A Magical Princess

Chapter 20

She was about ten feet away when there was a cry of alarm, and Hari's eyes widened when one of the planks on the pulley system cracked, and one end of the beam dropped dangerously. She took in the crowded street and bit her lip as the pulley started buckling. If that large of a beam fell, somebody would probably get hurt. Just as the pulley finally gave and a litany of shouts broke out, Hari released her wand and pointed it at the beam.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" she said, and sighed with relief when the beam rose into the air, ropes now slack.

The street around her had gone quiet, and people were staring at her. "Er," she said. "This is sort of heavy, so...if you could maybe tell me where to set it down...?" she said to the person who seemed to be in charge, who stared before getting ahold of himself.

"Right, it's still got the ropes on it," he muttered, frowning up at it in thought.

"Ah, well, I could move it up to where you'd like to place it, and your team could secure it?" she suggested, and he nodded.

"If you think you can hold it, sure," he said.

Using hand signs, the workers hanging from ropes directed Hari until the beam was in the correct position, then quickly secured it. Hari released it with a sigh of relief and clicked her wand into place.

"Here's your ice cream, big sister," Natsu said from behind her, and Hari turned with a smile and accepted her slightly-melted bowl.

"Mmm," she hummed in appreciation and waved the thanks off from the construction workers. "No problem, glad to help," she said cheerfully, and meant it - it was nice to use her magic for more than cleaning house and making bubbles.

"Princess Hari's pretty cool, eh?" Naruto said cheerfully to the man in charge, and he nodded.

"Well, if you ever want a job," he said gruffly and shoved a card at Hari, who took it, a little bewildered at the offer.

"Ah, thanks, I'll keep it in mind," she said, and then Eito and Natsu were pulling her along to the park.

They spent the afternoon lazing at the park, and only headed back when the shadows started lengthening. "I should start dinner soon," Hari said with a sigh, accepting a hand up from Naruto.

"Yeah, I should go check in with Sakura." He stretched his hands over his head.

"Oh, the famous Sakura," Hari teased as they made their way down the main street past the administration building that Naruto had pointed out to her on their way past. "When do I get to meet the rest of Team 7?"

"Sakura's always busy at the hospital, and Sasuke's out on a mission right now. But maybe if I'm assigned to you tomorrow, too, we can stop by and meet her."

Natsu cheered - she was enamored with the image of a woman who could punch through walls. Eito looked interested, too, probably from the stories Ino had told about Sakura's medical jutsu, which he'd been fascinated with since Ino had healed his own wounds.

As they neared a fountain in a small square, Hari cocked her head to the side at the sound of familiar-sounding music. Frowning, she turned and made her way towards a small band that was playing for tips off to the side, Naruto and the twins trailing behind her. "Huh," she said and had to smile when she realized why it sounded familiar.

"What?" Naruto asked, and she turned to him in excitement.

"This song - it reminds me of a type of dance I had to learn back home - you know, where I'm originally from," she said a bit wistfully, and he brightened.

"Oh! Show me," he said, and Hari hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his hand and dragged him into an open spot. Even after all these years, she could still remember McGonagall's voice as she forced Hari and Ron to do the steps over and over again in fourth year.

As she taught the steps of the waltz to Naruto, laughing when he stumbled through it the first few times, she was able to ignore the interested stares of the crowd. "Right, it's one, two, three, one, two three - good!"

He spun her around dramatically, hand on her waist, and the band seemed willing to continue playing, adding small flourishes every time he pushed her out into a spin. Hari had to admit that Naruto caught on quick, though she shouldn't be surprised - after all, he spent countless hours training his body to do what he asked. Eito and Natsu had joined and were happily spinning each other around, giggling every time they stepped on each other's toes.

"Hey, this is fun! I've never actually danced before!" Naruto said, then put both hands on her waist and lifted her feet off the ground so he could twirl her in the air. She laughed and put her hands on his shoulders, once again being reminded of Ron when he got silly and would fling her and Hermione around after he'd hit his growth spurt.

A throat clearing to their right had them both looking over, and Hari beamed at a slouching Shikaku. "Don't suppose I could cut in," he said, and Naruto solemnly held her out to him without putting her down, and she laughed again, feeling like her cheeks might fall off from how wide she was smiling.

Breathless, she smacked at him until he set her down, then turned and beamed up at Shikaku. "Well?" she said when he just stared at her. "Generally when you cut in on a dance, you're expected to actually dance."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her in much closer than she'd been dancing with Naruto, who was now attempting a three-way dance with the giggling twins. She placed one hand on his shoulder and the other in his open palm, blushing a little as his other hand slid around her waist to her lower back to pull her closer.

"Need a lesson?" she asked, and he raised an eyebrow, then fell into perfect step with her. She knew they were drawing a bit of a crowd - it probably wasn't every day they saw the hero of their village and the jounin commander dancing in the street - but found she didn't mind much.

"Ah, yes, I forgot. You're a genius, or something, right?" she said, widening her eyes and tilting her head to the side in fake confusion.

He chuckled and pushed her out into a spin. When she came back, he leaned down close to her ear so what he said would be private. "You know, walking around the corner and seeing you dancing with another man - one you called handsome just this morning - was a little disconcerting."

Hari raised her eyebrows and gave Naruto - who now had a squealing twin on each shoulder and was spinning around yelling that he was 'the best dancer, believe it!' - a pointed look. Shikaku laughed.

"Okay, point taken," he said as he led her away from the crowd and towards the now-ecstatic musicians.

"What prompted this little dance session, anyway?" he asked.

"The beat sounded like something I'd danced to back where I'm from," Hari admitted. "Naruto felt compelled to learn."

He gave her an enigmatic look and hummed, pulling her a bit closer. She swallowed, hyper-aware of where their bodies were touching - his palm on her lower back, their entwined hands, and where her breasts, stomach, and thighs brushed up against him. He met her eyes and her breath caught at the intensity there. He pulled her closer, and her lips parted as she leaned forward minutely and tipped her head back.

He stopped dancing and gently pushed her back. "Sorry, but if we keep going like this, I can't guarantee I won't do something that will ruin your reputation."

Her eyes widened and she felt her cheeks heat. "Well, who says I care about my reputation," she blurted, and he groaned but didn't pull her back in.

"You're not making this easy, princess," he said, then turned and strolled to the open violin case where there was already a small pile of money, and added a generous amount.

She put her palms on her cheeks to will the heat away, then turned to Naruto and the twins. "Alright, guys, time to get home. Naruto, I think Shikaku will be walking us home, so you're free to go see Sakura," she called. Eito and Natsu groaned in disappointment when their playmate waved goodbye and promised to come back in the morning after Shikaku told him Tsunade had okayed him for the second day of protection detail.