A/N: And yet another chapter comes out. Slightly shorter than the last :)
The Chuunin Exams are about to start! Just...not until tomorrow.
Warning: Language, slight violence, OOC
Enjoy!
"Foolish little brother! Naruto-no-baka!"
Sasuke peered out his bedroom door, a tiny suitcase in hand. "What do you want, foolish nii-san?"
Naruto stuck his head out the door too. "Yeah! Foolish nii-san! I'm tryin' to find some soap!"
A shampoo bottle smacked him in the face.
"Shut up! Don't call me that!" Itachi shouted from inside the bathroom. "And hurry up and pack!"
Deidara shoved him into the doorframe, obviously not a morning person. But considering the fact that it was the middle of the night he guessed he wasn't the type of person to mess with any time of the day. "Shut. Up. Uchiha. Kun." he growled.
Itachi rubbed his sore nose. "Why're you in a bad mood?" he asked with a slight glare.
Deidara stood over the toilet, glaring at the raven as he used the bathroom. "Because you're the idiot who woke me up at ten at night screaming about needing to get rid of Sasu-kun and Naru-chan!" he snapped. "We have the Chuunin Exams tomorrow and I was trying to get some rest hmm!"
Itachi raised a brow. "What- is your body still sore from our training this morning?"
"Training?" Deidara scowled, fixing his pants. "It was just you beating me up repeatedly until you got bored un!"
"Was it really?" Itachi looked off with a thoughtful expression.
Deidara stomped his foot. "Don't think about it like that!"
Sasuke and Naruto came to the two, their bags packed and ready to go. "Hey nii-san," Sasuke said. "Are we really going to Sakura's house this late at night?"
Itachi gave him an odd look. "Of course. Why wouldn't we?"
Naruto toothily grinned. "It's your funeral."
Itachi's neck cricked. "Come again?" A threatening cloud loomed behind him.
Naruto pulled an eyelid down and stuck out his little tongue. "Bleh!"
Sasuke looked in between the two before joining his best friend in the fun. "Bleh!"
Feeling slightly better at Itachi's obvious annoyance, Deidara placed his hands on top the two children's heads and said, "Now, now, let's not get the beast angry. You might awaken something even more hideous hmm."
The two childishly beamed at him. "OK!"
Itachi resisted the urge to Mangekyo all three of them, knowing his father and mother wouldn't be very pleased to come back and find them twitching and frothing at the mouth. That is to say- whenever they decided to come back. Instead he grabbed Deidara by the ear and dragged him out the bathroom, calling over his shoulder, "We're going to Sakura's. Now."
-Ten minutes later-
Itachi peered behind him and then straightened his shoulders, knocking on the door in front of him sharply.
Sasuke and Naruto shifted uneasily, their small forms nothing more than dark shadows under the starlight sky. They shared a glance and shuddered uneasily.
Deidara noticed their unease and crouched down to get on eye-level with them. "What's wrong hmm?" he quietly whispered as Itachi knocked yet again on the door.
Sasuke, with large fearful eyes, glanced at his older brother. "Nii-san doesn't know much about the Haruno family because they're such a small clan but-" He shook his head slowly.
Naruto placed a comforting arm around his friend's small shoulder. "It's okay Sasuke. You don't have to continue."
Deidara started to get a bad feeling about waking the Haruno clan in the middle of the night. "So…so what's gonna happen un?"
Itachi sighed, oblivious to the loud whispering behind him. He raised his fist, ready to knock on the door for the nth time when the small wooden apartment door swung open. A petite woman with long pink hair in a ponytail groggily blinked at him, clad in her lingerie pajamas. Itachi ignored the choice of clothing and instead offered a smile. "Hi there Haruno-san-"
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? INTERRUPTING MY BEAUTY SLEEP!" She roared before kicking him in the face. He crashed into a nearby wall several feet away.
Deidara's head swiveled around to where the unconscious Uchiha lay, suddenly covered in beads of seat from perhaps slight fear towards the monstrous woman standing in the doorway.
The woman turned gleaming eyes onto the three still standing baffled on her front step. "And what would you children be wanting at this time of hour?" she asked in a voice resembling an angry grizzly bear. Which was weird because none of them actually knew what an angry grizzly sounded like.
"..."
"..."
Deidara gulped.
Sasuke and Naruto shifted back.
The woman narrowed her dark blue eyes. "Well?"
Deidara glanced from side to side in nervousness, and when he could think of nothing else to say without being knocked out like Itachi, pushed Sasuke and Naruto in front of him with a half smile plastered on his face. "Good evening psycho- er- Haruno-san."
She impatiently tapped her foot, pale arms crossed. "Go. On."
Deidara sweatdropped. "You remember Sasu-kun and Naru-chan right?"
"And if I do?"
Ouch. Deidara inwardly winced. "We kind of need someone to watch over them for a bit. And there's no one else we can trust to do that except for you un."
Her gaze was unrelenting.
Deidara realized he had no other choice. He had to turn on his womanizing and persuasive charm. "I-I'm really sorry to have bothered you though hmm. I tried to tell Ita-kun, but he was just so stressed because of the upcoming Chuunin Exams tomorrow…" Deidara trailed off and then hastily bowed his head. "So please watch over our two siblings!"
The feisty woman harrumphed and shifted uneasily. "Well…I really can't say no to such a well-mannered boy, now can I?"
Deidara looked up, sweatdropping slightly. "R-Really hmm?"
She cast him a dazzling smile, unfolding her arms in a welcoming manner. "Sure! Now then- Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun," she motioned to the two boys. "Why don't you come on in? I'll show you to the spare room. I'm sure Sakura will be excited to see the two of you when she wakes up tomorrow morning."
Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another and then laughed, running inside the open apartment giving off a suddenly warm glow.
Deidara affectionately stared after them. "You two behave un!" he shouted after them.
The woman leaned forward to poke him on the forehead. "They'll be fine kid. They have me watching over them."
That's what I'm afraid of… Deidara inwardly thought, but he smiled anyway. He could sense a bit of good coming off her aura. "H-Hai."
"Good." She pushed him back, starting to close her door. "Good luck on the Exams then. And take 'Ita-kun' with you when you leave, ok?"
Deidara dutifully nodded his head. "I understand hmm."
The woman gave him one last look and then slammed her door shut.
The Iwa nin let out a sigh of relief once he was sure she had gone and then hurriedly went to wake Itachi up. He shook him on the shoulder roughly. "Oi! Hurry and wake up you big oaf!" he said in a hushed voice.
Itachi cracked an eye open. "I'm already awake you fool," he said in an equally hushed voice. "As if a punch like that could knock me out."
"You were awake the entire time?" Deidara incredulously asked. "I could have gotten killed hmm!"
"But you didn't," Itachi pointed out as he stood, a few pieces of cement falling off of him. "Thanks to your ridiculous acting skills which seem to win everyone over."
"They don't win you over," Deidara said.
"Because you're an idiot." Itachi cracked his back. "Now come on. Let's get back home for tomorrow."
Deidara sighed, irritably tugging at his hair. "I bet that's the only reason you brought me along un. Because you knew you'd be the one getting beat up."
Itachi didn't bother to spare him a glance as they headed back towards the Uchiha Compound. "Weren't you the one complaining about getting beat up earlier- and by me no less?"
The blonde turned an angry shade of red. "Shut up un!"
Itachi smirked. "Whatever. Let's just hope you're ready for tomorrow. Genin-san."
Deidara let out an angry scoff. "I'll get you back for that someday un."
"Sure."
"I mean it hmm!"
"Uh-huh."
Deidara glared at the raven's retreating back. "Well fine then." A sly smirk start to spread on his face. "I can't wait until we go to meet Shisui-kun tomorrow morning for the Exams. How 'bout you?"
Itachi froze, eyebrow quirking.
"And you'll get to here us talking the entire exam," Deidara continued. "Aren't you excited by that?" he asked. "Just think about un. You may have gotten rid of your little brother and Naru-chan, but you can't get rid of me."
Itachi slowly cranked his head around, crimson eyes glowing in the night. "Oh really?"
"Shit un," Deidara deadpanned.
And then took off for the Uchiha main household, a cackling thirteen year old hot on his heels.
"GET AWAY FROM ME UN! HOKAGE-SAMA! HELP ME HMM!" Deidara yelled over his shoulder.
Itachi skidded to a halt. "Don't be ridiculous Dei-da-ra! The Hokage's not going to-"
Suddenly a familiar man riding piggyback style on top a monkey in black dropped down from the sky, effectively crushing him and his spleen.
"Don't be terrorizing the young!" The Third Hokage threateningly said, pointing a fluffy pajama covered hand at the Uchiha. "Next mistake and I'll de-rank you to a Genin whippersnapper!"
Deidara watched with shining eyes from behind a pair of trashcans, stepping out if only to butter the Hokage up. "Oh thank you so much Hiruzen un! I thought I was a goner!"
The Third Hokage flashed him a thumbs up, the monkey deadpanning. "No problem son! You have a good night now!"
Deidara politely nodded. "I will un."
Itachi raised a twitching hand from where he was squashed, death threats running through his mind. I'll get you Deidara…you little brat…just you wait-
The Hokage stepped on him again. "No bad thoughts!"
"Gah!"
Deidara stifled a snicker with his hand. Gotcha Uchiha-kun. As if I'd ever lose to you hmm.
A/N: Gotta love the Third Hokage too ^v^
It's late at night so I'm gonna catch some z's right now.
Ja~
