Chapter 18

Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee

Kotomi was walking along with Konohamaru and his friends, Moegi and Udon. They were her friends too since they have been hanging out together often.

Konohamaru looked over to Kotomi who was too silent for her own good. "Hey Kotomi. Are you alright?"

With everything that has happened recently, she wasn't sure how to feel. But despite that, Kotomi gave him a smile. "I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

He looked at a loss of what to do. He wasn't too good at this kind of thing, especially towards the girl he likes. "Well... If you want to talk about it, I'll listen to you."

Kotomi fondly smiled at his kind gesture. "Thank you for that."

Up ahead, they saw three people they recognized right away. It was squad 10 Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Ino looked like she was excitedly talking about something while Shikamaru looked a bit bothered by it. Choji was eating a bag of chips while listening.

Ino noticed Kotomi, giving her a big smile. "Kotomi-chan!"

Kotomi smiled back. "Good afternoon, Ino-san."

"Guess what?!" Ino asked. "Shikamaru landed a role on a popular TV series!"

Shikamaru let out a sigh. "My mom made me do it. They're making me play the role of a villain. It's such a drag."

Choji swallowed his food before speaking up. "Isn't your character's name Kageyama?"

"Yeah. My character belongs in a dark guild, but he gets influenced by the protagonists."

Ino's eyes sparkled. "I'm so going to watch it when it airs! You should totally watch it with me, Kotomi-chan!"

"I'll think about it." Seeing someone else walk towards them, Kotomi recognized the person right away. "Hinata-san." In all honestly, she was still a bit affected by the other Hinata, but she knew this Hinata would never do anything harsh. She was too sweet.

Hinata grunted, looking a bit shy. It looked like she was on edge about something. Noticing that, Kotomi turned to Konohamaru. "I'll be right back." She then made her way over to where Hinata was.

Kotomi ended up taking Hinata to an excluded area with no people. Hinata had her hands holding the opposite forearm. Swallowing, Kotomi spoke up. "I noticed that you're on edge about something. So I wanted to ask... What's bothering you?"

Looking a bit tongue tied, Hinata gulped. "W-Well... During that time when Naruto was fighting Pain, I intervened to try to help him. At the same time, I... I confessed to him."

Kotomi's eyes sparkled. "You did?! That's wonderful! What did he say about it?!"

Hinata shook her head. "He didn't say anything about it yet."

Feeling disappointed, Kotomi shook her head. "That guy is so oblivious even though you said it straightforward." Letting out a sigh, she continued. "But I think that was very brave of you. I knew you felt that way towards him for a long time. I sometimes notice you nearby when I hang out with him."

Hinata started to get flustered. "I-I'm sorry... I don't mean to give you the wrong idea... I..." It looked like she didn't know what to say to defend her claim.

Kotomi giggled. "It's ok, I understand. But since you actually confessed your feelings to him, I think you should try to get closer with him. He'll realize what an amazing person you are."

"Me..? Get close to Naruto-kun..?" Hinata looked like she was ready to pass out, which she did.

Kotomi caught her on time, leaning her against the tree. Letting out a sigh, she shook her head with a smile. "Maybe you need a little more time to be ready. But I'm rooting for you."

***

After seeing that Hinata was ok, Kotomi went back to where Konohamaru was. Rushing to where he was, she stopped while trying to catch her breath. "Sorry for taking a while."

"What happened?" Moegi asked.

"Well..." Kotomi said. "I just had a good talk with Hinata was all. I gave her a pep talk, so I think she'll be alright."

Konohamaru smiled brightly. "For someone who has a lot on her shoulders, you're always helping others with their problems. That's one of things that I admire about you."

For some reason, Kotomi felt her heart skip a beat. A blush appeared on her face, shyly smiling. "Thank you so much. It makes me feel happy."

Seeing Kotomi giving him a cute look made him start to get flustered. "N-No problem..."

Not even a minute later, Kakashi appeared nearby. "Yo. Kotomi."

Getting a little surprised, Kotomi cleared her throat. "Kakashi-sensei. What brings you here?"

"The hokage wanted me to find you to assign you on a mission with squad 9."

Kotomi grunted. "You mean Team Guy?"

Kakashi nodded. "Right. She thinks you'll be great assistance."

Not going on a mission for a while ever since her squad's incident, Kotomi knew that she had to go on one at some point. "Ok. I'll do it." She turned to Konohamaru. "We'll hang out later."

Konohamaru nodded. "Right. See you later. Good luck."

"Thank you." With that, both Kakashi and Kotomi disappeared out of sight.

On the way there, Kakashi and Kotomi were walking side by side. He was reading a book while walking, much to Kotomi's unamusement. "You're still reading that?"

"Yeah." Kakashi's focus was on the book titled Icha Icha Paradise. "Do you want me to lend you the first volume?"

"I think I'm good."

"I was just kidding. It's for people 18 and over." Kakashi paused for a moment. "So... Do you like Konohamaru?"

Getting caught off guard with that question, Kotomi started blushing. "Um... As a really good friend." She was being so obvious that Kakashi could see right through her, not saying anything more about it as he continued reading.

***

Making it to the hokage's office, Kotomi was standing right next to the members of Team Guy. Might Guy, Rock Lee, Ten-Ten, and Neji.

The hokage was the woman who helped heal Sasuke that one time a while back. Kotomi really admired her for that, and felt forever grateful.

She was known as Lady Tsunade. "Your mission is to deliver an important scroll to the raikage in the village hidden in the clouds."

Kotomi was confused. "Excuse me, but why did you assign me to assist in the mission?"

"I was about to explain that. This scroll has something of your specialty in it, and you were the best person that could unravel it when you reach your destination."

Kotomi grunted. "Do you know what it is?"

Tsunade shook her head. "I don't have a clue, I was only informed about it. It just only has a small part in the scroll."

Understanding a little bit better but still confused, Kotomi nodded. "Understood. I'll help out as best as I can."

Might Guy gave her a thumbs up, his teeth shining. "Welcome to the team, Kotomi!"

Rock Lee did the same gesture as Might Guy. "Good to have you with us!"

Ten-Ten sweatdropped. "You guys are going to scare her off if you keep doing that..."

Neji gave her a smile. "We look forward to working with you."

Kotomi gave all of them a smile. "Thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward working with you as well."

***

Once the mission started, the five of them were already out of the village. Rushing through trees, Might Guy spoke up. "Listen up. If we encounter enemies on the way there, we must not let them take the scroll."

Rock Lee nodded. "Yes, Guy-sensei!"

Ten-Ten turned to Kotomi. "We haven't worked with each other before, but let's give this our best."

Kotomi nodded. "Right."

Neji spoke up. "You just have to keep on your guard. We'll never know if an enemy is nearby."

Almost halfway to the Hidden Cloud Village, they all suddenly got surrounded by rogue ninja. All of them were on guard, trying to spot the perfect opportunity to attack.

Neji activated his kekkei genkai. "Byakugan!" Ten-Ten summoned a weapon from her scroll. Guy and Rock Lee's backs were touching, looking like they were about to perform a taijutsu.

Kotomi activated her kekkei genkai without saying it out loud. Once the rogue ninja made their move, it was their turn to move.

They were taking out the rogue ninja like it was nothing. Neji started hitting a ninja with his palm. "16 palm! 32 palm!" Ten-Ten managed to hit a couple with her spiky nunchucks. Guy and Rock Lee were going all out with their taijutsu, knocking out a bunch at once.

Kotomi was fighting one with a kunai in her hand. Jumping back, it looked like she was about to activate a jutsu. "Fire style! Phoenix flower jutsu!" Little powerful balls of fire started taking out the remaining enemies.

After taking out the enemies, Kotomi's sharingan disappeared from her eyes. "I can tell that you've really improved." Grunting, she saw Might Guy giving her a thumbs up. "All that training with Kakashi sure is paying off!"

Kotomi smiled. "Thank you."

"If you continue to train, you'll become a jonin like me in no time." Neji commented.

Kotomi knew she could take the jonin exams at anytime. She could've been a jonin by now. But the trauma from her squad made her feel so weak that she wanted to become stronger before taking it.

***

Arriving at the Hidden Cloud Village, they were escorted to where the raikage was. He was a rather buff guy with dark skin and light blonde hair. They had successfully delivered the scroll, and it was Kotomi's turn to help out.

In return of safely delivering the scroll and for Kotomi helping, the raikage allowed them to sightsee around before returning back to their village.

"You guys can go wherever, but remember to meet back at the main gate before sundown." Might Guy suggested. Going their own ways, Kotomi started to look around the village on her own.

Wandering off in some other area, Kotomi ended up in an excluded area that had long stone stairs that was leading up to some important looking cave. It felt like she couldn't see what was up there, not wanting to cause any conflict with the village.

"You there! Young girl with the long black hair!" Turning around, Kotomi saw a man that looked similar to the raikage. The only difference was he was dressed informal. Looking like he knew what she was, he continued. "What is a leaf village ninja doing here snooping around? Bakayaro! Konoyaro!"

Kotomi stiffed up, bowing apologetically. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding! I'm here for a mission! I can leave if you want me to!"

The man stopped her. "I didn't say you can leave! My eyes can sense deceive! But I don't see a trace of it on you!" He paused a moment, looking at a nervous Kotomi. "What is your name, girl?"

"My name is Kotomi."

"Nice to meet you! As you can see, I'm the one and only Killer Bee!" Kotomi started giggling, making him arch an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Kotomi gave him a smile. "I like the way you talk. It's so fascinating to me."

Killer Bee looked surprised about that. "No one has ever complimented my rapping. Some find it strange, but I won't waste my energy about it and rather spend it on napping."

Kotomi's eyes began to sparkle, full of admiration. "You're so good! Can you teach me a little?"

Grunting in surprise, he just stared at Kotomi who had admiration in her eyes. It seemed like his ego was rising. "Let me tell you one thing, Kotomi. Rapping isn't learned overnight. But if you're really that determined, you just might."

"Might..?"

"I say that because I believe deep down, you have your very own talent that you need to explore. Once you find it, it will be the world's glore."

"My own talent, huh?"

"Come with me and you shall see."

"Oh, um... I can't stay long. I have to meet up with my team I was assigned to before sundown to return to the village."

"It won't take long. You'll see. You will start to learn more who you are, thanks to the one and only Killer Bee!"

Feeling inspired by his words, Kotomi nodded. "Thank you so much." She started to follow Killer Bee to the stone stairs. With his permission, she was able to enter the area that she thought was off-limits.

A/N: I did a reference that Shikamaru plays Kageyama from Fairy Tail. It seems like Kotomi is going to get influenced by Killer Bee. I don't know how to rhyme too well, I apologize for the bad rhymes that I tried to come up with.