Chapter 2: Missing Fireworks

Intensely staring into the streams water with her brow furrowed, Naruto observed her appearance.

The sun was only peeking over the tree tops despite it only being 4:30 in the morning. Lighting Country messed with her perspective and time telling abilities due to their position on the tall mountains and odd clouds, but the drunken swaying man that was disrupting her attempts to train was surprised that she was already up at this hour.

To be fair, she was surprised that he was even still awake or walking.

Her slight sudden obsession with her appearance left the blonde wishing she had someone to properly ask questions to about what it meant to be a girl right now however.

She didn't know how to talk or spend time with boys outside of training, eating contests, and missions. Or cloud and bug watching, but there were only three guys that she knew that enjoyed it in the first place. Besides that though, she was never taught what true dating was like. Surrounded by perverts, even being one herself a bit, did not help in that area since they weren't ever interested in relationships.

'I'm not looking to date anyways, I mean,' She corrected herself, still finding training to be a better way to spend her time than caring about her appearance.

But no one else had ever enjoyed her boyish appearance upfront to pay for a meal without knowing her name. And he wasn't like her sensei's, only doing something nice for a girl to get into their bedroom.

Though there was a few similarities to some moody guys she knew based off his lack of expression, like Neji Hyuuga and Sasuke Uchiha, the guy had pale skin and a deep ash-like hair. It reminded her of the burnt out fire pits that had been soaked in water as she and the great pervert prepared to move on. His height was also surprising, but it's not as if she had a check list to find someone attractive.

She wasn't sure what he saw when he had saw her in the tea house, the last of her clothes becoming ragged from constant training and traveling, and it left her scratching at her head in frustration.

"Wut ya lookin' at anywayss, brat?" Slurring his words as he rubbed at his eyes furiously to see what she was focusing on, Naruto huffed.

"I dunno, ero-sannin. I'm staring at myself?"

"Whyyyyy," he practically whined at her.

"..I think I met someone?" She muttered, crossing her arms as she returned to looking into the stream.

Hearing him tilt over and onto his back, she didn't need to look to see the suspicion on his face. "Liiike someone ya wanna have sex with orrr your soul mate?" Teasingly dragging out soul mate, Naruto considered punching him to get him to sleep off the alcohol faster. "I-I ain't gon' judge ya if ya wanted to have like, a fling or two in the places we go between ya trainin'. In fact, I wan' yuh tooo! Make 'em connections, learn how ta' use some girl charm without da jutsu, get yer mind off dat Uchiha brat and go nuuuts! No one knows who yuh are, ain't no one gunna hold back 'cause of yer jailer or cause ya ah ninjaa of Konohaaa."

Silently considering his words, Naruto looked at the drunk Jiraiya in all his wisdom.

"Wow, you can actually give good advice."

Bursting out in laughter at his indignant shout, her pleas of any real training advice went ignored as he passed out in his tent afterwards.

Returning to her unusual chakra control techniques that she had been practicing in the mornings, the blondes chest swelled with hope and anxiety at the idea of testing out dating with this stranger. She wasn't going to try some of the girly techniques she noticed her teammate Sakura used, which she was sure Jiraiya was referring to earlier, but she was going to do her best to have her first proper kiss.

When her stomach began growling for something else other than protein bars, she made the trek back to the tourist village. Different employees in the tea house at this time of day, but the rising hand of the guy from before made her smile brightly and wave with all the excitement and anxiety still inside her.

Practically bouncing to the opposite side of his booth, he politely slid the menu towards her.

Even though she was just going to get another few orders of the ramen-like soup, her blue eyes skimmed over the words as he sipped at his already arrived tea. "How are you today," he asked politely.

"Ehhh, I'm alright. Sort of stuck in my spot in my training right now so it's a huge downer, but I think I'm close to cracking some more techniques out of my sensei, ya know! What 'bout you?" He sent such a warm look over the rim of his tea cup and it left her stomach doing a flop.

"I'm doing well. The hotel I'm staying at has an indoors hot springs that is mostly empty in the early mornings, though I do end up missing out on their early breakfast buffets for it." Almost interrupted by their server, she learned that he must have a love for dango as he ordered a dozen platter with some plain fish fillets and onigiri. Grinning at the budging eyes of said server as she ordered three bowls of her soup though, the stranger's voice could've sent a shiver across her skin. "To be training underneath a sensei, are you a kunoichi then?"

"Uh huh! I wanna be my village's best someday and everyone keeps sayin' how great my sensei is, but he hasn't really taught me too much." Leaving out the little details out of habit now, his warm eyes left her almost squirming in her spot.

"That so? You must at least know your elemental affinity by now, don't you?"

"My what?"

"An elemental affinity. Every chakra user has at least one primary natural element that they can use towards their jutsus with more accuracy and skill, with a secondary developing as they age. You can test it with specialty cards I believe that are sold at a novelty shop around the corner."

Eyes practically sparkling, Naruto shot the man a thousand wattage grateful smile. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! But, how do you know this? What do you do?"

"I'm a mercenary for hire. I'm hired to retrieve and return items or individuals, especially. I have been taught and picked up quite a bit of information myself, and had extensive training with my fire and earth elements."

When the server returned to hand them her meals, the blonde began awkwardly chuckling into her soup with an itch at the back of her neck. "Heh, I just realized I don't even know your name.."

"My name is Kagami, and yours?"

Mouthing his name as a test while he watched her lips, she grinned widely and told him the truth that it was Naruto.

Having been about 8am when they both sat down, it was well past noon with several orders of tea, fruit mixes and small snacks ordered before either of them wanted to get up. The servers clearly didn't mind as they were still paying customers and Naruto didn't mind that she was putting off finding a chakra card to continue her training just yet. Even though she talked more than him, Kagami still held quite a bit of information about the countries she had been traveling across and their histories. It didn't feel like a lecture of any type that a teacher would give to her as she fought off sleep - if she asked, he'd tell.

And she loved that he didn't find it annoying or weird that there were gaps in her education. He enjoyed telling her just as much as she loved listening to his voice.

The warm and comfortable look never left his eyes, though they'd sometimes wander outside the window they sat next to to ogle the unique tourists during their equally comfortable silences.

Even when she shoved a whole miniature sandwich in her mouth, he looked a little amused at her puffed up whiskered cheeks while his usual humor was literal and almost dry.

She laughed when she realized she wanted to train with him, though it'd be to spend more time with him than to try and get him to teach her more practical things.

When they spoke about their goals outside of their dreams, the lack of ties to a shinobi village left him wishing and planning that his younger brother remained strong, safe, and clearheaded despite his difficult path. There weren't many details about him, other than that he had ran away to continue learning and Kagami let him since his mercenary job leaving him in no place to be listened to as the only family he had left. It reminded her of Sasuke, running away to try and gain power faster so he could kill the man responsible of the whole no-parent, or no-family left issue. Telling him - without too many details of course - of her wishes to find her own friend and bring him home since he had openly chose a more dangerous and darker path that would end only in his death, had led to Kagami resting his hand on top of her own when she riled herself up too much.

"I have no doubt that you can bring him home, Naruto."

When she learned that he had turned 19 that year and wondered if she still could get him a gift, believing that he deserved one and more from just being a honorable and nice person to her and the few that were close to him - like his little brother.

When she sighed solemnly at the height of the sun before telling him that she probably needs to check on her drunk sensei, his offer of coming with her to at least pick up a chakra card once again had her feeling anxious and excited. More time with someone who enjoyed her and wanted to see her make progress made her wonder on if she should've started opening up to the others she met on her training trip

"Hello clerk-san, may I ask what aisle you keep your elemental chakra cards in?" Bouncing over to aisle five with him following, Naruto was silently grateful for her paranoia of the wallet-thief back at her campsite when she saw the price.

"Is this all," the clerk asked as he rang up the one price. Nodding happily as nothing else had caught her eyes on the way to it, the chatter between the two men was blocked out as she daydreamed of having a cool element like lightning like her original sensei Kakashi Hatake until she caught the word festival.

"Where is this festival, exactly?" Kagami asked kindly as the clerk took a step to the side to reveal a large map of Lightning Country with the village they're in clearly marked with a 'You are here!'

Following his finger to another tourist village that Naruto could vaguely remember the name being mentioned on her way up a mountain a week ago, the village being a few kilometers inside the country borders. Listening to the man explain that the festival officially would begin tonight, it'd be in full swing by tomorrow, she sneaked a glance toward her new friend to find him already staring at her. The words of the daiymos two week-long birthday celebration went over her head as she smiled sheepishly at him, her ears feeling as though they were on fire.

Half a days run for low level shinobi, a day or so walk for civilians.

Barely remembering to pay and barely remembering the reason they had entered the shop, the two stepped out of the view of the stores wide windows and she couldn't control the words coming out.

"Would ya wanna go with me? We don't have to dress up if you don't like to, I just haven't really been to a festival with anyone before on a date and - " unable to stop herself from rambling as she found her face matching her ears, a far away look entered Kagami's eyes that left her stomach in knots.

"I would love to go with you, Naruto-chan. I cannot recall the last time I went to a festival, but are you sure you'd like this to be a date?" Cautious and concerned she could recognize, her slow and embarrassed nod left him smiling faintly at her. "Would this be your first date, then as well, or the first time you've gone to a festival on a date?"

"Ehh, my first date," the Uzumaki whispered loudly, red face buried in her hands as she avoided looking at him.

"...I believe this would be my first as well," he quietly admitted after a long pause, eyes slightly unfocused as he stared off into the distance.

"Really?" Full of disbelief, she almost missed his nod.

"Would you like to meet up at my hotel tomorrow morning before heading off?"

"Yeah! Sounds good, which hotel is it?"

"Mikua's Inn, at the end of Red street."

Smiling at him widely as he gave a small one back, she bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. "Perfect! I'll see you then?"

"Hn, your chakra card."

Confused for half a second before she burst out laughing at forgetting, she held the small square up in between them. Furrowing her brow and staring intently at it while she sent her chakra into it, she dropped it in surprise.

Slit down the middle, Kagami's elegant brow raised. "How unique, you have wind. One of the rarer affinities out of the five. In some countries, like Fire, it's next to impossible to find a Wind User."

Picking up the two pieces as she stared amazed at it, she grinned. "Ya know, I like that. I'm actually from Fire. That means I'm one of the almost impossible now, more.. unique."

More unique than a freak. Starting a mantra in her head, catching the subtle impressed look he gave as his eyes looked her up and down, a warm feeling pooled in her stomach.

"Now you can see if your sensei has any wind techniques to teach you, Naruto. If not, I believe you can create them."

It was one of the best compliments she could receive about being a ninja. Being creative and smart enough to create an elemental jutsu, of an equally rare elemental affinity, she allowed the two pieces to fall to the ground as she stepped forward. Grabbing his collar and pulling a little too hard, she felt him rest one hand on her waist and the other on her whiskered cheek.

There were no fireworks like Sakura or Ino said there would be.

Behind her eyelids, colors mixed and and she swear she built new ones right there. Chaste and sweet, her happy hum seemed to encourage the older teen.

Thumb sneaking to her chin, she felt her lips open as he deepened the kiss and she wasn't sure on how long they stood there, but her greedy hands ran up and down his chest before they reached around his waist, his firm body obvious underneath his long cloak. Attempting to direct him to the wall of the shop, to pin him he stole her idea and she felt the familiar warmth between her legs grow before they pulled apart.

Foreheads resting against each other, she relaxed entirely in his arms. Enjoying the quiet moment together, she felt empty when he let her go. Comforting herself with the plans for tomorrow, she parted with plans to get a proper yukata. Frequently touching her lips, it was the best real first kiss she could've ever had. The fact that it was with someone that was only a stranger yesterday only added to the excitement, she admitted.

Posted: 02/21/2019

So what do you guys think of it so far?