Warnings : Full lists of warnings are found on the first chapter :)
Authoress' Notes : I'm glad I surprised everybody with the ShikaNaru at the end of the last chapter XD I apologize profusely for the lack of updates, but I'm still trying to arrange most of the workings of my other fanfics. After I finish smoothing out the kinks on my plotlines, I'll be able to update more regularly :)
Last chapter, Shikamaru pulled off an unexpected win at the auction. Naruto, before going home and preparing for his rather controversial date with his friend, talks to Sasuke. Denying any sort of emotions towards the blond, their "talk" resulted with Naruto angrily walking away from Sasuke.
"With you, I never needed a reason…"
Yours For A Day
Chapter Three
Uchiha Mansion. 8:30 pm.
He stared at the navy blue color of his ceiling, though his mind isn't really focused on noticing the different patterns present overhead. He felt like hitting himself with something really hard, but it's not like he could do anything to change what he said earlier today.
He didn't lie to Naruto—it's true that he doesn't need a reason to bid for him.
He wanted to say that he wants Naruto for himself. He wanted to say that he's jealous of all those… pests wanting to take Naruto away from him. He wanted to say a lot of things. Of all the things he had longed for to admit face-to-face with the blond, he said that he didn't need a reason—a statement that Naruto most possibly didn't understand.
He's such a dimwit, He thought fondly, still staring at his ceiling, letting himself sink further into the soft cushions of his bed.
His mind was about to go into a tirade about that adorable, clumsy, cute, stupid, endearing idiot, but a couple of sharp knocks reached his ears. He sat up on his bed before one could even blink; his face devoid of the faint smile that appeared while he was thinking about Naruto.
"Come in," He stated coldly, eyes narrowing when he saw who entered his bedroom.
His older brother's hair shone a faint silvery glow from the muted lighting of his bedside lamp; his scarlet-colored eyes looked dull and softened. He didn't step further into the room; he stayed just two steps away from the slightly-open doorway.
"Naruto-kun would meet Nara Shikamaru at the Fountain Plaza tomorrow at eight in the morning," Itachi said simply, before turning on his heels, making his way out. The piece of information sank unto Sasuke's mind a second later.
"Wait—" Sasuke said almost uncertainly, "Why are you telling me this?"
His only answer was Itachi's soft footsteps moving away from his room, his door clicking shut.
Fountain Plaza. 7:30 am.
He opened the newspaper, carefully placing it in front of him so that nobody would be able to see his face. He glanced at the silver watch clasped on his left wrist, the hands telling him that he's thirty minutes early.
He discreetly observed the people present on the park; a quick check of his surroundings told him that the only people here are the elderly (who love taking strolls on parks during the mornings), the enthusiastic health-freaks (who jogged round and round) and the pet-lovers (who walked their dogs with mp3-players hanging on their waistbands).
He refused the urge to yawn in tiredness—he couldn't sleep no matter how much he tossed and turned on his comfy bed. He's beginning to think that Itachi told him about Shikamaru and Naruto's date, if only to diminish his sleeping hours.
He saw somebody occupy the bench-and-table in front of him. He raised his eyebrows, smothering a laugh. Gaara looked weird with a huge hat perched on his head, probably trying to mask his trademark red hair. The redhead glanced around him suspiciously; he ducked inside the cover of his newspaper when those emerald eyes passed his direction.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" A delicate feminine voice asked from his right. He looked up from his newspaper slowly; he's glad he's wearing tinted shades, because his eyes widened at the sight of those strangely-white eyes. A rather flat-chested female smiled tensely at him, eyebrows ticking on their strain.
"Hyuuga?" He whispered in his shock (and utter amusement), noticing that Gaara's eyes are watching their interaction suspiciously. Hyuuga Neji's eyes widened in surprise, looking as though he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.
"Uchiha," He ground out his greeting, gritting his teeth in frustration as he noticed Gaara watching them like a hawk. Neji smiled warmly (to Sasuke, it looked rather strained) at the Uchiha, before settling down as far as possible on the same seat.
It seemed that everybody that lost the auction also knew of Shikamaru and Naruto's date.
Haku entered the vicinity, at around seven-fifty, in all his feminine-like beauty, followed by the shy Hinata. His older brother arrived five-to-eight, wearing the same style of tinted shades and black trench coat as him. Sasuke glared at his brother, who sat beside Gaara without asking for any permission.
At exactly eight o'clock, Sai came running to the vicinity, wearing a newsboy cap atop his black hair, making him a bit difficult to recognize from afar. He's breathing rather quickly, sweat dribbled at the sides of his temples. He spoke to everyone on the set of benches: "I'm sorry it took so long, I had to take care of Orochimaru-san," He explained, notifying Sasuke that they're the only ones on this side of the park now.
"That's fine," Itachi said curtly, motioning for Sai to sit somewhere nearby. Sasuke gritted his teeth in frustration, refusing to accept to share the task of stalking Naruto.
At ten minutes after eight, Shikamaru arrived on the park, wearing a plain brown shirt and denim pants. If he was surprised to see nine sets of eyes (with seven out of the nine looking more intense than the other two) swivel to stare at him, he didn't show it. He looked amused to see Neji and Gaara try their best to conceal their identity though.
"Maa, this is going to be so troublesome," He muttered loudly, sparking the competitive spirits inside the losers of the auction.
It's rare to see all of them having the same thoughts, but strangely, they all had the same line of thinking at that very moment.
Naruto is MINE!
Uzumaki Naruto arrived the park teeming with jealous and competitive males (…and female) thirty minutes after eight, grinning sheepishly at his "owner" for the day. Sai's the nearest one to the unlikely (and widely unaccepted) couple, so he was the only one who clearly heard of the duo's destination.
They waited for a whole minute after the two left the park, before they pounced on Sai, eager to receive the information.
"Naruto-kun and Nara-kun are going to the mall," That was all Sai managed to say, because after the word mall, everybody suddenly disappeared, dashing madly towards the mall.
"Damn it, where is he?" He mumbled angrily beneath his breath, not liking the fact that he could sense Gaara and Neji hot on his trail. The mall is maddeningly crowded, blocking Sasuke's view of the floor. He checked the logical stops: arcade, restaurants, fast food stores, sports shop… But Naruto wasn't there.
He last caught glimpse of Itachi calmly making his way upwards, towards the cinemas. It's another logical choice, but he doubted Naruto would want to watch a movie right now, since there are no horror or action flicks showing.
He's on the third floor of the seven-floor mall, his back rested against one pillar. He saw the end of Haku's long hair running around the clothing shops at the fourth floor. He caught a glimpse of Sai's cap as the black-haired teen searched again from the ground floor.
He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, noticing that it's colored orange. A small smile formed on his lips as he recalled that this was Naruto's gift to him last year on his birthday (after the blond insisted that he was blackmailed by Sakura-chan to give him a gift, of course).
Come to think of it, his birthday is coming soon…
He sighed heavily, feeling his feet grow sore from walking nonstop around the mall for over two hours already.
He couldn't feel the mall's air-conditioning with this crowd, so he made his way towards the bookstore, knowing that fewer people would venture inside.
He got the shock of his life, though, when he heard a very familiar voice whispering from the other aisle. He placed back the suspense novel he was considering a few seconds ago, before peeking discreetly on the other side. He rubbed at his eyes, nearly knocking off his tinted eyeglasses, to make sure he isn't seeing things.
True enough, there's Uzumaki Naruto, clutching a cookbook securely on his arms, whispering frantically to his "date". Shikamaru looked torn between amusement and boredom, as he listened on the blond's excited babbling. Naruto's cheeks are flushed pink, looking absolutely embarrassed by whatever they're talking about.
It made Sasuke's heart thud painfully inside his ribcage, wanting more than ever to rip the lazy teen away from Naruto. But Naruto looked as though he's enjoying himself, and Shikamaru leaned slightly forward, whispering something directly to Naruto's ear, causing the blond to grin in a lovesick manner, the blush not receding—
Sasuke's vision became red.
He stalked angrily towards the two, his glasses held tightly on his fist, missing the look of absolute surprise on Naruto's face.
Now that he's here, standing in front of the two, he couldn't seem to remember the thing he's going to say.
I love you, Naruto?
Get away from him?
You're mine?
I'm jealous?
He didn't have a chance to say any of those, though; as seconds passed and Naruto realized that he has been eavesdropping (though he didn't really hear anything) on their apparently supposedly-private conversation.
Before Sasuke could even open his mouth to say something, Naruto ran away from him, legs moving quickly, taking him away from the Uchiha's line of sight.
Shikamaru sighed deeply, putting a hand over his face in a long-suffering fashion.
"I guess that means he doesn't want to see you," He drawled before following Naruto's frantic footsteps, leaving Sasuke on the bookstore, staring after them with defeated resignation on his downcast eyes.
To Be Continued
Ho-hum, how was it? I hope it satisfied the readers' cravings for insanely-jealous-Naru-fanboys :P I really couldn't just focus into humor—the hints of drama still creep in T.T;;
I know I promised this one to be longer, but, hey! It's longer by one whole page! XD Is it obvious that I rushed this installment? X.x;;
Next Chapter would be up sooner if I get more reviews XD Haha, the readers' responses really encourage me to write more stuff :)
Much thanks for the support :D