White Eyes [ E D I T I N G ]

17 - New And Old Friends

Mori was still knitting the glove. Hinata stared at him slowly, studying his hands with her vague sight. It was hours since he started knitting, and Hinata wished it would stay, freeze this way forever, a moment to last eternally. For her life...To last, even for a little longer.

There are some people who think that 'If we live to die, them why are we alive? What's the point?' and now Hinata is starting to adapt that thought. Life...Is beautiful yet, filled with horrors, and...Has an end. A simple blink of an eye, a person who was still live, laughing and happy, disappears and becomes a lifeless and cold being. Some say, in death, there is true peace. True silence.

The world is cruel.

Hinata cleared her mind as she heard Mori stand up. Mori then gingerly returned the apparatuses to it's compartment and said:

"See ya later, Hyūga-san..."

• • •

All his life, Mori was used to sacrifices. For him to have money to pay for his mother's medications, despite being regularly paid as a shinobi,since the money was not enough for the expenses, he decided to work part-time at Ichiraku Ramen.

Seems weird? Nope. It's still a business establishment, no matter how small a business is, they still have jobs available. He was good at cooking too, so why drop the opportunity?

Pretty feminine, for a ninja.

He was still chūnin, and his affinity was still unknown. He wasn't able to train more because he focused more on his job to help his mother. That was also his reason why he became a medical ninja. It was too earn, and at the same time, help his mother.

He just returned from his shift when he opened his apartment door. His place was lonely, and he was sure that his mother was still on her room, unmoving. Surely, he would ask again what was his name, and ask him to embroider her old blanket with bunnies and flowers.

The doctor he consulted said that she has some memory problems, and her mind seemed to grow duller and duller everyday. She was still fifty-seven, but diseases never choose what age they strike.

He slowly opened the door of her chambers, meeting her lonely face.

"Mom...It's me," Mori whispered.

Her hair was plum-colored, though it used to be a vibrant purple shade, the color seemed to fade as she aged, and it was messily arranged. Her green eyes blinked rapidly as she tried to recognize her own child.

The wrinkles around her eyes became more visible as she smiled," Ori!"

Mori smiled gently,"Mom, it's Mori."

She just blinked, her smile still present.

"Ori!" She cooed again, making Mori smile once more.

Mori removed her hair tie and brushed it properly, disentangling the mess, giving off a bit of shine, then tied it to a simple lose ponytail. Although he hired a caretaker, it wasn't enough to give care and affection to his own mother.

Kotsuzumi Arisu seemed to be intrigued by her own hair color. She pouted as she asked,-"What's this color?"-as she played with the strands of her hair.

"Purple..."

"Furple!"

"It seems like your mother is slowly getting...senile," The doctor reported,"The neurons in her brain are damaged, and they are irreplaceable."