Tayuya woke up to the sound of singing and realized that her alarm was going off. "Damn fucking pop music," Tayuya muttered as she turned her alarm off and got out of bed. She rooted around in her dresser to find clothes, then brushed her hair and rode the banister down the stairs to breakfast. A blue bowl held her Fruit Loops this morning, and she briefly wondered what Ukon was doing before wolfing down her cereal.

Training that day was mostly uneventful. Tayuya neglected her flute in favour of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu work. She had to become a well-rounded ninja so that she could do Orochimaru and her country good. Besides, she had a lot of chakra that she wanted to learn to use; her chakra amount was one of the reasons that Orochimaru had liked her.

That night, when Tayuya walked into the house, she saw Ukon curled up on the couch, watching television. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. "Jerry Springer," he replied. "What're they doing now?" she quizzed, sitting beside him on the chair. "Yelling at each other. Apparently this guy is mad because his lesbian wife is sleeping with his mom, who was sleeping with him also," Ukon responded. "Wow. Is Kimimaro home?" Tayuya asked. "Nope." "..." "..." "Wow, look at that fat lady go!"

Once Jerry Springer was over, the two Otonin ordered pizza, and once that had arrived, they ate it, discussing general things in their lives. "So, where did you go today?" Tayuya asked casually. "Oh, walked around town, trained," Ukon said vaguely. "You?" "Trained. Did Kimimaro say where he was going?" Tayuya questioned. "Kimimaro? Haven't seen him today," Ukon stated. "Wonder where he went?" Tayuya mused. "Oh, who cares? We're better off without him. He was just stealing our spotlight anyway," Ukon kidded.

Tayuya brushed her teeth and put on her pyjamas that night, but her mind was not on this everyday ritual as she slipped into bed. It was only a matter of courtesy when you lived in a house of six -- three, Tayuya corrected herself, -- to leave a note saying where you were going if you were going for a long time. It was an unspoken rule between them. Even the illiterate Tayuya managed to dredge up a note before going out. So why was Kimimaro gone so long without saying where he was?

'Maybe he'll be back tomorrow...' Tayuya thought as she drifted off to sleep.

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Sorry this chapter is short, but things will speed up in the story soon.