Naruto and all characters found therein (c) Masashi Kishimoto.
Quick, cheesy little one-shot requested by Lolcatftw. Enjoy, my lovelies. ;]
Festivals in Konoha were always cheery, wondrous events. Children would skip toward prize vendors with all the excitement in the world, their parents holding hands as they meandered amusedly behind them. Teenagers run amok, scattering the crowds with their silly games, and some would sneak kisses beneath paper lanterns, fingers loosely joined between them. Young adults would gather in groups, laughing at the teens and remembering their own antics in their not-so-distant pasts. The elderly would be found sharing sweets or smile on the occasional park bench, eyes clouded with age but never losing that familiar, loving sparkle.
And then there were these two:
"Naruto! What in the world do you think you're doing?" Several heads looked up at the screech, and a few chuckles reached the ears of one Sakura Haruno, who scowled in annoyance (and embarrassment, truth be told) as she stormed past and between crowds of festival-goers.
Naruto gulped inwardly, but hid his fear of his pink-haired teammate with a wide grin. "I'm winning a prize for you, Sakura-chan!" he called back.
Rather, it was the third Naruto who was sitting on one of the prize stall's red stools who called.
The third out of twelve.
When Sakura finally caught up to him, she desperately held in the urge to smack him upside the head. For one, she was in a very public place and dressed quite like a lady, and ladies don't go around smacking Konoha's Hero upside the head. It just isn't done.
Secondly, she didn't know which Naruto was the real Naruto, and it was always a hassle trying to figure out which one was which.
"Naruto," she began furiously, her voice hushed yet not lacking in ferocity. "You can't make clones of yourself and take over the… the…" — she looked at the stand's selection of goodies — "Seriously? The Hello Kitty stand?"
The Narutos Twelve grinned and Sakura smacked a palm to her forehead, ladylike behavior be damned.
"But Sakura-chan, you love Hello Kitty, right?" the Naruto at the far end of the stall asked, foxlike grin suddenly disarmingly charming.
"That may be so, but you can't take over the stand just to win me a prize, you idiot!" she ground out, short fuse growing shorter by the second.
"Aw," Naruto number six pouted, blue eyes widening and lower lip jutting out. "But why not?"
Sakura stared in disbelief. Seriously? "Because that's cheating, you moron!"
"Nah, you worry too much, Sakura-chan!" Naruto eleven said cheerfully.
"Besides," number twelve interjected, grinning devilishly.
"We already paid!" the entire line chorused, and then each turned and grabbed a water gun.
The stall caretaker just shook his head, smiling slightly as he stepped back. "On your marks! Get set! Go!"
Despite herself, Sakura watched on curiously. How much competition could it be, when you were competing against yourself, er… selves? When the bell rung above number seven, she giggled as the other eleven Naruto clones slumped in defeat and puffed out of existence.
Turning to her, his blue eyes shining in mirth, Naruto reached out a hand and said, "Come on, Sakura-chan. Take your pick!"
Shaking her head with a smile on her lips, she pointed to one and the man behind the counter pulled it down, handing it to her with a smile. "Thank you! Enjoy your night, and perhaps come back for another round if you'd like."
Hugging the stuffed toy loosely to her stomach, Sakura smiled and continued up the street, Naruto at her side with a pleased expression on his face.
"I know the real reason you did that, you know. If you wanted to win that badly, you could've just put some chakra into it and manipulated the water flow instead of taking over the booth so other patrons couldn't play."
Holding a hand to his chest, Naruto stumbled. "Ah, you wound me, Sakura-chan!" he cried. "To think that you would think so low of me…"
"Shut up!" she laughed, punching his shoulder. "Admit it!"
Grabbing her arm, Naruto pulled her to a nearby food stand. With a small yelp, Sakura found herself sitting on a tall stool as Naruto looked her in the eyes, his expression soft.
"Alright, I'll admit it. I took over the prize stall because I wanted to make sure I would win you a prize, and to make sure that no one else would be able to walk off with something I really wanted to get you. If I lost, I'd still win because one of my clones would have won the prize. Is it so bad to invade one little booth for my girlfriend?" he asked, holding back a smirk, only to have it show in his eyes.
Whatever was left of Sakura's irritation at her boyfriend's outlandish antics dissipated at his confession. "I'll let this one slide," she replied, smiling and hugging her prize closer.
Naruto leaned closer, eyes squinting in merriment. "Good," he whispered, his lips barely brushing hers. Chuckling to himself, he put his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, smiling against her mouth as she hummed in appreciation.
Pulling back slightly, a slightly abashed look in his eyes, he asked meekly, "Does this mean, since I've been such a good boyfriend and all, that you'll reward me with ramen?"
Raising a brow, Sakura stared at him. "No."
Grinning devilishly once again, he leaned closer. "Well it's either ramen or we go back to my place and–"
"Ramen, definitely ramen," she replied loudly.
Snickering in triumph, Naruto grabbed her hand and linked it with his, helping her down from the stool and pulling her to him only to wrap his arm around her.
Punching him softly in the side, Sakura asked, "You spent all your money on that stupid prize booth didn't you?"
Shifting his gaze away, Naruto muttered sheepishly, "Maybe?"
Snorting and shaking her head, Sakura leaned against his shoulder. "We can head back to your place after ramen, if you behave."
A nearby elderly couple jumped in their seats on a bench at the loud "yes!" they heard coming from somewhere in the crowded street in front of them. They returned their attention to each other, shaking their heads and smiling fondly.
Hope you enjoyed it. I didn't really know how to end it, but since it was kind of a cheesy thing to begin with, I left it at that. Plus, I'm tired. Why do I always write things when I'm tired? Like, seriously? I must be masochistic or something.
Read, review, whatever you like.
Hope you enjoyed it, Lolcatftw! I liked the challenge it presented, and I really enjoyed writing the fluff. Made me all fuzzy and warm inside. ;]
Much love,
child_of_the_moon
XO