I was going to post this yesterday, but... :(

...Chapter ten :)

X X X X

"Aah..." Kiba breathed happily. It was Tuesday and even though the sky above was still kinda stormy, even though he could still hear Coach Guy laughing unnecessarily and even though Billy still sucked at soccer, none of that mattered because his ban was finally over and he had played like no one had ever played before, running up and down the field almost as much as Lee. "Aah..." He sighed again, in part because this was his first rest since practice had ended.

"Could you try and be a bit more quiet?" A voice yawned from Kiba's left.

"Mm." Kiba closed his eyes to further enjoy recuperating from a sport he hadn't been allowed to play for so long. So freaking long. And now he was on fire, not letting in a single goal or missing a single shot after switching out of the net. Not one. He and Naruto had dominated the field straight up all afternoon, though he supposed he did feel kinda bad that Suigestsu was sitting out on the bench again. Kiba grinned wolfishly to himself, back to remembering how the blond had evaded Lee's every attempt to take the ball from him- and Lee was good! Naruto... Naruto was pretty awesome. He was always so cheerful and nice... and good at sports... and hot...

What the hell. Kiba did not think his friend was hot, he wasn't gay. He liked girls! Girls with long black hair and pale, pale eyes...

"Kiba," Shikamaru said tiredly. Shikamaru! Why was this guy so tired all the time, huh? Probably stays up all night studying, 'cause how does some one who sleeps through class like every day get such high marks? Yeah... Shikamaru... you know what else isn't Naruto shaped? Clouds... Actually, the sky's just white, why does he love staring at it so much?

"... Kiba-"

"What!" Kiba accidentally shouted. "If you have something to say Shikamaru, then say it."

"..." The other boy stared groggily ahead for while before eventually replying, "I was just going to tell you that Naruto's been waving at you for five minutes."

Kiba sat up abruptly. "Well tell him I've got stuff to do." With that he ran for the school buildings and didn't stop until he was hopelessly lost in one the identical looking corridors, cursing the fact that Tsunade hung the same painting in every single one instead of questioning his own feelings.

/POV/

Someone knocked sharply on the door, causing the crimson-haired boy to look up from where he was kneeling. Could Sasuke be back already? Gaara glanced back at his desk drawer, the one he hadn't been able to open since moving in. He'd always been rather curious as to whether it was simply stuck or actually locked. The shiny, golden-coloured keyhole looked a little scratched for some reason, perhaps the previous tenant had had bad eyesight. Gaara ran a hand through his midlength shag and slowly got up to let Sasuke back in. This whole business of knocking and waiting to be let in even though they both had keys was another strange thing he'd gotten used to by now.

But it wasn't his roommate gracefully closing the door, throwing off his coat with a groan and then slumping onto his bed (Sasuke seemed to find student council meetings rather tedious), it was Neji standing at the entrance politely.

The longer dark haired boy nodded to him before speaking. "Sorry to bother you, but I cannot seem to be able to find your brother. He had intended to show me his latest work this afternoon?" He made the last the statement into a question, probably unsure whether Gaara remembered Kankuro asking him just prior to the Sabaku Sibling Card War.

"..." Gaara stared at Neji for a moment, thinking again how odd the boy's formal speech sounded, before answering, "Check the art room." Though he preferred not to actually work there for fear of people damaging his puppets, Kankuro often stayed after school to borrow paints and other supplies.

"Yes, I realize it's a favourite spot of Kankuro's but I'm sorry to say that he wasn't there." Oh, so Neji had already checked.

"Then check his dorm." He may have already checked there too, as it was the most logical place to find Kankuro, but Gaara wasn't sure where else to suggest.

Neji looked almost frustrated for a second but quickly smoothed himself over. "I would like to. Can you please tell me his room number?" Ah, so that was it.

"442." Assuming Neji was finished and wanting to get back to examining his mysteriously locked drawer, Gaara shut the door before the other boy could even finish saying 'thank you'.

/POV/

"See, these hinges are brass. I only used iron for Raoul's 'cause back then I didn't know any better." Kankuro gestured enthusiastically to Elizabetha's limbs before turning back to his clown puppet. "His aren't rusted out though, 'cause I'm careful to keep him away from any moisture. Impurities in the metal can do it too, but there's not much I can do about that, short of replacing them altogether." Kiba chuckled to his companion, slightly giddy to be exhibiting his work to someone. Anyone. He hadn't seen Neji that afternoon but had been thrilled to hear that the boy's cousin was equally interested in amazing craftsmanship. Kankuro could easily show him another day if he didn't see him later on that evening!

Hinata nodded meekly, fidgeting with the hem of her baggy uniform. She was nervous to be in another student's dorm room, let alone a boy's. Nor did she know Kankuro particularly well- they only had a mixed art class together.

"His face took the longest, you'll notice it looks very realistic 'cause I took the time to find the right overtones and undertones to fit. It just calls out to me, you know? Artistry kind of runs in the family, so I guess it could be genetic." He smiled at her and Hinata quickly tried to think of something to say.

"It's very p-pretty, you have talent." And it was true, all of the puppets Kankuro had shown her were very well done. She felt like they might come alive and murder her at any second. Ivana even had a little nail file permanently glued to one sharp little hand. Yes, Kankuro it was deathly cute.

The older Sabaku seemed not to notice her discomfort, even letting her hold the scariest one, painted to resemble a particularly homicidal clown, as if it were a great honour. She appreciated his thoughtfulness, really, and was sure she would eventually recover from the shivers currently running down her spine, but was certain she'd appreciate it more if Kankuro would run out of puppeteering advice and suggest they go somewhere else instead. Somewhere a bit more spacious, Hinata hoped, apprehensively glancing at the metal chains hanging unnervingly close to her head.

"Oh, yeah!" Kankuro suddenly cried, making Hinata jump. "Sorry, I just keep running my mouth, I didn't even think of how you must be feeling!" Hinata blushed and shook her head gratefully. "Here, grab one of those chains, you can help me rig up Elizabetha! Hearing about all this without getting to do anything, I'm sorry. I just get so caught up." He smiled and laughed again, cradling the half-finished creature of nightmares in his arms.

Oh god... You can do this Hinata!

/POV/

Sasuke surveyed the room over professionally clasped hands.

"So can we hang the streamers sideways next dance?" Sasuke had to resist the urge to strangle the tall orange-haired boy but a couple of people on council were nodding to each other and whispering that they liked his idea.

Sasuke would have to take this matter into his own hands. "I'm not sure that that would be practical," he began. "People might get tangled in them or rip them down." A few more people started nodding but Jugo's supporters didn't look convinced.

"Yeah but we have to do something more interesting, like no one came last time."

"Yeah..."

"Just like a few grade nines."

"Minor Niners..." Someone snickered.

It was a revolt! Sasuke would have to act quickly to preserve his authority. "There must be other ways we can encourage attendance, perhaps a live DJ or strobe lights?"

"Mm! That's cool too. Regular streamers are better anyway." The vice president agreed. Sasuke grinned inwardly, this was why he got Tenten elected.

"My friend could do it- he's a pretty sweet DJ."

"You mean DJ? I love that guy!"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, his name is DJ or he is a DJ?

"Both. Ha ha, cool right?"

"What, it's his real name?"

"Naw, his real name's Dean, but Jacob's his middle name so he gets everyone to call him DJ."

"Cool!" Sasuke didn't roll his eyes but he came close. The rest of the student council could be so immature that he pitied them. Their best quality was how easily he could sway them to support his opinions.

"I still kinda like the streamer idea..." Damn it!

/POV/

So rude... Why on earth did Sasuke like that boy so much? He wasn't even that pretty, never mind pleasant to talk to. Did being attractive make it okay to slam the door in another person's face? Did it excuse purposefully unhelpful monosyllabic answers? Neji had known he was gay since the seventh grade and didn't feel one ounce of attraction towards Gaara.

Neji closed his eyes and counted to ten. Though he was too busy criticizing Gaara's manners to notice at that moment, something surprisingly common was about to happen.

"Oof!" Neji slammed into Kiba, who was slouching around a corner looking tired, sending them both to the ground. Neji somehow toppled down elegantly with the other boy falling roughly on top of him.

"Ah!" Neji gritted his teeth against the pain of Kiba's elbow jabbing into his side.

"Hey, get off me man!" Kiba said, even though he was on top, and got up angrily.

"My apologies," Neji winced, the spot on his side a little tender. "I didn't mean to bump into you, but I was rather distracted."

"Yeah you better be..." Kiba started to slouch off in another direction, almost randomly. What he'd said didn't seem to make much sense either. Neji shook his head, why did none of the people he'd come in contact with today have an ounce of civility?

/POV/

"Haah." Shizune blew on her mittened hands, hoping it would help keep them warm. This was less fun than watcing the same moving eight times in a row, she thought miserably, stamping her feet. Had December always been this cold? She checked her eco-friendly cloth grocery bag and was disheartened to see half a loaf of stale bread still left. "Haah," she sighed into her hands.

Someday she was going to ask Tsunade for a transfer, she couldn't keep up with all these schemes. Let someone else clean Tonton's litter box.

But then... Tonton was so sweet, and since Tsunade had gotten her hooked on Oprah reruns, it had been a lot of fun to lock the office door for an hour and watch it together.

"Haah." She blew on her cold hands and hoped the birds wouldn't eat the crumbs she was laying out almost as much as she hoped that she wouldn't get frostbite.

X X X X

Hmm... Now I didn't use the third person at all, guess POV isn't such a bad scene cutter after all :)

Oh wait, yes I did... once ^ ^;

Still.