A Different Kind Of Journey 53 Arc 3 Phase 2: A Little Adventure

Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.

Take note: This chapter is a continuation of Chapter 17. The next chapter will focus more on the Tenchi bridge Incident. This also has to be the longest chapter I've written so far and I tried to experiment a little in the chapter and put some of the ideas that I had in mind.

Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.

Thank you for Understanding :)

Arc 3: Phase 2

Chapter 19: Little Adventures

It really had to be most shocking and awkward situation that the Uzumaki teen had been into. She hadn't thought of this or expected for this moment to happened and it was really happening in front of her eyes. With one single move, she looked up and saw the person, who probably had the most impact in her life.

"My name is Hinata." The phrase really strucked through her heart and mind. The familiarity of the voice, it was indeed belong to her mom but younger.

Right in the midst of a noisy and lively public market stood a beautiful lavender haired teen, a bit older than the Uzumaki girl herself. She had that smile which can lit up the mood of every person and it indeed made a strong effect on Himawari herself.

The Uzumaki girl was left frozen, her mind was going all over places, her emotions racking up as she didn't knew whether to cry, laughed, be happy or just be confused. It was all going to the mixer at this point and producing different results.

As for Hinata, She was kind of confused as the teenage girl just stood there with a face that she would described somewhere between the lines of "Shocked" and "Amazed". This was the also the first time that she had met this girl and she felt as if she had seen her somewhere before.

After a few moments of meddling with her thoughts, Himawari was able to summoned the confidence thus she opened her mouth and began to say her first words since being in a frozen state." Uhmm, I-It's r-really nice to meet you, Mo-Hinata, Hehe" The Uzumaki girl said, as she gave giving a nervous chuckle, while slightly waving her hand.

"And I thought I was the only one good at stuttering." Hinata thought to herself. It somehow felt as if she was looking at a mirror and talking to herself.

"It's good to meet you Himawari" Hinata replied, as she offered her hand as a sign of a new friendship being established and considering her sudden newfound confidence that she was able to make friends.

As for the Uzumaki girl, she was a bit nervous at first, but something just gave her the confidence to push herself and act as she stretched out and shook hands with her young mom. She had to admit that it was kind of weird making friends with her.

"This is really weird." Himawari thought to herself. She can feel awkardness around the atmosphere right at the moment and in the midst of all these busy ongoings, a plan was being made to escape her current situation.

It was like she was thrown into an ambush in disguised, the moment really caught her off guard, and she was forcibly stucked in this situation, which she never expected in the first place.

"So I guess you are picking up ingredients is it?" Hinata asked, as she immediately noticed the plastic bag containing the other ingredients that she had bought.

Himawari simply nodded." Uhmm, yes, the vegetable section is actually my last stop before I go back to the apartment." She said, as she then instinctively continued to her goal of picking up the vegetables that she needed to complete her recipe.

"Oh I see." Hinata said. She was being observant this time, watching the teenage girl, who was choosing and picking up the right quality veggies." Looks like she knows her veggies." She then thought to herself.

For a teenager like her, Hinata was amazed on how this girl was doing right now. She can sense the responsibilty in her right away. Although, putting that aside, question slipped into her mind, processing it, and sending it to her mouth.

As for Himawari, she had just finished buying the vegetables that she needed before being called by her young mom once again.

"Uhmm, Correct me if I'm wrong but you said that you lived in an apartment?" Hinata asked.

Himawari was a bit surprised by the question, but she just sighed and chose to answer her question." Yup, and we're new and just moved into the village, by the way." She said. She would then go on to explained that she lived in an apartment with her big brother and sister for the past months since they moved here.

That her big brother and sister were just accepted as rookies in the world of Shin.o.bi and were currently on a mission right now thus she was the only one left alone for awhile.

"Oh." Hinata simply nodded in understanding. She was surprised hear and learned that a young teenage girl like her is all living alone in an apartment and that really bothers her in a strange way.

Himawari just smiled all the way as she continued to explain." It's alright, I'm kinda getting the hang to it if you know what I mean." She said, as the opportunity finally came into her the next moment." By the way, I really need to get going, I guess I'll see you around?"

It was finally the moment that Himawari was waiting for, she was going to be finally out of this awkwardness and all she had to was just simply walked away with a farewell smile. Although, fate has something in store for her once again.

Right after she said that she was going home, something unexpected suddenly interrupted in the form of roaring sound from her stomach.

(Stomach growls in hunger)

As if the world was finally ending, Himawari gave a little cringe, she soon placed her hand on her stomach area and gave it a little squish in hopes of stopping it's demands. However, it won't stop and still continued its whining.

The Uzumaki girl just sighed and gave a nervous grin." Uhmmm, I'm really sorry about that, I haven't ate that much this morning hehe." Himawari explained, as she now was scratching the back of her head.

There was a moment of silence that took over before the Hyuuga Heiress gave a little chuckle and then smiled." Oh I see, then how about we go eat first, I knew a good place where you can fill up an empty stomach." Hinata explained as she offered her help.

As for Himawari, she could only nod and gave a smile. There was really no other choice besides the fact that she was going to eat breakfast with her young teenage mom, and that she was gonna get to know her more.

Hinata had no problem of helping to those in need, especially a girl that almost looks exactly like her but with shorter hair. She recalled her little sister and cousin talking about a certain girl that they were gonna introduced to her recently, and she had a feeling that this teenage girl in front of her was the one.

She then gave a smile and said."

"Don't worry, It's my treat."

(CLa.s.sROOM)

Konohamaru groaned as he gave his best to stay awake yet again. Another battle between him and sleepiness began in the midst of a cla.s.s lecture. His eyes kept shutting down as his consciousness was fading away at the same time. It was only a matter of time before he finds himself snoring already.

Another thing is that he was seated in the front beside his one of his peers, who were also in the same situation as him. So it was like a race on who was gonna fall asleep first. The only good thing was that no one was noticing them, even Iruka, who was doing his lecture, thought that they were focusing on the lesson because their eyes were big and intense.

Although, in a short period of time, the good thing began to slide down to the bad case scenario. Everyone was losing their battle to their own sleepiness and in a matter of moments, they were in the brink of dropping their heads on their own tables, when an unexpected saviour came to the rescue.

"Oh come on, I gave all my effort for this thing." Konohamaru commented before he finally entered his sleeping state.

Kurama was a witness and just beside the boy when all of this was happening. He had apparently been observing the rest of the boys for quite sometime now before finally deciding that it was enough and he had to do something before everything goes haywire.

So without wasting anytime, the cute nine tailed fox raised his cute hand-like paws aimed towards the boy's lap. In his mind, the fox started a countdown from number's one to three and after the countdown ended, he finally performed his move by slamming his hand on the boy's lap as hard as any former juubi can.

Konohamaru's eyes widened and his consciousness sprung back up. He felt a little bit of pain as if someone had used a very hot pan and placed it on his lap. He finally gave a yell as a sign that he had fully woken up.

"Man, that hurt!"

The boy exclaimed, waking up the rest of his seatmates from their slumber. He also garnered the rest of everybody's attention including, Iruka himself, who was having a drink from his water bottle and suddenly spitting it out as he was suddenly startled by the boy's exclamation.

The rest of the cla.s.s turned their eyes towards Konohamaru before bursting out of laughter not to insult of him but because it was just a natural funny chain reaction to see someone yell causing the other person to spit his water out.

Konohamaru didn't said a word as he just stayed quiet amidts of the loud laughters. He then instinctively darted his towards Kurama, who was just beside him, to know if he had something to do this.

Kurama just gave an apologetic smile and a peace sign." Sorry Kit." He whispered. He really had no choice but do it and it was for the best actually.

Konohamaru just gave the fox a small smirked and sighed. He was beginning to understand that he had saved his life somehow and a detention too.

"Thanks Furball."

(LATER ON)

Location: Football Field

It was always the usual stuff for Konohamaru to be hanging out around the field. Specifically, the boy was not on the field itself but at sidelines where a lone tree was located. The tree itself served as a natural shade and protection for the boy from the heating rising sun.

It had been awhile since the sleeping incident that almost led him to detention. If it wasn't for Kurama, he wouldn't be here right now. When the food break began, the boy headed straight for the fields as it was perfect hangout because of the fresh air and atmosphere. Now, he found himself resting on the lone tree while eating his snack, which was revealed to be a tuna omelette sandwhich, along with pineapple juice contained in a small carton.

It was just quite snack break all throughout, this was often part of the routine almost everyday for the boy. In fact, He didn't knew most of his other cla.s.smates, since he was ahead of them. The boy was already a Genin and taking part in missions, although, he had to return back to the Academy to catch up with a few subjects that he wasn't able to take before he graduated. The Academy stint was alright for him, he was playing for the soccer team and established a few but important frienships with the other kids such as Kenta.

Konohamaru gave a little chuckle, he immediately remembered the incident that happened just awhile ago back in the cla.s.sroom. It kind of reminded him on what he used to do not too long ago and now that he's a certified Genin, he really had to let go of his previous antics from the past.

"Hey are you alright Kit?" A familiar voice asked.

Kurama rested under the shade of the tree and was also beside the boy. He was on the verge of taking a short nap when he heard chuckles coming from the boy which broke the flow.

The boy turned towards him and responded with small smile." Yeah, I'm fine, I just really can't believed I made Iruksensei spit out his drink." He said.

Kurama gave a little chuckle." Well, I really had no choice Kit, that's what I did to save you from being in detention again." He said.

"I guess you're right, maybe I'm not the only one who was sleeping at that time." Konohamaru said. He was referring to his seat mates, who were beside him.

Kurama just gave a smile, he actually felt good helping someone even though it ended in a comical way. For a thousand year old fox like him, he didn't quite have that sharp memory to remember the things that had change, but there were changes that he specifically took notice for the pa.s.sed days.

The first thing was that everybody wasn't bothering about a small nine-tailed fox roaming the academy grounds. Second, they were more into the cuteness and where there's ever a chance, they would often cuddle or play with him. Third, they have somehow not realize that he looked exactly similar to the big bad fox that attacked the village not too long ago.

Those three mysteries continued to baffled his mind until to this very day. Although, putting that aside, he was glad to have this chance to lived a normal life once more.

"Hey, Kurama?" The voice of Konohamaru was then heard calling him.

"Yes Kit?" He then turned his attention towards the boy.

"Have you ever thought of your family?" He asked.

Kurama raised an eyebrow in confusion." What do you mean by Family?" He asked.

"Well, Do you missed them?" Konohamaru simply said.

There was a brief moment of silence that took over. Kurama didn't expect a question to come out from the boy's mouth like that. Why would he asked such a question?

"Uhmm, I'm not really sure how to say this but yes, I really do miss them." He said." Why do you asked?"

Konohamaru just shrugged." It's just came into me, It's not that really important actually." He explained." I just wanted to know if you have the chance to see them again, would you take that chance?"

Kurama sighed, the memories started to flashed before his eyes. The Kit and family, they were the ones that really gave him a sense of belonging or basically gave him the peaceful live that he always wanted.

He fondly remembered the Uzumaki girl, who would often play with him.

"Why not? I would definitely take that chance." Kurama said." Is it because you're always wondering if you would ever them again?"

Konohamaru gave a chuckle." I actually don't know, But if I ever had the chance to see them again, I guess..." He trailed off along the way. The boy wasn't really sure on how to react if given the opportunity.

"I guess, I will just act casually like any person will do." He said and finished his sentence.

"I know that feeling Kit, just relax okay?" Kurama said as began to chuckle.

Konohamaru gave a confused face." Uhmm, what's so funny?" He asked.

Kurama just continued to chuckle. The boy was similar to Naruto in many ways and he was beginning to realized that he was given this second chance to re established a connection with a kit like him in the form of Konohamaru. Although, this time he was going to be extra careful and not be the harsh person that he was before.

"Nah, It's nothing Kit, It's just that I have this friend, who's in the same situation, and he kinda reminds me of you." Kurama explained.

"Really? I hope your friend is living a happy life." Konohamaru said. He could only wished the best for any person, who's in the same situation as him.

"Yeah, I hope so." Kurama added. He was now thinking about the Kit, He really hope that kit had found peace somewhere above the clouds.

As he was about to continue his words, the boy beat him to it.

"By the way, there's going to be a festival held today, You wanna go check it out later on?"

Kurama just stared at the boy for a few moments before finally opening his mouth.

"A festival?"

(BREAKFAST TALK)

"This is the best thing ever!"

It was quite lively morning at Ichiraku's as customers were flocking the place. The new breakfast menu turned out to be hit hence why there was a growing line in of customers in the first place. When Himawari and Hinata arrived at the place, they were very much lucky that there two seats vacant and wasted no time on taking those seats right away.

It was like fate had plans for the Uzumaki girl today, as if everything was just scripted and that she was mean't to b.u.mped into her young mother. This was an experience that she had never been into before but as of right now, she can managed the awkwardness for a little bit. She was justn't used to talking to her mom as a friend.

The Uzumaki girl sat in her seat and in front of the Hyuuga heiress, who was enjoying her breakfast which turned out to be none other than the famous Ichiraku Ramen and Akamaru was just beside them and resting.

Himawari continued to observed her young mother, who was enjoying her food at the moment, memories started to flood her mind as she immediately recalled a memory of her mom joining a ramen eating contest and devouring those ramen in a short period of time. It was just really unbelievable to say.

"Himawari." A voice then called her name as the Uzumaki girl snapped back from her thoughts. She then turned her attention to her young mom who was looking at her.

"So have you been into Ichiraku's before?" Hinata asked, while taking a sip of her Ramen soup.

"Oh." Himawari blinked a couple of times before shaking her head off." Uhmmm, yeah, I've been here a lot of times." She replied.

"That's great to hear!" Hinata smiled." I have a friend who often eats at this place, so that's how I come to like Ramen for a little bit." She said with s chuckle.

Himawari gave a small smile. She somehow knew that certain friend, whom her young mother, was referring to." I think that's great! then I guess I have a big brother that works here." She added.

"Really?" Hinata's eyes widened as she gave a look of surprised.

Himawari simply nodded." Yup, but my big brother's not right here, He's on a mission with his friend as of now." She explained.

Hinata took a couple of times to think about it, then she recalled what the girl explained to her before." Oh right, I kind of forgot about that, I guess they're a.s.signed as observers on an official team am I correct?" She said while the other simply nodded.

The conversation continued as Himawari began to go with the flow, there was a moment when she thought it was her young mom that she was talking too but another person." Yeah, I was also a.s.signed with them on the team as well during the first mission." She explained.

"I really thought it was going to be easy at first but seeing dad like that was kind of difficult." She added, and then took a paused.

Hinata was a bit confused." Uhmmmm, what do you mean by dad?" She asked.

It was at this moment when Himawari widened her eyes in surprised. She just realized on what she has said just now and she immediately took action for that." Uhmm, what I mean't is being in a team and seeing how the process works is kind of difficult for first timers like me." She said.

The awkwardness immediately disappeared.

"Oh I see." Hinata smiled. What the girl was saying was true but there was one question that came into her mind." May I asked if you guys went to the academy?. She said woud go on to explained that a person to has to go to academy and then get a.s.signed to a team in order for to be a Shin.o.bi.

Himawari simply nodded. She understood that questions like this would eventually come to her again. It was a good thing that she always had a back up plan." Oh right, I forgot to tell about the rest of the story." She grinned while scratching the back of her head.

So the girl began to tell her story from front to back.

(Himawari's Interview)

"I just went with the flow, like a normal conversation between two people. I did tell my young mom the most logical thing about my background. I told her that I was not from Konoha and originally came from a small village and me, my big brother and friend had recently moved in here.

For the being a Shin.o.bi part, I told her that we were actually Shin.o.bi from that small unknown village and we were able to pa.s.s a special examination test thus we became rookies."

And the rest is history."

Hinata was intrigued by the girl's story. To be able to held on her own, this girl was an independent one and there was this feeling of proudness that she mysteriously was having right now and she could only smile at the girl.

"By the way, what are those white patches for?" She asked.

Himawari then moved her eyes for awhile to focus on the white patches which was covering her cheeks, then turning towards Hinata with a smile." Well, I sort of got into an accident while training, but don't worry, I'm alright." She said with a grin.

"Oh I see." Hinata said, while the other girl smiled.

The conversation continued towards the end of their meal. Himawari wasn't expecting the awkwardness to fade away that fast, but she was glad to be placed in a new comfort zone and that she was actually establishing a relationship with her young mom. The conversation was light hearted, with the two girls trading funny stories and laughing it out together.

It was also at this moment when Hinata brought up the festival that was going to be held today." By the Himawari, there's going to be a festival this noon, Is it okay, if you wanna join us with the rest of the family." She said.

Himawari exactly knew on who's family she was referring to." Well, I'm okay with that, but I have to go back to the apartment to organized this things." She explained while lifting up the groceries that she has bought.

Hinata nodded in understanding." It's alright, we'll be waiting." She said.

"Thanks!" Himawari nodded and smiled.

"Looks like I'll be meeting the rest of family this time."

(THE FESTIVAL)

It was something she hasn't done before or maybe she has done before.

Doing a small favor for a certain friend, Miyuki stood on the counters of a booth, entertaining customers in the midst of a busy but fun day at the festival, which began exactly at noon. The small booth that she was taking care was a game booth, where you can used this projectile weapon to shoot a moving balloon to get the desired items. In order words, a plastic gun.

It was not exactly in her job description or expertise, but she was already used into handling different kinds of personalities much like what was happening right now.

"Alright fellas, 50 ryos for two attempts!"

"Hey you over there, no cutting lines please?"

"Kids! please settle down, you'll eventually get your turn."

"Thank you very much for partic.i.p.ating!"

What a great job indeed, Miyuki never felt so exhausted and drained in her entire existence. This was much harder than being doctor or working with the council than she has ever thought. Aside from being occasionally mistaken for a young girl, she was glad that she was able to finished half of the stage and finally entered break time.

As the day continued on Miyuki sat on her chair as she took her break and ate her lunch on a tupperware box which contained, meatloaf omellete rice and three pieces of Takoyaki covered by its signature delicious sauce. If anyone was wondering on why a person like her from the Pure Land, is eating normal food, well you can hear it from her.

Interview:

"Everybody's gotta eat to fill up their stomachs, if you know what I mean. The Pure Land is not a place of immortality, a little bit of biological physics exist there and of course, food definitely exist there. (Gives a little chuckle)

I really don't mean to break the fourth wall but, you gotta watch movies like "Spirited Away" to see what I'm talking about." -Miyuki

(A SURPRISE)

As the day continued on, the young woman found herself entering the second half of the day. For a small game booth like this, more customers continue to flocked booth and the more she gave her effort to converse and entertain them. Around this time, there were a handful of individuals or persons that she was able to encounter during the festivity.

"Ms. Miyuki!"

A very familiar voice of a girl called her name. Miyuki, who had finished a.s.sisting the last of the customers, turned her attention to the source of the voice.

She widened her eyes in surprised when she saw a teenage short haired lavender haired girl, who was heading straight to the booth. "Himawari?" She said.

"It's been a quite sometime!" Himawari greeted her with a warm smile." How are you doing so far?"

Miyuki sighed but chuckled." I guess a couple of days is long enough" She thought to herself.

"I'm alright, just doing little part time job here if you may asked." She said while cleaning up the remains of the balloons that had been popped up.

Himawari widened her eyes in surprised." Oh I see, and you really got a pretty big customer following." She commented.

"Unfortunately yes, I'm actually stuck here for the whole day and I'm just doing this for small friendly favour." Miyuki replied. She would then go on to explained that she had this friend, who wasn't able to attend and managed the booth all day because of other things, thus she volunteered since it was her day off.

Himawari continued to smile." Well, I think doing a small favour for friendship is kinda cool." She said." Trust me, It will really result into the goodest of things." She added.

A smile formed around Miyuki's lips, she can really see the light and positiveness from the girl herself. It was somehow a mystery to her that she can't even sensed any darkness or whatsoever and she was glad to have met the girl. Now, she was beginning to slowly see the importance of a establishing and growing a friendship.

"Thank you Himawari." She said, while the other girl just grinned.

"So what brings you here by the way?" It was Miyuki's turn to asked the girl.

"Well, it's long story." Himawari could only sighed. She knew that it was going to be a very long day and letting a person know on what she was gonna do might take off the pressure a little." Let's just say that I unexpectedly b.u.mped into my teenage mom this morning and now I'm invited to join the rest of the family stuff for today." She explained, with a little bit of nervousness.

Miyuki blinked a couple of times before finally speaking." I think that's great!" She said as she then raised an eyebrow of concern to ask a question." And why are you so nervous about?"

"Uhmm, just a little nervous because-" Himawari was about to finish her sentence when a voice called her from behind.

"Hima!" The familiar voice said.

Himawari then turned around to see a certain long lavender haired teen, which was revealed to be none other than her mom from few distances away, who was waving at her. The Uzumaki girl then turned back to older girl, giving her a nervous smile.

"Now I understand." Miyuki sighed, she understood the fact that the kid was going to hang out with her own mother, who is practically the same age as her and she knew how awkward it would be for the kid.

"Hey listen to me Himawari." Miyuki then gave a straight but calmed face, which made the girl really listened like a soldier. "You don't have to be nervous about it, I know you can do it." She ended her statement with a small smile." Because you're strong girl."

It was those simple words that gave the girl a boost of confidence. Himawari gave a grin and a nod as she thanked the older woman before heading off.

"Thanks for the encouraging words Ms. Miyuki!" Himawari said as she headed towards her young mom, who was still waiting for her.

Miyuki just gave a smile as she watched the girl head off to continue the family bonding, she was glad to have helped and give the girl confidence that she needed for this challenge.

(A MINI-ADVENTURE)

It maybe the best thing that ever happened, at least for Konohamaru. Apparently, cla.s.ses were dismissed earlier than expected due to other school events and now he found himself walking along the streets towards his destination, where the festivities were being held. Excitement was the only feeling that he was having, and wondering on what will be the awesome stuff that this festival will have.

Kurama didn't bother anything, he was just going with the flow whatever happens to him, as long as everything was alright, there weren't be any problems ahead. The small tailed beast walked alongside with the boy as they made their way to the festival, which was just a few blocks from their current place.

"Man, I'm so pumped up for this, I wonder what's in store for us there?" Konohamaru wondered aloud. He had all the free time today.

Kurama sighed." Kit, if you asked me, I'll rather not wonder or think about it but as long as we stick stogether, I think everything will be just fine." He said.

Konohamaru gave a chuckle." Of course! Ain't n.o.body gonna stop us from going there!" The boy exclaimed as they finally reached their destination.

It was at the same time when the boy finished his sentence that he focused his eyes towards his direction only to be greeted by a shocking site that he wouldn't have expected earlier. Kurama also had that same expression of surprised as right in front of them was the festival with a sea of people flowing at the said place.

It brought a lot of questions around on whether they should move forward with the plan.

"I guess I was wrong." Konohamaru muttered, wondering on what he would do next.

"I told ya kit." Kurama said. He actually didn't like to be in very crowded places and he wanted to go home and take a rest, but what are the chances of them going home instead?

Konohamaru just smiled." Nah, this will be fine." The boy said, He really doesn't care about whether its crowded or not, as long as he was here to enjoy and have fun.

Kurama widened his eyes in surprised, he was about to speak up when the boy suddenly burst out from his position and headed towards the festival." Let's go furball!" He exclaimed, while giving a little run for it.

Kurama just stood there gaping as he just watched the boy enter the sea of people at the festival. The fox sighed and shook his head." You've got to be kidding me!"

The Babysitting is not over yet.

(MEANWHILE)

It was probably the most coincidental thing that ever happen so far. For Hanabi and Neji, they always had planned for their future niece to finally meet Hinata in person and they were executing the plan today if weren't for an earlier meeting between two fates.

Hinata was smiling as ever as she introduced her newly met friend in the form of a certain lavender haired teen. She knew and felt that her cousin and little sister would really like the girl if they finally met her. Unbeknownst to her knowledge, these three had known each other for quite sometime already.

Himawari gave a sheepish chuckle and grinned as she waved her hands a little bit on her young Uncle and Aunt who were just confused and surprised as ever. Awkwardness was also present in the scene, as she was being introduced again to the two by her young mom.

It was also during this time that the Uzumaki girl finally had met a carefree Tenten and and an energetic Lee, who were very much glad to see her again since the previous mission.

"I'm really glad to see you again Himawari!"

"It's good to see you again Himawari-san! the Youth is still strong within you!"

Himawari could only smile as she happily greeted the two." It''s great to see you again!"

As for Neji and Hinabi, they could only looked at each other with amused and confused faces. Although, they were really glad that the two finally met each other somehow. They were eager to get to the bottom of this after the festivities of course.

(Hyuuga Cousins Interview)

"We were really surprised that my big sister had brought a certain person which turned out to be Himawari, and we were just speechless as ever and figuring out on how the two met each other - Hanabi (Then turned her eyes towards Neji)

"Well, if asked me, we've been planning this for quite sometime now and we thought that this day could be the perfect day for two to meet each other, although, things just naturally happen." - Neji

(FAMILY FRIENDLY BONDING)

As the day continued, Himawari found herself in the midst of a bonding that she had never had before since being sent here. It was somehow unbelievable to think that her young Aunt, Uncle and her teenage mom, were with her all at the same time. It really felt like as if the family was all here except for Grandpa.

With Hanabi and Neji present, the Uzumaki girl was able to adjust her comfort zone and finally managed to interact properly without the awkwardness, especially towards Hinata. The Hyuuga cousins acted as guides, showing them around the festivities.

The friendship between the two started to take shape, Both girls were really hanging out like friends and none could be happier than Hanabi and Neji who were the overseers of their plan. They really worked hard on this. Speaking of working hard, the cousins also have to do a little bit of daring acts such as they also try to helped the girls from unexpected things such getting them into the front row of a customer line or chasing a bunch of mischevious kids who had nothing better to do other than disturb the peace.

In the end, it was all just the hard work dedication to established this beautiful friendship between the two girls. They were really the unofficial best Uncle and Aunts in the world if there were ever was one. High fiving each other was the only thing that two cousins could do right now with the thankful smile of Himawari.

(IN OTHER NEWS)

Kurama really didn't like situations like this, He was scratching his head in annoyance and confusion as he looked around searching for the boy, who he has lost track off because of the chaotic atmosphere and the sea of people that continued to thrive at the festival.

"Where the heck he could be?" He thought to himself.

He was currently on the sidelines of the festival a bit exhasuted and resting. He was also on the verge of the getting dizzy if he still pushed through his search. It was good thing that he stopped for awhile and focus on how he was gonna locate the boy.

It took him several minutes before coming up with an idea. Kurama gave a smirked as he turned his eyes upwards and observed the a random food stall, which had a tent that acted a cover from the bright sun. He then immediately made his move as he jumped and climb up towards the top and once he got to the top of the tent, he was rewarded with a good view of the festival and the sea of people flowing.

"Alright Kit, where are you?" Kurama muttered as he narrowed his eyes and searched for the boy again. This time he tapped in a little chakra to further boost his senses and in a few seconds time, he was able to sensed the boy's energy.

"Gotcha!" Kurama grinned as he immediately wasted no time and made his move and jumped from tent to tent towards the area where the boy was located.

(Interview)

"I try not to think about the situation as a stressful search, but I did treat it as some sort of small adventure which is probably cool by the way (Chuckles).

Although, there was a bit of a little unexpected accident that happened along the way." (Smiles and shakes head in embarra.s.sment)

-Kurama

It was during this time that the fox himself was caught in an unexpected turn of events. As he was jumping from tent to tent, He found himself jumping on a rugged tent with a big hole on it and he unknowingly stepped on that hole and fell through and landed on an unlikely event.

"Stupid Hole!" Kurama cringed and cursed for a bit as he slowly regained his senses after the accidental fall.

By the time he regained his senses, he was in for another surprised. Kurama's eyes widened in shocked as he found himself surrounded by a lot of furry cute animals specifically cats, which seemed to be running around and being chased by little kids in a wide box. He first thought it was cute but it wasn't.

At first, he was confused, he didn't knew what exactly was going on, until he noticed a large signage that was displayed and very much visible in front which read " Catch your own Pet!"

There was a moment of silence for Kurama before realizing that everything was not as seemed to be and being the private and free person he is, he really didn't want to be caught as a pet by scary little children.

"Look it's a nine tailed fox!"

"Hey! that one's mine!"

"No, It's mine!"

The voices and yells of the little children began to haunt Kurama's ears, as he immediately made his escape from this nightmare, but not without running around the area first, trying to confused the majority of the children who kept chasing him like the hungry zombies from World War Z. In addition, the parents were also there cheering for their children.

It took an annoyed Kurama a couple of minutes before finally taking notice of a way out in the form of a vacant gap amongst the crowd of parents. He immediately took that route and made boost it up a little, escaping the nightmare that he was temporarily placed into.

Kurama finally escaped the area and was on his way towards the area where the boy was located, after a few seconds of travelling, he finally reached his destination.

"Looks like its him." He thought, as he finally got a good view of the boy, who was exploring the vicinity and heading to a certain stall.

Kurama wasted no time as he hurried his way towards the stall with goal of getting there first before the boy does.

(THE GAME BOOTH)

Sneaking in was probably the most easiest thing that he could have done during this ordeal. It was just a simple sneak into a small ordinary game booth, which barely had no surprises or traps whatsoever. He described the booth as this small game booth where you shoot the balloons or items to get the prizes.

By the time Kurama entered the small booth, he was then greeted by the quiet atmosphere and a person, which appears to be a short haired little girl sitting on a chair and reading what appears to be a newspaper.

"Hmmm, that's weird, a little girl that reads newspapers, or maybe I'm just hallucinating." Kurama commented to himself. It was just really strange seeing a little girl doing things that most girls won't be doing.

Kurama then sighed, he realized that his thoughts were starting to overrun his mind and he needed to put that aside in order to focus on his goal, which was to get to the front counter of the booth, where he can finally meet the boy.

Without wasting anytime, he slowly and carefully made his way to his destination without the means of being caught and it was all going well for him until something unexpected happened. By the time, he was nearing the counter, a voice suddenly called him.

"If you're not a customer, you can leave." The voice, which sounded like a little girl's said in a sarcastic but boring tone.

Kurama stopped his tracks as he widened his eyes, he had been sweating in nervousness for quite sometime, and he didn't want to get caught again. He slowly turned his head only to face a short black haired girl, with a casual expression on her face staring at him.

He was a bit shocked that the girl surprisingly took notice of him somewhow and now, he found himself between the lines of getting in trouble and fulfilling his goal. He immediately adjusted his mind and switched into acting like a normal fox so she won't bother him.

"Yip!" Kurama blurted out normal fox sounds multiple times in an attempt to convinced her. He had to admit that he really sucked at this job.

The girl just sighed and shook her head." Look if you wanna do something then do it, just don't do anything stupid right." She clarified with a stern look, while going back to reading.

Kurama immediately nodded and stood straight, he was surprised that a girl could speak like that as if she had this unexplainable authority. Was this really a little girl?

With that aside and the girl's permission, Kurama then climb up towards the top of the counter in a matter of moments. By this time, he was finally reaching the top and that means he was going to have the chance to call the boy.

He already had something in mind to say and when he reached the top, he was in for a final surprise.

"Hey Kit I-" Kurama wasn't able to continue his words as he was suddenly hit hard in the head by something round, miniscule and plastic.

"Bang!"

(ACCIDENTAL SHOT)

"Fire!"

Konohamaru pulled the trigger of his projectile game gun as the same time Kurama finally was able to reached the top and speak, thus accidentally shooting him.

Konohamaru widened his eyes in shocked as he wasn't expecting the furball to appear in front of him when he fired the game gun towards the balloons. "Oh no." He muttered under his breath.

"Oh man not again." Those were the furball's last words before falling and landing on the ground once more.

There was silence around the area, Konohamaru stared in shocked and blinked a couple of times before putting the game booth gun away and immediately checked on the furball.

"Hey Kurama are you alright!?" Konohamaru said. He was worried that something serious might have happened to him." I'm really sorry I didn't mean to shoot you!" He added as he semi hopped over the counter and saw a half-conscious Kurama laying on the ground groaning with imaginary stars hovering around his head.

Konohamaru sighed in relief, He was glad that the furball was alright, he had been also searching for him all throughout this time and he suddenly felt stranged urged to go to a certain booth, which turned out be this very game booth and he was surprised that the furball was also here.

"Ahem!"

A voice then interupted the moment, Konohamaru, then turned his attention to the clerk of the booth who was has been watching the whole scene and giving him a look of confusion and puzzlement.

"Oh, I kinda forgot to pay, uhmmm sorry about that." Konohamaru gave a little chuckle while scratching his head. He also wondered on what's kid like him running game booth in this festival.

As for Miyuki, she wasn't really into drama or whatsoever, she just wanted the nonsense out of here but she had really no choice but to engaged with them the most professional way as possible.

"What's your name kid?" She asked straightforwardly.

Konohamaru was taken by surprised when the girl spoke to him as if she was older one. "Uhmmm, Konohamaru Ma'am." He immediately replied back as if he was talking to authority.

Just who was this girl?

Miyuki sighed. She was expecting for a smooth ending, but as of now she has to take care of these two dweeves first.

(TRAINING GROUNDS)

As the late afternoon had arrived, it was a signal that the sun was on its way to set. Himawari sat down and rested herself on a tree along the area of a certain training ground. She took the time to rest her mind and herself for a little while. She never really expected that it would come to this. She had no idea that this is how a socially exhausted person would be like.

The Uzumaki girl sighed as she took a drink of her water bottle, as if she had just came from a marathon, a few moments later, she rested again and turned her attention to the sky and observed the sun, which was on pace of setting down.

It was very much an eventful day for her, in this span of hours, a lot of things happened in a coincidental twist of fate. She finally met her teenage mom in the most unexpected way, also reunited with her Uncle and Aunt, and was placed into the chaotic but fun atmosphere of the festival. All that in one day.

She was really glad that the rest decided to finally leave the festival and go to somewhere peaceful in the form of the empty and quiet training grounds. The rest of the fellas were enjoying their time while she rested on the tree.

Her only goal for now, was to clear her mind from everything and to be at peace for awhile. Although, her thoughts began to fill her mind yet again as a certain memory flashed before her eyes while looking at a certain spot around the training grounds.

It was a memory about a certain person that goes by the name of Kawaki, who saved her life many years ago from a crazy blonde woman when she was just a child. He took the blast that was meant to go straight at her and apologized for breaking the vase that she made.

Himawari wondered if he didn't succ.u.mbed to the darkness, he might be a very different person today and things would have not end this way. But it was already too late to begin with. She wasn't sure if the guy had survived and was sent to the past like her but what worried her the most about him is that if he was really here in the past then things might take a drastic turn.

"Himawari." A voice then called her name.

The Uzumaki girl snapped from her thoughts as she looked up to see Hinata, who had a concern looked." Are you alright?" She asked.

Himawari sighed but smiled." Yeah, I'm alright, I'm just a little bit tired that's all." She explained.

"I understand, trust me being socially exhausted is just a part of the process, In my case, I actually went to the process of being a shy type to improving myself slowly." Hinata said as she sat down with the girl.

"That only thing that helped was this strange feeling of confidence." She added." It's like I just woke up one morning without all the shyness and stuff."

It felt like as if she was different person, but she was still herself in mind and body. Then as time pa.s.sed by, she started to have these strange dreams of places, people, and things that she herself didn't knew or no knowledge about. It was also a bit strange because these dreams were like snippets of memories of a certain person and not fully shown. It was like a case of De ja vu too.

Himawari was surprised to hear her testimony. This was actually the first time that she heard from the girl herself and she wondered if these dreams were in fact memories from her actual mom. But of course, it was just a guess.

"What about you? Do you experience the same dreams too?" Hinata asked.

Himawari gave a small smile." Uhmm, not really but I do sometimes have nightmares of my own, you know the common stuff." She gave a little chuckle. "I think it's just a matter of finding peace in yourself and all that philosophy stuff."

Hinata smiled." I guess you're right, but still, I'm really thankful on whatever gave me this confidence." She said. This confidence gave him the courage to ask a certain blonde directly on a date but it didn't not end well as she was expecting.

Himawari continued to smile as she felt proud of her younger mom. She was glad to see her lively and full of hope. Their conversation continued on getting know each other's background. Hinata even made sure that she will pay them a visit at the apartment when the two arrived from their mission.

It was pretty much a new establishment of a friendship and a family connection.

(MEANWHILE)

Miyuki wasn't sure on how to react to this. She never really expected to be handling two jobs at the same time right now. One is for managing the game booth and the other one is making sure that these couple of nimrods are full in stomach.

Yes, it all ended up with her having no choice but to baby sit the two and also treating them two sets of Takuyaki b.a.l.l.s, because they were obviously and noticeably very hungry. When she asked about the subject, the boy said that he was short on budget today and had most of his money was spent on the game booths in the festival.

Miyuki could only shake her head, although she understood the fact that this was a boy in front of her and she deduced that the boy had probably been too excited when he entered the festival.

"So you're name is Konohamaru?" She asked, while observing the boy who was enjoying his snack along with the small nine-tailed fox.

"Yes Ma'am." Konohamaru replied, while munching his food. He just recently learned that the girl was in front of her was actually a young adult already and he had quickly mistaken her for kid and being the same age like him.

So he apologized for calling asking her if she was a little girl just awhile ago.

"It's alright, I get that a lot." Miyuki said, before following up with another question." Aren't you a Genin?" She asked. The boy kind of looked familiar as if she saw him before running around the streets catching a cat.

Konohamaru simply nodded." Yes Ma'am." He replied." I'm actually on some D rank missions recently, and that's why you see me running along the streets, because me and my team were trying to find a lost cat." He explained with grin.

"Oh." Miyuki slightly nodded with both of her eyebrows raised." I guess you've done a lot of pretty good jobs then." She said.

Konohamaru gave a grin." Of course, being a Genin really means a lot to me." He said." Or maybe it's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Miyuki sighed but nodded in understanding. She then took a brief moment to to check the time on her watch before focusing back on the boy." Well, I'm really glad about that but I think it's almost night time and you're parents must be very worried already." She said, with a little bit of concern in her voice.

There was a little bit of quietness that took over. Miyuki noticed that the kid was just silent as if his parents were a sensitive topic to him. Then he finally spoke.

"Actually, I really don't know my parents." He said." I was mostly raised by my Grandpa and Uncle." Konohamaru explained. He would then add that he really had no idea on what really happened to his parents until to this day. He was mostly told that they were on a long term mission and all the different information that he was receiving.

Miyuki gave a surprised looked at the kid. "Oh I see." She kind of felt sorry for him, but there was no other choice but to accept the truth.

Konohamaru then gave a smile." It's alright, I'm used to it already." He said, before turning to Kurama." At least I got furball here! hehe." He added, with a chuckle.

Kurama gave an annoyed face, He really didn't like being cuddled and treated as some kind of cute stuffed toy but he had no choice to go along and not blew up his cover.

Miyuki continued to observed the two and gave a small smile. She also took note of the small nine tailed fox, which eerily looked like the Kyuubi no Youko complete with the crimson eyes but a mini version of it. It was then that realization came to her mind and she immediately recognized this fox as the real deal but this was not just some fox, she had the feeling the he came from the future.

"So that's why he sucked so bad at acting like a normal fox." She thought to herself, she slowly locked eyes with the fox.

Kurama on the other hand, noticed the young woman looking at him and while being cuddled by Konohamaru, He took the valuable time to take note at her appearance. She looked like any normal person on the block but her eyes tell a different story, as if she had experienced and a story to tell.

As for Miyuki, she was already thinking of a plan to convinced him that she was on the good side and maybe him along with the boy could play a vital role in the future.

(CONCLUSION)

It was very much a very eventful day for several people that were brought by fate. There were a lot of unexpected meetings that happened but eventually all of them had an important purpose or meaning.

Himawari went home with a tired but satisfied smile that she managed to conquer her nervousness and one of her fears. It was day to remember and the only thing that was on her mind was to lay down on her bed, the first thing when she gets back at the apartment.

Konohamaru and Kurama, were pretty much exhausted by their little adventure at the festival. The boy was glad to have a met a new friend, who surprisingly treated them free snacks and he won't ever forget that generosity. Kurama was very much burnout for the whole day, he ended up sleeping on top of the boy's head and was snoring all the way.

Neji and Hanabi, felt that they have accomplished a big feat that they were able to handle and managed their plan on getting their future niece established a connection with Hinata. Right now, they were planning on celebrating the accomplishment once they get back at the compound.

Hinata, was very much glad to have a met Himawari. She was amazed on how small the world was and that the girl had known her cousin and sister for quite sometime. She somehow felt really sad and concerned for her in a mysterious way or maybe it was just her strange dreams fueling those emotions.

( A NIGHTLY HANGOUT)

A festival during the night was probably the best time for a couple to hangout. Jiraiya being the usual sweet gentleman he was, asked and took his former teammate along the streets of the lively and nightly tents and stalls.

It was a great thing that the blonde haired beauty instantly agreed just to get away from the hardships of a Hokage for awhile. She was really busy for these past several days and Jiraiya had the best plan to bring her mood up tonight.

(INTERVIEW)

"This was probably the best thing that I can do or contribute. I'm not really trying to take her on a date but I'm making sure that she will always stay happy, relax, and not stressful. I'm also doing this for Dan."

-Jiraiya

So the white haired Sanin did what all he can to further boost his teammate's mood up. He basically did everything from the book as he took her to the happiest spots around the festival that he can locate. From gaming booths, comedy stalls, puppet show stalls, and many more. Still, there was one problem which he cannot solved.

Tsunade seemed to be mostly quiet and a bit pale, she didn't said any word throughout the montage. She just kept observing her surroundings as if she was looking for something. This made the white haired Sanin even more worried.

"Tsunade are you alright?"Jiraiya asked with concern in his voice. He stopped his tracks as he decided to check on his former teammate." Is there something that you need?"

"Tsunade, you need to tell me so I know what to do next." He added, as he was eager to know the reason.

Tsunade continued on being quiet. There was definitely a problem and she was finally going to open her mouth and say it. So she took a deep breath and looked at her teammate in the eye.

"J-Jiraiya, I-I'm-" She was about to say her words when she was suddenly cut by something unexpected.

(Stomach growls in hunger)

It came straight from the latter's tummy as an awkward silence followed. Both of the two then directly turned to the source, and stared for a couple of seconds before finally deciding that it was time.

Jiraiya gave a deapanned expression and sighed." So that's the reason why you were so quiet." He commented.

Tsunade could only nod back in shyness because she really didn't have the confidence to tell him that she wanted to eat first, hence why she was so silent all throughout the time.

Jiraiya sighed again but smiled.

"Alright, let's go to the food market."

(A LITTLE WHILE LATER)

"This is so delicious!"

It was probably the best thing that ever happened to Tsunade, at least for the rest of night. Food was just everywhere and she felt as if she finally entered heaven. She knew that there was going to be a lot of varieties and choice and so she started her expedition.

Jiraiya was also dragged along, he just watched his former teammate hopped from food stall to food stall, buying every dish that she can eat and enjoy. It was a food fest to be honest and the white haired Sanin could do nothing but just smile because he was glad to see her just enjoying.

He didn't asked for any rewards or whatsoever, he was just there to help and be the friend that he can be for the blonde beauty. Although, because of his humbleness, he was able to get one surprising reward.

It was during their time as they walked along the lively night streets that Tsunade managed to secretly slipped a kiss towards the man's cheek. Of course, Jiraiya wasn't aware any of that as he was busy calculating and computing the budget for the rest of night. Although, there was one extra reward that he did noticed during that very moment and it was a familiar voice which he heard saying:

"Thank you."

CHAPTER END

AN: Thank you very much for reading the chapter :)

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