HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY THIS!? I DON'T OWN NARUTO!

'Thoughts'

normal

"speaking"

"Inner-Sakura"

flashback/dreams/etc.

'flashback/dream thoughts'

Previously:

Something on his back moved and the ninja paled. He craned his neck to get a good look at his back, only to come face to face with the shinny exoskeleton face of a giant cockroach. One of its long antennas brushed against his cheek. His face turned to stone.

" . . . EEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Shiro let out a high-pitched girly scream. Sasuke, Karin, and Jugo jerked their heads up in alarm. Faster than anyone could blink, Shiro ripped his leather vest off over his head, with the cockroach caught in its folds, threw it away from him, and sprinted out the door in just a black sleeveless shirt. (She's wearing her other clothes, too.) They could see him dancing around on one leg, in a blind panic, patting himself, trying to get off any bugs that might still be on him. Suigetsu fell to the floor roaring with laughter.

As soon as Karin saw the cockroach, which had crawled out from Shiro's vest, she too screamed and followed him out the door and into the rain. Suigetsu could no longer breathe as his silent fits continued.

Starting with Hot Springs

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Ch 3 Drag Queen

Shiro shivered as he watched the smoke rise from the chimney. He had his back up against a tree, receiving some shelter from the heavy rain. But seeing that warm light from the window only made the rain seem colder. Karin had been coaxed back into the cabin by Sasuke, but he had been unable to convince Shiro to re-enter.

The cabin door opened and Jugo emerged with a small plate of food. He tried to protect the food from the rain as he jogged over to the medic and handed him the plate.

"Th-thank-k you J-Jugo," Shiro's teeth chattered as he spoke. He snarffed his food quickly

"The bugs haven't come out since we lit the fireplace…"

"Tha-at's ok-k-kay. I'm-m fine right here," he sneezed at the end. Jugo gave him a sympathetic look and jogged back inside. It wasn't long before he came back outside, this time with a blanket.

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For some reason, Shiro was too paranoid to sleep. Every little sound set him off. He, or rather, she, missed her teammates. The rain had stopped hours ago and the moon was full. A twig snapped and brought him out of his thought and into the dangers of the real world. He threw a kunai at a shadowy figure but it was caught in mid air.

"Relax, it's me," a smooth voice said.

Shiro blushed from embarrassment as well as nervousness. "EK! He came to see us!" Inner-Sakura screamed. Sasuke leaned against the tree and looked up at the stars. Apprehension rose as Shiro waited for Sasuke to say something, anything.

"You're an annoying fool, you know." Shiro's face fell.

"Why?" The medic forced his words out.

Sasuke didn't answer for a while. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it as if he changed his mind about it. "…You're stubborn. It was just a cockroach. If you stay out here in just a wet shirt, you'll freeze to death.

Shiro bit his lip. "I was just surprised is all. How would you have acted if something that ugly had climbed on your back and was in your face like that?"

Sasuke cracked a smirk, "I wouldn't have screamed like a little girl and run away in a blind panic."

Shiro blushed even more. "Fine, I'll come in." Sasuke nodded and re-entered the cabin with Shiro right behind him.

Shiro wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping. Karin watched the two take their separate spots; Shiro by the fireplace and Sasuke in a corner away from everyone. "Sasuke, that old woman is back. She's a half mile away and is heading here."

"She's irrelevant. Ignore her."

It wasn't long before the Leaf ninja fell into a dreamless sleep.

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In the nearby village, two women sat on a bench in a small park eating some meat buns they bought off a vendor just before he closed. Every once in a while Hinata would let out a small giggle, and every time her companion, who was actually a guy in drag, would sigh and look very uncomfortable. He wore sunglasses to hide his eyes, which would be a dead givaway to anyone who was wasn't blind. Something caught Hinata's eye, an insect. But not just any insect; it was Shino's. She smiled and the two waited.

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Someone was shaking his arm gently. "Get up." Shiro cracked an eye open only to see Suigetsu.

"S'morning already?" he looked around tiredly. Outside the window it was pitch-black.

"No. Karin said the old woman's chakra spiked drastically and she's too close to our location. Sasuke and Jugo went to confront her and make sure she's not a threat," the swordsman whispered.

"Karin was also by the fireplace, trying to keep warm. Her eyes were closed to help her keep track of everyone's chakra signatures. "They've crossed paths." Suigetsu only yawned like it wasn't a big deal.

Shiro forced himself not to doze off. "They're coming this way," Karin said after a while, opening her eyes. Suigetsu clicked his tong and took a gulp of his water. He rested his sword near him just in case. A chill ran down the medic's spine as the cabin door opened…

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Two others walked into the park. The taller one looked around before spotting the two on the bench. Another bug flew past Hinata, making her look up. She scooched over allowing the two strangers to sit down.

"Sorry we're late. Our dog ran off to the ramen stand." Hinata and the man in drag nodded, understanding the message's hidden meaning. Kiba and Akamaru went to find Naruto when they cought his sent.

The shorter man looked at the 'woman' next to Hinata with beautiful eyes. "So…Crow gave you the girly outfit, eh, Captain?" There was a small smirk on his lips.

Yamato sighed and looked elsewhere, embarassed. He changed the subject. "I havn't seen any cherry blossms lately."

"…Neither have we."

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Here's proof that I'm still alive. I updated. Sorry it's been so long since I updated any of my stories, it's just that I was grounded, my old computer was still dead so I lost a lot of chapters I was working on, I have my senior year in HS to worry about, work at Hy-Vee, and I'm volunteering at a hospice. Finals are about two weeks away; the last one is the day before Christmas Eve, which sucks major. The good news is that my mom bought me my own desktop for college. It's my graduation gift and my Christmas and birthday gift for the next two years, worth 1.5 K. What's even better is that it has wireless internet connection. So I can update whenever I feel like it instead of sneaking onto my mom's comp. So I'll try to update all my stories more frequently.

Anyway, I'm sure most of you though I would discontinue my stories because of my long absence, but here I am, and I'm not going to discontinue any of them. And you all know the drill. Give me lots of reviews and I'll give you lots of new chapters. Oh, pat yourself on the back if you voted for Yamato as the man in drag. Poor guy.

I don't have a preview for the next chapter, sorry.