Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anybody or anything except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. The song for this chapter is Saphira Lynx's piano cover of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Snow Rain. Please enjoy!

Chapter 16: Storytelling & Speculation

Lunch was a rather…tense affair, to put it lightly.

I never thought I would see so many sparks go off between two boys all at once. Even with the copious amounts of food Kushina-nee and I put out.

…And somehow, I was still sandwiched between Obito and Kakashi. I don't even know how it even happened. When putting out the picnic blanket and the various bento boxes, everyone just sat in their own corners. I was just planning to sit in the middle to pass out the food to everyone, and yet somehow - I think it was Kushina-nee who pushed me — I ended up landing near Kakashi. And he just pulled me into a hug from behind, resting his chin on top of my head while putting his hands over mine.

All I could think of was Eh? And Why?

For a 9 year old ninja, it was weird that he was being so…huggy? Affectionate? I wasn't sure.

…Obito's glares in Kakashi's direction just made the situation that much stranger.

"…Kakashi-kun, what are you doing?" I managed, squirming a little. Even though I was enjoying the hug overall, the fact that my best friend was initiating it all by himself was a bit strange on its own.

Is there something I'm missing here? Because I don't remember my best friend doing this willingly.

"Hugging a friend," The silver-haired Chunin huffed into my hair, and I could feel his chest rise and fall behind me in what appeared to be a sign of annoyance. I guess he was feeling stressed or something. "What — you don't like it?"

Oh. "It's not that, it just feels different, that's all."

I found myself shrugging with a thought of, Ah, whatever. Then, I just laid back against my best friend with a soft sigh, letting my shoulders relax while closing my eyes. Maybe I'm just thinking too much on it.

Hugs are something I do with friends, so maybe I rubbed off on Kakashi then!

Not to mention that he was warm. In fact, I think he was warmer than usual considering Team Minato just finished the bell test, and his heart was still beating a bit faster than the normal 'thump-thump'. I just decided to bask in it, because it's nice to be hugged for once.

For once, it felt like I was at home.

"Thank you, Kakashi-kun," I said, moving a little just to intertwine our fingers. The ninja behind me tensed for a moment before relaxing and sighing.

"You're welcome, Tomoko," he murmured back, voice elated for once, and I couldn't help the smile on my face.

At least I've succeeded so far in making one person's life a little happier.

"…You two really are close, though." Rin commented, muffin halfway towards her mouth. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Yeah!" Obito blurted out, stopping his glaring contest with Kakashi for a moment to look at me, pointing an eager finger at the both of us. "How did Bakashi end up warming up to you, Tomoko-chan?!"

Uh…

"What is that supposed to mean, Obito-kun? And if you add another insult, I'm going to be very disappointed." If not for my best friend already tensing up behind me and my common sense, I was very tempted to lash out myself. I know the Uchiha had a rivalry with Kakashi, but does he have to continue it now considering it's lunch time?

And I seriously thought that stuffing a blueberry muffin into his mouth would quiet the problem. At least for a few minutes.

It was like Obito was hit with a huge lightbulb of realization because he immediately turned sheepish at my response and rubbed the back of his head, looking away hesitantly. "W-well, Rin and I knew Kakashi back in the Academy days, but we really didn't talk much. We were…well…"

Oh, I think I see where this is going.

"You were wondering how a civilian girl like me became so close to this guy?" Both Genin immediately nodded, almost a bit too eagerly for my liking, leaning in.

"…I'm actually curious about this too." Minato-san put his two cents in, swallowing a piece of tamagoyaki before wiping at his mouth and scooting closer. I didn't even have to look over at Kushina-nee — I could already feel her curious gaze on me.

What is this, storytime?

In response, I ended up squirming a little bit to turn in the hug and look at Kakashi in the eye. "Are you okay with me telling them this story?" It didn't really feel right to talk about it if I didn't have his permission after all.

Kakashi blinked before looking pointedly away, a frown on his face. I held back the urge to giggle in order to focus on my best friend.

Is this Kakashi-style pouting?

"…Do you have to?" He ground out, tightening the grip he had on me for a moment.

I just shrugged and squeezed his hands back in a apologetic manner. "How else will we get the stares to go away? I'm limited on the amount of muffins I can stuff in everyone's mouths anyway."

Not to mention shutting people up with homemade sweets seemed to be way too rude for my liking — even if the situation earlier with Obito kinda called for it.

Kakashi still wasn't meeting my eyes and was apparently deciding to go with the silent route. Honestly, I had barely any clue on what to do when my best friend was like this, so I just winged it. "…Should I just go with the short, sugar-coated version then? Because the silence is not cutting it, Kakashi-kun."

To my surprise, he simply buried his face into my hair, sighing almost dramatically. It kinda tickled, considering that Kakashi was still wearing his mask. Strangely, the action itself didn't bother me — if anything, a fond exasperation went through me as I decided to simply reach over and pat my friend's head, running my fingers through his silver hair.

In the end, I guess even the stoic Kakashi can be childish.

"…Keep it short then," he muttered dryly.

Well, I got permission. Hooray!

I just turned around in my makeshift seat to wrap my arms around Kakashi's neck in a gesture of appreciation. When it came down to it, I was just grateful Kakashi was holding out for as long as he was, since I could tell he was holding back a whole repertoire of insults/curses just to give me an answer. He was essentially working outside of his comfort zone considering how Rin and Obito were personality and skill-wise, and yet I could tell from his actions alone that he was trying to face it head on rather than run off. Sure, he was technically hugging me as a lifeline of sorts, but hey. The fact that he was really trying to be nice about the whole thing and not start something in comparison to canon Kakashi just really made my heart flutter in that happy way. "Thank you, Kakashi-kun. I love you a lot, you know?"

And I meant it. Kakashi was an important person to me, and I couldn't think of anything more fitting to say than that.

I wouldn't be Hoshino Tomoko without the masked ninja listening to my music all the time.

The silver haired Chunin blinked before scoffing and lightly bumping my cheek with his. "I know Tomoko. You don't have to make it so obvious."

"Hai hai, Kakashi-kun~!" I found myself giggling, tightening the hug on my best friend happily. "I just wanted to say it once."

In response, Kakashi scoffed again before wrapping his arms around my waist and squishing me to him. "You're seriously unbelievable, Tomoko."

The giggles just kept leaving my lips as I just snuggled closer to my best friend. "Says the guy hugging me while everybody's watching."

As if by magic, the ninja immediately pushed me away, almost forcefully by the shoulders, to look away with pink on his cheeks. It was a rather funny scene with the silver haired ninja for once being the embarrassed one, and I couldn't help the full-out laughter escaping me at this point. "…Tomoko." Kakashi deadpanned, hand over his masked mouth. "You're not helping."

"I-I'm sorry—" Pfft. I would forever keep the image in my head. Kakashi, blushing up a storm while sitting on a picnic blanket, refusing to say a word. My other, past self probably would've tackle-hugged him by now because of how cute it was. "I-It's just — heh heh — your face—!" Oh god, my stomach was going to burn out soon from how hard I was laughing.

"…How did I end up with you again?" He deadpanned, hand over his face.

It took a moment for me to catch my breath, and by then, a large grin was on my face. "Well, I was just about to tell the story to everybody, so you just have to listen in, don't you?"

Kakashi sighed.

I just smiled happily and poked his masked cheek before turning around to face everybody else. To my surprise though, everyone was staring at us with varying degrees of interest and shock. Kushina-nee's face was the first that stood out to me, violet eyes glinting with something akin to approval. Minato-san had an expression stuck between fondness and surprise, blue eyes wide with some kind of recognition. On the other hand, Obito's face was the most comical, dark red crossing his face with his jaw literally on the ground. The only face that confused me was that of Rin's. From my past memories, I remembered the brunette medic being a combination of Hinata and Sakura, having a crush on Kakashi and yet being supportive of Obito. But her expression seemed sad somehow amongst the surprise, brown eyes shining with something I didn't fully grasp yet.

…Don't tell me she's jealous of my bond with Kakashi?

Then again, in my head, it made sense. Rin did have a crush on my silver-haired best friend, and when thinking about it, who wouldn't be jealous at the sight of their crush hanging out with someone else?

…Not to mention this wouldn't be the first time someone took my hugs as a sign of something else.

Probably have to handle that problem first.

Because when thinking on it, I did love Kakashi in a way. But right now, it wasn't the way I loved Leo back in my past life. It wasn't the 'want to be with someone for the rest of their lives' feeling. If anything, it was the familiar 'familial/friendly' love I shared with my parents and most of the other regulars at Nagareboshi. It wasn't to the point of pure, pure love.

And right now, I wasn't sure if I was up for that kind of love yet. I had already loved once before — and yet here I was, living another life and wondering if he was okay where I had tragically left him.

Did I deserve someone's love in that way, especially in this world where as a civilian, you're basically a sitting duck that can't do jack shit?

Knowing how things would go in the supposed future of the ninja world didn't really help my case.

…There's no way I'm burdening Kakashi with that kind of thought yet. I want to see him get through to canon first!

I physically cleared my throat to push those thoughts away. With how the entire group was staring at me, it wasn't a good time to dwell on those kind of topics right now. "So… My first meeting with Kakashi-kun, huh?"

"Yeah!" Obito and Kushina-nee blurted in unison, even fist-pumping at the same time. The sudden shouts literally made me inch back from the volume, ears ringing.

No wonder these two had a love-hate relationship in canon. They're literally two peas in a pod.

"Okay then…" I breathed in deeply before folding my legs underneath my torso, mentally preparing myself for the shortest story ever. Kakashi wouldn't appreciate more than the bare minimum anyway. "Basically, I met him about 4 years ago, when Sakumo-san, Kakashi-kun's father, brought him to Nagareboshi."

"4 years?" Rin was the one to speak up this time, brown eyes showing surprise. "You two knew each other since you were five?"

"Basically," I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "At the time, Sakumo-san brought Kakashi over to celebrate his graduation from the Academy, and I just played a song for him. Ever since, he's been one of the regulars at Nagareboshi Cafe."

"…That's it?" Obito said, disappointment in his voice. I just blinked and looked at him, only to be surprised at the purely dismayed face he was making.

Huh? Did I miss something? Because he wasn't supposed to be looking like that, last I checked. "Obito-kun?"

"It's just—" The Uchiha threw his hands in the air in frustration, goggles tilting down over his eyes. "You did the impossible, Tomoko-chan! You made Bakashi open up to you!"

...Yeaaaaaah, I think I'm missing something here.

"What do you mean, Obito-kun?"

"Just — ARGH!" From the way Obito's face was turning, I would've thought he was suffering from a stomach ache. "Kakashi barely talks to any of us! Not including Minato-sensei or any of the adults - but he never really did take Rin and I seriously, even if we worked together during the bell test! And yet you—" I found myself jumping at the eager finger point Obito was now turning on me. This was starting to turn into Phoenix Wright and I had no clue how to take that. "Tomoko-chan, you're just a civilian and yet you can hug the asshole without worrying about death! HOW?!"

I could only intelligently say, "Eh?"

Obito apparently was on a roll with this whole thing, continuing his small rant. "I mean — I would've thought that your best friend would be just as nice as you are, Tomoko-chan! Yet how did you get so close to Bakashi, the mask-wearing, most insufferable-ass ninja ever?!"

...Okay. Is Obito becoming the next Apollo Justice?!

Immediately, Rin glared at Obito before he could spout anymore. "Obito!" she said firmly, frown on her face. Thank goodness she stopped one side. But…

I blinked before registering a large shiver going down my spine. Nearby, a dark aura was starting to form around the mentioned Hatake, and my gut and mind were both in agreement.

An angry Hatake appeared! What will you do?

"…Say that again, I dare you Uchiha." Kakashi muttered darkly, eyes shadowed.

I didn't even think about it. I simply reached over to touch my friend's clenched fist with my hand, and it was like a miracle. The dark aura slowly began to fade while familiar silver orbs looked up to where I could see my reflection in them. "…Tomoko?" Kakashi murmured, voice quickly losing its hard edge.

"Don't get angry so quickly, Kakashi-kun. Just let me explain my part, okay?" I smiled sheepishly at him, squeezing his hand softly. He was really going through the ringer just with this first day. I just hope it won't get worse with each new interaction. All I could think of was, I don't want this rivalry to lead to Kannabi in canon all over again. "It'll be for just a bit longer."

"..."

The silver-haired Chunin looked pointedly away from me, refusing to meet my eyes despite the hand-holding we were doing. I guess he was feeling a bit stubborn.

"I'll play a song for you once we get back home?" I offered dully, having already run out of options.

To my surprise, my best friend immediately turned his head to look at me with wide eyes, mouth open through his mask. It was a better reaction than what I was expecting, and I just scratched my cheek with my other hand. Might as well continue with honesty. "If you don't mind the entire team being there to celebrate the first official day of Team Minato, then yeah… I was planning to do an entire concert for you guys once we got back to Nagareboshi, but I can add a solo just for you, Kakashi-kun…"

"…You're not going to duck out on this, right?" Now I was feeling offended. Pouting, I just reached up to pinch the ninja's cheek, pulling as hard as I could.

"When have I ever ducked out on music for you, old friend? Of course I'm going to do it!"

I hid my inward thought of, Who do you take me for?! with a pout.

Apparently my determination was really noticeable because Kakashi started to chuckle to himself, lightly grabbing my pinching hand in his to squeeze gently.

"Alright, Tomoko, I get the point. Now hurry up and finish already."

Huh, even when saying something nice, he still has that sass of his. I just rolled my eyes at him before turning around. Again, the same surprised audience look was on the rest of Team Minato's faces, and I couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive.

"Wh-What is it?"

Minato-san was the first one to return to the world of the living, per say, blinking before smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head. "S-Sorry about that, Tomoko-chan, we couldn't help but notice how you're so close to Kakashi."

Was it really that surprising? I just tilted my head.

"I mean, Tomoko-chan, you're the only one that we've seen that can hug Kakashi-kun that way!" Rin put her two cents in, something akin to awe in her brown eyes. "No one even in the Academy was able to do that!"

"…Is it really that awe-inspiring?" I said slowly, absently grabbing a muffin of my own. All I did was just really play music for Kakashi during our casual moments — nothing too outstanding. At least to me.

Apparently everyone else thought otherwise because they all simultaneously nodded. "…Okay…" I conceded quietly, raising an eyebrow before clearing my throat. Might as well take the chance to finish up this little tale anyway since Kakashi's long stare on my back was starting to get uncomfortable. "Anyway, to answer your questions…"

They all leaned into the center of the impromptu group circle curiously. Now I could say that I knew how canon Kakashi felt when Team 7 was trying to look under his mask — all the attention was on me, and I didn't know how I felt about it. If anything, it made me feel a bit more nervous than before.

As a result, I had to take a few moments to close my eyes and think. When looking back, why did Kakashi end up warming up to me, a civilian girl out of all people? All I did was really play piano…

But then again, he always did come by to talk to just me, didn't he? And then there was those moments where he didn't intentionally try to push me off when I tackle-hugged him.

Not to forget that time with Sakumo-san…

I hid a sigh.

I really got myself deep in these ninja machinations without even meaning to, didn't I?

In the end, I ended up opening my eyes to face the expectant audience with a sheepish smile, lightly bumping my head with a fist in a similar manner. "Sorry guys, looks like I'm keeping that one a secret~!"

"HUH?!" To my surprise, Obito, Rin, and Kushina-nee all face planted into the picnic blanket, feet twitching in the air. "Tomoko-chan!" Adding in their various protests of my name and actions, it was rather comical if not for me focusing on the two black sheep in the area.

The only ones exempt from this rather hilarious scene was Minato-san and Kakashi. The Yellow Flash himself didn't look that surprised - rather, his expression literally screamed understanding while a fond smile played on his lips. And then Kakashi. Oh boy, I knew I was going to save that image into my personal memory. He was looking at me in a mixture of surprise and warmth, silver eyes wide with some emotion I couldn't fully grasp. It appeared to be something akin to gratitude, and I just winked at him.

Don't worry, Kakashi-kun, this story will just be between you and me.

There's just some things you don't share because they're so close and personal to you.

The memories of talking to Kakashi, to giving him a shoulder to cry on, to even waking him up every morning since we started living together to prepare for training or a mission.

Those were things that were very precious to me — and to be honest? I don't think Obito and Rin need to hear those things yet.

They need to work on teamwork together with my silver-haired best friend first.

I ended up taking the wrapper off the muffin in my hands and biting into it, chewing and swallowing slowly. Had to eat something considering I had yet to touch any of the bentos while talking and my stomach was complaining.

"Now then, there's still a lot of food, so how about you finish up and we can continue talking about something else?"

Uchiha Obito was just downright confused.

Who would've thought that Hoshino Tomoko, one of the sweetest girls he ever met, would have a best friend in Kakashi of all people?

The most insufferable, asshole ninja who was the first one to complain about Obito's lateness period?

And don't get started on how Kakashi was a prodigy — Obito already heard and saw more than enough when they used to be in the same class during the Academy days. Just thinking about how the jerk was better than him skill-wise was enough to make his blood boil.

His Chunin promotion at age sixjust added more oil to the flames.

That's why a part of him still kept wondering how such a kind, caring, and huggable girl such as Tomoko ended up befriending the ass. His jaw still ached from how it dropped so unceremoniously to the ground when the civilian girl jumped on his silver-haired teammate in a hug.

If only she didn't just decide to keep it to herself…! Now he was more curious about how the two got to know each other more than what was underneath the asshole's mask!

Then again, when thinking about, it made sense. Kakashi always did enjoy quiet spaces, and Tomoko did provide that kind of environment, right? Nagareboshi Cafe was always popular amongst the general populace of Konoha, ninja or civilian, for its welcoming nature and beautiful music. Hell, even when Obito first bumped into the girl, she didn't get as angry as others would have been, giving such an intense and amazing song on the piano as a gift for coming back to apologize.

Not to mention Rin enjoyed it too. Obito had the memory of Rin's happy, awe-filled face burned into his head from that day, and no matter what, it was always a bright spot to look back to when life became difficult to deal with.

But Obito never really did see Kakashi around Nagareboshi. Heck, Obito almost always vented his frustrations about the silver haired chunin to the civilian pianist, and she didn't say anything about it! She just smiled and continued giving him advice like she always did!

The Uchiha could swear his heart dropped to the pits of his stomach at the sight of the silver-haired Chunin talking to Tomoko-chan so casually. And then finding out they were best friends and living together?!

Obito would have mentally died from the mess-up.

His thoughts could essentially be summed up as:

…So in the end, I was insulting Tomoko-chan's best friend this entire time and I didn't know it…

He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Why did it have to be Kakashi? Why did his rival have to be the best friend of one of his precious people?

Strangely, at the same time, though, Obito could unconsciously understand why.

"So, how do you guys feel about a concert to celebrate the formation of Team Minato?"

Hoshino Tomoko had that kind of aura every time she smiled. Even when dealing with the worst of Kakashi's temper, she had this sort of calming effect on everyone around her. Just putting a hand on Kakashi's fist was all it took for that disastrous killing intent to go away, and Obito couldn't help but sigh in relief.

He may not understand the strange friendship between the two of them, but at that moment, he couldn't be more grateful for it.

It felt like he just escaped a big beating in training thanks to the civilian girl.

It just felt strange though. Civilians usually didn't know the entire stories of ninjas' lives, and yet here Tomoko was, joining Team Minato for a group lunch and talking with Rin and Kakashi rather eagerly.

It was as if Tomoko saw him — no, the entirety of Team Minato — as more than just shinobi. Every time those blue eyes turned on him, it was as if she knew so much more than he could understand. Even when giving him advice while playing the piano, those same blue orbs seemed to say so much more than just the usual sympathy and pity.

It was as if she knew something more outside of her civilian life.

"Well, here's a huge concert to celebrate Team Minato! I hope you all work hard for a bright future in store!"

But Obito decided not to think on it for now. To be honest, the beautiful music coming from Tomoko's fingertips was far too loud to ignore, and hey. It had been a long day - handling the bell test and working with his new teammates.

He would probably think on his relationship with Rin and Kakashi another time. They were enjoying the music already, relaxing in their seats near the piano.

And maybe later, he could try persuading Tomoko to tell him her secret. Because he wanted to protect his friends on missions. And if it meant working with Bakashi so that they all could come home safe, he would be fine with that.

After all, a ninja that couldn't save his friends wouldn't be worthy of the name Hokage!

Author's Notes: So first up, thank you all who have been following Civilian Pianist so far! As of right now, we have 354 followers and 265 favorites, and I'm very honored that you all have been supporting me! Especially those who reviewed Chapter 15 — studying for midterms can be stressful, so thank you for all the positive support!

Anyways, this section is also a bit of a small apology since it's because I have midterms that this chapter in particular is short and kinda filler-ish to me. But I feel like there needed to be some more character interaction than just Kakashi and Tomoko, and the other two Genin of Team Minato in my head were already running around, questioning how Tomoko got to befriend the Hatake. So that's how this chapter turned out!

I'm still working on how it's going to go from here, so thanks for staying on the ride so far guys!

This is Writer-and-Artist27 signing out to handle her schoolwork, and the next chapter will be in the works ASAP!

Edit (11/18/2016): So apparently there has been recent comments/reviews from readers on how Kakashi and Tomoko should be a couple. And I can understand this. Just let me explain myself first as to why the pairing is still in the air.

I'm not really sure how to address this, but I'll try to keep this as polite and civil as possible. When writing this story, it was really just going with the flow and seeing how it goes. And I'm not sure if I said this already, but right now pairings are subjective. Tomoko and Kakashi are very likely, yes, but I'm not just going to skip over to the part of 'confessing' or anything like that with a large time skip. That's just not in my writing style. A lot of this story is really going into character interaction that isn't just about KakaTomo. If there's going to be pairings, I want to try writing them as realistic (and by that I mean slow) as possible. Tomoko's just not going to fall in love with Kakashi dramatically with the fall of a coin. That's not really how love works. She addresses this directly in her thoughts in this chapter.

Not to mention, Tomoko still has memories of her past life. I've mentioned people such as Leo (her past self's boyfriend) and Josh (an old friend) in her previous life because I wanted to emphasize that Tomoko just isn't looking for anyone just yet. Firstly, she's too young (being only 9 years old and looking for a guy already sounds like far too much!) and secondly, she's still somewhat mourning her previous losses. Her past self's death was something she completely blames herself for, considering that it was a car accident, and because of that, she can't fully move on to see anyone that close to her yet. I want to show off other character developments for her and the people around her, so please understand that.