Day Two: hell yeah (;

Title: Scapegoat

Summary: Whenever Sasuke does anything wrong, he can always pretend that he is just Naruto in a henge.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Prompt: Lessons Learned

Rating: T

Warnings: none

Comments: I love writing SasuSaku that isn't dripping with angst.

It was an early Tuesday morning when Sasuke saw himself walking down the streets with Sakura.

He paused for a second.

Wait.

The other version of him was frantically trying to put his arms around Sakura, who was rolling her eyes and saying something he couldn't make out from where he was standing. Eventually, after the other Sasuke gave up on wrapping the pink-haired in his arms, he slapped Sakura's ass hard, the smack noise loud and clear, even in the crowded area.

Sasuke was caught between emotions of horror and shock. (Of course, he face gave neither of those away)

"You asshole!" Sakura screamed, punching the "Sasuke" hard in the face (he cringed) until he disappeared into a cloud of smoke, revealing a pouting Naruto.

"Sakuuuuuura…," he whined, using his best puppy-dog face. "You're no fun!"

"Just because you henge into Sasuke does not mean you get to do stuff like that!"

Sasuke frowned.

"Would you prefer if I turned into someone else? Like Sai? Or Kakashi?"

Sakura flushed a bright shade of red. "N-Naruto! Don't say stuff like that in public!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in confusion. Why would she prefer Kakashi or Sai over him?

"Fine, let's just go get ramen or something," Naruto sighed. "Getting rejected by you is getting really bad for my health."

"Whatever," Sakura said dismissively, following him to Ichiraku. "I'll heal your nose when we get there."

Neither of them saw the real Sasuke gaping at them as they walked away.

The second time Sasuke saw himself, he was browsing through the shelves of the Konoha library on a Thursday afternoon. He had noticed Sakura sitting at a table by herself, but since she looked so immersed in the book she was reading (something on medicinal herbs or something), he had let her be.

Of course, the "other Sasuke" sure didn't want to waste an opportunity to approach the defenseless konoichi.

He sat across from her silently, staring at Sakura's book as if he could see through it. (The real Sasuke had to reluctantly commend Naruto for improving his acting skills)

But he couldn't keep up the façade for long, because he hadn't been there for 30 seconds before slapping the book from Sakura's hands and leaning over to try to give her a (sloppy) kiss. She leaned back immediately, dodging him perfectly as he fell onto the tabletop.

The real Sasuke was glowering from behind a bookshelf.

As the smoke cleared, Naruto was fake-crying, holding his aching head in between his hands. "Sakuuuuuuuuuraaa….that really hurt!"

"You need to stop doing this so often in public places!" Sakura scolded sharply, hitting him with her book. "This is not normal!"

"When have I ever been normal, Sakura?" Naruto grinned wolfishly, before being slapped again.

Sasuke left the library before they could see him.

It was Saturday when Sasuke decided to use Naruto's mistakes in his favor.

He was passing by the training grounds on the edge of the village, and just happened to see Sakura in the middle of a very focused water-manipulation jutsu. She was using her chakra to block the large river in front of her, creating an invisible barrier that was stopping the flow of water.

As he walked closer, he could hear her panting for breath and could see the sweat beading on her forehead. For a few minutes, he just simply watched her work, hiding his chakra signature so as not to break her concentration. But after awhile, he grew impatient at watching her do the same thing for five minutes straight, and decided to approach her directly. He snuck up behind her until he was just about breathing down her neck, and….

"Sakura."

She jolted dramatically, dropping the barrier and her focus, the water spilling everywhere on top of both of them. As it cleared, Sasuke could now see her outfit choice very clearly: her usual shorts and boots…with a swimsuit-like top.

He gulped.

"Naruto, I don't have time for this," she growled, staring him directly in the eye without flinching. Her expression was fiery, and Sasuke felt a little uncomfortable, considering that he had never been on the receiving end of that glare.

He was at a loss for words, and couldn't think of something that sounded remotely Naruto-like.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot!" she yelled, absolutely livid. "What is with you this week?! You're doing this whole Sasuke-henge thing way too often!"

"Would you prefer if I turned into Sai or Kakashi?" he asked suddenly, remembering Naruto's words the other day.

"You know what? Maybe I would," Sakura growled. "Now go the fuck away."

Just to be safe, Sasuke quickly henged into Naruto, pretending he was actually the blonde-haired ninja.

"Sorry, Sakuuura," he fake-groaned, beginning to walk away. "I'll try better next time."

"There better not be a next time," she hissed, turning her back to face the river once more.

It was a few days later until Sasuke decided to approach her for the final time. She was sitting in her office at the hospital, concentrating over some document while tapping her pen on the tabletop.

"Sakura," he greeted, entering the room slowly.

"What is it this time?" she frowned, making him inwardly cringe.

"Do you still like Sasuke?" he asked quietly, knowing that she would think he was just Naruto.

"Why are you asking that now?" she replied, a twinge of sadness in her eyes.

"Or do you like someone else now?"

"Naruto. You know how I feel, and I'd prefer that you didn't keep reminding me of how I can't change that, even after all this time."

"Does that mean you still love him?"

"Why is that important all of a sudden?" she said accusingly, her voice rising. "Get out!"

With her words, she flung an eraser at Sasuke with her enhanced strength.

Now, if he had actually been Naruto henging into Sasuke, the illusion would have dropped immediately.

If he had actually been Naruto henging into Sasuke.

Instead of poofing into a cloud of smoke, Sasuke just gritted his teeth, rubbing his arm, which was now turning into a nasty shade of purple and red.

"Fuck! Sakura! That hurt!" he growled, though not missing the absolutely terrified expression on her face.

"Sasu…ke?" she stammered out, eyes wide. He immediately forgot his aching limb.

"So you do still love me?" he asked, the barest hint of a smirk on his lips. She didn't say anything, but her cheeks were becoming rosier with every passing second.

"I may not be Naruto, but meet me at Ichiraku's for dinner after your shift," he finished (commanded) before exiting, leaving Sakura to wallow in a petrifying mixture of shock, embarrassment, and joy.