Defying Gravity

Chapter 54

Third person pov

The lights in the diner buzzed overhead quietly, creating an almost white noise that settled over Ethelia like a heavy fog. She felt tired and near heavy as she sat there, staring aimlessly at the menu. Team Minato was trying their best to act as normal as possible, but Ethelia could see how absolutely forced it was. Kakashi was the only one not attempting to fabricate a cheerful discussion, instead sitting back and grimacing at the pitiful sight of his teammates trying too hard. Ethelia could relate.

"I think the weather is going to be good this week! We should take some more outdoor missions." Rin chirped, glancing at Ethelia from the corner of her eye as though to check for any signs that she'd blow up. Ethelia stared blandly back. She could almost feel the bags under her eyes deepening. Had going out with the team always been this exhausting?

"Or we could just take it slow." Obito suggested in contrast, flipping through his menu thoughtfully. "No need to spook the horse on this one!"

"Did you just call Ethelia a horse?" Kakashi questioned, his nose scrunching up in both distaste and confusion. Obito froze. Rin did as well.

"I think he did." Ethelia responded dryly. Obito sputtered.

"That's not what I meant!" Obito cried out. "I just— Everything is a mess right now! It's my job to—"

He cut himself off a second time, clamping his mouth shut. Right, Ethelia's dad's letter. He didn't want to reveal what was in it if she wasn't ready. It had been addressed to him, and he wasn't confident it was something he should share. Especially not right now. Ethelia was in a fragile state. Anything could send her tumbling over the edge of the cliff she was teetering on. It was the last thing Obito wanted to happen. He wanted to see Ethelia live and thrive! Not fall down and not get back up.

"Calm down, everyone. We just need to take this a step at a time." Minato smiled. Ethelia rose an eyebrow at him. Seriously, how did he do that? He always looked happy. There was no way he wasn't feeling some shred of annoyance right now. Ethelia needed to learn how to mask herself like that. "At the first step is going to be to eat!"

"Oh, goody. I couldn't tell." Ethelia responded in a bland tone before dropping her gaze to her menu so she could actually pick something rather than just staring blankly. The idea of eating a full meal right now sounded disgusting. The mere idea made her nauseous. But alas, she had to eat eventually. She was no idiot. This was her body's response to grief. Just because she didn't feel like doing something didn't mean she didn't need to do it.

"The sarcasm isn't needed." Obito said, but he wasn't being serious. Ethelia could feel him testing the waters with the comment. Was she capable of joking around right now? Probably not, but it wasn't going to stop her from making a comeback nonetheless. In the midsts of a crisis or not, she would defend her sarcastic ways.

"It's never needed, Obito." Ethelia sighed, eyes scanning the menu. She could probably do something plain. Like a rice ball, maybe. Or just a bowl of it, perhaps? "You know what else isn't needed?"

They all stared at her. Even Kakashi seemed taken aback by her ability to form coherent sentences, let alone roasts. Ethelia didn't make the rules. She just existed. Which honestly, being alive right now was sort of ass. She missed her dad already. It was hard to think about the fact that she wouldn't ever be able to go home to him again. No more bantering about pudding, and no more late night dinners made out of the odds and ends they found in the fridge. He was just... gone.

"...What else isn't needed?" Rin asked after a moment when Ethelia didn't say anything else. Ethelia looked directly at Obito.

"Your opinion." She said to the Uchiha boy. Obito grinned.