Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Twenty Second Chapter of the Winds of Change! Well, I've got a few things to talk about beforehand.

1. From now on, I think I may start, at the end of each chapter, giving my thoughts about the goings on within said chapter, and addressing any issues or things that I want to justify on my end, as well as answering some unanswered questions for you guys :). I hope this is okay! It is entirely skippable, I only really wish for you to read the first authors note for any updates.

2. I do apologize for the formatting of the last chapter. It was a mix up with Word and my Beta, and I will hopefully fix it shortly. This chapter should be fine formatting wise, but tell if it's not and I'll get right on it.

3. This chapter contains 'sexual content' and by that I mean talking about sex to a degree. No actual sex happens, but certain characters will describe things somewhat sexually, and I will use sexual language as I pertain it for this chapter. If you think the rating of this fic should be moved up to M Rating, then please say so and I will get right on it.

4. HOLY JESUS 150 REVIEWS! I'm sure I made a joke somewhere in the 20th chapter that we would perhaps get to 200 reviews by the end of the year. We're all ready half way there guys! This is incredible, the popularity of this story has sky-rocketed, and I love it! However, because I did not expect this story to gain as many followers and reviews as it has in the past two freaking months (Seriously, you guys are freaking awesome!) I'm moving the next special segment/chapter thing to when we get 250 reviews. I hope that is acceptable.

And that's it! Onto Chapter 22 of the Winds of Change!

Chapter 22:

Hinata stared into the mirror. Her reflection stared back at her. Two faces, and yet the same. Lavender eyes usually filled with warmth and embarrassment were now filled with fear. Long straight dark blue hair, silky and strong. A pale complexion, soft and pure. She couldn't believe it - of all the people she had to share with, it had to be Sasuke.

After Hinata had found a room, much argument was afoot in 'team Rescue Sakura.' Nobody could decide who they wanted to bunk with, and much brawling and verbal abuse was heard. Eventually it was decided that they would all place eight pieces of paper, two of which would have a different number on, into a draw. Gai, Lee and Tenten when they returned would bunk together, leaving six possible pairings. The numbers were drawn, and it turned out that Naruto would bunk with Kiba, Kurenai would bunk with Ino, and Hinata would bunk with Sasuke.

The look of indifference Sasuke sent her way still shook her to the core. Most people assumed that Hinata didn't fawn after Sasuke because she was so infatuated with Naruto. That, however, was not the case. He was incredibly handsome, anybody could see that. And while Naruto had firmly wormed his way into her heart (not that he would ever return her feelings), she could see the attractive side of other people. Kiba was very much like Naruto, and very handsome in his own feral way. But, she thought of Kiba more as a big brother. Same with Shino. Of course, he was also very handsome. Shikamaru always struck her as too lazy, and while he did have a lazy charm about him, she wasn't interested in him like that at all.

The reason she didn't like Sasuke was because he scared her - deeply. Her mind crossed into what she called her 'dark place', where she stored all of her deepest and darkest fears. How this place in her mind had been created she had no idea, but she mostly lived and remained there in her misgivings and wallowing in self-loathing.

Sasuke's demeanour shook her to the bone. Ever since he came back to the Academy after that fateful day… she shuddered at the thought. His eyes were always so cold, so alone. So revenge-filled that staring into them for too long resulted in her having a nervous breakdown. Other girls saw it as a cool mysterious façade, and they all wanted to break down his walls and realise that he was a nice guy and get married and have wonderfully beautiful babies. But, Hinata's eyes were sharper than others. Sasuke Uchiha had darkness coiled in his gut, and only one thing on his mind. Pure, cold revenge. And nobody could change that.

And she had seen him improve. He had been improving, being more sociable, and talking to people, albeit with usually on one or two words spoken. But all her instincts continued to tell her that he was dangerous. His eyes reminded her of that Sand Shinobi, Gaara. He was so dark, so cold, so unforgiving… Hinata felt that, given enough time for him to nurture his hatred, he would become like Gaara - merciless and unrelenting.

The knock at the door jolted her from her musings, causing her toothbrush to clatter to the floor with a thud. "Hinata," Sasuke's voice was laced with some semblance of annoyance. "Are you done in there?"

Y-yes," she stuttered, reaching down and fumbling with the toothpaste, "I'll be right out S-Sasuke."

She could have sworn he muttered something from behind the door. She waited for a moment to see if he would go, allow her to go and get into bed without seeing him… without being alone with him for too long. Perhaps she was being irrational; in fact she knew she was. Sasuke was a fellow Leaf Ninja. And, while horrendously scary, a comrade. She knew that, as much as the thought scared her, she would protect him with all her might. And, she hoped he would too.

Gulping, she placed her toothpaste back onto the sink and slowly made her way over towards the door. Okay, this was getting seriously out of hand. A missing nin was not waiting outside her door, Gaara was not waiting outside her door, her father was not waiting outside her door. It was only Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha, self-proclaimed avenger hell-bent on crushing his elder brother and would do any-

Hinata squashed that train of thought. It certainly wasn't helping matters.

Her hand gripped the doorknob like it was the only thing standing between her and certain death. An inanimate guardian to protect her against dangers unknown.

She opened the door quickly, hoping to carefully bolt past Sasuke before he even knew she was there. That was not the case.

"Hinata."

Before she could move even a second her eyes moved up to his. And, it was somewhat of a shock. His eyes, while still being very indifferent, also held a modicum of amusement. "Y-yes Sa-Sasuke…?" She trailed off, her face turning crimson. They stood there for a few moments, Sasuke upright and somewhat imposing, and Hinata shrunk back and scared looking.

"Is everything… alright?"

Hinata's eyes widened as he lifted them up to look at Sasuke. She saw a flicker of some emotion in his eyes, an emotion that looked… warm. Not cold, not dark, not callous, not hating…but warm. This shocked her more than anything. Why was he being warm to her?

"Y-yes, everything i-is alright S-sasuke."

He frowned slightly, but nodded. "I see. I'm going to use the-"

The Uchiha paused, his eyes darting left and right. His body was rigid and relaxed, rigid and relaxed. Stern, and slightly soft, stern, and slightly soft. He opened and closed his mouth twice, before he let out a deep weary sigh. "May I… use the bathroom…" He seemed to cringe almost, "Please?"

Hinata was floored. Never before had she seen Sasuke ask for something. It was always take, or 'I'm going to do this'. Not asking, just doing.

"O-of course," he bowed her head slightly, brushing past him. Sasuke didn't watch her, just nodded to himself.

"T… thank… thanks." He finally said, walking in and shutting the door with a small bang,

Hinata sat down on her bed, and made a handsign, "Kai."

She blinked a few times, expecting to be in the middle of the battle with that Lightning Ninja, and this whole thing had been a Genjutsu. It had not.

Hinata sighed softly. She honestly didn't know what to think anymore. She did know, however, that Sasuke Uchiha seemed to be trying, at least slightly, to be somewhat nicer. And this scared her far more than it should have.

Sasuke stared at himself in the mirror. Hard. He just couldn't understand it. What was so hard about being… nice? Even thinking the word seemed to have an adverse effect on him, seizing up his muscles and bones. He used to be nice, right? Before…

Sasuke closed his eyes and exhaled a breath. He needed to be more…gentle. Kinder, especially to Hinata. Most definitely to her. Getting her to trust him would be vital if he was ever to get those two together. The idiot…

Right, yeah, he could do this! It's simple, go out of the bathroom, make some small-talk, discuss the mission… uh, and other things, right? There had to be other things they could discuss. Hyȗgas? No, that wouldn't make sense; she wouldn't reveal stuff like that to him. This being nice thing was hard!

He examined his somewhat perfect reflection. He had to admit, for a guy, he looked pretty handsome. Creamy skin, dark obsidian eyes, black hair… what would he call his hairstyle. He knew it looked nothing like a duck!

Grumbling to himself, he made his way over to the bathroom door and back into the room.

Hinata was sat on her bed, clutching her legs to her chest. She was staring absent-mindedly at the wooden wall, her pale eyes wide and awake.

"Hello." Sasuke greeted, trying to be casual. Hinata's eyes darted towards him, and stared. It took him a few moments to realise why. He was wearing boxer shorts. Nothing more.

He looked down at them, and back up at her. Her face was a shade of vibrant tomato coloured goodness. Well, it wasn't good for her. "Sasuke, c-could y-you p-lease-"

"Yes." He stated, "I'll… make myself more decent. I'm…. sorry."

He turned, and walked back into the bathroom.

Hinata was hyperventilating. Sasuke was still trying to be nice! It was scary! When normally scary people are nice, they want something, right? Generally that's how it worked. So, what did he want from her?

Sasuke came back out wearing a black shirt, and Hinata watched as he tried to move his mouth muscles upwards from the common frown that adorned his face. She was rewarded with a half-smile. She gulped.

The Uchiha calmly got onto his bed, and just sat there. They both did. They sat still for ten full minutes of utter silence. Finally, Sasuke coughed into his fist, "So…"

Hinata's gaze hesitantly travelled to meet his. He continued, "Um, how… did you… like dinner?"

"Y-yes," she replied, tapping her fingers together, "I-it was n-nice and simple."

Sasuke nodded slowly. How did you continue a topic of conversation with someone!?

"Do you normally eat simple food?"

Hinata shook her head, the smallest and shyest of smiles playing on her lips. "N-no. W-we usually e-eat very complicated d-dinners."

"Like what?"

Hinata, while still utterly confused and very terrified at why Sasuke was being nice, decided it would be best to try and keep up conversation. At least for now. "W-well, we u-usually eat m-meat of some kind. B-beef, and l-lamb, w-with rice. I know that doesn't s-sound like much, b-but the starters and o-other food we e-eat makes up for it."

Okay, that conversation didn't lead anywhere, at all. Sasuke gritted his teeth in irritation. Maybe he should stop trying to be nice and go to sleep. Was this really helping him? Why should he even try and help the Dobe and this shy high-pitched squeaker get together?

"Because they're your friends…" A small voice in the back of his head (which oddly sounded like himself in his younger years) told him. His eyes darkened. Did he need friends? I mean, really? He was an avenger, an Uchiha, someone who didn't let anything stand in his way. But, were friendships blocking his path…?

He almost didn't hear her when she voiced, "D-do you eat s-simple meals?"

Sasuke took pause for a moment. Did he eat simple meals? "What like what we ate tonight?"

Hinata somewhat frowned. Did he only eat rice? Simple meals like that? Really? Just eating rice was not part of a balanced healthy diet in the slightest. She could imagine the fit that his-

Her heart stung briefly as she recalled he didn't have a mother. No one to cook or take care of him. She felt bad about being scared of him. And, while he would always remain intimidating; at least he was trying to be nice. At least, she thought he was…

"Um… Yes, generally."

"Oh." Hinata's sad tone caught him somewhat off-guard. What had he done to upset her!? This being friendly thing was a disaster! He was Sasuke Uchiha, an elite shinobi! He could easily talk to people… had he ever really talked to people, though? He couldn't remember the last time he actually spoke more than a few sentences to someone. The last time he remembered doing something with such exuberance was when he was telling Itachi about his day at school-

And there it was. The thing that kept his heart cold and dark. Pure, ripe, icy hatred that coiled in his gut and slowly was crawling up his spine and towards his heart. He could feel it. It seemed the curse seal on his neck knew this, and it pulsed. The Uchiha bit his lip, moving his hand to his shoulder.

"A-are you o-okay?" Hinata asked. He spared her a glance, hoping to be… reassuring? When had he ever been reassuring!?

"Yeah, fine, just fine…" he trailed off as the pain subsided slowly. Letting out a deep breath, he turned and met Hinata's gaze. Her head snapped down and she blushed. Sasuke knew this was some sort of sick twisted joke. Putting the two most socially awkward teens in a room together, it was like one of those stupid romantic adventure films that Sakura liked. His face switched briefly from impassiveness to the smallest curve of his lips. He remembered sitting down in the theatre, and watching as Naruto and Sakura argued. Were they his friends?

Naruto would swear they were, even though they butted heads. And Sakura… he didn't know about her. But, she was his teammate, and he would save her.

"What if Itachi's got her?" The thought chilled the Raven to the core. If Itachi had her… what would happen? Would he be able to save her? Would he be strong enough too-

"A-are you s-sure?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched and he went to yell out viciously at the young Hyūga. Then he looked at her. And he couldn't. As much as the vicious cold side of him wanted to lash out, to hurt her, to make her go away and leave him alone and never speak to him again… he couldn't. He shouldn't. He wouldn't.

Perhaps this was part of Itachi's plan, to make him weak without any support… but what if people got in the way and screwed up his plans for revenge! Ah, so confusing!

"I like Zenzai."

Sasuke turned to her. "You do?"

She nodded sheepishly. "Yes, and cinnamon rolls."

It was obvious what she was trying to do. Distract him from whatever was troubling him.

"I like tomatoes."

Hinata's mouth lifted into a small smile. "M-my family grows t-tomatoes."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Really?"

Hinata blushed at his sudden interest, and twiddled her thumbs. "Y-yes. I-t's part of the 'Clan R-resource Pact'.

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't heard of this 'Clan Resource Pact'.

"What's that? It's never been mentioned to me."

Hinata still didn't meet his gaze, obviously uncomfortable at being questioned so intently. Although, she certainly didn't mind talking to Sasuke. He wasn't that scary, just somewhat intimidating…

"T-the 'Clan Resource P-pact' is a p-pact made by the c-clans in Konoha. E-each one supplies d-different resources to Konoha. F-for example, the Aburame Clan g-give honey, the Inuzuka give 'game' s-such as rabbit and b-boar, and the N-Nara clan give different herbs and n-nuts."

"Oh."

"Y-yeah. M-my family i-is in a partnership w-with the Ya-Yamanaka clan. We h-help provide t-them with flowers. A-and we grow tomatoes and o-other things."

Sasuke nodded. He would keep this conversation going if it killed him.

And so, two of the most socially awkward people in all of Konoha chatted for a while. Sure, it was strained, and disjointed, and awkward. But, it was progress. And as the two went to bed for the night, they both had different thoughts.

Sasuke was still not sure what his opinion on having friends was yet. As he turned off the lamp light, he realised that he probably would never be truly comfortable with anybody socially ever. But, even if it didn't work out, he would try. He owed that to his mother. And, for now, they would remain-

And Hinata went to bed very shy, but also happy. She now realised that, while darkness still loomed over Sasuke's heart, and she would never be truly comfortable with him around, due to his own mannerisms, he was at least trying to be friendly. But still, deep down, she was deeply frightened of what Sasuke could become at any moment. However, for now at least, they would remain-

"Friends…"

Kiba really, really disliked fate. He had been hoping, in some way, that Akamaru would count as his roommate. No such luck. And this was very, very bad. Horrible even.

The Heat is magnified as night draws. And by magnified, he meant blown to gigantic proportions. He got so horny, that during his first night with The Heat, he had almost-

He felt Akamaru shudder at the sheer-thought of it, thinking the same thing. That would be an awkward tale to tell the grandkids. If he had grandkids, of course…

Kiba took in a deep breath, adjusting himself on his bed, Akamaru lying across his lap. He wasn't sure if that was helping or not. He could hear the tone-deaf singing of his roommate, Naruto Uzumaki, through the thin wooden walls that separated the bedroom and the bathroom. He was grateful that Hinata had managed to get them some nice rooms, rather than some rundown shitty pit. He chortled slightly as he recalled Team 8's very first mission. Stuck in a dank, dirty, and worst of all small room. Forced to sleep on the cold floor, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, just to stay warm. And the best part was his body was pressed firmly to Kurenai-sensei's-

His thoughts froze in place. No, no, no. He would not travel down that road, he would not! Stupid Heat!

Akamaru let out a low whine as he licked his master's hand for comfort. Kiba scratched the little dog behind the ears. He was reminded of Hinata when he did this. Hinata adored Akamaru, always bringing him some form of treats to eat. She would be a treat to eat-

Kiba almost threw his head backwards and screamed. Almost. He managed to restrain himself long enough to bite his lip. Ino sometimes bit her lip, and it was incredibly sexy-

Kiba facepalmed. Someone, somewhere hated his guts, he was sure of it.

Naruto's voice reached a higher octave, causing the Inuzuka clan member to flinch. Kami, that boy could not sing to save his life. He could make people sing-

He groaned, long and hard. The tightness of his pants wasn't helping anything. Shoving Akamaru off his lap, earning a little hmph from the dog, he stood up. Deciding it would be best to open the window and let it some cool air, he calmly walked over and opened the window. A fresh cool blast of air greeted him, and he sighed in contentment. Part of him wanted to strip off his shirt and just stand topless, feeling the breeze against his skin. He decided against it, however, as if one article of clothing came off, he may end up ripping off a few more… and maybe not from his own body…

The air certainly wasn't hindering his little problem, in fact it seemed to be helping it. The fresh pure air reminded him of Shino. That smart-ass genius bug dude who everybody used to avoid during the Academy. He gulped. And he also turned out to be a really sexy beast under that trench-coat of his. Defined jawline, thin soft looking lips, and a surprisingly chiselled physique. When he had seen it a few months ago it hadn't bothered him. But now, it wasn't so much that it bothered him, rather that it… excited him.

But, this was just The Heat, playing with his mind. There was no way he was gay. He was Kiba Inuzuka, wolfish stud. He didn't want to screw boys, he wanted to screw girls! This was just his body's way of working through all those other shitty hormones and using them up, so that only the true hormones remained. He wasn't sure if it worked like that, though…

"La la la!" Naruto swung open the door, his sunny blonde hair shining with water. "Hey Kiba!" he greeted.

Kiba's jaw may have dropped slightly. Naruto had such bronze skin, shiny and toned. His muscles were lean, and yet not that well-developed, and yet enough so that they left a decent impression on the young nin's mind. Or, rather, his dick.

Naruto's blue eyes flickered over to Kiba curiously. "Uh… you okay?"

Kiba's face turned slightly red, and he quickly yelled out in his defence, "Yeah, fine!"

Naruto smiled brightly, "Okay!"

He then dropped the towel from around his waist.

Kiba thanked everything that Naruto's bare buttocks were obscured by the bed, or so help him… He really, really needed to get to the bathroom and take care of business. It seemed that fate wouldn't let him, as Naruto began to talk as he threw on an orange shirt, "So, you excited about tomorrow?"

Ah, yes. Kiba's sexual problem had made him almost entirely forget about what was happening tomorrow. They would go and explore the town, hunting for clues about Sakura's whereabouts. That would finally get the ball-rolling, and he would see some action. Momentarily forgetting the heated organ in his pants, Kiba let out a wolfish grin, "Hehe, of course! We may finally be able to kick some ass!"

Naruto grinned as well. "Hell yeah! And then we'll get Sakura back…" he trailed off sadly. Kiba frowned. They were both idiots, through and through. Talking about how they were going to enjoy kicking some ass when a comrade was in danger. The Inuzuka didn't really talk to Sakura much. She was certainly pretty, but they just never communicated, in or out of the academy. Still, she was a comrade. And ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village never abandoned a comrade, not ever.

Naruto leapt onto his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of white boxers. Kiba gulped. "Man, it's not fair," Naruto whined, "I'm stuck in a room with a dog-breath like you, when I could be…"

Kiba's eyebrow shot up. "Could be…?"

The Uzumaki mumbled something and rolled over, revealing his buttocks to the hormonal dog nin. This didn't help the raging erection in his pants one bit. Letting out a throaty growl, Kiba sat down on his bed and crossed his legs. "No, could be what?"

Naruto grumbled something again, before turning around. "Kiba, you're a dude, right?"

Kiba blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto's face contorted into a foxy grin.

"Hehe, nothing. Can I ask you something?" Kiba could see the slight hesitation in Naruto's cerulean eyes. They were rather attractive, actually. But, there was nothing that Kiba found interesting in Naruto for boyfriend material. Even though he was rather hot- wait, BOYFRIEND MATERIAL!?

"Sure, I 'pose," he said, keen to take his mind off of certain topics.

Naruto paused for a moment, his hands gripping against the duvet, "Do… how do you know… when you like someone?"

"Well, your penis generally begins to grow and-"

"Kiba!" Naruto yelled, pink tinging his teach, "Stop being the Pervy-Sage!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Uh, I dunno, I guess you like being around them, and talking to them, and things."

"But, what if they're allergic to you?"

"… Allergic to you?" Kiba questioned, biting his lip. Thinking about penises was not helping his own grow weaker…

"Yeah! I mean, I know this girl who's always red in the face and always faints around me!"

The Inuzuka took a moment to think, before laughing loudly. Naruto grimaced, "What's so funny!?"

"Oh, silly, silly Naruto. There's no way you can be allergic to someone. Maybe that means she likes you."

Now Naruto looked utterly baffled, sitting up. "What!? That doesn't make any sense Kiba! I shouldn't have asked a mutt like you for advice!"

Kiba scowled. "Screw you dead-last!" He growled. Naruto let out an annoyed growl of his own, before standing up.

"I need to piss." He announced. However, the boxers Naruto was wearing had slipped down slightly, revealing the beginnings of his ass-crack…

Kiba's member shot upwards, and his instincts took over. Without thinking, he flung himself towards the blonde, pinning him to the wall with a loud thud. Flipping him around so he could face him, Kiba examined the confused and tanned complexion. Hungry, wild brown eyes met curious and baffled cerulean ones. Kiba pushed himself closer to the blonde, his mouth getting ever closer. He longed to taste him, to touch him. A look crossed over Naruto's face, as if in recognition. Kiba couldn't help the wolfish smile that played over his lips.

And it was soon wiped away by a fist to the face. Kiba stumbled backwards, landing on his butt with a thud. He looked up and saw the heated eyes of Naruto. "You wanna fight mutt, huh!? Well, bring it on! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'll kick your ass!"

All the lust seemed to have been knocked out by Naruto's fist, and all Kiba could feel was adrenaline coursing through his veins. He wordlessly leapt upwards, and let out a titanic roar before charging, all sexual frustration forgotten.

Akamaru raised his head slightly, and did the dog equivalent of sighing, before he went back to sleep.

Ino ran a hand through her platinum blonde hair, scanning her bare face in the mirror. Blue eyes stared back at her, and she gave a nervous smile.

She had always worn make-up, even when on missions. Most kunoichi didn't, and for good reason, but she did. She wanted to look the prettiest. Looking at her bare face now, though, she didn't feel like it…

Her thoughts trailed to the lazy drawl of her teammate, his spiky pineapple hair. She sighed. Snapping shut the small pocket mirror; she tried to force her mind to wander from the topic of boys and onto the topic of training. She had made minor progress with her training. She was now able to keep a small object in the air for about ten seconds. A large object, like a kunai or shuriken, she could keep up for seven. It was a result, considering she could barely hold a small object up for six seconds before she started this mission. But it wasn't useful yet.

The Yamanaka had also tried using her mind to deflect or catch a kunai mid-flight. She had a nasty cut on her leg to thank for that.

However, she had discovered she could do something peculiar. She could hold multiple objects such as kunai and shuriken up at the same time, for over five seconds. She could even stop a few speeding shuriken mid-flight for three seconds. And yet she couldn't seem to focus on one particular object.

It was like she had advanced in training, but taken two steps backwards, it was bizarre. She would talk to her father when she got back-

The creak of a door jolted her to attention, and she turned her head. She almost gaped.

Kurenai-sensei was an utterly stunning woman, her long wavy black hair slick with water. A towel hugged at her voluptuous figure. Ino envied her. Even without make-up she was stunning. Unlike herself…

"The shower is free if you want to use it, Ino," Kurenai said gently, her wine-red eyes shining with warmth. Ino gave her a small smile back.

"No thank you Kurenai-sensei, not tonight."

Kurenai cocked a brow, but said nothing. Tales from Asuma had taught her that Ino was very obsessed with her beauty. To not want to have a shower was mildly disturbing.

"Okay," she smiled brightly, facing away from Ino and sitting down on her bed. "You know, we've never really talked much, have we?"

Ino shook her head, but soon realised that Kurenai's back was turned, so she answered, "No, we haven't." A mischievous look entered the blonde's eyes, and she smiled devilishly, "After all, you're always so busy with Asuma-sensei…"

Kurenai thanked Kami that Ino could not see the light dusting of pink on her cheeks. "You buy into those rumours?" She asked, letting her towel fall to the floor as she picked up a black bra.

"They aren't rumours Kurenai-sensei," Ino teased lightly, crossing her legs, "Unless the other rumours about you and Kakashi-sensei are true."

Kurenai chuckled. "Kakashi? As if."

"I'm sure he looks cute under his mask…"

Kurenai threw on a night-shirt and finally faced Ino. "I would know, actually."

Ino gaped. "You've seen Kakashi-sensei's real face!?" Kurenai refrained herself from giggling at the utter surprise on the young teens face.

"Yes. And yes, before you ask, he is very cute. And," she cut off Ino was she was about to speak, "No, he does not have giant lips, boils on his face or large buck-teeth."

The blonde closed her mouth, pouting. "My sources were off…"

Kurenai shook her head. Young people could be so weird, sometimes. Deciding to change the subject before Kakashi began sneezing his head off, Kurenai smiled. "Is your father well? It's been a while since I've seen him."

"You know my father?"

"Yes, very much so. In fact, he was my sensei."

"Really!?"

Kurenai smiled fondly. "Yes, he was. He wasn't for very long, a couple of months or so, before I became a Chunnin. He was a good man, and helped me a lot with Genjutsu practices. In fact, I'm one of the few people to know how your clan's techniques work."

Ino was gaping at this point. Not only was this woman amazingly beautiful, but she knew some of her clans secrets!?

"How?"

Kurenai turned to Ino, her crimson eyes turning soft. "You have nothing to fear, I did not steal everything. Your loyalty to your clan is nice. Your father helped me learn to counteract your mind-control techniques. While I cannot use them, I have enough knowledge to be able to instruct someone on the use of the Yamanaka techniques."

Ino's eyes lit up. "I have two questions. One, why did daddy teach you that? And two, can you help me with a technique I've been working on?"

"I was sent undercover to locate and help eliminate a missing nin, who was a member of your clan. He was quite proficient with his mind techniques, and I was the only one in my squad with the natural affinity for Genjutsu needed to be able to combat it. And yes, I would love to help!"

Ino was beginning to admire this woman even more. She was a little sad that she wasn't her Jōnin sensei instead, as great as Asuma-sensei was.

"Okay, well, it's best if I show you the technique."

Concentrating, Ino lifted up a small pebble that lay on the floor, lifting it high into the air. It was suspended for ten seconds, before dropping to the floor.

"Ah, that technique. I'm afraid I don't know much about it Ino, I'm sorry. I believe it was only taught to the heirs of the clan. What little knowledge I have, however, should be somewhat useful. How do you visualize your chakra when you lift up objects?"

Ino paused for a moment, before answering, "I visualise it sort of like a cloud, lifting something up, or a solid wall, for blocking something."

Kurenai shook her head. "That's your problem then. You need to visualise your chakra encasing the object, not lifting it up. When it encases it you have full control. It's like lifting up something heavy. If you do it from the ground up, then the weight of gravity is against you. If, however, you lift something up by its sides, with multiple people helping you, then gravity is somewhat nullified. Not the best analogy, but it's good enough. So, from now on, encase the object completely with chakra."

Ino sighed. That made far more sense than she cared to admit. Kami, no wonder Shikamaru thought she was weak…

"There is also something weird happening. I can only lift small objects up in the air for about ten seconds, and kunai and shuriken for six. However, if I do it on multiple objects, I can hold them up for much longer. Do you know why that is?"

Kurenai hummed in thought, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hm, I think that has something to do with the density of the chakra. The reason you, most likely, can hold multiple objects up for longer periods of time is because you spread out your chakra, whether unintentional or not. With single objects your only focusing on one thing, which naturally would add more chakra too holding it upwards, and consuming more energy. However, if you continue to train in chakra control, and encase the objects, your training should move along much faster."

Ino's eyes shone with adoration. "Wow, thanks Kurenai-sensei, you're awesome!"

Kurenai chuckled. "No Ino, I'm really not. I'm merely a woman, just like yourself. I could be completely wrong about this training method, however, so take everything I say lightly, alright?"

Ino nodded happily. Yes! Now, her training was finished, and she could focus on other things, like-

Oh. Her broad smile decreased into a smaller smile, and her eyes became sadder. Shikamaru entered her thoughts, that lazy ass.

Kurenai noticed her lapse in mood from excited to terribly sad. She frowned. "Boy trouble."

Ino's eyes flitted upwards, and her frown deepened. "What?"

"Boy trouble. You're having boy trouble. I can tell, you've got the 'boy trouble frown'."

Ino muttered something, and crossed her arms across her chest. "It's not fair, he's such an ass!"

"Shikamaru," Kurenai sighed. Ino's frown deepened.

"Let me guess," The dark-haired Jōnin began, "He's a lazy ass who never does anything, and has little to no motivation. And yet, he complains about your fighting skills, or the way you act, or something, right?"

Ino nodded cautiously. Surprising the blonde, Kurenai broke into a smile. "That's rather cute, actually."

Ino's eyebrow twitched. "Cute?"

"It means he cares for you," Kurenai quickly cut in, seeing the annoyance building in Ino's eyes, "He's just trying to protect you."

"I don't need protecting!"

"I know that, but they're men. Men always need to be macho and to protect something. It's in their blood and genes. And, he's a Nara. A Nara male is one of the most troublesome, pun intended, things on this earth."

Ino giggled slightly, her mood lifted. "I suppose…"

"I saw the kiss, you know?"

The Yamanaka heir's cheeks were dusted with pink, and Kurenai smirked. "I bet you enjoyed the kiss, even if it was only on the cheek. Imagine it on the lips-"

"Sensei!" Ino squealed, covering her ears. Kurenai laughed. Now the tables were turned!

However, Ino was quicker than that, and quickly came up with a retort, "And I bet you enjoy it when Asuma-sensei thrusts-"

"Anyway!" Kurenai coughed loudly, "As I was saying, I saw that you kissed him. Now, I think that we both know that you like Shikamaru. And, I think he likes you too."

Ino fumbled around with her hair for a little while. "I guess I do like him, yeah. We're going to have a talk after the mission and sort everything out. It's just, he sees me as weak, and… I don't know."

Kurenai nodded, taking Ino's hand in hers. "Ino, you're a beautiful woman and a talented kunoichi. Shikamaru, while he does see it, his blinded by his overprotectiveness of you. It's one of the sweetest things I've seen, even if he comes off as an asshole. The point is that he cares deeply for you, but just has a funny way of showing it."

Ino nodded, her mood brightening slightly. "He does."

"However, while he is being an ass, try not to criticise him too much. You both need to learn to look at things from each other's perspectives," Kurenai said sagely. "After you've accomplished that, you've got a… well, a healthy relationship."

The two girls talked for quite some time after that, going from topic to topic. Ino was still not sure about Shikamaru, whether she could get past his overprotectiveness, or if they could ever make a relationship work. But, she would think about it. Seriously think about it. Deep down inside of her, Ino knew this wasn't some sort of school-girl crush. She knew what it was. And that scared her.

Tenten didn't like sleeping on a hammock. They were the most uncomfortable things in history, she was sure of it. No matter how hard she tried to make herself relatively comfortable, it always ended up going awry. And that just added to her already sour mood.

Her room was small, very small. Her hammock covered about half the rooms length. And it smelled of alcohol. Tenten hated alcohol. It just didn't sit right with her, drinking until she was off her rocker. She had seen what it had done to Lee, and it had taken two hours to restrain him. And there were twenty different shinobi involved.

Thoughts of Lee's broken form scrambled into her mind, and she just didn't have the strength to fight them.

The woman known as Shizune, who had introduced herself as the Hokage's Apprentice, had taken them to a house they had been renting. Or, rather, the clinic. The clinics in the town, apparently, cost extortionate fees to even get someone checked out. So, Shizune had set up a free clinic of her own. Thank god for that. If they didn't have the medical equipment, who knew what would have happened to Lee…

She tossed once more, almost falling out of her hammock. Letting out a frustrated groan, Tenten buried her head in her hands. Why why why!?

It was all Neji's fault! If he had stopped being such a dick-headed self-centred cold douchebag then Lee would be fine! He wouldn't be as injured.

She sighed, stopping herself. Shizune had already stated that it wasn't Neji's fault. While the strike did injure his leg, Lee was getting progressively worse as the trip went on. There was nothing they could have done. Tenten pictured his sleeping face, serene. But, when he woke up, his pain would be intense. Because of his damaged chakra coils, Lee's chakra was blocking the pain relief medication from entering his blood-stream. The only thing Shizune could do was put him to sleep with some drugs, and whenever he woke up knock him out again. The pain he must have been going through…

Tenten's hands balled into fists at her side. Where was Tsunade-sama during this!? The legendary member of the Sannin was nowhere to be found. Or, rather, she hadn't been, until only a few hours ago…

The room was only lit dimly, but even Tenten could see the anguish on her sensei's face. Gai wanted to reach out - his hand was slightly outstretched, but he always pulled back. Sat on a lone wooden chair, his eyes never left Lee's weak form. She pondered briefly moving from her position leaning against the wall, but decided against it. Getting close to Lee as he was… she didn't know if she could handle it.

His sensei was broken, and there was nothing she could do about it. Lee was sprawled on the table, his body rhythmically moving up and down with soft, steady breaths. This was the closest thing they had to an operating room, just in case Lee took a major turn for the worse. An old beaten down machine, which Tenten assumed was a heart monitor of some kind, lay in the corner. Old desks, chairs and filing cabinets littered the back wall, covered in dust. The room obviously hadn't been sterilized, but Shizune had assured her that she had at least sterilized the air around Lee with chakra.

Coughing lightly into her fist, the brunette began to wonder where Tsunade-sama was. I mean, she was out getting medical supplies, right? So, she should have been back by now? Surely! So, what was taking her so long? Were Lee's injuries that severe that-

Raised voices travelled through the thin walls, reaching Tenten's ears. Somebody was arguing? Gai noticed his too, standing up from his seated position and cracking his neck. His gaze turned to the brunette weapons mistress, and although he tried to smile, it didn't reach his eyes. "Tenten, keep an eye on Lee."

Tenten blinked. Gai's voice was soft and cool. It was the first she had heard him like this since… ever. Was this how he was when he was trying to be quiet? Or was it because he was broken?

Gai slipped out of the room, travelling towards the raised voices. Tenten tried her best to block them out, to focus on Lee. But she couldn't.

"-Sama, my student is in there… please, could you just…"

Tenten could only make out some of the words, but she knew from the first one that Tsunade was home. She breathed a sigh of relief. She would be able to fix Lee! While this Shizune woman was good, she was no Tsunade-sama. Not at all. Although, she wondered why there were raised voices…

"-Please Lady Tsunade, just-" a sigh of exasperation was heard, "Just go lay down and sleep it off-"

Sleep what off? Tenten's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and rose from her leant position on the wall.

Casting one long look back at Lee, who still remained peaceful, she slipped out as quietly as she could.

The voices grew as she travelled up the stairs leading from the basement, entering into a narrow hallway. She could see out the window that the sun was setting, and briefly wondered how the others were doing, and whether or not they had found an inn to stay at. "I don't need a lie downs!" A slurred voice called out.

Tenten froze. That almost sounded like- No, impossible. She belittled herself. She was the great Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin. No way would she be drunk at a time like this, when her help was needed the most. Realising that it simply must have been a trick of her tired mind, she resolved to request some rest as soon as she greeted her idol. Strolling casually, but quietly down the narrow corridor, she noticed that the voices had grown hushed. Curious, she reached a slightly ajar door. With a smile, she entered. As she did so, the drunken voice that she swore she had heard in the confines of her mind yelled out, "I gots no time to be helpin' a stupid brat!"

Tenten's hand didn't even leave the doorknob when her body refused to move. It seemed her body reacted quicker than her eyes, for it took her a while to take everything in. Gai, stood to the side of what Tenten could only presume to be a table for eating, his hand gripping someone's shoulder. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed Tenten, and flinched, realising his grip on the woman's shoulder. Shizune stood the opposite of the table, her face contorted into a disappointed frown. Her gaze dropped as she noticed Tenten standing in the doorway.

And, finally, the slouched form of Tsunade, two empty bottles of sake littered on the table, and one more in her hand. Her eyes were glazed, and her mouth was formed into a hardened frown. Her blonde hair was a mess, frizzy and somewhat wild.

Tenten tried to form words, but to no avail. She could feel her jaw muscles trying to move, to work. They wouldn't. They just wouldn't. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. Was this a… Genjutsu? No… this wasn't, was it? This wasn't an illusion, this was real. Tenten's stomach flipped, and clenched tightly. She thought she was going to be sick.

"An' I expect you wan' me to treat that brat too, don'tcha?" Tsunade chuckled drunkenly.

"Tenten…" Gai called out, unsure of what to say. Tenten couldn't blame him. What would you say to someone if they saw that there idol was a drunken slob?

She was meant to be the best medical nin, the greatest medical nin, the strongest kunoichi in the history of The Five Great Shinobi Nations. And she was slumped over a table, taking swigs from her third sake bottle. Tenten's mixture of feelings went from anger, to hate, to despair, to depression, and finally to sorrow. And then, it fell upon pity. Pity that the former glorious member of the Legendary Sannin was a wreck. Pity on herself for listening to over-hyped stories about her excellence. Pity for Lee that he would not get the help he deserved and needed because the world's greatest medic nin was a binge drinking cow. Tenten felt her heart break at seeing her one true idol, the person she aspired to be reach so low. Her face showed the barest of emotion as she slowly shut the door with an agonizing creak, and made her way back to Lee's room. Two of the three people in the room saw the flicker of emotion that crossed the brunette's face as she exited. It was raw despair.

Tenten didn't know how to feel anymore. This whole thing was a disaster. They still hadn't found Sakura, Lee's condition had deteriorated, and she had just discovered that her idol was a drunkard. Tenten never cried for anything. The last time she had cried was when Lee was injured in the first place. And, even as a child she never did cry. And she didn't cry loudly. She cried soundlessly that night. Broken and bruised mentally. Eventually, she slipped into a restless, dreamless sleep.

And that's that!

Now, onward with my 'review' I suppose of the chapter, going in order from scene to scene.

I really enjoyed writing Hinata and Sasuke's interactions. Both are socially awkward in there own way, and I chuckled at some of the awkwardness. Now, of course, you guys know I've been trying to make Sasuke be more human, right? Well, more human is the rude way of saying it, I suppose. I'm trying to make him more sociable. I feel that Sasuke in canon never really had enough social time with his teammates, which made his defection, or rather his conflict with leaving not really make sense. However, you may be thinking I've made Sasuke far too socially awkward. In my eyes, Sasuke's never been sociable ever since the massacre. And, any social skills he would have developed as a child have been replaced with a longing for revenge. Now he's trying to find himself and be nicer, but it's a constant struggle between balancing his fondness (which he denies) for his teammates, and his hatred for Itachi. I hope that I've showcased through out the story Sasuke's internal struggle with himself.

I've always thought it was a bit odd, myself, that Hinata never acknowledged Sasuke was handsome. You may hate the bastard, but be you boy or girl, no matter your sexual orientation, you can admit he is attractive. And even if you loathe someone, you can tell how attractive they are anyway. Hinata's fear of Sasuke makes sense in my eyes, at least. I hope it makes sense in yours.

The Kiba scene was somewhat hard to write. I'm trying to balance out Kiba being in heat, but at the same time being able to suppress it. I want to show that he's in an extremely kinky state of mind, but also able to somewhat control his urges. As the fic goes on his urges will become harder and harder to fight... I also should point out that Kiba doesn't like Naruto in any physical way, nor in personality. Whereas Shino (although he won't admit it) he does. So, I enjoyed writing the scene, even if it was hard to write.

Ino and Kurenai's scene had me stumped for a few days, as I wasn't sure how to go about it. Thankfully, my beta gave me a hand and allowed me to commence writing, and then finishing it. Nothing much to say, really. I hope the explanation I gave for Ino's training made sense, but if it didn't please feel free to tell me and I'll try and correct it.

And finally Tenten's scene. I knew, more or less, where this one was going from the beginning of the chapter. Tenten's in a bad place right, and with good reason. Neji's being a dick, Lee is badly injured, and her idol is a drunkard. That would effect most people, I believe. I can imagine her crying, because of all of this happening, so I don't think it's OCC. Tenten will always be the most headstrong and tomboyish kunochi in Konoha, but even tough girls need to cry.

And that's really all! If you liked the style of 'review' I did in this authors note then please say so in a PM or review and I will continue to do so! I enjoyed explaining my thoughts on the chapter, and I hope that I cleared up any unasked questions for you guys. If not, once again, leave them in the review or PM.

Have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night!