A/N: I took a perfectly good au and made it sad. This is why we can't have nice things. Anyways, I really hope you like it, it's my first fanfiction and I've actually been debating whether to write this or not after seeing that one scene from Adventure Time. The au is from ddaoko on tumblr, and the name Nariko is from maknae_(witchdetective) on ao3. Also if you want to find and message me on tumblr, my url is otakufantasizer.
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"And the strong, brave maiden jumped up and swung her sword down with a swoosh!" He spoke dramatically, emphasizing the sound effect by swinging down an imaginary sword. He was careful not to accidentally hit her seeing as she was currently leaning against him, while the motion caused her to giggle. "And down went the fearful Sorceress, finally ending her reign of terror and destruction. It was then she was finally able to rescue her dearest childhood friend, and they both went back to their hometown to spend the rest of their lives in peaceful harmony." He finally concluded.
"Hey Papa?" She spoke timidly. "Can I hear one more?" But her Papa only gave a small chuckle,
"Non non, my sweet little angel. It's time for you to rest." He replied, only causing her to sit up, staring at him desperately,
"But I don't wanna sleep!" She whined. "My dreams are weird."
"I thought all dreams were weird." He replied teasingly.
"But Papa! My dreams are weeeeiiirrdd!" She persisted, drawing out the last word for effect. He only chuckled once more, turning his body to face her more as he put a comforting hand on her little shoulders,
"My dear Nariko, something weird might be something familiar viewed from a different angle." He reassured with a smile, pulling her into a comforting embrace, "Now that's not scary, is it?" She hugged him back and let herself get pulled into a gentle sway as he rocked back and forth, singing with his gentle soothing voice.
"Let's go in the garden
you'll find something waiting" She gave a small smile at the familiarity of the tune and closed her eyes and joined in, already knowing the lyrics by heart.
"Right there where you left it
Lying upside down
When you finally find it
You'll see how it's faded…" As the song went on she felt a small warmth fill her chest, but it was followed by a strange ache. For some reason, she missed this. She missed Him.
"The underside is lighter
When you turn it around…" For some reason she missed the way he spoke, missed the way he acted, missed the antics they'd get into, and most of all, missed moments just like these, where she felt safe and content and just….happy.
"Everything stays,
Right where you left it…" His voice was fading away, but she didn't want it to. She didn't want this to be over, she didn't want to be left alone, she didn't want him to leave her again. She…
She…
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"..riko….Nariko!" A gentle voice spoke, pulling her back into the waking world..
"Huh?" Nariko spoke, startled as she shot into a sitting position, disoriented and unable to remember where she was at first. While her memories slowly trickled back she looked around, noting that the room was now dark aside from the light pouring in from the open doorway, illuminating her current surroundings. Her heart sank as she slowly looked down at the worn blue hoodie (It still smelled like him...) she wore, uncaring if it was a few sizes too big for her, and the back of her eyes began to sting.
"Nariko." The voice spoke once more, reminding her of the other presence in the room. Nariko slowly turned her head towards the source, coming face to face with that of her concerned grandmother. "Were you having that dream again?" Grandma spoke in a sad yet careful tone. Nariko tensed, unfortunately knowing all too well what she was talking about. But nevertheless she shook her head.
"No." She replied in a quiet voice while sniffling and wiping away the tears before they spilled. "It...It was a happy dream." She heard a sigh of what she believed to be relief.
"I see." Grandma breathed, and there was a small pause before she stood up, "You must be hungry. Dinner's almost ready so make sure to clean yourself up, okay?" She quietly told her, but Nariko only frowned.
"Grandma?" She hesitantly called out while getting up, hearing only a hum as a response, "Is it okay if I don't eat tonight? I-I'm not hungry." She didn't meet Grandma's gaze, resorting to fiddling with the hem of the hoodie as the elder lady turned back to her,
"You still have to eat something." She said to her, voice filled with exasperated worry. "You've gone too many days without food, it's not healthy for someone as young as you."
"But grandma, I can't." Nariko persisted. "I just can't." Another sigh.
"Karamatsu wouldn't want you starving yourself." Was all Grandma said, and Nariko froze. She could imagine her and Papa being at the table with the food that Papa had cooked (he was slowly getting better), giving a speech on the importance of eating healthy and how it'll help her grow big and strong while adding in his own unique flair, and how she'd laugh and then he would laugh as well. But-
"But he's not here." She said out loud, her small hands balling into fists. Her words must have stunned Grandma, for there was a slight delay before she slowly knelt down until she was at Nariko's level again,
"He is." She said reaching out in an attempt to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I know him, that boy loves you too much to leave you behind."
"But he's not!" Nariko snapped, flinching away from Grandma's touch. "He's not here! If he was then...then…" Her voice started cracking and her vision was getting blurry again. "W-We'd still be on the roof of our home making pictures with the stars, or-or watching Nyaa-chan on the TV! He'd still be telling me made up stories every night and hug me, and t-try to sing me to sleep. He'd still be walking me to school, or teaching me how to play the guitar, or taking me to the park and get chased by the birds a-and later have me help patch him up! If he was here then…" Her breathing was getting more erratic and she was trembling, but she neither noticed nor cared. "Th-Then no matter w-what happens, I'd be f-fine because I'd be h-home...b-because Papa is my home. B-But none of these are happening because he's not here, he's gone-Papa's gone, and he's never coming back!"
After her little outburst there was nothing at first, and a tiny part of Nariko was scared that her words hurt Grandma. But then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and Nariko wasted no time doing the same while burying her face into her grandmother's shoulders as she sobbed and wailed while Grandma soothed and comforted her. She never noticed the trembling in the elder woman's shoulders, nor the small hitches in the the other's breath as she did so.
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It was only when she had finally calmed down and agreed to at least eat a small bowl of rice, that Nariko finally became aware of the overwhelming but familiar silence that filled the home. She already knew Grandpa recently started working extra late, however...
"Grandma?" She voiced. "Where are Uncle Osomatsu and the others?"
"They're still out, most likely doing whatever those NEETs love best again." Grandma answered. There was no distaste and contempt in those words, Nariko had noticed, only weary acceptance.
"...But they've been gone since I came back from school." Again. Nariko mentally added as she stared down at her bowl of half eaten rice.
"That's how they are." Grandma said exasperatedly. Silence hung in the air as they focused their attention on the food in front of them with Nariko halfheartedly nudging the grains of rice until she finally gathered the courage to say,
"They hate me, don't they?" Grandma froze, giving her a shocked look.
"Why do you say that?" She asked. Nariko's grip on the ceramic bowl tightened as her chest felt constricted.
"Th-The reason they go out is because they don't want to see me, isn't it? B-Because it was my fault tha-"
"Nariko." Grandma's stern voice interrupted. "What happened that day wasn't your fault, understand? It was out of your control. As for them...those six-your father and uncles-they're all idiots but they were always so close. I'm sure they're still trying to get over the loss of one of their own in their own ways." She told her a distant look on her face, but Nariko still looked at her with doubt that she only realized was evident in her expression when Grandma spoke once more. "However, if by chance it's true that one of your Uncles really do blame you for that, well, we'll just have a nice, long, talk later. In fact, I think we'll have one anyways when they come back." During that moment, Grandma gave a smile, but even Nariko could sense the spine crawling danger it hid. Though as abruptly as it came, that aura surrounding the elder lady disappeared, "Now eat your rice." She then instructed her innocently, as if what happened a few seconds ago never occurred in the first place.
"M'kay." Nariko quickly obliged and used her chopsticks to shove the rest of the rice into her mouth, suddenly feeling quite sorry for her Uncles.
It was only moments later that Nariko set the empty bowl down, thanking Grandmother for the food. She then hopped off the chair and walked to the nearby shrine where a bowl of food had already been placed and incense lit. She knelt down, rang the small bell, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and bowed her head as she sent a silent prayer to her Papa. When she was done, she opened her eyes once more, staring wistfully at the picture sitting in the shrine,
"I love you Papa." She whispered before getting up once more and walking to the kitchen where Grandmother was currently washing the dishes with a certain goal in mind; One that developed ever since Papa told stories about it. "Grandma, is it true that Papa used to sing on the roof?"
"Yes." Grandma responded.
"Was it nice?" Nariko asked.
"Well I guess it was, considering Karamatsu kept going back up there." Grandma answered.
"...Can I do it too?" There was a brief pause, but it was long enough that Nariko was scared she'd refuse. "Please?" The young girl pleaded.
"Okay." Grandma relented. "But please be careful." Nariko's eyes lit up and she nodded and hugged Grandma's waist before rushing to her room to retrieve her guitar.
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It was an exceptionally beautiful night, Nariko thought. The skies were clear with the moon, round and full, hanging proudly in the sky and bathing the quiet neighborhood in a soft, silvery, ethereal light while the Moon Rabbit was hard at work making sweet mochi. Accompanying the moon and its lone inhabitant were hundreds of thousands of tiny pinpricks of light that twinkled in the inky black sky. Nariko stared at the whole scene before her in awe, her place on the roof giving her a fairly decent view as she vaguely wondered if this is what Papa saw every time he came up here. The thought only produced a slight twinge in her heart, as she knew that Papa would've loved to see this alongside her. But the young girl only shook her head, ridding those thoughts as she carefully rolled up the long sleeves of the blue hoodie she still wore, mindful to not accidentally drop the precious guitar.
Nariko then gripped the instrument, giving it a few test strums, and pausing only to tune some of the strings until she was satisfied. She strummed the first few notes, took a deep breath, and began to sing a song she knew by heart.
"Let's go in the garden, you'll find something waiting
Right there where you left it, lying upside down
When you finally find it, you'll see how it's faded
The underside is brighter when you turn it around
Everything stays, right where you left it
Everything stays, but it still changes
Ever so slightly, daily and nightly
In little ways,
When everything stays."