She woke up earlier than she expected to the next morning. She wasn't sure when Jun and Isao had returned, and wasn't too concerned with that problem either. It was still early in the morning and all she wanted to do was get something to eat. She wasn't really sure what would be open at this time of day, if anything was, and so decided to eat two of the apples that they had laying in the kitchen of their rented apartment.
The apartment had two bedrooms, and since there was three of them that meant someone had to sleep on the sofa in the living room. Jun had offered, since he was male and younger than Isao was. Kameko had to tiptoe past him when she got to the kitchen for her snack.
She knew after finishing the apples that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep at that point, so instead she decided to go out, back to the pond that she had spent some time at last night. If she was lucky, she wouldn't be bothered by anyone.
She went to her room and changed out of her night clothes and into her regular ensemble. A dark gray shirt with a high collar – to cover her neck better should anyone be aiming for it – that buttoned from the edge of the collar to right below her bust. This made it easier to slip on and off, since the bottom of the shirt extended to form a skirt like appearance. Practically a dress with high slits up the thighs, if one looked at it long enough. To keep her legs covered and protected, she wore regular shinobi pants. Typically, there would also be a kunai pouch strapped to her thigh, but she didn't see any reason why she would need to use such a thing during festival times. Once she had finished changing, she pulled her hair into a tie and headed out the door, trying her best not to awaken her cousin.
Kameko returned to the almost exact spot that Temari and Kankuro had found her the night before. She knelt down in front of the pond and stared out over it. She didn't want to look directly down, to see her own reflection in the still pool. Once she did, she wasn't sure just how long she could go without entering that dangerous state of focus. She hadn't used any of her chakra in the last day or two, so it had built up, but she wasn't wanting to risk it without someone being there with her.
She took a deep breath and released it as an even deeper sigh. If only she hadn't broken the law, then she wouldn't have to be as concerned. If only she didn't know what would happen. If only she knew when. She shook the thoughts from her mind, there was nothing that could change this now. The only thing that could change that is if she had been wrong, which is rare for her bloodline.
"So this is where you were." Kameko turned around to see Jun standing a few paces behind her. It was possible that she had woken him up, but Jun was a heavy sleeper so it wasn't very likely. "What are you doing out here so early in the morning?" he asked with a chuckle. He walked over, plopping down next to her.
"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep," she said. Her focus was now entirely on him. She didn't want to admit that she was worrying about the past again. He always seemed to become angry rather than concerned.
"Huh," was his only response. "Well, you did get back a lot sooner than me and Isao sensei. So I guess you got more sleep than we did." He scratched his head before propping his chin on his hand.
"So why are you up? It's odd for you to have gotten that little sleep and be awake." She couldn't help but think something important had happened.
Well, as she soon found out, it wasn't necessarily important. "Well, two people came looking for you. Not really sure who they are, but they said they're from Suna. They said that you seemed to not be feeling well last night and came back early. They were concerned and wanted to check on your health." He chuckled, continuing with "Who would have thought someone would come to check on you so soon after meeting you, huh?"
To Jun, this was amusing. It was odd for people to warm up to her, since it was odd for her to warm up to people. So for two people, strangers really, to come and ask after her, it was in fact strange. And Jun loved to laugh at strange things.
"And the boy! He had his face all painted in this purple paint. It also looked kind of funny." Jun snickered between sentences. "Oh, but not in a bad way! It was pretty cool." He was wary of possibly making fun of friends of Kameko's, he didn't want to drive them away.
She thought this over for a moment, trying to decide what to do. With one last glance at the water, she let out a sigh. The wind was blowing now and so the previously still surface was now rippling in the breeze. "I don't have plans today. We could pay them a visit if you're wanting to meet them properly." Kameko was sure Jun would want to take her up on her offer, he was always eager to make new friends. The more friends he had, the more people he had to buy him food.
Temari answered the knock that came early that morning. She wasn't expecting anyone to come for a visit today, and knew damn well that neither of her brothers had invited anyone over. Well, perhaps Kankuro had, but the time of day would have been odd for a visit. What really surprised her was the fact that it was Kameko and the boy they had met just an hour before when they went to ask after her.
"Hey, Kankuro, come look. It's Kameko!" She waved to her brother on the couch, trying to get him to come over quickly. He gave a laugh as he came over, telling her "I told you she wasn't sick!"
"What can we do for you two?" Temari asked.
Kameko bowed a short bow to the slightly older girl, showing her gratitude. "I wanted to thank you for asking about my health. It means a great lot to me that the siblings of the future Kazekage is so caring of someone they have recently met." She lifted her head to give a shy smile to Temari. "This is my cousin Jun, we're traveling together with our sensei." She gestured to Jun, nudging him slightly, so he would also bow to the siblings.
"You came all this way just for that?" Kankuro questioned. "Well, have you two eaten breakfast yet? Might as well join us!"
"Excellent! We'd both really like that." Jun was never one to say no to free food. "Come on in Kameko, it would be rude to refuse their offer.
Oh how rash you can be… she thought. You don't even know their names. "Yes, thank you. That's very kind of you." Kameko followed them inside and into the kitchen. Temari sat her down at the end of the table, opposite of where usually the head of the table would sit. Kameko was about to thank her again before Temari shushed her, saying that it was a hassle to have to tell her "you're welcome" every time she was thanked. She said the best way to thank her was to share the meal with them happily.
"Kankuro, kindly go fetch our little Gaara for me, would you?" Temari said sweetly. "Tell him we have guests, so to come down looking presentable!" And with that, she went to get plates.
Jun, sitting to the left of Kameko at the six person table, flashed her a smile. "These friends of yours sure are nice, huh? You said these were the siblings to the future Kazekage?" She nodded. "Huh, makes you wonder what the actual guy is like… I bet he's as friendly as his brother and sister." Jun smiled and crossed his arms triumphantly, confirming his assumption on his own without even bothering to ask Kameko if he was right or not.
The thought of Gaara being as friendly as Temari or Kankuro brought a small smile to her face. Sure, she didn't know the trio very well, but anyone, especially a stranger, could tell that they're much different compared to him.
The three siblings happened to all come to the table at once, Kankuro and Temari taking opposite sides from each other, and Gaara taking the spot at the head of the table. "Well, do ahead and eat," Temari said.
Breakfast went by slowly for Kameko. Jun had all sorts of questions for the siblings, who they were exactly, how old they all were, what they were like, what their village was like, everything. Jun always liked to get to know people, unlike Kameko who never liked to form relationships with others. Isao told her she should do as Jun does with befriending others, especially those in power as it might come in handy in her future. She always scoffed at the irony of his words.
It wasn't long before Jun had run out of questions that they – Temari and Kankuro that is, since Gaara was not much for conversation – started asking their own. Most of them were similar, and Jun was happy to give them answers. It was when they were cut off that Kameko began to be uncomfortable.
"Yours eyes. Why are they different from your cousin's?" It was the first thing Gaara had asked Jun through the whole meal.
It was the first time she realized she didn't like him. Kameko's face flushed, and she shot a look at Jun. Please… Don't say. Jun recognized the look and gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Perhaps this is something we could talk about at another time." Was his answer. "Hey, how about we meet up at the festival today and maybe we can talk some more?" He flashed the siblings a smile and Temari agreed to the meeting. "Great! Well, I think it's about time that we head back, Isao is probably worried about us. Thanks so much for breakfast, we really appreciate it."
Kameko said nothing, only stood and bowed to them. She rushed out the door, hoping the air outside was cool so her face would no longer be obviously red. Like hell I'll tell them such a thing.