The Chronicles of Aishiteru Academy

-Book 2, Chapter 9-

Pairings: HakuXZabuza, NarutoXSasuke, GaaraXNeji

Today was their last day together. Gaara couldn't believe how much had happened in just a week. It seemed like the vacation had just started and already, he was waking up on the last day. Gaara actually felt a little sad at the thought of everything coming to an end so quickly. He'd really been starting to get used to making this room, and this family, his own. Little reminders of the past few days were spread all over the walls and floor. His normal clothes and his new nice ones that he and Hanabi had gone shopping for, as well as his new naughty selection, were all strewn around the floor. He had even slept in his ghost covered "I survived!" shirt with his creepy stuffed eye ball toy under one arm, like it was a normal thing to do. His pictures from the previous day showing he and all his friends in some form of hilarity or another on all the rides, were taped up on the walls, reminding him just how fun yet temporary things were. Tape could easily be removed.

Gaara felt so at home here. He didn't want to leave.

He still had the day and one more night to go, but it already felt like things were over. Today was Saturday and they'd be heading back Sunday morning to have their "I abstained from sex" tests done. Then they'd go back to their shared dorm, just the three of them where they'd eat dinner alone and back to classes Monday morning.

Gaara should have been relieved. He wouldn't have to stay with a rich family full of snobs and etiquette rules anymore, but he didn't mind those things any longer. It'd begun to feel like he had a real family again. Hanabi and Hiashi seemed to like him, and since he never saw Hinata, things had been going great.

He was reluctant to get out of bed and face the day, convinced that once he did the day would actually begin and end in the blink of an eye. But he had to get up. If today was it then he wanted to make the most of it. And he'd start by spending more time with Neji. He hadn't spent much time with the boy, but the time he had been with him had been fun. It was time they did something together that the two of them actually wanted to do. Just the two of them.

Gaara pushed himself out of bed with new found determination and headed into the hall, still dressed for bed in his new favorite shirt that went to his knees, plaid green pajama pants, and his hair a mess of random spikes sticking up at unnatural angles. He was beyond caring about his appearance today as he had absolutely no intention of leaving the house, unless Neji had plans and really wanted to.

As Gaara wandered slowly down the carpeted hall barefoot in the direction of the dining room where he assumed the Hyuuga family would soon be having breakfast, he heard music playing down the hall. He vaguely remembered seeing a music room on this floor when he'd done his very first exploration of the house, but so far he'd never heard anyone actually playing music in it.

The sounds he heard drifting down the hallway were nice and light, the sounds of someone playing a spring related piece on the piano, meant to remind the listener of a gentle breeze in a field of flowers. At least that's what the song reminded the redhead of. Smiling to himself he decided to see who the source of the music was and quietly pushed the large door open.

The room was even more spectacular than Gaara remembered, with the morning sun shining through the ceiling high windows, painting the nearly empty room in a gentle light. The only other things in the room were a harp in one corner, a small white love seat just off the center of the room, and a grand piano pushed to the back right in front of the windows, leaving the rest of the wooden floor in the center of the room open.

The room wasn't what caught Gaara's attention though. The man sitting at the piano, looking like he'd just stumbled out of bed himself, was what made the redhead smile fondly, almost letting out a content giggle at the boy's appearance.

Neji was shirtless and sitting on the piano bench in nothing but his plain gray pajama pants and white ankle socks. This was also the first time Gaara had ever seen the brunette's hair down too, save for the time it was nothing but a big ball of tangles from the roller coaster ride. He'd only ever seen Neji at school before where it was required that he keep his hair pulled back at all times, but even at home he'd never worn it down. Gaara liked this rumpled side of Neji. Today was already turning out to be a day of getting to know new things about each other and hopefully, there would be a few embarrassing stories for later black mail purposes too.

Gaara was pulled out of his musings by the song changing to something a little too familiar for comfort, making the redhead nearly laugh out loud at exactly what song the older boy had chosen to play next. That wasn't the only surprise Gaara was in for though.

"Have you ever seen such a beautiful night?"

Gaara couldn't hold back his laughter after that. It was impossible. Who would have thought that Neji would actually sing the words to the Lizzie McGuire song while he played? Gaara certainly never would have guessed it.

Neji obviously heard him from the small frown he gave in the direction of the slightly open door, but he decided to ignore the laughing redhead and continue the song, despite the embarrassment he felt.

"I could almost kiss the stars, they're shining so bright."

That next line killed Gaara, he literally died laughing on the floor where he was now kneeling. That line had been meant for a woman, so Neji had decided to add to Gaara's humor and sing it in a much higher voice, impersonating a woman terribly.

"When I see you smiling, I go... oh... OH... oooh!"

Neji threw his head back slightly when he sang the last part, getting much more into the song now that he had an appreciative audience. But before he was able to sing the next female line, a pair of hands covered his mouth. Gaara had decided he really wouldn't survive hearing Neji sing like a woman again so decided to help him out, knowing his own voice was already much higher than Neji's when he sang.

"I would never want to miss this." Gaara moved his hands to let Neji continue.

"In my heart, I know what this iiiiis." Neji sang, holding out the end and playing a few louder notes on the piano keys.

"This is what dreeeeams are made ooooof."

"This is what DREEEEAMS are made of." Neji sang, copying Gaara's line with a bit more emphasis on the words, just like it'd been sung in the movie.

"I've got somewhere I belong, I've got somebody TOO love."

"This is what dreeeeams are made oooof."

The last two lines they sung together, both with big grins on their faces as the song ended and Neji played the last few notes quietly. Gaara was still trying to contain a few giggles as the song ended, keeping a hand over his mouth and shaking his head in amusement.

"What a thing to wake up to. So Mr. talented, know any other songs from teenage girl chick flicks?"

Gaara moved to lean against the side of the piano so he could see Neji's face instead of standing behind him when he spoke. But the redhead never was given an answer and instead, Neji just smiled at him, playing another song on the piano as his response. This time playing "What I've been looking for", from High School Musical.

"It's hard to believe that I couldn't see... you were always there beside me." Neji sang after playing the introduction and making Gaara laugh again at his choice of songs.

"Thought I was alone with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me." This time Gaara sang the part without missing a beat.

"This feeling's like no other. I want you to know, that I've never had someone who knows me like you do, the way you do, and I've never had someone as good for me as you, no one like you."

"So lonely before, I finally found... what I've been looking for."

"Hoooo..."

The rest of the song they sang together, Gaara adding in the musical, non-word, at the end since it was part of the song anyway, feeling silly as he did it but not really caring since he was enjoying himself.

"Before you make fun of me again, I only know these songs because I've watched the movies about twenty times with Hanabi. She's mature for how old she is, but she's still got her moments where she acts her true age."

"Then I suppose I should say how kind it is of you to do such a thing with her. What an ideal brother figure you are for her."

"Hey, I thought it was pretty noble of me."

Gaara shook his head and laughed in disbelief at that comment and let his arms rest on the top of the piano where Neji was still sitting. He was just full of laughter this morning it seemed.

"Full of yourself much Neji? The only reason I'm still teasing you is because you, in your own free time, play the songs from the show. It'd make sense in Hanabi was here with you, but she isn't, which leads me to believe that you just like the movies as much as she does."

Neji had the grace to blush, before giving the redhead a small half-hearted glare for his comment.

"So what, maybe I do like them a little. Make fun of me all you want."

A mischievous grin crossed the white-eyed boy's face.

"But you have something to answer for as well my dear redhead, for you know all the words by heart in both the songs I played. You knew what songs they were from the very beginning. Now how is that exactly?"

Gaara blushed a little too at the accusation, but quickly covered for it by sticking his nose in the air, perfectly imitating a snobbish rich boy who was never at fault for anything.

"I may not have a younger cousin to blame it on, but I do have Naruto. Those happen to be his favorite type of shows to make Haku and I watch with him."

It was Neji's turn to laugh, "Naruto? Really?" Sasuke was going to love that bit of information if he hadn't already discovered it for himself. The raven and the blonde were really such polar opposites.

"He's going to kill me for telling you." Gaara said, laughing along with Neji.

The two of them continued to laugh together as they left the music room in search of breakfast, something that was beginning to leave a delicious smell throughout the hallways of the Hyuuga castle.

"You know we're going to have to spend the rest of our day watching those movies right?"

Neji looked at Gaara like he'd gone crazy.

"Why?"

"Unless you have a better plan, I want to spend my day in my pajamas and preferably not leave the house either. And now you've given me a perfect idea of how to do exactly that and waste my precious day at the same time! So after breakfast we'll go through Hanabi's movie collection and pick only the best."

Gaara was already planning on grabbing the two movies they'd just sang from, but that didn't mean there weren't others that were just as good waiting to be watched and laughed at. Neji could already see Gaara scheming from the seat next to him at the breakfast table.

Today was going to be a long day full of teasing, he could tell, but surprisingly, Neji was looking forward to it.

X

Naruto and Sasuke had ended up doing much the same as Gaara and Neji had done that day, only Naruto had managed to take it one step further and avoided getting out of bed at all for the first half of the day. He'd ended up staying in Sasuke's bed again, sneaking in when the boy wouldn't be awake enough to ask why he was there, seeing as he didn't have Itachi's late night romping as an excuse anymore.

Sasuke didn't question his presence that morning either and the two of them ended up having breakfast in bed together, much to the raven's annoyance because Naruto had begged him for it and ended up getting egg and syrup all over the sheets where he'd sat.

The rest of the day had gone by quickly after that, the two of them spent time competing with each other in about five different video games. Three of them were supposed to be played as a team defeating monsters and other things, but even that had turned into a competition of defeating the enemy before the other, and keeping a running count to rub in the losers face.

By the time dinner rolled around, the two were exhausted from their all day video game competitions. Neither one was complaining though. Naruto had had a lot of fun with Sasuke that day and wouldn't change it for anything.

It'd just been the two of them, and Naruto was surprised to find he actually really liked hanging out with the boy when no one else was around. Sasuke acted like a fun, occasionally nice, slightly quiet and socially awkward guy when he wasn't upholding his rich snob reputation and image. Naruto thought all these qualities made Sasuke extremely cute, but he'd never say so out loud.

Naruto smiled to himself and let his head fall off the bean bag chair he was draped over so he was looking upside down at the door, having heard Sasuke's mother knock and call through saying something about dinner.

"It's open."

Sasuke said from his spot spread out on his stomach on the floor next to the bean bag Naruto had kicked him off of a few minutes before.

"My! You two look as though you had fun today."

Naruto could only imagine what it looked like to Mikoto. The room had video games, blankets, movies, pillows, and game systems spread out all over the floor, the two boys who had caused the mess, looking as though they were too exhausted to move and more than happy to just become part of the mess in the room.

Sasuke hadn't even lifted his head up from the floor to look at his mother, content to keep his nose buried in the soft fibers of the carpet. He even had a small white feather still stuck in the back of his hair from Naruto throwing a pillow at the back of his head. The blonde was a sore loser, though Sasuke had teased him about it for nearly an hour after they'd given up playing that game, so he might have deserved it.

"It was lots of fun!"

Naruto smiled happily from his awkward position, no one noticing the small smile Sasuke gave at the comment.

"I'm glad sweetheart! I brought you both dinner so go ahead and eat when you're ready."

Mikoto ruffled Naruto's hair, happy the boy had enjoyed himself with her son. She almost ruffled Sasuke's too, but though better of it when she noticed the feather sticking out of his hair. The feather made her giggle and she decided it looked happy there, no need to disturb it.

She left with a small, "Enjoy yourselves!"

Naruto was the first one up and picking the food he wanted off the tray she'd set on the floor next to the chair he was on.

"Come on Teme, you can't sleep now! It's dinner time and if you don't hurry I might eat it all! Oh man, look at this! Your mom is so cool. She had the chef make ramen for us for dinner! I love this stuff!"

The smile on Sasuke's face grew a little at hearing how happy Naruto was. He was feeling increasingly proud of himself for making the blonde smile and laugh so much. He'd never seen so many beautiful smiles in one day from the boy. It warmed his heart, but there was one more thing Sasuke wanted to do for Naruto before the night was up.

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah Teme?"

Sasuke sighed to himself at the name the boy had taken to calling him, pushing himself off the floor so he could sit up and look at the boy with noodles hanging from his lips.

"You remember the roses I've been taking care of at the orphanage during our volunteer period?"

"Sasuke those aren't roses. Those are the thorn bushes of death, but yes I remember them. Why?"

Sasuke took a moment to get up and open one of his dresser drawers before pulling something out and hiding it behind his back. He moved back over to sit on the floor facing Naruto before continuing to speak, pulling a small orange and pink rose from behind him.

"I went by the other day and noticed that some buds are starting to form deep inside your thorn bushes. This one is the first one to bloom... I thought you might like to have it."

Sasuke held it out to Naruto, not looking up at him as he did, feeling embarrassed for giving another boy a flower and hoping the blonde wouldn't be too offended.

Naruto stayed silent for a long time, taking the rose from Sasuke's hands and holding it up to his nose to smell it. It wasn't very strong, but the blonde could definitely smell a light sweet scent coming from the pretty flower. He smiled shyly and blushed, seeing that Sasuke still hadn't looked up at him. Naruto moved his now empty ramen bowl, setting it back on the tray before quietly kneeling down in front of Sasuke.

"It's beautiful Sasuke, thank you."

He whispered, a sweet smile adorning his face.

Sasuke looked up at him with a relieved look on his face. Naruto thought it was the cutest look he'd ever seen on Sasuke and immediately attacked him with a firm kiss, much like the one the raven had given him just two nights before in front of all those people at the charity ball.

When they pulled apart a few moments later, Naruto blushed again and brought the rose to his lips, hiding them out of embarrassment for doing something so bold.

"I love it."

X

Unlike his two friends, Zabuza wanted to do anything but stay at home that last day. Staying at home meant he'd see little of Haku, seeing as his mother seemed to be obsessed with spending as much time with him as she could. His poor mother had always wanted a daughter so badly, that seeing Haku was as close as she was going to get, she decided this would be her only chance to indulge herself.

When they'd gotten home from the theme park, his mother had proceeded to leave Zabuza in the doorway, taking Haku to play her version of dress-up and making cookies together for the rest of the night.

Zabuza had already been asleep by the time Haku had made it back to the taller boy's room where he'd decided to keep sleeping every night.

Zabuza had been patient with his mother, but today was his last chance to spend time with Haku, just the two of them. He was determined to do whatever he needed to make that happen, which meant keeping them away from the house for as long as he could.

This however, also meant leaving almost immediately after waking up. Haku had still been a little disoriented as they were walking out the front door, but Zabuza was relieved he'd gotten out with only a small wave to his father, not needing to explain himself to the man. His father new very well why he was leaving before his mother woke up.

"I'm sorry to pull you out of the house like this. I just had something I wanted to do with you today and...

"Your mother would've kept me all to herself."

Haku finished for him, giggling a little at the slightly guilty look Zabuza was wearing.

"It's okay you know. I've really missed being alone with you like this, so I don't mind."

The smaller boy wrapped his arms around one of Zabuza's and rested his face against the strong muscles there, further proving his point. This only served to make the older boy happier as he lead them to the car, then to the small section of town even further away from the city where he planned to spend the day with Haku.

The small part of town they stopped at was almost like an old Japanese resort with little clothing stores and food booths lining the little street. At the end of the street was a well known bath house that doubled as an inn for tourists from the city. A small park with little ponds and bridges scattered around was set up in front of the bath house, giving the place even more of a private, relaxing feel.

This wasn't the first place Zabuza wanted to go though. The first place was a small restaurant with fabric hangings that parted in the middle for a door and tables that sat low to the floor in secluded booths that were separated with paper walls.

"Are we having breakfast here?"

Haku asked surprised, noticing how nice everything seemed and how pretty the kimonos on the waitresses were.

"If that's alright with you."

Zabuza took the quick nod and excited smile on Haku's face to be a yes, letting the waitress seat them and take their orders.

It wasn't long before the two of them were leaving the restaurant with full stomachs, ready to do the other things Zabuza had planned.

"So what's next?"

Haku asked excitedly, looking up at the older man.

"This is the next place."

Zabuza said, opening the door to the shop across from the restaurant. The store was small and had different colored kimonos on racks around the outsides of the main room.

"How can I help you two?"

"I'd like to have my boyfriend fitted for his own kimono, if you wouldn't mind."

Zabuza said politely, watching Haku's cheeks go pink when he'd used the word boyfriend. The lady just smiled knowingly at the both of them before responding.

"Of course. Come right this way sweetheart."

She said happily, leading Haku into the large main room that was blocked off by a kimono, acting as a door, spread out on its rack to give the person being fitted their privacy. She turned back only briefly to inform Zabuza that he could wait on one of the chairs in the front entrance and that her daughter would bring him tea shortly.

X

Haku was surprised that Zabuza was doing this for him. He'd never thought he'd get a kimono for himself. They were so expensive that even the older boy's mother only had a few. He never thought he'd actually be given one, especially one he got to pick out himself.

"So dear, do you see anything you like? Any particular color you were hoping for."

"I didn't even know we were coming here so I hadn't thought of anything in particular. Would it be alright if I looked at a few?"

"Take all the time you'd like."

This lady was nice and soon she was even helping Haku by telling him which colors she thought looked best on him, and which ones had designs that represented things like seasons, plants, and other peaceful scenery on them.

It took a little time seeing as Haku liked so many of them. But he finally settled on one that he thought was beautiful that was also meant for people his height. It was a dark caramel brown like his eyes that the woman also seemed to like on him very much. It had a few faded color sections on the long sleeves and around the bottom hem, so there wasn't an actual design, but it wasn't one flat color either. The obi they picked to go with it was a chocolate brown that was almost the same color of his hair.

The lady told him he could wear it around the town if he wanted to. He said yes and his original clothes were placed in the box that his kimono would later be folded into. She'd even given him a pair of black and brown sandal type shoes and white socks with a slit between the first two toes to go with it. She told him they came with it free since few people had the money to afford such an expensive piece of clothing to begin with.

He was happy for that, even if Zabuza didn't care about the price. But soon all his thoughts were erased from his mind as he stepped out to meet Zabuza. The man looked at him with such awe he'd never felt more beautiful. Something he was truly happy for. He immediately knew what sort of formal wear Zabuza liked best on him. He'd worn such a pretty dress to the charity ball that the man had been stunned, but he'd never looked at him like this before.

Zabuza paid the woman happily, without a care in the world, and soon the two of them were out of the shop again. Zabuza was trying really hard not to look too proud to have Haku on his arm and the young boy couldn't have been happier to see the older, more stoic man failing so miserably.

It made him wonder briefly, if Zabuza ever asked him to marry him, what the man would think of him in a white wedding kimono. Since if the man ever did ask, Haku was going to say yes without a doubt. Not that he expect the man to feel that strongly about him, though he certainly hoped he did.

The two of them spent the rest of the day together, happily wandering between the shops and small food stands. The two of them ended up at the same restaurant again for dinner as they had for breakfast and one of the waitresses commented on the lovely hair ornament Zabuza had gotten him to go with his kimono as they'd been wandering in and out of the shops.

Haku couldn't have asked for a better day, he'd never felt so truly cared about or desired before and the thought that it would soon be over nearly brought tears to his eyes.

However he pushed it aside and just enjoyed the last few hours he had left, wandering the gardens in front of the bath house with Zabuza and watching the little kids in the small town square as they played with sparklers, running around and trying to right their names in the air with them.

X

The next morning was very different however. Haku had gotten teary-eyed leaving the Momochi house and watching Zabuza's mother and father wave bye to him as Zabuza put his things in the trunk for him. He'd had a really hard time holding his tears back while being hugged by Mrs. Momochi, who'd been crying unabashedly onto his shoulder at the thought of him leaving.

Naruto also wasn't happy to be leaving the Uchiha house, but he wasn't having near as difficult of a time as Haku was having. He smiled widely and hugged Sasuke's mother goodbye before getting in the car with his friends.

Gaara was the last one in the car, despite how long Mrs. Momochi had taken hugging Haku. Hanabi was taking even longer. Hinata was no where to be seen, much to Gaara's pleasure, and Hiashi had already given him his farewells over breakfast before leaving for work, but Hanabi was a completely different story.

He'd never thought she was actually this attached to him. She wasn't crying though, she just happened to have the deadliest scowl on her face that Gaara had ever seen. And she was directing it and Neji.

"You can't take him back yet. He's like my sister now! A real one that I can shop with and talk about boys with and... YOU CAN'T TAKE HIM BACK!"

Gaara was nearly frightened by this girl. He'd have said something about the 'sister' comment had he not been so nervous. He'd never seen Hanabi throw a fit like a normal little girl before, but apparently when she did, it was one of the worst fits known to man. And he was right in the middle of it. She literally had her arms squeezing so tightly around his waist that he couldn't breathe well.

"Calm down Hanabi. I'll bring him back soon and he can spend the whole summer with us if he wants. How does that sound?"

The redhead was also extremely impressed with Neji at the moment. The man certainly knew how to talk to a screaming, pissed off Hanabi. He was all light, happy tones, yet somehow seeming stern and giving Hanabi things to think about and questions to answer to get her distracted.

"You meant it?"

She asked warily, loosening her grip on Gaara a little. He could still hear her heavy breathing from her last scream, but she seemed to be calmer.

"Yes Hanabi, I'll arrange it with Gaara after our school festival."

"Why not now?"

"The school won't officially allow me to do it any sooner Hanabi. Don't you worry though, you'll see Gaara again soon."

Hanabi let go of Gaara immediately and folded her arms, turning her back on the both of them.

"Fine."

Gaara gratefully got into the car after that, lightly glaring at Naruto who looked like he wasn't sure if he should be laughing at the scene or not, yet still was.

X

The ride back had been a little quiet but as soon as they'd arrived back on the Aishiteru Academy campus and the older boys had walked them back to their dorm, the quietness disappeared.

The first one to break had been Haku, who'd started to cry into Zabuza's chest as the man hugged him goodbye, not at all pleased to hear that the older boy had to leave for work and wasn't allowed to stay with him any longer.

"It'll be alright Haku, I'll see you at school tomorrow. It's not like we won't be seeing each other."

Zabuza looked sad too, but Haku just nodded and calmed himself down. He hugged Zabuza as hard as he could and gave him a light kiss on the lips, even managing to smile a little before heading into their dorm.

Naruto was next, tears leaking out of his eyes too as he watched Haku disappear.

"You better be sad to be leaving me too Teme! And don't forget, you're taking me to the hospital on Monday!"

With that, Naruto was through their dorm room door, embarrassed at having cried in front of Sasuke, leaving the boy in question to snicker quietly to himself at the blonde's antics as he left the building.

Gaara was the last one to separate from Neji.

"So this summer huh?"

"If you'd like, I figured you might want to spend some time with your brother too though. You'll have plenty of free time to do so. But if you're interested in spending more time with me and my family, which I hope you are, you can look it up in the student handbook it talks about the school's tradition for summer vacation."

"I'll have to do some extensive research then and get back to you on that."

Gaara said with an amused smile, happy to know Neji wanted to spend time with him again.

"You better."

Neji smiled, laughing a little and pushing his hands into his pockets as he left. Gaara watched him go for a few minutes until he could no longer be seen leaving the building through the window in the wall across from their room.

"I'll definitely be looking into that."

Wow, I can't believe it took me nine months to write this update. I am so impressed with myself right now, but at least it's finally finished!

I'm sorry to have made you guys wait so long for the last chapter of this book, but I'm getting back into writing again so hopefully it won't be so bad the next time and I'll have the first chapter of book three up in a decent amount of time.

Thanks to all of you who've stuck around waiting! The next book will be coming out under Naruto and Sasuke in the character search, but you can always find it on my profile as well.

Thanks again for putting up with my laziness!

-Himitsu