12-10-06

9:29pm

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being blackmailed and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

xoxo

Title-Hidden Leaves

Chapter 4

By-Moon Prynces

xoxo

The first thing he noticed upon opening his eyes was his hair. Very disheveled and covering his eye. Instead of moving he let out a puff of air and blew a few strands away, although most of it just fell back into place.

Then he realized he was on his bed, where he'd thrown himself before he almost passed out on the couch. Finally he looked up to see Sakura's back in front of his face.

True, they were once again very close on the bed again, but it meant little. He'd come to sleep and had unconsciously let himself lay on her side of the bed. And maybe she had come home and angrily shoved him over a little to reclaim her space.

It didn't seem to work so well seeing as he was only a few inches from her body. He sighed, relieved that she was home and in front of his eyes.

Without hesitation he moved closer still, wrapping his arm back around her waist, just as he had two nights ago. He rested his head on the pillow, chin and mouth engulfed by her hair.

In actuality Sakura wasn't asleep. She had been awake half an hour before him. And as proof, at Sasuke's advance she made a slight noise in the back of her throat.

When he heard this his lips moved, voice low. "You didn't come home last night."

Instead of fighting him off like she had yesterday, she only made another sound. "How would you know?" She mumbled bitterly.

"I waited." He answered, not surprising her in the least. Because she didn't seem to care anymore. "Until about one in the morning." He continued. "Where were you?"

Sakura sighed as the expected question arose. "Sasuke, I've been thinking..." She trailed off ominously. And then she did fight his grip, twisting out of it and sitting up to look at him. "Maybe you should move out. Or I'll move out. I'll let you have this place if you can't find anywhere to stay. I could always just go back to my parents, or Ino's. It doesn't matter."

He only had the will to stare at her, most definitely not understanding.

She sighed. "You and I. This living arrangement is not working out. We need space, and you... you need help. And I can't help you." She almost muttered 'I'm sorry' but held herself back.

"You can't." He said, almost stuttering, but his voice held some hint of concern. Concern for himself, or for them both, she had no idea.

Another sigh. "Why not? Living on your own isn't too hard Sasuke. In fact, it might be easier," She struggled with the words, looking straight ahead. "Than right now."

Sasuke was silent as he thought things over. Before he finally opened his mouth with another argument. "You want to get away from me, don't you?" He questioned, also sitting up in bed.

Green eyes shifted around nervously. "Uh... it's just that... you're taking things the wrong way. We aren't- we aren't," She struggled again. "We aren't a couple or something. You're making it seem like we are. You're making this harder than it is."

He didn't bother responding after this. Slowly he lay back down in the bed, looking up at the ceiling and trying to make some sense of what was happening. Funny how suddenly everything seemed to be crushed. His plan, his motive, his entire life.

One of those feelings where you're overwhelmed with something horrible and panic is the only thing left to do.

Sakura stared around the room with her arms on her knees, the sheet still covering most of her form. She had no idea what she was doing, but moving away from each other had to be better than what they were doing to each other right now. Which was absolutely nothing.

She could tell he wasn't taking the news well, and she actually hadn't meant to bring it up so abruptly, but his behavior lately was...

Pulled out of her thoughts, by quite literally being pulled down onto the bed Sakura found herself in his grip once more. She stared up at the ceiling as his arm draped across her partly exposed midriff. Sasuke turned to face her, resting his nose in her hair, brushing lightly against her temple.

"Don't go." He said in a low voice, his breath tickling her. She didn't answer and could only stare up blankly. "I do need you. Please don't go." He whispered, eyes fluttering closed.

Was Uchiha Sasuke begging? She wondered. Was she making a mistake? Was there still time? For something... for what?

It was ridiculous, she decided. It was time to grow up. And she was positive she retained no romantic feelings for Sasuke anymore. And as far as being a good friend went... well he seemed to be expecting more than she could give. It was definitely time to give up.

Sasuke was busy trying to stay calm. He wasn't sure where he was going with this. Actually, he wasn't sure what he was saying or why. It was just anything to stop her from leaving. Because somehow, being without her presence made the world end, made him panic, made him completely lost.

But how could he tell her this? He could barely croak out a few words. Very cliché and meaningless words. Say something, he thought, say something, somebody.

So it was his turn again. "What do you want me to...?" It was most certainly the wrong question.

"There isn't anything left to do Sasuke." She said in a dull voice. "And you don't need me. I can't help you. I'm sorry." She said it this time.

But even though she could hear his heart breaking she wouldn't change her mind, and she still stayed there with him for a while longer. Why was she fighting this? Was the only thing he could think. Wasn't this what she'd always wanted?

Naruto would probably kick his ass if he found out how things were going. He'd told Sasuke to talk to her. And it was much more difficult than him getting over his lack of social skills because Sakura wasn't cooperating.

What else was there to do? Despite being a smart person, an exceptional ninja and having a good amount of tact, he couldn't remember anything or come up with anything.

At least she wasn't shoving him off like last time. But then he might've just jinxed it...

xoxo

"So you're sure he passes by here every morning." She stated, facing at the man with an assured look.

"Twice." He added, just to prove his memory. "He always stops by on his way to get something to eat. And then about an hour later he passes right back. Usually waves and says he's headed back home or something."

"Perfect." She smiled cruelly, licking her lips. The man didn't seem to notice. "What does he normally have?"

"Uh..." He paused, looking upwards with a thoughtful look, hands on his sides. "Depends. I think it depends on his mood and how his day is going."

She stared at him in disbelief. "How his day is going? If he just rolled outta bed and strolled by how far could his day have gone already?" Anko leaned over the counter, exhausted with the preparation.

The old man smiled at her. "Who knows? Maybe he just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. He's usually late for something too. Seems like a permanent habit with him."

"What if he decides not to get something today then?" She questioned in a frustrated voice. Why did she bother waking up so early for this then? What a waste of a good day to sleep in.

"Don't worry. It's not too hard to tempt a man with food. Or other things." His eyes twinkled at the joke.

She grinned wryly at him. "That's what I'm counting on." They shared a mischievous look. "So do you mind adding this to whatever it is he gets?" She pulled a bag with an unknown substance in it.

The man stared at it carefully, then looked up at her and nodded. "So, are you his girlfriend out to teach him a lesson? I wondered when such a handsome young man would stop playing the field."

Anko's stare didn't answer much. Kakashi? Playing the field? Slowly her face started to crack and her mouth split into a wide grin. Yeah, if she ever were to believe he wasn't a pervert more interested in graphic novels than actual people she might have gone along with it. But since that was the farthest thing from the truth, from what she could tell anyway, she started laughing her ass off immediately.

After a few moments of this and watching the old man chuckle along in-between the tears pouring out her eyes, she finally toned it down to a smile.

"Okay then, so you're willing to do me this one tiny favor, right?" She asked once more with a sweet smile.

"Of course. I think it's all right if you're trying to put him in his place for something. But I think I should warn you, men are usually too stubborn for their own good. Watch out, he seems more resistant than he looks." The old man tittered with another laugh.

"Sure, of course!" She agreed just to keep him in good humor. "Thanks!"

With that she left the small, conveniently placed, breakfast stand, similar to that of Ichiraku's. The owner stared at her back with a pleasant smile and shook his head. Ninja these days... one minute they're trying to kill each other and the next they're trying to seduce each other.

Anko smiled to herself as she kept walking, ready to get a start on the next phase.

xoxo

In the Hyuuga mansion Hinata awoke grumpily to the thought that today was going to be horrible and she might as well go back to sleep anyway. There weren't any pressing missions or business that needed to be taken care of at the moment and hopefully no one was looking for her.

The heiress stared at the ceiling with the covers still in their very comfortable position on her body. Yesterday was tiring. In fact the past week had been tiring, and not to copy Shikamaru, but it was all so troublesome.

She thought back to the one day almost a week ago, where she had come home from training by herself with her body sore and muscles aching to see Naruto waiting in her room. At that point in the relationship they were so comfortable and familiar with each other so all she did was give him a peck on the lips and went straight the her bathroom.

And then came out in a sloppy outfit with her sloppy hair feeling absolutely exhausted to find Naruto fiddling with the ring. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind as she stood there staring at him blankly with a towel around her neck. Something that sounded something like 'Uh,themeantto- marry me!'.

Hinata reflected on how happy, yet slightly confused they had both been. Now it seemed like getting married was the worst thing possible. And that was definitely not how she wanted to look at it.

God, life sucked.

A loud knock at her door made her jump and she sat up in bed and said, "What is it?"

A random family member, whose voice she couldn't make out through the thick door and her delusional morning state spoke up. "You had a call earlier. But I thought you might still be sleeping so I told him to leave a message. It was Naruto." The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "He said he's been looking for you. He wants to meet up with you later." A pause, and Hinata could practically feel the person's lips curl into a smile. "Of course he wants to spend time with his fiancée."

Hinata held a breath until she heard the person walk away before letting it out. She looked down to find herself clutching onto the blanket tightly. She let go and shoved it off, heading to take a shower.

She hated to think that maybe she just didn't want to spend time with Naruto right now. It was downright horrible in her mind. She loved him with all her being. And soon they would be wedded, and although it meant no difference to either of them whether this event occurred or not because they'd spend their lives with each other anyway... she couldn't help feeling distant now.

She wanted some space, and some time to think. But she'd already gone through the motions of talking to the most important people around her about her relationship with Naruto. Neji, Kurenai-sensei, Kiba and Shino, not to mention Akamaru who was forever by his master's side.

It only lead her down a horrible path to the realization that maybe she just wasn't ready to get married just yet. And what would Naruto think if she told him? She couldn't bear to hurt him like that.

The dark haired girl trudged into the bathroom and stripped her clothes as she turned on the shower, then stepped in.

Younger Hinata used to be one to worry and brood over every little thing, but now she had grown to take things lightly unless seriousness was needed. It was easier to smile and not blush, and she was much more sociable. She had grown up. Now she even had someone who loved her, and she loved him back.

So what was the problem? What was stopping her?

Too many thoughts swirled in her head and the steam and hot water made her dizzy. She decided not to think about it. And perhaps... meeting up with Naruto right now was not the best time.

She still needed to figure some things out. And she had to be sly about how she lied. She didn't want Naruto to think she was purposely avoiding him, even though that's exactly what she was doing.

Hinata sighed regretfully, suddenly hating herself for making this into a big deal. If she hadn't been so...

"Argh!" She shouted, pulling at and messing up her hair.

xoxo

On the other side of town however, another Hyuuga was also just getting up. This happened to be because Neji had spent the night at Tenten's place, supposedly to "protect" her from the stalker-ish person whom they had yet to identify.

Although it pained him to say it (literally), he had spent the night on her couch. He did make a valiant attempt at trying to pull an all-nighter, but fell asleep around three in the morning.

Tenten on the other hand was still not doing so well from yesterday. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep and spent the entire night staring blankly at the ceiling... before turning over to stare blankly at the wall on her left... before turning again to stare blankly at the wall on her right... and getting up to circle the house like a hawk, looking for anything out of place.

She still refused to take a shower without her clothes. Which was a strangest thing Neji had ever witnessed. And he was forced to witness it as she always left the bathroom door half open. And he wasn't even sure how she managed to get out of the wet clothes into something dry without completely cracking. Luckily she'd only taken one other shower besides the first one yesterday.

Now she sat on the sofa in her living with her face in her palm, staring around as if she didn't know where she was.

Neji was in the kitchen making them breakfast. It did manage to shock her that he knew how to cook. But for most of the time her mind was devoid of thought.

"Here, eat something." He commanded, putting down a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of orange juice.

She took the plate in her hand and poked at the eggs with her fork. "I don't like my eggs scrambled."

He huffed and sat down across from her on another couch, picking up his own plate of eggs. "Well if you had said that before I started making them..."

"How was I to know you were making eggs?" She asked irritably. She poked a bit more before shoveling some into her mouth. He stared, waiting for a smart ass comment, which he received. "Well, I'm not lying in a puddle on the floor in agony... yet."

He glared but continued eating. After half an hour of silence and when they'd finished breakfast, the plates now rested on the coffee table and the two sat there staring around.

"So..." Neji tried to start off. "Are you okay now?" He questioned slowly, letting his eyes avert to her face.

Tenten gave him a dry look.

He only rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic already. And you're not going to take another shower with your clothes on; even it means I have to strip them off you myself."

And for once, instead of either of them blushing, the two glared fiercely at each other.

"You'll get yourself sick that way." He stated again.

She folded her arms over her chest and moved back into the sofa, crossing one leg over the other. "Well maybe it's time for you to go home now then." She said.

An eyebrow was quirked and a hidden smirk came out. "Weren't you the one begging me to stay?"

She looked away quickly. "I didn't say that! I said it'd be ungentlemanly for you to just leave a girl in a crisis like this." She sniffed indignantly.

"And weren't you the one who suddenly threw herself on me and started crying?" He leaned forward, face on the top of his folded hands and elbows on knees.

Tenten turned back to glare at him. At first it seemed like she would say something scathing, but then the weirdest thing happened. Slowly she began to grin. "Hey Neji, do you mind?"

"Mind what?" His anger and teasing mood suddenly gone and replaced by confusion.

Tenten stood up from her seat and took deliberate, small steps in his direction.

He raised a brow again and moved back in his seat to stare up at her when she stood before him. And then widened his eyes when she was on his lap again, like the day before. Same legs straddling his hips, this time her hands resting on his shoulders and her hair just as wild and loose as before.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked in a strange voice. 'Oh no, not now. Not now!' He thought to himself. 'Not the hormones again!' He cursed mentally.

"Shh." She put a finger in front of her lips in the universal sign of 'be quiet' and she had a sly smile on her face.

He didn't start complaining either when she leaned her head near his shoulder and... started to kiss and suck on his neck. Now this was definitely strange. Out of her normal behavior and... something he wouldn't mind letting happen again.

Neji unconsciously let his hands rest on her hips and leaned back further into the sofa. He also felt her hands as they worked themselves on his shoulders, massaging and relaxing him.

Her lips moved down further to another spot on his neck and more than once he felt her tongue brush his skin. He really had to wonder where she learned any of this. And then panic and wonder why the hell she was doing it.

Tenten finally stopped her mouth from working on that area of his body and pulled back to stare at him carefully. She hesitated and he watched, not sure what to do.

Mentally she shrugged to herself and thought, 'One kiss isn't gonna hurt' before descending on his lips with her own. She let it linger and it was very slow from beginning to end.

She moved slowly, cautiously, turning her head at an angle to make it easier. She even let her tongue slide against his lips briefly, but didn't let anything go far as open-mouthed.

She had somehow managed to snake her arms around his neck, which wasn't too difficult, seeing as he was a lost little kitten in her grasp. She experimented a bit and tried to make him do the exact same back.

Now, let's be honest. Neji wasn't exactly the most... well, he was just pretty much unreachable from the people that wanted him. And he never seemed interested in any of the things he was now engaged in. So basically it was safe to say he'd never had, or had little, experience in this area.

Although with the way Tenten had initiated and was trying to teach him, it wasn't too hard to catch on. She did seem pretty patient about the whole thing. Or else it could be she was just plain enjoying it.

So he found the right angle at which to tilt his own head and was letting his lips lap gently against hers in the same manner as she had started. He realized his hands were getting antsy and were moving up and down her sides at a pace that wasn't fast or slow.

He really had no idea what else to do with them, and he was actually afraid to touch any part of her body without her giving him the okay.

For Tenten, it was obvious she'd had a lot of experience in this aspect of life. But that... should be gone into later on.

As she finally peeled themselves off of each other, holding Neji by his shoulders, Tenten stared into his eyes for a moment while breathing heavily. She then let out a breath of air and flopped off of the Hyuuga and landed next to him on the sofa.

She let herself sit there in an awkward position and tried to catch her breath. Neji stared at her in confusion again, also sagging.

"What just happened?" He asked in a tired voice, waiting for something predictable.

"I came up with a plan!" She said excitedly, jumping up from the sofa with a happy look. "To get rid of the stalker person! We could just pretend you and I are suddenly a couple and he'll get the hint and get the hell away. I mean, who really wants to mess with a Hyuuga?" She asked, eyes twinkling.

Neji groaned. "What?! Why didn't you tell me about the plan before doing anything?"

She shrugged, sitting back down. "Well, couples don't announce they're gonna do stuff! It'd look weird if we were acting all serious and discussing something and then were all over each other!"

"What if he can hear you right now?" And paranoid as they were, he looked around as he spoke.

"If he was able to hear us he would've left in tears by now!" She brushed it off.

"So... all that... was a part of your weird, twisted little plan?" He questioned, turning to look at her.

"Yeah... it was harder than I thought... sorry about that." She looked sheepish a moment.

Neji sighed. At least she seemed back to normal... kind of. "Why? What was hard?" He asked defensively, wondering if it had something to do with his lack of skill.

"Because I was worried if I went about it the wrong way you'd get weirded out. That's why I didn't kiss you. At first. I thought it might give you the wrong impression."

"Uh, Tenten, I think you gave the wrong impression from the beginning."

"But it was fun, wasn't it?" She beamed at him.

Neji stared at her. "What?"

"It's like having a good work out or something. Gets adrenaline pumping and endorphins and all that stuff. Makes you feel better."

He was still staring. "You just used me to make someone stop being interested in you."

"Don't be so touchy." She rolled her eyes. "We can always do it again if you want." She grinned, her face full of mischief.

"Where'd you learn to do all that? The whole seduction thing? You knew how to walk and sit and move and do everything." And for once the Hyuuga looked kind of awed.

"I'm a kunoichi. There are a lot of tricks they teach us that you don't know about."

There was a pause and the two stared straight ahead at the window and wall. Then Neji grinned to himself.

"I hope to see some more of those tricks in action then."

xoxo

Why was she up at this hour? was the only thing Ino could come to think of. Because not only had she woken up at the crack of dawn, but in a burst of energy she didn't know she had, she had managed to clean every inch of her house, make herself a proper breakfast, take a wonderfully refreshing shower and got ready for a big day.

And now, it was only about eight or nine o'clock as she wandered down the streets of Konoha, completely disgusted at looking at her Barbie-doll clean house.

Of course, thoughts of Barbie lead to thoughts of Ken and this made her curse their stupid perfect, unspoken relationship with no problems or kinks in it. Then, she had to wonder if maybe there was behind the scenes action and trouble that the normal world never knew about. And then this would make her realize how stupid she was thinking about the relationships and life of an inanimate object.

Ino stomped down the street angrily, wanting so badly to yell and shout and groan aloud. She had managed to dress herself in her normally, inappropriate attire that she wore on her days off with nothing better to do, a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt with a pair of flip-flops.

"Hey Ino!" An exuberant voice brought her out of her demented own world.

She looked up to see a blonde smiled cheerfully at her. "Hi Naruto." She slowly smiled back at him.

"What're you up to? You seemed kinda..." He looked around and scratched the back of his head, thinking that words crazy, mental, and insane wouldn't get him anywhere when he would be planted into the ground for using them. "Not well today..." His voice dropped at the phrasing.

"Uh..." The blonde stared blankly, not sure how to lie. "Oh! It's nothing! It's just... I had planned on sleeping in today since there's nothing I need to do, but I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, no wonder. I know exactly how that feels." Naruto looked around. "If you're not doing anything how about we hang out or something. I never spend any time with you, or most of the guys anymore." He suggested cheerfully again.

Ino nodded and the two started a silent walk to an unknown destination. Not one for awkward pauses and especially long silences, Ino opened her mouth to say something.

"So, how's Hinata?" She questioned, looking at the person next to her.

His forehead wrinkled, still looking ahead. "Actually, I haven't talked to her in a few days. I was looking for her this morning but when I called they said she was probably still sleeping."

Ino shook her head, looking ahead again as well. "Naruto, of course she'd be sleeping so early in the morning. Didn't we go over that already? What if you had interrupted her perfect morning sleep?"

He grinned. "I doubt she'd mind. It's me after all." He beamed happily.

"So have you guys picked a date yet?" She asked suddenly.

He looked confused. "What? A date?"

She rolled her eyes. "For the wedding."

To this he shrugged. "Like I said, I haven't seen Hina-chan around, so I haven't been able to say hi, let alone discuss the details."

"Naruto." She stated with feeling, causing them both to stop. He looked at her in question. Ino finally pulled her courage and looked straight at him as she asked. "How'd you and Hinata get to be the way you are? I mean," She continued at his unmoved gaze. "You guys were just friends from the beginning, right?"

Naruto's face split into another wide smile as he shook his head. "I thought I was the only dense one around here. It must be the blonde factor." He pointed to his own head and Ino glared at him. "Yeah, we didn't start going out until about two or three years ago, but when we did, she confessed she'd liked me since we were twelve, actually before that I think." He pulled a thoughtful pose.

She gaped a second. "But... to you, you guys were just friends till you went out. So how'd you just jump from friends to dating?"

He stared at her strangely. "Well... yeah it might have been a little strange at first. For me because I hadn't ever thought of her that way. And for her because... I guess she didn't think I'd ever see her that way either." Naruto gave her a suspicious look. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason! Just wondering how your story went, that's all." She replied, jumping on the defensive. Ino looked down a second. "So what if it hadn't gone that way so early on in life... What if... you guys started going out when you were older, say around this time?"

"I guess... it'd be harder or something." He tried to answer, then turned to look at her again. "That was random. Really, why are you asking?"

Ino sighed and began trudging along again, barely giving Naruto any warning to follow. "Because..." She said through gritted teeth. "I think Shikamaru's been hitting on me. Not to say I've tried to deter his attempts. I even flirted back with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid." She really wanted to bang her head somewhere now.

She couldn't see it, but Naruto was grinning in a sly manner. "Oh..." He paused, making her turn to him. "So what're you doing about it now?"

She glared at him, because he was still grinning at her. "He propositioned me." She sniffed, turning away.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"It was a joke." She said quickly. "I think."

"Shikamaru wanted to have sex with you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Hey! Are you implying something?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, it's just... that's a pretty big jump." He stated.

Ino sighed again for the billionth time. "Well... we were kinda flirting the other night and it led to that, but that time it was really a joke. Then yesterday I'm not really sure. It's not like I don't have any experience in the matter." She said in a slightly confident voice. Nothing was said. Then, "Do you?"

Naruto jumped at the unexpected question. "Uh..." His hand immediately went to scratch an unknown itch behind his head, followed by a nervous laugh. "Eh... I do-"

Ino stopped in her tracks and rolled on her heel to stare at him in surprise. "What?" She asked. "You, Uzumaki Naruto, has had-"

She was cut off when Naruto dove forward and slapped a hand over her mouth. "The whole village doesn't need to know!" He said with a glare.

Ino nodded before he slowly removed his hand and backed off. "So... was this with Hinata?" She whispered, looking around.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. Once again, Ino gaped in shock.

"Then who did you-"

His hand clapped her opening shut again. "Could you try not being so loud when you get excited?" He asked irritably.

When his hand was removed again she was still staring. "Who...?" She wondered, trying to keep her voice down.

"Uh... a few people." He answered awkwardly. Then without warning to her this time, he began walking.

Ino jogged up and tried to keep his pace. But of course, she noticed irritably, he was taller and did have longer legs. "I'm going to regret asking this, but do I know any of them?"

His eyes flickered to her for a moment. "Yeah..."

That was where she drew the line. Ino definitely did not want to know who it was he had ever been involved with. A thought came to her. "Does Hinata know about these things? Have you and her even done anything?"

"Of course she knows, but she didn't really care to know who either. And we haven't done anything beyond making out."

Ino looked proud. "Way to stay in control and hold back those hormones Naruto!" She gave him a harsh pat on the back.

He glared at her cheery face. "Shut up." He mumbled. "How about we get back to your problems with-"

"How about we not?" She shot back without letting him finish. "Besides it's too weird to think about. Me and Shikamaru have been friends forever."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, but sometimes things change."

She turned to stare at him as she thought this over.

xoxo

The lazy ninja slowly walked to his usual destination, hands stuffed in his pockets. The forehead protector covering one eye was something he'd grown accustomed to, and his eye was even sharper from hardly using the other.

But today, he didn't seem to notice much around him. Actually, he was pretty laid back so it always seemed he didn't notice anything.

Kakashi strolled along in his relaxed manner, on his way to see the Godaime and other jounins, his normal routine. He paused briefly, looking up unexpectedly at a wall on his left. He shrugged, obviously doubting his senses.

"Hello Ojii-san." Kakashi said, stopping in at his normal morning breakfast spot. The old man looked up at him with a smile.

"Still late as usual, eh?" He asked, eyes wrinkling at the corners.

The other only shrugged, not taking his hands out of his pockets. "Only an hour or so."

"So, what'll you have today? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." He stated.

The masked ninja chuckled. "If I didn't know you said that to bring in business I might think so."

"I see you don't have your nose in that novel of yours still. Have you finished with that type of reading material altogether?" He questioned, preparing Kakashi's to-go food as they talked. True he never placed an order but it was predictable, seeing the mood he was in.

"Funny you should mention that." Kakashi finally removed a hand from its resting place to scratch lightly at his chin through the mask. "My latest edition is missing. Have you seen it around?"

The man paused in his task, looking up in thought at the small, wooden roof of the stand. Something clicked in his head and he recalled an earlier day when the jounin had been walking around with his nose in the said book. It had an orange cover and... well there was the predictable title. But now that he was really deep in searching through his memory, he remembered he needed to get a birthday present for his niece.

Anyway, besides that there was something else... Yes, he had seen that familiar book somewhere else, in someone else's possession...

And that was the moment where a smell reached him that made the old man jump in surprise and curse loudly. "Ah, no no!" He said to himself, trying to scrape the food off the pan before it was burned into an inedible as well as unappetizing pile of... stuff. He turned up to the awaiting customer. "Ah, so sorry about that, I guess I'll just have to make another batch." He said, realizing he'd forgotten the secret ingredient anyhow.

So he started over as Kakashi nodded, not minding one bit. The later he was, the better, no problem.

It didn't take too long, and the old man was able to give him the slip, smiling as he wave goodbye to a very loyal customer.

The spiky-haired ninja waved back casually as he left, holding his breakfast in a container, intending to eat it when he reached the office building.

He paused, taking a slower step, looking up at a tree to his left before shrugging it off once more and returning to his normal pace.

Anko breathed a sigh of relief and glanced down at the spot he had just been. "Now I have some time to get things prepared."

xoxo

She was finally free. For now. Of his grasp that is. Of course Sasuke wasn't going to hold her there against her will. Sakura had held herself there, unsure of what to do.

It took an hour of lying there with a blank mind before she decided she needed to take a walk. He hadn't made any protest. He only stared at her silently with that unflinching gaze. Which only made her flinch as she quietly slipped on some clothes before walking out the door.

Now she was parading around town with bedridden hair in a pair of sweatpants and hoodie sweater, looking what she thought had to be atrocious. And she had no idea where the hell she was headed.

Hugging herself tightly out of her lack of self-confidence in her appearance, Sakura looked over the field of green before making her way across. But not paying attention to where she was going, she naturally found herself tripping over something and stumbling to the ground, rolling a few feet away.

It moaned. "Uhh... what the..." He said to himself, rubbing his head that had been toppled over. Shikamaru sat up and looked around to see the pink-haired girl on her hands and knees, rubbing her eyes clear of the stars from her fall. "Sakura?" He questioned.

She looked up after a few more blinks and stared for a second. Then she turned over, now sitting on her butt with her knees in the air. "Hey Shikamaru. What're you doing out here?"

"Being road kill, I guess." And looked to his left. "But considering how far we are from an actual road..." He shook his head and stopped talking for a moment. "Why're you out here?"

"Just going for a walk." She answered lightly, bring her hands up from the ground and wrapping them around her legs. "Sorry about the fall."

The supposed genius cocked an eyebrow at her vague demeanor. "What's going on?" He asked, mimicking her position as he examined her carefully.

Sakura ran a hand through her short, disheveled hair, trying hard not to be vain and yell at him for looking at her in this state. Then she cleared her voice and spoke in a calm way. "I'm thinking I should move out. Of the place Sasuke and I live. We really need to grow up; living together just isn't going to work."

The eyebrow was still raised. "Oh. And... what were his thoughts on this?" He asked, already knowing the answer from the way she was talking.

"He... doesn't want me to leave... him." She said, ending it with a sigh.

"Where's Ino when you need her?" He rolled his eyes.

"I don't think this is something she'd really wanna hear about." At the questioning gaze she continued. "Well, sure she's moved on but... it's still Sasuke. And after wasting so much time on someone, you'll always have bitter feelings about it afterward." She said, her own voice coming out bitter. "At least in my experience..."

Shikamaru stared at her. He wondered, did Ino perhaps feel the same way towards Sasuke and the past she'd had? Did she still have some inkling of feelings for the Uchiha, even if it was just resentment? Then he blinked.

"Okay, so go on and tell me what happened then." He said in a commanding tone. She gave a look that said 'no'. "Hey, you wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want to talk about it." He said smartly.

She grudgingly agreed to herself, casting her eyes to the ground beneath her. "Well... like I said, I want to move out. But he won't let go. I guess he's just gotten so used to living with someone and-" She stopped short at the pointed look he was giving her. "What?"

"You know that can't be it." Shikamaru stated with a serious face. "Well, okay, yeah. Maybe he did get used to the feeling of being around someone so often and always having that person there, but he could easily slide back into being independent from everyone."

"I doubt that. He seems more like a lonely little girl nowadays. Always needs me there to take care of him, watch out for him even though he doesn't care and doesn't need it, just so the other side of the bed doesn't get cold." Sakura retorted.

"Why? He ever try to roll over on your side of the bed?" His eyebrow was doing that thing again. Where it was implying something with his question.

Sakura stared. "No. He's not a pervert. He's doesn't need such physical gratification." She answered. Then glanced away and muttered, "Right. Sasuke wanting to have sex?"

The two looked up quick enough, wondering about the alternative universe in which, at the moment she'd said that Sasuke would appear over their heads with an answer. Luckily this wasn't that world. The conversation commenced.

When he didn't say anything like she expected she became suspicious. "What is it?"

He turned to her with a slight grin. "It's just kind of funny, that's all." A pause. "After all the years you spend wanting him, and when you finally have a chance you won't even consider it?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Just funny. To me anyway."

Sakura found the courage to glare at him, after her shock wore off a little. "Hey, don't compare me to the way I was as a genin. We've all changed. And I haven't been like that about him for over three years. And I am not going back to it either." She added with an assured nod.

"Right. So you won't go crawling or begging back to him. But he's the one doing it now? This really makes no sense." He muttered, looking away for a second. "Girls are so troublesome."

"He doesn't want me." She sniffed indignantly. "In fact, he has no idea what he really wants. But I know for sure I'm not in that category."

He was staring again. "Stop being so stupid. For an apprentice of the Godaime's, you sure are-" He was stopped when he felt something lightly tap his forehead. He looked down to see a small rock at his feet. "Ha-ha." He said, giving her a look.

"Yeah well, I don't see you doing too well in that department either. When was the last time you went on a date anyway?" Sakura shot at him, moving her arms to rest atop her knees.

"Yesterday." He answered without thinking. He blinked. So did Sakura, still sitting a few feet away. "I... Sorry, I was thinking of something else." Shikamaru glanced away, cursing himself. He moved his hands to rest flat on the ground behind him and spread his legs out on the grass.

"No you're not." She said in a daze. "You were on a date yesterday? With who?" She was suddenly very excited to know the details. Although she and Shikamaru weren't very close friends they had had a number of missions together and become fond of each in a friendly way. She had just never had the chance to bond with him one on one like this before.

The spiky-haired shinobi stared at her for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. "Whatever, Ino would probably tell you anyway. Yesterday we-"

"You and Ino?!" She couldn't contain her excitement and soon found herself leaning forward a bit.

"It wasn't really a date or anything." He said, looking irritated. "We just went out to a movie, which we didn't see, and had a late lunch. Then went back to my place and-" This time he stopped of his own accord at the horrified look on Sakura's face. "We didn't do anything!" He shouted at her assumption. "Geez, it's like you expect her to sleep around. Ino's not a slut."

She rolled her eyes off to the side, not replying.

Shikamaru stared in surprise. "What are you saying?" He asked, conveniently leaving out that she had never actually said anything. "Ino doesn't sleep with every guy she goes out with." His face was suddenly skeptical. "Right?"

"Well not every guy obviously. She does have standards." Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the blow. "But weren't we discussing your date with her?"

He let her change the subject, and shrugged. "Wasn't a date." It sounded careless. "But I think I freaked her out. She ran out after I implied we should have sex."

"I wanna bang my head on the ground now. No wait, I wanna bang your head against a tree! What the hell were you-" She stopped abruptly, and his eyes narrowed, gaze hitting the floor before looking behind to make sure no one was there. In their alternate universe, Ino would be standing there already ready to say something. Once again, this isn't that world. Lucky.

"Stop doing that." He grumbled, moving his hands front of him and leaned forward to keep his balance. "And why don't you worry more about your problems with Sasuke."

"We don't have any problems." She protested.

"You can barely say his name out loud. I think that says something." He gave her an arrogant grin. "How about I give you advice and you give me advice. And we'll have to follow through with it. I mean, what harm could come when we both don't know what to do now?"

"Famous last words." She mumbled before looking and nodding. "Go ahead; you are the genius after all."

"Go back home and spend more time with him. And actually talk to him. I don't think 'Hey I'm leaving Sasuke' 'No Sakura' count as a real conversation." Sakura smiled when he changed his voice to imitate herself and Sasuke.

Then she frowned. "Yeah okay, you try doing that while being locked in bed by his weight on your body." She saw Shikamaru shudder ridiculously and laughed out loud.

He shook his head from the disconcerting imagery. "So where's my counseling?"

"Um..." Sakura looked up, putting a finger to her lip in thought. "Okay. How about... you stop trying to get into my best friend's pants." She said, looking back at him.

"It was a joke!" He held his hands up.

"I think that..." She sighed. "Wow... just trying to image you two together like that... Are you sure you wanna be with Ino? The bossy blonde who has obviously flirted her way up your system?" He changed color slightly at this. "I think you're moving too fast."

"And you're going too slow." He shot back, barely letting her finish. At her confused look he continued. "With Sasuke I mean. From the way I see it, you two have really been... just waiting for each other. And now you're so close to finally aligning the right way so you fit..."

"Am I a puzzle piece now?" She questioned with a deadpanned look. "Can I go on now? You keep interrupting." He huffed but didn't speak. "Right... I think you're jumping on her too quick," A sly look. "And not that way. But she needs time to get over being one of your best friends and start seeing you the other way." Another look. "And I don't mean naked."

"Aren't you just full of innuendos today?" He said grumpily. Then caught her gaze with a gleam in his eye. "How long has it been for you anyway?"

Sakura was taken-aback, by what she knew the question meant. "W-what?"

"I mean, I know you can't do much with Sasuke around all the time and your jobs around the village. So when was the last time?"

She started turning as pink as her hair. A long silence followed and he still waited for an answer. Finally, through exasperated lips, "Over two years. Since before he came back."

Shikamaru was suddenly getting up off the grass, brushing off his clothes. Sakura followed, standing up and staring. He abruptly patted her on the back a few times. "Well, better get home and start making up with him, huh? Not only can you get laid, but it might help start rebuilding that clan of his, right?"

He dodged the fist aimed at his face and blocked the kick as well. Still holding onto her leg, which was near his face he smirked. "I guess I'll see you around, whether or not things work out for us." He let go and turned to leave.

Sakura glared at the back of his head after putting her foot back on the ground. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, she picked it up and threw it with all the emotion she had.

"OW!"

And smirked triumphantly.

xoxo

After their day's earlier events, the two went about trying to clean up the infinite mess that Tenten had made two days prior. They had lounged around in-between, taking "breaks" from all the work. Occasionally Neji would turn to Tenten with a glare, because she was the one to go berserk and empty every single space in her house and dumped it in the middle of rooms and hallways. And this she would always ignore with a flirtatious wink or sly lick of the lips, apparently still putting on a show for the invisible intruder.

Other than that there was no mention of Tenten's "wondrous" plan for the rest of the day. So far anyway.

Neji was currently in the bathroom, cleaning up the mess that his friend had made in her attempts at a shower, because she had let the floor get wet with water. And Tenten saw this as an opportunity for a breather... and to try and prove to herself that her plan had worked.

So when she heard him mopping up with the door only slightly ajar she quietly stalked to the front door of her house. She stared at the many bolts and locks and cursed herself. It would be too noisy to open.

And as if someone was trying to help her out, she heard the faucet from the lavatory turn on all the way. But she did have to wonder if the stalker had come in, somehow defeated Neji and was now attempting to drown him.

The kunoichi shook off these thoughts and swiftly moved open all the snatches and twisted all the locks, finally letting her hands rest on the doorknob. She took a deep sigh before slowly pulling it open.

Then proceeded to look around cautiously. She spotted no one lurking around the neighborhood, let alone a suspicious character hiding behind hedges. Then, at an agonizingly, and slightly painful pace, she looked down to the doormat and stared.

There lay a big, brown envelope that obviously held more than a few pictures. It was sealed tight with tape and had her name, also taped on, because it had been printed out from a computer or something.

Tenten didn't bother hesitating as she bent down to pick it up and stepped back into the house, putting all the locks and bolts back into place, hoping Neji hadn't realized it yet.

Instead of getting freaked out she walked to the couch while staring at the envelope in her hands. "Hey Neji?" She called without looking up.

"Hm?" He replied, just loud enough for her to catch.

"How much longer are you gonna be?" She asked, taking a seat on the sofa, still staring at the package.

He grunted. "What? Miss me already?"

To that she didn't even bother responding. But he probably still heard her indignant 'hmph!' through the walls.

Without worrying over her current roommate, Tenten opened the envelope and pulled out something. She raised an eyebrow at it and turned it over. Blank. No clue at all.

She shrugged, got up and popped the tape into the VCR beneath her t.v. Then sat back down, brought her remote control up and pressed 'play' after taking a long, deep sigh.

For a moment she worried about the sound on the tape, but soon realized it had all been edited out. There wasn't any sound at all... until some slow song with unintelligible words began ringing through the room in soft tones.

Tenten stared around for a second, bewildered. The screen was still blank though. Then, in black and white at first (obviously a visual effect), the scene came up...

She gasped silently and sat back in her seat, staring at the screen.

It was from yesterday, the scene on the tape. It was...

Suddenly Tenten's eyes widened and her face turned red, before quickly going pale.

On the t.v. Tenten rushed over to her friend and was on top of him in a second. Her face was hidden in his shoulder and her shoulders were moving an awful lot...

Next, present day Tenten watched all this happening before her eyes, absolutely mortified. She vaguely realized that from the angle of the footage, the person had been looking through one of her windows.

What came next was the absolute worst.

The editing with the music was one thing, but now this... this was horrific.

There were... subtitles. It was like some twisted little silent film.

Tenten grabbed the remote control from the coffee table where she had deposited it and rewound, because she had missed some of the subtitles in her stupor.

On the screen, Tenten once again (as present day Tenten cringed) ran over and jumped on Neji. Then her shoulders shook, in silence, as she cried on his shoulder and Neji awkwardly looked around with no idea what to do.

But then slowly he moved his hands to her back. Then the first subtitle came on.

'I've missed you.' It went. And from the way the scene looked, it was implied that Tenten was the one speaking.

Then followed by some silence, as Neji began moving his hands on her back and she started to calm down. And this time, when the second set of subtitles came on, Neji's mouth was moving, although he was saying something different entirely, she knew.

'I miss you too.' Was what he said. 'I'm sorry. For being such a jerk. I don't mean to be so uptight. And I didn't mean to hurt you with the stupid things I do or say.'

At this point Tenten, sitting on the couch, couldn't help but crack a smile at this very un-Neji-like behavior. But then it was her turn, as Neji's lips stopped moving, and she even noticed when she flinched at her real words.

'Nothing's ever just one person's fault.' At this, present Tenten also flinched. 'Neji, I-'

The sentence stopped short, appearing as if he'd cut her off. Neji was speaking again.

'I think I'm in love with you.'

Tenten stopped breathing.

On the t.v. she mumbled something... 'No you're not.'

"No I'm not." He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she shot up from the couch, fumbling with the remote, finally turning off the t.v. and letting the tape pop out of the VCR.

"Uh, when did you- Are you done? Isn't it time you got home? I'm sure your mother is missing you or something." She mumbled nervously with a fixed smile.

He was still staring at her in a queer manner. "What were you watching?"

As he reached over to pull out the tape, she jumped over the coffee table and was suddenly in front of him, causing him to pull back his hand in alarm. "So the bathroom's all cleaned then?" She tried again.

Neji pulled his hand back completely, looking at her. "Yeah. But if you're thinking about another shower with your clothes on I'd disapprove and have to stop you in some way that'd probably turn out to be volatile." He said cautiously with a serious look.

"Uh..." She said, glancing to the side, her hands behind her back, slowly easing the tape out of the electronic device. She sighed and moved it in front of her, staring down as she turned it over in a fidgety manner. "It's from my stalker person or whatever." Tenten said, staring down at it. "Do you mind if I watch it alone?" Then finally looked back up at him.

"Yes." Was his immediate answer. Tenten's face shown with surprise. "As your unofficial bodyguard and pretend boyfriend I think I have a right to watch it too." He folded his arms over his chest.

She stared at him nervously. "But- Well it was addressed to me!" She tried to argue.

Neji walked a few steps, seemingly brushing past her, but he stopped as they were shoulder to shoulder and turned his head to look at her. "Come on Tenten, what could possibly be bad about it considering all that I've already seen?" He gave a small, sly smile and tapped her nose lightly with a finger.

Then he grabbed the tape from her hands and shoved it back into the VCR, grabbing Tenten's arm and dragging her to the couch. She was still slightly dazed, filled with anger and embarrassment and frustration, yet had no idea what to exert first or how.

Luckily for her he didn't bother going back and watching the most embarrassing part all over again. Tenten wasn't sure how long she would last before she imploded, if he had watched it. But then, she had no idea what was to come.

It was too late to try and stop it from happening, as she turned her head to him; he hit the play button on the remote. After Neji's confession on screen, it went black. There was a pause, where Tenten sighed and Neji's brows crinkled together.

And they were both horrified at what was suddenly displayed...

'I realize now that there is competition, to make you mine Tenten. But I know when I should see someone so deserving. I respectfully bow down to Hyuuga Neji for capturing your heart and wish you the very best in your future Tenten. This is my last and final message.'

The screen went blank again and the two on the couch were wide-eyed for a moment longer.

Then...

'To celebrate how wonderful you two will be together I created something for you.'

A song once again started up in the background, and before the two could process anything images from all over town were being thrown at them. With spectacular visual effects and transitions. It took a few seconds for veins to pop and they realized what it was.

A music video. Dedicated to them. And their supposed "relationship".

At the end of the video there was a sorry for the message being on a tape and not a DVD, which went by unnoticed by the two sitting on the sofa, now very aware of the one foot of space between them.

"I was looking at a flower." He blinked.

"I was staring at the sky." She replied.

The two looked at each other blankly. Then turned back to the screen.

"Funny how he edited it just right so it actually does look like we're thinking about or looking at each other or something." Tenten stated as she stared.

Neji continued. "The magic that is technology." He cursed softly. "I'll never understand all that crap though."

"I'm not sure if this is creepier than the others or not." She said again "I don't think it had anything to do with my plan either, but at least this guy is... done with me. What a weird, stupid way to 'make someone yours'." She mumbled.

Another moment of silence passed and Neji still hadn't spoken.

"I think I'm gonna take a shower." Tenten said, getting up.

He blinked and stared at her. Watching until she left the living room, he finally got up to follow her. All the while ignoring the warning in his head and the table leg he nearly tripped over, which had to be a clear sign that everything was preventing him from doing what he was about to do.

But he just wouldn't listen...

xoxo

The blonde looked around fervently, trying to figure it out. This is the place where she'd usually be, Naruto thought to himself. He glanced up at a few passersby and then started walking again.

It had been days since he'd last seen Hinata and he missed her terribly. And he was also a little afraid to see her now. If he was still a dense twelve year old he wouldn't have noticed, but Hinata was avoiding him.

He'd called her earlier in the morning and had received no reply, even though it was coming around noon now. He'd stopped by her house a few times since yesterday and she was never home and no one knew where she was or when she'd be back. Now he couldn't find her at any of her usual spots.

He thought maybe it had something to do with the engagement, because... well, everything was perfect before he'd proposed. Maybe she'd changed her mind. In fact, maybe she wanted to dump him altogether.

The blonde tried to rationalize all these thoughts, sorting them through his head. He could barely pay attention to where he was walking. He also tried to shrug them off and thought, heading back to her house for a quick check couldn't hurt, and so turned in that direction.

Naruto, now a tall and handsome young man at age eighteen had his head screwed on right. He was an excellent ninja and had dropped some of his older, obnoxious qualities. It seemed like he really was on his way to accomplishing his dream of becoming Hokage.

Around the corner, the Hyuuga mansion loomed overhead, taking up an entire block. Naruto cautiously walked over. Even though most of the Hyuuga family had accepted him into their lives and his relationship with Hinata, he was a little intimidated by them. Coming from such a big, respectable family where as he had no family. That and her father could be scary when he wanted.

He took a deep breath, walking up to the front door and used the knocker on it. It took a minute or two before someone finally answered, he had to wonder how they ever heard anyone coming. Maybe they should upgrade to a doorbell.

He was lucky this time, as it swung open, Hinata's younger sister was standing there with bright eyes.

"Hello Naruto." She said in a quiet voice. Eerily, he was reminded of Hinata.

"Uh hi. I was wondering, is Hina-chan home?" Came his slightly jittery voice. He felt like it was their first date all over again.

Hanabi shook her head. "I'm sorry Naruto; I haven't seen her since morning. She left shortly after waking up." She gave an apologetic look.

"Oh." He stood there with his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Uh... did she get my message this morning? That I wanted to see her?" He questioned again.

"Yes, I told her myself. But I think she'd just woken up. Maybe she didn't hear it through the door." The younger Hyuuga responded with kind words, trying to make Naruto feel better. "I'm sorry. When I see her later I'll make sure to tell her you were looking for her.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." He said, smiling in a friendly manner. Naruto turned around, pretending to leave, letting Hanabi take the hint to close the door and leave, which she did. He flinched when the door shut softly.

Where was Hinata? Had he really done something terrible to have her avoid him like this?

Naruto sat down on the steps and let her elbows rest on his legs, putting his face in his hands. He made an aggravated sound and moved his head downward so his hands went through his hair.

He was so down and drowned in his thoughts he almost didn't notice. But he did, and looked up abruptly in surprise. A whisper of a familiar energy had passed through him. He definitely knew who it was, and now that he had a lead there was no time to hesitate.

He quickly jumped up from his seat and into the nearby tree, scanning the area on crouched legs. It wasn't there anymore, he couldn't feel her chakra but concentrating hard enough he could probably tell where she was going.

Naruto didn't look back, only smiled as he prepared to make more leaps and bounds to get her. How fitting.

xoxo

Shikamaru knocked on the door once more, putting his ear closer to try and get a hint as to what was going on inside. No luck. But seeing as he had given her fair warning, and perhaps the truth was she wasn't even home at all... he pulled out the spare key Ino had given him, back when she trusted him to be his friend.

He opened the door easily and poked his head inside cautiously. The living room was almost as small as his own, but looked more cozy and lived-in. Same with everything, and being the daughter of a flower shop owner, it was almost beautifully accented.

He began walking inside, looking around carefully and closing the door behind him. Everything was in order, very neat and well-kept. But it didn't look like she was home. There wasn't any sound at all. No sound from the bathroom to say maybe she was in the shower and couldn't have heard him. And there wasn't any music blasting or even being played in soft tones.

Still, and he had no idea why he did it, he ventured further into the seemingly empty house. Past the living room and kitchen, down the small hallway, walking right near the bathroom door to gaze inside and then to stop right before the last place in her house. Ino's bedroom.

Now this was just too perverse for his mind to keep up with. And he still wasn't sure why he was still here, in her house, looking for something... until he slowly pushed open the door and saw Ino sitting on the floor with her legs splitting apart underneath her, fingering her now short hair and staring mindlessly into a mirror.

The skilled shinobi and overall brilliantly minded boy had no idea what to do as he looked at his friend in surprise.

Ino had yet to notice he was standing behind her, but then again it seemed as though she could care less... about anything else at the moment. She held the mirror in her left hand, twisting at the ends of her hair, her hair that now was barely past her shoulders and occasionally turned her head from side to side to stare at it.

A pair of scissors, along with every strand she'd cut off lay in front of her. Her expression kept changing from awe to surprise to looking dismayed at her spontaneous decision.

"Hey..." He started off, his voice sounding jerky and irregular. "Ino..."

Finally she blinked as if someone had shaken her awake and turned to look at him over her shoulder. By then Shikamaru had come down on one knee behind her, and had been on the verge of tapping her lightly, but pulled back when she turned to him with an unreadable gaze.

"What're you doing here? How'd you get... in..." She slowed her speech when her mind started to catch up.

He tried to pretend things were normal, and so raised an eyebrow with his question. "Need a hand?" He asked, offering his own.

Ino glared. "Why are you here? I'm pretty sure there's nothing that I owe you here." She responded, turning back and getting up herself.

Shikamaru stood up along with her. He shrugged. "I came to talk to you." Was his response.

The blonde stared, then closed her eyes and tried to calm down. It may have been easier for Naruto and Hinata because they didn't get on each other's nerves half the time with stupid little fights and jokes. And when she'd first seen Shikamaru in her house she immediately jumped to the conclusion he was hoping to get something from her.

Which was a dumb thing to think. It was Shikamaru for god's sake.

She reopened her eyes to give him a strange look and walked past him, heading to the bathroom. He followed her in a casual manner, stuffing his hands into his pockets, knowing she really didn't care. The male shinobi leaned against the doorway as Ino stood in the bathroom, examining her face and brushing off hair that had fallen onto her shoulders and clothes, not once looking to her newly acquired haircut.

"What happened?" He asked again.

She didn't bother answering that. Or turning to look at him. "What'd you wanna talk about?" And managing to keep her voice even, Ino turned to look at him after enough stalling.

Looking at her fully, with her haircut was something new to Shikamaru and he stared at her a few seconds longer before saying anything. Of course this in turn only unnerved her. So Ino once again walked right by him on her exit of the lavatory, instead of standing there and fidgeting like mad.

Shikamaru turned around to follow again. "About yesterday." He trailed her to the living room, where she pretended to rearrange magazines and other trivial things. "You ran away pretty quick. Did anything I say offend you or something?" He started off, not mentioning the specifics.

Ino turned to him with a look, still bent over the coffee table. "No, I just needed to get on with my errands and things. Isn't that what I said?" She unconsciously reached up to tug lightly at her hair, and then stood up straight.

"Why'd you cut your hair?" He questioned suddenly, motioning to her.

Still pulling at it, this time a bit more harshly, and stared. "I just felt like a change." She was tempted to keep on with this train of thought and ask if it looked bad or something.

He shrugged. "So? Maybe I felt that way too."

Her face only displayed confusion. "From what?"

His look said 'you've got to be kidding'.

She stared a bit longer, letting the silence stretch and by now he was annoyed. Ino turned away and took a seat on the sofa behind her. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "You know, I don't mind my hair being short again. It's nice, isn't it? I do like it... Or at least I know I will once I get used to it." She looked up at him, just as he made steps to come sit next to her.

Unfortunately he managed to completely miss the point as he sat down with a questionable face.

She sighed. "What are you doing Shikamaru?"

He winced slightly at her use of his full first name.

"You're trying to turn us into something we're not. I don't think I can go down that path with you."

The Nara's face was stern. "Why? And what makes you think I'm going to force you to do anything?"

She shook her head. "But that look on your face does. It says something. It says," She started out, in a dreamy voice, looking upwards. "That if I don't even try you'll always remember this, and be bitter about it. You'll always wonder what could've happened if I had accepted."

"Won't you?" He questioned, staring at her with emotion. "Don't tell me you'd forget about it as quickly as your last meal."

The blonde was taken-aback. "I didn't mean it like that. But..." Her fingers wound their way back into her hair, twisting and twirling at the ends. She glanced down at them for a second before looking back to him. "This isn't like my haircut. It's not something that's so small. And when my hair grows back things will be like it never happened. But if things happen between us and we realize it can't work... things can't just go back like nothing happened. You are one of my best friends Shika-"

"Spare me." He replied with a cold voice, staring down at the floor between his knees.

"You're doing it already." Was her small voice. "Getting angry at me when I haven't done anything yet."

He chose not to respond.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly. Her hand let go of her own hair and moved toward his own, running it through his messy flop of hair. "It's my fault, right? It seemed like I was making advances because I flirted with you and-"

"Since when do you think so much?" He asked, turning sideways to look at her.

Ino glared at him briefly. "Why do you have to be such a jerk sometimes?"

His smile was wide. "You look funny mad." Then ducked his head back to looking at the floor, expression unmoved.

She blinked warily at him. "Are you on some kind medication you've forgotten to take?" After a bit more staring, "Were you really expecting me to have sex with you the other day?"

Shikamaru sat back fully into the sofa, looking at her blankly. Then a smirk came. "They weren't mine." Was his reply.

"..." She stared. "I don't get it, what?" She shook her head.

He shrugged. "A friend of mine dropped it. She was in a hurry to get somewhere and I couldn't catch up to give it back."

Finally her brain started to catch up, albeit a little too slowly. At the store, strange guy trying to hit on her, the... yeah, and running into Shika just outside, running off in a blur. Did she drop something? Did she? She hadn't even checked as she got home.

Ino looked up at him with shock written all over her, her mouth gaping open. "You think I-" He nodded curtly before she finished, not that she wanted to.

She stared a moment longer, hands resting flat on her thighs. It took another moment for her to regain her wits.

"You- You're mistaken." She began, trying to shuffle around and show her composure. A sigh escaped her parted lips. "Fine. Maybe they were mine." And slouched in her seat, staring at the t.v. that wasn't on. "The guy at the store gave them to me for free... apparently assuming I was going out to 'get some action' or whatever you guys call it." She tried to roll her eyes without feeling self-conscious.

Of course her best friend was still skeptical of this, not believing her.

"I think you need to leave." She said with a glare.

Shikamaru didn't protest, but made a show of getting up, bringing his face awfully close to hers as he did so and even pausing a bit. "Doesn't mean I'm done." He murmured for her to hear.

xoxo

It would take an absolutely stupid person to not realize what was happening. Otherwise the person had to be very relaxed and nonchalant about the whole thing.

Either way, as Anko silently stalked Kakashi, making sure he finished every bite of his meal she was very cautious about it. Once he arrived at the building where, something he hardly took part in, work was done and to meet the Godaime and get some specifics on his next mission, she gave up the façade and pretended to also be heading in to fill out some paperwork, being careful to stay away from him.

She walked around and tried to look busy in front of her co-workers while keeping one eye open to spot his spiky, silver hair walk down a hallway or across the lobby.

He didn't seem to notice her at all, too preoccupied with navigating through a room and giving small greetings to his fellow comrades.

After an hour of wandering around and trying to keep him in sight, Anko took a wrong turn somewhere in the big building. By the time she reached a window, she could see Kakashi outside, just leaving.

She cursed herself for being so inattentive. And it looked like the only way to catch up with him would be heading down right now, seeing as she was two stories up.

Luckily, the only person present in the room was heading out as he read some papers he was holding. And besides, she told herself, they were ninja. She could always just say she was trying to keep her skills sharp, she thought, opening the window and cautiously heading out.

But she did manage to hit her head on the window when trying to duck under it, and barely caught her balance on the ledge.

'Geez, the things I do...' She gritted her teeth, making a leap to a nearby rooftop successfully.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was enjoying his almost afternoon walk back home. He had been grateful when he learned his mission had been postponed to later in the month.

Although he had the sneaking suspicion that something today just wasn't right, he was too well off to give in to his paranoid mind. And today was so peaceful looking; he might as well head home and take a nap or something.

The shinobi looked up at the sky with a dazed face, more so than usual that is. In no time he was passing right by his usual breakfast stand, waving cheerfully, a little too cheerful, at the owner who could only grin mischievously.

He thought he spotted someone familiar out of the corner of his eye, but shook it off. In a village as small as this it was natural to recognize every person you passed. Although his eyelids were getting a bit heavy.

'Really need that nap.' He thought, his walk becoming slower, steps a little off sync.

Although the walk did take longer than necessary, for both Kakashi and his stalker, they did finally make it down the familiar stretch of road, leading to the one house Anko was so anxious to get into. Especially after being ambushed in her own home a few days ago.

It was time for some pay back.

He may have been a little disoriented from being drugged, even though he had yet to realize it, but Kakashi's senses were still at their best. Even Anko knew this, so she decided to just hang around the neighborhood for a bit until she was sure he was asleep. It wouldn't take too long, was all she hoped.

She gave up on that idea after fifteen minutes. She decided it really didn't matter whether he would notice or sense her presence because he'd be too doped up to resist.

And this was the reason she was striding down the block recklessly and without a care in the world. In fact, she whistled a random tune, folded her arms and looked around carelessly before finally reaching Kakashi's place, just another small, apartment-looking house.

But maybe getting inside his house would be a problem. In five minutes however, she found the back door unlocked. Apparently he was very confident in his abilities as a ninja. Or he'd just forgotten about it.

His house was boring and so neat and organized, it seemed like no one lived there at all. There were no personal items lying around, or picture frames on tables or shelves.

Anko tip-toed her way through the kitchen, down a hallway and stairs leading to the second floor. She admired how spacious his place actually was.

When she didn't find him making tea or something in the kitchen she'd assumed he'd gone upstairs to his room to pass out since there was no sound at all echoing through the big house. But upon reaching the living room she froze.

On a three-person sofa, half strewn across it was Kakashi, at his worst. What surprised her most were the partially open eyes staring up dazedly at the ceiling, his forehead protector on the coffee table.

'Oh shit.' Was the only thought running through her head. Carrying out this plan was a lot more difficult than it seemed. A creaking sound was made when she took a small, light step back.

A pair of mismatched eyes slid down to land on her shocked face. Other than this, he made no sign of acknowledgement.

Anko stared at him a few minutes longer. Then mentally hit herself. Just get started, she thought silently, moving in.

Kakashi lifted his head up slightly. Or at least he hoped he did. Every part of his body felt like lead. He watched blearily as a figure honed in on him, but he shrugged it off, turned away and went right to sleep, the person still advancing, now with a predatory gleam in her eyes.

xoxo

It would look awfully stupid to be jumping around in the shadows of trees once she got to the more populated areas of town. So when Hinata could feel she was a good enough distance away she stopped abruptly, jumping from a few more roof tops and trees before landing on the ground.

She still couldn't help glancing back with an extremely worried look on her face. Then turned back to where she was heading to... or where she was coming from. Already she was getting a few strange looks, while a few others greeted her with smiles and mentioned her engagement.

To which she rolled her eyes away in irritation. Apparently the news of her and Naruto, even though almost a week had passed, was following her around like-

The Hyuuga looked up suddenly, darting her eyes around. She tried to shake the feeling and found herself heading into a shop to occupy her mind.

This is ridiculous, was the only thing coming to mind. Running away from him? How far would she go with this before facing him? Until she figured out what to do? That could take days! And it already seemed he was impatient about seeing her.

Hinata stopped and turned to stare at herself in a mirror on the wall.

What happened to being so happy she could hardly be away from him? What happened to that feeling? Wasn't she in love?

That seemed like a dumb question. She nodded to herself as she rummaged through a rack of clothes, pretending to look for her size.

Furthermore, she had no idea what she was supposed to be deciding on. Whether or not to marry Naruto anymore?

Really, she was only making things seem complicated. What was wrong with her? Had her friends really figured her out or had they misinterpreted her? But then what was her reason for seeking out heart-to-heart talks with Neji, her sensei and best friends like she was on her deathbed?

Of course with all this thinking and worrying, it was completely unexpected when a hand swept across from one shoulder to land on the next. She jumped lightly and looked up abruptly, fearing what was behind her.

"H-how did you-" She tried to start, her hands still clutching tightly onto the piece of clothing in front of her, already knowing who it was.

He sighed behind her, leaning over the same shoulder and pushing her long, dark hair to the opposite side. "I had to conceal my presence and chakra and everything. Do you know how annoying that is? It's so exhausting too." He whined.

Hinata carefully turned her head to look at Naruto's face, now with his chin resting on her right shoulder. She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, her right hand unconsciously letting go of a shirt and moving to rest in his bright blonde hair.

She blinked a few times as she looked at his pout face and realized how much she'd missed him. Naruto blinked at her. Hinata moved to turn around but he suddenly caught her off guard.

Just as she completed the 180° turn, his arms were around her waist and hoisting her into the air. Hinata was so taken by surprise, she found it instinctive to wrap her legs around his waist for support, and grab his neck.

Naruto however didn't waste any time, and even as he was staring up at her with his neck craned back slightly, he steered his way through the shop and past a red curtain, leading them into the empty dressing room. Hinata was looking down at him the whole time. That is, until her back was slammed into a wall, causing her to wince and gasp, breaking eye contact and arching her body.

Naruto was sure to keep his eyes locked on her face, whether or not she was looking at him, barely acknowledging his mistake.

The Hyuuga heiress stared up at the ceiling, blinking away tears from the abrupt pain, with her back still perfectly arched. After the overwhelming series of emotion and pain subsided, she still wasn't sure who was supposed to speak first.

"Why are you staring at me?" Hinata finally questioned, blinking at the ceiling.

"Can't help it. I was starting to wonder if you'd disappeared or been kidnapped or something." He stated, his voice not too friendly.

"So?" Was the only thing she could come up with.

"So," He replied slowly. "I haven't seen you for days. Is there a problem with wanting to see my fiancée?"

At the mention, Hinata couldn't help looking down at him with a half glare. Which was about the same time Naruto let a hand slip under her thigh and brought his lips to her neck in a kiss that slowly started to calm her down.

"What are you doing? I thought you were mad." She said with a wary tone.

"If I was mad I'd probably scare you away for another week." He replied, nuzzling into her neck. "Can we just make up now? And go home and forget I ever had to corner you into speaking to me."

"I missed you Naruto." She replied, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Then where were you all that time?" Naruto moved his head back, letting her untangle herself, so he could look at her. "Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like you were avoiding me." He said with a comically suspicious look.

"Naruto, we need to talk." Hinata said, suddenly putting on her best serious expression.

Naruto stared back blankly, while mentally trying to prepare himself for the worst.

"That would mean you should put me down." She said again, this time raising an eyebrow and moving her hands from his neck to rest on his shoulders.

"But what if you try running away?" He asked back.

"You'll probably catch me in no time." She responded knowingly. "And you know where I live... so..."

He moved his hands to her sides instead, and Hinata moved her legs to stand up, also letting go of his shoulders. She slipped out of his grasp and walked a few steps past him, trying to make some distance before turning back around.

"Uh... well first..." Hinata started off, her hands fidgeting behind her back and staring down at her plain, white dress. "I was hanging out with," She winced at her own phrasing, then added, "And talking with Kurenai-sensei." Pause. "And Neji." Pause Two. "And also Shino, Kiba and Akamaru."

Naruto only stared at her from across the small room. He folded his arms and waited for more. Although inside his head he was thinking, oh I'm sure Akamaru had loads to tell you.

Now she brought her hands in front. "Talking with them, it made me realize things. And I..." Hinata stopped, causing her to breathe in a slight gasp as she met his eyes. "I don't... Don't think I can do this."

Naruto blinked. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would feel. He blinked again. In fact, he felt nothing at all. Which was good, because then he could get to the bottom of this.

"So wait... This being... marriage? Or you and me altogether?" He questioned, arms loosening.

Hinata looked at him tearfully. "I don't know!" She burst out hysterically, hating the wimpy way she sounded. "You didn't give me time to think before hunting me down!" The dark-haired girl said accusingly.

"Maybe you shouldn't have run away in the first place! Maybe you shouldn't have been avoiding me at all." Naruto started ranting, walking up to her with his arms in the air as he did so. "Were you really just gonna come to some stupid decision on your own and then tell me whenever? Don't I have a say in this stuff?"

Hinata stared as Naruto began pacing back and forth in front of her.

He stopped again before her. "So you... You don't want to marry me? Is that it? But why? A few days ago we were so happy about the whole thing!"

"Calm down." The Hyuuga heiress tried, placing a hand on his arm. "It's not that Naruto. How could I not want to marry you?" She looked away doubtfully. "But things are more complicated than that."

"Then explain it to me." He said frankly, lifting his arms up in the air.

Her hand dropped away. "I don't know. I'm just..." She turned away for a second before looking at his face again. "I'm just realizing... that love doesn't make everything perfect. My first thoughts were that. Everything looked so perfect."

Naruto was suddenly staring her down with a look in his eyes. Hinata's eyes were flickering back and forth to his while making unnecessary hand gestures as she spoke. She hardly noticed as he began to advance towards her and she followed, without thinking, by taking steps back in an attempt to keep the distance. Even as her back hit the wall, making an abrupt stop, with Naruto closing in.

"But I- I talked with Kurenai-sensei." She said, her hands scratching lightly at the wall behind her. "About Asuma." Naruto just nodded, impassive and stopping only a few inches away, placing his hands flat on the wall next to her shoulders. "And losing him." She said again, voice becoming noticeably softer. "And I realized how afraid I am... of losing you too." She ended.

"But I'm not going anywhere." The blonde stated, using a tone as low as hers.

"You don't know that." Was her response, tearing up again and voice cracking.

Naruto smiled. "This all sounds so cliché." Hinata wanted to hit him. He moved in to leave a kiss on her collarbone that left tingles. "So you've been worrying the whole time?"

"And, well..." Hinata glanced away, remembering what Shino and Kiba had said. "Maybe I'm just... not ready... for marriage. Or maybe marrying me will be a mistake. Maybe we just shouldn't ever get married." She rambled.

"I'm pretty sure people will suspect something when we start having kids." He joked as he placed another light kiss on her neck.

She managed to smile slightly as her cheeks turned pink. "When did I say anything about kids?"

The blonde pulled back to look at her, grinning. "Can't remember, but didn't you just say 'how could I not marry you'? Guess that just solves everything then."

Hinata tried to glare through her still glassy eyes. "You aren't being serious. You aren't even listening." She said accusingly.

"No, I'm just trivializing everything." He responded.

She stared at him a moment longer, then placed her hands on both sides of his face and slowly reached up to lock their lips. She worked at it for a minute, Naruto getting so involved his hands were now at her hips.

Finally she pulled back and rested her forehead against his, only letting her eyes roam the floor. "I love you Naruto. But I don't think I can go through the things my sensei went through. Or have to spend everyday worrying about it happening."

Naruto closed his eyes, still able to catch every word she said. Before disappearing in a puff of smoke to find himself holding a couch pillow. He looked up suddenly and realized he was still in a dressing room at the back of the shop.

He sighed to himself and banged his head against the wall once, twice.

The usually cheerful blonde looked up at the ceiling and had to wonder why women were so difficult.

"Shit." He muttered, tossing the pillow to the nearest couch.

xoxo

Although she and Shikamaru had given each other "advice", Sakura was far from accepting it and heading home. Instead she wandered around the village for a bit before decidedly turning in the direction of Ino's house.

She pulled out her key ring and entered her best friend's house without caring whether she was there or not. Casually approaching the living room, the pink-haired girl threw herself on the largest sofa and lay there for a quiet moment.

Soon she heard shuffling as someone walked into the room. Looking up from having her face stuffed in a pillow, Sakura was at a loss for words so she let her mouth hang open as she sat up stiffly.

"What did you do?" She finally asked.

Ino stared back blankly, her hand once again tugging at her hair. "Huh?" She answered back dumbly. "I just... felt like a change."

Sakura stared at her best friend as she also sat down on the sofa next to her. "When?" She tried again.

"Earlier today." The blonde responded, looking away. "Is it bad?" She turned back, giving in. "You all make it seem like-" She stopped.

"No, it's just been a while since your hair was so short. I guess I just forgot what it looked like." Sakura answered her friend's anxious look.

Ino leaned back into the couch and looked up at the ceiling tiredly. "So why're you here anyway? Shouldn't you be at the hospital or training under the Godaime?" She questioned.

"Ah..." The other started off, looking to the side and also sinking into the cushions. "Taking a day off to reassess some things." She responded.

"That sounds very official. Why? Planning to become ANBU or something?" Ino looked at her out of the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, I ran into Shikamaru a little while ago." Was her next tactful statement.

"Oh..."

"And he mentioned... how things are between you two. What's up? Anything you want to share?" Sakura stared at her friend with a pouty expression, looking very much like a little kid. All she got from Ino was a sigh. "I think it's... well, slightly odd, but mostly good." She continued.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing there." Came Ino's clipped tone as she abruptly stood up to walk around the living room.

"Aw, come on. I think it'd be great if you two went out." Sakura sat up straight and followed Ino's movements with her eyes. "You guys have fun together most of the time and when you do fight it's still pretty cute to watch."

"Shika and I don't see each other that way." She refuted.

There was a silence where Sakura gave her a pointed look, which Ino caught. "Actually I think he's starting to see the light. So what's wrong with it?" She paused with a look of disbelief. "Come on, after all the years you've ever known him, you've never once thought about him in a more than platonic way? Not once?"

Ino didn't look doubtful at her obvious answer. "Is this what he was telling you? Convincing you that him and I are a perfect match or something?"

"Please. The world doesn't revolve around you Ino. I'm surprised you've gone back to your old way of thinking just cuz of a guy." The pink-haired girl grumbled mockingly and looked away. "For your information Queen Ino, we were discussing my own entangled problems."

The other just blinked in confusion and stopped her pacing. "Your what?" Then laughed to herself. "Problems with what? Medicines and medical treatment? I hardly think Shika's the one to go to for such things."

"..." She paused with a glare on her face, aimed at no one. "I have a social life too you know. Maybe not quite so prominent as yours." She shot back. Ino flinched. "Actually..." Her voice faded off as she realized what she might say.

"Are you seeing someone and haven't told me?" Ino questioned, suddenly putting her hands on her hips. "I thought having the best friend title counted for something."

"It's nothing." Sakura grumbled out again, looking less willing to share than before. "I'm not seeing anybody." She sniffed, trying to sound indignant.

Ino laughed again. "Come on," She said, throwing the same words back. "When you say social life you clearly meant boy troubles. Really Sakura, how long has it been?"

The glare now being aimed at the blonde could probably melt metal. "Do you two share the same brain or something?" She bit out. "It wasn't about a guy, or sex! It was just Sasuke." Sakura responded, finally giving in.

"What about Sasuke?" Ino questioned cautiously after a moment of silence prevailed.

"Um... I offered to..." Sakura sighed, scratching her arm nervously. "Move out. And he acted like the world was gonna end. So he wants me to stay... But I don't." Sakura looked up to see her friend standing there with a finger to her chin in a thoughtful pose. "What're you... thinking about?"

Ino just laughed it off. "Since when do blondes think?" She tried joking.

"Are you trying to cover something up? Forget that, I know you are. What were you just thinking?" She demanded.

"Well... it's just after everything that's happened, maybe... you and Sasuke were going to be together in the end. Maybe me crushing on him for all that time was pointless." Ino still looked to be in thought.

"Have you been reading romance novels lately or something?" Sakura asked with a deadpanned look. "You've got to be kidding. Me and Sasuke end up together like a perfect, happy little couple? Never."

"What's wrong with trying to be optimistic? This could be your opportunity at being happy! Why don't you just give him a chance, after all those years you spent chasing after him and now you've finally got him?" Ino's voice replied, frustrated.

"Why don't you give Shikamaru a chance? For all the great times you've already had and most likely will have if you'd just be open to the idea." Sakura shot back.

"This is ridiculous! Didn't we proclaim ourselves rivals for everything when we were younger, including love? Now when it's there, neither of us wants the good stuff." The blonde's voice moaned.

Sakura couldn't help grinning, and soon snickering madly.

"What?" A head turned to stare at her.

"Did you just call Shikamaru 'the good stuff'?" She said before laughing all over again.

Ino just scowled and turned away, plopping herself down on another couch. "That's not what I meant! And I was referring to your case, not mine. Because there's nothing there." She said slowly, enunciating the last three words carefully.

After she got a hold of her laughter, Sakura turned to her best friend with a smile. "I still don't get it. Why won't you even consider it?" Ino only replied with a glare, casually looking around she went on. "You know, I think you need to grow up a bit and stop holding yourself back when you don't need to."

Hair spinning with her as she suddenly turned to look at Sakura, the blonde stared with wide eyes.

When Sakura realized she wouldn't get any more conversation she slowly peeled herself off the sofa and stood up, stretching a bit. "I guess I'll see you later Ino. No one's going to hold it against you if you don't choose to give it a try." She said with a sympathetic look.

Making her way to the front door, she was halted by her friend's voice coming across, quiet and slow. "What about you... and Sasuke?"

The pink-haired girl half turned. "It's way too late for that." She sighed. "I'm tired. I wanna go home."

xoxo

His body moved slowly, suddenly he was on her side, and turned his eyes to stare at the wooden flooring.

Then he sighed and turned in the opposite direction he had come from, rolling over until he was back on his side of the bed and staring upwards. Sasuke spread his arms out of the vast bed, the blanket still somewhat tangled around his legs.

After a minute of restlessness, he turned around and rolled back onto Sakura's side. And repeated the routine.

Sasuke had spent most of his day so far, which wasn't too long, in bed. Waiting.

Sakura hadn't come home yet and he had no idea what to do, and worse, he still had no idea what to say to her when she got back. How to change her mind. What to say, what to say.

It didn't matter! He was no good at these things. Just coming up with the words was easy. Getting them out and trying to sound human was the hard part.

Sasuke continued to roll sideways, back and forth, back and forth on the bed. Waiting.

He groaned to himself, lifting his head backwards to look at the wall, then settled back down.

All this idiotic behavior, combined with the warmer temperature that day had him stripped down to a pair of boxers he wore proudly.

And soon his thoughts were delving into how they came into his possession and the person that came along with it. Nothing perverted, mind you.

Of course it had to be Sakura who got them for him. Just like how she got him almost every piece of clothing he owned. The Uchiha finally sat up in bed, hands in his lap.

Maybe begging for forgiveness and a second chance and trying to persuade her to stay wasn't the way to do it. Maybe he ought to start by taking some action. Like going back to the Godaime and trying to get back into employment.

He sighed, slouching. That was a close call. At least he didn't have to worry about saying anything.

xoxo

I hate to be the bearer of bad news... but it looks like there will be a fifth chapter. And hopefully that will actually be the last one. This one took forever. But at least I finally got it together and got through to some characters and screwed up a few others, but everything should end well... I think.

Right, just gotta wait till I finish, reread, edit, and then post them. God, that'll take so long it seems... But I doubt the next (last) chapter will be very long. Like this one. For all the chapters of this story so far, this one has broken the record. Wonderful.

Hope you didn't fall asleep or get too bored reading the entire thing. Yeah, it is pretty looong. Oh well, I'm not cutting it, cuz that's the way it goes.

Still don't have a title... that'll come later.

1-18-07

9:39pm

Uh, sorry again about this. Kinda forgot about this again. Only by opening My Documents and seeing the last two chapters waiting do I remember I need to get this out there soon. Yeah, hope you enjoyed what my strange came up with. Sorry if you didn't.

Let's see... word count? Okay, not counting the AN or part at the top... 17.1k. Microsoft Word informs me that this chapter is about 33 pages if you were to print it out...

OWWWW.

Sorry, stupid thing my friend does. :D

11-3-07

12:56pm