A glow party, she thought with a sly smile, is just what I should be doing on the weekends.
Haruno Sakura was in a blackened warehouse, the darkness pierced by splatters of neon paint. She could feel the air in the room throbbing as she danced, Itachi's hands resting lightly on hips. Leaning up against him, she thought she could see desire lighting his onyx eyes. She had dipped her hair in glowing pink paint, and she could feel his red handprints on her waist.
"DO YOU LIKE THE PARTY?" Tayuya had to scream to be heard over the song, and even then her voice was faint. Sakura grinned at her redheaded friend, nodding and accepting a drink. "I LOVE IT!" Tayuya waded through her party guests, holding empty glasses over her head.
Sakura envied Tayuya on some level; her rich parents had died just three years ago, leaving her their company. She had sold most of the company to employees and kept old beachfront warehouses for parties. The Sound Four were hosting tonight's party, with Jirobo as a DJ and Kidomaru as a bouncer. Sakon and Ukon had opted for the quieter section, where they talked to Sasori about a weapons exchange. Halfway through the party, Sakura thought she recognized Kabuto and a dark redhead, although she was too intoxicated to care. Even Suigetsu came over and said hello, though he was rather put out that Kabuto was taking over his date. He introduced his friend, Juugo, who went to smoke something with Kisame and Deidara.
Konan and Pein had been gone for nearly a half an hour, and Sakura suspected that a few more hours of partying would go unnoticed. She turned around, putting her arms around Itachi's neck and breathing in his deep scent. It was thick and hazy, like the cigarettes he smoked. She loved how he tasted.
"Mm... Itachi," she said, drawing a line around his ear with green paint. He caught her hand and brushed it across his own red streaked hair. She knew that look. It's time to find a private corner, and quick. She really appreciated that Itachi needed her in the same way she needed him. She knew next to nothing about him, or he her, except that they both felt alone.
We've got each other, she thought. Well, at least for now.
"You useless brat! Why can't you ever get anything right?" Hyuuga Hiashi knocked his eldest daughter over and screamed at her. "I wish you were more like Hanabi, since she at least listens to me. You're both trash, and your mother would have been ashamed of you!" He picked her up by the shoulders and shook her. "I should have killed you the moment you were born, you worthless piece of slime!" Hiashi threw her to the side, where she lay, stunned.
Hinata waited until she was sure her father had gone, and curled up in pain. What did I do wrong? she thought, I'm not trying to fail! I wish that I had died, so no one would ever know how much of a failure I am at everything. Why do people like me, when there's so much wrong with me? Why do I make everything worse? Her long indigo hair was matted and she felt her head aching dully.
It wasn't long before Hanabi came in, carrying a towel and some ice. She straightened a skewed picture frame as she passed, and set the towel down next to her older sister. The ice went into Hinata's hands and Hanabi started to leave.
"Hanabi..." the heiress whispered, trying not to cough. She could taste blood running from the corner of her mouth and could feel one of her ribs spiking with pain.
The younger girl didn't turn, but she paused in the doorway. "I'm sorry."
Hinata just smiled. "Thank you."
"Jesus. She's in the hospital?" Yamanaka Ino sat on a swing at the park, talking to Nara Shikamaru. He was calling from the military base just outside of Suna where his squadron was positioned.
The blonde girl answered his question with an affirmative. "Neji brought her in yesterday, when I was setting out fresh flowers. I know it was Hiashi again, but she's still saying she fell down the stairs." On the opposite end of the line, Shika sighed. "She'll stand up to him eventually. Any news about Sakura?"
Ino's feet dragged in the dirt, slowing her to a stop. "She's in Iwa. Apparently she has no plans of coming back, and she's staying with Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. He's–" Shika cut her off. "–Akatsuki. I know. Extremely troublesome."
They sat there neither speaking for a moment. "Shika," she blurted out after a moment, "We miss you–" He cut her off again. "I know. I miss you guys too. I sent you guys some mail, so it should be there tomorrow. Temari sent something too; she said it was a special recipe, or something."
Ino leapt off the swing, pumping a fist into the air in victory. "Yes! It's the recipe for the cake at Sakura's party! Booyah!" Ino's enthusiasm subsided and she sucked in a deep breath. "So you'll visit us before school starts?" He sighed again at the other end and conceded. "It'll be the last visit for a while. Our squadron is being deployed. We'll be traveling pretty far away for probably the next year or so."
The blonde girl sat again with a thud. "A year? Will you write to us?" The boy on the other end deliberated. "I'll write when I can," he said. How troublesome. I'm missing them more than I thought I would. "At least once a month, okay?"
Ino nodded, and told him goodbye. When the line went dead, Ino put her face in her hands and concentrated on not having a nervous breakdown.
Everyone's leaving, she thought, Are we gonna stay close? I've been Sakura's best friend for more than ten years and she hasn't said a word to me since she went to Iwa. Is it breaking us apart?
Naruto sat in Ichiraku Ramen with Neji and Chouji, his face angry. He hadn't touched his ramen for once, and the Hyuuga took this to mean that Uzumaki had finally snapped. Someone pushed the wrong button, Neji thought as he sipped his iced tea.
"I'm gonna kill that bastard," the irritable blonde said quietly. "He put her in the fucking hospital. Tell me how to get into the Hyuuga compound and the entire Jinchuuriki will take him out, believe it!" His fists were shaking with anger beneath the table, and other customers were looking at him worriedly.
"Calm down, Naruto." Sasuke had walked into the shop and immediately focused on the aura of hatred emanating from his friend. "You'll just get hurt, and she'll know it was you." Chouji glanced up, nodded in agreement and went back to demolishing his grilled pork plate.
Naruto's darkened expression didn't lift, but he shifted over so that the Uchiha could sit next to him. "She's getting out of KonoHos tomorrow, Tsunade said, and we're not allowed to visit her. Kakashi said he'll forcibly remove us from the premises if he catches us around there. I swear, ever since he quit being a firefighter, he's gotten antsy. Now he's almost finished with his police training, so he probably won't be our teacher much longer." Sasuke sighed and put his head in his hands. "Can you picture it? Hatake with a gun in one hand and Icha Icha Paradise in the other?" He shook his head.
Neji leaned back in his seat as the waitress came and took Sasuke's order of fresh grilled tomatoes. For a few minutes, there was silence at the table, as they considered this.
Then, Chouji finished his food and wiped his face, smiling in contentment. "I heard that Asuma is going to propose to Kurenai. After Sarutobi died she was there for him," the Akimichi boy explained to his astonished companions, "And everyone knows the kid's his. He figures that his child should grow up with a father. Plus it means that Konohamaru gets a cousin."
At last, Naruto seemed to have come out of his depression. "Konohamaru's a good kid," he said slowly, "And I hear he's got a thing for Hyuuga Hanabi. Weird kid, huh? Hanabi's like an ice queen." They laughed, all knowing the younger Hyuuga was stiffer than Ebisu on a bad day.
When Lee walked in with Kiba, who was arm in arm with Tenten, Neji dropped his cup and it shattered, spraying everyone with chilled green tea and bits of glass. "Aw, great Neji," Naruto grumbled, carefully picking himself up. "This was my last clean shirt." The Hyuuga boy was bright red with embarrassment as they all helped to mop up the mess.
"It's alright!" Exclaimed Lee as they threw away the last of the trash. "Neji was just overcome with happiness at the sight of his beautiful teammate, Tenten! They are a great team when they play tennis, are they not?" Sasuke and Naruto were shaking their heads, trying not to laugh as Neji and Tenten blushed crimson.
When Kiba sat down, it turned out that the booth was too small. "Tenten can sit in my lap," he offered, to which Neji expressed a firm "No." He got up and dragged a chair over, ignoring the wry looks from his friends.
Shino liked maintaining his personal space. Perhaps that was why he was so uncomfortable with Inuzuka Kiba's sister in his room, using his computer. Kiba's older sister was wearing jean shorts, sandals, a green vest and a brown t–shirt with a dog print on it. She seemed oblivious to his quiet coughs, her scarlet fingernails tapping a rhythm on his wireless keyboard.
"Can I do something for you?" He asked at last, still puzzled as to why Hana was there. She looked up at him, the red tattoos on her face seeming as feral as her canine grin. "Not a thing, Aburame. By the way, thanks for being so cool about this. If I don't turn this in to my professor today, I'll flunk the class, and you're the only person I knew around here." She glanced up at him again. "You know, it might be easier for you to see if you took off the glasses once in a while. Who wears sunglasses in their own house?"
She typed in the print command and Shino's brand new LaserJet printer started up. Hana walked around his room, stopping in front of Shino's favorite poster. "You listen to Karsh Kale?" she asked in disbelief, propping one hand on her hip. Shino sighed. "Yes, I do listen to Karsh Kale. Why do you ask?"
Hana turned towards him smirking. "Because it's one of my favorite bands." She grabbed the paper from the printer and flashed him a grin before vaulting out of his window, the same way she'd come.
He reached the window in time to see her land on all fours and stuff the paper in her backpack, hopping onto her motorcycle.
Well jeeze, Shino thought as the engine roared to life, I wonder how she even knows where I live.