That is correct, everyone! I, Preventer Squall, am not dead, and am indeed continuing this fanfic of mine. It has been awhile, so I can only atone one way..-activates Gai-Mode, and bows before all the readers-

My dear readers, you have my most utmost apologies for my slothfulness! There is no excuse for my actions, and I can only pray that you find it within your bountiful hearts that you forgive this wretched soul! Mayhaps if you had sent more of your reviews, I would have been all the swifter with my postings! After all, reviews are the sustenance that we writers thrive for! It is the meat and mead for our souls, and even if your reviews are deplorable, they would only serve to stoke the fires of my creative youth! -deactivates Gai-Mode and gets to the disclaimer-

Unfortunately, I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters therein. Anyone who thinks I do can send me money, which will go to building my dream Doomsday Device with the intention of conquering mankind. If you ask nicely, you'll get a piece of the earth, though I'm afraid Japan and Taiwan are already spoken for. Sorry.

Anyway, on to the fic!

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"Blah" Normal Speak

"Blah" Thought Speak, Letters

Beauty of the Beasts

Chapter 5: The Competition, and Bets that Follow

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Choji was the first to speak up. "Your home? Does that mean you're the one that's all cursed and that?" he said, trying to figure all of this out as he looked at the new acquaintance they had made.

The young boy had hair that was a black as a raven's wing, and seemed to stretch itself out as if it was trying to mimic a wing's appearance. His skin provided a startling contrast to his hair by how it seemed porcelain white, as though he had never gone out into the sun a day in his life. Were it not for the dirt that stained the bandages around his forearms and shins, it would have been hard to believe that he even trained. Their host was silent for several moments as he looked over each component of the party, regarding each member with an expression that bordered between uninterested boredom and outright disdain.

Sasuke nodded slightly, his lips creasing into an irritated grimace. "Why should I have to degrade myself like this? That's the dobe's job." he thought to himself, displeased that he was being gawked at like a piece of meat. His contemplations soon turned to Naruto and the Hokage, thinking about various ways he could get the both of them back for this uncomfortable humiliation he was being put through.

That was, of course, until Choji grinned, turned to Lee, and eagerly held out a hand. "You all lose. Now pay up!" he says with a chuckle, ignoring the sweatdrops that formed on the spectators as Lee, TenTen, Hinata, and Neji fished through their wallets and pulled out several paper bills, placing them in the round ninja's hand. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, who just shrugged before Choji could explain. "We made a bet about Naruto being the main person with the curse. Only person who didn't join in the bet was Shino." he jerked a thumb over toward the shinobi in the absurdly large coat, whose only response was to adjust his sunglasses.

He chuckled and quickly counted over the money given to him, making sure it was the proper amount before splitting it up three ways. "Ino? Sakura? Here's your share." he turned to the aforementioned females, two small piles of paper victory awaiting their new homes.

But from the looks the two girls had on their faces, it seemed that their attention was elsewhere.

Sakura and Ino had their jaws hanging open as they openly ogled Sasuke, their eyes mapping out every inch of his body for future fantasizing, which brought a rosy tinge of pink to their cheeks. To them, he looked like some sort of god carved out of living marble, with eyes that are so deep and black that they seemed to simply pull them in without wanting to let them go. The two of them leaned toward this obvious gift to shinobi kind, their feet soon following and carrying them right in front of Sasuke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." they said a wistful unison, their daydreams coming to a swift halt when they realized, at the same time, that they had both said the exact same thing. They turned to look at one another so quickly that their necks loudly cracked under the sudden strain, the object of their affections scooting backward when he felt the animosity that they were firing at each other.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Ino-pig? Sasuke-san can only pick one of us!" Sakura snapped, glaring daggers at her blonde counterpart.

Ino snorted and stood upright, smirking as he placed her hands on her hips. "Exactly. I was hoping to save you the humiliation of being dumped for someone obviously better then you, forehead girl." her lips twisted into a smug grin as Sakura's face reddened in anger. "Wow, your face is almost as red as your hair. Are you embarrassed because you know I'm right?" the haughty tone in her voice caused Sakura's glare to become all the sharper, as though it could cause Ino to burst into flames if Sakura did it hard enough.

It took Sakura several moments to fight down the red that clouded her vision, taking and breath and smirking as though she realized something humorous. "I'm only embarrassed that you're going to be humiliated when Sasuke realizes that he's not interested in flat chested, air-headed blondes like you." she brought a hand over her mouth as she giggled, trying to look demure about her amusement, and failing miserably.

"Flat chested! I've got a bigger bust then you, forehead girl!"

"Only in your dreams, you conceited pig!"

Before the two could start the brawl that everyone knew was going to ensue, Kakashi stepped in between them, holding a hand out infront of their faces. "Now now, ladies. As much as I would certainly like to see two cuties like you roll around on the floor and fight, I'm afraid we don't have time for that today." he let out a sigh of disappointment, though there was an amused crinkle in his eye when the two women blushed in embarrassment and turned their backs on one another. Before he could say something else, Naruto was standing in front of Choji, grinning as he and Lee handed over several paper bills. It seemed it was the blonde's turn to make some money on a bet.

Letting that slide for the time being, he shrugged and looked at the group one more time. "Well then, I suppose it's time that we let these people get settled in. Naruto, I want you to lead the boys to their room, and I'll get Haku to lead the ladies. Oh Hakuuu-chaaaan!" he said in a sing-song tone, which sent a creeped out shiver down everyone's spine.

The echo of soft footsteps soon filled the air as someone came down the nearby stairwell, a demure looking figure stepped onto the main floor. Like the others, this person had was wearing a Leaf hitai-ate, which was firmly secured to their forehead. This person had on a loose fitting brown robe that had a cream colored lining. A grey obi was around Haku's waist, with tight-fitting pants were solid black, save for the snow white wrapping around the shins and forearms. Everyone turned to look at the new arrival, several of them blushing slightly as they realized how cute Haku seemed to be. Several of the boys wondered if she was available, while two of the girls wondered if they had some competition for Sasuke's affections. "All of the rooms have been prepared, Hatake-san. If you ladies would kindly follow me, I will show you to your quarters."

But before Haku could even turn around, Lee stepped out from the group and walked up to her, blushing shyly as he tried to speak. "M-M-My name is R-Rock Lee. It is a p-pleasure to make your acquaintance!" he managed to shout the last part out before bowing to her, unaware of how Naruto and Kakashi were leaning against one another, hands over their mouths as they tried to muffle their snickers and guffaws.

Haku blinked and looked at Lee, smiling warmly at him before bowing in kind. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Lee-san." was all that was said, then looked to the young ladies. Sakura had a stunned look on her face at how Lee could just dump her like that. TenTen was wielding her halisen like was a club, prepared to irreparably maim the taijutsu expert if he continued to make an ass of himself. "If any of you are concerned with me trying to steal away Sasuke-san, do not concern yourselves. After all," Haku paused and looked at Lee, deciding to just get it out into the open. "After all, I am a man, and I believe Sasuke-san is not interested in those of the male gender."

The follow looks of abject shock and mortification that followed were simply too funny to ignore. Naruto and Kakashi had fallen on the floor from all the laughing they were doing. Even Sasuke was smirking at how even the great Hyuuga pair were caught off guard by that news. Haku merely let out an un-masculine giggle and turned away, starting up the stairwell, soon followed by the female portion of the troupe.

Lee was still where he had been when he introduced himself to Haku, too shocked for words, until Naruto placed his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Lee. You're the fifth guy we've brought here that though Haku was a girl. At least you weren't trying to hit on him for two months." he laughed at that, patting the inside of his coat where his frog-shaped wallet rested. With any luck, the coming two months would prove a lot more profitable for him then last year had proven to be. "C'mon, guys. Time to get goin'." he waved to the others with a hand, not even looking back as he went up the stairs to the next floor.

When the others left, Sasuke stood next to Kakashi, his expression unreadable as he spoke. "Are you sure everything has been switched around? You know how the baka gets when he can't find that helmet."

Kakashi nodded slightly, recalling how Naruto practically tore his room apart to find that particular item. "Of course, Sasuke-kun. You really should learn to relax." he chuckled and ruffled the genin's hair, all the more amused when Sasuke nearly jumped away from the hand and glared at him. The silver-haired ninja merely grinned beneath his mask and walked away, soon followed by the sour-looking Uchiha. They had training to get to.

--

"This room will be for you two ladies." Haku said to Ino and Sakura, opening the door and holding it open for their inspection. The room was of a decent size, with a pair of full size beds that rested right next to one another. Between them was a small desk with a lamp on top. On the opposite side of the room rested a pair of large oak dressers. "I'm sorry that it is so spartan, but we don't use these rooms often, and didn't want there to be any excess clutter when the new arrivals come." he explains, stepping to the side in order for the two of them to look around. One of the things that also drew their attention was the massive window they had. It was almost as large as the door was, and gave a clear view of the forest around them in an almost breathtaking sight.

"I have been asked to tell you not to open the window during after the sun has set. We are still in a dangerous place, and it would embarrassing to our reputation that anyone training here was eaten by one of the larger then average reptiles or insects that reside here." Haku said with a smile, speaking so casually about their possible death that the four genin couldn't help but openly stare at him. He turned to TenTen and Hinata and motioned for them to follow him to their room, which was right next door and looked the exact same.

Sakura and Ino looked at one another, their expressions unwavering as they slowly drew back one of their hands, neither of them saying a word until this portion of the debate was completed. Their clenched fists practically blurred as they suddenly hurled their fists forward, stopping at the exact same time just a few scant inches away from one another's face. They remained that way, until a grin split Ino's lips. "I win." she looked at her hand, snipping her extended index and middle finger together like a pair of scissors.

"…shut up." was all that Sakura said as she began to withdraw her hand, which was still flat and open like a piece of paper. "Well? Stop standing there and pick your bed!" she snapped, crossing her arms and waiting for the blonde to make her choice.

Ino let out a loud 'hmmm' as she walked between the two beds, one hand resting on her hip while she tapped her chin with the other. Both beds were identical to the other, three azure blue pillows resting on top of a thick black comforter sheet, looking as though they had just recently been ironed. In this case, it wasn't about the selection. It was about rubbing salt into Sakura's wounded pride, and she just wanted to drag it out for awhile. "I suppose I could go with this one." she said after about forty-five seconds of deliberation, pressing of the beds, and watching Sakura as she stretched her patience as long as she could. She suppressed a giggle as she sat down on the bed closest to the door, but let the grin remain as she spoke. "Afterall, when Sasuke-kun realizes that it's me he loves, I wouldn't want to wake you up when he comes in to whisk me away."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes at Ino's overly dramatic little triage as she walked over to the remaining bed, sitting down with a loud snort. "I hate to break it to you, Ino, but you wouldn't be picked if the cure oozed out of those pock marks you call pores." she retorted, sticking her tongue out in bemused defiance when Ino shot a glare at her. The both of them gave each other one more glare before they laid back on their beds, staring at the tiled ceiling overhead, remaining that way for the better part of ten minutes before either of them spoke. "Hey, Ino. What kind of curse do you think it is?"

Ino cushioned her head on her hands, her brow furrowing as she tried to figure that quandary out. "I have no idea." was all she could manage, earning a dejected sigh from the both of them. This was going to be a long two months.

--

"And here you and Lee go, Neji-kun." Naruto couldn't fight down the smirk on his face that had formed when he saw the aforementioned Hyuuga glare at him before stepping into his new room. It was the exact same, in terms of design and decor, as the rooms the ladies were occupying. Of course, Neji and Lee were aware of the appearance ahead of time, since they saw the room the Shino and Choji were staying before their own. "Afraid we don't have mints or a turndown pillow service, so you guys will just have to make due with what you've got." the orange clad ninja says, stepping into the room while Neji and Lee inspect their beds and surroundings. "Well, you guys have fun, and I'll see ya later." he grins and brings up his hands, cradling the back of his head as he turns around and heads for the door. The old pervert will give him all kinds of hell if he got there late...again.

"What about our rematch, Naruto?" Neji couldn't help but ask, staring at the back of the blonde's head. "When we settle that matter?" he narrowed his eyes as he watched Naruto's body language. From the way he was now starting to lean back and prop his head up with his hands, he could tell he was trying to recall whatever time he intended to address the proposed question. Even Lee was watching the resident of the Forest of Death, curious to see if had as much skill as Neji seemed to think he did.

Without warning, Naruto turned around to face them, his face scrunched up as he tried to think. With an eventual grumble of defeat, he focused his attention on Neji. "I have….no idea." he said with as much seriousness as he could muster, unaware of the sweatdrops that had suddenly formed on the side of the other two genin. Naruto scratched the side of his head and looked at the duo, his face still contorted in an attempt at thought. "If you really want to play again, I suppose we could do it now." he says absently, grinning as the Hyuuga genius quickly nodded. "Great! I'll go get my board!" he spins around and jogs to the door, opening it and eagerly standing outside the door. "Hey Lee, wanna watch me whoop Neji at shogi?"

Lee rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, letting out a loud 'hmmm' as he pondered the offer. "I thank you, Naruto, but I must decline." he smirks slightly, clenching a bandage wrapped first. "I wish to test my strength against that of Uchiha Sasuke, and see if he is a worthy rival for the affections of my beloved Sakura!" he declared, eyes practically aflame with youthful passion as he bounded out of the room, heading down a random hallway.

Naruto scratched his head and looked over to Neji, who had his hand over his face as he muttered under his breath. "Let me guess, he's just going to keep running until he finds Sasuke, right?"

Neji merely nodded, and the two of them sighed in unison before Naruto took Neji's hand. "C'mon. Let's get moving!" he said with cheer in his voice, practically dragging his white-eyed friend through the hall, going up a nearby set of stairs. True, the Ero-Sennin would really chew his ear off skipping out on training, but this seemed like a lot more fun to him.

They seemed completely unaware of the pair of peopled that poked their heads out of Choji and Shino's room, soon followed by the two men that were supposed to be occupying the said room. "I-I don't think that we should keep going, TenTen-san." Hinata murmured, pressing her fingers together while her cheeks began to redden with embarrassment. Following them had been Hinata's idea, but the poor girl didn't want to go any further now that her cousin was involved.

That, unfortunately, was what made TenTen eager to continue.

"C'mon, Hinata-chan. What's the point of starting if we weren't going to finish?" TenTen retorted, grinning while stepping around the corner and snuck after the still squabbling boys. The young Hyuuga sighed in resignation and followed suit. Shino and Choji exchanged glances before the bespectacled shinobi casually walked after them, deciding that this was worth continued observation. Choji merely shrugged and went another way, wondering where the kitchen was in this place.

--

Ten minutes, and several flights of stairs later, Naruto and Neji were standing in front of a new door. This one had a piece of paper taped to the door that had 'Naruto's Room: Knock or die!' written in hastily drawn kanji. "Well, let's go on in!" the blonde ninja said with a grin, reaching a hand out to the door, then pausing. He could feel Neji looking over him, but he ignored it as he quickly reached down to the door handle and quickly turned the knob.

The room they walked into was almost as sparse as the rooms that Neji and company had been forced to stay in, though there were a small set of scrolls resting in a neat pile next to the dresser. A pile of his dirty clothes rested in the corner of his room, mostly orange and blue shirts and pants. Another corner had a small work desk, that had a lamp and an open scroll, which had nothing written on it, as well as a several additional pouches for shiruken and kunai.

Only two things really seemed to stick out in the room. The first was a battered and age worn helmet that rested on top of the shogi board that was on his dresser, its lack of adornment making Neji believe it belonged to a shinobi. The second, of all things, was a mirror that rested on the closet door. It wasn't the fact that Naruto had a mirror that intrigued his guest, but the fact that seeing it there caused Naruto to freeze in his tracks like a deer in the headlights and stare at his reflection was what struck Neji as curious. The blonde had lost a shade of color as a trickle of sweat rolled down the side of his cheek, hands trembling as they reached for a kunai, as though he was about to attack the offending mirror.

Rather then continue the observation, Neji narrowed his eyes and walked right up behind Naruto. "Stop gawking and get your board, Naruto. I wished to defeat you as soon as possible." he barked into the boy's ear, causing the blonde to blink and jump forward as though his guest had just pinched him.

It took Naruto a split second to register those words, his blue eyes focusing on Neji before he let out a short laugh. "Sure thing, Neji-kun." he says, obviously not having heard what Neji said as he skipped over to the dresser. With a surprising amount of reverence, he picked up the helmet and set it on the bed, staring at it before spinning back around to pick up the board. "Got it!" he shouts, turning to se that Neji was now staring at the helmet. "..do ya like it?" the blonde couldn't help but ask, tucking the board under his arm.

Neji nodded absently, finally connecting to why the helmet looked so familiar. Its former owner had been the Sanadime Hokage, better known as 'The Professor'. He had seen the Hokage's battle attire once in his history book, and was reaching out to see if it was a replica or not. "Where did you…" his words were cut off when he found Naruto's hand clasping his wrist in a vice-like grip, preventing the Hyuuga from even touching the helmet. Neji frowned and turned to look at Naruto, trying to look impassive despite how he could see the orange-clad boy was equally as stone faced.

They remained staring at her until Naruto released his grip, walking over to the helmet and picking it up, holding it in both hands as though it would shatter if another soul touched it. "It…belonged to someone very important to me." he said, his voice subdued as he set the helmet back into place, as though the top of the dresser was some sort of shrine. By the time he spun back around, that mile wide smile was back on his lips, though it was obvious it was being forced as he tried to shift the subject to something else. "Let's get to that rematch! I know just where we can go!" he said, skipping to the door with the board tucked under his arm, and running into someone that was standing there.

The man towered over Naruto, his arms resting on his hips as he glared down at his pupil. The way the tattoos under his eyes wrinkled told everyone there that he was aggravated about something, though he had yet to say a word. From the way Naruto was looking at him, Jiraiya could tell the kid's short memory span had struck again, but he wasn't going to let him use that as an excuse. "Kid, you're late for training. Quit messing around and let's get going." he snapped in obvious irritation, then shifted his glare over to the Hyuuga, who was trying to glare right back.

"C'mon, Ero-Sennin! Neji just wanted to play a round of shogi with me!" Naruto retaliated after hopping to his feet, shaking his fist at the man as though he expected that to help him get his way. Of course, he knew it wouldn't, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least give it a try. It at least got Jiraiya to look back at him, the blonde refusing to bow down to the old man just yet. He promised Neji a rematch, and he never went back on his word.

The two just continued to glare at one another, the taller running a hand through his snow white hair and sighing in irritation. It was the first time that Naruto looked fired up about more then training in awhile, and he figured the kid could use this as stamina training. "Fine then, brat. But I expect you to report to me the second you get finished. Maybe I'll see how good you are in shogi against me." he flashed the boy a smug grin, pressing his thumb against his chest

Naruto's previous melancholy was forgotten as he mirrored the Sannin's grin, squeezing his fist and cheering loudly. "Of course! I'll wipe the floor with ya!" he proclaimed with no sign of doubt, looking back to Neji with a million-watt smile that seemed to illuminate the room all on its own. Neji merely smirked and nodded and followed Naruto out of the room, the two man procession heading for a set of downward spiraling stairs.

When the two of them left, Jiraiya couldn't suppress his chuckle and looked around the room. "I've gotta admit, that lay about Kakashi did some decent work." he mused to himself, the grin leaving his lips as soon as he saw the mirror on the closet door. "…baka." was all he could mutter as he walked over to the door, placing his hands on either side of the reflective device and lifting it off the support hooks that it rested on. "I'm surprised the kid didn't go and smash this thing when he saw it. One more reason that these guests are a good thing." he muttered to himself, tucking the mirror under his arm and heading out the door, going up the stairwell to Sasuke's room.

--

"That's it. I'm lost."

After a full twenty minutes of wandering around like an idiot, Choji was finally willing to admit that he had absolutely no idea where he was going. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, glancing around the area he ambled into. It looked like another of the hallways that looked the exact same as the others.

He heard that the Forest of Death was the former incarnation of Training Area 44, and had been expanded to take in the surrounding training areas after some sort of incident ten years ago. Why they would make such a massive building was beyond his understanding, especially since most of the lower floor hallways just lead to dead ends. Thankfully, this one had an open door at the end of the hall, near the window. "Hopefully, it has some food in it." Choji mused aloud, unconsciously licking his lips as he opened the door further and stepped inside.

Unfortunately, all the cupboards in the former storehouse were empty, which caused his stomach to protest loudly. He patted his belly and nodded in silent agreement with it, glancing up to see the door that seemed to lead…outside? "We're like six floors up. Where could that go?" he asked himself, fully aware the only way to know that answer would be to investigate, since all the light outside obscured his ability to see. Taking in a breath, incase it would turn out to be some sort of sick trick, he stepped through the open door and onto a gated off balcony.

"Who are you?"

Those words caused Choji to suddenly turn to his left, raising his hands in an offensive position and looked around, to find a kid his age laying down on his back, still looking at the skyline. He had on a tan colored vest over a fishnet shirt and cargo pants, his hair tied off in a topknot.

The young boy, who made the inquiry, shifted his gaze over to the rotund ninja, quirking an eyebrow slightly. "Well, aren't you going to answer?" he didn't waste the energy required in keeping the irritation out of his voice, still frowning. The young man forced himself to sit up slightly, moving his hand from the back of his head and resting his palms on the ground in order to support himself, causing the leaf hitai-ate around his right arm to glint in the light.

"Uhh…I'm Akimichi Choji. Who are you?" the boy asked, deciding to rest his aching legs by sitting down next to the unknown shinobi, crossing his legs and tilted his head to the side. Something about this kid reminded him of his father's old partner. Wasn't it..Nara, or something like that? He had been too preoccupied with his ramen at the time to really pay attention.

The topknot toting boy nodded, as though he had just finished categorizing the name for later recollection before he spoke. "My name's Nara Shikamaru. And before you ask, I was watching the clouds." he said, deciding to cut off Choji's next question before he thought enough of it up to speak. "Jeez, all these people are wandering around unsupervised? That means we've all gotta look like this, and that's just troublesome." he thought, mentally rolling his eyes. He would have done so externally, but he had no wish to get on the guests' nerves so soon. Kakashi and the others would give him an earful if he did.

Choji quietly nodded before looking into the sky. He had to admit, it was a nice day out. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked after a moment of silence, his hunger becoming a little less concerning as he found the fluffy white clouds almost hypnotizing.

He knew he should have said no. It would be too troublesome not to. He was sure Sasuke would have, then brushed the guy off before going some place else. Of course, he thankfully wasn't Sasuke, and no one had wanted to cloud watch with him in awhile. "Sure." he said, nodding slightly before returning to laying down on his back, soon followed by Choji.

Shikamaru couldn't explain why, but he slowly began to think this wouldn't be as troublesome as he thought.

--

Lee, on the other hand, found his task to be far more troublesome then he had initially bargained for.

He had caught sight of the pair entering the woods, and had leapt out the window with the fires of youth in his eyes. Of course, he had jumped from the fifth floor of the Tower to get after the two of them, and was quickly grabbing hold of any nearby vines and branches in order to slow down his rate of descent. His bushy eyebrows furrowed as he watched his soon to be opponent disappear into the undergrowth ahead of him, latching himself around the trunk of a tree in an attempt to be stealthy as he waited for his moment to begin his challenge.

The sudden bursts of smoke did not disconcert the young man as he clenched a fist, springing from his perch like a green jungle cat, tearing through the foliage as he shouted loudly. "Uchiha Sasuke! I, Rock Lee, hereby challenge..?" his triad was cut short when he found his quarry strangely absent from where he had anticipated the pair of them would be. "Hmmm. It seems that he is so in awe of my prowess that he has decided to keep out of sight, lest he be humiliated in front of his sensei. Very shrewd." he mused, rubbing his chin as he found that to the most logical explanation to the strange occurrence.

"Is that you, Lee-kun?"

The green-clad ninja felt his heart skip a beat as he suddenly spun around to see Sakura and Ino staring at him from their branch perches, both looking rather confused at his antics. "Beloved Sakura-chan, you have come to declare your love for me? I am truly moved at how beautifully your burning youth flames!" he placed one hand over his heart, while the other was wiping tears from his eyes. "And you even wished to bring young Ino-san to witness this moment. Your benevolence knows no bounds!" he clenched both hands and looked up at Sakura, apparently undeterred by the disgusted look that crossed her face.

"Actually, Lee-kun, we saw Sasuke come here, and we wanted to talk to him about the curse." Sakura said, trying to ignore the snickers that were coming from her blonde compatriot. She couldn't help but feel bad about the crestfallen look that latched onto Lee's face, sighing as she leapt down to the ground. "Since it dosen't look like he's here, how about we all take a look around the grounds. It wouldn't hurt to know our surroundings for later." she recommended with a slight smile, deciding that she could at least travel with Lee after unintentionally hurting his feelings.

Thankfully, the boy was quick to rebound, the fires of inner youth re-stoked as he nodded in agreement. "Yosh! And if we don't come back to this spot before we are called in, I shall run to the top of the tower 100 times! And if I cannot do that, then I shall run from here to the Hokage's office 500 times!" he practically bellowed those words, ignoring the sweatdrops that formed on Ino and Sakura as he bounded into the brush, soon followed by the other two.

Just as the bushes finally settled, a loud snicker filled the air. "Oh my. I wasn't sure if I was going to last or not." Kakashi said with a chuckle, looking over at Sasuke as they stood on the underside of one of the higher branches, both of them entirely cloaked by the shadow of the leaf-laden boughs that were overhead. The silver-haired jounin snickered at Sasuke's usual scowl before looking back to reading from his Icha-Icha Paradise: Halloween Edition book.

"They're all fools." Sasuke groused, shaking his head as he thought about those flouncing airheads that seemed so infatuated with him. "He has his competitive streak as an excuse. Those other two are just laughable." he grumbled, trying to continue scowling as Kakashi put a hand on his head.

"It's not their fault. Most girls their age want to be whisked off their feet by some handsome prince, and you fit the bill, Sasuuke-kun." retorted the older shinobi as he ruffled the boys feathers. "Thankfully, they don't seem to mind your personality much. Maybe you just got lucky to get the girls that like 'em cute, dark, and brooding." he said, amusement in his visible eye. "Now, let's get back to training." he said, effectively cutting Sasuke off before he decided to say something about not being cute, a boy, or a prince.

His protégé grunted and gave a nod before the two disappeared further into the shadows to begin their session.

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At last! It is done, my readers! Again, I am sorry for the long wait. With any luck, it shall be the last time you wait so long. -clenches fist- Yosh! And if it is not, then I shall post two every month, with omake scenes at the end! And if I cannot keep my word, then I shall write three every month, with omake scenes at the end, and will be typing them all in the siezna position! In this, I, Preventer Squall, hereby pledge with all my manly heart! -eyes are aflame in the passions of his rekindled youth, in the thrall of Gai-Mode-

Be sure to read and review, everybody, and I'll see you in the next update. Same time, same channel!