Title : Kohona Vs It's Children Genre : Humor/Romance Pairings : Sakura/Sasuke. Shikamaru/Ino. Hinata/Naruto. Hints of ; Neji/Sakura, Kiba/Sakura, Sai/Sakura. Vague references to ; Shikamaru/Sakura, Hinata/Kiba, Sai/Ino, Naruto/Sakura, Naruto/Ino.
Summary : "Sometimes we almost remember." - AU. The last hundred years of their lives from June to September. Drinking, sleeping (sometimes with each other), hang overs and mild alcoholism. It's what being a teenager is all about.
Notes : OK firstly, yes yes, I know. They're all 18 - 19 for Neji - which may be to early to drink in Japan, but I've grown up in the UK, where the legal drinking age is 18 and the legal age for sex is 16. So although I'm basically throwing the guide book out the window (Oh yeah. I'm hardcore.) it's because it's what I know, and as someone once said ; It's best to write what you know. Also, I'm not saying all teenagers act like this group of friends. Like most fictional stories, the events will be exaggerated, based loosely on my experiences - or my friends experiences - as a teenager, and then added onto to make the story more interesting. There MAY also, MAYBE, be drug use in this story, but I'm not positive yet.

Characters :

Sakura Haruno - Age 18

Sasuke Uchiha - Age 18

Naruto Uzumaki - Age 18

Ino Yamaka - Age 18

Shikamaru Nara - Age 18

Hinata Hyuuga - Age 18

Neji Hyuuga - Age 19

Sai - Age 18

Kiba Inuzuka - Age 18

Disclaimer : I do not own any songs/alcoholic brands/Naruto characters mentioned in this story. If you thought I did, please check into a good rehabilitation unit for the crack you must be smoking.

Sakura was, by and large, the core of her group of friends. She'd brought them all together, and although they'd bonded with each other well, enough that they all called each other best friends; she was the one that had started it all. Firstly, it was her and Naruto Uzumaki.

Oh Naruto, sweet, clueless, adorable Naruto. She had known him since she was three, when she moved to Kohona from Suna with her parents. She'd moved into the house next door to him, and instantly, play dates were made. They stuck with each other through thick and thin, and with Sakura's brains - even as a young child - and Naruto's love of getting into trouble, they'd been well known in the neighbourhood for the many childish pranks they'd pulled as they grew up.

They seemed close enough to be brother and sister - or boyfriend and girl friend, at age 18. But they were nothing of the sort, although at age 13 they had dated for a year. Sakura didn't have any real, romantic feelings for Naruto, but when you were 13 and your best friend was a boy, things were expected of you by your peers. Being best friends with a boy was unheard of. The 'girls/boys have cooties!' phase had passed and everyone was exploring the start of their sweet, precious teenage years. So many people had told them they should go out, that they obviously were meant to be, they'd both believed it. And so, they went on dates and kissed and held hands and explored the hundreds of new sensations together, because they were supposed to do that. They'd broken up, as was bound to happen when one party in a relationship - her - was invested in it and didn't actually have any true, deep, romantic feelings. Yes, she loved him - but like a brother and best friend. It broke Naruto's heart, since he definitely had real, non-sibling feelings for the girl, but he accepted it. Thankfully, it didn't mess around with their friendship, and they continued to be best friends.

Ino Yamaka was the next one. Beautiful and blonde, even at age 9, and one of the main parties in urging Sakura and Naruto together, although she didn't mean any harm. She'd always been popular, well loved by students and teachers alike, along with insanely rich. Rich enough that, when she was 9, her peers had felt the need to suck up to her, to take advantage of the fact she had the best toys and birthday parties of anyone even close to their age. But she didn't realise she was being taken advantage of, thinking that's just what friends did. She'd been sat next to Sakura in school, and immediately, Sakura had started chatting, laughing and joking with the blonde. A week or two later, when Ino had offered to buy Sakura an insanely expensive doll that the pink haired girl had been gushing over for two days straight, Sakura refused, saying she couldn't possibly take something so expensive. It was then Ino realised that true friends didn't want expensive gifts and trinkets. In the end, she'd got Sakura the doll for her birthday, but from the moment Sakura refused, they had been bonded. Naruto and Ino had tried a relationship as well, after a drunken fumble at a party when they were 15, but after a few weeks, they decided they were better off as friends.

Shikamaru Nara was next, when they were 15. For a long time, it had just been Sakura, Naruto and Ino, best friends. But then Sakura started dating the lazy genius - they'd bonded over liner equations in advanced maths, which Ino always made fun of her for - and she'd slowly integrated the boy into the group. They'd stayed together for one and a half years, losing their virginity to each other, and for the first time Sakura realised when boys and girls were so different, why it was so important they were made in different ways. But then they broke up - there was no real reason, no cheating or fighting (Although they had their fair share of petty arguments) but they just didn't mesh well any longer. It was a mutual break up, with no hard feelings. But Shikamaru was already such an important part of the group that they'd all stayed best friends. And Sakura was overjoyed when, at age 17, Ino and Shikamaru had got together, although both were worried how she'd react at first.

Next came Neji and Hinata Hyuuga, when Neji was 18 and Sakura was 17. Much like with Shikamaru, Neji and Sakura had dated. He was new at Kohona Academy, and had been placed in what was affectionately known by students and teachers alike as 'The Genius Classes', along with Sakura and Shikamaru. There was an instant connection, and within a week of them knowing each other, they'd started a relationship. She'd introduced him to the group, and with him came his sweet, mild and shy cousin, Hinata. And just like with Shikamaru, they'd been welcomed with open arms by the others. But Neji had to graduate and was all set to go to Kuma for college, and neither felt they could continue a long distance relationship, especially since Sakura was already planning on going to Suna for College, there was no way it couldn't be long distance. So he'd left and they'd kept in touch - emailing, phoning, texting - and he was still counted amongst the group of best friends.

Hinata had quickly formed a crush on Naruto, and after a year of her loving him from afar, Ino, Sakura and Shikamaru had finally had enough, deciding to get the pair together. They'd succeeded, and now, at the last summer they'd be spending together whilst all living in Kohona, they were still going strong.

Of course, there were other members. Like Sai, a artistic, beautiful and blunt boy, for instance, who was originally Ino's boyfriend - before Shikamaru - but then had a mini fling with Sakura after they broke up. Or Kiba, a roughishly handsome dog lover who came to the group as Hinata's failed attempt to make Naruto jealous/take her mind of Naruto, who once again ended up with Sakura for a short time.

Many people found it odd, that the group was, for lack of a better word, so incestuous. All three males had dated Sakura, and two were now dating the other girls. And the boys Ino and Hinata had dated then went on to have a thing with the beautiful pink haired girl. And it didn't matter than yes, Shikamaru and Naruto still flirted with Sakura and vice versa, because they all knew nothing would happen again. And maybe it was odd, but it never harmed their friendships.

And this is where the story begins. The summer after Sakura, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru and Hinata graduated.

"Poppin' bottles in the ice...like a blizzard! When we drink we do it right gettin' slizzard!" Sakura sang along with the music playing on Naruto's laptop, dancing her way across the room with a bottle of Blossom Hills White Grenache wine in her hand, from the table the laptop sat on, to where Neji sat in a plush arm chair, perching on the cushioned arm of it, sitting sideways with her bare feet - complete with sparkly silver nail polish - on Neji's lap, as he rolled his eyes at being used as a footrest, before sipping his Desperados Beer.

"Sippin' sizzurp in my riiide! Like Three-Six!" Ino joined in laughing, watching her best friend from her spot on her boyfriends lap, sipping her Archers Raspberry Aqua - from the bottle as well. "Now I'm feelin' so fly like a G6!"

"Like a G6! Like a G6!" The pair chanted, causing the others in the group to chuckle.

"Ah! This last year flew by...like a G6! Believe it!" Naruto shouted, grinning at his 'pun/joke', causing Hinata to wince a little. After all, the loud blond had just shouted it practically in her ear.

It was a regular Friday night. The group - Sakura, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, Kiba and Sai) had assembled at Naruto's place, as they always did, since his father was rarely in before 11pm, due to work. It had been happening ever since they were 17 (18 in Neji's case) and had first got fake IDs (Or real IDs, once again, in Neji's case). Over the past year, Neji had been absent, which, even though the silver eyed boy was normal rather quiet, left a considerable dent in the group, and for the first few weeks, everyone had drifted around awkwardly. But now he was back for the summer, and it was as if he'd never even left. Everything fell back into place. And with no school, and only Sakura, Kiba and Sai having jobs - the others were classed as 'Trust Fund Babies' - they had decided to get ready for a summer of drinking, clubbing and, of course, hang overs. Their last summer together, as a whole. At the start of September Neji would go back to Kuma, Sakura would head off to the insanely hot Suna, along with Kiba for their medical and vetinary schools, Hinata and Naruto would stay in Kohona, Ino would go to Ame, along with Shikamaru, and Sai would be joining Neji in Kuma.

"I propose a a toast!" Kiba exclaimed from his spot next to Ino and Shikamaru on the couch, holding up his bottle of Brothers Toffee Apple Cider, which he'd managed to steal from his older sisters, Hana's, stash. "To the times we almost remember! To the Wolf Pack!"

"We're not nicknamed the Wolf Pack, Kiba, for the thousandth time." Shikamaru interjected, sipping his Coors Light.

"Oh stop being so lame!" Sakura grinned, holding her own bottle of wine up, her bony, light coloured denim skinny jean clad knee nudging Neji's hand, so he raised his bottle as well. "To the Wolf Pack!"

"THE WOLF PACK!" The rest of the group chorused loudly (Well, Naruto, Sakura, Kiba, Ino and Sai did so loudly, Hinata, Neji and Shikamaru were a lot quieter but no less sentimental.) before Kiba started mock howling, which a laughing Sakura, Naruto and Ino joined in on. They continued howling until the rest of the group joined, and although Neji and Shikamaru shared an eye roll at the antics of their hyperactive friends, they couldn't help the smiles twitching at their lips.

OK yes, I know. No Sasuke yet, but don't you worry. He'll be around at some point. And hopefully, the story will pick up next chapter.

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