Notes: For plot purposes, I spaced out the festivals into months to stretch out the time for the contest. Most Japanese festivals are clustered in the summer time when the weather is warm.

Chapter 6: Dynamic Range

Osaka, The Tenjin Festival

"Hinata! The fuck?! Wake your ass up!"

That was definitely Neji's voice, Hinata thought groggily.

"Nee-chan!" There was a sudden banging on her bedroom door. "If you don't get up now, you'll miss the train!"

Train.

Hinata fought off her fog of sleep and shot up straight in her bed. She looked at the clock and her heart started pounding. Shit! How the hell did she manage to sleep through her alarm clock?! She barely had enough time to get to Shinagawa Station to change trains for the shinkansen.

"Argh! I'm up guys! Thank you!"

She ran to the bathroom and quickly washed up. She could hear Neji and Hanabi grumbling about her, but she knew they were helping her pack her things while she got ready and changed into her usual work attire.

Hinata ran to the hall and saw her gear waiting for her. She grabbed her sneakers from the shoe closet and gave a prayer of thanks that she had more organized siblings to help her with her life.

"There's breakfast in your bag," Hanabi said as she hugged her sister in the entranceway.

"I packed the tripod, the light one, in your backpack just in case you need it," Neji said from behind Hanabi while he looped his tie around his neck, putting the finishing touches on his suit before he got ready to go to work.

"Good luck, Nee-chan! Let us know when you get to the hotel."

"See you in a few days, Hinata."

"Will do, guys! I'm off!"

Then grabbing her gear, Hinata dashed out the door and almost ran over her neighbor on her bicycle—with her daughter a passenger in the back—but they luckily avoided collision in time.

"Hinata!"

"So sorry, Shizune! Bye, Haku-chan!"

Thirty minutes later, Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when her shinkansen pulled into the platform and she left for Osaka. She found her seat and immediately took out the breakfast bar and onigiri that Hanabi had made for her. Her sister had also added her favorite energy drink.

Done with breakfast, she belatedly checked her bag to make sure she had all her gear and hadn't forgotten anything. She'd packed the essentials last night in her bag, but she knew there was a possibility she might have forgotten an extra wire or memory card.

But everything was good, and Hinata finally settled into her seat and thought about how to approach this festival. Tenjin was a big festival, with lots of different angles to photograph. Her role was to try to get some of the shots that most people wouldn't think about.

What she wanted to do was take the photos from the view of the people in charge of the fireworks. And boats. That was one of the main draws of the festival, why people wanted to attend the event and what made it different from the rest of the usual festivals in Japan.

She took out her phone and looked for the number. Once she got to the hotel, she would call the organizers and see if she could hitch a ride on one of the boats.

The shinkansen cart came and Hinata ordered a coffee while she took out her notebook and made notes.

But the patter of the rain on the window startled her and she looked out to see the blurry images of buildings passing her.

Ugh. She forgot about the rainy season that June brought.

Still, she would stick to her strategy. She needed to get deep where the action was happening and snap as many photos as she could, but she would need to adjust for the blurriness and the foggy effects that the dampness from the rains might cause. But she shrugged, unbothered. No problem at all. She'd faced worse than this when she'd been out in the wild.

Naruto stepped off the train and onto the platform, barely avoiding getting stampeded by the passengers as he stayed out of everyone's way.

He knew he was out of his element here. This was not how he normally worked. Naruto was the first one to admit that photography outdoors was not his ideal environment. He was used to working indoors, in a studio with lighting and still subjects who waited for instructions on how to pose. Festivals meant movement, crowds of people spilling about. He would have to adjust the way he took photos.

Good thing he was systematic and disciplined, though, which would give him an advantage. Since the day Shikamaru Nara had explained the competition, Naruto knew that he had to approach this methodically, planning each stage with the festivals spaced over a few months. The first step was the Tenjin Festivals in late spring. After that, he would need to be in Kyoto in the middle of the hot muggy summer of Kansai for the Gion Festival. What he was looking forward to was the event in Aomori for the Nebuta Festival, which he'd always wanted to see but had never gotten the chance to do so. Same thing with the Awa-Odori Festival in Tokushima. Since this competition was part of work, he was going to use the opportunity to do some sightseeing. After the summer festivals, the months should cool down, which made the Nagasaki Lantern Festival something to look forward to. Again, it was one of those festivals he'd heard of but never had the chance to attend.

But he was surprised to note that he was actually excited by this project. He'd brought a book to read on the train, in case he was bored. However, he didn't even crack it open. Instead, he'd mulled over possible tactics to take photos.

Especially since he'd seen the kinds of photos that his fellow competitors had taken in the past—particularly Hinata Hyuuga's.

She was used to working in these types of conditions capturing her subjects out in the wild.

His favorite photo of hers was one of an elephant running headfirst at full speed, its ears spread wide, its mouth gaping open to reveal those gleaming tusks. How she'd capture such an intense photograph, he was going to have to ask her if he got the chance.

He'd stared at it for hours, admiring the way she'd captured the intensity of the moment. He'd felt his heart pounding, as if he'd been there, in front of the elephant's way and was about to be trampled.

There was also the picture of the great white shark with its jaws wide open ready to rip apart whatever was in front of it; he'd also admired the one of the tiger splashing through the surface of the water, its eyes focused straight ahead at the lens looking like it was about to pounce on its prey.

All her photos, though, were the same. They all captured that pure, untempered power that animals had. In another photo, he saw the flex of clearly-defined muscles, the blood dripping from the crocodile's teeth. Could almost hear the snap of those powerful jaws crushing prey into bits. Her aesthetics were raw, primal—strength captured perfectly in one shot. Beasts just simply being beasts.

Then there were the more whimsical ones. He'd seen the photo she'd mentioned in that interview she did with Hiruzen Sarutobi, of the monkey frolicking in the snow. It always made him smile. Then there was the one of the disgruntled sea turtle giving the finger, or the water buffalo yawning and looking bored out of its mind.

Photographs not only showed the subjects on film, they also revealed a lot about the person taking them. He could tell Hinata Hyuuga loved those animals. She'd taken so much care to show them living their lives in their natural environment.

He was mesmerized by them—and by her.

He looked down at his phone, at the calendar app that blocked out the days of the competition. He knew them by heart, which months they were going to be held—because he'd gone looking and found her schedule online.

Naruto was pretty proud of himself for being able to investigate, but he still felt uncomfortably like a stalker. Since he only knew her name, he'd done an initial search online and had been pleasantly pleased to find that she had a website to her studio. People who worked freelance usually did. And like any good freelancer, she had an online calendar of her schedule. The days when she was unavailable for a booking just happened to coincide with the days when the festivals were taking place. And since he was also participating in the contest, it was only natural that he would be at the festivals on those same dates, too.

The crowd finally cleared, and Naruto finally walked out of the station and immediately got swallowed up by the chaos that was Osaka.

Even in Osaka, the land of the flashiest and brashest, Hinata Hyuuga was hard to miss. He saw her immediately when he'd gotten to the festival grounds. Again, she wore her tight turtleneck, her dark hair in a braid, and tight black jeans. But her sneakers were so orange and so gaudy, they stood out in the crowd. He could hardly miss her despite the distracting array of cheetah, leopard, zebra prints that the obahans, the affectionate term for the older generation of Japanese women in Osaka, wore.

But she was also moving, a whirlwind that matched the noise and the gaiety of the crowd. While she ran, she was also leaning forward to get up close into the people's faces, both the festival-goers and the participants, those hulking men carrying the mikoshi, those portable shrines, and the performers with the taiko drums, the flutes, the shamisen, or the gongs.

He looked down at his tripod, again feeling how out of depth he was. She didn't even have hers. She only had her camera. He'd planned to just set up his gear to the side of the main street and just capture the parade as it went by, but apparently, that was the wrong thing to do because he realized he would miss a lot of the action if he didn't get inside that mass of people.

It was so unfair that tall men had so many advantages in the world. With his height, he could capture a lot of angle shots looking downward onto the action, something that she obviously wouldn't be able to do because of how petite she was.

She cursed, damning the gene pool that gave her her tiny size.

She saw him so clearly, his blond hair above the rest of the other spectators as he watched the procession of mikoshi passing by. His tripod was in front of him, set up among the crowd as the festival floats passed them.

So he was here after all, she thought. Contrary to her expectations, he was actually going to join in the competition.

Shit.

That meant she really had to step up her game.

A man, dressed in colorful Heian clothing and sporting a bright red head covering passed her by, distracting her. She immediately brought her camera up to her eye. The rest of his group were also passing by and she focused on the sea of red hats to capture the masses of people around them. While she moved, she snapped photos. Usually, it was the patterns she looked for in her shots. Sometimes, though, it was the lighting, the way she could frame the story in one shot. But since this was a festival, it was just making sure that none of her photos ended up blurry.

But she kept up with their speed, weaved through the crowd, and followed everyone.

By the end of the afternoon, Hinata felt like dropping from exhaustion.

Since her accident, she was still finding it hard to keep up with things that constantly moved. Before her accident, she'd been active, training daily so that she could develop the stamina of a sprinter, the sudden start and stops of having to chase her subjects. Even though she'd recovered from her injuries, the punctures to her neck and shoulders caused by the lion's jaws had ruptured the muscles enough to limit her movements. She suspected that even though she felt fine most of the time, her injuries hadn't healed properly.

It had been a slow return to normalcy, those agonizing months she'd spent in the hospital undergoing surgery. But it was nothing compared to the feeling of being confined to working in the studio after her discharge. She'd felt caged and helpless just staying inside. While she loved the energy that the kids had brought into the studio, she'd missed being out in nature. Luckily, the occasional requests from Shino had taken her back outside, where she'd spent a lot of time laying on the grass on her stomach, patiently waiting, her camera pointed at the little insects he'd been analyzing at the time.

"Whoo, lady! Head down!" somebody called out behind her, and Hinata ducked, her laughter mixing with those of everyone else's ringing out all around. She grinned behind her camera, cheering them on in tandem with their chants and whistles.

Thank god for this competition, she was just glad she had an excuse to try again, to test whether she could return to her former self.

Hinata suddenly looked up and caught sight of something, what seemed like a flicker of a tail, and a rush of excitement coursed through her as the sound of hoofbeats on pavement confirmed her desire.

A horse!

She chased after it.

Dinner that night had her wandering away from the usual food stalls at the festival, which was going to be packed with couples and families. She didn't really want to line up with everyone else because she was hungry. If she stayed at the festival, it meant waiting forever on lines that slowly progressed. She knew she would be able to get her food faster if she left the bustle of the crowd and hunted somewhere far away from the event. She walked a street away and stopped at the entrance to a little market, her attention caught by the takoyaki and the steamed buns.

The rain didn't dampen her spirits. It was only a slight drizzle, but that didn't make her any less hungry.

She eyed the display case and tried to remember how much cash she had in her wallet. She had enough for the night. Maybe she should try—

"Watch out!" a voice suddenly called out, and Hinata suddenly felt herself pulled backward and then slammed into an unyielding warmth, an arm pressed around her midriff, reassuring and gentle.

A second later, a teenager on a bicycle whizzed by, attention entirely focused on the smartphone in his hand while he balanced an umbrella on the crook of his neck.

"Asshole!" Hinata yelled in disbelief at the kid who didn't even stop to apologize for almost ramming into her. Still, she reluctantly admired the skill it took to do all three things at once as she watched the high-schooler pedal away in the rain, eyes still glued to his device.

She looked up behind her, at her rescuer and was startled to see a familiar face.

She stared at him in surprise. Then she belatedly said, "Thanks."

Naruto Uzumaki, holding an umbrella over them, nodded and released her, also stepping backward. "I'm surprised you didn't see him."

She looked sheepish. "It happens all the time. I wasn't paying attention."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he shut it and shrugged instead. He seemed at a loss for words, which made her tilt her head in puzzlement. He didn't seem inclined to leave and seemed content to just stand there and watch her…?

She squinted up at him and suddenly huffed with disapproval, remembering that she was speaking to an adversary. "You came to Osaka after all. You're joining the competition to become the next imperial photographer."

His brows raised at her suddenly antagonistic tone. "Yes," he responded quietly. "It was open to everyone interested?"

"Hmph! I didn't think you'd be."

A slight frown marred his beautiful features. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Hinata sniffed. He was the son of the governor, for god's sake. Surely a man like him who grew up with so much privilege wouldn't need to slog away at events like these? He was successful enough to avoid doing something as mundane as participating in a contest.

She wished she could tell him to drop out because he was just so—unwelcome. He should just really leave these kinds of things to people who need them.

"You don't do this kind of stuff. You do fashion." Hinata couldn't help the tone of revulsion that crept into her voice.

His frown only deepened and his tone dropped, cooled enough to make her realize she was being unnecessarily rude to somebody she didn't even know.

"That still makes me a photographer."

Hinata flinched, accepting his gentle jab at her rudeness. "Yeah, sorry. I really didn't mean to insult you." She sighed mournfully. "But damn it! You're going to make this competition so much harder for me, though."

His eyes widened before he once more made his expression civil and then politely said, "I never meant to cause you or anyone else any kind of discomfort."

She folded her arms and glared at him. "Really, man?! You can't be this nice! You're actually going to make me say it out loud?"

But he seemed genuinely puzzled so she elaborated further, her tone reluctantly admiring. "It means you're good—maybe one of the best photographers in the world. I've seen your photos. And honestly, I don't really want to run into you at the festivals because that clearly makes you my rival for the position."

His mouth opened in surprise and he actually gaped at her for a long while. He blinked a few times then cleared his throat. "Wow, that's actually…Oh. Um, thanks?"

She snorted. "Look, I'm just being honest. You deserve the compliment. Your photos are amazing. Still, I'm not happy to see you participating in the contest. I really thought I've got a shot of winning this, but if you're here, then I'm going to have to really bust my butt and work even harder to beat you."

He smiled at her tentatively. "I'd say the same about you, that your photos are beautiful. I love your work." He looked down briefly and averted his gaze, but he brought his eyes back to hers and added, "But the difference is, I'm actually looking forward to seeing you at these festivals."

Hinata eyed him with distrust. "I stand by what I said earlier: I'm not. Don't be friendly with me because I don't want it. As far as I'm concerned, you're a major obstacle for me, preventing me from winning this competition. And I'm determined to do everything in my power to get this imperial position, so you stay out of my way."

There! She'd thrown down the gauntlet.

Still, Naruto's friendly demeanor didn't vanish. He was still quietly looking at her and she didn't sense anything but grace and calmness against her hostility.

Something about that grated on her nerves.

Obviously, he was competition to be squashed. Despite the compliment he'd paid her about her work, she didn't believe him. Really, he should be thinking of her the same way. He should be treating her with the same aggression she had for him because they were aiming for the same thing—but he wasn't. In fact, he was being polite about the whole thing.

Hinata frowned at him. It was so clear to her, but what's the deal with him?

Maybe Naruto Uzumaki didn't think she was worthy to be thought of as his competition? That she wasn't good enough to be on his level?

And wait a second.

What the hell did he mean about wanting to see her at these events?!

Her eyes narrowed.

He tilted his head in puzzlement when he saw her eyes suddenly flashing with fire.

Wasn't he going out with that model, that Ino girl? What the hell was he doing standing around talking to someone like her? He had no business saying things like that to another woman when he was supposedly taken.

She eyed him up and down, her eyebrow flicking upward with disapproval.

Naruto Uzumaki was sinking lower and lower in her opinion. Maybe he wasn't as nice as she'd first thought. Maybe it hadn't been a concern for her that day during the info session while she'd been in pain, when he'd stopped by to ask if she was okay.

She gave him one last dirty look before she turned away, hoping he got the point that she was not the type of girl who'd even be interested in making a move on men who were already taken.

Still, Hinata didn't say anything else, but she swallowed her disappointment as she walked away from him.

She hadn't thought that Naruto Uzumaki was one of those guys.

She even refused his umbrella when he tried to follow her. When she'd turned around and glared at him, he stopped in his tracks and backed off, letting her walk away, suddenly struggling to make sense of her quicksilver moods.

The rain slowly trickled down, the steady patter of it matching the gloominess inside him.

Seriously, though. What the hell just happened?!

He was still reeling as he watched her disappear around the corner, unable to process the events of the last five minutes. In the space of such a short time, she'd insulted him, praised him, and then made him feel like shit.

Naruto smiled ruefully and shook his head.

And that was after he'd helped her out by preventing her from getting run over by the kid on the bike.

Despite being sincere in his admiration for her and her work, he got the feeling that she didn't like him, that he'd insulted her somehow. Was it something he'd said? He didn't think so. All he'd said—the few words he'd been able to sputter—was that he liked her work and wanted to see more of her.

But it seemed like she was accusing him of something he wasn't even aware of doing.

Damn.

Naruto was suddenly hit with indecision. What the hell was he doing?

He didn't really know.

Since the first time he'd seen her at that info session, he found himself reluctantly fascinated by her. He'd gone back that day to his studio and tried to do some work, but he'd found himself thinking about her instead, his concentration shot to pieces. He'd sat in front of his computer attempting to edit his photos, but he'd wasted an hour looking her up online.

He'd told himself he only wanted to know what her experience was like photographing animals in the wild because his was starkly different from the work she did.

But no matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Even from that one brief encounter at the information session, he'd felt her aura, an energy that was hard to miss and ignore, no matter how much he tried to dismiss her from his mind. It was hard to describe, but if he was forced to put his thoughts into words, he would say that she seemed alive, that she was bursting with life.

And.

There was one more thing he was starting to realize now that he'd seen her up close for the second time.

She was also damned attractive—with the type of looks that he adored. Those eyes were fascinating, a shade of lavender with hints of dark violet. Her long dark hair was tightly braided, but he could imagine those locks coming out of their binding and wrapping around her, the strands draped over her shoulders, spilled over his pillows, and maybe, just maybe, settled over his chest.

She would have nothing else on, of course, remembering the press of her body against his when he'd held her to him to avoid her getting run over by the kid on the bike.

And he shook his head to clear his mind. He had to stop there. Because at this point, he didn't even know whether she was already involved with someone else.

Was she even available?

Wait.

Maybe he should start with a date first…He suddenly flushed. Naruto wanted to bang his head against something hard, but none of that was available right now so his grip tightened on his umbrella instead. He'd been working up the nerve to ask her out—hence the hints about meeting up again at these festivals—but not only had she shot down his attempt to invite her out, she'd coldly told him that she didn't want to have anything to do with him. Granted, it was a pretty weak attempt on his part, but ouch. He suddenly felt like rubbing his chest, right at the spot where she'd hit him with her rejection.

But Hinata, though, had acknowledged his skill as a photographer and that made him smile. At least she was honest. And he got the feeling that she was one of those people who wasn't afraid of voicing her real feelings.

Naruto appreciated that. It was one of the things he'd liked about being in the US—and especially being around New Yorkers who weren't afraid to say whatever they thought of straight to his face. It was still something he was getting used to again after coming back to Japan, where he was suddenly unsure of what people were really thinking about.

The rain continued to pour, and Naruto finally turned around and headed back to his hotel. He was done for the day. The fireworks would begin in earnest tomorrow, and he needed to be sharp to capture the event.

Still, his thoughts lingered on Hinata.

What was the reason he'd approached her? Was it really just because she'd been unable to avoid the kid on the bike? That wasn't exactly true. The collision wouldn't have happened. The kid on the bike had seen her and had already been trying to swerve away from her path.

Yeah, he wasn't sure.

But he was glad he'd talked to her and made her aware of his existence, that he was also competing for the role, which she obviously wasn't happy about. Now that they knew they were competing against each other, though, it wouldn't seem too strange if they bumped into each other at this and future festivals.