[Mad Tiger] Chapter 37

"Wake up, troops!" I yelled in sync with Naruto’s alarm clock.

Naruto groggily peeled himself off the pillow, squinted at me, then at the clock… and finally seemed to remember what today was about. His blue eyes went wide as saucers, and he bolted out of bed straight to the bathroom.

We had a lightning-fast breakfast. I helpfully nudged a paw toward an empty backpack and let out an authoritative meow to suggest bringing it along. For good measure, I stuffed a few stashed plastic bags under the bed into the backpack, just in case we needed to, uh, liberate some goods later. And yes, I decided to ride in the backpack myself—because I’m worth it. The bags crinkling underneath me were a delightful bonus. Naruto huffed as he slung the pack (a.k.a. me) onto his back, then patted the side of it where I was happily purring.

“You know, Namaiki-chan,” he murmured, “this feels… familiar somehow.”

“Of course it does!” I huffed. “Now giddy up, my noble steed!”

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“Where’s our cat?” came Sasuke’s half-asleep question.

Morning sunlight pierced my blissful slumber, and I exaggerated a yawn as I looked up at the two boys leaning over the backpack. Sasuke looked surprisingly normal—no dark circles under his eyes, so he must’ve actually slept. Naruto was grinning ear to ear and scratched me behind my ears.

“Namaiki-chan is super smart and sneaky,” he explained. “Now get up, sleepyhead, and let’s see what you wanted to show us.”

Darn right, no time to waste. I put on my most serious face, nodded, and hopped out of my luxurious travel pod. The boys exchanged a glance and cautiously ducked under the crime scene tape at the edge of the Uchiha district. I didn’t rush; there was no clear plan yet. I didn’t even know exactly where Sasuke’s house was. From the anime, I vaguely remembered it was a one-story wooden dojo-style place, but there were several of those here. For now, we’d wander the streets to let the boys adjust, and maybe something would catch their attention… Hm.

“I’ve never been here,” Naruto broke the silence, “but… I feel like if you turn that way, there’s something big and blue. A house?”

I turned in the direction Naruto pointed. Made sense, he might’ve visited Sasuke’s district once or twice—after all, the Uchiha didn’t live in total isolation. Otherwise, you’d only be able to walk down Konoha’s main street, given how many clan areas there are.

“Big and blue” turned out to be a wooden booth painted indigo with a canopy on top, like an oversized snack stand. Naruto let out a triumphant shout and pointed at it.

“This is where Sora-san sold higashi,” Sasuke said, his voice softening.

He seemed to thaw a little under the district’s oppressive weight. We walked over, and I hopped into the booth, instantly catching the scent of those little treats Sasuke mentioned. Higashi, a type of local sweet, made from rice flour and natural ingredients like green tea powder, sakura petals, berries, and fruit juices. They even add sugar, but not too much, so it’s not overly sweet. Sano once let me taste some, swearing they weren’t harmful to animals.

The treats were packed into bento-style boxes, not wooden ones but woven from bamboo leaves and thin twigs. They looked like square baskets with lids, tied up with ribbons. Probably meant as festive gift sets for kids, given that a holiday had just passed.

Carefully, I pawed one of the boxes onto the counter. How long was the shelf life for these? A month? Two? Judging by the smell, they were still good—edible, at least. The scent was very faint but pleasant if you sniffed closely. No wonder the Inuzuka dogs and I missed this little treasure trove.

The boys stared at the box intently.

“Should we open it?” Naruto asked, swallowing hard.

I nodded. He tugged at the ribbon and lifted the lid. Say what you will about Konoha, but they sure know how to make food look pretty. Inside were colorful, intricately shaped sweets—flowers, stars, leaves, even little shuriken. Some were dusted with nuts or sesame seeds, others with powdered sugar.

“Whoa!” Naruto exclaimed, practically drooling. “They look amazing… and they smell great!”

“These sweets must be…” Sasuke trailed off, staring at the box. He poked a pink flower-shaped one and crumbled it slightly. “Weird…”

“Huh? What’s weird?” Naruto asked, puzzled.

“It’s strange they haven’t gone bad after so many years,” Sasuke muttered.

“Maybe we should try them?” Naruto suggested, his excitement returning.

To prove they were safe, I pawed out one of the confections, dragged it onto the counter, and took a bite. Not bad. The cool autumn air must’ve preserved them, keeping them fresh. This Sora lady probably made them right before the festival and sold most of her stock.

“Namaiki-chan’s eating it,” Naruto whispered loudly before popping one into his mouth. “Wow! It’s delicious!”

After a moment’s hesitation, Sasuke picked up a green star-shaped sweet. The box didn’t last long. Once it was empty, I jumped down and called Naruto over.

“Whoa, there’s more!” Naruto exclaimed, peeking under the counter. He pulled out sixteen boxes of sweets and lined them up. “Is this what you wanted to show us, Namaiki-chan?”

I shook my head. Naruto stuffed the boxes into his backpack, his whole demeanor screaming, Lead on, fearless leader! The boys looked more at ease after their snack. Sasuke, in particular, seemed less haunted and even started glancing around.

That’s when inspiration struck me. The food I’d been swiping for Naruto—milk cartons always had a date printed on them! We needed to find something with a date stamp to prove this district wasn’t abandoned “years ago.” And maybe we’d even find Sasuke’s old house and some proper clothes for him. Seriously, it’s fall, and the kid’s walking around in shorts. I feel cold just looking at him.

Either I’m missing something, or every single Uchiha hated milk. We were on the eighth house, and so far, not a single carton in any stinky fridge! On top of that, it seemed like the district had been partially cleaned out—there weren’t even any family photos. Sure, it’s a ninja village, so flaunting faces isn’t exactly common, but I distinctly remember Sasuke having a family photo. Even Naruto’s old house had pictures of his mom.

By the third house, the boys had gotten into a rhythm. Naruto didn’t need reminders; he’d fling open fridges, pinching his nose shut. I couldn’t do that, unfortunately. Sasuke, meanwhile, was in full shinobi mode, rifling through drawers, cabinets, and closets. Mostly he found stashes of money and weapons, which made Naruto exclaim, “We’re rich now!” The search was slow going, though. After seven hours, we’d only covered eight houses.

“Man, I’m starving,” Naruto grumbled, opening yet another fridge. “Hey, there are canned goods here! A whole stash! Sasuke, should we open one? Maybe they’re still good?”

Sasuke shrugged and approached. The fridge reeked of spoiled soup, but Naruto quickly pulled out several flat boxes and set them on the kitchen table. Honestly, I wouldn’t have guessed these were canned goods—they looked more like processed cheese containers. Judging by the pictures, they contained fish, liver pate, crab, and maybe stew. Imported, maybe? I hadn’t seen anything like this in Sarutobi’s stores.

“Whoa, this stuff’s fancy!” Naruto exclaimed, tearing the foil off one box.

“Share!” I yowled as the smell of smoked eel in sauce hit my nose.

While Naruto and I raced to scarf down the delicious treat, Sasuke studied the foil lid, squinting at the designs and characters printed on it.

“This is from the Land of Snow,” he said. “But… their calendar system is weird. Or there’s a mistake.”

I stopped mid-bite. Could it be?

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked, licking the last bits off his fingers and putting on his serious face.

“They marked it as year 76,” Sasuke murmured. “But… my family… my clan was destroyed four years ago, in year 72. The anniversary was just a few days ago.”

“Yes!” I shouted. “Bingo!”

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It seemed like Naruto and Sasuke were finally catching on to what I wanted them to do and why I had them rifling through all those refrigerators. They were on board with the mission now, searching for anything to confirm or disprove the odd dates on the canned goods Naruto had stashed in his ever-growing loot pile. Unfortunately, we didn’t find anything else useful in the next six houses we checked. As the sky began to darken, it was clear we were running out of daylight.

“Hey, Sasuke, it’s getting kind of late,” Naruto said, breaking the silence. “Maybe… uh… you could come to my place? It’s nearby, and I could cook something. You really haven’t eaten much today.” He glanced at Sasuke nervously, like he was worried the other boy might bolt.

“Hn. Fine,” Sasuke replied, not bothering with his usual “too cool to care” act.

I was so proud of him. To show my approval, I rubbed against his perpetually bare legs—seriously, get some pants, man! 

Sure we haven’t accomplished much but let’s be honest: Sasuke wasn’t ready to step into the house where his family had lived, let alone where he believed they had died. That was a whole other level of emotional baggage we weren’t unpacking tonight.

“Alright then, let’s go!” Naruto grinned, rubbing his nose like he’d just won some kind of prize. “We’re gonna have a feast!”