Early morning at the pet shop.
Tatsuya and Kyoko arrived early to prepare for opening. Since returning to the village, the shop had become a daily stop for them. Although Tatsuya was the owner, he didn't particularly value this small enterprise. If not for the need to source certain materials through the shop and to spend time with Kyoko, the proprietress, Tatsuya truly wouldn't invest much thought into it.
Mitarashi Anko hadn't shown up this morning; she had drunk too much the previous night and hadn't woken up yet. Kyoko hadn't had the heart to disturb her. Thus, Tatsuya and Kyoko had a rare, brief moment alone together in the shop.
However, the peace didn't last long. Soon, Tsubaki arrived. And beside Tsubaki was someone Tatsuya found intensely annoying.
Mizuki.
Tatsuya couldn't muster even the slightest bit of goodwill towards the man with the center-parted hairstyle.
"Tatsuya," Mizuki greeted him familiarly, seemingly trying to build upon their brief acquaintance from the reunion party the day before.
"Mm," Tatsuya responded coolly, his face impassive. He offered only a single syllable before turning away. He was in no mood to entertain this hypocrite. If not for Tsubaki's presence, Tatsuya might have ignored him completely.
"Tsubaki, Kyoko, I'll let you get busy then. I won't disturb you," Mizuki said, his smile unwavering despite Tatsuya turning his back. He shrugged, spoke to the two women, and then turned to leave. As he turned, a flicker of gloom crossed his eyes for an instant.
Tsubaki watched him go, a worried and lost expression on her face. She started to raise her hand as if to call him back, but ultimately said nothing, merely watching him leave silently. Beside her, Kyoko opened her mouth but didn't know what to say either. Though kind-hearted, Kyoko was selective; she wouldn't extend that kindness to bad people. And if Tatsuya disliked Mizuki after just one meeting, he certainly couldn't be a good person. In Kyoko's world, the standard for distinguishing good people from bad was simply based on Tatsuya's own judgment.
Tsubaki entered the pet shop looking dejected. She first glanced timidly at Tatsuya, then walked to the opposite side of the shop, furthest from him, and began working.
Kyoko walked over to Tatsuya's side and gently nudged his arm. "Tatsuya-san," she whispered, "why did you act like that just now?"
Tatsuya smiled slightly, then turned his head towards Tsubaki on the other side of the shop, raising his voice slightly. "Because that guy is not a good person."
Hearing this, Tsubaki couldn't hold back any longer. She stopped her work, walked over, and glared angrily at Tatsuya. "Jonin Tatsuya, even if you're strong, you can't just slander people without reason! Mizuki is such a good person! Why would you think he isn't? You've only met him twice!" As she spoke, Tsubaki's eyes began to redden slightly.
Hearing Tsubaki's accusation, Tatsuya looked at her seriously and asked in return, "Tsubaki, you've known Mizuki for many years, but do you truly know him? Do you know what he really wants?"
"I..." Tsubaki opened her mouth to retort.
But Tatsuya cut her off. "Don't be so quick to argue. I suggest you take the time to truly get to know this 'friend' of yours first! If Mizuki really is as good as you say, I am willing to apologize for what I said today."
Having said his piece, Tatsuya didn't continue the argument with Tsubaki. He turned back to organizing the shop. Behind him, Tsubaki stood rooted to the spot, stunned. Kyoko looked between them but didn't intervene.
An unusual quiet fell over the pet shop.
A short while later, Tatsuya suddenly made a soft sound of surprise ("Yi?"), pausing his movements. In front of him was a small cage containing several long, entirely blood-red worms. Beside the worms lay a small clump of tangled, blood-red threads, resembling a knot of dried blood vessels.
It was this small bundle of blood-red thread that had caught Tatsuya's attention. As Tatsuya's hands drew close to the red threads, an alert immediately sounded in his mind from the bio-chip:
"Host, please be advised. Natural energy detected."
"Tatsuya-san, what's wrong?" Tatsuya's unusual reaction immediately drew Kyoko's attention. She walked over to his side, asking with concern. Tsubaki didn't approach but kept her eyes fixed on them from a distance.
"What are these?" Tatsuya asked, pointing to the blood-red worms in the cage.
"Those are Blood Silkworms," Kyoko replied, blinking her large eyes, looking slightly puzzled.
"Blood Silkworms," Tatsuya murmured the name, then picked up the bundle of blood-red silk from the cage, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
"You've always liked strange and unusual creatures, haven't you?" Kyoko explained softly beside him, seeing his excited expression. "Anko asked someone to go through a lot of trouble to get these Blood Silkworms for you. They just arrived two days ago."
Blood Silkworms were a special creature unique to the shinobi world. They grew to about ten or twenty centimeters long and looked almost identical to the silkworms Tatsuya remembered from his past life, with the sole difference being their striking blood-red color.
"I'll take these for now," Tatsuya nodded after hearing Kyoko's explanation. "I'll take them back and study them." He produced a sealing scroll and promptly sealed the cage containing the Blood Silkworms inside it.
"I'm heading back," Tatsuya announced, turning to Kyoko before quickly leaving the shop. Behind him, Kyoko could only stare blankly after his retreating figure. It seems Tatsuya-san really likes those Blood Silkworms!
After leaving the pet shop, Tatsuya leaped away, heading rapidly towards the Akimichi Clan compound.
Returning to the compound, he entered his laboratory. Inside, Jizo, clad in a white lab coat, was busy dissecting a body on an examination table. Nearby, two large cultivation tanks held experimental subjects currently being nurtured. One contained the one-eyed, deformed specimen possessing a three-tomoe Sharingan – Tatsuya hadn't disposed of this particular anomaly yet, wanting to understand how its Sharingan had formed and its potential for development. The other tank held a fused-cell experiment still in its embryonic stage, which appeared to be developing abnormally. It seemed this fused-cell experiment was likely a complete failure.
However, Tatsuya paid little attention to these ongoing projects at the moment. He walked over to the experimental table and excitedly retrieved the Blood Silkworms.
"What is this?" Jizo paused his dissection work, looking over curiously at the Blood Silkworms Tatsuya had brought out.