Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. (sigh)

Shirasu was beginning to feel a bit light headed. Everyone at the table seemed to be talking at once except for the man beside her. She had yet to learn his name and every question she'd managed to ask had gotten her nothing but a yawn and a couple of hm's. She was getting frustrated, and with the frustration came the urge to quell the feeling with alcohol.

"Hey! Get me another earthquake pleeease!" she barely managed the sentence as her mouth refused to form coherent streams of thought. A handsome bartender by the name of Genma brought out the drink and set it on the table.

"You know gorgeous, if you keep this up you're gonna have one hell of a morning tomorrow," he said through a grin that made Shirasu want to slap him and kiss him at the same time.

"Oh shut it, I know what I'm doing," she said with surprising clarity this time. She'd finally decided this was her last drink of the night and that her limit was up. She wanted very badly to learn this strangers name, but not at the risk of puking all over him or dieing of alcohol poisoning.

As she sipped on her fresh cocktail she tried thinking of new ways to ask him his name. Nothing came to mind unfortunately so she went with the blunt approach once again.

"Please tell me your name. It's literally killing me not knowing. It's really not that hard you see? I'm Okita Shirasu, and you are…?" she left it open for him and finally a response was given.

"Nara," he said his low voice lazy and cool, reminding Shirasu of languid clouds floating across a deep blue sky. But she wasn't satisfied with those two syllables. No. There had to be more to it.

"Oh! Come on please! I know you don't have just one name. What's the rest of it?" she placed her hand on his shoulder and shook it lightly causing him to lift an eyebrow. He finally looked over at her with some interest and replied.

"My name's Nara Shikamaru," he said to her face. She was thrown completely by his response and could do nothing but smile stupidly at him for a few moments.

"It's nice to meet you Shika…" she finally managed before gracefully slumping into her chair, completely passed out. Shikamaru smirked and rolled his eyes at the slumbering girl before muttering a low 'troublesome' and proceeding to lift her out of the chair and carry her from the bar.

Shirasu drifted back into consciousness when Shikamaru was already halfway to the college grounds. A heavily muffled scream alerted Shikamaru that his captive was awake.

"Finally," he said with relief, "please say you're ok to walk. You're heavier than I thought you'd be," he stopped and slowly placed her on her feet with his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"I'm fine, where the hell were you taking me?" Shirasu said angrily. She shook his hands off and scowled as he returned them to his pockets.

"Just to Kito's dorm. You looked like you'd had enough," he said trying vainly to hide a small smirk. Shirasu was finding it infuriating and she let him know.

"What the fuck! You practically ignore me for the whole hour we've known each other and then I happen to pass out in front of you so you decide it's ok to just carry me home?" Shirasu was raving by the end, pacing in front of him with her hands flying.

"I like you," he said, his grin slowly turning into a smile at her reaction.

"But you don't even know me! We never spoke! You just told me your name and I don't even remember what it was! FUCK! I bugged you the whole time for that and I can't even remember! Goddammit this sucks," Shirasu was slowly but surely sobering up. The chill air and her anger combined were clearing her mind but she still couldn't think of his name.

Shikamaru was trying to hide his smile again as he watched her pacing in front of him with her hands in her hair. She was muttering to herself in frustration.

"You're so adorable," he said out of nowhere causing Shirasu to stop and blink a few times before facing him again.

"You're kinda starting to creep me out," she said warily while taking half a step away from him. He took a full step towards her closing the gap between them almost completely.

"I like you because you're persistent but not annoying. You're adorable because you're flustered all the time. You seem smart but you're not a showoff and you're cute," Shikamaru sighed at the end like he'd just made a long speech instead of listed off a few words about the now beet red girl in front of him.

Shirasu's eyes lost focus for a moment before she suddenly let out a loud triumphant 'ha!'

"Shikamaru!" she said through a large smile then without warning she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. He kissed her back heatedly but left his hands in his pockets. They were more comfortable there.

"So, what is this now? Are we like boyfriend girlfriend? Are you gonna give me your class ring?" Shirasu said wryly through a brake in their kissing. Shikamaru laughed and shook his head.

"Actually I was thinking we could just keep it casual for now and see where it goes," he said with a smirk. Shirasu mirrored it.

"I like that plan,"

"I thought you might,"

"You know, I kinda like you too, but unlike you I have absolutely no idea why," Shikamaru laughed again but let it drift into silence when he noticed Shirasu began shivering violently.

"You must have a fast metabolism. You're feeling the cold which means you're not feeling the effects of the alcohol anymore. Impressive," he said as he remembered exactly how many drinks she'd ordered out of frustration.

"C-c-can we just g-get ins-s-s-side now?" Shirasu said through her vibrating jaw. The wind had picked up and it carried with it a light icy mist. Shikamaru nodded, placed a warm arm around her shoulder, and walked her back to Kito's dorm.

XXX

"Fuck," Kito whispered to herself. She was so completely frustrated she could barely stand it! She began pacing a line in the grass and after a bit she turned too sharply and nearly slipped. When she righted herself she could see the club in front of her. The lights were winking at her and if she listened, she could hear the low throb of the bass straining against the walls.

An idea struck her almost immediately and at first she refused to go through with it. But she couldn't turn away from the club and without warning she was in the doorway, the hard bass vibrating through her chest and feet. She took a deep breath and concentrated on the beat instead of on what she was doing.

It was later now and the dance floor was more crowded so she had no trouble finding a partner. She didn't even look at his face; she merely began to dance with him in a less than wholesome manner. She let the bass take over her body and mind and simply let herself go.

She was in the middle of the floor dancing between two boys and another girl when she sensed the frustration again. She'd needed to really kiss him so badly and he had pulled away at exactly the wrong time.

The other girl was smiling at her and she could feel the boys around them less than subtly pushing them closer. Without warning, she grabbed the girl's wrist and jerked her forward, crashing their lips together.

It tasted like cotton candy for a moment, but then she was past her lips and she lost the flavor. She vaguely heard the guys around them cheering; she was too busy concentrating on fulfilling the need inside.

Luckily, the other girl was dominant which made it easier to lose control of reality. Pretending isn't so hard when you're half drunk and your adrenaline is racing constant.

When it was over, the girl pecked her on the cheek and left. The gaggle of boys dispersed into the crowd and Kito was left alone again. It had taken the edge off, but she would always know in her heart that kissing anyone but Gaara would never be as satisfying as the real thing.

She meandered back to the bar and ordered a long island iced tea. Four glasses later found her with her head down on the bar using all her willpower to keep the tears in her eyes from falling.

"Kito?" Naruto's voice was muffled like he was underwater. Kito glanced at him between the strands of hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail.

"She's obviously drunk off her ass," said Sasuke. Kito couldn't see him from this angle but his voice cut through her alcohol induced haze causing her to sit up and look for him.

"Shut up Teme, she's fine," Naruto said, his voice a bit clearer now.

"No she's not, didn't you see her kissing that girl earlier? She's so smashed she's forgotten her own gender," Kito could hear the smirk in Sasuke's voice and her eye began twitching.

"Uh, yeah Kito what was that about? I've never seen you kiss a girl before," Naruto said as he fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket.

"Maybe she's decided to be a lesbian. Not like she's had any luck with guys," Sasuke said smugly. Naruto didn't get a chance to chastise him, Kito did it for him. Without a word or any warning whatsoever she threw a surprisingly hard and accurate punch right into Sasuke's jaw.

The black haired boy went flying backwards and fell into a table. Naruto stood next to Kito with his mouth gaping.

"Stop that Naruto, you'll attract flies," Kito said as she tapped his chin to close his mouth.

"Uh, Kito I hate to do this but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave after that," Genma said sadly.

"Right, sorry. Sorry Naruto," she said as she grabbed her jacket off the back of her bar stool. Many people stared at her as she left but she ignored them.

When she got to her dorm she heard voices and laughter from behind the door. She sighed dejectedly and braced herself for whatever she'd see when she opened the door.

She blinked a few times when she saw Shikamaru playing chess with a slightly frustrated but very intent Shirasu. There was a score sheet on Shikamaru's side with their names on two sides. Shirasu's side was bereft of points while Shika's held seven.

"Uh…I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Kito said slowly. She was still a bit drunk and though she understood what Shirasu and Shikamaru were doing, she couldn't wrap her head around a plausible reason as to why they would be here playing chess right now.

"Kito! No you're not interrupting, it's your room, and we were just kind of hanging out. Shika's a beast at chess," Shirasu said cheerily. Shikamaru blushed and sighed.

Shirasu could tell Kito'd had a rough night and that she probably needed to talk about it so she decided it was time for Shikamaru to leave.

"Hey, it really is late and…" Shikamaru cut her off.

"Save it. I know when I'm not wanted," he seemed deflated. Shirasu followed him to the door.

"I wish you could stay really but she looks like she could use some alone time and you have class in the morning and…" he cut her off again.

"I said save it," he said through a smirk. "You really are adorable," he brushed a piece of stray hair out of her face and kissed her forehead before leaving the room altogether. Shirasu blushed and stood there stupidly for a moment before remembering she had a very upset Kito waiting for her.

She closed the door and turned around with her mouth poised to speak when Kito slumped pitifully into the couch and let out a muffled sob into the cushions. The breath rushed out of Shirasu in a whoosh and she went to sit in the chair next to the couch.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Kito said through the couch cushions. Shirasu barely understood her.

"Ok," Shirasu said in a low, calm voice. She knew it was best not to push it. Kito was very delicate when she was upset. The slightest thing could set her off and then she'd rip your arm out of socket.

Kito sat up slowly and ran a hand through her hair to get it out of her face. She was giving Shirasu a quizzical look and combined with her half inebriated status, the face she produced was almost comical. Shirasu used every ounce of willpower she possessed to keep from cracking a smile.

"What was Nara doing here?" Kito said in a sleepy way. She sounded like she'd just been woken up. Shirasu blushed at the question and cleared her throat lightly.

"We were just kinda hanging out; he wanted to see if I was any good at chess. Obviously he obliterated me but he said I held my own better than most people he's played," Shirasu was beaming as she said the last part.

"It seemed a bit serious when he left. You sure there's nothing going on?" Kito was waking up now. Having a reason to use her brain was slowly sobering her up. Of course, Shirasu knew Kito was just changing the subject so she wouldn't have to think about what was bothering her, but Shirasu knew the best course of action to take was to go with it. It was how Kito dealt with things.

"Well, we're kind of casually dating. It's nothing serious or binding just kind of a 'friends with benefits' type deal. I do like him a lot though and who knows? Maybe it'll progress as we get closer. He's very smart and sweet and lazy as hell!" Shirasu sighed dreamily, "I think he's almost perfect for me," she finished, still gazing at the ceiling like it was blue and full of clouds.

Kito was smiling pleasantly as she watched her friend daydream. She was glad Nara wasn't very serious about Shirasu; otherwise there was a good chance he would get hurt. It wasn't that Shirasu was a player or had a vindictive or sadistic personality; she was just fickle and indecisive. She went through boys like gum. But she wasn't shallow either, and every breakup left her heartbroken as well. It broke her heart that she could never find a way to love them the way they always ended up loving her.

Kito had many theories about all this but she'd never shared them with Shirasu. She had to find out about herself by herself.

"It sure is late; don't you have class in the morning?" Shirasu said after taking a glance at the microwave clock.

"Yeah, but I'll be ok. I'm used to not sleeping," Kito said as she stifled a yawn. Shirasu shrugged and took her shoes off.

"I am crashing here right? Or would you rather I ask around and see if…" Kito stopped her with a raised hand.

"You stay here. You can have the couch and maybe you can start coming to some of my classes with me. It wouldn't hurt," Kito said as she took her hair down and threw her shoes into a corner by the door. Shirasu smiled and nodded.

"I'd like that. Maybe I can start thinking about what I wanna study and just follow other people to those classes," Shirasu was looking at the ceiling as she spoke. Kito smiled again at the dreamy look in her eyes. She was grateful that the hardships of Shirasu's life had not affected her innocent personality.

"Tsunade probably wouldn't mind that. She's pretty lenient most time if she likes you," Kito said with a knowing grin. Shirasu shrugged and slipped her pants and t-shirt off leaving her in a gray cotton bra and panties. Kito threw a blanket and pillow at her and turned the living room light off.

"Goodnight then," Shirasu said after untangling herself from the blanket. Kito giggled a bit from her bedroom.

"Night Okita," she said as she turned all the lights off. Shirasu made a mess of the blanket and sprawled herself out on the couch. Minutes later, both girls were sound asleep.

Thanks for reading. I'm really curious about your thoughts on this story so if any of you would like to leave a review that would be fantastic.