Oh god! XD the cheese! the CHEESE XDDD I apologize for this chapter XDD it was meant to be cute-ish XDDD
Anyways! Another huge hug to the lovely people who've reviewed this n.n It's you guys who really make me want to keep this going!
Naruto: Masashi kishimoto
The branch dangled precariously, half of the base split and splintering, as it continued to slowly pull off from the tree. Naturally, this had thoroughly terrified the boy clinging to it, and repressing the painful, choking sobs that had threatened to spill out now proved impossible.
The little kunoichi in training was now quickly and carefully edging along a branch running parallel to the half fallen one, holding on to another tree limb that had grown directly above the on she balanced on.
"Hold on, Zabuza Kun..." She reassured shakily, now directly opposite him, and leaning over, hand extended.
"I can't reach." came the strained reply.
"Maybe if I..." Kotone made a hesitant little sound, before disappearing from sight completely, much to Zabuza's uneasiness. He could hear some odd sort of rustling, but nothing that told him anything useful about his teammate's supposed plan.
"Zabuza kun!" She called after what seemed like an eternity. "I need you to let go!"
"Are you insane?"
"I'll catch you! I promise!"
He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut as the branch slipped a little farther, and it's connection to the solid tree weakened. "You'll drop me, I know you will."
"I won't!"
"N-No! I'm not sure about this..." He gave another little peek down, shuddering. "I... I can't..."Wether he wanted too or not, gravity then made the choice for him, as the branch snapped off entirely, plummeting to the hazy ground below.
The weightless feel of panicked falling overtook the boy's senses, as air rushed by his face. He had his eyes closed tightly, waiting for the impact. Which he felt... Much too soon. Something had caught the back of his shirt, almost choking him with it, but much to his relief and alarm, he was still suspended above the ground.
He glanced up, eyes widening slightly in surprise. Kotone had him by the shirt, and was essentially hanging upside down, held in place by pressing her legs underneath the branches she had used for support, much as one would do on a set of monkey bars.
"I can't hold on like this much longer," She warned, almost smiling sheepishly. This of course, brought him completely back to his senses, and he managed to scramble back to a secure branch, and began to cautiously climb back down. Kotone righted herself and followed after.
It was only once he reached the ground again that the shock caught up with him, and he found himself shaking almost uncontrollably, his heart and breath racing. Again, he felt his partner wrap her arms around her, but this time, he let her, and actually welcomed the comforting. Kotone who had just had more than a small scare herself was soon crying into the front of his shirt.
They stayed that way for what felt like a long while, until Kotone's frayed nerves calmed them selves, and Zabuza had sufficiently recovered from what would be the first of many brushes with death.
"Kotone," Zabuza started sincerely once completely level."Thanks..."
"Don't mention it. That's what teammates are for, ne?" Her words were hurried, as she had resumed her nervous scanning of the area. Night had fallen, and the darkness was definitely intimidating. "You said home was that way, right?"
He nodded, before beginning to trudge that way, his jumpy partner close beside him, looking over her shoulder whenever she thought she had heard something. A loud, echoing sound startled her, and she grabbed hold of his hand, tightly. "What was that?!"
"It sounded like a owl."
"Oh..."
He had been about to ask her to let go of him, but somehow, it didn't seem important, and he let her hand stay in his. A smile flickered across his face. Just this once. He told himself, straining his ears for anything that might indicate the direction of the ocean. Just until we get home.
By the time they actually reached the academy, it was long past lights out, and the two hesitantly snuck in, as they feared a scolding from the jonin and chunin teachers.
Surprisingly, two frightened academy students, creeping back into the kirigakure academy, tired, and muddy, long past their bedtimes attracted almost no attention. Passing ninja gave the two indifferent glances, at the most, and they quickly scurried to their beds.
Kotone heard her partner settle himself under his blanket. "Goodnight, Zabu kun." She yawned, finishing the greeting that she repeated every night, and that every night went unanswered. She sat up again in surprise, as she heard what sounded like a soft chuckle from his side of their space.
"Goodnight, Kotone."
- - -
Autumn came and went, fading into winter. The close proximity to the ocean kept the temperature almost level, but a deeper chill crept into the academy hallways. Training continued as usual, despite the frost that covered the ground.
As the months went by, Zabuza found himself less and less awkward around his odd little partner, even though occasionally, she displayed an innate gift in annoying the hell out of him. Her other talent, ninjutsu wise, was acrobatics, Kotone proved highly flexible, and agile, (Zabuza often found her irritatingly showy) an odd contrast to his primarily direct taijutsu style, more focussed on strength.
Still, as irksome as she could be, he couldn't help but find himself growing slightly attached to the little weirdo.
Which is why it had confused him to no end when she had begun acting completely out of character sometime in the middle of December. She was oddly quiet, and detached, simply going through the motions of the drills lamely. Zabuza had begrudgingly accepted that Kotone, in his opinion, talked too much, and that no amount of 'shut up,' or 'be quiets' would ever be enough to change that. Which is why it confused him completely when her sudden muteness vexed him more than her typical chatter. She had quietly announced at bedtime that night, that she had just turned seven. It had taken him a moment to remember why her birthday, of all things, would be upsetting.
As winter progressed, and the mercury dropped, night time became colder, and colder. At night, the children would often huddle close to their partner to keep warm, out of necessity. Kotone and Zabuza, however, being the stubborn beings they were, stayed on their own, shivering, long after the others had paired up. When the cold did finally become to much for them, it became an odd sort of game.
Kotone would ask, ( Generally, it would be a simplke statement of 'I'm cold' rather than a request) and he would wait for a moment, before agreeing. An odd sort of compromise. In Kotone's mind, she had won, as he had given in. And in Zabuza's view, he had allowed her to curl up beside him, so he had won. That kept them both happy.
The same routine repeated itself almost exactly during the particularly cold weather, such as one especially frigid night in February.
"Zabuza Kun? Are you awake"
He slid one eye open, rolling over slightly. "I am now."
"I'm cold."
He paused for a much shorter time than usual, as tonight, he had simply been waiting for her to ask, desperate for the extra bit of warmth. He could actually hear Kotone's teeth chattering. "Fine."
He heard her get up, dragging her mat over to his-he didn't she why she bothered, she somehow always ended up on his side anyways- moving quickly, as the ground felt icy under her bare feet.
She tossed her blanket over his, before nestling next to him, with a tiny sigh. Zabuza shuddered. She felt like ice, but he knew that was only temporary.
After a while, they began to feel warmer, and Kotone snuggled a little closer. "Zabuza kun?" She said sleepily. "Are we friends?"
"Whaa...? Oh. Yeah, sure." He replied, yawning, not fully awake.
"Will we be friends when we're genin?"
"Yeah."
"When we're chunin?"
"I'd think so."
"Jonin?"
"I don't know... I don't see why we wouldn't."
"Old people, with hair growing out our noses?"
"Aw, yuck, Kotone. That's nasty. Come on, I'm trying to sleep."
There was a long pause, before she spoke again, sounding hopeful. "'Till hell freezes over?"
He rolled over again, a small smile pulling at his mouth, as he nudged a bit closer. "Till hell freezes over...? Yeah. that sounds about right."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Er... XD thanks so much for reading n.n please review, ( reviews make me a very happy RenRen XD) and have a nice day:D