Hanabi window shopped the streets of the town. Everyone was hustling about preparing for the festival. Hanabi had decided to take a walk around alone so she could let her sister rest and talk to her friend. Hinata had taken care of her for some time now and she deserved some peace, though that just might be impossible with Emiko's blabber mouth.

Hanabi walked from store to store, finding nothing of interest. Hanabi sighed and gave up shopping. Hanabi looked around and noticed that she was on the same block as the stalls where they dropped off their horse. She strolled over to the stall and found that the twin stable boys had stopped arguing.

"Oh? It's you again!" The boy dressed more casually said.

"My name isn't 'you'. Just call me Hanabi." Hanabi grunted.

"Suit yourself." The stable boy said as he fed a horse a carrot.

When the stable boy turned around to face Hanabi, he found that she was staring.

"What? Do I have something between my teeth or something?"

"It is only polite to say your name after one introduces themselves." Hanabi said with a sigh.

"Oh, you could have so sooner. The name is Itsuki. My brother over there is Aoi. Around here everyone calls us the "Meiwaku Twins". Though I think they mostly mean me." Itsuki grinned with pride.

"Erm, I didn't really need to know that…"Hanabi sighed. Maybe she should have just stayed with Hinata and Emiko. Or maybe not. Either way, she knew that she would get pretty annoyed.

Aoi sighed and kicked Itsuki from behind. Itsuki fell over and landed on a pile of hay.

"You're lucky you fell on hay. Quit fooling around. We have customers you know! Normally, I wouldn't mind if you lolly-gagged but today is special. Boss said that if you mess up, it's also coming out of my salary!" Aoi glared. "And if I lose money 'cause of your stupidity, I won't forgive you." Aoi cracked his knuckles.

"Aww, but Hanabi-chan here is bored and she's kinda cute." Itsuki pouted and whispered the last part.

Hanabi squinted at that last comment. This guy must be insane. No wonder Aoi got so mad.

"This is what I mean! Listen, fool around one more time, and I won't let it slide. You know, if we weren't related, you would have been fired long ago." Aoi stormed off to a customer and went back to work.

"I feel really bad for Aoi." Hanabi commented as Itsuki got back on his feet.

"So do a lot of people." Itsuki replied as though it was obvious.

"Hey Itsuki, I want to see my horse again. I think I might to go on another stroll with it. Except this time, I'm taking the reins." Hanabi said enthusiastically.

"Do you even know how to ride a horse?" Itsuki questioned.
"Wanna bet?" Hanabi said as she was led to the stalls.
"Probably not if you're that confident. Hey that girl before was your sister right?" Itsuki changed the subject when they found her horse.

"Yup, her name is Hinata. She's been really nice to me after we've been on this trip." Hanabi said with a gentle smile.

"Hey…are you okay? You smiling like that is creeping me out. Before, you had that stern, practically blank expression."

"You sure are rude." Hanabi said as she patted the horse.

"That's a talent of mine." Itsuki grinned mischievously.

"Hey Itsuki, you can have a break now, though you were basically having a break the whole time." Aoi called as he came over. "The others are taking over the shifts."

"Cool. Now Hanabi and I can go horse-back riding together." Itsuki said cheerfully.

"Aoi. Not to be rude or anything but is there something wrong with this guy?" Hanabi asked.

"I was just being kind since you were bored! Don't take my kindness for granted." Itsuki sulked.

"Clearly there is. Believe it or not, the doctor says he's normal which means that he's naturally like this." Aoi sighed, "Boss would have fired him but I told him I would work to make up for him. And honestly, I advise that you look for someone else as your boyfriend 'cause this guy is a lunatic."

"Why are you both treating me like a weirdo? I'm very offended by that!" Itsuki said sarcastically.

"I wasn't looking for a boyfriend. Even if I was, it would never be this guy. Would you like to go riding for a bit Aoi?" Hanabi changed the subject.

"Hey! What about me?" Itsuki bugged.

"You just remind me of someone I know that makes me get headaches." Hanabi shook her head.

"I'll go. Someone has to keep an eye on this freak." Aoi answered.

"It's not fun when both of you are ganging up on me like that." Itsuki pouted.

Hanabi put a saddle on her horse's back and put on a rein. Then she led the horse outside of the stalls into the streets. Itsuki and Aoi both followed. Itsuki had a snowy white horse with a grey mane. For a horse, it seemed to be raring to go for a walk. Aoi on the other hand, had a chestnut horse. A white marking ran from the top of its head to the snout.

"Alright, let's get going. I can tell Yuki-chan wants to run like the wind, but we can't do that till we reach that place." Itsuki barked.

"Don't get the wrong idea. Kohaku can outrun you anytime." Aoi patted Kohaku's mane.

"What's your horse's name?" Itsuki asked curiously, "thinking about it, I always call the horse's name at work and so far I don't know her name."

"Huh, I don't think she has a name. I think I'll call her Akemi for her mane, but it just might be temporary. I have to make sure nee-chan likes it too."

"Again with that smile." Itsuki shivered.

Hanabi blushed and shook her head.
"Let's just get going." Hanabi muttered.

The three rode their horses until they reached a wide open field where a bunch of other horse riders were. There were no buildings except a couple of horse stalls. It could pretty much be considered that peaceful kind of place where you can ride your horse freely without fear of hurting someone or destroying something.

Hanabi stared in amazement at such a wide spread area. Itsuki and Aoi rode their horses into the fields. Akemi neighed in excitement.

"Hey, why don't we have a race? Let's see who can ride from here to that tree over there." Itsuki pointed. The tree was pretty far but not unmanageable. From where she was now, the tree just looked like a little shrub.

"Alright Akemi. I feel like winning this race and I am pretty sure you do too." Hanabi whispered into Akemi's ear. Akemi neighed in response.

"Ok, on the count of three." Itsuki counted off.

"One…Two…Three!"

The three sprinted off towards the tree. It seemed that the twins weren't just showing off before. Both horses were swift. Akemi was quite fast too, though just not as fast. However, what caught Hanabi's attention was that Akemi's mane seemed to be glowing that especially in the sunlight.

In the end, it was a tie between the twins. Akemi snorted and seemed to be upset about losing.

"Guess we couldn't win huh?" Hanabi said as she patted her horse.

"You did pretty well." Itsuki rode his horse over.

"Well, compared to you two, I can't say I was that great. You both were so fast!" Hanabi replied. She was impressed and wasn't ashamed by the fact that she had lost.

"Why don't we go around the festival together tomorrow?" Itsuki asked.

"Sure!" Hanabi accepted enthusiastically. Being able to spend time at a festival with her new friends would be awesome. Though, she would have also wanted Hinata there, Hinata needed to spend more time with Emiko. After all, they haven't seen each other in such a long time.

"We better head back now. Boss would be pretty mad for staying this long." Aoi said.

Hanabi had lost track of time. The sun was now setting and the moon was visible. The three headed back to town.

"Stop right there!" a voice yelled from behind.

Hanabi turned to see the man who had broken into her inn room the other day. Hanabi glared at the man who had nearly caused her death.

"You! Just what do you want from me?" Hinata growled.

"I'm only following boss's orders. That Byakugan of yours makes you a target amongst a lot of black market bandits. Come over to me now and I won't hurt you or your friends. By now, you should know what I'm capable of." The man answered.

"Who is he?" Itsuki asked nervously.

"A man that tried to kill me. You two better head back first. I can't drag you into my problems." Hanabi said as she hopped off Akemi.

"We can't just leave you here with some stranger that is definitely going to hurt you." Aoi protested.

"Just go. This is none of your business." Hanabi said flatly.

"No, we can't leave you here. I wouldn't be able to stand it if it happened twice." Itsuki said quietly as his eyes started to brim a bit.

"You should have listened to the girl." The man said as he lunged for Itsuki and Yuki. Yuki raised its front legs into the air and neighed as though it was a battle cry. It then kicked the man and sent him falling back.

"Aoi, take Itsuki and get out of here. NOW!" Hanabi cried.

"No. Itsuki's right. We can't let you face him alone." Aoi replied.

"Then stay back. In case you haven't noticed, I am a shinobi of Konohagakure. Well, I just became a genin recently but, I think I can manage. As a ninja, I want to protect those who are dear to me. And even though we just met, you two count as one those people I wish to protect." Hanabi vowed.

Aoi and Itsuki exchanged worried expressions and backed up a bit.

"We want to help you however we can. Just tell us what we can do." Itsuki answered.

"Go back to town and get my sister." Hanabi said sternly, "Please let her borrow one of your horses and don't come back with her."

"We'll bring your sister but we're definitely coming back." Aoi said as the twins rode off leaving smoke behind.

"That was a noble thing to do." The man said.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get back to the battle. Byakugan!" Hanabi brushed off the compliment.

"You sure are confident. Beating me isn't the easiest task in the world." The man warned.

"As I said, let's get back to the battle." Hanabi stood in the gentle fist stance.

The man charged Hanabi. Hanabi started off with the gentle fist which really hit the man hard. He fell back but landed on his feet. The man pulled out a sword and swiped the sword at Hanabi. Hanabi gained a few cuts on her arm but nothing too major.

Hanabi decided she would stick with a different method for this battle. Using an attack that the enemy had already seen and recognized wasn't very helpful.

Hanabi sped up and kicked the man from behind. The man defended himself with both his arms. Hanabi jumped back and jabbed the man mercilessly. The man fell on his back and didn't get up. Hanabi walked over with a cold glare.

"I have no intention of killing you off. I made sure that you could still walk yourself out of here if you gave up targeting the Byakugan. Otherwise, say your last words." Hanabi reasoned.

In response, the man cackled. He laughed despite the fact that he could barely feel his arms and legs.

"What's so funny that you would laugh during such an occasion?" Hanabi scowled.

"To tell the truth, I would never have targeted you if it weren't for boss. But then again, if I didn't capture you, boss said he would kill me. Alright, kill me off." The man said fearlessly.

Hanabi back off a bit by that last comment. Didn't that man have the slightest fear of death?

"I never had a reason to live. Targeting you occupied me for a few days but that's it. You killed my only friend that day though I just couldn't avenge him. I've never had the intent to kill." The man seemed to drone on about his sad life.

Hanabi half listened half thought to herself. She hadn't meant to kill Jiro. All she wanted was to leave him unconscious for a while. Would she have felt so sad as to not want to live anymore if Hinata died like that? If she wasn't able to protect her sister, would she have felt as much sorrow as this man had felt?

Then a new thought came to her. Would Hinata have cried for her if she was killed? Hanabi knew that Hinata never really liked her that much but was kind to her during the trip. Would they end up the way they were before? Hopefully not.

Hanabi shook off the depressing thoughts. The man had just finished his story.

"Now please do me the favor of ending my life quickly." The man said.

"Huh? When did I ever say I would kill you?"

"You weren't listening to my story? Whatever, just saying all that made me lose some of that weight on my shoulders. Now kill me. Just do it." The man pleaded.

"If that is what you want…" Hanabi answered hesitantly.

"Thank you for being able to grant my final wish." The man had a small smile upon his face, "I can now join Jiro."

"At least tell me your name."

"Goro."

"May you have a safe journey Goro."

Hanabi ended it quickly and carried the corpse over to the tree. She promised to bury him the next day when she actually had tools to do so. Akemi snorted and bowed its head.

By now, it was dark. The twins weren't back yet. Though it was kind of expected since she forgot to tell them where Emiko's house was.

Hinata was probably wondering why she took so long. Hanabi climbed onto Akemi's back and started heading home. Just when she thought she could rest easy for a bit, another stranger comes into view.

"You killed two of my men already. I didn't expect Goro to be taken down that soon. I can't spare more of my men. Don't worry little girl, I promise to let you live, for now." The man snickered evilly.

He hurled a kunai at Hanabi at high speeds. Hanabi had already exhausted a lot of her chakra.

I don't think I can dodge that. Is this it then?

A shuriken deflected the kunai. Hanabi turned to see Hinata riding Yuki while both twins rode Kohaku. Hinata got off Yuki and rushed into the battle.

"Nee-chan!" Hanabi cried.

"Sorry I'm late." Hinata said as she prepared to battle.

"Good! This will be killing two birds with one stone!" The man grinned wickedly.

"Well, I apologize for interfering but I'm your opponent now." Hinata stated with a fierce expression. "I made a promise to protect my little sister. So, if you're messing with Hanabi, you'll have to deal with me!"