Thanks for reading and reviewing my last chapter everybody!!
mathcraze: Be patient. True love doesn't blossom overnight. Sakumo and Kukiko will eventually get together. But, not right away of course. Thanks for the review!
Raven the Ravenous: Lulz! XD Yeah, the Chunnin exams are over. Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do however own Kukiko, her Iwa team and her mom.
A few days later, the battles were all completed. Everybody had recovered from their injuries and Torao had summoned Takeshi for a brief chat. Sakumo was summoned by the Hokage for a meeting.
Kukiko was out at the river; she had taken her shoes off and was dangling her feet into the water.
She was trying to avoid her mother. Ever since she got out of the infirmary, Ayaka had been by her side all the time. She even had Kukiko move out of her hotel room that she was sharing with Daijiro and Takeshi and into a new room with her. Kukiko had spent all of the money that she had brought with her and her mother was nagging her about managing her money more responsibly. Ayaka was disappointed that Kukiko didn't budget her money like she told Kukiko everyday for the week before the Chunnin exams to do so.
Now that the exams were over, they were about to head back to Iwa. A part of Kukiko didn't want to leave yet, another part of her was excited to go home and sleep in her own bed. Daijiro and Maki had their first date the previous night. It obviously went well because Kukiko could see those two kissing on the park bench across the river. Kukiko smirked at how depressed Daijiro would be on the journey home.
It was quiet for the next couple of minutes, and then Kukiko saw Takeshi headed towards her. She waved at him as he reached her. "What's up?" She asked him. "What did Torao-sensei want from you?"
"I made Chunnin. He wanted to congratulate me. He had this goofy grin on his face the entire time." Takeshi replied.
"Congratulations on making Chunnin, Takeshi! Can you show me your vest?" Kukiko asked him, looking for the vest.
"Torao-sensei told me that the Tsuchikage will be giving it to me when we get home." He explained to her. "Oh that reminds me! Torao-sensei wanted me to tell you and Daijiro that we are heading back to Iwa tomorrow morning. He wants us to pack our things immediately, since we are leaving early."
With that said, Takeshi forced chakra into his feet and then he crossed the river to speak with Daijiro. Daijiro looked furious at Takeshi for interrupting him and Maki. Kukiko's smile had slipped to a frown during the conversation. She watched the three across the river. Daijiro went from being furious to depressed, as Kukiko predicted he would. He hugged Maki, it seems like he was already saying goodbye to her. Maki's tears started to fall upon his shoulder, she couldn't hold it in. Takeshi had left a while ago to pack his things.
Kukiko decided to leave the couple and head towards the hotel. But as she started walking towards the hotel, she veered away from the path and headed to look for Sakumo. She found him in front of the Hokage Tower. There was a man with him with silver hair like Sakumo and he wore a large grin upon his face. She eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Son, I couldn't be more proud of you!! The Hatake clan will be respected now that my son has made Chunnin before that obnoxious Uchiha brat!" The man said embracing Sakumo in a hug.
"Father! That is my cellmate you are referring to!" Sakumo responded, pushing his father away. Kukiko could then see him holding his Chunnin vest under his armpit.
"So! Cellmate or not, I will have something to gloat about at the Clan Head meeting!" He laughed.
Rolling his eyes, he shouted towards the shadows; "Kukiko. I know you are there! Come out and stop hiding now!"
"Damn!" Kukiko whispered to herself and she walked out of her hiding spot and closer to them. "I don't know how you can keep on doing that!"
"It's easy. You are not good at being stealthy. A regular person, not trained to be a shinobi could hear you." Sakumo replied.
"Not true! You just have super powered hearing!!" Kukiko retorted!
Sakumo smirked and turned towards his father, who seemed curious about the girl and her relationship with Sakumo. "Father, this is Kagome Kukiko. She is one of the Iwa representatives for this exam."
"Nice to meet you Hatake-san." Kukiko said holding out her hand, which he took.
"Nice to meet you too… Oh! I remember you! Sakumo whopped your butt during the exams didn't he?"
Kukiko tried not to glare lasers at him for respect and nodded. "Yes, Hatake-san. He did."
"Please, call me Isamu! I'm not that fond of the formality." Isamu said with a grin.
Sakumo tried to cover his embarrassment by changing the subject. "So, Kukiko. Any reason you decided to come and eavesdrop on a conversation between my father and me?"
"Oh… I wanted to tell you something." Kukiko said hesitating.
"Well? What is it?" Sakumo said trying to get her to hurry. Isamu stood there with a grin still plastered upon his face.
"Um...well…congratulations on becoming Chunnin and also I wanted to inform you that my team and I are heading home tomorrow morning. I wanted to say goodbye to you before I started packing."
Sakumo then replied "Okay then, goodbye." He started to walk away from the two, his father said bye to Kukiko and followed Sakumo.
Kukiko looked shocked at him and said her goodbye quickly and rushed to the hotel. She reached the hotel doors when she started to cry. "I knew he wouldn't care. Why did I fall for him in the first place? He's such a jerk!" She stood by the doors and cried for a while until she forced herself to stop crying and enter the hotel.
Sakumo managed to lose his father and ran off to the park. He kicked a nearby tree and plopped down on a bench. "She managed to get me to open up. I thought I bottled my emotions tightly when I first entered the academy. Why is she leaving so soon? I don't even know where in Iwa that she lives. I haven't even told her how I felt about her." He buried his face in his hands and screamed. The birds nesting in the trees; flew away leaving their eggs unattended when he startled them.
A couple of hours later, as the sun started to set, Ayaka found Kukiko lying on her bed, looking out the window.
"Hey sweetie. Have you packed your things yet?"
"Yes."
"Are you hungry? I'm going to grab some dinner. Do you want anything?" Ayaka said approaching her daughter.
"No Mom. I'm not hungry. I don't want anything." Kukiko replied in a sad, monotone voice. Ayaka was shocked. Her daughter had never once turned down a meal before.
"What's wrong, honey?" She said sitting down on the bed and patting Kukiko's leg.
"Nothing, Mom. I'm just tired."
"Okay then. I'll get something for you anyway in case you get hungry later. Get some rest." Ayaka kissed Kukiko's forehead and left the room. Shortly after her mother left, a tear escaped her tear duct and fell slowly down her cheek.
Sakumo was at a sushi restaurant; his family celebrating his promotion. His teacher was invited along with his cellmates. Hiro and the teacher showed up, but Maki declined the invitation. Everyone was enjoying, drinking sake or water, eating sushi, and gabbing. Sakumo kept poking at his sushi roll, not really hungry. Hiro noticed something was wrong with his friend, so he leaned over the table and said "Yo, Saku!!! What's wrong with you?"
Sakumo glared at Hiro and pushed him away. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just not in the mood to party. Also, don't call me Saku! You know I don't like that nickname!"
"Yo, Sakumo. Chill. This party is for you. You made it to Chunnin. You don't have to retake the test like Maki and I do." Hiro replied.
"I know that! Hiro, that's not why I'm upset." Sakumo replied frowning.
"So, you admit to being upset. That's a first." Hiro replied taking a large gulp of his water.
"Nevermind. I have to go." Sakumo said getting up and heading towards the door of the restaurant.
"Sakumo! Come on! I was kidding!" Hiro shouted towards him.
Sakumo ignore Hiro as he left the building and began walking towards the park. He put his hands into his pocket and plopped down on the grass. He laid down and looked at the stars. Sighing, he thought about Kukiko and her smile. "Geez. Why do I keep thinking about her? I don't know why I care whether she goes back home or not. Kukiko… I need to talk to her before she leaves."
Kukiko had walked out of the hotel and was wandering aimlessly around the village. She happened upon the park and saw Sakumo lying on the grass. She tried to turn around and walk the other way, but Sakumo knew she was there. He felt her chakra when she stepped foot on the park boundaries.
"Kukiko!" Sakumo shouted, getting up. "Kukiko! Stay for a minute! I need to talk to you!!"
Kukiko stopped in her tracks and turned around facing him. "What do you want?"
"I … I can't stop thinking about you. I don't know what's wrong with me." Sakumo told her.
"Well. I'm sorry that I keep occupying your thoughts. I'm leaving in the morning, so you don't have to worry about that anymore." She snapped at him. "I have to go to sleep now. I don't know what I'm still doing up." She turned away from him and started to head towards the hotel.
"Kukiko! Wait!" Sakumo shouted, reaching out towards her.
She ignored him and tried not to show him any of her emotions as she practically ran back to the hotel for the night.
Sakumo watched her leave and frowned. He kicked a tree and cursed. Then he walked to his house, where his father was waiting for him outside.
"There you are, Sakumo! You have no idea how worried your mother and I were. Disappearing during your party is very rude manners." Isamu scolded him.
"Sorry, father. I just wanted some fresh air." Sakumo said trying to walk into the house. Isamu blocked his path and glared at him.
"What is wrong with you, Sakumo? You have been down in the dumps ever since that girl talked to you! Did she do anything to you?"
"No, father. No, she didn't. Now, could you please move aside?" Sakumo replied.
"If she didn't do anything to you then you would be a little happier. Not that happier; considering I haven't seen you smile until the Chunnin exams started." Isamu responded.
Sakumo snapped and yelled "I can't stop thinking about her! My heart starts to pound fast around her and my hands get clammy. It's a wonder that I can hold a conversation with her!!"
Isamu's eyes widened. "Wow. Either you have a huge crush on the girl on you are madly in love with her. I think it's the latter."
Sakumo glared at Isamu and replied "Okay. I told you, now could you please move aside?"
"I will, but you promise me one thing. You either tell this girl how you feel about her before she leaves or you will end up suffering with these feelings for her and she will end up with another guy, leaving you in the dust." Isamu said moving out of the way.
Sakumo looked at his father curiously. "You sound like you are speaking from experience."
Isamu shrugged. "Before I met your mother, there was this girl that I was in love with. I didn't realize it, until she moved to another village. By the time, I found her and told her how I felt; she was already in love with another guy. My heart was crushed. I don't want the same thing happening to you." After telling that story to him, Isamu walked into the house. Sakumo pondered what he had told him as he followed his father into the house.
The next morning, Kukiko had woken up early and took a shower. Ayaka was still snoring in the bed next to her. As Kukiko was brushing her hair, her mother woke up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and went to take a shower. When her mother was in the shower, Kukiko changed into fresh clothes and checked to make sure everything was packed and ready to go.
An hour later, Ayaka and Kukiko had eaten breakfast and checked out of the hotel. They were headed towards the village gates where Takeshi and the others would be waiting for them. She saw them, Daijiro was poking the ground with a stick, pouting. Takeshi was reading a book, leaning against the wall. Torao saw them and waved to them.
Kukiko returned the wave and started to walk towards them, when she felt a firm hand on her arm, stopping her in her tracks. She turned around and saw that Sakumo was the one holding her and Maki was right beside him. Maki ran to Daijiro and embraced him.
Kukiko couldn't watch them because Sakumo was dragging her away.
"Sakumo! What do you want with me? My team has to go home right now!" Kukiko shouted, trying to pull away from him.
"Kukiko. I need to talk to you for a second." He told her turning a corner and facing her.
"What do you want?" Kukiko said in a harsh tone.
"I spoke to my father last night. He told me what was wrong with me. Kukiko… I think I'm in love with you. I don't know for sure yet. But it would explain why my heart is pounding like crazy right now. When I first met you, I thought you were more annoying then Minato. I didn't want anything to do with you. But as we took the exam together, I realized there was more to you than what meets the eye. When I was with you, I had the most fun that I've had as long as I can remember." Sakumo turned red as he admitted that.
Kukiko blushed, her face turning as red as a tomato as Sakumo told her his feelings.
"Funny. When I first met you, I thought you a bigger jerk than Takeshi was. I wanted so badly to pummel you into the ground." Kukiko admitted. "But as I got to know you more, I started to have feelings for you as well. If this is what they call love, then Sakumo… I love you too!"
Sakumo smiled the largest smile that he had for a long time as he embraced her in a tight hug. They gazed into each other's eyes and slowly leaned in towards the lips. Then they had their first kiss. Kukiko felt like she was going to faint with the explosion of feelings she felt right then as they kissed. Sakumo's heart pounded faster.
They didn't realize they had an audience until Daijiro cheered. They broke away from each other and blushed. Ayaka was crying, wiping her tears off with a handkerchief.
"My baby has a boyfriend! I am so happy!"
"Mom!" Kukiko blushed, embarrassed.
"Congrats, Kukiko. But sadly, we have to go now." Torao said. "We are behind schedule. We were supposed to be leaving two minutes ago."
"Okay. I'll be right there." Kukiko said. After the audience had left, Kukiko looked at Sakumo and asked "Will we ever see each other again?"
"Any mission to Iwa that is available, I'm gonna take it. You better not fall in love with another guy while we are separated." Sakumo teased.
Kukiko smiled and told him "I could say the same. The next Chunnin exam is in Iwa…so… when I become Chunnin, I will take any mission to Konoha that I can get."
They kissed once more, and walked hand and hand to the village gates. There they said their goodbyes and Maki sobbed as she kissed Daijiro once more, until Takeshi dragged Daijiro away. Sakumo patted Maki's back as he waved goodbye to Kukiko.
"We will see each other again. I just know it." They both thought at the same time as the Iwa team walked away until the Konoha gates were no longer in sight.
Well, they have finally admitted their feelings to each other! There will a timeskip in the next chapter! Now, that they are in love, this story is just about over. But don't fret! There still is a sequeal coming up! Yay! XD
Next Chapter: Sakumo has a surprise for Kukiko! Look forward to it!!
I have a plan for Daijiro and Maki. That might be the only surprise coming up, since you already know what will happen to the main couple! XD Thanks for reading!!
