I'd like to wish everyone an early Merry Christmas! Enjoy this chapter! :)
Summer was nearing and it was a month since Naori lost her brother. She sat in a café located on next to the Yamanaka flower shops, sipping her latte, which was tinkered with red rose petals. It tasted and smelled of a quaint blend of caffeine and roses.
It was a rather whimsical place, with walls adorned with coloured mosaics depicting strange and almost indecipherable patterns and objects. So far she could only discern a tree with blue branches and purple leaves, an owl with kaleidoscopic eyes and mechanical feathers and little men and women with hats made out of teacups. It suited her just fine.
This café only opened two weeks ago and was already bustling with customers. Waiters dashed to and fro with orders, bills and menus, the cashier was absorbed in his monetary calculations and people around her talked and talked and talked. Despite all the noise around her, the vibrant atmosphere, Naori found her calm and was ruminating on recent events in her life.
She decided to become Kagami's official guardian, as she had become too attached to the boy to place him under the care of someone else. He lived with her and she took care of his daily needs: she cooked for him, she sent him to bed every night, she read to him, she taught him how to throw shurikens (with limited success), she played with him and she endured his whines about 'Tobi.'
She hadn't spoken to Tobirama for a while—the last time they met was when she went to the Hokage's office to file in papers about her last mission. He was also there, lecturing his brother about 'discipline and punctuality' regarding paperwork—Hashirama had been sulking in the corner like a forlorn little boy who had just been scolded by a parent— whilst simultaneously slashing through Hashirama's long-neglected papers with brutal efficiency. When their eyes met, he gave her a smile and a curt nod.
"How have you been?" He had asked, trying not to appear too amiable in the presence of his brother, who was still despondently languishing in the background.
"I've been alright. I've decided to become Kagami's guardian," she had replied.
"That's good, he'll need you in the coming years."
"Yeah, thanks for asking. By the way, how are you? You seem quite busy," Naori had asked, glancing at the paperwork.
"Oh that," he had chuckled. "I'm just doing Hashirama's work for him—he's been slacking off a lot and I can't allow that."
"Hey!" The Hokage complained.
"Well…uh… good luck on that—I've got to go! I'll see you around!" She had promptly said goodbye and left.
Except she hasn't seen him around. He is probably drowning in Hashirama's paperwork; he is a busy man. Oh, but she wished he would drop by her place for some small talk—she needed that.