Woot! Update! I hope everyone had a great holiday, and if you don't hear from me by then, I hope everyone has a happy new year! :D
Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter—you guys are the greatest. Other than that, I don't really have much to say. I'm on winter break now, so hopefully I'll have a little more time to write.
My random thoughts on the manga SPOILER ALERT: *Did anyone else flip a shit when Kakashi and Gai appeared last week? Love me some Kakashi; he's freaking awesome (not to mention sexay. ;) ) *I'm sure I'm not the only one who read the chappie this week and was like, "Son Goku? Dragonball? Kurama? Yu Yu Hakusho?" But just so everyone knows, I looked it up, and those names are names from Chinese/Japanese legends. Kishi did not steal the names, and there will not be any canon Naruto crossovers. Sorry to burst your bubble. XD *I'm ready for the Kyuubi/Naruto friendship to begin. Poor Kyuubi just needs someone to understand him. And a hug. Naruto is willing to give him both.
I don't own Naruto.
"I don't think she likes me," Choro mumbled, stuffing another handful of chips into his mouth, depressed.
"Of course she likes you," Shikari consoled, silently noting that one of the clouds looked like a bunny. "She's your teammate."
Choro sighed, sullenly offering the Nara girl some of his chips. "Not the way I want her to."
She shook her head. He clearly needed them more than her. "Don't worry about it, Cho. Mai will come around. She's just cautious; it has nothing to do with you."
"Are you sure?" He looked at her disbelievingly. "If you were Mai, would you date me?"
She sat up from the grass, determined to answer truthfully and giving her friend a once over. Choro's hair, kept in the traditional Akimichi style, was a light blond like his mother's. His brown eyes were soulful and kind; his cheeks were adorned with red oval tattoos that made it look like he constantly had dimples. And, unlike what many people assumed, Choro was not fat—he was stocky, built like a tank and could hit twice as hard. Sure, he had a little extra fat on him, but his fat was his weapon, and no one could argue that the young Akimichi was unfit.
And, on top of a generally pleasant appearance, Choro was a sweetheart who was a great listener, and who liked to open doors and give flowers.
"Of course I would." Shikari sighed, plopping back down onto the grass and resuming her assessment of the clouds. "But I'm not exactly the best person you should taking relationship advice from."
"True," he agreed sympathetically.
She groaned at her own misfortune. Seventeen years old and single. Not that there was anything wrong with being single; it was when she decided to be in a relationship that things tended to go to hell. Shikari had no problem finding boyfriends, but if her recent slew was any indicator, she had terrible taste in men. "I should start collecting cats now, so I'll be sufficiently pathetic later, when I'm thirty-five and still alone."
"You don't have to be alone," Choro pointed out. "Uzumaki still seems to be interested, no matter how much you try to get away from him."
"He's a flirt, Cho," Shikari scoffed. "There are so many girls chasing after him that it's ridiculous." She remembered how much she used to like Kenji when they were little, but when she had returned from Suna, her red-headed crush had turned into some sort of Casanova. Shikari was not impressed.
"But you're the only one that he's chased," her friend mused. "You don't think that means something?"
"I'm also the only one who bothered to run," Shikari said pointedly. "He probably thinks I'm a challenge." She sighed and sat up again, deciding that she couldn't properly cloud-watch while talking about her pitiful love life. "And how did we start talking about me, anyway? We're supposed to be talking about you and Mai and all of your cute Hyuuga babies."
Choro blushed. "I really don't think—"
"Well you'll never know until you try, right?" A single eyebrow was raised in challenge, and her lips quirked a little smile. "Pair up with her when we spar tomorrow."
"But we always spar together." Choro frowned.
Shikari shook her head, exasperated. "Sparring with me isn't going to further your chances with Mai."
"But that means that you'll have to spar with Lee-sensei," her blond friend pressed.
A shiver went down her spine, but Shikari ignored it. "You're my best friend. I'll take one for the team."
Choro's face shone with clear gratitude, and he clapped her on the back happily. "Thanks, Shika!"
"Yeah, yeah," she grinned. "Just remember this when I'm old and lonely and have eighty-four cats. You and your Byakugan babies better visit me."
He laughed, crumbling his empty chip bag in a fist and standing up. "I have to go. We have a big order to fill at the shop, and Mom roped me into helping."
Shikari raised a hand in goodbye, returning her attention to the sky. But even though her friend and his issues had left, her cloud-watching urge didn't return. She stood, brushing grass off her pants. It was almost time for her to feed the deer anyway.
"Well, look who it is."
She froze at the voice, looking to the heavens for help. Troublesome didn't even begin to cover it. Slowly, she turned to face him.
He stood there, his large muscled arms crossed in front of him cockily. He was flanked by three of his friends, ones she had never liked.
"Jiro," she acknowledged flatly, turning and fully intending on returning home.
Shikari suddenly found one of his goons blocking her way. She sighed, realizing his intention. There was no other reason for her recently-ex-boyfriend to show up at her favorite field by the academy at noon, when the sun was directly overhead and there were absolutely no shadows. She slightly regretted publicly dumping the bastard.
But honestly, she hadn't meant to. It just so happened that they had been shopping at the market with a group of friends when she could no longer tolerate his idiocy. Jiro was misogynistic, rude, and not nearly enough of an intellectual challenge, and the second she realized it, she couldn't stand to be associated with him any longer.
Humiliation didn't sit well with Jiro, if this little visit was any indication. He walked up to her, eclipsing her with his size. Jiro was at least a foot taller than her, and he was stocky and heavily muscled. "Where're you goin', babe? I just want to talk."
Shikari honestly wondered what she had ever seen in him. "Not now, Jiro," she responded coldly. "I have things to do."
"Really now," he said mockingly, his brown eyes hard. "You were pissing around with that fat ass two seconds ago."
Her temper flared, and her jaw set. He had liked Choro when they were dating, but now he seemed to have no problem insulting him!
She took it back. She didn't regret dumping this piece of shit at all.
Trying to rein in her anger but failing, Shikari took a step closer to him, showing him she wasn't intimidated, even when his friends drew in menacingly. Clearly he thought that coming at her when she didn't have her tessen and couldn't use her Kagemane no Jutsu was the best way to save his pride. But this just proved Jiro's stupidity, and that he never listened to her, as she had told him that her sensei was a taijutsu master. She could beat the stupid out of him.
Inwardly, she paused. Jiro, she could take. But she wasn't sure she could take down all four of the burly men without her Kagemane restraining some of them.
"Is this a spar?"
Shikari resisted the urge to smack herself on the forehead. Today must be her lucky day—all of her favorite people were showing up!
Annoyed, she turned to meet his pale eyes.
Kenji held her gaze for a second, trying to assess the situation. He was carrying something covered in a lavender furoshiki, and his style of dress was much more casual than usual. His chuunin vest was absent, and instead of his battle fatigues, he wore an orange tshirt printed with the Whirlpool swirl that clashed horrendously with his bright hair. Said hair was in a much looser braid than usual, a few long strands running free and framing his face, and it had no forehead protector to force it into place.
From what Shikari could tell, Kenji was just as weaponless as she was. But from the way he was looking at her, she knew he was ready to jump into battle with her if need be.
"Aww, how sweet. Her boyfriend came to help her," Jiro jeered.
Neither of them rose to the bait, but Kenji's eyebrows furrowed. "Shika doesn't need my help."
"Then get lost, Uzumaki," Jiro spat. He had never liked Kenji, which Shikari never understood. There was no reason for him to be jealous—she had given all of her attention to his unworthy ass. "I just want to talk."
"You've already said enough." Shikari's eyes flashed, and she again turned to leave. "We're over, Jiro. Get over it."
Jiro was practically foaming with rage. "YOU BITCH!" he roared, grabbing her by the arm and jerking her to a halt.
Shikari's eyes flashed dangerously. She glared at the offending appendage.
But suddenly, the hand was ripped off of her, and her view of Jiro was blocked by a red mane.
"Fuck off, Uzumaki!" Jiro yelled, giving Kenji a shove. "This is none of your business!"
Shikari shook her head. Who in their right mind threatens the Hokage's son? Her ex was clearly more obtuse than she previously had thought.
But Kenji didn't even flinch, barely moving from his spot between Shikari and the enraged man. "You know," he started, his emotionless voice betraying his true rage. "I think my dad gave me too many days off. I've been getting rusty." He turned his head slightly, catching Shikari's gaze over his shoulder. "How about that spar?"
In his eyes, she could read his true words.
Please let me help.
His sincerity startled her, and she found herself nodding. "Knock yourself out." But as her gaze moved to Jiro, her cerulean eyes turned hard as diamonds.
But I get him.
Shikari hummed, dragging an unconscious Jiro through the dirt by his vest. She took extra care to drag him through a pile of rocks and some grass that was sure to give him a rash. With much more force than was necessary, she lifted him in the air and threw him into the pile. Yay for upper-body strength!
Jiro's friends groaned as his weight was added on top of them. They had been stupid enough to try to interfere in Shikari's fight, and Kenji had downed them in seconds.
Now, he stood, long hair fluttering softly in the wind. In the middle of the scuffle, the braid had easily fallen loose, and now the bright-red strands, slightly wavy from their braided state, ran free of restraints. He looked at the pile of bastards, a grin reminiscent of the Hokage making its way onto his face. "I don't think he'll be bothering you anymore."
"I hope not," Shikari replied, resisting the urge to kick the pile. Her mother tended to come out in her when she was pissed off, and only sometimes could she control the havoc wreaked by her inner Temari. "I think that he might actually be retarded. Seriously. He had to have been dropped on his head when he was a baby, ten times at least."
Kenji laughed, nimble fingers gathering his hair at the nape of his neck and beginning to braid.
Shikari watched, entranced, as his long fingers expertly maneuvered the hair into its proper place. "Why don't you just cut it?" she murmured, more to herself.
But he had apparently heard her, as his fingers stilled. He blushed. "Someone once told me not to."
Her breath caught in her throat. He remembered? That was so long ago! Shikari turned her head, attempting to hide her own blush.
Fingers reached the end, and Kenji wrapped a hair tie around it to preserve his handiwork. He picked up the abandoned furoshiki off of the grass, then seemed to remember something. "I wasn't following you or anything!" he said hurriedly, a hand waving in front of him.
Shikari blinked.
"The twins forgot their lunch!" He held up the furoshiki as proof. "I was just bringing it to them!"
Shikari smirked. "Relax. I believe you."
Kenji scratched his head sheepishly. "I guess I should get going then. It's almost lunchtime." With a grin and a wave, he turned to leave.
Shikari watched his retreating back thoughtfully. She had misjudged him—Uzumaki Kenji was more than she had perceived him to be. A slight blush still on her face, she called out to him. "Hey, Kenji!"
He hadn't made it that far, and easily heard her. He looked over his shoulder at her curiously.
"Wanna meet me at Ichiraku tomorrow?"
His face visibly lit up. "Like a date?" he asked excitedly.
Shikari rolled her eyes, her blush deepening nonetheless. "Like lunch," she retorted, turning to head home. It was definitely time to feed the deer. It wasn't like they could just as easily eat grass or anything. Nope.
Despite the distance that grew between them, she could still hear his whoops of excitement clear as day. And despite the distance between them, the heat in her face refused to recede.
"Your hair is so pretty, Kecchan!" Slowly, Shikari ran her fingers through the shoulder-length strands, watching in amazement as they seemed to glow in the sunlight. She had never seen anyone with hair like this—her uncle had similar hair, but it had more brown in it. Kenji's was the same color as the sun before it set, as some of the flowers Ino-ba-chan had in her shop.
Kenji grinned, not at all perturbed by his friend's roaming hands. "I think you're pretty," he replied shyly, staring at his shoes.
Shikari smiled. "You're silly." She gave a strand one last twirl of her finger. "Don't ever cut it, 'kay?"
He nodded vigorously. "Okay."
Her cerulean eyes looked at him seriously. She stuck out her pinkie. "Promise?"
He linked his pinkie with hers. "Promise!"
A/N: I'm starting to really love them. :)
Let me know.