You Can't Plan Love

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. I wanted to update this one sooner, but I got caught up in my other stories and real life got in the way. For those of you interested, feel free to check out my profile to see when various stories are hopefully going to be updated. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Notation: Yes, Shika's father is alive in this AU.

Chapter 2

Sasuke leads Shika into the remains of the Uchiha District. It wounded his pride, but there wasn't much left that was actually still standing and it reminded Sasuke far too much of a graveyard for his liking.

"I see they put up a cabin fast." His fellow Leaf Ninja looks around as if in a bit of a daze. "Which is good, but I assume that you plan to rebuild the rest of it?"

That cabin had only been put up so he'd have a place to sleep. It annoyed Sasuke, but it was a bit better than sleeping out in the open. Soon enough though, he would restore his childhood home.

So he nods at her curtly. "Yes, I have the blueprints and pictures of what it originally looked like." By the time it was done, it was going to be like nothing had ever happened.

Pain's invasion and the war might have taken a lot from him, but he would have his family's District back. It might take him awhile, but that was fine with Sasuke. It wasn't as though he had anything better to do for the foreseeable future anyway.

"Let me guess, you're obsessively going to make sure that every nook and cranny looks exactly the same as it did before." Shika raises an eyebrow at him. "Is that about the size of it?"

Well, they didn't call her a genius for nothing. It was probably a good thing that the Nara Heiress was so damn lazy. Otherwise, Madara should have trembled in terror at the power of that mind of hers.

Sasuke nods again though. "Something like that." More like, exactly like that. Though he wasn't going to quibble.

He didn't have the heart to do so. Everywhere he looked, he saw debris from buildings and overgrown weeds. Weeds, grass, trees, and other vegetation had completely taken over the place.

Nature did have a way of reclaiming everything gin the end, he supposed. Hell, Sasuke was sure, that he had even spotted a fawn out of the corner of his eye. Which was ironic given that Shika's name meant deer.

"Sasuke, watch it." Shika grabs his arm and nudges him away.

Only for Sasuke to hear the startled quack of several ducklings and the angry quacking of it's mother. "You almost stepped on him." Ducks. There were freaking ducks in his District!

How did Shika know it was a boy duck though? Nevermind. The duck's gender didn't matter in this equation.

"Thanks." He sighs and shakes his head. "The last thing that I want added to my list of crimes is being a duckling killer."

He really needed to pay more attention. It was just so sad to see all the wooed, the shattered glass, and broken nails surrounded by the overgrown plants. It looked like no one had lived here for at least a century, save for that damn cabin.

"Yes, I'm sure that's what would upset people most about your past." She shakes her head in amusement. "Stepping on a baby duck." Well, it did sound ridiculous when she put it that way, but honestly Sasuke didn't need people to have yet another reason to despise him.

So the last Uchiha simply shrugs at her words. "We should probably get set up in the cabin and then you can send a clone out shopping for supplies." The two of them walk towards that disturbingly cute cabin together. "I doubt you wanna have to brave the crowds again with me tonight."

To be honest, he didn't even want to go out again. He'd had more than his fair share of stares and whispers for the day. Thank you, very much.

"Alright." She nods at him. "That sounds like a plan. You might want to watch your step though." Shika actually has the audacity to laugh at him. "So you don't step on anymore cute, woodland animals or nails."

Sasuke snorts at that. Pft. Alright. He had literally walked into that one, but whatever. They had more important things to focu son.

"Noted." With that being said, they make their way towards the cabin and he quickly opens the door. "Looks like Kakashi and Naruto didn't bother to lock it."

Not that there had really been much of a reason to do so. After all, who would be stupid enough to come to his District? Let alone suicidal enough to mess with his stuff? Almost no one and besides, the cabin was probably empty anyway.

"There wasn't really a need to." Shika shrugs at him. "We both know why." With that being said, they step inside the place together and Sasuke looks around curiously.

Hmm. So as far as he could tell at first glance it looked like it was only the essentials, but it was still cozy. He could see two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom, closet, and a tiny living room.

"Well it looks like they got everything important." Thank goodness for the two bedrooms or else someone would have been sleeping on the couch, Sasuke thinks to himself.

Probably him. It wasn't Shika's fault she got assigned to babysit him and he'd certainly slept on far worse than that.

Shika nods as she heads the kitchen and opens some oak wood cupboards. "I'm shocked, but it looks like someone had the foresight to get groceries ahead of time." Ah. Well that was nice.

He hadn't felt like going to the Market District and having Shika send a clone would have been annoying.

"That's good." Hopefully, it was edible though. "What do the expiration dates say though?" Oh and if he was really lucky, there might even be some tomatoes.

There was a slight pause. "Looks like everything is good." Well, Shika was efficient in the kitchen. Who knew?


Kakashi chuckles as he takes in the baffled expressions of Taka. It was hardly surprising that they were all so confused.

"So you're really offering us pardons and a chance to become Leaf Villagers?" Suigetsu tilts his head as if he thought Kakashi had lost his mind. "Why? I don't get it."

Of course, that was a perfectly logical reaction. The silver haired ninja was confident that many people would be having the same reaction when they found out he was offering pardons to Sasuke's second team. Not that that would stop him.

He smiles at them pleasantly. "Because for the most part, you were all victims of your circumstances." Kakashi sighs as he looks at Karin first. "You had no other choice because of how people treated you when they found out about your gift and Jugo was in essentially the same situation."

The red head and giant both go quiet for a moment. Karin was biting her lower lip and Jugo was furrowing his brows as they thought over his words.

"You're right." The bespectacled woman nods in agreement. "Though I'm still not sure why you trust us." Before pointing at Suigetsu. "Especially him."

Sugietsu just grins back, displaying his abnormally sharp teeth. It was a swordsmen thing though. Well at least for the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist it was.

"Well, I guess he was just won over by how clearly awesome I am." The boy definitely didn't suffer from self-esteem issues, Kakashi muses.

Kakashi just chuckles in response. "Suigestu has a valuable bloodline and there are few ninjas better with a blade than he is." He needed to do this very carefully, if he was going to enlist their help. "As for Karin, she's an amazing Sensory Type and her healing abilities are formidable."

How could he explain Jugo though? That boy was in a very unique situation to say the least.

"What about me?" The orange haired man looks at him in concern. "Aren't you worried, that I'll go into a rage?"

The thought had occurred to Kakashi, but he was confident that he could keep that from happening. "Not with Sasuke around and even if you did, you would be properly restrained before anyone got seriously hurt." Well more specifically, a certain Uchiha would handle it. Why quibble over technicalities though?

Jugo nods at that. It seemed that he had pacified all of them for the time being. Good. Now, it was time to move into the next phase of his plan.

"That and I do have a very important mission that I would like you all to help me with." He smiles at them. "Sasuke's District is in need of serious repairs and I'm afraid that I do have concerns he might have trouble reintegrating himself into the village."

Karin pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Oh so that's it." The red head obviously thought that she had figured out what Kakashi was 'really' up to. "You want us to help Sasuke with rebuilding his District and keep an eye on him to make sure that he's settling in nicely."

Kakashi simply nods. All of that was true. It just wasn't the full truth. After all, a ninja must see through deception. So if they didn't ask any further questions, well that was more their own fault than anything else.

"Alright." Suigetsu nods. "We can do that." He grins at them. "Do either of you two idiots know how to put up buildings?"

Karin twitches at that and starts beating Suigetsu up. Well, if nothing else, Taka would make a rather entertaining addition to the Leaf. Poor Jugo. Kakashi truly had no idea how he ever managed to keep Karin and Suigetsu from killing each other.

"I do." Jugo smiles and shakes his head. "Come on." He gestures for them to follow him. "We should get going. Sasuke just got out of the hospital. He could use the extra hands and don't worry, Karin." The gentle giant was already heading off. "I'll show you what to do." With that being said, Taka takes off.

For a moment, Kakashi almost felt guilty about manipulating them. Only for a moment though. It wasn't as if anyone was actually going to get hurt by his matchmaking attempts.


A few minutes later, Shika was trying her best not to laugh. It was difficult though. Sasuke had apparently been serious about wanting to learn Shogi and well, he was also serious about that tomato sandwich.

"What are you laughing at?" Sasuke demands after swallowing a bite of said sandwich.

To be fair, she had actually been laughing and the Uchiha in question wasn't actually doing anything unusual by most people's standards. That was what made it so funny.

The Sasuke Uchiha was playing Shogi and eating a sandwich. For some reason, that was just completely hysterical to her.

"Nothing." She smiles at him. "I'm just enjoying handing your ass to you at Shogi." It was a very nice ass, but it was being handed to him all the same.

Of course, no one was going to beat her at this game. This was also Sasuke's first time playing. He was doing rather well, especially for a newbie. That just wouldn't be enough against someone like her though.

"We only just started." Sasuke snorts at her. "I wouldn't be so confident that you're going to win just yet."

He was ridiculously competitive at anything. Shika doubted that he had ever just goofed off for the sake of it in his entire life. Oh well. He was still going to lose this thing. Believe it as Naruto used to say.

She laughs and moves her piece forward. "Yes, I know." He obviously didn't really know who he was dealing with though. "It's just that I estimate I'll beat you in the next three to five moves at most."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "You're just saying that." No. She really wasn't. It was one of the perks of being a genius. The laws of probability were easy for her to figure out.

Shika just shakes her head again as Sasuke makes his next move. It was a good move, perhaps even a great one. Though it was one she had anticipated that he would try.

"I'm not." She smirks at him. "I have an 89% chance of winning in the next three moves and a 98% chance of wining within the next five."

Sasuke rolls his eyes at her. It was hard to believe that this was a man who had once killed Orochimaru. At the moment, Sasuke seemed like any other teenager his age.

"Prove it." He snorts at her.

Well a absurdly competitive teenager, but still. What would he have been like, if the Massacre had never happened? Shika had never really liked Sasuke before now, but she knew when someone had been dealt a rotten hand and he definitely had.

Psychology could be a fascinating subject. "I will." The nature vs. nurture debate was as old as time and Sasuke was a prime example of it. "Just don't start crying when you lose."

Shika smirks as she makes her next move. If she knew Sasuke as well as she thought she did, he'd fall right into her trap.

Just because she hadn't liked him much, didn't mean that the Nara Heiress hadn't noticed him. It was hard not to notice the guy who was at the top of the class and always in a fistfight with Naruto.

"I'm not going to cry over some stupid board game." Sasuke rolls his eyes at her.

For some reason, it was kinda cute when he did that. Though Shika immediately chastises herself for that thought. Sasuke Uchiha was many things, but cute wasn't one of them.

She wasn't blind. He was attractive, but in the same way a tiger was. One could admire the tiger in awe, but one would be stupid to try to pet it in the wild.

"Good." She smirks as makes exactly the same move that Shika had expected him to. This was going to be fun.


A short while later, Jugo tries his best not to shiver at the strange place they found themselves in. The District had clearly been completely decimated by Pain's attack.

"This is going to take a lot of work." He sighs as he looks around.

Sasuke had to be so depressed at seeing his childhood home in such a state. This was just heartbreaking. The home of a once mighty Clan had been reduced to little more than rubble.

Suigetsu actually shivers. "This place is creepy." He shakes his head as the three of them make their way further into the Uchiha District. "Maybe, Sassy would be better off just buying some new land and starting from scratch."

Jugo could certainly understand why Suigetsu would suggest such a thing. There was something in the air that was rather unsettling. If ghosts actually existed, this was definitely prime habit for them.

"Just shut up!" Karin actually whacks Suigetsu up side the head. "Sasuke isn't going to leave his Clan's home behind. Are you crazy?"

That was a good point, but they had actual work to do. "Come on." He continues walking. "I see a cabin ahead. Kakashi must have had it built as a temporary home for Sasuke."

It would make the most sense. So with that thought in mind, Jugo knocks on the door. What he found on the other side surprised him though. Sasuke was playing Shogi with some girl that he didn't recognize.

Sasuke had been close to victory. He was sure of it, but that was when someone knocks on the door. It was Jugo and he wasn't alone.

"Damn it." The raven haired ninja mutters under his breath.

He didn't mind seeing Jugo. He liked Jugo and Karin had mostly outgrown her 'crush' on him, but Sugiestu was another story. Sugietsu was going to take one look at Shika and a predictable series of events would follow.

All of which would be annoying. "Not one word, Suigetsu." Sasuke sighs as he rises to his feet.

Because it was Sugietsu. The water lover just loved to be annoying. Granted, he wasn't so bad once you got to know him. Though the idiot did derive entirely too much pleasure from being stupid on purpose.

"Awe, Sassy." He grins at him. "Is that really any way to greet your friends?" The swordsman looks at Shikamaru curiously. "So whose the babe and did you finally get a girlfriend? It's cool if you did." Sasuke moves to gag Suigetsu, but he was too late. "I mean I think a large reason why you're so damn grouchy all the time is because of sexual frustration."

Sasuke was about to chuck a Chidori or at least a fireball at the idiot, but he never got the chance. A shadow moved and grabbed Suigetsu's, sending him flying against the wall.

Luckily, it was a 'love tap' by ninja standards. "He might also be in a bad mood because it's a drag having at least one idiot for a teammate." Well, Shika had a point there.

Sasuke never would have expected her to pull something like that though. Surely, Shika knew who Sugietsu was. She had played a crucial role in the war and had been part of his retrieval team and yet, she hadn't hesitated to send Suigetsu flying.

"Ouch." Suigetsu tries to get up, but the shadow just wouldn't let him go. "Alright. You made your point." He grins at Sasuke. "Damn. You sure picked a feisty one to be your girlfriend."

Sasuke wasn't sure who was more furious at this point. Him or Shika. It was a close call really.

"Be quiet, you idiot!" Karin marches over to him. "Thanks for that." It looks like she was planning to deliver quite the sound beating, but Jugo sighs and gets in the middle of the squabble.

Jugo was definitely the centering force in Taka. "Alright." He smiles at them all. "I think that's enough fighting for today. Kakashi sent us here to help Sasuke rebuild his District." Damn Kakashi. "Not destroy it." That man really needed to stop meddling or else Sasuke was going to get pissed.

Still, Jugo did have a point. The District was already in shatters and he didn't want the only still standing building to be wrecked too.

He still couldn't believe what had happened to this place during Pain's invasion. His Clan used to be famous for defending the village during attacks and his District probably hadn't lasted more than a few minutes before the Akatsuki shattered it.

"Whatever." Sasuke shakes his head as he looks at Shika. "Release the idiot. We've got work to do." A lot of it.

It was nice that the other ninja actually knew how to follow orders because Shika let's Suigetsu go. "Alright." She sighs and crosses her arms. "I assume that you have the blueprints. We're probably going to need a lot of shadow clones, if we want to do this in any reasonable amount of time."

She had a point there, especially with his arm. Though Sasuke wasn't going to say that out loud. It was perfectly workable. He just needed to treat it gingerly for awhile.

"She's pretty bossy." Suigetsu snickers as he notices a nearby bag and picks it up. "I would have expected leather, given her bossy streak. So the red lace is a little surprising."

Wait. What? Was Suigetsu implying what he thought he was implying.

Apparently, he was because Shika smacks her forehead. "What a drag." She glares at him. "That was a birthday present from Ino and just shut up." She looks at Sasuke. "How do you put up with him?"

"Believe me, there are days when I ask myself the same question." Sasuke sighs.

Though it was hard to get the image of Shika in red lace out of his head. Wonderful. He must have spent entirely too much time around Kakashi or something. He should definitely not be imagining the Nara Heiress in red lace.