Growing Pains

then

Renji was most likely the closest the veterinarian could get to the man of her dreams. The man was practically sculpted out of the second-best materials of the gods, handcrafted by the mightiest of beings. Nanami was pretty sure that when he was formed out of clay, to which a cup too much of perfection was added and another cup of way too much self-centeredness. How that mixture was possible, she did not know.

Neither did Nanami know, for sure, whether the mixture was something she would like to indulge in until her hair turned gray, and skin wrinkly.

The man walking beside her had broad shoulders and a wide smirk as he talked, often flexing the muscles of his biceps while stretching. He made the navy Jōnin shirt a fashion choice more than a work uniform. The pants, too, were given a more stylish appearance when the tall brunette man wore them with all his self-confidence, turning their bagginess into something fashionable.

At the sight of him, Nanami could practically drool .

Before their date, she had done her research on the hunk among men. After all, she had to know what she was getting herself into before going out with him yet another time. Especially if he would turn out to be the man who would replace the spot of a certain sunshine blond in her heart, she would want to know who she would give the spot to. Replacing one heartbreak with another was not Nanami’s plan. She would rather not, thank you very much.

That would be more ironic than anything else. Fate would most likely be ready to screw her over that much, not that she would allow that.

With high hopes of healing her heart from unrequited love, Nanami dove head first into the date. She was no newcomer to dates or asking someone out, both things were something that came to her easy more than anything else. By twirling a strand of her blonde hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes, she secured herself a date so distract herself from the feelings breaking her heart. A method of self-destruction , one could say.

The way Renji held her hand in his own rougher and bigger one was the furthest thing from self-destructive. His touch was confident and a little tight, keeping her close by his side. It was the total opposite to Minato’s soft-

- no .

Not now. Nanami refused to think of Minato. For heaven’s sake, he was in a relationship with another. Thinking about him in such a manner would only hurt her in the end. Fantasies such as these were a harm to their friend ship, one she worked so hard to keep as it was.

Minato was now dating Kushina, and Nanami could not intervene. That was not what friends did, and especially not what friends did who were in love with their best friend. All she wanted for the sunshine blond was for him to be happy. For her, it did not matter who it was at his side that made him happy, smile and laugh. All she knew that it would never be her.

Nanami was his rock, but not his anchor.

Intervening in a strong relationship would not only make Nanami a homewrecker, but also a heartbreaker. The day she had been told of their relationship, she vowed to never become either of those. That wasn’t her, someone who harmed others like that to get her way. It was a cruel thing to do, something that left a vile taste on her tongue.

Even if it broke her, she would keep her distance and let him go .

Renji appeared to do the opposite, only holding onto her hand tighter as they squeezed through a crowd of people in the marketplace. The way through almost knocked the air out of her lungs, especially when someone elbowed her against her ribs. There were many reasons why crowded places were not her favorite to be in, and moments like these only reaffirmed her opinion.

Once they had made their way through the crowd and into a less crowded space of the market, Renji turned toward the golden blonde. “You good?” The man asked, his brows drawn into a furrow.

Nanami’s heart practically melted at the sight of his worry. She gave him a soft smile and nodded. “Just fine.” To have someone worry about her in such a manner made her feel wanted .

They continued their way, their date , through the bustling marketplace, the sound of people chattering ringing in their ears. In the space between them lay a comfortable silence as both took in the space around them for a moment, simply enjoying the atmosphere created.

“Do you go to the market often?” Renji’s question broke the ice between them, his grip on her hand tightening after he spoke. He tilted his head slightly downward, his green eyes darting to her features.

Nanami hummed. “I do. If not to get food for our furry patients, then for myself. Fresh food from the market tastes better than the store-bought stuff, especially on a quiet morning with no work.”

The mornings during which she was able to stand in her kitchen and lean against the counter with a mouth-watering meal in hand were the best. Those were the times during which the food tasted better than it usually did, the taste intensifying under the rays of sunlight peeking through her curtains.

“I prefer rainy days,” Renji said. “I hate when the sun gets in my eyes in the morning. That is why I always have to draw my curtains closed when I go to sleep so that doesn’t happen. There is nothing worse than that happening.”

Nanami bit the inside of her cheek, repeating his answer in her mind.

Minato also prefers sunny days -

- not again. No .

“The sun can be annoying,” At her words, Nanami almost cringed. The conversation felt awkward to her, almost forced. “but how do you wake up in the morning?”

Renji shrugged. “I just do. Most of my mission are in the afternoon anyway.”

“Missions?” Nanami echoed back. “What kind of missions do you take on?” She could practically feel her heart burst in excitement, the prospect of a capable man burning on her tongue. Her hand further curled into his, her body moving towards his simultaneously.

Finally, a man who was doing something for his village, who invested his time and was strong -

“ The best , of course. What else?” Renji spoke.

- and totally convinced of himself.

She should have seen it coming. There was no doubt that so far she had enjoyed the dates they had gone on together, but his preference to mostly talk about himself was something that often left her annoyed and rolling her eyes in secret.

Neither could she doubt that confident people were the ones she felt the most attracted to. Those who stood with a determined glint shining in their eyes and took self-assured steps into the future, they were the ones she found herself drawn to time and time again. More often than she should have, she had found herself practically drooling at the sight of a confident man, ready to jump the ship of a potential newfound love. Were it not for her father hitting her over the head and telling her to get her stuff together, that was.

In short: confident people were the number one thing she swooned for, but as she found out just now in Renji’s presence, over-confidence could easily turn into a turn-off for her.

Nanami huffed at his reply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Renji let out a laugh that was both melodic, but also rang awfully wrong in the ears of the petite blonde. She turned her head to look at the taller man, her brows furrowed while she awaited his reply.

“Mostly upper-rank missions, of course . I wouldn’t be caught dead with a C-Rank mission, let me tell you that, Nanami,” When he spoke, he did so with a massive amount of pride. “those are for Genin and not Jōnin. I’m overqualified . Did you know that I made Jounin at sixteen? Not a lot of people do that. In my team, I had always been the best, so it had been no surprise that I made Jōnin first. I deserved to make Jōnin first.”

Again, confidence was something the blonde Fujiwara was overly attracted to. The way Renji held himself and strode through the streets of the market with her, it was something that almost had her drooling in admiration. His steps were quick, but not fast enough to have her trailing behind him, and he held his head high, allowing for his brunette curls to bounce with every little motion. Not only that was the case, but his eyes also held a sparkle that almost got her head spinning.

Yet, his constant talking about himself irked her majorly. It was something she found difficult to look past, but still attempted to try. Somehow, Nanami had to fill the space in her heart taken up by Minato and as of right now, the hunk of a man beside her was her best chance at falling in love .

Still, Nanami wanted to know more about the man. He drew her in . “Did you get along with your teammates?”

Without missing a beat, Renji replied immediately . “Not really, no. They were jealous of my achievements in comparison to theirs. I get why they were, I did so much better than them after all. Soon after I made Jōnin my team practically split up, and we haven’t really talked since. I sometimes see them on missions, but we don’t work well together. They are only Chūnin. It wouldn’t make sense.”

Renji must now have known that Nanami too, was ‘ only a Chūnin ’, just like his teammates were. She could practically feel her heart sink to her stomach, the wry smile slipping off of her features as it did. Promptly, she turned her head away from the brunette under the prospect of further checking out the market stands they were walking past. The blonde refused to have the man see her shed one tear or be affected by his comment.

He was not the first to look down upon her due to her rank as a Chūnin of Konoha, nor would he be the last to do so. While it was unintentional, it made Nanami wonder to how much of her talking he had listened to and how much attention he had paid to her so far. Many ninja, especially Jōnin saw themselves above the Chūnin rank, above what they considered to be ‘average’ .

To say the least, the constant comments on her rank which supposedly determined her worth annoyed her. No rank should determine the rank of anyone, as ninja with a low rank could achieve just as much as ninja with a much higher rank.

Was she, a Chūnin veterinarian worth less, a Jōnin veterinarian?

She hated the mere thought of that being true.

Nanami cleared her throat awkwardly, shoving away the negative thoughts. In the peripheral of her eyes, she could see a stand with various vegetables laid out. “I’m going to get a few vegetables for lunch later. Do you mind , Renji?” Without awaiting his answer, the golden blonde hurried over to the food stand to look at the array presented.

Distantly, she could hear Renji talk as he caught up. “I don’t mind, Nanami. It is better if you eat healthy anyway, like I do. Nutrition is very important, especially if you have to be on your feet all day. I suggest you also add some meat, the protein could do you quite well.”

There was nothing Nanami despised more than people telling her what to do.

She had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes at the man as he talked. “I will try to. Thanks .” Her words came out snippy and harsher than intended.

Instead of focusing on her growing anger, she focused on the vegetable in front of her, making sure to choose the best ones for her meal later that day. Nanami subconsciously licked her lips while picking out her food, putting them all into a bag. In no time, she was finished and ready to pay, falling into a conversation with the lovely elderly woman at the counter.

"Is that your boyfriend?" The elderly woman asked with a gentle smile, tilting her head to the side as she stared past the blonde.

The slightest blush dusted Nanami's cheeks. "I'm not sure yet … maybe ."

After a few dates, she should probably already know whether they were dating or not, but she still felt unsure.

"Love is not something you can rush into, darling," The elder woman advised. "in the depths of your heart, you have to really feel that love. Then it is right for you."

"How do I know that I feel in the depths of my heart?"

The elderly woman let out a laugh, one that gave her a younger appearance. "You cannot stop thinking about them . That is how you know."

Nanami bit the inside of her cheek, saying nothing.

"Judging by your expression, there is someone."

The blush coating her cheeks flared.

"And they aren't your boyfriend, am I right?"

Nanami felt embarrassed by the mere fact that somehow, a complete stranger was able to read her so well. A nod was her only reply, her tongue suddenly feeling heavy in her mouth.

"Darling, I know how you feel," The elder confessed with a soft look in her eyes. Nanami's head snapped upward at that, her listening intently. "To be in love with someone you cannot have. But you have to tell them for the peace of your mind."

"He's married ," Nanami bit back, drowning in her ever-growing shame. "I can't ."

The elderly woman clicked her tongue. "Don't drown in despair, darling. The best you can do is be there for him and move on . With the hunk behind you, maybe."

Nanami turned her head to look behind herself, seeing Renji stand there tapping his foot while he looked around, running a hair through his messy brunette looks.

"He looks like a good choice. Attractive, patient. You could do worse."

If she was thinking about it for longer than during their one-sided conversation, Nanami really could do worse than the man she already had found. He was the only one with whom she had gone on more than one date, after all, the only one of her dates who got her to hang onto his arm with a smile. It was without a doubt true that the man did talk a lot about himself, more than the average person, or even she did, but … was that so bad? Everyone had a flaw or several, just different ones. Who was she to judge him?

Maybe she just had to look past his obvious flaws.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Nanami smiled at the elder woman before turning on her heel to join her date again, giving one last wave before doing so.

Renji offered a warm smile to her while reaching out for her bag of vegetables, lightly brushing her hand with his as he took it from her grasp. “No lady should have to carry her groceries in the presence of a man. That is what I am here for.”

“Thank you, Renji. That is very kind of you.” Nanami’s heart felt warm, and so did her cheeks.

Yes , she just had to look past his flaws.

The brunette man let out a melodic laugh, smiling widely at the smaller blonde beside him. "So, what did the elder woman want?"

Nanami waved him off with a smile. “She wanted to know if you are my boyfriend.”

“And, am I?” The smirk he wore could only be described as both cocky and confident, one of his eyebrows raised in question.

“If that is alright with you.”

“Of course it is,” Renji’s other hand went to grasp hers, squeezing it once. “Why not get some ice cream to celebrate?”

“I would love to.”

Nanami just hoped that the sunshine of her heart would be replaced by her love for chestnut. In a tale of chestnut and sunshine, she did not know who the love interest would turn out to be.