Author's Note:Oh lord this one took awhile. For a couple chapters things will be kept a bit shorter--I'm sorry for the long wait!
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= Naruto =
(Second Person)
It was a sunny day, no clouds, a gentle breeze. Perfect weather, here to spite you.
As Naruto approached, he at first assumed things were fine. Better than fine, really. Your stall was booming with customers, there were so many that all the seats were filled up and the street was lined with people waiting their turn. It was no wonder as to why either. The previous week flyers had been scattered around Konoha--buy one get one free! Your father had been wanting to gather more attention and this definitely did the trick, who could pass up such a deal?
Casually he strolled right up to the side of the stand to see you, but stopped dead in his tracks when he found that it was only you running the store.
"A...Azuki-chan?"
There was hardly a spare moment to greet your boyfriend. In front of you were numerous half-made orders and you were dexterously switching between tasks. With one hand you'd be filling up one order, with the other you were mixing dough and dropping orders into the deep fryer.
"Naruto!" You gasped, finally catching a moment to look his way and gesture him over. He noticed instantly how stressed out you were. Your eyes were pin pointed and shaking, normally cool under pressure but at the moment you were drenched in a cold sweat and you hair was sticking to your face.
"What's happening? Where's Mr Taiyaki?" He wanted to do something to help, but Naruto was clueless in a kitchen and didn't want to get in your way as you dashed to and fro between stations.
The words hitched in your throat, you choked them out with tears threatening to spill from your eyes, "T--The hospital"
What Naruto didn't know, was that not long after scattering the sale flyers, your father caught what was first assumed to be a cold. He was clocked out for a couple days and confined to bed rest (by you, of course). Both of you were hoping that he'd recover fast and be back in fit condition to handle the day of the sale with you.
You were so confident that he'd be able to get over it that you had gone out and bought the extra supplies needed for the expected crowd. At that point there wasn't much turning back, if you did the business would be out a lot of money when they went bad. So rain or shine, the store had to be open that day.
But...your dad didn't get better, instead he got much much worse. The cold gradually increased to a fever--110 degrees--and he became unresponsive. Last night you hurried him into urgent care where he was admitted right away.
And here you were. Running the stand alone. In tears. The increased workload was fine, but your mind couldn't focus. Your last remaining family, the only one left keeping you afloat. Would he be alright?
