Putting Pen To Paper - Naegami Story

International Hope! Arc - 9

Dear Byakuya,

What kinds of things are bothering you? I know you said it isn't quite my business, but we're close! We're friends. We've been through life and death together. No matter what I will be there to listen to anything you have to say.

It's been two days since we arrived, and people are quite nice. Nicer than I expected. The hub we are at is gorgeous, with flowers and fountains and pretty buildings. It's refreshing, almost like a sense of normalcy is back. Normalcy, isn't that such a strange word? It's so flexible, it's so diverse in its meaning to everyone. I wonder when normalcy will start to encapsulate the world again, when we will settle back into comfortable lives. Or maybe this lingering disturbance will become the normal? It's complex, I wonder your thoughts on this. Anyway, the hub, they call it the Liberation Force here, has so many people at it, it's massive. Hina and I took a tour after our arrival, and we both need maps in order to properly get around. People are nice here as well, if not tired. My first meeting is later today, I am anxious. We are going to give a full report on the state of Japan, the state of the Future Foundation. I hope I don't mess this up. So many people here know my face, as well as Kyoko's. From the broadcast, and the news, the latter being extremely uncommon though.

Last night there was a buffet-when questioned about the amount of food seeming overly abundant, they made it clear that everyone around the hub is fed with it, people cycling through, one group at a time. As guests, we were the first group escorted to the large dining hall. And as they said, we saw many many people come by and grab food. I don't think there was a single plate that wasn't filled to the brim, a single person without a smile. Everyone here is so friendly, even Hori, who I've grown to know to be rather shy and reclusive, has begun to emerge from their shell! It is nice to see a smile on their face. We had cake, it was extremely good. Chocolate mousse. There was like a chocolate cake portion at the bottom, a chocolate mousse/pudding in the middle, vanilla on top, then a harder chocolate shell on the top of that. It was so delicious, the best thing I've ever tasted. Well, the best thing I've tasted in a long time. It seems like the kind of upper class dessert you would have eaten. I couldn't help but be reminded of you as I ate it, like thinking about whether you would like it. Does that sound appetizing? Other than the cake, I had chicken, fried chicken. It reminded me of KFC, like what I would get at Christmas time. I remember my mother calling ahead to reserve an order weeks before the actual holiday, it was so crazy. If you ever had KFC for a Christmas dinner (I doubt you have, you're above "commoner's food") I bet you wouldn't have to schedule so far ahead to wait in line. Because of how renowned you are, KFC privilege and all that. Speaking of Christmas, I don't recall us celebrating it last year! I think reinstating classic holidays (even the ones fueled by commercialism) can help bring back a sense of normalcy or comfort to people. We should celebrate together this year. What kind of gifts do you want? We can set up a tree and everything. I know the others wouldn't be opposed to the idea.

Tomorrow I have meetings scheduled, hearing about other countries, then later in the day we are going to visit where they are expanding the Liberation Force, and rebuilding places. From where I am, I can't see any destruction, so I'm left to wonder what it looks like. I hope I will be able to keep it together.

I hope this letter finds you well, Byakuya.

Yours, Makoto Naegi

(Quick a/n: Thank you so much for voting on this story, it makes me so happy to see people enjoying it! It means a lot to me :))