To Neji's surprise, having a friend during workout sessions did not turn out to be as horrible as he thought. Sometimes Tenten asked him more questions than he cared for. Other times she would talk about herself, which he preferred. In the weeks that followed his first day at the gym, he learned that she went to Konoha High School, the public counterpart of Konoha Academy and its lesser rival in terms of academics. It seemed that she hated most of the boys at her school and believed that most guys who try to make themselves seem like gentlemen are actually chauvinistic pigs. He also learned that she, like him, was also a runner, even though she did long distance instead of sprinting. Her parents owned a small Chinese restaurant downtown, and she often worked there during the week. She had asked him to stop by there exactly twelve times. Most of these times, he responded with maybe, but he had yet to visit the place.

Neji usually did not enjoy the company of teenage girls, but he decided that Tenten was not so bad. He could tolerate talking to her, even if she wasn't as smart as his cousins. At least she was smarter than Ino Yamanaka. He thought that perhaps he respected her background. Though far from being poor, her family was from the working class. He had never actually met a girl who drove a Vespa. She told him motorbikes had been useful back in Guangzhou, but they turned out to be less practical in the States. She had to get a separate license to ride her Vespa, and she found out it wasn't legal to transport large cargo for the restaurant in it either.

Neji had felt a bit uncomfortable about sharing his background with her and was especially ashamed of his Bentley. He was afraid it would make him seem pampered and spoiled, though he could not comprehend why he cared so much about what she thought of him. For that, he made sure that he always left after she did, although that was usually hard since she seemed to make up excuses to stay longer and talk to him.

"Hey, Neji, do you know someone named Lee?"

"Yeah, he's one of my teammates. Why?"

"Oh, he and I live on the same block!"

"He's trying to be a sprinter."

"Why did you say it like that?"

"Because he'll never be one. I've told him before, but he doesn't listen."

Tenten knit her brows together. "I'm sure he could if he really tried. You've never seen him want something badly."

"It doesn't matter. You and I both know he doesn't have the build for sprinting. He's a good long distance runner. He should just appreciate what he already has."

"Well anyway," Tenten said, trying to change the subject, "We all should hang out some time."

"Say, Temari, why is it that we've never seen your brother? You said he goes to Konoha Academy, right?"

"He usually comes home late because he does research after school at the county lab."

"Oh, what kind of research?" asked Hinata.

"Physical chemistry."

"What the heck is that?" Naruto made a confused face at Temari.

"The study of chemical reactions on a subatomic level."

"What?"

"Ugh," sighed Shikamaru, "Just forget it, Naruto."

"Hey, you lazy jerk, no one was asking you."

"Um w-what does your brother look like, Temari?"

Temari handed Hinata a picture of the three siblings together. "Red hair."

"Oh, well, umm, he seems very smart."

"Hm," Naruto yanked the picture out of her hands and scrutinized it, "does he seem smarter than me?"

"OK Naruto, even my cat seems smarter than you," retorted Shikamaru.

"Um w-well, you're definitely really smart Naruto." Temari raised an eyebrow at Hinata. "You go to school and you work and you support yourself. You wouldn't be able to do that if you weren't smart."

"Hinata, you always say the nicest thing to me, you know that?" He wrapped his arm around her and touched his head to hers. Not wanting him to see her turn beet red, she excused herself and hyperventilated in the bathroom.

Naruto asked himself why Sakura could not see him for more than a hyperactive knucklehead, when Hinata always saw the best in him. What did Sasuke have that he didn't have anyway? Well, other than wealth, good looks, brains... But Hinata never fawned over Sasuke, when Sakura and Ino couldn't go on for five minutes without mentioning him. She was a nice girl and he considered her a good friend.

"Hi guys, umm I'm going to be in a dance recital next Saturday and I was wondering if you two would like to come?"

"I apologize, Hinata. I will be in Malibu for my cousin's wedding."

"Oh, um, that's fine. I hope you have fun, Shino."

"I'll come. Isn't this your first recital?"

"Yes, it is! I'm very nervous about it. I think I'll be one of the oldest people performing."

"Hey, don't worry about that. I'm proud of you." Kiba gave her a warm hug.

"Thank you, Kiba. Do you want to get lunch afterwards?"

"Sure." He thought for a second, "Hey, did you ask Naruto if he could go?"

"No! You two are the only ones who know I dance!"

Kiba smiled. "Are you sure you don't wanna invite lover boy?"

"Kiba!" she faked an angry pout at him, "Promise me you won't tell him about it. You're the only one I want there."

"Alright, sounds like a date."

For the next few weeks after the Halloween party, Sakura noticed that Ino had been avoiding her. Each time they saw each other, Ino always seemed out of character. She seemed quiet, a bit sad, and also a bit too…nice. No forehead or flat chest jokes. Sakura figured that something was wrong, but she did not pry. Ino will talk when she's ready. Maybe she'll tell me at dinner tonight.

On the other hand, Sasuke was warming up to her rather quickly, and she had no one to share the happy news with. Sasuke had started asking her for her ideas on the project, and they had shared several afternoons together at the academy library discussing their research. There seemed to be steady progress in their new friendship, and Sakura thought they were the happiest days of her life.

"Sakura, would you like to come over to my house today?"

Her heart nearly stopped beating. "YES! I mean, sure, it's not like I have anything booked for today." She made a mental note to cancel her dinner with Ino.

When Sakura arrived at his house, she learned that even Sasuke, who was usually cold and impersonal, could be very gracious. He took her for a tour of the Uchiha compound, explained to her the cubist inspirations for the main house. And as she already suspected, he was one of the smartest boys she had ever known. Contrary to what most of her friends thought, her feelings for him were rooted far deeper than his dark eyes and toned body. She knew plenty of good looking guys, like Kiba, but Sasuke was deep. When other boys worried about partying and getting laid, he was thinking about world hunger and the energy crisis. And although she knew a lot of smart people, like Shikamaru, Sasuke was driven. He was a hard worker. He did not pursue his interests simply because his parents nagged him to. He longed for recognition from just about everyone. In a way, he was much like her. She felt they traveled on the same wavelength and understood each other's need to put pressure on themselves.

After several hours of discussing politics, technology, and music, he invited her over to his balcony to watch the sunset. As she watched him watch the sunset, she saw the slight curl of his lips and it dawned on her that he was even more beautiful when he smiled. Sakura's heart soared, and she silently hoped that this would somehow mark the beginning of a beautiful relationship with Sasuke Uchiha.

About an hour after Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru left, Gaara came home.

"You're home early."

Gaara only responded with a nod. The dark rings under his eyes betrayed his fatigue. Temari had noticed that his pants are now only go down to his ankles. She would need to buy him new pants, but she would have to measure him first. She inwardly groaned at the thought of bringing that up with him. The two had never been close, and the incident five years ago had done little to help their relationship. On a chilly December morning in 1992, the siblings found out that their mother had been killed. Their father, who had been a high-ranking official the former Soviet government, fled, abandoning his three children. Only their uncle Yashamaru had been there to pick up the pieces, if only for a short while. He helped them pack their belongings, and sent them on the first flight to the United States. He gave them the address of a safe warehouse where they were to wait for him. They waited for him, carrying their life savings of $400, three suitcases, and the remnants of an outstanding education. Yashamaru never came.

Temari knew that destruction of their family had severely damaged her younger brother's psyche. She did what she could to secure her the future of her two younger siblings. She searched all over town for a job that could support the three of them, and finally earned her place at the shipyard. The work was far from glamorous but it put food on the table. She wanted her brothers to have as much of a normal life as possible, so she made a point to keep them from working menial jobs. One time, when Kankurou insisted on applying for the night shift at 7-11, they got into a volcanic argument. He said he wanted to do theatre. It was not a career that would solve all their financial troubles, so why won't she let him do his share of the work now? She told him to stop insulting her, that she made enough money to support the three of them no matter what he wanted to be. Kankurou screamed at her, calling her stupid for not letting him help their small family. She slapped him, forgetting that Gaara was in the room. She and Kankurou had settled their differences, but Gaara had not regained his trust in her. And she had too much pride to apologize.

The following weeks after Halloween, Hinata started to notice that there was new tension between Kiba and Ino. She rarely saw them talk, but whenever the passed by, they would hold each other's gaze. Ino was usually smirking. What Hinata did not know was that they saw each other rather frequently. She had picked up his habit of leaving the campus for lunch (against school regulations, of course). She had first started going because her guilt urged her to avoid Sakura. She chose the nearby Big Time Burger because the food was good, from what she remembered from her night out with Kiba, and because she associated it with a rather fond memory. She had only been half-surprised to see Kiba there, with a greasy burger in one hand while having a crude conversation about strip clubs with one of the local dropouts who frequented the restaurant. He had introduced her to his friend as "some tramp I know," to which she responded by pouring coke on his pants. She then bought him lunch the next day as an apology, and to return the favor for when he spotted her on Halloween. Lunch then became their regular bonding session that occurred twice or three times a week.

"Hey dog boy, wanna go see a movie next Saturday? Clueless is coming out."

"Can't. I have to go to a thing."

"A thing?"

"Yep."

"How about Sunday?"

"Sounds like a date." Aww man, Clueless? I wanted to see Die Hard…