Happy birthday, Temari! (Or at least in Japan time it is...) Fortunately, I made it in time for a double update! But I'll be posting it a few hours later

This chapter is the longest by far (about 4000 words) and I had lots of fun writing this, so I hope you'll enjoy it! (Please reviwww otherwise i think you all thought it was mehh)

Thanks to ohud63 for the review.

Also, I don't even think Ichiraku sells drinks but I don't think I noticed that when I wrote Ino drinking her smoothie back in chapter 10…rip too late to go back now.

All characters belong to Kishimoto-san.

Chapter 19: Dango and Video Games

There was only one problem with the plan, Temari soon discovered. Naruto and his idiot friends had failed to mention one thing—they were going to go play video games at Shikamaru's house. It was too late to turn back, though, as Temari and her brothers tagged along, already arriving at a shabby looking booth situated near Naruto's favorite ramen place (which turned out to be another shabby looking booth titled "Ramen Ichiraku").

The mob known as Naruto and friends sat themselves down at the largest round table there, and Kankuro glanced around skeptically.

"What kind of rundown place is this?" Kankuro asked, pulling out a chair opposite of his history project partner, Hyuuga Hinata. Temari took a seat between her brother and Sakura.

"It looks rundown, but the snacks here are good," said Shikamaru, who was sitting next to Hinata. "Also, it's cheap."

"I guess money would be a problem for you guys," Kankuro muttered to himself.

Gaara heard him as he sat down between Kankuro and Naruto. "Don't be rude, Kankuro."

Kankuro shrugged as if he didn't care, but on the inside, he was hoping Gaara wouldn't kill him. There was no telling how Gaara would react, and it was already weird enough that Gaara had cared enough about Kankuro's remark to comment on it.

A waiter handed out menus and Temari looked at hers.

"Just how much money did you bring, Kankuro?" Temari asked, checking over the prices as she aimlessly took a straw from the container in the middle of the table and played with it.

"Plenty," Kankuro said. "I have enough to pay for whatever you want. But seriously, why can't Father just let us have credit cards? He thinks we'll recklessly spend or something, but I mean, come on, we get what we want on our birthdays and for Christmas, so does it really matter? And anyways, he'd kill us if we bought anything he would disapprove of."

"Anyways," Kankuro continued, flipping to the back of the menu. "What's good here?"

"The anmitsu here is really good," said Chouji, who was the expert on all types of food. "Though if you want something hot, there's the takoyaki and imagawayaki."

"Personally, I like the kakigori over the anmitsu," Kiba said. "More ice, and less stuff."

"That's a matter of personal preference," Shino said.

"I'd still rather have ramen, dattebayo," Naruto reminded everyone.

"We already ate ramen this week," Ino said exasperatedly. "It's twice a week only, remember? And wouldn't you rather save your second one for the weekend?"

"Okay, yeah, but you didn't even eat the ramen the first time!" Naruto said.

"Same thing," Ino said dismissively before changing the subject. "Are the rest of you ready to order?"

There was a round of nods from everyone but Shikamaru, who seemed to have fallen asleep with his head on the table.

"Is he ordering anything?" Temari asked curiously, gesturing to the sleeping boy with her straw. Ino gave her a sly, knowing look, which Temari did not understand, and answered the question.

"He's getting his usual," Ino said. "In other words, whatever we order for him."

"Sometimes we order weird things," Chouji added. "Just to see how they taste."

"And you make him eat it?" Temari asked, stunned at their behavior. If she had tried it with any of her brothers, she would either been killed or have found some of her items missing the next day. Essentially to say, no one messed with the sand siblings. Including the siblings themselves.

Ino shrugged carelessly. "It's not like we order anything he wouldn't actually like, or anything that would kill him."

"So, what are you getting him this time?" Kankuro asked, intrigued.

"Let's get him a crepe," Naruto said. "Like one of those weird flavors."

"Oh, let's get him one with tuna," Kiba said. "He likes fish, doesn't he?"

"He likes mackerel, not tuna," Chouji said.

"Same thing," Kiba said. "I mean, he doesn't dislike tuna, right? And maybe we could add spinach."

Kankuro made a face, all interest instantly gone. "Gross."

"No one is asking you to eat it," Temari said.

"Anyways, if we're all done, let's order now," Sakura said, waving the waiter over.

The waiter arrived and Sakura was the first to order. "I'll have the anmitsu."

"Same," Ino said, glaring at her rival.

The waiter appeared to be unfazed by the sudden glaring, and looked to Sasuke, who was sitting in between the two girls.

"I'll have a glass of water," Sasuke said.

Apparently, the waiter was used to Sasuke not ordering anything as he moved on to Shino and Kiba, who ordered a vanilla custard imagawayaki and kakigori, respectively. Temari wondered just how often Naruto and his friends visited this shop.

"Let's see," Naruto said, propping his menu up on the table. "I'll have two red bean imagawayakis."

"I'll get the anmitsu, too," Chouji said. "And add a tuna and spinach crepe."

"I-I'll have the b-bocchan d-dango," Hinata said, completing the orders from the Konohagakure students.

"I will have a red bean imagawayaki," Gaara said, getting the same thing as Naruto.

Kankuro stared at his menu and then made up his mind. "I guess I'll take all the dango you got."

"All of them?" the waiter asked, unsure if he had heard right.

"Yeah, all of them," Kankuro said, who was feeling generous. "Like, one order of each. I'll share with everyone."

"I guess I won't order then," Temari said.

"I mean," said Kankuro, "Most of the dango will be going to you, so…"

Temari shrugged. "Okay, then."

The waiter wrote down the last of the orders and was soon back with twelve cups of green tea. After passing the tea out and making sure his customers didn't need anything else, the waiter left, leaving the high schoolers to talk amongst themselves.

"So, how old are you turning, Temari-san?" Sakura asked.

"Seventeen," Temari said, painfully aware of the age difference between them.

Shikamaru, who had woken up when the drinks had been served, choked on his tea. "You're seventeen?"

"Is there a problem?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow at him in amusement as he swiftly wiped the table with a napkin.

"Wait," said Naruto. "If you're seventeen, then how old is Kankuro, dattebayo?"

"I'm currently sixteen," Kankuro said.

Shikamaru stared at the two siblings, his face revealing his confusion, an expression Ino thought she would never see—the genius of Konoha High was confused.

"Wait, you're older than Kankuro?" Shikamaru asked.

Temari nodded and Shikamaru continued to stare.

"I thought he was the oldest!" Shikamaru spluttered. "Or at least twins or something."

Temari rolled her eyes. At this stage in her life, when Kankuro was now taller than her, Temari was used to people expecting Kankuro to be oldest, or for him to be her twin. With only a year apart, it wasn't that far-fetched.

"If you're older," Naruto said slowly, processing things at the same speed as the current Shikamaru. "Then aren't you supposed to be a senior, dattebayo?"

"I got pushed back a year," Temari explained. "Not because I failed or anything, but my father decided it was better that way."

Kankuro snorted. "Yeah, so he could keep an eye on us at the same time since we'd practically have all our classes together."

"Man, your father sounds strict," Kiba said, leaning back in his chair. "But I guess that's to be expected as he's the Kazekage."

There was no more talk about the three foreigners after that as the food arrived. Naruto, Chouji, and Kiba immediately tucked in, while the girls and Shino were politer about it. On the other side of the table, Gaara neatly picked up his food and took a bite out of it, looking as if he had never eaten a red bean imagawayaki before. Kankuro and Temari each took turns tasting the different dango and challenging each other to see who could eat the most. The last person to eat was Shikamaru, who stared at the weird food that had arrived before him.

"Do I want to know what you guys ordered?" Shikamaru asked, stabbing his crepe with a fork. Pieces of spinach and tuna oozed out, and the young Nara sighed.

"How is it?" Chouji asked, his mouth filled with jelly and fruit.

"It's… not too bad," Shikamaru said, though the others couldn't tell if he truly meant it.

"I think I'll stick to ramen, dattebayo," Naruto said, eyeing Shikamaru's food distrustfully.

Temari offered a stick of dango to the boy sitting across from her, who looked slightly distressed at his friends' choice of food for him. "If you don't like the crepe, you can have some dango instead."

Shikamaru shook his head, too prideful to accept Temari's offer. "Nah, I'm good."

Temari shrugged and popped a dango into her mouth. "Your loss."

.

After everyone had finished their food and successfully stuffed themselves full, the high schoolers headed to Shikamaru's house, which was, luckily, only a few blocks away.

As usual, Naruto led the way, with Kiba fighting for the position. Sasuke and Gaara followed behind them, both giving each other cold glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. Some distance behind the two intimidating boys were Sakura and Hinata, who were chatting about their history projects. Shino and Chouji were next in line, both walking in amiable silence, with Kankuro and Temari after. At the rear were Ino and Shikamaru; Ino was whispering something in Shikamaru's ear and Temari wondered what they were talking about.

"Isn't it Nara's house we're going to?" Kankuro said, looking over his shoulder at the secretive pair. "Why isn't he leading the way?"

"He's lazy," Temari said, examining the sky. "Naruto probably knows the way."

"They're all really close to each other, aren't they?" Kankuro remarked. "Man, I wonder what it'd be like to have so many friends who'd stick to you like that."

"That's something we'll never know," Temari said sadly.

"Hey, cheer up," Kankuro said, playfully punching his sister on the shoulder. "It's your birthday. You can always think about the depressing stuff tomorrow, but for today, it's just gonna be fun and games."

"And dango," Temari said. "Don't forget the dango."

Kankuro smirked. "Of course. How could I ever forget them?"

Temari rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. She was glad for a brother like Kankuro, even if he could be an idiot at times.

The group stopped at an intersection, and Temari peeked behind her curiously. Ino was whispering something again, leaning closely to Shikamaru's ear. Shikamaru shrugged her off, casting an annoyed and exasperated look at his childhood friend. Temari wondered again what Ino could possibly be saying to annoy Shikamaru like that. Though, upon further reflection, there were many things that annoyed Nara Shikamaru.

.

"I can't believe you like a senior," Ino said, for what was perhaps the fifteenth time since they had left the shop.

"Ino," Shikamaru replied, tired of repeating the same conversation. "I don't like her."

"You can fool yourself, but you can't fool me, genius boy," Ino said haughtily. "You've never looked at a girl before. You've never even talked to a girl before."

"I talk to you," Shikamaru pointed out. "And I talk to Sakura. And Hinata."

"Yeah, since we're all practically friends," Ino said. "I don't count since we knew each other since, like, forever, and Sakura and Hinata don't count since we're all mutual friends here. Besides, you rarely talk to those two. Admit it; you've talked to Temari way more times than you've talked to both Sakura and Hinata combined!"

Shikamaru said nothing, seeing no way to change Ino's mind.

"See, you're not disagreeing!" Ino said triumphantly. "You do like—"

"No, I don't!" Shikamaru interrupted. "Just because I talk to her doesn't mean I like her. We just so happen to be in the same club."

"You know, I wonder why," Ino pondered aloud. "Why did Temari, the ruthless girl from Suna, choose a boring club like yours?"

"Shogi isn't boring," Shikamaru said. "And obviously she knows that. She's from a cultured family."

"Oh, I know!" Ino said, ignoring Shikamaru. She gleefully clapped her hands together as if she had unexpectedly discovered something, successfully receiving looks from the girl in question. "It's obvious it's because she likes you."

Shikamaru scoffed, though he was worried Temari had heard Ino. "Don't be ridiculous, Ino."

Ino smirked. "Whatever you say, Shikamaru. You can't keep fooling yourself."

Shikamaru shook his head. There was just no way to convince Ino otherwise. How was he supposed to explain that Temari was practically the only girl who was willing to talk to him without seeming like she was bored to death? Moreover, Temari liked shogi. Well, more so than any other girl Shikamaru had ever met.

Ino was humming to herself now, as she skipped along. They were almost to Shikamaru's house by now, and Shikamaru was glad for it. As soon as they got inside, he could focus on sleeping and staying out of Naruto and Kiba's ways as they aggressively played video games.

"Yoshino-san!" Naruto hollered as soon as Chouji unlocked the door. "We're here today, dattebayo!"

Shikamaru's mother embraced Naruto. "Nice to see you, Naruto. Have you been eating well? I hope it's not ramen every single day."

Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, it kind of is ramen every day, dattebayo."

"I'll have you know he didn't eat ramen today, Yoshino-san," Kiba notified.

"Kiba!" Yoshino greeted, shaking the dog-lover's hand. "And Sakura and Hinata! I see the whole gang is here today."

"Thank you for having us over today, Yoshino-san," Sakura and Hinata said, also shaking her hand.

Yoshino smiled. "You're all welcome here anytime."

"Yoshino-san," Sasuke said briefly. Yoshino nodded her head coolly back at him, long used to the Uchiha's detached behavior.

Yoshino stopped her greetings as she was met with an unfamiliar face. The boy in front of her looked about her son's age, with flaming red hair and chilling eyes. Dark circles surrounded his eyes and there was a bizarre tattoo etched onto his pale skin.

"Oh, Yoshino-san, this is Sabaku no Gaara, dattebayo," Naruto introduced. "He's the Kazekage's son! And these two are the Kazekage's kids as well, dattebayo! They're all exchange students at Konoha High this year!"

Gaara nodded stiffly at his host. "It's an honor to meet you, Yoshino-san."

Yoshino nodded back in return. "Likewise, Gaara-sama."

She recognized the name Sabaku no Gaara, and if this one was Gaara, then the boy with the purple face paint was Kankuro, and the girl was Temari. These were the children Shikaku and Shikamaru had talked about the other day, though she had never thought she would meet them in person. Hadn't Shikamaru said something about never wanting to see them again…?

"I'm Temari," the girl said, confirming Yoshino's guesses.

"Kankuro," the boy said.

They offered a hand in greeting and Yoshino shook them. "It's nice to meet you all."

"The pleasure is all ours," Temari replied smoothly.

"Sorry for showing up out of the blue," Kankuro said, remembering his manners. "Naruto here invited us today, and Shikamaru said it was fine."

"Yeah, 'cause won't this be fun?" Naruto said. "And it's Temari's birthday today, dattebayo! So, we definitely need to have some fun!"

"It's your birthday today?" Yoshino asked. "Well, happy birthday, Temari-sama."

"Thanks," Temari said, embarrassed. "And just Temari will do."

Yoshino nodded in acknowledgement and continued to greet the rest of her son's friends.

.

Naruto and Kiba were arguing over who was better at Mario Kart as Shikamaru set up the game, one on the TV, and one on the extra computer screen he had for occasions like this.

"No, my team will definitely win!" Naruto said. "Because obviously, I'm the best here, dattebayo."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Then I dare you to play without Sasuke on your team this time!"

"Fine, I will!" Naruto said. "Then I'll challenge you first, and whoever wins will go against Sasuke, dattebayo!"

"What, is Sasuke the best here?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah, he is," Kiba said. "I'll pick first. I'll take Hinata-chan on my team."

"Oh, is that how it is," Naruto said. "Then I'll pick—"

"Woah, hold up," Kiba said. "Sasuke is choosing next. You choose last. You shouldn't have a problem, though, right, since you're obviously the better of the two us?"

Naruto scowled but conceded.

Sasuke looked around at his friends. "Sakura."

Sakura gave Ino a triumphant look as she happily scooted closer to the Uchiha.

"Gaara!" Naruto announced. "You're my first pick, dattebayo!"

Kankuro snorted. "Wrong choice there, kid."

"What, why?" Naruto asked, confused.

"We don't know how to play," Temari answered.

"Wait, really?" Naruto said. "Wait, then I want—"

"No take backs!" Kiba said. "You chose him and now you got to stick with him. I want Shino next."

Naruto pouted a little. "You won't let me down, will you, Gaara?"

"I will try my best," Gaara promised.

"Chouji," Sasuke said, choosing his next member.

"Ino," Naruto said. If Gaara and his siblings had never played, then it was best to choose Ino over them.

"Kankuro," Kiba called out, and Kankuro shrugged.

"Your loss, man," Kankuro said, accepting the Wii remote handed to him.

"Hey, you're better than the lazy ass over there," Kiba said. "He never tries."

Sasuke chose the remaining sand sibling, and Naruto had no choice but to accept Shikamaru onto his team.

"Can't you please try this time, dattebayo?" Naruto begged his friend.

Shikamaru shrugged ambiguously.

"Three rounds," Kiba said. "But first, we'll let these three play a round and you can teach them, Naruto."

After teaching them how to play, the competition started. Naruto hoped Gaara had learned a thing or two in the practice round before.

However, Naruto soon discovered that he had no need to worry. Gaara was proving to be a pro at the game.

"What the heck," Kiba said as his team lost the second round. "I thought you said you guys have never played before!"

Kankuro was just as stunned as his team leader. "We haven't! I mean, look how bad I am at this!"

"You're not that bad, actually," Sakura reassured him. "Though, Kiba is right. I never would have guessed this was your first time."

Gaara frowned. "Am I that good?"

"Yes, you are, dattebayo!" Naruto said, clapping Gaara proudly on the back. "Man, who knew you would be so good?"

They played one more round, in which Kiba's team lost again, and then it was Naruto versus Sasuke.

Sasuke was by far the best player in their group of friends, but Gaara was rapidly catching up, progressing at an alarming rate after each round.

In the end, Naruto's team won all games, and the high schoolers decided it was time for a different game. Midway through their new set of games, Yoshino had dropped by with snacks and Shikamaru had hidden himself in a corner, fast asleep, with Chouji accompanying him.

Temari watched the rest of the games in fascination. She wasn't as great as her brothers, but it was still interesting to watch. She and her brothers had never been allowed to play video games before; their father had claimed it was too distracting and that they needed to focus on their studies.

However, after half an hour had gone by, Temari was growing bored. She decided it was time for a trip to the bathroom. Except Naruto was currently occupying the one downstairs, so she stood outside waiting.

"Oh, there's one upstairs, you know," Chouji said, coming back from the kitchen with more snacks and drinks. "You can use it. I have no idea how long Naruto is going to take. Sometimes he eats too much."

"Oh, thanks," Temari said, unsure of which direction she should be heading towards.

"The stairs are over there," Chouji said, pointing. "The bathroom is easy to spot. It's going to be the only open room."

.

Temari made her way up the stairs. True to Chouji's words, there was only one room with the door propped open. Temari started to go in, but stopped as she took in her surroundings.

She wasn't in the bathroom.

The room was messy, with the curtains half-drawn open. Piles of paper and textbooks lay scattered about, and the drawers of the desk were opened. There was a note stuck on the door, and Temari peered at it.

Shikamaru, CLEAN UP YOUR ROOM

-Mom

Temari had a sinking feeling as she realized whose room she had stumbled upon.

As she made to exit, she caught sight of the bed. There was a half-played shogi game, as well as an unopened chess set, and piles of freshly folded clothes. Temari raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of the clothes—they were simple and plain, words Temari now associated with Shikamaru—but what caught her attention most of all was the stack of newly folded underwear.

Temari figured she should not have been embarrassed—she was used to folding Kankuro and Gaara's clothes, after all—but this was someone she barely knew, and she felt her face heat up. She decided it was an appropriate time to make her retreat.

Abruptly, there was the sound of flushing and running water—coming from what was definitely the bathroom—and Temari quickly stepped away, as if she had not just been staring into some boy's room; but she was not fast enough as the person opened the door and came out into the hall.

It was the owner himself, who gave her a classic deer-in-the-headlights look.

"Nice clothes," Temari commented casually, gaining back her composure.

"What?" Shikamaru asked blankly before recognizing the open door to his room. He took a glimpse of the view inside and immediately turned pink, mentally burying himself in his backyard.

"MOM!" Shikamaru yelled, hastily slamming the door shut. "Did you have to do laundry today? And why didn't you close my door?!"

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, young man!" Yoshino replied, climbing up the stairs to scold her son.

She paused at the top, noticing Shikamaru and the young woman he was with, and suddenly understood her son's reaction.

"Oh, hello," Yoshino said, refusing to acknowledge that she may have made an error.

Temari let out a hesitant "hello" in return.

"You're Temari, right?" Yoshino asked, hoping her memory was right.

Temari nodded. "Yes. Sorry, I was just looking for the bathroom, Yoshino-san, and I accidently found his room instead"

"You were looking for the bathroom upstairs?" Shikamaru said incredulously. "There's one downstairs!"

"Naruto's using it," Temari replied. "And Chouji told me to come here. He said there would be one up here."

"So, what, you thought my room was the bathroom?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"Chouji said it'd be the only open door," Temari replied in the same tone. "And your room just so happened to be the only one with an open door at the time."

Yoshino glared at her son. "Anyone can make that kind of mistake. Now, don't be rude, and show your guest where it is."

Shikamaru grumbled and obeyed, letting out a "this is troublesome" under his breath.

"I heard that, young man," Yoshino said sternly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and dramatically pointed to where the bathroom was.

"It's over there," Shikamaru said. "You know, the one that actually looks like a bathroom."

Making sure Yoshino had left, Temari rolled her eyes at him and slammed the door in his face.