Author's Opening Rant-

I love my reviewers!!! ::Hugs each and every one of you:: Thank you all so much, you keep me focused and wanting to update! n.n

I fear, though, that my chapters are going to become longer and longer as I go on. Each time I write the chapter outlines, they keep changing and getting longer. So, read at your own discretion!

Chapter 5- The Pressure's On!

Brightly colored streamers lined the streets, the smell of food wafted in the air, and children ran by wearing different colored leaf masks. The Leaf Festival had begun.

The weeklong celebration of Konoha's heritage had only just started that morning, and already the festivities were in full swing. Patrons huddled around festival booths for games and food, talking and laughing happily. But there was a secondary tradition within this tradition, one that was 12 years running now: Mischief. And who would start such a tradition other than Uzumaki Naruto?

One of the festival booths suddenly collapsed in on itself, spilling its goods all over the ground and leaving a very mad food vendor to pick up the pieces, "Damn it, Naruto! Every YEAR!"

"Nya-nya!" The kyuubi brat stuck his tongue out at the older man as he dashed away with an armload of swiped goodies. But this year he had an accomplice. Gaara was right behind the blonde shinobi, helping him to haul off his take. After a short run, Naruto plopped down behind a building to indulge himself. He quickly tore open one of the bags and started stuffing the contents into his mouth, "Sugoi, Sugoi! I've been waiting all year for these!"

Gaara watched him with an unusual expression of innocent curiosity, "You...do this every year?"

"Yup!"

"...and...they don't just kill you?"

"Heh heh heh, they can't touch me!" The blonde smirked, a few crumbs already clinging to the sides of his mouth.

Gaara sighed and took a seat in the dirt. This 'hanging out' thing...was strange. The Sand ninja slowly pulled a bag open and tasted the treat inside, "...not bad." Naruto nodded furiously, and then went back to stuffing his face.

As the two delinquents enjoyed their free meal, Hyuuga Hinata slowly crept her way over. Of course, the disaster with the booth caught her attention and, knowing full well who had caused it, she went scampering after him. But she hadn't counted on Gaara being there as well. This was hard enough on the shy girl as it was, an audience would only make it worse. She gulped, balling up a fist at her side in conviction, and stepped from her hiding spot in the shadows in front of the two boys. No turning back now. "Uhhh, N-Naruto-kun...?"

"Hinata! Hey there!" Naruto's grin only increased. Gaara glanced up and nodded a welcome, since his mouth was full at the moment. Naruto motioned to her, standing to offer her one of the bags of sweets, "Here! Have one!"

Blushing, she happily accepted, "Ahh...th-thank you." Even if it was stolen, it was a gift from Naruto. She clutched it to her chest, hoping that might keep her hands from shaking as she spoke, "Naruto-kun?"

"Mmm-hmm?" he again had his mouth full, but didn't have nearly as many manners as Gaara, "Wamm imm miff?"

"I...I was..." Hinata could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. She quickly diverted her gaze to the ground, "I was...just wondering...if...i-if you wouldn't mind...going...to the-" But she never did get the question out.

All at once, Naruto leapt up screaming, letting his bag of food spill all over the ground, "OWWWWWWW!!!! LEMME GO!" He hopped around frantically, and as he turned both Hinata and Gaara saw why he had reacted as such. There was a tiny white puppy clamped firmly onto Naruto's backside.

From his own hiding spot, Inuzuka Kiba smiled, "'Atta boy, Akamaru!"

Naruto flailed, twisted, and jumped, but Akamaru would not let go. The blonde ninja took off running, in some strange attempt at getting the dog off.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata just watched him run off, pouting over the lost opportunity. Gaara first collected up all of the stolen bags of food, having to hold a few in his teeth as he hurried to catch Naruto and pry the dog off. Hinata was left alone in the alleyway, looking down sadly at the bag Naruto had given her.

Somewhere behind her, Kiba gave a quiet shout of joy, "Yesssss! That'll teach him!"

Kiba and Hinata were not the only ones focused on finding a date for the dance. A little ways away, Rock Lee was ready to implement his own plan at catching his crush's attention. Lee kept himself hidden in the shadows on a rooftop, waiting for Haruno Sakura to pass by. He and his Sensei had spent the better part of last night cooking up this newest plan, and all that he needed now was her attention. As the pink-haired girl came into view, Lee's eyes lit up with determination, "Alright! Time for Plan B: Impress-Sakura-san-With-My-Strength-And-Power-So-She-Forgets-Sasuke-kun-And-Goes-Out-With-ME!" Yes- most of their plotting last night was over the name of their plan, and that was still the best they could do. Lee glanced over to where he knew his teacher was hidden and gave a big 'thumbs up'. A light flashed quickly in response, most likely from Gai's teeth, as the Jounin leapt from his hiding place.

Sakura was stopped dead when an unusual figure leapt out in front of her, "Haruno Sakura! I have come to kidnap you!" Gai pointed a finger down at her, trying his best not to grin. Not that it would have mattered; he had a black bath towel wrapped completely around his head, covering all except for his eyes. Gai had also found a dark navy tablecloth he was using as something of a shawl or cloak. He thought his costume was completely ingenious, there would be no way she could recognize him!

"Ex...excuse me?" Sakura stated up at the man, socked that anyone would walk around in public dressed like that.

Gai continued his little act, "I am...uhh, a Pirate! The Pirate...Black...toe." He paused for a moment. Blackbeard would have been too much of a give-away. Nodding at how well he had come up with a convincing name, he again spoke through the bath towel, "I am going to kidnap you now, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

"Not so fast, Blacktoe!" right on cue, Rock Lee popped up behind Sakura, standing on a cable wire just a few feet off of the ground, hands on his hips, and a smirk on his face as he looked down at the 'pirate', "No one will abduct the lovely Sakura-san so long as I am around!"

Gai swooned, holding a hand up to his face, "Ahhh! I see! And from the looks of it, you are a very powerful and handsome warrior!"

Now, such a display of blatant insanity had two effects. First of all, people on the already crowded street were turning to stare at the obviously staged drama. And second of all, Sakura was turning red from embarrassment. Of course she knew who was behind the bath towel, but she didn't quite get just WHY Lee and his Sensei were acting...like...well, like this.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, villain!" Lee crouched, then bolted into the air at his sensei, "Konoha Sempu!" Since this was all staged, Lee made sure his signature Spinning Leaf kick was too weak to actually do any harm.

But much to his surprise, Gai dodged the weak attack and belted the young ninja right across the face, "Pirates don't pull their punches!"

Lee went skidding into the ground, staring up at his teacher in astonishment, "Sensei?! What are you doing?"

"My name is Blacktoe!" Obviously, Gai was a little too into character. He jumped at Lee, and a wrestling match broke out between the two of them.

Sakura, who had recovered from the shock of it all, grinned nervously and stepped over towards the Gai/Lee pile on the floor, "Lee-san. Can...I ask you something?"

The fight ended instantly, Gai's costume finally falling away as he still clutched his miniature clone by the shirt collar. Lee just barely managed to form words, "Y-Yes, Sakura-san! Anything!"

"Have you seen Neji around?"

Lee could just feel his heart shatter into tiny little pieces and fall into the pit of his stomach. First Sasuke, and now his own eternal rival?!

Sakura didn't notice how quickly Lee's face had lost color, "I have something to talk to him about, but I can't seem to find him."

"I..." Lee's voice faltered a moment, "uhmm, I saw him on the other side of town just this morning..."

"Thanks, Lee-san!" She turned and jogged away, turning one last time to him, "Ohh, and I liked your little play! It was very funny!"

Tears spilled out like miniature waterfalls from Lee's eyes as the kunoichi skipped out of sight. Seemed Plan B was a failure too. The rejected taijutsu master slumped, tracing circles in the dirt as he sobbed to himself.

"Ohh, Lee!" even Gai was driven to tears, "Do not give up! You will win her over yet!" It might have been a very poignant moment, if not for the group of children who had come scampering over to tug at the 'Pirate Man's' cape.

Over at the bridge, Cell Seven's usual meeting spot, Shikamaru and Chouji were loafing around. Shikamaru had his arms folded onto the railing, staring down as the water rushed underneath them. Chouji had his back leaned on the railing, facing the opposite direction of his friend and staring up at the sky.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed after a long silence.

"What is?" Chouji answered. For the third time, Shikamaru turned his face towards his teammate, and for the third time, Chouji laughed right in his face. Shikamaru had a large black bruise covering his left eye. Yup, Ino had caught him. He scowled, and Chouji slowly calmed himself back down.

"Women are troublesome!" Shikamaru bit back, his gaze returning to the river, "And they're even more troublesome when they gang up on you!"

"It's not that bad. Just pick one and go to the dance. What's the worst that could happen?" Again, Shikamaru turned and Chouji giggled. But that black eye was all the answer that the chubby ninja needed. "So, just tell Ino like this- Ino we've gone to the dance every year since we were kids. Let's skip this year." Shikamaru scoffed. "Okay then," Chouji let his eyes shut for a second, stretching his neck forward, "tell that Temari girl that you have to go with Ino. Its, like, a tradition."

Shikamaru's face went green, "...I think I'd rather get another black eye than piss her off." The shadow shinobi rested his chin down on his arms, watching the reflection of the clouds in the running water, "I wish I could just go by myself. But now those two will expect me to ask one of them! Troublesome...troublesome troublesome..."

"Wish I had such troubles!" Chouji sent a sideways glare over at his longtime friend. Every year, Shikamaru and Ino would go to the dance together—all Ino's idea of course—and Chouji would be all by himself. Out of everyone, Chouji would always be by himself. Not this year! For once, he was going to show all the other Gennin that chubby guys could find a girlfriend too! He'd show up everyone else at the dance. This was his vow! The sound of footsteps snapped Chouji out of his daze, and he quickly elbowed Shikamaru for attention.

Yamanake Ino had arrived, smiling rather deviously to them, "There you two are! And here I thought you'd still be asleep. Well, Shikamaru?" She didn't even have to voice the question; he already knew what she was asking about.

Shikamaru sighed even louder, shifting to lean one arm on the railing as the other hung at his side, "Ino...we've gone every year. Can we just skip one?" Before he knew what had happened, Shikamaru was in the river.

"Shikamaru! It's that sand girl, isn't it!?" Ino roared at him from the railing, "You can just stay down there and drown for all I care!" She got no response from the splashing ninja, who was obviously focusing more on staying afloat at the moment than his dysfunctional relationships. Ino huffed, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance.

Chouji glanced down at Shikamaru, regretting even mentioning turning Ino down. But then, a thought crossed the chubby shinobi's mind, "Hey, Ino. Will you go with me to the Festival dance?"

Ino looked at him in mild shock, an eyebrow arching strangely, "Chouji...I'm not in the mood for your jokes! When Mr. Lazy-as-all-hell gets back up here, tell him to meet me at nightfall the day of the dance, under the monument!" She marched off, leaving Chouji groaning and Shikamaru floundering.

Since leaving Rock Lee and his crazed instructor, Sakura was slowly making her way across town. Very slowly. It seemed that, ever since yesterday, the pink-haired kunoichi couldn't take two steps without a kunai knife flying at her head. She smiled to herself; it seemed that she had sufficiently ticked off Tenten. Cautiously, Sakura peeked her head around the corner of a building to see if the weapons master was anywhere nearby. Her answer came in the form of six kunai coming straight at her.

The sadistic Tenten smirked from her spot on a rooftop as she heard a sickening 'Thunk' sound, "Got her!" She hopped down to the street, rushing around the building to see just how badly Sakura was wounded. To Tenten's surprise, all she found was a half-rotted out log covered in six kunai, "Ahh!! She used the Substitution no Jutsu!!" Quickly retreating footsteps alerted Tenten to Sakura's real position, and the chocolate-haired kunoichi was swiftly in pursuit.

Sakura ran as fast as her legs could manage to keep ahead of the shuriken and kunai that rained down on her. Luckily, this street was not as crowded as some, so the two female ninjas were free to tear at each other without really endangering anyone else. Sakura pulled a weapon of her own and threw it up at Tenten. In the instant that Tenten took her eyes away to dodge, Sakura had vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Rrrrghh!! Oh no you don't!" The weapons master pulled a scroll from her pouch. She flipped it open, letting the kanji activate and conjure up even more weaponry. Tenten spun, letting her weapons fly in every possible direction. One of them eventually caught Sakura's camouflage tarp, exposing the pink-haired Haruno as she tried to sneak quietly away.

"I won't give up that easily!" Sakura reached back for another weapon. Suddenly, both girls caught sight of the elusive Hyuuga Neji. There was a brief pause as they eyed each other, waiting for who would make the first move. Tenten and Sakura both turned at exactly the same time, now in a foot race to reach Neji first.

Poor Neji was caught completely off guard as Tenten went slamming into his shoulder, "Ha! I beat you!"

"You cheated!" Sakura was a breath behind the older girl, tugging at Neji's arm to free him from Tenten.

"I did not!" Tenten whipped out another kunai, and Sakura followed suit. The two crossed weapons for an moment.

Neji grumbled to himself, then forcefully tore the knives away from the girls, "What has gotten into you two?"

"But, Neji!" Tenten protested, pouting at her teammate.

Sakura almost instantly had a wide smile across her face, "Neji-san! I have something very important to talk to you about!"

"Ohh?" The Hyuuga genius lifted an eyebrow at the younger girl. Tenten stared, appalled that the little brat would be so audacious right in front of her!

"Yes, its really very important. But..." Sakura's gaze went suspiciously onto the fuming Tenten, "...but maybe we shouldn't talk about it here. Can you meet up with me later?"

Some strange squeal of rage was forced out between Tenten's clenched teeth.

Neji just nodded, "Sure." It sounded important enough. His reply only made Tenten turn even redder with envy.

"Good! Thanks! See you later then, Neji-san!" Sakura smiled pleasantly, just to get more under Tenten's skin, then went skipping off. Everything was going according to plan.

Neji watched Sakura leave, wondering why she seemed so anxious to talk without anyone else there. It was all very strange. He made a tiny little sound of curiosity over the whole situation, and then turned to his partner. Quickly, Neji took a step backwards. Tenten looked as if she were about to explode into a thousand little fiery pieces.

Back at the main grounds of the festival, Kiba had been diligently following Hinata. Ever since he had dispatched with Naruto, he was lurking in the shadows like some kind of stalker, building up his nerve to go and ask her. Finally, she was all alone. It was the perfect time to waltz over and very casually ask he to the dance. "Okay, Akamaru, wish me luck."

"Arf!"

Kiba took in a long breath, standing as straight as he could as he made his way over to the shy Hyuuga girl. Akamaru followed at his master's heels, figuring the human could use a little moral support. Kiba cleared his throat lightly and Hinata turned, "Hey, Hinata. F-Fancy meeting you here!"

"Kiba-kun. Hello." She smiled sheepishly up at him, still clinging to the bag of stolen goodies she had been given.

"Say, I was just wondering..." Kiba flustered, moving a hand to scratch the back of his head through his hood, "If, you know, you've asked anyone to the dance yet."

"No...I haven't..." She sighed, recalling how close she had gotten.

Kiba smiled even wider, his blush spreading across his cheeks, "Well then! How about you go with-- !?" Kiba's face suddenly twisted in pain.

A shout went out from behind him, "One Thousand Years of Death!!!!"

The Inuzuka heir at once leapt into the air, screaming at the top of his lungs before crashing down on top of a festival booth. Akamaru ran after him, barking as his poor master pulled himself from the rubble. Hinata watched Kiba's flight in bewilderment, then quickly turned back around.

Just behind where Kiba had been standing, Naruto sat crouched, his hands forming the sign of the Tiger, and a distinctly fox-like grin across his face. Gaara stood nearby, grimacing at the very memory of that attack. It wasn't a pleasant one to fall victim to. Hinata's cheeks instantly turned red upon sight of the blonde, but Naruto paid her little attention.

"HA! That's revenge for what you did to my ass!"

Author's Closing Rant-

Such a LONG chapter! GOMEN! (Sorry!) I didn't mean for it to run so long, but...I guess I just got carried away!

Wow, a whole chapter without Sasuke-kun! I feel so...empty! O.O

Lee and Gai are really just TOO much fun to play with. REALLY! I might have gotten carried away with them! n.n And Shikamaru's torment. AND Sakura and Tenten's war! Let's face it, this whole chapter is me getting carried away!

What is Sakura going to talk about with Neji? Will Shikamaru ever escape the girls? Will Lee ever wax his brows? Will Sasuke get over his problems? Will Naruto EVER catch a clue?! Find out next time! (hee-hee! I'm evil!)