He'll Be Back
Pochi noticed that Neya wasn't as cheerful as she always was when she sewed her clothes together for the new children that arrived in her village. Her normally smiling lips were pursed as she made quick work of her kimono sleeve she was working on. Pochi sat there by her side not knowing what to do and when he couldn't stand the silence anymore, he got up and tugged at her sleeve, catching her attention.
"What's the matter Ne-Chan?" The little Tanuki asked his friend, looking up with her with his sparkling little eyes.
Neya looked away from her work to her little friend and gave him a small smile. "Hm? Oh, it's nothing really. I'm just wondering when Utsuho will come back home...it's been a while since our last visit."
"Utsuho will be back soon! I know he will!" Pochi cheerfully told her as he happily jumped up and down. "He's just off on a quick errand and he'll be back to talk!"
Neya rubbed the top of his head and giggled at his enthusiasm and determination to make her feel better. But she knew that when Utsuho went by himself to do an errand then he was doing something dangerous that he didn't want to expose Pochi to. But she didn't want her little friend's consideration for her feelings go unheard as she toughed it out and nodded her head in agreement.
"You're right Pochi! I'm sure he'll be back any day now and then we can have some sweets together." Neya agreed, picking up her needle and started to sew again. "Maybe I'll even make him a special gift."
Pochi didn't say anything for a while until he squeaked, "Utsuho cares about you Ne-Chan!"
That made Neya stop what she was doing to look down at Pochi who continued to look at her with his wide innocent eyes. "What?"
"Utsuho cares about you Ne-Chan! He's always away because of Gramps but he cares about you and everyone here in the village too!" Pochi said again with a smile spreading across his face.
Neya took a moment to sit there and think about what he said until finally responding, "Of course he cares about me and the kids here in the village. He's always been there for me even before I started traveling with him."
"He cares about you A LOT more than that now-a-days Ne-Chan!" Pochi exclaimed as he tried to stretch out his arms to demonstrate how much Utsuho cared about her but he just winded up falling backwards. Which made Neya laugh as she helped him back up.
Neya didn't know what Pochi was implying but she thanked the little Tanuki for his concern about her feelings and continued to work on her clothes after settling Pochi down with a few snacks to munch on.
"Oh Utsuho...I hope you're OK." Neya thought to herself, keeping focused on the needle going through the clothes and feeling the warmth of the blanket around her shoulders.
Pochi mumbled under his breath, "Love? Was that how Utsuho described his feeling?"
And the two of them spent their afternoon thinking about Utsuho on his errand while Neya was thankful for her little friend comforting her as she worked.