A/N: This is the first time I have ever published anything I have written. This is just an extremely short snippet of something that could potentially become a full-blown fic-Plot bunnies finally got ahold of my brain after years of simply reading and reviewing other Fanfiction. Please feel free to leave commentary about the content, writing style and anything else that strikes you. If this is received well, I may continue with the story. It is incredibly open-ended as you will see.

Also, I don't own Naruto or anything related to it. This is all just for fun, no monetary value, yada yada yada.

Anyway, enjoy!

Haku was terrified by the immense pressure that crashed over the bridge following the typhoon of visible, red, and dense chakra that cascaded out from the epicenter known as Naruto. Even Kakashi and Zabuza—as far away as they were—paused in visceral terror before continuing their dance of death.

However, everything, even the sound of the waves beneath the bridge, stopped when the pressure disappeared completely. Not even the latent chakra inherent to every living being was left where Naruto was standing.

As the pressure disappeared and Naruto looked down at the prone form of his first friend, riddled with needles from his enemy, he spoke:

"Stop being dramatic and get up. You haven't been killed by something as trivial as senbon since before the damn things were invented."

Haku, filled with a sense of utter confusion towards the boy who was for all intents and purposes speaking to a corpse—there was no way such a green genin could know he had avoided all Sasuke's vital points after all—stood there choked by a sense of foreboding.

If the shockwave of power, the following pressure, or the absolute dissolution of both didn't activate his well-honed sense of danger, then the calm manner in which Naruto spoke—one which was completely incongruent to the personality even those on team seven would associate with him—definitely did. In fact, it seemed to caress a primal fear within every occupant of the bridge.

Not seconds later, Haku was further terrified by the movement of an individual he knew he had lain low not two minutes before.

Under Naruto's expectant gaze and Haku's incredulous one, Sasuke sat up, sighed, and proceeded to stand to his feet as if he didn't resemble a metal porcupine.

"Thank the gods you're finally awake," Sasuke said. "Do you have any idea how annoying it was having to deal with a you who looked like, acted like and moved like an idiot for so long?"

With a put-upon sigh, Sasuke began to pull senbon from his skin in groups, dropping them to the ground as if dusting lint off his shoulders.

After successfully ridding himself of over fifty needles, Sasuke turned his gaze towards Naruto who was standing casually to the side, observing his friend with an amused air—a slight smirk curling the right side of his mouth upwards into an expression seen more commonly on the young Uchiha's face.

Correctly divining Naruto's mood, Sasuke rolled his eyes and dropped the sixtieth and last needle to the ground before addressing the blond once more:

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you weren't you, but I was right. And all it took to rouse you was the illusion of my death. You always did have an unhealthy attachment to me, didn't you little brother?"

With the end of Sasuke's rant came Sakura's shrill cry:

"Sasuke-Kun! You're okay!"

And just like that, the sense of danger that pervaded the bridge was halved.

Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes in exasperation at the ridiculously childish voice that crashed over their forms before the blond storm delivered an atypically caustic reply to his one-time crush:

"Yes, Yes, Sasuke's okay. Now stand over there and be quiet, please. The grown-ups are talking"

Kakashi's frantic voice cut through the idle chatter like a kunai "Sasuke! Naruto! Pay attention! Your lives and the lives of your teammates are at risk! This is no time to banter!"

This was followed by a derisive snort from both boys and further commentary from Naruto.

"Y'a know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was worried about our well-being Sasuke—but that can't be right 'cus he allowed a group of ridiculously green fucking genin to continue with a mission that fell outside of its original parameters. Not to mention the fact that he allowed me to walk around in a bright fucking orange jumpsuit without even attempting to explain the importance of remaining hidden on missions outside of Konoha territory. He also allowed the little girl over there to continue fostering her crippling obsession with you."

"Now, now Naruto" Sasuke chided "the man has attempted to prepare us for this confrontation for the past couple weeks—what with the training he has been giving each of us. I do, however, have to question why he never sent for backup after we encountered Zabuza—the situation is obviously out of our league after all."

At that, Naruto turned a questioning brow on his companion "Out of our league? An A rank assassin specialist and a mid-B to A rank chunin flunky? Really?"

"Fine, fine!" Sasuke relented. "Out of their league—and yours until a couple of minutes ago."

"Regardless of his deficiencies as a teacher," Sasuke continued, "the man has a point. We are screwing around in the middle of a battle, and that could be dangerous for Tazuna, Kakashi and Sakura. So. Should we take care of this situation before answering the questions about us that are surely burning in everyone's minds?"

With a huff of boredom, Naruto agreed "Sure, sure. How should we handle this? You take the flunky and I handle Zabuza? I need to flex my system in order to get it back up to snuff."

While speaking, he shifted his weight to his right leg, placing his chin in his right palm—his left arm crossing his chest and supporting his right arm.

Meanwhile, Sasuke rolled his shoulders, clenched and unclenched his fists and popped his neck before turning towards Haku as Naruto finished his sentence. "Works for me" he stated in a tone devoid of all the reflective boredom and teasing amusement that had been present mere moments before.

Naruto's countenance reflected his partner's as his eyes frosted over with a professionalism even Sarutobi Hiruzen—the God of Shinobi—could not begin to approach. The switch was accompanied with a quick drop in the temperature surrounding the blond and the return of the overwhelming pressure which had idled Haku earlier.

As Haku, Kakashi, Zabuza, and Sakura's eyes widened in alarm, both Naruto and Sasuke disappeared from their positions within Haku's icy prison.

Haku and Zabuza unknowingly shared one final, identical, thought before they were simultaneously dispatched by Sasuke and Naruto respectively. "What the hell did we just step into?"