A Boy for a Flower [Naruto Fanfiction]

Part 1 - I

“Oh, the Waterfall Maiden, you mean.” I recalled. The man’s eyes flashed at the mention of the name. I must have guessed right. Standing up, I pointed to the direction where they grew, “They are grown there, but there would probably be some ninjas stationed there since its rare and very valuable. Though, since I’m a member of the Hidden Village of Waterfall myself, they could probably entrust at least one to me.” The man stood up as well, easily towering above me. He stared me straight in the eye when he asked:

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Kei.” I frowned, confused by that, “Why?”

He turned away from me, “No reason. Anyway, do you think you could lead me there? I don’t know this area very well.” I scowled again, wondering now why he had avoided my question, but let it go for now.

“All right, I’ll go with you...?” I paused, waiting for his name now. The man faced me once again with a sudden change in his demeanor. For some reason, it felt that he was a bit more... gentler. Maybe that was because I got to know him a little more and wasn’t much of a stranger to me.

“Kabuto.” he finished for me. I nodded in recognition, but for a moment, I didn’t leave his eyes. They seemed so... mysterious. I felt like I had to decipher them even though we had just met. Yet, he was a traveler and that meant he would be leaving once he had the Waterfall Maiden. There was no time for me to find out more about him when it wasn’t even my business to begin with.

With that, I began walking ahead of him to show him the way to the Waterfall Maiden flowers. As I walked, I remembered that I still had his cloak over my shoulders. I burned red from embarrassment for not returning his cloak. He didn’t seem too bothered by it, but still, it was rather imposing on my part. 

The smell on the cloak was strange, I noticed despite remembering that it was his. It smelled like it was stuck in a hospital for it had that lingering scent of medicines. I supposed that if he was looking for the Waterfall Maidens, of course he would be a doctor of some kind. Still, it also had another scent on it that made it different from a regular hospital.

“The Waterfall Maidens aren’t far from here.” I told Kabuto, just so he wouldn’t think I was ignoring him and also to keep my mind occupied from my wandering thoughts, “Just about a few minutes now. And also... I’m not guaranteeing you one hundred per cent that I’ll be able to get a Waterfall Maiden. Like I said before, they are rare so maybe even I wouldn’t be able to have the privilege of obtaining one to give to you.” I felt that I had to explain that to him before we arrived and we weren’t able to get one. It was only fair.

“It’s all right,” Kabuto condoned, “I prepared myself for that already.” I nodded in understanding, deciding not to pester him any farther about what he meant by ‘prepared himself’. Stupid Kei, my conscience chastised me, he wouldn’t do anything drastic—he looks too honest for something like that! 

Well, I could only hope it was right...

Finally, we made it to the clearing where the Waterfall Maidens were grown. The very area surrounding the flowers had a tinge of blue on them. As they radiated in their own light, a sereneness overcame me. I also couldn’t help but notice Kabuto staring eagerly at them as well. It was to be expected; it was like seeing all the beauty of nature collected into one area. As expected, ninjas—chuunins to be exact—were stationed there. As soon as they spotted us, they grabbed their kunai and pointed it at us.

“Who are you two?” One demanded.

“It’s OK. I’m Kei from the Hidden Village of Waterfall.” I explained. With that knowledge, their hostility toward me loosened. I was fairly well known in the village. For some reason, I had an eye for trouble—as embarrassing as it was. For example, nearly drowning in the lake if it hadn’t been for Kabuto.

Now, instead, they both turned to point their kunai toward Kabuto, “Then who’s this?” another asked.

“My name is Kabuto. I’m a traveler and I ran into Kei when I was passing by.” Kabuto said calmly, not intimidated by their suspicious glare. Even after his explanation, the chuunins didn’t put away their kunai.

“So what brings you to the Waterfall Maidens?” the first one questioned.

“I have a friend who is in dire need of the Waterfall Maidens’ special properties to tend to wounds.” Kabuto replied swiftly. Almost as if he had rehearsed it or something. Maybe others have turned down his offer on his travels. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break, if that was the case; even when it came to his dying friend.

“Do you have verification from Lord Shibuki?” the first asked. My heart sank. I had looked forward to aiding Kabuto that I totally forgot the means of how to obtain it. My head lowered as I shook my head slowly, “Then be off with you until you have; whether you reside in the Hidden Village of Waterfall or not.”

Suddenly, I felt that same warm hand that had saved me from drowning on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Kabuto who was smirking again and his eyes blocked from my vision because of the glare of the sun, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got another way.” Before I could say or do anything, Kabuto ran toward the unsuspecting chuunins, tapping them lightly with his palm that he infused with chakra. They fell with the mere touch, but what mostly surprised me was how quick he was able to defeat the chuunins! I could see genins being defeated just as easily, but these were chuunins and they got taken out in five seconds flat.

“Wh-what did you do?!” I shouted at him, checking up on the nearest chuunin. He was breathing but his face was scrunched up with pain. He was clutching onto his leg which was still, despite him being in such pain.

I looked over at Kabuto who was casually picking two and even a third Waterfall Maiden. My eyes widened, but I couldn’t find any words. I had warned him that those were rare and extremely valuable, so why was he picking them like they were a dime a dozen? Quickly, before he picked anymore, I stood up and clutched onto his arm, causing him to stop when he was just about to grab a fifth.

“Kabuto! Why are you doing this?” I was near to tears. My gut feeling about him was wrong. He was using the wrong means to obtain the flowers and not only that he wasn’t respecting the fact that there were only so few.

“I already told you. My friend needs them.” Kabuto simply replied.

“Not this way! Your friend wouldn’t want you to steal them in order to heal him, would he?!” I protested. He scowled as if trying to imagine it, but couldn’t.

“He means everything to me. All I care about is healing him; not what it takes to do it.” Even with that, I still couldn’t comprehend. There was no way I could; sure, my mother meant a lot to me, but I wouldn’t go against the law in order to save her.

Or would I?

“B-but... Kabu—,” I began, but was interrupted by a blow to my stomach. It knocked the wind out of me, making darkness to almost immediately come to me. Though, when I was about to lose all consciousness, I was pretty sure I heard a silent ‘I’m sorry.’