Butterflies
Pairing: Akimichi CHoji/Karui
Words: 823
A rare, beautiful scene. That’s how Choji had described it while leading her through the village after a nice meal at the BBQ place. As far as first dates went, she had to say this was the strangest one yet.
Most people didn’t start gushing about bugs in the middle of a meal, and they certainly didn’t decide to take their date to a spot near their home when they barely knew each other. Karui wasn’t quite sure what to make of Choji, but one thing was for sure.
He was nice. Soft-spoken, sweet and open about his feelings. There was nothing that he held back while they were chatting, and when she had mentioned wanting to see something beautiful in Konoha before she was due to leave he jumped at the opportunity. Paid for their meal, grabbed her hand, and guides her out of the restaurant and down the streets.
Along the way, they passed some of his friends, all of whom tried to get Choji’s attention as they passed them by. The most have given them was a sweet smile and a wave. His steps didn’t falter for even a second, no matter who they passed.
Finally, after more running than Karui had expected to do today, they reached their destination. A small field full of flowers and bushes. There was nowhere to sit except for the ground, but she didn’t figure they would be doing much sitting.
“Here,” he tugged her towards one of the bushes on the left, pointing at the leaves. “This garden is always full of caterpillars. My mom says they love the plants here more than anywhere else in Konoha.”
Peering down at the spot he was pointing, Karui smiled when she saw what it was he was talking about. There, in the middle of one of the leaves, lay a small cocoon. “So you get a lot of butterflies here?”
That would explain his excitement. When she had talked about seeing something beautiful, butterflies must have popped into his mind, and he was right to think about them. Although they weren’t very common in Kumo, Karui had seen a few of them during missions. Small creatures with the most beautiful wings she had ever seen.
“When are they due to hatch?”
“Sometimes this week,” his smile grew impossibly wide. “Some years I’ve been really lucky. Sitting outside enjoying the sun when they started to come out of their Cocoons. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen until now.” Frowning, she stared at him. Waiting for an explanation for the addition at the end of his sentence. “Well, they were the most beautiful until I met you.”
“Oh,” her eyes widened, the back of her neck heating up with embarrassment at his words. “I-”
“They’ll fill the sky,” he continued as if he hadn’t just thrown the biggest compliment her way in the middle of their conversation. “Some years I couldn’t even see the clouds and sun because there were so many of them. All different types of wings painting the air.”
Just the description sounded gorgeous. A scene that she wouldn’t mind seeing with her own two eyes. If only she could stay in Konoha just a little bit longer. Spend a bit more time with Choji and the butterflies he was so excited to see.
“Are you going to stick around?” she asked, determined to hear more. “See them hatch this year?”
“If Lord Sixth doesn’t need me anywhere else,” A soft chuckle echoed in her ears. A delightful sound, almost as beautiful as Choji’s smile. “Sometimes Shikamaru joins me, but he’s training so hard to take over as the tactical lead that I think he’ll miss it this year.”
“Well,” searching the area, she smiled when she saw a small patch of grass in the middle of the field. “I don’t leave until tomorrow, and I have nothing else to do.” Waving a hand towards the open patch, she watched as Choji glanced towards it. His smile only grew wider and more beautiful when he realized what she was suggesting.
“You’ll really sit with me?”
“On one condition,” she agreed. “Next time I visit Konoha, I want to check out that Ramen place Naruto never shuts up about.”
“Deal!”
The two of them sat there for the rest of the night, right up until the sunset and they could no longer see the flowers around them. They spent the entire time chatting about their lives, discussing the futures they saw for themselves and making plans for that second date.
Not once did Karui see those beautiful Butterfly wings that Choji spoke so highly of, but she wasn’t too sad about it. How could she be when she was sitting beside Choji staring into those gentle eyes and listening to that sweet voice.
Butterflies were gorgeous of course, but somehow she didn’t think anything could ever be as stunning as Akimichi Choji.