*~~*
It had been a few hours since the girls had come home with their finds, and since Neji had resumed searching for inner peace. The other girls in the household, who were the rest of Sparrow's team, had left a while ago to hang out.
In his room, Neji had dozed off sitting up, his head falling forward and his mouth slightly ajar.
Downstairs, the room was a mess. Akamaru was curled up in one corner, on a pile of cushions. Against the wall was Fennec, her legs draped over the copy-nin's stomach. Kakashi himself was sprawled out, so completely exhausted that he couldn't feel the kunoichi's weight. Oriole rested on top of several cushions near the table and her plastic device. Sparrow was curled up in the other corner of the room, clutching kunai and mumbling gently. Kiba slept nearby, his legs propped against the wall, and was snoring loudly.
Suddenly, the plastic device on the table began to beep gently. If anyone had been awake to see it, they would have noticed it now had small, red numbers on its face, and that the numbers were rapidly decreasing.
:05 Kurenai, Asuma, and Gai arrived, and began walking toward the door. Upstairs, Neji snored loudly, startling himself awake.
:04 The jounin approached the door. Neji drowsed off again, sleeping more lightly than before. Fennec shifted, rolling onto her side, so that she still rested her legs on Kakashi, but her back was more comfortable and the ponytails on the back of her head didn't press so harshly against the wall.
:03 Kurenai knocked once on the front of the door. Neji's head began to loll gently. Fennec felt her legs stretch slightly as she moved and sighed. Oriole's eyelids fluttered and a smile graced her lips.
:02 Kurenai knocked a second time. Neji jerked his head up, still asleep. Fennec grinned slightly in pleasure. Oriole shifted slightly and rolled toward the table. Sparrow clutched her kunai tightly as her nightmare grew worse.
:01 Kurenai knocked a third time, somewhat impatiently. Neji shifted slightly in his sleep as he began to dream. Fennec's smirk disappeared as she began to snore. Oriole yawned. Sparrow kicked slightly. Kiba snorted loudly and dropped his legs to the floor.
BANG!
Suddenly, the device on the table exploded, sending out a tiny flame and a barrage of whistles, sirens, and explosions flying through the house.
Upstairs, Neji jerked awake, took a deep breath, and choked in surprise.
Downstairs, the jounin broke through the door, fearing the worst.
Kakashi sat up, startled, and Fennec shot awake, rolling over and attempting to stand. Sharply, her foot smashed between his legs, and the jounin yelped. Fennec, caught off guard, fell over, banging her chin on the floor.
Akamaru leapt up, barreling over the fallen ninja in an attempt to locate Kiba. Sparrow and Kiba woke at the same moment, jumping up right in each other's line of vision. Still trapped in her nightmare, Sparrow's eyes were unseeing, and she threw the kunai in several directions.
Kiba gasped as the kunai flew towards him, gagged on his drool, and was knocked over by Akamaru as the dog fell over Kakashi and Fennec.
The kunai, which should have hit Kiba, caught the jounin by surprise, and they barely dodged.
Neji threw open his door, raced downstairs, and froze, still choking gently.
The front room looked like Hell.
Jounin lay flat on the floor like roadkill, shaking gently in pain or fear. Fennec and Kakashi were tangled together, and Akamaru and Kiba had hit the wall headfirst. Sparrow was standing in the corner, more kunai in hand, looking around the room blankly. Slowly, she placed the kunai back in her holster, blinked gently, and walked around the room, kicking the bodies on the floor gently.
"Dead," she giggled, her eyes still blank, and she walked into the kitchen and through the door in the kitchen that led to her bedroom.
"The Hell?" Neji rasped, his throat still sore. Slowly, unsure if the girl would return, the three jounin rose from the floor and stood surveying the damage.
Oriole popped up from the floor, smile on her face, looking fresh as a daisy.
"Good morning," she chirped, blinking widely. Neji felt his legs go out from under him.
She's a psycho, he thought, just like the others.
*~~*
Chouji and Shino walked casually down the street to Wasp's, enjoying a companionable silence. They were both thinking how fortunate they were to be rid of TenTen's annoying chatter.
Together, they walked past house after house, and then field after field. Wasp's house was out further than most, and it would take some time to get there. Suddenly, a thin murmur drifted down the street, and grew louder the further they walked.
"Is that music?" Chouji turned to Shino, a confused look on his face.
"Sounds like it," Shino replied, not quite as taciturn as TenTen believed. Girls just made him nervous, that's all.
After all, most female insects devoured the males when they were done with them, and secretly, Shino had always feared the same fate.
Especially around women like TenTen, Ino, and Sakura.
Finally, the two arrived to a giant field, where dozens of beehives sat warming in the sun. Around the hives were fields of flowers, and several women sat in the fields or walked among the hives singing.
Two of the girls in the field waved the shinobi over, and as they approached, they realized the two girls were braiding flower crowns and drinking lemonade.
"Hi," the girls crooned, offering them a glass each and beckoning them to sit.
"So," the girl on the right began, her long honey-colored hair shining in the sun, "do you like bees?" Several of the insects buzzed over from the flowers and settled peacefully around them.
Shino fought a nosebleed.
*~~*
Back in Tigerdragon's mansion, Naruto was glaring a hole in the floor. He was extremely embarrassed to talk about the fox, especially in front of Hinata.
"That's it?" Tigerdragon asked calmly. Naruto nodded, feeling extremely ashamed of himself for having the fox inside him. He didn't deserve to be around Hinata.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, Vixen-chan," Naruto rasped, still glaring a hole in the floor.
"No, don't be, Fox-kun!" Hinata yelled. As Naruto looked up in surprise, the Hyuuga blushed. "I mean, you didn't have to tell me. It's your secret."
"But you should know! You should all know!" he yelled back.
"But I already knew…" Hinata trailed off, embarrassed. Naruto sat gaping in surprise. Suddenly, Hinata knew she'd crossed the line. Overwhelmed, she turned to leave, and a pair of arms enfolded her.
"Thank you," Naruto whispered in her ear. Hinata fought the rampant blush tearing at her body, but failed and went limp in Naruto's arms.
Confused, Naruto lifted her and set her on the general's table.
"Seems you've overwhelmed your pupil," Tigerdragon snickered.
"It's not funny, Sensei!" Naruto shouted, his voice choked with emotion. Tigerdragon's grin grew.
"Now, what kind of missions did you want?" the leader asked, willing to let Naruto adjust to his changing environment. Whether he knew it or not, Naruto was about to get a lot of changes in his life, and they might not all be this welcomed by the blonde.
*~~*