Chapter 32
Running as fast as my legs could carry me, and no idea where I would find Lee, I kept running down random streets, until I began to run out of breath.
I was stopped near the Yamanaka flower shop by none other than Daisuke and Susumu. Judging by their expressions, they were up to something. Daisuke waves to me, so naturally I walk over to them.
"What's up guys?" I ask. Daisuke clears his throat while Susumu rolls his eyes.
"Setsuki-chan." Daisuke says, getting that grin that I don't trust.
"Yesss?" I reply, quickly observing the surroundings for an escape route in case he tries something. He then holds out a red rose and winks at me. My eyes widen at the rose and I take a step back.
"Won't you come on a da-"
"WAHHHHHH!" I bolt away screaming.
"What's up with that?" Daisuke inquires, sweatdropping.
"I told you it wouldn't work." Susumu replies smugly.
"But why not?"
"She's scared of plants with thorns. That includes roses." Susumu replies. Daisuke growls.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT EARLIER!" Daisuke shouts, grabbing Susumu's shirt and violently shaking him back and forth.
I ran until I came by my house, then went inside, and slammed the door behind me and leaned against it panting. Takashi looks around the corner with a questioning look.
"Setsuki..?"
I kept breathing really fast, then I take a deep breath and slide down against the door to my butt. "Hi. Uncle." I pant slightly.
"What are you.. doing..?" He inquires, walking over to me.
"DAISUKE'S TRYING TO KILL ME AGAIN!" I shout, making him jump. He then sweatdrops.
"What did he do now..? Get another fake spider?"
"SPIDER? WHERE?" I panic, looking around frantically.
"... Th-"
"AHH!" I jump. Takashi frowns at me.
"Se-"
"WHERE?"
"SHUT UP!"
I blink and look back at him.
"Ugh... tell me without freaking out."
"Tell you what?" I ask with a blank expression. He folds his arms. "... OHHH Daisuke! Yeah! He had a flower! He was going to kill me with it!"
Takashi sweatdrops massively, and his fringe covers his eyes. "Sometimes I wish we weren't related..." He mumbles.
"Huh?" I stand up.
"Don't worry." He sighs. "Come on, lets have some coffe- er, juice and-"
"I want coffee!" I exclaim with a big smile. I've never tasted it before, and he drinks it all the time, so it must be good!
"No! .. No. No coffee."
"Why?"
"You'll be bouncing off the walls if you do!" He says, looking over his shoulder at me.
"... So..?" I inquire. "What's wrong with that?"
His silence was enough to tell me to shut up, so I follow him quietly into the kitchen. That's when I notice some chocolate sitting on the bench, and the biggest grin spread across my face.
"I love you uncle!" I chirp, grabbing it.
"Hm?" He turns around and frowns. "Setsuki. That was for our guests." Takashi says as I take the biggest bite I could possibly take out of it.
"Gwasts?" I spit out, trying to chew. "Ot gwasts?"
"Ones that are coming in precisely 10 minutes." He says.
"OT GWASTS?"
"Old family friends." He says. My eye twitches. 'It had better not be her..' Her being that woman that I despise, she lives all the way in Kumogakure with her husband, and her annoying son, in fact, I may hate her son more than her.. they consider themselves part of our family – the knowledge I have of how our families met, is that mum and Uncle Takashi both went on a field trip as children during college, and they met up with another college, and well.. mum and her became best friends, Uncle Takashi somewhat got along with her as well. But when they met me the first time, I could tell I didn't like her, just by her attitude.. We are Yakushi's and they are Saitou's. Completely different.. and yet, they consider themselves family. Ugh how I hate them.
I swallow what was left in my mouth and put the chocolate down. "Is it... them..?" I ask.
"Who?"
"S-Saitou's?" I inquire. Takashi gives a nod.
"Yes. It is them. And this time, I want you to get along. I know you don't like Lady Saitou much, but you could at least get along with Hiromasa-kun this time. I hear he wants to become a ninja! You could help him there." He says.
I hold back a laugh. Hiromasa is their son. Last time I saw him I thought he was a baby elephant – he was over weight, and the way he eats, it kind of reminds me of that Akimichi guy with the chips, only bigger.
"And don't you dare me insolent this time." Takashi warns.
"I gotta go find Lee!" I exclaim.
"No, they can wait. I was going to send someone out to find you soon anyway." He says.
"But-"
"AND NO BUTS!"
I pout and droop to my room. Only to slide the window open and slip my leg out.
"Oh and one more thing." Takashi's voice echoes through the hallway, followed by footsteps. I quickly pull my leg back in and slide down to a sitting position on my bed, with my legs crossed, pretending to be mediating. Takashi pokes his head in through my door. "They're staying for a week. Hiromasa will be sleeping in here, and the other two can have the spare bedroom." Takashi says, then leaves again. I die a little inside.
"I need to bug Tsunade-sama for a mission.." I grumble, then spark up. "Yosh!" I jump out the window and run off.
That's when I saw Lee-san walking around on his crutch looking around for something. I was about to run over when suddenly someone grabs my wrist, stopping me. I turn my head back – Daisuke.I give him a suspicious look and inspect both his hands for that deadly flower.
"Setsuki-chan! I've.. been looking.. everywhere!" Daisuke pants.
"Where's Susumu-kun?" I inquire.
"I ditch- er, he couldn't keep up! But, I found something that you might like.." He says, getting that same grin as before. I go to take my hand back but he had a firm grip. It made me grimace slightly. He then pulls out a heart-shaped box, colored magenta with a violet-colored ribbon and bow. I frown at it. I hate purple – it reminds me of my sister when she used to tease me.. My sister, Kaori, had shiny silver hair just like mum, with mauve-colored strips in her hair, and she used to wear the most ridiculous purple clothing ever. I got my blue hair and eyes from my dad.
"Ew! Purple!" I exclaim, grimacing at the box.
"It's.. chocolate.." Daisuke says.
"Purple chocolate? EWWWW!" I gush. "Grosss!" I turn around and begin speed walking away, towards Lee. I then rush and stand behind him, putting my hand on his shoulder, peering over at Daisuke from behind him. Lee kinda froze on the spot.
"There you are Setsuki... but.. what are you doing?" Lee inquires, turning his head back to look at me.
"Purple things are usually poisonous.." I mumble. My eyes widen. "LEEEEEEEE HE'S TRYING TO POISON ME!"
"What?" Lee gushes then looks at Daisuke. "How could you do such a thing! What did Setsuki-san ever do to you!"
"I-I er no! That's not what I-"
"SHE IS YOUR TEAMMATE! YOUR COMRADE!"
"B-"
"THAT IS NOT NICE!"
I like Lee a lot more now, at least he stands up for me, I wish Lee was my teammate, at least he wouldn't try and first kill me with a flower then try and poison me. I stand closer to Lee without really noticing that my chest was only an inch from his back. I lean my head forward beside Lee's, and stick my tongue out at him.
"I-"
"I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING TO TENTEN OR NEJI-KUN!" Lee shouts.
"I GET I-"
"AND I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT DO THAT TO GAI-SENSEI!" Lee almost screams, then glares at Daisuke. Daisuke returns a glare, and the tension was quickly building.
"I GET IT! AND YOU ARE JUST A SLICK BASTARD!" Daisuke shouts. Lee twitches his head back.
"Slick ba- what do you mean by that?" Lee growls.
"You're trying to steal my girlfriend!" Daisuke shouts. I blink.
"Girlfriend..?" Lee questions, then looks at me with a slight gasp. "N-no no! I am not!"
"YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND!" I question, stepping out from behind Lee, now intrigued. Daisuke frowns. I run over and grab his arm. "You should give those ch- wait they're poisoned.. and don't give her the flower! Try and um.. oh! You must give her a romantic date!" I exclaim. Lee waddles over.
"And spread rose petals on the floor!" Lee suggests. I smile contently at the idea.
"And lit with candles!" I say.
"Under the stars!" Lee says. I was getting all dreamy just of the thought of that.
"At night!" I say. They look at me.
"Stars only come out at night Setsuki.." Lee mentions.
"Beside a lake!" I say. Lee's jaw dropped slightly.
"Where the moon reflects majestically off the water's surface!" Lee says. I look him in the eyes.
"With a fluffy rug to sit on!" I say. Lee began leaning toward me very slowly, interest in his eyes.
"And beautiful lotus flowers shining off the lake!" Lee says. I was leaning closer as well.
"Blue ones!" I exclaim.
"One of every color!" Lee says. Our noses were just an inch away.
"And cherry blossom trees surrounding the area!" I say.
"Cherry blossoms are so beautiful! Just like Sakura-chan!" Lee says, our noses now touching. I felt like I was getting emotional.
"And a beautiful lotus flower in her hair.." I say. Our eyes soften at each other.
"And a shining smile from him.." Lee says.
"ALLLLLLLLRIGHT! BREAK IT UP!" Daisuke shouts, snapping us out of our daze. My cheeks immediately began to burn up and Lee's face turned red like a tomato when we realized our foreheads were against each others and one hand on each other's cheeks. I immediately take a step backwards and Lee stands up straight looking the other way with wide eyes and his lips pressed tightly together to remain silent. Daisuke was giving a deadly glare to Lee and my cheeks just kept burning up. I didn't feel like saying anything anymore. "And you! You stay away from my girlfriend!" Daisuke snarls, clenching a fist.
"Where is your girlfriend?" I ask. Daisuke looks at me.
"Right in front of me, of course." He says. I blink then look around. Lee stares at me for a moment contemplating. He then clicks his fingers.
"Setsuki! You never told me you had a boyfriend!" Lee says. I blink.
"I don't." I say.
"Not yet." Daisuke says, raising his index finger. He then faces me and clears his throat again.
"Well, maybe one day..." I say, then feel my cheeks heat up and I look down shyly.
"Or, maybe today." Daisuke says, winking at me repeatedly.
"No not today. I don't think I'm up for that." I reply then step over to Lee. "Well lets go." I say, starting to walk. Lee nods and follows.
"What? You're just gonna leave m-"
"Ah shut up Romeo." Susumu's voice calls, followed by a gagging sound coming from Daisuke.
".. Oh yes! Setsuki-san!" Lee suddenly blurts out. I look at him.
"I.. have not told you about.. the operation I must undertake." Lee says lowering his eyes a bit. I didn't want to say I had overheard about it, so I just pretend to know nothing.
"Operation..?" I inquire.
"To fix my arm and leg. Tsunade is a famous medical ninja. She is the only one who can repair my body." Lee says. I nod, understanding so far. "And the operation is in an hour..." He says.
'If per chance- no, if it fails, which is a one in a million chance, then... I'll die alongside you.' I remain silent, slightly confused. "Oh... that is good news.." I reply.
Lee looks up for a moment then at me. "Are.. you alright?"
"Huh?" My eyes widen slightly. 'I'm making it obvious!' "Oh I mean! It is great! You'll be a ninja again!" I exclaim with a big smile, and a thumbs up.
Lee smiles slightly. "Yes. And once it succeeds, I will bounce right back! Gai-sensei's words exactly!"
I smile. "Yeah! And we can spar again! I can't wait!" I exclaim. Lee gives off a shining smile – it's the happiest I've seen him since the incident.
"Oh, and Tsunade-sama asked to see you as well, Setsuki-san. She did not mention what it was though." He says. I get my hopes high.
"Maybe it's a week-long mission!" I exclaim.
"Week-long?" Lee inquires.
"Ugh, old family friends are coming. I don't like them."
"Why not..?"
"It's a long story..." I reply.
"I have ti-"
"No you don't! You have an operation to prepare for!" I exclaim. "Yosh! I'd best be off! I'll see ya later, if not sooner!" I call out while jumping away.
"Right, see ya Setsuki-san!" Lee calls, waving his arm.