Sake
Alcohol is to shinobi what water is to civilians.
Now, this isn't necessarily a good thing, Tenten thinks dejectedly. She is certain that most shinobi above legal drinking age (or not) are out at bars whenever they aren't on missions or training.
Now, she has a strict no-drinking-in-public policy, but she doubts that this is very common. She knows many shinobi like to drink away their troubles; the number of familiar faces at this bar is testament enough.
Naruto is finishing a bottle of beer in front of the bar. He raises his hand as he sets it down to demand another one from the barkeeper. Alcohol became a habit for him while he was trying to get Sasuke back to Konoha. Tenten clicks her tongue disapprovingly.
Sakura is slouched in a corner, staring down at the Bloody Mary in her hands. Tenten knows that Sakura is wondering, as always, what happened to Team 7? She only wishes she could tell the pink-haired girl that alcohol will not solve their problems.
Hinata is staring down at a saucer of sake in front of her; cheeks flushed, hair rumpled and jacket zipper down to a dangerously low point. How Hinata of all people became this way, Tenten does not know.
Shino leans against the wall, his arms crossed. Tenten knows the Aburame has a high level of tolerance to alcohol; he drank the spiked punch at Kiba's Halloween party and didn't feel a thing. She wonders, why, out of all of Rookie Nine, is he here?
Kiba is downing a shot of whiskey. How he can stand it, Tenten wonders. She can clearly smell the alcohol in this room; she can't imagine how bad it is for him. He looks nothing like the handsome, confident, ladies' man they all see during the day.
Ino is playing cards; she swears loudly as she loses yet another match. Grumbling, she digs into her pockets and hands over the bills. Picking up a glass of ale, she gulps a mouthful and demands another match. Tenten frowns. Honestly, that girl is a worse gambler than Tsunade.
Chouji and Shikamaru are sitting in a corner, each with his own bottle of tequila. Looking tired, they drink and stay silent. Tenten remembers the days when their hanging out consisted of Chouji eating chips while Shikamaru watched the clouds. Life's changed.
Neji sits beside her, his arm lazily lolling around her waist. She knows that they will go home together, fall asleep, and when she wakes up in the morning, he'll be gone. He has a bottle of sake in front of him, as well as a saucer which has just been emptied. Tenten realizes with grim humor, trust Neji to be the traditionalist, even in this situation.
Looking around again, she realizes, none of them are really happy. True, they come here to drink away their troubles, but after a brief high they only come back down to earth again and it hurts even more. Whatever happened to the twelve happy kids? But maybe, Tenten thinks, that they are really still children. They never grew up. Kids have their favorite stuffed animals, she muses. We have alcohol.
She doesn't drink. She doesn't take alcohol as a drug, unlike everyone else here. But she's addicted to something else. Neji is her drug, just as alcohol is his. Neji is her high. But is she his?
And she's always been the one to take action, she muses. She thinks that she should wean herself off him. Maybe it's time to throw away her inhibitions, get addicted to something new.
"Oi, Neji, can I have some sake?"
'Cause we're all just a bunch of screwed-up kids. Maybe someday, we'll grow up.
But not for now.
This is who we are.