Shiki had concluded his unusual afternoon training, unusual because Mito usually reserved this time for other matters.
His next steps however, did not change. It was dinnertime and one of the chores his mistress had taken to foisting upon him was cooking, especially after discovering he was just as talented at it as he was in regards to jutsu.
Noticing two additional presences in the mansion, Shiki increased the amount of food he was preparing.
'If the guests don't stay to eat. I'll just put the excess in the fridge and eat it tomorrow.' He thought as he cooked a few simple dishes.
He was no master chef after all and had barely started learning how to cook, something he had no experience with in his previous life either, even during his mostly healthy early youth.
After cooking a good portion of fried rice and preparing a couple of side dishes, Shiki set the table and readied everything for the meal.
Not even a full minute after he was done, Mito had already arrived, guests in tow.
'Mito-sama was definitely using her Mind's Eye of the Kagura to watch me make dinner again.' The white haired boy internally commented but was not late with his greetings.
"Good evening Mito-sama. Dinner for four is ready."
"Very good." The redhead nodded with approval before gesturing for her grandchildren to step up.
"I'm sure you have already realized who these two are. My granddaughter Tsunade and her younger brother Nawaki." The Uzumaki matriarch introduced.
Both Nawaki and Tsunade eyed Shiki with curiosity.
The former was simply happy to have someone he planned to treat as a younger brother he could show off to as the boy was at that age when being the youngest was not to his preference.
The latter, on the other hand, was trying to look deeper into it.
'This kid is rather polite and well worded for a five year old. He is not only quite fit, his chakra control seems very well trained though he would have to actually use it for me to gauge more accurately. His body and chakra seem unusually active too . . .' Tsunade evaluated.
As expected from the future greatest medical nin to ever have lived, the Senju princess immediately figured out some of Shiki's peculiarities even if the true secrets behind them remained out of her grasp.
Because Shiki was still practicing maintaining the Three Bodies Breathing Method at all times, Tsunade was able to pick up on some of his strangeness.
Shiki's Thoughts on the other hand, were far simpler.
'Ahh, the ill fated siblings. The giver of the cursed necklace and forehead kiss of death as well as its first receiver. It was about time for me to meet them.'
Having been attending to Mito for a couple of weeks now, Shiki had of course heard from her about the two siblings.
Shiki had thought it would be no time before he met them but surprisingly, it had taken quite a bit of time.
'Considering Mito-sama went out today, it's even probable that they were either called or at least incentivized to come.' The white haired boy mused.
It was rather off putting.
Living in this world and forging a real, even if nascent, bond with Mito, Shiki could not treat things like a game and the unfilial actions of Tsunade and Nawaki rubbed him off the wrong way so he could not really look at them favorably.
After attending to the Uzumaki matriarch for a short while, he had come to realize she had been quite worn down by some sort of mental burden.
With his limited understanding he theorized it might have something to do with the Nine Tails though it could also be something else entirely.
What he did know was that Mito seemed to use him to recharge her mental batteries, as if having him attend to her was some sort of spiritual healing.
Shiki had no idea how that worked, he did not know of the burden of Mito's sensory prowess and how his presence registered differently for her so he had no way of knowing.
Regardless, he was happy to be of assistance to his mistress since she had also done a lot for him and he, not being ungrateful, wanted to repay her somehow.
However, he believes that if Mito's grandchildren were around more often and spent time with her, the Uzumaki matriarch's situation would not be that bad.
So while the white haired boy greeted the siblings respectfully, some dissatisfaction slipped into his voice.
"Tsunade-sama, Nawaki-sama." Shiki bowed.
Who was Tsunade however?
Her medical expertise combined with her shinobi senses made reading body language a breeze so she immediately detected the dissatisfaction. The blonde did however, mistook its source.
"What with the attitude kid? Afraid we'll steal obaa-sama from you?" Tsunade provoked.
Nawaki had not even seen any dissatisfaction in Shiki. In fact, he believed the white haired boy was being too formal and now his sister was needlessly antagonizing him.
Mito's eyebrows raised at her granddaughter's remark.
'I can sense Shiki's dissatisfaction but I do not think he's the type for that kind of petty jealousy.' The redhead thought, electing to wait for Shiki's response.
"Oh I'm not worried. Especially considering it's been nearly a month since I was adopted and it's my first time seeing Tsunade-sama and Nawaki-sama around." The white haired boy replied.
The siblings stiffened at the sharp retort. Poor Nawaki wanted to get along with Shiki and yet had been caught in the crossfire as well.
'Maybe I should visit obaa-sama more often . . .' The brown haired boy reflected.
Mito on the other hand was moved. Shiki's attentiveness and the care he showed for her, an old woman he had only met a few weeks ago, were truly heartwarming for the Uzumaki matriarch.
"I uhh . . . Well . . . um . . ." Tsunade struggled to find the proper words.
The blonde had now realized her mistake regarding the source of Shiki's dissatisfaction and the fact an outsider that had barely come into the family was more attentive for her grandmother's wellbeing than her, was quite humbling and shameful.
Internally chuckling, Mito decided to cut her grandchildren some slack and usher everyone to eat first and leave the conversations for later. Internally however, she was quite amused by the situation.
'Turns out Shiki is not polite by default.' The redhead thought.
'It heavily depends on who he's dealing with.'
As the meal proceeded, Mito sneakily teased Tsunade about how easily Shiki left her speechless, not intending on letting her off so casually while the younger Nawaki, already having shaken off the awkwardness, was excitedly trying to make conversation with Shiki.
"So! Obaa-sama said you like training a lot?"
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Hey, Author here!
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Just so you know. While I would immensely appreciate your pa-treon subscription, the chapters will all eventually become available on this site.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -