Momoko: I do not own Naruto. And now onto Kitten for thanks.

Kitten: THANK YOU Gaara-frenzy FOR REVIEWING!! *gives cookies and hugs*

Jade: You've been waiting to do that for a while, haven't you?

Kitten:...Maybe...On with the story!!


Sugar, Please

"Much warmer portal this time, but why did it look like that?" Chrys asked as she and Mo sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast the next day. "What the hell! Chrys what happened?" Sasuke asked, halting mid-step as he walked in. Chrys looked at him puzzled before remembering. "Oh, this is uh…I fell asleep with make-up on, so, you know, before Tatsu and Angel come in I'll go and fix it."

"How did you not notice that?" Sasuke asked as she walked out. "I didn't look in a mirror!" Chrys called over her shoulder as she ran to her room. "What did she forget to look in the mirror for nii-san?" Tatsu asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she walked in. "She fell asleep wearing make-up apparently, so she had a bunch of it smeared on her face." Sasuke said as he pulled down a few bowls for food.

Looking at a mirror, Chrys almost fell over. The hand mark was a bruise now; her arms were covered in black bands while she had a black eye to boot. "Sasuke-kun was right, how did I miss that?" She asked herself, picking up a make-up brush to get to work.

"Better Sasuke-kun?" Chrys asked as she walked back into the kitchen. "Much better, although how you got make-up to smear so it looked like a handprint and a black eye, especially when; according to Tatsu you don't wear make-up often, must take talent." Sasuke said. "Or maybe it takes a fight. Who did you get into a fight with?" Angel asked, putting down the book she was reading so she look directly at Chrys. "Wha…why do I have to get into a fight to have a black mark on my face?" Chrys asked with a stammer. "Well, because you aren't a very girly girl, also make-up never smears in a handprint on your cheek if you were wearing it on your eyes. True fact, let me see."

"I don't have marks on my face. I'd tell you if I did. Besides, even if I did, what are you going to do about it?"

"Tell your granddad." Angel said with a slight smile. "You just want to talk to Konoha's White Fang, admit it." Chrys said with a shrug. "Well, yeah, one of the best shinobis. I still don't get why we couldn't have trained under him."

"Because he is dead here. Believe me, I would've loved being taught some of the Fourth's special Jutsus, but, like my granddad, he is dead here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some breakfast before I go out."

"Where are you going Chrysanthemum?" Tatsu asked. "Just doing one of my hobbies, the usual. Although if Mo wants to come with, I'm sure we could get the garden, or what's left of it, back in shape." Chrys said. "Sure, I'll come with. What better way to spend a morning than by planting, growing, pruning and healing a garden long forgotten." Mo said.

"Can I help too?" Tatsu asked as Mo and Chrys started to walk out with gardening tools. "Maybe in a little, right now we'll get the pruning done, and then you can come out when we call you so you can burn out the weeds, okay?" Mo suggested. "Okay!" Tatsu cheered before going back inside. "Okay, what do you need to talk about?" Mo asked as they pruned the overgrown bushes, irritated that she couldn't reach the spot she wanted to. "You can't tell them where I actually got the marks." Chrys said, reading Mo's mind perfectly. "Why not? What he did wasn't right. You were there for all three of us when we needed you, why won't you let us be there for you?"

"I don't want to be dependent on anyone, ever. What happened to you proves that if you're dependent on someone and they are taken out of your life you're screwed. I want to be able to take care of myself. Besides, as second oldest I don't want to worry my younger sisters. I'm supposed to protect them."

"You're second to me. We both are supposed to take care of Angel and Tatsu; you shouldn't think that it is your job alone. We take of each other anyway; birth order has no importance in our family. If it did I'd be able to get Tatsu and Angel to listen to what I say, but in the end we'd all end up listening to Sasuke 'cause he's a day older than me." Mo said with a laugh. "Oh yeah, your birthday is in…today is June 29th, right? Yeah, that would mean only twenty-five days until your birthday. Man, I have to find a good gift for you."

"Still, remember that the family doesn't lie solely on your shoulders." Mo said as Tatsu came out. "Can I please get rid of the weeds now?" Tatsu asked impatiently. "Only Tatsu would find enjoyment out of burning weeds out of the ground." Sasuke chuckled as he came out as well. "Watch out." Tatsu warned as she made a little fireball and put it on one of the weeds. In little time she had the fire moving weed to weed, carefully burning that one before going to the next one. All the while Chrys and Mo were busy pruning quickly. "I'll water them, then you can make them grow, okay Mo?" Chrys suggested as she put in a set of earphones and turned on her mp3. "Fine with me." Mo said with a shrug.

"Wow, this looks a lot different!" Angel said in surprise as she walked out with a tray of lemonade. "Yeah, I guess it does. Although I never knew there was a tomato plant out here." Sasuke agreed as he put away his shovel from having to take out a long dead shrub. "I'm surprised though, I thought you'd be more upset Chrys." Angel observed as she set the tray on the porch next to where everyone was sitting on the steps. "Upset? Over Eugene? Nah, there are always more guys like him."

"Yeah, but not all of them know you the way he did. After all, he was one of our fellow pupils in school, and your dance partner for almost three years. How are you going to find another guy who knows your moves as well as he does?"

"I'll find one. After all, it wasn't that hard to find him. The tough part will be finding a replacement in time for the contest, along with another dancer."

"Three dancers? Why three? You've never have such a strange number, or one with so few partners." Tatsu asked. "Well, for the contest you have to have a either a pas de deux or a small company. I was hoping for a small company, since it needs no more than three people. Also a pas de deux is a partner dance, for that dance to come off flawlessly I would need to have chemistry with my partner."

"What song are you hoping to dance to though? That might limit the number of people willing to dance." Angel observed, since she too, was a dancer, though she did not feel the same for it as Chrys did. "A Prince Doesn't Need Two Princesses. It's such a beautiful composition, although if push comes to shove and I can only find one partner, then I will either drop out because they forbid a pas de deux with two girls in this competition, at least for ballroom and ballet. Or I will suck it up and dance to Hall Om Mig."

"Hall Om Mig? I've never heard of the song." Mo said, not very interested. "Not surprising, it's Swedish, the title translates to 'Hold Me Now', there was no rule forbidding a foreign song because all the songs are from around the world, it simply depends on the theme of the group dancing."

"There's no theme this year?"

"Well, they haven't officially declared one. But I'm looking at songs in every category they can think of."

"So dance is your passion I take it?" Sasuke asked, earning a laugh from everyone. "No, dance is a hobby of mine, it is how I relax, how I de-stress, how I forget my cares. It also helps that I have the feet."

"The feet? Since when do you have the feet?" Angel asked with a raised brow. "Since I can dance on point and my cousin Mary can't, even though we've been dancing the same length of years."

"Oh yes, you have the amazing feet, the amazing ability to be light on your feet. I'm light as air though, so I don't understand how you learned to dance on point before me."

"You picked it up right after I did. Mary, however, got it last month."

"Really? That's great! She's been working really hard."

I'm super
No, nothing bugs me
Everything is super when you're
Don't you think I look cute in this hat
These little pants, this matching tie
That I got at Vogue

Chrys's phone rang. "Alex? What's up?...Really? You're kidding!...No way...That's impossible!...Oh, yeah I kind of dumped him last night...Yeah, so now I need a new partner if they're going to have it like that....I know it's Monday, yeah I put him off for last...No, not because of that!...I'd rather dance with a rock....Can you?...Thanks so much!...Yeah that would work...Uh, World Two right now...Thanks again, you rock the universe's socks...Yeah, I love you too. See you tomorrow." Chrys said, her face taking many expressions, the last being one of pure joy. "So, why did Alex call? Filling you in on the gossip?" Tatsu teased. "He was telling me that this year they're doing things different. There is no theme for the recital this year."

"I thought you said it was a contest?" Sasuke asked. "It is, but technically it is a recital for the studio. Alex's partner dumped him too, so he's partner-less; also, to really mix things up only partner-dances are allowed. He's coming here tomorrow so we can start a completely new routine. Knowing Alex, he'll be in the mood to dance with the soundtrack to Moulin Rouge; unless he's still bitter over the break-up." Chrys explained. "He can travel between Worlds too?"

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have told him to come here tomorrow." Chrys said with a shrug similar to Mo's. "I've missed Alex; he's a lot of fun. I mean, who else can name all the lead dancers in the original Cats?" Mo laughed, looking delighted for the first time since the conversation started.

"C'mon, please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty tomboy please with a gun on top?" Chrys begged Mo as they shopped. "No! I'm not going in there! It's too…Angel."
"Mo, anything in the least bit girly is too 'Angel' for you." Chrys laughed, dragging Mo in anyway. "I promise, after this one stop we'll go to whichever store you want." She said. Mo just rolled her eyes as Chrys went rack to rack, looking for the perfect outfit, then shelf to shelf for the right shoes. "Here we go. These will work best." Chrys said, deciding to buy a pair of ballet shoes and a simple set of dark blue yoga pants and a sky blue tank top. "Finally, how does it take twenty minutes to buy a simple outfit?" Mo asked as they walked to the weapons store. "Simple, it's for tomorrow, so I have to be able to move properly. I have the dance heels I need, but I needed ballet shoes. Ones that aren't worn through."
"They wouldn't be worn through if you didn't dance so much."
"Dancing is my hobby, it relaxes, it calms, it reduces stress, it keeps me flexible, it is fun!" Chrys laughed as they entered the store.

~The Next Day~

"Alex!" Chrys shouted, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Alex as he spun her around. His dark hair was pulled back in ponytail while his green eyes were crinkled with his smile. "Sugarcane, I haven't seen you in so long!" He said, putting her down and holding her at arm's length so he could see her. "Eugene was no good for you, I told you he was holding you back, but did you listen?" He said as he shook his head. "Alex!" Mo shouted, running up behind him and jumping on his back. "Sugar, I thought you were above jumping on my back." Alex laughed as he was hugged on two sides. "We are never above jumping on your back. We are, if anything, more unrefined when it comes to it though." Angel said, coming up and giving Alex a hug. "Sugar-packet, who are you dancing with? Hopefully someone who can keep up with you." Alex said, returning the hug after Mo got off him. "Nah, I'm not dancing this year. I haven't been practicing as much as Chrys or you." Angel said. "Alex!" Tatsu cried, coming out of nowhere and jumping into his arms. "Hey Sugarplum Fairy, how's my youngest dance partner?" Alex laughed. "I quit, remember? But I'm great." Tatsu said. "Oh, yeah. This is my older brother, Sasuke." She added when Sasuke cleared his throat. "Well, Sugarcane, shall we get practicing?" Alex asked. "We shall." Chrys said, giving him a noisy kiss.

"I was thinking something from Moulin Rouge what do you think?" Chrys asked her partner. "Depends, because I was thinking something new, like Your Guardian Angel or Face Down. Sugarcane, you're amazing at stage make-up, but I can see through it. What happened and which Eugene did it? I'm going to kill him for this."

"You can't kill him, he's a flippin' immortal. Besides, I really don't want to go into it. I'm going to talk to Mo later so she can heal the bruises. Okay so I was thinking…" With that, the two got to planning each dance for each song, to decide on the one they were using later.

"Okay, how about twirl, twirl, dip, lift?" Alex asked as they sat down, guzzling water. "Yeah, that might work. As long as we time it carefully." Chrys agreed, standing up; holding out a hand to help up Alex. Taking their places, Chrys began to start to sequence. Alex dipped her gracefully, then lifted her up…and dropped her. "Ouch. That probably wasn't the best thing to try." Chrys said, staying where she fell on top of him.


Kitten: Oo, this will be an interesting development. What will people think? Will Alex be hurt? Did he get hurt when Chrys fell on him? Is Chrys hurt?

Jade: Kitten, what are you doing?

Camillia: I think she's trying to add drama. But the drama comes in later. It doesn't need any help.

Kitten: I know, but I just wanted to hint towards the upcoming events in Exam and A Date.

Pheonix: It doesn't need help. Now say good-bye to all the nice readers until next time.

Kitten: Bye bye! ~