Theme 6. - Messing with the cooking
For someone as independent as the number one surprising ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, what he was attesting in this special occasion was incredibly amazing.
Sakura, dressed in her daily attires with the add-on of a white apron, ducking her head timely, avoiding a rather sharp kitchen knife as she flipped it towards her cooking partner.
Neji, wearing his characteristically serious Hyuuga garments minus the white haori, snatched the knife from the air and proceeded to chop the cucumbers and carrots necessary to create the dish they were preparing: it wasn't ramen, to Naruto's dismay.
But it was fine, since he knew that both pink-haired kunoichi and snowy-eyed shinobi were very skilled in the kitchen. Only when cooking together, though, the Hokage wannabe pondered, for neither of the aforementioned people paid any attention to his whines about starvation on a mission nor when one of them wasn't around.
Today was, indeed, a special occasion. Hinata had passed her Jounin exam, leveling her with the others in their initial class, except for Sasuke, who was now an ANBU Captain just like Neji; Sakura was the ANBU Chief Medic and Shikamaru the Chief Tactician of the White ops.
ANBU, Naruto had said, was not his coup of grace. With Sasuke back in Konoha he pretty much forgot about that specific branch of ninja ranks. He didn't need to become an ANBU to prove how strong he was, like Sakura had said to him once. He was the Hokage-in-training; the whole village had seen how much he had grown. And Konoha accepted him for who he was and what his roots were, not what he had sealed up inside.
"Oi, knucklehead," a snap of pale fingers brought him back from his reverie, blinking towards three pairs of eyes –two the color of fresh clouds, one the color of gorgeous forests– that were staring at him, puzzled.
"Are you okay?" Sakura questioned, raising one of her pink brows in concern. Naruto shook his head and smiled.
"I'm fine! I was just… thinking," he explained, winking to a flustered Hyuuga Heiress by his side. Hinata just smiled.
"And since it is such a great feat, my best guess is that he got lost inside his own mind," a sarcastic Hyuuga ANBU Captain remarked with a caustic smirk on his face as he started to pour the minutely chopped vegetables into the bubbling pot. Sakura snorted unladylike and swatted him on the arm.
"Don't be so mean to poor Naruto," she scolded him with a wicked grin of her own. "He just got his neurons to start functioning; it's perfectly understandable for him to get zapped by the synapses."
"Better that than a Chidori through his head," Sasuke sneered from the couch, making Kiba and Tenten laugh.
"Besides, this is Hinata's celebration, it's not as if you are allowed to steal her thunder," Ino pointed out from the window, keeping a close eye on what Chouji was wolfing down.
"Maa, Ino-pig, we aren't going to allow him to space out on this special dinner party," Sakura intervened with a smile, as she took two steps to her right as Neji passed by to gather more vegetables and a pack of rice, which he threw at his emerald-eyed life partner. Catching it nimbly, she opened the bag and added the contents to the pot she was tending closely.
They were observed amusedly by all Rookie Twelve companions as they danced around each other while the food was cooked, sharing jokes with their guests and pouring drinks to spirit up their gathering.
Recruiting Tenten and Lee to prepare the low coffee table to serve the delicious dinner they had prepared was a must. Team Gai was used to Neji's personal culinary touch, for he was rather strict with food flavors since that Curry of Life fiasco, episode which had Sakura reduced to a puddle of laughter when she was told about it, much to her lover's chagrin.
Snapping a pair of chopsticks and stabbing Chouji's probing fingers aiming for the sushi rolls with them, Sakura kept conversing with Ino, Kiba and Tenten about Hinata's combat skills, pretty much ignoring Naruto's grumbles and Hinata's attempts to hide from the spotlight.
When they were all seated around the low table, Neji raised his porcelain cup.
"To my cousin, Hinata."
Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga's lack of grace when he had to speak in front of an audience, but apparently it had the desired effect, as Hinata blushed when all of them started to cheer and clap loudly.
"I knew you could do it!" exclaimed a grinning Kiba while Shino nodded his assent.
"Indeed," said Lee, with a stream of tears falling from his eyes. "Nothing can stop the power of youth!"
The whole table let out a laugh at the Green Beast's antics.
"So, Hinata, what are your plans for this new rank?" asked Shikamaru, avoiding carefully the roasted meat –Chouji's favorite. The Hyuuga girl cleared her throat, embarrassed when she noticed all eleven pairs of eyes on her.
"I... I-I... etto... I don't know yet..."
"I think it's okay, Hinata-chan," soothed Sakura, as she served rice on her plate and a bit of grilled chicken. "When I achieved Jounin I didn't think what I was going to do, I was too busy with the Hospital and such... but then Akatsuki appeared and I was forced to decide if I was going to remain here as a sensei or if I was going to the war with you guys."
A little frown appeared on Neji's lips, obvious to his former teammates and Naruto, who had taken upon himself the task to observe his sister and her significant other's interaction. She was speaking about the war with the Akatsuki, which swallowed the lives of many shinobi, with a reverent but grim voice.
"I was rather torn," relayed the pink-haired kunoichi. "I wanted to fight, but I also wanted to heal. For a medic-nin, this position is quite stressful, because our abilities to heal are to be employed into killing. Most of our colleagues don't have the stomach to do that, right, Ino?"
The blonde nodded, smacking Kiba's chopsticks with her own to keep him from stealing her food. "It was horrible for us," she admitted. "I wanted to be here, but when Chouji and Shika told me they were going to fight the bastard that killed Asuma-sensei... I just snapped. I knew I had to be there, even if I had to follow them."
"And that she did," Chouji grumbled with his mouth full of meat. "She sneaked out of the village to follow our party. But if she hadn't I wouldn't be sitting here."
"We thought the same when Lee asked me to stay, when we went on that mission to Suna?" Tenten said, accepting the iced tea that Shino poured into her glass. "I had to kick his ass to make him understand that I wasn't going to be left behind."
"Team issues are troublesome," Shika sighed, earning a few laughs. "The good thing is that we are alive," he added, tapping a new cigarette box and removing its wrapping.
"But we're going to die if you light that disgusting thing at the table, Shikamaru," scolded Sakura, clicking her chopsticks. "At least wait until we're finished, for Kami's sake."
"This war hardened us," Hinata mused in a whisper. "But now we are all together, and that has to count for something, right?"
"Right!" Naruto exclaimed, making her jump a little. "You know, Sakura-chan, Tenten-chan, Ino and you, Hinata-chan, are the most awesome kunoichi of the village," he said excitedly, earning a few glares from the males. "I always learned something with you guys... and proved that even the most delicate person can shatter or severe a limb in your own way."
"Naruto, have you been stealing Shika's cigarettes again?" asked Kiba, eliciting a row of laughter from everyone.
"Oh, shut up, mutt," grumbled Sasuke, finally adding something to the conversation. Sakura laughed at the Inuzuka's growl, and waved her hands to attract the attention of the table back to her.
"Thank you, Naruto, for your kind words," she smiled sweetly at him, converting her smile into a wicked grin that made the blond ninja squeak. "But if you think because we're women we're going to let you do whatever you want, you are sorely mistaken," a snort at her side made her laugh again. "At least, someone had to learn that the hard way, am I right?"
"A wise man said once that a pissed kunoichi is a spawn from hell," declared the Hyuuga prodigy while he placed his chopsticks besides his plate, making all the males in the table snicker. "But that same wise man encountered a certain ANBU Chief Medic and realized that even the most becoming flowers had twisted thorns to retaliate."
"Oh?" asked Sasuke, looking a bit interested behind his sake. "And who was that wise man, Hyuuga?"
"Ero-sennin," said Naruto, with a wistful expression. "Sakura-chan caught him peeking into the girl's onsen when she was there with Tsunade-baachan and she punted him into oblivion."
"I had to heal him afterwards, but he learned to avoid me when I went to the bathhouse. And I noticed that he had all his tenketsu closed before his release from the hospital. And to the very day he left for Amegakure, he didn't say who beat him up..."
Neji's candid, blank face made her laugh again, accompanied by Lee, Tenten and Hinata.
Watching them share memories and fond, sad and joyful moments was precious to the blond shinobi. Far back were left that haughty arrogance that graced the Hyuuga when he was young, and that lovesick crybaby girl who always froze at the sight of a battle. Before him sat two of the most powerful assets of Konohagakure no Sato, one with his white eyes glinting in amusement at Sakura's story, Naruto realized that both were a force to be reckoned with, and that sort of dance they performed when they were cooking was just a little peek on their most harmonic intimacy.
"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba called out. "What's with you, man? You've been off all night!"
"Shut up, mutt!" he shot back with a mock glare.
"It's true, Naruto," deadpanned their ever gracious host. "You have been mostly out of character this evening. Have your neurons deserted you already?"
"And you, Iceman, have you dislodged that pole out of your ass?"
"Naruto!" Sakura intervened, launching her chopsticks to the blond's head. "Stop bickering and help me with the dishes, you good for nothing ototo! And Sasuke, please help Neji with the sake and the tea while I get the cake... and don't even think of serving sake to Lee."
Rubbing his sore temple, Naruto nodded humbly as he and the dark-haired man stood to obey her biddings. A few punches made them realize that it wasn't wise to anger her. Even Sasuke knew this, for he didn't comment or protest when she asked anything of him, Naruto thought with his arms already dipped in the bubbly sink.
Behind him, Sakura hummed as she took out the little plates for the cake, sending out a wink to the snowy-eyed man as he passed with the flasks, who offered her a little smirk in return.
Naruto smiled to himself. Yup, a force to be reckoned with.
- Tenna' ento lye
omenta -AN: Earthbender068, I love your reviews! Thank you so much for each one of them!. :D