Chapter 4: The Hero and the Damsel
"You're Hono!"- the old man realized. Awh crap. Things never go well when they say that. But much to his surprise, the man hugged him.- "Thank the gods that you are well!"
"Uh..."- Hono was extremely confused. Since when were people happy for him being healthy? The man let go and immediately searched the walls, grabbing cutting shuriken.
"You might not remember, but two years ago you saved my daughter from being raped by some crook."- he explained, coming back to the twelve year old with a smile and handing him the stars.- "This is only the beginning of my thank you. Come on, follow me to the workshop."
"I'm sorry, but I really can't remember. Who is your daughter?"- Hono asked, sticking the shuriken in his weapon pocket.
"She has dark brown hair and eyes. Her hair is styled into two buns, Chinese-style."- as the old man walked, Hono was taken over by a memory.
Flashback
He was walking back home after studying in the Konoha library. When a ten year old boy asked for all the library's books on fuinjutsu or seals, the librarian almost fell to the ground laughing. But when two hours later the boy returned the books saying "done". He couldn't close his "o" shaped mouth.
Seals were not hard at all for someone with such a sharp mind like the kyuubi host, and for someone with his chakra reserves, they were perfect. If used with brains, they could be weapons on their own.
Suddenly he heard someone yell. It wouldn't be such a strange event to him if it wasn't for the fact that the scream wasn't caused by him. He ran around the building to find himself in an alley way. The source of the screaming was the girl with Chinese-style buns that had given him food a long time ago. She was fighting off a fat, bald man.
"I'm going to have you, my Chinese damsel!"- the man shouted, pinning her to the ground. The little boy ran and pushed the man away.
"Get off of her!"- the kid shouted. The man stood up and kicked him down.
"Oh well, I guess I'll kill your little friend first."- he said, taking out a kunai. The little child tried to get up but tripped an fell back.- "DIE!"
"NO!"- the girl yelled as the man tried to stab the little boy with his weapon. He never finished the movement though. As soon as the kunai was going to connect, black flames appeared in front of the little boy, as if shielding him. The flames spread through the kunai and to the man.
"GAAAAAH. AAAHJSG. IAAAAAAAAAA!"- the man yelled in pain as the flames consumed him. The little girl and boy stepped away from him and saw him burn to death before the flames disappeared. She looked at the boy and pointed at her right eye. He looked at a little window by his side and saw that his right eye was now a yin yang sign. A blood tear was coming out of it. He closed his eyes and opened them, to see it disappeared. He looked at the girl again who was now two steps from him.
"W-What's your name?"- she asked. The boy hesitated.
"I don't have one."- the boy answered, bowing his head sadly. The girl thought for a bit.
"How about Hono? It means blaze."- she suggested with a smile. The boy rose his head, smiling as well.
"Hono... I like it."- he said. Suddenly, a man in a black apron, red shirt and black pants appeared.
"Tenten! Are you ok?"- the man asked. Afraid of being beaten up for the fifth time that week, Hono stood up and ran away, not stopping for anything.
End Flashback
"Oh, I know Tenten. I remember now. How is she?"- he asked, walking through the door to see a forge, a lot of forging tools and broken weapons everywhere.
"She's very well thank you. She just graduated from the Academy. She decided to become a ninja the day you saved her. She told me that she wasn't going to be the weak damsel anymore and that she wanted to prove kunoichis are as strong as male ninja."- he said, smiling.
"The cerimony was held two hours ago though. She should be back by now."- Hono commented.
"She trains after classes to become stronger every day. I'd guess today is no different."- he said proudly.- "My name is Higashi by theway. You can call me uncle if you want though."
"Ok, thanks."- he said.
"You look like you just stumbled upon this shop. Why were you looking for a workshop around here?"- Higashi asked with a wondering look.
"I got lost and found this store. I know a lot about blacksmithing in theory but know nothing in a practical way. I wanted to show you these designs I made."- he took out three paper sheets with one weapon drawn in each from different perspectives.
"T-These are amazing."- Higashi said after gasping. The designs were masterful, nothing he had ever seen in his 30 year career.
"Thanks. Do you think they are doable?"- Hono asked.
"Yes. Definitely."
"Then I have a proposition for you. You help me make them with your skills and you get to keep the designs and sell those weapons."- Hono said, extending his hand.
"Deal! Let's get started."- the blacksmith said shaking Hono's hand and turning to the forge.
They worked for two hours straight before they heard the door of the shop open and close. The girl with the Chinese-Style buns looked at the counter to see it empty. Her dad was at the forge. He hasn't been there in a long time. She walked up to the door that lead to the workshop. She was sweating after such an intensive training and all she wanted to do was take a bath. But curiosity won the fight. She opened the door to see her father bashing a hammer on some red hot iron and a spiky white haired boy dress in a black long coat and black pants extracting a small spike from a template that her dad hadn't used in ages. At the sound of the door opening, her dad turned around and smiled.
"Tenten-chan! How was your graduation?"- Higashi asked, his face dirty from sweating and smoke.
"Really good. I was put in a team with Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji."- she said, laying down her sports bag.
"How about your training?"- he asked again.
"Really good. I think I've gotten my Ultimate Jutsu down."- she answered before lowering her voice to a whisper.- "Who's the handsome guy?"
"He's someone that you already know Tenten."- the blacksmith answered and Hono finally turned around. Almost immediately, Hono was caught on a death grip hug in the pink blouse and green pants wearing girl.
"I was so worried about you! Why did you never come back here?"- she asked, looking at him with concerned eyes.
"I was younger and didn't have any sense of direction. Not that I do now. I was afraid your dad would beat me up. Just like any other villager did."- he said, sadly.
"Ever since that day, my father has been looking for you to thank you, idiot!"- she said, giving him a slap on the back of the head.
"Weren't you thanking me like two seconds ago?"- he asked, holding the place that she slapped with one hand.
"I have to go take a shower now. Will you still be here after I come back?"- she asked. She didn't want him out of her sight anymore. Specially now that he was so attractive.
"No, I was just about to go actually."- he took out 5 fifty ryu bills and handed them to Higashi.- "Thanks for teaching and helping me, here's your payment."
"I won't accept that. You saved my daughter, I'll forever be in debt with you."- he said, refusing the money.
"If you don't accept them you'll forever be in debt with others. At least take two. One for the materials and one for having such a pretty daughter."- Hono said before making him take the two bills and turning around to walk away.
"I don't care what the other villagers say, he has a heart of gold."- Higashi said, looking down at the two bills with tears on his eyes as they heard the door close and Tenten placed her hand on his shoulder.