Shino leaned over his Emi's – his twin sister – shoulder as she wrote in her small notebook. She had been writing during whatever free time she had, consumed with the thoughts of one boy. He was a teammate of Shino's, and she had met him when the group was first formed years ago. She found herself more and more fascinated by the boy as days went on. He was so different from the other ninja she knew. He was cocky and strong, but he had a subtle caring about everything.

"Shino, don't look!" Emi yelled as she pushed her twin away.

"Who are you writing about?" He knew.

"No one!" she denied a little too quickly. She couldn't see his face under the tall collar, but she knew him well enough to know he was smirking.

"Let me see it." Shino held out his hand.

Shino would never forcibly take one of his sister's most valuable possessions, but being the hyper eccentric she was, she jumped up and sprinted out of the house. She ran straight for the place she knew Shino would never go. Emi guessed Shino knew who she was writing about, but one can never be too careful when it comes to concealing love from brothers.

"Hi, Naruto," she greeted as she entered Ichiraku's Ramen Shop.

"m-ey, memmy," he said through a mouthful of ramen. Naruto started to tell her about his day – or so she guess he was doing – but Emi just laughed.

"Naruto, I have no idea what you're saying."

His eyes grew bigger and he swallowed all the noodles in his mouth. "Heh-heh, sorry, Emi! Anyway, I was trying to find everyone to give them these flyers for a bonfire we're having tonight for all the original 'Rookie 9'. Well, Kiba was helping Hinata train and I asked if I they wanted to come, and the strangest thing happened! Hinata-chan went as red as a sunburned tomato. Then she started mumbling like a loon. She can be so strange; Kiba had to take her back to her house. I think she might've been sick," he managed to get out in one breath.

Emi laughed a little. Hinata had been her best friend since they were children. Emi knew about Hinata's huge infatuation with Naruto, and you had reluctantly told her about your feelings for Kiba. Emi decided to check on Hinata, knowing she must be too embarrassed to leave her room, and waved goodbye to Naruto.

"Wait, Emi-chan!" Naruto ran up to her with two flyers. "You should give one to Hinata, too. You know, just in case she wants to come or something." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks, Naruto." She smiled.

Emi had been to the Hyuuga's more times than she could count, and was immediately let in by one of the servants. Reaching Hinata's door, she listened to prepare herself for what her friend was doing. After encounters with Naruto, Emi had seen her friend do everything from crying to being too afraid to leave the terrace.

Emi hadn't pressed her ear to the door when she heard a few crashes from inside the room. Thinking Hinata fainted, Emi burst in the room without knocking.

"Um…" Emi said uncertainly. Hinata had taped a picture of Naruto to her wall and was throwing various items at it; in her hand, she held a stuffed turtle. Hinata turned a little red. "Is something wrong, Hinata?"

Hinata plopped herself down on the bed and held the turtle to her chest. "Why does he think I'm so strange, Emi?"

Emi sat beside her. "Probably because you can't talk to him without freaking out." The friends smiled at each other.

"What do you do about… Kiba? Don't you ever get nervous?"

Her question reminded Emi of the flyers Naruto had given her. "Hinata!"

Hinata was so surprised by the sudden outburst she fell off the bed. "What's wrong, Emi-chan?"

Emi pulled the flyer out of her pocket in a flash and shoved it into Hinata's face. "You have to go to this, Hinata! Naruto wants you to go! Think of how great it would be. You could tell him you're cold and he'd put his jacket around you. Or better yet, his arm!"

Hinata went bright red at the suggestion, making the meaning of "as red as a sunburned tomato" very clear. Emi didn't wait for her reply, and began going through her best friend's closet to find clothes for the evening. She had to dig to the very back to find regular clothing.

"Don't you ninja ever wear casual?" Emi asked no one in particular. "What about these?" She held up a pair of faded black skinny jeans and a red beater.

"Won't… Won't it be cold?" Hinata was right, it was nearing fall. However, Emi suspected she was too nervous to walk there.

Emi dug some more and found a pair of knee high, black suede boots, a striped black and white scarf, and a white blazer. "There, you can wear these." Hinata looked surprised she even owned those clothes – a few of her servants did most of her shopping.

Emi could feel the butterflies in her stomach as she finished up her makeup and looked herself over. She was wearing a long boyfriend tee with white capris leggings and tennis shoes. She mussed her hair up, trying to find a way she found it suitable, but to no avail. Emi knew she had put on too much black eye shadow, and not enough lip-gloss, but she and Hinata were to have left ten minutes prior.

Emi got up from her vanity, and knocked on her bathroom door. "Are you ready Hinata? We're going to be late."

Hinata opened the door and looked quite different from her usual self. Emi had always known her friend to be pretty, but she couldn't deny liking the change. "You look really nice, Hinata," she reassured her.

They made their way to wear the bonfire was too be taking place – in the more vacant part of Konoha's fields. The sun was almost set, and plumes of smoke were coming from the direction Emi was instructed to go. She was so caught up worrying about how she looked, Emi didn't notice when she and Hinata had reached the site.

Consumed in her thoughts, Emi walked straight into the circle of logs and tripped over – in her opinion – the very worst one. She found herself looking into Kiba's shoes.

"Do you want to sit by me that much?" he asked you. At least, by now, she was used to his cockiness and didn't get embarrassed. Or, at least, not as much. Kiba picked Emi up and set her on the space beside him. "There, all better."

You glared at him and turned away, pretending to be angry with him. Hinata was staring at her feet, as the only open space left was by Naruto and he was openly staring at her.

"Did you dress her?" Kiba asked.

"I… assisted."

"I'll take that as a yes. She looks nice."

"She does. I wish she would dress like that more often. I think Naruto does too," she laughed. "Naruto, you can switch places with me if you have a problem sitting with Hinata."

"What? Oh, no, hah, sorry, Hinata." He turned a little red and scooted over for Hinata to sit down. The two sat there awkwardly.

Emi stared into the fire, at the beauty of the flames and the colors mixing together. It mesmerized her, the soft glow was so inviting.

"Emi?" She looked at Kiba, her expression quizzical. "You look beautiful."

She was too surprised to say anything. She had never seen the look on Kiba's face. It was of seriousness.

"But you don't need so much makeup," he whispered in her ear.

He gently touched her hand with is.

Emi smiled softly at Hinata.

And she linked their hands together.

Phew. I cranked that one out like there was no tomorrow. I would like to inform you all that there are bonfires in Japan! I found it on Wikipedia. If you're curious to read about it, type "bonfires" in the search box and scroll down to the "international" part.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, anything affiliated with Naruto, or the boys. –tear—