"Oh, Hinata, you look absolutely beautiful!" Shiva beamed.
Hinata blushed as she stood in front of her in a pink and lavender komon styled kimono with various patterns embroidered in lime green. The rest of the Aburame ladies, young and old, stopped their preparatory activity to gaze at her in awe.
Her dark hair was braided into a single, loose ponytail, which was tied together by a lavender bow. On the right side, her hair bore several flower pins, all of which were in white.
"I agree." Minara smiled as she combed through Makuro's hair. "A princess would turn green with envy at the sight of you, Hinata."
Hinata's blush darkened. "O-oh, s-stop." She stammered shyly, her fingers prodding each other in her usual nervous gesture.
"I think you look like an angel, Hinata-san." Makuro smiled as she played with a stray ribbon.
The women around her agreed with a nod. Shiva danced circles around Hinata as she tied her obi sash into a big bow.
"There." Shiva smiled as she looked at her from head to toe.
Hinata smiled back as Shiva tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"That's the best work I have ever done with anyone, if I do say so myself." Shiva stated with pride.
"Th-thank you f-for helping me, Shiva-san." Hinata bowed her head in thanks.
"You're very welcome, dear!" Shiva replied, smiling from ear to ear.
"Yes, yes, she's very beautiful, fish mouth. Now, please get dressed, you're always the dead last in these things." Midori sneered.
Shiva's expression soured as she grabbed Midori by her top's shoulder straps.
"One more word out of you, you mongrel runt. Just one more word." She seethed, the veins popping from her temples and her hands.
"Belligerent bullfrog." Midori snapped.
"Homunculus imbecile."
"Stick-bug!"
"Warthog!"
"Four eyed leech!"
"Stout-faced nag!"
Hinata and the rest of the Aburame ladies watched as Shiva and Midori wrestled each other. They literally reminded Hinata of Sakura and Ino and their constant name-calling quarrels. She giggled as Shino's great-aunt, Tarene, who was a small-statured elderly woman, approached the two females and snatched them down by the ears with relative ease. The two winced in pain as the old woman tightened her grip.
"Now, now," she crooned sternly, "this is not the proper way for a lady to behave, much less in front of children and guests."
Shiva and Midori glared viciously at each other, but sighed in defeat and mellowed. Shino's great-aunt released her grip, making both women straighten their posture and rub their ears to soothe the pain.
"Now, make haste and get ready. We do not wish to be late."
They grumbled as they went about with their own preparations. Tarene turned to Hinata and walked up to her.
"Do forgive that horrible display." She began, "They do take pleasure in quarreling with each other."
"O-oh, it's q-quite alright." Hinata reassured her.
Tarene smiled as she took Hinata's hand and patted it inside her own. Hinata looked at the small woman and noticed a tingling sensation on her arms. She looked down and saw that her hands were specked with Tarene's kikaichu.
"Hm… Ahh, so his kikaichu have chosen you." She murmured.
Hinata cocked an eyebrow as Tarene's gaze drifted from their hands to her face.
"W-what do you mean?" Hinata asked.
"Do you not smell it on your skin, young one?" Tarene asked.
Smell it on my skin…? Hinata slowly brought her hand close to her face and without harming Tarene's insects, sniffed her wrist. She blinked at the slight, yet peculiarly musky scent that entered her nostrils. Tarene smiled sweetly at Hinata's befuddled expression.
"Oh, you'll figure it out soon enough, starling." Tarene patted her hands as the insects receded back into her sleeves.
Hinata gazed at the old woman and slightly nodded her head. What could she mean by that, she wondered.
It did not take much longer for the other women to finish. They all made their exit together, chatting happily about the festival and the many new activities it would contain. As the women made their way downstairs, Hinata felt herself being drawn back from the group. She cast a glance at Shino's bedroom door.
Could he be in there?
Deliberately, she approached the door and knocked. After a moment, the doorknob clicked and the door opened, revealing Shino on the other side. He was already dressed, though it looked like he was still in the process of taming his unruly hair. A third of it was brushed neatly with gel, but the other two thirds were either matted down or poking out in every direction. Hinata bit her lip as she stifled a giggle. Shino sighed as his cheeks blazed with a bright blush.
"I was working on it." He said as he cleared his throat.
"I see." Hinata smiled. "What happened to your?"
Shino stepped aside to let her in. "The unfortunate outcome of letting your elder cousin give you advice on how to brush your hair."
Hinata snorted, covering her mouth with her palm. "You actually listened to him?"
Shino blushed. "He was…very unwaveringly persuasive. As you can see, he even went as far as demonstrating his advice to me."
Shino turned his back to her as her beautiful form heaved with laughter.
"Here, let me help." Hinata offered with a giggled.
He froze. "I'm well capable of tending to it on my own, Hinata."
"I'm sure you are, Shino-kun." She smiled, "But by the time you finished, you'll be left behind."
Shino sighed in defeat as Hinata sat him down on the floor next to the foot of the bed. She grabbed the gel and the comb and sat down on the bed. Before she began, she examined the "damage" while trying not to giggle too much.
"It's not…so bad." She began as she dabbed her hands inside the jar of hair gel and ran them through Shino's hair.
"You don't have to lie." Shino grumbled.
Hinata giggled as she comed her way through his hair.
"Ow." He winced half-heartedly.
"Sorry." Hinata bit her lip once more.
It wasn't every day that Hinata got to comb Shino's bushy hair. It was fun, but difficult as well. She had no experience dealing with thick hair, since her family's hair was board-straight and lacy. Her inexperience in that field earned her a few hisses and a few "ow"'s, to which she apologized for.
Shino was thankful that she offered to help, but right now he just wanted her to finish, and quickly. He could tell by the way she tugged and pulled that she had no experience with his type of hair, and he couldn't blame her for that. It wasn't her fault that his hair was a tangled mess even on a good day, but the least she could do was try to be a bit gentler.
The few and excruciating moments passed by until Hinata patted his shoulder.
"There." She said.
Shino sighed with relief. Hinata blushed as the two got up on their feet. Shino ran a hand through his hair, easing the burning sensation that still gnawed at his scalp.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Shino." Hinata apologized, her fingers beginning to poke each other in her usual habit.
"It is fine, Hinata." Shino reassured her, "It is not your fault."
Hinata smiled. Shino could not help but gaze at her. In her present wardrobe, she was absolutely stunning. Though, he noticed that something else was catching her attention. Her eyes had suddenly drifted from him to the bookcase behind him. He instinctively gulped down the lump in his throat. However, Shino's body relaxed after she moved past him to have a closer look to the contents of the bookcase.
He turned around and heard her gasp in surprise as she looked at a particular jar. His eyes widened. The caterpillar, which had been enveloped in its comfortable cocoon for weeks now, was starting to break through. Once the butterfly emerged from the cocoon, it rested on the bottom of the jar.
"Wow…" Hinata breathed, her hand touching the jar in a gentle fashion. "It's beautiful."
The butterfly had black, green, and yellow coloring to its wings, and its body was black and a bright yellow. Shino smiled at the rare specimen.
"I'm sure I haven't seen butterflies like this one here, Shino." Hinata said, still fixing her eyes upon it.
"They are found further down south of the village." Shino replied, "I managed to save it from a bird on one of our missions. It's an ornithoptera goliath from the looks of it."
"What?"
Shino cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed by his know-it-all vocabulary. "A goliath birdwing."
"Oh." Hinata looked at the butterfly a bit closely. "But, it doesn't look that big."
He smiled. "It will, once its wings are dry and… fluffier."
Hinata giggled at Shino's use of the word. Even if he knew that others did not understand most of his verbose speeches or explanations, he never transitioned to a simpler usage. It sounded a bit funny, coming from the tall Aburame. She blushed when he turned to look at her, a nervous smile on his face.
"So all it needs is plenty of sunlight and rest, right?" she asked.
Shino nodded. "I will set him near the window tonight so that he will be able to get the sunlight he needs tomorrow morning."
Hinata nodded. The two ninjas noticed the light within the room dim down as the sun hid behind the tree line.
"We should get going." Shino stated.
"Right." Hinata replied, following him out of the room.
The town was showered with paper streamers and vibrant decorations. The streets were lined with various types of vendors. They had everything from weaponry, children's toys, and clothing to adoptable pets and food. They even had a small playground, of sorts, set up for the children.
Hinata was expecting to see Shino's younger cousins hog-pile the playground, but was surprised to see the children in a group of their own, hands at their sides with monotonous expressions as they examined their new surroundings.
"What is wrong with them?" Hinata whispered to Shino.
Shino fought the smile that crept up to his lips. "They only show their true nature inside the Aburame manor. Outside our clan's walls, we are one in the same."
Hinata looked at the rest of the clan, who were slowly dispersing in every direction and noticed that they all bore the same stoic expression.
"They were so excited to come." Hinata said, almost in a disappointed voice.
"And they are." Shino nodded his head at the direction of his cousins.
The small group of children were being guided around by Shami and three of Shino's other cousins, the younger ones visibly jittering with excitement as their elder family members walked them through the various animal cages.
Hinata smiled as each child took with them either a rabbit or a cat, save for the youngest (and smallest) of the group, Shiho, who had chosen the lone iguana that was amongst the many mammals in the vendor's booth.
Shino and Hinata chuckled to themselves as they walked about. They managed to run into Shikamaru and Temari in one of the food kiosks with Choji, and Ino, who was with Kiba. The males nodded at them, except for Kiba, who gave them the toothiest of grins. But that grin turned into a grimace along with Shikamaru and Choji's expressions as the females continued to badger them about who was the fairer blonde of the two.
Shino shivered inwardly at the poor men's situation and thanked his rarely lucky stars that Hinata was not a vain woman.
They saw plenty of other people, like Rock Lee and Might Guy, who were impressing a group of children with how many hand-stand push-ups they could do in less than fifteen minutes, as well as their sensei, Kurenai, and her three year old daughter, Asumi.
Then they saw Tenten with Kankuro by her side. They acknowledge them with a smile, much to their surprise, though they did not stay to chat. As soon as Kankuro opened his mouth to greet them, he was forcibly dragged off to another clothing kiosk.
"A very-" Hinata began.
"Unusual match?" Shino finished her sentence as he turned his head in her direction.
Hinata nodded. She did not know much from Kankuro, aside from the fact that he was one of the Sand Siblings, the trio that Team 8 had feared the most during the Chuunin Exams. They had changed so much during the years that they no longer seemed so scary.
They, like Shino, Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata herself, were just misunderstood, and where the Leaf ninja had strived to push through those negative feelings, the Sand ninja had embraced them as things that could not be changed, until they stepped in and made a change.
When it was apparent that the intervention changed the Sand Siblings for the better, Hinata knew that people were never set in stone. It just took the right people and the right situations to make a change.
"Are you alright, Hinata?" Shino whispered.
Hinata snapped out of her reverie and looked up at the tall man.
"I'm fine." Hinata answered. Her eyebrow quirked up, "Why do you ask?"
She must have been lost in thought for a long time, because he didn't answer right away. Then she noticed him shift uncomfortably.
"What is it?" she asked again.
He shook his head. "Nothing. You were quiet for quite a while."
"Oh." Hinata looked down for a moment as they kept walking. "Shino, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
Hinata breathed softly. "I've noticed the smell."
Shino froze. Everything seemed so distant now that his nerves went on overdrive. What will she do? What will she say? What do I do?!
The festival ended with a healthy dose of colorful fireworks. Hanabi slowly made her way back into the Compound. She knew that the impostor would be waiting, but she also knew that it was nothing out of the normal for her to be out if there was a festival. Still, the darkness made her feel anxious. She just wanted to tell him she was home and head to her room.
As she passed the hallway to the common room, she heard a whimper. She stopped to listen, noticing that the sound continued, and it was far from pleasant. Gulping, Hanabi went towards the sound and gasped as a tall, very wide and stocky figure blocked her way. She gazed at the figure with horror and stepped back as it slowly approached her. She gasped again as she bumped into another figure behind her, and attempted to scream as the figure grasped her arm tightly, but was quickly silenced by the assailant's hand. The figure nearly dragged her inside the gathering hall, where the Hiashi impostor stood over Haizo.
Tears flowed down her face as the faint lights that poured through thinly curtained windows revealed Haizo's mangled body twitching violently as the impostor kicked him. He whimpered again as his body convulsed from the impact. Blood seeped from his mouth, nose, and torso.
"You have been quite the naughty girl, Hanabi." Hiashi rasped, a sinister grin forming across his pale, distorted face.