Author's Note: Ohayo! I decided to make this thing a while ago, and it was originally supposed to be one of the chapters in 'Blessing.' However, I decided not to put it in the story, but do it as a oneshot. I suppose you could think of this as a, uh, a Naruto Special, like the 'Find the Crimson Four-Leaf Clover,' or the 'Mission: Protect The Waterfall Village!' episodes (For lack of a better term.). This chapter is meant to take place after the Wave Country arc, but before the Chuunin Exams begin.

Oh, and before I forget, at the bottom of this page there will be definitions of the Japanese objects mentioned in this one-shot.

Warning: You must read 'Blessing' to understand the character Hikari in this oneshot.

Summary: It's time for the Tanabata (A Japanese star festival.) in Konoha, and Hikari takes it upon her to make sure Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto come along and have fun! Ah, that's going to be one tough job

Disclaimer: Me? Own Naruto? Don't kid yourself.

XXX

Sakura sighed lightly as she, Naruto, and Sasuke waited on the bridge for their fourth teammate, and their sensei. The fact that Kakashi was late was no surprise, but the fact that Hikari had yet to arrive was. The golden eyed girl was normally the first one to arrive at the bridge and would greet everyone with a cheerful smile and a wave.

Suddenly, Team Seven's attention was drawn towards the end of the bridge, where a familiar voice's singing fluttered to their ears.

"Sasa no ha sara, sara (The bamboo leaves rustle, rustle,)," Hikari sang, skipping along the bridge. "Nokiba ni yureru (Shaking away in the eaves.)."

Sakura blinked as she stared at her golden eyed friend, still skipping towards them. The song sounded a bit familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it…

"Ohoshi-sama kira, kira (The stars go twinkle, twinkle;);" Hikari's cheerful voice continued. "Kingin sunago (Silver and gold sprinkles on paper.)."

"Hey, Hikari, that's a pretty song. Did you write it?" Naruto asked as Hikari approached the railing of the bridge and sat on it. Hikari smiled and shook her head.

"No, I didn't. I'm surprised you didn't recognize the song, Naruto. It's the traditional Tanabata song!" she said. Sakura gasped and beamed.

"Oh, now I recognize the song!" she exclaimed. "I thought it sounded familiar… Oh, is it that time of year already?" she asked. Hikari grinned and nodded.

"Another stupid festival…" Sasuke muttered, fixing his Uchiha death glare on the ground (What had it ever done to him?!). Hikari frowned.

"You don't like Tanabata?" she asked. Sasuke scoffed in reply, and Hikari sighed and shook her head.

Naruto blinked, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Tanabata…?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You don't know what the Tanabata is? Oi, you're so dense, Naruto!" she exclaimed, whacking him on the back of the head. Hikari chuckled a bit and smiled at Naruto.

"Well, Naruto, Tanabata is a star festival, held on the seventh day of the seventh month, and it celebrates the meeting of the two lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi. You follow me?" Hikari asked, to which Naruto responded with a nod.

"Good." Hikari said, and continued. "Now, the Milky Way, a river made from the stars that crosses the sky, separates these two lovers, and because of that, Orihime and Hikoboshi are only allowed to meet once a year. That day is July seventh."

Sakura sighed dreamily and smiled. "I remember that story, so romantic…"

"Ne, ne, what's the story?" Naruto asked, jumping up and down. He looked curious and excited, and Hikari laughed.

"Well, Orihime, the Weaving Princess, and daughter of Tenkou, the Sky King, wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the River of Heaven. Her father loved the cloth she wove, and so Orihime worked very hard every day to weave it. However, she was sad that because she worked all the time, she never had a chance to meet and fall in love with anyone."

Sakura nodded and hopped up on the railing beside Hikari, continuing the story for her friend. "Tenkou was concerned for his daughter, and so he arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi, the Cow Herder Star, who worked on the other side of the River of Heaven. When Orihime and Hikoboshi met, they instantly fell in love and got married. However, once the two were married, Orihime no longer wove the cloth that her father loved, and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven."

At that, Hikari smothered a grin and began to speak again. "Because of this, Tenkou was angry, so in his rage, he separated his daughter and her husband across the River of Heaven, and he forbade them to meet ever again. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband, so she approached Tenkou and begged him to let them meet. Since Tenkou was moved by his daughter's tears, he said that the two could meet on the seventh day of the seventh month."

"That's July seventh!" Naruto shouted, jumping up onto the railing as well. Hikari laughed as he gave her a toothy grin, and she nodded. "Right, July seventh. Sakura, do you remember the end of the story?"

Sakura smiled and nodded, her long pink hair rippling with the action. "When Orihime got to the River of Heaven, she found she couldn't cross it because there was no bridge. She cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that Orihime could make it to the other side of the river. But, if it rains, the magpies can't come, and the two lovers have to wait until next year." Sakura said. Then she smiled.

"July seventh is in five days." she said, a smile on her face. "I'll have to pick out a kimono for the festival… Ne, Hikari, are you going?" Sakura asked, turning to the golden eyed girl sitting beside her. Hikari's head jolted up in surprise.

"Ah, I dunno… Nn… Are all of you going?" Hikari asked, looking at her teammates with a hopeful expression on her face. Sakura nodded, as did Naruto, but Sasuke didn't move. Hikari frowned and poked his cheek.

"Aw, come on, Sasuke. You aren't going?" Hikari asked. Sasuke scoffed.

"Why should I? I have time for better things, such as training."

Hikari rolled her eyes and grabbed Sasuke by the large collar of his shirt. Sending chakra into her hand, she jerked her arm back and sent Sasuke over the edge of the bridge. There was a loud splash, followed by a string of profanities that made Hikari and Naruto roar with laughter.

Once Hikari had calmed down a bit, she turned to Naruto. "Hey, Naruto, are you going to the festival?"

Naruto grinned and nodded eagerly. "I never really go to festivals, but maybe I will this year!" Hikari grinned.

"Good." she said, and turned to look over the edge of the bridge. Sasuke was glaring up at her, his clothes soaked, and his normally spiky hair now flattened considerably. Hikari pointed a finger at him.

"You're going too, you frigid bastard!"

XXX

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No."

"YES!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes at his two bickering students. All throughout the day, Hikari had been trying to convince Sasuke to go to the Tanabata, and all throughout the day, he had remained firm in his resolve not to go.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Sakura piped up. "It's a festival! There'll be lots of fun things to do there!"

"Yeah!"

Sasuke scoffed and shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at the ground. "I don't care."

"Sasuke!"

"Hey, you guys." Team Seven blinked and looked up at their silver haired sensei, who had just spoken.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, blinking in confusion. Kakashi lowered his perverted little orange book and peered at his team.

"We've got a new mission." Kakashi stated, earning shocked (and annoyed) stares from his students.

"What?! But, we just finished one!" Sakura shouted, placing her hands on her hips. Naruto stopped and frowned, nodding his head in agreement. Sasuke merely scowled.

Kakashi seemed to be smiling behind his mask. "Yes, but now we have another mission."

Hikari blinked. "Well, what is the mission, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi flipped open Icha Icha again and stated simply, "Your mission is to attend the Tanabata. All of you."

Hikari grinned and pumped a fist into the air. "Whoo!" she shouted joyously. Sasuke turned his gaze to her and glared.

Hikari stuck her tongue out at him.

XXX

Hikari grinned as she ran up the bridge where Team Seven always met, the small bag she held swinging back and forth. It was early twilight, the golden sun just beginning to disappear beyond the horizon, and the nighttime festivities were about to begin. Earlier that day, they had all agreed to meet at the bridge before heading back into town to enjoy the festival.

Pausing in her run for a moment, Hikari reached up to make sure the bun she had her raven hair in was still in place. She smiled when she found it was, and then she checked to make sure the gold bira bira kanzashi(1) she was wearing hadn't fallen out of her hair. After making sure it was still in place (and almost accidentally tearing off the pure white shidare(2)), Hikari was off running as best she could in her furisode kimono(3).

Hikari's kimono was, she thought, nothing special. A simple gold color with pretty white flowers embroidered on the edges of the very long sleeves and the bottom of the kimono. Her obi(4) was also white, with a pretty gold pattern on it.

A few moments later, Hikari grinned as the rest of Team Seven came into view. Sakura was the first to see her, and she took a few steps forward and waved her arm in the air. Hikari waved back, and then peeked inside the bag she held before starting off running again.

Sakura's hair was also in a bun, the same style as Hikari's, and there was an emerald colored hanagushi kanzashi(5) placed in her hair.

Sakura wore a furisode kimono as well, hers being a deep emerald color. Swirling tendrils of gold decorated the graceful sleeves of the kimono, and the obi was gold as well, tied in an elaborate bow (No doubt done by her mother).

Naruto, who was fiddling with his own kimono outfit, finally looked up to see Hikari running towards them, and he grinned and waved his arms about wildly.

"HI, HIKARI!!!"

Hikari chuckled at Naruto's loudness… and then she found herself wondering where the hell Naruto had gotten an orange kimono outfit.

Yes, it was orange (Bright, bright, bright, neon orange). The edges of the sleeves and the shoulders were jet black, though, and so were the obi and hakama pants.

Hikari skittered to a stop in front of the two teammates of hers who had stepped forward to greet her. She smiled at them and then looked back at the other, who was leaning against the railing of the bridge, a small scowl on his face.

Because Sasuke did not want to be here. He did not want to have to dress up in some stupid black and navy blue kimono with the Uchiha clan symbol sewed onto the back. And he most certainly did not want to attend some stupid festival that would most likely last well into the night.

Damn it all to hell.

Hikari rolled her eyes and walked over to him, placing her free hand on her hip. "Well aren't you just a little ball of sunshine?" she quipped dryly, and Naruto snickered. Sasuke opened his mouth to curse her a blue streak when there was suddenly a puff of smoke, and Team Seven's silver haired sensei appeared.

Kakashi peered down at his students, who looked surprised that for once he was actually… on time. However, Kakashi just smiled behind his mask and remarked. "My, don't you all look special!"

Hikari, Sakura, and Naruto grinned. Sasuke scoffed.

Kakashi chuckled and said, "Well, something has come up, so unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the festival with you."

Hikari's face fell. "But, Kakashi-sensei! You have to come!" she exclaimed, earning nods of agreement from Naruto and Sakura. Kakashi shrugged.

"Ah, don't worry about me. Have fun you guys, ja ne!" And with another poof, Kakashi was gone. Hikari blinked and then sighed, turning to her teammates. She waited one moment before giving them all a large grin.

"Well, come on! We have to follow sensei's orders, don't we?"

XXX

Naruto grinned and glanced around excitedly at the streets of Konoha. He had never really attended a festival before this, because nobody wanted him around; but now, since he had friends, he figured it would be fun. So far, it had been entertaining just to look at all the decorations.

Large, decorative balls with several meters of fukinagashi(6) and hundreds of paper flowers attached to them were hung almost everywhere, each one bright with an assortment of colors. The sun had set a while ago, so everything seemed to glow, making everything feel cheerful.

Numerous stands were lined up in the streets, each one sporting a small bamboo tree decorated with brightly colored paper strips in front of it. There were games to play, lots of food to eat, and children and adults alike were making their way through the streets of Konoha, wearing fancy kimonos on their bodies and cheerful grins on their faces.

Naruto really couldn't believe that this was what he'd been missing out on.

Amongst the noise, Team Seven heard a particularly loud click, and then a soft whirring sound coming from behind them. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto turned to see Hikari standing behind them, grinning from behind the video camera she held in her hands. Sakura's emerald eyes widened.

"So that's what you had in the bag?" she asked, remembering that she had seen it swinging back and forth in Hikari's grasp earlier at the bridge. Hikari nodded and giggled.

"Smile for the camera!" she exclaimed. Naruto gave a toothy grin and struck a ridiculous pose, and Sakura blushed and waved shyly. Hikari frowned. "Sasuke, stop glaring! You're going to break the lens!"

The tips of Sasuke's ears reddened as Naruto began laughing hysterically and Sakura stifled a giggle. Hikari grinned, and suddenly had an idea. She lowered the camera slightly and fiddled with some buttons for a moment before finding the one that said 'Zoom.' She held up the camera again and moved it to focus on Naruto, zooming in on the blonde ninja.

"This is my friend, Uzumaki Naruto!" Hikari began, and Naruto's grin widened. Hikari continued speaking. "He's loud and obnoxious, but that's why he's awesome! His dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever, and though he may not seem like it, he's got what it takes!" Hikari chirped, to which Naruto replied with an enthusiastic, 'Hell yeah!'

Hikari laughed and turned the camera to focus on Sakura, who blushed a bit more and smiled sheepishly. Hikari bounced up and down and exclaimed, "This is my best friend, Haruno Sakura!" At this, Sakura's face broke out into a large grin.

"Sakura is the smartest kunoichi I've ever met, and she knows more about genjutsu than the rest of Team Seven. Sakura also has the best chakra control!"

"Hikari! That's not true; you're the one with the best chakra control!" Sakura protested. Hikari shrugged.

"Ah, you'll surpass me soon enough!" Hikari said cheerfully, making Sakura smile. Hikari smiled as well, and then turned the camera around so the lens faced her.

"I'm Hikari! I am proud to be a member of Team Seven, the best ninja team in the world! Because really, you can't do any better than an obnoxious ninja, a pink-haired kunoichi, and an ice-cube." With that, Hikari turned the camera to face Sasuke. He blinked.

Hikari grinned and exclaimed, "And this is Uchiha Sasuke! He's Naruto's best friend-"

"Am not."

"Shut up. You know you are. Anyways, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by Mr. Sunshine over there, Sasuke is Naruto's best friend. He's also Sakura's friend and he's my friend too- Sasuke! If you roll your eyes again, I'm throwing the camera at you! Anyway, he's anti-social, and a big pain in the ass-"

Sasuke glared at Hikari. Hikari peeked out from behind the camera and when she opened her mouth to speak, he thought she would pull the 'You're going to break the lens' line again. But instead, she smiled and said:

"But, we still love you!"

An expression of shock flitted over Sasuke's face for a brief second before it disappeared. Although, though his face was impassive, that gaze of his looked like it had warmed up about ten degrees. Then, he turned and walked further into the large crowd in the streets of Konoha, Sakura and Naruto following close behind. Hikari grinned.

"I am so brilliant."

XXX

"Behold," Hikari said through hysterical laughter. "Naruto had really done it this time." In the background, Sakura was giggling and Sasuke had one eyebrow raised, an expression of mild amusement on his face. Naruto blinked and looked at the giant pastry he held in his hands. Hikari laughed harder at his expression and nearly dropped the video camera.

Team Seven had stopped by a small pastry stall as they were walking among the streets. Naruto had suddenly gotten a burst of inspiration, and he declared that he wanted to try something he'd never tried before.

So, he'd bought the biggest melonpan(7) the stall had. And so, it led to where Team Seven was now.

Sitting on a bench with Hikari filming the whole thing.

Naruto grinned. "This thing looks great!" Hikari went into a new fit of laughter.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oi, dobe, that thing is the size of your head." he said, a slight tone of amusement creeping into his voice. Sakura clapped a hand over her mouth to stop her giggling, but to no avail.

Naruto twitched. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME?!" he shouted, brandishing the melonpan at Sasuke, who leaned back a bit warily.

"Geez, Sasuke, watch your language." Hikari joked, smirking. "You never know when Naruto might snap and launch that thing at your face. And he bought one filled with chocolate."

Naruto blinked and lowered the pastry, turning his head to look at the camera. "Now what makes you think I'll waste a perfectly good pastry on that bastard? It'd probably disintegrate once he glares at it, anyway."

Suddenly, quick as a blink, Sasuke had grabbed the giant pastry from Naruto and then shoved it in the blonde boy's face. There was a loud squishing sound as the chocolate filling of the melonpan smeared all over Naruto's face, and Sakura doubled over with laughter. Hikari's cheeks were puffed out and currently turning red, for she was trying to zoom in on Naruto's expression and hold in her laughter at the same time.

"Oi! Get the camera off me!" Naruto shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the chocolate. Hikari snickered, and Sakura's face was slowly turning red from laughing so hard. Sasuke watched the whole thing, an amused expression on his face. And then, though he tried to resist it, the corners of his lips twitched upwards. He hid the smile before anyone could see it.

But, when he turned to see Hikari now pointing the video camera at him, he had the sudden nagging feeling that he might not have been as quick as he thought.

XXX

"Geez, I can't believe we lost them!" Naruto whined as he and Hikari ran through the streets. Shortly after Naruto had cleaned himself up (And attempted to pummel Sasuke), he and Hikari had gotten separated from Sasuke and Sakura among the crowds.

Hikari sighed and tried to keep up with Naruto as they searched for their teammates. She had put away the video camera, which was now safely in the bag she held that kept thumping against her side as she ran. "Well, where could they be? I can't for the life of me think of anywhere they would go…" Hikari's voice trailed off as she caught a flash of pink somewhere ahead of her and Naruto. She pointed with her free hand.

"Naruto, I think I see Sakura!"

Naruto blinked and his face broke out in a grin. "Alright! Let's catch up to her. Maybe Sasuke's with her!" he said, and Hikari nodded.

A minute or two later, Naruto received quite a surprise.

There was Sakura, standing in front of a stall selling small trinkets and such things. She was smiling brightly, but she wasn't looking at the many items for sale.

She was looking at the person next to her.

Hikari stopped in her tracks and blinked. Standing next to Sakura was Sasuke, who had a slightly bored look on his face. He seemed to be talking to the old woman who was running the stall.

Then, the old woman smiled kindly and scanned the items she was selling before finally reaching down and picking one up. It was small, and it glimmered in the streetlights.

Sasuke held out some money which the old woman took, and then she handed Sasuke the necklace she was holding.

Both Hikari and Naruto's jaws dropped when Sasuke gave the necklace to Sakura, who blushed and accepted it, and then began to fasten it around her neck. Her happy voice reached Naruto and Hikari's ears.

"Thank you so much, Sasuke! I promise I'll pay you back!"

Hikari then beamed and looked in her bag. Her eyes widened in shock when she found it empty. Had the camera somehow fallen out?

"Don't be stupid." came Sasuke's voice. There was a pause.

Hikari looked at Naruto and opened her mouth to ask if he had seen her camera. But then she stopped and smiled.

"It's a gift." Sasuke said. Sakura was silent, and though Hikari wasn't looking, she could tell Sakura was smiling gratefully at the onyx eyed boy.

Instead of looking at Sasuke and Sakura, she had her gaze on the spot next to her, where a soft whirring sound was coming.

She idly wondered how Naruto had gotten the video camera out of her bag and turned it on so fast that she hadn't noticed.

XXX

"You guys!" Sakura shouted, looking up at the night sky, filled with millions of tiny stars that twinkled like diamonds. Team Seven was standing on the bridge where they usually met each morning for training. The night's festivities were just beginning to come to a close, and the fireworks were just about to start.

Hikari, who was standing between Naruto and Sasuke, looked up at the sky as well and grinned. "Well, get ready, you guys!" she said, and she held out her hands, which held objects in them. "I bought these before we came here." Hikari said as she handed her teammates one bamboo branch each.

Dangling from each bamboo branch was a tanzaku(8), and Team Seven curiously peeked at what theirs said.

Sakura blinked and smiled when she read what was written on hers. 'I wish for strength.'

Naruto grinned when he read his. 'I wish for recognition.'

Sasuke stared at his own tanzaku, mildly shocked but not letting it show. 'I wish for happiness.'

Hikari glanced once at her teammates, and then drew her attention to the sky as the whistling and booming of colorful fireworks began to ring throughout the night. "Are you guys ready?" she asked. When her teammates all nodded, Hikari was the first to let her bamboo branch slip through her fingers and plop softly onto the river below. She whispered the wish that was on her tanzaku.

"I wish for…" The rest of her words were inaudible.

One by one, her teammates followed her actions and dropped their bamboo branches into the river flowing gently below the bridge, each of them either thinking or whispering their wishes. When they were done, Hikari got out her camera and turned it back on, focusing it on her friends. Then, she began to sing a familiar tune.

"Sasa no ha sara, sara. Nokiba ni yureru…"

Then, softly and tentatively at first, Sakura's voice was heard as well, and Hikari stopped singing and focused the camera on her.

"Ohoshi-sama kira, kira, kingin sunago…"

Then, Hikari joined in again, and she and Sakura sang together, their melodious soprano voices harmonizing perfectly.

"Goshiki no tanzaku, watashi ga kaita. Ohoshi-sama kira, kira, sora kara miteru…"

XXX

Sometime very early the next morning, probably around three in the morning, Kakashi slowly approached Team Seven's daily meeting spot. He had a hunch he would find something there…

As he slowly came to a halt in front of the bridge, he smiled behind his mask. It looked like his hunch was right.

Four figures were curled up together against the railing of the bridge. They weren't moving, and their faces were peaceful.

A loud snore came from the sleeping Naruto just then, and Kakashi thought it was a wonder that he didn't wake up his teammates.

On Naruto's right side, Hikari was asleep as well, a small, content smile on her peaceful-looking face. Her raven hair was draped over half of her face as her head was resting on Naruto's arm. Her kanzashi were lying a foot away from her, glittering in the moonlight.

On Naruto's left side, Sasuke was asleep and lightly snoring, his raven bangs covering some of his face. They fluttered lightly every time Sasuke exhaled. He actually looked mildly content in his sleep, and Kakashi was slightly surprised (And relieved) that he hadn't woken up the moment Kakashi got close enough.

On the other side of Sasuke, Sakura was snoring lightly as well, her bubblegum pink hair out of its bun and draped on Sasuke's chest, where Sakura's head was resting. She had lightly latched onto the Uchiha and was snuggling closer to him. His arm was loosely around her shoulders.

Kakashi's smile widened behind his mask, and he carefully placed the blanket he had brought over his pupils before quietly walking away.

XXX

Hikari's golden eyes slowly fluttered open, and for a few moments, she watched the retreating form of her sensei. Then, she slowly sat up and reached for her camera, which was in the bag lying a few feet away from her. She turned it on as quietly as she could and focused on her teammates.

"This is the very first Tanabata that Team Seven has ever spent together." Hikari whispered, and then paused for a few seconds before she smiled softly.

"And I'll make sure that it's not the last." she finished before turning off the camera.

Hikari drew the blanket closer around her and her teammates, and then slowly fell back into a content sleep.

XXX

Author's Note: OMFG, it's finally up and aren't you all so proud of me. As I stated earlier, this oneshot is related to my other fic, 'Blessing.' If you didn't understand it, then you probably haven't read it yet. And I will say once again, that this oneshot takes place after the Wave Country Arc, but BEFORE the Chuunin Exams.

Translations:

(1)Kanzashi- Hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles.

(2)Shidare- Long chains of silk flowers attached to kanzashi- used in Fluttering or Dangling Style Kanzashi.

(3)Furisode Kimono- Swinging Sleeves Kimono- the most formal kimono for unmarried, young ladies.

(4)Obi- A sash worn with kimonos by both men and women.

(5)Hanagushi Kanzashi- Flower combs which are made by gluing folded pieces of silk to a wooden base comb.

(6)Fukinagashi- Streamers: The strings that Orihime used to weave. They symbolize happiness.

(7)Melonpan- An inexpensive, sweet bakery product that is popular in Japan. It is made from brioche covered in a thin layer of crispy cookie dough. Its appearance resembles that of a melon, and some have a filling.

(8)Tanzaku- Small colorful pieces of paper that people write poetry or wishes on during Tanabata. They are hung on bamboo trees and bamboo branches. The latter are either burned or set afloat on a river after the festival, usually at midnight or the day after.

The Tanabata Song: Bamboo tree dancing under the eaves. The stars are shining, silver and gold sprinkles on paper. Colorful papers, I wrote on them. The stars are shining, looking down from the sky.

Author's Note: I still can't believe the oneshot is finally finished! I'm still a bit nervous about my writing skills, so I hope all you readers like it!

Do a girl a favor and drop a review, please:D

Fate