Bonding

We walked the whole way home like that. Once we arrived at the hideout, I could hear his stomach growling furiously.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, a bit."

"See? I told you to eat with us..."

"Don't even mention that," He interrupted, making me chuckle.

"OK, OK. Well, I'll prepare something for you then. Let's go."

"Wait. I'll go take a shower first."

"Good, I need that too."

    We went separate ways, and I jumped directly in the shower. I felt so dirty with all that dust and sweat on my skin.

I couldn't stop smiling while warm water flowed over me. Was it real? It felt more like a Genjutsu. Well, I couldn't be put under one, but I couldn't believe that everything turned out this way. Riki-kun was right and I've been unjust with him. He actually helped me to obtain this. I had to thank him somehow.

    I rushed with the shower so I could get to work. I prepared some dishes for him as fast as I could and put everything on a tray. He may be exhausted and he could use some comfort while eating.

   Well, those days trying to stay on the wooden log weren't for nothing. Running with a tray full of food when there were so many turns wasn't as easy as it may seem, but I didn't lose any drop.

"Kimimaro-kun?" I tried my luck in front of his door.

"Yes, come in." He shortly replied.

"I brought you some food..." I started but remained silent when I saw him wearing only some pants, trying to dry his hair with a towel.

"Thanks," He said, approaching me.

    He took the tray from my motionless hands and put it aside.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, playing the unwitting.

"No-nothing," I lied, feeling myself close to a nosebleed. "Why?"

"You're staring," He answered, giving me short flashbacks from our training when I used to stare at him without even realizing it.

    I started to blink repeatedly, while he got so close that I could feel the smell of his freshly washed skin. I gulped, feeling like a lamb caught in the lion's den. It was strange how his attitude combined with his good looks made him that appealing, but I was too shy and I knew nothing about men excepting the things I read from science books. I didn't even understand the feelings I had towards him and why were there. I heard about falling in love before, and I had some knowledge about body physiology, with all the hormones and their needs, but I thought that it was out of question for me. I thought that my whole life will gravitate around Orochimaru-sama and being a shinobi. But it happened so fast, I couldn't do anything about it. Even the day I met him, I got hypnotized by his eyes in an instant. He attracted me like a magnet and I haven't been aware of what was going on with me. I thought of them as some trivial feelings, but it was way more than that.

"I told you once that if you won't stop staring like that, I may need to do something about it."

    He grabbed the back of my head and put his lips softly on mine. For a few seconds I froze in utter shock, but without even realizing, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling that his warm lips gave me. That... That was my first kiss. And it melted my knees. My heartbeat gone crazy, my skin was all goosebumps and a flock of butterflies was flying wildly in my stomach. It didn't last long, but it was the most intense thing that ever happened to me.

"Well, it was about the time to stop refraining myself," He murmured with a genuine smile.

    I couldn't say anything. I just smiled back and looked at him like a stupid kid.

"Come, have a sit. Join me while I eat."

   Said and done, I was on his bed with my legs crossed, hands resting on my knees. I watched him while he ate, my lips still burning from that kiss. As the minutes passed, I realized something. I knew nothing about him. I mean, he was eating the food, but did he even like it? I had so many questions in my mind... but I was afraid to ask.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Huh?" I asked with my mind back in the room.

"You seem very thoughtful."

"Oh, it's nothing," I lied.

"I'm not so sure about this. Tell me," He demanded.

"OK... Um... I would like to know... you. I mean, everything about you."

"Then why didn't you just ask?" He asked confused.

"I thought it may bother you if I would stick my nose in your personal life."

"Well, I guess I gave you a wrong impression about me. If you want to say or do something, feel free to do it. I don't mind being asked personal stuff. Go ahead, what do you want to know?"

"Thank you. Well... I really want to know what are your likes and dislikes, if you have any hobby, when is your birthday, if you have any fear, how was your childhood like... things like this.

"Wow, now these are a lot of things," He said amused. "Let's take them one at a time. Hm..." He started resting his chin on his hand. "I like flowers, and Camellia is my favorite. I like to spend my time training, that's my way of relaxing. I like to be useful to Orochimaru-sama in every way possible. I like to go on missions, every new challenge is an opportunity to learn and develop myself. As for food, colors, and stuff like that, I don't have preferences. Any food will do if it's not too salty or burnt."

   He paused a bit, thinking about something. I was surprised by what he said, it was amazing that someone like him could like flowers.

"If I had to choose what I dislike the most, fighting and killing for no reason would be that. Selfishness would be the second thing. And of course, trash ninja. Those who proudly call themselves ninjas and pretend to be skilled, but they aren't strong enough to beat a mere genin. Or kill weaker people to show off. Hm, and I also dislike failure."

    Such a healthy and mature way of thinking. The more he told me, the more amazed I was. And I liked him even more.

"I don't think I have a hobby," He continued. "And I think my biggest fear is to become useless."

  He paused again, his eyes suddenly filled with some kind of sorrow. I didn't know why, but I hated to see him like that.

"I was born on 15th June, in the Land of Water. I was one of the few who possessed Shikotsumyaku Kekkei-Genkai, so they feared me and this power. They locked me up in a cage unless I was needed for battle. The Kaguya clan was wiped out when they attacked Village Hidden by Mist for no reason other than the desire to kill and show off their ferocity. Having underestimated their opponent's defenses, they have been slaughtered. After that, Orochimaru-sama found me and took me under his wing. Soon after, I met Jūgo. He is the only person I have as a friend."

    He had to go through such hardship at a young age. So that's why he had such a mature way of thinking and acting. I knew only the surface about his clan's fate from my history lessons. He never had a real childhood. Well, none of us had, but his... I was speechless. There wasn't anything I could do to comfort him, and he probably didn't want to be pitied. But he had a friend, and I was glad he did. That meant he hasn't been alone.

"Will I meet Jugo-san?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes, you will. We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow and as soon as I can, I'll introduce him to you."

"I can't wait."

    He smiled, putting the tray aside. I watched his muscles moving under his skin like they wanted to torment me.

"You should put a shirt on. You may catch a cold," I muttered as an excuse to save my mind from improper thoughts.

"Or I may catch your eyes. Hm?" He teased with a suspicious look.

     I blushed furiously. Was my capability to lie so poor?

"What? No, I..."

"Then why do you stay there? Come closer."

"I'm fine here, really," I laughed nervously.

"Come, I won't do anything to you. Why are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid, I just..."

"You don't need to be shy, I just said that you can do anything you feel like doing. You must get used to this."

    Well, he was right. I was acting like a child, but I was so inexperienced... it made me embarrassed. But I took a deep breath and got closer to him. We were standing next to each other, our shoulders almost touching. It was so strange how every time I was around him my heartbeat was going crazy and I couldn't breathe properly. How could someone make you feel like that?

"We talked about me all this time. Now is your turn," He said, taking me by surprise.

"Me? Hm, there's no much to say about me. I mean, I was raised in the Eastern Hideout by Yuri-sensei and Hayato-sensei, and all my life has been learning and training. I have seen the daylight only a few times in my life till I got here. But I had Ren-kun with me there, we are about the same age and we used to train together. We managed to become friends somehow, even though he is a knucklehead. I don't really know what I like since I lived underground most of my life, but since I got out of there I started to figure out some things. I like nature, bright colors - especially green and purple, I like your cooking. And I like to train with you," I said, avoiding his gaze. 

"Go on," He encouraged.

"I dislike snakes, darkness and I really hate my lack of strength, experience, and knowledge."

"You became strong. You can do better, but don't say that you lack strength," He scolded me.

"If you believe this, then so it is. But is all thanks to people who trained me, mostly you."

"It may be, but I played only a little part in this. Now go on."

    He became very talkative, didn't he? I laughed inwardly, remembering how I used to struggle just to hear a full sentence. But he was very open now. Was this what he meant by refraining himself? Initially, I thought it was about kissing, but I started to realize that it was more.

"I won't start with my fears because there are many. But failure and losing what I have now are the biggest. As for hobbies, I like to draw. Reading may be counted as a hobby too."

    I stopped for a second, thinking if it was more.

"Well, you witnessed my childhood story when Orochimaru-sama told me the truth. I think it's funny that we are both from the Land of Water."

   He listened carefully to everything I said, and when I was done we had a silent moment. We both tried to take in everything we found out about each other. I could almost feel some sort of bond creating between us while we locked our eyes without even blinking. I listened to his advice and did what I felt. I rested my head on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth and softness of his skin. I closed my eyes to intensify the feeling. Soon I felt his head resting on mine and one arm around my waist. It was so intense and peaceful at the same time. That warm feeling in my chest didn't disappear not even for a second. If that was how falling for someone felt like, I wanted to keep falling.