Taiikusai

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to these characters, nor to I profit from this fiction.

To a few readers:

Carla: Thanks for reading. Even if it's not your usual type of fiction ^^

KshLee: Hehe. I'm trying! And yes, Naruto grows a lot while Gaara is always short ^^ Maybe due to his lack of sleep?

Now on with the story:



Due to his sister’s not so subtle hints, Gaara had a fairly good idea about where Naruto was taking them for their first date. After receiving an e-mail to meet him at such and such station, it merely confirmed it.

Gaara smiled. Tugging at the fabric at his neck one more time in the mirror he decided he was finished, grabbed a small matching hand bag and set out.

His wooden sandals clacked loudly against the pavement, announcing his presence with each step. Not that he needed to draw more attention to himself. He seemed to be getting enough looks as it was.

After much cursing and careful steps up the long ascent to the platform, he was grateful to sit down on the train.

A group of girls looked over at him, erupting into giggles and hushed whispers.

“You think he’s foreign?”

“Naw, look at his eyes.”

“Yabai! He’s so cool!”

“I love his hair!”

Gaara tuned them out, choosing to stare out the window instead. His fickle boyfriend had changed the time from 7 to 5pm so the sun was still out though it slinked lower and lower towards the horizon.

If they could manage to get past the skyscrapers, maybe they’d get to catch the sunset together.

The barest of smiles crossed his lips.

The giggles escalated.


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Neji approached the small house, spotting the correct address plate and rang the bell. He waited a short time before the door was opened, revealing Temari in a short black skirt and white tank.

“I thought we were just watching movies.” He held up his Tsutaya bag as his proof.

“We are. You think I’d go out like this?” She grinned. “Come in. Living room is over here.” She practically bounced away to another room not far from the front door.

Neji had a feeling this was going to be an interesting evening.

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Naruto tried to look patient as he stood just outside the station exit. He felt giddy and excited like one of the many children now running around him. He fidgeted a bit, tried to straighten out his clothes, managed to mess them up further and gave up on it altogether. Gaara would understand…

He kept glancing over at the gates wondering when he’d see the familiar shock of red hair. His head darted left and right, trying to see behind the many faces of new arrivals when he felt a hand on his left shoulder.

“Uzumaki-kun, I’m surprised to see you here.” A warm face smiled down at him, brown hair pulled high into a ponytail and the tell-tale scar stretched across his nose. ::What’s the disciplinarian doing here!?!::

Naruto chuckled nervously. “Umino-sensei!? What are you doing here? Teachers go to festivals??”

Umino-sensei let out a low chuckle. “We are allowed to socialize outside of school, yes. Besides, this is a local matsuri. I was helping everyone set up.”

“Oh.”

“So what brings you here?”

Naruto chuckled and grinned. “Just, you know… enjoying the festival.”

Umino-sensei smiled. “You seem pretty anxious. Waiting for someone?”

Naruto tried to keep a blush down, but judging by the warmth in his cheeks, he wasn’t doing such a good job.

“Konbanwa.”

Both heads turned and Naruto couldn’t help but break out into the biggest smile. “You made it!”

Gaara nodded.

“Good evening Umino-sensei. Are you here to enjoy the matsuri?”

They broke off into a short conversation of which Naruto heard relatively little. He was too busy drooling over the sudden appearance of his boyfriend. Compromise indeed. His eyes swept over the black yukata, the simple pattern of white fireflies flitting around his pale frame. A blood red obi clinched it together low on his waist, complimenting the color of his hair. Naruto chuckled at the two bobby pins pinning the red locks down, exposing the red tattoo gracing his forehead. He looked slightly feminine, but Naruto was smart enough not to comment on that. At least not right away.

“Right Uzumaki?”

“Uh.. wha? Huh?”

Gaara flicked his forehead. “Can’t you pay attention for 5 seconds? Umino-sensei is running the cotton candy booth. I told him we’d try it before the night was out.”

“Cotton candy? Whoo!! Awesome!!”

Gaara sighed. “We’ll definitely try some.”

Umino-sensei laughed. “I’ll be waiting! You boys have fun. Don’t stay out too late! And Gaara-kun, you have something on your forehead. You might want to cover it up.” He winked and skipped away.

“Why does he always like everyone else so much more than me?”

Gaara smiled. “He’s soft on you too. You just don’t realize it.”

“How do you figure?”

“He hasn’t mentioned dying your hair black for weeks.”

“Hey! How do you know that?”

Gaara smiled. “I saw Tsunade-san talk to him about you. Seems you have friends in high places.”

Naruto grinned and grabbed Gaara’s hand. “The student president included?”

Gaara gave his hand a little squeeze. “The student president especially.”

Two children came scrambling by, nearly bulldozing over Naruto. He stumbled forward and clutched his yukata before it split open any more than it already had.

“Dressed yourself today?”

Naruto turned up his nose and refused to answer.

“If that yukata splits open any further, they may have to arrest you for indecent exposure.”

“It’s not *MY* fault I can’t tie an obi!”

“Technically, it is.”

“SHUT UP!”

Gaara covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his smile. Naruto only pouted more severely.

“Let’s find a bathroom. I’ll help you fix it.”

Naruto agreed begrudgingly and let Gaara lead the way.


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“So what’s the lineup?” Temari placed two cups of tea on the coffee table along with a few bags of rice crackers.

“I rented Ima Ai ni Yukimasu. I heard it did really well in the theaters.”

“Eww, not that romantic crap.”

Neji held up the second dvd. “Battle Royale?”

Temari grinned. “Now you’re talking.” She grabbed the dvd, popped it in and pressed play.

Neji grabbed a few rice crackers and sat back. A small grin barely kept hidden. All according to plan.


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The station restroom was less than ideal, but it was roomy enough and empty enough to suffice. Gaara placed Naruto in front of the mirror and quickly undid the obi. Placing it in Naruto’s hands, Gaara’s fingers brushed against the hair at the back of Naruto’s neck and straightened out the collar. Naruto tried to ignore the warm body nearly pressed against him, focusing on his image in front of the mirror instead.

“It’s a nice blue.” Gaara tugged on the fabric, pulling it tighter around the waist. His hands brushed against Naruto’s skin, causing the other boy’s breath to hitch. “It brings out the color of your eyes.” Pale fingers slid up the hem of the fabric, whispering along the tan skin that was now being carefully concealed. Gaara rested his chin on Naruto’s shoulder as be peaked at the boy’s image in the mirror. Smoothing out the yukata once more, Naruto gave a slight shiver. “Now hand me that obi.” Gaara smirked.

The two emerged some minutes later, properly attired for their first matsuri this season. The sun had nearly gone down and with the sunset emerged a rainbow of lanterns, lights, and a spectrum of girls in yukata. Naruto spotted the yoyo game and quickly dashed off, dragging Gaara along behind him. Gaara chuckled as Naruto knelt amongst the elementary school students trying to hook a red yoyo. His heart warmed at the sight of the other boy’s look of triumph, a red yoyo held up high over his head.

“This is for you.” Naruto smiled sheepishly.

“You just want me to hold it.”

His expression twisted into one of denial. “I do not! I really got it for you!”

Gaara took the yoyo from him. “I know. Thank you.” He smiled. Naruto looked away in embarrassment.

“Oh look! Yakisoba!” Naruto ran towards an old man mixing up noodles and vegetables on a flat grill. “You want some?” Gaara nodded. “Two orders of yakisoba please.” The old man smiled and began stir frying the noodles. Gaara kept his distance from the grill. It was a warm night and already he could feel sweat trickling down between his shoulder blades. Naruto paid the man and handed him a container of hot noodles.

They found a place to sit haphazardly and eat. Naruto seemed intent on watching the people around him, while Gaara watched him slurp down the noodles like they were ramen.

“Don’t forget to chew.”

Naruto choked for a moment and swallowed harshly.

“I told you.” Naruto blushed. “Go to festivals often?”

“No, not really. They aren’t that much fun by yourself. I spent a lot of time with Jiraiya the past few years and he never had much time for them. Too busy doing so called research.”

“Same here. Once in awhile I was forced to go with my siblings, but between the heat and the crowds, I always refused if I could get away with it.”

Naruto looked up in surprise. “We could go elsewhere if you don’t want to stay.”

Gaara shook his head. “This time I have a reason for it.”

Naruto grinned. “Then let’s enjoy it to the fullest! Oh hey look! Kara-age!”


Gaara was dragged to nearly every booth of the festival. By the end of the evening, he had a teddy bear, a handful of sweets (consolation prizes), a goldfish and, of course, his red yoyo. Naruto had been thorough. He was slightly horrified at all the junk food he had eaten, looking down at his half eaten manjuu with slight disdain. But it was Naruto’s treat, so who was he to turn it down?

The evening was winding down to a close and yet the festival was still in full swing; familes and their small children running around in bright colors, young couples and old, inhaling the scent of festival foods and the sounds of a shamisen drifted down from the stage. They had reached the end of the avenue when they spotted Iruka-sensei spinning cotton candy and handing them out to an awaiting group of middle school girls. Remembering their promise, Gaara tugged Naruto towards the booth.

“Oh, hey boys! Having fun?” Gaara nodded while Naruto began a slightly exaggerated tale of his many game exploits. Glancing at the prizes cluttering Gaara’s arms, Iruka-sensei nodded in understanding. “Think you can manage a roll of cotton candy?”

“Of course! There’s always room for cotton candy!” Naruto placed one order and Iruka-sensei set out to make them an extra sizeable puff of pink cloud like candy.

“Here you go. Have fun boys.”

“Thanks Iruka-sensei, see you later!” Gaara gave a slight nod of the head due to the occupation of his hands while Naruto waved enthusiastically.
“By the way, the fireworks should be starting soon! Better go find a spot!”

“We will! Thanks!”

And with that, Gaara found himself being dragged away once again.


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As the credits rolled, Temari seemed to be smiling to herself. “Ah, that movie is a classic. Good pick Hyuuga.”

“I had an inkling. So how much time before pumpkin hour?”

Temari glanced at the clock behind her. “Knowing Kankuro, he’s going to be out for the night. Gaara is supposed to be home after the festival. But technically, you don’t have to leave until it’s time to catch the last train. So we’ve still got quite a few hours.”

“So what’s the verdict then? Next movie, or shall we take a dinner break?”

Temari glanced unenthusiastically at the neglected DVD. “Dinner break. Definitely dinner break.”

Neji smiled. “Excellent.”


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The two boys sat on a grassy spot in the nearby park. Couples spread out, staking out a spot not too obstructed by towering buildings or trees. Naruto stuffed a suspiciously large ball of cotton candy into his mouth before holding it out to Gaara. Gaara yanked off a small fluff and passed it back. Despite the warmth, it was a nice evening. Gaara felt almost at peace despite his usual association of festivals with noise and too many smells and pushy people. Perhaps it’s because the person next to him was showing him how to actually enjoy a festival. Naruto’s rather childish enthusiasm about it all was rather refreshing.

Speaking of festivals…

“Uzumaki.”

“Hrm?”

“You still haven’t named your side of the bet.”

“Huh?”

“Our original bet. If I win, you’re wearing a dress at the culture festival, remember? You still haven’t named your side of the bet. Have you thought about it?”

“Ohhh! Hrm. Kinda. But I’m still trying to see how many scenarios I can squeeze out of you before relying on a bet. Ow. What was that for!?”

Naruto rubbed his shoulder. “Don’t be a perv.” Not that Gaara would admit just how many fantasies the same bet had sparked for him.

Naruto pouted. “To be honest, no. I’m not sure what I want yet. Ask me again on our next date.” Naruto grinned foxily. “This summer is gonna be awesome!”

Gaara gave a small sigh.

“Before you get ahead of yourself, I have something to tell you.”

“Hrm?”

“I’ll be gone for part of this summer.”

“Ehhhhh!?! What do you *mean* gone? I thought this was going to be our summer together!” Naruto pouted, scratching one of his whiskered cheeks.

“My family always returns to my mother’s home town for the Obon season. It’s a familial duty.”

“Ah, I see. I understand then. Your mother is originally from Tottori-ken, correct?” Gaara nodded. Naruto whined. “You’ll be so far away. You better e-mail me *every*day. Tell me everything you’re up to! That way I know you haven’t been swallowed up in a sand dune or captured by one of those sand dune women.”

“That’s just a movie.”

“Still! Tell me *every*thing. By the way, how long will you be gone?”

“Two weeks. I leave in about a week.”

This started a whole new set of whining and complaints that would have continued on were it not for a loud burst above their heads. Not even Uzumaki could drown them out with his whining. Nor could he maintain his steam in sight of colored lights fizzling out against the black sky.

“Kirei.” Gaara hadn’t realized he said it aloud until Naruto commented.

“Yeah. The fireworks aren’t so bad either.”

“Shut up Uzumaki. You’re ruining the moment.”

“Alright, sheesh. Can’t a guy compliment his girlfriend these days without getting his head bitten off?”

“Ignoring you now.”

“Ah, but you’re so pretty Gaara-chan.”

“Don’t make me hurt you in public.”

“Can I at least hold your hand?”

“Only if you don’t try to grope me.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Gaara felt a warmth steal over his palm. Never removing his gaze from the sight of colors illuminating the sky, he allowed himself a smile.

An awesome summer indeed.


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A/N: Thanks for reading. I am working on a part 2 for the date, but, and I know this sounds odd, I'm debating whether or not to put smut in it. Keep it fluffy or end it on a smutty note? Should people clamor for smut, I'll make the effort, but otherwise I'm gonna take the lazy way out and probably leave it as it is.

Any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. Constructive criticism is also greatly welcomed.