Konoha High

On the left before the beginning paragraph, you'll usually see a name. Whoever's name is written will be narrating, but it might change more than once, so read carefully if you don't wanna get lost.

3 - Friends

Kiba Inuzuka

I'm taking Akamaru out for a walk, and I see Amaya and her sister about thirty yards away.

"Hey!" I run to them, they're stopping so I can catch up.

"Where are you guys going?" I ask. They're wearing their uniforms for some reason.

"School… Where else?" Amaya's sister replies.

"Well, I was talking to Amaya, but umm okay… and well… You do know there's no school today, or for the next two weeks, right?"

Amaya's face is turning red, "Ai-Aiko-nee-san! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well… I forgot, too…" Her sister Aiko is scrunching up her lips and looking to her right to avoid further embarrassment.

"Amaya! Let's go back home."

"O-okay…"

"Wait!" I shout. They're both staring at me.

"Umm… Hey Amaya, wanna um, hang out later?"

"Uh… S-sure, K-K-Kiba-san…"

"Meet me in front of the school at about 11 I guess." She nods and walks away.

Amaya Shimizu

It's not gonna be that bad… Yeah, right. Why did I tell myself that?! I'm on my way to school then meet Kiba, who tells me that we don't even have school today… I'm such an idiot.

But he told me to meet him in front of the school at 11.. Does this mean that we're… friends? Well it's about 8 right now, so I have three hours to get ready.

"Hey Amaya," Aiko walks into my room. "Are you gonna go?"

"I guess so…"

"Nice. He seems like a good friend to have."

"Yeah…" She walks out, and I start pouring all my clothes out of the box, then I arrange them in my closet. I put all my shoes on the floor of the closet, against the wall.

What should I wear…?

I look through all the clothes and decide to wear a yellow t-shirt with blue jeans and yellow Converse. I think I should wear a jacket, so I look for a white one to match the rest of the outfit.

Okay… You're going to hang out with a friend from school, calm down, it's nothing difficult. Just… don't freak out. Don't go emo on them.

"Aiko, I'm leaving now…" I open the front door and start walking to Konoha High.

[…]

"Amaya?… How long have you been here?" Shikamaru asks as he waves and sits by me on the stairs to the entrance of the school.

"Since about… 8:45."

"Why so early?"

"Had nothing better to do. Well hey, it's only 9:30. I should be asking you the same thing."

He stretches, yawns, then lays back on the stairs. "This is one of my sky gazing places."

"Sky gazing places?" I ask.

"Yeah." He has his hands behind his hand, and he's not even looking at me. He's looking at… Oh. He's looking up; at the sky.

"Cool… I like watching the sky, too. Especially at night, when the stars are visible, or whenever it rains."

"When it rains?"

"Well… I just like rain. I don't really need to look at the sky, I just like looking up and feeling the precipitation fall lightly on my face…," I look down awkwardly. "…It must sound kinda weird…"

"Nahh. But I can tell you, you're really suited to your name."

"Huh?"

"Hmm, well," he starts explaining, "You like to watch the sky at night. And you really like rain. I bet you must love taking walks in the rain at night. Aha, well, your name means 'night rain,' right? Amaya."

"Oh… yeah. I hadn't really thought about it."

For a moment we're both quiet. Then he pats the spot on the stair about seven inches from his head. "Why don't you give sky gazing a try in the daytime?" He laughs.

I lay back, and for a while it's uncomfortable, but then I get used to it. The sky is really amazing to look at in the daytime. "I can see why you like this so much now…"

"Yeah, aha, but what really fascinates me is the clouds. That's what got me into sky gazing." He looks so happy, laying there watching clouds.

"Hmm, cool. Why the clouds?"

"The fact that they aren't bound to anything. That they just move carelessly about the sky. That they're just…free."

"Oh…" Shikamaru's true thoughts are so much deeper than I'd thought, after seeing the way that he falls asleep in class, or how he calls everything such a drag. I have a feeling that he's a lot smarter than he lets on.

Shikamaru Nara

Amaya stares up at the clouds. Most people question me when I tell them about my fascination with sky gazing and cloud-watching, but she just…accepted it and started cloud-gazing with me.

I thought I would be alone, I mean, I was about an hour or two early, but when I got there, she was already standing in front of Konoha High… If I'd known she'd be three whole hours ahead of time, I would've come sooner, so she wouldn't be alone for an hour and a half.

"Amaya?"

"Hmm?"

"Kiba said 11, right?" I ask. I already know the answer, but it's pretty quiet, and getting kinda awkward.

"Yeah."

"Okay."

It's quiet again. The silence, to me, is usually nice, but now it's kinda killing me.

"So what was it like? You know, before you moved here."

"Hmm… It was alright I guess."

"Must suck that you had to move."

"Yeah… Well, honestly, it really sucked before I moved…"

"Why?" I guess I've been wondering what her life was like in Kiriga.

"Well… It was really lonely. I didn't have many friends there, and on my way here, I was actually pretty terrified. This school is pretty notorious for its students, you know… But I'm glad to be sitting here, right now, waiting for a friend. I'm not a very social person, so this is a really good change for me, I guess."

"Ahh, okay. I know what you're talking about. Before, I thought interacting with people was a waste of time, and, well, such a drag." We both laugh. "Then I realized friends are a good thing to have. There are still some really irritating people, but aha, I can manage with few friends."

Again, we're both quiet, staring up at the sky. "Do you know what time it is?" She asks.

"Oh, umm.." I sit up, take my cell phone out of my pocket, and check. "10:20."

"Thanks."

"You don't have a phone?"

"I do, but… I don't use it much. I'm not really used to using one anymore, since there's no purpose, other than to call Aiko."

"Well, give me your phone real quick," I put out my hand so she can set her phone there. "And there you go."

"What did you do?" She takes it back from me.

"Nothing."

Amaya puts her phone back in her pocket, lies back down on the ground, and sighs. "Just a couple of minutes now…"

Amaya Shimizu

"Amaya, Shikamaru?" Kiba walks past the gate and onto the school yard, getting closer to the steps where Shikamaru and I are sitting.

"How long have you been here?"

"Since 9:30."

"Not you. Amaya. I know you always come early anyway."

"Oh…, 8:45."

"What?! Don't tell me you're like Shikamaru…except worse."

We all laugh. "So who else is invited?" I ask.

"Oh, the usual group," Kiba answers, "Me, Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Lee, and sometimes Neji. Oh, and of course, Akamaru here. We don't bother to exclude anyone, but those are just people who can actually tolerate us…most of the time." He smirks. His dog Akamaru is sitting on the ground beside him.

Kiba takes a seat on the stairs next to Shikamaru. We're waiting for Choji, because apparently he's Shikamaru's best friend, and Naruto and Neji don't particularly need to be waited for.

"Shikamaru!" Choji runs through the gate, some crumbs falling from a barbeque-flavored potato chip bag. "Kiba! Amaya!" He stands in front of us and smiles. He said my name like it was completely normal for me to be hanging out with them.

"So where are we gonna go?" He asks.

"Park. Maybe the mall," Kiba says.

"Well, let's let Amaya decide," Shikamaru suggests.

"Uhh… well… we could um… go to the park?"

"Sorry Amaya, but that's lame! Let's go to the mall." Naruto jumps over the gate and leans against it.

"Well why the hell do you wanna go to the mall?" Shikamaru mumbles.

"Just 'cause. C'mon, let's go." He walks past the gate again and turns right.

"Ahh, well I guess we're going to the mall," Shikamaru tells me, "Just follow Naruto. It's that way."

[…]

"Here we are." Kiba gestures to the mall with his hand. "This place is pretty packed on weekends though. Why do you wanna be here, Naruto? And no I don't know, either."

"Well no reason, really. Just a good place to hang out is all."

"We'll see about that…" Shikamaru smirks.

I think we're going to the food court, but I can't be sure. I've never been here before, but as Kiba said, it's packed with people. This place is huge, with clothing stores everywhere and other technology stores, hardware stores, and more in between.

When we stop walking, we're standing in front of a table in the food court, and Naruto casually takes a seat. "Ahh. I'm so hungry…" Choji says, and immediately drags Shikamaru to a food stand. "Look! Dangos on a stick!"

"So…" I say, left with Kiba and Naruto.

"Well. I should show Amaya around. Naruto can stay here and save our spot."

"K. Whatever."

Kiba walks past the restrooms, then sits on the ledge of a fountain. "So this is where most people hang out. There's a place specifically for me, Naruto, and our group to hang out, but I'll save that for when all of us are here."

"You can't just show me now?" I frown.

"Nahh… I'm making you wait," he sticks his tongue out at me.

We decide to head back to Naruto, but when we get to the table, he's not even sitting there.

"Where is he?" I ask.

Kiba smiles, and points at a table across the food court. Sakura's sitting there, with some other girls. Naruto is sitting at the table behind them, probably eavesdropping or waiting for a chance to talk to Sakura.

"Oh God…" Kiba's laughing. "I dunno how he's gonna pull this off."

"I think I'm just gonna go…um, help him out." I feel bad for him, longing for someone but not getting any attention.

I start walking toward the table he's sitting at, then sit with him. He's staring at me, at first completely confused, then relieved.

"Thank you. We should probably get up now though…"

"Uh, no. You sat here for a reason. Go. Now." I feel like I'm smirking now, like Shikamaru or Kiba.

"What? No way! I can't talk to Sakura! All of her friends are with her!"

I sigh. "Fine. Use me as an alibi. Tell her we're hanging out with Kiba and the others. Make her introduce me to the other girls she's with, since I don't know them, either."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now c'mon!"

He stands up and pushes me toward Sakura's table.

"H-Hi, Sakura-chan." A girl with a clip in her long, blonde (almost white) hair giggles and whispers something to Sakura as Naruto says it.

"Hey, Naruto. Oh! You're with Amaya. Hi." She smiles, but more at me.

"Hey," I smile back, "I was just with Naruto and Kiba. First time at the mall."

"First time? Seriously?" The girl with blonde hair asks.

"Yeah."

"No way! We need to show you around. I mean, like, really need to. Oh, I'm Ino, by the way." She smiles and holds out her hand.

"Yeahh, sure, maybe next time. I'm Amaya." I shake her hand.

"Hi there," says a girl with a bun on either side of her head. Her voice is high-pitched and cheery, and she's wearing a white tank top tucked into a red skirt and matching flats. "I'm TenTen!"

"Nice to meet you."

Sakura looks at TenTen, then at me, then frowns.

"Dang it! Well… We should show you around next time, like you said. I hope Hinata-chan can make it, too. You need to meet her, she's in our class. Really nice. Like seriously, really nice."

"Oh, really? I'm looking forward to it. Well…, Kiba and Naruto were just buying some snacks, then Naruto saw you and decided to say hi."

"That's nice, hey, tell me when you're up to hang out here again, I'll make Hinata come!"
"You got it."

"Okay, well we're gonna continue shopping so see ya around!" Sakura waved back at us as she walked away with her friends. Naruto's sighing.

"See? She never wants to talk to me."

"It's because you're too awkward and weird."

"Thanks a lot."

"Let's go back, I think Choji and Shikamaru are done buying food."

"Okay."

When we get back to our own table, it's covered with bowls of ice cream, bags of chips, a bowl of soup, frozen yogurt, three orders of Dangos on a Stick, and a extra-large bottle of Coca-Cola.

"Damn, Choji. Thanks for buying us all this food!" Naruto yelled.

"Ohh no," Shikamaru replied, "This isn't for all of us."

"That's right…, most of this is for me," Choji said, "But I bought all of you ice cream. Don't fight over which one you want, I got all the flavors you like. Uhh…Except Amaya. Sorry. I just went with cotton candy for you."

"That's fine," I pick up the bowl with blue ice cream in it, there are specks of chocolate shavings. "Thanks, Choji."

He smiles and begins eating, while Kiba, Naruto, and Shikamaru pick up their own bowls of ice cream.

"So who usually gets which flavor?" I ask.

They each hold up a bowl.

"I get rocky road," says Kiba.

"Vanilla with tons of toppings," Naruto digs out a gummy worm and starts chewing on it.

"And me? I like…" He tilts his bowl so the blue-and-brown colored ice cream is visible. "Cotton candy. With. Chocolate. Shavings."

"Oh, so you got the same one for me."

"Yep. Eat up, it's delicious."

We sit around the table and eat our ice cream, with the exception of Choji, who feasts on Dangos.

"Wait, wait," Naruto stops eating, "Let's make a toast."

"Why?" Kiba asks.

"To us. Ten years of friendship-no homo, guys-and a new addition; Amaya. C'mon, join us."

"To us," we all say in unison.

"And to Amaya," Shikamaru adds. They all toast again.