*~~*
It was late in the day, and the yukata stalls were closing down, their places being taken by the game stalls and food vendors for the next day. Banners and decorations lined the streets, and Naruto had arrived just in time to pick up his specially made and ordered clothes for the festival.
With a sigh, Naruto walked into the mask shop.
"There you are," Gii-san said with a smile. "You always wait till the last moment to pick up your things." The old man disappeared into the back.
After a moment, the man returned and handed Naruto three masks, wrapped in fine cloth.
"You gonna open those, or you gonna make me wait to see your surprise?" Gii-san asked, mischief in his eyes.
"I'll wait, Gii-san." Naruto gave him a half-hearted smile. "I want to be surprised tomorrow. Today wasn't that great." The old man nodded in understanding and shut the door behind the blonde as he left, locking it.
"Wait till he sees 'em," the old man laughed, swaggering back to his work.
On his way home, Naruto made sure to drop off several things at the main festival stage in front of Tigerdragon's mansion.
*~~*
The next morning was the day of the big festival. Naruto woke with excitement, throwing on his yukata and his mask.
His yukata was loose on him, with long sleeves that hid his hands. Dimly, he thought of Itachi's cloak, but brushed the thought aside.
Naruto's yukata was a deep blue, with bright gold flames dancing across the sleeves and hem. His sash was gold, and his fox earring matched perfectly. His special bracelet hung on his right hand. Brushing the wrinkles out of his yukata, Naruto reached down and pulled on his mask. The mask was a molten gold, which seemed to emanate light. The eyes and ears were pointed, and jet whiskers were embossed onto the piece, rather than etched in. A mischievous smile lined the mask's lips.
With an impish grin of his own, Naruto donned the mask and walked downstairs.
Downstairs, Hinata and Sasuke were waiting.
Sasuke wore a mask similar to Wolf's in shape, but Sasuke's was white, and had silver swirls rather than black. Sasuke's silver wolf pendant, the mark of his association with Guild, hung from white, wooden beads around his neck. Sasuke's yukata, the incarnation of simplicity, was silver with white stitching in the shape of snow.
Instantly, Sasuke saw the mirth in Naruto's eyes and growled. "Not a word, dobe," he warned. "I didn't pick it out."
Hinata, however, looked like a goddess. Her seashell-colored mask danced with a new color every moment, and her nearly colorless, light purple eyes added to the illusion of a pure, heavenly maiden descended upon earth. Her silver fox pendant hung from one ear. Her yukata was made of light purple silk, decorated with black, hauntingly beautiful flowers, and hung tightly to her frame.
Hinata's black hair was twisted up in a bun. Several strips of hair hung off at angles from the bun, and two ivory picks held the bun in place. In her hand, Hinata held a small fan made of black bamboo, and the paper depicted a black night, silver stars, and a silver full moon.
For a moment, Naruto stood stunned, unable to breathe or think.
"Fox-kun?" Hinata asked with a trembling voice, unsure about her outfit and embarrassed by the look in Naruto's eyes. She hadn't picked the outfit or the mask; it had all been Sparrow and Gii-san.
"You look…pretty…Vixen-chan," Naruto managed to stutter, hoping his mask concealed his blush. Sasuke stared, and Hinata swayed on her feet.
"Thank you," the girl whispered, blush rising to her face. She knew she was barely standing, but it surprised her when Naruto walked over and held her up. Still flushed, she walked with him out the door, Sasuke following behind, gaping wildly.
*~~*
At Sparrow's squad house, things were hectic. Her teammates were hidden deep in their rooms, fixing their hair and squeezing themselves into yukata that were just barely too small.
Sparrow sighed; her girls were hopeless romantics.
Still, she was just as bad. She spun gently in front of the mirror in her room, trying to keep her gaze off her bed. She was still thinking of Kiba, and how he'd insulted her.
With a sigh, she gave her hair one last adjustment and walked into the kitchen, where Neji sat alone at the table, staring fearfully at the ceiling. Sparrow grinned; he was concerned about the insanity upstairs. It was at times like these that Sparrow was glad she had the only downstairs bedroom.
"Nice," Sparrow commented as she looked hard at Neji. He certainly seemed more refined than he had over the last few days, running around in boxers and losing it at the smallest embarrassment.
Neji had on his white mask, and a dark blue yukata with a white, swirling pattern. His white-purple eyes made the mask disorienting, since it was difficult to tell where the mask ended and his eyes began. Neji's black falcon symbol clasped the back of his hair, over the tie. He hadn't been sure where else he could put the thing.
Neji nodded thanks to Sparrow, and Oriole bounded down the stairs.
"Careful!" Sparrow called when she heard a thunking noise. "You'll tear your yukata!"
"I'm okay!" Oriole called from the stairwell. As she entered the kitchen, Neji forgot to breathe.
Oriole's silver and ebony mask fit her face perfectly, and her black hair made the black lines stand out sharply. Her bird-shaped hairclip pulled her hair over on the right side of her face. Oriole's hazel-green eyes peered at him from the rounded eyeholes, giving her a wise, penetrating look. Her yukata was black, and silver roses with hazel-green leaves lined the sleeves and hem. In her hands was a black, lacquer fan with a silver rose pattern inside.
As the two stared at each other, Sparrow shook her head and walked to the door. She knew Fennec would arrive any second.
On cue, a loud knocking resonated from the door. Oriole tore her eyes off Neji and bounded over to the doorway with Sparrow.
There, in the doorway, was Fennec. She stood in her everyday assortment of fishnet and cloth, her dusky-colored mask on her face.
"Oh, no you don't," Sparrow grabbed Fennec, hauling her into her room. "You're dressing up this year, and that's final!"
"You can't make me!" Fennec cried, tossing Sparrow off and making a break for the door out of Sparrow's room. There stood Oriole, dressed brightly, bomb in hand.
"I don't have a yukata!" Fennec tried, backing away from where Oriole fiddled idly with the bomb.
"We bought one," Sparrow grinned evilly from behind her mask, and her eyes danced with devilish delight.
Fennec looked back and forth between her two friends and knew she was doomed. With a reluctant pout, she seated herself onto the bed and allowed them to subject her to the horrors of dress-up.
Not that she didn't foil their plans every time they turned around.
*~~*
