Chapter Four: Duck

"Took you long enough."

I had attempted to prepare myself for the long hours that I would be spending on high alert just in case a certain somebody wanted to try something, but I don't think I'd get used to the way his eyes stared straight at me as if he was waiting for me to look away before jumping me.

Get used to it… it's not going to change.

"We're here now, and it hasn't even been thirty minutes yet." Shikamaru pointedly glanced at Kiba, who rolled his eyes. "Now, if you all are ready, we'd better head out. Kusagakure isn't exactly a stone's throw away, you know."

I quickly fell into step with Shikamaru, but I took one last look at the gates to Konohagakure.

I'll return to this place completely different, I know that for sure… if I return at all, that is.

I shivered, shaking the thought out of my head. Though this was an A-rank mission, Lady Tsunade had specified that there would be little danger to us… but what she didn't know was that she didn't take one thing into account: my lineage.

There wouldn't be a simple meet and greet with the Nekomura clan like she thought simply because I was with this squad.

"Hey, what's with the face?" With a nudge to my shoulder, I realized that Naruto had caught up to me. "No, I'm fine," I quickly recovered, shooting Naruto a smile. "I'm just thinking about how difficult it is to walk there."

The lame excuse felt sour on my tongue, and Kiyoshi paused to stare up at me. The faint mewl she let out was indecipherable, and she weaved in and out between my feet as I kept walking.

"Say, Kairi!" Naruto had suddenly stopped and held his fist out to me, flinging his index finger out like it was hooked up to a spring and poked my nose. "You're from the Nekomura clan, right? What's it like? Is it easy to get to?"

My gaze dragged itself reluctantly to Shikamaru, who had stopped beside Kiba. The slightest twitch of his eyebrows gave away his worry as well.

I'm going to have to tell them sometime, but not now. I'll be honest when we get closer to our destination.

"I-it's not anything special," I muddled around for a vague explanation. "It's surrounded by trees and stuff… kind of like Konohagakure, but much denser–"

"That's not what he asked." Kiba had stepped toward me, and I flinched when the anger in his posture tensed. "He asked what it was like. That means city life, customs, things that we should be careful of. You know, things that actually matter to this mission."

The rebuke stuck with me even though I had known what Naruto meant from the very beginning. It'd been obvious and I had tried to weasel my way out of explaining it. My fist tightened and all rationality began to disappear.

"Things that matter to the mission, huh?" I brought my face up and met Kiba's angry gaze. Shikamaru and Naruto stood silently, though I couldn't be bothered to see their facial expressions. "I'll tell you, since you're so eager to know. A special custom of my clan is that of hatred for that of yours. I'm sure you know that… but what you don't know is that people in my clan aren't nearly as forgiving as I am. They'll kill you without hesitation just for your lineage."

Kiyoshi pawed at my feet, but I ignored the cub.

I had completely lost my temper, and even though there was a niggling voice in the back of my head that suggested how much I would regret this later, I couldn't help but give into the desire to finally get angry.

"First of all," The snarl in Kiba's voice was obvious now. "I'm not scared of your clan. Second of all, they won't kill me. You think I'd let them just walk all over me?"

"What makes you say that they won't?" I challenged. "Just because I haven't done anything to you doesn't mean they won't."

The bloodthirsty stare that Kiba stuck me with was almost enough to make me snap out of my rage. Almost.

"You haven't done anything to me because you're afraid of me, that's why! I'll kick the shit out of both you and your family if that's what you're asking for, pussy cat."

"I'd like to see you try it!"

"Kairi–"

Shikamaru began to walk toward me, but I stopped him with a glare. Unintentional as it was, my fists had begun to quake as all of the pent-up aggression that I had stored up pertaining to both my clan and the way that I had been treated by both Kiba and even Temari had begun to leak out.

"Listen up," I addressed the whole team, taking a deep breath to prevent myself from getting inconsolably angry once more. "Even though Lady Tsunade said that this mission wouldn't be difficult, she was wrong."

My sudden burst of fury was beginning to subside, and I knew it was so when I felt the dread that I usually did when speaking to Kiba directly.

Lady Tsunade shouldn't have sent me. Why didn't I just tell her that having me on this mission endangers my entire squad?

The answer was simple; I wanted to go back to my home. I wanted to face what I had been hiding from for so long. I wanted to see my family.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto seemed oblivious to my sudden explosion. "Granny Tsunade might be old, but she knows what she's doing! She wouldn't have put us together if she didn't think it would be beneficial."

"Forget that," Kiba shouldered his way past Naruto to stand so close to me that I could feel the disgust radiate off of him. "If you're so scared, you can just go home, pussy cat. The three of us can handle this ourselves – if this task was so safe, according to Tsunade, we don't need a medical ninja with us, anyway… especially one that happens to be as pathetic as you!"

Kiyoshi had stepped away from the confrontation, and I positioned myself between Kiba and the cub. This was the first time that I could think of that I actually wanted him to try and fight me – I wouldn't be holding back.

Though, the other side of me protested, knowing that it would only end badly. I couldn't even imagine the difference in our physical strength – seeing as I focus primarily on healing and nurturing while this guy goes apeshit for a living.

"I can't disobey orders!" I snapped back, my fingers beginning to quake with the sudden need to acquaint his cheek with my knuckles. "Besides, I'm not scared! Not of this predicament, and especially not of you!"

My voice echoed through the forest, causing wildlife to momentarily freeze as if danger was on its way. Both Shikamaru and Naruto stared between Kiba and I, wondering what would happen next, but I couldn't blame them.

They're hoping neither of us jumps on the other. In all honesty, I'm about to be the one doing the jumping!

After I had risen my voice, Kiba appeared to cock an eyebrow in my direction. There was something different about the smug way that his pupils danced when I began to take a deep breath. It was as if he decided that I'd finally fucked up.

"Funny," Kiba muttered, a ghost of a sneer on his features. "Somehow, I feel like you're lying, pussy cat."

I opened my mouth, the white-hot rage bubbling back over, but I was interrupted:

"That's about enough of that," Shikamaru pushed his way between Kiba and I sternly glancing between the two of us as if we were quarreling children. "It'd be stellar if you two could even just pretend to get along. We've got a long way to go, and you've got another thing coming if you think I'm going to listen to you two fight the whole way."

I backed down immediately; Shikamaru was right- it wasn't fair for he or Naruto to have to deal with us bickering – but not without a glare in Kiba's direction.

"Fine."

"Yeah, whatever," Kiba huffed, turning his back on both Shikamaru and I. "As long as she stays out of my way."

For the next seven hours, which were riddled with Naruto's frequent restroom and snack breaks, we travelled in near-silence, each of us entangled in our own minds. For me, it was wrestling with guilt and disgust. On one hand, I was upset about how I had let Kiba be the reason why I lost my cool and even how a lot of the things that I had said were uncalled for. On the other hand, he deserved it for all of the crap that I had been forced to put up with… and he shares the blame stemming from what we said to each other. I struggled with whether or not I was going to apologize to him, but I almost couldn't bring myself to be the bigger person because of what he had said to me.

"Go home! We don't need you."

The words echoed in my mind, though I knew that even if I had the option to defy orders, we were already about seven and a half hours out of the way.

You know you thought about actually turning around and walking away like he suggested. Coward!

The gross, degrading thoughts had bubbled up to their maximum, and the only thing that I had to counter them was Naruto. Since Kiba and I had exchanged words, Shikamaru ordered that Kiba take the lead and I take the back, with he and Naruto to act as our buffer, so that we wouldn't be subject to speaking to each other throughout the day. The change in our formation had allowed Naruto to keep me company.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" I skidded to a halt beside Naruto, who had stopped to catch his breath while addressing our squad leader. "Do you think we can make camp somewhere around here? It's starting to get dark out."

I kept my gaze trained on Shikamaru, though I couldn't help but allow my eyes to be drawn to Kiba and Akamaru, who had stopped a couple of meters ahead of Shikamaru. He hadn't said much of anything since our fight, which was understandable; I had straight up told him that the Nekomura clan just might kill him on-sight, but even I knew that wasn't the full story.

I only said it that way to have even just one second of dominance over him. I didn't intend anything to come of it…

"It's still light out. I figure we can get a little more distance in before we really should set up–"

"I really think we should rest," I cut in, glancing at Naruto and Kiyoshi, who had both begun to slowly sink to the ground, seeing as we finally stopped for a moment. "Naruto and Kiyoshi are exhausted, and at the pace we've picked up, the journey has shortened from four days to three."

Shikamaru studied me from afar, and finally sighed. "Alright. We'll find somewhere near a water supply and camp there."

I nodded gratefully, careful not to make the mistake of appearing too close to our squad leader, even though we were practically family. That wouldn't be professional.

At a much slower and relaxed pace, our team searched for a water source, which was found swiftly by Akamaru.

"The closest place that we can camp is about fifty meters away, due to the heavy underbrush. We can't have that, just in case we've got company. Even though this mission isn't supposed to be dangerous, I'm sure all of you have learned that letting your guard down proves harmful."

Shikamaru's orders were easy to follow, as we trekked back to where Naruto and Kiyoshi had initially begun to tire. The small, open field was perfect for setting up our camp, and we got straight to work, gathering rocks for a fire pit.

"Thanks, Kairi!" Naruto got my attention. He earnestly stared at me and gave me a bright, Naruto-smile. "I'd have been done for if you hadn't convinced Shikamaru to stop for the night!"

Through my own exhaustion, I smiled back. There was this odd, tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach when I answered back:

"It wasn't a problem – I was getting tired, too."

The smile began to fade off of my face before I could pretend that it wasn't, and Naruto tilted his head.

"Did what Kiba said to you upset you?"

I nodded shamefully. "Not just that, but I feel horrible about what I said back. I didn't–"

My throat began to go dry. I'm oversharing. Naruto doesn't need to know half of this stuff!

Naruto's answer was a nod in my direction. "Yep! You two were straight up brutal to each other – I was almost afraid that if I jumped in, I'd be eaten alive!"

My ears burned in shame. I really was too harsh – I didn't mean half of those things… especially the parts when I told him that I wasn't afraid. Now, I'm even more terrified of what he'll do to me, now that I retaliated so angrily.

"But uh, Kairi?" Naruto continued, and his earnest expression amplified. "Do you think that you'd–"

"Kairi," Shikamaru got my attention from a few meters away. "Come here for a second."

I turned back to Naruto, who seemed embarrassed to be cut off.

"What'd you want to say?"

"Uh! It was nothing, really!"

My eyebrow rose, but I quickly excused myself and ran toward Shikamaru, who waited on me with Kiyoshi by his feet. The cub whined, though I assumed that she was hungry, and Shikamaru crossed his arms across his chest.

"Are you okay?" His voice had dropped significantly, though both Naruto and Kiba were good distances away. "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry about–"

"Please." Shikamaru held a hand up to stop me. "What was with that between you and Kiba?"

I knew he wasn't going to simply ask if I was okay.

"I lost my temper, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less."

The birds in the background gave the impression of peace, and I even paused for a moment to take note of which birds they were through sound:

Mockingbird… Lark… and I think I hear a Grosbeak, too.

"So, you've started watching the birds again, have you?" Shikamaru easily changed the subject, snapping me back into reality. The concern across his face was obvious, and I shook my head immediately. "No, just listening to them. I haven't birdwatched in years now."

Exasperation crossed his features as he turned and opened his backpack, pulling out four canteens.

"I brought these for when we've stopped for the night. Do you mind going to fill them up?"

He just wants me out of his hair for a little while.

"Sure," I carried them with ease, though Kiyoshi swiped at the straps that dangled in front of her face. "I can fill them if you can keep the little one occupied while I'm gone."

"Done."

The minute I had left the clearing, the weight seemed to slide off of my shoulders.

I'm finally all by myself. With relief came anxiety, yet I shook that away. I'm only going to get water and then I'll be right back.

The short trek came to an end when I began to hear the relaxing dribble of running water. I knelt down to fill up the first container, but a rustling stopped me. The scent that passed by my nose was easily identifiable.

"So, I guess you could hear me coming, pussy cat?"

My blood began to freeze as I came to a crossroads. What do I do?

"Well, it isn't exactly difficult to hear your clumsy ass coming, especially when you step on twigs and leaves along the way," I tried to make it sound, you know, funny. As if I was joking with someone like Naruto, just to lighten the mood. "Besides, you approached from downwind, and if you were hoping to surprise me, you should have come from–"

I slowly prepared myself to apologize. Without even turning to face Kiba, I knew he was angry just by his aura. Naturally, what I'd said earlier was pretty infuriating.

Hopefully, if I apologize, he'll apologize as well. I just don't want conflict.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" The simple growl in his throat told me one thing and one thing only: I definitely wouldn't be receiving an apology back. "I see what your game is, and I'm here to tell you straight out that I'm not falling for that shit anymore."

I had finished filling the second canteen, and by now, I had placed it carefully on the ground beside me and stood to face my aggressor. His jaw had visibly tightened, and the more confusion I showed, the angrier he seemed to become.

"Don't look at me like you're confused!" Kiba shouted at me, and I glanced behind me at the rushing water. I couldn't back away like I usually did. "You only act like you can stand up to me when there are other people around. You only sass me when there's someone there to stand up for you. Guess what? Nobody's around but us now."

Immediately, I turned to my right. If I'm fast enough, I can slip away from–

He grabbed ahold of my shoulder, clamping down on it and closing the distance between the two of us easily.

"Nice try, but I'm not letting you off this time, pussy cat." My hands went limp beside me as I felt the cold fear fill my stomach. He was right – I'd only said those things because I knew that he couldn't do anything at the time. Now... "Got somethin' to say?"

I shook my head frantically, hoping that if I complied, he wouldn't attack me. His grip tightened on my shoulder, and I let out a squeak.

"You sure you don't have anything to say? Sure seemed like you had plenty to say before."

The triumph in his features told me everything. I was trapped. There wasn't anything else that I could do but give in: "I–I'm sorry!"

I broke. He'd forced it out of me. I thought I'd have time to civilly tell him that I was sorry and that I'd made a mistake by saying those things, but being flat out manipulated into it now.

"Sorry for what?" The faux innocence that Kiba gave me gave me goose bumps. It was so genuine that I almost had trouble discerning this fakeness for the truth. "Care to elaborate?"

I took a deep breath. Now, it wasn't the fear that was taking over. Adrenaline began to course through my veins, and I realized that it was that fight-or-flight instinct that appeared to attempt to sway me.

It slipped. I hadn't meant to say it, but there was no taking it back once it'd happened:

"Sorry for getting your hopes up; I guess you still think I'm afraid of y–"

Smack.

My head ricocheted to my left, and I bit my tongue as the pain sunk in.

He just… smacked me!

My right cheek began to sting, and so did my eyes. The sudden pain mixed with the fear that had been suppressed and nullified by adrenaline began to resurface with the tears that began to bead in my eyes.

I can't escape unless he lets me go. I'd never attack a teammate, no matter who it is! I'd never attack a teammate!

"Don't piss me off anymore, or you'll regret it."

He let go of my shoulder, but took another moment to stare at my cheek… where he'd hit me.

I earned that smack. I can't be upset about it. I earned that. I shouldn't have said that.

Though, my inner thoughts contradicted the outermost ones.

I wanted to say it. I wanted to see what would happen. I wanted to see if I could stand up to him… and now I know that it's possible without shutting down.

Though, as soon as he'd let me go, I noticed a moment of disconnect: in this single, short second, the prideful, smug attitude of his disappeared. What I saw was confusion, as if he didn't know where he was… as if he didn't know why he had hit me.

What's that look for?

Without a second glance, the superior leer appeared back on his face and he turned to leave, and I sunk to the ground as his noisy footsteps faded into the underbrush.

I filled the last two canteens with shaky hands, wondering exactly what just happened. I had already inspected the slap I had received, and it only stung because I hadn't expected it.

It'll go away on its own. I don't need to treat it – there's nothing to treat.

The blank, confused stare that he'd stuck me with before he had left was what really worried me, though. What had gone through his mind?

I shook my head, clearing it, as I geared up to walk back to our clearing. Though, I couldn't help but glance up at the sky and watch the birds go by.

If only I could be like them…

After their altercation, Kiba made the short trek back toward the camp, but it was shortly interrupted:

"Hey, Kiba!" Naruto sped toward him, staring around. "Do you know where Kairi is? Shikamaru said he sent her out to get some water for us, but it's taking her a long time… and I had to tell her something, too!"

"As if I care."

Naruto only seemed to get more curious and talkative the more Kiba denied seeing her.

"So, you have seen her! Where?"

"She should be back in a bit, don't worry about it. She can take care of herself, you know."

"Well… I know that! It's just…" Naruto stopped there. "Just that, you know… I was about to ask her if she'd ever like me. You know, like more than a friend."

Kiba actually had to stop and stare at his blonde friend. Was he really this stupid?

"You're serious?"

"Well, yeah! I mean, she's pretty and she doesn't treat me like garbage, why not? I'm just trying to broaden my horizons. Remember when I dated Sakura?"

Kiba laughed at that. "I remember the time you told me she had to dump you because of Sas–"

Naruto hit him with a glare. "She told me she 'wasn't ready for a relationship', which is fair considering her reasoning."

"Didn't you cry for a couple of days–?"

"I said it was fair, not good," Naruto dismissed that, but went on. "But, Kairi! We haven't talked much, but I've just been thinking that since she's so nice and she's kinda new, I thought I'd take a chance. I mean, I wouldn't ask her out anywhere without actually knowing if she'd be into me, which is what I was going to ask her!"

Kiba had stopped listening after he'd mentioned pussy cat's name. His mind kept darting back to their conversation both earlier and minutes ago, but with Naruto's babbling, he couldn't make sense of it all.

Shikamaru stared at both Kiba and Naruto from afar, hearing every bit of their conversation, and approached the two.

"Naruto, do you really think you stand a chance with Kairi?"

"Wh–? Shikamaru! Eavesdropping is rude!"

The ponytailed ninja smiled and shrugged. "That's beside the point. Do you?"

"Well, I was going to ask her that!" Naruto defended himself, crossing his arms across his chest. "I would have been able to, if you hadn't interrupted–"

"You think I couldn't tell what your intentions were? I could read the look on your face from where I was standing that you were about to do something stupid, so I saved you and sent Kairi out to get us some water. You should be thanking me."

Naruto grimaced, but declined to say much else, though Shikamaru turned to Kiba.

"So, you came from the direction that I sent Kairi in. Did you see her?"

The lie floated around in his headspace – of course he didn't see her. Why would he admit to seeing her knowing that when she returned with the mark that he had left on her face that he would be the first suspect?

Then, nothing worthwhile would come out of telling such a bullshit lie, which left him with a difficult, on-the-spot choice to make: should he tell the truth… or hope to get away with a lie that pussy cat hopefully wouldn't expose?

I stepped into the clearing with all four of the canteens in my arms, and I noticed all three of my teammates stood together, speaking freely.

"…Did you see her?"

Shikamaru faced Kiba, and I knew that he had just asked about me. My throat tightened as I watched the Inuzuka pause, as if he wasn't sure what Shikamaru had said. I stood quietly, hoping no one would turn around and address me.

Did I walk into something?

The question had an obvious answer to it – one that only Kiba and I knew. My chest tightened when he settled on his answer:

"No, and if I had, I would have told both of you."

Why is he lying?

However, my cover was blown when Kiyoshi jumped up from her comfortable position on her dirt ground and sprinted toward me. Shikamaru turned and saw me first.

"There you are; we were about to come looking for you." Shikamaru was the only one who approached me; Kiba walked in Akamaru's direction without looking back and Naruto just stood around, looking confused. "What took you so long?"

I bit my tongue. I should tell him about Kiba, shouldn't I? He'd want to know if anything like this was going on when we're not on a mission, so why shouldn't I tell him now? He lied.Though, I couldn't bring myself to do it. The situation between us was something that I'd have to take care of myself.

"I got lost along the way." I laughed it off, trying to sound genuine. If Shikamaru was suspicious of something, he didn't let on. "Make sure not to get lost next time. I'm glad you're safe."

As he skirted over my face, his eyes landed on my cheek, and I could read the thought right off of his face:

"Where the hell did you get that?"

I braced myself for him to say it, but instead, he sighed and motioned toward the campfire they had started in my absence.

"Let's go put these down and we can all sit by the fire."

I shuffled away and did what I was told, carefully putting the canteens in a position where they wouldn't accidentally spill, and I watched as my other three teammates begin to sit.

"Hey, Kairi! Sit next to me!" Naruto waved in my direction, and I smiled. "Okay."

Kiyoshi weaseled her way onto my lap and I began to pet her. She began to purr as Naruto nudged me.

"Kairi, Kairi! Take a look at the fire!" I did as I was told, but stared back at Naruto, confused. "I started it! All by myself!"

I nodded. "That's pretty cool, Naru–"

"No, he didn't." Shikamaru answered simply. He flipped open his lighter, illuminating his darkening face. "He's trying to impress you, but he's failing miserably."

Impress me.

My mind flashed back to my horoscope, and I couldn't help but smile. It warmed me, the thought that someone like Naruto would even attempt to impress me, seeing as I didn't know him very well.

I guess I've never really seen my own appeal – not since I left home.

The warmth faded to cold when I watched Kiba and Akamaru approach the fire and sit beside Shikamaru. He didn't appear any different than usual – to the naked eye. I slowly watched the realization of the lie that he told spread across his face through the drainage of his usual attitude.

"Hey, Shikamaru," I addressed my best friend playfully, and his face immediately went blank, trying to decipher what I was getting onto. "Did you mention what happened between you and Temari yesterday?"

He cocked his eyebrow in my direction, shaking his head. "It's nothing they would care much about."

"But," I attempted to steer the conversation somewhere, even if it was at Shikamaru's expense. "Aren't both Naruto and Kiba friends of yours from the Academy? I'm sure they'd like to know."

Naruto had already been caught up in my sweet-talking: "What's going on, Shikamaru? What happened between you and Temari? I wanna know!"

Even Kiba had looked up from his thought and lightheartedly took his fist to Shikamaru's shoulder. "Yeah, you can't exactly keep secrets from the two of us, you know!"

"Well, we're engaged." The reveal was flat, as if Shikamaru could hardly care to let anyone know what the "big secret" was. "Kairi's trying to make it sound more glorious than it–"

"Woah!" Naruto immediately jumped up from his seat beside me, his sudden movement blowing the fire in Shikamaru and Kiba's direction for a moment. "Why didn't you just say so? You're the first to become Chunin, but now you're also the first to tie the knot?"

Kiba jumped in, too. "I didn't think you cared much about women, Shikamaru… much less settling down with one!"

I welcomed the good vibes emanating from everyone, and I sat back, enjoying it. It was a first, seeing Shikamaru publically embarrassed in the presence of his friends, as well as having Kiba a meter away and not feeling nearly the amount of fear that I would had we been in Konohagakure.

I hope our teamwork improves, just for this mission. Then, after all of this is over, everything can go back to the way it was. I just want us to be able to stick through this until then.

Night had rolled around quickly, given everyone's light moods and Shikamaru being forced to tell the story front to back on how he and Temari had gotten engaged. For obvious reasons, he left out the part that I had supposedly been the real one who had done the "dirty work", simply because Kiba was present. I was surprised when Kiba didn't utter one negative word in my direction, not even when Shikamaru had split up our night shifts.

"Alright, even though we're still in the Land of Fire, the smart thing to do is set up a watch. We'll trade off every three hours in this order: Me, Kiba, Kairi, Naruto… and before you complain," Naruto had readied himself with an excuse, but Shikamaru saw straight through it. "I'm taking first watch because I can clearly manipulate more shadows when the light from the sun and the moon have them in this position. Naruto, you're last because you're always full of energy and ready to go. Your watch ends when we get going in the morning."

I hadn't thought much of it, but it was when I had already agreed to Shikamaru's orders that Kiba would be the one waking me up for my watch.

The tents had finally been set up, though I couldn't even get mine to stay upright without Naruto's help, and Shikamaru put his hands on his hips, cracking his back.

"Are we all good?"

I nodded in unison with the rest of my teammates, though I noticed that Kiyoshi had already begun to retreat into our tent. I couldn't blame her; she was hardly eight months old and making one of her first long trips – she had an excuse to be exhausted.

"Alright then. Kiba, I'll be waking you up in three hours."

Everyone heeded the dismissal, and I crawled into my tent. It wasn't necessarily big, but it was enough to put down my stuff and make a comfortable sleeping area for both Kiyoshi and I. The silence was nice – perfect for my usual ritual.

I rummaged through my bag for a flashlight, finding one in my first-aid kit. Next, I fiddled for my horoscopes, and I went to today's entry, taking a pen from my bag as well and began circling things that didn't happen today and underlining things that did:

"Positive energy is all around you right now, and it's protecting you from any bad energy that jealous people might be putting out. You won't have to worry about the unexpected popping up and throwing you off your stride – in fact, you might even welcome the one or two hiccups that are likely. Someone who has wanted your attention will be a lot more obvious about it today – try to make time for them to show you what they've got. They are out to impress you!"

I continued to underline everything, but I stopped, mulling over the last two sentences. A smile crept up on my face when I thought about Naruto. It was interesting, how I'd dismissed that this morning, but now it made a lot more sense.

I've underlined almost the entire thing… maybe horoscopes are proving to be worthwhile.

Worthwhile.

The word echoed in my head, and I dropped my pen, scaring myself with the loud thought.

Why? Why had I just thought that? What the hell was I doing, trying to prove myself wrong?

I took the book and the pencil and hid them underneath my bag as if I wasn't supposed to be looking at them. Kiyoshi rose from her brief nap, but I shook my head in her direction, hoping she would go back to sleep.

I don't actually believe these things, do I?

Do I?

Author's Note:

Nothing like a little vague-ness to end this one! I'm sorry this chapter took a while – I had to rewrite it a couple of times to get it to work out because I wasn't really initially happy with it at first.

Did I tell you all how nice your reviews are? No, seriously! Thank you so much for all of your support! I really appreciate it and I'm glad all of you like where this is headed! Please keep it up!

I hope this chapter was alright – I wasn't planning on having Kairi lose her temper so early, but that's okay. We needed to see a different side of her for a change! As you can see, her temper is characterized by using sass, but it's pretty short-lived. Maybe I'm going somewhere with that… there's your hint for this chapter.

Figuring out Kairi's cryptic-ness? I'm trying not to make it easy, so don't feel bad if it's confusing or anything. I hope it comes off as interesting and not annoying. There are a lot of things that I'm planning on letting onto in the next couple of chapters that are, you know, pretty important. Hopefully you like what I'm doing!

Though this story is not in third-person, I used to do the random POV change that I just did so that I have an opportunity to show you a little bit of what goes on when Kairi isn't around, because, you know, the world still turns without the main character and I'd miss out on some extra stuff. I hope it isn't annoying or anything! It won't happen a lot, but I'll let you guys onto some stuff while I'm at it.

Thanks for your awesome reviews again, and next chapter will be much easier to write!

~Teafully~