Hey guys! I decided to post this early because I knew if I didn't it'd never get up XP By the way, for any people who are waiting on Come Back Alive, please be patient. The chapters I had typed up were lost and it's taken some time to re-write them. But they'll be up soon, so no worries.
By the way, for people who support ShikaTema, I'm sorry. I also support ShikaTema, but in the fic preceding this one, I was requested to hint ShikaIno and had to continue it into this fic, or it'd look asymmetrical (DEATH THE KID MOMENT XD). Anyway, sorry for the inconveniece. Also, slightly hinted crack pairing of KibaTema. I read it in a fanfic (which is in my favorites, by maravelous) and thought it was ok in there, so I dabbled in it here. Just wanted to point that out before I get any flames.
Anyway, enough of my ranting, enjoy the fic!
Christmas in Konoha Part II
Christmas Eve has graced Konoha again with streets of frosted sugar and breath of wispy white. The villagers were all wrapped in fuzzy scarves and puffy jackets, in mittens and gloves alike, strolling the way and looking into lit shop windows, displaying toys and wooden puppets; something that Kankuro and his siblings had come for as well.
The Sand Siblings loved to visit their Konoha friends over Christmas, because Suna was just too hot for the true feeling that was a White Christmas. They strolled through the village and admired the lamps that were draped with tinsel and the occasional mistletoe (Gaara steered Temari away from those, while Kankuro tried to get girls underneath them). Finally, they reached their destination: the Hyuuga Household.
Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, dressed in a "Santa's Little Helper" costume greeted the newcomers. "Hey guys, come on in! We're playing some sweet games and Naruto brought alcohol!"
Temari raised and eyebrow and Gaara raised… nothing. "He brought alcohol to a Christmas party?"
"Don't worry, we had Hiashi-sama take care of it."
In Hiashi's Bedroom
" I'm too sexy for my clan, too sexy for my clan- Known all over Ja-paaannnn~! "
Back In The Living Room
The gang shuddered collectively before Hanabi gained her voice. "Well alrighty then! Let's go, Temari, Gaara!" Kankuro followed the youngest Hyuuga in the house while Temari and Gaara went after him, looking around for drunken people. They were met with light and a couple elves.
Namely, Lee and Naruto. "Hey guys, what's up? Long time no see!"
Lee gave Gaara a fierce bear hug. "Gaara-kun! Welcome back!" Gaara was a little taken aback, but patted Lee's back anyway.
"Hello to you as well, Lee-san…" Naruto proceeded in grabbing the Sand Sibling's coats and hanging them on the coat rack. It was then that the other attendant's of the party realized that they had arrived.
"Temari-chan!" Temari looked up to see a bun-haired female in a female Santa's Little Helper outfit as well and covered in flour rushing toward her.
"Hey TenTen-chan, I missed you," she said, giving the younger girl a hug. She looked up from her to see Neji, his features icy but somewhat warm, his cheek covered in a splash of baking dough. His eyes were not on Temari though, but the girl hugging her. "Hello Neji," Temari said, extending a hand.
He shook it and poked TenTen in the shoulder. "TenTen, we should be getting back to the kitchen before Naruto eats all of the cookies…" TenTen giggled and took Neji's sleeve, dragging him and his apprehensive self back in the kitchen. "Let's bake some more cookies then, Neji!"
Temari laughed a little at their antics and smiled.
"They're really something, aren't they, troublesome woman," said a lazy drawl behind her. She grinned and turned around.
"Hey Crybaby, how ya been," she asked, giving him a hug. He hugged with one arm back, smiling a little.
"I've been good, but it was so troublesome getting here on time. Ino-chan had to nag me for ages so I'd get out of bed." Temari smirked.
"As is expected from Konoha's Laziest Ninja, I suppose."
"Coupled with Konoha's Sexiest," Ino sang, skipping over to Shikamaru and Temari in the same costume that Hanabi and TenTen were wearing. It seemed every girl in the room was wearing one of those, save Hinata and Temari. "How ya doing Temari, it's been forever! And don't just stand in the doorway, come and have a seat!"
The bleach blonde took the sandy blonde's hand and lead her to the couch, where Sakura was sitting with Naruto, sipping some hot chocolate and scolding Naruto.
"Naruto, you should really wait until it cools down--"
"Cools down? That's for babies! I'm sure it's perfectly fine, Sakura-chan," Naruto said stupidly, taking a long gulp. He swallowed and cried out, holding his mouth open and exposing his burnt tongue. "GAHH!"
"I told you so, Naruto," Sakura said, getting up and sitting by Sasuke, who had agreed through her blackmail to wear a Santa hat.
He grunted and said, "Dobe." Hinata came back from wherever she was and sat next to Naruto with a wet towel in hand and gently dabbed his tongue, going redder and redder as she did so.
"U-uh, h-here, N-N-Naruto-k-kun, this w-will h-help, I t-think," she stammered, closing her eyes and smiling.
"Boh, tanks Hinaba-con! You er 'eely ama-sing," Naruto said while he dabbed his tongue with the towel, smiling as best he could at her. Hinata blushed redder than the setting sun and managed to smile back.
"Aren't they adorable," Hanabi said, smiling at them with dreamy eyes. "He's gonna be my new brother-in-law soon, I can just tell. And I'm hoping TenTen becomes my new cousin, cuz she's so nice to me!"
Kankuro got back from getting slapped by Sakura under the mistletoe and overheard this. "Sweet, you're getting new relatives? I'm coming to the wedding!"
Temari slapped him. "No baka, she was dreaming of getting new relatives." Temari sighed and looked on at all of the festivities and wished she had someone of her own to spend them with.
"Oi, Sand Chick," came a voice from behind her, a strange finger tapping her shoulder. She turned around and was faced with Inuzuka Kiba, who was dressed as an elf, and a gargantuan Akamaru, who was dressed as Rudolph. Temari laughed at him and patted the dog's head before straightening up and giving a warm smile to Kiba.
"Hey Dog Boy. How've you and Akamaru been?" Akamaru barked and wagged his tail and Kiba laughed.
"Yeah, that's right Akamaru! We've been having a blast, training and messing around in the snow and all. One time we got a bunch of snow and shoved it down Shino's coat and man, was he pissed!"
Temari couldn't help but laugh again. "Wow, that sounds like fun. We don't get snow over in Suna, so we can't do any of that." Kiba grinned.
"Ya don't even pretend that the sand is snow, just for fun?"
"Too scratchy." Kiba closed his eyes and laughed again, then took her hand and began walking out the door. Temari followed warily. "Uh, where are you taking me?"
"Someplace fun, that's where. You've never played in snow before, so I'm takin' ya." He gave her a cocky grin. "And I bet you won't be able to beat me and Akamaru in a snowball fight!"
I got on my competitive grin and narrowed my eyes. "Try it, Dog Boy."
Meanwhile, in the kitchen…
"Ne, Neji, can you get me the flour?"
"Why can't you just use the flour you have on yourself? I'm sure we could get at least a few dozen batches in," Neji said jokingly, causing TenTen to glare playfully.
"Fine, I'll just dust some out of your hair and we'll be getting somewhere." He narrowed his eyes at her.
"Don't mock my hair." He glared down at her, tensing his hands in a meaningful manner.
"Don't mock my smock." She glared up at him and reached for the kitchen knife.
"Hey guys, don't kill each other in there! We want cookies, not bloodshed," Ino said, gaining a laugh from Sakura and a soft giggle from Hinata. Naruto just grinned and Kankuro got on a perverted look.
"I know that I want someone's cookies… Hey TenTe--" He was stopped by a patented Hyuuga Death Glare™ from the one and only Hyuuga Neji.
"TenTen is not something to be eaten." Kankuro fell backward and ran into the bathroom, breathing very hard, his eyes wider than sauce plates.
The group applauded Neji. "Go Neji!"
"You the man!"
"Showed him whose boss!"
"Didn't let him near your girl, Neji!"
At the last comment, Neji's cheeks turned an almost unnoticeable pink. TenTen jumped on his back and kissed his cheek.
"Thanks Neji!" She looked at the bathroom door and glared at it. "That guy is a real creep… But you dealt with him for me!"
"So what does he get in return for protecting you," Sakura asked all-too innocently and TenTen saw through the mask. Ino smiled evilly and patted Sakura on the shoulder.
"You've done well, my apprentice," she said to Sakura under her breath, a comment that TenTen caught and was a little frightened of. What was Ino teaching the pinkette? 'Nothing good, from the look of that smile…'
"Well, I think he deserves to taste some strawberry goodness, don't you," Ino said, nodding to Sakura, who nodded to Hanabi, who nodded to Hinata, who just shook her head.
"I-I don't want t-to be i-in this," she muttered, blushing even more than usual.
TenTen raised an eyebrow and Neji did as well, asking, "What do you mean, "strawberry goodness"? There is nothing that tastes of strawberries here…" He moved his pearl orbs to TenTen. "Do you know what they're talking about?"
TenTen sighed in his ear and rolled her eyes, though inside she was blushing like a maniac. "My lip gloss is strawberry flavored, Neji."
Neji dropped his head and groaned. "Oh Kami."
Back outside
"Haha, Dog Boy, direct hit!"
"No f-f-f-fair! Since w-w-when w-was it ok t-to use w-wind j-j-j-jutsu?" Kiba rubbed around in his jacket, trying to keep his teeth from chattering.
"Since you threw yellow snow at me, Doggie."
Kiba blanched and rolled to the side to avoid another icy gale, regaining his speech. "That was all Akamaru, right boy?"
Akamaru just whimpered, unable to move. Temari had made him into a doggie-sickle.
"Aww look, he's all tuckered out. Shouldn't we go back inside and tell everyone how badly I beat you?"
Kiba grinned in his own feral way and grabbed a couple armfuls of snow. "Not likely…" He jumped in the air and shouted, "YAHHOOOO! YUKI GATSUUGA*!"
The snow came at Temari like a reverse funnel, pelting her with wetness as Kiba got closer and closer. She raised her fan, but not high enough. Kiba's body stopped spinning and hit her full on into a pile of ivory mush.
"Pweh! Dog Boy, get off me!"
"Quit yer whinin', Sand Chick, I'm gettin' offa ya," Kiba said, getting off of Temari carefully then offering a hand. She spat out some more snow then grinned.
"Looks like you won this round, Dog Boy."
He grinned cheekily at her. "Told ya I would, didn't I?"
Ino popped her head out of the doorway and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey lovebirds, the cookies are done! Get inside!"
They each gave Ino a puzzled expression.
"Lovebirds," Temari mused, then blew air through her lips. "Heh, just because you beat me doesn't mean I'm falling for you, Dog Boy."
Kiba smiled from behind Akamaru, who he was pushing toward the warmth of the house. "It's OK Sand Chick, I know ya secretly dig the fangs."
"My masochism has nothin' to do with it, Dog Boy."
Kiba whooped. "Yahooo, so ya do dig the fangs!" He laughed and got next to Temari at the door, who opened it for him so he could push Akamaru inside. "Heh, I dig chicks who dig the fangs."
Temari raised an eyebrow playfully. "We'll see where that takes you," she pressed her fingertip to one of his fangs, "…Dog Boy."
"OI! Bring Akamaru over here, he looks like he's been hit by one o' Neji's Death Glares," Naruto exclaimed, waving Kiba over to the fireplace. Neji just glared at the Jinchuuriki with malice.
"My glares do not turn people into icicles, Naruto."
"Coulda fooled me, icicle-ass," Naruto jabbed back, grinning like a court jester.
"Hey, where are the cookies? We need them to melt all this testosterone away," Sakura announced, taking a meaningful glance at the two bickering Shinobi.
"They're right here!" TenTen came out of the kitchen with a large tray of cookies, dumping them on a big plate on the coffee table. "Dig in everyone! But you should wait a second, they're still--"
"YAY COOKIES!" Naruto reached for one and popped it in his mouth, only to scream at the top of his lungs. "TOO HOOOTTT!"
TenTen stood there with a spatula in her hand, looking royally pissed. "Naruto…." He stopped his screaming and looked at her, mouth full of chocolatey goodness.
"Huh? Wha's tha, En'en?"
She twirled the spatula around then beat him in the head with it. "BAKA! I TOLD YOU TO WAIT A SECOND, BUT HELL NO, YOU GO AHEAD AND SCARF IT DOWN! DOESN'T ANYBODY LISTEN TO THE CHINESE GIRL ANYMORE?!" Naruto collapsed on the floor, cookie crumbs littering his face. TenTen scanned the room with narrowed eyes. "Are any of you guys gonna eat one before waiting for it to cool off first?"
Mumbles of "no", "of course not", and "please don't beat me with that thing" filled the room's violent silence. Only Neji didn't respond.
"What about you, Neji?"
He smirked. "I actually listen to the Chinese girl." He grabbed a cookie, inspected it for a second, then placed it in between TenTen's open lips. "Hn."
She glared up at him and held the other end of the cookie with her fingers then bit down. What no one was expecting was for her eyes to widen then close and her throat let out a low moan.
"Mmmmm~!... These are so good~!" She happily ate the rest and then licked her fingers. "Thanks Neji, I owe you one." His pearl orbs didn't leave her face, and she started to get uncomfortable. "Neji?"
He said nothing but leaned down and licked her lips, then kissed them quickly. She turned redder than her outfit, but kissed him back. Everybody's mouths were open wide.
"YAHOOOOOO! GO NEJI!"
"Damnit, Inuzuka, shut your mouth. Hn… Hyuuga's finally taking a chance."
"AH, THE BEAUTY OF YOUTH! THE LOVE THEY SHARE WILL BLOSSOM INTO A--"
"Lee, shuddup! C'mon TenTen, add some tongue!"
"THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT, CHA!"
"I-I don't... I g-guess that's r-right… N-Neji-nii and T-TenTen-chan… um, yay?"
"About time those two troublesome people took a step."
"Quiet Crybaby, I'm watching this, right Gaara?"
"……."
"Why can't I be kissin' that?"
"Because you're a man whore, Kankuro, now shut up- I SEE A COUSIN-IN-LAW WITH MY BYAKUGAN~!"
"…Wha-whoa, when'd Neji and TenTen start makin' out? THAT'S AWESOME, 'TTEBAYO!"
Neji pulled away and licked his lips playfully.
"Hn… Ino, you were right. Strawberry does taste good… with a little chocolate mixed in, of course." TenTen was still where she stood, red as fire. "TenTen?"
The bun head still didn't move. Neji poked her. "TenTe--"
"Neji…" He paused, giving her a chance to speak. "…Do you want to… make some more cookies?"
He smiled softly. "I'd like that." She nodded then grabbed his sleeve, pulling him into the kitchen then shutting the door. The room was silent after that, until Ino recovered.
"OH YEAH, THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT PREVAILS! COME, MY PROTÉGÉ, LET'S SPREAD SOME MORE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!" Ino darted her eyes to Shikamaru and snickered.
Sakura looked at Sasuke and got a mad glint in her eyes. "HELLZ YEAH!"
They each grabbed the all-too-willing boys and opened the kitchen door a crack. "Hey TenTen-chan, you two done in her--"
Knives, forks, and even mixing spoons were thrown out of the crack in the door, all of them hitting the wall beyond it thanks to the foursome's skillful dodging skills. "Don't come in," came the breathless chorus from the two teenagers, then some Chakra strings pulled the door closed again.
"…. Was I the only one that found that disturbing?" Lee patted Temari on the back.
"Not to worry my friend, even I was frightened by that display of youthful Christmas spirit…"
Hanabi giggled. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, isn't it, Hinata-nee?"
"U-um, I-I guess, H-Hanabi-nee…"
"Sure it is, Hinata-chan!" Naruto kissed her cheek. "Ya just gotta believe it**!"
"N-Naruto-kun…"
'THUD'
Some things will never change, will they? At least not when it's Christmas in Konoha.
THE END
*YUKI GATSUUGA means Snow Fang over Fang… I couldn't find snowy in the online dictionary, gomen T~T
** OMFG, ENGLISH DUB! XDDDD
Anyway, please review!
-Youkai Koneko
