AN: I made a few mistakes in chapter 1 and amended it. Some sentences that are supposed to be in italics are not. The difference is critical as they show Neji's thoughts and the actual events that Neji witnesses. What Neji is thinking is only a figure of speech, not the actual event happening. They also make a hazy dreamlike state, tuning to and fro from the events unfolding in front of him and the mind forming conclusions on what he sees. Hurray, I finally formed a coherent sentence on what I was trying to accomplish in the previous chapter.

Thank you all reviewers! I finally fully understood why authors adore feedback, not only suggestions on how to improve but also knowing that people out there are actually waiting for me to write more. You guys have no idea how elated I was.

Special thanks to delusions dreamer for answering the question in the previous chapter. The error is amended. Also thank you once again for the your overview on the fic. I never did planned for Neji to turn out this protective and stuff. The words, paragraphs just came out that way. Thank you to all who reviewed! Next chapter!

Disclaimer: If I own Naruto, I wouldn't be moaning about the ending of school vacation right now. When you own Naruto and a fat bank account, who the hell would bother about school?

Rated M for Naruto's potty mouth.

-

Double or Nothing

Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi.

The man causing all his problems right now. The member of the dreaded Akatsuki, currently aiming to capture all Jinchuuriki, to harness the combined power of the bijuu and succeed in world domination.

What a load of drivel. And because of their idiotic plans to gather power to take over the damn fucking world, I am now constantly being hounded just so they can suck the damn kitsune out of my stomach. Peh!

The man Sasuke is so obsessed over. The man occupying Sasuke's being so thorough that everything Sasuke did was for him!

Why did he did his crazy out-of-the-world training regime?

So that he would be strong enough to kill Itachi!

Why did he leave Konohagakure and seek out that filthy snake even at the expense of said snake using his body?

To be granted power and kill Itachi!

Why did he tried to kill me, his self-admitted best friend?

To gain Mangekyo Sharingan to match Itachi's and kill him!

Why did he cut his bonds and is now a cold unfeeling person?

To eliminate his so-called weakness and succeed in killing Itachi!

Itachi. Itachi. Itachi. Even in his sleep, he screams for Itachi's blood. Everything all comes down to Itachi. Every decision he made, every breath he takes. He lives to kill Itachi.

Naruto sighed. That creepy red-eyed weasel is the root of all his problems. He cursed the gods above. They must be laughing at him right now.

They must really hate me. Firstly, of ALL the squalling newborn babies, I HAD to be the one choosen to imprison that fucking kitsune! Then I HAD to survive in a biased village who hates my guts! And they can't get enough with the fricking entertainment, sending crazy people with retarded cloaks and zany fetishes to capture my ass.

And the worst of all, the stupid feelings for a certain fucked-up rival.

Naruto scowled. He had come to terms with the weird-ass feelings for the bastard. The retarded fluttering in his stomach when said bastard was near him. The stupid elation when the bastard had somehow cracked a smile, a real one not those annoying smirks. The freaky thrill and disturbing approval in his groin when he managed to touch said bastard.

He was in denial for years, since the whole Wave country incident, but the feelings refused to leave him alone. The more he resisted, the further he fell to his doom.

And lo and behold, he went from a teeny attraction to full-blown sappy love for the bastard.

How embarrassing. This is like the perfect cliché plot for a shojo manga. The whole fluttery- eye, melodramatic romance whereby two rivals who hate each other's guts and somehow or another ultimately falls in love. And oh the plot thickens! It's unrequited love. Like a trashy tragedy with the main character pinning for another's love and receiving only indifference and cold insults in return.

That painfully sums up Naruto's crisis in general. Hell, he could have done with the insults. It would actually prove that the bastard is paying attention to him. It was also a comforting refuge back to the past when the shit wasn't so bad and when Sasuke wasn't so obsessed. It would prove that Naruto was worth a damn to return the insult.

Only cold apathy remains.

Naruto really tried, okay? He tried to spend more time with him, tried talking with him, tried to show the fucking bastard how much he fucking loves him. And when it all failed, he gambled with the three heart-felt words. The three words that he never dared to voice out to any of his precious people.

He stared at me, that chilling unreadable look, snorted and walked off just like that!

Nothing has been ever easy for either of them. Insults and fights are routine. They hurled insults to the other to show friendship. They fight each other to show brotherly love. The easy way never worked. They do everything the hard way.

So this how it's gonna be, huh teme? But what if it's real this time? What if it's not a routine this time? What if you now seriously don't give a flying fuck about me? It hurts you know. The person I treasure to dismiss me like that when I practically throw myself to his feet.

Ero-sennin told him to give it up. Although the hentai never voiced it, but Naruto could see that his unorthodox father figure was worrying over him. The way he phrased it was brash, crude and devoid of conventional sympathy and advice, but he felt the underlying agitation and anxiousness from Jiraya.

"Stupid brat! Years of tutelage from me and you ended up liking dicks instead of being a ladies-man! And for that asexual human ice-block too! Give it up, Naruto. People like him are all the same. Selfish and overbearing. Only using people who cared for them for their own ends. No regard for others whatsoever! Ain't no good loving that sort of people. Believe me, kid. I understand your situation. Understand it first-hand."

Needless to say, Naruto was shocked that Jiraya and Orochimaru had such a past together. Did Tsunade-baba know?

"You mention it to anyone and you will end up dead, brat. Tsunade doesn't have a clue and she's staying that way, you hear? What's with that reaction, brat? Yeah, yeah. I had a hard time believing it myself too. The ultimate ladies' man, the super pervert, craving for his creepy-ass rival's dick? Hey, what's up with that look? People aren't born evil, brat. Shitty things happen and people change their way of thinking. Probably that way with Itachi too. Why would a genius shinobi suddenly turn around and murdered his entire clan? To test his fucking ability? My ass."

Naruto shook off a disturbing image of sweet Orochimaru in his younger days, picking flowers for his mother.

More like giving his mother a poisonous flower and cackle as the woman shrieks in pain.

The image of Itachi cheerfully helping an old lady cross the road was equally freaky.

More like him giving the old crone an "accidental" shove and the horse carriages squashing her to death.

Naruto quickly riveted to the situation at hand. He still had no viable solution to his problems and "Plan: Get Sasuke" was going to the dogs.

Fuck! I wish I had fallen for Neji instead! At least my feelings would be returned!

Yes. Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was not that dim-witted. He may find difficulty in understanding several concepts but he is actually perspective at times. He saw the affection Neji had for him. It helped that he had become close friend with Neji and actually understands him well.

The moments when Neji had been staring at Naruto and thought Naruto didn't notice.

The glimpse of unadulterated longing in his eyes when Naruto rattled of like a broken record about how his day went.

His lips drawing just a bit to a taut line when Naruto mentioned Sasuke.

His eyes narrowing a millimeter when Sasuke appeared in his line of vision.

Or maybe the reason why he read this aspect of Neji so well is that he felt the same as well, to another. He experienced all that and perhaps more and hence able to see it clearly.

I do love Neji too. But isn't it wrong to love two people at the same time?

Naruto never did anything in halves. It is not his ninja way. He either loved one of them or nothing at all.

Neji had another waiting for him. Tenten was smitten with Neji since they were kids and had strong feelings for him. Naruto was convinced that she suited Neji better.

Because Neji is a great guy and deserves the best. It would be unfair to lead Neji on.

Because no matter what he does, Naruto cannot get over the bastard and there is no such thing as loving both of them.

And yet I am afraid of losing his friendship.

The best way to handle this situation is to act the fool and ignore Neji's advances. Eventually Neji would be frustrated and get over him. With Naruto out of the picture, Neji would then fall for Tenten and all would be well!

I am sorry, Neji.

Naruto never did anything in halves. It is not his ninja way. He either loved one of them or nothing at all.

I love the damn bastard.

Because his best friend was his first love and the first always made the biggest impact on people's lives.

Because the bastard once gave him that look when he take the hits Haku meant for Naruto. That look which he waited forever to be directed at him. That look that spoke of silent concern and contentment.

Because the bastard didn't know how to say it and gave a lame excuse like "I don't know why I did it. My body moved on its own." And tried to change the subject by saying "I always hated you." Only he can bring another meaning to "hate" and not mean it like the villagers.

Because at the rate he is going, he is falling into the dank pits of darkness and no one else is there reaching out their hands to save him.

But he fucking refused me.

The bastard is as stubborn as a mule and insisted on falling into the deep abyss of darkness.

Not if I can do something about it.

Naruto is as stubborn and maybe more than Sasuke is. He won't take this lying down.

If you won't accept my hand to pull you up then I would be there at the bottom to catch you when you fall. Ha! Top that!

If Itachi was the root of all his fucking problems then he would go with Sasuke to kill him.

If they succeed, all problems are solved.

If not, they would be send to their deaths.

Naruto cracked a feral grin. He always did have a tendency to all go all out to prove a point. And the point that he wanted to prove is that Itachi is the only obstacle which prevents Sasuke from revealing his true feelings.

If they succeed, all problems are solved.

If not, they would be send to their deaths.

It's double or nothing.

And Naruto have always been good at gambling.

Double or nothing.

Bring it on, fuckers.

-end-

AN: Okay, this isn't what I initially had in mind. The first incomplete draft was deleted and replaced 'cause I forgot the rest of my ideas. I guess I should forget about planning in advance and just do impromptu, huh?

The relationship between the two sannins was also unintentional. Yes it is disturbing. I just wanted to show the parallels between the Orochimaru-Jiraya relation and Sasuke-Naruto relationship. Envisioning Jiraya yearning for Oro's dick is a traumatizing experience. DON'T GO THERE.

Anyway, I concentrated heavily on Naruto's characteristics and hopefully managed to incorporate and convey his personality in this chapter. This was done in 4 hours straight, aside from SMS interruptions from my phone. Frankly I was surprised with myself. I still prefer the first chapter though. It is more systematic then this one. Oh well. Reviews please! Because reviews are fuel urging the writer to write more! Domo!