So I've edited every past chapter so you might wanna check those out :3

Anywaysss, heres chapter 9 and I don't own nothin'~


"Ino's not here, dattebayo!" Naruto told Sasuki.

He's been trying to get the raven-haired girl to wear a yukata for hours.

They've arrived at this small civilian village and they were supposed to just resupply on their food and buy a few weapons. They Naruto just had to be informed that there was a firework festival.

Naruto has always loved watching fireworks. His mother would always take him. And she would wear her kimono. And she would be beautiful.

"Hn," Sasuki grunted and turned away from the blond boy.

"Come on," Naruto started to whine. "Just for today?"

He really wanted to enjoy this time. Its been quite a while since he had some fun.

But Sasuki's refusal to wear anything close to girl-y, anything that Ino would wear was making it hard.

"Sasuki," Itachi finally decided to help Naruto out.

Rin had started to struggle a little in his arms. No doubt that she was going to ask for some milk soon.

"If you go agree to the fireworks with Naruto later," he chose his words carefully. "And wear a yukata like Naruto has asked, we can do you would prefer to do tomorrow."

Sasuki stared at her brother, searching for anything that may count this as a trap. Seeing nothing, she said: "Just for tonight. I will think about what I want to do for tomorrow."

"Yes!" Naruto said before blubbering things about how much fun it would be.

Itachi had apologized a while ago that he couldn't go because babies can't be allowed near fireworks and that Shisui might soon return after searching for Jiraiya.

Sasuki decided it can't be too bad. Besides, it was true that Ino isn't there. Nobody who knew what embarrassing things she did with Ino, besides Naruto and Itachi, was there.

She followed Naruto out of the inn they were staying in after Itachi handed her some money for the things they were buying.

"Black," Sasuki insisted.

"Pink," Naruto tried again.

"Fine, red," Sasuki said.

"This red?" Naruto asked hopefully, pointing to a yukata that was painfully pink.

"That's pink," Sasuki said before deciding that she needed to choose her own yukata before they spent another hour in this store.

She found a few red, deep red, crimson yukata and asked a girl in the store if he could help her.

"Are you two going alone to the fireworks?" the girl asked her while she fitted a yukata.

Wary of the stranger, Sasuki lied with, "No. Our mothers are going with us."

Mothers. It wasn't too bad of lie.

Mikoto once tried to get Sasuki to join Naruto and his mother to the fireworks.

Now, Sasuki didn't know if she regretted saying no.

"Where are they now?" the girl asked.

"They're at the spa next door. They asked us if we could buy our yukata on our own," she answered, remembering the spa they had just passed a while ago. The girl nodded and didn't ask anymore questions from the clearly annoyed little girl.

Soon, Sasuki was done trying on all the yukata she had picked out and she had to choose which one she liked best.

One of the yukata was just a plain, deep red with black, silky linings and a white obi. She would have chosen this but she suddenly thought of Naruto.

Naruto would prefer one of the other yukata. It was a red, bright but still red, one with black and white sequins embedded and shaped into flowers at the lower part. It had a white obi, too, but this had a smaller black belt and it ended with a huge ribbon at the back.

Sasuki thought carefully. Then, she realized 'Why am I thinking about what Naruto would like anyway?'

"I'm taking this one," she said to the girl.

"Wonderful choice," the girl replied with a rather fake smile.

"What did you choose, dattebayo?" Naruto asked as soon as she exited the fitting room.

"None of your business," she said with a grunt.


Unknown to the two children in the kimono shop, there was another raven browsing in another shop.

Shisui had arrived early and he brought along the man that they were looking for.

"Itachi," Jiraiya greeted the young man as he entered through the window of the room.

"Jiraiya-sama," Itachi tried to bow respectfully, but the baby in his arms proved it difficult.

"Ahh, it's fine," Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively as he walked towards the two. Shisui went to the bed and neither of the two gave him attention.

He had been searching for the sannin for the whole night. He deserved the rest.

"I'm sorry Itachi," Jiraiya's voice suddenly turned grave.

"No one is to be blamed," Itachi replied, his attention back on Rin.

"I still wish I had done something to stop it,"

"I believe only the Yondaime would have been able to do so," Itachi said. "I mean you no offense."

"Not one taken," Jiraiya decided to stop with the formality. "How's my Naruto and Rin?"

"Naruto is with Sasuki, buying a yukata,"

"Yukata?"

"A firework festival will be held in this village later," Itachi handed the redhead to Jiraiya. "Naruto wishes to see it."

"Ahh," Jiraiya couldn't help the smile that made its way into his face. He remembered how Kushina would pull Minato away to watch the fireworks.

"Hey, how would you like to do something for me?" Jiraiya suddenly said. Itachi lifted his eyes from the formula milk that he was preparing and saw the gleam in the sannin's eyes.

"Buy a camera and document this event in those two's life," Jiraiya said it like Naruto and Sasuki weren't children with innocence.

Itachi stared at him with incredulous eyes.

"Go on," the older man said. "Shisui, here, has already told me some of what happened. We'll talk again tomorrow. I'll take care of little Rin here while you're gone,"

"You know, I was there when they decided her name. I said Menma would be perfect since their firstborn was a Naruto. Don't you think she's a Menma?,"

"Kushina was almost convinced. But oh well, little Naruto hated menma ramen so... Well, I still think she's not a Rin."

Itachi left before the sannin could go on with the Menma/Rin name. He hoped that Jiraiya was as reliable with babies as he was with spying.


"Ahh, Naruto," Jiraiya greeted the blond kid.

Naruto and Sasuki had gone back to the room after buying both of their yukata, only to find the man in there.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto bounded towards his godfather.

His memories of the time they spent with Minato and Kushina flooded in his mind again. He had teary eyes again. He had stopped himself from crying months ago but the sight of someone so close to their family was too much.

"Careful now," Jiraiya said as he hugged the blond kid back. He was awfully reminded of his student. "Wouldn't want little Menma to be crushed between us."

"Rin, dattebayo," Naruto emphasized as he wiped the tears that never fell from his blue eyes. "Not Menma."

"How about that Menma?" Jiraiya turned to the redhead who was giggling in his arms. "He wants to call you Rin."

Rin blew bubbles as Naruto and Jiraiya laughed. Sasuki appeared in front of them and asked, "Nii-san?"

"Ahh, hello there, Sasuki," Jiraiya regarded the raven. "Your brother went out to get a few things for me."

"Hn," Sasuki said before turning towards the bathroom.

"A bit full of herself, isn't she?" Jiraiya asked Naruto with a smile on her face. That girl kinda reminded him of his former teammate.

Naruto only nodded before he asked, "Hey, are you gonna come watch the fireworks with us, dattebayo?"

"I'd love to," Jiraiya said. "But I have work to do."

Naruto pouted.

"I'm sorry Naruto. Maybe next time, okay?" Jiraiya ruffled the blond's hair.


Soon, night fell and Naruto was already dressed in his yukata.

It was a simple, midnight blue one with white linings and a white obi. It was rather uncharacteristic of him to wear something simple, quite dull.

"Where's Nii-san!" Sasuki asked impatiently. Seeing Naruto's plain yukata, she was a bit embarassed to wear hers.

"He won't be coming back till a few hours, Sasuki," Jiraiya scratched his head. This girl was definitely louder than who he thought resembled her. At least Orochimaru had a less high-pitched voice. "Why don't you dress up now, so you can go see the fireworks?"

"Argh," he heard Sasuki grumble under her breath. "Naruto, where did you even get a plain yukata?"

"It was one of the yukatas in my scroll, dattebayo," the blond sat on his bed, confusion written on his face. "I thought you'd like me to wear something not showy."

With this, Sasuki became even more annoyed.

"You better dress up now, Sasuki," Jiraiya said. "You don't want to be late."

"Fine," Sasuki muttered before heading towards the bathroom.

She came out a little while later, wearing the bright red kimono with black and white flower designs.

The redness of the cloth complimented her pale skin and jet black hair. Although the way it is now, her cheeks held an unmistakable red tinge.

"You're beautiful, Sasuki," Naruto broke the silence that ensued after the raven came out of the bathroom.

"Very beautiful, indeed," Jiraiya agreed. "Now, go on,"

He pushed the two out the door and said, "Have fun!"

As soon as the two were out of the inn, they were greeted by a crowd too thick that one couldn't even drop a needle.

Sasuki felt a hand intertwine with hers. She looked up and saw Naruto looking out the crowd, with sparkles in his eyes.

"So that I won't lose you," Naruto explained with a smile when he saw her looking at him.

Sasuki remembered what her mother had said about this and sighed. She would do this even if it's just to honor her mother.

Little did she know that a former ANBU member was already spying on them. She didn't even notice the click of a camera through the noises in the crowd.

The two walked on, going with the flow. And neither noticed the following clicks of a camera.


The first thing the two did was play a few games.

"Let's try this one," Naruto said as he led the raven into a stand.

"What do we do?" Sasuki asked.

"Catch a fish and take it home!" the guy managing the stand yelled.

"Ok," Naruto quickly stood up on a stool and tried to catch the fish with a paper-net. Sasuki watched a the fish tried to struggle as much as possible and the paper tear as the fish escaped.

"This isn't even possible!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'll try," Sasuki said as she got up on another stool.

They tried a few more times. Each time, tearing the paper-net and paying a hundred yen.

Sasuki was finally about to give up and leave when Naruto appeared beside her and held the net she was holding.

Naruto had this concentrated look on his face when suddenly, he broke out into a 'Yes!'

He had caught the fish and the guy was putting it into a plastic bag.

"What did you do?" Sasuki asked when she was handed the fish.

"I realized that you have to corner the fish slowly, dattebayo," Naruto said with his hands behind his head.

"Why didn't you do it with your own net, then?"

"Well, I saw that your fish moved slower,"

"Nee-chan," a little girl smaller than they were appeared beside Sasuki and tugged on her yukata. "Can I have that fish?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," a woman appeared behind the girl. "Please don't mind Yuki. Yuki, Tou-san will go catch you some fish.

"No, it's okay," Sasuki suddenly said as she handed the small plastic to the girl. "Here."

The little girl and the woman said thank you and were soon lost in the crowd.

"Why'd you give it to her, dattebayo?"

"She would take care of it better," Sasuki said as-a-matter-of-factly. "We're travelling anyways."

Naruto didn't question Sasuki's logic and they went on with their small adventure.

"Hey, Sasuki," Naruto called out to the raven walking beside him. Over the voices lost in the crowd, he could still hear an ice cream man endorsing his goods. "Let's buy ice cream, dattebayo!"

"Isn't it a little too cold for ice cream?" Sasuki asked with less venom in her voice than usual.

"There's never a bad time for ice cream, dattebayo," Naruto said as he pulled Sasuki into a nearby ice cream stall.

"What can I get for you, little ones?" the ice cream man asked when the two reached him.

"One chocolate ice cream cone, please," Naruto sang out, before searching for his gama pouch in his yukata.

The man handed the chocolate ice cream to Naruto before turning to Sasuki.

"How about for this beautiful girl?" he asked.

"Vanilla, please," Sasuki said, searching for the purse that Itachi gave her a while ago.

"How much, dattebayo?" Naruto asked when he found his little green frog. Sasuki was still searching for her wallet as she was handed her ice cream.

"That will be 100 Yen each,"

"Here's 200 Yen For the both of us," Naruto said. "Arigatou."

He then reached for Sasuki's hand that was still searching for the wallet and pulled her away.

"I was going to pay for my own," Sasuki said when Naruto had stopped running through the thick crowd. He has found an empty children's park and was now walking towards the swings.

"It's my thanks for coming with me tonight," Naruto answered.

"I was going to get my turn to do what I want tomorrow," her voice a bit softer, following the serene atmosphere of the park. All the children were probably with their parents now.

'Naruto and I are probably the only ones without parents here,' Sasuki thought glumly. She sat on the swing beside Naruto.

"Ne," Naruto ignored her last statement. "Kaa-san used to bring me to the park when we watched fireworks,"

"It would be empty, just like this, because everyone else would be near the fireworks. They don't realize that the view here would be just as nice." he continued.

A comfortable silence ensued while the two were eating their ice cream.

"Sasuki," Naruto called and Sasuki barely replied. It was almost a grunt, but softer. She was actually saying 'Hmm?' instead of 'Hn.'

"You look really beautiful tonight," Naruto told her. And she was thankful that Naruto was focused on his ice cream because she just knew that her face was as red as a tomato.

She hadn't heard a comment like that in years.

Maybe she pushed those compliments away when she felt embarrassed that she actually had a rivalry with Ino, however minor it may have been.

But hearing it now, from Naruto, not the people who were obligated to do so because she was a main family member, and not because she asked them if she was, she really liked the words.

"Especially now, you're dressed up and all," Naruto broke the pleasing feeling.

"I mean, you're pretty, too, when you're dressed simple," Naruto raised his hands defensively. "But it's nice to see a bit difference, dattebayo."

Sasuki didn't know what to feel anymore. She should be irritated or something. But there was just something in the air that calmed her.

"I know," she said in a relaxed tone.

"You know?" Naruto's eyes widened. Realizing that Sasuki wasn't joking, he decided to push a bit more.

"Hey," he stood up. "Why don't you try some chocolate ice cream? It's a lot tastier than vanilla, dattebayo!"

Sasuki started to refuse when Naruto pushed the ice cream cone towards her. Then, the ice cream made contact with her face and on the tip of her nose, sat a smudge of the cold chocolate.

"I'm sorry!" Naruto's eyes widened again as he backed away slowly, anticipating what attack Sasuki might deliver.

Sasuki stood up from her swing and just as slowly walked towards the blond boy.

"You better stop right there," she threatened. "Or there will be much worse consequences."

Naruto immediately stood his ground and closed his eyes, awaiting what judgement Sasuki decided.

Then, he felt a cold, wet substance slide down his chin.

"You look like an old man," he heard Sasuki laugh.

Sasuki laugh?

Did he just hear that right?

He opened his eyes and sure enough, Sasuki wa pointing a finger at him. And laughing.

The remains of Sasuki's cone of ice cream was on the grass and Naruto realized what the raven had just done.

"I'm telling you, chocolate is better than this," Naruto said as he licked what ice cream he coud from his face.

This made Sasuki laugh even harder and soon, she was on the grass herself.

Naruto did a few more stupid things with the ice cream as he realized what a beautiful sound it made when the little girl laughed. He wondered why she didn't do it more often.

Sasuki's laugh soon merged with a different sound. And then, she stopped abruptly as Naruto see different colors sparkle in her eyes.

The fireworks.

He laid down quickly beside Sasuki and stared up at the fireworks.

"So beautiful," he heard Sasuki mutter. And beautiful it was.

To another raven, hiding up the trees, there was a sight even more beautiful.

He took another picture, in hopes of capturing the beautiful moment of innocence between a girl and a boy, side by side, looking up at the sky.


I tried to write fluff. I tried. :I I'm sorry.

Please review and tell me if it was fluff enough or something. :/

And just review if you want to tell me something. :(((

I just wanted to say that I love you guys~ so so much~