Chapter 53: Light of the Fireflies Arc - Lightning's Embrace
So...I bet you're all probably wondering where the heck I've been for the past month.
Turns out, summer stress has collapsed on me all at once. I take summer school, but it's a lot harder than I had expected, since we have to write three essays a week. Plus, classes are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Although it helps me with my writing a lot, it takes a harsh toll on my brain, especially since I've been pulling constant all-nighters to finish homework. Whenever I try to write something for fun, like fanfiction, it comes out as a mess of grammar and jumbled-up words. But still, I forced myself to push through...for you guys.
And that's not all. I am also an avid tennis player, so I play for three hours every single day, in scorching hot weather, without any breaks. I mean, today alone went up to the hundreds, and even my parents made me ditch tennis for today because it was so flipping hot. But in exchange, we played Pokémon GO from eleven to one because of Articuno Day, so when I finally came home, I could barely move.
But guess who's back, back again? I made this super long chapter for you guys, so I hope that you enjoy, even though most of it was written with writer's block. And remember, reviews are always welcome.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except for my OCs and the storyline, as always.
Kaiya's POV
It wasn't until a week later until I had received the call that informed me that Kagami was to finally be released from the emergency room.
Of course, none of us had really expected it, but that was mainly because we had all forgotten that fixing broken limbs and receiving stitches in a hospital usually took only a week. However, that meant that she was still going to be in casts and possibly a wheelchair, depending on how much the medics had been able to patch her up.
But that morning, I was simply bringing flowers to the fireflies in order to let them eat when all of a sudden, my cell phone rang. To be honest, as the days passed, I had very much forgotten that the pink phone that always blasted the rubber ducky ringtone even existed.
I couldn't even recall why I had chosen a duck sound for my ringtone, of all things. Perhaps it was because I had found their melodies of duck song or whatever to be somewhat amusing. I mean, I did have a tendency to find interest in things that were rather mundane and unimportant to typical people, like firefly catching, practicing how to cook, drawing, and spending time with my family. Okay, maybe not all of them were boring, but most girls in my grade preferred chatting on social media and makeup.
Unfortunately, I had never harbored the slightest interest in either of those. There was no reason to post anything online, even though Naoki sometimes used my computers to browse through what he had seemed to call "fanfiction". Even more, makeup had never been my thing. Like social media, I saw absolutely no point in it.
Nevertheless, I still liked being called cute or beautiful. It just didn't happen very often, but I was okay with that. I had never cared about looks, though knots in my hair were still pretty annoying from time to time.
Anyway, back to the phone. At first, I had been reluctant to pick it up because I could not recognize the number, but realizing that nobody else could have received my number aside from my siblings, the Himuras, and the emergency room, I immediately picked it up, right before the rubber ducky song was about to end.
"Hello?" I asked curiously, though I made sure not to greet the caller by using my name until I was absolutely certain that it was the hospital. A full five seconds passed before a person answered me.
"Is this Kaiya Hoshiyume?" I heard a woman ask, while some machinery seemed to whir in the background. "This is the emergency room, so you're good."
I instantly sighed in relief. "Yes, that's me. Did you need something? How's my imouto?"
"That's why we contacted you," she responded. "Kagami-chan is recovering nicely, though she certainly has an interesting friend looking out for her. Although he can be a real burden at times and annoy us while we're trying to treat her, he absolutely refuses to leave her side, still. If any one of us tries to drag him away from her, then next thing we'll know is that the doctor will run out and scream."
"Oh dear," I muttered, trying to picture what kind of mischief Tobi had caused for the poor nurses and doctors. "Well, did you manage to heal her, at least?"
"Indeed," the nurse responded. "She'll be out of the hospital in no time, maybe in about a couple hours. Kagami-chan was very brave, though she did cry a couple times when we were trying to do stitches. And every time he heard her cry, her friend rushed into the room, though he would instantly calm down once he figured out what we were doing. Even though he may be a nuisance, he definitely has a lovely bond with your younger sister, by the looks of it. He sings her the same song every night, something about sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. I swear that I've heard that song once in my childhood, but I can't remember who sang it."
"Leslie Gore," I answered quickly. "It's a song that Kagami-chan's parents sang to her every night, and yes, it is called Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows. It's been her favorite song for years, or at least that's what she told me. I like it as well, but it has more meaning to her than it does to me. Personally, I prefer Fireflies by Owl City."
I swore that I could hear her smile on the other line. "I remember that song," she drawled nostalgically. "Such a fine tune, it was. It certainly brings back old memories...but anyway, you are free to visit her anytime after two hours from now, if you like. Then, once everything is clear, she can leave with you. However, I hope that your car will be big enough for...you-know-what."
It took me a little while to figure out what she was implying. "So...a wheelchair, right? What about crutches?"
"We'll be sure to get those for her as well," the nurse reassured me. "I must go now, since Kagami-chan's friend is stirring up a ruckus again. He probably doesn't like the fact that we just gave your sister a couple of painkillers to help ease and numb any excess pain in her arm and foot."
All of a sudden, I felt glad that Deidara wasn't listening in, otherwise, he would have freaked and blown up the hospital just to strangle Tobi. Actually, I was glad that nobody else was listening in, though I would have preferred for Naoki and Yukio to be present as well. Unfortunately, both were still in the process of waking up.
"Alright," I said, "we'll be over in a couple of hours, like you said. Thank you."
With that, I hung up, an idea already forming inside of my mind. If Kagami was going to be out of the hospital soon, then we had to utilize as much time as we possibly could to make sure that her homecoming was going to be perfect.
And what better was there than to give her the eighth birthday party that she had wanted?
Plus, it was Sunday. The day of the week to express feelings via fireworks.
It didn't matter how long it would take, but I was born ready to see a yellow burst light up the sky that night. And at this rate, I couldn't care less if it was mine. It had been too long since I had seen a single one.
Although Christmas Eve was on a Sunday, we had not set off any on that day. Up in the Charcoal Mountains, fireworks were illegal, since loud noises could still trigger avalanches that varied in size. The previous Sunday, we hadn't fired any either, even though we had been back in our town, where it was perfectly legal. Really, nobody had the heart to share their feelings when Kagami had been sent to the emergency room. It had already been too obvious that the majority of the fireworks would be blue.
Color-wise, some firework types had been used more often than others. Orange and yellow were the two that had remained untouched: I already explained the deal with yellow, and we had not felt threatened at all with the Akatsuki there. Sure, they had seemed intimidating and rather scary at first, we had gradually gotten used to them. Blue was, luckily, not fired as often, though I believe that Nagato had fired a couple throughout the duration his necklace had been shattered to display his sadness. Only Hidan and Yukio set off red ones to represent their resentment towards each other, but to be honest, it was all in jest. Nobody had been jealous aside from Deidara, for odd reasons during one week, so he was the only one who had set off a green firework. The most common fireworks that we had been setting off were silver — for our lingering feelings of uncertainty — gold — for feeling special and loved — and purple — for the times that we had reminisced together.
But enough of that.
"Everyone!" I shouted as I opened the doors of my brothers' rooms, my mind facepalming slightly due to screaming each other awake becoming part of our usual routine. "Rise and shine! I have big news!"
The first response came from Kakuzu, even though he was downstairs. "I've been up, okay? Can't a man count his money in peace?"
Seconds later, Deidara emerged from Naoki's room, groaning and rubbing his eyes. He tucked his brown hair back, as it had been bleached yet again...to his dismay, of course. "Same here, un. Nowadays, I can barely sleep because of this itchy hair dye and thoughts of what mayhem Tobi could be causing at the hospital."
Sasori appeared beside him in the doorway, but made no move to speak. Itachi and Kisame then proceeded to poke their heads out of Yukio's room, while the owner of the room crawled out from beneath them groggily.
Finally, just as Naoki stumbled out of his room with a glare plastered on his face, Zetsu emerged from the ground. "Did something happen?" he asked, placing a finger under his chin.
"I got a call from the emergency room this morning," I began, and a hushed silence fell upon the entire group, even Hidan, who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with his partner. All eyes glued to me, I continued my explanation. "The nurse told me that...Kagami-chan is all set to return home today."
Once the news had sunk in, the entire house just exploded into a cheer...or at least, for those who showed emotion. However, even though I had a huge urge to join in, I remained solemn as I continued. "However, you must all be careful around her when we take her home, since she is not completely healed yet. Also, we cannot pick her up right away. For now, I was thinking that we could prepare a small belated birthday celebration for her when she comes home."
"Are you sure?" asked Deidara, crossing his arms. "I don't celebrate birthdays, but isn't a week late already way too much? I mean, I'm not sure if it will as relevant to her by now, un."
I shook my head. "I know Kagami-chan well enough to know that she'll probably want one. My imouto loves parties, though I haven't really taken her to many, but they made her happy, during the times that I actually did take her. So if you wouldn't mind, could you help me prepare for this special occasion...for Kagami-chan?"
At that, most of the heads in the hall simply nodded or grunted in approval, until Kakuzu piped up. "Alright, but don't you realize how much money this is all going to cost?"
"We have that covered already," Naoki mumbled, holding out a roll of streamers that I had kept in his room. "It didn't really cost all that much to get a few extra supplies, but we already stocked up on these things before Christmas. None of us expected her to have that accident, that's why. Plus, we've got the fireflies, which onee-chan has been taking care of."
"Indeed," I confirmed, shifting my gaze towards the living room at the bottom of the stairs, where I had been keeping the jars of fireflies. "They'll be part of whatever grand finale we have, just before we set off fireworks in her honor, as well as a representation of our feelings. We just have to be careful that she doesn't see them in the jars, or else she might crack."
Everybody nodded sternly at that, remembering my sister's extreme love and care for all living beings. If she wasn't going to grow up to become some sort of pacifist, then I would definitely be shocked out of my wits.
When nobody moved after that, silence followed, hanging on the ceiling like streamers...which we were supposed to be hanging up.
"Come on," I said, breaking the silence. "Let's get this party started!"
Kagami's POV
"Tobi-kun," grumbled the nurse in front of me, "for the last time, we are not turning on Pokémon, especially since Kagami-chan is leaving the hospital very soon. Wait until you get home, alright?"
"But Tobi wants to watch television!" the boy pouted, waving his arms frantically like a child that had just been told that he couldn't have candy. "Tobi misses Pikachu and Ash!"
I sweatdropped, sitting on the bed with my injured arm slung over my chest in a cast. My legs dangled over the edge of the sheets, unmoving as I let out a sigh. "Tobi-nii, it's been only a day since you've last seen them! You can watch them with me when we get home today, okay?"
Shooting him a playful, yet innocent look, I waited for my childlike charm to sink in. He stared at me through that peephole in his mask for a moment, then gave me a thumbs-up. "Okay! Tobi will do as Kagami-chan says!"
The nurse, who had been watching the childish exchange unfold, merely shook her head, mumbling something along the lines of, "How did I survive this again…?"
Walking over to where my backpack was sitting, Obito reached in and pulled out my bunny, handing it to me with a happy hum. Using my free hand, I grabbed Usagi from him, remembering how thankful we had been that it wasn't my dominant arm that had gotten injured. Pulling the bunny close to my chest, I smiled at him blissfully, but inwardly, I was trying to stifle a huge outburst of excitement.
That morning, the nurse had announced that I was finally going home and that my family could see me again. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, because even though it was always nice to be alone with Obito and talk to him, I really, really missed my family and the rest of the Akatsuki. Although he never made it obvious, I could tell that Obito missed seeing them and annoying his "senpai" every day from the tone he used whenever we brought up somebody from home in one of our conversations.
Naturally, I had tried to avoid talking to him about anything related to Rin or the Pure Land, but occasionally, that touchy topic weaved its way into our conversations. He had a tendency to question me about it as soon as I had even mentioned her name, but would stop himself, remembering that I had been recovering from something almost as traumatic.
However, I had resolved to tell him more about it after we got home. Perhaps that was the main reason why he had been excited to leave the emergency as well: not because of the Akatsuki, but because of Rin. Plus, it had definitely been uncomfortable with everybody in the building being so serious all of the time, barely laughing. It almost reminded me of Little Alder Orphanage, but a whole lot worse.
After the nurse left, Obito turned to me, his playful aura beginning to dissipate. However, his gaze was not on me, as his eyes had flickered over to the object that was lying in the corner of the room, nicely and neatly folded.
"Are you sure that you're going to be comfortable riding in that for a while?" he questioned me in his normal voice. "I don't really like it."
Setting Usagi aside on my pillow, I held out a hand to him, which he quickly took. "Relax, Obito-nii. I'm sure it'll be all good, especially since it'll be for about two months. By March, I should be able to get out of the wheelchair, and I can run around again. After all, I'm still alive, right?"
Instantly, I regretted the last line, and instinctively tried to pull my hand back to slap it over my mouth. Obito's gaze returned to me, and I swore that he almost glared at me, but I couldn't tell, with the mask still being on his face and all. "Don't joke around like that," he warned me. "Kagami-chan, you're all I've had for as long as I've spent in this world. Please refrain from saying such a thing."
Nodding rapidly, I sighed, my smile having run away. Obito seemed to take notice of this, because the next thing I knew, he was removing his hand from mine and gently placing it on my shoulder. It made me feel better in a way, especially since it felt so warm and comforting. But still, I assumed that our problems weren't officially going to be over anytime soon, especially since I had noticed Obito becoming increasingly tired.
I couldn't see chakra or tell how his flow was doing, but from his sudden fatigue that appeared during completely random times of the day, I could tell that something was wrong. But every time this had happened, he had placed a finger over my lips to silence me, and I had obliged every time, albeit unwillingly.
Every now and then, scintillating shards appeared in my bag, likely as a result from how much time Obito and I spent together. Currently, there were about twelve inside of the bag, though it was possible that there were more hidden inside that we had not seen. It had always made me smile whenever we had found more inside, knowing that each shard was a step closer to helping the Akatsuki head back home.
However, the thought of that definitely spurred feelings of uncertainty inside of me. Although I was happy that they would be able to find their way home if we collected all of the shards, a huge part of me was extremely reluctant to see everybody, especially Obito, go back and possibly never return. Based on the way that things were going, if Obito went back to his world, then he would rip a piece of my heart to take along with him unintentionally in the process.
But setting all that aside, both of us suddenly jerked up when a knock resounded from our door.
"Come in," I said politely, expecting the nurse to be back with a pair of crutches or something. However, when the door to Room 487 opened, I gasped on seeing who was standing there, and so did Obito, but in his false Tobi fashion.
Kaiya returned the gasp as she stared at the two of us, before her gray eyes began welling up with tears: the eyes that I hadn't seen for a week. I was tempted to run straight into her arms and tell her how much I had missed her, but Obito stopped me by refusing to release his hand from my shoulder, remembering that I couldn't run.
Luckily, my older sister did all of that for me.
"Kagami-chan!" she cried out in joy, enveloping me in a gentle hug to make sure that I did not have to get more stitches. "I missed you so much, my imouto! Actually, we all have! You too, Tobi!" Not forgetting the masked boy, she bowed to him gently, and he responded with a light squeal and a one-armed hug.
"Tobi missed you too, Kaiya-chan!" he exclaimed, then began to perk up and look around the room. "Where's Deidara-senpai?"
She shook her head. "He's at home, along with the rest of the Akatsuki. We didn't want to take any of them here, especially since their appearances may be questioned. Yukio-chan and Naoki-chan are in the lobby, chatting with the nurse that was taking care of you."
"Yay!" I shouted, raising a fist in the air. Right after, my gaze flickered over to the folded wheelchair in the corner of the room. "I missed you so much, onee-chan! But I won't be able to run around with you anymore…"
"It's alright, Kagami-chan," she reassured me, patting my head softly. "And don't worry about the wheelchair or your crutches. Naoki-chan already has your crutches waiting in the lobby, and I'll push the wheelchair for you. Plus, we have something waiting for you back at home, where all of the other members are."
As I was about to respond, the nurse came bursting into the room, with my brother on her tail.
"But what about teaching her how to skateboard?" Yukio was whining, just like the child that he had likely been before me. "How long do I have to wait for my imouto's cast to be off for good?"
Impatiently, he tugged at her outfit before turning around, making full eye contact with me. His pout instantly faded, and before any one of us could register what was happening, he charged right at me in what seemed to be a flying tackle. Impulsively, I yelped in fright, but Obito and Kaiya had already anticipated this and secured my brother before he could knock me off of the bed.
"You're all better, imouto!" he cheered, not even minding the fact that he was being held back by two annoyed people. But seconds later, he began struggling further against their grips on his shirt, flailing wildly like a fish that had been beached.
"Actually," I replied, a fake smile on my face as I giggled at his antics, "I'm not exactly all better yet. I still have to wear these bandages for a while, but we can still have fun without running, right?"
After this, he perked back up, just as Kaiya and Obito released their hold on my brother. "Hell yeah! And if you're wondering, nii-chan is still in the lobby, getting your crutches all set. You're coming out of the hospital right now!"
I let out a delighted squeal, and immediately high-fives Obito. "Yahoo! I can't wait to come home again! I wanna see everybody again!"
"We all missed you," Kaiya responded, gently patting my head to calm me down. Yukio looked over to the wheelchair in the corner, then dashed to the folded object in curiosity.
"Onee-chan," he inquired, picking up the folded wheelchair and walking over to her with it, "how in the name of Alfalfa is Kagami-chan supposed to ride in this?"
Kaiya let out a spurt of laughter. "I believe that we're supposed to unfold it first, otouto. Come on, I'll help you do it, and we can all go home to everybody else."
Laughing heartily, I watched as my two siblings unfolded the wheelchair, making sure it could stand up properly on its wheels. Together, they pushed the chair towards me, although this made me giggle harder, as only one person needed to push it. Carefully, Obito picked me up and gently set me down on the seat, avoiding my casts on my left arm and right leg. Using my unharmed limbs to assist me, I adjusted my position in order to make myself comfortable, finally settling on leaning back and sitting right in the middle, right hand on the side of the chair.
"All good!" I confirmed, nodding. "You can push me around in this now!"
Obito, still in his Tobi persona, immediately raised his hand, as if he was volunteering to control the wheelchair. Slinging my backpack over his shoulder and and shoving Usagi inside it, he began gently moving me towards the door as steadily as possible.
"Be careful!" cried Kaiya as she and Yukio tailed us out of the room and towards the elevator at the very end of the hall.
It wasn't exactly a bumpy ride out of the hospital, but it wasn't a smooth one, either. As usual, there were medics and family members rushing about in the halls, and at one point, we passed by a person being wheeled in on a stretcher, just how I probably had been as well. And just like I had been, they were unconscious, their eyes closed and completely oblivious to the panic that was going on around them.
Silently, I wondered if they were walking through a dream that they did not wish to leave.
When we reached the elevator, a couple of medics turned around and waved at me, smiles weaving their way onto their faces before they resumed whatever they were doing. It was definitely queer, with both parties being so jubilant that one of the parties was going to leave. Outside of the hospital, I had never been that eager to say goodbye to somebody in my life.
After we exited, Naoki stood there in the lobby, a pair of crutches in his arms. When he caught sight of Obito rolling me down the hall with Kaiya and Yukio in tow, his lips were also claimed by a genuine smile: something that he usually didn't perform.
"Good to see you awake, imouto," he greeted, before turning to his sister. "But onee-chan, how are we going to get her into the car?"
Before Kaiya could answer him, I felt myself being lifted into the air by a pair of strong, familiar arms. "Tobi will carry Kagami-chan inside of the car! Don't worry, Naoki-chan!"
My brother growled. "Call me Naoki or Naoki-san. Don't use that honorific with my name...ever again."
I felt Obito nearly drop me in fright of the dark aura radiating from Naoki's body. "Eek! Tobi is sorry, Naoki-san!"
"Better," he deadpanned, before folding up my wheelchair and slinging it over his shoulder. "Anyway, let's go on home. I don't like the idea of keeping the Akatsuki on watch duty for our house, especially if they're all there instead of school."
Nodding, we filed out of the building, and I wrapped my free arm around Obito's neck while keeping my injured one close to my chest. We turned a few heads from the people that we passed by, a couple of them with envious looks in their eyes. Instead of upset, it made me feel a bit dejected, since I figured that they were probably jealous of our family, since they got to take me home after only a week. As I came to learn, some had already waited for over a year for their family members to come home.
When we reached the car, Naoki threw the wheelchair into the trunk before taking a seat next to Kaiya in the passenger's seat, where he usually sat. Yukio and Obito kept me safe in the back seat, holding onto me tightly to ensure that I didn't accidentally slip out if my older sister made a mistake.
The drive home was very similar to being pushed down the hall in he wheelchair: neither too smooth nor too rough. When Kaiya did mess and fess up, Naoki held her arm tightly in attempts to reassure her that all would be alright. After that, she would quickly calm down.
I curled into Obito's embrace throughout most of the half-hour drive, mainly since he had become the most familiar figure to me throughout our times in the hospital. In return, he wrapped his arms around me tighter, avoiding my casts as usual while patting my shoulder comfortingly.
Believe it or not, I found ourselves ending up back at our house a lot sooner than I had expected, even though the sun was already beginning to set. As soon as I saw the place where I had resided for about a year already, I let out a happy cheer, expecting the Akatsuki to come out and greet me because of the loud whoop that I had let out. However, I was frankly surprised when not a reply came, as if the house had gone silent. The Akatsuki were usually notorious for being loud and quite crazy, so it kind of planted a suspicious feeling inside of me.
As soon as I opened the door, I received the hunch that something was about to happen to me.
I just hadn't expected this.
"Surprise!" shouted the Akatsuki members simultaneously, though I noticed that once they had finished their outburst, the majority of the members let out relieved sighs.
In response, I smiled and let out a squeal, realizing that they had likely been rehearsing this. "A surprise party? You didn't have to, but thank you!"
Deidara shrugged, still grinning at me while shooting a wink towards my sister's direction. Akane, who had swooped down from upstairs, placed a necklace of origami flowers around my neck, possibly made by Konan. She let out a celebratory chirp as her master spoke. "You should thank Kaiya, un. After all, it was her idea to begin with."
Suddenly, his expression faded back into a scowl as soon as he finally noticed the person who was carrying me in his arms. Obito beamed at his "senpai", and I could immediately tell that he was trying to resist the urge to drop me on the ground and tackle Deidara in a flying hug.
The boy seemed to take notice of this, and be shot a warning glare at Obito. "Don't even think about it, Tobi."
Before the masked boy could respond, Hidan came bursting into the living room, clutching a glass of red liquid. "Hey there, you b*******! Let's party!"
Yukio scowled at the Jashinist. "Where in the name of Alfalfa did you get that from? We never buy that stuff!"
Now all three of my siblings were a bit upset at Hidan, with Naoki crossing his arms and Kaiya placing her hands on her hips in a slightly intimidating manner. "Yukio-chan is right, Hidan," she snapped, twitching slightly in anger. "Tell me, what made you even think that it was a good idea to bring red wine to my eight-year-old imouto's birthday party?"
The man grit his teeth in anger, obviously ticked at the fact that somebody had burst his bubble. Taking the chance, Kisame snatched the glass from Hidan's hand and quickly chugged all of the liquid inside of it before setting it down on the table nearest to him.
"Don't worry," he assured all of us as soon as he managed to recognize the liquid. "There's no alcohol or wine in this, only the fruit punch that we found in the refrigerator."
That comment turned a few heads, while the annoyed Jashinist simply threw his hands up in both resignation and irritation. "So what? I like that stuff, okay? It's even more addicting than freaking sake!"
All three of my siblings let out a sigh of relief at that, rather than laughing like Kakuzu.
"I think that we should start this party off with a game," suggested Kisame afterward, putting a finger to his temple until he received an idea. "How about Truth or Dare?" he suggested, a smug grin forming on his already shark-like face. "It's been so long since we've played that!"
Some of the Akatsuki members agreed with Kisame, though Kaiya, once again, was protesting. "Are you sure, Kisame? I don't know if that game is appropriate for children…"
"Relax," he assured her, though I noticed the malicious expression he had donned in the split second that he had said that. "We're keeping it kid-friendly, so there's nothing that you need to worry about. But Tobi, can Kagami-chan come here for a second? I want to congratulate her privately."
Obito gave the man a suspicious glance at that, but in the end, he complied and gently handed me over to Kisame. Like Obito's, his grip was also quite strong, so I relaxed as he tilted his head down to whisper something in my ear as he walked into the dining area, where nobody else was standing."
"Hey," he whispered quietly, "I know that it's supposed to be your party, but do you think that we should take this chance and set your sister up with the boy that really likes her, but can't express himself properly?"
"Of course!" I quickly replied, then covered my mouth to make sure that my voice remained soft. "Thanks for asking first, though. Maybe you should dare them to kiss or something?"
He seemed to consider that for a moment, but in the end, he shook his head. "I don't think that they'd like it, Kagami-chan. Love isn't supposed to be forced on anybody, and the best way to ruin their feelings is to force them to do something that neither of them seem to want to naturally do."
How ironic, I thought, recalling the point of the game as Kisame continued.
"I say that we could make the situation slightly awkward so that they'd actually want to kiss or confess," Kisame suggested, "but I'm not sure if your sister would pick truth. Deidara might do dare, based on his nature, but he may catch on and say truth instead. We could get them to confess to each other that way, but knowing both of them, they might be able to find loopholes or comebacks."
"Lock them in a closet," I subconsciously suggested, before slapping my hand over my mouth once again, my cheeks turning slightly pink. However, Kisame had heard it loud and clear, winking at me to confirm.
"That's perfect," he mused, as he began to head back towards the living room. "Now just remember to do that if you end up daring one of them, alright? I'll go tell Sasori about this as well, and maybe even Zetsu, if he's willing to comply."
Our presence back in the room was first acknowledged by Yukio, who shouted, "Let the games begin!"
Kaiya giggled to herself, shaking her head. "Did you somehow get into my collection of my favorite book series, otouto? That line sounds very familiar."
Yukio responded with a sly smirk. "Truth me, and I'll tell you the answer."
We all sat down with a circle on the floor, with me sitting on Obito's lap once again. Deidara looked slightly nervous when Kaiya plopped down next to him, and turned slightly pink when he spotted Kisame whispering what I assumed to be the plan to Sasori.
"I wanna go first!" I exclaimed, raising my working hand in the air. "Can I? Can I?"
"Of course you can, imouto," replied Kaiya lovingly. "It's your birthday, after all."
"Yay!" I squealed, immediately thinking of the plan. "Deidei-chan, truth or dare?"
He instantly tensed up upon hearing the nickname, while Kaiya just snickered lightly at his dismay. "Truth, un."
Hidan gasped slightly in surprise, but I just carried on. "Why do you like...birds?"
It hadn't been the thing that my mind was lamenting me to ask, but it had definitely been something that I had been rather curious about for quite some time. Deidara, who had twitched even more because of what he had thought I was originally going to say, quickly calmed down, a dreamy gaze making their way into his blue eyes.
"Well," he began, "there weren't that many birds in Iwagakure, with just the occasional thrush every nine months or so. But when I did get to see them, they always...fascinated me. It was nice to see that they were able to fly so freely in the sky, with nobody deciding their fate and instead looking at them in awe and bewilderment. They were well-appreciated, which is how I received the inspiration to try and sculpt them out of clay. Surely enough, they did impress the villagers and my friends, but that was all lost after I became a missing-nin."
As he finished, most of the people in the room were staring at him incredulously, shocked expressions crawling onto their faces, including Naoki's. Kaiya and Sasori remained calm, as if they already knew about this before. But for those that were still staring at the bomber, it was obvious that they had never thought of Deidara in that way.
"Anyway," he continued, retaining his original composure, "it's my turn. Yukio, truth or dare?"
"Dare!" my brother exclaimed immediately, pumping a fist into the air. "I'm not scared of anything!"
Deidara also put a smirk back on. "Okay," he drawled, "I want you to say one good thing about our fellow Jashinist here."
All of a sudden, Yukio tensed up and crossed his arms, glaring at him from across the circle. "Hell to the no!"
"Aw, come on, Yukio-nii-chan!" I piped up, squirming around in Obito's grasp as I shot him my baby-doll-eyes look. "It's just one kind compliment! It can't hurt to just say it, right?"
After staring into my gaze for a second, he sighed, then cocked his head towards Hidan begrudgingly. When he spoke, his voice was quick and like gun bullets, definitely showing that he had been forced to do something that he despised. "You-actually-aren't-as-bad-as-you-were-before!"
"What?" Hidan said, placing a hand to his ear. "I can't hear you!"
Yukio growled at the silver-haired boy, sounding out each word as if he was teaching a kindergartener. "You...actually...aren't...as...bad...as...you...were...before. Are you freaking happy now? That was just this once, okay?"
He crossed his arms in distaste, but Hidan seemed quite satisfied enough and left my brother alone. "Fair enough, Yukio."
He spat his name out like venom, almost as if saying it would actually deprive him of his immortality. Yukio stared at him, surprised that Hidan had used his name for once. But remembering that it was his turn, a smirk reappeared on his features.
"Nii-chan!" he shouted, pointing at Naoki. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth," Naoki deadpanned, not smiling.
This caused Yukio to pout. "Aw, you're no fun! But anyway, let me ask you this: is it true that you are a closet romantic?"
Instantly, Naoki paled, pink dusting his cheeks. "Wha...n-no! Why would you ask something like that, otouto?"
"So you are," Yukio teased, grinning triumphantly. "Now then, do you ship—"
"I already answered one question," he grumbled, reverting back to his aloof demeanor. "So don't ask me that. Um...onee-chan, truth or dare?"
"Dare," she answered, much to my shock. "I trust you, otouto."
Akane cooed from her perch on the stairs, as if she was enjoying the brother-sister moment right there. She listened quietly afterward as Naoki went on. "I dare you to tell everybody about the job that you got yesterday."
"What?" many of us exclaimed in shock. Kaiya giggled, scratching the side of her head.
"Right!" she said nervously. "Thanks for reminding me. Yes, I figured that I would have to get a part-time job soon, especially since we have to pay for flight and medical expenses as well as the monthly bills. I managed to land a job as a waitress at this popular sushi restaurant called Hoshi no Sushi."
"Interesting," mused Deidara, his cheeks turning pink yet again. "When are you planning to work, un?"
"I'm starting on the fifteenth, for four hours after school," she responded eagerly. "I'll be at the restaurant every day except Wednesdays and Sundays, where I can spend time with all of you. And don't worry, I forgot to tell all of you that Naoki-chan got accepted as well."
At that, Naoki looked at her in complete surprise. "Me?"
She nodded. "They think that you're quite promising, especially with your knowledge on Japanese culture and what kinds of sushi that you know about. So in about a week, you'll be working with me."
"Cool," he said, smiling slightly. "Onee-chan, you can pick somebody now."
"Kisame, truth or dare?" she asked, and instantly, the shark-man's face lit up at both his name being called and the fact that he had received a chance to put his plan into action. Kaiya shot him a slightly dubious glance as she awaited his answer.
"Truth."
"Forgive me if I'm being rude," she asked, pressing her fingers together rather nervously, "but are you actually...part shark?"
This caused him to raise a wary eyebrow at her, as if it was supposed to be a sensitive topic. However, he simply answered her, slightly relieved that she had asked politely. "Well, it's a trait shared by all members of my clan, the Hoshigaki Clan, to resemble sharks in some way. They don't all have blue skin like I do, but that's because I had a larger amount of shark DNA infused with my own. Also, it's sort of an effect for wielding my sword, Samehada, very often."
"Samehada?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side. "That means 'shark skin', doesn't it?"
"Indeed," he answered, nodding with a grin. "Samehada actually works a lot like shark skin, since it's very rough and can easily peel off human skin. Whenever a shinobi touches it, the sword will absorb their chakra and render them powerless...most of the time." He glances at Itachi as he uttered the last line, but the Uchiha did not seem to notice. Actually, knowing Itachi, he probably did, but did not wish to say anything when it was unnecessary.
Suddenly, Kisame's teeth spread into a shark-like grin, making him resemble the fish even more than he already had. "Deidara, truth or dare?"
"Dare," muttered Deidara absentmindedly, looking slightly disinterested. Seconds later, his eyes flew wide and he slapped both of his hands over his mouth as Kisame laughed maniacally.
"Alrighty then," he sneered a knowing expression spreading onto his features, "play Seven Minutes in Heaven with Kaiya."
Hearing her name, my sister instantly frowned. "Why me?" she inquired, crossing her arms doubtfully. Naoki, who had been rather emotionless for a while, suddenly sat up and shot a forceful glare at the scheming shark-man.
"You'll see," chuckled Kisame as he led my sister and Deidara over to the small closet in the kitchen. "I'm going to time you, so try to at least enjoy this experience."
And with that, he shoved both of them into the closet and slammed the door, leaning against it so that they couldn't escape. Immediately after, the door rattled violently, Kaiya and Deidara obviously banging on the poor wooden object. Kisame's face contorted slightly in irritation, but eventually sighed and leaned further against the door with a newfound smirk. "Ah, that's a great massage."
"Shut up!" came Deidara's reply from inside the closet. "Let me or of here, un! I don't appreciate cramped spaces!"
But of course, Kisame ignored them, while Sasori had to hold Naoki back with his strings in order to prevent my brother from busting down their prison. Naoki was flailing and throwing his arms about wildly, almost like Yukio would have, knowing his personality. Yukio, however, simply watched everything with a knowing smirk, crossing his arms in triumph as he realized what Kisame was insinuating by locking them inside.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu tapped on Kisame's shoulder, arching his eyebrow. "Kisame, I thought that this was supposed to be kid-friendly. Don't you realize what usually happens in this game?"
"I doubt they'd try anything funny," teased Kisame, still keeping a straight face. "I mean, both of them are well aware whose party it is."
Kakuzu crossed his arms, dissatisfied. "You do realize that they can hear you, right?"
"That's the point."
Suddenly, as if on impulse, Deidara and Kaiya stopped banging on the door. For a moment, time seemed to stand still, until I heard something make impact from the other side of the closet, followed by my sister's shout.
"Ow!" she groaned, her voice muffled slightly by the door. "That was my face, you idiot!"
"Well, sorry!" Deidara shot back instantaneously. "Does it look like I can freaking help it when the lights are off in here?"
"Okay, but don't try to punch randomly inside of this cramped place!" she growled, her patience obviously wearing thin. "You're not the only one stuck in here, you know!"
"Too bad! I can— ow! Woman, that was my foot, un!"
"Don't you dare call me a woman!"
"Then get off of me, like a real lady should!"
Before my sister could retort back, a crashing sound followed, possibly from one of the pans we had stored inside of that closet. I listened to it clatter to the floor, but immediately after, the bantering and bickering continued.
"You moron!" screeched Kaiya almost menacingly. "Stop knocking all of these things over!"
"I told you already, I can't freaking help— ow! That's my arm! Get off of it now!"
"Neither can I, Deidei-chan! Ow! You punched me in the face again!"
"Shut the hell up! It was an acci— ow! Will you stop shoving my head into the wall?"
"Not unless you get off of my legs!"
"Beat it, princess! I can't breathe with all of your yelling going on, un!"
"Do you really want to go right now, Deidara?"
"Try me!"
"Let go of my neck now! Don't handle a woman this way, ya know!"
"I thought you said that you didn't want to be called a woman!"
"Oh, shut up!"
As the bicker went on and on and on, the majority of us, including myself, shot worried glances towards Kisame, who was still leaning against the door. He seemed to be cowering in fear slightly, his plan having gone horribly wrong.
So even though it had been only five minutes, he swiftly opened the door and let the light flood in, our eyes descending upon the awkward sight inside.
Kaiya and Deidara were trapped in a tangle, with Deidara sitting on Kaiya and my sister grabbing onto his wrist tightly, as if she was trying to breaking it. Her other hand was dangerously close to both Deidara's neck and the wall, which he hadn't noticed based on the glares they were boring into each others' eyes.
But neither of them seemed to notice how awkward they looked until Yukio absentmindedly wolf whistled, while I just stared in bewilderment. Their heads whipped around to face us, then slowly, they cocked their heads back towards each other, unmistakable blushes painting their faces.
And as soon as reality collapsed on top of them, they jumped and backed away from each other as far as possible, leaving the closet. Nobody bothered to stop them as they made their way out and into the dining room.
As soon as both of them had gone, Sasori stated the obvious "I don't think that they made any progress."
Deidara's howl confirmed this statement. "You think? That was more like seven minutes of hell, un! I am never going back in there!"
"Let's just stop," I suggested, sensing another fight coming on. "Onee-chan, is there any cake or ice cream?"
She said nothing, but subtly gave me her answer when she arrived back in the kitchen with a tray full of vanilla cupcakes in her hands. A smile was plastered on her face, but I assumed that it was somewhat fake, especially after what had just happened.
"Happy birthday, Kagami-chan," she said calmly, seemingly forgetting about the whole closet thing so quickly. "You can take two of them."
I squealed, then swiftly snatched the cupcake with the most frosting on it. Obito, remembering that I didn't have two free hands, took a second cupcake for me, as well as one for himself.
Afterward, all the Akatsuki members silently grabbed theirs except for Sasori, who did not need to eat. I would have expected them to act more rowdy about it, but the awkward atmosphere still hung dry in the air.
When we had finished eating our cupcakes, Kaiya suddenly beckoned Obito over, whispering something into his ear. Subsequently, he nodded, and before I could comprehend what was happening, I was already in his arms as Kaiya led the both of us outside on the balcony, where we usually went to set off fireworks.
"We have one last surprise for you, imouto," she told me, pointing to the sky. However, as soon as my gaze flickered toward the sky, Kaiya peered over the balcony and shouted, "Nightlock!"
As if on cue — okay, it actually was — different colored fireworks launched into the air from the backyard, zooming off into the evening sky and bursting into bright colors, excluding red. Some explosions were larger than other, but the contrast of size and colors made the display all the more beautiful.
My eyes sparkled with even more bewilderment as some sparkles from the fireworks hung in the air, most likely from the yellow ones. However, when they began to move and fly about on their own accord, I realized that they were—
"Fireflies?" I breathed as they began flying in every direction. "D-did you plan all of this, onee-chan?"
Without waiting for a nod, I peered over the edge of the balcony, I spotted two figures wearing cloaks in the corner of the backyard, where the fireworks had come from. I smiled as I easily recognized Nagato and Konan standing there, while my mind simultaneously reprimanded me for not realizing that they had been absent during Truth or Dare.
"Beautiful…" I mused, watching a small cluster of fireflies flutter toward me. Suddenly, one zipped forward and prodded me in the arm, playfully zapping me. "Haha! That tickles! Hee hee!"
The fireflies continued poking me, as if that was their way of trying to give me a hug. Every time they touched me, I giggled, and so did Obito, who i had already forgotten was still holding me. The boy chuckled as the fireflies began nudging him as well.
"So," laughed Kaiya as she watched the fireflies play with me, "do you like it?"
I shook my head playfully, then squealed. "I love it, onee-chan! I love it! I really do!"
"I'm glad," came Yukio as he approached us, Naoki at his side. "We were afraid that you wouldn't be too happy, especially since you got home from the hospital just an hour ago. And we're also sorry that we didn't get you presents."
"Why wouldn't I be happy?" I inquired, looking at my brothers curiously. "This is exactly what I wanted for my birthday! Thank you!"
"Of course," Naoki finished, still smiling. "We love you, Kagami-chan. More than you could ever comprehend."
Just hearing those words made me relax, flattery dusting my face. I hadn't heard those words in such a long time, and I'm pretty sure that this was the moment when I had finally realized it.
Really, I felt like that I truly did belong. I had found a place where everybody cared for me and each other, even if fights did break out. No matter what happened and stood in our way, the family bond we shared could never be broken, not even by the most powerful of opponents.
I'm finally home...
A/N: Kagami has been able to finally regain her sense of belonging, as well as her role in the family as the light of their lives. And yeah, I kind of felt like throwing in that Kaiya and Deidara moment, but kept it in their style, as always. It's just in their personalities. XD
Question: Do you watch Hetalia? If so, what are your top five characters? In no particular order, I'm quite fond of England, Canada, France, North and South Italy, and Lithuania.
Until we meet again, my lovelies. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
— Tenshi —
