Sometimes they ran out of groceries and Zetsu wasn’t available to get more, so Tobi had to go to town himself. The first time, he had been excited. He couldn’t remember what people were supposed to look like and only possessed a vague recollection of how to buy things, but he could tell when people were lying and was too wary to be caught by a thief, so he walked into town with a great deal more confidence than he was probably due.
Then the stares had started. At first, they had been covert.Quick looks over the shoulder and glances out of the corners of their eyes that had hardly bothered Tobi at all, what with the way he was staring at absolutely everything with no shame to speak of. But the closer he had gotten to the center of town where the market resided, the more obvious the stares had become, and soon they were accompanied by whispers that bordered on the threshold of Tobi’s hearing.
The older women had been the most kind.
“Would you look at that child?What do you think happened to him?”
“Accident I would expect. Looks like something fell on him. Poor boy.”
The younger people weren’t so gentle.The girls’ comments were often accompanied by giggles that were nothing like the laugh of the girl in his dreams.
“See him? Isn’t he awful?”
“Revolting! I can barely look at him.”
Despite their comments, they looked anyway. Tobi felt his fingernails bite into his palms and resisted the urge to reach for the kunai secreted in the pouch strapped to his waist.Instead, he ran the rest of the way to the marketplace and bought the needed supplies as quickly as possible, not bothering to haggle about the prices. Even the market vendors could hardly meet his gaze.
Zetsu had found him a few hours later sitting on the edge of the stream where Tobi had first seen his own face, tossing stones into the water, the groceries lying in a pile beside him.“Tobi, what are you doing here?”
“You lied to me.”
This tired statement startled Zetsu enough that even with his back to his mentor, Tobi could sense the way Zetsu stiffened.“What do you think we lied to you about?”
“You said I wasn’t ugly.”
Considering it had been over a year since that particular discussion, it was a credit to Zetsu’s memory that he responded so promptly.“We said that we didn’t find you ugly. We didn’t say that others would perceive you the same way.”
It was only Zetsu’s extraordinary eyesight, equal to Tobi’s in strength though different in its application, that allowed him to see the rearrangement in Tobi’s facial muscles that signified a petulant scowl.“Then you should have said something.”
“We couldn’t predict how the townspeople would react to you. We don’t go near them. We normally get our groceries elsewhere.”
The next stone Tobi threw hit with some force, resulting in a small tidal wave that soaked Tobi’s sandals and the hem of his pants.“I hate people.”
Zetsu nodded. “They do tend to lack much in the way of redeemable qualities.”
It was then that Tobi finally turned to Zetsu, allowing the elder shinobi to catch sight of his student’s face.Zetsu blinked at the tears in Tobi’s one eye.When Tobi cried, it was usually obvious in his tone no matter how Tobi tried to hide it, but this time, Zetsu hadn’t noticed at all. “Will I have to go into town again, Zetsu-san?”
“Eventually.” Tobi’s face fell. “However, we can get a mask for you, if you wish.That way you will not have to hide your weapons, since no one will recognize you, and it is customary for shinobi to hide their identities.”
Tobi blinked, surprised out of his misery.“Am I a shinobi then, Zetsu-san?”
“Yes.”
Tobi smiled, cheered at the thought of anonymity.To be able to see, without being seen. “Thank you, Zetsu-san.”
"You are welcome,Tobi."
He was still stared at, but now he could stare back, and eventually they would notice and look away.With Zetsu, he didn’t bother.Zetsu knew what he looked like, anyway, and with his own special eyes, Zetsu could see Tobi’s face, even when the mask went on.Zetsu was the only one who ever really saw him. It didn’t take Tobi long to decide that he didn’t mind that at all.
__________
Then the stares had started. At first, they had been covert.Quick looks over the shoulder and glances out of the corners of their eyes that had hardly bothered Tobi at all, what with the way he was staring at absolutely everything with no shame to speak of. But the closer he had gotten to the center of town where the market resided, the more obvious the stares had become, and soon they were accompanied by whispers that bordered on the threshold of Tobi’s hearing.
The older women had been the most kind.
“Would you look at that child?What do you think happened to him?”
“Accident I would expect. Looks like something fell on him. Poor boy.”
The younger people weren’t so gentle.The girls’ comments were often accompanied by giggles that were nothing like the laugh of the girl in his dreams.
“See him? Isn’t he awful?”
“Revolting! I can barely look at him.”
Despite their comments, they looked anyway. Tobi felt his fingernails bite into his palms and resisted the urge to reach for the kunai secreted in the pouch strapped to his waist.Instead, he ran the rest of the way to the marketplace and bought the needed supplies as quickly as possible, not bothering to haggle about the prices. Even the market vendors could hardly meet his gaze.
Zetsu had found him a few hours later sitting on the edge of the stream where Tobi had first seen his own face, tossing stones into the water, the groceries lying in a pile beside him.“Tobi, what are you doing here?”
“You lied to me.”
This tired statement startled Zetsu enough that even with his back to his mentor, Tobi could sense the way Zetsu stiffened.“What do you think we lied to you about?”
“You said I wasn’t ugly.”
Considering it had been over a year since that particular discussion, it was a credit to Zetsu’s memory that he responded so promptly.“We said that we didn’t find you ugly. We didn’t say that others would perceive you the same way.”
It was only Zetsu’s extraordinary eyesight, equal to Tobi’s in strength though different in its application, that allowed him to see the rearrangement in Tobi’s facial muscles that signified a petulant scowl.“Then you should have said something.”
“We couldn’t predict how the townspeople would react to you. We don’t go near them. We normally get our groceries elsewhere.”
The next stone Tobi threw hit with some force, resulting in a small tidal wave that soaked Tobi’s sandals and the hem of his pants.“I hate people.”
Zetsu nodded. “They do tend to lack much in the way of redeemable qualities.”
It was then that Tobi finally turned to Zetsu, allowing the elder shinobi to catch sight of his student’s face.Zetsu blinked at the tears in Tobi’s one eye.When Tobi cried, it was usually obvious in his tone no matter how Tobi tried to hide it, but this time, Zetsu hadn’t noticed at all. “Will I have to go into town again, Zetsu-san?”
“Eventually.” Tobi’s face fell. “However, we can get a mask for you, if you wish.That way you will not have to hide your weapons, since no one will recognize you, and it is customary for shinobi to hide their identities.”
Tobi blinked, surprised out of his misery.“Am I a shinobi then, Zetsu-san?”
“Yes.”
Tobi smiled, cheered at the thought of anonymity.To be able to see, without being seen. “Thank you, Zetsu-san.”
"You are welcome,Tobi."
He was still stared at, but now he could stare back, and eventually they would notice and look away.With Zetsu, he didn’t bother.Zetsu knew what he looked like, anyway, and with his own special eyes, Zetsu could see Tobi’s face, even when the mask went on.Zetsu was the only one who ever really saw him. It didn’t take Tobi long to decide that he didn’t mind that at all.
__________
