"What is this?" She asked, but scanned the book anyway. "Two-Faced Queen?"
I went closer to her and looked at the pages as she flipped it page to page. "That's her favorite book. For some unknown reason, she gave it to me as a keepsake."
I took her with me and look for places that I think I haven't explored yet inside our home.
I don't feel like going outside, I don't even had an idea which place we should hang out again.
If it's about writing a school article, I don't have the inspiration to do it. Let's just say, I have a writer's block.
She invited me out that I can't refuse, and she also don't have any plans on which place to go. That's how I suggested to say at home, she responded that it was a good idea.
I had to say, I also don't have any idea on what we'll do if we stayed indoors. So for starters, I took her in every room, introducing every stuff animals I own also the things at home with a sentimental value.
And that is how we got in here, the things I keep in hiding just right inside where grandpa's belongings are kept.
"Her? You mean your childhood friend who looked like me?" She asked, closing the book and went to read the prologue of the story. "I understand why she liked it, but for a child to like a novel? I thought children prefers to read a book with lots of pictures in it."
"Wow, you know a lot about children."
"Not really, you know me," she says, skimming through the pages. "I'm trying to understand every individuals, especially their interest. Who knows what benefit it could give."
And you know? How that sounds wrong? (￢_￢)
"Can you leave that mind of yours that only thinks business?"
"My whole brain only contained that kind of mindset, so how can I leave it be?"
"Instead of studying psychology, I suggest you to go see a psychiatrist immediately." I wanted to say that, but I don't want to be so rude. (─ ─ )
A piece of paper fluttered off the book that she picked it up and read it.
"Perfume," she read.
"Oh, that? It was supposed to be her topic in an article, but she discarded it. That I guessed, it will be controversial biography that can cause possible conflict, that's why she dropped it," I explained.
If my mind serves me right, Miki wanted to write an article about the girl she met back when we were tasked by the school to interview the examiners of the chunin exam.
Perfume: A Chalice of Memories
Well, you know? Nothing is more memorable than the smell.
She also had an option of bottle of memories instead of chalice. But she choose chalice, because it was something a person used to drink. Not just a person, but important person.
And if a person drinks a perfume, it'll get poisoned.
Feel free to applaud her creativity. (￣ ￣ ٥)
Don't ask me if I knew what she wrote, I haven't read it myself, but she had told me about it.
Again, it was about the girl she met on the chunin exam, who has a sad past. She and her mom has nowhere to go, and on the village where they resides. The villagers took advantage of them and used them as a medical base at war because of their unique ability as their payment for letting them live in their village. Her mother died, because of exhaustion by pouring her chakra nonstop and possibly that their unique prowess will also affects their life force. And because her mother died, she was the one who was used as an exchange.
Miki wasn't very detailed at telling this story, which is very not like her. And her reason of dropping this perfume, made it more confusing, considering she was excited about it.
First, it had turned out that it doesn't fit as an article, but a life story and be published as a short story novel.
Second, and the most probability of her reason of dropping that, she wasn't open for a lot of detail, actually she had told me that story and asked for advice from me.
"What does make people think that they own someone's fate and it's for them to decide if they live or die? Even toys had values in them, but a living being treated careless than things? Just why?"
That's a question that I can't put up an exact answer. I can't just straightforwardly tell her that, "some people are cunning and some combine it with being manipulative, and worst some adds it with the absence of remorse," right?
Humans are diverse beings, it all depends on how they develop their morals which will eventually open a lot of path ways to their future and develop their own unique well-being.
It was the mindset that will always exist in each individual that makes us all different.
"Honestly, I also don't understand other people sometimes," that is how I answered her back then that I got a response that I am not giving any help at all.
It's kind of annoying, that she didn't tried to think of my side, like if I had actually said what's on my mind and I'm just being so kind.
Oh wait, she'll probably react the same action.
I think, there is more than what she have said in the story and just mentioned to me a few details, that made her not to put it in public. I can say I'm lucky to get a prologue.
So I didn't dared to read her notes about perfume as a respect to her.
"Well, crimes like this isn't solved by just a click in the finger. Not when their government doesn't have a leader with good governance," she says then folding back the paper and put it back pinning in between the pages of the book. "Interesting details though."
"What? You're planning to make a novel about that girl?"
"Well, not really. It just gave me an idea that will help me someday," she replied, picking up another thing in the box that I think it's a photo book. I had no time to think of that.
My brain was busy trying to get a detail how the story will help her in the future. I would understand if she ever thought of writing a story, using perfume's biography. Make it longer, expand it in chapters, and sell that hundreds of pages bonded together to create a book.
Other than that, I can't seem to come up with anything that would help her in the future.
"Okay, moving on," she put the book back on the box then stirs her hand inside the box to fish something out that is interesting to her by using her sense of touch.
"You shouldn't see that," I said, but I also didn't tried to stop her.
I'm a bit shy, it's a picture book from childhood. Who's this someone who wouldn't feel shy to let anyone see your baby picture? I wanted to know how thick your skin is. (Ò﹏Ó )
But the reason why I'm allowing it, was because Miki was been part of my childhood memories.
"Hn," she hummed as she stare intently on a certain photograph. She even pulled away and also put the album near her face as if she was trying to adjust her eye vision. "This one was supposed to be me?"
She doesn't sound excited though, which I understand. Nobody wanted to see someone looked exactly like yourself.
We, I, Moegi and Udon, had already been open with her regarding about Miki like how similar they are in appearance that we mistook her with our late friend.
"Not gonna lie, this is quite shocking."
"But what's with that look in your face? You doesn't looked surprised to me, you looked disgusted."
"Take a good look," she says and points the picture. "Do I look like that as a baby?"
Oh, so she said it for sarcastic purposes. (─ ─ ")
"How'd you even know that's Miki?"
"Are you blind?" She asked, pushing the album near my face. "Her name was sewn on her bib."
Miki written in in kanji with these letters 美貴. That gave a meaning beautiful and noble.
"You guys said that she is a daughter of a jounin named Kakashi Hatake, but why is she here with you in most of the pictures? Wait, is that really you?"
"Oh, that?"
Grandpa may had told Miki a bit about herself that she didn't know about, but that was just a tiny information.
It was so small and yet, it had made her cry for days. Not just days, her sadness lasted more than a week.
All he tears was all because she learned the truth that Kakashi isn't her biological father.
It was also the same reason how she went to live with us for a meantime. Was because of that photo book.
There's a vague memory inside my head, seeing a baby on the crib. My crib. The crib was mine, but someone was using it instead of me as grandpa was looking over her.
That's how vague it is that I believed I had a little sister.
If it was a little sister, then why I didn't grew up with her on my side? So I also went to conclusion that it was an imaginary friend that my head created.
But when I see those pictures in the album, it doesn't connects to the thought that it was an imagination of mine.
There is one way to know, ask grandpa.
Grandpa said that she had lost both of her parents and he can't just turn a blind eye to her since she was also someone he needs to protect.
She had lived with us like a year, before grandpa decided to assign someone to take her in as a guardian.
That's how Kakashi-sensei gets in to her family picture.
Grandpa says he had other plans with her, and didn't said anything further.
Let's just say that I'm a bit heartbroken from knowing that.
"And this girl spelled her name a little different from the baby's bib."
It was a picture of Miki, holding a paper with her name written in big bold letters with the next other students lined below, 美希.
Maybe that is how Kakashi taught her to write her name. Instead of having a meaning of beautiful and noble, it became beautiful hope.
はたけ美希
It was still read as Miki, and she's the only Miki Hatake around anyway. I don't really think that's a big deal.
I highly doubt Miki will also make a fuss about it. Knowing her, as long as she was complimented about how she looks, it's okay. She asked about her name means to grandpa before, and her head became more bigger.
She says that even her name calls her beautiful, missing the real sense to her beautiful name. (￢_￢)
It was taken when the academy was taking down from the school's announcement board where the posted the list of students by rank. She asked if she can borrow it for a day that the school teachers lets her.
She highlighted her name who was, well.....rank one. And took a picture with herself holding that out to the nearest photography studio and photographer available that day.
She only did that effort to remind her that her rank was the fruit of her blood, sweat and tears. (￢_￢)
But I think, the reason was because of Sasuke.
Maybe his teaching really meant a lot to her that she wanted to preserve it to remind her of those days into a photograph.
Maybe that's how important Sasuke is to her.
She gave me a copy, which she didn't even asked if I want it. (￢_￢)
"But I must say, I do look like her when I had a long hair."
"You had a long hair style before?" I asked, but not really interested.
"Kind of. I got rid of my long hair and maintaining it short, because I can't manage to even comb my hair."
"That's an extreme level of laziness."
I lost interest talking to her that I decided to organize the things back to where it should be.
Dropping "yeah," "I guess," or "maybe," in whatever she says.
And do I need to mention that I kind of regret taking her here? All she did was drop a mean comment. (─ ─ )
But for some reason, I could feel that she was a bit serious.
But still, what's the point if she had learned this and that about Miki?
Everyone had already accepted her passing, no matter how it was impossible that she had harmed herself.
Even the ANBU black ops who believed on Miki that she can't do that to herself, had already gave up on their quest on investigating it.
There is no evidence of foul play.
I just felt bad for not trying enough and reach my hand out to her.
I often blame myself on how didn't I noticed that she was her true hell from a mask of a smiling face as a shell.
How can't I? I'm the only one who's always been with her, just right by her side, and I didn't noticed that she wanted to be saved whenever she says that she's fine.
"You know, I highly doubt that she's dead."
Those were the words I long to hear through those times.
"Isn't being forgotten and being dead are one and the same?"
I lazily turned my eyes on her.
The way she said it, the way she was acting, doesn't seem to get along to what she says.
Her face is blank, the look on her eyes are empty.
But when she smiles after she took a deep breath. "That's where art comes right after, to preserve it for posterity."
"That is outright creepy," I commented. "It may be the most unnecessary trivia, Miki likes to pull pranks." I informed. "If I had heard what you said in my lows because of her, it might have been a big push for me to move forward," I added, because I feel like saying it.
I don't know what she meant by that, but also don't want to think that there was a hidden meaning to that.
She's now talking like a real two-faced person like in the story.(￢_￢)
"How's Hiro?" I asked, changing the subject as I continued on taking back the things we scattered back to its place that she had joined me to which I think she's already bored from the things I tried to share it with her. "And also the other one," I added.
"You must be talking about Kyousuke? They're both fine, I guess," she answered. But judging on how she speaks, she doesn't want to talk about them.
I briefly shook my head to clear my thoughts.
Why am I thinking so negatively today?
Probably there's nothing wrong, except for the thoughts that I had.
I'm not even bored at one bit, but I don't know about her though.
"Konohamaru-san."
"Yeah?"
Wait. (↼_↼)
Konohamaru.....san? (¯ ¯٥)
That was me, right? σ(￣、￣〃)
That was weird of her to call me by that honorific.
"I suddenly don't feel well, I," she stood up and walked to the door of the room.
"Are you alright?" I asked and followed her, "Come on, I'll walk you home. Or you wanted to go to a clinic to check instead?"
She turned around to face me and held her hand up to put me into a halt, "Thank you, but I can manage."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," she replied, putting up a smile that made me more suspicious.
She obviously doesn't feel sick, she doesn't even look sick.
Is there something I did wrong?
"Thank you for today, I enjoyed it," she says before she had to turn her back and walked away to find the door of the house.
I didn't said anything and just followed her to the door.
"Yumi, I want to say something." She stopped in her way of finally leaving that had hinted me that she'll listen to what I'll say. "I just want you to know that if you want a talk, I'll be listening."
I don't want to assume things, but I also don't want to regret it later that which no one that I could blame about it but myself.
I just want to avoid the possibility of history will repeat itself.
"I'll keep that in mind," she says and left.
And all that's left was for me to watch her back as she walks away.
Itachi, how is he?
It's been a long time that I haven't seen him. Honestly, the first time we met was also the last time we met over the years that I was living outside the leaf village. Like kidnapping a cat from its home for fun and lost it in the woods after losing interest on it.
I don't know what are his purpose for taking me with him then left me right after, but I somehow don't regret allowing him to take me.
If he didn't take me out, maybe I'm more different from the person I am today. But this version of me, which was molded by desperate living, I already accepted it and I live it.
Although, our interaction was short, I somehow liked to see him right now. Is it weird for me to miss a person who was a stranger to me?
I'll be able to go in and out of the village soon. Maybe I could get to see him and say "hi" to him.
"Hi!"
Hmm?
Oh, It's Kakashi. (-__-)
I do remember him just like Sasuke. But I don't really remember why though, just like Sasuke too.
But I do know him because he's a jounin that constantly goes to missions that personally asked by the hokage.
And judging by his looks today, tired and carrying a big baggage on his back, he just came back from a mission outside the village.
"Hi to you too," I said in return.
"Why looked so glum? Is something that happened?"
Did I really liked like that?
"Tired, I guess? I just needed a cup of tea to recharge," I answered.
I don't know how to respond to his question. I'll just put all my faith on the power of the cup of tea.
"I think I've been keeping a chamomile back of the cup board. You can stop by to take a sip if you want to."
I wanted to pull a joke like how I used to interact with others, but I just fell silent and didn't said a thing. But he didn't let the silence to be awkward than it is.
"I had bought taiyaki."
"Sorry for inviting myself, Kakashi," I said, as the respectful person as I am.
I was here, because I was bribed with a taiyaki, alright? It's free that it was so hard to say no!
"No biggie," he says as he was removing his ninja sandals and kept it in the side neatly with my shameless sandals too.
"You already know that I'm shameless, Kakashi. So, I guess you won't mind if I'll go overboard," I said, turning to my side, getting ready to go and I just wait for his signal for go.
"Yeah, go ahead," he replied as he was slipping his feet to his slippers. "I'll just call you when I already brew the tea."
If I were him, I don't want to be rude, but I don't think I could hide that I was hesitating to say, "go ahead," when a visitor would ask to go around my house unsupervised.
I would let them show around the house, but as much as possible, they should only stay at the living room.
I didn't expect this kind of hospitality from him.
I left him and stroll inside his house like I had said to do. It wasn't a big house, it was enough for a small family to live.
But none of it gives me a sense of attachment.
I had been wondering how will I get an access to his home before, but I can't bring myself to ask if I can come and visit to his house. Like, what's my purpose? Even at this point, we're not even close. His invitation today was just my luck. And the reason why I wanted to see his house was to try to confirm something from myself.
But everything was seemed to be ordinary.
My eyes laid its sight to the a two feet tall cat in a black dress and a red bow on its ear.
Somehow, my head tilts on the side as a question mark pops out of my head.
Nothing was weird to the cat, it was cute to be quite honest.
But what makes me confused was, it was like that posable cat figure was trying to call me.
But instead of Yumi, it's calling for Miki. (─ ─ ")
For a nonliving thing, she sure was good at insulting. It's working on me. (°ㅂ°╬)
I waved my hand at the side of my head to erase those thoughts in my head. I was crazy, no need to tell me. I was not even in a genjutsu. My brain practically did that to pull a prank on me.
So I stepped in and went to that cat, sitting on top of the small table at the corner of the room.
According to what my head told me to open the bag that the big white cat dressed in black was made to carry a bag. There was a bag, but it was also a black cat that I was already getting irritated for these lots of cats.
On a red collar on its neck, there was a name written in katakana, engraved to it by a poorly sewn white thread.
ハタケ ミキ
Hatake Miki.
Miki must have sewn it on her own.
Underneath the collar, there's a zipper.
I looked for the zipper and it was found on its neck that I began to like the black cat bag. Imagine opening the zipper on it's neck, the cat looked decapitated. (〃＾▽＾〃)
That was a good joke, please laugh.
I shoved my hand inside and tried to look for whatever I can get. It was empty that I almost blame my instincts for making me do something crazy, but when I pulled my hand out, there was a piece of paper had decided to show itself to me.
Nothing special, it's just numbers.
Staring at it already gave me head aches. (×﹏×)
Maybe these are secret codes?
But Miki died when she was five years old.
I shrugged, I can do the same, so why would I bother underestimating her.
A lot had been claiming that I look like her─all that's left is for Kakashi to claim me as her long lost adopted daughter.
He doesn't seem to care a lot. It was like, I'm just an another person to him.
The reason why I wanted to get access to him, was because he had a big role to Miki, and this is practically a nest to get evidences.─are we now clear?
I had my reasons, don't try to get in my way.
I raised the paper in the air, turning in any angles to check if I can get clues while I do it as I read the numbers written on the paper.
0537 39 020214 0236(10")! 03103138!
If I put them into an alphabet, It will give me an answer by およ, り, いいせ, いゆ(こ"). うこまよ!
Oyo, Ri, Iise, Iyuko" Ukomayo!
That doesn't make any sense. (─ ─ ")
I can't make out anything with that even if I jumbled it.
I don't know why I'm wasting my time figuring this out, but it got my interest, that's why. And I can feel that this is all that I need to figure it out and to confirm my suspicion.
So again, go back to business.
Numbers then letters.
It's just a letter. What are the letters?
The letters are, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.
Now I know my ABC. Sing with me ^_^
Just kidding, our alphabet isn't like that.
We had a total of forty six syllables, and that are just the numbers of the basic syllables. I haven't included the additional syllables yet.
So, here it goes.
Let me introduce to you, our katakana. ( ' ∀ ')ノ
あ(A)-01
い(I)-02
う(U)-03
え(E)-04
お(O)-05
か(Ka)-01
き(Ki)-02
く(Ku)-03
け(Ke)-04
こ(Ko)-05
さ(Sa)-06
し(shi)-07
す(Su)-08
せ(Se)-09
そ(So)-10
た(Ta)-11
ち(Chi)-12
つ(Tsu)-13
て(Te)-14
と(To)-15
な(Na)-16
に(Ni)-17
ぬ(Nu)-18
ね(Ne)-19
の(No)-20
は(Ha)-21
ひ(Hi)-22
ふ(Fun)-23
へ(He)-24
ほ(Ho)-25
ま(Ma)-26
み(Mi)-27
む(Mu)-28
め(Me)-29
も(Mo)-30
や(Ya)-31
ゆ(Yu)-32
よ(Yo)-33
ら(Ra)-34
り(Ri)-35
る(Ru)-36
れ(Re)-37
ろ(Ro)-38
わ(Wa)-39
を(Wo)-40
ん(N)-41
I flashed the paper again in front of my eyes.
0537 39 020214 0236(10") ! 03103138!
Then I wrote the possible letters that matched on the numbers in the air.
(05) お - こ
(37) れ
(39) わ
(02) い - き
(02) い - き
(14) て
(02) い - き
(36) る
(10) そ─ oh, I get it now where that apostrophe was. (10") ぞ
(03)- う- く
(10)- そ
(31)- や
(38)- ろ
That's our Katakana, folks!
We also had hiragana, but if I had to introduce them to you too, it'll take us long to unlock these numbers. Don't worry, it wasn't so different. The only difference between them is the writing style and what it was used, katakana are for foreign words while hiragana represents the native language, but the syllables and the words could make out to it was still the same.
I understand what you wanted to say, I want katakana, so let me be. (▼へ▼メ)
But who knows, maybe she used foreign words out of it. It's numbers in the first place.
You can never tell.
But like I said, it's still the same! (▼□▼メ)
In my mind, it's like I had written it in the black board with the chalk. It still stays as how I had wrote it .
Which I get a result of, おこれ わ いきいきて いきるぞ! うくそやろ!
It was already coming out as a complete sentence, but it was like a words of a child. It kind of make sense, but it was very out of the world. Except for the second sentence though, it was baby talk, but it could clearly make a curse word out of it.
おこれ わ that roughly translate to, "this is," and the next few syllables doesn't make any sense. This is lively live? Fool! Seriously?
Maybe these are just numbers? Or maybe because it was a child who did it?
It's impossible for a kid to make complicated codes!
A voice just whispered in my mind, "Miki was probably a genius that she's the only one who could understand that human language."
Yeah, right. (￢_￢)
If this is a competition, I had created my own sets of codes that only me who could read it and I haven't meet anyone yet who had tried to make out a word for it.
She still lost on this competition. (￣～￣ )
"Yumi?"
Maybe he brew us the tea already.
"I'll be right there," I responded. I put that paper back to the cat and went to where we supposed to have a tea.
There it is, I can see it.
Taiyaki. \(≧▽≦)/
I turned to look at him, "took you long enough," I said in an impatient way. "Brewing tea only take five minutes," I said to sounded more impatient. You know? Add flame to the spilled gas perhaps?
Do you know? That I'm natural this evil?
I don't know why do I feel like it's okay to act disrespectful to him in a "friendly" way. Yeah, there was two kinds of disrespect, alright? But to think to do it to the fifth hokage, she'll probably kill me.
She doesn't look like she takes jokes. o(>ω<)o
It's not a good way to take suicide.
"I must say, you prepared extravagantly," I added, well to take everything back. I told you, this is the kind of friendly disrespect.
"Well, have a seat and suit yourself," he says, with his visible eye closed to show he's smiling.
I had my mind off again and became more shamelessly and picked one of the taiyaki on the plate with a paper.
It's something can make me feel special, it's this taiyaki. ( ' ▽ ' ).｡ｏ♡
Taiyaki is a fish-shaped bun with a red-bean paste made from azuki beans filling inside.
Sometimes the fillings they use were cheese, custard, sweet potato and sometimes they ad chocolate to their menu, but the red-bean paste was the most commonly used.
"Oishi~," I muttered as I was chewing my first bite as the creamy cheese melts on o my mouth. *:.｡.*( ' ω ' )*.｡.:*
It's not really my favorite food, I just find this pastry cute. That alone makes me happy.
"Aren't you gonna eat?" I asked for he was just sitting across me, reading a book.
Judging from the cover, it looked like some kind of romance novel.
"Maybe later," he answered flatly, flipping the page.
Is that really a good book?
Or maybe I had said too much lately, he got really offended that he doesn't want to talk to me anymore.
I just wanted to befriend him, and that is how I know to interact to someone to be friendly. (╯_╰)
Well, to my unpleasant personality, way to ruin a good friendship to be.
"She must be somewhere," I uttered before taking a sip on my tea.
"Huh?"
"Nothing," I said, finishing the taiyaki in my hand.
I figured out what the message she had passed under the disguise of numbers.
The first three pairs of numbers that leave these syllables, おこれ into 俺. It doesn't changed they syllables, but it changed the meaning to it.
俺は生きているぞ！この野郎 !
Ore wa ikite iruzo! Bakayarou!
It's a bit informal, but this is what she wanted to say on that possibly last prank she can pull.
I'm alive! You fools!