After the funeral ended, the more than a thousand people at Martyr Cemetery gradually began to leave.
By the time Hanfu and the others got home, it was already past ten. Keiko hurried into the kitchen to make rice balls, afraid the two boys would go hungry.
"Aunt Keiko, put in more sesame seeds."
Outside the kitchen, Hayate was so hungry he kept swallowing.
Hanfu couldn't bear to watch. He shoved his hands into his pockets and went to the living room, then realized Gekko Hoshino hadn't come home with them.
"Mom, where's Dad?" Hanfu called toward the kitchen.
"Your father has something to take care of."
Keiko's voice came from the kitchen. "Hanfu, after you've eaten your rice balls, take Hayate to school. Make sure you explain to your homeroom teacher why you skipped class, all right?"
Hanfu answered, then went to the kitchen and asked, "What's Dad busy with? Is he reporting on the front lines to the Third Hokage?"
"No."
Keiko continued making rice balls without looking back. "Your father is taking care of the relief funds."
"Relief funds?"
Hanfu paused. "The funds the village gives to the families of the deceased?"
"Not just them. The three clan members who were so badly injured they can no longer work as ninja need to apply for relief funds too," Keiko said.
Hanfu was puzzled. "If they apply, shouldn't they get the funds? Would the village really withhold them?"
"They won't withhold them, but the amount each person receives will vary." Keiko sighed. "You're still young. You don't understand these things yet."
Hanfu rolled his eyes. What was there not to understand? Put cynically, people who had better connections got more, and people who had worse connections got less. Look at it more charitably, and families in worse circumstances