Stumble [Rewrite]

Neon

In the end, everyone Sakura asked to go out for ramen came. Teuchi was pleasantly surprised when five other kids along with his best customer came and filled in all his seats. Their seating from right to left in his perspective went as follows: the sleepy kid, the chubby one, the tiny Uchiha, Naruto, the girl, and sunglasses. He grinned at the blonde.

"Brought your friends over, Naruto-kun?"

"Yep!" he exclaimed, reaching over to pat Sasuke on the back and earning him an annoyed glare from the former, "He's never had ramen before, so he should try the bestest place in all of Konoha, dattebayo!"

Teuchi laughed and started taking orders from Shikamaru's end. "So what'll you be having?"

"Mm... pork ramen."

"Ch-Chicken, please."

"Me too."

"Beef, please!"

"Tempura."

"Fish... please."

The man smiled and turned to his kitchen to prepare their meals. The six of them immediately lit up in clustered conversation paired between who they sat with. Sakura spun her seat a little to her right to face Shino.

"Did the kabutomushi lay her eggs yet?" she asked. He blinked, surprised that she remembered something he'd think would be insignificant for her. He adjusted his glasses.

"She did. Yesterday," Shino replied.

"Really?" she mused. "When the larvae turn into adults, tell me so we could go see more of them?"

He averted his gaze and nodded. Shikamaru caught wind of the conversation from down the bar and remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tube wrapped in cloth and made a move for it to be passed down the line.

"Sakura. Here's that thing you wanted. It was a pain," he complained. The weird bundle earned numerous stares as Sakura's eyes lit up and she untied it to inspect the contents. Naruto donned a weary expression at the blackish goop she was swirling around.

"Ewwwww, that's gross," he commented, wrinkling his nose. Sasuke pushed his face aside to get a better look at the concoction.

"What's that?"

Content with the mixture, Sakura wrapped it back up and tucked it into a hidden pocket in the hem of her shirt.

"It's a poison," she answered. "Shino and Shikamaru helped me get it. Right?"

Shikamaru frowned. "You made me exercise then you pulled us in a lake."

"We were getting chased by hornets, what did you want me to do?!" Sakura pouted. Teuchi turned around and started placing their ramen in front of them. Shino reached for a pair of chopsticks and broke them apart.

"Tell us first," he murmured. Shikamaru nodded in agreement and took a pair of chopsticks himself. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome," she sniffed. There was a chorus of itadakimasu's before they went to dig into their ramen. After slurping up his first few bites, Chouji glanced curiously at Sakura.

"Hornets?" he asked, "That doesn't sound safe."

"Sakura-chan never does nothin' safe."

Sakura huffed and went back to her ramen. For a moment, Chouji was old. In his late teens, early twenties-- dead on the ground not too far from Lee. The sight was vivid and fresh, the scent of death hanging heavy in her nose. It took her some seconds to recollect herself and force a smile onto her face.