Butterflies

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm not skilled like Uchiha-san. I am not passionate like Haruno-san. I am not smart like Nara-san. I'm not as strong as Chouji-san. I'm not as collected as Aburame-san. Or as pretty as Yamanaka-san. I'm not as confident as Inuzuka-san. If anything, I'm like Hyuuga-san, socially awkward. Oh wait, no, she's just shy. The socially awkward one is me." OC! Team 7 remix!

Interlude 11 – Holiday Special

8-8

December twenty-fourth. In a Buddhist dominated society, it really isn't a big deal. However, the evening IS a big deal. Not for religious, or even practical, reasons. No, it's because, for some reason no male in said society can figure out, the evening of Twenty-Fourth of December, is the BIGGEST date night. Of. The. Year! Restaurants, cafés, even stalls and little food carts, EVERYONE has to have a reservation or a pre-purchased ticket, or you better plan on cooking and eating at home.

This is the situation we find one very nervous, blonde Uzumaki in. Oh, he has the reservation. He has a reservation for six, actually. The problem isn't the reservation. The problem is that now he has to ASK the girl he wants to go on this special group date with. He knows he can ask her anything, ANYTHING, and she would happily do it for him.

The problem is that this isn't 'anything'. This is major! This is HUGER THAN HUGE! This is his first date, his first Christmas Eve date, his first time in a fancy restaurant, his first... TOO MANY FIRSTS!

"Oi, Aya. Can I talk to you a second?" Naruto begins, nervous and fidgeting. Aya blinks, unsure what has her favourite idiot acting so... idiotic.

"Yes...?"

"Listen. This isn't easy for me to ask, so I'll just come out and say it." Aya really doesn't like where this is going. "I need you and Sasuke to go on a group date with me. It's the only way to not make this more obvious than it is."

That doesn't add up, not to Aya. She thinks about it some more, wondering if maybe she's just hearing him wrong. "What?"

"Look, I want to take Hinata out on a date. A date-date. But I can't without everyone ruining it for her. So I want Sasuke to bring a date, and you to bring a date, and we can just make it look like it's a group of friends enjoying an evening out or something." He tries, getting more nervous and fidgety as he goes.

"Okay...? So where am I supposed to find a date eight hours before...?" Aya thinks she understands where this is going. And she's CERTAIN she doesn't like it!

"You know who I'd prefer, but I'm not getting into that. I just want you there so that I'll have you and Sasuke to back me up if something happens, you know? Please, sis! I need you to do this for me!"

"Fine, I'll ask Shikamaru if he'll go with me." Aya rolls her eyes, wondering how hard it could possible be to get a date.

8-8

Impossible. That's how hard it is. Im-fricking-possible!

Kakashi supposedly isn't in the mood. Zabuza refuses to get tangled up in 'crap like that'. Shikamaru says it's too troublesome to get involved, though he hinted that someone might be free. The elder Ino-Shika-Chou are all, logically, taking their wives out. She'd rather die than ask Kiba; she'll NEVER be THAT desperate! Shino can't find any logic in going on a romantic type date with someone he doesn't like in that way. Ino has a date of her own, so she simply can't, even though she also turns Aya down because of 'reasons'; she doesn't explain what they are. Haku thinks it's cute that Aya asked her, but she 'isn't in to girls', and would rather not cultivate that stigma; given how antisocial she already is, she'd never be able to get it to go away. Sakiko and Hanabi turn her down because they plan on playing cute Christmas carols to get on Zabuza's nerves. Even Yasu turned her down, seeing as she has to cook for everyone staying home.

And so, Aya gets... desperate(ish). "Naruto." The blonde cringes, wondering what he did so wrong that his adorable little sister would address him like that. "I'll go, if you ask him for me."

"Who, Kiba? I thought he'd jump at the chance." Naruto knows he's on thin ice as is, but... it's too tempting not to! He turns to the door, just about ready to see himself out. "Alright. I'll head ove-"

"U. Zu. Ma. Ki... Na. Ru. To." The blood freezes in his veins. No matter how bad he's teased her in the past, she NEVER calls him that! In that horrid, lucid moment, Naruto sees his life flashing before his eyes. "You know who I'm talking about. And you know why I'm telling you to ask him." The blond breathes, relieved beyond belief.

"Oh. No problem, sis. Chouji, right? You want me to call or to 'happen into his neighbourhood'?" If she says he has to crawl over there wearing a onesie and a bib, he'll at least consider it right now.

"I don't care. Just arrange it!" Aya storms off, wanting this stupid situation to be over with already.

8-8

And so, after lunch on the big day, the sun and snow find an irate brunette doing an extra workout. Aya seems intent on either becoming stronger, or breaking something before she gets there, because even though she's only doing a kata, the air is heavy with killing intent, filled with cracks and thuds as she beats the snot out of an imaginary opponent. The look on her face gives nothing away, other than her intense concentration. Even her eyes hold no clues this time.

To Naruto though, she's an open book. He can tell just by looking at her that she's at war with herself. She wants to be excited, but she doesn't want to get her hopes up and get hurt again.

He walks over to her, completely unafraid. The moment she stops her kata, he gets into the same stance as her and motions for her to 'come get some'. Anyone else, other than Zabuza, would think twice of facing her when she gets like this. To him all this is, is her needing to let off some steam before she explodes. And that's ignoring the fact that she would NEVER hurt him.

They end up sparring (though no one else would call it that) for about an hour and a half at full tilt. When they finally call it quits, Aya is breathing hard and they are both sweating; her more than him. They don't exchange words, they don't have to. Instead they nod, smiling to each other.

"Come on, you two. Go wash up. I'm not going to have you smelling like gym socks all day." Yasu calls our through the kitchen window. "I'm already making a snack, so I suggest you hurry a little."

8-8

The rest of the day can be summed up in one word: panic. To Aya, no outfit seems good enough, she has no clue what to do with her hair, she has no clue what she wants to do with her makeup. And she simply refuses to ask anyone for help, so she's been chasing her own mental tail for what seems like an eternity. Her reason, if you can even call it that, is that asking for help means this is a big deal. She's still 'trying to not make a big deal out of it', all the while making an even bigger deal out of it.

She ends up dragging Haku into town to buy a new outfit, claiming it's for New Year. Only, she kind of doesn't know which one to buy of the three she likes. So she decides that buying all three isn't a bad idea. Yeah, this REALLY isn't a big deal at all. She's just halfway to having a meltdown, spending more money in one store than she'd normally spend per month-

"I need chocolate. Do you need chocolate? You need chocolate. We need chocolate. We need to get some chocolate. Like now. Let's go!" And rambling. Sure, Aya, this isn't a big deal to you at all, Haku thinks, rolling her eyes.

8-8

"Yasu-nee, this isn't a big deal." Aya tries, blushing. She has the three new kimonos lined up on her bed, wondering which one she wants to wear tonight. One is bright red with green and blue overtones. One is violet, with silver moons and stars. One is forest green, with the Hokage Rock displayed on its back. She likes all three of them, but she can only wear one. So, she closes her eyes and points... at the green one. Nope, the violet one it is.

"Of course it is. You're going to a fancy restaurant on Christmas Eve. You need to look your best. Heavens, why would you even think this isn't a big deal?" Yasu counters, noticing her little sister blushing even deeper now. It doesn't take much imagination to figure out what has Aya like this. "Have you already decided on which kimono you want to wear?"

"N-nn." Aya noises, nodding. "The violet one, with a white obi? I'll save the red on for New Years."

"That's a lovely idea. Come, now. Go wash up. You need to be ready in an hour, and you have a reservation, so you can't be late." Aya can't come up with a counterargument, so she nods and heads into the bathroom. Yasu, shakes her head, wondering how to get through to her stubborn little sister.

8-8

Yasu tugs Aya into one last hug, telling her how beautiful she looks. Aya frowns, looking at herself in the mirror one last time. While she does agree that she likes how she looks, she can't help but feel super nervous about this. She keeps telling herself that this isn't a date, this is just her doing Naruto a HUGE favour to make sure Hinata has the most amazing night of her life. This isn't about her and Chouji. This isn't a date. This isn't something she needs to be nervous about.

But, she is nervous. So nervous that she could swear she's going to throw up any second.

Instead, she focuses. She buries herself in the same state of mind that she eases into when fighting. The tension on her face, in her eyes, everywhere in her body, eases. She hates the porcelain doll staring back at her in the mirror, but this is the only way she knows to handle this.

Armed with nothing but a present, she makes her way downstairs. This isn't a date. It's just... a mission. She needs to infiltrate... something! Nothing more. Nothing to be nervous about. Just a mission.

Naruto, dressed in an elegant, but very orange, men's kimono, is waiting on his date to come down. Hinata comes down not a minute after Aya, wearing a teal furisode kimono with an orange obi. The two of them give each other a VERY thorough once over; obviously liking what they see. Hinata blushes, looking away, but Naruto notices her fighting to keep from biting her lip nervously.

"You look... amazing, Hina-chan." The blonde manages, awe in his tone. Hinata blushes deeper, stuttering as she thanks him and tells him that he looks quite handsome. That she doesn't mind him wearing that much orange goes to show how biased her opinion is when it comes to him. He could glow in the dark with how bright his outfits is.

Aya isn't too surprised that neither of them notices her. She's about to remind them they need to get going, but the doorbell interrupts her before she even starts. "That's probably Sasuke." Naruto says, trying to take his eyes off Hinata, but finding that he can't. Even though she finds it a bit embarrassing, she decides that she likes the look in his eyes, so she doesn't mind too much.

Aya groans. "Yeah, yeah. You're both gorgeous. Let's go before we're late." She demands, trying to sound irritated, but wanting to take a picture to capture the moment and frame it.

"N-nn. We m-mustn't be late, Naruto-kun."

The three of them make their way to the gate, finding Sasuke, Asami... and Chouji there. Asami is wearing her best furisode kimono, a bright jade one to offset her red hair with white trimming and snowflakes. And an Uzumaki red obi, perfectly matching her hair. Sasuke, it seems, respects the value of Christmas Eve. So he's wearing a very traditional, olive green, men's kimono, with the Uchiha crest proudly on display. Chouji is wearing a deep burgundy men's kimono.

Try as he might though, Chouji can't seem to take his eyes off of Aya. There's a longing there that no one misses. No one, but Aya that is. She's too busy not looking at him, already making her way down the street and complaining that they're going to be late if everyone keeps slacking off.

8-8

They make it to the restaurant exactly on time, and Aya announces that they have a reservation under Namiki. The maître d' nods, but everyone notices his eyes lingering on Naruto. Everyone glares at him, daring him to make a wrong move; even Hinata. Deciding that letting Naruto in is likely to cause less trouble than kicking him out obviously will, he turns to the waitress next to him, murmuring a table number, in the back and out of the way so the other patrons won't be bothered by this... group.

It turns out to an almost a private booth, completely out of sight from the other diners. No one complains, this is just what they want. Naruto, Aya and Sasuke sit on one side of the table. Their (non-)dates site opposite them.

"Oh, before I forget. I got you this." Naruto announces, placing a small box on the table and sliding it over to Hinata. It's not very big, about the size of Hinata's palm, but it's wrapped in a beautiful, shiny, Uzumaki red paper, with a white bow with both the Uzumaki swirl and the Hyuuga crest carefully painted on the ends of the ribbon used.

The traditional exchange of gifts on Christmas Eve. It isn't just about giving something physical, it's about giving cheer, joy, to people we care about. That's why the gift given is so important. It has to show you care, that you know what makes that person happy.

And this is the fifteenth step Aya is hoping Chouji messes up on. It's not that she wants the (non-)date to go badly, it's just easier on her nerves if he messes up and makes a fool out of himself so she can justify being so distant and cold to him. She'd hoped he'd be late, he wasn't. He wasn't invited in, so there was nothing to be done about that. He walked close enough to her to show he wants to be close to her, but not so close that they might accidentally touch. He strummed up polite chitchat to pass the time, telling Aya how beautiful she looks.

He might be nervous, but he's making all the right moves. And it's KILLING Aya. She needs him to mess up, to make it easier to hate him right now for what he did to her. But every time, EVERY TIME, he does just the right thing, says just the right thing.

"A-aya-chan?" Chouji sounds nervous, pulling a present out of his kimono. He offers it to her, blushing and looking away. This, of course, catches Aya off guard. She has a present for him, of course, but she hadn't expected him to find something so last minute. She silently prays she'll hate it. Still, she accepts the present, her face carefully held blank. Then she offers her present to him; a scroll. She asks that he unseal it himself.

Then she waits. A gentleman would ask her to open her present first. She wants him to mess up, so she waits to see what he will do. He unseals a large, bulky present, rolling up the scroll and offering it back to her. He then looks at her expectantly. He motions for her to go first, even as she's stuffing her scroll back into her sleeve for safe keeping.

Crap, she thinks. Another little move he's making just right. She carefully opens the gift, trying to be gentle on the wrapping. The first little peak shows it's a book. A thick one. She keeps going, eventually unwrapping Kouzuki Urabe's 'Once Upon a Time'. The book only came out last week, and Aya had been so busy with everything that she didn't have the time to get her own copy. She wants to cry, feeling horrible for treating him so badly, when all he's done is be sweet to her. And now with this sweet, and obviously thought out gift, she just feels miserable.

None of the registers on her face though. "Thank you, Akimichi-san. That's very thoughtful of you." She says, bowing her head politely. If she notices him wince at being called that, she doesn't show it.

"You're welcome. I figured you'd be to busy to get a copy yourself, so..." He says, rubbing the back of his head. He can't make heads or tails of her reaction though. Is she happy with the gift? Is she upset? She motions for him to go next, so he tries to shove his confusion aside for now. He's just as careful about unwrapping his gift, another thing that stings Aya's need for him to mess up. It's alright to be all excited and tear into a gift, in private. But in public, one should be reserved and measured.

Chouji gently tugs out a book from the wrapping. "A thousand and one healthy and delicious chocolate recipes." He reads the title, unable to hide the awe in his voice. A passion they both share, eating. Only, this is something she could enjoy just as much as him. Had Chouji thought about it for a second, he might see this as a a sign that she wants to spend time with him; to try making a few of those recipes together. He's too busy coping with the shock that a girl is halfway encouraging his eating habits. "This is..." Words fail him, but the awe and excitement in his eyes are more than enough. "Thank you, Aya-chan."

She looks away from him, seeing Asami looking at 'Comparing Sealing Scripts', by Namikaze Minato. Tears are in her eyes, obviously moved by the thoughtful gift. Hinata is just as teary eyed, having unwrapped an encyclopedia on medicinal uses for every herb known. An odd group, that everyone's getting books and loving it. Wasn't she given a small box? And Hinata certainly didn't have a decorative comb in her hair with a faux lotus.

"Naru-chan." She murmurs, almost afraid she's dreaming.

"Open it." He says. When she opens it to the first page, there's a message, written in Naruto's handwriting, along with a collection of page markers so she can mark anything she wants. Hinata has to dab at the tears with a handkerchief, before she ruins her makeup, but she doesn't let anyone read what he wrote for her.

Now it's Naruto and Sasuke's turn. Sasuke unwraps a pair of combat ready, elbow length gloves. Pitch black, just how he'd want them. He nods, quite happy with them. "There's also four seals on each." Asami points out. "Storage seals, so that you'll always have space for more weapons or tools, if you feel you need them."

"Thank you, Asami." Sasuke says, his tone slightly warmer than his teammates had ever heard it. To them, it speaks volumes of how much he appreciates the gift.

Naruto, on the other hand, unwraps a scarf. A wool scarf. "So that's what you've been working on." He says, tears in his eyes. He'd been bugging the timid girl for days, wondering what she's been knitting, but she always kept it hidden from him.

"N-nn. D-do you l-like it?" She asks, nervous.

"Hina-chan... I..." He has to clear his throat to chase away the frog he finds there. "No one's ever made anything for me. Thank you." He says, his voice laden down with more emotions than Hinata can identify. Her breath hitches when he beams with his megawatt smile; she blushes and looks away. "It's so warm too. I won't have to worry about feeling cold ever again, 'ttebayo!"

He hugs the scarf, marvelling at how soft it feels. "It's not even itchy at all. Hina-chan, this is... thank you. Really." Hinata decides that she'll be making him things more often now, even if only to see that look on his face again.

8-8

After everyone seals, or puts, away their gift, food is ordered, and eventually served. Aya tries strumming up a conversation with the two girls, but they only seem to notice their date. That leaves her teammates, who can't take their eyes of said girls.

Even though it's technically rude to talk during a meal, in this setting, the opposite is true. Yes, one still has to take great care to not make things awkward or weird, but even vaguely ignoring your dinner guest (soo not a date!) is the worst form of rudeness there is. Aya could have argued that she was caught up in a deep conversation if the two females would stop ignoring her, but... no such luck.

"How is your training going?" She grasps at straws, trying to make the evening move along faster so it can end already.

"Good. Dad's been working me hard, so has Asuma-sensei." Chouji says, hoping to find the words he needs, to help Aya to understand. As usual, the words just won't come. "How about yours? Everyone's been talking about your team recently, but no one seems to know anything."

"Same as always." She says, vague as ever. They both try a few 'safe topics', Yasu's cooking, wondering what she'd cooked tonight, Remi's cooking, wondering where she and Chouza are dining tonight, anything not directly related to the two of them or their shared history.

Eventually, the meal winds down, and desert arrives. No one's surprised that Aya orders two of the biggest chocolate desserts on the menu, and a slice of chocolate cake to go with it. Chouji finds himself once again amazed at the girl's appetite. She'd eaten as much as him, and is still going strong.

Chouji studies her as she methodically works through the ice cream first. The decorative berries, the whipped cream, little funny cracker-like-thing he doesn't care for too much. She carefully, politely downs all of it. After finally deciding the glass will offer no more chocolate, she moves on to her mousse. With no less reverence, or zeal, she spoons the dessert passed her cherry lips. He knows he shouldn't stare, but he can't help it. Seeing her eyes hunger for the dish before her, hearing her lightly suck on her spoon each time it enters her mouth, the way her eyes slightly roll up into hear head as her taste buds explode with the flavours engulfing them. Passion for food is something every Akimichi values, so seeing her love for chocolate so plainly on display; it enthrals him every time.

Aya's halfway through her mousse before Chouji even remembers he hasn't started on his cake and ice cream.

8-8

After desert, the girls excuse themselves. Powder room, they claim. They go to the ladies' room, but none of them seem to need to go. They're here to reapply their lipstick, and to get on Aya's case. "I still can't believe you're giving him such a hard time." Comes Asami's opening salvo.

"You do realise that the only reason I'm here at all, is because Naru-nii begged me?" Aya counters, her face held so carefully neutral that neither girl can detect a lie; though that doesn't mean it isn't a half truth.

"So if it was Kiba, you'd still have come?" Asami counters easily, both applying her lipstick and studying the brunette for... something. Aya is so closed off tonight that both Hinata and Asami don't doubt that only Naruto or Yasu would be able to get anything useful out of her.

Aya snorts, smacking her lips and checking that her lipstick is once again perfect. She doesn't comment though.

"A-aya, I think he's just... u-unsure how to t-talk to you." Hinata tries. But even that gets no reaction. Aya's face is as if set in stone, her eyes blank.

Asami sighs, almost ready to give up. Then a thought hits her. "It's interesting that he knew that you were busy training, and didn't have the time to get that book yourself. I didn't even know that."

"He asked Yoshino-sensei." Aya guesses, looking away. That's when it finally clicks for Asami. It's not that Aya doesn't care, it's not that she wants to be distant; she just can't cope with the situation.

"Maybe. I still think it was sweet of him." She says, smacking her lips and turning towards her friend. "That still doesn't explain why he can't take his eyes off of you though."

8-8

By the time the ladies return to their table, the bill had already been split and paid for. They aren't even allowed to know how much it came up to. Sasuke, Naruto and Chouji lead them out of the restaurant, and seemingly in a random direction. As far as the girls know, this is a dinner (non-)date. They wander about, enjoying the lights, window shopping, just talking about little things.

Well, other than Chouji and Aya. Her eyes take in the magic only Christmas Eve seems to hold; the lights, the sea of couples going here or there, the laughter and love in everyone's eyes. His eyes take in how her eyes glow the more she looks around. All he can think about is how much he misses just hanging out with her, how much he misses hearing her talk about whatever is on her mind. Seeing how carefully neutral her face is tells him that this isn't the best time to talk to her though. Her face being kept so tight and neutral shows how emotional she is, and he doesn't know if it's a good or a bad emotion she's feeling.

He just can't make sense of her, at all. Not that that's anything new, but...

The group wanders around for almost an hour, before Naruto leads them to a quaint little tea house. The blonde produces six tickets, and the group is let in. Aya knows this place. Tamangi's Company Teahouse, it's called. A geisha run teahouse, known for it's live music and theatre performances. As the six are seated, the geisha are just wrapping up a song, and a new geisha takes centre stage. The strings strum up, a koto played by one of the geisha. A flute starts singing right along with it, played by another. Then the fans come out. The dance starts out slow. By the time the drums thunder in, the geisha works the energy in the room up to a fevered pitch, everyone is on the edge of their seats, their worlds centred on the way this woman sways back and forth, how the emotions dance across her face.

Chouji doesn't care too much for this, really. He's far more interested in Aya's reaction to it. Her mask seems to have all but disappeared. Joy, hope, laughter, sadness, emotions dance across her face and eyes for the first time all night. She doesn't even notice him staring, too enraptured by the geisha's grace, how she brings a story Chouji doesn't even understand to life. A smile tugs at Aya's lips. Slowly, her eyes start to smile as well. Then her whole face just... glows. He'd never seen her smile like that before, like there are no troubles in the world.

Kami-sama, he loves her smile.

The dance intensifies, as does the music. Her eyes aren't smiling anymore, but there's an undeniable upwards curl tugging at the corners of her lips. Slowly, the smile fades, and she starts blushing. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, she frowns slightly. Chouji can't make sense of it at all. How she dances from one emotion to the next, how her face can change, seemingly completely. How her eyes can sometimes be so open, so revealing, and other times show nothing at all.

Namiki Aya is just someone that makes no sense to him. So why can't he bring himself to walk away?

8-8

It's almost ten now. Sasuke says a brief farewell, having already agreed to walk Asami home. Aya starts walking ahead again, but Chouji is quick to catch up with her. No words are exchanged once again, even though he's trying to think of something to say.

"You really love the theatre, huh." He kicks mentally himself in the teeth, hating that he's grasping for straws to talk to her.

"Nn." She noises, but doesn't even look to him. Little does he know, she's blushing up a storm from how close he's walking to her. She feels his warmth, a warmth she'd long since decided she likes.

"I have to admit, I wasn't able to make any sense of the dances, but the music was nice." Chouji tries again, hoping to get something, anything, out of her. She's seemingly studying an interesting snow man some kids must have made earlier.

"It was too dark to read the pamphlet, so I guess I'll just have to read about it some other time." Then a thought hits him. It's a bit of a gamble, but... it will definitely get a reaction out of her. "I could tell you knew what it was about though. How you were smiling and blushing during some parts, and almost to the point of tears during others." Her shoulders stiffen slightly. "It made the whole evening much more enjoyable, seeing you unguarded."

"Why is that?" She asks. Once again, Chouji can't figure out what she's thinking. She's just too well guarded right now.

"You seem so... guarded around me. But during those performances, you let that slip. You lose yourself in whatever is going on." He swallows nervously, wondering if he should add something else; how he feels about seeing her smile, for starters. He decides not to, no matter how true it is.

"Nn." He can't say for sure, but he thinks she's waiting for something. He just doesn't know what; it's maddening to not be able to figure her out. He decides to ask Ino and Shikamaru to explain the mystery that is Aya to him. They should be able to help him understand her, a little if nothing else.

He keeps trying to engage her in a conversation, but he just doesn't dare push his luck too far. All he gets out of her is a noise every now and again. Eventually they make it to the street she lives in. Chouji feels his chance slipping away. "I hope you've enjoyed your evening? I mean, I know I have. I've missed hanging out with you, you know."

"Nn."

They reach her gate, Naruto and Hinata are a ways behind them, probably having slowed to look at something.

"Would it be alright if we hang out again sometime?" He asks, noticing that she isn't opening her gate just yet, but unsure what to make of that. The words 'I want to spend time with you' dance on the tip of his tongue, but he just doesn't feel comfortable saying them.

"That isn't a good idea." She answers evenly, looking away from him. To him, she's checking what's taking Naruto so long. In reality, she's trying to hide that she's crying. She'd fought him all night, tried her best to keep him at a comfortable distance, but he just keeps gaining ground bit by bit. It hurts, knowing that she wants him to hold her and never let her go, while hearing his words from before, how they just 'can't work'. And his being so sweet and attentive all evening isn't helping.

"... I'm sorry to hear that." He says, sorrow lingering in his eyes. Naruto and Hinata finally catch up, so Chouji tells them good night. He leaves without another word.

Her eyes follow him as he walks. She studies how his shoulders slump ever so slightly. When he turns the corner, when he disappears from her view, it somehow feels symbolic to her. That he's walking away from her again. Hinata and Naruto aren't sure what to say, but they both notice the girl's ruined makeup and puffy eyes.

Aya bites her thumb, smearing some blood onto the seal to unlock the gate. She doesn't even wash up, she just runs into her bedroom and cries herself to sleep.

If only the two of them could get out of their own way, they'd realise they want exactly the same thing.

8-8

End Interlude 11

8-8

A/N: Kind of a sad note, but it'd ruin the storyline if I gave this a happy ending. On the flip side, this is Aya's ACTUAL first date. So Lee's and her date is simply the first date she 'sees' as a date.

Happy holidays everyone! And I hope to update just as regularly, but I'm not making promises. Lots going on.