Chapter 18 – "All good things..."

Heyyyyy everyone!

So sorry this chapter took so long to get published. I've been so stuck...then the laptop stopped working, and my phone I started using to type it up got stolen. So from scratch here we go!

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

"Kyuubi"

NOTE: This story has moved on from taking place in October to December

Recap: Naruto is 19, Hinata is 18. Naruto has the ability to summon his dead parents into the mindscape where the Kyuubi dwells due to their blood connection. He can also allow those whom are alive to mentally be summoned to this mindscape as well. He proposed to her on their third anniversary. This caused Hiashi to finally put his foot down about their relationship. Hinata refused and it led to her being kicked out the main house and an official match between clan members took place. The match was to determine if Hinata would be branded with the curse seal or remain heir and her relationship with Naruto wouldn't be questioned.

A heated fight ensued which Hinata won much to the disbelief of her father. Sakura refuses to accept that Naruto doesn't want her and would chose Hinata instead. The story shows several scenarios in which she shows her distasteful disregard for their relationship in pursuit of what she wants. In the most recent act of selfish lustful desire (chapter 17) she was tailing Naruto and realised he was going to see Hinata. In a fit of rage Sakura sought out Hiashi and hinted at their cooperation to get something they both want.

For all the other funny, romantic and sexy moments you can give it another read :*

Chapter 18

The cold air danced along the edge of her skirt as she elegantly stepped through the couple inches of snow on the stone path. Ino pulled her coat tighter, not wanting any of the winter wind to make its way inside and rob her of the warmth she held dear.

'Honestly, why can't the Flower Shop be closer to home? I'm freezing my toes off out here.'

Ino grumbled as she continued on her journey to the family owned and operated business. In about 10 minutes she was there, she sighed with relief as she wiped her boots on the welcome mat.

"Dad I'm here to take over for my shift!"

"That's nice sweetie...your friend came in today." Her dad said from the back of the store.

"Which friend are you talking about?"

"Spikey brown hair, cheek tattoos...you know the one." Inouchi finally came out with a box and a tiny smirk.

"You mean Kiba?" a bit confused at why he'd come to the flower shop.

He nodded his head sagely, taking his time as he moved around the room, his daughters eyes glued to him. "He didn't buy anything though; guess he was looking for someone in particular..."

Ino's eyes turned into slits, "And just where are you going with this father?" He laughed, put down his box and set some daises, hydrangeas and violets on display.

"Why are you getting so testy dear, I just said a friend...you never get like this when I talk about Hinata or Tenten. Orrrr is there something special about this friend."

"Dad you have 10 seconds to leave before I do something irrational." Inouchi chuckled.

"I'm SURE that's why you want me to leave so fast all of a sudden, have fun with your friend!" With that he disappeared leaving a swirl of leaves to fall to the floor.

'What the heck is he talking about, what fr-'

Just as she was about to finish that thought, the bell above the door rang announcing a costumer. "Hello good afternoon, how may I hel- Kiba?! What are you doing here!?" She nearly screeched the last part.

"It's a flower shop, think that alone would let you know why I'm here, and are you trying to deafen me or something?"

She blushed in embarrassment, "Gomen, it's just that dad said you were here earlier so seeing you here is kind of odd, anyway tell me what you would like?" He pulled a paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ino. "Yeahhh...uh here, this is everything."

She read the piece if paper multiple times, and each time she felt a little more crest fallen

A bundle each of:-

Agapanthis (

Aster dumosus

Red camellias

Pink camellias

White carnations

Daises

Lilies

"Well don't you have a fine selection; I'll be back with them all shortly. With those words she dashed to the backroom as she almost thought she felt a tear drop.

'There is no reason to become emotional over such a thing. Just because I like him doesn't automatically mean he will like me as well.'

But she wouldn't lie to herself, it did hurt. To put together a bunch of flowers for the girl the person you like is interested in...How fucked up could life get?

Taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes just to make sure she looked fine, she came out with a smile. "Here you are Kiba, I'm sure they'll make someone very happy."

Kiba scratched his neck and gave a dry chuckle," I guess so, later Ino."

'What a retched way to start my shift' Ino thought as she sat behind the desk and placed her head on the table.

"I won 15 times in a row, let's call it a day Naruto."

Shikamaru stretched his body as he rose from the floor. They were in Naruto's little apartment. Though it was small it had seen great improvement over the years. Before it used to be filthy; ramen cups everywhere, clean and dirty clothes were once scattered across the room and the smell was unpleasant.

Now it was as clean as a whistle, great example of what a good girlfriend could do.

"Oh come on Shika, one more game." But Shikamaru wasn't even having any of it, he headed for the door.

"If you happened to forget, we were supposed to go to lunch…and I had something to do afterwards which you invited yourself as help."

"DAMMIT I forgot, gomen Shika, let's go!" Naruto sprung up off the floor and grabbed his coat.

They strolled silently to Ichiraku's restaurant, when they arrived they were greeted by Ayami and showed to table 5.

"Let's get something light so we can hurry and go hunt for the thing! Ayame-chan, can I get a spring roll platter with peanut stuff and the other thing Hina-chan orders."

"Peanut sauce and a spicy vinegar sauce should do just fine. I'll have one of those platters as well."

She nodded and left them to their own devices, Naruto took this opportunity to be nosey.

"So how are things with you and the misses?"

"Troublesome, as usual."

"If she ever heard you...wonder how much your lifespan would get cut by."

Shikamaru groaned, "You talk too much Naruto, I don't know why you insisted to come along to be quite honest."

"What are you saying baka, you need my help. You're new to this stuff, it has to be perfect!"

'You're speaking as though you're a professor at the topic at hand...'

'Bite me fur ball' Naruto quipped.

'Just tell me somewhere Hinata didn't bite already and I'll accommodate you.' Naruto's face got red in an instant causing the fox to chuckle.

"Naruto are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Anyway our food is here." The blonde was so happy for the yummy distraction.

Shikamaru chuckled to himself, 'honestly, how does Hinata keep up with you...' he thought before digging in.

They sat and ate in peace, enjoying the atmosphere the restaurant had to offer. Sometime after, Ayame came over to take away their plates and left two fortune cookies. "Enjoy your day!" and with that she left.

"Let's see what my fortune for today is...On second thought, Shikamaru you go first." The male in question just shrugged and cracked it open, "'You will find what you seek most in life, work hard and you will succeed'...Even this fortune is troublesome."

"Mine says 'Beware of those who you believe are your friends, never be overly trusting in what they say'...well that's a pessimistic one" Naruto said as he crumbled the paper and eat the light wafer thin cookie.

"Let's head out to the shopping district." Shikamaru said as they left Ichiraku. The shopping district consisted of four streets; lined on each side with vendors, stalls and stores selling a variety of items. You wanted something, they were rumoured to have it.

Shikamaru and Naruto took their time combing through the district, finding some interesting items but none were quite right. Naruto found this huge teddy bear with a teal little shirt that he thought she'd like, but Shikamaru thought it wasn't quite right, he bought it anyway, agreeing she'd like it. Hours later they sat on a park bench with loads of shopping bags.

"I guess it was a good idea for you to *huff* tag along." "Shikamaru we *huff* bought so much shit and you still haven't found the perfect gift. I never took you to be so damn picky!" Naruto said as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's not my fault they don't have what I'm looking for." Shikamaru said in his defence.

"I highly doubt they'll have the perfect thing here, not at a decent price at least. Let's go to the hideaways, they have tons of great stuff!"

"The what?"

"The hideaways! Lots of little shops that no one bothers to pay attention to because they aren't located in the shopping district."

Shikamaru stored his purchases in a scroll and followed Naruto to the location known as 'the hideaways'.

They made two lefts and then a right, and to Shikamaru's surprise it looked so much different to the shopping districts. It had an old feeling and look to it, nothing was run down but you could tell everything had remained in its place for years.

"I've never heard of this place..." Shikamaru said as his eyes took in everything.

"I used to come here all the time as a kid, things weren't overpriced and these people sell to everyone, so it was convenient opposed to being scorned in the shopping district."

"Oh I see, I wonder why more people don't frequent around here. It seems like quite the experience." There were people casually walking with brown paper bags of goods, little kids with treats and a nice white noise. It was tranquil in comparison to the shopping district.

"Well mostly the lower class folk shop around these parts and ninja, but the civilians with money prefer the atmosphere of the shopping district."

Shikamaru nodded his head, many people where captivated by what they saw, the shopping district offered that in abundance.

"This way Shika!"

They went through a short alley and walked until they came upon 'The Trinket Shop'

The words were in cursive made of a gold coated metal on a rich mahogany plaque. Upon entry Shikamaru realised this store had a ton of character. No space was left without an item on display, an each item had its own unique and captivating feature.

"Oi jiji, I brought a friend with me to pick something out."

"Why hello there Naruto-kun, how have you been?" A short and pleasantly plump man, with snow-white hair in a Christmas sweater, slacks and apron appeared before them.

"I've been great, my pal here wants to buy his girlfriend something very special for their first anniversary, so naturally I brought him here!"

Naruto was quite boastful and proud of his choice, Kurama could only sigh at the antics of his container.

"Ahhhh I see...young man do you have something in mind?"

Shikamaru shook his head, he didn't know what he wanted exactly, but he had a feeling he'd know when he found it.

He looked around every nook and cranny of the store, hoping that he'd find what he was looking for. On the brink of giving up Shikamaru pinched his nose bridge and looked up ready to sigh. He ended up sucking in a deep breath instead when he saw what he thought was the perfect gift for Temari.

It was a beautiful ivory fan about 13 inches from handle to tip with lace trimming. Sewn into the fabric was a turquoise, emerald, gold and black dragon that spat flames...which created a phoenix. It was so well put together and executed that Shikamaru knew for sure she'd love it.

"How much is for the fan old man?"

"Oh ho...that's a bit pricey kid, sure you want that one?"

"Definitely"

"That will be 150USD (15210￥)"

"It was a pleasure doing business with you young man." The old man took it out of its glass case and placed it into a golden box and wrapped it in a shiny white ribbon.

Shikamaru reluctantly pulled the cash from his wallet. 'I knew getting her a present was troublesome.'

*Knock knock *

"Oi Hyuuga get out here, don't tell me you forgot about us coming over?!" Naruto's voice boomed from outside. Neji groaned loudly and pulled Tenten closer and closed his eyes hoping they'd go away.

"You know very well they won't leave right?"

"Ugh...when I agreed to boys' night out I thought we were actually going out... instead they started planning to come here!" He grumbled.

She giggled then kissed his cheek and got out of bed. "I'll let you guys have some alone time, have fun Neji-kun."

Moving toward the dresser she grabbed some clothes and stuffed them into a bag. "I'm heading over to Ino's place to see what the girls are doing. Je nai." With that she left through the window.

'Ninja should still use doors...' he mumbled to himself. With that he stretched and finally decided to go downstairs and answer the door before they broke it done.

"Please don't feel at home..."

He opened the door and stepped to the side to allow them in. Amusingly enough they did feel right at home, though Neji wanted to give off his old aloft persona it didn't work on them. They knew him too well and that he cared for his friends very much. This didn't make their visits less of a mess though.

'How troublesome...great I sound like Shika now.'

Shikamaru and Choji shuffled around getting plates, cups and ice while Kiba and Naruto arranged the furniture and laid out the food. Neji just sat back on his favourite couch, irritated and messaging his temples.

"Did we disturb your love nest?" Kiba snickered, looking at Neji who was clad in nothing but grey sweatpants and his luxurious locks had a serious case of bedhead.

Neji shot him a look, "As a matter of fact you did..."

He had to admit he didn't look quite presentable ...even if his company was a bunch of uncivil ninja. So he went to his room to freshen up and put some clothes on.

"Do you think we came at a bad time Shikamaru?"

"Of course not Choji, he's like this all the time...his Hyuuga blood doesn't grasp the concept of fun too well. It's our duty as his friends to show him the power of our youth!" Naruto then struck a very Lee-like pose.

"I HEARD THAT, YOU HOME INVADERS!" came Neji's voice booming from upstairs, causing the others to laugh. He strutted down in jeans and a black t-shirt with his hair tied back, ready to get back to his super comfy couch. However, he came to an abrupt stop when he saw the massive amount of food before him.

"What the hell is all this..." Whole pizzas, six packs of soda and beer, full size chips...ramen and lots of other party foods adorned the table.

"We're growing men Neji, we need this much food!" Naruto said cheekily, Kiba and Choji nodded their heads in agreement. Neji shot the trio a glare and grumbled on the way to his seat.

"There's only 5 of us...where's Lee and Shino?"

"Lee said he had something important to do and would be late." Naruto offered.

"Shino is at my place." Kiba said with a mouthful of chips. They all snapped their heads in his direction.

"Why's he there?"

"Akumaru and the other dogs have fleas so he's helping sis out"

"Ohhhhhhhhhh...so that's it." was the response by everyone, as though it finally clicked.

Kiba gave them an odd look, "What else could it be?"

"You mean he doesn't know?" Choji whispered, however Kiba's canine like hearing caught it. "What is it that I don't know? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"How troublesome..."

"What?"

"Yet you say I'm slow...baka! Hahaha" Naruto chuckled loudly and almost choked on his ramen.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Neji sighed and pinched his nose bridge, "You're aware they have a thing for each other right?"

Kiba tilted his head and a clueless expression was on his face, "What kind of thing?"

"THEY LIKE EACH OTHER YOU IDIOT!"

"Naniiiiii?! Are you kidding me right now...that bastard! I'm gonna snap his neck. How dear he...with MY onee-tan. I'm going home to confront him right now." Kiba gets up to leave, but Naruto lurches forward on instinct and tackled him to the floor.

"Get off me!"

"Kiba, you need to calm down..." Naruto said having a firm grip on his wrists.

"You're being troublesome. Sigh." Shikamaru dimmed the lights then formed the seals and activated shadow sewing technique, a shadow snaked its way around Kiba's body.

"You'll stay like this until you calm down or I get tired, either way you aren't leaving." The shadow user took a beer and returned to his seat.

Twenty minutes of aggressive struggling, angry breathing and the silent treatment. Kiba finally calmed down. "You can unbind me now Shika."

"Not just yet…." Shika said from his seat. Kiba wasn't a fool by any means. His animalistic prowess didn't just enhanced his abilities, but could also enhanced his emotions. He didn't even have the full story yet and was ready to tear his best friend to shreds.

"I'm fine now….I just wished they would have told me for fucks sakes." His sister may be older, but he still felt the need to protect her. Shino was his best friend and a good person, but his relationships never lasted. One party always wanted more or less than the other. He didn't want two of the closest people to him realising they weren't compatible.

"Guess they thought you would of figured it on your own." Choji offered.

"That's dumb of them." Naruto said, which caused everyone roll their eyes.

"Oh great, the most dense person to exist in Konoha's giving me shit about not noticing something."

Naruto rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He couldn't deny how dense he was for no noticing Hinata back then. But he was sure glad that he finally did."

"I bet you didn't know that h- mph mmph" Before he could get the words out Shikamaru had shadows binding his mouth, and Neij had chucked an empty beer can his way.

"I think you've caused enough trouble with your outburst for the night." Shikamaru nodded in agreement with Neji.

It still caught Kiba's attention however, "What was he going to say?"

"Most likely something stupid. They aren't dating, all we know is that they like each other. I think if something more was going on they'd let you know."

Neji was not about to let Kiba know that they were most likely having sex. He didn't want his house destroyed nor his cousin's idiotic lover killed.

A distraction from Kami descended upon them when Lee knocked on the door.

They all simultaneously let out sigh of relief excluding Kiba whom was starting to get annoyed because he was still secured.

"Sorry for being late. I had a body guard job. Then I say Sakura so I couldn't resist talking to her and telling her how I feel." Lee got a plate and piled it up with pizza and snacks before he sat down.

"Lee you should give up on her, she's nothing but trouble." Shikamaru quipped.

"And don't forgot she's a pain in the ass." Kiba joined in.

"Guys, I can't help whom I'm in love with." Lee whined as he devoured the pizza.

"As your friends, I think I speak for all of us when I say that she is no good for you. And it is unhealthy for you to keep this up. There are a lot of other girls in the village who'd fall for a sack of muscles in spandex." Neji wanted the best for Lee. It was true he couldn't help whom h loved. But he could help how he dealt with it. The Hyuuga was beginning to feel that Lee needed an intervention. And this was the perfect time for it.

"Plus she's still chasing Naruto around. She's not the kinda girl you need in your life." Choji put in.

"You guys are right, I know it too. But then I see her, and I just forget all her imperfections and I'm dazzled by her beauty and youth."

"Well I guess there's only one thing to do –

"Move this party to the club?!"

"Get laid!"

"I was going to say it's time for him to get over Sakura. Whether those suggestions happen before or after is up to Lee." Neji didn't intrude on his friends lives. But in this case Lee needed a little push, or in this case a hard kick in the ass. Sakura would be his undoing.

"I don't know if this is a good idea guys. I know you have my best interest at heart. But I don't know if I'm ready for such a big step. Or giving my innocence to a random club girl. That just isn't for me"

Kiba forget he was irritated and his eyes bugged out. "Nani? You mean you're still a virgin? No way." He let out a bark of laughter and water came from his eyes.

"It's not that big of a deal. Choji's one too isn't he?" Naruto pipe up.

"No I'm not." All attention turned from Lee to Choji.

"When" Naruto and Kiba asked in unison.

"When I'm out on basic missions or have the time." Kiba whistled, "Never took you for the one night stand type Choji." Then he chuckled.

"It's not a preferred life style. It's mutual and no strings attached, that's just how it happens." Choji said in between handfuls of chips.

"What about Ayame-chan?" Naruto inquired, and Shikamaru smirked.

"Ayame-chan? The woman at Ichiraku ramen restaurant? Niceeee!" Kiba was going to give Choji a high-five but realized he was still in the jutsu.

Shikamaru decided to release the jutsu since he was behaving and appeared to be having fun. It was also troublesome to keep the jutsu up so long. He didn't mind helping his friends, but he was still lazy at his core.

"Can we shift the conversation back to Lee please…."

"We'll get to him in a moment. Now about Ayame, isn't she older than us? Choji you sly fox!" Kiba was beginning to enjoy himself. It would be selfish to ruin the night by throwing a tantrum. He decided he'd just have to have a discussion with his sister and best friend as soon as possible.

"That doesn't matter because we aren't involved."

"But you want to be involved." Naruto cut in.

"Will you let go of the damn cupcake?!" Choji was starting to get embarrassed. Lee rose his bushy brows in confusion.

"Ayame-chan gave Choji a cupcake when we were leaving the restaurant the other day"

"There's nothing special about a damn cupcake!" he was getting red and Naruto and Kiba were getting a real hoot out of his uncomfortable disposition.

Kiba pretended to be shocked, "What would Ayame-chan say if she heard you?!"

"I was wondering the same thing Kiba. She took the time to wait for Shika and I to leave before she gave you that cupcake. Don't make light of people's gifts Choji." He shook his head to show his disapproval.

"You guys are such a pain in the ass." Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement.

"They're right you know, Choji. You shouldn't say those things when someone you're interested in gives you something nice. If Sakura-chan gave me something I'd be happy that people knew."

"W-wh-who said I liked her?!"

"Then why are you blushing? Plus you're lying, your pores reek!"

Choji sprung up from his seat and shouted, "Could you guys just stop?! She gave me a fuckin cupcake, so what? Does that suddenly mean we are interested in each other? So what if I MIGHT like her? Am I supposed to be over the moon because a girl who's four years my senior and works in a restaurant offers me a cupcake? What the fuck do you guys want me to say?" He had downed a few beers and one too many shots of saki. His face was red, and you could see he was flustered.

"Choji first of all shit down, secondly you are overreacting." Naruto was having a good time but it didn't seem that way for Choji evidently.

"Naruto's right, this is too much if you don't really like Ayame from the ramen restaurant." Kiba snickered, he couldn't resist.

"Choji it's okay to admit if you like her, If that's what you feel you should express it. I do it all the time with Sa-" he stopped mid-sentence when he was hit by the second beer can to be thrown for the night, courtesy of the same Neji Hyuuga.

"Not a peep from you about that girl."

"But –

"While listening to all these shenanigans I've polished of a few of these. There's 3 left, for 3 more outburst. And I know three loud people with their names on them….so be my guest."

Shikamaru had to actually grin. When Neji did get involved it was either scary or so matter-of-fact that it was funny. No one but Neji could be tossing empty beer cans with a straight face, the intention being to settle everyone, and it actually works.

"Neji Hyuuga, the slaughterer of amusement and fun strikes again." Kiba said dryly, to which Neji gave him the middle finger. This then caused the whole room to chuckle.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." Shikamaru commented from his seat in the corner.

"What's the fun in that though?" Lee reasoned.

"You all are troublesome….."

"You know what else was troublesome? Shopping with Nara over here."

"Could you not start this now Naruto…?"

"Why not? Neji stopped the fun. So the next best thing would be for you to let everyone know that the self-proclaimed laziest member of the Konoha 11 is a nit-picker when buying gifts for his girlfriend." Naruto was grinning from ear to ear.

They didn't get too many boys' nights with their schedules not syncing. He was going to get the maximum amount of fun possible out of this gathering.

"One of these days he's going to use his shadows to strangle you."

"And he's going to give up halfway through the process, so I think we're good."

Everyone raised their eyebrows waiting on an explanation. Shikamaru sighed loudly and rubbed his face. It didn't seem like he could divert their attention either.

"This should be good…" Shikamaru turned to glare at Neji who was smirking with no intention of hiding that he found this entertaining.

Shikamaru grabbed a beer and took a long swig. "Friends are just so…."

Thank you so much for those who kept favouriting me as an author on this site as well as my story while I ws gone for so long. I finally got the time to finish this chapter. I'm on vacation from university currently so I promise the next few chapters will be out soon. Looking forward to the feedback