The Chronicles of Aishiteru Academy

-Book 3, Chapter 3-

Pairings: GaaraXNeji, HakuXZabuza, NarutoXSasuke

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.

The next morning Haku, Gaara, and Naruto showed up to homeroom sooner than they usually did. They were so excited to get more information about their own club choices that they showed up early in anticipation.

As the rest of the class arrived not long after and Iruka pulled out a stack of envelopes, passing them out to students as he explained what was going on.

"As some of you know, today all of your club choices for events in the upcoming festival have already been or will be decided on. These envelopes contain the events the teachers have been given and they should all include a small slip of paper with a poll on them for the job you'd most like to take on for the festival. You can mark more than one if you're willing to be given whatever, but I'd advise only picking one or two options as teachers will usually give you more work if you seem indecisive. Go ahead and open your envelopes and mark your choices on the job slips if you got them. You can talk amongst yourselves until the bell rings for classes. Oh and please give the job slips to me filled out by the end of homeroom so I can get them back to your club teachers today."

With that Iruka started grading assignments from other classes he taught and everyone burst into excited chatter as they talked about the events coming up.

Haku went straight for this envelope, already having decided what he wanted to do for their chosen food stalls.

To my wonderful cooks,

The student council let me know last night that we have been given all the food stalls since none of the other clubs volunteered for them. However since our club doesn't have enough students to cover them all, they have combined some of the stalls and eliminated others. Our options are running the pub that now also includes serving meat pies which was its own food stall before. We also have two dessert stand options which are chocolate covered food and another that'll be making crepes and cream puffs. We also have two snack type stalls, one is the pretzel stand and the other caramel apples, both are usually a big enough hit to be their own stall.

There is an attached slip with all these different stalls and jobs. Please check the boxes of the jobs you'd be willing to do and give the slip to your homeroom teacher. I'd like to be able to tell everyone what jobs they've been given by the next time we meet so we can start making some of our food items. So no slacking everyone!

Your teacher, Kurenai.

Haku pulled out the little slip of paper folded into Kurenai's letter and looked it over. It included all the foods from the different stalls so you could pick to be in charge of making a specific item. There were also spots for serving food and making drinks in the pub along with the spots for cooking all the included items. Haku read through the pub items and picked three he'd be willing to make. Meat pies sounded like a challenge that he didn't want to pass up, so that was his first choice. He even decided to put a little one, two, and three in each box so Kurenai knew what he wanted most. His second choice was the meat and potatoes plate, which included mashed potatoes, a cob of corn or a serving of beans, a roll, and either a portion of breaded chicken or steak. Haku liked making full meals and figured most of the students wouldn't offer so he didn't mind signing up for that too. That had originally been his first choice anyway until the meat pies had been added to the pub menu. His third choice was making the toad in a hole item. It sounded fun and he was willing to make them if that meant he also got to try them.

Once Haku was done marking his choices, he wrote his name on the slip and took it up to the front desk, adding it to a small stack of others that were already growing there. When he got back to his desk he noticed that both his friends had tired looks on their faces, mixed with a bit of irritation on Gaara's face, and misery on Naruto's.

"What's wrong guys?"

Haku was concerned when Naruto started complaining with his face pressed into his desk and Gaara did nothing but hold out the letter he'd gotten.

Haku took the paper from him, but decided not to read it until He'd given Naruto a little support, the boy seemed like he needed the chance to talk to the two of them.

"The soccer club sucks. I'm totally picking a different club to join once this is all over!"

"Why what happened?" Haku asked, noticing that Gaara even seemed interested.

"Yeah what's up? Does your teacher have it out for you too? I swear Anko is a demon in disguise."

"No the teacher is just a people pleaser so naturally likes to make the majority of the club happy, he totally runs away from confrontation. Which is why we are doing stupid games that everyone else wanted, but now since the student council asked we have a big event to plan to."

Naruto held out his paper and both Gaara and Haku read it together to see what the blonde was talking about.

To the soccer club,

Hello everyone! Our choices for the horse riding and horse shoe stalls have been confirmed! The fishing stall was given to another club to do, but I'm sure you'll be happy to hear we were given another event to work on as well. We've been asked by the student council to also run the Jester tryouts event so I encourage you all to consider helping out with this event or participating in it. Let me know what you decide to help with and I'll have the job decisions made and back to you by the end of the day or by tomorrow morning. Some of you have already been assigned jobs for the horse stalls and another small slip of paper will be with this letter to let you know what your assignments are.

I hope to hear from the rest of you soon!

Coach G

"Were you given a job already?" Haku asked quietly, wondering if that was what had Naruto so upset.

"No."

"So you're just being dramatic then?" Gaara asked with a smirk, putting the letter back on Naruto's desk.

"Maybe."

"Here." Haku pointed to the small paper on Naruto's desk with all the jobs on it. "Sign up for running the Jester event. It could be fun watching everyone act retarded and then you won't even have to participate in it. Besides you'll be able to talk to Sasuke between competitors. He's supposed to be judging that event right?"

"Yeah I think he is. That does sound kind of fun and I'll get to go crazy with the costume too since it says I need to dress up like a jester for the event whether I compete or not. It's not every day you get to wear mashes of spots, stripes, bright colors, and bells or sequins!"

Naruto happily marked the correct box before running the paper up to their teacher Iruka.

Haku took the time to read Gaara's letter next, now that Naruto's problems were settled.

Redheaded demon child,

You are going to be participating in the big archery event on the last day of the festival and running the small practice archery stall the rest of the time. No excuses! I want you wearing green tights and shooting arrows! So suit up Robin Hood!

Your favorite teacher EVER,

Anko

Haku felt it was safer not to say anything. Gaara was giving the letter a look that could literally have caught it on fire. He'd let Neji handle an angry redhead. The older boy seemed to know what to do anyway and as mean as it seemed, Gaara could be a scary kid when angry. The bell rang shortly after and Haku couldn't be happier to get on with his day, saving him from possibly inciting Gaara's anger with any careless comments. Neither he nor Naruto had ever been brave enough to talk to Gaara when he was angry. Irritated yes, angry no. And that always seemed to be how the redhead preferred it.

X

Neji and Zabuza had been called up to Kakashi's desk once all the job slips were handed out to the rest of the class. Zabuza hadn't even gotten to read his yet. Sasuke had been sent to the student council office first thing that morning, along with all the other royals, to plan the set up for all the stalls on the soccer and football fields. Neji wished he could have gone with him and avoided whatever their teacher was planning. He'd have preferred the boring planning and paperwork.

"So Zabuza, I've been informed that you'll be participating in the Jousting tournament."

"That makes one of us." Zabuza held up his still sealed letter from the martial arts instructor.

"Well whether you've read your letter or not, I'm signing you up to help with the construction of some of the stalls. You won't have much else to get ready for over the next few weeks so I figured you wouldn't mind helping out."

Kakashi waved Zabuza away before turning to Neji.

"As for you Neji, I have the specifics for your job and what you'll be required to do. Take this and read things over. I've also signed you up to help out during your free periods at some of the different stalls. For the first day I'd like you helping out with archery training stall since I know you have a little more experience then the poor kids roped into running that and I assumed you'd be an asset to them. On the second day I'd like you helping out as a server at the pub. They are going to need all the hands they can get"

Neji took the sheet of instructions and information Kakashi handed him before walking back to his desk and collapsing into the chair.

"What's he making you do?"

Neji looked over at Zabuza and frowned. The taller man had a letter that looked more like a book than a paper explaining his job assignment.

"He's having me help out with the archery practice range in between my puppet shows the first day. The second day I'll be helping out as a waiter in the pub. I swear he wants to make sure I have no time to enjoy the fair."

Zabuza sighed and held up his letter.

"I not only have to participate in the jousting tournament and help build the stalls, I'm being signed up as a knight. I get to stand by the royals at all the events and walk around with them during the festival. I've also been told to memorize the map of the place and where the bathrooms are. Apparently I'm going to get asked for directions. The letter says it's like being security. I'll get to be in charge of helping lost children too. The student council had problems with that last year."

Neji understood the need for the massive letter now. It was probably explaining a billion different rules and responsibilities Zabuza would need to be aware of.

"Well at least you'll get to hang out with Sasuke all day if you're supposed to follow a royal around. That's a plus right?"

"Yeah I guess. I'd kind of rather have some of your responsibilities instead though. Haku's planning to work in the pub…"

Zabuza blushed a little and grew quiet, probably thinking about what it'd be like to work with the smaller boy for the day. Neji thought the man's infatuation with the sweet long haired boy was adorable. Not that Neji could really blame him. If Gaara was forced to work both the archery event and the small practice stall then they'd get to work together for awhile. The thought was already making Neji happier about his new assignments.

While Zabuza went back to reading over his letter, Neji looked over the paper he'd been given.

Day 1

10:00 Fair begins

11:00 Puppet Show

12:00 - 1:00 Help out at archery training stall

2:00 Puppet Show

3:00 - 5:00 Help out at archery training stall

6:00 Puppet Show

8:00 Festival closes for the day

Day 2

10:00 Fair opens

11:00 Puppet Show

12:00 – 1:00 Help out at Pub

2:00 Puppet Show

3:00 – 4:00 Help out at Pub

5:00 Puppet Show

6:00 Festival ends

This will be your schedule for the festival. You will be responsible for picking three medieval themed shows and making the puppets and backgrounds for them as well as any props. The stall will be provided for you though you are encouraged to help build it. Each show is to be performed once a day during any of the given show times. You will be in charge of deciding which show to do at which time. You have been allotted an hour before each show to prepare. The shows should be about 20 to 30 minutes each so you have plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the fair and get to your other jobs during the duration of the festival. Thank you for all the hard work and cooperation.

The Student Council President

Neji sighed and tucked the paper into his bag before leaving when the bell rang for classes to begin. He now had three different costumes to plan, puppets to make, and a redhead to train with. He was going to be so busy he wasn't sure being without a club had its merits anymore.

X

By the end of the day everyone had their jobs decided on. Haku had been called to Ms. Kurenai's classroom and excused from gym so she could explain this chosen assignments. Haku had been surprised to get called down instead of just given a letter at the end of the day. But he soon realized why.

He'd been given the job of Head Chef in the pub. He was going to be in charge of making meat pies as well as the potatoes for the main dishes. Someone else had been put in charge of cooking the meat for the dishes and another was in charge of the beans, corn, and bread. He'd also been given the task of overseeing the kitchens, making sure things were running smoothly, making sure orders were filled correctly and in a timely fashion. He was also in charge of making sure they food was stocked up so they could actually cook for their guests. His teacher had warned him it'd be a pretty busy job, but he was the only student she had that she felt could handle it. So of course when she said that he happily gave in and accepted the job.

Kurenai told him a few other students without clubs would be coming to help serve and make drinks so he'd also need to let them know where to go and what to do at the beginning of each day. Someone else had been put in charge of making drinks so he wouldn't have to deal with any of that. He'd just need to make sure everyone knew which tables to serve and then hand them over to the person in charge of drinks.

Haku got to skip his entire gym class, much to his relief. After Ms. Kurenai had explained everything, she'd also kept him for the remainder of the class time and the two of them went over different pie recipes to make and choose from over the next few weeks.

X

Naruto was the last to find out what his assignment would be. He would have had to wait until the next day if Iruka hadn't remembered he was going to the hospital early with Sasuke, since neither of them had a final class that day. Naruto had had to fill out papers to inform the school of his new job so he'd be able to drop his last elective. His homeroom teacher had been so proud of him he'd brought him a big sugar cookie as a congratulations present the next day.

Naruto had been called to Iruka's classroom right after his last class for the day and had been given his club assignments quickly before running out the front doors to meet Sasuke in the student parking lot.

It wasn't until the two of them were leaving the school that they started talking about what had happened that day.

"I was in meetings with the student council half the day planning the layout for the festival. It's honestly a lot larger than I thought it'd be, and certain stalls have to be in specific places, like the pub. We had to plan for the stall to be built right up next to the school so the cooks can use the school kitchens instead of having to build a whole new one and figure out how to rewire the appliances. It saves a lot of hassle so I'm glad we arranged it that way. The front dining area is still going to be massive though, nearly the size of a small house. We had to make room for all the tables and drink barrels. We also decided to use the football arena for all the events so everything else has to fit on the soccer fields. It was one massive headache, but now the shop students can start building next week so that's good."

Naruto liked when Sasuke got worked up about something, it was the only time he ever talked so much and the blonde found it cute.

"I never really thought about all the things that go into a festival like this."

The blonde nodded in agreement, opening the letter Iruka had given him. He'd kind of forgotten about it in favor of listening to Sasuke.

Naruto,

Thank you for your interest in running the jester tryouts event! Your job is going to be advertising the event and dealing with the people who have signed up. You'll be in charge of going around and telling others about the event as well as mentioning the prizes, which will be determined by our club later. You'll also be in charge of the sign up sheets and escorting the different contestants in for their tryouts. Afterward you'll get the decisions from the judges and announce the winners while one of the royals gives away the specific prizes.

Once our event has taken place in the afternoon on the first day you'll be free to enjoy the festival for the rest of the day. The second day you've been signed up to help out at the pub. They need the help and we have plenty of people working our other stalls so I hope you don't mind.

If you have any questions I'll answer them during our planning session next time we meet!

Coach G

Naruto smiled a little before putting his letter back in his bag. At least he got out of dealing with the horses. He was a little glad nearly everyone else on the team seemed to prefer horse work. He was too proud to admit it out loud, but he was a little afraid of them.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Oh! I just got my job assignment. I'll be running most of the Jester tryout event it looks like. I've also been signed up to help in the pub when our events over. I was just happy about things turning out better than I was dreading. Now its time to plan our costumes! Exactly how would one go about doing that?"

Sasuke laughed at his response before making a sort of surprised sound.

"I just remembered. I got a phone call from my mom earlier. She used to be the greatest when it came to making costumes for school events. She still gets super into it when she plans parties. Her charity ball that you went to before was the tamest by far. She usually has people dress up like pirates, animals, Disney characters, cowboys… she does a lot of crazy stuff. Point is though is she's planning to get all of us together and take us costume shopping at some of her favorite places. I meant to talk to all of you about that once we got home. She wants to do it this weekend."

Naruto smiled widely as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital.

"Now I'm excited Teme! Bells and sequins here I come!"

X

Gaara wasn't sure how shopping with Mikoto Uchiha was going to be when they pulled up in front of an expensive costume shop that Saturday. The place had to be the most colorful building he'd ever seen. It looked like someone had gone at it with a spray can, as the place was covered in random splotches of paint in every color. The inside looked just as festive. Gaara could see mannequins modeling costumes and tons of other fabric as well as hats and gloves, shoved into even the smallest corner of the place. Walking in was just as fun. There was hardly any room to move as all the aisles were extremely small and wound around racks of clothing loaded with enough color to blind someone.

"Mikoto my darling! It's been too long, yeah!"

A blonde man came skipping up to them, enveloping the only woman in their party in a huge hug. He looked like an older Ino, not even more masculine, just older. However he couldn't have acted more different from the girl he'd come to loath. His long hair, which was pulled up into a ponytail, bounced around with each exaggerated step he took. He also couldn't seem to keep a smile off his face, one side of which was covered in a highly decorated and feathered gray mask. The rest of his clothing was a mix of gray and bright blue feathers, fabric, and glitter. He looked like he was about to leave for Carnival in Rio dressed as an extravagant blue bird.

"And is that my adorable little Sasuke? My how you've grown, yeah! Last time I saw you, you were only this tall and running around with fake swords attacking mystical dragons trying to eat your mom here. My how time flies, yeah…"

The man trailed off and spaced out, looking like he'd gone into a whole other world. Sasuke was trapped in a one armed hug and looked none to happy about it. Gaara found this super amusing and shared a few glances with Neji, promising loads of teasing on the raven's behalf. Naruto on the other hand, looked like he was about to die, he was laughing so hard.

"So what were all of you here for again?"

Ah so the man had come back to himself then. Mikoto just smiled and started pulling the man away from them.

"Deidara darling! We're here so Sasuke and his friends can find outfits for their upcoming school festival at Aishiteru Academy. You remember what those were like right? Lets leave them to find things on their own and catch up over some tea!"

"What a wonderful idea, yeah! I can't believe my dear little sister kept such an event from me. I'd forgotten all about what time of year it was, luckily the school informed me themselves so I could have a proper selection ready for the students. I guess I'll just have to go see her in all her glory during the festival this year, yeah. So tell me all about…"

The two of them disappeared into the back of the otherwise empty shop, leaving the six of them alone. Sasuke looked so relieved it was difficult to keep from laughing.

"Man that guy was awesome! Can you see that being me one day?"

Naruto said happily, completely missing Sasuke's look of horror.

"Let's go Teme, you're going to help me pick out my costume!"

The blonde disappeared, dragging the raven behind him, before anyone could say anything. Haku and Zabuza disappeared shortly after that as well, leaving Neji and Gaara to look for 'Robin Hood' outfits together. The redhead was secretly pleased he'd get to see Neji when he helped out at his club's archery stall during the festival. The two of them might even be able to sneak away and get lunch or look around at the other stalls together.

The two of them looked around before finding a mannequin that had promise and began searching the racks of leather surrounding it. When Neji found a section devoted to leather pants and vests the two of them began looking through it together, finding several options that would work for an archer. Gaara was surprised how real the outfits actually looked. He'd been expecting to find bright green tights and a green felt shirt that would itch with a lame hat and red feather all smashed into a bag. But instead he was finding brown and natural tannish green leather options, most of which were too big for him. He looked over to see Neji had three different options he was comparing and he still hadn't found anything.

"I'm going to try these on and see which one I like better. I'll be back in a bit okay? Need help finding anything before I go?"

Gaara gave him a look before answering.

"I'm fine on my own thanks."

"If you're sure. I'll see you in a bit then."

"You better come out and model your favorite one for me."

Gaara said with a cheeky grin, indicating the outfits Neji was still holding. He laughed a little when the white eye'd boy just walked away with a small blush on his cheeks, obviously trying to ignore him.

Getting back to the racks of leather, Gaara continued looking through them to no avail. It took him a few minutes before he became frustrated again. Everything was either too long or too wide for him. He knew he was smaller than most other boys, besides Haku, but this was ridiculous. He turned around, determined to look somewhere else when he saw something he kind of liked on one of the racks behind him.

He was going to ignore the fact that the rack was labeled 'women's leather', because the outfit he saw hanging there was promising. It looked to be his size and it didn't look like it was meant for someone with too many curves. It was leather and therefore, meant to cling to the wearer. He'd just have to break it in a little.

Quickly picking it up, he made his way to the changing rooms and slipped into an empty one before locking the door behind him and changing into the outfit.

Turning he looked himself over critically in the mirror. The outfit definitely hugged what little figure he had. The leather was a muted olive green and it had been made into a pair of hip hugging shorts that hugged his legs and went down to just above his knees. It came with a sleeveless vest in a lighter shade of the same color that had a high collar and laces to keep it shut going all the way up the center. The outfit was complete with a pair of leather bracers that laced up the inside of each arm and were the same darker green as the shorts. It fit like a dream and Gaara was already thinking about a hat and shoes to go with it.

He stepped out of the dressing room, leaving his clothes inside since they were the only ones in the store anyway and he wanted to try things on and see how they looked with the actual outfit.

He managed to find light brown boots in the leather section that laced up to his knees leaving only the skin of his knees and just a bit of his thighs revealed. Now all he needed was a hat.

One entire wall of the store was covered in hats and that's where he went next. There were a few options, but he found one he liked best that matched the darker green of his outfit. It even had a bright red feather in it that thankfully, wasn't like the one Robin hood wore. It was much bigger and curled so the ends of it were brushing the top of his ear. The red also matched his hair so he wasn't going to complain.

That was how Neji found him a few moments later, checking out his new archer outfit in a full-length mirror in the hat section.

"Having fun?"

"Actually yeah. What do you think?"

Gaara turned to show Neji what he was wearing and neither of them spoke, both very much distracted.

Neji was wearing leather pants that hugged his thighs but flared out enough to fit over a pair of ankle high leather boots. His top was also a lot like Gaara's but wider in the chest and it had short sleeves. Instead of bracers, Neji's outfit came with a leather belt with a big round buckle. His leathers were much like Gaara's in color, but instead of olive green, his were mixed with a bit of brown that made them seem a little darker than his own. He'd also pulled his hair back with a leather tie, into a low ponytail.

"You look… really good."

Neji said, clearing his throat in an attempt to push back the blush spreading down his face and neck.

That was exactly what Gaara had been hoping for. Neji couldn't have looked more obviously attracted if he tried. Not that the redhead was unaffected, far from it. Neji could probably look good in anything he wore, but Gaara definitely approved of leather.

"No hat for you. You look good just like that. Now come on, we need to change back and find you something to wear when you're playing server at the pub."

Gaara looked Neji over again before smiling wickedly.

"Actually we really only need to find you a shirt, those pants will work for anything."

X

While Gaara and Neji had opted for leather, Haku had immediately headed further back to the dresses. He knew exactly what he wanted. He'd occasionally fantasized about what sort of thing he would have worn if he'd been born during the renaissance. He'd imagined everything from big flowing dresses worn by the wealthy to something a tavern wench would have worn.

Zabuza didn't actually have to buy anything except shoes and pants since he and the other chosen knights were going to be given the same tops to wear so they could be easily spotted in the crowds. Zabuza had already found what he wanted and had opted to wander around the store until Haku was done.

Haku eventually ran across a chocolate and caramel colored dress he wanted to try on, so when he slipped into the dressing rooms he took the shoes Zabuza had found for him so he could see what everything looked like together.

The dress was beautiful in Haku's eyes. The skirts were a plain chocolate brown and went to his ankles. He was also wearing a cream colored shirt with slightly puffy sleeves that reached to his elbows and left his shoulders and neck bare. Over that he had on a bodice that matched the chocolate brown of the skirts, but there were caramel colored swirl designs all over it and the laces up the front were made of the same caramel color.

It was rather simple compared to some of the other dresses he'd seen, but to him it was perfect for what he wanted. The light brown shoes Zabuza had found for him went well with it too.

His outfit wasn't quite complete yet without the apron he'd be wearing to cook with, but Ms. Kurenai had told him she'd be ordering a set of matching aprons for all the servers and cooks to wear when in the pub. That was the next thing the two of them had planned to work on when they met again, since his teacher had wanted his input for the design and color so she could plan all the other decorations for the pub to match. Another part of his job as a head chef seemed to be helping his teacher design the entire place he'd be working in. It seemed a little excessive for a two-day festival, but since the academy was run by rich people it was expected to be extravagant. All the planning just made him more excited to see what it'd all look like when completed.

Approving of his outfit in the mirror, Haku began to change out of it so no one would get to see it before he was ready. He wanted his outfit to be a surprise so he made sure to fold it up into a bundle so no one could see what it was besides the color. He especially didn't want Zabuza to see it until the day of the festival.

X

Naruto had made Sasuke help him find as many brightly colored jester outfits as he could that would fit him and since he was wider and taller than either of his friends, there was a lot more to choose from. He ended up with five that he really liked and then proceeded to spend another fifteen minutes or so picking out things for Sasuke to try on from the more elaborate costumes near the back of the store.

He made sure to grab as many jester hats as he could see when he passed by the hat section and since all the costumes he'd picked came with specially made shoes, he opted not to go look for any more. He'd do that after if he didn't like the ones they came with.

When Naruto began going through the bags of clothes he'd dragged into the dressing rooms with him, he noticed a small note on each one.

'Feel free to mix and match any of the Jester costumes! The crazier the better!'

The blonde laughed a little and decided he might just take advantage of that. It also gave him a lot more options to pick from.

By the time Naruto had finally decided on all the pieces he liked best together, it'd been half an hour. He'd taken a sleeveless top that was made of stripes of different colors, some covered in glitter, some sequins, and others just cloth. The top had a wide collar and a big bell attached to each end of the strings lacing the front together. The pants were a bit more subdued, one leg being made of stripes, the other a plain light blue color. He took a belt and shoes from another outfit since he liked them together. The belt looked like a big purple diamond print shawl with bells all along the edges. The boots came to just below his knees and were the same purple while the tops of each boot were wrapped in more shawl material with the same small bells all along the edges. He took two detachable sleeves from the bag he'd taken the pants from since he liked the look of the occasional plain light blue mixed with the rest of the madness. The sleeves had ties attached so he could loosely lace it to the sleeveless top he'd picked so his shoulders were only partly visible beneath the strings. The sleeves also had bells attached to the wrists and Naruto figured people were going to hear him coming from a mile away with all the jangling sounds he'd me making.

The hat he picked for all this was like any other jester hat with three different sections, each with a big bell on the end. The bells weighed it down so all the sections draped against his back and shoulders. Each section was different, one the same plain blue as his pant leg and sleeve, another was covered in little stripes like some of the sections on his top. The last section was covered in a glittery fabric with different colored and sized sequins sewn on randomly.

His final addition to his outfit was a glitter-covered mask that went over the right side of his face. The eye hole had a thick black line around it and a few black tear drops at the corner. The mouth part had a thick black smile stretching nearly to his ear. Over all it was a little creepy for a mask, but looked awesome all the same.

When he stepped out of the dressing room to show Sasuke what he'd picked, he heard the raven's snort before he actually spotted the man. Sasuke had been waiting for him just inside the dressing rooms where Naruto found him, trying not to crack a smile. The blonde made extra sure to bounce as he walked so all the bells clanged, making the raven break down and chuckle a little.

"Glad to see you like it Teme!"

"You look so ridiculous I couldn't help it."

Sasuke said, trying to get his smile back under control.

"Admit it, you think I'm adorable!"

"I do not."

Sasuke's small smile told him otherwise. Naruto couldn't be more pleased with the reaction.

When the blonde stopped in front of the raven, Naruto noticed just how different the two of them looked. While he'd picked the most eye catching things he could find, Sasuke had decided on something more subdued. He looked every bit the prince he'd been cast as.

The raven was wearing a long sleeved top that was fur lined along the collar, sleeve hems, and the bottom edge of the shirt where it came down to mid thigh. The fur was a soft, silver grey and the top was navy blue with grey and silver pinstripes running through it. It was cinched at the waist with a dark grey belt. The raven had also found dark grey leather boots topped with fur to go with everything else. He'd finished the ensemble with a pair of plain black leggings and a simple silver crown with navy colored stones.

"I feel like I should bow."

Naruto commented, making Sasuke roll his eyes and shake his head.

"Maybe you should."

So Naruto did, adding a huge flourish of his arms and making himself jingle all over again. When he looked back up with a huge grin, Sasuke had covered his mouth and closed his eyes to keep from laughing again.

The same happy mood hung over everyone as they rode back to the academy with all their bags. Things were definitely getting more exciting and the boys couldn't wait for the festival to begin.

Finally got the next chapter up! Yay!

-Himitsu