Hey, the Snow Fairy is here!
Just so you know, I couldn't see his face... *cries* so I can't tell you...
IMAGINATION KAKASHI: And it is never going to happen again.
I know... But hey! As a consolation prize to all of you loyal fans who wanted to know... here's a special chapter just for you! (lols, but it is special)
IK: This chapter is where the magic starts, and Snow's been bouncing off the walls all day... just so you know, we are aiming for a weekly post-up, but that all depends on time, and how much she gets done...
I just want to say a big thank you to the following people who have reviewed, and those who have continued to chat (you know who you are xx): Technoninjalover, YuiKoike978, JWindmaker, Anonymous1997, Sabaku no Keiko, Insanity-Fun, and one anonymous (get a profile so I can send thanks!)... I have trolled each of your profiles and pages in turn, and read your stories, and I'm so glad that we have allsorts of ideas in common!
IK: This really does mean a lot to her, even if you guys don't read this bit, so thank you...
Ummm... hmm... Oh! This chapter contains actual ShikaTema moment, so for those who reviewed to say "MORE SHIKATEMA", here you go, you've got your wish... :)
IK: It also contains mild course language and Iruka's sexual fantasies about me-
IT does not!
IK: Does't it? Damn... anyway, Snow Fairy does not own NARUTO or any characters, places, etc, affiliated with the series. They all belong to Kishimoto.
Yep, that's right! I own nothing, except a head full of insanity... :D So enjoy this chapter!
IK: We'll see you down the bottom of the page...

By the time they'd reached the Aburame household, Kankuro was ready to drop. They'd been running all day… that Hokage of theirs was a psycho.

They went around to the front door, and Sakura rang the bell. The door was opened by an Aburame relative, and she bowed to her.

The two swapped small talk for a moment, before the woman called Shino's name. They heard footsteps shuffling up the hall, and Kankuro braced himself, waiting for a repeat of earlier.

"Hello, Kankuro. We welcome you with open arms into our home. What is ours is yours while you stay here."

Shino spoke with such politeness that, had Kankuro not seen the slight bruising on his cheek, he would have assumed he was talking to a twin.

"…Thank you for your kind hospitality," he managed, bowing to hide his shock. "If I overstep any bounds, please do let me know."

Shino's eyebrow twitched with annoyance. Of course he was overstepping bounds!

But he was careful not to let his annoyance show. He would not be beaten by someone so crude. Not again, anyway.

"Please," he said, extending a hand towards the Crow's bundle. "Let me show you the room that you will be staying in."

Sakura piped up. "Don't let him sleep for too long, Shino. Don't forget, we have the welcoming dinner at sunset."

"I won't forget, Sakura," Shino answered. "We'll see you later."

Kankuro walked up the steps to Shino, feeling dread with each one that brought him closer to the strange bug-lover.

"I'll see you guys later," he said, smiling half-heartedly at Temari.

The door closed behind them, and Shino led him through the house, pointing out the rooms as they went. As soon as he was sure that they wouldn't be overheard, he whirled around, Kunai in hand, and pinned Kankuro against the wall in the hall leading to the bedrooms.

"Now, you listen, you fool. I don't like you," He snarled, pushing the kunai to Kankuro's throat.

"Well there's a coincidence. I'm not too fond of you either," Kankuro hissed back, not daring to move, but still pulling off a demeanour that suggested he was right where he wanted to be.

"Shut up. You do not talk to me, you don't even go near, me when we don't have to be… and most of all, and you do not, "he growled, whipping off his glasses. "-mention this!"

Again, Kankuro was captivated by the sad beauty that those eyes showed. He just managed to keep his cool.

"Why would I want to talk to you? Why would I want to go near you?" He shoved Shino off of him, so that he hit the opposite wall. "I wouldn't mention those eyes of yours anyway… It's not like it's any of my business."

"Then why did you look?"

Kankuro said nothing.

"Whatever," Shino pushed his glasses back onto his nose, resolving that if it got too much, he could just strangle him.

"Here's your room," he said, pushing open a door. Kankuro stepped inside, looking around him in wonder.

The room was brightly lit from the sunlight streaming through the huge windowed doors on the opposite wall. There were a few butterflies that had come in at one point or another that were flitting around the room lazily, and the plain blue bedspread was cheerful enough.

"Wow," Kankuro couldn't help admiring the room, knowing that the full moon would make this room even more amazing. There was a skylight positioned over the bed, but it was open, allowing the insects full access both in and out of the room.

He moved around, taking in the things that were scattered on the shelves. Books about all kinds of insects lined a bookcase, and many childhood toys sat in a box in the corner. He saw a tank that had a few tree branches in it, that housed a few of those chakra-beetle-things that Shino liked.

He walked over to the bed, and sat down, noticing a photograph. It showed an academy graduation, and Kankuro recognised several of the faces in the photograph; there was Naruto Uzumaki, and that Sakura Haruno… and the Uchiha kid…

At the back of the group was one boy that stood out in the fact that he wasn't smiling – or at least, if he was, it wasn't seen behind the high collar of his jacket, and his dark sunglasses hid the rest of his expression from view. Shino.

He looked up from the photograph to see Shino leaning in the doorway, watching him.

"Problem?" The boy's tone was light, but the exhaustion in his voice was now quite evident.

"This is your room."

"Well, I was told to extend 'every courtesy'," Shino yawned. "Anyway, I don't sleep in here very often. I'll be outside if you need me… Get some sleep."

And with that, the insect ninja walked past Kankuro, opened the door, and went outside, disappearing into the trees.

Kankuro stared after him for a moment, before putting the photograph down, and lying down on the bed. It was so comfy…

He fell asleep almost instantly.

Temari was having trouble staying awake long enough to even get to a bed. She had been weaving, almost tripping up several times. She didn't even have the energy to keep her eyes open anymore. Shikamaru noticed this and sighed.

"Naruto," he stopped, just in time to catch Temari's arm as she tripped and almost fell into the gutter. "Take her fan, will you? And carry these as well." He put down the bag that he'd been carrying, and pulled Temari's fan off her shoulders.

Naruto took up the things, slinging the fan carefully over his shoulder as he did so. He watched as Shikamaru, taking great care, moved Temari so that she was behind him, and placed her arms around his neck.

"Jump up."

"What do you think I am, a child?" Temari was indignant at the thought of riding on Shikamaru's back.

"Trust me, I'm not too thrilled about carrying a lump like you," he informed her, a wicked grin upon his face. "You might break my back."

This earnt him a half-asked kick, as she pulled herself up onto his back.

"Only this once," Temari muttered, yawning as she moved herself into a comfortable position. She was drifting in and out of consciousness, and Shikamaru's back was so warm. She didn't even notice that they had stopped until Shikamaru dropped her. Hard.

"Oops. Sorry," He said, the grin going even wider. "We're here."

Temari bit off a string of curse words and insults that she was dying to spit at him, and looked up at what seemed to be her new residence. An apartment building?

"This might sound stupid, but…" she looked over at Sakura, who was digging in her pocket for keys. "If Kankuro and Gaara have to stay with families, why don't I?"

"All of our other Kunoichi are already hosting visitors," Sakura explained, pulling out two sets of keys. "My family was in charge of hosting you, but our space is a little small. So you're in an adjoining apartment." She held out one of the sets; it had three keys on it, as well as a tiny pink crystal dangling off of it. "I hope that's okay."

"No, it's fine…I was confused, that's all." She got up, brushing off her skirt. She took a step forward, reaching for the keys that she would call hers for the next few weeks, and promptly tripped over Shikamaru's outstretched foot.

"You bastard!" she screamed, as the ground rushed toward her face. But Shikamaru calmly reached out an arm, and grabbed hold of her wrist, pulling her back up.

"Welcome to the neighbourhood," he laughed, thoroughly enjoying the kunoichi's discomfort. Hell, he wasn't going to let any woman boss him around… not like his dad.

Temari smirked. Of all the childish pranks he could pull…

"Aww, that's cute, shadow-boy… you want my attention so badly that you'll result to childish tricks?" she straightened herself and petted his head, speaking as though addressing a small child. She turned to the door of her new home, and took the keys from Sakura.

"I'll see you all later, yeah?" she opened the door, and giving them a tired smile. Bed… sleep…

"I'll come and get you when it's time to go," Sakura said, helping her get in. "Naruto, don't forget! Sunset, we all meet at the park!"

"I won't Sakura!" Naruto called as he ran down the road towards his home.

Tenten and Neji were at the tea house, sharing a pot of green tea.

"So… are you and Hinata ready to perform at the festival?" Tenten asked, grinning. She knew that this was a sensitive topic at the moment, as Neji hated being put on show.

But Neji wasn't about to fall for her bait. "As I'll ever be," he answered, smiling as he poured her another cup. "Will you be watching?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss out on that," she teased. "But… Lee is planning on watching as well… he's already making a fan banner…"

"Wh-what?" Neji choked, his cheeks flushing at the thought.

"Haha! Gotcha!" Tenten took a sip of her tea, savouring the look on his face. She loved making him flustered; it was so cute compared to the look of indifference he worked so hard to maintain… she really wished she had a camera.

"Don't even joke about it," Neji scolded, trying to calm himself down. "He would do something like that…"

"I know… I had to sabotage his work before the Chuunin Exams," Tenten said, tracing circles on the table with her finger in an unconcerned way. "They were quite good actually… the rhyming was excellent…"

"I don't even want to think about that." Neji shuddered, and stared outside. They were at a table at the side of the shop, and they could see out into the street. "Hey, looks like the Sand ninja got here earlier than anticipated…"

Shikamaru and Gaara were walking up the street. Tenten called out to them.

"Hey! Come and join us!"

Shikamaru shrugged and led Gaara through the shop and to their table. Neji moved closer to Tenten to make room as the two sat down.

"It's no surprise that you got chosen to come, Gaara…" Tenten said, flagging down the waiter to get another pot of tea and two more cups.

"There are many shinobi in our village with great talents," Gaara said in his monotone voice. "My siblings and I were chosen simply because we are familiar with the terrain."

The three leaf shinobi stared at him for a moment, all unsure of how to respond. The invitations had been sent so that prospective leaders would be sent. Did this kid have no clue?

Gaara felt uncomfortable. Was that the wrong thing to say?

"But… umm… thank you for the compliment," he said to Tenten, making another attempt at a smile. Tenten had to admit, the sheer awkwardness of it made him look a little cute…

Shikamaru sighed. Evidently, Gaara was a complete novice in people-skills. He was going to have to keep a close eye on the kid, to ensure that he didn't do anything stupid. What a drag…

The waiter set down the cups, and poured the liquid into each cup. The four shinobi murmured thanks, and drank, all unsure of how to steer the conversation away from awkward territory.

"Are you excited for the festival?" Neji asked.

"Not really," Shikamaru answered. "I have to run the petting zoo this year. Entertaining little brats isn't my idea of fun. What about you?" he asked Tenten, who had a slightly evil grin playing on her face.

"The girls and I are doing a pantomime on the last night," she answered. "But what I'm really looking forward to is Neji's dance."

"Shut up…" Neji muttered into is drink, as Shikamaru choked on his, cracking up laughing.

"You, the almighty Neji Hyuuga, user of the great Byakugan…" Shikamaru had trouble getting the words out, he was laughing so hard. "… are dancing at the festival?"

"It's not a dance," Neji argued. "Hinata and I are coordinating our tri-grams to song, that's all…"

"In other words," Tenten sang. "A dance..."

"It is not!"

"Man," Shikamaru's laugh had died down to a snigger. "I can't wait to see this. All these people, potential clients I might add, will be seeing Neji Hyuuga in a tutu, dancing on the stage… so cute… I almost… almost… feel sorry for you."

Now Neji was indignant. "Hey, Mr Petting-Zoo," he chided. "At least my job only lasts one night. By morning all the adults will have forgotten my dance, for all the work I've put into it…"

"How do you figure?" Shikamaru crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Neji picked up his near empty cup, and downed the rest of it, making a slight show, slamming it down on the table, and acting as if he were unstable, leant rather heavily on Tenten. Shikamaru's eyebrow went up further.

"They will be too drunk to remember the details of the night before," Neji explained, pouring himself some more tea. "So I'm in the clear."

"You're forgetting one thing, Neji," Tenten giggled, poking his nose. "We won't be drinking."

"And we will remember every detail," Shikamaru said, grinning evilly. "And in several years' time, when our children are performing in the festival, we'll turn to you and say, 'Neji? I remember when you used to wear that tutu'…"

The three dissolved into a light banter, teasing each other about the past, present and future. Gaara watched, observing how close they were and how easy their jokes seemed to come to them. These three were all unrelated, as far as he could tell, anyway, but they had closer ties to each other than he did with his siblings.

"-In the naughty corner!" Tenten cried, before noticing Gaara's presence.

"Oh, sorry, Gaara… We didn't mean to leave you out," she said, feeling guilty about not including him.

"Hmmm?" Shikamaru turned, and mentally swore. So much for a close eye… idiot. "Sorry… "

"No, it's fine," Gaara said, stifling a yawn. "You seemed to be having fun, it was quite different from what I'm used to back in the Sand."

Neji, who had noticed the yawn, motioned for Gaara to finish his cup. "You should probably get some sleep," he said, reaching into his pocket for money. "The welcoming dinner starts soon, and you look half-dead."

"Ah, crap…" Shikamaru groaned. "That means that Ma is going to slit my throat."

He rummaged in his pocket for change and threw it on the table, half-dragging Gaara out of the shop.

They walked through the town, producing many stares as they went. Gaara kept a steady pace, as tired as he looked, and even refused to let Shikamaru carry his gourd.

"I feel better with it on," he explained. "And you didn't need to leave your friends. It's not like I'm going to sleep at your house…"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at this. "Something wrong with my house?"

"No, I'm not saying that there is…" Gaara trailed off as an old couple shuffled past, not even pretending that they weren't gawking at him.

"… I don't sleep," he finally amended. "Ever. Ask my siblings, and they will confirm this."

"Okaaaaay," Shikamaru had a hard time believing this. "Why don't you sleep?"

"You remember that day? In the hospital?" Gaara stopped, and turned to Shikamaru, his eyes blank. "I was… I was about to kill him, and you two stopped me."

Shikamaru did remember. He remembered all too well…

Shikamaru had gone to keep Naruto company after he'd collapsed. The two had gone to Rock Lee's room where they had found Gaara about to kill him. Shikamaru had held him with a shadow possession, and they had questioned him, which had led to Gaara wanting to kill the two of them as well.

"This guy fights like he's mad, like he's a demon or something!" Shikamaru had tried to get Naruto to back down, in order to prevent a fight. Naruto had been adamant.

"He can act like a demon if he wants to, but you know what? I've got the real thing inside of me."

Shikamaru had been confused before remembering that Naruto was the unfortunate host for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Still, he'd been surprised that Naruto had openly admitted to it in front of Gaara.

What had shocked him more was Gaara's response.

"A demon, huh?" he had said, after staring at Naruto for a moment. "My demon is as real as yours is…"

The look in his eyes as he had said that sent chills down Shikamaru's spine, even now… but what had scared him more was the look of terror on Naruto's face that had confirmed Gaara's words; he truly had a demon within him…

"Yeah? I remember… your father cursed you by sealing a demon within you," Shikamaru said, trying to keep the shaking out of his voice. Gaara recognised the tone and turned away.

"If I ever fall asleep, the Shukaku will devour me entire being and take over my body completely," he said, trying not to look at the leaf shinobi who was now radiating fear. "Therefore, I do not sleep."

There was silence for a moment, as Shikamaru calmed himself down... Gaara felt his heart thumping with each passing second... now was the part where Shikamaru would run screaming to the Hokage, begging to change Gaara's housing arrangements... He could already see it...

"… Seriously, dude, your father was a cruel bastard," Shikamaru said, before remembering he was talking about the previous Kazikage. "Umm… I mean…"

But Gaara was laughing quietly, his mouth twisted in a smile.

"No... You're probably… hahaha… right," Gaara covered his mouth with his hand, attempting to control himself. Once he had composed himself, they continued walking, though Gaara still had a small smile upon his face. It was almost undetectable, but the Chuunin had seen it. This was going to be an interesting festival…

I.I:So... did you like it, love it, have ways to improve it? Then review! She'll even take requests into consideration!
Who are you? Where's Kakashi?
I.I: I am shocked and hurt that you don't recognise me...
Uh... It's not like I can see you... You're just letters on a screen...
 It's Iruka...
Oh... sorry, Iruka-Sensei... :)
Anyway... to those who read our weird comments before and after each chapter... thanks.
But I have this feelig that I'm annoying people... so if you don't like it, drop me a PM or a review concerning this, my profile, or anything else... and I'll respond... I will... I have no life. *Cries*
She really doesn't...
But, pretty soon, I'm going to have my first concept pic up on my DEVIANT ART profile... because I've always wanted to do Shino's bedroom... so I want to share my imagination with you :D
It will be her first deviant for the account, so don't judge her...
Yeah! So I'm gonna sign off here... Next commentary will feature the amazing Gai-Sensei!
Oh, dear lord... every second word will be "youth"... O.o
See you next time!

Snow Fairy, xoxo