Chapter 13

Kotomi's Dream

Kotomi was throwing kunais at targets that were a distance away. The lingering thoughts of her brother kept haunting her mind. The way Sasuke looked at her, it was like he wasn't even directly looking at her. Like she wasn't there. It made her feel empty.

"Kotomi." Throwing a kunai at the bull's eye, she turned around to see her two teammates there. Tsubaki looked at her with worry. "How are you feeling?"

Kotomi smiled, though it was fake to hide the fact that she was still upset over her brother. "I'm fine."

Tsubaki could tell that she wasn't being honest. "Hey... Do you want to eat lunch with us?"

"Lunch? Where at?"

"I was thinking of Korean BBQ. I know Ryusai really loves that kind of food."

Ryusai blushed, turning away with his eyebrows creased. "It's not my favorite food or anything..."

Kotomi snorted. "Sure. I'm all for that."

***

At the restaurant, Kotomi was the one cooking the meat on the table stove. Her mouth felt like it was watering, smelling the delicious aroma of Korean BBQ.

She started serving them on three plates, all of squad 8 looked like they were ready to tear it up. Clasping their hands together, they said this in unison. "Itadakimasu."

At the same time, all three of them started eating to their heart's desire. Kotomi hummed satisfactorily. "This is so good..!"

Tsubaki nodded with his mouth full. He swallowed before speaking up. "I know right?! I think it's because you cooked it!"

"I think if you or Ryusai cooked it, it would taste just like this."

"I doubt that. I'm a horrible cook. What about you, Ryusai?"

Ryusai side eyed Tsubaki. "Better than you that's for sure."

Tsubaki started pouting. "Why do you have to be like that?!"

"Because I'm not a fool head over heels in love like you are."

Tsubaki started blushing. "I-I am not!"

Kotomi smiled at the two. She was aware that Tsubaki has had feelings for her since the academy times. At first, she was oblivious about it, but she came to realize that he had feelings for her. It was bittersweet. She admired that he has feelings for her for this long, but she only thought of him as a really good friend who she can trust. She wasn't sure how to put him down gently whenever he would honestly confess.

Tsubaki huffed. "Anyway... Kotomi, are you aiming to be a jonin anytime soon?"

Getting caught off guard with that, Kotomi lowered her eyes. "Of course I am, but at the same time... I feel like I'm not good enough."

"Not good enough? What do you mean?"

"I... I couldn't bring back my brother or even have the courage to fight him seriously. How can I consider myself to be a ninja when I put my own personal feelings in a mission?"

"That's foolish." Ryusai commented. "Just because you failed once doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up about it. It's supposed to make you realize that you have a lot of room to become stronger. Am I wrong?"

Kotomi grunted at his words. Even though he was a bit harsh with them, he was absolutely right. "You're right, Ryusai. I shouldn't let that bring me down so much. It just means that I have to get stronger. Not just for trying to get my brother back, but for you two as well."

Both Ryusai and Tsubaki grunted. They turned the opposite direction away from each other, looking somewhat bashful. It seemed like her words touched them, making them flustered.

Kotomi smiled to herself, thinking it was a bit silly. "Oh! Kotomi-chan! Is that you?" Looking up, she saw Naruto with Sakura and a whole bunch of people.

"Naruto! Are you having some kind of party or something?"

"Not really. We're all just here to eat together. I would ask you to join, but I see you already ate a lot, dattebayo!"

"I did! I'm already starting to feel stuffed, so I was going to take some in a to-go box."

Naruto let out a laugh. "Alright! I might as well introduce you to everyone here! You already Sakura and Sai..." One by one, Naruto started saying each of the people's names that were joining him for lunch. It was a lot of people. She recognized some from when they went on the mission with Naruto to try to find her brother the first time.

She recognized Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Neji. The ones that she was unfamiliar with but now familiar with were Rock Lee, Ten-Ten, Shino, and Hinata. For some reason, Hinata was looking at Naruto shyly.

Reading into it, Kotomi figured out why. "Oh... I get it."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Get what?"

Kotomi started waving her hands. "Nothing, nothing!"

"Ok? We'll catch up some other time. I'll see you later, Kotomi-chan!"

"See you later!" Kotomi saw Naruto and the rest of his party all sit at a huge table that was meant for a lot of people.

Tsubaki just blinked at her. "You seem like you're close with Naruto."

Kotomi nodded. "We are! He's like a brother to me!"

Ryusai smirked. "Getting jealous?"

Tsubaki blushed while looking angry. "I'm not! I was just curious!"

Kotomi started laughing. "Does anyone want more BBQ or do you need a to-go box?" The party of three were in the restaurant for a little while longer as they ate a little bit more until they stuffed their stomaches.

After lunch, the three walked together with Kotomi in the middle. She patted her stomach while holding a plastic bag with a to-go box inside. "I'm stuffed!"

"Same here!" Tsubaki responded. "I might not be hungry for dinner later."

Ryusai was walking with his hands behind his head. "Still... It's not good to skip a meal."

"Whatever!" Tsubaki commented, letting out a sigh. "Hey... I know this is out of the blue, but what do you two aim to be for in the future? I want to be in the ANBU someday."

"ANBU, huh?" Ryusai asked. "For me, I aim to be the greatest swordsman in all the land. I want to be recognized worldwide for my sword skills that whenever someone hears my name, they would know what I'm capable of."

Tsubaki looked impressed. "That's a really cool goal, Ryusai." He turned to Kotomi. "What about you?"

For some reason, Kotomi looked shy. "Well... When I was little, I always wanted to become the head of the Konoha Police Force just like my father was. I admired how he did his job, and it inspired me to want to do the same thing when I got older."

Tsubaki's face perked up. "I can see you doing that. I think it's admirable that you want to be like your father in that department."

Kotomi scratched her face shyly. "I bet my father would be flattered if he ever heard me say that." Her eyes lowered a bit afterwards.

Tsubaki noticed her change in attitude, worry in his face. "Kotomi..."

Kotomi started smiling, not wanting to worry him. "I'm ok. I was just having a little flashback of my father, but I'm fine now."

Ryusai looked at her blankly. He was well aware that she lost her parents at a very young age. By the hands of her eldest brother nonetheless. He didn't want to say anything insensitive about it. "I'm sure your father would be very proud of you."

Kotomi grunted, not expecting Ryusai to say such a thing. He was usually never open like this, but as of recently, he started showing signs of opening up. It put a smile to her face. "Thank you so much."

"Everyone!" The three stopped where they stood, seeing their sensei rush up to them. "Guess what?! You all get to go on your first C rank mission as chunnin!" They all grunted at the same time, all smiling in their unique way.

Tsubaki smiled brightly. "Finally! A mission to use my jutsu for protecting people!"

Ryusai smirked. "Exactly what you said."

Kotomi smiled. "It's exciting." Though she already went on an advanced mission before, this would be the first time with her teammates. She wondered how things would go for them on this mission that was yet to be announced.

They work really well as a team, so nothing bad would happen she thought. She believed that they would succeed in this mission with no problem.

A/N: Kotomi's teammates are really sweet to her. It's obvious that Tsubaki has feelings for her, and Ryusai respects her a lot. I've watched Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals a while back, and I wanted to share a couple of pictures from it. If Kotomi ever saw this, she would be so shocked seeing Itachi like that, and feel so butthurt over Sasuke since she would think he's prettier than her.