I've finished my exams, and so here's an update from me. This oneshot has been sitting in my files since September...and I only finished it today, and I finished it like I did because I can't, for the life of me, remember what I was originally going to do for the end. Oh well.

Warnings: Uh...other than that it could be viewed as SasuNaruSasu if you want to see it, but if you don't, there really is nothing.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline."

With a small smirk, the most unpredictable ninja had once again shocked them all.

~*~*~*~

While wandering down the street, Sasuke heard whispers coming from everywhere; however, hearing Naruto's name come up a few times made him wonder what the idiot had done this time. It wasn't surprising that Naruto was the talk of the town, especially since the blonde would still play pranks once in a while, but when a prank was played, the people wouldn't simply whisper it as if the information was some secret gossip. This made Sasuke extremely curious…what could Naruto have done to cause the villagers to whisper amongst themselves?

Determined to figure out what Naruto got himself into, Sasuke went to search for the blonde; however, he was stopped by Sai. He really didn't care for the other male, but he tolerated him once in a while, unfortunately Sai had the worst timing, in Sasuke's opinion.

"Sasuke."

The Uchiha remained silent, knowing that Sai would continue without a reply.

"When people have goals…ambitions…why would they not take what they wanted when it is placed in their hands?"

Really, Sasuke didn't want to deal with Sai's confusion or cryptic speaking when he was more focused on figuring out what Naruto had done. Even so, he was somewhat intrigued by what Sai asked him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Naruto," Sai stated, "has declined the position of Hokage."

The strange feeling of numbness taking over his body left Sasuke confused. Why would he have such a physical response to Naruto not becoming the Hokage? Perhaps he was simply surprised, but if that was the case, then why did his heart race, not out of excitement, but out of something unknown?

"Why…?"

Sasuke wasn't aware that he spoke out loud until Sai said something.

"No one knows why, but the council wants you to change his mind."

Although Sasuke knew that once Naruto made up his mind, there wasn't much anyone could do to change it. Look at how long the blonde had chased after him until he came home. Even so, the situation was so strange that Sasuke had to find out Naruto's reasons for throwing his dream away without a second glance.

"Where is he?"

~*~*~*~

Naruto sighed in slight annoyance when he realized that Sasuke had yet to make an attempt to knock on his door. The bastard knew he was there, but instead of being a normal person and announcing that he was there, the Uchiha simply waited outside of the door like a stray cat.

The blonde would have opened the door fifteen minutes ago when he realized Sasuke was there; however, he had an idea as to why he was getting this visit; Sasuke heard the news.

Despite this, however, Naruto knew that he couldn't avoid Sasuke forever, especially since the Uchiha would eventually snap out of his trance and then barge in without an invitation…yelling at him for his idiocy or something. Yeah, he had experience with such things.

Opening the door, Naruto silently motioned for Sasuke to enter. Once Sasuke was inside and Naruto shut the door, the silence was shattered.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Sasuke demanded. "Why would you just say no to what you've been waiting for since you were a child?!"

Ah…he had been correct…Sasuke already knew. Then again, news that shocking would travel through the village at lightning speed.

"Sas-"

"No, you shut up! How could you do something so idiotic?! Do you realize that you just gave up?!"

Frowning, Naruto was annoyed that Sasuke had interrupted him, but then he was pissed off when Sasuke told him he gave up. How could he think that? Sure, Naruto was known to be spontaneous, but he knew what he was doing!

"I didn't give up!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? Then what would you call it, Uzumaki?"

Naruto narrowed his cerulean eyes at Sasuke when he used his last name. How dare he?!

"I got the offer, you bastard, but instead of going after a dream, I thought about it! Do you think I would just throw that away carelessly?! Do you know how hard it was to come to that decision?!" Naruto hissed.

Although Sasuke looked like he was about to say something else, Naruto wasn't about to give him the chance; he had something to say first.

"When you think of the Hokage what do you see? Sure, that's a pretty impressive title, but that's all it is unless there's a war, but even then, all the Hokage does is sit in the office doing nothing! I can't do that! I would rather be fighting for the village instead of having others do the fighting for me! I would be a bad leader!"

Taking a deep breath, Naruto locked his gaze on Sasuke while trying to gauge the Uchiha's opinion on the matter now.

"Why would you be a bad leader?" Sasuke asked calmly, as if Naruto hadn't just exploded at him.

"What kind of leader would be unable to hand dangerous missions to his friends simply because they were his friends? What kind of leader would rather be the sacrifice over the rest? A bad one. I say that because the Hokage is supposed to deal with losses of friends for the sake of the mission while staying safe to be the one keeping control in the chaos."

There was a long silence that was met with tension, and Naruto was afraid that he would have to find a different way to explain his reason to Sasuke. The thing was…Naruto didn't know how else to explain it.

"Idiot," Sasuke scoffed. "Who knew you could actually think logically?"

And just like that the tension was swept away.

"Sai says the council wants me to change your mind," Sasuke added.

"Forget them, they can find someone who will be useful instead."

"Who else is there?"

The question made Naruto fall silent once again. Whoever took the position had to be smart, but strong at the same time, as well as willing to put friends and family in danger for the sake of the village…but who would take the job? He knew that Konohamaru wanted to be the Hokage, but he wasn't experienced enough for that yet. There was always Shikamaru or Neji…hell, even Sai could do a better job than Naruto due to his past training. Sasuke couldn't because Naruto knew him too well to see the Uchiha sit in silence in an office, not to mention that he didn't have the cleanest record in Konoha.

"I don't know…but that's not my problem. Let the council figure it out."

~*~*~*~

Sasuke wasn't quite sure why he was playing the role of messenger boy, but at the same time, he understood why Naruto didn't want to face the council again. Giving up his dream had been hard enough, but to be badgered into taking the position when Naruto knew it was for the best to have someone else take it was not something he should endure. Sighing, Sasuke knew that they wouldn't take Naruto's decision well, and even more so if he was the one to deliver the message.

A moment later Sasuke spotted Sai. He'd found the new messenger boy.

"Sai."

The artist looked surprise that Sasuke was initiating the conversation, probably because Sasuke avoided conversing with his 'replacement' if he could help it, and even then it was Sai who started talking first; however, that wasn't what he needed to focus on for the time being.

"Yes?"

"I need you to send the council a message from Naruto."

~*~*~*~

Sai briefly wondered why he was delivering the message, but then he remembered that he would be able to see the reaction of the elders.

"I have two messages," Sai stated.

"Has the Uchiha changed Naruto's mind?" one asked.

"Surely he has, that boy has wanted nothing but to become the Hokage since he was young," another chimed in.

The elders nodded and quietly chatted while Sai stood there, waiting for them to remember that he was there. Luckily he had patience for such things.

"Let's here the messages you have, Sai."

"First, Naruto says, and I quote, 'I would rather be useful to the village by actively protecting those I care for and love, rather than send them to their deaths as Hokage. Sorry, actually, I'm not sorry, but it's nice to be polite; however, my decision to decline the position of Hokage still stands.'"

This caused an uproar, and Sai didn't even try to figure out who was yelling what since it was all blending together. However, he did not leave because of his second message he had yet to deliver.

"Sai, you may leave."

"I still have another message."

Silence fell for a few minutes before someone motioned for him to continue.

"The second message comes from Sasuke. He says, 'If anyone bothers Naruto about the matter of declining the position of Hokage, I will personally see that they wish they respected his decision.'"

Seeing the elders pale at the threat of Sasuke's message was enough of a reaction that Sai bowed politely and left the room. Although he might not like the Uchiha much, Sai had to admit that both Naruto and Sasuke were quite amusing, and not to mention unstoppable, when they were on the same side.

"Naruto," Sai muttered to himself while walking through the village, "you'll probably never stop surprising us all."