Illustrations: I've decided to be nice and draw pictures of some good scenes from each chapter. If you would like to see them: at the bottom of each page (chapter) will be the address; with spaces that you'll need to take out. The scenes will be marked with this to show the fact that it had been chosen for illustration: (&)
Summary: Sequel to Island Vacation (though you don't necessarily have to read the first story to understand everything that's happening). Three weeks after their vacation fiasco, the leaf shinobi students, as well as Gaara and his siblings, get a much deserved second chance at a good time, and are treated to a vacation to Kumogakure; the cloud village. The Akatsuki too? Naruto watches Friends? Kankuro is a ladies man? The truth behind the Kerplunk Incident? Karaoke? Team Gai are in a movie? Jonins take a vacation too? Tenten's got family? An underlying plot!? More music, more comedy, more randomness, more romance, more drama, more detail. Read to find out. And by the way, most of the romantic moments are meant to be a little over dramatic, for humor.
Pairings: NejiTenten, KibaHinata, ShikamaruTemari, ChoujiIno, AsumaKurenai + implications of HidanKakuzu, ItachiKisame, and more.
Text Legend:
Text : Paragraphs; average text; dialogue.
Text : Flashback; Emphasis on a specific word or phrase; some proper nouns.
Text : Emphasis on a word in a flashback.
Text : Chapter or heading.
" " : Speaking, showing dialogue.
' ' : Quote in dialogue.
XX : End of Chapter
Horizontal line (such as below): Switch of scene.
Prologue
Suna was naturally a hot village. Even now, in autumn, the wind blew warm. Luckily for the citizens, some stray clouds had gathered atop the beige village. It was nice to finally get some shade for the working shinobi.
Three weeks had passed since his last vacation; not that it was much of a vacation. Being shipwrecked on an island isn't exactly what the fifth Kazekage would classify as a break. But at least he had obtained some close friends and a slightly stronger relationship with his siblings. It hadn't been all bad.
The Kazekage was sitting in his large oval office, staring out his open window and pondering if he should go out to get some lunch, or wait a while; a simple thing to think about for someone with as much on his plate as him. He watched the citizens going about their daily lives, and just imagined what it would be like to be normal. The wind picked up and whipped through his short red hair, scraping up a small amount of sand from the ground and blowing it into his eyes. Of course, when you live in the desert, you get used to having sand in your eyes frequently. The Kazekage was enjoying this moment of peace and quiet when his brother suddenly threw the door open complaining in some sort of untranslatable gibberish. The Kazekage sighed at his interrupted peace, flipped around in his chair, and cast his older brother an annoyed glance.
"I can't believe that Crow, asking me to play catch with him, who does he think I am, his father?" Kankuro groaned. It seemed like he hated his puppet more and more with each passing day, and he simply referred to it as the Crow now, instead of Karasu.
"Damn it, Kankuro, you interrupted my pondering again!" growled Gaara shaking his fist in disgust of his brother. "Get your fat ugly eff-ing face out of my office!"
"Calm it down, grumpy clown." Kankuro said coolly, putting his hands up calmly, trying to lower Gaara's agitation level.
"My agitation level is off the charts, Kankuro!" Gaara said gritting his teeth.
"Whoa, Bro, keep the volume low!" said Kankuro, rhyming again in an attempt to improve Gaara's mood.
"Stop rhyming!" said Gaara, standing up to intimidate his brother.
"Uh, hey there, buddy… you wouldn't hurt your dear old bro, would you?" Kankuro said nervously, taking a few steps towards the door.
Gaara growled and started screaming at Kankuro, eventually angering him so much that he screamed back. Neither one of them could hear what the other was saying, the screams were so loud. Not only that, but they didn't know what they themselves were saying. Words were just coming out. Amidst all the screaming, the door creaked open.
"Kankuro, Gaara, something came in the mail I think you should see." Their sister said, aggravated with her brothers' behaviors.
"Flying on a sword!" Kankuro yelled, not realizing Gaara had stopped.
"Hmm?" Gaara stopped yelling and walked over to his elder sister. He took an envelope from her hand and read the front. "It's from the Hokage; I wonder what she wants…"
He sighed and walked to his desk, grabbing a letter opener as he sat in his tall, leather chair. He slid the sharp object under the edge of the letter quickly, opening it without trouble. He placed the letter opener on his desk and grabbed the tip of the letter that was slightly sticking out with his thumb and index finger. He skillfully slipped the envelope off of the letter and placed it on his desk as the letter unfolded. He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbows on the arm rests as his eyes moved back and forth along the page. His eyes narrowed slightly as he read. His stern frown edged into a grin as he finished.
"What does it say, squirt?" Kankuro leaned on the edge of Gaara's desk.
"Tsunade found out about what happened on our cruise vacation three weeks ago. And for the past two weeks she's been trying to find a way to make it up to us. She finally decided to give us an actual vacation; all expenses paid." Gaara neatly folded the letter back and placed it on the envelope.
"Another vacation? Ah-Oo-Gah!" Kankuro howled as he did some pelvic thrusts. "Where to? With who?" Kankuro rhymed with excitement.
"We're going to the cloud village with our friends from Konoha." He explained.
The cloud village. One of the best spots to have a vacation: casinos on almost every block, hotels that are as big as sky scrapers, some of the greatest restaurants in the world, amazing sights, and very relaxing. The official name for the village is Kumogakure, though is often referred to as Las Kumo. It's almost as if the neon lights on this village are never off. The center of gambling in the Land of Lightning, Las Kumo is marketed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, due to the popularity of legalized gambling, availability of alcoholic beverages at any time, and various forms and degrees of adult entertainment. Though the village is rather far north, the village is almost like one big desert surrounded by mountains.
"The cloud village? That's awesome! I've always wanted to go there!" Kankuro jumped up and down with excitement. "Ah-Oo-Gah!" Kankuro called again.
"Stop your mating calls, Kankuro. We're leaving this afternoon at 3:00, so you better get packed quickly." Gaara ordered his big brother. "You too, Temari."
"Alright Gaara. I've always wanted to see the cloud village, I hear the restaurants are amazing!" said Temari, fantasizing about the many restaurants she would try out with Shikamaru.
"Yeah, not to mention the adult entertainment, Ah-Oh-Gah!" Kankuro exclaimed, making more pelvic thrusts.
"What did I tell you about those mating calls?" snapped Gaara, Kankuro backed out the door quickly in fear of another random yelling war, followed by a still day dreaming Temari, who almost knocked into the wall.
Gaara sighed and leaned farther in his chair. Finally, an actual vacation. The Kazekage smiled at the idea of finally relaxing. Gaara sat upright in his chair, and pressed his finger on the intercom.
"Angela, can you come in here for a moment?"
After about 10 seconds, a scared looking girl came in through the door, cautiously. She was in her early twenties, had long black hair, wearing predictable secretary clothing, a long skirt, shoes with small heals, and a matching blouse. She was holding in her hands a pile of Gaara's paperwork, which kept almost slipping from her hand.
"Can I help you, Kazekage-sama?" she asked politely.
"Angela, I'm going on vacation." Gaara said almost happily.
"That's wonderful Kazekage-sama!"
"Angela, how many times have I told you to call me Gaara, we're not strangers in this castle."
"Yes, I'm sorry Kazeka-Gaara-sama…" she stuttered, embarrassed at her mistake.
"That's alright. Now, I need you to phone all these people and tell them to meet Gaara at this hotel, at 7:00p.m in six days." Gaara pulled from his desk a list of all his friends in Konoha, and then quickly jotted down the name of a hotel. "If they deny, tell them it's all free."
"Okay, Gaara-sama."
"And tell one of the maids to pack my bags."
"Yes Gaara-sama." The secretary agreed and turned to leave.
"Oh, and one more thing,"
"Yes?" Angela said stopping to face the Kazekage.
"Since you know more about my job, and paperwork than even I do, I expect you to handle all of my paper work while I'm gone." Gaara said pointing to a huge pile on his desk.
"But-but Kaze-Gaara-sama, you can't expect me to be able to handle being your replacement, I'm simply not qualified, I could destroy the whole city!" she was getting hysterical.
"Calm down, I know you can do it. You were my father's secretary for a short time, and you have been mine since I started here. I know you can handle this with ease. I don't trust anyone else." Gaara said calmly.
"But-but-but, I can't! I'm not capable!" Angela argued.
"Have faith Angela, I will only be gone for a short time. Besides, what could happen? We are at peace with all of the nations. At least all those who pose a threat. It should be a really ordinary week. And if you have a problem, Baki will be here to help you. And if you are really in trouble, you can call me any time." Gaara said convincingly.
"I wouldn't want to interrupt you on your vacation, Gaara-sama."
"Don't worry about it."
"…Alright, I'll try my hardest Gaara-sama." She was finally convinced.
"Okay then, call the names on that list in a few days, but make sure you give them enough time to pack up." Gaara held up his list, and handed it to his secretary.
"I'll get on it right away Gaara-sama." She turned to the door, and left.
Gaara had no doubt in his mind that his secretary could handle this. She knew more about his job than anyone else in Suna. Besides, what could possibly happen?
From the hallway, Gaara could hear the music coming from the direction of the Jonin lounge. He sighed as he realized what song was playing. Slowly, he placed his hand over the doorknob and turned it. He opened the door slowly and stood in the doorway, watching the Jonin dance around and sing.
"I feel you creeping; I can see you from my shadow. Want to jump up in my Lamborghini Gallardo. Maybe go to my place and just kick it, like Tae Bo. And possibly bend you over." Baki sang standing on a table and shaking something no one wanted to see being shaken, "Look back and watch me smack that, all on the floor, smack that, give me some more, smack that, 'till you get sore. Smack that, oh." Finally, they realized Gaara standing at the door with an annoyed expression on his face. "Kazekage-sama!" One of the Jonin quickly switched the music off.
"Baki," Gaara sighed as Baki re adjusted himself on the table, standing awkwardly, "I came to inform you that I'm going on a vacation for a little while to the Cloud Village. I left Angela in charge; you don't seem like you're completely capable of handling it." He waved his hand at the other Jonin and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"No!" Baki cried, falling onto his knees on the table. Gaara could hear his screams in the hallway and smiled as he went home to get ready.
Gaara stood next to the door, packed and ready to go. His brother and sister were still upstairs, however. He sighed and checked the clock on the wall. 2:50. He grunted and began tapping his foot in annoyance. He'd been ready to go for about twenty minutes already. He looked beside him at his brother's and sister's bags.
"Boy," Gaara thought aloud, "they sure take a long time to make themselves look good." He sighed and lifted the handle of his suitcase up so he could drag it. "Hurry up." He called to his siblings.
"One minute!" He heard them both yell at the same time.
He sweat dropped. They were so alike. He stared at the clock for exactly sixty seconds, and directly when the hand ticked its final tick Kankuro and Temari came running out of their rooms, almost slamming into each other as they rushed to the top of the stairs. They ran down the stairs and stood at the bottom, grinning. Gaara had to resist laughing at how they had spent so long getting themselves prettied up, just to have all their work go to waste when they ran down the stairs and messed it up.
"Come on, let's go already." He wrapped his fingers around the handle and pulled the door open. They walked down the street waving goodbye to all the citizens. Kankuro tried, in vain, to charm some of the women they walk by.
Three days later, in Konoha, Naruto sat in his kitchen, making a late breakfast. He was in his pajamas, pouring some milk in his cereal. He rocked side to side in his chair as he tapped a beat on his table with his spoon. He stood up and put the milk away in the fridge. He strolled over to his television and grabbed one of his many DVD's. He pulled out a blue box and starred at it with pride. Friends, season 1. He grinned and slipped the DVD into the drive. He ran back over to his table and pressed play on the remote that he had waiting next to his cereal box. The theme song started.
"So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A!" Naruto sang, "It's like you're always stuck in second gear. When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, 'cuz you're there for me too-oo."
Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Naruto groaned and pressed the stop button on the remote. He stood up slowly and lifted the phone off of the receiver.
"Hello?" He said annoyed. He listened to what the person on the other end on the phone had to say. A smile slowly grew on his face. "Vacation? Gaara? Cloud Village!? Yeah. Okay. Bye!" Naruto threw the phone onto its receiver and began to dance around the room.
He turned off the television and dumped his cereal down his throat as he ran out the door, almost slipping as he realized he was still in his pajamas and running back inside. He ran into his room and almost exactly as his bedroom door closed he pushed it open, fully dressed and packed to go. Then he threw open the front door and ran outside towards his usual training grounds. The sky was dark and it was almost raining. He skidded on the damp ground in front of his friends. Sasuke and Sakura were talking with Kakashi when Naruto arrived.
"Hey, loser." Sasuke greeted insultingly.
"Hey, um… bigger loser!" Naruto said proudly.
"Good one." Sasuke said sarcastically.
"Thanks! I just said it right there on the spot, can you believe it!?" Naruto said.
"I see you're already packed." Sakura said gesturing to Naruto's suitcase.
"You guys were invited too?" said Naruto, a little disappointed he was not special enough to be the only person Gaara invited.
"Yeah, of course." Sasuke stated, nodding at his suitcase placed neatly next to Sakura's.
"It should be great! I wonder if we have to 'buddy up' for our rooms, right, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said hopefully.
"Hope not." Sasuke was obviously ignoring her.
Kakashi was a little bit irritated that his students were not paying attention to him, and weren't even sincere enough to explain to him where they were going.
"It's going to be so awesome at the cloud village! I can't wait! Actually, we should probably get going now, if we're gonna be there in three days." Naruto thought out loud.
"Good idea, we have to be there in three days." Sakura said grabbing her suitcase.
"Mhmm." Sasuke mumbled picking up his as well.
The three Genins started on their long journey, having to walk all the way there, giving half assed waves back to Kakashi. The Jonin was pretty unhappy about being left out of that conversation, and was even more upset about not being invited to the cloud village; Jonins deserve vacations just as much as the ungrateful Genins. Kakashi had only been to the cloud village once, and it had been a great experience. Maybe he and the rest of the Jonins should go on a vacation themselves as he himself hadn't been on one in about five years. He decided he'd talk to the Hokage about it.
Kakashi stood, waiting, outside the Hokage's office. He sighed and waited for the door to open. Finally, it did. He entered slowly, walking past Shizune; who had opened the door for him. He stood in the middle of the room, in front of Tsunade's desk.
"What do you need?" She asked, leaning back in her chair drowsily.
"I was wondering when my next vacation would be…?" He said sternly.
"Honestly? Well, whenever there's no important missions and you find somewhere to go; just like all the rest of the Jonins. Now, please leave; I have important Hokage business to attend to." She stated, shooing him out the door with a wave of her hand.
He walked down the street towards the Jonin lounge in a building a few blocks away. He kicked a can and yearned that he could go somewhere just to get away. He came upon the entrance to the lounge and knocked on the door. He took a step back; knowing what would happen. A man in a pine green jumpsuit thrust the door open and stood basking in his self-proclaimed brilliance.
"Rival!" He greeted, grinning and flashing a thumbs-up.
"Hey Gai." Kakashi replied in a melancholy manor.
"Why, Rival, what's wrong?" He asked sympathetically.
"I'm tired; why can't we get a vacation?" He sighed, walking past the tall, green man and into the lounge.
"Vacation… is there a reason we can't?" Gai thought.
"We haven't been given one in years." Kakashi groaned.
"That's it? Why, that's not a problem at all!" Gai beamed.
"What do you mean?" He turned to face him.
"We can go whenever we want to, where is it you want to go?" Gai crossed his arms with pride.
"Well," He started, "the Genins are going to Las Kumo."
"Las Kumo! I've wanted to go there for as long as I can remember! Which evidently isn't that long ever since that time I got that concussion when I went to six flags…" Gai reminisced.
Gai sat at a table with his student Rock Lee. His other students were on a ride, but were supposed to meet them at this location. Gai leaned backwards. It was 9:00pm already, and the sky was dark. This wasn't the first time they had gone to an amusement park, though. He raised his head and looked around for his tardy students. And just as he hoped, he saw them.
"Neji, Elisabeth, what took you so long?" He asked, sitting up.
"We, uh…" Neji stared at the two drinks in both his and Tenten's hands, trying to think of what to say.
"Tunnel of love!" Tenten lied with a grin. Neji rolled his eyes and smacked himself on the forehead, almost spilling the drink in his hand. Tenten glared at him and whispered into his ear, "I couldn't think of anything else to say, and neither could you!"
"Yeah, but the tunnel of love? Honestly…" Neji groaned, annoyed.
"Sorry." She dragged out the word sarcastically and emphasized the syllables separately.
"Tunnel of love? That doesn't sound like something Neji would agree to…" Lee contemplated.
"Really," Tenten grinned, "It was his idea." She lied, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Oh now you're just enjoying this." Neji whispered sharply.
"Truth?" Lee smiled with excitement.
"Mhmm." She tried to hold in her laughter as Neji narrowed his eyes and lowered his head slightly with a grumble.
"Youth is inside of you!" Lee jumped up from his seat to give his teammate a hug.
"Don't even." Neji growled before he got too close.
"We brought you guys some refreshments." She said with her usual spunk.
"Thank you so very much!" Lee smiled as Neji handed him a cup and walked over to Gai and put his on the table in front of him. He turned back and smirked at Tenten as he pulled a seat out and gestured for her to take it.
"Thanks." She smiled, handing him his drink. He had to resist tripping her because of that alibi.
"What is it?" Gai asked, looking at the strange substance in the cup.
"Chocolate milkshake; your favorite." Neji shrugged.
"Sounds good to me!" He slipped his lips onto the straw and gulped up everything in the drink container. Neji and Tenten exchanged mischievous glances. "Oh… wh-what's happening?" Gai began shifting in his chair as his pupils began to enlarge; more than usual, that is.
"Gai-sensei, your pupils! They are in the process of dilation!" Lee stated frantically. He turned quickly to Neji and Tenten, "What is in that milkshake?"
"Nothing in particular." Neji took a sip from his drink innocently.
"Lee! I see colours where they're not supposed to be!" He stood up and looked around. He reached into the air and grabbed at things that weren't even there. "Lee! Look out behind you!" He screamed. Lee looked back and saw nothing.
"What are you talking about Gai-sensei?" He questioned.
"No! You will never take my student!" He leapt onto the table and ran towards Lee, as Neji and Tenten both simultaneously took a sip of their drinks. He grabbed the boy by his spandex collar (&) and chucked him at a lamp post. But he put far too much strength into it and Lee ricochet back towards him, slamming into his head and knocking both of them unconscious.
"That's for leaving us at the amusement park!" Tenten laughed and pointed at their unmoving bodies.
"Hmm," Neji shook his drink container and heard some ice and a straw, but no liquid, "I need a refill. Let's go." He stood up and left, followed by Tenten, who was still giggling.
"Yeah," Kakashi almost laughed, "so, do you want to go?"
"Heck yes! Maybe I can finally get back at my insubordinate students for what they did…" Gai pounded his fist into the palm of his other hand.
"What are you guys talking about?" A man with brown hair and a Jonin vest came in leaning against the doorframe and lighting up a cigarette.
"A vacation to The Cloud Village." Kakashi explained.
"Vacation to the Cloud Village? Who's going?" He asked taking a puff of his cigarette.
"Anyone who wants to." Kakashi thought about what they would do there.
"I'm in. Kurenai will want to as well." Asuma chuckled.
"I'll want to what?" Kurenai said coming into the room with a confused look.
"A vacation." Asuma grinned.
"Finally; I haven't had one for years… I can't even remember if I've ever had one…" She lowered her eyebrows in thought.
"Me personally," Asuma took a drag on his cigarette again, "I've been to Kumo countless times. I'll show you a good time." He winked at Kurenai.
"Oh, uh, thank… you…?" She stuttered.
"Oh! Bow chika wow wow!" Gai yelled, making a reference to porn music.
Kakashi paused and glared at Gai out of the corner of his eye. "It's more like 'Bow chika bow wow'!" Kakashi said.
"Hm…" Kurenai groaned in embarrassment.
"So Kakashi," Gai changed the subject, "when are we going?"
"Soon. Pack up and we'll meet back here in an hour." He commanded. The other Jonins nodded and obeyed.
XX
Illustration: www . fanart - central . net / piccies / s / SandySibs / 600536 . jpg (take out the spaces!)
Author's Note: So, what do you think? Trust me, it gets better. Don't bite my head off. Yet. Review time! So, what do you have to say Remember: Reviews make my fingers type faster! The more reviews, the faster the next chapter will come; and that's the same with all my chapters-to-be. I'm not kidding, I love opinions. I feed off of them.
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She stared into his eyes with a look of cheerfulness, her cheeks slightly tinted pink and her lips curved into a smile. He would have smiled back, but he was too busy watching the vivid lights reflect off of her eyes. Her face relaxed into a calm, happy state as she leaned forward and tilted her head to the side, her eye lids slipping slowly over her eyes. Her rosy lips parted slightly and her hands slid behind his head, pulling him towards her. He found himself allowing this, as his eye lids, too, became heavy, and his body felt numb. Her lips were just millimeters away from his.
"N-Neji?" A high pitched voice said from behind Neji. They instantly broke away from each other, just before their lips could meet, and turned to face the speaker.