"So you have a thing for butterflies Honoka-nee?" Naruto observed.
"I like their beautiful colors and designs. It makes me wish I could sprout wings like theirs and fly high through the skies," Honoka said as she visualized herself with huge gorgeous butterfly-like wings soaring and flying through the clouds with her long red hair dancing with the wind.
"Tch…And people say that my head is in the clouds. " Naruto remarked cynically. Although I gotta admit Honoka-nee would look quite pretty with butterfly wings, he thought as he visualized Honoka with multicolored butterfly wings and even a pair of antennas on top of her head. The image was quite an attractive sight to him and he put that thought away for a possible idea for his book featuring female characters' love of the sky and their desire to be free like the wind.
"Oh, who asked you?" Honoka retorted sticking her tongue out at Naruto again, then put the book away as they left the room.
Shino closed the door, and the two Uzumaki clansmen followed the father and son pair to the next room three doors down. Shino opened the door for them to show them a sophisticated laboratory. There were computers, scanners, microscopes, vials, tables, charts, graphs, and other items and equipment organized around the large room. There were a couple of the Aburame Clan members working on the bugs of current interest.
As Naruto and Honoka walked in, Honoka stopped when her eyes came across the particular insects they were investigating in the laboratory, cockroaches and water bugs, and there were quite a number of them that were being kept in containers, while the dead ones were being analyzed and dissected.
"We're doing a special study on these particular kinds of insects. We're conducting experiments and research on their resistance to radiation and possibly poison too," Shibi explained. The effects of Honoka's special chakra took root as all of the cockroaches and water bugs being kept inside their containers started scurrying in an energetic frenzy, wanting so much to run and fly over to Honoka.
"As usual, even these bugs want to run over to you, Honoka-nee," Naruto remarked before he turned to look at the older Uzumaki. When he did though, he saw that Honoka lost all the color in her face as she turned completely pale. Her mind started flashing back and giving her glimpses of an event that happened long ago. As it did, her facial expression also changed to that of deep fear and dread as she started trembling and tearing up.
"Honoka-nee! What's wrong?" Naruto asked worriedly.
"K-K-Keep away…Please…Sta-Stay away!" Honoka cried softly as looked at the water bugs that wanted to fly and rush over to her. She started getting weak until he fell to her knees and curled up.
"Honoka-nee-"
"Please! Make them go away," Honoka wept quietly and fearfully. Naruto had never seen Honoka like this before and it truly worried him. Even Hinata never reacted like this about anything as far as Naruto knew. No one needed to be a scientist to see something was terribly wrong. Naruto hurriedly embraced and helped Honoka back to her feet before helping her exit the room with Shino and his father following the pair after forcing the bugs to calm down.
Once outside, Shibi closed the door and said, "I apologize for the undesirable reaction and experience your cousin has endured, Naruto-san. From her earlier admiration of insects, we didn't expect this kind of turn out from her after seeing those species of cockroaches. Clearly, Honoka-san has a deeply entrenched traumatic weakness toward those creatures, a phobia, if you will."
"To tell you the truth, I wasn't aware of this until now. She never told me about it," Naruto replied as he tried calming Honoka down, who was still crying and trembling, "I ask that you and those who saw this please keep this to yourselves and tell absolutely no one about this. If our enemies were to learn of this, they'd use her phobia against her."
Shibi and Shino nodded.
"I'll inform those inside the room of this issue and instruct them to take an oath of silence concerning Honoka-san," Shibi assured.
"Thank you. I would love to stay longer, but unfortunately, Honoka-nee's condition has cut this visit and tour short. I'm afraid we'll have to leave much earlier than scheduled so I can take care of her. Thanks for everything, regardless," Naruto said.
"You both are free to stop by anytime, Naruto-san," Shibi said. Naruto nodded and while holding Honoka, he performed a smokeless shunshin with her back to his apartment.
"I wasn't aware that Naruto was able to do that. I wonder what more surprises he has in store for us," Shino commented.
"Only time will tell," Shibi replied before going back into the laboratory with Shino to discuss the matter of Honoka with those who saw what happened.
(Back At The Uzumaki Residence)
Naruto was back in the bedroom he gave to Honoka. He was sitting on the bed beside her, rubbing her back while getting her to calm down. One of his kage bunshin then appeared through the door with a cold glass of water and handed it to her. She took the glass and drank out of it slowly.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I never meant to…I mean…the way I…" Honoka apologized through her stuttering words.
"It's all right, Honoka-nee. No one's upset at you. I'm just worried about you," Naruto assured, "We were all caught off guard by the way you reacted toward those bugs. I admit I'm not fond of them myself and-"
"I detest and downright despise them! But at the same time, I'm completely terrified of them!" Honoka interjected. Naruto wondered what could have happened to have triggered Honoka's extreme hate and fear of those insects.
"Honoka-nee, if you don't mind me asking, did something happen in your past that led to this? Were you bitten by them or something?" Naruto inquired.
When Honoka sought to remember the event, she cringed and dropped her glass cup as a few sobs escaped her mouth. The glass shattered on the floor, spilling the remaining water. The clone went to get a mop, broom, and dust pan, while Naruto calmed Honoka down again.
This really is a problem if even remembering that event can trigger this kind of reaction. Clearly Honoka isn't ready to talk about it, and it would be best that I don't try to force it out of her either. But something will have to be done to silence if not control her fear of cockroaches and water bugs. Much like Tsunade's fear of blood…Wait! How do I even know about that!? Naruto thought before snapping back to reality.
"It's alright Honoka-nee. You don't have to tell me anything if you're not ready to. Just know that I'll be here for you anytime you feel ready to talk about it," Naruto reassured.
"…Thank you," Honoka accepted. The clone returned and cleaned up the mess. After another thirty minutes of talking, Honoka decided to take a nap, hoping that after a good amount of sleep she would be back to normal. Allowing her to sleep, Naruto left the apartment and made his way to another destination.
(An Hour Later; At The Ninja Academy)
Hanabi was at her desk hearing Iruka's lecture about jutsu and such. Though she looked to be paying attention, the fact of the matter was that Hanabi was completely bored and uninterested in the class. All she kept thinking about was Naruto and what he offered to her: personal training and creating a whole new Juuken style, the Drunken Juuken. She was thinking about how that would look like and how effective such a hybrid style could be, the fusion of Drunken Fist and Gentle Fist.
He's not even a Hyuuga yet he understands our fighting style to the point that he came up with a wild idea about creating a whole new hybrid Juuken. Is such a thing even possible? And he wants to create that through me and not Neesan. Hmph…I must be a special case if Naruto-kun seeks to have me master a whole style that's not even invented yet and he promised to train and help me accomplish that. Something like this has never been attempted and yet Naruto-kun is sure he can succeed at this and pull it off through me as I already submitted and agreed to his special training. But he has yet to start carrying out his sworn promise to me, Hanabi contemplated.
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