Hanami
By: Mashimarito
Things to read before proceeding:
Okay, this is pretty much AU. It's still technically in "Naruto Land", but all of the amazing Akatsuki/Madara mysteries are nonexistent, and Tobi's just…Tobi. Tayuya isn't involved in the Sound Village currently.
It's set in some random forest.
As for their ages- I'm going to say that Tayuya is six and Tobi is seven. Don't ask why, but I think it's cuter that way.
Be aware that this is a crack pairing (and my particular favorite). So please, no flames.
Hanami
Tayuya struggled slightly to crawl up a considerably large tree trunk that had fallen and was blocking her path. She gripped her small hand around a tree limb that was covered copiously with fungi. Her grip tightened and she attempted to lift herself, but the weakened limb crumpled under the pressure and she fell down the mere one and a half feet she had managed to climb. The entire log itself appeared to be at least five feet high.
She pulled herself up and looked a the trunk. Her nose wrinkled a little, and she huffed.
"Stupid LOG!" yelled Tayuya, kicking the trunk with as much force as a six-year-old could. A few bits of bark came off of it. She glared at it angrily, and let out an exasperated yell. This was the fifth time she'd tried climbing over that thing.
She stepped back a little and continued glaring at it, unblinkingly. This staring contest between child and log continued for less than a minute. Then, Tayuya decided it was time to find another way around the thing, something other than over it.
But she made sure to kick it one more time.
Tobi ambled through the forest, looking instinctively for more of the flowers he'd been collecting. He was hoping to find more that smelled as good as the light pink ones he'd found.
Then, he noticed another flower in the corner of his eye. He quickly scampered over to it. It was one of the sweet-smelling pink ones he'd been hoping to find.
Tobi quickly plucked it from the ground with his free hand. His other hand was clasping what could've easily been considered a bouquet of wildflowers.
It was somewhat surprising how he was even holding that many with one hand.
"Yay!" Tobi let out a small yell of glee, and held the flower up to the place on his mask where his nose would be located. After realizing he couldn't smell it while wearing his mask, he placed it in his "bouquet" and commenced to walking again.
Soon, after walking a small distance, Tobi began to hear little sounds of struggle.
Figuring an animal might've gotten stuck somewhere, he started to follow the small sounds. As he walked towards them, they got louder and appeared to be getting more numerous and frantic.
He then came upon a backside and feet of a child, probably around his age, sticking out from a hole in a sizably large log. The child was obviously stuck, and wriggling.
Tobi crouched down beside it. "Um…" he said. "Do you need help?"
The child stopped struggling.
Tobi looked at it, and spoke again, somewhat uncertainly, "Tobi was…wondering if you were stuck?"
The child struggled as if irritated.
"Oh, okay! Tobi can help you!"
He sat down his flowers, then grabbed the child's feet and pulled.
After a second, the child popped out. Tobi looked to see a little girl with shoulder length red hair. She had little bits of dirt, bark and fungi scattered on her.
Then, she looked up at him. He noticed she had brown eyes.
"Oh…Hey, thanks," she said, though with not much sincerity.
She settled into a sitting position to rest. Tobi sat beside her, and spoke up.
"What's your name?" He cocked his head to the side as he asked.
She gave him a weird look for a second before answering. "…Tayuya".
"I'm Tobi!"
His outright cheeriness was starting to bug her.
There was silence for a minute. Then, an ominous growl was heard from Tayuya's stomach. Tobi giggled.
Tayuya glared at him. "Got any food?" she asked.
"Oh, no," answered Tobi. "Tobi has no food. Sorry, Tayuya-chan".
…Apparently we're on a first name basis now, thought Tayuya. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay, Tobi-kun," Tayuya responded, mockingly. Tobi didn't seem to notice her tone.
More silence.
Tayuya wondered to herself why this idiot was bothering to sit here beside her. Then, for a second, she wondered why she was even sitting there with him-
"Tayuya-chan, how old are you?" Tobi asked.
Tayuya's chain of thought broke at the question.
"Hn?" she replied. "Oh, six."
"Tobi's older! He's seven!" He poked her nose playfully. Her face scrunched up and she waved his hand away. He cocked his head in confusion.
"Huh? What's wrong? Is Tayuya-chan in a bad mood?" Tobi incessantly inquired. "Oh!" He perked up. "Tobi knows what to do!"
He turned towards Tayuya and spread his arms. For a second, Tayuya wondered what the heck he was doing. Then, it suddenly dawned on her.
He was going to freaking hug her.
Before she had the chance to punch him or yell out any objective profanities, Tobi had already wrapped his arms around her.
Her face was smooshed into the huge green scarf that was around his neck, muffling her attempts to scream at him. To makes things worse, it was a tight squeeze hug. Her arms flailed about, hands in fists. Eventually, he released her.
"See? Tobi knows how to makes things better!"
Somehow, she could tell he was smiling under that mask.
She bet he was happy.
She bet he enjoyed that hug.
It pissed her off.
Hands balled into fists, she put all the power her six-year-old body could muster into a single punch, hitting Tobi directly in the jaw.
He slipped from his sitting position and fell back onto the ground. The part of his mask she had hit was cracked. His eyes were wide, and though his mask had absorbed most of the blow, he still felt a sting in his jaw.
Quickly, he scrambled back up into a sitting position, hand resting on the side of his mask that had been hit.
"H-huh?" he questioned. "What did Tobi do? Is Tayuya-chan really in such a bad mood?"
Tayuya narrowed her eyes at him, hands still in fists.
"I don't like hugs," she replied bluntly.
Tobi was silent for a second, as if this was something completely unheard of.
"…Oh," he replied.
His mind wandered for a little bit. Tayuya had eventually released her fists and sat down criss-cross applesauce. She was now staring intently at a peculiar caterpillar that was slowly crawling by.
Tobi looked at the caterpillar. It was adorned with bright patterns. This triggered something in his mind.
"Oh!" Tobi exclaimed. "Tobi knows what Tayuya will like!"
Tayuya looked up at him and her eyes widened. She raised her fists.
"I swear, if it's another hug, I'll-"
Tobi hastily jumped up and ran over to the hole in the log that he'd pulled Tayuya from. Tayuya couldn't see what he was getting, and he hid it behind his back as he scampered back towards her.
He stopped in front of her. She gave him a slight glare.
"What is it?" she questioned.
He was obviously extremely giddy, and was stifling lots of giggles. She was getting rather impatient.
"Well, out with it!"
Tobi quickly whipped out his huge wildflower bouquet. They were probably only about an inch from Tayuya's face, and their combined aromas made for a very soothing smell. Her eyes widened and she sniffed them.
"Well?" inquired Tobi. "Did this make you happy, Tayuya-chan?"
Tayuya continued to stare at them. They were all a vast expanse of colors, almost not unlike a rainbow. She sniffed them another time, then snatched them away from Tobi and held them up to her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in their pleasant scent.
Tobi grinned behind his mask. Thinking this a job well done, he sat beside Tayuya again.
She looked up from the flowers momentarily at Tobi, then scooted up beside him. He glanced at her for a second, then blushed slightly.
All was silent for a bit. Then, Tayuya murmured something.
"Hey, Tobi."
Tobi had thought that she'd fallen asleep. He looked at her. Her eyes were half closed.
"Um…Yes, Tayuya-chan? What is it?"
"Yeah, this made me happy," she answered. Tobi smiled. Tayuya started to fall asleep, but managed to say one more thing before drifting off to dreamland--
"…..ya big idiot…."
She smiled and fell asleep.
End
Okay! Thank you for reading! This is my first real fanfic, so it's probably not that good, but I'd love to hear what you think about it. Reviews would be luff!
Random note- In case you're wondering, the title of this fic means "flower watching".