Hinata stirred. Her neck cricked from the odd angle it was in. For a second she was disoriented, then she saw the dark shadow near the windows. And she recalled where she was, and who he was.

"You're awake." Gaara turned around as Hinata scrambled to a sitting position, hurriedly smoothing out her clothes. She folded the cloak that was tossed over her neatly and put it aside. Gaara came to the same seat he was in earlier. "Your teammate came to look for you."

"Shino-kun?" blurted Hinata.

Gaara's eyes narrowed – almost as if he was amused. "How did you know?" When Hinata blushed and didn't answer, Gaara continued. "He is an exceedingly courageous man. Take care of yourself, Hinata. Don't let anybody become that man's enemy."

"Wh-why would you say th-that, Gaara-san? Shino-kun is a g-gentle person." Her protest was quite weak, she knew, but she had to stand up for him.

"When he found you he thought I had hurt you. And he almost attacked me – even though I am Kazekage." Gaara shook his head with the recollection. "I don't wish to be there when he finds whoever made you upset, Hyuuga-san."

It was only much later when Hinata realized she was not thinking of Naruto when she dashed from the Kazekage's office.

-----

Shino paced beneath the block. He had wanted to strangle Naruto – he still did – but Kiba's logic had prevailed.

Wasn't Shino supposed to be the logical, rational one? What the hell was happening to him?

He wanted to return to the dancing square. No, he wanted to return to Hinata. No he didn't. He wanted to be by himself.

"Damn," he cursed softly, standing still. He thrust his hands into his deep pockets, trying to sort out his conflicting emotions and thoughts. The insects living within him were humming, responding to the increased heartbeat, the quickened breathing.

Stop lying to yourself, Shino.

"Shino, you down there?" Ino was calling out from the balcony. She held a cordless phone in her hands.

Shino stiffened. Should he respond?

"No, Hinata, I think he's left... yeah, Naruto was pretty shaken up. Shino? I don't know where he's gone... Kiba could track him down if you want... You'll look for him yourself? Where are you gonna start? The square?... okay. Anyway we'll be joining you in a while, the fireworks are gonna begin in twenty minutes." There was a short pause before Ino said goodbye to Hinata on the line, but by then Shino was gone.

-----

Where is he? She was scanning the crowd frantically. Even with her byakugan ability turned on, it was too crowded for her to make out Shino's shape. Not really seeing where she was going she tripped over a bush.

"What's the big idea – hey, Hinata!" exclaimed Tenten a little too cheerfully. She quickly redid her collar and smoothed back her braids. Beside her, Lee shifted his posture. Tenten moved herself to block the view of her boyfriend rearranging his shirt. "Whatcha doing?"

"I-I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't m-m-mean to disturb you," the red-faced Hyuuga girl stammered and fled the scene.

Lee brushed his hair back from his forehead. He was still growing used to his new hairstyle; Tenten liked it a lot more than the Gai imitation. In fact it was Gai-sensei who told him to step out of his shadow and begin a new trend.

"Should we help?" asked Lee, his hands buttoning up his shirt.

Tenten lay back, her head falling into his lap. "I don't know, Lee. But she didn't say what she was doing, so how do we help? Besides, she has the byakugan."

"Yeah, she does," Lee's voice hitched as he ran his hands along Tenten's smooth arms. Then they both stopped, arrested by the same thought.

"Lee."

"Yes, Tenten?"

"What does Neji see when he uses his byakugan?"
"Everything, he once told me, but the image is sort of... multilayered."

"So... even with layers of clothes..."

"I ... guess?"

They both blushed to the tips of their black hair. Tenten looked into Lee's eyes and said firmly, "Remind me to knock his head when we see him later, okay?"

"Yes, Tenten." As they stood up and brushed each other off, Lee heard his girlfriend muttering imprecations beneath her breath, something about weapons training and years of teamwork.

He smiled sheepishly to himself, treasuring a secret between him and his long-time rival.

-----

Shikamaru's hand found Temari's as everyone filed into the field outside of Sunagakure. They stood, not near enough to display publicly their affection, but close enough for their fingers to intertwine. They resolutely refused to look at each other, instead concentrating on the dark sky. The rest of the crowd spread out, allowing the younger genin and other children to take the first row with Kakashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Chouji was behind him, wearing a faint, proud smile. His best friend, getting married at sixteen. No one would ever believe that the laziest, most work-averse ninja in Konoha would do that – and so Shikamaru defied all prediction again.

He looked about for his other teammate. Over the past six months he'd been trying to hint to her that Shikamaru was off-limits, but she, as usual, ignored all warning signs. Chouji hoped the buoyant and upbeat Kiba had helped her get over the funk she was certain to be in, though it was a slim hope. Women tended to brood over emotional issues.

Kankurou glanced over his shoulder. The Gaara sandclub was hunting for their idol; Kankurou wondered where his little brother had gone. Possibly he'd hidden in the office, but the fireworks was a performance not to be missed.

"Hey," said Naruto as he and Sakura pushed to Kankurou's side. "Where's everyone, Kankurou?"

"Temari's there, indulging in her bride-to-be happiness; Chouji – is that his name? - behind my future brother-in-law, not noticing Mari making googly eyes at him. She used to have a crush on me! What on earth is happening to our Suna girls...Gaara is somewhere else that I don't know about." Ending his litany, Kankurou then tilted his head to observe the two beside him. "Where did you two go?"

"We were with Ino and Kiba. They're rushing over now." Sakura twined her fingers with Naruto's. Kankurou saw the action and groaned.

"Is this the year of sappiness? Everyone's getting together! First my sis turned into a gibbering love idiot, then Tsunade and Jiraiya just surprised the hell out of the two villages, now you two?"

Naruto smirked. "Just cos you ain't getting any..."

"Shut up." Kankurou stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Anyway, the fireworks are starting in two minutes' time. Wherever your friends are, they will have to watch from there."