Let's just say I might have made up my mind about the ships. But Momo still has her harem because thats fun too. :D

Chapter Thirty Two: Yet Another Spring Day

As Shikamaru settled down and getting ready for bed, he heard a soft knock on his room door. He looked up, a little surprise to see silver hair poking out of his doorway. "Um, Shika? Is this a bad time?" Her eyes looked so forlorn, like a lost puppy, that it drove an arrow into Shikamaru's heart.

"No. What's up?" The boy asked, as he pulled the covers away slightly to face her.

Guess he need to delay his sleep for a moment longer. She let herself in and shut the door, before padding her way over to her godbrother.

Shikamaru noticed how the girl gripped the hem of her shirt as she sat beside him, "I was hoping that I could sleep with you tonight." she paused as if she wanted to say more, and licker her lips before continuing, "It's been easier."

He suspected as much, but for her to say it out loud, it made his face flush as much as hers. It wasn't the first time she had asked to sleep with the Nara, but she was always embarassed to ask for help. He should've been used to it by now.

"Uh, yeah. Okay." He said after a moment's hesitation as he scratched the back of his head.

Well, the opportunity is up for grabs now. The Nara heir tried his best to calm his erratic heartbeat as Mononoke wiggled under the blanket to join him.

His bed was much smaller than hers so they had to squeeze a little. But the duo didn't mind it much. After all, they've been doing this since they were kids. Although its a bit complicated on Shikamaru's side, thanks to a certain Jonin and his advice.

Finally, the both of them settled, their backs pressing against each other. Shikamaru felt the blanket getting tugged upwards as Mononoke pulled the covers up to her chin before she piped up softly, "Goodnight, Shika."

"Night, Mononoke."

Shikamaru waited until the girl's breathing had even out before he dared to turn his head around. It's now or never. Either he gets to sleep the entire night without getting his face squished, or he gets a black eye before dawn breaks.

At least that way, he's know where he stand in Mononoke's eyes. That he is not close to her heart as Kiba, who always had the priviledge to get hugs from her. Somehow, that thought irritated him. Sure, it did ticked him a little to see Kiba getting all cosy with Mononoke but it's a drag to show it. He had been giving some thought about his feelings over the spitfire after Ino's unwanted speculation during the first part of the Chunin Exam. At least when he got the memo, the lazy prodigy finally managed to fit the pieces into place.

He had a crush on Mononoke.

As much as he would like to not admit it, he had to. Shikamaru never knew but he probably had it ever since they were in the Academy. But of course, he was too oblivious to understand it. Even when he told his parents about her a lot back in the day before she came to stay with them.

Shikamaru turned over warily, careful not to wake the girl, before settling to face her back. She was whimpering, no doubt slipping into a nightmare. Mononoke made a small strangling voice as she curled her hands and began to meekly paw the air. Her soft whining launched Shikamaru's hand to rest on her waist before he could mentally prepare himself. The Nara sucked a breath through his teeth as he braced himself for a reaction. But all she did was make a small noise of fear and her body shivered.

Oh no, her nightmare. That was the only thing in Shikamaru's mind as his arm went around her, and he pulled her closer without a second thought. With her back pressing against his chest, the boy propped himself up with his other arm to murmur to her, "It's okay, I got you." He saw her chew her lips with furrowed brows as little sparkles of sweat speckled her temple.

The boy didn't want her to wake up or else she couldn't go back to sleep again. It happened a few times before and she couldn't have a good night's rest for a week or so. That worried him.

But as he continued crooning soft comforting words into her ear, he even stroke her hair a few times and tucked some behind her ear, she began to quiet down. Just as Kakashi said. Soon, she began to breathe a little more calmly. Shikamaru released a sigh of relief. Well, it worked.

That's when he realized his arm was still firmly around her stomach. And her shirt had ridden up, giving him the honour to feel her soft skin under his arm. Shikamaru felt his face burn up as he stared at her bare waist.

There were small scar wounds riddling her hipbone and stomach, making him wonder where she got them from. But then again, being a ninja meant that you would always get small cuts and bruises that may never heal.

Suddenly, Mononoke turned over and pressed her face into his chest. Shikamaru froze as her own arms snuck around him and wrap around his own waist. As she rubbed her face into him, he heard her murmur softly. The Nara heir swore he heard "Shika" and "nice" somewhere in between her little babble.

At least this is getting... somewhere.

Shikamaru pulled her arm below him away, so that it wouldn't be numb by the time she woke up. He lay back down and tucked her hand on his chest before snuggling closer. The genius wondered if this a bit too much. But then again, this is just innocent cuddling, right? And it was comfortable.

He couldn't ponder any further as sleep began to creep in.

When Mononoke woke up the next day, she felt strangely safe. And there was a very comfortable weight on her. Cracking her eyelids a little, her eyes immediately flew open as she realized what was going on.

Shika's face was within an inch away from hers!

The silverette stiffened and felt her cheeks tingle. Heck, they must be as pink as peaches now! Mononoke gulped as she tried to crank her mind to life. Shikamaru was hugging her! And she just noticed it by now, she was cuddling him too!

Oh good lord.

She realized their legs were hopelessly tangled together too. But as she relaxed, she also noted that this wasn't the worst position to be in. In fact, she was very comfortable. It's as if they fitted each other completely, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Shyly, her gaze flickered up to the boy's face and Mononoke began to study him. It's hard to do that when he's awake. That would just be weird.

The Yorukami had always been curious about the Nara boy. He intrigued her. And she had always wanted to know more about him. He never shows much interest in anything, except for napping, clouds and Shogi and Go.

It confused her, in a way.

How could someone not want to know about the world? It's so wild and everywhere you go, you get to understand a little more about life and ultimately, yourself. There were so many things to learn! She wanted to share that with him, to give the indifferent boy the amazing tastes of life. Sure, he managed to wind down her upbeat personality by a few notches and she managed to learn a lot of things by taking it easy too. But still. He could try to get out and moving every once in awhile, instead of sitting there and speculating possible outcomes.

You do and learn, not sit and think.

Her eyes roam his face as these thoughts began to surface into her consciousness.

Shikamaru had really nice features, now that she really looked at him. He looked at ease, now that his mind wasn't whirring around like a hyperactive hamster. It was nice to see him truly relax. Even when he was "napping", Mononoke knew that his train of thought never cease. But he never voiced it out. Why should he? It would be such a drag.

She giggled at the thought, and Shikamaru stirred. The moonlight haired girl froze as Shikamaru turned his face away and yawned, then lifted his hand away from her to rub his eyes awake. Mononoke almost whined in protest at the loss of contact but managed to hold her tongue.

To distract herself, she looked down and immediately, her face turned three shades darker.

Their hands were interlocked.

How could she not realize that?!

"Morning." Mononoke looked up at the greeting to see Shikamaru watching her in amusement. But since she managed to see his sleeping face, she noticed that his eyebrows were set rather tensely. He must be gauging her reaction. Figures, since their current position wasn't exactly what you call kid-friendly.

So, she quickly got a hold of herself and grinned at him, "Morning, sleeping beauty. Did you sleep well?" It's as if a spring inside him was released as his shoulders slumped with what Mononoke could sense as relief. One side of his mouth twitched upwards into a smirk, "Best sleep I've had in years."

His comment unnerved her and she saw him blink in surprise. Well, she felt her cheeks tingle so...

"Right, w-well, uh, we r-really should up get. I mean, get up. I've promised a training session with a.. someone. That is totally a friend!... um, yeah." Mononoke inwardly cursed herself as she clamped her mouth shut before it could embarass her any further. She felt like dying. Sweet peaches and flowers, let this nightmare end.

She quickly tried to wriggle free from Shikamaru but her lucky stars weren't exactly lucky today. Just as she moved away, there was empty space behind her. And she would have fell off the bed.

Would have.

Because thank the heavens, Shikamaru managed to move quickly and caught her in time.

Mononoke's breath hitched in her throat as she met dark brown eyes. Shikamaru had the same reaction as well, as his arm was looped around her waist, his hand firmly pressed against the small of her back to keep her from falling. Her hands were gripping his shoulders as their bodies were pressing against each other. Mononoke unconsciously noticed that his hair was still tied up but there were a few strands out of place, framing his face rather nicely.

Both teens were just staring, unable to move.

She swallowed dryly before giggling, trying to grab hold of the situation, "Uh, you can let go of me now." Shikamaru blinked into reality and nodded pulling her back up. The duo sat up and moved away from each other, both of them laughing awkwardly. Shikamaru was scratching the back of his head while Mononoke tugged her bangs as they tried not to look at each other in the eyes.

The Nara boy cleared his throat before speaking up, "You had something to do?" Mononoke released her hair and sat up straight, "Oh right! Neji's going to kill me for being late again!" The girl threw the covers away and stood up, almost falling over but she managed to stablilize herself.

Shikamaru stifled a laugh as she tumbled her way out, tripping over herself twice before she even left the room. But he stopped feeling humorous when the previous moments replayed in his mind.

Then all he could do was cover his blushing face with his hands.

Mononoke could barely concentrate as she sparred Neji. All she could think of was about that morning. She didn't know why but she kept stumbling over and over again.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Neji scowled as he took a step back and crossed his arms, glaring at the girl, "Where are you?"

The silverette groaned and rubbed her face. She felt like grabbing a pillow and screaming into it until her throat was hoarse. Why is she so frustrated? All she wanted to do was digest these butterflies in her stomach.

"Let's just say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, Hyuga. And I feel like stabbing somebody." She grumbled as she glowered at the grass. She heard him sigh before speaking again, "This can't go on. Let's just take five."

She nodded and both of them sat down. Her hands covered her face as she groaned, tlting forward over her legs so that her hair fell over, looking like a silver waterfall. Mononoke could feel the Hyuga's eye boring into her very soul and she groaned, "Don't look at me like that, Neji. It's already been a weird day."

"Yeah, weird enough for you to lose focus." He agreed and she growled in annoyance. Mononoke flicked her head up, mirroring the Hyuga's glare, "I don't expect you to understand anyway. Come on, I'll be fine after throwing a few punches." Neji rolled his eyes at her, his arms still crossed.

"Sure. If you could even throw one at all."

Halfway through, Mononoke remembered she had arranged a meet-up with Chouji and Shikamaru for lunch.

Of course, she had promised them yesterday afternoon. She never thought this morning would've happened. Maybe she should just skip lunch with an excuse that she was training. But that would be mean to Cho-chan. He even offered to pay this time.

But hey, at least she managed to throw a good punch at Neji. It made feel better already just thinking about it. The boy had to sit down and get his breath back before grudgingly cutting the training short.

As she waited for him to get back to normal, the two began talking about stuff. Strangely enough, the duo had nothing in common but still had plenty to bicker about. After a few days of training, they became fast friends.

"I'm going up against someone from your team. Uzumaki Naruto." Neji said, as she complained about waiting for her turn yet again in the third phase. Mononoke tilted her head curiously, "Eh? For real? I had no idea."

He sighed. By now, Neji was already used to Mononoke's cluelessness over other people's business. She had told him before that nosing around was pretty boring. She was more interested in ideas and things rather than people.

He grunted as he massaged his gut. It still hurts. Whatever pissed the girl off must've been pretty bad. Mononoke leaned in closer to him, sniffing, "You okay, Ji-chan?" (It's meant to be a nickname, but it also means 'gramps'. killing two birds with one stone.)

Neji swatted at her half heartedly, earning a surprised yelp from the victim, "What do you think, idiot?" She shook her head and laughed, "Okay, sourpuss. Let's go for lunch, my treat." He raised an eyebrow at her and she snorted, "Don't give me that. I can be a nice person when I want to."

"I can't help but feel like I'm being reeled into a trap." Neji deadpanned.

Mononoke rolled her eyes, "The worst thing that could happen is you getting diarrheoa for three days. And I would be in the same boat as you." She stood up and lend him a hand to pull him up. He accepted her hand and countered, "Maybe I won't go for lunch. I rather punch you back instead."

"I've had enough of gut pains every month, thank you very much." Mononoke threw the conversational ball back and Neji grunted as he took a step, "Why?" He was curious.

She snorted before holding his arm to balance him, "Lady problems, Hyuga. You'll learn it when you're older." That reminds her. Getting her final step into womanhood could have been another reason why she had been moved to the Nara household. She needed a mother-role in her life to help her with these stuff. Mononoke was sure that Kakashi would've end up a stuttering, blushing mess if she told him she was bleeding through her woman parts. But she still had to succumb to the lengthy talk Yoshino gave her about the birds and bees. Ho-hum.

After Chouji finished ordering, he looked over at his best friend, "So, do you think Momo's coming?" Shikamaru was looking outside, with his chin on his hand. But by the look in the Nara's eyes, he's probably at the end of the world by now. "Shikamaru?" he tried again and the boy blinked in surprise before turning to Chouji, "Huh?"

The Akimichi sighed before resting his arms on the table and leaned forward to inspect his friend, "You've been really distracted lately. Did something happened?" Shikamaru shook his head, "No, sorry. I'm fine. What did you say?"

"Is Momo coming?" he repeated as gentle as he could. Something was off with his friend today. His suspicions were confirmed when he noted the sudden bloom of red on the lazy boy's face as he shrugged his answer. Bingo. Chouji leaned lower on the table as he spoke quietly, "Did something happened between you guys?"

The effect was immediate. Shikamaru spluttered nervously, "N-nothing happened between us!" Chouji shot him a dirty look as he countered, "You're usually a better liar, Shikamaru."

But he was interrupted by a new customer.

"Cho-chan!" Mononoke waved the moment she saw her friend. The plump boy looked up and smiled, "Momo!" Thankfully, Shikamaru couldn't see her at this angle but she thought she saw him ducked down. Mononoke grinned as she dragged in a grumpy looking Neji. "Why are we having such a heavy lunch?" He complained and the kunoichi shushed him, "Don't worry, all you got to do is just sit there and look pretty. You're already doing a great job."

He snorted at her and she pulled him to meet her friends.

Chouji and Shikamaru were looking curiously at the Hyuga as he settled beside the Nara. Mononoke nudged Chouji to the inside seat as she beamed at him, "Did you order the usual?" The duo began talking animatedly, ignoring the other two.

Neji groaned as he folded his arms. Mononoke should be glad he didn't throw a fit. Yet. He looked beside him and snorted, "You got dragged in this too?" Shikamaru looked over him and smirked, "Unfortunately, I chose to deal with them. It's a drag but it's pretty fun. Sometimes." The Hyuga just shook his head, "I can't believe this."

After the lunch, the four of them went outside. Neji grudgingly thanked Chouji for the meal, but not before Mononoke jabbed his ribs. Chouji just laughed good-naturedly when Neji and Mononoke shot each other death glares when the Hyuga insulted the little girl for being bossy. "Well, I gotta go, guys. I'll see you?" Mononoke tore her gaze away and waved goodbye, "See ya, Cho-chan!"

Shikamaru hung back to look at Mononoke, "You coming home?" She felt her cheeks heat up a little when they made eye contact as she replied, "Y-yeah. I'll walk Neji back first." He nodded, "Mm. See you at home." He turned away and walked off.

As she walked on with Neji, they were unusually quiet for awhile. Neji snuck a few glances at the shorter ninja. She seemed off. "So, what was that about? You actually stuttered." he finally asked, unable to stop himself. It wasn't a really personal question but her spine suddenly shot straight up and her cheeks turned pink, "I did? Shit."

"I always knew you had a potty mouth." Neji mused as she glared at him.

"And I always knew you were nosy."

The Hyuga snorted haughtily, "I'm not nosy. Just concerned." He immediately want to take back his words at the creepy smile on Mononoke's face. Well, she's stopped sulking. But he honestly preferred a sulking Mononoke than a scheming one.

"Aww, you do care." her grin was so devilish Neji had to edge away slightly. "What's that look for?"

She shrugged as she looked at the sky, still keeping her act up, "Hmm, what look? All I want to know is why you're so 'concerned'." She even made finger quotations at the word. The Hyuga tried to look for a loophole.

"If I guessed right, you were being a scaredy cat." he countered and this time, it was Mononoke who looked arrogant as she turned her nose away, "Never. No one's a puss puss in Mononoke's town."

Neji tapped a finger to his lips, "But I think I saw a little kitty sneaking close to, hmm, what's his name again? Ah, Shikamaru." She shot him a withering look and the boy felt like he won this round. "Is he the one that was messing your mind this morning?"

"Careful, pretty boy. I might just punch your face next."

When Mononoke got home, she couldn't smell Shikaku's or Yoshino's active scent. "I'm home!" she called out as an experiment. "Welcome back!" A voice replied jovially but it didn't belong to either of her godparents. But it was familiar. Wonder what's he doing here.

Curious, Mononoke scampered to the open corridor to see Asuma and Shikamaru playing Shogi. "Asuma?" she smiled lopsidedly in greeting at the smoker. He gave her a small wave, "I brought something for you." She settled beside him, only sharing a brief eye contact with Shikamaru before the two looked away hurriedly.

Asuma produced a few small rings that were intricately woven together in his hand before handing it over to Mononoke. Turning it this way and that, it looked pretty messy. But as Mononoke looked closer, she realized they were all individual metal rings that were strung together haphazardly.

"Try separating them." Asuma hinted and she grinned at him before getting to work.

The trio were quiet, as two of them played the board game and the third gently fiddling the rings. It was peaceful for them to be together like this. A small breeze picked up, cooling them.

"Got it!" Mononoke exclaimed triumphantly as she showed Asuma the separated rings. He whistled in awe and chuckled, "You got it faster than Shikamaru this time." She perked up. No way. She had been behind him for so long it seemed so alien to hear she actually did before him. "Really?" The Sarutobi ruffled her head, "I even timed you. See?" In his palm was a small stopwatch.

Three minutes and ten seconds.

She beamed at Shikamaru, her previous nervousness gone, "What did you get?" The boy snorted as he rests his cheek against his fist, "Four minutes and six." Mononoke whooped and fell back on the wooden floor, "Yes!" Asuma laughed at her enthusiasm as she strung to the rings back together swiftly before sitting back up again. "This is a day to remember!" And she bounded back out, humming.

Asuma just shook his head as he scooped the rings and returned them into his pocket.

"So, did something happened between the two of you?" he asked casually as he moved a gold general. Shikamaru groaned before glaring at the board, "Is it that obvious?"

Asuma laughed as Shikamaru scanned the board. "Well, I'm sure you two will sort it out."

"Come on, let's go, Shika!" Mononoke exclaimed happily as she let herself into his room. The Nara tugged his blanket over his head, his voice muffled by the sheet, "Goerrway."

The girl rolled her eyes before straightening her yukata. It was sky blue and speckled with sakura blossoms and spring green leaves. The pretty clothing was a gift from Yoshino as a birthday present. And quite similiar to the one Kakashi got for her as a parting gift when she was younger. It made her nostalgic just looking at it.

Mononoke sat beside the lump of boy and bed and pulled at the top of ths sheet lightly, "Come on, it's not everyday its the Kaiju Festival. You already slept the entire day. It's five o'clock already, for Kami's sake." Not to mention she herself had slept in with him the whole time too. It's become quite a habit to take naps with the Nara for the last few days. Not that it was unpleasant. Although they didn't really talk about the bed falling incident (there wasn't exactly anything to talk about), the both of them had pretty much got over all the uncomfortable tension and settled it with some good old napping. But, at least she had someone to hug away the nightmares, other than Kakashi.

But still, at least she woke up at three thirty, then she was hardworking enough to bathe and get dressed for the festival.

"I don't care," the voice replied and Shikamaru tightened the covers over his head. "It's too troublesome."

Mononoke groaned and draped herself over the mound, whining as she pried the fluffy blanket away from his head with bribing fingers. He allowed it to move away slightly, only showing his closed eyelids.

The kunoichi grinned mischievously as she leaned in, resting her chin on his shoulder. She noticed how Shikamaru shivered slightly as her breath fanned his face, "Come on, Shika. I even got you a mask and everything."

"Troublesome woman, let me sleep." But his pink ears gave everything away. Mononoke giggled at his flustered reaction. He could be seriously adorable at the rarest of times. Maybe the night sky tonight has a blue moon?

"You can't possibly waste my effort, neh? Shi. Ka. Ma. Ru~?" She crooned into his ear and she swore, his ear just turned three shades darker. Even his cheeks caught up on it.

Man, she was having so much fun.

It wasn't like her to tease him so flirtatiously but she has got to make do with what she has to get him to reveal an emotion. And being extra confident seemed to do the trick. After all, the Nara heir was usually to lazy to show any reaction to many things.

Then she noticed that his eye was cracked opened to sneak a peek at her and she flashed her best puppy eyes at him, even adding a head tilt in the mix. She felt him stiffened underneath her, and does her ears deceive her? But there it was, his heart thumping rapidly as if it was about to blow.

But he managed to cover up his uncomfortable situation with a indifferent groan, "Don't use that trick on me. It doesn't work."

Well, that only made her change tactics.

Mononoke just leaned in closer and nudged noses with the boy instead. She even got the feeling of her lips brushing against his cheek. The sudden contact made him jolt as she quickly pulled away, her eyes glowing with confusion.

Why did she do that for? Small physical contact like that usually occured between Mononoke and Kiba, not Mononoke and Shikamaru. What has gotten over her? Ever since that day they started cuddling, Mononoke couldn't help but feel closer to the Nara. But this is getting out of the line! The silverette's mind began to whirl in turmoil as she tried to sort out where sudden bravado came from. The moment had actually seemed so right to do it, her body moved before her mind.

But did she went too far? Oh sweet peaches, is Shika going to avoid her forever?

...Oh, but wait.

Shikamaru had blinked a few times before he sighed in defeat then burying his hot face into the pillow, "Get out of my room. I need to change."

His final announcement of surrender made Mononoke pushed away her previous doubts. It must mean he was okay with it, right? She sat up and whoop triumphantly before running out of his room quickly, "Great! I'll wait for you outside! And hurry up, we've got to pick up someone else later too!"

After she left, Shikamaru took a few moments to lay in his bed, trying to get his mind right. His whole face felt like it was on fire! He clamped a hand to his mouth as he dragged the covers over his head again.

What just happened anyway? Did Mononoke just kissed him? What? The gears in the lazy genius mind were jammed as he tried to get a hold of himself. Why is he even reacting this way? He covered his face in his hands, righting himself. Deep breaths, deep breaths.

He never thought in a million years that she would be the first to initiate any type of intimate contact like that.

And to hell with it, he doesn't want to lose out to her like this. Wait, why is he thinking like that? Shikamaru groaned before throwing himself out of the covers.

He'd better change.

When he was finally done donning his dark blue yukata, Mononoke barged into the room just as he was tying up his hair. He looked at her quizically, "I thought you were waiting outside?"

"Forgot something." Came her reply and Shikamaru realized the girl was wearing a kitsune mask with red and gold markings, propped up on the left side of her head. She grinned as she revealed the thing in her hands.

He stared dumbly at the blue and gold kitsune mask. It was a matching one to hers. "Told you I got it for you! I made it myself!" She said proudly as he took it from her. It was really good handiwork. The boy didn't say anything as he looked at it. He never thought she would actually make the masks. Especially since Kaiju Festival was an annual thing.

No wonder she forbade him from entering her room two days ago. She had tumbled out of the room when he knocked, hair wild and body splattered with paint.

It was quite a sight, now that he think about it. It made him curious about whatever that sparked her to make these.

Shikamaru heard Mononoke's nervous giggle and looked up to see her tug at her hair, her eyes darting around his room while she rolled on the balls of her feet, "It's n-not really that great since I was just making it for fun, and I recently had been into the traditional m-masks and everything, so I thought, hey, why not make it for the Kaiju Festival! I k-know it's ugly but I tried my best an-"

"I love it. Thanks." The Nara interrupted her rambling, hiding a smile as she clamped her mouth shut and looked down at her feet. It was really pretty, the mask, and he was just a little shocked to have her give it to him.

She must have thought he disliked it. Her cheeks were pink as she inspected her toes as if they were the most interesting things in the world. "Y-you're welcome." He heard her squeaked as he puts on the mask on the left side of his head.

So.

Fucking.

Adorable.

Wait, what?

Shikamaru caught himself but let the thought go on anyway. She never gotten this jittery around him but it was certainly amusing to see the usually confident daredevil to get so nervous. Heck, she even stammered! Shikamaru looked out the window briefly, just to confirm there wasn't any pigs flying outside.

"Right, so you said we need to pick someone up?"

Shikamaru stared at the Uchiha symbol at the doorway. He was confused yet not surprised when Mononoke took a turn into the Uchiha territory. The streets inside were relatively empty, after all, its inhabitants all gone save one. She finally stopped in front of a rather large house and shook off her wooden sandals before padding her way in.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Shikamaru said lowly and she looked back, with a dumbfounded look, "Getting Duckbutt, of course. What else I would be doing here?" He cupped one side of his face as he continued, "I thought Sasuke hates festivals?"

Mononoke smirked at him, "That was when he had no friends. But he has a team now." With a determined air, she turned back to the inside of the house and called, "Hey, anyone home?!"

Of course, only silence greeted her. "Come on, Shika." she beckoned him before heading for the stairs. Shikamaru sighed as he shook off his own sandals, "He's probably going to kill us."

When he finally got to the Uchiha's room after some poking around on the second floor, he saw a crouching Mononoke a few ways from the bed where Sasuke was probably hiding under those blankets. It suddenly dawned him what she was about to do and he shot her a look.

"Mononoke. No."

"Mononoke. Yes." she snickered mischievously at him. He saw in the corner of his eye that something black poked out of the covers as Sasuke wondered what was going on.

Without a second's hesitation, Mononoke pounced on the Uchiha, shrieking happily, "RISE AND SHINE, CHICKEN BOY!"

"AArrrgghh!" Sasuke cried in pain as Mononoke landed on him, pulling the covers down to his elbows. He glared daggers at her as she grinned widely, "Come on, we gotta go!" He grunted before hiding inside the covers, "Get out of my house, you idiot."

Shikamaru almost felt pity for the Uchiha. He could totally relate to his situation right now. At least Mononoke didn't roughly manhandled him. He almost blushed again when he thought of his own wake up call. The Nara sighed as he walked closer. Mononoke was tugging at the sheets, trying to release Sasuke.

"This is so troublesome." he sighed as he watched Sasuke failing desperately. He was completely at the mercy of the smaller girl. When his face was finally uncovered, Mononoke grinned at him, "You promised, Duckbutt. No way am I letting you slip out of this. Change and get downstairs in five," she turned to the Nara, "Shika, make sure he does it or else you can holler for me so I can kick his ass." With her orders given out, she bounded out, humming gleefully.

The two boys just stayed there for a moment. Sasuke groaned and rubbed his neck, "Is she always like that?"

"It's troublesome, but I've learned to roll with it... You might want to hurry up though."

The three of them managed to get to the festival in time. Younger children passed them with demon masks, laughing and throwing beans at each other.

That's what the Kaiju Festival's about. In the stories, people in the past had to find a way to stop demons coming into their villages and stealing their livestock. So they hatch a plan to wear masks like the demons, to pretend they were just another demon village. But it didn't work because eventually the demons found out the truth. But the children didn't knew and threw beans at each other whilst playing. Accidentally, they threw it at a demon, and it shrieked in pain. It gave the adults an idea. So to chase the demons out, the people began throwing beans at the foul creatures. In the end it worked. So the festival was to celebrate the day the demons were driven away.

But the masks had grown smaller from then, to fit small kids faces. So the older children and adults had to wear the masks on the sides of their head or behind.

Mononoke looked around, marvelling the festive mood of Konoha. Bright lanterns strung the roofs as stalls were set up along the streets. Sasuke and Shikamaru stayed on either side of her as they walked down the street. She heard Sasuke grumbled a few times along the way but he didn't smell hostile. Instead, he seemed grateful. In a way.

"Mononoke-chan!" She looked towards the running boy. Naruto waved at her, grinning widely. His sleeves were folded up all the way to his shoulders and he wore a hyottoko mask on the side of his head. Sakura was beside him, sporting a pretty pink yukata with her short hair don up nicely. But unlike them, she held an okame mask in her hand. "Naruto! Sakura!" Mononoke bounded to her more cheerful teammates, high-fiving the blond. Sakura tilted her head, smiling, "It's great that you made it! And you're here too, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke snorted and crossed his arms, scowling, "I was forced to." Mononoke sniggered before nudging him with her elbow, "There were mushrooms growing on you, Uchiha. I had to save you." He glared at her.

And he realized he didn't need to look down so much anymore. She's actually getting taller.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun!" A high pitched squeal called and all of us turned around to see Ino and Chouji dressed for the occasion as well. Mononoke heard Sakura growled behind her and she laughed nervously, waving her hands lightly at the pinkette to appease her.

Ino wasn't wearing any mask but Chouji had a red oni mask pinned to the back of his head. She pressed herself on the annoyed Uchiha, blinking prettily at him, "Don't you look dashing this evening?" He made a face and Sakura stepped up, snapping at the blonde, "Hey, get off Sasuke-kun, pig!" The two girls began bickering, with an Uchiha who was looking at the others for help.

Naruto leaned over to whisper to Mononoke's ear, "They've been pretty petty nowadays."

"Tell me about it." she muttered back sarcastically. She distinctly heard Chouji tell Shikamaru the exact same thing. "Well, well, how would you like that? Our paths always cross, huh?" A familiar voice said. Mononoke couldn't help but feel an odd sense of déjà vu as she grinned at her best friend.

"Hey Kiba!" Akamaru leaped into her arms, licking her face in greeting. As usual, Kiba had exposed most of his chest in his red and green yukata and had his sleeves folded up to his elbows. Hinata wore a purple and white one, smiling shyly at the others. Mononoke almost missed Shino who was wearing a black and green yukata, standing at the back.

Shikamaru snorted at the sight, "Looks like everyone's here again, huh? Man, this is becoming a drag." Kiba laughed loudly, planting his hands on his hips, "Yeah, right? We've got to stop meeting up like this."

But nevertheless, the ten rookies still spent the night together, having fun.

Okay, I didn't exactly write the very important character yet because I was having too much fun writing fluff.

SHIKAMONO SHIPPERS, REJOICE. /virtual confetti .Honestly blushing mess Shika gives me strength omfg. Heck, they're both a mess.

And yes, Kaiju Festival is not real. It's a made up OC event. For the fun of it. And bonding time. Because to be frank, we always see them in their festive clothes but nothing to place them in, so I just randomed this. AND THIS IS FUN. For the curious, the masks are all real. You can always go check them out if you wanna. I wrote them because FUN.

DID YOU GUYS ENJOY IT THO :D CUZ HECK I DID AHAHAHAHAH