself. I could describe like blacking out and waking up in different places over the course of time, occasionally remembering something and that alone helped little. Even my own words and explanations made little sense.

When I could say it was finally over the whole process of passing out and being awake, I could finally see and take in my surroundings, which didn’t help with my mental state as it was baffling to see myself in a place that wasn’t real. Much less directly staring at the big blue eyes of a smiling kid, which much to my utter shock was Naruto Uzumaki except everyone was calling her Naru.

Somehow, I ended up living with her and it became an everyday routine that I quickly got accustomed to.

I was in front of the kitchen table staring at a blonde little girl with a toothy smile presenting to me the result of mixing flour, water, butter, and eggs. Her innocent face expressed a lot of pride in her work, but what shined more was the whisker marks on her cheeks and the relatively sharp canine teeth.

“Is this good, Kichiro-kun?” 

I inspected her work, “It needs to be smaller. You can split that dough in two.”

“Okay!” She hurried towards her own working space where she handled the dough and split it in smaller parts just like I told her and returned just as fast, “Done!”

“Perfect. Now we need to roll these before putting them in the oven.” I grabbed them from her tray and placed them on my workspace before grabbing a wooden roller and flattening them in the cookie shape,  “For them to be nice and flat, you need a bit of a technique, you start from the sides and work to the center of the dough so you can get an even cookie before adding the topping of our choice.”

I repeated the same process for the dozens of cookies we have prepared with her watching my work with innocent fascination. Soon I organized all the future cookies on a tray and added chocolate for toppings. Then I opened the oven that had been heating up for a while where I placed our bakery achievement using a towel to grab the door, “Now we put them in the oven at max temperature for a little over 10 minutes and we will get delicious cookies.”

I flipped the switch for the internal light and the blonde girl rushed to the oven, keeping her distance to watch the pastries slowly but steadily cook themselves.

“I cannot wait!” Her excitement echoed across the room but didn’t get any closer as it was very hot and the room didn’t have many windows to dissipate the heat, so naturally I could feel sweat forming on my brows and around my neck.

“Me neither, but first we need to clean the kitchen or we won’t be able to cook again if everything is dirty.” I said while taking off the oversized apron for my size and using it to wipe off the sweat from my face.

“I hate cleaning.” She crossed her arms with a deep frown.

“Me too, but it is a very important step for cooking and is good manners.” I replied.

She grumbled something under her breath before grabbing all the used spoons, bowls and tools to pile them together on a single spot near the kitchen sink where I was scrubbing the leftovers and humming a catchy song.

I kept washing the dishes until I heard the oven timer make the classical ringing sound, a sound that didn’t go unnoticed by the eccentric kid who rushed up to the oven with a grin and almost jumped on the spot from excitement.

“And they are done. Naru be a dear and pass me the mittens.” I pointed at one drawer. She quickly followed my instructions and pulled out thick mittens, which I didn’t waste time to put them on and open the oven, allowing a powerful smell of chocolate cookies to invade the entire room along with the heat of the oven.

I pulled out the tray and placed it on the granite table where it wouldn’t burn or damage anything. However, Naru was quick to attempt to snatch one cookie from my grasp but found a nasty surprise the second her hand touched one.

“Ouch! Is way too hot!” she screamed and ran towards the sink, where she poured water on the afflicted finger.

“Keep pouring water and then rub that finger on your hair. Next time, don’t touch anything that is recently cooked.”

“Fine.” She grumbled again but followed my instructions, since it wasn’t any severe. It was just a minor discomfort for her that was quickly phased out as her attention shifted again to the baked pastries that I was removing from the tray and placing them on a clean plate.

“I smell something nice.” A new but older voice came from the door.

Together we turned to the source and saw a man with waist-length, spiky white hair that he usually ties back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face wearing a dark green short shirt kimono with matching pants.

“We just made cookies, oji-san!” Naru shouted and stepped aside to present our finished work with pride.

I could only smile and keep my silence.

“Oh, let’s take one then.” Jiraiya walked closer and grabbed the top cookie from the pile I just made and took a decent bite from it, taking his time in savoring it and he was quite loud with his crunching until he swallowed it. “This tastes good, good work for both of you.”

Jiraiya ruffled the little girl’s hair.

“Thank you!” She happily exclaimed and grabbed her own cookie, which didn’t wait to eat as fast as possible. She was barely chewing before swallowing. And I didn’t want to ruin her moment, so I merely grabbed one cookie from the remaining pile and made my way to the balcony of the apartment we were living in.

“I need fresh air. It’s way too hot inside here.” Leaving everything and everyone behind, I arrived at the balcony and a gust of wind washed over my body, giving me the sweet icy feeling I was looking for.

Feeling refreshed, I looked below and appreciated the privileged view I had thanks to the positioning of the apartment. The village was big. There were only buildings around us and I could see barely the green frame of forest in the distance. And shifting my gaze to the left, the hokage mountain was with the four colossal heads engraved on them. Despite it being relatively far the facial features of each past hokage were clear as the day.

Slowly, I walked up to the railing and leaned close so my arms could rest as my gaze kept locked on the scenery below me,  “This is just strange. What should I do?”

I took one bite from my cookie, taking my time savoring my recent work in all its glory. The chocolate was the perfect fit for cookies and since they were recently baked, the chocolate easily melted inside my mouth.

“You tell me, kid. If it wasn’t for Naru and the old man, I wouldn’t let you stay here.” Jiraiya spoke up from behind.

Quickly I turned to see him leaning against a wall, lazily looking at me with a stoic expression, but soon changed to a smirk.

“You wouldn’t kick a kid to the streets, would you?” I took another bite from my snack, observing his face for any reaction.

“You aren’t an ordinary kid.” He curtly replied, his glare hardening. His sudden change made me take one step back in surprise.

I let out a sigh and composed myself, “Trying to be one is difficult. I cannot see myself doing kid stuff. I find it not only weird but stupid.” 

The sannin tilted his head to the side and shrugged, “I can commend your honesty but at least Naruto is smiling more than she used to. So keep up with the good work. She needs a friend and while you aren’t the best option, you are showing promise.”

“As if I have much of an option.” I returned to my position on the railing, watching the streets below.

Soon after I felt a hand pat my back, from the corner of my eyes I saw Jiraiya next to me showing off his speed, “Kid, this is much better than being trapped down there, I can guarantee you that. The old man genuinely tried to help you to the best of his abilities.”

His words made me blink. There was a brief flash in my head recalling past actions not entirely mine making me shudder, “I know, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing. What am I supposed to do now?”

Jiraiya looked up at the blue sky while rubbing his chin in thought, “Well, sending you to the academy is pointless so the hokage opted to assign you to a jounin for the time being before making you official shinobi, mostly to maintain the order of paperwork.”

That was surprising to hear.

“Am I really worth that much trouble?” I asked, trying to wrap around my possible status in the village. 

“In my honest opinion, you don’t. However, the old man and Naru saw something in you and I will trust them, so I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

His words felt like a hard slap to the face but I only forced a smile on my face, “Well, at least you are honest.”