Bozenjishitsu

Sorry for the wait... Am I the only one who thought that the last chappie was my best fight scene ever? Huh? Speak up, now!

Readers: ...

Crickets: churp-chirup

Whatever... I'm working on two things for this story... one, which I am allowed to tell about, is called...something japanese... I forget. I might post it soon. It's about the year between A.N.T.R. and this. H-R and I sort of had a thought-attack for her fan fics, and I thought of this somewhere in the middle.

I just saw 50 First Dates... IT WAS SO CUTE! But afterwards, I had to have a buncha waffles because she had some. I made a teepee with them. It was really fun... and tasty, too.

Oh well, since no one likes to listen to me babble, anyway...

Chapter Eleven: Shodaku (Oh yeah--Midori: I'll post all the chapter meanings in the FAQ, since theres alot of japanese ones and that would be too many questions to write. TY anyway!)

Kyu sighed in contentment, and felt a strong arm drop on her in a protective gesture. Looking up, she saw Kankurou's eyes were closed, although she knew he wasn't asleep. He never slept, except for a few minutes, now that Gaara was in the hospital. He had abandoned his chair, however, and taken the bed across from Gaara's, the two of them lying side by side on the covers, ready to get up at a moment's notice if one of the sleeping bodies before them stirred. But for the time being, they simply lie silent, enjoying each other's company.

Kyu smiled slightly, and reached up, stroking his long, brown hair. He moved his head slightly against her touch, closing his hand over hers, drawing it over his lips, and kissing her fingers tenderly. She smiled, rubbing her cheek against his chest.

"God, I missed you," he mumbled, kissing the top of her head. "Two weeks is too long, even if you didn't stay the whole time."

"That's one of the reasons I came home," she said softly, crawling up to kiss his chin.

"And the other reasons?"

She paused, then rested her head against his neck. "I don't know... Suddenly, I just didn't want to be there anymore. Everything was different. My parents didn't even get my room ready, so I had to stay over the Inuzuka's. I wanted to spend the vacation with my friends, but then my best friend..." (Great parents... I don't like them... do you? They threaten Kan-kun!)

"I thought Temari was your best friend?"

"Yeah, she is, but I've known Chuimaru for forever. Even he's different." She buried her face in his shirt, taking in his comfortable scent (A/N: I don't know about you guys, but I love the AXE scent... my ex-friend, Joe, smells like it. wink!). She had never had any trouble telling him what she felt.

"I don't think he's changed," Kankurou said gently. "I have a feeling he's just showing you another side to him he's kept hidden."

"Well, what if I don't want to see the other side?" she asked, looking up at him with large, imploring blue eyes.

He smiled at her tiredly, stroking her cheek. "I don't think you really have a choice."

"God, can't you two stop? I think I'm gonna be sick."

The (snuggling, adorable) two looked over at the beds. Naruto sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily.

Kyu raised an eyebrow. "Why are you awake already?"

"Kyuubi," Kankurou answered. To Naruto, he grinned and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess." Naruto looked at the bed next to his. "He still hasn't woken up?"

"Nope. The elders said it would take a few days for his body to recover," Kankurou answered, shifting so he was sitting up on the bed, his arm still wrapped tightly around Kyu's waist.

"That makes sense, I guess..." Naruto paused, a low grumbling flooding the room. Giving them a weak grin, he asked, "Any chance of me getting some ramen?"

Konoha

After replacing Tsubasa (who had not contributed at all in the fight) in the kennels, Rynn went inside the house, her hands folding behind her head. A nap would be good, she mused to herself. And (sniffing slightly) a shower would be nice, too. But before she could carry out her plan, her mother stopped her at the foot of the stairs.

"What were you thinking, attacking Chuimaru like that?" her mother snapped angrily.

Rynn rolled her eyes. "We were just playing. He asked for it."

"Don't give me that! You didn't have to be that hard on him!"

"Mom, he's a big boy, he can take care of himself. You don't have to defend him." Rynn moved to go back up the stairs, but her mother stopped her again.

"If you two were 'just playing,' why does he have a broken arm, two broken ribs, and his other arm dislocated?" her mother asked angrily.

"Wow, he's tougher then I thought," Rynn said carelessly.

"Rynn, you can't be so careless with everything! Just because you're getting stronger doesn't mean you can hurt people! What if you killed him?"

"What do you think the dogs were there for?" Rynn asked, yawning hugely.

"You can't keep blowing all of us off, Rynn!" (A/N: Wow, she sounds like my mom...)

"Excuse me," said a quiet voice from the shadows.

"Not now, Yashi," Rynn's mom said, turning back to continue yelling at her daughter. Pause. "How did you get in here?"

"You let me in."

"...Oh." Rynn's mom looked a little embarrassed at her stupidity and horrible memory.

"Rynn's right. He did ask her to fight him," Yashi said, being a man of more words then his younger brother. "They made a deal a few years ago that she would fight him when she got stronger. She was just holding up her end of the deal."

"Fine," Rynn's mother snapped, letting Rynn go up the stairs.

Once at the landing at the top of the stairs, Rynn leaned over the railing and mouthed, "Thank you," to Yashi, who made no facial expression, by means of letting her know he saw her.

"Kyu's not here," Rynn's mom said, turning to Yashi. "She left a little while ago."

"I see. I'll be going, then," Yashi said, bowing his head politely. "Thank you for having me for five minutes, Chuimaru's-mom-san." Turning on his head, he left the house silently.

Rynn's mother stood still for a moment. "'Chuimaru's-mom-san'?"

Sand

Kankurou sighed, dunking his head under the hot water. Temari and Kyu, with their powers of persuasion (i.e. "Go or I'll hurt you!"), had convinced him to go to the hot baths while Temari sat up with Gaara. He had to admit the bath was pretty refreshing.

The Sand village's hot baths were divided into three parts: a girl's side, a boy's side, and a family side, where parents could go with their kids. However, Kankurou and Co. liked to use that side so they could relax together, as long as they wore bathing suits.

"I told you you'd enjoy it," Kyu said, dipping her foot in the water, taking off her towel to reveal a black two-piece bathing suit. (A/N: And the men will now have nosebleeds.)

Kankurou grinned, resting his arms on the side of the bath. "Where's Naruto?"

"He's dressing," she answered, slipping into the water. "He said he'd be a minute."

Kankurou shook the water out of his hair, sending droplets of water on her, causing her to shriek. "What? You're gonna get wet anyway."

"I didn't want to get my hair wet," she pouted, indicating the fact that her hair was pulled in a loose bun on top of her head.

"Oh, really?" He smirked, turning around to face her.

"Hey, I don't like that look," she said nervously, inching away.

Grinning hugely, he jumped on her, sending water flying as he made contact with the water next to her, Kyu having stepped to the side. Shaking the water of out his eyes, he quickly emerged and wrapped an arm around her chest, pulling her underwater. He felt her squirm under his arm, but didn't let go until he felt sharp teeth on his hand.

"Ow!" He stood up in the water, feeling his hand. Kyu popped up, as well, her hair plastered to her face. She smiled guilty and swam over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling her legs clamp gently on his to keep herself afloat, since she was too short to stand in the water by herself. He felt something stir within him at the feeling of her skin against his, and laughed hoarsely. "This feels really good..." he said quietly, feeling sudden, dark urges.

Kyu smiled against his lips, and was about to say something when she was cut off.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Naruto ran to the edge of the bath and, curling his legs under him, made contact with the water behind Kankurou, cannonball-style. "Whoo-hoo!"

Kankurou looked at Kyu with an "I knew it" face as a wave of water drenched them. "And now it's over."

That was... a very pointless chapter... sort of.

Kyuubi: I agree.

...Shut up, no one asked you. Also, Kage-chan, if u be readin' this, I can't email you because my mail thing is weird now and yeah. sowwy! (Not that you've emailed me lately... snif)