"I wasn't really thinking, I guess," Kotori murmured, getting up, then holding a hand out for the red-haired boy. Gaara took her hand, out of courtesy, than necessity, and got up, "I think I can return to Konoha now..."
Gaara stared at the small girl, sensing the way she had suddenly gotten quiet meaning to suggest something was wrong.
"Why do you not want to return?" He questioned. "Every shinobi loves their village, which is why they're willing to lay down their lives for it, but you're not like that."
Kotori sighed, frowning in her mind. A smile formed on her lips, yet it did not reach her eyes.
"It's not that I don't want to return," she lied, "I just don't know whether I'll hold up for the whole journey."
Pretending to always be okay seemed to have made her a good liar, she thought, realising how quickly that lie had rolled off her tongue.
Gaara stared at her sceptically, however, his face didn't portray it.
"Maybe you should train first, before you go, so you can get used to doing things again," he suggested, thinking it to be good for his mission.
"That's a good idea," she murmured, not really paying attention. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled, causing her to blush and laugh sheepishly, "sorry."
"It's understandable," Gaara simply replied, "come on, let's get you lunch, since you missed breakfast."
Kotori laughed sheepishly again, then followed him, not caring she was walking behind him; it was better than him walking behind her, she thought to herself. If he did, he'd probably kill her.
After a few more long, winding corridors, the two exited the large, pale white house belonging to Gaara and stepped out onto the dry, sandy streets of Sunagakure. The intense heat was the first thing that hit Kotori. The second: the sand. Kotori covered her eyes with her arm to stop the sand from getting into them. The air was uncomfortably hot and dry, and sand was picked up by it and flying around them. A few people were out and about, their faces wrapped up in cloth to stop the sand from getting into their eyes. Kotori wished she had done the same. Suddenly, she felt the sand stop hitting her skin, so she took her arm away, looking around to see what had stopped it . To her right, she saw a large layer of sand curve upwards above her head, acting as a barrier to stop the flying sand from reaching her. To her right, stood an impassive red-haired boy, who didn't bother to look at her.
"Keep up," he stated, continuing to walk again. Kotori realised the sand didn't move with him, like she'd expected; she wasn't really sure what to make of it. She sighed, then continued walking. She would just have to keep up this happy façade till she was back in Konohagakure; with luck, they would even leave today. Strange, she actually wanted to go back, she thought to herself...then realised she didn't really want to and she was only being nostalgic. Kotori shook her head and focused on catching up with Gaara, who was several feet in front of her. She noticed that when the flying sand came towards him, it seemed to drop at his feet. Ahh, so that was why he didn't need the curved sand wall he'd made for he. she thought, as she started to walk again.
It wasn't long until they reached an impressive round building with the words Saeki's Cafe written in bold red outside. The building itself was outlined with red on the roof and door. Pushing the arched door open, Gaara walked inside, Kotori following behind him. Immediately, her body relaxed, the prickling heat sensation, she didn't realise she'd been feeling, leaving her. The interior was much like the exterior. The sofa-seats and tables were gold in colour and outlined in red; most of the seats were situated besides the wide windows that looked out onto the sandy streets of Sunagakura. However, there were a few tables with chairs around them situated more inwards. An arched burgundy door to the far right held a white sign situated above it that read "Staff Only" in bold red and a large gold table top outlined in red as well spanned the café with tall, round red seats placed in front of it and a cooking top behind it. A man and two women were seen to be serving customers behind this table top and another three women and three men were seen in red and black serving customers or taking orders.
Gaara sat down in a sofa that was a few sofas in from the door; Kotori sat in front of him, both sitting on the edge closer to the interior of the café than the window. A waitress came and placed two menus down for them; her and Gaara exchanging greetings. She then bowed formally, then left the two of them alone. Gaara turned to face Kotori.
"Have a look and tell me what you want; I'll pay no matter what it is," he said as if money was not an issue to him. Kotori nodded, grabbing the menu and skimming through it. Overwhelmed by the amount on offer, she closed the menu and put it down, looking sheepishly at Gaara.
"On second thought, could you order for me? I don't really know what's good and what's not, so..." She trailed off. Gaara's lips twitched into a smile, one that Kotori failed to notice. He nodded, then called the waitress over.
"Are you allergic to anything?" He asked; Kotori shook her head.
In the end, she really didn't pay attention to what he'd ordered for her, or himself, so she guessed it'd be a surprise; a pleasant one, hopefully. A comfortable silence passed over the two as they waited for their food to arrive.
Suddenly, the laidback buzz of the café was intruded upon by the bell of the front door chiming, indicating someone had come in. Kotori ignored it, expecting it to be someone of no concern to her.
"Oh, Gaara!" A male voice exclaimed. "I didn't expect to find you here. And you've got a date!"
A boy slightly older than the two of them stood in front of them smirking in their direction; the most noticeable thing about him was his purple makeup. At his words, Kotori made a face.
"He's more likely to kill me than date me," she replied, jutting her thumb at Gaara. An amused smile played on Gaara's lips, but he said nothing in response.
"True," the older boy replied, "but it's not out of the question."
Kotori made a face again, while Gaara moved up to allow the boy to sit down.
"Who are you, anyway?" She asked.
"Me? I'm Kankuro," he replied, "your boyfriend's older brother," he added cheekily.
"We're not dating!" Kotori exclaimed in exasperation.
"Of course not," he replied, winking at her, "I wonder what Matsuri will say," he murmured, pretending to ponder over something.
"Why would Matsuri say anything?" Gaara asked obliviously.
Kankuro stared at his younger brother, then shook his head.
"Little brother, you're too clueless," he said simply, "which reminds me, Temari and Matsuri are coming here soon."
As soon as he finished his sentence, the same waitress came to their table.
"Hey Yumiko, could I get the usual? Temari and Matsuri are coming as well, so could you get their usual done as well?" Kankuro asked, casually addressing the waitress.
The waitress nodded, writing on her pad.
"Will do," she replied, before bowing formally again, then walking away.
Before the conversation could start up again, the front doorbe chimed again. Kankuro got up and waved the newcomers over.
Two girls, both seeming to be older than her stood by their table. One carried a fan and the other, nothing as far as Kotori could see.
"Oh? Could this be Gaara's first girlfriend?" The girl with the fan asked, bending down to be at eye level with Kotori. Kotori shook her head vigorously.
"No! Not at all!" She exclaimed, sighing tiredly afterwards.
"I said the same thing," Kankuro interjected, amusement laced in his voice.
"Ahh, young love, how cute," the older girl teased, ruffling Kotori's hair, causing her to pout, "I'm Temari, Gaara's older sister."
"I'm Kotori," she replied simply.
The other girl beside Temari said nothing, merely frowned in Kotori's direction.
"Say, can you move up, I'm tired as hell, so I really want to sit down," Temari said, addressing Kotori. Surprised, Kotori just nodded, before moving up, "go on Matsuri, you can sit down first."
The other girl nodded, taking a seat beside Kotori; Temari following suit. Once the two girls sat down, it wasn't long for a casual conversation to be instigated between the five teenagers. Though, it wasn't long before their food arrived and everyone was eating something different, aside from Kotori and Gaara, who had the same thing. Looking at Gaara, she addressed him.
"You ordered the same thing for me?" She asked; Gaara nodded.
"It's what I normally order here; if you don't like it, we can order something else for you," he replied.
Kotori shook her head.
"No, it's fine," she said simply, tucking into the food," it's good," she added, smiling widely in his direction.
"Young love," Temari repeated to Kankuro, the boy nodding with a teasing smirk.
Dear lord, it's been almost a year! I'm so very sorry for not updating; I will focus more on this story for now, so please bear with me /.\ thank you to Inazuma Kaiten for always reviewing. Reviews make me a happy panda and make chapers come out faster *hint*hint* :'3 well, 'till next time!