CHAPTER TEN
Hot Water Festivities
XXX
Gaara of the Desert
Gaara was the first to wake up the next morning. He was greeted by the crisp and chilly Hot Water Village morning air to his back and Naruto's sleeping frame, sprawled across the bed in front of him. Aside from Han, the team had booked the rooms in pairs, meaning while Fuu was rooming with Hinata, Gaara was stuck with Naruto. The One-Tails jinchuuriki groaned as he rolled around on his bed to face the balcony. They'd left the sliding door open last night, so spent a minute or two staring out at the mountains in the distance releasing plumes of steam into the fine Yugakure air. The skies were still cloudy, with thin slits of the sun's rays penetrating the thick blue-grey clouds to shed slivers of light on the village.
"What time is it?" he thought as he propped himself up and stared at the clock nailed to the wall above the TV. It was still six o'clock. The groggy thirteen-year-old ran his hand through his spiky red hair as he racked his brain trying to remember what they had planned for that day. "Oh yeah, that stupid festival is happening tonight," he thought, throwing his feet off the bed and making his way to the sliding door to close it. "Might as well get out and enjoy the day."
Gaara took a quick shower and prepared to head out into the village. Even after the shower, his mind was a little foggy. He needed to get a cup of coffee or something to clear his head.
Han had left some money for him on the end table along with a note, presumably for Naruto, that read 'Use this to rent a yukata, nothing more, nothing less'. Gaara stared at the money for a moment, contemplating whether to take it or not. Was he really going to participate in these festivities? Sure, he'd spent the last month trying to integrate himself with the group and society as a whole, but surely there had to be some limits, and dressing up in fancy loose-fitting clothes for a night was one of them. Gaara still wanted some semblance of identity, of originality, he wanted to look in the mirror and see himself still. But what was his identity?
As Gaara looked up at the mirror, he could see his gourd leaning against the wall. He looked back at the money. Then at the gourd. Then at Naruto, who was fast asleep, a snot bubble forming with every exhale, drawing a four with his legs, arms behind his head. Gaara let out a harsh sigh before chuckling to himself and grabbing a fistful of money. He left the room. He left Naruto. And he left the gourd behind to grab a coffee and rent a yukata.
XXX
It was just after sunrise so most of the Hot Water Village's residents were still asleep. The streets were quiet, with people few and far between. To be fair, Gaara understood why. It was the middle of winter, so the Hot Water Village was freezing cold, especially in the morning. In fact, if it wasn't for the tailed beast within him, Gaara would probably still be curled up in his blankets waiting for the sun to warm the day a bit more. Unfortunately, he just didn't feel comfortable getting a full eight hours of sleep yet. It had only been about two weeks since he was able to negotiate a deal with the One-Tails to get the creature to stop eating away at his psyche while he slept, but his body had gotten too used to only sneaking in twenty-to-thirty-minute snippets of rest every night. Getting over three hours of sleep as he had the previous night left his body aching and exhausted. Almost as if that was too much time to spend in bed.
The jinchuuriki stopped in front of a coffee shop called 'Early Bird Café'. Reading the times, he learned that it'd just recently opened its doors for the morning. There was already a line forming in front of the counter. Gaara was a little impressed that four or five people had managed to wake up and get to the shop before he did, but they looked to be Hot Water residents, so this was probably a part of their regular routine. Perhaps they were farmers who had needed a pick-me-up before tending to the cattle and crops that existed just beyond the Hot Water Village's mountainous walls, or maybe doctors and nurses returning from or just about to start their morning/night shifts respectively.
Hinata had given the jinchuuriki some homework. The next lesson Hinata had promised to teach him was the complexity of humanity. The first step of that complexity was understanding that every other person who existed lived a life as vivid and complex as his own. Maybe that statement was nerfed by the fact that Gaara was a failed experiment with multiple assassination attempts hanging over his head that led to him becoming a bloodthirsty psychopath, but the moral of the story remained. In order to understand the complexity of humanity, Hinata asked Gaara to take a second to consider how complex someone's life could be every time they passed him by or occupied the same space as him. She asked him to just make something up. It could be something as boring as that they collect stamps in their off-time or as lively as that they were the lost great-grandchild of the First Hokage and if shit hit the fan, their Kekkei Genkai would awaken, allowing them to manipulate wood and breathe entire forests into existence, creating life from nothing but chakra.
"Sir… sir?"
"Huh?" Gaara snapped back into reality. His body had automatically entered the café and he was now up next. He didn't even know what they were selling, but he had to think of something fast. Gaara looked back over his shoulder to see a line of six people waiting for him to speak. He looked down at the menu laid out on the counter. "Uh…"
A feminine voice leaned over from behind the jinchuuriki and said, "If you're not sure what to get. I'd recommend a Heated Hydro Cappuccino."
Gaara repeated her words without second-guessing her, "Yes, one Heated Hydro Cappuccino please… uh, large," he said before thanking the woman, who turned out to be a blue-eyed, blonde girl around his age. Gaara grabbed his ticket and took a seat in the corner to get a good reading of everyone who was in the café.
The chair across from him was pulled back by a delicate pair of hands. Gaara glared at the intruder as they invaded his personal space by sitting at his table without asking for permission. It was the blonde girl from earlier. He took a moment to look at her up and down as she pulled her receipt out of her pocket to make sure they got her order right.
She had a backpack on her, which she laid on one of the table's legs as she sat down. She was wearing a loose-fitting, light purple, knee-length dress with slits on either side of her legs to expose her bandaged thighs. Gaara's eyes trailed up her frame until he reached her light purple armlets that ran from her biceps to her bandaged wrists. He reached her face. She had pale skin with platinum blonde hair that started as bangs that framed her face and travelled downwards until they reached her shoulder blades. He stopped his analysis when he realised that they were now making eye contact. She was reading him too. Who was this girl? Gaara gave her one last quick look around. She had no headband.
"Can I sit here?" she asked. A few seconds too late.
"Do I have a choice?" Gaara moaned.
She shut her eyes and flashed a warming smile, "Of course, you always have a choice. I just noticed you at the counter and thought it'd be interesting to get to know you better."
Get to know him better? What was this? An interview? He wasn't sure whether to play along or send her away, "Really? And why is that? What are your intentions?" he asked starkly.
"My intentions? My intentions are to know you better," she insisted. "It's not every day that I meet visitors my age just walking around the village this early in the morning… especially not villagers from the other side of the world," she said locking eyes with his scratched-out Suna headband. Gaara slowly moved his hand to hide it.
What was her angle? "Is that so?" Gaara said, "Then at least tell me your name."
"Oh, my bad… my name's Emi," she replied before extending her hand across the table, "What's yours?"
The question took Gaara by surprise, especially considering how many people would side-eye him as he passed, whisper about him as he turned the corner. Either this girl was good at playing the fool or she really didn't know who he was. Gaara took her hand in his, "My name's Gaara…" he needed to verify, "… you didn't know that?"
She shrugged, "No… am I supposed to?"
Gaara removed his hand from the scratched-out Suna headband before replying, "Uh… not really, I'm the son of the Fourth Kazekage is all, so usually people know who I am just from looking at me."
"The Fourth Kazekage? That's so cool. I'm sorry, I never leave the village. My parents always tell me that the world outside these walls is too dangerous for a girl like me… so I don't bother to learn about what's going on outside the village… or outside the Land of Hot Water. But I know about the Kazekage… I think. They're like the Raikage and Hokage, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, they're the Kage of the Sand Village, but it really doesn't matter. He's dead anyway…"
"Your dad's dead."
"Uh… let's please… not talk about it."
"Oh, I'm sorry-."
"Don't apologise…" Gaara cut himself off when he realised this conversation was going in the same direction his past conversations with Hinata and Fuu went. No, he needed to learn from his past mistakes. Gaara took a deep breath to calm himself before explaining, "His name just triggers a lot of emotions in me, so I'd prefer if we spoke about something else." Perfect. Hinata would be proud.
"Oh, that's cool," Emi nodded. "I like your tattoo," she leaned over to observe it.
"It's alright," he said covering it up. Emi quickly pried his hands away in a move that stunned the jinchuuriki. Usually, tendrils of sand would've erupted from around him to stop her from getting too close… but nothing. Emi was able to lay her fingers on his forehead without even a grain of sand coming to his aid.
Shukaku must have been asleep.
"Love? That sounds so beautiful. You rarely see people put tattoos on their face."
"It wasn't really by choice. I was branded that by my village. Gaara, the demon that loves only itself."
Emi backed off, returning to her seat, "That's a lot less beautiful. Oh my… that sounds horrible. Is that why you ran away from your village?"
"You know what the scratch means?" Gaara asked re-covering his headband. He felt so naked in front of this girl. Covering one part after the other, hiding scars from his past.
"Of course," she giggled, "We have missing-nin too. I mean don't get me started on the Jashinists… but you don't have to hide who you are. The Hot Water Village knows what it is, it's a temporary sanctuary for missing-nin and runaways. We had a whole refugee crisis a few years back because of it."
Gaara paused for a moment before replying to Emi's earlier question, "In that case, no, I didn't run away from my village because they called me a demon and tried to kill me," Emi had a double-take. Once again, Gaara had forgotten to mention the six failed assassinations, "I was willing to stay and bear the brunt of that hatred because I believed no one could love me but myself and the only way I could survive was by accepting my fate and living day-by-day until I wasn't living anymore. I ran away because I found hope. About a month ago, something happened that filled my dark and depressing world with a new light. A budding seed… a leaf in the wind that wherever it landed would sprout trees of hope and belief that even my stoicism couldn't fight off…" he realised he was rambling, so now it was his turn to apologise.
"No, no, your life… it interests me. How long are planning on staying here then? I mean, ever since the crisis our village has a 365-day rule, meaning you could stay here for a whole year… you could even come to stay with me," she offered. "You'll be safer here than anywhere else, that's for sure. The Hot Water Village may be a sanctuary for missing-nin and runaways, but we're also a home for broken and lost people just looking for a place to feel safe."
"You're really good at advertising your village," Gaara chuckled, "but because of decisions made for me in the past, I have to keep moving east until I find a place where I can truly be safe, not for a week or a year, but forever. Maybe when I reach that place, I'll come back here and visit you."
"When do you think you'll leave then?" Emi asked.
"In a week's time," Gaara estimated.
"That's more than enough time to get to know each other," Emi grinned as a barista arrived to deliver both of their orders.
"Two Heated Hydro Cappuccinos, one for the gent, one for the lady," she announced placing both cups between the pair. They thanked the older lady as she bowed before disappearing behind the counter, into the kitchen.
Gaara used the opportunity to flip the interrogation session on its head. "What about you? Tell me about your complexities?"
"My complexities?" why did Gaara word things so weirdly.
"I mean… tell me about yourself," the questions Hinata told him to ask ran through his head. Gaara felt like he was taking an oral exam, "Where are you from? How old are you? What was your greatest struggle growing up? What do you do for fun? What is your love language? Where do you see yourself in five years?"
"Okay, okay, give me time to answer," Emi tittered. She answered the questions as he'd asked them. "I'm from right here in the Hot Water Village, I live with my parents in the Eastern Suburbs. I am thirteen years old, turning fourteen in May. I didn't really struggle growing up… but I guess my greatest struggle would probably be my love life. I'm good at choosing bad boyfriends. Uh… for fun, I like to draw, sometimes from memory, sometimes from the things I see around me. My love language would probably be physical touch… I think. And where do I see myself in five years? I don't… I don't really know. I don't want to live my whole life behind these rocky walls, but at the same time… what exists beyond them but farmers and shinobi?"
Every few sentences, Gaara would nod and go 'hmm' to show he was still paying attention. It seemed to be working because the more she spoke, the wider the grin on her face became. Emi's ice-blue eyes looked up into his blue-green pair. Only then did Gaara realise he was smiling too. He snapped out of it. He needed to think of a follow-up question. "Oh, sorry to hear about your love life. What's so bad about the boys you always choose?"
"It would be easier to list what was right about them. I dated this guy from the Land of Iron for about a week… he kept complaining about how much he hated the Land of Hot Water. He hated the heat, he hated the people, he hated the culture, he hated our pacifism… I think he even complained about the geography at some point. He was just too negative about everything and had the audacity to invite me to the Village Hidden in the Iron to show me 'what real villages were like'. Do you know where the Hidden Iron Village is? It's on the northernmost tip of the Land of Iron! That place is so cold you can see glaciers on the horizon, and he wants me to join him up there? Hell no!"
"That doesn't sound so bad," Gaara chuckled.
"That's just the start. I dated an actual fascist for about a week. He was from the Hidden Stone Village, and he wouldn't shut up about how people from the Land of Earth were genetically superior and that he wanted to ethnically cleanse people from the Land of Wind and Fire."
That one wasn't so funny. At least not to Gaara. It's really hard to find amusement in hearing that someone wants your people dead.
Noting this, Emi quickly switched to the next boyfriend, "For a week, I dated this guy whose Kekkei Genkai was that he secreted oil from his glands that allowed him to light his skin on fire without getting burnt. That sounds cool and all, but he would sweat the stuff and it stunk. I was triple washing my clothes for a month after every hug. And he would just light on fire at random moments, meaning I lost like three dresses that week from his spontaneous combustions."
"I've noticed all of them have been for only a week," Gaara said.
Emi's smile faded away. She shifted in her seat in an uncomfortable manner before taking a sip of her coffee, "Well, yeah… most of the people I date are just passing through here either on vacation or to get from one village to the next. Unless they're a refugee, people usually don't stay long enough for me to know them for more than a week."
"Do you have any friends?"
"Of co… eh?" she changed her answer mid-speech. "I guess because I've lived my whole life surrounded by these mountains, I don't like being reminded of the fact that I'm trapped within them. I like getting to know new people, learning about the world outside through them. It's just that usually people travel as a family, they're like twice my age or, just like you, they're here for that week and then they're gone forever."
"I'll be your friend," Gaara offered.
"I'd love that…" Emi replied, wishing she'd said, "I was hoping you'd be more than that." She took a sip of her coffee before adding, "… at least for the next week until you're gone forever too."
"I won't be gone forever. I'll come back."
"That's what they all say."
"Except I promise to come back. You have my word… and I never go back on my word. It's my nindo: my ninja way…" it wasn't but the redhead had been so corrupted by his blonde counterpart that he was beginning to sound like him. Gaara went to shut his mouth, but Emi covered her face first to hide the red hue forming across it. She kneed the table in her excitement. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she replied through the pain. She lifted her head to ask, "Hey, the rest of the village is about to wake up, but I know this cool spot where no one will interrupt us. You wanna come with me?"
"I'd love to, but I told my… friends… that I was going to buy a yukata for the festival tonight."
"The Heiwa Festival? Do you have a date?"
"Do I need a date?"
"Of course. Even though it's called the peace festival, it's basically become an excuse for guys to confess their love and vice-versa… the village leader even started calling it a fertility festival for that reason specifically," Emi explained. She took Gaara's much larger, rough hand in her own, "I'll even be your date if you want. We can rent matching outfits just before the festival."
"I'd love that."
XXX
Emi promised to handle everything regarding the festival from renting the best yukatas for a relatively low price to finding them a spot they can watch the fireworks from. In the meantime, Gaara followed her through the city until they reached the southern foot of the mountain range that surrounded the village. They took the winding stairs up the mountains before cutting through some shrubbery and into a cave. Exiting the cave, they carried on up a less-travelled path, but Gaara could see a slight trail in the tall grass that told him people had been here before, a few people but people nonetheless. They continued walking and talking for about ten minutes.
The conversation flowed so naturally that Gaara couldn't believe it was him talking. Emi. Every so often he would say something stupid or slightly psychotic. Every few sentences he would accidentally let slip off pieces of himself that he'd spent thirteen years covering. Every other minute he would mention something that would kill off a normal conversation. It was like a tennis match. Every now and then, Gaara would mess up and smash the ball beyond the bounds of the court, but Emi, committed to keeping the game going, would leap over barriers and seats to gracefully guide the ball back into play for no other reason other than she enjoyed the game.
After shuffling through the tall grass, they finally reached Emi's special spot. An old wooden bench that sat under an overhang looking out over the whole village. Gaara couldn't believe what he was seeing. The northern wall was shorter than the south side, so from this vantage point, not only could he see the village in its entirety, but he could see the farmlands just beyond it and the forest that stretched on until the curvature of the earth swallowed it whole.
It felt like he was on top of the world.
Emi invited him to take a seat.
'In memoriam of Sakamoto Tarou. The last shinobi to die from a war that wasn't his own. A loving father, son, and brother, you will be missed' a rusting golden plaque nailed to the bench read.
"What is this place?" Gaara had to ask.
"It used to be a special little bench built to honour the last Hot Water shinobi who died in the Third World War. Apparently, he died thirty-two seconds before the Hot Water Village ordered their troops to withdraw after signing the pacifism treaty."
"If it means so much to the village, why is it hidden behind bushes, caves and tall grass?" Gaara wondered.
"I don't know why they built it all the way up here. Our government's weird like that," Emi chuckled, "But the only people who come up here anyway are me and Tarou's lastborn son… I know because we've bumped into each other once or twice."
Gaara finally accepted Emi's invitation and sat on the bench next to her. "I understand why he would come to this spot. Why do you come up here? Did Tarou mean anything to you?"
"I don't even know who Tarou is," Emi shrugged. From her backpack, she pulled out a large A3 sketchbook and a pencil. She half-opened the first page before pausing to stare out at the village below. A gentle breeze passed under the overhang as Emi racked her brain to find the right words. Her mouth opened slightly. "Sometimes I just come up here to draw… him… or at least what he looks like in my head. I draw… his life… his final moments… his body. This probably looks so weird. I led you up here just to show you sketches of dead bodies."
Gaara didn't know what to do. It was his turn to leap over barriers and climb over seats to recover the ball and keep the game going. "That's not what dying people look like," was all he could say upon noticing how she portrayed Tarou with a huge bloody smile on his face, "… at least not people who die in battle… they look a lot more afraid. People don't like dying, so even the bravest men, in their final moments, cry out for their mothers and ask for forgiveness and safe passage into the afterlife…"
Emi doubled over and burst out laughing. Gaara chuckled nervously. The blonde girl sat back up and turned to an empty page on her sketchpad. She ran her bandaged hand along the plain white page before stating, "We're just a bunch of screw-ups, aren't we Gaara?"
The jinchuuriki smirked, "I… I guess we are."
After looking out at the village for a solid minute, Gaara's attention returned to her. The stare she was giving him was intoxicating. Gaara was rarely ever unnerved but Emi staring through him as if she was moments away from tearing at his flesh made his heart skip a bit. Finally, she asked, "Would you mind if I drew a portrait of you?"
The Suna jinchuuriki exhaled softly before replying, "I'd love that."
Han of the Steam
Han was next to wake up. He was lying on his own queen-sized bed in nothing but boxer shorts and a vest. Big mistake. The Hot Water Village's morning air was cold to the touch. A war raged within his mind. Was he going to get up and experience the beautiful day that lay ahead of him, or get an extra five minutes of rest that would eventually result in him waking up around two in the afternoon? He let out a defeated sigh when he remembered he needed to find a place where he could rent out a yukata. After a few minutes of groaning, moaning and whining to himself, he finally pushed himself off the bed and planted both feet on the hotel's beige carpet flooring.
"Now I see why so many people here visit the hot springs every day. How else are you supposed to fight off this unrelenting cold? We might have to visit one again before we leave," Han said to no one. He looked over his shoulder to stare at the empty bed behind him. "Oh yeah, that's right," he groaned before falling back onto his bed and massaging his temples. "What's the point of finally finding a shred of happiness when I have no one to share it with? Or perhaps it's because I'm free from responsibilities that I'm finally happy? Maybe I am a shitty boyfriend. Maybe I will be a shitty father."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," a feminine voice replied from within Han's mindscape.
A surprised grin formed across Han's face as he sat up, "Good to see you're finally awake. I haven't heard from you in nearly a month."
"That's because you haven't used my power in over a month."
"That's a lie. I used your power two days ago to beat up that Sound shinobi and scare off that snake creep, Orochimaru," Han protested.
"Oh, that doesn't count. You just borrowed a portion of my chakra to step on a poor kid and look menacing. I didn't even get to stretch my legs… my actual legs."
Han turned to stare at the mirror. His eyes. In the mirror's reflection, his usual deep brown eyes were now crystalline blue, lined with red bags. "I told you I can't use completed tailed beast mode when the kids are around, they could get hurt by the transformation."
"I think you just underestimate the power of a jinchuuriki, regardless of their age," she was convinced.
"No, I think you're the one who's overestimating the power of these kids," Han retaliated before falling over backwards. He sprayed his body out across the bed whilst staring up at the ceiling. All that energy and willpower expending getting out of bed had gone to waste as he sunk into the sheets again. He could feel Kokuo's judgemental gaze from within him. He let out another sigh, "Fine. The next time we're in battle, I'll let you stretch your legs," he folded.
"Thank you."
He could hear the slight excitement in her voice. Han's mindscape was a massive forest that stretch on for eternity, allowing Kokuo to run and jump as she willed before returning to a golden temple near the centre of the dreamscape to sleep. Whenever she was excited the horse-whale would jump around all giddy and level trees in her excitement, so hearing even the slightest bit of excitement put a smile on Han's face. Imagine, a thousand-year-old immortal being made solely of chakra bouncing around like a schoolgirl. It was cute.
Kokuo heard that, or at least felt Han's mood change from neutral to affection, "Please don't tell me you're developing romantic feelings for a mystical horse-whale spirit," she warned.
Han finally sat up to burst out laughing, "Of course not… I just want to thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For always being there when I needed you, especially back in the Hidden Stone Village. You don't just help me in combat situations, but you're always there to talk to me when I need you… well, like 50%... when you're not sleeping," Han shrugged, "… and for that, I want to thank you."
"Oh, don't get all sentimental with me."
"I wish I could get you… I don't know… something to show my appreciation… like a ring!" Han stood up.
"Oi, oi, oi! What did I just say?"
"No, not for you," Han brushed her off before grabbing his towel and rushing into the bathroom, "For Kiratsuchi. I should get her like a ring or something so that when I get back home, I can show her that I was thinking about her."
"A ring? Don't you think that would insinuate that you wish to marry her?"
Han paused, "Oh shit, that would, wouldn't it?" he realised as the warm shower water hit his back. He leaned against the wall before wondering, "Then what should I get her?"
Kokuo shrugged.
"Come on, you should know what women like."
"I am a thousand-year-old horse-whale, how on earth am I supposed to know what human females would like as a gift?"
"You're not helping."
Kokuo racked her brain for an answer, "Is the whole marriage thing out of the question?"
"Yes! The whole marriage thing is definitely out of the question."
"Then I'm all out of ideas."
"Damn it!"
XXX
After thinking it over in the shower, Han figured it would be better to just head into town and find a store that sold things women liked. With his yukata money in one pocket and his gift money in the other, the jinchuuriki entered the central business district in search of ideas. It was already ten o'clock, so the streets were already full and most of the stores were open for business, allowing him to hop from store to store.
As the time hit eleven o'clock, the feeling of futility grew heavier and heavier on Han's back. Everything was either too expensive or too impersonal. Kiratsuchi was a hard woman to shop for, and the last thing she wanted was to return to his lover after months and disappoint her with a subpar gift.
If that wasn't bad enough, the whispers, the murmurs, the eyes, they were all so taxing on Han's spirit. He thought he'd left that all in Iwa. A part of him hoped that once he left the Hidden Stone, people wouldn't look at him as if he was a disease or a curse, but boy was he wrong. Being shadowed by security whenever he entered a store. Knowing that people were staring at him then, like cowards, turning away when he stared back at them. Walking down crowded streets, only for people to form a metre-wide bubble around him to avoid even touching him. He'd gotten so used to peacefully meandering through forests and along riverbanks, that he had forgotten that one of the reasons he was so eager to avoid big cities was to not be bogged down by all these people. He wished he could just scream, "Leave me alone, I'm just like you!" but that's exactly what they wanted.
Han stopped in front of a TV store. "What the fuck?"
The news was on. Han didn't know what they were talking about, but he could see a wave of shinobi in green, followed by another wave of shinobi in beige, behind them a third wave of shinobi, this time in red. There had to be thousands of them. Han entered the store and asked the old man behind the counter to turn the TV up, so he could hear what the reporter was saying.
"… It's unknown where the four jinchuuriki could be at the moment, but as they approach the Hidden Cloud Village, they could be in for the fight of their lives. Our scouts are reporting nearly 1200 Konoha shinobi, over 500 Suna shinobi, and just under 350 Iwa shinobi marching through the Land of Lightning to try and reach the Hidden Cloud before they do. The motto amongst these troops appears to be 'even if they make it to the village, they will not make it out'," the cameraman panned over to a pair of catapults carrying nets that were being pushed through the forest, around trees and over land bridges towards Kumo, "All this is to try and capture the jinchuuriki before they can kidnap the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, yes, I said kidnap, since if you were here for the interviews yesterday, you would remember that they sent a warning to the rogue jinchuuriki that they did not want to be 'rescued' and would resist capture with all their might…"
Han's legs gave way as he fell back onto the wall whilst breathing heavily. The old man behind the counter disappeared behind a curtain as Han grasped at a table to try and prop himself up. This was a nightmare scenario. Han had anticipated an ambush at the Hidden Cloud, but once again, he was stunned by the sheer number of men the villages were willing to sacrifice to capture him. They couldn't deal with 200 samurai, nor could they comfortably handle Orochimaru's Sound Four. How on earth were they going to get through over 2000 shinobi from Konoha, Suna, Iwa, and Kumo? On top of that, apparently, neither of them wants to be rescued… so, what was the point? Unless that was just Kumo propaganda? Could they afford to take the risk though?
"I gotta… I gotta tell someone… Gaara… or Naruto," he whispered before staggering to the door and running his hand through his hair.
"Hey…" the shopkeeper yelled to grab Han's attention. He threw a water bottle at the jinchuuriki before bawling his right hand into a fist. He placed it against his heart then punched the air, "I have faith in you."
Han did a double-take. He was taken aback. What did he mean by that? As soon as he heard those words, another man stopped just outside the shop and did the same. Fist to his heart, then punched the air. Followed by another man. Then a woman. Then another woman. Soon, a crowd had gathered around the store, around Han. Fists to their hearts, then to the air. "We have faith in you," they mumbled in unison.
What was this sign? Was this some kind of jinchuuriki solidarity symbol? Confused, Han curled his fingers into a fist and pressed it against his heart. "What… what does this mean?" he wondered aloud.
The shopkeeper spoke first, "You and the other jinchuuriki… you've become a beacon of hope against the Five Great Shinobi Nations. In the last one hundred years, some of their power has gone unchecked and smaller villages like our own have been caught in the crossfire. We've been powerless to do anything for the last one hundred years, but with you guys… we have some semblance of hope. As long as you fight against the system, perhaps the five Kage, in their weakened states, will listen to our cries."
Han wasn't sure how to react, "But… the stares? The whispers? Then, why didn't anyone say anything?"
Another man was glad to answer that one, "With all due respect, sir… you're a six-foot-tall man who could wipe out our entire village in the blink of an eye, especially when you travel with the other jinchuuriki. Forgive us for being a bit scared to approach you and say something that might offend you."
Han's anxiety turned to amusement, "In that case…" he removed his fist from his heart to punch the air with them. "Thank you for your faith," he replied.
Naruto the Demon Fox
On the other side of the central business district, Naruto was on the prowl for something that could help him take his mind off Sasuke. Oh yeah, he also needed a yukata. To stop himself from forgetting that, he made sure to write it down on the back of his hand, 'get yukata'. Heck if he knew what that even was, but he was definitely going to get one. First though, he needed to shut his mind up.
For the past two days, his mind was just a violent whirlwind of rampant thoughts and hypotheticals. Sasuke this. Sasuke that. Kill Sasuke. Save Sasuke. The Nine-Tails wants Sasuke dead. He knows it would be better if Sasuke stayed alive. If only Naruto could sit down and talk to Sasuke about his plan to head east and find someplace where they could live without responsibilities and fear, then he was sure Sasuke would ditch that creep, Orochimaru, and join him. Imagine, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha fighting side-by-side at full strength. Naruto with his full jinchuuriki abilities. Sasuke with his new Sharingan. Who could stop them? It would be like Team Seven all over again. Oh yeah, Sakura and Kakashi could join too. When the Five Nations come knocking, all they would have to do was threaten to unleash the Demon Fox, the last Uchiha, the world's strongest kunoichi (second to maybe Fuu), and the Copy Ninja after them, and they'd definitely back down after that. It would be so cool!
"It's not gonna happen."
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"Because after you kill Sasuke, you're going after that cyclops and the pink-haired brat."
Naruto stopped abruptly, "We never agreed to that," the Uzumaki said. He slipped into an alleyway to sit down and listen to his demon fox carefully.
"We're destroying everyone who wronged us, what's so surprising about that?"
"Sasuke, I can understand, but what did Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei do to deserve being 'hated'?"
"They knew what was happening, yet they stood there and did nothing. They're complicit in the crime, equally as liable as those who physically and emotionally harmed you."
"No."
"Runt! They're complicit. Sasuke was already stronger than you to begin with, but in the lead up to the Chunin Exams, when you were going up against the Hyuuga brat, while you had to train on your own, the cyclops taught Sasuke an entirely new technique. A technique so powerful that it pierced through Shukaku's shield… why didn't he teach you anything?"
"No, it's because… I wanted to train on my own, and I'm sure Kakashi-sensei could see that, so he trained Sasuke instead. Plus, I won my fight and Sasuke lost, dattebayo!"
"Every morning, 'Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun', that pink-haired brat would moan his name, her voice like nails on a chalkboard. And the hitting… the constant hitting… that girl abused you, runt, and you did nothing but take it."
"That's just how Sakura-chan showed affection. You're just looking for reasons to be angry at things you shouldn't be."
"Then why didn't she abuse the Uchiha?"
"Obviously because she loved me more than she loved him!" Naruto yelled.
Suddenly, the whole street stopped to stare at him. Kurama's voice faded into the darkness as he realised there was no point arguing with the knucklehead ninja. Naruto, a little embarrassed, disappeared into the shadows too, emerging on the other side of the alleyway. The alley led out into the start of the hot spring, meaning he was standing across from a public women's bathhouse. At least, he thought he was.
'Endo Family Bathhouse (Women – Men's Bathhouse on the other side)'
Yeah, it was definitely the women's bathhouse… so what was this creepy white-haired old man doing peeping through the cracks in the wooden walls?
"Oi! Pervert! I found a pervert peeping into the Endo Family Women's Bathhouse!" Naruto tattled.
The old man turned suddenly to reveal a fair-skinned old man with bright red lines running down his eyes. "No! No! This is all some sort of misunderstanding! I wasn't peeping on anyone; I was just getting some research for my new book… it's about the…" He indicated for the thirteen-year-old to shut his trap before eyeing the kid down for a second. "Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked.
"Oi! Oi! O… yeah… what's it to you?"
"What's it to me?" the old man struck a wild and over-the-top kabuki pose before introducing himself as, "I'm the hermit of Mount Myoboku! A wise and immortal spirit! I am the Toad Mountain Sage! Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin!"
"Who?"
Jiraiya's face sunk. "Did you just say… who? You haven't heard of me?"
Naruto shook his head, "Not really, the only thing I know about you is that you're a pervert. So, if you're any kind of sage, you're a Pervy Sage."
"No, I'm the Toad Mountain Sage."
"Pervy Sage, Pervy Sage!"
"Stop that! I'm one of the most powerful shinobi to ever walk the earth?"
"Powerful shinobi don't peep on woman, so I don't buy it."
"I'm the one who gave you the Rasengan!" Jiraiya yelled.
"Huh?" Naruto did a double-take. "That powerful spinning jutsu? That's your jutsu?"
Jiraiya folded his arms, a smug smirk running across his face, "Well, kinda. It's the Fourth Hokage's jutsu but I've mastered it too, at least, I've gotten to the point at which the Fourth Hokage got it to. See, it's not really a complete-."
"I don't believe you."
"What?"
"I don't believe that someone like you could master such a technique. I've spent the last month practising it and I can't even begin to-," Naruto was interrupted by the sound of chakra expanding over Jiraiya's open palm. The glowing blue sphere roared to life before spinning in all directions, cutting through the air as it did. The Uzumaki couldn't believe his eyes, "That's it. That's the Rasengan."
"You're complaining after only one month? It took the Fourth Hokage three years to create this technique… he had plans to add an elemental nature on top of it but was never able to. The Rasengan is the pinnacle of shape transformation. It's a deadly technique that grinds into its opponent before exploding, destroying flesh, muscle, bone, you name it. It takes time to learn, but you do, it's the only technique you'll ever need…"
"There's the old creep who was staring at us!" a group of women emerging from the bathhouse had gathered at the entrance.
"Get him!" they all charged.
A burst of wind enveloped the Pervy Sage, "Until we meet again," he laughed before floating away, hopping from building to building until the ladies gave up their chase and returned to the hot springs. They thanked Naruto for warning them on their way back. The jinchuuriki, on the other hand, was full of regret. He wanted to know so much more. Who was this guy? How did he know him? How did he know the Fourth Hokage? When were they ever going to meet again?
XXX
It turned out 'until we meet again' was a few hours later. At around two o'clock in the afternoon, with the whole village alive and preparing for the festival, Naruto decided to return to the hot spring district. Unable to find something to take his mind off Sasuke, he decided his last resort would be relaxing in a public hot spring. Surprisingly, with most people running around the village looking for yukatas to rent for the festival, the bathhouses were effectively empty.
Naruto entered one of the public baths to see two men already soaking in the steaming water. One, a middle-aged salaryman, probably asleep, in the springs with a small white towel over his eyes, the other, a white-haired old man, staring through the wooden panels into the women's section. Of course, he'd be caught in another compromising situation, this was the Pervy Sage after all.
Instead of revealing his secret immediately this time, Naruto snuck up on the old man and tapped him on the shoulder. "If you join my training, I won't tell the ladies you're peeping on them again." He figured since they were leaving the Hot Water Village soon anyway, the best way he could guarantee mastery of the Rasengan was to twist Jiraiya's arm into following him to the Hidden Cloud and, hopefully, the Hidden Mist and beyond.
Jiraiya ground his teeth, "You wouldn't…" Naruto opened his mouth to yell, but Jiraiya taped it closed with a seal just before he could scream, "Okay. Okay. Look, I can't join your training or whatever, but I can give you the best tools you need to perfect the Rasengan."
"Tools like what?" he asked after ripping the seal off.
"I'll personally show you how to burst water balloons and rubber balls."
"I've done all that. I'm tired of popping rubber balls and balloons, I'm tired of all that. I want a new technique. One that I can learn now because the Five Nations won't patiently wait for me to learn containment, dattebayo."
"So, you're telling me you've mastered rotation and power in about a month and you still have something to complain about?" Jiraiya asked. "Did you not hear me say it took the Fourth Hokage three years to create this technique?"
"Yeah, but the Fourth Hokage didn't have half the world coming after him when he was a teenager!"
"You don't know much about the Fourth Hokage, do you?" Jiraiya stared at the Uzumaki before chuckling slightly with his head in his hand. "That poor fool had the whole Hidden Cloud Village after his ass at the age of twelve and helped keep the Nine-Tails under control from then until his death. A part of me thought we'd never see a shinobi like him ever again… but looking at you… you look so much like him."
"I do? Well, I've heard he had spiky blonde hair too, but as far as I know, he didn't have the whiskers or the orange jumpsuit, so I'm not really sure I see it," the Uzumaki said scratching his cheek. "Wait, how do you know so much about the Fourth Hokage?"
Jiraiya tapped his chest with his thumb, "Because I was the Fourth Hokage's sensei," he bragged.
"So, you're a Leaf shinobi?" Naruto scanned the old man in search of a headband. All he could see was the metal plate on his forehead with the symbol for 'oil', so until he admitted to teaching one of the Leaf's most powerful shinobi, Naruto didn't even know where he was from. Jiraiya nodded in confirmation. The Uzumaki staggered back, falling into the hot springs. When he surfaced, he asked, "Does that mean you're going to take me back to Konoha?"
Jiraiya stood over him with his hands on his hips, "Of course not. You don't know this, but I'm your godfather, Naruto. I had one job and that was to protect you from whatever came your way after your parents passed on… I failed at said one job… and since I wasn't there for the first thirteen years of your life, I have no right to dictate what you do with the rest of it. All I can do now is entrust this technique to you, knowing that if you master it, you will become the strongest shinobi in the world."
"You're my godfather?" Naruto asked to which Jiraiya nodded. The Uzumaki extended his hand as he tried to get out of the water. Jiraiya bent down to lift him up, only for Naruto to pull him in and start punching the old man. "So, you're telling me I suffered… alone… for thirteen long years and here you were eavesdropping on ladies in hot springs! Huh? Is that what you're telling me? What is wrong with you, dattebayo?"
At some point, Jiraiya stopped fighting and let his godson get all his anger out. This gave the salaryman enough time to wake up, analyse the situation, and walk out of the hot spring with a judgemental look on his face.
Finally, Jiraiya caught Naruto's fists and gave him a little hug. "I'm sorry for not being there for you all that time. Ever since you were born, it has been my job to track down and monitor the Aka… Orochimaru and his movements. He's planning something big… I don't know when… and I don't know with who, but tensions are at an all-time high right now, especially with how weak the villages are. Which is why the Hidden Cloud has been fighting so hard to protect their tailed beasts."
Naruto's eyes lit up when he heard the Snake Sannin's name, "Orochimaru! Sasuke! That reminds me! Another reason why I needed to learn another jutsu was that I have to compete with Sasuke. He's an Uchiha, so he knows all these cool fire style techniques as well as some lightning style techniques, plus he's faster and stronger than me… and he has a Sharingan. Even worse, he's being trained by Orochimaru now, so he's gotten this weird new seal that gives him black marks… I can't even keep up with him anymore. My answer to all of that can't just be a spinning ball of chakra."
He made a fair point, but Jiraiya responded by telling him, "Fear not the man who practised 10,000 kicks once, rather fear the man who practised one kick 10,000 times."
… "What the fuck does that mean, Pervy Sage?"
"Watch your language!" Jiraiya warned, pushing the blonde brat under the water, "What it is means is no matter who your opponent is, whether they're an Uchiha, a Senju, a jonin, a chunin… hell, they could be a Kage, for all you care. It's much better to have one technique that you know will do damage no matter the circumstances, than to have a thousand different techniques which will work in one situation but won't in the other. So, practice the Rasengan and practice it well for it'll be your strongest weapon."
"Fine," Naruto murmured.
Suddenly, a group of women burst through the hot spring doors and stared Jiraiya down. "It is him! Get him before he flies away again!"
"I'll see you when this is all over, kid. In the meantime, stay safe and never let anyone tell you what you can't do," were Jiraiya's final words to the Uzumaki as he clapped his hands together and let the raging winds take him away.
As the group of women cried in unison about failing to capture their peeping Tom for the second time that day, Naruto stared at the back of his soaking wet hand. He didn't know why, but he felt like he was forgetting something. "I wrote something on my hand before… right? Well, if I forgot about it then it probably wasn't important."
Lucky Number Seven Fuu and the White-Eyed Princess
"Pay attention, someone you know could be thinking about leaving." Hinata's lavender eyes cracked open. Bullets of sweat dripped off her brow. She'd had a nightmare. But it wasn't over just yet. Her blurry vision locked onto a shadow figure looming over her. Panic stations. The entity's bright orange eyes pierced through the room's darkness and drilled into her soul. She let out a bloodcurdling shriek before palming the figure away. It hit the ground a few metres away but didn't make a sound. Hinata trying to calm herself down, turned her head to try and see what it was.
Fuu fluttered to the ground before moaning at the Hyuuga heiress, "What the hell was that for?"
Hinata sat up. A bright red hue formed across her face. She pulled the sheets up with her as she sat up on the bed. "Why… why were you standing over me like that?" she swallowed.
"I was checking up on you. You were sweating like a pig; your face was red, and you were breathing heavy. Naruto told me you got sick often, so I thought maybe you were catching the flu," Fuu's wings retracted into the base of her spine, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… it must have just been a nightmare… I'm okay," Hinata looked around. The room was still relatively dark with thin slivers of light coming in through the closed curtains, "What time is it?" she wondered.
Fuu stared at the clock hanging over the TV. "Nearly twelve o'clock."
"You let me sleep until twelve?"
"You looked exhausted," Fuu shrugged, "I figured why not let you get in a few extra hours of sleep… it wouldn't kill you, ssu."
Fuu was right. Hinata was exhausted, but not the type of exhaustion that could be slept away. She was suffering from chakra deprivation. Her mortality had been her greatest enemy all month. She was just a genin. A genin travelling with people who had Kage-level chakra flowing through their veins since birth. She couldn't keep up and it was starting to show. She looked paler than usual. Other than her eyes, the skin under her eyes had darkened and started swelling. The Hyuuga princess was a second too late in her decision-making and her speech was a touch slower than the day before. "I'm fine," was her only response, but Fuu knew better.
"Well, no matter how fine you are, the Heiwa Festival only starts at like eight or nine in the evening, so we can just relax and watch TV until then."
Hinata's eyes widened, "The yukatas?"
Fuu palmed her face, "I knew I was forgetting something."
"You forgot about the one thing Han-san told you not to forget about?"
"Without a yukata for the festival," she sheepishly grinned.
Hinata decided to take a shower and get ready, so Fuu followed her into the bathroom and shower. The large shower served as a mini hot spring with its steaming abilities and the two benches on either side facing each other. Hinata leaned her head back on the bathroom's white tiles as Fuu did the same with her head on the glass. The steaming-hot water felt so good on their skin that they couldn't leave, so they just sat there in silence. Their bodies hidden from each other by the steam.
"So… are you gonna get all glammed up so Naruto can finally notice you?" Fuu asked.
Hinata's eyes creaked open. She hadn't thought of that, "Uh… no, I think Naruto has too much on his mind at the moment… I don't think he has time to focus on how… glammed up… I am," she convinced herself, but Fuu wasn't buying it.
"What are you talking about? That sounds like the perfect opportunity to me. While he's all stressed out about all this fighting, bloodshed, and finding a jinchuuriki paradise, you come in and remind him that we're in Yugakure, he's allowed to relax and just be himself, and maybe he should be himself with you, ssu."
"Eh?" Hinata dropped her chin to glare at the jinchuuriki's silhouette through the steam.
"Oh, Naruto-kun, all this freedom business has you so stressed out and sweaty. How about we rent our own private hot spring and you could take out all your stress on me."
"Don't say things like that," Hinata snapped. Fuu burst out laughing, hitting her head on the glass behind her in the process. Hinata went from defensive to nervous to humoured. Slowly but surely, Fuu's laughter turned to distress as the pain of hitting her head against the reinforced glass finally hit her like a train. Hinata flipped the situation on its head, "What about you? Do you have your eyes on anyone? Maybe… Gaara?"
Fuu stared at the ceiling light overhead for a moment before replying, "I don't feel attracted to boys… but I don't feel attracted to girls either… I want experiences. At the moment, I'm just attracted to this state of existence where I can spread my wings and fly as high as they take me. Maybe, when the sun eventually melts my wings and I'm forced to spend the rest of my days on land… maybe then I'll think about dating and falling in love," Fuu surmised.
When did Fuu start sounding like a poet, was all Hinata wanted to say? But the only thing that left her lips were, "Please don't actually spread your wings… in here… it's a bit cramped."
The jinchuuriki stood up when she felt like her body had had enough of this heat, "Anyway, let's go get those yukatas, ssu."
XXX
Hinata and Fuu hopped from store to store, looking for yukatas to rent.
The first obstacle in their journey to finding a good yukata was actually finding a good yukata. Hinata wanted something either white or purple whereas Fuu was in the mood for something green that didn't feel too earthy or spring related. The next obstacle was finding one within their price range. Hinata was willing to fund their expedition, but Fuu was intent on using Han's money and nothing but. She felt like Hinata's cash would come in handy on a rainy day and the Heiwa Festival wasn't rainy enough a day. The third obstacle was finding yukatas that fit their frames. Hinata and Fuu were tiny women so nothing but a store that sold clothes for petite younger women would do.
As Hinata was getting a feel of an orange yukata that reminded her of her favourite knucklehead ninja, Fuu appeared over her shoulder to ask, "So, what is it that you see in him? Naruto?"
After her initial heart attack, Hinata needed a moment to think about her answer. Her love for Naruto was a feeling she had never and could never put into words but as they left the store, Fuu's eyes still boring into her soul, she felt like she had to think of something quick. "Why do you want to know?" she stalled for time.
Fuu shrugged, "I don't know. As I said, I've never been in love myself, ssu. So, I want to understand that feeling from your perspective… perhaps, I've been in love myself, but I didn't know what it was I was feeling at the time. Maybe if you told me what you saw in Naruto, that might light a spark in me. Don't you want to be the love doctor that helps Fuu find a husband?" she teased.
"Well, I'd love to but it's a feeling I just can't put into words."
"Try."
Hinata racked her brain for a moment, "Well… uh… if I had to put it into words, I'd say… for me, Naruto is like a lighthouse. He's always been the way he is now. He's always moving forward in pursuit of his goals and his dreams regardless of his imperfections and difficulties. Once he's set his mind to something, he won't give up on it until it's an impossibility. In a way, I see the person I want to be in him, and just being in his presence makes me feel warm and loved in a way I never felt roaming through the cold hallways of the Hyuuga clan household. To me, he's a beacon of hope… yeah, he's like a lighthouse."
"That… sounds amazing," Fuu's eyes widened. She threw her hands behind her head before sighing, "Damn it! I was joking at first, but hearing you speak about him like that makes me wish I had my own Naruto."
"Oh… uh… I'm sorry for making you feel lonely."
"Don't sweat it. I'm lonely by choice, remember?"
"Hehe, I guess so."
"Plus, I'm not even lonely, ssu. I have you and all the jinchuuriki. You guys are my family now," Fuu's face lit up, "There it is!" she said pointing to the perfect yukata, on display at a store called 'Imouto's First Clothing'.
XXX
The day came and went, and as eight o'clock drew nearer Hinata and Fuu decided to get their makeup done in town before grabbing their yukatas for the night. The festival hadn't technically begun yet, but the streets were full of things that would've told them otherwise. Lanterns, hanging overhead, lit their way as they exited the makeup shop and strolled out onto the cobblestone streets littered with vendors selling traditional Yugakure foods, accessories, artworks, and scrolls. The town was alive, more so than it was the previous day or the morning of that same day. People from countries big and small passed each other by, sharing greetings and mingling. Whether they were from a country as big as the Land of Fire or land as small as the Land of Frost, people from all walks of life got together in this cauldron of culture to celebrate the day the Land of Hot Water bid farewell to war. It was amazing.
"Hey, Hinata," Fuu's voice broke the Hyuuga heiress's moment of astonishment, "This question's been in the back of my head all day, so I hope it doesn't sound like it's come out of nowhere but… do you still feel left out. I mean, considering Naruto, Han, Gaara and I are jinchuuriki and you're not?"
Yes, yes, a million times yes, was all Hinata wanted to yell, but she composed herself by staring at the starry night sky overhead. Every step she took sent a surge of pain through her body as it struggled to replenish chakra that'd been lost since the battle in the Land of Iron. Her flesh felt so tender and weak after her battle with Kidomaru that she feared she wouldn't survive another battle. The Hyuuga heiress spent every waking moment wondering why she followed Naruto into the forest that day, but a voice in the back of her head told her it would all be worth it, so Hinata just said, "No. I think seeing our team as just a group of jinchuuriki trying to escape the village system is a very shallow way of thinking. After all, Naruto's goal is to reach a place where all those who've been wronged and oppressed by systems, politics, and traditions can live a fruitful life free from their oppressors. If you look at it like that, I was oppressed by my clan for years just as you were by your villages… so just as you wish to just be Fuu, a human being, I hope to just be Hinata Hyuuga, a normal person who can speak to, befriend, and marry whoever I wish to."
"Damn, clan politics fucking suck," the jinchuuriki noted, "That's one thing I'm glad I never experienced, being part of a clan, ssu. Imagine being hunted down or forced to act a certain way simply because you share a surname with someone else. No thank you. Count me out."
Hinata giggled, "Believe me when I say you pretty much summed up what being in a clan is like."
Heiwa Festival
Gaara walked through the suburbs of Yugakure with the overwhelming feeling of not belonging looming over him. He was wearing the red yukata Emi had picked out for him with geta sandals and everything. He even had Fuu oil up his hair and slick it to one side, covering his tattoo, to make him look more formal. He hated every bit of it.
Gaara looked up from his piece of paper to read the address on the door in front of him. He looked down at the paper one last time before looking up at the door again and giving it a little knock.
He waited for a moment.
.
.
.
Did he not knock hard enough?
He didn't want to knock again. What if he was at the wrong house? What if Emi had miswritten the number? Wrote a seven instead of a nine – a two instead of a three. What if this was the right address? Would her parents get annoyed if this random Sand nin knocked at their door repeatedly? Why was he getting so stressed out? He was Gaara of the Sand, the demon that killed his own mother upon leaving her womb and scarred himself forever so that everyone would know who he was just by looking at him. Why was he thinking about his dead mother on a night like this?
The door flew open.
Gaara looked up at the towering figure standing over him. This man was almost as tall as Han, with a broad frame to match. The raven-haired man tilted his head slightly to stare at the jinchuuriki. Gaara swallowed hard.
"Hello, I'm here for Emi," an uncharacteristically nervous Gaara said.
"And who are you?"
"G-Gaara."
A tiny head popped out from behind the man, "Gaara? You made it!" a middle-aged woman said before pushing the large man out of the way and giving the Sand-nin a warm hug. She introduced everyone to relieve the tension. "I'm Chiasa, Emi's mother. Gaara, this is my husband, Takahiro. Takahiro, this is Gaara. Red hair, blue-green eyes, pale skin, he's Emi's date." Gaara looked at his hand, was he really that pale?
His face lit up, "This is her date? Then let him in. Come on in, uh, Gaara," the man said, opening the door fully to allow Gaara into his home. Chiasa wrapped her arm around his elbow to lead her into the household. The jinchuuriki didn't know what the feeling in the pit of his stomach was, but he didn't like it. It felt like he was being led into a trap, like cattle being led into a slaughterhouse. Without his gourd, without any sand, he felt so defenceless. Why did he agree to this?
"Would… anything… drink?"
"Huh?" Gaara looked up at Chiasa's warm smile.
"I said, would you like anything to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee?"
"Uh… water's fine… thank you."
"I'll go get it for him. You go help get ready," Emi's father said disappearing into the kitchen. Chiasa told Gaara to give Emi five minutes before rushing upstairs.
Gaara took this moment to calm himself down. It didn't make sense. Gaara could take down a whole army of shinobi without batting an eye. He was a cold-blooded killer and a psychopath who would cut you down whether you were a man, woman, or child. And yet, sitting in that recliner, in Emi's living room, waiting for her father to return with a glass of water left his palms sweaty, his heart racing, and caused a ball to form in the back of his throat.
"There you are," Emi's dad finally returned. Before taking a seat across from the jinchuuriki he made sure to extend a hand and introduce himself as, "Takahiro."
"Gaara," he replied, shaking his hand.
"So, I've heard. I'm glad to finally meet you. Emi told me a lot about you. I've never seen her so excited to meet someone before."
Gaara took a sip of his water and asked, "Oh… what has she said about me?"
"Oh, just the basic stuff. That you're a missing-nin from the Sand Village…" Gaara's eyes widened. Takahiro took note and just chuckled, "but don't look so shocked. Almost everyone who's not born here's usually a missing-nin from somewhere. You get used to it."
"And you're okay with your daughter meeting guys with chequered pasts?"
"Usually, she doesn't even tell us about the boys she meets until they've already left the village. You're the only exception… which is why I said I'm glad to finally meet you," he sat back in his chair, "My biggest worry was that she'd meet some creepy old man who'd take advantage of her… or kidnap her or steal her away from me… but I'm happy to see you're just a charming young man who's… you know… normal."
Normal? "Eh…"
"Well, as normal as you can get in this world… my daughter's always been a bit… she's not really like everyone else. She doesn't have many friends, so as a father, all I want to know is that even when I'm gone, she'll have at least someone around her who's going to be there for her when she cries and helps keep her smile nice and bright," Gaara remained silent. Takahiro chuckled, "I should shut up. I didn't mean to put you under so much pressure. You probably just wanted a date to the Heiwa Festival or something and I'm here giving you my blessing to marry her…"
His apology was interrupted by the sound of someone running down the stairs. It was Emi's mother, Chiasa. As she reached the last step, she slid across the floor and, with wide-open arms, presented her daughter to Takahiro and their guest.
"Mom, you're embarrassing me," Emi said as she gingerly walked down the stairs. She was wearing a dark blue yukata with an array of flowers, ranging from white to pink to red, on the base and her sleeves. Her pale skin had been made paler by a thin layer of makeup with a hint of blush. And she completed the look with a big red flower in her hair, that'd been tied into a bun. She reached the ground floor's wooden flooring before asking, "So… how do I look?"
Takahiro, holding tears back, replied, "Absolutely beautiful. I didn't think I'd see the day when my baby girl became a woman… but here I am."
Gaara felt like he had to say something to that effect, especially when Takahiro, Chiasa and Emi all turned to him simultaneously, "Um… you look gorgeous. From head-to-toe, the yukata, the makeup, your hair, absolutely stunning."
"You're gonna make me blush… please, don't… it took my mom an hour to apply this makeup," Emi said before ruffling the jinchuuriki's hair. She was complaining about her makeup, it'd taken Fuu about thirty minutes to do his hair. "Anyway, let's get going before we miss the fireworks."
XXX
"So, you're telling me you saw lanterns being hung up, you saw vendors setting up shops, you saw people walking around in the streets dressed in fancy clothing, and you saw nothing wrong with that?!" Fuu shouted as Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. As Gaara approached the team, who'd agreed to meet by a bench near the centre of the village, he noticed Naruto was the only one still dressed in his regular orange, black, and blue attire. So, Fuu, rightfully so, was chewing his ear out.
"I keep telling you, I had it written here on my hand, but it got wiped off when I chased the white-haired flying guy into the hot springs."
"And I keep telling you, I don't buy it!" The mint-haired jinchuuriki was wearing a snow-white yukata, covered in pink peonies, with a black obi belt around her waist. Since her hair was already short enough, she didn't bother to tie her hair and instead focused on her makeup which consisted of an earthy mixture of brown, green and grey.
Hinata, on the other hand, was sitting on the bench next to Han nibbling away at a stick of dango in her lavender purple yukata. She wore the attire with a dark purple obi belt, snow-white makeup and a purple flower in her hair. Seeing as the Naruto and Fuu conversation seemed pretty intense, Gaara chose to join Hinata and Han on the bench.
"Oh, Gaara, there was something I wanted to tell you," Han said upon locking eyes with the fellow jinchuuriki. Gaara was willing to stop and listen to whatever Han was going to say but Emi entering the group's space caused Han to stop and stare. "Who's this?"
"This is my date for the festival. Han, this is Emi. Emi, this is Han. Han, this is… Hinata. Hinata, this is Emi," both missing-nin flashed a warm smile before raising their hands to greet.
"Hinata, can you do me a favour and help Naruto go find something to wear?" Fuu pleaded. She didn't need to ask twice. Hinata finished her dango and gave Emi a little bow before heading off with the Uzumaki to search for a clothing shop that wasn't selling their yukatas at triple the price.
After a solid minute of massaging her temples, Fuu finally turned her attention to the group, "What's this I hear about a date?" was all Gaara heard before Fuu came flying into almost tackle Emi. "So, this is Emi, ssu! I'm glad to finally meet you. Gaara's been talking about you all day!"
"He has?" Emi blushed.
"I have?" Gaara cocked a brow.
"Don't act embarrassed now that we finally get to see Emi in the flesh. Wow, you're so beautiful," Fuu remarked, zipping around the young woman, "How did you end up with… him?"
Emi giggled, "What do you mean?"
Fuu looked at Gaara, then at Emi. Then at Gaara then back at Emi. Gaara was this soulless, psychopathic killer whilst Emi was this petite, innocent flower. "What do you guys even talk about?"
"Fuu, you're scaring the poor child," Han said, standing up to drag the jinchuuriki away.
"Oh, Han. You said you had something to tell me?" Gaara asked.
"Don't worry about it, go enjoy your night," he said returning to his seat. He planted Fuu down next to him and held her down with an arm across her shoulders.
"At least tell me what happened to your hair?!" Fuu screamed, but Gaara and Emi quickly vanished into the night, leaving her and Han to sit on the bench overlooking the centre of the village. People were setting up fireworks along the steaming river's banks. It was an hour or two from midnight.
Fuu let out a harsh sigh, "I'm tired after all this matchmaking I've been doing, ssu."
"Matchmaking? What matchmaking?"
"Hello? I helped Gaara get ready for his little date with Emi. We spent an hour putting on his yukata and getting his hair done. All that work for nothing… the same goes for Hinata. I got her all glammed up for her date with Naruto, only for him to be an idiot and forget."
Han turned to Fuu sharply, "Hinata likes Naruto?"
"That's an understatement. It's almost an obsession at this point… but of course, you wouldn't notice, you're a guy."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Fuu smirked, "Nothing… all I'll say is that the best way to know whether a girl likes you or not is to ask another girl."
"I could've used this advice a few years ago when I wasn't going to be a father."
"Oh yeah, I forgot that you have that going for you."
"Had… at least I think so, I don't know. I have commitment issues."
"You committed to this group pretty well. I mean, for someone who claims to have problems being a father you've done a good job fooling me. You said it yourself, you've basically been a father to four teenagers over the past month and a bit, and as one of your four adopted children, I can wholeheartedly admit, that you're doing a great job."
Han couldn't hide the warm grin forming across his face. "I guess you're right. Maybe when all of this is over, I can bring her here, so we can experience this beautiful night together."
"The Love Sensei strikes again."
Han gave the jinchuuriki a playful shove, "Okay then, Love Sensei, why don't you quit the matchmaking for a second and a match made yourself," he said before motioning over to a group of guys, "That kid on the floor's been looking at you from the moment you started hollering at Naruto… why don't you go say hi?"
"Hm, maybe I will," Fuu said jumping onto her feet and marching over to him.
"Oh no, what hell did I unleash upon that poor child?" Han chuckled to himself. Speaking of hell, at that moment, only he knew what hell awaited them just beyond the borders of the Land of Frost. For tonight, let boys and girls be boys and girls, he thought. Let them play, let them laugh, let them love and let them be loved. Let them experience in one night, what they never got to experience in thirteen years.
XXX
"I hate this thing. I look like an old man," Naruto said adjusting the dark blue haori he wore over his light grey yukata.
"Have that back by tomorrow at 10 am or I'm calling the Yugakure police," the shopkeeper warned.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first hundred times. You think I'm gonna run away with this grandpa clothing? I'm coming back for my jumpsuit," he argued as they left the yukata shop and walked out into cold Yugakure air.
When the moment finally cooled down and tensions lowered, Hinata finally said, "I think you look nice."
"Of course, you do, you bought it for me," he whined, scratching an itch that refused to go away.
Hinata took a deep breath in. "No…" she grabbed Naruto's elbow, indicating for him to stop. The first firework of the night twirled into the Yugakure night sky like a spinning, sparkling mass of green. It vanished for a split second, "I meant I think you look nice in it." That took a lot out of her.
Naruto paused for a moment. Oh. The firework went off, bathing them in a minty hue of green. Every time they exhaled; clouds of condensation formed between them. The Uzumaki stared at the floor before scratching the back of his head. "In that case… thank you. I think I forgot to thank you for getting me my jumpsuit as well," he glanced at her attire to return the favour, "You look great, too. Lavender… it brings out your eyes."
It was Hinata's turn to blush and stare at the ground. Fuu's prior advice only went as far as 'compliment him on his yukata', so from here on out, she was flying solo. They fell into silence for a second. The only keeping the moment alive were the sweet sounds of music coming from the stage in the centre of the village. A young woman was performing a soothing song that could be heard from the banks of the river where Naruto and Hinata were standing.
A second firework shot into the sky. This time it was pink. It exploded. Coating them in its bright pink essence. The ambience of the moment was too good to pass up, so Hinata turned to ask, but Naruto had the same idea. "Would you like to dance?" Naruto got his sentence out first.
"I… I'd love to," Hinata replied.
So, there they were. Dancing under the moonlight. Hinata's head on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto's staring at the shimmering stars overhead. He wondered what… actually he didn't care what anyone was doing at that moment. The only thing in his running through his mind was the here and the now. He didn't really know how to dance but he just let Hinata lead and soon enough he understood the gist of it. As a matter of fact, it didn't even matter how Naruto danced, the steps, the moves, his hands, none of that mattered. As long as he felt the moment, the music promised to guide him through the night. And that it did. All through the night.