:: :: ::
The door slides open. "Are you ready, nii-san?"
"Almost." You tie the koshi-himo of your yukata. His footsteps approach you from behind, before he kneels down and takes the obi from your lap. You let him wrap it around you, securing the obi in a soft knot.
You notice how he is not in this usual rush, taking his time to make sure the obi is neither too loose nor tight, the knot hanging symmetrically. After he is done, he lingers, so you take a moment to fix his collar, granting him the time to understand what he wants to say.
"Nii-san... promise you'll stay by me tonight."
You find it ironic how he now worries you will wander from him like a lost child. You chuckle, a palm to his face, and tell him you will.
On the street, his friends wait, as does a young woman in a yukata with blossoms. Above her eyes are brushes of shadow, a dab of gloss on her lips, a bracelet around her wrist.
Your brother has his gaze momentarily lost on her. Only until you drape the haori over his shoulders and gently nudge him does he move.
But he doesn't notice how he walks closer to Sakura than usual. He doesn't notice how he suddenly likes looking at her, and for a few extra seconds. He is ignorant to the details she has fretted over.
And you must smile.
The festivities are lively, and cheerful, as everyone samples the mochi specialty, and test their hands at ring looping, yoyo, balloon darts, and kingyo-sukui, the last of which has Naruto steaming as he slams more ryou on the counter, because this is the first game he cannot win with ease.
"This is more difficult than I thought," Sakura mutters, staring at her own broken poi, and your brother frowns at his. He tries again, but doesn't have any luck.
After the number of broken poi has piled up to a mountain, your brother is preventing his friend from testing his Rasengan on the fish, and Sakura has dropped her charm. "Okay, I fucking swear I did this before when I was younger."
"These are not goldfish," you finally reveal to her. "They are swordtails."
"What-"
But you press a finger against your lips, as you take her poi and dip it into the water. Her eyes widen when you lift it to the surface.
"How did you...-"
You sink the poi back down and let the fish swim free, then beckon for her hand. You demonstrate. She stares in amazement at the fish in her poi, and after you retreat, catches the next on her own. It attracts the attention of her teammates.
"Oh no, it's tree walking all over again!" Naruto groans.
"Actually, all you have to do is-" But her teammates have stopped listening, lost in a childish competition for superiority.
They do both manage a fish in the end. When the vendor hands your brother his, he glances at you, a furtive kind with a sense of hesitation that you recognize. You wait, wondering if he will act.
Before he could, there is a bellow from up the road, "Come on, Sasuke! Get your ass moving!" and your brother instantly looks away. However, he has not lost his hesitation, so you relieve him of his mental battles.
"I can carry that for you if you'd like."
In less than a second, the bag is shoved into your arms, his gaze focused on the road. "Keep it. I can get anything."
So he hasn't ceased to be endearing, only became more difficult.
"Anything, you say," you tease. "How about..." Your gaze lands on a crowded table in the distance, and a nostalgia sets in. "Those."
Behind the table, on display, is a statue of the goddess Benten, her eight arms each hanging a precious silver craft.
"Eh, you wish play karuta, Sasuke-kun?"
Your brother pushes past, heads directly for the card table. His teammates exchange a glance, then join him.
"We play with a hundred," the dealer says. "Shinobi techniques prohibited."
"I'm game! Hit me, ojii-chan!" Naruto grins, rolling up his sleeve.
Soon, they become so lost in the game, one round after the next, that when you bring your brother a treat to eat, he brushes you aside and lunges for a card.
"Number 24 again!" exclaims the judge, and the masses cheer and groan.
Sakura holds onto Sasuke's arm. "Fifteen more, Sasuke-kun!" she exclaims, and he smirks, eyes keen.
You decide to let them be, retreating as another spectator in the crowd.
That is when you sense a disturbance in the normal flow of people, and trouble comes. First is two men who come to watch the game, flanking your sides. Slowly, others trickle in, in pairs or threes, unnaturally quiet and feigning interest.
You pretend to not notice, how they move closer to you, as if to get a better view of the game. You pretend to not hear of hands reaching into bags, or daggers sliding down their sleeves. You are aware, but you say nothing, and they do nothing.
Your brother slams on the last card on the table, the entire table explodes in raucousness. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! 24!"
"Hah, who's the boss?" Naruto grins, crossing his arms.
"Naruto!" Sakura slaps his head. "You did nothing!"
"Oi, you forget who got that what-a-what?"
"Once!"
And they bicker and laugh, and slap ryou on the table, as they unanimously prepare for another round.
If there is any time, it is now for you to step up, place a hand on your brother's shoulder, draw his attention and let him remember you are still here. You not need a word, only a glance for him to get up and say it's time to go.
If there is any time, it is now.
But you see the victorious gleam in his eyes, his attention fully captured in a game. There is a glow, a liveliness, a thrill and satisfaction, and he is smiling after weeks of silence, despondency, and the occasional nerve-wrecked anxiety.
And so, you let the moment slip by, keep your silence, watch your brother play until your time is up.
A kunai presses against your back, and the threat whispered in your ear is so formulaic you do not even care to listen. Instead, you only hear the amusing chatters and quarrels of your brother's friends, and the rare chuckle, as sardonically-tinted as it is, that makes you want to smile, your heart quell.
He is happy.
You are barely a footstep away from your brother when the enemies come and take you away.
:: :: ::
