Hi everyone. Here I am, just plugging away. I wanted to get at least one chapter up this weekend. Maybe if I'm lucky I can get another one posted Sunday or Monday. Things are still super duper ultra busy for me for the next two weeks. I just want to say that I have really appreciated the feedback and reviews I have been receiving. This is my first fanfiction, so it's a big help when I hear from you guys about what you like and I try to put more of that in the story. It's hard to objectively judge your own writing. I am also taking requests for illustrated portions of the story. I've been doing some OC drawing challenges and I plan to post those at some point in the near future, but as I said, if there's something you want to see, let me know. It's a little slow going because I'm a bum and haven't quite made the transition to fully digital art yet. My sketch work always looks great but when I try to color something on the computer it looks like I let a five year old do it in microsoft paint. I'm in the process of getting a new scanner because when I try to post something I did with traditional mediums my old scanner makes it look blanched. I'm super duper proud of the cover art of this story, for example, but in real life it's much more vivid. That being said, once I get the new scanner I'll probably re upload that sucker. Okay! Rant(?) over! I love hearing from you guys, so please if you have the time drop me a line. I try to get back to anyone who reviews/messages w/in 24 hours. Sailor Ponchoninjax3 says...see ya!
When she found Neji, he was training alone in the courtyard. His face was focused and his Byakugan was activated.
"What is it, Beki?"
"I have a question that requires a male's perspective," Beki rocked on her heels.
"Yes?" He asked.
"If you were a boy that had the ability to fly but you chose to carry a girl's bags home with her, what does that mean?" She kept her face as spoiler free as possible, but she was so damned excited.
Neji stepped back into a normal standing position and looked at her.
"Who do you know that can fly?"
"No names, Neji," She crossed her arms. "This is just a hypothetical situation I'm presenting you with."
"Tsukimori Beki, who were you out with today?" He stared her down.
"You aren't my dad, Neji," Beki stared him down right back. "I'm coming to you man to man. After everything we've been through, Neji, and all the secrets that we've shared don't you dare narc on me."
Neji sighed and deactivated off his byakugan.
"I promise if you tell me I'll keep it to myself."
"It was the kazekage." Beki watched him very closely. Neji's jaw tensed and his gaze intensified. A silence fell between them before he finally spoke.
"Beki, the Kazekage has had a great turnaround as of late, but I suggest caution," Neji kept his tone measured. "A domesticated wolf doesn't forget what it truly is."
"What specifically are you referring to?" Beki looked at him in confusion.
"He is the Kazekage now and works very hard for his village," Neji explained. "Before that he had a lot of darkness and cruelty in him. Those are traits that run that deep and are nearly impossible to completely get rid of. I saw him fight in the chunin exams. It was frightening, Beki. He popped people, just for crossing his path. He popped them like...like." Neji gestured with his hand as the word floated just out of reach.
"Balloons?" Beki suggested.
Neji snapped his fingers.
"Yes, exactly."
"You haven't answered my question," Beki redirected. "What does it mean if I got walked home by someone who can fly?"
"It means you must have been talking about something interesting," Neji folded his arms, still staring her down.
"That's all I needed, thanks pal," Beki slapped him on the shoulder and ran off toward Hinata's house with her groceries.
Hanabi saw her hoofing it home with a big stupid grin on her face and began giving chase.
"What's going on Beki nee san?!" She hollered.
"I can't believe it! My birthday wish came true!" Beki threw open the door and started hurriedly putting away the groceries.
"You're acting weird," Hanabi's eyes were wide. "You're scaring me."
"I think a boy I like likes me," Beki plopped down at the table in front of Hanabi. "I think I might get to see him again tomorrow, so I have to plan out an outfit. Wanna help?"
Hanabi considered her for a minute.
"Just do what you did today," She stood and started to help put the last of the groceries away. "You look like you didn't just roll out of bed for once."
"Sorry, all my cute clothes seem to go missing," Beki gave her the side eye.
"Okay, fine," Hanabi said as she stuck her hand in the bag again and stopped. She pulled out a rolled up slip of red paper held closed by a heart sticker. "What's this?"
"Oh, it looks like my secret admirer is getting a little bit braver," Beki smiled and took it. "Let's see, aw, he's asking if I'll wait for him to grow up."
Hanabi took the note and looked at it. Her heart sunk in her chest. She recognized that handwriting; it was Konohamaru's. She really hoped he wasn't the boy Beki liked, because Hanabi really liked Konohamaru. He was like Naruto, but younger and not attached to her sister. Hanabi had found a new sister in Beki and she really hoped that she wasn't going to mess this one up for her.
"This isn't from the boy you like, is it?" Hanabi asked measuredly.
"I don't think so," Beki said as she put the bread in the breadbox. "I hope he doesn't have handwriting that childish."
"You do know who this is from, right?" Hanabi waved it in her face.
"No," Beki looked at her confused. Hanabi was the one acting weird now.
"So who is the boy you like?" Hanabi pressed.
Beki thought about it for a moment. She didn't want to blow this out of proportion. At best, the situation was complicated. The Kazekage and the daughter of a Getsugakure ambassador would have to be very cautious about being anything more than friends. That would make things complicated for her dad, Gaara, and Tsunade. Although she had already told Neji, he had proven he could be trusted with a secret. After all, they hadn't been forced to marry at kunai point, so he hadn't told anyone he'd seen her naked. Hanabi was a different situation. She was young and wouldn't understand the complicated situation Beki was in. It was best to treat the situation as as though there was no situation.
"You know what, I'm probably just being silly," Beki started slicing up the watermelon and putting it in Tupperware. "He probably just wants to be friends. Don't worry about it."
"Why can't you just tell me?" Hanabi pleaded.
"Well," Beki's knife hovered over the melon as she considered it. "I've never had a boyfriend. I've never even been on a date, Hanabi. So now that I'm thinking about it, there's a chance that he was just being friendly and I'm projecting my wish for him to like me on everything he did. Kind of like when you're angry at someone and everything they does annoys you, even if it's not that bad."
"Like when they chew really loud and tap their pencil during class?" Hanabi obviously already had someone in mind. Someone needs to keep an eye on this girl, Beki thought. She has a lot of anger pent up inside.
Hanabi stole a slice of melon while Beki packed it up and put it in the fridge. She watched Beki out of the corner of her eye. Beki was very pretty today and it wasn't because of the makeup she put on or the dress she wore. It was hard describe. There was a glow about her that Hanabi recognized as joy. Beki was holding out on her. Whoever the boy she liked was it was obvious by Beki's behavior that he liked her back at least a little bit. Hanabi sighed. Hinata and Beki were both so silly and so selfish. They had all these great boys that liked them and chased after them, but they were both so shy and slow about doing anything with them. If Beki was so into this other boy, she should let Konohamaru know so he could move on to someone better, like Hanabi.
…
A short while later, Hanabi took off with a mumbled excuse of needing to do something. As the conversation had gone on, the girl had become increasingly less respondent and lost in her thoughts. Beki shrugged it off and decided to go for a walk. Since she wasn't going to go back into town, she washed off the makeup and threw on some old training clothes. She headed out of the Hyuga compound without incident and started to walk her favorite path through the woods. The sun would set soon, she thought as she watched the golden light of late afternoon light up the stream like it was on fire. Beki suddenly felt parched and started walking home to have a cup of tea but stopped dead when she realized that because of the excitement with the Kazekage that morning she had forgotten to replace their stock. The shop she always bought it from would be open for another hour so she swung back home to grab her wallet and jogged into town.
She caught the shop owner just before he was about to lock up. Beki was a familiar face and he knew she was only there for tea, so he rang her up and locked the door behind her. She smiled to herself. It was nice to be a local.
"Beki nee san!" she heard from behind her.
Konohamaru was standing in the street with an eager look on his face.
"I was hoping I'd run into you again."
"Well, here I am." She smiled at him. Beki missed having that kind of energy.
"I forgot to tell you earlier, I graduated!" He had a big grin on his face like the world was at his feet.
"Oh, that's great!" Beki gave him a high five. "I remember when I graduated. It's a big deal. You should be proud of yourself."
Konohamaru flushed a little and then looked at her confidently.
"We should go celebrate."
Beki looked at her watch. There was still a little time before the weapons shop closed. She tucked her tea in her bag and put her hands on her hips.
"Okay, how about I treat you to something?" Beki asked. "A genin just starting out could use some gear for their kunai kit."
"Yeah, that sounds perfect," Konohamaru had a plan. He was going to get Beki to promise to wait for him to grow up. He just had to set it up right. The two of them walked into a nearby weapons shop. Beki looked over the selection for some useful items that wouldn't be included in his standard issue kunai bag.
"Um, Beki, I like these," He pointed at a twin pair of kunai. They were sleeker and sharper than standard kunai, and the handles were wrapped in royal blue thread. Beki asked the shopkeeper to take them out of the case. She tested the weight on them. Considering they didn't have as much bulk as standard kunai, she was surprised to see they still had some heft to them.
"Yeah, I think these are a good choice," Beki bought them and took the paper wrapped bundle outside. She handed the kunai to Konohamaru. "Congratulations, little genin. You're one step closer to becoming Hokage."
He took the bundle from her and held it in his hands thoughtfully. He started to unwrap them and took out one of the kunai. He held it out to Beki with a very serious look on his face.
"This is my promise to you, Beki nee san." His face was set in a dead serious expression. "I will become Hokage. You'll see."
Beki looked down at the little man in front of her. She knew it would be the worst thing to say, but seeing him with that big tough guy expression was adorable. This was very important to him, so she figured she should humor him. She held out her hand and took it.
"I'll hold you to this," She said, spinning the kunai before she expertly slipped it back in her bag. "When Naruto retires, I'll be sure to be here for the election."
This is it, Konohamaru thought. She's already promised to come when I'm elected. All I have to do is ask her to wait for me until then.
"Beki chan!" Lee almost bowled Konohamaru over as he ran up to them. "Sorry, Konohamaru chan."
"Hey Lee, what's up?" Beki prayed he wasn't going to challenge her to something. When she was in the hospital he had challenged her to a crane folding contest and she developed a repetitive movement injury in her wrist that still twinged painfully whenever she was folding up a letter.
"Neji san said that because Hinata chan is on a mission you'd be home alone tonight," Lee saluted. "The members of Team Gai would like to invite you to join us for dinner!"
Beki smiled at their kindness and then mimicked his salute. In her best impression of Lee, she replied:
"Tsukimori Beki of Getsugakure accepts your offer! I'll race you to the restaurant!"
At the word "race" Lee took off like a shot. Beki watched him go and shook her head. She looked down at the almost forgotten Konohamaru and ruffled his hair.
"I'll see you later, Konohamaru."
He watched her jog casually after Lee and sighed. He'd once again been foiled by the interference of one of the older kids. How was he ever going to get the chance to make the pact with Beki?
"Konohamaru," A soft voice called out from the shadows.
"Who…who is it?" Konohamaru clutched his new kunai.
"It's me, Hanabi," She stepped into the light and looked him dead in the eye. "And I think there's something you need to know about Beki."
…
It was around eight when Beki began the walk back to the Hyuga compound. Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Gai had decided to go do karaoke after dinner and Beki had opted out. She loved them all dearly, but the idea of listening to Gai sensei sing was enough to give her nightmares.
Up ahead she saw a figure standing alone in the road. It was a bright night, so after a moment Beki identified them as Hanabi.
"Hanabi, what are you doing out here?" she called out.
"Is it true that you spent all morning with the Kazekage?" Hanabi demanded.
Hanabi was acting strangely again. Here she was confronting Beki out of the blue and talking loudly. Something didn't feel right. Maybe Beki had hurt her feelings by not inviting her into town with her? She usually didn't like running errands, but maybe because Hinata hadn't been around Hanabi had been lonely. Beki sighed. She didn't have a sister so sometimes she forgot to consider Hanabi when making her plans.
"Look, Hanabi, I would have invited you but I figured it was just grocery shopping-"
"The boy you like," Hanabi pressed, her voice still raised. "Is it the Kazekage?!"
"Keep your voice down," Beki looked around nervously. "Hanabi, I…Remember? I told you. It's probably nothing. He probably doesn't even like me like that."
"But you like him like that, right?!" Hanabi stamped her foot.
Beki was about done with Hanabi's attitude. All day long she had been breathing down Beki's neck, getting in her business, and throwing tantrums. Someone needed to put the spoiled little heiress in her place, and as much as she wanted to slap that haughty little face she knew she couldn't do it.
"Yes," Beki grumbled in frustration. "I really like him, okay? What the hell does it matter? Don't you have anything better to do than to poke around in my business all the time?!"
Suddenly there was movement in the bushes by Hanabi. Beki had just enough time to catch sight of the flap of a scarf as Konohamaru took off into the woods.
"What have you done Hanabi?!" Beki yelled at her. Hanabi stared back at Beki, wide eyed. Beki had never yelled at her before. Beki threw her bags at Hanabi and took off for the woods.
"Go home, Hanabi!" Beki barked over her shoulder.
Hanabi was left standing there with Beki's crushed up bags. Things had been going so well. She thought Konohamaru was just going to hear that Beki liked the Kazekage and give up on her, but now everyone was all upset. Hanabi stalked off toward home feeling emptier and more confused than she had before she had put the plan into action.
Konohamaru ran as fast and as hard as his legs would let him. His throat and eyes were burning. He had never felt so stupid or so embarrassed in his life. He had thought Beki liked him. He was in love with her and she probably just thought of him as some stupid kid that kept following her around. Of course she would like the Kazekage. A girl as pretty and nice as Beki would never waste her time with any of the boys in Konoha, let alone Konohamaru. He couldn't hold back the tears anymore. As they poured down his cheeks his vision blurred and he lost his footing. He tripped and fell hard, face first into the tree roots and moss below him. His body hurt and burned where he had made impact. He could feel his nose bleeding. As he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees he heard the leaves crunch around him. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. He knew he was in trouble before the first of the Rain ronin stepped into view.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He reached a hand out to pull Konohamaru up but he retracted.
"It's a little Leaf nin, lost in the woods," The rough looking woman said.
"That isn't just any Leaf nin," a third one, so quiet Konohamaru hadn't noticed him yet, pointed at him. "That's the Third Hokage's grandson,"
"What does that matter?" The first one asked.
"They're basically royalty," The third one explained. "We'll make a mint in ransom."
"Did you hear that kid?" The rough woman smiled with her gap toothed grin. "You're good news for us. Sucks for you though."
Konohamaru was scanning for a possible escape as they closed in. He didn't have his kit with him and he knew he didn't have enough experience to take on three adult ronin. Panic was setting in. The first one reached out for him when he suddenly stopped. Konohamaru saw a sleek kunai with royal blue wrappings pressed to the ronin's throat.
"How about you back off of the kid," Beki said, her voice calm, deep, and steady.
The ronin made a swing for her face, Beki ducked and countered, planting a blow with the butt of the kunai to his ribs. It was quick but deep, and Konohamaru heard a cracking sound as she made impact. The ronin jumped back to gain some space, and his counterparts readjusted so Beki and Konohamaru were surrounded.
"And who do you think you are little girl?" The first one held his injured rib with an infuriated expression.
"The Drowned Maiden," She replied cryptically.
"You don't look drowned yet," The woman said, spinning her kunai menacingly.
In an instant, Beki's skin went ashen and Konohamaru could see all her veins blue and sticking out against her skin. Her hair turned an inky black and clung to her as if an invisible bucked of water had poured over her and soaked her suddenly. She had her back to him, but he had a feeling whatever the ronin were seeing was a lot scarier than that.
Beki stared down the three ronin with her corpse eyes, praying her bluff would pay off. They were three seasoned-looking adults and she had no idea what they were capable of. It was late and they were outside the usual patrol route so Beki would be on her own against them. One on one with any of the three, Beki felt she would do just fine, but they were a squad. If this didn't work maybe she could hold them long enough for Konohamaru to escape.
"If you walk away right now I won't drag you all to a watery grave," Her voice had taken on a warbled gravely quality that set their teeth on edge. It was obvious the third one was losing his will to fight.
"Let's just get out of here," He said, backing away.
"She's just one girl," The first one said.
"You have a cracked rib already," The woman barked. "We haven't even started fighting yet and you're injured. Let's get out of here before any more Leaf ninja show up."
"Whatever," He growled, and all three of them retreated into the woods.
Beki waited until they were gone and her heart stopped racing. Her hair was still black and her skin still ashy because of the adrenaline, but her face was back to normal when she turned on Konohamaru and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"What were you thinking running off into the woods alone and unarmed?!" She shook him.
Konohamaru looked up at her. She wasn't angry, she was worried sick. He felt very bad all of a sudden, and then all the sadness he had felt earlier when he heard her talk about the Kazekage came back. He didn't want to, but Konohamaru started to sob. Beki pulled him to her tightly.
"Shh, it's okay," She patted his back. "Just don't do something dangerous like that again."
It was all over now, Konohamaru thought as he cried. All of it.
"I loved you Beki," he sobbed.
Beki went stiff but she didn't let him go. She held him until he had worked most of the crying out of his system.
"Konohamaru, I'm flattered, but I'm so different from you," She explained. "I'm so much older, too. I come from a different village and when I have to go back you are going to go on living your life and make new friends. Do you think after meeting all kinds of people and having all kinds of adventures you're going to want to come marry me in ten years?"
Konohamaru was very quiet as he thought about it.
"It's not smart to make deals that you want now but you may not want when they're up to be collected," Beki took his hand and started leading him out of the woods. She still kept on alert in case the ronin returned. "When I was little I promised I would become a Miko. All I had ever known was the shrine I grew up in. Now that I've traveled all over with my father and I've gotten a chance to see what being a ninja is like, I'm not so sure that's what I want anymore. But I promised. Do you understand?"
It was making a lot of sense. He felt this way about Beki now but when he became Hokage maybe he wouldn't be able to be with her.
"I think I understand."
"Konohamaru you are my friend and I'm going to keep looking out for you, okay? But you can't feel that way about me anymore," Beki explained. "I can't love you that way and you feeling that way about me will only get you hurt."
"Why, because you like the Kazekage?" He asked.
"No, because it will hold you back from your whole potential," Beki continued. "You'll meet a funny cute girl your age but you'll miss out on a chance with her because you still have those feelings for me."
It really hurt. Konohamaru really hurt. Not just all the scrapes and bruises he just got, but his heart. He felt like it was breaking. The girl he loved, the girl who had given him his first kiss, was telling him he couldn't like her anymore and she would never like him the way he liked her. He started crying again, not because he was mad at Beki, but because the truth hurt. She wrapped her arms around him until he got it all out of his system and walked him home.
"Are you mad at me?" She asked when they were almost there.
"No, you're being a good friend," He said gloomily. "I know you're just trying to help."
"I'll understand if you don't want to be my friend after this," Beki pat his back. "It's hard to stop feeling that way about someone once you start. If I see you in the street I won't wave or anything unless you do first, okay?"
The thought of not having Beki nee san to laugh at his jokes and show him new techniques was even worse than the thought of her not ever loving him. He stopped right there in the street and hugged her.
"Please don't stop being my friend," He said into her chest.
"Okay," She said as she gave him one more squeeze. "I'll see you tomorrow, Konohamaru."
When Konohamaru's mom asked him why he was crying, he lied and said it was the ronin. She had gotten really upset at that. He lied again and told her that he had been training in the woods waiting for his friends and the ronin had showed up. He told the truth about Beki saving him, but his mom still grounded him for doing something so risky. He didn't mind. He needed some time alone to sort out his broken heart.