Here you go . . .this one's a little longer. Well, a lot longer, anyway.
Chapter 2:
Naruto wasn't really sure why, but he always found himself running errands for everyone. Kiba wanted junk food, Shikamaru wanted a crossword puzzle that he would unfailingly be too lazy to complete, Ino wanted some make-up thing that he prayed he got right, Sakura wanted some female unmentionables which embarrassed him beyond words to have to carry around, and Kakashi wanted . . .he couldn't remember. Which meant that he should've made a list before he left. The blonde found it kind of ironic that Iruka was the one person who he wouldn't mind shopping for, and Iruka was the only person who wouldn't give him a list of anything to get. The older man always told him something about him being the designated shopper bring demeaning for him.
At any rate, he never went too far out of his way for everyone. It wasn't that he was a Shikamaru brand of lazy; he just knew it would be better for him to try to stay local than go out of his way, because a) he would go way overboard with his searching's, and b) people would complain if he were gone too long.
Usually, the little pharmacy in the middle of town was good enough, and on this specific day, it was. The blonde made his way down the familiar small aisles and picked out his required items, listening to the quiet music playing behind the checkout desk. The store was usually quiet and today was no exception.
He perked up his hearing as he approached the desk, as a familiar song had just come onto the radio. He'd sung it not twenty-four hours before, in the last show on a tour he'd been doing with his band. They still hadn't come to any real sort of fame, but they had come far from being just an opening act for other bands. Eventually, he hoped to make it—become a so-called rock star—but currently, he could settle for having a handful of faithful followers and hearing himself singing on the radio every now and then.
"You know, I'm glad that it's your shift right now," he commented as he placed his items on the counter.
"Why?" asked the bemused voice of his familiar cashier. The man deftly picked things up, scanning them and placing them in bags thoughtlessly.
For the life of him, Naruto couldn't remember this guys name; he never wore a nametag, so it made it kind of awkward to have a conversation with him. "Well, my friend kinda threatened me and made me get her some . . .stuff." The blonde indicated the small box that was being hidden away in a bag as he spoke. He pulled out a credit card and handed it over.
The guy shook his head slightly, brushing dark hair off his forehead as he ran the card though the scanner, then placed it down on the counter, as Naruto had wandered slightly, peeking at all the candy bars under the counter. The dark haired man impatiently tapped his fingers on the register, waiting for the machine to spit out the receipt. "I had a girlfriend once," he began. "She'd hit that time of the month and then there'd be hell to pay for no reason." He grimaced slightly, holding out the now-printed receipt for the blonde to take. "I swear she got enjoyment out of kicking my ass."
"Same with my friend." The blonde grinned, grabbing his bags before making his way to the door. He threw a friendly wave over his shoulder when he got there. "I'll probably be back later."
The cashier didn't get a chance to respond before Naruto closed the door behind himself. He quickly made his way through the sparsely populated parking lot, passing an old rusty car that looked like it was held together by duct tape and prayer. He opened the door to his van and climbed in tossing his purchases into the passengers seat. In all actuality, it was the bands van—it even had their name written across the side—and he wasn't supposed to drive it around when they weren't touring, but it happened to have been available when he left home today.
He lived in a massive house with everyone in the band. He feared to call it a mansion, but that was really what it was. It housed eight, formerly nine, people, none of whom shared rooms. Aside from the house standards of a kitchen, multiple bathrooms, dinning room, and living room, they actually had a home recording studio. It had set them back quite a bit financially—they still weren't too popular and still weren't raking in loads of money—but they all had the feeling that it was a good move forward. As of now, it was still unused, as they'd just gotten it together with the money they'd received from this last tour.
Naruto pulled into the long drive and parked the van, before grabbing the bags and climbing out. He was almost bowled over as soon as he got through the door by a massive shaggy white dog. It cowered behind him as Kiba came running into the hall.
"You!" he shouted, pointing at the blonde. "You took too long! It's already five-thirty! Now Ino won't let me eat until dinner!"
Ino served as the bands dietary manager and make-up artist. Naruto wouldn't fight with her if she were to ever claim that she had one of the most difficult jobs in the house. The blonde heaved a sigh, holding out the bag of chips and cookies he'd gotten for his brunette friend. "I won't tell her if you have any," he said.
"But I'll know," said Ino's voice as the blonde woman stalked down the stairs. She snatched the bag of junk food and peered into it with a hiss. "Honestly, Kiba. It's going to be hard for me to convince people that you're actually really hot if you eat yourself into morbid obesity. Naruto," she turned her eyes away from the bag, which seemed to have been confiscated, and indicated the other bags he carried. "I'll take everything else. It's just Shikamaru's crossword, my foundation, and Sakura's tampons, right?"
The blonde nodded, giving her the bags. "Didn't Kakashi want me to get him something?" he asked.
The woman shrugged, turning to walk passed a depressed looking Kiba. "Who cares what he wants?"
That was just the way everyone was. They were all really close, but when it came down to it, they were all who they were. Mostly, Kakashi was what he was; the band manager. Therefore, he spoke a lot and few people really absorbed what he said. It couldn't be helped.
Akamaru slunk passed him to go and hide from Kiba. The brunette had mentioned wanting to give the dog a bath, so Naruto could only assume that that was why he wanted to hide. The blonde dropped his keys onto the table by the door, then went for the credit card he always stuck in his back pocket. He groped around for a moment and his hand came out empty.
Kiba saw his face fall from across the hall. "What's wrong?" he asked, approaching him.
"I lost my credit card," he said flatly as the information sank in, leaving him to a (not so) pleasant sinking feeling of panic. "Fuck."
Anyone have any guesses where this is going? Reviews are highly appreciated!!