Note: Hey Everyone out there who is reading this! Tis I Ara or better yet Raiku for this fic lol, I just had to write this note because I wanted to let everyone who enjoyed that last chapter know that if you want to find out how Chino's father got the 'bright' idea to give his daughter such a strange present you should read her spin off of this story entitled Konoha is an Interesting Place. You can check my favorite authors to find her easily. Her fanfiction name is literally her characters name so it should be easy. Be sure to review and let me know your favorite parts so that I might be able to add some more of those kinds of things at some point further down the line. ^^ Thank you for continuing to read and review my fanfiction.

Chapter 51: Dinner or Disaster?

Kyohei had promised her that he wouldn't try anything at dinner. He had sworn by his love for her and the rest of the family that he was going to have a regular dinner with a few Sunako chosen friends and he was not going to purposely start trouble. That was the whole reason that Raiku had agreed happily to the dinner in the first place. The second reason was because she had missed all of her friends while she was gone and with her mother taking care of the guest list she was sure she was about to see all of the people that she would want to. And her father had explicitly promised that he wouldn't invite any eligible bachelors that would be interested in her or anything. And yet there was still a problem. A major problem that she had not anticipated because she had been so worried and thorough with her father. And that problem was one that she should have known better than to forget. That problem was Rinku.

Now it wasn't a very strange thing that Rinku would want to start trouble for her sister, especially since her sister had 'taken her away from the hot and single men of Konoha'. But it was rather surprising that she was about to use a method that very few Senju's would ever even attempt to try. Rinku decided to get her revenge subtlety, and this time she was not alone in her plans.

Chino, still being cross over the talk that she had to endure after Raiku spilled the beans on her boyfriend situation, was more than willing to help get Raiku back. Of course Chino had more of a reason to want revenge due the fact that she had one- been separated from her boyfriend, two- been yanked back home to endure, for the time being (and foreseeable future) her parents 'hospitality,' three- had to deal with 'the talk' all over again due from Raiku's rant, and four- she had been brought back home in such a rush that she was unable to complete her mission, which for someone with a spotless record (despite her creative interpretations) was a major blow.

And so it was that a very strange and sick bond was created. It was a bond held together by the thinnest, most strained string ever created, but it was a bond indeed and it was at least thick enough to remain for one night. A night Raiku was not likely to ever forget.

Speaking of the guest of honor, as she generally was, Raiku was not completely unaware of the dangers of the present night, though she was currently underestimating her opponents (which she seldom ever allowed herself to do). The biggest problem was that her guard was down due to her excitement of being back in the Amazon village and preparing to see all of the people that she had missed while she was gone. It had been especially hard on Raiku leaving the Amazon village because she was such an overprotective person and there were a lot of people that she cared for (and took care of) in her own village. It helped that she had a lot of sway and power in the Land of Fire, not only because she was ninja royalty, but also, to her displeasure, because of her sway on the Feudal Lord's heir.

Truth be told if Raiku wanted to she could rule the Land of Fire and many other places if she had a mind to, though she had no idea of her true abilities at this point. She would have to make sacrifices to rule, however, and thus far she had managed to avoid the temptation through real stubbornness, pure will, and an unexpected shyness about guys that most people didn't pick up on through her panicked rampages. Don't get the wrong idea though, some of it was resentment and anger at the male race in general, but the majority of it was a strange way of guarding herself from feeling embarrassed, nervous, or scared of any guy. That was why Raiku could be civil and downright loving to some guys that she crossed her path with. The weaker, underprivileged, pitied, or adorable looking ones were generally safe. Or simply the ones that weren't her type what-so-ever and weren't likely to like her back anyway.

Speaking of such boys and men, one of her favorites had just walked into the restaurant, quickly followed by his two teammates. Raiku's eyes lit up as she saw the three, ignoring the waiters attempts to have her seated by pulling out her chair for her, the young kunoichi beamed and attempted to launch herself at all three of them at once, though in truth she mainly caught the male member due to the fact that he was standing in the middle. He didn't seem to mind but his teammates struggled until they were at the front and got a hug in there too somehow. Chino and Rinku rolled their eyes as neither of them were very inclined to dramatics when meeting up with comrades. Not that either personal especially minded Team 21, but they had to hear a lot about them from Raiku. Miku, although usually happy to see Team 21, was too busy sulking and heartbroken to mind any new comer. A point Lei was quick to assess and promptly sat down next to Miku's mother, clearing a space for the rest of her comrades as she tried to think of a way to help.

Lei as it happened was a very sweet girl with an olive, yet tan tinted skin coloring. Her midlength brown hair was loosely curled, in the natural way that very few people could claim. Her eyes were also brown and as often as not covered by glasses.

Due to the closeness that the other two on her team had, Lei was more likely to go on solo missions or interact with other people in general. Many had been surprised that she hadn't switched to Anbu when her team mates had begun dating, especially because some of her closest friends were on ANBU, but Lei preferred being on a team, and somehow managed to deal with the other two members' tempestuous relationship and still remain on good terms with both. She was however pretty quick to disappear when Kenji and Jade began sparing each other in the heat of the moment. On the other hand when the on again off again couple fought each other on missions, Lei was also the best able to handle ignoring them and getting the job done. She was also the one who generally handled the social aspect of the group jobs in addition to the regular role she played on the team. In short the Team really couldn't do without her, unless all three of them turned ANBU at once.

Jade, who soon joined her comrade Lei at the table, was a girl who could have easily been confused for a fairy. Her thin, small frame, pale, smooth skin, and petite features were the kind that screamed delicate. But though she was very feminine in her likes and dislikes, and her eyes were soft and caramel colored, that was why she was able to fool people into letting their guards down and often how she won her fights. Jade was not the kind of girl that anyone would fear on sight but though she looked young and delicate, she was anything but when she needed to be. Her body was well toned if small and she was able to make men and women twice her size spin with delirium from her nearly infamous punches. She was also trained as a medic nin early on so she could inflict damage and then fix it, if she wanted to. Kenji could attest to her skills as a ninja, the deadly accuracy and damage of her punches, and also her effective healing practices (though often Jade would only help to heal the damages that she herself did not inflict).

Kenji himself smirked as Raiku gave him a big hug and called his name dramatically, as if she had not expected to ever see him again. Normally such a tone from her would have caused him to roll his eyes or dodge her overzealous hellos and hugs, before he paid his respects to her, but truth to tell he had missed talking with her and her rather interesting ways of making him laugh. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't told him personally about her leaving, before she had gone off to Konoha, and she had been gone for a while without explanation. If Kenji didn't know better he would have spoken of his worries for her safety. But had he mentioned his doubts Kenji knew that the others would laugh at him, call him crazy, and he'd never hear the end of it. Kenji much preferred to do his worrying in his head, where no one else could see it or comment on it for that matter. Though sometimes it slipped out.

"Lei! Jade! Kenji! How have you three been?" Raiku asked as she stepped back to examine the still standing Kenji for cuts and bruises, while flashing quick smiles and waves to the other two as they were seated.

A well known fact around the Village of Amazons was that Kenji was Raiku's first ever 'adopted son.' The villagers often treated him as such, allowing him extra entitlements due to his associations with Raiku, but they didn't really have to treat him as such. The elders and those in his generation close to Raiku however, treated him like a normal person.

"Same old, same old." Jade commented with a point in Kenji's direction as if blaming him for something.

"Only a few casualties along the way this time though." Lei piped in amused with Jade's assessment and the chopsticks that she was now spinning in her hands.

"We've been mostly fine, although I didn't appreciate you leaving so suddenly without informing us. Do mothers normally act that way?" Kenji asked making his voice sound snarky and bored, more to hide his concern than to make Raiku feel bad.

Raiku frowned slightly and then looked a little sheepish as she realized why he was so upset,

"I'm sorry Kenji I meant to let you know, but you know how impatient I can be. I was worried about Chino and my Aunt. I just didn't think about much of anything until I was there. I did miss you all though, as well as the Village," She said directing her comment to the group, "trust me I would rather be here."

At that Rinku growled in the corner,

"I wouldn't, but no one asked MY opinion did they?"

"No, and no one cares now either." Raiku said glaring at her sister.

Kenji seemed to be more at ease once he had an apology secured. So when Raiku motioned for him to sit he complied. Having gotten what he wanted, Kenji only now noticed that Miku had her face pressed against the tablecloth and was crying silently. He quirked an eyebrow before pointing down at her and mouthing,

"What's wrong?"

Raiku let out a little sigh, shaking her head. She waved her hand as if to ignore it but of course Kenji wasn't going to let it go that easily, and he didn't care that not everyone was there yet. Neither did her father,

"No we aren't letting this go, I've had to wait for days to find out about your trip and now we will listen and you all will tell us what exactly happened while you were over in Konoha. It's passed the time to meet and so as ninja's those who are late are going to have to deal with the fact that they missed information. It will be a good life lesson I say." Kyohei piped up, banging his mug against the table gently.

"Well now I hope that wasn't meant to be directed to us." A honey haired man commented with a slight smirk set on his lips as he led in two others and promptly took a seat.

"Tokihiko! Juria! Daichi!" Raiku said excitedly, though she was set firmly down by her fathers hand so she wasn't able to run over to hug them. Luckily the group seemed to have understood.

Tokihiko, who had dreamers eyes which alluded to his romantic nature, merely smiled and turned to face Kyohei, giving a slight bow to those whom he ought to, then he tapped the table lightly as he commented,

"No need to worry at least we are here now, and we are waiting with baited breath to hear about this mysterious mission so by all means do go on."

Daichi, who was very much a woman, flicked her mid-length black hair behind her shoulders as she leaned forward for a better view. Her eyes were big and beautiful, and very light in color. Her father had been wanting and expecting a boy initially so he had been slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to pass down his grandfather's name, that was until his wife agreed to it, and so Daichi received her name. It was rather funny how she acted as neither gender though, she was just herself and that was something Raiku liked about her in particular. But Daichi could be a terrible tease sometimes, so the young princess was not liking the combination that was being racked up around here.

The last member of Team 18 was Juria. Juria was a bit on the smaller side both in height and weight. She had vibrant hair the same color as Pein's from the Akatsuki, but her eyes were light and much different from his in that they were kind, gentle, and excited. Raiku knew from firsthand experience that Juria was a very adaptable person, she could have easily been in Anbu instead of a team, but a slight lazy streak kept her with a team rather than on her own. The team, although rather good ninjas, were more known for their looks than their fighting style in all honesty.

Juria grabbed a roll from the table and started munching it as Lei cleared her throat,

"Alright enough stalling here, I want to hear about the mission and why you guys returned so quickly. It's not like any of you to be pulled off of a mission, or to fail one for that matter."

Miku went silent before closing her eyes and placing her face against the table. Chino turned to look at Raiku in an accusatory manner, while Rinku outright growled at her. Raiku turned stiff and paused for a long moment before she slowly begun speaking,

"Well…as you know our team decided to go help Aunt Tsunade due to the terrible things that have been happening in that village of hers. Chino was already there as she had told us about the situation. Our village had done some recon even before that, which is how Chino was sent to check out the situation in the first place." Raiku started.

She felt that she was babbling a little, but it was a bit hard trying to figure out how to explain the story, leaving out the Hyuga element. She took a gulp of water before continuing,

"We had a little tiff with some of the locals walking in. I suppose we could have told the ninja's who questioned us why we were there, but we choose not to. They were a bit pesky, but nothing Rinku and I couldn't handle. Miku, for her turn, decided to take the peaceful route and explained things to a boy named Rock Lee." Raiku commented making sure to compliment Rinku and Miku in hopes that Rinku would be placated enough to not attempt her revenge.

Rinku, however was unfazed, and Miku began to hit her head repeatedly against the table, which Chino had to stop by pushing a soft napkin in between Miku's head and the table.

"Typical." Kenji commented as Tokihiko chuckled and held out his hand to Juria,

"You owe me 500 Yen, I told you Raiku would end up in a fight the first moment she stepped into the village."

Juria grumbled as she pulled the money out of her wallet and slapped it into Tokihiko's palm,

"I'd have won that bet if you'd have waited one day Raiku, just one day."

Raiku rolled her eyes at the lot of them,

"Anyway as I was saying, Miku's friend brought us to Aunt Tsunade. We told Aunt Tsunade how we wanted to be of help to her and she said that was great, or something or other. She said that she did have work for us, but it turned out that the only thing she had for us were pretty much Chunin level if you ask me. Then again most of the people our age over there are Chunin."

Rinku snorted,

"Chunin level you say? You weren't the one who had to verse the Ninetails."

At that statement the entire table, minus Team 17, Raiku's parents, and Chino gasped,

"You went up against the Kyuubi container?" Lei asked incredulously. Jade had dropped her chopsticks in surprise.

"I had heard that the Ninetails was in Konoha, but I didn't think he'd be running around fighting." a male Anbu member said as he suddenly appeared sitting before them suddenly, causing all members of the table to turn quickly to look at him.

"Really Kouchi? You just appear out of nowhere and nonchalantly enter the conversation?" Kenji commented obviously a little annoyed.

Kouchi pulled the shades of his sunglasses up for a second and then snapped them back down,

"I am Anbu this is what we do."

"Exactly," a raven haired, classically Japanese looking Anbu female said as she suddenly appeared from seemingly midair, "it's technically our job."

Rinku tilted her head to the side for a second before commenting,

"Hey neither one of you happen to have family who is an obsessed Sasuke/Naruto shipper do you?"

Both Anbu members blinked and shook their heads as Rinku sighed,

"Well it was a valid theory." She defended as Raiku waved her hands in the air.

"Yes well, Kouchi and Su Zan, the Kyuubi container as you all seem to enjoy calling him does have a name. His name is Naruto and he is under my protection. The only reason Rinku was fighting against him was that one of our missions was to help train some of her Ninjas. Rinku got Naruto, Miku got Lee, and I got…" Raiku started but then made a face because she was trying to figure out whom to claim.

Rinku and Chino noticed this quickly and were only too happy to attempt to fill in the blanks.

"Can't you remember Sis? You'd think it would be quite easy to remember considering the fact that we stayed in h-" Rinku started.

She was unable to finish her statement however because Raiku had grabbed the nearest male waiter and threw him face down into Rinku's lap.

"Awe Nii-chan you shouldn't have, it's not even my birthday. I'm to take it that this is my repayment for taking me away from-" she started as she lifted the boys head up and her eyes widened in surprise, "Jun?"

Raiku turned abruptly to see if it really was Jun. She was glad of the distraction from what was about to be her embarrassment, and yet she was a little upset that the boy that she used to distract Rinku ended up being Jun. As if the boy needed another reason to be scared of them.

Jun's face turned as pale a ghost as he found himself staring into the face of the now smirking Senju Rinku,

"N-n-n-n-no it c-c-c-c-can't bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-be. Y-y-y-you two are s-s-s-s-supposed to be in K-konoha." He managed to stammer out as he scrambled frantically out of her hold, before she actually tightened it.

"Surprise, surprise we're back. You can thank Raiku for that one. How about you Jun miss me much honey?" Rinku purred at him.

Jun let out a feminine sounding 'Eeek!' before running for the door. Apparently his job wasn't worth dealing with the Senju girl's for five minutes. Raiku sighed as he escaped, watching him knock over a half dozen glasses of water in his wake.

"What did you do to that boy again?" Kyohei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't do anything to him except protect him and treat him like my own child." Raiku commented.

"Yeah I'm not going to lie that one was tortured, but he was weak and broke too easily. So all in all no major loss." Rinku commented lightly.

"Oh well what's done is done, it's not as if he was a prospect anyway. Forget the boy and continue what you were saying Raiku honey." Kyohei commented.

Rinku chuckled and smirked,

"Yes speaking of prospects…"

"You trained with…?" Kyohei pressed.

"Hyuga-" Chino started, before suddenly finding a roll in her mouth.

"Hinata! Hyuga Hinata!" Raiku yelled as she put her hands back down on the table, having obviously been the one to through the roll.

"Oooh-kay." Lei said suspiciously, "so how did you guys end up home if these missions were supposedly so easy?"

"Ah yes getting to that part," Raiku said biting her bottom lip slightly as this was territory that she didn't want to get into, "most of Team 17 and Chino became romantically involved with the men of Konoha. You see the ratio of men to women over there is about the opposite of our own and the girls got swept up."

"Pardon moi, we were the only ones swept up?" Rinku put in slowly.

"I was not swept up, not even one bit so don't go starting rumors Rinku or I'll take you out right here," Raiku said glaring at her sister before trying to continue, "well this Lee character, the one Miku was interested, ended up constantly flirting with Miku when really he hadn't gotten over Aunt Tsunade's pink haired apprentice Sakura."

At Sakura's name Miku instantly sat up, picked up a knife, and threw it at the wall behind Raiku. Slightly shocked Raiku grabbed the knife midair and asked calmly,

"Dark Miku is that you?"

"Sa-ku-ra." Miku said in a sociopathic whisper as Chino inched her chair slightly away from Miku's just in case.

"Um this really isn't the place or time for Dark Miku so I'm going to have to be cruel here okay?" Rinku announced to the group, Raiku scowled but seeing as the others thought it would be best for the moment agreed she let it go as Rinku said to Miku, "You really loved Lee didn't you? He was so sweet and romantic to you, until you found out about the other girl."

At that Miku's lips wobbled, Dark Miku disappeared, and Sad Miku was back to sobbing,

"!"

"Well at least I know Dark Miku isn't too far off." Raiku said, personally being a much bigger fan of Dark Miku than of Sad Miku, by leagues.

"Guess that means we should bring Miku and Chino up into the mountain tops to save on damage for when they snap." Rinku commented as Chino raised an eyebrow,

"You are one to talk about defacing the village. Generally it's Miku and I who end up on clean up duty for you two."

"Yes, but if the cleanup crew are the ones who wreck the place then what do we do?"

"You wouldn't even notice it." Chino pointed out to her.

"Eh, still I prefer to be the human wrecking ball thank you." Rinku huffed.

"Odd I thought that was Choji's job."

"Can we please refrain from talking about anyone from that demented village ever again unless absolutely necessary?" Raiku snapped at them angrily.

"Why? I thought you'd want to tell everyone about Neji, seeing as he's so attached to you and all." Chino said causing the whole restaurant itself to become suddenly, and eerily silent.

Not a pin could be heard for a full moment in the entire restaurant as Raiku registered that Chino had gotten her revenge for Raiku telling about Shino. Raiku, however, saw it as something much worse. For she had never returned any of Neji's affections like the other three had and so had not included herself into the mix. Though she would be lying if she had said that Neji wasn't a large part of the reason that she decided to up and leave.

"Who is Neji?" Kyohei asked, the only one daring to speak at the moment, and he was very interested in the conversation.

Raiku looked down at the plate in front of her so as not to snap by looking into Chino's eyes. She rose, in an ironically very Hyuga fashion, quietly and gracefully. She pushed her chair backwards as lightly as she could manage as she said in her quietest tone,

"Excuse me for a moment."

Having said this she threw her chair in Chino's direction, causing all of the members in that section, including the still sobbing Miku, to duck under the table. Raiku then proceeded to make her way to the bathroom, flinging any waiter who had the misfortune of crossing her path.

"Clearly I need to know more about this Hyuga Neji." Kyohei commented, stunned by his daughters obvious reaction to a boy's name.

The rest of the table was in clear agreement, being quite curious and shocked that any guy could, A) Affect Raiku so much that she would not want him mentioned in conversation, B) Have lived after having obviously affected her somehow, and C) Be interested enough in Raiku to be a big factor in her leaving a mission.

Rinku grinned, clearly preparing for a very enjoyable explanation session,

"I can tell you everything you'd ever want to know about Raiku and Neji."

Kyohei raised an eyebrow,

"Without exaggerations?"

Rinku sighed,

"Well if you want to skip all of the fun parts that my sexually stunted Nii-chan didn't engage in, then it won't be as exciting of a story, but I'll tell it. Just because it will make Nii-chan crazy. This ought to teach her not to take me away from a mostly male population."

"While you take care of that," Chino commented handing Sad Miku over to the care of Lei, "I'll make sure our illustrious leader doesn't make a brake for it. She's obviously in the bathroom attempting to escape at the moment."

"Eh I wouldn't worry about it, we all know where she'll head if she runs off for the moment." Rinku commented.

All of Raiku's friends, including Sad Miku, chorused,

"The Waterfall of Purity."

"Be that as it may I've got to try to squash this argument here and now. If I don't I may never be able to sleep again." Chino commented as she pushed her chair in.

"Because of the guilt? See that's why I'm glad that I don't have a conscience, no pesky guilt situations." Rinku commented with a little shrug.

"No not guilt, if I let this go for the moment I'll have to stay awake just to survive. Raiku-hime can be exceptionally homicidal when she's holding a grudge as you've probably noticed." Chino commented.

"Doesn't bother me much personally, I kind of view Survival as a game."

"I bet you do Rinku-san, I bet you do. Well I view Survival as imperative, so I'm going to get back on Raiku's good side as soon as possible." And with that Rinku launched into the Neji-Raiku saga with all of the information that she possessed on the situation, while Chino headed to the bathroom to stop Raiku's probable escape.