---Book of Paradise---
(Part 14, Selection 2)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Inuyasha.
The next half to the chapter is finally here…thank you for all your reviews so far; it really keeps me going… I took it up to myself to make this longer than the last chapter to make up for it…
Anyways, when I first thought of this election idea, I thought it was crazy, but I guess now, I think I'm starting to like it quite a bit…what do you think? Here's the next half!
PS – There won't be much romance in this chapter. (Sigh) (I got a new laptop!)
Failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.
-Mary Pickford
Overall POV…Debate Night, 7pm, Hokage Tower…
"…And my partner, ramen, has decided that he wants to have more selection in the Ichiraku!" Naruto slammed his fist down on his podium, emphasizing the last bit of what he said.
A hot, steaming cup of instant ramen settled beside his hand did a little jump when his hand made impact.
"Well…Naruto, not everybody particularly ENJOYS ramen!" Ino nearly interrupted him, giving the blonde a pointed look.
"Yeah!" Sakura agreed whole-heartedly.
It was an hour into the debate already, and not much had happened. The paired up debates had taken a long time for each of their opinions to be argued with…
Due to the odd number of parties this year, one hadn't said anything yet… And would, undoubtedly, get the last remark of the night.
Sasuke and Neji already went – they put up a good argument. Saying this, many citizens believed that they already won against the Communist Party.
Of course, Orochimaru's party was easily angered by this comment, but because of the amount of people watching, restrained himself to keep his reputation healthy and going.
Tsunade and Shizune's POV… (Flashback)
"How the hell did Orochimaru get involved in this?" Tsunade gritted out between clenched teeth.
"Ano…" Shizune thought this over, "Well, you never mentioned that only Konoha citizens could enter for this chance…and I guess as long as there's lots of ANBU around him, we'll be fine…"
"Yes…" Tsunade sighed, resting her head on her desk, "But you can't necessarily trust him…"
"True…"
"But, I suppose there's nothing we can do about it now. It's out of our hands" Tsunade was tired, and stressed.
End POV…The debate pairs went something like this:
-Communist Party and Prodigy Party
(But Konoha should have more snakes! –Damn you, you're like a snake yourself – What the -? Get the fuck away from me, you freak! – But, Sasuke-kun…! – Alright, hands off my political partner, you creep!)
-Rooting Party and Konoha Specialist Party
(Ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen! –Too much ramen can make you sick! –It hasn't done it yet! –Well, if I become Hokage, I'm am soo going to enforce more ramen!)
And the Youth Party would get the last word, along with the other 4 parties, who would have a chance to argue with everybody.
Kakashi and Kagome's POV…
"Well…I find this very amusing…" Kagome commented from the sidelines, standing near the front by Kakashi.
Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly and smiled, "It looks like they're holding their ground pretty well…I'll never understand Naruto though"
"Yeah…" Kagome fully agreed, nodding her head, "Why would he choose to pair up with ramen –WHAT THE? –Oh -!"
End POV…Overall POV…
'I'm getting hungry…' Naruto thought absently, while mindlessly blocking out the comments that Sakura and Ino were shooting at him.
Absently, Naruto felt around for something to grasp onto on his podium out of boredom. Surprisingly, it clasped around his warm ramen cup and out of instinct and reflex, he picked it up, along with a pair of chopsticks that sat beside his pencil.
"Itadakimasu!" He whispered enthusiastically, "Boy, am I hungry…"
"And the conclusion of our argument, is that you should vote for the Prodigy Party!" Ino grinned along with Sakura, "We're rooting for you!"
They hooted and cheered towards Sasuke and Neji, who didn't seem to notice. Nonetheless, they kept on cheering until it settled down a bit.
"Naruto…WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Sakura grounded out between her teeth, watching him ruin his whole reputation, "You can't just EAT your partner!"
The blonde was eagerly, nearly inhaling all the ramen. His partner was now no more…
"That was good! –What?" He frowned when he saw everybody, including the crowd staring at him peculiarly.
"Moron" Sasuke mumbled under his breath.
Neji glanced at his partner and nodded.
A little ways away, Kabuto and Orochimaru were furiously whispering.
"Why are we doing this again?" Kabuto questioned.
"Because this is a chance at more power!"
"But it's only for a day…"
"That'll give us a chance to take over Konoha!" Orochimaru chuckled.
"Yes, Orochimaru-sama…"
"ALRIGHT, alright!" Shikamaru called out, "Geeze, this is soo troublesome," he muttered under his breath, but continued anyways, "Your time's over, it's time for the Youth Party to express their beliefs now!"
"VOTE FOR SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura shouted out before leaving with Ino off the podiums.
Naruto contently walked off, empty ramen cup in hand, "That was soo good…"
"And they make fools of themselves…" Kakashi mumbled absently, making Kagome laugh.
"Aww, c'mon, they weren't that bad!"
The copy-nin sighed, chuckling after that and draping an arm across Kagome's shoulders.
The Youth Party…
"Around this time is to show off our YOUTH!" Lee beamed, raising a fist to add to his statement.
Gai-sensei continued on for him, "We promote hard work! Bloodline geniuses aren't everything! And… it's the SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"
A couple people hooted on the sidelines, but the rest just listened to the two's speech.
"Go outside and play, train hard, and you will be a genius! Even if you aren't a bloodline clan member!" Lee cheered, slamming his fists on the podium and making it shake.
At one point, the crowd could've sworn they heard a crack somewhere in there.
"…And that's all…" Gai-sensei turned to Shikamaru bluntly.
…The crowd went deathly silent.
That. Was all…?
Yawning, Lee walked off the 'stage', exiting with Gai-sensei.
They were starting to act like Shikamaru, which was very disturbing…
Okay…Maybe they were still…normal.
Because, clear shouts were heard in the backstage.
Backstage…
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Lee! You did a wonderful job!"
"You too, Gai-sensei!"
They, once again, for most likely, the millionth time, embraced under their fake and phony sunset.
Overall POV…
"Alright then…" Shikamaru commented after a boatload of silence, "That was…inspiring…okay, this is the end of the debate! Don't forget to get your votes in tomorrow morning"
Later on that Night…
"So…who are you going to vote for?" Kagome sighed, leaning against Kakashi's shoulder as they walked back to their apartment.
"Honestly, I don't know yet…"
Taking out his keys, Kakashi opened the door, "Ladies first" He grinned underneath his mask.
Playing along, Kagome did a small bow, "Thank you"
That night, they had a pretty wonderful sleep, each dreaming about one another. Yet…the question still stood.
Who was voting for whom?
Yay! I finally finished this! (Grins) And it's actually on time this time! I'm so happy. Anyways, read and review onegai, I want to know what you thought of this (somewhat) boring chapter.
Sayonara,
Tenshi-Battosai