Swordless Shinobi (Discontinued)

by NeoNazo356

To be a Jinchuriki is to sacrifice your humanity. To be a Katana is to strike down all in your path without pause or question. What kind of human then, will be the result of both doctrines when brought together by one who has been called a demon such as he, a woman whose very existance had been denied by those around her, despite its reluctance to be snuffed out?

21. Festival the week Before

It was a week before the finals to the Chunin Selection Exams in Konoha. As dignitaries, the occasional Kage, and aristocrats from across the Elemental Nations gathered in Konoha, the streets were bustling as various booths were set up all across Konoha's main drag as well as the "sub drags", lanterns being put up over the streets in preparation for the following evening.

After doing a little digging in town, while wearing admittedly more normal attire, she found out that the following evening, there would be a festival taking place in Konoha to celebrate the Konoha-nin making it that far into the exams, mostly as an obligation for them to take a break and not wear themselves out before the main event in the following week.

Thankfully, Nanami was able to stop the three before they headed out to train some more, and were made aware of the upcoming festival.

After being told that they had to take a break before they wore themselves out, Naruto, Konayuki, and Washi could only agree to going to the festival that evening. For all involved, it had been a while since they'd been to a festival of any sort, so some games, food, and fireworks would help ease them into the upcoming events.

Naruto, Washi, and Konayuki were just told to rest up by Togame while she and Nanami went into town to get their outfits, after having taken their measurements of course.

This left Shichika to watch the three like a hawk, with another hawk watching them like… well… itself.

That aside, since the three of them weren't going to get to do any physical training that day, they decided to just chat with one another about the training they'd been under, but chose to keep their new moves secret for the main event to surprise one another.

At the same time, knowing how there would be festivities and stuff the group would have to pay for, Shichika decided to give the three some of the money he'd made on missions. Sort of as a little gift for making it that far into the Chunin Selection Exams, though he admittedly didn't have to take it himself, so he didn't know what they'd gone through.

---

The day came and went pretty quickly, soon giving way to the setting sun, the lanterns across Konoha slowly being lit one by one before the whole town shone as if it were day.

Having cleaned themselves up for the evening, Togame presented each of them a bundle of clothing, wrapped in black cloth tied with a white string so the contents would be a surprise.

"You three go and get ready now," Togame ordered as she pushed the three up the steps, albeit a bit uncharacteristically given how strong she typically was. "I'll meet you downstairs once you're changed."

"Hai, Togame-san," the three sighed as they went into their respective rooms to change.

---

A few minutes later after everyone had gotten dressed and had gathered in the courtyard.

"Uwaaaaa! Oh, I love my new yukata," Konayuki giggled as she spun around in a light blue yukata decorated with snowflake patterns, a white obi around her waist decorated with light blue snowflake patterns as well. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Togame-san."

"I had a feeling you'd like it," the strategian chuckled.

"I don't know about us though…" Naruto said as he looked himself over. "I'm not sure we… qualify to handle this look."

On another note, Naruto and Washi found themselves in outfits similar to Shichika's original. Naruto's was orange with white leaf decoration on it, down to the ponytail holder on his hair, a white obi with orange leaf decorations around his waist. Washi on the other hand was in a similar outfit, but was white with yellow feather-like decorations on it, and a brown obi around his waist with white wind-like designs.

"I suppose it qualifies as original, and you could even say it's chic to flaunt such a weather-defying outfit," Washi mused as he looked himself over. "But don't you ever get cold with so little clothing?" he asked looking up at Shichika, who was out of his ninja wear but now in his old outfit as well.

The next moment a strong gust of wind blew through the yard, sending Shichika's ponytail whipping behind him, as well as a shudder down Naruto and Washi's spines until they got accustomed to the temperature.

"No?" he said more as a question than a statement.

"Don't mind him. Think of him as a bear or some other animal," Togame stated casually. "Now, let's go to this festival and see what it's like," she said leading the group out of the estate's front gate. She on the other hand was wearing a violet-colored kimono with white stripes close to the edges of the sleeves as well as running down her chest with pink beside it. She had a black obi around her waist with pink star-shaped patterns, and her hair was done up with a purple, yellow, and white shimenara. (Basically what she wore in Katanagatari episode 5)

Nanami meanwhile wore the same outfit she wore when she first met Naruto. Though not the exact same outfit, but just one of the same type.

"By the way, don't Dachou and Hagetaka want to come?" Naruto asked.

"Dachou gets nervous in large crowds and is somewhat afraid of women. Hagetaka on the other hand is more of a tomboy. She isn't into festivals that much either," Washi admitted. Since he technically wasn't lying about that, it was sort of the truth.

"Hmmmm…" Naruto mused, but saw no sign of deceit on Washi's face. "Well I guess I can't argue with that. Before I met Nee-chan, I wasn't a big fan of festivals either."

"Well, if someone tries to mess with you now, you could always use a kyotouryuu oughi on them," Washi chuckled.

"Please don't get him started. I had this same talk with Shichika on our way to Inaba as we made our way to Gekoku Castle," Togame stated, remembering when Shichika was… training, to recognize her. When she thought back to it, if someone had been watching, that "episode" could've used a little more context.

"Well here it's different. If someone tries to attack me, I can fight back and it be justified," Naruto stated. He was actually looking forward to having a little bit of fun by himself that night.

---

Later, twenty minutes or so after Shichika, Togame, Nanami, Naruto, Konayuki, and Washi left the Namikaze Estate and made their way to the festival, Hagetaka sneaked down the steps and to the basement door while Dachou moved the front as the lookout.

The basement of the Namikaze estate was really just an extra set of rooms. However, these rooms served no real purpose other than storage, but were spacious enough that they could be remodeled for some other purpose.

However it wasn't here that Kin was hidden. After approaching one of the tatami mats in the back right corner of the basement, she tapped it a few times, the sound of footsteps coming to her ears before the mat was lifted up, a wary Kin Tsuchi peering around.

"Everyone else is gone?" she asked warily.

"Yes. They left for a festival in Konoha, and they should be out for the rest of the night," Hagetaka said as she helped the girl out of the bunker. In addition to the basement, there was a secret room, whose purpose wasn't clearly stated by its appearance. It had a simple bed and bathroom as well as lights, but no shower.

"I'm still surprised that Naruto doesn't even know about the hidden room in his own house," Kin said as she stretched her limbs. Being confined to a limited space didn't help her muscles, and walking around in circles for hours and hours may draw attention to herself.

"Well he doesn't really feel like doing it himself. There isn't a reason for him to at the moment," the kunoichi stated. "Besides, if he did know, then it would be harder to keep you hidden here."

"Hey uh, thanks for helping me out and all," Kin said as she followed Hagetaka up the steps. "The food isn't great, but this is certainly better than being stuck in a coffin. Or whatever Orochimaru was going to do to me."

"And because of that, we know of his involvement in whatever the hell is going on here," she finished. "We should probably get you to the shower before the others get back," she said as she opened the door and made sure the coast was clear before letting the girl into the main hallway. "You're starting to smell a bit ripe."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Kin sighed. "I haven't washed my hair in about a week."

---

I hope Hagetaka and Dachou are taking good care of Kin, Washi sighed as he tapped his finger on his side. During the festival I'll have to break away from the group and speak to Ibiki.

"You've been awfully quiet Washi-kun," Konayuki stated as she looked to him. "Is there something on your mind?"

"Huh? Ah, well, maybe, but it isn't important," he said, knowing that if he'd said "nothing", that would've made him more suspicious.

"Hmmmm…" Konayuki hmmmed as she leveled her gaze at him. "Okay then!"

Sometime I wonder if that's all an act, or if she's just bipolar, Washi sighed to himself.

"Hey, where'd Nee-chan go?" Naruto and Shichika asked as they looked around, not finding any sign of the greenette anywhere nearby all of a sudden.

"Maybe she wanted to be on her own for a while," Togame stated before grabbing Shichika's hand, dragged him off once the festival was in sight.

"Where do you think she's taking Shichika-san?" Washi asked.

"Probably to win her some prizes," Naruto stated. "She's always been like that at festivals. Just has to have something to remember it by."

"Look! A mask shop!" Konayuki cheered as she dragged her teammates over to it. "Come on! Let's get some."

As the two were being dragged along, people taking the time to notice their chic and weather-defying outfits, the two could only laugh and smile at how much they needed something like this.

---

Meanwhile back at the Namikaze Estate, Dachou was currently sitting in front of the bathroom door, keeping watch while Kin got herself cleaned up during this rare time that everyone would be out of the house for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, Hagetaka was there guarding her since, they couldn't risk someone attacking even if the chance was slim, and because there was no way in hell she'd let Dachou watch Kin as she bathed.

"Ahhhh, this feels so good," Kin sighed as she let herself sink into the warm water, her hair floating in the water as she rinsed her face. "But still, has Washi not told Naruto about keeping me here, hidden in his own basement?"

"I believe his words were, He never said I couldn't hide kunoichi looking for asylum in his basement, so legally, I'm in the right, and then, We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Hagetaka stated.

"I see… The three of you really put yourselves on the line for me. Even though you didn't know me," Kin sighed as she started shampooing her hair.

"In my own words," Hagetaka began. "If I were that far up shit creek, I'd want someone to help me out too."

" . . . You're not a normal girl are you?" she asked.

"Well… Having my parents killed at a young age and being raised by my brothers does that to a girl," Hagetaka sighed.

"Sorry," Kin said back, knowing that was probably a delicate subject.

At this however Hagetaka shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I've gotten over it. Besides, Washi was a pretty fun role model to have around, and he was a pretty good guardian too. He worked himself into the ground to feed us every single day, took care of us when we were ill, and carried me on his back when we moved from place to place if I needed to rest. He may be a bit weird and all, but I wouldn't trade him for any other Nii-san in the world."

"I see…" Kin replied.

A few minutes later of just sitting in the tub, washing the sweat and grime off her body that had been accumulating, the oto-kunoichi brought up something that had been on her mind since Washi had agreed to help her.

"Hey um…" Kin started. "What does Washi like in a girl?" she asked nervously as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Personally, Washi's more of an ass man than a breast man," Hagetaka stated, smiling a bit when Kin eeped a bit and sunk herself down into the water to hide the blush on her face. "Of course that doesn't mean he isn't attracted to breasts either, but I think he prefers women with a nice ass and hips than a big chest."

"H-How would you know?" Kin squeaked, fighting off the blush on her face.

"It's something he inherited from his father, and something that became evident when we traveled around after… our village was destroyed," she answered. "It was brief, but I could see his eyes drifting when he hit puberty. Of course, having to raise Dachou and I, he didn't really have the time, or the resources, for a relationship until he got older, and by that time, we got looped into this Konoha-nin business anyway."

Kin looked down at herself in the water. While she was a C-cup at the best, she still had strong legs and hips, as well as a shapely buttocks. Of course that was hidden beneath he baggy camo pants she used to wear. If anything, she was sort of glad that her teammates were gone, otherwise they may've tried and rape her. Especially Zaku. That pointy-haired douche had the eyes of a rapist-in-the-making.

As well as the wandering hands of a lecher, but that's a given.

"Of course he has mental preferences too," the Maniwa-kunoichi continued. "He likes girls who are strong and independent, and confident enough about themselves to be themselves. Women who are too pretty are too bratty for his tastes, and like any other guy out there, he doesn't exactly have a fetish for girls who are too ugly. Then again, the latter's a given."

"So I'm in his preferences then?" she asked, but quickly slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized she'd just said that out loud.

"Heheh. Of course. I'm actually quite glad that he picked someone like you over some of the other kunoichi in this village," Hagetaka giggled. "Aside from Konayuki, who I can tell he likes as well, girls like that Yamanaka heiress don't appeal to him."

" . . . So then he already has his eyes on that Itezora girl…" Kin pouted as she laid back in the water.

"True…" Hagetaka stated. "But," she said getting the girl's attention. "I know how he can have the both of you. Either way, everyone wins."

" . . . So you're saying you want him to be with both of us?" Kin asked, earning a nod from the Maniwa-kunoichi. "I thought most girls were against harems."

"While most guys with harems have it just for the sex, I know that Washi is different than them," Hagetaka stated. "Plus, I still want my nii-san to be happy. Now, this is how I imagine setting this up…" she started, grinning when Kin was hanging on her every word.

---

At the same time at the Hokage tower, Sarutobi was finishing up some last-minute paperwork before stepping out of the tower, sighing as he flexed his hands.

"*Sigh* Getting old is such a hassle," the old man sighed, unintentionally quoting Shichika, whom Shikamaru now worshiped because of his actively-simple lifestyle. "Hmmm… Maybe I'll check on how Naruto is doing," he said as he pulled out a crystal ball and set it on his desk. After polishing a small scuff on the top with his sleeve, he held his hands out to the sides like one would a fire before muttering the words, "Tomegane no Jutsu."

The next moment the crystal ball began to lose its clarity, almost like it was being filled with smoke. A few seconds later, it locked onto Naruto, Konayuki, and Washi walking together. His eyebrows raised when he noticed that the prior and latter were both wearing very chic, weather-defying outfits.

"Hmmm… They appear to be wearing what Shichika-san wore before becoming a Tokubetsu Chunin," Sarutobi mused. " . . . They seem to be getting a lot of attention," he mused as he looked to the ball's periphery. "Now if I can determine whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."

"Well they do have the build for those outfits," Nanami said from right beside him as she looked at the crystal ball.

"Maybe… Ah!" he suddenly cried out. "Nanami-san, when did you get here?"

"Just before you did that trick," Nanami stated. "Is it a ninjutsu?"

"Well, yes, it is," he admitted.

"Can you see anything you want with… I'm sorry what is this technique?"

"This would be the Tomegane no Jutsu," Sarutobi stated. "With this technique, I use a crystal ball as a medium, then I track a particular individual wherever they are. There are a few restrictions about the person that is subjected to pursuit. The one using this technique must know that person's chakra pattern, but that usually gets covered when you know someone for long enough."

"I see…" Nanami stated, finding this a useful technique. "Do you think you could check on Shichika?"

"Oh, well, sure," Sarutobi said as he moved his hands away from the crystal ball, causing it to become clear again. He then put his hands around it again, this time the image focusing on Shichika, who at the moment was eating some roasted squid with Togame.

"Fascinating… Does it have to be a crystal ball, or can it be any reflective object?"

"Well, normally you can only use an object that's too big," Sarutobi explained as he blew from his pipe. "However, using a crystal ball gets better results than with a mirror, and windows don't really seem to accept this technique."

"I see," Nanami mused, her eyes flickering. "Think I could give it a try? Something like this would be useful for keeping an eye on Naruto-kun when he's out on missions. It would help ease my worrying."

"Well, I don't see why not," Sarutobi said as he got up from his seat and let the greenette sit down. "All you really have to do is channel your chakra into the sphere while thinking of Naruto, but this is an A-Rank technique, so I don't think-"

"Ah! I got it!" Nanami cheered, seeing Naruto, Konayuki, and Washi picking pieces off the cotton candy together that the prior was holding. Konayuki was wearing a rabbit mask on the right side of her head with blue marks for whisker marks. Washi was wearing an eagle mask on the left side of his head with yellow marks around the eyes and on the beak. Naruto was wearing a fox mask with two red whisker marks on each cheek and red outlining around its eyes and lips, a crack running up from its left eye. "Thank you for showing me this technique. I never would've gotten to see such a nice scene without this," she said giving the old man a hug before heading to the window. "By the way, where can I get a crystal ball?"

"Um… They may have one at the festival you can win," Sarutobi stated.

"Arigato gozaimasu," Nanami said with a smile before heading out.

" . . . Did that really just happen?" Sarutobi asked himself as he rubbed his head after removing his hat. "Oh well. I'd better go get Konohamaru before he decides to leave on his own."

---

Meanwhile back at the Namikaze Estate, Dachou's curiosity got the better of him, so he pressed his ears to the door to listen in on the girl's conversation.

The next moment however the door was thrown open, an angry Hagetaka glaring at him from behind her shades.

"Dachou no ecchi!" she cried as she suddenly kicked him, knocking him across the room and onto his bum before closing the door and locking it.

"I thought he was supposed to be keeping lookout," Kin huffed as she hid herself in the water.

"Yeah, well, he isn't as controlled as Nii-san," Hagetaka sighed as she took her seat on the toiled.

"That I can see," Kin sighed as she blew bubbles under the water.

"On another note… Before we discuss further into this, there's something I have to know," Hagetaka stated as she removed the sunglasses that she'd bought at an Aburame-owned store, revealing one green eye and one brown eye, left and right. "Do you like Washi more than just by appearance? I won't have him falling for a girl who only intends to use him as arm candy or a sex toy," she growled threateningly as her eyes narrowed.

"I… I… I'm not sure right now…" Kin stammered before her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Before, all anyone ever thought of me was as a kunoichi, or an object. I mainly acted cold to keep the perverts away. Washi was probably the first person to compliment me who didn't necessarily have to, and then when he risked himself to help me, even though he only knew me by name. I guess I couldn't help but fall for him."

"So you like him, but you're not sure if you love him," Hagetaka stated as she slipped her shades back on. "Well I suppose that's acceptable. However, I don't want you making any moves on him until you're certain. I've seen him at the breaking point before, and I don't want you to break his heart if he finds out you only like him for his body instead of his heart."

" . . . I understand," Kin sighed. "But how exactly will revealing his possible doujutsu to the Civilian Council get him into the CRA?"

"Politicians here are just like the ones back home. They're willing to jump on anything that'll get them recognition or prestige, as well as a step up the ladder," Hagetaka chuckled. "They treat the last Uchiha like he's Kami's gift to the world because of his kekkei genkai, and because he's the last of his kind. However, all I have to do is wave a potentially fruitful kekkei genkai in their faces, and they'll jump to put him on a pedestal."

"But why would they do that if Washi doesn't have any history within the village?"

"Because if Washi forms a clan with his doujutsu as its main weapon, people will acknowledge them because they helped… cultivate, the Washigan in the first place," Hagetaka stated. "Plus, the way I see it, it's a win-win for everyone involved."

"How so?" Kin asked as she drained the tub.

"You and Konayuki could end up with him and not have to worry about social taboos, Washi will be happy not having to make a choice between the only two girls he's actively shown an interest in since I've known him, and the council will think they have another clan founder under their thumb," Hagetaka chuckled.

"What do you mean by that last part?"

"The last Uchiha is given everything he wants, and so the council thinks that Sasuke will pay them back for their kindness by doing whatever they want when they ask it. Washi on the other hand will remain independent and not let himself be pushed around by the time they start making demands," Hagetaka stated. "Now… I just need a way to let them know about his potential kekkei genkai in a way that won't make it look like I told them. Hmmmm…"

"Well…" Kin said as she dried her hair before wrapping a towel around herself. "You could leave an anonymous tip for them. If they're as hungry for a doujutsu-bearer as you say they are, then they'll jump to either prove or disprove it."

" . . . Kin, I'm liking you more and more all the time," Hagetaka chuckled.

"By the way, why do you hide your eyes?" Kin asked. "I know you have heterochromia, but it doesn't seem like something to be ashamed of."

"I just don't like the way people look at each of my eyes instead of both," Hagetaka sighed. "I even remember when my nii-sans bet up some upstart samurai who called me a freak. Of course, we had to leave that town an never come back, but I'm glad he went that far to defend me."

---

Cue Soundtrack - Negotiation

After breaking away from Naruto and Konayuki, letting them do their own thing together for a bit, Washi walked into a back alley before taking to the rooftops, leaping over the streets with the fewest lanterns until he spotted who he was looking for on the Ninja Academy roof, overseeing the events at the festival from afar.

"What's the safe word?" Ibiki asked looking up from his binoculars.

"I'm supposed to ask you that," Washi stated adamantly.

" . . . The safe word is, safe word," the scarred man stated.

"So ridiculously simple no one will ever guess it," Washi chuckled. "I managed to get the information out of the girl a couple days ago."

"Good. Hopefully it'll fill in any gaps in our intell," Ibiki stated. "So, where is it?"

"Keep your bandana on, I'm getting it," Washi said as he lifted up his mask and rolled his sleeve up a bit. "Ahhhhhhh…"

At that point Ibiki could only twitch his left eyebrow as the Maniwa-nin reached down his throat, pulling a slightly drool-covered scroll out of his stomach/throat after a few seconds. His right twitching when said nin passed it to him and actually expected him to take it.

"Well? Do you want it or not?" Washi asked as he held it out, a drop of saliva dropping to the ground.

"I'm not really sure I want it now," Ibiki stated.

"Whether or not you take it isn't of a concern to me at the moment. What I am concerned with is that she gets asylum in Konoha for telling what she knew," Washi stated adamantly. "Now take the damn scroll!"

"*Sigh* Good thing I'm wearing gloves," the interrogator said as he took the end of the scroll between his fingers, shaking some of the saliva before placing it in his pocket. "How do you do that anyway?"

"Trade secret," the brunette stated. "Anyway, what did your guys find under the rubble?"

"Nothing. Whatever those seals were for, everything was gone, including the coffin and lid that Kin was originally in," the man answered.

"Hmmm… Personally, your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea as to what this occult or alchemy stuff is, or how any of it works. That's out of my field of expertise," Washi stated. "Anyway, I can't keep Kin hidden in the basement forever. Naruto's going to go down there one day or catch one of us sneaking her food, and he's going to start asking questions."

"You're hiding the girl in Naruto's basement… in his own house?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"I just said that damn it. What is it with people asking questions they already know the answer to?" he said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, I got you as much information as she knew. Can I go now?"

"Sure, sure…" Ibiki sighed. "I have to get back to HQ and get this scroll, ugh, de-slimed."

"It's not slime. It's saliva," Washi stated as he leapt into the tree by the academy before heading back to the festival. "I should probably get something nice for Kin while she's hidden away in her little hidey-hole. Maybe something decorative. That secret room in the basement must be pretty dull."

---

At the same time back at the Namikaze Estate.

"Achoo!" Kin sneezed as she suddenly dropped the soap into the water.

"Are you catching a cold?" Hagetaka asked as she looked out the window. "If the basement is drafty or something, I can smuggle a couple blankets down there for you."

"No, it's nothing," Kin stated as she rubbed her nose. "Someone must be talking about me."

"You think it's Washi?" Hagetaka asked. "I bet he's thinking about you," she chuckled, causing Kin's face to turn red.

"I-It was probably cooincidence is all," Kin huffed. "I mean really, how could one person talking about another person cause them to sneeze?"

"Dachou is a perv," the Maniwa-kunoichi stated.

"Achoo!" said perv sneezed from the hallway.

"You can't argue with the data," she stated with crossed arms.

These Maniwa guys may be weird, but it's a hell of a lot better than evil weird, Kin thought to herself.

---

Meanwhile with our favorite blond and silverette, who happen to not be Ino and Kabuto.

"Where do you think Washi-kun went?" Konayuki asked as she munched on some ikayaki she got from a stand a few minutes ago.

"Don't know," Naruto stated as he munched on some yakitori. "Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something. All in all, I'm not sure."

At this Konayuki could only sigh. "*Sigh* I was actually looking forward to coming here with him."

"Hey now, don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back," Naruto said trying to reassure her. "For now, why don't we go to one of the stands, eh?"

"Sure," Konayuki said with a smile. "Ah, there's a one of those stands where you knock the bottles down!"

"Cool. Lets try it out," Naruto said before he was suddenly lifted off his feet and practically carried to said stand.

"Excuse me, how much does it cost to play?" Konayuki asked after setting Naruto down.

"It costs 500 ryo for three tries," the vendor answered. "You wanna give it a go? Knock all the bottles over and you'll win a prize."

"Sure," Konayuki said as she and Naruto fished the money out of their pockets, getting three balls apiece in exchange as they searched out their targets. Said targets were a pyramid of six glass bottles.

"Hmm. Six on total huh. This should be fun," Naruto said as he wound up the pitch before letting the ball loose, sending it through the bottles on the bottom left, only for three bottles to remain standing. "Hmmm..."

"My turn!" Konayuki said as she fisted her ball before reeling back and swinging her arm. The next moment she let the ball loose, knocking over the bottle pyramid...

And the next five walls behind it in the process, the ball now stuck in a wall two streets down.

" . . . Woah..." the vendor said as Konayuki's bottles fell.

Naruto then turned to his bottles, which for some reason he could swear were sweating at the sight of their shattered comrades net to them on the table.

The next moment, the bottles fell over completely on their own.

"Um... I guess that measn we win," Naruto said looking over to the vendor, still shocked as to the five and a half destroyed walls behind his stand.

"Uh... Sure... Pick a prize..." he said motioning to the shelf beside the table.

"Hmmm... I guess I'll get the stuffed tiger," Naruto said as he picked a stuffed white tiger from the shelf.

"I'll get the eagle then because it's cute," Konayuki said grabbing a stuffed bald eagle toy from the wall.

"You sure it doesn't have anything to do with a certain brunette you know?" Naruto said wiggling his eyebrows.

"N-No!" Konayuki said with a blush on her face. "I just thing he's cute is all," Konayuki said hugging the stuffed toy to her chest. "Come on. Lets go get something to eat," she finished with a huff as she dragged the blond away.

---

Cue Soundtrack - Dub Trip

Around the same time, back with Shichika after he was dragged towards the festival by Togame, the two of them looking around for the most difficult game stand like they did at every other festival they went to over the years. Aside from the occastional bandit or samurai attack from while they had been mapping Japan, doing this was the most fun they'd have during the lawless "era" until the son of the previous shodun took over for his father. The main cause for the delay was simply due to the fact that Shichika had destroyed half the castle, as well as a good portion of the courtyard, in one shot. It was a hell of alot of damage, especially since all thirteen floors had to be repaired from the ground up. Literally.

"You think they have any decent games at this festival?" Shichika asked as he looked around. Because of the simple fact that he towered above almost everyone almost all of the time, he'd be the first out of anyone to spot a particularly difficult festival game.

"Well, this is a ninja village, so I'm sure there's at least one game that matches up to our standards," the strategian replied as she looked around before spotting just the stand they were looking for. "There it is!"

"It is?" Shichika asked as he followed Togame's finger towards a stand in particular. "Is it that one?" he asked pointing to a blue-colored stand, the banner overhead saying Ninja Ring Toss. "Ninja Ring Toss huh?"

"So, what's the point of this game of ring toss?" Togame asked the vendor. Her astute eyes immediately recognized the vendor as a retired shinobi based on the scars and his build, since it was common knowledge that retired shinobi were usually in better shape than civilians of the same age in their twilight years. "I would hope the Ninja suffix connotes some kind of increased difficulty."

"Ah, a challenge-seeker eh?" the man asked. "Well, to answer your questions, the Ninja suffix is mainly to attract challenge-seekers, so I guess it's done its job. Want to give it a go?" he asked as he motioned to a line of bottles at the back end of the room, maybe ten feet back. "The more hoops you land, the better the prize, although you can't land two hoops in the same bottle, or they won't count. Each game costs 500 ryo."

"Excellent," Togame said as she and Shichika fished the money out of their pockets before handing it to the vendor. In return they both got ten rings and took aim at the two sets of bottles at the back of the stand.

A minute later however, Togame had only managed to get the first ring onto the first bottle, though mainly by chance. The other nine missed ever so slightly, but still slightly enough that they didn't land.

"Heheh. Better luck next time. Here's a consolations prize," the vendor chuckled as he passed the whitette a small maneki neko as a prize.

At this, Togame could only pout that she didn't win anything. Well, that and the fact that the challenge presented was too much of a challenge for her. "Shichika, how are you... doing..."

"I just got the tenth one," Shichika replied evenly as his tenth ring landed on the tenth bottle.

How does he always make that look so easy? she huffed.

"Wow. Ten out of ten. I didn't think anyone would get all of them," the vendor said in surprise, but was happy someone serious played his game. "Here's your prize," he said passing Shichika a shamisen made of black wood, the skin clearly made of cat skin.

"Arigato," Shichika said as he took the bachi and began picking at the strings. As it turned out, he was a fairly good play with string instruments, while Nanami was good with wind instruments. It was even stranger since neither of them had taken lessons from everyone, but still took to their respective instruments like a duck to water.

I bet the others aren't having these kinds of problems, Togame sighed as she placed her consolation prize in her sleeve while Shichika was tuning his shamisen, strumming a couple strings with the bachi as he walked.

---

After getting back to town from the academy, Washi walked around the festival by himself for a bit, trying to ignore the giggling his -reluctant- choice of attire brought from the women above and below his age bracket as he looked for Naruto and Konayuki.

"Is my outfit really that distinctive?" he asked himself. At least I have the figure for this. Any baby fat and I think I'd ruin the look. Hm? he asked himself as he saw a crowd gathering around a booth in the distance. It didn't look like a line had formed, just a crowd, so he pushed himself through as politely as he could.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through," he said as politely as he could as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. When he got there, he saw a man turning a crank on what looked like one of those lottery machines that dispensed differently-colored balls at other festivals.

The ball that said man drew was a white sphere. This caused the man to sigh before walking off. Washi then looked up to the board and found out how things worked; White was no prize, blue was a consolation prize, red was one of the better prizes, and gold was one of the best prizes with there being only three in play per festival.

"Better luck next time," the vendor behind the counter, a middle-aged man with thinning red hair said with a smile. "Okay then, who's next? Who wants to test their luck in this festival's lottery?" he asked around. "How about you… very interestingly-dressed young man."

"Is my outfit really that interesting?" Washi asked as he looked himself over.

"Well, I suppose it qualifies as original, and you could even say it's chic to flaunt such a weather-defying outfit," the vendor stated.

"Don't you get cold mister?" a little girl holding her dad's hand asked.

The next moment a cold wind suddenly blew by, causing one guy who was hugging his arms to himself to sneeze.

"Not that much now," Washi stated. Okay… That was weird, he then thought to himself, remembering how he'd said the exact same thing sooner. "I'm guessing I just give you the money, turn the crank, and then see what comes out?"

"But of course," the man said rubbing his hands together. "So, you want to give it a shot? It's 600 ryo a try."

"Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," Washi said as he fished around in his pocket for the frog-shaped wallet that he had gotten a couple years back as a present form Hagetaka and Dachou, then passed the money to the vendor. Admittedly though, it was more like a coin purse, but he didn't complain.

"Alright, just give her a good crank whenever you're ready," the man said as he slipped the money into his lock box. "Good luck to you. Maybe you'll win a prize."

Luck… Washi repeated in his mind. I wonder… he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and placed his hand on the crank. Maniwa Ninpou:… Unmei Kuzushi… he spoke to himself as he remembered one of the few times that he and Pengin got along before he turned into a little douche, then began to crank the handle.

Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Clack

A few seconds later, a small gold ball dropped out of the machine and into the tray below, everyone cheering wildly while some just grumbled "Lucky bastard," under their breaths.

"Well would you look at that! It looks like you've won a Grand Prize!" the man said excitedly, knowing that when people saw someone win a prize, they'd be more incited to try for themselves. "Take your pick from the top shelf. Any one of them is fine."

"Okay…" Washi replied, not sure if it was just his own luck, or if he had somehow used Pengin's ninpou, which even now he couldn't make sense of. As he looked up on the shelf, his eyes suddenly landed on the leftmost item out of the three. To say that he was shocked would've been an understatement, but he didn't let it show.

Said item on the top shelf was a katana, but more like a Dotanuki with a straight edge, an indention running the length of the dark grey blade hued light grey at the cutting edge. The handle was black with gold and burgundy plum flower designs on it, and the handle itself had a vague inlaid revers S-shape to it. Its shape was vaguely like that of a chokuto, as it had no tsuba.

"Oh? I see you've got an eye for swords," the vendor asked as he took the sword and its collapsable stand from the wall before handing it to the brunette. "A rare find too. The metal comes from Iwa, so it's really strong. I heard it can even use chakra better than normal metal, but being a civilian all my life, I can't really test it out."

"Iwa metal eh?" he asked as he held the sword in his hand before holding the blade up to the sky. It's like the Zettou Kanna Koumori-san showed me once after he got it, but without Shikizaki's Poison, he mused. First I meet Houou… I think, he sweatdropped, and then I run into this… I guess I'll just go with it. While I'm not a swordsman, it's not like I can't use a sword. "Think I could get this gift-wrapped?" he asked, deciding to take the blade with him.

"Sure, sure," the vendor said passing him a long purple cloth and some string. "Here you go."

"Arigato," Washi said as he wrapped the blade completely before binding it together, and was then handed a bag with the sword stand collapsed. After placing his arm through the holes in the bag, his hands held firm around his sword, he began walking forward, only to stop for some reason.

"Hmmm? Do you want to try again young man?" the vendor asked noticing the brunette stop in his tracks.

"I'm… not sure…" Washi admitted.

"Come on! Go for it!" a girl in the crowd cheered.

"Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!" the crowd began to cheer.

"Alright, alright, I'm going for it," Washi said as he fished around in his wallet for some more cash before handing it to the vendor. He then slowly reached out for the crank, his hands tightening around it. Maniwa Ninpou: Unmei Kuzushi… he intoned to himself as he turned the crank, thinking of a slightly different time he'd spent with Pengin.

Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Clack

The next moment another gold ball dropped into the tray, and the crowd broke out into cheers even more exuberantly than before.

"Wha… Wha…?" the vendor gasped.

At the same time, Washi continued to open and close his mouth as though he were about to speak, only to find that no words would come out.

"Eeeeeeeeeeh?"

Okay. One word. Though that itself is a stretch.

"Wow… Never saw that happen before," the vendor said in shock, but regained his composure so he'd look professional again. "Well, take your pick."

"O…kay…" Washi said as he stared at the gold ball in the tray for a few seconds, then looked up at the top shelf again. This time the item his eyes were drawn to this time was a decorative crystal ball, since to his knowledge there was no other kind.

It was situated on an almost-black-but-slightly-light-brown wood pedestal, dragon-like ornamentations with silver trim carved into the wood. The crystal ball itself was a clear blue like the ocean, and it sat atop a royal purple pillow, its edges just barely spilling over the sides of the wooden pedestal with tiny gold tassels on the corners. It looked fairly expensive too.

"I uh… guess I'll take that," Washi said pointing to the crystal ball set on the shelf. "And uh… I guess I'll get it gift wrapped."

"Sure, sure," the man said taking the crystal ball and wrapping it in bubble wrap, then putting it in a box before filling it with foam peanuts. "Here you go. Still can't believe you won two gold prizes in a row. That usually only happens once per festival, but never twice."

"Hey why don't you go again? Maybe you'll win the third prize," a jounin said jabbing him in the elbow.

"Okay I was lucky to get two gold prizes. In a row. I hardly think that I'll get the third and final Grand Prize on my third try," the brunette stated. That and there's no way to confirm if Pengin's ninpou is actually working. Luck can't really be measured.

"Come on, do it mister," a little kid standing by his mother said enthusiastically. "I think it'd be pretty cool if you won all three Grand Prizes."

"Yes, it's like you're some kind of… Un no Kami," the boy's mother said with a light smile.

Okay… I'm using this once more, and then for the rest of the night I'm using my own luck… If I haven't already, Washi admitted to himself as he turned the crank. Maniwa Ninpou: Unmei Kuzushi.

Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Cla-Clack

"Ah! What the hell?" the brunette suddenly cried, his eyebrow suddenly twitching.

Mind you, he got the final gold ball. He was just so surprised is all.

As the crowd around him suddenly cheered, Washi himself could only wonder if he actually was using Pengin's ninpou, if it was his own luck, or any other number of things that could explain this sudden phenomena.

"Well… That's certainly the last gold ball," the vendor said as he reached up to the shelf and grabbed the last prize before handing it to Washi.

The final Grand Prize in question was a white ceramic maneki neko. It depicted a Japanese Bobtail with its right paw raised in a beckoning motion, its eyes closed with a happy smile on its face, and there were traces of gold trim in its fur resembling cloud-like patterns. It held a gold token with the kanji for Luck against its stomach, and had a red collar with a silver bell on the end around its neck.

"*Sigh* Like before, I'd like this gift wrapped please," Washi sighed, knowing he'd probably have to carry all those prizes with him for the rest of the festival.

After adjusting all the prizes in his arms, the two boxes in his arms as he held his sword under his arm, he walked away smiling to the vendor before heading off. Meanwhile, the vendor could only cry anime style as his best wares were won by the same person, and only on three tries.

I wonder if Pengin ever used his ninpou like that? Washi mumbled to himself. Oh well. It isn't like anyone else can use ninpou to win these games. Right?

---

At the same time in the east district of Konoha, the future heirs of the Hyuuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka clans all walked together in summer wear towards the festival. Though in Kiba's case it was between him or Hana, but that wasn't the point.

"Good job on making it to the finals Shino," Hinata said to her stoic teammate.

"The Haruno girl was no challenge," Shino sighed. "I take no pride in having won victory from such a weak opponent."

"Hey, at least you passed," Kiba groaned. "That guy in the eagle costume not only broke my nose, but busted both my eardrums," he sighed as he rubbed his ears. "I'm still seeing stars after that."

"Maybe he did it so thoroughly because you were staring at his teammate's deriare like a piece of meat," Shino stated.

"I liked you better when you didn't talk," the Inuzuka sighed as they walked to the festival.

"That insult aside," Shino stated. "Hinata, what have you been up to the past three weeks."

"Oh... The usual," she answered. "I got healed, took a little physical therapy, started training. You know. The usual stuff."

"I am certainly glad that Naruto stepped in when he did, otherwise you might've still been in the hospital today," the Aburame stated.

Damn, where does he get off doing that for someone who isn't on his team, Kiba grumbled. It's bad enough that Washi guy kicks my ass for even looking at that Konayuki girl, but now that blond is making me look bad in front of Hinata.

"That's true, and I'm very thankful to him," Hinata sighed wistfully. The tone he used caused Shino to raise a brow behind his shades, but he chose to not press the issue.

As the three looked around, the pale-eyed Hyuuga heiress suddenly spotted a familiar mop of light blond in the crowd.

"I'll see you two later! Bye!" Hinata said as she ran off, leaving both Shino and Kiba in her dust to wonder what had gotten her to react like that.

"Well… It looks like it's down to the two of us," Kiba sighed. "Right Shino?" he asked turning to his teammate, only to find him not there. "Shino?"

"Keep it down. I'm trying to win a beetle," Shino said from his place at a nearby booth where he along with a bunch of other kids were trying to win a large Kabuto beetle to take home. If I win the Kuwagata beetle as well, I'll name them Metabee and Rokusho, he said to himself in the Aburame's equivalence to giddyness.

---

"Naruto-kun!" a voice suddenly called out to the blond, drawing his attention away from Konayuki to see Hinata coming towards him. He noticed that for the festival she was in a beautiful lavender yukata with white flower designs on it.

"Ah, konbanwa Hinata-chan," Naruto greeted.

"Konbanwa, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a smile. Even though they used the suffix only out of familiarity, it was enough for her. At the moment. "How are you this evening?"

"I'm fine, thanks," the blond said back. "How are Kurenai and your teammates?"

"Kurenai has been busy with work, and Shino's been training with his dad."

"What about Kiba and Akamaru?"

"Kiba's had to go through a bit of physical therapy for what Washi did to him, and Akamaru's just a little roughted up," she admitted.

"Ah, well its good to hear he didn't kill him like he did that oto-nin," the blond said offhandedly.

"Still, do you think that was necessary?" she asked.

"If that were a real-world situation, that probably would've been necessary," he admitted.

"I'll see you later Naruto-kun," Konayuki said as the two walked off together. "You two look like you want to catch up."

"Oh, okay Konayuki-chan. I'll see you later," the blond said as he waved her off.

---

Meanwhile across town, after visiting the Hokage, Nanami walked around the festival trying to spot one of the few heads of blond in Konoha. Honestly, was the only blond person in Konoha besides the Yamanaka family Naruto? Well, at the least, it made him easier to find.

Hmmm… I still need to find a crystal ball to use for the Tomegane no Jutsu, she mused to herself as she looked around.

Her eyes then landed on a stand with a blue banner featuring water and fish-like silhouettes, revealing that it was one of those fish scooping games.

Deciding to go over and see why it was drawing such a particularly large crowd, she was surprised to see that instead of regular goldfish swimming around in the tank, that there were koi fish of different colors. However, she then noticed a seedy-looking vendor chuckling in his own little corner, repeatedly counting a large amount of money.

Hmmm… Obviously this game is rigged, though the prospect of winning a koi fish instead of a goldfish must be what has drawn so many customers already, she thought as she eyed the tank's contents. Normally she would've just left and let the people be scammed of their money, but two koi fish in particular caught her eye that she just had to get.

"Excuse me. How much is it to play?" Nanami asked sweetly, playing the part of the frail and hopeful woman.

"Oooooh? Something catch your eye?" the vendor asked, his face rat-like to match his obvious greed. "It's 5,000 ryo per scooper."

"A 5,000 ryo? That's a little steep isn't it?" Nanami asked, feigning naivety.

"Oh, but you see the least expensive koi in the tank is 25,000 ryo, so 5,000 a try is a real bargain," the vendor goaded.

"Well, when you put it that way," she said withdrawing two thousand ryo and set it on the counter. "Here. I'd like two scoopers please."

"Sure thing. Here you go," he said passing Nanami two one-foot diameter paper scoopers. Heh. Easy money. "Good luck to you," he said acting the part of the accommodating vendor

Well… You know the old saying, Nanami said as she paid for another paper net. By hook or by crook.

The next moment she channeled the power of Chouchou's Ashigaru into the paper scoop in her hands, then, to everyone's shock, quickly scooped up a white and orange-spotted koi fish over her bowl before letting the paper break.

At the same time, the rat-like vendor could only gawk that someone had actually won one of his koi fish.

Nooooo! That koi fish cost 28,000 ryo!

"Now for the other one," she said as she did the same thing again, except this time with a green and pink-speckled koi fish.

Ahhhhhhh! That one cost 32,000 ryo!

"Excuse me, but do I get a bag or a tank or something to bring these home?" Nanami asked.

"Oh? So you have a koi pond at home then?" the vendor asked, hoping he could weasel the two koi back into his stock. She alone had set him back 60,000 ryo, and he'd only made 30,000 ryo so far.

"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't have played this game," Nanami stated evenly.

Damn her… the vendor grumbled. I have no idea how she did that, but I still have to be professional about this. Otherwise no one else will play. "Well, here you go," he said passing her a tank with a handle on the top. "Be careful now. Those koi can be pretty delicate."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of little Nato and Nami," Nanami stated as she ran the tank through the little reservoir at the front before closing the lid and walking off, the two coi fish swimming in place. I guess I can head home real quick and drop these off in the koi pond before coming back, she told herself before walking into an alley, then used Ashigaru to leap home, passing the halfway mark after a minute or so.

---

"I'll see you later Naruto-kun," Konayuki said as the two walked off together. A moment later she bumped into someone, and when she looked up she saw that it was Washi, currently carrying a few packages in his arms. "Ah! Washi-kun!"

"Konayuki-chan, it's good to see you," the brunette said with a smile. "Is that a stuffed eagle?" he asked as he looked at the toy in the girl's arms.

"Uh... maybe," the Itezora girl said nervously before hiding it behind your back. "I see you won some stuff too," she said trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. "It looks like you won a lot though."

"Eh heh... that I did," Washi chuckled. At least I think. "So, how're you enjoying the festival?"

"Fine. I'm actually having alot of fun with it," Konayuki replied. "The food's great too."

"Hmmm... Aside from that cotton candy earlier, I haven't had much," Washi admitted. A moment later his stomach began growling, much to his embarassment as that garnered a giggle from Konayuki.

"Well come on then. Let's get some food in you," she said stifling a giggle as she took him by his free arm. "So, where do you want to eat?"

Her answer came when Washi suddenly stopped and motioned to a humble stand with a pair of lanterns beside the curtain.

"Okonomiyaki? I haven't really tried that yet," she said as they walked to the stand.

"I can get you some if you want," Washi offered. "I did a couple D-Rank missions in the mornings for warmup before training, so I have a little spending money of my own."

"Oh um, no thank you. I'm good," Konayuki replied. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Oh. Okay then," Washi said before he parted the curtain.

"Oh, hello there. What would you like on your okonomiyaki?" the vendor asked when he registered the brunette's presence.

"Well..." Washi mused. The next moment his stomach growled, earning another soft giggle from Konayuki. "I'll have shrimp, hamburger, cabbage, and extracheese."

"That'll be 1000 ryo," the vendor said, the brunette passing him the money soonafter. "Your order will be done in a few minutes. Will that be for here or to go."

"Well... I guess to go," the brunette replied.

"Okay. Coming right up," the vendor said as he prepared the ingredients. "Feel free to take a seat, I'll be done in a few minutes."

"Arigato," the brunette replied. As he set his stuff down, his ears caught something from outside.

"But kaa-san," a little girl's voice cried.

"I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid it's out of reach now," a woman's voice replied.

"I'll be right back," Washi told the vendor as he walked outside, catching the sight of a young girl protesting against her mother. "Excuse me, pardon for the intrusion, but I couldn't help but overhear. Is there something you need help with?"

"Its nothing you can help with, even by ninja standards," the woman sighed.

"My balloon flew away," the girl answered.

"Rika," the woman scolded.

"What? It's true," she pouted. "Do you think you could get it back for me? I heard shinobi could do anything."

"Ninja?" Washi asked, then noticed he had his hitae-ate around his neck. "Oh, I guess I forgot to take this off. Well, yes I suppose I am a shinobi."

"Could you please get it back for me?" the girl asked pleadingly.

"Rika, I doubt this young man could get your balloon back," she chided her daughter. "Not that I doubt your skills, I mean," she amended, "but her balloon is a little far out of reach."

Washi lifted the cutrain up to see that his okonomiyaki still had a few minutes on it. "Why don't I give it a shot. For the girl's sake."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," the girl replied with a bow.

"Konayuki-chan, could you come here for a minute?" Washi asked.

"Sure. What is it?" she asked.

"This little one needs help getting her balloon back. Think you could give me a lift?" he asked pointing up into the starry sky above.

"Hai," Konayuki replied as she interlaced her fingers, Washi sliding his foot into her hands before she prepared to give him a lift.

"I honestly don't think one person could-"

The woman's sentence was interrupted however when Konayuki threw her arms up, sending Washi high into the sky, much to everyone's shock as well.

"Odd. I didn't think he'd go that high," the silverette mused as the brunette disappeared into the night sky.

At the same time a few hundred feet above Konoha, Washi activated his doujutsu and looked around. If he couldn't find the girl's balloon, he'd just have to apologize and say he couldn't find it. Besides, there wasn't any harm in trying, and his food still had a couple minutes to get ready.

"Ah, there it is," he said as he caught sight of a red balloon being carried through the updrafts. The next moment he landed on the roof of the building beside the okonomiyaki stand. He then dropped down beside Konayuki before setting his stuff down beside her. "I found her balloon. Think you could give me another lift in that general direction?" he asked pointing off to a piece of the great expanse above.

"Um, Washi-kun, I may be strong, but even I'm not that strong," the silverette said shaking her hands. "I don't even know how I got you up there the first time."

"You just watch my stuff while I'm up there. I'll worry about the rest," Washi said confidently.

" . . . Okay. I'll give you another lift," she said interlacing her fingers. "Alley-oop!" she said as she launched the brunette off into the sky again.

"Sugoi..." the girl awed as he disappeared into the heavens once more, everyone present gawking between where the brunette was in the sky, then to the silverette wondering just how she did that.

Almost there... Almost... Washi told himself as he neared his target. When he felt himself beginning to fall, he formed a cross-tiger sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called out creating a dozen clones in mid-air. "Excuse me. Pardong me. Coming through. Watch your head," the original said as he used the other's heads as stepping stones, then kicked off the last one before reaching out. "Got it!" he smirked as he caught the balloon, only to remember where he was as he began falling.

At the same time on the ground, everyone who saw the brunette take to the sky could only gasp as he suddenly came back to Earth.

"Washi-kun!" Konayuki cried as the brunette suddenly fell into a wagon full of hay down the street from the okonomiyaki kiosk. "Washi are you okay? Come on, speak to me!" she pleaded into the basket when nothing came out.

After a few tense minutes, everyone thinking the fall had killed the brunette, but somehow not smashed the wagon underneath, a hand suddenly shot out with a red balloon's strong in its clutches.

"Man that was close," Washi sighed as he rolled out of the wagon, shaking some hay off his outfit and out of his hair. The next moment he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around him, almost making him let the balloon loose with their crushing grip. "Ack! Konayuki?"

"I was so scared!" she cried as she swung him back and forth like a rag doll. "I thought you'd gotten hurt!"

"It's nice that you were worried and all, but you're crushing my spleen!" the brunette pleaded. "Anyway, here you go," he said as he tied the balloon string around the girl's wrist once he'd been let go.

"A-Arigatou gozaimasu," the girl bowed while her mother -and everyone else on the street- stood awestruck at what just happened.

"You're welcome. Just try to keep a better eye on your stuff. Kay?" he asked.

"Hai!" the girl said giving a salute. "Come on kaa-san. Lets go to the goldfish scooping," she said as she dragged her mother towards a stand.

"Washi-kun, are you sure you're okay?" Konayuki asked as she fussed over the brunette. "I mean, the last time Naruto fell from that height over the edge of a cliff, he was in bed for a week, yet you aren't even hurt. Hell, the wagon didn't even creak. Just what did you do?"

"Heheh. Trade secret," he chuckled, earning a flustered pout from the silverette. "Anyway, I'm fine. Now let's see about getting me that okonomiyaki," he said patting the girl on the shoulder as he headed back to the kiosk, almost like nothing had happened just then.

---

Back with Naruto and Hinata.

"So, how's your training been going so far?" Naruto asked. For obvious reasons, they couldn't train together every day, just every other day.

"I've been making great progress," Hinata admitted as she began gathering chakra into her hand. "See, all I have to do now is-"

The next moment however Naruto grabbed onto her hand and led her away.

"Naruto?" she asked with a slight blush as he held her hand and led her into an alleyway.

"You can never be to careful who may be listening," Naruto whispered as he extended his senses trying to find anyone who was listening. "The walls have eyes and ears."

"I'm sure you're overthinking things," Hinata said trying to wave him off.

"Really? After everything I've told you, you still think everyone in this village can be trusted?"

" . . . Maybe you're right. The villagers aren't exactly saints when I think back on it," Hinata sighed.

"I'm thankful you trust me enough to believe me," the blond said letting go of her hand, missing her pout as he did so. "All that aside, why don't we go play a game and win some prizes?"

"Oh, I've wanted to try that game where you knock the pyramid of bottles over," Hinata said leading the blond towards the stand down the street.

When Naruto's eyes locked onto said stand however, he quickly saw that it was the same stand where Konayuki made a new set of exits.

"Oh, that game's no good. No good at all. Let's try out hand at the waterballoon yo-yo," Naruto said taking her hand again and leading her away.

He- He's holding my hand, Hinata sighed to herself wistfully as he led her away once more.

A minute later the two found themselves at one of the waterballoon yo-yo stands. The concept of the game was easy enough; there are rubber balls filled with water floating in a pool, and you have to use hooks made of paper to grab the loops on the underside of the ball. However, after a few tries, the hook gets soggy, and it'll break.

"Drat. I lost again," he sighed as his hook broke before he could get a red balloon with white stars on it. "Oh well. At least its a cheap play," he said passing the vendor another 50 ryo before receiving another hook.

Byakugan, Hinata intoned as she discretely activated her doujutsu, finding the hook on the bottom of an orange and blue spiral-spotted balloon in the water. Got it, she smirked as she aimed her hook towards the rubber band underneath.

---

At the same time back at the house, Dachou rubbed his sore cheek as his sister and Kin continued to talk about girl stuff.

Man... I can't believe Nii-san left me with girl-duty, he sighed. They're not even talking about anything that interesting. Just boring girl stuff.

The next moment the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as a presence approached the estate. He quickly leapt from where he was sulking and ran to the window to see Nanami heading for the backyard carrying what looked like a pair of koi fish in a tank in her arms.

Koi fish? Just what kind of games do they have at that festival? he wondered as he followed Nanami as discretely as he could, watching her carefully deposit the two koi into the koi pond in the back, which Shichika had cleaned when he was trimming the back yard.

"There you go you two," he heard Nanami say with a warm smile. "I'll be sure to get the two of you some food for later. Okay?"

The fish seemed to respond positively as they began swimming around in their new home, familiarizing themselves with every little corner.

"Kawaiiiiii," Dachou heard Nanami squeak to herself. Something he thought he'd never hear someone like her ever do.

After looking at her two prizes for a few moments, Nanami turned around and left the estate. Whether she knew Dachou was watching her or not, she didn't let on, though if she knew she probably would've said something.

"Phew. Thank goodness. For a second there I thought she'd find out about Kin," Dachou sighed as the greenette leapt out of sight.

The next moment a sneeze came from the bathroom, as well as a spike of KI.

"Dachou no ecchi!" Hagetaka shrieked as she opened the door and chucked a used bar of soap like a kunai into his half-open mouth.

I liked the kicking better, Dachou thought to himself as he tried to get the soap out of his teeth.

---

"Konayuki-chan, Washi, what have you two been up to?" Naruto asked as he walked forward, his stuffed tiger under one arm while a yellow waterballoon yo-yo with green wind-like marks on it rested on the end of his free hand.

"Uh... Nothing much really," the two decided to reply.

"So... you and Naruto chose to wear the same outfits?" Hinata asked with her head tilted to the side a bit.

"More like forced," Washi sighed. "Anyway, I heard that Naruto's been trainining with you for the past week or so. How's that been going?"

"Well…" Naruto and Hinata stated as they thought on their training sessions in the past week.

Flashback

A few minutes after Hinata woke up from her fainting spell during their first day of training...

"Before we begin your training," Naruto began as Hinata listened attentively. "I need you to remove your jacket."

"Wh-What?" Hinata stammered as a blush came across her face. "Wh-Why?"

"Because. Making a Taichi Oughi is tough, sweaty work, and if you're going to sweat, you should sweat real sweat. Not jacket-induced sweat," Naruto explained. "Now take it off, or I'll do it for you," he said, not even aware of the innuendo he was causing in the lavender-eyed girl's mind.

"H-Hai…" Hinata stammered with a slight blush on her face. He probably doesn't mean it like that though, she thought to herself, remembering that one talk she had with one of her aunts about this sort of thing, hence the jacket. "Huh? It feels a lot cooler now," she mused as she set her jacket on top of one of the logs, leaving her in a black form-fitting T-shirt with fishnet underneath. "I didn't think my jacket was that thick."

On the other hand, while Hinata was musing how comfortable it was without that heavy jacket she wore, admittedly, out of shyness, Naruto's eyes widened a bit before he turned around so Hinata wouldn't see the blush on his face.

Just how old is she? Naruto asked himself, having noticed the girl's breast size that stood out. Then again, that was a given. Come to think of it, that's the largest bust I've ever seen, he told himself, then felt something tricking down his left nostril. Blood? What the hell? he asked himself as he brought his right hand to his face.

"Naruto, are you okay?" she asked as she walked up to him, but suddenly tripped over a stray root in the middle of the field, landing on top of Naruto at the exact moment he turned around to answer. A half-second later, the two were on the ground, our blond remembering the position he was now in as the same one that Washi... fell into during their stint in Nami.

Flashback End

"Uh… Nothing…" the two of them said a bit awkwardly, trying to downplay the blushes on their faces.

" . . . I see," Washi stated, not completely believing that nothing transpired between the two. Especially with the way they were blushing.

"So uh, what've you guys been up to?" Naruto asked trying to break the tension.

"Oh, you know, training most days," Konayuki answered.

"Rigorous physical training for me to get rid of excess body fat and make me a better shinobi," Washi answered. "Of course it would be better if I didn't have to run the length of Konoha's wall while getting smacked around with a horsewhip with a boulder on my back."

"That was you?" Hinata gasped. "I thought maybe Gai-san had gone a little too far in one of his training sessions."

"Speaking of the spandex-wearing devil, how has Lee been doing? He's gotta be pretty torn up about what happened," Konayuki sighed.

"Well... There's only one person who could possibly heal his injuries, but she isn't in the village, and no one knows where she is," Hinata answered. "Without some sort of miracle, he'll never be able to live as a shinobi again."

"Well... Whether or not it would be better if he was dead isn't the issue I suppose," Washi said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "There's nothing we can do."

"We wouldn't even know where to begin," Konayuki sighed.

After a minute or so of induced awkwardness, Naruto decided to break up the silence by speaking up.

"How about we train for the next three days after this, then rest for the final three before the main event?" Naruto suggested. "It'll give us plenty of time to rest up."

"Sounds good to me," Konayuki replied. "By the way, have you been working on anything special, Washi-kun?"

"Well…" he said with a smile as he looked off into the sky. "I may have something in the works. But I'll just keep that a secret for now. Kay?" he asked with a playful wink.

"Oh… No fair," Konayuki pouted, blushing slightly at the playful wink from the brunette.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll make a few jaws drop," Naruto said patting his partner on the shoulder. "For now, let's just enjoy the festival. The fireworks are going off in an hour or so, so how about after we watch it, we all head home. That sound good?"

"Hai," Konayuki and Washi nodded as they headed off.

"Well, I guess that just leaves you and me for the next hour or so. Ne, Hinata-chan?" he asked with a smile.

"H-Hai, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, taking his hand and heading into the festival.

---

Meanwhile, at the same time at the outside of the village, the torches lighting up the night from the distance, two figures came down Konoha's main road before heading to the village gates. Both were female and had simple packs on their backs.

The first figure wore a kimono colored a very light shade of violet with pink cloud marks on the sleeves, and black trim around the collar. In place of an obi, she wore a light pink corset with pink trim on the top, and a blue slash in the middle with a pink rose ornament in the center, and a pair of Xs above and below it. She wore black stockings with gold trim, and wore plain sandals with pink roses over the straps. On the right side of her head was a mask with the kanji for Unconcealed on it, which was strange since it didn't look like it was hers in the beginning. She had light blond shoulder-length hair with some traces of pink and green in them, and she had blue eyes with an outline of yellow around her pupils.

The second figure wore a purple kimono with black trim with white stripes running along them, with some teal trim around them. She had a white, teal, and purple braided rope around her waist, as well as a white and purple hair clip across the top of her forehead with a black triangle-shaped crest on the left. She wore black slipper-like sandals on her feet, and had white bandages on beneath her knees, with tight-fitting black shorts over them. She had silver hair that was slightly past her shoulders, parted over the middle of her forehead with the hair clip she was wearing, and her eyes were purple and teal colored, while reflecting silver.

The two then stopped before the booth at the side of the gate, a lone guard being there because he lost a bet to Izumo and Kotetsu. When he looked up to see the two beautiful women gracing him with their presence, he smiled a bit.

Maybe this wasn't so bad after all, Ebisu thought. "Good evening ladies, and welcome to Konoha. How may I be of service to you this fine evening?"

"Yes, I was wondering if our friend and I possibly be allowed to immigrate to Konoha," the blond said with a kind smile.

"Oh, well if that's the case, may I see some identification papers?" Ebisu asked.

"Of course. Here you go," the blond replied as she took out a scroll along with her companion. "They aren't exactly immigration forms, and I apologize. You see, we come from far away, and we're here to meet up with a friend of ours and catch up. We were hoping to move here, and I'm hoping that these papers on their own won't cause problems."

"Oh this won't be a problem at all, ladies," Ebisu said after looking them over before handing them back. "Have a good evening ladies."

"Don't worry, we will," the blond woman chuckled as she led her traveling companion into town.

"So, are we going to find Togame-san immediately?" the silver-haired girl asked.

"Mmmm. Nah," the blond replied as she slid the mask onto her face. "For now let's enjoy ourselves, hold up at a nice inn, and make ourselves known as a surprise for our old friends later."

"H-Hai," the silver-haired girl replied as she took a mask from her own pack which was like her friend's, except the kanji on it was for Scale on it.

---

Meanwhile back with our favorite brunette and silverette, who for the record are not Kiba and Kakashi.

"The view's actually pretty good from up there. I could see half the festival," Washi joked as he talked about when he went to get that little girl's balloon earlier, earning a chuckle form Konayuki before they noticed Nanami heading their way, looking around for the others as well.

"Ah, Nanami-san, konbanwa," she greeted.

"Ah, Washi-kun, Konayuki-chan, konbanwa," Nanami said with a smile, then noticed the belongings in Washi's arms. "I see someone's been busy."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess I lucked out at the lottery," Washi chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What did you get?" the greenette asked.

"A chokuto-like katana, a maneki neko, and a crystal ball," the brunette replied.

" . . . Do you think I could have it? The crystal ball I mean?" Nanami asked hearing the last part.

"Oh, well, sure, I guess," Washi said passing the box with the crystal ball in it to the greenette. "Why do you want it though?"

"I'll uh, tell you at a later time," Nanami said as she walked off, the box in her arms as she walked off to find a secluded location to test out her new jutsu.

"Well… What was it you were saying about the view?" Konayuki asked as she and Washi began walking again, a slight blush on her face when she realized he'd taken her hand into his own.

"That it was actually pretty god from up there," Washi said as he readjusted his prizes in his arms.

---

Meanwhile with Shichika and Togame on their own end of the festival.

"I have to admit, the Satsuma potatoes server here are pretty good," Togame stated as she munched on the snack she bought.

"Not as good as the toumorokoshi though," Shichika said as he munched on the snack he bought as well.

"Even after all these years, I still can't figure out how you don't get any of that stuff stuck in your teeth," Togame sighed.

"Mmmmm. No idea?"

"I swear, you'd be hopeless without me," Togame sighed as she shook her head a little.

The next moment, two drunken shinobi suddenly came out of a tavern that was still running during the festival. Their movements were sluggish, and they both reeked of alcohol. They also had katanas sheathed on their backs, which was never good when mixed with alcohol. A short distance away, Izumo and Kotetsu could only sigh as the two started making their way toward Togame.

"Well hey there hot stuff," one shinobi slurred as he made his way towards her and tried to throw an arm over her shoulder, only for her to sidestep and cause him to step right past her.

"Oh don't' be like that baby," the other slurred. "Why join us. We'll show you a real good time, if you know what I mean," he said wiggling his eyebrows as he motioned to his package.

"I have no intention of going anywhere with uncouth slobs like you," Togame huffed with crossed arms. "Also, if you guys don't want to die, keep your swords sheathed."

"Eh! Where do you get off talking to us like that you-" the first drunken chunin said as he drew his sword.

Crack

The next moment the drunken shinobi found his forearm bent backwards upon itself, his sword falling to the ground until he finally realized that both his radius and ulna had been completely broken across the middle. At the same time, Shichika had just put his left foot back on the ground.

The next moment, the other drunken shinobi lunged at him.

"Why you little bas-"

Shing

" . . . tard?" the second drunken shinobi asked as he suddenly found the sword he'd drawn slashed an inch from the tsuba, the Kyotouryuu user's hand raised as though he'd chopped the sword with his own hand.

"You guys would be dead if you were a little better at using those swords," Togame stated.

The next moment wind began to whip around Shichika as he assumed a Kyotouryuu kata, his body turned to the left with his right foot forward, his left arm held parallel at level with his chin while his right arm was parallel with his stomach.

"Kyotouryuu Oughi…" Shichika began as the clothes of the people around him began to flutter, Togame grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. "Hai?"

"I know they tried to attack you, but they're still intoxicated. I'm sure you can let them go," Togame said leading them off.

"Speaking of that, how come the first one isn't crying in pain?"

"That's just the alcohol. He'll be feeling that tomorrow along with the hangover," Togame said leading him off.

"Man, what a couple of dumbasses," Izumo chuckled from a distance away.

"Don't you now it. They totally got their asses kicked," Kotetsu chuckled.

"Speaking of which…" Genma said as he dropped down. "Didn't the two of you get your asses kicked by a couple of fresh genin before the Chunin Selection Exams?"

"Um… Maybe…" the two of them sighed.

"You two are so hopeless," the senbon-chewing jounin sighed as he swapped the end he was chewing.

---

Towards the end of the festival as Naruto and Hinata wandered around trying to find the others, our blond suddenly spotted a head of green in the crowd before calling out to her.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan!" he called out as he ran towards her, Hinata keeping up with him, interested in meeting his nee-chan herself.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, there you are," Nanami greeted. "I'm guessing that's Hinata, from the Third Exam?"

"Hai," Hinata said bowing slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Nanami-san."

"I'm going to guess that Naruto-kun told you how we met?" the greenette asked.

"He did," the bluette replied. (I'm just guessing that's how Hinata's hair color would be described, and I'll be doing so for now on for convenience)

"Oh, so then you know what will happen..." she started as she flared her demon's grin, "if you betray the trust Naruto-kun's placed in you?"

"H-H-Hai," she replied, losing all of her confidence under the woman's cold gaze. It was even more horrifying thatn Ibiki's, mostly because the face and the glare were so mismatched.

"Nee-chan, you don't have to scare the poor girl to death. She just got out of intensive care last week you know," Naruto sighed.

"I just have to be sure," Nanami said smiling warmly. "I've seen what humans are capable of. You can never trust someone 100% without a valid reason."

"That I can agree with," Naruto said as his eyes drifted to a clock in a clock shop window. "Ah! I think the fireworks are going to start soon."

"If that's the case, we should try to find a good spot then," Hinata said, slightly averting her gaze from the greenette. This woman... she's worse than Neji at one moment, and then like a kind mother or sister the next. Just who is she?

"Ah! I know just the place!" Naruto said snapping his fingers. "Nee-chan, think you could make a short tripe?"

"Sure. I'm plenty rested," the greenette replied.

"Okay then. Hinata-chan, try and keep up or you might get left behind," the blond said playfully as he leapt onto a rooftop before heading towards the Hokage Mountains, Nanami at his side with Hinata following almost immediately.

---

At the same time back with Washi and Konayuki, the two of them were going in a similar direction, the prior's thoughts around the same line as the blond's, but not exactly so.

"Hmmmm. The fireworks are going to start soon. Where would the best spot be to watch them?" Konayuki asked as she looked around.

At the same time, Washi was conversing with a few of the local pigeons for their take on it. After a few more coos and tongues, he waved the birds off before turning to his teammate. "Konayuki-chan, I believe I've found the perfect spot for us to watch the fireworks from."

"Yatta," she cheered. "So where is it?"

"Hmmm... Close your eyes," Washi ordered.

"Eh? Wh-Why?" Konayuki asked, a bit nervous from the way the brunette asked that of here.

"Because, I'm going to carry you to the spot, and I'd like for it to be a surprise when we get there," he replied holding out his hand.

C...Carry me? Konayuki thought with a slight tinge of pink on her features. "O-Okay. But no funny business, you hear?" she said trying not to look embarrased.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of you, I promise," he said still holding out his hand.

Konayuki nodded before letting him take her hand as she closed her eyes. The next moment she felt his other arm lift her off her feet as the hand she was holding tightened its grip a bit, and she felt him pull their bodies closer together. After an unmistakable surge of chakra came from Washi's legs, she suddenly felt the wind whipping through her hair as the two suddenly shot through the sky. A few seconds later, that rising feeling came to a stop, and Washi's grip on her hand loosened.

"Okay. You can open your eyes now," Konayuki heard him say once she felt her feet touch the ground. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she was now on top of the rightmost head on the Hokage Mountains, directly overlooking all of Konoha, which seemed to glow and sparkle from the differently colored lanterns and lights.

"Sugoi! I can see everything from up here!" she cheered as she looked around when something suddenly dawned on her. "Wait, then were are we now?"

"I believe we're on the head of this village's leader, the Shodai Hokage Hashirama Senju," Washi answered as he motioned to the right, showing they were in fact on the rightmost head. "It's pretty private, and we've got premier seats," he said as he took his and dusted the ground beside him.

"Heheh. I see," Konayuki chuckled as she took a seat beside him. "Oh, and Washi-kun... Thanks for walking me around."

"No problem," Washi replied, his face reddening when her hand landed on his. "Oh, uh... Thanks for putting up with me since... I dropped you in that hole," he added a bit nervously.

"Oh that? It was nothing. I kinda like it rough actually," Konayuki giggled.

The next moment Washi's face reddened before all the blood there suddenly came out his nose at the innuendo the silverette suddenly caused.

I'm sure she doesn't mean it that way, he told himself. On the other hand, his body betrayed what his mind was thinking when he lost a bit more blood.

"Ooh! Look Washi-kun! The fireworks are starting!" Konayuki squealed as she pulled him to her side, laying her head against his chest as the first ball of fire shot into the sky.

. . . Maybe losing to Naruto back then wasn't so bad, Washi thought to himself as he settled himself onto the Shodai Hokage's head, watching the fireworks with his favorite silverette.

---

Meanwhile back with Naruto, Nanami, and Hinata, the three of them had just ascended the stairs going up the mountainside and were now at the railing at the leftmost side of the Hokage Mountains.

"Well, here we are," Naruto said as he hopped over the railing and began to walk out onto the top of the carving.

"Why take us here, Naruto-kun?" Nanami asked as she slipped under the railing as opposed to jumping over it since she was in a kimono.

"Well... Back when I was still in Konoha, this was one of the few places I felt truly safe," he answered as he took a seat on the Yondaime's head, hugging his knees to his chest as he looked out at the village.

"I think I can understand why," Nanami said sitting at his right, wrapping her arms protectively around him. Back then, this was probably the closest thing to the embrace of a parent. Even if said parent put you in that situation in the first place.

There's something he hasn't told me, Hinata huffed, though not necessarily at that, but how Nanami was wrapping her arms around Naruto. She's just being a good sister. She's just being a good sister. She's just being a good sister, she chanted her mantra in her head as she made her way over, taking one of his hands and leaning onto his shoulder, shooting a bit of a glare at the greenette before turning back to the town. An unintended consequence of Naruto's training with her confidence was that she was now becoming a bit more aggressive, especially in regards to her affections towards her favorite blond.

"*Sigh* Now that I think about it, simply hating this village just because of the villagers... it's the same as them hating me because of the Kyuubi," the blond sighed.

"So then you're canceling your plans on simply leaving?" Nanami asked, Hinata silently gasping at the prospect of Naruto leaving.

"Well... We're living comfortably, and I've found people outside our family that I can stand," the blond sighed. "However, I'm just not ready to forgive the old man yet."

"Why? What did he do?" Hinata asked.

"It isn't what he did, but more along the lines of what he didn't do," the greenette sighed. "Sarutobi-san didn't necessarily do a lot to help Naruto in his childhood, and it is because of that very fact that he grew up alone until the two of us met."

"I may be able to forgive him, but just not right now," Naruto sighed as he hugged his knees closer to his chest. "Oh look, the fireworks are starting," he suddenly perked up as the multi-colored balls of fire began shooting high into the sky above the village, exploding into brilliant flares of color just above the peak of the Hokage Mountains.

Nanami and Hinata on the other hand were just glad that the blond's mood wasn't hampered by their talk about his childhood, taking ahold of his hands and leaning slightly on his shoulders as they watched the display paint the dark sky with bright colors.

---

Later that evening after watching the fireworks display, everyone had gathered together in front of the Hokage Tower and headed home as the festival began to slow down. Then, a few hours later once everyone was asleep, especially Nanami, Washi tiptoed downstairs to the side of the stairs and headed down to the basement. When he got there, he rapped the tatami mat to Kin's hidden bunker.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Kin grumbled as she came up. "Oh! Washi, I didn't know you were here," she said embarrassingly as she straightened her hair.

"Not that many other people it could be. Yet," Washi replied. "Anyway, uh, I thought that things in your little bunker might get a little bland, so I got you something to spruce the place up," he said passing her the maneki neko he won earlier. "Do you like it?"

Kawaiiii, she squealed to herself. "A-Arigato gozaimasu," the ex-oto-kunoichi replied with a slight bow as she took the cat off his hands.

"Ah… Hmmm," the brunette replied. "Ja ne."

"Ja ne…" Kin said as she held onto the maneki neko, "Washi-kun," she finished as said brunette walked up the stairs.

---

Author's Note:
I'm not entirely sure how money works in the Naruto world, though I know that it's called ryo, and in comparison to yen, it has an exchange rate of 10 yen per ryo.

The prices for some of the games are merely guesses, since;
D-Ranks pay up to 5,000 ryo (Simple missions such as manual labor. Fresh Genin)
C-Ranks pay up to 30,000-100,000 ryo (Body guarding, hunting animals, or anything that would put a Genin/Chunin at risk.)
B-Ranks pay up to 80,000-200,000 ryo (Spying or assassination. Ninja are expected to go up against other enemy ninja. Chunin/Jounin)
A-Ranks pay up to 150,000-1,00,000 ryo (Relate to what is in a village or country's personal interests and are extremely difficult or dangerous to compete. Usually assigned to Jounin.)
S-Ranks pay up to 1,000,000 at the least and upward (Most dangerous type of mission. Exclusively assigned to highly skilled jounin or large squads of ninja.)

I'm not sure how stuff would be priced in the Naruto Universe, so if some of the prices were off, please let me know. Giving examples of what stuff may be priced at would be a big help. (i.e. weapons, food, lodging, etc.)

Lastly, I'm not making this into a NaruHina story. The two of them just hung out at the festival as friends is all.

---

Translations:
Kyotouryuu Oughi = Swordless Style Hidden Art
Tomegane no Jutsu = Telescope Technique

"Dachou no ecchi!" = "Dachou you pervert!"
Konbanwa = Good evening

Ikayaki = Baked Squid
Yakitori = Grilled Fowl
Satsuma Potato = Sweet Potato
Toumorokoshi = Sweet Corn
Okonomiyaki = (Okonomi = "What you like" or "What you want") (yaki = "grilled" or "cooked")

Zettou Kanna = Absolute Sword, Plane
Un no Kami = God of Luck
Maneki neko = "Beckoning cat"