Chapter 47, part 1
Apparently this is too long for one post. Which is embarassing, given it's basically filler.
Konoha was, more or less, back to normal. The worst of the damage from the Zetsu Horde was cleaned up, leaving a few minor repairs the buildings' owners could take care of on their own. Most of those injured during the attack were out of the hospital, with a few exceptions. There was a certain excitement in the air, with people energized by the victory, and the fact that so many of their foreign guests were young and lively.
In fact, more than one of them had had the temerity to pester the Hokage, the leader of a foreign power, for something fun to do. With the exception of that one girl from Yukigakure, it had all been hints, comments made in passing, about how a celebration would really bring people together. In truth, Tsunade thought it would be a nice opportunity for some sake and festival food, if nothing else. And so as soon as she thought it wouldn't be in poor taste, she cornered some genin who were at her tower for unrelated reasons, and ordered them to pass out fliers around town announcing a festival.
She then told Shizune to organize the whole thing and locked herself in her office.
---
“Wait here, I'll only be a moment-” Shino began, turning to Nikko.
“Hey, you two!”
They both turned to look. Shizune, looking tired and harassed, stalked down the hall from the Hokage Tower financial office toward them. She waved a sheet of paper at them.
“You two don't look injured. Want to help set up the festival?” she asked, thrusting the paper at them, a pen pinned between her thumb and the page.
“I-” Nikko began.
“Great. Very civic-minded,” said Shizune.
Shino and Nikko exchanged a glance. She gave a little shrug, and added their names to the sign up sheet. As Shizune left them, Shino suppressed a sigh. Well, at least he had no upcoming missions. Perhaps he could go ahead and get the work over with and done. It could also give him a chance to spend time with her...
“Would you like to go ahead and do our part once I've dropped off this paperwork?” he asked.
She smiled. “That sounds fine.”
He gave her a little nod, and she waited while he followed Shizune's path to the financial office and came back empty handed.
“My apologies,” he said as they fell into step, leaving the tower. “I did not mean you to get caught up in this.”
She shook her head, and Shino could detect a faint smell of leather oil and metal. “I don't mind. Actually, I'm rather looking forward to the festival. I haven't been to one in some time.”
“Would you like to accompany me?” Shino asked, ignoring the faint agitated buzz of his kikai.
“Yes. Thank you,” she said.
He nodded. “Did the sign up sheet say where we were supposed to be going?”
“To the park,” she said, and they both stopped, realizing they were going the wrong way. Their course corrected, they went on.
---
“Volunteering for festival setup?” Sumire asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shi did her best to ignore her friends as she tied back her hair and rolled up her sleeves in preparation. The three of them stood in the shade of a half-finished food stall, tools and paint littered around as if a hardware store had exploded nearby. The rest of the park looked much the same, though the game booths had a few specialty items hanging around.
“What'cha up to?” Mayonaka asked from her seat on the stall's counter, kicking her feet. “You could be off training with us.”
“Or having a look around,” Sumire added. “A lot of people are off asking people to the festival with them.”
“My name's on the sign up sheet. Too late to back out now,” Shi said, picking up a hammer. “Of course, if you stick around, I'm sure they could find something for you to do.”
As if on cue, a burly civilian carrying a portable grill spotted them and gave a yell. “Hey! Get off the construction or get to work!”
Mayonaka hopped down from her perch. “You're on your own,” she said cheerfully, running off with a wave.
“Good luck,” Sumire said, patting Shi on the shoulder and following at a more leisurely pace.
A quarter of an hour after the two had left, Neji arrived, tying back his own long hair as he walked. He spotted Shi and walked over.
“Shi-san, there you are. Care to tell me how I ended up being volunteered for this?”
“I don't know what you mean,” she said innocently. “Don't you want to take part in an important celebration of international friendship? Victory, cooperation, youthful enthusiasm and all that?”
His eye twitched at her use of the very Gai-like phrase, but he got to work anyway, holding a board steady as she hammered.
“I do not mind helping out, but it came as a bit of a surprise,” he said as she readied another nail.
“What can I say? I'm spontaneous.”
“And this has nothing to do with getting a moment free from your friends'... machinations?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Side benefit,” she said, driving it in.
They lapsed into silence for a while, and before long, the stall had been built. It still stood empty, waiting for another team to install the grill and make it ready for use, but they had done their part. Neji looked around for the next piece to build.
“Are you looking forward to the festival?” Shi asked.
He made a noncommittal noise, spotting the next pile of boards, instructions tacked to the top one, and headed over. Shi followed, frowning slightly.
“It sounds like it's going to be a pretty big deal, even if it was rushed,” she said.
He nodded. “Shizune-san has been overworking herself in order to get everything ready in time, I imagine.”
“Heh. Yeah, the Hokage kinda sprung it on her.”
The conversation stalled again as they worked, though Shi could feel his eyes on her. Every time she looked his way, he seemed to be watching something else, his mind on his work. By the time they finished the second stall, frustration gnawed at her, making her impatient, sloppy. When she nearly hit her own thumb with the hammer, she dropped it aside and glared at him.
“Hey. Want to go with me?”
He looked up, blinking in confusion.
“To the festival,” she clarified.
“I... yes,” he said, after a pause.
After that, work went more smoothly.
---
“Did you hear about the festival?” Chouji asked, looking at Sasaeko over his sandwich.
“You mean that one?” she asked, nodding to the construction in the distance.
They sat on a park bench, eating lunch. It wasn't Sasaeko's cooking, for once, but her mother's.
“Oh. Yeah.” He laughed.
She smiled at him, and he could feel a blush creeping up his face.
“It should be a lot of fun,” she said.
He nodded. “I'll be helping out with setup. I'm going over there after lunch, actually.”
“It's really good of you to help out,” she said. “I wish I could go with you, but Mom specifically said no. She's barely letting me go to the festival as it is, and made me promise to stick with Shiryoku the entire time.”
“Your ribs are bothering you that much?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“They're not so bad,” she said, and he could tell from her blush she was lying. “But I had a tiny little secondary infection. It's over now, though.”
“Are you sure you're okay?”
She nodded. “I'm fine. Anyway, what will you be doing with the setup?”
“I think they'll have me building stalls. It just depends on what still needs to be done, I guess.”
“It really is good of you to work so hard,” she said. “I'm looking forward to the festival. I heard there's going to be dancing!”
“Dancing?” he said, the edges of a daydream slipping into his thoughts.
“I think it's an exhibition, I mean. I don't know if there's an area for everyone to dance, or anything like that.”
“Oh.” He sagged a little. “Are you going with your team?”
“Just Shiryoku. Kori has a date, and I think Taki-sensei promised Gai-sensei she'd walk around with him. What about you?”
“I don't have a date. I mean, um, I'll just be there with my team.”
“Maybe we'll see you there,” she said, smiling.
---
“And what, exactly, convinced you to sign up for an extra ten hours of festival setup?” Shikamaru asked, not sitting up from his rooftop cloud viewing.
“I know, it was stupid, but she's just so excited for the festival, and she kept saying how good it was of me to help out, and...”
Chouji trailed off. Shikamaru glanced over to his friend, who at least had the good grace to look embarrassed.
“So, could you help me out?” Chouji asked, grinning sheepishly.
Shikamaru sighed. “Fine. Is Ino going to come, too? You know if you told her why you volunteered, she'd be happy to help out. Hell, she'd probably go with you to pick up a yukata.”
“No, she's still really busy at the hospital. Besides, I'm going with you guys. She's just going to be there with one of her teammates.”
Shikamaru nodded in approval. At least she hadn't asked Lee.
“I've barely had time since the battle,” Chouji said, settling in to watch the clouds. “What have you been up to?”
“Avoiding work, mostly.”
Chouji laughed. “Sorry. I've spoiled that plan.”
He shrugged as best he could while lying down. “It was bound to happen eventually. This festival is going to be troublesome.”
“Where did you end up during the battle, anyway?”
“Hm? Oh, some girl from Kumo and I were guarding civilians. I was out of the worst of it. What about you? I know they had you down on the ground.”
“Cleanup. They paired me with that tall, quiet kunoichi from the Mist and had us go after Zetsu stragglers.”
“Did she speak at all?”
“Not a word. She managed to say what she wanted pretty well with hand signals, though. And she was awfully good with a sword.”
“Hm.”
“I can't believe it, though. Sasaeko got hurt pretty badly defending Lee when he got taken out.”
Shikamaru jerked in surprise. “What?”
“Yeah. Broken ribs, bunch of bruises and lacerations, a nasty black eye, and then an infection,” Chouji said, frowning. “She was in pretty bad shape.
“She defended Lee? He was unconscious, but she was still going?” Shikamaru asked.
“Yeah. Haven't you been to see her?”
Shikamaru shook his head, only half listening. “That's... unexpected. I should have figured, though, she always manages to get herself into trouble...”
He managed to keep from adding, especially where Lee is concerned.
---
Shi and Neji slipped under the entry arch and into the park. At last, the festival was here, the hard work done, or at least their part in it. It had started hours earlier, but most of the afternoon visitors had been parents with young children. Now that the sun was low, casting lengthy shadows across the cobbles, more of the shinobi population had arrived, along with the younger civilians.
Shi glanced sidelong at Neji as he studied a stall selling masks. He cleaned up nicely. An understated gray yukata patterned with feathers and his hair in a knot at the nape of the neck left him looking rather elegant.
“I knew it!” crowed a familiar voice, dragging Shi out of her admiration.
Mayonaka and Sumire stepped out from behind another stall, grinning. Mayonaka shifted from foot to foot, pointing in glee.
“You're here on a daaaate,” she said, sing-songing the word. “That's why you couldn't come with us!”
“A date? What?” Shi said, feigning shock. “Why, he must have led me here under false pretenses! Oh, wait, I asked him.”
“That's no surprise, the way he's dragging his feet,” Sumire said, glancing past her friend.
Shi wondered if Neji could hear them over the general noise, or if he were just pretending not to notice them talking about him.
“Anyway, you two look like you've put in an effort. Are you saying you're all dolled up just to spy on us?”
Sumire made a great show of beaming in pride. She had chosen a black yukata patterned with violets, and Mayonaka a blue one that matched her eyes.
“I'm just here for the food and the people-watching,” Sumire said, “but Mayo-tan here has a date. Speak of the devil...”
Kori, just beyond the archway, split off from his teammates and hurried toward Mayonaka, waving. She immediately shifted attention from Shi to him, smiling.
“Hey! You're looking nice,” Kori said, his eyes only for her.
“You, too.”
“Heh. Nah, I didn't even dress up. Sorry.”
“It's fine,” Mayonaka said, and they left, disappearing into the crowd without so much as a goodbye.
“Well, I'm off,” Sumire said. “Third wheel isn't nearly as much fun as being a partner in crime. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”
Shi suppressed a blush at the implication, and turned to find Neji focused on her again. Pretending not to hear after all, Shi thought.
“What would you like to do first?” he asked.
“Hm... I don't think the exhibitions are due to start until it's fully dark, so why don't we get a bite to eat?”
“Very well.” He fell into step beside her. “You look nice. Your yukata is very flashy.”
“Flashy?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, it gets attention,” he said, blushing faintly at the misstep.
Shi figured the correction wasn't much of an improvement, but she let it go. She knew she had chosen well in the black with blood red swirls, and needed no such assurances.
“It's a nice night,” he ventured again.
She nodded, not mentioning that, technically, the sun was still out. He seemed to realize it himself after a moment.
“Here,” he said after a moment, handing her a stick of cotton candy with one hand and paying a vendor with the other. “For you.”
“Thanks,” she said, allowing the chance for silence.
---
“Iruka!” Reikoku yelled, waving her arm over her head when she spotted him. “Over here!”
He winced as the nearest people turned to stare, and an old man muttered something dark about young people. Still, he walked over. Unprompted, she spun in a slow turn.
“What do you think?” she asked once she'd stopped, batting her eyelashes up at him.
“You look nice,” he admitted.
The midnight blue of the cotton made her pale skin seem to shine in the dimming light, and a silk decoration pinned to her hair swayed as she moved. She beamed at him.
“And you look dashing, just as I said.” She slipped her arm around his. “Come on. Let's give everyone a chance to admire us.”
He sighed, but allowed her to lead him deeper into the park.
“Hm. That yakitori actually smells pretty good,” Reikoku said, and pulled him along, ignoring his protest as she bought two skewers. “Here you are.”
He accepted it, though he was not used to being treated, rather than doing the treating. She was right, it did smell good. Within minutes, they had demolished their food and moved on.
“I wasn't sure what to expect when I volunteered for this,” she said as they walked, looking around.
“What do you mean?” Iruka asked, glancing at her.
“When I volunteered for this whole diplomacy thing,” she said, making a face like she thought the idea was stupid. “I mean, Uwaki's the only one on our team who's any good at it. I just wanted to see what Konoha was like.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to see what his hometown was like. Naruto's,” she clarified, misreading his expression. “I mean, what kind of place would produce a guy like that, you know?”
“I didn't know you'd met him in Snow Country.”
“I didn't. Not until I came here. But he changed so much about my home, of course I was curious.” She laughed. “Turns out the great hero is a goofy kid. This whole place seems so soft, but somehow it keeps producing these amazing ninja.”
Iruka had not been there for their first meeting. Now that he thought about it, a variety of horrifying scenarios paraded across his mind.
“Oh, don't look like that,” Reikoku said, squeezing his arm. “I was perfectly polite. I even bought him some ramen.”
He wondered if the Ichiraku had been exposed to her after all.
“I rather like it here, actually, even if it is damnably hot,” she said.
“What is Yukigakure like?”
“Chaotic, mostly. I mean, it must have been stable once, but then came the coup, and when we had finally gotten used to the new ruler, your student came along to change things again. Don't get me wrong, it's better now, but it's all new. We're still finding our feet.”
He raised an eyebrow, as if to ask if she should be saying so much. She squeezed his arm tighter, and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
“I trust you,” she breathed, and he shivered.
Apparently pleased at his reaction, she chuckled. “We don't even have a Yukikage yet. We're still ruled by an office of the central government. It's a bit of a pain. They don't really trust us yet.”
“Yet?” he asked. “You think it's just a matter of time, then?”
“Once they get it through their heads that we don't want to rule the country, and they can finally agree on someone. We're all a little bit crazy up there, after all.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Part of being cooped up all winter, maybe?” She shrugged. “Or the lack of sunlight?”
“I thought it was the Land of Spring now.”
“Oh, we have seasons now. Winter is shorter, sure, but it's as harsh as it ever was.”
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she told a story about the winter saunas. She had included herself in calling everyone from her country crazy, confirming his theory that she knew exactly what she was doing. Still, the politics talk and the fact that she had been kind to Naruto was unexpected. Between her brazen flirting and the reports he had gotten from most of the younger shinobi, he wasn't sure what to think. She seemed capable of introspection, even if she might ignore the results.
---
“Walk on the ground, please, Kaneko,” Usagi said, not for the first time, the patience ebbing away from her voice. “We're trying to make a good impression.”
“They already know us,” Kaneko muttered, but she jumped down from the top of the dango stall, surprising its owner.
“They know us from battle. They don't know how we are in peace yet,” said Usagi. “We don't want them to think we're showing off, now do we?”
“I don't see why not. I mean, they're gonna see Ayumi dance pretty soon anyway,” said Kaneko.
“Her dancing isn't part of her fighting,” Usagi said, not mentioning the other kunoichi on exhibition for whom it was, knowing Kaneko would latch onto that. “And I'm sure they already know she's graceful.”
“Fiiiine,” Kaneko said, folding her arms behind her head.
“Ah,” Usagi said, stopping so abruptly that Danyo nearly bumped into her. “Temari-san, Kankuro-san, good evening.”
“Ossu,” Kankuro said, raising a hand in greeting until his sister elbowed him. “I mean, hi.”
“Are you enjoying the festival?” Temari asked.
Danyo flushed a dark red and looked away, muttering something in the affirmative.
Kankuro raised an eyebrow, dragging up the lines of his makeup, and leaned in toward Kaneko.
“What's up?” he asked, scowling. “Your teammate sweet on my sister or something?”
“Huh?” Kaneko asked, not bothering to keep her voice down until he shushed her. “Nah, he's just shy without his paints on, and you guys are strangers. I'd've thought you'd be the same way.”
He scoffed. “Like I'd be shy.”
“If you say so, but I've never seen you without 'em,” said Kaneko.
He frowned at her, but Temari pulled at his elbow before he could say anything.
“It was nice to see you both. I hope you have a lovely evening,” Usagi said as they parted.
---
“Honestly, I stop to look at hair ornaments for five minutes and they disappear,” Ino muttered to herself, scanning the crowd for her erstwhile teammates.
When neither appeared, she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd dressed up for the occasion, but trying to impress them was pointless, even if Chouji complimented her out of politeness. Well, maybe she could show off a little while looking for them. She set off into the crowd.
“Y-Yamanaka-san?”
She turned at the sound of her name. A few feet away, the tall stone nin who had fought at the hospital stood, his diminutive teammate rolling her eyes as she walked away.
“Ishitaro, isn't it?” she asked, though she was pretty sure of his name.
Rather than looking upset at her uncertainty, he blushed and nodded. His face seemed to be set in a permanent scowl, but slowly she was learning to read it.
“Are you here by yourself?” he asked, walking closer so she had to look up at him.
“My stupid teammates disappeared on me,” she said. “What about you?”
“Suisho is getting ready for the exhibition, and Subayai-”
“Yeah, I saw her.” Ino raised an eyebrow.
“Ah... I mean, would you like to go, er, would you like me to help you look for them?”
She couldn't decide whether watching such a big guy stumble over his words was endearing or off-putting, but she shrugged.
“Sure. You remember what they look like?”
He nodded.
“Great. Eyes peeled, then.”
They set off down the nearest path, Ino hoping her team kept going in the same general direction they had been.
“Would you like something to eat?” Ishitaro asked.
“I guess so. Are you hungry?”
He mumbled something she couldn't quite make out, and turned toward a stall selling dango. Before she could reach for her own purse, he had bought two orders and handed her one.
“You didn't have to do that. Thanks, though,” she said, taking it.
They ate as they walked. Ishitaro made the occasional conversational gambit, though just as often he trailed off into nervous mumbling. Ino listened as politely as she could, but out of the corner of her eye, she was eying the various shops and games.
“Hm, that's cute,” she said to herself, spotting a stuffed boar at a target booth.
“Three tries, please,” Ishitaro said, slapping some money down for the attendant.
The man running the booth started when he saw Ishitaro's face, but handed him three kunai and stepped out of the way.
“You really don't have to-” Ino said as he threw.
His kunai went wide, missing his own target, lined up against the back wall, instead hitting two down. The blade buried itself to the hilt in the target, shattering the cheap wood. A couple of spectators clapped politely. Ishitaro blushed darkly.
Ino waited while he used his other two chances, noticing that he was sweating more than the night's warmth warranted, and that he kept glancing back at her. The second and third kunai both missed, though the third one glanced his target and knocked it off of its post.
“It's fine. Let's go,” Ino said, grabbing his sleeve to pull him away before he could lay down the money for another try.
He blushed again, but let her lead him. She dropped his sleeve once they were away from the stall, and she went back to watching the crowd for her team. She spotted a familiar face among the crowd, though it was Shino rather than Shikamaru or Chouji. She raised a hand to wave, but stopped when she saw him talking to a blonde girl she didn't recognize. The girl smiled and laughed, and Ino thought she spotted a small smile on Shino's lips.
So, the boy with bugs in him was the first of their class to get a girlfriend? Or had Sasaeko's teammate done it first? Either way. She grinned to herself at the interesting development.
“Is he a friend?” Ishitaro asked, following her gaze.
“Hm? Yeah. We graduated at the same time. Say, I never did thank you.”
“What?”
“For protecting my patients during the attack, I mean. You did well. Interesting work with that blowtorch you cobbled together. That was clever.”
He nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise at the compliment. Ino smiled to herself. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she'd been separated from her team.
---
The last time Kakashi had seen Suisho before the festival, she had dropped some not-so-subtle hints that he should watch the dance exhibition, though she hadn't mentioned going anywhere with him. Still, he had slipped away from his students, and even arrived more or less on time, although he had missed the opening number.
As the music died down, signaling the change from one dancer to another, Kakashi glanced around the audience. He spotted Usagi, a couple of her assistants in tow. Their eyes met, and she gave him a knowing grin he didn't quite like.
The music blared, dragging his eyes back to the floodlit stage. A girl Kakashi recognized as the third of Usagi's assistants stood in the center, clad in bright, flowing silks, her long hair braided into a coronet around her head. The music flared into life, a strange, ethereal melody. The girl leapt, reaching a height that belied her slender frame.
She landed and rolled, springing to her feet in time with the music, turning the motion into a graceful twirl that brought her silks into the air. Again she leapt, flexing her legs to walk a sort of prancing step on her tiptoes. All at once, she folded forward, her chest parallel to one leg as the other raised up in a counterbalance.
The tempo of the music picked up, and her long, graceful movements transitioned into speed, spins so fast they were difficult to follow, turning the girl into a vivid blur. As it slowed again, nearing its end, she lowered herself to the floor, her limbs in poses of such flexibility as Kakashi had only seen in the training of taijutsu specialists and religious ascetics.
The lights dimmed and the music ended, prompting applause from the audience. The girl, not out of breath, but with her eyes shining oddly, stood and traipsed offstage. As her two companions left to meet their teammate, Usagi made her way over to him.
“She's very good,” Kakashi said blandly.
“She's trained for a long time.”
“Are the others dancers, too?”
Usagi laughed. “No, but they do have some related skills. It's a bit of a joke back home that if they don't make it as shinobi, they could always join the circus.”
“Still, with her speed, I think she'll be fine.”
Usagi smiled. “It's sweet of you to say so. But I don't think she's who you came here to see.”
Before he could ask anything in return, she pointed him at the stage. The lights had come back on, now tinted red-purple, and a deep drumbeat pulsed, seeming to come up through his feet rather than touching his ears. A woman stepped out into the lights, barefoot, clad in tight-fitting black shorts that showed off the muscles in her legs and a matching sleeveless top. It took him a moment to recognize the woman as Suisho.
Other instruments joined the drumbeat, a low, unearthly sound, a deep voice singing over it, nearly chanting. Suisho's head snapped up, looking out over the audience, and she began to dance. She stomped in time with the music, shifting through motions that reminded Kakashi of battle stances and jutsus. Every move was decisive, imbued with physical power, if not the chakra that would normally be there.
When her stance narrowed, her hips came into play, punctuating the music. They rolled, smooth. She moved like a wave, her whole body shifting. It was hypnotic, and his mouth felt oddly dry watching her. She shimmied, her entire body under her own precise control. For a moment, they seemed to make eye contact. With one last twitch of her hip in his direction, she shifted back into a wide stance, the stomps combining with larger hip movements and the undulations of her chest. The motions became repetitive, almost frantic, the music pushing her desperately and inexorably toward its climax. Her body arched at its crescendo.
The music ebbed away, and she stood straight, breathing heavily. After a brief, speechless pause, the audience applauded, and she took a bow. Her dance over and her acknowledgment received, she left the stage. Kakashi made his way to the far side of the stage, where she came down the steps. Up close, he could see a faint sheen of sweat on her skin, and the way her eyes almost seemed to glow. She grinned when she saw him, her breathing only beginning to return to normal.
“You came,” she said.
He shrugged. “What can I say? I was curious.”
“What did you think?”
He paused, trying to think of an appropriate word. “It was... intense.”
She laughed, and he was hard pressed not to focus on how it made her move. He glanced away, and saw the other girl, now out of costume, looking around nervously until she spotted her team.
“Have you been dancing long?” he asked, looking back to Suisho.
“Years,” she said, smiling up at him. “I use it alongside my jutsu training, actually.”
He nodded. “I thought I spotted that. Do you use much taijutsu? I'd wager you know the forms, and you seem fairly strong.”
She beamed. “With my stone stuff, it doesn't get much real world use, but I do keep up with my taijutsu training.”
“You did well.”
“I'm just doing what I love.”
He studied her face. They had spoken a few times, about the last war and people they'd lost. He believed her, but found himself wondering how to reconcile the brutal reality of that with the happy young woman before him.
“I need to get changed, but after that, do you want to look around with me a bit?” she asked.
“I don't mind the outfit, but are you sure? You don't want to spend the festival with your team?”
She laughed again. “I'm pretty sure I saw Ishitaro with Ino. I wouldn't want to interrupt him. And by now, Subayai's probably trying to win all the games.”
“If you're sure, then.”
She grinned, patted his arm, and ran off to some backstage area.
---
“Well done, Ayumi,” Usagi said as her protege emerged, changed out of her costume.
“Thank you,” Ayumi said, flushing at the praise.
“Now that you're here to keep these two in line, I'll leave you to it,” Usagi said, grinning.
“You'd think we were some sort of delinquents,” Kaneko said with a frown, slipping her arm through Ayumi's.
“You were walking on clotheslines again, weren't you?” Ayumi asked with an indulgent smile.
“On top of the stalls, actually,” Danyo said, taking her other arm.
“I only did it a few times!” Kaneko protested. “Besides, it's more fun than just being on the ground by myself.”
“Well, we're all here now,” said Danyo. “Let's get something to eat.”
Ayumi nodded, emphatic. “I'm famished.”
“Come on, I saw a yakisoba place,” Kaneko said, tugging her arm.
They followed her lead, back into the crowd.
Konoha was, more or less, back to normal. The worst of the damage from the Zetsu Horde was cleaned up, leaving a few minor repairs the buildings' owners could take care of on their own. Most of those injured during the attack were out of the hospital, with a few exceptions. There was a certain excitement in the air, with people energized by the victory, and the fact that so many of their foreign guests were young and lively.
In fact, more than one of them had had the temerity to pester the Hokage, the leader of a foreign power, for something fun to do. With the exception of that one girl from Yukigakure, it had all been hints, comments made in passing, about how a celebration would really bring people together. In truth, Tsunade thought it would be a nice opportunity for some sake and festival food, if nothing else. And so as soon as she thought it wouldn't be in poor taste, she cornered some genin who were at her tower for unrelated reasons, and ordered them to pass out fliers around town announcing a festival.
She then told Shizune to organize the whole thing and locked herself in her office.
---
“Wait here, I'll only be a moment-” Shino began, turning to Nikko.
“Hey, you two!”
They both turned to look. Shizune, looking tired and harassed, stalked down the hall from the Hokage Tower financial office toward them. She waved a sheet of paper at them.
“You two don't look injured. Want to help set up the festival?” she asked, thrusting the paper at them, a pen pinned between her thumb and the page.
“I-” Nikko began.
“Great. Very civic-minded,” said Shizune.
Shino and Nikko exchanged a glance. She gave a little shrug, and added their names to the sign up sheet. As Shizune left them, Shino suppressed a sigh. Well, at least he had no upcoming missions. Perhaps he could go ahead and get the work over with and done. It could also give him a chance to spend time with her...
“Would you like to go ahead and do our part once I've dropped off this paperwork?” he asked.
She smiled. “That sounds fine.”
He gave her a little nod, and she waited while he followed Shizune's path to the financial office and came back empty handed.
“My apologies,” he said as they fell into step, leaving the tower. “I did not mean you to get caught up in this.”
She shook her head, and Shino could detect a faint smell of leather oil and metal. “I don't mind. Actually, I'm rather looking forward to the festival. I haven't been to one in some time.”
“Would you like to accompany me?” Shino asked, ignoring the faint agitated buzz of his kikai.
“Yes. Thank you,” she said.
He nodded. “Did the sign up sheet say where we were supposed to be going?”
“To the park,” she said, and they both stopped, realizing they were going the wrong way. Their course corrected, they went on.
---
“Volunteering for festival setup?” Sumire asked, raising an eyebrow.
Shi did her best to ignore her friends as she tied back her hair and rolled up her sleeves in preparation. The three of them stood in the shade of a half-finished food stall, tools and paint littered around as if a hardware store had exploded nearby. The rest of the park looked much the same, though the game booths had a few specialty items hanging around.
“What'cha up to?” Mayonaka asked from her seat on the stall's counter, kicking her feet. “You could be off training with us.”
“Or having a look around,” Sumire added. “A lot of people are off asking people to the festival with them.”
“My name's on the sign up sheet. Too late to back out now,” Shi said, picking up a hammer. “Of course, if you stick around, I'm sure they could find something for you to do.”
As if on cue, a burly civilian carrying a portable grill spotted them and gave a yell. “Hey! Get off the construction or get to work!”
Mayonaka hopped down from her perch. “You're on your own,” she said cheerfully, running off with a wave.
“Good luck,” Sumire said, patting Shi on the shoulder and following at a more leisurely pace.
A quarter of an hour after the two had left, Neji arrived, tying back his own long hair as he walked. He spotted Shi and walked over.
“Shi-san, there you are. Care to tell me how I ended up being volunteered for this?”
“I don't know what you mean,” she said innocently. “Don't you want to take part in an important celebration of international friendship? Victory, cooperation, youthful enthusiasm and all that?”
His eye twitched at her use of the very Gai-like phrase, but he got to work anyway, holding a board steady as she hammered.
“I do not mind helping out, but it came as a bit of a surprise,” he said as she readied another nail.
“What can I say? I'm spontaneous.”
“And this has nothing to do with getting a moment free from your friends'... machinations?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Side benefit,” she said, driving it in.
They lapsed into silence for a while, and before long, the stall had been built. It still stood empty, waiting for another team to install the grill and make it ready for use, but they had done their part. Neji looked around for the next piece to build.
“Are you looking forward to the festival?” Shi asked.
He made a noncommittal noise, spotting the next pile of boards, instructions tacked to the top one, and headed over. Shi followed, frowning slightly.
“It sounds like it's going to be a pretty big deal, even if it was rushed,” she said.
He nodded. “Shizune-san has been overworking herself in order to get everything ready in time, I imagine.”
“Heh. Yeah, the Hokage kinda sprung it on her.”
The conversation stalled again as they worked, though Shi could feel his eyes on her. Every time she looked his way, he seemed to be watching something else, his mind on his work. By the time they finished the second stall, frustration gnawed at her, making her impatient, sloppy. When she nearly hit her own thumb with the hammer, she dropped it aside and glared at him.
“Hey. Want to go with me?”
He looked up, blinking in confusion.
“To the festival,” she clarified.
“I... yes,” he said, after a pause.
After that, work went more smoothly.
---
“Did you hear about the festival?” Chouji asked, looking at Sasaeko over his sandwich.
“You mean that one?” she asked, nodding to the construction in the distance.
They sat on a park bench, eating lunch. It wasn't Sasaeko's cooking, for once, but her mother's.
“Oh. Yeah.” He laughed.
She smiled at him, and he could feel a blush creeping up his face.
“It should be a lot of fun,” she said.
He nodded. “I'll be helping out with setup. I'm going over there after lunch, actually.”
“It's really good of you to help out,” she said. “I wish I could go with you, but Mom specifically said no. She's barely letting me go to the festival as it is, and made me promise to stick with Shiryoku the entire time.”
“Your ribs are bothering you that much?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“They're not so bad,” she said, and he could tell from her blush she was lying. “But I had a tiny little secondary infection. It's over now, though.”
“Are you sure you're okay?”
She nodded. “I'm fine. Anyway, what will you be doing with the setup?”
“I think they'll have me building stalls. It just depends on what still needs to be done, I guess.”
“It really is good of you to work so hard,” she said. “I'm looking forward to the festival. I heard there's going to be dancing!”
“Dancing?” he said, the edges of a daydream slipping into his thoughts.
“I think it's an exhibition, I mean. I don't know if there's an area for everyone to dance, or anything like that.”
“Oh.” He sagged a little. “Are you going with your team?”
“Just Shiryoku. Kori has a date, and I think Taki-sensei promised Gai-sensei she'd walk around with him. What about you?”
“I don't have a date. I mean, um, I'll just be there with my team.”
“Maybe we'll see you there,” she said, smiling.
---
“And what, exactly, convinced you to sign up for an extra ten hours of festival setup?” Shikamaru asked, not sitting up from his rooftop cloud viewing.
“I know, it was stupid, but she's just so excited for the festival, and she kept saying how good it was of me to help out, and...”
Chouji trailed off. Shikamaru glanced over to his friend, who at least had the good grace to look embarrassed.
“So, could you help me out?” Chouji asked, grinning sheepishly.
Shikamaru sighed. “Fine. Is Ino going to come, too? You know if you told her why you volunteered, she'd be happy to help out. Hell, she'd probably go with you to pick up a yukata.”
“No, she's still really busy at the hospital. Besides, I'm going with you guys. She's just going to be there with one of her teammates.”
Shikamaru nodded in approval. At least she hadn't asked Lee.
“I've barely had time since the battle,” Chouji said, settling in to watch the clouds. “What have you been up to?”
“Avoiding work, mostly.”
Chouji laughed. “Sorry. I've spoiled that plan.”
He shrugged as best he could while lying down. “It was bound to happen eventually. This festival is going to be troublesome.”
“Where did you end up during the battle, anyway?”
“Hm? Oh, some girl from Kumo and I were guarding civilians. I was out of the worst of it. What about you? I know they had you down on the ground.”
“Cleanup. They paired me with that tall, quiet kunoichi from the Mist and had us go after Zetsu stragglers.”
“Did she speak at all?”
“Not a word. She managed to say what she wanted pretty well with hand signals, though. And she was awfully good with a sword.”
“Hm.”
“I can't believe it, though. Sasaeko got hurt pretty badly defending Lee when he got taken out.”
Shikamaru jerked in surprise. “What?”
“Yeah. Broken ribs, bunch of bruises and lacerations, a nasty black eye, and then an infection,” Chouji said, frowning. “She was in pretty bad shape.
“She defended Lee? He was unconscious, but she was still going?” Shikamaru asked.
“Yeah. Haven't you been to see her?”
Shikamaru shook his head, only half listening. “That's... unexpected. I should have figured, though, she always manages to get herself into trouble...”
He managed to keep from adding, especially where Lee is concerned.
---
Shi and Neji slipped under the entry arch and into the park. At last, the festival was here, the hard work done, or at least their part in it. It had started hours earlier, but most of the afternoon visitors had been parents with young children. Now that the sun was low, casting lengthy shadows across the cobbles, more of the shinobi population had arrived, along with the younger civilians.
Shi glanced sidelong at Neji as he studied a stall selling masks. He cleaned up nicely. An understated gray yukata patterned with feathers and his hair in a knot at the nape of the neck left him looking rather elegant.
“I knew it!” crowed a familiar voice, dragging Shi out of her admiration.
Mayonaka and Sumire stepped out from behind another stall, grinning. Mayonaka shifted from foot to foot, pointing in glee.
“You're here on a daaaate,” she said, sing-songing the word. “That's why you couldn't come with us!”
“A date? What?” Shi said, feigning shock. “Why, he must have led me here under false pretenses! Oh, wait, I asked him.”
“That's no surprise, the way he's dragging his feet,” Sumire said, glancing past her friend.
Shi wondered if Neji could hear them over the general noise, or if he were just pretending not to notice them talking about him.
“Anyway, you two look like you've put in an effort. Are you saying you're all dolled up just to spy on us?”
Sumire made a great show of beaming in pride. She had chosen a black yukata patterned with violets, and Mayonaka a blue one that matched her eyes.
“I'm just here for the food and the people-watching,” Sumire said, “but Mayo-tan here has a date. Speak of the devil...”
Kori, just beyond the archway, split off from his teammates and hurried toward Mayonaka, waving. She immediately shifted attention from Shi to him, smiling.
“Hey! You're looking nice,” Kori said, his eyes only for her.
“You, too.”
“Heh. Nah, I didn't even dress up. Sorry.”
“It's fine,” Mayonaka said, and they left, disappearing into the crowd without so much as a goodbye.
“Well, I'm off,” Sumire said. “Third wheel isn't nearly as much fun as being a partner in crime. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”
Shi suppressed a blush at the implication, and turned to find Neji focused on her again. Pretending not to hear after all, Shi thought.
“What would you like to do first?” he asked.
“Hm... I don't think the exhibitions are due to start until it's fully dark, so why don't we get a bite to eat?”
“Very well.” He fell into step beside her. “You look nice. Your yukata is very flashy.”
“Flashy?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, it gets attention,” he said, blushing faintly at the misstep.
Shi figured the correction wasn't much of an improvement, but she let it go. She knew she had chosen well in the black with blood red swirls, and needed no such assurances.
“It's a nice night,” he ventured again.
She nodded, not mentioning that, technically, the sun was still out. He seemed to realize it himself after a moment.
“Here,” he said after a moment, handing her a stick of cotton candy with one hand and paying a vendor with the other. “For you.”
“Thanks,” she said, allowing the chance for silence.
---
“Iruka!” Reikoku yelled, waving her arm over her head when she spotted him. “Over here!”
He winced as the nearest people turned to stare, and an old man muttered something dark about young people. Still, he walked over. Unprompted, she spun in a slow turn.
“What do you think?” she asked once she'd stopped, batting her eyelashes up at him.
“You look nice,” he admitted.
The midnight blue of the cotton made her pale skin seem to shine in the dimming light, and a silk decoration pinned to her hair swayed as she moved. She beamed at him.
“And you look dashing, just as I said.” She slipped her arm around his. “Come on. Let's give everyone a chance to admire us.”
He sighed, but allowed her to lead him deeper into the park.
“Hm. That yakitori actually smells pretty good,” Reikoku said, and pulled him along, ignoring his protest as she bought two skewers. “Here you are.”
He accepted it, though he was not used to being treated, rather than doing the treating. She was right, it did smell good. Within minutes, they had demolished their food and moved on.
“I wasn't sure what to expect when I volunteered for this,” she said as they walked, looking around.
“What do you mean?” Iruka asked, glancing at her.
“When I volunteered for this whole diplomacy thing,” she said, making a face like she thought the idea was stupid. “I mean, Uwaki's the only one on our team who's any good at it. I just wanted to see what Konoha was like.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to see what his hometown was like. Naruto's,” she clarified, misreading his expression. “I mean, what kind of place would produce a guy like that, you know?”
“I didn't know you'd met him in Snow Country.”
“I didn't. Not until I came here. But he changed so much about my home, of course I was curious.” She laughed. “Turns out the great hero is a goofy kid. This whole place seems so soft, but somehow it keeps producing these amazing ninja.”
Iruka had not been there for their first meeting. Now that he thought about it, a variety of horrifying scenarios paraded across his mind.
“Oh, don't look like that,” Reikoku said, squeezing his arm. “I was perfectly polite. I even bought him some ramen.”
He wondered if the Ichiraku had been exposed to her after all.
“I rather like it here, actually, even if it is damnably hot,” she said.
“What is Yukigakure like?”
“Chaotic, mostly. I mean, it must have been stable once, but then came the coup, and when we had finally gotten used to the new ruler, your student came along to change things again. Don't get me wrong, it's better now, but it's all new. We're still finding our feet.”
He raised an eyebrow, as if to ask if she should be saying so much. She squeezed his arm tighter, and leaned up to whisper in his ear.
“I trust you,” she breathed, and he shivered.
Apparently pleased at his reaction, she chuckled. “We don't even have a Yukikage yet. We're still ruled by an office of the central government. It's a bit of a pain. They don't really trust us yet.”
“Yet?” he asked. “You think it's just a matter of time, then?”
“Once they get it through their heads that we don't want to rule the country, and they can finally agree on someone. We're all a little bit crazy up there, after all.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“Part of being cooped up all winter, maybe?” She shrugged. “Or the lack of sunlight?”
“I thought it was the Land of Spring now.”
“Oh, we have seasons now. Winter is shorter, sure, but it's as harsh as it ever was.”
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she told a story about the winter saunas. She had included herself in calling everyone from her country crazy, confirming his theory that she knew exactly what she was doing. Still, the politics talk and the fact that she had been kind to Naruto was unexpected. Between her brazen flirting and the reports he had gotten from most of the younger shinobi, he wasn't sure what to think. She seemed capable of introspection, even if she might ignore the results.
---
“Walk on the ground, please, Kaneko,” Usagi said, not for the first time, the patience ebbing away from her voice. “We're trying to make a good impression.”
“They already know us,” Kaneko muttered, but she jumped down from the top of the dango stall, surprising its owner.
“They know us from battle. They don't know how we are in peace yet,” said Usagi. “We don't want them to think we're showing off, now do we?”
“I don't see why not. I mean, they're gonna see Ayumi dance pretty soon anyway,” said Kaneko.
“Her dancing isn't part of her fighting,” Usagi said, not mentioning the other kunoichi on exhibition for whom it was, knowing Kaneko would latch onto that. “And I'm sure they already know she's graceful.”
“Fiiiine,” Kaneko said, folding her arms behind her head.
“Ah,” Usagi said, stopping so abruptly that Danyo nearly bumped into her. “Temari-san, Kankuro-san, good evening.”
“Ossu,” Kankuro said, raising a hand in greeting until his sister elbowed him. “I mean, hi.”
“Are you enjoying the festival?” Temari asked.
Danyo flushed a dark red and looked away, muttering something in the affirmative.
Kankuro raised an eyebrow, dragging up the lines of his makeup, and leaned in toward Kaneko.
“What's up?” he asked, scowling. “Your teammate sweet on my sister or something?”
“Huh?” Kaneko asked, not bothering to keep her voice down until he shushed her. “Nah, he's just shy without his paints on, and you guys are strangers. I'd've thought you'd be the same way.”
He scoffed. “Like I'd be shy.”
“If you say so, but I've never seen you without 'em,” said Kaneko.
He frowned at her, but Temari pulled at his elbow before he could say anything.
“It was nice to see you both. I hope you have a lovely evening,” Usagi said as they parted.
---
“Honestly, I stop to look at hair ornaments for five minutes and they disappear,” Ino muttered to herself, scanning the crowd for her erstwhile teammates.
When neither appeared, she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She'd dressed up for the occasion, but trying to impress them was pointless, even if Chouji complimented her out of politeness. Well, maybe she could show off a little while looking for them. She set off into the crowd.
“Y-Yamanaka-san?”
She turned at the sound of her name. A few feet away, the tall stone nin who had fought at the hospital stood, his diminutive teammate rolling her eyes as she walked away.
“Ishitaro, isn't it?” she asked, though she was pretty sure of his name.
Rather than looking upset at her uncertainty, he blushed and nodded. His face seemed to be set in a permanent scowl, but slowly she was learning to read it.
“Are you here by yourself?” he asked, walking closer so she had to look up at him.
“My stupid teammates disappeared on me,” she said. “What about you?”
“Suisho is getting ready for the exhibition, and Subayai-”
“Yeah, I saw her.” Ino raised an eyebrow.
“Ah... I mean, would you like to go, er, would you like me to help you look for them?”
She couldn't decide whether watching such a big guy stumble over his words was endearing or off-putting, but she shrugged.
“Sure. You remember what they look like?”
He nodded.
“Great. Eyes peeled, then.”
They set off down the nearest path, Ino hoping her team kept going in the same general direction they had been.
“Would you like something to eat?” Ishitaro asked.
“I guess so. Are you hungry?”
He mumbled something she couldn't quite make out, and turned toward a stall selling dango. Before she could reach for her own purse, he had bought two orders and handed her one.
“You didn't have to do that. Thanks, though,” she said, taking it.
They ate as they walked. Ishitaro made the occasional conversational gambit, though just as often he trailed off into nervous mumbling. Ino listened as politely as she could, but out of the corner of her eye, she was eying the various shops and games.
“Hm, that's cute,” she said to herself, spotting a stuffed boar at a target booth.
“Three tries, please,” Ishitaro said, slapping some money down for the attendant.
The man running the booth started when he saw Ishitaro's face, but handed him three kunai and stepped out of the way.
“You really don't have to-” Ino said as he threw.
His kunai went wide, missing his own target, lined up against the back wall, instead hitting two down. The blade buried itself to the hilt in the target, shattering the cheap wood. A couple of spectators clapped politely. Ishitaro blushed darkly.
Ino waited while he used his other two chances, noticing that he was sweating more than the night's warmth warranted, and that he kept glancing back at her. The second and third kunai both missed, though the third one glanced his target and knocked it off of its post.
“It's fine. Let's go,” Ino said, grabbing his sleeve to pull him away before he could lay down the money for another try.
He blushed again, but let her lead him. She dropped his sleeve once they were away from the stall, and she went back to watching the crowd for her team. She spotted a familiar face among the crowd, though it was Shino rather than Shikamaru or Chouji. She raised a hand to wave, but stopped when she saw him talking to a blonde girl she didn't recognize. The girl smiled and laughed, and Ino thought she spotted a small smile on Shino's lips.
So, the boy with bugs in him was the first of their class to get a girlfriend? Or had Sasaeko's teammate done it first? Either way. She grinned to herself at the interesting development.
“Is he a friend?” Ishitaro asked, following her gaze.
“Hm? Yeah. We graduated at the same time. Say, I never did thank you.”
“What?”
“For protecting my patients during the attack, I mean. You did well. Interesting work with that blowtorch you cobbled together. That was clever.”
He nearly tripped over his own feet in surprise at the compliment. Ino smiled to herself. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she'd been separated from her team.
---
The last time Kakashi had seen Suisho before the festival, she had dropped some not-so-subtle hints that he should watch the dance exhibition, though she hadn't mentioned going anywhere with him. Still, he had slipped away from his students, and even arrived more or less on time, although he had missed the opening number.
As the music died down, signaling the change from one dancer to another, Kakashi glanced around the audience. He spotted Usagi, a couple of her assistants in tow. Their eyes met, and she gave him a knowing grin he didn't quite like.
The music blared, dragging his eyes back to the floodlit stage. A girl Kakashi recognized as the third of Usagi's assistants stood in the center, clad in bright, flowing silks, her long hair braided into a coronet around her head. The music flared into life, a strange, ethereal melody. The girl leapt, reaching a height that belied her slender frame.
She landed and rolled, springing to her feet in time with the music, turning the motion into a graceful twirl that brought her silks into the air. Again she leapt, flexing her legs to walk a sort of prancing step on her tiptoes. All at once, she folded forward, her chest parallel to one leg as the other raised up in a counterbalance.
The tempo of the music picked up, and her long, graceful movements transitioned into speed, spins so fast they were difficult to follow, turning the girl into a vivid blur. As it slowed again, nearing its end, she lowered herself to the floor, her limbs in poses of such flexibility as Kakashi had only seen in the training of taijutsu specialists and religious ascetics.
The lights dimmed and the music ended, prompting applause from the audience. The girl, not out of breath, but with her eyes shining oddly, stood and traipsed offstage. As her two companions left to meet their teammate, Usagi made her way over to him.
“She's very good,” Kakashi said blandly.
“She's trained for a long time.”
“Are the others dancers, too?”
Usagi laughed. “No, but they do have some related skills. It's a bit of a joke back home that if they don't make it as shinobi, they could always join the circus.”
“Still, with her speed, I think she'll be fine.”
Usagi smiled. “It's sweet of you to say so. But I don't think she's who you came here to see.”
Before he could ask anything in return, she pointed him at the stage. The lights had come back on, now tinted red-purple, and a deep drumbeat pulsed, seeming to come up through his feet rather than touching his ears. A woman stepped out into the lights, barefoot, clad in tight-fitting black shorts that showed off the muscles in her legs and a matching sleeveless top. It took him a moment to recognize the woman as Suisho.
Other instruments joined the drumbeat, a low, unearthly sound, a deep voice singing over it, nearly chanting. Suisho's head snapped up, looking out over the audience, and she began to dance. She stomped in time with the music, shifting through motions that reminded Kakashi of battle stances and jutsus. Every move was decisive, imbued with physical power, if not the chakra that would normally be there.
When her stance narrowed, her hips came into play, punctuating the music. They rolled, smooth. She moved like a wave, her whole body shifting. It was hypnotic, and his mouth felt oddly dry watching her. She shimmied, her entire body under her own precise control. For a moment, they seemed to make eye contact. With one last twitch of her hip in his direction, she shifted back into a wide stance, the stomps combining with larger hip movements and the undulations of her chest. The motions became repetitive, almost frantic, the music pushing her desperately and inexorably toward its climax. Her body arched at its crescendo.
The music ebbed away, and she stood straight, breathing heavily. After a brief, speechless pause, the audience applauded, and she took a bow. Her dance over and her acknowledgment received, she left the stage. Kakashi made his way to the far side of the stage, where she came down the steps. Up close, he could see a faint sheen of sweat on her skin, and the way her eyes almost seemed to glow. She grinned when she saw him, her breathing only beginning to return to normal.
“You came,” she said.
He shrugged. “What can I say? I was curious.”
“What did you think?”
He paused, trying to think of an appropriate word. “It was... intense.”
She laughed, and he was hard pressed not to focus on how it made her move. He glanced away, and saw the other girl, now out of costume, looking around nervously until she spotted her team.
“Have you been dancing long?” he asked, looking back to Suisho.
“Years,” she said, smiling up at him. “I use it alongside my jutsu training, actually.”
He nodded. “I thought I spotted that. Do you use much taijutsu? I'd wager you know the forms, and you seem fairly strong.”
She beamed. “With my stone stuff, it doesn't get much real world use, but I do keep up with my taijutsu training.”
“You did well.”
“I'm just doing what I love.”
He studied her face. They had spoken a few times, about the last war and people they'd lost. He believed her, but found himself wondering how to reconcile the brutal reality of that with the happy young woman before him.
“I need to get changed, but after that, do you want to look around with me a bit?” she asked.
“I don't mind the outfit, but are you sure? You don't want to spend the festival with your team?”
She laughed again. “I'm pretty sure I saw Ishitaro with Ino. I wouldn't want to interrupt him. And by now, Subayai's probably trying to win all the games.”
“If you're sure, then.”
She grinned, patted his arm, and ran off to some backstage area.
---
“Well done, Ayumi,” Usagi said as her protege emerged, changed out of her costume.
“Thank you,” Ayumi said, flushing at the praise.
“Now that you're here to keep these two in line, I'll leave you to it,” Usagi said, grinning.
“You'd think we were some sort of delinquents,” Kaneko said with a frown, slipping her arm through Ayumi's.
“You were walking on clotheslines again, weren't you?” Ayumi asked with an indulgent smile.
“On top of the stalls, actually,” Danyo said, taking her other arm.
“I only did it a few times!” Kaneko protested. “Besides, it's more fun than just being on the ground by myself.”
“Well, we're all here now,” said Danyo. “Let's get something to eat.”
Ayumi nodded, emphatic. “I'm famished.”
“Come on, I saw a yakisoba place,” Kaneko said, tugging her arm.
They followed her lead, back into the crowd.