Author's Note: When I first started writing the history chapters, I really thought it was just going to be a like 3-4 parts long at most. Whoops.

Chapter 6: Midara's Story: Daylight, Part 5

"Finally!" Shizune sighed, shutting the last medical textbook in the archive. She stood on wobbly legs, that were still asleep from her previously held sitting position, and admired the completed work. Thousands of textbooks restored, rebound, relabeled, and reorganized. It was re-terrible.

"I thought we'd never finish!" Midara said with a giggle. "We should celebrate!"

"Okay!" Shizune readily agreed, the energy returning to her. "What should we do?"

"We should try the new dango shop that opened up!" Midara suggested, hooking her friend's arm. "C'mon, c'mon! Before it gets too busy!" The young girls hopped from rooftop to rooftop, chasing the setting sun that cast an orange glow over the village. They jumped down to the street as they approached the restaurant and sighed in relief at the empty booths.

"Wow, I can't believe how quiet it is. Where is everyone?" Shizune wondered out loud.

"Who cares!" Midara leaned over the counter and waved over the shopkeep. "Three orders of these, please!"

"Midara?" a sing-song voice called out.

"Rin!" the Uchiha girl happily turned to greet her friend with a hug. "How are you?"

"Exhausted!" Rin complained, leaning against the counter as she waited for Shizune to finish ordering. "We finished training so late that I don't even have any energy to stop by the festival."

"Festival?" Shizune asked. "Is that where everyone is today?"

"That's right! The Fall Festival is this week, and I really wanted to go to the first day. But with all the training, I haven't had a single moment to pick up a dress." Rin bemoaned.

"I've never been to the Fall Festival…." Midara admitted. Then a thought occurred to her. "We should all go together! What time does the dress shop open tomorrow?"

"I think it's around noon." Shizune chimed in.

"Order up!" the shopkeep placed plates of dango on the counter, and the girls picked them up. They continued their planning as they headed to a booth in the back.

"Great, so I'll meet you two at the shop tomorrow after lunch, and we should have enough time to get ready and enjoy a full night of the festival." Rin confirmed.

"Maybe I'll run into Kakashi there." Shizune said with a small blush.

"Kakashi?" Rin asked. "N-no way…you like him, too?"

"What's not to like? He's handsome and totally cool and a genius!" Shizune let out a dreamy sigh. "Don't you think so, Midara? You must like him, too! Right?"

"O-o…well…." Midara thought about the years she had known the silver-haired boy. Over time, just like the other girls, she had realized he was exceedingly handsome. The quick glimpse of his face while he ate or drank always made her cheeks flush. But in those years, she had also realized something far more important. "Not really…."

"What?!" her friends yelled out in unison.

"So, you don't think he's handsome?" Rin questioned.

"He is." Midara admitted through a nervous chuckle as the girls leaned closer and closer to her.

"So, you don't think he's a genius?" Shizune immediately accused.

"Really, it's not like that." Midara assured, holding her hands up defensively and letting out another series of nervous laughs.

"Then what?" Rin asked.

"I just.…" Midara tried to think of the best way to phrase what she was feeling. "He seems like a playboy."

"A playboy?" they repeated in unison again.

"The way he looks at girls, it's like he's calculating their worth for some use." The young Uchiha thought about how she would want a boy to look at her. "It's not like when papa looks at mama, or when Minato-sensei looks at Lady Kushina…or when Obito looks at you, Rin." The brunette was caught off guard by the mention of the boy whose affections she had long tried to ignore in an attempt to spare his feelings. Midara smiled brightly at her friends. "I want to love someone who looks at me like that."

"Stupid Kakashi…." Obito muttered under his breath as he watched Shizune and Rin shower his teammate with attention.

"A ferris wheel!" Midara pointed out, trying to distract Obito from the woes of unrequited love.

"Great idea, Midara!" Obito suddenly beamed. He ran up to Rin and grabbed her hand. "C'mon, Rin! Ride with me on the ferris wheel!"

"I—o!" The girl could barely get a word out before Obito dragged her away from the group of friends.

"How fun! We should go, too, Kakashi!" Shizune suggested, straightening out the wrinkles on her kimono and fixing her short black hair.

"I'm not really—"

"Kakashi! My eternal rival!" a voice called out through the noisy crowd, interrupting Kakashi mid-rejection.

"Sure, let's go. Right now." Kakashi suddenly agreed, pushing Shizune toward the ride. Midara turned to the source of the voice and noticed a boy with the shiniest black hair she had ever seen. So shiny, in fact, that she barely had time to notice his bushy brows beneath his bangs.

"W-where'd he go?" the boy mused, looking around for his friend.

"Kakashi?" Midara asked.

"Huh?" It was like the boy was noticing her for the first time. "Y-yea…have you seen him?"

"He just went to go ride the ferris wheel with Shizune." Midara explained with a polite smile. "Sorry, looks like you missed him."

"Shizune? A g-girl!?" The boy hung his head, his face nearly disappearing under his red scarf. "So, my eternal rival has beaten me in love, too…."

"I don't think he loves her." Midara assured with a giggle, amused by the character. "What's your name?"

"My name's Guy! Might, Guy!" the boy gave her a thumbs up and a wink, and the Uchiha girl could have sworn she saw a twinkle at the end of his smile.

"Guy?" she thought hard about why this name sounded so familiar to her. "A-ah!" She suddenly recognized it. "I've heard about you and your father!"

"W-what have you heard?" Guy asked nervously, almost shrinking away from her.

"That you were able to become ninja with taijutsu alone!" Midara clasped her hands together, and this time Guy thought he saw a twinkle in her eyes. "That is so cool! I can't imagine being strong enough to just use one technique, much less taijutsu!"

"C-cool?" Guy blushed at the sudden admiration, and once again, it was like he was noticing Midara for the first time.

"My taijutsu is so weak, nothing like what you're able to do! I even heard from Kakashi and Obito that they have such a hard time keeping up with your speed. Will you show me, please? Please, please, please, Guy?" The girl bowed her head in a sincere plea.

"Kakashi…said that?" There was an overwhelming rush of emotion in Guy. His eternal rival had acknowledged him. A pretty girl thought he was cool. If he died in that moment, he would have no regrets. "Y-yea…I can do that."

"Thank you so much!" Midara enthused. "Well, there's no point in waiting around until they're done." She motioned to the ferris wheel. "Want to try some of the snacks?"

"S-sure." Guy tried to snap himself out of the nervous stutter. He was known for being confident, but he suddenly felt so shy around this girl.

The young Uchiha girl stared off towards the game stalls filled with an endless array of prizes. Stuffed animals of varying sizes, small toys, hair pins—but what really caught her eye was an iridescent pinwheel. It would move from time to time when a soft wind blew through the streets of the fair. It was so mesmerizing that she had completely tuned out the chatter of her friends as they finished their meal.

"Midara?"

"Huh?" the girl suddenly broke from her trance and looked at Guy.

"I-I won this for you." Guy held out a small teddy bear and a smile overtook the girl's face.

"Really? For me? It's so cute!" She gladly took the kind gesture and returned one in the form of a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Guy!"

"A-anytime!" The boy squeaked out through his embarrassment. "I have to get home, but I'll see you at the training grounds tomorrow afternoon?"

"That's right! I can't wait to learn!" Midara said, giving him a small wave. "Have a good night, Guy." The friends said their final goodbyes and headed off towards their homes for the night. They had stayed until the festival closed, and now the streets of the village were cold and quiet. Midara took in a deep breath, enjoying the crisp night air.

"Hey." Kakashi called out, his voice echoing down the empty street. Midara turned and smiled at the boy.

"Did you forget something?" she asked. His eyes trailed down to the teddy bear in her hands and he had a look that she couldn't read. He walked over and held out a pinwheel to her. She stared at it, confused by the gesture.

"Take it."

"It's for me?"

"I saw you looking at it all night, every time we passed it." It was thoughtful. So thoughtful that it was almost suspicious coming from someone as cold as Kakashi. "So, just take it."

"You didn't steal this did you?" Midara asked, squinting her eyes incredulously at the boy.

"No, I asked the man if I could buy it while he was closing down the stall." Kakashi explained. He suddenly turned his head away in a huff. "If you don't want it, just say so." She gently brushed her hand against his as she grasped the stem.

"Thank you, Kakashi. This is really pretty." The boy shrugged and left without another word. Midara had intended to strip from her kimono and head straight to bed upon arriving home, but something kept her awake. The cold wind of the night crept in through her cracked window and spun the pinwheel that had been sitting comfortably in a pencil holder on her desk. The Uchiha girl laid on her side, staring uneasily at the spinning blades, wide awake. What could have possessed Kakashi to do such a kind thing for her? She was used to gestures like these from Obito. She understood them. He was her older brother and wanted nothing more than to make her happy. But Kakashi was different. They weren't really friends. At least not to any appreciable degree. They weren't family. They weren't even secret admirers. She found him to be abrasive, and he probably thought she was annoying. Yet…there sat the pinwheel. Right on Midara's desk. A confusing variable in an otherwise straightforward equation. The Uchiha girl closed her eyes and sighed, deciding that not every gesture needed a meaning. Maybe it just felt good to do something good, and that was good enough.