Azumi's POV
"Thank you for watching over us Kaminari-sama" I say finishing off my prayer. I normally come to the shrine everyday to pay respects and help clean. Especially after that night. I've felt a strong connection to her since then and although she hasn't shown herself to me since, I know she is listening to every word that's being said here.
I stand from my seat seat and give a final bow before exiting the shrine and making my way back to the main household.
"Azumi!"
The sound of my name causes me to halt in my tracks and turn around to the direction of the voice. I'm greeted by a running Naruto who hugs me once he reaches me. I laugh slightly and take a step back at the impact slightly confused on how he was allowed to enter the compound as entry into our compound is very strict to outsiders.
"Hi Naruto" I reply as I look behind him and notice Sasuke and Sakura walking towards us. Sasuke looking annoyedly at Naruto's back.
Oh so that's why they were allowed in, I think to myself knowing that because Sasuke was with them they were allowed in. As the two of them reach us Sasuke pulls Naruto off me before greeting me.
"I'm a ninja now! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed proudly pulling himself from Sasuke's grip, a broad smile on his face.
"Congratulations Naruto! I thought you were already a ninja?" I say slightly confused.
"Apparently, only a select few are officially accepted to becoming genin so we had to take another test with our teams. We passed that test that makes us official ninja, the rest were sent back" Sasuke explains, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Oh I see! Well! Congratulations again you guys!" I say happily to all three of them before our conversation is interrupted by the sound of all of their stomachs growling. Pink dusts their cheeks in embarrassment.
"Are you hungry perhaps?" I ask with a giggle.
"Agh! Kakashi-Sensei told us not to eat breakfast! And when we did have lunch we barely got to eat any of it! Believe it!" Naruto yelled holding his growling stomach.
"Why don't you all stay for dinner? I'm sure Mother and Father won't mind! And don't worry about my brother annoying you all again, he's left on a mission" I say beginning to lead the way to my house.
"Azumi, is it okay if I ask you something?" Sakura asks me shyly, walking beside me as Naruto and Sasuke trail behind us. I nod my head in response with a smile, encouraging her to go on.
"D-do you like Sasuke?" she asks, her eyes flicking from me to Sasuke behind us as she anxiously waited for my answer.
I'm slightly taken aback by her question. I've known Sasuke for so long and I know he's always been popular with other girls but I don't think I've ever met someone who actually had feelings for him. There's no doubt that Sasuke is special to me. Special in a way I can't even put into words.
But do I like him? I question looking behind me at Sasuke who answers Naruto's questions about my Clans Compound. I shake the thought out of my head. There's no way I can categorize what we have as mere liking him.
"Sasuke's my friend, my best friend. You don't have anything to worry about Sakura" I said with a laugh. My reply must've made her happy as her demeanor towards me instantly changed and she became a lot warmer and open with me.
She must really like him
I silently push the small pit in my stomach that came when I tried to think of Sasuke in that way down. There's no way I could like him like that. Our bond is so much more different than that.
"Wow! This is your house Azumi?" Sakura questioned awe-struck as we made our way to the doorway, all of us taking our shoes off and placing it to the side. Naruto made a comment about living in a better home once he became hokage which caused a laugh from me and him getting a scolding from Sakura.
I lead our way through the house and towards the study where I know mother will be to let her know we have guests. I knock once on the door to announce our presence before opening the door.
She's sitting behind the desk, paperwork scattered in from of her. She sets down the piece of paper she was currently reading when she notices the four of us with a smile. I didn't miss the light blushes on Sakura and Naruto's faces.
"I see we have guests" Mother says with a smile, getting up from her seat and making her way towards us.
"Yes, these are Sasuke's teammates" I say motioning towards Sakura and Naruto.
"Oh how lovely! I'm so happy I got to meet the people who will be by Sasuke's side. My name is Hana Kurokawa" Mother says as she extends a hand in greeting to both Sakura and Naruto.
"I'm Sakura Haruno. Thank you for letting us visit your home" Sakura says, taking Hana's hand and giving it a shake.
"You two are welcome any time, I'll be sure to let the ninja at the gates know" Hana replies warmly.
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! And I hope you remember it because I'm going to be the future hokage! Believe it!" Naruto exclaims proudly pointing to himself. My mother and I laugh at the strange boy as Sakura and Sasuke start lecturing him about manners.
"It's a pleasure to be in your presence Naruto Uzumaki" Hana says with a laugh, lightly ruffling Naruto's hair. He blushes shyly at her actions.
"Dinner will be ready soon so I hope you all stay for it. You can all go and hang out and I will send Ai over to inform you when it's time to eat. It really was lovely meeting you two" Hana says again as we bid our farewells and leave the room. Sasuke and I begin to lead them to the back of the house where we normally hand out and watch the stars. The sun is still up but it will set soon and that side of the house gets the best view.
"That was your mum?" Sakura said plopping herself besides me as I nod. Naruto taking a seat on my other side and Sasuke sitting on his other side.
"Yeah, father is busy right now but you will meet him at dinner" I say as I lean on the back of my hands and begin to look out at the sky in front of us.
"She is really beautiful, you look a lot like her Azumi" Sakura says with a smile. I smile in return as I thank her for the compliment.
"So when is your first mission guys?" I ask the sky beginning to change colors as the sun begins to make way for the moon.
"Tomorrow! Believe it! I bet it's going to be something super cool where I can show off my skills y'know!" Naruto exclaims happily, the setting sun reflecting in his bright blue eyes and turning them into a magnificent colour.
"Just don't get in my way loser" Sasuke smirks from his side, Naruto quickly getting defensive and retorting back.
"You really have a lot on your hands with those two Sakura" I say with a laugh, the pinkette from my side nods with a sigh.
We spend the next while sitting there and talking. Mostly about small things we didn't know about each other, and also them talking about everything they are looking forward to with their new lives as Ninja. I smile as normally it would only be Sasuke and I in this spot, and now we have Naruto and Sakura.
This is nice
"Lady Azumi, her lady says dinner is ready" Ai says from behind, we all look back at her. Her eyes shows how amused she is at the sight of all four of us sprawled on the ground. We took to getting more comfortable and were now sitting and lying on the ground in different positions.
"Thank you Ai-san" I say, getting up and dusting myself off. The other three doing the same before we all make our way to the dining room.
"Well if it isn't young Sasuke and friends! Welcome!" Father says as the four of us take a seat each at the table. Father sitting at the head of the table, while Mother took the seat to his right and I took the seat to his left, Sasuke sitting beside me with Sakura beside him and Naruto sitting opposite us next to Mother.
"Ah, well if it isn't young Sasuke! And friends!" father said as the four of us made our way into the dining room each taking a seat. Father sat at the head, while mother sat on his right and I took a seat on his left, Sasuke sitting beside me, while Sakura sat beside him, Naruto sitting next to mother.
We thanked them for the food before we began to eat.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Kurokawa" Sakura said with a smile, Naruto nodding in agreement as he happily ate.
"The pleasure is all mine, I'm glad to have the honour in meeting Sasuke's team" He says with a smile. His eyes flicker to Naruto who hasn't joined the conversation as much as he was busy scarfing down the food in front of him. His eyes soften slightly at the sight of the said boy.
"Do slow down Naruto, you'll choke at this rate" Mother says with an amused laugh, picking up a napkin in front of her and lightly dabbing it on Naruto's way in motherly affection.
"Naruto your face" I say as I begin laughing at Naruto's flustered face as he allows my mother to clean him. He gets more embarrassed at my pointing it out and playfully glares at me.
"He looks like little baby" Sakura adds as she joins in, her comment making me laugh even more.
"What a loser" Sasuke says, his own little smile on his face as he places more rice in his mouth, a teasing look in his eyes.
"Now you three leave Naruto alone!" Mother scolds trying and failing to sound stern, her smile a dead give away at how she too found this amusing.
"Yeah! You leave me alone! When I become Hokage you'll all remember this day! Believe it" Naruto yells, although he too has a big smile on his face.
"You tell them future Lord Hokage!" Father says, hyping Naruto up which is the last thing he needed. We all join in laughing as the conversations begin to run more smoothly, resulting in a great night.