The bar crawl was not a good place to make friends.

I showed up fifteen minutes late because of a critically wounded kunoichi that was brought into the hospital that I stayed to help save her life. By the time I got out of the hospital and was able to make it to the first bar, almost everyone was drunk.

Chiaki and Ko were standing on a table, their arms around each other's shoulders as they swayed back and forth, belting a drinking song off-key. The poor civilians whose table they'd clambered atop of picked up their plates and shuffled away, shooting irritated glances over their shoulders at the drunk nin.

Touji and Sogo were engaged in some bizarre four-way armwrestling match with two members of Team Kunai whose names I didn't know. Both were male and had brown hair. They looked similar, so I was guessing they were brothers or cousins at the very least.

The tall man I assumed to be Falcon – Mita had told me his name was Tojo – was in the process of climbing on top of a different table from Chiaki and Ko when I came in, pulling a woman with long red hair up after him. The two of them began their own drinking song. It was equally terrible.

Chiaki glared in their direction, and she and Ko started singing louder. The two pairs slowly increased their volume until they were all shouting out their respective songs.

I was still standing dumbfounded in the doorway, more than a little shocked at how everyone was acting. There was a war on, and we were all supposed to be the village's elite. Actually, maybe that was why they were all acting crazy. Did they decide to party hard like there's no tomorrow because there might not be a tomorrow?

I jolted as a hand closed around mine. I'd been so zoned out watching the sing-off that I hadn't noticed Misaki walk up to me. That was stupid. I needed to be more on guard.

"Ignore them." Misaki said tiredly as she led me to a table in the corner of the room. "I have been trying to corral them for the last ten minutes to no avail."

I looked at her in shock. "It took them five minutes to get this wasted?"

Misaki sighed. "Chiaki suggested everyone start the night off with a duel to see who could consume the most shots in the least amount of time. The result of that challenge is what you see around you."

As we walked past the bar, the bartender, a portly man wearing a stained white apron, caught my eye. "Can I get you anything?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine. And I am sorry for them."

He shrugged. "They're paying for everything and we cater to shinobi here. If anyone has a problem with it, they can leave. There's a war on. Let 'em cut loose."

I had nothing to say to that.

Misaki brought me back to the table and we both sat down. I greeted the table's third occupant as I sat.

"Mita. Good to see you again."

"Likewise, Shinto." she said with a polite nod. "Misaki and I were just talking about you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Good things, right?"

Misaki smirked at me. "I haven't given her any blackmail material if that is your concern. I reserve all of that for myself."

"Since when did you have blackmail material on me?"

Misaki raised an eyebrow at me. "Rose thorns."

My eyes narrowed. She was referring to the Jesus Christ role-playing thing that Shikaku told her about, wasn't she? "I thought we agreed not to talk about that?"

Misaki shrugged. "Yes, but I am known to be an up and coming seamstress now. The thought that others know I enjoy dressing up is not nearly as humiliating as I once thought."

"So you're going to blackmail me, then?"

Misaki frowned. "Never. If I want something from you, I will just ask. You wouldn't turn me down without good reason."

"Good. I'd have stopped giving you tea leaves if you tried to blackmail me."

Misaki's eyes widened. "Please do not even joke about that."

The sound of amused chuckling drew both of our attention. Mita was looking between us with a wide smile on her face. "The two of you seem very close."

"We are." I said. "We've been training together for years now. I don't think either of us would be where we are without the other."

"I heard you graduated from the Academy together. Was that true?" Mita said.

Misaki nodded. "It was. We both graduated early and were placed on the same genin team."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Can we back up a second? People have been gossiping about our Academy days?"

'ANBU gossip about everyone.' Mita sent through Telepath, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Aloud, she said, "There isn't much else to do when you're stuck with village protection duty. People have been focusing on you two for the last few months because of your unprecedented successes."

"That's not all us." I said. "Sure, we've worked hard to get where we are, but we have a team behind us, and our team has several other teams behind them."

Mita nodded. "You are correct, but don't let that detract from your individual accomplishments. I know of only one other shinobi near your age that has achieved what you have."

"You know of another ninja our age?" Misaki asked, intrigued.

"He is a few years older or younger than you at the very least. I don't know exactly how old you or he is, but yes. He is from my clan. There are many who believe he will grow into the strongest Uchiha ever."

I frowned, lost in my own thoughts. Was she talking about Itachi? I hadn't exactly been spot on with my guess about when in the timeline I was born, so was it possible we were the same age? No, didn't he slaughter his entire clan when he was 13? That didn't fit. He should have killed his clan when I was at the Chunin Exams if he was my age. Who was she talking about?

Before I could ask, Mita sighed and stood up. "Thank you for the conversation, but I think it would be best if we paused for now. We should probably catch up with our teammates and make sure they don't burn anything down on their way to the next bar, right?''

I whirled around. Chiaki, Ko, Tojo and the woman Tojo was singing with had apparently put aside their differences. They had formed one long, shoulder-linked line and were singing the same song as they tried to maneuver themselves out the door without letting go of each other. Sogo, Touji and the other two were nowhere to be seen. They had likely already left.

Mita, Misaki and I all got up and helped the four singers through the door before following our drunk teammates from bar to bar. Misaki and I weren't big drinkers, so we didn't get drunk, and Mita was still recovering from her injury and was ordered to keep her stress level low, so she wasn't willing to risk drinking.

At the end of the night, Mita, Misaki and I walked everyone home before splitting off ourselves. Mita went back to the Uchiha Clan Compound and I walked Misaki home before making my way back to the Nara Compound. The two Nara guards were roasting marshmallows over a fire as I passed. They offered me a s'more, and I took one to go with a word of thanks, wanting to get home so I could pass out.

I let myself into my house, took a quick shower and went to bed. I'd need to try to find some friends some other time.