"I used to like liquor to get me inspired. But you look so beautiful, my new supplier. I used to like smoking to stop all the thinking.
But I found a different buzz." - High enough, K. Flay.
Light streamed around Shikamaru and rested on his face, warming his cold face. Shikamaru slowly started waking up as he felt something damp trailing along his face.
"Kankurou stop drawing on his face." A monotonous voice said.
"What?" Shikamaru asked confused, his eyes still closed as a searing headache formed in his head causing him to groan softly.
"Look Gaara, he's waking up." Kankurou said amused.
"I'm aware." Gaara said without any emotion at all.
Shikamaru frowned as he opened his eyes slightly from confusion. He couldn't fully open his eyes due to the hangover he had. However, when he opened his eyes, he stared straight into Kankurou's purple face.
"What the fuck!" Shikamaru exclaimed now wide awake as he sat up and pulled away.
However, when Shikamaru leant back he found nothing to rest his back on, causing him to fall out whatever he was sleeping in. Shikamaru scowled as he hit the ground hard.
"Did I just fall out a tree?" Shikamaru asked as he looked up at the leafless branches above him.
"Yes, you did." Gaara said bluntly while Kankurou laughed as they jumped out the tree.
"Where am I?" Shikamaru asked confused as he sat up and clutched his head.
"Outside Konoha on the main road to Konoha." Gaara replied.
"What? How the hell did I get here?" Shikamaru asked confused looking up at Gaara and Kankurou.
"You tell us. However Shikamaru, there's a much more important question you should ask..." Kankurou said stifling his laughter.
"And what is that, Kankurou?" Shikamaru asked irritated.
"Where the hell is your shirt?" Kankurou said rolling from laughter.
"What?" Shikamaru asked confused as he looked down.
He had indeed no shirt on and now that he realised it, he was freezing.
"Plus Kankurou painted on your face, you now look like him." Gaara said making Shikamaru's eyebrow twitch.
"What the fuck Kankurou." Shikamaru said annoyed.
"You carry face paint with you?" Kiba asked making everyone turn to him while Kankurou just shrugged.
"Where did you come from?" Shikamaru asked.
"From the Bush over there. You guys woke me up when you fell out the tree." Kiba said stifling a yawn.
"Dude, what happened to your shirt?" Kiba asked confused.
"I don't know. You were with me." Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"What happened to your face?" Kiba asked amused as he pointed at Shikamaru's new purple face paint.
"Kankurou happened." Shikamaru said exaggerated as he rubbed his temples.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You'll smudge the face paint and look like a bigger dumbass." Kankurou pointed out.
"Now you know how you look every day..." Shikamaru shot back.
"At least I have a shirt on..." Kankurou replied with a smirk.
"You're missing your shoes as well." Gaara pointed out.
"Dammit! Where did all my clothes go?" Shikamaru said cursing.
"You're like a stripper." Kiba said as he and Kankurou laughed.
"Shut up Kiba!" Shikamaru exclaimed annoyed as he stood up.
"Let's go, you too Shikamaru." Gaara said as he started walking.
"But what about my clothes, I'm freezing. Plus I look like a clown." Shikamaru groaned.
"You can go home afterwards..." Gaara said making Shikamaru sigh and follow.
"Wait, give me a minute." Kiba said as he turned green.
Kiba rushed over to the bush and emptied his stomach. After he was done he regrouped with Gaara, Kankurou and Shikamaru.
"Feeling better?" Shikamaru asked.
"Actually, I do feel better..." Kiba answered with a smirk.
"Nobody said you should come, maybe you should go home." Kankurou suggested.
"Nah, I want to see Shikamaru walk around the village like a stripper clown." Kiba said making Shikamaru sigh exaggerated as they walked to Naruto's office.
xXx
Ino slowly opened her eyes as the sun shined on her face. She looked around as she blinked slowly. How did she wind up in Sai's bedroom? Plus where the hell was all her clothes? And where is Sai?
This was his apartment after all.
"Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Sai asked as he came in shirtless.
Ino's eyes drifted to his toned upper body as he came in. He only wore his usual pants as he walked towards her.
"Now that you mention it... I'm extremely nauseous with a pounding headache." Ino said holding her head as she sat up and used the sheets to cover herself.
"Oh wait, here it comes." Ino said as she grabbed the sheet and ran to the bathroom, pulling the sheets with her.
She threw up in the bathroom while Sai followed to hold her hair for her. After she was done Sai sat down and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Sai..." Ino said.
"Yes, Ino?" Sai asked.
"What happened last night?" Ino asked holding her head.
"We drank, we got drunk, we left the group then came here and I'm sure you can connect the dots from there..." Sai said with a smile.
"Oh." Was the only thing Ino said making Sai chuckled at her reaction.
xXx
Shikamaru knocked on Naruto's office door, but they received no answer. Shikamaru tested the knob to see if it was locked or not and to his surprise, it was not locked. Shikamaru opened the door slowly and walked in with the group behind him.
In that moment Shikamaru realised two things...
First, his shirt was on the roof light. Secondly, Chouji was sleeping on the desk.
"My shirt!" Shikamaru said happily as he jumped towards the light to grab his shirt.
He pulled it over his head and embraced the warmth his long sleeve shirt provided.
"Dude, why was your shirt on the light?" Kiba asked confused.
"I don't know." Shikamaru answered.
"Why is Chouji on the desk?" Kankurou asked confused looking at Kiba and Shikamaru who shrugged.
Papers were scattered everywhere on the floor making Shikamaru depressed because he knew he'd have to pick them all up and sort them again later.
"Where's Naruto?" Gaara asked looking at Shikamaru.
"I have no idea, maybe Chouji would know." Shikamaru said as he walked over to Chouji.
Shikamaru nudged Chouji until he woke up, confused and disoriented.
"What happened to your face? Why am I on a desk? Where are your shoes and flak jacket? Why am I in Naruto's office " Chouji asked confused.
"Kankurou drew on Shikamaru's face. We don't know. Shikamaru is a stripper when he's drunk. We don't know." Kiba answered on his fingers making Shikamaru glare at him.
"Chouji, where's Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.
"Just because I'm in his office doesn't mean I know where he is..." Chouji said.
"Shikamaru, what happened last night?" Gaara asked with folded arms as he looked at a nervous Shikamaru.
"We had a drinking game last night and after that, things turned a little hazy..." Shikamaru said rubbing the back of his neck.
"So you were all in a group once upon a time?" Kankurou asked.
"Yes, then we sort of left members of the party behind. Chouji being an example of that..." Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"What happened to Naruto then?" Gaara asked.
"We may or may not have lost him somewhere in the village." Shikamaru chuckled awkwardly.
"Then let's go find him." Gaara said turning to the door.
"Can't I just at least wash my face first?" Shikamaru asked exaggerated.
"You can wash it if we walk past a tap." Gaara said leaving as the group followed.
"Where are we going?" Chouji asked as he followed the group.
"To Naruto's apartment." Shikamaru answered.
It's the most likely place he'll be. The group walked silently towards his apartment and knocked on the door as they arrived, however, there was no answer and the door was locked. Shikamaru sighed as he stepped backwards.
"This is troublesome." Shikamaru said exaggerated.
Gaara silently stepped forward as sand flew from his gourd and into the lock. Gaara picked the lock with his sand until he heard a click and the door creaked open.
"You know how to pick a lock?" Shikamaru asked surprised.
"Yes." Gaara said bluntly as he stepped into the apartment.
"Finally, something I can wash my face with." Shikamaru said relieved as he entered the apartment, knowing the apartment has a sink with water.
"Not now Shikamaru." Gaara said as they explored the apartment.
"What, why?" Shikamaru asked irritated.
"Because we're leaving, he's not here." Gaara said as he left with the group following him.
"You're enjoying this." Shikamaru said glaring at the back of Gaara's head.
"What makes you say that?" Gaara said in a monotone, but a small smile played on his lips which no one saw except Kankurou because he was walking next to him.
"Where now?" Kiba asked.
"There were only three people there that didn't drink. Hinata, Tenten and Lee. One of them is bound to know where Naruto is. Most likely Hinata since she just gave birth to his child." Shikamaru reasoned.
"Oh, Hinata gave birth?" Gaara asked.
"Yes, two days ago." Shikamaru answered as they walked to the Hyuga mansion.
They walked to the Hyuga mansion in silence due to Shikamaru and Kiba's killer headache. They arrived at the doorstep of the Hyuga mansion and knocked on the door. A man answered the door and looked Shikamaru over with a concerned frown.
"Are you lost?" The man asked making Kankurou and Kiba try and stifle their laughter.
"No, I'm looking for Hinata." Shikamaru said annoyed.
"I'll call her for you, please stay here." The man said looking over Shikamaru once more before leaving to get Hinata.
A few minutes passed before Hinata appeared, slightly startled by Shikamaru's appearance, she stood by the door and looked Shikamaru over with a confused frown, but she didn't ask why he looked that way.
"Hinata we need you to tell us what happened last night." Shikamaru asked slight desperation in his voice.
He really wanted to wash his face.
"Uhm okay. You were all taking shots except Lee, Tenten took them away from Lee and gave them to either Shino or Ino. This went on until Shino passed out~" Hinata said until Kiba interrupted her.
"So Shino lost the drinking game?" Kiba asked seriously, it was really an important piece of information to Kiba.
"Actually no. Naruto did. He was the first one to pass out. After he passed out ino and Sai left. Tenten and I stayed until Shino passed out. After he passed out Lee carried him home with Tenten while Naruto woke up to walk me home. After I was home Naruto said he was heading back to the bar because he had to win Sasuke." Hinata said.
"But he already lost..." Shikamaru pointed out.
"I know and I told him that, but he wouldn't listen. Why are asking what happened Shikamaru?" Hinata asked curiously.
"We sort of lost Naruto. We have no idea where he is..." Shikamaru said scratching the back of his head.
"You lost Naruto..." Hinata asked in disbelief.
"Yep, they lost your boyfriend and the father of your child. Congratulations by the way." Kankurou said amused.
"Not helping Kankurou." Shikamaru said not looking back at him.
"We should go find him." Hinata said worriedly.
"However Shikamaru... Let's stop by your apartment first, you look ridiculous." Hinata said pointing at his face as she closed the door behind her.
"Thank you." Shikamaru said exaggerated as he took the lead to his apartment.
xXx
Sakura sighed as she slowly woke up. She didn't bother opening her eyes or moving the hair that fell in front of her face away, she was too comfortable for that plus she didn't want to wake up. She was nuzzled into something warm while an arm was wrapped securely around her waist making her feel safe.
"Sakura..." the voice she adored whispered, however she didn't answer.
She didn't want to wake up.
"Sakura, wake up." The voice said again.
However, this was when realization hit her. Sakura's eyes shot open, looking straight into Sasuke's chest. Her eyes trailed up until her eyes met Sasuke's. She blinked a few times then exclaimed from surprise as she fell off the couch they were sleeping on.
"What is happening?" Sakura yelled confused from the ground as Sasuke sat up.
Sakura looked at Sasuke for answers, but he remained silent. However, this was when she realised what he was wearing.
"What are you wearing?" Sakura asked confused as she looked at the black suit that fitted him perfectly.
She would've gushed over how handsome he looked if she wasn't so confused about what was going on.
"A suit Sakura. What are you wearing?" Sasuke said already knowing the answer but wanted her attention to go to what she was wearing because she hadn't realised what she was wearing yet.
Sakura looked down and stared at the white mermaid style dress she was wearing. She blinked several times at the dress until the memories of what happened flooded into her mind along with a mild headache.
"I think we got married." Sasuke said in a serious voice.
"I think your right." Sakura said blankly.
"Sasuke..." Sakura said.
"Yes, Sakura?" Sasuke asked looking at her.
He couldn't deny that she looked beautiful in that dress.
"This isn't my apartment..." Sakura said looking up at him.
"If we're not in your apartment, then in whose apartment are we?" Sasuke asked, slight panic in his eyes.
"I don't know, let's go before we find out who lives here." Sakura said.
"Good idea." Sasuke said as they both jumped up to gather their things.
"Where are our normal clothes?" Sasuke scowled, he didn't even want to imagine what'll happen if someone they knew saw them like this, especially Ino or Naruto...
"I don't know, have you seen my shoes?" Sakura asked looking around.
"Leave them, let's just go." Sasuke said walking towards the door.
"Wait Sasuke..." Sakura exclaimed softly.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked annoyed as he turned around to see her ogle at a ring that was on her finger.
"Where did we get these rings? All the jewellery shops were closed that time of night." Sakura said, dreading the answer.
"We probably stole them." Sasuke said bluntly.
"You're a bad influence!" Sakura whisper yelled at him, she didn't want the owner of the apartment to find them.
"I don't care, now let's go!" Sasuke said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door.
Sasuke quickly pulled open the door coming face to face with a purple face-painted clown that resembled Shikamaru a lot. Sasuke scowled as he saw the group in front of him. They all stared at him and Sakura with shock, not saying or doing anything except blink.
"What's wrong with your face?" Sakura asked breaking the silence.
"That's not the most important question here." Kankurou said still stunned.
"What the fuck are you two doing in my apartment?" Shikamaru asked confused.
"You invited us in, come to think of it." Sakura said now remembering who the apartment belonged to.
"What are you wearing sakura?" Hinata asked, wanting to confirm her suspension.
"A wedding dress." Sakura said bluntly, making Hinata smile happily.
"Why?" Kiba asked, his mind too sore to connect the dots.
"Haven't you noticed, we got married." Sasuke said exaggerated, holding his left hand up to show them the ring he now had on his ring finger.
Kankurou spit out the imaginary water he had not been drinking, Kiba fell over from surprise, Chouji cocked on the chips he was munching, Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelieve even though he connected the dots the moment he opened the door while Hinata congratulated them happily.
"You were right Kankurou..." Gaara said out of the blue.
"About what?" Kankurou asked as he recovered from his shock.
"About leaving Suna earlier." Gaara said with a small amused smile.
He never knew that leaving his home to see his older sister earlier can cause him such amusement.
"See I told you, little brother." Kankurou said smugly.
"You stole those rings, didn't you?" Shikamaru asked Sasuke, recovering from his initial shock.
"Naruto will confirm that soon enough." Sasuke answered.
"Who married you?" Gaara asked curiously.
"Naruto." Sasuke replied bluntly.
"He can do that?" Kankurou asked surprised.
"He's the Hokage, what can't he do?" Shikamaru said exaggerated.
"You don't seem to be as hangover as the other people we gathered..." Kankurou noted.
"That's because I won the drinking game and Sakura was second." Sasuke answered with a smug smirk.
"Let's get back to the point, do you two know where's Naruto? He's missing." Gaara asked.
"Naruto's missing?" Sakura asked concerned.
"Yes, we lost him last night. That's why we need one of you to tell us what happened after Hinata left." Shikamaru said.
"After Hinata left Naruto came back and we drank some more. Then for some odd reason, he suggested Sasuke and I should get married which we agreed upon. So we all went to a chapel, which we broke into, and Naruto married us. After that Chouji suggested we should have a barbeque then Sasuke said we should barbeque one of the giant snakes in the forest of death. Naruto then told Chouji to get more booze in his office~" Sakura said until Hinata interrupted her, which was quite out of character for her.
"Why is there booze in his office?" Hinata asked with a frown.
"Lady Tsunade stashed it there." Sakura said bluntly.
"Is the forest of death the forest we had to survive in when we participated in the chunin exams?" Kankurou asked.
"That's the one. Anyway so Chouji left the group to go to Naruto's office then Sasuke and I wanted to change so Shikamaru let us go to his apartment since it was the closest. Shikamaru just left us there so I guess we fell asleep." Sakura said with a shrug.
"So that means Naruto, Kiba and I went to the forest of death." Shikamaru mused.
"So we should search the forest of death. But first wash your face Shikamaru, it's distracting..." Gaara said while everybody nodded in agreement.
"Finally." Shikamaru said relieved as he went inside to wash his face and get some shoes.
"I still want to know what happened to Shikamaru's face." Sakura said as she and Sasuke joined the group.
"Kankurou and I were on our way to the village when we found him in a tree then Kankurou decided to draw on his face." Gaara said with crossed arms.
"How did he wind up outside the village?" Sakura asked confused.
"Neither he nor Kiba knew." Gaara replied.
"Was Kiba in the tree as well?" Sakura asked amused.
"No, we found Kiba in a bush across the road from the tree." Gaara answered making Sakura burst out laughing.
"Hey, I found my flak jacket." Shikamaru called happily from inside.
"What?" Sakura asked confused.
"Shikamaru is a stripper when he's drunk." Kiba said amused.
"I told you the drinking game was a bad idea." Sasuke said to Sakura.
"I'm not apologising." Sakura shot back with crossed arms.
"Okay let's go." Shikamaru said as he regrouped with the group while locking his apartment door behind him.
The group walked to the forest of death to search for Naruto in silence. It was now well into the afternoon and Gaara had still not had the chance to talk to Naruto because he was still missing. The group finally reached the forest of death and stood in front of the gates that said no entry.
"Why do they call it the forest of death if this forest isn't even so life threatening?" Kankurou asked casually.
"That's because you had a Gaara, we nearly lost our lives in there." Shikamaru grumbled.
"We're wasting time, let's go." Gaara said, he knew it was futile splitting up because they had nothing to notify each other if they found Naruto.
They walked through the forest for hours, searching for Naruto. But they couldn't find him which made Hinata more worried by the minute. However, after another hour, they found a giant dead snake.
"I guess we found the snake we wanted to barbeque." Kiba shrugged.
"Yeah, but where's Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"He's not here." Shikamaru sighed.
"But if he's not here, where is he?" Chouji asked, saying something for the first time since they found him in the office.
"What did you three do when we left?" Sakura asked still in the wedding dress.
"It's all hazy but I think after we killed the snake Naruto said we needed booze while we were barbequing and Chouji was taking too long... That's it!" Shikamaru said, the clouds in his mind finally parting.
"What?" Sakura asked confused.
"Naruto is still at the bar! He went back to get more booze while we watched over the snake and must've passed out there." Shikamaru said.
"But if you and Kiba were suppose to watch the snake, why did we found you two outside the village?" Kankurou asked confused.
"We went to look for Naruto because he took too long... Then we got lost and passed out outside the village." Shikamaru said awkwardly.
"You got lost in the village you were raised in?" Sakura asked baffled.
"Yep." Shikamaru said while everyone sweat dropped except Gaara and Sasuke.
"Maybe we shouldn't have a drinking game next time." Chouji suggested while everyone agreed except Kiba and Kankurou.
"To the bar!" Kiba exclaimed as he took the lead to the bar.
"Can't we just go home now and change. It's weird walking around the village in a wedding dress." Sakura whined.
"No, all of you lost Naruto, it's your responsibility to find him. Besides your the only one to blame for wearing a wedding dress, now own it." Gaara said making Sakura groan.
"Now you know how I felt when I had to walk through the village looking like a clown." Shikamaru said amused.
"You should really stop referring to my face paint as that of a clowns." Kankurou said not amused.
"You know that's not going to happen." Shikamaru said bluntly.
They walked towards the bar they were in last night with a fast past, anxious whether they'd finally find the missing Hokage or not. They reached the bar and looked around, searching for the blond.
"Uhm excuse me." The waiter of last night said catching their attention.
"Does he belong to you?" She asked pointing at someone behind the wall.
"Yes! We found him!" Kiba exclaimed as they rounded the corner and saw Naruto sleeping in one of the booths.
"Thank goodness." Hinata sighed, relieved that Naruto was okay.
"I found my shoe." Shikamaru said happily as he picked his shoe up.
"What the hell is your shoe doing here?" Sakura asked with a frown while Shikamaru only shrugged.
"Stripper." Kiba whispered loudly, making Shikamaru roll his eyes.
"We should get Naruto home." Hinata said.
"I'll carry him." Gaara said not lifting a finger as his sand scooped Naruto up.
"Does that mean we can go?" Sakura asked with hope in her voice.
"Yes." Gaara replied walking out the bar followed by Kankurou, Hinata and Shikamaru.
"Thank you." Sakura said exaggerated as she left the bar.
"Congratulations by the way." The waitress called with a happy smile making Sakura look at her with confusion.
"She's congratulating us on our marriage." Sasuke clarified slightly amused.
"Oh. Why are you so amused? I thought you'd be annoyed with us getting drunk married." Sakura said looking up at Sasuke as they all stood outside the bar, but Sasuke gave her no answer he only shrugged.
However, Sakura suddenly frowned as her eyes became unfocused and far away, which made Hinata frown as she realised the sudden shift in her mood.
"Sasuke..." Sakura said softly as she gripped the fabric of his shirt with her left hand.
"I know." Sasuke said calmly as he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.
He then used his teleportation Jutsu and teleported them away, which confused Kankurou. Seconds later they heard a huge crash which made them turn to the direction to see several trees in the forest fall over as a dust cloud floated to the sky.
"What was that?" Kankurou asked seriously, expecting it to be a threat.
"It was Sakura." Shikamaru said seriously.
"Why?" Kankurou asked confused as he relaxed.
"She has a bad case of delusions." Hinata said sadly.
"How unfortunate." Gaara said.
"Follow me, I'll take you to Naruto's apartment." Hinata said as she leaded the way to Naruto's apartment with Kankurou next to her while Gaara lagged behind in the group with Naruto.
Shikamaru slowed his pace so he could walk next to Gaara.
"I know why you're here." Shikamaru said as he walked with Gaara.
"I know." Gaara said without any emotion at all.
"Let her stay Gaara. Sakura is the best medic nin out there." Shikamaru said.
"I'm afraid she'll stay here if she does indeed wake up here." Gaara said with a ghost of a smile before he fastened his pace to walk in front of Shikamaru.
Signalling that he is not willing to negotiate. Shikamaru stopped walking and watched the group walk away. His friends did a good job in distracting him and making him laugh for a while, but now he was serious again.
Shikamaru lit a cigarette as he turned around and walked to the hospital. She wouldn't be in Konoha much longer. Shikamaru put out the cigarette before he entered her room and walked to her hospital bed. However, he stopped halfway as something caught his eye.
"I found my other shoe..." Shikamaru said to himself as he took his shoe.
He knew if Temari was awake he'd never hear the end of it...
A/N: Yaaay another chapter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was amusing af… And have to say Sasuke and Sakura's part was my favourite. I didn't have a song today for this chapter so I chose this song because it is awesome and I love it. You all should listen to it!
I hoped you like the chapter as much as I did :)