Disclaimer: NEIN!

Banana: Reading minds is cool and all, but wouldn't it be even cooler if we could control them? :)

Sammay: Yeah... Heh... Heh... :)

Chapter Six

Even more laughter erupted from Sammy's mouth. She just happened to be on the camera of her iPod, so she quickly jumped up and snapped a picture before either of them could move their positions. In the duration of the few seconds she had completed the process, her laugh never ceased... But that seemed to be the new routine in this world.

Tobi wasn't even phased by the sudden explosion. Instead, he gasped with surprise and jumped up from Neji's lap. "I told you guys that I would explode with happiness if I ever got the Byakugan!" he marveled, gasping again and throwing his hands to his... mask. "And I kind of just exploded! So-so does that mean I POSSESS THE BYAKUGAN, NOW?!"

Neji sat frozen on the couch, his extremely impatient expression priceless. This is completely and utterly ridiculous, he thought, relaxing only slightly as he watched Tobi celebrate. Why did he have to land on me?

"Oh my golly gee, I have to try it out! Nejo, watch me as I do the Byakugan! I am so excited," Tobi exclaimed while clapping his hands. "Ready... and... BYAKUGAN!"

Sammy collapsed onto the coach with laughter, continuing to watch as Tobi glanced around the room furiously. "Is this... is this what the Byakugan feels like?" Tobi asked softly, looking back to Neji. "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!"

Neji sighed, clearly annoyed. "Neji," he corrected through gritted teeth. "And you most definitely do not 'possess' the Byakugan."

"What are you talking about?!" Tobi giggled, twirling around. "Look at all of these colors! I can't believe it! The Byakugan is FLAWLESS!"

"Those are the party decorations, Tobi," Sammy pointed out, still laughing.

Deidara at first felt victorious (that's at least how he looked), but after only a few more seconds of watching Tobi, the smirk on his face faded, an irked expression replacing it. "Why does nothing work with this imbecile?! Hmm?!"

Naruto still didn't acknowledge the rest of the group and what was happening, but instead he continued to guffaw about the fact that Kiba caught on fire again. "KIBAAAA! You're such a loser, Kiba! LOSER! LOSAHH!" he belted out, holding his stomach, as it was beginning to ache from laughing so hard.

After Kiba got the zipper up, he listened closely to all of the commotion downstairs. "What's going on down there?" he asked, quickly walking out of the closet so he could poke his head out of Savanna's door in order to hear somewhat better.

"BYAKUGAAAANN! OH, BYAKUGAN, HOW LUCKY AM I TO FINALLY POSSESS YOU!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! KIBA, WHAT A LOSER! OH MY GOSH!"

"I told him he had something on his shoulder..."

"TOBIIIIII!"

Even though he heard so many laughs and voices, the only one he payed attention and listened to was the one that called him a loser.

Immediately, Kiba's eyes reverted into white circles, and his voice dropped until it was almost inaudible. Savanna barely caught what he was saying as he deliberately whispered, "What... did... he... just... say?"

Savanna tried to talk some sense into a Kiba once more. She spoke so quickly that her words seemed to tumble out of her mouth. "Don't listen to Naruto, Kiba! He can't think straight right now because he's laughing so hard and so much. He's, uh... irrational!"

Her attempts to calm him were to no avail, for Kiba still bristled with anger. "And do you know why he's laughing?" he spat.

Savanna knew fully well that his anger was in no way directed towards her, but she couldn't help but take a little offense at Kiba's tone of voice. And to top that off, she couldn't think of a good response as to why Naruto was bawling his eyes out downstairs. "Uhhh..." She trailed off.

Kiba seemed to become ever so slightly triumphant even though he was giving off vibes of fury. "See? He's laughing at me because my clothes lit on fire, and he thinks I'm stupid."

"I wouldn't go that far," Savanna disagreed. "I'm sure Naruto doesn't think you're stupid... I bet he just thinks that your clothes catching on fire is funny."

Suddenly, Naruto's voice could be heard clearly from downstairs. "HAHAHA! WOW, HE'S SO... SO STUPID! HAHAHA!"

Knowing that there was no turning back for Kiba, Savanna face-palmed as said person shot down the staircase and threw himself on Naruto. "YOU'D BETTER SHUT UP!" he yelled, tackling him on the floor.

Naruto finally stopped laughing, but he was now faced with the problem of having to deal with the angry Inuzuka. "Hey, Kiba!" He attempted to speak while he wrestled with him. "Cut it out! I was just kidding!"

Kiba's fury was so intense that he was almost incapable of thinking clearly. "No, you weren't! You were dead serious! DEAD SERIOUS!"

Even though she couldn't stop Kiba from advancing on Naruto, Savanna decided that she had to do something. If I don't do anything, their fight will escalate, and they'll end up getting injured, she thought. Quickly bounding down the stairs, she tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach when she approached Deidara sitting in the armchair. Barely noticing his annoyed countenance, she spoke hurriedly. "Do you have any detonating clay? I really need to separate Naruto and Kiba from each other right now!"

Tearing his eyes away from Tobi, Deidara's facial expression relaxed. "Of course, un," he confirmed. Shifting his head to look at the two fighting ninja near the closet, he stuffed his hand into one of the gray pouches strapped to his waist. Only a few seconds later, he pulled out his hand and opened it, his palm faced skywards. When the mouth on his palm spit out yet another miniature clay bird, another flick of his wrist guided the bird to Naruto and Kiba.

Quickly, Deidara formed the same hand sign he had made a couple of minutes before. Preventing the shinobi from fighting any further, Deidara yelled, "KATSU!"

The ensuing explosion caused Naruto and Kiba to fly apart in opposite directions; Naruto flew backwards into the wall on one side of the living room, and Kiba flew backwards into the wall on the other side of the living room. Giving Deidara a warm thank-you, Savanna ran over to Naruto lying on the carpet. By reading his thoughts, she discovered that the fight with Kiba itself was more damaging to him than Deidara's explosion, although she couldn't see any signs of an injury. Holding a hand to her head in frustration, she sighed. "Naruto, you have to stop fighting with Kiba," she stressed. "Look what happened! At least promise me you won't fight with him for now."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah... I won't be laughing at him anytime soon if he attacks me like that every time..."

Sammy's jaw was dropped slightly after watching Deidara use his detonating clay in order to stop Naruto and Kiba from killing each other. After a few more seconds, she began to laugh softly, only because everything seemed hilarious in this world. If someone threw a bomb at two people fighting in the real world, things would be completely different.

"...Go, Deidara-Senpai! You did it, you did it, you did it, hooray!" Tobi cried, and Sammy took note of how similar the saying from Dora was to Tobi's cry of joy. "You got them to stop fighting! You're my hero!"

"Be quiet, un," Deidara acknowledged Tobi with only that statement, not even bothering to look at him while saying it.

"You're my hero!" Tobi rejoiced, clapping his hands while bouncing around. "You're my hero and I have the Byakugan! This is possibly the best day of my whole entire life, Deidara!"

Kiba grunted as he sat up. "What was that for?" he pointedly muttered in Deidara's direction, knowing that the Akatsuki member most likely wouldn't hear him. But he did.

"Savanna asked me to, un," Deidara explained. "So I did. You two were fighting too much."

"That doesn't mean you blow us up!" Kiba growled, but Deidara kept a calm composure.

"You're still in one piece, aren't you?"

Kiba hesitated. "Well, yeah! But... but that still scared me! And I wasn't done with Naruto, yet! He still has to learn his lesson!"

"All we're saying is give peace a chance, bro!" Sammy shouted over to Kiba, her hand forming into a peace sign. "Be like John Lennon!"

"Uh... what?" Kiba questioned, narrowing his eyes. What is she talking about? he thought.

"All we're saying is give peace a chance, bro!" she repeated, shoving her peace sign into the air. "Be like John Lennon and don't attack other people! Unless they're trying to kill you... then you should probably fight back. But that's not the point! Give peace a chance!"

"Yeah! Give peace a chance, bro!" Naruto followed Sammy's movements by holding two fingers up in a peace sign, as well. "Be like John... John Yennon?"

"John Lennon!" Sammy corrected. "Power to the people! We all shine on!"

"Yeahhhh," Naruto nodded. "What she said, Kiba! Yeah!"

Some of Kiba's earlier anger began to creep into him. "You shouldn't even be saying anything, Naruto," he snapped. "You don't even know who John Lennon is!"

At Kiba's comment, Naruto jutted out his lower lip the slightest bit. "Weeellll... You don't, either."

Because Kiba was now the one who started provoking Naruto, Savanna tried to muster as much warning into a glare directed towards Kiba as possible. When a look of surprise came over Kiba's visage at the glare, Savanna thought she had accomplished her goal. However, her hopes quickly plummeted when Kiba chuckled softly and stood up.

"I'm going to go get a drink," he mumbled. Leaving Savanna in a state of confusion, he left the living room and disappeared into the kitchen.

Savanna remained standing next to Naruto for a moment, just pondering over Kiba's actions. Oh, crap... I was so taken off guard that I didn't think of reading his mind! Well, it's too late now... He's not thinking of my glare anymore. But why would he just laugh? Eh... I probably looked stupid.

Naruto sat up further and leaned back against the wall. Suddenly, he reached behind him and started rubbing his rear end, his expression contorting to that of pain. "Owwww... Now that I think about it, my butt hurts."

Savanna couldn't keep herself from smiling as she held out a hand to Naruto in an offer to help him up. "If your butt hurts, then you should be sitting in a sofa, not on the floor."

"Hehe, yeah. Thanks, Savanna!" Naruto reached out with his other arm and closed his fingers around Savanna's as she helped him stand up. When will I stop feeling so happy whenever I touch him? Savanna questioned. Hehe... Probably never...

"Remember when you were shouting at me to protect you when you were in that closet?" Savanna asked. "It looks like I really did protect you. It was indirectly, but I was the one who told Deidara to separate you and Kiba."

Naruto laughed even though he didn't hear Deidara say the same thing. "Oh, I knew that!" Phew... For a second, I thought Deidara was trying to kill me!

John Lennon? Neji repeated the unfamiliar name in his head. Sammy seems to know a lot of things I don't, and I've dedicated so much of my time to studying various subjects... She must be full of knowledge.

Deidara narrowed his eyes as he registered Tobi's remark. "Tobi, for the last time, you don't have the Byakugan," he said exasperatedly. "Hm!"

Tobi gasped. "But... But I'm seeing so many colors now!"

"You're either born with the Byakugan, or you're not, un," Deidara replied. "And you're not a part of the Hyuga clan, so you're not."

Suddenly, Tobi giggled creepily. "Hehe... How do you know if I'm part of the Hyuga clan or not, Deidara-senpai?"

"...I'm just assuming, but I'm positive I'm correct. No Hyuga would ever act like you, hm."

"You don't see colors when the Byakugan is activated," Neji cut into the conversation. "Except for chakra, which appears blue. Everything else is submerged in a negative light."

Savanna sighed as she heard Naruto's lie. "Anyway, we should turn on some music by John Lennon so everybody can hear how wonderful it is! Sammay, would you like to do the honors?" She winked.

Sammy's eyes lit up after hearing Savanna's suggestion. "Yes!" she flung up from her seat, saluted and then dove towards the iHome that sat near the TV. Plugging her iPod into the device, she began scrolling through all of her many songs before stopping and tapping the one she was looking for; Give Peace a Chance. She figured it would make sense to allow them to hear that one first. After all, she had been quoting that one.

A second or two later, the room was enveloped in the world of John Lennon. "Hehehehe." Sammy giggled after returning to her seat on the couch.

"Shagism? Madism? What? No one talks about that," Naruto narrowed his eyes into thin slits. "Why does this guy say everybody talks about that stuff? What the heck is half of that stuff?"

Sammy realized he was talking to her after a bit too long, but quickly shrugged once she figured it out. "I dunno. John Lennon felt the need to include random words in his song, I guess."

Tobi stood silently as he listened to the song. "I like this guy," he said finally after a minute or two. "He likes peace, just like me! Peace! Peace!"

"I wish you liked peace and quiet," Deidara muttered. "You like every kind of peace except for the one you need to like, un."

"I like every kind of peace, Deidara Senpai," Tobi disagreed. "I love peace and quiet! Love it! LOVE IT."

"All he's saying is give peace a chance," Sammy told Deidara. "Clearly, he's following John Lennon's footsteps. Clearly."

"What is he singing about, now? Imagining?" Kiba asked (he was now back in the living room), leaning his head onto his hand. The song had definitely changed from Give Peace a Chance to Imagine.

"...Duh..." Sammy couldn't help but say. "Every line is telling you to imagine..."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah... but... why haven't I heard about this guy before? You and Savanna know who he is..."

"Good question." Sammy smiled, but didn't bother giving him a clear answer.

"I LOVE PEACE!" Tobi cried again, beginning to dance around. "AND AND I LOVE IMAGINING THERE'S NO HEAVEN BECAUSE I TRIED AND IT WAS EASY. Like John promised!"

"If you're so obsessed with peace, then shut up. Hmm." Deidara spoke through gritted teeth as he eyed Tobi.

Tobi continued to dance as if he didn't hear a word Deidara said. "What if we really didn't have countries?" he asked no one in particular, basically quoting the song as it went. "That would be crazy! I mean, I couldn't live without Mexico! They make tacos!"

Sammy slowly lifted her gaze to look at Tobi. "What?" she asked. How did he know about that?

"Huh?" Tobi replied innocently, shrugging. Over and over again. "What? I don't know what you're talking about!"

At Tobi's comment about Mexico and tacos, Savanna turned her head and openly stared at him with wide eyes. Yeah, how does he know about that stuff? I mean, I know that he's secretly a really powerful shinobi, but it's impossible for even the most powerful shinobi in this world to know about things from our world!

"You're such a bad liar, Tobi," Deidara remarked. "You shouldn't even try to lie, because it's pretty obvious that you're not telling the truth, un."

Once again, Tobi completely ignored Deidara's statement as if it passed through one ear and out the other. "Wow, this song is so amazing! If I ever meet John Lennon, I'll give him a biiiiiiiig hug!" While he was dancing and flailing his arms every which way and that, Tobi accidentally slapped a nearby lamp with one of his limp arms and caused it to fall to the carpet. Luckily, the lamp didn't break, and Tobi immediately jumped and rushed over to the fallen lamp, hurriedly setting it in it's original position. "Oooops..." He giggled nervously with a hand on his mask.

Neji narrowed his eyes slightly as he regarded Tobi. How can Akatsuki members act this stupid?

After watching the act of clumsiness on Tobi's part, Savanna chuckled softly. Tobi is so... predictable sometimes, she thought. Today has just been so amazing... I couldn't ask for more! Her eyes shifting to Naruto, who was distracted by the music, she began to have second thoughts.

Followed by the creak of the back door, Shikamaru and Choji entered the kitchen from the backyard, miraculously still in their swimsuits. When they made their way over to Savanna and Naruto standing behind the couches, Naruto noticed them and did a double-take. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "You guys were out there for such a long time! Didn't you get cold?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Eh... When you have things to talk about, time can pass by quickly without you knowing it."

"Uh, okay. That's weird," Naruto bluntly replied. "I would have gotten bored after five minutes of sitting out there with nothing to do!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Of course, but that's just you, Naruto. And there was something to do... talk. Anyway, we also came inside because it's dark now."

Shikamaru's words were confirmed when Savanna leaned around Naruto and peered out the window. The surroundings were, in fact, bathed in nothing but the light of the moon. Time did pass quickly without me knowing it, Savanna thought. It's probably because I'm having so much fun... As she ran through the events that took place during her first day in the Hidden Leaf, she began to feel saddened by the inevitable fact that the party was eventually going to have to come to a close soon.

"Wow," Sammy sighed after looking outside as well. "Time goes by fast..."

"You can say that again..." Naruto agreed, barely believing the fact that it was actually nighttime. He felt as if the party had started only five minutes ago.

"Wow," Sammy repeated, taking Naruto's expression seriously. "Time goes by fast..."

"You can say that again," Naruto agreed... again.

"Wow," Sammy said once more. "Time goes—no."

"You can... oh. Never mind," Naruto laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "So... what should we do, now?"

Sammy figured John Lennon was done (done for everyone besides Tobi) and dove for the iHome again, landing in a face plant on the ground. She got up laughing, nonetheless, grabbed her iPod and sat back down next to Neji.

Tobi continued to dance after he carefully placed the lamp back onto the table, even though music wasn't playing anymore. "Wooowwwww, I love this song! John Lennon is a geniuuusssss! I can't believe someone was soooooo smart and actually wrote something as perfect an upbeat and amaaaaazing as this!"

"Nothing is playing, un," Deidara muttered. "So shut up."

"There is so much beauty coming out of the speakers!" Tobi rejoiced, completely ignoring Deidara's statement, yet again. "I could just... I-I could just... just... JUST CRY!"

At that, Tobi burst into tears and crumpled up into a ball on the floor. "WAAAAAAAHHHH!" he wailed, and Deidara's expression, if possible, continued to darken and darken with irritation.

After a while, Savanna noticed that Deidara was angrily gripping the arms of the chair he was sitting in because of Tobi's dramatic acting, so Savanna quickly made her way over to him once more. "Deidara, I can tell that you're not too fond of Tobi at the moment... I have an empty guest room upstairs. Why don't you let out your frustration there?" she suggested.

Much to her relief, Deidara seemed to relax a little as he tore his eyes from Tobi's tantrum on the floor. "That would be great... I'm very close to blowing that idiot up again. Hm!"

Tobi has no idea how lucky he is, Savanna thought. Beckoning Deidara to follow her as he rose out of the armchair, Savanna led him up the stairs, down two hallways, and to the guest room she mentioned earlier. Heh, heh, she thought. One nice thing about role playing is that I can come up with anything and it'll somehow show up in this world...

When she opened the door to the guest bedroom, Deidara gladly entered. "Thanks, un. I think I'll perfect my art here."

"Alright," Savanna replied. "Just let me know if you need anything." When she closed the door behind her and returned downstairs, she began to feel proud of herself, for despite her calm appearance, she was really still mentally freaking out whenever she spoke to the blonde Akatsuki member.

Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled, and he laid his hands across it in an attempt to disguise the sound. However, his stomach could still be heard above the soft background music, and Savanna, now standing next to him, laughed softly.

"There's so much food in the kitchen," she pointed out. "If you're hungry, Naruto, why don't you have some?"

Naruto scratched his cheek. "Welllll... I know that, but I'm not really in the mood for those things."

Even though Savanna was positive what Naruto was in the mood for, she nonetheless questioned, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Hmm... Hehe... I could probably eat ramen!"

Of course, Savanna thought jokingly. "Oh, why didn't you say so before? I have tons of ramen bowls in the cupboard! Do you want some?"

Naruto's facial expression immediately brightened. "Yes!" he enthusiastically agreed.

Unable to suppress the smile that escaped her, Savanna now led Naruto into the kitchen and opened the cupboard, revealing what looked like an unlimited supply of ramen bowls. "Help yourself," she said.

Naruto looked like he was about to drool just from the sight of all that ramen. "Oohhhhh..."

Although the music from John Lennon was longer projected from the speakers, Neji continued to compare said person's music with the music from their world. His music is so different, he thought. I'm not sure why, but this type of music reminds me of Sammy and Savanna...

Yeah, it should, Sammy thought back to Neji, laughing mentally. She understood that he couldn't reply through the process she participated in, of course, but acted as if he could, anyway. "So..." she said to him. "Did you like John Lennon?"

Deidara immediately stuck his hands into his clay pouches once Savanna closed the door. Only a few seconds later, he took them out to reveal a carefully constructed bird, and an explosion was shortly followed. He continued the same process for a couple more minutes before he decided to do something a bit more.. artistic.

Placing his hands into the pouches once more, he pulled them out, a small house in each hand; something he definitely didn't create as often as many of his other figures. He carefully set both of them down on the bed that sat in front of him and again put his hands into the pouches. After he pulled them out a second time, he revealed around five or six spiders, which he set inside of the houses. For a few more seconds, he admired his creation, but then couldn't wait any longer.

"Sorry, my children," he murmured, his hands easily forming into a familiar hand sign. "KATSU!"

Naruto drooled over the ramen for a second before he nearly attacked the cupboard, yanking out dozens of ramen bowls. Each time he took a couple out, the supply didn't seem to go down at all. He laughed with joy and opened one, scarfing it down as fast as he could as he walked towards the table, somehow carrying a ton of ramen bowls with him simultaneously.

Lee, after finishing one of his many Dance Dance Revolution games, managed to hear Naruto slurping and chewing away in the kitchen. His stomach grumbled, making him realize how hungry he really was. "Time for a dinner break!" he exclaimed, walking into the kitchen.

Naruto's head snapped up from it's position that was hunched over the bowl, noodles hanging out of his mouth. "Oh, hey, Lee," he greeted with a mouthful of ramen and then continued to eat.

"Wow..." Lee marveled as he watched the hungry boy eat. "You can eat very quickly... but I bet that I could eat even quicker than you!"

Naruto snorted despite the fact that ramen noodles were still hanging from his mouth. "You wish!" And with that, he resumed his original, hunched position over his ramen and proceeded to consume bowl after bowl with perplexing speed.

Although Naruto's response was fairly rash, Lee didn't seem to take any offense. "Anything can be achieved if you set your mind to it!" he proclaimed. "That is one of the many valuable lessons Guy Sensei has taught me."

Naruto took the time to actually chew his noodles for once before he swallowed, allowing Lee's words to sink into his head. Finally, he turned his head towards Lee once more and replied with, "Bushier Brow Sensei? Even he must know that no one can beat me when it comes to ramen!" Naruto's blue eyes widened a little, and he leaned forward ever so slightly. "NO ONE."

Lee's bright smile didn't lose any of it's cheerfulness. "If I put in enough effort into beating you, Naruto, then doing so will be a piece of cake!"

Every other person besides Lee would have immediately noticed that Naruto was getting extremely ticked off. Naruto made his claim on ramen a long time ago, and if anyone challenged that claim, then, well... It was almost as bad as Naruto in the Nine Tails Cloak.

A corner of Naruto's lips twitched. "Nobody can beat me when it comes to ramen," he repeated. "Your effort won't stand a chance against my stomach!"

"But if-"

"There's no chance!" Naruto nearly shouted, now standing only a few inches away from Lee's face. His cerulean eyes could have driven a hole into Lee's black ones because of the great intensity of Naruto's stare. "Hmph! If you REALLY want to lose so badly, then I challenge you to a ramen-eating contest!"

Watching the scenario unfold with her very eyes, Savanna laughed softly. I swear, she thought, Lee has a special filter on him that filters out insults... He seems to only register the things he wants to hear.

Lee brought his right hand to his forehead in a salute. "I gracefully accept your invitation!" he declared. He paused for a second. "Wait... Are you talking about right now, Naruto? You have already eaten so many bowls! I would have an unfair advantage."

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance. "It doesn't matter, 'cause I would win anyway!" He grabbed a bowl of ramen from the huge stack in front of him and shoved it towards Lee. "Here, HAVE SOME."

Completely unaware of Naruto's anger, Lee excitedly dug into his ramen bowl, obviously treating it as a friendly contest. A few seconds later, Naruto starting scarfing down his ramen as well, glancing at Lee every now and then to make sure that he was winning.

As Savanna was feeling kind of sick from watching the two ninja, Lee suddenly whirled towards her, making drops of ramen broth hit her face. When she raised her hand and wiped them off, Lee attempted to say, "Pweashe keep twack of how many we awe eating!"

Rolling her eyes, Savanna nodded, and Lee turned back around so he could continue his contest with Naruto. They are such nutballs, Savanna thought amusedly.

"I do like John Lennon," Neji responded honestly. "His music is very different from any music I've heard, but I like it. It's... interesting."

Tobi suddenly shot up from the floor and started jumping up and down around Neji. "Oooo! Ooooo! Oooooo! I like John Lennon, too! He's my new favorite role model! …...Don't tell Deidara-senpai! Hehehehe."

"Don't worry," Sammy laughed. Of course Tobi likes it, she thought. "Your secret is safe with us. And Neji, it should be interesting..." she told him, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering the slightest bit. It was so hard not to stare at him, into his milky eyes-

"It is SO interesting," Tobi squealed, interrupting her ongoing thoughts and snapping her back into reality. "I just think... I just think I could listen to George Harrison, too!"

Sammy's eyes widened, and her head snapped up to meet Tobi's gaze, her eyebrows furrowed together slightly. She was at a loss for words. How does he know all of this stuff?! she asked herself in her thoughts. "Oh... George Harrison..." she said, eyeing him suspiciously. Slowly, her head moved down to allow her eyes to land on her iPod screen. Confused, she switched the song to one of George Harrison's songs, being too confused to even pay attention to the song she tapped on.

"Ooohhh, I LOVE this song!" Tobi exclaimed, shaking his rear end in celebration. "What's it called? Peewee's Big Adventure?!"

At that, Sammy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "What in the world?! How do you- I meeeeeaaan, no! It is actually called... um...? She paused to actually pay attention to the song. "What is Life."

"Oh, right! How did I mix that up with Peewee's Big ADVENTURE?!" Tobi let out an enormous amount of laughter... which didn't stop for a number of minutes.

That whole time he rolled around on the floor cackling, Sammy just stared. What... the... heck?! she thought, her expression growing more and more confused.

"Hmm... What next?" Deidara pondered for a moment or two before his desires took over him and he couldn't help himself. His signature smirk crawled onto his lips as his hand reached down into one of his beloved pouches. Once he pulled it out, his hand opened, his eyes landing on a small bird. His smirk only grew as he tossed it onto the bed and reached into his pouches again, and again, and again, continuing to toss the new clay birds onto the bed until there was a pile that sat almost as high as the ceiling.

"This is what I have been waiting for for my whole life, un." He smirked, and his hands very quickly fixed themselves into his hand sign.

"KATSU!"

The house shook and rattled for a few seconds, and a loud boom could be heard. The sudden noise caused Sammy to scream and fall off of the couch. Naruto began screaming at the top of his lungs, and the result of this was a mouthful of ramen being sprayed across the table. Lee continued to eat, not even phased.

And, of course, Tobi just continued laughing.

"YEAAHHH, Deidara-senpai!" he practically screamed, clutching his stomach.

Deidara coughed at the sudden burst of smoke, but once it cleared, all he could see was the color black. "I charred this room black, hm," he said to himself, looking down. "And myself."

Lee soon finished his first bowl. "I finished this bowl quicker than you did, Naruto! Yours is all over the table," he bragged.

"Hey! That's not fair, I was... um, I wasn't scared, but I... IT WASN'T FAIR, OKAY?!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs. "So I STILL WON!"

"I actually won," Lee repeated. "This round. I challenge you to another... But this time, we have to split all of the ramen Savanna has between the two of us and see who finishes the quickest!"

"The ramen in there never ends, Lee," Naruto said. "Go look for yourself... but I'm not backing down! Bring it OOONNN!"

"Yes! That is the attitude I am looking for!" Lee praised, giving Naruto a thumbs up. Jumping up from his chair and running to the cupboard with the ramen bowls, Lee opened it and gasped in awe. "Whoa, you were right, Naruto! I cannot count all of these even if I tried!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Duh, why wouldn't I be right? Just take as many as you can, and we'll split them. We can see who'll finish them first!" Heh... Of course, it'll be me, he added in his head.

"Got it!" said Lee. Scooping up as many bowls of ramen in his arms as he could hold, he made his way back to the kitchen table and dumped them on the surface in front of Naruto. Immediately after, he zipped back to his chair.

Upon counting the bowls, the two rivals discovered that Lee had picked up thirty bowls by some miracle, so they each took fifteen. Picking up their pairs of chopsticks, they counted down from three and resumed to suck up ramen like vacuums.

Well, I probably don't need to stay with them this time, Savanna thought. And how can they just forget about that huge explosion Deidara just made? Judging by those vibrations, he probably close to destroyed my guest room... Feeling extremely curious as to what the results of Deidara's "art perfecting" were (and partially just wanting to see Deidara), Savanna left the kitchen and returned to the guest room, where she hesitantly raised her hand and knocked on the door. When she lowered her eyes to her feet, she could see wisps of smoke escaping from under the door, so she sighed.

"Come in, un," Deidara called from the other side of the door. He lightly brushed himself off in an attempt to get rid of the ashes, but his actions had no effect on his appearance. Shrugging, he straightened up and directed his attention toward the doorway as Savanna opened the door with a creak, entering the room.

Savanna's green eyes widened as she took in her charred surroundings. The smoke made it difficult to see, but she could still make out what was left of the furniture. It looks like this room won't be usable anytime soon, she thought. Deidara really went overboard. But again, he always goes overboard when it comes to explosions...

Savanna was fortunate enough to witness one of Deidara's rare apologetic smiles, and she found it to be so cute that she couldn't help but smile in return. "Deidara," she murmured. "You completely demolished my room..."

Deidara cast his blue eyes downwards sheepishly, and Savanna grew increasingly close to fangirling out loud. "Sorry, un," he apologized. "I got carried away..."

Savanna laughed. "I can see that." Wow, I've never seen this side of Deidara before... It's so cute!

Deidara's eyes met Savanna's once more. "It was worth it, hm... The explosion was unusually beautiful this time."

Aaaaand he back to normal again. The corners of Savanna's lips curled up in a small smile as another sigh escaped her. "I bet it was. The effects of the explosion seem to have... erm... rubbed off on you." She gestured to his charred clothes, skin, and hair.

"It seems like they have, un," Deidara replied. "That's the inevitable consequence of a good work of art."

"Do you... want me to wash your cloak for you?" Savanna offered. "You could take a shower if you want while I'm washing it..."

Neji's expressions wasn't that far off from Sammy's bewildered one, for he was also watching Tobi's peculiar scene taking place on the floor. How in the world did Savanna become friends with him? he wondered.

Hinata, who was also sitting on the couch nearby with Tenten, giggled softly at the sound of Peewee's name. Her best friend returned the laugh and continued to regard the anomaly of an Akatsuki member cackling his heart out on the carpet.

Sammy quickly collected herself on the floor and sat on the couch again, her cheeks flustered. "That was embarrassing..." she muttered to herself, folding her arms. Sammy blew out a puff of air she didn't realize she was holding and brought her legs up, crossing them on the couch. Tobi scares me, she thought. He amuses me, but mostly scares me. How does he know so much about our world?!

Tobi continued to practically die of laughter on the carpet. "That... was HILARIOUS!" he managed to choke out. "First, Peewee's Big Adventure, and then... HAHAHAHAHA!" He burst into a fit of laughter about something no one else seemed to find funny. Hinata and Tenten continued to giggle, but they were definitely not laughing at whatever Tobi was laughing at; instead, they were laughing at the boy himself.

Deidara began to take off his Akatsuki cloak upon hearing Savanna's offer. "Thanks, hm," he said, handing it to her. "But I don't think I'll shower. I'll try to get most of it off with the water from the sink, un."

As Naruto and Lee stuffed their faces with ramen, both of them continuously were glancing up to see who was eating faster and who was eating slower. If they found that their ramen bowl wasn't as empty as the other's, they would only pick up their speed.

I'm gonna win this, Naruto thought smugly. For sure.

"I will not lose!" Lee shouted while continuing to eat, although it came out muffled. Both of them were extremely determined and refused to lose.

"Yes!" Naruto argued, noodles dripping and falling from his mouth. "You're definitely gonna lose, Lee, and I'm gonna win!"

Totally oblivious to the fact that every time they spoke, ramen noodles spilled from their mouths and decreased their chances of winning, Naruto and Lee continued to bark out insults at each other. Eventually, as they were both scarfing down their last bowl, Naruto used a burst of adrenaline to his advantage and gulped down the remaining portion of his, nearly making himself gag in the process.

After coughing for a few seconds, Naruto finally regained control of his breathing and puffed out his chest triumphantly. "YES! In your face, Lee! I won!" After bragging, Naruto shot up from his chair and performed a victory dance, which consisted mostly of him jumping around in little circles. However, because of the enormous amount of ramen in his stomach, he immediately felt nauseous and plopped back down into the kitchen chair. "Ohhhh," he groaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

Although this was completely unnecessary, Lee consumed the rest of his ramen bowl with a spark of anger in his eyes. "You merely had luck on your side," he claimed. "Since I won the last challenge, now we are even! We must have a rematch some other time!"

Naruto pulled his lips back to reveal his teeth in a daring smirk and met Lee's stare directly. "It's on," he declared without a hint of hesitation. "Prepare to be beaten into a pulp!"

Lee returned Naruto's grin. "The same goes for you!"

Still feeling high on adrenaline, Naruto shifted his gaze to the kitchen table. Because of the contents of the ramen bowls constantly flying out of his and Lee's mouth during the competition, noodles and broth were splayed across the carefully-prepared food laid on the table for the party guests, essentially making the food inedible. "Heheh," he laughed nervously. "I sure hope Savanna won't get mad..."

Smiling, Savanna gladly took Deidara's cloak in her arms, savoring the feel of the worn fabric with her fingers. Judging from the feel of the fabric and the time period she guessed she was in, she concluded that the material of the cloak was most likely cotton. She mentally attempted to store this moment away in her mind, for this was the first time she had ever held an Akatsuki cloak. And it was Deidara's cloak, no less. I am so pathetic, she thought. She felt even more pathetic when she resisted to urge to smell it.

When Deidara mentioned washing off the soot from the explosion with the sink, Savanna pictured him sticking his head in the sink in order to cleanse himself. Laughing, she said, "Well, if you find that more convenient for you, then by all means, feel free to use the sink. Just keep in mind that you're welcome to use the shower, too."

Deidara thanked her again and exited the charred guest room, heading for the bathroom. Savanna's confusion peaked at seeing something unreadable in his eyes, even though she already knew that his mind was unreadable. Why is this so weird, she thought, when in my world, minds can't be read?

Soon, Hinata and Tenten's giggling reached the point where they had to hold onto each other for support. With every passing minute, however, Neji's annoyance increased, and he had to drag his gaze away from the insane Akatsuki member on the floor in order to control his composure. Just when he felt his resolve cracking, Tobi's guffawing died down to wheezing, and the latter shakily sat up with his hands covering his stomach.

"Wowwwww," he breathed, wiping away the moisture surrounding the hole in his mask. "That was the funniest thing I've heard in awhile!" He paused. "And the greatest workout I've had in awhile!"

Sammy pursed her lips and stood up, wanting to get away from Tobi in any way possible. "That's lovely, Tobi," she grinned, beginning to back away from him. "Well, I think I'm gonna go into the kitchen..." Awkwardly, she spun around and did as she said, completely aware of the contest Naruto and Lee had just participated in.

She tried her hardest not to gag; just thinking about scarfing down fifteen bowls of ramen made her sick. The fact that the rest of the food wasn't in a state to be eaten anymore saddened her just a bit (her and her love of food), so she opened a cupboard and began sifting through it in hopes of finding something else to eat.

"It got a little crazy in there..." She laughed, still examining brands and packaging. "So I came in here. I'm sure Neji'll come in here sooner or later, too... What have you guys been doing?"

"I had a ramen-eating contest with Lee... I totally creamed him!" Naruto bragged cockily. "I'm the master of ramen eating... What can I say?"

"I am determined to win next time," Lee piped in, clearly trying to stop Naruto from telling everyone. "And I will. I have already decided it."

"That's too bad, Lee," Naruto chuckled. "Because I've already decided that I'm gonna win. Again."

"I believe that I decided first," Lee said through gritted teeth, a fake smile still plastered on his face.

"No. I did. I always do." Naruto winked, the cockiness his voice not going down at all- in fact, going up.

And of course, the two overly-competitive boys began arguing. Sammy eventually pulled out a bag of chips. After opening them and shutting the doors of the cupboard, she leaned against the counter and let said boys entertain her.

"Soo, Meji," Tobi giggled, shakily standing up and sitting right next to Neji on the couch. "What are you planning to do in the future?"

Neji's composure was so close to falling to bits. It was hard enough to ignore the peppy Akatsuki member when he was on the floor, but it was even worse when he was right next to him. "Um," Neji said uncomfortably, shifting his gaze to the floor where Tobi had once been. He didn't bother to correct Tobi's continuous name error. "I'm not exactly sure..."

"Oh, come on!" Tobi urged, somehow leaning closer towards Neji despite the fact that they were already extremely close. "There has to be something you're planning to do! Tell meee!"

Neji didn't bother to answer and stood up before walking into the kitchen, his only hope of not losing himself. Tobi, on the other hand, barely noticed that Neji had gone because he was babbling so much.

"Like, are you gonna kill someone? Or marry someone? Or get a specific job, even though you're a ninja? You're a ninja, right?" Tobi went on and on with the questions, and the more he was talking, the harder Tenten and Hinata were laughing. It was amazing how amusing Tobi could be for the two girls.

Deidara turned on the lights in the bathroom and wasn't surprised to see the areas where his skin was exposed completely black, with an exception for his eyes. He quickly turned on the hot water in the sink and began scrubbing his face with it. After a few minutes of that method, he looked into the mirror again was annoyed to see that nothing had happened.

A few more attempts later, he was still just as dark as he had been from the beginning. "Well..." he sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to do this the hard way."

He pulled on both nozzles so they were on their highest power and stuck his head in the sink, managing to scrub his face with his hands at the same time.

After a while of vigorous scrubbing, Deidara lowered his hands from his face and raised his eyes to the mirror once more. He did notice that the soot was, in fact, coming off of his skin bit by bit. His long, blonde hair was dripping wet, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. Deidara's attention was focused on removing the signs from the explosion, anyway.

During his intense scrubbing session, Savanna lingered in the hallways for what she admitted was longer than necessary in an attempt to discern what Deidara was doing in the bathroom. His unreadable mind proved to be more and more frustrating as time passed, but she could tell that he staying true to his word and used the sink instead of the shower. Deidara is so strange sometimes, Savanna thought. Why won't he just use the shower? It would have been easier for him, and I could have had the chance to see him in only a towel... Immediately after imagining the last thought, a deep blush set in her cheeks, and she shook her head as if she could shake that thought away. Resolving to leave Deidara to his own devices, she made her way downstairs and towards her precious laundry room so she could wash his cloak.

When Neji walked into the kitchen, it didn't take him very long to notice the ramen noodles and broth spread across the long table of food along with Naruto and Lee's bloated stomachs. He concluded that another ramen-eating contest had taken place, and a small frown appeared on his face. In the past, Naruto and Lee had done plenty of these contests before, and a particular memory presented itself on the surface of his mind. One day, Neji just happened to pass Naruto and Lee during their contest. As a result, Naruto and Lee unintentionally soaked his clothes with ramen broth and noodles. A small shudder ran through Neji, and he closed his eyes. "Ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.

Neji's voice was barely audible over the ambient sounds of the party, but Naruto picked up on his presence. A mischievous glint forming in his eyes, he situated himself so he was facing Neji. "Oh, hey, Neji," he greeted.

Sighing, Neji opened his eyes and directed a small nod towards Naruto.

Naruto smirked and kept his eyes fixed on the Hyuga. "I said... Oh, hey, Neji."

Coming into the kitchen wasn't much of a relief from that Akatsuki member, Neji thought sourly. What does Naruto want? "Hey," Neji reluctantly acknowledged.

"Heh, heh," Naruto chuckled. "Sammay predicted that you would come in here, and you did. There has to be a connection between you two or something!" Lee listened to their conversation with eager ears.

Neji blinked once Naruto mentioned Sammy. She predicted that I would come in here? Suddenly interested in the conversation, he rested his lavender eyes on the pretty blonde. Why do I feel so... intrigued by her?

Observing Neji's demeanor shift from that of indifference to that of interest, Naruto's smirk grew. I knew it, he thought. Neji totally digs Savanna's cousin! Neji never likes anyone. Ever. For this to happen... This is totally awesome!

Miraculously, Tobi finally realized that Neji was no longer sitting next to him after he was finished illustrating his life's story. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, whipping his head from side to side in an attempt to find Neji. "Where'd he go? Did he use a Transportation Jutsu?"

Kiba, who was also amusedly watching Tobi's monologue, answered his question. "Of course not... Neji left a while ago. You weren't speaking to anybody."

Tobi folded his arms. "Oh, yeah? Why should I take your word for it, uhhh..." He desperately tried to remember Kiba's name, but nothing came to mind. "...Cat Eyes?"

The smile immediately disappeared from Kiba's complexion. "Whoa, whoa. Did you just call me... Cat Eyes?"

Completely forgetting about Neji, Tobi giggled. "Well, yeah! I mean, just look at your eyes! They look just like a cat's!"

"Don't you ever relate me to a cat!" Kiba spat. "I'm more like a dog, if you ask me!" He paused. "And I would rather be like a dog."

"Why?" Tobi asked. "Cats are so adorable! They're cuddly and soft... and their little meows! They're so cute!"

Kiba's expression showed that what Tobi had been saying didn't change his opinion one bit. "Dogs are better," he argued. "They can actually protect you when you're in danger. And they're cuddly and soft, too... But their bark is almost always bigger than their bite."

Tobi thought about this for a minute. "Cats can protect you, too! With their claws! They're a lot sharper than dog claws."

"They can also attack your face with their claws," Kiba mumbled, not wanting to talk to the Akatsuki member any longer. "Dogs would never hurt their masters."

"Well," Tobi started, searching for something to say back to him. "Well, I've never actually had a cat before, but I'm sure they wouldn't do anything to their masters, either!"

"Cats aren't as loyal as dogs are," Kiba pointed out. "So, it's final; dogs are better than cats."

After a couple of minutes of scrubbing, all of the soot had been washed off of Deidara's face and out of his hair. The rest of it had gotten onto his cloak, so he was practically finished. But as he continued to look at himself in the mirror, he realized that something was different. It didn't take Deidara that long to realize what was up before he reapplied his eyeliner. After examining himself in the mirror once more, he set the eyeliner in his pocket and walked downstairs.

Upon reading Naruto's mind, a small blush crept onto Sammy's cheeks. Neji does not 'dig me', she thought. If anything, I'm sure it's the opposite... He'll never like me. I'm too weird for his liking...

She glanced at Neji and was surprised to find him already looking at her. Her blush grew even more, and she looked back down at her chips. That was the lamest thing I have ever done, she thought, nearly facepalming.

"So... Neji..." Naruto went on, leaning his head on his hand casually. "Tell us about yourself."

Taking his eyes away from Sammy, Neji's expression contorted to that of annoyance. "You already know me well enough, Naruto," he said, folding his arms.

"Sammay doesn't," Naruto smirked, glancing back at the blonde who was currently staring into her bag of chips. "She just got here... She probably barely knows you at all."

Hahahaha, Sammy thought. I know a lot more than you might think. Looking up, she sighed. Neji doesn't have to do that if he doesn't want to," she said, putting the bag back into the cupboard after grabbing a handful of chips. "I can probably get to know him later, I guess."

"Why wait when you could get to know him now?" Naruto grinned cheekily at Sammy.

"Um, I don't know," she said, shifting from foot to foot. "But what if Neji doesn't want to?"

At Sammy's suggestion, a pang of sadness git Neji's heart. He wasn't exactly sure of the cause, but Sammy really did intrigue him. Her actions along with the unfamiliar things she introduced left him in a state of confusion most of the time, and as Neji was often referred to as a genius, he was not at all accustomed to being confused. Being with Sammy made Neji feel like an entirely different person; instead of looking down upon everyone else, he looked up towards Sammy- he viewed her as superior. Her mysterious demeanor made him want to figure her out, like she was a puzzle waiting to be solved.

And she was also pretty in his eyes. So, yeah. Of course he wanted to get to know her better.

"Well, I wouldn't mind getting to know her better," Neji tried stating with as little inflection in his voice as possible.

Every sentence out of Neji's mouth was a small victory for Naruto. "Oh, don't act like you don't mind," Naruto gushed. "You would take every chance you could get to grow closer to her!"

Flashing a glare at Naruto, Neji tried to prevent a blush from creeping onto his cheeks. He could feel his face heating up, but he desperately wished that it didn't show. Naruto needs to know when to shut up, he thought angrily. Although I would take any chances to get closer to Sammy...

Neji's reaction served as enough proof for Naruto. "Dudeeee..." Naruto trailed off, still smiling. "You're totally whipped."

When Savanna entered the laundry room, her eyes automatically drifted to the hole in the ceiling and caused a smile to break out across her face. Who would have thought that Sakura would be hiding above the ceiling? she wondered. And how did she get up there? I didn't even know there was something up there...

Just as she was about to reach the washer, Savanna planted her feet in place. Reminding herself for the millionth time that she was the most pathetic human being to have ever set foot on Earth, she tilted her head downwards and regarded Deidara's cloak. This won't smell like Deidara anymore once I wash it, she thought. This might be the last chanve to find out what he smells like...

Bringing the cloak to her nose, Savanna took a whiff and nearly sighed with joy. Aside from the faint scent of soot from the explosion, she could detect the aromas of honeysuckle and hibiscus along with some other flowers she couldn't name. This is so heavenly, she thought. So, this is what Deidara smells like? If only I could stay here and smell this all day... Wait, what am I thinking? Gosh, I am so PATHETICASGDJDNK- Forcibly interrupting her thoughts, she chucked Deidara's cloak into the washer and pressed the "on" button before she could change her mind. Oddly enough, the memory of Deidara's scent led Savanna to eventually start wondering what Naruto smelled like.

"Deidara-senpai!" Tobi cried once he saw Deidara come into the living room. Paying no attention to the frown immediately appearing on Deidara's countenance, Tobi zipped over to him. "Quickly! Which are better? Dogs, or cats?"

Reaching out, Deidara gently pushed Tobi away from him. "You're in my personal bubble, Tobi. Hm! Know when you're too close." He paused to think about the question. I'm indifferent towards dogs and cats, un," he replied. "I prefer birds."

"Birds have nothing to do with cats or dogs," Kiba muttered to himself. "They aren't mammals, and they can fly... while cats and dogs have a few similar traits."

"But Deidara-senpaiiiiiiii," Tobi whined, beginning to slouch. "Birds are great and all, but I wanted to know if you liked cats or dogs... I didn't ask about birds!"

Deidara sighed whilst furrowing his eyebrows together, already annoyed. "Take the answer I gave, you, hm," he said, walking away from Tobi and settling in a chair that looked comfy.

Tobi sighed obnoxiously, and it was clear that he was doing anything to get Deidara to answer. After a few more seconds of Tobi being ignored, he sighed again, louder.

Deidara gripped the arms of the chair, trying his absolute hardest to ignore the annoying Akatsuki member. Kiba felt the same way, but he definitely wasn't as ticked off as Tobi's "senpai".

Another sigh. More ignoring. More annoyance, too. Deidara was completely aware of the fact that Tobi wouldn't give up until the former either gave him an answer or physically hurt him... but he continued to stay silent.

A few more sighs later, when Deidara looked as if he was ready to blow, Kiba decided to intervene before anything too harsh happened. "Deidara just told me he likes dogs, Tobi," he claimed, the lie slipping off of his tongue with ease.

Tobi immediately sprang up. "Awwwww, man," he sighed, sitting down next to Kiba again. Both Kiba and Deidara felt relieved that Tobi totally bought the story. "Cats are so much better! Oh, well."

Sammy blushed slightly after hearing Naruto; of course, it wasn't from reading Neji's mind. She had grown into a habit of not doing the latter, but it wasn't like she noticed that.

Naruto looked back over at her, the smile still on his face. He quickly pulled a chair up next to him and motioned for her to sit down, doing the same again to Neji, but so Neji and Sammy were facing each other. "Sit sit," he grinned. "It's time to get to know each other."

Sammy brushed a strand of her long, blonde hair behind her ear before she sat down, not sure if she wanted to do this. She did love Neji, but what if she gave away too much? Sammy mentally shook her head and promised herself she would be cautious of what she said. She didn't know how this "getting to know you" thing would work and told herself not to worry.

Neji sat down and almost hesitantly, wanting Naruto to quiet down and the warmth in his cheeks to subside. Other than these feelings, he felt a bit excited to hear what Sammy had to say, whether Naruto of he asked her questions or if she openly talked herself.

The room was silent for a moment as Lee just watched. What is Neji thinking? he thought, confused. I have never seen him wear that expression before. And he is blushing.

"So," Naruto said, scooting his chair so he was in the middle of them. "Sammay."

The blonde tore her gaze away from her lap and looked at Naruto in the eyes. "Hm?"

"Where are you from?"

I knew he was going to ask that, she thought. "A place called Utah... It's really far away."

Naruto nodded slowly, occasionally taking a small glance towards Neji to gauge his reactions. He decided to get more into something he believed Neji would be interested in. "Do you have a boyfriend?"