Chapter 7: 

Yumi woke up once more back in the dojo, immediately met with the sound of steel-hitting-steel and excessive grunts from the other ninjas. While trying to make it feel like just another morning, the box felt like a huge reminder of the night she had. 

“I should have thrown that out…”

She thought to herself, but she couldn't help but gaze at the box even more. Before she could get even deeper in the gaze, she heard a knock at the door. 

“Yum’s…are you coming to training? It's been like, 5 minutes, and I don’t think your dad would be happy…”

It was Jae. He just came to check on her and her absences.

“Y-Yeah! I’m fine…I’ll be down in a little bit!”

She said to him, poking her head through the door. Again, it was the normal routine, putting her uniform on, eating breakfast, and training almost the whole day.

It wasn’t until she got her break. Her mind kept telling her something about that box that Yuji gave her…something that made her want to go back to it. She snuck out of the training grounds once more and grabbed the box, examining it even more. It felt that there was something that she was missing. It was more than a gift from him, it was a sign. Drawn aggressively on the bottom of the box was  the address of Yuji’s stand down at the market. She read it carefully.

Dear Customer,

Like what you had today? There's always more down at my stand in the village! 

Open on Mondays-Thursdays, 12am-8pm
As a gift, turn this box in for a 10% Discount on any flame-grilled Hibatchi*!

Hope to see you again! -Yuji Toshida

724 Endo Street, ShaoYin, Japan

She couldn’t help but stare. 

“How stupid could he be to let everyone know where he works? What an idiot…”

Even though she used the harsh wording, something in the back of her mind was whispering something 

“...Go see Him…”

What scared her is that someone actually said it. She looked everywhere, until she saw her mom in the doorway. 

“Don’t worry honey…I won’t tell your father.”

“Tell him what? That I skipped practice because he’s an abusive maniac?”

“No…I won’t tell him that someone's in lo-ove!”

Her face and heart immediately dropped at the sound of her mom. 

“M-MOM!”

She shouted, clearly trying to hide her flustered state. “I’m just saying Yumi! I saw you walk out last night. I was still getting my water, and you know why I didn’t stop you?”

“Why is that, mom…”

She said a little sarcastically. 

“Because…I could sense it. I could sense that you were gonna meet a boy. And I was ri-ight!”

Yumi was now fully blushing and holding her hands to her eyes. 

“Mom…that’s not what happened…not at all…”

Her mom finally stopped her giggles and caught her breath. 

“Oh honey…I’m just joking…or am I?”

She let out her last joke, causing her to lose it. Even though Yumi was clearly embarrassed, her mom’s laugh was contagious. 

“Mom…should I go to that stand? I don’t know…somethings off about that Yuji…”

Her mom’s eyes lifted at the mention of a name. 

“And you got his name? Oh my god, you’re in it now.” She joked again, before understanding her daughter’s situation. 

“You know what honey…I say you should go. Maybe you could get to know him better!”

She suggested. 

“I mean…he did give me a gift…” 

“Then that’s the first step! At least he was nice enough to give you something!” 

“Alright…just don’t tell Dad…” 

She joked, getting her mom back up. “Trust me, He’ll find out over my dead body!” 

Yumi was quickly packed up once again, ready to head out. Her mom passed one last time and waved her off, not caring for the other clan members looking for Yumi. She gave her a smile and mouthed “Thank you” before roping out of her window. 

She landed back down, and checked the note that was on the box. “Endo Street…wait…isn’t that in the…CENTER OF THE VILLAGE!?” 

She was awfully struck with the realization. Yumi has never been in the center of the village during the day, that's peak tourist hour, which would alert everyone of her presence. If she was gonna do this, she was gonna put her skills to the test. Looking at the front gates, there were…suprisingly no guards. 

“The amount of times this place got robbed…all because of this mess they call security.” 

She walked in and immediately took to the side alley. Not seeing Yuji’s stand yet, she continued to take the path down the alleyway. Once she got to a familiar point, she looked out of the alley space, and there it was: A bright red, slightly run down stand in the center of customer traffic. Yuji could be seen watching all of the people walk right past him, gently patting on his knees as he tried to maintain a friendly smile. He had his little kitten, soy sauce, meowing at everyone that passed by. Not demanding, just enough to try to draw attention. 

“He’s not getting any business…” 

She thought to herself. That was split into two separate thoughts: One that said that it would be easier to take him out with no one to see her, and the other that wanted to talk to him…one on one. 

“Why…I can’t keep thinking like this…this isn’t who I am” 

As she had her inner conflict, she was torn between what to do, it wasn’t until she calmed down…and was met with Yuji staring right at her from across the street. She immediately panicked. 

“NO NO NO! What am I doing!? He saw me! He’s gonna warn everyone about me and-” 

He just kept staring, not moving, not alerting others…just staring in what looked like awe. She first gave him a concerned look back, not even knowing if he was alive at that moment. He finally snapped out of it and waved to her, getting weird looks from bypassers. Yumi could only face palm and leap behind his stand. 

“W-What are you doing here ma’am? Don’t you have l-like ninja stuff to do?” 

He asked, slightly freaked out by having someone behind him. She didn’t give him a response, and whispered: 

“Me, You, behind the gates, now…” 

And vanished away with a smoke bomb. Yuji was still processing everything that just happened. 

“What did you say ma’am?” 

He shouted, wondering if she was still there. Without another thought, he flipped over his open sign and walked off to the village gates as Yumi requested.

After a long walk from the center of the village to the gates, Yuji finally saw Yumi again. “Hey ma’am! Why did you need me here?” “We need to talk…I’ve thought about you…” She said from the corner of the gate. “Oh no…what did I do? I thought that I said that I meant no harm…” He said, a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice. “You didn’t do harm…I just need to know…why did you give me that box that night?” She asked, this time with less bite in her tone. “Well…I thought I would be nice and give you a peace offering, I don’t know if you can tell that I’m deadly afraid of ninjas…” He admitted, hoping to brighten Yumi up a little. She hesitated more, taking in her collected data. “No one’s…ever given me a gift before…and I…I’m sorry for how I acted that night…” She finally accepted how she truly felt. Normally, she would hold these feelings deep down inside of her if it would kill her, But with Yuji… She could open up without worrying about disapproval. “Don’t worry ma’am, I forgive you! I don’t like to hold grudges, it’s just not what I do! How about I get us some Bento? On Me!” Yumi couldn’t help but smile at the thought. She wasn’t here to harm him, she wasn’t here to steal…She wanted to go and spend time with Yuji…A first that she has ever felt. 

As they walked, Yumi was nervous to go into the crowd. “I can’t go…theyll see my uniform…” She said quietly. Yuji thought of a plan. He unzipped his hoodie, and zipped her up in it. Yumi couldn’t help but freeze from his touch, and she was fully covered. “There we go! How does it feel?” “It’s…soft.” Only the best! Now about that bento…” Yuji always tried to crack jokes as they walked, talking about that night they encountered one another, how busy and loud the village got at times, and how hungry he was. Yumi tried her best to keep her ninja prowess, only letting a few giggles escape here and there. “It’s nice to go and eat with someone for once…” Yuji admitted. “Thanks for…actually wanting to see me ma’am.” Yumi’s face got a little red. “I only came to talk business…” She mumbled. “And quit calling me ma’am. Just…call me Yumi…”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>