Alright! I finally wrote it! Things will start to pick up soon! I hope everyone's ready for it! I'm literally writing this in the car haha XD


Chapter 20: The Squads

"Hurry up, Gaara!"

I barge into Gaara's room.

"What's taking you so…"

What am I looking at right now…?

Gaara is… shirtless! He's… He… He's topless! What do I do? Why is this making me so flustered?

"Kiu? Are you okay? Your face is really red."

"H-Hurry up and put something on!"

With that I turn around, leave the room, and close the door behind me. What just happened? All I remember is Gaara's bare upper body. It looked… nice… Wait, what am I thinking?! Kiu, you little pervert, stop these unhealthy ideas! I hear the door behind me open. I turn around and see a fully clothed Gaara.

"You're acting really strange, Kiu."

Damn it! He noticed! Did he notice that I find that he looks nice without a shirt?! I hope he didn't notice that. That would be so embarrassing!

"What are you talking about?! You're the one who didn't have your clothes on!"

"It was just my top… And you're the one who came barging in without any reason!"

"Well, you were taking too long!"

"What's the rush anyway? Sensei said to be in the classroom in like two hours."

"But I'm so excited! We're going to finally know our Genin teams! And, of course, we're going to be in the same team!"

I don't know that but I just really want it to happen. Gaara looks at me and smiles.

"Through all these years, you're still the same as always, Kiu."

"Hehe… Is that good or bad?"

Gaara looks away.

"Both."

"Wait what?!"

I hear him chuckle.

"I'm… kidding."

"Man I can never tell when you say a joke… Your face is just so expressionless!"

I take my headband and tie it around my thigh, right above my tool pouch.

"You put yours on your strap?"

"Yeah, it's less in the way."

It does look good around the strap that holds his sand gourd on him. Since the time we made it together, he always puts it on whenever he's going somewhere. I'm glad it's useful!

"Hey guys! Over here!"

Yukari waves at us from where she and Ikki are sitting. Both Gaara and me head to where they are and sit next to them.

"You're finally here. I thought you got lost on the way or something."

"It's all because Gaara was taking his sweet time getting ready."

"It's… a good thing that… he takes the time to… take care of himself well. Right… Gaara?"

"You said it."

Lately, those two have been agreeing with each other on a lot of things and teaming up against me and occasionally Yukari. And they enjoy it! It's really nice, though, to see them getting along so well compared to before. To be honest, everyone else in the class keeps their distances from the four of us, but I don't mind. I'm just happy with my real friends.

"Oh! Sensei is here!"

Yukari nudges me and points at the front. I'm so excited to know which team I'm on.

"Take your seats and be quiet everyone. I will be announcing your squads today, as well as the name of the Jounin who will be in charge of you. First, I'd like to warn you in advance that as soon as you meet up with all the members of your squad, including your sensei, you will immediately be sent on your first mission."

Already? That's awesome! On top of that, we get paid for completing missions successfully! It'll be the first time I actually earn something out of being a ninja, not that that really matters as long as I love what I'm doing.

Sensei starts naming people. I can't wait for our turn.

"On special request from the Kazekage, Gaara will be in the same squad as Temari and Kankuro, under the command of Baki."

What…? My mouth hangs open. I don't think I heard that right. Gaara… won't be in the same squad as me…? I turn my head towards him. He seems disappointed too.

"Gaara…"

"Don't worry, Kiu. We'll still see each other."

"That's not the point…"

I wanted to experience new things with him! To live through amazing adventures and share the excitements of every mission ahead. If I'm not in the same squad, then…

"I just wanted us to go through all these new things together…"

"We will. We'll tell each other all about it when we get back home from missions. Alright?"

I nod slowly. I'm really not happy with this. Why does the Kazekage want Gaara to be with Temari and Kankuro who both graduated much earlier? Shouldn't he be allowed to bond with the rest of the class? This isn't fair.

"Next team is Yuto, Yukari, and Ikki. You three will be under the care of Isago."

Great… Now I'm sure I won't be with any of my friends… At least Yukari and Ikki will be happy being together… Who am I kidding? I'm so annoyed that I won't be with them! I turn towards Gaara once more, this time looking all sad. He smiles and pats me on the head.

"Jun, Mari, and Hana, you three will be under Satetsu's care."

At least I'm not with Mari. That's a relief! Jun is one of those guys that tries to act tough when he really isn't. I caught him threatening Yuto at some point. I was going to intervene, but Yuto just blew him away with a kick. Jun is this average looking guy with curly black hair and brown eyes. He always wears a hood and has a giant crush on Hana. Hana is one of Mari's best friends. She has short dirty blonde hair that she always ties in pigtails. She has purple eyes that seem to be running in her clan. She's the type of girl that likes to show a little more skin. Heck, I barely see any fabric on her, just enough to cover her important parts and some scattered here and there to make it look a bit more 'fashionable' as she would say.

"Now, Koji, Kiu, and Maru, the Jounin in charge of you is Otokaze."

I'm with Koji? Not that I have anything against him, but I'm going to hear so crap from Mari… She's probably pissed that she didn't get to be in the same team as Koji. And to make it worse, I'm also with Maru. He's such a snob. He's of average height, with honey eyes and very pale golden hair. His skin is slightly tanned, which gives him an overall exotic look. The way he looks always gets him so many girls. The worst is that he seems to really love the attention and brags about it whenever he can. However, he really doesn't like Koji who's more popular than him with the girls. Koji has silver hair that outline his sharp features. His eyes are a shade of grey that gives him a very mysterious air about him. It is really rare to find someone so pale too in Sunagakure. He's even paler than Gaara!

As soon as my team was announced, all the girls sighed loudly and started whining. I just dropped my forehead on the desk in defeat. This is probably one of the worst outcomes. The only thing that consoles me is that I'm not with Mari. I feel a hand on my head. I turn slightly towards Gaara and, when I do, he immediately turns his gaze away from me and takes his hand away. His cheeks are a bit red. Why is that? I liked his hand on my head! I reach for his arm and put it back on my head. He looks at me in surprise and I smile at him.

Sensei's voice then snaps us out of it and I sit back up normally.

"Now that all the squads have been announced, you will wait here for your sensei to come and take you. They will be the ones who will give you further instruction on what you will be doing later."

Well, I guess there's no helping it. The four of us will just have to catch up at the end of this day, or whenever we see each other again.


Short chapter, I know. I'll try to update again soon.

Review and tell me what you think!