Warning: The story below contains kissing (some with detail), close, romantic scenes, and couples. Be warned! Read no further if you still have your innocence. If you don't, please read ahead and enjoy.
We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas,
We wish you a merry Christmas…and a happy New Year!
Good tidings to you, wherever you are, good tidings for the holidays and a happy new year!...
Strains of holiday music floated through Sakura Haruno's kitchen. She hummed the tune, and set up the kitchen table. She neatly put 8 freshly sharpened pencils, all in a row, along with pads of paper and mugs of cocoa filled with marshmallows. She wouldn't put the chocolate in, just yet. Her friends, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, and Tenten were coming over for a study group. Their partners, Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha were also coming. She nervously bit a strand of hair. Sasuke Uchiha was her partner, and big-time crush. Sakura, for the 11th time, glared impatiently at the ticking clock that read 4:58. They were supposed to come in 2 minutes, complete the review sheet on how to look for a trap, have dinner of spaghetti, coke, pizza, and leave. Her parents had kindly asked if they should stay to 'look over the situation', but Sakura insisted that they spend the Friday night and Saturday morning at the Skiing Slope Lodge, 4 miles from her house. 5:00 beeped the clock. Ding- Dong! Blared the doorbell. Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin, praying it was one of her friends. Please, please, PLEASE, God, I am not confident enough to talk to Sasuke without Tenten or Hinata, or even Ino-pig! She calmly opened the door, a smile plastered to her face.
"Hey, Sakura! 'sup?" It was Tenten. Sakura let out a breath of relief. She knew her friend's boyish and outgoing attitude was instantly quelled at the sight of Neji.
"Hey Tenten! Just drop your stuff off here. You're the only one here, right now." Tenten immediately dropped her load of several textbooks, twizzlers, 1 binder, and a couple of pencils, all crammed into one very unfortunate backpack. Ding-dong! Ding-dong! DING-DONG! "ALRIGHT, already!" Sakura hurried to the door. She knew who would be at door already - Ino was always the impatient one. "Hey, Ino-pig! Hello, Hinata!" She ushered her friends into the kitchen. Dropping her voice into a whisper, she said, "I can't believe our crushes are coming! I am so excited, I could barf." Sakura giddily bit another strand of pink hair. Her friend's reactions were similar. Tenten and Ino were blushing furiously, and Hinata looked close to fainting at the sight of 'Naruto-kun'. "Anyways, Merry Christmas everybody!" Sakura handed each of her friends a specially wrapped present. "T-thank you, Sakura," said Hinata's whisper of a voice. "Fore-head girl, what exactly is this?" Ino held up a pair of bangles, which were imprinted BFF. "Oh, you know - Best friends forever, right?" Ino responded with a hug. "Tenten, those aren't…" Sakura left off. Tenten was throwing her 3 different colored shuriken star necklaces at wall. "Uh, oh. Sorry." She started giggling. "Hey, weren't those boys supposed to b-" Ino was rudely interrupted by a loud Ding-dong! The girls all screamed at once, then Sakura acted as the sensible one by saying, "Calm down, now, okay? Act normal." 'They probably didn't know exactly what normal means,' thought Sakura, as she opened to door. Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki, and Shikamaru Nara were standing in the doorway. They stood, cool, poised, and lanky. Well, except for Naruto. He looked like an eager puppy, coming out to play. Her knees turned to putty the second she looked at Sasuke, so she turned away from him and led them to the kitchen. "Hey guys. So, uh, you want to break into pairs or do this all together?" asked Sakura, hoping her voice wasn't quivering all over - because she felt like it.
"Let's do this together,"
"Let's break into pairs."
"Hn."
"…"
"Hey! Hinata-chan! Let's do this together!"
"I-I feel like d-doing this together."
"Shikamaru! What about us two breaking into pairs, eh?"
"This is so troublesome."
"Okay, then, let's break into pairs, and meet up in the kitchen at 5:45, okay?"
"Hn."
"…"
"Okay! Let's do this, Hinata!"
"O-o-kay, whate-ever you say, N-naruto-kun."
"Right."
"See you later!"
"How troublesome."
"Yay! Come on, Shikamaru! You're so slow."
The group dispersed and went over to a section of the 1st floor. Hinata and Naruto stuck it out by the kitchen, Sasuke and Sakura sat by the table near the window, Ino and Shikamaru sat in the living room couch, and Neji and Tenten claimed their space by the hallway.
In the Kitchen
"N-naruto, do you have the Review Sheet?"
"Yep! Hinata, it's over here…or maybe not…"
"O-oh, then w-we need to get one, from Sakura-chan."
"Here it is!" Naruto triumphantly held the crinkled paper up in the air. He messily wrote 'Hinata and Naruto' on the top. Hinata nearly fainted at the sight. "Okay, Hinata. Let's see, Question 1. 'How do you spot a net trap?' Hmm, doesn't it have to do with using your shadow-clones first? Or, what do you think, Hinata?" Hinata, however was not focusing on the question, but rather how close Naruto's face was getting to hers. "Hinata?" She absent-mindly shook her head, and said, "U-uh, N-Naruto-kun, I think that the shadow-clones first was a-a e-exellent idea."
40 Minutes Later…"Great job, Hinata! We did it!" "Y-Yes, Naruto, I think we did a great job. Let's wait for the others."
At the Table
"So, Sasuke-kun, how should we answer Question 5? What is the difference between fake trap grass, and real grass, anyway?" Sakura looked at the raven-haired youth quickly. "Real grass stands naturally up, and is a leafy hue. Fake trap grass, is flattened, and a dull green. Very light, not natural at all. Also, you notice that it looks new, fresh, even." Sakura wrote down what he had said in a translated version. "That looks about right. Question 6, Tell why it is safer to-" "Sakura, I like the color of your eyes. They remind me of real grass." Sasuke blurted out. 'God, am I that desperate? Why did I blurt that out?' To cover the outburst up, he said, "Hn."
Sakura blushed faintly. 'Did he just say that? I can't believe it! Cha!' "Thank you, Sasuke-kun, but we really need to get on with Question 6.
40 Minutes Later…"This looks like an A+ already, Sakura. I like how you answered Question 10." "It was easy. No problem! Wanna head over to the kitchen now?"
On the Living Room Couch
"Shikamaru! Wake up! We really need to get on with this! Question 4, How do Shinobi track foot prints?" Shikamaru lazily said, "On a rainy day, the grass is basically wet clay. If you step in it, there's an imprint. On a sunny day, depending on the weight of a person, you can tell by the larger imprint who the enemy is." Ino was impressed. Lazy and a smartass. Was it true about his long distance girlfriend, Temari though? She was pretty, smart, and outgoing. "Shikamaru, what do you think of Temari?" He sat up on both hands and looked at her directly. "Ino, Temari was my girlfriend. Was. Apparently the long-distance relationship didn't work, because I hear she's a sucker for more, well, moving about people. As you can see, I'm not one of those people." Shikamaru had never said so much at one time, but Ino felt sorry for him. "I think you're nice," she stated boldly. He smiled faintly. "Now, enough stalling. I know you can't tell the difference between trees that have traps set up on them and trees that don't."
40 minutes later…"This actually looks presentable, who knew such a lazy person could do it?" Shikamaru punched her lightly in the arm. "Come on, the others must be waiting for us now."
In the Hallway
"I swear, I know this one question, Neji!" They were on their last question.
"Hn." Neji did not feel like talking that much today.
"Can't you say anything besides 'hn'? It's driving me crazy that I have a mute partner!" As you could tell, Tenten was in one of those moods. She was annoyed that Neji wasn't saying much except for "Hn" and "Okay".
" I'm not mute." Finally, he had spoken! "Well, you act like it." "It's not a problem that I don't feel like talking today. I'm in a bad mood." Neji had seen Tenten walking home with her 17-year-old cousin. But, of course, Tenten didn't know that. And Neji didn't know that wasn't Tenten's boyfriend. "What's bothering you, Neji? You're normally not that quiet, even for you." She was concerned about her teammate. "Well…what happens when you see someone you like walking home with another person?" Tenten was shocked. Neji actually liked someone? Her heart started to crumble. Her eyes were moist. "Well, uh, tell them how you feel," she choked out. "Before it's too late." Neji shifted his eyes uncomfortably, and finally spoke. "Well, this person…is…well, you, Tenten." She froze. 'Me? This tomboyish, clumsy, me? Hooray!' Then another thought hit her – walking home with another person?" Neji, you block head, that was my cousin!" Tenten blushed at him. For 2 minutes, they didn't talk, but just stared at each other, talking without words. Finally, she heard Naruto shout, "Are you guys done yet?" and they hurriedly answered their last question, scurrying guiltily into the kitchen like mice.
Sakura had heated up the mugs, and boiled the hot chocolate. The dainty marshmallows floated on top like boats. The group sipped quietly and ate their spaghetti and pizza. Even Naruto didn't say a word. There were smirks, awkward silences, smiles and glances at people, then, Naruto screamed, "SNOW!" He pointed a stray finger at the window, and it was true – small, white, flakes were falling down, and fast. Too fast. The wind added up, and soon there was a thick little blanket of white pureness on the grass, with barely any green blades poking up. Neji frowned. "At this rate, we'll be snowed in, if it keeps on going like this." Hinata showed surprise. "B-b-ut then, where can we go?" She turned to Sakura, who nodded. "Worse comes to worse, I'll pull out the extra sleeping bags." She could barely contain her excitement. Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and Sakura were all thinking the same thing: Boys were going to sleep over at her house! Naruto and Shikamaru had surprise written all over their faces. But for Sasuke and Neji, a smirk was all they needed. By now, everyone was glancing outside to see the forecast indications. Sakura had turned on the TV to News, which stated that snow was falling at a heavy and steady rate, which meant that they would be snowed in. Rrrriiinggg! Everyone jumped. Sakura cautiously made her way to the telephone, and said," Hello?".
"Mo-om! Yes, we're fine. We have enough food. Yes, I got out the extra sleeping bags. I know, the boys will be sleeping in the living room. No! Don't! I mean, everything is fine and under control here. I'll call you later! Stay at the Lodge. Stay. I love you, too. 'Kay, bye. Wait, you did what?" Sakura sighed. "She hung up on me. But, worst of all, our sensei is coming over." Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata, all in unison, said, "What?" She sighed again. "My mom called. You guys will have to be sleeping over. And our Sensei, Kakashi, will be coming over to check up on us. Naruto muttered, "The pervert." Sakura agreed silently with Naruto. 10 minutes later, when all 8 people had called their homes to tell their parents the news, Sakura asked, "Did you eat up, and finish the review sheet?" The group nodded, afraid of what Sakura might say next. "So now, we're going to have some fun."
7:00 beeped the annoying clock. 1 minute earlier, the split-personality host and stated that they would be playing Truth or Dare, and Spin the Bottle. Nobody had refused, and yet nobody had said yes. They all sat in a circle, their sleeping bags all lined up in a circle. Except for Sakura, who had a mattress hauled downstairs, because she insisted that she sleep in the Living Room with her friends. They would all take turns using the shower, while they played Truth or Dare. Right now, Hinata was in the shower. Tenten, Ino and Sakura had all ready gone. The fireplace was crackling, and their cocoa mugs along with Cheezdoodles, and a mini freezer with soda and ice cream. Sakura had never been so comfortable, and so had her friends, probably. She placed everything they need to survive to be ready. A flashlight was held, ready. A hand crank telephone was armed. "Okay, who wants to go first?" Sakura munched on a cheezedoodle. Nobody raised their hand, not even the daring Tenten. Finally, Naruto shouted, " COUNT ME IN!". So, Sakura handed the empty bottle (Sparkling Water, Not beer.) to Naruto, who spun. It landed on…Sasuke. "Ha! Sasuke…truth or dare?" taunted Naruto. Sasuke looked thoughtful, then replied," Dare." Naruto rubbed his hands gleefully. 'You are going to wish you hadn't said that,' thought Naruto. His gaze settled on Sakura, who flinched. Naruto had the power of God right now, and he could use it any way he wanted. "Kiss Sakura." Sakura's heart skipped a beat. Kiss me? She wanted to strangle the blonde, yet she also wanted to thank him. Without a moment's hesitation, Sasuke kissed Sakura's hand, which sent a tingle up to her spine. "You never said where," grinned Sasuke. Naruto pouted. Now, Sasuke spun. It landed on…Neji. "Truth or dare?" prompted the youth. Neji said," Dare." Sasuke said immediately, "I dare you to make Tenten blush." 'Easy,' thought the prodigy. He immediately said to Tenten,"Hn." She did not crack a smile. He waited a thoughtful moment or two, then said, "I think about you all the time. You are the light in my sun. I can't live without you." Now, Tenten blushed furiously. Neji smirked. He spun the bottle, which pointed to a damp Hinata, who was in her PJs. (Now Naruto was showering) "Truth, please," whispered Hinata. Neji cruelly asked," You like Naruto, don't you?" She turned a bright crimson, and nodded slightly. Hinata spun the bottle, and it landed on Ino.
"Aww! Come on guys." Ino whined. Hinata shook her head very, very, slightly, and asked, "Truth or dare?" in a way that made her look bold. "Dare," responded Ino without a moment's hesitation. She scooped out some Strawberry ice cream, and waited for Fate to deliver the message. Hinata thought for a moment, and then blushed. "I-I- dare you to kiss Shikamaru, on the lips." Naruto (who was now done, Neji was going) guffawed. Ino gave a firm, stop-that-right-now look, and promptly kissed Shikamaru. The room was silent, as both victims blushed. "Come on, spin!" cheered Tenten. Ino slowly spun, which landed on Naruto. He said, "Bring it on! I can handle anything you throw at me." He confidently crossed his shoulders, with a I-can-totally-beat-you smile. Ino said wickedly, "Truth or Dare." Naruto said, "Dare." Ino then proceeded to look at a Hinata, who shivered. A smile played her lips, a smile that Hinata knew she should be afraid of. 'Payback time,' thought Ino. 'She's probably wanting revenge for earlier, oh no!' thought Hinata. "Naruto, I want you to kiss me. In front of Hinata." Naruto now looked positively frightened. "But, I don't want to kiss you, Ino," he said, whining, and also in a disgusted tone. "It's either that, or you have to take off something," scowled Ino. Naruto immediately discarded his orange jacket. 'How could boys not want to kiss me?' Ino was applauded. "Naruto, spin, please." He spun, which landed on Tenten. "Truth or dare, Tenten." "Uh, Truth, please, I like to play it safe." She muttered out loud. 'Don't think you're safe for a minute, Tenten, you aren't safe even with a truth, with Naruto Uzumaki in town!' Naruto was triumphant. He stared at Neji (back from his shower-Shikamaru had gone, now Sasuke was in) who did not flinch. "Tenten, do you like Neji," he asked directly. She blushed. "Well, um, yes." Tenten covered her face with her hands. Neji had a faint blush on his cheeks but remained stoic - and silent. The group cheered and whoo-hooed. Tenten quietly spun the bottle, landing on Shikamaru, who said "Truth – dares are so troublesome." She said immediately, "Do you like Ino?" and he said, without flinching, "Yes." Once again, the cheering and whoo-hooing. Sakura stood up now. "This is getting boring, so let's start Spin the Bottle." Everyone looked at each other nervously – Truth or Dare, they could handle that. But Spin the Bottle was an entirely different level.
Sakura slowly and deliberately spun…landing on Sasuke, of course. They headed in slow motion to the coat closet, and Naruto shouted, "We're timing you guys-3 minutes is enough, alright?" And Sakura shut the door, leaving only a small light on so that she could see Sasuke's pale face. She noticed that since the closet was small, she was uncomfortably near Sasuke. "Umm, Sasuke?" her voice came out in a squeak. His pale, black eyes came closer and closer, until…
2 minutes later…
Both blushing, the 'couple' headed back to the circle where the group stared. Her palms were hot and sweaty, but Sasuke had managed to stay calm, though his insides were shivering with intensity. Sakura spun the bottle, landing on Tenten. Tenten spun and it landed on Neji. Her bold face came back on. She grabbed Neji by the arm and shut the closet door. Tenten didn't need kissing to feel close to Neji. She simply kissed him on the lips, a normal, everyday boyfriend-girlfriend kiss, and sat down to look at him in the dim light. His handsome features were appealing to her as a spring in a desert. Tenten blushed as she noticed the well-toned muscles of her boyfriend. They stared at each other the same way they had in the Hallway, and for a few moments nobody spoke. Then Neji asked, "Feeling cold?" he smirked. Tenten smiled. "Not one bit." They heard Naruto shout,"Hey, what's taking you guys so long?" (There he goes, Baka Naruto, ruining Tenten's perfect moments- she made a mental note to tell Neji to whack Naruto on the head for her) and sat calmly in their seats, feeling happy. Tenten spun, landing on Hinata. Hinata scrambled out of her seat, blushing furiously, over to Sakura, whispering a few things in her ear. Nobody could hear, as Sakura nodded slowly and said, "Hinata doesn't feel like playing now, so let's watch a movie now and continue later, 'kay?" The group nodded, because the remaining victims did not have much courage either. "What movie, guys?"
"Scary!"
"Comedies!"
"Action!"
"Romantic!"
"I agree with fore-head girl!"
"Leave my fore-head out of this!"
"Romantic-action-comedy-horror FLICK!" screamed Naruto. Everyone stared at him. "That's not such a bad idea, for once the dobe has a smart idea," said Sasuke slowly. Sakura smiled- she had just the movie in mind. They sat down, in pairs, with popcorn, and hugged their crushes tight during the scary parts. Just when Gina was encountered by zombies, her love, Jack, had fought off quite a few of them, while tripping over a vat of toxic waste. Then the Chief Zombie, who knocked Jack unconscious, was heading very, very, very, slowly for Gina. Then, lightning flashed. All four kunochi screamed, and grabbed for their crushes. The doorknob rattled open. "SAKURA! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!??" Ino's question-statement was answered by a terrified," I DON"T KNOW!" Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru remained calm and cool while their girlfriends grabbed them. Naruto and Hinata were clutching each other. The electricity was flashing on and off, and the door burst open. A shadow stood in the cold, snowflake-incrusted door, which said, "Yo. Stop screaming, all right? God, it's like hell in here." The lights flickered back on. Tenten was clutching a cool Neji, Sakura had an expression of pure terror while grasping a calm Sasuke's arm, Ino had whimpered and cried out, "Save me!" to Shikamaru, and Hinata was unconscious due to the fact that she was in Naruto's arms. "Hey, Hinata? Wake up!" Kakashi gently placed an ice pack onto the heiress's forehead, and she woke up, startled. "S-sorry to be so troublesome," she muttered, sounding like Shikamaru. The group realized their positions and immediately sat down, brushing their shoulders nonchalantly. "Anyways, Sakura, your mom and dad seem pre-ety comfortable down at the Lodge. They told me to tell you that you guys-" he motioned to the group-"have to leave when the snow melts, okay?" The group nodded. At least they all had gotten closer to their crushes. "Now, why were you guys all screaming and ye-" Kakashi was interrupted by shattering glass. He stood, poised, in front of the group in a defense position. 2 people rolled into the living room light. Neji assembled his 'Jyuken' stance, Sasuke turned on his Sharigan, Shikamaru stood his shadow at ready, Naruto summoned 3 shadow clones, when the 2 figures stepped out. "THE SPRING-TIME OF YOUTH HAS LIT HIS FIRE!" "THE LOTUS BLOSSOM BLOOMS TWICE!" It was, of course, Gai Sensei, and Rock Lee. Gai was Tenten's and Neji's sensei, and Rock Lee was their teammate. A mysterious sunset appeared behind them. "NOW, YOUTHFUL STUDENT OF MINE, GO AND SHARE YOUR SPRING-TIME OF YOUTH WITH THE WORLD!!!" roared Gai. "HAI, GAI-SENSEI," Lee cried out. The group relaxed. Fortunately, the pair would only make an appearance, not stay, as Lee is…well, when he's strong, he's really strong, when he's mad, he's really mad, and when he's drunk, The World is his cradle. So, as Kakashi ushered them out, assuring them that the Spring-time of Youth can bloom 3 times more than the Lotus, (of course, he had no idea what he was saying) and shut the door firmly behind him, calling out, "I'm sure that man over there needs one of your craz-I mean, the unfortunate soul needs a pep talk, Gai, a pep talk!" The unfortunate man never had a chance. Sakura, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Neji, and Tenten all issued sighs of relief. "Anyway, I won't ask about uh, before, but now I just have to supervise you a bit, during this party." The movie was ruined, so Sakura offered, "Let's finish Seven Minutes in Heaven." And so, the group agreed. Hinata went into the closet with Naruto, turning a crimson red. Of course, since Neji was Hinata's cousin, it wouldn't hurt to just…check up on her, would it? He activated his byakugan, and sighed with relief – just a small peck on the lips, and they were coming out now. Neji had developed a brotherly intuition on Hinata, and, it was a bit, overreacting. But, of course, Hinata would never admit it to Neji, as, he has a weak point of not liking any names beside, Cute, Beautiful, Handsome, Gorgeous, Smart, Genius, Heir (HA!), Sensible, Responsible, Logical, and others. Over react able was not one of them. Now, Hinata spun, which just had to land on Ino and Shikamaru. They went in, and needless to say, came out holding hands (Neji did not want to use his byakugan this time, as Ino can be, a bit…daring.), blushing. The clock read (not beeped,) 8:13. So, they went back to the kitchen as Sakura heated up vats of Chicken Noodle (which, Naruto insisted wasn't better than ramen, though he at 5 bowls) They sat, slurping (Kakashi had eaten in a flash) until they burped MSG. Chatter was among the couples, and some (like Hinata) stayed quiet, satisfied with glances (like to Naruto). By the time they finished talking, eating, glancing, and joking around, it was 9:00. They all stared at the windows, the endless falling snow. But, they were all tired, so they didn't complain at all (even Naruto!) when Kakashi announced they go to bed. He would leave at 1:00 AM. Sakura (though, knowing he was a pervert,) said he could eat anything in the fridge, watch TV, and read his (perverted) book. They walked tiredly in to the living room by the cozy fire, while Sakura announced, "Drinks-" she motioned to the mini fridge, on the far side of the living room-"Bathroom, down the hall-" she pointed-"Leftovers, in the kitchen, and you can read a book if you aren't tired. Boys, the board games are right here, -" Sakura placed them next to the fire. The clock ticked over the fireplace. She brought her radio, turned it to LOW, but so enough that you could hear the hum of the DJ, and arranged the comfortable pillows. She, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino had started a karaoke contest. The boys were watching, amused. Tenten was the first one up.
"W-hen you walk a-way, you don't hea-ar me say, Please, Oh baby, don't go, Simple and Clean is the wa-ay that you're making me feel, tonight, it's ha-ard to let it, go-"
Sakura was next-
" Staring, at the blank page before you, open up the dirty windows, let the sun i-lluminate the words before you, reaching, for something in the distance, so close you can almost taste it, release your inhibition, Feel the Rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in-"
Ino then claimed the spotlight-
" LO, L O, LO, L O,VE, LO, LO, LO, What did ya hear me say? LO, LO, LO, LO, VE, LO, LO, LO, I'm talking about
LO, LO, LO, LO, VE, LO, LO, LO I'm talking about Love-"
Hinata was shy to sing, but with peer pressure she went-
"Just walk away…Just walk away…I'm looking for attention, not another question, should you stay or should you go, well if you don't have the answer, why ya still standing here? Hey, Just walk away-"
Everyone cheered. The boys sang: (Neji)
"Yeah…I watched the world form to the dark side of the moon, after all I know it had to be something to do with you, I really don't mind, what happens now and then, as long as you'll be my friend till the end, if I go crazy will you still call me superman? I'll keep you by my side with my super human, my anchor kryptonite-" "Oh yeah, that was dedicated to Tenten, " he said calmly. Tenten blushed, and her friends squealed. Sasuke, not wanting to be one-upped by Neji, confidently strided up to the microphone, and sang:
"There's nothing for me here, it's ALL THE SAME, and even though I know, that everything might go, go down hill from here, I'm NOT afraid, way away away from here I'll be, way away so you can see, how it feels to be a-lone and not believe, feels to be a-lone and not believe…anything-" Sasuke stared straight at Sakura, and said, "That was for you, Sakura," and she smiled. Shikamaru was singing, "Don't want to be American idiot, don't want nation to doubt the new media, can you hear the sounds of the stereo, the sub-luminal mind fuck America-" The group laughed, and cheered. Naruto offered to go, and they screeched "NO!" so he pouted. Though, throughout the time, he quietly sang, "I-I love Noo-odles, Forever love Noo-odles!" he warbled. By now, it was almost 10:00. The boys and girls scrambled into their sleeping bags, and let the fire burn out. Sakura soon felt sleep tugging at her eyelids. She drifted asleep, awake, asleep, awake, then, finally, sleep claimed her. Tenten rolled over her sleeping bag and hit hard floor, waking her up. God, what time was it? 11:30, stated the clock. Tenten glanced at a Neji, and smiled. She went over to the door and opened it, letting the cool, calm, air of the night rush over her heated Hello Kitty PJs. She quietly slipped outside. Tenten thought that the porch looked like an ideal spot, but then she spotted mud caked to the wood, and settled for the wooden 2-seater swing. The moon looked welcome to her, on this peaceful night. Its light shone through the darkness, and she wished that someone else was here to watch the beautiful moon, someone like…"Neji? What are you-" she was cut off by the pupiless youth by placing his rough hand on her lips. She smiled, and motioned toward the moon. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Tenten had to share the contents with him. He nodded, but looked at her, not the moon. She breathed in the night air, a bit mixed with his boyish smell. It made her swoon. They both made their way back into the living room, and had sweet, sweet, dreams.
Sakura was suddenly awake. The clock read: 12:00 AM. What, or who had woken her? Sakura looked at the circle: Tenten was asleep, one arm wrapped around Neji's hand, Hinata sleeping peacefully next to Naruto, Ino was snoring a symphony with Shikamaru, and Sasuke was…wait, where was Sasuke? His sleeping bag was empty! Or was it he, who had woken her up? Sakura quickly spotted Sasuke, sitting by the window, staring at the moon. She took a seat next to him, and said, "Why are you up so late, Sasuke?" he jumped, startled. "I just like to think about things, at night, to clear my head. Did I wake you?" She half nodded. He mumbled, "Sorry," and she shrugged. Sakura cautiously intertwined her fingers in his, and he smiled faintly. Sasuke did not pull his hand away in disgust, as he did when they both joined Team 7. Kakashi watched the sparks bloom in the distance. How many guys digged moons, anyway? Kakashi wondered. He went back to his book, muttering.
Naruto suddenly bolted awake. It was his bladder, yet again. 'Stupid bladder,' he mumbled as he made his way stealthily to the bathroom. 'It must've been the Chicken Noodle, I knew you couldn't trust canned foods.' After finishing his business, he noticed Kakashi still reading that perverted book of his. He was about to go back to sleep when he noticed Hinata was muttering something in her sleep, "Naruto…you can do it…fight off those ninjas…save me..." she uttered another light, graceful, girl snore. He blushed. 'Hinata…has a crush on me?' realization dawned on him. Naruto could barely notice the shy, quiet girl – she wasn't the one to draw attention to herself, so he didn't notice her much. He went back to sleep, with much on his mind.
12:30- BEEP! Shikamaru was a light sleeper, so when that clock beeped, as it did every hour, he happened to wake up from a very unrealistic dream that involved clouds and no missions, nothing troublesome. "How troublesome, that clock woke me up," he muttered. "I have to tell Sakura to buy a new one…" Shikamaru muttered, heading for a drink of water. Ino woke up to Shikamaru's mutters, and heard the name 'Sakura'. She clenched her fist and hit her sleeping bag. That stupid fore-head girl was always getting what she wanted. She got Sasuke, and now Shikamaru, her new crush, was saying her name in his sleep. 'But, you got over Sasuke, and anyways, where is the guy?' asked the voice in her head. Ino looked at the retreating boy that was holding a cup of water, sitting in the kitchen looking at the stars. The kitchen wasn't at all a romantic place, but Ino figured this was her last shot, so she sauntered in her white nightgown towards the boy. He blinked his head sleepily at the sauntering figure – "Ino?" he asked in amazement. He raised his eyebrows, but smirked anyway. She forwardly kissed him, and was delighted when he kissed her back. Ino smiled in the pale, almost blue moonlight- "Perfect," she whispered.
The next morning, everyone had circles of sleepless hours under their eyes, (looking quite like Gaara, who was annoyed by his copied look) but were pleased with the night results. Except for a blushing Naruto and Hinata, everyone gathered into the living room, with syrup caking their faces (pancakes for breakfast, of course). "We need to get Naruto and Hinata together," whispered Sakura. "They are a cute couple, don't you think?" added Ino, also in a whisper. Neji looked on with out rage. "She's my cousin! You people are doing no such thing! I protest-" he protested, but was cut off by a sighing Tenten. She had a discussion in the closet, which they could very much hear, -"Neji, you have to know that Hinata is no longer a baby! She can very well take care of herself, you know that!"
"But, Tenten, be reasonable, Hinata is far too young to be…with Naruto! You know he's irresponsible!"
"You mean, you're allowed to be my boyfriend, and Hinata isn't allowed to have Naruto as one? Very unfair, if you think about it." Neji gulped. He was clearly not the upper hand in this battle. "Neji, if you're my boyfriend, you have to see the side of Hinata here-she likes Naruto, Naruto..er…will like her back after this plan! Besides, you know you'd rather have Naruto as her boyfriend, because he's completely harmless, rather than, say Sasuke, correct? Don't you want her to be happy, Neji?" He nodded reluctantly, the sun beginning to set on him. "Alright, already, let's get this plan going." They emerged from the closet. "Let's go, everybody, okay? We don't have much time left until the snow melts!" whispered a quiet Tenten. The sun was peeking out from the gloomy sky, the snow melting, but, as Sasuke and Neji tried the door, the snow was at least 2 feet from their heads. 'Thank god,' thought the group. Let Operation L.O.V.E. begin, they all thought.
"Come on, Hinata, Naruto, we're waiting for you guys in the Living Room!" Sakura called. She heard their shuffling feet, and, with Neji's byakugan, saw them coming. There was no movie. The living room, with some help, was much, much, smaller, and now had walls and a door. That was locked. "S-since when d-did Sakura's living room have walls?" Hinata asked, when she and Naruto approached the room. Naruto shrugged, and opened the door anyway. The door closed behind them, and locked. Naruto was appalled. "We're locked in, guys, let us out!" he called nervously. Sakura, Tenten, and Ino smiled their evil smiles. Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru shrugged their shoulders apologetically. The only items in the room were a couch, one blanket, bags of junk food, drinks, and one small window. 'For air,' Hinata decided anxiously. The window suddenly closed shut, and a shade was drawn, disconnecting their last chances for communication outside of the room. 2 hours passed, and Naruto and Hinata had polished 2 bags of Lays, plus 1 coke each. (A bathroom with no windows was connected, in case you're worried) "Byakugan!" Neji was already on the verge of panic at what was happening in the living room. He had a very, very, bad feeling about this plan, and knew he shouldn't have agreed to go along in the first place. Naruto and Hinata were both sitting on 2 sides of the room. "Neji, what's happening in there?" Ino, Tenten, and Sakura rushed to him – for gossip, for news, for information. He shook his head, out of relief, but the girls took it as a bad sign. "Something has to be done," said Ino. "They've got to get together, somehow," wondered Tenten. She nervously paced outside. Sakura snapped her fingers – "Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru – close in the walls," she ordered. Making the room smaller would mean less personal space, meaning more sharing. The boys obeyed. "N-Naruto-kun, what's happening?" Hinata was frightened. Naruto frowned, grimly. "They want something from us…but what is it?"
When the operation began, it was 3:00 in the afternoon. Now it was 7:00, and the snow was about waist length. They didn't have much time. Neji byakuganed again, and now, Naruto was saying something to a tired Hinata, who was blushing. "They're talking, be quiet!" commanded Neji. The group was silent. "Hinata…" Naruto hesitated. "Y-Yes, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata desperately hoped she wouldn't say something that would make her look desperate. "I…uh…heard you talking about me…last night." She blushed so hard; air wasn't coming through her lungs. Her face was burning up, feeling like fire. "Hinata?" Naruto's concerned face loomed over her, but it didn't help. She passed out, dead away.
4 minutes later…the blackness was beginning to fade. Hinata blinked. Why was Naruto looking so concerned? Oh yes, he had mentioned that he had heard her say his name…she blushed again. "N-Naruto," she began. There was no stopping now, and Hinata was now committing herself to not back down. "I said your name in my sleep, simply because I was dreaming about you," she mumbled, embarrassed. Outside the living room, 5 people pressed their ears so hard to the wall they actually moved it. "I like you a lot, Naruto, e-ever since I met you," she continued. "You…you make me feel brave, and whenever I watch you, you make me feel like I'm…a somebody." Now Naruto had a thoughtful gaze on. "Hinata," he said, a bit hesitantly. "I never actually noticed you, until recently. You know that I used to have a crush on Sakura-chan, but, now the baka over there-" he motioned to the chicken shaped hair boy behind the wall-"likes her back, so I know they belong together. But, the thing is, I like you now a lot, too. There are 2 kinds people in my world – people who try to push me down, and the people who cheer me on." He paused, and looked at Hinata, who was hanging on to his every word. "I like you, because you're one of those people who cheer me on." Naruto moved forward a bit, and gently kissed her on the lips. She was shocked, and delighted, but gently kissed back, and the 5 people outside grew tired of waiting and busted down the door. They saw Naruto and Hinata kissing, and Sakura, triumphant, asked, "Did we interrupt something?"
That night, when everyone was sleeping peacefully, the snow went down. It melted and dripped its way until it was only 1 centimeter deep. The whole group was tired, relieved, but also pleased with the 3 days and 2 nights' results. Naruto and Hinata were together, their crushes were now their boyfriends and girlfriends, and they were going to get an A on that review sheet. The next day at school, when "Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Tenten, Neji Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, and Naruto Uzumaki"'s names were called, they handed in their sheets of paper. The day after that, the group was confident when they were called for their grade. "B-," Ebisu said promptly, and that was the time when Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Hinata, had to stop Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, and Naruto from killing their teacher. It was a win-win situation.