Babysitting in Kumo

Zetsume had awaken at the break of dawn with the sun just barely coming up. It was his favorite time of the day, waking up late seems to waste the day in his opinion. After taking a shower and getting clothed he looked in the fridge just to find that he had nothing and with no money he wondered how he would eat today. Sighing, he guessed he could check the mission board. While looking over what seemed to be an unreal amount of missions one sparked his interest because he could finish it quickly and have a nice bowl of Chicken Lo Mein for dinner. It seemed simple enough to watch a six year old for a few hours. Grabbing the missions letter he departed toward their house.

Upon arrival he could hear what seemed to be a small child causing havoc in the home. I wonder if I could just try a different mission, he thought to himself. He went to turn around and walk away from the home but before he could someone shouted out toward him "Hey! Wait!". It was the sound of a female as she came running up to him trying to catch her breath. "I have been waiting for someone to watch him for the day. My boyfriend and I are going to get our marriage license.Do you think you could watch him for a few hours?" From the tone of her voice no one wanted to watch the child and he was their last hope it seemed. "Yes, I was sent here by the mission board. I have the letter right here", he said calmly while handing her the mission letter. She seemed to have cheered up when she found out that Zetsume was indeed there for the mission. She told him to keep a very close eye on him. They informed him of how he should take care of the boy and were quickly trying to get out the door. He shook the hand of the boyfriend, while they said their goodbyes and left Zetsume with their kid.

"Look here buddy, I am grown up now. I do not need you to be here, so do me a favor will ya and buzz off" said the little boy with his feet firmly planted and giving Zetsume a stern look of, I can beat you up. At first it angered Zetsume that this little boy could possibly order him around, but then he chuckled a little by how tough this kid was trying to be. "What is so funny!" the boy screamed when Zetsume laughed at him. It seemed to have angered him. "I do not take orders from you, you will do as I say even if I have to make you" he replied to the boy. "HA! I would like to see you try. I will be the greatest Kumo ninja this village has ever seen, I do not need you holding me back." When the boy finished his little speech he ran upstairs quickly. I had better keep my eyes on him, Zetsume thought while chasing the boy upstairs. When he entered the room that he thought was where the boy was he was gone. A small trap had been rigged to trigger the falling of flour on his head when he walked in. Noticing the bucket was just about to tip over he caught it and put it on the ground. "Simple tricks like that will not work on me, now come out it is time for lunch.", Zetsume said while looking for the boy. He noticed the window was open and went to close it but as he was just about to he heard footsteps on the roof. Then the boy on the roof began to run and jump to the near by tree. OH SHIT!, Zetsume thought to himself as he knew the boys little legs would not carry him the distance from the roof to the tree. Almost instantly without thinking he jumped out of the window to catch the little boy as he was falling. Zetsume landed on his feet, and rolled forward to keep himself from injuring his legs. "WOW! Are you a Kumo ninja?" the boy asked him. His eyes seemed to be glowing now. It is true that Zetsume did not look like what most of the other Kumo ninja looked like, and he liked that fact. "Indeed I am, now can we stop this silly charade ". The boy leaped out of his arms and said, "Name is Mizukan, but you can call me Mizu".The boy said with and out stretched hand. Zetsume replied to the shockingly nice gesture with a handshake, "Zix, Zetsume is my name, pleasure to meet you." They shook hands and walked inside. From there on the babysitting was much easier as the boy constantly asked Zetsume about his ninja life, his missions, and his style. Zetsume answered the anxious kid with the truth and never sugar coated it. He seemed to take an interest in him, maybe because he was a Kumo ninja. After a few hours the parents were still not home and it seemed to be the kids bedtime. As Zetsume was tucking in the kid, he seemed to have a puzzled look. "What's wrong?", Zetsume said in a low calm voice looking at the kid. "Where did you get that scar?", the kid reached up to touch it but Zetsume flinched back a little as the painful memories came rushing back to him. "From being careless and letting my guard down. A friend of mine and I were training and was attacked by bandits. If it was not for him,I would be dead". Zetsume said as his eyes seemed to get a little watery but stopped himself of getting to teary eyed in front of the boy. Then the most shocking thing happened, the boy sat up and hugged him. He soon let go and looked at Zetsume. "Why did you do that?". The look on Zetsume's face was that of puzzled. The boy replied quickly with a smile "When i am sad my mommy gives me a big hug and I feel better again, thought you needed one.". Those words warmed his heart as Zetsume thanked the little kid. "You will be a fine shinobi one day, I am sure of it" Zetsume said while tucking in the boy back into bed. "Do you really think so?", "Yes I am sure of it, but now you must sleep so you can grow up to be big and strong okay?". The boy nodded and closed his eyes, "Goodnight", Zetsume said while closing the door, leaving it a little cracked so a beam of light could comfort the kid.

It took only an hour later when the parents arrived. Zetsume told them that he was an angel and they seemed to be more shocked than he was when he got the hug. He told them that they had a special boy there. They paid him for his troubles while giving him some food to take home. Zetsume thanked them and departed toward his home. He wondered if he would see the kid again, Maybe I will be his mentor, he thought to himself while unlocking his house. Zetsume smiled as he closed his eyes. Maybe just maybe I have changed the boys life for the better. This helped Zetsume sleep, and sleep well.

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