Chapter Text
Nao smiles as she holds the bite-sized children in the palm of her hand, perfectly capturing the childlike beauty of a time long gone. A time simpler, where all we would do is eat ice cream and frolic in the fields with hardly a care in the world. Why were Gin and Kanna small, you ask? Why, do you need an answer? Take the adorable!
Nao sets the two down on a desk table, next to a small plate - which for the kids was quite large - and sighs. It always felt a little insincere that they were left with the crumbs of her meal, but due to their size, it would sate their hunger regardless.
“I’m off to paint, you two! I-I won’t be long.” Nao stutters out.
“Why do you always have to leave us out of the painting job, big sis Nao, woof?” Gin answers with a confused look on his little cheeks. There was a lot of risk involved in painting for the two pocket-sized people; she didn’t want to accidentally tip them over or coat their whole body in paint with a wrong move, so Nao always opted against painting. But this time Gin seemed very serious with his claim.
“It’s very dangerous for you two...Since you’re so small and fragile, I don’t want to hurt you by accident. You’re very precious to me, the both of you.” Nao retorts, a little upset. Kanna stares up at Nao with puppy dog eyes.
“Big sis Nao, umm...We really, really want to paint. Your paintings look so cool! Kanna wants to learn how to paint just like you!” Kanna sincerely asks. Nao hesitates, looking off to the side.
“Isn’t friendship about trusting your friends, nya? We’ll be fine, big sis Nao! Count on us, we can do our best, woof!” Gin chirps. Their tenacity was undeniable, and Nao just couldn’t turn them down. She holds out her hand again and lets them scamper back on.
“I can’t say no to either of you~” Nao muses. She sets them on her shoulder, gives them the warning to hang on, and she trots over to her art station. Crouching down, she readjusts the easel to suit her needs and places a fresh new white canvas on it, smirking with the happiness that she will paint once more. Small Gin tries to pick up a tiny little brush, however, the weight of it is still too much for him, whilst Kanna thinks about putting a hand in a paint blob on the palette, but her better intuition stops her from doing so, out of the fear she might get completely soaked.
“I, umm...Haven’t thought about how you two would actually paint…” Nao sighs out, thinking with her heart and not her head.
“Maybe Kanna can paint with her hands?” Kanna asks. “It’s not very nice, but, Kanna would still have fun if it was with big sis Nao!” Kanna wholeheartedly smiles.
“Wh-Wh-Whaaa? I’m not getting my paws dirty, woof!” Gin replies, regardless of if Kanna’s statement was directed at him. He prefers to keep his gear clean.
“I might have a smaller brush somewhere, let me check!” Nao holds her finger in the air, determined to find a usable painting utensil. She scavenges tirelessly through a cupboard before she finds a brush even smaller and thinner -- somehow. This is Nao, you expect her to be underprepared for this?
Nao places the brush down next to the two. “I only have one, I’m sorry. But! You can both share, right? I’m sure you can make something wonderful working together!” Nao blissfully chats to the two. Gin and Kanna both nod gleefully and start conversing on what to draw before Nao begins her landscape image.
Swish, swish, flick. The brush glides effortlessly across the flat surface, coating the river surface with some titanium (h)white, causing it to glisten and sparkle with a light. Water under twilight, swishing against the beach, was always a beautiful scene; it reminded Nao of serenity, peace with oneself, and that one time she got her toe pinched by a crab -- wait, not that last one. The water gleams with tranquility as Nao calmly colours away.
Meanwhile, the two small children, not experienced painters, are dotting random bits of garishly bright paint in the corner of the canvas -- hey, art is subjective!
“Maybe some red up there, nya?” Gin comments.
“No, no, Kanna thinks there should be some green...It would work better, Kanna thinks.” Kanna responds. The two discuss tirelessly about the choice of colour for the next randomly placed paint splotch while Nao continues painting.
It takes about twenty minutes, but the painting is complete. It depicts a purple sky with a closing sun at the horizon, glittering the sea and golden sand as a couple lays on the beach, holding hands and watching the light fade together. Nao isn’t quite sure why she drew the couple in: art is an extension of yourself was something that Mishima said. Sometimes, it paints a picture of you without you even knowing. It’s whatever you’re feeling, really. Your mind can think of something you would never expect, or your hand could move on its own, and deep down you would know exactly why.
Nao gazes down at the itty bitty Gin and Kanna, exhausted from wielding the big stick for so long. They’re sat down, panting, and miss Egokoro can only wonder what they were doodling. She looks down into the corner of the painting to see the beach drawn over with random paint colours. By any other hand (bar Mishima’s) she’d be upset that her work got vandalized, but, she can’t bring herself to be mad. This is their little doodle. She doesn’t know how Gin’s mind works, or what’s going on in Kanna’s head. This is their way of expressing themselves. A sentence is written in blue shaky handwriting over the area:
“BIG SIS NAO + GIN + KANNA
WE LOVE YOU BIG SIS NAO”.
Nao almost starts crying right then and there. She kneels down to be eye-level with the two.
“I love you both too. You’re so precious to me!~” Nao sniffs. Gin leans forward and pats her hair as best as he can, with Kanna holding his hand so he doesn’t fall over.
“I’ll…” Nao wipes her teary eyes. “I’ll show this to Professor Mishima, you two. As soon as I can. I promise!”
The little humans hop aboard the Nao express and off they go.