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 theme for this chapter is specifically Kyle Landry's cover of Reflection from Mulan. This was one of my first ever animated movies when growing up, and I personally find that the piano cover itself really suits the strange beauty and turbulence that is going on in Tomoko's life right now.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 27: Finding the Ground

"What do you MEAN by that you can't say anything?!"

"Judai, it's like I said! I'm by strict orders from Hokage-sama himself to not say anything!"

"That's bullshit and you know it Minato! This is my little girl that we're talking about, and why did she come back home after 3 days looking like a carriage hit her?!"

"O-Oi Judai, calm down!"

"Sakumo, this is something I need to get out, okay?! If Kakashi was in the same situation, wouldn't you have felt the same?!"

"W-well…"

"Judai! Get ahold of yourself! Tomoko-chan's still sleeping!"

The voices hurt. Why was it that when reality was finally coming back to me, the first thing I could hear was the beginnings of a horrendous argument?

With hesitance, I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was the concerned face of my best friend towering over me, silver locks framing his masked face.

"K-Kakashi?" I croaked.

The ninja only smiled, relief shining in his silver eyes. "Hey Tomoko."

My head hurt, and honestly, my futon felt far too comfy to leave right now. Despite this, I still forced myself to sit up, pushing back the blankets to look at him. Since the voices were still going on outside, something definitely happened while I was out. "W-What happened?"

"To summarize?" Kakashi put a hand to his face, shaking his head. "After you decided to use me as a pillow," I tried not to wince at the exasperated voice he used. "Minato-sensei decided to talk with Dad and the others about why you were out of the house for so long. As you can see, well, hear, Judai-san didn't take it well."

Panic spread through my body almost immediately. I didn't even care that I had something akin to a growing migraine - all that was on my mind was helping Dad. "T-Then I have to do something -" I tried to get out of bed, only to get stopped by a simple hand on my wrist. Heck, I had barely moved an inch from the warm covers when I heard it.

"What do you plan to do, Tomoko?" Kakashi said slowly, grip tight on my hand.

It was such a simple question, but the rapid beating of my heart made me hesitate.

"T-Talk to… Daddy…" My voice trailed off, quickly fading into silence. For some reason, I couldn't face Kakashi right now. Heck, I couldn't bear to even look at his face right now. The adrenaline running through me was quickly replaced with confusion and doubt.

What could I do?

With everything that's happened, what could I do?

I could easily feel the beginnings of frustrated tears budding the edges of my eyes, and the hand that wasn't being gripped by my best friend went up to wipe them away.

I didn't want to admit that I couldn't do anything.

I didn't want to admit that I was essentially useless in this situation. Because what WAS there to do?

Inoichi-san finding out the contents of my memories was out of my control.

The drunk customer attacking me months ago was out of my control.

Hokage-sama commanding for my mind to be searched - that was out of my control.

Even now, when Papa was out there yelling out Minato-san and Sakumo-san's ears - that too was out of my control.

… When did my life start spiraling out of control?

I didn't even notice the grip on my wrist loosening because of the first sniffles escaping my lips.

I didn't want to be useless. I didn't want to be a burden.

And yet here I was, lying around left unable to do anything.

It all was a repeat of what happened to Vy. When she could do something, she couldn't do ANYTHING. So then why was fate doing the same for me?

Kakashi didn't have to say anything. It was like he already knew what I was thinking, even when I wasn't facing him. "... It's frustrating, isn't it?"

"... It is," The words sounded far too ground up, far too forced, coming out of my mouth. "Doing nothing."

To my surprise, the grip on my wrist pulled on me enough so that my head could rest against Kakashi's shoulder. "How about we go do something then?"

The sudden question made me blink and look up at my best friend, confusion rolling through me in waves. "... Do what?" I croaked. "We're kinda stuck in here until the adults stop yelling at each other."

The loud voices going on outside my doorstep was proof enough as is.

Kakashi just smirked at me through his mask. "We're not really stuck here if the window's open, right?"

Oh no.

A grimace found itself on my face almost immediately. "K-Kakashi, you're not thinking of…"

For a moment, I saw the image of his older, canon self superimposed on him. The masked smirk wasn't helping with my worries. "How do you feel about teleporting again, Tomoko?"

… Tomoko-chan has a massive headache, so hell no, you weird ninja. Hisako muttered.

I just ignored her barb and decided to sugarcoat it, raising an eyebrow at him. I think Hisako is still miffed at the whole 'knock-out-equals-minor-issue-to-the-Third-Hokage' thing, considering it was the first time she was insulting my best friend out of all people. "Not feeling really good about it since headaches would probably get worse with a teleport, Kakashi."

My best friend just blinked at me before closing his eyes and putting a hand to his chin in thought. A few seconds passed before those same silver eyes opened to look at me with amusement. "How about this then?"

I didn't even have time to react because the next thing I knew, I could only see the horizon past Kakashi's shoulders, his spiky silver hair tickling my cheeks. When did he -? "Kakashi-kun, what the heck?!" I found myself squealing, unconsciously reverting back to honorifics.

I could swear I could hear the smirk in his voice. The insufferable - "You've never had a piggyback ride, right Tomoko?"

Getting lifted up to where I couldn't feel my feet touch the ground wasn't helping. "T-that doesn't mean you have to do it now - WAH!" Feeling the air between my toes just added to the immense amount of worry, adrenaline, fear, and exhilaration running through my veins. And considering my best friend just jumped - and I mean JUMPED - to land nimbly on the windowsill, I knew I had to say something. "K-Kakashi, what about telling the adults? If they see us heading out, they might think otherwise -"

"Already left a note and we're going anyway, so no stopping now." The ninja shot back, and for a moment I could clearly see the horizon of Konoha through my main room window before the glass disappeared, letting the air flow through.

OH NO -

Kakashi promptly jumped out the window, supporting me the entire way. And I couldn't help but scream.

"Kakashi, you idiot!"

If I could've bonked him on the head, I would've done so without a second thought. But flying through the air on a ninja's back proved that wouldn't be such a good idea. But even without that, Kakashi just ignored my previous comment, jumping from rooftop to rooftop at what I remember was normal ninja speed. I didn't know if he was using chakra to reinforce it, but honestly the wind passing by us was both refreshing and absolutely terrifying.

Then again, being a civilian in the freaking Naruto-verse was terrifying enough as is.

"K-Kakashi, where are we going?!" I attempted to ask, doing my best to not scream into his ear drums again.

"Somewhere away from all the noise! It can get annoying sitting there anyway!" He yelled back, continuing to leap onto differently colored rooftops. "Just hang on tight!"

We're doing our best, you insufferable asshole of a ninja! Hisako yelled back. I didn't know whether or not to agree or disagree with her, but nevertheless tightened my grip around my best friend's shoulders, burying my nose into the crook of his neck while closing my eyes.

I at least didn't want to look down. Heights in Naruto were still something I was unsure about.

But after everything that happened, it was nice to smell something familiar over the dull, hospital scent I had been getting lately. Kakashi's pine scent was an extra helping that I needed.

I never realized how much I could miss my best friend.

Before I knew it, I could feel the ground beneath my feet. My bare feet, but it was ground nonetheless. From the feeling, it was coarse and dry all at once. Rock?

"... Tomoko? You can let go now." Kakashi said dryly.

An embarrassed blush bloomed on my face as I promptly let go of him, scooting away at least an inch or two to cover the red on my cheeks.

Why was it when I did something weird that he was around to see it?

And then I made the mistake of looking down.

What greeted me was the entire village. And no, I'm not kidding - the entire village. From where I was sitting, I could literally see every building, every alley, every little roof - all specks from where we were. And considering my bare feet could feel only rock…

I glanced downwards at my feet, not really paying attention to how all I was wearing was my white nightgown. The rough yellow-brown color of the Hokage Monument stared back.

Oh. My. God.

We're sitting on top of one of the Hokage's heads, aren't we?

"... Kakashi?" I deadpanned.

My best friend blinked, as if he wasn't even moved by the magnitude of where we were, sitting down next to me without a second thought. "Yes Tomoko?"

I held back the urge to either scream or just shake him furiously. "... Why are we on top of the Hokage Monument?"

"You wanted to do something, right? And besides, staying in that room with all the noise was getting far too cramped." Kakashi just shrugged, and even without looking, I knew that he didn't care that much. "Might as well take something from Obito's book, right?"

I didn't even know if that last part was an insult or a complement to the Uchiha.

"Again, why?" I repeated blandly, doing my best to scoot closer to him and not towards the rocky edge.

Kakashi was just missing the point by now. "You haven't been this high before in Konoha, right?"

"That's true, but -" The Hatake just gave me a challenging glance. Compared to Hokage-sama's glare, it wasn't that bad, but nevertheless made me flinch. What was I supposed to say to that?

In the end, I conceded defeat with a sigh, shaking my head. "You're insufferable, Kakashi."

"Says the girl who's an open book," My best friend retorted back. Heck, I could hear him rolling his eyes.

Best not let this whole thing get blown out of proportion. "... Point taken."

Afterwards, it was just silence. I wasn't fully sure WHY Kakashi wanted to come up here, but this - this view, this vantage point, this sight - this was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Sure, any ninja could climb up to the top of the Hokage Monument, but this was something Vy could've only dreamed of doing. I mean, seeing the entirety of your home from such a high and important place just leaves a mark on someone, you know? I couldn't help but look along the horizon, noting how people seemed to be just dots on the paved roads and the small electric signs showing off various stores and pubs.

Who knew that such a strange and dangerous village like Konoha would look so beautiful?

Was this what Madara and Hashirama saw when building a village meant for peace? Was this what inspired them? Because with the wind blowing through my short hair, the soft chirping of the birds and the presence of my best friend next to me, I could believe it.

I could believe that two war-weary leaders came together here to build something new.

But the silence couldn't last forever. Even with all the beauty and nature standing right in front me, I mean. There was still a nagging feeling tugging at my chest anyway - and it all pointed at my silver-haired best friend.

Why bring me up here? Wouldn't he have questions about why I was gone?

About why Minato-san had to take me away in the first place?

In the end, I took a breath of the fresh air to steel myself for the incoming question. Why was it that the eggshell-walking always seemed to turn to me? "...Kakashi?"

The ninja just blinked before turning his head to look at me, forehead protector glinting in the sunlight. "Yeah?"

"What is it that you wanted to do up here? You said to find something to do in the meantime back home, so what do you want to do?" I did my best to keep a steady voice, but even then, I couldn't stop the twinge of hesitance from flooding some of my words.

What was he going to say? Especially considering this is our first interaction after my meeting with the Third Hokage?

Kakashi blinked again before turning back towards the horizon, mouth thinned into a small line through his mask. The few moments of silence that passed could've easily been like ice, since it just added to the tension lacing the air.

Then, he sighed. "I was hoping to ask about why you were gone for three days, Tomoko."

I did my best to hide a surprised expression in exchange for facing Kakashi properly.

… Of course he would ask about that. He was worried about you, Tomoko-chan. Hisako filled in quietly.

At that moment, every single fiber of my being just wanted to tell him everything.

Everything about me - about my death as Vy, my reincarnation as Tomoko, the presence of Hisako - heck, even about my memories of the supposed future of this world. The face Kakashi was making could easily stab my heart if it was possible because he shouldn't be looking like that.

This Kakashi, my best friend Kakashi, shouldn't be looking so defeated like that.

I didn't want to worry him far more than I already did. Three days wasn't much in the long run, but I had known this ninja for 4 years by now. A time span like that would easily incite suspicion and concern for my wellbeing. We were best friends - and I knew we were going to stay like that for a long time.

But I knew I couldn't say everything. The Third's threat was already said, and my life was on the line now. If knowing about Kushina-nee's status as the Nine Tails Jinchuriki was enough to make the village leader threaten me, I didn't even want to think about the possible consequences of going against his order of silence.

"Do you understand?" ran mockingly through my head.

… Yep, I could conclude now that my life was messed up.

In the end, I took a breath and reached over to touch his hand, carefully wording my response in my head before saying anything. "I-I can't say everything this time Kakashi. I know the last time I said that, it was personal issues with me, but now, it involves Hokage-sama."

Kakashi turned on me almost like an angry older brother on his younger sister, shock flashing through his silver eyes. "H-Hokage-sama?!" I did my best to not jump at his sudden grasping of my shoulders, ignoring the feeling of his fingernails digging into my skin. "W-What did he do? Did he hurt you?"

"N-No, no, no, NO, Kakashi! I'm okay!" I waved my hands in front of my face, doing my best to keep a calm expression. "I-I just can't say everything because… well…" My voice left me.

It wasn't really the best time for that since all it did was deepen the frown on his face AND the amount of absolute shit I was in. "Well what?" He demanded.

All I could find myself doing in the heat of the moment was motioning towards my neck with a 'cutting' gesture.

Immediately, Kakashi pulled away, silver eyes wide. If I didn't know any better, my best friend looked as if someone had slapped him - and way too hard for my liking considering the amount of worry on his face. Thankfully, it took only a few seconds for the Chunin to regain his composure, taking on a more serious face that resembled the canon, Jounin Kakashi Vy remembered.

"... A vow of silence?" He murmured softly.

I nodded, biting my lip.

Did I forget to mention that silence sucks?

"..." Kakashi seemed to become smaller for a moment, folding his legs underneath himself and hanging his head low enough to where he easily resembled a folded chair for a second. Not to mention with the stormy visage on his masked face, it was enough to make me worried.

"... Kakashi?" I tried gently.

"Is the silence for Konoha's sake?" He said slowly, never once raising his head. "Or is for your sake, Tomoko?"

I didn't know what to say, only really finding the energy in myself to reach over and touch his shaking hand, nodding silently.

"... Tomoko," Kakashi sounded almost desperate now, immediately grabbing my hand in his to look up at me. His silver eyes looked like they could bulge at any moment with the immense amount of feeling swirling through them. "What is that supposed to mean? Is Konoha in danger? Are you in danger? Or is it both?"

My breath quickly lodged itself in my throat. It was just some simple questions - so then why was it so hard to find my voice?

Why was I finding it so difficult to answer my best friend, who looked more vulnerable than he had been in the past 4 years I had known him?

"Tomoko," Kakashi pleaded again, squeezing my hand.

I gulped down the lump in my throat, breathed, and opened my mouth hesitantly. "I-I… I think it's both, Kakashi."

The grip on my hand could've been iron if I didn't know any better. The amount of pure emotion rolling through the familiar silver just made it so much harder for me to look at him. In the end, I forced myself to look down at my lap, keeping down the tears as much as I could.

I didn't want Kakashi to feel worse with me crying of all things.

But even then, I didn't even have the chance to deliberate that, because that same grip on my hand tugged me close to where my head gently landed on a familiar shoulder. The scent of pines filled my nose, and the arms wrapping around my back weren't an illusion, alright.

"K-Kakashi?" I croaked.

The hold around me just tightened. Not enough to the point of pain, but the tight grip on the back of my nightgown said more than enough. "Just… Just let me do this for a bit, Tomoko, okay?"

All I could do was reach up and gently rub my best friend's back, hopefully providing comfort in some way or form.

With my best friend like this, it was easy to forget that he was a ninja. It was easy to forget that he was essentially a child soldier, fighting a war that in the end, neither of us truly understood just yet. Kakashi may have been a genius, but he was still 9 years old.

And who was I to talk? Even with Hisako and Vy's memories, I was still a little girl. Nothing in the eyes of the higher-ups.

So when did things change? Why did things have to change?

"Kakashi?"

A soft breath near my ear. "Yeah?"

For some reason, the shared warmth in the hug was just making me spill. Even with the vow of silence, I at least wanted to be honest in some way or form. "... It's okay to be scared, right?"

A stoic, almost forced nod was my response. The overbearing silence and the soft pull of the wind didn't help anything.

Tears were starting to blur my vision as I clung to my best friend's shinobi uniform. "I-It's okay… right?"

Another nod, only this time, I could feel the grip on me tighten. "... Yeah."

The first tear fell onto Kakashi's shirt as I attempted to hold back a sniffle. "K-Kakashi… I'm scared."

A hand went up to gently run through my hair. "I know Tomoko."

The first hint of a sob was beginning to climb its way out of my throat. "I-I'm scared, you know?"

That very same hand started to untangle any knots in my hair as the wind continued to blow. "... I know."

The dam was close to breaking now, and I did my best to just hold onto my best friend for some composure. Even my voice was starting to sound like a broken record or a really badly-recorded CD. "I'm scared. I'm scared. I…" The waterfall was going to start soon.

I don't want to die again. Not before helping everyone again.

Kakashi seemed to be aware of it at least. "... Just let it out Tomoko. Don't try to hold it back."

That was the signal for the waterworks. In the end, even if I tried to hold it back, everything just kept coming out. The sobs, the tears, everything.

On top of the Hokage Monument, so far away from Nagareboshi Cafe and just everyone else in general, all I could do was hang onto my best friend.

And yet Kakashi just sat there, letting me cry on him, even when he didn't know everything. I was hiding so much from him, even before the vow of silence, and yet here he was, taking on a majority of my waterfalls and emotions all at once. Even if I was soaking his shirt, the tight grip on me said more than enough.

He was planning to stay with me. Even if he didn't have all of his answers.

Why me? Why be so kind to me?

"This whole thing SUCKS!" I found myself blubbering amidst the sobs, attempting to hold back any snot trails from my nose. "I don't want to keep it in! I don't want to keep any more secrets!"

From the close distance, I could feel the sad smile on my best friend's face. "I know, Tomoko."

"Why can't we be more honest with each other?!" The sobs were really making it harder to breathe with every passing second. "Why can't we just talk with one another like civilized people and not have to spill blood every second? I-I just wanted everyone to be happy - I didn't want things to end up like this!" The only thing really keeping me from yelling curses into the sky was the continued warmth of my best friend, still hugging me after all this time. "I didn't want to anger that customer 4 months ago! I didn't want to trouble Mama and Papa with my nightmares! I-I didn't want to keep secrets from you, Kakashi…"

I didn't want things to turn out the way they did. My mind finished.

… Life is bullshit like that sometimes, dear. Hisako added gently.

"I know, Tomoko." Kakashi's other hand started rubbing circles into my back. "You don't have to say anymore."

… How was he being so accepting?

Even when I had basically cried his ears out and soaked the entirety of his shoulder and part of his chest?

"Y….Y-you're not… you're not mad?" I mumbled, wiping my eyes with my sleeve before looking up at him.

Kakashi just gave me a questioning glance, frowning through his mask. "Why would I be?"

Heat flooded my face. "I-I mean…" I twiddled my thumbs in an attempt to come up with something. "I-I hid something from you again Kakashi! I-I…" A lump came up in my throat again.

"You what, Tomoko?" He asked gently, a hand on my shoulder.

I bit my lip again. "I won't be able to tell you everything, Kakashi. H-Heck, I can't even mention just a little bit of the info because of this whole thing!" A shaky hand found itself touching my throat, and I didn't have to look to know that it was mine. "I… I won't be able to go to you for help as much now…"

To my surprise, he scoffed. Even though it sounded eerily similar to his canon counterpart, I knew just from looking at him that Kakashi didn't mean it in a mean way. "And so what? Tomoko," A soft gasp left me at the sudden feeling of my shoulders getting grasped and I found myself looking up at his masked face. "This vow of silence isn't going to change our relationship. We're still going to be best friends, even if we can't talk about this as much."

Disbelief was flowing through me in waves.

Woah. Hisako said.

"K-Kakashi…" I mumbled.

My best friend blinked before putting a hand to his masked chin in thought, closing his eyes. "Though that also means we have to revise that promise then… hm…"

Is he referring to…?

I tried again. "Kakashi?"

The Chunin just blinked again before looking at me with a smile. "Yes?"

"W-What do you mean by 'revise that promise'?" I asked stupidly.

A flick to my forehead was my response. I did my best to not squeal in pain at the twinge, and looked up at him. Kakashi was finally resembling his canon counterpart in some way, donning a deadpan expression that I knew was going to become a 'signature face' sooner or later. I just didn't know how to react when knowing said expression was pointed at me. "Sheesh, Tomoko, you've really gone through a lot to not see something so obvious, huh?"

… Was that seriously a barb? Hisako commented dryly.

"Huh?" I said dully.

Kakashi just shook his head again before reaching up to untie his forehead protector and lean his forehead against mine. (What was it with him taking that off?) "Let me reiterate." A soft breath brushed my nose as the wind blew past us both. "You remember our talk before you got back to the piano, right?"

The memory hit me almost immediately, and I nodded.

"I promised you back then, didn't I?" Kakashi just stared at me, a glint of something in his silver eyes. "I promised to bring everyone back safe while you would come to me if you needed help. But in this case, the vow of silence prevents you from talking to me about certain topics, so we need to revise it."

"... Okay?" I agreed slowly. A part of me felt really awkward because it felt like I was missing the point.

"I'll still bring everyone back safe and sound, and you'll still come to me for help, Tomoko. That doesn't change." The Chunin closed his eyes, and even with his mask on, I could hear the soft smile on his face. "But -" Kakashi paused, letting the air speak for itself before continuing. "From now on, I promise to help protect you. No matter what kind of info you have or what kind of silence you take, I'll help shoulder that with you. Hokage-sama must've done what he did for a reason. I don't like it, but if it really puts you and the village in danger," At that moment, I got an eyeful of determined silver. "I'll protect you both with everything I have."

The tears were close to coming back again. "K-Kakashi, that's kinda unfair." Despite the words, a smile was still finding itself on my face anyway as I attempted to wipe at the trails on my cheeks. "That sounds more like a vow than a promise. What am I supposed to promise then?"

The answer was immediate, surprising me. "Stay safe."

My heart could've stopped beating right then and there. "K-Kakashi."

"You were the one who said it, Tomoko." An exasperated smirk was on his face now. "'This whole thing sucks', right? But that's the world we live in. Konoha's apparently at a low point in the war, so things aren't going to immediately get better."

He has a point. Hisako begrudgingly agreed.

"That's why you need to stay safe Tomoko." I found myself getting squished in another hug, and for once, I felt like an ice cube with how my body just froze up. "We don't know what's going to happen from here on out. And even if I promise, I can't be with you all the time." The grip around me tightened for a moment, and the close distance made me realize how his shoulders were shaking.

Oh god. "Kakashi…?"

My best friend pulled away to look at me again, and I was shocked at the amount of desperation in his silver eyes. Huh? "Just… don't die, okay?"

The memory of that choke-hold ran through my head, and I knew I didn't have to say anything more.

I smiled the largest smile I had left in me, leaning my forehead against my best friend's. "...Okay. I promise."

Our pinkies somehow found one another without any prompting either.

"... Thank you Kakashi. Again."

"You really don't have to thank me so often."

"... Just accept it as a token of my goodwill, okay?"

"Alright."

"... I love you Kakashi."

"... I love you too, Tomoko."

Author's Notes: … I'll update this section more after I get a good night's sleep. I wanted to at least get this chapter out before going to bed, but dang! Staying up doesn't feel good at all. Because by the time I publish this, it's like 1:45 am and I need sleep.

Thanks again guys. This is a sleepy Writer-and-Artist27 signing out.

Edit (1/29/2017): … So now I'm more awake, and I actually wanted to save this section to dispute some reviews I've been getting lately that brought up some issues with earlier chapters of Civilian Pianist.

1. So Shoetsu Otaku actually brought up a good question when reviewing Chapter 22. "Why would Tomoko say 'I love you' so much to Kakashi if they're not together in that kind of relationship?" To answer, I'll actually be quoting from the Private Message I sent to Shoetsu:

To Shoestsu Otaku,

Sorry about all the confusion. Honestly, the whole 'I love you' thing from Tomoko is actually something that comes from me as the original version of 'Vy'.

I understand that Japanese culture doesn't say that kind of thing a lot, but for Tomoko, saying 'I love you' is from a familial/friend/really-important-person perspective. Since the other me, 'Vy', died without properly saying goodbye to her loved ones, Tomoko lives on with the idea that she needs to show her precious people that she cares in the time she has. Her past self died at age 18, so who knows when Tomoko dies? For someone like her, she needs to show her loved ones that she appreciates them. So she does it in that honest way of hers, eagerly saying 'I love you', not just because she feels that way, but also because a part of her feels like some people need to hear that more often. So she's not leading Kakashi on in any way - she's just innocently saying 'I love you' (or 'daisuki' - what I believe to be the most basic and innocent way to say 'I love you' in Japanese) because she really does love him - just not in the relationship sense. I just think at one point, Kakashi might take it in that way.

Anyway, one of the things that the Naruto-verse overlooks is that every ninja is essentially a child soldier who at moments has to seal away all sense of human emotion to concentrate on the mission. Tomoko is one of the few people (not to mention, civilian) that tries to defy that by giving those same ninja some bits of their humanity back. In her eyes, these ninja do everything for the village that allows the civilians to live happily, so she has to give something back. If it means playing piano, sure! Hugs to her retired ninja dad and socially awkward ninja genius/best friend? Of course! Saying "I love you", especially in a world where death at a young age (in American standards [e.g. 13 - 30]) is common? Definitely!

2. The second issue/review I'm mentioning is something brought up by I'm Not Itachi, where they brought up the point of how it's physically impossible for a 3 year old to do the things Tomoko did in Chapter 2. And I'll give them the point there considering kids are small and not skilled with their hands that much yet. But the counterpoint I want to bring up here is that for one thing, Tomoko only starts out with Ventus's theme from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. From some of the Synthesia tutorials I've seen of the song, it isn't that bad to play by hand and I have also seen videos of actual 3 year old kids playing songs a bit more complex than that. So yeah. I know it might sound a bit like rehearsed stuff, but hey - talent is talent. That moment in Chapter 2 was what started Tomoko's journey - and I wanted to make it a bit weird and questionable. So thanks I'm Not Itachi - you were one of the first to fully question it!

That's basically it from me. Thanks again for all the favorites and followers, because (holy crap), we have 581 favorites and 760 followers! I love you guys! I'll do my best to keep writing!

Just be aware of college stuff going on in my life, okay? And midterms are in season again, so… yeah.

Sincerely,

Writer-and-Artist27