Maya - a Naruto Fanfic

62. Maya Is Always Blushing

A/N: GUESS WHO GOT INTO UNIVERSITY THIS GIRL WOOOOOOOO!

Outside the bathhouse, I see Kaoru brushing leaves out from the entrance and into the street.

"Hi, Kaoru." I call tentatively. She looks up and smiles warmly at me, and the flush on my cheeks stops being from the cold.

"Hey, Maya. Feeling better?" She calls back, and my heart stops. Did Kasumi tell her?!

"Um..." I my panic, I can't speak, instead just staring wide-eyed at her.

"Ama said your arm was playing up. It's not sore anymore, right?" She clarifies, and my breath leaves me in a rush. Thank god.

"Uh, right, no, it's fine now, thanks." I laugh, feeling like the world has just fallen off my shoulders.

"Anyway, what brings you here so early?" Kaoru asks, and I jump at the reminder. How had I completely forgotten so quickly?

"Oh, your mum asked me to come see her. Is she up?"

"I'm not sure she even slept, but then I never am. She's in the office. Can you get there yourself?"

"Yeah." I pass her with a little wave and step inside the bathhouse. The office is to the left of the entrance, behind the front desk. I know Kasumi spends the bathhouse's opening hours there, doing most of the behind-the-scenes work, but I never realised she worked during the day as well.

"Kasumi-san?" I call as I knock gently on the door.

"Enter." I hear her faintly from within, and push open the door.

"Shouldn't you be taking this time off?" I ask.

"I need to make sure I didn't make any mistakes last night before I start filing. Take a seat, I'll be finished soon enough." She gestures to a small sofa tucked in the corner by the door, and I perch on the edge of it. It feels a lot like my grandmothers study, though the look is completely different.

Where my grandmother's study was perpetually dark, the only light filtering in through the shōji from the hall outside, Kasumi's office is brightly lit, made of lightwood instead of dark bamboo, and containing very little furniture. A single, small desk sits facing the door with a simple, low backed chair behind it, flanked on both sides by simple metal filing cabinets, both capped with neatly labelled books. On the desk is a paper tray, a writing set, a stack of blank paper, and a single photo frame. It's just what I'd expect from Kasumi; nothing unnecessary, with everything in its place.

Kasumi is completely focused on her work, traditional writing held delicately in long, slightly wrinkled features, etching every character onto the paper with short, precise strokes. It's amazing how she writes so small, despite using the brush. It's just another contrast to my grandmother, who always writes in large, sweeping strokes. Elegant, but unnecessary.

"Do you know how to write, Maya?" Kasumi asks, not looking up from the paper, and I jump so hard I almost fall off my seat.

"Um, only a little." I flush. My father always tried to teach me to write the Japanese alphabet, but my writing was always clumsy, and we only got a few characters in before he left.

"There is a chair in that cupboard, go get it and come sit with me." She instructs. I go to the cupboard set into the wall and find the fold-up chair tucked to the side, beside boxes of extra supplies. Like the rest of the room, the cupboard is in perfect order.

I place the chair on the end of her desk, in front of one of the cabinets, and wait as she continues writing on a sheet of paper. Then she places the paper, a pot of ink, and a brush in front of me.

"Each of these letters corresponds with a sound. I want you to copy them out with that brush until you can do them perfectly." She picks up the brush and takes me hand, wrapping my fingers around it and adjusting my grip until she's satisfied.

"Once you're finished," she continues, "call for me, and we will go over their sounds."

"Yes, Kasumi-san." I nod, and dip the tip of the brush into the ink. I can't help but peek up at her to check that I'm doing it right.

"Good." She says, and I grin.

A/N: I DIDN'T COMPLETELY FUCK UP MY LIFE HELL YEAH!!