[H3]Road to Party ~ Chapter 1: A party? Bloody occurances![/H3]

[i]We feel that too much freedom leads astray and lacks purpose, and that too much order leads to revolutions. Each of us has tale to tell. In our time where Shinobi are one with the shadows, the meaning of justice becomes twisted as injustice wreaks havoc.[/i] -- [b]6th Hokage, 3rd peace conference of the united Shinobi federation.[/b]

[h3]Yamato's Lakehouse[/h3]

For the first time in ages, there was a warm breeze in Konoha, one that spelled relaxation and fun as the sun stayed out for longer than normally. This gave people the extra time to meet up with friends and do as they pleased - whether that was hanging out at their own house, walking around Obushide park or the Koi's Pond, or going to the Yomadaru lake and picknicking with others.

For our rag-tag crew of fresh Chunin graduates it was a party at the Lakehouse, at the edge of the forest, near the lake. Aoi had gathered all of the graduates and told them about the party during the last day of Shinobi highschool. Given that the Minamoru Lakehouse was neutral grounds for most of them and had a relaxed environment, this seemed the perfect location for such a party. Some had replied positively, almost immediately yelling out that they'd be there [i]for sure![/i] Others had said no initially, but after pressure from others begrudgingly said yes. Ultimately the whole class of that year would be there, a small class but a class none the less.

Outside the Lakehouse would be a path that'd lead to Yamato's house, and a lakeside patch of grass bordering the sandy beaches, where Aoi had set up a bunch of yard chairs, a fire pit at the center of them and some tiki torches around them, to keep the area well lit when the sun finally [b]did[/b] settle in, and made way for the moon. The lake was calm and warm, well fit for swimming if anyone was interested in such trivialities. Unbeknownst to Yamato, the technical owner of the Lakehouse, Aoi had taken liberties in setting up a stash of drink and food in the house, scattering them all over. On the bed was a crate of [i]Naruto-pop[/i], a fizzly bubbly drink that would make you feel stronger, almost as strong as Naruto. Okay, not really, but that's how they advertised it. Near the sink was a small crate of [i]Sasuke dark drink[/i], or as the advertisements said, a containment of Chidori essence from the legend himself. Ofcourse it was.

In the cupboards was plenty of snacks such as chips, peanuts and other party food, as well as marshmellows when the party would kick off and the fire pit would've been lit. Aoi really did seem to have thought of everything. 

[hr]

Punctuality is a must but being too punctual is bad too. Parties? I'm all for that; finally I can cut loose without mom keeping me on a leash like a dog, I suppose father's orders are absolute but when he returns I am going to show him how independent I am from now on.

My name is Sentou Uchiha and I'm electrifyingly sweet. When I was a child my father talked so much about my real mom but I don't even know how she's like . My father became hell bent on his work, and then mom came back and took care of me ever since. Following that an accident made me awaken my clan's legacy, the sharingan. As one with the shadows, I use my skills to fight crime and fight alongside others like me, and one day I will find my mother and give justice to my family.

[color=0072bc][i]Just what is a shinobi? I don't get it. So what if we do things behind the scenes. Shadows... shadows... shadows... ninja...shadows... shadows this and that. This is stupid.[/i][/color] She's in deep thought.

[hr]

Sentou  was the first to arrive after Aoi, her distracted mind setting the tone  but not impeding her ability to be on time - something Ayame must've  instilled into her over the years. 

The inside and outside of Yamato's lakehouse were covered in various bizarre and colorful ornaments such as confetti and random bowls of candy, as well as a stereo playing [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAMWdvo71ls]party music[/url] handpicked by Aoi, all ready to greet the fellow Chuunin. This is obviously Aoi's doing, because an event without bright colors and sugar or music is a failed event in her book. As Sentou noticed the absence of anyone nearby, and inevitably asked herself what was up with this. 

Right out of the blue, a wild Aoi dropped from the sky right before Sentou. She didn't land however and remained hanging in thin air, upside down. She was face to face with the young Uchiha, only a few centimeters separating the tips of their noses. The clown was smiling in a devilish way, as if she had prepared this for a while now. Aoi waited for a second so her frien could process what was going on.

"[color=fuchsia]Boo~[/color]" 

Sentou finally snaps out of her isolated thoughts and it is one of the moments that some of her friends tell her that she's back in earth. Sentou to earth. Still, Sentou takes time to recover from her "dreamland" and unintentionally as she gets up, her lips connected to her friend Aoi. It is at this time that she fully regained her senses and it was shocking for her. [color=0072bc][i]!!![/i][/color]

The tables were flipped and the situation took a strange turning. Sentou had kissed Aoi, and the latter could only cock an eyebrow. She didn't blush, as being shy wasn't her thing at all, and took it as a form of saying hello. After all, what girl in this highschool didn't kiss another girl? Aoi simply hopped off her little bungee trick and landed on her feet, still giggling from her trick. 

"[color=fuchsia]Teehee~ Gotcha there. So, still no boyfriend?[/color]" 

She asked teasingly, obviously pushing the nail in deeper after Sentou's little slip up. One would question is Aoi would be insane and desensitized to any form of surprise, but the truth was she was the most extroverted person in the entire village, and people just found that weird. 

Indeed the tables turned but it will soon backfire to Aoi for the record. Sentou takes in the kiss unintentionally, she felt as if she lost count on how many kisses were before. She replied to her best friend; [color=0072bc]"Doesn't matter. Who gives a shit."[/color] Sentou's expression shows of irritation with a hidden blush as a spark of lightning is seen from her agitation.

Ticking off Sentou was one of the many things Aoi enjoyed, knowing deep down she was doing a perfect job as an entertainer. The little clown then took notice of a couple of people approaching the party site. Aoi waved and skipped over to greet them with just as much quirkiness as usual. 

[hr]

After about half an hour of initial partying, everyone had arrived and taken a seat. The mood was relaxed and calm, although some of the people at the party were a bit quiet - it seemed to mostly be the 'prodigies' who were here against their own will and sat in their own corner looking at the fire, although they might just not feel like talking. Nobody could tell for sure - there was no Yamanaka here that could look into their heads. 

Yamato on the other hand had not showed up. Matter of fact, all he knew of a 'party' was a stupid note left on his front door that he crumpled up and threw away. It was written in a child like writing and had drawings on it of suns and different shapes like balls, squares and triangles in a multitude of colors. Oh, and there was a drawing of a poop shaped image on the lower right, with an arrow pointing to it, with his name written on the other end. The next day he had notified Aoi in a less than friendly way that [b]'he wasn't interested in her stupid [i]fucking[/i] party, and no, she couldn't use the Lakehouse.'[/b]

Instead he had spent his evening practicing in the backyard, beating up several training dummies instead of sitting around doing nothing at a party. When he was finally done he got rid of the traditional jacket he wore, with button up rope-wood connections, and instead threw on his usual apparel - a grey loose fitting tanktop, a black jacket, some grey skinny jeans and his apron-like cloth attached to his belt. Finally done, he put on his black slip ins and walked into the living room where Rei was sitting with her friend, who giggled as Yamato entered. [color=9e0039][b]“Rei, I'm going for a walk at the lake. Behave yourself.”[/b][/color] he spoke, loud and clear with an authoritive voice. She nodded and her friend sat quiet, looking at the TV, pretending not to be ogling the handsome Yamato. 

Leaving the house through the backyard, following the gravel path that lead to the Lakehouse through the forest, he heard voices in the distance. Not strange on a nice day like this, but they sounded remarkably close. If those kids from the 1st year were using the Lakehouse again to hang out he'd kick their asses, he told himself mentally. Approaching through the forestline, he noticed that his assumption was at least half right. [color=9e0039][b]“Aoi, I told you you couldn't use my [i]fucking[/i] Lakehouse for this [i]dumb fucking[/i] party.”[/b][/color] he said, relatively calm although emphasizing heavily on the swear words. He stood relatively calm as well, not a single angry spell to be seen on his body, although his words said very clearly what he thought. His hands were stuck inside pockets but came out as soon as he had looked around rapidly to pinpoint Aoi, balling them into fists and clenching them heavily - they were shaking a bit from all the force he put into that, although he tried to keep a calm composure with all his 'friends' or rather ex-classmates that he barely knew here.

Aoi was catering a loving couple, two of those ex-classmates Yamato felt no sympathy for, playing a little card trick to impress them. When Yamato solicited the young magician, she rolled her eyes and only turned half way. The now tense Yamato had gotten close enough to Aoi for her to lift her arm and present a set of cards spread like a fan. 

"[color=fuchsia]Pick one~[/color]" she asked so endearingly. Awaiting for a chance to play around with her grumpy friend. Yamato wasn't having any of it, however, and raised his right arm while opening his hand, sending his hand into hers and smacking the cards out of her hand. He looked her into the eyes for a second before turning to the others and looking them over for a second. After taking in who was here, and who wasn't, he walked over to a lone yard chair and sat down on his own, trying to stay as far away from the rest as he could while keeping an eye on Aoi. She had crossed one of his lines, namely that no means no, especially when it was on territory owned by his family. This hadn't been the first time she had done something like this, entering his house at times and simply having dinner with the family. Yamato's mother didn't mind as she treated Aoi nice enough, but Yamato had made it very clear he didn't want her dancing around all day.

As for the others, well.. Yamato wasn't interested. Most of them were sub-par shinobi, not fit for the rank of chunin if you asked Yamato. More than that, some of them had kekkei genkai's, and they were lower than scum. Even more so, they were special snowflakes compared to the rest and [i]still[/i] couldn't beat Yamato. They were lower than scum, and weak. Glancing around he wondered where the only other two who could keep up with Yamato were - [i]Fubuki and Naomi[/i]. Had they declined the party invitation initially as well, or were they simply late?

As the cards flew around like a storm of leafs befalling on Aoi, she caught a specific card in mid air. It was the three of spades, the card he had hit with the back of his hand in order to have the whole structure crumble away. That and she made it so it was that card that was hit. Aoi, with an innocent little smile that translated into having a [i]good[/i] idea, walked up to the contemplating Yamato and presented the card to him. Without warning, it exploded like a flashy firecracker right before him, the explosion being weak but the flash good enough to distract him. In her hand, the card hard carbonized and was replaced with three Ace of spades, each ignited with a little yellow flame at their upper right hand corner. They were very slowly burning away, but she hand the bunch to the fire user anyway, letting them drop, albeit slowly, to his knees. He was a fire user, so there was no worries. 

"[color=fuchsia]It's been three years since we've known each other in highschool ya' know~[/color]" she commented ever so casually right before turning to walk up to the fire, making herself the center of all things. "[color=fuchsia]Alright! Let's get this PARTY STARTING![/color]" she shouted at everyone's attention, and of course the DJ.

Sentou out of the blue comes in to Aoi, after all having her mess up with the fun can be distasteful and disrespectful to some. She smacks Aoi's head like she always do every time she does something stupid. It was a little bit of spark from her fist. [color=0072bc]"Quit your yapping you idiot. You're scaring people." [/color]Ruining the moment of awesome, Sentou comically grabs her from her ear to get her out of such childish moment. An eerie quiet overcame the group waiting for someone, anyone to speak up.