Hinari

Chapter 20

Sakura Hanamoto

"Would you hurry it up Hinari? We don't have all day you know!" Tsubaki grabbed Hinari by the arm and dragged her along

"I never said I wanted to come Tsubaki." Hinari protested weakly.

"Oh look, there's Takuro, I'm surprised the fangirls haven't found him yet." Tsubaki said. Hinari looked up, and then looked away. It was odd seeing Takuro dressed in civilian clothing. He wore a white t-shirt and a pair of black pants, and his bangs kept falling into his eyes since his forehead protector wasn't there to keep them out of his face.

"Hey guys, nice of you to show up Hinari." Takuro said.

"It was not of my own free will." She responded. Takuro chuckled.

"Come one you two, let's have some fun already!" Tsubaki called to them. She bought them some food to eat. Hinari nervously tugged at the hem of her shirt.

"Don't worry about money Hinari, everything's on us tonight." Takuro told her.

"Are you sure?" Hinair asked.

"Definitely. We know that a good portion of your money goes to paying your rent, there's no sense in you losing your apartment for anything that you want tonight." Tsubaki said.

"Okay." Hinari let herself relax a bit, but the feeling of being stared at was making her uncomfortable. "I feel unwelcome." She murmured. Takuro heard and looked up at the villagers that were glaring at her. He took her hand and stood between them and her and glared back. Tsubaki did the same. For the moment, the older villagers looked away, no doubt waiting for the heir to the Uchiha clan to walk away. Tsubaki held less power, being the youngest member of the Nara clan, though the Nara clan had become more prominent in the past fifteen years. 'Maybe I should have just stayed home.' Hinari thought. Sensing her hesitation Takuro spoke up.

"Don't worry Hinari; we won't let them come near you." Takuro told her. Hinari nodded. Takuro's grip on her hand tightened and they ran to a game booth. Takuro handed money to the man running the booth and picked up the rubber stress balls that were sitting on the counter. He easily struck the targets and won the largest prize. Tsubaki tried her hand at it, but her aim wasn't as accurate.

"Do you want to play Hinari?" Tsubaki asked.

"Okay." Takuro paid for Hinari's game.

"Sorry, but she can't play." The man said.

"Why not?"

"Her presence disrespects the Rokudaime." Tsubaki growled, she reached for a fan that wasn't there, but contented herself by picking one of the balls and pelting it at his face.

"She has just as much right as anyone else!"

"Tsubaki!" Takuro grabbed Tsubaki by the wrist to stop her from throwing another one at the man. "Let's go." He dragged Tsubaki away, careful to avoid being punched. Takuro handed the large teddy bear to Hinari while he got Tsubaki to calm down.

"Did Moyashi-chan lose her temper again?" They looked up to see a tall boy in his late teens standing over them.

"Who're you?" Takuro asked.

"Yuuhi Asuma. By the looks of things, Moyashi-chan did lose her temper." He ruffled Tsubaki's loose hair.

"Don't call me that."

"Sure thing Moyashi-chan." Tsubaki stamped on his foot. He winced.

"I'll get you for that!" Asuma chuckled and ducked away from them.

"See you later!" He called back as Tsubaki chased him around the village.

"They have an interesting relationship." Hinari muttered. Takuro nodded.

"What do you want to do next?" Takuro asked her. Hinari shrugged. She'd never been to a festival before so she didn't know what to do. Takuro looked about, but was assaulted by something dressed in pink.

"Onii-chan!" Takuro pulled Satoko off of his neck before she strangled him. He studied his sister carefully.

"Hinari?"

"What is it?"

"Run."

"Why?"

"S-Sugar rush!" Takuro put his sister on the ground and grabbed Hinari's hand, running off as quickly as possible. They ran a good distance from Satoko.

"What was that about?"

"You don't want to know." Takuro leaned against a stand.

"I don't think Tsubaki will be able to find us." Hinari remarked. Takuro looked around. They seemed to have drifted away from the main part of the village into the slums.

"I see your point." Takuro sighed. "Now what?" Hinari shivered and rubbed her arms, Tsubaki didn't let her wear a jacket, mostly because she didn't really have a normal jacket to wear. Takuro pulled off his sweater and gave it to her. "Here." Hinari took it gratefully and put it on. It was too big for her but she didn't complain.

"This way." Hinari lead the way, occasionally pausing to listen. She turned the corner and did an about face.

"What is it?"

"Lynch mob." She whispered. "Follow me." Hinari took Takuro's hand and found the main street. She heard loud footsteps from behind. She pulled Takuro into an alley and flattened herself against a wall. She waited for a moment before continuing on. They found themselves surrounded. "Shit." Hinari looked about, then pausing long enough to push up the sleeves of Takuro's sweater, she sprinted. Concentrating hard, she passed through a wall, pulling Takuro behind her.

"Where are we going?"

"My apartment, it's the safest place to be." Hinari told him as they passed through the opposite wall of the building. They ran through an alley way, jumped over a fence and soon came to Hinari's apartment building. They ran up the stairs, somehow, the mob had grown in numbers and had caught up. Hinari fumbled with her keys, shoved the door open and pushed Takuro inside. "Close and lock the windows!" She commanded. Takuro quickly did this. Hinari slammed the door shut, slid the bolt, locked the doorknob and formed three seals. She pressed her palms against the door and shoved her chakra into it, setting the seal into place. She sank to the floor. "Thank god for Hokage approved seals." She said just as the pounding began. Takuro jumped in surprise.

"Are you sure we're safe here?" He asked.

"Yeah, we just can't open the windows. For some reason the seal breaks if the windows or door is opened." Hinari explained.

"Then I'm stuck here tonight?"

"Yeah." Hinari told him. She got up and sat back down on the floor, leaning against her bed. Takuro sat down next to her. "I was looking forward to that fireworks display tonight too." She said.

"Will we be able to see it from the any of the windows?"

"No, not very well at least. They only good view I get from this apartment is the sunrise." She told him. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She smiled when she felt Takuro tense up for a second. "You got taller." She stated.

"How can you tell?"

"I just can." She responded. Hinari eventually fell asleep, even past the noise of people still ramming against the door to get it. Takuro pulled the blanket down from the bed and draped it over them. He wrapped his arm around Hinari's shoulders and fell asleep as well.

XxXxXxX

Takuro woke up when he felt the sun strike his face. He rubbed his eyes, and was about to stretch when he heard a soft sigh beside him. Hinari was still sleeping peacefully, leaning against him. He closed his eyes and was drifting off to sleep again when he heard someone knock on the door.

"Hinari-chan, Hinari-chan!" The voice was of an old lady. Takuro stood up, careful not to let Hinari wake up and unlocked the door and opening it. "Oh, is Hinari-chan there?" The old woman asked.

"She's still asleep." Takuro responded.

"Oh, well, I don't want to wake her, I'll come back in a bit." The woman walked away muttering something Takuro couldn't quite hear, he was able to catch small bits of what she was saying. "Kids these days…grow up so fast…what her parents would think…a boy staying over-." The rest of her sentence was cut off when Takuro closed the door.

"Who was that?" Hinari asked. Takuro jumped and spun. He hadn't heard Hinari.

"I think it was the landlady. She was looking for you."

"Probably wants me to get rid of the mob." Hinari muttered. She opened the door and examined the heap of men in front of the door. "Hand me the frying pan sitting next to the sink will you?" Takuro gave it to her. Hinari raised it above her head and one by one, dealt the men powerful blows to the head, snapping them out of the genjutsu they were under. They stood up dazed by the blows. "Get out!" She cried loudly. The volume of her voice made them wince and they left without protest. Hinari went back inside and put the frying pan on the stove. She laughed when she heard Takuro's stomach growl. "Want some breakfast?"

"Sure. Can you cook?"

"I'm not that bad." Hinari responded, reaching into the fridge and pulling out a jar and three eggs. Hinari opened the jar and spooned out a glop of something gooey. She saw Takuro's dubious expression. "Bacon grease." She told him. Takuro was relieved by this. Hinari waited until the bacon grease was sizzling, she cracked each of the eggs and made an omelet. She cut it in half and placed each half on a plate. Hinari handed one to Takuro.

"Thanks." Takuro ate the omelet. "Wow, this is delicious. Not even my dad can cook like this."

"Don't you mean your mom?"

"No, Mom can't cook to save her life. Dad does all the cooking." Takuro said.

"He does?"

"Yeah, he lived by himself for a while so he learned how to cook that way. Mom, I don't know why she can't cook, her Grandma used to be a housewife." Takuro said as he finished. Hinari finished as well.

"What do you do if your dad goes on a mission?" Hinari asked.

"We eat out. I got sick from food poisoning the last time Mom tried to cook."

"Seriously?" Hinari asked. Takuro nodded.

"Is that any way to talk about your mother?" The looked up to see Sasuke standing at the door.

"Hi Dad." Takuro stood up.

"Do I have permission to enter?" Sasuke asked Hinari.

"Yes sir." Hinari said. Sasuke walked up to his son and got him in a headlock and ruffled his hair roughly.

"Stop! Dad! That hurts!" Sasuke released him.

"We wondered what happened to you two last night. Tsubaki came looking for you."

"Oh, we were chased by a lynch mob." Hinari told him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "We came here since we'd be safer."

"Could have just come to me." Sasuke said.

"I didn't think of it at the time." Hinari told him.

"That's okay, you two are safe and that's what matters. Come one Takuro, time to face your mother." Sasuke said. Takuro nodded.

"See you later Hinari." He waved to her as he followed his father out the door. Hinari washed the dishes and looked out the window at the Hokage Monument. She looked at her father's stone face.

"Happy belated birthday Dad." She said. Hinari showered and changed. It was then that she realized that Takuro hadn't taken his jacket with him. Hinari folded it and put it aside to return later. She locked her door and walked to the hospital.

"Arashi-'nee-chan!" She cried as she opened her sister's door.

"Good morning Hinari." Arashi was eating breakfast.

"How can you eat that crap?" Hinari asked pointing to the tray of food.

"It's not too bad."

"When's your birthday?" Hinari asked suddenly.

"July fifteenth."

"Darn I missed it already."

"Why?"

"I was going to make you breakfast and bring it to you on your birthday. But I guess that won't happen." Hinari said.

"You can cook?"

"Yep! Everyone that's tried my food says so."

"How many people is that?" Hinari hung her head.

"One." She muttered. "But he was probably telling the truth, Takuro doesn't like lying to me 'cause I usually catch him." Hinari said grinning.

"Is Takuro that boy you fought in round one of the finals?" Arashi asked. Hinari nodded.

"He's also my best friend." Hinari said.

"Can you tell me about him?"

"Takuro's really nice. He's always there to help me. I owe him a lot because of that. He saved my life on a couple occasions, and he's the only person that can calm me down when I go, uh, berserk. He's very kind, and he's always there to make me feel better." Hinari told her.

"Do you like him?" Hinari was caught off guard by the question.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's a simple 'yes' or 'no' question." Arashi smiled.

"I don't know. He's my best friend, but that doesn't mean I like him." Hinari said. The door opened and Sakura stepped inside.

"Good morning Arashi-chan, Hinari-chan." Sakura said. "My son tells me that you two spent the night running from a mob." Hinari nodded. "And that you cook better than my husband." Hinari nodded again. Sakura smiled. Arashi finished eating and pushed the tray aside.

"Um, Takuro forgot his jacket at my place." Hinari said.

"I'll be sure to tell him so he can go get it." Sakura said. Sakura turned her attention to Arashi. "Well, good news, you can start your physical therapy to get back into shape." Sakura told her.

"What will have to do?" Arashi asked her.

"First, we're going to work on getting your legs up to speed, you'll have to learn to walk again for the most part. With the amount of time you've spent in a coma, you've gone through puberty so your mind has to catch up with the rest of you. In maturity your about as old as Hinari, but your body is older. So, if anyone says that you're acting like a twelve year old, you probably are." Sakura explained. "Once you can walk a good amount of distance on your own, you'll be doing strength training to strengthen your muscles. And during all this I'll have to explain everything that happened to your body while you were asleep. Depending on how hard you work this could take anywhere from six months maybe even a year." Sakura said.

"I'll work hard then, I'm a little eager to get back in the field." Arashi said. "What happened to my team anyway?" She asked.

"They died about a year ago, during a reconnaissance mission." Sakura said. Arashi looked down at the blankets in front of her.

"I'm sorry 'nee-chan."

"I'll leave you alone for a bit." Sakura slipped out of the room. Hinari took Arashi's hand.

"Thank you for staying here with me Hinari." Arashi did not cry, but Hinari knew that she was upset.

"Is there anything you want?" Hinari asked.

"Some miso ramen sounds good right now." Hinari nodded and created a Kage Bunshin. She handed it some money. The Kage Bunshin ran to Ichiraku to buy her some ramen.

"Arashi-'nee-chan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. My team, we were never really close. We hardly got along, and my two teammates didn't like each other very much. They were rivals of a sort. But, I'm still saddened even though I only knew them for a few months." Arashi told her younger sister. "Thanks again." The Kage Bunshin soon returned with the ramen and gave it to Arashi. It disappeared and Arashi ate it. "Man I miss this stuff." Arashi ate the ramen gladly.

"I have to go now, I'll see you later 'nee-chan." Hinari stood up and left.