"Where did he go?" That was Sasuke's primary thought as the young dragon moved through the crowds of people (and obnoxious fan girls), trying to find Naruto. He really wasn't a party person, and if one more fan girl asked for his address he felt like he was going to snap.
"Play it cool Sasuke…" He reminded himself, thinking back to the ring in his pocket. "Let's just find Naruto and try to do this without making jerks of ourselves…"
"Damn it!" That growl was from Naruto. The young Kitsune was so pissed that the group of creatures that he thought he could call friends had abandoned him like this. Hell, he couldn't even find Sasuke. Though, now that he thought about, he had been whisked away by that vicious squad of fan girls. He shuddered; such terrifying creatures.
But really, he was really hoping to have some company tonight because, well… At every flash of orange or vermillion, he flinched; rushing to a safe spot. He had just run from a rippling dress of the same color when he bumped into an intensely warm body with nine tails. "Kit!" Kyuubi shouted, grabbing the blonde into two tight arms.
"Hi Uncle Kyuubi…" Naruto groaned, blue eyes looking out for any of his friends in a desperate attempt to get something to distract his uncle's attention, "Um, Uncle Kyuu, maybe I should—"
"I'm so glad you're here kit," Kyuubi went on, dragging Naruto along like a sack of potatoes, "I was worried that tonight was going to be so boring. And even better yet," The fox-deity smiled, "I have a surprise for you…"
"Oh joy…" Naruto seethed, forcing a smile onto his face as he was pulled along to Kyuubi's private table where a young man sat.
"Kit, meet the heir of the Lunar Dragon Kingdom Sai!" Naruto gulped as the young dragon in front of him had an eerie resemblance to Sasuke, but his hair was short and dark, his skin too pale, and his smile far too fake for the blonde's liking as he stood and took Naruto's hand, greeting,
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Naru-chan…" And with a smirk of confidence, he lowered his head to press a gentle kiss against Naruto's hand…
Some equate a broken heart to feeling your soul being ripped apart by a black hole. Others say that it's more like someone tore out your still beating heart and slammed it to the ground before stomping it into the dust.
As Sasuke saw Naruto with the other dragon, he felt both of those things and more swamping over his entire being in full force.
But he didn't scream.
He didn't roar.
He didn't even try to go over and confront the two.
He quietly turned around and left the palace: flinging the velvet box into the fountain before he hailed a taxi for himself.
The dancing room of the palace was filled with all sorts of whimsical creatures standing around and conversing with one another. But that didn't stop Tobi from bouncing in and biting his lip, squealing, "Kya! The shiny dance floors! The gourmet sweets! The pretty party-demons! The fancy band!" He looked back at the marble floors,
"Shiny!" Then the sweet buffet,
"Gourmet!" Then the guests,
"Pretty!" And finally, he looked at the band composed of a group of vampires,
"Fancy!"
Tobi's teeth chattered as his whole frame shook in excitement, finally exclaiming, "Gotta dance!" He then bounced onto the dance floor, singing,
"Tobi's at the Shooting Star Ball~!
Tobi's at the Shooting Star Ball~!
Tobi's at the Shooting Star Ball~!
It's all Tobi's ever dreamed!" He jumped up onto the stage and hugged the stuffy vampire pianist with the glasses and the short brown along with his lute-playing wife.
"It's all Tobi's ever dreamed! Whoo-hoo!" He then startled the stern-looking blonde vampire who was playing the double-bass and his almost identical sister, the sweet-looking vampiress playing the harp,
"It's all Tobi's ever dreamed! Yippee!" All around the room, all the guests were looking at him: completely aghast at his un-formal behavior. And before he could sing the end of his song, two demonesses locked in his happy grip of a hug, the blonde double-bassist called out,
"Hey, quit screwing around!", before the band kept playing their calm, formal music.
Tobi blinked before he quietly let the demonesses go, meeping as everyone went about their stuffy business, "It's all Tobi's ever… dreamed?"
Back out on the patio, Sasori and Deidara walked through the rosebushes: admiring the beautiful blooms until a feminine voice spoke up, "Such well-dressed young ones!" They looked up to see the wealthy demoness walking over and introducing herself, "I am Lady Bluebrow the Second."
"I'm Sasori," The redhead began, "And this is my fiancée Deidara." Deidara curtseyed before starting up a bit of small talk,
"What a lovely rose, un!" Sasori agreed before picking it and handing it to Lady Bluebrow. She looked at it before she snatched it up and took a big bite out of it.
"Huh?" Sasori blinked, Lady Bluebrow replying with her mouth full,
"Such a lovely color… And so good for the complexion!" As she swallowed, some of the petals still in her teeth, the two fashionistos could only stare at her odd behavior.
"My yellow-breasted friend…" Zetsu sang out in the gardens, feeling that he was getting closer to his new friend. When he heard the whistle again, he smiled and rushed through the pathway, "My Meadowlark is right around this bend and—Oh!" He frowned as he was greeted with the sight of an old demoness sweeping the garden paths, whistling all the way. "Um…" Zetsu cleared his throat, his hopes crumbling as he asked, "Was that… you?"
"Sure was!" The older demoness nodded, "Just love whistling while I work!" And she went right back to it, sweeping along.
"Oh, well…" Zetsu bit his lip before excusing himself to walk in the opposite direction. He soon heard the chattering of animals and he smiled as he rushed over, gasping, "That's the cry of a toucan! And the chatters of an orangutan and, oh, is that a kangaroo!"
However, as soon as he got within eyeshot of the animals, they all scattered away: Zetsu sighing, "Damn it Zetsu, such a loud mouth…"
Back in the palace, in the Royal Guard seating area to be specific, all the tables and standing room available were filled to the brim with demons trying to talk with the Royal Guard members and Lord Sanbi.
Kisame struggled to push himself through the crowds before he finally made it to Co and Ral and asked, "So, you guys have to be heading back to training soon, right?" But they were too busy talking to a reporter and the background noise of all the conversations going on were not helping at all. The bluenette then saw Conch flexing his muscles for a group of princess and asked him,
"Hey! Have you ever swum so fast that you caused lightning? It's awesome!" But Conch didn't hear him over the noise either, leaving a slowly raging shark-demon standing behind him.
Rokubi and Itachi still stood on top of the crystal staircase in the palace, more and more nobles walking up to see the weasel-deity. "I bid you welcome you to the Shooting Star Ball." Rokubi greeted a couple with a bow, Itachi following the gesture before he spoke up,
"Rokubi-sama, I've been so excited to spend this time with you and –"
"Yes, that's just how I've been feeling and – Oh, welcome to the Ball!" Rokubi interrupted the young brunette before he actually had to interrupt himself to greet a young queen. "Which is why I – Ladies! So lovely to see you again!" He bowed again, two princesses coming up.
"Alright then…" Itachi muttered quietly as his teacher's attention was constant being pulled elsewhere. "Looks like getting a chance to speak with Rokubi-sama will be a feat in itself…"
Back outside in the courtyard, Kakuzu and Hidan stood behind their refreshment cart, Kakuzu stating, "First minute, first sale."
A few demons passed by.
"Second…" Hidan folded his arms.
A few more demons passed.
"Fourth…" Kakuzu growled.
More demons passed by.
"Sixth…" Hidan hissed.
Demons kept passing up the cart left and right before Kakuzu sighed, "120th minute, no sales…" As Hidan watched his husband groan as he sat in a chair behind the cart, he could only shake his head,
"This isn't how this night was supposed to go at all…"
Kakuzu and Hidan weren't the only ones about to get a cold, harsh date with reality. As Ivan had been walking around the dining hall, he didn't know he was being watched by familiar, fearful eyes.
"Zut alors…" Francis Bonnefoy, the fashion master of Luminescent City, whined as he watched Ivan walk around the room, talking and conversing, "What is he doing here?" As if he didn't have enough problems, an agitated voice from behind him gritted out,
"Francis…" He gulped and turned to see a blonde fairy named Arthur, who was actually prince of fairies, glaring at him, "You were supposed to make sure that I had the best outfit tonight! What the bloody hell is that?"
"You cannot expect me to do anyzing about zis!" Francis sobbed, "Look at that terrifying oaf! He shall murder me!" Arthur rolled his green eyes before reaching into his robes and pulling out a magic wand.
"Useless, I swear…" He muttered before waving the wand around in the air twice. Then he waited…
"What is going on?" Ivan shouted as he was forced out of the palace by two guards, "I am demanding that you unhand me at once!"
"Sorry," One of the guards began, "But an anonymous source has named you as a suspicious character. And as such, you are no longer allowed inside the palace."
"But-!" Ivan tried to protest, but the palace doors were shut on his face before he could even get a word out. "What was just happening here?" He asked himself; surely he hadn't done anything wrong while he had been inside –
Just then, he looked through one of the windows to see Arthur and Francis taunting him and making all sorts of immature faces.
"Kol… Kol…" Ivan gritted through his teeth.
"…He's so nice Freedom-Crying Eagle…" Dances in Snow insisted as he led his brother to the table where his husband was staying. "And, oh! Why should I say anything when he's right here!" They arrived at a table where an albino dressed in silver armor sat drinking a mug of beer. "May I introduce you to the Silver Prince Gilbert!" The albino let out an obnoxious belch before setting the mug on the table. He snapped his fingers, watching the mug turn into pure silver, before he looked up and smirked,
"Mattie!" He clapped his hands onto his lap, "Come on over here and sit down!"
"He prefers the name 'Matthew' to my original name." Matthew gave a nervous smile before following his husband's order. Gilbert looked up to Alfred and asked Matthew,
"Who the heck is this? He looks just like you!"
"I'm his brother," Alfred frowned, "Freedom-Crying Eagle."
"Kesesese!" Gilbert laughed, "I know that way out in that backwards desert you two are from, all those random assortments of words are names… But seriously, what's your name?"
"Son of a bi—" Before he could say anything that he would regret he took a deep breath and stated, "Alfred."
"That's better!" Gilbert smiled before shoving Matthew off of his lap and pointing across the table, "Go on, take a seat kid!"
Alfred damn-near wanted to scalp this guy as he saw Matthew picking himself off from the floor. But he would try to be civil… For his brother… No matter how much it pained him to do so…
"Tobi's at the Shooting Star Ball…" Tobi whispered to himself as he sat alone at a small table. The joy-demon sighed, "And it's not what Tobi dreamed…"
On the patio, Sasori had gotten two seats for Deidara and Lady Bluebrow to sit upon. However, Lady Blueblood took her seat and used the blonde's as a foot-rest: Deidara whispering, "This isn't at all what we imagined, un…"
Itachi was forced to keep up a smile as he stood by Rokubi, who kept greeting the guests of the Ball. "This isn't what I hoped…" He frowned for a brief second.
Kisame shook his head as a waiter brought him a scotch, muttering, "What the hell kind of party is this?", as he was still crowded by all of the people in the Royal Guard seating area.
Ivan quietly walked towards the back entrance of the palace, just to be blocked by a couple of guards. The Baba Yaga could only shake his head, "I was not expecting this…"
"Wait, if you could just-!" Zetsu pleaded with a flock of birds. "Please, I wanted to -!" A group of chipmunks rushed away from the plant-demon before he sighed, wiping at his eyes, "This isn't what I wished for…"
"Where's the shining prince that my brother told me about?" Alfred asked no one in particular as he watched Gilbert demand Matthew to find someone to bring him another drink.
'No!' Itachi thought to himself.
'We've waited all our lives—' Sasori began.
'For this moment!' Zetsu finished.
'And Tobi's not—' Tobi thought out loud.
'Going to let—' Kakuzu growled.
'It be ruined—' Ivan plotted in the courtyard.
'By some jerk—' Alfred whispered.
'Or let this night slip by!' Kisame gritted out as he broke his glass in his hand.
"If it's the last thing I do," They all vowed to themselves, "I am going to have The Best Night of My Life!"
Pale hands placed a carrot underneath a box held up with a stick, all the while Zetsu was working quickly and quietly before and rushing off behind a bush, whispering, "I just need to be more assertive, like Kisame taught me in Adamant Sea City…" Then he called out, "I'm so sorry to have scared you all! But I'm leaving… so you can all… come out!" He made sure he was blending into the bushes, intently listening for something to take the bait.
A few minutes into his wait, Black Zetsu appeared in the reflection created by a spot of evening dew on a nearby leaf. "You do realize that this plan has more holes in it than Swiss cheese, right?"
"Shut up!" Zetsu quietly snapped, about to say something else when the sound of the box toppling over caught his ears. "Oh, oh don't worry…" He smiled as he walked out of his hiding spot, "I promise not to harm you, I just want to be…" He trailed off in another groan as he saw the old demoness from earlier picking herself out from the box, "Friends..?"
"Mm! Sounds good to me!" The demoness said as she finished the carrot.
Deep black eyes watched as Sanbi and Conch conversed with a couple of reporters, Kisame whispering to himself, "Come on Kisame, if they don't notice you, you'll just have to make them notice you." The bluenette looked around before he saw a tipsy demon about to fall over. "Perfect!" He smirked before rushing over and catching them before they collapsed…
And he frowned as he saw that he had been completely ignored. "Shit…" He gritted out before letting the demon pass out on the floor.
Across the way, Sasori and Deidara were walking the palace carpets with Lady Bluebrow. When he noticed Deidara's frown, Sasori quietly insisted, "I know how these people work from when I trained with Juubi, they're eccentric. But just give them a while and they straighten up!"
"Oh, good heavens!" Lady Bluebrow gasped, stopping the two demons behind her. Deidara looked down and saw that someone had spilled a glass of red wine.
"Good eye Lady Bluebrow!" The bird-demon smiled, Lady Bluebrow agreeing,
"One would hate to slip on such a fine evening!"
"Yes, one would." Sasori nodded.
"One's scarf should do the trick nicely…" Lady Bluebrow coughed, raising an eyebrow towards Sasori…
"Easy danna…" Deidara sighed as he helped his fiancé pick up his stained, silk cloak that Lady Bluebrow had just trampled all over.
Back inside the dancing room, Tobi pouted as he stood amongst all of the stuffy creatures. But, behold, the joy-demon had an epiphany! He grabbed a napkin from one of the tables, writing a series of notes on it, before he jumped back onto the stage.
Then he whispered to the pianist, the vampire not amused, and his wife, the vampiress giggling a bit before Tobi rushed to the microphone and announced, "Come on all you party-animals!"
The room immediately shushed, everyone aghast at Tobi's actions, "Tobi knows how to get you to shake those groove-things!" The blonde double-bassist was about to force Tobi off of the stage when the lutist made him sit back down and get ready to play. Tobi beamed, "Hit it!"
"You reach your right hand in,
You reach your right hand out!" Tobi's voice echoed through the palace all the way to the staircase where Itachi was shaking hands with everyone who came up. His hand was seized by a bear-demon who shook it like he was trying to rip it off.
"You reach your right hand in,
And you shake it all about!
You do the Youkai Pokey meeting lots of folks of clout!
That's what Tobi's talking about…"
'Someone please kill me…' Itachi thought as more demons came up and shook his throbbing hand.
"You step your left foot in,
You pull it right back out!" Outside, Hidan had kicked a sandaled foot against the cart, sending apples and peaches to the ground just as a young demon walked by. He instantly tripped over the fruit and Hidan helped him up, gesturing to the refreshment cart.
"You step your left foot in
But you'd better help him out!
You do the Youkai Pokey but you find a different route!" The demon frowned at the two farm-workers before storming off; Kakuzu actually punching a dent into the wagon as he bit back his rage.
"That's what it's all about!"
"You punch your fist in,
Then you pull it out!" Kisame smiled as he punched his fist against a table, knocking the drink that Co and Ral were sharing to the floor. He quickly caught it before it landed, the coral-demons smiling and clapping…
"You punch your fist in,
Just be brave and have no doubt!
You do the Youkai Pokey
Feeling like you're going to pout!" Which is exactly what Kisame wanted to do as the two were dragged off by a photographer.
"That's what Tobi's singing about!"
"You have to sneak in,
But they just throw you out!" Ivan kept a careful eye out as he quickly climbed through an open hallway window… But he could only growl as a couple of guards escorted him off of the premises.
"You try to sneak back in,
But they just through you back out!
You do the Youkai Pokey
Feeling your mood sink down south!"
"Damn it!" Ivan gritted as he was shoved out of the palace again.
"This is what this night's about!"
Meanwhile with Alfred, the blonde Trickster was too busy glaring at Gilbert, the albino prince too busy messing with Matthew's hair despite the uncomfortable whines he was getting. "You have to bite your tongue,
You want to knock him out!
Your brother loves him so,
You're just filled with doubt!
You do the Youkai Pokey
Trying to get the rage out!
This is what Tobi's thinking about!"
Across the city, in a dimly lit bar, Uchiha Sasuke was desperately trying to drown his depression in alcohol. But being a dragon, it was harder than you would think. "You shove the bottle in,
When it's dry you pull it out!"
A group of swooning demonesses slowly began to migrate over, Sasuke immediately sobering up to exhale a rush of blue fames towards them. "The fan girls want to swarm,
Well, hey, just force them out!
You do the Youkai Pokey
While sobbing your heart out!
That's what I'm talking about!"
"I want to die~!" Sasuke sobbed, downing another bottle of beer.
"You tilt your head in,
You tilt your head out!" Sasori and Deidara found themselves stuck at a door that had a toll-booth attached. When Sasori suggested that Lady Bluebrow paid the toll, she scoffed and demanded that they pay.
"You tilt your head in,
Then you shake it all about!
You do the Youkai Pokey
Even though this hag's a lout!" Finally, with Deidara holding back an angry squawk and Sasori's tail cracking and snapping behind him, the redhead paid the toll just to have Lady Bluebrow slam the door in their face after she got through.
"You're better off without!"
And finally, in the holy gardens, Zetsu was busy chasing all the animals around the garden: his dark-side shaking his head at him in the pond. "You stomp your whole self in,
You stomp your whole self out!
You stomp your whole self in
And you stomp it all about!
You do the Youkai Pokey
And you give a little shout!" As Zetsu saw all the creatures heading for cover, and how torn and filth his clothes had gotten, something snapped in him as he roared,
"COME OUT!" And shouted and ranted and raved in the center of the garden.
"That's what Tobi's talking about~!"
Tobi laughed before he hugged up against the pianist, "You do the Youkai Pokey!"
"Gott in Himmel!" He screamed as he was forced off-key.
"You do the Youkai Pokey!" Tobi laughed, bumping against the double-bassist who yelled,
"Fuck!", as both he and his instrument fell over.
"You do the Youkai Pokey and that's what it's all about!
Yay!" Tobi danced off the last number of his song before stopping to look around. All around the dancing room, the guests were just staring at him until the blonde double-bassist, Vash was his name, shouted,
"What is wrong with you? Don't you know how to act at parties?" Tobi flinched but then he realized,
"Oh… They don't want to 'party', they want to 'par-tay'!"
"I wonder how the kids are doing?" Hidan mused as he and Kakuzu were almost falling asleep as they hadn't gotten any customers that night. Suddenly,
"Three servings of grilled eel please."
"Who said that?" Kakuzu snorted as he woke up, seeing Sasori and Deidara with Lady Bluebrow. "Oh thank Gobi…"
"Three servings of grilled eel…" Hidan called back as he cooked up the food. However, Lady Bluebrow whined,
"Oh, can't you go any faster?"
"Okay…" Hidan frowned before holding out the order, "That'll be 8 gold coins please." As Lady Bluebrow stood there, biting her nails, Deidara rolled his eyes,
"For the love of… Ahem!"
"Right back at you dear." Lady Bluebrow frowned, Sasori groaning,
"And I have to shell out money yet again! Yay…" He reached for his wallet but Kakuzu held up his hand,
"It's okay Sasori. I have so much food here that I might as well start giving it away so it won't be a waste."
"Why thank you, un!" Deidara bowed a bit, "At least someone has a gracious air about them tonight…" He glared at Lady Bluebrow who had started eating. But no sooner had she swallowed did she immediately spit everything back up, shrieking,
"Ugh! How simply vile! Rice balls, bento-boxes, dango-dumplings, mochi and fried-fish? My regal lips have touched such disgusting peasant-fare!" She promptly turned up her nose and stormed off, "I'm going inside to feast at the buffet. Feel free to join me whenever!"
"This bitch…" Sasori seethed, taking Deidara's hand and following the old demoness. When they were gone, Kakuzu growled, his emerald eyes narrowing,
"No wonder no one's buying anything! They're filling their high-brow stomachs on fancy food!" Hidan was quiet for a moment, taking apart the current development, until he finally snapped his fingers and stated,
"Come on!", rolling the wagon away, "I know what rich people like…"
"Heh heh heh…" Zetsu's voice chuckled as he quickly tied together a net-trap and set it on the garden floor. He stood up, eyes twitching and parts of his sin going black, before stating, "I'll get you yet my pretties…" A couple of rabbits and chipmunks huddled together in a nearby bush, "Oh yes… As soon as one of you little birds, or monkeys, or bears touches this net, you'll be mine! Ah ha ha ha – Oh no!"
At that moment, the plant-demon tripped and fell into his own trap: the net heaving him up into the air. One of the braver rabbits padded over, sniffing the air around Zetsu as he asked, "A little help?"
The prim, proper, and elite were mingling quietly in the dancing room when, suddenly, the air was rent with the sounds of someone scratching a record.
Tobi had somehow found a turntable system and was spinning tracks and laying down some mad beats for everyone to get down to. "Come on everyone!" He shouted, jumping from the stage, "You said you wanted to par-tay, so let's do it!"
He then jumped form the stage and started dancing up against this person and that, trying to get them to join in.
Amongst all of the randomness, Ivan had finally snuck back in and didn't even wait two seconds before walking straight to the dining hall, finding Arthur and Francis's table, and grabbing their arms, "You will come with me, yes?"
"No!" The two blondes sobbed as they were dragged off.
"Come and get it!" Hidan shouted to one and all as he and Kakuzu rolled in a cart carrying a large, strawberry and cream tower-cake. "This oughta quench your spoiled, unhealthy appetites!"
"Oh, that looks good!" Matthew commented, purple eyes going wide at the large confection. But Gilbert cackled,
"Like you should be eating something like that, Thunder-thighs!"
"That's it!" Alfred shouted as he tackled Gilbert to the floor and began to land vicious punch after brutal punch. "I! Have! Had! It! With! Your! Shit! You! Don't! Deserve! Someone! Like! My! Baby! Brother!"
"Alfred!" Matthew cried, trying to pull his brother off of his husband, "Stop it, you're going to kill him!"
Everyone looked on at the violent display, but then their attention was ripped over to where Arthur and Francis, both sporting bleeding cuts and bruises, were rushing down the halls; Ivan giving chase.
Naruto, meanwhile, groaned as he pushed off yet another advance from Sai. All night long, the other dragon had been just throwing innuendo and perverted comments to Naruto in a pathetic attempt to 'spit game'. But it seemed as though this guy could not take 'dude, back the hell of I'm not interested nor will I ever be interested' as an answer.
Hence why, as Naruto turned to walk away, he decided to cop a quick feel of his ass.
"Huh, just like a girl's…" He smiled, not noticing how furious Naruto was getting, "So, this proves that you don't have a penis, ri—"
He never finished his insult because Naruto socked him clean across the jaw and walked off, fuming to himself, "Fuck it! Fuck this Ball, fuck my friends, and fuck Sasuke for leaving me here too!"
"Stage dive!" The blonde had walked away in anger, not noticing he had moved into the dancing room until he heard Tobi's voice and looked up to see the joy-demon jump from the stage.
"Move!" Hidan screamed, leaving the cake's side to save Naruto. But Kakuzu had to move them both away as Tobi landed on the cake.
At the same time, Sasori, Deidara, and Lady Bluebrow walked into the room. They all shrieked upon seeing the incoming threat, but it was Lady Bluebrow who did the unimaginable: grabbing Deidara and using him to shield herself from the cake.
All of those in the room were in complete shock seeing the cake and icing drip down the blonde's ruined gown. And Sasori…
All his hard work…
His beautiful fiancée…
All destroyed in a single action…
"YOU!" He shouted, shifting into scorpion-form, "YOU ARE THE SINGLE, MOST UN-REFINED WOMAN OF CULTURE OF I EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE TO KNOW!" Lady Bluebrow whined and whimpered, backing up as Sasori stalked her down and yelled, "IN FACT, THE ONLY THING NOBLE ABOUT YOU AND THIS COMPLETE CATASTROHPE OF AN EVENING IS HOW I WAS SOMEHOW CONVINCED TO SPEND IT IN YOUR PRESENCE!"
"Eek!" Lady Bluebrow shrieked, "Get away! I just got my hair done!"
"Oh, okay!" Deidara narrowed his eyes, "Afraid to get dirty?" The bird-demon shifted before he flapped his wings, getting the majority of his mess onto the old demoness who collapsed in a faint and knocked over the large, glass statue of Juubi.
"Crap!" Conch dropped his drink before calling out to the other Royal Guards, "Defense plan Clamshe-!"
"We don't have the time!" Kisame growled, seeing the statue about to fall on someone. The bluenette rushed forward and struggled to hold the statue up as those in danger got out of the way. "There…" He gritted out, about to slowly let the statue down when…
"Let's go!" Co and Ral called out as they rushed forward to slice the statue in half. Now, one half fell to the ground without a bother… But the other…
"SHIT!" Kisame roared as the lower half of the statue fell on his right leg.
"Oops!" Co and Ral rushed over, "We're sorry!"
"THERE'S NO SORRY FOR THIS!" Kisame shouted back, the pain in his broken leg ruining all senses of politeness and calm at the moment.
"Are you guys serious?" Sanbi yelled, "Get a freaking doctor on the scene, now!" One of the guests, a nursing student, rushed to Kisame's side and asked,
"Sir, are you alright?"
Kisame's eyes went wide for a second, as if he couldn't belief what he had just heard. Then, he smiled and nodded, "No, you know, I'm fine. Yeah, yeah, I just felt like, you know what? Taking a nap. In the middle of a ballroom. And since I couldn't find any blankets, I decided to use half of a gigantic statue to cover my legs – OF COURSE I'M NOT ALRIGHT, YOU STUPID BITCH! MY LEG IS BROKEN!"
As if things weren't bad enough, police sirens rang out into the air right before Ivan was detained from punching Arthur's stomach again. "Let me go!" He screamed, "Let go of me, I still have to beat crap out of little prick!"
"Sir," One of the police demons calmly stated, "You are under arrest for assaulting Arthur Kirkland, the prince of fairies."
"Wait, wait!" Ivan asked, "That little prick was being prince of fairies?" The police nodded. "Nyet! Let go of me, I have to kick that little pricks ass even more!"
Finally, Rokubi and Itachi walked into the dancing room; hoping to get some relaxation time after all those greetings and handshakes. But Itachi's mouth gaped open and closed like a drowning fish as he saw Kakuzu and Hidan looking over the remains of their cake along with Naruto, Sasori and Deidara trying to redeem their clothes, Kisame bellowing out in pain, Ivan being dragged away in hand-cuffs by the police, Alfred trying to console his baby-brother as Gilbert laid out on the ground; unconscious, Tobi sniffling back tears, and Sasuke… Sasuke nowhere to be found… Along with Zetsu, which was odd.
"This night can't get any worse." Itachi whispered.
Then the ground started shaking, screams and murmurs of uncertainty growing before the doors burst open: animals of all shapes and species fleeing into the palace. And behind them, Zetsu panted, his clothes ripped to shreds, before he shouted, his body going completely black as he shouted,
"You're… going… TO LOVE ME! AAGGHH!" Before he rushed into the room, hunting the animals down as they went into a fearful frenzy.
"Oh gods…" Itachi shook his head before Rokubi leaned over and whispered,
"Run."
"But what about Kisame? And Ivan? And –"
"I really think…" Rokubi winced as the sound of breaking glass ripped into his ears, "That you and your friends should go Itachi…"
"Rokubi-sama…" Itachi whispered, water welling at his eyes. Nonetheless, he shook his head and whistled to his friends. Those who could ran out of the Palace doors with the weasel-demon, Tobi having to pull Zetsu along.
"Hey!" Sasuke slurred out at the counter of that bar he was in, "Another bottle of scotch!"
"Haven't you had enough?" The bartendress asked, Sasuke snapping back,
"Have you ever had a broken heart? I'll tell you when I've had enough!" The navy-bluenette slumping over as an onslaught of nausea hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh, oh man… Never felt this before…" He groaned, laying down on the counter, "I think I'm going to puke…"
"Do it in the bucket." The bartendress sighed, handing the dragon an off-colored bucket. The door to the simple bar opened, the bartendress calling out, "Ne, Naru-chan! It's been such a long time!"
"What?" Sasuke gasped, turning around to see the group miserably walking into the bar. "Naruto?" He slurred. But that got the Kitsune to stomp over and yell,
"Don't you Naruto me! Where the hell were you? I needed you to be there for me in case my uncle tried to pawn me off on another idiotic suitor!"
"Wait…" Sasuke shook his head, trying to get his senses back, "So, you weren't abandoning me for some high-class, royal dragon?"
"Ugh!" The Kitsune groaned, taking a seat at the bar, "Just forget it! Hey, can I get a beer please?" As the bartendress went off to get the order, Sasuke's body burned off enough of the alcohol in his system to allow him to ask,
"So, how was the best night of your lives?"
"We shall never speak of this night," Itachi seethed out as he sat down at a table, "Again. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Everyone nodded, Itachi groaning into the palms of his hands,
"Rokubi probably hates me now. Gods, this was the worst night of my entire life…"
"Well, that might have been the best Ball we've had in a long time!"
"Say what?" Everyone questioned the new voice, turning to see Sanbi and Rokubi walking into the bar accompanied by…
"Ivan!" Alfred whooped out as he rushed over to hug the Baba Yaga. And when Itachi saw that Kisame was with them as well, he let out a huge sigh of relief and walked over,
"You're alright."
"Yep, thanks to Lord Sanbi!" Kisame explained, "Healed me and my leg right up." Before the two could talk anymore, Sanbi had gotten a drink and was speaking again,
"This night was awesome!"
"But…" Deidara scratched his head, confused, "This night was awful!"
"The Shooting Star Balls are always awful…" Rokubi sighed, "That's why when we invited you all, we were hoping that you would liven things up a bit."
"And even though things didn't go quite as planned," Sanbi downed his drink, holding it out for a refill, "You have to admit, it was kind of fun!"
"By the way, Ivan," Rokubi addressed the Baba Yaga, "Don't even worry about the issue with the police. In fact, I apologize on behalf of the palace guards for how you were treated."
"Oh, do not even worry about it." Ivan smiled before he looked to Alfred and asked, "Well, ho was meeting up with your brother?"
A simple frown was his response before Alfred sighed, "I just hope he doesn't hate me for beating up on that jerk…"
"Speaking of beating up on jerks…" Sanbi mused out loud before he walked over to where Kisame was standing, "So…"
"So?" Kisame blinked.
"I've heard that you've been wanting to enlist in the Guard." Sanbi further explained, Kisame still quiet. "Well, would you like to sign up?"
"I… I…" Kisame gulped, looking over to his friends before he wholeheartedly replied, "YES! Oh my gods, YES!" They all cheered, Itachi hugging the bluenette from behind and exclaiming,
"Kisame, you finally got through!"
"I couldn't have done it without you, you realize that?" The bar was already filled with cheers and congratulations, but then Kisame had to go and lock lips with the weasel-demon close to him: the cheers growing…
"Great, training starts the first day of March this year."
All jubilations ceased.
A/N: Oh boy...
Well, if you could all drop a review, that would be great... Please? Please~? Thanks for reading!
-Tyranno's girl.
