Author's Note: Huh... I just got a call from my mother this morning. My grandmother passed away this night. Is it weird that I'm not feeling something? I mean, we were expecting that to happen for six years now and were surprised that she still lived for that long, but... I don't know. Shouldn't I at least feel something like... sadness? Or maybe relieve that she got away from her six years in bed?
I'm really worried about myself right now. Am I holding back on instinct because I'm at work? If so... not sure if I want to go home today... that sucks.
Anyway, I got this chapter finished before getting the call, so *shrugs* no point in not uploading it. But bear with me if I'm not writing much the upcomming days, 'kay?
Oh, and I skipped the spell check for... reasons, only corrected the formatting of the speech (guess it's saying something that I'm doing that in my working break instead of writing and not as usual at the weekend...). If you find some typos or something bigger, feel free to inform me that I can fix them up. Though I'm kinda confident that there shouldn't be too much at all. I guess. Probably...
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[Unknown]'s Scouting Report: The OC "C" & Card Tricks
"I figured the boss lady would order me to share more of my intel. Something I'm not that happy about, but... And then such a complicated topic as well... Whatever. Best to get done with it.
I'll say it right away: the boss lady never intended to create own characters. Said something about her not being creative and that an own character would be way too much work to invent and maintain. But look at her writing all that crazy stuff... *shakes head* uhm, nevermind.
Anyway, her best friend had his birthday end of July and when she asked him what he was wishing for did he say he doesn't want something - and then joked that she could include him in her story. She was thinking about that and told him that she saw no way of fitting him in. Well, that was til the point the three Organization members appeared. The description she used for C; slender, tall, 30 years, short blonde hair; that's basicly a rough description of his appearence. And the nick/code/short name of "C"? You might be able to guess now, first letter of his name.
Well, there he was, an OC created on her best friend and with that a fulfilled birthday wish. Not that he would read this story... Anyway, when she thought about his skills started the struggle. I mean, if you take your time inventing a character should he be unique, right? And considering that basicly everything is used as weapon in the Naruto universe - the one rain genin in the forest of death had an umbrella filled with senbon; hell, Utakata is fighting with soap bubbles - did she somehow land on playing cards.
There were of course inspiration for that. The first would be the gambler custome sphere from "Final Fantasy X-2" and the second the character "Ace" from "Final Fantasy Type 0 HD" - both using cards in some way as a weapon. Though all the moves were her own idea. Using the numbers, pictures and symbols wasn't genius at all. It was the most obvious thing to start with. But when she pulled off Black Jack, well, that was impressive. And there is so much room for more.
While she never planned on using OC's was C too well created to let him die. Not that I want to complain about it. I wouldn't be here if she had killed me... Anyway... Think that wraps it up about that topic. So hate it talking about myself..."
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A Tale of two Sisters – Chapter 13: Party!
The girls were sitting on a bench in the biggest park of Konoha, enjoying the fresh air this morning. It wasn't too really warm but not too cold either. Basicly perfect to relax and let the thoughts drift away.
"Hey, Hanabi, where will the party be held?" Hinata asked after a while, looking at her sister next to her who herself looked into the sky. "I mean, you invited Naruto-kun as well, right? So I guess there are not much locations we could go..."
Hanabi sighed before nodding. "Yeah, that gave me a major headache. I was searching for a location for days when Ino approached me, telling that her family owns a storeroom that isn't used at this time of year. After showing it to me did we decide to do the party there. It's big enough for all of us, it doesn't cost anything and Naruto is welcome there."
Hinata thought about it for a moment. "Guess I need to thank Ino and her parents later for that. I wouldn't want to exclude Naruto-kun from my birthday. That would be... not fair at all..." she said quietly, closing her eyes and enjoying the breeze that picked up. "Who did you invite?"
Hanabi finally turned her head to look at her sister, raising an eyebrow at her. "Didn't you say you don't wanted to know the details just an hour ago?" Hinata only shrugged lightly at that statement, smiling innocently at her sister. "Okay, if you want to know. Not too many... I figured that we don't have that much friends, you know?"
Thinking about that statement did Hinata kept silent for some minutes, before talking. "I never thought about that, but... you are right. Naruto-kun and Ino are our closest friends. Then there is Shikamaru and Chouji is always with him too. And then..." she trailed off, her mind failing to find additional names.
"Yeah... that's it, basicly. And it didn't help much finding more with all these rumours about us around. We got some wary looks after the events in the northern forest. After the slave one did they start keeping there distance to us, thinking we are weird. And the kidnapping one is still running around, even three months later." Hanabi sighed again.
Hinata bit on her lower lip. "You know... we don't need much friends, as long as we have good ones, right?" she asked unsure. "Plus we kinda get along with Spooky and Cat-san. Think we could count them as well?"
Shrugging at that did Hanabi answer her sister. "But they are adults. Who knows how they look at us? I invited them, though... they declined however, saying they were busy with work."
"Want to go invite dogboy on short notice?" Hinata suggested, starting to giggle when Hanabi paled at that.
"Are you trying to get me killed? I'm sure that he will try exactly that the next time he sees me. Am totally glad he missed the Academy the whole week..." she said quietly before looking her sister in her eyes. "Or are you trying to get me killed to get free from our relation? If so do I need to punish you." a slight grin entered her face.
Hinata shook her head. "I don't! I was just joking." she said quickly. "But what about, I don't know. Shino or Sakura? Maybe Sasuke?"
"Aren't you paying attention at class? If Sakura would be around will it only end in her and Ino arguing about who might be cooler, Naruto or Sasuke. Speaking of Sasuke, he doesn't seem to be intrested in any kind of social contacts with anyone. And Shino... is kinda creepy, don't you think? Always wearing this trenchcoat, covering himself up..." Hanabi shivered slightly at that thought.
Letting her head hang in defeat for a moment did Hinata nod. "Guess you are right. We just have to make the best out of the few friends we have. Well, let's go, shall we?" she got up from the bench, smiling at her sister. "Or better, please lead the way to the place you prepared for today."
Hanabi jumped up from the bench in an instant, smiling brightly at her sister. "Alright, let's go! To your party!" she exclaimed exicted and started walking, just to suddenly stop and turning around. "Uhm, guess I was around Naruto for too long by now. Wrong direction." she mumbled quietly before walking off in another direction.
Hinata couldn't help but laugh while she followed her sister who blushed. 'I'm glad that you are still you, Hanabi, and that we get along so well. I couldn't ask for a better sister.' she thought to herself while smiling at Hanabi who led the way. These were the moments reminding her that her situation wasn't bad at all.
Yamanaka storeroom, a bit later
"Woah..." Hinata was totally amazed the moment she entered the storeroom. The walls were completely covered in balloons, garlands and fresh flowers with even more flowers standing around the room. She knew that her sister went to work on the location for a good week, but she never imagined that it would be that pretty.
Hanabi smiled at her sisters reaction, letting her some time to watch the room before speaking up. "Ino helped me decorate the room. The flowers were added yesterday in the evening, that they would be as fresh as possible. I think it turned out quite nice."
"Quite nice? You call that quite nice? If that's quite nice, what is beautiful in your eyes?" Hinata asked in disbelief, letting her eyes wander between the decoration and her sister.
Giggling quietly did Hanabi shake her head. "I would never call some flowers, or many flowers in this case, the same way I would call my sister. You are beautiful, sis. This is one of the reasons why I don't like it when you are wearing that big jacket of yours."
That was an answer she wasn't expecting and her jaw dropped, while she only looked at her younger sister and didn't moved at all. Shaking her head to get out of that daze did she needed a whole minute, in which Hanabi simple smiled at her, before she could speak again. "You think... that I'm beautiful?" the blush entering her face was getting more intense with every second that past.
"Of course I do, because you are, sis. And it's not just your figure and looks but the whole. You are pretty and have a kind character but are able to speak up if something is to your dislike. You are indeed beautiful, Hinata." it was ultra rare for Hanabi to call her sister by her name and both of them knew that.
Hearing her name spoken by her sister was the final point for her to accept these words as the truth. She nodded and gave a big smile. "Thank you, Hanabi. You don't know how much this means to me."
Moving a bit closer and giving Hinata a hug did Hanabi whisper into her ear. "And it makes me happy being the mistress of such a beautiful girl."
Hinata's blush reached a crimson red by that statement and she quickly looked around the room, confirming that there was still nobody here. "Please... stop the teasing..." she said quietly. "If you keep that up... and the guests arrive... you don't want them to know, do you?" she asked a bit worried.
Getting a bit away from her sister did Hanabi put her finger on her lower lip, thinking about that for a moment. "Well, it might be not a bad idea. That way would they know that they have to come to me if they want you. Especially your Naruto-kun." she grinned while her sister paled, clearly not too happy with that idea. "Oh, common sis, that was a joke. Okay, I'll stop the teasing for today. Because it's your birthday."
Taking a deep breath to calm herself down did Hinata mumble a quiet "Thanks." before she walked around the room, taking a closer look on some of the decorations. She finally stopped at the table for the presents on which were two already placed. "Who's are these?" she asked intrested.
Hanabi closed the distance and stood next to her sister. "These are mine and Ino's, silly. We were decorating the room the whole week, so we decided to simply leave them here already." she giggled when Hinata blushed in embarassment. That really was something she might have come up with herself.
Not saying a word did Hinata continue her walk, stopping at the tables that were meant for the food. "Before you ask, Teuchi-san from Ichiraku's is supplying the food. He should be here any minute. And for your second question: there will be more than just ramen to eat, don't worry."
Hanabi was grinning like mad at her sister, who indeed was about to ask these two questions, but never managed to word them. "That's kinda creepy, you know? I mean, we know each other forever, but at least let me voice my questions even if you know that they are coming..." Hinata pouted and Hanabi couldn't help but think that it looked cute on her.
Biting her lip to not laugh out loud and wiping a tear away that made it's way out of her eye did she smile apologetical. "Sorry sis. I'll try to not do that again, okay? I just knew you would ask, so... I'm sorry."
At that moment was the sound of the door hearable and they both turned around to watch who was coming. It was indeed Teuchi, carrying a huge box into the room, walking toward the food tables. "Well if these aren't two of my favorite three youngest customers!" he smiled at the girls, placing the box on one of the tables. "Happy birthday, Hinata!" walking towards the girl of honor did he hug her smiling.
"Thanks, Teuchi-san. And thank you for providing us with food for today. I don't know how I can repay you for that." she answered smiling.
Walking back to his box did he start to take the different food out of it, placing it on the tables. "Don't worry about it. Your sister already took care of everything. She might be young, but she is very clever and good at negotiations." he gave them both a grin while he put all kinds of different food down.
"And it's looking all so very good!" Hanabi exclaimed happily, watching everything they got. "I guess your daughter cooked most of it?"
"Maybe half. I can cook more than just ramen, you know." Teuchi smiled brightly at the girls, carrying the empty box towards the door. "Just let me go grab the second box and you will be good for your party." and with that was he gone for the moment.
"What did he mean with you took care of everything?" Hinata asked her sister curiously.
Hanabi gave her a shrug as answer before speaking. "Don't worry about it. I prepared the party and I managed everything. The details aren't that important."
Pondering these words for a moment did Hinata nod slightly. "Well, I guess so..."
"And here comes the rest of the food!" Teuchi exclaimed happily from the door, entering with another big box. "I'm sure there will be something for everyone. Though I do wonder..." he reached the table and started unboxing the rest of the food. "You weren't asking for a birthday cake. Did you get one from another place?"
Both were looking at Hanabi curiously who didn't react at first, then paled before smacking herself on the forehead. "I... totally forgot about that..."
Hinata burst out in laughter, holding her stomach. "Right. You managed everything and the details aren't that important..." she soon had problems getting enough air and wiped some tears away while Hanabi was grumbling to herself.
"I believe you will be fine even without one. I mean, you got more than enough food here so missing a cake isn't that much of a thing?" Teuchi supplied helpfully on which both girls nodded in union.
"And that's why my mother baked one this morning." a cheerful Ino chimed in, entering the room carrying a cake.
"Well, problem solved. I wish you kids a nice day." Teuchi sayed before leaving the room with his empty box. He had a ramen stand to run after all.
Ino placed the cake on a table and got to Hinata, pulling her into a big hug. "Happy birthday, Hinata-chan. May all your wishes come true." she whispered the last part into her ear on which Hinata blushed slightly. "Though, I don't believe after all that Naruto will give you that special present you want to get." she grinned.
"You are such a meanie..." Hinata said quietly, letting her head hang. "Could you stop the teasing please? It's my birthday, you know? And I'm allowed to wish, am I?"
Ino hugged the girl again, giving her a warm smile. Hanabi giggled at that. "Yeah Ino, stop the teasing. I did that enough to her already." she stuck her tongue out at the blonde girl. "And I do know what he has as present. I helped him to choose it after all. And to buy it..." her voice trailed off for a moment, remembering how the shop wanted to kick Naruto out and not sell him anything. Like basicly every other shop in the village.
"Hey, don't be so down. It's Hinata-chans birthday, so cheer up!" Ino exclaimed happily. "It's nearly time to start the party anyway, so the boys should be here any second as well. You don't want them to see you all depressed, right?" she grinned at both sisters nodding in union again.
True to her words did the invited boys arrive five minutes later, all giving Hinata their best wishes and placing the presents next to the others. Shikamaru and Chouji simply shook her hand while doing so, Naruto however gave Hinata a big bear hug while grinning at her, casting another blush on her face.
After sharing the welcomes and a bit smalltalk between them did they sat half an hour later at the table in the center eating. "It's totally delicious!" Chouji said between eating. "Thank you so much for inviting me, Hinata."
The sisters were looking at him amazed. They heard about his appetite from Ino, but seeing it in reality was something totally different. "And I thought Naruto would have a big appetite, even if it's just for ramen..." Hanabi said out loud, getting a mixed reaction to that statement.
"Well, I'm surprised every time anew, to be honest." Ino admitted. "Especially because I haven't seen him much lately. If you invite him do you need enough food."
"But I think we should be covered, right?" Hinata asked, looking over her shoulder to watch at all the stuff Teuchi brought, just to pale slightly. "How... how did more than half of it already got eaten?" Everyone turned towards Chouji, who simply continued to eat, shrugging his shoulders.
"Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered. "Better get your share before there is none left. And hide the cake if you want to eat it together later."
Hearing that statement did Chouji stop eating for a moment. "You mean... the cake isn't for dessert?"
Hinata couldn't help but giggle at that while Ino palmed her face and Hanabi let her head drop down on the table. "Well, I wouldn't mind as long as you leave a piece for everyone of us to eat later, Chouji." she smiled at Chouji who nodded.
"Ah, sure thing. After all, eating is more fun if everyone gets to enjoy the food. You are the best Hinata!" he answered happily before continueing to eat.
"So... how's the training doing?" Shikamaru asked lazily, adressing noone in particular but getting looks from the sisters and Naruto. "What? Since Chouji is still eating I thought why not talking a bit before we continue with the celebration?" he shrugged.
Naruto shrugged himself, looking towards Hinata who nodded slightly. "Fair enough I guess. I'm still having trouble with the staff. You won't believe how hard it is to handle. Besides, it is a bit too long for me right now, so maybe it gets better once I've grown a little." he avoided to mention the advanced moves, just in case. Hinata appologized to him, but still...
"Well, I think I'm progressing." Hinata said next. "I got a grasp for my water element and understood how it's working. I can form up bubbles already and hold them together and floating while I concentrate on it." a small smile entered her face.
Naruto made the mistake to add to that statement. "Yeah, and she can even do it with other liquids..."
The look he got from Hinata for that made him flinch and cover on his chair, surprising Ino and Shikamaru a little. Their surprise increased when Hinata got a disappointed look from Hanabi and let her head hang. Chouji didn't reacted to that. He was still occupied with his food.
The looks went towards Hanabi who simply sighed. "I don't want to talk about it..."
"Still no progress, huh?" Ino asked her friend who just shook her head.
"It's frustrating, you know? I'm not even able to figure out what I'm doing wrong. I wonder if I might have entered Academy too early... if all this 'she is so talented' talk are just fake or something..." she sighed again.
Shikamaru thought about it for a moment. "Maybe your approach is just not suited for you? Just thinking..." he shrugged. "Troublesome."
"It's the same as cooking." Chouji said, surprising everyone and all heads turned towards him. "You need to consider the ingredients you are using. Rice isn't just rice, two potatoes can be completely different and so on. It's the same with using the earth. The ground is different everywhere and you need to consider about the ingredients of it to fully understand what you are using. Stones, rocks, mud, soil, how much you have and what you need to add differs everywhere."
After that was the room silent, except for the eating sounds Chouji made. It took a whole minute before Ino shook her head. "Did he just... compare using earth chakra with cooking? I know he's all about eating, but that's..." she wasn't able to finish that sentence.
"...maybe a good way to look at it." Hanabi mumbled, getting the looks of the others now. "What do I have to loose?" she shrugged. "Might as well take his idea into consideration and try to work with it. It's not like I would make much progress anyway." a small smile entered her face. "Thanks Chouji."
Finally finishing his meal did he look at Hanabi. "No problem. But... for what are you thanking me?"
Two heads hit the table and another three facepalmed themselfs. "That's so typical for you, Chouji..." Ino said in disbelief while Shikamaru simply added a "Troublesome."
"Are we going to share the cake now?" he simply asked, getting a nod from Hinata. He took so long eating that everyone else was good to go with their piece of cake already.
Just a short while later was the cake gone with Chouji and Naruto having eaten most of the pieces. However, both were gentlemen enough to offer the last piece to Hinata who accepted it with a slight blush on her face. She didn't want to be seen as a glutton or something, but the cake was just too good.
"That cake really was something. Please say thanks to your mom from us all, Ino." Hinata smiled happyly at her friend who confirmed that request. "Okay, and now? Hanabi, you planned everything, so... what are we going to do now?" tilting her head to the side did she watch her sister.
"Well... now that we are full with delicious food are we going to get to your fun part and after that to the fun part for all of us. Or, to simply name it: now it's time for you to unpack your presents and then are we going to enjoy the party!" Hanabi stood up while talking and was bouncing slightly up and down on her feet, smiling at everyone.
Hinata looked at her sister before at every other person inside the room. "If it's okay for you, I guess..." she said quietly, a bit embarassed. It was her first birthday party with friends and all the other years did she open her few presents while being alone in her room. After getting confirming nods from everyone did she stood up and walked over towards the table the presents were located.
Hanabi got an evil smirk on her face, adressing her sister. "Okay sis, there are some rules for your presents." everyone else looked confused at Hanabi beside of Hinata who simply nodded. "It's pretty simple, really. My present will be the last for you to open and the one from Naruto is the second last. The others are free for you to choose."
Smiling at her sister did Hinata nod. "Okay, got it. Since you prepared everything and do know what is inside do I guess that these two are big surprises, right?" she giggled seeing the slight twitch at Hanabi's eye. "Don't be surprised. You knew my questions before I voiced them. That also works the other way around, you know?" she stuck her tongue out at her younger sister, something everyone was surprised of.
Hanabi crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. She wanted to tease her sister again, not being the one to receive the teasing. All the while did Hinata check the different presents to know which was from whom. Deciding to start with the one from Chouji, which apparently was also the biggest of the presents, was she carefully opening the paper wrapped around it.
Once the paper was gone was there a box reveiled filled with... "That's so typical for you again, Chouji..." Ino shook her head, seeing the present.
Chouji shrugged. "I was thinking about what I would like to get and prepared a similiar present for Hinata here."
Hinata was checking the contents of the box carefully. It was filled with all kinds of different snacks and tasty, preserved food paired with some sweets in between. "Thank you, Chouji. That's a real nice present. I don't need to worry about having something to snack for the next two months now." she smiled honestly at him.
Chouji smiled back at her but spoke up slightly in confusion. "Two months? That's not even enough for two days if you ask me. But as long as you are happy with it. There are some of my favorites inside as well and I hope you like them too."
"I'm sure I will." she got over to him to give him a short hug before she focused back on the presents, picking up the one from Shikamaru. She could guess what might be inside, considering the present had the typical size of a book, but considering how many different exist...
She opened the present again carefully, reveiling a book which wasn't that big surprise right now. "Let's see... 'Chakra Control and Elements', no author?" she read out loud, watching towards Shikamaru.
"It's from our clan's library." he said lazily. "My dad gave permission to gift it to you. It's about our clan's way of working with chakra and has also some references to elemental chakra, even if we don't use it. I thought it would be a matching present, considering that you like to read and are currently working on your water affinity." he shrugged.
Hinata hugged him as well, smiling brightly. "Thank you so much, Shikamaru. I'm sure it will help a lot. And maybe it can also help Hanabi with her problem. Thanks."
"Don't remind me right now..." Hanabi was grumbling, getting some amused looks from the others.
Focusing back on the presents did Hinata pick the next one up. "Alright, let's see what I got from Ino." Carefully unwrapping Ino's present did she get quiet the moment she saw the content, before letting out a cute sound. "Ino, is this... it's so cute!"
Ino grinned from ear to ear. "Yes, this is a female match for the fox I got you back then. Thought he might be lonely." she wasn't quick enough to react when Hinata suddenly jumped at her, hugging her tightly and forcing them both to the ground with that motion.
"Girls... so troublesome..." Shikamaru said quietly, shaking his head. However, being friends with Ino from early childhood and being friends with the Hyuga's for quite some time now got him slowly used to these reactions.
Naruto couldn't help but grinning. "If she is jumping Ino-chan for that fox... okay, it really is cute and all, but... what will she do with me?" he pondered aloud, getting a giggle from Hanabi and a blush from Hinata who got down from Ino and helped her standing up.
"Uhm... yeah... thanks Ino. I will introduce them to each other later." Hinata was a bit embarassed by what she just did. Glancing towards Naruto for a moment did she focus back on the presents, picking up the one from him.
It was the smallest of the presents and she carefully unwrapped it as well, reaching a small black box. Opening it slowly did her eyes went wide when she saw the content of it. "Is that..." her voice trailed off and everyone else took an intrested look with the reactions reaching from surprise to jealousy.
"I guess the answer to your question is a yes." Naruto said smiling, picking up the small silver bracelet and placing it around Hinata's wrist. "Hanabi-chan helped me deciding and bought it in my place. Hope you like it." he said bashfully, scratching the back of his head.
Hinata raised her hand and inspected the bracelet carefully, focusing on the small pendant attached to it in form of a small kitty paw print. "It's... totally beautiful. Thank you so much, Naruto-kun. I..." she blushed a crimson red and looked towards her sister for a moment who simply grinned and gave a small comfirming nod.
Nodding in return herself did a small smile enter her lips and she walked to Naruto, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much. I'll treasure it forever. This means a lot to me." both were looking at each other with affection and the others surrounding them simply watched, not wanting to interrupt.
"I can't believe that Naruto really did that... but he had help from Hanabi-chan. Oh, this is real good gossip." Ino mumbled to herself, grinning from ear to ear.
Outside the storeroom
"You really want to do that? I mean, considering who you are and who they are and these things. Just saying." Kakashi shrugged, leaning at the wall of the building lazily.
"If not today, when should I?" C asked in return. "I'm sure they forgave me and I so want to see them again. They hit something deep inside me, you know? And it's the birthday of one of them, so what better time I could ask for?"
"I see your point, I really do. But you do remember that you were kidnapping them, trying to sell them as slaves, right? It isn't known inside the village, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen." being responsible for the actions of their former enemy might become troublesome if something would happen the moment they meet again and Kakashi knew that.
Letting his head hang for a moment did C nod. "I know that. But do you remember that I let you find me on purpose just that I could be here today? When I heard of her birthday did I decide to come out of hiding. I even gave you all the informations you wanted willingly to show my good will."
Taking a book out of his bag did Kakashi start to read. "Your decision. But don't blame me if something happens or say I didn't warn you. I'll be right here if something might be the matter. But don't forget, you are under surveillance by ANBU. Any hostile action will be responded to right away."
C sighed. "I know that. Hell, I'm telling you, all I want is to see them again. I won't try anything funny and I will not attack anyone. Am not crazy or something..." he shook his head. "Well, I'm going inside. Later, Spooky."
Kakashi sighed while C aimed for the door. "Why does this new name need to stick around? I really start to miss the old Cyclops..." he said to himself, never stopping to read.
Inside the storeroom
Everyone was silent, staring at the present Hinata opened last, at the object she was holding in her hands right now. The expressions ranged from confusion over shock and disgust to embarassesment. The object was beautiful and masterly crafted, but it was an object no normal person wanted to see, own or just knowing around.
Hinata was holding a black leather collar. The material was highest quality and on the side was the image of a kitten playing in a flower field etched into the leather. At the front was a tag in form of a kitty paw hanging from the ring, though it was blank with no name on it.
Hanabi had a hard time holding in her giggles. She knew it was risky giving her that present during the party she planned, but she wanted to find out how her sister, or more precisely her slave at this moment, would react in such a situation. In a situation that could turn ugly quickly, if someone would pick up the meaning of this, if someone would realize her as a slave.
The room was silent for five minutes by now, nobody even moved at all. Finally did Hinata shake her head to get out of the daze, a smile entering her face confusing the others even more. "It's beautiful, Hanabi. Really, thank you so much. This will be a nice addition to my collection!" she exclaimed happily, signs of red visible on her cheeks.
"WHAT!?" every guest shouted at once, their looks switching between both sisters, not knowing what was going on.
"You... have a collection of collars?" Ino asked sceptically, raising an eyebrow at her friend. "I mean, I heard of a lot of strange things to collect, but... collars?"
"Uhu." Hinata hummed out. "I'm collecting collars. I got the first one right after Academy started, you know? I found it on the battlefield we went to with Naruto-kun. Where we..." she didn't finish that sentence, knowing that everyone else was aware of what happened there. Her facecolour changed to a bright red with every passing second, being embarassed to talk that out loud.
Hanabi smiled to herself. 'That was a nice save, sis. I was worried for a moment, but you managed it. Beside, I guess it isn't even a lie, considering you really have that other collar from back then.' she thought to herself, thinking about a way to reward her girl later.
"Anyway..." Hinata's voice got a pitch higher by now. "This is now the third one in my collection." she admitted, her face crimson red by now. She felt uncomfortable talking about it.
"WHAT!?" it was Hanabi shouting out this time. "Your... third? I... you... I..." she was getting confused looks, stammering around. "I thought it's only the second? Where and when did you get the third?" she was staring at her sister in disbelief. That was something she wasn't expecting.
"Uhm..." Hinata looked at the ground. "I'll tell and show you later?" she asked shyly, not daring to look her sister into her eyes right now.
"Okay... I guess..." Hanabi confirmed, nodding slightly.
The others were simply observing the scene, not knowing what to do right now, so they didn't interrupt. "Now that does look like a masterpiece to me." a voice from the door did the interruption and all heads turned in that direction, where a blond man just entered the storeroom.
Three of them were looking at that man in confusion, never having seen him before. Two of them were looking at him in disbelief and surprise, remembering the face quite well. The last one however...
"YOU!" Naruto shouted loudly, pointing his finger at the newcomer. "I won't let you lay your fingers on my friends again. I won't let you kidnap them again. I won't let you hurt them! You will pay! Believe it!" he exclaimed angrily, drawing the staff segments from the holder on his leg and putting them together while already charging at the newcomer.
"Dammit... I totally forgot about the boy..." C grumbled while backing away and out of the door again, back on the street with Naruto following him.
"Don't!" Hinata shouted. "Please stop, Naruto-kun!" but it was no use. Naruto wasn't listening and following C out of the building.
Shikamaru shook his head. "Troublesome. So the rumours are true, huh? I thought as much, but now did you confirm it."
Hinata let her head hang, something she did quite often lately though she didn't really paid much attention to it. Hanabi simply sighed and dropped down on a chair, not caring much for her surroundings now. He really was in town. She wasn't paranoid. Or was she? She didn't knew.
It was Ino who answered Shikamaru's question. "Yeah, they are. Hanabi-chan told me some days ago... she broke down under the emotions and experiences..." she sighed as well. "What shall we do now?"
"I have no idea, Ino. Maybe you should try to comfort them? I'm not too good with girls as you know... so troublesome..."
Outside, on the street
"You knew that would happen, right?" C shouted towards Kakashi once he left the building while still backing away from the furious Naruto following him.
Kakashi didn't care to look up and simply continued reading. "Well, I think I told you it's your decision. But, honestly, the odds were good on that to happen eventually, yes. Now remember, you are under surveillance. Any hostile action will be punished and if you haven't noticed so far, Cat-san is on duty currently."
It was that moment that Naruto came out of the door, his staff already good to go, one segment loosened from the others. He was swinging it like a morning star beside him, still running towards C. "I'll get you this time! You will never again lay a hand on my friends or anyone else!" he shouted furiously.
The civillians around cleared the street quickly once they realized what was happening, leaving a big enough area for C to back away, dodge and avoid Naruto. Cursing to himself did he pull card after card out from his sleeve in quick order, discarding them all right away to pull the next one.
Only after a few seconds were several dozen picture cards laying around on the streets, not a single number. "Damned, that can't be. I'm having so many decks with me, why am I not getting the picture I need right now?" discarding even more cards to the ground was he getting nervous. That was the first time he had problems drawing what he was looking for. "Where is this damned jack of hearts? It's the only non lethal picture effect I own..."
While he was struggling to find the card that he could use to paralyze Naruto was said one finally in range to launch his attacks, starting with a straight one out of the morning star rotation which C managed to sidestep. Next was a stroke from left to right over which he was able to jump.
Naruto however smiled at that and quickly attached the loose end on the middle segment and detached the last segment that, now loose, aimed straight on C's legs again which were currently landing. The quick switch between segments was something Naruto was training the last days and it seemed to work. With the momentum of the movement was the now loose segment moving in the right direction and his opponent, currently midair, unable to dodge.
C hissed in pain when the segment hit his knee directly and he quickly jumped at distance once he was back on the ground. Naruto, spurred on by his hit, was already charging at C again. "That's no good... can't be helped." C grumbled to himself and went quickly through a set of signs. "Card Tricks: Wall of Clubs!" was all he shouted and all club cards laying around together with even more that appeared out of different pockets and hiding places formed a floating wall to block Naruto's strikes.
"That's not fair, you... coward!" Naruto shouted and did several hits on the wall of cards. When he realized that it had no real effect did he try to run around it but C anticipated that and moved the wall as well, trying to have it between them both.
"Calm down. I'm not here to fight or to hurt anyone." he tried to reason with Naruto, who in return simply grunted and continued his assault. "Dammit... Hey, Copycat! Would you mind lending me a hand to solve this misunderstanding?" he shouted towards Kakashi who had his eyes still in his book, not paying any attention.
He had to admit that Naruto's attacks were actually pretty strong, though he guessed that the staff must been top quality. Nevertheless did he get problems holding his wall against all these strikes with several cards already laying around on the ground. He tried to think of a way to get out of this situation but had trouble to find a solution that doesn't involved killing this boy, which he don't wanted to do.
Naruto's grin got wider and wider with every card that fell to the ground. With every moment he got closer to the person who caused him and his friends so much problems. He was so in rage that he wasn't even trying to do any moves with his staff. All he did was swinging the one loosened segment from left to right, from top to bottom and backwards to hit the wall in front of him.
While they were busy with each other was a loud shout be heard from across the street. "YOU!" both were looking towards the direction the voice came from. "You are the one that got in my way last time! You are the one responsible for the worst week of my life!" a boy shouted while running straight towards C, his hands kinda claw-like and his canines showing.
"What? I don't know you nor have I ever seen you before!" C responded confused, trying to come up with a solution quickly. He couldn't defend against two maniacs without fighting for real.
"Don't play dumb! I remember your face and hair. You got in my way when I aimed to get my revenge on this arrogant Hanabi!" Kiba shouted back, his speed increasing a bit more, quickly nearing his target.
Naruto started laughing. "Nice timing, Kiba. I don't know your reason, but together will we be able to beat him up good." his grin turned into an evil smirk seeing the panic in the face of C.
Kakashi was finally looking up from his book, watching the scene. "Hmm... the Inuzuka was unexpected. Guess I should stop them before something serious happens..." he pondered aloud, putting his book back into his pocket.
"I don't know. I would love to see him do something stupid. That would mean I could do my job." Cat said, sitting on the roof above Kakashi. "He's an enemy after all."
Realizing that he had no options left, no matter what he would do now, it would have consequences for him, he decided on his last defense. A move he only used when he was cornered with no way out. His ultimate defense, his... "Card Tricks: House of Cards!" he shouted after going through a long set of signs in lightning speed.
All cards laying on the ground and all cards still hidden inside his clothes appeared suddenly around him, forming a bunker like object that completely covered him in all directions against all attacks. "Alright, you won, I give up. Could we please talk now?" he asked desperate through the wall of cards. "I already said it, I'm not here to fight at all."
Naruto stopped his attacks, thinking about that. Kiba however still charged and started clawing and biting at the cards, desperate to get through to his target, to the man that ruined him his revenge and the whole week.
"And for you, you do look like an Inuzuka, right? Now act like one. Do I smell like the one you hate so much?" he asked towards the wall of his bunker where he could hear the boy trying to get through to him.
Kiba stopped for a moment, sniffing the air. "I... guess not..." he said quietly, stopping his relentless attack completely now.
C sighed in relief. "Okay, now that you two calmed down a bit am I going to come out." he said and went through another set of signs. "Card Tricks: Card Return." he said and all cards still intact flew back to him, forming complete decks he could store away at his different hiding places within his clothes.
However, glancing around the street did he sigh again. "So many of them are destroyed and useless... You two really are something." he shook his head. "Guess now do I need to find out if the store is really able to supply me with them..."
"Alright, now that you are done fighting..." Kakashi lazyly strolled towards the three persons standing in the middle of the street. "...would I suggest that youall should leave now. Naruto, I'm sure the girls are missing you inside already. Inuzuka, you should go home or anywhere else. I'm sure you don't want your mother to know about this, right? And C..." he shook his head. "I would say you saw them and should leave them alone for now. Unless you want some emotions to put you in another bad situation right away?"
"But, but, but..." Naruto stuttered, pointing towards C. "That's one of the people who kidnapped us. Why is he still alive anyway? You fought him back then, right?" he looked confused between Kakashi and C, not sure what to make out of this situation.
Kakashi sighed at that. "Just go inside. Yes, he is still alive and he does have a right to be here currently. You don't need to know more. Now move, get back to the party."
Naruto was grumbling but walked back towards the storeroom. Kakashi did have a point about the girls missing and probably even worrying about him. Kiba on the other side stood simply on the street, his jaw open, not sure what he should do with what he just learned.
"Was I that hard to understand? I think I told you to leave, Inuzuka." Kakashi said again, looking at Kiba.
"He... they..." Kiba pointed towards C and then in the direction Naruto left. "The rumours are true?"
"And if you make that public might something happen to you even worse to what your mother did last time. Understood?" Kakashi asked with ice in his voice, leveling his gaze on Kiba who simple shrunk by that threat and quickly left the place.
C was inspecting his destroyed cards but listened to everything that was spoken just now. "I get that it wasn't a good idea to come here. But still, both boys do have some strength. Destroying that much of my cards..." he shook his head. "Am leaving as well. There's a weapon shop I need to negotiate with for re-supplying." and with these words was he leaving as well.
Kakashi simply shrugged and pulled his book out of his pocket and walked away in another direction. He figured that there was no need to be around C anymore for that day. Beside, he knew that Cat would be following him as ordered to keep him under surveillance.
Back inside
The mood in the room was pretty down when Naruto came back inside. He figured that his outburst must be the reason for it. "Uhm... sorry..." he said quietly, scratching the back of his head. "My temper got the best of me just now..."
"It's okay I guess..." Hanabi said quietly in return. "I mean, I can't blame you. Though..." pointing towards their friends. "They do know now."
Naruto smiled bashfully at that comment. "Even worse. Dogboy does know now too. He appeared out of nowhere, attacking as well, shouting something about that C guy getting in his way when he tried to get revenge on you."
Letting her head hang did Hanabi sigh. "He must have meant the situation for which he got beaten up by his mom. There was someone looking like him that got in the way of his surprise attack on me..."
The others were listening to the conversation and Ino bit her lip. "I can asure you that we won't be telling anyone. Shika is too lazy for that and Chouji doesn't care if it's not food. And I'm not crazy enough to gossip about such a topic. But if Kiba does know now..." she tried to cheer them up a little but had to shrug helplessly at her last comment.
Hinata looked at everyone with a slightly disturbed look before adressing Naruto. "So... how did it end out there, Naruto-kun?" she asked quietly.
"Huh? You mean the... fight?" he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, he was only defending against my rage. Pulled out dozens of cards to block my staff and hid away in a bunker created by cards when Kiba appeared too. Once we calmed down did he get out again and Spooky appeared, telling that C has a right to be in the village before sending everyone away..."
There was a small smile entering Hanabi's lips. "At least am I not paranoid if he really is here at the village." she shook her head. "Anyway... I would say to continue the party, but I guess the mood got killed, huh? Sorry sis, but seems like I failed that one."
"Don't worry about it. I had a fun day so far and was able to celebrate with my friends. That's more than I could hope for." Hinata smiled slightly. "But maybe we should call it over for today?" looking towards her guests did she get confirming nods. After what happened and the revalations was there no real motivation left for the party.
After everyone said the farewells to the others did the group split up and everyone walked their seperate ways. It was agreed on that they would clean the room the next day and the sisters were to meet with Ino to do so. Hanabi was helping her sister carrying the presents home. They simply put everything in the bigger box from Chouji and carried them together.
Weapon shop
C walked towards the counter where the young girl was standing behind it like usual. He only met the owner once because the girl was at the Academy that time, but beside of that did it seem like she was working here all of her free time. "Hello again, Tenten-chan." he greeted her with a smile.
"Oh, you again? I wasn't expecting you within just one week. You are more or less on a three-week-turnus." she smiled back at him. "What are you looking for this time?"
Both had a similiar smile on their faces, knowing quite well that his purchases so far were across a wide variety of supplies and didn't really made sense. No shinobi buying a katana would care to buy staff restoration supplies the next time followed by paint for drawing seals the third time.
"Ah, well, I'm not entirely sure yet." he shrugged his shoulders. "But I would like to ask you a question before we get to business." looking around the shop to make sure that nobody was around and listening did he lean over the counter, speaking quietly. "You made this beautiful collar for the little one, right? I got a quick look on it today and the way it was carefully created did remind me on the leather work here. That's why she was here last week as well, right? When she nearly bumped into me."
Tenten was smiling from ear to ear when she answered. "It's beautiful, isn't it? She even sold me the plans for the design. Want one too?"
Thinking about that for a moment was C watching into Tenten's brightly shining eyes. He saw these eyes already when the girl was talking about weapons. She must be really into these two topics. "Tempting, but I have to decline for now." he looked on Tenten's face which had disappointment written all over it before C continued. "But I would like to talk about something special as well."
Her eyes looked him over curiously. "Something special? You want something custom made and were checking if we could provide the needed quality, right?" the smile came slowly back onto her face.
"You have a keen eye for your customers, girl. I'll give you that." he pulled out one of his card decks and placed it on the counter. "But I wonder how accurate you are with things you aren't used to. Would you please take a look on these?"
"Playing cards?" Tenten asked confused but picked them up anyway, examining them. "They aren't ordinary. Each one is created infusing some chakra into them." she was flipping through the cards. "And on each card are at least two different seals which do vary from card to card as well. I haven't seen anything like that before." placing the cards back on the counter did she finish her examination, looking at C awaiting his request.
He blinked his eyes a few times before finally speaking. "Okay, wow. You just flipped through them and could tell all that? Impressive. I mean it." giving her a warm smile did he continue. "These are my weapons of choice. But I recently lost a lot of them during a fight and I'm looking for a place that could supply me with new ones frequently. Your knowledge is quite good and the quality of the things created here is high. Think you can replicate them?"
Tenten crossed her arms over her chest and thought about it for a while, considering what she can do, what the owner of the shop can do, and what might need to be done to create a card like that. After all were they primary working with metal, wood and leather, not with paper. C watched her patiently, waiting for her response. After a minute did she shook her head and snatch a single card, walking into the backroom without saying a word. He figured that the forge might be in that direction or that the owner was back there.
It took another 5 minutes before she came back with an expression on her face that was hard to read. "It's tricky..." she said quietly. "The seals wouldn't be a problem. As long as you got a way to activate them precisely that is." gaining a nod from C did she continue. "The main problem is the material used for the cards. Using normal or sealing paper won't work cause it would make the cards too soft. Creating own paper using wood as a base is too time consuming on the other side. Any chance you can tell us where you got them til now?"
"Not without bringing you in trouble by telling you things about a group that doesn't like to be known about. Plus they most likely created them using illegal ways." he answered honestly, getting a nod from Tenten.
"I... see. And it doesn't have anything to do with why you know Hanabi Hyuga and are intrested in the collar she ordered." C wasn't reacting to that, bringing a smile on Tenten's face. "Thought as much. I don't mind, don't worry. Anyway, the best we can offer is a long process of try and error trying to replicate your cards in which we would need to include you as well to give us feedback directly. If that's okay?" she tilted her head to the side.
C took a moment to think about it before nodding. "Sure, that's fine. Considering I can't get replacements anymore is this the best right now. Beside it would give me something to kill time over the next monthes. We do have a deal, girlie."
Hyuga Compound, Hinata's room
The girls put the box down on Hinata's desk and Hanabi walked over to her sisters bed, sitting down on it while Hinata walked over to her shelf, clearing a whole board on eye high. "That was a day... sorry your party had to end that way." Hanabi said with a bit sadness in her voice, laying down on her sisters bed and watching her work.
Hinata shook her head while rummaging in the box, pulling out the collar and fox plush she got today. "It's okay, Hanabi, really. I had a fun day and am super thankful that you went through all the trouble of preparing it." she placed the collar prominent in the middle of the freed shelf and the female fox at it's right side before walking over to her bed to pick up the male fox plush and placing it on the left side of the collar.
Hanabi was watching in silence while her sister was working on decorating the shelf. To say she was surprised might be an understatement just now. 'Is she really... going to go with her excuse she came up today? That this would be an addition to her collection and is now showcasing it as well?' she thought to herself, while Hinata pulled her secret box out of it's hiding place, setting it down on her desk as well.
After opening it did she pull out the damaged collar she found back then on their first adventure, which she picked up out of a mood as a souvenir. Or at least were these her words back then. She placed the damaged collar on the left side, next to the male fox plush. Next did she pick up the second collar from the box, one that caught Hanabi's eyes. That collar was good quality and basicly brand new, that much was she able to tell from the slight distance.
While Hinata was placing that one on the right side, next to the female fox plush, was Hanabi getting up from the bed, coming close to the shelf, watching intrested. "So you really have three now, huh sis?" she asked curiously. "Where did you get that one?"
Finally reaching the shelf did she look at her sister who was blushing now and looking away, not answering at all. Shrugging her shoulders did she turn towards the shelf, inspecting the third collar herself. Her eyes went wide when she realized which collar that was, or more precisely when her eyes fell on the carefully engraved name tag. She knew that name quite well. After all was it her own name. And she could remember only one collar having her own name engraved on it...
Hinata was starting to stammer some apologize when Hanabi turned towards her, a mixed expression on her face. However, the tried apologize never made it beyond a stammer and stutter.
"Alright... calm down sis, and then explain to me. I'm curious to know why you have that one..." Hanabi spoke quietly and calm. There was anger on the inside though.
Taking a few deep breaths was Hinata trying to do just that, to calm down. It took her a while before she finally was able to speak. "Uhm, well, you see..." she shook her head to get it clear. "When we were out in the ruins haven't I found any kind of souvenir cause it was totally empty. And after what happened... well... I still wanted to bring a souvenir back. And it was yours. Meaning I have something from you to treasure, something from you in my collection..." she tried to smile a bit.
Hanabi was watching her sister carefully, deep in thought, before she finally spoke up. "And why haven't you taken the one you got?"
Putting her fingers together and blushing was Hinata searching for the right words. "Well, because... uhm... because that was a collar I haven't gotten from you..." she said quietly. "It wouldn't be okay to keep that one. That would be like... betraying you." her voice faded to a small whisper, barely hearable, but Hanabi was still able to hear it.
"That's..." now it was Hanabi's turn to search for the matching words. She decided on simply hugging her sister, whispering into her ear. "I understand that. Good girl. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
Hearing these words did Hinata slightly smile, hugging her sister back. She felt good right now. Save and secure, a feeling she would always treasure, that much she knew.
"However, there is one thing I want to correct." she continued saying. Hinata was pulling away a little from her sister to look her in the face, confusion writing across her own. "Ah, don't worry sis. It's nothing major."
Hanabi was smiling honestly at her sister, while she reached out to pick up the middle collar Hinata just placed in her shelf. Seeing this movement did Hinata's eye widen for a short moment before she was relaxing. She knew that this day would come and she accepted it some time ago already. In fact did she decide that she wanted to go thank C properly, now that she knew he was inside the village. After all was he the person who made her understand.
"See, all done." Hanabi said gently, smiling at her sister who blinked her eyes a few times. She was deep in thought and hadn't realized that the collar was placed around her neck. She brought her fingers up, feeling the collar she was now wearing, tracing over it.
A small tear formed in the corner of Hinata's eye and she tightly hugged her sister, no, right now her mistress. "Thank you, mistress. It's so pretty. Thank you so much." speaking quietly, trying to not cry in joy.
"It's alright. This one is yours and yours only. And you are mine. That's how it is supposed to be, is it not? And for the finishing touch..." Hanabi was whispering into her sisters ear while taking the blank name tag between her fingers. She concentrated a bit of chakra into it and whispered a single word. "Hinata."
The name tag glowed for a short moment and both girls looked down in surprise. Once the shine faded was Hinata's name written on the tag in an elegant and precise way. "How did you...?" Hinata asked in surprise, curiousity getting the best of her.
Hanabi seemed as surprised as her sister. "There was a note with the collar, stating that one single seal was placed in the name tag for simple marking. But I hadn't expected such a reaction." she said awestruck. "Wasn't that glow beautiful?"
"Yes, it was." Hinata nodded her head. "And I think it was a nice addition to the moment." she smiled brightly.
Smiling herself did Hanabi look into Hinata's eyes, adressing her with the tone she worked on for months now, singnaling her sister that there was no talking back now. "I want you to sleep with your new collar on. And tomorrow morning will you tell me how you feel with it on. If it's comfortable and such but also your emotions. Understood?"
Hinata smiled back and nodded her head. "Understood, mistress."