Pretty Maelstrom

-Chapter Start-

Nani was certain that she had spent more time inside a library over the past week, than she had ever done in the rest of her life. For at least two hours, everyday, she found herself meeting Naruto at the library. Where she would try to list off everything she remembered about a particular myth, or would try and give context for whatever he was reading.

Whenever Nani arrived at the library, the blond was already there. Looking like a tourist with his loud, long-sleeved, flowered shirts, and always with his right hand tucked away in the pocket of his shorts. For the first several days, the native woman had secretly tried watching to learn what he was hiding.

Her efforts had little results other than seeing him shift his arm around. Leading her to believe that while his arm was fine, he had recently been in an accident. Resulting in him injuring or losing his hand, and possibly leaving him with a prosthetic one. Which he might be self-conscious about. Especially if he was still getting adjusted to it. Supported by his admission to being unused to doing things with his left hand.

Whatever was going on, Nani tried not to stare too much. Wanting to avoid possibly upset the man who was currently paying her, and very generously at that. Compensating her for the few hours she worked alongside him with more money than she would have made for a full shift at many other jobs. Although she had been confused when he started paying her at the end of every day.

After he had paid her on the first day, Naruto had claimed that she had really helped with his progress, and asked if she would be willing to assist him again. She agreed, especially with the chance to make more money, and expected that the next day the two of them would discuss a payment schedule. But instead he just continued to pay her for individual days.

"Why do you pay me every day?" she finally asked him on the third day.

The blond looked confused at first, tilting his head to the side. "When else would I pay you?" he asked back, not answering her.

"Most employers would just tally everything together, and pay out a lump sum at either the end of the week or month," she tried to calmly reply. Hoping she wouldn't offend her benefactor.

"Really?" the blond grunted. Seemingly more confused. "I always thought it normal to pay someone when they had completed whatever mission they had been assigned."

The man sat back in his chair, absentmindedly scratching at the back of his head as he thought. Seemingly trying to come up with some explanation for his strange actions. Or perhaps he was just stuck thinking about his past.

"I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable," he suddenly started talking. "Part of why I pay you daily comes from my own experiences, and another is how delicate my situation is." He paused to think again. "My teammate, or it might be better to call her my roommate, and I are not from around here."

Nani struggled to resist rolling her eyes at Naruto, for stating the obvious. Everything about him screamed tourist.

"I'm looking for something specific within all these myths and legends," he gestured towards all the books. "There is a chance that I might learn something useful from all this studying. When I do I might have to suddenly leave to look into it personally. Which depending on if you're helping me on that day, I might have to leave without paying you, and I don't think either of us want that."

It was true, Nani would really hate it if Naruto disappeared while owing her money. So after that conversation, she happily accepted her daily payment, before running off to go pick up her sister and make it to her evening job at the restaurant. Where the pay wasn't as good, but it at least gave her proof of employment. Which was the most valuable thing she could have, when she was convincing the government to let her raise her six year old sister.

Although every once in a while she would think back to that afternoon, and what he talked about. Being that it was the first time he had ever mentioned anything about himself, or why he was looking through a bunch of books on legends.

When she had asked him on the first day what he was looking for, his response was that he had no idea. He wanted to learn everything he could about Polynesian myths, specifically travel, but didn't know what to look for or where to start. This led both of them to blindly search for anything that might pique the blond's interest. Currently they hadn't found anything.

Maybe they would have found something by now, if Naruto could sit still for more than ten minutes. The man seemed to be a constant source of energy. He would regularly get up from the chair he was reading in, and walk around for a bit before returning to his seat. Seemingly trying to force himself into reading book after book, while fighting against his urge to leave the library.

Nani had found it odd at first, but was slowly beginning to think of it as endearing. It was obvious that the blond didn't like studying, but he still kept at it. Whatever was driving him to keep returning to the library day after day must have been important to him, and watching his conviction was charming in its own way. So, for as bizarre as the situation she was in, Nani could honestly say she enjoyed it. Even to the present day.

"You wouldn't happen to have found anything useful, would you?" Naruto asked, standing from his chair.

"Nothing," Nani stated. "Are you sure that you can't be any more specific with what you're looking for?"

"I wish," he responded, picking up a book with his only visible hand. "If I knew what I was looking for, I would have probably found it by now."

"Yeah, that's true," the woman groaned. "It's just frustrating trying to find something when you don't know what you're looking for."

"I'm sorry that I keep asking you to help me with this," Naruto said, placing the book back on the table, so he could scratch his head. "But, you've been helping me so much since we met, so thank you for this."

Nani waved her hand, trying to show that his thanks weren't necessary. Partially because she felt like she didn't deserve them. Doing this mostly for the money, even if she enjoyed his company.

"Why don't you check out some books from the library?" the woman questioned, having noticed that since the first day she met him, the blond hadn't taken out any books. "It would give you some extra time to read everything."

"I could," Naruto sighed. "But my home isn't in the best shape right now."

The knowledge he owned a house on the island was surprising to Nani. With everyone wanting to buy a piece of paradise, housing prices on the islands were exorbitant. She felt lucky to have inherited her house from her parents. Giving her a place to return to every night.

"I actually bought the building for a decent price," Naruto continued. Answering some of her questions, despite her not asking any. "The guy we bought it from called it a fixer-upper, I think."

"So, you don't want to take any books home because you're missing a wall or something?" Nani said jokingly, intentionally adding a laugh.

"I already replaced that wall," the blond replied instantly. "I usually spend the evenings repairing what I can, so I wouldn't have a lot of time to read anything. Plus the books might get lost in the piles of supplies that are laying around."

The woman nodded, beginning to understand the blond's reasoning. "If anything were to happen to those books, you would have to deal with the scary librarian."

The two of them shuddered, sparing a glance toward the older woman who sat behind a large desk. Her strict hawk-like eyes sweeping over the shelves and tables. Seemingly keeping everything in order through her gaze alone.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, returning his sight to his guide. "I only bring books home if I need to show something to my teammate."

"You've mentioned her before," Nani pushed, wanting to know more about the man. "What's she like?"

"Sakura?" Naruto responded. "She's really pretty and smart. A lot smarter than me at least. If she were here, she could have probably already read every book here."

"Then what's she doing while you're here?" Nani figured the other woman was working at a job.

"She's..." Naruto scratched the back of his head in nervousness. Using the time to collect his thoughts. "She's still getting settled in back at the house. Our arrival here didn't agree with her."

"So you moved here recently. Any particular reason?"

"Not really. In fact it was mostly an accident that she and I came here. Hopefully we'll be able to go home soon."

Nani hummed at the information. Finally having learned something about her strange employer. He had enough money to buy a house, even one that apparently needed some work. This made her feel a bit better about him paying her. Although she did worry for this Sakura girl. Afraid she might be sick, or still acclimating to her new surroundings.

A ticking broke through the local woman's thoughts. Bringing her attention to the clock on the far wall, and reminding her that she needed to be somewhere soon.

"Sorry for leaving early, but I need to go pick up my sister from hula practice," Nani said, pushing her chair back.

"It's no problem," Naruto said, passing her the day's pay. Which Nani noted was her usual amount, despite not staying the whole time. "If you're going to a dance school, would you mind if I followed along? I've heard so much about the dance style here."

A week ago Nani would have declined, but having gotten to know the man over the past week, she gave him a smirk. "I'm going to be moving fast, but if you can keep up you're welcome to follow."

*break*

Lilo was pacing outside of the hula school, waiting for her sister to show up. Myrtle and the other girls had already gone home, leaving her alone, as the advanced class began inside the building.

With a sudden rustle from the bushes, her sister burst into view, gasping for breath from running. While immediately following her came a blond man, who was breathing no harder than if he had just stood up from a chair.

As Nani crouched down in front of her, Lilo kept her eyes on the stranger. Noting his posture as he kept one hand in his pocket at all times, giving him a laid back look. Kind of like Elvis, but more wild with whisker tattoos.

"Sorry for the wait Lilo, I got caught up," the elder sister said, finally catching her breath.

The man stood to the side, taking a look at the dancers through the window, before turning his attention towards the sign listing performance times. He was definitely a tourist.

"Ah, yes," Nani said, noticing where Lilo was focusing. "This is Naruto, who I'm helping at the library. He's my friend." She stressed the last word, not really knowing if the blond thought of her like that.

Naruto just smiled at the woman, then turned to look at the young girl. His eyes bright as always, just watch as the child continues to study him. Eventually walking up to his pocketed right hand, before choosing to ignore it in favor of his visible left.

"So you're the one my sister goes to see everyday," Lilo finally spoke. Grabbing onto the blond's wrist as she began to swing his arm back and forth.

"I hope I'm not taking too much of her time away from you," he responded.

After a few seconds of having his arm moved around, the man began to raise his arm into the air. With the girl still attached, forcing her to use her free hand to grab farther up his forearm. Leaving her now dangling above the ground.

Giving a wide grin, which was returned, Lilo began to swing herself back and forth on the man's outstretched arm. By the third swing she let go, and flung herself into the air. But before she could even reach her apex, a hand snapped out and grabbed the back of her muumuu. Stopping her impromptu flight.

The little girl sighed in disappointment. Looking behind her at the concerned man, who was no doubt about to lecture her. Just like every other adult.

"You should look where you're going to land," the blond started out. "You almost flew into that post."

Directly in front of Lilo was the sign listing the show times. Had she actually hit it, she probably would have hurt herself, or at best destroyed the sign itself.

With a sudden shift Lilo, still being carried, was taken to a nearby yard. The small expanse of grass would give a soft landing for the little girl. With quick movement, she found herself placed back on the ground, where Naruto's arm was held before her.

"Are you really going to let me swing from your arm?" Lilo asked. Looking at the offered appendage with some trepidation.

"Why not?" the whiskered man responded with a shrug. Which the girl copied before grappling onto his arm. Once she was back in the air, Naruto nodded his head towards the field. "See that red flower?"

Lilo saw the red hibiscus planted several steps away.

"See if you can make it past that," Naruto challenged.

With a nod, she began to swing back and forth. Building up as much momentum as possible, before releasing herself into the sky. Soaring through air, before landing firmly on the ground. The hibiscus far behind her.

"Yeah! I did it," she yelled, running back to her sister and new friend. "What do I get for clearing the flower?"

Naruto looked at her, "What do you want?"

Lilo thought about it for a second. "Ice cream," was the obvious answer.

The blond shifted his eyes towards the elder sibling. Not wanting to promise something he shouldn't. While Nani had watched the interactions with concern, she did give an approving smile at the end.

Lilo shouted with joy as she rushed over to where her bag had been left on the ground. Throwing it over her shoulder and returning to the others. Only to stop, pull out a camera, and take a picture of the blond.

Nani sighed at her sister's habit. Wondering about the dynamics of a native girl who takes pictures of tourists instead of the other way around. Of course a week ago she was having a conversation about selling pictures of herself to those same tourists. Thankfully Naruto walked into her life and made that feel like a far off worry.

She felt her smile drop even as she watched Lilo bounce around. The words from her new friend ringing in her ears. About how he might suddenly disappear one day once he found what he was looking for. But for now she would have to hold onto these precious moments.

Especially now that Lilo seemed to have attached herself to Naruto. Both emotionally and physically. The way she wrapped herself around his arm, while giving him directions to the ice cream parlor, was impressive. She would indeed have to hold onto these precious moments, as she grew to know even more about her new friend.

-Chapter End-

First I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter of this new story. And I'm glad that so many of you are enjoying it.

Next up, Sakura's here. She should be appearing in the next chapter, but try not to expect too much. When Naruto said that their arrival didn't agree with her, I meant it. Things are going to get interesting from here on out.

I also hope I did justice to Lilo. I was trying to make her the weird kid that she is, but still endearing at the same time.

The 3rd chapter is about halfway written out, and I might hopefully have it ready by next week. Don't expect these weekly chapter updates to continue for much longer. I seem to be averaging about two 2 weeks per chapter. That being said I really want to get to chapter 4, because that's where the fun things are. While I've tried to make good use of the M rating so far, chapter 4 is where things pick up. I hope you're looking forward to it.

Thank you all for reading, hopefully you enjoyed. Take care.