Slight lemon warning. Slight, but warning nonetheless
Sasuke Uchiha let out a breath, slowing to a halt at the water fountain after checking to make sure there was no one in pursuit of him. He tugged on his shirt in irritation; it was getting too hot to keep running around like this for too much longer! With relief, he stooped to help himself to some of the water; splashing some of it across his face and then combing it back through his hair with his fingers.
Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by a pair of spectacled eyes hiding from sight in the nearby bushes. Karin's red eyes glinted excitedly as she held up her iPod and managed to snap a cheeky photo of him bending over. Oh god…his shirt was riding up a little; exposing some of that delicious, pale skin! Mouth watering, she quickly changed the settings to video as it became apparent that Sasuke had spotted a foe.
"Come back here, Uchiha!" Omoi hollered; a blur of dark skin and light hair as he hurtled down the nearby bank and after Sasuke. Karin mentally urged on her crush as she secretly videoed his escape; admiring his agility and the way he just looked so cool despite being under pressure.
"…Thought you were meant to hand over electronics," a voice from Karin remarked snidely, and Karin almost toppled face-first into the shrubbery in shock. Immediately, she spun around and straightened up; concealing her iPod behind her back.
"W-What are you talking about?" she snapped back in irritation, before realising who it was. "Fuck off, Suigetsu!"
"…Spying on Sasuke again, are we?" Suigetsu rolled his eyes, "Typical. He doesn't like you, you know?"
"What do you know, you fucking slime-ball?" Karin sniffed hotly, "He's just playing hard to get, is all! He can't have everyone out there knowing who he secretly loves."
" –That's for sure," Suigetsu commented flatly; rolling his eyes as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "What're you doing, hanging around here?"
"Nothing," Karin snorted as she stalked past him, "Why, what are you doing here? I thought you ran off with Juugo? Going to suck him off too?" Suigetsu just scoffed at her.
" –What's your problem?" he demanded, "Who I do what with is none of your fucking business."
"Was it Zabuza? I bet it was Zabuza; am I right?" Karin accused darkly; straightening her glasses. Suigetsu just shrugged noncommittally. "You're such a fucking pig, you know that?"
"Like I said; it's none of your business," he reminded her and she glared at him crossly. "Bet you wouldn't be as pissy about it if it was your precious Sasuke sucking cock."
"Sasuke would never!" Karin exclaimed hotly, jabbing him in the chest, "And I am not pissy! I don't care what you do, remember?"
"…You certainly cared when you gave me your virginity…" Suigetsu remarked smugly, quirking his eyebrow and watching how red her cheeks went. "What? Is that why you're acting like such a bitch about finding out I've done stuff with a guy? –You don't want people thinking you gave it up to a gay guy?"
" –Shut up!" Karin hissed, punching him in the gut angrily, "I don't want people knowing I had sex with you period! It was one time, that was all; and only because I was sick of being a virgin!"
"So why me, then?" Suigetsu inquired flatly, jabbing her right back, "I thought you'd be 'saving yourself' for Sasuke."
"I wanted…to have a bit of experience…when I did it with him," she explained darkly, "…What am I saying; I don't need to explain myself to you!"
"Tch," Suigetsu scoffed, "Well, I'll have you know that up until last year, Sasuke was a virgin too." Karin's eyes nearly fell out of her head.
"What?" she exclaimed, "What are you talking about? Who was she?"
"None of your business," he snorted flatly. "But it wasn't you. Face it, Karin; he doesn't want you." He watched the confrontational look in her eyes light up again; probably fighting the urge to punch him in the face.
"I hate you," she growled angrily; stepping forwards and glaring up at him.
"I hate you too," he shrugged simply, "…But you still asked me to fuck you." He smirked down on her toothily as she fought for a comeback. "And for the record; I'm not gay. It just so happened that up until you, I'd only had Zabuza. Pussy's all goods too." He grinned wickedly.
"So you're bi?" Karin remarked distastefully and he nodded with a shrug, pressing his arm up against the tree behind her and leaning in close. He felt her stiffen and watched her eyes widen nervously.
" –You know…the bushes are pretty thick around here…" he whispered in her ear, "…And I don't just give out oral to guys..."
" –Are you really suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" she snapped hotly; pressing a hand against his chest to keep him at bay.
"Come on, Karin," he murmured in a low tone, his lips carving the words against the side of her neck. "…You've already slept with me once…And Sasuke's clearly not interested…Besides…No one has to know…" His free hand gently feathered down her side and she shivered; not protesting when she felt his lips press against her skin.
"…You can think of Sasuke while I do it…" he teased, his hand drifting up under her shirt to spread across her soft skin and pull her closer. "I don't mind." He kissed her neck a little harder; sucking harshly; the way she remembered that she'd liked it that one time. A breathy gasp escaped her lips and, hearing someone yelling in the distance, she grabbed him by the shirt viciously.
"Get down!" she snarled angrily; dragging him down under the cover of the bushes where they couldn't be seen from the paths. Suigetsu smirked down at her; having landed with his arms to either side of her. Red eyes glared at him crossly.
"Well?" she snapped irritably, "If you're going to do something…" He chuckled predatorily, and pressed his lips against hers as one of his hands slid up her abdomen to cup her left breast.
"Make sure you keep your voice down," he whispered smugly.
"Sh-Shut up!" she hissed, "Fuck I hate you…."
"Yeah, I hate you too, blah-blah," he rolled his eyes and kissed her deeply again. She was so much easier to deal with when her mouth was occupied. Sure, she could pretend to hate him as much as she wanted, but she was always going to have that little part of her that remembered what it was like to be held by him. He was always going to be her first.
He'd been surprised, when she'd approached him at age sixteen questioning his sexual exploits. He'd calmly informed her that he was no longer a virgin; deciding against telling her that he'd only experienced intercourse on the receiving end. So really, she'd kind of, in a way, been his first too. Really, Karin wasn't so bad, when she wasn't stalking Sasuke; which was usually. And back then, two years ago, she'd breathed his name, and not Sasuke's –so no matter what she said, he knew that she didn't really hate him as much as she thought.
Up until now, they hadn't been alone long enough for him to prove that to her, so this was his chance. So although she would probably deny it to her dying day, Suigetsu was fairly confident that he could redirect her affections.
Naruto peered over his shoulder in relief as he saw that Karui had veered off to chase after Sakura instead of pursuing him. He was so focused on what was behind him that he failed to notice that he had entered one of the playgrounds. Without warning, he caught his foot on the lip of the sandpit and plummeted right down into the sand in a heap.
"Ugh…" he complained; spitting out a mouthful of sand and rolling to right himself. "Urgh! What's with all the…" He suddenly squirmed into a relatively upright position and brushed sand out of his hair, only to discover that he'd apparently tumbled straight into the sandcastle that Gaara had been making…and had completely flattened it.
"S-Sorry Gaara," he commented apologetically, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "I um…I wasn't looking."
"It's okay," Gaara shrugged indifferently as he stood up, "I was done anyway."
"Where you going?" Naruto inquired curiously, "Have you been it yet?"
"No," Gaara shook his head, "I…think that I still make our classmates nervous…" Naruto heard the tone of hurt seeping into Gaara's deep voice and was a little saddened by it. Reassuringly, he grinned up at Gaara and hooked an arm around his shoulder playfully as he stood again.
"Well then, we just have to get you involved again!" he exclaimed brightly, "You're a cool guy, Gaara! I don't know why you didn't just try and become better friends with everyone!"
"…I…I'm not so good at making friends," he admitted quietly.
"Nah; you're not so bad," Naruto chuckled, "You got me, remember?" Gaara looked at him in surprise. "What? Can't I call you a friend? We've known each other for years, Gaara!"
"I just…never heard you say that," Gaara shrugged; obviously a little surprised to be so close to another person. Naruto chuckled a little, and the redhead couldn't help but smile. There was something infectious about the blonde's energy. It was near impossible not to like the guy; Gaara wondered how Sasuke managed it.
Gaara had always been a little…socially awkward. He'd moved schools with Kankuro and their elder sister, Temari, a few years ago, and he'd been flung into a world where the friend groups were already pretty well laid out; seeing as they'd pretty much all known each other since grade school.
But then there was Naruto Uzumaki.
The class clown; the spark of light and the life of the party –the things Gaara wasn't, and had never thought he needed in his life. Of course, he seemed to have a sense that told him when people didn't want him around…and that made him gravitate to them. Without really knowing how it happened, Gaara had found himself hanging out with Naruto more and more.
And since Naruto tended to be a people magnet, being around him meant that Gaara met new people and interacted with them. But over summer especially, everyone had changed. Gaara supposed that it had something to do with this being their senior year –after summer, they'd be heading off to college; to join an 'adult' world…and everyone, he believed, had suffered some sort of identity crisis. Even Naruto.
Everyone had become more withdrawn, this summer. Since he'd sort of always been a little on the side-lines; like a stranger looking in, he could see it probably better than anyone. Old friends weren't so close, but no one really wanted to put the effort into making new ones. The lines between cliques had grown, and everyone had tried…to well…become someone. Neji, for example, had always been a bit of an Instagram nut, but this year it had become his life; desperate to prove that he was something; that there was more to him than just his brain.
Although, everyone privately (or not so privately) thought he'd just become more of a tool.
And Gaara knew that Naruto was just scared of moving away. That, and his friendship with Sasuke had become strained; making the atmosphere tense when the pair of them were together.
"Jeez, Gaara; don't take life so seriously," Naruto chuckled; poking him in the cheek, "Come on; let's go find someone to chase us. It's more fun when you're involved in the game. And –"
"Naruto?" Gaara suddenly inquired. "If we are friends…"
"We are," he assured him.
"Could you perhaps tell me…what it is that happened with you and Sasuke Uchiha?" he frowned.
"W-What do you mean?" Naruto asked innocently, "Nothing happened. He's just the same bastard as he always was."
"…Forgive me…but I disagree," Gaara shook his head, "The pair of you seem…tense. And it makes everyone uncomfortable. I do not know what happened, but you do not seem happy these days…and I don't know if you realise, but your mood impacts our entire class." Naruto just stared at him; a little surprised at the speech.
"Really?" he queried and then laughed to himself, "Okay, Gaara. I'll make an effort with the bastard; how about that? I suppose since it's nearly graduation I should…uhh…try to bury the hatchet?"
"Naruto!" an excited voice hollered out as Gaara was about to make a comment about how Naruto was so good to have the moods and emotions of others always in the front of his mind. The pair of them looked over to see Rock Lee sprinting towards them, reaching dangerously high speeds.
"I am IN!" he proclaimed in a loud voice. Naruto let out a most unmanly noise and grabbed Gaara's wrist.
"RUN!" Naruto crowed, the sand momentarily slowing them as they tried to dart off.
"I shall catch you, Gaara!" Lee shouted playfully.
"Not if I can help it!" Naruto yelled back; the two of them running off; leaping across the nearest flowerbed and accelerating into the distance with Lee hot on their tails. Gaara couldn't help but laugh; genuinely laugh.
Sports had never been Sai's real passion. He'd led an incredibly sheltered childhood; never really having much contact with other people, which had stunted his ability to develop relationships. Therefore, when the game of 'Tag' had started, he'd just sort of had to mimic everyone else's behaviour; not being all that familiar with the game.
But having shaken off any pursuer, he had wandered back to his bag to fetch his art supplies, and was currently sitting on one of the bridges that crossed the lazy, mellow river that ran through the gardens.
In the distance sat the object of his drawing, sitting on a park bench with her face rested in the palm of her hand as she watched the pink lilies float gently down the river. Sai couldn't help but feel a strange feeling of content drift over him as he watched Sakura just sitting there. His drawing of her didn't really do her justice, in his opinion, but it was nice to be able to use her as a living model, rather than drawing her from memory.
For a while now, Sai had found his eyes drawn to the pink-haired girl. There was something about her that made his heart beat fast whenever she was around; or made his eyes smile whenever she laughed.
He looked down at his sketchbook and added a slight touch of shading to her face, the corners of his eyes crinkling. There really was something different about her than any other girl he'd ever met. He didn't know too much about other people, but he was pretty sure it wasn't normal for a single person to occupy so many of his thoughts. He touched his pencil to the corner of his lips thoughtfully and looked up to discover that his subject was no longer sitting in her seat.
"…What you drawing, Sai?" a curious voice inquired teasingly, and he spun around in surprise to find himself face-to-face with Sakura Haruno herself.
"Oh…it's nothing, really," Sai assured her quietly, but she'd already tugged his book from his hands and was staring wide-eyed at the picture of her.
"Wow…I um…Sai? You're…really talented," she commented; apparently not really able to find the right words.
"Thank you," he replied, trying to take the book back, but she was transfixed; flicking back a few pages and blushing when she saw that they were full of sketches of her. "I…Please give that back?"
"…Sai…" Sakura commented quietly. "What are…why are you drawing me?"
"I can stop," he assured her; tugging the book from her grasp and snapping it shut. He was fairly certain that what he was feeling about now was embarrassment; which was unusual, since it was something he was unused to. "Sorry. I…I just draw what I think about."
"…And you think about me?" she inquired, her cheeks tinged pink like her hair.
"Mostly, yes," he admitted flatly. That response seemed to fluster her. "I find you a very beautiful subject for my drawings, and since my body seems to react around you, you tend to occupy my thoughts quite frequently." Her mouth fell open; offended, and he was surprised to feel a fist connect with his cheek.
"Pervert!" she snapped aggressively; a complete one-eighty from how she had been only a few moments ago.
"I don't understand," he frowned to himself, "Oh. You think that my thoughts of you are erotic?"
"Don't say it like that!" she sniffed crossly.
" –I assure you that my thoughts are not as such," Sai insisted; wanting to correct the misunderstanding, "Well, some of them are; but mostly not. They are merely acknowledgements that your eyes and your hair are both unusual and beautiful…and feelings of gratitude to you…Sakura." The anger died in her eyes and the blush was back.
"Oh…" she commented awkwardly, "…Gratitude? What do you have to be grateful to me for? Don't I punch you for something almost every week?"
" –Since we first met," he replied, "But that is why I am grateful."
"…For punching you?"
"For…treating me like everyone else," he shrugged. "I was a new student and I was not very good with people, but when you perceived that I was rude, you punched me for it. I hadn't thought that this was etiquette when meeting new people, but I quickly understood that you treated the other males around you the same." He gave her one of his strange smiles. "Other people in our year kept their distance a little and I felt like an outsider, but you just treated me like anyone else. It was all I ever wanted, and that is why I am grateful. And just now, when I see you smile; my heart starts to beat painfully fast."
"Sai…I…I never knew that," Sakura commented in surprise, scratching her chin thoughtfully, "Say, would you like to know why you think of me so?"
"Very much so," he informed her with a quick nod and an oblivious blink.
"You like me," she giggled.
"I respect and admire you, yes?" he frowned; confused, and she laughed.
"No, Sai!" she rolled her eyes, "You…oh…" She leaned forwards and lightly pecked him on the lips; his surprised expression more than worth it.
"Oh!" he remarked, understanding, "I often read about this in books. These thoughts of you mean that I harbour romantic feelings for you?" She chuckled to herself and nodded and he mulled over this possibility. "Well…I believe that you could be correct. And you kissed me. Does that mean that you return such feelings?"
"Maybe," Sakura shrugged, "I'd be willing to give it a shot. We're both adults now, after all." Sai mentally ran through the books he'd read and the movies he'd seen where romance was concerned. "…You could…ask me on a date, maybe?"
"Ahh, yes a date," he exclaimed, "Sakura; would you care to go on a…a date with me?"
"Sure," Sakura giggled, "When Iruka gives us back our phones, I'll give you my number and you can call me." Sai for some reason, suddenly felt his heart pounding and he looked up with a smile.
Sakura was blushing again, wondering why she had pretty much just asked Sai of all people, to ask her out. Maybe it was her chat with Ino sticking out in her mind. These last few weeks might be the last she would ever see of some people. And, after fruitlessly having carried a torch for Sasuke Uchiha all this time, maybe it was time to try something different. Sai, though socially inept (to put it lightly), always meant well, and really did try to get along with people. He seemed to really want Naruto to be his friend, but often went completely the wrong way about it –which was always hilarious.
He was a nice guy. A nice guy; who liked her, and who she was planning on giving a chance. Hell, she'd already kissed him –although just a peck.
And his drawings of her had been beautiful.
All of a sudden, they looked up in time to see Tenten chasing Shino across the other bridge about a hundred metres downstream. Tenten paused; midstride –catching sight of them. Instantly, she grinned wickedly, and sprinted across the bridge and down the path heading for their bridge.
"Ahh, Sakura; I look forward to calling you," Sai commented casually; tucking his book under his arm, "But I feel that I must follow 'Tag' convention now, and flee." Without another word, he shot off across the bridge as Tenten pulled up and cheekily tapped Sakura.
"YOU'RE IT!" the brunette declared with a grin; her face flushed joyfully, before she joined Sai is his escape. Sakura's mouth fell open in annoyance.
"Sai!" she exclaimed hotly; rocketing after the two of them.
"Whoa," Tenten commented; startled, as she skidded to a halt at the playground. A few moments later, Sakura pulled up right next to her; about to tag Ino, standing nearby –but stopping because there was something much more important taking place on the jungle-gym bars.
"…Why are they shirtless? What are they doing? And why did no one tell me about this?" Ino inquired; wide-eyed and obviously just having arrived at the scene, herself.
"I don't know," Karui commented with a shake of her head; eyes not leaving the sight before the four girls.
Apparently there had been a truce called for a moment for several of the males in their class to all participate in a chin-up competition; with being shirtless apparently an important requirement.
Omoi, Kiba, Neji, Naruto, Kankuro, Lee, Gaara and Sasuke all appeared to be warming up; stretching and doing a couple of press-ups on the bark of the playground in preparation.
"If I get sunburnt, this is your fault," Gaara growled to Naruto crossly; stretching his shoulders and cricking his neck.
"Don't worry, Gaara; you'll lose so fast that you'll get you put your shirt back on pretty soon," Kiba teased.
"Don't get upset when you lose, little brother," Kankuro chuckled; clapping his younger brother on the shoulder with a smirk.
"Did I die and go to heaven?" Ino dared to breathe; drinking in the sight of the hottest guys of their year all shirtless and sweating from running and the heat.
"Karui, count us in," Neji demanded as they all positioned themselves underneath the bars.
"You guys are fucking going down," Naruto grinned in delight.
"You're fucking dreaming, Uzumaki," Sasuke snorted.
"Oh yeah? My body's ten times as powerful as yours, Uchiha!" the blonde sneered back.
"Play nice, children," Sakura teased, as Karui yelled out, "Go!" Immediately, the boys all hoisted themselves up onto the frame and began counting their chin-ups out loud.
"Oh god…" Tenten whispered, hands over her mouth and nose to prevent herself from hyperventilating, "…Oh, would you look at the abs on Neji…"
"…Kiba's biceps…" Ino breathed, "Hinata is one lucky lady…"
"Omoi, you're fucking slacking off already!" Karui shouted crossly, "Why aren't your muscles as impressive as Sasuke's? God…"
"I have to say, Gaara's really hiding a lot away behind those baggy clothes…" Sakura admitted appreciatively.
"Why did Iruka have to take our phones?" Ino complained melodramatically, "This was a once in a lifetime opportunity!"
"Ladies, control yourselves!" Kiba cackled, "…Form an orderly queue…"
"I wonder if Naruto's tan is natural…" Tenten wondered aloud.
" –I'm more wondering how it's possible for Sasuke and Gaara to be so pale!" Ino admitted; obviously struggling to think up some kind of explanation, "Like, they have no tan lines or anything!"
"Hey guys…" Kankuro panted, "I think…I think we're being objectified."
"I have no objection," Kiba admitted with a barking laugh as Omoi finally fell to the ground; exhausted since the other guys had picked up the pace. Karui just scoffed and rolled her eyes at his apparent incompetence.
" –Well that's because you're a fucking mutt," Neji remarked simply, as though it was fact.
"I told you; I'm not trying to take advantage of Hinata," Kiba sighed in exasperation, "How many rose bushes will you throw me into before you understand that?"
"…At least a few more," Neji growled mutinously; dropping to the ground and stalking over to retrieve his shirt. Kiba had apparently noticed the gleam in his eyes and let go of the bar; his expression going from nervous to mischievous in the space of about five seconds flat. Almost as soon as his feet touched the ground, he spun around and gave Naruto's shorts a good, hard yank.
Naruto let out a yelp and kicked out as his shorts and boxers sank dangerously low on his hips; tumbling off the bar and leaping up with a curse.
"Fuck you, Kiba!" he yelled; tugging his pants back up as he sprinted after the gleefully cackling Kiba.
" –Right behind you, Naruto…" Neji remarked with a smirk; joining in the chase. Gaara, Sasuke, Kankuro and Lee all dropped back to the ground one by one in amusement.
"…Looks like Naruto's tan's natural after all," Sakura commented in interest.
" –Dammit, Kiba…if you'd pulled just a little bit harder…" Ino cursed, and the other two girls just stared at his questioningly. She blushed and averted her eyes.
"Oh yeah…I'm in!" Sakura exclaimed; suddenly remembering. Instantly, Karui, Ino and Tenten scattered away from her, and the chase was back on. The pinkette sprinted straight for the stationary boys, who were forced to abandon their shirts and diffuse out in all directions to escape her.
" –Hey Iruka; you might want to see this," Kakashi commented with a great deal of amusement. Iruka looked across and down in interest and saw in a distance, a number of students that, judging from the array of eccentric hair colours, were his class; chasing each other across the playground.
His eyes nearly fell out of his head.
"NO! Stop ganging up on me!" Kiba yelped; clambering up the fort and panicking when he saw that Naruto was shimmying up the slide, with Neji approaching the top of the climbing wall. "Argh!" He leapt on top of the wooden tunnel and began tentatively stepping across it. Naruto, who had made it to the top, dove through the tunnel madly on all fours; shaking it precariously, and reached the other side before him.
"You have made a very bad enemy!" he declared dramatically. Kiba looked from side to side, seeing both ends blocked. With a wild yell, he leapt down from the tunnel and broke his fall with a roll through the bark; practically coating himself in dirt.
"Gaara! Stop him!" Naruto exclaimed.
" –I'm preoccupied!" Gaara yelled back; looking over his shoulder and seeing that Sakura was right behind him. He swerved violently and began running for the climbing net; scrambling up to the top as best as he could. Sakura, deciding that it was too much waste of energy attempting that, changed her target to Kankuro, who thought he had escaped her notice.
"Waah!" he exclaimed; ducking away just before she managed to tag him. Sakura cursed in a rather unladylike manner and quickly joined in on the 'chasing Kiba' game.
"No! No!" he exclaimed; hurdling the seesaws and leapfrogging over the picnic table past Karui and Omoi.
"No! You're leading her to us!" Karui yowled.
"Haha! That's my mastermind plan!" Kiba chortled; wheeling back around to the playground and forcing Naruto almost within Sakura's reach.
"No! I refuse to be it!" Naruto shouted, peering down from the dead end anxiously as Sakura clambered laboriously up into the fort. "Sasuke! Catch me!" With that being his only warning, he leapt off the fort. A somewhat taken-aback Sasuke managed to sort-of catch him slash break his fall; staggering back under the blonde's weight.
It took a few seconds for the pair of them to realise that they were abnormally close, and Sasuke immediately dropped the blonde with a curse of, "Moron!" Naruto, dumped unceremoniously in a heap, felt a hand pat him on the head condescendingly.
"You're it!" Sakura declared cheekily as he looked up, before darting off again. Naruto literally thumped the ground in despair, before his head bolted up; eyes glaring accusingly at Sasuke, as though it was his fault that he'd gotten caught. Sasuke just cocked his head mockingly and spread his arms slowly as if to say, 'Come at me, bro'.
Naruto launched himself across the bark and into a sprint; the others all knowing that they had a few moments of respite until Naruto's head cooled a little.
"You're so slow," Sasuke mocked; swinging along the flying fox and clambering up the ladder to the top of the fort, "No wonder you can't keep up!" As soon as Naruto had joined him at the top, Sasuke too-cool-for-school Uchiha actually slid down the slide; flipping his middle finger up at the blonde during his descent.
"Are you serious?" Sasuke snorted, "This is so boring. At least try, will you?" he jeered; incensing Naruto even further as the blonde descended via the fireman pole and sprinted after him; everyone laughing at the spectacle. Neji even stopped hunting Kiba to observe.
"Catch him, Naruto!"
"Run, Sasuke!
"Sasuke, quit provoking him!"
"Come on, I could probably beat you walking…" the Uchiha scoffed; slowing to a walk to prove his point and then violently accelerating over to the rolling log and leaping onto it. Naruto quickly followed suit, but the long had started to spin with Sasuke's momentum, and it was everything he could do just to keep his balance. Sasuke started jogging a little faster , and Naruto, instead of playing the balance game; lunged desperately for the Uchiha; grabbing him around his bare waist and tackling him to the ground.
"You're it!" Naruto proclaimed triumphantly; jabbing the pale skin of the raven's chest as he landed, straddling him. It took probably about six seconds for him to realise how he was positioned; after which, he leapt up with a crow of "No tag-backs!" before launching himself off into the distance; sticking his tongue out at the raven to hide his embarrassment.
Instantly knowing that they were now all in danger of becoming 'it', everyone in the immediate vicinity, sprang up; the boys collecting their shirts and vamoosing at top speed while the girls giggled to themselves and tried to escape as best they could. In moments, the playground was empty once more, but the air filled with shouting and laughter.
"Hah…hah…Have we…Did we lose him?" Neji panted as he leaned against the nearest tree; Choji collapsing to the ground in an exhausted heap.
"I –I think so…" Kiba stammered, "He…went after Juugo…"
"Ugh…" Naruto groaned. Suddenly, there was a dramatic, lazy yawn from somewhere up above them, and the four of them looked up in surprise to see Shikamaru lying against the tree trunk on a branch a few metres above them.
"…Shikamaru?" Choji remarked curiously.
"Oh…hey guys," he commented with another yawn, "What's going on?"
"…Haven't you been playing?" Neji sniffed flatly.
"Running isn't really my thing…" Shikamaru shrugged, looking down at them with his typical, lazy grin.
"…Have you been up there the entire time?" Neji inquired haughtily.
"Maybe," he shrugged, "Come on up; it's a great hiding place up here…and I'm pretty sure I can see people having sex."
"Where?" Kiba exclaimed curiously, already in the air and scrambling up into the branches.
"You're a pervert, Inuzuka!" Neji snapped darkly as the four of them quickly ascended into the branches of the tree and joined Shikamaru's vantage point.
"Wow! You can see like half the gardens from up here!" Choji exclaimed; eyes wide.
" –Is that them down there?" Kiba inquired; squinting to try and get a better look.
"…There are two kinds of people…" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
As the five of them looked down, they could see a shirtless guy with white hair on his knees behind a thin, red-haired female on her hands and knees; his hands up her skirt and obviously gripping her hips as his pelvis slammed against her repetitively.
"Holy crap," Kiba breathed, "Oi; Naruto! Isn't that your cousin, Karin?"
"Oh my god," Naruto exclaimed in a whisper as the woman raised her hips slightly. "Oh my god…that's totally Karin. Holy shit; is that Suigetsu?"
"Don't watch!" Neji hissed at them.
"Oh my god, this is too fucking good," Kiba chuckled evilly.
"…If you're about to do what I think you're about to do…" Naruto grinned wickedly.
Karin let out a low moan; feeling Suigetsu throbbing needily inside her as she ground her hips back to keep pace with him. Her practically-virgin entrance was stretched tight around his thick length and with every rough thrust she could feel herself drawing closer to climax.
"Mm…Suigetsu…" she moaned; her hands gripping the dirt fiercely, "…K-Keep going…"
"I'm close…" he whispered, his thrusts slowly losing rhythm and becoming more erratic. He leaned forwards and kissed her neck, and suddenly, as he reached around and massaged one of her breasts, she felt pleasure flooding through her in orgasm and she bit hard into her wrist to keep herself silent. A few thrusts later, Suigetsu let out a low grunt before his movements stopped; his breathing laboured.
"FUCK YEAH, SUIGETSU!" Kiba's voice crowed out from somewhere up above them.
"I AM TOTALLY TELLING UNCLE NAGATO ABOUT THIS!" Naruto hollered mockingly. Suigetsu looked over his shoulder and as he squinted, was able to catch sight of about five figures sitting up in one of the trees overlooking them.
"Holy crap," he commented as Karin lurched away from him; yanking her underwear back up from around her knees and desperately trying to make herself look more presentable. "Oh…" He waved up at them and heard crowing laughter in response as Karin promptly slapped him across the face and stormed off; yelling at him ferociously.
"You guys are pure evil," Choji commented, shaking his head incredulously as he settled back against the tree trunk, "Really, Naruto? You're going to tell her dad?"
"…Maybe…" Naruto shrugged, "It makes for perfect blackmail material though!"
"Man…" Shikamaru suddenly commented, "…This really brings back memories, doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Neji snapped snidely and the lazy genius just turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"First year of junior high, don't you remember?" he commented lazily, "We came here and played cops and robbers with the graduating seniors."
"Oh yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, remembering, "We were the last cops and we were chasing Sasuke, weren't we?"
"Yeah; and those seniors that were robbers kept blocking us, didn't they?" Choji frowned, "They sure played rough. But we all beat them in the end! Didn't you get knocked unconscious, Neji?"
"Shut up," Neji sniffed flatly, "He got lucky…"
"He got you tangled up in the net on the playground and you fell and hit your head when you got him…" Naruto laughed. Neji glared openly at them as they all burst out laughing at his misfortune, and finally, he had to smile slightly. "Man, that was such a good game! I was totally about to catch Sasuke too, and then he managed to get away and we had to get ready to go home before I did…" They chuckled again.
" –You fell in the river, didn't you, Kiba?" Shikamaru pointed out with a grin.
"Hey, shut up!" Kiba exclaimed hotly. "We made a pretty good team, didn't we? Even though we didn't catch Sasuke in the end, we still sort of won, right?"
"Totally!" Naruto grinned, "Man…that was a great game. Me and him ran through the fountains as well and he pushed me off one of the bridges into the river –and through the sandpit…" His eyes glazed over nostalgically.
"Pretty funny that he's the one chasing us now," Shikamaru shrugged with a sigh.
"He's not chasing you," Kiba snorted, "Come on; come down, Shikamaru! It's fun! Well, when Neji's not trying to throttle me, that is…" They all turned their gazes to Shikamaru, who finally sighed.
"Troublesome," he muttered, and they began clambering down from the tree gleefully.
They'd just touched back down to earth, when suddenly, a flash of red sprinted past followed by a Sasuke-shaped blur. Instantly, the five of them scattered, Naruto tagging along with Gaara, who looked like he'd been running for quite some time.
"Go on…without me…" Gaara gasped for air. "His stamina…is unparalleled…I'll sacrifice…"
"No! Gaara! Don't do this to me!" Naruto exclaimed; grabbing him by the wrist and trying to drag him along. "You can –"
"No! It has to be like this!" the redhead assured him, panting, "Save yourself!" Suddenly, Sasuke; urged on by a sudden second wind, leapt forwards towards the pair of them. His hand clipped Gaara on the shoulder before he and Naruto both went tumbling head over heels into the nearest garden.
Gaara let out a low breath before jogging off after Kiba, deciding against going after Naruto. He and Sasuke seemed to have some things they maybe needed to sort out.
The next chapter will be the final one. I just really wanted to write something like this... I do love reconciliation and bonding moments!
xx K
