Chapter 13: The Slumber Party: Sakura Dreams and Ino Schemes

Nightshroud: BTW, Shino will not be in my story. Why? I hate him! He's a freak! He looks like a freak, acts like a freak, has a colony of bugs living inside him (eeww, yikes!), and he beat Zaku! Noooo! So for the purpose of this story, Shino is dead. Or, I don't know. use your imagination.

Sakura yawned and rolled out of bed. There was no ninja training today and her parents were away, so she was free to do whatever she liked. She ran over to the phone and began calling people. Her parents said she could have friends over so she wasn't alone, and she was going to take full advantage of that.

Naruto leaped out of bed and ran to the kitchen. He had glanced over at Sasuke only to find an empty bed. To his relief, Sasuke was at the kitchen table having some ramen. He held up a note from Kayume.

Naruto and Sasuke,

I have to be at the Hokage's. There's a big meeting.

Sorry I can't be there with you. Have a good day!

With love,

Kayume

Naruto sat down and had a bowl of ramen. Sasuke just stared at his bowl the whole time. Naruto figured that he was still shaken from last night.

A sudden knock at the door startled Naruto from his thought pattern. Sasuke got up and strolled over to the door. Upon opening it, they discovered Shikamaru and Kiba. "Woah! I didn't really believe the rumors," said a wide-eyed Shikamaru. Sasuke rolled his eyes and replied harshly, "What do you guys want?"

"Woah, woah! Easy there! We just wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out at Ramen Ichiraiku later." said Kiba.

"Guys only, since all the girls are going to Sakura's slumber party." said Shikamaru.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Slumber party?"

It was about sunset when Naruto and Sasuke arrived at Ichiraiku's. They saw Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and his dog Akamaru at a table. They looked pretty bored. Naruto and Sasuke joined them. They talked about different things but the conversation inevitably turned to Sakura's sleep-over.

"So what do you think about Sakura's slumber party?" Shikamaru asked casually.

"I'll bet they have lots of snacks!" said Choji hungrily.

"Come on, Choji! You just ate!" replied Shikamaru.

"I'll bet they're talking about me!" said Naruto proudly.

The other just stared at him disgustedly, and Sasuke gave a sigh.

"I say we go check it out," said Kiba.

The other four glanced at each other.

Sakura opened the door for her guests. Ino, TenTen, and Hinata came in. They decided to stay in Sakura's spacious living room. They talked for some time while painting each others nails. (I don't know, what do girls do at sleep-overs?) The conversation was mostly about the guys.

"Okay, I'll name a guy, and we'll rate him from one to ten," Ino said.

The others girls nodded. "Hmmmm...let's see...how about Kiba?"

"He smells bad all the time," said Sakura.

"No wonder, he carries a dog around on his head all the time," said TenTen.

"H-he's really very n-nice," said Hinata shyly.

"Maybe..." said Ino, "Well, I'll give him a three for sport." Sakura and TenTen nodded.

Meanwhile, the boys had snuck up to Sakura's house and were listening outside the window.

"A three! They didn't even mention how handsome I am!" Kiba protested. The others only shook their heads.

"All right, how about Neji?" Ino asked.

"He's kinda creepy with those cold eyes of his," said Sakura.

"I dunno, I think he's kinda cute," said TenTen. Ino and Sakura glanced at each other.

"You know him better than us. Tell us about him," said Sakura to Hinata.

"H-he's really very l-lonely. He's s-seems so angry b-because he's a Branch Member," said Hinata while fiddling her fingers.

"Four."

"TenTen thinks Neji's cute. Interesting," said Shikamaru. Naruto laughed stupidly and Sasuke just stared at him with a vacant look. Kiba was still pouting and Akamaru was trying to comfort him.

"Uhh...Shikamaru and Choji?" Ino asked

"Shikamaru's so lazy and Choji's only hobby is stuffing his face," replied Sakura sourly.

"Hey, that may be so, but their still my teammates and best friends, so watch it," said Ino.

Shikamaru and Choji were ticked off at the way the girls talked of them (thought they knew they were right), but were pleased with Ino for standing up for them.

"Should we even get started on Naruto?" Ino laughed. The other girls moaned, except for Hinata, as Sakura noted. The girls were able to stay on the subject of Naruto for quite a while.

Naruto growled and joined Kiba in pouting. "We should bust in their and mess things up," said Naruto fiercly.

"NOOOOOOOOO! STOP!" came a loud cry. The five guys turned to see Lee racing at them at an alarming speed with Neji strolling along behind. When he came to them, he began to shout, completely unaware of their frantic gestures.

"YOU CANNOT VIOLATE THE SANCTITY OF A GIRL'S SLEEP-OVER! IT IS THEIR PRIVATE TIME TO RELEASE THEIR EMOTIONS IN THE PRIVACY OF THEIR TRUSTED FRIENDS!"

Neji rolled his eyes and the others nearly passed out from fright. Just then they heard a sound at the window.

"What are you guys doing out here!" asked a furious Sakura.

"OH MOST BEAUTIFUL AND GRACIOUS SAKURA, I TRIED TO TELL THEM TO RESPECT YOUR PRIVACY, BUT THEY WOULD NOT LISTEN!" said Lee.

"Tattle-tail," muttered Shikamaru.

Just then, Choji (who had been cowering in the back) caught sight of jumbo bowls of potato chips, pretzels, and ice cream.

"Oh boy! FOOD!" he shouted. The others eyes grew wide.

"Oh Choji, no!" Shikamaru groaned. Choji leaped forward shoving all the guys through the window and into the living room, knocking all the girls down. When they all managed to get up, Choji was bent over the snacks, stuffing his face. Ino glared daggers at him, but he hardly noticed. "OOOOOHHH! YOU STUPID PIG!" Inner Sakura shouted. Outwardly, she merely motioned to the door and said, "Out!" The boys all grumbled when they looked out the window and saw to glows that looked like eyes... Kiba ran and shut the window. "We're not going back out there!" he protested while drawing the curtains. Sakura thought and suddenly turned to the girls. The four quickly talked and then turned to the boys. "Okay," said Sakura, "We'll let you stay, but you have to do whatever we want. The seven guys looked helplessly and reluctantly accepted. The three girls (excluding Hinata) all smiled deviously. Yes, this would be lots of fun...

Kayume and Kakashi, along with several other jonin sat in Tsunade's office. She had been telling them of Konoha's status in economics and warfare, which bored Kayume. But she unexpectedly changed the conversation. "The main reason I have called you here is to tell you that we received word that a medic ninja from the Hidden Mist Village has escaped and is being pursued by the Black Ops. This medic ninja might even be headed here."

While everyone was getting settled, Sakura was talking to Ino about Sasuke.

"He's so handsome and cool," said Sakura dreamily.

"Then why don't you try to win him over?"

"Ino, are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm totally over Sasuke. I just had a childish crush on him."

"So did I, but now I really feel like I love him. But he doesn't even notice me."

Ino looked thoughtful and then said, "Leave that to me."

They all sat in a circle, with Ino on Sakura's right, Shikamaru next to her, Choji next to him, Hinata next to him, Kiba next to her, Lee next to him, TenTen next to him, Neji next to her, Naruto next to him, and Sasuke on Sakura's left.

"We're playing Spin the Bottle!" Ino announced deviously. Almost everyone gulped nervously. "Sakura, your up first," Ino finished.

Sakura spun the bottle. it spinned quickly around and around. It started to slow down. It passed Neji, Lee (o thank goodness!), Kiba, Choji, and Shikamaru. It slowed even more. It slowly turned to Sasuke (Inner Sakura: Cha! True love finds a way!) and then rested on..

"Naruto! Noooo!" Sakura whined. Naruto gasped and instantly got a stupid grin on his face.

"Come on, Sakura! You know you want to!" Naruto said.

"Wait!" Sakura pleaded. "Let me see who the other girls get first!" Naruto sulkily agreed. The other three girls spun, their results just as bad.

"Kiba!" shouted Ino.

"Choji!" shouted TenTen

"Oh, Lee. Not Naruto," whispered Hinata.

The four girls quickly huddled, and before the guys could say anything, they responded with a unanimous "New game!"

"Oh man! Come on!" Naruto howled.

The next game decided on was Truth or Dare. Sakura asked first. "Hmmmm...Neji, truth or dare?"

Neji frowned at the uselessness of these games, but only responded with, "Truth."

Sakura didn't even need time to think. "Do you think TenTen is cute?" she asked. All eyes turned to Neji.

"Emotions are for the weak," he replied cooly.

"Answer the stupid question!" Ino yelled. There was a unusual silence, and then...

"Yes,"

Naruto and Kiba howled. Ino and Sakura giggled while TenTen blushed madly. Neji looked indifferent.

"I guess that makes it my turn," Neji said. He looked around till his eyes rested on Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, truth or dare?"

"It's all too troublesome, but I'll say dare."

Neji smirked and said, "Kiss Ino." Shikamaru looked at everyone's shocked expressions. He shrugged and turned to Ino, giving her a lazy kiss on the cheek. Everyone grinned in delight, though they were expecting it on the lips. Shikamaru turned and said, "Kiba, truth or dare?"

"Dare,"

"I dare you to hide Akamaru in one of the folds of Choji's stomach. Kiba gasped and Choji shot Shikamaru a disapproving glance. By the time the dare was finished, poor Akamaru could barely breath.

"Neji, truth or dare?" asked Kiba. Neji looked ticked for being asked twice.

"Truth."

"Did you ever use your Byakugan to spy on girls?"

"Kiba!" the girls shouted.

"No, that would be dishonorable," answered Neji truthfully.

"I would," Kiba mumbled.

"Sasuke, truth or dare," Neji said.

"Truth."

"Would you ever go out with Sakura?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and frowned. "No, I don't need anyone." Sakura looked hurt and everyone felt a little awkward.

"Naruto, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to pull out TenTen's hair." No one had seen TenTen with her hair down, and they all gasped. Naruto pulled her hair out and jumped back, still getting the full force of her punch. "She looks pretty with her hair down," Neji thought for no particular reason.

"Ino, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Do you still like Sasuke?"

"No, I'm over that," she replied. Most of the people, especially the guys, were impressed that she wasn't so childish anymore.

"Sasuke, truth or dare?"

"Ugh, fine dare."

"I dare you to kiss Sakura, on the lips!"

Sasuke grunted in her direction and then turned to Sakura. He gently but firmly raised her chin and softly kissed her. Everyone was too in shock to even react. The Lee's eyes glowed with fire. "NOOOO! MY SWEET SAKURA!" he cried. He leaped at them, but they parted just then, causing him to fly by them and smack his head hard on the wall.

The game went on for a while, but they eventually got bored. Choji tried to warm up some pizza on a light bulb, causing it to melt and smoke, setting off the fire alarm. Fortunately, Shikamaru was able to figure out how to turn it off. After that fiasco, Sakura popped in a movie for them to watch. It was a stupid scary movie about a glowing-eyed sludge monster. "I'll bet that's what that was outside earlier," said Choji. Ino and Shikamaru glanced at him stupidly. "Don't be ridiculous, Choji!" scolded Ino. Just then, they heard a sound at the window. Naruto parted the curtains. His eyes widened with surprise and he leaped back with a yell. "Aaah! The glowing-eyed monster!" They all turned to see a pair of glowing green eyes. They all screamed until it meowed. Yes, meowed. "Oh, it's only a cat, you moron!" Sakura bellowed, though she was very relieved.

The scare was enough to tire everyone out, and everyone soon fell asleep. Before then, Sakura turned to Ino.

"Thanks, Ino."

"Oh, sure."

"But, it's not the same if he's forced into it."

"Yeah, that's true. But, hey. One step at a time."

"Yeah, you're right. Goodnight, Ino."

Nightshroud: My longest chapter ever! Wooh! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Purely comic relief and light-heartedness. It can't all be serious!

Next chapter: The Healer from Across the Waves