Just some notes before we move on to the story:
1) All of them are 13-years-old, except for Neji and TenTen who are both 14-years-old.
2) They are seated in this arrangement (clockwise): Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, TenTen, Neji and Hinata.
3) There are two sub-pairings: NaruHina and ShikaIno.
4) Between my original posting and my minor edit today (March 5, 2014), I still do not find myself in position to boast that I own Naruto.
Also, yes, I have edited this story a bit. However, I chose not to entrench myself so deeply into the editing process, because as embarrassing as my writing was back then, I understand that this was the version that people have read. Therefore, to change it thoroughly would be—in my opinion—rather insulting to you all, as the readers who enjoyed my story (despite its many flaws). I have to admit that I started on a second chapter to this back in the day, focusing on TenTen and Sasuke's reactions, though as a number of you have pointed out, this might be better off as a stand-alone. So, a one-shot it will remain, for now.
A Simple Mission
The bottle stopped spinning.
"What?! Shikamaru?! Why him? Why not Sasuke?" Ino shrieked.
The first mentioned name had no reaction. In fact, he barely heard a loud shriek. Yes, Nara Shikamaru was sleeping—again—in a sitting position.
"SHIKAMARU!" Ino's scary side appeared. "Wake up, you lazy bum!"
No movement. Maybe he was faking it? Yes, maybe he was. After all, no one could possibly remain sleeping when Scary Ino appears.
Ino's tone of voice and facial expression suddenly changed. A very mischievous grin was in place. "Fine, if that's the way you want things to be…"
Shikamaru immediately opened his eyes, but it was too late, as Ino kissed him full on the lips. Dumbstruck, Shikamaru just froze in his spot with his eyes wide open. After a few seconds (which felt like hours in Shikamaru's opinion), Ino broke the lip lock.
"You're not that bad for a first-timer, but you need more practice. You weren't even moving!" Ino said while smirking. "I wasn't that bad on my first."
Shikamaru's face went hot with embarrassment. He turned to the other male shinobis in the room for help. Naruto and Sasuke all sat there smirking, obviously not willing to help. Neji was out of the question. Shikamaru sighed and muttered, "Troublesome."
Ino went to scary mode upon hearing him say the "T" word.
"What did you just say?" Ino drawled slowly.
Shikamaru knew that expression, and quickly tried to backpedal, "N-nothing." Troublesome, he thought as he stood up and strode off to the door. Chouji, Shino and Kiba are indeed lucky people on a mission.
Ino magically went back to her cheerful mood. "Okay, see you guys later."
All eyes turned to Naruto.
"Me?" Naruto squeaked out while pointing to himself.
Naruto sweat-dropped. He never wanted to do this anyway. No one in this room wanted this. Heck, they wouldn't be here if it weren't for their senseis and the Hokage who decided that they should all have a party. What's worse is they locked all their students in one room and gave them a mission. It was the lousiest mission in Konoha history. Was it even considered a mission? They had to play spin the bottle. The good thing is you can go out, after you kiss or are kissed, that is. Pakkun was even sent to them to watch and observe them. No one's having fun. Well, maybe Ino was… After all, she was the only person here who made this torture look fun and cheery.
Naruto gulped and reached for the bottle. Do it slowly, buy some time. Apparently, everyone must have sensed what he was going to do.
"Just spin it and get it over with," Sasuke said.
Naruto grabbed the bottle, muttered a "teme" under his breath, and had the bottle spinning immediately. Who would I get? Naruto kept on repeating this question at the bottle's every spin. The bottle was slowing. It stopped. The room went silent. Naruto looked to who it pointed to.
Sasuke?
Naruto felt very sick. Even Sasuke felt a little… uneasy. "Ummm… it's pointing to Sasuke."
The whole room including Sasuke shot him a 'You-did-not-have-to-point-that-out' look. Naruto hastily rephrased his statement. "I mean, I can't kiss a guy!"
This time, Sakura spoke. "Then why don't we spin again? I mean, I wouldn't want to kiss a girl, seriously." One by one, they all agreed. Once they had Pakkun's approval, Naruto spun it once more. Please, not a guy… Please, not a guy… Please, not a guy… The bottle was slowing. It was stopping… getting to a mere crawl… and stopped.
Hinata immediately went beet red. She could not open her mouth nor can she hear anything. Naruto, on the other hand, was happy for it wasn't a guy but soon became nervous when faced with the actual thought of kissing Hinata.
"Hinata-chan, it's alright if you don't want, not that I don't like but if you feel uncomfortable…" Naruto started to say, but he noticed something else. "Hey, are you sick? You're all red." Naruto's naïve observation made Hinata blush more but for her, it was now or never.
Hinata stood up and, shaking slightly, went towards Naruto. Naruto immediately stood up while scratching the back of his head. "Are you sure, Hinata? You look like you have a fever or something."
Despite all the audience and her shaking and her sudden muteness, Hinata remained firm in her decision. She nodded, closed her eyes and slightly leaned in. Naruto looked at Hinata's face and hesitantly leaned in as well. He finally closed his eyes. When their lips met, it felt good but scary at the same time. The kiss ended too fast though. As Hinata stepped back, she was redder than ever and you can see actual steam coming out of her ears.
"You can go out now," Pakkun, who was behind her, said.
Once Naruto and Hinata went out, everyone turned to Sakura. Now it was her turn to gulp. Aside from TenTen, she was the only kunoichi left, with Sasuke and Neji for the boys. Hesitantly, Sakura reached for the bottle. We can do this! Inner Sakura zealously cheered.Sakura sighed inwardly. She hoped that Inner Sakura was right.
She spun the bottle and as it spun, Sakura felt more nervousness building up in her. Thank goodness Lee is not around. Sakura felt sorry for the boy but she only saw him as a very good friend, nothing more than that. Who would it be? Sasuke-kun or Neji-san? Maybe Sasuke-kun? I never really talked to Neji-san so it would be uncomfortable… Besides, I like Sasuke-kun!
The bottle was spinning slower and slower… it was once again slowing down… and stopping. As with all things in motion, it stopped.
Shocked was an understatement. Sakura felt like Hell froze over. Even TenTen looked as shocked as she was. Sasuke's usual poker face changed, for his eyes widened, which stated the obvious fact that he was shocked. Neji did not have any reaction at all; well, he seemed to have no reaction. With such even odds between them, it should have come as no surprise that Sakura might end up with someone who was not Sasuke. However, even logic can find itself all sorts of confused, especially when emotions were thrown in the mix.
Therefore, all four of them just sat there, one poker face, one frozen face and two wide-eyed people.
Pakkun eventually cleared his throat. If dogs can clear their throat, that is. "Sakura, Neji, if you want to get out, you have to do it." Somehow, "it" sounded even more ominous than it was.
Sakura then looked into Neji's eyes. Both nodded in agreement. They would get out of this room, no matter what.
Sakura stood up and walked to where Neji was sitting. By the time Sakura reached him, which didn't take long, Neji was already standing. Neji leaned in without saying anything. Sakura swallowed nervously; after all, this was going to be her first kiss. Sakura then leaned in and closed her eyes. After closing the distance, their lips met. Shanaroooo! Inner Sakura exulted before collapsing in a pile of black-and-white goop, loyalties switching with her joyous exclamation. It was a mere grazing of the lips but to the other two Genin in the room, it looked more than that.
Tears stung TenTen's eyes as she saw the scene before her. She wanted Neji. This was supposed to be her chance. Sasuke meanwhile, fisted his hands and felt the sudden urge to beat the hell out of something… or someone.
Pulling apart, Neji and Sakura briefly met each other's eyes. As Sakura gazed deep into Neji's, she saw that there was something in his eyes that made her heart thud. As for Neji, let's just say that he liked her eyes, very much (not that he would admit it).
"You can go out now. All four of you." Pakkun suddenly declared after seeing and observing the four Genins. I gathered what I need to report to Kakashi after all. When Sasuke heard that he could go, he did not question Pakkun's decision anymore; he simply walked to the door and yanked it open. Stepping out, he closed the door with a loud bang. With TenTen, she simply lowered her head so no one would see the redness of her eyes. Practically running towards the door and wrenching it open, TenTen dared to look back. After having seen him, TenTen ran out, leaving the door open.
Sakura was startled at Sasuke's and TenTen's hasty exits. At least Neji was really good, Inner Sakura practically purred with blushed madly and looked down. I'm supposed to like Sasuke-kun… Not Neji-san… Remembering that they were allowed to leave, she turned to Neji, unsure of what to say.
"Neji-san, I—I better go." After seeing Neji nod in acknowledgment, Sakura smiled a bit uncertainly, before exiting.
After eating dinner that night, Sakura decided to take a walk. Her feet led her to the bridge, where another Genin was. Her heart thudded rapidly once more, recognizing who it was.
In Neji's case, he usually took long walks every other night, for it was more peaceful. This night, however was different, because something was bothering him. Admittedly, it was more of a certain someone. While he was at the bridge, he felt someone approaching. He activated his Byakugan, only to see Haruno Sakura strolling along the path. When she saw him, she stopped.
Sakura contemplated whether to approach Neji or not. She knows that the Hyuuga prodigy did not like distractions or any form of nuisance. With that thought in mind, she decided that it was best to leave. As she was about to turn around, Neji's voice cut through the silence.
"Would you care to join me?" His back was to her when he said it.
How does he know—? Suddenly remembering about the Byakugan and its almost-360-degree vision, she wondered how long since he knew that she had been staring at him. Smoothening her red outfit anxiously, she approached Neji.
Being Sakura, she tried to break the deafening silence. "So, was a while ago your first?" A little scared that Neji might not know what she was talking about, she opened her mouth to explain but Neji seemed to get it, after all, he was not a genius for nothing.
"Aa."
Sakura secretly smiled at this. So, she was not the only one. "I see."
"You?"
Sakura was surprised that Neji actually asked a question. "It was also my first." She always thought that her first kiss would be with Sasuke. Somehow, she was glad that it was Neji.
After a few more minutes of silence, Sakura decided to leave. It was getting rather late, and her parents might begin to worry. She turned to Neji. "Ano, I guess I better go, Neji-san. It's—" Sakura let the sentence trailed away, because she made the mistake of letting her eyes wander. Her gaze now lingered on his lips; she fought the urge to kiss him… again. Sakura tried so hard to resist, so she focused on finishing her sentence. "It's getting late…"
As she turned to leave, a strong arm grasped her left arm, turning her around once more only to meet the eyes of the Hyuuga prodigy. Neji leaned in and captured Sakura's lips in a soft kiss. He placed his hands on her waist. Sakura's lips moved against Neji's, hesitantly at first, then she deepened it. She brought her arms up around his neck.
After a few minutes, they had to break the kiss due to lack of air.
"You're good, Neji-kun," Sakura gasped out while smiling.
"You're not bad yourself," Neji replied with a small rare smile of his own.
I'll never take simple missions for granted ever again… Sakura thought before pulling Neji down for another kiss.
The End... for now.
