Well minna, this is a new one...
The Naruto fandom! Yay!
We've already done something here...
Well... yes, we have, but that was just a poem, this is a story.
Same difference... I still have to work.
Oh, shush you. For the readers out there who haven't read our work before, I'll give you a hint as to what's going on...
When you see this: blah that's Kitzuko, my muse, talking.
He's kinda pessimistic, so I don't let him talk much.
Hey!
/smirk/ You are! Now, do the disclaimer.
Fine... IYfanatic owns nothing, just me...
Good boy!
And, just so you guys don't get confused: I screwed with the timeline. They (Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, etc.) are all 16, with the older people aged accordingly. Also, Sasuke never went with Orochimaru; he stayed in Konoha, where he belongs.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Obviously. FANfiction...
The Matchmaker
Chapter One: The Mission
"So, why are you here, Gaara?" Naruto questioned, looking at the red head out of the corner of his eye, while at the same time slurping up a mouthful of ramen.
Ah, ramen. It makes the world go round, the blonde thought, his eyes fogging up in bliss.
"I'm here with my brother, Kankuro. He's the new Kazekage and he wants to make a peace treaty with Konohagakure against Orochimaru and Oto. That snake killed our father, the late kage of Sand, and we want revenge."
Naruto looked up with wide eyes. "You know Gaara, that was the most you've talked at one time the whole time I've known you. I think we're making progress!"
With that said, Naruto reached across the empty stool next to him and gave Gaara a hug.
The red headed demon carrier sat perfectly still, the only physical response he gave to Naruto's hug was a light dusting of pink across his pale cheeks.
After a few seconds, Gaara gently pushed the blonde away. "That's enough hugging for today."
Naruto pouted for a bit, but then he smiled mischievously. "Fine, but only if you give me your ramen."
With a sigh, Gaara pushed his uneaten ramen bowl towards the noisy blonde. "Yatta! More ramen for me!"
"Sorry dobe, that's not gonna happen."
"Don't call me a dobe Sa- Wait." Naruto spun around on his stool, facing the exit where Sasuke stood just inside the flap to Ichiraku's ramen bar.
"Sasuke-teme! What are you doing here? You said you don't like ramen!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I don't. I was looking for you, dobe. Godaime-sama wants us to go to her office, ASAP."
"The old hag? What for?"
Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "I don't know, baka. That's why we're going to her office: to find out."
Naruto made an "o" shape with his mouth.
"And don't call me a baka, Sasuke-teme!" the blonde added, remembering the insult. Sasuke merely smirked in response.
"Hey, Gaara!" Naruto said, turning towards the forgotten red head. "Do you want to come with us? Your brother might be there with the old hag."
With a smirk sent to the glowering Sasuke, Gaara said, "Let's go."
"Okay! C'mon Sasuke-teme!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Gaara's hand and dragging him out.
Sasuke was left alone in the ramen bar, growling. He stalked outside and glared at the red hair visible down the street, next to the spiky blonde hair that could only belong to the loudest Chuunin in Konoha. With a deep, calming breath, Sasuke relaxed his facial expression and set off after the demon containers.
In the office of Konoha's fifth, all was quiet. The only noise was the soft inhale-exhale pattern coming from a blonde head resting on a pile of paperwork. The room temperature was at a pleasant 70 degrees and the cooling system was working quietly for once. It was peaceful, and nothing could possibly disturb the tranquility of the room. Yup, nothing at - Bang!
The blonde woman's head shot up, a paper sticking to her cheek. "What the- ?"
As she rubbed the grogginess from her eyes, a horrible noise filled the office, disturbing the once-serene atmosphere.
"Tsunade-oba-chan! Wake up! What the hell did you think you were doing, sending Sasuke-teme to come get me? I was eating ramen! Do you know how important it is for me to keep up my daily ramen intake? … …"
Tsunade stopped listening at that point, recognizing the noise as one of Naruto's rants. She did a quick look-over of her office, noticing three other people in the background.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama! I tried to stop him, but you know he doesn't listen! I'll get him out, don't worry about-"
"Shizune! Calm down; I told Sasuke to bring him here. I must have dozed off for a bit, that's all."
"Hey! Old hag! Did you even listen to me?" Naruto whined.
Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temple where a headache was rapidly developing. "Naruto, do me a favor and shut up!"
When the blonde opened his mouth yet again, Tsunade hurled the crystal paperweight on her desk at his head. With a gasp, Naruto ducked behind Gaara, whose sand quickly caught the paperweight before it hit the floor.
"Were you trying to kill me?!" Naruto asked, peeking out from behind his green-eyed bodyguard.
"I knew you could dodge it, but in the off chance you hadn't, I would've been doing the village a favor."
With a huff, the blonde teen came out from behind the safety of his living wall to sit in one of the chairs placed conveniently in front of the Hokage's desk.
"So, why did you want to see me and Sasuke-teme?"
Tsunade blinked, remembering why her rest had been disturbed in the first place.
"Oh, yes, well... I have a new mission for you. It's B-class; nothing too hard. It'll last for 3 months, starting today, if you choose to accept it."
"What do we have to do?" Sasuke drawled out, his tone suggesting boredom.
"Uchiha! You speak!"
Sasuke gave the Hokage a light scowl, earning himself a smirk in response.
"Anyway, all you have to do is guard a visitor on his stay here in Konoha. Tensions are high right now and his brother wanted him to be safe; we decided that the two of you would suffice."
"Okay then! Who are we guarding?" Naruto asked, bouncing lightly in his seat.
"He's standing right next to you, Naruto," Tsunade said, pointing at the silent red head.
"Gaara?! He doesn't need protection! He scares off more people every day than Sasuke-teme does when he uses his Sharingan!"
"That may be true, Naruto, but it's a necessary precaution. Just go with it," Tsunade said, waving off the blonde's comment.
"Shizune, are the preparations complete?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I had just finished when they came in."
"Good, good," the blonde woman said, nodding.
"What preparations, Tsunade-oba-chan?"
The elder blonde's eyebrow twitched. "I've told you not to call me that, Naru-chan."
"Tsunade-oba-chan!"
"Naru-chan!"
"Ms. Wrinkles!"
"Short stuff!"
Then, the glaring commenced.
By now, the two blondes were butting heads over the piles of paperwork scattered over the desk, causing Shizune to let out a heartfelt sigh.
"There they go again..."
"They do this often?" Gaara asked, his green eyes scanning the scene playing out in front of him.
"At least once a week." She gave another sigh.
"Yes, but they haven't started physically fighting yet. That's a relief."
All heads snapped to the newcomer.
"Ero-sennin! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, grinning widely.
"Yes, Jiraiya. To what do we owe this visit?" Tsunade asked formally, forgetting about her feud with Naruto… For the moment, at least.
The old pervert shrugged, gazing out the window at the village below. "What? Can't I come visit my old student?"
Naruto snorted, crossing his arms in disbelief. "The last time you came to visit me you spent all your time at the women's baths - doing research."
Jiraiya fidgeted nervously and then quickly changed the subject. "Yes, well, that's not important. I hear you have a new mission, Naruto. What's it about?"
"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. It's gonna be real easy! All I have to do is guard Gaara here!"
Naruto said happily, dragging the red head next to him, out of the corner he'd taken refuge in.
"Actually, Naruto, there's one more thing..."
Tsunade drifted off, unsure how to deliver the other part of their mission. Should she be blunt and say it straight out, or should she ease him into it?
"Well, come on, Tsunade-oba-chan. We're not getting any younger!"
That did it. Blunt it is.
"You and Gaara are going to have to stay at the Uchiha's mansion," she said quickly, mentally preparing herself for his reaction.
There was a few seconds of total silence in the room; the literal calm before the storm.
"Whaaat!"
Everyone winced at the sheer volume of Naruto's screech.
"Keep it down! I have a headache over here!" Tsunade sighed, "It's not that big a deal, Naruto. It will just be 3 months, not an eternity."
The blonde looked at Tsunade with a frown, but his wide eyes made it seem more like a pout.
"But why?"
"It'll be easier to guard Gaara if you're all in one place, that's why, gaki."
At Tsunade's comment, Sasuke decided to speak up again. "Why does it have to be at my place?"
"Would you rather stay at Naruto's apartment?" Jiraiya asked him, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "You'd have to share the bed."
Sasuke's eyes widened and he quickly turned his head away, hiding the light blush on his cheeks. The only ones who seemed to notice this display were Jiraiya and Gaara; the male sannin simply chuckled a bit while the red head narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha's back.
"That's not acceptable. We have to treat Gaara as an ambassador between Sunagakure and our village. Therefore, he will have his own room. Besides, we already moved Naruto and Gaara's things."
And I've seen the looks that Gaara and Sasuke give Naruto. I do not want them sharing a bed. …At least not all together. Tsunade added in her mind, looking at the glaring contest between Sasuke and Gaara. The resulting paperwork from the bloodbath would take forever to complete and file away…
Naruto - being clueless about the heated staring going on behind his back - asked, "Why did you move my things? You said it would only be 3 months Tsunade-oba-chan!"
"Don't call me that, Naruto! Anyway, we moved your stuff so that you wouldn't have to keep going back to your apartment for things you might need."
Naruto nodded, accepting the practicality of the move.
"Well, since everything's arranged already, why don't you two go get started on your mission? You can show Gaara around."
Sasuke nodded in agreement and led the way out.
"Later, Tsunade-oba-chan!" Naruto tossed back, Gaara deciding to keep quiet and give a simple nod farewell.
Once the teens were out the door, Tsunade turned to her assistant. "You told Kakashi to keep an eye on them, right?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I told him to keep out of sight while doing so, too."
"That's great, Shizune! You read my mind," Tsunade said, rubbing her hands together in gleeful anticipation.
Jiraiya looked at the proceedings warily. "I really hope you know what you're doing Tsunade."
"Of course I do! Naruto deserves some happiness in his life, and if I have to play matchmaker to make it happen, I will!"
Edited: 6/24/07 It's taken me so long to update the next chapter that I've had to go back and read this. When I did, I was appalled by all the errors. I have no Beta, but that's no excuse. I tried to make this sound better; please tell me if I succeeded!
Anyway, now I have to ask you guys to vote for who you want Naru-chan to end up with.
You only get to choose between Sasuke and Gaara though.
I've already made up my mind that there'll be NejiNaru and ShikaNaru flirting, because Naruto is the cutest little uke around, and he deserves some love. XD