AN January 16, 2014 (3:08am):

Ain't it been a time and a half? I'm sure a few of you guys out there gave up hope that this would ever be a thing again, and you wouldn't be wrong for doing so. This is a hobby, and between working and my other hobbies, this one kinda falls by the wayside. Unfortunate really, since it actually is really good for my creativity and general writing talent to do this. Anyways, take away from this that any updates from here on are sporadic, if at all. Do note that I never forgot this story: it's just that I couldn't bring myself to write for it. Now I feel the time is right to try again. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

The Shack:

"Dammit Kiba, I've told you this a million times!" Naruto shouted while gesturing wildly at a pair of guitars and a mass of tangled cables, "this one goes here, that one goes here!"

Kiba grunted lazily from his position on the couch, "It's easier my way."

Naruto looked up from his battle with said cables, and slowly turned his head toward the lounging form of his bandmate, "Kiba, lemme explain the way things work around here. Fuck with Teme's mics, that's fine. Fuck with Neji's kit, that's fine. Fuck with Shika's gear, I think I'm okay with that. Don't fuck with Naruto's babies. Don't do it."

The remaining three members of the group shook their heads and continued preparing their equipment for the trip to the show.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "You know that we're all right here don't you dobe?"

Neji chimed in as he stashed his snare in its container, "If only he spent half as much time getting ready for the show tonight as he does complaining."

"We'd all be there by now if that was the case," Shikamaru replied, his stuff already assembled next to his chair.

"Oi! If Kibbles and Bits over there would help me unravel the mess he made of my shit, we could be leaving!" Naruto shot back, "Besides, Neji's not even done yet!"

"I also have a much larger item to pack than yours."

"Irrelevant! Lies and slander out to sully my good name!"

Naruto continued to grumble to himself as he finished up with the cords and gently placed his guitar in a case, "Don't listen to them baby, tonight we rock like gods stood atop a majestic mountain range!"

Kiba chuckled as he watched his friend coo softly to his guitar, "I'd say he needs to be checked into an asylum acting like that. If only it wasn't more fun to laugh than help."

"Aren't you the one who tucks your bass in for the night after practice?" Sasuke questioned with a smirk Kiba could practically feel.

"Read it a bedtime story and everything if I recall correctly," Shikamaru added.

Kiba deadpanned, "Sometimes I really hate you guys. Like a lot. Most of the time it's only a little hate, but right now it's like full on. Tell me, what size shoe do you wear? Cement ones aren't cheap and I wanna get it right the first time."

"It's barely noon and Kiba's already threatened us. Today is going to be a good day," Neji interjected as he closed the lid on the final part of his kit.

"You are all the winter of my discontent."

Shikamaru perked up and shot Kiba an incredulous look, "You used that in the completely wrong context, and while I'm fairly sure you don't have even an inkling of what it really means…I'm still rather impressed you even knew that phrase."

Kiba looked pleased with himself, "Thanks man."

Shikamaru just stared at Kiba for a moment before muttering to himself as he gathered his equipment.

With a surprisingly little amount of additional chaos, Kakashi soon arrived to sweep the boys out of the studio and into the large, black SUV that Naruto had arranged for pickup with Choji. After a speedy introduction, the band loaded their gear into the back and piled into the seats themselves.

It seemed that after what felt like a year and a half of prep time, Strike Package was finally ready to battle.

AN January 16, 2014 (4:16am):

So overall I'd call that a chapter. It's short for sure, but I wanted to give myself the chance to kind of get back into the flow of the characters, dialogue, and just story progression in general. I understand that especially near the beginning, it may have seemed a little rookie-ish, and I do beg your understanding there. Gotta blame some of that on the lateness of the hour, but I had to get this outta my head. Overall, pretty happy with how this turned out for now. Short and sweet, and I hope to do something similar for Off Limits-again just so I can get the feel for their characters again. Is it a little filler-y? Yeah, but I tried to keep it fun so at least it was enjoyable filler. June 9th of 2012 was the last update I posted, so if you got that little joke about a year and a half at the end, kudos. Thanks for reading, and I'll say that this was fun. I'm glad I took some time to write again. I'll leave you with a tentative, "Be on the look for another one."

\m/