The Cloud Over The Leaf

Hii woke up the next day feeling exhausted.

'Haa. Shisui is surprisingly scary sometimes.'

{It can't be helped! You must defeat him to get to the goal!}

'I don't think that's how it works...'

Hii got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

{Love never comes easy! You have to fight for it sometimes!}

'You're quite the love advocate.'

{I had to fight hard for my love! Takashi definitely wasn't easy to beat! He was his own final boss!}

'Really? I would love to hear your story about it.'

{Really?! I can tell you later! You better clean yourself first.}

Hii washed up, and headed to the kitchen table. Someone was already sitting down with a groggy face.

"Huuuaaah! Good morning, Hii."

"Morning, Dad. You're up early today."

Henda wiped his eyes as he greeted his son.

"Yep. We will start working on your weapon today. You better come back quickly from school."

"It's today!? I'll definitely be back on time!"

Hii became excited as he sat down at the table.

"Haha! Good! We can get started right away once you're back. By the way, I heard you went to the Uchiha house yesterday."

"Uh, yeah. I did."

"Was it to meet that girl that gave you your birthday gift~?"

Henda had a sly grin on his face as he poked his son with his elbow.

Hii's face started to get red as he looked away from him.

"N-No. I just ran into her on a walk."

"Heeeeeh~? So, have you figured out what to give for her birthday?"

Hii looked at his Dad with a blank face.

Henda nodded his head and sighed.

"I figured you'd be like me. I get so happy when I get to make a new weapon, I lose some common sense too. Your Mom hit me super hard that one time I forgot her birthday."

Henda shook his head as he patted his son's shoulders and smiled.

"The best idea for you is to ask a classmate or the teacher when her birthday is. It's only right you get her something as well. I'll help you too if you want to craft it."

"Thanks, Dad! I'll think of something to get!"

Hii nodded his head as he kept the advice in mind.

{You can't let her know you're looking for a gift. We have to be stealthy!}

'I'm a ninja in training. I can handle that.'

Hii thought about the classmates he could ask. His list was actually quite small.

'Hinata...probably won't know. I can't ask Shizuka. She'd just make fun of me.'

{Anyone else?}

'I could ask Sakura, but I don't think she's too familiar with that information either. Someone who's popular and would know that information...'

Hii thought deeply, then nodded his head as the best candidate came to mind.

'That just leaves one person to ask.'

*******

"Maka's birthday?"

Hii decided to ask Ino for the informationin

Ino wore her purple blouse and skirt, as well as her stylish bandages on her waist and legs.

A bright smile appeared on her face as her light blue eyes scanned Hii's face.

"I'm surprised. I thought Maka's feelings were one-sided, but it looks like she's lucky."

Ino giggled while Hii scratched his face.

"Um. Would you happen to know when it is?"

"Yep. It's actually next month. I think she's going to have a party or something."

"I see. Next month, huh?"

 The two sat near each other as students were getting ready to leave class for the day.

Hii looked at Ino seriously and asked her another question.

"Ino, your family runs a flower shop, correct?"

"Yeah. Why~?"

Ino's playful tone told Hii she already knew what he wanted to ask, but he had to say it anyway.

"Girls sure love to tease."

"It's fun to tease cute boys."

"Haaaa. What kind of flower do you think would fit the...situation?"

Ino placed her finger on her chin and thought for a moment.

"Hmmm. There's a lot of flowers you can choose from. How about you come to our shop and pick there? I can give you a discount for some information on Sasuke~!"

Hii thought for a moment and nodded his head.

"That's fine. I need to bring one flower with me anyway for designing."

"What are you two talking about?"

Shikamaru approached the two with Choji behind him, munching on some chips.

"Don't butt in, Shikamaru! This is an important meeting on love!"

"You should probably have your important meetings somewhere else with less people around. How troublesome."

Ino looked at Hii and nodded.

"We better head over quickly then so you can choose a flower."

Hii nodded his head and started to walk out of the academy.

{What kind of flower do you think you should get?}

'I'm not too familiar with what they mean, so I don't know. Asking Ino is my best chance to make a good choice.'

{Just make sure it's pretty!}

Hii shook his head as the two continued to head to her shop.

Ino looked at Hii as they walked and started to giggle.

"Hm? What happened?"

"Nothing. It's just...you look so serious with finding a flower to give. You never had that expression in class."

Hii was surprised to hear his face changed to drastically. He smiled and looked ahead.

"Well, I think she's worth it."

"....."

Ino smiled and continued to lead Hii to her house.

The two were unaware of a shadow following them with a sly smile.

"Tsk, tsk. You can't keep such a juicy development from me, Hii-kun."

Shizuka had a hard time keeping the smile on her face under control. 

She continued to spy on the two with a mischevious look on her face.

*********

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! Hold on a bit while I go change."

Hii nodded his head and took a seat nearby the counter as he looked around. 

Flowers of many different shapes and colors flooded the store. He felt overwhelmed by the wafting scent in the store.

{This store is so pretty!}

Hii couldn't help, but nod his head in agreement.

'Hmmm. Ino should know about the flowers different meanings, right?'

{Right! The reaction will change completely depending on what you give her. A red rose is totally different from a yellow carnation.}

Hii's face grew serious as he realized how complicated this mission had become.

"Don't make a face like that. That's why I'm here to help you."

Ino walked back into the room with a yellow apron on as she came up to Hii.

"Okay! Did you have a specific emotion you wanted to give her?"

Hii looked down and thought deeply about it.

"I,I honestly don't know. I really just want to show appreciation for her friendship and what she does for me. It's not like I don't like her, but I'm not sure if I like her in "that" way yet. "

Ino closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"Hmmmm. That makes it a bit tough. Hold on a minute."

Ino thought about many different flowers that could work. Hii just waited for her to think about which flower would be suitable as a gift for him.

Ino clapped her hands and gave Hii a smile.

"I got it! I'll give you a few choices you can choose from. They might just work!"

Ino quickly went around the store and picked up 3 different flowers for Hii to choose from.

"Your first choice could be a daisy. It means new beginnings in the language of flowers."

Ino put a white daisy on the counter and placed down the next flower.

"The next choice would be a dandelion. It can mean to overcome something or a promise."

Ino laid that one down as well and held the next one up.

"The last one I could find would be a hydrangea. This one means heartfelt emotion or gratitude."

Ino placed the last flower on the counter and let Hii decide on which one would work.

"Hmmmm."

{You have to decide which one would be good. It's all up to your feelings.}

Hii folded his arms and looked at his choices with a stiff face.

"None of these really show your relationship with her."

"!"

"Oh! Shizuka-chan! When did you come in?!"

Ino and Hii were surprised to see Shizuka leaning over Hii's shoulder.

"Ino-chan~! These flowers are pretty nice, but I think I know which flower can describe his feelings."

"Oh? Tell me!"

Shizuka nodded and came close to Ino and whispered in her ear.

Ino's expression went through a few different emotions as Shizuka gave a detailed version of their relationship.

"That explains it! Why didn't you tell me about that before?!"

"It must've slipped my mind. Sorry~!"

Ino pouted and quickly ran towards a corner of the shop.

Hii looked at Shizuka with a wry smile.

"What did you tell her?"

"A loving story of a downtrodden girl finding a companion in a dashing boy who believes in her. There might be even more juicy things between them soon~."

Hii shook his head and waited for Ino.

"This is a flower you can give her! I'm glad we have them in stock."

Hii looked surprised at the flower and looked at Shizuka nodding her head.

"It's perfect!"

"It's pretty, but is it perfect?"

"I can tell you more about this one."

Shizuka whispered into Hii's ear the meaning of the flower as well as some basic information on it.

{I think this is a good one!}

Even Fuyuki liked the choice after Shizuka's explanation.

Hii looked at the flower and nodded his head.

"I'll take this one then."

*********

Hii headed into the shop after he bought his flower from Ino.

*Clang Clang*

He could see Henda testing away at a piece of metal with a wide grin on his face.

"Hey! You finally made it back."

"Sorry Dad! I had to get an idea for Maka's present."

Hii excitedly told Henda about his idea of a gift for Maka.

Henda nodded his head and looked at the flower closely.

"Hmmm~. I think we can do that! You sure you wanted to use this one, right?"

"Yeah! This one is perfect."

"Alrighty! I'll help you with that once we're done with our first task."

"Hii finally came in?"

Di appeared from further inside the shop. He had on his beige fireproof apron and his hammer in his hand.

"Yes, Father! We can finally make it!"

"Good! We have the materials. Follow me."

Di nodded his head and went back into the inside of the shop with Henda and Hii behind him.

Di came to a table full of different size pieces of iron as Di sat nearby.

He and Henda both had wide smiles on their face. Hii, however, was very confused.

"What is all this?"

Di rubbed Hii's head as his smile widened slowly.

"This is all for our attempts."

"Eh?"

"We have many different types of Chakra enhanced metal. We'll definitely find the perfect fit for your weapon."

Henda came next to Hii and patted his shoulder. 

"We got a lot of them this time. We're gonna make sure the sword is perfect."

Hii was getting a strange feeling that...

"Don't worry about school. We already told Kaya and Riku you would be with us for a while. They'll inform them school about your absence."

This was going to be an arduous task.

"Hehehe. We have at least a week. Did you get some of those chakra pills?"

"Yep! Kaya let me use a few. We could go a few sleepless nights."

Hii started to sweat as he saw their grins become more and more sinister.

"Let's first go over the dimensions. I think a standard length would be good?"

"I can see that, but what about a long blade?! Hii hasn't finished growing so it might need to be longer."

Hii just stared at the two as talking as he realized he might not get out of this room for a while.

{...Uh...good luck?}

'...I don't think that's gonna be enough.'

********

Maka sat at her desk, looking towards the front row with a bored expression.

She stared at the seat next to Sakura that was still empty.

'Hii hasn't been to school in a week. Where did he go?'

Maka twirled her brush in her hands idly as she stared at Hii's seat.

'Nii-san won't even let me go see him! Ever since he came back, he's been so protective.'

"Haaaa."

"You miss him that badly?"

"...That's not it, Shizuka."

"Right~! Sure it isn't."

Maka hated how Shizuka seemed to catch her off her guard everytime.

"It's written all on your face."

"I-I'm not worried about him, okay?"

Shizuka held her chin in her hands and looked at Maka with a sardonic expression.

Maka just looked away from her towards the front with an embarrassed look.

Sasuke simply shook his head and waited for Iruka to come to class.

"Hey Sasuke. Has Maka been getting upset at home because Hii is gone?"

"W-What are you-"

"All the time. It's annoying."

"Sasuke!"

Shizuka giggled while watching Sasuke dodged Maka's play hits.

The door to the classroom in the back opened up as a student walked in.

Shizuka turned her head to look and smiled.

"Well! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Ha! Morning to you too, Shizuka."

"Eek!"

Hii looked over at Maka who had held both hands over her mouth.

"Who made that sound?"

"Pffft!"

"Haaa."

Shizuka tried to hold in her laughter as Sasuke sighed.

"Are you okay, Maka?"

"I-I'm fine! No problem! Hahaha."

Maka grinned widely as Hii came closer.

"That's good. I missed you guys!"

Hii smiled as he looked over his friends. He could see Shikamaru still laying down on his desk.

"Shikamaru is still sleeping?!"

Shikamaru shifted his face towards them while he slept in his arms on his desk.

"Shut up."

"Morning to you too."

Shizuka shook her head.

"You expected anything different from him?"

"I guess not. Did I miss anything important in class, guys?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"No. Everyone is still the same. Naruto bombed another test, as usual."

"Hey! I just wasn't prepared! I'll get it a perfect score next time!"

"Hmph! You said that last time!"

Hii shook his head as he headed down to his seat.

Shizuka looked over at Maka's face and grinned mischievously.

Maka looked like the present she always wanted was right in reach.

Shizuka poked Maka's shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"You're glad he's back, huh?"

Maka's face became bright red as she slowly tried to stifle her grin.

"I'm glad he's back too! We can train again!"

Shizuka's eyes brightened as she patted Naruto's shoulder.

"That's it! We'll go and have fun at Hii's house after school. We'll do it as punishment for not telling us he left."

"Yeah! Sounds like fun!"

"....Fine."

"......"

Shizuka made plans for them after school, but no one rejected the idea.

Hii had no clue he would be coming back home with a swarm of kids.

***********

"Umm. Why are all of you coming to my house again?"

"Punishment, Hii. Punishment."

"Hehehe! I'm excited!"

"...."

"S-Sorry for coming unannounced."

"Is this a sleepover?!"

"Yay."

The six kids all headed back to the Kurokumo house full of energy.

Shizuka looked at Moya and Yozora with sparkling eyes as she crept up behind them, hands poised for ruffling!

"Ahh!! Run, Yozora! The sly Nee-san wants to rub our heads again!"

"Oh no."

The two quickly dashed towards the house as Shizuka chased after them.

"I only want one rub! Come back~!"

Hii watched the three race into the distance.

"Ugh! I better go after Nee-san."

"Heh! I gotta see this!"

Naruto and Sasuke quickly chased after them as well, leaving Hii and Maka by themselves.

'Aaaaaaaah!!!! How did this happen?!'

Maka tried to keep a straight face, but her mind couldn't catch up with everything that happened!

"Haaaa. We should probably go after them."

"N-No!"

"Hm? Why not?"

"Ah! W-Well, they do that all the time! We should just take our time. Your house is not far from here anyway."

Hii thought about it and nodded his head.

"I think you're right. Let's just take our time then."

Maka nodded her head and did a guts pose behind him while they walked.

{You can do it, girl.}

The two walked in silence as they drew closer to the house.

'Oh no! What should I talk about? The weather? That's stupid! Wait! I got it!'

"So, Hii-kun? What happened to you anyway? You disappeared for a week."

"Ah. Well, I was actually making my sword."

"A sword?"

"Yep! My personal sword for when I'm officially a Genin."

"Heeeeh~! I bet it looks nice."

"It really did come out well! It took a lot of work to get it just right! It was like torture! I had to stay up for a few days!"

Hii talked on and on about his experience while Maka absently listened. Her eyes roamed all over his face as she watched him with a dreamy look.

"We were down to our last bits of metal before we finally got the exact shape down. After that, it was a smooth transition. What about you? What did you end up doing while I was gone?"

"Thinking about yoooouu missing so much class! Haha! I just studied and trained with Nii-san recently. Nothing too new."

{Nice save.}

"Oh! Sorry for worrying you. I didn't know that it would take so long! I would've let you guys know otherwise. Training with Shisui, huh? He's...quite strong."

Maka took a deep breath and focused her determination.

"Do, you want to, maybe, train together with us next time?"

Hii felt a shiver crawl down his spine as he remembered Shisui's angry face.

"M-Maybe not right now. I have to get a bit stronger first."

"....Okay."

{Damn Shisui!}

"I will be coming by for your birthday. I won't miss that day! Look forward to it!"

Hii turned to her and smiled.

"....Good. I can't wait."

Maka smiled back and looked forward.

The two finally made it to the house and noticed how loud it was inside.

"Cool!!"

"It's looks great, huh?!"

Hii heard the chatter and shook his head.

"Come on! You can see the sword inside."

Maka nodded her head and followed Hii inside.

"Ugh!"

Hii opened the door for Maka and noticed his Dad with an odd face.

"Hehehe."

Henda turned away from him, but that face told Hii exactly what was on his mind. He even felt he could hear him teasing!

'That's the girl, eeeeh?!'

Hii could feel his face growing hotter and hotter when he realized his Mom and Shizuka had on the same face while the kids gawked at the blade.

"T-The blade is inside."

"Y-Yeah. Excuse my intrusion."

Hii and Maka come into the living room with everyone else.

"Wow."

"It looks good, right?"

Maka saw the sword resting on a stand over the wall.

On the stand was a 26 inch blade covered in a black and blue sheath.

A cold aura seemed to swirl around it, as if a beast was waiting to be released.

"That sword is so cool!"

"....It is pretty cool."

Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help looking at the blade with sparkling eyes.

Moya and Yozora liked to look at the blade as well, but they were a bit scared. They saw the aftermath of making such a work.

"It took Hii-Nii a week to make this with Grandpa and Dad. How long will our weapons take?!"

"I'm excited. I want a lot of weapons."

"I'm scared!"

Yozora's eyes sparkled while Moya shivered at the thought.

Di sat nearby with Riku admiring the blade. 

"...It came out good."

"I'm glad. You'll have to wait for the other two to find their styles first before it's their turn. Don't make any practice weapons, alright?"

"...."

Di looked downtrodden when he heard that.

*Smack*

"You dolt! I have every right to be restrict you since you used all the special materials! We have to save again to buy more! Did you forget that?!"

"....."

Everyone ignored the spat as they gazed at the blade.

"Does it have a name?"

"Yeah. It's Ame No Tsume. I thought of it myself."

Maka nodded her head as she gazed at the sword.

"It's a good name."

"Haaa! Well, since all these kids are here, I better make something to eat."

Riku stood up from the couch and headed to the kitchen.

"Hii dear. Come help me cook."

"Okay, Grandma. I'll be right there."

Hii put down his backpack and headed into the kitchen with Riku.

Maka looked at Hii in shock as she watched him disappear into the kitchen.

"Oh my. Handsome and can cook? You're gonna have to claim him fast~."

"S-Shut up! W-We don't know if how good he is."

"Hm? Nii-san cooks a lot."

""Eh?""

Maka and Shizuka looked at Moya with surprise.

"Yep~! Hii cooks way better than Mom. She's a master at burning stuff."

Yozora nodded his head.

"Black toast."

"Hey!"

"Waaah! Mom's mad! Run!"

"Uh oh."

The twins dashed away from their raging mother as she chased after them.

Shizuka and Maka looked at each other and decided to wait for the food.

Naruto and Sasuke talked with Di and Henda about different weapons they could use for battle while they waited.

"Food's done!"

""Yay!""

Everyone headed to the kitchen table and stood around the dishes. 

Riku and Hii decided to make a few rice balls for everyone.

"Hope you guys enjoy it."

"Alright! It looks good!"

""Thanks for the food!""

Everyone grabbed one and took a bite.

********

The gang of four headed back to their homes together after the meal.

"Man...that was really good!"

"...Yeah."

Shizuka looked over at Maka's blank face and patted her shoulder.

"You're gonna need a lot of practice to get to that level. I can't lose to that either."

"...Yeah."

Maka sighed as she remembered how tasty that rice ball was.

She decided she would get more special training from Aunt Mikoto.

Shizuka thought the same as Kushina's face came to her mind.

They couldn't lose in cooking at all costs!

Naruto looked back at their burning conviction and whispered to Sasuke.

"Why are they so determined all of a sudden?"

"...I don't know. I also feel like I shouldn't learn why either."

"Hmmm. I kinda get what you're talking about."

The two looked at each other and both decided it wasn't any of their business.