This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!

Hikage looked up from the table that she had been cleaning when she heard a door close.

Why was she cleaning a table? Well, that was because it was a part of her job now to do so.

Her current job was working at a café… or was it considered a restaurant? It was a place that served food and drink to customers, so what was the difference? Well, that didn't really matter. All she did know was that she was a worker there and she had to do her part in order to get paid.

But while she was doing her part, she had looked up to see a boy in a school uniform with black, curly hair and grey eyes behind glasses. Normally, she would tell people who walked in at this time that they were currently closed. However, there was a reason she was going to make an exception for this person.

"…Kurusu-san."

"Hikage-san."

Last name Kurusu. First name Akira. He was a worker at this establishment like her, except he was part time due to his situation of having to attend to school. Despite that situation, he was actually her senior for this job due to working here longer than her. While he did show her the ropes on what her duties were, he was also assigned to be tasked in the kitchen.

That bit confused Hikage a bit as well. Wouldn't it have been simpler for him to just be assigned to one job in the building so his pay wouldn't be too confusion.

The two of them nodded to each other. They didn't really know each other too well. It was just a common courtesy that they were passing to one another.

Hikage watched as Akira proceeded further into the restaurant where there were other waitresses greeting the boy but with smiles this time. Just like her, Akira returned the gesture but with the smile included. After that, he walked towards the back to get changed out of his school uniform into the proper clothing that was required.

"Eito-san. Reso-san." Hearing their names from the green-haired girl, both females looked up "Is there a point to smile whenever saying hello?" Hikage asked aloud while looking back at the other waitresses. "It's just a simple greeting, right?"

Both waitresses looked at each other in confusion, which caused Hikage to tilt her head in confusion. Was her question that strange?

"Hikage-san," The blonde one named Eito was the first to answer while meeting Hikage's gaze. "You may be right. But it all depends on your attitude." She informed, causing the green-haired girl to blink. "Yes, saying hello is basic. But just putting on an expression can change the meaning. Like wearing a smile to show that you are friendly and welcome them. Maybe putting on a glare shows that you are hostile or mad despite you saying hello."

During her explanation, the blonde put on the exact expressions that she was talking about to give the green-haired girl a physical demonstration.

"…But it the end, wouldn't it be simpler to just say hello itself?" Hikage pointed out, not really understanding what her co-worker was getting at.

To that, the brunette that was Reso put her rag down onto the table and put a hand to her chin. "Hmm…" She let out. "How to explain this..." A door opened from the kitchen and a familiar face was revealed that caused her to light up a bit. "Ah Kurusu-san, perfect timing!"

"Huh?" Akira asked, looking around. "What's happening?"

"Hikage-san is confused about greetings." Reso stated. "She says that there's no point in smiling whenever saying hello and such."

Well, it was more like she was wondering why people would smile during such a moment. But it was kind of similar so Hikage didn't bother correcting her. Instead, she decided to listen to Akira. It was good to have more than one source of answers just in case.

Akira however darted his eyes around slowly, as if he were taking in everyone that was waiting for him to answer. "…And?" He asked after a period of silence.

Hearing Akira's question, Reso leaned back incredulously. "And? That's all you have to say?" She questioned.

A shrug of the shoulders was all the boy gave. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and styles, you know. If Hikage prefers a straightforward curt greeting, that's fine. If you and Eito-san want to smile when saying hello, then go ahead." He then pointed with his thumb. "Manager-san wants to let you girls know that you should stop slacking off and finish cleaning as well."

Hikage was the first to get to work immediately just before Akira walked away. Not because she was afraid of the man. It was more of an order or request she was told to fulfill which was a part of her job. After finishing the table she had been working on, she move onto the next one and saw her co-workers cleaning hard as well.

"…Sorry about that." Hikage spoke up, grabbing the attention of the two girls. "Asking that question got us all in trouble. It's just that I was curious."

"Ah, that's okay, Hikage-san!" Eito waved her hands around, knocking the bottle of cleaning down off the table. She then hastily picked it back up. "You were probably just curious about it, that's all!"

"Although now that I think about it…" Reso, put a hand to her chin. "I've never seen you smile before, Hikage-san. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you without a straight face. Is that why you asked what the point of smiling was?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Hikage nodded her head.

Well, she has sort of smiled before. But the amount of times she had was in single digits. Plus, she could probably count the amount of times on a single hand.

Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but she wouldn't be surprised if that was a fact.

She was – after all – a cicada husk. This time, certainly an exaggeration. But it was the best way to describe herself. Hikage rarely showed or displayed emotions to anyone, at least to a large degree. People interacted with her and she almost knew what they were thinking whenever confronting her. Apathy and languorous were perhaps words to use instead of the cicada husk metaphor.

At least… at first she was all that. Well, she still was technically. But right now, she was very curious about them. Before, they were a complete pain in the ass as those feelings got in the way of her life. But then she began to take a personal interest in them. Mainly after meeting Katsuragi, that loud-mouthed ninja who wouldn't stop talking.

Hikage missed the blonde… although it was loud enough as it was with the squad she was a part of already.

Long story short, she is curious about various emotions and why people show them during certain situations.

"So then why don't you try smiling right now?" Eito asked, putting a hand to her chin. "It should be simple enough."

Considering it for a second, Hikage smiled.

…Or at least it was what she attempted.

Judging by the physical reaction of the other two girls leaning back, her attempt was a complete failure. She would have stopped, but then a new voice quickly changed her mind just in case their opinion was different.

"Manager-san is giving you girls a second warn-." Akira cut himself off when he walked in on Hikage's face morphed into what she assumed to be a happy look on her face. "…Is Hikage trying to force a smile or are her teeth glued together?"

Well that guaranteed that her efforts were a failure.

Dropping whatever face she had on originally, her expression became bland once again. "Eito-san wanted me to try and smile… So I did." Hikage explained herself to the boy.

Staring at the green-haired female, Akira turned his head over to the other workers. "You realize you shouldn't force other to do things they are uncomfortable with, right?" He asked while folding his arms to the co-workers.

"It wasn't out fault, we swear!" Reso waved her hands in defence.

"Yet Hikage-san's words speak otherwise." The boy pointed out before going towards the back for a second time. "The time to open is closing in, so get everything ready in a few minutes!"

As soon as Akira passed through the doors though, Hikage spoke up. "Again, sorry about that." She began moving chairs around.

"Once more, it's okay." Reso shifted the furniture around as well.

"Hmm…" Eito put a hand to her chin after pushing a chair in. "Maybe we shouldn't work on Hikage-san smiling right now. Instead, perhaps another expression should be better. Mainly lighter looks since you look apathetic most of the time… Err, no offense, Hikage-san."

"Not a problem." The green-haired girl shrugged her shoulders, their comment hitting the nail right on the head when it came to describe her. Eito didn't mean it with malicious intent so it didn't bother her in the slightest. It then clicked in her head. "But what do you mean by lighter looks?"

"You'll know when you feel it… and we will know when we see it." Eito snapped her fingers and pointed towards her. What Hikage assumed to be a cool pose in the worker's opinion, Eito stayed in position for a couple of seconds before getting back to work. "But first, we need to put everything in place."

She will know when she feels it? Is that how it would work out? Hikage had to say, that kind of declaration intrigued her. Considering how she was, it would be very weird (but a good kind of weird) to have a random idea about a feeling inside of her.

Yet the question remained, how were they going to do that?

Hearing the door open at the back just as she pushed the last chair back into place, Hikage looked up to see Akira strolling up right to the front of the workplace. "Alright, it's almost time! Places everyone!" He held his arm and finger up while rolling his wrist repeatedly in circles. "Reso-san, you are up front with me! Eito-san and Hikage-san, the both of you will be the ones to bring out the food for tonight!"

As everyone began to move into their positions, Hikage was stopped when an arm blocked her path. Halting herself just in time before running into the limb, she slowly looked over towards the one who prevented her from traveling any further.

"…Can I help you, Kurusu-san?" She asked.

Akira turned his head to the side so that both of his grey eyes met her yellow ones. "Are those two bothering you, Hikage-san?" He asked. "Perhaps you are having a problem yourself?"

"No," Hikage answered. "Everything is fine."

He wasn't convinced.

She could easily tell. The twitch of the eyes. The small cure downwards of his lips. Yet he still didn't verbally respond. After a few more seconds, he lifted his arm to allow her to pass through to the back where the kitchen was with no problem.

Yet as Akira left, Hikage had a feeling that she should have told him.

Huh… feeling… Most likely regret if she correctly guessed.

…If that was the case, was this what Eito-san meant by knowing when it comes?

Hopefully so. That way the progress she was making would be faster than expected.

Walking to the back, she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders. Looking over once again, this time she found herself being stopped by Eito as the other girl was the one who made physical contact. This confused Hikage as the direction she felt she was being pulled towards was away from the kitchen.

"Eito-san, Kurusu-san told us that we are the ones who are serving the food." Hikage pointed out yet did not resist being moved in a completely different direction. "Why are going to the break room instead? Do you need to take a break already?"

"There's no need worry right now, Hikage-san." Eito reassured the green-haired girl, gently pushing before closing the door behind them. "It still takes time for people to come in, order food, and for said food to be made. So we have some time before we come into play." Turning back around the face Hikage, the fellow worker gestured for them to take a quick seat.

"…Okay… Then why are we here?" Hikage asked while sitting down in a chair. But instead of sitting down, she watched Eito step over and began fiddling around with her hair. "…Uhm…" She turned her head.

"Ah, don't move!"

Hikage's neck froze in place, thus preventing her head from turning. Using her eyes, Hikage saw that Eito was fiddling around with her hair. This display caused the shinobi to frown a bit with confusion. "Eito-san, what are you doing to my hair?" She had to ask.

"I'm just giving you a little bit of a makeover, Hikage-san." Eito explained herself. She then grunted with frustration when Hikage tilted her head. "To achieve your goal, I think that we need to have you feel a little bit more feminine… maybe even cute. How else can we do that but with some small changes to you? Like your looks!"

Feel feminine or cute? Was that really the answer to it?

If so, then the goal to be achieved was going to be a lot harder than Hikage anticipated.

Despite this, Hikage didn't move which allowed Eito to continue fiddling around with her hair. "There we go!" Eito cheered for herself, taking a step back to admire her work. Taking out her phone, she tapped an icon before swiping a finger and handing it over to Hikage. "Take a look and see how cute you look, Hikage-san!"

Curious about what the fuss was about, Hikage took the phone out of her coworker's hand and looked. Apparently, Eito had taken a picture of her. Taking a couple of seconds, the green-haired girl realized that her hair had been styled to have two small ponytails on opposite sides of her head.

…That was it? Just a hairstyle? That was supposed to help her feel feminine and cuter? Something so simple?

Hikage didn't believe it for a second.

But, what did she know about these things? For all she knew, it could be worth it.

"Looks don't make up all of it though, Hikage-san." Eito took her phone back and pocketed the device. She then began to hold up fingers to list things off. "There is also a matter of your speech. Try to be delicate and polite."

"Delicate and polite?"

Hikage's question was answered quickly. "I mean talking in a cute way." Eito corrected herself.

"Cute way?"

"Cute way. Wike diff."

…Instead of cute, that just seemed dumb to Hikage. It was as if Eito was trying to talk to or like a baby.

Seeing the look on Hikage's face, Eito coughed into her hand. "Well, that's just one example. Another way could be to try and impersonate someone who you believe to be feminine or cute?" Eito suggested.

Impersonating, huh? From her options…

First, there was Katsuragi. She didn't seem cute or feminine in the first place at all. The same could be said about Homura. She didn't consider Mirai to be cute; if anything that girl was more like a brat. Yomi perhaps? She wasn't feminine, but she was described as cute by former fellow students before going rogue. Haruka as well? Without a doubt Hikage would say that the fellow shinobi that was her age was feminine… Or was the term mature that she was thinking of?

"Hmm, I think I can try to do something like that." Hikage nodded her head, thinking that this suggestion could possibly work out.

To that, Eito nodded her head with a smile. "Perfect!" She exclaimed.

A knock on the door to the break room soon entered their ears. "Eito-san! Hikage-san! You should stop hiding in there and go out! There are already a few orders ready to be served!" A male voice announced.

"Coming Kurusu-san!" Eito called out before quickly skipping over to the door. "Come on, Hikage-san!" Opening the door, she stepped past the black-haired boy who had moved out of the way and proceeded towards the kitchen.

As Hikage had gotten out of her chair, she noticed that Akira was staring at her. But not in an admirable way or how he did before a few minutes earlier. "Hikage-san, are you sure that everything is okay?" He asked suspiciously. "It's… interesting to see that you changed your hairstyle in the middle of work."

"Yes, everything is fine." She nodded her head. Hikage felt like this advice that Eito had given her may work out, so she didn't feel any need to talk to Akira about her predicament. In fact, it may be good to ask his opinion about her look. She wanted to appear cute and feminine, so it was now probably time to try it out.

She decided to start with Haruka.

Lifting both arms up, her left one went horizontal and rested near her stomach to support her right elbow. The right arm meanwhile pointed up. With that exact right-sided limb, she bent her wrist in order to rest her chin into the palm of her hand.

"What do you think, Kurusu-san?" Hikage made her voice sound a little lighter, trying to imitate Haruka's speech and tone of voice. "Does my hair… seem cute to you?" She then attempted a giggle at the end, just like how she imagined that blonde shinobi would do so.

Akira's eyes slightly narrowed a bit, his head turning so that she could only see a majority of one side of his face. "…Yeah, it looks very nice on you." He eventually nodded his head, eyes lightening up a bit. "Now come on, Eito-san can't do all the work by herself." Turning around, he then walked back to the front.

…Okay, that's wasn't a response Hikage expected.

Usually, boys would be much more flustered. Then again, this was Haruka she was trying to imitate. Haruka however had the experience of being that type of character with a high level of charisma to aid her. Hikage on the other hand didn't have any knowledge or emotions to do so. Would it ever be possible for her to achieve her goal?

She now began to feel something now…

Contempt.

SmokeBombBreak

This was why she thought emotions were a pain in the ass in the first place.

That bad feeling she felt earlier. It stayed with her as time passed.

Even worse, that emotion grew.

It grew every passing second. The feeling welled up when she would hear her name being called. Whenever she was told what to do. Grabbing plates, bowls, or cups. Walking. Announcing orders and distributing it properly. Waiting. It bubbled and brewed inside of her body.

As she carried another order out towards a table, she watched Reso and Eito both interacting with customers with smiles of their own. In turn, the customers smiled back to them warmly or politely. With Akira, he wore a small smile whenever greeting new people while pouring water or tea for those waiting, but they returned the look all the same.

Now there was another emotion she was feeling.

Jealousy.

Now she was feeling down.

No… She was going down.

Feeling the ankle of her foot bash into the other, Hikage's body began to fall forward. Eyes widening as the front half of her body fell, she quickly stretched her hands out while spinning her body around. Ignoring a stab of pain in her wrist when she used an open hand to keep herself up off the floor, the other hands shot out quickly in order to balance the tray that was still plated with food.

Panting due to the sudden movement she had to go through, she felt herself sweat a bit as the pain in her wrist continued to pulse. Her arms shook, but for some reason her body refused to move or get up at all.

"As I though, you must have caught something."

Feeling the weight of the tray ease off her body, Hikage was also pulled up onto her feet. Looking, she saw that Akira was the one who had approached her while holding her tray in his other hand. His eyes looked straight at her, taking on a stoic gaze to maintain professionalism due to their current environment and company around them.

"Since you aren't feeling well, why don't you take an early break to recover?" Akira suggested curtly, releasing his grip from Hikage and turning around. "Apologies for the interference with your meals. Please, continue." He apologized and urged the crowd while looking around. "Now… I believe it was you who ordered the pasta, yes?"

While Akira asked his question and served the customers, Hikage stared at Akira for a couple of seconds before reluctantly walking towards the break room at the back of the establishment. She saw that both Reso and Eito were concerned with her being.

But before any of them could move towards her, Akira had interfered. "Both of you, continue with what you were tasked to do while I go to the back and take care of some things. I'll be back in a few minutes." He told them as Hikage went through the door to the kitchen.

Pulling the door open to the break room and sit down, Hikage brought up her hand and began rolling her wrist around to note the pain.

Once again this was why she used to think that emotions were a pain in the ass. They were distracting and could easily affect a person's judgement and senses.

"As I thought, you sprained your wrist."

Hikage didn't both looking over as she knew that Akira behind her. Hearing the door close and his footsteps, she expected for him to sit in front of her. She was correct. What she did not expect was a first-aid kit to be set down on the table between the two of them as well as a tray of ice.

"Give me your wrist." Akira beckoned while pulling out some bandages.

She eyed the boy when he gave her a request. "Do you even know what you're doing?" Hikage already knew some first aid herself. Getting help from the boy wasn't exactly necessary since she could just do it on her own.

"During my time in Tokyo last year, I got to know a doctor and she showed me how to give first aid along with a few other things." Akira stated, stretching out the cloth a couple of times. "Now give me your wrist. I don't want to swell more than it already it."

Sizing the boy up for a few seconds, Hikage eventually (and reluctantly) extended her arm for Akira to tend to. With a nod, the boy got to work.

Within a small amount of time, Akira had finished wrapping the green-haired girl's wrist and had just placed ice wrapped a clean towel on the wound. Hikage thought that it didn't matter if the ice was applied. Akira pointed out that a towel was better when she asked, saying some stuff along the line of being bad for the cells on your skin or something like that if too much cold was applied.

"With that done, you should take the rest of your shift off. But there is something I need to discuss before you leave." Akira began as he closed the first-aid kit and leaned back into his chair. "I've said it twice. Now this third verse is the same as the second and first… Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm not buying it." Akira followed sharply with narrowed eyes. He lifted three fingers while leaning forward. "I've already asked you twice before. As they say, third time is the charm. So this is the third time and I'm not going to let you get away with it." Sighing while shaking his head, he brought his hands down and drummed his fingers on the table. "Hikage-san, it's clearly bothering you as it has affect your performance earlier. I can tell that Eito-san and Reso-san both have tried to help when you asked. What makes me curious is why you didn't ask me at all."

That… was an incredibly valid point. Maybe it was because this was just something she thought should be between females. After all, these types of conversations was always with that gender. Katsuragi as well as the entire shinobi squad she was a part of.

Still… she wasn't sure if she did want to fully tell Akira.

A quick question could maybe help her determine this.

"Kurusu-san… am I weird?"

"…Sorry, what?"

Hikage turned her head away a bit. "You must think I'm weird." She repeated herself.

Akira stared at the shinobi. He then blinked a couple of times. "Yeah, I do." He confirmed with a nod of his head.

"…I see…" Hikage responded, looking down towards the table. She honestly should have expected an answer like that.

"Lots of people are weird." But just from the very top of her eyes despite where her gaze was aimed, she saw him shrug his shoulders. Bring her gaze back to look at his grey eyes, she saw that he was serious. Despite that face though, both his face and words were normal and had an even tone. "It's just our choice whether or not to embrace it." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hikage's eyes widened at the response Akira went with. Not only that, it looked like he was telling the truth. He was completely serious with his answer. After a few seconds, Hikage made her decision.

"It's just that… always keeping this straight face. Never smiling. Never looking sad. Just living my life apathetically, as if I didn't care about anything… Never really feeling anything, except a fair number of bad things. It's been like that for me since childhood. But a while back, I began to feel… Experience an emotion of excitement. It was… nice. That's why I was curious about smiling earlier. I was wondering how I would feel or what emotions I would experience."

Hikage found herself surprised at the speech she had blurted out to the boy. Even mentioning how her problem was a part of her childhood.

The black-haired boy however remained silent. She didn't know how long exactly, but she had the feeling it was for about a minute. Through that time though, he had leaned back again and put on a thoughtful pose while narrowing his eyes again. This time however she could see the gears in his head turning.

"And what does this have to do with your hairstyle and seeming cute?"

Hearing his question, Hikage tapped her chin a couple of times before responding. "Eito-san basically tried to make me more cute or feminine in order to help me lighten me up and maybe feel something good enough to make my smile better."

Akira had a weird look. "…Is that how it works?"

"Honestly, I have no idea anymore." Hikage answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Once again, grey eyes stared at yellow ones for a few seconds. "Hmm…" Akira hummed while getting onto his feet. "Try to make you cute or feminine to make you feel something good is it…"

"In a sense, yes." Hikage nodded her head. Watching the boy, his body moved around the table.

What was a bit unexpected was that he actually came close to her. He lifted his hand and gently hovered his right hand over her left cheek. The fingers were close enough to not make contact, yet it felt as though he were gently caressing Hikage. She soon felt that hand reach around and gently pull off both hair ties which made her ponytails disappear into her normal look. Still staring, she watched him lower his face so that they were eye level just before he moved a bit forward. Soon his fingers were just about to touch her chin as they were nearly cheek to cheek as well.

"But aren't you cute enough the way you are right now… Hikage-chan?"

He then turned around to exit the break room. "If you do want to continue working, you'll be up front with me then and Reso-san will replace your other position." Akira closed the door behind him and left Hikage all alone.

Hikage however just continued staring forward with her eyes still wide. She blinked as those words played again in her head. When she began to think about how he delivered that line, she noticed that she had been holding her breath.

Soon she began to feel something inside of her… An emotion…

An emotion she hadn't felt in a while… Since living with Hinata…

Needing to see, Hikage grabbed her phone and unlocked up. Bringing up the camera function, she swiped her finger to use the camera on the screen side. Within a second, Hikage saw it.

A red blush had grown on her cheeks. It was a sight that she would never have expected to see. Surprise filled her once again when the blush grew even bigger and she caressed the side of her face that Akira had spoken into.

Taking in deep breaths, Hikage soon remembered that she still had the ice. Lifting the towel that had the cold element wrapped inside, she applied it to her cheeks believing that this would help the heat in her face. Physically, she felt herself cool off and she took deep breath to calm down. Taking another look, she seemed fine.

Getting up off her chair, she turned around to get back to work. She was a shinobi so injuries like these were just inconveniences that one had to power on through. Not only that, but she needed every bit of yen she could get to help her fellow shinobi survive.

Walking back out to the front area, she saw Akira and Reso both turn around and watch her approach. Reso soon scampered towards the kitchen, but not before giving Hikage a smile.

"Strong enough to get through today's shift?" Akira asked with a knowing smile.

"Of course." Hikage nodded her head.

But when she looked at his smile for a second too long, she began have that previous feeling grow inside of her again… as well as grow a small blush on her cheeks. She then tried to hide her face from the boy.

Behind Akira's back though, a customer with sharp eyes peeked above their menu that hid their face and saw this interaction before swiftly exiting the building.

Some of you thought it was going to be Mirai, BUT IT WAS REALLY ONE OF THE BEST GIRLS, HIKAGE!

On a serious note though, this was a Hikage chapter. The reason why it was this instead of Mirai is… well… I was too busy to go through any game footage or the first anime episode to watch the order the Hanzo girls were introduced. But if memory served me correctly the order was essentially Asuka, Ikaruga, Katsuragi, Yaguya, then Hibari.

Who are the 'opposites' of each of them? Homura, Yomi, Hikage, Mirai, then Haruka.

I'm hoping I got the order right. If not, oh well.

So yeah. Hikage was the one up next. Now its Mirai.

Also, a fact I'm not sure is considered fun or not. Originally, I was thinking of a small rivalry between Akira and Hikage due to cats and snakes supposedly being natural enemies. But I like Hikage's character too much, so I went with this route (whether it is a good idea or not I unfortunately have no idea).

No flames please.