What the New Year Brings
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Naruto › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
60
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Currently Reading:
1
Category:
Naruto › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
60
Views:
2,186
Reviews:
14
Recommended:
1
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The First Time KakaSaku Celebrate Tanabata
I have not abandoned this story. I'm just writing a chapter for each Japanese holiday and June doesn't have one and May coincides with Golden Week in April...And I've also been suffering from writer's block ^^; but even if chapters are delayed, I will finish this story because I don't like unfinished stories either. In the meantime, thanks to everyone who's been supportive. That helps me keep going! ^_^
Chapter 53-The First Time KakaSaku Celebrate Tanabata
To our right, they're pink, red, blue, and green. To our left they're yellow, purple, and orange. Every which way Kakashi and I look, the streets of Konoha look like several snake nut cans threw up on them, but what we're actually seeing are hundreds of thousands of streamers and they're the first sign that it's Tanabata. (1)
On every 7th day of the 7th month of the year, Japan and ninja countries like Fire celebrate Tanabata or "Evening of the Seventh." It's also called the Star Festival because of the story the celebration is based upon...
Once upon a time, a long time ago, two stars drifting in the vast night sky met by the Milky Way River and instantly fell in love. One of these stars, the Vega star, was a princess named Orihime, daughter to Tentei, the Sky King. Now although Tentei was happy that his daughter had finally fallen in love for she had been quite lonely and sad before she had met Hikoboshi, the Altair star, Tentei was angered when the two lovers started to neglect their work once they were married with Orihime no longer weaving her beautiful clothes and Hikoboshi letting his cows to stray. As punishment, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Milky Way River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became depressed and asked her father to let her see Hikoboshi again. Moved by his daughter's tears, Tentei agreed and allowed the two lovers to meet every 7th day of the 7th month of every year if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. However, the first time Orihime and Hikoboshi tried to meet, they found that they couldn't cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies promised to make her a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river, but if it rains, the magpies are not able to come and the two lovers must wait another year to try and meet again. (2)
Like most little girls, I instantly fell in love with the literally star-crossed lovers and imagined myself to be Orihime, dreaming that someday I'd meet my own Hikoboshi, but hopefully be spared the part about being torn apart from him.
And then, Sasuke came along.
For awhile it seemed like my dream was finally coming true. Not only had I found my Hikoboshi, but I was teamed up with him, too! It didn't matter that he wasn't head over heels in love with me the same way I was with him. That would all come in time. I just had to put all my time and effort into getting him to notice me and he would eventually come around, then we'd live happily ever after just like in the fairy tales.
But...he left, and the part of the Tanabata story that I didn't want to come true, did. So for all those nights that I looked up at the starry night sky, I was imagining once again that I was Orihime and Sasuke was Hikoboshi and that someday, if I was just patient enough like Orihime, then surely we'd meet again.
But how was I supposed to know that while I waited patiently for his return that someone else had been watching, waiting, and longing for me in the same way? That this someone would actually turn out to be better for me and be a better Hikoboshi than the first person I perceived to be "The One"? How was I supposed to know these things when fairy tales rarely, if ever, tell that version of the story even if it is more true to life?
Love isn't always at first sight and even when it is, you don't always end up with the person you imagined. Sometimes (often) life surprises you. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just...different. I guess it's true, that sometimes life doesn't always give you what you want, but what you need (3) and what I needed was someone who was warm and caring, not cold and distant. Someone who would protect and comfort me, not abandon and ignore me. I had tried so hard to make Sasuke fit the fantasy inside my head that I had turned him into someone he wasn't. And the thing is, I put myself through all that trouble and heartache when everything I could ever possibly want and need already existed in Kakashi, but I purposely overlooked him because he wasn't what I was supposed to want. The difference in our ages was too great and he even used to be my teacher, so I automatically dismissed him in spite knowing that all the qualities he possessed were exactly what I was looking for. Love makes you blind, but so does narrow-mindedness. Fortunately, Kakashi took that first daring step to show me what I was missing. Now I can't imagine my life without all those times he had made me laugh and made me feel loved. I would've missed out on so much...
I suppose that's what makes Orihime and Hiroboshi's story so bittersweet: That all the love and joy that exists between them can only be shared in a fleeting moment in time, that they are denied time spent together and are missing out on so much. And if Kakashi and I had been gullible enough to listen to what other people thought about us instead of listening to how we felt about each other, then that would've been our fate, too, because in a way Kakashi and I are also star-crossed lovers, condemned for the relationship we share.
As we stroll down the streets of Konoha joined by hundreds of other villagers milling around, however, hardly anyone gives us a second glance or disapproving glare anymore. That's the admirable thing about people: That they do learn how to adjust, adapt, and become tolerant. It may not be true of everyone and it may not happen overnight - just look at how long it took people to accept the jinchuurikis Naruto and Gaara - but it does eventually happen. In the same way, people are now slowly getting used to Kakashi’s and my relationship as odd as a couple as we may be. Some people learned to accept us, or at least become indifferent to us, once they figured out that we weren't just trying to take advantage of one another. Others had a change of heart after seeing for themselves that we genuinely love each other and make each other happy. The engagement ring on my finger doesn't hurt either to further show how serious we are about our relationship.
Still, there will always be those who staunchly refuse to be swayed. For them, anything and anyone that sets foot outside of their preconceived notions of “normal” is wrong and as such, our relationship is wrong and so are we for even giving it a try. Such is prejudice and bigotry. The sad thing is, there's nothing we can really do to prevent it because people are fallible and will always have a mind and an opinion of their own. And while it's good to think for yourself and stand by your own beliefs, it isn’t good when you show intolerance for other people's opinions, beliefs, and lifestyles. We only have to look at our world’s history to see what intolerance, any kind of intolerance, can do. It is without a doubt, sad, and God help us all when only people like that try to rule the world.
But, there's hope because each generation does surpass the last and can therefore surpass their predecessors in being more tolerant of others. It’s when all humanity doesn’t even bother to try to be more open to different people and alternative ways of living anymore that we have to be afraid. We may never be able to achieve a perfect world, but sometimes all you really need are the small wins that add up to a much greater gain. For Kakashi and me, just being able to walk down the street together in public and not be scorned for it is one of those wins and it's also one of the reasons why we can't help the smile on our face.
The other reason we're smiling is right in front of our eyes. Kakashi and I stop in our tracks as a cute little boy and a girl who look like they're brother and sister run in front of us to get to one of the many little wading pools lined along Konoha's streets. They laugh and giggle as they try to scoop up the live fish languidly gliding through the water. At another nearby pool, other children are trying to scoop up small colorful plastic toys. These are one of the games at the Tanabata Festival and for the most part, fish are the first and only pets most Japanese children have growing up. Fortunately, here in Konoha that isn't the case seeing how animals are not only pets, but also summons and much needed sidekicks, like Kakashi's Pakkun and Kiba's Akamaru.
Another thing that adds to the children's cuteness are the kimonos and yukatas, or lightweight summer kimonos, that they're wearing. They look like little living dolls! Not a lot of the adults are dressed up in the traditional wear, however, because it's too hot. So while we adults are comfortably dressed in our regular summer clothes, we let the children sweat it out because at least they make strangers go "Aww..." the way Kakashi and I are doing right now. And maybe someday, when the time is right, Kakashi and I will have our own children and put them through the same sadistic torture. (4)
Half the fun of the festival seems to be to eat as much food as you can, so there's also stall upon stall of food. Typical of a hot summer day, the most popular foods seem to be ice cream and hot dogs or in this case, kakigori, Japan's version of a snow cone and "franks," or different kinds of sausages varying from convenience store hot dogs to weenies on a stick. I immediately go for the kakigori, but am disappointed by the absence of the sweet beans and condensed milk they usually come with. I suppose they're being cheap at the festival and that's why there aren't any here, so I essentially have a regular Westernized snow cone flavored with different kinds of syrups. I try the strawberry and cherry with a dash of Blue Hawaii, or sweet plum. As for the franks, they differ from Westernized hot dogs in that they have an odd taste to them and aren't as soft either, but being used to the taste and texture by now, Kakashi and I each have one as well. (5)
As if the streets aren't bombarded with enough color already from the huge streamers hanging above our heads (which are meant to symbolize Orihime's weaving threads since she is the Weaver Princess), there are also several bamboo trees decorated with long strips of colored paper called tanzaku. Wishes and love poems are written on them by the many passersby to commemorate the wish Orihime made to see Hikoboshi again. (6)
Kakashi and I each take a tanzaku and write down our own personal wish. Mine is pink and his is olive green and they both gently flutter on the bamboo branch we had tied them to. The difference in color of our tanzakus aside, the wishes we wrote on them are practically identical, undeniably influenced by the tragic love story this very holiday is based upon. Whereas other people had wished to find someone to love or to have someone fall in love with them, our mutual wish was to have nothing and no one tear us apart or destroy the love that already exists between us. If we had learned anything from Orihime and Hikoboshi, it's that there's no greater tragedy to befall two lovers than that.
As night falls, the entire village is bathed in a soft golden glow as lit lanterns float down Konoha's many waterways. It's Tanabata tradition to set the bamboo and decorations afloat and burn them after the festival around midnight or on the next day. The flames are meant to represent the stars in the sky while the water represents the Heavenly River. (7)
Kakashi and I decide to watch the spectacle from our favorite red bridge, the one we always met at when Team 7 was still whole. With Kakashi’s arm wrapped around my shoulders and my arm wrapped around his waist, we watch in an almost hypnotized trance as the lit lanterns appear from the darkness beneath the bridge, flames reflecting warmly on the cool surface of the stream, and float away towards the forest where they'll eventually sink below the water’s surface never to be seen again. It’s both romantic and sad because it indicates that Tanabata has officially come to an end, but unlike poor Orihime and Hikoboshi, Kakashi and I don’t have to part ways. Our meetings aren’t restricted to only every 7th day of the 7th month of every year. We get to stay together and love each other every day of every month of every year now until the rest of our lives, and we won't be missing out on a single Goddamn thing. And if you ask me, I’d say that hands down, Kakashi and I got the better deal.
To be continued...
~*~*~*~
Links:
(1) Pictures of snake nut cans that threw up:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44805000/jpg/_44805054_starfestival_ap466.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/210523669_db0ed7c467.jpg?v=0
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata
http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/tanabata.htm
- Picture of the Vega and Altair stars and the Milky Way:
http://areavoices.com/astrobob/images/thumbnail/Scutum1.JPG
(3) Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
(4) http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/08/asagaya-tanabata-festival-part-2.html
(5) http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/08/asagaya-tanabata-festival-part-4.html
(6) Picture of tanzakus:
http://www.discovernikkei.org/dj/nikkeialbum/files/filemanager/public/active/31/Tanzaku_full.jpg
(7) http://www.2camels.com/tanabata-festival.php
To our right, they're pink, red, blue, and green. To our left they're yellow, purple, and orange. Every which way Kakashi and I look, the streets of Konoha look like several snake nut cans threw up on them, but what we're actually seeing are hundreds of thousands of streamers and they're the first sign that it's Tanabata. (1)
On every 7th day of the 7th month of the year, Japan and ninja countries like Fire celebrate Tanabata or "Evening of the Seventh." It's also called the Star Festival because of the story the celebration is based upon...
Once upon a time, a long time ago, two stars drifting in the vast night sky met by the Milky Way River and instantly fell in love. One of these stars, the Vega star, was a princess named Orihime, daughter to Tentei, the Sky King. Now although Tentei was happy that his daughter had finally fallen in love for she had been quite lonely and sad before she had met Hikoboshi, the Altair star, Tentei was angered when the two lovers started to neglect their work once they were married with Orihime no longer weaving her beautiful clothes and Hikoboshi letting his cows to stray. As punishment, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Milky Way River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became depressed and asked her father to let her see Hikoboshi again. Moved by his daughter's tears, Tentei agreed and allowed the two lovers to meet every 7th day of the 7th month of every year if Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. However, the first time Orihime and Hikoboshi tried to meet, they found that they couldn't cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies promised to make her a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river, but if it rains, the magpies are not able to come and the two lovers must wait another year to try and meet again. (2)
Like most little girls, I instantly fell in love with the literally star-crossed lovers and imagined myself to be Orihime, dreaming that someday I'd meet my own Hikoboshi, but hopefully be spared the part about being torn apart from him.
And then, Sasuke came along.
For awhile it seemed like my dream was finally coming true. Not only had I found my Hikoboshi, but I was teamed up with him, too! It didn't matter that he wasn't head over heels in love with me the same way I was with him. That would all come in time. I just had to put all my time and effort into getting him to notice me and he would eventually come around, then we'd live happily ever after just like in the fairy tales.
But...he left, and the part of the Tanabata story that I didn't want to come true, did. So for all those nights that I looked up at the starry night sky, I was imagining once again that I was Orihime and Sasuke was Hikoboshi and that someday, if I was just patient enough like Orihime, then surely we'd meet again.
But how was I supposed to know that while I waited patiently for his return that someone else had been watching, waiting, and longing for me in the same way? That this someone would actually turn out to be better for me and be a better Hikoboshi than the first person I perceived to be "The One"? How was I supposed to know these things when fairy tales rarely, if ever, tell that version of the story even if it is more true to life?
Love isn't always at first sight and even when it is, you don't always end up with the person you imagined. Sometimes (often) life surprises you. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just...different. I guess it's true, that sometimes life doesn't always give you what you want, but what you need (3) and what I needed was someone who was warm and caring, not cold and distant. Someone who would protect and comfort me, not abandon and ignore me. I had tried so hard to make Sasuke fit the fantasy inside my head that I had turned him into someone he wasn't. And the thing is, I put myself through all that trouble and heartache when everything I could ever possibly want and need already existed in Kakashi, but I purposely overlooked him because he wasn't what I was supposed to want. The difference in our ages was too great and he even used to be my teacher, so I automatically dismissed him in spite knowing that all the qualities he possessed were exactly what I was looking for. Love makes you blind, but so does narrow-mindedness. Fortunately, Kakashi took that first daring step to show me what I was missing. Now I can't imagine my life without all those times he had made me laugh and made me feel loved. I would've missed out on so much...
I suppose that's what makes Orihime and Hiroboshi's story so bittersweet: That all the love and joy that exists between them can only be shared in a fleeting moment in time, that they are denied time spent together and are missing out on so much. And if Kakashi and I had been gullible enough to listen to what other people thought about us instead of listening to how we felt about each other, then that would've been our fate, too, because in a way Kakashi and I are also star-crossed lovers, condemned for the relationship we share.
As we stroll down the streets of Konoha joined by hundreds of other villagers milling around, however, hardly anyone gives us a second glance or disapproving glare anymore. That's the admirable thing about people: That they do learn how to adjust, adapt, and become tolerant. It may not be true of everyone and it may not happen overnight - just look at how long it took people to accept the jinchuurikis Naruto and Gaara - but it does eventually happen. In the same way, people are now slowly getting used to Kakashi’s and my relationship as odd as a couple as we may be. Some people learned to accept us, or at least become indifferent to us, once they figured out that we weren't just trying to take advantage of one another. Others had a change of heart after seeing for themselves that we genuinely love each other and make each other happy. The engagement ring on my finger doesn't hurt either to further show how serious we are about our relationship.
Still, there will always be those who staunchly refuse to be swayed. For them, anything and anyone that sets foot outside of their preconceived notions of “normal” is wrong and as such, our relationship is wrong and so are we for even giving it a try. Such is prejudice and bigotry. The sad thing is, there's nothing we can really do to prevent it because people are fallible and will always have a mind and an opinion of their own. And while it's good to think for yourself and stand by your own beliefs, it isn’t good when you show intolerance for other people's opinions, beliefs, and lifestyles. We only have to look at our world’s history to see what intolerance, any kind of intolerance, can do. It is without a doubt, sad, and God help us all when only people like that try to rule the world.
But, there's hope because each generation does surpass the last and can therefore surpass their predecessors in being more tolerant of others. It’s when all humanity doesn’t even bother to try to be more open to different people and alternative ways of living anymore that we have to be afraid. We may never be able to achieve a perfect world, but sometimes all you really need are the small wins that add up to a much greater gain. For Kakashi and me, just being able to walk down the street together in public and not be scorned for it is one of those wins and it's also one of the reasons why we can't help the smile on our face.
The other reason we're smiling is right in front of our eyes. Kakashi and I stop in our tracks as a cute little boy and a girl who look like they're brother and sister run in front of us to get to one of the many little wading pools lined along Konoha's streets. They laugh and giggle as they try to scoop up the live fish languidly gliding through the water. At another nearby pool, other children are trying to scoop up small colorful plastic toys. These are one of the games at the Tanabata Festival and for the most part, fish are the first and only pets most Japanese children have growing up. Fortunately, here in Konoha that isn't the case seeing how animals are not only pets, but also summons and much needed sidekicks, like Kakashi's Pakkun and Kiba's Akamaru.
Another thing that adds to the children's cuteness are the kimonos and yukatas, or lightweight summer kimonos, that they're wearing. They look like little living dolls! Not a lot of the adults are dressed up in the traditional wear, however, because it's too hot. So while we adults are comfortably dressed in our regular summer clothes, we let the children sweat it out because at least they make strangers go "Aww..." the way Kakashi and I are doing right now. And maybe someday, when the time is right, Kakashi and I will have our own children and put them through the same sadistic torture. (4)
Half the fun of the festival seems to be to eat as much food as you can, so there's also stall upon stall of food. Typical of a hot summer day, the most popular foods seem to be ice cream and hot dogs or in this case, kakigori, Japan's version of a snow cone and "franks," or different kinds of sausages varying from convenience store hot dogs to weenies on a stick. I immediately go for the kakigori, but am disappointed by the absence of the sweet beans and condensed milk they usually come with. I suppose they're being cheap at the festival and that's why there aren't any here, so I essentially have a regular Westernized snow cone flavored with different kinds of syrups. I try the strawberry and cherry with a dash of Blue Hawaii, or sweet plum. As for the franks, they differ from Westernized hot dogs in that they have an odd taste to them and aren't as soft either, but being used to the taste and texture by now, Kakashi and I each have one as well. (5)
As if the streets aren't bombarded with enough color already from the huge streamers hanging above our heads (which are meant to symbolize Orihime's weaving threads since she is the Weaver Princess), there are also several bamboo trees decorated with long strips of colored paper called tanzaku. Wishes and love poems are written on them by the many passersby to commemorate the wish Orihime made to see Hikoboshi again. (6)
Kakashi and I each take a tanzaku and write down our own personal wish. Mine is pink and his is olive green and they both gently flutter on the bamboo branch we had tied them to. The difference in color of our tanzakus aside, the wishes we wrote on them are practically identical, undeniably influenced by the tragic love story this very holiday is based upon. Whereas other people had wished to find someone to love or to have someone fall in love with them, our mutual wish was to have nothing and no one tear us apart or destroy the love that already exists between us. If we had learned anything from Orihime and Hikoboshi, it's that there's no greater tragedy to befall two lovers than that.
As night falls, the entire village is bathed in a soft golden glow as lit lanterns float down Konoha's many waterways. It's Tanabata tradition to set the bamboo and decorations afloat and burn them after the festival around midnight or on the next day. The flames are meant to represent the stars in the sky while the water represents the Heavenly River. (7)
Kakashi and I decide to watch the spectacle from our favorite red bridge, the one we always met at when Team 7 was still whole. With Kakashi’s arm wrapped around my shoulders and my arm wrapped around his waist, we watch in an almost hypnotized trance as the lit lanterns appear from the darkness beneath the bridge, flames reflecting warmly on the cool surface of the stream, and float away towards the forest where they'll eventually sink below the water’s surface never to be seen again. It’s both romantic and sad because it indicates that Tanabata has officially come to an end, but unlike poor Orihime and Hikoboshi, Kakashi and I don’t have to part ways. Our meetings aren’t restricted to only every 7th day of the 7th month of every year. We get to stay together and love each other every day of every month of every year now until the rest of our lives, and we won't be missing out on a single Goddamn thing. And if you ask me, I’d say that hands down, Kakashi and I got the better deal.
~*~*~*~
Links:
(1) Pictures of snake nut cans that threw up:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44805000/jpg/_44805054_starfestival_ap466.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/94/210523669_db0ed7c467.jpg?v=0
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata
http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/tanabata.htm
- Picture of the Vega and Altair stars and the Milky Way:
http://areavoices.com/astrobob/images/thumbnail/Scutum1.JPG
(3) Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
(4) http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/08/asagaya-tanabata-festival-part-2.html
(5) http://myso-calledjapaneselife.blogspot.com/2007/08/asagaya-tanabata-festival-part-4.html
(6) Picture of tanzakus:
http://www.discovernikkei.org/dj/nikkeialbum/files/filemanager/public/active/31/Tanzaku_full.jpg
(7) http://www.2camels.com/tanabata-festival.php