[ON HIATUS] Player #003 | Naruto

>10<

You chose to either <Stand There And Cry> or <Ask For Help>

<Uh-oh! Kaiza-oji-san is dead! You have passed out from the display of blood and gore.>

Your head hurts. A lot. Where are you? You're lying down, on something soft. A blanket, at least you think it's a blanket, is covering you.

You're in bed. How did you get there? You went to the market to get more butter, and then. . .

Oh.

Oh. 

Kaiza-oji-san. . . is dead?

You open your eyes slowly, staring at the smooth ceiling above you. You recognize it - it's the one in the apartment behind the bakery. This is your room, and you're lying in your own bed.

You blink twice before slowly sitting up, wincing at a sudden jolt of pain in your head. Sunlight is filtering through the curtains.

It's morning.

Was it all a dream?

You hope it was.

You get out of bed at the same pace as a slug, noting that you're in you pajamas. Not bothering to change, you ooze down the stairs, observing the absence of sound downstairs.

Entering the small kitchen that also doubles as a dining room, you see your parents sitting opposite each other at the small, round table. Your kaa-chan is drinking a steaming cup of what you guess to be tea, and your tou-san is reading a newspaper. They both look up when you enter, giving you strained smiles.

"Good morning, musume," your tou-san greets.

"G'morning," you mumble, rubbing your eyes. Your poofy orange hair gets in your way, and you squint, brushing it back. "What's for breakfast?"

". . . Red bean anpan," your kaa-chan replies. You nod, shuffling to your seat.

"Hrrr. . ." You stretch, letting out a sigh as your back pops nicely. Your kaa-chan gets up, going to the kitchen counter before pulling out a tray of freshly-made anpan from the much-smaller-than-the-bakery oven. You smile happily as the smell reaches your nose; it smells heavenly.

You're wide awake by the time you finish your third anpan bun. Licking the remaining paste off your fingers, you grab a few pieces of standard-issue bakery tissue paper and wrap another four anpan buns in them. Your kaa-chan and tou-san have been oddly silent, but you pay no mind to it. You go upstairs to change into a white shirt and dark blue skirt before running back down, gathering up the buns in your arms. You move to go to the bakery and pick up a basket, but your tou-san stops you.

"Musume. . . where are you going?"

"Hmm? I'm going to Inari's. I think he likes anpan. I brought some for Tsunami-oba-chan, Tazuna-ojii-san, and Kaiza-oji-san, too."

A flash of pain enters his eyes. "Is that why you have four buns?" You nod enthusiastically.

He takes a deep breath. "Sachiko. . . come over here for a second." He leads you back to the table, gently taking the bread out of your arms before holding your hands with his own.

You knew the moment he said your name without a suffix, that this was serious.

You knew what this was already, but you didn't want to believe it.

"Sachiko. . . I'm very sorry, but. . ." He inhales through his nose and meets your eyes. You want to block your ears, but you can't because you're holding his hands.

". . . Kaiza is dead."

You begin shaking, eyes wide before you manage to shake your head. "No, tou-san. It was just a nightmare! K-Kaiza-oji-san is perfectly fine. Y-You'll see!"