Author's Note:
Hey, I re-edited this whole story, did some grammar corrections…
Hayate doesn't get enough love, either does Genma!
So that leads to the creation of this story. Enjoy!
"Hayate!" A young woman's voice called out from his front door.
"Yes, I'll be there in a second." Gekko Hayate coughed, getting up from his bed. He found the woman standing in his living room.
"You still left your key in the same spot." The woman grinned, "Hope you don't mind I just came in."
"Natsu-chan." Hayate's eyes widened.
"Yes, me." 'Natsumi' rolled her eyes, reaching for his arm, "Did you have dinner yet?"
"No, but it's fine---"
"How can that be fine?" She exclaimed, pulling him into the kitchen and pushing him down on a chair, "You sit tight, and I'll fix you dinner."
"It's not necessary, Natsumi." Hayate tried to ask her to stop. She had already pulled her raven black hair into a ponytail and pulled his long-forgotten apron out from his kitchen cabinet. She grimaced at the amount of dust on it and tossed it into the garbage bin next to her feet. She opened his fridge and frowned: it was empty. "How long haven't you cooked at home, Hayate-kun?" She demanded, folding her arms across her chest. He shrugged, "A while."
She sighed, opening the basket in her hand and handed him a freshly baked bun, "This is all I have now. Your favorite, remember?"
The familiar smell of bread relaxed him. He took it from her hand, "Thanks." He took a bite and soon the bun was gone.
"Have another one." She giggled, studying his face as he munched down another piece of bread, "You're like a starving zombie."
He just smiled, "What are you doing here anyway, Natsumi?"
"I'm just back for the summer." She sat down across from him and rested her face in her palm, "I pleaded my parents to let me come back to Konoha, even for a little while. For you, mostly."
"Me?" He asked, coughing.
Natsumi rolled her eyes again, "Yes, you. It's been four years and you still haven't learned how to take care of yourself."
"Has it been that long?" He nibbled on another bun she handed him.
"Unbelievable, huh?" She nodded, "You haven't changed much, Hayate. But you have baggier eyes than the last time I've seen you."
Hayate and Natsumi were childhood friends ever since five years old; Hayate had always been ill, so in preschool he was usually ignored by his classmates. He would always sit on the bench facing the playground during recess and eat his medicine. Little Natsumi had noticed and been watching him since school started. One day, Hayate was fumbling with his medicine, trying to pour the powder into his water but his fingers were trembling, making it difficult. Natsumi strode over and offered to help. Her face puckered up in distaste when she smelt the bitter odor of his medicine, "Gosh, you have to eat this every single day?" she had exclaimed. Young Hayate laughed weakly, "Three times a day, actually." She smiled broadly, "Wow, you're really brave." She gestured to feed him the medicine, "I'm Natsumi."That's when they first talked. They quickly became friends and after they graduated, Hayate continued to go to ninja school and Natsumi just went to normal academic school. At age fifteen, Natsumi's parents decided to move to a smaller village for a 'simpler' life in the countryside. That's when Hayate and her temporary ended their friendship.
He remained silent, staring at the table.
"I'll fix you some tea and you can eat your medicine." She stood up.
"Well, it's getting quite late, isn't it. Why don't we meet up tomorrow morning?"
He covered his mouth as he coughed again, frowning. He didn't want her to worry about him. He had to find a way to first ask her to leave or else---
"Oi, Hayate, you ready to go?" A voice called from the door, followed with a knock.
"Oh, so you have another visitor?" She pursed her lips, "I'll go get the door for you."
"Natsumi---" Hayate stood up. Darn it.
Shiranui Genma nearly fell over when the door swung open. However, it wasn't Hayate who was standing before him, but instead a young woman. In fact, a rather pretty young woman, her age around nineteen and she had rage in her eyes. "Hello." He shot her a sly smile. So, his buddy Hayate is finally getting laid?
Who the hell was this guy? With a senbon or straw in his mouth, the Leaf Village headband tied on the opposite side with an 'I-don't-give-a-crap' attitude?
"I don't appreciate people visiting houses after nine thirty." She put her hands on her hips. Genma spotted Hayate standing behind her, who had a worried look on his face.
"And who are you?" Genma raised an eyebrow, eyeing the woman up and down. Prostitutes usually don't set curfews, do they?
"That's none of your business." She snapped, shooting him a death glare. "Where were you planning to take Hayate?"
"Uh, the bar." Genma answered casually, pointing at another crowd of people around the corner of the street, "Some of the friends are going out for a late night's snack."
"The bar?" Natsumi squint her eyes, "How dare you take him to a bar? Don't you know how sick he is?"
"Well…" Genma chewed on the senbon in his mouth, "It's not a big deal, we always go out at night."
Hayate sighed as he reached for Natsumi's wrist, "Natsumi, go home, please. We'll meet tomorrow, alright?"
"I don't have a home here anymore…I was hoping to stay over at your house…" She stuttered, "But I guess…" She glanced at Genma and his friends waiting across the street, "I'll go to a hotel or whatever. I'll see you tomorrow then."
She looked at Genma, "Please don't make him drink any alcohol. He's sick."
"We'll go to get ramen then." He shrugged, taking note on her concern.
"Thanks." She smiled, "He sure needs some warm food to fill up his stomach." She turned around and gave Hayate a squeeze on the arm, "And don't forget your medicine."
"Natsu-chan…" He started, but she was avoiding eye contact, paying attention at the pebbles around her sandals. She kicked at them unconsciously, "I'll get my stuff and leave."
She turned on her heels, stepping back into the house but Hayate grabbed her wrist, she spun around, annoyed, but her glare softened when she saw the look on Hayate's face.
"Stay." He said sternly, making her blush. He then turned to Genma, "Sorry, I can't go tonight. Tell Iruka I owe him one."
"Will do." Genma shrugged, eyeing Natsumi. Who was she to Hayate? He wondered, Hayate never missed Jonin/Chunnin gathering-dinners. She was an exception.
Hayate closed the door and sighed, "Natsumi, I'm sorry."
"It's alright." She shook her head, "I'm the one that should be sorry, I ruined you fun." He chuckled, "No, no you haven't."
"I missed those sleepovers we had." She giggled, tossing and turning in her sleeping bag, all giddy, "When was the last time, like…when we were thirteen?"
"Yeah." Hayate took in a deep breath. He did miss having someone to talk to. "I missed you."
"Me too, Hayate, me too." Natsumi nodded, "Who the heck was that guy at the door, by the way? He was…rather rude."
"That's Shiranui Genma, he's a close friend of mine." He explained, "He's not that bad, I think it's just a bad first impression. You'll see."
"Hmph, I doubt that." She curled up into a ball, hugging her knees, "I can't believe you go out to dinner almost every night with your pack of friends! Everything's changed. You used to be such an indoor-person, I had to drag you out now and then."
"I know." Hayate closed his eyes, "Becoming a chunnin examiner made me a lot more outgoing." The young raven-head yawned, "I noticed. Night, Hayate."
"H'm." was his response: they always knew when to end their conversation and call it a night.
"Natsu-chan, I'm on patrol this morning, I'll see you later." He wakened her, telling her softly. She frowned, pulling up the blanket in her sleeping bag to cover her head, "Bye."
Natsumi woke up after forty more minutes of sleep. Hayate would be back in an hour and a half; she figured he skipped breakfast, again. Humming a cheerful tune, she used the ingredients from Hayate's kitchen to make a decent breakfast. Toast with butter. "Well, at least it won't keep him hungry." She loosened her ponytail and stepped into the shower. One more hour, so she'd have enough time to change without making Hayate 'uncomfortable'. He was always so sensitive about her exposing her skin. He would scoff at her whenever she took off her jacket and only wore a tank top or a leggy outfit.
It was what made him cute, though. Like a protective older brother, which he basically was.
She continued to sing in the shower, completely unaware of who stepped into the house. Turning close the faucet, she wrapped a towel around herself and her hair. Natsumi heard the kettle whistling, "Shoot." She hastily opened the door and hurried to the boiling kettle, pulling off the plug. Hayate's medicine had to be poured into boiled water immediately. Natsumi grabbed a bowl and poured the water in, followed by a small pack of his medicine and stirred it with a wooden spoon.
"That stuff stinks, I wonder how Hayate stands it." A voice sighed behind her. Natsumi shrieked, jumping up. It was that ruthless guy from last night---Genma. "And good morning to you too." He smirked, chewing on a piece of toast.
"What the heck are you doing here?" She demanded, forgetting that she was only in a towel, "And that's supposed to be Hayates'---"
"Hayate asked me to come over to fetch you, we're going for breakfast."
"But I cooked---" She folded her arms across her chest. Genma crossed his legs, enjoying the view in front of him, "Oh well, I'll tell him you blew off his plan." Her face reddened, snapping furiously, "Fine! Where to?"
"Uh, don't you have to go put on some clothes first?" Genma raised an eyebrow. Her face burnt in humiliation, clutching her towel tightly around her naked body, she still managed to scoff, "Pervert!" before stomping off to change. What an awful second impression!
She quickly threw on some clothes, tossing the towel wrapping her hair onto a drawer. Coming back out to the kitchen, she put her hands on her hips, "So?"
"Let's go." Genma held his chin up high, the senbon shimmered under the light. She walked over and snatched it out of his mouth, "Why the heck is this thing? A toothpick?"
Genma shot her an annoyed look, "Um, it's a weapon?"
"Oh." She nodded, "Well, it makes you look arrogant and---"
"I don't care what you think." He grabbed it back from her and placed it back to his mouth, "And your hair is wet." She shrugged, "It'll dry."
"H'm." He turned his back to her, gesturing her to follow him.
They walked on the dirt streets in Konoha Village, not saying a word. Natsumi was finger-combing her half-wet hair, unaware of a bigger pebble and tripped over it. She let out a huge gasp: Oh crap, she was going to fall face down! Squinting her eyes close, preparing for the pain in the next three, two, one---
A hand grabbed onto her arm, right before she crashed onto the rocky road.
"You okay?" Genma asked, putting another hand on her shoulder. She gave him an appreciative smile, "Yes, thank you---"
Unfortunately, Natsumi failed trying to stand up. Instead, she hissed in pain, collapsing down, clutching her ankle. "Ow! I…I think I sprained it."
"Let me see it." He crouched down and inspected it her injury, "Yeah, you sure did. And a few scrapes too. Don't worry. We'll get you patched up in no time."
"But, but, but---I can't even stand up!" She exclaimed, almost whining, "Are we late? Is Hayate waiting for us?"
"Come on now." Genma cooed. She blinked at him, utterly confused. He sighed, remaining in a kneeling position, but turned around so his back was facing her, "I have to carry you."
"You mean give me a piggy-back ride?" She laughed out loud. He shot her an annoyed look, "It's not like I'm going to leave you here. Come on."
It was actually so nice of him; Natsumi thought, she would never have guessed he was a caring person due to her first impression of him. And second.
She pursed her lips, slowly draping her arms over his shoulder. Genma grunted a "Hold tight" and she obeyed. Positioning her legs around his waist, he boosted her up from the ground. She let out a small giggle, "Thank you for doing this, I appreciate it."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He mumbled, continuing to walk.
"I'm sorry about what I said about you earlier," She lowered her head, "I shouldn't have judged you by your…erm…appearance."
"You really shouldn't." He agreed, not saying much.
"Yeah, so…uh, sorry." She blushed, "I heard you and Hayate are good friends?"
"You betcha. Hayate's my bud. We got each others' backs."
"Then you should really reconsider taking him to the bar."
"We don't let him drink sake, only tea or water, don't worry. We care about his health too, you know."
"Oh." She answered guiltily. She really misunderstood him. About five minutes of silence, Genma suddenly asked, "Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Natsumi." She rolled her eyes, "I'm Hayate's best friend."
"Oh, so you are that Natsumi." He emphasized on the 'oh'.
"What," She quickly said, "Did Hayate say anything about me?"
"He did mention he had a childhood friend who later moved away from Konoha. His eyes sparkle whenever he talks about you." "Really?" She chirped, lighting up at his words.
"Yeah, but you were…" He seemed to have a hard time picking a word, "a lot…different than I pictured you'd be."
"Is that so?" She raised an eyebrow then sighed, "Well, I still suppose I'm sorry that I came off as bitchy."
"Nah, you're alright." He spit his senbon onto the ground, "Here we are." Genma announced. "Hey, Hayate!"
Their friend spun around, his dark eyes widened a little, "What do we have here?"
"I---"
Genma stepped in and answered for Natsumi, "She fell down, spraining her ankle. She needs a little medical treatment."
"Oh, it's lucky that we have Shizune here." Hayate asked the Tokubetsu Jounin who was a medic expert to heal her wounds. After Natsumi thanked Shizune, they began to have breakfast.
Hayate was secretly feeling jolly---his two friends were now slowly getting along. He wondered what happened between the two supposed-rivals?
"Thanks for carrying me this morning, Genma-kun." Natsumi smiled.
"See you, Genma." Hayate greeted his friend goodbye. Genma gave the two of them a salute before he walked away with his hands in his pockets.
"He's not too bad, right?" said Hayate as he unlocked the door.
"Yeah, you were right." Natsumi blushed, "I'm glad I got to understand him a lot more."
Soon, the three of them became good friends.
In fact, best friends.
A/N:
I'm sorry for drabbling through how they became good friends, I just didn't think it was that necessary. By the way, Natsumi stands for 'summer beauty'.
I hope you all liked it so far and reviews would be great!