Naruto: Not such a simple trader

Usui and his mother waited patiently for Minato, in case he was late, sadly they would have to leave, Usui was somewhat tense, he truly wished that Minato would arrive to share at least a moment of his life with someone who since he was born, he never had; the boy continued waiting, holding his mother Riruka's hand.

" ah! Look Usui, your friend did arrive " his mother said excitedly, lightly nodding to her son, to which Usui blinked; he did not show emotion, but for Riruka the gentle squeeze she gave him was enough, making her give her son a loving look.

Minato ran toward them with a huge smile on his face " ah! n-no they did not leave! how good! my caregiver has left me, Miss Kumo! " the boy spoke with pleasant excitement; it was the first time that an independent family offered him hospitality, no one in Konoha had done so before, his vibrant blue eyes showed happiness at spending time as if it were... a normal family.

Riruka, seeing that the boy appeared anxious, not being able to ignore her maternal touch, caressed Minato's smiling hair, gently holding his hand, on the side opposite Usui " come, today you are a very special guest, Minato-Kun " she spoke with a sweetness that the yellow-haired boy had never witnessed before, her lips pressed together showing an expression of pleasant surprise.

But he was not bothered by the feeling, he only gave an enormous, beaming smile, firmly holding both Usui's hand and now Minato's.

Usui witnessed everything with his penetrating jade eyes, seeing how Minato smiled with a display of love; at least his always isolated heart rejoiced at the fact that that boy received love that he never felt.

Also, with this he had noticed a facet that he had not seen in his serene friend; he showed emotion, too much unnatural energy, it seems that he too can express himself differently depending on his surroundings.

His mother guided Minato, who appeared curious to see that the family did not walk into the town, they seemed somewhat farther away, something he observed " uh... Miss Kumo, don't you live in the center of Konoha? " he saw that they were leaving the nearby outskirts of the town, entering a dense forest; the natural lights outside the town disappeared, in front of Minato's face only the natural light of the forest and the enormous moon was shown.

Riruka looked at Minato with a smile, seeming amused " well, it is just that we bought some land on the outskirts of the town a while ago, my husband does not like being surrounded by people very much, he has always preferred to live as if it were a secret hideout " Minato noticed differences between Usui's mother and himself; Usui is a person who seems to have trouble expressing himself, he had not seen him make faces, only something that looked like a smile that was not quite a smile, although... he had noticed that he is a person full of kindness, despite his lack of expression.

And Usui's mother, Mrs. Kumo, she expresses herself very happily toward him, playful and expressive, a beautiful woman who smiles and tries to show him love, a love that he had never felt, very sincere and for which he is grateful above all; they are so different, like oil and water, they do not share the same personality, but they get along perfectly.

The boy gave a curious smile " then do you live in the same forest? "

" that's right! We were very lucky to obtain land on the outskirts of town, although it was very cheap; people do not like living outside the center of town very much, but for us, it is a different vision of what we have " in part, both found a place far from prying eyes since Kisuke did not want to be close to his clan, and she understood him as she supported him in everything, but that little innocent should not know.

Minato nodded, moving his small head, and looked around; he was right, this area felt so quiet and serene, many animals singing under the moon's mantle, finally revealing a rather pretty house, something small but it had things that made him curious, it seemed something... metallic?

" Mrs. Kumo, what is that? " he pointed out curiously at something shown outside; Riruka looked in his direction, pausing a little.

" ah, Usui's father is a blacksmith, dear, he creates ninja artifacts and things that have come to the samurais of the feudal lords, he is an excellent blacksmith, of course " she appeared proud of her husband; Minato looked at the woman with curiosity.

" a blacksmith? Are you sellers like the lords of the stalls? "

" much better, we go out and travel from village to village, but our home remains in Konoha and benefits him, we are merchants, Minato-Kun " she said affectionately, giving a tender smile, seeing how the boy learned more about Usui's family.

Speaking of him, he was so absorbed in the conversation with his mother that he had not heard him say anything else; with curiosity he directed his gaze to the side of Mrs. Kumo, finding that Usui was looking at him; Minato tried to decipher his thoughts, but of all people...

He is the only person he has not managed to decipher anything from, he is a blank slate.

And that caused him so much curiosity; it was, in the first place, that is why he approached him, before everyone else.

As if something called him to become his friend, and now, here he was having a healthy chat with his mother, learning more about them.

About how Usui has a normal family, but he is so withdrawn, appearing shy and with few words.

" well, let's go inside now, I hope you feel well, Minato " Riruka said with her maternal touch, causing Minato to relax his nerves with excitement as he nodded, wanting to appear calm.

" do not worry, Mrs. Kumo "

The three entered; Usui saw his mother come in speaking loudly " Kisuke! We are home! "

The boy looked at Minato watching him take off his ninja sandals, unlike him, who wore geta sandals along with tabi socks so that they could fit perfectly with his yukata.

" come, I will introduce you to my father; do not be frightened if he behaves strangely, he is strange " the boy spoke softly; Usui gently held Minato's hand, causing a small blush of shame or nerves to appear on the boy's face.

He did not know how to react to having present parents; it was strange, he had always believed that his life would never have a family to live with, the love of a mother, or the affection of a father, truly something that made him feel strange.

He looked at Usui and how he held his hand to guide him; when they entered the kitchen, he encountered a red-haired man with golden eyes, he was exotic, but not in a bad way, he was really very tall. He seemed to be someone who has a wise air, someone who should not be directly disrespected.

His serious face was intimidating, but to his surprise, that face faded and turned into a very happy and beaming smile " ah! so this is little Minato! the first friend of my lonely son! I am so happy, finally a person and not an animal! ah, and he is such a cute boy that I would hug him to death! come here! " Kisuke spoke energetically, running toward Minato who barely wanted to introduce himself; however, he was taken by surprise.

" A-Ah!? " he felt the man's arms squeeze him and spin him around and around, and around; this gentleman... he really is strong, it was the only thing Minato could think, feeling that he was running out of air.

" you are indeed a very different child from what I thought the first friend of my son would be! I thought I would meet a child who hated life in his rebellious stage and would encourage my boy to do bad things! Thank the heavens that it is not so! " Kisuke's voice was still very shrill and his face quite amusing.

But all that ended when he was hit directly on the nape, letting go of Minato in the process so that he rolled comically three times; his dear wife has strength, leaving him face down with his eyes blank.

" how dare you present yourself like that to Minato!? Instead of wanting to be here, you are going to scare him away! " Riruka's face now showed her anger; that gesture even caused Usui, who did not express himself, to indirectly hide behind Minato like a powerful shield.

Minato was laughing nervously, his face now more marked than before " n-no, no Miss Kumo, everything, everything is fine, Mr. Kumo is very kind " he tried to appease the woman's anger, only causing Riruka's face to become sweet and tender.

" ah, Minato-kun, you are a child with such a sweet soul, do not be frightened by that man, he has always behaved like that, I think he went mad because Usui never responds to that foolish behavior, ignore him, dear " the woman caressed his golden hair, causing Minato to smile nervously; Usui simply nodded stoically to everything his mother said.

" my goodness! your blows are like those fallen from the sky! I think I saw my body in the form of a soul " he rubbed his nape dramatically with tears, walking toward that child and his wife; Riruka only sighed, shaking her head.

" come, Minato-kun, sit on this side with Usui, do not be shy " she said affectionately as she watched her son take Minato's hand again, guiding him to that place, making him obey and sit.

He only saw Kisuke mumbling, still with a pouting face, going to help his wife serve the food.

When both boys were left alone, Minato looked at Usui curiously, although with a bead of sweat, but he never erased his smile " do you always have to live like this? "

" uhm " he nodded, " every day, my father always tries to play jokes on me, but in the end he ends up falling for it, he says that his dream is to hear me laugh, but I have never laughed since I became aware " he murmured quietly, causing Minato to blink a little, surprised to hear him.

" can't you smile? Oh... express something? "

" my father says that... well... I think I am not allowed to say it, but, I suppose that now that you are my friend I can say it, he never forbade me to say it with a friend " yes, his father has told him not to show or divulge his kekke genkai, nor his dojutsu, but they never said whether he would tell a friend " it is possible that... I cannot make expressions because of a power that I feel, he says that I have a different personality that makes it so I cannot behave normally, although over time he says it will disappear " said Usui, looking at him with those penetrating emerald eyes.

Minato thought for a moment, he is smart " ah... I think I read a little about that in the Konoha library, is it a unique power? " now he seemed more excited than anything.

" ah... yes, something like that, they say no one else has awakened it " he scratched his chin a little.

" a Kekke Genkai! That...! Th-That is incredible, Usui " he unintentionally raised his voice, but now Minato was very curious to know what it does, his small hands fidgeted anxiously " I read in the library, they say it is something unique and genetic, no one else can develop it "

" I... well, at least I think it will help me defend myself " his voice was lower than before, he did not feel excited to have something like that, since he has yet to develop it more; the only thing he knows about his own Kekke Genkai is that he can think of Nelliel, or that it is very versatile.

But he does not like that every time he uses it he faints, his endurance is so poor...

Minato was about to speak, but seeing how Usui's family arrived he preferred to give a sweet smile.

" we have arrived! Here is the food, come, I want you to try it and tell me how it is " Riruka was the most excited; coming from the Land of Lightning, she had a different way of cooking, although she had perfected it by traveling to many villages and seeing what they specialized in eating.

Minato looked at the food curiously, but when he picked up the chopsticks and brought it to his mouth, it seemed that the most eager to know his opinion was Kisuke, who clasped his hands and appeared impatient.

Usui, although he denied it, also had curiosity, showing a serene face but without touching his own food.

After a few small bites, Minato smiled with excitement " it tastes so delicious! Thank you very much for the food! " he finally thanked, Minato had an enormous smile.

And Kisuke was the one who exclaimed excitedly " I told you he would like it! " Kisuke, excited, held Riruka's shoulders, and the woman sighed with a amused smile.

Now, the entire family sat down to eat happily; the invited boy watched as Riruka told him worriedly to eat everything, both him and Usui. Kisuke recounted anecdotes of his travels with Riruka before having Usui, appearing very cheerful within the family; Usui sometimes commented, although he did not show expressions, the family knew that Usui's tone was soft, whispering, affectionate in his own way.

Minato observed the interactions of the three; sometimes he also commented out of curiosity, and because Usui's parents asked him direct questions, wanting to know him, showing interest in him, feeling a small, unknown warmth in his chest.

Is this truly the love he has never felt?

Really... it feels like family, in a true family, not where he watched from afar the people who were always with their parents, siblings fighting or playing, where he was only a spectator.

Now... he found himself in the midst of the family, a warmth so unique that he only thought...

He do not want this dinner to end.

Finally, a smile that does not need to be given out of courtesy or forcefully appeared.

A sincere smile, full of love and true laughter.