Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
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"Wakey, Wakey" Soraoi nudged the pile of blankets on the floor with her left foot.
"hmph" the lump groan, shifting its position away from Soraoi's foot.
"SHIKI-KUN!" she yelled, bending down to strip the covers off of the lazy genius. "Wake up!"
"Troublesome woman, leave me alone." Shikamaru groaned, sticking an arm out from under the covers to push her away.
"But we're going to be late!" Soraoi exclaimed as she moved towards the dresser and began pulling out clothes.
"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, rubbing his eyes as he rose from the futon. "And late for what?"
"Hellooooo, sleepy-head." She walked over to him and knocked on his head as she said this.
"Get away from me woman." He slapped away her hand.
"Aww, Shiki-kun's not a morning person." Soraoi teased. "Did you forget?" She rose to her feet and impatiently looked down at him with her hands on her waist.
"Forget?" Shikamaru arched an eyebrow.
"We're supposed to meet up with Gaara-kun and Temari-san for the festival." She shoved some clothes into his arms.
"What's this?" Shikamaru looked down at the bundle she handed him.
"tsk, you don't think you're going dressed like that, do you?" she scoffed.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" he looked down at his usual black outfit and Chunin vest.
"For one, you didn't even change out of it to go to sleep." Soraoi pinched her nose teasingly, "and secondly, it's a festival! You're not going to go dressed the same way you always dress."
"I'm not dressing up." Shikamaru looked down at the yukata she had handed him.
It was navy blue with white clouds and a sky blue obi. Soraoi had given it to him as a birthday gift the previously year. She had told him she'd found it in Kumogakure, while she and Tomoe were passing through Lightning country. He had thought it was a very thoughtful gift, like all her other presents, but had yet to actually wear it.
"Come on Shiki-Kun." Soraoi plead, "I bet Temari-san would really like it." She teased.
"Fine, fine, fine; if only to get you to stop pestering me." He sighed.
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Temari and Gaara were waiting for Shikamaru and Soraoi in front of the hokage tower. Kankuro had decided not to join them, Temari suspected it had something to do with a certain Inzuka Hana.
Kankuro had informed Temari that he would be helping the Inzuka's with their booth in the festival. She had also seen him getting dressed up in a gray yukata, and she was fairly certain it wasn't to impress Kiba. I'll make sure to tease him about it later.
"That lazy Shikamaru." Temari groaned.
"Hn." Gaara stood in his white Kazekage robes, watching his sister pace infuriately in front of him.
He had never been one for waiting, himself; and though he was not as easily frustrated as his hot-headed sister, the truth was, he was feeling just as anxious as Temari. He wanted to see Soraoi again. After seeing her in the Konoha forest, Gaara had been unable to stop thinking of her.
When he first laid eyes on her in the Hokage's office, he had thought her a silly girl, but upon hearing of what she'd been through and seeing the strength and resolve in her eyes, he had been… captivated. It was the only way he could think to describe what he felt now. There was something enchanting about her that he couldn't quite figure out. She seemed so unlike the other girls; complicated, yet surprisingly easy to understand.
"Gaara-kun, Temari-san!" Soraoi approached a few yards ahead of them, dragging along a very well groomed Shikamaru.
"Well don't you look nice?" Temari commented, having cooled down some.
"Thanks." Shikamaru mumbled.
Temari considered teasing him by saying that she'd been referring to Soraoi's baby blue kimono, with the sky blue and indigo trimming and decorative cherry blossom flowers; but upon seeing the slight flush on Shikamaru's face at her compliment, she decided against it.
"It's good to see you again Temari-san." Soraoi walked up to the girl to give her a hug.
At first, it took Temari by surprise; she wasn't use to this type of warmth, having grown up with a father who was willing to sacrifice his children for political gain. As a result, they had never been a very close knit family. It wasn't until Gaara's fight with Naruto that things had begun to change. Over the years, the three siblings had become undeniably close. They had learned to value one another as teammates and as siblings, but most importantly as friends. They were no longer tied to one another out of obligation and duty, but united through love and affection. Still, though they had learned to appreciate one another and had grown to care for each other, they were not particularly affectionate.
They had never been given affection, and thus did not know how to give it. This is why, when Soraoi came upon Temari to embrace her, the older kunoichi had felt a bit apprehensive. Seemingly sensing Temari stiffness, and guessing at why, Soraoi pulled away quickly, but only after giving Temari a slight squeeze of reassurance.
"It is good to see you as well, Gaara-kun." Soraoi continued, walking over to the Kazekage and embraced him.
Much like his sister, who had been unnerved by the sudden closeness of the bubbly Nara, Gaara was also left a bit uneasy, while at the same time strangely comforted. Had it been anyone else, he was certain he might have used Desert Coffin on her. As it were, however, he simply allowed her to cling to him. It had even occurred to him to hug her back, but no sooner had he considered the thought, had Soraoi let go of him, and moved back to standing next to her brother.
"And you." Gaara replied, in his typical unemotional tone.
"Yeah… it's good to see you again." Temari returned the other girl's smile.
"So what are we doing first?" Soraoi asked.
"I dunno." Shikamaru shrugged.
"…" Gaara just stared out over the colorfully decorative booths lined up and down the streets.
"Why don't we try that one out first?" Temari suggested, pointing towards what appeared to be the longest line.
"It's too long a line." Shikamaru groaned.
"That just mean's it probably the best thing here." Temari exclaimed.
"You don't even know what it's for, do you?" Shikamaru questioned.
"Well, we could ask." Soraoi suggested.
She walked up to the last person in line and tapped her on the shoulder. None of them had yet realized that the entire line was mostly female.
"Excuse me?" Soraoi asked the girl standing in front of her.
"Yeah?" The woman quickly glanced over to Soraoi before turning back to face the front of the line. She looked to be in her mid 20's, with spiky black hair. She wore a short mustard skirt over a metal mesh body suit, and a long tan over-coat.
"What is this line for?" Shikamaru asked.
"Oi. Hey Kid." Anko turned to face the small group, "This is the line to the kissing booth."
"Kissing booth?" Temari asked, with a disgusted look on her face, "What self respecting kunoichi would allow herself to be used this way?"
"Who said anything about a girl?" Anko gestured for them to see that the line was primarily female.
"A Man?" Soraoi amusedly asked.
"Well, men." Anko replied, "but Gai's line isn't doing as well as Kakashi's." she replied.
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A/N: haha… And I'm sure people are lining up only 10 because they want to see what's under Kakashi's mask, and 90 because he's Kakashi… I love Kakashi!
I was debating between this kissing booth idea, or Tenten as a fortune teller, but I think I'll leave that idea for a NejiTen one shot.
Anyway, I was going to write more, but I want to get to bed early … tomorrow's my birthday, and I need to get up early… yay!... anyway, I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible, but chances are it won't be for two or three days at the least…
I'm sorry if this chapter's not all that exciting, but it's mostly character development, or rather the development of these two relationships… but no worries, next chapter we get an exciting … "thing"…. happen, and it's going to be very action packed (lets hope I can write a good fight scene, though, because I've never tried before).
Thanks for the reviews.
NEXT UP: Surprise .