CHAPTER TWELVE
Our benefactors Part-2
The next morning, Konohamaru and Moegi went for a stroll in the village. Team 4 was on a break till the next year, as ordered by the Hokage. The two friends chatted about the past week, with Konohamaru being particularly interested in what happened during Moegi's recently completed S class mission.
"And then Sasuke created this giant rock, it-it was like…a moon!" Moegi described the planetary devastation with hand gestures. "It was about….THIS big"
"No way" Konohamaru said in disbelief
"True!" Moegi continued, "And it had like maybe, ten guys in it, and then Naruto-sensei just blew the whole thing up"
"Wow! How did he do it?"
"He turned into the nine tails, but like yellow and stuff, then he just shot this dark ball at it" Moegi paused for dramatic effect. "It was the most spectacular explosion I've ever seen"
Konohamaru stared at his teammate, doe eyed. "Wow…that sounds amazing". He fumbled with his headband. "I wish I'd go on a S class mission, you must've had fun Moegi"
"Well….not really" Moegi rubbed the back of her neck with a flustered expression on her face. "Naruto and Sasuke did all the work really, we were basically just cheerleaders"
Konohamaru paused then broke into laughter. "I figured as much, that old man probably got caught up trying to impress his stupid girlfriend"
"Hey don't say that about lady Hinata, she's an angel!"
"Yeah, I wasn't saying she's actually stupid or anything, it's just Naruto that's being a sore geezer these days" Konohamaru and Moegi turned into a nearby street, continuing their discussion. They stopped at a store to get snacks, and made for Sakura's house. Their friendly conversation eventually devolved into a semi-heated argument over who the strongest female ninja in Konoha was.
"No way, Sakura-sama is definitely the strongest kunoichi in the village" Moegi reiterated. "Hinata may be your big bro's girlfriend but that doesn't mean you have to be biased"
"I'm not being biased, you're the one being biased Moegi" Konohamaru folded his hands. "Sakura's your mentor, of course you'd pick her"
"But it's the truth Kono"
"Nuh-uh, Hinata could likely beat the seven ninja swordsmen"
"Huh? With WHAT feats?!" Moegi asked.
Konohamaru folded his arms, resolute. "You just don't see the vision"
"Whatever Konohamaru" Moegi rolled her eyes, then spun around to ask Konohamaru a question.
"Hey, speaking of overrated Hyuugas, have you heard from little miss rain cloud lately?"
"Hanabi?" Konohamaru scratched his cheek in thought. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her in days"
Moegi scoffed at no one in particular. "No wonder the air's been cleaner recently, and my skin is beginning to glow too"
"Hey come on Moegi" Konohamaru scolded his teammate. "Hanabi's not that bad once you get to know her"
Moegi turned to her teammate in surprise. "Huh? Hearing this from you Konohamaru?"
Deciding to change the topic before his friend could start asking him more uncomfortable questions, Konohamaru decided to set off to visit Hanabi and bid Moegi farewell. As he walked down the street towards the Hyuuga compound, he took in the sounds and smells of preparation for the upcoming Rinne festival.
Maybe Hanabi isn't into big celebrations, he thought, sinking his hands into his pockets. His mind went back to their last mission together, and he smiled at the thought of her snuggling with him under his blanket that cold night. For the first time ever, Konohamaru was actually looking forward to meeting his snobby teammate.
"What are we working on today, my love?" Naruto asked the young woman standing some metres away from him.
Hinata assumed a defensive posture and replied, "Gentle fist, need to sharpen my defensive posture"
Naruto nodded in understanding and cracked his fists. "Right! Tell me when you're ready"
Hinata activated her Byakugan and smiled at him. "Don't hold back"
"You got it!"
Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of what looked like the formation of a giant nine tailed fox in front of her. Orange chakra solidified into Kurama to her north east while Naruto stood to her north, transformed into his sage of six paths mode.
"W-wait!" she yelled in a panic. "We should tone it down a bit y'know? Don't want to….destroy the training field or anything haha" she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.
Naruto snapped his fingers in realization and apologized to Kurama as he released his chakra avatar. "Sorry Kurama, maybe next time"
Whatever
And with that, the fox vanished, leaving only Naruto standing…..now in his bijuu mode, his clothing covered in an orange chakra cloak and sealing formulas.
"Here I come Hinata!"
Hinata frantically waved at him before he could potentially murder her. "Just a little bit more okay?"
"If you say so" Naruto closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them, his chakra cloak was gone and his pupils narrowed into frog like slits, in his sage mode.
Satisfied, Hinata finally retook her battle stance and beckoned to him.
"Come!"
Naruto rushed forward and unleashed a relentless series of taijutsu attacks, trying to break through her defense. Hinata kept up very well with him, and five minutes later, he had failed to land a solid hit on her. Satisfied and impressed with her performance, Naruto decided to call it quits.
"Well, done Hinata, you were incredible!"
Exhausted, Hinata stretched forward her hand to perform the unison sign with Naruto.
"We're not done yet" she added, drawing a wide grin from her sparring partner.
"I've still got a bit of fight left in me, and you've been holding back Naruto"
Naruto raised his hands, "Holding back is a strong term to use, I'm just being careful y'know"
Hinata retook her battle stance. "I can handle it, don't underestimate me"
Still feeling doubtful, Naruto eventually gave in and engaged in combat again, this time being more aggressive with his attacks. As expected, Hinata was finding it much harder to react to Naruto, who had begun using shadow clones combined with his sage mode.
"Too slow!" Naruto teased, dodging a palm strike from Hinata and cheekily flicking her forehead in return. Hinata struck out once again, only succeeding in defeating a shadow clone in a *poof*
"Behind you!" she spun around to attack him only to find nothing but another shadow clone. Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open at the feeling of a hand lightly smacking her rear, sending a rush of blood to her face.
That damn blind spot again
"Look alive Hinata!" Naruto's voice rang in her ear, sending a rush of annoyance in her. "I thought you could see everything around you" he teased.
Annoyance replaced with rage (and embarrassment), Hinata carefully monitored the 3 Narutos darting around her. Soon enough she found what she was looking for. With all her might, she unleashed a powerful strike to the real Naruto's stomach, right on the seal that secured Kurama inside him. Her eyes flashed blue as she struck, and for a split second she could feel another living being inside Naruto.
"OOF" Naruto felt the air knocked out of him as he sliced through the air.
OOF! Out of nowhere, Kurama felt his entire being get shut off in an instant, sending him into a coma in his shared mind plane with Naruto.
"Yes! I win!" Hinata jumped in glee. "You gave me a real tough time Naruto-kun"
But he didn't reply.
Puzzled, Hinata watched Naruto face down in the snow, passed out.
"Yo! Hanabi!"
The Hyuuga spun around to the sound of her name to see Konohamaru waving at her. An unexpected feeling of warmth overtaking her, she stopped her training session with a wooden dummy and called out to him.
"I knew it smelled like ugly out here" she said with a smirk.
"Ha ha very funny" Konohamaru walked over to her and placed a bag on a nearby bench.
"Long time no see Princess"
"Who even let you in Sarutobi?"
Konohamaru adjusted his headband with a smile. "What do you mean? I'm a renown shinobi, I can enter the Hyuuga compound anytime I want"
"It was probably Ko" Hanabi mumbled to herself. "What brings you here?"
Konohamaru scrambled for an answer, "Wha-I-I mean…. You're my teammate Hanabi, of course I'd come check on you after you don't reach out to us for over a week"
Hanabi looked into the distance at nothing in particular. "I didn't ask for you to come Konohamaru"
"What? You don't need to ask, it's what friends do"
Hanabi turned away from him, hiding her hands. "Friend…or not, I really want to be alone right now"
Noticing his teammate hiding her hands, Konohamaru reached out and grabbed one before she could react. He let out a small gasp as he saw the bruises that covered her fists and palm.
"Hanabi, why? You might be training too hard"
Hanabi pulled back her hand from his and made for the bench. "It's none of your business" she snapped at him.
"Of course it's my business!" Konohamaru shot back. "You don't reach out to your teammates for over a week and lock your self indoors so you can…train to death or whatever. Hanabi, you can talk to someone if anything's bothering you "
Konohamaru sat down next to Hanabi on the bench. "You can talk to me….you know?"
Hanabi looked at her injured hands and sighed. "You wouldn't get it, I'm sorry"
"Try me" Konohamaru replied with a grin.
Hanabi felt a small smile form on her lips and bowed her head. "I'm…a fraud"
"How?"
The Hyuuga produced a tin of ointment and some bandages from a first aid kit she dropped near the bench and prepared to use them only for Konohamaru to take them away from her
"You're hurt Hanabi, let me do it okay?"
She wanted to protest but could only manage a small nod, prompting Konohamaru to start applying the ointment to her bruises.
"Now I'm no Moegi but I'll do my best"
Hanabi looked away and mumbled loud enough for him to hear. "Thanks"
"Don't mention it princess" he replied without looking at her. Hanabi sighed and stared at the snowflakes lazily drifting to the ground.
"Everyone always talks about how great and talented I am, but I have nothing to show for it"
Konohamaru looked up from tending to her wounds. "Huh? You're super talented Hanabi, what do you mean?"
"And what do I have to show for it? Nothing but a string of failures". Hanabi winced in pain as Konohamaru tended to her wounds.
"I failed at the chunin exams, I failed to protect my own sister from being murdered…..and I'm supposed to be the one leading this clan someday?"
Konohamaru looked up from his work and spoke, "Look, I'm not a clan heir like you but being the grandson of the third, I kinda understand what it probably feels like for everyone to expect a lot from you"
He replaced the lid of the tin of ointment and grabbed the bandages. "But one thing grandpa Hiruzen always told me was failure is a sign of weakness only if you want it to"
Hanabi scoffed at his words "That just sounds like old man nonsense"
"It probably was" Konohamaru laughed, "but it is true that one thing so many great people have in common is being serial failures"
Done with her right hand, Konohamaru reached for her left to wrap it in bandages too.
"But they never let a loss put them down, they picked themselves back up and kept pushing. But most importantly, they were never alone"
Hanabi's gaze raised to look at her teammate tending to her wounds. He was decent at it, she had to admit and her hand had already started to feel better.
"Hanabi, we're all here for you to help you get back up to your feet when you're down" Konohamaru continued "Team 4, Naruto, Hinata, your whole clan. Even that silly cloud girl you write to, Nevada or whatever her name is"
Konohamaru wrapped the last bit of bandage around her hand and tied it in a knot.
"We're all family, you don't have to isolate yourself Hanabi. Instead of beating up a wooden dummy in training, you can beat me up instead" he continued with a smile which Hanabi returned to his surprise.
"Thank you" Hanabi said.
"For the pep talk or the first aid? I'm not good at the whole pep talk thing, I kinda felt that I was all over the place" Konohamaru scratched his cheek nervously.
"Thanks for both, your pep talk was fine" Hanabi replied. She looked down to see he was still holding her hand just in time for Konohamaru to notice and hurriedly yank his hand away in embarrassment.
"You're a lot easier to talk to when you're not frowning all the time, you know that" Konohamaru prodded her with his elbow. "Isn't it nice having a conversation without calling me ugly or stupid?"
"You're one to talk Sarutobi, you pick on me just as much. I'd say you even started being a prick to me first"
"That true to be honest" Konohamaru admitted hesitantly. "To be fair I was just trying to get your attention but maybe there were better ways"
Hanabi perked up at his words. "Get my attention? Why?"
Realizing what he accidentally let out, Konohamaru could do nothing to stem the increased blood flow to his face. He struggled to find the right words to say, praying Hanabi would change the topic but she just repeated her question.
"Why were you trying to get my attention Konohamaru?"
Ah crap
Konohamaru reached into himself, gathering every bit of courage he had left and decided to come clean to the girl he was now certain he had a crush on.
"Well….you see" he took a deep breath and looked to the sky at nothing in particular. "I always thought you were like…cool, Hanabi"
Hanabi raised an eyebrow. "Me? Cool?" she let out a small laugh and looked at her bandaged hands. "You're pretty stupid Sarutobi, I'm not cool…I never was"
"Are you kidding?" Konohamaru turned to face her. "You're the strongest chunin I know!".
He paused to adjust his headband with a grin. "And the second coolest after yours truly"
To his surprise Hanabi laughed at his antics, sending warmth to him. He scrambled for what to say next and continued. "You've always been this strong, smart shinobi but apart from my heritage, I was nobody really. You were the Hyuuga heiress before we even graduated the academy but I was just Konohamaru Sarutobi, grandson of the third." He reclined further in the bench and reached for his gloves. "I was a little….jealous of you. I kinda picked on you to sort of make myself feel better." He produced a small snowball and tossed it at her. "But you gave it back to me tenfold so I may have bit more than I could chew"
The two of them laughed for a short while then Konohamaru took another deep breath and made eye contact with her.
"I'm sorry for being a prick to you all these years Hanabi"
Hanabi produced one of her rare smiles and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Apology accepted" She looked to the side and stifled a nervous laugh. "And I did pick on you on my own volition too so I guess we're even"
Konohamaru waved his hand dismissively "Eh it's water under the bridge. And I meant what I said about sparring with you when your hands get better Hanabi"
"It shouldn't take too long, I don't know what my sister puts in this ointment but it's practically magic"
"Well then it's settled! Just you and me, and no eye magic bullshit or any of that"
"Please, I could kick your butt blindfolded"
Konohamaru smiled at his teammate. "Then you'll just have to prove it"
He looked at his hands and rubbed them nervously then spoke, "I should've just talked to you, way back instead of teasing you for attention. I was such a dumb little kid"
Hanabi moved closer to him. "Hey, it's okay. And you're still a dumb little kid"
"I'm not even going to argue with you"
Hanabi smiled at him and flicked away a snowflake from his nose. "And besides, you have…..my attention now"
Konohamaru turned to face her and unexpectedly made eye contact with Hanabi. He was tempted to break it but he noticed she refused to look away from him. Feeling his heart rate accelerate, he thought he was imagining her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
She's just cold
Eventually, Hanabi shyly shifted her gaze to the snowy ground and Konohamaru felt a rush of confidence like he hadn't felt before. He opened his mouth to say something, anything.
"I…."
Seeing her regain eye contact with him, the words never left his throat. Nothing could prepare him for the sight of Hanabi leaning in closer….
And closer…
"Would you look at the time!" The boy bolted upright in a hurry.
"I need to go see uhh Udon right now! I'm pretty late" Konohamaru's words came in a single breath.
"Haha, I also have to…do clan stuff" Hanabi was standing a few feet away from the bench they were seated on in an instant.
"Bye Hanabi!" and he took off without looking back.
Out of the Hyuuga compound and on his way back home, Konohamaru went over his conversation with Hanabi in his head.
"Was she trying to kiss me?" he mumbled to himself as he walked down the street, gloved hands in his pockets.
"Argh I'm such a loser! She probably thinks I'm a weirdo now!" he grabbed his head with his hands in frustration.
"Who thinks you're a weirdo?"
Konohamaru spun around to find Udon and Moegi looking at him, puzzled.
Raising his head up, he discovered he was standing outside Ichiraku Ramen.
"Uh, my mum….yeah I did some weird stuff at home just now. I don't want to talk about it" Konohamaru was impressed by his ability to come up with something that quickly.
Moegi tilted her head in confusion. "What was it?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it Moegi!"