Mount Aitoyuki

Yeah, Cheesy Title

A SasuNaru Chapter Fic

Composed by: iKoffeeholic

iKoffeeholic's Word: Glad you could stay with me. I'm getting sick of the snow where I live, but at least I don't have to shovel driveways. And I love all my yaoi fans equally no matter what pairings ya ship, but can I please play with KibaHina this time? I just like how it looks. Okay, here we go! (A little OOC Sakura warning)

Mount Aitoyuki

"Settle down, students," yawned Kakashi-sensei. "The Board of Education is being nice this year. They're allowing us to go on a half-expense paid ski trip on Mount Aitoyuki."

The classroom erupted with gasps and cheers. Naruto and Sakura cheered the loudest, but were instantly silenced.

"But there is a catch, Haruno. Uzumaki." He picked up a stack of permission slips and sat them on a desk. "Your upperclassmen were already given first dibs, so there's only a limited amount of seats left on the buses for second-year and first-year students. First come, first serve, and you have two weeks to pay in full. If you want to go, get your papers signed and have your money ready starting tomorrow. You can pick up a permission slip after the bell rings."

The bell finally rang out its clangy clang to signal the end of another school day. But before Naruto and Sakura could leave their desks, their classmates charged at the permission slips with the force of a pack of jungle animals.

"I got one! I got one!" Kiba cried as he hid the floor with a loud thud, only to be trampled by others. Someone's foot landed between his legs. "Ow! My nuts!"

Ino sarcastically apologised. "Sorry Kiba, but I've gotta grab a seat next to Uchiha-senpai!"

As soon as she heard her say that, Sakura scrambled over the desks to snatch up a paper for herself. "Oh no you don't, Ino-pig! I'm sitting next to him!" And then the girls landed themselves in a childish shouting match.

"Nuh-uh!" Ino spat.

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"If you girls don't stop that, neither of you will be sitting next to Uchiha," said Kakashi over the commotion. "You'll have the joy of sitting with either me…" he cleared his throat and eerily hissed, "…or Yamato-sensei."

Ino and Sakura shrieked. "Okay, okay! We'll be good!" they cried in unison.

Naruto didn't want tangle himself in the mess, so he sat in his desk and waited for everything to cool down. He knew that Sakura had his back. She'd get him one anyway. In the middle of his gazing-out-of-the-window session, a finger tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh?"

It was Hinata. "Um…hi, Naruto-kun. You can take mine since I won't be able to go," she said.

Naruto felt a surge of concern wash over him. He asked her, "But why not? I don't wanna be nosy, Kiba's going and you're his girlfriend…so…"

She turned red.

"I won't tell anyone, Hinata."

Hinata sighed and leaned in closer. "I-I'm afraid of heights. And you have to go down big slopes to ski. I didn't want Kiba to feel bad, so I told him I was busy that day."

"Hinata, there's nothing to be scared of. You can always do bunny slopes, or just chill out in the lodge and sip cocoa," Naruto told her. "But if Kiba doesn't know, you should tell him."

Then Kiba walked up to them wearing one of those big grins of his. "Hey babe, are you sure that you're busy? I'll pay for you to go." He pouted like a puppy-dog when she looked away from him. "What's the matter? You're not scared of heights are you?"

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Yes…" Like a loving boyfriend would, Kiba wrapped his arms around her.

"It's fine. We don't have to go skiing though. We can just cuddle in the lodge and sip cocoa." Naruto nodded his head in approval, and Kiba placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks, Kiba."

Slicing through moment, Sakura had brought Naruto a paper. "Hey Naruto, we get to stay overnight!"she shouted.

Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata whipped their heads around. "WHAT?!"

Sakura went on, "We get ski all day, each lunch and dinner, spend a night in their hotel, and eat breakfast in the morning then go home! That's what!"

"That's amazing, but there's one thing." Naruto began. "How much do we have to pay?"

Sakura scanned the paper for the price. She looked up and said, "Twelve thousand yen."

"WHERE THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET THAT KIND OF MONEY?!" Kiba screamed. "I'm sorry babe. Maybe we can just stay home and enjoy the winter carnivals. No worrying about heights."

Hinata brightened a bit, but still looked a little bashful. After scanning the paper himself, Naruto then commented, "Isn't Mount Aitoyuki near the Hidden Snow Village? You know, the place with all the amazing carnivals and restaurants and ramen?" He licked his lips after saying ramen.

"Yeah, that's the one," Hinata said. "My mom and I usually go every summer. But Kiba don't have to stay here. We can go just for the carnivals."

"But Hina..." whined Kiba. "You don't have to pay for me. I can take care of us!"

Naruto gazed out of the window again. He knew he'd have to do some serious begging when he got home. His mom wouldn't mind, but she'd want to tag along as an embarrassing chaperone just to visit the shops. His dad would be a little wary since his test grades haven't been looking so good this semester. And his older sister Kyuubi, who was at university at the time, wasn't going to be kind enough to loan him any extra cash. Uncle Jiraiya gave him a little allowance for helping in his bookstore, and Naruto had already used that up.

Naruto really wanted to go so he could play in the powdery snow and do a little shopping with Sakura. But his real intentions were set on an upperclassman—Sasuke Uchiha. He was an athlete, the most valuable player in every sport—on the tennis team, the soccer team, the rugby team, the basketball team, the debate team—every single team he tried out for. His silky black, windblown hair, deep dark eyes, chiselled jaw line, and his toned muscles and ass(et) made up his godlike physique.

Naruto already told Sakura he was bi, though leaning more towards guys. However, telling her about his crush on Sasuke would probably ruin their friendship since she liked him too. Well, every girl at Konoha Academy liked him at some point.

Anyway, Sasuke was obviously straight. He'd been through about six girls this year alone, and rumour had it that he was about to break up with his current girl, Karin. Maybe he was tired of girls. Maybe, if the stars and planets in the heavens decide to align in a magical order, Naruto will get the chance to talk to Sasuke and end up his boyfriend. Forever and ever.

But too bad. Naruto had almost no means of getting the money to go.

"Eh hem…" coughed Kakashi-sensei. "The bell rang ten minutes ago, kids. You can go home now." He grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door, gesturing for the kids to follow him out.

Kiba, Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura gathered their things and left as told. On the outside, they went their separate ways. Kiba walked Hinata home, and Naruto decided to stick with Sakura for a while.

"So, Sakura," Naruto started. "Are you going skiing?"

She smiled at him. "Hell yeah. Wouldn't miss it. You going?"

The blonde cocked his head to the side. "Uh…yeah, but I don't know how I'm going pay for it. Kyuubi doesn't have any more favours for me to do, and I failed that last math test."

"Maybe I can help. You can work at my mom's gardens for a day or two."

"Sakura, don't worry. I'll find some way. How can I pass up an opportunity like this?"

A coy grin grew on Sakura's face. "Who knows? You just might find a boyfriend on the slopes."

Naruto turned red. Sasuke was the only guy he could think about hooking up with on that field trip. He knew it was a one-in-a-million long shot, but getting close to him would be just enough.

The two turned the corner and walked in silence for a while. School traffic in the neighbourhood around that hour was usually heavy with honking, speeding cars, loaded buses, and squealing middle-schoolers. That day it was unusually light and quiet. A few more blocks up ahead and Naruto would be home.

"Hey Naruto, you wanna get some dango before you go home?" Sakura asked.

"I thought we were supposed to be saving money!" the blonde shouted. "Not spending it!"

She laughed jestingly. "Oh, okay. Just trying to see where your head was. See you, Naruto." The pinkette pulled out her cell phone and started jogging the other way. Naruto watched as she disappeared down the street, her pink locks blowing in the wind behind her.

'That's Sakura for you,' he thought while he fished out his house key. He opened the door and kicked off his shoes.

"Naruto! I heard there's a field trip coming up!" sang his mother from the kitchen. The phone was slammed back onto the receiver.

'Crap…Sakura must've called her mom…then her mom called my mom…' Naruto's inner self hissed. He went into the kitchen to straighten things out. "Yeah Mom. We're going skiing." He grabbed a muffin off the countertop and bit into it. "We don't have to pay full price though."

"But I heard you have to pay twelve thousand yen. Where do you think you're getting twelve thousand yen, young man?" Kushina sassed as she put her hands on her hips. "What happened to all that money you earned from helping Jiraiya at his bookstore?"

Naruto gave his mother the side eye. "Uhhh…"

"Well answer me, Naruto."

The blonde stuffed the rest of the muffin into his mouth to stall for a good answer. He knew what he did with that money—manga, video games, and anime collectibles—but telling his mom that would be the end of him.

Kushina seemed to grow impatient. She inched closer to his face. "You have until the count of five!"

It was either choke on the muffin or be choked by his mother's death grip, so Naruto swallowed the bread and caved. "Alright! I spent it and I don't have a sen left!" He backed into the fridge, expecting his mother to take a swing at him, but she didn't.

"Just wait 'till your father gets home," Kushina sighed. "In the mean time, you better figure out a way to get the money since I'm not paying for it." She picked up a muffin and took a big bite out of it. "Oh! And Sakura's mother offered you a little job at her gardens. Remember, every little bit helps."

Naruto marched himself upstairs to his room and flopped himself onto his bed. He glossed his eyes over his shelf full of manga, his cabinet lined with anime figurines and his two favourite Vocaloids (Miku and Len), and his anime and autographed Jpop posters. His eyes stayed focused on Light Yagami, who was frozen onto a gloomy background holding a red apple in his hand. How on earth was he going to take care of this situation he had no idea of. But the only way out of no way seemed to be parting with his beloved collection.

Sure Naruto had many things that collectors would love to possess, but he worked pretty hard to get a few of those things, namely the Jpop posters. That work was priceless in his eyes. Then again, getting close to Sasuke was on a higher rung of the ladder than Kinya Kotani.

Hopefully, nothing would come to him selling his prized collectibles on eBay.