Natsuki’s POV:
I laughed softly as I rang on the doorbell of the home of Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, my cheeks faintly red from the cold winds of the new school year. Temari was in the sophomore year of college, along with Shikamaru, who had skipped a few grades getting up to her level. I was here waiting for Gaara.
Gaara and I have been childhood friends since we were young, after my parents had...left. I guess you could say that. I stayed with my great uncle- Orochimaru- and stayed after school at Gaara’s home. His mother had died at birth, so he only had his father, who was a blacksmith-I think I can call it- who had a ‘secret ingredient’ into making his metal so precious.
“Nat.” I heard someone gently state, before I felt a hand flick my forehead.
“Ite!” I yelp, and hold my forehead before pouting at Gaara, who only chuckled softly. “Gaara!” I smile, and pounce on him with a hug. He blinks a few times, still not used to my hugs, but then slowly hugs me back, slightly squeezing my frame. I giggle as I pull away, smiling cheekily. “It was so long, summer was horrible~” I whine, and lean my head on his shoulder. He smiles a little more, and pats my head.
“Nat, it was only a few weeks.” He argues, stifling a chuckle.
“It was a month, and a month of being with snakes is terrifying…” I protest, then smile peeking my head in the house. “Is Kanky and Temi-chan here?” I wonder, and look back at him. He lets the chuckle rumble in his throat, before nodding.
“Kankuro’s in his room, Temari’s getting ready for school too, though she doesn’t have college classes until noon.” He looks up the stairs, frowning faintly as he picks up a pair of boxers. “I swear, Kankuro needs to learn how to clean.” He mumbles under his breath, and I giggle.
“You know how Kanky is, I’ll go and check on him!” I smile and pat Gaara’s head once, leaving him to go and greet Kankuro. Opening the door to Kankuro’s room-the door closest to the restroom, farthest away from the stairs- I opened the door silently and crept inside, before jumping on him, making him scream and slam my head with a pillow. “Ite!” I squeak, and hold my head as I fall back next to him.
“Nattie-chan, you don’t need to scare me like that~” Kankuro whines, and clears his throat. “How were the snakes?”
“How was the sand?” I quickly change the subject. I did not really want to talk about Orochimaru now. They said he was diagnosed with a serious sickness, though they don’t know what it is exactly.
He shrugged, and smiled a little. “Not that bad, Gaara loved it. You know how he is.” He smiles more, and laughs softly. “Now aren’t you supposed to get going? It’s almost 9:00.” He chides, and I pout before nodding.
“Alright. See you, Kanky.” I peck his cheek in a sisterly way, before climbing off the bed and jogging out of the door in my school uniform, gently holding onto Gaara’s sleeve as we started towards the school across from us.
Naruto’s POV:
After saying good-bye to my mother and father, I rubbed my head as I crossed the street, to see Gaara and Nat- who was my target in teasing- in front of me. Kami, Mom sure has a fist, I grumble. I tried to ignore the pain in my head as I trotted to the pair, smiling mischievously. “Nattie-chan, Gaara!” I bellow, jumping in between them, causing Nat to yelp and fall back, if Rock Lee hadn’t caught her.
“Be careful, Nat-san! Don’t destroy that beautiful youth of yours!” He cheered, and gave her a sweet smile before waving at us. “Hello, Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun!” He grinned widely, before looking over at me with a chuckle. “Well, I need to meet up with Tenten and Neji. See you!” He smiles and waves, before sprinting in front of us.
