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They landed on training ground eight, and this time it was adorned with fireflies. The pair walked side by side further into the woods, every step was like entering a hidden cave with magical lights. Adohira was mesmerized, her raven eyes reflected each little firefly passing by her. There were thousands and all freshly hatched. Every so often, Naruto sneaked a look at her from the corner of his eyes. She stared in awe as a blush graced her face. She was stunning, but he could see how red her eyes still were. She'd been crying, and he had a feeling why.
He remembered following Adohira at a distance to ensure she safely arrived home. He even waited by her balcony, hiding out to make sure she was secure in her bedroom. He inadvertently heard the conversation with her mother. Adohira asked her if she could join her out on the balcony, to which her mom coldly denied. He couldn't believe it.
He always wanted to know what it was like to have a mother. He never figured in a million years that people who actually had moms... had ones that were cold. He couldn't imagine it.
It was what motivated him to take her out again. There was no way he was going to leave her alone after hearing that.
"Naruto... How did you know about this?" She asked, turning to him with a beaming smile.
He snapped out of his deep thought and resumed an air of carefreeness. He gripped the back of his neck as the fireflies flew around them. "From Shino! I barely ever listen to the guy, but I'm glad I did! Hey, we might even run into him tonight!"
"The bug guy?" She whispered in dread, stopping right in her tracks.
"O-or not. He's probably asleep! Yeah... asleep!"
Phew. She resumed her pace as her confidence restored. After a moment, Naruto felt a kicking desire to hold her hand. He already did earlier today, walking on the river to keep her steady, but this time he felt anxious about it. From the corner of his eyes, he watched her pale hand nearly brushing alongside his. Just reach for it. Reaaachhh!
A firefly, as if reading his mind and punishing him, ran up in between his eyes. He screamed, shut them, and flailed his hands, spitting so the insect wouldn't get in his mouth.
Adohira burst out laughing. Naruto stopped fighting and burned a deep red, grumbling in embarrassment at how ridiculous he could be. The victorious firefly settled on his nose, mocking him. He considered smacking himself to kill it.
She presented her forefinger before his face. The firefly walked onto her fingernails, and she moved her hand away from Naruto, where the insect finally flew away.
"Maybe it's your jumpsuit," She smiled. "The orange is very eye-catching for insects, don't you think? Maybe take it off so it doesn't happen again."
Suddenly realizing her words, she blushed furiously and quickly took it back. "I mean-! I mean-!"
