Oh… my… freaking…God! I haven't updated in a year! O_o… I surprise myself. I have been caught up in my own little life that I totally forgot about my stories! . God… Well, at least I'm back now. This comment has nothing to do with the story but… MUN is a total pain in the butt. -_-' Seriously, writing resolutions and position papers are such a pain! Anyway, on with the story.

Still on the Hunt

"Sakura-chan has a date! I can't believe Sakura-chan already has a date!" complained Naruto. The other boys, Sasuke, Neji, and Shikamaru all stared at him.

"So? Just ask another one of the girls out you dobe," said Sasuke.

"But I wanted to ask Sakura-chan," whined the blond.

"Just move on will you?" Shikamaru interrupted. "Ask Neji's cousin. I'm sure she'd want to go with you." After that comment, Shikamaru received a glare from Neji.

Naruto sniffed once and declared, "Alright, since Sakura-chan already has a date, I'll ask Hinata!" Naruto then looked at his buddies and asked, "Sasuke-teme, it was you who asked Sakura-chan wasn't it?"

Sasuke adverted Naruto's gaze and replied, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The blond grinned slyly. "You totally did. I know you, teme. You always deny what you really did or what you really feel. You did ask Sakura-chan!"

A vein popped in Sasuke's head. He retorted, "Okay, it was me. I asked her okay? Now would you please fulfill your end of the deal and ask the Hyuuga girl? Shikamaru needs some more motivation."

Naruto nodded and ran off to find Hinata. Neji stepped up and asked, "Why are you all trying to get my cousin together with Naruto?"

"It's pretty obvious that she has a crush on him, isn't it?" replied Shikamaru. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the clouds." With that, Shikamaru walked to the open courtyard.

"Hyuuga, aren't you going to ask any of the girls?" asked Sasuke.

"It's not your business, Uchiha," retorted Neji.

Sasuke shrugged and replied, "Hn, okay. Whatever." A while later, Sasuke and Neji walked off in separate directions as well.

"Did you say Sasuke-kun asked you to the dance?" asked a very surprised Ino.

Sakura nodded. "For some reason, I just couldn't say no! I mean, I planned on going with Itachi, but Sasuke just asked me out of the blue, and I just couldn't turn down the offer," blurted Sakura.

"Hold on, let me get this straight. You were planning on going with Itachi, but then before you had a chance to tell him about this, Sasuke-kun called you up and asked you. Taken by surprise, you said yes, even though you want to go with Itachi. You said yes to Sasuke-kun even though you don't want to go with him?" Ino semi-yelled.

"No no, it's not that I don't want to go with him. I do want to go with him. That's the problem! Is it wrong that I want to go to the dance with Sasuke as my partner?" asked Sakura.

"Well I definitely know now that you have a small crush on Sasuke… again," answered Ino.

"I do not have a crush on him! I like his brother!" retorted Sakura.

"Hey, deny it all you want, but it's not gonna do any good," advised Ino.

"Ugh, whatever, pig. Oh, have you gotten a partner yourself?" asked Sakura, changing the subject. Ino tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and giggled; Sakura's eyebrows rose in suspicion. The rosette's lips then curved upwards into a small smile. "So you do have a date for the dance. Come on, spill, who is it?"

Ino giggled again. "Hm, you'd have to see for yourself."

"Ino-pig! I'm your best friend. Tell me, at least," pleaded Sakura.

Ino laughed wholeheartedly. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, okay?"

"I won't," promised Sakura.

"Well, have you ever heard of Sai?" asked Ino.

Sakura closed her eyes and started recalling. "Sai…Sai…as a matter of fact, I think I've heard of him. So he's the one who's taking you to the dance?"

Ino nodded. "Yes! He reminds me so much of Sasuke-kun, except for the fact that he's always smiling. Plus, he compliments me a lot," sighed the love-struck blond.

"And you've met him for how many hours?" Sakura sarcastically asked.

"That doesn't matter, Billboard Brow! At least I'm happy with my choice," defended Ino.

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, whatever you say, Ino." The rosette noticed Hinata running up to her and Ino. Hinata's face looked bright- as if something marvelous happened to her. Her hair seemed to be shinier and silkier; the girl herself had a special aura surrounding her. When Hinata reached the two other girls, she put her hands on her thighs and bent over, to catch her breath. "Hey Hinata, what's the rush?" Sakura interrogated.

Hinata raised her head and, never wiping the smile off her face, answered, "Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun asked me to the dance!"

Both Sakura's and Ino's eyes widened. "What? He did? Oh, finally he sees the light!" huffed Ino. The blond then slung her right arm over Hinata's shoulders. "So, spill. How'd he ask you?" Ino further questioned.

Hinata, who was now playing with her fingers, replied shyly, "Well, it was like this…"

Hinata was fishing out her Psychics book from her locker when suddenly, she was tackled by someone. The poor girl got a little dizzy from the impact, but when she saw who knocked her down, she almost fainted from blushing.

"Hey there, Hinata! Sorry for bumping into you like this," apologized Naruto as he put on his cheeky grin. The blond then got off of Hinata and helped her get up as well. The dark haired girl was so nervous that she could barely stand, or talk.

"N-N-Naruto-kun. U-Um, wh-what a pleasant s-surprise. D-Did you need something?" stammered Hinata.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hinata, I know this is sudden, but…" Naruto dragged. He found himself blushing lightly and acting shy. Hinata hugged one of her textbooks tightly, anticipating Naruto's next words. "Well, will you be willing to be my date for the Snowflake Ball?" the blond finished.

Hinata's reaction went from blank staring, to her eyes widening, then to dropping her books. Naruto panicked. "Uh, it's okay if you don't want to. I mean, I'm not forcing you to go…"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata interrupted. She brought her hands to her lips as she said her crush's name.

"Uh, yeah, Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I thought you'd never ask," finished Hinata. After saying that, Hinata wobbled, and was about to faint.

"Oh no, don't faint on me this time, Hinata," said Naruto. Before the dark haired girl fell, Naruto supported her from behind. Hinata's eyes remained open the whole time. She looked up at Naruto and smiled beautifully.

"T-Thank you, Naruto-kun," said Hinata. Naruto helped her get up once again, and picked her books up from the floor as well.

"So, was that a yes?" asked Naruto.

Hinata nodded slowly. "Y-Yes. I-It's a definite yes," she confirmed.

Naruto grinned widely and apologized for asking her out of the blue. He then ran off, leaving the dark haired Hyuuga to think back about the recent breakthrough, which also led her to run to her girlfriends and tell them everything.

"A-And that's w-what happened," Hinata finished. Sakura and Ino stared at the dark haired Hyuuga, standing as still as statues. Hinata fidgeted and played with her fingers. "Wh-What's wrong, girls? Sh-Shouldn't I have said yes?"

"Hinata, that's great! We're so happy for you!" squealed Ino. The two girls squeezed the life out of Hinata with their hugs. The three girls laughed together, happy that Naruto finally had the sense to ask Hinata to go as his date.

"I'm glad y-you two feel h-happy for me," said Hinata when Sakura and Ino released her from their death hugs. "I-I'm sure both o-of you have d-dates already."

Ino's expression immediately switched to a dream-like state while Sakura turned her head to the side a little with a slightly perplexed expression. Hinata cocked her head to the side in slight confusion. Ino started, "Both of us do have dates, Hinata. I'm perfectly happy with mine." Ino then sighed dreamily.

Sakura cut in, "Ino, again, you barely know the guy."

Ino snapped out of her fantasies and replied, "Well, at least I don't have conflicting feelings over two boys."

Sakura stiffened at her comeback. Hinata looked back and forth between her two friends. "S-Sakura? What d-does Ino mean?"

Sakura sighed and started talking, "Well, like Ino said, I do have a date, but that person is Sasuke."

"I-I thought you weren't v-very fond o-of him," stammered Hinata.

"I-I don't know. I don't know what I even feel anymore," confessed Sakura.

"Sakura, forget about one of the brothers already!" advised Ino.

Hinata said, "Y-You're having conflicting f-feelings for S-Sasuke and I-Itachi?" Blushing lightly, Sakura nodded.

"I know it's wrong. It's very wrong to feel this way, but I can't help it. I don't know what to do anymore. I wanted to go to the dance with Itachi, but when Sasuke asked, I just couldn't say no," rambled Sakura.

Hinata patted Sakura's back. "S-Someday you'll figure it a-all out, Sakura. I-I know you will."

"Hinata's right. Oh, and of course, get over one of them! It's not good for your health," teased Ino, while earning a light punch from Sakura. "For now, let's just forget all about it and go on with our lives, hm?"

"I couldn't agree more with you, Ino-pig," said Sakura. The three girls then went off on their own, going to separate destinations.

Sakura idly walked about, thinking about Hinata's party as well as the Snowflake Ball. "I wonder if TenTen or Temari have dates yet," thought Sakura. Coincidentally, she spotted her senior, Temari walking to the open courtyard. Out of curiosity, Sakura followed Temari to the courtyard as well. The rosette skid to a stop and spied on her friend by hiding behind a pillar.

Temari, with his hands on her waist, loomed above Shikamaru, who was lying on his back. "Why'd you call me out here, Shikamaru?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru sat and jumped up. He then brushed off the dirt from his clothes and faced Temari. "Hey Temari. Glad you could make it," Shikamaru commented.

"Can you hurry up, Shikamaru? Break's about to end," said Temari while tapping her right foot impatiently.

Shikamaru then did something that Sakura didn't think a clam and reserved person like him was capable of doing- Shikamaru slightly lowered his head and started fidgeting. The surprise didn't end there. Not only did Shikamaru fidget, but when he talked, he started to stutter, just like Hinata. "Um, w-well, I-I was just thinking if you had a date for t-the Snowflake Ball yet," asked Shikamaru.

Temari raised her right eyebrow. "Where are you getting at, Shikamaru?"

"What I'm trying to say is, i-if you don't have a-a date yet, then would you l-like to go with me a-as my d-d-date?" stammered Shikamaru while blushing lightly.

Temari's eyes widened. Then she blinked once; twice. A smile slowly crept up on Temari's lips. "I'd love to go with you, lazy ass," answered Temari.

Shikamaru, who was holding his breath, finally released it. "Okay, now that that's over, I'm gonna go back to cloud watching," said Shikamaru. He then lied back down on his back and stared at the sky.

Temari loomed over him once again, blocking out the sunlight from Shikamaru's view. "Geez, you never change, do you, Shikamaru?" asked Temari with a smile. She then sat down beside Shikamaru and lied down as well.

Shikamaru turned his head to face Temari. "Aren't you going to class? You said it yourself- break's almost over."

"Nah, I'd rather relax here. Besides, I have study hall next, so it's no big deal," replied Temari.

"Okay, troublesome woman, whatever you say," sighed Shikamaru.

Meanwhile, the eavesdropper, Sakura was smiling ear to ear. "Wow, that's so out of character for Shikamaru. Well, Temari has a date now too at least," thought Sakura. "That just leaves TenTen. Hm, I wonder who'll ask her. Neji probably will. I could sense the chemistry between the two of them when they were practicing together too."

"TenTen." The brown haired girl turned around when she heard her name to see her archery partner, Neji, standing right in front of her.

"Hi, Neji. What's up?" TenTen smiled nervously and clutched her books tightly.

"We have to work on your archery. Come to my house today after school, our usual time. Don't be late," informed Neji.

TenTen's grip on her books loosened and her shoulders slumped a little. "Damn, I was hoping he would ask me to the dance," the Chinese girl complained mentally.

"TenTen, are you paying attention?" asked Neji.

Said girl jerked her head up and looked at Neji again. "Yeah, of course. Archery practice at your house today, 3 P.M sharp. Got it," repeated TenTen. Just as she was about to walk away, Neji put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. TenTen tensed up as soon as his hand touched her skin. She turned her head around. "Did you want something else, Neji?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. TenTen, would you do me the honor of being my date for the Snowflake Ball?" Neji asked flawlessly, without a stutter.

TenTen sharply sucked in her breath and breathed out slowly. She regained her posture and replied, "I'd love to go with you, Neji."

Neji nodded once and released his grip on TenTen's shoulder. "I look forward to spending time with you at the dance." With that, Neji walked away, leaving TenTen awestruck.

After a while, TenTen heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to see Neji's cousin, Hinata. "U-Um, I-I didn't mean to e-eavesdrop, b-but I heard Neji nii-san a-ask you to the d-dance," confessed Hinata.

"I don't mind you hearing, Hinata. You're Neji's cousin after all," said TenTen.

"A-Are you glad that h-he asked?" Hinata inquired.

TenTen blushed lightly. "W-Well, I guess you could say that."

"You and Neji nii-san w-will make a v-very nice couple," complimented the young Hyuuga. Before TenTen could reply to that comment, Hinata turned and ran to her class. A few seconds later, TenTen shrugged and walked to her own class as well.

Well, this chapter seems short… Not a lot of things happening, except a lot of asking out. I'll try to make the next chapter more…exciting. XD Stay tuned for chapter 12! Please review, review, review! If you guys have any comments or constructive criticism, please feel free to state them in your reviews. (PS: I haven't been writing for a long time, so forgive me if I'm getting rusty…)