Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything or anybody except Tomoko, her family and Nagareboshi Cafe. The kimono dress Tomoko is specifically wearing this chapter is again from Darling Army, aptly titled, "Leafeon Kimono Dress for Sarah." Just take out the hood and resize the dress to fit a 7 year old, and you're good!
The piano track for this chapter is Hypochondriac Piano's cover of The Afternoon Streets from Kingdom Hearts 2. On the other hand, please play Guy's Theme from the original Naruto soundtrack for some of the more Guy-centric parts of the chapter. Please enjoy!
Chapter 12: The First Flames of Youth
One of the pros (and cons) of being born during the era leading up to the Third Shinobi World War was that you would be able to see the beginnings of great friendships that would continue into canon.
Kakashi and Guy's beginnings were a little more…well, rough, to put it lightly. Last I checked, civilians weren't dragged into their rivalry matches, but I think the two made an exception with me…
It all started out as a normal spring morning at Nagareboshi, where I was wearing a new kimono dress resembling a Leafeon to match the season (mostly yellow with brown lacing, a leaf pattern on the skirt, and a brown obi with a leaf adorning it, complemented by white stockings and brown boots), cleaning up the piano when the two came in.
…Well, more like they ran in. Woo.
"FIGHT ME!"
"I DON'T WANT TO!"
To my surprise, I quickly found myself face to face with intense black eyes and a familiar bowl cut. "…Um, what?"
The thought only registered a few seconds later.
Did Kakashi just use me as a human shield for the future Green Beast of Konoha to look over?!
"Oh, hello, Tomoko-san! Your beauty is as lovely as ever! As expected of one of many flowers of Konoha!" Guy yelled enthusiastically.
Oooookay.
In response, I just blinked before attempting to turn my head to look at the silver-haired Chunin behind me.
"Hello, Guy-kun, and…why, Kakashi-kun?" I found myself deadpanning.
My best friend simply gave me a half-lidded, exasperated stare, hands still pushing me forward to face the green Genin. Heck, Kakashi's deadpan expression said more than enough. Not now, talk later!
"You're actually hiding my Eternal Rival, Tomoko-san!" Guy bellowed, and I was positive I could see flames in his eyes. "Is it alright if you could let me see him?!"
…I'm experiencing the start of the Eternal Rivalry, aren't I?
"Um…" I looked back at Kakashi, and he immediately shook his head, silver hair whipping his face from the ferocity. Well, this is hard. "I-Is it alright if you could come back later Guy-kun? Um…" I ended up noticing the concerned looks of Mom and Dad from the bar side of the cafe and took advantage of their presence. "Kakashi-kun isn't ready for whatever challenges you have yet and I kinda need to…clean the cafe, so yeah…"
God dang it — that sounded painful.
"Eh~?" Guy physically deflated, and my heart just dropped in the middle of my chest at the sight of his eyes watering a little. "B-But we've only really done one competition today and it was just rock-paper-scissors! I won't be satisfied with just that!"
Why, just, why did Guy have to sound so pitiful and adorable when pleading like that?!
"U-Um, then Guy-kun, what do you want to do then? You and Kakashi-kun have at least 30 minutes before Nagareboshi opens, and I could possibly…host it?" My voice turned squeaky and high-pitched near the end, and I could easily see Kakashi glaring at me from the side of my vision. I couldn't help but mentally cry.
I-I'm really sorry, Kakashi-kun! But you're the one that put me here — so, deal with it for a bit, please!
At my rather nervous response, Guy blinked before going silent, putting a bandaged hand on his chin to think for a moment. A few seconds passed before the fire reignited in his eyes and he looked at me with a passion that, quite frankly, terrified me. "Tomoko-san, how about you decide what our competition should be?!"
Wait, what?!
"You're the wonderful person that is going to be hosting us, so please, come up with something that will satisfy our ETERNAL RIVALRY!"
If possible, I could easily feel myself deflate.
…Why, oh why, do I have the feeling that it will be you two ninjas that will always put me on the spot here?!
"Um…" I glanced at Kakashi. My best friend simply raised an eyebrow back, frowning expectantly.
I kept the thoughts to myself. Well, I love you too, you insufferable ninja. You complete dolt.
Taking a deep breath, I attempted to straighten myself before looking at Guy in the eye. "H-How about this? You and Kakashi-kun race up to the top of Hokage Monument and back…" Might as well take inspiration from canon here. "And when you get back to Nagareboshi, whoever hugs me and carries me the highest wins?"
You're probably wondering by now what the last point was. Honestly, it was something that I did in my past life with my original duo of friends, Josh and Leo. And yes, I mean that Leo, my former loveable asshole boyfriend, Leo — now please let me continue.
When we first met, I started out by hugging them both, and the 'hugging competition' was something Josh came up with. Initially, Josh wanted to make me laugh after a tough day at school and attempted to lift me up high in the air while still hugging me. Leo had saw this and apparently wanted to one-up my big friend and attempted the same thing, this time carrying me by the knees to lift me up, close enough to where I might've been able to touch a low ceiling beam with an outstretched arm.
Hehe.
By then, it became an 'unspoken' bout of rivalry of sorts between the two, since they wanted to just see who was stronger and who could make me laugh more.
I still miss the two sometimes, I don't think it'll ever stop — but I'm Tomoko now. That past self of mine may still exist in memory, but she's gone now. I have to move on at one point — but at least I could still honor the memory of my old friends through this competition with new ones.
Maybe this could help.
Going back to the scene at hand, Guy blinked before a new kind of flame ignited in his eyes, this one significantly more amused and happy at the idea, giving me a thumbs up. "Alright, Tomoko-san! I will do my best to beat Kakashi and hug you as hard as I can!"
I blinked. "U-Uh, sure…"
From behind me, Kakashi was facepalming and shaking his head, now standing at full height.
"Kakashi — we will meet here in 5 minutes! Be there and face me, rival!" The Green Beast quickly ran out the cafe doors at that, yelling something along the lines of 'Flames of Youth!' in the distance. What was left in his wake was a very confused atmosphere, with Mom and Dad shaking their heads in disbelief and Kakashi just sighing behind me. I couldn't help but turn to my best friend in confusion and teasing amusement, smiling shyly.
"You really found a good rival, huh, Kakashi-kun?"
In response, Kakashi glared at me through the cracks in his hand, exasperation clearly seen in his silver eyes.
"…You owe me a good song after this, Tomoko."
Yep, he's still angry. Joy.
I just tiptoed a little to wrap my arms around his neck in an apologetic hug. Even though there was only a few centimeters difference between us, he was getting taller. That's shinobi health for you. "I know I do, and I'm sorry, Kakashi-kun. That challenge was the only thing that came to mind."
I could feel Kakashi's chest rumble from another sigh before his arms went around my back gently, lightly patting it. "…Just try to not do that again, okay? You don't know how brutal Guy can be, Tomoko."
I couldn't help it. "You mean 'youthful,' Kakashi-kun?"
Kakashi just pushed me away a little to shake his head. "No, Tomoko. That was just horrible."
I just grinned bashfully, scratching my cheek. "Sorry."
"OI! KAKASHI! IT'S BEEN 5 MINUTES! COME OUT HERE!" The loud shout made us both jump before the named ninja sighed again, hand to his face.
"Let's do this then?" I trailed off a little, taking note of my friend's upset expression.
Kakashi just groaned.
"So, Tomoko-san—"
"G-Guy-kun, you can call me Tomoko-chan, we're the same age."
"Okay then, Tomoko-chan, can you please do the countdown?! I'm ready to go already!"
I couldn't help but look over the scene in disbelief, and the apparent crowd in the shopping center shared that same sentiment.
How did I get here again?
In the 5 minutes Guy was gone from Nagareboshi, he had drawn a large chalk line with the word 'START' in big white letters from Nagareboshi's doorstep all the way to the opposing market. Adding in Kakashi and Guy himself, kneeling like Olympic runners getting ready to race, behind said line, and the Green Genin yelling out various comments about the race to Kakashi and everyone else in the street, it made a very…'interesting' scene. I honestly felt out of place for once with my Leafeon kimono dress and the limp white flag in my hand serving as the start signal.
"…Those hugs better be good." I found myself muttering.
"Did you say something, Tomoko-chan?" At Guy's enthusiastic response, I just blinked before shaking my head rapidly, smiling nervously.
Whoops. He caught me. Almost.
"I-It's fine — don't worry, Guy-kun! Anyways…" I lifted up the flag in the air with my right hand, taking in a deep breath. In response, the two ninja tensed.
"3…" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "2…" Guy breathed in deeply before grinning. "1… and GO!"
It was like a tornado hit the shopping center at my signal. Once I said the fateful command, the two ninja immediately sped off, leaving enough dust in their wake to almost cover the entirety of the START line and some of the closer spectators, causing them to cough. I had to put a hand down to my skirt so that it didn't fly up in the wake of the ninja's speed, and by the time a few minutes had passed by, I could already see green and blue blurs scaling up the Third Hokage's head.
…As expected of ninja speed — and, ugh. Why do I envy ninja again?
Oh yeah — they get to do simple things like race and make it look badass.
I hated being a civilian sometimes.
I was literally so done with the day and my own thoughts. So, when Minato-san poofed into existence near me, I wasn't surprised at his amused expression. Or at the puff of white smoke. Ninja. "They're at it again, huh?"
"…Minato-san, could you hug me please?" The Yellow Flash blinked before looking down at me.
He paused. "…Why?"
I just frowned up at him. "Ninja physics are ridiculous and I would like a normal hug before this whole thing ends, so please?"
And I would like to enjoy a soft hug before Guy ends up choking me…
I could only hope he wouldn't, but since this was Guy we were talking about, I didn't have the highest of hopes.
Minato-san simply gave me a look that spoke volumes of his disbelief before kneeling down to my height and lightly wrapping his arms around me. Despite the tough Konoha flak jacket, he was still warm and snuggly, so I just buried my face into the crook of his neck with a sigh for a few seconds before pulling away, face a little red. "Thank you, Minato-san — I'll be hugging you every day I see you from now on, okay?"
The Jounin blinked before grinning happily and lightly patting my head. "I'll be looking forward to that, Tomoko-chan."
"TOMOKO-CHAN!" The loud, youthful yell was the only indicator of the two competitors coming back before a green blur literally tackled me in a hug, making me drop the white flag in my hands. I didn't even have time to register the feeling of Guy's hug before he lifted me up by my torso, allowing me to see Nagareboshi Cafe's sign for a few seconds before putting me back down, dusting me off.
I couldn't help but feel so done with the whole competition already. "G-Guy-kun…"
He didn't choke me, but…
"How was that, Tomoko-chan? Was my hug the most youthful one you've had?!" The Green Beast apparently didn't notice my blank expression, giving me a thumbs up and a sparkling white smile in response.
How am I supposed to tell him that I felt the opposite about that hug with that smile?!
Apparently Kakashi noticed my internal plight, sighing before lightly pushing the Green Genin to the side. "You dolt, that's not how you hug Tomoko."
Huh?
I could only register Kakashi's figure in front of me before gentle hands went around my torso, bringing me into a warm embrace. Unlike Guy's attempt, Kakashi's was considerate with his hold being surprisingly soft and light, allowing me to physically relax and wrap my arms around his neck.
For once, everyone disappeared. It was just me and my best friend, enjoying a warm hug.
It just felt…right.
That's why I couldn't help but squawk in surprise when Kakashi lifted me up by my knees, holding me up high enough to see the tips of Nagareboshi's ceiling, and the tingly feeling accompanying the experience made me laugh. "K-Kakashi-kun, hey!" Giggles kept escaping my mouth as I attempted to hold onto my best friend, my fingers finding themselves in his spiky silver hair.
And then Kakashi started spinning me. I didn't even have time to think about how weird and out of character the whole thing was because the sensation of the world swirling around me made more laughs leave my lips. "Ha ha ha, K-Kakashi-kun~! Y-You don't — hee — have to — heehee — do that~! I-I'm getting — hee — dizzy~!"
I could vaguely sense the amount of disbelief from the crowd before my best friend brought me down, immediately bringing me into a tighter hug. From the close distance, I could feel the happy smile on Kakashi's face. So, he was proud of this. Somehow?
It took a moment for my heart to stop its sudden marathon for Kakashi to pull away, and I could see the warmth and trolling amusement in his silver orbs. "How was that?" Even with the mask, I could tell that he was smirking at me, and I couldn't help but happily grin back.
What a dork.
"I think we have a winner, old friend." Regretfully, I pulled away from the warm hug to face the expectant gazes of Guy and the other villagers.
I think I can assure you my reaction was justified.
...Eh?
I threw away the thought before coughing into my fist and making a straight expression. "Well, you both performed exceptionally, but there could only be one winner. Based on hug quality, the winner is…" I ended up grabbing Kakashi's wrist to lift into the air triumphantly. "Hatake Kakashi!"
There was a moment of silence. Then...
"AUGH!" The overly defeated noise that Guy made sounded really upsetting as he fell over comically, legs twitching in the air for a moment. Kakashi and I ended up looking down at him in a mixture of confusion and horror. To add onto the horror, Guy immediately jumped back up in order to get in our faces, sparkling tears in his eyes. "Kakashi! Tomoko-chan! This loss will not be in vain. To beat you again, Kakashi, I will run around the village for 500 laps in the name of Youth!"
I couldn't help my shoulders from slumping. Really? I didn't even have time to mutter a word because the Green Genin ran off into another part of the village, vaguely screaming, "For Youth!" and, "We will meet again!" in the distance.
And wait a second. Hold the phone.
…Did I just hear crickets chirping in the marketplace? It's not even nighttime yet!
Minato-san blinked before smiling. "Well, was that a good training exercise, Kakashi?"
In response, I just looked up at my best friend, and he just sighed, facepalming again.
"Eh, it could've been better." The sound of Kakashi's dry voice only served to make my heart soar giddily due to finally registering what had just happened, and I couldn't help but jump up and hug him. Of course, with the least amount of force possible. His resounding 'Oof' only served to add as frosting to the overall happiness I was feeling. "…Tomoko?"
I didn't even think about what I was saying and just spoke honestly. "Thank you, Kakashi-kun. Really, thank you for being my best friend."
Call me cheesy, but I meant it. With all my heart.
I could feel him blink near my cheek before he sighed again, returning my hug. "There's no need to thank me for anything, Tomoko."
Humble as always. Just like your Dad.
I ended up pulling away a bit to look into his eyes, facing him with a warm smile. "How about I take you up on that song before Minato-san needs you for a mission? You still have some time, right?"
To the side, the Yellow Flash smiled and nodded, approving glint in his blue eyes. Kakashi himself blinked for a moment before giving me a soft eye smile, silver orbs shining with warmth.
"Yeah, that sounds great."
In the end, I don't think I played anything better. Going with The Afternoon Streets from Kingdom Hearts was a really good choice since everyone in Nagareboshi could relax after that whole debacle. From the corner of my eye, I could see a small smile on Kakashi's lips through his mask while his eyes were closed, back slumped against the chair next to me. And at one point, I think I saw a few middle-aged couples, Minato-san and Kushina-san included, actually get up and start dancing slowly to the beat.
In the end, it was one of the greatest days of my life.
Which was probably why I didn't expect the next month to be filled with bad news about the upcoming war and to see Sakumo-san come into the cafe one late night with tears in his eyes.
Author's Notes: ...So apparently as I'm writing this chapter, Fanfiction is being a bit weird and not showing the 6 most recent reviews you wonderful lovelies wrote me, so that's a problem I have to deal with for a while. For those who reviewed me, thank you so much for the support! Unfortunately, I read up on some Fanfiction forums that this kind of issue will take up to a few days to fix, so I won't be able to see those reviews unless you might message me in private or something…
Just try your best, okay?
Anyway, as a closing remark, I'll actually address another review I did get before the reviews went out of the door. Baba69 actually asked about whether or not Tomoko goes to school, and that was something I meant to address earlier, but I didn't find a good place for it. But Tomoko doesn't actually go to school. Sure, her parents care for her education, but she's currently in a combination of home-tutoring and self-study, where Hikari and Judai are teaching her everything they can about the cafe and the business so she can take over when she's older while Tomoko herself is reviewing a lot of her past memories via library materials. On days that Nagareboshi is closed (usually the weekends and some of the holidays), Tomoko walks over to the library in order to study on her own. This is something that I did a lot on my own sometimes too, and I imagine Tomoko would do this also to avoid bias from her customers. She does hear a lot of things from her clientele that lets her figure out what's generally going on in the shinobi world, but she wants to be impartial to a lot of their affairs so that when someone does need to confide in her, she can be as unbiased as possible.
Thanks again for having me though guys! I hope you continue to read Tomoko's story and this is Writer-and-Artist27 signing out and see you next chapter!