Chouji had watched the girls as they snatched most of the snacks within an instant. He laughed gently, because he was happy to see them actually eating. He hadn't felt sad for the snacks that he didn't get to consume, he was happy that for once he wasn't the only one munching. He also noticed the girls acting just a little bit more open toward everyone than normal. If he was being honest with himself he liked the change. Maybe tonight he could muster up the courage to confess his feelings to his long time crush. Just maybe.
Neji stared at the girls. And he stared at one in particular. His teammate Tenten. When he approached her, she grabbed his arm and pulled him close. At the moment she had grabbed him and the way she did with such confidence, Neji felt a flush of emotions and tried to hide his embarrassment. His logical thinking seemed to diminish and for the first time he had seen her as something more than a simple teammate, he had seen her as a girl. As he stood beside her feeling like an accessory, he wanted to impress her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to claim her, as his girl.
Kiba had been entranced with Hinata, she was always so small and he always felt the need to protect her. He had accepted the fact that she was in love with Naruto. It had hurt a great deal when he realized her constant fainting and blushing was because she was infatuated with another boy, however he never left her side. He had been there to watch her crumble before him as she realized that Naruto didn't return the feelings she had for him and he had waited patiently for her to recover. He smiled when she approached him, smelling sweet as strawberries. She had pulled him towards her, whispered to his ear and he had blushed instantly. He wished he could tell her how much he loved her, every ounce of her.
Naruto had known that Sakura was obsessed with Sasuke. He knew that she would never be his. Every attempt he made to ask her out or impress her, he would fail impressively. When Sasuke left the village crushing her heart, he had promised to fix it for her. He would give up his life for her; she meant so much to him. Naruto had learnt to dismiss his feelings but hadn't learnt to let go. Every day he would train to be strong to bring Sasuke back to her, but it was slowly destroying him inside. Sakura smiled at Naruto and he walked over to her when she had asked him to hold her cake. He looked at her and gave her the annoyed look. I would do anything for you, you know.
Shino felt left out like always, but at least he was with Kankuro, Gaara, Lee and the newcomer Sai which had arrived later than the rest of his team. They were simply talking about old missions and they remembered the time at the Chunin exams and began to laugh about it.
Thinking back to that time was not what Gaara had wanted to do and dismissed himself from the group. He walked towards one of the blankets that lay on the ground and lay down, looking at the stars. He was happy that the Leaf village ninja hadn't treated him like royalty. He wasn't any different now.
Kankuro looked at Temari. She was alone by the snacks table. Where was that lazy boy Nara? Kankuro knew his sister had taken a liking to that lazy good for nothing twit a long time ago but he never forced her to admit it openly. He wanted her to be happy; she deserved to be after everything she had endured. He walked up to her and asked if she was alright. She replied with a slow yes and then he realized Temari was drunk. When she was drunk she would still always be in control of herself but if she kept pushing herself, she would get a little unresponsive or slow.
Kankuro knew this from experience. When he was younger he watched his sister turn to alcohol for comfort when Gaara rejected her and refused to have anything to do with her. He never shared with his brother the ordeal she went through, which he always regretted not doing. Kankuro wanted so badly to pick up the pieces and fix everything, but was unable to now. After giving her some water he took her hand. When she responded with a slight ouch, his protective instinct kicked in. He looked at her with suspicion and continued to lead her towards Gaara.
She lay down beside Gaara and asked when the Eclipse was coming. Temari was feeling the effects of the alcohol. She was fighting against it. At least she knew that she had the control over her inner struggle. With that thought, everyone went to a place that had a blanket on the ground and stared up at the sky. It was here.
Shikamaru had wanted to talk to Temari all night long. In all seriousness why was this proving to be so darn difficult. When Ino had reached out for him and forced him to stare into her eyes he knew that she was drunk. He asked if she was well enough to watch the eclipse, he didn't want to miss it; the next time it would appear would be many years from now. Ino asked him to carry her to the others which he did, he picked her up in his arms like a knight saving a damsel and she had nuzzled into him, kissing him gently on the neck. He had panicked, he rushed toward the others and put her down beside Chouji and decided he would sit up straight. What the hell Ino..
The Eclipse had begun. They were all amazed at the sight they had witnessed. When everything went black and they could only see the outline of the moon Shino had instructed his fireflies to dance surrounding them all in a silent magical moment they all would remember for the rest of their lives. Temari lay on the ground in the middle of her brothers; she felt safe with them and had no words to describe the wonderful emotions that she had felt during the eclipse. The stars were falling gently to match a few of the tears that managed to escape from her. This was what I came here for. Temari wiped away her tears and Kankuro gently took her hand in his and for a moment her emotions vanished. My wish came true. Gaara took Temari's other hand and with a gentle squeeze, reminded her that he was always going to look out for her. I will miss you all.
"Thank you for this moment everybody" she whispered and Gaara felt a tiny itch of gloom invade his heart. He knew his brother and sister were hiding their sadness well and wanted to disappear to an alternate universe where they would always be happy. He let out a small sigh and they all lay there in silence in a moment that seemed to last forever.
Naruto was the first to break the silence when he began yelling at Sai who had apparently tried to comfort Naruto in a peculiar way he did not concent to. Hinata was sitting in Kiba's lap with his arms around her as she patted Akamaru. Shino had seen Hinata kiss Kiba on the cheek and quickly looked away feeling a sharp stab of jealousy. He was profoundly happy for Kiba except he felt the crush in his own heart at the same time.
Chouji had gone to get the snacks that had been left over, leaving Shikamaru with the drunk female. Ino was semi drunk but still could manage to stand on her own two feet as she asked Shikamaru to walk with her. He refused her at first but knew that he had to watch over, especially in her condition. Yamanaka snatched Nara by the hand leading him away from the others with a smug look on her face. Tenten and Neji had ditched the group; Lee couldn't even track them down when he made it his mission to locate them. As he reluctantly admitted defeat he decided to head home with Shino and Sai. Sai had fallen asleep and Lee cheerily carried the ink master considering it to be another challenge.
Gaara and Kankuro had gone to help Naruto pack everything away. Naruto was annoyed when he realized that Lee had left him to carry the table back down the hill by himself. Gaara offered to help him but Naruto refused, telling him that he could carry the stereo and the rubbish bags. Naruto had no fear towards Gaara and Gaara appreciated that quality in Naruto and did what he asked with no hesitation.
Kankuro had been the one to suggest to Temari to find Shikamaru and picked Sakura off the ground. She had fallen asleep just after the Eclipse had passed. Kankuro smirked when he saw Naruto becoming increasingly agitated because of the way Kankuro was holding Sakura in his arms. He was rather enjoying Naruto's jealousy as he would suggestively gaze at Sakura.
"Kankuro, tell Gaara I'll be fine with these guys so you can leave without me. Chouji and I will find Ino and Shikamaru and then I'll return to the hotel, alright?" Temari whispered to Kankuro's ear careful not to wake the pale-pink shinobi. She knew he fancied her; his feelings had intensified when he faught against Sasori and lost. When Sasori poisoned him he knew he would die, the pain was unimaginable and he wished for death to take him. He was so close to losing his life but thanks to this one girl's sharp thinking and swiftness she had saved him.
"Be careful Kankuro, I love you" she kissed his cheek and ran towards Chouji who offered his arm to her. He really was a gentleman this Chouji Temari thought to herself as she locked her left arm to his. The alcohol had wore off and she was happy to know that Chouji and her could have a little chat before she had to go back to the hotel and with that thought away they went.
"Chouji, do you like Ino?" Temari had seen the chubby ninja trying to guard the blond shinobi throughout the night.
"Is it that obvious?" Chouji asked blushing and raising his finger to his cheek.
"I think it's sweet, you really ought to tell her about your feelings, I think she is over Sasuke for good" she had meant every word. This Sasuke had torn two best friends apart, not willingly but still..he never picked a girl and that was a reason why all they had left towards each other was resentment from the many years of rivalry. From what Shikamaru had told her about this Sasuke character was that he was obsessed with revenge and became an avenger, then it dawned on her who Sasuke was. He was the same boy who chose to join Orochimaru and it was Shikamaru's first mission as a squad leader to retrieve him...
"Really? I thought she would never get over him, but I'll admit she does seem happier now tho. Shikamaru and I have always looked out for her, but she never really notices me. How do you think..do you honestly believe I have a chance of being with her?"
"I do, without question. You're a great friend to her Chouji..and you're very important to Shikamaru too" opting to change the subject slightly she added "Can I ask you a favour Chouji-kun?"
"Of course Mari-chan! Anything, so what'll be?
"It's not really a favour but it's more of a secret, would you mind listening to me? I haven't shared it with anyone and it's kind of burdening me." She spoke looking directly into his eyes.
"What kind of favour is that?" He laughed and smiled "I'll be honoured to listen to ya so Temari, spill your guts."
As she told him she had been trying to perfect the one's life reincarnation jutsu his smile faded away. He didn't understand why she would take it upon herself to master such a jutsu. He interrupted her "What good is it if you lose your life in the process Temari-chan? Honestly this is making me sick!"
"Sorry Chouji I didn't mean to make you sick, but it feels better to have someone know my secret, it's the reason why I fainted today. I was stupid to try and master it alone, I promise I won't use it unless I'm desperate" she spoke to him with no doubt in her voice. "I can even heal animals! I healed a cat the other day!" she added with a smile.
"Now that's something to be proud of! I love animals but my favourite animal has to be doves, especially white ones. I've always wanted one or at least to fly like them. You know white doves represent hope? And did you know that if you do a good deed for a dove I've heard they might repay you with a single wish" Chouji replied with a squinty eyed smile and tickled Temari in her side. She laughed and bear-hugged him. "You're awesome Chouji, I've really come to like you."
Chouji stared back at the beautiful kind woman and wondered why Shikamaru didn't claim her as his already and with a slight stutter he said that Shikamaru was a lucky boy to have found her
Temari looked back at him. He really had no clue that Shikamaru didn't feel anything for her, did he. She wanted to go home and rest, it had been a long day after all..
"Now where could they be?" she turned to her front beside Chouji.
"Oh, so that's where they are.. Let's go to..." Chouji lost his words and Temari became immobile.