Chapter 1x9: It's a Wonderful Life

[Konoha - Home]

That day slowly drew closer and closer to the Yuki that he could barely contain himself, and by barely contain himself regarding him was something as far as an actual smile. The day of which he was awaiting what graduation from the academy. So many things had happened over his time as an academy student, and the idea that he was going to become something greater in a few days was almost like a dream. He had generally been in a good mood even without the title, learning after his encounter with the 3 Genin the other day that the Title itself didn't carry much weight in some cases, but generally was an indication of progress on the road to being a Shinobi. Sitting up in his bed, the Yuki looked at his hands, recalling the promise he had made to a special person a long time ago, and the reminder of said memory during his ordeal recently. It was the true thing that had gotten him through what he was dealing with, and was the now acting as the core to his new found strength and somewhat more brighter outlook on life. His hand closed quickly into a tight fist, no anger or dread on his face. This was a clear indication of undying determination as he pushed himself up from his bed, turning his eyes to what was a completely cleaned room, courtesy of his Mother. It was almost like everything else in his life had changed for the better once he was able to overcome his dread, and this hopefully would not be all there was to the changes. There was much to get done though for today, much like the past few days, he had to do his thing at the greenhouse, as well as any other task that came with them, so there was the first task of getting out of the room, getting cleaned up, and then making his way out. Upon stepping out of the room, no other than Ari would be awaiting him in the hallway, her arms crossed while she was leaning up against the wall. Her appearance would have looked really cool if it wasn't for the fact that she was his mother and her attempting to these kind of things was really embarrassing to say the least. She would immediately be met with him facepalming himself before looking to her with a slight smile, and in return she would smile back with a soft expression, something that was the complete opposite of what her body was trying to convey. She had been so happy with these changes in events that if she died right now, she would be alright. Her son while still having his stoic ways most of the time, showed many instances that he was recovering not just from the instance of the festival, but a tragic event in his past as well, and it was all that she wanted from him. She pushed off the wall and began walking downstairs.

" Breakfast is almost ready! your clothes are already in the bathroom as well as your Shinobi gear. We're having Pancakes, Bacon with apple slices on the side. Don't take too long or the Pancakes and Bacon will get cold ".

Val nodded his head to an individual that was no longer in his presence, but he knew that she knew what his actions would be so it was kind of okay. He made his way over to the bathroom and undressed completely, placing all the clothes into the dirty clothes hamper and entered the shower, turning on the water and embracing the cold water that within a few seconds time turned into hot water. The soap would form suds within the Rag that he grabbed before he began going over every inch of his body, removing dead flesh and dirt that had generated over the period of yesterday morning and today, renewing his body for another new day at life. It didn't take too long before he was completely done with the shower, following the action with drying himself off and dressing. He grabbed a comb and a can of what appeared to be some chemicals which he used on a daily basis in order to maintain the hair he possessed. The hair itself maintained well without it due to his mother constantly maintaining it to that form since he was young, so even without the chemicals and tools, the hair would remain the same more or less. It didn't take too long before he was out into the Kitchen, ready to chow down in the delicious meal that his mother had prepared for him. Sitting at a decent size table, the Young Yuki gazed at the meal before him set about by his mother. A medium sized plate that next to a cleaned glass filled with orange juice. Upon the plate was a stack of Pancakes which took up a majority of the plate space, on the right side 3 strips of bacon and on the left of the Pancakes being 10 medium apple slices. There was the exact same on the other end of the table, almost symmetrical which wasn't too surprised since it was his mother. His eyes glanced up towards his mother first before back to the meal, eating at a decent speed before it wasn't anymore. This would take around 30 minutes or so, ending with him wiping his mouth and hands before placing the dishes in the sink and washing them himself. Ari looked to her son as she couldn't help but smile regarding his actions, and didn't question them in the least. They were positive changes, and even though she normally did the housework herself, she did not interrupt something he decided to do on his own. As he made his way out, he looked back to his Mom, waving to her as he departed from the house.

" Be careful Val and have a Wonderful day! oh! and don't forget to pick some Ingredients up from the Market when you get time. We're running a bit low ".

Her words would be met with a nod as he left the premises.

[Konoha - Greenhouse]

It was around 6am at this time, and not many people have even woken up yet to get started on their day. Both the Young Yuki and his Mother had always made it a point to wake up extremely early to get things done, which often created a naturally easy transition into all following Tasks during the day, even if the tasks arrived suddenly, there was alot of time to get things done without worry of being late. It just generally made things a lot easier. Upon arriving there, the only person that was there to meet him was the one in charge of the greenhouse, or his boss basically. She was the only one to make it there before him, which made her happy knowing that there was someone else who took the work there serious enough to arrive so early. Initially it was being done to make up for the long extended absences they came about due to the Event at the Festival, but now Val had adapted to it and made it more so apart of his life to get tasks done early. The only thing that really sucked about this though was that he didn't see Kisayuri too often. He looked around, kind of hoping that Kisayuri would be seen taking care of the plants at the time, but no such luck. He grabbed the watering can from off the shelf, opening the Top first and inspecting the water that was inside. Generally he made it a point to always begin the day with water the plants with freshly obtained water, not anything that had been sitting in the Can for more than 24 hours. He poured the water out and went out back to where there was a nice little source of fresh water, often used to refill the cans as well as among other things. The Task of watering most of the plants that he was responsible for didn't take too long, ending with a great deal of time leftover than usual. The Boss often took notice on how the time it took Val to water the plants he was responsible for just kept getting shorter and shorter, and for a moment She believed that Val was cutting corners, but when she inspected the plants herself, they were tended to quite well, looking like prime plants if there ever was any. It was rather damn impressive in fact, and even though she never gave him verbal recognition, she respected his ability to take on a Task and do it well. There wasn't too much to be done besides the daily delivery to the produce shop from the Orchard which wasn't too far from here. He signed out once all the tasks was completed at the Greenhouse and he began making his way over to the Orchard, not running as to not burn through stamina, but at the same time not taking his sweet time in movement.

[Konoha - Orchards]

Awaiting him at the entrance of the Orchard was what appeared to be someone with a Vest on, indicating that he was either Jonin or Chunin. It was a Shinobi who watched over the orchards, and was also the check out person for the delivery man, or in this case Val. Upon reaching him, Val would identify himself, and in exchange recieve the Boxes of Apples that was to be delivered to the Produce store. He looked to the apples, and couldn't help but reflect on the other day, his encounter with Shiruku. There was a slight chuckle as he closed his eyes thinking about it. She was quite an interesting individual to say the least, and probably the only person he knew that enjoyed apples so much. The look on his face shifted back to normal, which for him was kind of the Stoic feel as he lifted the Crates filled with Apples and made his way down to the Market district, which was where his destination, the ' Produce Store ' awaited him. Again, a Task that didn't really take to long as it wasn't too far.

[Konoha - Market District]

He arrived to the store, delivered the items to the Store Owner, said his Hellos and goodbyes and was on his way out. The time now was 9am, which was still quite early, but now more people was about the streets, setting up shops and heading to their place of employment. Val on the other hand had just finished all the tasks that was his to handle for the entire day, so now He had been completely free to do whatever he wanted. The odd thing was, as a Shinobi there wasn't really too much to be done outside of Training. It was either Training to prepare for the Academy Exams, or Training to generally make one stronger. That aspect of Life was a bit lackluster, even for an individual like Val, so he looked to the skies, trying to think about what he could do, with the final resort being training if there was absolutely nothing to do. In the time he was thinking, nothing was coming to his mind, which was a little depressing, saying that he as an individual didn't have much of any hobbies. It wasn't something that was actually getting him down though, knowing that if he just traveled around a bit and took things in, he would eventually come across something that would at the very least peak his interest, so that was exactly what he did. The Yuki was now seen walking around Konoha alone, hands in his Pockets and eyes on the look out for anything within the area that might strike his interest. There was a couple of places that he past that actually stood out, but upon thinking about them quite a bit, he would come down to the conclusion that there was no real interest to them.