Chapter Two- Lights Out

"AAAHHH!!! What do we do? What do we do? We're all trapped here with nowhere else to go and—gasp—what if we run out of food!? I am not eating Neji!" Naruto shouted senselessly to us as we stood in the living room.

"I'll eat you before I'll let you eat Neji." Tenten declared protectively.

"Guys, we won't run out of food." I tried to interject. "The storm will be long over before that happens."

"You never know, Sakura, I'm a growing boy." Naruto stated suggestively.

I whacked Naruto on the head. "Oh, shut up, will ya?!"

"So we'll be here for a few hours while the storm subsides and we can get people to pick us up; no big deal." Sasuke grunted blatantly.

Bzzzzzzzz

That echoing sound rang through the house, less than a moment later all became dark as the lights went out.

"Eeeeeppp!!"

"Naruto you're not a girl." Neji huffed.

"B-But I can't see! We're under attack or something!"

"Sakura…does Naruto need medication and forgot to take them this morning?" Tenten asked.

"Argh, you idiot," I growled. "The power just went out; it's not very unusual during a thunderstorm."

"It's still freaky being in the dark like this…" Naruto whimpered.

Whack!

"The hell was that?" I jolted.

"You dumbass, I am not Hinata!" Sasuke snarled.

"Heh, heh, sorry Teme…."

"I don't want to know…" I grumbled.

"Anybody got a match?" Neji announced.

"I-I think there's a-a flashlight in the kitchen." Hinata stammered.

"I'll help you look." I offered. "Someone keep Naruto under control."

"Does knocking him out count?" Sasuke inquired.

"Yes, but don't do it right now." I answered as I found Hinata's form in the dark and we began to cautiously make our way to the kitchen.

We entered the kitchen; I could tell because the sounds of our footsteps changed and I banged into what was definitely a countertop.

"Do you know where it may be?" I questioned.

"I think it may be i-in one of the drawers." Hinata explained.

"I guess we just feel around."

The two of us searched the kitchen for drawers, and then began a careful process of determining the contents from random items to the flashlight.

"Got it," I cheered as I turned on the flashlight and light came into the kitchen.

"G-Good, let's head back." Hinata responded.

We walked back out into the living room to find everyone just sat on the floor. We joined them and placed the light in the middle.

"So what do we do until the lights come back?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, oh; we could tell scary ghost stories!" Naruto suggested.

"Weren't you just the one pissing themselves over the lights going out?" Sasuke inquired. "I don't think you could handle a ghost story."

"Besides, I don't want to hear any right now." I added as the other girls nodded in agreement.

"Ah, you people are such girls." Naruto complained.

"Gee, thanks for starting the obvious, Naruto." Tenten giggled and a small round of laughter passed through the group.

"Then does anyone else have any ideas?" Naruto questioned. "Though, last I checked, I'm always the one making the suggestions."

"I have an idea: we could play 'hit Naruto repeatedly and see if he can tell who it is in the dark'." Sasuke snorted menacingly.

"But…I still have bruises from the last game…" Naruto whimpered.

"You played this before?" I asked.

"Whether I knew it or not…." Naruto grumbled.

"Well, we could always just sit here in the quiet." Neji suggested.

"I don't think Naruto can keep quiet very long." Sasuke pointed put.

"Hey, I bet I could beat you all at the quiet game!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Fine, let's see who wins." Sasuke stated.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Okay, this is boring." Naruto declared.

"You lose." Sasuke announced.

"Screw you!"

"Guys, guys," I interjected. "Can't we all just be friends?"

"We are friends, Sakura; we all just have different ways of expressing our friendships." Tenten said.

"Like how you and Neji and Sakura and Sasuke express your 'friendships' through lip-locking?" Naruto snickered.

"Oh, like you don't!" I retorted.

Hinata suddenly looked away and Naruto's expression changed, but it wasn't to the embarrassed look I expected.

"Wait…you two haven't even kissed yet?" I blinked.

The two of them said nothing, and since I know my brother is the master of bragging, I knew what this meant.

"What, you guys haven't kissed yet!?" Tenten suddenly shouted. "But your first kiss is mandatory! Especially with how long you guys have been together!"

"It's been two months…" Naruto grumbled, and wouldn't look at anyone.

"So what, your first kiss is going to be on your wedding day or something?" Tenten responded.

"I don't see what the fuss is! We're…taking it slow."

"Reeaaal slow…" I muttered.

"You're in no position to talk." Naruto shot. "You and Teme here kissed before you guys even got together!"

"He's right…" Tenten declared. "…We need a brush."

"I'm not talking about that time!"

"He's right again, holy crap a record…we need a closet!"

"Tenten!" We all, excluding Neji and Hinata, exclaimed in unison.

"Fine, fine, whatever, I still say it's gotta be soon!" Tenten shrugged.

"Man, you're sounding like Ino!" I huffed.

"Oh, if I was acting like Ino I'd have their heads in my hands right now and I'd be trying to mesh them together." Tenten replied.

"…You've got a point."

"Does she seriously do that?" Sasuke asked.

"How do you think Tenten and Neji had their first kiss?" I responded.

Tenten and Neji looked at us, then each other, and then looked off in different directions.

"The amazing power of sitting around the flashlight…" I sighed.

"All we need is nature sounds and pre-made s'mores, since I'm sure this light isn't very strong, and we can pretend to be in some great bonding camp." Tenten giggled.

"Oh, s'mores would taste so good right now…" Naruto sighed and rubbed his stomach.

"Oh, please don't start making me hungry…." I huffed, but I couldn't stop the sudden growl that rumbled from my stomach.

Everyone looked at me for a moment. I laughed nervously and rubbed my stomach.

"Eh, heh, I guess it's been a while since I've eaten, too…" I grinned sheepishly.

"Let's all just find something to eat so we're not worrying about unsatisfied stomachs for a while." Tenten declared.

Everyone agreed and we all walked over to the kitchen. I walked at the back with Sasuke who gently nudged my arm.

"Talking about those memories got me thinking…I wonder if Hinata has two vacant closets." Sasuke whispered with a chuckle.

I let out a small, dry laugh. "Maybe…but let's just…um, focus on the other situations at hand for the moment."

Sasuke shrugged with a feigned disappointment as we reached the kitchen. The rumor from Ino hit me at that moment and any sense of joy at the thought of being with Sasuke in such circumstances turned into a question that made me worried.

"I wonder…if that rumor's true…how many times he's said that to Karin…or even any other girl…"

I quickly shook the thought away to join everyone, but I, whether I noticed or not, kept a farther distance from Sasuke than normal as we sat together to eat.

Yes! Second chapter es finito! (I have no idea what that's about.) I can't believe how long it took me to write this!! I'm shocked myself! Well…now that I'm obviously officially back, because I ran into no problems writing the last part of this, I should be updating soon! I'll work on this, but I'll try to get a one-shot out by this weekend! (Because that's been on hold for a while, too) And "Business Bites", really sorry to those people in suspense. I'll do whatever I can! More soon!