This chapter was kind of hard to write, so I got a little ahead of myself and ended up writing the epilogue first. XD There'll be two more chapters after this: the epilogue and important stuff that I always forget earlier.
On we go!
The week has passed quickly. Everything is easy and familiar to my hands – shuriken practice, kunai throwing, hand-to-hand combat – as if I've done it a hundred times. Which I probably have.
Soon, I have made the top score in the class. Well, considering I'm a 16-year-old in a class with 7-year-olds, it's not all that impressive, but I'm still proud.
I head home with Iruka. We make a quick stop so he can buy me ramen (we made a bet that if I got a full score on the next test, he would have to treat me), then get over to our house. I wave to him and relax. When I'm about to grab some supplies and go train with Sakura or something, the aforementioned pinkhead walks in.
"Hi, Sakura!" I say cheerfully.
"Hey," she replies with a wave.
"Why're you here?"
"To remind you about the festival tomorrow. Dress up nicely, I'll bring you there. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"Festival… oh yeah. Totally didn't forget."
"Whatever, dobe. Want to go train or something? Tsunade let me off early today."
I smile at her. "That's what I was thinking! Let's go."
I grab her wrist and drag her outside, into the edge of the forest. There are a couple posts and painted targets here, courtesy of Iruka-sensei.
She smiles. "I haven't gotten a chance to show you my new skills yet, right? Come on, watch."
I stare at her expectantly. She walks over to a post, with no weapons or anything. Suddenly, she lets out a cry, raises her fist, and punches it. I expect her to recoil, to yell in pain because she just punched a wooden post, but instead, something completely unexpected happens. The wood splinters under her hand and the top half falls onto the ground.
"Wow," I say.
"Wow is right!" she replies huffily, and raises her chin proudly. "Although I'm still not nearly as good as Lady Tsunade. You see, you've got to focus chakra into your hand and it-"
"I really don't care," I interrupt, and she looks like she's about to punch me in the face. After seeing her demonstration, I unconsiously back away a step and continue, "Let's practice throwing kunai! I'll bet I can aim better than you!" I toss her a kunai knife. "Loser has to treat the winner to lunch."
She catches it gracefully and smirks. "Okay, on the count of three."
"Mhm."
"One."
I ready the knife.
"Two."
Raise it."
"Three!"
I throw it at the painted target. It lands almost perfectly, just a little off from the center.
Unfortunately, hers lands spot on in the center.
"Haah! You have to treat me!" Sakura taunts, laughing.
I scowl. "Hn."
We go on like that until dusk, showing off our skills. I do a clone jutsu and a transformation jutsu. She punches through a couple more things.
Overall, that evening was an awesome one.
-The Next Morning-
Time for the festival, I guess. Last night, I went to a clothing store with Sakura argued over what I would wear for almost half an hour with her until finally, with her guidance, we chose out a white, collared shirt and khaki shorts.
Her exact words were, "You'll want to wear something better than" – she made a face and pointed at my current clothes – "that."
I throw on the shirt, leaving several of the buttons unfastened and attempting to make the shorts, which are rather ugly in my opinion, look cool. Ten minutes later, I give up completely.
At one o' clock exactly, the doorbell rings. I open it and see Sakura, dressed in a beautiful pink kimono that matches her hair.
"Wow, you didn't kick down the door for once," I comment.
"Whatever," she says, then spots my shirt and frowns. "Hey, the buttons are there for a reason, you know." She fixes the shirt accordingly and nods. "There, that's better."
"Ugh. Let's go."
We go to a huge stadium-like building near the Hokage's office and enter. It is dome-shaped, with a soaring, glass ceiling, tables set up with food and drinks, and a large stage up front. It's already has a lot of people screaming and cheering and eating and dancing to the music blaring over hidden speakers.
"Wow," I murmur.
"So, what do you want to do?" she asks.
"I think I'm just going to sit down for a moment," I reply, and sink down into a chair, trying not to make my headache worse. The music is too loud. "I feel kind of sick."
"Sure," she replies.
I close my eyes and put my head down, and, for once, really think about Gaara. It's funny that in the hospital, when I lay there and did nothing for weeks, these thoughts didn't even cross my mind.
It was good. I liked it, loved it – it felt wonderful. Not the kind of feeling I get around Sakura, although that's nice too. It was tingly and fluttering, and made my throat clench up and heart beat a pace faster. The rush, the layers of feeling. I could feel it.
It's hard to find words that can explain it right – all I can say is that it was beautiful. It was more than just friendship.
I get up suddenly.
"Are you better now?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'm good," I lie.
For the next hour or so, I eat and dance to the music and talk to people I don't know.
"Hey, where's the Sand Village?" I ask Sakura eventually.
"They should be here any moment. They're probably just a little late. It takes time to get here all the way from the Sand Village, you know? The festival doesn't really start until they come."
As if on cue, the doors opens and in comes Gaara, followed closely by a blonde girl and a man who has a painted face and is dressed in black, head to toe, then a crowd of people nearly matching Konoha's population.
The Leaf People swarm in to greet them, but still keep at a respectful distance. They're intimidated by Gaara, even though he's smiling slightly.
He is introduced by Tsunade on the stage and shakes hands with her, then the performances begin. First is a girl from the Leaf Village, performing a dance routine. I notice that when Gaara is leaving the stage, his eyes search the giant crowd until his piercing gaze finally lands on me.
A few minutes later, I spot his red hair swimming through the crowd towards me. The crowd parts to allow him through. He then yells over the deafening music, "I need to talk to you!"
I nod and follow him outside, where the silence is a relief.
The moment the heavy door slams shut, I say, "Is it about that..." I struggle to find a word, and wave my hands in frustration. "… that thing?"
His expression remains emotionless, although his brow furrows slightly. "Yes. I apologize in advance for it. I swear it won't ever—"
"No," I say, cutting him off. I can hear the blood pounding in my ears. "It's not that it was bad. Actually, it felt pretty good. I guess I was just surprised, that's all."
"Really?" he says, his eyes widening slightly. And smiles. Genuinely smiles. He looks so overjoyed, I can't help grinning as well.
"Yeah." A moment of awkward silence passes between us. "I guess I want… another one."
In reply, he wraps his arms around me and does it again.
The only difference is, this time, I kiss him back.
Dawww, wasn't that sweet? :3 I rushed it, though. Grr. Well, it's still cute, so I like it. I write cute fluff a lot better than I write angst, it seems.
Yaaayy this story has ended (sorta).
Review please!
