Yes! Chapter 3! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, although it sort of strays off at the end. Think of it as another plot bunny I just had to think of an excuse to write out. Although the chapter was intended to be about Naruto and Chouji, at the end it shifts over to Shino and Hinata.

I know I had some really small Americanized references and what-not in this chap (which I really try to avoid), but I figured it would be for the best. So in case some of yous somehow get upset over it, know that I get upset over it too!

Enjoy Chapter 3!

Naruto and Chouji's Snack Break

After a long day's practice with Asuma, Chouji practically darted from the training grounds to the one place he knew he could locate Uzumaki Naruto - Ichiraku Ramen. Once arriving at the restaurant, he ordered himself some ramen as well and sat next to his blond-haired comrade.

"So, Naruto? When should we go out for snacks?" Chouji questioned as he finished his fifth bowl of ramen.

"Hmm," Naruto pondered, raising his chopsticks to his chin. "Well, although I'd like to have a few more bowls of ramen, I guess ten will be good enough!" He checked the clock on the wall behind the counter. "Wow! It's almost five! We'd better get going as soon as we pay the bill!"

Eventually, Chouji and Naruto left and headed to the nearest market. After entering the store, they began shopping. However, they could not come to an agreement about Shino's eating preferences. Or, rather, Naruto picked out foods that might have offended the bug-user.

"Naruto!" Chouji scolded. "I'm telling you, Shino WON'T want to eat those!" Chouji was astonished by Naruto's stupidity, regardless of their recently established friendship.

"Aww, c'mon Chouji!" Naruto whined as he thrust a bag of candies in the air. "Who DOESN'T love Creepy Crawlers? We have to buy these! If we can't have gummy worms, then we should get this! Don't YOU like Creepy Crawlers, Chouji?"

Of course, Chouji loved nearly everything that was in an edible state. "Yeah! Let's get 'em!"

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted as he tossed them along with the gummy worms into the empty cart. Soon they embarked on a journey involving purchasing as much unhealthy, sugary snacks and beverages as humanly possible. After filling up two carts, they decided it was a mission accomplished. In high spirits, they strolled over to the cash registers, only to find a very perplexed Ino.

"Hey Ino!" Chouji called out, trying to grab her attention. "What's up?"

"Huh?" she looked around the store, attempting to pinpoint Chouji's voice. After finding Naruto and him with their abundance of snacks, she ran over to them. "Hey guys! I have to buy all of the materials for baking a cake today," she whined.

"So? That's not a big deal," Chouji replied.

"Easy for you to say. But I have no idea how to bake a cake or even what materials I need to get!"

"Oh… that sucks," Naruto commented.

"Thanks for the sympathy, Naruto," Ino responded bitterly and threw him a nasty look.

Suddenly, a light bulb turned on in Chouji's brain. "Aha! I have an idea, Ino! Come with Naruto and me back to my house, and we'll probably find some cake batter and other things you'll probably need!"

After Chouji and Naruto paid for the refreshments, they set out for the Akimichi home. Unfortunately, they ran into three people they didn't want to see - Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Noticing that Chouji and Naruto were carrying mountains of snacks, Hinata tried to distract Shino.

"O-oh, hi guys! Bye g-guys!" Hinata waved and practically shoved Shino and Kiba in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, Shino decided there was something amiss since everyone but him had tensed. He glanced at Naruto, Chouji, and Ino.

"Going somewhere?"

"Uh…. Heh heh heh…" Naruto giggled nervously. Ino ribbed him in his stomach.

"Not really," she replied casually as she gestured for them to head to Chouji's house. "Just stocking up on snacks for the big night!"

Shino raised an eyebrow. "Big night?"

Ino gasped dramatically. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard about…?" Shino questioned, wondering why he was the only one in the dark about 'The Big Night'.

"Well…" Ino began, now thinking of an excuse. Is ANYTHING of some significance happening tonight…? Um… OH! "Uh - Gai and Kakashi-sensei are having a dance-off at the local restaurant's bar tonight at six! We don't want to miss that!" Ino exclaimed, trying to appear as enthusiastic as possible.

"Oh… okay…" Shino lacked any interest and excitement he could ever manage. "Sounds… interesting…?"

"You bet! So we expect you guys to be there, alright? Lee, Neji, and Tenten should be there too!" Perfect! Now he can't suspect anything! But then that means we have to go too… ugh….

"…"

"Great idea, Ino! We'll see you there!" Kiba assured and, in the least subtle manner, winked at her. She groaned, shook her head, and hurried to Chouji's house. After Ino left, Shino sighed.

"So… at six o' clock tonight, we'll be watching two buffoons who probably can't dance… dance?"

"Yep!" Kiba replied cheerfully.

"S-seems like i-it…" Hinata muttered, reluctant that Naruto would be attending as well.

"I'm enthralled." Shino declared in a dull voice.

"So, thanks for helping me out you guys! But are you sure Shino likes carrot cake?" Ino inquired as Chouji, Naruto, and she entered the restaurant in search of familiar faces.

"Pshaw! Who DOESN'T love carrot cake?" Naruto responded. "So anyways… who do you think will win the dance-off? Gai or Kakashi-sensei? I'm for Kakashi all the way!" Naruto proclaimed and thrust a fist into the air, resembling Gai and Lee's mannerisms.

Chouji shook his head. "There's NO WAY that Kakashi's going to dance in front of everyone. Gai will probably win just because there's no competition." Chouji picked up a menu as the three took a seat as close as possible to the bar and still barely see the stage. (1) "Oooh, they serve pretty good rice balls here! Mmm!"

"Hey! Naruto, Ino, Chouji!" a familiar voice called out. They turned to find Kiba and Lee rushing towards them, with Neji and Shino tagging along. "We saved you guys some better seats! Follow us!" Once they reached their destination, Ino noticed that several people were absent.

"Hey, were Shikamaru, Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata going to show up?"

"Tenten and Hinata have arrived!" Lee answered. "I believe they are picking up our dinners as I speak! Anyways, what are your predictions as to the winner of the competition? Surely Gai-sensei will astonish the crowd with his amazing talents in the art of dancing!"

"No way!" Naruto retorted. "I bet my sensei won't lose to your sensei!" And, predictably, the two genin argued about the outcome of the match.

"Hey, nitwits! The match is about to start! So I suggest you two cease your fighting until they finish, at least." Neji, very annoyed, crossed his arms and brought his attention to the stage.

Maito Gai, zealous and bursting with energy, bolted to the stage and executed an exaggerated bow. He searched the opposite end of the restaurant, finally exchanging eye contact with his favorite student, Lee (of course!). He performed the Nice Guy Pose and the PING in his teeth was so great that, as a result, several people complained of light-induced seizures after the show.

"Take that, my eternal rival!" he goaded.

"YES! GO GAI-SENSEI! DAZZLE US WITH YOUR AWESOME DANCING!" Lee cried at the top of his lungs as he pumped both fists into the air.

Next, Hatake Kakashi sauntered onto the stage with an air of indifference as he casually read his novel. He didn't bother looking for his students in the crowd, so he continued his reading and pointedly ignored Gai's constant boasting.

"C'MON, KAKASHI-SENSEI! YOU CAN BEAT FUZZY-BROWS' TEACHER!" Naruto shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Hey guys!" Tenten called out with Hinata right behind her. "We've got the snacks! Have they started yet?" She walked over to the rest and watched Gai flex his muscles in front of the crowd as the announcer introduced each of the contestants.

"Yep." Shino noticed there was something off about the crowd. Apparently, so did Hinata, as she wore a contemplating expression. "Hinata?"

"Y-yes, Shino?" she asked, her thoughts interrupted.

"Do you sense something different about the crowd, tonight?" Before Hinata could reply, the announcer finished his introductions and played the music. Gai appeared very smug.

"Alas, my eternal rival! It appears as though the spectators are stricken by my presence! Now, let us prove which is the supreme dancer! Observe, as I 'get my tango on'!" Gai declared, and proceeded to 'get his tango on'.

Oblivious to Gai's boasting, usage of 'hip' lingo as he put it, and the crowd's cheering, Kakashi shrugged and, as he read his precious book, nonchalantly snapped his fingers in beat with the song. Meanwhile, Gai proved to be a dancer worthy of praise, as the crowd roared in approval.

"IT APPEARS THAT THE SCORE WILL NO LONGER BE TIED, MY ETERNAL RIVAL!"

Meanwhile, Lee and Naruto cheered their teachers along desperately. Naruto was absolutely positive that Kakashi's impressive finger-snapping technique would lend him an upper hand, and Lee was certain that Gai's breath-taking tango skills would surely lead him to victory! The rest of the genin couldn't decide whom to cheer on - probably fearing the wrath of Naruto and Lee - so they rooted for them both.

Meanwhile, Shino still couldn't put his finger on what bothered him about the crowd. Well, they're loud… that bothers me, of course, but… Suddenly, it dawned on him and he shot another glance at the crowd to confirm his hypothesis.

"Excuse me, Hinata?" His teammate looked at him with curious eyes. "About what I was saying earlier… Did you catch what was different about the crowd yet?" A rare grin escaped him, and he had to bite his tongue to keep him from laughing. That certainly wouldn't help his image.

Hinata giggled. "What's so f-funny, Shino? You n-never laugh… But no, I can't fi-figure it out."

Shino cast a meaningful look in the ecstatic crowd's direction. "A hint: something's missing."

Squinting her eyes, Hinata stared hard at the crowd. "W-well… I n-notice that there is only m-men…" Her eyes widened in realization and she began laughing. "Is th-this a…"

Shino nodded and couldn't help but snicker. He motioned to a sign next to him on the wall he leaned on. Hinata, still chuckling, walked up to the wall and read the notice decorated with a rainbow sign.

ATTENTION ALL BAR-GOERS!

Monday nights are RAINBOW NIGHTS. Thank you for your cooperation.

Hinata's suspicions were confirmed. She looked at Shino, who was obviously struggling not to laugh as hard as she. "Sh-should we t-tell them…?"

Shino shook his head. "No. This will be a lesson well learned for them."

(1) Hey, you still have to be 21 to get into a bar, right? 18 or 21, can't remember. EITHER WAY, they're twelve and thirteen, so they couldn't get in anyway. They're on the other side of the restaurant, in case you were wondering.

READ AND REVIEW! Reviews make me squeal with glee, just like that Lee/Ten moment I wrote last chapter. I accept all suggestions, criticisms, and DEFINITELY compliments! But you should know that!

What's in store for chapters ahead: The chapter progression will follow a pattern - for each day of the week until Shino's birthday, there will be two chapters. One will be dedicated to the task that is needed to be accomplished before Shino's b-day, and the second is about the two (or three) people that take Shino somewhere to distract him from all the birthday planning and what-not.

SO, next chap will be about Shino, Kiba, and Hinata!