Dysfunctional - 9

After listening to the absurd story, Sasuke was nonplused, "And you weren't affected by your...loss?"

"My nephew had it coming."

Naruto nodded sagely, eyes closed, "Yeah, he sure is a weird kid. I can see why he got involved."

"Didn't his parents have a say in the matter?" Haku wondered how such a ridiculous bet could physically affect two families.

"His mother didn't object," Kakashi flipped a page in his book disinterestedly, "Marriages between ninja families are honorable and usually beneficial."

Gai looked offended, "Who could refuse my charming niece?"

An awkward silence followed.

Deciding shortly afterwards to escape Gai and his many youthful stories about himself and his 'eternal rival,' Teams 2 and 7 decided to join Team 8 who resided nearby a stand selling sweets.

Before Naruto could even open his mouth to greet Hinata and her teammates, there was a break in the crowd nearby and Tama herself, dressed in a flashy yellow and green yukata, came racing out while ducking her lovesick fans.

She scurried over to Hinata, clearly looking flustered, but smiled at her, "Hi Hinata-chan!" She noticed the Aburame boy next to her, "Oh and you too Shino-kun, have you happened to see-?"

Sato had his back turned, as he tried to pay for all the pocky he had bought in bulk, "Look lady, I'm short on money, but I have this nice purple bear you can have in exchange for-"

"Sato-kun!"

He turned around, and the saleswoman retrieved all of the cookies he had attempted to barter from her, "Oh...Tama."

Kiba looked heartbroken as she grabbed the silver haired boy's hand, and proceeded to drag him along, "It's a good thing I found you! I could use some help right about now..."

"Uh, Tama-"

"Hurry up! If we keep them waiting they'll start throwing stuff again..."

"Tama-"

The tall girl looked down at her shorter fiancé, "What's wrong?" She wasn't oblivious to his distress.

Sato wore a contemplative expression and he turned back to see his teammates, as well as Naruto and Sakura's teams staring at him, confusion written all over their faces.

"Nothing really…"

"Good. I can get you some pocky later, but I need your help now." Tama interrupted him and continued to tug him by the wrist back to the throng of impatient people.

He gulped fearfully.

Sato dug his heels into the ground, stopping just short of the ring of Tama's fans. His face was beginning to resemble Hinata's as his embarrassment grew, "Tama, wait a sec!" He nervously looked left and right, hoping to find an escape route, "Do we have to do this now?"

She frowned at him, upset, "What? Are you waiting for Christmas or something?"

"Well, now that you mention it-"

"Oh come on! I know you can do this!" Another forcible tug had him moving again, and they penetrated the thick of the crowd, where her groupies began to holler in excitement. The soft plucking melody of the shamisen drifted through the air like a cloud and Sato's companions saw no more of him after that.

"What...just happened?" Sakura inquired, genuinely curious.

Hinata seemed to have a fair understanding of what was going on, but then suggested, "Why d-don't we see where Sato-kun and Tama-chan went?"

Not having much else to do at the time, Teams 2 and 7 followed after the remainder of Sato's team. Naruto fell into step with the Hyuga girl, "Hey, Hinata-chan, how do you know that Tama-girl anyway?"

Although she was dismayed that his question may have risen from his interest in Tama, Hinata decided to be truthful anyway, "She comes to see Sato-kun quite often, Naruto-kun. She even comes to visit him while he trains with Shino-kun and I. She is...very devoted."

"More than he deserves..." Naruto muttered, "I'm just glad he's just not trying to put the moves on you or anything, I mean...you're too good for that guy."

Hinata felt her insecurities evaporate and she smiled at the whiskered boy, grateful for his concern.

It was difficult to get a view of anything that was going on, the crowd was so condensed. The genin settled on the fringe of people, hearing music faintly against the shouts and chatter. Gaara disliked having so many people around and he put on an annoyed expression as Haku stood beside him, looking very entertained.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about," Naruto turned to Haku and Gaara, "Can't we go somewhere else?"

"Oh joyous youth! It is about to begin!"

Naruto leapt back as Lee appeared beside him, looking very excited. Haku and Gaara acknowledged the 'youthful' ninja's presence.

"Hello Lee," Haku smiled pleasantly, "You came here with your teammates as well?"

"Oh yes, Haku-kun! Many shinobi have gathered here tonight. I am here to see the wonderful performance of Miss Tama! My sensei's darling niece!"

"We've heard that before..." Gaara sighed, seeing a recurring pattern.

Naruto looked at Lee oddly, "What are you talking about Bushy-brows?"

"You must be Naruto-kun! Gaara-kun and Haku-kun have told me so much about you!" He shook the bewildered blonde's hand, "But haven't you heard, Naruto? Both Tama-chan and Sato-kun are accomplished dancers!"

"Sato can...dance?" Sakura glanced over to Shino and Hinata who looked just as perplexed, "Hm...I wonder if Kakashi-sensei can dance?"

"God, I hope not..." Kiba remarked and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Sato peeked over his shoulder as his companions came into sight, and he frowned, wishing that this aspect of his life wouldn't have become so public.

"Tama, really, I haven't practiced or anything! I'll suck and ruin your reputation," He tried to deter her while she lead him along to an open space, smiling carelessly, "You don't really need me! You can just ask some other guy to-"

"Oh stop being such a baby! You are very talented and we always do great together." Tama admonished him quietly, "You'll do fine as always...that is, if you still want pocky!"

"Okay!"

Shino and Hinata watched in utter disbelief as their once rigid, ungainly teammate shed his nervousness (although they were uncertain how), and took up his fiancé's hand, grinning wolfishly, and stepped lightly to the music.

"Oh my..." Hinata couldn't suppress her awe of the sight.

Tama certainly was the more experienced of the pair and by far more graceful, however the Hyuga girl found it somewhat inspiring to see her teammate lead her around in intricate tangles of footwork. It almost looked as if he were fighting...not with Tama, but his movements were swift and timed like a shinobi's.

The shy girl's heart fluttered.

"Hinata," She turned to see Shino, observant as ever, looking at her, "His movements...they reflect in his taijutsu, do they not?"

Hinata turned back to see for herself. Once again, the Aburame boy had a point. Sato had never been a ninja who used full-out taijutsu. His movements were sporadic and evasive, and made him downright impossible to hit if he moved quickly enough. She should know; she was his primary sparring partner.

"It's...amazing," She answered softly, "Do you suppose his taijutsu style comes from his training with Tama-chan?"

"It's possible." His gaze turned back to the silver haired boy, not very surprised by the fact.

Naruto was also impressed, having only known Sato as an incompetent shinobi and little else, "Wow, he's not that bad...but I still say he's a blockhead."

Lee, on the other hand, was inspired. He turned away from the crowd while shouting, "Tenten! Beautiful flower of my team! I would be truly honored if you would share a dance with me!"

Naruto and his teammates grinned as they watched the excited ninja rejoin his teammates nearby at an astrology stand where Tenten had insisted that they had their fortunes read. Neji had decided earlier that she would be better company than Lee so he had joined her.

"What did you say, Lee?" She looked over as he approached, still distracted with her horoscope.

"It will be wonderful Tenten! Just one dance!" He was bouncing with joy.

Tenten, dressed in an intense, crimson yukata, took a few steps back from the green-clad boy, "W-What? Lee, I really don't think that's a good idea..."

Neji made no comment as he watched the rest of the scene play out.

Lee wouldn't have no for an answer.

"Oh, but I insist Tenten! You look ravishing and there is no other girl I would prefer more!" Before she could give another objection Lee had grabbed her by the sleeves and yanked her along.

Her yelps were audible even over the festival's raucous. Neji stood, perplexed, wondering if maybe he could've been more help to her.

He didn't feel like taking a bullet at the moment so he moved along, trying to discover the source of Lee's excitement.

Beside Sato and Tama, another pair appeared, moving much faster and by far more recklessly.

"Lee-!" Tenten was writhing, trying to escape a grip that was equivalent to the 'Jaws of Life.' It was a hopeless endeavor, and Lee wasn't likely to hear anything she said over his excited ranting.

The crowd found Lee and his absolutely livid partner's twirling in circles to be very humorous, compared to the fluid, elegant footwork of the first pair.

Eventually Tenten gave in and ended her struggling, letting her teammate tug her along in circles. Once or twice he had even gotten her to laugh, admiring her sportsmanship, even though she wasn't doing much of anything.

Neji appeared beside Gaara. They said nothing to each other, both being equally annoyed. Much to Naruto's terror, Gai popped up beside him, in hysterical tears, "Oh, Lee! Tenten! My beautiful students are burning with such passionate youth!"

Naruto edged away from him, bumping into Haku and muttered to him, "This is beyond freaky Haku-kun. Pretty soon everyone will be out there doing the cha-cha or something..."

"...uh huh..."

"Haku-kun are you even listening to me?" The blonde turned only to see his conniving friend taking up Hinata's hand and offering a wary smile to Neji who was only a few paces away, glaring daggers at him.

Hinata made a small squeaking noise as Haku went out to join Lee, gently guiding her along.

The sight struck a chord in Naruto that triggered a very protective reaction. What had possibly possessed Haku to steal away innocent Hinata? He wasn't going to stand for it.

"Get back here!" Naruto dashed out after the sneaky Hyoton boy, feeling murderous.

Sakura laughed alongside Kiba, suddenly having much more fun. As ridiculous as Lee looked out there, it still looked like fun hopping around with a friend. She tried to picture herself in Tenten's place; even Hinata's place and Tama's.

'There's no way Kiba-kun will go out there, but maybe I can-? Oh…'

She frowned to herself, 'Come on Sakura! Get your act together!'

"Um...Sasuke-kun?"

The raven haired boy turned to her; he didn't look like he was having fun at all.

"Sasuke-kun, maybe you'd like to, um…well, I just thought that maybe you'd like t-to..."

"I don't dance."

Her heart sloshed mushily inside her stomach. She found it remarkable how his answer had just killed the moment for her, but what had she expected? It was his forte after all.

The bored-looking Uchiha turned and walked off, no longer interested in the festivities they had been watching. Sakura, though slightly discouraged, looked over to Gaara wistfully who had not seen her and then followed after Sasuke.

"I'm sorry if I caught you off your guard, Hinata-chan," Haku smiled down at the shy Hyuga girl, "It just looked as if you wanted to dance."

"I d-did..."

He gave her a knowing look, "Would you like me to ask Naruto-kun if he'd-?"

"Oh n-no! That's alright!"

"Really, Hinata-chan, it wouldn't be any trouble..." Haku slowed and checked over his shoulder to see if he could spot his blonde friend.

Not seeing him anywhere Haku returned his gaze to his partner, only to see Naruto in Hinata's place.

"Hey Haku-kun!"

"What? Where's-?"

Haku noticed Naruto grinning maniacally from the sidelines as he stole Hinata back, guiding her back though the crowd and shouting over his shoulder, "I hope you have fun with that Shadow Clone, Haku-kun!"

Hinata giggled out loud as she disappeared with the clever blonde. Haku easily destroyed the clone Naruto had substituted Hinata for and smirked, astonished by Naruto's skill.

After a short while the music ended and Sato took it as his cue to escape. However, he brought Tama along with him, "You'll get me pocky now, right? You said you would if I did well!"

"I know," She laughed as they proceeded through the stands, "But I want to go play that knife-throwing game first!"

Sato gave her a curious look before shrugging, "Whatever floats your boat! I'm just glad I didn't make a complete fool of myself…or you."

"Not to worry! You were excellent," Tama glanced back at Lee who was still spinning around with Tenten, "I'm not so sure about Lee though..."

The silver haired boy laughed, glad that he had decided to dance with her since it had made the night very interesting.