AN: Alright. Sorry it's been a month since my last update. I meant to get this up a lot sooner, but I just finished it last night. Yes, I wrote this chapter. My sister says she will write the next one completely, but I have my doubts. But she was supposed to be writing it, otherwise I would have had this posted two weeks ago if I knew she wasn't going to help with this chapter. Oh, well. Hind-sight is 20/20; Fore-sight, not so much. Also, this chapter is really long. It's a good 26 pages, so what I lacked in time I made up for in quantity. So, again sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
To Xchica-de-musicaX, Yes, updates! Sorry it's been a while. And something big does happen, just not in this chapter. Next chapter. But it's not a bad happening (those are later), it's a good thing, and necessary for the big parts to begin to take place.
To Thomas Drovin, Your fanfictions are looking really good. And I thought I got things working out. Apparently my sis has other plans… grrrrrr. And things do begin to get difficult, but it might be a little while. Although, the Akatsuki's plan should be arising very soon.
To Shifuni, I'm glad you like this so much. And waiting patiently is always a good thing. Please, enjoy the new update.
To GrimSpeck18, Lima Beans do rule the world. And I'm glad you are showing some violence to Sasuke. Haha. He needs it. ;)
I also want to welcome these people who have favorited and are now watching this story: DeathmaskDivine, Anindofu, Kaze no Neko, and friskykittycat. Welcome to the family!
Disclaimer: Is this really necessary now? I clearly don't own about half the things in here.
Chapter Twenty: Bachelor / Bachelorette
The next morning, Cordi had all her bridesmaids meet her at the dress shop she, Rox and Temari had gone to for their solstice kimonos. Rox had arrived with Cordi, so they sat at the shop and waited for the others to arrive. Temari was supposed to escort Fred, Lynne, and Ronni to the shop. They only had to wait a few more minutes before Lynne busted through the doors.
"Rox!" she exclaimed, rushing up to the wind user, a big smile on her face. "Ok, so last night I was thinking and I finally came to terms with you being married to Shikamaru. And of course I'm happy for you, but I have questions!"
Rox stared blankly at her friend, but Fred and Cordi both donned very large mischievous smiles. "What did you want to know?" Rox asked, eyeing her friends and sister warily.
"Well," Lynne paused, smile becoming wider and more roguish, "how's the sex?"
Rox went beet red in response, eyes wide in surprise and voice absolutely not functioning. Temari chuckled at Rox but still looked appalled at Lynne's vulgarity. The spirit user wasn't fazed in the slightest by the looks that Temari sent her way, but continued to watch Rox, eyebrows waggling.
"Uh…" Rox stuttered, still beet red. "I…. I honestly don't know how to answer that question."
Lynne did not like that answer and pouted at her best friend, "you can't tell me? Come on Rox! I'm not asking for details or anything. Besides, we're all women here and I'm sure I'm not the only one that wants to know!"
Fred, Cordi, and now Ronni all looked at Rox expectantly. Temari sighed. She'd never had a sister or any friend that was like one before Cordi, so she'd never been asked questions like this about any of her boyfriends.
"Seriously Rox, we've been friends for most of our lives and I've told you stuff about my boyfriends!" Fred needled. Rox muttered something along the lines of 'not like I ever asked…' but let out a large sigh.
"S-sex with Shikamaru is… really good," Rox stated, hoping that would be the end of the topic.
"I'll say," Temari muttered. All conversation stopped as the elementals eyed Gaara's sister. "What? We used to date!"
Everything was still really silent as Cordi mumbled, "Well that just made everything more awkward than it is."
Everyone was still staring at Temari awkwardly until Lynne shrugged and turned back toward Rox. "So it's good. How so? What do you guys do that makes it 'really good'?" Lynne pressed.
Rox frowned at Lynne, finally tearing her gaze from Temari, "I thought you weren't going to ask for details…." Lynne, of course wouldn't budge. The newlywed's face seemed to grow redder and she bit her lip to hide an embarrassed smile. "Well…. You guys know about my dirty thoughts about a certain one of his jutsus, right?" Cordi nodded immediately, but Ronni, Fred, Lynne, and especially Temari all donned confused faces. Eventually, Lynne picked up on the thought and laughed outright.
"Wait, wait… what jutsu?" Temari asked, curiosity ringing through her voice.
Rox couldn't answer, her voice leaving her once again, but Cordi answered, "the shadow strangle jutsu." Temari's eyes bugged out but Lynne giggled. Fred still looked confused. She hadn't watched the show as much as the others, so she probably had no idea what the shadow strangle jutsu even did. "Ok, I'll explain. Shikamaru traps his opponent in his shadow and then these shadow hands kind of crawl up the body and strangle the victim." Cordi said before she turned back to Rox expectantly.
Rox gulped, face still somehow growing redder. "Well… um…" she squeaked, "I kinda told him about my thoughts and….. we tried it." Lynne and Cordi guffawed, Rox adding her own quiet chuckles.
"Wait, so he strangles you while you guys – you know. You let him strangle you?" Ronni asked, her face contorted into a disgusted frown. "You sick masochist!"
"No! He doesn't hurt me!" Rox exclaimed, face paling as she tried the clear the air while Lynne and Cordi laughed so hard, tears streamed from their eyes. Ronni still looked horrified and Fred and Temari looked rather confused as well. "He… he just uses his shadow hands alongside his real hands," Rox stated, voice trailing off as her eyes gained a dreamy gleam. "It's like… he's everywhere all at once."
After the laughter settled down, Cordi said, "Alright we've got to get this dress fitting underway because Rox and I have to get to our dance lessons."
Fred looked at the sisters confused as she asked, "dance lessons?"
"Yeah, Gaara and I coerced Rox and Shikamaru into going with us to the dance lessons. You know, we don't want to go out on that dance floor for our first dance and look like complete idiots," Cordi replied as she stood and turned toward the attendant.
"And when she says coerced, she means when we said no, Gaara uncorked the gourd, and Cordi grabbed the wok," Rox stated, her playful glare aimed at her sister's head. Cordi just smiled and shrugged as she asked the attendant to gather the dresses she'd specified.
When she turned back around after the attendant left, she addressed Lynne. "So, do you want to elaborate on the whole 'Sherie' thing? I mean I've never heard of her before or why she thought transforming into you and sleeping around could be a good idea," Cordi asked. The spirit-user frowned as she thought about what had transpired a few weeks ago.
"Well, during the Solstice Festival in Konoha, I saw Sasuke making out with her. We fought of course, but once Sherie learned that I had been pregnant when Sasuke so 'graciously' left me, she ran off. Sasuke was a jerk and Naruto stepped in so no damage was done," Lynne answered.
Rox's eyebrows furrowed, "what do you mean by 'damage?' He wasn't getting violent was he?"
"Well, we both were, but – as I said – Naruto stopped it and ordered us to his office where he proceeded to tell Sasuke that the babies were genetically tested and all that. Then, Naruto ordered us to get married," Lynne answered.
"Sounds familiar…." Rox muttered.
"And you're going to tell us about why you and Shikamaru had to come here to get married when Lynne is done," Fred ordered. Rox sighed and nodded, expression sad.
Lynne frowned at her before she continued, "Anyway, Sasuke told me why he had broken up with me in the first place, you know, basically accusing me of being a cheating whore. That's nothing new anyway, you guys heard him that day too." Cordi's expression grew angry at the memory, but she didn't interrupt. "It turns out that Sherie had asked him on a date while we were dating, and he'd turned her down for a few reasons. First, he was dating me. Second, she had been one of his creepy fan girls when everyone was still at the academy. He told me she used to save used tissues of his and stuff!" Cordi, Rox, and Temari all made disgusted faces, but before any of them could ask how the hell Sasuke ended up dating a creep, Lynne said, "well he said she seemed to mellow out. So, she devised a plan to 'catch him,' so to speak. Like I said yesterday at the gates, she transformed into me and whored around the village. Now, when I say 'whored around,' I don't just mean she slept with a few guys, but with a slew of them. Shino was one guy, but she also slept four bartenders, and somehow Sai and Neji – who are dating each other."
"Wait a minute, if Neji and Sai are dating each other, than how the hell did Sherie manage…?" Cordi asked, trailing off into confused silence.
"Well, Sherie said – when we went to go talk about all this – she got Shino to turn into them. Apparently, Sherie and Shino have a history. Shino's liked Sherie for most of their lives, and she used his affection for her to do her bidding," Lynne answered, frowning.
"Sounds like this girl is a dirty, desperate slut," Temari stated. Her scowl deepened as she said, "I can't believe anyone could use a friend like that."
"I'm still surprised by how Sasuke fell for that shit," Fred muttered.
Lynne smiled at Fred and replied, "Yeah, he's still beating himself up about that, too."
"I'm just confused that Sasuke could have so many fans… I mean he can be a real jerk," Cordi stated.
Lynne frowned at her friend disapprovingly. "He can also be a real nice guy when he wants to be," she argued.
"Yeah, he's been really protective of Lynne that last few weeks. Anyone so much as looks at her wrong and he punches them in the face. It doesn't stop them from talking though. The rumor mill in Konoha is almost as bad as it was in high school," Ronni stated brightly, in complete contrast to how Lynne felt, who was scowling deeply.
"Now I'm really nervous about going back to Konoha. I hate being talked about…" Rox sighed, slumping slightly.
"Why do you think you'll be talked about?" Lynne asked, head snapping up to look at her friend.
"Right, it's my turn for story telling isn't it?" Rox asked, smiling slightly. Ronni nodded emphatically, smiling broadly. "Alright, well the short version is that Mrs. Nara doesn't like me and made that pretty clear the night Shikamaru and I told her we were engaged. It was pretty obvious that she'd never give her permission for Shikamaru and I to marry. So, I went back to my apartment that night thinking our engagement was over, when Shikamaru knocked on my door and said that he wanted to elope."
"Woah! Hang on a minute, Shikamaru Nara, the laziest ninja in Konoha, was willing to do something that troublesome?" Temari gasped, eyes alight with surprise. When Rox nodded to her, Temari whistled, "Wow."
"That's so romantic, Rox! You both were willing to give up everything to be together! It's just like out of one my old romance novels!" Ronni gushed.
"And what exactly did Yoshino say that made it clear she didn't like you?" Lynne asked, expression serious and completely ignoring what Ronni was saying. "Cuz, I'm perfectly willing to punch her in the face."
"From what Shikamaru said the morning after you two got married, he wasn't willing to talk to her," Cordi added, eyeing her sister.
"What she said was that bad?" Fred asked, her eyebrows raised in surprised.
"Yoshino was never very nice to me either. Called me some pretty nasty names," Temari said, folding her arms across her body angrily at the memory.
"She probably called me the same names and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I never wanted to come between Shikamaru and his family, so… I guess I'm willing to forget what she said about me in the hopes that her relationship with Shikamaru won't be ruined. I shudder to think about the scene that will most definitely happen when we all come back to Konoha, though," Rox said sadly.
"Well if she calls you any names while in my company, she's in for a pounding," Lynne replied. When Rox opened her mouth to protest, the spirit user shook her head, blue eyes flashing, "You were there for me when I needed you Rox. Now, I'll return the favor. Everything she probably said about you was definitely untrue anyway, and I won't stand for one of my best friends being insulted."
At that, the attendant returned and ushered everyone into changing rooms, handing dresses to the bridesmaids. All of them were floor-length, light blue, and made of a light, breezy material, but each of them had a different look.
Rox was the first out. The dress she wore was strapless and hugged her body all the way down to her upper thighs, where it flared out. It had a sweetheart neckline and the fabric wrapped around the bodice, criss-crossing at an angle. The back of the bodice started at her mid back and was laced shut – like a corset – and open. The ribbons were tied at the bottom of her back and trailed down the dress.
The next out was Temari. Her dress was also strapless and relatively simple. The neckline was strait. Just under her bust a darker strip of blue fabric was tied and from that piece, the dress flowed freely to the floor. There was a small train on the back that started just under the tied fabric.
Lynne exited her dressing room next. Her dress was a v-neck with thin spaghetti straps. A thick piece of fabric was wrapped just under the bust and from there the dress flowed to the floor. The back of the dress dipped down to her mid back. The seam at the back was fixed together with buttons.
Fourth out of her dressing room was Fred, wearing a one-shoulder dress. It followed her curves until her hips and then a-lined to the floor. The fabric at the top of the dress was twisted into the strap on her right shoulder. The back of the dress was slightly higher and was also fasted with buttons.
Ronni danced out of her dressing room last, twirling slightly when she reached the mirror. Her dress was the simplest out of all the dresses. It was strapless with a high waist-line that was situated just under her bust and flowed freely to floor. The fabric was gathered in the back and created a train, similar to Temari's dress.
"Wow, guys! You look awesome!" Cordi exclaimed. Ronni beamed at her friend and twirled again. The dress fit her like a glove.
"Um… I'm gonna need mine hemmed… like a lot," Rox said. She was the shortest of all the women, only reaching 5'2". The dress definitely needed four inches cut off. "Other than that, I look awesome!"
"Not as awesome as me!" Lynne laughed, lifting up the pieces of dress at her side and curtsied. Rox stuck her tongue out at her friend.
"Mine has to be taken in at the waist a bit," Fred observed, pulling the fabric at her waist closer to her body. The attendant moved to pull the dress in after she fixed the hem on the Rox's dress with pins.
"So, everybody likes their dresses?" Cordi asked, and all five bridesmaids nodded to her. "Right then, let's get these beauties bought and fixed. They'll be ready by tomorrow, right?" Cordi inquired, turning to the attendant who nodded an affirmative. The fire-user smiled and turned back to her friends, "great, well we finished just in time for our dance lesson, Rox!"
"Oh! Before everyone leaves, I wanted to make sure everyone knows about the bachelorette party. It will be at a bar near the center of town called The Sunaarashi. It's a pretty popular dance club around here. Meet at the Kazekage house at nine tonight," Temari smiled.
Lynne groaned and Temari looked at her questioningly. "I can't drink anything!" Fred and Temari laughed at the bummed spirit user before walking back to their dressing rooms to change, Ronni dancing into hers a few seconds later.
Rox smiled at Lynne sympathetically, "We can be sober together. You know I don't like to drink too much." Lynne frowned at her friend, knowing she wasn't going to have nearly as much fun as she would have if she could drink. She shrugged after a few seconds and the two went back to their changing rooms.
Five minutes later, everyone was out and the dresses were paid for.
"Remember, we need to be at Suna's Great Hall by 4:30 for the rehearsal! Dinner's at six! Alright guys, Rox and I have to split! See you later!" Cordi said and grabbed her sister by the hand before yanking her out the door.
Meanwhile, a similar gathering was happening at another clothes boutique, this time for Gaara and his groomsmen. Shikamaru and Kankuro were there already, so they were waiting for Naruto and Lee – who had arrived a day before everyone else from Konoha. They didn't have to wait too long, as Naruto and Lee showed up a few minutes after Kankuro had.
"Shikamaru!" Lee exclaimed as he busted through the doors and enveloped the shadow-nin in a hug. "I am sorry I never came by to see you and Roxanne. Sakura and I have been a little busy figuring out housing everyone. Anyway, congratulations on getting married!"
"Uh… thanks Lee," Shikamaru replied.
"I'm just glad everything worked out," Naruto said, clapping a hand on the Nara's shoulder when Lee released him. "Now I just have to make sure Sasuke and Lynne get hitched."
"Did they work everything out?" Shikamaru asked, surprised, as the tailor brought in the tuxedos for the groomsmen. He hadn't really believed it yesterday, when everyone was there. Sasuke still looked incredibly out of place.
"Yeah, when we left, they weren't getting along too well from what I hear," Kankuro added. "Thanks," he muttered to the tailor as the first tux was handed to him. Next given was Shikamaru, then Naruto, and lastly was Lee.
"Well, ever since I commanded them to get married, they've been straightening out their problems. I really think it will be a good marriage," Naruto replied as he opened the tux's bag, then his smile grew large. "I just had a thought."
"Uh oh…" Gaara muttered, causing Kankuro to chuckle and Shikamaru to smile slightly as they took their tuxes into the dressing rooms.
Naruto glared playfully at the Kazekage before taking his dressing room and continuing, "That prophesy Lady Tsunade read to all of us before the girls left… looks like Kankuro was right."
It was silent for a bit as everyone pondered this, until Gaara muttered, "For once." Kankuro ripped back the curtain of his dressing room, and shot a glare at his younger brother as he tucked his tuxedo shirt into his black pants, to which Gaara added, "That was a joke – kind of." Kankuro didn't remove his glare as he reached back into his dressing room and grabbing his black vest and black tux jacket.
"But, we all know what that means then," Naruto smirked, coming out of his dressing room with his vest and jacket unbuttoned and his bowtie hanging about his neck, and clapped a hand on Kankuro's shoulder.
Kankuro turned a confused stare onto Naruto, whose smirk had turned into a cheeky grin. Shikamaru and Lee then came out, completely finished except for Shikamaru's bowtie. He kept trying to tie it, but was clearly having some difficulties. "Troublesome tie!" he huffed, deciding to leave it hanging around his neck undone.
"What?" Kankuro snapped at the blonde Hokage, getting tired of his creepy smile.
"So, when are you and Fred planning on tying the knot?" Naruto inquired, a naughty smirk playing on his face.
Kankuro's eyebrows shot up almost into his hairline. "Excuse me?"
"Come on, Kankuro. 'Fire must melt Sand.' Cordi and Gaara are getting married tomorrow," Naruto counted off, showing one finger. "'Water must capture Beast.' Ronni and Kiba are engaged. 'Wind must intrigue Shadow.'" Naruto pointed to Shikamaru and stated, "Rox and Shikamaru are married now. 'Spirit must heal Sight.' Lynne and Sasuke are engaged. The last one is 'Earth must vex Manipulation.'" He paused for effect. "That's you and Fred."
"Except we already stated I couldn't be Manipulation," Kankuro stated, shaking his head and stepping away from Naruto.
"That was when you were married though," Gaara stated, catching onto what Naruto was saying. He was thinking a lot about the prophecy now too, since Naruto brought it up. When it was put the way Naruto put it, everything about the prophecy was making sense now, except for how them getting married would stop an apocalypse.
"Thanks Gaara," Naruto smiled, then turned back to Kankuro.
"Look, I haven't even thought about it yet, alright? It's all very complicated and confusing right now," Kankuro sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Would you say it's vexing?" Naruto prodded, the smile on his face growing larger.
Kankuro shot him an annoyed glare and muttered, "Kage or not, I will punch you – hard." Naruto backed off, putting his hands up, as if to say he surrendered. "Honestly, I'd rather not get pressure from the peanut gallery about this, alright? Yukina and I have just started learning how cope with everything by ourselves. I'm just not sure bringing in Fred is the right thing to do at the moment."
"It actually might be the best moment," Shikamaru stated. "We don't know when this apocalypse is going to happen. So, the sooner the better." Kankuro frowned at the Nara, mentally cursing his logic.
"Also, the younger a child is, the less likely they will see a new family member as an intruder," Lee stated, as if very knowledgeable on the subject.
"Do I at least get to think about it?" Kankuro asked, eyes narrowed at the group around him.
"Do you love her?" Gaara asked, silencing the group.
Kankuro gave Gaara a tired look. "I don't know yet," he replied, biting his lower lip.
"Well, that sounds familiar," Naruto muttered, winking at Gaara, who just pursed his lips. Naruto sighed, then said, "Look, if you're having an issue with the long distance part of the relationship, I'm sure Gaara and I can work something out diplomatically for you guys. Right Gaara?" Gaara just nodded.
"Just wait," Kankuro grumbled. "Let's see how this weekend turns out for us, and then we'll talk about it. But until then, no mention of the prophecy, alright?"
Everyone agreed, Naruto a bit begrudgingly, until he turned to Gaara excitedly and asked, "Do we get those shiny shoes too?"
Lee smiled and excitedly added, "I, too, like the idea of wearing these suits. They fit perfectly."
Gaara laughed, putting a hand to his forehead. Shikamaru gave Lee a strange look, then asked, "Haven't you had to wear one of these suits before?"
Lee gave him an innocent look and replied, "No?"
Naruto then strutted to the mirror behind Gaara and laughed, "I look awesome. Believe it!"
"I will believe that I look better," Kankuro strutted up next to the Hokage, hands still in his pockets.
"Nope, impossible," Naruto smiled. "I just need the pants hemmed a bit."
Kankuro smirked at the blonde, and replied, "Well, mine has already been tailored." He then turned to the rest of the group as Naruto pouted sourly back at him, and Kankuro announced, "Tonight, the fun starts at nine!"
"Wait, what starts?" Gaara asked, standing up and eyeing his brother with his arms crossed.
"Oh you know, the party. Make sure you aren't busy tonight," Kankuro smiled mischievously.
"What kind of party?" Gaara growled, growing somewhat impatient.
"A party," Kankuro smiled.
"Oh! Did you hire the strippers?" Naruto inquired, pointing at Lee, who nodded his head.
"Strippers?" Gaara growled. "You're throwing me a bachelor party?" Kankuro smiled. "Even when I expressly stated I didn't want one?"
"And we agreed you didn't know what you'd be missing out on," Naruto laughed, putting an arm over Gaara's shoulders. "Friends don't let friends get married without celebrating their final night being single."
"And don't worry. I made sure the stripper is a classy one," Lee smiled with a wink and a thumbs up.
Gaara eyed his bowl-cut-haired friend strangely, wanting but refraining to ask, "There are such things as classy strippers?"
"Look, it's just going to be the five of us, while the girls are out giving Cordi her bachelorette party," Kankuro sighed, hoping that would convince Gaara that the party was an okay idea. "I promise, nothing will get out of hand, just drinking and strippers."
Gaara scowled at him then muttered sarcastically, "You make it sound so virtuous." Kankuro frowned at him, eyeing him skeptically. Gaara frowned then said, "Fine. Have the party."
Kankuro and Naruto gave the Kazekage big smiles, exclaiming things like, 'you won't regret it!' or 'don't worry you'll have a blast!' Gaara waved them off, grumbling irritably. "Whatever, just make sure the tuxes fit. Shikamaru and I have to meet Cordi and Rox for our dance lessons."
Naruto's eyebrows rose as he gazed at the two. "Dance lessons?"
"Yes, Naruto. It's common place for a couple to go to dance lessons before their wedding," Gaara said.
"Yeah, I know that!" Naruto replied, turning a surprised gaze at Shikamaru. "Why would you need to go, Shikamaru?"
The shadow-nin sighed, agitatedly. "Rox and I wouldn't be going if we weren't convinced that we needed to go." At that, he sent an annoyed pointed glare to Gaara, who flashed a small smile. Kankuro laughed while Lee and Naruto kept looking at the Nara confused.
"Shikamaru, we really should be going," Gaara stated, nodding toward the entrance. Shikamaru nodded, going back into his dressing room. "Remember, the rehearsal dinner starts at six. But the rehearsal is at 4:30 at the Great Hall." Shikamaru then came out, tugging on his shirt so it was comfortable. "Are you ready?"
Shikamaru nodded, grabbing his tuxedo. "Just need to pay for the alterations." Gaara nodded and waited for Shikamaru as he got that situated, then they left for their dance lessons.
Gaara and Cordi sat at the main table, hands clasped together as they watched the line of people slowly go through, giving their toasts. They smiled at each other, as the first person came up, Temari. She held the microphone up gingerly, starting her toast. "I want to thank everyone for joining us in celebrating Gaara's and Cordi's soon to be wedding. Gaara, as your older sister, I've seen you grow to become the man you are today, and I couldn't be more proud to be your sister. Cordi, ever since we met, we have been great friends to each other. You have helped not only me, but Kankuro and Gaara too, in the past couple years. Before you both get married tomorrow, I must ask each of you a favor. Gaara, you have found an amazing woman to ally yourself with for the rest of your life. Please treat her as such. And Cordi, please take care of my little brother. He will need it. And lastly, may your love for each other shine through all the days you have of your lives. To Gaara and Cordi!" With that, everyone took a sip of their drink. Cordi smiled at Gaara, planting a small kiss on his cheek. He caught her chin gently with his finger, guiding her lips back to his for a small tender kiss. As they pulled away, Gaara kept his eyes trained on hers, a small smile playing on his lips.
"If you insist on kissing after every toast, we will be at this all night," they heard Naruto chuckle. Gaara smirked and turned to his best friend, as Cordi bit her lip and also turned. "Well, here is my toast. It seems like only yesterday the five of you showed up at the gates of Konoha in your strange box contraption. It was that same day that the decision was made that Cordi would become a Sand Ninja, staying with the Kazekage himself. It may have looked like nothing at the start, but after awhile, it was clear to anyone who knew either of you that there was definitely chemistry between you two. Even the two years you spent apart didn't change that. And here we are today, laughing, drinking booze, and celebrating your relationship. So, here's to the happy couple." With that, everyone took a sip of their drink again.
Next was Ronni's turn, who took the microphone from the Hokage as he finished his drink. Her expression seemed bittersweet as she smiled into the microphone. "Cordi Turner. You and I have been best friends for the past thirteen years. Do you remember when we met? For any of you who haven't heard the story, we rode the same bus home from school. It was my first year, and I didn't feel inclined to meet anyone. Cordi had been going to the school for several years, and was getting tired of trying to make friends without success. I only knew this, because as soon as she got on the bus, she got very upset that Rox was sitting next to my sister instead of saving a seat for her. That was when my sister jumped up, and much to my dismay, told Cordi to sit next to me, because I didn't have a friend who rode the bus. The first couple moments of our introduction were a bit tense, because you were crying and I didn't want any friends. Then she stopped sobbing and introduced herself. I told her my name, but refused to talk anymore. But right before the bus started moving, she looked at my notebook where I was doodling, and said, 'Your drawing's really nice.' I don't know what part of that comment did it, but right after that, we began talking as if we hadn't just met a few minutes before, but that we had known each other for practically a lifetime. And since then, we've been through so much together. Tom, the boy we both liked until he gave us both Valentines gifts. In-school suspension together after being late to class when a teacher decided to lecture us about running through the library as a short-cut to our next class. When we got tired of trying to find tables to sit at for lunch when all of the other groups went silent when we walked by, so instead we ate in lunch detention, even though we hadn't done anything wrong to be sent there. Long spend the night parties, mainly consisting of black lights, card games, and Sunkist. I defended you against all the girls who treated you poorly, and you defended me against all the guys who broke my heart. I found more than just a friend in you, I found a sister." A tear fell down her cheek as a smile began to grow.
"Gaara, I don't think you know how great a deal in life you got marrying a girl like Cordi, tomorrow. Cordi, I don't think any of us could let you marry someone less worthy of you than Gaara. I know I definitely couldn't." She sniffled, and brought a hand up to wipe away a tear from her eye. Gaara looked over, seeing Cordi smiling, but letting small tears fall down her cheeks too. "So, here's to you two. May you two experience life to the fullest, and love every minute of it." With that everyone again took a sip, except Cordi, who got up and walked over to Ronni, embracing her in a huge hug. Both of the girls cried as they gripped each other harder. Rox, Fred, and Lynne, who were also crying, joined in the hug.
"I was going to say something similar in my toast," Lynne smiled as a tear fell down her cheek. The girls pulled apart, laughing and drying their eyes gingerly so as not to ruin their make-up.
They looked around to see most of the girls in the room were also tearing up. Temari was fanning her eyes to keep her tears from falling. Sakura was gently brushing a tear away from her eye. And lastly, Hinata just let her tears fall, catching them on her cheek, while Naruto was also wiping his eye, saying "I've got something in my eye." Yukina turned to her father and asked, "Why is evwyone cwying?"
Kankuro just smiled and whispered, "They're happy."
"But people who happy don't cwy," Yukina replied, still confused.
"Sometimes they do," Kankuro smiled, kissing her on the head. "Eat your peas." Yukina frowned, but then happily turned back to her peas, picking one off her plate and quickly putting it into her mouth, singing to herself a little.
It wasn't long before everyone had finished their dinner and it was time for the parties to get underway. Sakura was watching Yukina for the night, so she took Yukina as she began to fall asleep. Kankuro was just grateful that she'd be asleep while Sakura would watch her, but his mind quickly went to other things. He walked up to his little brother and smiled, "Are you ready for this?"
"For what?" Gaara asked in a slightly tired voice.
That was when Naruto ran up and somewhat whispered, "You know strippers and more booze."
That made Cordi look up, finally making the others take notice that she was still sitting at the table. "Strippers?" she asked in a voice Gaara thought dangerous.
He turned to her, a slightly nervous smile on his face. "It wasn't my idea," he stated, eyeing her warily.
A smug smile crept to her face. "Duh. Gaara, I know you better than you think I do, apparently. I was actually thinking it was either Naruto's or Kankuro's idea." She turned a mock scolding glare at Naruto and Kankuro and shook a patronizing finger at them. "Shame on you two. Naruto you are married. You both should know better."
Guilt was all over both of their faces as Gaara smirked at them. "Not so great an idea, now is it?" he asked Kankuro.
Kankuro was about to reply in his and Naruto's defense, until Cordi smiled and stated, "Oh, no. I was just kidding. I'm sure you guys will have a marvelous time." With that she got up, Naruto, Kankuro, and Gaara gaping at her. Both Naruto's and Kankuro's expressions turned slowly into devilish smiles, while Gaara's remained shocked.
"Y-you're okay with another woman …." Gaara couldn't finish that sentence, the shock of it becoming too much.
Cordi smiled as she leant over him, touching her forehead to his and giving him a perfect view of her large cleavage. "No matter who you guys pay for entertainment tonight, as long as it doesn't become a habit, I don't care. It's a rite of passage that I expect to happen." She leaned in and gave him a short, but passionate kiss on the mouth, then whispered in his ear, "Just remember tomorrow, anything you do with that stripper tonight, I expect payment for it on our wedding night." A small blush rushed to his face. Even though both Kankuro and Naruto knew he wasn't a virgin, he was still uncomfortable talking about sex out in public like that. He shook those feelings aside and eyed his fiancé, a smile gracing his face as he nodded his agreement to her conditions. "Come on girls!" she nearly yelled, charging out of the rehearsal dinner.
The girls had left for the bachelorette party a while ago. Temari was hauling a bag that looked like it was stuffed full of phallic shaped things, wigs, colorful feathers, and many other things. Meanwhile the guys stayed at the Kazekage manor, raiding the liquor cabinet and eating cheap take out. Because Naruto explained what happened when Lee met alcohol's influence to the group, all the guys except Lee were pretty well tipsy when the doorbell rang at 12:30 at night.
Kankuro nimbly jumped out of his chair, and chuckled as he walked to the front door. He swung it open to a blonde young woman no older than twenty-three dressed in what seemed to be just a fur coat. "Why, Miss Cocoa Diamond, please come in," Kankuro smirked, waving her in and showing her to the living room area where the party was taking place.
As she stepped into the room, looking around unimpressed, she muttered, "You are familiar with my main rule with ninja's, right?"
"Oh, yeah," Kankuro muttered as she turned around, setting a small sound system up, "Gaara, no jutsu allowed on Miss Diamond unless you want to pay double."
Gaara scowled at the implication of that statement. "I'm paying for a stripper I don't even want?"
"No," Naruto replied. He motioned to the rest of the group adding, "We are paying for Miss Diamond unless you use a jutsu on her, in which you pay double."
Gaara's lips pressed into a thin line thinking about their deal, as Naruto ran around him and grabbed a small wooden chair off to the side, bringing it into the center of the room. Kankuro and Lee began to push Gaara toward the chair and smiling Naruto. Gaara was about to protest, then realized that resistance was futile, and allowed his brother and friend to guide him back to into the chair. Shikamaru stood off to the side smirking at the other guys as Naruto, Kankuro, and Lee held onto Gaara's shoulders to keep him in place.
Pounding music began to play as Miss Cocoa Diamond turned and stood in front of Gaara, holding a fierce, but smoldering gaze with him as she dropped her faux-fur coat, revealing her seven-inch platform high-heels that had leather strings wrapping their way up to her mid-thigh, her shiny blue mini skirt that barely covered her butt and g-string, and her hot pink feather boa, that was strategically placed over her large breasts. And her body was covered in glitter making her sparkle in the cheap lighting.
Gaara's eyes were wider than he had ever felt them before. He could hear Kankuro whistle in his ear and Naruto chuckle behind him. Lee just remained silent for once.
She took a slow, sensual step forward, one hand traveling up in her hair and her other starting at her cleavage and slowly trailed down to her crotch. She plunged to fingers into the front of the waistband of her skirt and slowly pulled out a blue silk scarf, pulling it up between her breast as her other hand began to trail down, guiding the scarf and keeping it tight. She strutted up to him, licking her lips as she said, "Boys," in a sensually low voice. Kankuro, Naruto and Lee cleared away as she put a commanding hand on Gaara's shoulder, walking around him, wrapping the blue silk scarf around his neck, making it slither around him before dropping down behind him, tying his hands behind him.
Gaara shot a confused look at her then at his brother and friends. Kankuro was biting his lip as if to contain his laughter while Naruto and Lee were grinning like it was a Christmas. Shikamaru just smirked at his soon to be brother in law.
Miss Daimond gently trailed a finger along Gaara's shoulders, tapping her fingers on his right shoulder as she rolled her hips. She took a few steps in front of him, bringing both of her hands up into her hair, rolling her hips again, just before dropping into perfect split. She bent her knees and pushed herself into a kneeling position just before crawling toward Gaara, still holding her fierce gaze. As soon as she was close enough, she placed her hands on his knees, spreading them just enough so she could whip her head gently around near his crotch. She brought her hands up, pulling herself up so she was face to face with him as she began to straddle him. She grabbed her feathered boa and placed it around his neck, leaning toward his ear, whispering, "I'm your biggest fan, Lord Kazekage."
He shot another confused look at her just before fixing his glare onto his brother, who just began to laugh as Miss Daimond continued her ministrations, only able to completely glare at him every other hip roll she did as she continued to stand straddled over him.
Miss Daimond lifted Gaara's face to look at her as she leaned down and kissed his cheek – with tongue. He was thoroughly disgusted, but didn't want to give his brother and friends the satisfaction of noticing that. The music stopped as she pulled away and gently walked around him, untying Gaara.
She then walked over to the other men, giving them all a full view of her sparkling pasties. "That's five hundred," she stated plainly.
Kankuro smirked, pulling the cash out of his pocket and handing it to the stripper. She counted it, making sure it was all there. She nodded and walked over to pack up her stuff. As soon as she finished with that, she picked up her faux-fur coat and swung it over her shoulder, and strutted out of the living room, sighing sensually, "Bye bye boys."
It was then the front door opened and all the men could hear Cordi and her bridesmaids singing out of tune at the top of their lungs, "NEVA GONNA GIVE YOU UP! NEVA GONNA LET YOU DOWN! NEVA GONNA TURN AROUND AND DESSERT YOU! NEVA GONNA MAKE YOU CRY! NEVA GONNA SAY GOODBYE! NEVA GONNA TELL A LIE-IE-IE AND HURT YOU!" And as Miss Cocoa Daimond walked into the foyer, the guys heard Cordi gasp in a loud voice, "OH! Wow, it'ssss the Stripper! HI STRIPPER!" The clacking of Miss Daimond's heels became louder until the slam of the front door to which Cordi yelled, "BYE STRIPPER!" before muttering to her the bridesmaids, "She wasssn't a nicsssse stripper."
Giggles erupted in the entryway as the girls walked through until Cordi looked into the living room seeing Gaara standing there. "GAARA!" she squealed running in and launching onto him into a hug, her hot pink wig brushing roughly against his neck. "My looove! – Why is there glitter on your face?"
It was then Temari walked in, wearing a red wig and a black feathered boa. "You do look like you just finished sparring with father," Temari laughed. "I remember sometimes you would come home and be covered in his gold dust from fighting. Oh, and what's this?" she asked, thumbing his cheek.
Gaara lifted the back of his hand to his cheek, effectively knocking away Temari's hand, and rubbed it, then looked at the back of his hand. Miss Daimond had smeared her lipstick when she made out with his cheek. "Perfect," he muttered, shooting a glare at Kankuro, who was still guffawing with Naruto. Gaara turned away from his brother and looked to his fiancé. "Did you have fun?"
"Yes! We had a terribly awfully good time," Ronni slurred, leaning on Rox and Fred, who was leaning against her. Ronni had a neon blue wig with a matching boa, while Fred had green, and Rox had purple. Ronni rolled her head over to look at her sister and asked, "Fred, what was that guy's name? He was very sweet, and I think he was into you." Neither Ronni nor Fred noticed Kankuro stop laughing and bristling up at her information, while Fred just looked confused at Ronni.
Temari bristled at that too, knowing Kankuro's feelings for Fred. "Was someone hitting on you at the bar?" Temari asked, hoping it wasn't so.
Fred's wide eyes traveled over to Temari before she shut them and shook her head. "It was the bartender!" Fred sighed exasperatedly. "It's his job to hit on pretty women! That's how he sells drinks!"
Ronni paused, suppressing a hiccup, before replying, "Oh right…"
Gaara and Temari looked to their brother only to notice that Kankuro was a little less tense knowing it was the bartender, but was still really unsettled by it. Gaara sighed and turned to Cordi. "I think it's time we were off to bed," Gaara breathed.
"NOOOOOO!" Cordi gasped, shaking her head crazily, "I can't sleep with you tonight!"
Gaara furrowed his brow at his fiancé. "Why not?"
"Because it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding," Rox answered. She was the only one who was completely sober other than Lynne, for obvious reasons. And for some reason Lynne had a silver wig on and a hot pink feathered boa wrapped around her neck, along with a long glass hanging from her neck that contained what looked to be orange juice that she was sipping through a straw.
"Yesssss," Cordi muttered, shaking her finger at Gaara, "Issss bad mojo. Bad bad bad bad mojo. Bad mojo." She then giggled and muttered again, more to herself, "Bad mojo." She licked her lips before adding, "We just came because I need to grab somethings, and Rox was about to turn into a pumpkin."
"PUUUUUUUUMPKIIIIIIN!" Ronni and Fred yelled together, pointing fingers at Rox. The men shot a confused look at each other before looking at Temari who shrugged.
"Cinderella," Lynne stated, pausing from her orange juice. "Her carriage was going to trap her in a pumpkin if she didn't leave a ball by midnight." The native ninja's still looked confused, and she just shook her head, going back to her drink.
Temari frowned and leaned towards Cordi, reminding, "Cordi, we should get going."
"Yessss," Cordi muttered with a heavy nod. She looked up and gave Gaara a sloppy kiss before uttering as Temari dragged her away, "I see you tomorrow. Don't forget. I loooove you!"
"I love you too," Gaara sighed with a frown. He looked down at his clothes and realized just how much glitter Miss Daimond had covered him in.
AN: I hoped you liked it! Sorry for the Rick-roll, kind of. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I had fun writing it, and the next chapter is going to be even more fun! Hopefully that one will be up sooner than it took for this one. Anyway, please review!