Exchanging Gifts
"We're gonna do whaaaaat?" Naruto Uzumaki yelled in Kakashi's ear.
"Calm down, Naruto. It's called exchanging gifts. Sheesh. Something fun to do for the holidays. Before the holidays even come." Kakashi said, rolling his only visible eye.
"Sensei…" Sakura Haruno said in her careful, calm voice. "Did you say ALL the genin teams are joining? Gai's team, Teams 8 and 10?"
"Yup!" Kakashi smiled.
"How does this work again?" Naruto asked, acting dumb… as usual.
BLAM
"Naruto-baka! Kakashi-sensei just explained it, like, 3 times already! And you keep repeating the same stupid questions!!" Sakura yelled at Naruto.
Oh, and Naruto was lying in a heap somewhere 10 meters away.
"Hn." Sasuke said. (Although it didn't take a genius like Neji to figure out it was Sasuke)
"There's a meeting later… we'll get to pick the names we have to buy presents for!" Kakashi said, unusually cheery.
Well with some luck, Neji and Tenten'll get each other, and Hinata'll get Naruto, Ino'll Kiba, and me? I'll get stuck with someone like Shino, for crying out loud! Sakura scowled and put her face in her hands.
--
Later that afternoon…
"Hello, everybody!!" Kurenai smiled at everyone.
"You know why we're all here…" Kakashi said, just as cheerfully as Mickey Mouse. "To pick names!!"
Is it just me, or is Kakashi-sensei starting to be really, really, really, really freakin' cheerful? That's just so wrong. Naruto thought, and started twitching.
"So we'll pass out this box, pick a paper, and if you tell anyone… You will suffer A THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!" Kakashi said, now freakishly… creepy.
"Yes sir!" The genin (and Chuunin Shikamaru) said.
So the genin (and one Chuunin) passed the box around. Wanna hear their thoughts?
Ino: Kiba. Kiba. Kiba. If not Kiba, Sasuke! PLEASE!
Hinata: Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun, Naruto-kun…
Neji: …
Shino: …
Shikamaru: What a drag…
Naruto: Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan…
Sasuke: Hn.
Sakura: Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun! Please Kami-sama, PLEASE!
Lee: I DESERVE to have my cherry blossom! Right?!
Tenten: Please be HIM… pleeeeeeeease…
Chouji: Munchmunchmunchmunch…
Kiba: Hinata… Hinata…
So everybody closed there eyes shut (Yes, even the boys who said, '…' and 'Hn.'.) and picked the papers. Let's read their thoughts, shall we?
Kiba: WHAT. THE. HELLLL?!
Chouji: -choke-
Hinata: -faints-
Sakura: Kami-sama, THANKYOUUUUU!
Shino: Oh my.
Naruto: Well... this works too…
Sasuke: ...
Shikamaru: Not a drag not a drag soooooo not a drag…
Ino: I said please, right?! I did, RIGHT?!
Tenten: YES!
Neji: YES!
Lee: YES!
(A/N: My, my, Gai's team is certainly the lucky team. I'm playing favorites… muhahahaha… ehem. Moving on!)
The sensei's chuckled at their students expressions. This was gonna be one GREAT Christmas…
--
At the mall…
"Excuse me, do you have anything like a stuffed toy?" Naruto asked a sales guy, who was wearing a Mohawk and had 3 nose rings. In each nostril.
"Do I look like I know what a stuffed toy is?" the scary guy asked Naruto.
"Uhmm… no?"
"Good guess. Out of my sight."
Damn. I'm never gonna find a good present! But I will! I promise! Dattebayo!!!!
--
"You WILL tell me where the ramen aisle is, woman! I am in a VERY bad mood, so you better tell me!" Well. The ramen thing was a little giveaway for Naruto being this unfortunate person's person… so I'll just name the person… it.
"Of course! Uhmmmm… aisle 7!" the saleslady squeaked, terrified by it.
"And you BETTER be telling the truth! Or I WILL hurt you! Kapeesh?" It yelled at the saleslady.
"Ka-ka-ka-kaspeech-I mean… Kapeesh!" the lady stuttered. Oh boy.
--
"U-U-Uhh… could you please come with me later, Sakura? I r-r-really need to buy something for my person… and the other girls are busy… please?" Hinata stuttered into the phone.
"Sure! I need to buy something too!" Sakura paused, and remembered Kakashi's warning. "But no guessing!"
"O-Of course, Sakura!"
--
Hm. Stuffed toy? Neji thought whilst he lay in his bed. NO! God, was I thinking of that? Hmmm… food? Nah. He shook his head. A Hyuga? Not knowing anything? Please! He was a genius for crying out loud! A calendar? A ball pen? A computer? No! (A/N: You can probably guess I was just thinking of random things in my computer room by now.) Neji, in a fit of sudden rage, threw his pillow against the door, where his ninja weapons were hanging. He then kicked his mental behind, and smiled.
--
"But Gai-sensei! If (gender withheld) does not like it, then I… I will just die!!" Lee bawled, oblivious to the people staring at them on the sidewalk. "It is impervious that I get (gender withheld) the right gift! I cannot give (toot) stuffed toys, I cannot give (toot) chocolates, I cannot give (toot) money… It is too hard!"
"Lee…"
"(bawl)"
"Lee…"
"(bawl)"
"LEE!"
"Yes sir!"
"I have a great idea…" Gai leaned over and whispered something in Lee's ear.
That is a great idea!
"That is a great idea! Thank you, Gai-sensei!!"
--
The night of the exchanging gifts.
Let's check into their thoughts again, shall we? And I won't do any 'gender withheld's'.
Sakura: I hope he likes it I hope he likes it…
Naruto: Did I get the right thing?
Shino: I'm sure I got the right thing.
Kiba: Let's just get this OVER with…
Ino: WHY couldn't I have Kiba? WHY?!
Tenten: -nerves eating her brain-
Neji: -smug confidence with a tinge of nervousness-
Lee: -humming some random song inside his head due to the happiness-
Chouji: The thing I got for him would be useful for us ALL.
Sasuke: -still no comment-
Hinata: Almost time!
Shikamaru: It's still not a drag…
"Okay! Guys, it's time for exchanging gifts!!!" Asuma grinned, cigarette dangling from his lips. Oh yeah, and Jiraiya, Anko, and Tsunade were there.
"Who's gonna start?" Tsunade grinned. God, were they cheerful today.
"You know what? I'll start. Just so I can get it over with…" Sakura said shyly.
"Yay! A youthful volunteer!" Which saves Lee the best for last! Hah! I win, Kakashi! Gai continued his crazy monologue inside his head.
"Well… er, my person is… a really great shinobi. I mean it. And… sorry Naruto… he'd make a great Hokage… so… well… here's your gift, Sasuke…" she smiled and threw her gift, a wrapped rectangle, on his lap.
"Er. Thanks?" Sasuke allowed a smile. It was almost Christmas. He had to be nice. "It's my turn, right?" he stared at the sensei's who were chuckling darkly (???) and they nodded.
"Well… it was kinda hard for me to buy a present for this shinobi. But well… we were talking a few weeks back about our interests, and I remembered. Merry Christmas, Shikamaru." He smirked and tossed a very large square towards Shikamaru. Shikamaru, totally unprepared, was hit on the head.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Nara." Sasuke smirked again and sat back down.
"Ok, ok. I really, really, tried to buy the perfect present for this kunoichi. Honestly. But if she doesn't like it… well… Sorry, Ino. Merry Christmas."
Ino's head jerked up at the sound of her name. To tell the truth, she wasn't really listening, until she heard her name. She blinked rapidly. And unlike the first two ninja, he walked over to her and handed her her present. Before Ino could say a word, though, Shikamaru had kissed her on the cheek. A blush spread through her face as Shikamaru leaned back.
Asuma chuckled, pleased, from his table, and Kurenai, Anko and Tsunade were about to relapse into 'awwwwwwwwwwwww's. Ino had temporarily forgotten that she was furious with her person.
"Ah… ah… errrrrr… th-th-thank you, Sh-Shikamaru… S-so I guess it's my turn th-then…" she murmured softly.
Shikamaru stood up and walked back to his seat next to Chouji. "Great job, you own her, man!" Chouji grinned with delight. Shikamaru just smiled. One thing that wasn't troublesome.
"W-well… this shinobi, is like, totally, the most determined shinobi ever. Which is sooooooo damn annoying sometimes. But you deserve something, nonetheless, Naruto…" Ino sighed, and smiled at the same time. She was in a GREAT mood. For one, she just got over Kiba and Sasuke.
But she threw the extremely large (compared to Naruto's head) package at Naruto, who caught it with ease. She stuck her tongue out at him, and proceeded to her seat.
Naruto scowled at her, but in a teasing way, and stood up, with a fluffy-looking package in hand. "Okay. So lookie here, I practically got eaten up by this Mohawk-wearing dude, I almost was considered gay, and I was practically driven to the brink of insanity trying to look for this… THING… but… well… something in the back of my mind told me, she's worth it. You can do it. So I really believed in that voice, and I found the perfect thing for her. Merry Christmas, Hinata!!!" He smiled, and just like Shikamaru, handed her the gift. He stood there, and suddenly wrapped her in a bear hug.
Hinata turned scarlet red, blinking those pearls rapidly. N-Naruto-kun got my name? Is he really hugging me? Should I hug him back? Did he just say I was worth it? Suddenly, for the first time EVER, she stopped blushing, and returned the hug.
Kurenai beamed with happiness, and all the genin and Chuunin were smiling. Except for Kiba, he was smiling half-heartedly. If she's happy, I have to be happy, right? I wonder who she got? Lee?
Hinata shyly stood up. "Thank you, N-Naruto-kun… W-well… when I p-picked the paper, I fainted, r-right? Well… y-you guys'll n-never probably know th-the reason… Merry Christmas, K-Kiba-kun!" she rushed over and dumped the present in Kiba's lap.
Kiba, who was totally not expecting this, stared at the present in his lap, eyes and mouth both open. He blinked. He blinked again, and turned to the person next to him, Chouji. "This belongs to you, she must've dropped it in my lap by accident!"
Everyone laughed.
"It's r-really for y-you, Kiba-k-kun…" she said sweetly, and took back the present and this time, planted it firmly in his hands. Then, smiling, said, "I h-have another g-gift for you…" and before Kiba could say anything, she kissed him, totally unlike Hinata, gently, and softly, on the LIPS. "M-Merry Christmas!"
He didn't move. His overwhelming crush for Hinata had bloomed. A lot. Kiba actually was up to the point that he wasn't capable of thinking. Well, he was thinking of Hinata, but…
"Kiba! It's your turn!!!" Naruto yelled from across the circle, breaking him free from his daydream.
"Hu-huh? Oh yeah…!" he stood up, stumbling, (the after effects of Hinata's 'gift') and grinned at the others. "Okay, this guy has been around me for ages. Practically. And I know EXACTLY what to give him. Yo Shiiiiiino! Heads up!" Kiba was back to his old self, not that shy, silent Kiba he was before. The one I fell for in the first place…Hinata smiled to herself as Kiba threw a large box at Shino's head. Shino, with the bugs and all, caught it, or rather, the bugs did.
"Thank you, Kiba. Now, it's my turn. So this guy has the hugest heart in Konoha. And I admit, I haven't known him for very long. But I knew exactly what to get him. Aren't I right, Chouji?"
Chouji grinned at Shino. "Thanks, dude." Shino handed the present over to Chouji, since he was, well, right next to him.
"Okay! What I am doing now, is so gonna make some of us happier." Chouji paused. "Lee, you better use this or else!" He threw the present at Lee's head.
"I will use it, my friend!! Thank you, youthful Chouji!!!!!!!!!" Lee grinned and his teeth went ping. "Youthful genin-and-chuunin! My gift is outside!!! Come on, sensei's and the fifth Hokage! I will show you too!"
Everyone got outside, expecting something huge and, well, material. But nothing was outside. "Follow me!" They walked into the darkness (Yes, it was about 9 pm there) and finally they reached a small hill.
Where, again, they expected something huge and material. But nothing was there.
"Lee, are you sure this is the right spot?" Kiba asked, who was standing next to Hinata.
"Yes! I am sure!" No one dared question him since he seemed so darn SURE. "My friends and fellow ninja! My gift… is something, that I worked really hard for! Will you please look up at the sky!!!"
Everyone stared at the sky, hoping to see something huge and material. Maybe he'd bought a plane. The only ones left were Neji, Tenten, and Sakura. The rest were freakin' jealous.
"Do you see the north star?" Lee said, pointing somewhere close to it. They nodded. "To the right of that, there are three bright stars… Right?" (A/N: Totally making this up, okay? Don't go looking for these stars!) They nodded again. "Somewhere near the second star, somewhere above, there is a shining star, correct?" They nodded yet again. What was he getting at? "That star… is the newly named… Sakura."
Sakura blinked. He named a star after me? But…
Everyone gasped, oohed, and aahed, and Sakura just blinked. "And… it is part of the cherry blossom constellation… see the shape of a cherry blossom? Sakura is the heart, can you see the petals?" He said, tracing the shape with his fingers.
Sakura's mouth was open and in an shock. A star and a constellation…? He really is… sweet…
Kakashi walked over to Lee and put a hand on his shoulder. "You've given the most precious gift yet. And I think she knows that too." He smiled, gesturing to Sakura, who was still staring at the sky.
Lee nodded at Kakashi, and walked towards Sakura. "Sakura-san! I am sorry I could not get you anything huge or material…" the others looked a bit guilty, then started walking back to the place where they held the exchanging gifts (aka Kakashi's house), since they respected their privacy. "But… I did not want to… since… I was hoping you'd find this nicer…"
Sakura finally tore her gaze away from the star and smiled. She grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Lee-san… This is the greatest present anyone could ever have given me… even if Sasuke were to miraculously give me something for Christmas… but you really gave me the BEST gift ever… and I bet all those other guys are jealous. Thank you!!!" Sakura smiled, and stood on her tippy-toes to kiss Lee on the cheek. Then she let go of his hand and sauntered back to the house.
--
"Has everyone given or received a present?" Jiraiya asked.
"Uh, no." Neji and Tenten said at the exact same moment. They stared at each other in shock.
Tenten: You got me?!
Neji: You got me?!
Everyone exchanged mischievous glances. Kiba coughed 'inconspicuously'. Lee grinned so wide, it would hurt (although others thought it was because something happened between him and Sakura).
"What are you all looking at?" Neji said crossly.
"What?" Tenten asked bluntly.
"Ooooh, nothing reeeeeeeeeally… just the fact that among the 12 of us, you two picked each other… Kakashi-sensei, did you and Gai-sensei rig that thing or what?" Ino grinned.
"Nope." Kakashi smiled through his mask. Gai did likewise.
"Oh come on, just give each other your presents, so we can leave and you can open your presents." Anko yawned. Go figure, she and Tsunade were drinking in the corner.
"Uhm… okay…" Tenten said shyly, looking the other way so that Neji couldn't see her blush. Unbeknownst to her, he was doing the same. Everyone shared little secret glances.
She felt something press into her hands, and she let go of his present and pushed it in his hands. She was about to walk away when Neji caught hold of her elbow. "I want you to open it when I'm with you." He whispered.
She blushed harder. "Okay…" she whispered back. After a bit of hesitation, she whispered again. "Don't open it unless I'm there!"
He smiled (or anything close to a smile, since Hyuga's don't actually smile, they… do something…totally hot) at her, and nodded.
"Okay, open your presents… NOW!" Jiraiya yelled.
"OHMIGOD. Shikamaru, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!" Ino squealed as she hugged a stuffed bear holding a heart that said, 'HUG ME'.
"Whoa, Sasuke, a new shogi board with marble pieces? Thanks." Shikamaru grinned in appreciation at his present. Sasuke gave him a smile-smirk thing.
Kiba looked at the present in his hand. It was a bracelet, which looked like a dog collar. He grinned, but then he saw a note hanging from it…
To my Kiba-kun. Woof2x! Thanks for everything you've done for me… you're one of the greatest ninjas I've ever known. You're my knight in shining dog fur, and whatever… Merry Christmas, Kiba-kun… xxxHinataxxx(p.s read the bracelet)
Kiba turned the bracelet around in his hands. Then he saw it. Love You…
Naruto was practically jumping up and down with joy at HIS present. "ABOUT A MONTH'S WORTH OF RAMEN! THANKS, INO!"
"A month?! But the lady said it would last for about a YEAR!!!" Ino yelled.
"You know I love ramen, Ino-chan!! YESSSSSS!"
Hinata stared at the gift Naruto had given her.
It was a rock.
JUST JOKING!! You seriously think Naruto would give her something like that? SHEESH. It was a stuffed bunny. And Naruto had mysteriously altered the eyes so they looked like pearly Byakugans.
The bunny's fur was the same color of her hair. "Th-thanks, N-Naruto-kun!"
"NO PROB!"
Lee stared in confusion at his present. There was a container with "SUPER EYEBROW WAX" on the cover. That, and there were some really nice choice clothings in there. Some clothes that WEREN'T green. "Uhh… thank you?"
Everybody cheered.
Chouji had gotten like, a gift basket full of his favorite food. Shino, a container for his bugs. And Sasuke…?
Just a note. But Sasuke was shocked at its message.
Dear Sasuke,
I didn't know what to buy you… I didn't know what you wanted… So I just wanted to tell you… I'm sorry. For everything. I held you back, I held you AND Naruto back. I embarrassed you. And this is my Christmas present. My apologies.
Sakura.
Then he saw something underneath the note. It was a brand new set of shuriken.
Sasuke blinked. Wow. He stared at Sakura, who was staring at Ino's present, laughing with Hinata… She cared. (WHAT THE HELLLLL SASUKE?! And you just noticed that?)
But let's move on to the sweetest couple of the hour now, shall we?
Who still haven't opened their presents yet, but were staring at each other weirdly.
"I can't believe you got my name." Tenten said quietly.
"I can't believe you got my name." Neji said, staring.
"Can I open my present?"
"Nahh… later. First I'll open mine."
"Hmph."
-sound of wrapping paper being ripped carefully-
"What's… this?" he murmured, as he picked up a kunai.
She laughed. "You don't remember? It was the first time we sparred together…"
Flashback
"Summoning!!" Tenten yelled as she summoned up a large shuriken.
"Kaiten!"
"Whoa! A kaiten! Cooooool!"
"You know, you shouldn't be awing at others technique… it might just get you killed." Neji stated.
"Geez. Thanks a lot for the advice, Neji-san." Tenten rolled her eyes.
"You're welcome, Tenten-SAN." He shot back. When he turned around, Tenten crossed her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue. "You do know my Byakugan's activated, right?"
Tenten reddened. "Sorry." Suddenly, she saw her chance. Quick as a flash, she took a kunai from her kunai pouch. I got you now, Neji!!! She grinned triumphantly and thought. She threw it…
"Not so fast! Kaiten!"
"Not another one!!!"
The kunai suddenly ricocheted off the kaiten and headed straight towards Tenten. Karma much?
"Yeow!"
Neji turned around once his kaiten had faded away, and saw a huge gash on her cheek. The only thing redder than her –cough cough- blood, was her face. And the aura surrounding her. "HYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGA!!!" she yowled into the air. "Look. What. You. Did. To. My. FACE!!!"
He held his hands in front of him, like about to surrender. "I didn't mean it! Honestly I swear!"
Luckily his Byakugan was activated.
"Ten… you're hurt."
"Tch! You noticed that now?!" she said, getting angrier by the second.
"Of course I noticed your scratch! It's… your chakra flow… something's wrong…" he murmured. He went closer to Tenten and lifted her right arm. "Did you fall or trip or anything on the way here?"
"Huh? Uh… no!"
Neji gave her one of the famous Hyuga 'looks'.
"Okay, okay, I fell on the sidewalk. Sheesh. Why? What's wrong?"
"You must've twisted your wrist a bit, it's got your chakra points covered and your chakra flow blocked. Hold still, I can clear it. DON'T MOVE!"
Tenten obeyed.
She watched in silent fascination as Neji stared at her arm – in silent fascination. Then he put some chakra in his hand, and said, "Tenten, this might hurt a bit. DON'T MOVE."
"I heard you the first time." She said, rolling her eyes. Neji responded by clutching her wrist TIGHTER. "Yeow!"
Just then, (with a mischievous look on his face, no doubt) he started hitting random places on her right arm with rapid succession. Some hits made her wince, some hits made her bite her lip, and about two hits made her want to knock him out into next week. He finished up with a very large poke in the crook of her elbow.
"YEOW!"
"Now… for your scratch." Neji murmured, deactivating his Byakugan.
"Wow, you're a medic nin too? Amazing…" Tenten sighed sarcastically.
"Actually, my dad DID teach me some medical ninjutsu…" he smirked. "it's called putting alcohol and a bandage on it, which I have right now."
"Nice. Really." Tenten smiled.
--
"And you gave me the kunai that first injured you because…"
"Neji!! That was the first time you should any attention to me! We became FRIENDS that day! Sheesh!"
He smirked. "Open yours."
She did, and her mouth opened in an 'oh'.
"A… kunai? What-"
"Okay, now I feel like a complete jerk. This has absolutely NO meaning to our friendship… but… erm… it… will be." He murmured shyly.
Tenten giggled. She hadn't seen Neji act shy before. Ever.
"Read the message on the kunai. It's… m-monogrammed." He stuttered. Wait, the heck? Stuttered?
Tenten turned over the kunai.
My Tenten. Roses are red…violets are blue…thanks for everything…and I love you… Always yours, Neji.
MY TENTEN! Wow, is this Hyuga straight forward or what? Tenten blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice. And probably blinked eight times straight after that. "N-Neji… are you saying that… could you really be saying that…"
Neji and Tenten had no idea whatsoever that everyone was quietly listening to them.
"Yes. Yes. Yes. I've been TRYING to say it for a long time, you know… but I got shy and…" Neji stopped. "You know, this is so not like me." He turned around to the other people. "Okay, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Lee, Chouji, Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Gai-sensei, Asuma-sensei, Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and Anko-senpai, I would like to say that I love Tenten more than life itself. I love her, I always have, and always will. She is the most important person in my life. I couldn't live without her. I LOVE HER."
Everyone went, "Awwwwwwwwwwwww…"
Neji suddenly turned back to Tenten, and stared her straight in the eyes. "I love you. Every since the first day. When I met you, I knew that you were the one that I'd want to be with for the rest of my life." After 3.9 seconds of hesitation, he cupped his hands around her face, and leaned closer. "I love you." He whispered gently.
And then he kissed her. Tenten sighed inwardly with complete happiness and kissed him back. But then, she thought that she had to let go. (she couldn't breathe, anyway) So she leaned away, staring at Neji with utter happiness.
Neji, who wasn't expecting that she'd kiss him back, who wasn't expecting her to stare at him so peacefully and happily, who'd, in reality, been expecting a punch or at least, a slap, blacked out.
-BLAM-
"Oh my god! Guys, I think he… I think he fainted! Neji?" Tenten yelled, eyes wide, staring at Neji's limp figure on the floor.
"Is he breathing?" Kakashi asked lazily from the corner, nose buried in Icha Icha.
"Um, yes." Tenten murmured as she felt the pulse on his wrist.
"Then he'll wake up. Leave him be."
Tenten blinked in frustration at Kakashi-sensei, who stared at her. "Fine, fine, we'll let him sleep."
She smiled sweetly down at Neji, who was out cold on the floor. She leaned closer to him until she was face to face with him, and whispered gently, "Thank you for making this year one of the best years in my life. I love you. Merry Christmas…"
--END—
You like? Sorry if it's so super long, but I really couldn't help it!
Belated Merry Christmas!