Unpredictable Fate.
AN: This story was written for a good friend of mine, MissUndescribablexx. Thank you for supporting this story in its making.
Unpredictable Fate
Chapter One: Unknown Enemy
It was midnight. Well, close enough to midnight. The stars were out shinning their ominous light on the group of men below. Like statues of stone, they stood rigid. Covered head to toe with mud, they were a sight to behold. The mud was fresh however. They had been standing in the same spot for only a minute before they stood up and began to wade through the murky swamp. You could not see the bottom of the swamp. Hell, you couldn't see two feet in front of you. A man cursed silently to himself for even being in this situation. He had short blonde hair that stuck out of places under his helmet. Yet it looked yellow in the moonlight. His eyes were unnaturally bright blue, but were darkened. As if those eyes had seen to much. Like the rest of his body, his face was caked in mud and that gave him the appearance that he was many years older than he really was. He continued to follow the rest of the men, wading through the water that reached above his waist. That soaked him to the bone. He shuddered slightly, as the water rose another inch when he stepped in a hole, his combat boot sinking into the murky gunk of the river floor. He put his gun over his head and cursed himself again as the water reached his neck.
"Shit." A man behind Naruto mumbled.
Naruto laughed quietly, "Stepped in a hole Shikamaru?"
He didn't answer. He only spit water out of his mouth and glared at the back of Naruto's head.
Not long after, they walked up and out of the murky water to dry land. Yet it wasn't much of a comfort. He was soaked to the bone and freezing his ass off. A soldier in the front crouched down and turned around to stare at the men behind him.
"All clear, guys. This will be our quick rest stop for the night. Get some quick shuteye. We are moving out at 1300." He told them, sitting down, placing his weapon between his knees.
Naruto and Shikamaru made their way to sit closer to the dry land. Not too far from the group to get left behind, but not close enough to sit in mud. Eventually, they ended up sitting back to back, their assault rifles posed between their knees. A gentle wind blew, making the men shake even more from the cold. The blonde soldier watched as his fellow comrades eyed the area around them as if expecting something to jump out. They eventually relaxed and allowed their eyelids to droop as sleep would soon overtake them. A sigh left Naruto's lips as his eyes closed for the briefest of seconds.
"So your being shipped back home tomorrow?" Naruto asked the man behind him, knowing the answer already.
"Yea." He said, his voice sounding off.
Naruto's eyebrows pulled together. Since they were back to back, he couldn't decipher the emotion between his words.
"I'm still staying." Naruto continued.
"I know." Shikamaru told him. "I got to find a replacement to watch your sorry ass while I'm gone."
Naruto chuckled lightly, "I'm not that hopeless."
"Really?" Shikamaru's eyebrow rose up. "I can still remember that day where we were under fire and you ran back into the crossfire so you could get that letter Kiba dropped."
"It wasn't the bad. Besides it was from his family back home." Naruto defending himself.
"It wasn't that bad?" Shikamaru turned to face him, "Dude! They were about to call an air force strike on that very location."
Naruto lips pulled out into a wide grin, "I got out didn't I?"
"With my help of course." He added.
"I was fine by myself." Naruto told him.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Whatever."
They stayed quiet and leaned back onto each other again for support. Besides the leader of the unit, they were the only ones awake. It was quiet, a peaceful silence. This silence was good. It was not the eerie silence before a storm nor the silence before a fire fight. It was a silence that promised nothing would interrupt it, well...for the time being. It had been only about thirty minutes when the commander started to move around. The commander was smoking a cigarette as he eyed the sleeping forms of soldiers. He placed the tip on the ground causing the tobacco to burn out.
"Alright, men." He called out, picking up his assault rifle. "It's time to move out."
The men around Naruto and Shikamaru began to stir. Shikamaru sighed pushing his body up and off the ground.
"Dammit Naruto. Your blabbering took all my sleep away." Shikamaru sighed rolling his head around.
"Like you could sleep." Naruto countered, standing up beside him.
"Yea, yea." He nodded and walked to stand behind the commander.
Naruto followed, slinging his rifle in front of him behind as so did the other men. Their eyes were blood shot and covered in dry mud. The group moved out walking slowly through the brush. Eyes looking around, alert. Muscles tense for any sign of movement. And their ears straining for any sound. A man standing in front of the group held his hand up, telling the group to stop. They all crouched down and took defensive positions. The night was still quiet. It reminded Naruto that today was in fact Christmas Eve. Families getting ready for Christmas as children ran to bed excited. He smiled slightly at the thought, but it was soon replaced with a frown. He had no family. They died long, long ago. In fact, it was for that reason he joined the military. Who would miss an unloved soldier?
Everyone listened for the sound of crunching leaves. But all they heard was the soft whistle of the wind. Silence. The wrong kind of silence. It all happened quickly. A shot rang out and the lead man fell over. The men's training kicked in as they searched for the threat. Gun fire erupted everywhere at once. It was so fast; Naruto barely had time to register the bullet impacting his left shoulder. The smell of metallic blood around in the air as the blonde headed man fell over backwards from the force of it into the swamp water. His body slid down the mud until his shoulder was in the water. His weapon was gone, thrown from his hands probably. Naruto clutched his shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding. His wounded arm felt around for his combat knife that was strapped to his leg, but his fingers were met with empty air. Someone jumped on top of him, shielding his body from the ongoing fire. Their presence soon disappeared as he heard a splash behind him. His vision began to blur and he moaned outwardly in pain. Footsteps approached him and the horrible sound of a gun cocking. He felt again for his knife but it was useless. Another loud shot rang into the night, this one hurting his ears. It sounded close, like someone was shot right next to him. His head hurt, like an headache at first but it worsened. It spread the throbbing taking him whole. Reality around him was fading and becoming unrealistic. Blurs of colors danced across his vision as images flashed in his head. He saw men running around and shouting at one another before the blackness of the night, swallowed him whole. In his last seconds of conscious, he could feel something pulling him.
He woke up surrounded by white. The sound of a quiet beeping and the smell of chemicals reached his nose. He was far too comfortable to be at the swamp still. What word could he use to describe it? Right. Sterile. Looking down he noticed, he was in a bed. A hospital bed to be exact. His right arm was hooked up to an IV, dripping a clear fluid into his bloodstream. He sighed in pain. The numbness and mix of pain in his left shoulder was clearly annoying him. He struggled to figure out exactly what happened before he lost conscious. Nothing came to mind and Naruto breathed out in annoyance. Great, his memory was shoot to shit too. The door to his room creaked open, signaling someone's approach. Not soon after, a man in an officer's uniform approached him and he quickly tried to rise without trying not to move his left arm.
"At ease." The officer told him, with a hint of amusement. "Corporal Uzumaki, you were shot in the arm late in night two days ago. We were able to recover you. No life-threatening problems with you left arm. You were shot in the shoulder, right above the bone. You will still have full use and control of that arm; however it will be weaker than your right arm. You also had a minor concussion from your head hitting the bank of the river. You were lucky." He pulled a piece a paper and handed it to me. "You are scheduled to leave tomorrow morning to Washington on military flight; from there back to your home in Texas by a civilian flight. It's not a direct flight but it will do. You've been relieved of active duty, Corporal. It should go in as an honorable or medical discharge." He nodded and walked away.
Naruto was undecided on his emotions, for he had nothing to go back to. Just his quiet little home in Texas. He felt lost. The military was all he had. Just his brothers and comrades in his unit. The door closed as the officer left his room. And just like that, his days in the military were over.
He waited patiently along with other soldiers as they boarded the giant military aircraft. They were all dressed in their formal uniform: a navy blue buttoned up jacket, along with blue slacks that had a single red line running down the sides, and to top it all off his white cap. Naruto sat down facing other Marines. He removed his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. Shikamaru sat down next to him, putting his bag between his legs. The cargo door began to close, slowly. And not long after, the plane was in the air. As soon as the plane hit the correct altitude, the men began to talk quietly among themselves. Their conversations mostly were of going back home with their families finally. Or in some cases their girlfriend or family pet. Trying not let their conversations sink in, Naruto turned to glance at the man sitting next to him. Shikamaru had grown so much in a year's period. His jaw was much more angular and his complexion was much darker. Naruto smiled slightly to himself, this man made his life bearable. He was really going to miss him.
"Excited to see your girl?" Naruto asked noticing his tense shoulders.
His lips pulled back in a smile, "Like you wouldn't believe."
"What happened anyway?" Naruto asked. "One minute it was silent and the next I was down." Naruto told him, remembering that night.
"You were shot. I moved to cover you. The threat was neutralized soon after you were shot. We called in an Air Medic chopper to pick you up." He told Naruto.
"Damn." Naruto sighed.
"What?" The Shikamaru asked, laughing.
"You saved my ass again."
"Oh." He said, laughing.
"Anyway, I thought you were leaving yesterday." Naruto asked.
"Well... I decided to wait for you. I mean what's one more day?" He said. "I got Temari to stay at a hotel so it all worked out."
Naruto chuckled lightly and leaned back into the seat. He rocked back forward and brought his arms to rest on his knees.
"You keep touch with me, you hear?" The blonde told him, his tone joking.
"Of course I will. After all you're going to be my best man." He said smiling.
"You're proposing?" Naruto asked stunned.
"Yea. I am as soon as I get her back in my arms." He said, putting his arms behind his head leaning back.
"Good to hear. Good to hear." Naruto trailed off, ending the conversation.
Don't get him wrong. He cared about his best friend, but he'd rather not spend the whole flight hearing someone talk about their happy and perfect life. And have that awkward silence when he had no happy experience to add to it. The rest of the flight was spent trying to ignore everyone's conversations as Naruto's eyes drifted shut and he fell into a deep sleep.
Used to his training, Naruto was a light sleeper and woke as soon as he felt someone nudge him. The military flight was drawing to a close as the plane dropped altitude and began to circle the landing strip. It would take a little while longer. After all this was a big plane. Everyone leaned back into their seats and prepared for the landing. Some of the soldiers shaking with excitement and others indifferent. Naruto sighed, closing his eyes, and leaned back as the plane descended. There was a slight jolt are the wheels made contact with the cement of the runway.
"Alright boys. Welcome to Washington." The pilot said over the intercom.
There was some loud cheering and claps on the back of friends as the plane slowed down to a slow speed. We were apparently landed on a military base, so a huge crowd was waiting for the plane to pull up. Naruto knowing he would feel terrible when he got off this plane. He hated crowds of people finding their sons, husbands who have been gone a long time. Sadly, soon enough the plane was taxing and the cargo door was opening.
"Welcome home." One of the plane crew shouted. "The left side will unbuckle and leave first, while the right goes after. Merry late Christmas!" He told everyone.
More cheering from the soldiers as Naruto unbuckled his harness, grabbed his bag, and followed the rest of the uniformed men off the aircraft. He turned to Shikamaru and smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Remember to call me every now and then." He reminded Shikamaru.
Shikamaru nodded quickly his eyes already scanning, looking for his girlfriend. The crowd awaiting the men began to cheer and scream loudly and call out the names of their loved ones as the soldier's boots touched the cement. Fathers were hugging their daughters. Wives and husbands were kissing. Young men were hugging their parents. He saw Shikamaru run into the arms of his girlfriend, Temari. Naruto turned to avoid walking through the crowd. He pulled his cap back on, up and over his eyes.
"Daddy!" Shouted a little girl, with blonde curls.
She ran up and wrapped her arms around Naruto's legs. Naruto looked down at her, a shocked expression covering his face.
"No, honey!" A young women yelled, running up to pick the girl up. "Daddy's over there." She said pointing to an older blonde head man, waiting with his arms open as he knelt on the ground not too far away.
She whispered a quick 'sorry' to me before running after her daughter and kissing the man full blown on the mouth. It was then Naruto had to look away and pull the cap down as far as it would go. Every time he came back, it was harder and harder to compose himself.
Leaving the family reunions far behind Naruto walked off the military base. Since the group wasn't the only soldiers be shipped back home, this once quiet base was swarming with activity. He waved his hand and called for a taxi. He had to catch his flight to Texas. A yellow cab pulled up as Naruto opened the door and got into the backseat.
"Where to?" A rough voice asked from the Driver's seat.
"Washington Airport." Naruto told him.
He nodded and pulled out onto the highway. It was a silent ride to the airport, but he didn't care. The cab pulled into the road leading in the airport.
"What airline are you using?" He asked him.
"Southwest." Naruto replied as they drove past Jet Blue and some other plane companies. The cab pulled to a stop and Naruto paid his fare to the cab driver and got out of the car. He strolled into the airport and waited in the line for baggage check. He tried to ignore the stares he was getting. Some filled with pity, others with respect, but some with hatred. Damn humanist. They weren't all for the war so they took their hatred out on the soldiers who had to participate in it. He removed the metals off his uniform and put them in the bin. Collecting his things, he looked down at his flight ticket:
Southwest Airlines
Flight 03281 to Houston, TX
Gate 11. B Passenger, Seat 44.
Departure time: 7:30 P.M.
Estimated Arrival time: 11:30 P.M.
He put the tickets back in his pocket and walked down past the gates. Checking his watch, he glanced at the time, seven o'clock. They wouldn't start boarding until fifteen minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave. He noticed a coffee cafe on the way to Gate 7 so he turned and walked in. The cafe was near empty so he was the first in line. Only an old man lingered, sitting in a booth.
"What can I get you?" Asked the man behind the counter.
"Uh.. Medium mocha cappuccino." Naruto told him, pulling out his wallet.
"Alright, that will be 3.16." He told Naruto.
Naruto handed him a five as the man handed him his coffee, "Keep the change."
He nodded as Naruto walked out of the cafe. The A Passengers had started to board the plane. Naruto pulled out his ticket and sipped his mocha while waiting for his section to be called.
"B Passengers are now boarding." The women said.
The line moved slowly until it was Naruto's turn. He handed the lady his ticket and she scanned it and handed back to him.
"Have a nice flight, sir." She said smiling at him and fluttering her eye lashes.
He tried to hold back his grimace at the sight of her. Instead he nodded and walked through the door onto the plane. He glanced at the numbers above the seats as he walked down the aisle: 41,42,43...44. Here it is. He opened the baggage apartment above his seat and put his huge bag in. Looking back down he noticed he had the most outside seat by the aisle. There were three seats in a row. And they were currently empty. Naruto mentally rolled his eyes knowing he would have to get up to let them in. He sat down and waited. An older man soon approached him.
"Hello." The older man said, smiling warmly, "I'm in seat 46 by the window."
Naruto nodded and let him through before sitting back down again.
"A Marine, huh?" The man said looking at Naruto, his eyes traveling up and down taking in my uniform.
"Yes, sir." Naruto told him.
"I was in the army myself years ago. I appreciate the work y'all are doing for us out there." He said.
"No, problem. I'm just glad I could help." Naruto smiled.
He smiled at glanced at the seat between him and Naruto.
Naruto understood and added, "I wonder who will be sitting between us.."
The man was about to say something else but looked off past Naruto towards something.
"I reckon we're about to find out." He chuckled.
Naruto looked at him confused until he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to come face to face to the most beautiful green eyes he had ever seen.
Sakura
"Hello." Sakura said to the uniformed man. "I'm in seat 45. I guess I'm between y'all."
The uniformed man stood up to let her through. It was then she was able to fully look at him. He stood about four inches taller than her. Six foot two maybe, she mentally added. Blonde, out of control hair stuck out from his military cap. His build was medium almost like the perfect man. His face was angular but more rounded in the cheek bones. But what stood out to her the most were his abnormally bright, blue eyes.
She cursed to herself lightly when she realized she was checking him out and it was practically obvious. She turned her head downwards and picked up her carry-on bag.
"Let me get that for you, miss." The soldier told her, his voice a little strained.
He reached down and picked up her bag with his right hand while his other hand was still holding his coffee. As he put it in the overhead compartment, she noticed his face seemed tense. Almost like he was nervous. She had thought he was laughing and smiling when she approached him from behind. But then again, he was a soldier. They must always look like that. She nodded a 'thanks' to him before sliding into her seat. An older man next to her smiled.
"Hi, I'm John." She smiled and shook his outstretched hand.
"Sakura. Nice to meet you." She told him in reply as she felt her seat shift as the soldier sat down.
She looked over at him and watched him take off his cap and place it in his lap. She was right his blonde hair was extremely messy. The urge to run her fingers through it crossed her mind. She stopped herself. God, what am I thinking? She thought to herself. Instead she decided to properly thank him.
"Thanks for the help back there." She said pointing to the overhead compartment. "I'm Sakura Haruno."
He smiled and it stunned her for a split second, "My pleasure. I'm Naruto." He told her. "Naruto Uzumaki."
"Pleased to meet you." She told him. "So...Uh...Naruto you're a soldier? What branch?"
"Marines." He answered simply. "Or was a Marine."
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I was shot and got a honorable discharged." He told her, his face saddening a little.
"Oh, my. Are you okay?"She asked slightly worried.
Where did the worry come from? She just met the guy and knew nothing about him.
"Yes. I'm fine." He chuckled. "It hit my shoulder, missing any vital organs." He smiled.
Ding. The intercom turned on. "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is your pilot speaking. The weather looks cloudy and maybe some scattered thunderstorms. Otherwise that, it should be a clear flight to Houston. We'll be taking off in a few minutes, meanwhile the flight attendants will go through safety procedures. The flight should last about four hours. The estimated arrival time is 11:30. Thank you for flying Southwest. "
The intercom chimed off as the turbines of the plane started. A flight attendant grabbed a microphone and started going through safety procedures. Telling everyone where the emergency exits were. Sakura heard Naruto chuckle to himself. She turned to him, with her eyebrow raised. He pointed to the window. Her gaze followed his finger as she saw what he was pointing at. They were seated in the emergency row.
"Of course. Now I can't ditch if the plane goes down." He muttered, sarcastically.
Sakura couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped her throat. The plane began to move backwards at that point. Very slowly it turned and started to bounce as the wheels went over the cement. She turned her head toward the window, trying to see where they were going. The plane took another left before slowly down to a stop on front of a long stretch of cement. The 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign dinged and lit up. A few seconds later the turbines started to spin faster and the plane moved faster. Her hand gripped the armrests. She always hated take offs. Her eyes glanced at the Marine next to her. His arm was on the farthest armrest, his chin in his hand. He looked completely bored. He noticed her eyes on him and smiled at her. The plane hit maximum speed and lifted off the ground. Somewhere deep inside her, Sakura wasn't necessarily sure if it was the plane that took off.
Naruto
From the moment he saw her, something deep down inside him clicked. He was overcome with this emotion he never felt before him. He tried to put on the best poker face he could manage as he offered to put her bag up.
He shook his head at the memory. The plane had just now reached the highest altitude and the 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign had turned off. It would be too long before the flight attendants came down the aisle offering drinks.
He turned to Sakura who was staring at the seat in front of her. Like she was lost in her thoughts.
"So.." Naruto started. "What brings you to Texas?"
She turned to him and her face lit up, "Well I was visiting some family over the Christmas break. I live in Texas. What do plan to do hang out with your family?"
His lips pulled back into a thin line, "I don't have any family really." He told her.
"Oh my God. I'm sorry." She said, embarrassed.
"No, it's quite already. My mother and father were killed in a fire when I was just a baby." He told her, calmly, finding it easier to talk about it with her.
"No other relatives?" She asked stunned.
"Nope. The last one I had was my grandfather. He died two years ago of cardiac arrest." He said.
"That's horrible. I'm so sorry to hear that." She told him.
He nodded, "Well enough about me. What do you do?"
"Well, I'm still in college. I'm studying to be an ER (Emergency Room) doctor. I have about a year to complete before I get my degree."
"That must have been a lot of work." He told her.
"Yea, but it is all worth it." She continued.
Their conversation continued for about an hour and a half. As the people around them began to fall asleep, they stayed awake joking and laughing among themselves.
"God, I have a headache." Sakura complained.
"Hmm.." Naruto thought. "I know what will help a little." He pressed the button for service.
Sakura watched him wide eyed as the attendant came down the aisle to him.
"Two ginger ales. Please." He told the flight attendant, she nodded and walked to the back of the plane.
"What did you tell her?" Sakura asked.
"You'll see." He replied, smiling brightly at her.
She rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat, arms crossed. He chuckled quietly as the flight attendant came back down to him and handed him the drinks.
"Here." He said, handing her one.
"What's this?" She asked, sniffing it.
"Have you've been living under a rock all your life?" He said jokingly, "It's ginger ale."
"Oh." She laughed, her cheeks changing a shade of pink.
She leaned down and took a sip of her drink, then glanced back up at him. He nodded approvingly, before closing his eyes and leaning back. The plane shook for a couple of seconds before taking a dip. Sakura's drink almost spilled all over the place as the 'Fasten Seat Belt' sign lit up.
"We're experiencing some turbulence at the moment. We are passing under a thunderstorm." The pilot said over the intercom.
The plane continued to shake roughly. When it seemed to stop, the plane would take a dip and it would feel as if you were floating above your seat. Naruto wasn't scared. He had been in a plane that flew through a hurricane. This was nothing compared to that. But none the less his left hand still gripped his armrest tightly. The plane took another dip, earning quiet yells of shock from the other passengers. He soon felt a soft hand gripping the top of his tightly. He turned to see Sakura. Her face was staring directly in front of her. He was pretty sure she didn't know she was doing it. The plane shook again for the last time before coming back to a smooth flight. Her hand was still on his and he glanced down at her. She quickly removed it and turned to the left hiding her face.
He chuckled, "Do planes scare you?"
"No. Only ones that were about to crash." She replied to him sarcastically.
"It was fine." He argued. "But now you mention it, the pilot did look drunk." He said putting a finger under his chin, thoughtfully.
"What?" She said alarmed, her jaw dropping as she looked at him.
"God, you're gullible." He laughed at her.
She narrowed her eyes at him and pulled out her iPod. Putting the buds in her ears, he heard her mutter loud enough for him to hear, "I need to drown out this insane soldier."
Roughly a while later, Naruto felt a thud on his left shoulder. He hissed slightly in pain and turned to look to his left to see what caused it. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little. It was Sakura. She had fallen asleep with her ear buds in and her head leaned onto his shoulder. He smiled looking down at her, trying not to disturb her sleep.
His eyes then turned to the window. It was pitch black outside, and the older man was fast asleep up against the window. He sighed inwardly. Who was this girl? They just met and they act like they have known each other for years. It seemed like she brought the best out of him. Well, he told himself. Better move her before she wakes up and this get awkward. He put his right hand under her chin and gently pushed her into a upright position. As soon as he let go her body fell closer to him again. His eyebrows pulled together in frustration. Again he pushed her in an upright position. But yet again she fell onto him, even closer into his lap. Sighing in annoyance he pushed her again, but a little too hard. She rolled onto the old man next to her, waking both of them up. Shit. He closed his eyes, trying to pretend he didn't do anything. He heard Sakura tell the man sorry but he was completely fine with it.
Ding. "Please put all trays in the upright position and buckle your seat-belts. We have about ten minutes until we land. We ask that you please stay seated once the plane lands. Welcome to Houston. And thank you for flying Southwest." The pilot said.
Naruto looked towards the window. He could see the city light in the darkness as the plane began to circle the landing strip. All the passengers were awake but all seemed to be tired. Naruto felt a rumbling beneath his feet as the plane's wheels started to come out. It dropped altitude and soon enough the wheels made contact with the cement. Panels on the wings flew up, helping slow the plane down as it landed. It drove slowly into one of slots and came to a complete stop. The flight crew were busy reading the plane to be boarded once again and the luggage crew had began to open the plane up to unload it. Naruto turned away from the plane window.
Naruto unhooked his belt and so did Sakura. Passengers in the front began to leave the plane. He stood up, putting his cap back on and opened the compartment above his head, pulling his and Sakura's bag out. She was about to take it but he pulled it away from her.
"Please allow me, miss. I will escort you to your ride. After it is dark." He told her, smirking.
"Oh, what a gentleman." She said sarcastically but allowed him to carry her bag for her.
They left the plane and walked into the seemly empty airport. It was close to midnight and most of the planes had stopped running for the night. The lights were beginning to shut off as they walked through the airport.
"So, where is your ride?" He asked her.
"He said he be at the end of the escalator." She told him.
He?
They walked up two the escalator that led downwards onto ground level. And sure enough, a man stood. He was wearing a black buttoned up top and jeans. He had slick raven hair that stuck out. He arms were crossed, as Naruto stepped on the escalator. He realized at once, this man was too long to be her father and too different to be her brother. Their eyes made contact as the raven haired man frowned at the sight of him. Great...
They stepped off the escalator and Sakura threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. Naruto's heart hurt a little bit at that point. It was weird he never felt this emotion before. What was it? He watched the man to see him look at the girl clinging to him. However his eyes never left Naruto's. They did once, just to look at him holding her suitcase. Sakura turned back to face Naruto.
"Naruto, this is my boyfriend, Sasuke." As soon as she said 'boyfriend' he smirked at me. But he wasn't going to let him have the pleasure as Naruto smiled brightly.
"Sasuke, this is Naruto, he's a Marine." And in turn Naruto smirked when she said 'Marine'.
"I can see that." Sasuke's smirk faltered a bit. Gotcha. Naruto told himself.
Naruto offered his hand, "Nice to meet you."
The man before him did not hesitate as he shook Naruto's hand. "The pleasure's all mine." He replied.
And for some reason Naruto did not know. The handshake felt like when you're a football player and you shake hand with the other team and the referee says, "Let's have a fair fight."