AN/ Okies, chapter three of my first crack fic everybody! I want to thank all that took the time to review my story. It really means a lot to me, and hopefully I will get more reviews next time…anyways.

A small note: I didn't intend any pairings in the last chapter! If you took it that way and liked them then go ahead and fantasize as much as you want. But to those who did not enjoy them I want to say this, "I was not hinting at ShikaxNeji when Neji crawled into Shika's bed. He merely did not want to sleep in the same room as Kiba. I always thought that Neji and Shika would have been good friends had they been given the chance so I am portraying that in this story. Also Kiba does not "like" Neji; he merely finds it highly amusing to annoy him."

That is all… enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: IMPORTANT: This Fan fiction is intended for the use of the individual readers of Naruto fandom and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. If you are not the intended reader, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this fic is not authorised (either explicitly or implicitly) and constitutes an irritating social faux pas. Unless the word absquatulation has been used in its correct context somewhere other than in this warning, it does not have any legal or grammatical use and may be ignored. No animals were harmed in the creation of this fanfic, although the Yorkshire terrier next door is living on

Borrowed time let me tell you. Those of you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown will be gratified to learn that there is no hidden message revealed by reading this warning backwards, so just ignore that Alert Notice from Microsoft: However, by pouring a complete circle of salt around yourself and your computer you can ensure that no harm befalls you and your pets. If you opened this fic in error, please add some nutmeg and egg whites and place it in a warm oven for 40 minutes. Whisk briefly and let it stand for 2 hours before icing.

((I forget where I got the disclaimer, but this is ITS disclaimer: I did not write it))

OOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I woke up this morning it was so dark I could barley see my hand in front of my face. I was about to go back to sleep thinking I had woken up to early, but when I looked at the clock on the dresser beside me and saw the bright letters glowing the numbers 9:34am. I blinked a few times.

"Is that clock broken? troublesome" I muttered and then rolled over to go back to sleep and found myself with a face full of hair. I sat up really fast; there was some…thing in my bed. I leaned closer as it shifted and found myself face to face with one sleeping Neji Hyuga.

"What the hell… oh right, he came to my room last night"

Turing my back to him to avoid any unnecessary closeness I closed my eyes and fell asleep again. I barley lay there when I felt someone poking me in the face. I opened my eyes again to see Naruto in front of me.

"What do you want?" I asked him, the anger was very clear through my words. I was not having a good morning. I mean, I woke up to a broken clock, a Hyuga in my bed, and poked awake again after like 3 minutes by the most annoying person I know.

"Umm Shikamaru… I woke up and my clock said 9:37am… and I thought it was wrong but when I checked my watch the time was right… but it's so dark…there's no storm I t shouldn't be dark… what's going on?"

I groaned and sat up. Ok scratch broken clock off my list of bad things, but still so far the day was pissing me off. All the noise and shuffling woke up Neji who rubbed his eyes and sat up as well. Clearly Naruto was asleep when he had come in and was not expecting him to just appear.

"Holy sh… Neji what are you doing"

"I was sleeping"

"Why were you in Shikamaru's bed?"

"You got a problem with it?"

I ignored them both and got out of bed.

"Both of you wake yourselves up. Clearly there is something with this castle seeing as they all love darkness and black. I'm going to wake up Kiba, and when we come back we will discuss figuring out this castle our new mission."

With that, I left the room and walked down the hall to the room beside mine. I walked through it cautiously. I had learned from past mistakes that Kiba was an interesting person to wake up in the morning. When I got to his bed I found him sprawled out on his stomach. The covers were sitting around his waist and one leg was hanging off the bed. All the pillows had been discarded. He looked peaceful enough, but something seemed to be missing. Then it hit me. The dog. Akamaru headed home after we went to the castle. And the way Kiba's arm circled out holding nothing made me wish the dog had come. But there wasn't time to feel sorry for the Inuzuka now. So I reached down and gently shook his shoulder only for him to roll over and completely ignore me. I shook him harder but he still only grunted. I sighed and leaned down to his ear. I tried to shake him harder still but he ended up rolling over again and trapping my arm beneath him. This pissed me off, so I leaned into his ear and whispered:

"Oooh wow look at the legs on her, those shorts are so short I can see..."

That got him up

"Where!"

He sat up like an eager eyes puppy. Only to receive a whack to the back of the head. I stared at him with my arms crossed.

"You are way too troublesome in the morning Inuzuka. But come on, team meeting in my room."

"Fine, but you're going to have to carry me Nara"

I don't know how I, the laziest ninja in Konoha, wound up carrying one of the most hyper ninjas to my room. But it was the only way he'd come. The look on Neji's face when I walked in would have been funny, had my back not hurt. I dropped the dog boy off my shoulders and rubbed my back.

"You way a ton!"

"All muscle baby"

"…troublesome."

After we went over what was going on, or as much as we knew (which wasn't much) we decided that one of us would go back to the village and ask permission from the Hokage to stay as long as it took for us to figure out what was going on. Naruto volunteered to go back, and I didn't argue. Naruto and Tsnuade got along more then she did with any of the rest of us, so if she would give permission to change our mission to anyone it would be Naruto. To not make trouble he left out the window right then and there. As for the rest of us, we decided to go downstairs and see if anyone else was awake yet.

Somehow we ended up being met in the hallway by the butler, who led us down to the large table for breakfast. It was only us this time, and I have to say the eggs were amazing, not that it was of any importance. Anyway, after breakfast we decided to split up and explore the castle ourselves. I found myself outside in a garden. It was light, and I was shocked. The flowers were beautiful, all yellows and purples. As I sat down on a stone bench it made me remember how Ino used to love flowers. She would always bring me and Chouji and Asuma some to training. And she always knew what they were called, and what they meant. It was annoying at the time, but looking back now I would give anything to have her there beside me, rambling about flowers.

"That one beside you is a Gardenia. It means a secret love"

My head shot up when I heard the voice. Looking around me I saw the young girl, with the black cloak. She came and sat beside me. Her lips were turned up in a smile. And the long hair that hung limply around her shoulders was blonde as I could see now in the light.

"I'm surprised you are out here" I told her "I assumed you hated the light, with all the black... oops oim sorry that sounded a little rude"

Her smile faltered

"No its fine, I'm the only one who comes out here. I love the flowers... and I get sick of that old musty castle. I've lived there all my life, but it somehow doesn't seem right."

I nodded and looked around at all the flowers. She seemed so in place here. I know it's foolish since I cannot see her… it's just something about it.

"Umm, can I ask you a question" I said slowly. She smiled and nodded

"Can you take you hood off"

The smile quickly disappeared, and she stood up fast.

"Umm no, I'm sorry I can't, and umm I have to uh go… I hear my mum calling, bye!"

With that she ran quickly from the garden, and I just sat there. There was something weird going on, and I didn't like it.

oOoOoOoO

Kiba walked through the long dark hallways of the 3rd floor. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he sighed at all the blank empty walls.

"This place needs some color" he mumbled to himself as he dragged one hand over the walls so it left fingerprints in the dust as he walked by. That's when he saw it. Filling the whole wall at the end of the hallway was a mural. It was beautiful. A single silhouette hung by its arms from bright blue strings that seemed to hold it suspended in mid air. Around the silhouette were swirls of reds and purples. It was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. He just stood in the hall and stared at it.

"So, you like my art" a deep voice asked behind him. Kiba spun around to be faced with the cloaked boy from the table earlier. He nodded then went back to gaping at it

"You painted that! It's amazing" Kiba said, meaning every word. The boy chuckled and thanked him.

"Look, I can't stay and chat, but your welcome to come up here anytime to see it, its still a work in progress."

Kiba thanked him and ran his fingers along the silhouette.

"Did u name the piece yet" he asked, as the cloaked figure disappeared down the hall

"Ya" he called back "the puppet master"

ooOOooOOoo

Neji found himself on the top floor. He gazed out one of the windows. He was lost in thought, and couldn't bring himself to patrol a castle. All he could think about was what his all seeing eyes had seen under that cloak the day before. He shook his head and told himself for the hundredth time he didn't see what he thought he did. Suddenly he heard foot steps and turned around. The butler was headed his way. He resisted all urges to look again. If it was what he thought under the cloak, he didn't want to know. The butler walked by with out much a glance to the Hyuga. And as soon as he was out of earshot Neji felt himself whisper.

"Springtime isn't gone yet"

ooOOooOOooOO ooOOooOOooOO ooOOooOOooOO ooOOooOOooOO ooOOooOOo

AN/ that's it for this chappie… I know it has been a long time, and I know it is short. I just wanted to get something up there so people don't think I died, or the story did anyway…tis all…hope you liked. Keep your eyes open for chapter 4… it is coming soon.