Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family, and Nagareboshi Cafe. Any concepts/ideas mentioned in this fanfiction that seem to be borrowed from another media/piece of continuity - note that I don't mean to plagiarize anything or anybody in any way! This fanfic was made for entertainment purposes, not for pissing off others! So yeah!

The main theme for this chapter is omega penn's piano cover of Phantom Minds from the Movie 1st of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The main other song mentioned in this chapter is a piano cover of K-On's Go! Go! Maniac, so I would point you towards Animenz Piano Sheets' version of it. Please enjoy!

Note: There may be some sensitive material/subject matter covered in this chapter due to the world we've specifically covering and the timeline Civilian Pianist is set in. Namely, there will a trigger warning for this chapter, specifically for a lot of curse words, physical assault, and possible references to trauma for the sake of world building and character development. If you don't like this kind of material, then I recommend you to look away. You have been forewarned.

Chapter 18: The Reality of War

It started out as a normal day. If anything, I wouldn't have thought it would end the way it did.

When starting out, it was the usual routine. Get up from bed, brush my teeth, and get dressed. Then, it was going around and waking everyone else up, namely Sakumo-san and Kakashi, to get ready for the day's events. Even if it was Friday, the day before the weekend, Sakumo-san still had an Academy class to teach and I recall Kakashi had another D-rank mission and training session scheduled with Team Minato.

Afterwards, it was time to prepare breakfast with Mom. I never really did help out too much with breakfast in my past life just because my old Mom did it all by herself (which is still amazing to me), but this time, I wanted to help out. Today was mainly oyakodon (chicken and egg topped on white rice) with miso soup, made from leftover vegetables, and broiled fish, so I was mainly left with prep work such as cooking the rice and preparing all the vegetables.

…While standing on a step stool. Even as a 9 year old, I was only really up to the lower half of Mom's chest, so I couldn't really reach as much as I would've liked.

Really want that growth spurt soon…

And yes, before you ask, I have been drinking my milk. Unlike a certain Fullmetal Alchemist, I liked the drink, okay? Don't harp on it.

"Thank you again, Hikari~" It was around this time Dad would finally be up, messy brown head of hair and all, going around to kiss Mom before snuggling me. "And hello, sweetie~!"

"Hello, daddy!" I always find myself chirping back.

"Breakfast will be ready in a bit, dear," Mom commented in that soft way of hers, looking at Dad with a loving smile. "Make sure to set up the table and check on Sakumo-kun and Kakashi-kun, ok?"

After about half an hour, the entire house would be sitting down at the living room table to have a breakfast together. Sometimes it would be quiet with only the sounds of clicking chopsticks, but today was different with various debriefs from each person in the house about their plans for the day.

"Well, it's going to be another day with the kids at the Academy," Sakumo-san started, absently chewing on a piece of fish. "Turns out most of them are really enjoying using the practice tantos I put out recently. Seems kenjutsu really fits with their fighting styles and the Academy style taijutsu already taught to them. The other Academy sensei seem to be appreciating it too."

"You talking about the tantos you commissioned from Jim?" Dad questioned, chicken piece halfway towards his mouth.

"Yeah, thanks for the recommendation, Judai." Sakumo-san smiled proudly, a happy aura around him. "Turns out he's more than just your average wood-metal worker. I never thought you would've gotten to know him considering your position now."

"Eh," Dad shrugged nonchalantly, swallowing some rice with a cheerful grin. "I have my ways."

"Good to hear, Dad," Kakashi piped in, grin on his face. For once, he wasn't wearing his mask, and it overall felt very cheerful in the room. "At least there will be more shinobi graduating with better skills for the field."

"Speaking about that," Mom interjected gently, looking towards my best friend. "Kakashi-kun, you have another training session with Team Minato today, right? Do you have everything you need?"

"Hikari-san," Kakashi gave her a half-lidded, exasperated glance in response. "I know what I'm doing — don't worry. I already packed more than enough."

I couldn't help but put in my two cents. "Including bandages and polishing tools for your kunai and shuriken, Kakashi-kun?"

"Not you too, Tomoko," my best friend said flatly. "I checked with Dad already, I should be fine."

"Do you need me to stop by with lunch again?" I continued, ignoring his half-lidded stare. Hey, I had a legitimate reason to ask considering the last time lunch went with Team Minato. I never knew Obito could eat that much food — the six-bento-box package Kushina-san and I worked on in a few hours disappeared in only 30 minutes!

"Tomoko," Kakashi was visibly frowning by now, putting down his chopsticks to reach over and pinch my cheek. Ack! Why the cheek. Why. "It's fine, really. Minato-sensei said that he'd be taking us out for lunch after the mission anyway."

I couldn't help the large pout on my face as I stared at him, eyebrow raised. "Okay…I'll still see you this afternoon at Nagareboshi, right?"

Hey, before you harp on me — I had to make sure the routine was still there, even if he was heading out more often. I don't know about you, but a 9 year old girl can't help but miss her best friend, okay?

"No changes there," Kakashi said, having already finished his breakfast. Before putting his mask back on, he gave me a soft smile, reaching over to flick my forehead. "I'll be fine, Tomoko — it's just another D-Rank. I'll see you later today, okay?"

What is it with people and my head?

I ended up pushing the thought to the side to smile back and pull my best friend into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I'll see you later then, Kakashi-kun. I love you."

I could feel Kakashi tense for a moment at my actions before relaxing and sighing. "I love you too, Tomoko. I'll see you later," he murmured back, hands reaching over to lightly pat my back.

I just never thought that I would value those words so much until after it happened.

After Kakashi and Sakumo-san left the house to handle their own duties, I was left opening Nagareboshi with Mom and Dad. While they handled ushering in the hired help and cleaning most of the home front, I had to change into the main Nagareboshi kimono dress for another day filled with piano music. Since it was spring, I went to the Leafeon dress again, using a green hair ribbon for my hair before heading out and cleaning the piano. From the looks of it, it was going to be a long day since there was already a crowd waiting outside at the main patio of the cafe.

Then again, with Konoha at war, we needed as much morale as we could get.

Before Mom went over to the front to turn the "CLOSED" sign around, she turned to look at me with a warm smile. "Ready, Tomoko-chan?"

"Ready, Mom!"

And at the time, I really did feel ready for anything.

Why did the world have to prove me wrong otherwise?

Surprisingly, the day passed fairly quickly, with each song I played adding to the time. Initially, I started with reruns of previous songs, including the Pokémon Center theme, Dearly Beloved, and Let's Just Live. But to my surprise, some of the regulars started coming by and requesting more cheery songs, and I found my memories turning to pieces including the famous Linus and Lucy from Charlie Brown and Fuwa Fuwa Time from K-On to match.

It was only when the sun was starting to set, with the fading beams of red shining into the cafe, that it happened.

I was just in the middle of another song request, where a female ninja specifically came by asking for the most happiest song I could think of. Honestly, the only thing I could think of was Go! Go! Maniac from K-On's 2nd season soundtrack, and I was in the middle of playing the most upbeat part when I heard it.

"What's the point of playing all that happy-go-lucky bullshit?!"

I swore my heart froze in place, my hands stopping over the keys.

W-What…?

"I mean, really?!" I couldn't even find the strength in me to turn around on the piano bench. The voice was so sudden, so dark — even as Vy, I never heard anyone speak like that. It sounded like a man, but who— "You motherfuckers have the time to just relax and listen to this crap?! Konoha's at goddamn WAR right now!"

By then, I could only really breathe shakily since a large lump decided to show up in my throat. My heart and subconsciousness were both screaming at me to say something, anything to make it stop, anything to properly defend the music that I have been doing for the past nine years, but my voice just got lost in all the chaos.

"Hey, what's your problem, asshole?!" the original requester shouted back, looking a bit peeved herself. "We're all trying to take a breather here — I don't see what's wrong with that!"

"What's wrong with that…?" To add to the horror creeping on my mind, that same voice started to laugh. The laugh wasn't like any of the ones Dad would do when I messed up on something or the quiet ones Kakashi let out when something looked silly.

This one was cold.

"People are dying out on the frontlines, bitch, and you're here lying on your ass listening to this useless shit!"

Why wasn't the voice going away? If anything, the same person continued to laugh loudly, mockingly with how it drowned out any sense of even protesting, and with the sudden silence in the entire cafe due to the broken atmosphere, it kept echoing in my ears. I didn't even have the will to look behind me since I knew the instigator was sitting around in that area. "Sheesh, all you motherfuckers have it easy! Being able to sit down, have a drink, and not have to worry about the blood of shit staining your hands! Why listen to this civilian crap when you could head out and work like the trash you should be!"

"Dude, that's going too far!" Another man was speaking, but I could barely register it in my ears. If anything, my body was still frozen as tears were starting to form in my eyes.

…My music…? All my work…is crap…?

My hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

Say something, me! Say that it's wrong! PLEASE.

And yet my vocal cords could do nothing but squeak.

Then a lot of things happened all at once.

First up, I could register a whole bunch of what felt like pitch dark aura flaring in the atmosphere. Then, a rough hand I didn't recognize grabbed my neck to lift me up into the air, and I found myself choking. I didn't even have the chance to think about where it came from or to even run. I was sitting at the piano one moment, the next, I'm trying to breathe through the hands clutching at my neck, clutching hard enough to where I could've sworn I tasted metal in the back of my throat. From the recoil, I couldn't even open my eyes, only faintly smelling the scent of alcohol and dirt in front of my face. The grip was so tight, I couldn't even feel my limbs as my mind pushed to try regaining my senses.

OPEN YOUR EYES, TOMOKO!

But it hurts…! I can't breathe!

The energy was slowly leaving me as my hands feebly attempted to peel the large fingers away from my neck. I could've sworn I started wheezing in an attempt to try getting oxygen back into my lungs.

"See, you fuckers?! This wench could easily die with just a hand! Do you really want to relax knowing someone like me could take her away?! Start working harder, you bitches, or I'll kill her right now!"

The realization was dull as saliva dribbled down my chin from the lack of air.

I'm going to die.

No… I don't want to die here…

The tears were already streaming down my face as my lungs started to shrivel, memories of smoke and blood filling my head.

Not again…

Mom… Dad…

The memory of a silver-head went through my mind, and I wanted to scream.

Kakashi…!

Black dots were already filling my vision when a familiar voice rang out.

"LET HER GO!"

A fierce CHOP noise sounded near my right ear, and the next thing I knew, air was filling my shrunken lungs again, the tight grip on my neck suddenly gone. I was falling now. With my only support in the air gone, I was expecting to feel the hard ground of the stage underneath me, but instead, I landed in familiar, muscular arms.

With the tough landing, I found myself coughing. Saliva was filling the inside of my mouth again, and a part of me just felt like I had to vomit. My lungs greedily gulped in whatever air they could get, and the final result was that it sounded like I was wheezing, even with my hands covering my lips as much as possible to not make a worse mess of things.

Holy shit.

"—moko-chan?! Tomoko-chan, are you okay?!"

Minato-san…?

Once the coughing fit finally stopped, I hesitantly opened my eyes, and even through the tears, I could make out the familiar spiky blonde hair and blue orbs. "Tomoko-chan, if you can hear me, blink once, please!"

Instinctively, I blinked once.

The blond Jounin let out a soft sigh before squishing me to the front of his green flak jacket. "Thank god…"

"M-M-Minato-san?!" I squeaked finally, voice hoarse from just getting my bearings back. I wanted to feel relieved, but it wasn't over yet. It didn't feel over. "Wh-What happened—?!"

All that was going through my head was adrenaline and the desire to figure out what the fuck just happened. How was it that in my own home, I was nearly strangled to death in a more pathetic fashion than my own past death? I needed answers.

And yet, when I attempted to get back to my feet and turn around, my eyes got covered by the ninja's large hands.

"Don't look, Tomoko-chan, please." It was the first time I heard the Jounin sound so desperate. "It's not something for a civilian girl to see."

But in that split second I had before the hands covered my eyes, I saw it anyway.

Kakashi's back was facing me, the visible glint of a kunai in his hands while his body was crouched in a defensive position.

Obito and Rin were flanking both sides of the piano, tense and apprehensive.

The instigator, a person I could clearly recognize as one of the new customers that came in earlier today, pudgy face flushed pink from the clear hangover. His unruly black hair stood out against the person holding him at sword point from behind.

Specifically, the person handing my captor's comeuppance was Dad.

My Dad.

The two-toned brown hair and glint of red and green in his eyes just proved my suspicions.

I didn't even recognize the weapon he was holding against the guy's neck. From the split second I had, I could tell it wasn't fully visible. If anything, Dad's weapon was translucent, the only indicator that it was in his hand being the solid blue lines creating the outline of a long katana. My common sense screamed that this shouldn't be possible, considering that the weapon was see-through, with the exception of the flaring blue that was pure energy running through the image, but Dad's grip was firm and solid on the supposed handle.

I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it was real.

Dad. Was. Another incarnation of Velvet Scarlatina from RWBY. Not a full reincarnation, but he was definitely pulling off a good copycat version of her weapon's ability.

As in, he somehow had the same ability as her camera, at least, visually, of being able to materialize weapons from images. But how? With chakra?

That was the only idea I had, but from what I could remember of canon, only samurai could do that sort of thing. Mifune's samurai. Not Dad.

Maybe if I had looked closer, I would've seen the faintest outline of a real tanto sword in his fist underneath all the blue flares.

Unfortunately, I couldn't even think on it since Minato-san's hands were still covering my eyes, but my ears could still pick up the familiar voices.

"Hey, Minato, you take your team and Tomoko-chan back into the house. I need to take out this trash for ruining the day and harming my daughter. I'll send Hikari up to check on you in a bit."

Nearby, I could hear someone start to throw up. I didn't know if it was the culprit or a nearby innocent customer.

When did Dad start sounding so serious?

Was this the ninja Judai I only heard about from Sakumo-san's stories?

The words of the former White Fang flashed through my head.

"Tomoko-chan, make sure you stay safe, okay?"

I could still remember the confusion. "…Um, okay? But why, Sakumo-san?"

At the time, he only smiled. "Let's just say you don't want to be there to find out why Judai was so feared as a ninja in his day, dear."

I didn't even register what happened in the next few minutes because my feet had yet to find residence on the ground until my eyes found themselves uncovered, looking around back in the family living room upstairs and landing on familiar silver orbs.

Worried, concerned, silver orbs.

Kakashi.

My best friend was kneeling right in front of me. He was right here.

"Tomoko," he breathed my name almost shakily as he reached over to wipe a tear that I didn't realize fell from my cheek. "Are you okay?"

"K-Kakashi-kun…" The breath I didn't realize I was holding shakily left my mouth, and by then, the tears were already blurring my vision.

Even with the weight gone from my neck and heart, the fear was still there.

One. Someone decided to start going on a drunken rampage when I was handling a song request.

Two. That same someone insulted everything I as well as the entirety of Nagareboshi stood for, cursing it all in the most ugliest way possible.

Three. That person tried to kill me. Whether it was from a drunken rage or not, the residual pain on my neck was still there.

Four. Dad showed off exactly how powerful he was with that one move, even if I could only see it for a split second. Even as a retired ninja, he still had chakra to use, and from what little I saw of his eyes, that culprit was close to getting decapitated.

Five. I had almost died. After dying once, I almost went away again. Before accomplishing anything I meant to do. Before even saving Team Minato from Kannabi and the possibility of Kurama's rampage.

Before Naruto was even born, I had almost died.

And at the time, I couldn't do anything about it.

It was as if I was reduced to that college girl who was left helpless, choking in her own blood as her parents tried to save her to no avail. All over again.

To conclude, I basically went through what could be considered absolute hell in civilian standards, and left trembling in the house with the rest of Team Minato, being asked if I was "okay"?

No offense to my best friend, but I didn't feel in the least bit okay.

My only response was to throw myself at Kakashi in a tackle-hug, burying my face into the crook of his shoulder. I needed someone familiar. I needed a rock to ground me again. For once, I just wanted to get away from it all.

I didn't want to believe that… that just happened.

I didn't want to believe that I almost died again.

Dying once was already painful enough.

The memories did nothing to help.

Mommy, Daddy, where are you? It hurts… Why is there so much blood? Help me, please…

PLEASE HELP ME!

I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

The tears were already running down my face as the first sobs started leaving my lips. For once, Kakashi wasn't tense in the hug, immediately wrapping his arms around me and running his fingers through my hair. I could tell from his posture that he wanted to say something, but decided to hold it back for the sake of tightening the hug, squishing me to his chest as the wails continued to come out.

At one point, I could feel others joining in on the hug. From all the tears, I couldn't really tell who they were, but I could distinctly feel Minato-san, Obito, and Rin acting as collateral huggers by the shapes of their arms. Minato-san had this lean, bulky muscle fitting of the Yellow Flash while Rin and Obito were a bit more lanky, but they were still familiar. Overall, we kinda became a huge mess of people, with me in the center bawling my heart out.

I really would have to apologize to Kakashi later for ruining his shirt and possibly sobbing out his eardrums.

I don't know how long it took, but after a while, the tears finally started to dry on my cheeks as the group hold on me loosened a little bit. It took another few minutes to finally steady my breathing, and by then, I could clearly make out the Leaf symbol on Kakashi's headband as he leaned close to rest his forehead against mine, silver eyes shining with concern.

"You okay?" he asked again.

For some reason, I just couldn't find my voice, only really able to give a weak nod.

Kakashi blinked for a moment before sighing, a sad one from the sounds of it, before reaching over to gently wipe at the drying tear trails on my cheeks. "What happened, Tomoko?"

Rin was the first to interject before I could answer, looking a bit panicky. "K-Kakashi-kun, that's not the best thing to ask right now!" To my surprise, she pushed — no, more like shoved — my best friend out of the way to face me and raise her hands gently to my neck. A soft blue glow surrounded them almost immediately. Diagnostic Jutsu? "What matters now is giving Tomoko-chan treatment!"

From over her shoulder, my best friend turned sheepish, surprise registering in his silver orbs. "S-Sorry about that."

From Rin's other shoulder, I could see Obito grin a bit. "She got you there, Bakashi."

"Not the time, Obito," Kakashi and Rin deadpanned in unison. Honestly, it was kinda freaky and Obito seemed to share the same sentiment because he immediately scooted back a centimeter or two, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably. While this was going on, I could faintly hear the soft hum of chakra prodding the area where the instigator choked me, and strangely, it didn't hurt. I thought it would be bruised like all hell because of how I just couldn't breathe, but the way Rin was handling it — it was as though nothing had ever happened.

The pain was at least fading, because I could still faintly taste metal in the back of my throat.

"…How does it look, Rin?" Minato-san asked after a moment, tall figure dwarfing the four of us easily.

The medic continued to gently move her hands across my neck with the blue aura before sighing, looking up at the Yellow Flash with a mix of relief and sadness. "Luckily, it's just bruised with light internal bleeding, so it's nothing a quick Mystical Palm can't fix." At the comment, the blue aura suddenly turned green as I found my neck slowly feeling better with each place the medic touched. It was a slow process, considering my voice still sounded like I had just started smoking — which note, I'll never do period — but even then, I couldn't help but admire Rin that much more.

Medical ninjutsu really is useful…!

"But still," Rin began, turning her head back to focus on my neck again, frown on her face. "Had that man continued to hold onto Tomoko-chan for just a bit longer…"

She didn't need to finish that thought. Even in the fear-delirious state I was in, I knew what would've happened had they not stepped in sooner.

I didn't want to scare myself further. I didn't want to dig up old traumas.

For once, there was silence. No one really attempted to speak as Rin continued to heal my neck, adding to the tension in the living room.

It felt like we were waiting on something. But what?

"TOMOKO-CHAN!"

I only had one thought register in my head. Mom?

Immediately, Rin scurried away once finishing the treatment for warm arms to wrap around me in a sudden hug. I was too frozen to even move.

"M-Mommy?" Immediately, the hug ended as Mom grabbed my face in her hands, squishing my cheeks together. From the close distance, I could make out her pale face and wide blue orbs. Heck, even her normally straight black hair seemed a bit frizzled in its side ponytail, some strands hanging loosely away from the main hairstyle.

She shouldn't look like that. Mommy shouldn't look like that.

"Tomoko-chan…" I found myself in another hug as Mom squished me to her chest desperately, voice cracking. "Tomoko-chan… thank kami…"

She was scared.

I never realized Mom was just as scared as I was — possibly even more so. Normally, she would be the in-between for the kitchen help and waiting services, but seeing that? I wouldn't blame her for clutching me so hard.

No parent would want to see their child die before they do.

My past parents didn't. My current parents definitely didn't either.

A happy girl would've smiled and accepted it.

Not this time.

"M-Mommy…" The tears were starting to come back again, and this time, I knew I didn't want to start another sobbing session. Not when she was scared too. "W-Where's Daddy?"

"Right here, sweetheart."

Dad.

I didn't even have to look up because as soon as he showed up over Mom's shoulder, he suddenly kneeled down to pull the two of us into a big group hug, radiating warmth that screamed a familiar message. "I'm sorry for being late."

It's going to be okay, his grip seemed to say.

Soon enough, I found myself in a bigger group hug again, with the rest of Team Minato actually joining in and hugging on all sides. For everything that happened today, for once, I could feel safe.

It at least confirmed that the initial stages of the scare were over.

Unfortunately, the moment couldn't last forever since I could tell everyone had some questions.

Minato-san let out a shaky sigh once we all collected ourselves, sitting on the carpet with a hand on his knee. It was the first time I had seen him look so tired. "…What did you do with that man, Judai?"

Dad looked up to frown himself, having already tucked me into his lap at this point, chin resting on top of my head. I leaned back into him just beacuse. "Gave him a firm talking to and then turned him into the Uchiha Police Forces. They should be able to deal with the bastard." I didn't miss how Dad's hands clenched in frustration. "Apparently one of the hired hands forgot about the alcohol rule we have here and gave the bastard too much."

"Judai, language around the kids." Mom then took the moment to sigh sadly, one of her hands in reaching distance for me to squeeze. "Do you want me to talk to them?"

To my surprise, Dad furiously shook his head, scowl on his face. "Already took care of it, Hikari. The guy's already packing to head out tomorrow. I made sure that they're never coming back." I couldn't help but notice how his voice went down an octave or two. It honestly sounded like he was growling. Would this be how my past Dad would've sounded like after my death? "We're really going to have to up regulations if we don't want this to happen again."

"Um… Judai-san?" I was surprised to see Obito attempt to speak up, and didn't miss how Dad quickly turned his head to focus on the Uchiha with a narrowed glance. Despite the obvious hostility, Obito squeaked before coughing into his fist and continuing. "B-By chance, does this happen often?"

I don't think that's the right question to ask, Obito.

Dad simply tightened the hold he had on me before sighing. "Never," he replied, tone short and clipped. "In all the years Hikari and I have been together running the business, this is the first time a customer has lashed out in such a way…"

Out of sympathy and what could really be childish emotion, I patted one of Dad's hands.

"…Could it be because of the war?"

Immediately, all heads turned towards the silver-haired Chunin who spoke, and by then, Kakashi donned a bit of an unsettled expression. "H-hey, just think about it. Even though Konoha still hasn't suffered that many losses, the fact that…that man," I didn't miss the amount of contempt in my best friend's voice at the mention of the instigator. "Attacked in such a way means that things are getting serious. Even if we're living somewhat peaceful lives inside of Konoha's walls doesn't mean that the conflict is over outside. If anything, this may have been the tip of the iceberg."

"…But why did he pick Tomoko-chan?" Rin piped up, expression clearly showing her disbelief and hesitation. "She's just a civilian pianist — why would someone try to target her?"

"Yeah!" Obito put his two cents in, strong emotion swirling in his black eyes. "She hasn't done anything wrong to make that guy act out in that way!"

A part of me didn't want to believe it, but my heart already knew what was going on. "I-I think…" Everyone turned to look at me with varying degrees of concern and recognition. "I think it might be because of what I was playing at the time. Team Minato may have come in just when the situation became bad, but before that, I was specifically requested by a customer to play the 'most cheerful song I had.' It must've riled that man up when I didn't mean to…"

My anxiety-riddled heart piped up in my head to fill in the silence.

I didn't mean to make him angry, but my song choice was the last straw anyway. My possible death by suffocation was nothing but my own fault.

"Tomoko-chan, you don't have to blame yourself for it!" I was surprised to see Minato-san jump up from his seat, fist clenched. "That man's actions wasn't something you should feel responsible for!" A few moments passed before the Jounin recognized the number of eyes pointed at him, and he simply coughed into his fist before sitting back down, calmly reaching over to touch my hand. "You were just doing your job, so you shouldn't take responsibility for actions beyond your control."

I could swear my heart stopped in my chest. At that moment, I didn't see just Minato Namikaze.

In those blue eyes and determined expression, I saw the Fourth Hokage. I saw Kushina's husband, hero of the Third Great Shinobi World War in another timeline, and most importantly.

I saw the origins of Naruto. The beginnings of that heartfelt determination and hard work, and it was all exemplified in that one moment, focused on me. It felt as though the blonde knucklehead hero himself was staring at me, giving his own encouragement.

Don't give up just yet, dattebayo!

The tears were already beginning to bud in my eyes again as I looked down at my lap, absently playing with Dad's fingers. "O-Okay… but…but what are we supposed to do now?" I found myself croaking. "W-We can't just go out and open Nagareboshi tomorrow and pretend everything's okay."

Not after that. Not after knowing that things will never be the same when Konoha's at war.

It was at this point that Kakashi sighed, scooting closer to put his hand against mine. "We can't, but I think we all can work together to make sure this doesn't happen again. First, we have to up security around the perimeters. Then, reinforce the work regulations already present at the cafe. Finally, maybe one of us can stick around and be a bodyguard if you need it, Tomoko." The silver haired Chunin blinked before turning around to look back at the rest of Team Minato. "How do you guys feel about that?"

Obito grinned. Rin smiled. "Of course it's fine!" they chirped in agreement. Minato-san just smiled in somewhat of a mysterious way, proud aura coming off of him.

"It's going to be a lot of work, kids." Dad deadpanned, frown visible enough to where I could feel the stubble on his chin twitch from the close distance. "And last I checked, you still have to deal with your own training and missions — you sure about this?"

It was Obito that spoke up with a large grin and a thumbs up. "Of course!" he summed up energetically. Oh, Obito. "Tomoko-chan's helped all of us out — it's about time we went around and gave something back!"

Oh, Obito…!

"Agreed," Rin smiled softly, hints of a cheery pink on her face. "It's the least we can do, right Kakashi-kun?"

Rin…

My best friend was the last one to answer, but even then, I already knew what he was going to say. "Of course."

Kakashi…

The tears were already rolling down my face by the time Team Minato finished their little vows. Despite their…well, vocal worries.

"Oh, Tomoko-chan, don't cry! It's okay!" Rin-chan, fussing over me first.

"T-Tomoko-chan, we're here! No one's going to hurt you! It's going to be okay!" Obito, being an absolute dork while trying funny faces, just to make me laugh.

Kakashi only put a hand on my knee, giving an eye smile.

Luckily this time, the tears from me were of happiness.

I didn't deserve these people.

But I guess even in the darkest times, one's inner light shines the brightest.

Author's Notes: ...So, this is a chapter to make up for how I've been gone for midterm studying. Sorry about the angst, guys, but after the last chapter with Tomoko's inner monologue, it was coming around at one point. What Tomoko doesn't realize is that with her piano playing, she's become a huge influence in Konoha for raising morale during the war — and it's really where she's going to find the most conflict as well because not a lot of people are going to appreciate that — Konoha's enemies especially.

Well, just gotta do what you gotta do…

And Civilian Pianist now has more than 400 followers! I'm really happy you guys stuck with me for so long, especially since I still have college going on, but really. I love you all so much!

This is Writer-and-Artist27 signing out, and I'll see you again next chapter - no matter how angsty or fluffy it gets! XD

Edit (11/22/2016): So about an hour after publishing this chapter, I got this review from a guest named Lisa, which you can review in the reviews section for yourself, but for the sake of what I'll be discussing in the next few paragraphs, I'll be posting its contents here. I'm not sure if you see this, Lisa, but please hear me out.

"So far I enjoyed this story to a point but I wanted to honestly tell you why I'm dropping it. Don't take this as a flame review but it just doesn't seem plausible for one person to be liked by so many different personalities. Yes she should have some close friends but to befriend each character, or be admired by each character to such a degree is off putting. It smacks of Mary Sue-ism to the extreme, plus the fact that you haven't given her a real flaw and... well, it was hard not to choke on all the fluff. She's just too two dimensional for me to continue. I honestly thought their would be more character development but so far that hasn't been the case. Another thing I have a problem with is making her father a crossover character from rwby, which I sincerely hope is just a mistake on her part because even reading about characters being born opposite of their original sex is just plain creepy to me."

Now, when creating Tomoko, I wasn't really meaning to bring that image of a Mary-Sue across. My definition of a Mary-Sue is someone who is perfect and liked by almost everyone, and as a creator, I don't believe Tomoko fits that bill. Yes, as a writer, I've shoved WAY too much fluff down your guys' throats at times, and I'm sorry for that. But at the same time, Tomoko is the way she is because she's trying to be positive. This chapter as well as the previous one was my attempts at trying to show that Tomoko does have cynical moments too. I haven't really found a time to explore her flaws because from my point of view, she's just trying to keep an uplifting attitude and the people she interacts with either don't see it (i.e. Hikari, Tomoko's mom for example) or choose not to comment on it (i.e. Kakashi). The ninja world isn't really the greatest thing, and as a self-insert, with Tomoko having my memories, she recognizes this and does her best to keep grinning.

Still, I'm guessing it sounds like I'm being defensive, and note I don't mean it that way. This small edit section is really just my putting my view on the story out there for now for other readers to understand.

For the second issue about Judai — I didn't intend to make him a crossover character from RWBY. If anything, the comparison Tomoko makes of him to Velvet is only really weapons. As of right now, she doesn't know everything about Judai yet, considering his retired ninja status is LITERALLY under wraps, and that's something I hope to explore at one point. Judai just has a power/jutsu that acts similar to Velvet's weapon as seen in Volume 3. He just doesn't need a camera for it.

I'll do my best to improve the story more from here, but for my current followers and readers, please know that I'm doing my best. Honestly this is my first fanfiction that I'm writing mostly on my own, so there may be issues with character development and so on. But I'll do whatever I can to make this long ride an enjoyable one, so I hope you continue to stay with me.

Another Edit (2/13/2017): So after talking with the real Leo and one of my consultants, I actually changed the specifics of Judai's chakra ability a bit. Considering that my original thoughts on his ability would be, as the real Leo put it, require chakra control on par with goddamn Tsunade, I felt the need to change the scene here for the sake of power balance. Judai may be a powerful, retired badass, but he's not fully on Sannin level in terms of chakra.