December 1st
Dear Diary,
Okay, what to write in this entry. Uhm. Today was alright. I did a few missions with my team and they're getting along better. Akiha's rash has finally gone away, but apparently she needs to be isolated so that the doctors know she's completely cured. Akinobu and Akimitsu are not happy about this, but I can't do much about it. They don't hate me for it but, uh, they're a little bit grumpy… Well either way, they'll get over it. At least she isn't dying. I seem to be a sucky sensei, but it can't be my fault. I need to teach them to be more aware of their surroundings, so I might do that tomorrow with Akimitsu and Akinobu. But today was a little bit more interesting…
"Okay you guys, take a break." Kotori smirked and relaxed, and the two boys let their arms fall down, dropping their weapons. Their aim was terrible, but she knew making them train against each other was good practice to keep the adrenaline going. On the other hand, she was sure they'd be reluctant because they were close friends. She remembered she was always a bit worried about hitting Sanjirou or Kotaro during training, but in the end it paid off. Students needed moving targets, not some little poles or wooden boards. She looked at them as they wobbled over, and Akinobu collapsed to the ground.
"Sensei, this is too hard! You're working us to death!"
"Do you want to pass the Chuunin exams?" she barked, hands on her hips defiantly, and Akinobu suddenly glared.
"Duh!"
"Then don't argue and work your butt off." I retorted and he huffed but smiled a little, and Akimitsu smirked while crossing his arms, flipping a strand of hair out of his eye.
"What's next, sensei?" he inquired almost eagerly, and she looked at him with a bit of thought and tapped her chin.
"Jutsus. What are your elements?"
"Fire." Akimitsu commented and Akinobu suddenly leapt up.
"Wind!"
"Really?" Kotori blinked, but grinned and nodded, "Alright, you two can combine elements then! That's good. Jutsus are a lot more powerful if you can combine them, but it might take a bit of work from both of you."
"Eh, it'll be a piece of cake!" Akinobu boasted, hands behind his head, but he was distracted by a small figure hiding behind a tree, watching. He blinked, leaning forward and scrunching him his eyes to get a better look, and Kotori turned around.
"Who's there?" she commanded, and a small boy sheepishly stepped out. She calmed immediately, recognising the blonde hair and marks on his cheeks, "Uzumaki!"
"Y-Yeah." Naruto nodded, walking towards them with a bit more confidence, "You promised you'd play ninja with me!"
"I did?" she thought carefully, tapping her foot and the younger boy huffed indignantly, "Yeah! Don't you remember?" he demanded and Kotori quickly nodded, holding out her pinky.
"Oh right, with the pinky promise!"
"Sensei, why are you talking to him?" Akimitsu demanded and Kotori glared down at Akimitsu and Naruto winced, quickly looking down at the grass, "My mother told me not to go near him…"
"He's harmless." Kotori tutted, waving a hand at her student, "But I promised him I'd play ninja with him. Come on, you guys should play with him. It'd be good!"
"Good what? Practice?" Akinobu snorted, "He's just a-"
"Future Shinobi." Kotori seethed, glancing at Naruto with a bit of hesitation. Naruto looked up at her and the Jounin hesitated before crossing her arms, "Alright, you two will play with Naruto for a while. Show him some stuff a Shinobi does, you know?"
"Seriously?" Naruto grinned, and Akimitsu growled.
"No way." he snapped, "My mom says he's dangerous. If she finds out I'm hanging with him, I'll be dead. I don't want to go near him."
"Neh, same!" Akinobu quickly added waving as Akimitsu walked off and Akinobu followed like a sheep. Naruto began to shake, clenching his fists and Kotori glanced down at him. She made a small face, not wanting to have to be with this kid by herself, and bit her lip. She was tempted to leave and head after her students, whom were already out of sight, but her heart ached. Her mother would have scolded her for being so mean to Naruto. As would Hiyori, whom she knew talked to Naruto as often as she could. Kotori paused, before stepping towards Naruto.
"Leave me alone." he immediately stated, and Kotori stopped, blinking. He continued, "I just wanna be alone!"
"Don't be silly." Kotori tutted, "You like ramen, right? We'll play some ninja and I'll buy you some ramen! And-"
"No!" Naruto cried out, "You'll probably just mock me like everyone else! You're probably lying and about to just bully me when my back is turned!"
"Naruto, don't be silly!" Kotori snapped and Naruto glared up at her with sparkling teary eyes.
"No! Leave me alone!"
"Don't be a brat." she glared, and Naruto growled and ran past her back into the village, picking up grass behind him. Kotori sighed heavily, turning to watch him go and frowned. That did not go well at all.
December 7th
Dear Diary,
Akiha's back in action for once! Missions are getting more exciting, at least in their opinion. We're out on a lot more C missions and it's a bit odd. I haven't asked the Hokage though, he seems to be pretty calm about things. I can trust him. I've seen Naruto around a lot lately, but he seems to try and hide whenever I find him. But I did find Oozora, apparently... He's leaving.
Kotori sighed as she picked up two apples, studying them intently before picking up another and putting them in a basket she was carrying. She smiled cheerily at the man behind the counter and she turned, looking around the shop. It was her day off for once, and she decided to use that to her advantage. Wearing a tan coloured skirt that ended just above her knees and white tank top, along with gladiator sandal-like shoes, she was feeling relaxed. Her muscles were no longer tense after a few hours in the baths, and her mind was at peace after a yoga and meditation session with Hiyori, her older sister. She glanced at a reflective object in the shop and smiled at herself, winking before picking up a few more things and walked over to the counter.
"Making a pie today, Kotori?" he asked and she grinned and nodded. The man laughed a little, and Kotori glanced at him, giving up a quick look over before turning her grin into a suggestive smirk.
"You can come over and taste it when it's done, if you like." she suggested, and he looked art her, laughing a little. He scratched his head of hair with a muscular hand.
"I couldn't do that Kotori, you know how work is." he answered and she tutted, winking.
"No one would have to know!"
"I'm afraid some other time." he said casually, as if this was a normal occurrence. Kotori laughed a little and shrugged the rejection off, glancing out the window, freezing to see a familiar brown haired man passing by. She asked the shop owner to wait a few minutes and she rushed out the store, looking round and calling the man's name.
"Oozora! Oozora!" she leapt over a cart that was about to block the path, and the man turned and hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, Kotori. H-Hi…"
"I've not seen you in a while!" she greeted with a smile, giving him a 'tell me why' look, but he seemed to ignore it and shuffle back a little.
"Ah uh, yeah. Work." he excused himself, "Kotori, I don't want what happened to us to give you any ideas! I was drunk, an-and-"
"What?" Kotori glared, waving a hand, "Oozora, you're crazy! It was just a night of fun! Unless you didn't find it fun, which is why you're ignoring me?"
"What?" he jumped, shaking his head vigorously, "No! It was great! Or, uh, what I remembered, but it's not you! It's just, I was nervous that…"
"Well if it was so great, why not come over later for some pie and then we can try again when you're sober?"
"No!" Oozora exclaimed, clearly flustered, "I'm sorry Kotori, but I'd rather just be friends! That night was a mistake!"
Kotori blinked, staring. She had never been rejected like that before, and she had definitely never heard that people regretted the night. And then it dawned on her.
"Oh my god, you're not married are you? Do you have a girlfriend?" she demanded, panic streaking through her. Kotori had vowed with Anko to never go for men that were taken, especially after the Boyfriend Disaster between them both. But that was a story for another time. Oozora laughed a little, shaking his head and Kotori calmed down.
"I just want to be friends." he said quietly, "But, ah, Kotori. We might need to be pen pals."
"What? Why? Where are you going?" she asked urgently, frowning.
"I-I'm going back to my village." he answered, "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner. I'm leaving today."
"Oozora!" Kotori glared, "I can't believe it! You're leaving!"
"I'm sorry, Kotori!" he exclaimed, "I just, I was nervous about seeing you! I didn't want to ruin our friendship, a-and-"
"Oozora, are you coming? We need to get our stuff packed!" someone called from the distance. Oozora whined and looked at Kotori.
"I'll send you a letter when get there, okay?" he reassured and Kotori huffed immaturely, looking down. Oozora sighed, shoulders sagging a little and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'll see you some time, Kotori, okay?"
Kotori felt her cheeks brighten as he pecked her on the forehead, but he was gone before she could try and get a real good bye kiss. She watched him go sadly, biting her lip and growled, turning and walking back to the store.
That day didn't go THAT badly though. I had a man to help me put up a few pictures and taste the pie, at least!
"Kotori, I thank you for inviting me!" Guy grinned, "You will not regret it!"
"Sake?" Kotori offered, wanting to change the conversation. Guy quickly agreed, looking down at the coffee table.
"Is this the picture of your great grandmother?" he asked, and Kotori nodded as she walked over, crossing her arms under her chest and she looked up at the space between one of the windows and a book case.
"I want to put it up there. Can you do that?" she asked. Kotori could easily do it herself, but when having big strong friends around that loved doing her favours, she sometimes took advantage of it. Guy saluted enthusiastically, claiming it would be up within a minute, "Just don't tear it, okay? That painting is special to me."
"THAT'S A PAINTING?"
December 16th
Today was special. Maybe a little weird.
Kotori bounded over a wall, strolling along the street with her hands in her pockets. She was back in her usual outfit, and had just finished a small mission protecting a young prince making his way to a safe location. She grinned, peeking into the ramen bar and hopped onto a seat, ordering a small ramen.
"Coming right up!" the man grinned, then looked at a younger boy in the corner, "Another bowl, Naruto?"
"Yes sir!"
"How are you gonna pay for this?" he asked with a knowing smirk, and Kotori glanced over at Naruto. Of all the kids. Naruto hesitated, glancing down at himself, as if to expect money on his lap, and Kotori snickered.
"I'll pay for it. How many bowls?"
"Seven, so far. He usually gets up to around eleven." Teuchi explained, and Kotori snickered before getting out the money. Naruto stared at her, blinking in amazement.
"How do you have so much money?"
"Missions, kiddo." Kotori winked. Naruto hesitated, fiddling his fingers before finishing the rest of his ramen and looked at her. Kotori smirked, glancing at him at the corner of her eye and Naruto bit his lip.
"Hey, sensei." Naruto began, leaning over another stool and Kotori looked at him fully, gesturing for him to continue, "Can… Can we play ninja today?"
"What?" Kotori blinked, then grinned, "Oh sure! Just let me finish up here."
"Yes!" Naruto jumped to his feet, "I'll be at the training grounds, waiting for ya! Oh man, this is gonna be great!"
Kotori smirked a little, feeling a sense of joy run through her, and she looked round at her bowl of noodles. She hesitated, quickly finishing them up and handing the bowl to Teuchi, who said a thank you and good bye. Kotori scratched the back of her neck, fixing her hair before walking down the street. For some reason, she felt a burst of energy and something else. An instinct, perhaps maternal? She was happy to help Naruto, a lone child that didn't have any parents. Her heart sank thinking about it, but she hurried to the training grounds.
"W-What's this?" Kotori demanded, seeing Naruto with friends. He was standing with a few people she recognised from his class; Sakura, Shikamaru, Kiba, Chouji, Ino, and Hinata. She scratched her head at the sight of the academy students.
"Naruto wanted to play ninja." Kiba explained, grinning, a puppy at his feet, "He said a Jounin was joining in! We hardly get to play with real ninjas."
"Iruka's a real ninja." Kotori defended with a pout, and the students giggled and Sakura got to her feet.
"What're we gonna do, then?"
"Hide and seek, ninja style!" Kiba exclaimed, and Naruto looked at him, eyes widening with awe and nodded eagerly.
"Yes! Let's go with that!" Naruto agreed whole heartedly, "Kotori-sensei is the seeker, we'll go hide!"
"Wait, what-"
"GO!" The students disappeared, Hinata a bit more hesitant than the rest, and Kotori rubbed her forehead before smirking and leaping into the air, flipping and landing in a tree, looking around carefully. They were just academy students, they wouldn't know what to do. She heard crunching of leaves and looked down curiously, flipping almost silently to the ground, using the chakra to crouch upside down on a branch, spotting the young Hyuuga heir sneaking through the forest. She smirked, waiting for Hinata to be underneath her, and she stood straight, tapping the poor girl on the shoulder.
"Hinata, I fou-"
"WAAAAH!" she screamed, face red and Kotori gasped, quickly spinning and landing on front of Hinata, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"Hinata, calm down!" she said, trying to drown out the girl's scream, "Stop it! It's just me, Kotori-sensei! Calm down!"
"O-Oh." the red faced girl let her head roll, eyes spinning and Kotori sighed a little. The Jounin got to her feet and kept close to Hinata as they walked through the forest.
"Well, now you're a seeker with me." Kotori mused, and Hinata nodded obediently. She glanced down at Hinata hesitantly, then smirked and winked, making a hand seal, "Watch this."
A clone of Kotori appeared, but with a swift change of seal it turned into Hinata. Hinata blinked at the clone, staring and the clone waved at her before running ahead.
"We'll find Kiba this way." Kotori said quietly, "Come up here." she leapt into a tree, Hinata following with a bit of difficulty. They stopped above the clone, whom situated itself on the ground and started to cry out for help, holding its ankle. Hinata kept quiet, and Kotori smirked, tensing and taking out a kunai. Hinata looked at her nervously, but kotori merely put a finger to her lips. Soon there was sounds of running, and Kiba burst through the bushes with his loyal pup.
"Hinata, what happened?"
"I tripped!" the clone whined, and Kiba nodded, walking over. The dog sniffed the air, snorting a little and looked around, attempting to get Kiba's attention, but the boy waved him off.
"Come on, Hinata, let me-" Kiba reached over, but the clone grabbed Kiba and spun him around, pinning him to the tree. Kiba yelped, growling, but he was cut short when there was a loud thud of the kunai hitting the tree by his head. Kiba froze, gasping and stared at where it came from. Kotori jumped out of her place with Hinata, and the clone disappeared.
"Found you!"
"Huh!" Kiba snorted, "Whatever!"
"Gotta keep your eye out! Now you're the seeker too." she winked, walking through the forest. Hinata quickly followed, and Kotori looked down at the dog as it played at their feet, "Hey, who's the dog?"
"His name's Akamaru!" Kiba introduced, "He's a great friend!"
"Oh, I knew I recognised those marks." Kotori grinned as they walked out into the clearing, "Inuzuka!"
They stopped for a moment, and Kotori looked around the training ground. She scratched her chin idly, making a small face and Hinata twiddled her fingers. Kiba glanced at her and smirked, then put fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly, the noise ringing in Kotori's ears.
"Kiba, what was-" Kotori snapped, but there was a loud sound of thudding, and she turned. And that's when she saw it. Small children, running at her with the intent to kill.
Or at least tackle to the ground.
Kotori yelped as Naruto jumped in the air, but he grabbed his arm and turned, throwing him to the ground by instinct. Luckily he wasn't affected, and merely rolled and leapt to his feet. She ducked, dodging another leaping child and ran forward, skidding low before the pink haired student could dive at her.
"So much for you guys being shinobi!" Kotori laughed good heartedly as she crouched a few feet away from them, "Is that all you've got?"
"NO WAY!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Kotori. It was as if they only joined forces with Naruto to go against her. She hesitated, raising an eyebrow. Alright, she knew she couldn't go too fierce on them - they were just kids! - but she had to do something about it. And that was when they charged. All at once, like a swarm of bees they came at her, war cries echoing in the air.
"NO! NO, OH GOD, NOT-" Kotori's voice was cut off by a loud thud and the sound of children laughing. Her cries of anguish and defeat echoed throughout the village almost.
"Okay, okay, I give! I give! You guys win! Stop tickling me!" Kotori demanded, trying to hold back tears of laughter as they held down her legs and got the back of the knees. Her one weakness! Kotori really needed to stop making it so obvious. The group laughed and Kotori squealed as someone tackled her, almost hugging her around the neck. No, in fact. They were! She blinked as Naruto hugged her around the neck, and Kotori hesitated before smiling a little, patting him on the back.
"Get her!" Naruto called, and all the kids grabbed a place to cling to: her stomach, her arms, her legs, if they were near a limb, they had it. Kotori yelped as she was forced onto her back completely, before laughing a little, closing her eyes in amusement. The kids finally let go and lay down around her.
"Kotori-sensei, can we do this again tomorrow? But we'll be seekers this time!" Naruto suggested, looking up at her, head resting on her arm. Kotori looked down at him, easily catching her breath and smiling.
"Sure! Whenever you kids want, I'll be there!"
December 24th
It's nearly Christmas! I am so excited. I've got everyone's presents ready! Kakashi's, Anko's, my family's, everyone's! I'm so organized. Although I got one for Kotaro ages ago. I'm not sure what to do with it. It's too late to return it, apparently.
Oh, and there is something else. A new medic-nin appeared in Konoha, but apparently she's one of us. I don't know, there's something about her that I don't like. She bugs me so much!
Kotori walked up the steps with a small frown, wondering what was so important. The Hokage usually didn't ask her to go to his office without her team unless there was a big mission coming her way. It made her nervous. Stopping in front of the door, she stared at the handle and let her hand hover over it, but stopped, listening. There was a woman inside, speaking rather seriously. She couldn't hear what about, but the tone was clear. This was obviously business.
"Hokage." she stated opening the door, her eyes were immediately drawn to the woman. She wore a dusty peach tank top with a low cut collar beneath a white loose sleeveless open waistcoat, with the ends flaring out slightly and the shoulders poking up. She had a pastel pink ribbon tied around each shoulder, and the ribbon connected around her waist a few times before ending at a bow at the right side. The ribbon seemed to help keep the waistcoat edges close together, but not fully closed. She also wore a white skirt that cut into eight rectangles, and dusty peach shorts. Her sandals were pastel pink, and the Konoha symbol was stitched into the left breast of her waist coat. Her light brown hair was quite long, most likely ending half way down her back, and from what Kotori saw, the top layer was tied into a plait over the hair. Kotori hesitated, giving her a polite nod before looking at the Hokage.
"Kotori, excellent! This is Nariko Hyotomi." he introduced, "Nariko, this is Kotori Kuromura."
"Oh! It's a pleasure to meet you." Nariko bowed respectfully, and Kotori raised her eyebrow and nodded again, lowering her head a little more this time, "I'm looking forward to working with you."
"What?" Kotori asked immediately, then looked at the Hokage for an explanation.
"Nariko has been in a dangerous situation, Kotori." the Hokage began, "She had been kidnapped by Kotaro's men a few months ago, and has only just appeared now. I want her to stay with you for a few days, and you must help her recuperate and get her skills up to par again."
"Ah…" Kotori paused, looking at Nariko. Her electric green eyes met Kotori's, and she looked back at the Hokage and bowed respectfully, "Of course, Hokage."
"Off you two go, then." the Hokage nodded. Nariko smiled and bowed before following after Kotori.
"So, Kotori-sama." she began, "What shall we do first?"
"Don't call me that." Kotori waved a hand idly, "Just Kotori is fine. Only students should call me 'sama'."
"But it's only respectful! Can I at least call you Kotori-san?" Nariko questioned eagerly as they walked down the stairs, and Kotori sighed, rubbing the back of her neck uncomfortably before nodding.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you, Kotori-san!"
Kotori gave Nariko an odd look before they reached the ground and Nariko looked around happily, smiling at the birds gliding through the air.
"Aren't they so beautiful?"
"What? The birds?" Kotori looked up, watching as they flapped off. She looked at Nariko again as they walked down the street, "So, uh, you got family?"
"What? Oh, no. My parents died a few years ago." Nariko answered quietly, "God rest their souls, of course."
"Indeed." Kotori nodded in agreement, "Sorry 'bout that. Do you have anywhere to stay?"
"The Hokage said you would let me stay at yours." Nariko glanced at her, and Kotori twitched before taking in a deep breath and nodding.
"Okay. We can work something out. It'll be only for a few days, right?" she asked, and Nariko nodded eagerly.
"As soon as I get money from missions, I will!" Nariko grinned, "But I split my savings, so it may be a while."
"W-What do you split them to?"
"Well one is for me, another is for the animal shelter. Another is for the Konohagakure Orphanage, and the last is for the Inuzuka veterinary!"
Kotori could feel her face contorting into one of mocking, and she slowly turned her head to look at the ground, leaving Nariko to gaze at the skies again. She knew this would be awful. Wait until her team saw this, they would completely destroy her. Nariko piped up again, asking about a place to eat and any friends Kotori had, and Kotori rubbed her eyes before nodding.
"Right. Let's go to a bar, I'm sure a few friends are there." Kotori nodded, and lead Nariko to the popular bar Kotori always loved. As she walked in, she usually felt the air buzzing with wildness and happiness, and sometimes even eyes on her. But she didn't feel that this time. Instead, she spotted eyes wandering to Nariko. To her exposed legs, to her arms, to her low cut top. Nariko was the centre of attention because she was new and shiny, and it pissed Kotori off.
"Kotori! Over here!" Asuma grinned, waving her over. Kurenai, Guy and Kakashi, which surprised her. She walked over, smiling a little and stepped to the side to let Nariko in.
"This is Nariko Hyotomi, guys." Kotori introduced, "She's been part of Konoha for a while now, but she's only back from… A long mission."
"Nice to see you! Pull up a chair!" Kurenai greeted eagerly, and Asuma shifted so that Nariko could fit in, and Kotori found a small space between Guy and Kurenai. Guy smiled, introducing himself as the Mighty Green Beast, while Kakashi stayed quiet.
"I'm Asuma! And this is Kurenai." Asuma introduced himself afterwards, "Would you like a drink?"
"Oh, no! I don't drink." Nariko shook her head, "But I'll go get you guys something if you like!"
"That'd be great!" Asuma nodded and Nariko quickly got to her feet. Kotori crossed her arms, putting a leg over the other and huffed a little, watching Nariko go.
"She seems nice!"
"She's okay." Kotori mumbled. Nariko quickly returned, and they all began to talk to her about her life, about her mission and about what she did. Kotori was silent the whole way through, glaring at the table. She didn't have the chance to say anything, Nariko was telling so many tales of how she was so brave and how she saved a child from a burning building, and how she took the blame for all the other prisoners, BLAH BLAH BLAH. Kotori was not interested. She eventually got up to get a drink for herself and leaned on the bar, grumbling under her breath as a few other people listened in on Nariko's stories.
"Not up for story time?" Kakashi asked, appearing beside her. Kotori glanced at him and shook her head, looking down at the drink as she played with the edges.
"Not really."
"What's wrong with Nariko?" Kakashi asked, "She seems nice."
"Nothing. I like her. Why?" she answered quickly, and Kakashi gave her a look which made Kotori sigh and collapse onto a bar stool, "She's… Perfect."
"Hm. She'll have something wrong with her. Everyone has their faults." Kakashi reasoned, taking Kotori's drink, "Come on."
"Hey!" Kotori snapped, walking after him to get her drink back.
As Kotori wobbled into her home, she rubbed her eyes. Nariko walked in timidly, her steps as quiet as a mouse's, and the first thing she spotted was the painting.
"Is that you?" she asked in awe, leaning in to inspect it. In a drunken wild stupor, Kotori stumbled over the coffee table and stood between Nariko and the painting.
"Don't touch it! It's mine!" she snarled, "It's precious to me!"
"Oh. Of course." Nariko nodded, "I can understand you are possessive. If all my possessions hadn't been burned down in my house fire years ago, I would be too."
Kotori twitched before stomping into her bedroom, leaning on the door frame angrily as she snatched up a pillow and a spare blanket from her wardrobe.
"Oh, is that your old team?" Nariko's voice rang in her mind and Kotori turned, seeing the medic-nin standing a few feet away from the small photo of Kotori's team. She grit her teeth, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"Yeah. Night."
"But it's quite early-"
"Good night." Kotori interrupted, walking back out into the living room. She put down the pillow on the couch and then the blanket, lay down and stared at the ceiling. She stayed there for a few more minutes until she remembered her diary was still in her room. Leaping up, almost falling back onto the sofa, Kotori scrawled over the sofa and fell into the breakfast counter, looking up, suddenly face to face with Nariko.
"WAH!" she cried, leaping back, "When did you come in?"
"I wanted a drink." Nariko said, "I thought you would be asleep. So I decided to be quiet."
"Oh. Well., I gotta get stuff from my room." Kotori slurred, slumping past the woman and into her room. She removed the diary from under her pillow and then took the picture of her team into the living room, avoiding eye contact with Nariko.
"Good night." she said happily, and Kotori mumbled something incoherent as she lay on the sofa, staring at the picture of her team sadly, tracing a finger along Kotaro's young face. She heard Nariko close the door to her bedroom and Kotori's face fell, tears welling in her eyes. Shit, she couldn't get emotional with someone else in the house. No. That'd be just… Showing weakness in front of her. There was just an immediate dislike for Kotori, and even if Nariko couldn't tell, it would still be there. And it would most likely grow, too.
December 25th
CHRISTMAS!
