For the next few weeks things died down, everyone started going out on missions again and now that the academy was in full swing I didn't have lessons through the day leaving me with nothing to do. I would hang out with whoever was still here but mostly I was on my own, it was one of these boring lonely days that I headed out to a waterfall that was nearby. I dived into the deepest part of the water and swam down as far as I could before my ears started to hurt, I stayed under the water for as long as my lungs could handle but as I was swimming up I saw someone else dive in. They put their hands around my waist and started to pull me up then they carried me out laying me on the grass.
I was to stunned for words, I had no idea who this stranger was, his hair was a bright red and with his hair wet it was slightly below his ears. He also had a huge gourd on his back, and his eyes sent a chill down my spine, there was something about him that made me weary.
"Are you ok?" he asked moving closer to my face
I must have stopped breathing because I found myself coughing and gasping for air, he looked concerned but he also didn't seem to know what to do.
"I'm sorry, I'm fine, just forgot how to breathe for a bit" I said once I was over my coughing fit
"You should be more careful" he said walking away
"WAIT!" I called out jumping to my feet "what's your name?"
"Gaara"
"From the land hidden in the sand?"
"Yes" he said facing me
"I'm friends with Naruto, he has told me about you, as have the others"
"I have not met you before"
"I'm not a ninja so I don't go out on missions with them... oh speaking of missions Naruto is out on one so if you're here to see him..."
"I am here as the kazekage to speak to the land hidden in the leaves Hokage" he stated
"Oh... do you know where to find her? If you don't I could show you, as a thank you for helping me"
"Very well" he said walking away
"He's heading in the right direction... he knows how to get there" I thought with a sigh "oh well, always wanted to meet him anyway"
I caught up to him and we walked in silence, every now and then I tried to peek a look at the tattoo that was said to be on his forehead, I guess he noticed because he stopped walking and folded his arms.
"What is it?" he asked sounding extremely annoyed
"Oh well I heard you had a tattoo..."
With a sigh he pulled up his wet hair reviling the tattooed word 'love' in red.
"Did it hurt?"
"Yes but the pain was nothing to me"
Things were quiet again as we walked down the streets, a few people turned to look at us or maybe to look at him, I wasn't too sure. After taking him to the Hokage I waited outside for him to finish, he wasn't in there for long but I don't think he expected me to still be around.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
"Are you hungry?" I asked him with a smile "mum was making me lunch today and she always makes enough to feed a small army and I'm sure you have journeyed a long way and you should rest after a long trip"
"I don't even know you're name" he pointed out walking away
"Its Suki" I said running after him "so what do you say? As a thank you for saving me"
"It worked last time I said that"
"You have already repaid me"
"... my life is only worth directions... not even a meal... well I understand" I sighed walking away with my head down
I heard him groan in frustration as he fell into pace with me.
"I can't stay long"
"Great!" I shouted cheering up
I took him back to my place where the smell of food was already drifting out of the house, since there haven't been as many lessons mum had taken up cooking once more and even though her meals were yummy she cooked way too much for just 3 people.
"I'm home" I called out opening the door
"Welcome home" mum called from the kitchen "you're just in time for lunch"
"I bought a friend with me today"
I took of my shoes placing them near my flats and bandages then waited for Gaara to take his off before closing the door and walking towards the kitchen.
"A friend? Wonderful, the more the merrier"
"... yeah don't worry about mum... she has this small obsession with cooking and feeding people... you'll be fine though the real problem is da..."
Before I could finish my sentence dad's head was poking out of the kitchen, he looked at me then tried to catch a look at Gaara behind me. Not being able to see him properly dad got up and walked towards us with his serious face.
"Dad this is Gaara, Gaara this is my dad Tomo Hiten"
Neither one said anything; they just kind of had a glaring match.
"Where are you from, haven't seen you around before" dad asked after a long silence
"I am the kazekage from the land hidden in the sand, I was here on business"
"kazekage or not, if you lay one hand on my daughter..." he stopped mid-sentence and seemed to be thinking hard for a few moments "you don't have a dog do you?"
"No.."
"The one with the dog is Kiba dad"
"THERE'S TWO!"
"I didn't want to have to do this to you dad but you leave me no choice, MUM!"
"What is it now?" she sighed walking up behind dad "oh hello, I don't believe we have met"
"Mum Gaara, Gaara my mum Takara Hiten"
"It's always nice to meet Suki's friends, come in, come in, there's plenty of food for everyone"
"We would love to but..."
"Dear why don't you go put your feet up, I'll bring lunch in soon" she said pushing dad into the living area
"But..."
"Come on you two; don't want everything to get cold"
Dad gave in grumbling to himself as he sat down on the couch, with that problem fixed I gave Gaara a smile before continuing down the hall to the kitchen. Everything was quiet during lunch, I didn't really know what to say to him and with mum and dad in the other room I felt a little nervous.
"Sooo... do you ever take that gourd of?"
"No"
"Doesn't it get in the way?"
"No"
"... Why do you carry it?"
"It has my sand in it"
"Oh you're sand... of course... actually I think Naruto mentioned something about that... yeah that's right, he said it had a mind of its own or something like that, that it protects you. Is that true?"
"Yes"
"Sounds cool"
"Hmm"
After lunch I ended up walking him to the gate only to find Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Hinata checking back in.
"Hey guys!" I called out with a wave
They all turned to look at me, Hinata waved, Shino just continued what he was doing but Kiba didn't look too happy, my guess was something happened on the mission.
"Suki what are you doing here?" Hinata asked once we were all face to face
"I'm seeing off Gaara" I explained
"What are you doing here?" Kiba asked rather harshly
"I am Gaara of the village hidden in the sand; I can go where I please"
The air was thick with tension between those two, even Akamaru was growling, standing up for Kiba of course but I decided someone should probably step in soon.
"sooo... uhhh... well it was nice meeting you Gaara, I hope you have a safe trip, next time you come don't be shy ok, ill treat you to lunch or something... away from my house" I said with a small giggle
He broke the glare with Kiba and nodded before walking out of Konoha, once he was gone I sighed a little relived that the tension was gone to.
"What were you doing with him?" Kiba asked me
"Like I said, I was seeing him off" I shrugged turning around and heading back into the city "so how was the mission?"
"It was a standard mission" Shino said "everything was completed as requested"
"Then what's with grumpy?" I asked hinting at Kiba "oh let me guess, no bad guys right?"
"HEY!" Kiba shouted
"Is Naruto back yet?" Hinata asked quietly cutting Kiba off
"Not yet"
I heard the loud dong of the clock tower signalling 3oclock, I was on the outskirts of Konoha and my class was going to be at my house in 30 minutes, and I hadn't even set up the gym yet.
"Oh man, I have to go, I'm going to be late for the lessons, dinner tonight at the usual place?"
I didn't wait for an answer, I sprinted of and headed towards the gym, I managed to get it set up just in time for everyone to arrive. After classes I headed upstairs to change, I got changed into a free flowing black skirt that I didn't like to wear that much but I hadn't done my washing so it was all I head. I also put on a long sleeve black shirt that was a little tight showing of my curves and a loose dark blue shirt over top that reached just below my chest then I brushed my hair down and grabbed my dark blue headband. Once I was dressed and clean I headed downstairs and put my blue ninja shoes on I got from Hinata a while back and headed out.
Mum and dad had night training with a few of the students from the academy so I was extra happy to have people back I could eat with. Once I entered I noticed 3 things wrong, 1 Akamaru was nowhere in sight, 2 Lee was here and 3 Kiba wasn't.
"Hey guys, room for one more?" I asked smiling at them
"You look nice Suki" Hinata blushed
"Thankyou Hina, so Lee Lee didn't know you were back, where are the others?"
"They could not make it" he announced
"I see... and Kiba?"
"He said he had things to do" Hinata quietly said
"Who needs dog boy when we have Lee Lee" I smiled brightly
I took my seat next to Hinata and we all started to talk happily, well Shino didn't talk much but he did point out whenever Kiba did something reckless on the mission. Even though I was happy and having fun I found my mind drifting to Kiba, it wasn't like him to miss out on a meal like this not without telling someone in great detail why he was missing out, normally something to do with his mum.
"Did you want one of us to walk you home?" Hinata asked as we stood outside
"I'll walk you home! It's my job as a shinobi" Lee announced
"I'll be fine; I'll see you guys later"
I headed home and by the lack of lights on in the house I guessed my parents weren't home still so I decided to go for a little walk. I was just wandering around with no destination in mind only to end up outside Kiba's house, I knew that Hinata said he was busy but something about it just didn't seem right so I walked up to his front door and knocked on it. His mum answered the door looking down at me, she was a nice lady... most of the time but she did have a bit of a temper and it was impossible to tell what kind of mood she was in.
"Yes?"
"Is Kiba home?"
"Yeah" she said moving away "he's in his room"
I walked inside and she closed the door behind me then started to walk away.
"Down the hall on the left" she called out
"Well he can't be too busy if she's letting me see him..."
I walked down the hall to his room that had a large 'KEEP OUT' sign on the door; with a slight chuckle to myself I knocked on the door. He pulled the door open with an annoyed expression but once he realised it was me his face changed completely, he didn't say anything, he just stood there staring at me making me feel rather uncomfortable.
"Stop staring at me like that" I yelled with a blush
"You look nice"
I was sure my face was red all over by this point; all I could do was giggle nervously.
"I'm home!" a girl called out
Kiba looked terrified then he grabbed my wrist and pulled me into his room, I was going to yell at him but he held his hand over my mouth and pulled me close to his chest.
"I'm just grabbing a few things then I'm heading back out, new mission just came up" the voice called through the house
I heard footsteps walk past his closed door a few times until they yelled out a bye and the front door was closed, he let me go with a sigh and moved over to his bed where Akamaru was sleeping.
"What was that about?" I asked still blushing
"My sister" he said simply
"Uhuh... so where were you tonight?"
"I was doing stuff"
"Oh... I was hoping you would be at dinner"
He muttered something under his breath and I thought I heard Gaara's name but I wasn't too sure.
"Did something happen?"
"What are you on about?"
"... were friends right? So that means you can tell me things... like when something is bothering you"
"Do you like anyone?" he asked suddenly
I did not expect that, and I didn't have any idea where that came from, it wasn't because Kiba liked me... right?
"wh-why do you want to know?" I asked blushing again
"You said were friends right, so tell me"
"Not exactly what I meant... if I tell you will you tell me why you really missed dinner?"
"Fine"
"To be honest... I don't know, I mean there is one guy that I'm kinda close with but I dunno... I guess I do kinda like him"
"Who is it?"
"I'm not telling you!" I shrieked
"Is it that sand boy?"
"What Gaara? I only just met him today" I pointed out "now tell me what's bothering you"
"It's your birthday soon right?"
"Uhhh yeah..."
"He's changing the subject on me?"
"And you'll be 15 ay?"
"17" I corrected with a frown
"I'm going by your height" he smirked
I continued to frown at him, I knew I wasn't the tallest person around but still I did not look like a 15 year old.
"Are you doing anything?" he asked looking down at Akamaru
"Not really" I shrugged
"That's good"
"Good? You're acting strange Kiba"