Confessions

I couldn't believe that I agreed to such a foolish thing. Kami knows what he'll do and Kimimaro-kun will get upset at me too. What was I thinking? I mean, Riki-kun may be wrong. How could he be so sure? He doesn't seem to have any kind of experience with things like this. And Kimimaro-kun had no reason to like me at all. He couldn't have such foolish feelings, it was absurd. But if I was so insecure about everything, why was I waiting for Riki-kun at the established place?

"Mikura-chan, glad you made it," I heard Riki-kun with a cheerful voice, noticing that he changed his usual suffix.

He had a basket in his left hand, while he was waving with the other one.

"What are you planning?" I asked, doubting that whatever he thought of was going to be successful.

"Just follow my lead and don't ruin it." He instructed, taking my hand in his.

I flinched because of the sudden touch and gave him a questioning look. He nodded, assuring me that everything will be fine.

I took a deep breath and went with him through the meadow, where Kimimaro-kun was training on his own. Shit, no! I tried to free my hand, but Riki's grip got tighter so I couldn't escape. His eyes were yelling at me to not chicken out now.

Kimimaro-kun suddenly stopped, probably feeling our presence. His eyes landed right on our holding hands, and he didn't seem happy about it at all. He had a cold and somehow hateful look in his eyes. So this was how jealousy really looked like?

"Where are you two going?" He asked with a bitter tone.

"We're going for a picnic at the nearby lake. Want to join?" He asked with an innocent tone, pretending that nothing was strange.

"No!" He replied dryly.

"Well, it's going to be just me and Mikura-chan then," He said, shrugging his shoulders and smiling at me with the creepiest smile. "Let's go," He added.

I continued his stupid game, walking past Kimimaro-kun without looking in his direction. Oh my, he was upset now, I could bet on that. Why was I doing that? His glare was so scary. He will hate me and I couldn't stand that idea. Baka Mikura!

"Wait," I suddenly heard from his direction.

What now? Were we in trouble?

"I'll be coming too. I can't trust you to keep her safe by yourself, Orochimaru-sama will kill me if she gets harmed."

"Huh, thanks for the compliment. You're such a tactful person..." Riki-kun muttered a bit annoyed.

And since that second, the awkward silence fell like a curtain. I could feel the tension between them, it was almost palpably. I was expecting that from Kimimaro-kun after his reactions, but Riki-kun was tensed too. I knew Kimimaro-kun wasn't his favorite person and he didn't have a very nice opinion of him, but he was really angry now. His grip on my hand was so tight it hurt. Maybe this thing has gone too far.

I was so relieved when I saw that the lake wasn't far away and Riki-kun left my hand free to set a blanket on the grass. He made me a sign to come and sit while he arranged the dishes on the plates. Kimimaro-kun refused to stay with us or to eat. He leaned his back on the trunk of a tree nearby, folding his arms. Well, I still couldn't see the point in his plan. What should we obtain from this? Kimimaro-kun was clearly mad and that wasn't what I wanted.

"Here, Mikura-chan. Try my Sesame Cookies!" Riki-kun said cheerily again, bringing a cookie close to my mouth.

I took it, but I sent him a warning glance.

"Look, he's burning so bad. He can hardly refrain himself from ripping my head off," He whispered amused, pointing in Kimimaro's direction.

He was indeed tensed, he even turned his back to us. Shit, maybe he was right after all. But I hated to see Kimimaro-kun like that. And he probably thought that was something going on between me and Riki-kun.

"I wonder how would he react if I would kiss you," He sniggered.

"I promise that you wouldn't live enough to see that if you'd try something," I growled.

"Calm down, I'm not into you anyway. It was just a curiosity," He assured me.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Funny. Well, I feel like swimming a bit. Want to join?"

"Maybe later. We just ate."

"OK, how you want," He said taking his shirt off on the way and throwing it on the grass.

He started to swim like it was some sort of contest. After a few rounds of swimming, he started to play in the water like a kid. He was funny somehow.

"Mikura," I heard a deep voice, scaring the hell out of me.

I looked at him, trying to understand the feelings in his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked calmer than I expected.

"The meaning of what?" I asked, playing the innocent.

"You and him. You were holding hands. And you seem pretty close."

"Kimimaro-kun, me and him... There is no meaning," I started panicked. "I see him as an older brother."

"I see..." He uttered, lost in thoughts.

He sat on the blanket crossed-legs, staring at me intently.

"Do you think of me the same?"

His question caught me off guard, and I was left staring in awe.

"I still wait for an answer, Mikura."

"I... um..."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't have the guts to confess my feelings.

"Well, I figured that much. He set this up, right?"

"Setting up what?"

"Mikura, I'm not stupid. I'm a ninja, remember? And look around. Where is he?"

As he said, Riki-kun was nowhere to be found. He left us alone. That tricky boy! It was his plan from the beginning. Well, we have been caught anyway. We should have figured that he may suspect something, but I didn't expect him to know about the way I felt about him. But if it was so obvious for Riki-kun, why wouldn't be for him too? I misjudged everything.

"A.. are you upset?" I asked, avoiding his gaze.

"No. I know that I'm not the most soulful person, but that doesn't mean I am peevish either. It's just not my type to be cheery and lively, I wasn't like that even in childhood."

I left out a sigh of relief. Thank Kami, Riki's plan worked somehow.

He layed on his back, hands under head, looking at the sky. I did the same, enjoying his presence in silence. He had the most soothing presence I have ever felt. Even though he didn't admit or mention anything about the way he felt about me, I was satisfied that he was there with me.

We stayed like that for a while, and I couldn't be happier. Besides not being upset, he decided to join our stupid game and used the opportunity that was offered to him, instead of just leaving.

He suddenly turned on the side, facing me, his head resting on his hand. I looked at him, waiting to hear what he wanted to say. But he remained silent. He only looked at me with a shadow of a smile playing on his lips. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, it was the first time his expression was close to happiness. At that moment I forgot about the shinobi world and everything that meant. I was so mesmerized by him, that I didn't notice how close we got to each other.

I blushed so hard, I could feel my entire face burning. Remembering how to breathe, I took some distance.

"Why are you running?" He asked with a mischievous smile.

"I-I'm not running," I lied, chuckling nervously.

"Then you should. Because I never said that I'll forget the way you played with me today, and I'm planning to pay the favor back."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I will play with you too. But if you run now and manage to escape from me, I may reconsider."

Well, that sounded like a threat, and he was serious. By the look in his eyes, I concluded that it was better for me if I listened to his advice. I knew I deserved it, but he really surprised me with that wicked part of him.

I didn't spend much time thinking, I shifted away as fast as I could. It was so nice of him, he even allowed me to have an earlier start. But knowing his speed, he'll be right behind me in a few seconds. I had to think smart now. I infused as much chakra as I could in my feet to gain some distance between us, and made a clone. I made her a sign to run ahead, and I went to the right.

"Think, Mikura. Think," I whispered to myself.

Weighing my options, I chose to run crisscross for a while, and where the forest was thicker, I chose a tree to climb, hiding in its rich crown. I sat on a branch, being a bit more relaxed. I knew that this game of his was more of a way to test my run-and-hide skills. The threat itself wasn't as scary as it sounded, I knew that much. Actually, this hide-and-seek thing may be his actual payback.

I left my guard down so much, that I almost screamed the moment someone landed on the same branch with me from above. That sly guy!

"Found you," He announced with a victorious smile.

I didn't wait to know what was next, I ran between branches, from one tree to another. The adrenaline gave me some extra speed, and when I was confident that I escaped from him, I dared to look behind. Fatal error. My body collided painfully with something hard, falling on my back. Lucky me, it wasn't a tree. Unfortunately, it was him. Apparently, he landed from above again, leaves falling around him like snowflakes. "Good work. I am pretty impressed. That clone was a smart thing to do, it kept me busy. But you relaxed too fast, and stopped hiding your chakra."

Fuck! Baka me! I have been so close.

"Now, what should I do with you?" He asked, smiling archly while approaching me.

I got up fast, going backward with small steps. I knew he wouldn't do anything bad to me, but the closeness between us made me feel so shy.

"There's no use in running, I'll catch you anyway," He stated, gripping my forearm.

"Kimimaro-kun, I... Um..."

"Why are you blushing like that?" He asked with a sarcastic tone.

"Please, let me go."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," He said, as I hit my back on a tree.

He pinned me up against it, watching my tomato face getting even redder.

"You might have a fever," He said with a fake concern. "Let's see..."

He touched my forehead with his, looking me in the eye without even blinking. I forgot how to breathe. Too close. He was too damn close! All the thrills in the world hit my stomach at the same time.

"Oh, you stopped breathing too. I may need to put some air in those lungs of yours."

"I'm breathing, I'm breathing," I said desperately.

I wanted to kiss him so much, but I didn't know how to kiss. It would be so embarrassing. And he wouldn't like it for sure.

"Hm, good. Now we're even," He said chuckling. "Let's go home, Mikura."

Huh? Did he leave me free? Wow, thank Kami. I thought I will burn to ashes if he wouldn't release me soon. That little... He took advantage of my feelings for him to revenge on me. Well, it has been a pleasureful revenge though.

He waited for me to come, and I started to move hesitantly. We walked side by side, but to my surprise, I felt his big and warm hand taking mine in the process. I looked at him with widened eyes, feeling my heart beating as fast as the wings of a hummingbird. My gaze landed on our holding hands, and my chest got filled with some kind of peaceful warmth.

"This," He said gripping my hand tighter. "This will be exclusively for me from now on."

I nodded, giving him my happiest smile.

"And don't do that thing again. Next time that guy might suffer a slow and painful death."