A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed again. This is a quick chapter before NaNoWriMo starts....in 4 hours. Oh, the horror!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way. If I did, it wouldn't make sense.

This chapter is dedicated to ShikaTem Sand-Leaf.

~O~
Shikamaru was slumped against the wall, attempting to sleep. Chouji was beside him, eating his customary barbecue chips. Kiba was petting Akamaru and muttering to him. Shino sat next to him, not doing anything much, but thinking deeply. Neji was sitting cross-legged, and besides him Lee, who was rambling on about something to a bored-looking Gaara. On Gaara's other side, Naruto was rambling about something else, seemingly Naruto and Lee were both unaware that two very loud people were attempting to talk to Gaara, who was attempting to drown it out. Kankuro was tinkering with a mini version of Karasu.

On the other side, the girls, although considerably smaller in number, were considerably much louder. Ino and Sakura were talking extremely loud and giggling about a boy they had met in Konoha, ignoring the occasional annoyed glances that were shot their way from Lee, Naruto and Shikamaru. Hinata was reading a book, and on her side were Tenten and Temari, arguing about the merits of different weapons.

"He's older than her, he wears cat ears all the time," Ino started, scrutinising him closely.

"And the make-up. You can't forget that. He thinks that he's a girl, so definitely not," Sakura said, standing next to Ino and looking down upon Kankuro, who closed his eyes.

"And he's pretty…what's the word? Stocky," added Temari. "Not a good look. And anyway, we live in Suna. Long distance relationships do not work."

Kankuro snapped his eyes open. "I am not fat!" he hissed.

Temari smiled smugly, clearly knowing she was going to win. "I never said that. Only girls get riled up about that."

Kankuro glared at her, but didn't say anything. Temari had definitely won this round.

Ino smiled. "OK, next." She and Sakura moved up to Naruto and stared at him in slight disapproval. "He's too loud," Ino said instantly.

"And annoying," Sakura added.

"Blunt," put in Temari.

"Very conspicuous."

"Unfeeling."

"Next," Ino said, as they moved onto Gaara. They observed him for a while as he stared back at the two of them. "He lives in Suna."

"He's got a tattoo," Sakura said, shaking her head as though it meant the end of the world.

"Plus, he's a former homicidal maniac. And he's as feeling as Naruto is quiet," Ino added.

Gaara felt the longing for killing coming back to him. But there were too many witnesses….

"Lee….no. He likes Sakura. Plus, it's his best friend's cousin. That is not nice," Ino said, folding her arms. Lee looked as though he was about to object, until he caught the bad aura radiating from Neji. He knew that that meant he had better shut up or else, and wisely decided to stay silent.

"OK, then. Neji…"

There was a pause as they all stared at the Hyuuga prodigy and then to the Hyuuga heiress, who was bright red on the other side of the room.

"They're cousins…" Tenten said slowly.

"But…" Ino said as slowly. "It's allowed."

Temari, Ino and Sakura glanced at each other. "It is…" Temari said slowly. "And it would solve Neji being annoyed by the main branch. He'd be part of the main branch when they marry…and she doesn't have to worry about choosing a bad husband. And he'd have to protect her, no matter what."

"But they're cousins!" Tenten whined, obviously annoyed.

The other girls still looked at Neji as though he was the answer to all of their problems. "Yeah," Sakura muttered. "They wouldn't…."

Neji stared at them. They were considering marrying him off to his cousin. He knew that quite a few people had done that before, but the fact that it was him made it different. Besides, he already had his heart for somebody else.

Ino was the first to snap out of her phase, and moved on to Shino. "Well….I suppose that he is her team mate…."

Temari shrugged. "Maybe…but he's slightly creepy. And I'm not scared of bugs, but he still freaks me out."

Shino blinked behind his glasses. They thought he couldn't be with Hinata, simply because he was creepy. Creepy. Who were they to judge?

Tenten shook her head. "Yeah, but still. I mean, he's practically one of the two guys that actually know her well. So…maybe?"

Thank you, Tenten, Shino thought. At least one of you isn't basing me off the fact that I'm creepy. At least one of the shinobi here aren't betraying me by staying silent. He sent a quick glare at Kiba, who couldn't see but knew Shino well enough to know what he was thinking. He turned red, and became extremely interested in the growth of his left toenail. Akamaru became engrossed on how far he could stick his tongue out.

"That doesn't stop the fact that he's creepy," Temari insisted, crossing her arms defiantly, glaring at Tenten.

Tenten crossed her arms as well, and the two kunoichi sent metaphorical daggers at each other. Kiba glanced at the pair warily, knowing that he would be the next target of the Freaky Furious Feisty Four, as he had nicknamed the unholy forces of Ino, Sakura, Tenten and Temari. Hopefully, they would kill each other before they turned their attention to him. Or a hole appearing in the ground and swallowing them. or someone come jumping through the window and kidnapping them.

Anything dramatic.

Tenten twitched slightly. "How do you know what he's like, huh? He might be the nicest, funniest, sweetest, most romantic guy ever, and you're dismissing him just because he looks creepy? Look at Lee for example. He's considered as a weirdo by fools that don't know him. Yet he's one of the greatest ninja and people I know. The same goes for Gaara. He still terrifies me sometimes, but I still like him and don't see him as creepy! No offence meant, Gaara," she added offhandedly, glancing at him once then back at Temari.

Gaara shrugged once, but didn't say anything. If it bothered him, he didn't show it.

Kankuro nudged Naruto. "Wanna bet they fight?" he whispered?

Temari and Tenten continued glaring at each other. If his continued, there would be a full on fight in a few minutes.

Shino sighed and stood up. They were arguing about him, so he might as well do something about it.
~O~O~

A/N: Not much of a cliffhanger, but ah well.
Review please?