Kankuro is upset. He's upset for many reasons, but the bottom line is he's upset. He's walking me home after spending the last week in the hospital. So I haven't had time to perfect my new moves. I guess I'll just have to wing it when the time comes.
Kankuro sighs angrily beside me. He told me I was too selfless for my own good. I didn't know what to think of that. What scares me the most is that he's only kissed me once since he found out. He was buying me a bracelet when Temari found him. They sprinted to my hospital room, Kankuro forgetting all about his present to me. He didn't even bother to ask what room was mine; he just burst into random rooms searching for me.
When he saw I was conscious, he kissed my nose, and he held my good hand while the other was being healed. Other than that, we've had no physical contact. It's unusual for him. He didn't even try to sneak a peek when I had to change back into my regular clothes today. Though he was still in the room, so I knew he wanted to.
"Kuro-kun?" I ask in a quiet voice. He doesn't even look at me and it stings. "Are you . . . going to break up with me?" I say this in an even softer voice.
This gets his attention; he grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me against the wall of a building we're walking past. He glares at me for a moment then kisses me. He kisses me like it's the last kiss anyone will ever have. When he breaks away he grabs the sides of my face and looks me square in the eye.
"Do not ever, damn it Popori and I mean ever, do that again. Do you know how scared I was when Temari ran in that store, screaming like a banshee that you were hurt? It didn't help at all when I heard why you were hurt. You told him to kill you if he needed to! From what I heard from both my siblings, he very well could have!"
He isn't going to put Gaara down any farther. I'm standing my ground. "Well he didn't I knew he wouldn't, Kankuro. I trusted him."
He looks down as one hand tenses beside my face while the other is clenched at his side. I don't think he's going to say anything else. He's angry beyond words now. I touch my fingers to his face ever so gently. He still refuses to look at me, but his hands are relaxed now.
I kiss him softly. I think this is the sweetest kiss we've ever had. Yes, I'm sure of that. He strokes my hair and plays with my fingers as we kiss. Yes, definitely the sweetest kiss of our relationship. When we pull apart, our foreheads are pressed together. One of his hands holds my mine as the other still strokes my hair. My free hand rests on the side of his face. We stay like this for a while before he breaks the silence.
"I love you, Popori Ikame."
I smile softly and whisper back, "I love you too, Kuro-kun."
He doesn't say anything for a while and seems to be thinking hard. "I'm forfeiting my match."
I pull away from him and give him a look. "No you're not," I say firmly.
His eyes widen, "Why shouldn't I?"
My eyes narrow, "One; because I said so. Two; because I think it's dishonorable to just give up for no reason."
He rolls his eyes, "I have a reason–"
"Really," I cut him off, "then what is it?"
He inhales then blows out his breath threw his nostrils. "I don't want to give away my new abilities."
I stare at him for a moment, "Why? Everyone else is doing just that. Why do you have a problem with it?"
He shrugs, but from the way his blinks are too close together, I can tell he's lying.
"Kankuro," I say solemnly, "if you forfeit, you're going to be in trouble."
He looks at me, "What kind of trouble? I think I can handle you, short stuff."
I glare at him, "Watch yourself, Kitty. Trouble as in no sexual intercourse."
He gawks at me. Then he looks at me like he's challenging me, weighing my bluff. I'm perfectly serious about this. I'm fine with not having sex with him; he's the one that will suffer.
"You," he says through bared teeth, "are way too damn stubborn."
I take that as a victory. "But you love it." I smile triumphantly.
He smirks then presses me up against the wall, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Yeah, it's pretty sexy."
I giggle before he begins our make-out fight.
The next morning my wrist is killing me. I really should still be in the hospital, but I'm such a great actress. I acted as if my wrist didn't bother me at all, when the reality of the situation is that it's all I can think about. I'm wrapping it up in gauze as tightly as I can when someone knocks on my door.
"What?" I ask not looking away from my hand.
Apparently that means 'come in' in Kankuro land because that is what he does. My wrist is bothering me so much that I walk over to him and ask him to do it. His face is red and he has a goofy grin on his lips. I glance over my shoulder at my room as he tries to wrap my hand. My room is a mess; my bed isn't made and my clothes are strewn all over the floor . . .
I blanch and take my hand out of his, and then push him out the door. When I shut the door, I can hear him laughing weirdly.
"Don't get a nosebleed you creep," I mutter to myself.
So I forgot to get dressed. Big deal. I look down to examine the damage. Oh . . . crap. My wrist really is bothering me. In the middle of putting my bra on, I just gave up and started wrapping it. Well, at least my bottom half was covered.
I finish getting dressed then go downstairs. I ask my uncle to help me and try to ignore the spacey look on Kankuro's face. When Uncle Sate finishes, he looks between the two of us. He hands me a muffin with a napkin placed underneath. When I lift up my muffin to take a bite, I notice the note scribbled on it.
"Did he come in at the wrong time?" he wrote. I have to hand it to him; my uncle is a smart cookie.
I nod and awkwardly glance at Kankuro. He has the same goofy grin on his face, and he's picking at his food. Ugh. I finish, and then throw my trash away while running out the door.
I sprint all the way to the arena. It's a pretty day. The sun is out, but there are many clouds shading most of the heat. I don't mind; clouds are gorgeous. I've always wanted to be able to reach out and touch one. Just to see what if feels like.
I don't notice I'm staring until someone bumps into me. I stumble, and then decide just to lie down. I'm fully staring at the white balls of fluff when I see who bumped into me. Shiky is doing the same as me, only he's standing with both hands behind his head. When he sees me, we kind of just stare at one another.
"Shouldn't we be somewhere?" He asks with a smirk on his face.
I nod then stand smiling at him. "Yeah, good luck against Temari, Shiky-kun. I've beaten her sparring, so she's not that tough."
He grins at me, "I'll keep that in mind. Hey, Popori?"
I'm walking into the arena as he says this, so I turn to look at him.
"Is your wrist okay?" He stares at it while he speaks. I see that it's wrapped up, and looks serious.
I wave his worries away, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine, thanks for your concern Mr. Man."
He looks like he's not convinced, just like the time in the second phase, but he just nods and lets me go. "Be careful okay, Ms. Stubborn?" He smirks, mocking me.
I laugh, give him a thumbs up, and wink at him with a crooked grin.
The final round is entertaining. I'm pacing as I watch Naruto and Neji go at it. Hey! I think, I showed him that move! I smirk as Naruto knocks Neji out with the pure force of fist against jaw. I can tell that people are surprised that the knuckle head defeated Neji, but I'm not. During the three weeks I was free to train, Naruto and I sparred together on occasion.
I'm still pacing as Naruto is pronounced the winner.
"Popori. Calm yourself. You look like a cat." Shikamaru says. I glance back at him, he's smirking like my behavior amuses him.
"Sorry. I want it to be my turn already." I grip the rail.
"Sorry woman that would be me." And with that, he walks away.
"Remember what I said, Shiky-kun!" I call after him.
He waves his fingers at me then puts his hands behind his head. I smile, that kid.
The fight between Temari and Shiky is awesome. I thought I was the best strategist. I'll happily sit at second under Shiky. Temari isn't a disappointment either. The brute force of her fan is amazing. She must have been distracted while we were sparring because I saw none of these moves.
Wait a second, did Shiky just forfeit? What?!
"Outrageous," I mutter to myself.
Well, he knows when it's time to give. Respectable little Shiky, he would be a good opponent.
Kankuro and Shino are next. Before I can look to see him he stands and says, "I forfeit."
My jaw drops. That is exactly what I told him not to do, damn it all! Does he never listen? As I'm muttering dark things under my breath I realize something; Sasuke and Gaara are fighting next. I look at the Hokage; he's talking with the Kazekage of the Sand. We lock gazes for a second in which I give him a respectable nod and he grins quickly at me.
I look down to the place where Gaara is waiting for Sasuke to arrive. Just at the ref is about to pronounce Gaara the winner, a breeze rolls in. I smirk then slowly walk closer to the railing.
Kakashi and Sasuke appear. The gray haired Shinobi apologized then moves out of the way. I watch Sasuke. He's stronger; I can tell that even from this distance. Plus, he has the look of someone who has gained a new move. This will be a good fight.
As I predicted, the fight is really captivating. I'm into this way more than I should be. My pulse quickened when I saw Gaara's ultimate defense, and now it should be popping a vein from seeing Sasuke's Chidori. I'm pacing again, not taking my eyes off of the two. Shiky isn't even trying to calm me down anymore. I definitely feel like a cat waiting for its time to pounce now; I really want my turn to hurry up and be here already.
Total chaos forms everywhere in a sudden burst. Sound ninja are attacking everything in sight. I glance at a whole that has formed from the explosion and see Gaara leave through it and Sasuke follow after him. I smirk at the epidemic, then go to work.
AN: So, how do you guys like my story so far? Is it good, boring, in the mediocre? Mind telling me in a review please? I haven't gotten one in a while and they help me a lot. I know everyone says that, but it's the truth for us writers. We love constructive criticism. I don't even mind flames; to me they're pretty much the same thing. As long as they give a reason for being so damn hateful, I'm good.