Rock Angel

by WhenSarahSmiles

When her band doesn't show, the world famous rock group, Akatsuki, rescue her. But what happens afterwards? Music, madness, jealousy and rabid fangirls. And that's only day one. Rated T for themes and language.

21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Naruto.

Claimer: Yume and Amaya belong to me; please don't use them yourself.

Me: Just a warning before you start… .:SUPER LONG CHAPTER!:. Grab your snacks and go to the toilet now. You're reading 22,000 words... GOOD LUCK! I hope you enjoy!

---

Chapter 21

Yume twisted in her seat - a flower-clip in one hand - when she heard loud knocking at her bedroom door,

"What is it, Amaya?" She asked, twisting the flower in her hand. The voice on the other side of the door yelled, sounding as if in a rush,

"Have you got any hairspray?"

Yume looked on her dressing-table, seeing the aerosol-can in question.

"Yes," She called back, grinning. Now she finally had Amaya. "But you'll have to come and get it!"

The voice on the other side of the door suddenly flew into anger. "But you'll see my dress! No way!"

"Well then you're not getting the hairspray! I'm busy!"

"DAMN YOU, WOMAN!"

Yume laughed, hearing Amaya bang her fist against the door, then she heard her friend disappearing down the corridor again. When the footsteps were gone Yume turned back to her mirror and returned to clipping the light blue flower into her hair. She had decided that tonight it was all she would wear in her hair. No bobbles, no ties, just a flower to stop her fringe from dropping in front of her eyes.

She smiled and pulled herself up from her seat, picking up her brush. As she ran it through her hair she walked towards her full-length mirror, staring almost lovingly at her dress. The light-blue sequins on the top of the corset sparkled in the little light of her room. She knew they would only draw eyes to her collar-bones so she had to find a necklace that would fit the part. She looked down at her dressing-table and saw the heart-necklace from Hidan, but she knew it did not look right. It was too big. She thought for a moment then walked round to her shelves, dropping her brush on her bed, and pulled out an old and very, very dusty black box. After blowing off the cobwebs she set the box down on her bed and opened the lid. In the box was one single necklace - a blue tear-drop. It was the necklace given to her eight years ago on Valentine's Day by a tiny boy from her class. The necklace that had caused such a fuss; caused her parents to finally snap. Changed her life. She had never worn it once, but now it seemed almost silly not to. It was such a pretty necklace and it deserved to be worn. It had done nothing to her personally so why should she refuse it now?

Yume picked the necklace up out of the box and walked around to her mirror, where she watched herself put the necklace on and clip it together, letting it drop between her collar-bones. Seeing it around her neck she smiled. She should have worn it before now; it did look nice.

Yume ran the brush through her hair again, touched up the make-up on her face, put the eye-liner pencil and mascara into her silver clutch-bag and pulled out her silver heels. As she slipped them onto her feet she heard Amaya outside her door again.

"Yume, come on! Give me the hairspray!"

Yume sighed, tightening up one of her shoes. "Alright, alright, but you're going to have to let me see the dress!"

There was another pause from outside – in which Yume did up her other shoe – then she heard an almighty sigh, then Amaya said in defeat, "Fine!"

Before Yume could even walk towards her dressing-table, her bedroom door was thrown open, crashing loudly against the wall. In the doorway stood Amaya. Yume's jaw dropped.

"Wow, Amaya, you look," Amaya raised an eyebrow, her hair held up in one hand, "Great!"

Amaya perked up at this, grinning. "Thanks, though I didn't need telling that. I already knew I was awesome."

Yume rolled her eyes, stepping aside for Amaya to walk into her room. "Sometimes you don't half remind me of Suigetsu, Amaya."

Amaya waved her free hand about, "Pah! I'm way better than that blue-haired baboon and you know it."

As Amaya walked across Yume's room to pick up the hairspray, Yume got a look at the back Amaya's dress. She laughed.

"Oh, I see what you mean by modifications now."

Amaya looked over her shoulder and grinned. "Great, right?"

Yume nodded her head, laughing. "Absolutely."

Amaya was stood wearing a short dark-purple dress, the bottom half made from layers of tulle that fell to just above her knees, and the top half a corset with lace along the sweetheart neckline. On the back of the dress, in the part where the skirt and the corset were joined, Amaya had sewn what could only be described as Barney the Dinosaur's tail into place. It was as purple as the dress, and the spikes were a lighter shade of purple, to match her high stiletto platforms.

She picked up the hairspray and let go of her hair, bunching it up in her hands before setting it. Yume had to evacuate quickly – Amaya was not stingy with hairspray after all. As she slammed the bedroom door behind her, she felt her clutch-bag begin to vibrate. A moment later there was a loud car-horn from outside. Her heart started to pound. It was finally time. Had she not been wearing a dress and high-heels she would have been jumping for joy. She banged on her bedroom door.

"Amaya! Amaya! The limo's here! We've got to go! Prom is a-waiting!"

Amaya opened the door from the other side with her eyebrow raised. "Well you're certainly excited."

Yume rolled her eyes, grabbing hold of Amaya's arm and turned to run along the corridor.

"I know you are secretly too!" She started running, "Have you got all your things?"

Amaya lifted her purple clutch-bag. "Yup."

"Great! Let's get going!"

Yume charged down the staircase - miraculously managing to avoid tripping and dying on her way down, pulling Amaya with her – grabbed the front door key, flicked the main-hall light off, nearly threw Amaya out of the front door, jumped out herself then locked up. Once she had finished she turned to see Amaya stood in front of her with her arms crossed.

"Calm down, woman, it's only prom!"

Yume shook her head, daydream-sparkles filling her eyes. "But it's going to be so wonderful! Like a ball for royalty!"

Amaya looked over her own shoulder at her tail, then back to Yume with an eyebrow raised. "Are you sure we're going to the same thing, here?"

Amaya laughed, noticing that Yume was completely ignoring her, took her by the hand and led the dream-struck girl down the garden path to where the large white limousine was waiting for them. She banged on the front window, yelling,

"Oi! Let us in!"

The window rolled down, revealing Kotetsu looking slightly surprised. "Um, might I ask who you are first?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Amaya. I'm this one's friend-" She grabbed hold of Yume and shoved her in view of Kotetsu. "Are you going to let us in now?"

He nodded his head, amused by Amaya's forwardness, and pressed the button that opened the back doors. Amaya, seeing this, nodded her head approvingly then pulled Yume to the back of the limo where they both got inside, shut the door then sat down. Kotetsu wound down the screen and called back,

"I'll have you two there in a jiffy!" He tilted his hat slightly, smiling, "And might I say you look lovely tonight."

Amaya grinned, waving at him. "Thanks!"

Yume smiled brightly, watching Kotetsu wind up the screen again, leaving the two in peace. A moment later the engine roared and the limousine set off towards Yume and Amaya's school. Yes, it was only just down the road, but Minato had insisted that the pair – well, more Yume – arrive in style. It was nice of him, Yume had to admit, for him to lend them his personal limousine for the night. He had said it was his way of making up for not being able to attend the prom – he had a large business meeting to attend instead. Yume did not mind too much. She had managed to get a large, fancy, comfortable limousine out of it. She could not complain.

A short while later, the limousine pulled up at the school-gates and Kotetsu wound the screen down again.

"Have a lovely evening, ladies. I'll be parked just round the corner so come and find me when you're done."

Amaya nodded, waved, then dove for the door out, whereas Yume called to him, "Thanks Kotetsu!" She made her way towards the exit, then with her hand on the door she said, "You never complain about driving me everywhere so... well, thank you."

He smiled again, tipping his hat. "No problem, Miss Chiles."

With this, Yume nodded and stepped out of the limo, landing on the pavement outside. In an instant there were camera flashes everywhere. Yume rolled her eyes, looking to Amaya. The raven-haired girl raised a fist.

"Want me to get rid of them?"

Yume shook her head, for once smiling at the rose bushes. "Nah, let them do it. It's not like they can get a story from this anyway."

Amaya paused for a second then shrugged, dropping her hand. "Yeah, I guess you're-"

"YUME! AMAYA!"

Both girls turned, seeing a figure running towards them at an alarming speed. Oh great. What was the betting he had had sugar? Amaya stepped in front of Yume, putting her arm out to catch Tobi just before he managed to throw his arms around Yume's neck, undoubtedly sending both of them crashing to the floor. He backed up from Amaya, holding his stomach where he had run into her arm.

"That wasn't very nice, Amaya! Tobi only wanted a hug from his prom-dates!"

Amaya looked at him with an eyebrow raised then she did something both Yume and Tobi had not been expecting. She grinned, stepped forward and hugged him. Yume's jaw dropped open. Tobi's eyes lit up. He grinned childishly and wrapped his own arms around Amaya, hugging her quite tightly but not enough to suffocate her because even he knew he could only push Amaya so far. Yume grinned, seeing her friend looking so happy.

"What's gotten into you?"

Amaya smiled back, winking, "It's prom."

Yume laughed, glad Amaya was finally getting into the spirit of things. Yume stepped forward too, wrapping her arms around both of her friends with Tobi more than happy to return it. He finally had people who were willing to hug him! HALLELUJAH!

After a moment the pair pulled back. Amaya said, looking around curiously; ignoring the still-flashing cameras, "So where are the others?"

Tobi grinned and pointed over his shoulder to the school building – from which loud music was blaring. "Inside! Tobi was allowed out to come and get his prom-dates!"

Yume raised an eyebrow. "But you're the drummer. Don't they need you?"

He shook his head. "We stole Kimimaro."

This caused Yume to laugh; imagining Kimimaro's face as he played drummer in his all-time favourite band. Suigetsu would be seething with jealousy, no doubt.

Amaya, finally beginning to get aggravated with the cameras, decided to usher the other two along, taking hold of Tobi's hand to pull him. In turn he grabbed Yume's hand, then the three walked along, past the rows of rose-bushes and headed into the grounds, making their way to the main hall.

Once inside, it was easy enough to figure out where they were going – they just had to follow the sound of the music or follow the bustle of people. The three linked arms along the way; Tobi in the middle and the girls on the side. It did take both Tobi and Yume all their strengths to stop themselves skipping along, singing with giddiness.

They arrived at the main hall's doorway where they were stopped by people asking for tickets. Amaya and Yume handed their tickets in, and after a short while of having to explain that Tobi was Tobi – because no one usually saw him without his concert mask on – the three were allowed to go in. As soon as Yume opened the door a crack, the sound of music hit them like a wall. They walked inside and Yume and Amaya's mouths grew into Cheshire-cat grins.

The hall in front of them – usually the boring old assembly hall – had been renovated into a dance hall. Tables and chairs had been set out around the edges of the room, the curtains had been drawn and decorated with balloons, the middle of the room had been taken for dancing, there was a large glitter-ball above and at the far side of the room the stage – usually used for showing Tsunade's authority during assemblies – had been transformed with the aid of the band and their instruments into a performance stage. On it, the members of Akatsuki (plus Kimimaro) were performing one of their songs, loud and as energetically as ever.

The three stood watching from the doorway for a short while, then Yume looked away and spotted a group of her friends sat around a table. She tugged on Tobi's suit-sleeve, then pointed at them.

"I'm going over there, okay?"

Tobi nodded then said, not wanting to go back on stage yet, "Tobi'll come too!"

Yume smiled and unhooked herself from Tobi's arm, then started to make her way across to her friends – Tobi and Amaya following behind. When she arrived at the table a few of the people looked up and a couple of jaws dropped.

"You're wearing your hair down!" exclaimed Sakura, "I told you it would look good!"

Yume twisted a strand of hair through her fingers. "Yes, yes. Thank you."

"I love your dress!" yelled Temari, grabbing hold of Yume to pull her into the seat next to her. Yume laughed, landing a little clumsily, then said over the music,

"If you think mine's good you should see Amaya's!"

At this the table looked up at Tobi and Amaya. As if to put her as the centre of attention, Tobi grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her in front of him so they could see her. She grinned and did a 360-turn. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"Hell yes! Was that a dinosaur tail?"

"You bet it was!" She turned again, letting the others get a better look at it. As she did this, Yume looked at Tobi, wanting to ask if he wanted to sit down for a while, only she noticed him looking off into the room. She followed his gaze, landing her eyes onto a table close to the other side of the room. At it sat Neji, Hinata, Tenten and Lee – Lee, in his lime green suit. Oh boy. For a moment she wondered what Tobi was staring at, but then she noticed Hinata look over and almost instantly Tobi looked away, down at the floor.

That was quite a surprise for Yume. She was sure the only time Hinata and Tobi had met had been at the party, and they had barely spoken a word to each other. Yume smiled and moved over towards Temari, freeing up the seat for Tobi to take.

"Tobi, sit down! You'll want to rest before you get back on stage!"

He nodded his head rapidly, his grin fixed in place, then took the seat next to Yume and hugged her tightly. She laughed, only half-heartedly trying to push him off. Same old Tobi.

Just then the music ended and Hidan – in a black suit and loose red tie - started talking into the microphone, only a moment later he was literally kicked out of the way by the headmistress, Tsunade. A couple of the girls in the room ran over to see if he was okay whilst Tsunade took hold of the microphone and said loudly, looking out into the room,

"Well students, it's here at last. The end of school life for you!" She tossed her head, sending her pigtails over her shoulders, "We've had a really great year, and we're expecting your exam results to be excellent thanks to our staff, and of course to you. You who have put in the effort to study and come in to school every day to learn what you need for the future." She looked around briefly, trying to spot someone, but when she could not see him her shoulders sagged, "Mister Hatake was supposed to be here to say a few words to you tonight, but as usual he's late-"

"WOO! GO KAKASHI!" Yelled Naruto, jumping up energetically. "DON'T EVER CHANGE!"

This caused a roar of applause from Kakashi's form dotted all around the room, not in the least Amaya. She stood up, jumping up and down as much as Naruto and cheered loudly. Tsunade cleared her throat,

"Yes, thank you for that Naruto." She smiled, clapping her hands together, "Well I'll say it instead: We've enjoyed teaching you for the past five years and wish you the best of luck with the rest of your lives. We hope that you take what you've learned into the future with you, and hope for you success." She dropped her hands then somehow pulled a wine-glass from her pocket, "Well now that's out of the way, I declare this leaving prom officially under way!"

The room cheered again.

Once Tsunade had left the stage, Akatsuki set about performing their next song. Before they started however, Hidan looked out into the audience, trying to spot their drummer. Tobi, noticing, dived down under the table by Yume's feet. She looked down, laughing at him.

"Tobi, what are you doing?"

He whined – quietly though, so as not to draw too much attention to himself, "Tobi doesn't want to go back up on stage yet! Tobi wants to enjoy the party first!"

She laughed louder, leaning down to pat him on the head. "Oh, okay."

Hidan, searching frantically but unable to spot Tobi, gave in and rolled his eyes, telling Kimimaro he would just have to hold on for a little longer and help them out. Kimimaro did not protest.

Akatsuki powered into their next song, Hidan singing as the others played on their instruments. It was not a heavy song; people could actually dance to it, so that's what they did. Couples from all around the room started to get up to dance – notably Neji and Tenten, and Sasuke and Kimiko. Yes, Sasuke and Kimiko were dating officially. Amaya's two worst enemies had joined forces. Though, Yume had to admit (since Amaya point blank refused), they did look cute together; Kimiko pulling Sasuke about the floor as he tried to look cool in front of the others.

Tobi crept up from under the table eventually, seeing he had avoided having to play another song for a while. He took the seat next to Yume and sat there with his hands between his knees, looking out onto the dance-floor dreamily. Yume, who had just been talking to Sakura, looked at him, noticing he had gone quiet.

"Are you okay, Tobi?"

He looked back suddenly, his eyes wide as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. He nodded, a grin quickly spreading on to his face.

"Tobi's super! Thanks for asking!"

Yume smiled, rolling her eyes. She knew where Tobi had been looking. Some prom date he was! He couldn't even keep his eyes on the right girl. It was so cute. Yume suddenly had a great idea. Even when she stopped thinking of it she knew it was a good one because Tobi's eyes had already fallen back to the girl in the lilac dress. She smiled and leant forward, placing her hand on Tobi's leg. He looked back at her again, his grin as big as ever.

"Yume!" He dived sideways, throwing his arms around her, almost tipping her off the seat onto Temari. The girl in her red dress looked down with her eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face,

"Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Yume laughed, looking at the upside-down version of Temari. "Oh, no! No, no, it's fine!"

She managed to pull herself up again and push Tobi off her, then she said quietly so that only he could hear her, "Hey Tobi?" He nodded his head. "Do you like Hinata?"

Tobi's eyes flew wide and he shook his head rapidly, scrunching his face up. "No, no! Tobi doesn't know Hinata! Tobi's never met Hinata before!"

Yume smiled and poked his cheek playfully. "Then how come your face has gone all red, hmm?"

Tobi shot his hands up to try and cover his face, shaking his head again. "Noooooo, Tobi doesn't know Hinata! Girls are eww!"

Yume laughed loudly, seeing Tobi acting like a child, then she pulled his hands away from his face. "Tobi, it's okay, you can like her. She's a really nice girl."

Tobi looked at Yume unsurely for a moment, then he looked over his shoulder to where Hinata was sitting, then back at Yume. He had a small smile on his face. Yume grinned and patted him on the head.

"So when did you two get to know each other?"

Tobi's face broke into a grin again.

"It was when Tobi was helping Yume and her pineapple-haired friend find the treasure..."

Tobi was running flat out, the map in his hand. He was running along Yume's school's field, searching for the right marker. He had no idea where he was. He was lost. Tobi could not read maps. This had been bound to fail from the start.

Tobi stopped suddenly, having confused himself completely. He had no idea where he was on the map, but in real life he found himself stood by a tall rugby-post overlooking a large banking. He tried finding this spot on the map - having no idea he was holding the map upside down. He looked around again, trying to see if there were any markers in sight.

He slumped suddenly, realising he was never going to find the treasure now. He would never be first back. He bawled up his hands, a pout on his lips. He really wanted to find the treasure – he had wanted prove to Deidara that he could do something right. He hung his head shamefully.

Just then a small, quiet voice said from behind him, "E-excuse me. A-are you okay?"

He looked round, seeing a girl with long blue hair staring up at him with large opal eyes. She was wearing the same outfit he had seen Yume wearing just before, and had a map just like he was holding so...- He scratched the back of his head nervously, holding his map out.

"Umm, Tobi's lost. It's okay though! Tobi will figure it out soon enough!" He looked down at his map again, twisting it this way and that, trying to figure out which way up it went. The girl watched him again for a moment, looking back at her partner who had just shown up from the bottom of the banking, then back to Tobi.

"U-umm, would you like some- some help?"

Tobi stopped his frantic map-turning and looked up, surprised. No one had ever offered him help before. The girl's partner said from beside her, having backed up slightly after realising who she was talking to,

"Hinata, we do not have time for this. We have our own markers to find."

She looked back at her partner with a small smile on her lips.

"It's okay Neji. I don't mind." She turned and handed him the map and compass. "You can complete it w-without me. I-I'll stay and help... umm..." She looked back at the boy, glad that he spoke in third person, "Tobi."

At this, Tobi perked up, a wide grin spreading out over his face again. Neji on the other hand, took a step back. This was the boy who had chased him round his old band's rehearsal-hall a few months ago for ten minutes straight. He looked between Tobi and Hinata a few times, then not wanting to set the crazy-boy off again, he bowed his head and said to Hinata,

"Alright. Catch up to me when you can."

Hinata smiled, bowing too. "O-okay. See you soon, Neji."

Neji was out of sight faster than a speeding bullet. Once he was gone, Hinata turned to Tobi and smiled softly.

"S-so... would you like me to show you where to go?"

Tobi nodded his head rapidly, holding the map out for her. She took it from him, looked at it then started laughing loudly, only she stopped a moment later with her face as red as a tomato.

"S-sorry, that was rude of me."

Tobi tilted his head, wondering what had made her laugh. "Did Tobi do something?"

Hinata shook her head, holding the map out to show Tobi helpfully. Tobi looked over her shoulder so she pointed to the map.

"Your marker is here," then she moved her finger to point to the other end of the map, "And you're here."

Tobi sagged again, his head accidentally crashing against Hinata's shoulder. He was too busy moping to realise Hinata's face had turned beet-red again. She stuttered, turning to look away from him,

"I-I can help you get to the rest of the markers i-if you like? M-my partner will be fine without me."

Tobi lifted his head up and bounded round to stand in front of Hinata.

"Really?" He took hold of Hinata's hands and jumped up and down excitedly. "YEAH! TOBI AND HINATA CAN FIND THE TREASURE TOGETHER!"

Hinata laughed, knowing her face was as red as a tomato but she did not care, seeing how happy she had made him.

"S-sure!"

Tobi took a tighter hold on Hinata's hand and started to pull her along, asking loudly as he ran, "Which way?"

Hinata laughed again after looking at the map. "The other way!"

Tobi skidded to a halt, laughed nervously then started to charge in the opposite direction, pulling Hinata along behind him.

Once he had finished the story of his encounter with Hinata, not only Yume but Temari, Sakura and Amaya were all sat watching him with large ogling eyes, cooing over the tale. Tobi noticed and grinned.

"And that's how Tobi and Hinata became friends!"

Yume went to say something, only Temari leant over her, putting her hands on the table and demanded, "You have to ask her to dance!"

Tobi's eyes shot wide again. "No, no, no! Tobi could never do that! Hinata's with the one with the eyebrows!"

Everybody looked over to Lee in his lime green suit. He noticed and looked at them all, throwing his thumb up, grinning. Amaya snickered. Yume said – trapped below Temari,

"No, Lee's not her prom-date. He told me he wasn't going with anyone when he was-..." She cut herself off, remembering Lee had asked her not to say anything about his hairdressing job yet. She shook her head, correcting herself and said, "He told me."

Sakura clapped her hands, grinning. "There you go then! Go and ask her to dance."

Tobi shook his head one more time. "There's no point. The song's nearly over!"

As if on cue, up on stage Hidan sang the last note of the song, leaving the rest of the band to do the instrumental outtro. Amaya shook her head, waving it off,

"So? Dance with her in the next song."

"Tobi has to get back up on stage now."

Temari laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure they'll understand." She pointed to the white-haired boy on drums at the back of the stage, "Kimimaro's got it covered for now anyway."

The song came to an end and the room clapped, cheering the band on. Hidan took a small bow then looked about the room again. Instantly the four girls grabbed hold of Tobi and threw him down under the table, muffling his yelp of surprise. Up on stage, Hidan looked about, sighed, looked back at the others and shrugged. He turned back to the microphone,

"Hey guys! Has anyone seen our drummer recently? I think Kimimaro's arms are gonna' drop off soon."

A group of girls' voices called from the other side of the room, "HE'S NOT HERE!"

Hidan raised an eyebrow, unable to see who had yelled because of the lighting. He laughed, replying,

"Okay, jeez. I only asked!" He looked back at Kimimaro, putting his hand over the microphone, "You good for one more song?"

Kimimaro nodded – not about to say no to him. Hidan grinned, turned, had a quick image of what he was going to do to Tobi when he found him (since he had been on thin ice in the first place for going to prom with Yume), then threw his hand up, indicating for Sasori to start on the keyboard.

As the next song started up, couples began to dance again and the girls pulled Tobi up from the floor. Amaya grinned, seeing Tobi's confused expression. "You can thank us later."

Tobi shook himself from his daze, then nodded. He did not say anything after this so the girls looked between one another then Yume sighed, realising she would have to chaperone. She took hold of Tobi's hand then when the others had moved out of the way she pulled him up from his seat.

"Let's go say hi to Hinata!"

For a moment Tobi stayed quiet, then his eyes lit up. "Okay~!"

Yume nodded happily, then she looked over her shoulder at the girls, "I'll see you in a minute."

They grinned. Yume tightened her hold on Tobi's hand, determined not to lose him before they had reached Hinata's table, and pulled him through the large crowds of people dancing. They reappeared on the other side moments later – accidentally bumping into three different people along the way. They pulled up alongside Hinata's table and saw her looking off into the crowd of dancers. Lee spotted the pair first.

"Yume! Why hello there. What a pleasure it is to see you tonight, and might I say how lovely you look?"

She smiled, waving with her free hand, "Hi Lee. Thanks." Her smile cracked into a grin slightly, "Nice suit."

He beamed, lifting his chin up in pride. "Thank you." He looked at Tobi curiously, one of the only people who recognised Tobi's real face from attending so many photoshoots. "Now why are you visiting our table tonig-"

Yume put her finger to her lips, motioning Lee to be quiet, then she pointed at Hinata, then nudged her head towards Tobi. Lee took a moment, but when he understood he grinned again - the sheen ever-blinding - then got up, deciding to give them some time to themselves.

"Say no more."

Yume watched him go, smiled gratefully then decided to attract Hinata's attention. She cleared her throat then said with a bright grin, "Hey, Hinata!"

The girl looked up at her friend, only now realising she was stood there. "O-oh, hello Yume, sorry I-I didn't see you..."

Yume giggled, waving it off. "That's okay." She gripped hold of Tobi's hand, seeing Hinata start to look at her curiously. She pulled the boy so that he was definitely in Hinata's view – knowing he was because she had turned red again – then she said,

"Hinata, this is Tobi."

Hinata looked up at him, then back to her hands fidgeting with the dress, then back again, smiling. "H-hello, T-Tobi."

He grinned, waving with his free hand. "Hi, Hinata!"

She blushed again, smiling at how happy he seemed. Yume stopped herself from acting like usual Tobi - tackling Hinata off her chair because of how cute she was acting - and instead said politely,

"Tobi would like to ask you something, Hinata." She looked to Tobi, waiting, but he turned shy. Yume rolled her eyes. She shoved Tobi forward slightly, making him bump against the table, so he backed up and said, fidgeting with his fingers,

"W-would Hinata like to...to..." Yume nudged him in the back, "dance with Tobi?"

Hinata stared, her large opal eyes looking surprisingly at Tobi's auburn ones. She stuttered frantically, not having expected it. After a moment she calmed down, the red still covering her face and said quietly, a smile creeping onto her lips,

"Y-yes. I-I-I'd love to."

From behind Tobi's back, after hearing the reply, Yume turned to the table of her friends and gave them a thumbs up, causing Amaya to punch the air. Back with Tobi and Hinata, Yume said, patting Tobi on the shoulders,

"Have fun you two. If you need anything, we're just over there."

At this point that Hinata realised what Yume was doing. She shook her head suddenly. "Oh n-no, Yume, Tobi's your date, I just realised. I-I can't take him off you."

Yume waved her hands about as if dismissing it. "Aah, don't be silly, Hinata. Tobi's all yours." She smiled reassuringly, seeing Hinata's doubtful face, "Seriously. I'm fine."

After another moment Hinata gave her a grateful smile. "Well alright, i-if you're sure."

Yume nodded. She patted Tobi on the shoulders one last time, then said finally, "Alright, well I'll see you two later then."

With this she turned and made her way back to her friends, whereas Tobi offered his hand to Hinata and helped her up, then guided her onto the dance-floor – forcing himself to keep a cool head, refusing to jump about like an idiot like he normally did. He wanted to make a good impression.

Yume reappeared at her own table, pointing over her shoulder at the pair now on the dance-floor. "Mission accomplished!"

The other girls grinned and Amaya laughed. "Oh great. There goes our date."

Yume shrugged. "Ah well. I think he's better off with her than us anyway."

Amaya grinned slyly.

"Ah, I don't know," she reached around to the back of her dress, bringing the dinosaur tail round to the front. "I'm upset actually. So upset that..." Yume noticed a long zipper along the seam of the tail. She knew what was coming. Amaya unzipped the tail and pulled something from it, holding it up to show the others, "I might just have to drown my sorrows."

Yume slapped her forehead and the others laughed. Amaya was holding a small bottle of some unknown, more than likely ridiculously alcoholic substance. Oh, of course. There was always one at the prom determined to get everyone else drunk. Trust Yume to be best friends with her.

Amaya wiggled her eyebrows, scraping her chair back across the floor as she stood up.

"Well, don't mind me. I'll see you lot in a bit." She turned, accidentally smacking Naruto in the face with her – thankfully now-empty - tail then she walked towards the buffet where the punch bowl was sat. After this, Sakura turned on Naruto, seeing him rubbing his nose where he had been hit and said, not wanting to be like the rest of her forever-alone friends,

"Hey Naruto, do you want to go dance?"

He dropped his hands suddenly, a grin plastered on his face.

"Seriously?" He asked. She nodded. He jumped up from his seat, grabbing hold of her hand faster than she could turn to look at the other girls. "YES! BELIEVE IT! LET'S GET GOING!"

Sakura passed the others an 'ah well, he's an idiot but I love him' look, then was dragged off by Naruto onto the dance-floor. Once she was gone and it was only Temari and Yume sat at the table, Temari laughed and put her feet up, looking at the others dancing, then picked up her glass of punch.

"Ah well. Two forever-alone friends again, 'ey Yume?" She took a sip from her drink and at the same time Yume laughed, crossing her legs.

"Yeah, looks like it." She sat back, resting against the chair, then looked at Temari with a question on her lips. "So how come you never asked Kimimaro to prom in the end? You knew he was coming."

The drink that had been in Temari's mouth suddenly sprayed out over the table. She looked at Yume with wide-eyes, wiping at her mouth.

"What are you talking about? Me and Kimimaro, are you crazy?"

Yume chuckled. Temari was not pulling the wool over her eyes. Why was everyone so uptight about admitting they liked people anyway?

"Temari, you know I'm right."

Temari kept the shocked expression in place for a minute, then she dropped it and smirked. "Ah fine." She took another sip of her drink, "Was it that obvious?"

"Only from the moment you yelled at me for going to a meal with him."

She laughed nervously, remembering back to that day. "Ah. Oops."

Yume watched her drinking again then said, "So you never answered my question. How come you never asked him?"

The girl with her hair in bunches shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. If I'd asked him to prom I would have looked desperate."

Yume rolled her eyes. "Temari, that's a ridiculous reason!"

She laughed, shrugging. "I don't care, I still have my dignity!"

Yume resisted the urge to punch her when she had another sudden brilliant idea. Yume's gaze fell to the table where Suigetsu and Haku were sat together then her eyes began to twinkle with something mischievous. She looked back at Temari and smiled in a sickeningly sweet way.

"Temari, I'll be right back. I'm just going to say hi to my band."

Temari waved her off, taking another sip from her drink. "Okay, just don't be too long, I don't want to look like a loner."

Yume laughed, getting up. "Don't worry, I won't."

With this said, Yume grabbed her bag then walked around the outskirts of the room to her other friends' table. As she arrived Haku looked over, his eyes lighting up moments after noticing her. He jumped up from the table and ran to Yume, grabbing her by the hands.

"Yume, you look beautiful!"

She laughed at his eagerness and smiled at the compliment.

"And hello to you too!"

Suigetsu looked up, noticing the commotion and grinned, winking,

"Nice dress. Shame about it hiding your legs though." He sat back, crossing his arms, "I would have liked to have seen a little bit more skin." He had to dodge a low flying clutch-bag "What? I'm a guy!"

As Yume sat down next to him with her arms crossed, she said, "Well I'm sure if I'd actually come in something like that," She pointed to Ino - who was wearing a short, tight-fitting dark blue dress that only just-in-so covered everything, "You'd have dragged me straight back out and put me in a onesie!"

Suigetsu snorted into his drink at the thought. "Yeah, probably."

Haku sat back down in his seat so Yume decided to set her plan in to motion.

"Hey, Suigetsu,"

He looked at her over the top of his drink, "Hmm?"

Yume pointed her finger discretely towards Temari sat only a few tables away, "That girl over there,"

"What about her?"

Haku looked over too, frowning slightly as he seemed to recognise her, then he suddenly gasped, realising, "That's-"

"-She's called Temari." Interrupted Yume. "She's-"

"-Ohh, that's the girl he was on about!" Suigetsu finished, hitting his fist to the palm of his other hand. Yume raised an eyebrow.

"Who was on about?"

"Kimimaro!"

"And what did he say exactly?" This plan might be easier to accomplish than she had first imagined.

"Oh uhh..." Suigetsu suddenly became hesitant. Yume had a hunch why. She leant forward and whispered, "He told you not to say he likes one of my friends, huh?"

Suigetsu's jaw dropped. "How did you know that?"

Yume laughed loudly, drawing back to see Suigetsu looking astounded.

"It doesn't take an idiot." She pointed out what she had seen after the concert, "He complimented her. That only ever means one thing with him."

Haku chuckled. "Well that's true."

Suigetsu shrugged, giving up on hiding Kimimaro's secret. "Ah well, it's his fault for not being discrete then."

Yume rolled her eyes. "Some secret keeper you are!"

Suigetsu pouted. "Well you figured it out anyway."

Yume laughed, patting his shoulder. "It's fine, it's fine." She looked over to Temari again, then up to Kimimaro on the stage, then back to Suigetsu, "So... how about we try getting them together?"

Suigetsu looked at Kimimaro, then to the girl not too far away. He smirked. He had been trying to set Kimimaro up with a decent girl for ages. Now was perfect timing.

"Absolutely!"

Yume laughed, pointing to Kimimaro, "She might knock some sense in to him, after all!"

Haku raised his hand, laughing quietly. "Kimimaro's got the most sense out of all of us."

"Pah! I have way more. What are you talking about?" Joked Suigetsu, grabbing hold of Haku under his arm, ruffling up his hair. Haku tried to pull free.

"Suigetsu, let go!"

Yume rolled her eyes, looking away from the pair over to Temari. Stage one was complete. Now was the tricky part. They had to get Kimimaro involved. Though that was why Yume needed Suigetsu in on the plan. He could convince Kimimaro to do practically anything with enough pestering.

"Suigetsu, Temari will never ever ask him out, so it's your job to get him to ask her."

He sagged, still holding onto Haku. "Nothing like giving me the easy job…"

She laughed, leaning over to tickle him in the rib cage to free Haku from his grip. Once Suigetsu was laughing loud enough, having let go of Haku, she stopped and said,

"Yes, well, better you than me. I'll mess it up."

"Fine, fine," He said, folding his arms, "Just go grab us a drink, okay?"

Yume looked over to the buffet table, where she noticed Amaya by the punch-bowl.

"Umm, Suigetsu that might not be the best of ideas..."

"Do you want me to be mister match-maker or not?"

She sagged. She was only trying to save him but if he was going to be like that then let him get drunk. She sat upright and smirked.

"Okay, I'll be back with your drink in a minute."

Haku raised his hand. "Please can I have one, t-"

"No."

Before any questions could be asked, Yume dashed off towards the buffet through the room of dancers. She was not letting Haku have whatever concoction Amaya had made. He was way too nice to do that to.

Yume appeared by the buffet-table, only when she looked around Amaya had disappeared again. She raised her eyebrow, unable to spot her anywhere. She looked over to the punch-bowl. It did not look any different; although over the many years Amaya had perfected disguising alcohol so...

As Yume picked up a cup, back on stage Hidan called into the microphone,

"That was Come Back for Me, bitches!" He looked about the audience yet again, trying to spot Akatsuki's drummer. He darted his eyes around, hardly able to see anything with the stage-lights blaring down on him. Hmm... THERE! Right in the middle of the dance-floor with... A GIRL! SERIOUSLY? Well, that destroyed Hidan's theory of Tobi being gay. "Tobi, get your ass up on stage, right now!"

Tobi – who was holding Hinata – yelled back in a whiny voice, "BUT TOBI'S BUSY!" This caused a lot of the room to laugh, only Tobi noticed the four sets of eyes on stage turn murderous, "...but Tobi's coming! T-Tobi's coming!"

He gave Hinata an awkward hug, sending her as red as a tomato, then when he left she fainted – only just-in-so being caught by Neji before she hit the floor. Up on stage, Akatsuki turned to the boy on the drum-kit and Hidan said into the microphone,

"Give it up for Kimimaro! He's been fuckin'-"

"LANGUAGE!" yelled Tsunade from the side-lines. Hidan rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath.

"He's been really great!"

The room of prom-goers clapped and cheered – especially Suigetsu, Yume and Haku. Kimimaro rose to his feet, bowed slightly then made his way from the stage, his head turned to face the back wall to hide his smile. He passed Tobi on the steps and nodded. Tobi grinned before producing an orange mask from within his suit, then strapped it to his face before heading out on stage, waving energetically like he always did. Now with the right band-members again, the other four glared once more at Tobi, then set off into another song – a lively, upbeat song.

Kimimaro walked along the side of the room to where his friends were sitting, glancing uneasily at Suigetsu when he looked back with a fox-like smile on his face.

Yume made her way back to her friends with Suigetsu's drink; deciding to avoid going through the crowd of now-jumping teenagers by walking around the edge of the dance-floor, then once she had arrived she saw Suigetsu and Kimimaro deep in discussion. She placed Suigetsu's drink down on the table, which caught Haku's attention so he said – glad to be getting out of the 'man-talk' as Suigetsu had called it,

"Hey, Yume, do you want to come and dance?"

Yume watched his hopeful face for a moment, then looked at the hordes of jumping people.

"Umm..."

"We can always go round the side?" He offered, pointing to where Kimimaro had appeared from. Yume looked there, weighing up the chances of being trodden on by someone, and then, seeing them slim, she smiled and nodded her head.

Haku quickly jumped up – hearing Suigetsu start to talk about something no proper gentleman should ever talk about – then took Yume's hand and pulled her along to where they could dance in peace. As Yume passed by she touched Kimimaro's shoulder to say hello. He looked up momentarily once she had gone, smiling.

"She looks nice."

He felt a hard shove on his shoulder. "Will you pay attention to me when I'm trying to lecture you?" Suigetsu was frowning. "You like Temari right?"

Kimimaro did not react which in Suigetsu's books only meant yes. If he did not like Temari he would have made a clear point of it. Suigetsu hit his shoulder again, grinning now.

"Alright! Well, just go ask her then. It's a good song to dance to!"

Kimimaro looked out into the room, seeing the mass of jumping teens. Naruto and Sakura were in amongst them, hardly able to move for everyone flailing around them.

"Yes, I'm sure it is, Suigetsu, but..." He looked to Suigetsu with his chin resting on his knuckles, "As much as Temari may look tough on the outside, she's quite delicate so I think another, slower song may do her more justice."

Suigetsu looked at him dumbly. He was never very good with the emotional side of a relationship.

"Whatever you say..." He laughed, hitting Kimimaro on the shoulder as he thought of something, "Just remember to use protection!" He reached forward, picking up the cup of what he thought was plain punch. He took a sip then looked at Kimimaro. He nearly dropped the cup, seeing Kimimaro's expression. "I was kidding! I was kidding! Calm down, sheesh!"

oOo

It was half an hour later and Yume had long since stopped dancing, and was now sat back with Temari, Sakura, Naruto and – since she had finally reappeared (now unable to walk in a straight line) – Amaya. The five friends were sat, chatting happily although every so often Yume looked over to Kimimaro. She had no idea what he was waiting for.

Kimimaro obviously had as much damn pride as Temari. Neither of them was going to ask the other to dance. Though, Yume did not want to play chaperone again by dragging Temari over there she realised there was another option. Yume's eyes flickered over to Amaya who was laughing loudly with Sakura.

"Hey, Amaya?"

The girl in question looked up, smiling, her eyes fluttering,

"Yo, Yume-boomay... zoomay... fumay...- Woman, nothing rhymes with your name. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Maybe this was not such a good idea but Yume carried on anyway. She stood up and walked around the table so that she was next to Amaya, then leant down and whispered into her ear. As she did this, Amaya's face slowly cracked into a devilish grin; her eyes turning to look at Temari. Temari noticed.

"What's up with you, Amaya?"

When Yume was done relaying the plan, Amaya rose to her feet, skipping slightly until she was next to Temari, then before the blonde could ask Amaya had laced her arm with Temari's and was pulling her up, dragging her off to where Kimimaro was sitting.

Sakura said, watching as Amaya pulled the now-resisting Temari, "It's about time too! I thought they'd never get anywhere."

Yume sat down, glad that her part of the plan was over. "Who?"

"Temari and Kimimaro."

Yume raised an eyebrow lazily. "You knew too?"

Sakura snorted. "Oh please. Temari's my best friend! Do you expect me not to know who she likes?"

Yume laughed, tracing her finger around the brim of an empty cup. "Yeah, I get your point."

Sakura winked playfully. At the same time, up on stage, Hidan finished singing again then announced into the microphone,

"Okay guys! Some of us are going to have a break so we're leaving you in the capable hands of Sasori!"

The red-head rose to his feet behind his keyboard and waved then sat down again, cracking his fingers then his neck like a true pianist. The other four left the stage; Deidara rolling his eyes as Sasori lapped up the applause.

Many of the girls in the room were quick to intercept the boys as they left the stage, asking if they wanted to dance – some even leaving their original prom dates to do so. The boys, however, actually did want to relax. There was no way they were getting up to dance. It was a slow song after all, since Sasori was playing the piano. One of his favourites actually; a song by some guy called Chopin.

Elsewhere in the hall – with Amaya to be exact – she was having a hard time getting Kimimaro to stand up and dance. She was literally clawing at his shoulders now.

"You like her you prick, so get up and dance!"

He folded his arms, closing his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Amaya."

Temari's heart fell at this – only the next moment (when Amaya had her head pressed between Kimimaro's shoulder-blades in an attempt to force him out of his seat) – he opened his eyes and smiled at her; reassuring her that he did in fact like her and at the moment he was just trying to annoy Amaya. It was working like a charm because Amaya was getting more and more worked up; trying harder and harder to get Kimimaro out of his seat. Suigetsu and Haku were laughing to no end, trying badly to disguise their laughter as coughing. Suigetsu, by now, had had five glasses of punch, and was probably in as bad a state as Amaya – though he had not stood up yet so no one could tell.

Just then Sasori started to play, the music drifting out over the room softly and elegantly; something foreign to Akatsuki: the big bad rock band of the East. The usual groups of dancers left the floor to sit at their tables, knowing their jumping was not welcome here. However, instead of leaving the floor empty, those few couples who were actually couples rose to their feet, the boy leading the girl as if they were at some sort of old-fashioned ball. Included in these couples, strangely enough Tobi rose to his feet – much to the other boys' surprise.

"What are you doing, yeah?" Asked Deidara quietly. Tobi looked down at him, removing his mask. His eyes were awfully calm compared to what they normally were, though his lips still held the same smile.

"Tobi's going to dance with Hinata."

Even Hidan was too shocked to comment on this. As the boy with the orange tie walked across the room to offer his arm to Hinata, the other three members of Akatsuki looked between one another. Hidan sighed heavily, crossing his arms, falling back against the seat.

"Fuck that! Even Tobi's got a date."

Deidara watched his hyper friend approaching the shy girl for a moment, nodding glumly, then he realised something. A strange truth he had not noticed before. He turned to Hidan, his expression abnormally calm.

"Tobi's with Hinata."

Hidan frowned, rolling his eyes. "No shit Sherlock."

Deidara rolled his own eyes, wondering how on earth Hidan had not realised yet.

"Tobi's with Hinata, yeah."

Hidan clenched his teeth, wondering if Deidara thought he was stupid or something. "Yes, I know, dipshit!"

Deidara raised his fist slightly to punch some sense into his silver-haired friend, only Itachi interrupted, helping Hidan out,

"Tobi came with Yume and Amaya."

There was a pause of silence – ignoring the constant call of can I have your autograph? - then Hidan finally seemed to catch on. He jumped up, looking around.

"So Yume's free for a dance then!"

Deidara shook his head in disbelief. "Finally, yeah..."

Hidan span around, his eyes glaring. "Shut the fuck up."

Deidara glared too. Itachi, bored with this scenario by now, decided to leave to take a walk around the hall. This left Deidara and Hidan staring at one another. There was an obvious question on both boys' lips as the silence continued.

"So who's going to ask-"

"Sit down, Hidan." Deidara said, his eyes suddenly becoming more serious. Hidan had not seen him like that in a while.

"Why should I?"

Deidara's eyes softened. "Just sit down, yeah."

There was a pause then Hidan brought himself to take the seat next to Deidara. He crossed his arms. "What?"

Deidara took a deep breath, as if something was hurting him to say what he was about to, "Look..."

Now that the song was in full swing – or as swingy as a classical piece could be – romantic couples had all taken to the floor. Kimimaro, finally seeing this as the right song to ask Temari to dance, suddenly stood up from his seat, sending Amaya – who had been shoving him in the back for the past few moments – over the chair, over the table, and straight into Suigetsu. She glanced at him awkwardly for a while, then the two burst out laughing. Haku shuffled his seat away from them.

Kimimaro walked up to Temari and bowed – a gesture that sent Temari into a fluster. No one had ever been so formal. He took hold of her hand and said, his voice suddenly like velvet,

"Temari, would you care to dance with me?"

Her voice had run away on her. "..-I...-I-..." Eventually she just nodded her head, letting him guide her away to the dance-floor. He bowed his head again, glad she had accepted, and took her by the hand, walking her to centre stage – where she was always meant to be, he thought.

Back with Yume, Sakura and Naruto, the three had just noticed Kimimaro and Temari on the dance-floor and started clapping, watching dreamily as Kimimaro placed his hand on Temari's waist and held her other hand in his own. They looked like such a perfect couple.

"Why haven't they hook up sooner, huh?" Sakura said quietly, nudging Yume. She nodded in agreement; her eyes fixed on the couple. For a while they were all she could see but then she noticed the other couples on the floor; Tobi and Hinata for one. Hinata's face was as red as a cherry, but she looked so happy held in Tobi's arms. It was abnormal to say the least, seeing Tobi waltzing around the room instead of jumping about and diving on people. Yume sighed, turning to look at Sakura finally,

"Hey, why don't you two get up and dance?"

Sakura shook her head, a playful look on her face, "No thanks. Do you really think he," She pointed at Naruto, "knows how to slow dance?"

Yume looked at Naruto, who had been listening to the conversation, and he nodded, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"She's right. I may be the ultimate fighting machine," He flexed his invisible muscles through his tuxedo, "But I'm not really a dancer."

Both Yume and Sakura creased over laughing, leaving Naruto looking quite confused.

Just a brief distance away, Amaya had made comfortable pals with Suigetsu and Haku. Actually, she had made friends with Suigetsu and Haku could not leave because Amaya had her arm around his shoulders and for some reason she kept wiping her hand down his face.

She laughed, handing Suigetsu another glass of punch as she shook Haku slightly. "You're alright, Suigetsu, you're alright."

He grinned, taking the glass and holding it up to Amaya.

"Same to you." He drank from the glass, dribbling the liquid down his neck slightly. Amaya laughed and threw a napkin at him.

"Clean up, lady muck!"

He flicked his head to the side, pretending to be offended, "And who are you calling lady muck?"

"You, obviously. It's not like I'm saying it to this one," She said, wiping her hand down Haku's face again. The smaller boy sagged, trying desperately to move away from Amaya. Hell, at the moment he would even risk messing up his suit from diving across the table if it meant getting out of arm's length of her. She was clinging to him like a limpet.

Suigetsu snorted again, taking another drink; his hand shaking a little. "I'm no lady, I'll have you know."

She laughed loudly – disturbing the peaceful setting of the dancers – and said, throwing back her own drink, "That's what they all say!"

Suigetsu raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "All who say?"

Amaya set her glass down on the table for a moment, looking at it long and hard, then when both Haku and Suigetsu thought she had fallen asleep, she snapped her head up and said with a wink, "All the gay guys."

Suigetsu recoiled back, his mouth wide.

"I am not gay!" He took Amaya's glass and held it up in front of his face, then tipped the last of the contents into his mouth. Once he had drunk the last drop he thumped the glass back onto the table then said quietly, as if unsure, "Am I?"

Amaya laughed loudly again – gaining more glares from the dancers. Damn he was gullible. Haku said, laughing quietly but trying to set Suigetsu's confused mind at rest, "No, Suigetsu, you're not."

"Yes. Yes you are." Interrupted Amaya. She fixed Suigetsu with a long stare, then turned to Haku with a motherly smile on her face. "Now shush little one because the grown-ups are talking."

Haku's smile faltered slightly. Amaya patted him on the head, seeing he had gone quiet, then turned to look at Suigetsu again, grinning, "Think about it, Suigetsu. You've always know you were gay, very deep down!"

Suigetsu furrowed his eyebrows, scrunching his face up slowly, trying to process what was being said. After a moment he said, running his finger around the top of the glass so that it made a whistling sound,

"Really?" He tilted his head, "I think I would have noticed."

Amaya waggled her finger,"Ah-ah-ah, Suigetsu! Here, let me prove it to you." She fixed him another hard stare, "When was the last time you had a girlfriend? Never!"

Suigetsu's mouth fell open as a strange realisation dawned on him.

"You're right!" - no, she really wasn't right, but Suigetsu was too out of it to even remember what had happened to him five minutes ago. Amaya nodded her head, secretly holding back the laughter, then she added, to prove her point,

"And does this look attractive to you?" She grabbed hold of Haku by the shoulders and propped him on her knees, much to his protest. Haku was well known for looking like a girl, but nevertheless he was a boy – of course, again, Suigetsu was too drunk to even see straight so he did not realise the person in front of him was Haku, and he mistook him for a pretty, long-haired girl. He grinned.

"Yes, yes it does."

Amaya laughed again, seeing Haku's face turn pale, then she chucked him aside and said triumphantly, "Well, Suigetsu, that was a guy. It proves it, you're gay."

Suigetsu's jaw fell open.

"Well I never..."

Amaya grinned, hearing Sasori bringing his song to a close.

"Yup, and if I were you, I'd make it official."

Suigetsu nodded his head slowly, his chin resting on his knuckles, but then he actually realised what she had said and tilted his head again, looking confused,

"And how do I do that, exactly?"

Amaya laughed, tapping the side of her nose. "Aah, have no fear my little Boy George! We can take care of that!"

A few minutes later and Haku was now hurriedly making his way towards Yume at the other table, fearing for his safety. She noticed him approaching and smiled, waving to him,

"Hi Haku!" She noticed the expression on his face, "What's up with you?" He sat down in the seat next to her and quickly latched onto her arm. She raised an eyebrow, seeing Haku being very... not Haku-like. "Umm... Haku?"

Haku closed his eyes and buried his head into Yume's arm, pointing over at the stage. She looked over, seeing Sasori rising to his feet after just finishing the song. Nothing abnormal.

"Haku?"

He said, muffled by her arm, "Keep watching."

Yume turned her attention back to the stage, along with Sakura and Naruto who were looking mildly interested. For a moment nothing happened other than Sasori walked to the microphone and announced,

"It was nice to see so many couples. I'll play one more if you-" and then as if by magic Amaya appeared on stage, shoving Sasori sideways so he lost his balance, and as he was dropping to the floor, Amaya took the microphone from his outstretched hand. She nodded down at him,

"Why thank- thank you!" She looked at the microphone in her hands, for a second trying to figure out how it had gotten there, then she laughed, remembering, then turned to face the rest of the room,

"So, folks, I hope you're having a super-duper-trooper night!" This caused a lot of applause so she shushed them angrily, having cut her off, "Now I have a little friend here who wants to say something big!" She pointed off-stage, throwing her arms out, "Give it up for... Suigetsu!"

At this, Yume looked down at Haku, asking – dreading the reply, "Haku, what's he doing up there?"

He sighed into her arm, "He's, uhh..."

"I'M GAY!"

This outburst from on stage attracted her attention again, her eyes wide. Kimimaro, sat back at his own table with Temari, was also looking bewildered. Amaya – now hidden slightly off-stage – was laughing so hard that she had collapsed on the floor. Now, what made it even better was a moment later another voice called,

"ME TOO!"

There was a large chorus of 'HUH?' and an 'I KNEW IT' from Naruto. Amaya clawed herself back onto stage so that she could see who had shouted, and there, in the middle of the room, wearing a luminous green suit, his grin brighter than the sun, was none other than – no not Lee but – Gai. He had his thumb held up in the air, grinning at Suigetsu as he swayed about a lot. He was the punch-monitor, after all. Again, Amaya creased over laughing. This plan could not get any better. Suigetsu, who was still too drunk to realise what he was saying or doing, grinned back, throwing his own thumb up. Half the room exploded into laughter. Yume slapped her hand to her forehead. Kimimaro buried his head in his hands. Amaya, miraculously able to stand through so much laughter, staggered back onto stage and pulled the microphone from Suigetsu. She announced, still seeing Gai in the middle of the room,

"Well guys, that's all. Get back to your dancing now!"

With this she grabbed hold of Suigetsu and pulled him back off-stage. As they were making their way down the steps, Amaya somehow produced a pair of tickets from in her dress and held them out for Suigetsu.

"Here," She said, pressing them into Suigetsu's hands, "have a gift!"

"Uhh, thanks!" He said, grinning madly, oblivious to the amount of taunts that would follow him for the next few years. He looked down at the tickets and tried to read what they said.

"Su-suun-suuu..."

Amaya slapped him on the back, grinning,

"The Suna Oasis Resort, idiot!" Those tickets would later prove to have been a ticket to Yume plus one friend as a gift from one of their sponsors. But Amaya thought humiliating Suigetsu was a greater cause than Yume getting a spa-break. She was sure she could get another ticket if she wanted to.

Amaya winked when Suigetsu looked at her with drunken, confused eyes, "For you and lover-boy over there!" She indicated to Gai who was still stood on the dance-floor, swaying. She pushed Suigetsu in his general direction, "Have a nice honey-moon!"

What happened next is unmentionable because it involved a lot of swearing, hip-thrusting, limbo-dancing, and a taxi to the air-port – and Amaya caught it all on video. Haku, being the unlucky soul he was, was the person sent after them to try and stop a drunken Suigetsu getting on a plane to Suna with a drunken teacher.

Yume, finally seeing the funny side of it – having been forced to drink quite a bit of Amaya's punch by now - was laughing so hard into Sakura's shoulder that she did not hear Sasori start to play the music again. In fact, it was a good way into the song when she finally stopped laughing and sat up, wiping at her eyes to get rid of the tears. Naruto on the other hand (along with a good few others in the room) was still laughing in his chair, unable to stop himself. Kimimaro seemed to be the only one who was still ashamed by the whole situation. He was still sat at his table with his head in his hands – Temari patting him on the shoulder, trying to stifle her own laughing.

Yume only stopped dabbing at her eyes when someone appeared in front of her table. She looked up, still half-leaning on Sakura's shoulder to support herself.

"Oh, h-hello, Hidan!"

He grinned down at her, still laughing too.

"Hey!" He said, raising a hand, "We haven't seen you all fuckin' night! You could have checked in with us at least."

Yume pulled herself up to a sitting position and smiled apologetically, swaying ever so slightly. "Sorry."

He smirked. "Don't worry about it, Blondie." His smirk turned into a playful grin, "Nice dress."

Yume looked down at herself, seeing the mass of blue sparkles, then looked up, smiling still. "Thanks!"

Hidan rolled his eyes, seeing how unbelievably happy she seemed. Was she drunk or something? Oh wait, he had spiked the punch-bowl earlier, she probably was. He laughed, seeing Yume smiling brightly then pointed over his shoulder towards where – Yume now noticed – the other members of Akatsuki were sat (plus Hinata now). She looked at the table, then back at him, then when she made no effort to move he grabbed her by the arm.

"Come on, you're saying hi whether you want to or not."

For once Yume seemed glad to be being dragged by her arm – it was much better than being slung over somebody's shoulder after all. As Hidan pulled her along, past Temari and Kimimaro, Yume looked out onto the dance-floor, seeing it full with couples again. Back at the table, since Yume had just left, Sakura decided she did not want to be the only one left out, so she grabbed hold of Naruto – who was still laughing – and pulled him up, saying with a smile,

"You know what, I don't care if you can't slow dance. We're going to try it anyway."

Naruto could not exactly protest when she forced him up by the elbow.

Hidan had a bit of a time trying to pull Yume along as the alcohol began catching up to her. She was getting more and more fairy-footed every second. The pair eventually arrived at the table where Itachi, Deidara, Tobi and Hinata were sat, along with Kisame who was playing bodyguard. Yume smiled at them, waving madly,

"Hi guys!"

For a second they all looked at her oddly then Deidara, realising, rounded on Hidan. "I thought we told you not to spike the punch, yeah!"

Hidan shrugged. "Who said I did?"

Deidara took one glance at Yume, who was trying to spin around Hidan's arm, then looked back at Hidan with his eyebrow raised.

"I think it speaks for itself."

Hidan laughed, shaking Yume off his arm, then put a hand on her shoulder to hold her still.

"Yeah, yeah, well fuck yo-"

"No, no!" Yume said, interrupting him. She looked at Deidara, wide-eyed, "It wasn't Hidan, I swear!" At this Hidan's chest filled with pride. She was sticking up for him even though she probably knew- "It was Amaya before!"

At this, Hidan's pride-bubble burst. She was not sticking up for him after all. Instead, he rounded on Deidara, grinning,

"See? Fuckin' told you it wasn't me."

Deidara rolled his eyes. Just then, as good old luck would have it, Tobi reached down under the table and produced a mostly-empty bottle of sake. He held it up in front of his face and studied it a second, then held it out,

"Isn't this Hidan's?"

Deidara, who had been about to apologise to Hidan, glared instead. "You were saying, Hidan?"

The look Hidan gave Tobi might have killed him had he been looking. He reached forward and snatched the bottle away, tucking it in his suit. As he did this, Yume knitted her eyebrows together, thinking things over as she slowly worked it out.

"So... Amaya spiked the drinks... and... Hidan did too… so TWO people... spike- spiked the drinks. So now I'm… double drunk…- Oh god."

Yume suddenly keeled, holding her stomach. The others were already at the conclusion. Itachi pointed out to Hidan, trying to make him feel guiltier for spiking teenagers' drinks without thinking of the consequences, "And now Yume's had a double-dose and she's going to be sick."

Yume looked up at him through one squinting eye, still clutching her stomach,

"Am not!" She swayed slightly, the colour beginning to drain from her face. Hidan sighed, rubbing his hand down his face.

"Fine, fine. I'll go tell them to change the drinks." He grumbled something under his breath about 'fucking spoil-sports'. As he turned to leave, Deidara said, getting to his feet,

"No, I'll go, yeah." He got out from behind the table and walked up to Hidan. He looked him purposefully in the eye. "You take her outside for some fresh-air, yeah."

Hidan, after a moment, nodded. Deidara walked off after this quite hurriedly, hoping no one else had drank too much. As Yume tried to right herself, her face still as white as a sheet, Tobi started waving to her. She laughed, slurring her words a little,

"Tobi, why are you waving? I'm not going any- HEY!" She found herself suddenly being pulled away by Hidan towards the side of the stage. "What- what are you doing?"

He rolled his eyes and kept pulling, still laughing at Yume being such a light-weight. Yume, unable to stop him from pulling looked back at the others in confusion. Tobi kept on waving, whereas Kisame suddenly got up and started following the pair. Yume asked, knowing she was not getting a clear answer from Hidan,

"Where am I going?"

Kisame patted her on the head. "Outside."

She tilted her head but in doing so, since she was getting more and more drunk every moment, she lolled her head so far that she almost fell sideways. Kisame laughed even more and up-righted her. She smiled at him, then accidentally walked into the back of Hidan because he had stopped moving. He looked over his shoulder, chuckling at her, then pushed opened the fire-exit. They were by the side of the stage now, and Yume looked up onto it, seeing Sasori immersed in his piano-playing. As she did this, her eyesight suddenly became fuzzy and the room started to sway.

"Oh god..."

Hidan pulled her out through the fire-escape door, stopping on the other side of it on a small metal balcony that led down to the school's garden patch. Kisame, behind them, stepped out then closed the doors, walking past them to get down the spiral staircase to the garden. As he disappeared lower and lower he called up to Hidan,

"I'm going to check for potential murderers!"

Hidan waved him off, more focused on trying to stop Yume from hurling her guts up to really care. Kisame ran down the stairs then close to the bottom he pole-vaulted over the railing and landed on the ground, trampling a patch of lilies.

Back on the balcony Yume was leaning with her head against the railings, her eyes shut tight, with Hidan rubbing her back in a circle motion, one arm supporting him on the railing. He laughed, seeing her still-very-pale-but-slowly-regaining-colour face and said,

"You shouldn't have drank as much."

Yume kept her eyes shut, pressing her head close to the railing to keep it cool, "Shut up. I had double what I thought I was having."

Hidan laughed again, almost a little nervously. Had it been anyone else in Yume's situation he would probably be laughing at them and taking pictures, but it was Yume so... yeah, he felt the tiniest bit guilty.

"Maybe Amaya shouldn't have spiked the fucking drinks then." He said defensively, still rubbing Yume's back to try and make her feel better, "And how old is she anyway? She shouldn't be able to get hold of alcohol."

Yume slumped slightly, pulling herself up so she could look into the garden. "That didn't stop you that time when you were fourteen..."

Hidan's jaw dropped open. "How do you know about that?"

Yume giggled slightly, looking across to him. "Hidan, don't be stupid."

He would have been offended, but then he realised he was being stupid. He had an autobiography. Duh.

Yume pressed her head against the railing again so Hidan said, trying to be helpful after the mess he had gotten her into, "Take some deep breaths and you'll be fine."

She mumbled something then pulled her head up. Hidan smiled at her so she sighed heavily and turned; now having her elbows on the railing to support her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. As Hidan watched her do so, he seemed so engrossed that he found himself taking the same deep breaths. He only snapped out of it when Yume opened her eyes again, her cheeks looking a little more colourful. He grinned, impressed by his own helpfulness.

"Better?"

She nodded.

From outside the pair could still hear Sasori playing the music still and through the window they could see the couples together. Yume smiled, tapping her fingers lightly against the metal railings along with the rhythm. Hidan watched her do this, and as he did he began to feel a small lump in his throat. He looked away from Yume quickly, deciding instead to look down at the gardens where Kisame was running about like a little child. He was thrashing his pee-shooter around above his head, diving from bush to bush, shouting loudly. Hidan rolled his eyes. Just then Kisame noticed that Hidan was watching him and looked up to the balcony. He grinned toothily, then seeing the expression of awkwardness on Hidan's face he stuck his thumb up encouragingly, then quickly dove to another bush but missed his footing and fell forward into a pond. Hidan laughed loudly.

Yume opened her eyes and looked round, hearing the splash.

"What was that?" She asked, looking about on the ground, then turned to look at Hidan with worried eyes. He laughed again, pointing at the head of blue hair that had just surfaced in the water.

"Just Kisame being an idiot. Don't worry."

"Oh," She smiled lightly, relieved that she was not about to get attacked by members of the Press. She watched Kisame spluttering and shaking himself off as he got out of the pond, listening to the music still as she did. Hidan was next to her, staring at Yume rather than the idiot down on the ground. He was debating in his head, wondering the best time to say something. He had never had these feelings for someone before. Once upon a time he would put on his 'sexy smirk' and have girls swooning over him and he would take his pick. Yume was different. He ran a hand up through his hair, turning to look at the moon for a moment, then took a determined gasp of air and said,

"Yume. You've got to know I-"

"Thank you, Hidan."

Hidan stopped trying to talk and instead looked across at Yume, who had turned to look at him a moment ago. She was staring at him through large blue eyes that looked almost like pools, a gentle smile on her lips. Hidan cocked an eyebrow, slightly puzzled. He had not done anything recently that would make her want to thank him. Hell, she was drunk at prom because of him.

"What are you saying thanks for?"

She gave a small laugh then turned to look up at the night's sky. After watching the emerging stars for a moment she said with a smile on her face,

"For looking out for me," She tilted her head, smirking now, "Especially back at the swimming pool. I never thanked you properly."

Hidan rolled his eyes. That was not something to thank him for. He did what any sane person should have done.

"Don't mention it. Deidara was a fuckin' idiot and I couldn't exactly leave you hanging up there, could I?"

He managed to miss the look of gratitude on Yume's face as he turned to laugh at Kisame still trying to dry himself off down below. When he looked back at Yume she passed him a gentle smile and said, laughing as she thought back over the times,

"You always manage to cheer me up when I need it." For a moment her eyes connected with his but she could not hold it and looked down at her hands instead, "Thank you..."

He laughed, patting her on the back. "Yeah, you've had way too much to drink. Sorry about that."

Yume pushed his hand off her back playfully. "I have not! And anyway, it's true." He raised an unconvinced eyebrow so she continued, trying very hard not to laugh at the memory, "Like the time after the party when you dressed up like a girl! I don't think I'd ever laughed so much."

Inwardly Hidan wanted to cry like a little girl. He had been hoping that she had forgotten about that by now.

"Actually I think you'll find I was fucking forced into that dress, kicking and screaming. Remember?"

Yume cracked a grin, really trying hard not to laugh. "Yes, I remember."

For a second more the pair fell silent, then Yume suddenly burst out into fits of laughter, creasing over slightly as her laughs managed to drown out the music from inside. Hidan's jaw fell.

"Yume!"

She collapsed completely, remembering how Hidan's hair had been roughly thrown into many messy bunches by Amaya, lipstick smeared over his face from when he had tried to pull away.

"S-sorry Hidan," She said between laughs, "It was just so funny."

Hidan sighed exasperatedly, watching Yume now literally rolling on the floor in laughter. He leant down and pulled her up to her feet again, still holding onto her as she giggled. When she was back to full height he let go and made her hold onto the railings. As she quietened down again, he said finally,

"Fine then, you're welcome. I'm as funny as a fucking clown apparently."

Yume nodded in agreement, wiping at her eyes. Once she was quieter and more composed, Yume managed to say,

"But yeah, you really are a great friend, Hidan. I'm glad I met you – even if I did run away from you the first time we met."

He saw her eyes sparkling with memories so he leant across again and punched her playfully on the shoulder.

"Same to you."

From inside the hall, both Amaya and Deidara were watching the pair through the large arch window that looked out onto the balcony. Amaya, who was leaning over the top of Deidara to get a better look, said in a slurred tone,

"God damn it. What the heck are those two doing?" Her eyes narrowed and she looked down at Deidara, "What are those two doing?" She looked back at the pair quickly, then back to Deidara, "No wait, what is Hidan doing?"

Deidara smiled, not once taking his eyes from the pair. He said to Amaya, much to her dismay,

"He's doing something we've been wanting to do for months, yeah."

Amaya's jaw dropped open – again, getting the wrong impression, "Oh hell no he's not! Not to my Yume he's not! That sick pervert! Why I ought'a-" She pushed herself away from the window and stumbled back onto the floor, her tail smacking Hinata and Tobi in the faces as she went. She rolled up her invisible sleeves and started marching her way towards the doors to the balcony, but Deidara grabbed her tail first. She turned, seeing him, and laughed,

"I thought you of all people would want me -hiccup- to stop him!"

Deidara muttered something angrily under his breath then said after a moment, "Just leave them alone," his frown turned into a smile, "It should work out for the better."

"HUH?" Amaya said, genuinely confused. She was about to round on Deidara to beat some sense into him, only Itachi stated, looking out of the window himself,

"Here we go."

Hidan saw Yume smiling so he grinned lightly to himself; things were working out better than he had planned. He took a deep breath for good luck, then as he went to say something very important and possibly life-changing, as luck would have it, Yume managed to stop him with the phrase,

"I'm going to miss you all when I'm on tour, you know?"

Damn. With all that was going on he had almost forgotten about Yume's world tour. Fuck. He grinned, covering up the sudden anxiety he felt.

"Oh please. Are you going to miss Kisame's driving? Or Tobi's singing?"

She laughed loudly at this, only now realising that yes, she would miss them. For some reason two months away from Kisame driving faster than the speed of light seemed to actually pull on her heart-strings.

"I guess I will."

Hidan laughed at what she had just admitted to. "I'll tell him that."

"No, please don't," She said, grinning, "He'll think I actually enjoy the rides."

Hidan threw his hands up in the air, chuckling, "Even more reason to!" He turned his head and winked at her, "I can ask him to be your personal driver, if you like?"

"No thanks."

He shrugged. "I might ask anyway."

Yume stuck her tongue out at him.

As much as it pained him to think so, watching Yume being so happy, Hidan realised it was not only going to be her who was missing someone for two months. For the length of the tour, instead of seeing Yume's happy face he was going to have to live with Tobi constantly crying about how much he was missing her instead, adding to what Hidan would be feeling already. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Do me a favour and take a few of Deidara's birds with you, alright?"

Yume furrowed her eyebrows, surprised by this request. "How come?"

She saw Hidan shrug and look away, but he said nonetheless, "Tobi'll want to talk to you while you're gone, and fuck knows I'm not going to listen to him complaining for two months."

Yume giggled, imagining that she would come back to find Hidan had been sent to prison for unusual murder.

"You know we can just use phones, right?"

Hidan furrowed his eyebrows. "He'll want to see your face."

Yume smiled again. "Well then I'll just talk to him on webcam."

Hidan crossed his arms and snapped suddenly, "Will you just take them, already?"

After this was said, Hidan suddenly regretted it and turned away to look at the garden again. Yume watched him a moment, then, instead of getting upset or angry at his outburst, she simply smiled like she always did and replied,

"Fine, I'll take a couple," then she added, "But just for Tobi."

She saw Hidan give a tiny sigh of relief and rolled her eyes. She knew Hidan wanted her to take the birds for her own protection, as much as he would not admit to it. No doubt on the day before she left he would slip her the activation phrase for the birds. It was sweet how much he looked out for her, really.

Now, since Yume was feeling much less sick than she had been, and since she did not want to miss watching her friends dancing, she rubbed her arms, feeling a gentle breeze, and said to Hidan with a smile,

"I'm going to go back in now, I think."

Turning to go back inside, Yume completely missed Hidan's head whipping round to look at her. She walked forward to put a hand on the door, only she felt herself being pulled away from it the next moment. She looked around, surprised to see Hidan had taken hold of her hand.

"What's wrong?" She asked in confusion, seeing Hidan's usually casual expression gone. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again, a little lost for words, then when Yume went to pull her hand away he said, sighing in aggravation,

"So since I don't want to do this with the whole of your school watching-" He took a deep breath, "-Yume... will you go out with me?"

Yume, who had just been set upon getting her hand free, stopped dead in shock.

"W-what?"

He let go of her hand, but she held it there, too startled to do much else. Hidan grinned – trying to hide how unbelievably nervous her reaction had just made him.

"Yume, I really like you, and I mean really." He laughed in spite of the situation, "You must have noticed by now?"

"Well I-...I-.." She had never expected him to confess. She had known ever since she had read his diary, but she had always had it in her head that that was as far as it would go; with him and Deidara fighting constantly but never actually doing anything about it. Even so, now she felt her heart-beat up against her rib-cage, telling her to say what she wanted. In her head however, she was becoming very confused and conflicted,

'It's Hidan, he's famous- Am I ready for a boyfriend- Well I'll never know unless I tr- I don't want to ruin what we have- Oh no! What about Deidara- Hidan's such a good friend but I—Be. Quiet.—But I—Calm down!'

Yume took a deep breath,

'All you need to ask yourself is 'do you like him?' – you're inexperienced so you just need to relax. Think. It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks or how they'll feel. It is your decision.'

Yume took another deep breath, thinking things over in her head.

Unbeknown to Yume, Hidan's heart-beat was in his throat. He had known it was a risk, telling her - what with all the issues with boys when she was younger - but now seemed like the perfect moment. He knew she was happy here at the prom, and he knew she liked romance; she was in a dress, he was in a suit, there was gentle music, the moon was out and the light of the stars was shimming in the pond down below so what timing would be better?

He watched Yume, inwardly praying she would say something to him soon. He knew this was a shock for her, and he just hoped it would turn out okay. If not, well, then he had effectively ruined their friendship.

When Yume did not say anything for a few moments more Hidan pondered if he had sent her into shock. He took a step forward, raising his hand to put in on Yume's shoulder only, with it but an inch away, there was a sudden cry of,

"HIDAN~! We need you back on stage now!" Tobi had just burst through the doors, yelling loudly, making Hidan drop his hand and Yume look at him in surprise. Back inside the building, Amaya – who had been watching the whole scene with ogling eyes - screamed at the top of her lungs; almost drowning out the applause for Sasori,

"NO!" She clenched her fists and hurled them into the windowsill – and had Deidara not managed to move out of the way in time, he would probably be unconscious by now.

"Calm down, yeah!" He said angrily, grabbing hold of Amaya's hands before she could attack anything else. Amaya gritted her teeth,

"Tobi you fucking idiot, how could you?" She turned her head from the window, instead rounding on Hinata – her eyes suddenly unnaturally calm, "Kiss your dear prom date goodbye Hinata, because after this is over I'm having a little... chat with him."

Hinata laughed nervously.

Back on the balcony Tobi had fallen quiet, only now realising he had walked in on something. He said nervously, laughing to try and ignore the murderous aura now emitting from Hidan,

"So... whenever you're ready, Hidan."

And with this, he abruptly turned and ran back inside, fearing for his life, making sure the doors closed behind him. Two seconds later Hidan turned on his heel and dashed for the door, murder swirling in his eyes, but then with his hands on the handles, he stopped, put both feet on the ground and looked over his shoulder at Yume,

"I... can stay out here if you really want me to?" He flashed her a grin, "Killing Tobi can wait 'til later."

The surprise of Tobi's sudden appearance had shocked Yume back to reality, so now she smiled at Hidan and shook her head.

"No, don't worry. Tonight's music is more important," She waved to him as if ending the discussion, "We can talk later."

Hidan, although he had been raging a war with himself whether or not to stay with her anyway, knew she was right – after all, talking out here did not get him paid. After a moment's pause where Hidan gave one final glance to the girl in her flowing blue dress, he smiled lightly and nodded.

"Alright then. I'll see you later, Yume."

As he wrenched open the doors to the hall, Yume waved at his back, smiling with her heart pounding against her rib-cage. "See you later."

After watching him go, Yume made sure the doors had swung shut properly – and that she could not hear Tobi screaming for mercy - then sagged against the railings and let out a heavy sigh.

"Oh boy..."

To say that had been a shock would have been an understatement. For so long she had known Hidan liked her, but never once had she expected him to tell her directly. And at her prom nonetheless. It was like some weird fairy tale. But... could she...- What about Deidara? She was his friend. She did not want to hurt him. And Hidan in the first place? Was now the time to...?

She sagged her head, still unable to think properly. She knew, deep down, she love both boys so much, but when it came to romantic love... she had no idea what she was supposed to be feeling. She had never felt it before. She had stayed away from boys for so long that when someone like Hidan actually came round to asking, what did she do? No one had ever prepared her for this.

She pushed up from the bars, deciding to go and talk to Amaya about it. Surely she would be able to help if she was not paralytic yet.

Yume walked forward, pulled open the doors to the hall and stepped inside, looking around for Amaya. Up on stage, when Yume walked in, most eyes flickered to her. All of the boys knew what had gone on outside but Hidan had not told them the outcome. From the look on her face most had surmised that she had not given an answer yet. She looked puzzled, vulnerable and excited all in one go.

Yume made her way into the room of dancing students, looking about for Amaya. At first she could not find her, but then, at the other side of the room with Sakura and the punch bowl, there she was, trying to spike everyone's drinks again. Yume could not help but roll her eyes.

Yume dodged through the crowds of people, smiling as she passed by Kimimaro and Temari, then appeared alongside Amaya and Sakura. Sakura noticed her first, but instead of waving or smiling, she grabbed hold of Amaya and shook her, making her notice Yume. The raven-haired girl turned unsteadily, smiling broadly when she spotted her best friend,

"There you are, chuck!"

Sakura grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to Yume, laughing slightly. Yume smiled a little uneasily, realising that talking to Amaya about her problem when she was this drunk was probably a really bad idea. Sakura had no idea what was going on – because she had not watched the scene outside and Amaya had refused to tell her what had gone on – but nevertheless, seeing Yume looking as anxious as she did, she said in her best attempt to be supportive,

"It can't be that bad!"

Amaya turned, wiping a finger clumsily down Sakura's face. "Sshhh..."

Sakura smacked her hand away and glared. "Amaya!"

The girl giggled and shoved Sakura slightly, mumbling, "Go find Naruto or something!"

For a moment Sakura was sceptical about leaving, but Yume nodded reassuringly, showing she could deal with Amaya alright on her own. Sakura sighed in defeat, then waved goodbye. As she walked past Yume to find Naruto she whispered, "Good luck."

Once Sakura had disappeared, Amaya finally tried to focus on what was happening. She hid the bottle of alcohol back in her tail, then propped herself up against the buffet-table, patting the space next to her for Yume. Yume stood beside her, then Amaya said, trying her very best to speak properly,

"I saw what was happening outside."

Yume nodded, smiling as she looked down at her hands again. "Yeah, somehow I thought you might have done."

Amaya grinned and pushed Yume playfully, accidentally shoving her a little too hard, sending her toppling to the floor. Amaya laughed loudly, seeing Yume sighing, then gave her a hand up, mumbling an apology. When she was upright again Amaya continued,

"I knew that something like this was going to happen tonight."

"How?" Yume asked, surprised. Amaya's face slowly fell into a glare,

"Well Yume... I was GETTING TO THAT PART! Don't interrupt!"

Seeing she had effectively shut Yume up, she carried on, "So yeah, Sasori came round to our house earlier to talk to me – yeah. Not you, ME! Ha! He wanted to talk about tonight because he knew someone was probably going to ask you out, so~...!" She reached into her dress and produced a folded piece of paper, handing it to Yume with a grin on her face, "I came prepared!"

As Yume opened the piece of paper and read 'Dear Yume', Amaya said,

"I knew I'd get too drunk so I wouldn't be able to talk properly so," She tapped the top of the paper, "I wrote it all down instead! Two birds, one stone kind of thing!"

Yume looked up from the paper, impressed with Amaya's initiative. The girl winked, tapping the paper again for good measure,

"Everything you need to know is on there, because I'm awesome like that," then she added, trying her best to turn her face serious, "But remember, it's your choice-" She burst out laughing, unable to hold her composure. Yume rolled her eyes, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Amaya."

She nodded, then Yume leaned over and wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging her tight. Amaya was a little puzzled at first, forgetting what was going on, but then she wrapped her own arms around Yume's shoulders.

"Tell me how it goes tomorrow, okay? When I can actually remember what's going on."

Amaya pulled back, a cheeky grin on her face. Yume smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, I will."

Amaya clapped. "Good! Now," She turned back to the punch and pulled out her bottle of alcohol again, "If you don't mind?"

Yume nodded and walked away, leaving Amaya to her wicked ways. Now that she was making her way back to her table, she opened the letter again and began to read what Amaya had wrote, hoping that it would actually help her in some way and not just be a lot of ranting about how boys are idiots, especially Hidan and Deidara.

'Dear, Yume. Boys are idiots, especially Hidan and Deidara.' Yume rolled her eyes, 'Never the less, I don't think I've ever seen two boys as determined to get your affections as them. As much as I hate to admit it, I've got a gut feeling they'll be good for you, whichever one you choose. They're both pricks, and they're both too stuck up for their own good, but deep down I think they both really care for you. However, if you want my opinion – because my opinion rules ALL – I'm going to say you're going to have to rely on your heart, because your head is as empty as a bubble. No offence. Don't go choosing one because you want to make him feel good, because you know that's only going to make the other one feel bad. Choose the guy that makes you HAPPY, and I mean the guy that makes you laugh even in the worst of times, and the guy that can be serious when he has to be. The guy that can beat up guys for you when I'm not around, and the guy that will still hold your hand in front of other people, okay? If either of those two libido-driven dick-heads fall into that category then grab onto them and never let go. Guys are going to hurt you in life, it's a fact, but having one guy that can protect you from all the rest is the only thing you'll need to keep the smile on your face. I hope this helped a bit, and good luck chuck! Love, Amaya xxx'

By now Yume was sitting at her table with Haku and an unconscious Suigetsu – passed out from drinking too much. She folded the piece of paper and held it in her lap, thinking over what Amaya had written. As she continued to think, Haku, sitting across from her, noticed a smile growing bigger and bigger on her face. Once he thought her cheeks were actually going to give way, he said, laughing slightly at her happy expression,

"What's up with you?"

Yume looked up from the paper again, startled that Haku had spoken up. She shook her head, still grinning,

"Nothing, I guess. It's just," Her eyes wandered over to the stage, "I think I'm finally ready."

Haku, not understanding what Yume was talking about, but glad to see she had made some sort of progress with something or another, smiled brightly,

"I'm glad to hear it, Yume."

Yume giggled giddily, tucking the piece of paper away in the top of her dress, then with her heart fluttering like a butterfly she got up from her seat and walked around to Haku.

"Hey, do you want to dance?"

He grinned up at her, nodding. "Sure!"

"When did you get back from the airport anyway?"

Haku took her by the hand and pulled her onto the dance-floor. "Please can we never speak of that again?"

Yume burst out laughing.

So during the next song, Yume walked onto the dance-floor with Haku and the pair danced together quite happily alongside Kimimaro and Temari, and Sakura and Naruto. A part way through the song, Yume left Haku for a short while to go and drag Amaya up to dance, and Hinata who was sitting all alone on the other side of the room, waiting for Tobi. She took them both back to the group of friends dancing, and then they all moved together to dance as one big group, laughing and singing along loudly as the band played up on stage. It was times like these that Yume was going to miss the most out on tour. She would never find a better group of friends.

When the song ended and the next one began, for some odd reason Amaya went missing. Yume, who was stood by Temari, shouted over the noise,

"Where's Amaya gone?"

Temari yelled back, one arm over Kimimaro's shoulder, "I don't know. She said she had to do something."

"What?"

"I don't know!" She laughed, "Something about a cake, I think."

A cake? Looking around the room to try and spot her friend, Yume did wonder what on earth she was planning. As the music played on, Yume reverted to dancing with her friends, only then, on par with the end of the song, Amaya appeared through the doorway to the hall, carrying a tray the size of a shower basin, on which stood a very large, very cream-covered Baked Alaska. Amaya was grinning proudly.

"I was- I was up all last night, baking this~!" She said, swaying her way over to the buffet-table. People dived out of her path, knowing she was not going to stop for anyone. Yume and the others were watching her curiously, wondering why on earth she had appeared with this cake.

Once Amaya had put it down on the table, she turned to face anyone who would listen and announced, "And now, for your eyes only! My baked Alaska! Enjoy!"

Those who had heard her immediately made their way towards the table – knowing fine well that as crazy as Amaya was, her cooking was always brilliant. It came as quite a shock to the first person in the queue when, as they went to cut themselves a slice, Amaya swatted their hand away, glaring.

"No, no, no! I'm not done yet!"

This one phrase, this one teeny tiny phrase caused Yume to stop in her tracks, turning to look at Amaya with her eyes wide.

"Oh no..."

The others around her – Sakura and Temari – stopped too, looking curiously between Yume and Amaya.

"What's the matter?" asked Sakura, seeing Amaya pushing people away from her 'masterpiece'. Without replying, Yume left the others, making her way over to Amaya. "What's going on?" called Sakura, after her.

"Where is it, Amaya?" Yume said, jogging slightly to get to Amaya in time. She had already produced the bottle of rum.

Amaya saw Yume approaching and grinned as she undid the lid of the bottle. Once it was off she waved frantically, "You came to see me doing it? Aww, thanks, chuck!"

No, no she had not. She had come to stop Amaya. Amaya had made Baked Alaska many times at home but a few times, a few tiny times when Yume had not been able to persuade her otherwise, Amaya had made something called a Bombe Alaska. Those few times, Yume and Amaya had barely made it out alive because Amaya had used too much alcohol, and that had been when Amaya was completely sober. Now... well.

"Amaya, don't you dare!"

This caused a small commotion with the other students, wondering what was about to happen. Yume reached Amaya at the table and managed to pull the bottle of rum from Amaya's grip before the bottle was completely empty, but only just. Amaya turned on her with a glare.

"What are you doing, woman? Don't ruin my masterpiece at prom!"

"But Amaya!" Yume started – only Amaya grinned and threw her hand over Yume's mouth.

"Don't worry~!" She said in a light, sing-songy kind of voice, "It'll be fine!"

"You don't know what you're saying!" Replied Yume desperately, pulling Amaya's hand from her mouth. The girl giggled and waggled her finger in front of Yume's face.

"Never insult a chef, Yume-kins. We have rolling-pins and knives."

"But-..." All this time, Yume had been trying to spot something on Amaya, but so far she had not found it. She frowned, "Amaya, where's the-"

"BAM!" Amaya suddenly produced a box of matches. Yume took a step back, realising this was even worse than what she had been expecting.

"Amaya, where's your confectionery blow-torch?"

She laughed, waving the matches about.

"It wouldn't fit in my dress so I had to get the next best thing!"

"But Amaya, they won't work!"

Amaya waved Yume's concern off, opening the box of matches. "They will! They will!"

Yume could see now – realising at this moment in time she knew more about cooking than Amaya did – that something very, very, VERY bad was about to happen. She did not bother to try and stop her; she simply turned and ran. The others around her, noticing her reaction, decided to follow her lead. Amaya watched them go and laughed. She struck the match against the side of the box.

Yume appeared next to her friends, grabbed Haku and Hinata by the hands and started pulling them away towards the fire-escape.

"What's going on?" Kimimaro asked, following the group away from where they had been dancing. Yume laughed nervously.

"D-don't worry, we'll be fine. We just need some distance."

"From what?"

Yume turned to look back at Amaya just in time to see her drop the lit match. It seemed to fall in slow motion and all the sound from the room seemed to disappear. As the match fell, Amaya's grin widened, right up until-

BOOM.

Where the cake had been sat a large geyser of flames was now spewing up from the tray. Amaya was stood in front of it, laughing like a maniac, her eye ablaze with power. The others in the room – those with any sense at least – decided then and there to evacuate, seeing the flames so high that they were lapping at the curtains. Up on stage the band had stopped playing too; too shocked with what they were seeing. It come out of no-where.

The group of friends turned to Yume with their jaws dropped. She laughed nervously. "I did try to stop her."

Smoke and flames were beginning to circulate on the ceiling, causing those on the floor to panic and run about madly as if the many, many years of going through fire-drills had been for nothing. They only started to calm a little when – as Tsunade was in amongst those running about; being too drunk herself to cause order – Sasori walked up to the microphone and called out to the room in a calm, collected voice,

"Would everyone please leave the auditorium via the fire-escape on the left hand side of the room? Thank you."

Instantly people started to push through the fire-escape by the side of the stage, so the five on stage decided to join the rush. As annoying as the girl was, Yume did not want Amaya to burn to a cinder so she wriggled her hand free of Haku's hold, then when the brown-haired boy looked back at her with wide eyes, she said,

"I'm going to get Amaya."

Kimimaro looked back too, Suigetsu slung over his shoulder, and saw Yume running back into the crowd of people. He looked to Haku, then the pair came to the joint conclusion that they would not be able to stop her, so left the hall with the rest of the group.

Yume had just pushed her way back through the crowd of people and could see Amaya staring up at the flames on the ceiling when, as she went to call out her name, a figure appeared next to Amaya instead, causing Yume to stop and smile.

Amaya, her vision speckled with reds, oranges and black, turned her head slowly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, only to look into the eyes of Itachi.

"Itachi!" She said happily, turning around to jump on him. She managed to throw her arms around his neck, holding herself to him and swearing never to let go – which in all honesty made it much easier for him. He said quietly to her, wrapping an arm around her back to hold her in place,

"Amaya that was undoubtedly one of the most stupid things you've done."

She laughed giddily, snuggling her drunken head into the side of his neck,

"Why thank you, 'tachi!"-Itachi stopped himself rolling his eyes-"So why are you here?"

He said, turning to leave the flaming cake with Amaya still attached to him,

"No doubt you're too drunk; you would have stayed in here until the building burnt down."

She laughed loudly in his ear, twirling one of his bangs between her fingers. "So you came to rescue me?" She hugged him even tighter – if possible, "I knew you were awesome."

Itachi carried on walking, suppressing a small chuckle.

Yume watched the pair leave into the crowd and laughed. Out of all the possible outcomes from tonight, she was just glad that that was the one that had happened. She turned and made her way back into the group of people filing from the hall, only as she made her way closer to the door there was a loud crack from behind her where one of the beams had set alight. People behind her started to push their ways to the exit, trying frantically to get outside. In amongst them all, Yume found herself unable to move, and fell backwards into the crowd. People in their dresses and suits stepped around her and some over her to get out. Just then the sprinklers finally came to life, setting off the fire-alarm in the process.

Yume sagged, covering her head to protect herself from feet and water alike. This is what she got for going back to help Amaya.

A pair of hands had made their way around Yume's stomach, pulling her up from the ground. When she was upright she looked over her shoulder, seeing Deidara smiling at her through a thicket of wet blond hair.

"You looked like you needed a hand, yeah!"

"Thanks!" She called back over the sound of the alarm. As he helped to carry her out of the hall, she realised something and called back to him, "Deidara, I need to talk to you!"

He nodded his head, sidestepping a couple of boys who had turned round to try and retrieve the punch-bowl full of alcohol.

"I know. Hidan said you probably would, yeah!"

A lump shot into Yume's throat. "W-what?"

He grinned childishly. "Hold on."

He pushed his way through the crowd, still guiding Yume ahead of him, until the pair were outside on the balcony. Instead of turning down the stairs with the rest of the horde, Deidara pushed Yume off to the other side. When they were free of the masses, Deidara finally let go of Yume and smiled at her, wiping his brow.

"Yume, yeah. It's alright, you know? You don't have to worry about me."

Yume fell quiet, wondering what he was talking about. He smiled again, patting her on the shoulder, his grin faltering into a gentle smile, "I... don't mind...- about you and Hidan, that is." He put his other hand on her shoulder and rubbed them comfortingly, "I just want what's best for you, yeah."

"Deidara..." Yume said quietly, seeing a small sign of hurt in his eyes. He shook his head, a grin resurfacing on his face,

"Seriously, I'll be alright, yeah." He laughed, "Just give it a bit of time before you announce the wedding!"

"Deidara!" She nearly choked, "I haven't even agreed to go out with Hidan! Stop planning my future!"

He laughed, seeing her panicked face in front of him. "Oh, sorry."

He continued to smile at her a moment, being quiet, then he startled Yume a little by grabbing her around the shoulders and pulling her forward into him, hugging her tightly. "I'll always be around if you need me though, okay, yeah?"

Yume was a little shocked at first, but then she smiled, relaxing, and wrapped her arms around his back.

"Thank you, Deidara."

He smiled and rested his cheek on top of her hair, hugging her still. "Don't mention it."

At this point Yume realised the mass of students had almost disappeared by now as they were down in the gardens. Deidara let go of her and grinned, noticing too. He took hold of her hand and turned, saying over his shoulder,

"Let's get a move on before the school burns to the ground then, yeah!" And with this the pair ran down the spiralling fire-escape together, arriving into the large group of teens at the bottom of the staircase. Once there, Deidara said to Yume, letting go of her hand,

"I've got to go check with the guys, yeah. You should go and make sure your friends are okay too."

Yume nodded, watching Deidara turn to leave. As she watched him run into the crowd she felt as if something heavy had been lifted off her. Her heart was light and fluttery again. Now left on her own, Yume decided to go and find Amaya – make sure she had not fallen into the pond or anything stupid.

Deidara turned, watching Yume walk away into the crowd, and sighed heavily, running a hand through his damp hair. A figure appeared beside him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well that was harder than I thought, yeah." He turned to look at his red-headed friend. Sasori nodded with a smile, saying,

"You'll feel better about it someday, don't worry."

"Yeah," He said, sighing heavily, "I suppose so." He chuckled, "Hidan owes me though, yeah."

Sasori nodded again, undoing the top button of his suit, "No doubt he does." He looked at Deidara's face, seeing it still a little hardened, but then he noticed it change as Deidara got a thought into his head.

"Well, I suppose the one good thing about this is," He said, resting his hands behind his head, "If it all goes wrong with Hidan, she can have my shoulder to cry on, yeah." He flashed Sasori a cheeky grin. Sasori rolled his eyes before raising a hand into his own wet hair to wipe it from his eyes then gave a genuine laugh for the first time in a while.

Much further away, at the entrance to the gardens where the teenagers were standing awkwardly, not really knowing what to do, a car suddenly rolled up. Kisame, of all people, got out with a grin on his face. Some of the students there noticed him and wondered what he was up to, so he said aloud to anyone who would listen,

"Kisame to the rescue!" He said, pointing at the top of the school where a small orange flame had started to flicker, "I know something like this would happen so I brought a back-up plan." He walked round to the back of his car and opened the boot, revealing two very large, very powerful speakers. The people around him cheered.

Elsewhere over by the pond, Amaya was stood spinning around in circles. In her head she could still hear the music so she was dancing to her heart's content. Others around her were pointing and laughing but she did not care; she was having great fun. She span and span, around and around, making herself so dizzy that she could hardly see any more. Of course with this going on, it came as no surprise when Amaya – too blinded by drunkenness – managed to trip over a rock, falling into the pond. However it was only when she was but a few inches away from having her face pelted with ice-cold water that she stopped falling. She blinked curiously. A voice from above her said,

"Why is it you always manage to get into trouble when I leave you alone?"

The pair of arms that were wrapped around her middle pulled her up to a standing position, then they turned her around so Amaya could look at Itachi properly, her eyes sparkling gleefully.

"H-hi again, Itachi."

He nodded at her, his eyes softer than normal. "Hello, Amaya."

The pair turned suddenly, hearing a song start to play out from the speakers in Kisame's car.

"Appropriate!" Amaya laughed, hearing the opening to Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing. As the introduction continued, Amaya slowly began to feel herself swaying, but then she realised that she was not rocking herself... Itachi was swaying with her. She looked up into Itachi's eyes, confused, but he leaned down and rested his head on top of hers, holding her to him. Amaya squealed with delight, only making him smile.

Yume was out in an open part of the garden; quite close to the speakers now, having given up on trying to find Amaya a short while ago.

With nothing else to do – unable to find any of her friends for the past few minutes - Yume started to rock in time to the music. She loved this song so much, and it was so nice to see the genuine couples swaying together, held in each other's arms.

As Steven Tyler began to sing the famous lyrics, a finger tapped lightly on Yume's shoulder. She turned, coming face-to-face with who she hoped it would be. A smile spread out on her lips as those damn butterflies started building up in her stomach,

"Hi, Hidan."

He nodded, smiling at her; his wet hair clinging to his face. "Hey, Blondie."

She laughed at the little pet-name, not bothering to try and stop him calling her it. She could see in his eyes that same softness they had held back up on the balcony. Hidan stepped forward, clearing his throat a little awkwardly, then he held out his hand,

"Yume, would you... like to dance with me?"

Yume felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She looked away from Hidan, down at her hands which only made him smile, then she muttered quietly,

"Y-yes... I'd love to."

He grinned again, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, then stepped forward and took hold of one of Yume's hands. He entwined his fingers with hers, walking across to the centre of the open area of garden. As well as glancing between Hidan's back and the grassy ground, Yume could not help but notice a few people had stopped talking to watch what was going on; Sakura, she noted, was one of them. Her eyes had turned into sparkling balls, her hands clasped together in front of her face as she cooed, nudging Naruto away from his conversation to look. Yume giggled, blushing.

Hidan stopped walking and turned, smiling at Yume again. Her cheeks still felt hot, and Yume knew they looked it too because Hidan leaned forward and whispered to her, grinning cheekily,

"Is it hot out here, or is that just me?"

Yume laughed, smacking him on the shoulder before he could pull away properly.

"That's such a cheesy line, Hidan!"

He grinned, glad he had distracted her from the people watching. "It got you laughing, though!"

She smiled, sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at her, then when her cheeks had turned a little less flushed he reached forward and took hold of her hands. Guiding her forward, he reached up and put her hands onto his shoulders then he laced his own around her waist, holding her as close to him as he dared. He did not want to go and make her uncomfortable and have her run off.

As the song continued to play, Hidan began to sway them both to the music, turning them both as he did. He looked down at Yume, seeing her face slightly pink, and chuckled, leaning down to have his face in line with hers,

"Try not to be nervous. I won't bite, you know."

She giggled and pursed her lips, inwardly genuinely surprised by how much she was enjoying this; held in Hidan's arms. Just away from her, where Sakura had managed to find Temari and Kimimaro, she pointed to the pair dancing in the garden, then called loudly,

"Go on, Yume! At-ta girl!" Sakura noticed Yume's face crack into an embarrassed grin, then she turned to Naruto and said excitedly,

"Come on, let's join 'em."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"

The pair headed out into the garden and this seemed to trigger something in the others because Temari and Kimimaro followed, along with Tobi and Hinata, and others like Neji and Tenten. Yume, looking over Hidan's shoulder, noticed Tobi approaching rapidly and braised herself. Hidan, feeling her tense up, looked down,

"You okay?"

She nodded her head, tightening her hands on Hidan's shoulders as she saw Tobi bounding over; his grin taking up most of his face. She giggled, muttering to Hidan,

"Sorry..."

For a moment Hidan took this the wrong way and paused in their dancing, but then he felt something run into his back and a pair of arms made their way around Hidan's neck. Yume backed off, laughing.

"Look at you two~!" Tobi sang happily, "Tobi thinks you look adorable!"

Seeing Yume not holding onto him anymore and Tobi holding him instead, Hidan found it very hard to hold his composure. He breathed heavily, the vein on his forehead growing bigger and bigger with every breath.

"Tobi," He said, his eyes closed in contemplation, "If you don't let go of me right now..." He clenched his fists, "I'm going to-"

Hidan never managed to finish his sentence because Tobi had just been ripped from his neck. He looked over his shoulder to see both Kisame and Hinata holding onto Tobi – the latter looking somewhat embarrassed.

"S-s-sorry..." She muttered, pulling Tobi away. Hidan watched them go, an eyebrow raised,

"Don't mention it...?" He turned back to Yume to hear her laughing. "And what's so fucking funny?"

She put her hand over her mouth, trying her best to shut herself up. "Nothing," She muttered from between her fingers, "You just..." She let out a burst of giggles, "You should have seen your face."

Hidan smirked and walked forward again, taking hold of Yume around the waist. He was about to pick up her hands again but found he did not have to because she laced them around his neck first, holding herself close. He looked at her, quite shocked, so she smiled at him and said softly,

"I don't have to be scared of contact all the time."

He felt his own cheeks hotting up slightly so he tried to brush it off, resting his head on top of hers. Below his chin Yume had her head resting against Hidan's chest, listening to his heart-beat slowing down again. It made her smile; comforted that she was not the only one nervous about this. That one step of wrapping her arms around him had been a struggle enough, but now that she was so close she knew it had been worth it.

It made her wonder what taking more chances would be like. Thinking this alone made her heart flutter. She knew Hidan liked her but to finally be able to admit it herself... she just didn't know how.

Just as she finished thinking this to herself she felt Hidan's heart-beat start to quicken, and quite a lot. She wondered what on earth he was thinking about but then Hidan lifted his chin from atop her head and slackened his arms from around her waist, pulling back to be able to look at her properly. She noticed a playful expression on his face but beneath it there was a tiny look of panic. He said, talking just loud enough to be heard over the music,

"Hey, Yume. You never answered me before," he edged a little closer, wrapping his arms around her a little tighter, "will you...?" he trailed off, thinking it over in his head, realising it sounded so strange asking it out loud. Yume, however, had gotten the gist.

She felt her own heart-beat pace up again, threatening to beat out of her ribcage. Well now she knew she had to admit something. She tried to keep her breath steady, a smile surfacing on her face, but as she had never been in this situation before she could not help but stammer. Now that it came down to the question Yume's cheeks flushed again and she could not look Hidan straight in the eye any more. He chuckled to himself, seeing her reaction. She had given him her answer.

She gulped; not even her brain able to calm her down any more. She looked away and took a breath, and then another, closed her eyes and then one more, she opened her eyes and turned to Hidan – only his lips brushed against hers before she could reply. Yume was so surprised that she did not hear the gasps from her other friends; all she could hear was her heart-beat as loud as a drum. Hidan held her, his lips barely touching hers and his arms wrapped tighter around her waist than ever before. He pulled away a moment later, leaving a tingle on her lips. Yume could not speak; she did not want to speak; she did not want to move. All around her people were muttering and murmuring to one-another but she could not hear them - locked inside a bubble made for her and Hidan alone. She could hear his breathing; more rapid and uncontrolled than before.

He gave a shaky breath, smiling wider than he had done in such a long time. He whispered to her, his face so close to her own, "Pull away if you don't want this."

She stood where she was. Nothing could make her move now. Hidan finally had the reassurance he needed; there was no doubt left in his mind. He leaned forward again, pulling Yume to him in the same process, and then, in the middle of the garden with hundreds of eyes watching, Hidan locked his lips with hers, an invisible explosion of emotions erupting in front of everyone. A jolt of warmth rushed through Yume's body from her lips, making her body tingle with affection. Hidan held her close, almost suffocatingly to try and make his long-hidden feelings get across the tiny gap between their lips. Yume, unable to lift her now-lead-like arms to around his neck, wrapped them around his stomach instead - finally, finally sure of her choice. As she held Hidan as close as she could she knew she would be happy with him.

Away from the couple, dotted here and there, Amaya and the others cheered and whistled along with many others Yume could not name. Those from Akatsuki jeered and wolf-whistled – jokingly of course. They were happy for Hidan; happy for Yume. Over at the car even Kisame did not have the heart to ruin the moment by setting fire to the approaching rose-bushes. They could wait.

As the final notes of the song played out, Hidan drew back, looking down at Yume, and chuckled when he noticed her red-flushed cheeks. She smiled back at him, and then, after giggling like a little child for a few moments, she leaned forward and pressed her head to his chest, wrapping her arms tightly around his stomach again. He reached up her back and stroked her hair affectionately, kissing the top of her head to have her smile into his chest. They were both so elated that they were blind to the cameras, let alone care for them.

---

Me: Oh no people, don't think you're getting off this easy. If you think I'm being quiet this chapter, just wait 'til the next one...- Hope you enjoyed.

X-Deidara's Lover-X