This is more of a chapter 19.5 to tide y'all over until I get more written! I got consumed by school and crippling writer's block, but I hope to get more Soba & Naruto adventures written up soon :) Thank y'all for being patient with me!

Soba was enjoying a quiet afternoon nestled high in her favorite tree, lazily reading her borrowed copy of Icha Icha for the umpteenth time. She was curled up in an oversized sweater of her father's, one leg swinging back and forth. A series of increasingly aggressive footfalls distracted her from a particularly juicy paragraph, and she peered over the cover to glare at the offending soul. Her brother's sparkling eyes met hers, and only then did she notice he was waving what appeared to be an envelope up at her.

"Get down here, imouto!" Dai called, dropping his arm to his side.

"I'm so comfortable!"

"Too bad. I guess I'll read this letter for you ALL BY MYSELF."

"Letter? Who would send me a-" The kunoichi's eyes shot open and she dove out of the tree, hitting terminal velocity right before colliding with Dai.

"Ugh, this may have been cute when we were five, but you're both faster and heavier now, Soba."

"I am not heavy."

"Compared to a five year old, yes, yes, you are. Now. Do you want this letter or do you not? It looks like he misspelled your name. Sobo-chan. I like it."

"Idiot. That's obviously an A."

"He writes almost as badly as you do! Even more evidence that you're flawless together!" Dai batted his eyelashes, tucking the heels of his hands under his stubbly chin. "Now get off me before I hemorrhage internally." Soba disappeared in a flurry of fallen leaves, shutting her bedroom door behind her. One could never be too safe with a twin as cunning as Dai. She faintly heard him enter the house and occupy himself with food, putting her somewhat at ease. Pulling an apple out of her bedside table, which is where normal people keep fruit, she maintained, Soba delicately peeled open the letter. Opening it slowly did nothing to calm her like she had convinced herself it would; her heart was thrumming in her throat as she pulled the contents out of the envelope. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, like the shaking hands and lightheadedness, Soba managed to convince herself she was completely collected. Just like a kunoichi should be. It took nearly ten minutes before she had realized that the folded pages were exactly that - still folded.

"Silly. It's just words. From a boy. Just words." The kunoichi muttered to herself, carefully smoothing out the papers that were becoming damp from her sweaty grip. Her pulse pounded in her ears, but she could hardly notice it when her eyes were trying so hard to burn a hole in the paper.

Dear Soba-chan,

She held the paper to her chest and inhaled deeply. Just words, she repeated, like a mantra to get her through.

I told you I would write you a letter, so here it is!

Soba could almost hear his nervous chuckle, and that toned arm scratching the back of his neck.

Kakashi-sensei is okay with you still having his copy of Icha-Icha because I think he has maybe 30 copies already, but you should still bring it back - you need the next one! Maybe they have a bookstore in Kusa, but I don't know if it's the same as the one here. Okay, you probably have a bookstore, but I promise our Icha Ichas are better. I swear. Anyway, I went on a mission last week with Sasuke, and he said that he liked you as a person. He's never said that to me, so I'm pretty sure that means you're best friends now. Maybe. He's confusing. Our mission was good, but I missed having your snacks! My stomach kept grumbling while we traveled, and Sasuke got mad at how loud it was. He's stupid. It was really cold, too, but cold means snow, and snow means snowball fights! You and Dai should come and we can have a massive snowball fight with some of the other shinobi because it's hilarious when everyone starts using jutsus - my shadow clones help a lot, so it may be a good idea to be on my team. If you want. I'd like that, though! strike I feel like you'd be really scary in a snowball fight. I mean, in a good way./strike

Naruto was terrible at crossing things out in a way that would render them illegible, but Soba smiled fondly regardless. She was downright merciless when it came to snowball fights, and had many years of experience under her belt. She, Dai, and Akira made an absolutely murderous team of snow-fiends when the weather was right, and there was a reason why they were undisputed champions of the informal winter shinobi games in Kusa. The games were informal because they were largely imagined by the trio, though many of the other shinobi in the village couldn't help but be drawn to the exhilaration of a playful afternoon of numbing fingers, puffed breath and impromptu faceoffs. Despite their generally stoic demeanor and often missing humor, the shinobi of Kusa were sometimes capable of letting loose. Only sometimes, though.

I hope that we get to go on a mission together soon, or maybe one that brings me close to strikeyou/strike Kusagakure. Yep! Well, I'm gonna go now, but you should write back! strike If you want to./strike It's okay if you don't! But, I'd like you to.

Naruto

P.s. Writing these makes me feel like I'm an adult.

Knowing she was out of sight of prying eyes, Soba re-read the adorable letter, clutching it to her chest in a brief moment of weakness. She quickly dropped it back to the floor when she heard the tell-tale rustle of Dai's combat pants outside of her door. Dai stood frozen when his sister flung open the door and attempted to murder him with a pointed look. He offered her what he thought was an innocent smile, but she bonked him over the head with her hand.

"Don't even think I'll let you get away with spying."

"But I need to know! What did he write? When is the wedding? Should I buy a-" He suddenly found it really difficult to talk with Soba's fist wedged between his teeth, her eyes narrowed. She threw a dark glance at him, putting the letter in a drawer and performing a seal to keep her brother out.

"Now you will never know! HA!"

"You're blushing."

"I'm not!" Dai shrugged, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"Check the mirror for yourself, imouto. It's kinda adorable!" She groaned, stalking past him on her way to the kitchen. "You gonna write him back?" All he heard was muttering.