Notes: Mentioned People: I've decided to write about all the remainder characters, making it longer, so the list is: Shorai Natsu, Kazama Jin, Uribatake Seiya, and Aburame Kinji, Uchiha Maki, Lee Taichi, Kuromori Ali, and Aquarius Rai. And would people kindly give me pairings for later use? Cause I got a really cool ideal, like in chapter 11 and 12 involving them. (Weird Chapter warning) Sorry it took me so long, it was hard to come up with an idea for the group.

8. Picnic in the Woods

Lee Taichi couldn't have landed himself in a weirder situation or group as this, he was actually going on a PICNIC with seven other strange people he hardly knew, definitely not an ideal way to spend a Saturday. Taichi was sure he'd be better employed training or playing video games…

"Hey, Tai-san." Kazama Jin, who was walking beside him, tapped him on the shoulder none too gently, "Earth to Tai!"

"Oh, Wha—what?"

"Would you please stop drifting off in your own little world looking half dead?" the red-hair boy slapped him on the arm, "You're scaring me."

"Would you two stop jabbering and hurry up?" called Shorai Natsu, who was in the front of the line, along with Uchiha Maki. "I would like to eat lunch before the sun goes down."

"Geez, she's loud." Jin stuck his head back into his book, "I mean you see that Aquarius dude and the bug freak making out back there and she's not saying anything about that…"

WHAM! A sharp blow caught Jin in the back of the head, Aquarius stood behind him, looking very annoyed, "Repeat that." The quiet boy challenged softly.

"Guys, what the hell is going on here?" Kuromori Ali doubled back toward them, "Why did you hit him?"

"Dunno." Aquarius shrugged, "He said things."

"I want to go home." Complained another voice, "What's the point of all this when you could go to the nature museum and order take-out?" the speaker was non other than Uritabake Seiya, he had been allowed, or rather instructed to walk 500 ft. away from everyone else.

"Damn, you smell, go to sleep." Aburame Kinji appeared mildly concerned but pinched his nose all the same, "Who invited you anyway?"

"Doesn't matter." The ginger-haired boy yawned, "I forgot, it's useless information anyway, and believe me, Kinji, I would go to sleep, but it's altogether too troublesome."

Ali glared at the radiation suit-clad genin in disgust, "Oh? And why is it troublesome?"

"YO, you assholes!" the entire group had halted now, Natsu shoved her way back to where the quarrel was taking place. "What the BLOODY hell is going on here?"

"We were engaged in a very interesting conversation about why sleeping is such a big issue for this lazy bum, here." Kinji told her, keeping a perfectly straight face, "This debate is going nowhere."

"Obviously." Aquarius commented quietly, after Jin lay there on the ground unconscious.

"What did you do to him?" Taichi stared at the corpse, wide-eyed.

"Beat him up, it was no big deal, you know." The gold-eyed boy replaced his kunai in his pack, "That was fun while it lasted."

"Hey, guys!" Maki, too, joined the others, "What's going on?"

"Clueless as usual." Kinji shook his head.

"Sometimes it is hard to imagine you as an Uchiha." Ali looked at the altogether too cheerful boy, "You're 150% too happy."

"That's a good thing, sometimes." Taichi ventured, "Sometimes people are too depressed and all."

"Like Kai?" Seiya evidently had been eavesdropping.

"Don't waste words." Both Taichi and Ali reprimanded him at the same time.

"Eh, ow…" Jin was starting to come to, "Who beat me up?"

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In the end, they decided to eat their homemade lunch of sandwiches and coke (which were both store-bought by Seiya, surprisingly.) right there in the middle of the road, since they were too tired to move anywhere else.

They sat in this order (I'm bored): Aquarius, Kinji, Taichi, Seiya, Ali, Natsu, Maki, and Jin had fainted again in Maki's lap.

"Eww…get off!" Maki shoved the boy off of him.

"Um, guys?" Taichi ventured quietly, "Can we eat now?"

"Yeah, here." Natsu, the appointed food keeper handed the bag to him, "Pass it on."

As everybody sat chomping on their lunches, Maki suddenly said, "Hey, people, wanna play a game?"

"What game?" Ali asked.

"It's a storytelling game, it's just where one person starts and then the next person connects to it and blah, blah, blah…" the young Uchiha explained rather excitedly.

"Why not?" Kinji shrugged, "There's not much else we can do anyway except hike, since I forgot my playing cards at home."

"I'll go first then!" Maki thought for a minute then began, "There once was an old farmer that had 7 sons, and they were all very happy as they lived in the Greek seashore."

"Greek seashore?" Natsu interrupted, "Last time I checked, farmers ain't got nothin' in Greece."

"It's just a story." Aquarius sipped his coke quietly, "I'll continue, and so this farmer died and his 7 sons started to quarrel about who would inherit the land, and their mother said that their father had instructed a contest to be held, the contest was who could manage to farmland best and come up with the most food in the following year."

"If anything," Kinji commented after the gold-eyed boy's invention gave out (which wasn't very surprising since that was the first time anyone ever heard Aquarius speak in a complete sentence), "This sounds kind of like the Grimm fairy tales that Shino-niisan would read me when I was little." He concentrated hard for a minute and said, "Their names were: Kito, Kira, Fujikata, Enji, Kei, Ando, and Yoku. I'm done."

"WHAT?" everyone, except Seiya and Jin yelled, "What kind of story was that?"

"Something. Continue, please, next person." The Aburame kept a straight face.

"Whatever." Ali sighed, "Okay, so No. 3 and No. 5 decided to work together and plant some beets and potatoes, and they watered it everyday, even though if it was salt water." She paused, then went on, "The oldest son, whatever his name was decided he was going to plant some tomatoes."

"Oh, okay." Seiya's voice was practically dripping with sarcasm, "I suppose they are numbered now, like lab specimens?" he crossed his arms and stretched out on the grass, "So the story goes, No. 4 and No. 3 both liked turnip soup a lot they planted them, which is, in my opinion, the most disgusting vegetable that exists on the face of the earth."

Lee Taichi subconsciously felt all eyes on him, "What's everyone staring at me for?" he demanded.

"No one was staring at you." Natsu said, "But now, since you drew attention to yourself, go."

"Um, um," Taichi stammered some as he tried to come up with something other than his usual odd daydreams, "I know, No. 6 decided to go fishing one day, because he built a fishing rod out of bamboo, it was supposed to be a present for his mother, but she seldom left the house, so he got his brother (No.2) to build him a canoe."

"What does that have to do with farming?" Maki asked.

"According to you, they live in Greece, and the Greeks like fishing, okay?" Taichi shot back.

"I'll go." Jin volunteered, he seemed to have woken up again without anyone noticing, and he was holding an orange-colored book that looked suspiciously familiar, "And so No. 6 went fishing, and he got shipwrecked and was rescued by sea nymphs, who took him underwater and became friends with him."

"Nymphs?" Ali glanced at the book in his hands, "What have you been reading?"

"Flirting—no, I mean Surfing Techs." Jin avoided her stare.

"Uh huh." Natsu gave a knowing nod, "You guys haven't seen Hokage-sama's books lately, have you? He put out a notice on the village billboard yesterday, they've been disappearing." She leaned forward on her elbows, "My turn, huh? Okay, so all of them got food, and brought it to their mother, and she hugged them all because she was glad they learned the value of hard work and sharing, and they lived happily ever after."

"That was some hell of a story." Seiya commented sarcastically, "Interesting ending for the rebel. Can we go home now?"

"Aw, Seiya." Maki complained cheerfully (since he was always cheerful,) "Lighten up!"

"How?" Seiya snapped, "I haven't got a light bulb on top of my head to light, kid, what the hell do you want?"

"Actually, Maki, Seiya-san is kind of right." Ali pointed west toward the setting sun; "It's almost time for dinner anyhow."

"Hey, guys." Taichi stole a look at Jin who had fainted again with the book shading his face, "Jin's reading Flirting Paradise."

That got everyone's immediate attention, "WHAT?" (Except Seiya)

"Good timing to faint." Aquarius stared down at him, "I'm not carrying him."

"Well, we solved the mystery of the missing book though." Kinji shrugged. "That should count for something, and what's more, it'll make the Hokage happy."

"Who cares about that old man anyway?" scoffed Seiya.

"Hey!' yelled Maki, "Don't insult Hokage-sama!"

"Guys..." Ali eyed the combatants warily, "Shut up."

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Yeah, I know, weird chapter, but I was suffering from writer's block, and remember to give me some pairings. Next chapter is the unofficial beginning of the Chuunin Tournament (I'm not doing the whole exam, it's too hard)