A/N: Ok, hey this chapter is dedicated to ReiKai101, Inomuiro, & Chou ni Natte. Thanks guys! And read on.
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My Countdown Starts Here
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"Ne, Lee, tell us about your old school," Tenten demanded as the ate their lunch the next day, under the same tree as before. Lee looked up from his conversation with Sakura and glanced at his two best friends who gave him twin looks back. The others all stopped their own doings, becoming interested as well. Tenten grinned at him, as she smoothed out her skirt. Today she wore a nice teal Chinese style shirt with silver trim.
Hinata fidgeted with her fingers and played with the loose thread from her sweater. "I-it would seem you guys have r-really changed since you left," she blushed with everyone's eyes on her. Lee smiled and waved his hands. "Okay, that's fair enough. Ask away!"
Ino smiled and decided she wanted to ask first. "So, Lee-san, what school did you attend?" Lee blinked and grinned. "We were all accepted at NAMA. And we actually graduated a year early from it, that's why we're here. Usually we would of had a year left, since they go by the amount of time you've been there rather than the usual grade system." Lee grinned a little proudly and Naruto seemed to shine even prouder, while Shikamaru just yawned.
"NAMA? I've never heard of a school like that..." Kiba spoke for most of them, while some nodded and others looked like they were searching their memories for such a place. "NAMA. National Art & Music Academy, besides the government required learning material they also enrich students in the teachings of a wide varity of arts and music."
Everyone turned to Neji completely surprised at his knowledge of the school. He merely shrugged. "Uncle donates money there..." Hinata nodded. "Yes, now I remember, yes, we sometimes visit when they hold open house and important events there."
"How did you guys get into that school, it sounds like a pretty good school to attend," Sasuke asked with his eyebrow raised. Naruto scowled at him and huffed. "They had a booth set up at the annual summer festival and we got recognized for our great potential," Naruto snapped, thoroughly irritated with the Uchiha since yesterday. Sasuke snorted, and Lee gave him a warning glare.
"Aa, that's why you're such a wonderful artist, Lee-kun!" Hinata exclaimed shyly, smiling at him with an affection of a caring sister. Lee smiled at her. "Ne, I suppose, but I will admit, Naruto-kun is a much better artist than I," Lee stated truthfully. Ino nodded and looked thoughtful. "Ne, Naruto's in my Art class and I gotta say, I was really surprised with his painting!" Naruto simply beamed with the complements.
"Ne, so, you graduated a year early. You guys must be very good." Kiba stated a little flatly, still a bit surprised at te new information.The three looked at each other and grinned. Right then the bell rang, ending lunch, so they all packed up and hurried toward the school.
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At the end of the day the three friends looked happy to leave. Despite Naruto's perfect 'puppy-dog' eyes, Lee refused to cut, so they stayed in the library, playing hide and seek, much to the librarian's dismay.
"Haha, did you see her face when I jumped down from the top shelf!" Naruto chirped happily, his cerulean eyes laughing in merriment. "She nearly had a heartattack," Shikamaru said, with a grin on his lips.
"Race you to the gate, Shika!" Naruto suddenly yelled, already off. Shika quickly muttered a 'how troublesome', and sprinted after him. Lee chuckled good humoredly and watched them go. "Ne, Lee!" Tenten said, clapping her handon his shoulder. He turned to see her smiling face.
"This weekend I was thinking of having a little get-together, not really a party, but they'll be chips and shit. Wanna come?" she asked hurriedly, glancing at her wrist watch every few seconds. Lee blinked. "Who's coming?" he asked, looking at his friends, where they were waiting for him. "Oh, you know, Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji. Ask your friends too for me okay?" Lee looked thoughtful.
"Can I invite a few people you don't know, they're really nice, and they won't be much of a bother... well, they wouldn't start anything anyway..." Tenten smiled and nodded and let go of his shoulder. "Sure, I hope they're not too wild. My parents will have a cow if the house gets messed up! Well, practice calls, see ya!" She went off like a bolt of lightening.
Lee joined his friends, Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata and Chouji had joined them and it was obvious they were all going to the arcade. "You guys want to go over Tenten's house for a little get-together this weekend?" Lee asked right away. Naruto nodded happily, while Shikamaru gave him a look. "Aa, if it's on Saturday night, we can't. Work, remember." Shikamaru reminded the two others. "Oh, yea, damn, I'm so forgetful. Ne, Sakura do you know what day Tenten planned it?" Lee asked, turning to the pinkie.
Sakura smiled and nodded. "She said Friday night, so that shouldn't be a problem, should it?" Lee shook his head and grinned. "That's great! I was planning on inviting a few of my own friends too. " Shika cocked an eyebrow. "You're not talking about Kankuro, Temari and the insomniac, are you?" Lee nodded. "Don't call him an insomniac, you know his condition. I thought they'd have fun meeting our friends."
Naruto looked sceptical as did Shikamaru. "Just as long as Temari doesn't bring any booze, you know her when she's drunk!" the blonde said, wincing a little at a memory. Lee blushed and looked sheepish. "I'll ask Gaara to make sure she doesn't." Naruto looked satisfied, while Shika still frowned slightly.
"Who are you talking about?" Ino asked curiously, never not knowing about a person others were talking about, school gossip queen as she was. "Just a friend from NAMA and his siblings. They're kinda like a second family to us." Lee answered, Naruto almost immediately started laughing uncontrollably, causing Shika to elbow him in irritation. The other just left it at that and walked on to the arcade in silence.
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"Hmm, you're much better at ping pong than DDR, Lee-san," Ino said playful, just barely hitting the ball back in time. Lee winked and stuck out his tongue just as playfully. "You can call me Lee, Ino-chan, no need for formality." Ino nodded happily and hit the ball off the table.
"So, do you like Sakura, Lee-kun?" Ino asked in a way she hoped sounded casual. Lee chuckled and served the ball. "We're becoming good friends," Lee said obliviously. Ino smiled as she swatted at the ball. "Ne, she seems pretty fond of you, you know..." Lee grinned. "Oh, I'm glad, she's such a sweet girl!" Ino's eye glinted, making Lee miss the ball in surprise. "Um, I'll get that," Lee said uncertainly, going past the air hockey tables to get the still bouncing ball.
"Okay, Lee?" Naruto asked without taking his eyes off his shooting game. "Err... yea," Lee said, on his knees trying to get the ball from behind the machine. He was momentarily distracted, so he didn't see Sakura rush from her racing game to go yell at Ino, who looked sheepish, yet victorious. When Lee came back with the ball, Sakura tugged at his sleeve. "Ne, Lee, you should improve your DDR skills, come on." Ino smiled as she caught the ball Lee dropped as he was dragged across the room.
"Ne, Chouji, wanna play me?" Ino yelled to where Chouji and Shikamaru were playing a game of Jurassic Park III. "Sure, just wait until I die, okay, ready," he said, leaving Shikamaru to defend himself against the vicious dinosaurs.
"Need, help, Shika?" Naruto asked, sliding into the seat where Chouji was a second ago. Shikamaru grunted in affirmation, too focused on the overwhelming beasts. Naruto quickly put in his tokens and went into his rare 'absolute-full-concentration' mode.
"So the party thing, what do you think," Naruto asked, saying each word between each of his kills. Shikamaru grunted, then answered, knowing exactly what Naruto was asking about. "Well, the longer we're around them, the more they'll find out just how much has changed."
Naruto gave a small victorious laugh as they rose to the next level. "Yea, and somehow I think a few things'll slip out of one of the Sabakus' mouths. Well, maybe not Panda, he's never been much of a talker." Naruto grinned, his adreneline pumping along with a bit excitement about the Friday plans.
"But, still, we'll have fun." Naruto chirped, happily killing away the digital dinos. "Just as long as Temari has no alcohol. She's even crazier with it in her system. Gosh, even the scent..." Shikamaru muttered, angrily beating on his stuck shooting button. Naruto quickly shot a dino that would of took the last of Shika's life, and punched the button, effectively unsticking it. Shikamaru smiled slightly and went back to the game.
Hinata moved around looking over everyone's game, not knowing what to do next. She stopped behind Kiba, admiring his fighting skill in Mortal Combat II. "Wanna play me after I finish this round, Hinata-chan," Kiba asked without taking his eyes off the screen. Hinata blushed and mumbled a quiet sure, continuing to watch. "I'll give you some tips. I'm not as good as I look, Shino and Chouji can still beat me once in a while," Kiba said knowing full well Hinata's doubt about even having a chance of winning. Hinata nodded and smiled happily.
Lee smiled as he watched the screen with the utmost attention, finally getting the hang of the game. Sakura smiled, watching him from the corner of her eye. "Ne, you've definitely improved, we can play a game of your choice after we're done this round," she said, getting a bit tired and a little too sweaty for her taste.
"Let's play some air hockey." Lee said hitting the last step perfectly. He wiped his forehead quickly and grinned over at the pink head. "That was fun, it was almost like a workout," Lee chuckled, leading the way to the air hockey tables in the back.
Ino grinned as she passed them and walked up to where Shikamaru and Naruto were getting their tokens out of the machine. "Shika, let's play some DDR. I bet I could beat you with my eyes closed." Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he gathered up his tokens.
Naruto elbowed him silently and gave a teasing grin that made the brunette scowl. "Come on!" Ino chirped as she grabbed and started dragging him away. Naruto just waved at his miserable friend and put in his money for the token exchange.
Hinata giggled as her character kept hitting Kiba's in the nose. Kiba was yelling at the machine for sticking and kept banging on it. A few seconds later the screen light up saying Player Two KOed Player One. Kiba growled but his face softened once he realized Hinata was giggling. "Ne, I'll just tell the worker dude that this game's out of order. Be back in a second."
Hinata nodded and turned to see Ino yelling at the sluggishly moving Shikamaru on the DDR in the center of the room. A whole new round of giggles spilled out, and that's how Kiba found her. Kiba smiled, seeing how she was laughing so much it was bringing tears to her eyes.
"Hey, wanna soda? You must be tired from all of that laughing," Kiba asked with a playful grin. Hinata nodded and they went to the far-left corner that was devoted to snack and soda machines.
Naruto was watching Chouji play Sonic pinball, every once in a while looking up to laugh loudly at the now twitching-from-female-harassment Shikamaru.
"Hey, Shika, play Capcom vs. Marvel with me," Naruto finally said, finally coming to his rescue. Ino fumed slightly as she watched Naruto drag away the lazy ass, before she set her eyes on the lone Chouji. "Chouji, come play with me!" she chirped happily.
Sakura smirked across the air hockey table at Lee. "The next score determines the winner, Lee-san." Lee hit back the puck with vigor. "You can call me just Lee, we're friends now," Lee said concentrating on the game. Sakura smiled and smashed the puck, getting the winning point. Lee blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I guess you win." Sakura cheered and pumped her fist up into the air.
"And you have to... buy me a soda as a reward," Sakura said with a more calm tone. Lee looked surprised for a second before giving her a small grin. "Fair enough," he said heading to the corner were Hinata and Kiba were talking quietly.
"Hey, you two," Lee said playfully in a teasing tone as he fumbled in his pockets for his wallet. "Hey, look who's talking! You've been around Sakura for over an hour!" Kiba exclaimed defensively while Hinata blushed silently. Lee's cheeks tinted pink, and inserted his money.
"Hinata, your Father sent me to get you," Neji said, somehow silently appearing without their realization. Lee jumped slightly, while Kiba's eye kept twitching. Hinata looked down at her watch, checking the time. "Oh, I-I didn't know it was so late! I'll see you guys at school," she gave them each a quick smile and ran out of the arcade where a nice, shiny Jeep was waiting.
Neji followed more slowly, in his more dignified way. "Well, better go give that soda to your girlfriend," Kiba said, turning back to Lee. Neji looked back slightly, and Lee blushed as their eyes met. He quickly broke it and turned to the wild brunette next to him.
Lee frowned and smacked him over the head. Kiba gingerly rubbed the sore spot with a pout. "We're just friends." he said walking over to where the pink girl waited. Kiba watched him with a pout and glanced at the now smirking Neji. He blinked, but decided to just go play some Pac Man without thinking about it.
"Oh, orange! My favorite," Sakura exclaimed happily as Lee handed her the soda. "So, Hinata left?" she asked sipping at her drink. "Yea, it's pretty late," Lee mused as he looked out the arcade doors at the darkening street.
"Hmm, maybe I should go home..." Sakura muttered thoughtful. Lee nodded and waved Shikamaru and Naruto over. "Let's go guys." Naruto groaned, but was silenced from a look from Lee, and Shika looked a bit relieved. They left, saying good bye to Chouji and Kiba, Ino having left a little earlier than Hinata.
"Do you want me to walk you home, Sakura-chan?" Lee asked as they got to the street where they'd separated yesterday. "Oh, no thanks. I live just a few houses down, no big deal. Thanks anyway," Sakura replied, giving him a smile and waving good bye to the others.
For a few more blocks they were silent until Naruto let out a big breath and turned to Lee. "Do you like Sakura-chan, cause you two seem to be getting pretty close!" Naruto exclaimed, tugging at his long sleeves.
Lee rolled his eyes, and Shika elbowed Naruto harshly. "Don't be dumb, you know how Lee always gets close to people. He's just a naturally friendly guy," he said lazily with his hands in his pockets.
Naruto frowned at him, then turned to Lee. "Well?" Lee sighed and tried looking tired. "We're just friends," he said simply in an 'end-of-subject' tone.Naruto blinked and looked satisfied. "That's all you had to say, you know!"
Lee and Shikamaru shared a look before bursting out laughing. Naruto blinked innocently and growled the next second. "I hate when you two do that. STOP! Making fun of ME!" Naruto growled, stomping away from them while their laughter just increased.
"Ne, Naruto-kun, it's just that your childishness is so..." Lee tried, as they jogged to catch up. "Hilarious," Shikamaru finished for him with a smile. Naruto just huffed, trying to stop a smile from touching his lips.
"Ne, here's my house,guys. I'll call up Kankuro now and tell him about the thing on Friday," Lee said as he started taking his keys out. Naruto grinned fox-like and waved. "This should be fun!" Shikamaru just shook his head and they started walking off to their own houses again.
"See ya tomorrow, Lee!" Naruto shouted over his shoulder. Lee smiled at his departing best friends and opened the door into his dark, empty house.
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"Hey, Kankuro?" "Yea," Kankuro answered from his end. He was watching one of those rare shows all three of the Sabaku siblings liked. Temari shushed him while the good part came on. "It's Lee."
Kankuro snorted and swiped the chips from Gaara's lap. "I could tell," he said through a mouthful of chips. Gaara growled, snatching back his snack, then throwing a Cheeto at his older brother.
"Ne, one of my friends from my new school is having a get-together, and I thought you guys would have fun coming. They're really... nice people." Kankuro gave a thoughtful sound and put the phone down slightly to talk to the other two.
"Party at Lee's friend's house, wanna go?" Temari looked up from the screen, sipping her soda. "When?" Kankuro went back to the phone.
"When?"
"Friday night."
"Friday night," Kankuro relayed to his older sister.
"Sure, that could be..." she evilly grinned suddenly. "...fun." He turned to Gaara. "How bout you?" Gaara shrugged with one shoulder, eyes intently watching the show progress. "Yea, we'll all go," Kankuro answered flatly.
"Awesome! Well, we'll be there anyway for practice, so we can all just walk over together, she only lives a few blocks away," Lee told him happily. Kankuro nodded blankly, being too occupied by the show to realize Lee couldn't see.
"So, uh, see you Friday. 3:30 sharp. Remember." "Right! Oh, can you give the phone to Gaara for a few seconds?" "Gaara," Kankuro shoved the phone in his face. "Lee wants to talk to you."
Gaara growled and wacked him over the head with the phone before answering it. "Hn." "Ne, Gaara-kun, can you do me a favor and make sure Temari-chan doesn't bring any booze. I'd hate for what happened at New Years to happen again." Gaara cringed slightly. "Sure."
"Thank you. I gotta go now, say good bye to your sibs for me. Ja. -click-" Gaara set down the phone in it's cradle and grabbed a handful of chips. "What he say?" Kankuro asked absently as he snatched the chips.
"No booze, Temari," Gaara said simply, taking back the chips and moving them out of reach. "Aww! No fair," Temari cried melodramatically, while Kankuro tried snatching the chips again from over Gaara's back.
"You're always hogging the chips, Gaara. Come on share it!" Gaara turned with a mouth full of chip. "Ib dunb habe twooo. I bwought dem." Gaara said, smirking as tiny bits of chips covered in saliva flew all over Kankuro's face.
Kankuro frowned irritatedly at his brother, eye twitching like it always did when these kinds of things happened to him. Temari laughted from her place on the lazy boy. "Me! It's just always and only me!" Kankuro muttered angrily as he leaned back into the comfy sofa. Gaara snorted with a rare grin on his face and turned back to the program.
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Lee hung up the phone and smiled. Then he turned and left the kitchen to go to his bedroom.
He threw his pack on his desk chair and jumped onto his bed. "It was long day..." he muttered as his eyes started to flutter close.
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A/N: Yep, so would of been out sooner if my brother didn't hog the laptop so much. Grr. The arcade thing might not be so accurate or whatever. Oh well, it's my fic, my made-up arcade. Thanks to all my reviewers. I love you guys, you made me so happy! D
Maybe the pairings will be a bit clearer next chapter... -smiles evilly- haha, don't mind me...
So Review! Next chappie out soon!
Oh, and maybe I should do this again. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other whatever. You get the point.