In which Utakata and Fuu meet unwanted people.
O-O-O-O-O
Utakata glanced at the clock hanging on the wall of the jounin waiting lounge. He took a deep exhale before leaning back on the sofa, forcing his face into a mask of neutrality.
He was surrounded by other jounin teachers, all of whom were presumably worried about their students. However, Utakata couldn't show even a hint of weakness in front of all the foreign shinobi. He swallowed before crossing his arms in front of his chest and clenching a hand into a fist where no one could see.
I wonder how they're doing now.
He bit his tongue. He wasn't sure if he wanted to cry, rage, or sleep. Just twenty minutes earlier his students had started on the first stage of the chuunin exams. From what he had been told, it was a written test to judge their intellectual abilities.
But the fact that it was a written exam didn't ease any of his anxieties. If anything, it made them worse.
In the shinobi world, appearances could be deceiving and Utakata was sure there was another layer to it. Perhaps the pencils were poisoned. Perhaps they would have to assassinate someone in their class. Perhaps they would be suddenly dropped into a pit full of poisoned spikes.
It wasn't unheard of for test proctors to lie in Kirigakure, so why would Konoha be any different? Every time Utakata thought about it, a new deluge of possibilities entered his mind.
For the millionth time, the possibility that he had made a mistake popped up. Are they really ready for the chuunin exams?
Utakata wanted Harusame. Since he was a small child, the older man had always known how to calm Utakata down. Sitting in the waiting lounge, he would give almost anything for a cup of tea and a few comforting words.
"So you're the Kirigakure shinobi everyone has been talking about."
Utakata opened his eyes to stare up at the face of a middle-aged man wearing a Sunagakure hitai-ate. The man threw him a sneer that reeked of condescension.
Utakata glanced back at the clock. Only twenty minutes were left for the exam. "Who's asking?"
The other shinobi scoffed. Without invitation, he collapsed on the sofa, sitting next to Utakata. Shameless, he spread his legs out wide before crossing one leg over his knee. "Name's Akanin. I already know who you are, though. Who doesn't? Utakata-kun."
Utakata resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "It seems like my reputation precedes me."
The man laughed, loud enough that a few nearby jounin instructors turned their heads. "You sure are confident, aren't you, boy?" He sneered again. "It's not often we get such young contestants in chuunin exams."
"In Konoha?"
"Or Suna." The man nodded before scooting slightly closer. "How old are they? Seven? Eight?"
"The girl is eleven and the boys are ten," Utakata answered, forcing his face to remain unchanged.
"Wow, so young." The man smirked. "And it seems like you're not much older yourself. I'm going to guess... sixteen? seventeen?"
"Eighteen," Utakata answered through gritted teeth. It stung that the other shinobi had not been that far off the mark.
"Wow! So young! You must be very talented!" Utakata could almost smell the smug superiority. "Making jounin is already a big accomplishment. I can only imagine becoming one at your age!"
Utakata only hummed, not wanting to dignify the other shinobi with a response. He hoped it would give the other man a hint that he wasn't in the mood for conversation. Instead, his silence only seemed to spur the other man on.
"You know, my team is quite experienced," the man bragged. "We've been working together for over a year now."
My team has, too.
"They are quite talented. I'm sure they will be great shinobi one day."
My students as well.
"They're under a lot of pressure to show off their strength to the rest of the world though."
You have no idea what kind of pressure my students are under.
Utakata tried to tune the man out as his thoughts returned to agonizing over his students. How are they doing now? Have they already failed or passed? Will there be a hidden component to their exam?
He resisted the urge to start tapping his foot on the floor.
"Well, Sunagakure will host our own set of chuunin exams in the fall," the man continued. "When your children fail, I'm sure that Sunagakure will give you all a chance to sign up."
"They won't fail." Utakata gritted his teeth and clenched his hands before he lunged upon the other shinobi.
The man turned to him with a simper on his face, eyes full of doubt. "It sure is nice that you young people have faith in the impossible."
Would I start an international incident if I stabbed him?
Utakata grunted before looking away and glaring at the clock, willing it to move faster. Ten minutes left.
Undeterred by Utakata's complete silence and obvious anger, the other man continued. "I'm sure you think that the Land of Wind is made up of nothing but sand. You probably don't like sand and think it's coarse, rough, irritating, and gets everywhere."
Nine minutes.
"But that's not the case. There are many great things about the Land of Wind."
Eight minutes.
"For instance, we have some really great food. You haven't lived until you've eaten some spiced goat curry with flatbread."
Is he on the board of tourism? Utakata forced his brain to tune the other man out. He guessed the other shinobi liked the sound of his own voice too much
Time crawled and the hands of the clock only seemed to move slower and slower as the other ninja prattled on. Despite his earlier self-control, he began to tap his foot on the floor. These eight minutes feel like a century.
"Of course, that's even assuming your little children will be able to travel to Sunagakure in the first place." The man cleared his throat. "After all, danger lurks even on the journey there. I'm not sure if a group of brats could handle it. Wouldn't want them to die on the journey there, would you?"
Utakata tore his gaze away from the clock, unsure how to react to the newest set of mocking words. However, before he could draw out a kunai, the door leading into the waiting lounge opened. As one, all of the jounin instructors turned to look.
Izumo, the man from the first day, entered. He held a clipboard in his hands that obviously contained the test results. Despite years of training, every jounin in the room tensed, anxious to hear their results.
"If I call your name, please step forward." The young ninja looked down at the papers in his hands and cleared his throat. "Muneate, Tokara, Raido..." As he began to call out names, the jounin stood up and walked to stand in front of him, faces impassive.
Utakata waited for his name, and sure enough, he was the last person called. Without glancing back at the annoying Sunagakure man, he stepped forward, wedging himself between a woman from Suna and a man from Konoha.
"For the instructors standing in front of me, congratulations," Izumo said, a hint of a smile on his face. "Your teams have successfully completed the first stage of the chuunin exams and will be allowed to move onto the second stage."
Utakata breathed a sigh of relief and he heard the other jounin instructors at his side join in. They did it. They're moving on.
Izumo, Utakata's new best friend, turned his attention to the remaining jounin in the room. "To everyone else, I am afraid to tell you that your teams did not pass the first stage. Your students have been disqualified."
Utakata followed his gaze to look back at the instructors who had not been called. He was unsurprised that less than a quarter of the teams had been able to pass the first stage.
His eyes wandered over to the jounin from Sunagakure. He was gaping at Utakata, jaw wide open and body frozen in place. It was a sight Utakata vowed to remember forever: an arrogant man watching a group of "brats" outshine him.
"Please follow me for further instructions," Izumo continued, not dignifying the remaining jounin with so much as a glance, before walking out.
As one, the successful instructors followed after him, Utakata exiting last. He glanced back at the man one last time.
Unable to control himself, Utakata threw a smirk at the man frozen on the sofa before walking out.
O-O-O-O-O
"Order whatever you want!" Utakata ordered with a smile, pointing toward the menus. "I'll pay."
"Thanks, sensei!" Kasumi beamed at him before burying her nose in the list of beef cuts, looking for the most expensive items. "Are you sure you don't mind if we get tenderloin?"
Utakata shook his head, a smile still pasted on his lips. "Order whatever you want," he reiterated while his wallet cried out in fear.
Kasumi glanced at him with a raised eyebrow before shrugging and focusing back on the list of meat options. Next to her, Haku skimmed through the entire menu, pointing to ingredients he wanted. At Utakata's side, Kimimaro focused his attention on the list of vegetables, frowning whenever he stumbled upon an unfamiliar kanji.
Soon after leaving the examination building, he had offered to take his team to celebrate their advancement to the next stage. Shrugging, they had decided to visit the same shabu-shabu restaurant as before.
With his students safe and unharmed, Utakata was too relieved to do more than smile at them.
"What was the first stage of the chuunin exams like, anyway?" he asked, passing the order form over to Kasumi.
"It was a written exam," she said as she wrote down the two most expensive cuts of beef available.
"But the questions were too hard, so we had to cheat," Haku added, adding tofu and noodles to their order.
"Cheat?" Utakata raised one eyebrow, leaning back on the booth chair. "You had to cheat?" He had always considered Haku the most intellectually gifted of the three students. For him to not know the answers was a surprise.
"That was the point of it, sensei," Kasumi continued. She placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in the palms of her hands. "We had to cheat in order to advance."
Kimimaro nodded. "The proctor said it was a test of our intelligence-gathering abilities." He checked off a long list of vegetables to go along with their meal.
"I put some of my ice mirrors on the ceiling to see what other students were writing," Haku explained. "And then I copied their answers."
Utakata hummed in admiration, looking at Haku with a raised eyebrow. "That's smart." He called over a waitress and handed over their order before turning to his other two students. "And how did you two manage to finish the exam?"
"We copied Haku-kun," Kasumi and Kimimaro said at the same time with twin shrugs.
"You... copied Haku?" Utakata crossed his arms in front of his chest with a sigh. He was glad they were relying on each other, but...
Kasumi nodded, unashamed. "Yeah, Haku made mirrors on the ceiling that let us copy his test."
"I noticed there was ice overhead when I felt some cold water dripping on me," Kimimaro added.
So Haku is the only smart one here then.
Utakata sighed. "Well, at least you all passed."
"The last question was a trick though," Kasumi continued. "We had to cheat for the first nine questions and wait until we could hear the tenth question." She began to mix different condiments inside her small dipping bowl. "So we got a choice."
"A choice?"
Kimimaro nodded. "The proctor said we had two options before we heard the final question." He followed Kasumi's lead and added some sesame paste to his dipping bowl. "We could either stay and listen to the final question or leave and have the opportunity to take the exam again."
"Oh, so you stayed."
Kasumi shook her head. "There was a catch. If we stayed, the proctor said that the person with the lowest point score in our team would be disqualified and would be forced to quit being a ninja." She scrunched up her nose with distaste at the thought.
"We couldn't let that happen," Haku continued. "Either we all advanced or we all failed. "It's just like you told us, sensei. Whether we win or not, we will all return to Kirigakure together." He smiled, his eyes closed in happiness.
"It's all of us or none of us," Kasumi reiterated with a giggle.
Kimimaro only hummed in assent, a faint smile on his face.
Utakata felt his throat getting choked up and he swallowed. They really did take my words to heart.
Utakata cleared his throat, hoping his voice remained unchanged. "I'm glad," he said with a smile before clearing his throat again. "And do you know what the next stage of the chuunin exams will be?"
Kasumi frowned, staring up at the ceiling in deep thought. "I think it's some sort of survival exercise," she guessed. "We were told to go to his place called Training Area Forty-Four tomorrow at noon. We weren't told anything else though."
Utakata hummed to himself. "I haven't gotten much information about the second stage either," he admitted. "But it does sound like some sort of survival exercise. You should use the sealing scrolls your brother gave you to take things that could be useful."
"Like extra medicine," Haku said.
"Or a tent and sleeping bags," Kimimaro added.
"Extra food and weapons would also be helpful," Kasumi ended.
Utakata nodded his approval. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the waitress arriving with their order.
Together, they cooked their ingredients in the broth and ate, talking about what they wanted to take to the second stage.
O-O-O-O-O
Fuu sneezed at the cold, rubbing her gloved hands over her arms and shivering.
After hiding away for two years, she was returning to Takigakure, accompanied by her instructors and guardians. Takumi walked at her side while Mariko followed next to him. Kegon led the way while Yoro trailed behind, both men on the lookout for danger.
Originally, Takumi had wanted to leave Fuu at the compound with Yoro and Kegon for company. But circumstances outside of his control meant Fuu needed to accompany them to the village.
Fuu had progressed enough in her training with Chomei that she had mastered the version one transformation. When transformed, she had more power and speed than the average jounin, although her chakra control still needed improvement. With her ability to work with Chomei, it was imperative that Shibuki learned about her progress.
There were also other practical reasons. Most of Fuu's clothes no longer fit her anymore and there were few things they could do to make them last longer. Plus, Mariko had told her that she needed to start wearing a bra. Fuu was not looking forward to that particular milestone, however. Yugito had told her bras usually sucked.
"It's so cold, Takumi-sensei!" she whined, taking a step closer to the man. "How much farther?"
Takumi chuckled before placing a warm hand on top of Fuu's head. "Not much longer," he promised. "Have you already forgotten where Takigakure is located?"
She pouted up at him. "It's not my fault I haven't been to Taki since the whole thing where I was almost kidnapped! Besides, we left in the summer! How am I supposed to recognize it when there are, like, five meters of snow on the ground?"
"I think it's closer to a few inches, Fuu-sama," Yoro muttered from behind them, his voice both exasperated and amused.
"You tend to exaggerate a lot, Fuu-sama," Kegon added from the front.
Fuu stuck her tongue out at them in turn but didn't refute their words. In her mind, she heard Chomei chittering in delight.
"Fuu," Mariko called out from Takumi's other side with a shake of her head and a sigh. "What is the name of our village?"
"Takigakure?" Fuu tilted her head to the side, trying to understand what her kunoichi instructor was getting at.
"And what does Takigakure mean?"
"Village Hidden in the Waterfall?"
"Do you hear or see any nearby waterfalls, Fuu?"
"Oh. Right." Fuu felt her face heat up and she frowned before she remembered something else. "Wait, does that mean we're gonna have to swim under the waterfall to get into the village?"
At the front, Kegon chuckled. "I'm sorry to say we'll have to, Fuu-sama. Can't you ask your bijuu to warm you up, though?"
'I don't know, can I?'
'If you use a chakra cloak, it will help protect you from the elements,' Chomei answered. 'It should keep you dry as well.'
"Chomei says they can help. The chakra cloak will keep me warm and dry."
"I wish I had a chakra cloak," Takumi lamented, staring up at the sky. "I'll have to burn some of my reserves to stay warm, I guess."
"You could always drink the hero water, sensei," Kegon suggested. "Then you could get your own chakra cloak."
"Do you want me to die?" Takumi raised one eyebrow as he stared at the younger man.
Kegon only chuckled and shrugged, shaking his head.
Takumi sighed as he started to walk faster. "Well, we're very close to the waterfall now. Let's go."
Wanting to get inside as soon as possible, Fuu followed along, using her wings to propel her faster.
O-O-O-O-O
Fuu kicked her feet up and down in the air, waiting for Shibuki to finish whatever meeting he had in his office. Bored, she stared up at the cloudy sky.
Takumi sat on the stairs next to her, watching Fuu with a fond smile. They had arrived at Takigakure, swimming under the ice-cold tunnels to enter.
Waving goodbye to her three other guardians, Fuu and Takumi had gone to Shibuki's office to give their progress report. However, they had found the office door closed, the man in a meeting. With matching sighs and hungry grumblings, Fuu and Takumi waited on the stairs outside the administration building.
To their relief, they didn't have to wait much longer before the front door to the building opened and a dark-skinned man walked out. It took Fuu only a second to recognize him as Ryuu, the man who had been on the same team as her mother.
The man, Ryuu, froze at the top of the stairs to blink at Fuu and Takumi before a frown formed on his face.
"Takumi." Ryuu met his ex-teammate's eyes without flinching before turning his attention to Fuu. "Fuu." His frown deepened when he looked at her but he said nothing else.
"Ryuu!" Takumi bolted up, standing protectively in front of Fuu before she could say anything.
'What does that man want?' Chomei's voice was filled with uncharacteristic anger.
Fuu felt her heart beating faster inside her chest. She remembered meeting Ryuu six years earlier before enrolling at the Academy. The man had been cold and rude to her back then, although that was not unusual for people who knew she was a jinchuuriki. Still, Chomei and Takumi's opinion of the man was unusual.
'What's going on?' she asked Chomei.
The bijuu, for once, did not attempt to answer one of her questions.
"I see you two are back in the village," Ryuu continued, unintimidated by Takumi's tone. "I assume you are returning tomorrow?"
Takumi nodded curtly, still standing in front of Fuu. "Though I assumed you wouldn't care, seeing how you've stayed silent after all these years."
"Is there anything you think I needed to say? Would knowing the truth make a difference?"
"It might if you had kept your promises."
Ryuu crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Some promises are impossible to keep."
Takumi snorted. "I think I'm doing better at keeping your promise."
Ryuu scoffed at that, hands clenching into fists as he glared at Takumi.
Fuu bit her lip, her gaze turning from Ryuu to Takumi and back again. Their conversation was flying over her head and Chomei's anger only added to her confusion. Why are Takumi and Chomei so angry, anyway?
Swallowing to gather her courage, Fuu stood and climbed a step up so she stood in front of Takumi. She looked up at her caretaker's face, which was full of conflicting emotions. In her mind, she could only hear a chirping sound that sounded full of anger.
Forcing a smile onto her lips, Fuu looked up to meet Ryuu's green eyes.
"You were in the same team with my mother and Takumi-sensei, right, Ryuu-san?" she said in a polite voice. "It's very nice to formally meet you." She bowed her head down, hands crossed over her lap.
Discomfort flashed through Ryuu's eyes at her words and he swallowed. "It's nice to meet you, too."
Fuu grinned, trying to ignore the sound of Chomei's chirping changing from anger to absolute fury.
"We have to talk to Shibuki-sama now," Takumi said, grabbing onto Fuu's shoulder.
"Ah, yes." Fuu let herself be led away.
She glanced back one last time. Ryuu stood at the top of the stairs, watching Takumi and Fuu with a strange look in his eyes.
"Goodbye, Ryuu-san," Fuu managed to say. She saw Ryuu nod in acknowledgment before Takumi led them out of his sight.
"You don't have to talk to that man, Fuu," Takumi said through gritted teeth as he slammed the front door closed behind him. With his hand tight on Fuu's shoulder, he led her down the hall toward Shibuki's office.
Fuu frowned and blinked up at her teacher. "Why?"
Takumi stopped in the middle of the hall and chewed on his lip, seeming unsure how to answer her question. "He doesn't have your best interests at heart," he finally answered.
"Oh, I already knew that, Takumi-sensei," Fuu replied. "He was really rude the first time I met him. But Mariko-sensei said that a kunoichi needs to hide her emotions."
Takumi smiled at that. "Mariko-sensei is really smart. Make sure to listen to her."
"I will," Fuu promised with a solemn nod. Together, they continued down the hall toward the village leader's office.
'You can't trust that man,' Chomei added as they walked. 'It's best to forget about him completely.'
Fuu frowned. 'But why? Did he do anything to me?'
Chomei paused to consider Fuu's question before answering. 'He has hurt others with his actions.'
Fuu's frown deepened. She could not remember Chomei ever being so vague before. The bijuu always said what they thought. Was there some sort of secret Fuu wasn't supposed to know?
"Welcome back, Fuu-san!" Shibuki's tired yet cheerful voice interrupted her thoughts.
Brought back to the present, Fuu looked at Shibuki sitting behind his desk. She greeted him with a grin. "It's good to be back."
O-O-O-O-O
Fuu and Takumi's meeting with Shibuki lasted only a few minutes.
As the leader of Takigakure, the young man was busy and had many important things to do. Despite the mountains of work, however, he had agreed to dinner with Fuu and the rest of her instructors.
"I sent a letter to my mother that we would be arriving today," Takumi said as they walked down the snowy streets of Takigakure. "She'll be excited to meet you. I've written a lot about you to her."
"Really?" Fuu's eyes brightened as she stared up at her teacher. "What kind of stuff did you say about me, sensei? How I'm super smart and fast and strong?"
Takumi chuckled. "Honestly, mostly about your obsession with bugs. I'm still not sure how you can like those things."
Fuu huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Bugs are really cool."
"If you say so, Fuu." Her teacher sighed. "Oh, you're going to buy some clothes with Mariko-sensei after lunch, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. We agreed to meet in front of the administration office. She said she'll take me to the clothing store by-"
Her words died on her lips and she froze when she saw the two people standing in the middle of the street. She felt the breath leave her lungs and her jaw drop open in surprise.
"Fuu?" Takumi frowned as he stopped next to her. She felt his curious gaze on her before following her line of sight.
Panicking, Fuu realized she needed to run away but by then it was too late. Takumi grabbed onto her shoulder and started to push her down the road.
"Hana! Rin!" Takumi shouted the names of her ex-friends, placing Fuu in front of himself.
"Takumi-sensei?" As one, both Hana and Rin turned toward the sound of his voice. Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw Fuu standing there. "Fuu?"
After two years, the two girls were a lot taller than she remembered. Rin's short blonde hair was longer, growing down past her shoulders. Hana's hair had gone the opposite route, her lavender locks cropped into a short bob.
Betrayed, Fuu turned her blushing face up to glare at Takumi, but the man pretended not to notice. She turned her attention back to the two girls.
"Oh... uh... hi Hana. Hi Rin." Forcing a panicked grin on her face, Fuu gave the two girls a small wave.
"Fuu!" Hana either ignored her apprehension or didn't notice it because she took a step forward, a grin on her face. "It's nice to see you after..." a hint of some strange emotions flashed across her face and she swallowed. "After so long!"
"How are you doing, Fuu?" Rin asked next, her lips quirked up in a forced smile.
"How am I- uh... what?" Fuu, for once in her life, had nothing to say. She blinked at the other girl, trying to figure out what had changed since she left. They didn't even let me talk to them back then.
She gaped up at Takumi in search of guidance.
Takumi was of no help. He hummed, his eyebrows creased in contemplation as he looked at the three girls.
"We're doing pretty well, girls," Takumi answered after a few seconds with a smile that could mean anything. "Fuu and I have been training together for a while."
"Ah, that's right, you're a full-fledged ninja now, aren't you, Fuu?" Hana asked, the same unsteady grin on her face. "I'm jealous! Rin and I still have to wait almost three more months to take our graduation exams!"
At her side, Rin nodded, a hesitant frown on her face.
"Well, we're very happy to see you here in Takigakure, Fuu," Rin said, speaking up from Hana's side.
Liar!
Hana nodded, still grinning. "Yeah! Shibuki-sama told us you would be visiting soon, so we've been waiting for you!"
You're a liar, too!
Despite her annoyance, Fuu's tongue was frozen. Unsure if she should cry, rage, or scream, she only blinked at the two girls in front of her.
"Well, girls, it was nice to see you again, but I must be going." Takumi's voice broke through the awkwardness.
Fuu looked up at her teacher in relief, a smile forming on her lips. I'm saved!
"You can talk to Fuu for a bit," he continued, ignoring when Fuu's expression changed into one of betrayal. "I have to pick something up from the store." He looked down at Fuu, a calculating smile on his face. "Have fun!"
With that, he flickered away, leaving behind only awkwardness and a cloud of smoke. Abandoned, Fuu turned her attention to the ground, failing to figure out how to put her chaotic thoughts into words.
"So how are you doing, Fuu?" Rin broke the silence first, taking a step closer.
Fuu refused to answer. Not wanting to think about the two other girls, she stared at her feet. She made a mental note to buy new boots with Mariko. The ones she was wearing were a bit too tight.
"We weren't sure when exactly you would be back, so we've been hanging around this area for a while," Hana added. "Cause we wanted to bump into you."
"We wanted to see you," Rin reiterated.
"Yeah, we wanted to talk," Hana agreed.
To Fuu's shock, their voices sounded sincere. Awkwardness settled over the three of them, leaving them silent in the otherwise empty street.
Still, Fuu said nothing. Her tongue refused to unstick itself from the roof of her mouth. She looked at the snow around her and tried to calculate if enough of it had settled to make a snow replica of Chomei.
I wonder what Takumi-sensei's mother is going to make for lunch.
The longer Fuu refused to answer, the more awkward the silence became. Hana tried again.
"We wanted to apologize for the way Rin and I treated you back at the Academy, Fuu," she said.
At that, Fuu bit her lip, but she still refused to look up.
"We were just kids, but that doesn't excuse what we did to you," Rin added.
"We should've stuck with you."
"I'm sorry"
"I'm sorry, too."
Fuu grabbed onto the hem of her skirt with her fists, still afraid to meet their eyes. How was she supposed to react to that kind of apology?
"It's not like it's your fault," Rin continued despite Fuu's lack of response.
Hana grunted in agreement. "Yeah, it's not like you chose to have a monster sealed inside of you."
The last statement finally managed to loosen Fuu's tongue. "Chomei is not a monster!" she shouted, looking up from her feet for the first time since Takumi left.
She was met with stupefied looks from Hana and Rin, who stared at her with their eyes and mouths open in shock. Fuu felt the blood rush to her face, embarrassed at her sudden outburst, but she refused to look away.
"I mean...'' Fuu swallowed, trying to figure out how to best defend her friend. "Chomei is not a monster. They're a creature composed of huge quantities of chakra created by the Sage of Six Paths himself. They have their own personality, likes, and dislikes, and..." she gulped again, grasping the hem of her skirt into tight fists. "And they really care about me."
'Thank you, Fuu. You really are the cutest.'
Fuu felt her face heat up again, that time in happiness. 'Thank you, Chomei. I love you.'
'I love you, too.'
At her outburst, Hana and Rin said nothing. They blinked at her, jaws slightly agape. Rin raised one eyebrow while Hana frowned. Fuu resisted the urge to fidget in place. And I thought it was already awkward.
"W-well, if you say so, Fuu," Rin finally said, her voice full of skeptic disbelief.
"I mean..." Hana swallowed, trying to make sense of Fuu's words. "I guess bijuu might not be evil?"
Fuu shook her head. "They're not." She ignored the small voice in her head that reminded her of Kurama and Shukaku.
Quiet settled over the three of them as they stood in the snow. Fuu, unable to control herself any longer, started to fidget, her feet leaving imprints on the snow. Okay, now what do I say?
"Anyway, we really mean it when we say we're sorry, Fuu," Rin said. She extended a hand out as if to grab onto Fuu's shoulder but stopped herself before they could make contact.
Hana grunted to emphasize Rin's words. She took a step forward, reaching for Fuu. Unlike Rin, she grabbed onto Fuu's hands, meeting her eyes without hesitation. "We want to be your friends, Fuu! Can we try again?"
Fuu flinched at the sudden physical contact. "T-try again?"
Rin nodded, stepping next to Hana and placing a hand on her shoulder. "We want to be your friends again," she said. "Can we give it a shot at least?"
Fuu felt blood rush to her face. In her mind, Chomei giggled in delight. They really want us to be friends?
Her tongue still malfunctioning, she nodded, sure that her face was as red as Roshi's hair. She cleared her throat. "Okay."
At that, Hana and Rin gave her twin smiles of happiness.
"Thank you, Fuu!" Hana said, her grin threatening to break her face in half. "Wanna go get breakfast tomorrow? You're leaving in the afternoon, right?"
Fuu nodded, still too numb to talk.
"So we'll see you tomorrow morning at my house?" Rin asked.
Fuu nodded again. In her mind, Chomei's giggling increased in intensity.
With her confirmation, Hana and Rin gave Fuu one last smile. As one, they turned around and walked down the street, waving their hands in goodbye.
"See you later, Fuu," Rin said, flashing her one last smile.
"See you tomorrow!" Hana shouted, waving her arms back and forth through the air.
Unsure what else to do, Fuu lifted up a hand and gave them a weak wave in return. Despite the lack of enthusiasm, the two girls' grins widened. Glancing back one last time, they turned the corner at the end of the street, leaving Fuu standing alone in the snow.
Fuu blinked at the spot where her ex-friends- friends?- had disappeared, feeling like she was stuck in a dream. What just happened?
'You made up with your friends, that's what happened.'
'I mean, yeah, but...'
"So you're going to have breakfast with your friends tomorrow morning, then?"
Fuu looked up at her teacher, a pout on her face. "Sensei! I can't believe you left me alone!"
Takumi shrugged, unashamed. "I thought it would be best. Congratulations on making up with Hana and Rin."
Fuu crossed her arms in front of her chest and huffed, looking off into the distance. "So mean," she mumbled.
Her teacher only chuckled at her reaction before placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hair.
O-O-O-O-O
A/N: I swear, I didn't intend to make the "preview" at the end of the last chapter sound so ominous XD
I've actually never had shabu-shabu, but it's apparently pretty much the same as Chinese hot pot, so I based the experience of eating in that kind of restaurant on that.
I'm available on Tumblr at waffledogwrites. Someone made so really cute fanart! You can find it on my Tumblr or by checking out the latest chapter of this fic on Archive of Our Own.
Morket is the nicest person I know and he's super duper cool and an amazing beta reader.
Next chapter: Utakata gets insomnia.