Yosh! here's the next chapter. hope you enjoy it coz it will be a while til i can upload a new one. thanx alot those who left reviews. you really spiked me up to continue. =P
"Haaa…." Naruto sighed as he dragged his feet back to his apartment. "That sneaky Kakashi-sensei!" he
screamed clutching head, while a few onlookers hastened their steps. His living quarters slowly came into
view. He had to go and straightened up his place before bringing Hikaru over. He has been on missions for
almost two months straight. He hardly came home except to have a quick nap or replenish his supplies for the
mission. Naruto held his breath and braced himself as he turned his key in the lock. The sight that greeted him
would surely cost a mean punch from Sakura if she had seen it. His clothes were strewn all over the place. Not
to mention his kunais and shurikens. The futon was halfway out his bedroom door. There was a trail of scrolls
that apparently came from his second bedroom. A large bead of sweat rolled of his forehead as he lowered his
head in defeat. Naruto sighed and jumped when he felt a hand tap his shoulder. "Yo!" a cheerful Kiba greeted
him as Akamaru bounded about behind him. As Naruto was about to scold Kiba for surprising him, he saw that
his loud friend was not alone. Lee, Chouji, Sai, and Tenten accompanied Kiba. "What are you all doing here?"
he asked. Lee gave Naruto his trademark grin before saying that they came over to help him. "Help me with
what?" the blonde asked, still not getting it. Sai came forward. "Sakura told me Hikaru's coming over to stay.
Did she not tell you that we were coming?" he asked innocently. "B-b-but she~" Naruto stuttered as Tenten
pushed him aside, "Do you honestly think you could clear this warzone up by yourself before school hours are
over?" she opened the doors wide and looked at her embarrassed friend. "Even if you're planning to use your
shadow clones?" she added when she saw Naruto open his mouth to answer. The blonde glanced at his
friends and took a look at his sorry excuse for a house. He sighed in defeat. She was right, there was just too
much for him to do on his own. Even if he used 'tajuu kage bunshin' it would just tire him out faster. And he DID
need to get to Ichiraku's by the school's finishing bell. "Thank you." He said as he ushered them inside. Chouji
took a swift look around muttering, "This place is wasted on you, Naruto…". The rest of them couldn't agree
more. After the war, Tsunade decided it was high time that Naruto improved his living facilities. She had given
him a spacious 3-bedroom apartment that faced the rest of the village. It was a beautiful place and Naruto
prided himself when Sakura came over and told him that it was like her dream home. He only used two
bedrooms; one was where he slept and the other was where he kept his weapons. The third bedroom was
specially set aside for when Hikaru comes to stay.
Tenten then walked to the front of the group, holding an enormous scroll. Naruto walked to the front and
watched as she opened the scroll and performed a number of seals before touching it. In a puff of smoke,
various cleaning materials appeared. Tenten started to delegate the tools and location to be used. As she
handed Naruto a mop along with a bucket, he took the opportunity to thank her again. Tenten shrugged and
said that it was an unspoken rule to help a friend in need as she smiled at him. Away they scrubbed and
swept and mopped, almost cheerfully. Chouji worked diligently in the kitchen as he cleaned and chomped on
whatever he found there. Lee was scrubbing hard in the bathroom, no doubt making it a personal challenge
for himself as he worked. Tenten worked in the second bedroom, collecting the scrolls Naruto left lying around.
Naruto and Kiba were supposed to be cleaning the main room but they were having so much fun waging a
pillow fight that they didn't sense a murderous aura at the door.
Tenten came in and knocked their heads together, quite hard too. "You were supposed to clean this up, not
mess it up!" she scolded, feeling exasperated when she saw that Akamaru had bit one of the pillows open.
Now, in addition to the current mess they had to sort out, Tenten had ordered them to clean get rid of the
feathers that came out of the pillow that Akamaru bit. Sai on the other hand, was cleaning up the living room.
He looked puzzled at the small mound of weapons he had picked up from all over the space. It was one thing
to have them lying on the floor. Naruto was probably practicing as he noticed the target board on the wall. But
what were 6 shurikens and 12 kunais doing in and on his couch? Naruto couldn't possibly have used that
couch for target practice. The dark-haired boy sighed and continued sweeping the floor. Tenten smiled in
satisfaction when she saw that apart from the two that were screwing around in the bedroom, the others
were doing their chores quite well. She heaved a basketful of Naruto's clothes and took them to the laundry
room. She then went downstairs to the convenient store, "After all that hard work, the boys deserve a drink."
She said to herself as she paid for 6 bottles of juice and a treat for Akamaru.
When Lee deposited the last garbage bag outside, Naruto took a look around his apartment. Sakura was
right, he needed the extra hands. The five boys piled into the living room and sat down. This was seriously
hard work. As they were resting, Kiba noticed Tenten's absence. "Oi! Where's Tenten? Don't tell me she
slacked off when we were working our butts off here?" he protested. The sound the door opening made the
shinobies turn their heads. "First of all, I wasn't slacking. I went down to get you guys a drink. Second of all, I
wasn't the one engaged in a pillow fight instead of doing my JOB." she emphasized as she tossed the drink
bottles to her friends. They thanked her (Kiba mumbled a 'thank you') and gratefully drank the juice. As they
were relaxing, the faint sound of school bells made Naruto choke on his drink.
"Shimatta! I'm supposed to be at Ichiraku's in five minutes!" he said as stumbled over his friends to get to the
door. He ran out the door before any of them could demand an apology. Chouji chuckled as he helped Sai up.
"Guess that's our cue," he said heading to the door. Tenten smiled and reminded them that Sakura had also
invited them for dinner tonight. "So make sure you all come, 'kay?" she said as she locked the door.
'Darn it! Darn it! Darn it!' Naruto thought as he speed to the familiar ramen stall that he spent most his youth
at. As he reached Ichiraku's, he recognized the small black belt that lay against one of the seats. Naruto
abruptly slowed down, "He's here."
"Domo arigato!" Hikaru slurped the last of the soup from his bowl. He ran here as soon as school was out. He
can't wait to see Naruto and talk about how he finally succeeded in executing the fireball jutsu, the trademark
of the Uchiha. However, the blonde jounin was nowhere to be seen. He was going to wait outside but Ayame,
the old man's daughter gestured him inside. He was about to protest when she set down a steaming bowl of
ramen in front of him, but his hungry stomach betrayed him. She let out a small laugh and whispered. "It's
okay. We'll put it on Naruto's tab." She winked. Thanking her, the young Uchiha gratefully grabbed a pair of
chopsticks before digging in, "Itadakimasu!"
that's all for now. plz read and review! until next time!