(AN): Hey guys! So sorry for the long ass wait. Sumimasen! Shit has been happening and yeah. You know how it goes. To everyone who commented, I thank you! Seriously. So here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… ((waaaaa))
Chapter 4: Kanoha Rock
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"The wheels on the bus go round and round!" sang Naruto.
"Shutup Naruto!" One boy from the back cried out.
The blonde pouted. "I'm just trying to make this a fun bus ride geez. Don't get your panties in a bunch.," he told him.
"Well your singing isn't making this any better." said another girl in the front.
Disappointed, Naruto sat back in his chair. "Party poopers." he said under his breath.
Sasuke, who was sitting next to me, just rolled his eyes.
"The dobe sure is annoying today." he whispered to me. Oh shutup Sasuke, I can see you secretly eyeing him, I said in my head.
In a way, Naruto was right. Everyone needed to lighten up. Even I need to. I guess everyone is getting cranky because we've been driving through the wilderness for almost an hour now. The road was bumpy and it was smoldering hot.
This sure was a boring ride. When the hell are we going to get there?
To make this worse for me are these two girls sitting behind us. They keep giggling about something and accidentally kicking the back of our seats. I hate that!
Whenever either me or Sasuke would turn around to tell them to stop, all they would do is giggle some more and say, "Sorry Neji-kun." or "Sorry Sasuke-kun."
I have a feeling they are doing it on purpose. Arg, get me off this bus please!
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Anyways, this morning Iruka's classroom was packed with first and third period students. There was barely any room to move. Everyone seemed to have over-packed. Which Iruka clearly stated that he did not want.
Of course, no one listened.
"What did you bring?" Sasuke asked me.
"Oh just some extra clothes, first aid kit, toothbrush, and a blanket." I told him. "How about you?"
"Hmm, let's see. Basically the same as yours except I brought a camera and bug spray." he said.
"Good, I forgot about the bug spray." he chuckled.
"Class, gather your things! The bus should be arriving any minute now!" Iruka-sensei yelled at the class.
"Ok, I'm going to be doing roll call. Please listen up everybody for your names." Iruka announced.
The teacher started calling off names one by one. By tents actually.
"Tent number eleven! Neji Hyuuga."
"Here sensei." I told him.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
He raised his hand letting Iruka know he was in the class.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
No response.
"Naruto?"
"Where the heck is that boy?" I heard Iruka say to himself.
I suddenly heard rapid footsteps running towards the class.
"Iruka! Here! Present!" Naruto huffed. He was dragging Gaara right behind him.
Iruka looked irked. "Naruto, you and I arrived at the school ten minutes early. Where the heck were you?" he asked.
"Oh, umm, we had to pick up some last minute things from the vending machine." the blonde said with a wide grin on his face.
"Whatever you say Naruto. Well, since you're here now Mr. Sabaku, I'll go ahead and mark you off." Iruka informed him.
"Thanks." said the red head.
The duo walked to the back near us.
I heard Gaara say something. "Why did we have to see Sai? You almost made us late Naruto." he hissed to his friend.
"I wanted to see him before we left, is that a crime?" he whispered while rubbing on his neck.
Gaara sighed. "You're so difficult." he said.
Naruto just gave him a huge grin. In addition, when Naruto took his hand off his neck, I saw the most enormous hickey on his neck.
Now, that looked nasty! Even Gaara looked grossed out when he saw it. Naruto seemed to be proud of it with the look on his face.
Of course, Sasuke saw it too. However, he didn't say a word. He just looked away.
I bet he probably got sad or something but his pride would not show it.
Gaara, on the other hand, looked like he just got out of bed. His hair was so messy. He had smeared eyeliner around his eyes. He had on a gray hooded sweater and some tight black pants.
He just looked too cute standing there.
Oh yeah, last week when Sasuke called, I told him what happened to me in the park.
Just two days ago during lunch, I admitted to Sasuke that I'm starting to take interest in Gaara. I never said if it was interest as a crush or interest as a person. I don't even know myself.
I'm hoping this fieldtrip will help me with what it is I'm truly feeling.
Sasuke diagnosed me as not straight but not gay. Whatever he means. I don't know, maybe I am. I mean I still do like girls. Blah! Whatever.
I got back at Sasuke and I diagnosed him as fully gay. He didn't disagree though. Maybe that explains why he rejected every girl that asked him out. Oh, and he also told me that he started liking Naruto two years ago. Almost the same time he finally convinced himself that the same sex is more appealing.
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Back on the bus, I could hear people, including Gaara telling Naruto to shutup once again. That time, Naruto decided to sing the piece, "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."
I looked out my window once again to verify where the hell we were. Looking further out the road, I spotted a little clearing a couple of yards away. I'm guessing this would be our little campsite.
As the buss got closer, it became quieter. For once, I thought. A beautiful lake started coming into view. Everyone got out of their seats t admire the lakes beauty. It seemed like everyone started forgetting about the heat.
In the distant background, you can see a full view of the rocky mountain in the area. Right in the middle of that mountain was a waterfall cascading down onto the lake.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on this beautiful historic scenery we call Kanoha Rock!" beamed Iruka. "Everyone gather your things and make sure you don't leave anything behind!" he warned.
The bus came to a full stop and one by one, tired and sweaty teens started pouring out. As I stepped out of the bus, a gush of cool air hit my whole body. Damn did that feel good!
I set my stuff down for a bit to stretch out my arms and legs. They became cramped during the buss ride. My buddy Sasuke was doing the same thing.
"I hope this isn't going to be too bad." I told my friend.
"Yeah I hope so too." Sasuke replied while looking at the mountain view.
"Guys! Gather around me please!" yelled out teacher. "Lenlen and Mr. Kenta, would you two please get out of the way of the busses rear end. Unless you both are asking to get ran over." Iruka cried.
With that said, the thing we saw as our transportation to civilization disappeared into the distance, leaving us stranded there for two days.
"Isn't this going to be great kids?" he asked us while ignoring the groans and sighs of the students.
"Each group grab a tent right there next to the bathroom. You guys will be pitching a tent with your assigned tent buddies. Pick any place, it doesn't matter. Just as long as you stay within the perimeter of the campsite. If I catch you trying to be a rebel and putting your tent up closer to the woods then I'll be asking your group to pitch the tent right next to mine!" Iruka threatened his students.
"Okay, I'll give you all about an hour to get it all fixed then meet me here on this exact same location for our lesson." Iruka told us.
He saw the disappointment of his students faces and added, "Just because we aren't in the school grounds doesn't mean we will not be learning."
Slowly, my fellow students walked to get a tent with their assigned groups once Iruka stopped talking.
"Hey, let's look for Naruto and Gaara." I told Sasuke.
"I guess." Sasuke shrugged.
We walked around for a few minutes until we spotted the two friends near the shore of the lake. I can see Naruto trying to pinch Gaara's cheeks and laughing hysterically. Gaara on the other hand looked annoyed and kept trying to slap Naruto's hand away.
"Sorry to interrupt your little fun guys" I said jokingly, "but we have a tent to pitch up."
"Oh, uh, I'm sorry. Naruto was just being a little dick." Gaara said.
"Was not!" cried Naruto, giving Gaara a little push.
"Let's just get the tent, get it up, and get it over with." said the moody Uchiha.
"Fine whatever." said Naruto who was giving Sasuke a dirty look when he wasn't looking.
"What do you guys think will be a decent spot?" I asked my group when we got our tent.
"I don't care." said Naruto and Sasuke almost at the same time. Both boys had their backs facing each other's. Oh great. Maturity at its finest I sarcastically said to myself. I looked at Gaara who was shaking his head at the sight of the two boys.
"Let's get that spot over there near the lake. It looks like no one has claimed it yet." Gaara suggested, pointing at a spot near a dead log and about three yards away from the shore.
"I think that spot is perfect." I told him, making him blush a little.
All four of us soon made our way there and started to attempt to fix our new home for the next two days. It took us fifteen minutes but we got the job done.
"Holy shit! Are we all actually going to fit in there?" Naruto gawked.
"Okay, why don't you do us all a favor dobe and sleep outside. Maybe then we will have the room we need." Sasuke told Naruto.
Naruto gave Sasuke a glare. "Ouch Sasuke. Just… Ouch." Naruto said and started walking away.
Gaara sighed. "Don't worry, I'll bring him back." he said.
"Who said I was worrying?" Sasuke said. Gaara just ignored him and went after his friend, leaving me and Sasuke there alone.
"Wow, what the fuck Sasuke? Cranky much?" I asked him.
"Shutup, he was being stupid." he said starring straight ahead, as if he was talking to an invisible entity. However, on the look on Sasuke's face, I knew he felt bad.
About a minute later Gaara came dragging poor Naruto behind him. "Hey guys, sorry it took long." the red head told us.
Naruto still looked upset. "Okay, this is how it's going to be sleeping wise. I'll be on the very left, then on my right is Gaara, on Gaara's right will be you Neji. Oh, and that guy over there will be on the very right." the blonde said.
"Humph, fine by me." Sasuke told us.
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We soon put our stuff away in our tent and headed towards Iruka's said meeting spot. We joined the rest of the forming crowd of students and listened to Iruka's blabbering for about an hour or two.
Iruka mentioned something about how this spot was the very spot where the founding fathers made the purchase of land we like to call Kanoha County. Then a bit later on, he told us about our hike tomorrow on top of Kanoha rock in the evening. He said he wanted us to see the amazing sunset.
"Well, this ends the lesson boys and girls. Remember, I handed you guys out the manual on how to make a basic campfire. I suggest you all read it." Sensei said and also mentioned, "Oh and I have some canned food here ready to be heated up from you guys."
"What is it?" asked my classmate Kenta.
"It's your favorite Kenta, beans in a can." Iruka laughed. Kenta pretended to gag.
"Eww! That's disgusting!" said a girl in the back.
"You got to be kidding me." a boy from third period whined.
"Hey, hey, hey! It's better than nothing!" Iruka yelled. "So, for the rest of the evening, enjoy yourselves and mingle. I will be announcing later on when it will be lights out. Don't vandalize this area or else, there will be punishment to pay." he said and added, "Just to let you know, I'll be patrolling the area just in case some hanky panky goes on or kids trying to sneak into other peoples tents."
A few students started to laugh. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you guys!" he warned.
Like Iruka told us to do, we started to mingle. Sasuke and I stopped by a few people's tent areas and started small conversations with them. Some girls tried to invite us over to their area, but we both refused.
We hung out for about an hour more when I saw the sky turning orange. The sky was making the lake look like orange juice.
A girl from my class joked that they will be sneaking in our tent at lights out. Oh man, I hope they are really kidding. Few people were asking us where we pitched up our tent. I lied to some saying that we were right next to Iruka. Hell, I didn't want them to ruin out experience.
"Let's go back now." I said. Both of us then made our way to our two tent buddies.
We found the duo trying to start up a campfire. Well, Gaara wasn't helping much. He was basically watching Naruto do it.
"Damnit I can't seem to get this thing to work!" Naruto whined as he furiously rubbed two sticks together.
"He's been at it this whole time." Gaara told us.
Just then, Sasuke went in the tent and came back out just second's later hold a tiny square box.
"This will help you out you idiot." the raven-haired told Naruto.
"Listen, I am not an idiot!" Naruto yelled and quickly grabbed the box of matches from Sasuke's hands. "Oh and umm… thanks." He said quietly. Sasuke gave Naruto a small grin and sat down on the dead log.
"Damn, Iruka never mentioned that this would also be survival camp." Naruto joked.
"Tell me about it." I replied.
I decided to sit on the dead log next to Sasuke when all of a sudden two huge mosquitoes landed on my leg. Nasty little shits. I don't like bugs. Especially mosquitoes.
I nudged my friend next to me, catching his attention. "Hey man, can I borrow some of that bug spray of yours?"
"Go ahead, it's in the front pocket." said Sasuke. "Oh and be back in a minute, I gotta go to the bathroom real quick."
"Alright." I said while digging through Sasuke's bag. Ah, there it is. Extra strength, just what I need to ward those pests away.
I got out of the tent and started to spray my whole body. Making sure not to miss a single inch.
Oh great. I can't reach my back.
Maybe I'll ask Naruto or Gaara to help me. I look at the two. I made my decision once I saw that cute face.
"Gaara, can you help me out real quick?" I asked him.
He got up from where he was sitting. "Oh sure, what's up?"
Gaara walked towards me. "I can't spray my back. I can't reach it." I told him as I handed him the spray. "Hold on one second."
I turned my back at Gaara and took off my shirt. To give him a better aim. A few seconds passed by and my back still didn't feel one hint of moist liquid. Gaara wasn't spraying.
Suddenly, I heard Naruto laughing. Is he laughing at me? I turned to my head toward the sound of laughter. It seems like Naruto isn't laughing at me but at the redhead behind me.
I turned to face Gaara, who was now as red as ever. "Gaara, is anything wrong?" I curiously asked. He looked as if he saw something he wasn't suppose to.
"Umm… Huh? Oh, sorry about that. Naruto was… Umm… distracting me." he said.
"Bullshit." Naruto coughed under his breath. Gaara shot Naruto a nasty glare.
I resumed to my previous position and signaled Gaara to spray, which this time he did. I have a feeling I know why he acted like that. I blushed a bit and smiled to myself just thinking about it.
"Lenlen! Look at Neji-kun! He's half-naked. Oh my god, he's so damn hot!" I overheard one girl telling her friend by the lake.
"Damn, that boy has a nice body." Lenlen replied.
"Neji-kun! Do you work out?" yelled the girl. They began to giggle amongst themselves.
Another friend walked to them, "Yeah, I wish I was that guy holding the spray right now."
Just then Sasuke came. "Stop giving everyone a free show Neji." he joked.
"Shutup." I told him.
Sasuke looked over at Gaara and whispered to me. "Why is he all red, what did you do?" he whispered to me. In a second, he kind of guessed why. We both chuckled.
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Naruto decided to be the cook for all four of us and cooked us ramen from a tiny pot he brought. Moreover, looking at the size of his bag, it looks as if there's more packaged ramen in there.
"This is good Naruto." I told him while slurping on some noodles.
"Thanks, it's my favorite!" he beamed. He took a quick glance at Sasuke to check if he also enjoyed his cooking. The raven-haired boy was just quietly eating the ramen with no sign of satisfaction or disgust. This made Naruto frown a bit.
After the mean Naruto and Gaara decided to take a dip in the lake. Gaara didn't want to go at first, but of course, Naruto forced him to.
"I can't believe I'm doing this. It's so damn cold." Gaara said under his breath.
"Aw, c'mon! It will be fun!" laughed Naruto.
The two boys began to strip of their clothes one by one until they were in just their boxers. Sasuke and I just sat there and watched the two. Gaara was in his black boxers and Naruto in his Scooby Doo ones. I began to look Gaara up and down, admiring his body. It was so small and slender. He had an awesome figure for a guy.
Naruto kept splashing Gaara and Gaara was standing at knee deep crossing his arms and telling Naruto to stop. Naruto on the other hand enjoyed every minute of it.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. I'm tired as fuck." Sasuke told me as he made his way inside our tent but made one quick glance at his blonde crush. I on the other hand continued to watch them. Well, more like watching Gaara. Then, all of a sudden, I realized there was no sign of bruises on Gaara's body. Hmm, well whoever or whatever is doing it to him stopped.
I didn't realize Naruto heading towards my direction. "Gaara I'm going to sleep now. You tired me out." he yelled over at Gaara.
"What do you mean I tired you out? I was just standing there." Gaara told him.
Naruto laughed. "Well whatever."
The blonde dried himself off, changed his clothes behind a bush and stepped inside the tent. Inside, I heard him say "Good, the bastard is sleeping on his side."
Gaara got out of the water and started drying himself off. Like Naruto, he too changed behind the same bush. He came out wearing a black shirt with some gray sweats.
He sat down next to me and starred straight ahead, admiring the view from where we sat.
"You should sketch this." I told him.
He didn't take his eyes off the view. "Not now, maybe tomorrow." he said, breathing in the evening air.
We both heard Naruto snoring loudly and Sasuke grunting inside the tent.
"So you and Naruto really close?" I asked.
He looked at me. "Well yeah, I guess you can say we are. He might be messed up in the head, but he's okay." he told me.
Gaara continued on, "I don't know if you knew this but Naruto and I were friends from long time ago."
"Oh you were?" I said, acting as if I didn't know.
"We actually have a lot in common." he told me. "He's one of the few who would actually talk to me."
"Hey, I talk to you." I reminded him. He smiled and looked at the ground.
"How long did Naruto and Sai start going out? It kind of surprised me." I asked him.
"Oh that. Well, Sai had a thing for Naruto since a while back. Naruto didn't really like him. But one day Naruto asked him out… Just out of nowhere. It kind of surprised me too." Gaara told me. He started rubbing his arms with his hands, trying to get them warm.
"Are you cold or something?" I asked him. He started to shiver.
"Umm, don't worry, I'm fine." he said. Lies I thought.
Without hesitation, I took off the jacket I was currently wearing and placed it over his shoulders. The butterflies in my stomach started to kick in.
"Neji you didn't have to. I told you, I'm fine." he insisted.
"Yeah right. Look, you're shivering." I said and without thinking placed an arm around his shoulder. Bold move Neji, bold move.
I could feel Gaara stiffen up under my arms. "Don't worry." I whispered to him.
Slowly Gaara began to give in and started to lay his head on my shoulder. For some reason, this felt right.
We stayed there for a while longer watching the sun setting behind Kanoha Rock. Neither of us saying a word. My arm wrapped more tightly around him and Gaara had one arm around my waist. This new feeling that I was now having was now circulating through my body. I didn't want to move from this spot.
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From a distance, I heard Iruka's familiar voice. "Lights out boys and girls!" he yelled. Damnit! That damn mood ruiner.
Gaara and I soon separated from each other's arms and made our way to the tent, both of us still not making one single sound.
I ducked down first and opened the zipper of the tent. To Gaara's surprise, and me Naruto was now right next to Sasuke. Both of them holding each other as if each other were the last thing they had on earth. The thing is, they were both in a deep slumber.
I chuckled because I knew that the two had no idea what was happening to them right now. I should take a picture. I guess sleeping brings out the truth in people. But man, would those two be pissed when they realize they were cuddling all night long.
Gaara and I crawled in. "I guess we have to sleep on this side now." I finally spoke.
"I guess you are right." he chuckled. I quickly got the camera out of Sasuke's bag and took a snap shot of the cuddling couple. I wonder what Sasuke's face will look like after he sees this I thought.
We soon got under my blanket. We had to share mine because Naruto and Sasuke were on Gaara's. Both of us didn't mention what had happened outside the tent. Maybe it was one of those random moments that won't happen again. However, I want it to happen again.
I gave out a long yawn and heard Gaara quietly sleeping half a foot away from me. He was facing me and I was looking right at his face. He looks cute when he's sleeping.
I starred at the top of the tent for a while, replaying the event that had just happened outside. I couldn't help but smile. I never felt like this before, I'm totally liking it.
Suddenly, I felt something moving next to me. It was Gaara. He was still fast asleep. A few seconds later, I found Gaara lying right next to my side. He felt cold to my touch. I asked myself if I should do it or not. With much thinking, I decided I should. Slowly and quietly, I placed my arm under Gaara's head and rested my head next to his. The sleeping Gaara then got closer to my body and wrapped his arms around me. It felt so nice.
Making sure Gaara was still sleeping, I gently kissed his forehead. I felt him hugging me tighter.
A few minutes later, I drifted off to dreamland.
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(AN): Please comment and review! I know I made some grammar errors and what nots but I was in a rush to get this uploaded. Hehe, I know its very soft right now… but no worries… its only the fourth chapter right? ((wink))