TANABATA
Author: Hoshiki
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto ©. The fanfiction belongs to me.
Warning: Yaoi, if this isn't your cup of tea, please by all means, turn back. Flamers are retards, encompassing a really low IQ equivalent that that of a glass of water… less, in fact. The back button exists because Microsoft happened to realize the need for it for specific people.
Fandom: Naruto (manga-verse)
Pairing: Naruto x Sasuke
Summary: Tanabata approaches and the villagers get excited, as it was believed that wishes of lovers come true this day. Naruto finds a paper stamp with his name on it, and Sasuke's desperate to stick his personal stamp without getting caught.
Note: Tanabata's actually a festival in Japan where the Weaver Girl and Cowherd meet once a year. Considered a lovers' festival, couples often go to temples to seek their dreams of happiness forever with their loved ones. XD Yeah right. Like THAT'll work for me. Good luck, Sasuke! You're so gonna need it in my merciless fics. Bwahahaha!
Naruto sat up with a yawn. It was a clear Sunday morning, a rather unusual time for the blond to be awake. But today was a special day—and special days like these merited some effort from him (or so he thought). Therefore, Naruto decided to get up earlier that Sunday morning. Say, at approximately 11:59AM. It was technically still morning, wasn't it?
Sakura was going to be at the festival today, at the temple. And she was going to be decked out in a kimono. If there was one thing Naruto liked, it was the pink haired girl in a kimono. Nobody resists a girl in a kimono, period. Well, except Sasuke, but he was a self-reproducing, asexual amoeba anyway. Uchiha bastard.
Getting dressed, Naruto wondered if he'd get lucky today. If any chick would write his name on a paper stamp and stick it to some tree.
He looked into the mirror.
"HAH. Fat chance." He made a face, winked at himself, and left the house.
Meanwhile, Sasuke paced his room.
This was hard! Honestly, whoever knew that it'd take so much gut to do this? And who the heck came up with this stupid regulation anyway? It was embarrassing!
Just write that god damned thing already! He inwardly fumed, his pacing getting no less slower. Sasuke stole a glance at the lone brush pen, that wad of ink and the blank paper stamp. He'd gone early to the temple, snatched one and ran away unscathed though his fangirls had seen him. They'd screamed and squealed, each hoping they'd have their name written there and pasted on a tree later that evening during the festival.
"Fine," he mumbled to himself, fetching up the pen and nibbling the edge thoughtfully. He made a few strokes, and then surveyed his handiwork. The handwriting was neat and defined, but he made sure it was unrecognizable as his—the Sharingan worked to great favor. It was his brother's handwriting. Sure, he hated his brother, but hey, it worked at the moment. There, on the paper, was the name Naruto written in hiragana. Strangely, his brother's old handwriting had a curvy, round look to it. Showed that he had had great humor before he turned evil and strange and shark-loving.
Sasuke's mouth twitched. AND nail-polish wearing. Thank goodness he was missing the evil laugh. Maybe he still retained a sense of humor, who knew?
That was when it happened. The wind blew, and the paper flicked its way out of the window.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!
That was his mind screaming. Sasuke in sheer desperation just about nearly threw himself out of the window, before he stopped short of it. No, Sasuke! You must get a hold of yourself. Do no jump! You still need to live to kill your brother. Now think of a solution.
He decided to risk going to the temple again. But he did hope no one would find the paper. Least of all Naruto. God forbid the blond find out. He made his way out of his house and was about three quarters his way down the path when he heard a shrill voice call his name.
"HI SASUKE-KUN!"
Sasuke refused to reply, or look her way. Ino annoyed him. Girls annoyed him. He was always annoyed by their voices chanting his name, their goggle-like eyes and stupid floating hearts. Sasuke hated romantic. Therefore, he chose to not respond to Ino. Go away, Ino. Leave the Uchiha alone… that's right… move it—
"I LOVE YOU!" she jumped and latched herself onto his shoulder. Other girls saw the action, and hurried to get themselves latched onto him too.
"He's mine!" Sakura yelled.
"No, no! Go away wide-forehead!"
"Pig, Ino-PIG!"
"Let go."
Both girls dropped their hold of him, surprised. Usually Sasuke would either struggle, keep silent or growl. But today was different – he actually sounded determined and desperate to get away. Given, his voice still held the edge and coldness, but something was amiss. He glared at the lot of them. "I must leave."
They stared as their wonderful Sasuke stalked away. Neither of them noticed a very tall man loitering about in the area. Of course, his blue skin was hard to miss as were his shark-like features, but every girl was too dumbfounded to notice. Sasuke was eager to get to the temple. The man, however, himself was preoccupied. In his hand was a paper stamp.
"It's Itachi-san's handwriting…" Kisame gazed hard at it. "Naruto? Is that who…?"
Grunting, he smashed the paper into a ball and flipped it into the air behind him where it rolled down the hill and disappeared from view. Just in time too.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing… are we to gather more information today?" he casually asked, feeling guilty at his find and show of anger. Itachi looked at his partner thoughtfully before shaking his head.
"No, today we back down for a while. I need to attend to some matters in the evening. You may choose to go out, if you would prefer that."
"Yeah sure," Kisame shrugged lamely. Puzzled, Itachi looked after the departing form of the shark-nin. He then stared back at his own hands while producing a piece of paper with a hiragana name written on it, in bold, neat, slightly rounded strokes. It had been years since he'd been in the temple. Perhaps his village spirit might never forgive him, but he really wanted to do this. Itachi bit his lip, and he too left the area.
Naruto whistled as he walked. The gust of wind felt good on his face. It was a hot summer's day, and the blond idly wondered if he could get a discount on ramen since it was a holiday. He knew that Iruka-sensei was a little too busy for him that week, being flustered about Kakashi-sensei and all not having missions and how to entertain him. In fact Naruto had walked in on said entertainment and it scared him so much he never laid foot in Iruka-sensei's house until he was sure it was safe to do so, or if he had an appointment made.
He considered sparring with Sasuke.
Sasuke, the Uchiha bastard. The cute Uchiha bastard. That molestable, tight-assed, asexual amoeba. Stupid Sasuke. It was Tanabata, and the raven-haired boy was nowhere to be found. Naruto wondered if Sasuke actually hated holidays and love-days in general. Besides, it was his entire fault, the bastard. He was so god damned attractive and pretty, but he just had to be uptight, unforgiving and loveless. Naruto liked Sasuke. Never admitted it because he feared for his balls, but he did genuinely like his rival. After all, Sasuke had been a good friend to him lately, and they'd learnt to trust each other.
He bumped into Kiba, who grinned like the world just told him a funny joke. Akamaru barked his hello.
"Guess what, fox boy—you got lucky!"
"Whoa?"
"Don't whoa me, you self-assuming spiky haired bastard. You nailed one, you old dog you!" Kiba glanced around as he rifled through his pockets to produce a crumpled piece of paper, his big mischievous smile setting his face practically alight. "Akamaru found it on the ground somewhere in the garden. Man, you have to look!"
"This is a joke, ain't it?" Naruto couldn't help grinning as he realized what it was. "Why's it out here anyway?"
"Maybe it got blown away by the wind."
"Hmm… just means we weren't fated," Naruto mused. "Who you think it could be?"
"I don't know… Hinata maybe? That girl's got this thing for you."
"No, seriously?"
"Like I said, I don't know. Just a guess, duh," Kiba folded his arms. "Who'd you like it to be anyway?"
"I was kinda thinking of Sakura, but I'm not so sure anymore. I mean I do wanna see her in a kimono, but that's about it," Naruto rubbed his chin while Kiba and Akamaru exchanged glances.
"Yeah well, Sakura… she's kinda popular. I mean Lee likes her too, and all."
"Yeah, I know. It's weird… ah; don't let it bother us, huh? If babes want us, us they get." He flexed imaginary big muscles and Kiba exchanged a similar pose with a "hell yeah".
"But seriously… who is it you'd like? I mean, don't get me wrong and all, but I'm bored."
"I can see that," Naruto grinned. "We're both bored. So hey—like, would you freak out if I told you that I was bisexual?"
Kiba stared hard at him. And punched his shoulder.
"Opportunist pig." He laughed. "Whatever. I don't give a damn about it, as long as it ain't me… yo, it ain't me, right?"
"YOU? Eww, no way!"
"You didn't have to phrase it that way!" Kiba made a face of mock-hurt. "But seriously Naruto… bi?"
"Yeah, I know, it's surprising." The two had made it to the village lake and were soon basking in the sun, getting tanned and skipping stones over the calm surface of the waters. "I never thought about it, but lately this someone's been growing on me… and happens to be a he."
"You so disgust me," Kiba laughed. "Go one, rant like a woman now."
"Damn you, dog boy. Anyway as I was saying, this guy, he's hot. I mean I hate him and all, but damn it all, he's gorgeous. He's got this long leg thing going on, and there's his pale skin and… hey, Kiba, are you even listening?"
"I rarely listen when you rant, but this is interesting," Kiba chucked another stone over the rippling waters. It bounced off a docked boat. "Which Uchiha brother are you talking about?"
"Itachi."
"NO SHIT?" Kiba jumped.
"I'm kidding, not Itachi. That guy's a murderous bastard. Who's hot, but nah, not him."
"This conversation's getting warped," Kiba shook his head. "Sasuke? For real?"
"You do realize that we're beginning to sound like girls, don'tcha?"
"Hmm… I guess we do." Akamaru barked in agreement. But they were curious. "What're you gonna do, Naruto?"
"Tonight, I'll paste this—" he whipped a rotten-looking paper stamp from his pocket, "onto a tree, corner Sasuke, and even if he protests, I'm gonna kidnap him and rape him."
"Sounds brutal," Kiba shared a laugh. "You know you won't do that."
"What, I only so much go weak on my knees when about to do utmost evil." Naruto's whiskers twitched good-humoredly. They burst into laughter.
"Whatever. Good luck, fox-boy. I'm gonna retreat now and forcibly remove this weird conversation from my brain cells."
"Tell Shino I love him."
"And get my ass kicked? Do it yourself," Kiba grinned his goodbye and bounded off. Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way to the temple, where most of the youths were gathered. He looked to his right and caught sight of Ino who was talking to Shikamaru animatedly. On his right was Rock Lee getting a lecture on young love from his favorite sensei and… a flash of navy blue caught his eye. What the hell?
"So Sasuke's here too," Naruto pushed his way through the crowd. He stealthily kept behind Sasuke all the time, ducking in between the masses, to keep out of his rival's sight. The blond was curious. Sasuke hated crowds. So why was he here and not training or at home?
The raven-haired boy looked flustered and annoyed. Naruto chuckled, but stopped short when he saw that they were at the tree area where the papers stamps were stuck onto the branches. He ducked behind some pillars when he saw a few approaching girls, and performed a form changing jutsu—into his older brother. Minus the Akatsuki cloak of course. There it was, Itachi in navy blue plainclothes.
Naruto watched as the shape-shifted Sasuke made his way to the trees and slapped a stamp onto one. He smirked, satisfied, before turning away.
"Itachi-san?"
'Itachi' jumped. "What the—you?"
"You're here too?"
"Yes, um… ah…hmm." He folded his arms and tried to look as threatening as he could to the blue-skinned man. "What're you doing here?"
Kisame looked surprised. "You said yourself I was allowed to go out."
"OH, yeah… yeah," 'Itachi' nodded. "Yeah…"
They stood in silence as the crowd hurried by. Shifting uncomfortably, Kisame flashed him a toothy grin. "Wanna go for some dango? My treat this time."
"Uh, no thanks. I'm… going home… I mean, back to the lodgings," 'Itachi' hurriedly corrected himself when he received a puzzled look.
"Fine," Kisame half-smiled.
"Bye!" 'Itachi' waved and darted off.
As the dark haired nin left, Kisame stared at the paper stamp that 'Itachi' had stuck to the branch. He bit his lip and shook his head, sticking his own stamp beside it. With that deed done, he retreated with a sigh. Only to bump into his partner yet again.
"What are you doing here?"
"Itachi-san… I… you… you just left!"
"I did not," Itachi folded his arms, glaring at his partner. Unnoticed by them, Naruto slipped by to inspect the paper stamp Sasuke had pasted on the tree branch.
"But I just…!" he then pieced two and two together. "Oh."
"Yes?"
"I must have met your brother," Kisame explained. Itachi raised a brow.
"My brother?"
"Yeah, he was disguised as you. Stuck a stamp up that branch there—hey! It's his love interest!"
Itachi started. "What?"
"Your little brother likes that blond loudmouth," Kisame laughed. "Cute, really."
"Only you would think that," Itachi shook his head. "What has that foolish little brother of mine gotten himself into now?"
"Well, whatever it is, it wasn't you. Last I checked; he had a fan club. Don't blame him for acting cautious."
"Really, Kisame." Itachi cast his eyes down at his pale hands.
"Hey, you want to go get some dango? I'll treat you."
"…very well."
"It's me! It's my name! OH MY GOD!" Naruto cheered. He whipped his own rotten-looking paper out of his pocket, planted a loud smack on it and slapped it on an opposite branch. "Way to go Naruto, best ninja in Konoha!"
His blue eyes scanned the rest of the papers, noticing a few foreign names on them… two of which he knew. "Itachi, Kisame. Heard of them." It did cross the blond's mind to rip the two pieces of paper off as revenge for causing Sasuke so much suffering, but he decided to let the matter rest. It was Tanabata after all. The rest of them had either Sasukes or Kakashis on them, and a few odd Iruka-senseis on them. Many Sakuras, Inos… and hey! A Chouji! There was a Shino too, but Naruto didn't dare guess who it came from.
Hands in his pockets and whistling once again, Naruto couldn't be bothered to look for a kimono-decked Sakura. He did like her as a friend and appreciated her beauty, but the blond had other matters to tend to. He stopped by the lake, breathing in the fresh air. Glancing to his right, he caught sight of Sasuke.
"Oi! Bastard!"
Sasuke looked up. "Usuratonkachi."
"What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home primping yourself in front of a mirror?"
"Shut up."
"Oooh, nasty are we?" Naruto smirked. He did know what was in Sasuke's heart, after all, and now that he was at the informative advantage, he could push his rival to the limits. "It'd be strange if anyone wanted a Tanabata with you, I'm sure."
Sasuke gripped the hem of his shirt and pursed his lips, unconsciously making himself look more adorable to the blond. Naruto in turn licked his lips.
"Say what—wanna go get some ramen?"
Sasuke made no reply.
"I'll treat you."
He turned once more to face Naruto, who swallowed hard. The raven haired boy seemed to be searching his soul with those intense, depthless dark eyes. "Really?"
That sounded really strange, Sasuke actually sounded childishly doubtful—moreso, hopeful. If Naruto could look any more stumped, he would have grown roots and turned into a tree. Hurriedly he recovered his ground. "Yeah. C'mon, we haven't got all night! All the other couples will be eating and soon there'll be nothing left for us!"
Sasuke went red. Couples…?
He felt a warm hand wrap round his pale wrist and a tug as Naruto began to half drag him in general direction of the Ichiraku. Sneaking a glance back, Naruto smirked as he saw the faint rose hanging about his rival's cheeks. He shook his head, and squeezed his hand.
Tanabata was the one event where the weaver and the cowherd met again after a long separation. It was their sheer love that kept them coming back again to each other every year as a sign and hope to all lovers. Perhaps someday wishes of theirs will come true, though with every wish there must be hard work involved, just like the immortalized characters had to endure.
But at that moment, everything seemed in place.
END
Monday, September 12, 2005; 2:47 AM