Author's Note:
Thank you very much to all who fav'd and reviewed. ^_^ It's very much loved.
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The first thoughts that plagued the idiot when he first awoke that morning was that he only had five days left to live. He genuinely tried to avoid such superstitious thoughts; however, the old woman's warning from last night had plagued him even further. He lay in bed, almost refusing to move. That is, until his friend decided to wake him.
Sasuke usually rose from his bed before the sun rose from the horizon, unless special circumstances had altered his sleeping schedule. Today, there was no exception. He rose early, preparing to train. His feline companions informed him that his guest was still sleeping, but they would come alert him when his guest arose. Satisfied with this answer, Sasuke made his way to train early alone.
He left his breakfast unmade, knowing he would merely have to cook for Naruto when he awoke. Making two breakfasts in a single morning was far too bothersome to pursue.
However, Sasuke received no messenger cat. He returned home later that morning, roughly around ten. Naruto remained cooped up in his room. Dissatisfied to wait for breakfast much longer, Sasuke tried to placate himself with a shower. After the shower and some brief cleaning, Sasuke grew tired of waiting for Naruto to awaken on his own. Sasuke knocked roughly on the door of Naruto's temporary bedroom.
When he received no reply, Sasuke just let himself in. There, he found Naruto lying on his stomach, his blanket tucked over his head. The slight twitching of Naruto's body alerted Sasuke that he was wide awake.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked in annoyance. "It's nearly time for lunch."
"I didn't sleep well…"Naruto grumbled, searching for sympathy. He rolled over in bed to gaze at his friend. The blanket fell off of his face, forgotten. "I kept thinking so much I couldn't sleep. Then, when I did fall asleep creepy noises woke me up."
Sasuke raised a single eyebrow.
"Don't raise your eyebrow at me!" Naruto accused, sitting up fast. "This damn place is haunted!"
Sasuke scowled.
"Do not refer to my home in such a degrading manner."
"Well, your home is full of ghosts! I wasn't going to say anything, but two nights of terrible sleep is overwhelming! Especially when I've only got five days left!"
"Enough," Sasuke warned in a low tone. However, Naruto didn't seem to be cautioned.
"How am I supposed to get my will enforced on no sleep? This is a horrid way to spend a last week. Nothing is getting done! And the creepy noises at night are not helping!"
Naruto was babbling from exhaustion and fear. In his natural state of being, there would be no way he would drone on and on about such minor details like losing sleep. He was a full fledge shinobi. Shinobis were trained to function with little sleep. He especially would not tell Sasuke that his entire family was restless in their afterlife, either. However, the added stress of his daily countdown was starting to fray him at his edges.
"You just aren't being haunted because your family likes you! They are pissed I'm here!"
Sasuke's short temper was beginning to burn. The mentioning of his past family along with Naruto's paranoia of death was more than enough to enrage him. He felt his fist begin to shake, ready to strike Naruto. Sasuke didn't care about his probation. He didn't care about the possibility of damaging the interior of his house. All he cared about was beating his frustrations upon Naruto's face. His muscles coiling, he prepared himself to strike.
"Promise you'll be good to him? For me?"
A soft voice echoed in Sasuke's mind. Instantly rejecting his plan to strike, Sasuke fist and muscles uncoiled.
"I'm going to make lunch," Sasuke snapped suddenly, turning around swiftly. He slammed the door behind him in frustration.
Naruto watched in confusion, unsure of what had just transpired.
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Naruto was slow to join Sasuke for lunch, due to an especially well timed phone call from Kiba. The conversation had been short, but rather demanding. Kiba was insistent on throwing at party for Naruto and required that Naruto give him some details of what was to transpire. All the two males could really agree upon was that Sasuke's house was definitely an awesome place. Surely, everyone would show up if they knew they could get a glimpse of the mysterious home. However, there was one big problem.
Sasuke would never, ever allow such a thing.
Kiba pressured Naruto to find a way to arrange the evening gathering, especially before his mission tomorrow. The mission did not begin until sundown, giving Naruto plenty of time to recover from a late night. Everything could be arranged, if only there was a way to manipulate Sasuke into being absent. Naruto ended the phone call, promising Kiba he'd come up with a clever idea. The only problem was, Naruto could find none.
He sat mulling over the issue during lunch. Sasuke ate quickly beside him, secretly disturbed by Naruto's silence.
If only there was a way to be rid of Sasuke for a couple of hours…..
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked suddenly.
Naruto jumped guiltily, but tried to compose himself.
"Nothing! Why?"
"Hn," Sasuke replied peering into him. Sauske really didn't want to engage conversation between him and Naruto. It would only lead to discussions of demise. However, silence between him and Naruto was unusual. It was unreal somehow. The pair was incredibly close, but rarely did Sasuke ever have to take on making Naruto talk. Usually, the blonde did more than enough talking for the two of them.
"Get it together," Sasuke summarized into a simple sentence. He continued to eat his meal, trying to feel comfortable.
Naruto heaved a deep sigh. He gave up even trying to formulate a plot. He was far too drained to even try to think the party issue through.
"I need to get some sleep tonight… I won't get anything done today. Plus, we have that stupid escort mission tomorrow."
Sasuke raised a brow.
"I think I'm staying at Sakura's tonight."
"Like hell you are," Sasuke responded with a glare. "She's busy. She doesn't want to be bothered by you."
"She's already annoyed!" Naruto reasoned with an argumentative tone. "She's getting irritated with the midnight calls!"
Sasuke stared, trying to gather information with a heavy glance.
"We only talk for like an hour or so," Naruto informed.
Sasuke avoided asking what on earth the two had to talk about for around an hour every night.
"Regardless, you aren't sleeping over there. She's busy, and the apartment has only one bedroom."
"Yeah, but her couch is pretty nice."
"I said no."
Naruto gawked in confusion.
"What the hell? You can't say no! You aren't involved."
"Hn," Sasuke countered simply with a cold look.
"She might not mind," Naruto sounded. "Plus, I need some sleep!"
"No."
There was an awkward moment. The two looked into each other, blue meeting black. Then, Naruto's arms began to flail around.
"Give me one good reason to stay here! First, you hate that I'm here and throw a fit! Next thing I know, you refuse to let me leave!"
"You could always go back to your place."
"But I'll die!"
Sasuke huffed. Naruto watched him in confusion. He knew Sasuke had issues, but this scenario was seriously bizarre.
"Is it because you're lonely and you need me here?" Naruto teased suddenly. His eyes were slanted in supreme amusement.
"You wish," Sasuke opposed.
"Then why do you care?" Naruto pondered aloud, his voice almost melodic from teasing. It was a fairly rare in occurrence, but Naruto loved to see Sasuke flushed and wordless. He knew if he pursued this route, he'd have a victory. "Could it be that you would get jealous?"
Naruto began to giggle in the most unflattering way.
"That's it, huh? You'd be jealous that Sakura and I would be having fun without you!"
Sasuke shook his head at the dull blonde.
"Idiot," He grumbled.
"No wait… you'd be jealous because Sakura and I would be alone together! At her place! At night time!"
Sasuke met his gaze with a forcefully fierce look. Naruto ignored the warning, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't attack. Besides, seeing Sasuke so flustered in denial and anger was too entertaining to stop.
"I bet she'd be really affectionate.. since I have only a few days left to live."
"If you tried anything, she'd beat you until you couldn't walk." Sasuke seethed the threat.
Naruto waggled his eyebrows, chuckling slightly at the innuendo Sasuke had made with his threat. Before Sasuke was ready to engage in battle, Naruto decided to compose the situation.
"Hey, hey... I'm only kidding." Naruto waved his hands submissively into the air. "We're all just friends…I just like to tease. Nobody wants anybody."
Naruto knew he was lying like hell, but he wasn't ready to deal with the complex relationship that lay between himself, Sasuke, and Sakura. He was far too exhausted to even experiment with that issue.
However, Sasuke's ability to become enraged so hastily at the thought of Naruto and Sakura amorously together inspired Naruto. Wicked, manipulative thoughts began to turn the gears of his mind. Perhaps, there was a way to get rid of Sasuke tonight and have the single date from his will occur. Naruto tried his hardest to compose himself. Implementing this impromptu plan was of the upmost importance. Sasuke could not suspect a thing.
"So.. I want to take back something I asked you for earlier," Naruto began, scratching at the back of his head. He tried to calm himself, but he was nervous. This plan was too good and his only chance at winning his desires. "I agree with you. It'd be weird if you went on a date with Sakura… especially if you just did it because I told you to."
Sasuke nodded in agreement. However, he was suspicious why the stubborn blonde had so suddenly changed his mind.
"And how did you come to this conclusion?"
"I don't know… I guess it was during dinner last night," Naruo lied. He kept chanting to himself that he could do this. He was a trained shinobi. An expert deceiver. He could do this.
"I guess I noticed how you and Sakura fight a lot. Especially lately… like you did in my apartment… and you did when we got there last night.. It wouldn't work. Plus, it's always strange when friends start dating."
Sasuke nodded in agreement once more. Naruto took a discrete deep breath. This next sentence would be supremely important.
"I mean, it was weird when we did it," Naruto responded in a fake casual tone.
There was a suspension of sound. Sasuke did not reply for was seemed like an eternity.
"What?" he finally hissed.
"It was weird when Sakura and I went on a date."
Sasuke's eyes seemed to widen in fury. His mouth, however, was set into a line. He was trying to hide his supreme jealousy and confusion. However, Naruto was a master at reading Sasuke's subtle facial expressions.
All Naruto could think to himself was, "He took the bait! He took the bait! I can't believe it! He's totally falling for it!"
"What? You didn't hear?" Naruto asked off hand. "It wasn't a big deal or anything."
Probably because it never happened.
Well, Sakura had accepted to go on a date with Naruto years ago, but he had been unluckily unable to fund the endeavor. He chased after her multiple times after that, but each time she discretely found a way to avoid being asked again. Perhaps, she had come to the conclusion that a date would be supremely awkward and damage their intricate relationship. Or maybe she felt that their lives were too complicated to attempt such a thing at the time. If he were to ask her now, Naruto was really unsure how she would answer.
Regardless, Sasuke gullibly bought into the story.
"When?" He asked, trying to conceal his resentment. However, Naruto could see right through his attempt. His fists were clenched and everything, a warning sign of definite anger.
"Oh, sometime when you were gone. It wasn't a big deal. Just a kiss on the cheek type of thing."
Sasuke's mind instantly was enraged with inferno. When he had returned home, Sakura wouldn't even hug him. Hell, she wouldn't even refer to him with the affectionate suffix. He had to earn her good graces again, while she was kissing Naruto? What kind of deal was that?
It didn't occur to Sasuke that his multiple attempts to kill Sakura had damped her desire to be openly affectionate with him. Her feelings toward him certainly had not changed, as she was with him often during his return. She had merely treated him differently, afraid to get too comfortable.
Of course, with time she grew at ease with Sasuke again. He was certainly trusted by her now, as indicated by the return of her friendly behavior. It was only yesterday that she had been affectionately rubbing his back, wasn't it? Furthermore, why did he even care?
Still fuming, Sasuke rose. His promise restrained him, once more.
"I have errands. Don't come."
He left through the back door, a slamming resounded behind him.
Naruto grinned in victory, hoping Sasuke would take hasty action.
He sat there a moment, enjoying the midday sun. He continued to munch on the meal Sasuke had prepared for them, missing his companionship for a moment.
SLAM!
Naruto jumped in his seat. Sasuke's kitchen door slammed shut, completely by itself. Unable to handle the spooky house by himself, Naruto ran out the back door.
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Lacking anywhere to particularly go, Naruto went to his standby activity. Bothering Sakura.
"It happens during the day too!" Naruto cried, as he burst into Sakura's office.
Sakura looked up suddenly her mouth slightly agape. She had no idea what Naruto was referring to, furthermore why he was troubling her again. Her studies of medical text forgotten, Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"What?" She questioned in confusion.
"Well, Sasuke and I were talking... and then he left out the back door after getting all pissy.. then the kitchen door slammed shut by itself!"
Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together. Surely, this week with Naruto would be the cause of premature aging. She inhaled slowly, reminding herself that she had to be kind to Naruto. Not only for his own wellbeing, but as a favor to Sasuke. If Sasuke could compose himself into being nice to the moron, surely Sakura could get herself together.
"Wait a moment, go back," She began, her face quirking. "You said Sasuke was mad? What'd you do?
"Why does it have to be my fault? He's an asshole. Or did you forget?"
Sakura gave Naruto a strong, blank stare. Since most of Sasuke and Naruto's arguments were a mutual issue, she decided not to pursue what on earth they had been arguing for. Instead, she moved to the topic of Naruto's current distress.
"The kitchen door closed?"
"By itself!"
Sakura let out a sigh.
"Promise me you aren't bugging Sasuke with this ghost stuff."
Naruto's face faltered a little.
"You told him!" Sakura shrieked in horror. "Naruto!"
"Would you get over the minute details? I am being haunted! Probably because I'll be joining them in the spirit realm soon."
Sakura let out a long unhappy sigh. Bitterly, she thought of how often she had been doing this lately. She was eager to relax once this whole ordeal was over. Deciding to distract Naruto, she leaned back and pulled a file from the shelf behind her.
"I've got our mission assignment report," she announced to him, reaching to hand him the file. Usually, when Naruto was aware of a mission assignment he would devour the entire reading in excitement. Today, however, he sat down across from her. He didn't look the least bit interested. She was instantly disheartened to see that Naruto was so melancholy. When he wasn't having an episode of terror, he seemed to be disinterested.
"Did Sasuke come to visit you?" He asked distractedly, before opening the file. Sakura tilted her head in confusion. Why was Naruto more concerned about Sasuke's whereabouts than a mission?
"Why would Sasuke come to visit me?" she questioned.
Naruto shrugged dramatically and instantly buried himself into the file contents. Sakura noticed his cheeks flush slightly, almost as if he was caught wrongdoing.
"It's a short, but high ranking mission," Sakura explained as she briefed Naruto. "The guy doesn't have far to travel, but he has quite a few security risks."
Naruto tilted is head.
"Seems like he's something of a playboy. He's got a few angry ex-girlfriends."
"And why are we protecting him?"
"He's got the cash."
Naruto's hands began to shake subtlety.
"How bad do you think they want him dead?" He asked, a nervous quip escaping his tone. Sakura shrugged.
"It's nothing we can't handle. I'd like to think we're capable of fighting scorned women and the mercenaries they hire."
Naruto nodded, still nervous. What was the saying? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Perhaps his doom would be brought upon by an angry exe? Lowering his head, he did not bother to read the rest of the file.
To his surprise, he felt a hand pat the top of his head. He looked upward to see Sakura giving him a wistful smile.
"Don't worry," She said softly. "There's no need to be superstitious."
Naruto nodded, doubt still evident in his posture.
"Hey," Sakura said weakly, trying to distract him. "Anything we can do that would help?"
The true question she meant to ask was "Anything we can do that will make you realize that you're a moron for getting so worked up?" However, her caring nature towards Naruto prevented her from insulting him so boldly.
Naruto shook his head, his spirits still low. He stood to his feet, unsure where to go.
"Nah," He said with an obviously fake smile. "Catch you later, Sakura-chan."
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Due to her mission the following day, Sakura decided to only dedicate a half day studying medicine. Taking the rare opportunity to have alone time, Sakura snuck back to her apartment. She was sure to remind no one that she had time off right now. Nearly the entire population felt like a pain in the ass.
In reality, there was only one individual who was really grating her nerves at this moment in time. But, death predictions were the last thing on her mind. Currently, she was nestled on the floor of her living room. A load of fresh, warm laundry lay in a basket beside her. While watching some afternoon talk show on television, she folded large, fuzzy towels. Contentedly, she enjoyed her own silent company.
That is, until there was a knock on her front door.
Sakura glared at the doorway but gave in to social behavior.
"Come in," She called, somewhat unhappily. To her surprise, Sasuke walked through her doorway. He did not look pleased.
Sasuke had meant it when he told Naruto he was leaving to run errands. However, several grocery bags later, he found himself still unhappy. He refused to acknowledge why he was gloomy entirely, and reasoned to himself that his displeasure was with Naruto's constantly bothersome behavior. In reality, the bad taste in his mouth was from envy.
Sakura tilted her head curiously at him, wondering why he showed up. Furthermore, she wondered why Naruto was accurate in expecting him to visit her.
"Come in?" Sasuke scolded. "You leave your door unlocked, and just invite anyone in?"
"I'm pretty sure I can fight most people off," Sakura reasoned, resisting rolling her eyes. She lifted a second towel and proceeded to fold it. Sasuke scowled unhappily.
"So, what's going on?" She asked, looking up from her laundry. Sasuke raised a brow. "I'm sure you didn't travel all this way just to check my security settings."
"Hn," He grunted, settling down in front of her. He leaned forward, pulling one of the towels from the load. She watched as he began to fold the linen, secretly amused by his desire for cleanliness.
"Also, Naruto told me you were coming," Sakura continued, trying to prod Sasuke into talking. She noticed Sasuke's eyes drop into angry slants. Sasuke, however, didn't speak to her. He set the folded towel down, moving to the next.
"What did you two fight about?"
When he didn't respond to her for a third time, Sakura resorted to poking Sasuke's forehead for attention. She was not aware that at one time, a forehead poke was a gesture of affection from his brother. Had she known this, she certainly would not have nudged him. Regardless, Sasuke's mind and mood instantly fell into more foul territory.
"Take it back," he growled out softly.
"What?"
"Take back this whole niceness pact. I'm not dealing with it anymore."
There was a pause, Sakura biting her lip slightly.
"Look, if Naruto's getting to be a pain, he can just stay with me tonight."
"No," Sasuke hissed out icily. He gave her a dirty look.
"Okay, Okay," Sakura submitted, putting her hands into the air. "No need to get mean with me."
Sasuke lowered his gaze, continuing to fold laundry. In his mind, he had every reason to be mean with her. She was lucky she seemed to always fall into her own special category, or he would have been far crueler towards her.
"He's getting on my nerves too," Sakura sympathized softly with Sasuke. She wished the raven nin would act like his normal self. Ironically, most people believed hissing and spewing fiery venom was Sasuke's normal self. "Just five more days, and he won't be annoying."
Sasuke gave her a questioning look.
"Well, he'll be less annoying."
When Sasuke didn't retort to her, she continued to ramble.
"I think he's really upset. Naruto always puts on a happy face, but I can tell it's eating away at him. And we wouldn't be good friends if we let him suffer alone. Today, when I gave him the file for our mission he didn't care. It's so unlike him…"
"I don't care," Sasuke interrupted, aggression escaping into his tone. "He's an idiot."
"I think you do," Sakura responded, her tone gentle. She knew if she sounded like she was arguing with Sasuke, he'd blow up and leave. "I really appreciate how you've tried to be kind to him."
"Hmp."
Both hands reached into the basket at the same time, reaching for linen to fold. The basket lay empty. Sasuke's eyes widened as Sakura's fingers accidently brushed his. The sensation of the touch was strange. It seemed to resonate through his body rapidly, and he was quick to pull away. No matter how much he would deny it to himself, Sasuke liked it when they touched. Even by accident.
The slip of her hand had distracted him somewhat, making him slightly less intimidating.
"Maybe you just need a little break from Naruto?" Sakura asked softly. Her tone seemed to stroke at his nerves. "Why don't you come over tonight? We'll hang out together and have a quiet night in."
Any thoughts Sasuke may have been having were completely silenced by the question. His breath hitched slightly. Sakura did not seem to notice. Her round, green eyes peered into him, waiting.
"Fine," he answered her shortly. Heat seemed to creep up his neck when he watched her smile innocently. She was genuinely thrilled he wanted to spend time with her, even if it was to escape a blonde pest.
Sasuke stood, not bothering to offer her any words of goodbye. He walked to the door, his hand resting on the knob.
"I'll be over later to make you supper," he commanded over his shoulder. With that, he left.
Sakura blushed, stone still. Something about Sasuke's order of them sharing a meal altered the scenario. She couldn't help but feel like she had a date. Blushing, she moved to her bedroom, debating if she should dress accordingly.
While making his way homeward, Sasuke sent Naruto a simple message of the following:
I won't be around tonight. Don't bother me.
Naruto grinned wickedly to himself, his fists pumping into the air. He wasn't sure how, but everything had gone according to plan.
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Author's Notes:
There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but the content got rather long. So, I decided to split the chapter.
The date part should be up by the weekend! ^_^
As always, I love reviews.