The Path of an Uchiha - A Naruto Fanfiction

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."