Mail. What was the point? If you wanted to talk to somebody you could just go a skip and a hop across town and talk to them. Yet again however it seemed that Noriko failed to understand the importance of mail and how it can be used to efficiently deliver information to a mass quantity of people, or even better: deliver messages to people you really don't want to talk to. That said Noriko and Nozomi had once again been given a rather simple task. They were to deliver a lavender-scented letter across town to a young lady by the name of Mako. The scent of the letter reeked of artificial nature and was almost knocking Nozomi out by smell alone. But the toad sage didn't care to know what information such a letter could contain, just that she wanted it across town as quick as possible to spare passers the horrid stench of fake flowers.
She would have put the letter under her hat for safe keeping and not just to block the smell as they walked, it was common practice for her to keep things under her hat. Canteens, important scrolls, letters weren't that much different! Just stick it under the hat and go... though they would definitely wanna jump in the koi pond to smell like fish rather than this weird mix of chemical and nature. Her eyes would glance over to Nozomi as they walked, neither of them were really made for small talk... yet the ramen stand owner said that small talk was a great way to bridge a grand divide between two people so why not give it a go, "So you ever send one of these letters?
Nozomi blinked, staring at her sister's hat for a long agonizing second before turning away.
"No. I didn't write any letters."
She walked up ahead, strolling through the town as her eyes wandered towards any other body of water. People wrote letters to Noriko....but of course there was no address at the moment. So instead, it was all kept in a box; a small ornate box kept underneath the futons in the guest bedroom. Nozomi decided that it was probably best to burn them all as soon as she got back home. "Your hat....why does it exist?" Ah...she said it. Malicious intent was far far away from the girl's lip, but the cruelty of the statement remained. Regardless it was weird right? Were those eyes moving? Why was it even on her head? Nozomi shook her head, deciding that obviously that statement was going too far. She turned back around and stared at Noriko.
Noriko would throw her hands behind her head as they walked in an all too lackadaisical manner, she was a bit surprised that somebody like Nozomi who didn't ever leave the house wouldn't at least try to communicate with people via mail... after all people like to talk don't they? It seemed they were both reclusive water creatures in their own rights. But luckily the topic fell onto something that the toad sage was more than happy to spill the beans about. There were few things in this world that she loved more than her hat. It was so cool and it was made for her personally by the great toad sage! Of course she couldn't hide her joy as her eyes immediately lit up, painting her usually serene face with a form of childish excitement, "Isn't it cool?? One of the toad's back home made it for me personally!! It's my most treasured possession." All the while she peaked the eyes would travel up and down the road, almost as if they were bouncing around in a glass bottle with each step.
Nozomi stared intently into the hat's eyes, as though trying to read the mind of this seemingly inanimate object before turning away again and staring at Noriko instead. The flower on the hat was probably fine. But where in the world did the toads manage to find such terrifying eyes to put on a hat? The fish keeper furrowed her brow, tilting her head from side to side before carefully patting Noriko on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. Your really special hat that you love a lot looks really dumb and it stands out a lot."
THAT'S NOT AN APOLOGY!!!
But there really was no saving the opinion on the hat at this point...it will forever be something completely forfeit to the ends of time as a terrible fashion statement and even worse stealth option. It wasn't even hydrodynamic! How do you swim in something like that??
Wait. Dumb? Her hat didn't look dumb! It had a pretty flower, and it had those cool googly eyes that made it look like it was watching her foes intently. Who were her foes? Why did they need constant watching? And why did the toads collectively decide that sticking googly eyes on a hat was a good cosmetic decision. Who was to know the workings of the mind of an omniscient being, maybe he thought it'd be a good fashion decision in ten thousand years or maybe he thought it'd be a good way for the two of them to open up, either way she has had this hat for ten years and doesn't get it, "Wait!! What part of it looks dumb? I thought the googly eyes were cool!! Its like the hat is alive and keeping the eyes on the road for me!! And look at the really pretty flower? And if you look close it looks like I'm wearing two hats at once. What's cooler than that??" This letter deliver was going faster and faster as they walked, the person they're supposed to deliver it to was within earshot and here they were discussing the logistics of Noriko's really cool and not dumb hat.
"The googly eyes doesn't make sense and wearing two hats at once overall makes it even worse. Flowers are also...not practical."
The hypocrite continued despite the fact she was wearing a flower in her hair as they spoke. No one could stop the whirlwind of emotions that were being flung through Nozomi's monotone way of speaking and Noriko endless confusion about her sister's words. The letter? It had long been forgotten as well as the terrible overpowering lavender stench that lingered in the air around it. Not even that could distract from the real issues about the hat though...after all, it was egregious in more than one way.
"The fact the hat is staring at you...makes it a hundred times worse. I never know if I'm supposed to look at your hat when you talk or your face."
Noriko didn't seem upset at all she just seemed very confused! All her life the toads told her how cool the hat was, even the youngest and most in the know toads agreed that the hat was pretty cool. The way it looked around could easily ward off predators that thought she wasn't paying attention, the snakes wouldn't know what to do to compete with her level of style. Yet here her sister was telling her how stupid the hat was! Clearly she just didn't understand the hat, "Maybe you aren't looking at it right! Its a dynamic hat that shows the predators above you that you're watching them!! You know how butterflies do that? Its like that but with toad logic instead. If you think about it that way the hat definitely seem one hundred times cooler." She'd nod affirmingly, the thick lavender scent being lost amongst this very important conversation.
A young girl would approach the two of them, lead by the thick lavender stench to know that it was probably her letter, "H... hey! You two seem to be having a very important discussion... but I think you have something that belongs to me..." Noriko would blink up at the much taller girl before taking the letter out of her hat, "Oh yeah!! I completely forgot we were supposed to deliver this to you... why would someone make a letter with such a horrid stench?" The girl would blush rubbing the back of her head, "Well..." She'd look reluctant to talk about it.
"You...should consider a different scent. This one was really strong."
And then suddenly the agro shifted to a new target....please save yourself before it's too late!
"It can...harm others physically in many ways. I would try and find unscented paper next time." Regardless of the fact if Nozomi understood that someone else wrote the letter to this person was beyond knowing. In fact, if anything could have put two and two together, the fish keeper probably had no idea that either or was a possibility. She looked at Noriko, then her hat, and then back at the girl, staring deep at all of them before finally turning around and beginning to make her way back to the fish pond. At this point, Noriko would know where she was going, but it could only be seen as a truly rude sight to anyone looking in on their situation.
The girl would only slowly begin to back away as the criticisms began being aimed at her, this was definitely a mail delivery to remember. Yet it would not be an unsuccessful one as she could only nod in response. How could this fragrance harm someone physically? Why was it laced in such a heavy perfume? Perhaps the world knew that the two sisters could not get the letter to her without the handicap of having the spell be so strong that someone couldn't miss it if they tried. Luckily Noriko's hat would be spared any more indignation as they began marching home, and as the scent of lavender faded in the air Noriko would lean towards her sister, "Nozomi have you ever considered not smelling like Koi Fish?" What a blunt thing to say... but maybe that was the truest showing of how close they had gotten over the week, they were being real sisters at this rate.
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