DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the of the Naruto characters or franchise only the girls involved in the series of events that follow.

A/N: Okay, bear with me, this chapter is gonna be looong but for good reasons. Trust me when I say it was a drag for me too (LOL... hehe, ahem. Okay then...) since it's two parts. Anyway, here's another chapter that I hope you enjoy!

Thalia- The Way Things Work (Part I)

I've never been in a hospital because of injuries, so being checked out was a foreign process. And then there's the fact that this specific hospital shouldn't even exist. That's just too weird.

Sakura honestly didn't take any time at all to get me some clothes. If it were me, I'd say she just got them from a nearby closet or room and locked Naruto in that same exact room because he wasn't with her when she came back. She was all smiles too. She's really nice. Exactly like how I thought she'd be. Very best friend worthy. All of the clothes were around the same size as I am so I found that really creepy.

To this moment in fact, outside of the Konoha hospital entrance. Fiddling with the hem of my black skirt and staring constantly at the white bandages covering an aray of my body; from the end of my mid thigh black tights to my ankles, the end of both of the sleeves of my dark green collared shirt, and last but not least, all of my right arm, tips of fingers to the end of my shirt sleeve. By the time I was done changing into "normal" clothing and out of my "strange" ones, I had to ask Sakura for help with the bandages. She stated that they've become the newest sensation in the Leaf Village and that if I were to fit in, I'd need to be wearing something in style. Wrapping the bandages themselves was harder than anything else I've ever done clothing-wise. It's bad enough Sakura doesn't wear any, and me never having had such an injury to require them makes it even harder. In the end, we finally got the hang of it but were left with a single strip for anything we wanted to set our minds to. So I decided to tie it around my waist for the time being.

My clothes were taken by Shizune, who inspected them within the margin of two seconds before folding them, swinging my purse over her shoulder, and taking everything that I consider mine with her. I just hope she didn't burn anything. All of my personal items are in that purse. Although most things won't be useful like my phone, just knowing that they're still in safe hands would let me sleep at night.

Sakura taps her foot loudly which somehow puts me at ease. It actually stops me from having my thoughts wander into unwanted territory which is what I've been trying to steer it away from for the past hour.

"Where is Naruto?" she sighs, exasperated. "I swear, Lady Tsunade must have not had that much sleep to assign him to watch over you."

I've always wondered…

"Do you hate him?"

That really seems to catch her off guard. She whips her head at me and gives me the most bewildered face. "What? No!" She shakes her head almost as quickly as it took her to respond. "It's not that I hate him. It's just that I find him really annoying sometimes, that's all."

Man, she's really blunt. I would've felt stabbed in the back if I were Naruto.

"But don't worry," she says sweetly. "Naruto has a good heart. I'm positive he'll do anything to get you and your friends back together and in your village safe and sound."

A surge of happiness swells within me and fills me up like a balloon. To have Sakura have such faith in me, Marisela, Michelle, and Kiran to being by each other's side once again is certainly what I'd need to get me through this. Then, as if being lightly prodded by a needle, my balloon starts to deflate slowly but steadily. We're not together. We're all in a different place and I have no idea what they're doing, how they're feeling, or if I'll ever get to see them again. Even my family. Tsunade said that she'll try her best to get us all together. But what if her best isn't enough? Ninja aren't perfect. They could mess up and their mission would just go under the Unsuccessful Pile in Tsunade's office. What if they make a grave mistake? What if one of us ends up getting hurt? What if us being here alters the story line? What if we make it so that Naruto and everyone else make a grave mistake that costs them the success of living the life that they are meant to? What if-

"Hey, guys!"

Some twenty feet away is Naruto running up to us, a headband raised victoriously in the air. Is that supposed to be for me?

"It's about time Naruto. Lady Tsunade had you get the headband before I got Thalia her clothes."

Naruto scrunches up his face as if he were offended. "Well sorry if Grandma Tsunade was caught up with other Hokage stuff to do before giving me this."

Wait a minute, Naruto and Sakura are arguing in front of me right now. Why did my phone have to die when I got here of all places? This is the perfect thing to record for later when I forget what it's like experiencing it first-hand.

"Just forget it, Naruto. At least now with the headband she won't be suspected by other shinobi."

"Yeah, no kidding. Tsunade would kill me if I lost this thing."

Naruto extends his hand to me, the headband, in all of it's glory, winks at me with a pure shine reflecting on it. My heart beats faster and faster the more I think of it. This is a real Leaf Ninja headband that I'm going to wear. In the real Konoha Village. With the real Naruto and Sakura at my side.

"Go on," prompts Naruto. "Take it while it's still hot." He bares his toothy grin at me. The longer I stare, the more I compare his face to that of the one I tended to see behind my computer screen and realize how not much of a difference there is between them.

I imagine a chorus singing Hallelujah in the background while God shines his righteous light over the headband to commemorate this grand moment that could easily overtake any other pitiful memory or future celebration by a landslide, hands down. The choir sings loudly and exuberantly the closer my fingertips get to grazing the precious metal with the Leaf symbol engraved into it. God's light, as if sensing the spectacular action that would take hold, blasts his might into it, illuminating not only the headband, but me, Sakura, and Naruto as well. So close. So deliciously close is the taste of victory! My fingertips can practically scream in delight as they touch-

Swoop.

What. Just. Happened.

I stare absently at Naruto's now empty hand. The headband -was it?- but I don't -this is- What?!

I look up to the sky where a small figure soars up high, something dangling in its grasp. I force my eyes to concentrate. My headband! But that thing-it's a bird. A bird just stole my headband! I swear, I'm going to shoot that bird down, pluck it with a razor, steam it, and stuff it with all of the things I can find in my fridge down it's scrawny throat before I smother it with gravy and call it dinner.

"Hey! Get back here!" Naruto marks a clear trail with his footprints as he races to catch up with the bird. "That's really important you thief!"

Sakura sprints after him, calling out his name in what's a mix of disappointment and rage yet somewhat not fazed by the unexpectedness of what happened.

I chase after them out of pure instincts. I have no idea of what's going on, but by the looks of things and how Naruto episodes usually turn out, this might end with my pulling a muscle at how hard I'll be laughing, or pulling a muscle because of physical pain. Naruto leads our small conga line past many houses. Not even thirty seconds later, my legs are starting to scream for me to stop. My lungs soon join in in their chant, pleading, "Walk now or we'll force you to collapse."

Then they start to do what I never expected them to do despite them being ninja. Naruto jumps high, landing on the roof of a building. Sakura does the same, no sign of a strain and cruises along with Naruto from rooftop to rooftop while I gawk at them and catch flies. I somehow snap out of my trance and (very sadly) continue on, arching my neck ever so slightly to glance at them.

All around me, the people of Konoha go by their day as if it were any other. How ironic, isn't it, me? That these people have a clue as to what's typically supposed to happen every day. They know how things work while you're barely able to keep up one step at a time. At least I'm not attracting any unwanted attention. Running around, chasing two ninja who are trying to catch a bird probably doesn't top most things on their unnatural charts. I dart my eyes every few seconds to watch out for any ninja that might find me suspicious. But there's no noticeable ninja in sight. Thank God.

My legs scream out in pain once again and I'm caught between stopping for my dear life or pushing through the pain to try and still maintain Sakura in my sight. Luckily, Naruto leaps down from the roofs to the Konoha library before I can make a decision. Sakura joins him as I practically stumble to a halt, my legs starting to cramp up and my lungs contracting and expanding for those oh-so-precious gulps of air. Naruto uses his right hand to block out the sun as he inspects the bare, blue sky. I look up as well. No trace of the bird anywhere.

Great. Now what? Wait, can't we just get another one? I mean, they have to have a whole storage full of headbands or something right? They can't just have a limited amount with more than three dozen kids training to be ninja at the academy. Plus, isn't it a thing to lose your headband at one point? Because I'm sure I would… at least three times.

"Excuse me." My small voice somehow reaches them. They look at me as if I were a fish talking, but hey I'll take that any day as compared to me never getting recognized when I try and scream at them through my computer. "Can't I just get another headband? It'd be easier than trying to chase a bird."

"Are you crazy!" Naruto shouts, his pupils shrinking to the size of grains. "Grandma Tsunade had to pull a lot of strings to get that headband without raising any suspicion. She'd have my head on a stick if she knew I lost it. Especially to a bird!" Naruto furiously grasps onto his blonde hair as he quivers in fright.

Sakura ignores Naruto and instead appears to be quite calm as she explains a different story. "I don't know about your village, but here in the Hidden Leaf, we treasure our headbands. They're our way of respect and dignity. Without it, we won't be recognized as honorable ninja who go by their nindo, their ninja way."

Wow, I never really thought about it that way. Then I guess we're going to have to go on a hunt. But there's still me not being physically fit. This somewhat crushes me. Here I am in the real Naruto world but I'm not even capable enough to keep a steady running pace with them.

There's no point in keeping this away from them though. They should know right? It would be the best thing for me to do.

"Uh, guys."

Naruto puts his whimpering and fear on hold and turns serious. "Yeah, what is it Thalia?"

That's the first time he's said my name. Wait, I never told him did I? Sakura must have told him at some point. Nevermind that. Gotta get back on track!

"I just want to say that I'm not as fit as you are. Just running here was about all my body could take."

They don't seem to falter. In fact, it's like they receive this kind of information on a regular basis. They nod at each other with small smiles on their faces. Out of nowhere, Naruto calls out his shadow clone jutsu and another Naruto pops out of thin air.

"Don't worry about that," says Naruto with his typical grin. "I'll just carry you on my back."

"But why did you use your shadow clone jutsu?" I ask.

His smile just spreads and he looks at me as if the answer is obvious. "In case I spot the bird and want to catch it quickly. That way I don't have to drop you on the ground and leave you by yourself while Sakura and I go after the thing and get your headband back."

Sakura plants her hands on her hips as she looks at Naruto exasperatedly. "Don't get ahead of yourself Naruto. Sai was assigned to watch over Thalia too, remember?"

Naruto's reaction changes to that of a person watching a bowl of woodchips. "Oh yeah. Sai. Where is he anyway?"

"Probably somewhere drawing if Tsunade still hasn't called for him yet," the other Naruto says.

The original Naruto crosses his arms and smiles to himself. "I say we leave him. We'll probably find that little sucker before he gets called into Tsunade's office."

"I beg to differ Naruto."

We all arch our necks to meet the owner of the voice. An extremely pale, yet dark person walks up behind Naruto who jumps slightly at the surprise. I'm guessing that this guy is Sai. He has black hair and equally black clothing that is in a way questionable. I mean, it's the first time I have ever seen a guy wear a crop top -crop jacket -crop sweater -longsleeve?-thing. One thing is for certain though. This guy is extremely attractive. Although I know I saw him yesterday when Kakashi and Gaara came and got Marisela and I, I can't help but believe that this is the first time I've ever seen him. I think I've heard of him from Kiran, Marisela, and Michelle but I've never really seen his face mainly because I'm still on Part One of Naruto. From the looks of it, this is one of those serious characters. I knew there had to be one besides Shikamaru!

"Sai!" both Narutos scream.

Sakura is equally surprised. "When did you get here?"

Sai responds quickly and diligently. "I was on my way to find you and Naruto after Tsunade told me that we were supposed to guard the girl we sheltered yesterday when I saw you running in this direction."

Sai's black eyes peer into me. I can feel my heart drop a thousand feet below the ground because of how intensely he's staring at me. I can see it. He's trying to figure out something about me. I have nothing much to hide but why am I getting so unbelievably scared?

"So you're out of the hospital then?"

I can only nod at him. Something besides this guy's presence(and outfit) is really starting to give me some serious goosebumps. Could it be that I'm supposed to know something important about him? Is it his ninjutsu? But what about his whole purpose for being here? I think I remember something about that. Or is it just his whole character in general? Why can't I pinpoint this information when I most need it? Damn you memory span!

One of the Narutos steps in with his back to me and a big smile. "Alright, enough chit chat. We have a headband to get back." He jerks his thumb to his back. "What are you waiting for? Get on."

Well this is awkward. I've never really rode on anyone's back. Is it okay to feel a bit nervous and to be blushing now of all times? My body must really hate me.

"No need Naruto. I can take care of our transportation." Sai whips out a scroll from his back pocket and furiously scribbles onto it. Then out of the blue, a giant bird is released from the page. So his art literally came off the page.

"That's incredible!"

The four of them all turn to stare at me.

I just blurted that out didn't I? Ugh, could I be any more embarrassing? But I can't help it. I'm an artist myself. At least I consider myself one. I've been doing so for about eight years and I love it. I constantly find new ways to better my art whether it's shading, outlining, and coloring. I always strive to make myself better than I was the last time I made something.

Sai remains unchanged but Naruto deems a smug look on his face.

"As amazing as it is, we really need to get going." Sakura demands. "Who knows where Thalia's headband could be by now."

To express his dissatisfaction with Sakura's compliment, Naruto comments, "It's not that amazing." However, in an instant, Naruto's clone disappears, leaving a cloud of smoke behind. "Right." He then goes ahead and climbs aboard Sai's creation. "Let's go and get that weasel with wings!"

How does he have so much energy?

A small chuckle escapes my lips. I could really get used to this. Sai could get some getting used to, but I'm pretty sure he isn't a bad person. He's a friend of Naruto's for a reason so he can't be all bad.

We all get on the giant bird with Sai at the front. He looks back at Naruto and asks for directions. Naruto points out in a direction perpendicular to the Naruto Mount Rushmore (as Kiran likes to call it). In no time, the bird takes off and we're in the sky. The more Konoha gets smaller, the more my face goes pale. We're going really high!

"Hey Thalia, are you okay?" I hear Sakura ask.

"Y-Yeah. T-Totally fine S-Sakura."

I think it might have been more convincing if my eyes were open.

"Don't worry. It'll be over before you know it."

I'm holding you against that!

"Quick. There Sai!" Naruto yells.

I force my eyes to open. Out in the distance, soaring delicately over the city is a small thin line. Judging by what Naruto said, I think that's the bird. Man, Sai's bird must be going really fast to catch up to it so quickly.

The thin line suddenly dips. And guess what? So do we.

The first thing that comes up is my internal organs. Next is a very, very loud scream that conjures Naruto to scream right after. Only what he says is, "My ears!" to which I reply, "I'm sorry!" and is followed by, "Will you stop screaming?" and lastly by "I'm sorry!" The cycle continues until Sai's bird returns to flying in less of a vertical line. By then, my voice had gone coarse and Naruto partially deaf.

Still in the sky, the bird we're chasing becomes clearer. It's pretty big but not as big as ours. It resembles an eagle, a brown one. My headband is being strangled by its talons. I sure hope the thing hasn't torn it in any way shape or form for its sake. The bird caws and swoops down to as if saying, "Whatcha gonna do now?"

Of course, we go in after it, plunging deep into the city, barely scraping the top of the tallest buildings. Bystanders on roofs yell at us to be careful and even try throwing things at us. After we glided through a woman's laundry sheets, she had the decency of chucking a metal pan at us. Why she had it with her, I have no clue, but Naruto might want to know because he wasn't quick enough to dodge the missile. He screams back at the lady who isn't even visible anymore, raising a fist high in the air explaining that it's all the "damn rat's fault" that we blew a few of her sheets away. I don't even know what's more ridiculous, the fact that we're chasing a bird on another bird, or Naruto getting slapped in the face by a metal pan because of it.

The bird doesn't stop there. It knows we're relentless. It's wings rotate left and heads straight down to ground level where numerous civilians are about to have their day ruined. Please don't tell me we're actually-

"Hold on tight." warns Sai.

God that I don't believe in, lend me your strength!

I scream again. Sai takes no time to go after it, hurdling past the villagers that only wanted to get by their day alive. Up, down, left, up, right, right, left, up, left, down. Sai steers clear of all people in our way all while in hot pursuit of the death of me (let's be real, calling it a bird just won't cut it anymore because at the pace we're going, this bird could literally be the death of me). I hold on for dear life as a couple gets closer and closer to us. Just in time, however, Sai pulls up and out of their way. He tries to get our bird to remain close to the ground but is unable to pilot it back after the stunt he pulled to save some serious injuries for that couple, although not so much for some therapy.

Once again maneuvering above the city, Sai clicks his tongue. "I lost it. Can any of you spot it?"

Naruto shakes his head. "Nope. I lost sight of it when you pulled the reigns like that. By now, it could be anywhere so…" He puts his hands together in his clone jutsu position. "Shadow clone-"

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura warns. "Did you happen to forget who was waving the headband all over the air in the first place? Naruto, I think it's time we ask for help."

Naruto gives Sakura a disheartened glare. "Don't say that! We still haven't tried all the tricks up my sleeve."

That only infuriates Sakura even more. "What do you mean 'all of the tricks up my sleeve'? I bet you'll only use you shadow clones to wreak havoc all across the Hidden Leaf like usual."

To that, Naruto says nothing.

Sai is the one who replies. "What do you propose we do then Sakura?"

"I say we ask Kiba and Neji for help. Kiba would be able to track the bird down and Neji would help us out in pinpointing its exact location."

Did I hear that right? Or was that just my ears playing tricks on me? Kiba and Neji. Kiba. And. Neji. Isn't Kiba the dog guy and Neji Hinata's cousin? Oh man, my stomach is already getting quisy. Kiba is my current Naruto crush (because I know I'm going to go back and forth) and Neji is my runner up. There's also the fact that Neji is related to Hinata and Hinata's like the cutest character ever! She's got it all, the love interest being the main character, being the first born in a high class family, her super strong jutsu, and best of all her shyness. Her. Shyness. If I were to marry someone it would have to be Neji because I would get to have Hinata as a cousin-in-law. Sadly, Kiba is my favorite so until I find out that someone marries Kiba in the future, I will devote my fangirling to him and Akamaru. And only fangirling so don't get carried away hormones!

Nonetheless, I can't say this to Sakura and Sai and so we set forth to look for the two guys. Insert ultimate fangirl squealing here.

Upon two minutes into our small journey, I'm struck with shock. There, in the cold recesses of my mind, I collect the small fragment of important plot lines I thought I could draw away for the entirety of my time here. But no. I just had to remember that Neji dies.

My eyes get watery and my heart sinks. I don't want to do this anymore. If I end up meeting Neji, I could -no am- going to end up liking him more than I already do and then become devastated more than I had when I first found out (from Kiran). This is just utterly cruel World. Wait, scratch that. Kiran. This is just utterly cruel Kiran! Just because I spoiled Sakura and Sasuke getting married and having a kid you had to spoil Neji dying to me. And now, I have to meet with that character before he is even close to dying. It's like only spending one day with a best friend that's moving so far away you can't have the slightest connection but knowing that they move in five months.

As we continue our search, Naruto keeps a lookout for the "rat with wings". He pouts, holding a hand over his eyes to either enhance his vision or block the sun from them. Whatever the reason, it helps me from breaking down about Neji.

We reach the outer border of Konoha where I suspect the training grounds are. A sudden flash of Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke struggling to take the bells from Kakashi comes to mind. With it, a sad smile. To them, Sasuke being back in Konoha is a dream, maybe to some just an impossible mission, but to me, it's a not-so-distant reality. I just can't wait for that time.

Then...

"Hey Kiba, Akamaru!"

My ears are blasted by Naruto, even with him sitting in front of me. I gather the urge to yell back at when I remember that I did the same to him not so long ago, only directly into his ears.

Hundreds of feet below us, Kiba and Akamaru look up to the sky, putting aside any training they might have been doing. Akamaru barks loudly, probably in joy. Then again, I don't speak dog like Kiba does so who am I to tell?

We descend slowly as compared to when we first took off and get ever closer to my senpai. My heart begins to loudly thud against my eardrums pounding the mantra Clo-ser, Clo-ser, Clo-ser with every beat only reddening my cheeks so much I could out beat a tomato.

No. Don't do this to yourself Thalia. He's fictional and it can't be right for you to have fantasies of being together. It would be so wrong on so many different levels. First off, he doesn't exist in your world. Second, if you do find a way to make it work, which it won't, you being here can mess up the entire storyline and one bad thing can lead to something worse. You could end up killing everyone just because you couldn't contain yourself from overloading on the possibility of the dozens of fanfics you wrote about him.

However, Kiba wearing something I'm not used to seeing is also not helping. I mean, come on Kishimoto, you're not being fair. Leather jacket, tousled hair that's actually visible, and wearing his entire outfit in dark colors is not doing my ovaries any good. That's it. Dig my grave. I will die happy seeing Kiba in flesh and blood and that's all I'm getting.

Sai's giant bird lands softly given that it was originally made out of paper, but also very, very close to Kiba and Akamaru. Immediately, I recede my face in the collar of my shirt as a way to conceal and force away my blush. It doesn't work. It just doesn't. Thank you body for hating me today!

Behind me, I feel an emptiness that is supposed to Sakura. Soon after, I hear the sound of feet to grass which is soon followed by the fleeting of Sai and Naruto. With no other choice, I climb down from Sai's bird and shuffle to join the trio.

"Funny seeing you guys here. What is it? Tsunade needs Team Kurenai to go on another mission?" Akamaru barks with what I'm sure is contempt.

"Uh, no," Sakura starts off. "It's more of a personal request."

From behind Sakura's shoulder, I see that Kiba's face turn serious. I realize that it was a bad decision to show my face at all because his eyes meet with mine. A chill makes its way down my spine as my face brightens even more, which shouldn't even be possible. Just breathe and remember why you can't let your inner fangirl take over. Remember!

Akamaru releases a loud bark.

"Who's that?" asks Kiba as if translating.

Both Naruto and Sakura make room for all of me to be visible. In my head, all I can think is Get back in position!

"This is Thalia," Naruto says gleefully. "She's a new shinobi here."

Kiba crosses his arms. "And is she the reason you're asking me and Akamaru a favor?"

Rude!

Sakura nods while Naruto scratches the back of his head, smiling, and Sai remains passive.

"We need you and Akamaru to track down a bird with a headband," Sakura explains.

Kiba sighs and Akamaru whimpers. "Let me guess, Naruto lost her headband somehow. To a bird. Should I bother asking how this happened?"

Naruto goes ahead and exclaims, "It's none of your business how it happened. Are you going to do it or not?" most likely because he's either too ashamed to tell Kiba the truth or to provoke Kiba from tormenting him afterward.

But that should've been the last thing said because Kiba grows an evil smile. To prove me right, Kiba states, "Alright. But, you're going to have to do something in exchange Naruto."

Naruto's mouth drops. "Wha-"

"He'll do it," Sakura interrupts.

Naruto turns to Sakura, eyes pleading. "But Sakura-"

A balled fists makes contact with the top of Naruto's head before he could finish his sentence. He pummels the ground in an instant.

"You're doing the favor Naruto and 'no' is not an option right now," says Sakura angrily as she furrows her eyebrows down at Naruto.

Naruto only muffles a response either because his head was hit that hard or his mouth is harboring that much dirt from the ground.

"Then it's settled," Kiba finalizes with a smirk. Akamaru barks in agreement(?). "Now do you have a scent we can track?"

Sakura casts an eye over to Naruto who is barely getting up from kissing the dirt. "It'll have to be Naruto since he was the only person that touched it."

A look of disgust takes over Kiba and Akamaru's faces. "He can't be the only thing the headband touched. Do you at least have a feather?"

"Uh, no." Sakura does all she can to evade Kiba and Akamaru's glares. It doesn't have to take my best to do the same thing. I've been battling between keeping my eyes up to the sky or down to the ground ever since Kiba first started talking.

There's a loud moan and whimper followed by, "This only doubles my offer."

"Wha-"

Like before, Sakura interrupts Naruto. "He'll do it."

Naruto pouts as he brushes the dirt off of his jacket and face. "Fine, just get it over with!"

"If anyone should be saying that, it should be me and Akamaru!" Kiba blurts and Akamaru growls.

The two, excluding Akamaru, butt heads for a while until Sai clears his throat.

"We don't have a lot of time. So if you hurry up you could collect your debt faster."

"Alright, I hear you," Kiba recites with a roll of his eyes.

Naruto huffs and holds out his arm to Kiba and Akamaru.

I didn't let this sink in before, but Akamaru is huge. On all fours, he towers up to just below my shoulders. And it doesn't help that I'm pretty short. He could trample, outrun, and eat me if he really wanted to. Then again, he has that giant teddy bear vibe to him. More like a polar bear, but still cuddly. Great, now I want to tackle Akamaru with a giant bear hug and never let go. I bet his fur must be soft too.

Kiba and Akamaru inch their noses closer to Naruto's arm, concentration taking over their resentment for the situation. They take a few whiffs and show no sign of displeasure. They straighten out as if to say that they still have their pride. They face towards inner Konoha, Kiba with his hands on his hips and Akamaru taking a few paces forward.

Akamaru barks twice.

"Akamaru says that your bird should be somewhere in the city. It wasn't that hard since Naruto's scent is strong."

"My what!?"

Kiba chuckles. "It's not my fault you sweat like a pig."

"Why you." Naruto rolls up his sleeve and marches towards Kiba but is caught short by Sakura who grabs him by the collar of his jacket before he could take another step.

Over Naruto's banter, Sakura bows to Kiba and Akamaru and speaks. "Thanks a lot Kiba. Would you mind coming with us just in case?"

Kiba ruffles the top of Akamaru's head, a pleasant smile on his face that nearly kills me (remember, end of the world as you know it), and Akamaru pants happily in response. "Yeah, sure. Why not? That way Akamaru and I get to see how badly Naruto messed up."

That does nothing but irritate Naruto further.

I repeat Sakura's bow over in my head, debating if I should do the same thing. Since this series is based off of Japanese culture, I might as well go along with it. Plus, I'm wearing leggings underneath this skirt so I don't have to worry about my underwear being seen. Here goes nothing.

I dip my head low with my arms to my side. "T-Thank you," I stutter.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot you were here."

If we were in the anime, I would've face planted the ground so hard with shame at hearing those words. But no, we're not. So I swallow my sorrow and straighten my back as if Kiba's words didn't impale me like a wooden stake. So this must be what it feels like when senpai doesn't notice you.

Kiba and Akamaru tilt their heads as I'm finally able to get my heart rate to a normal pace. It just doesn't help at all. I feel my face returning to the state which I was at first when I saw Kiba. Having him stare at me like that isn't doing good to my inner fangirl. I think she just died of a nosebleed in fact. Remember the consequences of your actions, Thalia!

"What's your name again?"

There goes the remaining fragments of my heart.

"T-Thalia."

"Right. Almost forgot." Now my heart is just crumbs. "Don't worry, Akamaru and I will get your headband back unlike this idiot." Kiba gives me a wholesome grin exposing his and Akamaru's matching canines. And look at that, my heart's whole again.

Nope, nope, nope. Stop it. Remember the consequences!

Kiba then swings on Akamaru as if riding a horse. Well this is new, but certainly something I was thinking about doing at one point in time.

"Wait, what about Neji?" Naruto asks.

Sakura and Sai remain poised, not troubled by anything at all, except Naruto at some times. They look between themselves passing a silent message from one to another. It's like they have everything planned to the second.

"We're heading for him right now," Sai declares.

Kiba and Akamaru both appear to be shocked and confused by this. "Neji too? How desperate are you guys?"

Apparently very.

Sakura nods. "Do you know where he could be Kiba?"

Kiba taps the tip of his chin and considers. "Usually he'd be training with Hinata by now at their place. But their training should end pretty soon so we should hurry up."

He said the magic word. He said Hinata. Hinata! Hinata! Words can't explain how excited beyond belief I am for this! And this is totally different from my excitement at getting to meet Kiba and Neji. Yup, this is totally different.

Back on Sai's bird, we follow Kiba and Akamaru from the sky. I don't even know where we're headed exactly just that Hinata (and Neji) are going to be there. Hold the phone. I take a break from closing my eyes and open them just enough for me to take a quick glance at Naruto sitting in front of me. An eerie smile crawls its way on my lips. I may not be able to force myself on Kiba and Neji, but I could force Hinata on Naruto since I definitely know they end up together. With children. Yes. Children. Let the games begin.