Disclaimer: Haha, no.
Banana: Every time we get a review, I feel like the happiest person in the world! *hint hint*
Sammay: Meeeeeee toooooooo! 3 ... I love fry sauce.
Chapter Seven
Sammy immediately felt uncomfortable as she folded her arms, looking back at her lap. She forced her response back towards Naruto. "Um... no..." she answered, running a hand through her hair. "Why?"
"Oh, just wondering," Naruto answered quickly. He then snapped his head towards Neji. "Why don't you ask her something, Neji?"
Right after a question like that? Neji thought incredulously. It's so obvious what Naruto is trying to do. Situating himself so he was fully facing Sammy, Neji attempted to diffuse the awkward atmosphere with his question. "What do you like to do in your spare time?" he inquired.
Although Neji's question was merely a polite one, Naruto was completely satisfied with his match-making skills. He knew Neji was interested in Sammy, anyway- Neji's safe inquiry didn't fool him. But the real puzzle to him was if Sammy was interested in Neji, as well. She has to be, he thought. She's blushing as much as him!
As Savanna passed by the kitchen, she simply couldn't help herself. Catching Neji's eye, she grinned, motioned to Sammy, and formed a heart symbol with her fingers. She nearly laughed out loud when Neji quickly averted his gaze and regarded her cousin once more. Naruto watched this scene and exchanged an air high-five with Savanna.
Leaving Neji and Sammy with their love genie, Savanna walked into the living room and sank into the couch, next to the two flustered kunoichi. "Whoa," she exclaimed. "Hinata, Tenten! What happened? You guys look as if you just ran a marathon." Of course, Savanna already knew what had taken place.
"Oh my gosh," Tenten breathed. "It was him. That's all there is to it." She shakily pointed at Tobi, who was currently stretching out his gloves to make it look like he had elongated fingers.
"Y-Yeah," Hinata stuttered. "He's even funnier than... Naruto..."
Oh, I don't know about that, Savanna thought. Naruto can be pretty ridiculous sometimes. Once again, she found her mind shifting to Naruto, and she smiled to herself as she reflected upon his many funny moments.
Savanna jumped in surprise when she found the energetic Akatsuki member in her face a couple of seconds later. "Hehe... Whatcha smiling about?" demanded Tobi.
"Oh, it's nothing," Savanna quickly replied. Her stomach did flips and turns when she heard the deep tone of Deidara's voice respond to Tobi.
"Remember what I said about personal space, hmm?"
"Whaaaat?" Tobi acted as if he knew nothing about what Deidara was talking about. "I'm not invading her personal space. See?" Catching Savanna completely off guard, he plopped himself in her lap and wrapped his arms around her neck so she was unintentionally holding him bridal style. "Now I'm in her personal space!" he proudly declared.
Heh, heh, Savanna thought. I'm holding one of the most deadly enemies in the shinobi world! For some peculiar reason, she didn't feel uncomfortable engaging in such an intimate act with Tobi. With any other person, she would have definitely felt otherwise, but Tobi just seemed so childlike and innocent to her (even though she knew fully well that he wasn't). I wonder how Deidara and Kiba are going to take this... she thought.
"Hey!" Kiba exclaimed, immediately rushing over and ripping Tobi from Savanna. "Get off of her. You have no business to get that close to Savanna..."
Deidara secretly was glad that Kiba had done that. That meant that Tobi wouldn't wouldn't be annoying him as much as he did before; watching him dive into Savanna's arms irked him enough. Everything the guy did got on his nerves, and he couldn't help it... Tobi was just so annoying.
"I wasn't doing anything!" Tobi defended, throwing his hands up by his head to support his statement. "All I was doing was showing Deidara-senpai what getting too close really is. I wasn't actually doing it!"
"You're such an idiot, un," Deidara muttered. "You clearly did get too close while you were demonstrating it. Hm."
And you got way too close, actually, Kiba added with a glare. "Don't do it again."
Tobi began nodding furiously. "Yeah! Never again. Sorry, Savanna! Hehe!"
Sammy couldn't help but giggle after seeing Naruto and Savanna air high-five, and of course she giggled when Savanna sent the heart symbol to Neji. But she didn't believe it. Once Neji asked his question, though, she went back to normal and thought about it for a second, thankful that he asked something normal. Unlike Naruto.
"I like to draw, write, read... and eat," she explained, a light laugh following afterwards. Naruto quickly looked towards Neji to see a reaction, and smirked once he saw a small smile on his face.
Her laugh is... cute, Neji thought as he examined her looks. And she's pretty, too... "What's your favorite food?" he asked, as it related to the last thing she had mentioned before. Neji didn't think it was too much of a question to Naruto, either, and was pretty happy with it.
"Chicken enchiladas," Sammy smiled, barely a second between his question and her answer. "But a specific recipe. They're really good... I'll have to make them for you guys sometime."
"I've never heard of them before, but I'm sure they're good," Neji said, sending her a small smile back. The one small sign of affection made the butterflies in Sammy's stomach flutter. "How long are you staying here?" he questioned.
She almost answered, but then stopped and hesitated. How long would she be staying there? She had no clue. She wasn't even planning on coming in the first place, and her arrival was spontaneous... She could disappear from that world at any given moment. Sammy didn't want to think about that right then, so she pushed it out of her mind. "I'm not sure..." She trailed off, looking at Neji again. "Hopefully for a long time. Utah's boring."
Naruto glanced from one to the other. Yeah... Sammy totally likes him, he thought. They're both acting like I'm not in the room anymore.
Standing up, Naruto stretched and yawned with a lot of exaggeration. "Welllll, you two have fun... I'm going to the living room." And with that, he bounded into the living room and sat down next to Savanna.
Finally, thought Neji. He was increasing the awkwardness between me and Sammy... Now we can actually have a normal conversation. "Pay no attention to Naruto," he advised. "He's like that most of the time, if you haven't noticed. It's ridiculous." Pausing, Neji tried to sort out all of his questions for Sammy in his head and decided to start with the most basic one. "So... How old are you?"
Laughing, Savanna waved Tobi off. "It's fine, Tobi... I didn't mind."
Tobi failed his arms excitedly. "Yayy!" he rejoiced.
Kiba widened his eyes. "You mean... You wouldn't mind being in a relationship with him?!"
Naruto couldn't believe his ears- he couldn't believe what this conversation had turned into (or at least what he thought it turned into) while he was busy in the kitchen. "Wait... What?" he cried in surprise. "You want to be in a relationship with..." He pointed a finger at Tobi. "...that Akatsuki member?!"
Everyone's making too many assumptions! Savanna thought in distress. Her eyes flashed to Deidara so she could observe his reaction, but like the majority of the time, his expression was unreadable. His blue eyes looked calm, and his mouth was set in a straight line. He was neither smiling nor frowning- Deidara appeared to be completely neutral about the situation.
Savanna sighed and tried to explain herself. "No... That's not what I meant! I meant that I didn't feel uncomfortable or anything when Tobi sat on my lap. I'm just that kind of person..." In her last sentence, she stretched the truth a little, although she would have felt uncomfortable if the person in her lap wasn't Tobi.
Kiba folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Hmph... Are you sure about that?"
Kiba's complexion darkened further when Savanna laughed. Why would I want to be in a relationship with Tobi, of all people? she asked herself. "Of course I am," she coolly replied.
Relief immediately flooded into Naruto. "I believe her, Kiba." Just when Savanna was about to note that this was probably the only time he had said something to Kiba without getting into a fight, Naruto added, "Because I TRUST her."
While Savanna mentally flipped a table, Kiba shifted his glare to Naruto. "Well, of course I trust her, too!" he claimed. His voice dropped down to a mumble. "I was just making sure, that's all..."
Much to Savanna's relief, Tobi cut into their discussion before Naruto could bark out a comeback. "What time is it? It could be past my bedtime!"
"Tobi, you never stick to your 'bedtime'," Deidara remarked. "Even if you miraculously go to bed at that time, un, you always stay up and fool around."
"There's a reason why 'bedtime' isn't called 'sleepytime'!" Tobi defended, bouncing up and down. "So, what time is it? Huh? Huh? Huh?'
Quickly, Savanna checked her phone. "Whoa," she murmured. "It's nearly midnight! Time really flies in this..." She trailed off when she caught Naruto regarding her. "... party."
"Nooooo!" Tobi wailed, startling everyone. "It's soo late! If I stay up too late, then I won't be able to go to sleep at all!" At this, Deidara actually cringed. "There was this one time-"
"I don't want to hear it," Deidara interrupted. "Hm!"
"But it's so funny-"
"I said, I don't want to hear it, un!" Deidara raised his voice, shooting daggers at Tobi with his eyes.
Aww... Now I really want to hear what happened, Savanna thought. "The party ends at midnight, so people should be leaving soon," she told Naruto. Sadness threatened to overwhelm her as she considered spending the night alone. Acting on an impulse, she blurted, "Naruto... Well, um... Would you consider spending the night?" Holy. Crap. What did I just say?!
Naruto's eyes lit up after hearing Savanna's words. "Would I consider it? I won't consider it for a moment... it's already a yes!" he said with a large smile.
Kiba's eyes soon turned into white circles. He almost objected, but then realized that it would be rude for him to say something if Savanna didn't invite him in the first place. Of course she asks Naruto to stay the night, he thought, mumbling to himself. He gets all of the attention.
"Hey, Savanna?" Deidara asked, leaning back into his chair. "The current hideout is pretty far away, and it's already dark, hm... do you think I could stay the night here, un?"
"I wanna stay the night, too—" Tobi tried to say before Deidara interrupted him.
"No!" he shouted before he realized how loud it was and lowered his voice slightly. "No. If Savanna says yes, you're sleeping outside, un."
"Isn't Sammay staying the night, too?" Naruto asked, and Kiba was a bit surprised that the crazy blonde didn't brag to him. He was actually relieved. "I don't know where she's staying, but I would think it's here."
"Sixteen," Sammy answered. "The same as Savanna." Just to make it seem like she didn't know every detail about him, she decided to ask him that same question. "And you?"
Lee decided to leave the two alone and stood up, slowly beginning to make his way out of the room. His goal was to not disturb either of them at all on his way out. First, he examined his surroundings and planned out the perfect route. Second, he took his right foot and very, very carefully...
...tripped on the leg of the chair and tumbled to the floor, taking down all of the chairs and the table with him. In result, a large crash was emitted from the fall, and Lee was covered with noodles, broth and every other uneaten food item from the party before.
Upon hearing the booming noise, Sammy jumped and was startled for a moment, but the scared phase didn't last for long as another fit of laughter came over her. She began to laugh so hard that tears streamed down her pink cheeks, and every time she looked at the mess beside her, she only laughed even harder.
Neji shook his head at his ridiculous teammate, but nonetheless, he still found Lee amusing. Only he would be able to take down all of the chairs and the table with one step, he thought. A smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he sighed. "Lee, how in the world did that happen...?"
"Ow, ow, ow..." Lee groaned. Causing plates and silverware to clatter, he picked himself up from the floor and attempted to brush off the food. "I do not know, Neji! I guess I was not being careful enough when I tried to leave..."
"Be more like a ninja, Lee," Neji urged. "If you go around wreaking havoc wherever you go, you'll attract the attention of everyone, including rogue ninja."
A sullen expression crossed Lee's face, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Suddenly, Lee looked up with determination. "You are right!" he declared. "I will train my hardest to be a stealthy ninja! Soon, even you will not see me coming, Neji!" Clenching his fist, Lee sprinted out of the kitchen- but he didn't stop there. He continued on and through the front door, disappearing in a flash.
After watching Lee go, Neji directed his gaze to Sammy once more. "I wonder what we're going to do with this mess," he said, motioning to the overturned chairs and table. "And by the way, I'm seventeen. Tenten, Lee, and I are all a year older than Naruto and his classmates." I'm glad Sammy's in my age group, he thought gratefully.
Still sulking, Kiba absentmindedly looked into the kitchen. When he noticed the overturned chairs and table along with Neji and Sammy, he became majorly distracted. I've seen them together a lot today, he thought. And the look on their faces- they obviously like each other. Heh... Did something happen? "Hey, Neji," he called. When Kiba captured the attention of the Hyuga, he smirked and winked. "That's a huge mess right there... Did you two have too much fun?"
Neji immediately flushed red. "Lee caused that mess," he hastily explained. "It was nothing more."
"Heh," Kiba chuckled. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say."
Oh, yeah, Savanna thought. Sammay is sleeping over, too... And basically every night we're in this world. She blushed madly upon Deidara's request. "Of course you can stay, Deidara," she complied. "And Tobi can, too... But wouldn't it be a little harsh to make him sleep outside? It's kind of cold."
"I don't care what conditions he's subjected under, un," Deidara replied. "And really, it would be better if it was cold. Maybe it would serve as punishment for being so irritable, hm."
Tobi couldn't take anymore of Deidara's commentary, so he burst into tears and failed around on top of Naruto and Savanna. "WAHHH!" he wailed.
Naruto jumped in surprise. "What the heck?! Get off! You're getting your tears on me!"
Oh my gosh, that's so mean! Savanna thought. Why do I like Deidara so much when he treats Tobi like crap? Hesitantly, she reached out towards the bawling Akatsuki member, but stopped, unsure of what to do. "Um, Tobi? It'll be okay... I'll give you a sleeping bag. It'll be really warm."
Savanna doubted that Tobi could actually hear her over his wailing, but much to her surprise, his crying abruptly died down to a sniffle. "Why... Why don't you just let me sleep inside, like the rest of you?" he innocently inquired.
"I dooooon't think Deidara would like that..." Savanna carefully chose her words so she wouldn't send Tobi into a state of despair again. "That's just what I think. I don't want you to get hurt by Deidara or anything, Tobi."
"Yeah," Deidara agreed. "If you come into her house and disturb me while I sleep, I won't hesitate to blow you up, un."
Tobi visibly shook with fear. "Y-Yes, Deidara-senpai!
At that, Tobi ran outside and sat on the lawn, ready to be served with a warm, toasty sleeping bag. At least that's what he hoped it would be.
"It's about time he left, hm," Deidara muttered, bringing his hands behind his head to relax. "Maybe I'll actually get some peace tonight."
"Oh, tonight's gonna be so much fun," Naruto gushed, clasping his hands together. "And tomorrow, of course... heh."
Tobi, immediately feeling lonely, slowly made his way towards a window that he was positive led to the living room, where the action went on. It was the only one he saw while he was out there that didn't have the curtains drawn, and he was curious to see what he could spy while looking through it.
Cautiously, he crawled so he was underneath the window, unseen from anyone inside. Slowly, he brought his head up and peeked inside, and to his delight, he had the perfect view of Deidara.
"Deidara-senpai!" he whispered, waving frantically. But right as he did so, he realized that if Deidara saw him he would definitely blow him up, so he quickly ducked out of view right as Deidara snapped his head towards the sudden sound. After all, the window was open a crack and it was easy for Deidara to hear mostly anything that went on outside of the house.
"Hm," Deidara murmured, looking back towards the rest of the party. "I swear I just heard Tobi, hm."
Right as the artsy Akatsuki member looked away, Tobi poked his head up once more, attempting to get as much time looking at Deidara as he could. Of course, said person saw him in the window from the corner of his eye and quickly looked over again as Tobi ducked.
Deidara began to quickly look at the window and then back as Tobi went up and down behind the window. This went on for a few seconds. Eventually, Deidara stopped and just stared at the window while Tobi continued bouncing up and down, hiding one second and being completely visible the next.
Once the orange-masked boy realized he was the only one moving, he froze and just stared for a second. "Uh, oh..."
Kiba began to chuckle himself as he fixed his eyes on the blonde, who seemed to not be able to stop laughing. She had buried her face in her hands by now, slightly embarrassed that she couldn't stop laughing. What she had just saw had pictured itself in her mind, so wherever she looked she could see Lee falling... and as a result, made her laugh continuously.
It took her another minute or two before she calmed down. Taking a deep breath, she wiped the tears from her eyes and sighed. "That was embarrassing," she blinked, looking up at Neji, who was looking at her with an amused expression on his face. "My laugh sucks and I was screaming it for five minutes straight."
"You don't like your laugh?" Neji questioned. He hesitated, almost as if saying the next several words was foreign to him (which, in a way, was true). "I like it. It's... nice." In an attempt to disguise his embarrassment, he quickly came up with a question. "Shall we continue our game?"
After reading Neji's mind, Savanna inwardly squealed with delight. Neji is really opening up to you, Sammay! Awww... It's so adorable! Directing her attention to Naruto, she smiled. "Yeah," she agreed. "I'm excited, too! Should we sleep down here, in the living room? I mean, if we used my bedroom and my guest bedroom, we wouldn't all be together for the sleepover." Hmm, she pondered. Since you're sleeping over as well, Sammy, you should invite Neji! Heheh...
"I think we should sleep down here," Naruto responded. "It wouldn't be a real sleepover if everyone was separated!" In reality, there was only one person that he really wanted to be with.
"Okay, cool," Savanna replied. As she was distracted by everything going around her, she remained oblivious to Naruto's thoughts. "I'm going to go get a sleeping bag for Tobi. I think they're in my closet or something..." Well, it is up to me where things are situated in this world, since it's a role play, she reminded herself. When she dashed up her staircase and opened the doors of her closet, she quickly found where the sleeping bags were stored.
But there was a minor problem.
There were only three sleeping bags.
Immediately, Savanna began to sweat buckets. When she reserved one of the sleeping bags for Tobi, that only left two to be used by her, Sammy, Naruto, possibly Neji, and Deidara. Deidara can have the couch, she decided. It would probably be for the best. Someone would have to share at least one sleeping bag, and if Neji agreed to stay the night, then everyone would have to share one with somebody. Savanna blushed when she came up with the solution that she would have to share with Naruto (she was the closest to him) and Neji would have to share with Sammy, if he accepted the future request. Of course, she thought the latter was cute and adorable, but when she considered sleeping in such close proximity with Naruto, her stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster.
Meanwhile, Deidara lost his temper and shot up from the armchair, storming over to Tobi by the window. Tobi shrunk away, almost as if he was trying to sink into the ground.
"Cut it out, un!" Deidara shouted. "Stop being such a stalker! Hm! This is your last warning. If you don't behave, you will face much worse than the wrath of my explosions." His facial expression contorted to that of fury, and one didn't need to read his mind to know what he was feeling.
Tobi shrunk back even further and held his hands out in an apologetic gesture. "I-I'm sorry, Deidara-senpai! I was just trying to get a look at your... perfect hair!"
At Tobi's response, Deidara ran a hand through his long hair and let the blonde strands fall through his fingertips. "I know my hair is perfect, hm," he remarked, a smug expression briefly replacing his furious one. "But that doesn't give you an excuse to be a stalker. If I ever catch you spying on me again, un, I won't hesitate to follow through with my threat."
Only a moment after Deidara uttered his last sentence, Savanna appeared at the front door with a sleeping bag in her hands. Since she couldn't read Deidara's mind, she had no idea that he was standing at the window and threatening to kill Tobi. Maybe this isn't such a good time to interrupt him, she thought.
Just as Savanna was about to leave to give Deidara and Tobi their space, Tobi eagerly dashed into the foyer and snatched the sleeping bag from her arms. "Thank youuu!" he said, dashing back into the cool night air.
"Um, you're welcome...?" Savanna replied, blinking in surprise.
Tobi began to giggle as he slithered into the sleeping bag while standing. It took a minute or two, but eventually Tobi was completely inside, it being zipped up and everything.
"I... I..." Tobi said, searching for the perfect word. "I'm a potato!"
With another giggle, Tobi began hopping around the front lawn, beginning to think he was more of a bunny than a potato. "I don't have big ears," he reminded himself. "...But I wish I did!"
As he continued to hop around, he didn't notice as he slowly approached a small bit of the ground that was very wet and muddy. He only continued to giggle and hop, until he made a large leap and landed straight into the mud, his feet immediately losing control and, as a result, he of course fell to the ground.
A few seconds passed of him lying there, completely silent... until he burst into a fit of tears and began to roll around. "OWOWOWOW!" Tobi bawled, a fountain of tears spewing from the small hole on his mask.
Deidara's eye twitched as he stared out the window. Everything Tobi did seemed to annoy him, and he was especially annoyed at this point because said person's cries were one of many of the things that annoyed him most.
Naruto sat eagerly on the couch, bouncing up and down without even realizing it. The giddy Jinchuriki managed to catch Kiba's eye. Slowly, he craned his neck to look at Kiba, and his eyes narrowed once he had studied the Inuzuka for a minute.
"Excited for a sleeping bag?" Kiba questioned with an icy glare.
"Yeah," Naruto answered with a cheeky grin. "You jealous?"
"What? No," Kiba answered a little too quickly. "Why would you even ask that?"
"Because you're red from anger," Naruto replied. "Or you're blushing... can't really tell."
Kiba furrowed his eyebrows together, completely giving away the fact that he was, in fact, jealous. "Shut your trap, Naruto," he growled. "I'm not jealous and that's final."
"If you weren't jealous, you wouldn't be getting so mad," Naruto retorted with a light laugh.
"I'm not getting mad!" he nearly screamed, but then kept quiet only a split second later after realizing how loud it was.
All Naruto needed to do in order to validate his opinion was to send Kiba a slight nod.
There are only three sleeping bags?! Sammy thought. I mean, who knows if Neji's gonna sleepover, but if he does... "Oh, sure," she answered after she snapped back into reality. "Sorry. I kind of zoned out..."
"That's alright," Neji assured her. "So..."
"Do you wanna sleepover?" Sammy blurted out before she could shrink back.
To reiterate, Neji didn't fully admit it to himself, but his attraction to Sammy was partially due to her ability to completely shock and catch him off guard (the other reason being her pretty appearance, of course).
And, well.
This was a perfect example.
Sleepover. Sleepover? Neji had known Sammy for barely a day, and now she was asking him to spend the night with her. Sure, he had nothing to do at the Hyuga compound except train and sit around and he hadn't done anything fun in a while and there was that crush he had on her that seemed to be growing exponentially-
Actually, the more Neji thought about it, the more he wanted to take Sammy up on her offer.
He kept his eyes locked on hers as he contemplated about his decision and tried not to let surprise leak into his expression, but the silence was dragging so long to the point where the atmosphere was growing increasingly more awkward. The last thing Neji wanted was for Sammy to feel uncomfortable and regret suggesting the sleepover because of his hesitation... And he most definitely did not wish for her to think that he didn't want to spend the night with her.
Because Neji did. Intensely so.
So he really, really needed to answer in the next few seconds before she got the wrong idea- but what would he say? How would Hiashi react if he opened the door to Neji's room in the middle of the night only to find it vacant? How would Hinata react if nobody showed up at the Hyuga courtyard for the daily training session at dawn?
Neji cleared his throat, his gaze never wavering. "Sure," he replied.
His decision was totally un-Nejilike, but he didn't really mind as long as he was spending time with Sammy. He mentally made plans in his head to contact his family later and give them the Oh-I-Forgot-To-Tell-You-But-I-Got-A-Sudden-Mission -And-It-Took-Longer-Than-I-Thought excuse. Yes, it was risky, but being with Sammy was very unpredictable and made Neji feel like a jumbled mass of confusing emotions... It brought out feelings and induced actions that were almost entirely new to him.
Tobi was no longer visible from the window, but his cries were impossible to ignore. Clenching his fists, Deidara furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his teeth together in anger. "What," he spit out, "is that idiot doing now, hm?!"
Frantically, Savanna read Tobi's mind and grasped his situation outside. She sensed that Deidara was near his breaking point (she would have laughed at Tobi if Deidara didn't look like he could blow up the entire Leaf Village) and tried to ease his pent-up anger. "He just slipped on some mud outside, Deidara," she told him. "It's nothing to worry about... He'll stop crying eventually. If you just stop paying attention to him and go somewhere else, it'll be like he never came here with you. How about we return to the living room?"
Deidara took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself. Much to Savanna's relief, his features visibly relaxed after a moment. "...You're right, un," he admitted. "I need to get away from that moron." Without waiting for a response, he walked back into the living room and sat back down in his armchair, Savanna following shortly behind.
Kiba found it slightly strange that Naruto didn't immediately contradict his words, so he narrowed his eyes at the orange ninja and allowed only a sound of annoyance to slip past his lips. "Hmph." I bet Savanna's only inviting Naruto because she feels bad for him... After all, he has no parents and no family. Yeahh... That's definitely the reason.
Of course, Kiba felt the need to share that with Naruto. Thankfully, he knew well enough to not mention the part where Naruto didn't have any family, but he nonetheless strove to hurt his feelings somehow. "Savanna just feels bad for you," he mumbled, just loud enough for Naruto to hear. "That's the only reason she asked for you to sleep over."
Naruto snorted. "The only reason she asked me to sleep over is because I'm totally hawt," he retorted. "And she didn't ask you because you're totally nawt."
"I'm pretty hawt if you ask me," Kiba shot back, putting his hands on his hips defensively.
"Says your mom!" the spiky haired blonde guffawed. He couldn't help but break out into a fit of laughter after he let the words out of his mouth.
Kiba's cheeks soon heated up into a vibrant crimson. "So?! Why does that matter, Naruto?!"
"Because you're forever alone!" Naruto laughed. "Savanna totally loves me more than she loves you. Actually, I don't think she loves you at all!"
"She totally loves me!" Kiba argued. "And why would she love you in the first place?!"
"I already explained this," Naruto winked. "She would love me because I'm totally hawt."
A small trace of a smile appeared on Deidara's lips as Tobi's cries subsided to a much quieter volume. "I'm glad I won't have to be sleeping in the same room as Tobi, un," he sighed. "He's too much of a nuisance."
Tobi's tears eventually came to a halt after a couple more minutes. He then shakily stood up, wiping the stream of tears that stained his mask along with his sleeping bag. "That hurt my bum," he sniffled. "I wish Deidara-senpai would let me sleep inside. Ah, well... I'll have to play with my besties tomorrow!"
Sammy breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon hearing Neji's response, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering. She had to admit that she started to get a bit nervous during his pause, wondering whether she should've asked the question or not. "If it's too much of a bother, then don't feel like you have to," she assured him. "Really, it's fine."
Neji found the same expression on her face as he studied her features- the expression he recognized a number of hours before when she said he didn't have to be her partner during the pool game. He could tell that she really wanted him to stay. "No, it's not going to be an issue," Neji said with a small smile. "I'm sure my family won't mind."
Sammy quickly read his mind and was saddened to find out that he actually wasn't positive of the reaction of his family. "Are you sure?"
Neji nodded. "I'm sure."
She sighed softly, a smile following afterwards. I guess I'll just let it go, she thought. There's no point in asking him anymore. "Okay. If you say so."
Neji found that he couldn't bring himself to wipe the soft smile off his face, and a tingly sensation spread throughout his entire being. He inferred that the strange feeling arose from his excitement about the sleepover, but he had no desire for it to go away. He wasn't actually sure if he preferred to feel this way or not (he hadn't been sure of anything for the past several hours, despite what he claimed), but he settled on relishing the moment; any feelings Sammy awakened within him had to be good.
I wonder what her career as a shinobi is like, Neji thought. Seizing the opportunity to get to know her better, Neji inquired, "So what rank of ninja are you, Sammy? And what academy did you attend?" By hearing the name of her former academy, Neji felt as if he would hopefully recognize it and finally be able to figure out where the obscure place called "Utah" was located.
As Savanna listened to Naruto and Kiba's bickering, she couldn't help but take notice of their constant referring to their "hawtness", so she also couldn't help but glaze her green eyes over Naruto's figure.
And she couldn't help but admire him.
Sometimes, she cursed Naruto's obliviousness to his surroundings, and sometimes, she cherished it. This was one of those well-appreciated moments- she took the time to marvel and admire him, but Naruto was too busy yapping away at Kiba to detect her gaze. Savanna drunk in his features with her eyes; she did nothing less than moon over his head of blonde spikes, his vibrant, cerulean eyes, the shape of his jawbone, and even his whiskers. Before she knew it, the temperature of her cheeks felt similar to that of a stove on high, and she found herself agreeing with Naruto's proclamation ('I'm the hawtest guy in the world, Kiba').
After another minute of arguing, Kiba groaned in frustration and threw his hands up in the air. "You're impossible, Naruto! You obviously don't know attractive when you see it. Just for your info, it's right here." He jabbed a finger at his chest.
"You're right... if you're talking about me!" Naruto retorted, the smirk still present on his countenance.
That was officially the worst comeback I have ever heard, Savanna thought with a smile.
"Dude..." Kiba drawled. "I'm not."
"I said 'if'," Naruto pointed out.
Kiba leaned closer to Naruto, as if increasing the proximity would somehow get the message through the latter's skull. "But I'M NOT."
Naruto knew fully well that he really shouldn't have continued to provoke the furious Inuzuka, but he had no restraints when it came to arguments.
And, to be frank, messing with Kiba's nerves brought him joy.
They were still best friends, of course. Everyone has their own way of strengthening the bonds with their friends, and quarreling was just Naruto and Kiba's way of going about doing it.
So Naruto felt no regret when he repeated, "I said 'if'."
Slowly, Kiba folded his arms.
And stared.
Savanna held her breath in anticipation for what was about to come. Oh, no, she thought. Will the fight get physical? Will I have to ask for Deidara's help again?
Savanna let out a sigh of relief when Kiba showed signs of calm movement. "I'm outta here," he mumbled. "The party's basically over, anyway.."
"Oh... Are you sure?" Savanna worriedly questioned.
Kiba's expression seemed to soften as he glanced in her direction. "Yeah, it's okay. I just think we're all tired. Anyway, see you later."
"See you," Savanna replied as he made his way out the front door and into the darkness. That was kind of strange, she noted in her mind. Kiba usually doesn't act like that... Not a minute later, Tenten and Hinata passed her by as they headed in the same direction.
"T-Thanks for the party," said Hinata. "It was, um... really fun..."
"Yeah," Tenten grinned. "I had a blast! Throw another one sometime, will you?"
Savanna smiled warmly at the kunoichi. "Of course, and no problem. I had fun, too! Goodnight, you guys."
"G-Goodnight," Hinata hastily responded. Whispering excitedly to each other about the current gossip of the Leaf Village, the two best friends walked closely together as they left Savanna's fanfiction home.
Blinking, Sammy stared at Neji for a second.
Crap.
"Oh," she started, searching for a reasonable answer as quickly as she could. "...I actually didn't go to an academy... the town I live in is small, so we don't really have one. My dad trained me."
That was the stupidest thing I have ever said, she thought, mentally banging her head against a wall. Ever, ever, ever.
Neji nodded slowly, his hopes of figuring out exactly where she came from falling to his feet. At least he got to know more about her. "Interesting... and your ranking?"
"I'm not exactly sure, since ranks aren't particularly specified in Utah," Sammy smiled sheepishly. "But I would say I'm around a Chunin. Maybe even a Jonin, but yeah... still not certain."
You wish, Sammy, she thought, still banging her head against the mental wall. You would fail if you even tried to complete a Jutsu...
"Kiba's so annoying," Naruto said, walking towards Savanna. He said this even though he was grinning. "I'm definitely hawter than he is, don't ya think?"
Before Savanna could reply, Ino (who had a death grip on Sasuke's wrist) appeared out of nowhere, right in between them. "If you're talking about Sasukeee, then of course not! Sasuke is impossible to beat when it comes to hawtness," she gushed. "Everyone knows that!"
"I wasn't talking about Sasuke, Ino," Naruto said with narrowed eyes. "Where the heck did you come from?"
"Oh, anywhere and everywhere," she winked. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell Savanna that Sasuke and I are leaving. We had tons of fun!"
Sasuke sent Savanna a pleading look, his eyes screaming for help. One of those extremely rare expressions.
"Thanks for inviting us! BYEEEE!" Ino grinned, running out of the door, Sasuke being forced out with her.
"Ino's annoying, too," Naruto grumbled. "And I actually feel bad for Sasuke, this time. He's been stuck with her all day."
"Bye! Buh bye!" Tobi waved to Hinata and Tenten as they left, and to Sasuke and Ino once they had rushed out of the house. "I'll hopefully see my most favorite people ever soon! Yeah! That's you guys!"
Completely ignoring Tobi, Ino whirled on Sasuke and tried to put on her most dazzling smile. "Sasukeeeee," she breathed. "You wanna know who my person is?"
Sasuke pried at the claws strangling his wrist, as if this attempt's outcome would be any different than the previous ones. He seriously couldn't feel his entire right hand because Ino had cut off his circulation a long time ago, and Sasuke had become increasingly more fearful about losing that hand entirely. And Sasuke was never fearful about anything.
"I don't care," he seethed. "Let go of my wrist, you idiot!" Why is her face so contorted now?
"Ooohhhh, Sasukeeeee," Ino gushed, her smile growing wider. "You're raising your voice! That means... That means you must be passionate about our relationship! Don't play hard-to-get, now... We all know that you're just DYING to know who my favorite person is! Well, it's youuuu, of course!"
Who's 'we'? Sasuke wondered. "I wish I was your least favorite person so you would leave me alone," he spat. In his next sentence, he tried to lace his words with as much menace as he could muster. "If you don't let go of me in the next ten seconds, you will experience a lot of pain, Ino."
Ino did shiver, but she shivered with excitement instead of fear. "Ohhhh, so that's what you like," she prattled with a wink. "You like doing it rough, huh? That's fine with me!"
That was it.
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.
His rage reached a point so high that the murderous glare that followed was daunting enough to make even Ino's chatter falter. Since Sasuke's right hand was handicapped at the moment, weaving signs and performing Jutsu were definitely out of the question. After a lot of contemplating and glaring, he finally made up his mind...
…and kicked her away from him as hard as he could. It wasn't his fault that he just happened to land the blow on her chest.
When Sasuke's kick sent Ino flying, he faintly heard a 'pop' in his wrist, but he blatantly ignored it and tore off down the road, in the direction of his house. His sprint didn't slow down in the least until he was fully inside his home with the door locked behind him. Breathing heavily, Sasuke slumped down the wall of the foyer and brushed raven-blue hair out of his eyes (with his left hand, of course). Why me? he thought despairingly.
I feel so bad for Sasuke, thought Savanna. I'm glad he made it home in one piece... and without Ino attached to him. When she detected movement in her peripheral vision, she glanced up to see Naruto standing even closer to her than before.
"Soooo..." he trailed off. "Where were we before Ino and Sasuke interrupted us?" Although Savanna was positive that he knew the answer to his own question, Naruto pretended to pause and think about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah!" he smiled. "I'm definitely hawter than Kiba, don't ya think?"
Just when Savanna began to think that she could get away without answering his question, he just had to repeat it. A blush threatened to overpower her cheeks once more when she recalled how she admired Naruto's features not too long ago. With Naruto's blue eyes fastened on her own, her brain degraded into a bowl of mush, and Savanna was faintly aware that she had nodded her head helplessly in response to his inquiry.
The words catching in his throat, Naruto blinked in surprise. "Really...?" he choked out.
"Y-Yeah," Savanna stuttered. I have to be honest, right? Even though it's embarrassing...
Although Neji still had no knowledge of the place where Sammy originated, he reminded himself of her ninja rank and noted that he was still getting to know her better, little by little. "I see," he observed. "I'm a Jonin, by the way. What rank missions have you completed?" Sammy looks like a formidable shinobi, thought Neji. I wouldn't be surprised if she had completed many A, or even S-ranked missions...
Blowing out a puff of air, Sammy pretended to think about the answer as if she was shuffling through all of the missions she had completed. I'm so pathetic, she thought. "A little bit of everything, I suppose," she answered, leaning back in her chair.
I feel like she's hiding something, Neji thought, studying her. But what? As he continued to think, he found himself feeling more attracted to her as the seconds ticked by, the urge to know more about her continuously getting stronger. "I would think so," he nodded. "Does Utah have some sort of a Kage?"
That question made Sammy want to jump off a cliff, get shot with a machine gun, bang her head against a hot frying pan, and explode all at the same time.
She couldn't say no... who else would assign the imaginary missions Sammy went on? And if she said yes, which she would, she was almost certain he would ask for the name. "...Yes," Sammy began, speaking slowly to give her time to think. "You could say that."
Neji felt slightly confused at her answer, but decided to go with the first thing she said, as it made the most sense to him. He was wondering why she added 'You could say that' into her answer, but ignored it after a couple of seconds. Figuring he could most likely pinpoint where she came from after recognizing the name of her Kage, he asked her what his or her name was. As Sammy predicted.
I need to think of a name, quick! she thought frantically, and soon a name that sounded reliable popped up into her mind. It's not like Neji would know who he actually was...
"Masashi Kishimoto," Sammy answered, almost laughing at how Naruto fans would react if they were sitting next to her.
A small smile appeared on Naruto's lips as he continued to stare at Savanna. It gradually grew as he replayed her nodding over and over in his head. "That's a relief," he chuckled. "I kinda thought you would say we were both equal in hawtness or something..."
Just then, Sai stepped down the staircase casually after doing who knows what upstairs. After he walked for a second or two, he stopped next to Savanna and Naruto. "It's very late," he said, not saying anything else.
"Duh," Naruto said, wishing everyone besides those who were spending the night would leave already so he and Savanna could have a conversation without any interruptions. "That's why you should probably leave."
No sign of hurt or anger showed itself on Sai's face after hearing Naruto's harsh comment. "So should you, shouldn't you?"
"Actually, I'm spending the night. And you're not. So bye."
Sai stared at Naruto for a moment before looking back towards Savanna. "Thank you for the party, Savanna," he thanked. "Your lotions are very fragrant."
So he was messing with my lotions the whole time he was upstairs? Savanna wondered. I kind of doubt that... "I get the best ones," she joked. "Now I know what to get you for your birthday!... Erm, when's your birthday, again?"
Sai politely smiled. "November 25th," he replied.
Just to make sure, Savanna pulled out her phone and checked the date- May 4th. Something pricked at her mind and reminded her that tomorrow was supposed to be an important day, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was...
"Oh, your birthday is kind of a long ways away," Savanna remarked. "I'll try to remember to get lotion for you..." If I'm still here...
Sai's smile didn't waver, even as he glanced at the strange contraption in her hand. "Thanks." Being the awkward person he was, he held the smile and continued to linger in the living room, not saying anything else.
In order to break the silence, Savanna cleared her throat and laughed nervously. "Well, um... No problem. And thanks for coming."
"You're welcome," Sai coolly replied.
After several more seconds of Sai just standing there, Savanna started to worry that she would start sweating. The atmosphere is too awkward! she exclaimed in her mind. Sai has many books telling him how to do certain things, right? Instead of buying him lotion, I should get him a book on how to diffuse an awkward situation...
Naruto folded his arms and grinded his teeth together in irritation. "Hmph! Why won't you just leave, already?"
Sai directed his indifferent gaze towards Naruto. "This isn't your house... Am I correct? Only the host has the authority to tell someone to leave their home. In this case, it's Savanna."
He must have read that in a book somewhere, Savanna thought jokingly.
Naruto scowled and raised his voice further. "Why do you have to be such a butthead, Sai? You seriously need to learn manners or something!"
Suddenly, a mysterious glint appeared in Sai's eyes, and much to Naruto's bewilderment (but not to Savanna's), he fished around in his pocket... and produced a small book.
And it's title read, 'Manners: All You Need to Know about Proper Etiquette'.
"I do, in fact, know all about manners, Naruto," Sai claimed. "So I wouldn't be talking right now."
Sai was so completely unbelievable to Naruto that the latter, after opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to find words powerful enough to convey his feelings of appallment, just decided to give up and shut up.
Cutting Sai off before he could say anything to anger Naruto further, Savanna laughed once more (although, she did admit that it sounded a bit more forced than the last one). "Haha... Hah... Welllll, thanks again for coming, Sai! It was fun... Hopefully, we'll get to see each other again soon. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, Savanna. Since Naruto seems a little confused about all this, maybe you should consider getting him this book, too." Sai held up his book and gestured to it with his eyes. "It's very helpful."
At that, Naruto proceeded to drop to his knees and repeatedly bang his head on the coffee table.
"I'll think about it," Savanna decided, ready to burst out laughing at any moment. Luckily, Sai finally left to return to his home, and a few minutes later, Savanna also bid her farewells to Shikamaru and Choji.
Masashi Kishimoto? Neji repeated the unfamiliar name in his head. "Hmm... I don't think I recall who he is," he murmured. "What an obscure place you live in, Sammy. It's a wonder Lady Tsunade didn't assign me any missions relating to that place... I'll mention Utah the next time I see her. It's possible that she doesn't know of it, either."
"I highly doubt she knows of it," Sammy said. She'd be surprised if Lady Tsunade did know about Utah... no one in this world should have known about Utah, and she was still puzzled by the fact that Tobi did seem to know a little.
"Oh," he nodded. "Why's that?"
"No reason," Sammy said, sending him a small smile. "It's just a thought... not many people know about Utah. Here, at least."
That's what I'm trying to figure out, he thought. Why have only Sammy and Savanna heard of the place? "Is it hidden by a genjutsu?" he asked, thinking that would be the only possible reason.
"That would be pretty cool," she replied. "But unfortunately, it's not. Utah's pretty big, too."
This doesn't add up... Neji thought, still unfamiliar with his confused state. If it's big and isn't hidden by a genjutsu, then why isn't it on the world map? How could someone like me miss it? "How strange," he murmured.
"Yeah..." Sammy trailed off, leaning her chin on her hands. "It's a bit... complicated, you could say."
After the whole party had gone, Naruto sprang up from the floor next to the coffee table and quickly made his way towards Savanna once again. "It's about time everyone left," he said to her with a wink. "They kept on interrupting us."
Naruto's suggestive tone sent shivers down Savanna's spine, but she couldn't help but notice that Deidara was intently regarding them on his armchair. Although she had no desire to draw attention to Deidara, her eyes nonetheless flashed to him for a brief second. What if... What if he thinks that Naruto and I like each other? she worried.
Almost immediately after Savanna had that thought, her worry subsided and a small smile appeared on her face. I do love Deidara, of course, she thought, but he's out of my league. He's three years older than me, and he's an Akatsuki member... Plus, there's the fact that I don't think he loves anything but his art. But Naruto, on the other hand...
As Savanna continued to ponder over Naruto, she couldn't deny the fact that she was more or less falling in love with him (if not already in love). She couldn't see any flaws in his appearance, and although she could understand how other people could see faults in his personality, Savanna viewed those faults as aspects unique to Naruto that made him unlike anyone else.
When Savanna first found herself in this wonderful world, she had set her sights on Deidara. However, as the day progressed, her affinity for Naruto had seemed to grow a thousand-fold. Savanna still loved Deidara, but it was a different kind of love than the love she had for Naruto... She viewed Deidara similar to how she would view a celebrity.
So, Savanna decided to pay no mind to Deidara as he smiled warmly at Naruto.
"Haha, Interrupting us? Did you have some other things you wanted to talk about, Naruto?" Savanna tried to make her tone as suggestive as Naruto's.
It's very complicated, indeed, Neji agreed. I haven't gotten a single lead to figuring out where Utah is... Resolving to drop the subject for the moment, he asked another question that surfaced within his mind. Almost hesitantly, he inquired, "Do you know where I'll be sleeping?"
Sammy nearly groaned as she felt a red heat crawl up her neck and onto her cheeks, both upset about answering the question and about how blatantly obvious it was that she was embarrassed. She was hoping she wouldn't have to answer that question the moment she realized they would have to share the same sleeping bag, and hoped and dreamed she wouldn't... but, of course, it came up in their conversation. "Well... um... Tobi and Deidara are spending the night. Deidara's going to sleep on the couch, and Tobi already has a sleeping bag outside..." Sammy trailed off, covering her face with her hands, hoping it seemed nonchalant towards Neji. "So that leaves two more sleeping bags. Aaand, Naruto's sleeping over, as well."
Neji regarded her silently, taking note of the blush that arose on her cheeks, wondering what it meant. He ignored the fact that she knew all of this without leaving the room for quite a while as he continued to think, even though it continued to nag at him, practically screaming to ask about it. If there are three sleeping bags while Tobi already has one, he pondered, then Savanna and Naruto are definitely going to share...
And then it hit him.
"So... you and I are going to have to share a sleeping bag?"
Sammy's stomach performed a number of backflips just at the thought. To be honest, she didn't really know what to think about the idea... in reality, they had barely met, despite the fact that the blonde had watched Neji for a couple of years, now. Would it be too much for him? She really hoped not. It was a bit overwhelming for her, but...
The whole thing made her nervous. Just nervous.
"I know we just met, but... I mean, we really don't have a choice... not that I don't want to. I just don't know what to think about it all," the girl stammered, lowering her hands so her chin was resting on them once again. She wished she would shrivel up and blow away. This wasn't her idea of a casual conversation.
"Weeelll," Naruto drawled, bringing his hands up to the back of his head. "Not exactly. I guess I have a few ideas going around in my head, but... I just really like talking to you."
In order to prevent herself from blushing for the umpteenth time, Savanna let herself say whatever was on her mind with honesty. "I do, too," she confessed. "I'm glad we feel the same way." She did admit that the last sentence was laying it on a little thick, but at the moment, she didn't care- Savanna felt as if she needed to let out her feelings, which she had kept bottled up for the majority of the day.
Just to make sure that her night (and her guests') would be a peaceful and undisturbed one, Savanna quickly strided over to the window and peered out into her front yard. As soon as she rested her gaze upon Tobi, she slapped a hand over her mouth and barely caught herself before she could gasp out loud.
On the good side, Tobi was about ten feet away from the window, and he appeared to be sleeping very soundly inside his sleeping bag.
But on the bad side...
Tobi laid right in the center of the large mud puddle he had slipped on earlier, and mud caked his entire being (along with the sleeping bag) from head to toe.
Noticing Savanna's startled reaction, Naruto appeared by her side in an instant. "What is it?" he hurriedly questioned, leaning towards her so he could get a good look outside.
"Tobi..." Savanna whispered, timidly pointing a finger at the filthy Akatsuki member.
A few seconds later, a flicker of understanding crossed Naruto's features. "Woww," he breathed. "That guy's gonna need a major shower."