Naruto had a bit of a skip to his step as he entered his favorite clothing store in the village. The door chimed pleasantly as he entered. The shop was owned by twin brothers, one of whom was fitting an older man for a formal kimono. The other was resting his chin on his palm as he leaned over the counter; his balance kept wavering as he teetered on the edge of sleep. Naruto’s entrance caused all three men to look up at him.
Wide grins spread across the faces of both twins. “Naruto!” They chorused in unison, causing the blonde pre-teen to smile happily. He hardly noticed the hard look that the older man shot at him as the twin that had been manning the counter threw an arm around his shoulders.
“What can I do for you today,” he asked. “New clothes? Supplies?” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Pranking ideas?”
Naruto swallowed his laughter with a side glance at the disapproving look on the older man being fitted. “Well, Kaoru-nii-san, I’m going to be a ninja tomorrow,” he said, proudly pointing at his new (to him) headband.
Kaoru’s mischievous grin morphed into a genuine smile and he squeezed the young man to his side. “Congratulations, Naruto!”
“We always knew you could do it!” The other twin added with a whoop of joy, brandishing a sewing pin.
Naruto blushed slightly and ducked his head. “Thanks, Kaoru-nii, Hikaru-nii,” he said shyly. “Would you like to get some ramen with me after you close up?”
“Of course we would!” Both twins agreed together.
“Great!” Naruto cheered. “I also need some new clothes, Kaoru-nii,” he admitted, displaying the ragged condition of his orange jacket. “I need people to take me seriously, but I definitely don’t want to lose the orange, you know?”
Kaoru nodded sagely as he steered Naruto to the back of the store. “I have just the thing in mind, fellow prankster.”
Hikaru watched the pair go with affection before turning his attention back to the other customer. He and his brother had taken the boy under their wing a few years ago and he fit in as if he had been with them his whole life.
“I don’t know why you put up with that boy,” the older man huffed irritably. “My wife had him thrown out of our store the moment he stepped foot inside.”
Hikaru’s eyes hardened and he stabbed the man in the hip with a pin, eliciting a yelp and a glare. “Excuse me, sir, but Naruto is like family to us.”
The other man’s expression soured. “You do know who that child is, don’t you?” He asked, not able to comprehend the kindness which the brothers offered the boy.
“He’s about to become a shinobi of this village and will become the hokage some day,” Hikaru said firmly. “If you can’t treat our other beloved customers with respect, then I am going to have to ask you to leave.”
The older man drew himself up in outrage. “You would rather side with that… that demon-child than me? The merchant council member?” He smirked down at the silent twin; he was sure that reminding the brat just who he was dealing with would lead to more desirable treatment.
Hikaru pushed to his feet and leveled an even stare at the council member. “Naruto is worth a hundred of you without even trying,” he said quietly. “Now get out of my store and don’t come back.”
As the councilman reddened and jerkily removed the unfinished kimono, Hikaru added, “and you can tell anyone else that we don’t accept customers who don’t respect the kid.”
Just as the angry man stormed out of the store, sending the door chime jangling loudly, Kaoru returned to the front of the store with Naruto, who clutched an armful of new clothing to his chest.
Hikaru sighed and pushed his anger away, crossing the small storefront to ruffle Naruto’s hair affectionately. As Kaoru started to ring up Naruto’s purchases, Hikaru waved him off. “Consider those our gift to you for graduating, Naruto.”
Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. The expression was unusual on his face and was uncomfortably close to the despairing look he wore when the twins first met him. Hikaru had the feeling that Naruto was not as oblivious to the councilman’s words as he seemed and he crouched down to the boy’s level. “We like quality customers here Naruto,” he said firmly, putting a hand on Naruto’s shoulder.
Blinking rapidly to prevent the tears stinging his eyes from falling, Naruto smiled gratefully. “Thanks Hikaru-nii.” The smile spread into his usual grin and he threw one arm around Hikaru’s neck in a hug. The contact was brief and Naruto pulled away again before Hikaru could return the embrace. “Ichiraku’s at seven, okay?”
Kaoru ruffled Naruto’s hair, grinning when the boy looked up at him. “We’ll see you there, squirt!”
Naruto laughed, skipping away from the hand on his head and left the store with a giant smile and a wave.
As the sound of the chiming bell faded away, Kaoru turned to his twin with a questioning expression. “What was that all about, brother-mine?”
Hikaru’s mood soured slightly as he explained what had happened with their other (now ex) customer. “Stupid jerk,” he muttered, feeling gratified that Kaoru was just as enraged as he had been and fully supported his actions and words.
Kaoru smiled slightly. “I never understood that attitude,” he confessed. “Why in the world would you want to alienate the person who restrains a being powerful to level the village and work so hard to make him miserable?”
Hikaru slung his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “My beautiful twin, that’s because you are not an idiot.”
The twins stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. “This village certainly is full of them,” Kaoru admitted, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. “Come on then, let’s fix the store sign; I have an idea.”
Later that evening, as the twins locked up and set out to join Naruto for a celebratory dinner, Hikaru looked back at the shop front and grinned. “That will definitely keep out the idiots,” he chuckled.
The new sign read, “Hitachiin Brother’s Outfitters: Supporters of the Future Hokage!”
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Chapter end notes: Yes, these are the Hitachiin brothers from Ouran High School Host Club... I thought that they would get along swimmingly with Naruto. :)