Chapter 1
‘Welcome to the Neighborhood!’
‘Welcome to the Neighborhood!’
“Yay, let’s go, let’s go!” squealed an exited girl with deep blue eyes and long, flowing, blonde hair. Yanking the door open, she hurriedly ushered the other seven girls out.
“Wait, I forgot my wallet!” a gray eyed girl with reddish-brown hair cut into a stylish bob said. “Be right back” she waved and turned into the kitchen.
Snatching the small black wallet off the large rectangular table, she realized that someone had left the window open.
‘Silly Sakura, you and your daydreams’ she thought to herself crossing over to the window. Just upon closing it, a shadow passed over her face and a muffled cry came with it. The window flew open again, and the concerned young woman stared across the small yard at a young man.
She could only see the back of his head, but his hair was a brilliant silvery color, and it stood up at odd angles; like he had slept on it, and then forgot to brush it out. The boy tried to stand, but tripped and fell with a thump onto the grass.
The young woman stared at the boy before her and began to laugh at his predicament. The laugh quickly caught the males’ attention, and he jumped up glaring in the direction it was coming from. The girl quickly quit giggling, and stared at the boy standing before her.
‘His…eyes’ was the first thing that came to her head.
The young mans eyes were quite strange, his left eye bore a slight scar, running from just above his eyebrow down to the top of his cheekbone. It was also reddish in color; his right eye looked normal and was a deep shade of sapphire blue.
“A-are you okay?” she asked, finally regaining the use of her tongue.
“Oh…umm…yeah, I’m fine. Uh…do you live there?” ‘Of course she lives there! Think man!’ he silently scolded himself.
“Huhwha…oh!” the girl in the window stammered coming back to reality. “I’m Rika! You must be the new neighbor, nice to meet you!” Rika said enthusiastically offering her hand. The boy solemnly reached over and accepted the handshake.
“Rika!” a girls voice boomed from the hallway behind her “we’re gonna be late! Let’s go, c’mon!” Rika hastily pulled her hand from the boys grip.
“Sorry we weren’t able to talk long, I have to go…” she apologized reaching up to shut the window. “Oh! I didn’t catch your name” she said lowering her head out the window again.
“Kakashi” the young man replied staring up at her.
“Okay, see you around then!” Those were her final words as she closed the window and walked away, leaving an awestruck Kakashi staring after her.
“What took you so long?” a girl with chocolate brown eyes questioned; she also had chocolate brown hair that she wore in two neat buns at the back of her head, only her bangs were left out for the wind to blow.
“Oh, sorry TenTen” Rika apologized running into the brunette on her way to the door. Seems her friends had become impatient and sent someone to get her.
“I met our new neighbor!” Rika announced as she and TenTen joined the rest of the girls on the front porch.
“Well, was it a girl? Or was it a guy?” Ino, the blue-eyed blonde quizzed “or was it some stinky old person?” she grunted waving her hand in front of her nose to waft away an imaginary stench.
“It was a guy” Rika smiled at her friends’ last comment.
“If I recall right, he said his name was…Kakashi!” she finished and linked her arms with Kisa; a girl with amazingly beautiful pink eyes and long, coppery, hair. Kisa’s hair grew to the middle of her back and flipped lazily this way and that, as if it didn’t have a care in the world.
“Did you find out how old he was?” TenTen quizzed in an amused tone standing on Rika’s open side.
“Well, I didn’t, but he looked eighteen-ish to me” Rika replied looking up at her friend.
“How fun, I wonder if there are more guys!” Squealed a girl with wide emerald eyes her hair was a nice roseate color and ended at her shoulders.
“Don’t be so loud Sakura!” another girl, Hinata, said in a low voice.
Hinata was the shyest member of the group, and often stuttered when she talked. She had short hair, which was a cross between purple and navy blue. The oddest feature about her, though, was her eyes; they were the lightest shade of lilac, and her pupil was a milky white that almost matched the lilac. Amazingly, the girl was not blind, in fact, her vision was better than most.
“Shouldn’t we help him move in?” Kisa spoke up “we have been going to the mall so much lately, we could take a break.” The girls stopped talking and pondered on what Kisa had just suggested they do.
“I agree with Kisa…” Temari spoke up. Temari was the second tallest in the group. She had brilliant green eyes and she wore her auburn hair in four ponytails at the back of her head.
“I mean, we’ve done nothing but go to the mall for the past…I dunno…million Saturdays?” she exaggerated. “It would be a refreshing change!”
“I have to admit…it would be a lot better than seeing a re-run of some movie…” another girl, Miina, spoke up. Miina was only a few inches taller than Kisa; who was the shortest of the group. Miina’s hair was a light brown with golden streaks to accentuate it; her eyes were a mysterious shade of fuchsia and she had rosy cheeks.
“I think we should help!” Miina concluded
The large group of girls stopped and turned towards one another. They all pondered on whether or not they should help… or go to the mall.
“Who’s in?” Miina broke the silence and stuck her hand over an invisible force. Kisa automatically placed her hand over Miina’s. Her hand was followed by Temari’s, TenTen’s, Rika’s, Sakura’s, Ino’s, and finally Hinata’s.
“Good! Let’s go change and head over!” Kisa squealed and raced ahead of the other girls.
“She’s always trying to help…isn’t she?” Temari said to no one in particular.
You had to have known Kisa for a long time to know that acts of service and charity were her favorite things to do.
“That’s our Kisa…” Tenten shrugged and followed the enthusiastic Kisa back to the house. A minute later, the rest of the girls followed suit.
Just as the girls came out of the house dressed in clothes appropriate for moving in, a large moving truck pulled in front of the house. A few young men piled out of the truck, and a few more exited the house.
“N-Neji?!?” Hinata stuttered in surprise squinting over at one of the boys exiting the truck.
“Neji!” Hinata yelled joyfully across the yard and turned a little red from her sudden outburst. A youth with long dark hair that took over half of his back looked over. Most men who had hair that was as long as his looked…well…like a hippie; but this hairstyle suited him very nicely. In fact, it made him look manlier.
The supposed ‘Neji’ looked over his shoulder and waved slightly at Hinata. The group of girls looked questioningly at Hinata who began closing the gap between herself and Neji.
“Neji! H-how are you doing? I h-haven’t seen you in a long time!” Hinata said in a voice just loud enough for everyone else to hear.
“Hn?” Neji looked at Hinata quizzically before continuing. “I heard you lived around this area, but…I didn’t expect to see you this soon. Do you live nearby?”
A group of young men had gathered around Neji, and now an assembly of thirteen people were wondering what was going on.
“Hina…how do you…” Kisa began.
“O-oh! How rude of me…u-uhmmm…this is my cousin, Neji.” Hinata clarified and turned towards the group behind her. The two ‘cousins’ were now standing side by side and being examined by thirteen pairs of eyes. Hinata squirmed a little as the silence rushed through the crowd before her.
“Hey! They have the same eyes!” A blonde haired boy exclaimed; his hair was rather untidy, and his eyes were a brilliant sea-blue. Whisker-like lines traced each side of his cheeks, and he smiled widely at the two cousins. To say the least, the two did have the same eyes; lilac with a milk white pupil that blended with it.
“Oh! He’s right!” Rika put in after a few minutes more of silence.
“Uhmmm… we live over there.” Hinata turned to her cousin and pointed at the girls’ house.
“We’re moving in next door!” The blue eyed blonde with whiskers stated the obvious and moved closer to Neji and Hinata. Hinata took a small step backwards, her face turning a deep red. Temari stepped up just in time to hide her blush, and stuck out her hand.
“My name’s Temari!” she said kindly. The boy took her offered hand and introduced himself.
“Naruto.”
“Kiba,” offered another boy with messy, short brown hair. Two faded red marks, almost like upside down triangles, were place on each side of his face. The ‘marks’ began at the top of each cheekbone, catering to appoint in the middle of his cheeks.
“And I’m Seiji,” a nicely dressed young man stepped forward replacing Kiba’s hand with his own. His hair was an orangey-blonde, and cut ‘skater’ style; a hairstyle slowly growing to popularity. His hair naturally flipped away from his face at the front, and his golden eyes smiled down at Temari.
“This is Gaara,” he said pointing to the guy with ruby colored hair and green eyes. Black was the main color decorating the area around his eyes. The blackness around them completely covered his eyelid, and there was a little under his eye. The ‘black’ made him look like a raccoon. Not a silly looking raccoon, but a solemnly mysterious one. You could almost say that the ‘eyeliner’ was tattooed on; it definitely wasn’t makeup; not from the way it stayed glued to his eyes.
The ‘eyeliner’ made him appear very dangerous and intimidated most of the girls. A red Kanji symbol was imprinted on the upper left side of his forehead. He tilted his head in acknowledgement, but kept his arms crossed over his chest.
“Shikamaru is right her” Seiji continued gesturing to a boy next to him. This boy had rather long, spikey hair. He wore it in an untamed ponytail atop his head; which gave him the appearance of a pineapple. His eyes looked lazily at the group of girls examining their curious faces.
“Nice ta’ meecha!” He said looking a little bothered and sticking a toothpick he’d pulled from his pocket into his mouth.
“The last one is Sasuke!” Seiji spoke again, craning his head to the right. The youth with spikey, raven blue hair and onyx colored eyes raised one hand in reply before sticking it back into his pocket. Out of all the young men there, he was by far the cutest.
“We actually have one more inside” Seiji contemplated “I’ll introduce you to him soon.”
“Well, then…I will introduce you to the girls!” Temari enthusiastically spoke. “This is Miina” she said, and looped her arms with the fuchsia-eyed girl on her left
“Hello!” Miina chirped closing her smiling eyes and waving her free hand.
“This is TenTen” Temari continued as TenTen came forward with a smile.
“The one with pink hair is Sakura” Temari smiled and motioned for Sakura to come over. Sakura shuffled closer to stand in the line being formed by the girls.
“Kisa is the Shortest!” Sakura teased taking over for Temari. Kisa came over and patted her friend lovingly on the shoulder.
“That’s Ino!” she continued and pointed to the blue-eyed blonde.
“And our fabulous Rika!” Ino resumed for Sakura looking over at the girl with the bob.
“Welcome to the neighborhood!” all the girls said in unison.
“Well, we came to see if you guys wanted help moving in” Kisa said gesturing to guys’ house.
“We do have quite a bit of stuff” Seiji agreed looking at his comrades for their answers. Most of the guys shrugged, and only two of them said “sure.” But Naruto was the most enthusiastic about receiving extra help from the girls.
“That sounds like a great idea!” he yelled “who knows, we could be totally moved in by the end of the day with their help!” the boys looked at their over exuberant friend and nodded.
“Sounds good to me,” Kiba smirked.
“Lets get it done” Sasuke gloomily replied turning on his heels.
Shikamaru threw his used toothpick on the ground “girls…how bothersome” he sighed and pulled out a fresh one.
Ino was the only girl to catch the boys’ comment.
‘Humph! Boys are bothersome…not girls!’ she thought, offended, but she let the boys’ comment slide just this one time...
And, without further ado, the group headed for the truck.
“Uhmm Gaara?” Kisa asked holding a box full of Gaara’s belongings.
“Where would you like this?”
Gaara motioned for her to follow him, and led her up the stairs turning left at the end of a hall. He stopped, and opened a door.
“Okay, thank you!” she said and smiled up at him kindly as she passed by. He watched her gently set the box down and come back his way. The two walked quietly back down the hall, but the quiet lasted for only a moment.
“Uhmm…so…Garra, what do you like to do?” she questioned looking over at him.
“…” obviously he didn’t talk much.
“Okay…what’s your favorite color?” she asked looking a little forlorn that he hadn’t answered the last time.
“Red” he said gruffly after a couple seconds went by.
“Oh! My favorite color is yellow!” She chirped, delighted that he’d answered this time.
“What…” Kisa was unable to finish her sentence though. She slipped on the floor, and Gaara was wondering where she had disappeared to, when he heard a disgruntled moan on the floor. Kisa was now lying on her back gulping in as much air as she could; the fall had completely winded her. Gaara calmly kneeled beside her, and stared at her until she looked well enough to sit up.
“Are you hurt?” he said without emotion.
“Owie, I hurt myself…” she rubbed the back of her head, wincing at the small goose-egg.
“Why is there water all over the floor?” Kisa questioned sitting up. Gaara scanned the hallway and realized that the water was coming from the bathroom. Before he could stand, Kisa was already bounding to the bathroom
“Oh No!” she yelped.
Gaara followed suit, cautiously walking across the soaked floor. As He reached the door he saw Kisa get on her knees and reach for the knob to turn the water off. The water that was dripping from the pipes below the sink suddenly became violent, and spewed large amounts of water in odd angles. The largest stream of water hit Kisa square in the eyes.
“Ahhhhhh!” Kisa screeched shielding her face from the onslaught of water. Gaara had no choice but to turn off the water himself. He carefully stepped forward, avoiding the water, and turned the knob to the right, shutting off its water supply.
Gaara stared down at Kisa, his eyes giving away nothing; inside he was thinking how insane she was for running across a floor full of water, only to become target practice for an ill-behaved sink. Kisa attempted to wipe water off of her face with the hem of her sleeve, but considering how soaked she was…it didn’t really work. She stood up and turned to Gaara.
“I heard the wet look was totally in fashion” she wrung out her hair a little gazing into the mirror behind Gaara. She paused for a moment, and pulled up her sleeves that were drooping from the weight of the water.
“I don’t think is suits me that well…do you?” She jokingly inquired and wrung out another section of hair. Gaara just stared at her with no reply.
“We should mop this up…” Kisa looked around, ignoring the fact that she was wetter than the floor. Gaara nodded, and Kisa followed him down the stairs.
A large smack echoed through the house, and Rika turned her head to stare at Kakashi.
“Y’know, that’s like…the fifth time today…” she stated, gazing down at the now annoyed youth. He straightened himself and looked up at Rika who was still standing on her stool changing the light bulb.
“Y’know, that’s the fifth time today,” he mocked sticking out his rear and waving a finger at her for emphasis.
“You don’t have to be such a meanie!” she said in an almost convincing angry tone and held up a fist in mock anger. Although they had just met that day, Rika and Kakashi were both comfortable enough to tease one another. Now they stared directly into each others eyes, and silently dared the other to laugh first. A smile spread slowly across Rika’s face.
“I’m gonna win, you know it, so why don’t you just… give up?” Rika said majestically. She only spoke to keep herself from bursting with laughter.
Kakashi cocked an eyebrow, “Well, I see you have a big ego!” he amusingly replied and reached out to grab his water bottle. He did this without breaking eye contact, and even drank from it, still keeping the connection. Kakashi screwed the lid back on, and concentrated on the silent war between him and Rika.
Rika desperately wanted to win, and tried holding her breath in an effort to stifle the laugh lingering at the back of her throat. Kakashi could tell that Rika was about to laugh, but he could hardly hold down his own laughter either. The two simultaneously burst out laughing and Kisa’s hand flew up to point at Kakashi.
“I win! You laughed first!” she exclaimed and gave a little hop on her stool.
“You only wish you’d won! I defeated you hands down!” Kakashi shot back swatting his hand at her.
“You both lost” interrupted a voice. Kiba revealed himself, and walked into the room, “come help Shikamaru and I carry the couch,” he said and waited for Kakashi to follow him. This time, Rika was left staring after Kakashi.
“Can you carry that?” Neji asked Hinata.
“Yes” she replied getting a better grip on the box.
“Are you sure?” He checked as Hinata turned around
“I-I’ve got it, I’ll be f-fine.” ‘I think…’ Hinata thought still forcing herself to carry the box all the way to the front door by herself. She wanted to help any way she could, and being a weakling now would definitely not help.
“Hey Hinata, you want some help with that? It looks heavy…”Naruto walked over and offered to relieve her of her burden.
“N-N-N-Naruto!” Hinata stammered in a hushed voice blushing rapidly as he came closer.
“I’ll take it for you if it’s too heavy…”
“O-oh no, I’ve go-got it…” Hinata stuttered more than usual cutting his sentence short. Naruto looked her over, immediately he knew that she was just trying to be tough. Her arms were shaking from the weight of it, and she was concentrating so hard on the front door, he could have sworn it would blow up in flames any second.
‘I shouldn’t keep her long’ Naruto thought “okay, better go get more stuff then eh?” he exuberantly said and went on his merry way. Hinata whispered a small “okay” and then began her walk to the kitchen. She had only taken three or four steps however, when a white scruffy puppy came bounding through the yard and ran around her ankles.
“O-oh no!” Hinata screamed tripping over the puppy. The box flew from her hands and landed a foot away, the sound of shattering glass clearly audible. A pair of arms wrapped around her delicate waist and stopped her fall.
“Gotcha!” her rescuer said helping her straighten. Hinata turned her head to see who had stopped her fall and was face to face with Naruto. She blushed and looked at the box on the ground.
“I-I’m so-sorry!” she whimpered. Naruto released his grip and allowed her to walk towards the box, following after her.
“I am so sorry! I-I’ll pay for it, I-I’m really…S-sorry!” Hinata repeatedly apologized peering into the box.
“Ohhhh…I hope I didn’t b-break e-everything…” Naruto joined her and looked at the plates in the box.
“Nothing looks broken…” Naruto closed the box.
“Let’s take it inside and we’ll check kay?” He said in a comforting tone. Naruto lifted the box, and walked towards the front door. Hinata, who was a very bright shade of pink, swiftly followed after him. The whole way to the kitchen, Hinata could hear the shattered glass scooting around the bottom of its box, making her flinch and turn a darker shade of red.
When they reached the kitchen, Naruto set the box down on the counter and the two proceeded to lift the first few plates out and stack them in their appointed places.
“I-I-I’m really s-sorry…”
“Don’t worry about it!” Naruto said catching Hinata mid-sentence while pulling out the first broken plate.
“I don’t think you broke that many ‘sides, we have more than enough. So don’t sweat it!”
Hinata pulled the next plate out while Naruto shoved the broken one into a plastic sack. They were both surprised to see that the plate didn’t even have a chip, considering it was between the two that had snapped. As soon as the plate was shelved, Naruto stuck the plastic bag full of glass on top of the steadily growing pile of garbage.
“A-are you s-sure you have enough? I c-can pay f-for it” Hinata stuttered a blush still apparent on her face; and not just because Naruto was there. Naruto stopped to think and then his eyes mischievously wandered towards Hinata as he slowly slid closer to her from across the counter.
“Tell ya what” He said looking her in the eyes “to pay for the plates, you have to come to dinner with me…tomorrow good for you?”
“W-well…I-I-I” Hinata’s face grew an even darker shade of pink, and confused lilac eyes met curious blue ones. “I uhmmm…I s-suppose we could g-go…”before Hinata could finish her thought, Naruto jumped away from the counter.
“Great!” He beamed “then I’ll come get you tomorrow.” He said in a lower voice and walked towards the kitchen door. “See you around!” and with that, he walked out the door.
Hinata stood for a few, stunned minutes, replaying in her mind what had just taken place.
‘What just happened…? Did he really just…’ “Ask me on a date?” she finished her thoughts with a whisper. Slowly, she turned around and wandered out the door headed for the truck again, not even noticing a wet Kisa and an emotionless Gaara as thoughts raced through her head.
“Hey, Kiba, Akamaru is out!” Naruto’s head popped around the corner and then disappeared just as fast as he had come in. Kiba sighed, and walked out the front door, leaving a box in the hallway for someone else to attend to.
“Akamaru! Here boy!” He shouted walking aimlessly around the front yard. He let out a shrill whistle, and still his faithful puppy wasn’t in front of him wagging his tail and begging for attention.
“He’s in the back! You better tie him up before he breaks anything else!” Naruto informed him walking to the truck for another load to carry into the house. ‘He broke something? Not again…’ Kiba thought with a sigh and headed around back still whistling for his dog.
“Ohhhh, you’re so cute! But…who do you belong to little guy?” a slightly pleased yip came shortly after the comment. Kiba looked under the back patio to find the voice that he thought might be speaking to his dog. Sure enough, Miina was scratching the top of Akamaru’s head.
‘That’s strange’ Kiba thought as he continued to watch the girl scratch his dog behind the ears.
“You don’t have a collar…are you homeless?” The fuchsia eyed girl asked the puppy as though it would open it maw and have a conversation with her.
“Actually he’s mine…” Miina slightly jumped and turned her head in Kiba’s direction, her hand still atop Akamaru’s head.
“Oh…what breed is he?”
“Uhmmm...no one really knows, he’s more wolf than dog though” Kiba replied looking at the contented look Akamaru was now giving.
“I thought so… he’s pretty scruffy, aren’t ya little guy? But, he’s cute…what’s his name?” she asked and continued to scratch the wolf-dogs ear.
“Akamaru.” Kiba squatted down next to Miina and petted his dog on the back. A moment of silence lingered, and then Miina decided to ask another question
“I’m sorry if this sounds bold, but…how did you get those…marks?” Miina’s eyes stared questioningly at him and she pointed to her cheeks to indicate what she meant. Kiba stared back into her eyes quizzically
‘No ones ever asked me that before.’ A few seconds passed, and Miina hid her eyes, staring at the ground
“You…don’t have to tell me…I just thought…maybe you uh…” She trailed off and suddenly Akamaru became very interesting to her. The puppy whined, sensing the awkwardness between the two humans.
“It’s just…you see…” Miina started up again after a small silence. “My sister was a member of a gang, and…well…she had the same marks…on her neck…I haven’t seen her in six years…so…I thought you might know her…sorry” She whispered and scratched the puppies ear a little too hard which made the animal whine louder. She immediately moved her hand to scratch his neck, and continued.
“I’m not saying it’s bad or anything, and I really don’t mean to offend you…I just want to get in touch with her…y’know?” She looked at the ground again to hide the redness creeping up her neck. Kiba was still staring at her, this time amazed that she had asked him, and made the connection. Most people just assumed the ‘marks’ were there from birth, being as faded as they were. No one had connected them to a gang, so he had to congratulate her for paying attention to detail.
“They are gang related…I’m surprised you made the connection” Kiba said regaining life in his tongue. Miina’s head eagerly snapped upwards, and stared at Kiba. He was now the one finding Akamaru the most interesting thing in the world.
“I only met a few girls when I was part of the…gang, but I might be able to help you. I know this guy, Kankuro, he still talks to me every once in a while. Do you have a picture of your sister?” He smiled and looked up.
“Well…yes…but its way out of date…” Miina stammered caught a little off guard that a stranger…well…someone she hardly knew would help her with this.
“Does she look anything like you?” Kiba questioned picking up the puppy and walking away from the patio.
“We were often mistaken for twins in middle school.” Miina contemplated, following Kiba around the house.
“Then give me the most recent picture you have of her, and a picture of yourself, and I will give ‘em to Kankuro, okay?” Miina nodded her head, still following Kiba around the house. Kiba walked over to the car in the drive way, and opened the front passenger door.
“Can you grab that for me?” Kiba pointed to a dog cage on the seat. Miina, happy to oblige, quickly grabbed the cage, shut the car door, and followed Kiba into the house. “In you go Aky!” Kiba said and place the whiney pup in his cage. Before the puppy cold run out, he closed and locked it.
“Be a good boy, Aky, you’ll be out soon.” Kiba stood and turned towards Miina. “Let’s go get more stuff before people start missing us. If we hurry we might get moved in today, what with all your guy…err…girls’ help.” He said cunningly.
“Okay! Oh…and Kiba?”
“Hn....?” Kiba looked back at Miina.
“Thank you! You’re a great guy!” she said and rushed past him. Kiba stood, and watched her walk for a moment
“…you’re welcome…” he whispered, smiling a little, and they continued their work.
“Four little ducks that I once knew tall ones short ones fat ones too, but the one little duck with the feather on his back, he led the others with a quack, quack, quack!” Kisa merrily sang her way down the hall, soaking up what water she could with her mop. Gaara continued to puck up water with his own mop, and squeeze it into the bucket they had found. He preferred to do his work in silence, not that he needed to talk, since Kisa was making enough noise for both of them.
Kisa dropped the last song; getting bored with it, and started with a fresh one “Sweet violets, sweeter than the roses…”
‘She’s too happy about this…’ Gaara’s thoughts were soon interrupted by Kisa.
“You should talk more…” she said and quit her singing.
“What do you like to do?
“…”
“Are you usually this quiet?”
“…”
“Is it…that you’re shy?” Kisa prodded trying to get the silent youth to say something…other than grunt at her.
“Well, I will tell you about me then!” Kisa said and soaked up more water. “I like to decorate houses! I painted all the rooms in the house I share with the girls…my favorite foods are salmon; I usually eat it with salad. My parents used to make this really good dish with salmon, called Blackened Salmon Salad…oh! It was to die for. The first time they made it, was when I realized salmon was my favorite food.”
She paused. “…hmmmm…my favorite color is yellow! Oh…I already told you that huh? Anyways…I always wanted to be a doctor, but…I’m a nurse instead. I take care of the baby’s after they’ve been born. They’re so cute and I just love to see the mothers smile when I hand them their newborns! What else… I am an only child…I always wondered what it would be like to have siblings…do you have any brothers or sisters?” Kisa turned towards the bucket, and squeegeed out the water in her mop. The floor was about dry now, only a few drops remained.
“Okay…looks like we’re done…” Kisa continued after a few moments pause. She soaked up the remaining beads of water, picked up the bucket and carried it into the bathroom to dump it in the tub. Gaara walked the length of the hallway picking up any particle of water he could see.
Satisfied, he walked towards the bathroom to pick up the mop Kisa had leaned against the wall. Just as he arrived at the door, Kisa walked out with the empty bucket. She smiled up at him, hoping to coax the boy to smile back at her, but all she got was a nod. Still undaunted, Kisa asked the question that she had already asked three or four times; she just… worded it differently, in hopes he wouldn’t notice.
“So, what do you like to do in your spare time?” Most people, especially girls, would have called it quits and ignored Gaara; the wall with legs. But this girl seemed determined to tear down the walls that hid his true self.
Gaara was driving himself nuts! He couldn’t figure out why she kept pestering him, and trying to get him to open up. Unless she wanted…to be…friends! Gaara was one of those people who forced everything that could possibly hurt you out of his life. And becoming friends, especially with a girl, was out of the question. A little perturbed, Gaara finally followed Kisa, who was hopping her way down the stairs.
‘She acts so…childish!’
‘Maybe that’s what you need’ replied a little voice at the back of his head
‘I’m just fine the way I am’ Gaara responded
‘Hey, I’m just saying that she could be good for you…’
‘shut-up and go away!’ he told the voice that pulled and tugged at him.
“Hee-hee…where did we get these from again?” Kisa asked sheepishly at the bottom of the stairs, snapping Gaara out of his reverie.
“Kitchen” he simply replied and led the way. As they neared the kitchen door, they heard voices.
“Wait!” Kisa whispered fiercely yanking Gaara’s hood. She slowly tip-toed her way towards the slightly opened door, Gaara walking quietly after her. She turned and handed her bucket to him, and then she held her hands in a gun shape, the ‘nozzle’ of the ‘gun’ pointing towards the ceiling. She slid against the wall, almost catlike, and whispered over to him.
“We’re on a top secret mission…to see what Hinata…and…” she peeked through the small opening in the door “…your blonde friend are doing…” Gaara quirked an eyebrow.
‘She’s not childish, she’s fun!’ the voice in his head whispered, and was instantly shot down. Still holding her ‘gun’ and sliding silently across the wall, Kisa slunk forward until she reached the small crack, and held an ear closer.
“…tomorrow good for you?” Naruto asked.
“W-well…I-I-I… I uhmmm…I s-suppose we could g-go…”Hinata whispered, just loud enough for any prying ears that may be close by.
“Great!” Naruto cheered “then I’ll come get you tomorrow.”
Kisa heard footsteps coming closer, and she sprang from her pose and snatched the bucket from Gaara’s hand.
“See you around!” They heard Naruto call back as he exited the kitchen.
“Hullo!” Kisa said cheerfully. Naruto stopped for a second to blink at the girl, and then walked on. The two youth watched Naruto walk away, and then watched Hinata wander out of the Kitchen. Hinata seemed to be preoccupied with her thoughts, and didn’t even notice the two standing in the hallway.
After another minute, Kisa and Gaara headed into the kitchen and put the supplies back where they belonged. When Gaara turned around, he noticed Kisa had a mixture of shock and concern plastered on her face; her eyes fixated on the rapidly growing pile of garbage. Gaara opened, closed, and then opened his mouth again; trying to ask her if she was feeling well. The only thing he managed to get out of his mouth however was an “ah-ooo-uuu” sound. His mouth closed with a snap, but that was enough to get Kisa’s attention.
“Well…that was an adventure!” she said cheerily and pointed to the garbage pile. “We should take that out…” And they did.
“TenTen, Come get this for me?” Ino asked sweetly carrying a box to the end of the moving truck. TenTen walked up the ramp to get the box from Ino.
“He’s driving me bonkers!” Ino said distressfully in TenTen’s ear when she got there.
“Who?” TenTen mouthed. Ino jerked her head towards Hinata’s cousin.
“Why?” TenTen mouthed again and looked over at him. He was busying himself by lifting boxes and handing them to anyone he thought could handle it.
“Every time I try to talk to him, he just says…Hn…like he could care less!” She whispered fiercely and eyed Shikamaru who had just come back for another box to carry. “Trade you partners…” she said dryly.
“Well…I…”
“Thanks! You’re a great friend Tennie!” Ino said and was off before TenTen could even reply correctly.
“But…I…”TenTen didn’t know what to do. She slowly passed the box in her hands to Miina, who had been waiting patiently for quite a while. She picked up another one, and handed it to Seiji. Neji and TenTen silently continued the task until there was no one else to give boxes to. Three minutes into the silence, and TenTen was fidgeting with the ribbon hanging from her right bun. Five minutes later, a small group was trudging across the lawn to pick up more boxes.
The transition of box to person went on for about fifteen minutes, and then there was silence…again. The silence floated between the two, a constant reminder that they had nothing to do.
“Soooooo…Neji! Where are you moving from?” TenTen asked, finally collapsing under the pressure of wanting end the silence.
“California” he grunted after a slight pause.
“Okay…cool…” TenTen began to fidget with the hem of her shirt, feeling very uncomfortable. Neji turned his head to stare at her.
‘I should’ve stuck with Shikamaru’ TenTen thought, now squirming under Neji’s gaze. After a minute or so, TenTen turned her head to stare angrily back at Neji.
“Is something wrong?” she questioned, a hint of annoyance attached to the remark. She placed one hand on her hip, and let the other hang loosely at her side. Neji shook his head, lilac eyes met chocolate brown ones, and Neji and TenTen silently scrutinized each other until Neji broke the silence.
“Do all you girls live in that house together?” TenTen was a little surprised by his question. She thought he was going to come back with a snide remark, considering hers had been dripping with venom. This, though, threw her off guard.
“Yes” TenTen replied simply as they resumed their silent escapade for dominance. A minute later, Kisa and Gaara were walking up the ramp. Neji and TenTen resumed the task of selecting a box and handing it to the waiting carriers. Kisa walked up to TenTen, and motioned for her to come closer.
“Hinata’s got a date tomorrow!” she said in a voice just loud enough for TenTen to hear.
Neji and his snoopy ears had caught the words “Hinata…date…tomorrow…” that was enough to make him almost drop the box he intended to give Gaara.
“With who?” TenTen lipped excitedly.
“Naruto!” Kisa said as she took the box and Gaara and her trumped off together. Neji thought his ears must be deceiving him.
‘Naruto?!? Hinata would never date Naruto! If she’s right…Naruto’s in for it!’ his mind hollered as the truck became silent once again.
