This chapter is dedicated to a classmate who died recently. I know we will miss her.

Thanks to reviewers for your comments.

I wrote this chapter about one week ago, but have been playing around with it for a while.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters. If you thought I did, I laugh at you. But there are OC s and the plot is mine.

Warning: This chapter is supposed to be funny. Try not to choke if you think it is.

Chapter 11: Happiness and shogi players

Setting: Konoha

Time: Day after last chapter onwards

Kabuto moaned as he stretched his cramped back. His chakra wasn't depleted, but sitting in one place all night certainly made him feel like an old man. As he walked down the street, he watched people running like ants to and from the stores to other stores out of sight. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he began his shopping expedition for food. And he wanted to find Rina to ask her a very important question.

As Kabuto strolled, he observed the shopkeepers as they discussed the outcome of he Chuunin exams. Who would become Chuunin? Who would remain genin? Kabuto shivered slightly, ignoring the voice in his head telling him that he had failed. 'I'll try again soon. Tsunade-sama said that there are other ways to become Chuunin. Or was that Kira? I don't know…' Stopping at the fruit stand, he picked through the variety of colorful fruit, ignoring the whispers from around him.

Kabuto absentmindedly turned from the fruit shop, slamming into the person walking behind him. Kabuto winced as the fruits in his hands dropped to the ground to join the small person who landed with a loud thump. Kabuto opened one eye slowly to see Kira grimacing as she rubbed her nose. "Ow…. I really need to start being more careful…" Kira moaned as she levered herself off the ground, wincing as her muscles protested the movement. Looking up, she noticed Kabuto standing above her. She grinned happily. "Oh! Hi Kabuto! Sorry about that..." She trailed off when she noticed him barely looking at her.

-Flashback-

Kabuto nodded slowly. "Does Kira know I'll be helping?"

Toboe shook his head. "I don't think she'll really notice though. She goes into a sort of daze during the night. She shouldn't mind though; she knows I told you about the curse."

-End Flashback-

Kabuto smiled weakly down at Kira as he picked up the fruit. "Sorry. Should have been paying more attention." He didn't notice Kira stare quietly at him before her mouth straightened into a determined line and finish picking up the remaining fruit. Passing it to him, she brushed her hands off on the silky blue fabric of her shirt before pasting a strained smile on her face.

"I guess I'll see you around, okay?" She waved weakly before turning and walking away. Kabuto could see that, once again, she was stiff and walked with her back very straight and tense. After seeing her yawn widely, he glanced down at the fruit in his hand, and then back up at the kunoichi who was slowly walking away.

Putting down money to pay for the fruit, Kabuto ran after Kira, slowing once he reached her side. "Hey…Kira?" She looked up at him, her steel blue eyes widening when she saw him. Quirking an eyebrow, she nodded for him to continue. "Are you okay? Uh…" Kabuto paused for a moment, and then plowed on. "T-the curse. Is it still bothering you?"

Kira shook her head, smiling slightly. "Nah. I just stay really sleepy for the day after the full moon. Healings tend to affect me like that. I sleep like a log for days afterward sometimes." She waved her hand, brushing off the matter.

Kabuto squirmed a bit, wanting to ask her if she knew he'd healed her, yet fearing what the reaction might be. Kira watched out of the corner of her eye, and then decided to relieve him of his problem. "So…was it Jin or Toboe who asked you to heal me?" Kabuto's head swung around, his mouth wide open in shock. Kira shrugged. "Toboe was wrong. I actually do remember a lot. Though I can't remember everything… Anyways, I knew you were the one healing 'cause your chakra feels different from Tsunade-sama's. Figured I'd ask about it."

Kabuto coughed, embarrassed. "Jin was the one who fetched me, though I assume Toboe sent him. Or Tsunade-sama. Sorry if I wasn't strong enough…"

Kira laughed, abet a little raspily. "You were fine. Actually, I think you might have done a better job than Tsunade-sama usually does." Kabuto quirked an eyebrow slightly, looking suspiciously at Kira. She noticed and sighed, coughing a little. "What I mean is that she's…hm, how to put this, I suppose more rough. You weren't as rushed as she is. So the pain was less."

Kabuto shrugged, trying not to grin at the praise of his skills. "Oh… well, I'm glad I was able to help."

Kira glanced around, and then looked at the sun to tell the time. "Do you know when they'll say who becomes Chuunin?"

Kabuto shook his head. "I assume they call you to the Hokage. But maybe they call a meeting or something… I really don't know."

Kira smirked. "Oh, so your famous observational skills aren't as good as people make them out to be? My expectations are ruined, Kabuto, simply ruined," she teased, laughing as Kabuto shoved her, getting back for the joke at his expense.

"Maybe I'm just not telling you, hmmm? Ever think of that?" Kabuto grinned as Kira frowned playfully, swatting him for not telling. The two turned at the sound of their names being shouted. A redhead and a brunette were running headlong towards the duo, dust picking up behind them as they raced to the finish.

"Hey Toboe, Jin," Kira said quietly with a smile at the panting pair. They grinned up at her and Kabuto, wiping their foreheads tiredly.

Toboe coughed, trying to regain his dignity as he said, "I found out how to know who's Chuunin. I asked one of my cousins; he's a Jonin who trained a few teams. We get called to Tsunade-sama's office thing and she'll tell us then. It's individual or something…"

Kira nodded as Kabuto absorbed the information. He reflected on what Toboe had said, and then asked, "Who is your cousin?"

Toboe glanced over and replied, "Hatake Kakashi. We're distant cousins."

(A/N Now I KNOW you're all going 'WHHHAAATT?' Muhahahaha…)

Kabuto stared and then shook his head slowly. 'Geez…everyone is connected to Naruto in this place…except Kira so far… Imai adores Ichiraku, Uotani dated Ayame for a while, Toboe is cousins with Kakashi, and Jin is cousins with Tenten who is friends with Naruto and co. Shigure and Koenma went to the academy with Iruka and Kakashi… I can't wait to see where Kira ties in.'

---

As the four stood around talking, Rina was working with the clan. The head wanted to know if she had known Kira was alive; Kira's older brother was completely calm, having absorbed the information without blinking; Kira's younger sister was in awe at how much Kira looked like their late mother; the clan elders where all a bustle trying to organize the trade records, and Rina was covering as much information as she could, hiding any clues about Kira from her boss. Rina's mother was in shock that the four-year old whom she had saved from certain death was, in fact, still alive and well. She thanked the Third and Fourth Hokages for saving the girl who she felt was another daughter.

---

Suddenly, three ANBU landed around the four. The four immediately pulled out kunai, having been surprised and acting on instinct. The three ANBU, with their masks covering any recognizably traits, informed them that Kira Tabanachi, Toboe Nasu, and Jin Koizumi were wanted at the Hokage Tower to meet with Tsunade-sama. Team Koenma stared at one another, and then whispered their goodbyes to Kabuto. As they began to travel, Kira turned to Kabuto and said, "I'll see you later, okay?" She grinned weakly, and the three vanished, followed by the ANBU.

Kabuto sighed and brushed his hand across his eyes in frustration. As he walked to his apartment, he reminded himself that there were other ways to become Chuunin aside from the test. He awaited the arrival of the other three, as well as Uotani and Imai, to celebrate their achievement.

(One hour later…)

"It's not funny!" Kira shouted as Toboe, Jin, and Imai laughed.

"Oh but it is! It is!" Jin choked out as he laughed. "That vest looks hilarious!" At that, the three burst out laughing, tears pouring down their faces at the sight of Kira in the Chuunin vest. It bulked out around her torso, making her look like one of those inflatable people that are always part of the Macy's Christmas Day parade in New York. (A/N I love those things…it could be Thanksgiving though…) The armholes of the vest were huge, causing the shoulders to pop up around her ears. The look on her face was priceless; the pout and glittering eyes looked positively benign with the vest.

Uotani and Kabuto were struggling to keep straight faces, trying not to incite her anger all the more. Kira huffed and then pulled the vest off over her head to throw it at the laughing hyenas. They shrieked as it landed on their heads. At the shrieks, Kira gave a satisfied smirk and folded her arms across her chest. Uotani coughed slightly to clear his throat and said, "Ahem, my sister Natsumi is a wonderful seamstress…Uh, she could fix it for you."

Uotani ducked as Kira threw a kunai at him. "I can do it myself, bozo!" She glared at the dark-eyed boy, making him cringe inside, thinking about all she could do with that kunai. Kira crossed her arms again, and then sat down at the table, ignoring the laughter of Toboe, Imai, and Jin. After about a minute, when they didn't stop laughing, Kabuto swore he could see a vein pop out on her forehead and ran to hold her back from strangling the boys. They weakly crawled away from her grasping hands, laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.

"Kira! Don't kill them here! You'll get blood on my carpet!" Kabuto shouted as the girl struggled in his headlock. She froze and then turned her head up slowly, looking up at him.

"Does that mean I can kill them in the hall?" Kabuto nodded happily, and released the girl. She grinned manically and shouted at Toboe, Jin, and Imai, "I freakin' going to hang your bodies from the Hokage Tower! You stupid pricks!" She raced out after them as they squealed and ran out of the apartment. Kabuto shrugged as he heard their shrieks for mercy echoing down the hall.

Turning to Uotani, Kabuto observed, "Well, I suppose it's a good thing she left the vest."

Uotani grunted, "Why?"

Kabuto smirked evilly. "It's got all of her weapons in it."

Uotani's laughter could be heard down the hall. The neighbors all sweat dropped, thinking, 'I'm so glad I don't know them…'

Over the next month, Toboe, Jin and Imai nursed their, well, wounds while Kabuto and Uotani helped Kira fit her vest properly. The three Chuunin eagerly waited the next month when they would get their first mission. However, the next full moon had to come around before that. Rina had met up with the group of six in the market and training areas. She warned Kira when the clan would go looking for her, and pretty much the group lazed about for a month. They raced against one another, seeing who could stand on the water for the longest, who could run up the trees the fastest, who could beat the crap out of –ahem- what I meant was who could spar the longest, and stuff like that during the day.

At night, the group would play shogi, or hang out with the Rookie Nine and Team Gai. Both groups had decided upon truce and had found the other to be quite fun to hang with. Kira and Ino, with help from Hinata and Sakura, planned out a matchmaking course for Tenten and Neji; Sakura and Ino tried (and failed multiple times) to set up Naruto and Hinata, who flipped when she found out; and Ino and Sakura tried (and failed, once again) to find out who Kira liked. Kabuto made a truce with Naruto, and found that, although the boy was a bit younger, he was fun to talk with. Kabuto also found that Naruto was a lot smarter then he had pegged him to be. Kabuto, Jin, Uotani, Imai, and Toboe decided never to play shogi with Shikamaru, mostly because they hated losing to a kid five years younger than them. Rock Lee got the crap beaten out of him the first time he did the "find your youth" speech by Jin and Imai, and subsequentially decided to act normal around those two.

Throughout this month, Kabuto found himself enjoying his stay in Konoha more and more, as well as feeling right at home. This comforted him, but at the same time scared him. He knew that his stay would not be forever; that Orochimaru would eventually come for him. What he didn't know was that Rina, Gaara, and Tsunade had ANBU surrounding Konoha to protect the city, as well as messenger/spy nin out in all the countries allied with Orochimaru. The spy network that Rina had set up with the messenger nins' help was nearly indestructible, with back ups everywhere.

(A/N Somebody guess who Rina is being paired with! I swear I'll write a oneshot for you, as long as there's no slash, because I don't think I could get the nerve to write that. Nothing wrong with it, just have no nerve to write it…)

One month later…

After tons of fun, it was the day before the full moon. Kabuto, Imai, Uotani, and Team Koenma were hanging out on the bridge, sunning themselves as they munched on ripe peaches. (A/N I love those….) Kabuto watched Kira out of the corner of his eye, observing her fidgeting and tenseness because of the up in her chakra reserves. He sighed loudly and asked, "Does anyone want to spar with me?"

Toboe leapt up, shouting, "I do, I do!" while Kira smirked, remembering how Toboe had consistently lost to Kabuto since the first time they sparred. He was a bit like Lee in his eagerness to fight. Kabuto rolled his eyes, not wanting to fight him. Jin put his foot out, tripping Toboe and sending him flying over the edge of the bridge into the water two feet below. Toboe resurfaced, sputtering angrily as he pulled himself out.

"I hope that cooled you down, Toboe," Jin said nonchalantly as he motioned for Kira to get up and fight Kabuto. She pouted, not wanting to get up, but stood up and walked off the bridge to where Kabuto waited.

She paused, turned back towards the bridge, and yelled, "You guys better leave a few peaches for me!" and then turned back to Kabuto and said, "Shall we?" He shook his head, laughing at her, and followed her to the training grounds.

As they walked he smiled. "I figured you needed to get rid of that extra energy. What better way to do so than spar?"

Kira yawned, stuck her hands behind her head childishly (A/N Like Naruto does. I think that's so freaking adorable, I had to have her do that…), and said, "Nya. I suppose so. But I was feelin' lazy. I know that Rina wants to try out getting rid of all my chakra the day before the full moon, so that the curse seal has none to feed on. But I'm still feelin' lazy." Rina, Kabuto, and Kira had been discussing ways to lessen the effect of the curse seal, and this was one of the ways they'd come up with. Kira had explained her previous experiences, remarking that after a good fight she tended not to notice the pain as much. Rina and Kabuto had tested that theory out until they thought it was because of chakra reserves.

Once they reached the training ground, Kabuto asked, "So, what exactly do you want to do?"

Kira grinned and replied mischievously, "What else? I am so going to kick your ass, Kabuto-kun!" At that she hefted the Chuunin vest making sure the weights were where they belonged, and took her fighting stance.

Kabuto smirked and replied, "You wish. Prepare to lose, Kira-chan!" At that, the two began their match.

30 minutes later…

Kabuto was getting annoyed at Kira's proficiency for close combat. Creating a chakra scalpel in his right hand, he slammed his hand forward, preparing to cut her shoulder muscle, which would end her close combat skills. His hand only met air as she jumped back, chakra exploding out of her feet as she pushed hard off the ground. She grinned at his pout and said aloud, "Ya know, I've always wanted to try Juken, the style the Hyuuga clan use. It always looks so graceful. Once I saw Hinata-chan and Neji-kun sparring, and ever since then I've wanted to try it."

Kabuto, confused, backed up a bit to stare at her. "Huh? What does that have to do with it?"

Kira grinned evilly and said, "This is what!" She settled into a familiar stance, and then came forward to begin her Juken assault on Kabuto, who frantically began blocking her strikes. He could feel the chakra slapping into him from each gentle smack she laid on him. Kabuto frowned at the tingling, and then performed a Konoha Reppu, Leaf Gale, to sweep Kira off her feet using a spinning kick. Kira's feet flew out from beneath her and Kabuto smirked before his mouth dropped open. Kira had disappeared. Hearing a light step behind him, Kabuto turned just in time to be on the receiving end of Kira's Hakke Rokujyu Yonsho (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms), a move he'd only seen Hyuuga Neji execute. He couldn't move as he heard her pant, "Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" When she finished, Kabuto fell to the ground, exhausted.

(A/N I loved Hinata in the Bikochou arc; she was soooooo cool! Her move is freakin' awesome!)

Kira plopped down beside him. She whined, "Owwwww! That hurt! God, I think my fingers are broken…and I missed about thirty-two of the sixty-four tenketsu…I definitely need the Byakugan to do that perfectly. Lucky Hyuugas…"

Kabuto turned his head to look up at the girl sitting next to him. He muttered, "I hate you…my body is killing me…" At that, he sat up, wincing slightly.

She smiled weakly. "Yeah…sorry about that…At least all my chakra is gone! Right? That's a good thing!" She flopped over, lying down on the ground. Kabuto shook his head, marveling that someone not related to the Hyuuga clan could figure out one of their attacks and execute it perfectly. Mind you, it wasn't perfect because she didn't have the Byakugan, but Kabuto certainly wasn't complaining.

"You know, just because you don't need your chakra doesn't mean I don't," Kabuto whined as he wiped sweat from his brow.

Kira squinted up at him. "Hmph. One, I didn't get all your tenketsu, two, I'm not strong enough to do that, and three, it wears off in two hours." She groaned audibly, obviously exhausted by the spar. She looked up at the sun and said, "It's been about an hour since we started. Even so, it's only around three in the afternoon. I wonder where Rina is…"

Kabuto shook his head, clearing away the sleep that had begun clouding his mind. "I'm sure she's coming. She said to meet her here at four, remember?" Kira nodded. "Now, I'm going to get food from the others. Stay here, Kira-chan. We don't want you breaking a nail from the exertion," Kabuto teased as he stood. Kira waved him off as he walked into the forest.

Traveling towards the bridge, Kabuto reflected on her attacks. Kira had a lot of stamina, her chakra reserves were off the charts, and she also had great chakra control, even right before the full moon. Though, he had noticed that she used taijutsu for the first half hour, allowing herself to tire and some of the excess chakra to stem off her. She planned ahead, and worked with what she had. Kabuto decided that Kira would make a very good Chuunin and that it was no wonder she had stayed neck-to-neck in a shogi game against Shikamaru.

Once Kabuto had picked up the food and returned to the training ground, he found Kira in the exact same position that she'd been in when he'd left. Rina was standing next to her, laughing at whatever Kira had just said. Kabuto was glad he'd brought extra food; Rina could eat like Naruto sometimes and still be hungry ten minutes later. He was also glad he'd brought some of the candy Jin had bought; Rina had a major sweet-tooth and had cleaned Kira out of her sugar supply the first day of the month. Kabuto was greeted with yelps of joy and giggles from the girls. Kabuto felt himself blushing as the girls giggled quietly to one another, but relaxed when Kira turned to him and said, "Rina came up with another great idea! Tonight, she wants to hang with us. Is that okay?"

Kabuto quirked a silver eyebrow at Kira's comment in confusion. "Um…Kira, you're barely conscious for most of the night. How is she supposed to 'hang out'?"

Kira grinned. "Weeeelll…Rina's idea consisted of, you know, bringing some stuff to…help me relax and relieve the pain."

Kabuto looked suspiciously at the two girls who were nodding to one another and smirking evilly. "What does this…relaxing and pain-relieving stuff consist of?" Kabuto asked warily. He felt he knew where this was going, and he wasn't looking forward to all the hangovers he'd have to cure the next day.

Rina smiled coyly. "You'll have to come to find out! I'm going to ask Jin and Toboe if they're okay with it, 'cause they'll be there. You guys have fun!"

As Rina raced off, her power limiters glinting in the sunlight, Kabuto turned to Kira and said forcefully, "What. Are. You. Guys. Planning?"

Kira inched back, avoiding Kabuto's gaze as she grinned weakly. "Uh…Rina's done this type of stuff before, she'll be careful! You don't have to do it if you don't want!"

Kabuto glared at her. "If I knew what you guys were doing, I might be able to decide whether or not I want to go along with it."

Kira scratched the back of her head, trying to look innocent but not really pulling it off. "You'll find out when we get there!"

Kabuto let his head drop into his hands as he sighed. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He looked up at Kira. "Are you not telling me because you don't think I'll approve?"

Kira shook her head. "No, I'm not telling because you're really responsible and I don't want you to…uh…get a guilty feeling beforehand…" Kabuto started laughing, and he could only listen and watch Kira grin, and run off, yelling over her shoulder, "I meet you at the Tower, okay? At sunset!"

-----

(A/N That night… this is sooo funny. What has Kabuto gotten himself into? And what has Rina done before?)

Kabuto slowly walked done the hall to the room where he'd been a month ago. Tsunade had officially turned Kira's healing over to him, mostly because it was one less thing for her to do and she figured Kira would be more comfortable with a friend helping her. He reached the door, and paused, listening to the laughter that echoed around the room. He could hear Toboe, Jin, and Rina laughing, with Kira saying, "Just not too much, okay you guys? I don't want to wake up to somebody being dead or something…"

Kabuto swung open the door, and would have outright fainted if Kira hadn't jumped out of fright and splashed him in the face with the cup of water she was holding. He looked around the room, aghast at the boxes of alcohol Rina had brought. He could see that Jin and Toboe had already tried some; they had an empty bottle of single-malt whiskey lying next to them as they played "pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's-man" together. Rina was pouring out more whiskey, and Kabuto didn't want to know what else. He looked at Kira, and saw her sitting near Jin, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Kiiiirrraaa! I hope you know that all of us are underage!" Kabuto whined as he walked into the room and closed the door behind him, wiping his dripping face off with his sleeve.

"Uh…yeah? Yeah, I know that…" Kira trailed off as she saw Kabuto's look of disbelief. She stuttered for a bit, and then defended herself by saying, "It was Rina's idea!"

Rina looked over at the two, grinning. She stood up and, placing her fists on her hips, said, "Nee-chan! You said it would be fun!"

"Yeah, well you said that you've done it before!"

"Yeah! I have! You know, it's a common practice among many elite ninja. Like, Jiraiya, or Tsunade-sama, or…um…other people!" Kira laughed as Rina struggled to defend her point.

Kabuto shook his head slowly, sat down away from the group, and announced, "I won't interfere. You guys can drink what you like, just don't die on me, okay? Kira, I'll check up on you a lot for the healing stuff. Now I'm going to sit here, by myself, and pretend I can't hear anybody UNDERAGE getting drunk off their asses."

Kabuto grinned when he heard Rina, Toboe, and Jin cheer at his words. He cracked open an eye to see Kira shaking her head, grinning as Rina poured her a drink. At that, Kabuto allowed himself to go to sleep, completely ignoring the antics of the four. As he slept, he completely missed all the drinking games that they played, many of which including telling juicy secrets and doing stupid dares.

(A/N Toboe and Jin are 20, Kira and Rina are 18. 21 is the drinking age. Kabuto is 20, but he's not drinking so he can heal Kira correctly. Not because he's a goody goody or party pooper or something. Just being careful.)

---

Kabuto ran through the forest, laughing as Team Koenma chased after him. The three were determined to get back the book that Kabuto held in his grasp. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that they didn't him to see it. As he ran, he could hear the puffing and panting of the three behind him. He felt Toboe throw darts with sleepy poison on them rather than seeing them. He felt Jin's heavy footfalls on the hard forest floor as the 20-year old chased him. And, unfortunately, Kabuto could definitely feel Kira slamming her fist into his side as she caught up with him.

He turned to catch the fist, only to feel Toboe slam a fist into his arm. Kabuto laughed again as he blocked each fist, but was hit by the other. Again, and again, and again, and a-

"Kaa-chan! Wake up!" Kabuto sat up immediately after he heard the slightly slurred voice and felt the persistent poking in his side.

"What? What is it?" he muttered as he rubbed sleep from their eyes. His eyes found Kira kneeling beside him, grinning drunkenly as she pointed to the other three. He looked and snorted with laughter as he saw Toboe and Jin sprawled out on the ground, blankets covering them from the cold as they snored loudly, their mouths wide open. Rina was curled up in a ball, her eyes tightly shut with a green bottle standing next to her. She was also covered with a blanket.

Kabuto turned to Kira, who had changed into a baggy sweatshirt and baggy Capri pants. Her legs were tucked underneath her, and she held a green bottle identical to Rina's. She slurred, "Everybody already fell asleep!-yawn- what do I –yawn- do now, Kaa-chan? I'm not–yawn- sleepy…" She grinned up at the sober Kabuto.

Kabuto shook his head, and sat back to lean against the couch. "Why don't you tell me what everyone drank, and how long they've been out."

Kira nodded enthusiastically, eager to share her knowledge. "Well, Toboe, Jin, Rina, and I started out with a nice cold…um, let's see…I think it was a brandy or a whiskey. Then after about an hour of that, Jin and Toboe started with the gross beer stuff. Rina an' I tried th' hard liquor stuff. Um…Then we, no, that's not what happened…" Kabuto struggled not to laugh as the inebriated kunoichi rattled off the amazing amount of drinks the four had had. He wasn't surprised when she told him that Toboe and Jin nodded off at around 2 in the morning. However, he was surprised when Kira said that she and Rina had stayed up until a few minutes before, when Rina allowed herself to sleep and Kira decided to wake him up. He guessed that Kira had an amazing tolerance for alcohol.

Interrupting her speech, Kabuto asked, "Did the curse seal give you any trouble?" Kira looked lazily up at him.

She scrunched her forehead together with thought. "No…I think that the combination of no chakra and loads of alcohol managed to make me not feel anything at all." Kabuto grinned at that, and filed it away as an alternative. He tried to pat Kira on the back, but it turned out to be unsuccessful when she pitched forward from the tap into his lap. She giggled as she pushed herself up again, with his help... "I think I'm a little tipsy, huh?"

Kabuto nodded, blushing slightly. "Oh yeah. Kira, you are one drunk kunoichi." Kira giggled wildly at that, and took another swig at the bottle. She turned away a bit to stare out the window. Kabuto followed her sight line and found the moon, glittering in a wide circle in the sky. He glanced again at Kira, who seemed frozen at the sight of it. Her body was tensed; the knuckles on the hand holding the bottle were white from her grasp. Kabuto was saddened by the sight and realized, 'She's probably never seen the full moon before. She's always locked away, being healed constantly. She probably hates it, but the sight must be beautiful…' So they sat for a while, one staring out the window, and the other staring at her.

(A/N People! Don't drink in excess! It's mucho bad! And if you do, don't drive afterwards! Drunk driving is bad! You can kill people! But, don't get drunk, either! You never know what you might do…)

Suddenly, once the sun began to rise, Kira turned to Kabuto. Taking a swig of the bottle, she grinned and slurred, "Wanna welcome the day with me?"

Kabuto stared at her, confused. "Huh?"

Kira giggled. "You know, ring in the new day!"

Kabuto shifted, uncomfortable because he had no idea what she was babbling about. "W-what do you mean? Ring in the new day?"

Kira just rolled her eyes, and Kabuto froze as she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. He felt his senses heightened; the feel of her warm torso against his, her hand fisted in his shirt as she held him there, the silky feel of her hair as it swept along his arm, the sweet taste of her soft lips as she kissed him. As suddenly as it began, Kira pulled away, grinned wildly at Kabuto and promptly passed out on his chest. Kabuto stared at the black-haired beauty pressed against him and thought, 'the hell?'

He glanced around the room, finding everything as it had been minutes before. He knew that with everyone asleep, he'd never get back to sleep. He shook his head, and then stared down at the girl again, his eyes finding the bottle in her hand. 'What the hell was Kira drinking?' he wondered. Taking the half-filled green bottle from her grasp, he smelled it, and then tasted it. He nearly choked on the taste. It was way too sweet! Sipping it to be safe from the sugar, he found traces of vodka along with peach tea and apple juice. However, after he tasted it for a third time he realized something.

He twisted his head around to find Rina. He saw the smirk on her face and the wink she sent over and realized she'd set him up. She knew! She must have known getting Kira drunk would get Kabuto to taste the liquor! Kabuto swore under his breath as the sleeping powder clouded his mind, causing him to fall back into slumber. However, the last thought that went through his head before he slept wasn't 'I'm going to kill that girl!' it was 'Oh my god! That was my first kiss!'

At that, the five shinobi slept peacefully, two under the influence of sleeping powder, two drunk, and one with a very satisfied grin on her face as she fell back asleep.

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A/N Holy Moley, I've wanted to write that for so long! I dunno how the kiss turned out, as I've never been. But it was fun to write! Kabuto's so innocent! Hahahahaha.

Rina drugged Kira's drink. Rina is a poison artist, kind of. Kira had been trained to resist the poisons, all Tabanachi clan members are. However, when you're drunk, it's kinda hard to do that…Rina wanted to make sure that everyone slept, she's not evil or anything. She knew that Kabuto would stay awake if Kira woke him up, and Rina knew Kira would wake him up, merely to feel satisfaction in having disturbed someone's sleep. Kira's obnoxious like that sometimes. Kira, for the most part, is sleeping because she's tired and drunk, but the powder helped get her to go to sleep. She's resistant to it.

I extend my thanks to TamX2, who beta-ed for me. I suggest her stories! Apolla and Nachshon are bloody brilliant!

PLEASE REVIEW! It's really important, if people haven't noticed that. I like to know what people think, if they have any ideas. So press that little blue button!

MWAHs to y'all! (Should I use hearts, stars, and horseshoes now? …)