"I think I'm going to go for a walk. Care to tag along?" Ayakashi asked, glancing over at Naruto as they sat at his table. He shook his head, smiling at her.
"I'm going to stay here a little longer, get cleaned up! I'll meet you at the academy, okay?" he said, turning to her. She smiled, nodding as he reached out, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her to his body, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank you, Kashi."
"For what, Naruto?"
"Staying by my side even after we found out that I have the Nine Tailed Fox sealed away inside of me."
Ayakashi's eyes went wide as her ears flattened against her head, her tail brushing against the ground. Naruto pulled back, noticing her new stance.
"What's wrong? Did I say something?" Naruto said hurriedly, slight fear settling on his face. Ayakashi shook her head, pushing herself back into his arms as she rested her head against his chest.
"I'm fine, Naruto."
"Well, alright." he said as she pulled away, smiling up at him. "I'm going to go, then."
"See you soon, Naruto-kun." Ayakashi replied as they went their separate ways. Ayakashi pulled her headband down over her left eye, clasping her hands behind her back as she stared up at the sky.
'I wonder who's team I'll be put on, if any.' she thought to herself, a frown finding its way onto her face. She got lost looking at the clouds, smacking into the back of someone.
"Oh! I'm sorry." she said quietly, her eyes locking onto the person she bumped into. A boy with dark hair and a blue shirt turned around, staring at her with cold eyes. She raised an eyebrow as he huffed and turned on his heels, walking away. She shook her head, looking around as she walked towards the academy, her thoughts going back to the teams. She wondered if she could make a special request to the Hokage to be put on Naruto's team.
"Ayakashi!"
She stopped walking, turning towards where the voice came from. She saw a boy with brown hair and eyes walk up to her, a slightly bored expression on her face.
"You must be Shikamaru." she said softly, staring up at him.
"That's right. Are you heading towards the academy?" he asked, sticking his hands in his pants pockets. Ayakashi nodded in response, her tail swishing behind her. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"Oh. That's fine." Ayakashi said, wondering why he was being nice to her. They started walking as Shikamaru looked up towards the sky, sighing.
"We get our teams today. This is going to be such a drag." he sighed, closing his eyes. Ayakashi laughed softly, smiling.
"Yeah, we do, don't we?" she replied, her smile fading shortly after. He opened an eye, looking at her.
"Something wrong?"
Her ears perked as she looked back at him. "It's nothing. Just wondering who's team I'm going to be put on, if any."
"I'm sure you will." he replied, continuing to stare at her. She raised an eyebrow questioningly as he spoke again. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why do you have these?" he said quietly, reaching out and grabbing one of her ears gently. Ayakashi went rigid as she stopped walking, smacking his hand away. Her tail flicked around in irritation.
"It's a secret."
He frowned before sticking his hand back in his pocket. "Fair enough."
"I'm sorry about that." she sighed, a sad look overcoming her. "No one's ever done that before."
Shikamaru smiled slightly at her, shaking his head and turning, heading towards the academy. "It's no big deal. Come on, we're going to be late and then both of us might not have teams."
Ayakashi laughed softly, jogging to catch up with him. "Maybe if we become good friends, I'll tell you."
"Deal." Shikamaru replied, looking over at her. They arrived at the academy, stepping through the doors and walking to their classroom. Shikamaru opened the door, letting Ayakashi go in first, following after her. The others paid no attention to them as Ayakashi went to her seat, sitting on top of the table. Shikamaru stood next to her, leaning against the table and folding his arms across his chest. "Man, it's so loud in here."
Ayakashi swung her legs, shrugging. "It doesn't really bother me."
"I made it first!"
"No, I did!"
Ayakashi's ears perked as she glanced over at the door, seeing two girls standing next to each other, trying to catch their breath. One had pink hair while the other had blonde. Shikamaru sighed as they glared at each other.
"Who are they?" Ayakashi asked, her tail flicking behind her.
"That's Sakura and Ino." he replied, shaking his head. She watched them as they stepped farther into the classroom, continuing to glare at each other.
"I wonder where Naruto's at." she said quietly, more to herself than anything. Shikamaru looked up at her, noticing her worried expression.
"He'll be here. Just wait. He wouldn't miss anything like this." he said to her, causing her eyes to snap over to him. She smiled in response.
"Thanks, Shikamaru."
"Don't mention it." he waved a hand dismissively.
"Kashi!"
A blond-headed boy bowled over Shikamaru, tackling Ayakashi and almost causing her to fall backwards.
"N-Naruto! Be careful!" Ayakashi exclaimed as he hugged her tight. Shikamaru looked up from his spot on the floor, frowning as he sighed. "Are you alright, Shikamaru?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." he said, shaking his head. "I don't know where you get all that energy from, Naruto. It makes me exhausted watching you sometimes."
Naruto laughed, letting go of Ayakashi before looking over towards the other side of the room, a small scowl forming on his face. He stepped around the desk, staring at the black haired boy across the room. "I'll be back, Kashi."
"What? Where are you going?" Ayakashi asked, watching as Naruto walked away. "I wonder what his problem is this morning."
Shikamaru shrugged in response as she got off the table, holding out her hand and helping him up. "Looks like he's heading towards that Sasuke kid."
"Sasuke?" Ayakashi turned around, staring at the boy Naruto was currently staring at. "Hey! He's the one I ran into this morning!"
"You've met Sasuke already?" Sakura came up after hearing his name. She got a dreamy look on her face as she stared at him. "Oh, he's so cool! Tell me, what is he like?"
Ayakashi raised her eyebrows as she glanced over at the two boys who were now looking at each other. "He's a complete jerk."
Shikamaru snickered as Sakura look offended, scoffing and walking away from her. She ran over to where the other two boys were. Ayakashi watched as Naruto crouched on the desk in front of Sasuke, his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out what was with him.
"Naruto! Don't be like that to Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran over. Naruto looked up at her, a sad look crossing his face as he looked back at Sasuke, the two of them glaring at each other.
The guy behind Naruto was distracted as he talked to his friend, swinging his arm backwards as he accidentally hit Naruto. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as she jumped onto the desk, trying to reach them before Naruto fell onto Sasuke.
She reached the end of the table, her ears flattened as she launched herself forward, arms outstretched as she flew towards Naruto. Grabbing the back of his shirt, she pulled him away from Sasuke as she flipped herself around, wrapping herself protectively around him as they smacked into the wall. Sasuke's eyes were wide as he stared at the space that Naruto was just in. The room was quiet as the dust from the impact slowly cleared.
"Are you alright… Naruto?" Ayakashi grunted painfully as she unwrapped herself from around his body. He slouched forward, staring behind her as he came out of his daze.
"Kashi? Why did you do that?"
Ayakashi smiled, her eyes closing as she did. She couldn't reveal the reason quite yet, so she had to think of something quickly.
"That doesn't matter right now. Are you going to be alright?" Naruto turned around, pushing himself to his feet as he crouched in front of her. Her tail lay draped across the floor as her ears slouched forward. Her body was limp as she opened an eye, staring up at her friend.
"Yes, Naruto. I'm alright." she said, trying to push herself up. She winced in pain as she did, falling back into the wall as her arms gave out.
"You don't look okay. Here, let me help you." Naruto said quietly, wrapping his arms around her body and hoisting her up gently. She leaned against him, her left arm dangling at her side as she rested her other on his chest.
"Thank you, Naruto."