Okay, I have some apologizing to do. MAJOR apologizing. But first, an announcement! IT'S TAYLOR-SAMA'S BIRTHDAY! ...A month ago... Dx Yeah, this is awful. Simply horrible. Her birthday was December 9th, and I missed it. There really is no reason why her gift should be this late. I'M SO SORRY, TAYLOR-SAMA! But HAPPY BIRTHDAY, anyways! And just to make things clear, this story is dedicated to her for her birthday! =D
Oh, and, another apology: I really don't know if I have any right whatsoever to write a story like this. Taylor-chan, I stole your character, wormed my way inside her head, and created a scene that might be completely wrong of me. I'm really not sure how you're going to like this, so I'mma borrow your wording from one of your A/Ns and hope it's good luck: If you don't absolutely love this story I'mma delete it, kays?
For the rest of you, maybe you should read some of our other stories before this, like my "Day One" and Taylor's "For the First Time." Those provide the background for this story. Cue disclaimer.
Naruto: Kaiti doesn't own me, plain and simple! But she and Taylor both have OCs that show up in here.
Kyra was reaching for an apple in the cafeteria at lunchtime when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She froze instantly, afraid to turn around and confirm that Hotori had decided to start messing with her again. It had been a month since she had stood up to him, a month since Kyra's new friend Kaida had bloodied his nose; and it created a blissful, torture-free month at school. But what if now...
"Kyra, you get apples every day! Come on, splurge on sweets for once!"
Kyra breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't Hotori; it was Kaida.
"Well, ah..." she fumbled. Her parents were pretty strict on her diet, but Kyra hated to refuse her friend anything.
Kaida winked at her and whispered, "Trust me, you don't want an apple today."
"What did you do?" Kyra whispered back, reluctantly switching her focus to the pears.
Kaida gave a mock-gasp. "Maybe I'm simply concerned that my friend isn't getting enough variety in her diet!"
Kyra smiled and followed Kaida outside to where they normally sat and waited for Choji and Shikamaru. Kyra was still pretty shy around the boys, but she was learning to enjoy their company.
Thinking about the apples again, Kyra knew that, clearly, Kaida was up to something. Kaida was an incurable prankster, and she and Shikamaru and Choji were always up to something. But even though Kyra always knew when, she could never figure out what until after the fact.
"I'm your bodyguard, remember?" Kaida had once said with a grin when Kyra mentioned it might be nice to be forewarned before some of the pranks. "I'll make sure you never fall for them, but I'll also make sure Iruka-sensei never has the chance to blame you too!"
So by now Kyra knew the routine. She would avoid whatever Kaida, Choji, and Shikamaru had rigged. And she would wait for the screams of terror or shouts of frustration.
No sooner had Shikamaru and Choji joined them than the scream of terror came from Ino, who was exiting the building just as she was taking a bite of apple.
The blond threw the apple on the ground and very ungracefully spit out the bite she had taken. "WORMS!" she shrieked in revulsion.
Kyra glanced over in shock at Kaida, who was barely holding in her laughter. Worms? Like, actual, for-real worms? Since when had the pranks escalated to something so gross?
Shikamaru, seeing Kyra's expression, leaned towards her and whispered, "Gummy worms."
Oh.
Meanwhile, Ino was discovering the same thing. Naruto had picked up her apple to see the worms and burst out laughing. Kyra couldn't hear what he said from this distance, but he had clearly figured it out. Ino turned beet-red, spun around on her heel, and marched back into the building. Sakura hurried to follow her.
There also seemed to be a few other kids who, miraculously, hadn't heard Ino's declaration. Kyra silently ate her own lunch as at least one person out of almost every group within view bit into an apple and was soon overcome with a horrified expression. Not everyone yelled, but the laughter was nearly constant after the trick was discovered. Kyra noticed also that even some of the ones who had bitten into the apple were laughing. However, Ino certainly wasn't alone in her upset embarrassment.
Amidst the chaos, Kyra noticed something no one else seemed to. A small boy, hunched behind both a tree and a bush so that he was barely visible, was watching the scene. And she was almost sure his gaze had been on her just moments before.
Later that day, Kyra was walking home. Her brother Haru normally picked her up to walk her home, but he was away on a mission. Kyra dreaded Haru's missions. Not only because of any danger that might be lurking out there for him (she had absolute confidence in his ability to succeed in any mission, but she would always worry), but also because it meant she would be home alone with only their parents.
So naturally, she was dragging her feet.
Finally, Kyra decided to make a detour. In her backpack was a feather boa she had been meaning to return to the store from which she'd bought it, but she had for one reason or another never gotten around to it. Now was as good a time as any, she decided.
She stepped lightly off the well-traveled path and cut diagonally almost back the way she came. And it was in a little-used corner of the village that she saw him again: the boy from that afternoon. He was almost invisible, sitting in the shadows of a great weeping willow, sketching. Almost invisible, but not quite. Kyra had accomplished similar invisibility levels before; her ANBU parents had taught her how, and she had used it in attempts to avoid Hotori.
Kyra didn't notice that she had stopped walking to watch the boy until he slowly looked up at her. His extremely pale skin was a stark contrast to his dark hair, dark eyes, and dark clothes. He snapped his sketchbook shut.
Kyra blushed and looked away. "...Hi."
She would have quickly walked away, but then he spoke.
"I saw you, earlier today," he said quietly.
She nodded. "Do you, ah, go to the Academy?" she asked just as softly.
"No."
She gave him a questioning look, to which he responded with only a blank expression. He seemed to be waiting for her to speak.
"Who... are y-you?" she finally said.
"No one."
Kyra frowned. "Of course you're someone!" she said, harsher than she meant to. She covered her mouth with both her hands in mortification, hoping he wouldn't realize she had to feed herself that same line sometimes.
"I am not given a name," the boy said patiently, undisturbed by her outburst. "None of us are, unless it is needed."
Kyra stepped closer, pushing aside some drooping branches of the willow. "I don't understand."
"You are not supposed to."
Kyra chewed her lip, unsure what to do now. Her gaze fell on his sketchbook, but she couldn't see it well in the shadows.
He moved his hand on top of his sketchbook, a clear sign of, "Private; stay out." She took the hint and shifted her eyes back to his face.
"What was happening earlier?" he asked.
It took her a few moments to realize what he was asking about. "With the apples?" She blushed. "Some friends of mine stuffed gummy worms... into the apples."
"Why would they do that?"
Kyra smiled. "They like doing pranks like that."
"Is it training?"
She looked at him in surprise. In a way, she supposed he had a point. It kept their teachers and classmates on their toes, and actually pulling the prank took a lot of stealth. Kaida would certainly love that someone was looking at it in that light. But still... "I guess so. I mean, i-if you want to think about it that way. But the teachers... they don't, well... approve."
The boy frowned. "If it helps survival, why don't they encourage it?"
Kyra blinked. This boy was taking it a little too seriously. "Because they're just... messing around?" her statement came out as more of a question.
"I don't understand." It was an echo of her previous statement, and Kyra realized just how different their worlds were.
"Uhm, it's fun for my friends, but trouble for almost everyone else?"
The boy nodded, but Kyra got the impression he still thought the situation strange. Hesitantly, she sat down facing him. Her heart began to beat more quickly as she studied him. He gazed solemnly back at her, scarcely moving.
"You should smile more often," she blurted without thinking, then blushed.
He seemed to take her suggestion to heart. "Alright. Why?"
Kyra simply shrugged shyly, and a comfortable silence settled.
The boy started fingering his sketchbook, like he was about to open it. "May I sketch you?" he asked suddenly.
Surprised, Kyra didn't answer immediately. Then she started to nod hesitantly. "If you wa-"
Just then a shrill whistle sounded across the village, and the boy stood. "I have to go."
"O-oh," Kyra said, trying not to look sorry. She had enjoyed talking to this boy – and when had that happened? Since when did she find she enjoyed strangers' company, especially one as strange as this?
"Next time, I'll introduce you to my brother, Shin," the boy added, giving her a quirky sort of smile; then he disappeared so quickly she didn't even have time to blink before he was gone.
She also didn't have time to ask why Shin had a name when the boy had said "none of them" were given names.
But she did get a warm feeling inside at the knowledge that he expected to meet her again.
She didn't dare tell anyone about her meeting with the mysterious boy. The only one she was close enough to tell was Kaida, but Kyra wasn't altogether sure if she wanted to share this experience anyways. Maybe later.
But for now, her own knowledge of him was enough. And she would meet him again. Kyra was suddenly sure of it, as sure as the boy himself had sounded when speaking of their next meeting.
And then, when they had both all but forgotten, that fateful day came.
"Did you just break wind, because you're blowing me away..?"
... ... ...No, I'm not even going to say anything here about the story. I'll just repeat this: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MAH BESTEST FRIEND TAYLOR-HIME!