Chapter Five: Spring Sale
On a wet, humid morning in April, Hinata Hyuga rose early, her heart pounding with anticipation. She had spent the majority of her evening tossing and turning in her futon, unable to calm her racing thoughts, too eager to see the sun rise on this, the most special weekend in Spring. Well, special for her. After making her bed, Hinata went to her shared bathroom and entered the shower, sighing happily as the hot water pounded against her still sore muscles. The young woman had spent the day before unloading a massive order for her plant shop and her body ached from hours of hard work. Exting the shower, Hinata toweled off and brushed out her long dark hair. Staring at her pale reflection in the mirror, she wondered briefly if maybe this time a little makeup would help with sales. However, before Hinata could begin to apply her eyeliner, the bathroom door burst open, revealing a very distraught Hanabi.
"Onee-san!" her little sister wailed, "My flower crown is falling apart!"
Hinata smiled. Even though they were only a few years apart, Hanabi still relied on her older sister for the littlest of things. Motioning Hanabi over, Hinata reached over and began to reweave the flower crown through Hanabi's long brown hair. "Are your orders finally in, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked as she braided a trio of coreopsis before tucking the rope of yellow flowers behind her little sister's ear.
"Yeah, Konohamaru-kun helped me stock everything a few days ago. We're almost ready! I just need to go make sure we have enough tea for the cafe… What about you? Are you sure you can make your sales goal this year?"
Hinata felt her jaw clench. It was no secret amongst her family that the houseplant shop was struggling to make profits. Even with Kiba's aggressive advertising and their newfound social media following, Hinata was still struggling to pump their numbers up. Undeterred however, Hinata finished weaving her sister's flower crown, taking just a moment to shake off her own nerves, "I think… I think we'll be okay," Hinata finally answered.
Now finished with their morning routine, the two Hyuga sisters exited their shared bathroom and made their way to the dining room. The table was already set and heaved under a plethora of breakfast dishes. Hanabi immediately dug into a piece of toast with jam while Hinata took a moment to pour herself a cup of tea.
As they settled in, the dining room door slid open again, "I do hope," Hiashi Hyuga grumbled at Hinata as he entered the room, "That you charged that boy for your consultation."
"Good morning, Father," Hanabi greeted him, fighting and failing the urge to roll her eyes, "Did you sleep well?"
Hiashi ignored her, keeping his stern gaze trained on his eldest daughter. Hinata shook her head, "No, Father," she tried to avoid his disapproving look by focusing on the steaming tea cup clasped in her hands, "Naruto-kun has been promoting our shop these last few months. It's the least I can do."
Hiashi scowled at that, "You are barely breaking even this quarter and yet you continue to offer your services for free. How do you expect to-,"
"Father!" Hanabi snapped, "Stop! This isn't the time to-,"
"Do not tell me what I can and cannot say regarding my late brother's shop!" Hiashi barked, throwing both his daughters a nasty look, "I have already shared my views regarding your little houseplant hobby. Hizashi's shop continues to run due to your cousin Neji's continued generosity but," Hiashi's eyes flashed with anger, "I will shut that place down if you do not make a considerable profit this year. Is that clear?" he snarled before standing and exiting the dining room, the sliding door shutting with a violent snap.
"I'll go talk to him," Hanabi quickly reassured her older sister, giving her a quick hug before following her father out the door, "Come by and visit the flower shop when you can, okay?"
Hinata nodded, watching her little sister chase after their father before sighing and leaning back against her chair. She took a moment to calm her racing heart, before tipping back the last of her tea and rising. Grabbing her sunflower apron, Hinata left her home, sad to see the dining table stil laden with uneaten food. How long, she wondered to herself, had it been since they had all sat down as a family and enjoyed a meal together? Ever since her uncle's passing, it seemed like her family had grown apart. Neji had moved out long ago, unable to cope with her father's increasing demands. Hanabi decided to assist and eventually become co-owner of their father's flower shop and cafe. Hinata, on the other hand, had taken on the task of revitalizing her late uncle's houseplant shop, much to her father's disapproval. It would be months before Hinata would reconnect with her older cousin but she still could not mend the bridge between herself and her father. She thanked the gods that at least Hanabi still relied on her.
"Today has to go perfectly," Hinata muttered to herself as she tied her hair back and threw her apron on, "I have to at least break even today to start off the season right…"
"That's the spirit!" Kiba's voice suddenly cheered next to her, "I've been harassing the local businesses to spread the word so we should have a decent turn out anyway!"
"Good morning, Hinata-san," Shino greeted her, "Do not worry too much about sales," he tried to reassure her, "I stayed up painting a few extra planters to help."
"Kiba! Shino!" Hinata breathed, a great weight lifting off her shoulders as her friend's joined her side, "T-Thank you so much for helping me again this year!"
Kiba shook his head, "Naw, I'm trying to get my commission for all those vegetable starts this year! Bosslady isn't getting away with those cheap tomatoes."
Shino nodded, "I too wish to test out some of these new designs. I do hope they aren't too abstract."
Hinata could only giggle. She knew they were just putting on airs. Past all the teasing and banter, Kiba and Shino too were anxious about today's plant sale. With the last frost behind them, Spring was in full swing and with it came the much anticipated growing season. Gardeners, homesteaders, and hobby farmers alike were done prepping their garden beds and were now hunting through the many plant nurseries in search of the next vegetable to bless their land. During this time of year, even houseplant shops like Hinata's were stocking up, hoping to get the majority of their first quarter profits completed through these early spring sales.
"Oi! Let's get started!" Tsunade called as the trio approached the storefront.
Exchanging nods, the three separated. Kiba went straight to the back room, Little Helper right at his heels, to begin setting out tray after tray of vegetable starts. He could feel his hands tremble with excitement as table after table began to fill with trays of herbs, brassicas, tomatoes, peppers, even zinnias, sunflowers, and calendula. At the other side of the shop, Shino was setting up several shelves with his hand-painted planters. The aspiring artist had recreated a few of his favorite designs, the golden beetles and woody moths had returned, while a new design based on dragonfly wings made its debut right on the top shelves. Grabbing his smartphone, Shino did his best to capture the best angle possible and snapped a few photos for his growing GramCHAN account. He hoped to bring his fans in and try to sell the majority of his planters, maybe even get some feedback from past customers. Hinata, on the other hand, could be spotted hurriedly filling her smaller promotional shelves with growing supplies including bags of worm castings, vermiculite and its partner in crime perlite, as well as garden stakes, starting trays, and seed starting mix. After filling the endcaps, Hinata made a beeline for the large seed display seated in the middle of the store. The display had a large assortment of vegetable, flower, and herb seeds tucked neatly in their little cardboard pockets. Hinata took some time to straighten up the display and place a few promotional items around it, making sure to bring in a few of Shino's colorful planters for good measure.
Unbeknownst to the shop, a small crowd had already begun to surround the front door. As a group of children pressed their faces against the glass to ogle at the Monstera basking in its halo of light, their mothers took the time to catch up on a bit of gossip while sharing their urban garden plans for the year. In contrast, a pair of little old women argued over the best tasting tomato, with one declaring that nothing beat a tart cherry tomato straight from the vine while the other disagreed and stated that Bradly's were much more robust. Here and there, a few Sakura-stans could be seen showing off their latest jewelry purchase, attracted to the sale no doubt by Sakura's latest post on GramCHAN. Even the local grocer had stopped by with his truck, ready to purchase a bulk amount of plants to sell at his own storefront.
Amongst the growing crowd of patrons, a blond head could be seen trying to peek over and get a better sight of the shop front, "It doesn't look like they're open yet," Naruto said.
"Quite a crowd, though," Teuchi grinned, "Looks like things are picking up for them."
"Sakura-chan!" Ayame waved, having spotted her friend on the other side of the block, "Over here!"
In an attempt to support their favorite little plant shop, Teuchi, Ayame, and Naruto had agreed to shut Ichiraku Ramen down for the day in order to attend the Spring Sale at the Shop on Yarrow Street. As Ayame and Sakura exchanged hugs, Naruto took some time to browse the flier Kiba had distributed at the ramen shop a few days ago. At this point, Naruto had practically memorized the flier but read it again, trying to taper his growing excitement. While he had attended the plant swap a few months back, somehow he felt that this spring sale was much bigger and much more important than a bunch of grannies sipping beers while trading cactus pads. Flipping the flier over, Naruto reread the extensive list of vegetable and herb starts Kiba would be selling. The young man had no idea what new plant he would buy but for sure one of Shino's planters was coming back to the studio with him.
"Oh, they're open!" Teuchi announced as the merry twinkle of the shop bells sounded.
The crowd's already excited chatter ramped up as it funneled its way into the little shop. Before he knew it, Naruto found himself surrounded as he tried to walk through the aisles and locate his friends. Glancing behind him, Naruto realized that Ayame and Sakura had already departed to find the succulent display while Teuchi was nowhere to be seen. For a brief moment, Naruto hesitated, only to spot a familiar face weaving its way through the crowd. It was Hinata, her sunflower apron tied neatly around her waist, with a kitten perched on her shoulder. Suddenly, the peace lily that Naruto had been admiring wasn't so interesting anymore. As their eyes met, Hinata raised her hand and gave him a little wave, before being swept away by an insistent woman in need of some potting mix.
"Naruto!" Tsunade's voice boomed behind him, "How was that private consultation of yours?"
Naruto felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as Tsunade sauntered over to him, "T-Tsunade-san…" he whined, trying to hide his blushing face, "It wasn't… Hinata was just-,"
"See, that's the thing, Naruto," Tsunade teased him, "Hinata doesn't just do private consultations…" she then gave him a rough smack across the back, "Indulge," Tsunade advised him before walking off to chase a group of kids away from the display window, but not before calling back, "Shino's at the back near the pothos!"
As he tried to calm his racing heart, Naruto followed Tsunade's directions and made his way to the back of the store. Here, the crowd seemed to thin out and, after passing another display of prickly pear cactus, Naruto came upon a group of tables bearing a wide assortment of painted planters. Delighted, the young man bent down to examine the painted planters. He immediately recognized the recreated jade and gold planters housing his own plants. However, seated just before these familiar designs were two new planters with two new patterns Naruto had never seen before. Grabbing the nearest, newest planter, Naruto held it up to better examine its design. The entire planter, at first glance, looked like it had been wrapped in a layer of mossy tree bark. Squinting, Naruto could just barely make out the shiny, dewey eyes of the cabbage moths making up the entirety of the pattern. The young man felt his heart swell with pride. He couldn't believe the little help he provided gave birth to such a fantastic design. Naruto admired the piece for just a second longer, before setting it aside and picking up the next new piece. To his surprise, the new design only came in one size: the same mini planters Sakura used for her tiny succulent collection. Seated in the shade, the planter seemed pretty plain, its muted blues and greens hardly standing out amongst the other brightly patterned pieces. Confused, Naruto picked up the tiny planter, flipping it over to try and understand Shino's choice of colors.
As if on cue, Shino suddenly appeared from behind his merch table, "Lift it towards the light," he advised Naruto.
Naruto, now used to Shino's natural ability to just appear in any room, nodded and lifted the plant up towards the light. Just as he turned it to get a better look, the light that caught on the design suddenly illuminated the planter. Brilliant sparkling blues and greens shimmered and shined across the room, causing Naruto to croon in awe. Even a couple of passing shoppers paused to admire the tiny but spectacular piece.
"Since we're approaching Summer, I thought it would save me some time to start on a new theme. Dragonflies are more common as the season warms up so," Shino motioned to the sparkling colors casted about above them, "I took inspiration from their iridescent wings. To capture the iridescence, I decided mica powder mixed in the paint would help."
Naruto grinned and immediately grabbed two of the shimmering mini planters and one of the larger moth-inspired planters, "These are great, Shino! Do they come with dishes too?"
"N-Naruto you don't have to-,"
"Hey, I helped design these!" Naruto insisted.
And just like that, Naruto left Shino's table carrying three new planters with their matching painted dishes. To his amusement, the young man watched as lurking shoppers quickly surrounded Shino's table, immediately overwhelming him with questions and a few fans asking for commission prices. Buying planters was all good and well, Naruto told himself as he walked away from the growing crowd, but what in the world was he going to plant in them? Realizing his new dilemma, Naruto set his planters aside on the buying counter. Thankfully, Tsunade was manning the register and, upon seeing his growing purchase, gave the young man a wink before taking the planters and putting them behind the counter. Naruto would be back with more than just planters if Kiba had anything to do with it.
"Naruto!" Teuchi called over the crowd, "Which one of these herbs do we already own?"
Thanking Tsuande, Naruto hurried over to Teuchi's side, excited to see what Kiba was selling this spring sale. As he approached the massive collection of vegetable and herb plants, Naruto understood why Teuchi was so overwhelmed. Kiba had outdone himself. The young man had spent three months worrying over every single plant, spending extra time and money to ensure they were properly fertilized, received the maximum amount of lumens for maximum growth, and had even spent some evenings experimenting by playing metal music for the plants. Table after table was laden with tray after tray of plants. Naruto could barely get to the end of one tray before another with equally hardy plants captured his attention. With Teuchi at his side, both men spent a few minutes browsing Kiba's collection. Teuchi was more interested in adding to his growing herb collection and spent quite a while agonizing over which chamomile plants to take home for Ayame. Naruto, on the other hand, found himself picking through the plants, trying to find some more container-friendly varieties to brighten up his studio.
"Naruto!" Kiba laughed, throwing his arm over the blond's shoulder, "How many of those planters did you buy today?"
"Mm, I'm going to buy three today," Naruto picked up a nearby Big Boy tomato plant, "But I'm not sure which one of these will do well indoors… In a planter?"
Kiba scratched his chin, contemplating his friend's dilemma, "Do you want to grow vegetables or herbs?"
"I'm not too picky?"
"Ah, I see…" Kiba motioned to a smaller group of tomato plants, "Well, I do have some micro tomatoes that-,"
"Excuse me?" the grocer from earlier approached, bowing his head politely to the two men, "I'm here to pick up my bulk order?"
"Oh, right!" Kiba gave Naruto's shoulder a quick squeeze, "Ah shit, man, I'm sorry. Let me just-" he craned his head over the crowd and barked, "Hinata! Can you give me a hand over here?"
"K-Kiba!" Naruto gasped, "Hinata doesn-"
"Uh, yeah she does," Kiba chuckled, "It's her job as Dear Owner," he teased Hinata as she came over.
"Kiba!" Hinata rolled her eyes at him, "Are y-you sure you want me to steal y-your commission today?"
Kiba snorted in amusement, "The grocer is here for his twenty trays of starts. I don't think you can beat that with potting soil sales…"
Hinata put her hands on her hips and pouted. For a moment, Naruto briefly wished Hinata's ire was directed at him. She looked quite adorable standing there glowering at her friend. Feeling silly, Naruto shook his head, trying to chase away his ridiculous thoughts.
"But no, seriously," Kiba gently shoved Naruto forward. Caught unawares, the blond stumbled over to Hinata's side, "Naruto needs help picking container-friendly vegetables. Sorry man, I really do have to run this order to the grocer. First two plants are on me," and with that, Kiba now draped his arm over the grocer's shoulder and led him away into the jungle of vegetable starts, no doubt plotting to upsell another twenty trays to the poor man before closing time.
"I-I'm sorry about t-that, Naruto-kun," Hinata bowed to him, "H-How can I h-help you today?"
"Erm…" these days, whenever their eyes met, Naruto couldn't help but think back on that small, but very intimate moment they shared in front of his father's shrine. Fighting the butterflies in his stomach, Naruto stammered, "I'm… I'm buying those new planters f-from Shino. I'm n-not sure which vegetables will do well in my… My studio…" Again, he thought back on Hinata's cool hand resting on his wrist, the sensation of her soft fingers held gently by his own, the desire to wrap their fingers together and... Taking some deep breaths, Naruto tried to keep a neutral expression, hoping Hinata wouldn't pick up on his nervousness.
"Hm…" Hinata motioned him to follow her, meandering through Kiba's extensive collection of vegetable plants, before stopping in front of a table loaded with tiny tomato plants, "Did Kiba mention m-micro tomatoes?"
Naruto nodded, "Will they be okay in the mini planters?"
Hinata shook her head, "Even though they are called micro, tomatoes in general are very greedy about space and will plant roots even along their stems," Hinata picked up one of the plants, "I think this Minibel will do well in the bigger container. It'll reach a foot, maybe two, at its highest. And the tomatoes are really cute and tiny, but still delicious to eat!"
Grabbing a cardboard tray for bulk plant purchases, Naruto followed Hinata around the vegetable plants, picking out a few veggies here, an herb plant or two there, and even a few flowers. Before he knew it, the young man's tray was filled from corner to corner with a large variety of plants. Hinata was initially alarmed, as Naruto had only planned to buy enough for his new planters. Naruto, however, didn't mind. He was having a lot of fun learning about these new plants with Hinata and enjoying her presence as she chatted away about his latest selection. If a few extra plants came home with him, it was worth it, he thought to himself.