A/N: Yay, finally! I've been aching to do a SasuIno fic for a long time now! Hopefully I don't mess up!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its awesome characters. I only own a few characters that I myself have made up in my spare time.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 1

It's not my fault, Ino reassured herself while halfheartedly watering some flowers. It's not my fault that I keep thinking about him. She set the watering can down on the ground beside the mahogany bench and sighed quietly. She plopped herself down onto the far right side of the bench.

It's his fault he's so handsome, she thought. It's his fault he's so kind and sweet. She flushed as the memory of their last encounter flashed into her mind. Ino jumped up, and yelled suddenly, "It's his fault for being so damn perfect!" Her hands clenched into fists and her cheeks flushed a bright red; her breaths were short, quick pants.

Ino tucked at lock of platinum blonde hair behind her ear and straightened her clothes. After she finally composed herself, she turned on her heel and walked quickly back into the palace.

Before she made it all the way inside, she spared a lingering glance at the flowers she had just watered. The water droplets on their lush, red petals shone in the bright sunlight.

She shook her head and turned away from the beautiful plants, making her way into the large, elegant hallways. Today was the day of Prince Shikamaru's coronation. And she had a lot to do before the big night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sasuke Uchiha watched as his best friend, Naruto, fumbled with his bow and arrow. He stifled a laugh when he saw Naruto cut himself on an arrowhead. Naruto looked up at him and sent him a glare.

"Shut up." He growled.

Sasuke flashed his usual smirk. "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Naruto turned his head away, hiding the look of embarrassment on his face. He ran a hand through his thick, unruly blond hair. "Pssh, of course I know!" He said in a voice full of pseudo confidence. "I'm an expert at archery!"

The ebony-haired young man snorted. "Is that so?"

"Yeah!" Naruto lied through his teeth.

Sasuke played along. This was the perfect opportunity to mess the blonde idiot. His obsidian eyes scanned the trees and the forest floor, searching for something to 'test' his friend with. His eyes brightened ever so slightly once he caught sight of a deer eating some plants nearby.

He pulled Naruto behind a tree, placing his hand tightly onto his mouth. Naruto struggled and kicked him. Sasuke sent him a look that said 'shut up'. After a few moments, Naruto finally gave in and stopped making noise. Sasuke checked if the deer was still there, and not running away scared. It was.

Sasuke pointed to the deer, who was still distracted with its meal. Naruto's eyes followed in the direction of Sasuke's finger. "I want you to shoot that," Sasuke whispered. "Think of it as a target on which to practice your 'masterful' skills." Naruto swallowed hard.

"I…um…do I have to?" He asked nervously.

Sasuke's smirk grew wider. "Yes, since I, too, use the bow and arrow; I would like to see an 'expert' at work. That is, unless you're not really an expert and was just pulling lies out of your ass."

Naruto flushed angrily. "Shut up." He said under his breath. Naruto pulled away from Sasuke and got into position. He drew the bowstring back and set his aim on the deer, which, by the way, still had no idea what was going on and was munching away happily. Naruto shut his eyes tightly and let go of the string. What he heard next made him want to crawl under a rock.

Sasuke burst out laughing, scaring the deer away. He clutched at his sides, pointing at the arrow which had just landed two feet away from where Naruto was standing. "Oh, God," He said, his laughs slowing down. "You really are an idiot." Naruto picked up the arrow and put it back into the quiver resting on the tree behind them. Then he gripped both the bow and the quiver tightly in his hands and shoved them into Sasuke's chest.

"Don't you ever tell anyone about this, or I swear I will kill you."

"Yeah, yeah."

Naruto took off in the other direction, muttering a string of curses under his breath, while Sasuke followed calmly behind him, an amused smirk on his lips.

When Sasuke arrived back at his house on the outskirts of town, he was surprised to find the light on. He stopped in front of the door with his hand just barely on the doorknob. He watched the dark blue curtains move, as if someone had accidentally brushed against it. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. No one knew where he lived, except for Naruto and one other person.

No, he thought, it can't be. He tested the knob, and found it was unlocked. He warily opened the door and stepped into the room. He left the door open behind him. Sasuke took slow, silent steps toward the kitchen, where he could see someone's shadow sitting at his dining table. He grabbed the bow slung across his back and readied an arrow.

He stopped a few feet shy from the doorway, and then pounced. He was about to shoot when he realized who it was.

The man stood up from the table, and raised his hand up slowly above his head. He regarded Sasuke with a pair of relaxed, yet calculating dark brown eyes. A corner of his mouth lifted up into a sort of half-smile. The man spoke in a lazy, casual tone.

Sasuke lowered the bow and arrow and sighed in a mixture of relief and irritation.

"Hey," The man nodded toward Sasuke. "I finally managed to track you down."

Sasuke glared fiercely.

"What the hell do you want, Shikamaru?"

A/N: Sorry I ended in kind of a cliff hanger. But that's all I have for now! So did ya guys like it? Did it suck? Did it rock? Please review!