"Mama?"

"Hmm?

"When did you first love Daddy?"

"Huh?" Karui blinked in surprise and turned to gaze at her young daughter, currently perched on the ground with a scroll unrolled in her hands. The little girl was staring up at her mother instead of the at-home assignment on her lap, the brightness of the sun shining in her light brown hair. At Karui's confusion, the girl spoke again, eyes intent.

"When did you first start loving Daddy?"

Bemused, Karui shook off her initial surprise with a soft chuckle, hands returning to the casual folding she was doing to the freshly-laundered clothes. The duo had been enjoying the arid afternoon for some hours now, the sun drawing closer and closer to the horizon and casting everything in a vibrant orange glow. With a little smile, Karui glanced down at her daughter as she folded.

"What brought this on?" She watched as the girl brought her knees up against her stomach and fiddled idly with her scroll.

"Well, when I was hanging out with Shikadai and Inojin today they were talking about how their parents fell in love. Inojin's story was kinda funny, and Shika's was...well..." Chouchou frowned with a little shrug, but Karui could tell that her daughter was already growing accustomed to the quirks of her future teammates. Almost spitting images of their parents. And having heard the story herself a few times, she knew just how plain and simple it had been. "But I've never asked about you guys, so I didn't know what to say..."

Brows high, Karui nodded as she thought on it. Chouchou was a curious girl, but the topic of her parent's relationship had never come up. She mostly asked about where Karui had been born, pegged her with questions until the family had taken a week long vacation to Kumogakure that ended up becoming a tradition of theirs. "You certainly haven't, my curious girl." She pivoted to set aside one folded shirt in exchange for another. As she straightened, she noticed her daughter was staring again.

"So?" She insisted, dropping the guise of schoolwork and leaving her scrolls in a mess at her side. "How did you meet?"

"Well," Karui lingered on the word, working on another shirt. "Actually, a big part in my meeting your father is thanks to Uncle Omoi." The more she drew on that tendril of memory, the more it unraveled. She managed a cringe as she added, "But don't tell him that. He's got a big enough head now that he's Raikage's right hand." Shaking her head, she reached for a pair of shorts to fold next.

"So what happened? When did you tell him that you loved him?" The question itself caused Karui's lips to twitch, eyes closing at the memory.

"Actually, it was your father who fell in love with me first." She chuckled, eyes opening slowly to catch a glimpse at the little girl staring at her. At her adorably wide-eyed stare of interest, Karui's heart melted. Prompting her to set aside the rest of the clothing in order to pat at her lap.

"C'mere. I'll tell you all about it, little butterfly." As Chouchou scrambled into place, resting her head comfortably on her mother's lap, Karui tipped her own back and let the faint breeze wash over them both. Tasting of warm, summer air and the faint scent of dinner cooking. Beef. Rice. Potatoes. And, if Karui wasn't mistaken, mayonnaise. Her lips curled with a fond smile as the memory lifted through her.

-end-