Chapter Two: #MUSE

After a few weeks of diligent care, Ayame's thirsty little houseplant recovered and, much to Naruto's delight, had even grown a few extra inches. He had initially stored the snake plant in his upstairs bedroom, making sure it spent most of its afternoons on his brightly lit windowsill, receiving only a drink of water once a week as directed. Now that the snake plant had recovered, Naruto descended that morning with the plant, a little nervous but still very excited to share the news with Ayame and Teuchi.

"Naruto-kun!" Ayame gasped as she caught sight of the plant grasped tightly in his hands, "No way?! Is that my plant?!"

Naruto nodded, "I managed to find the shop who sold it to your friend. The shopkeeper there gave me some advice," the young man fished into his pocket, pulling out his neatly folded set of instructions.

"Oooh," Ayame took a moment to read the instructions over before bending down to get a closer look at her now happy, healthy plant, "So it's a snake plant, huh? And all it needed was a little water?"

"Just once a week," Naruto clarified before making his way back to the little nook near the shop window, "The guy at the shop said if we overwater it, it could rot." Naruto then gently set the little snake plant down, making sure it was properly seated in its new terracotta dish, before adjusting it briefly to ensure the plant's evergreen leaves were bathed in as much light as possible. With Ayame at his side, the two took a moment to enjoy the sight of the little plant practically dancing in place as it basked in the warm Spring sunlight.

With the snake plant back in its nook, Naruto resumed his duties. Ayame, on the other hand, whipped out her smartphone, ready to post more images on the IchirakuRamen profile on GramCHAN. However, their initial following was quite small, made up of mostly regulars and a few passing tourists who were aggressively encouraged to LIKE, SHARE, and FOLLOW by a very insistent Ayame. Undeterred, Ayame made sure to include the little houseplant in their next post, hoping to catch the attention of some new customers looking for a quiet little place to enjoy their afternoon lunch. The rest of the afternoon passed easily and, as usual, the evening hours stretched long and quietly into the night. But just as Teuchi was about to call it a night and flip the OPEN sign, the door to the shop suddenly flew open, revealing a young woman with striking cherry-blossom pink hair.

"Ayame-chan!" the girl squealed, her green eyes sparkling with excitement, "I saw your post! Where is it?! Where is this?!" the woman rushed over to the bar top, sticking her smartphone into Naruto's face.

Naruto blinked, looking down at the bright screen. There on her smartphone screen was the shop's latest post: a picture of their snake plant stretching its leaves high, high up towards the shop window. Naruto felt his chest tighten at the sight. Was their little houseplant always that pretty? Shaking his head, Naruto tried to shove down the odd feeling of pride that welled up in his chest. Surely it was just an editing trick. Maybe some filter to make the plant seem brighter than usual. Clearing his throat, Naruto extended his arm, "This way, please," he smiled, escorting his eager customer to the shop's nook.

"Ooooh, how lovely!" the young woman crooned as they approached the nook.

Naruto couldn't help but agree. With the sun having set hours ago, the shop's lights now fed the little snake plant, the yellow in its leaves shimmering under the golden light. Even its jade planter with its odd snake-scale pattern practically sparkled. The young woman immediately took her seat, pulling out her smartphone and snapping a few photos.

"Sakura-chan?" Ayame turned the corner, having heard her friend from the backroom, "Sakura-chan! Did you see today's post?!" Ayame cried, rushing over to join her friend.

"I did, I did!" Sakura giggled, swiping through her photos, "I'm so glad you started an account, Ayame! And made my gift the star of your shop!"

"It wasn't me," Ayame giggled, "Naruto was worried about the little guy. He's been taking care of it these past few weeks. He even bought a clay dish," Ayame sighed, "I've got a brown thumb, I almost killed it!"

As the two women chatted, Naruto tried to slip away back behind the bar top, only for Sakura to suddenly reach out and grasp his sleeve. She motioned him to take a seat next to Ayame and join their conversation, "Naruto-kun!" Sakura patted his hand gently, "What did you think of the shop? You know that Shop on Yarrow Street?"

"Uhm…" Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "It was… Okay? I met the shopkeeper, a guy wearing black sunglasses?"

"Black sunglasses…" Sakura muttered, squinting her green eyes at him, only to break out into another smile, "Ooooh, you mean Shino-kun! He's one of the shop assistants. He's practically an expert in succulent care. Did he recommend the terracotta dish to you?"

"H-Hai," Naruto nodded, happy to finally have a name to match the shopkeeper's face, "He gave me a set of instructions too."

Sakura reached out and gently brushed the snake plant's leaves, "It's getting so tall now! I can't wait to see you propagate it!"

"Propagate?" Naruto asked. He had never heard that term before, not even from Shino the Shopkeeper.

"Ah," Sakura sighed, cocking her head in mild disappointment, "But you'll need more light sources to get them to grow… Ayame-chan, are you really going to upgrade your father's shop?"

As the two women chatted away about Ichiraku's coming renovations, Naruto found himself chewing over the new, unfamiliar term. He had never propagated anything. It sounded like a very complicated task. And what did that mean for the snake plant? Was it something essential for the plant's survival? Concerned, Naruto reached out and slid the plant closer to himself, looking it over to try and discern what Sakura meant regarding "propagation".

"Looks like you really like that plant," Sakura teased him as Naruto examined the plant, "I've started growing and propagating my own house plants too. Look!" She handed Naruto her smartphone.

Swiping through Sakura's GramCHAN account, Naruto browsed a large collection of plant posts. Unlike their still growing snake plant, each one of Sakura's plants were incredibly tiny and planted in equally tiny clay planters. And while the snake plant was the single star of the ramen shop, Sakura's plants were more like a collection of gemstones that were meticulously polished with great love and tenderness. An odd feeling came over the young man as he perused the posts. It was as if he felt a twinge of envy. But surely there was nothing to be envious about, he scolded himself immediately. It was just a bunch of tiny plants, afterall.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Sakura breathed, her eyes shining with pride, "They're my latest muse! I've already worked up a few prototypes based on this guy," she pointed at one of her posts depicting a tiny plant with a long, towering stalk. As he took a closer look, Naruto was surprised to see the stalk was actually made up of rose-shaped bunches stacked on top of one another.

Sakura then reached into her bag, pulling out a small jewelry box. Removing the lid, the young woman revealed an assortment of earrings, each one inspired by a different plant. She removed one set of earrings, placing them before Naruto and Ayame to examine. The main body of the earring was made of silvery green wire and twisted in a way to make the shape of a rose. The tops of the wire roses, however, had pink gems set inside, much like the soft pink that flushed across the tops of tiny plant's green, rose-shaped buds.

"So pretty!" Ayame giggled, picking up an earring for a closer look, "Are these part of that new Spring line you're going to post?"

"Yes!" Sakura grinned, "I'm almost done, I just need to make a bracelet set and I can start selling these in my shop. But I'll have to stop by and see what new plants Hinata-chan ordered this Spring for the plant swap."

"Plant swap?" Naruto asked, his curiosity once again getting the best of him.

"You'll have to stop by the shop again and see!" Sakura teased him before standing and collecting her items, "It was wonderful meeting you, Naruto-kun. Thanks again for helping Ayame-chan save her plant!"

After Sakura departed, Naruto helped Ayame close up the shop before escorting her home. Usually the task didn't cause him much anxiety but this evening, Nartuo found himself hesitating at Ayame's door. The young woman had already gone inside, giving Naruto one more hug in gratitude, before shutting her front door with a quick SNAP! However, Naruto did not immediately head back to the ramen shop. Instead, he idled at Ayame's front step, a feeling of dread coming over him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his smartphone and glanced at the time. The feeling of dread increased. Trying to steel himself against the incoming intrusive thoughts, Naruto smacked his cheeks a few times before finally taking his first steps back to the shop. But with each passing minute, the dread continued to grow and grow, weighing him down greatly before he even reached his bedroom door.

And it was here, at his bedroom door, where he stopped. More than anything, he wished to turn back around and run to Ayame, hoping to flee the terrible thing that waited for him on the other side of his bedroom door. How he hated entering his room. How he despised seeing that familiar face, that face illuminated by candle light, that face framed in its beautiful shrine. For years he had wanted to smash that face. For years he wanted to destroy everything in that room, everything tied to that damn face that kept smiling, unwaveringly, for years. And no one, not even Teuchi, knew of this dance that took place at his door, a dance that had been ongoing for four years. Swallowing back his tears, Naruto forced himself to shove his bedroom door open, calling out, "I'm home."

As expected, no one answered. But even so, Naruto winced, the silence slapping him across the face. He flipped a nearby switch, a single fluorescent light illuminating the tiny room. Once used as a storage room, Teuchi had helped Naruto attempt to convert the room into a homey studio. Boxes of stored root vegetables found a new home behind the bar top and were replaced with a decent futon, an armchair and ottoman, and a kitchen counter with a small electric burner and a few cooking utensils. In the corner, his little fridge hummed away, stocked with mostly beer, lunch meat, and the last wedge of cheddar cheese. But in the center of the room, seated just beneath his window, was a small, ancient shrine. Dedicated to his father, Teuchi had taken great care to install and decorate the shrine for Naruto. However, instead of feeling some semblance of peace and comfort at the sight of his father's picture smiling up at him, Naruto could only feel immense grief colored by intense rage. He had stopped lighting incense long ago and the plate before his father was empty of any offerings. Instead, Naruto had haphazardly thrown a blanket over half the shrine, obscuring some of it from sight, save for his father who Naruto had, pressured by self-placed guilt, extracted from beneath the blanket.

"I'm home," Naruto repeated, staring down at his father's portrait.

The man smiling in the frame did not respond. Sighing, Naruto turned away from the shrine and went over to his tiny kitchen area. He refilled a small glass with water and made his way to the window sill, carefully avoiding eye contact with his father's portrait, only to stop and stare stupidly at the now empty windowsill. He had gotten into the habit of watering the snake plant at his window, once a week after work, for the last few weeks. Now that the snake plant had recovered and was moved downstairs to its nook, Naruto had nothing to tend to.

"... Here…" Naruto set the glass on his father's shrine, "Drink this then," before turning away once more.

During the day, Naruto could easily forget about his grief. His mornings were, of course, filled with many tasks that kept him on his feet and busy assisting Teuchi with the ramen shop. And even tending to the little houseplant had helped him ignore his father's shrine for the last few weeks. But now, once again, he was alone. And once again, his heart ached with an insatiable longing, one that practically brought him to his knees. Unable to withstand his suffocating grief any longer, Naruto switched off the light and crawled deep into his futon, turning his back on the shrine, trying to forget his father still staring at him through the darkness.

The following morning, Naruto was surprised to see two young women already waiting for him at the shop doors. The ramen shop would not open for another fifteen or so minutes, but he went ahead and slid the doors open, peeking his head outside to greet his guests.

"Good afternoon," he grinned, "How can I help you today?"

"Chef, chef!" one of the girls giggled, waving her smartphone in front of his face, "Is this table available for lunch?!"

Naruto pulled back a little to get a better look at her screen. There, pictured in the latest GramCHAN post, was the little snake plant basking in the warm glow of their shop lights. Glancing at the profile, GemSaku had posted the image not even 13 or so hours ago. "We don't open for another fifteen minutes or so… But did you want to reserve that table for lunch?"

"Yes please!"

Fifteen minutes later, the two girls were seated in the shop's nook, bending down to admire the little snake plant shining in the sunlight. They took turns taking pictures of the plant, their drinks, their food, and then each other. Curious, Naruto watched the IchirakuRamen tag closely, surprised to see the girl's posts immediately populating the tag as he refreshed his search results. Here was a picture of the snake plant, there it was again but this time side by side with a bowl of ramen, and one picture had the girls taking selfies with their lunch.

"Hey, chef!" one of the girls called him over, "Did Sakura-sama really come by last night?!"

Naruto nodded as he refilled their drinks, "Sakura-san came by to check on our snake plant. It was a gift she gave to the owner's daughter."

"I told you!" the other girl smirked, "Sakura-sama's new muse is plants! Did you see her Spring line?! Those jade pendants look like leaves!" The two girls bent over their phones, rapidly swiping through the GemSaku profile, before pulling up the posts Sakura had already shared with Naruto the night before, "Did she mention these?!"

Naruto winced at the sound of their shrill excitement, "Ah, y-yeah… She said that these…" he pointed at the rose-bud shaped mini plant from the night before, "... Are the inspiration for these earrings she showed us…"

The girls gasped in union, their eyes growing wide with excitement, "Chef-san, no way?!" they leaned forward, their hands grasping at his apron eagerly, "You saw the new earrings?! She didn't mention earrings in her last post!"

Naruto swallowed nervously. He had made the mistake of exciting the Sakura-stans. However, before the girls could sink their sparkling nails any deeper into his apron, Ayame came to his rescue bearing the check, "Hey there!" she set the check down with a smack, "Can I get you anything to-go?"

The young man took the chance to slip away as Ayame closed out the check. Teuchi chuckled as Naruto tried to slip through the kitchen curtain and take refuge behind the bar. "No number?" he asked.

"Stop…" Naruto grumbled before slinking off to prepare more toppings.

After the Sakura-stans closed out their check, the regulars started filing in for their usual lunch orders. But, to the shop's surprise, their evening was peppered with a few new faces, and every one of them requested to be seated in the pretty little nook with its pretty little plant. Most of the guests were female but, to Ayame's delight, even an older gentleman came by to enjoy a nice, quiet lunch with the tiny snake plant. Teuchi practically beamed as he counted out the new faces. It had been months since any new customers had actually stopped to dine in his shop. After their last customer had departed home, Teuchi once again left Naruto in charge of closing up before rushing off with Ayame to pick up their new shop benches.

As he watched Teuchi and Ayame disappear around the corner, Naruto once again was seized with anxiety. He nervously ran a hand through his messy blond hair, trying to ignore the feeling of dread increasing in the pit of his stomach. Maybe he would spend the evening down in the shop, like he did three nights before… And the week before… Sighing, Naruto went over to flip the OPEN sign and finish up his closing duties for the night.

"E-Excuse me?" a soft voice called from behind the shop door.

Startled, Naruto quickly flipped the OPEN sign back and slid the door open, "H-Hai! I'm sorry, I was just about to close up for the-," he trailed off, his voice suddenly catching in his throat.

There, peeking through the slightly ajar door, was a young, dark haired woman. Her pale, lilac eyes glanced at him nervously as she swayed in place, unable to decide whether she truly wanted to enter the shop or turn heel and run. She gripped her long black skirt tightly, her breath sharp and shallow as she spoke, "P-Please, could I take a seat in that nook with-,"

"... The plant?" Naruto finally managed to croak out, his heart skipping a beat as the girl's nervous expression brightened up into a shy smile.

"Y-Yes, please, if it's not t-too much trouble?"

Naruto nodded, unable to deny her request. After letting the young woman in, he made sure to flip the OPEN sign again, signalling that the shop was closed to any other potential diners. As Naruto escorted the young woman to the nook, he felt his eyes wander and immediately traced the outline of the woman's slim waist, only to descend and follow the delicate curve of her backside. The young woman took her seat, brushing her long black hair back, and once again Naruto found himself staring, his eyes taking a second longer to indulge at the sight of her lovely sweater stretched tightly across her chest.

"Uhm…" the girl looked up, only to blush and look away when their eyes met, "I'm not really… Do you maybe have… A dessert menu?"

Naruto blinked, shaking his head rapidly to clear his inappropriate thoughts, "Ah, h-hai! It's a little limited but…" he set the laminated menu down, pointing at the small dessert menu in the bottom corner, "... We get all of our desserts from the baker next door."

"... I… I'll have these then," she pointed at the cookie plate, "And a cup of tea."

As Naruto went back behind the bar to prepare the small order, he kept looking over his shoulder, unable to keep his eyes off the young woman. While no doubt beautiful, there was an elegance to her movements as the young woman sat back and folded her hands across her lap. She smiled down at the snake plant, her pale lilac eyes shimmering with joy. When Naruto returned with her order, the young woman didn't initially notice him, absorbed completely in simply enjoying her time at the pretty little table with the pretty little plant.

"Here's your tea," Naruto cleared his throat, trying his best not to startle her.

The young woman jumped, averting her eyes and nervously gripping her skirt, "T-Thank you… Er…" she spoke up as Naruto began to turn away, "W-Where did you get this plant?"

Naruto blinked. No other patron had inquired much about the plant. Most of the Sakura-stans, predictably, only asked about Sakura and her work, "… It was a gift for the shop keeper's daughter," Naruto smiled nervously, unable to look the beautiful woman in the eye, "It got a little sick recently… I went to a local shop to get it fixed."

The woman's eyes grew wide, as if surprised by the news, "That shop on Yarrow street?"

Naruto nodded, "Y-yeah, actually... The shopkeeper gave me some instructions to help care for it. It was a pretty neat little shop."

"R-Really?" the young woman leaned forward, beaming with joy, "I'm so-," but the joy lasted for only an instant. As soon as their eyes met again, the young woman looked down. However, through the veil of her long black hair, Naruto could tell that she was still smiling.

After finishing her dessert, the young woman rose and approached the bar to close out her check. She once again swayed nervously in place as Naruto counted out her change but smiled gratefully as Naruto handed her a refill of her tea to go. This time it was Naruto's turn to blush, which he quickly tried to cover up by pretending to look for the shop keys behind the bar top. They walked together to the front of the shop and, with a wave of his hand, Naruto motioned her to step out first.

"I…" the young woman struggled to speak, "I… Just… Thank you," she finally squeaked, bowing quickly before rushing off down the snow covered street.

Naruto stared after her, puzzled but delighted to have spent a little time with such a lovely beauty. He took a moment to watch her round the corner, before locking the door, and with a bit of new-found-swagger in his step, made his way around the shop to the stairs leading up to his studio. Unlike the night before, he shoved the door of his studio open with great bravado, a huge grin spreading across his face.

"I'm home!" he cried.

Only silence greeted him. Naruto hesitated, that familiar sense of anxiety welling up in his chest. However, as he entered the studio, his eyes rested on the half covered shrine seated beneath his window. There his father smiled, but this time, it seemed the man in the picture shared his joy. Swallowing, Naruto made his way over to the shrine, pulling the blanket to reveal a little more of his father's portrait. For a brief moment, the usual rage he felt was colored with confusion.

"... How did…" he started to ask the portrait, only to shake his head and pull the blanket back a few more inches. He still couldn't control the grief that had begun to drown his momentary joy. Shutting the light back off, Naruto lay in his futon, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced briefly at the now darkened shrine, its candles long burnt out weeks ago. With a sigh, he turned his back to his smiling father, "... How did you and mom meet?" Naruto finally asked.

Once again, only silence answered him.