Imperfectly Perfect (Naruto FanFic)

Chapter Nineteen

The days passed quickly, though Sensei eventually had to leave. We had almost fully recovered after two days, and found several ways to pass the boredom.

"Tag! You're It!"

Shun shrieks slightly, then spun around and pounded after Daisuke. He suddenly pivots when he sees me in an adjacent hallway, and I turn to run. Sprinting away, I kick off a wall so I could take a turn as sharply as possible.

I explode off the wall, glancing back to see how close Shun was. Too late, I realize that someone had been walking around the corner, and I slam into him.

"Ughhhh..."

I look up at the person I ran into, massaging the sore shoulder that had slammed into whoever it was.

The first thing I see is the electric blue hair. It was gorgeous, with layers and layers of different colors of blue. He glanced up, turquoise eyes widening as I yank him up and hold him by his shoulders, a human shield between me and the oncoming Shun.

"Sorry!" I exclaim, cowering behind the boy, waiting for the moment Shun spun around the corner.

"What's going on?" The blue haired boy asked, bewildered, just as Shun turned the corner.

"Stay back, Shun," I warned lowly, dodging his darting hand by dragging the unnamed boy in front of it.

"Tell me what's happening!" The boy demanded.

"We're in the middle of an intense game of tag," I explain quickly.

"Wait, who's this?" Shun pauses, gazing at him with slightly wide eyes.

"Um... I don't really know..." I admit, awkwardly releasing my hold of him. The boy brushed himself off, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

He turns back and forth to look at both of us. Shun stares subtly while I scuff my foot against the ground awkwardly, waiting for him to yell or walk away in annoyance.

"Sounds like fun!" The boy chirped, "Can I join?"

Shun and I stare in shock, then a full blown grin spreads across Shun's face. "Of course!" He exclaims, "What's your name?"

"Mizuko, but everyone calls me Mizu!" He told us, enthusiasm clear in his voice. "What's your name?"

"Shun," Shun says, "And that's Fuzen."

To my surprise, Mizu doesn't falter at all when he hears my name. "Nice to meet you Shun, Fuzen,"

Just then Daisuke comes running up, panting. He skids to a halt next to us. "Who's this?" He asks.

"Mizu," I explain, "I accidentally ran into him, and then we invited him to play tag as well."

Daisuke shrugs, easily accepting Mizu into the group. "I'm Daisuke," he introduced himself, slinging an arm around my shoulder. I give him a playful nudge with my elbow before sliding from his grip.

"So where are you from, Mizu?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah," he said, "The Land of Stone. I got a bruise on the arm where I usually wear my headband, so I'm keeping it off for now," he explained.

"Oh. Hey, do you want to see if your teammates want to join in?" Daisuke asked.

"Nah, one of them is injured and shouldn't be running, and the other is just a stick in the mud," he complained, sticking his tongue out slightly.

We played a variety of games with Mizu over the days, occasionally getting other teams to play with us. Some suspected that we were only trying to gather data on them, but most of us were united together over the fact that we had survived the Forest.