"What's this called?" Naruto asked Gemma as he poked and prodded his food.
"It's nothing, but a fried squid." Gemma told Naruto, who shivered in disgust when he saw Hayate slurp one down.
"They're good, Naruto-kun." Ten-Ten told Naruto before she too ate one. Gaara looked at his with a frown before sighing and popping one in his mouth. He chewed a bit in surprise. Naruto's mouth slammed open.
"NO! Spit it out, Gaara!" Naruto told him. Gaara finished chewing and swallowed. "NO!"
"Oh, shut up. You're causing a scene." It was true. Some people were looking.
"Stare any longer and I'll start to charge ya!" Naruto told them, causing them to leave or turn their heads. "How could you eat that?"
"It taste like...chicken ramen." Gaara told Naruto, hoping it would appeal to him. Naruto searched his face to see if he was lying. He then sighed and closed his eyes as he plopped the squid into his mouth and chewed. Naruto's eyes popped open in surprise and joy. Soon, the rest of the squid from the giant plate in the middle of the table was eaten.
Once they were finished, Gemma and Hayate decided to take them to meet Neji, Sasuke, and the others.
"Teme!" Naruto exclaimed happily to a smirking Sasuke as he ran up to meet him.
"And he said he didn't like him." Ten-Ten whispered to Gaara, who smiled and giggled.
"Good evening Gaara? Did you have fun?" Neji asked Gaara, who nodded his head and smiled.
"While they talk, how about I show you something cool that happens to the waterfall at dusk." Gemma suggested to Ten-Ten, who nodded and smiled. She didn't want to just stand there awkwardly. Before they left, Gaara grabbed his arm.
"Nothing better happen to her." He warned Gemma with a look that promised ripped out prostates. Gemma shuddered and nodded his head. Gaara let him go and watched them walk off.
"Ah...that's so cute. You're motherly instincts are so keen. I bet you'll be a great moth-SMACK!" Gaara punched Neji in the back of his head. Neji pouted.
"Did you enjoy the parade?" Sasuke asked Naruto as he led him to a nearby bench. Naruto sat down and nodded his head enthusiastically.
"It was really fun! Especially, the dragons dancing. One winked at me, and I got to try new things like squid!" Naruto exclaimed to him.
"A dragon winked at you. Does this mean I have competition?" Sasuke teased Naruto, who blushed lightly. "You know, if you haven't tried squid before, you probably haven't had a dango."
"Dango?" Naruto repeated in confusion. Sasuke brought his right hand out, which was previously behind his back, and held something on a stick to Naruto. Naruto took it and ate it. He then smiled at the taste.
"I thought you might like it. It's Itachi's favorite desert." Sasuke told Naruto.
"My favorite desert is pineapple and cream..." Naruto told him, but pouted. "But its exotic and really expensive...the only reason I got some was cause of...anyway, what's yours?"
"It use to be Ichigo daifuku, but I think..." Sasuke trailed off and leaned closer to Naruto, who blushed but didn't move. "I rather like the taste of your sweet lips more..."
Naruto melted into the kiss and let Sasuke pull him closer. He wrapped his arm around Sasuke's neck and opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.
"Delicious." Sasuke muttered against Naruto's lips when he pulled away. Naruto's blush deepen, but he smiled.
"Look at all of them." Ten-Ten whispered as the hundreds of beautiful swans swam around. "They're so beautiful."
"Yea..." Gemma agreed, except he was looking at an obivious Ten-Ten. Ten-Ten felt eyes on her, so she turned to look at Gemma. Gemma grinned, causing her to blush, then went to looking at the swans. "They come here every year around this time. It's a beautiful sight; however, you wouldn't want to go down there. My friend, Raidou, learned the hard way that swans are very temperamental and territorial creatures. They nearly pecked him to death."
"I bet that was funny to see." Ten-Ten said with a giggle.
"Hilarious."
"And in order to honor our fallen heroes, this parade was created by the third Hokage." Neji said as he finished explaining the meaning behind the parade to Gaara, who nodded his head.
"I've heard of the great wars...I just didn't know what they were actually about." He told Neji. "I'm sorry about your father."
"Don't be. I'm not. He died for what he believed was right...he died doing what he loved, and that was protecting his loved onces." Neji told Gaara, then asked. "What of your parents?"
"I...I never knew my parents. I think. I lost my memory when I was younger...Naruto took care of me." Gaara answered sadly as he looked down at the ground with a glare. "I wish I could remember...maybe there's someone out there looking for me. Someone that loves me."
"Naruto loves you." Neji pointed out, earning a small smile and nod from Gaara. "And...I think I do too..."
"Neji..." Gaara whispered as Neji closed the gap between them and kissed him gently. "I...I think I lo-"
"Gaara, fireworks!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards Gaara, who lightly pushed Neji away. "Itachi-kun said that there's gonna be fireworks soon! Let's go watch them! Let's go find Ten-Ten."
"No need to. We're right here." Gemma said as he and Ten-Ten walked up. Naruto grinned as he grabbed Ten-Ten and Gaara and dragged them towards the hill everyone was gathering at.
"Energetic little thing, isn't he?" Gemma said in a teasing voice. Sasuke shrugged with a smirk.
"It's one of his better qualities."
"Let's hurry up and catch up with them." Neji told them. They nodded in agreement.
MEANWHILE, GAARA AND THE OTHERS MADE IT TO THE CROWDED HILL
Naruto let go of their hands.
"I can't wait!" He told them with a smile. They nodded their heads in agreement. As Sasuke and the others made their way, the hill got a little crowded and Gaara was some how separated from from them.
"Naruto? Ten-Ten...?" Gaara called as he looked around. He was about to say something else when a hand flew over his mouth and pulled him away from the crowd.
AN: WELL, HERE'S AN UPDATE. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! REVIEW AND VOTE FOR THIS STORY TO BE UPDATED SOONER +COUGH+...ANYWAY...OH, AND GO ON MY PROFILE AND DO THE QUIZ I HAVE POSTED AT THE BOTTOM. MAKE SURE THAT USE YOUR PEN NAME FOR THIS SITE. FIRST 6 TO GET 100% WILL WIN A PRIZE! GOOD LUCK!
OH! AND I DON'T OWN NARUTO...WISH I DID THOUGH T.T