A gift to one WingBladeWeaver1357 in return for some of the beautiful fanart she made. You made my day. I hope I make yours. :)

Originally posted on Tumblr, now here for you to read. I do not own anything but Tomoko and Hisako. Leonhart Hikari and Fujino Haruka belong to Wing-chan.

The song for one Haru? Kyle Landry's piano cover of Dango Daikazoku.

The song Tomoko plays for one Hikari? The piano cover of Hikaru Nara from Animenz Piano sheets. It fits!

Sparkle 34: Hikari and Haru

The little brunette girl was the first unexpected guest in my day. She could've easily blended in with the other customers at Nagareboshi Cafe, but the small tug on the ribbon tying the back of my dress was enough of a sign that things were different.

Thankfully, the song that was at my fingertips was already coming to a close once the tug happened, so I let the notes fade into the air before carefully turning around in my seat of the piano bench to look in that direction. "Yes?"

I was not expecting to see sparkles.

"Hi, nee-chan!" Bright teal-green eyes were beaming up at me, and I blinked. "You play really beautiful music!"

Ohmigosh, she's cute, when did she get there? From her light blue hoodie and matching white-blue collared shirt, she certainly looked like a child any parent would grow to love. The side ponytail held up by one bright green scrunchie simply added to the charm. And the smile…

Awwww. I could've sworn I could see a reflection of myself in those big green eyes.

She is absolutely adorable. Hisako agreed with a solemn nod. Wanting to be a ninja maybe? She did sneak up on us.

I blinked. You didn't notice her either?

My Nobody shrugged, the handle of Oblivion barely hanging onto her fingers. Your music is nice to listen to, Tomoko-chan.

Huh. Compliments were going all around today. I took a breath to calm the sudden onslaught of heat about to flood my face, putting on a kind smile. "Oh, really? Thank you, dear. Just when did you sneak up on me?"

"In the middle of your performance!' The girl grinned at me, exposing what looked like bright white baby teeth, and I could already guess my newest companion was somewhere between 4-5 years old. "And I knew it!"

"Eh?" I inclined my head at the girl putting her hands together. She rubbed them for a few seconds.

I was also not expecting the small puff of smoke. Blinking, I rubbed at my eyes as the new pink rose made its appearance in the sweetie's hands, and she offered the flower to me. "With that melody and that voice, you must be an angel sent from Heaven, nee-chan!"

Oh. Oh my. Oh my gosh.

She called you an angel. An angel. Wow. She one-upped Kakashi and took the words out of my mouth!

OHMIGOD, HISAKO. And, wait a minute. What do you mean by "one-up Kakashi"?

My Nobody simply threw her head back, long brown hair swishing and all, to cackle loudly.

Gosh darn it. The blush was hard to even fight back at this point because of how much my heart was pounding. From the bright grin being flashed towards me, I couldn't deny that this little girl meant every single word. And I was supposed to be the one on the cafe job. Compliments were still something to get used to. "Th-Thank you?" I stammered, putting a hand to my chest as I could feel my voice crack just as much as my ribs from the happy juice. "I'm just a mere pianist though, dear." A giggle left my lips as I reached over to lightly boop the top of her head. "As happy as I am to be called an angel, I'm just as human as you."

"Ehhh?" The little girl pouted and scooted back a bit so I wouldn't poke her again, puffing her cheeks while still offering the rose. "It's true, though! Every time I hear you play, I get lost in your beautiful music, nee-chan~!" And with that hum in the air, the grin from before was back, and the rose was still sitting in her hands. "This is for you as thanks for the songs!"

"Oh dear…" the grin on my own face was unmistakable as I reached over to gently take the flower, gripping it as delicately as I could. I had no idea where it came from, but roses were just like any other flower — beautiful and deserving of quiet respect. "Thank you, ojou-san." I sniffed the rose softly, taking in the scent of the sweet pollen before looking at her with a warmer smile. This was turning out to be quite the pleasant surprise. "Do you want me to play another song for you?"

"Eh? Really!?" Her mouth formed a surprised "o" for the briefest moment, her hands going back to rub the back of her head. "Is it okay, nee-chan?"

"Please, dear," I took a page from Mama's book, putting the rose down in a safe crevice near the piano stand to face her. My newest customer. She was certainly young, but for some reason, those green eyes reminded me of someone. "Call me Tomoko."

"Tomoko-nee-chan?" she ducked her head and spoke the syllables slowly, and I held back the urge to squeal, feeling my smile grow to the point of stretching my cheeks. She was cute. So cute.

Was this how Kushina-nee felt when she first met me?

Maybe?

It was a nice thought.

"Hoshino Tomoko, ojou-san," I said gently with a small waggle of my finger. "And you're my customer now, and I'm your pianist for the day. So," the girl's teal-green eyes sparkled as soon as she raised her head to make eye contact. "Could I get your name?"

"Fujino Haruka!" The newly dubbed Haruka-chan beamed, swaying back and forth on her chair all the while. "Haru is fine too!"

"Haru-chan it is then," I decided with a giggle back, not even minding the sparkles flying off her anymore. It was warm. "Then, for the sweet Haru-chan, Tomoko-nee-chan has a job to do, just for you." I pressed the first key on the piano and closed my eyes, recalling the childish drawings of pink and blue dumplings coming together to raise one tiny yellow dumpling.

"As pianist of Nagareboshi Cafe, I welcome you to the Big Dango Family."

I already decided with the first chords that I'd do what I can to make sure this little girl kept that smile on her face for the day.

There was no way I could allow the Third Shinobi World War to take another smile from my job. I couldn't let it steal the innocence from another little girl who deserved better.

Kakashi was surprisingly sulky as soon as Haru-chan left with that bright grin on her face. Even if his mask was hiding the bottom half of his face as always, the slight furrow of his eyebrows and narrowing of his eyes said otherwise.

I made sure to wipe some dust off the piano keys before facing him with a wry smile. "What is it, Kakashi?"

My best friend didn't respond, simply getting up from his chair to instead plop himself down onto the piano bench next to me. I did my best to not move as soon as he leaned over to rest his head against my right shoulder. "Nothing," he grumbled quietly. His silver spikes, if I leaned in just enough back, were close enough to tickle. "Just let me rest like this for a bit."

Huh. He was sulking.

I decided not to question it and reached over with my left hand to gently pat his head. "Want a song?"

"…That'd be nice."

I gently nudged him with my shoulder, holding back the urge to giggle. "Love you too, Kakashi."

"Hn." A pause. "Love you too."

"Hee hee."

"What should I get around here…? Munny doesn't really work as currency."

Another unexpected guest around these parts. My Nobody casually shouldered the Oblivion Keyblade again, not even minding the books flying around her head. I get ninja, but it's not every day we get new faces outside of the village.

Yep. Though, is she okay?

Don't ask me. Ask her.

I couldn't help but find myself fixated on the newest oddball sitting near the piano. Unlike my first unexpected guest, she was definitely not a child. Teenager, maybe even my age or older. She wasn't even sitting in a chair near my piano bench, simply seated at one of the many tables surrounding the stage, her blue eyes frantically scanning the menu in front of her. Her short brown hair seemed to frame her face in a way that reminded me of Sora from Kingdom Hearts, and if the plaid blue-white pattern on her waist sash was any indication, Tetsuya Nomura must've had a hand in her clothing design. There was no other reason I could attribute the belts and zippers to.

Still, her eyes. Even if they were blue like Mama's, they shined behind that menu like Haru-chan's. Similar sparkles, even.

Maybe…

I gently got up from my piano bench to walk down from the stage and approach her, my voice already coming out in the waitress tone I'd been used to for years. "Excuse me, miss?"

She startled, putting her menu down just slightly to meet my eyes. Her blue eyes were wide with surprise. "Whoa! Uh, hi?" She scratched her cheek with her apparently fingerless gloved hand, looking sheepish. "Sorry for taking too long, I just don't know what to get."

I smiled and shook my head, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "There's no trouble. I was just thinking of offering something instead."

"Offer?" She gave me a questioning stare, her mouth caught between a frown and a pout. "What kind of offer?"

"It's not too much, you're just new around here, right?" She nodded, and the smile grew on my face. "Well, I'm Hoshino Tomoko, your pianist for the day in Nagareboshi Cafe. And it is my policy to play a song for any new faces. So, how do you feel about sitting next to me on the stage to listen?" Those blue eyes widened again once I gestured to the grand instrument sitting behind me. "Maybe the song could give you an idea of what you'd like to eat."

What looked like a conflicted smile passed over her face. "Tomoko-san, I wouldn't want to trouble you—"

"Nonsense," I said immediately, finding myself fondly rolling my eyes. With the way her shoulders were tensing and the simple stunned, fish-like look on her face, she definitely reminded me of Sora. And, for a childhood hero… "You're a customer. I'm the pianist. And," I winked at her, "the pianist has to serve the customer first, no?"

The wide look in her eyes was back before she threw her head back to laugh. "Okay then! I don't know what else to do, so sure!" She swayed forward to grin at me, offering her hand. "I'm Leonhart Hikari."

Wait, isn't that—

I held back a giggle.

Hikari-san sat there, blinking. "Tomoko-san?"

"I-I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you," I took her hand and shook it, feeling myself smile back. "It's just, you share the same name as my Mom. Just as pretty and sincere."

"Oh," she said, blinking. Once the handshake finished, she took her hand back to rub the back of her neck. "Does that make it awkward or—"

"No no no," I reached over to gently grab her free hand. "It's just funny. Now I know just what to play for you."

"What's that?" Hikari, thankfully, didn't seem to mind my guiding her to the piano, so once I was back on my familiar piano bench with Hikari taking a seat next to me, I could feel the smile on my face start to stretch my cheeks.

That pink rose from Haru-chan was still sitting on the piano, just in a small vase thanks to Papa. It was enough inspiration.

"You're Hikari, another bit of light, sooooo…" I uncovered the piano keys to take a breath, "why not play a song such as Hikaru Nara to honor that light?"

I never got to play the song before. It was well about time to honor that pianist-violinist duo who made smiles out of a shared lie.