The noisy chatter in the room waxed and waned in volume, just like the droning call of the Mountain Cicada.

The walls of the Meeting Hall were hung with freshly cut pine boys and decorated with festive strings of flowers. A pleasant natural perfume drifted here and there, making many of the young men and women feel more at ease.

Exempt from the festival, the jounin walked amongst the tightly clustered tables, offering help where it was needed. Neji was not among them. While he had made jounin while Naruto was away, the Hokage had insisted that he take place in the Lantern ceremony.

"Hah!" Naruto smirked. "At least I'm not the only one that Old Lady Tsunade screwed over." There was a tearing sound. Again. His paper kimono kept tearing over his nice new robes.

Nice new robes.

Those words seemed out of place. He wasn't usually one for fashion. That kind of thing didn't do much good during training. He doubted that he would ever hear Itachi say 'Because you wear that outfit so well, I find myself moved to let you go,' or Kisame ask 'who's your tailor?'

Still, the fact of the matter was that his fancy robes did look nice. Did that mean that he looked nice, too? That was a foolish thought. What good would it do him in combat, if he was another pretty boy like Sasuke? Shit. What had his friend's looks done for him? They hadn't gotten him the revenge he wanted so badly. They didn't convince him to stay where he belonged.

In a few months time, if things didn't change, it might be Orochimaru who wore Sasuke's body. But, that sick bastard didn't care so much about the way that Sasuke looked. He just wanted those damn sharingan eyes.

Naruto frowned, thinking back to his days at the Academy. The girls all drooled and fawned over Sasuke. There was no way that he would ever forget the way that Sakura had reacted, when the three members of Team Seven had met Kakashi for the first time. When she was asked what she really liked, she stared all goo goo eyed at Sasuke. When she was asked what she didn't like, she had glared at him.

"What does Sakura know, anyway?" Naruto sighed. His crush for the pink-haired girl has pretty much disappeared. But, he couldn't help but notice how much she had grown, so to speak. He didn't mean as a ninja, despite the fact that she was now a prized pupil of Granny Tsunade. He was a young man a few years away from adulthood, and that meant that he was painfully aware of how Sakura was well on her way to filling out a blouse in the same manner as her teacher.

Thinking about Sakura made him think about rejection. He knew that he shouldn't take it personally, but he couldn't help it. Wasn't he her teammate once? Hadn't he made a Promise of a Lifetime, almost getting by Sasuke when he tried to bring their friend back? No doubt the Hokage had told her that he would be returning for the festival. Couldn't she have waited for him to ask her?

Naruto looked around the room, taking a break from all of the folding. Why did they have to make so many damn cranes? Worse, why were the instructions written in such small print? This was torture. Hey, maybe this is just a trial run. If enough people complain, maybe they'll make it part of the Chuunin exams. Damn. Why did he have to think about that? Out of the original Rookie Nine, he was the only one who remained genin.

"It's not my fault," He muttered under his breath. "I was off training with Ero-sennin."

He wondered how many of the younger girls might be chuunin. That would certainly be embarrassing. A genin asking a chuunin! He hoped that no one would judge him in that fashion. He was the only one apprenticed to Jiraiya! He was the same man who had trained the Fourth Hokage, Konoha's Yellow Flash. That had to count for something!

On second thought, maybe not. The Frog Hermit had a certain reputation, and not simply because he was the author of the Icha Icha books. If that kind of notoriety had rubbed off on him, he was sunk!

Maybe he should just get up on his table, strike a Gai-like pose, and shout "Get a look at me girls, I'm going to be Hokage! Who wants to accept the Lantern of a legend?" Sure. That would work. Who was he kidding? To a lot of the girls he was probably Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who used to paint graffiti on the Stone Hokages, or 'That Naruto', the boy who defeated Kiba Inuzuka with a fart.

That just wasn't fair. Aside from his friends and former teammates, who knew that he had helped save the village from Shukaku? How many of the girls would know that he had been the one who convinced Tsunade to return to Konoha? How many would care if he told them how quickly he had learned Rasengan, or that he could summon the Boss Frog? Shit. How many would even believe him if he told them?

"Maybe if I really looked like the Fourth…" Naruto sighed. He remembered staring at a picture of Yondaime, trying to convince himself that there were similarities. For a while, he had even dreamed that the man who had sealed Kyuubi inside of him had secretly been his father. Jiraiya had made it a point to disabuse him of that idea.

Did it really matter what someone looked like? Sasuke left the Leaf for his own selfish reasons, didn't he? And what about his brother?

Well, turnabout's fair play. He had started off by asking the prettiest girls that he knew, and the best looking girls that he didn't. Now, as things stretched on, he was asking any girl he came across. What would be worse, giving his Lantern to some kunoichi that everyone ignored, a civilian girl that everyone avoided, or no one at all?

"This… is… so… frigging… tedious…" Naruto blushed when some of the girls at his table looked at him, frowned, and then began whispering amongst themselves. Like they had any reason to snicker about him. He wasn't the only one bored to death by all this!

At least he was good at what he was doing. He had surprised himself, showing a natural proclivity at origami. But, the paper cranes wouldn't get done of he just sat idly by, moaning and whining about his fate. Time to work on another one.

"Begin with a square piece of paper, ideally with one side colored and the other plain. Place the colored side face up on the table."

Naruto had done enough of these to remember the words without squinting at the instructions or diagrams anymore. A lot of the other youths seemed to be treating this like a contest, seeing who could get their cranes done the quickest. While he too wanted to be through with this, he was not going to do a sloppy job. He would do his best. It was his Ninja Way.

One of the large globe-shaped lanterns that had been strung across the room broke free from its hanger, barely missing Naruto when it fell. He cursed, hoping that it wasn't an omen. About to mutter something nasty about the crews who worked on the decorations, he stopped. It must have been hard work. He was surprised that Old Lady Tsunade hadn't demanded his presence a few days earlier, making him help out.

"Fold diagonally to form a triangle. Be sure the points line up. Make all creases very sharp. You can even use your thumbnail."

Shaking his head, he used the butt of a kunai instead. He didn't care if anyone saw him doing so. What were they going to do, kick him out of the festival? If they did, he'd give them each a big wet kiss on the cheek. That was one rule he was not about to follow!

No one was supposed to carry any weapons that night. That didn't make any sense as far as he was concerned. It wasn't as if the preparations could be kept secret from anyone visiting the village. A spy could easy take away word of the festivities. It could provide a great opportunity for attack. Then again, maybe not. The streets and surrounding land would be filled with shinobi and civilian alike, and most of the ninjas would have some Genjutsu or Ninjutsu abilities.

Good for them. Good for Konoha. He was not 'most ninjas,' however. He was Jinchuuriki. He was the carrier of one of the Tailed Beasts, the top items on Akatsuki's Christmas list. Now that the three years was nearly up, he could expect an attempted abduction at any time. Sure, it would be simpler to lure him and a small number of fighters to a more secluded location, but that's what everyone thought.

"Expect the unexpected," he whispered.

"Now fold the paper diagonally in the opposite direction, forming a new triangle."

He heard Ayame's words in his mind. A Hokage needs to do things he or she doesn't want to do. Maybe she was right. He hoped that the same thing held true for ex-Hokages. When it was his turn to wear the tri-corner hat, he would make sure to assign Anko and Kurenai to keep watch on Granny Tsunade while she worked her fingers to the bone folding paper cranes.

"Unfold the paper and turn it over so the white side is up."

Naruto looked around the room again, trying to see if he could catch sight of any more people that he knew. He hadn't been back to the village for a long time, and he didn't realize how much he missed his friends until today.

Kiba

He caught sight of his friend halfway across the room. He friend had grown, but not nearly as much as Naruto had. But, Naruto's growth spurt was nothing compared to that of Akamaru. The dog was the reason that he spotted his fellow shinobi. Once a small cute dog that could ride on top of Kiba's head, Akamaru was now a beast large enough to ride on.

His friend was having a rough go of it. Akamaru kept slobbering on the cranes that Kiba had made, or his breath kept snorting them halfway across the room. Naruto thought about walking over and joining them, but decided not to. He wanted to get his quota done as fast as he could. He needed as much time as he could get, as he hadn't been able to find anyone willing to take his Lantern yet.

"Fold the paper in half to the "east" to form a rectangle. Unfold the paper. Fold the paper in half to the "north" to form a new rectangle."

Rectangle smecktangle.

Looking over at one of the long and large tables that had been set up for refreshments, Naruto found himself getting distracted for a few minutes. A number of girls were getting into the spirit of the ancient traditions. Finished with their cranes, they were slicing and carving muskmelons and honeydews

He felt his face grow warm when he realized he was staring. He wiped his mouth in a cautionary move. Good. At least he wasn't drooling. Many of the young ladies were dressed in beautiful gowns, their hair built up in intricate hairdos. Some carried paper fans and fancy purses. Their origami bit done, they were free to remove the paper kimonos. He was glad they did.

Were they enjoying all this rigmarole? It certainly seemed that way.

What did that say about him? Should he be more in the spirit of things? Was there some reason that he should be having fun? No. He was a guy. This kind of thing was probably fun only for girls.

Sure enough, a group of young ladies behind him were talking in hushed voices. That is they were talking when they were not putting their heads together and giggling like they didn't share a single brain between them. Annoyed that they were acting like that, Naruto nevertheless found himself listening in.

Most of what he made out was name. Boys' names. Obviously, they were gossiping, and telling their friends who they would like to offer them a Lantern. Either that, or they were telling each other whose Lantern they had already accepted. Either way, none of them mentioned him. He wouldn't have expected otherwise, since the girls not shinobi, and he didn't remember ever seeing any of them before.

Just the same, he felt a bit depressed. It would be nice to have people notice him. He worked very hard to become strong, and he hoped some day to be the one who protected everyone. He frowned. He was Uzumaki Naruto, whether or not those girls knew what that meant. His Ninja Way had nothing to do with sitting around and moping, hoping that things were different. It was time he remembered that!

"Watch me work…" He stood up, tried to put on his best fake smile, and walked over to the adjacent table. He introduced himself and told everyone who he was. After he received their names in return, he asked if any of them would be gracious enough to accept his lantern. They all politely turned him down, saying that had already been asked.

Already been asked.

Shit. Being asked didn't necessarily mean that they had accepted a Lantern yet. Maybe they were just being polite. Hell. Maybe he should be happy for that much. If any of them had known about Kyuubi the way that their parents did, he might have gotten a very different response.

Still, rejection is rejection, no matter who it came from. He couldn't help but wonder if civilian girls may be prejudiced about shinobi guys. It wasn't really something he had thought about in the past. Was thatthe point of this festival thing? Was Old Lady Tsunade trying to get ninjas and other villagers to mix more?

Maybe. But, what difference would it make for someone like him? He could imagine what would happen if some girl did like him and brought him home to meet her folks.

"Damn." He didn't need to think about that now. But, he couldn't help himself. He was the baby that helped Yondaime save the village. It wasn't a picnic, having a fox demon sealed behind your navel! He hadn't asked for that. He hadn't asked to be ostracized as a small child, never knowing the reason why. He hadn't asked the villagers to treat him as if he himself was the Nine Tails.

He needed to get back to the task at hand. The cranes were not going to fold themselves. For a moment, he tossed his Frog Purse in his hand, wondering if he could buy enough origami figures to earn his way out of this place. No. His pride wouldn't let him do that.

"Unfold the rectangle, but don't flatten it out. Bring all four corners of the paper together, one at a time. This will fold the paper into the flat square. This square has an open end where all four corners of the paper come together. It also has two flaps on the right and two flaps on the left."

A flash of pink caught his eyes. No one else had hair like that. He had always wondered if pink was even a normal hair color.

Sakura.

He rubbed his belly, hoping that he didn't have any ruptured internal organs. When he had run across her before, after hearing the Hokage's introductory speech, he rushed to say hello. She seemed genuinely happy to see him, and had almost crushed him with a hug. She was getting strong! But, after she had turned him down, saying that she was already spoken for, he had said something that got her very upset.

"She still doesn't have a sense of humor," Naruto griped, wincing.

Excited at seeing his former teammate, he had asked her if she wanted to see the new perverted jutsu that he had invented while training with Jiraiya. Her response had been rather violent.

He wondered if she had a boyfriend, or had simply accepted the Lantern of the first guy who approached her. It really wasn't any business of his. Still, he could help but dream about what might have been, if he had been able to train in Konoha, and she had shown him the same kind of attention she once showed Sasuke.

His friends name kept coming up in his thoughts. It was rarely far from Sakura's thoughts too, or so she had said. Before she had knocked him for a loop literally, they renewed their pledge to Missing Nin home together.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. He could picture Sasuke sitting at one of the tables, hands moving incredibly fast, trying to make the origami cranes while girls were hanging all over him. There would be a look of disgust or resignation on his face. He sighed. There had been a look of apathy on Sasuke's face at the Valley of the End. No, not apathy. Contempt. Mockery. Maybe even amusement.

Looking over at Sakura again, he nodded his head. He had told her everything that had happened. She still wanted to go after Sasuke. He counted himself fortunate that she would probably do the same thing for him.

Things do change. He needed to keep telling himself that. Not just about Sasuke, but about himself. At the orphanage, he had no friends. While at the Academy, no one seemed to care about him. But, things had changed once he earned his forehead protector, and after he found himself part of a team.

Some day, if he was lucky, he would be more than 'the boy with the fox'.

"Lift the upper right flap, and fold in the direction of the arrow. Crease along this line. Lift the paper at this point and fold down the triangle like so. Crease along that line."

He looked up. He had heard a familiar voice. Sure enough, a few tables over, Ino had stopped to chat with a few girls that he did not recognize. They were from a younger class, and might even be genin that she had been assigned to teach.

Ino.

"She said 'no' too," Naruto muttered. "Not that it should surprise me."

That wasn't exactly fair, he had to admit. She had been genuinely pleased to see him again, even though they had never been particularly close in the past. It seemed that a lot had happened since he was gone. All of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai had grown closer together. He had been the only one who had been left out.

Well, him and Sasuke.

Ino had once been a Uchiha groupie, like Sakura, Ten Ten, and the other girls. But, if what he had heard in passing was true, she had turned her hopes towards Shikamaru. At least, that's what Sakura had said. She had also said that Shikamaru was interested in Temari.

Temari.

Now she was the one kind of fox that he would gladly keep around. Sure, she might be arrogant and overly critical, but boy what a bod! Too bad she wasn't in town tonight. Getting a good glimpse of her might have made the trek worthwhile.

Thinking about Temari left him wondering how Gara was doing. It couldn't be easy, being the new Kazekage. While he envied the other ninja in some ways, he knew that he himself was nowhere near ready to be Hokage. It was probably just as well. He was lonely enough as it was. What chance would he have to make new friends and maybe even find romance some day, once he carried the same load of responsibilities that Tsunade carried now, and Sarutobi had in the past?

"Well, at least there is one person who would have a tougher time than me…" Naruto scratched under one arm, stopping when he realized that wouldn't look to dignified. Gaara certainly looked a lot stranger than he did! Then again, there might be any number of girls who would be glad to accept the Lantern of a Kage.

Somehow, that just didn't seem fair.

"Undo the three folds you just made and your paper will have crease lines."

Naruto looked over at Ino again and sighed. Just like Sakura, time had treated her well. He began coughing when his mind strayed before. He found himself wondering what it might have been like to spy on her at one of the onsens that the perverted old hermit kept dragging him to.

Of course, at that very moment, Ino tuned and caught sight of him. She waved. A curious look crossed her face when his coughing fit got worse.

The village's noisiest and most unpredictable ninja wondered for the thousandth time whether or not his time with Jiraiya had done him a lot of good, or a lot of bad. Trying not to look over at Ino again, he admitted that it was probably a bit of both. 'You've learned a great deal boy,' the hairy old reprobate had taken to saying, always followed by 'But you've got a long way to go.' Naturally, after saying that, he spent minutes praising his ability as a teacher.

The Legendary Sannin was also prone to saying 'The Fourth would be proud, Naruto' and 'You'll join Kakashi and myself as a first class pervert in no time.' It had been heartwarming in a way to learn that Yondaime had been even more perverted than Sarutobi had been. It also gave him a true sense of satisfaction to think about the time-honored line of succession. Jiraiya had learned his perversions from Sarutobi. Yondaime had learned his from Jiraiya. Kakashi had learned his from Yondaime.

The Copy Ninja hadn't made any effort to foster an appreciation for the wonders of the female form in his team members. But, the Frog Hermit had more than made up for it.

Still, there was a down side to everything, right? Jiraiya and his reputation were no exception. While Naruto had never truly thought about dating any of the girls in the villages near his training sites, he did try to strike up a conversation with some now and again. Knowing who his teacher was, they wouldn't give him the time of day.

Of course, there were plenty of women who were willing to be very friendly when Jiraiya was free with Froggie's money. But, he didn't want anything to do with that.

It did give him an idea, though. Granny Tsunade didn't place any limits on who he could ask. Pimps and prostitutes still set up their tents just outside the village walls, despite the city council's attempts to discourage them. He could imagine the look on the Hokage's face if he escorted a courtesan to the ceremony

"Old Lady Tsunade, permit me to introduce LuLuBelle…" This time it was Naruto's laughter that drew Ino's glance.

No, he could never bring himself to do that, not even for a joke. He just hoped that he didn't end up like his sensei, looking for attention from women who cared more for fame and fortune than they cared for him.

Once again, he couldn't help but smile. He pictured what would happen if Jiraiya offered a Lantern to the Hokage. Brutal didn't begin to describe it.

The sound of an amplified voice carried through one of the windows. That caught Naruto's attention. Putting aside his cranes for a moment, he made his way over to see what might be going on outside. On the way, he politely offered his Lantern to a half dozen more girls, all of whom turned him down.

A large wooden platform had been built in the quadrangle outside. Surrounding it, there was a large crowd with a fair number of children. Hawkers sold various types of treats, and there were a number of people waving sparklers. Listening more closely, he could make out the words:

"Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen next. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister to retrieve their clothing."

There were two actors dressed as an ox. A young man in an ancient style of clothing stole some women's garments off of a pole in exaggerated fashion. Young girl's dressed in peach colored leotards pushed one of their number towards the thief. Naruto didn't need to see or hear any more to know what that was all about. They were reenacting the story of Niu Lang and Zhi Nü, of course.

Naruto leaned his forehead against the cool stone of the window frame. It was a sad story. But, it was nothing compared to another story that he knew. For a minute, he imagined the actors down below putting on a different skit:

"Yondaime was a brave and well-loved Hokage. Naruto was a newborn baby, with the promise of a normal and happy life. They lived in a village that had seen war and pain before, but nothing like they would soon face.

The life of the Hokage, the baby, and the villagers would be changed forever when a great monster attacked, laying waste to everything in its path. The villagers had done nothing wrong, but that didn't matter. If some solution wasn't found, everyone would die.

At the cost of his own life, Yondaime sealed the monster behind the Naruto's navel, ending the monster's destructive rampage and saving the village. It was the dying hero's final wish that the baby be treated as a hero, not as a monster."

Some hero's welcome he got. If every hero was treated the way that he had been, there'd probably be a shortage of heroes in no time. In a perfect world, the adults wouldn't hate or fear him, and their children wouldn't be kept in the dark. Sure, he might have liked to have women throwing themselves at his feet tonight. That wouldn't be realistic, even if his story was viewed in the proper light.

"The village lamented over the loss of its great Hokage. Several years passed by, seeing the rebuilding of Konoha and the strong and steady leadership of Sandaime. The townspeople flourished in the wake of disaster, honoring the memory of Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Despite the great man's wish, the littlest hero was not respected or revered for the role that he played. Feared and loathed by all that knew the truth, the baby was placed in an orphanage, never to be selected by the many foster parents who longed for a family of their own.

His heritage kept from him, and the secret hidden from his peers, the baby grew into a young boy who never understood the reason he was treated differently from everyone else. Desperate for attention, he acted in ways that made the villagers despise him even more.

In time, Naruto found himself true friends, and vowed to become Hokage some day. But, while the older shinobi came to trust him, the towns people still wished he didn't exist. By necessity, he hid his secret from his precious ones, hoping they wouldn't hate him when they learned the truth.

But, that was not all of the harm that the monster had brought him. Ruthless and powerful criminals made no effort to conceal their plans to take Naruto captive, in order to use the monster for their own purposes."

"Wow, it doesn't sound so bad when I put it that way." Naruto said facetiously, standing up straight again. Feeling sorry for himself wouldn't accomplish anything. Just the same, viewing his life as a play of sorts got him thinking. The early years would be a Tragedy, without a doubt. Some of his attempts to fit in at the Academy, and his first few weeks with Team Seven, could be seen as a Comedy. Since he was willing to be generous, he might see his later days with his team, especially his adventures after the Chuunin exams, as some kind of Drama or Adventure.

One thing was quite conspicuous in its absence. Romance. He wondered if that had been an oversight when the script of his life was being written. Looking around the room, and running through a litany of his rejections that night, he wondered if he would ever find something that other people took for granted.

"Stupid Hokage." He clenched his fists. "Stupid Festival." He looked over at his bag, the one holding his gift and his Lantern. "Stupid Lantern." When he sat down at his table again, he was tempted to say "Stupid origami cranes." He didn't. Ayame had gone to a lot of trouble to help him tonight. It might not be easy, but he owed it to her and himself to keep going. He smiled for a moment. "Stupid Ninja Way…"

"Lift just the top layer of the paper there. Think of this as opening a frog's mouth. Open it up and back to that line Crease the line inside the frog's mouth."

A frog's mouth. No doubt his concept of a frog's mouth would be vastly different than most of the people in this room. Some of the girls were probably afraid to even pick up a frog. No doubt a lot of the guys had spent time catching frogs down by one of the ponds, but those would be the type that could be carried in a pocket or dropped down the back of someone's shirt.

Naruto smiled. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were about the size of his head. It would take a fairly big piece of folding paper to make an origami frog mouth that big. Of course, their father, Gama-Bunta, was somewhere between fifty and one hundred meters high.

The Frog Boss sometimes talked like a gangster. Memories of prior encounters had Naruto picturing a very unlikely scene. He could walk up to some girl, offer her his Lantern, and then summon Gama-Bunta. The giant frog would say 'I have Jingi with that boy. Would you rather take his Lantern, or ride me until sun up and become my subordinate?' What girl could turn down an offer like that?

Unfortunately, giant Frogs were not likely to be chick magnets.

"Press on this point and that one to reverse the folds along lines this line and that one. The trick is to get the paper to lie flat in the long diamond shape. At first it will seem impossible. Have patience."

Everyone kept telling him to have patience. It was supposed to be some kind of virtue or something. It was one of the cardinal necessities of being shinobi, especially if one were assigned to a spy mission or an assassination. If he had a coin for every time that Jiraiya had counseled him to slow down and think, he'd need a purse the size of Oyabun.

"I'm not much of a chick magnet either," he groused. He looked a few tables over, where one genin boy was hugging his Lantern to his chest, while four girls all huddled near him What did someone like that have that he didn't?

Naruto thought back to his conversation with the Hokage. What had Old lady Tsunade called him? A scruffy looking guy who doesn't pay much attention to his appearance. A loud mouth whose bragging hides the fact that he's lonely and wants to be accepted. Someone who is so clueless, so poor with words, and so self conscious, that he convinces himself that none of it matters.

Well, after being shepherded by Anko and Kurenai, he no longer looked scruffy at all. With every girl he had approached, he spoke politely and respectfully. Yet, to be honest, he really didn't reallycare about things like that. Maybe his feelings were coming across in the way he presented himself. But, what could he do? There was no way he could change overnight!

'Why did I have to come back. Why do you want to see me hurt?' He thought about his question to Tsunade. If he was capable of being hurt, he must care about something, right? "I hope you know what you're doing, Old Lady…"

"Turn the paper over. Repeat Steps 6 through 9 on the other side. When you have finished, your paper will look like this diamond with two legs at the bottom. Taper the diamond at its legs by folding the top layer of each side in this direction along those lines so that they meet at the center line."

Naruto looked at his watch. He needed to pick up the pace. He had tanzaku to write and hang. Then, he needed to be at the boat ceremony. Each of the young men was responsible for lighting a candle, then handing it to a child to put on one of the boats that the young ones had worked hard to make.

Would any parent let their child take a candle from him? Maybe. A lot of young families had settled in the village after Kyuubi had been defeated.

"Wait for me. I'll be back in just a second. There' someone I want to say hello to! That was another familiar voice. Naruto watched as a slender and attractive young woman ran between tables not too far from him, her hair done up in fancy buns..

Ten Ten

Staring at the kunoichi as she hurried past, Naruto realized for the umpteenth time how much he had begun taking notice of girls. He found his throat dry. He followed her figure until she ran out of sight. It wasn't the buns on her head that he had been captivated by.

There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that must have been fighting for a chance to offer their gifts and lanterns to her. If he fighting skills had improved as much as her looks had, she would be a very formidable opponent.

Naruto sighed. She had turned down his offer too. Someone else had asked her earlier in the evening.

"Flip the paper over. Repeat steps 14 and 15 on this side to complete the tapering of the two legs. This figure has two skinny legs. Lift the upper flap at that spot… and just the upper flap… then fold it over in this direction… as if turning the page of a book."

Alright, he was making good progress now, repeating that step on his long row of fledgling birds. Unlike mostly everyone else, Naruto had not chosen to work on one crane at a time. Instead, showing his talent for unpredictability, he chose to work on one step at a time. It worked for him.

Sakura. Ino. Ten Ten. He had been looking for them. But, something was tugging at one corner of his mind. He was forgetting someone. He just knew it. Who?

Fireworks began to light up the sky outside the window. That was another sign that that he needed to get his rear in gear. Nonetheless, he took a moment to watch the gigantic colorful blossoms that were blooming high over the village.

He smiled, thinking back to some of the few moments that he truly treasured during his youngest years. Sneaking away from the orphanage, he would crawl to the top of one of the tallest buildings in Konoha. From there, his goggles pulled over his eyes, a bag of bag pilfered snacks at his side, he would watch the fireworks with an impossibly large grin on his face.

Goggles? Goggles!

"Moegi," Naruto snapped his fingers, remembering the three youngsters who had taken to wearing goggles just like he once had. No. Not Moegi. She would only be about eleven years old by now.

"Flip the entire figure over. Repeat the 'book fold' on this side. Be sure to fold over only the top 'page'. This figure looks like a fox with two pointy ears at the top and a pointy nose at the bottom."

He looked down at the table. A long line of fox-shaped paper shapes sat on the table in front of him. It almost seemed like they were taunting him. Blinking rapidly, he grunted as he completed one crane after another.

One fox was more than enough.