Beautiful Imperfections - An Uchiha Madara Love Story

Chapter 2 - Festivities

This chapter is dedicated to FTEmperial! Happy reading :)

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Akina pov:

"Uwaaahhh! There are so many stalls this time!" Hiro gasped from beside me.

"And a lot more people than last time too. Looks like Otou san's fireworks idea was a success." Yuki commented with a laugh.

"Is that so?" I asked with a smile, happy to know that Hiro was excited about coming to the festival. "So which stall do you want to go to first, Hiro?"

"Takoyaki! I want takoyaki! C'mon Onee chan, follow me!" He yelled, took a hold of my hand and dragged me through the festive streets.

I was glad that Hiro maneuvered through the crowd in such a way that I didn't bump into anyone. Yuki guided me as well with a gentle grip on my upper arm and while telling me if there was a dip or rise in the ground in front of me so I wouldn't trip and fall. But no matter how much I was being guided by Hiro and Yuki, we were walking at a pace much faster than usual and it resulted in me brushing my shoulder against someone who passed by. I had apologized sincerely to the person I had sort of bumped into and he was a kind man who brushed it off without the slightest anger.

The rest of the sprint through the festive streets was without any problems. We greeted people we passed by every now and then but Hiro didn't give us a chance to stop even for a moment and have a short conversation with anyone. And just as we reached the takoyaki stall, Hiro let go of my hand and proceeded to order our first snack of the evening in excitement.

"Tarou ojiisan! Three takoyaki please!"

"Ah Hiro kun, Akina chan and Yuki chan! Good to see you youngsters participating in the festival!" Tarou ojiisan said cheerily. "Hiro kun, you look very handsome! And Akina chan and Yuki chan look so beautiful in your kimonos."

"Thank you, Ojiisan." I said with a chaste bow of my head and while trying to catch my breath after the short run behind Hiro.

When Hiro had run through the crowd of people with me being dragged behind him, Yuki had kept up with us easily. She worked in the fields with her mother and father and also took care of trending to the sheep they reared. She was used to a lot of physical labor as well as running behind the sheep that strayed from the herd so she wasn't in the least out of breath. I, on the other hand, barely did any running, let alone hard physical labor, and I was left slightly out of breath because of this short jog.

"Hiro kun, did you make your sister run behind you? You shouldn't cause her trouble, you know?" I heard Ojiisan say in response to my slight breathlessness.

"It's alright, Ojiisan. It's not a bother to me. I'm just happy that Hiro is having a good time." I said.

"I know, Akina chan. I know that you always put Hiro kun as first priority – I really admire your sense of responsibility for others. But you should worry about yourself sometimes too, you know?" Ojiisan scolded making my face to get a little warm.

"I will, Ojiisan. And thank you for the compliments."

"And I must add, you look very pretty when you're blushing, Akina chan!" He teased making the warmth of my face only increase.

"Ojiisan!! Enough talking! I want to eat your takoyaki!" Hiro whined and I heard him jump several times in eagerness.

"Yes yes, Hiro kun! It's almost ready!" Ojiisan chuckled and went back to sizzling the sweet starter food.

"Well, Hiro sure is energetic. He must have really been looking forward to the festival food!" Yuki teased.

"Yes, he really was. I'm glad that we were able to come here today. Having you with us has made this experience all the more lively. And thank you for the lovely clothes, Yuki." I said wholeheartedly grateful for the love she always showered on us.