Chapter 38: Kagami's Heart Arc - That's How This Refrain Goes
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Disclaimer: Who owns everything aside from the plot and the OCs? Definitely not me!
Kagami's POV
The week after the entire sports day fiasco was a complete disaster as well.
Pein had refused to talk to anyone, including Konan, which had seemed to surprise her. Every time he passed by Naoki in the halls, he shot a threatening glare at my brother, as if it was his fault for the necklace being broken. Basically, he blamed most of the incident on three people: Hidan — for tugging on the necklace — Naoki, for shoving him into Hidan, and Konan, for distracting him with her laughter.
It had been very sad, watching Konan try to comfort her partner each day, only to be locked out of the room. Even Kaiya couldn't get inside to retrieve her stuff while he was in there, which was why she camped out in Naoki's room for a couple of the days.
Deidara had been slightly pleased by this, but when she had explained why she was sleeping in her brother's room until Pein was himself again, his head had fallen in disappointment. But not wanting to display a poor attitude, he had just nodded in understanding and allowed her to set up a sleeping bag in the remaining corner of the room.
I knew that he had wanted to sleep near her, so I had instructed Sasori to tug him back in case he tried to attempt that. The next morning, I had received a report from a slightly ticked off Sasori that Deidara had attempted to do it sixteen times in one night.
My only thought? Pervert.
But then again, Deidara was who he was. After all, he only wanted my sister to return his romantic feelings, based on the daffodils that he had given to her that one time. I did do occasional research on flower meanings alongside Kaiya, but I wasn't exactly sure if that was what Deidara was aiming for. He could have bought the flowers simply because they had smelled nice and were yellow, Kaiya's favorite color.
When Saturday came, I felt rather relieved and excited. Christmas was just around the corner, with winter break being only a week away. Kaiya was currently scheduling plane tickets for the Charcoal Mountains, since she seemed to be too traumatized from nearly getting into a train crash. However, it was taking quite a lot of work, since there were few planes that accepted animals on board.
We weren't going to risk the ensuing chaos that would follow if we took the Akatsuki on board as humans. In addition, it was a lot less money with less human passengers.
This afternoon, I wanted to prove to Obito that he did not need Project Tsuki no Me in order to become happy again. Friends were everywhere and by his side, so why did he need to put the entire world in a simple illusion for all of it? None of those things were even real, so why?
I couldn't escape the buzz of questions that I had for him, but I was very afraid to ask them. For now, I just wanted to enjoy a normal day with Obito in his Tobi persona, without either one of us thinking about Project Tsuki no Me or its results.
And the annual winter fair was the perfect way to do so...or so I thought.
As usual, whenever Obito took me somewhere, I asked my sister for permission first. When she answered in the affirmative, both of us had dashed out the door excitedly, ready to head to the huge event that was just a little down the street.
But before we had even gotten a block down, I stopped him by grabbing his scarf and pulling him into a nearby alley. I didn't want anybody to see him like that at the winter fair, since I knew that there was also an anime convention being held there as well.
"What did you do that for?" he growled at me, rubbing his scarf. "Don't you want to go to the winter fair, Kagami-chan?"
"Yes, I do," I snapped, then quickly calmed down. "I just need you to take on a new identity first because there is an anime convention going on at the fair as well. If people see you like this, then Kami-sama knows what will happen. Well, they probably won't know it's the real 'Tobi', but they probably will mistake you for a cosplayer and ask you to sign autographs and take photos with them."
Obito quickly shook his head in disgust. "Okay, I am not doing something as stupid as that. What kind of identity do you want me to use for the winter fair?"
I shrugged. "Just use the Henge to transform into what my imaginary brother would look like as an adult, so that everybody thinks that you're a guardian instead of a masked boy. Make sure you use it over the mask as well."
"Imaginary brother?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side in slight confusion. "I don't even know what that would look—"
"Just use the Henge!" I answered a little too impatiently. "It's pretty simple: short brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and casual clothes."
Nodding, he made the correct hand signs and transformed, filling the alley with a ton of white smoke. Luckily, nobody nearby seemed to notice...if people were even nearby at all. When the smoke cleared, Obito had taken on the form of a young man that resembled an older version of Naoki in a way, but wore different clothes and had a different attitude.
"Is this okay?" he asked me, and I nodded. Swiftly, he grabbed me and placed me on his shoulders, piggyback style. "People are probably going to look at me weird if I carry you like I usually do, so I'm going to have to put you up there for now."
"That's fine," I answered truthfully, then decided to tease him a little bit. "Just don't drop me, okay?"
He shook his head, scoffing. "Like I would ever let that happen. Besides, your sister can be quite scary when it comes to familial matters, based on my observations. But still, can you point in the direction of the fair so that I know where to go?"
"Of course," I answered, grinning and pointing towards the east. "It's where the sun is rising right now."
Holding onto my legs tightly, he ran towards the direction of the fair, looking upward every now and then to make sure that he was following where I was pointing. This proved to be rather easy, because after a few minutes of running, both of us could clearly see the roller coaster tracks, tents, and balloons.
"I see it," he confirmed. "Which part do you want me to take you to?"
I shrugged. "Your choice, Obito. It's free admission today, but if you can't decide, then we can just head on over to the roller coaster. I've always wanted to try one, since they look really fun!"
"Roller coaster it is, then," he responded, heading towards the direction of the sky-high track. Eventually, we arrived there, but in the back of a line filled with kids of all different ages.
Luckily, the line moved rather quickly, since it was about twenty kids per ride, with two to a cart. Although I could tell that Obito was growing rather impatient, after ten minutes, the ride operator ushered us on to the ride.
"Where do you want to sit, Kagami-chan?" he asked me when it was our turn to go. I responded with yet another shrug, then realizing that we were in front of a bunch of kids, I grabbed Obito's arm and dragged him towards the front while laughing playfully.
"I wanna sit in the front!" I squealed, showing off my childish side. "Come on, nii-chan! Let's go! We can enjoy the best experience up there!"
Obito looked confused for a second, then seemed to get the hint to play along. I dragged him towards the front of the roller coaster, where the seats were still empty. Giggling, I sat in the left seat, while Obito sat in the right.
"Seat belts!" I cried, fastening the leather belt across our waists. "So we can be safe!"
"What do I do with this huge metal bar in front of me?" Obito asked, pointing to the restraint. "It looks like something from a playground...did they call these things monkey bars?"
That made me laugh harder. "Silly nii-chan! Those are the restraints, which we pull down in order to make sure that we don't fly out during the roller coaster ride!"
To demonstrate, I grabbed the restraint and yanked it down, hearing a clicking noise that ensured that I was securely fastened to the seat. Watching my actions, Obito copied, yanking on his restraint until he heard a click as well. As if on cue, the loudspeaker rang, with the ride operator's voice speaking through it.
"Attention all riders!" the speaker announced. "We are about to begin the ride, so for your safety, make sure you fasten your seat belts and pull down the restraint, and keep your legs in the cart at all times! Now, please enjoy the ride, and thank you!"
And with that, the roller coaster car jolted forward, prompting many of the kids behind us to scream. Surprised by the abrupt jolt, I instinctively grabbed Obito's hand, and he clutched mine tightly in return.
"Hold on tight!" I told him, looking ahead and spotting the drop right in front of us. "In five seconds, we're going down!"
He sent me a confused look. "What do you mean, going down? So far, we only seem to be going higher and high— aah!"
Both of us screamed as the car zoomed down the drop, going at what seemed like the speed of light. On instinct, both of our hands went into the air as the wind buffeted our faces.
"Yahoo!" I shouted, eying the massive loop towering in front of us. "Isn't this awesome, nii-chan?"
Obito nodded, still screaming. Is it just me, I thought to myself with a slight smirk, or does Obito sound like a girl when he screams?
I wanted to say something else, but at that moment, the car zoomed up the loop at full speed. I held my breath as we were flipped upside down, then lifted my arms back up into the air as we were flipped back around.
The roller coaster ride lasted for another minute or so, consisting of more drops and climbs, but that was the only loop in the entire track. I was clutching the railing and shivering with both fear and excitement, while Obito just continued to scream until the roller coaster car slowed down.
"Yay!" I cheered as the car came to a stop. "That was awesome!"
"Awesome?" questioned Obito, raising a brow. "I felt like my heart had leapt into my throat for cover! That thing was so fast, and I'm not used to going around those giant loops, either!"
I just grinned at him as we helped each other out of the car. "Don't lie to me, nii-chan. I know that you enjoyed every second of the roller coaster ride, including the loop-di-loop!"
Obito crossed his arms at that statement and huffed. "Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
Sighing, he threw his arms up in defeat as we exited the area of the roller coaster. "Alright, I'll admit that I did enjoy the ride, Kagami-chan. Are you happy now?"
To emphasize, I bounced up and down like the little kid that I was, giggling happily. "Yup! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, nii-chan! Also, please teach me how to scream like that next time!"
His eyes widened slightly, but he shook it off. "Whatever," he mumbled. "Where to, next?"
"The cotton candy stand!" I squealed, running over to where an employee was swirling a huge cloud of pink crystallized sugar around a plastic cone. Holding up a ten-dollar bill, I grabbed Obito's hand again and raced towards the stand. "Let's go get some, nii-chan!"
A smile etched on my face, we charged straight for the stand, which seemed to have no line, surprisingly. But as we approached the stand, I realized exactly why the stand had no line, despite the clerk still being there. Studying her, she looked to be only about Kaiya's age.
"You're taking a break?" I asked in shock, averting my gaze to the sign by the employee's head, then back to her. "Why?"
The employee slumped her shoulders, sighing with her eyes only half-open. Her hair was midnight black, almost the same shade as Itachi's, and her green eyes resembled emerald orbs...but Kaiya had warned me against referring to eyes as orbs, aside from doing it metaphorically or in a simile. "P-Please don't take this the wrong way, but I-I've been bombarded by children all day. Yes, I know that the fair has only been open for a couple of hours, but helping all those little children kind of makes me...tired. B-Besides, unlike you, some of them just...aren't cute enough…"
"Cute?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "You mean, like cute things so much that it motivates you to continue working?"
She nodded. "Y-yeah. My mother just wanted me to get out of the house and work a little bit more, since I've been sitting in the house all day and playing video games online with a new friend that I made at school."
"Oh," I responded. Suddenly, as my gaze averted to Obito and then at a feather on the ground, an idea popped inside of my head. "Hold on, I know something super cute that might just be enough to motivate you again! Nii-chan and I will be right back...um, what's your name again?"
"C-Chizuru," the girl stammered. "M-my name is Chizuru. Y-you don't have to tell me your real name, since I feel like I've been a little...um, rude to you—"
"Don't worry," I interrupted before she could say anything else. "You're okay, Chizuru-chan! It's very nice to meet you, too! My name is Kagami!"
I dipped my head, then grabbed both Obito and the feather and ran straight inside a random nearby tent. Fortunately, it was both empty and vacant: perfect for my newly formulated plan.
"Kagami-chan?" he questioned as I raised the feather to his nose. "What are you do— ah-choo!"
"Sorry about this, Obito," I said guiltily as he poofed back into a kitten, "but I'm going to need you to pose as playful little Fuzzsticks for a while. I'll turn you back later and get you some cotton candy as well, I promise! Or else I won't eat anything sweet for three weeks!"
Fuzzsticks let out a small sigh, then ran up to me and nuzzled my foot, purring delightedly. Gently, I smiled, picking up the cat who began wildly failing in my hands before leaping out of them and landing on my shoulder.
"Do you prefer that spot better?" I asked him. When he nodded, I giggled playfully, exiting the tent. "Next time, you could have just said— oh wait, would you have been able to say that to me? I mean, cats don't speak English…"
"Meow!" cried Fuzzsticks, nuzzling my cheek cutely. This act made a couple of nearby people stop and stare in awe, but I swiftly avoided them in order to head back to the cotton candy stand and Chizuru, the kind girl who ran it.
"Sorry for leaving so suddenly, Chizuru-chan!" I apologized, dipping my head once again. "But I went and got you something super cute to motivate you into making some more cotton candy!"
Smiling, I ushered Fuzzsticks along, who leaped off of my shoulder and began running around in circles on the table, chasing his own tail. Flipping over, he batted at the air, mewing playfully. Chizuru's eyes sparkled in pure awe, watching the adorable kitten fiddle with his tail.
"Aww!" she squealed, making me flinch at her volume. "He's so cute!"
"Cute, isn't he?" I squealed, my eyes shining as well. "This is my baby cat, Fuzzsticks! We adopted him about four months ago, when he turned up on our front porch in the middle of an August rainstorm!"
She nodded, stroking Fuzzsticks's back. The orange and black kitten meowed happily, batting at Chizuru's hands as she continuously tried to caress his fur. "Seriously? Who would abandon this little fuzzy guy?"
The world, I thought sadly, thinking about what Rin had told me about Obito's horrifically tragic past. But of course, I couldn't tell Chizuru that, so I just responded with, "I don't know. I couldn't just leave him to become a kitty popsicle out in the rain, so we just took him in."
"Poor thing," she said, and for the first time, I realized that she was not stammering anymore. "Well, thanks for showing me this adorable little fellow! In return, I'll make some cotton candy for you for free!"
"Ooh!" I responded, bouncing up and down. "Awesome! I'll be waiting!"
For the next few minutes, Chizuru got to work, operating the cotton candy machine. I watched as she poured in the mix and the sugar and allowed the machine to spin around, creating a huge puff of pink crystallized sugar. Taking a thin, plastic cone, she swirled that around in the cloud, then handed the giant pink puff to me.
"Yay!" I cried, quickly munching on the huge cloud of pink cotton candy. "Thank you so much, Chizuru-chan! Thank you too, Fuzzsticks!" I patted the little kitten's head, and he just squirmed around in response, rolling onto his back and flipping in the air playfully.
She just smiled at me. "Y-you're welcome, Kagami-chan. Actually, now that I think about it...y-your name kind of sounds familiar. P-perhaps...do you know a girl named Kaiya Hoshiyume?"
My eyes widening, I nodded. "She's my onee-chan! How do you know her?"
"Really?" Chizuru beamed, her eyes sparkling once again. "Kaiya-chan is my friend at school! We made friends with each other a few months ago."
"Cool!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands. "Wait until I tell onee-chan about this! She'll be so jealous!"
Chizuru giggled. "Actually, there's been something that I've been wanting to speak to her about for a while. It's...um, very e-embarrassing, to be honest, but sometimes, these things can't be helped…"
"What?" I asked, suddenly curious. Fuzzsticks leaped back onto my shoulder and nuzzled my cheek in slight reassurance, as if he thought that I was suddenly feeling distraught. "You can tell me. What do you want me to tell onee-chan for you?"
Her face reddened slightly, and she tapped her fingers together nervously. "There's a boy that I-I kind of l-like that she seems to know well, and I was...just wondering if she could help me tell him how I feel."
Okay, that certainly caught my attention. "Ooh! Who's the lucky boy?"
"I-I-I don't know if you know him or not," she answered, "but he's Kaiya's best friend, with brown hair and brown eyes. His name is Daichi Himura, and he's...really nice to me."
Instantly upon hearing his name, I froze.
Chizuru likes Daichi as well? I thought, the realization hitting me like a bullet. I can't tell that to Kaiya! She'll be heartbroken, especially since it looks like Daichi might like her back! But then again, if Chizuru ends up with Daichi, then maybe Deidara might end up with my sister! What do I do?
"I don't remember him," I lied in a calm voice. "Still, I'll try to tell onee-chan as soon as I get home!"
Chizuru smiled at me. "Thank you so much! See you later, Kagami-chan!"
Chomping on the cloud of cotton candy again, I looked around the other stands for a little bit, and finally, after about five minutes of searching, I found what we needed. A perfume stand.
"Come on, Fuzzsticks!" I squealed, racing over to the perfume stand with the kitten on my shoulder. "Let's get you all fixed up!"
Obito's POV
I had never predicted that spending four months with a seven-year-old little girl could drown me in so many confusing emotions.
Honestly, I was completely unsure if it was the way she acted, how she looked, or just everything about her in general that did that. It wasn't completely her fault, since Kagami was just born that way. But still, I could help but question myself with the same recurring question.
Why, of all things, did she have to look just like her?
Kagami loved peace, and cared so much about everybody around her, including Hidan. At one point, she had given Kakuzu ten dollars just to give him a hug. Ten dollars! For those expendable members of the Akatsuki?
She was definitely somebody who made me feel more at peace as well, and she even seemed slightly interested and suspicious about Project Tsuki no Me. If she had met her, then I bet Rin and Kagami would have become best friends or even twins.
The mere thought of it pained my heart. And yet, here I was, becoming Kagami's best friend. Bless my Tobi façade.
Fortunately, Kagami did not seem to be interested in removing my mask at all. But even if she did, I wasn't sure if it would matter too much, since she had already figured out who I am.
She could be easily used as a tool in the plan. Though she would be very hard to manipulate, just looking at her reminded me of the cause that I had been fighting for throughout all of the years.
Bringing Rin back.
But nevertheless, some strange part of me didn't want me to manipulate Kagami in any way. It was very odd, really, since that part of me was also the same part of me that had grown accustomed to her camaraderie.
Currently, I perched on her shoulder, my tail quivering as I inwardly debated about what to do with her. Kagami just continued walking towards the perfume shop, and I continued nuzzling her cheek, diverting as much suspicion as possible. Noticing this, she flipped her head around and flashed me a megawatt smile: the same one that she tended to flash so many years ago.
What do I do? I panicked slightly, surprised that after all these years, all it took to confuse me was the friendship and care of just one young girl with brown hair and eyes. I've killed thousands of shinobi in my time and became a missing-nin. I've murdered countless innocent civilians without any remorse. So why is it so hard for me just to shatter Kagami's heart?
Suddenly, she turned around, speeding right back to the empty tent. "Alright!" she cheered, jolting me out of my thoughts. "Time to turn you back!"
So fast, I thought, staring at the bottle of Asuka lavender perfume in her hand. Kagami dashed into the empty tent, and before I could comprehend what was happening to me, she had sprayed me with the perfume bottle.
Coughing, I poofed back into a human, and surprisingly, I was still in my transformation, despite retaining my orange and black fur as a cat. Kagami stood in front of me, pocketing the perfume bottle inside of her jacket. In her free hand, she held the cone of cotton candy that Chizuru had given her, which I eyed suspiciously."
"How is that supposed to be candy?" I asked her, cocking a brow at the pink cloud. "It looks exactly like a cotton swab that was painted and dyed by a professional. There's no way that it's safe for you to eat."
She just giggled at my comment. "Don't be silly, Obito! I've already eaten a quarter of it, and I'm still standing, so it's totally safe to eat! Would you like to try some?"
Swiftly, I shook my head, backing up. "I'm good, Kagami-chan. There's no need for— whoa! What are you doing?"
Kagami had sprinted towards me and tugged me back inside the tent, then placed a finger to her lips. "You were going to back out of the tent! I was trying to help you, but really, you should try some cotton candy! You tried the roller coaster and didn't get hurt, so this should be perfectly fine!"
"I'm seriously okay," I mumbled, sighing. "I don't really have too much of an interest in—"
Kagami immediately cut me off by shoving a handful of cotton candy into my mouth.
At first, I was extremely tempted to spit it out immediately in both anger and disgust, but to my surprise, it tasted...wonderful. The crystallized cloud of sugar literally melted in my mouth, confirming that Kagami was right and it really was candy after all. It tasted a lot like the lollipops that I had tasted when I was a little kid; maybe even like ice cream or just something totally sweet.
Like...strawberries.
Great, I thought immediately with disdain. Even the food she lets me try has to taste almost exactly like her favorite food as well…
"Well?" she asked, an expectant look drawn on her face. "What do you think? Is it good?"
"It's...very sweet," I half-lied. Well, it was very sweet, but at the same time, the memories that came along with it were not sweet at all.
I was unsure if Kagami seemed to notice the lie, since her reaction involved clapping her hands and bouncing up and down. "Yay! I told you that you would like cotton candy!" She paused, grabbing my hand and proceeding to pull me out of the tent. "Come on! Let's have some more fun!"
I said nothing, but allowed her to drag me outside, though my inner was sighing on how easily I had let myself be manipulated by a mere child. Nevertheless, I shook it off and followed her, wondering where else she planned to take me at the fair.
"Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together!" she sang happily, suddenly bursting into song. I looked at her oddly, curious about the positivity in the song.
"What are you singing, Kagami-chan?" I inquired, scratching my head. She raised a brow at me, as if she were wondering what I was trying to ask, but continued smiling without using her teeth, waving the cloud of cotton candy around.
"It's my favorite song," she explained, her gaze slightly clouded. "My real parents used to sing it to me when I was little, and that's one of the only vivid memories that I can recall during the time that I was a baby."
At that, my gaze softened slightly, remembering that like me, Kagami had lost her parents at a very young age, though she wouldn't tell me how. "Oh, I see. You can carry on...I'm sorry that I interrupted you."
Her smile returned as soon as the sentence had escaped from my mouth. "It's fine, Obito. Why don't you sing along with me?"
Okay, that made me send her a very dubious look. "Me? Sing? I don't sing those kind of things, Kagami-chan. Besides, I also don't know how to sing or the lyrics to that particular song."
"Then I'll teach you!" she quickly answered, still looking quite cheerful. "It's literally the same thing over and over again, and if you were to play it on the radio, it would probably last only about a hundred seconds. The lyrics are very catchy and quite simple, too, so you should be just fine."
I don't know if I can utter words that sound so frivolously light-hearted and cheerful, I mentally said. Well, Tobi can, but I can't...or can I, for her sake?
"Alright," I said reluctantly, "but can I listen to you sing first? You have a nice voice." Surprisingly, I actually meant that compliment. And I wasn't even one to compliment anybody other than Rin.
Nodding, she began singing the next verse. "Brighter than a lucky penny, when you're near the rain just disappears, dear and I feel so fine...just to know that you are mine!"
"Was this originally meant to be a lighthearted love song?" I asked, and she nodded, refusing to break from the song.
"My life is sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, that's how this refrain goes, come on, join in, everybody! Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is sure to come your way...when you're in love to stay!"
After that last verse, she nodded at me expectantly, Sighing to myself, I obliged, although I was unsure how well I was going to execute the song. "Um...sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is—"
"Great job!" cheered Kagami, her eyes sparkling. Squeezing my hand, she sang the rest of the verse. "–what I feel when we're together!"
She even had a nice voice.
I probably focused so much chakra inside of myself just to prevent myself from exploding right there and then. Sure, I hadn't really given her personality, actions, and appearance much thought over the months, but all of a sudden, the realization had hit me hard: how similar Kagami really was to the girl that I loved.
Could it be? I asked myself. Is Kagami perhaps the reincarnation of— no, probably not. Otherwise, she would have been born in my world, not this one.
"How do you sing so well, Obito?" she asked me, whisking me out of my train of thoughts. "You need to try singing some more! Don't hide so many of your hidden talents from the world!"
"I guess I really do have my ways, then," I mumbled, unsure of how to respond to that. I had a nice singing voice? That was actually rather...flattering.
Shoot, I thought to myself. Why can't I just break this girl's heart or manipulate her? Why is this so hard for me to do?
"Let's go, Obito!" she chanted, dragging me off to more of the fair's attractions. "Let's go and do something exciting before this winter fair closes up!"
Giggling playfully, she skipped around the grounds of the fair, before I could comprehend what was happening. I simply stared at her, still trying to understand her overly playful antics and how carefree and happy she could be, even though I was pretty sure that she knew the truth about the world. As much as I wanted to tell her about it again, that one good part inside of my heart prevented me from carrying that out, not wanting her purity to fade.
As much as I would hate to admit it, I really liked this innocent little girl, who was everything like her, inside and out.
I guess staying as best friends will have to do for now...
A/N: Oh my Jashin...Obito's POV was so hard for me to write, and he still sounds OOC! I sincerely apologize for that!
Who else cringes when people refer to eyes as orbs, and in a non-metaphorical manner? New writers, I highly advise against doing that, since it is a very horrible cliché, in my opinion.
Next chapter will focus more on high school! I haven't been writing that in such a long time...
Question: Turquoise or teal? I don't know which one I like better...
Ja ne!
— Tenshi —
