Phew! It took me all day today and part of yesterday to do this! ...Granted I was watching tv and stuff, which epically distracted me, BUT STILL. I DID IT! ALL 23/24 PAGES! YOU BETTER READ IT!
...Erm. Anyway, I-
(Suddenly the door is flung open, and in walks Luna)
Me: ...L...Luna? THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?
Luna: (Shrugs) I was told there were presents in this facility.
Me: Who told you that?
Luna: Naruto.
Me: (Bellows) NARUTOOOOO!
Naruto: (Runs in the now-open door) Yeah?
Me: Shut the damn door!
Luna: (Eyeroll) I'm used to that by now. Idiot never even locks it at night.
Naruto: Why would I lock my door at night?
Luna: (Sweatdrop) SO NO ONE BREAKS IN AND TRIES TO STEAL YOUR STUFF OR KILL YOU WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING, DUMBASS!
Naruto: (Grins and flops onto couch I'm sitting on, making me bounce and fly off into the wall) Pft, let 'em try! I'll kick any intruder's ass!
Luna: (Grumbles) You sure didn't kick Hinata's...
Naruto: T-That's different!
Me: (Temple throbbing) IF YOU CAME FOR PRESENTS AND YOU WANT 'EM SO DAMN BAD, STOP FIGHTING SO YOU CAN GET THEM!
Naruto and Luna: (Instantly shut up)
Me: (Nods slowly with a satisfied grin) Good job. Here. They're from one of my reviewers and a friend of mine: yukicrewger2.
-They rip through the wrapping paper, and it goes flying everywhere. Including my head. Cue my temple throb.-
Naruto: What's this? (Holds up present)
Me: (Peeling the wrapping paper off my face slowly, temple still throbbing) Read the note! ...Dumbass.
Naruto: (Shoots me dirty look before reading note) Ahem. "One of my creations, a kodachi that can channel a jutsu through it, like Rasengan for example, for Naruto. -Yuki". ...Cool!
Luna: (Holds up charm necklace with her birthstone, a blue topaz) Whoaaa...it's great!
Me: (Picks up note that came with it) Ahem. "This charm necklace has a spell cast on it that puts up a barrier for protection (will suck that asshole of an ex into a black hole if he gets too close and will give Orochimaru explosive diarrhea if he gets too close to you that will last for one week as long as he doesn't get close to you. If he does, the cycle will start back over), for Luna. -Yuki"
Luna: Aww, hear that! He's protecting me from Alex every time I wear this! AND Orochimaru!
Naruto: (Temple throb) And what've I been doing this whole time?
Luna: (Dull tone) Do you really want me to answer that?
Naruto: (Droops, bigger temple throb) ...NO.
Me: Ahhh, you two get along so great. Well, let's not make this MASSIVE chapp even more massive. I know it looks long, but I think it's worth the read! So read it, PLEAAAASE REVIEW BECAUSE THIS TOOK FOREVER! ...AND ENJOOOOOY! :D
Oh, also! I would just like to say that the whole Christmas Party Sai Thing was inspired by a comic I read on deviant art by mistyblossoms, called Sai Christmas. It's in 2 parts, and so I give a ton of credit to her. It's hilarious, check it out!
h t t p : / / p s y c h o t i c s u s h i . d e v i an t a r t . c o m/f a v o u r i te s / # /d 1 7 q e 8 6
After that little secretive trip of Naruto's, Luna just naturally assumed that was the end of it. But she was dead wrong. He continued making secretive trips to the same exact store, and she once saw him come out with a ton of rolls of shiny wrapping paper. There was now a huge-ass tree in his den, which he insisted on decorating with shiny objects and a star on the very top.
And he bought cookies two weeks before Christmas, informing her she couldn't eat the dough because the cookies were to be given to the Santa man he spoke of so often. Along with milk. And carrots for the reindeer he had driving his sleigh.
Did she dare ask about the meaning of all this preparation? Of course not. To be honest, she figured some things were better left unknown.
Now it was less than a week until Christmas, and everyone was excited. Even Luna herself, despite the fact she still had no idea what even really happened during Christmas. But right now, she was annoyed. "Naruto?"
"Yeah."
"Where the hell're we going?" she demanded to know.
"I already told you, it's a surprise."
"...Dammit," she muttered. Normally, she'd keep asking until he told her. But he looked so excited that she didn't want to ruin it for him. Instead, she just sighed. "It better be good. I'm freezing."
"You're wearing four shirts and a jacket, how the hell can you be freezing?" he wondered with a sweatdrop. "I'm wearing just a jacket and a long-sleeved shirt, and I'm warm!"
"I get cold easily, sue me," she said defensively. Naruto just rolled his eyes, waiting impatiently as she trudged after him. "Just hurry up, before the line gets too long!"
"Line for what?"
"Can't tell ya."
"Yes you can, you just choose not to!"
"...Well, either way, I'm not telling," he said matter-of-factly, walking beside yet slightly ahead of her. Konoha looked rather busy, probably due to it being so close to Christmas. People were filtering in and out of stores all over the place, stacks of bags and boxes piled high in and around their arms. It was pretty funny to watch them try and walk when they couldn't see over all the purchases. And then there were people decorating the streets of Konoha with random festive objects of which she'd never really seen in person.
"HO HO HO!"
Luna jumped, looking around suspiciously. "The hell was that?"
"That was Santa. Duh," Ino said to her right, making her jump all over again. Naruto was obviously trying not to laugh, which just made her more annoyed. "Hey, Ino. Didn't see you."
"I noticed," Ino said with a sweatdrop, and Luna looked around again. "So THAT's the noise this Santa man makes?"
Ino sweatdropped even more, peering at her from around her huge stack of boxes. "...Yeah. Every year. It's kinda his catchphrase." She looked at Naruto funny, and he just shook his head. "Never met Santa," he said simply, and she nodded slowly. "Ohhhh! Got it."
"Where is this Santa man, anyway?" Luna wondered, not able to see much what with everything going on around them. Naruto pointed straight ahead. "Over there!"
She stood on her tiptoes to see, and her eyes landed on a long line of children, at the start of which was a big man in an even bigger chair. He was dressed all in red, with fur on it, and a red hat with a white poofball at the end of it. He looked so cheerful it was scary.
"There he is. SANTA!" Naruto exclaimed happily. Ino rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "You and Sasuke get so excited over Santa, I just don't get it."
Luna looked at Naruto strange. "Sasuke gets excited over Santa of all things?"
He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I remember the first time I saw that..."
NARUTO'SFLASHBACK.
"Where're we going, Sensei?" Sakura asked as they tried to keep up with Kakashi. Naruto, of course, tried to walk as close to Sakura as possible. That long, beautiful pink hair of hers was whipping around, and some of it brushed his arm, and-
"PLEASE JUST GET ON WITH IT!" Ino and Luna shouted at the same time, making Naruto jump. "...Sorry. Got carried away."
"Ya think?" Luna muttered. He just smirked. "No need to get jealous. I like your hair, too. Probably more. IN FACT-"
"Naruto, it's not about-"
"ANYWAY."
"Someone's coming to Konoha that was gone for the longest time," Kakashi said simply, slowing to a stop. Now even Sasuke was curious. "Who?" Naruto asked.
"Santa Clause."
"Santa?" Sasuke wondered, having not seen him since his early childhood. Being the only Uchiha left kind of meant Christmas wasn't as huge. Well, unless he went to celebrate with Itachi. HA! Loon, I made a funny!
"Can you PLEASE just-"
"Alright, alright! Jeez."
They stopped to stare at the big man in red, and Sasuke's eyes widened. "SANTAAAA! OH MY GOD!"
The rest of Team 7 watched with dropped jaws and sweatdrops as Sasuke ran around them excitedly, getting a spot in line with the little kids. They finally caught up with him, and he looked at them with wide eyes. "I KNOW HIM!" he exclaimed, holding the sides of his face in a Home Alone fashion.
He grabbed Naruto by his jacket, eyes even wider now. "...I know him."
"That's...great, Sasuke. I know him, too," Naruto managed to get out, trying not to laugh. Sakura sighed dreamily as Sasuke continued to chatter excitedly about his experience with Santa. "Awww. Sasuke probably hasn't had a Christmas in a while. A good one, that is."
Then she lowered her voice, talking mostly to herself. "Now that Santa's back, all I have to do is strategically place him so that the line of kids is underneath mistletoe. That way, Sasuke will eventually HAVE to make a move! CHA! SHANNEROO!"
Naruto's temple throbbed, and he crossed his arms. "Damn Sasuke." Kakashi just sighed and shook his head as Sasuke continued to ramble. "...Christmas does the strangest things to you kids."
ENDFLASHBACK.
Naruto shook his head. "...Damn Sasuke." Ino and Luna exchanged an eye-roll.
"I never knew Sasuke was so fond of Saint Nicholas," Sai commented from behind Luna, making her jump nearly a foot in the air. "JEEZ, SAI, WHEN'D YOU GET HERE?" everyone asked.
He smiled at them. "When Naruto was mentioning Sakura's 'long, beautiful pink hair'?" Luna's temple throbbed, and Naruto laughed anxiously. "Let's forget that part of the flashback, shall we?"
Luna crossed her arms. "I don't care if you forget it or not, it doesn't affect ME whatsoever."
"Uh-huh," him and Ino said while exchanging a smirk, their voices dripping with sarcasm. Her temple throbbed even more, and Naruto grinned. "Well, let's go see Santa! If I don't tell him what I want, I'll never get it!"
"Do we have to? I mean, you got presents before you were able to tell Santa what you wanted, didn't you?" Luna asked in a slightly-whiny tone. That big guy in red looked a bit unsettling.
"Yeah, but they're BETTER presents when I talk to him! C'mon!" he exclaimed, dragging her towards Santa by her hand. Ino and Sai watched as she spastically tried to get her hand out of his. Sai sweatdropped. "I...don't think Luna likes Saint Nicholas all that much."
Ino just giggled to herself. "Yeah, I got that vibe too." A couple of her packages slipped out of her hands, and Sai caught them before they hit the ground. "Oh, thanks, Sai."
"Would you like me to help you carry some of those?" Sai asked, tilting his head at an odd angle to see her past her gifts. She giggled. "Sure! Here, take these," she said cheerfully, dumping nine of the eighteen packages over to him. "You got 'em?" she asked, trying not to laugh at the look on his face.
He smiled at her. "Of course. Lead the way." And with that, they waddled their way to Ino's.
MEANWHILE...
"Naruto, can I just wait for you at a safe distance while you see the Santa man?" Luna asked, her voice getting higher and higher.
"Nope! Don't you want a Christmas present or two from Santa?"
"I think I'm good, I've gone without any for years!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're probably just nervous 'cause you've never talked to him before!" he said matter-of-factly. Luna shook her head like crazy. "No, it's 'cause he's CREEEPY!"
"Shhh! He might hear you!" Naruto said, making her sigh exasperatedly.
"HO HO HO! Who's next?" Santa asked.
"US!" Naruto shouted, running to the front of the line with Luna in tow. The girl that would've been next watched them with a sweatdrop.
"HO HO HO! Why, hello there, kids!"
"Hiya, Santa! Remember me?"
Santa peered at Naruto as he continued to bounce excitedly. "Hmm...Naruto, right?"
"YES!"
Luna bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Well, hello again, Naruto! Who's this lovely little lady you have with ya?"
"Oh, this is Luna. She's my girlfriend. She's never met you before."
Santa simply laughed. "HO HO HO! Why, hello there, Luna!"
"...Hi."
Naruto sweatdropped. Santa patted his lap. "Well, who's first?"
"Luna is!"
"What the- NARUTO, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?" she shouted as he picked her up by her hips and plopped her in Santa's lap. Luna's temple started throbbing as Santa put his hands on her hips to steady her. "Watch the hands, pal."
"Easy, now, no need to worry. What do you want for Christmas, little one?"
Her temple throbbed even more at the "little one" part, but she didn't comment on it. Instead, she scratched her head thoughtfully. "Hmmm...I dunno, Santa man. I might have to think about that. You usually don't give me presents, see. But I guess I get that, since I kill an average of two hundred targets a year and imprison over five hundred."
Santa and Naruto gulped at that, and Naruto leaned towards Santa. "I'd watch what you say, if I were you. Don't imply in any way she's short, and whatever you do, DON'T mention her ass! She hates it when I do that!"
Luna's temple throbbed at that, and Santa sweatdropped. "...So THAT'S what you kids talk about these days. Well, anyway, take your time, Luna."
She tried to think, but that little girl was tapping her foot, and she finally stomped it before shouting "JUST HURRY UP!". The other kids were getting antsy as well, groaning and complaining amongst themselves.
Luna thought hard for a few more seconds before whispering into Santa's ear. "Santa man? I don't really have anything I want, except...well, two things. The first one is...I'd like to not have to go back to the Agency for a loooong time. That would mean I wouldn't have to be an assassin anymore, you see, and I could be with my friends a little longer. And, um, also? Do you think...you could bring Naruto's family back? I figured maybe you could do that; Naruto makes you out to be a rather magical man, Santa man."
Santa paused, then whispered into her ear his reply. "...Hmm. That's quite a heavy-duty demand you're making, Luna. I won't bring Naruto's family back. Do you know why?"
She shook her head. "No...Are you...angry with him?"
"Ho ho ho! No, of course not!" he exclaimed before whispering in her ear, "Because he has a new family now, here in Konoha, out of all his friends. And I would love to be able to make you stay here. Do you know why? ...Because you're part of that family now. And no one likes to see families separated. Do you?"
She shook her head. "No. A new family...I...I am? I'm a part of it?"
"Most certainly!"
Luna sighed heavily. "Oh, I...I see. Well, in that case...could you find me a giant box of Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts?"
"HO HO HO! I'll most certainly try!" he said, obviously amused. Naruto picked her back up off his lap and set her down on her own two feet before getting in Santa's lap himself. "My turn! Okay, Santa, here goes." He then started whispering in Santa's ear, and Luna sighed.
"I believe I have started a 'trend,' as Becs called it." The little girl's temple was throbbing, and she made a squeaky little "Humph" noise. "Took you long enough! I'm gonna be eight by the time I get up there!"
"How old are you?"
"Seven...and a fourth," she announced proudly. Luna nodded slowly, ignoring the other kids by this time. "Oh. What do you want to ask from the Santa man?" The girl gave her a weird look at what she called the man in red, then smiled proudly. "I want a kitty! ...And also, I want a new doll. Sally's getting raggedy."
Luna smiled. "Oh, I see. That sounds nice. I like dogs better, but I had a cat once. Well, it was my brother's but...don't tell him this, but it definitely liked me better," she said with a smile.
The little girl giggled, then looked at Naruto before shaking her head. "That's Naruto, right?" Luna nodded, and the girl nodded as well. "My mommy and daddy used to tell me to stay away from him, just like the other little kids, but now...they don't seem to mind him so much. I think he's funny," she said with a giggle as Naruto continued to talk to Santa excitedly.
Luna smiled to herself. "Yeah. He is. He sure does grin a lot," she mused to herself. "I wonder how he does it without getting tired of smiling."
The girl shrugged. "I dunno. He didn't used to grin as much, though, after that Uchiha guy left. And when he came back...the grins weren't as good anymore."
"They weren't?"
She shook her head. "No. But now they are...Something's different." She smiled at Luna. "My mommy says it's because you make him happy."
Luna put her hand to her face to tuck some hair behind her ear so she could fight down the blush without that kid seeing it. "Oh, does she? ...Your mommy sure does say a lot about Naruto."
She shrugged. "She's friends with the Yamanakas, and one of their daughters talks about him with her friend a looooot."
Luna sweatdropped. "I should've known." Naruto hopped off Santa's lap cheerfully and gestured to the girl. "I think it's your turn now."
The little girl huffed, glaring up at Naruto. "About time. Line-skipper!" she accused.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"ARE TOO!"
"AM NO-" Luna sighed and interrupted him by dragging him off. "Never mind him. Nice talking to you!" she shouted over her shoulder as she dragged him down the street.
Once they were a safe distance away, Luna let go of him. "There. I saw Santa. Happy now?"
He grinned. "Yeah, that terrified look on your face was priceless!"
BAM!
"Owwww," he groaned, having been kicked into a nearby wall. Luna smiled innocently at him as he clambered to his feet, stomping over to her. "Dammit, one of these days you're gonna make me break a limb or something, and I'm gonna completely use your guilt to my advantage!" he exclaimed.
Luna laughed. "Yeah, right. Okay."
FOURDAYS LATER...
Her phone was ringing. Her phone was ringing at three in the morning? Luna groaned and rolled over so her face was pressing into the mattress.
Her phone was still ringing.
She ducked her head underneath the pillow, clamping it tightly over her ears.
Still ringing.
Luna growled to herself, ducking her hand out from under the pillow. Once grabbing it, she pressed it against her ear. "H-Hallo?" she asked groggily, her words slurred.
The phone continued to ring away, and she facepalmed herself after realizing she forgot to slide the phone open. "...WHAT," she growled.
"MEEEERRRY CHRISTMAS!" Becs, Ichigo, and Rukia shouted into her ear, making her hair blow off her face and her temple throb.
"Is there any particular reason you all felt compelled to shout that to me in the middle of the night?" Luna asked groggily, yawning.
"Nope. Except that we were hoping we'd wake you up. That'd be a bonus," Ichigo informed her.
Her temple throbbed. "Congratulations. Consider yourselves bonused, jackasses."
"YAY!" they all cheered, and her temple throbbed even more.
"Smartasses, lemme go back to sleep!"
"I thought we were jackasses just a second ago?"
They started laughing as Luna growled in response to Ichigo's remark, and there was shuffling before Becs' voice was the only one against her ear. "Fine, fine. Go back to sleep. Oh, and Will's phone fell down the shower drain, so he told me to tell you 'Merry Christmas' and that he loves you."
"Unh. Got it."
Becs giggled before there was more rustling, and then Ichigo's voice crashed against her ear next. "Hey. You never did tell us about that Alex guy. You seen him?"
"Ichigo, don't ask that on Christmas Eve Day!" Becs hissed.
"It's just a damn question!"
Luna rolled her eyes. "How about this? Leave me alone, and I'll tell you once I can see through my eyes again," she said, her words slurring slightly again. She was so tired, it wasn't even funny. She was half-asleep as it was.
"Why don't ya just tell us now and get it over with?" Ichigo offered defiantly, but then there was yelling from Becs, and with a CRASH, the phone hung up on their end.
Luna sighed heavily, phone still in her hand as she let her face fall back into the pillow. She was just starting to drift off when her cell phone vibrated and started ringing.
Her temple throbbed so bad it threatened to pop a blood vessel, and she sighed heavily as she felt Naruto stirring to her right.
...Yes, he was there. She refused to give up the most comfortable bed she'd ever slept in, and he refused to sleep on the window seat. So she tolerated him. For now. She intended to start dragging him to the couch and locking him out, but for now...she was cold.
Luna snapped her phone open, temper flaring. "ALRIGHT, Ichigo, I'm not gonna tell you and that's that!"
Silence.
"...Well? Can I hang up now, or are ya just gonna keep calling?" she asked angrily.
"Ichigo, huh? Oh, you must be referring to that tall orange-headed kid."
Luna paled, the blood draining from her face. She gripped her phone tighter. "...Oh. It's you. Well? What, did you wish to tell me 'Merry Christmas' and that you love me? Will beat you to it."
"Actually, I was gonna tell you that you should get out while you still can. But that other one works, too."
"What? What're you talking about?" she asked, rubbing her right eye with her free hand.
"I'm talking about what the Agency's planning."
"Huh?"
He sighed impatiently on the other end, and she could hear his grip on the phone tighten. "They're gonna drag you outta there, Luna. By your hair, if they need to. By the end of the year maximum, I believe. They're gonna experiment on you again. And if you don't get outta there now, there'll be nothing you can do about it."
"So...I need to leave. Where shall I go?" she asked, deciding to humor him.
"Just run, dammit! You can stay here, with me. Or you can be on your own. I don't care, so long as you're safe from...from them." Alex said "them" as if it were a disease, and it made her shiver despite herself.
"Where...Where're you getting all this?"
"I heard it myself."
"H-How?"
"I have someone on the inside."
"Who?"
He chuckled on the other line. "Now, Luna, if I told you that, you'd sell them out to Tara in a heartbeat. And I can't have that. How else can I keep an eye on you?"
Luna sighed rather heavily, eyes shut in frustration. "...I don't believe you. Leave me alone, I'm tired. If you're gonna start that whole constant-call thing up again, at least start at a decent hour!"
"Luna-"
"No, I don't wanna talk to you anymore. Will you hang up now, or will I have to do it first?" she asked rather politely. Which, of course, she knew would make him absolutely terrified. He knew as well as Naruto did that in times like these, she was polite to someone when she imagined killing them if they didn't do things her way.
"I'll leave you alone now. I guess...If you don't leave, I'll just have to save your ass when they prove me right. Oh, well. At least I know I'll see you again. ...Merry Christmas, Luna. ...I love you, you know."
And with that, he hung up.
Luna sighed heavily for what had to be the fortieth time, her head pounding. She refused to let that call ruin her Christmas, but dammit, it sure as hell ruined an already-crappy morning.
She rolled over onto her back, eyes shut and her arm laying across them. She was trying to make the world even darker than it already was.
Which was pretty dark, since it wasn't even four yet. She heard the rather distinct sound of Naruto yawning and stretching. She sighed exasperatedly as one of his hands found themselves stretching across her shoulder, her collarbone area, her other shoulder, to the other side of the bed. "...Naruto."
"Unn."
"Move your arm."
"Huh?"
"Your arm? Move it. NOW."
"Wha...What arm?"
"The one on top of me!"
"...Wha?" he asked, his voice more groggy than hers had been. If that was possible. Luna's temple throbbed; it was always so hard for him to focus and be alert when she woke him up too early.
She took a deep breath, trying not to get annoyed. "Naruto, I know this is hard for you, but try to listen to the words coming out of my mouth for just a second. Okay?"
"Your mouth?"
"Yes, my mouth." Where else would I be speaking from? Luna wondered with a sweatdrop. His fingers curled and uncurled themselves before patting the area of mattress his hand was plopped onto. He then grunted in confusion, moving his hand forward, then backward.
It wasn't until he bumped into Luna's arm that he seemed satisfied. "Oh, good, you're still here," he muttered groggily, his hand wrapped around her arm.
Luna sweatdropped. "Did you think I went somewhere?"
"You mentioned leaving. Didn't you?"
"Leaving?"
"Someone did. And I heard you talking, too. So I figured you woulda...woulda...umm...left! Yeah, left. Left already."
Luna sighed yet again. "Nope, I'm still here."
"Oh. ...Tha...That's good. That's good," he said slowly, yawning before moving his hand to her upper arm.
"Okay, back to listening to the words coming out of my mouth?" Luna prompted.
"Your mouth?"
"WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS!" she said impatiently, her eyes squeezing shut even tighter for emphasis. Not that he could see them since her arm was still on top of them, but still.
His hand went up her arm, to the side of her face. His fingers searched her face before finding her mouth, tracing the outline of her lower lip. "...Oh. Your mouth. Okay, but you're not saying anything," he said matter-of-factly.
Luna blinked her eyes open, slowly letting her arm slide away from her face before turning to look at him. Her temple then throbbed to the max as she realized his eyes were wide open, and his grin suggested he'd just been wanting to see how she'd react if he acted like he couldn't see.
"...Dammit, Naruto!" she hissed, kicking him blindly under the covers before flopping onto her side moodily so that she was facing away from him.
"Ow!" he whined between laughs, and he laughed even harder when she simply huffed in response. "Aww, c'mon, I was just messin' with ya."
"I don't care. The only thing that bothers me is that I lost precious sleep time trying to talk to a certified village idiot," she muttered moodily.
"Now that's harsh," he said, still sounding smug as he played with her hair.
"...I'm gonna kill you one day. I can just tell I am," she said before yawning rather loudly.
"I think I can take ya."
"Oh, do you? That'll make it all the more satisfying when I finally kill you," she replied simply. That made him laugh, which made her temple throb.
"Loon, you honestly think you scare me? That's funny," he said before yawning. He continued to play with her hair, the arm of his non-occupied hand draping across her waist. Luna frowned. "You're awfully close to me today. Why?"
"'Cause you hate it so much," he said as if it were obvious. Which, Luna guessed it was. It WAS Naruto.
She just sighed heavily as she felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier; she sure was doing a lot of that lately.
LATER...
A Christmas party. Luna Sasaki was at a Christmas party. What next, the world ending? She smiled and shook her head as Naruto and Sasuke continued to have a verbal-battle over who would get the most presents from Santa and why.
"I SINGLEHANDEDLY ESCAPED THE CLUTCHES OF OROCHIMARU WITHOUT GETTING CAUGHT UNTIL I WAS SAFELY IN THE BOUNDARIES OF KONOHA! THAT HAS TO COUNT FOR SOMETHING!"
"YEAH, WELL I NEARLY KILLED THAT GUY MYSELF WHEN HE PISSED ME OFF ON THAT DAMN BRIDGE!"
"YEAH, WELL I WAS THE ONLY ONE MY BROTHER SPARED WHEN HE KILLED OUR WHOLE CLAN! OBVIOUSLY, I'M A FAVORITE!"
"YEAH, WELL MY PARENTS SACRIFICED THEMSELVES FOR ME! OBVIOUSLY I'M MORE LOVED!"
"YEAH, WELL I HAVE TOO MANY FANGIRLS TO COUNT!"
"YEAH, WELL...WELL...I GOT TO SLIDE DOWN LUNA'S BRA STRAP! AND GIVE HER A VIRTUALLY-FULL-BODY MASSAGE!"
"...Dammit," Sasuke muttered, slumping in defeat. "I haven't even managed to kiss Sakura yet!"
Naruto grinned triumphantly, while Sakura and Ino were watching with major sweatdrops. "Hear that, Forehead? You coulda just kissed him and he would've totally been more than happy to kiss you back."
"...Yeah...I heard, Ino...Thanks for clearing that up."
Luna smiled to herself, shaking her head again as Naruto did a Victory Dance. "I told him mentioning that bra strap thing would come in handy, but he didn't really believe me."
"...What IS the 'bra strap thing'?" Ino asked. Sakura looked over at them with interest as Luna turned a little red.
"Nothing major, really, I just had something on my shoulder and it was right underneath my bra strap, and I couldn't see it, soooo...I just had him slide my bra strap down."
"Ohhhh," the two kunoichi said in unison, nodding slowly.
"Just don't tell Sasuke that. Not now that Naruto finally won an argument," Luna added, and they nodded some more.
"Hey, don't say that like it's not a regular thing!" Naruto called out before resuming his Victory Dance, making the three girls sweatdrop.
"...And yet, he can't hear that well when I want something from him," Luna commented dully.
"Join the club," Sakura replied in the same dull tone.
After a few minutes in which Luna enjoyed talking to Ino, Sakura, and Temari without Naruto there, there was a knock on Sakura's door. As Sasuke went to answer it, the blonde annoyance came back.
...And no, we don't mean Ino or Temari.
Luna jumped in surprise when she felt arms around her waist. "Holy crap, you scared me," she said, making Naruto laugh. "You're too jumpy."
"...The hell're you doing?" Luna hissed at him as he simply stayed there with his arms around her like that. She thought it had just been to scare her, but apparently she thought wrong.
"You forgot something major, Loon. Everyone else thinks we're dating, remember?"
"Yeah, I know that, Sherlock."
"Well, people do stuff like this when they're dating. They do other stuff too, but that's usually behind closed doors," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver all over. Damn Naruto. For some reason, that reminded her of Tsunade, and she stomped her foot. "CRAP!"
"What?"
"Tsunade wanted to see me weeks ago, and I never went!"
"...Oh. Well, too late now," he said simply, making her temple throb.
"You're not very helpful. At all. In any way, shape, or form," she informed him. Naruto chuckled, plopping his head onto her shoulder. "I'm not trying to be."
"Good."
"Good."
"Fine."
"Always fine."
"In your head, maybe."
"Your head too, judging by how many times you've checked me out when I'm not looking."
"I have NOT!"
"Have so!"
They cut off their stupid argument after hearing the rather distinct sound of Sakura's front door being flung open, knocking poor Sasuke into the wall. He was now stuck between the door and the wall, temple throbbing. His poor mug of hot chocolate went flying, too, and landed smack in Shino's face.
Luna, Naruto, Sakura, and a few others watched with sweatdrops as Shino's glasses slowly cracked all over before breaking completely, shattering and crashing to the ground. Naruto let out a whistle. "...Tough luck, Shino."
Luna then stomped on his foot, making him groan into her shoulder. Which made her shiver all over again. She was about to yell at him for it, sure he had done that just to get some kind of perverted reaction out of her, but then she noticed who had opened the door.
It was Sai, who was practically floating, he was so happy. He had a huge sack, sort of like the one Santa man had with him beside his chair, and had a beard like Santa man's attached to his face. "Hello my friends! I'd like to share my joy with you all!" Sai exclaimed cheerfully.
Everyone immediately froze what they were doing. Sort of. Sakura froze mid-sip of her hot chocolate, Ten-Ten stopped in the middle of the room with two drinks in fancy glasses with umbrellas, Rock Lee was offering a present to Neji, but stopped mid-sentence to stare at Sai. Choji looked just plain intrigued, and Neji was staring impassively.
"So bright...!" Kiba exclaimed, making Luna sweadrop.
Naruto suddenly held up a cookie shaped like a reindeer, offering it to her. "Cookie?"
Luna sweatdropped even more. "...No thanks." When the hell'd he get that? His hands've been on my waist this whole time... Luna wondered as he shrugged and ate it himself.
As Sai continued to stand there, all sunshine and rainbows, people started reacting. Most were sweatdrops or grumbles. "What he say?" Shika asked rather drunkenly, leaning heavily on Temari, who was just shaking her head at Sai and eating a gingerbread cookie.
"Wait...Sai was invited?" Naruto asked no one in particular. Sakura's temple throbbed. "Of course he was!"
"...Oh. I didn't know that," he informed Luna.
"I don't care," she informed right back. He stuck his tongue out at her, so she stuck hers back out at him, but before they could drag THAT idiotic moment out any more, Sai started talking some more. "I brought gifts for you all!" he exclaimed before prancing over to Sakura.
"For Sakura-chaaaan!"
"Um...Thanks," Sakura said with an awkward laugh. He then moved over to Naruto.
"For Naruto-kuuuuun!"
"..." He wasn't going to say anything, but Luna stomped on his foot. "Th-AAAA-nks, Sai," Naruto groaned, making Luna smile triumphantly.
"For Luna-chaaaaaaaan!" he trilled, handing her a present.
"Thank you!"
"Aaaand for EVERYONE ELSE!" Sai exclaimed, throwing presents to everyone else at Sakura's party. "May your Christmas be filled with happiness and love!"
Luna, sweatdropping epically, turned her head to the side and downward to look at Naruto, who still had his head on her shoulder. "...What's happened to Sai?"
He sweatdropped as well. "I believe he's gotten...The Holiday Fever."
Sakura held up her gift happily. "I got some new medical supplies and a graphing calculator!"
Luna sweatdropped, and Naruto opened his curiously. "Ramen and a slingshot? HELL YEAH! Loon, you're doomed!"
"Not if I get ahold of that slingshot first," she replied dangerously. He just got a rather mischievous gleam in his eye, and Luna sweatdropped before opening hers. "...I got my Pop-Tarts! Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts! THANKS, SAI!"
"Yeeeaahh! A gift card to PetCo!" Kiba shouted triumphantly.
"I got a fortune cookie and a couple new scrolls!" TenTen exclaimed.
"I got...the perfect tooth paste for maintaining a flawless smile!" Lee announced, holding up some Colgate and flashing his "flawless smile" while striking a heroic pose.
Neji hid his gift back in his box rather quickly, but he looked happy. Kankuro was hovering over his new favorite food, thanking Sai while licking his lips hungrily.
Gaara was sitting dejectedly, holding up his new tube of eyeliner. "Doesn't he know I hate pencil? It smears!" he muttered, accepting the gift nonetheless.
"I got a pic of Sai in a tuxedo," Shikamaru was saying slowly as Sasuke groaned, crawling out from behind the door that nearly crushed him.
"He's naked in my pic..." Ino replied slowly, looking at hers with slight curiosity and turning it every which way. Luna put a palm against her face, shaking her head as she started laughing. Naruto had been laughing for a good three minutes already.
"How about me?" Sasuke suddenly asked, making Naruto and Luna stop laughing and look over at him. Sai, who was currently practically dancing around the place, stopped suddenly with an inquisitive noise.
"Oh, of course, Sasu-chaaan!" he exclaimed, throwing a present at him. It hit Sasuke smack in the face, and Luna sweatdropped. "Wow."
"That would be what I call a 'Geezuz-That-Hurts No Jutsu'!" Naruto commented, making her start laughing all over again. They watched Sasuke tear through the paper and open the box to reveal...
"Ohhh boy," Naruto said slowly, shaking his head as Sasuke held up his present dejectedly. He held it up to Sai, standing back up. "A SOCK?"
"Not just ANY sock...a FLYING sock!" Sai replied, smiling as if he'd picked out the perfect gift. Even Sakura started laughing at Sasuke as he stared at Sai, who was still smiling obliviously.
"WHAT THE HELL!" he demanded to know, making Luna and Naruto burst out laughing all over again.
"My...My abs hurt!" Luna managed to get out.
"This...This is...more of a workout...than a workout!" Naruto agreed.
"I don't even know why...I'm...still laughing!" Sakura replied, making them laugh even harder.
"...It must be the hot chocolate," Kiba commented, and Hinata promptly poured hers out into a random flowerpot with a little squeak of surprise. "G-Good thing I never drank it!"
HOURSLATER...
"I knew she shouldn't have drank that hot chocolate," Naruto said with a shake of the head as Luna continued to try and walk in a straight line at Sakura's request.
Her and Ino were currently laughing their asses off, and Luna giggled herself before hiccuping at the end. She clutched her chest, making a face. "Owww..."
"Dude, she looks just about wasted," Kiba commented as Sakura caught Luna before she keeled over, both girls laughing uncontrollably.
"Yeah, chocolate does that to her."
"...Talk about a drag," Shikamaru said with a sweatdrop as Ino and Sakura drug Luna over to the couch as she continued to moan about how much hiccups hurt.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck before sighing. "Yeah, something tells me it's time to take her home."
"Oh yeah, she's livin' with ya, right?" Shika asked, still a bit slurred with his words. Wonder what the hell he was drinkin'.
Naruto nodded. "Yeeeah."
"Jeez, Small Fry! It's only been, what, a few months?" Temari asked, obviously shocked to hear this one rumor in particular was true. Naruto waved his hands frantically as if stopping traffic. "No, it's nothing like that! She just has a huge roach problem! That's all! Once it's fixed, she'll be outta there in no time!"
Temari and Shikamaru exchanged a smirk. "Right. Of course she will." Naruto opened his mouth to continue defending himself, but then Luna started laughing again, making them all jump.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! ...Did you see that? THE SOCK, IT REALLY FLIES!" she exclaimed, pointing at Sasuke's present, which he'd tossed onto Sakura's den's ceiling fan. Sasuke had turned the fan on, claiming it was hot in there, and the sock had flown off.
Naruto rolled his eyes, standing above her as she continued to lay on the couch. "C'mon, Loon, your hyperness is startin' to scare me."
She pouted up at him. "Awww, but I wanna stay! What if the sock flies some more?"
"Yeah, well, Santa can't come if we're stuck at Sakura's all night!"
Sasuke's eyes widened, and he grabbed his coat. "I forgot about that...No wonder everyone else left early! NARUTO, WE'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted, nearly tripping over himself.
Sakura sweatdropped. "...Sasuke-"
"Bye, Sakura," he said distractedly, but took enough time out of his frantic running to hesitantly kiss her on the cheek. THAT sure made her shut up.
Naruto cocked his head towards the door, which Sasuke was heading for. "C'mon, let's go home, alright?"
She stared up at him for a few more seconds before sighing heavily, swaying dangerously after hopping to her feet. "O-Okaaay." Naruto rolled his eyes and picked her up, making her giggle and hiccup some more.
Temari, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura watched with fresh sweatdrops. Sasuke held the door open. "I'll help you," he commented with a sweatdrop as Luna continued to giggle. "...Who knows what she'll do?" he added.
Naruto nodded. "Thanks." He noticed that Sasuke gave Sakura a look, and it suddenly made her turn serious as she nodded slowly, but he had no idea what that look meant.
Luna continued to giggle for a while, making the other two's temples throb more and more with each passing minute. Finally, Naruto shouted, "WHAT'S SO DAMN FUNNY?".
She looked up at him, smiling all innocent-like. "I was just thinking about shakemilks and how much I'd like one."
"...How is that funny?" Sasuke wondered. Him and Luna then watched as Naruto set her down on her feet with a heavy sigh, stomping off. "I'll be baaaack..."
Sasuke sweatdropped, looking at Luna, who was grinning like crazy. "Where's he going?"
She looked over at him, continuing to smile. "My guess is to purchase a shakemilk. THAT'S what's so funny." Sasuke chuckled and shook his head as they heard Naruto grumbling to himself as he searched for one in the nearby stores, making her giggle again.
"Well, I'll be damned. Looks like you've got him wrapped around your finger," he commented. Luna shrugged. "I wouldn't say that. I think this is just what families do for each other. My brother does the same all the time."
"Family?" he wondered. "Naruto doesn't have any family." So, she has a brother...
Luna smiled at him again. "That's what I thought, too. But Santa man told me that we're his family. Sakura, you, Sai, Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraiya, all those close to him. They're his new family. And now...it looks like I'm part of that, too," she said thoughtfully. "I guess Santa man was right after all."
Sasuke nodded. "He tends to be. Ahhh, Santa. He's such a great guy." He glanced around until he found a clock, then sighed. "Forty minutes 'till midnight. We better hurry."
"Why?"
"Santa Clause comes to start delivering presents at midnight exactly. If you're not asleep by then, he won't give you presents! ...And I live on the outskirts of Konoha, practically!" Sasuke exclaimed, obviously getting slightly-panicky.
He made a noise of surprise when Luna patted his arm, still swaying precariously. "Don't worry, Sasuke. I think we'll be fine. Besides...you've been very good this year, I think. So if you're not asleep when he gets there, I'm sure he'll just put a dot by your name or something so that he'll go back to your house later. That sounds like something someone as great and smart as Santa man would do, dontchya think?"
"Yeah...Yeah, it does," he said thoughtfully. Then Naruto finally came back, milkshake in hand, and Luna's entire face lit up. "YES! Thank you!" she said happily, slurping it rather loudly as Naruto resumed carrying her. Sasuke shook his head at the two as they talked about waffles and how come neither of them bothered to tell Santa they wanted some. ...This can't be good. Naruto, what've you gotten yourself into?
LATER...
Luna had fallen asleep halfway there, and Sasuke was carrying her milkshake. The damn milkshake Naruto had scoured a third of Konoha for with his Shadow Clones. Why he did that when he already had an epic Christmas present he'd been working on for weeks waiting for her, Naruto had no idea.
Just like he had no idea why he went all-out with her Christmas present in particular. Naruto guessed it was because whether he liked it or not, she was eventually going to have to leave, after they eventually got Orochimaru and Alex off their backs.
Also, she'd never celebrated Christmas before, so her first one should be one she wouldn't easily forget. Yeah. That was it.
When they finally got to Naruto's, he grabbed the keys (he remembered this time so he wouldn't have to dig in her pockets and torture his perverted mind even further) and unlocked his door. "You can just set that on the floor or something," Naruto informed Sasuke, referring to the milkshake.
Sasuke did so before clearing his throat. "Um, Naruto-"
"Hold on, lemme just drop her in bed. ...She's getting heavy," he muttered. After setting her down, she immediately rolled over onto the side he usually slept in (after watching tv or something until late at night so he knew she was asleep before crawling in, that way she couldn't kick him out) and curling herself up. Naruto shook his head before shutting his bedroom door.
Sasuke was waiting by the open door, obviously ready to go home before Santa Clause made his rounds. "So you were sayin'?" Naruto asked, looking around suspiciously to make sure Luna wasn't coming around to corner before drinking some of her milkshake.
"Look, Naruto, it's about Luna," Sasuke began. Naruto waited. "...And?" he prompted.
"Well, see, Sakura and I are just worried...she's with you for other reasons." Naruto felt his pulse beat a little faster. Did they know about her being a spy?
"...Whaddaya mean?" he asked, deciding to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about. Sasuke sighed. "Well...we think she might be a spy for some enemy. And...more frankly, we think...she might be hired to kill you."
Naruto scoffed. "Tha-That's stupid! What makes ya think that?"
Sasuke held up his hand, counting off on his fingers. "Think about it. She just HAPPENS to meet you by chance that day? And she just HAPPENS to be interested in you? And she just HAPPENS to agree so quickly to stay with you this long? And she just HAPPENS to be some sort of...of...'Agent', was it? An Agent willing to betray the people she works for, all for a guy? And of course, she just so HAPPENS to have an almost complete immunity to the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Do you have any idea what all that means?"
Sasuke paused at the shocked look on Naruto's face. "...Wait...She's immune to the Fox chakra?"
He nodded. "Tsunade herself said so. Said the blood has little to no effect on her, other than a bit of a burning sensation, which she easily cured. Don't you get it? Lemme offer up a scenario for you. Her mission is to kill you, right? Don't you get how easy that'd be? She knows you'd never see it coming, because you think she's legitimately interested in you, maybe even loves you. She can kill you without any problem from the Nine-Tailed Fox, because she's immune."
Naruto hated to do it, but he considered what Sasuke was saying.
"You do understand that that's what spies and assassins are trained to do, right? To be able to fake emotions at the drop of a hat. And well, might I add. Trust me. Naruto, she's playing you, and she's going to kill you if you don't do anything about it," Sasuke said grimly.
Naruto was silent for a long time, but finally, he cleared his throat. "Don't you need to get home before Santa?"
Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, don't be a dumbass! Just...take heed from what I said. Alright? Don't let her fool you, and...be ready when the time comes."
"If you're so convinced she's hired to kill me, why haven't you confronted her about it?" Naruto wondered.
He rolled his eyes. "We can't do that, dobe. Obviously she's a pretty good actress. We've gotta pretend we haven't caught on to what she's up to. That way, if she by chance lets something slip and we get proof, we can alert Tsunade. ANBU will have her in custody and being questioned in no time." Sasuke stared at him. "...Will you help us?"
Naruto didn't answer, and Sasuke nodded. "Good. You're thinking about it, I can tell. ...Please don't be an idiot, Naruto." And with that, he left.
Naruto stood there drinking that milkshake for a good ten minutes, until the sound of it being slurped dry snapped him back to reality.
He sighed heavily, taking his jacket off. After getting into his pajamas, trying not to look at Luna the whole time as she continued to sleep, he ran a hand through his spiky mess of hair before crawling in himself.
He gently rolled her over to her side of the bed, and she swatted his hand away with a groan. "No...No pickles on my taco, please," she muttered.
"...What?"
She yawned in response, blinking her eyes open. "Hm?"
"You said 'No pickles on my taco, please,'" he informed her. She giggled while he continued to think about what Sasuke said. "I did? Huh. Weird. ..." she was quiet for a minute, and he could feel her eyes on him as he continued to look up at the ceiling. He would've told her to go back to sleep, but he was too deep in thought to care at the moment.
Everything Sasuke said made perfect sense; knowing the Agency, he wouldn't put it past them to plan for her to give him this whole sob-story about how terrible the Agency is. And then she'd kill him when he least expected it.
"...Naruto?"
Though he hated to admit it, when she poked the side of his face, a single thought went through his head. Like now. She's gonna kill me right about now.
Then he felt really guilty for it when she sat up and looked at him, worry written all over her face. "...Did the Santa man forget to come by and deliver our presents because you weren't asleep the first time?" she asked carefully.
He looked at her for a second, and then he just started laughing. No idea why, it hadn't even been that funny. The look on Luna's face suggested she didn't see the funny side, either. But she smiled either way, shaking her head and laying back down.
After he stopped laughing, he stared at her for the longest time, trying to figure her out. She stared right back at him, eyes drooping further and further. Soon enough, she was asleep, and Naruto still hadn't gotten any further in making sense of this whole thing.
He didn't want to believe Sasuke, but at the same time...it fit so perfectly. And could it really be just a coincidence that she happened to be immune to the one thing that would absolutely ensure he'd live if she suddenly decided to point her gun at him?
He sighed and gently brushed the hair out of her face, wondering how one stupid girl could cause him so much trouble.
THATMORNING...
Luna woke up first. As usual. But this time, whether she was proud of it or not, she was so excited. She sat straight up, shaking Naruto.
"Naruto! Hey, wake up!"
"Unhhhh, whaaaat?" he asked with a groan, covering his head with his pillow.
"Wake up, moron, it's Christmas!" she said happily. He suddenly shot straight up, making her make a squawk-like noise as she fell off the bed in surprise. "HELL YEAH! CHRISTMAS! ...Get up, Loon, jeez," he said excitedly as he ran out of the room.
Temple throbbing, she stood and stomped after him. The big tree had presents underneath it, and Naruto had already went immediately to the first one visible with his name on it.
Luna looked at them dazedly before finding one with her name on it and going to town, ripping the paper off. "YES! RAMEN!" Naruto exclaimed, cradling his giant package happily. "I ask him for ramen every year, and without fail, I get some," he explained proudly.
She nodded, then grinned at her present. "YEAH! MORE POP-TARTS, OF EVERY FLAVOR I LIKE!"
"MORE MONEY TO BLOW ON RAMEN!" he shouted next, having opened his next present.
"NEW BULLETS!" Luna squealed happily, bouncing excitedly. "I can't wait to load these. These are new issue, too; I've never seen these before!"
Naruto gulped. "...Please don't use those on me."
Luna waved him off. "Naaah, I'd use my old bullets on you. Wouldn't wanna waste these just yet!" she said happily, making him droop.
"...That's not what you were supposed to say..."
Naruto opened his final present, and Luna paused in unwrapping hers to watch. Inside the box was... "What the hell is this?" Naruto wondered.
Luna stood and bent down to peer at it over his shoulder. Her hair was tickling his face, and he swatted it away, but she didn't really care. She tilted her head this way and that, then finally sighed. "...Huh. I dunno. Try pushing that button," she commented, pointing to the only visible button on the little contraption.
It was shaped sort of like a tazer, yet at the same time looked more like a pocket knife, with a little reflector on the end like a flashlight.
Naruto pressed it, and a beam promptly shot out, burning a hole through the couch. "HOLY CRAP!" they both shouted, and he spastically tried to turn it off.
"TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF!"
"I'M TRYING, I'M TRYIIING!" he shouted back, finally pressing the button and making it stop. They stared down at the object, breathing heavily from the excitement.
"...There's a note," Naruto announced, putting his hand back inside the box. He pulled out a sheet of Christmasy paper with fancy calligraphic writing. "Well, read it," Luna said, making him jump.
"Oh. Right. It saaays... 'Naruto, you might need this. I have a feeling you'll know how to use it when the time comes. I hope you succeed. Merry Christmas to you both! -Santa. ...PS: Don't use this inside your house. I'm almost a hundred percent sure it'll cost you some money in repairs if you do.'"
They both looked at the gaping hole in the couch with large sweatdrops. "...Probably shoulda read that note first."
"You think?"
He suddenly brightened, jumping to his feet and dragging her out of the room, to a storage closet in which she had grabbed those blankets that first night.
"Okay, you're not gonna believe what I got you," he said smugly. "Close your eyes." Luna eyed him warily, but did as he said and closed her eyes tightly. "Aaaand...open!"
She opened her eyes and... "...What is it?" she wondered, looking up at the huge mound that was covered with tons and tons of shiny wrapping paper.
"Open it, idiot."
She stuck her tongue out at him before ripping off all the paper at once. She gaped at the huge pile in disbelief. "So...THIS is why you kept going to that store!" It was a practically-life-time-supply of Flavor-Blasted Goldfish.
"Yeah, I know. I'm awesome, aren't I?" he said smugly, obviously enjoying her total shock. Luna sniffled a little before wiping at her eyes. She never thought she'd be tearing up at the sight of Goldfish of all things, but...it was almost like...a part of her childhood that used to be good. One she'd love to get back, and Flavor-Blasted Goldfish was the only possible way. And she knew Naruto knew that.
She took one of the boxes out of the stack and opened it, taking out a handful of Goldfish. "Want some?" she asked Naruto, who was leaning against the wall.
"Sure."
She gave him some, but not before kissing him on the cheek. "...Thank you. This Christmas thing, and your present? It...It means more to me than you'll ever know. Alright?" she said sincerely, smiling and kissing his cheek again before handing him the handful of Goldfish.
"A-A-Alright," he managed to get out, turning a little red before downing the Goldfish.
Yeah, leaving you's gonna suck, Luna thought to herself as they continued to try and figure out the laser-like object he'd gotten.
...Guess I'll just have to enjoy this while I can.
MEANWHILE...
"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHU-"
RIIIING.
"Awwww," the teens all whined, leaving Tara to answer her phone. She groaned herself, having been fully enjoying the huge supply of blood they'd gotten her for Christmas.
This was the first time they'd all been out and able to celebrate Christmas in at least ten years, and it was great to be doing it. ...Even if half her charges were in other worlds. She wondered what Luna and the others were doing, but then she had to answer her phone before it hung up on the other person.
Missing a call from one of her superiors would bode ill for them all.
"Hello?" Tara said pleasantly, wiping at her mouth and licking the blood off her fingers. Mmm, B blood. My personal favorite.
"Agent Surandon. I believe a very important Subject is still out in the field."
Oh no. She had forgotten about the deadline. Tara gulped, trying to keep her voice calm and neutral. "...Oh. My apologies, sir. Getting in touch with the Subject is hard when she's in another world."
"Agent Surandon, your sarcasm is not needed at the moment. I have already told you, we cannot keep the other Allied Powers waiting much longer. They are beginning to doubt we have any potential Subjects at all."
"Sir, I'm afraid there's not much I can do. Connection has been down for quite a while. Her reports have stopped, but Agents Kensington, Kurosaki, and Kuchiki have assured me all is well. It could be that connection only works when one is in Konoha or another of their Nations as well."
"Then I suggest you get your ass down there and make contact with that Subject, Agent!" he bellowed, obviously starting to lose his cool.
Tara waited patiently for him to continue, knowing he had more to say.
"...You have until the beginning of the new year, Agent Surandon. On December 31st, we will be taking matters into our own hands. Establish contact with the Subject. If not, her motives and allegiance to the Agency will be severely questioned, and I cannot promise her defiant ways will continue to go unpunished. This will be the final straw. Understood?"
She swallowed hard, her hands shaking. "...Understood, sir," she said in a clipped voice.
"...Very good. This conversation is over."
"Acknowledged," she said stiffly before hanging up, slamming the phone down. Will poked his head into the room. "...Tara? Everything alright?"
She smiled at him, but inside she felt absolutely miserable as she heard his thoughts. Almost all of them were expressing worry and slight hope that it had been his little sister on the other line.
"...Everything's fine. ...I could use some more blood," she said with a mischievous grin. Ayumi did the honors of popping the top off of the next packet, and Renji got his wallet out.
"Let the bets begin!"