Chapter Thirty. I thought it should be a big deal, since Kiba IS thirty in this story. And he turned thirty in chapter…fourteen? Yes. Fourteen. (This is also sorta in celebration for breaching the 200thou word barrier, too.)

So I decided to do something fun for you all. Have some fun with Neji and Sasuke, a little bit of Shikamaru and his “budding” love life, and Chouji and his…er…failing love life. Also, a little bit more of Hanabi and her father arguing over Hinata and Naruto’s wedding. They all take part on separate days during the weeks with the scavenger hunt–

So, a week after the Friday - Sunday of Chapter Twenty is continued here.

Because I took so long to update the last chapters and it’s not fresh in everyone’s brains, I was sure you’d all get confused with the order in everything that happened. So, I wrote you all this neat little chronologic list.

Friday: The barbeque scene in which Kiba cried. Shino admitted his feelings of questioning his existence. Kiba left and tried to sleep with Kidoumaru.

Saturday: The first day of the Scavenger Hunt. Kiba and Shino go and visit his mother’s grave. (I completely forgot to have them visit his father’s grave which was right next to hers, oops.) He finds out he has to face his deepest darkest fear of bees. Shino finds out Kiba’s feelings for him but keeps it a secret until he’s ready.

Sunday: Kiba faces his fear of bees and Shino gets sexually pursued by the forward Suzumebachi. Kiba finds out Shino’s feelings for him but keeps it a secret until Shino’s ready. He finds out he may have to go to the hospital to find the next clue.

Monday: Kimimaro and Shino have that talk about his crush in high school that got stolen away by Ukon–Hiruma Natsume. (Her name is important. Engrave it in your memory.) Kiba goes to the hospital, Ukon and Sakon bond after Sakon spills the beans and gets a good portion of his memories back. Kiba goes home to realize Hana is doing the laundry…where the next clue is supposed to be.

Is all hope lost? Is the clue destroyed for good? Will Kiba be able to hear his mother’s voice again?? Find out in the next chapter. For now, just sit back and enjoy a break from all of the angst surrounding Kiba.

Is it sad that I’m falling more in love with Sasuke and Neji’s blooming relationship in terms of realism rather than Shino and Kiba’s?

Must Love Dogs
Scene 30

…

…

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Friday; 12:20 P.M.
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“I’m so huuuuuungry,” wailed the rather large man in the corner of the Baked Alaska sandwich shop. He looked back down at his empty basket and glanced back wistfully at the expansive selection of desserts.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and patted him on the back. “Look, Chou, you have to have moderation… You can’t just decide to eat sweets just because you miss–” He cut himself off when Chouji looked back at him with tears threatening to fall welling up in his eyes.

“I…I can’t help it if I miss her, Shikamaru. She was my world!!” He whimpered fitfully and buried himself in his hands, turning his face to the table. “Hinata…I miss her sooo muuuuuch…”

A cough from the opposite side of the table caused him to look up at Sakura, a dribble of snot leaking from his nose. She stood up abruptly and slammed her fist into the table, nearly breaking it. “You big crybaby!! Look, I don’t know Hinata, but I’m sure she would get as pissed off at you as I am by the way you’re acting! Have you ever thought that this is the why she–”

Shikamaru shook his head and cut her off almost immediately, and Chouji narrowed his eyes. “Why she…what? Why she broke off the engagement? You think that’s why?” He stood up, looking her up and down. “You think that’s why she broke off the engagement, don’t you!? She broke off the engagement because her father didn’t approve of the marriage!!”

Sakura just laughed and pointed at him accusingly. “I know why! You mention it almost every time you start to remember her! If you really loved her you’d steal her away! That’s why she went through with the marriage with this Naruto fellow, because you’re too much of a crybaby and not man enough to take what you want!!”

“It’s not that simple,” he pleaded.

“It’s as simple as you make it, and you’re complicating things. If you want to make things complicated, just go off and wallow in self-pity, listen to your Robert Smith and mope around about never seeing her again. If you want to make things simple, go to her house and demand that her father reconsider. He doesn’t think you’re right for her, and you’re not really making him think otherwise, are you??”

Chouji’s eyes widened and he stared at her for the longest time. His eyes darted to Shikamaru and his cheeks tinged pink. “You didn’t tell her that I listen to the Cure, did you?” When Shikamaru shook his head, Chouji looked back down at the table. He frowned.

“I just…lost all confidence when her father told me I wasn’t the type of person that deserved to even associate with his daughter…” He glanced at Shikamaru and the two shared a knowing look. He wouldn’t admit it in public, but it was probably the most damaging thing anyone could say to him–that he wasn’t fit to even associate with the woman he loved. The fact that he was so far from his hometown just made him that more vulnerable. He’d told Shikamaru so many times that he wanted to go home and talk to his father about it, but his work here kept him from doing that. Instead, he’d spent countless hours racking up enormous phone bills to try and get some reassurance from his parents.

Sakura’s eyes softened and she sat back down. “Look, I understand what it means to lose confidence because of what people tell you.” Ever since Shikamaru had caught her in the act, she’d been just a little bit more real around them. After a moment, she took a bite of her sandwich and looked up at the ceiling, staring off into space like she was in another world. “How about we make a deal, Chouji…”

Chouji looked at her, wiping the tears from his eyes. “A…deal? What kind of deal?”

“You thought I made a wonderful Scarlet O’Hara when you saw me in that showing of ‘Gone with the Wind’, right?”

“Yes, it was so real. I can’t understand why you’re working an office job instead of that…”

“I’ll go back to the theatre if you marry Hinata.”

“Wh…What? I can’t. She’s getting married to Naruto Uzumaki. Against a guy like that, there’s no way her father will…eh… She’d be lowering her standards if she chose me over him!”

Sakura smiled at him and crossed her fingers underneath her chin. She gave him a warm smile and shook her head. “I don’t think she’d be lowering her standards at all, Chouji. You may not have what he has, but you’ve got so much more.”

He turned slightly pink and poked his fingers together in a very Hinata-like gesture. “Uh…you…you think so?”

Shikamaru noticed the gesture and clamped a hand on his best friend’s shoulder, grinning. “You may not have his looks or wealth, but you’re the perfect match for someone like Hinata, Chou. You two are perfect for each other. Naruto can’t compete with that, even if there are so many obstacles for you to overcome.”

“Well…I…I just…” He wiped at his again. “I can’t!! What if she tells me I’m too late!? I can’t just… I can’t just walk up to her house and make a fool of myself! If I go there and she tells me I’m too late, her father will laugh at me for my foolishness, she’ll probably get upset and cry about hurting my feelings, and her sister will probably sneer at me for not acting sooner!! No! I won’t do it!”

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “You’re thirty years old and you’re still afraid of rejection?”

“I know,” Chouji moaned. “I’m pathetic…”

Sakura took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, all the while mentally shouting at Shikamaru that he had no room to talk. “What if you were to show up at the wedding, uninvited?” She tossed an idea out there and looked at the bigger man to see if it landed.

His face paled for a brief moment before he went bright red. “I…I can’t do that. That’s just begging to look like a fool…”

“It’s awfully romantic, and if she still harbors feelings for you and you crash the wedding, it would be the most amazing love story to tell your children…”

“No,” Chouji forced through clenched teeth. “I won’t do it. It’s just…low. You may think it’s romantic…but it would seem too much like I were forcing her into something. I can’t ask that of her…”

Sakura sighed and shrugged her shoulders. When she turned to look at Shikamaru, she saw him staring directly at her, deep in thought. Snapping out of himself, he focused on her and the two shared a look for a fleeting moment. As if they could read each other’s minds, Sakura stood up abruptly. “Excuse me, boys, but I have to use the girl’s room.”

Shikamaru stood as well. “Chou, why don’t I order you a dessert?”

“Ah, alright,” the bigger man mumbled.

She made her way to the bathroom and Shikamaru approached the counter. Almost immediately afterward, she skipped out of the bathroom and sidled up next to him at the counter. Both of them spoke in quick whispers.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, aren’t you?” Sakura muttered.

He nodded his head and held out his hand to the woman behind the counter. “A slice of strawberry cheesecake, please.” He glanced at Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

“Yes, I am. And, just so we’re clear, he’s not the type to just stand there and watch someone kiss Hinata, even if he did lose his confidence.”

She nodded her head. “And, if what you told me the other day was true, then it’s safe to say she still harbored feelings for him and still has all this time. There’s no way she’d call him up to tell him she was glad she was marrying Naruto if she didn’t want him to say something in protest. If this is alright with you, then let’s make it happen, Mr. Nara.”

He received the slice of cheesecake and paid for it, winking at her.

“After you, Miss Haruno.”

The pair sat back down at their table, and Shikamaru handed the cheesecake off to his friend and Chouji began eating it heartily, his strength renewed with the introduction of sweets to his system. Sakura tilted her chin in her hand, her voice cooing.

“Chouji, Shikamaru…I was wondering if you two would like to come to my niece’s baptism. I know the idea seems rather strange and, since both of you don’t know my family, it would be rather unorthodox, but I can convince my sister to let you come if I tell her you two have helped me at home at the company. She’d consider you part of the family for being so kind to me and it would certainly help you cheer up, Chouji…”

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and gave her a weak look, as if asking if that was the story she really chose to give Chouji.

Sakura smiled, adding onto the deal. “I have a few cousins who might be interested in you two…”

Chouji shook his head. “I don’t know… No one can compare to Hinata…”

“You’re in luck! You see, my youngest cousin Sasaki is around twenty-seven and…uh…” She looked at Shikamaru as Chouji buried himself in his dessert, and the thinner man began pantomiming. “Uh…big…big-chested…p-pale-skinned…short-haired, and has glasses– No! Big eyes, yes, big eyes!”

Chouji immediately turned his eyes to her. “Short-cropped, dark hair like the darkest nori that goes to her chin? Pale skin like butter cream? Cheeks that flush baby pink like icing…” Sakura looked over at Shikamaru and he just gave her a look that told her he was used to hearing things like this. The big guy continued into a big rant that passed out of the realm of food and into describing his ex-fiancée’s body. Finally, when he was done, he looked at Sakura. “Is your youngest cousin like that?”

Sakura nodded her head and smiled at him, although inside she could see herself clenching her fists and screaming something about this guy liking food waaaaaay too much. “Of course she is, Chouji.”

Shikamaru laughed. “Yeah, Chou. I’ll bet this Sasaki has double-D’s and everything.”

Chouji gave a long sigh, rubbing at his head. “Well…I’m still not over Hinata yet… Losing her has just been so traumatic for me…”

“Wouldn’t you rather move past this chapter of your life and into another, Chouji? My cousin Sasaki is very sweet. I think you’d like her…”

After what felt like an eternity he finally nodded his head.

“…I want to move on. I’m tired of hurting over this.”

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Saturday; 1:06 P.M.
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Hiashi Hyuuga sat at his desk, browsing stocks and keeping tabs on his company’s activities all at once. The phone rang once, twice, and he glared, looking back toward the phone hanging on the wall behind him.

“Hanabi!” He shouted and she came, holding the phone against her ear.

She glared at him spitefully and he glared right back. After a brief moment she nodded her head. “Yes, Hinata Hyuuga lives here.” There was a brief pause before her face fell. “Again? Well, what’s going to happen to her now?” She paled. “…Fired? But, wait, she’s a hard-worker! Can’t you give her another chance or something?? …You’ve already given her three!? She’s only been working there for a week, hasn’t she!?” She glared, her fingers clenching against the phone so her knuckles turned white. “Well, perhaps we should bring this up to the manager!!” Her face flushed and she laughed nervously. “Oh…you’re the manager? Well…surely we can reach a–” Her eyebrows furrowed when the dial tone sounded in her ear.

Her father stared at her. “What happened?”

She hit the off button and looked down at the carpet. “Hinata was fired again. Apparently she was late for work this morning…again… This was the fourth time and the manager said at the beginning when he interviewed her that he needed her to be punctual every day…”

The girls’ father narrowed his eyes before he looked back at his computer, detaching himself. “…She’s been sleeping in again. She has been ever since that oaf came here asking if he could marry her.” Hiashi tapped something into the computer. “I did a background check on that man. Do you want to know what I found, Hanabi?”

“What did you find?” She could have cared less, but she decided to humor the old man.

“His parents own a diner out west. Can you believe that?”

Hanabi gave him a hopeful smile. “Well, he’s also the child of someone who owns a business. That’s–”

“It’s a diner, Hanabi. His parents are probably a bunch of hicks.”

Hanabi frowned, crossing her hands over her chest and rolling her eyes. She threw something out there, hoping her father could see her sister’s true colours and realize he was making a huge mistake. “Hinata has been sleeping in. Before she was crying in her room all day, but she doesn’t anymore.”

“That means she’s gotten better. This marriage with Naruto has lifted her spirits.”

“She’s still sleeping in and her job suffered because of it. Surely you see something wrong with that picture, old man.”

He ignored her insult and shook his head. “Her job suffered because she didn’t try hard enough. If she wants to take over my company, she’s going to have to show she’s responsible enough. The way things are looking, she’s proving she’s not up to the task.”

“Have you ever thought that she doesn’t want to take over the company? That she doesn’t want to marry Naruto? And also that she could give two shits what happens to her as long as she makes you happy!? She’s willing to throw away her own freedom to make you happy, Dad!”

Hiashi turned, finally, to look at Hanabi. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “What did you just call me? You just called me–”

“Daddy, Hinata doesn’t want to take over the company! Why can’t you listen to what she wants for once!?”

“And how would you know what she wants? Does she tell you?”

“I just know. I can see it when I look at her.”

“Then can you explain to me why she wouldn’t want to take over the company? Her taking over the company would be a very good move for her. She would never have to worry again. She’d have enough money to support herself and–”

“She’d worry about losing the company all the time and you know it! She doesn’t want the company because she doesn’t care about any of that! Her interests have always been different than yours! She doesn’t want to take over a company she’s not interested in. Daddy, do you even know what she likes!? What she likes to do with her free time?? She likes gardening. She likes dancing. She likes music and she likes the theatre! She likes cooking, Dad, cooking!! Not math, not proper business practices. Normal things, things that Chouji likes, not Naruto! She would go out to Broadway performances with him and out to dinner and out dancing! She wants to be normal.”

“And what do you want, Hanabi? You want my company, and it’s obvious you’re going to try and get Hinata out of my will in any way you can.” He narrowed his eyes. “The next time you call me ‘daddy’ or ‘dad’, use it without any ulterior motives.” He pointed for the door to his office. “Get the hell out of my office and stop meddling.”

She glared at him and turned around, storming out the door. “You’re a fool, old man. You are blinded by all of that money you’ve wracked up over the years. I do want the company, but I want my sister to be happy as well.”

“I’m sure you do, Hanabi.”

“I thought you did, too, but it’s obvious all you care about is your damn company!”

Hanabi stomped out of her room and out onto the balcony on the second story. She sighed, staring up at the blue, blue sky. A few moments later, a sound from her sister’s bedroom window caused her to look over. Hinata was there at the door that connected the balcony to her room, and she opened the door. After a brief moment of staring at her younger sister, she finally approached her.

“Thank you, Hanabi.” She’d probably heard everything.

Hanabi frowned. “I’m sorry Daddy’s too stupid to see how much you’re hurting.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” she said as she went to the banister and stared at the ground below thoughtfully.

“But he can’t do it himself, so I have to apologize for him.”

Hinata smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine with this, Hanabi. This…marriage…it’s okay. I’m fine with it.” Her sister turned to look at her and wiped at her eyes. Hinata continued, still staring. It looked as if she were drowning, as if a deep current had swept her out to sea and she wasn’t even trying to struggle back for the shore. “Even if I wind up marrying someone I won’t love, and even if I’ll take over the company one of these days… E-Even if I wind up having nothing I can call my own and nothing I can do to be free…it’s okay. As long as Daddy’s happy and you’re happy, I’m happy.” She placed her hand over her sister’s hand. “So don’t apologize for him, Hanabi. I’m fine with this.”

Hanabi shook her head and started to cry. “I’m not fine with it.”

“It’s not your decision to make. I chose to go through with this. You might think it’s because I don’t have to heart to tell Daddy how I feel, but it’s…” She fell silent, looking back down to the ground below. That was exactly the reason, now that she thought about it. “…It’s not your decision to make, Hanabi.”

“Well, it should be. It should be yours, too. Daddy’s obsessed with you learning to stand on your own two feet, but he doesn’t even realize that he’s made it impossible for you. If it were my decision, we’d both get to do what we wanted. Hell, even Neji would get to do whatever the fuck he wants to do with his life. I’d take over the company and he’d be my advisor and you’d get to marry Chouji.”

“…I can’t marry Chouji.”

“You can.”

“Neji works with him, Hanabi. He said Chouji’s involved with a girl at the office. Some girl named TenTen, so he’s already moved on. I know you want me to marry Chouji, but that’s just not possible anymore. So don’t worry about it.”

“Would you be angry if I called him and asked him who TenTen was? I just… Neji seems like the type of guy who’d be a total douche bag to appeal to Daddy. He wants to take over the company like I do…”

“…Called who? Neji?”

“No, Chouji.”

“If you want. Oh, but if you do call him, be sure to–”

Before Hinata even had a chance to tell Hanabi that Chouji lived with someone else, the girl had left the balcony to go do some research of her own.

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Saturday; 9:12 P.M.
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“Ahhh, that was actually a pretty good meal, wouldn’t you say, Chou?”

Chouji patted his stomach and nodded his head as Shikamaru tossed the keys to the apartment off to the table by the door. The thinner man stretched lazily and went immediately to the bachelor-worn couch in the center of the room. He turned on the television that was getting too old to watch and sprawled out.

“We should definitely take Sakura out for dinner again some time. She knows the best restaurants.”

Chouji made a grunt in agreement and went into the kitchen to get a beer. “Yeah, she does. I was surprised, though. And who was that man who kept glaring at you at dinner? I can’t remember what his name was.”

“Oh, he said his name was Kankurou, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. Didn’t it seem like Sakura was trying to make him jealous? She was hanging all over you all night.”

“It certainly seemed that way, didn’t it? After all, she was the one that invited him in the first place, too…”

“I was surprised she didn’t invite TenTen.”

Shikamaru grumbled and knocked the beer out of Chouji’s hand, sending it to the ground. The bigger man stared down at the beer he’d had yet to drink from, his jaw dropping. “Hey now, Shikamaru! It’s a good thing she didn’t invite TenTen! She was all over you, remember?? You were blushing all night because her boobs were up against your arm! Don’t get testy with me!”

Shikamaru stuck his tongue out at his old friend, folding his arms over his chest and turning his eyes back to the television. “Clean that mess up, man.”

“I’m not the one that made it.”

“Yes, you are. The can came from your hand.”

“After your foot kicked it out of there!”

“Circumstantial at best. The evidence is there on the ground.”

“The evidence is my own eyes, you moron! You kicked it out of my hand!”

“Then why don’t I remember it?” Shikamaru smirked, and Chouji went ballistic.

“What the hell is your problem!? You’re acting so childish right now!! I regret explaining Temari to Sakura now, Shikamaru! I may deserve Hinata, but you don’t deserve TenTen at all with that attitude of yours, you fucking smartass!!” He stormed out of the room and slammed the door to his bedroom with almost enough force to knock the door off its hinges.

Shikamaru sighed and grabbed for the remote at the other end of the couch. His hand couldn’t reach it unless he leaned over, so he decided to just sit there and stare at the television screen. Ah, white noise. He loved this channel. Yes, yes, yes. It was the greatest channel in the world, wasn’t it? He glanced back over at the remote and leaned a little bit, reaching for it. His fingers grazed the plastic but aside from that, nothing.

This channel was good enough. It wasn’t like he needed to dive for the remote or anything…

The phone rang.

He looked up and stared at it by his ear, but didn’t feel like expending the energy to reach behind himself over the back to grab the phone from the table behind the back of the couch.

The phone rang again.

Well, he couldn’t watch this amazing channel with that phone ringing every two seconds, could he? He turned his head in annoyance, finally reaching over a little and grabbing it off the receiver. Before the person even had a chance to grumble about him not answering after the first ring, he said, in the most debonair, masculine and alert voice he could muster, “You have reached the Akimichi and–”

“Finally you answer your damn phone!! Neji tells me you’re interested in TenTen!”

He blinked, his voice hitching. A woman was on the phone. Who the hell was she?? This didn’t sound like anyone he knew, and, for that matter, how the hell had Neji found out about his feelings for TenTen? Who was this!?

“Uh, excuse me, but I think–”

“You do, don’t you?”

“Uh…er…y-yes, but–”

“You asshole! I actually felt you were right for my sister, but you’ve had some other girl on the side, haven’t you!?”

His face paled. Temari didn’t have any sisters, and he didn’t think he came off as having a special relationship with the blonde, either… It couldn’t be Kankurou or even the youngest brother…Gaara? Yes, it couldn’t have been them, so who the fuck was calling him!?

“You can have this TenTen! I can’t believe I felt sorry for you!”

The woman on the other line hung up the phone and soon he was overpowered by the dial tone. He stared ahead of him for what felt like an hour before he finally pulled it away from his ear and looked at the phone in his hand.

“What was that all about?”

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Saturday; 11:21 P.M.
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He peeled off her shirt, throwing it off to the ground of his room. She sighed, pressing her lips against his. After a few moments of heated kissing, he began fiddling with the button on his jeans.

“I want you to tell me the truth. Do you love me?”

The woman underneath him stopped, staring up at him with a worried expression. Her eyes narrowed as her hands unclenched themselves from his brown hair. “…We just met, and I don’t even know your name. How the hell could I love you? Is this some sort of pillow talk?” He leaned down and kissed her neck, but she pushed him back. “This is making me uncomfortable. Get the hell off of me, you freak! No, I don’t love you!”

He smiled, whispering into her dark hair. “Good. I just want someone who’s real with me…”

She paused for a moment, her lips twitching just slightly. “Someone…who’s real with you? I’ve been real with you since the moment we met.”

“That’s why I want to fuck you.”

Her eyebrows knitted together, but his sincerity and forwardness seemed charming, in its own fucked-up way. This wasn’t the normal type of pillow talk she usually got when she met a stranger at a bar and went home with them. He wasn’t even trying to butter her up like most guys did. He seemed like the type of person who’d say “Hell yes” if she asked him if she looked fat in these jeans. “You’re a strange person,” she mumbled. “Do you mind if I ask what your name is?”

“Kankurou. And you?”

“I’m Kin,” she whispered with a smile as he pressed his lips against her neck.

On the other side of town, in a cramped little karaoke bar, a pink-haired ex-actress sat, staring ahead wistfully at the stage. She’d been staring at the stage like that for two hours, wanting desperately to go up there and sing but finding her feet planted on the floor. Now it wasn’t a matter of something blocking her from moving, no. Instead, something now stirred in her and she was completely captivated by the emotions coming from the stage.

A woman was up there, singing her heart out in a beautifully moving rendition of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Her voice was pitchy and she had a hard time holding the note at the right octave, jumping every once in a while, but none of it seemed to matter when the tears streaming down her face were so obvious, like tiny, sparkling pearls rolling down her cheeks.

A lump formed in Sakura’s throat as she watched the woman, and soon she found a few tears fresh on her cheeks. When the final note ended and the music faded, silence settled in the bar like a disease. A few people coughed as the woman stepped off the stage, but Sakura stood, clapping through her tears.

Nearly everyone turned and looked at her as if she were crazy. The moment soon passed as a few girls jumped onto the stage, giggling and laughing. The intro to “I Kissed A Girl” started and soon the girls on stage were belting out beautifully-pitched, empty lyrics. Everyone turned to look at them, and people started cheering them on. Sakura fell back into her seat and wiped at her eyes, staring at the stage and the girls up there laughing as they sang, wowing everyone with how great their voices were. She clawed a hand through her hair and looked away.

Her eyes locked with a man sipping a drink on the other side of the room. Eye contact held for one or two seconds before she looked away. Before she even noticed, he was taking a seat next to her. Without looking at her, he nodded his head up to the stage, watching the girls.

“It’s cruel, isn’t it? Songs like this get popular overnight while so many more meaningful songs are lost to the main-stream. Overlooked because the beat isn’t something you can dance to easily, overlooked because the band isn’t attractive enough to get a lot of teenagers fawning over them…”

She turned her eyes to the floor. “Overlooked because the singer doesn’t sound as beautiful as others,” she whispered.

He finally turned and looked at her. “I’ve been watching you for a while, but when you finally met my gaze, I couldn’t help but be captivated by your lonely eyes. I had to walk over; it was like a spell had been cast.”

She chuckled and looked down at the table, wiping at the tears drying on her cheeks. “Lonely eyes, huh? That is the most poetic line I’ve ever received…and a man I dated once came up to me quoting Romeo’s ‘a rose by any other name’ speech…”

The two trailed off into silence as the music changed into an equally empty song. He finally smiled. “Unfortunately it’s not a line. I’m genuinely interested. I couldn’t help but notice your tears when you stood up and clapped… Does that song hold an intimate meaning to you?”

“Intimate?” She forced a laugh. “What a strange way of asking if it’s close to my heart…but, no. I was just moved to tears by how heartfelt she sang that song even though her singing wasn’t amazing.”

“It doesn’t matter how you sound as long as you sing from the heart, does it? Robert Smith is a very emotional singer and he sounds terrible, doesn’t he? Yet, during the eighties his songs were popular.” He watched her nod her head sadly for a moment before he pointed toward the stage. “D…Do you want to sing? You’ve been staring at the stage all night.”

She forced another laugh, shaking her head. “No. I’m fine. I just like to watch people sing is all.”

As if seeing right through her, he set his drink back on the table and leaned over. “If you’d like, we can go back to my place and you can sing there. The audience I usually rent the spare room out to was finally kicked out, so you won’t have to worry about their reaction.”

Chuckling honestly, her hands curled her around her mouth. After a while she looked up at him, dropping her hands and smiling sincerely the first time all night. She leaned toward him, sighing with that funny little smirk on her face. “You’re funny, but I’m afraid if I came back to your place and sang for you, you’d be disappointed.”

He leaned back, motioning toward the door. “Would you like to walk with me? I want to smoke and this place is too crowded.”

She nodded her head and soon they were walking down the street, looking down at the sidewalk. Cars passed and people passed, conversations loud, noises loud, but it felt as if they were the only people on earth at that moment. He lit up a cigarette and took a drag, looking up at the night sky drowned out by lights.

“Singing isn’t so much as getting enough air behind your voice as it is learning how to push the sound out of your lungs in the right way. The mouth plays a big part in singing. Most people don’t take that into account, so even women with a very mature voice can sound pulled thin and small, like a child.”

She looked over at him, and he looked back at her, smiling. “I’m a voice coach. I get so many people coming to me with wonderful voices that just need a little help. You’d be surprised with how many people can actually sing quite well if they just learned how to breathe properly. That woman back there, the one at the bar, was just slightly tone-deaf. She was probably one of those types that was easily influenced by outside stimuli. With the proper coaching, she would’ve improved quite a lot. She didn’t know where to breathe, and she couldn’t sustain notes for a long period of time because of it.” He chuckled and looked back up at the sky, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Sakura stared at him in awe, mesmerized.

“Still, there are some people who just don’t have a powerful voice, no matter what they try to do to fix it. Voices are…complex, and there are many intricacies in sound production. In the end, you can only get as good as what you were born with. Most improve after going to a coach, even if they are tone deaf. They might hold notes longer or sing a bit stronger. In the end, it all depends on how far someone is willing to go for improvement and what they have to work with.”

“What’s your name?” She asked before even realizing she wanted to know what it was. To her surprise, he didn’t look angry. Instead, he looked over and smiled again, taking another drag from his cigarette. He blew a few smoke rings and winked at her.

“Not unless you tell me yours first.”

“I’m Sakura,” she spoke blindly again.

“I’m Zaku. It’s a pleasure.” He extended his hand.

She smiled and took it. His hand grabbed hers firmly and, in spite of the night air being chilly, it was incredibly warm. It almost seemed as if there was some connection to the stage again. In that moment when he squeezed her hand in his, it almost felt like those handshakes she received from the producers after a good performance or an audition that she nailed dead-on, without question. It was like she was in the theatre all over again, and the feeling wasn’t bothering her at all.

“The pleasure’s all mine,” she insisted.

–––––––––––––
Sunday; 2:00 P.M.
–––––––––––––––––

Neji stretched on the couch in time with the cat lying on his stomach. He’d been over at Sasuke’s apartment often as of late, and as a result, Whiskers had warmed up to him. He looked down at the cat and the cat looked up at him, and the two shared a catty-grin on either end.

“I love lazy Sunday afternoons, Sasuke.”

Sasuke looked up from his spot at the kitchen/living room table, where he was busy on his laptop, day-trading. He glanced back at Neji, narrowing his eyes. “That’s nice, now why are you over here? This is no time for being lazy. You said you had a great idea to market these contacts.”

“I don’t.”

Sasuke stood and spun around, ready to walk over and toss Neji out of his apartment. “Then why the hell are you here? I asked you to come over only when you have an idea. We’re business partners, not friends. As long as you keep giving me ideas we’ll get along just fine, but don’t make an attempt to take me clubbing like you did when you saved me from my brother.”

“I think you really wish you had a friend,” Neji pointed out.

Sasuke’s mouth opened wide and his eyes widened. He almost blushed out of embarrassment, but that moment soon past and he glared at the man sprawled out on his couch, assaulting his poor Whiskers. “No, I just need to beat Itachi at his own game. There are more things important than friends, Neji.”

“But look at Shino. He started looking much happier after Kiba came along.”

Sasuke sighed and slumped back into his chair. He went back to his work. Something told him there was something going on with those two. Kiba already seemed like a clingy person, but after Shino’s outburst close to two weeks ago, he couldn’t just feel like they were just friends. After all, he’d had a friend before and even that idiot hadn’t– Okay, so maybe that last-placed loser did get all up in arms about him, but it was in that blond’s nature to do so, wasn’t it? And that was ages ago, back in elementary school. His old friend was trying to run for mayor now! Of course he wouldn’t act like his normal, doofish self anymore! Adults didn’t act like that! Adults were mature, not childishly yelling all over the place and demanding to be listened to, screaming just because their friend had left.

“I’m perfectly happy the way I am,” he rebutted. “Why would you even think otherwise? I don’t need friends to be happy. As long as I have Whiskers, I’m perfectly fine.”

“It’s sad, don’t you think? Having a cat for a friend. You know what we should do? We should go to Ice.” Sasuke gave him a drained look, and Neji scratched Whiskers behind her ears. “It would be the perfect opportunity to mess with your brother, don’t you think?”

“Are you asking me to go to a gay bar with you?”

“To mess with your brother. Nothing more.”

“Hell no. I don’t want to be hit on.”

Neji sighed. “You won’t be, because everyone will assume you’re with me.”

“But I’m not.”

“Look, if you don’t want to, we can just stay here and watch Star Trek.”

Sasuke finally looked over, more curious. Star Trek was…enticing. “We could do that…but you told me the show was stupid when you watched it last time…”

The Hyuuga smiled and bopped the cat on her nose, sending her running back to the bedroom. He sat up straight, patting the spot on the couch beside him. “I don’t mind watching it, though. We could do that right now. Take a break from all of that stock-trading you’re doing. You’ve been doing that for three hours. I’m bored. I told you I was up for anything, didn’t I?”

The other man sighed and stretched a bit, cracking his shoulder bones, before he walked over and popped in one of the DVD’s into the DVD player. He slumped down in the couch beside Neji, waiting for the movie to start.

“By the way, back when I took you clubbing,” Neji started. When Sasuke groaned and looked back at him, Neji stared straight at the television screen, smirking to himself. His cheeks were tinged pink, as if the subject was embarrassing to talk about. “You weren’t that bad at dancing, Sasuke. You got pretty drunk and just let loose… It was actually fun being around you for once.”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, and he looked almost hurt. “So you mean to say I’m not fun being around right now? You’re only over here because you’re bored. If you weren’t bored, you wouldn’t even come over, would you?”

Neji shook his head. “Of course I wouldn’t. You’re just not that fun of a person.”

That comment almost hurt, but Sasuke refused to let that get to him…

“And neither are you,” he almost seethed.

…Or maybe not.

“I heard what you did to Chouji. That’s pretty cruel, if you ask me… Not just toward him but also towards your own family, too. Not even I would do something like that.” There was a short moment in which Neji looked over and gave him a look. He glared, feeling like a child all over again. “Itachi’s a different case, okay? I have a reason to hate him.”

“I have a reason to hate my cousin, too. She’s the one taking over the company. I can’t get close to the company at all since my uncle and father got into an argument when they were younger and stopped speaking to each other. It was over the company, too. I rightfully own that company, you know. My father was ten times better than my uncle, and it shows by how much better I am than my cousin.”

“You rightfully own that company, huh?” Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and clicked for the episode menu. He glared again, refusing to bring up his feelings on the matter. Instead, he shifted the conversation to something far easier on the mind. “I guess we’re both just…enemies of our own families, then.”

“You’re right. We’ve got a lot in common.”

A silence settled between them and Sasuke clicked one of the episodes. The menu made a “swiiiiiish” sound before Captain Kirk said something relatively intelligent, and the episode started. Sasuke stared straight at the television screen, but Neji had opted to looking around the room. Finally, after a while, Neji looked back at him, his face tingeing a darker shade of pink, breaching red.

“I don’t remember what happened that night. I woke up in my apartment, but I don’t remember anything before that. You have any idea what happened?”

Sasuke frowned. Shit. He’d opened a can of worms by changing the subject, hadn’t he? “Hell if I know. I woke up in my apartment, too. I suppose we just parted ways in the elevator.”

The two dwindled off into silence before Neji rubbed his head.

“My neighbor…c….congratulated me when I left my apartment the next day.”

Sasuke was absolutely quiet until he cleared his throat, putting his arms behind his head nonchalantly. “Nothing happened that night, even if something did.”

“R-Right. Nothing happened.”

“Nothing happened.”

Both of them looked at each other, and Sasuke looked back toward the television, avoiding the other man’s gaze. He could see through Neji too easily right now. Usually it was Neji doing all the seeing-through like an X-ray into his head, but right now he could see Neji’s train of thought.

“That’s why you came over in the first place, isn’t it? You have your answer; now get out of my apartment, Hyuuga.”

With that said, Neji got up and left. Sasuke looked at his hands. He sat there for the longest time, the sound of the door slamming repeating in his head, over and over again. It was so strange, but now he felt so hollow. Whiskers was making her presence known again, but it felt like he was the only living creature in the house now. His hands shook, and he squeezed one, bringing it to his head. Neji’s words replayed in his head, over and over again, as well.

“Tch. I completely forgot that guy still wanted to take over his uncle’s company.”

He sighed, squeezing his fist even tighter, clenching his teeth and spitting through a grimace– “H-He can do that if he wants. It’s not like I can stop him or anything. He’ll just get the documents changed so we’re no longer listed as partners, and that’s his right if he so chooses. I don’t care.” He stared at the television screen for the longest time before he turned it off, throwing the remote onto the ground in a brief explosion of violence. The back to the remote flew off and the batteries went rolling onto the carpet and under the table, hiding from view but still very much there.

“I. Don’t. Care,” he repeated, forcing himself to believe it.

––––––––––––
Sunday; 3:18 P.M.
–––––––––––––––

Chouji walked into the bedroom with slight difficulty, staring in disgust at the mess Shikamaru left behind. When one was lazy, they tended not to clean up after themselves. He made his way through the minefield, desperately hoping not to hear a crack from anything breakable hiding underneath dirty clothes. They really needed to go to the Laundromat one of these days, and soon.

“Shikamaru, phone call for you. It’s a woman.”

Shikamaru looked up from his bed, where he was reading Gormenghast. “Phone for me?” He smirked. “Wow, I must be so popular, eh, Chouji? Two phone calls over the weekend. Both by women. Is it TenTen?”

Chouji shook his head and Shikamaru stood up, his eyebrows knitting together. “How did this chick get her hands on my cell phone number? Did she ask for me by name?”

“Yes, she did. I think she’s from the office. Maybe TenTen tossed your number and this woman found it in the trash?”

“You do realize she can hear you. Give me the phone, you’re being rude.”

He grabbed the phone from Chouji and shooed him away. Putting it up to his ear, he nodded his head despite the fact that he knew she couldn’t see him. “Shikamaru Nara, here. You’ll have to excuse my friend if you overheard any of that. May I ask who is calling?”

“Oh…this…this is…” He could practically hear the woman on the other end blushing. “This is Sh-Shiho… I…well, this is so embarrassing! See, I work as a secretary over in the woman’s division…”

Shikamaru pulled the phone away and stared at it for the longest time, unable to believe his ears. He placed it back against his ear, snapping out of his thoughts. “I’m terribly sorry, again. Who was this?”

“Shiho, from the woman’s division. T-TenTen gave me your number…”

His face paled and he sat up straighter. “TenTen did? Well, what did she…uh… I hope you don’t mind me asking this, and if it sounds rude, I’m terribly sorry, but…why did she give you my number?”

“You see…she…well…she thought…we’d…” Shiho trailed off into silence and Shikamaru felt the colour finally returning to his cheeks. So…TenTen was trying to hook him up with someone else, was she? Well, then that… There was no way around it, then. She hated his very being. There was no point in him even trying to pursue her anymore, was there?

“She thought we should go out some time?” he breathed.

“Oh, that would be wonderful!! You see, I…I’ve actually liked you for quite some time, but I thought you and your friend Chouji were gay until I heard from some strange man with sunglasses that your friend Chouji had a fiancée. I never approached you, and she noticed how much I liked you and offered to give me your number… I’m sorry if this seems forward…”

He had to chuckle at that. Shino’s surprisingly big mouth had struck again. “Forward? Of course not.” ‘Unless forward counts as getting my number from a random stranger who has it and calling me up when I’ve never met you before then yes, it’s very forward,’ he thought to himself. “So,” he continued, “Would you be interested in coming to lunch with me on Monday?”

“Oh, I’d love to!!”

“Great. After work we could probably go out and have a drink if you’d like.”

“That sounds wonderful!”

––––––––––––––
Monday; 9:08 A.M.
–––––––––––––––––

Sakura strode through the office with a handful of memos in her arms, a bounce in her step for the first time in a long time. She went around, passing the memos out, until she finally reached her cubicle. She ducked in and slid into her chair, eager to get her work finished so she could goof off for the rest of the day.

As she typed up a few quick reminders and reached for her phone, she couldn’t help but hum to herself happily. Across the aisle, from Shikamaru’s desk, Chouji approached his friend, quite surprised and embarrassed all at once.

“Sh-Shikamaru…weren’t we supposed to go get lunch today? I thought…we’d be talking with Sakura about that baptism so we could…um…hook up with her cousins, right?”

“Can’t, Chouji. I’m eating lunch with Shiho, from the female division. I told you we were going out to dinner tonight, didn’t I? Well, I’m also going to lunch with her. I can’t, I’m really sorry.”

Sakura’s ears perked, and she looked over toward his cubicle, leaning over her computer as gingerly as possible. “Shikamaru,” she started, her voice an all-too-innocent sing-song. “Why are you going out with Shiho from the female division? Isn’t there someone else you’d much rather eat lunch with?”

Shikamaru just gave her a weak look, glancing at Chouji, who was also giving him the same, “how could you?” look. It was exhausting being friends with these people, seriously! He sighed and crossed his hands over his chest, his cheeks tingeing pink. “Look, I’m tired of getting rejected by her every chance I get. Don’t even give me that tone, Sakura.”

“Yes, but for you to make plans and cancel is just rude! We were going to talk about the baptism seriously, damn it!”

Chouji looked over at her, slightly bashful. “So, I guess it’s just you and me then, eh, Sakura? Is TenTen going to be there?”

“Oh,” her face paled and she rubbed the back of her head. “I…can’t. I actually…have already made a previous engagement…”

“Ohhh,” Shikamaru snorted. “Making plans and canceling them is just rude, Miss Haruno. Remember?”

“Shove it up your ass, Nara.” She fumed, going back to her work, and Chouji frowned.

The two men began speaking, and as much as Sakura didn’t want to admit it, she had a bit of a gossiping problem, and she couldn’t help but tune her ears into their conversation as she worked.

“Shiho? The one who called yesterday? I thought you were obsessed with–”

“Look, TenTen gave Shiho my number. Now, doesn’t that give you a hint that she probably doesn’t want anything to do with me? Besides, she’s vegan and is a devout one, at that. I can’t put up with that for hours on end, Chouji. Look, Shiho is cute, okay. Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I’ve gotten over her. I’m just…looking for people to occupy my time at the moment, alright?”

“You’re the worst, Shikamaru!”

“You’re doing the same thing!”

“I’m not ‘looking for people to occupy my time’ alright!? There’s no chance with me and Hinata, so I’m trying my hardest to move on! If I need to pick up chicks at a baptism, then so be it!”

“Yeah, and–”

Sakura finally stood, her face bright red with anger. “Shikamaru, what do you mean she gave Shiho your number?”

Shikamaru quirked a brow at her, smirking to himself. “Eavesdropping is also rude, Miss Haruno.”

“Look, all I’m asking is if TenTen really gave your number to Shiho or not.”

“She did.”

“Right,” Sakura stormed out of the office, eager to get to the bottom of this. It was very obvious that TenTen and Shikamaru made a good couple, and even if TenTen wasn’t interested, the fact that Shikamaru had been ‘pining’ over her for a year now just made her feel as if he needed to be given a chance, whether TenTen were interested or not.

A few minutes later she found herself in TenTen’s office, pacing back and forth as TenTen watched her, all the while asking her why she needed to speak with her. Finally, she stopped and pointed at TenTen, biting her lip just slightly before she said, a bit too loudly, “What do you have against Shikamaru, Ten?”

TenTen went pink and put a hand to her cheek. “Uh…I…I don’t have anything against him, although I do believe he shirks responsibilities too much and relies on Chouji too much… It feels like everyone is moving forward and he’s standing still, doesn’t it? You get that when you talk to him, don’t you?”

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I suppose…but he’s concerned with getting Chouji and Hinata back together right now, so he’s not really concerned with himself… I just need to know…” She pouted. “Why did you give Shiho Shikamaru’s cell phone number? He gave that to you, you can’t just give it away to strangers…”

TenTen’s face darkened, and she fell back into her chair, staring off into space with a worried look. “Who told y– Ah, damn it. Shikamaru…” She frowned, twiddling her thumbs together. “Yes, I know… I know it was rude, but if you’d been around as long as I have, listening to Shiho go and on about Shikamaru, wouldn’t you want to let her have her chance with him?”

“No.”

The brunette gasped, looking back at Sakura and staring her straight in the eyes. “Wh-What!? How can you say that!? She deserved a chance! I couldn’t just… I felt so bad!”

Sakura laughed. “If everyone got their chance, Shikamaru wouldn’t be single right now for Shiho to have one. You can’t immediately say that Shiho has a chance when Shikamaru doesn’t.”

TenTen frowned, twisting a small hair that had fallen loose from her buns around a shaking index finger. “W-W-Well, that’s different… Shikama–Shikamaru is interested in m-me… I just thought…”

“Bull shit, TenTen! I’ve known you for how long? You did the same thing to Rock Lee when he first started flirting with you!”

“That’s because I thought he still wanted you and would just use me!”

Sakura took a step back and frowned, staring at the woman’s mask slowly crumble. She’d known her for a long time, and she still couldn’t believe this was happening. Shikamaru would become Rock Lee and then they’d get into a bitch fight that resulted in one of the girls involved leaving–most likely TenTen, judging by her personality. She sighed, blowing a strand of pink hair from her eyes.

“Shikamaru is not interested in me, Ten. I know you’re not going to trust me on this, but he’s not interested in me. Why else would he throw my number on the ground and give his number to both of us?”

“Yes, but he gave his number to both of–”

She laughed. “And he threw my number away! That obviously means he wants your number and was very angry about it, but was too polite and too stupid to be direct about it.” She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “Listen, if Shikamaru were interested in me, he’d tell me.”

“Well, he didn’t tell me…”

“Yes, and he’s going out with Shiho today.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Because Shiho isn’t you and he has no problem asking her out somewhere. That’s why. If you were around Shikamaru as often as I were, it’d be very obvious the only one he acts nervous around is you. And what does that mean, Ten? That means he’s only interested in you, right?”

“Don’t talk down to me, Sakura.” The brunette sighed, looking down at her desk. “It’s not that simple. I’ve got this job and I’ve got to feel independent and I still live with my parents and I just don’t have time to worry about a man right now. I need to get myself together. I’m a mess. I can’t even answer these letters I’ve been getting because my hands keep shaking every time I sense even the hint of a problem. My days of helping other people are over, Sakura. I need to just help me right now.”

Her best friend sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “I understand, Ten. Just…please don’t take too long. If you wait too long, it’ll be too late.”

“It won’t be too late if he likes me as much as you say he does. He’ll just go from one girl to the other before I approach him.” She looked back at her work, sighing and picking up another letter. She started to read it, and her fingers trembled. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips, and though Sakura couldn’t see through the paper, she knew TenTen was on the verge of tears.

“This woman wrote to me telling me she feels pressured to be strong for everyone at her office and inside feels helpless. It’s…It’s tragic, right? She feels like she needs someone to keep her afloat, but she’s too afraid to accept that because it makes her feel weak, even if she needs it…” She buried her face into the paper and started to shake.

“Ten…” Sakura sighed, going over and placing a hand on her shoulder. “You need a day off. You need a vacation, Ten. Please, please, please tell me you’ll take a vacation.”

When TenTen nodded her head, Sakura pried the paper from her hands. She sighed even deeper, pulling one of the chairs up to the desk. “Let me help you find a few easy-goings ones to answer. Nothing will be moving, but we can still get this done. I can help you out until you feel well enough to do on your own, okay?”

“Y…Y–…O-Okay…” She took a deep breath and smudged her eyes, hoping she didn’t smear her mascara. “Thank you, Sakura, but what about lunch? Are you okay with not eating? I’m really behind…”

“No, I’ve got plenty of time and I’ve got nowhere I need to be. Trust me.” Sakura smiled sadly, staring at the paper TenTen had been reading. It was blank. She chuckled, tossing it in the trash. “Ten, you shouldn’t be afraid of asking for help.”

“And neither should you, Sakura.” The pair shared a warm smile and Sakura picked up a letter and got to work.

“I’ve already started asking for help again. It’s just time for you.”

TenTen didn’t feel like asking Sakura what she meant, and something told her she wouldn’t get a clear answer even if she did ask.