"Hey Katara," Soma said, in her usual cheerful manner. "Guess what?" she asked. "You found a brain?" Katara asked, darkly. "Ahaha… no… we're going swimming!" Soma said, excitedly. Katara gave Soma a slight glare, but then sighed and went with her.
"HI GUYS!" Soma yelled, waving at Troah, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba. Katara sighed and waved weakly. Soma jumped in, stretching as she rose to the surface. "This feels nice! C'mon Katara!" Soma yelled. Katara sighed again, and began to enter slowly… until Naruto jumped in, splashing everyone around him, including Katara.
"What the hell! I knew this was a mistake!" Katara yelled, getting out of the water. "Aww… come on Katara!" Soma pleaded. "Hell no!" Katara yelled.
Naruto dived beneath the water, heading towards Katara. He veered off, breaking the surface in the opposite direction she was facing. A devilish grin on his face. Soma came up beside him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, knowing exactly what he was about to do.
Naruto ignored her and charged at Katara, getting ready to pull her into the water. Face met with foot as Katara sent him flying with a powerful kick, "I dare you to try that again!" she yelled. "Katara why are you soo stubborn… just get in the water," Soma sighed.
"Why do you care if I'm swimming or not… you're surrounded by guys!" Katara exclaimed. Soma blinked at her, as if forgetting about how she use to act four years ago.
Soma blinked twice, looking around. "OH MY GOD YOU'RE RIGHT!" she exclaimed. 'How'd Katara notice before I did? Oh well…' Soma thought. 'Annoying runt…' Katara thought as Soma swam towards the others.
"Hey Katara! Why aren't you joining them?" Troah asked, swimming up to her. "Not you too Troah," Katara growled. "Aha… still in a bad mood huh? Well… if you wanna be left alone… then I'll leave you alone," he said, swimming off.
"I'm not in a bad mood, if I was in a bad mood I'd know about it… I admit it's not the best day… I came to swim… I'm not in a bad mood," Katara muttered, talking to herself.
"Hey guys! Let's play Water Polo!" Naruto yelled. "Thanks… but no thanks… I'll cheer for you though!" Soma said. Katara sighed, swimming towards them, "I'm in!" she said, smiling. "Nice to see you smile," Kiba joked.
Katara took the ball from Naruto and smoked Kiba in the face with it. "You had to ruin her mood… again," Troah sighed.
"I get to choose teams!" Soma exclaimed. "What? why?" Katara asked. "Because I want to be more involved… without playing," Soma explained. "Idiot…" Kiba muttered. "Yes she is…" Katara muttered as well, shaking her head. "Don't call Soma an idiot!" Troah yelled at Kiba, immediately jumping to Soma's defense. "Hmmm… I have decided!" Soma said, suddenly.
"Why in bloody hell did she put me on your team?" Katara growled at Kiba. "Who knows the way your sister's crazy mind works," Kiba sighed. "Why did I do this again?" Katara sighed.
Katara was first to serve, sending the ball for an easy point. "Boo ya!" Katara said.
"She's good…" Naruto muttered, giving the ball to Troah, so he could serve. The ball flew back and forth, each team gaining points every so often, yet Katara and Kiba always seemed to be one point ahead.
'Hmm, I think… I have an idea…' Naruto thought. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto said, creating three clones of himself.
"What the hell Naruto! That's cheating!" Katara yelled.
"Geez, I don't think I've talked to you since the academy!" Soma exclaimed, "that was like… four years ago!" "I-it has... b-been q-quite a w-while…" Hinata agreed. "So… how are the missions going?" Soma asked. "T-they're o-okay… I g-guess," Hinata said.
"That's good… you still like Naruto?" Soma asked, with a raised eyebrow. Hinata turned a deep red, "h-how d-did y-you know?" she asked. "I have my ways…" Soma said, smiling cheekily.
"If you're going to keep cheating like that I'm not playing anymore!" Katara yelled, wading over to Soma and Hinata. "Hey sis… man I hate cheaters huh?" Soma asked. "Shut up…" Katara growled. 'Great… Naruto got her mad again…' Soma thought, sighing.
"H-hey Katara… u-um… h-how are t-things?" Hinata asked. "They're fine Hinata," Katara said, a lot calmer than how she addressed Soma. "Y-you s-seem a l-little a-agitated," Hinata said. "Yeah… that's because this idiot," Katara said, pointing to Soma, "humiliated me in front of an entire village!" "I said I was sorry!" Soma exclaimed.
"So… how are things at home?" Katara asked, changing the subject. " I-it's" Hinata began. "Everything's fine," Neji said, interrupting Hinata and standing behind them on the bank. "Hi Neji!" Soma said, waving. "Hi…" Katara said, a little awkwardly. "Do I detect some tension in the lovers' lives… some… awkwardness in the exchanging of words?" Soma asked, making the scene even more awkward.
"I thought you weren't talking to me anymore?" Neji asked, giving Soma an odd look. "Did I say that?" Soma asked, thinking hard. " Pest…" Neji sighed. "HEY! I'm not talking to you anymore!... AND I remember why I was not talking to you in the first place!" Soma yelled. "Idiot," Katara muttered, "what is this all about anyways?"
"Katara you suck! Just because I cloned myself, doesn't mean you have to be such a poor sport," Naruto said, joining them. "Anyways," he continued, "Soma got mad at Neji 'cause he called her a pest. And he called her a pest cause she said she had a crush on him...it was really pretty funny." "You have a crush on my boyfriend?" Katara asked, "what about your freaky obsession with Gaara?"
"I don't have a crush on him! I mean I don't have a crush on Neji! I was being sarcastic!" Soma exclaimed. "Good," Neji said. "You quiet… I'm not talking to you anymore… remember?" Soma asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't tell him to be quiet, he can do what he wants… and you're not a doing a very good job of shunning him," Katara remarked.
"U-um… Neji… w-why are y-you here?" Hinata asked. "Oh right… let's cut this crap, Hinata your dad wants you back at the house for an emergency," Neji said, remembering why he came in the first place.
"It's not like him to forget stuff," Kiba remarked. "He probably has a lot on his mind," Troah muttered.
"I'll see you later… okay?" Neji told Katara as Hinata jumped out of the water. Katara just nodded, watching him and Hinata walk off. "What… no goodbye kiss?" Soma asked, cheekily. "Shut up… is that all you want to do when you're in a relationship?" Katara asked. "Well… no… but it would be nice…" Soma muttered.
"Yeah… kissing is the best part," Troah agreed. "See… have you ever kissed Neji?" Soma asked, mockingly. "What's it to you?" Katara snapped. "Well if you did… I know you would tell me right away, are you hiding that you haven't kissed yet, after three years?" Soma asked. "That's not true!" Katara yelled. Soma started to laugh, getting the response that she had been looking for.
Katara hit Soma on the back of her head, "idiot," she growled and got out of the water. "Where are you going?" Soma asked, rubbing the spot Katara had hit. "Home!" Katara snapped.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me… Soma… you like Gaara… a lot right?" Naruto asked. "Yeah… so...?" Soma asked. "Then I guess… its only fair that you know," Naruto said. "Know what?" Soma asked. "Well… he had a run in with the Akatsuki…" Naruto said slowly.
Katara stopped walking upon hearing the name; she slowly looked back at them, trying to hide her interest.
"The… Akatsuki?" Soma echoed, unable to hide the fear in her voice. "What happened? Was he okay? Is he okay? When?" Soma asked, her face pale, desperation in her voice. 'I really have to stop acting like this…' she thought. "Well… there's real good news that comes with what happened… he no longer has Shukaku… he's alive… and he's nicer…" Naruto said, avoiding most of the questions and hoping Soma would be happy with just that.
"Why are you so concerned?" Katara asked, looking oddly at Soma. "I thought you were going home," Soma said, ignoring the question. "Can it! And answer the bloody question!" Katara snapped. "Well… I… I just…" Soma stammered, blushing a deep crimson.
"Uh… Naruto… you n-never told me… when this happened!" Soma exclaimed, still blushing. "Oh… last year… I think… hmm…we're 16 now… so yeah last year," Naruto said. "You have poor memory…" Soma sighed, glad that Katara wasn't pressuring her to answer her question. "Whatever… I'm going home…" Katara said, walking off.
"So… Superstar…" Troah said, smiling. "What have I told you about calling me that?" Soma asked. "I don't remember… do remind me," Troah joked. "Troah…" Soma said, seriously. "We haven't had a concert in a while… or a practice… is something up?" he asked her. "We've been busy… you know that… if you want to practice soo badly… how about… tomorrow afternoon?" Soma asked. "Alright… I'll pass the news on to Choji," Troah said.
"So… Soma… I heard… what Katara asked you… and well… what is… he... to you?" Troah asked, forcing the word 'he' out. "Hmmm… Gaara? Well… he's… I dunno… he's… something special…" Soma said, in a daze. "I don't know how else to describe it… I just… when I'm near him… I feel safe… I felt… as if he were so familiar to me… it felt wonderful…" she continued. Troah eyes widened as he realized how Soma was talking. There was no denying the daydream tone of her voice.
"You… y-you… l-love him?" Troah asked, forcing the question out. His heart hurt at the thought of her loving… a demon. "I wouldn't say… love… he doesn't know I exist… how could I call it love if… only I feel this way?" Soma laughed. 'Even though you won't admit it… you do… you love him…' Troah thought, beginning to panic.
"Have you noticed anything… odd about Katara?" Troah asked, desperately changing the subject. "Hmm… aside from the fact that she's angrier than usual… no," Soma admitted. "Really?" Troah asked. "Why do you ask?" Soma asked. "Well… on the night that you had that… little attack… I saw her sneak out of the hotel room… I don't know where she went… but I had a bad feeling," Troah said, "I was just wondering if you noticed anything."
Soma smiled, "well I haven't… she's still the same old Katara."
"WOOOOooo!" Rock Lee yelled, "I can't wait for the next mission!" "Idiot…" Neji muttered. "Our last mission was pretty easy… but from the sound of it… yours was too, Neji," Tenten said. "It was probably one of the easiest missions of my life," he agreed.
"So what was your mission in the first place? Why were you called out in the middle of the other mission?" Neji asked. " Oh it wasn't that big, we just needed to escort some kid to the village hidden in the waterfall, and there were also too many people on the mission that was assigned to us originally so as you know Naruto came to take us out" Tenten explained.
"These past few missions we've all had have been real easy and a waste of my time" Neji was commenting on. "oh no Neji, do not say that…it is an honor to help others" Rock Lee said, attempting to correct Neji's remark. Neji just looked at him and said "whatever".
"OH NO! I am sorry I have disappointed you Neji…to make up for it I shall run 100 times around Konoha in 10 minutes!" Lee said with fire in his eyes "um…I really don't think that's necessary lee" Tenten was trying to say as he ran away and began his laps.
'hey...isn't that Katara... her and Neji seem to have a bit of a drift between them since they came back from Coffee Bean... I know... I'll give them some alone time... but how...' Tenten thought. She was walking past them. It was behind Neji so he didn't notice.
Tenten sighed, and suddenly began to panic, she was trying to say words but they didn't seem to come out properly. Neji noticed she was acting awkwardly and looked at her confused. " oh wow would you look at the time! We've been talking here for hours!" Tenten said. Neji replied " it's only been 7 minutes" "oh well ! I just realized I have to go iron my laundry! Sorry bye Neji!" Tenten turned around and ran away.
Neji just stared as she disappeared and thought "WTF? What morons" He decided he would also go home. When Neji turned around he saw Katara sitting on the bench a few metres away. She was looking up at the sky; he thought she was probably still in a bad mood so he turned around and began to walk away. " I don't carry a plague you know…" Katara said as he began to move.
Neji looked at Katara, contemplating on whether or not she was mad at him. It was hard to tell. He didn't want her to be... but it didn't help that he didn't know. He slowly approached her, his mind troubled. "Something wrong?" Katara asked, noticing the look immediately. It paid to have an easily troubled sister sometimes.
"What?..." Neji asked in surprise, she was quick. "You know you're…" he began, however before he could finish Katara cut him off and said "sorry" "… what for?" he finished. Katara began to turn red, and was panicking "SHUT UP! YOU KNOW WHAT IM SORRY FOR!" she yelled at him without thinking.
She looked at him with surprise and he returned the expression but with less shock. She began to stutter and said "l…l…look I'm not good at this whole apologizing crap. Especially when I actually mean it…s…so" she turned her head away. He was still looking at her however the look on his face change to an appearance with sincerity.
He just smiled at her and said "I understand, it's alright. I'm not an expert myself". Katara seemed to calm down a little more and looked grateful that he was so considerate. "But you know…." He continued " try not to yell at the person when your apologizing" "HEY!" Katara responded with in her defense " well, I'm just commenting on the fact that if you yell at them, you're going to have to apologize all over again for that" Neji said with some sarcasm in his voice.
" I…you!" Katara said as she was turning about to hit him. " But don't get me wrong…" Neji began to say " I thought it was funny…and cute at the same time" "eh? Neji what the hell is wrong with you?" she said as he pulled her into a hug. Katara was just standing there surprised as she returned the gesture of the hug.
Neji lifted Katara's chin so that she was looking into his eyes. 'Since when... was she...' Neji thought, coming to the realization that he was taller than her, a lot taller. "You are so beautiful," he whispered, his forehead resting against hers. Katara had almost a look of surprise... she didn't think he had ever said that to her before 'well this is new' she thought. Neji leaned towards her; Katara gave in. Their eyes closing as their lips got closer and closer. They kissed.
All of a sudden a thumping noise hit the ground beside the two of them. "what the hell?" Neji said with curiosity. Katara let go of Neji and turned around to see a small bird lying on the sidewalk. "OH MY GOD IT'S A BIRD!" she yelled; it was so loud that an echo was heard through the sky. "what should we do!" she said as she turned to Neji. He was looking down at the bird, not sure what to make of the situation
'why the heck does this happen to me, this is annoying' he thought. He sighed as he noticed Katara picking it up and holding it towards him "hey, fool heal it" she said. "You honestly think I know how to help that bird? Be rational Katara…" before Neji could finish speaking she cut him off saying "what the hell, why does this have to happen now? Clearly this bird fell on the wrong sidewalk we can not help it!" it started to shake, it was clearly dieing, and fast.
" CAW!" it screamed at the two of them "should we get a medic-nin?" Katara asked while she was trying to find the pulse " FOR A BIRD! What? What are you doing now?" Neji asked with frustration "we have to find the pulse….the bird can still make it…don't worry Skipper! We'll save you!" She yelled frantically to the little bird lying on the sidewalk
" YOU NAMED IT! MY GOD WHY AM I HERE! WH— " he saw the bird starting to flinch, and Neji felt a little guilty for standing there the whole time…he began to feel a little remorse "OH NO! SKIPPER…NOO BUDDY DON'T WALK INTO THE LIGHT…TURN AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!" Neji yelled. Both Katara and Neji were kneeling down looking at the bird when they noticed a needle in the birds wing.
"hn?" Neji said as he was taking out the needle "is Skipper still with us?" Katara asked with some anticipation. Neji took the needle out of the wing as the bird seemed to recover quite quickly and flew away (after a few tries of course)
There was a momentary pause, the two of them had just realized what happened. Two of the most respected ninja among their peers had just kneeled down on the ground to give CPR to a bird. Neji just stood up in silence, it was clear that he was frustrated and never wanted to speak of the incident again.
Katara also stood up but cursed along the way. They both were aware that they would never mention this incident to their peers. They would most likely lose all the respect they had. All of a sudden a voice came in, it was Naruto "Hey guys…oh thanks you found my needle, I was target practicing and I missed one so I went looking for it!" he said. The two of them just looked at Naruto, their eyes were so cold that Naruto was tempted to run away.
Naruto gave an awkward smile, "w-well… I guess I'll see ya guys later," he said, nervously.
Katara and Neji began to walk away, not even saying bye.
"Man… they're freaky…" Naruto muttered, walking towards the Ramen shop.