Naruto: Snow Cold

I sat there at the table, opposite my parents, with only two cards left. We were focused, staring at our respective piles of cards, a red five sitting on the table. That's right—apparently UNO was a thing here, though it had a different name. Mostly the same, though.

"I'm skipping," said my mother, picking up a card. She smirked when she saw what it was. Please don't tell me she got a +2, or worse... a +4.

"Hmmm... Heh, draw two!" My father said, placing a red +2 on the pile. I decided to play it safe and just take the cards. Who knows if they have more of these? Especially my mother.

I pulled out a yellow six and a wild card. Not great luck, but I had to make the best of it. The wild card could help me change the color later if I needed to.

It was my mother's turn once more, and she was clearly enjoying the game—just like the rest of us. She placed down a... Oh, fuck. +4. "I'm changing it to blue."

My dad was looking smug, and he set down a blue +2. I was always ready for this situation!

"+4! And I'm changing it to yellow!" He still had a sly smile, but that would soon change.

"Lucky me, I've got a yellow +2," said my mother, dropping the card onto the pile. My dad's expression quickly turned grim—hahaha! It really was like the anime I used to watch: the lines, the shadows, and everything! Poor guy had to draw twelve cards at once. He scooped them up, his face darkening with a grimace.

"...eight." He placed down a yellow 8. This is so funny. Anyway, my turn!

"I'm skipping you, ma!" I put down a yellow Skip card, and now I had only two cards left. A yellow six and a blue four.

Suddenly, a glint appeared in my dad's eyes. Don't tell me...! What is this guy planning?! Is he going to try and sabotage me when I have only one card left?

"Skip." He put down another Skip card, skipping me.

The match went on and on, and with sheer luck, my mother ultimately won.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" She stated. It was indeed entertaining, to be honest.

"Fun? You call eating twelve cards at once fun??" Dad uttered, slightly frustrated at losing. Yup, this is entertaining alright. 'It could've been more', I thought to myself as i snickered. Someone's a sore loser!

"How about we eat already? I went all out and prepared a feast just for today," my mama said with a warm smile. Eagerly, I replied,

"Hell yeah, I'm starving!" Jun was hungry as well.

"Me too, I'm famished," he said as he got up to help us set the table. Mama went to the kitchen counter, pulled out a lot of food from the oven, and opened up some containers. Holy crap... She really did go all out. I see beef stew, rice, tonkatsu with salad dressed in some kind of vinaigrette, karaage, tempura, and even sushi. She even used tuna for most of the sushi pieces... She really knows how to get through to me!

"What are you waiting for? Eat up!" she commented. Both Dad and I were practically drooling. Yup, I'm not holding back tonight!

"Thank you for the food," we said in unison before we dug in.

"Honey, this is delicious!" Jun exclaimed while chomping on a pork cutlet. I was just too busy eating and enjoying the different flavors. The beef and vegetables were so tender, and the gravy from the stew covered the rice perfectly! Salty and spicy. The karaage and tempura were so fluffy, tender, flavorful, and juicy! The sushi was very good as well; the tuna was quite fatty.

"By the way, I've also made some sweet treats," she added, before pulling out a few bamboo baskets. Damn, is that mochi? Dorayaki, anmitsu... Mama's a beast.

Chew, chew... Good lord, the matcha is so delightful. Smooth, chewy, and slightly bitter with some kind of cream filling inside. The dorayaki was soft, airy, and spongy with a sweet, thick, smooth red bean filling. To summarize, everything was amazing.

I was almost full. I'd eaten a little of everything, and it was exquisite. I would probably embody the sin of Gluttony quite nicely.

"Enjoying everything so far?" my mama smugly asked before getting up. No words were needed to express how much I'd enjoyed this.

I noticed her coming with a strawberry cake in hand, exactly five candles on it, all ablaze. Ohohoho, you know how much I love this flavor!

"Happy birthday, Amai," they both said in unison, and she smooched my forehead. "Go on, blow out the candles!" I blew, snuffing the flames out. We all got a slice for ourselves, and I scooped up a chunk to savor. Mmm... Yup, strawberry is the way to go. The cake itself was moist, tender, and fluffy, the cream sweet and somewhat heavy, but balanced by the fruit bits.

We soon finished eating, and it was time to open my presents. Hehehe, I'm so excited! Mama handed me a neatly wrapped gift, and I opened it. Huh? A note? It read, 'Your furry friend will come soon. I'm so proud of you!' What the hell?

An animal?

"That's right, you're getting a cat. You'll have to take good care of it, alright? We've already prepared everything for the little guy. Food, a litter box, scratching post, everything," she said, rubbing my cheek while smiling warmly at me.

My heart skipped a beat. A cat?! I mean, I've always wanted to cuddle with one, but isn't it too soon? Ah, whatever. I'm sure I can handle taking care of it. What should I name him once he's here...?

(A/N: Suggestions are welcome!)

"My turn. Here ya go, Amai," he said before handing me some kind of square cloth. What's this? I unwrapped it.

Oh, my God. This madman actually got me a tanto. I gripped its ivory handle, admiring the design of the leather scabbard. I unsheathed it and observed the blade. Goddamn, it's made of genuine metal! This man is a menace!

Surprisingly, my mother didn't bat an eye. Eh, I suppose it's normal?

"Y'like it? Hold onto your horses, because I'm not done yet," he said, placing some kind of bands onto my hands. What the heck?

"What's this?" I replied, genuinely curious about what it was. Judging by the symbols, I assumed it was some kind of seal.

"That's called a gravity seal. It'll increase the pressure on your body and help you while training. We had to save up quite a bit to get one!" he said, proud of himself. This is actually game-breaking. Imagine how strong I could get with this thing helping me!

"Thank you, Mom, Dad. I'm really grateful to both of you." I couldn't bring myself to say anything else and struggled to wrap my arms around both of them. I may have grown, but they're still somewhat tiny.

"No problem, dear. We love you," Mama answered, playing with my hair.

I love you guys, too.