Chapter 10

Irma was very nervous as she walked down the street with her friends towards the Christmas party two weeks after she had accepted Shikamaru's request.

"Will you relax already Irma?" Cornelia asked as she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.

"I can't help it if I'm nervous I mean Shikamaru asked me to this thing two weeks ago and we've hardly seen each other at all since he's been escorting Temari around and Ino's needed my help at the flower shop," Irma said.

Will rolled her eyes and readjusted her Santa hat. "I'm sure Shikamaru will still like you."

Irma self consciously looked down at her red silk shirt, black leather jacket and black jeans. She normally didn't mind what she wore, but this was technically her first official date with a guy ever and she wanted to look good for Shikamaru.

Hay Lin swung her arms as she walked. "I'm kinda nervous about seeing Naruto."

"Don't worry about it Hay," Elyon said soothingly. She and Irma had been watching Hay Lin and Naruto very carefully and were downright positive that Naruto had feeling for Hay Lin and vice versa. They had even gotten Ino and Kiba in on their bet.

"So Will, has Sasuke finally consented to teach you the Chidori?" Taranee asked.

Will sighed loudly. "Not yet. I'm thinking that if I just keep bugging him he'll agree to it."

"You can ask him tonight. I'm sure he'll be there," Cornelia said.

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets as he waited for Irma. He was very uncomfortable in the formal clothing his mother had made him wear. The lazy man sighed when he remembered how thrilled Yoshino had been when she found out that her son had a date with Irma. Shikamaru just hoped that his mother wouldn't get super dramatic over everything.

'Who the heck am I kidding,' Shikamaru thought. 'That troublesome woman is probably planning a wedding for all I know. This is such a pain!'

Chouji and Ino rolled their eyes was they watched their friend.

"Boy he's really worked up isn't he?" Ino said to Chouji.

Chouji nodded. "Yep. I just hope he calms down before he has an anxiety attack."

Shikamaru frowned slightly as he heard the exchange between the two. Before he could turn to them he saw something red out of the corner of his eye. Shikamaru turned to look and the second his eyes rested on the girl that had just walked in his jaw practically hit the floor. 'Oh man,' He thought as he stared at Irma and tried to compose himself at the same time.

Ino snickered at Shikamaru, but she honestly couldn't blame him. Irma looked fantastic in her outfit. She nudged Chouji and the two of them left so Irma and Shikamaru could have some privacy.

Irma blushed as she made her way towards Shikamaru. 'Wow. I gotta hand it to him, the guy makes one hot shinobi.'

"Hey Shikamaru," She greeted.

"Hey yourself," Shikamaru replied.

"This is a great setup," Irma said looking around.

"Yeah. I'm glad you showed up."

"Were you worried I wasn't?"

"Not really," Shikamaru lied.

Hay Lin and Will watched from the sidelines as Irma and Shikamaru talked.

"Seriously why doesn't he just ask Irma to dance already?" Will asked.

Hay Lin shrugged. "Just let them have fun."

"Hey Hay Lin, Will!" Naruto said making his way over to them with Sasuke.

"Sasuke you came!" Will said excitedly.

Sasuke gave her an annoyed look. "I said I would, didn't I? Besides if I hadn't, you three, Kakashi, and Sakura would have dragged me here anyway."

Will, Naruto, and Hay Lin snickered. They and the rest of team seven had consistently pestered Sasuke about him coming the party. He had agreed so they would give him some peace and quiet.

Naruto smiled at the air guardian. "You look great Hay Lin. Very festive."

Sasuke raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the dark hair girl. Hay Lin had gone full out with her outfit dressing up in a red velvet dress that stopped a few inches above her knees with white fake fur on the sleeves and hem. She had on stripped green and red tight, pointed red shoes and to top it all off a Santa hat was perched on top of her head and green and red ribbons were braided into her hair.

Hay Lin giggled at Sasuke's expression. "Just because you're a Grinch doesn't mean I can't have fun."

An upbeat song blasted over the speakers and Naruto grabbed Hay Lin's hand. "Let's dance Hay!"

As the two ran off to the dance floor Sasuke and Will stared after them. "Do you think that they might become a couple?" Will asked.

"I'm not one for knowing about relationships, but I think they might, considering that all Naruto talks about is Hay Lin," Sasuke replied.

Will nodded. "I think Hay Lin has feelings for Naruto too. And she's a little scared about it."

Sasuke didn't go on about the subject and the two stood there in silence for a few minutes until Sakura danced up to them.

"Hey Will, hey Sasuke"

"Hi Sakura," Will waved.

Sakura looked from Sasuke to Will then back to Sasuke. "Sasuke, why don't you ask Will to dance?"

Both of their eyes widened and they stared at Sakura in shock. "What?!"

"Oh come on you guys should have some fun!" Sakura insisted.

Will narrowed her eyes. "Did Cornelia put you up to this?"

Sakura shook her head, but her eyes were too innocent. "Just go and have fun. It's Christmas for crying out loud!"

With that she pushed Will and Sasuke onto the dance floor. They realized that they had no choice whatsoever and just decided to sway a little awkwardly to the music.

Cornelia and Taranee laughed as they watched Will and Sasuke.

"This is classic," Cornelia laughed.

"I still can't believe that you paid Sakura to get them to dance," Taranee scolded lightly.

Cornelia shrugged unrepentant. "Will needs to get a little more partying in her system. I swear that every time there's a party we almost have to drag her to get her to come."

"Can't argue with that," Taranee grinned.

"This is so youthful!"

Taranee and Cornelia grinned and rolled their eyes. They didn't have to look to know who it was.

"Hey Lee. Hi Neji," Taranee said as they came over.

Lee looked like he was having a blast and Neji looked like he would rather be training then be here.

"You don't look like your having fun at all Neji," Cornelia pointed out with a smirk.

"Lee dragged me here," He admitted.

"Let me guess. He said that if you didn't come you would be deemed un-youthful and you did want to put up with him hanging this over your head," Taranee said.

Cornelia raised an amused eyebrow at Taranee and Lee and Neji were surprised.

"How did you know?" Neji asked.

Taranee smiled. "I think that I'm just getting to know you guys better."

Cornelia smirked. 'You read his mind didn't you?'

Taranee smirked back. 'I couldn't resist.'

Cornelia shook her head and walked over to the food to get some punch, Neji went with her, eager to get away from Lee.

"So you don't like parties I take it?" Cornelia asked.

"Not in the least," Neji responded.

Cornelia adjusted her red dress and twirled her ponytail. "I will never understand why some people don't like parties," She said taking a drink of punch.

"Uh, Neji, Cornelia," Taranee said.

"What?" Neji asked, as they both looked at their friends.

Lee had a huge grin on his face. "THIS IS SO YOTHFUL!" He cried.

"What is?" Cornelia asked.

Kiba, Hinata, and Elyon came over to them. "Guys what's going-" Elyon trailed off when she saw what was making Lee so happy. Kiba burst out laughing, Hinata's eyes widened, and Elyon just stared at them.

"Will someone please tell us what you guys are talking about?" Cornelia asked, irritated.

In answer, Taranee, Elyon, and Hinata silently pointed upward and Neji and Cornelia froze. It didn't take a genius to know that there was only one thing on Chirstmas that made people do what Neji and Cornelia's friends were doing now. The two looked up and their suspicions were, unfortunately, confirmed. Mistletoe.

Cornelia turned bright red and Neji glared at the small plant.

Kiba was still laughing and Lee was still shouting that Neji and Cornleia being caught under the mistletoe was so youthful and this caught everyone's attention. When Irma, Will, Hay Lin, and Naruto saw what was happening, they busted up laughing.

"Way to go Corny!" Irma cried between giggles giving her friend the thumbs up.

"Come on Cornelia you guys have to kiss," Hay Lin said in a sing-song voice.

Cornelia and Neji looked at each other and he, wanting to get out the situation as quickly as possible, bent his head down and kissed Cornelia on the mouth. They immediately separated after three seconds and Neji walked away from his laughing, wolf calling friends.

Cornelia's face was a dark red as she went over to Elyon. Kiba laughed again. "Wow Hinata never even blushed that red before!"

"K-kiba!" Hinata cried in embarrassment turning a delicate shade of pink.

Cornelia didn't reply. Instead she touched her lips which were tingling lightly from Neji kissing her. 'Holy crap!' She thought.

Neji went outside cursing Lee for dragging him to the party. He hadn't planned on anything like that happening. He didn't know why, but he had felt a small electric shock when his mouth had connected with Cornelia's. Neji quickly brushed that thought aside and headed back to the Hyuga compound. He let out a frustrated sigh as he remembered that Hinata had been a witness and that she would most likely tell Hanabi and then everyone in the Hyuga clan would know about this.

"Lee, I'm going to kill you!" Neji muttered darkly.

Hay Lin and Naruto were still snickering after Neji left. "Oh man Irma is never going to let C live this down," Hay Lin said. Then she remembered that she had something for Naruto in her pocket.

"Oh Naruto I uh drew something for you yesterday, I hope you like it," She said handing the drawing too Naruto.

Naruto looked at it and his eyes widened. It was a picture of him wearing a long black cloak with orange flames at the bottom and above him was the Hokage mountain with a craving of his face on the end.

"Hay Lin this…" Naruto trailed off at a loss for words.

Hay Lin smiled softly. "I drew it because I have a feeling that you will be the best Hokage ever."

Naruto looked at Hay Lin and placed a hand on her cheek. "Thank you Hay Lin."

Hay Lin blushed at Naruto's touch. "It was nothing I mean it is Christmas and I just wanted to-"

Hay Lin was cut off when she felt something soft on her lips. With a shock she realized that Naruto was kissing her.

'Oh…my…gosh!' Hay Lin thought.

As Naruto kissed her, Hay Lin closed her eyes and kissed him back. Naruto wrapped his arms around her slim waist and Hay Lin put her arms around his neck.

Their friends were still laughing and talking about Neji and Cornelia's kiss when they saw Naruto and Hay Lin.

"Oh yes!" Irma and Elyon cheered pumping their fists. Will and Sasuke smiled at their friends.

"There is so much youth tonight!" Lee cried.

"Well what do you know," Shikamaru muttered.

"Alright! Way to go Naruto!" Kiba cried.

When she heard Kiba's voice, Hay Lin's eyes snapped open as she realized what she was doing. She immediately backed away from Naruto as Eric's face appeared in her head.

"What is it?" Naruto asked concerned.

"I…I…" Hay Lin stuttered. Confused, scared, and not knowing what to say, the air guardian turned and ran out, leaving a shocked Naruto.

The others were just as shocked with Hay Lin's weird behavior.

"Come on!" Irma and Elyon cried slapping their foreheads.

"That is so un-youthful!" Lee cried.

"That was a burn," Shikamaru mumbled.

"You said it," Kiba agreed.

Will ran out after Hay Lin and found her curled up on a bench her arms wrapped around her knees and her head on top of her arms.

"Are you okay?" Will asked.

Hay Lin shook her head and Willl saw that tears were in her eyes. "No I'm not oaky. I just kissed Naruto Will! Eric is still my boyfriend and I feel like I just betrayed him!"

Will sat down next to her friend and hugged Hay Lin. "It'll be okay. You like being around Naruto right?"

"Yeah," Hay Lin answered.

"Does he make you happy?"

"Yes."

Will smiled. "Then maybe you should give him a chance and see how things work out."

Hay Lin sighed. "You may be right, but I'm still confused."

Back at the party Irma and Shikamaru were having a blast on their date. Most of the songs played were upbeat and Shikamaru loved watching Irma dance.

"Come one Shikamaru. Dance with me," Irma said.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Shikamaru replied. "I can only slow dance."

Lo and behold a few seconds after the words left his mouth a slow song started to play. Irma smirked and grabbed Shikamau.

"Come on, let's dance," She said with a smile.

It turned out that the song was 'All I Want for Christmas is You.' Irma and Shikamaru blushed as they started to dance. Shikamaru placed his hands on Irma's waist and she put her hands on his shoulders. The danced slowly to the music and Irma smiled and leaned her head against Shikamaru's chest.

Shikamaru smiled and when he looked up he saw Ino and Chouji giving him the victory signal. He gently placed his head on top of Irma and stroked her hair. "You know you aren't as much of a pain as I thought you were," He told Irma.

He could tell Irma was grinning. "I'm still a troublesome woman though right?"

"A little bit yeah," Shikamaru admitted.

Irma brought her head up and smiled at Shikamaru her blues eyes shining. That reminded him. "I have something for you," He said.

Shikamaru reached into his pocket and pulled out a sterling silver chain with a small heart shaped blue stone on the end.

"I saw this and thought that it matched your eyes. II figured you might like it," He said.

Irma smiled and took the necklace. "It's beautiful Shika. Do you want to help me put it on?"

Shikamaru took the necklace and put it around Irma's neck. As he let go of the necklace he put his hand on Irma's shoulder. With his other hand he hooked a finger under Irma's chin and brought her head up.

"Merry Christmas Irma," He said.

Then he bent down and kissed Irma. Irma kissed him back. They weren't aware that Chouji was filming them on a camera and Ino was doing a victory dance.

When they separated Irma grinned and hugged him. 'This is the best Christmas ever!' She thought.

In the Hokage tower, Shizune knocked on Tsunade's door.

"Come in Shizune," The older woman said.

As Shizune walked in she saw that Tsunade was facing the window. "I wonder how the girls are doing?"

"They've been working very hard. Kakashi, Gai, and Kurenai have been watching them train every now and then and all their reports have been positive."

Tsunade faced back to her desk. "They're fitting in well I see."

Shizune stared at Tsunade evenly. "Lady Tsunade, you need to tell them."

Tsunade sighed. "I know Shizune. I just want them to feel at home in the village."

"But they have a right to know, especially Hay Lin," Shizune said.

"I'll do it when I see that they are ready to hear it," Tsunade replied.

"They're going to get suspicious you know," Shizune said. "Won't it seem just a little weird when they figure out how much you know about their powers."

"I know they'll get suspicious, but I will decided when to tell them. It is a personal thing for me after all," Tsunade said.

Shizune nodded. "Alright Lady Tsunade."

"Oh Shizune," Tsunade said.

"Yes?"

"Don't even think about dropping clues to them. I want them to hear it all from me," Tsunade instructed.

Shizune nodded. "Alright Lady Tsunade."

After Shizune left Tsunade sighed. Then she opened a drawer and took out a faded picture. She smiled sadly. 'You would be proud of Hay Lin my friend. I wish you were here,' She thought.

END OF CHAPTER