A/N: After plowing through books in my bedroom all morning, I am inspired. I'll write some about Kyandii, some about Ari, and then some about Keitorin. And why Kankuro blushed! Splee!
oOo
(Kyandii's POV)
When I look back on who I was, I am proud of who I was then, in Konoha - but it was so different than me now. The life of a ninja seemed so exciting, but a nin I can never be. Ari and Lee are ninjas, and for a while, I thought that would be my path as well. But it was partially Neji and partially Kakashi who helped me find my true destiny, the fate that awaited me.
Neji was a firm believer in fate. He believed that destiny was set down for you at birth, and that only a fool would attempt to go against it. In his eyes, Lee was a fool, but I know that this is not entirely true due to his enormous taijutsu skill. Neji says that he wasn't destined to be a ninja because his lack of ninjutsu and genjutsu ability, but what does this say about me? But no, Neji was wrong about Lee. Lee is a taijutsu master. I am not. A mistress of weapons, I had always thought. I adored the feeling of power it gave me, knowing how to use weapons. But I was never truly a ninja. Not the agile, strong, skilled nin in my daydreams, at least.
It was thanks to Kakashi that I learned who I was. Neji showed me only who I could never be.
Kakashi had agreed to go on a date with me. Something I never thought would happen - the older leaf nin had avoided me ever since the ramen restaraunt incident. Something must have clicked in his mind, and he saw how I wanted him and that I would do anything to get him. I laugh about it now. But then, it was only pure infatuation. I thought I loved Kakashi and I thought Kakashi loved me and I lived in my own ignorant little world of bliss.
"Why do you like me?"
That question got me thinking. Why did I like Kakashi Hatake? He had a reputation as a strong ninja, powerful bloodline limit jutsu, a knowledge of the various jutsu types. And that was it. Kakashi was what I wasn't. I was so attracted to Kakashi, someone who was nothing like me, and it made me think immediately of Lee. How we were so much alike, and we seemed to repel each other. And how Ari and I, so different, and yet she was my best friend. It all seemed to come together in my mind.
"Two puzzle pieces are different, Kakashi." I said, tucking a strand of dirty blonde hair behind my ear. In honor of the occasion, I had taken my hair down from the pigtails that had restrained me to my childhood. I looked older - even Ari said so - and she said I should leave my hair like that all the time. I decided I would too, it was such a different sensation, the wavy hair flowing down my neck. "That's what makes them fit together. Just like the opposite ends of a magnet attract each other. Like the dry sand and the sea, like the shining stars and the moon. I feel like you complete me."
Kakashi looked suprised. "So poetic." He commented. "I would have never expected that from a girl like you."
"What did you expect?"
"When I first saw you," Kakashi said honestly, "I saw all beauty and no brains. I know, the truth hurts. But that's really what I saw. You were always preening over yourself. I thought you would never be a ninja. But do you know what I see now?"
My brain was still numb over the fact that Kakashi had called me beautiful - and here I had thought I was so ugly compared to my sister! - but I managed, "What?"
"I see a writer. I see intelligence and creativity, Kyandii."
oOo
(Ari's POV)
I know what Kyandii thinks now. As I write this, I know how the story will end, and I know what Kyandii thinks of me now and what she thought of me then. In a sense, I was jealous of her, I suppose. And she was jealous of me. I was the better ninja, I got the attention from the boys. But Kyandii was always so smart, so creative. She was a musician, and I could see her headed to the glamorous life of, not a ninja, but a star. She was so talented, and she had been jealous of I?
I was never interested in boys. I myself was always really a tomboy, so it wasn't suprising. I never thought boys were cute, and I never had crushes. Mostly, the boys would crush on me, and I would ignore them. It was so typical of my life, these boys, that I was completely thrown off when I found myself looking at a boy and longing for his attention.
I was ashamed of myself, almost. Here I was, an aspiring nin, and I was looking at this one boy, one of the few who didn't like me!
My sensei, Chansu, had always been after me all the time. Train, get stronger. Practice. Spar. Fight. He didn't understand.
Why didn't anyone understand my feelings for Neji Hyuga?
oOo
(Keitorin's POV)
Gaara was all I could ever want from a boy. We, so different, but we just seemed to get along so well. I didn't think how this might affect us later, and for the time being I was happy. And Gaara was happy too.
Our relationship didn't only affect us - nearly everyone was affected.
Neji didn't approve. A murderer, a demon, a monster. Gaara had been called so many names, and Neji thought he would break my heart. Even though he was 5 minutes older at the most, he played the role of "overprotective older brother" very well. Hinata thought that it was so sweet that Gaara had finally found someone he could say he loved, and little Hanabi was too yound to understand.
Kyandii and Ari thought I was going to leave them behind as friends, and I know that would never happen, but me and Gaara got really attached and I don't blame them for making that assumption. It never happened - even today, so many years in the future, we have remained close friends. Even though Kyandii has since pursued a new career and Ari has a relationship of her own, we still find time to hand out and talk like we used to.
Temari and Kankuro disliked the relationship, but for different reasons.
Temari hated me. I don't blame her. I'm disagreeable, headstrong, and unbending. Her comments were excruciating, but so were mine. It's not fair to blame either one of us - we both fueled the fire and one is just as guilty as the other - but I like to think it was her who started it.
Kankuro despised Gaara, not me. Kankuro loved his little brother, no matter how he pretended he didn't. But he also liked me, and he was jealous of Gaara.
oOo
A/N: Read and review!
