Hello, I'm back. We have several announcements, so I'll try to keep it short.
1. We have reached over 100 000 words...
2. ...and this chapter contains roughly 10% of that... I promised you one last chapter for the end of the arc and here it is. I hope you'll enjoy it, despite its length. Thus a warning: a VERY long chapter ahead (it was supposed to have 4000 words tops though).
3. We will probably switch to once-per-month update, especially since I need to figure the plot. Sorry.
4. You might have noticed that I was rewriting the previous chapters (almost all of them by now), fixing various errors (quite a lot of them in the recent chapters... I'm sorry for that).
Okay, let's get to it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the original Naruto, where Hanabi cuts her heir (looking strange, but positively tomboyish) only to let it grow and wear kimono with pink bows in her hair... But I own this story, where Hanabi is somewhat different.
[this chapter was re-checked for typos and similar errors... and there was a whole lot of them -.-']
(* * *)
The morning April sun peeked into the room and Hanabi slowly woke up from her sleep. For a moment she was confused, trying to remember whether she was supposed to meet her team today or train with her father. Only a few seconds later she realized that today was quite different from her normal days. She slowly rose from her bed and headed for the bathroom.
Ten minutes later she emerged from her room already clean, clothed and determined to get something to eat. She walked through the empty corridors of the Hyuuga compound, still not accustomed to all the changes. Funny though... the moment one thing in her life got resolved, the others quickly took its place on her list of problems. She briefly recalled her last mission with her teammates that they completed yesterday...
(* * *)
Ebisu was currently reading a book, seemingly not noticing all the things happening around him. He even seemed ignorant of the object he used in lieu of a proper chair. After all, a cart that held enough gold to buy several villages shouldn't be something you just decided to seat on. It also seemed that the thug next to Ebisu had similar view on this topic, as he attempted to relieve Ebisu of his seat and his life.
Attempted being the keyword.
"Ugh!" was all the thug managed to say when he was promptly hit by something he couldn't even see, dropping to the ground unconscious.
"That was late" Ebisu commented.
"What are you talking about, sensei?" Konohamaru said, throwing a single shuriken at the next thug. His target dodged the attack by jumping to the side, conveniently getting in the way of Udon's leg. From what he could hear the kick was right on the mark and painful.
"The hero always arrives late!" the Sarutobi boy continued, making Ebisu stop reading and look at him for a moment.
"Whatever" the jounin said finally. "Just remember" he raised his voice so that the entire team could hear him. "If me or the cart get scratched or damaged in any way even once then you won't get any reward for this mission!"
Moegi and Udon both flinched at that, but Hanabi remained practically unaffected. It didn't really matter to her whether she got paid or not. However, she still indented to make every effort to do as their jounin leader requested. Partially, because she didn't want her teammates to suffer because of her. And because the point of this exercise was to test their teamwork under the pressure.
So far it looked well, their enemies were all low-level thugs and Hanabi has been keeping her (white) eye for any reinforcements. Of course, Ebisu tried to make the task more difficult by forbidding her from using her Juuken and Konohamaru from creating shadow clones. Thus, they used more basic techniques like regular clones, kawarimi and so on. And they were doing pretty well.
At least up till now.
"We have incomings!" Hanabi shouted.
"If it's just another bunch of small fries..." Moegi started.
"No!" the Hyuuga girl answered. "I sense chakra! They're shinobi!"
Ebisu turned and noticed the approaching enemies. Then he sighed and retrieved his own kunai.
"Okay, permission for all ninjutsu granted and I'll help you" he announced. "But the rest of the deal still holds! And remember – if you mess up then it's all Konohamaru's fault!"
"What?" the boy in question asked. "Why?"
"First rule of leadership: everything is your fault" Ebisu replied with a sneer.
Konohamaru just grunted. By this time they were already being surrounded by a dozen of additional enemies. From the look of things they couldn't be above genin level. And he couldn't see any forehead protectors. If they were truly shinobi, as Hanabi said, then they could be renegades.
Again.
"Okay, team!" he shouted to the others, while creating several shadow clones. "Let's do this!"
Moegi produced her summoning scrolls, Udon made some handseals and Hanabi got into her fighting stance.
One second later the battle started.
The enemies were not bad and some of them had quite the skill. And they had the advantage in numbers. They were organized and determined.
But they've got no chance.
Two of them attacked Moegi, thinking she would be an easy target. They were surprised when the girl summoned a rain of kunais at them, but thry managed to dodge it... only to notice the girl wasn't there anymore
"Hey!" they heard her voice from above. "Catch this!"
They raised their heads only to see a giant fuuma shuriken flying at them. They barely dodged in panic, but Moegi was waiting for that. In a blink of an eye she was between them, armed with a kusarigama. Moments later both men were defeated and Moegi rushed to meet her next targets.
Several shinobis tried to ignore the defenders and just get the cart. Udon noticed this.
"Oh no you don't" he said and, after confirming the positions of his teammates made a single handseal. Immediately a number of hidden explosive tags activated, creating several explosions around the cart. The shinobi put under Udon' genjutsu woke up due to the thundering sound, but was promptly sent into a tree.
"That's more like it" the boy said, seemingly not noticing a female shinobi appearing behind him.
"You littl-" was all the woman could say before being kicked and sent flying by Moegi, who landed back-to-back with Udon.
"Thank you" the boy said.
"No problem" was the answer.
In the meantime one of the last remaining enemies, no doubt the leader, Hanabi thought, was heading for the cart. And he seemed a lot more powerful. Probably a chuunin level. Hanabi quickly turned to intercept him. The enemy noticed this and threw a bunch of well-aimed shurikens at her, but she dodged nonetheless and continued to close on him. She expected him to be ready for her attack and she was right – the moment she tried to Juuken him he ducked expertly. That was a part of her plan. She didn't, however, plan for what came next.
Because when the man ducked he revealed Konohamaru approaching from the other direction.
Hanabi was, of course, able to see him from the beginning with her Byakugan. And this was part of the plan as well. So she looked at Konohamaru to silently communicate her intention. They were close. And Konohamaru looked back, his black eyes locking with her white ones.
Black and white. Yin and yang. When one fades away, the other appears. They were supposed to complete each other, but not to collide. If they did, something was bound to happen.
And it did.
The moment she looked into his eyes, Hanabi was immediately seized by some unknown feeling. She didn't know what it was, but in the midst of a battle, with her body pumping as much adrenaline as it could, it made her overreact. She froze on the spot and then attempted to step back. It was fine to keep distance from Konohamaru... but it left her defenseless against the enemy still between them.
"Watch out!" she heard Konohamaru shout. Only now she noticed that the enemy was rising and fast. She dodged by leaning back, but he was already making another strike with a kunai. With no place to dodge the sharp blade was getting dangerously close to her neck.
The hand with the knife stopped, however, when Konohamaru grasped enemy by his arm, pulling it towards himself, spinning the enemy in place.
"What the-" was all the guy said before Konohamaru's knee introduced itself to his stomach.
"Ugh!" and then a strike to the neck introduced him to the hard cold ground.
"Are you alright?" Konohamaru asked.
Hanabi raised her head to face him and blinked. Twice.
"Y-yeah" she answered. Did she... did she just stutter?
"What happened?"
"I-I don't know" without anything better to say she looked around and noticed that the fight was over and the cart was intact.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Konohamaru asked one more time.
"Yes" she told him with her normal voice. Almost. "Don't worry it was nothing... Oh... and thanks..." she added.
"No problem" he answered while scratching the back of his head. "That's my job, after all."
Before anything else could be said they heard Ebisu.
"Hey, everyone!" he shouted. "If you think I will carry this cart by myself then you have another thing coming."
Hanabi immediately turned on her heel and rushed to Ebisu, eager to help him as never before, leaving Konohamaru standing there confused.
(* * *)
"This mission sucks" Moegi commented and took a bite from her plate.
They were currently seating in of the lower-class restaurants, eating their equivalent of a dinner.
"Why?" Udon asked, genuinely interested. "Because we have to eat this?" he pointed to his own plate, clearly indicating that even regular bland shinobi rations were preferred to this.
"No" Moegi answered, eyeing him strangely. "I mean this was such a short mission. And it was easy. I mean, not piece of cake, but relatively easy for a B-rank."
"That's right" Ebisu interjected. "But notice that the intel we got was wrong and there wasn't even half as many enemies as we thought. While still a B-rank, it was definitely easy. But I don't see a problem here. Easy mission. Fine payment. I thought you would like that."
"That's not the problem" the girl replied. "The problem is that the mission lasted three hours, yet it took as three days to get here and it will take as another three friggin' days to get back to Konoha!"
Konohamaru only nodded. Moegi seemed like she planned to stop there, but the boy's silent agreement spurred her on.
"This is six days!" she continued. "In that much time we could do 2 or 3 such missions close to the village! Why do we have to go into foreign country, when the client is not affiliated with Konoha? Why they couldn't hire some other local shinobi to do this job?"
Ebisu sighed.
"That's irrelevant" he replied. "Client requested this, the Hokage agreed and we were chosen to complete this mission" he paused for a moment. "Normally, such easy missions are treated like vacation. Informally of course. But I doubt it's like this. Why Hokage would grant us vacation?" he asked rhetorically.
Though inside his head he knew exactly why Tsunade would do this...
Moegi already opened her mouth to speak, but Konohamaru beat it to her.
"Oh well. No use crying over spilt milk, right?" he started. "What's done is done, so instead of worrying about it, I say we enjoy our trip home! How about we visit some other villages along the way?"
Ebisu meant to say something about responsibility and keeping up their guards, but he changed his mind, sighing. Konohamaru took this as a silent permission.
"So it's decided then, right Hanabi?" he smiled and turned to the girl in question as if she alone could thwart his plans. Hanabi looked at him and then...
...she looked away with a quiet "Hmpf!"
And so during their return trip the Hyuuga girl would avoid him, looking the other way whenever he wanted to talk with her. And for the entire trip he tried to figure out what did he do to upset her.
(* * *)
Hanabi returned to the present, trying to figure out her current problem. It was difficult when the problem itself was so bizarre. As absurd as it sounded it was true.
She wasn't been able to look Konohamaru in the eye and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why... She knew that whenever she found him locking eyes with her she felt something. Something similar to nervousness and apprehension. But why? It wasn't that she was scared of him. Why would she? The mission had gone well and Konohamaru wasn't angry with her as far as she knew. What was this unsettling emotion? Or maybe she really was afraid of him? But, still that didn't make any sense... What was there to fear? It wasn't like she had some nasty secret she was trying to hide from him. Maybe... maybe she was just fed up with his obnoxious behavior and it was her way to show her contempt and disappointment with him? Yes, that was probably it. It made sense.
Totally...
She arrived at the kitchen, one of the smaller ones and not the one closest to her room. As expected, no-one was here, not even the servants. With this she should be able to eat at peace without any interrup-
"Oh, good morning, how fancy meeting you here!" a soft voice spoke behind her.
Hanabi suppressed a growl and turned around.
"Good morning, oneesan" she answered, torn between being polite and being annoyed.
"Are you hungry?" Hinata asked the obvious question and then continued before Hanabi could answer. "I was just about to make myself some breakfast. I can make something for you as well."
Hanabi was about to refuse, but then she thought over. She, a branch family member, would get a free breakfast from the clan heiress without her needing to lift a finger. That didn't sound too bad. Hanabi sighed theatrically.
"Well, if you insist I won't stop you" she said. At this Hinata turned to the countertop and Hanabi smiled a small victory smile. Unbeknownst to her Hinata did as well.
"So" she spoke after a moment, catching Hanabi off guard. "How are things with your team?"
"What-what do you mean?" she mumbled out ungracefully.
"Isn't it obvious? I mean the whole thing with the council" Hinata clarified. "I don't think your teammates would know what happened. Even Konohamaru wouldn't know everything."
"So?" Hanabi asked.
"So I think you're smart enough to tell them what have happened to you. They deserve to know that much."
Hanabi opened her mouth, not sure if she wanted to object, but she was stopped when Hinata placed a plate in front of her. Hanabi didn't think preparing such a breakfast in such a time was even possible. Hinata noticed this.
"Let's say that you telling me this is the price for the meal" her lips turned into a small, but devious smirk. Something in between her usual gentle smile and the one Yamanaka Ino would make when she heard some particularly juicy gossip.
Hanabi only groaned. But the breakfast did look good.
"What's there to tell" she started, grabbing a sandwich from the plate. "It seemed that Ebisu-sensei already told them of the seal and Konohamaru knew before" she paused to see Hinata's reaction, but the only thing she got was a short "go on".
"Then I gave them the general idea what Naruto-san has done. It's not like I was there, so even I don't know any details."
"You know that part is not that important" Hinata interrupted her. "What matters is the result. The consequences of it all."
Hanabi went silent, thinking about it. Her older sister was right. It was all about what happened after the council was brought down. About what was happening now.
In fact, the council wasn't exactly brought down, as it was difficult to manage a large clan like the Hyuuga, one main family and several branch families, without some kind of governing body. The clan's head was simply not enough. So the council didn't disappear, but was replaced with some younger members. Moreover, the original council consisted only of the main family members, while in the new one there were several branch family members. Actually, the main family didn't even have the majority. And the most important thing of all was that some of the old laws were cancelled and new were introduced. Thus, at least clan-wise, all was good with the world.
However, Udon was smart enough to ask such things, so Hinata's argument was invalid.
"Yeah" Hanabi answered, taking another sandwich, painfully aware that she was sharing it with her sister. "But I've told them that."
"And?" Hinata prodded. "What did they say?"
"Well..." Hanabi started. "They were not overjoyed that I tried to hide it from them, but once I explained things, they were actually sorry for me" then she remembered something. "I think Moegi almost cried. That girl is definitely too emotional."
"I see" Hinata said, placing two cups of tea next to the almost empty plate. Hanabi's hand shot in the direction of the cup, provoking another question from Hinata.
"So, your relations with your teammates are well? That's good."
It seemed more like a statement instead of a question and Hanabi mused whether she could confirm this. She was then reminded about her problem. It certainly affected her teamwork and Hanabi couldn't have any of that. Would Hinata know the answer? Well... it couldn't hurt to ask.
"Actually" she started, getting her sister's attention. "There's one thing that's not exactly good. And I don't know how to deal with it."
"Oh?"
"And I was wondering" Hanabi continued. "Whether you would be able to help me..."
As expected, Hinata was immediately interested and Hanabi briefly wondered whether this was a good idea... It better be worth her embarrassment.
"Well, I can't help if you don't tell me what the problem is."
"It's about Konohamaru" Hanabi said and immediately realized that was not exactly true. It was her that caused the problem, after all. "I mean... I don't know what is the reason, because nothing happened really, but..." she continued, trying to ignore the look Hinata was giving her. "But I can't look him in the eye."
Now that this was said out loud, Hanabi realized how pathetic it sounded. It was like saying that the academy boys were picking at her.
"And it's not... ugh..." she tried and failed to defend herself. "I don't know what happened. Whenever I face him I have this strange feeling of apprehension and I have to look away..."
"I see" Hinata said with an unreadable look on her face. "Isn't it because Konohamaru did something?"
"Like what?"
"You know" Hinata started, as if explaining something obvious to a five-year-old, making Hanabi feel like an idiot. "I have met Konohamaru before. The boy is overconfident, loud, irresponsible, a little dumb and, most important of all, perverted. With someone like him strange and embarrassing things are bound to happen. I'm sure you were just disappointed with him and that was just your way to show your ignorance and contempt."
During her rant Hinata had her eyes closed, so she couldn't see the look on Hanabi's face, obviously indicating that her younger sister was getting seriously pissed off.
"I don't think you should worry abo-"
"Are you stupid?" Hanabi interrupted her, standing up and almost knocking the cups from the table. "You don't know him at all! He's strong and responsible shinobi! I'm bet he'd a better leader than you are! True, he might be somewhat perverted, reckless and a little slow on the uptake, but he's also smart, creative and a good strategist! He's very dedicated to his friends and he may even wind up as Hokage one day" even though he may noy be very good one, Hanabi thought to herself.
"Anyways, Sarutobi Konohamaru is one of the finest, bravest and most handsome shinobi of his generation and..." Hanabi trailed off when she noticed the look on Hinata's face. She didn't like that look... and especially that knowing smile.
"I didn't say anything about him not being hansome, though" Hinata remarked. Hanabi froze on the spot, her mouth hanging comically open. She felt like an idiot and she could feel her face heat up instantly.
"But that only confirms my suspicions and I am happy for you!" the older Hyuuga remarked, a warm smile replacing her previous wicked one.
"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked and then sat back, grabbing her cup. One more outburst like that, and Hanabi knew it was coming, and the perfectly good tea would go to waste. She had to drink it quickly.
"Isn't it obvious?" Hinata asked, Hanabi didn't remember seeing her that happy.
"No, it isn't" she said back, quickly taking a sip of her tea.
"I mean that you're in love with him!"
Hanabi's plan on saving the tea from waste went to hell when she spilled the contents of her mouth onto the table.
"Umm..." Hinata started, a little worried. "Are you alright?"
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRIGGIN' MIND?" Hanabi shouted, a spitting image of how she used to act just a month ago.
"Huh, why?" Hinata mumbled, not understanding.
"Me?" Hanabi asked, furious. Hinata nodded. "In love?" Hinata nodded again. "With... Konohamaru?"
"Yes..." Hinata answered, wiping the tea from the table with a cloth.
"Why...?" Hanabi questioned, noticing the spill on her clothes. "Why would you think THAT?"
"It's not simple to explain" the older Hyuuga answered. "But I know it."
"No, you don't" the younger one answered. "I am NOT in love with anyone. Much less with Konohamaru!"
"Actually, this is good news!"
"Can't you hear what I'm saying?" Hanabi asked, now equally torn between angry and embarrassed. She knew, just KNEW that her face was aflame. "I. Am. Not!"
Hinata only giggled.
"Denial is the first and normal step in loving someone" Hinata answered her. "It's fine if you don't believe me. However, it would be better if you just accepted this. The sooner you figure out what to do with this the better. You can never know what can happen in the future."
"What to do with it?" Hanabi repeated as if that was all she heard. "There's only on thing to do! Ignore it!"
"Ingore it?" Hinata interrupted her. "So you admit that there is something to ignore, hmm?"
"That" Hanabi paused, for a moment completely out of words. "That's not the point! I don't need a boyfriend! I'm perfectly fine on my own!"
"Are you now?" Hinata asked. There was that giggling again. "Well, there's no rush. Just know that I'll be happy to help you when you come to terms with it and-"
But Hanabi had already grabbed the last sandwich, stood up and stormed out of the kitchen, intending to get outside of the hearing distance as soon as possible. She was practically gone when she heard her sister's voice once more.
"Oh, by the way... Are you going to the festival?"
"I..." Hanabi started. "I don't know" she replied and then disappeared, leaving Hinata alone with her thoughts.
So her sister reached that stage at last, Hinata thought and smiled. This'll be fun.
(* * *)
Hanabi was back in her room, already in fresh clothes, thinking intensely. Her sister was out of her mind, she's got to be... Her? In love with someone? It made no sense. She didn't need love. Duh, she didn't really know anything about man-and-woman kind of love, for Kami's sake! And the most important thing of all – it definitely wasn't the reason she wasn't able to go face-to-face with Konohamaru. She would know, wouldn't she? There's got to be another explanation. And then she thought about the other topic Hinata's touched upon.
The hanami matsuri – the festival of cherry blossoms. Hanabi has completely forgotten about it, she didn't realize it was that part of the year already.
Every year in April a festival was held in Konoha. The basic idea was the traditional admiration of blossoming sakura trees. But in Konoha such events were never a simple matter. The hanami festival was thus no longer a simple celebration, but had turned into a commercial and political event, coupled with a number of festivities that went well into the night. And year after year Hanabi had attended the festival with her family. Participating in such events was obvious when she was an heiress candidate, but not now. Now she could just stay at home and do something productive. Like train. But the problem was – should she? Hinata has asked her question for a reason. Now she had the right to choose her own fate, but making choices was more difficult than just being forced to go. Maybe she should participate anyway?
And there was another thing. Her teammates. They were sure to attend the festival with their families and Hanabi knew that they would tell her she needed to go and interact with them. For the sake of teamwork or something like that.
So she wanted to stay at home, but had two reasons saying that she should go. She sighed.
This was going to be a long day...
(* * *)
A few hours later Hanabi sighed again, the turn of events only confirming her suspicions. She was dressed in a light-violet kimono adorned with, you guessed it, pink sakura flowers pattern... It wasn't that she disliked sakura or the color violet (in fact, her favorite one). And she was quite used to formal clothing. Bah! She used to enjoying wearing it, even if it was somewhat uncomfortable. No, her mood had nothing to do with her clothes.
The sakura viewing in itself wasn't a problem either. That kind of beautiful sight happened once a year really, as was already established, Hanabi wasn't new to the concept of beauty, perfectly capable of admiring the delicate and short-lived flowers. In truth, that particular wonder of nature always managed to astound her – small, gentle, fleeting flowers and the hard, unyielding, rough bark. Those two worlds, so different, yet working in tandem with each other. Completing each other, as each needed the other to survive.
Hanabi shook her head. No, the sakura viewing wasn't so bad either. The problem was, obviously, her family...
Her clan of course reserved the best spot in the finest sakura garden. Not only that but they arrived with a palpable atmosphere of nobility and superiority. As If hanami was a chuunin exam where the clan and the village needed to show off their power. Hanabi could tolerate it for the sake of her being the clan head, but now it only made her sick. And the fact that her father and sister were doing it with hesitation didn't make it any better. Quite the opposite – it made the feeling even worse.
At this point Hanabi had already decided. At the first opportunity she would try (and succeed) to get away from this. She was certain that the company of her team, while not wonderful, would be better than a crowd of her clansmen.
Fortunately, the chance arrived soon – as the sun started to descend towards the horizon the general population of Konoha headed for the restaurants, stalls and booths, looking for the more mundane and (in Hanabi's opinion) crude sources of amusement.
But it was her chance nonetheless, thus she employed all her ninja talents to get away. Her clan's forte was observation and there were many of them here. Still, she was going to do it... calmly, coolly, entirely without incident.
"Imouto-chan..."
As if...
"Yes?" Hanabi turned back and noticed that Hinata was the only one who noticed (or cared). That was somewhat relieving.
"Where are you going?"
"Um..." she started, making excuses on the spot wasn't her strong point. "I think I should go home. I-I haven't been feeling well since this morning and..."
"Oh... is that so?" Hinata asked with her voice somewhere between worried and amused. "Then you shouldn't waste your times explaining yourself. Just go."
"Umm... yes..." Hanabi answered uncertainly and then started to walk away, not really sure how she managed to get off the hook this easil-
"Tell Konohamaru 'hi' from me!" Hinata called after her one more time.
Ugh... her sister was still going on about THAT? Or worse, maybe... maybe she thought that she was going to see him or something like that? Well... she kinda expected to see him, but not because she liked him or anything... Speaking of that, she should probably apologize to him and convince him that everything was fine. Then she'll just have to deal with the I-can't-look-you-in-the-eye issue and all will be as it should be again.
She sped up her steps, intending to get out before her sister, or any other clan member for that matter, managed to stop her again.
(* * *)
It were moments like these that made her truly appreciate the kekkei genkai she possessed. It allowed her to detect her teammates from the general mass of people, though it wasn't as easy as she expected it to be. Before she had found her teammates she's spotted a number of other people she was familiar with, including Inuzuka Kiba, jounin Genma and, she shuddered at the mere thought, Sai. She couldn't see the current or the wannabe Hokage, but she guessed they were outside of her range and participating in some political form of celebration or something like that.
Anyways, she finally managed to locate her current targets. She noticed Moegi and Udon, who were accompanied by some adults, their families she gathered. Konohamaru was present as well, but he was mostly alone. That's weird. She has expected a number of Sarutobi clansmen all around him. She furrowed her eyebrows, but then went back to her dilemma.
Who should she approach?
Moegi? If Hanabi was a common shinobi girl, then this would have been the best and the most obvious choice. However, Hanabi wasn't so eager to hang out with the orange-haired girl with her family and all those people around.
Her next choice would be Konohamaru – she knew him the best, even if she didn't share his cheerful behavior or ridiculous antics. The only problem was that Hanabi still wasn't ready to face him.
She sighed. So her only choice was Udon.
Hanabi headed in his direction, his location clearly showing in the vision of her Byakugan, but she quickly deactivated it when she noticed people looking strangely at her. Some children were even pointing fingers at her. She continued on her path and quickly arrived on the spot where Udon was. Or where he should be.
A quick glance confirmed that the boy had to move in some unspecified direction. Damn. But no matter, she will just use her Byakugan again. She activated it and... quickly turned around the moment she detected someone sneaking up at her from behind.
Well, at least she found Udon...
"Umm... hi?" the boy said hesitantly when it became obvious that his approach failed. He was wearing a green, yellow and plain yukata that, as strangely as it was, contemplated him well.
"Hey" she replied and deactivated her kekkei genkai, she had to hand it to him though – if it wasn't for her looking for him, then he would be able to surprise her in this crowd. Of course she wasn't going to tell him that. She briefly wondered what stealth the Sarutobi prankster was capable of when he really tried.
"Sorry about that" Udon said. "I just wanted to say hi, since I figured you'd be with your clan whole day."
"I could say the same thing about you – moments before you were with your family, why are you alone?"
"How do you know that?" he asked back.
"Well, I was looking for you."
"You?" Udon was really incapable of keeping quiet when it mattered. "Looking for me?"
"Yeah..." she answered, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Weren't you the ones who suggested that we should hang out as a team?"
"Yeah... But hanami is not the best occasion. Everyone is with their families. Well, there are some exceptions though. Like you."
"I just ditched them" Hanabi told him plainly. "Trust me, a week ago it would be impossible and I would spend the entire day with them."
"Funny thing... I expected you to like that..."
She threw him a glare. "Hmpf! Me taking part in it and me enjoying it are two different matters altogether!"
"So... you DO know how to have fun? Or would you rather go home and train?" Udon asked with a knowing smile.
Hanabi had to change the topic.
"You said there were some exceptions. And I have seen Konohamaru on his own. Did he escape from his clansmen too?"
At this Udon grimaced and then furrowed his brows.
"That is a more complicated matter..." he answered. "How much about Konohamaru's family do you know?"
Hanabi thought for a moment.
"Not much. I know his grandfather was the Third Hokage and Konohamaru... wanted to take his position for himself. And that the Sarutobis are quite renowned. Not much else."
Udon just sighed.
"Come with me for a moment."
(* * *)
"Where should I start..." Udon mused aloud when they were seated on a bench some distance from the crowd to the relief of Hanabi – loud conversations from all directions really weren't exactly her cup of tea.
"Beginning would be a good place" she told him, but Udon didn't answer. This was somewhat personal, Konohamaru should tell her himself... But he promised he would support him. It was worth a try.
"Maybe I will start the Sarutobis" he decided. "The first thing is that your view on the Sarutobi clan, or any other Konoha clan beside yourself is wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Your clan is based on powerful traits passed down on a genetic levels – kekkei genkais" Hanabi only nodded. That was obvious. "There are other clans like that in the shinobi world and in Konoha there were also the Uchiha."
"And the Senjuu" Hanabi reminded him.
"No" he told her flatly, making her blink.
"What do you mean 'no'?"
"I mean exactly what you need to understand. The Senjuu means 'thousand hands' emphasizing their many skills. They were not a clan of particular strategy or with a particular kekkei genkai. They were versatile. Universal. And that's the point. Most of the current clans are like that. Inuzukas, Akimichis, Aburames, Naras. They don't posses kekkei genkais, so they rely on passing their hidden techniques to their children. These techniques can, in theory, be learned by anyone, but only the clan future generations are taught them."
"Okaaay" Hanabi interrupted. "But what that has to do with Konohamaru?"
"The thing is, in such a system clans like that are not really clans, but rather a big families. And that's how the Sarutobis are. They have a lot closer bonds, based on the fact that the children have to be taught even where they are talented. The ability to learn is much more important than birth right and heritage. Because of that such clans have lives similar to common shinobi or civilians. There are no main and branch houses, since there is nothing to protect, some clans don't even have secret scrolls. The knowledge is passed by word of mouth."
"I still don't-"
"Have you ever met Konohamaru's father?" Udon asked. "Or mother?"
"Um...no?" why would she?
Udon sighed again.
"That's because he doesn't have them."
It took a moment for Hanabi to process this information.
"What?" she said finally.
"Yeah" Udon remarked. "His mother was a Sarutobi and died when he was very young. I don't know whether his father is alive, but he doesn't live with him for sure. He wasn't from the clan from what I know."
Hanabi continued to look at him as if what he said made no sense.
"Of course he wasn't left alone" he continued. "Konohamaru would spend a lot of time with his grandfather and with his uncle Asuma. There was also one more person of the family that took care of him. A distant relative. Konohamaru didn't really remember his parents, so it wasn't that much of a problem. He had someone to give him a roof above his head and feed him and then he was out of the house, probably pestering his grandfather. And the he met Naruto."
At this point Hanabi wasn't trying to stop him. Quite the opposite – she listened intently, merging the news he was giving her, connecting the dots with other bits of information she possessed.
"And then Konohamaru went to the academy. He met Moegi and me and thus had found his close ones. We were his family. The only one he's ever known."
This was when Hanabi realized something.
"Wait a moment. You mentioned the Third Hokage and one called Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't he..."
"Yes" Udon confirmed. "He's dead. Almost five years ago. And the Third Hokage died during Sound and Sand invasion staged by Orochimaru the Sannin."
He could see that Hanabi started to understand, but he needed to make sure.
"This was the first time he lost someone close to him. He was left with only us: Ebisu, Naruto, Moegi, me and his distinct relative... and now you" he added hesitantly. When he saw that Hanabi didn't object he continued. "Normally, he meets us everyday, but on days like this..." he paused for a moment. "Ebisu is on duty today, Naruto is boring himself to dead accompanying the Hokage and the Daimyou... and me and Moegi have to spend the time with our families. The only choice left for Konohamaru is either sign for duty as well or be alone."
"That's horrible!" Hanabi cried out, remembering the goofy toothy grin Konohamaru sported nearly all the time.
"I hear you" Udon agreed. "If only there was someone who could keep him company... wait a moment. You can!"
"Huh?" Hanabi asked, not following.
"You said you wanted to hang out with you team today? Then go hang out with Konohamaru!"
"What?" she asked, anger mixing with panic.
"That would be a great experience for you and Konohamaru would be less broody today. Of course assuming you're willing to help your teammate. And it's not like you're afraid of a simple E-rank mission, right?"
"Of course not!" Hanabi shouted, standing up. Udon was kind of envious of his best friend – Hanabi looked positively cute when she got angry in a kimono. If it was like that for him, then for Konohamaru it had to be...
Tch... lucky bastard.
"That task's a piece of cake for me!" the girl continued.
"So, will you do it?" Udon asked.
"Yes" Hanabi said back.
"Can you?"
"...I don't know" she answered after a moment. "But I'll try. See you later then" and with this she was gone, leaving Udon alone on the bench. Alone, yet smiling.
The reason he left his family was to go cheer Konohamaru up, since Moegi definitely wouldn't be able to get out of her mother's clutches. However, he had a feeling that Hanabi was much better suited for this task than him.
(* * *)
Konohamaru was wandering alone throughout the streets filled by crowds of people, feeling incredibly alone. It was a strange thing... those who were alone from the start would probably not feel much difference, but being left alone on a day like this was something much worse. It's no big deal to be alone in the desert.
Being alone when among others – that was the true loneliness...
He continued walking, eagerly searching for some familiar faces. Oh he saw some people he knew, but they were either busy or the ones he didn't want to hang with. He sighed. He should've gone for the guard duty, but Udon talked him out of it. His best friend promised he'd keep him company, but he was nowhere to be found. Hmpf, some friend he was! Konohamaru started to think over his choices. He guessed he should be able to find Moegi quite easily, but she was with her parents. Don't get him wrong – Moegi would be ecstatic to spend time with him and her parents would feel the same. And that was the problem. He could manage just the two of them (even though Moegi would mistake it for something more), but not her family. It was hard to give the girl false hope... and giving it to her parents would be just plain dangerous... Of course, he COULD persuade her parents to let her go with him, but that would be like outright claiming that they were dating. And he could have none of that.
It was all his fault. It wasn't as if Moegi was ugly or anything (she had bad temper though, but the same could be said about the great majority of the girls he knew). He just wasn't able to see Moegi as his girlfriend. It could be great for her and bearable for him for a while, but they'd both get hurt in the end. And he didn't want to hurt his friends. Udon was probably right, he should've talked with her... soon. No, Udon wasn't "probably" right, he was right for sure. Konohamaru should just face the truth – when it came to women he was somewhat of a chicken and it showed in relations with the other girl in his team – Hanabi.
That girl was hard to figure out without his heart skipping a beat whenever he looked at her. At this point he was seriously considering going on a date with some other girl, just to rid himself of this crush, which was no longer a crush... But he couldn't do that because of Moegi... unless he clears up the things with her first. This train of thought had a side-effect. Now instead of meeting someone, anyone, he wished he would find Hanabi. It was absurd though, she would be with her clan right now and why would she want to hang with him? Especially since she was so obviously angry with him for some reason.
However, a man should be careful what he wishes for. Konohamaru was reminded of it when he turned around a corner and walked into someone.
"Omph! I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention" he mumbled, thinking that he knocked someone down, but to his surprise...
"Yeah, you tend to do that. You should really work on your attention span" the person answered, looking completely unaffected. Konohamaru's jaw dropped. Before him stood Hanabi.
Hyuuga Hanabi in a kimono...
Konohamaru didn't know whether she chose this particular kimono herself, but whoever did obviously knew how to accentuate parts that made woman a woman. In all womanly ways.
Konohamaru swallowed and mumbled out the first intelligent question that came to mind.
"Hanabi?"
Intelligent his ass...
"Yeah..." she answered, as if he asked a difficult and deep question. "That's me in person."
"What are you doing here?" Konohamaru attempted at correcting himself. "I mean... I expected you to be with your clan the whole day."
"Some time ago I would've been expected to really do that, but this stuff is so boring, you know. I don't really understand your idea of having fun" Hanabi gestured to all the people and stalls around them. "But I reckon it's all better than some stiff political meetings with false smiles and things like that."
Konohamaru was about to ask since when Hanabi had problem with stiff and formal meetings, but he bit his tongue on time. He also noticed something else. Hanabi was not looking at him directly, but she wasn't keeping her distance either.
"Umm..." he started. "Does that mean you're not angry with me anymore?"
He realized that this wasn't very specific, so he was opening his mouth to elaborate, but he saw recognition in Hanabi's eyes... followed by her cheeks tint with a faint shade of red which, coupled with her pale complexion, was quite visible.
"I-I was never angry with you..." Hanabi mumbled out. "It's ju-It was just that I felt a little embarrassed after you helped me with the bijuus and all" she remembered something her sister told her. "And I realized I haven't thanked you yet, so..." she bowed deeply. "Thank you!"
It was a lie of course – her having trouble being close to him had almost certainly nothing to do with them visiting the bijuus, even she knew that. But it had to do for now. Fortunately, the sight of her bowing in a formal kimono was all that Konohamaru needed.
"You don't need to thank me really" he replied flustered.
"So..." she spoke as if he didn't say anything. "Shall we get going?"
"Huh?"
"The festival I mean" Hanabi told him, while gesturing to the general festivities happening behind her back.
"Oh... yeah..." Konohamaru answered feebly. The way the situation unfolded... it looked like a date. It was a date.
Almost.
(* * *)
Hanabi was not a great conversationalist, what with her tendency to scream and look down on people. It was obvious that they would walk in silence and maybe it was better that way, because that way she couldn't offend him or embarrass herself further. Still, she was supposed to cheer him up and she kinda was treating it like a mission. It would be hard, but she had to at least try to start a conversation, no matter how hard it proved to be.
However, it wasn't as hard as she expected it to be and soon they were talking freely, topics ranging from his adventures with the Corps, Naruto or his grandfather, while she found herself telling him about her clan, her sister, her cousin and herself, even spilling some things she hadn't expected to tell Hinata, much alone him.
After a while Hanabi noticed something peculiar about their surroundings.
"Hm..." she mused. "Are you, like really famous or something like that?"
"Huh?" he asked back, confused. "No, not yet at least. Why?"
"Nothing... it's just that I have the feeling that people are looking at us" she replied, fully aware of what Hinata said in the morning. Of course Hinata was wrong... but what if those people around them misunderstood as well? "Maybe we're both kind of famous" she concluded in the end.
Konohamaru just smiled. "That's true, but I think the reason is now quite what you think."
"What do you mean?"
"It'll be easier to just show you. Can you activate your Byakugan for a moment."
She blinked at that, not understanding his intentions, but she did so anyway. Did he simply mean that she was a Hyuuga? How was that different from what she's said?
"Ok, now what?" she asked, her kekkei genkai on and working.
"Behind us, I think 8 o'clock that yellow building."
Hanabi focused on the said spot, briefly wondering how Konohamaru knew what was behind them. She didn't know what she expected, but a bunch of teenage boys were not what she had in mind. For a moment she tried to figure what was so special about the when she realized. They weren't special at all...
Because they were watching them as well... Now, that didn't solve anything, she still didn't understand why people... wait... They weren't looking at the two of them. They were looking at HER. Two of the boys were whispering to each other and snickered, the third one was eyeing her up and down and the last one was looking at her head and then his gaze wandered lower, lower... and lower still and-
Hanabi instantly spun around, turning to them, her angry scowl and activated Byakugan making for a dreadful combination. The boys reacted as quickly as she did – they were gone with the speed befitting of a shinobi.
"Do you get it now?" Konohamaru asked next to her. "They were checking you out" he finished without waiting for her reaction. Waiting wouldn't do him any good, as Hanabi was frozen on the spot, her eyes back to normal.
"You" she said after a moment, looking around. "Are you trying to say that all of those people are chec-checking me out? The women too?" she had difficulty getting the unfamiliar phrase past her lips, but Konohamaru was still surprised – he kind of expected her to not now what that meant.
He chuckled.
"No" he answered her. "But it's no wonder you attract attention. They see not only a Hyuuga daughter or talented shinobi. They just see a pretty girl."
"Pre-pretty?" she repeated with a shocked expression. This surprised him as well.
"Yeah" he answered. "Did you see yourself in a mirror? Heck! Half of Konoha' kunoichis would be probably envious of your beauty."
"What?" she asked, sounding a little dumb. "My beauty? Is this some kind of joke?"
Konohamaru was a little perplexed at this point. He didn't think ahead, because it was quite risky to openly compliment her like that, but it turned out that she really wasn't aware of her own charm.
"No" he answered. "Why would you think that? I bet you have your own personal fan club in the village. Especially in that kimono. Could you really blame those guys back there? They were just acting like any boy would. Heck! They could be your fans for what we know."
Hanabi was out of words. She had always known that she wasn't as beautiful as her older sister and that it didn't matter. Now both of those truth were put in jeopardy. Her brain experienced a violent overload, evident by a deep red color of her cheeks.
"Do you-I'm-I mean... are you thirsty?"
"Huh?" where did that came from? "Maybe a littl-" but before he finished Hanabi was already off, heading for a nearby stall with drinks. Konohamaru was left with nothing better to do than observe Hanabi's nimble form clad in a violet yukata, while scratching his head and thinking.
What the hell was going on? The suspicion that it was not Hanabi but Naruto transformed became stronger. But it couldn't be... Naruto-niichan should be currently trying to survive talking with the Daimyou. Moreover, how could he knew what happened on their last mission?
He was brought out of his reverie by some new voice. He turned to the side.
And cursed under his breath.
(* * *)
"Here you go" the nice old lady told Hanabi, handing her two cups of amezake (non-alcoholic of course).
"Thank you" the girl answered absent-mindedly, her thoughts focused on her and Konohamaru. She still could feel that her face was flushed. What the hell just happened? What was she thinking? No! What was HE thinking! Her being pretty? Having a fun club?
Ridiculous!
"Are you alright honey?" the woman asked, bringing her back to reality.
"Yeah" Hanabi answered. "I think so..."
"Maybe you should go back to your date?" the woman suggested.
"My... my date?" Hanabi asked, not understanding. Or maybe she understood too well.
"Your boyfriend back there" the woman clarified.
Hanabi's face just discovered brand new shade of red.
"He-he's not my boyfriend!"
"Well, If you let it keep up, then he'll never be" the woman said while pointing her finger at where Konohamaru was.
Hanabi had enough of it, she gave the woman a harsh "Goodbye" and then she turned around.
And froze on the spot.
Konohamaru was exactly where she left him. While previously he had this I-don't-know-what-to-think-of-this look on his face, now his entire form screamed "get me out of here!" And Hanabi saw why, as Konohamaru was trying to fend off a new person.
And the aggressor was a teenage girl who was talking vividly, rarely paying attention to what he said back. She was also deliberately ignoring his personal space, making every effort to get as close to him as possible.
Now, Hanabi's forte was taijutsu, "the skill of the body". Thus, she had trained her body for years in order to maximize her fighting capability. This meant that she knew her body and its reactions. Emotions were a little tricky, but when it came to body she was in control.
Or so she had thought, because the moment she saw the scene before her something inside of her stomach stirred, as if her insides came to life. She felt her stomach churn and twist as the new being raised its ugly head. It had to be ugly, because the moment the beast spotted Konohamaru and the girl it bared it's teeth, generating a killing intent that any chuunin would be proud of. This new entity demanded Hanabi to go there and bring things back to order.
And Hanabi complied.
"Geez, Mayami!" Konohamaru whined. "Give it a rest already!"
"Oh, don't be such a kid!" the girl called Mayami said while smiling sweetly. "You know what? Since were here alone why don't we go on a tour! It's the festival! We could-"
The girl stopped when she felt a terrible foreboding.
"Ekhem..."
Konohamaru and Mayami turned around only to see the source of the dreadful feeling. Hyuuga Hanabi, two cups in her hands, looking positively murderous, her face the impossible mix between threatening and cheerful. The three of them spoke at the same time.
"Who are you?"
"Hanabi, thanks Kami!"
"What's going on here?"
The three of them blinked in perfect harmony.
"Hanabi?" Mayami spoke after a moment of silence. "Hyuuga Hanabi? You're HER?"
"Who are you?" it was Hanabi's turn to ask that. She took a closer look at the girl. She had long blonde hair braided into two ponytails and was dressed in a pink and flashy kimono. Hanabi had to hand it to her – the girl maybe wasn't as stunning as, for example, the Yamanaka girl, but she was certainly pretty. But that alone meant nothing. Especially with that false smile which didn't quite reach her eyes as they were cold and trained on Hanabi.
"Ah" Konohamaru apparently didn't want to test whether the killing intent he felt was real. "This is indeed Hyuuga Hanabi, my new teammate I told you about before. And Hanabi, this is Sohai Mayami, my... umm... acquaintance from the academy.
"What do you mean ' acquaintance'?" the girl asked, latching herself onto his arm. "We're friends, right?" she asked cheerfully.
Konohamaru was opening his mouth to politely object, but he was beaten to it.
"Are you now?"
They both turned to Hanabi who asked that question, her eyes were focused on Mayami, her face speaking of nothing else but pity.
"Well, too bad for you" she started, her tone of voice clearly reminding Konohamaru of a spoiled brat with a nose held high that Hanabi once was. And he never thought he would be happy to heard her speak like that again. "Me and Konohamaru were just enjoying the festival. I would appreciate it if you left us alone. Here" she handed Konohamaru his amezake.
The boy took it, his eyes darting between Mayami, and unreadable look on her face and Hanabi, who acted as if the former has already left.
"Yeah" he said slowly. "I think we should be going... Umm... see you later Maya-"
"Are you his girlfriend?"
Konohamaru was glad he wasn't drinking at the moment, because he was bound to get one of the girls... soggy. But despite that, it was a really bad question and he found himself unable to decide whether he should openly deny it or just shut up or leave it to Hanabi, but he decided that the first was probably safer. The idea of bloodshed really didn't sit well with him.
"No, of course not, what made you think that?" Konohamaru laughed nervously and cast a glance at Hanabi, who looked as calm as the day he had met her.
The problem was he remembered that she was only looking calm back then.
"Of course not" Mayami repeated. "What I was thinking? It's obvious Konohamaru wouldn't go out with-"
"You're glad" Hanabi interjected.
"What?" the girl asked, but Hanabi continued without any care in the world.
"I'm afraid that Konohamaru himself will choose who he would want to date. Is that a problem?"
At this point Mayami didn't even try to hide her fury, openly glaring at the Hyuuga girl. Hanabi was somewhat pleased with herself. Granted, leaving things like shinobi skills and the social standing aside, the two of them were similar girls and Mayami had no reason to fear her. However, Hanabi knew how to piss people off. After all, it took great training to be able to knock off-balance someone as calm and caring as her older sister. All the trying was paying off at last! And the girl should really just leave. Didn't she see? Hanabi was not acting like that out of her free will. She was just doing what the ugly beast in her stomach commanded and it would be better for this menace of a girl if she left before the beast lost its patience and took the matter in its own claws.
"Hey!" Konohamaru shouted, making people, at least the half that wasn't yet looking at them, turn their heads in their direction. "It's Udon! I think I see Udon there" he waved his hand to someone. "I'm sorry Mayami, but we need to go. Teammates stuff, you get it right?"
"Yeah, of course" the girl answered, her fists clenching involuntarily.
Ten seconds later Konohamaru and Hanabi were already walking. Alone once again.
"Phew!" Konohamaru sighed. That was close.
"I don't see him" Hanabi spoke.
"Huh?"
"Udon. You said you saw him."
"Ahh... that" Konohamaru looked embarrassed. "I didn't, I just wanted to get Mayami off our backs" he explained. "I'm sorry for lying."
"Don't be stupid" she told him, making him look at her and quirking his eyebrow. "Deception is a common tool for shinobi and she had no choice but to fall for it. Tell me, were there many girls like her in the academy?"
"Well, no... at least not at the time... Mayami was pretty much ugh... normal back then. But now she's like that. And she's not the only one."
"I think she's perfectly normal" she told him.
"Yes... wait-what?" he asked dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"
Hanabi was in a surprisingly good mood. Now that the beast in her stomach seemed to settle down, satisfied, the Hyuuga girl felt some lightness in her body. If she were some common girl she would probably bounce with each step. And now she was in a mood to tease Konohamaru a bit. It was time for revenge.
"I mean that you're quite popular with the girls yourself."
He looked at her for a moment as if she was speaking english or some equally foreign language.
"Don't be stupid. As if" he told her.
"Then, do you mind me using my Byakugan and counting how many girls are spying on your right now?"
"Um... no... thank you... honest!" he replied and turned away from her, embarrassed.
Hanabi only smiled. This festival thing proved more interesting than she thought.
(* * *)
"Hey it's a goldfish scooping!" Konohamaru said, pointing to one particular stand with a lot of people.
"Yes, and?" she asked.
"Do you need to ask? Let's try it!"
"Huh?" she replied, not too keen on the idea of participating in such games. She didn't know what common people saw in them, but it didn't suit her at all.
"Oh, c'mon, let's go" he said and before she could object, he had grabbed her hand and started walking.
Her first reflex was to slap his hand away, both because of his nerve and because the feeling of her hand in him felt strange. But the new inhabitant of her stomach rumbled a warning, making her go along with it. Immediately the rumble turned in a purr.
"Ojisan" Konohamaru said, when they were at the stall. "Two scoopers, please!"
Hanabi quickly realized that goldfish scooping was something she was not good at. When her fourth scooper tore and Konohamaru started to laugh she truly expected herself to get angry and throw the stupid tool at the ground. Except nothing like that happened. It probably had something to do with the way he laughed. It was warm and merry. And it even made her smile once as well.
After that they have tried cork shooting, ring throwing and the lottery. She has won one ridiculous-looking toy (as a side note, she didn't understand why she wasn't able to get them all) and Konohamaru won three and then gave all of them to her. She accepted, inwardly praying that no-one she knew noticed her walking with a bag full of soft toys.
Then Konohamaru insisted on buying her cotton candy for her buying him amezake. And it tasted better than she remembered it. Then she talked him into buying an oni mask.
And the strangest thing of all – she noticed that she started to enjoy herself. And that it started some time ago.
Moreover, she once again noticed that strange force that tried to get her closer to him, and she had a feeling that it has something to do with the being in her stomach. The said being was now quiet, as if it was pleased with Hanabi's behavior.
They continued to wander through the crowds without any set destination in mind. Konohamaru was now apparently in a good mood and started to tell jokes and his famous pranks. Hanabi laughed or at least smiled at all of them, though she would be forever embarrassed if anybody found out.
"Hey, it's the hanabi show!" Konohamaru told her at one point and then pointed at some place in the distance. Hanabi immediately realized that he meant the fireworks show. It made her think of her own name. Hanabi. Hana hi. The fiery flower. That was stupid. What kinda flower bursts into flames...? Except the actual fireworks... But she wasn't like that – exploding violently, disturbing everyone around her. She wasn't disturbing him, right?
Right?
"How about we go take a look?" he asked and when he didn't hear her answer he turned to look at her. "Hanabi?"
"Yes" she told him. "Let's go" and she jumped into the air, chosing the traditional ninja way to travel. Konohamaru looked after her, then chuckled and started following her.
(* * *)
The building was well suited to be an observation spot, it had a large terrace that granted perfect view on the Hokage monument and was nicely complemented by a number of sakura trees in full bloom. The terrace was quickly filling with people, shinobi and civilians alike. Hanabi and Konohamaru were not on the terrace, but on the roof above, completely empty except for the two of them. They were seated and patiently waiting for the show to start.
At least Konohamaru was, because Hanabi was fidgeting constantly and gazing at him every now and then. She felt strangely disturbed now that he didn't look or talk with her. She was just about to speak, when he beat her to it.
"Here it goes!"
Hanabi looked forward just in time to notice the first custom-made explosive tag launch into the air and explode into thousand yellows sparks a few seconds after, earning a collective gasp from the viewers on the terrace.
"Beautiful" Konohamaru said as he observed a series of fireworks light the sky next to the first one.
Hanabi was observing the show with difficulty, because half of her brain was working full-time, thoughts seemed to appear faster than the fireworks, chasing each other.
Konohamaru thought fireworks were beautiful and she realized the obvious thing. Fireworks didn't disturb people. They were admired by them for their beauty. And Konohamaru called her pretty before. So maybe she was really a firework – as violent and beautiful as the ones exploding in the skies above them. Well, that was only what Konohamaru thought, though.
Konohamaru...
As if on command, her brain started a show on its own. A slide show. Each time a firework exploded the slide in her head changed, showing another scene from her past.
Konohamaru introducing himself. Konohamaru standing up to Naruto.
New Konohamaru corps preparing their plan. Their hands on top of each other.
Him watching her at the ruins and then rushing after her to back her up. Them screaming at each other.
Him finding her at the forest. Him saving her by sweeping her of her feet. Twice. Her helping him cope with the darkness.
Him intruding on her bath. Him punishing Izakoza.
Him discovering her cursed seal. His reflection in the hospital window next to her own.
Both of them leaning over the scroll in Naruto's apartment.
Both of them enjoying their stay amongst the bijuus.
Her freezing and looking away when their eyes met.
She turned her head to look at Konohamaru, who was watching the show intently. It was a strange thing. She was a firework, the same as the ones above them... so why was he watching them instead of her?
Now, Hanabi had several reason in her life to be envious. Most of them had to do with her sister. Now she had that feeling again, only this time it was directed at the fireworks. That thought was stupid. Fireworks were inanimate objects and shows like this one happened once per few months. And they lasted 10 minutes tops. In short, there was no reason a noble girl like her would be jealous of them.
Yet she was. She wanted nothing more, but to stand up, stand between Konohamaru and the pretty lights and see him smile at her, yet she remained still.
The fireworks were now launching with staggering speeds and Hanabi's mind started to race as well.
Thoughts were popping one after another and all of Hanabi's abilities and discipline weren't enough to sweep them all under the rug. Despite her inexperience and lack of knowledge she managed to see it. Not the whole picture, but the ray of light cast by the slightly ajar door of truth. She glimpsed enough to connect all the important dots and judge the situation at hand.
While she was watching the boy next to her, the magnificent spectacle high above their heads was reaching its end.
The last firework shot to the sky with a hiss, quieting down before ending its life in a booming explosion, sending sparks and petals of fire everywhere, truly a "hanabi" – a "fiery flower" – its beauty clearly reflecting in Konohamaru's eyes. The death of the final firework was followed by a thunderous applause from the terrace below. And then Konohamaru finally turned to look at her.
"Well, that was quite the sight, wasn't it?" he told her, giving her his full attention, watching her with the same expression he used to admire the show.
And then he smiled.
It hit her like a ton of bricks. In this one short moment she knew that something in her changed before it happened.
The sound of the last explosion passed and the sparks in the sky died down among the clouds of smoke. The clapping followed suit accompanied by last one shout from the crowd, shaking her out of whatever spell she was under. Then their eyes met. And she sighed.
The moment has ended.
And she was in love.
(* * *)
Ta-da! After roughly forever we have officially started the more romantic part of the story (no I don't plan it to have 20 chapters, no worries).
I hope you are all satisfied with the turn of events, if you are then drop me a review.
P.S. Today's references are brought to you by "A Bug's Life" and "Equilibrium". One has even two references.