Justice
Sonnie
"What are you going to do, exactly?" Jou asked tentatively, eyeing the two men nervously.
"We just need a minute." Izari's smile was placid.
"Are they okay?" Temari demanded.
"Oh, they're fine," Izari said, a scary smile starting to form.
Temari really wasn't quite sure about this. She glanced down at where her brother lay motionless except for even breaths.
"Oh, he'll be okay in a bit," Izari assuaged, smiling broadly at Temari. "And I'll only be a minute, I promise!"
Grabbing a handful of Kakurou's hair, she kicked open the door and dragged her cargo outside.
-O-
"Are you okay, Tenten?" Lee asked her, pulling her away from the dance floor.
"Um, yeah, I just…"
"Here," Jou rushed over to her, biting her lip worriedly with her nearly-black irises bright with worry. Jou had ice cubs in her bare hands, cold water running from her numbing fingers; the sight was actually kind of humorous. Tenten blinked, reflexively holding out her hands, not quite sure to do except accept the ice she was offered. When she dropped a few, Jou bent down quickly and snapped them back up.
"Maybe you should try a cloth or something," Temari suggested dryly.
"Oh my god, you're right!" Jou gasped, quickly procuring a clean towel from the bartender, who looked completely unfazed by what had just happened.
"You're not a very good nurse, are you?" Temari commented dryly.
"Uh…not really," Jou admitted sheepishly as she attempted to wrap the ice cubes Tenten handed back. Temari grabbed them and wrapped the ice expertly, handing it to the brown-haired girl when she was done. Tenten had denied any treatment from Sakura, not surprisingly.
"Jou," Temari addressed in a low voice.
Jou's feigned innocence wasn't terribly convincing. "Huh?"
"Your friend isn't going to do anything stupid, is she?"
-O-
That bitch had better not do anything stupid, Kankurou thought darkly, trying desperately to gain some control over his muscles. It made him feel a little better than Neji looked equally uncomfortable. His body wasn't twitching as badly now, but his muscles were still suffering from painful spasms that prevented him from moving too much on his own. He managed to summon the strength to lean against the wall when Izari dragged him to his feet.
"Okay, we've established you're both assholes, but the question is, how do we fix that?" Izari's voice was light and airy, a contrast to the rest of her. A fine sheen of sweat had broken out across her forehead, barely visible in the fluorescent lighting outside.
That one jutsu took that much out of her? Neji wondered. He knew she came from Lightning Country, Lee had told him that much, but from what he had gathered about her departure, she hadn't been a practicing ninja for over half a decade. He wasn't so surprised that a jutsu like that winded her.
"Burn in hell, Izari." Kankurou's dark eyes were narrowed as he glared at her.
"This isn't about me, it's about you. Just like what happened in there wasn't about Tenten, it was still all about you. If any of you had any kind of mature feelings for her you wouldn't have acted the way you did. Sure, you got pissed off at that skinny dude, but from the look of that blonde girl he's going with when I've seen her around town, that punch you gave him is going to be a joke."
Kankurou mentally agreed. Ino was scarier than his sister, he'd concluded. Not in that she had a temper, but that she could be equally nice; the discrepancy freaked him out. Ino was multiple personalities and a half.
"Alright then, let's start with you," Izari whirled on Neji, pointing a long, spidery digit in his face. White eyes stared at her impassively.
"You've got your head so far up your ass that even Byakugan can't see through your own shit. Kankurou's right; you treat her like a plaything. If you care about her at all, you've got to learn that you have responsibilities to her too. It isn't all about how she makes you feel, you should really start caring how you make her feel."
"What gives you the right to lecture me?"
"Because right now you're getting a crash-course in the school of hard knocks, and I'm not taking any shit from you." Said with such force and authority, Neji glared icily but said nothing. Perhaps it was the fact she raised both hands in preparation for another lesson in pain, or he was simply too taciturn to argue. She had the sneaking suspicion that he wanted to see how far she was willing to go.
"Ninja skills don't work for everything and fail to take into account that once in awhile, you might need to socially interact with other people," Izari informed him. "I know all about growing up in a messed up family and let me tell you, it screws you up so badly that you don't even know how to act. Remember, Tenten isn't a member of your precious clan. She isn't obligated to stay in your life if you piss her off."
"And you," Izari turned to Kankurou, "have to learn that being second isn't the end of the world. Yeah, it's not the best feeling there is, but get over it. From what I can tell, you've still got it pretty good with her…it hasn't gotten too awkward, though after tonight, I'd say you have a fair chance at ruining that."
"Easier said than done," Kankurou snapped.
"Yes, but you learn to take what you can get," Izari said flippantly.
Kankurou smirked. "Are you saying that you're second best to someone? Now how does that feel?"
"I've always been second-best to someone," she said serenely. "Jou is a better guitar player. Mika sings better than I can. For heaven's sake, I'm the ugly one in my family."
That's gotta be an exaggeration, Kankurou thought critically.
"Since we're on the subject of family, I hope they aren't too terribly embarrassed by your completely boorish behavior. That's going to look real great when your brother becomes Kazekage again."
How does she—
Kankurou knew the information wasn't exactly classified, but it wasn't something a Konoha civilian would ever know. His mind was racing…the only way she'd know something like that was because she was talking to Lee, one of only five or six Konoha ninjas to be regularly visit Suna for official reasons. Why on Earth would Izari ever ask Lee questions about Gaara? He didn't affect her at all.
Gaara had the demon sealed inside him again after Akatsuki was defeated, that much is common knowledge, but the fact she figured out he did it so he'd be powerful enough to be Kazekage again is not. Most people just figured after the demon was released it needed to be sealed up again. Negotiations had been finalized; Gaara would resume the position of Kazekage in less than a month. The official announcement hasn't even been made yet…
"How can any person act so irresponsibly when their family is so prominent?" Izari's question jarred him back to reality. He found he didn't have an answer. "WHAT were you thinking, honestly? The soon-to-be Kazekage's brother should be able to behave himself and exercise good judgment so as not to be a liability."
Kankurou was about to angrily object, but Izari pressed on.
"Not to mention that poor girl is mortified beyond belief," Izari reminded them of Tenten's plight. "You conveniently forgot that this night IS NOT ABOUT YOU. I don't care if you both lost the girl of your dreams or you broke a nail, you came here tonight in honor of Lee's birthday. You didn't spend one minute thinking about him, beyond you both getting pissed off because at least one person in this village isn't dysfunctional when it comes to relationships. Personally, for starters, I suggest getting your ass back in there and apologizing to Tenten, Shikamaru, and LEE, not to mention poor Jou who's probably on the verge of a brain hemorrhage right now."
Neji set his jaw but left silently. Kankurou went to do the same, but Izari's hand stopped him.
"Hey…I saw Jou's cable bill."
"Don't get on my case about that kind of stuff. I heard you in there; you read them too!"
"I read the series, but I don't watch it. I mean, the movies are mediocre at best. Onsen Mischief was premiering on cable that night. Just like a man to go after the big-name movie and overlook the great amateur film. I mean, Onsen Mischief is a masterpiece."
Kankurou blinked.
This girl is dead serious…
She'd just spent a good ten minutes bitching him out and THAT was what she ended on. Kankurou rolled his eyes before walking inside. Women.
There's no way this night is getting any worse.
-O-
Kankurou felt a breeze brush by him on the way back in, realizing that he actually knew the cause of this anomaly—Inuzuka Kiba. Dog boy had just arrived, in rather hyper spirits as usual.
"Dude, I'm totally sorry I didn't come sooner, but I just got back from a mission," Kiba explained hurriedly, loosely grinning around heavy breaths. "Anyways, I didn't get the chance to buy you anything, so I just talked with the owner on the way in and worked out something cool. You'll get it later."
"Thanks," Lee said cheerfully, sort of distracted by Neji storming past him to the room he'd vacated earlier. It was fairly obvious he was just grabbing his coat so he could leave.
"Wow, your sister's friend is a stone cold fox," Kiba said brightly, nodding to where Izari was squeezing out a cloth soaked in cold water over Shikamaru's head. He woke instantly, grumbling a long string of curses.
"You think so?" Lee shrugged. "I never really thought about her like that."
"How could you NOT think about her like that?" Kiba asked, obviously shocked. "Think she'd go out with me? Maybe a dance or something, at the very least…"
"Kiba, I don't think this is a good time to ask her that kind of thing," Lee suggested helpfully.
"In a few minutes then?" Kiba quipped.
Lee frowned, all notions of lofty speech forgotten. "Actually, it's never really a good time for that. I've spent a lot of time with her and…uh, she…um, really doesn't like to be hit on…at all."
Kiba looked thoughtful. "Okay," he said finally. Lee looked very relieved.
"I'll just ask your sister then."
Lee opened his mouth to protest but Kiba was already gone, charming a half-convinced, half-hesitant Jou onto the dance floor. He must have said something to embarrass her a little; her braid shook and she covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a giggle.
"Actually, I haven't danced to this one in a long time," Jou told him. "And I've never been that great a dancer…"
"Aw, don't worry about it," Kiba assured her, pulling her into the crowd. "You know all the steps, right?"
"Yeah, but I—" Jou gasped as Kiba started leading her through the steps. Dark eyes wide with trepidation, she narrowly missed getting her feet stepped on.
"We're just getting started," Kiba announced gamely.
"We are?" she squeaked.
Jou shot Izari a deer-in-the-headlights look before she was whisked further away.
"Um…is she going to be alright?" Temari asked after a moment.
"Jou's a nice dancer," Mika said firmly.
Izari glanced over to where she'd just stepped on Kiba's foot. "…Well, at least she enjoys herself when she does it," Izari said eventually as they both laughed it off. "Wanna hit the dance floor with me again, Lee? You were starting to get the hang of it."
"Err…I don't know…" Lee looked doubtful and extremely hesitant.
"Why don't you two," Lee's face was resigned and Temari's mouth opened in protest as the pair was nudged towards the dance floor by Izari, "go off and dance? The steps aren't too hard for this one."
"But I—"
"—Can't dance?" Izari finished. "Eh, just move around a lot. Put your hips into it. Nobody's going to know the difference, not even Lee."
With a little wave, Izari bid Temari a brief farewell as the pair vanished into the dancing mass on the dance floor. Izari felt a twinge of guilt; Temari was probably a very good dancer but didn't like being put on the spot. The whole social situation had to be rather awkward for her and Izari hadn't made it any better.
"Why'd you do that?" Kankurou asked her sharply.
Izari blinked. "Well…to tell you the truth…I wanted to dance with this guy," she said quickly, and before he could say a word, she had grabbed Shikamaru and pulled him off the stool. He found himself on the dance floor, within the clutches of yet another scary blonde. He must have realized he wasn't going to get away because he started to really get into it by the middle of the second song. He was dancing differently than before; his coordination was better and he kept his hands to himself.
Pissed off as he was, Kankurou had to admit that Izari was gorgeous. Tempting, but in the way that was simply asking for trouble. Girls like that were used to being treated like pieces of meat and got quite defensive around aggressive men. He wagered Shikamaru knew that too, which was why his hands were behaving themselves.
"Enjoying yourself?"
Kankurou managed to suppress the awful start his brother's gravely voice had on him out of the blue.
"No, not really," Kankurou admitted. "They're too damned happy. Everyone."
"Yes."
Kankurou glanced sideways at his brother. "So…thinking about dancing too?"
Not too terribly long ago a comment like that would have incurred wrath. Gaara simply ignored him.
"Heh, Lee can actually kind of dance," Kankurou chuckled.
"Unfortunately, Temari cannot," Gaara observed, a wry note in his voice at the look of concentration on his sister's face.
-O-
"That really wasn't the kind of thing I was expecting from you," Shikamaru told Izari seriously.
"Just answer the question," she urged.
Shikamaru gave her a dark look. There was no way he could bluff his way out, she knew for sure. "I don't even see how you know about that. The mission is classified."
"All you need to say is yes or no," Izari told him. "Please, it's important."
"It's a matter of Konoha safety; I can't tell you either way. Security will be so tight you'll never be able to see anyone that attends."
"Jou will be there on business, I will go with her and see for myself."
"Jou is a musician and wouldn't have any reason to go there."
"She's judging a recital and will be staying in the same hotel."
"Where are you getting your information?" Shikamaru demanded in a low voice. "Not Lee, I hope."
"I would never use my best friend's brother like that," Izari hissed. "Besides, he would never tell me anything willingly and I'm not much of an interrogator. I'm more than capable of gathering intelligence on my own and my intentions will not interfere with Konoha's best interests."
"If you go up there with Jou-san you'll put her in danger by proxy," Shikamaru told her.
"If I go anywhere with her I do the same thing; she's well aware of the risk."
"I guess that carting that giant fan around gives you strength, but not grace," Izari remarked loudly as she watched Temari and Lee suffer through another dance. Temari had a lot of potential, but she lacked formal instruction and was uncomfortable in a room of strangers. Upon reflection, though, Izari wasn't sure her dance partner was much better. After the earlier excitement combined with the current rate of alcohol he'd been imbibing, Izari was willing to bet he'd be carried out of the club later.
"At any rate, Temari's not to be messed with," Shikamaru noted miserably.
"I think your girlfriend's pretty scary too," Izari said fairly.
Shikamaru's face darkened. "You have no idea."
"NARA SHIKAMARU!"
"Okay, I think you will now," Shikamaru said quickly, moving rather speedily despite his inebriated condition. He was attempting to stumble further into the crowd with no avail.
"NARA SHIKAMARU, YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"
The room went silent. The DJ stopped the music, everyone stopped dancing, and Shikamaru was pretty sure his heart stopped beating. Izari smiled broadly at the approach of Yamanaka Ino, knowing it was rather perverse to do so. It was just too damned funny not to laugh at; Ino had already missed the drama with Tenten and was super pissed…what would she do after she found out about it?
"Shikamaru, I leave you alone for one night and you're all over this blonde…tramp…like I'm six feet under!"
"Ino…"
"Don't 'Ino' me! You can't keep away from blonde women, can you? You're all about blondes, Shikamaru. It's a good thing you have girls like Tenten around to keep an eye on you and make sure you behave."
Izari accidentally let a chuckle slip before admirably erasing every trace of mirth on her face.
"What's so funny?" Ino demanded.
"Nothing, really," Izari told her straight-faced, "except that he didn't touch me once all night."
"Really?" Ino asked suspiciously, glancing at Shikamaru, who appeared too petrified to move.
"Yeah, he's behaved very admirably towards me all evening," Izari expressed sweetly. "Your boyfriend is quite a catch; a great dancer and a perfect gentleman!"
Somewhat deflated, Ino blinked. "Alright…I'm going to go say hi to Lee…then we're both leaving," Ino stated firmly, stalking off. Izari got the impression that she'd almost wanted a reason to be mad.
"Uh…why didn't you rat me out?" Shikamaru asked when she was gone, eyeing Ino warily from across the room as the music began to pick back up.
"You honestly thought I'd get you in trouble?" Izari chuckled sweetly. "Lighten up. I'm just messing with you. And the way I figure it, that pink-haired girl will tell her anyway."
"Huh?" Shikamaru paled.
"Good luck with that," Izari said pleasantly, slapping him on the back. "Here she comes."
"Let's go, Shikamaru," Ino said distantly.
"Bye now!"
Izari's sweet little wave was met with a very big scowl, but he was allowing himself to be dragged away without protest. He looked absolutely miserable. Kankurou was almost disappointed; he knew it wasn't exactly a good thing that he wanted to see the skinny Jounin got his ass kicked, but still. It would make this awful night a wee bit better, if only by providing a moment's entertainment.
"Wow…I was expecting a scene," Sakura muttered, a note of disappointment in her voice.
Gaara glanced at her sideways. "You mean, you wanted one."
Sakura shrugged, a small, sheepish smile on her face. "Sure, it's Ino."
Gaara wondered exactly what was so appealing about freaking out a spaz; Naruto was annoying at minimal stimuli…flat out monstrous when he was pissed off. While not a jinchuuriki, Ino was no doubt an equal pain to suffer through when she was on a rampage, if only because she was so goddamned LOUD.
"Besides, you wanted a scene, too," Sakura mumbled petulantly.
"Me?"
"No, your brother," Sakura corrected, smirking at Kankurou, who shrugged.
"I could have done with a little excitement, truthfully," Kankurou admitted.
"I was actually hoping this evening would wind down," Izari muttered, having quickly vacating the dance floor when Shikamaru left.
"Oh really?" Kankurou was skeptical.
"Yeah," Izari admitted. She ordered a drink and took a tiny sip before pausing. "Damn."
Kankurou watched as her eyes narrowed, following the progress of a tall, heavy-set man who looked to be in his early thirties. It didn't take shinobi skills to determine this guy was rich. The guy spotted Izari, then Jou (who was further down the bar and still talking to Tenten). He looked like he was about to walk over until Izari slammed her drink down and stood. Hesitating, the man walked away.
That's right, you son of a bitch, you keep walking, Izari thought darkly. She glared after him until he was out of sight, disappearing into a private V.I.P. room.
"Who's that guy?" Kankurou asked.
"Someone who's not going to stay the hell away once he figures out I'm practically on fighting probation and I can't break his neck in six places."
Not expecting that answer, Kankurou backed off suddenly. Looking guilty, Izari sighed.
"Look…I'm sorry for getting on your case earlier, but I don't want this evening ruined for Jou and Lee," she said suddenly. "You understand that, right?"
Kankurou looked at her funny. "Uh, yeah, sure."
Izari nodded shortly before standing up from the barstool. She approached Mika, something he found highly unusual given their relationship, and whispered something in her ear. Mika glanced around, then disappeared in the dance floor crowd.
Kankurou glanced up at Gaara, who had witnessed everything. They both knew something weird was going on but not much beyond that. He shrugged; it wasn't his problem.
"Yeah, check it out!" Kiba's distinctive voice grated Kankurou's nerves but he turned around anyway. Inuzuka was parading around with what had to be the most ridiculously ornate pitcher of something Kankurou had ever seen. "A giant version of the house special!"
"…It's green," Gaara said after a pause, eyes assessing it distastefully.
"You don't suppose that's alcoholic, do you?" Izari asked tonelessly, reappearing to his left. She tossed her hair. "I mean, Kiba's not that stupid, is he?"
Kankurou blinked. "Uh…well…" He watched in amazement as Izari sprinted to the other end of the bar. She was pretty fast for a girl in heels.
"LEE, WAIT!" Izari's face fell as she skidded to a halt in front of Lee as he slammed the glass down. He'd drained the entire contents in the blink of an eye.
"Are you okay, Izari?" Lee asked her cautiously.
"Yeah, sure," Izari answered, eyeing him warily for any signs of him bursting into Mr. Drunken Master. She backed away slowly, still glancing behind her every half second.
Lee took a deep breath. "That was a splendid creation, Kiba! Your own concoction, you said?"
"Yeah, man, I asked him to mix up every energy drink in the house," Kiba replied. "That stuff will keep a normal person up for a week. I hope it works."
What a great idea, Kankurou thought dismally. Give the high-energy drink to the high-energy moron and see what happens next.
Beside him, Izari blinked rapidly and she sit down cautiously. "Well. That was anti-climactic. Thank God. The last thing anyone needs is Lee trashing an expensive tea house with the Drunken Fist."
"Huh."
Izari was visibly relieved. Swiveling to face forward, it wasn't long before she was accosted by a group guys. Kankurou surmised that some men just couldn't read body language because she clearly wasn't interested.
"Hey, baby," one guy said, plunking himself down beside her.
Izari sighed and looked up. "What do you want?" she asked listlessly.
"It's pretty obvious, don't you think?"
And they say that chivalry is dead, Kankurou thought dryly.
"Enlighten me," Izari said flatly; her tone made it rather clear she didn't care to be.
"You know you want some of this," the man said, gesturing to his pants.
"I'm a bit young to be carrying a magnifying glass when I go out in public," Izari said tonelessly, waving her hand in dismissal.
"There are better things a girl should be doing with her mouth besides talking," he snapped at her irately when she turned her back to him.
"I choke on small objects." Izari smiled sweetly, not even glancing up.
"You think you're so clever, don't you, you rich little bitch?"
"I do. It's a shame public education fails the vast majority of poor people." Izari gave him a pointed look. "Now piss off before I call security over here."
Security? Kankurou thought. I thought she liked to fight. She was more than happy, earlier, although she didn't really have anything to do with Neji and me…I guess she really isn't trying to start stuff tonight.
"Bitch."
"Oh, you're breaking my heart," Izari muttered as the guy stalked off. After waiting a few minutes, she got up and scanned the room briefly. She glanced over to where Jou and Mika were chatting. Kankurou was getting the impression Mika was anxious to leave, as was Izari.
"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?" Kankurou groaned suddenly. Several pairs of wide eyes focused on him and he wasn't terribly surprised when Izari cuffed him sharply against the back of his head. He was, however, taken aback when she sat down next to him, much closer than he ever expected. Her long, thin arm was slung around his shoulder, ensuring proximity and privacy.
"That," Izari motioned discreetly to the rich guy he'd been scoping out a few minutes earlier, "is our ex-manager. He currently has the rights to over three-fourths of our songs since we broke contract with him. Because we did, he's threatening to take legal action against us, and to pay for it, it's pretty likely that Jou will have to sell the rights to the rest of her songs. It's pretty sad, spending years of your life writing songs and because your name on a piece of paper ties you to a dishonest man, you 'owe' them all to him."
"Shinobi owe their allegiance to their Kage," Kankurou shrugged. "I'm not that shocked by it."
"That's a choice every ninja makes, knowing what could happen," Izari said. "Jou spent half the time on the road cleaning up after his mistakes, making sure we were provided for when it was his responsibility to look after things. And now…"
"Now what?"
"Now he's spreading a bunch of rumors around about her, just like he did when one of us pissed him off. He's getting us blacklisted from clubs, he's telling other musicians that she badmouthed them, and he's going to make sure that since she cut ties with him, she'll end up bankrupt. It's pretty bad. I mean, the poor girl just bought a house. She's trying to put down roots, trying to stay close to the only family she's got left."
"Is she going to be bankrupt?" Kankurou asked her quietly.
Izari looked genuinely, uncharacteristically distressed. "Yeah. She's going to sell the house in the next month or so. It isn't as if she can't make a living with her skills, but not in Konoha. She'd have to move somewhere else, since the lawsuit is forcing her to start over, fresh. She's not even allowed to perform her own songs, and the group is not permitted to perform anything together, ever."
"She's keeping it together really well, all things considered," Kankurou observed.
"She gets worked up very easily over little things," Izari commented, "but she didn't use to be this way. I think, in a way, this night was a grand diversion for her. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world; money problems, attempting to salvage our reputation, practically being forced to move away…She's poured everything into making this party a success, to make her last impression in Konoha good. And that's why I got on your case about starting a fight. Usually, other people's business is none of mine, but I just couldn't stand that something was going to burst her bubble, not again. It's not like fighting tonight is going to resolve anything between you three. Fighting really doesn't resolve a whole lot."
Kankurou was tempted to retort before he realize she had said a very wise thing. And no matter how satisfying it would be to pummel Neji's face, it would just make Tenten more upset, and that was definitely not what he wanted. He gave her a funny look.
"Why do you like to fight so much?" he asked her suddenly.
Izari smiled. "I don't like to fight with people I actually like. Sometimes you just want beat people up when they deserve it."
"Like Neji."
"Well, your disagreement with him is a bit more complicated than punching the guy who feels you up in a bar or something," Izari shrugged, watching Lee make a beeline to the bathroom. She shook her head; he'd be peeing for five minutes straight, judging from the volume of liquid he'd just drank and all the junk they put in energy supplements. "But I guess the core concept is the same. 'He'll get what's coming to him' or something like that. I kind of like dispensing justice for the universe."
Kankurou couldn't help but smirk at her rather crooked grin. Even with all the fronts she put up, there was still something about her that he couldn't quite dislike, even when she was being cheeky.
"I just wish things were easy for once, you know?" Izari sighed tiredly. She straightened up when she saw their former manager making his way through the crowds towards Jou. Kankurou watched the walls come back up. There was something about that he thought was kind of a shame, even as he prepared himself to witness yet another conflict that night.
-O-
"Rock Jou."
Jou stiffened. Tenten saw her friend's face pale, but not in fear. There was a set to her features that resembled one facing combat, and facing it courageously. Her dark eyes flashed as she turned.
"Oyuma-san. Good evening."
"You've got some nerve, showing up in a place like this, especially after all the terrible things I heard you say about the owner's—"
"I don't know what you're talking about, though I'm sure this is merely the latest incident where I need to be reminded of the horrible things I've said about people I like. Tell me how that works again? Oh yes, you make up lies."
"Why would anyone believe that? You're just bitter because I'm taking all your money. I deserve more than money, putting up with you and your wretched band breaking contract with me. But that's what you get when you're unprofessional and you're dishonest."
Jou looked like she'd just been physically slapped. Her fingers digging into Tenten's arm prevented the shinobi from retaliating, but only just.
"You put us through hell," Jou said firmly. "What kind of professional would I be if I didn't act in the best interests of our group? Someone had to; you certainly weren't. You were anything but a competent manager to us."
Oyuma sneered.
"When I'm done squeezing every bit of money out of you, I'll make sure you never perform in a stage together again. No one will associate with you and you'll be blacklisted from every record company, recording studio, and venue. You should have stuck to what I wanted – pop music and skimpy outfits, because that's the stuff that sells albums, not this crap you're writing now. All the work you put into the band will be completely meaningless, I'll see to that. I'll see you crawling on the ground, begging in the streets—"
Jou's eyes widened, but not at Oyuma's words. Kankurou's fist clocked him right in the nose. Oyuma went flying: glasses on the counter flew all over the place, sending alcohol everywhere. Blood was gushing from his nose as Kankurou shook his bruised knuckles gingerly.
"Well, that was fun," he smirked. "Hey, I'm doing a lot better than Hyuuga tonight. At least I punched someone I actually meant to hit."
His audience was a mixed bag. Jou's eyes were still disbelieving, Tenten was shaking her head at his comment, Izari was clearly torn between anger and laughter, and Sakura was punching the air enthusiastically. Kankurou's siblings were across the bar; he couldn't tell what they were thinking. He glanced over at the ruffled bar tender and started rummaging around in his pockets.
"Umm, put the rest on my tab?" Kankurou asked hopefully, handing over the meager amount he had on him. The bar tender rolled his eyes but accepted the money.
"I'm kind of bored now, let's say we cart all this loot back to your place?" Kankurou said breezily to Jou, still trying to figure out why he did what he just did. Granted, the guy had it coming, just not from him.
I'm usually the one picking on people, not the idiot that sticks up for them, he thought. He saw Lee exiting the bathroom and watched half-out-of-it as Jou hurriedly explained what happened.
"I guess we have to get out of here," Tenten sighed, going upstairs to gather some of the gifts. She looked around for help. "Where the hell did Naruto go?"
"I'll help you," Sakura volunteered quickly, hoping at once to make amends and hurry everyone along.
"Mind telling me what the hell that was all about?" Izari growled, sidling up beside him.
"Just dispensing the justice of the universe," Kankurou shrugged.
Izari smiled. "All in the name of the universe," she repeated.
"Of course."
"Let's head back to Jou's place. I'm sure she'd make you anything at all that you want now. You might as well eat her out of house and home, for what it's worth."
Kankurou smiled. "I guess I'll just have to take her up on that, then."
Izari shook her head and sighed as she headed to the exit with Kankurou.
Author's Notes: The night's not over yet! More Nejiten-ness soon, and major Nejiten-ness in a few chapters! I'm posting multiple chapters, and because I'm shameless, I'm asking you to review each one, not just a lump review at the end of them. I'm sorry I took so long, thanks for reading.