Prompt: Fariytale

A Bride For Gamakichi

Amongst the village hidden in the leaves, Hinata was a human anomaly.

Eighteen years ago, she hatched from the pretty petals of a glittering tulip (or so Kurenai had told her) and grew no bigger than a human thumb. Though her life was less than ideal, her path littered with unique challenges, with her foster mother's help and support, the tiny girl made peace with her stature and found creative ways to experience a fulfilling life from her unique perspective.

"Shino-kun."

The caterpillar glanced up from the leaf he was munching, his shaded eyes glinting beneath vibrant sunlight.

Hinata still didn't know how he'd fashioned those shade, nor why, but they were so much apart of him now, she barely noticed them anymore except when their reflection nearly blinded her as it was now.

Raising a hand to shade her eyes, she told him, "Kurenai-san gathered more oak leaves, way up on the top."

Shino was incredibly picky, if not plucked from the very top, he wouldn't eat them.

Somehow, someway, he always knew where a particular leaf had been plucked from.

There was no fooling his palette.

She'd met him a few weeks ago while exploring a particularly muddy part of the backyard. He'd been stuck in a large patch of mud, his fuzzy pea-green, segmented form wiggling around in an effort free himself from the death trap.

Concerned, Hinata found a very small twig her meager strength could lift and extended it to the poor soul.

She'd nearly found herself trapped alongside him as well, but after nearly an hour, both were tired and dirty, Shino was free, and Hinata found herself a lifelong friend.

However, her friend was on track for a very long sleep any day now.

Metamorphosis.

He'd be transitioning from a squish, pudgy caterpillar into a graceful butterfly.

Hinata was incredibly excited for him, though she would miss him dearly during his transformation. Shino and Kurenai were her only friends, her only family, and with her foster mother being courted by the man Asuma, Hinata didn't see her nearly as often as she used to.

She'd never complain about the change.

She was happy for her adoptive parent.

She was just…feeling kind of lonely as the count down to Shino's long sleep grew near.

"Thank you, Hinata."

They headed for the porch together, Hinata lifting the train of her pretty blue gown as Shino inched his body across the yard beside her.

What was but a few steps for a normal sized person, took the two nearly fifteen minutes.

They walked beneath blades of grass that towered like trees, under huge flowers colored in every shade of the rainbow, skirting long trails of busy ants like street traffic, and scanning the ground for any sign for the quicksand-like mud puddles.

A true jungle within the confines of Kurenai's gated backyard.

Once reaching the stony steps, they made their way up the piece of wood, a makeshift bridge, laid across the gray slabs.

A pile of green, spiky lobed leave lay stacked in a corner beside a huge watering can.

As Shino munched away, Hinata sat quietly, staring over the yard, her pale orbs, unbeknownst to her, pensive and sad.

"I won't be cocooned long."

She turned, meeting the shiny lens of her friend.

Was she really that transparent?

She gave him a smile, packing her true feelings behind the stretch of her lips.

"Mm, I know, don't worry about me, Shino-kun."

She turned back to the garden, but she felt his worried stare long after.

OoOoOoOo

She missed him more than she thought she would, even Kurenai-san grew concerned.

Shino's cocooned body dangled from a low bush near the porch, and Hinata sat watching and waiting day in and day out.

Kurenai didn't try to persuade the girl to busy herself with other ventures, or to go elsewhere rather than watch over her friend. Kurenai was wise, she understood that small girl and her fuzzy friend shared a special connection, an understanding amongst the world of the miniature, that she, as someone not in frear of being squished by careless feet, would never be able to fully grasp.

Instead, she set out to make her sentry more comfortable.

Kurenai set up a small camping spot for the young girl, creating her a makeshift sleeping bag out of a walnut shell, and set her atop a high rock in the backyard, nearly level with Shino's little cubby.

Happy and grateful, Hinata slept there every night.

The nights passed as it should, and no incident disturbed the young woman, but one morning, a certain frog spotted the miniature female.

That morning, while Hinata slept, the frog scooped up the shell and hopped away.

OoOoOoOo

"Is she dead? I bet she's dead."

"She's not dead you idiot, she's sleeping."

Hinata stirred, turning one way, then the other, dark hair sliding across her face, fighting to remain within the dream realm she'd been drifting in.

Unfortunately, the voices only grew louder.

"Ahhhh, she's really pretty, Gamakichi!"

"Of course she is, she's gonna be my wife, dad wouldn't pick out a bride I had to hide!"

It was a strange conversation to wake up to.

Brows creased, a small, discontent sigh passing her lips, Hinata reluctantly opened her eyes.

Two large toads, both dressed in blue vests, peered back at her.

One was a vibrant yellow, his eyes, mouth and belly sporting orange markings.

The other, deep orange with purple markings around his eyes, mouth and belly.

"Hi!" the yellow amphibian chirped, goofy orbs wide and innocently inquisitive.

"Um, hello," she replied, sitting up atop her little walnut bed, "w-who are you?" she looked around her unfamiliar surroundings, "w-where am I?"

"I'm Gamatatsu and this is my big brother, Gamakichi," he gestured to the orange toad, "and this is our house," he said, waving his webbed hands to encompass their house, "and you're on Mount Myōboku!"

Blinking rapidly, mind racing a mile a minute, Hinata looked from one horizontal pupil gaze to another.

"M-Mount Myōboku?"

"Mhm, dad brought you here to marry Gamakichi!"

The celebratory announcement sent her reeling.

"M-married?"

"Yep! Gamakichi hasn't had any luck with other girl toads, so dad-ow!"

"Pipe down!" Gamakichi barked, elbowing his motor mouth sibling in the gut, "she doesn't need to know that! And it's not that I don't have luck! The toadettes are all over me! I just don't find any of them to my liking, that's all."

Hinata didn't know anything about the male, but even she doubted the accuracy of that boast.

"Ehhhh? But yesterday you were crying to dad about how all the toadettes you ask out turn you down even though you're the eldest son of the Great Toad Chief and should have toadettes lining up to become your bride just like dad and then dad said-ow!"

Hinata winced as the orange toad elbowed his brother again, his orange skin sporting two dark burgundy spots on cheeks.

"Shut up! You heard wrong! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Ehhhh? Did I?"

"You did."

"Then how come dad yelled at you to stop crying like a tadpole then he said he'd go find you a wife since you couldn't find one if your life depended on-OW!"

Hinata covered her ears as the harsh sound of a double elbow to a thick skull echoed through the room. It sound awfully painful, even muffled to her ears.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he hissed quietly, as though she couldn't hear him, "you're making me sound like a loser!"

"You're not a loser! You just can't get a wife without help-OWWWW!"

Hinata shut her eyes as the embarrassed toad tackled his brother across the room.

As Gamatatsu howled, Hinata peeked over her finger tips, morbidly curious, only to shut them again, wondering if toads had spines and if they were actually suppose to bend that way.

OoOoOoOo

"You don't want to be my bride either?!"

Hinata winced as the high pitched croak blasted her eardrums.

After their tussle, Hinata took the opportunity to let Gamakichi down gentle, however, his reaction made it seem as though she'd insulted him terribly and spit on him for good measure.

His face was a cross between devastation and offended outrage.

"Um, I'm sorry, Gamakichi-san, I'm sure you're a very nice person but, I cannot marry you."

A cloud of gloom descended upon the toad, his big round head sinking to the floor, webbed hands covering his eyes.

She worried her bottom lip, hoping she hadn't truly hurt him that bad.

Sliding from the cotton inside her walnut shell, Hinata placed a hand on his warty head.

"There, there, Gamakichi, I'm sure there's a lady toad out there that would love to be your bride."

"Hmmm, probably not," Gamatatsu speculated, "he asked every toadette and they all said-"

"G-Gamatatsu-san," she said, nervously patting the newly upset toad, "p-perhaps you should speak more…positively to your brother."

"Positively?"

"Mmhm," she murmured, nodding her head as she met his curious gaze, "give him words of encouragement, give him hope rather than lament on his…not so nice past experiences…"

The yellow toad blinked.

She tried again, "try saying something nice about bad situations."

"Ahhhhh," Gamatatsu hopped to his brother, lifted his hands and held them, his voice earnest as he said, "Gamakichi, one day you'll be cool enough to get a date with a toadette!"

Hinata scuttled to the other side of the room, covering her ears as Gamatatsu howled beneath his brother's spine breaker.

OoOoOoOo

"We dunno where dad found you," Gamatatsu announced, smiling cheerfully despite his black eye.

Seated across from one beat up toad, and one sulking one, Hinata sucked in a harsh breath as his words slammed into her mind.

The news wasn't at all what she wanted to hear.

She'd been hoping against hope that they'd only taken her to a nearby pond somewhere in or near Konoha, but one glance through the window at the mystical environment beyond, she feared she was much farther from home than she'd ever been in her entire life.

Kurenai carted her around the village occasionally, sightseeing from the relative safety of her foster mother's shoulder, and only once had she been outside it's gates.

Literally, right outside the gate for little more than six minutes.

Slightly panicked, she asked, "d-do you think your father would remember and would take me back to Konoha?"

"Oh sure, dad's memory is amazing, but I don't think he'll take you back."

"Why not?"

"Because he brought you here so Gamakichi would stop whining about his love life."

"C-can you take me to him?"

She'd just explain to him that she couldn't marry his son, and politely request that he return her to Konoha. Surely he'd understand, they weren't even the same species for goodness sakes!

Poor Kurenai must be so worried about her!

"Sure!" Gamatatsu exclaimed, hopping across the room.

Hinata stood, smoothing the lines from her gown before following.

Outside was an amazing sight to behold.

A sky so vividly blue it was almost painful to behold, lazy fluffy pinkish clouds drifting lazily by. Pretty bodies of water framed by lush green grass and healthy long stem leaves.

It was absolutely beautiful, a true toad paradise.

She was led to a cave entrance illuminated by torches.

They traveled down a network of tunnels, Hinata riding on the back of Gamatatsu to cross little bodies of water along the way of the underground home. She asked questions along the way, about their home, about their father, about the culture of shinobi toads.

She found it all quite fascinating despite her situation.

OoOoOoOo

Gamabunta was huge.

Huge and…intimidating.

He sat atop a large platform situated in the middle of a pond. His skin was a rusty red, while the lines, around his mouth, eyes and chest were a brighter carmine. He bore a wicked scar over his left eye, and wore a blue happi vest, a pipe clamped between his thin lips.

As they neared the chamber housing giant amphibian, Hinata whispered to Gamatatsu, "h-h-he's so huge! Did he trample all of Konoha when he took me?"

"Nah, dad has a stealth mode! It makes him really, really small so he can blend in with other toads. It's how he collects information and travels through different places!"

She wondered what he had been doing in Konoha in the first place, let alone in Kurenai's backyard!

"Why are you still sulking Gamakichi?" Gamabunta growled as they crossed the wide opening to his chamber.

Up until this point, the orange toad hadn't spoken much, merely grunting here and there and releasing several mopey sighs. Hinata had tried a few times to get the poor rejected male to see all was not lost just because she couldn't marry him, but quieted after a while as her reassurances seemed to have the opposite effect.

Hinata spoke up, drawing the toad chief's attention.

"Um, hello, Gamabunta-sama, I'm Hinata, and I'm here to request that I be r-returned to Konoha."

"Eh? I brought you here to marry Gamakichi," the old toad rumbled.

"Y-yes, I understand, but…I'm really sorry, Gamabunta-sama, but I cannot marry your son."

The gigantic frog swiped his pipe from his wide mouth, puffed dark gray clouds into the air, before fixing her with a stern look.

"Why not?" he demanded.

She wilted a bit, fumbling with her fingers as she replied, "o-oh…well, h-he's a frog and I'm a human and I truly don't know anything about him-"

"Then get to know him," the chief decided, returning his pipe to his mouth, "Gamakichi, get to know your bride. Take her out on a date."

A date!

"N-no, Gamabunta-sama, I didn't mean-"

"Enough of the whining and sniveling. I brought you a bride, now you figure out how to get her to the alter."

Snapped from his morse pouting by his father's words, the orange toad straightened his slumped posture and gave a determined salute.

"R-right!"

And with that, court was adjourned.

The judge, jury and executioner had spoken.

OoOoOoOo

Hinata spent a miserable two weeks amongst the toads, being wooed and romanced by a determined Gamakichi.

She went on a fly buffet atop a lily pad.

Nearly drowned during a 'couples' swim.

She'd vomited following a wild hopping journey across the beautiful greenlands of Mount Myōboku.

She was at her wits end.

She was homesick and weary, tired of eating bugs for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and missed her family something fierce.

One afternoon, awaiting Gamakichi who'd gone to find her the best larva she could eat, Hinata made a break for it.

OoOoOoOo

She ran through high grass, tumbled down small dirt mounds and doggy paddle across small bodies of water. It was perhaps not the best plan, but sitting around trying to convince the toes to take her home seemed more of a waste of time than setting off to find her own way home.

The first day passed uneventful.

She sang as she walked, passing the countless hours of wandering with all her favorites.

She was in good spirits for the most part, a naive part of her mind reasoning she couldn't truly be that far from home.

By day three, she was tired, lost and despairing.

Nothing looked familiar.

Nothing at all.

A week out, she'd all but given up hope.

Her dress was torn and stained, her hair a nest of dirt and debris, and her legs felt like they were encased in cement.

Teary eyed, she sat down beneath a cheerful sunflower and gave into the burning urge to bawl her eyes out.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Hinata looked up, and met the brightest blue eyes she'd ever seen.

Brighter than Mount Myōboku's skies even.

It was another human.

A man.

Blonde hair, oceanic eyes, whiskered cheeks and a deeply concerned expression. Leaping from his perch, he touched down in front of her. Garbed in a simple orange tunic and black pants, he made a dashing image. He was handsome, lord above was he handsome, but what really made her heart pound was his height.

He was barely two heads taller than her!

She stared shocked at the blonde man, unable to believe her watery eyes.

"Y-You're small!"

She slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide.

How rude!

He snorted, "you're smaller than me! Compared to you, I'm a giant, dattebayo!"

A bit dazed, she lowered her hands and said, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded, it's just…I've never met anybody my size before…"

"Eh? Really? Aren't you just like me?"

Confused, she opened her mouth to ask what he meant, only for her eyes to land on four translucent, carmine wings fluttering at his spine.

"You…you have wings…" she whispered, awed by the appendages.

His brows crinkled, "don't you?"

She shook her head, then to prove it, she stood and turned so he could see her back. The touch of his hand on her spine was shocking for a multitude of reasons.

"Wow! You really don't have wings!"

She turned, again, cheeks pink.

"Then how come you're so tiny?" he asked, "if you're not a fairy, what are you?"

"H-human…I think…"

"No way," he declared with a shake of his head, "humans are huge, 'ttebayo!"

"I know…but, I'm made just like them, except…small…"

"Really, really small," the blonde emphasized, "even if you were a fairy, you'd still be really small."

"My foster parent said I was born from a…tulip," she inwardly cringed at the ridiculous sounding story, but that was all she had been told.

She had no idea where she had come from.

What she actually was.

"I never heard of something like that happening before…" the blond hummed, "you live around here?"

Her lips trembled, and the waterworks slowly returned.

"Hey, hey, don't cry!"

He took her hands in his.

They were big and warm, and held a spark of electricity she couldn't put name to.

"What's the matter? You lost or something?"

She nodded, then launched into her kidnapping tale. He listened passively until a name passed her lips that he recognized.

"Eh?! Gamabunta did that?!"

Wiping tears, she nodded, "you know the toad chief?"

"Yeah, we're allies!" he sighed, "that Gamakichi. I can take you home, I know where Konoha is, dattebayo. It'll take us a while though, I'll have to fly us most of the way."

Beyond grateful, the tiny girl clasped her hands to her bosom and gave a smile that, unknown to her, sent the fairy's heart fluttering.

"Thank you so much."

He stared at her, cheeks slowly pinkening, before he snapped an awkward scratch to his whiskered cheek and stuttered a, "u-uh y-yeah, you're welcome, dattebayo…"

"I'm Hinata," she introduced, holding out her slender hand.

Taking her hand in his, he smiled bright, "I'm Naruto!"

OoOoOoOo

To be continued!

This was a sleepy story, lol. I was so tired typing, hope it came out well. I will be continuing this too at some point. IT's gonna have to get in line with the rest of my open projects XD

Laters

Sessakag~