A/N: And the fluff returns. I'm really churning these out, aren't I? I should be working on my KibaHina. -ashamed- Next priority, I promise.
Jiraiya gritted his teeth and vainly struggled against the ropes. Not too close to him, the blonde girl and dark-haired boy were eating. He didn't know what to think when he heard footsteps and saw the boy come near him.
Orochimaru handed him a rice ball; Jiraiya simply stared. The other boy scowled and pushed it closer to the hungry genin's mouth.
"Eat it, idiot."
Jiraiya glared.
Kakashi gulped yet again, infant hands running so close to Sakumo's hair but not daring to touch it. Hardly anyone had bothered to attend the White Flash's funeral, but he felt grateful for Minato's presence.
Ears tensing at nearby footsteps, Kakashi turned around to see a spiky-haired young boy adjusting his orange goggles and walking in. Kakashi scowled. The other boy blinked slightly and grinned before being ushered away by his mother.
Shisui didn't hear the footsteps behind him and jumped at the voice in his ear. Even though the other boy was ANBU captain now, he still couldn't get used to the way Itachi snuck up on people. He caught it, though just barely, when he was on guard; at least that was some consolation.
"Again, Shisui?"
"Whatever, Captain Uchiha. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? Like some comic-book hero for little kids."
"Hn."
The younger teenager rolled his eyes. "Like in those foreign cartoons with the guys who wear their underwear over their clothes…" He dodged just in time to avoid a rather large shuriken and burst out laughing.
Chouji munched halfheartedly on his potato chip, trying to take up as little space on the bench as possible, which was quite a feat for him. He didn't turn around when he heard the footsteps.
The dark-haired boy gave him a scrutinizing glance and sat down next to him. Chouji remembered the boy only slightly—their fathers were friends. His name was Shikamaru, and he was the only one who didn't laugh when the other boys teased him.
Shikamaru moved an eye to look at Chouji. Unsure of what to do, the Akimichi pulled a potato chip from his bag and handed it to the other boy.
Shikamaru took it and smiled.
Naruto slowed down as he ran towards the pier. The boy was there, like he always was, black shirt stark against the sunset, Uchiha symbol blazing. He slouched; Naruto had never seen him slouch except here. One sandaled foot skimmed the water. Naruto could hear quiet sobs.
He approached the boy, who turned around almost immediately. His teary eyes narrowed when he saw Naruto, but his shoulders relaxed. Naruto smiled.
The boy smiled back.
Tsunade heard footsteps and turned around dazedly.
"Tsunade-sama!" The steps broke into a run. Shizune steadied the sannin before she fell, gently wresting the cup from her hands. "What did I tell you about drinking?"
Not waiting for an answer, she threw a bag of coins at the bartender and helped her friend up, smoothing out tangled blonde locks at they walked away.
Sakura sniffed, holding back tears, and turned to study the gash on her knee. She'd failed, again.
It hardly a moment before she realized that her ribbon was missing. Panicked, the pink-haired girl glanced around wildly. A purple sandal came into view.
The platinum blonde leaned down and handed Sakura the ribbon for the second time.
"You shouldn't have been so worried, Sakura-chan. It was only a ribbon." Her tone was teasing.
Sakura took Ino's outstretched hand and hid her grateful smile.
The boy didn't seem to notice Neji as he approached. The Hyuga nearly snorted with contempt. No decent ninja allowed himself to miss footsteps so easily. However, he shouldn't have underestimated his teammate.
"Hello, Neji-san." Lee leaned on his crutches, muscles taut. Neji shrugged, deciding not to skirt the issue or water it down with small talk. "So, never a ninja again?"
The green-clad genin turned around and flashed him a grin. "You know me, Neji-san. I don't give up that easily! I won't waste my youth as a civilian." For once, the words weren't spoken with their usual conviction.
"Well," Neji answered wryly, but without even a hint of sarcasm, "Finally you're right."
Tenten flicked another kunai into the dummy, so engrossed that she didn't hear the footsteps. She flinched and spun around when a hand touched her shoulder.
"Don't do that!"
"Sorry." Hinata studied the tear trails on her face.
"Hn." Tenten returned to staring at the dummy.
"Neji's always been an idiot. He'll come around."
With that, the Hyuga heiress walked away, Byakugan not missing the grateful smile on the other girl's face.
Kiba gritted his teeth and tried to hold back the pain. The bee sting shouldn't have bothered him so much—he was a ninja and had lived through far worse. He was too focused on not paying attention to the injury to hear footsteps behind him. A bug crawled out of Shino's finger and landed on the sting; almost immediately, the pain ebbed. Kiba shot him a questioning glare.
"The minor sedative will stop the pain until we complete the mission. That is, of course, my only concern."
Kiba rolled his eyes and granted Shino a smile. "That would be more convincing if we weren't already back in Konoha."
Temari and Kankuro stood apart from their Kazekage, relief evident on their faces. Gaara turned to smile at them slightly before commencing a brisk walk.
"You really shouldn't be out so soon."
"Akatsuki has gotten what they wanted from me, Temari. There's no danger…to any of us."
Kankuro stepped up his own pace until he was striding next to Gaara and their sister and laughed. Both of his siblings turned a quizzical glance to him. He looked away.
In a calm and somewhat dysfunctional silence, the trio continued their stroll, leaving the vestiges of their footsteps in the sand.