The celebration
"And you should have seen her," Naruto turned briskly from the conversation to face me, "You were amazing!" I blushed at the thought that the very handsome Naruto actually acknowledged my existence; that he though I was 'amazing' was, well, amazing. We entered the ramen specialized bar. We decided that for such a grand accomplishment, I should be allowed to pick where we went for lunch. I chose the inexpensive, dim-lighted bar not far from the bus station. I picked it because Naruto loved the smell of openly cooked ramen, a scent that hung heavy in the bar. We sat down at a used green leather booth and ordered our drinks from the young waitress in a tainted apron. Then Naruto's voice boomed over the din, "To Kiriiyu, for single handedly saving the team and completing her first ninja mission as a jounin!" Glasses clanked amongst the cheers and Naruto's laugh. His laugh.
I remembered his laugh. It was not as pleasing as Naruto's but father's laugh was not heard often. The last time I heard father's laugh it was at a similar celebration, a moment that comes in life only once: my admission to the ninja academy. Back then, a celebration meant I would be allowed in father's study room. I would enter the dim-lighted library; walk on the foreign carpet filled with dust and wait for him to bid me sit down. When he had done so, he would pat my head and his praises would fill the room, soon followed by a hacking cough. The coughing would grate my ears and the pungent medicine smell would burn my nose. Celebration was like toughing death, not a pleasant encounter. Yet, I smiled. I smiled for my father was happy and his laugh echoed through the library.
His laugh echoed in the crowded bar, along with the chants our friends would sing at the top of their drunken voices. They cheered for the food the waitress brought, raising their glasses, spilling over the table. "She hasn't taken a drink yet!" All heads at the booth turned and all was quiet. They waited for a response but I just shifted uneasily in the booth. Naruto's hand came crashing against the table gaining the attention of the whole bar. He propped himself up and gave me the most intense stare a drunken man had ever given. Before I knew it his cold glass of beer was against my lips and a deafening chant began,
"Chug, chug, chug!" Even the waiters and the cooks had joined in. I closed my eyes and gulped the glass of beer as fast as possible. As I took my last sip, I clenched my fist, trying to keep the nausea from surfacing. Cheers erupted but I did not join in; the nauseating drink had made this 'party' much more like a 'let's torture Kiriiyu' episode. The only thing worth while was Naruto's pink cheeks and bright red nose, that was until that face asked me,
"Let's dance," he bowed ridiculously low, "Shall we, madam?"
"Shall we?" Father's health did not allow him to exercise much, but when he felt up for it, I could not refuse. He would pick up my small body and make me stand on his feet. I would watch our feet as they were lifted in the air and would then fall back on the floor, dust rising from the carpet; the particles would dance in the air around us. The magic would not last long; father would eventually get tired and drop himself into a chair. That would be the end.
"Well, shall we?" Naruto's hand stood awkwardly in mid-air. He pulled me away from the booth and into the corner of the room some old songs played. We danced out of rhythm and laughed whenever we bumped into another couple. As the song ended we looked into each other's eyes, and as bad as dinner had been, I hoped that would not be the end.