Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, we would all be in serious trouble.

Warnings: This fic has bad language. Virgin ears be warned!

Chapter 10: Queen Sacrifice

Shikamaru entered the familiar math classroom, sleepy brown eyes surveying the area briefly before determining he was definitely the first one there. Puffing out a small sigh, he let his bag drop unceremoniously to the floor, reaching out and grabbing the first desk, dragging it into place. They always sat the same way for the after school program. Shikamaru and Chouji pulled two desks side by side, while Asuma sat in a desk across from Shika. Then on Shika's left, Asuma's right, Ino sat in a desk facing the three of them; because God forbid she just pull the desk around and sit next to the teacher, making a normal square. No, she had to sit at the head of the group and just slightly separate from the others. Troublesome girl.

Nonetheless, the ponytailed brunette began maneuvering the desks into the usual position. He always did it when he was the first one there. Yeah, he was lazy, but he wasn't completely inconsiderate. Even Ino set the desks up if she was the first to arrive, and if that princess could do it, Shikamaru could do it ten times over. Besides, today only three desks would be needed since Chouji wouldn't be staying.

Finishing his most strenuous task of the day, Shika plopped down into his seat, head falling forward with a dull thud to rest on the scratched, graffitied, likely dirty wooden surface, eyes immediately drooping shut. So... sleepy... He wasn't looking forward to hearing Ino's obnoxious voice that day.

Apparently he'd been doing something right lately, because his prayers were almost immediately answered. Asuma came into the classroom, both brunettes pointedly ignoring the way the other smelled of cigarettes, and smiled at the half-asleep freshman. "Hey, Shika, thanks for setting up. You heard Chouji wouldn't be here on Thursdays anymore?"

Yaaawn. "Yeah. Thursday's all-you-can-eat wing night... or day rather, at his family's restaurant, and they're crazy busy from about lunchtime on. His parents need him to help pick up the slack. They got crushed last week."

Asuma nodded, recalling the phone conversation he had shared with Mrs. Akimichi on the subject. And couldn't help but smile in grim amusement at the phone call he'd had not even an hour later. "Yeah, well apparently Ino isn't going to be able to make it Thursdays anymore either."

Shika blinked slowly. "What?"

"Her father made up an excuse," Asuma said with a shrug, honestly not even remembering what the poor excuse had been, just knowing the man had obviously caved to his daughter's pleading. "Pretty much, I'm assuming she couldn't stand the thought of it being just the two of you without Chouji as a buffer."

A dry, throaty chuckle. "Heh... best news I've had all day."

Asuma just nodded absently, not exactly sure what to do next. "Since the program is designed to work in groups and you're alone..." The big man trailed off uncertainly. "I guess you could work on your homework if you wanted or--"

"Do you play chess?"

The question caught the older man off guard. "Chess?"

"Yeah." A travel-size game appeared from the depths of the teen's bookbag along with a slightly lazy smile. "Chess."

Dattebayo!

Gaara entered the classroom last, scowl in place, and walked directly up to one of his 'comrades' as Gai-sensei insisted on calling them, not sparing a glance in either of the other two's direction, standing in front of his desk with arms crossed. Big black eyes framed by even bigger, blacker eyebrows studied him curiously. "Hello, Gaara-kun. Is there something I can help you with this fine day?"

Gaara stared. It took a moment, but the redhead was surprised to find he was actually a little uncomfortable with what he was about to do, something nearly unheard of for him. Since when did he give a shit what anybody thought? "There's a movie tomorrow night. A group of us are going."

Silence. After a good thirty seconds or more, Lee's eyebrows shifted just slightly, showing his surprise and confusion at the whole situation. "Ah, that is wonderful to hear, Gaara-kun. I hope you thoroughly enjoy yourself on your outing."

More silence. Teal eyes slowly narrowed as Gaara realized this was more difficult than he had previously thought. Why did talking with people have to be so complicated? "No... I was asking if you wanted to come."

Lee's every muscle froze, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Was... was this real? Was someone... actually asking him to... hang out? He swallowed thickly, tremors of excitement and nerves absolutely throbbing through his veins. He was terrified to answer. What if this was all some kind of sick joke? Though Gaara didn't seem the type to derive pleasure from such actions...

Gaara watched the older boy, wondering what he had done now to have him make that kind of expression. Had he frightened him? He certainly hadn't meant to. Shit, if he got in trouble for this somehow, Temari would kill him. "You don't have to feel obligated," he said after the silence had lingered for what he deemed an unacceptable amount of time. "I was just offering." He turned to go to his seat, trying to figure out what the slightly hollow feeling in his stomach was. Was he getting sick?

"No!"

Gaara startled as the older boy all but threw himself from his seat and across his desk, panting like he'd just run a marathon. What the hell was wrong with him?

Lee would not let this chance slip by. He had been waiting for this, for someone, anyone, to just... attempt something resembling friendship with him. He knew he was weird, but he was always friendly, always polite. So surely someone would... and yet he'd been waiting nearly sixteen years for this to happen.

He had always been the anomaly, the kid that attracted instant attention when he walked into the room, but yet the one who was always forgotten about the second they parted ways. So unique yet so forgettable. On good terms with so many people, and yet... just never important enough in their minds to ever be invited to anything, to ever truly warrant a second thought; and always too self-conscious, too afraid of being in the way to try even once just inviting himself. Always left behind. Not anymore. He took a deep, calming breath. "I would love to attend a movie with you and whoever else is going, Gaara-kun. Where should I meet you and what time?"

Gaara wasn't sure what it meant when that weird feeling disappeared, but he was grateful all the same.

Dattebayo!

"You know, I used to play this a lot with my dad," Asuma said, as he set up the pieces on his side of the board.

"Oh?" Shika didn't glance up. "That's who I usually play with. My dad."

The bearded teacher hummed, finishing his preparation and motioning for his student to make the first move. "It's been a little while for me, but I used to be pretty good."

The boy offered a nod, opting to open with a simple move of his pawn. "I like playing, though playing on the computer gets boring. It's more fun when there's another person."

"Well, board games were originally meant for two or more players." Asuma countered with a move of his own pawn. "You ever play with Chouji?"

Shikamaru's knight hopped in a smooth L. "Nn, we have. He's not really a fan."

"I see." Another pawn inched forward. "Does Ino know how to play?"

A snort met his question. "I tried to teach her when we were younger. She was even less interested than Chouji." He moved. "She really can kickass at video games though. Don't let her fool you."

Asuma smiled, somehow not surprised. He could just picture the pretty blond with a headset on in front of an X-box 360, sniping people on Modern Warfare 2 and calling them noobs. "You really do know a lot about her."

A small grunt, brown eyes glancing up from the board with a disinterested expression. "Just say whatever it is you're hedging around, sensei."

Asuma couldn't stop his wince. That's what he got for trying to outsmart a genius. "I just want to know why you're always so hard on her. I mean, I understand why you say most of the things you do. I think most of it she really needs to hear." He set his piece down a bit harder than necessary. "But why do you insist on doing everything in your power to piss her off?"

"Well, I do have several passive-aggressive tendencies..."

The older man frowned, trying to remember back to his college psychology courses. "...What you're doing with Ino isn't passive-aggressive," though he agreed the boy showed several other symptoms.

"It is when what I really wanna do is hit her. Hard." A rook moved skillfully into play. "I piss her off because she pisses me off. End of story."

But it wasn't.

Dattebayo!

Naruto carefully studied the two ravens in the room with him while the kids waited for their perpetually late sensei to finally show up. Like always, Sasuke was brooding and Sai was drawing. Sakura was doing homework, of course, but for once his mind wasn't on the girl with bubblegum pink hair. No, it was focused solely on the two other males, thinking about them and his plans for the next night.

Naruto had never been overly smart, but he was not as dumb as most people tended to believe (though that was mostly his own fault). After actually giving it some thought, he had figured out rather easily who it was Gaara and Kiba wanted to invite to the movies with them, and he had to admit, he approved in full. In fact, it was almost enough to make him want to invite his own 'groupmates' to join them... almost.

Really, he did want to invite teme. As much as he fought with and could be annoyed by the haughty, sulking prettyboy, he still liked him; a lot. They had this... connection sort of, had had it ever since they were younger, way back in elementary school. Naruto wouldn't go so far as to call it friendship (Sasuke had never allowed it to progress to such) and yet... yet in some ways, it was even stronger than that. It was hard to put into words, but he felt it every time he was near the dark-eyed boy. It was still there.

This, of course, made him want to invite the Uchiha to hang out with him and his friends Friday night. Lord knew the prick could use some fun in his life... yet he refrained from ever letting the question leave his lips. Because he knew what Sasuke's answer would be. He knew the futility in asking. And he knew it would probably hurt to hear whatever snide, biting comment was thrown his way more than he would ever admit. So he just didn't ask.

As far as Sai went... well, he didn't particularly like nor dislike Sai. It was kind of hard to form an opinion about somebody who showed about the same amount of emotions as a rock and rarely spoke except to unintentionally insult you. Really, if he invited Sai, it would be more out of pity than anything else. The kid obviously had no friends... though he didn't seem to want any either. Regardless, Naruto couldn't help but feel bad. He knew what it felt like to be alone... unwanted by everyone. Unloved. It was a feeling he would never wish on anyone, and shouldn't that be how Sai felt... you know, if he could feel? And it was for these reasons he contemplated inviting the odd one of the group.

But then Sai smiled at him in that creepy way, and the whole idea was immediately thrown out the window. He really didn't need to invite anyone. Their group was plenty big enough as it was.

Dattebayo!

"Okay, so she pisses you off, I get it. Mind elaborating a little bit for me? I have a feeling a lot of people piss you off, but I don't think you put so much effort into evening the score when it comes to them."

Slim, tan fingers hovered over a pale bishop before they dropped away with a weary sigh. "Look, you don't understand."

Asuma hated that phrase, especially when it was used as an excuse to write someone off. "I know I don't understand, Shikamaru. That's why I'm asking you to explain it to me. Does this all stem from when you guys were younger?"

The Nara's eyes sharpened just a little, the sleepy haze clearing to show a startlingly intense gaze hiding underneath. "Yes, it does actually. Since you don't seem to be willing to just let this go, I'll explain everything." The bishop moved sharply. "When we were kids, we were inseparable, the three of us. Our dads were close, so we became close. Simple enough, right?" He irritably shoved a loose strand of brown behind his ear. "Then, as we got older, shit started happening, Ino started changing. Chouji and I didn't. We grew apart, and not in the friendliest way. Up until recently, we wouldn't have even been on civil terms with each other, so you're lucky we've managed to mature a little."

Asuma slowly tilted his head, absently moving a piece to keep the game going. "So... this all stems from the 'bad breakup' so to speak you guys had? You're still upset by all of this?"

Shika's frown tightened. "No, not really..." He took Asuma's knight. "Look, you have to understand something. Back then, the three of us made up a trio or whatever you wanna call it, yeah. Chouji is now and has always been my best friend, again yeah. But Chouji and Ino... they had this thing. I honestly don't know what to call it. As close as me and Chouji always were, no one could take Ino's place in his mind. Since we've had properly functioning brains, he worshiped the ground she walked on, and you know Ino. She loved the attention he gave her, the way he'd do anything she asked him to; but at the same time, she never really took advantage of him, you understand? It was kind of like a faithful puppy and their loving master, though that paints a really weird picture in my head. He served her, she praised him for it, and I just sorta went along for the ride, everyone was just fucking peachy."

There was a pause as the boy seemed to need a moment to compose himself. His fists tightened around the hem of his shirt to the point the knuckles turned white, face darkening more by the second. The potent anger was probably the most emotion Asuma had ever seen the apathetic boy show.

"Then we started growing apart. Fine, whatever, it happens. I wasn't happy about it, but I understood." He clenched his teeth. "Then... like I already said, Chouji had it in his mind that Ino could walk on fucking water. He adored her. And when she was going through a tough time, feeling bad about herself, the way shit in her life was going, she used that to do everything in her power to crush him. She knew exactly what to say to hurt him, exactly how to do it to make it last..." He shut his eyes tightly for a moment and licked bone-dry lips. "She used his loyalty and exploited it, all because she thought in the end it would make her feel better about herself, and she went after him because she knew he would let her, that he would never contradict a single thing she said. And I don't care how gay it sounds, no one hurts Chouji like that while I'm around. He's one of the nicest fucking people you'll ever meet, and he doesn't deserve that from anyone, especially not a bitch like Ino." He ran slightly calloused digits over the top of his queen. "So while part of me still loves Ino because I can't forget how close we were for years, another part of me hates her for what she did to our friend. I am not okay with it, and I want to make damn sure she remembers that... But mostly importantly, I'm going to make sure that she never gets the chance to do it again." He moved his queen. "Checkmate."

Dattebayo!

"Okay, guys, we're done for today." Kurenai offered her group a soft smile, exchanging goodbyes with Kiba and Hinata as they filed from the room, smiling a bit harder in Shino's silent direction when he nodded her way.

Adjusting the bag slung over his back, Shino made to move immediately towards the front of the building and the parking lot when his daily routine was interrupted by a very loud, "Hey, Shino, wait up a sec!" and Kiba was suddenly right there next to him, a little too close for comfort. Shino eyed the boy warily, though he knew the action was well hidden. "Yes?"

Kiba offered the taller boy a feral grin, lacing his fingers casually behind his messy brown head. "Just wanted to talk to you real quick. See, a bunch of us are hangin' out tomorrow, y'know, catchin' a movie, stuff like that. Just wanted to let ya know you're more than welcome to join us."

Shino stared. It took a few moments for the Inuzuka's words to process correctly in the quiet boy's mind, sure he had heard wrong or misunderstood. "You're inviting me to go out with you and your friends?"

Kiba heard the disbelief in the words and scratched the his hair uncomfortably, feeling more and more awkward by the second. Shino seemed to be good and making him feel this way. "Yeah. The guys are all from this thing too" --he absently waved his hand to indicate he meant the after school program-- "so... I d'no, just thought I'd throw it out there." Why was this so much more difficult than it should be?

There was another pause then. A long one. Much longer than Kiba was okay with, and the unease was beginning to show on his painted face. Shino opened his mouth and shut it about three times before finally stating, "I'm afraid I must decline. I'm already occupied tomorrow night," and turning on his heel to walk away.

Kiba couldn't pretend he didn't feel a bit put out, not by the rejection itself but more by the way it was so abruptly done. Swallowing back any rude remarks, he forced himself to call a simple, "No problem, man. Lemme know if you change your mind," proud of himself for how well he had handled the situation. Being polite and calm really wasn't his forte after all.

"Ano..."

The soft voice behind him made him jump with a startled squeak before brown eyes locked onto the blushing raven behind him, pressing and twisting her fingers together in her usual manner. He felt a little embarrassed now, knowing she had witnessed the whole scene.

Biting her lip, Hinata took a hesitant step closer to her brash classmate, offering him a gentle smile. "I just... I just wanted to let you know I thought that was really nice. The way you invited Shino to join you." She forced wandering, lilac eyes to meet sharp brown ones, if only for a moment. "It was really sweet."

Kiba felt his own blush start to rise and any regret he felt towards his decisions started to rapidly disappear. "Heh, thanks..." A little uncomfortable with the intimacy of the moment, he crassly added, "I woulda invited you too, but we sorta had a sausage fest thing goin' on, y'know?" He completed the comment with a wink, and though Hinata's blush worsened she also awarded him a small giggle before walking away.

The Inuzuka felt himself continue to relax. Things may not have gone exactly as he expected them to, but he supposed it wasn't so bad. His eyes trailed after Hinata's form and he grinned. Not bad at all...

He really couldn't help it when the traitorous organs landed on the girl's nicely shaped ass.

Dattebayo!

"Geez..." An exhausted Akimichi Chouji sat down heavily with a sigh, wearily pulling a serving apron over his head and letting it fall on the floor next to him. He was used to working in his family's restaurant, cooking, waiting tables, doing dishes, whatever was needed of him, had done so since he was a little kid; but Thursdays were still fucking murder every time.

His parents owned their own restaurant, just a little place with about two dozen booths and tables, open from eight in the morning to nine at night. Even though the place was small, they were well known around the area for their meat, large portions, and moderate prices. Every night at dinner brought them a full store, but Thursdays, which for the past two years or so now were all-you-can-eat wing days... Chouji groaned. He was well aware his parents made a killing every Thursday, but it was just so much damn work, so hectic. Every night after it was all said and done, he just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a year.

April, one of the waitresses, popped into the back room briefly, counting her tips as she went, grabbing her purse from the hook it hung on and making to leave. The cute bottle blond, just turned twenty, smiled at Chouji when she spotted him, apparently changing her mind about beating it out of there, and sat down next to the younger boy instead. He did his best to smile back, though it came out very tired and rather Shikamaru-like. "Hey, April, what's up?"

Sure enough, the moment he had asked, the girl started talking. April, he had found the day he had first met her almost a year ago, really liked to talk. She especially really liked to talk to Chouji, seeing as how he was sweet, sympathetic, an amazing listener, and male (even if young), therefore always giving her good advice on her boyfriend troubles... which she always seemed to have in spades. Including tonight.

Chouji took her chattering in with a small smile plastered permanently on his round face. He truly liked April, even if she was a bit talkative and wore too much makeup... not to mention, from what he had heard, attracted complete assholes as partners. Chouji was young and inexperienced with dating and the like, but he was far from stupid. Whether April realized it or not, every single relationship she told him about was borderline abusive. It scared him a little... No, it scared him a lot.

After they had talked back and forth for about fifteen minutes, April gave the teen a hug around his broad shoulders and left, blowing him a playful kiss on the way out. Chouji pretended to catch it, wondering immediately afterwards if he looked retarded doing so, then allowed his whole posture to slump once he was again alone. April was such a great girl, why did she get herself into such bad, potentially dangerous situations?

He didn't even want to think about what scared him the most. The fact that April was exactly how he imagined Ino would likely be at her age, assuming his old friend managed to get over herself a little once high school was done and gone and become a little friendlier. Would Ino end up like April, dating jerks who took her for granted and treated her like shit? The large boy thought of Brian Schaeffer and shuddered.

Another person came into the room, though this time it was a plump little woman in her late forties, mousy brown hair pulled haphazardly into a bun on top of her head, apron still in place. A warm smile was immediately in place when her soft, chocolate eyes fell on the teenager, hand reaching out to smooth through his light brown hair. "Hey, sweetie, you okay? You're hungry, right?"

The boy was indeed very hungry. On Thursdays he was only awarded the opportunity to grab a quick snack after he got home before he had to begin preparing for the dinner rush. Then during dinner rush he was busy waiting tables. Far too busy to eat dinner until after nine when the store had closed.

But he didn't want to eat. He really, really didn't. "I'll... have a grilled chicken sandwich," he said softly, not wanting to meet his mother's eyes. "Only lettuce and tomato. If it's not too much trouble."

His mother's eyes narrowed just a little, not at all liking what she had just heard. "You don't want wings? Really?" Their restaurant offered twelve different flavors and varieties, all of which were plentiful on Thursdays in particular. They were also Chouji's favorite food next to bar-b-que and potato chips of the same flavor.

The young teen nearly shuddered at his mother's question. Sure, wings were delicious, but didn't she realize how much grease and fat was in them? Grilled chicken was much healthier. "No thanks, Mom. Just the sandwich."

Iku Akimichi frowned in full once her back was turned to her only child. She may look like a simple, caring, motherly figure, which in general she was, but she had also lived to see quite a lot throughout her life and she was far from naive, despite how she might seem. Her son had, as of late, started to watch his weight. Not obsessively, and he was a far cry from anything disastrous like an eating disorder, but that was hardly the point. While eating healthy was always a good idea, Chouji doing so because he thought he was fat, was not. Chouji wasn't fat, he was genetically big-boned, and at absolute worst could be considered chubby because he spent so many hours sitting with his lazy best friend in front of the TV. It was his broader than normal frame that gave the illusion of him being overweight. In reality, if the boy took off his shirt, you would see he had no excess rolls, no extra sagging skin, no protruding gut. In fact, if he would exercise just a bit more, he could be built like a tank, one of solid muscle and bulk, like his father during his younger years. He was. Not. Fat. And he knew this.

Yet even though he knew this, he allowed the words of others to fool his mind into worry, self-doubt, perhaps even a sort of self-hatred. He always had been a sensitive boy. The teasing he'd endured when he was younger, when his layer of baby fat had indeed made him genuinely chubby, always hurt him deeply; but at that time, the bullies around him were always ignored in favor of his two closest friends. Being around them gave the shy boy confidence he didn't otherwise have. And if worst came to worst, Ino could always scare the bullies off for him.

Except now, Ino was the bully. Iku knew her son had been having a bit of a rough time at school lately, but he was pulling through okay. When he brought home the information about the after school program and discussed it with his parents, both Iku and Chouza had thought it a good idea. The teenage years were always rough, and it was particularly hard for someone as soft and gentle as their son to be thrown into the proverbial lion's den that was high school. Having someone, an adult who wasn't them, to just be able to talk with, being able to relax and socialize with some of his peers who were probably having some of the same troubles as himself, it all seemed like a great plan. They had never expected him to be put into a group of three with Shikamaru and Ino. And it was after that, after he had started seeing Ino every day, that his depression seemed to worsen, that he seemed to withdraw into himself more often, that he started talking less... that he started watching his weight.

When he came home during the first week of the program and asked for a salad for dinner, Iku had nearly had an internal fit because she knew the cause. She had been on the phone the next day with the school psychologist, Shizune something or other, not yelling and not blaming (because, much like her son, that wasn't how she worked), just calmly discussing if putting Chouji with Ino was really a good idea. After they had talked thoroughly about the subject, Iku had agreed for now to leave her son where he was, but she still had her doubts about the wisdom of that decision. Shizune had assured her the initial symptoms of the children being together would wear off soon, and as of yet, there was no change. If anything, Chouji was getting worse.

Iku sighed as she made her son's sandwich. It was hard to see what had transpired between Chouji and Inoichi's daughter. When they were younger they had been absolutely inseparable. She and Inoichi would joke about how soon they should plan the wedding. Then so much had changed... Iku felt herself shiver. She knew why Ino acted the way she did. In fact, if her son hadn't been Ino's primary target, she'd probably be able to forgive the girl her selfish actions. Because it was only human nature that when you were hurting you wanted to make others hurt too; and Ino was most definitely hurting. But it was her son, her baby boy, and if Iku thought for even a moment that Ino had really hurt Chouji, that she had ever caused serious damage... The little bitch wouldn't stand a chance.

Dattebayo!

Shino's mind was reeling. It had been ever since he'd left school that day, trying to figure out just what the hell had happened with Kiba. The boy had invited him to... hang out. On a Friday night.

Why?

That was the part he just couldn't understand. What on earth had possessed the loud, brash, cheerful brunette to invite him? Quiet, withdrawn, creepy him? It made no sense. And because it made no sense (and his brain had felt like it was slowly but suddenly imploding the moment he had been asked), he had chosen to decline the invitation. He said he already had plans.

That was a lie, of course. He had no more plans for Friday night than he did any other night of the week. He would do his schoolwork and then sign onto his WoW account, his secret obsession that he talked about with no one. How long he spent playing generally depended on his mood, but hours was often an understatement, particularly on weekends. He liked playing, interacting with people but never having to actually see them. Talking with people who treated him like he was completely normal, never gave him any strange looks or whispered behind his back. It was nice. So of course he had turned down a chance at actual face-to-face social interaction in order to spend more time doing so over the wonder of the internet.

Because Shino was well aware that no one would ever want to see his face.

You know, this story was originally supposed to be much more lighthearted than it's turning out. I changed the one genre from humor to drama because that's the way it's been going as of late. I apologize to anyone who started reading this expecting to laugh their asses off (though there will still most definitely be humorous parts), but I'm rather pleased with the way this is turning out so far so it's not going to change.

A note on Chouji's mother... totally made her up to how I wanted. As far as I'm aware, she's never even been mentioned (and I'm talking manga, not sure about the anime), so that, in my mind, gives me free reign. Hope you agree with my portrayal.

Oh... and my cousin pointed out that the scene between Gaara and Lee comes off as kind of slashable... I'm telling any yaoi fangirls right now, it was not meant to be so don't get your hopes up. Nothing but bromance there. One or two characters will be gay (because there are gay people in the world *le gasp!*) but neither Gaara nor Lee will be one of them. Actually, I've already been dropping hints about who one of them is...

FantasyChick, UberRandom, remychan123, sasunaru4evar, iscreamdrizzle, diadem-de-amor, miss kaitlin inuzuka, AspergianStoryteller, Magical Fox, midnight. wolf62, 3karen3, Alexilaihorox, The Epitome of Eccentricity, narutosavior, x-Malicious-Me-x, Norfolk, LilliesCry, Nostalgic Plastic Duck, poolday, TuffChick, ChocolateAngel-san, valenciadarkness, Genesisgoboom, melon42, Kaitlin Murasaki, mindcaster15, Fire-In-A-Tiger-Lily, ShamaLamaDingDong, I always wanted to post a fic

Thank you for reviewing! It really makes me happy!