Chapter Twenty Five
I'm just a step away, I'm just a breath away,
Losing my faith today, I'm falling off the edge today,
I am just a man, not superhuman, (I'm not superhuman)
Someone save me from the hate
Shikamaru watched the crowd bustle by, acutely aware of Hinata beside him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. His mind wandered back to the fight at the warehouse. The sounds he heard coming from behind the door. She's so strong… he thought to himself, amused. This Hinata sitting here with him was completely different to the Hinata he had known growing up. She had been incredibly shy, almost unable to speak to anyone. She was more confident now, more open. She was sitting cross-legged now, staring down at her lap and twiddling her thumbs. He looked away, pretending to look intently at the shops that lined the marketplace. His gaze slipped over a pottery shop and a ramen bar before he saw a shop that did interest him. A dress shop. Almost without thinking he grabbed Hinata's hand and stood up, pulling her up with him. "Shikamaru, what– ?" Hinata stammered before he took her towards the dress shop. "We are getting you an outfit to suit the festival," he said, turning his head and smiling at her. She stared at the shop, her cheeks flushed. "Ok," she murmured. Shikamaru opened the door and held it for her. He followed her in and immediately began browsing the dresses and kimonos lining the walls.
The shop attendant, a young lady only a little older than themselves, approached. "Can I help you?" she asked politely. "Can you help my…" he drifted off, not knowing what to say. He started again. "My wife needs a dress for the fireworks festival. Can you help?" The woman beamed at Hinata at nodded vigorously, "absolutely!" she chimed, grasping Hinata's hand and pulling her towards the dressing room. Shikamaru chuckled. He watched as the attendant pushed Hinata past the curtain of the dressing room and disappeared for a minute. She came back out and asked Shikamaru to wait outside the shop, saying she didn't want him to see any of the dresses she would be making his wife try on. Shikamaru nodded and left the shop. It was starting to cool down outside. Shikamaru sat on a small wooden stool sitting outside the shop and waited.
It must have been almost half an hour by the time the shop door opened slightly and the attendant stuck her head out. "Your wife has chosen," she said, "she'll be along in a moment." Beaming, she shut the door again. A few minutes passed and the door began to open. Shikamaru stood and watched as Hinata stepped outside. She was in a dark green kimono with intricate dark purple flowers on it. He was lost for words. She looks amazing.. Hinata noticed his stare and looked away shyly. "Do… do you like it?" she asked quietly. "Like it?" he said, "Hinata you look beautiful." Her cheeks went bright red, and he felt his own face flush. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and moved to go inside the shop. "I'll be back," he said, still dazed by how she looked in the kimono. "No, Shikamaru, I already paid for it." She said. He stopped. "Oh," was all he said as he put the wallet back into his pocket.
"The fireworks are about to start, we should find somewhere to watch," Shikamaru said, gazing at Hinata. She nodded and followed him as he turned down the street. They wandered towards a small park close to where the fireworks were being let off. They sat under a lightly leaved tree. "I hope they're good," Hinata said, trying to make conversation. Shikamaru lay down on the grass. "They will be," he assured her. She seemed to think about it for a minute before she lay down too, staring up at the sky. The first cracker was lit and the sky was lit up with bright red. He heard Hinata take in a short, sharp breath. He turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were lit with joy as she watched the bursts of red, green, gold and blue across the sky. She looked so happy, right there watching the firecrackers, and she looked pretty, illumed in the ever-changing colours of the crackers. He reached down and took her hand in his, interlocking their fingers. He looked up at the sky and smiled. They lay like that for over an hour as many magnificent crackers were lit. Some taking the shapes of hearts and stars when they burst, others forming flowers and other such pictures in the sky.
When the show was over, Shikamaru and Hinata made their way slowly back towards the warehouse where their prisoner was locked in the truck. They didn't exchange any words – there was no need to – they just walked hand in hand to the place they would spend the night. When they reached the warehouse, Hinata went inside to send a message to the Hokage about the bandits while Shikamaru checked on the man tied up in the back of the truck. Removing a kunai from his weapons pouch, he unlocked the truck door and swung it open. He looked to where he had left the man and found him still there, lying awkwardly and sleeping. He moved over to the sleeping man and bent down. He reached out and togged the rope around the man's wrists. Still tight. The man stirred slightly. Shikamaru jumped out of the truck and locked it again, going inside. Hinata had already gotten changed and was setting up her sleeping bag. Before he could say anything she said "I've already sent the message to the Hokage. We can expect the anbu to be here early in the morning." She slipped into her sleeping bag. "Right," Shikamaru said, pulling his own sleeping bag out of his bag and slipping into it.