Chapter 24

Jiraiya left them after he dropped them off back at their hotel, saying that he had to go round up his student. He seemed to think that Naruto would miss the festivities if he didn't. Kankuro noticed Jiraiya had bought something for Naruto to wear, but he wondered if Naruto was going to agree to wear it. Jiraiya seemed confident that since the yukata was orange and blue, Naruto wouldn't be able to resist.

They all took turns in the bathroom, getting showered and shaved and whatever else they needed to do in order to get ready for the party. When they were done, they got assembled in the living room of Yondaime's suite, since it was the largest space they were afforded.

After Kankuro stepped out of the shower, he put on his black under-yukata, followed by the yukata he'd chosen at the store: red with silver bamboo on it. He tied the yukata shut with a bright blue obi, liking the contrast. Gaara was just tying his under-yukata, and Temari was gone.

Kankuro found her in their father's living room, where they'd decided everyone should meet up.

When he came in, they were the only two people in the living room. The living room was a modern space, with a sofa and a coffee table instead of a kotatsu table, with a tatami mat in the middle of the floor as decoration.

She grinned at him. "What do you think?" She struck a playful pose. "You look handsome."

Kankuro bowed to her. "Thank you." He straightened, examining her appearance in response. "You look fine." Temari had chosen a purple and lavender yukata to set off her hair, and a bright yellow obi to keep up the theme of purple and yellow. Kankuro thought it was amusing to see her bundled up this way. Temari was a tomboy. At home, when she wore yukata, she usually wore men's obi with it.

Aio showed up next, and Kankuro had to suppress a laugh. "Yo!" He bowed himself in. He raised his arms, showing off his clothes. "Great, right?" Aio had gone totally native. He was wearing a cherry red yukata with an improbable design of white shuriken interposed with white butterflies. His obi was striped teal and gold, and he'd pinned a large rose decoration in his hair.

Kankuro grinned. "Great," he agreed. "Very Konoha."

Aio pumped his fist. "Hell yeah!"

Josei showed up close behind, timidly clad in blue and silver. He looked as though he thought he was going to get in trouble for it any minute.

Aio laughed at him and grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room. "Relax. You look great."

Baki knocked and entered, nodding at the assembled people. "You all look nice." He wore a blue yukata with red and yellow koi on it, with a silver obi. Kankuro thought his teacher looked dashing.

Aio grinned. "Hey, look at you, Baki-san. Color!" He flung his arms wide. "If fashion was the only consideration, I would totally live here. Suna is boring."

Josei shook his head.

Temari whistled. "You gonna pick up chicks tonight?"

Baki laughed. "No. I don't think so."

"Bet you could," Temari said.

"Your teacher is a little old to be picking up chicks," Baki said.

Yondaime drifted in from the back room. "Nonsense. One is never too old to find love." He smiled at Kankuro.

Kankuro did his best not to blush and give himself away.

"Finding love is not the same thing as 'picking up chicks'," Baki said dryly.

"True," Yondaime said.

Gaara poked his head timidly through the door, and Baki came to draw him in. "Come on in."

Gaara nodded and entered. He looked self-conscious in his yukata. He wore a wine red yukata with white clouds, interspersed with diagonal gold marks, like rain or shooting stars.

"Nice," Kankuro said.

"You look very well in that yukata," Yondaime said. "Your mother would be proud of what a handsome son she has."

Gaara looked taken aback, and then suspiciously as though he might cry.

Kankuro crossed over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Gaara nodded, seeming steadied by that gesture.

Basa came out of the back room last, dressed in a robin's egg blue yukata with red marks on it. They looked kind of like leaves, but it was hard for Kankuro to tell. The yukata was secured with a white obi. "I see we're all assembled."

Baki nodded. "I checked downstairs for Jiraiya, but he's not here yet."

That explained to Kankuro why Baki had entered from the hallway, when this was the room he was sharing with Basa and Yondaime. Baki had actually gotten done first, then, and went ahead to the downstairs lobby to check for Jiraiya's arrival. Made sense.

"He might be late because of that student of his," Baki said.

"We don't have to wait for him if we don't want to," Yondaime said. "What do you all think?"

"I think we should wait," Kankuro said. "I mean, he's expecting us to be here, and there's no set time to arrive at the party, so let's just hang out for a while."

Yondaime looked to the others.

"I am in no hurry," Basa said gently. He smiled and sat down on the sofa. "I also hope to meet Jiraiya's new student."

"Naruto's okay," Kankuro said. "He's just a kid, you know? There's nothing really special about him." He shrugged. In the back of his mind, he also hoped his casual statement would draw out a rebuttal from one of the older adults in the room, who had seemed to be holding back something important about Naruto at lunchtime.

Basa smiled wryly, and Yondaime shook his head.

Kankuro blushed slightly, realizing his father had seen through his tactic.

"Your information gathering skills are great," Baki said. "But we can't divulge that information. We're not allowed to."

Kankuro's eyes widened. "That must mean it's a really big deal."

"It is," Baki said. He grinned. "And you're not allowed to know. That may change, soon, so please, be patient."

"I'm always patient," Kankuro said. He glanced at his sister. "It's Temari who has patience problems."

"Yeah," Temari said. She crossed her arms. "I got all dressed up, so I wanna go already." She grinned, self-aware of the teasing, and that it was true.

They didn't have to wait long. Five minutes later, the door banged open.

Jiraiya wore a red yukata with a golden dragon winding all the way around it, and a navy haori with a white kamon of swirling clouds and rain on it. Kankuro wondered if that was the kamon of Jiraiya's clan. He'd never seen it before.

At Jiraiya's side, a kid in an orange yukata with blue koi stood self-consciously, wearing a red haori. After a split second, Kankuro realized the boy was Naruto. Naruto looked a lot different in traditional clothing.

"I'm sorry," Jiraiya said. "I'm late because I was teaching this brat how to dance. You know he didn't even know how?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Jiraiya. "How am I supposed to know how? I'm an orphan!"

Jiraiya shook his finger. "Now, none of that. You're not an orphan anymore. You've got me. So you're not going to call yourself an orphan."

Naruto grinned. "Okay."

Jiraiya gestured to Naruto with a grin for everyone. "What do you think, huh? Cleans up pretty nice, doesn't he?"

"Yes, you look very handsome tonight, Naruto-kun," Yondaime said politely. Kankuro could tell by his father's slight smile that he was being genuine.

Kankuro grinned in return. "Yeah! Now that we're all ready to go, let's go to the party. We deserve it."

Amidst the general chatter on the way to the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya fell in with Baki and Basa, Temari and Gaara grouped around Kankuro, and Yondaime led the way flanked by his bodyguards.

Naruto drifted in between Kankuro and his siblings, and Jiraiya and his Suna-based family members. He didn't say much. Kankuro wondered if Naruto was actually intimidated by the tight-knit nature of their group.

xXx

When they got to the Hokage Tower ballroom, the place was packed half full of Konoha residents in finery. Sandaime was there, dressed in a white kimono with a red flame pattern on it, sans hat and pipe. The Hokage was across the room near the tables, chatting with a young man in a white yukata with blue swallows on it. His dark brown hair was pulled up in a spiky ponytail, and a few loose strands framed his face. He was a pleasant enough looking person, but Kankuro got the definite sense of power; either a chunin or a jonin level shinobi, just by the way he held himself.

As soon as Naruto saw them, he burst forward. "Jiichan! Iruka-sensei!" He ran to them and tackled Iruka in a hug, laughing.

Iruka laughed in return and hugged Naruto back. "Naruto! You look dashing this evening."

"Thanks! Ero Sennin picked it out," Naruto said.

Jiraiya took long strides to catch up to his charge. "I've told you, it's Jiraiya. Just Jiraiya."

"Raiya-sennin," Naruto said playfully, with a cheeky grin.

Jiraiya sighed. "He's a handful, isn't he?"

Iruka nodded and chuckled, ruffling Naruto's hair. "He certainly is."

Yondaime and the rest of the group caught up to Naruto and Jiraiya, making way for cross traffic. Yondaime bowed. "You look well tonight, Sandaime-sama."

Sandaime bowed in return. "You, as well, Yondaime-sama. Welcome."

"Thank you," Yondaime said. "It's a lovely party."

Kankuro had to agree. The sheer space was breathtaking; oceans of golden wood flooring, enough bunting and streamers to net and strangle a dragon. An enormous banquet table full of food and drink. "This rocks."

Sandaime chuckled. "Thank you, Kankuro-dono. My people do enjoy the yearly celebration."

Naruto grabbed Iruka's hand and made off with him, dashing across the floor. "Let's get some food!"

"H-Hai," Iruka said, flustered, barely able to keep his footing.

Jiraiya burst out laughing. He called, "Better you than me, Ruka-kun!"

Sandaime shook his head.

Yondaime turned to his children. "Please enjoy yourselves. I will catch up to you soon. I have a few things I wish to discuss with Sandaime-sama, before it gets too late in the evening."

"Of course," Sandaime murmured. "I am at your disposal, Yondaime-sama."

"Thank you," Yondaime said. "This shouldn't take long."

Kankuro nodded. "Alright." He didn't want to make a fuss about it. He wished he could stay, but he knew that wasn't possible. Aio and Josei only got to stay because they were his father's bodyguards. And once I'm a bodyguard, too, there'll never be a situation where I have to leave my father unprotected.

"So what're we supposed to do?" Baki asked. He didn't look put out, just bemused.

"You didn't bring a date?" Jiraiya gave Baki a wide-eyed look and a fake gasp. "Neither did I." He snapped his fingers. "Guess we'll just have to dance with each other, then. Oh, no."

Baki rolled his eyes good-naturedly and held out his hand. "Come on. I know you want to dance with me, so let's go."

Jiraiya clasped his hand immediately and beamed. "Thank you, Niisan! You're so merciful."

Baki snorted. He led them both away from Yondaime and Sandaime Hokage.

Kankuro figured he'd just mill around until his father was free.

Temari was scanning the crowd. "You suppose the kid I'm supposed to fight is here?"

"Probably," Kankuro said. He slanted her a look. "Why? You going to seek him out or something?"

Temari grinned. "Well, a little information gathering couldn't hurt."

"Plus, he's cute," Kankuro said conversationally.

Temari made a face. "He's twelve. No way am I dating someone younger than me."

Kankuro chuckled. If Temari was worried about a few years, she'd be shocked to know that he was dating someone over a decade older than him. And was about to get married to this older person. "Feel free to go find him, if he's here. I'm not going to feel abandoned."

Temari drifted into the crowd with a parting wave. "Thanks, Ototo."

That left Kankuro with Gaara and Basa. He worried that Gaara was going to find the nearest uninhabited corner and stand in it for the whole night. "So what do you want to do?" he asked his brother brightly.

"I don't know," Gaara said.

Kankuro resisted the urge to facepalm.

"There is a raffle going on over there," Basa said. He pointed. "Why don't we enter?"

Gaara looked at him blankly.

"It's fun," Basa said. "At different points during the night, names are drawn from the jar at random, and those names will correspond to whatever prize is being offered."

Gaara thought about that.

Basa smiled gently. "We'll enter together."

"Sure," Kankuro said. "I don't see why not, Ototo." He touched his brother's shoulder.

At that, Gaara seemed calmer. He nodded.

They walked over to the raffle table, which was being manned by a woman in a purple and blue yukata and silver obi, and put their names in. She thanked them, and they moved on.

"I feel hungry," Gaara said.

"You guys go ahead," Kankuro said. "I'm gonna wait."

Gaara inclined his head, accepting that answer.

Kankuro watched his brother and Basa walk across the room to the banquet table. He turned away, noticing that Naruto and Iruka weren't there anymore. He tried to track them out of habit. A flash of orange and blue caught his eye some thirty feet away from him. Kankuro drifted closer, weaving through the increasing crowd.

Naruto had his back turned to Kankuro. For a moment, he stood still. Then he gave a start and ran forward a few steps. He stopped and called, "Sakura-chan!"

Kankuro couldn't see who Naruto was calling to, so he changed position, walking a few paces to the right.

He saw a girl with pink hair and was reminded that she was one of Naruto's teammates. Tonight she wore a yukata a shade darker than her hair, with a white sakura petal design on it.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved at her wildly. When that didn't get her attention, he ran over to her. "Sakura-chan!" He looked as though he was going to hug her for a moment, but he held himself back. "What're you doing here?"

Sakura gave him an incredulous glance. "Baka. I'm here for the celebration. You didn't think I was going to miss it, did you?"

"But you didn't qualify for the final round," Naruto said.

"I know that," Sakura growled. She crossed her arms and pouted. "I was hoping Sasuke-kun would be here."

Naruto scowled. Then he laughed it off. "Oh, you know, Sasuke is probably too 'cool' to have fun, anyway. Why don't you dance with me instead?"

"Do you even know how to dance?" Sakura asked. She propped her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, yeah! Ero Sennin taught me!" Naruto grinned widely. "I'm real good!"

Sakura sighed and gave in, giving him her hand. "Okay. I guess dancing with you is better than nothing."

"You better believe it is!" Naruto laughed, seeming unaware he'd just been insulted.

Kankuro winced. He found the whole scene painful. Man, he must really like her to put up with that kind of abuse. I could never like anybody who didn't like me. The rejection would be too much.

He glanced over at his father, who was still talking with Sandaime. They appeared to be having an animated discussion, but not the serious kind. Sandaime laughed and clapped Yondaime on the back, and Yondaime shook his head, smiling. Kankuro hoped his father would be free for dancing soon. If Baki was going to dance with Jiraiya, then he didn't feel self-conscious dancing with his father. Everyone was having fun. He didn't want to miss out.

Sure enough, Sandaime and his father exchanged a final word, they both bowed, and Yondaime walked across the polished wood floor to meet him.

Kankuro grinned, relieved that Sandaime hadn't monopolized his father's time, and held out his hand. "Dance with me? You know, for fun?"

Yondaime laughed, his eyes sparkling. He took Kankuro's hand. "Of course. For fun." He tilted his head, looking at Kankuro with mischief. "Who should lead, then? For fun?"

Kankuro laughed and pulled his father into a waltz style hold, one hand on his father's hip, their clasped hands held at shoulder level. "I should, of course. Don't I take the lead in everything?" He twirled them both playfully, the spinning steps that the waltz was known for.

Yondaime blushed, but he grinned. "You do, Chakunan." Chakunan meant 'first son'.

"Tousan," Kankuro said, returning the use of a family title. At the beginning strains of a waltz, which was timely, Kankuro led his father in a slow dance to the time of the music, gradually spinning them both towards the center of the room. Yondaime was important, after all. People should pay attention when he danced. And his father was especially beautiful tonight.