Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters or places. I only own the characters from Earth/our world. Even then, they are based on actual friends of mine.

Author's Note: I'm posting this a bit early this weak due to the fact that 1: I'm at my grandparents, and will thus be on the road tomorrow heading back to school, and 2: It's Easter weekend, so have a semi-early Easter present! This chapter was originally entitled "Earth and Water", but I decided after finishing it to change its title to something a bit more meaningful. Forgive Jowan's tongue . . . she gets a tad vulgar in this chapter due to high anxiety and frustration. For all you NaruHina fans out there . . . let the games begin! haha. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a Happy Easter!

Chapter 56: The Flower of Fate

JOWAN

Choji's in front, speaking animatedly to his teammate Shikamaru, who's wearily half-leaning on his shoulder. Sai's behind them with Yamato, Izumo, and Kotetesu. The former two are looking rather stoic, while the later are grinning at each other as if they've just shared a joke or something. Kakashi and Asuma bring up the rear – Kakashi with that eye-smile on what little of his face can be seen and Asuma laughing and nursing one of those cancer sticks of his. I lean slightly to see behind them, but there's no one else. What about Sakura and Ino? No, more importantly, what about Ashley?

But they're nowhere to be seen. My heart thunders in my chest. Did something happen to them? Were they hurt? Killed? No. If that was the case, then the others wouldn't be looking so cheerful. Where, then, were the girls? Why weren't they with everyone else?

Neji must have felt my heart speed up, because he gives me another worried look. "Jowan? What's wrong?"

"Where is she?" I ask softly, my voice weak.

"What?" His eyebrows furrow as he follows my gaze to the approaching shinobi.

My hands shake as my eyes scan their ranks again. Maybe I missed her. Maybe she was behind someone when I first looked. She still isn't there. Fear turns to unreasonable fury as I break away from Neji's supporting arm, ignoring the pain in my legs as I hurry toward the returning Leaf Ninja. "Where is she?!" I demand louder, nearly yelling now.

They blink at me in surprise and confusion – Tenten with slight annoyance. After a heartbeat, Sai gives me that sickeningly fake smile and inquires politely, "Where is who?"

Growling, I lift a fist into his face. "Don't you fucking give me that fake smile crap, ROOT boy," I snarl softly, "or I'll knock you into next week!" By the last word, I'm practically shouting in his face. Bad manners, I know, but I'm freaking out here, okay?

Sai's smile falters slightly. From behind him, Kakashi lifts his hands in a non-threatening way and steps slowly toward me. "Whoa, there. Take it easy. Who are you talking about? I'm sure we'll be happy to help you if you just –"

"Ashley!" I snap at him, shouldering past Sai. "Where is she? So help me, Hatake, if something happened to her, I'll strangle you myself!" For future reference, threatening ninja is not a good idea – bad manners and all that. But again, I'm freaking out, so what do I care?

Kakashi bristles and immediately goes on the defensive. "Who are you and why do you want to know?"

Completely ignoring Neji, who is currently trying to calm me down so I stop making a scene, I narrow my eyes at Kakashi. "The name's Jowan, she's my friend, and if you don't tell me where she is right now, I'll –"

"Jowan?"

I freeze in the middle of jabbing my finger in Kakashi's face. That voice! Gasping, I turn to see a wide-eyed Ashley emerging from what appears to be a flower shop (there are bouquets of flowers in the window, so that must be it, right?). She stares at me for a moment, shock and confusion on her face. "Jowan?"

I give a cry of relief and rush over to her, sweeping her into a crushing hug. "Ashley! Thank goodness you're alright. When Tsunade told me you had gone with the team to stop Hidan and Kakuzu -- what were you thinking?!?!" I grab her shoulders and shake her. "You could have been killed! Are you crazy?" I stop shaking her and pull her back into a hug. "You scared me half to death, girl. Don't you ever do that again."

Ashley laughs softly as she squeezes me back. "Don't worry. I'm not that stupid." She pulls back and looks me up and down, her eyebrows arching. "Do my eyes deceive me, or are you --?"

"Albino?" I interrupt, smirking. "Yeah, I am. Don't ask me why. I have no idea."

My friend steps back, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. After a moment, she giggles. "What if it's because there are no -- er -- darker skinned people here?"

Huh. I never thought of that. Interesting. Before I can even start to reply to that theory, someone clears his throat behind us. I turn to face him as Yamato states, "Actually, there are several people up in Lightning Country that have darker skin than we do. The Raikage is actually of a darker complexion."

I blink several times before exploding with frustration. "Then why the hell am I albino?! What is this? Some sort of farce? Are the gods of anime laughing at me right now?"

Ashley reaches out and pats my arm. "Calm down, Jowan. I think you look fine either way. Besides, if your skin was darker, then everyone might think you're suspicious or something, since you don't see many people like that here if they're more found in Lightning Country. They might've thought you were a spy from the Cloud Village or something."

"Yeah," I mutter in defeat, deflating slightly. "I guess you're right."

As she smiles, a somewhat whiney voice calls out from behind her. "I still don't get it. Why am I doing this again?"

Ashley's grin turns mischievous, and she grabs my arm and tugs me into the shop. "Come here. You'll enjoy this."

I send a smile and a wave back at Neji, just so he knows that I haven't forgotten him, before allowing Ashley to pull me away. "Enjoy what? Oh." I grin. "Ohhhhh."

Naruto stands in front of one of the displays, scratching the back of his head with a truly lost look on his face. Sakura and Ino flank him, both with their hands on their hips and rather determined expressions. "How can you still not get it, Naruto?" Ino demands wearily. "It's so simple! Just pick one that reminds you of her."

"But why am I giving her flowers? I don't – ow! Sakuraaaa!"

Sakura, who had just smacked the yellow-haired ninja upside the head, frowned. "You really are dense, Naruto. She likes you. Can't you tell? Every time you're around, she stutters, blushes, and even faints. If you can't see that, then you're truly blind and hopeless."

He gives a nervous laugh. "Oh, that's why? I just thought she was sick or something."

"Idiot!" Sakura is lifting her fist to hit him again when Naruto spots us. Yelping, he rushes over and grabs Ashley.

"Ashley! Save me! I don't know what they keep going on about!"

I grin. "You spent two years travelling around with the pervy sage, and you don't know what they're talking about? Seriously, Naruto, you are dense. Hinata is totally smitten by you. Do you like her, too?"

He blinks thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I guess so. Wait. Who are you?"

"There's no 'I guess so' in this, Naruto," I chastise him, ignoring his question. "You either like her or you don't. So, do you like her? Yes or no."

"Um, yes?" he answers after a moment of staring at me.

I narrow my eyes at him. "You're supposed to be giving me an answer, not a question. Let's try that again. Do you like Hinata Hyuuga?"

Ashley smirks beside me, watching Naruto squirm. Finally, the shinobi straightens his back and nods decisively. "Yes."

As soon as the word leaves his mouth, Ashley pounces. "Good. Now, the next step is to let her know that you do. The perfect way to do that is with some nice flowers, so focus on this Naruto, and pick one that you think reminds you of her." She grabs his shoulder and turns him back toward the display.

"Can't I just tell her?"

"No!" all four of us counter at once.

Naruto flinches. "Why not?"

Sakura's eyes flash angrily. "Weren't you even listening to me, Naruto? If you tell her that, you'll send her brain into overload, and she'll promptly turn bright red and pass out. She emotionally can't handle you just outright saying it like an insensitive idiot." She emphasizes that last word with a harsh punch in the head -- though not enough to knock him through the wall as I know she's capable of.

The hyperactive teenager rubs his head tenderly. "Okay, okay, I get it already. Flowers." His intense blue eyes focus on the colorful wall of petals.

As the other girls help Naruto make his decision, the small bell in the entrance of the shop sounds and a stiff form steps up next to me. I glance over at Neji and grin. He nods back, eyes studying the scene before us. "What are they doing?" he inquires softly.

My grin widens. "Playing matchmaker between Naruto and Hinata."

Neji's eyebrows lift and his gaze shifts over to me. "Hinata?"

I giggle. "Surely with those eyes of yours you can see how much she likes him. If not, then I might've seriously underestimated the power of the Byakugan." I playfully nudge his shoulder. "So, are you going to get all defensive of your cousin now? Play big brother or whatnot, since she doesn't have one and her father treats her like shit."

Neji stiffens beside me, and I realize that I probably went too far with that one. "Sorry," I say slightly sheepishly. "I probably shouldn't have said that last part." I glance over at him nervously, hoping I haven't made him too mad with that comment. It probably wasn't the best idea to insult his clan head so openly like that.

The shinobi beside me blinks slowly before stepping toward the others. "Naruto," he calls, taking the young man's elbow firmly in one hand and pulling him away from the trio of girls. "I would like to have a word with you." He takes Naruto to the far corner of the shop, lowering his voice so the rest of us can't hear what's being said.

Cocking my head, I glance over at Ashley. Could he be doing what I think he's doing? She meets my gaze, lifting her eyebrows before glancing back at the boys. I do the same, the grin returning to my face when I see Naruto steadily paling, eyes widening as he stares at the older shinobi leaning over him rather ominously. After a minute or two, Neji steps back and turns toward the door, face completely passive and giving nothing about his one-sided conversation with Naruto away.

"We should be leaving, Jowan," he states calmly.

I nod and wave farewell to Ino, Sakura, and a still-pale Naruto. Giving Ashley another tight hug, I tell her softly, "I'm so glad you're alright, girl."

"Yeah me too." She leans back and smiles at me. "Where will you be?" she asks. "You know, in case I need to find you for anything."

I grin and toss my thumb toward Neji, who's waiting patiently for me at the door. "Hyuuga compound."

Her eyes widen and she smirks, breathing, "Lucky."

I wink. "Yeah, I know, right?" Lowering my voice conspiratorially, I add, "Don't worry. I'll have a word with Hinata."

Ashley's eyes light up. "Wait! I have a better idea! Hinata will definitely pass out if she sees Naruto coming toward her with flowers, so it might be best for her first present from him to be delivered by a third party, y'know?"

Sakura claps her hands together. "Great idea, Ashley!" She turns to Naruto. "So, which did you pick?"

Naruto's eyes flick to Neji momentarily before he points out a lovely lilac iris. "That one," he squeaks. After clearing his throat, he continues with more strength, "It reminds me of her eyes."

"Perfect!" Ino cries, retrieving the flower in question. With an almost sly grin, she ducks behind the counter and snips off a length of orange ribbon, tying it in a neat bow around the flower's stem.

After excepting my flower-delivery mission, I slip out of the store with Neji closely behind. Apparently, the others outside have moved on, and we walk toward the Hyuuga compound in silence. When we're nearly there, my curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, "Alright, what did you say to him?"

I swear I see a smirk twitch at the edge of Neji's lips, but it's gone before I can get a good look to confirm the thought. "Hmm?"

I roll my eyes. "Come on, Neji. Don't play dumb. What did you say to Naruto. He went white as a ghost."

Neji keeps a frustratingly straight face as he states, "I merely explained to him the consequences he would suffer if he harmed my cousin in any way -- physically or emotionally."

A snort of laughter escapes before I can reign it in. "I don't envy the boys that might try to date your daughter. You might just scare them all away." I giggle at the thought -- Neji Hyuuga looming in the doorway over some poor young guy, staring him down with the Byakugan with killing intent rolling off of him. That makes for a rather humorous -- if somewhat frightening -- picture. I'd hate to be that kid. No doubt.

Neji's fallen silent now – almost too quiet. I mean, he's not a chatty guy anyway, but it almost feels like he's not next to me anymore. When I glance over to make sure he actually is still walking beside me, I'm surprised to find slight pink tinting his cheeks. My mind screeches to a halt. What the --? "Are you blushing?" I ask incredulously.

He frowns and quickens his step, hurrying forward while somehow still managing to appear like he's not hurrying. "Come. We're here."

I snigger softly, following him into the Hyuuga compound with the flower of fate cradled in my hand. Still, I can't help but wonder . . . why was he blushing?