I've been thinking. No, that's not the word, contemplating is. Most people would say that was a bad thing, but I asked Sakura, and she said that meant I was improving. Anyway, what I had been thinking about was what would happen if I were to die.
Surely, some of the villagers, the ones who had still not forgiven me for having Kyu in me, would celebrate, but only in secret. If word for out that they had been celebrating at my death, there would be hell to pay, between Kakashi, Sai, Sasuke, Iruka, and the rest of Rookie 9(and don't forget Gaara), and the law about respect for the Hokages. But they would be sad too, all of those people I'd grown close to. And what would happen to the village? Argh. All this contemplating made my head hurt.
'I wonder who will take my spot.' I thought, my mind wandering from the punishment of celebrating villagers. Hm. Sakura was training to be a medic nin, she wouldn't want to be Hokage. Kakashi? Too lazy. Iruka already had a job that he loved, and wouldn't trade for anything. Sai was back in Root, teaching the other poor, poor nins there about emotion. Kiba just plain wasn't suited for the job, and Shino was too low in ANBU, and didn't look like he would be rising any time soon. Neji was too conceited, and Hinata was also a medic nin. Shikamaru would just call it troublesome, and Choji was busy with other things. Gaara would care, and help find someone to be Hokage, if he didn't already have someone picked out, that is, but he had his own country to run.
That left Sasuke. He had returned willingly to the village after killing Itachi, only to find out Itachi wasn't the one who killed the clan. It was Orochimaru, so Sasuke had technically revenged the clan when he killed him for trying to use him to get Naruto. Sasuke was currently ANBU captain, with skills that almost rivalled mine(though I would never admit that to him), and had my complete and utter trust. The only problem was Sasuke's opinion on the matter. I was fairly certain that Sasuke would rather die than live through watching me die and taking his place, but he had no choice. By shinobi law, ninjas were not people, but objects. He would have to serve his village. Heaving a sigh, I called Sasuke into my office.
"Tell the guards outside they are temporarily deaf to anything in here, and not to interrupt unless in the case of an emergency unroll notified otherwise." I said, happy to note Sasuke was in his ANBU gear, there for not arousing curiosity or suspicion. Sasuke nodded and carried out the order while I, tired of smiling through the mile high stack of paperwork, used it as a pillow instead. Sasuke entered the room again and removed his mask, setting it on my desk and walking around to kneel next to me.
"You wanted to see me, Naruto?" He asked, his voice no longer a cold monotone.
"Yes." I hesitated, unsure of how to continue. "You are aware of the approaching danger, and the likeliness of the death of several people, including myself."
Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but I raised a hand to silence him, unusually calm.
"When I die, be it in the upcoming war or 60 years from now, I will need a replacement. I have been contemplating this, and I feel I've got a few suggestions, but as my highest ranking officer, I would like to hear your opinions." That was a lie. I only had one person he was thinking about, and I was talking to him right now.
Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, paused, then carried on. "First of all, you are not going to die, not while I'm alive, but if that somehow manages to happen without me noticing, I will trace down whoever's responsible and brutally murder them. Then, and only then, will I appoint a new Hokage, as we both know that that isn't going to happen without me. Second of all, I want to hear your suggestions before coming up with my own."
I sighed. Well, there goes that plan. "I really only had one person in mind."
Sasuke, who was always able to read me like a book, refused immediately. "No. Oh hell no. I am not-"
I cut him off, my eyes blazing. "You aren't in any position to protest, Uchiha." He rubbed his mask along the place where his eyes would be and sighed, clearly frustrated.
"Fine." He snapped, before softening his voice. "There's just one flaw: I don't plan on letting you die." He ran his hand down his mask, stopping at the edge. I watched as he raised it ever so slightly, to just above his lips. He leaned in, until his face was inches from mine, and purred, "See you, Naruto." He quickly pecked me on the lips, the left, using Kakashi-sensei's teleportation jutsu, leaving me to try to get rid of the blush that covered my whiskered cheeks, and damning him. Now I have more things to contemplate.