Unconventional Hero: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership of or affiliation to the Naruto franchise. This is non-profit recreation.


In the previous chapter:

Sasuke nodded. 'Maybe this won't be so bad. She isn't rattling on like she used to. She isn't even stuttering anymore around me. So I suppose she's over her schoolgirl crush. But she could still. . .if I can keep that mangy mutt away from her, maybe I can get closer to her.'


After their talk over tea, Sasuke felt comfortable enough that he thought it would be okay to unpack a little more of his belongings. He hung up some articles of clothing on hangers, and emptied the rest of his bag into drawers. He meticulously separated the pieces of clothing neatly inside the drawers to his liking. Fishnet training gear and pouches in one area, undershirts in another, pants in their own area, and his socks and other accessories in the top drawer. Ever the anal-retentive bastard. If someone ever explained to him what a label maker was, he'd go nuts with it.

He heard a knock on his door.

"Come in."

Sakura slowly opened the door, the peeked around the corner. "Hey."

"Hn. I said you could come in. It's your room, after all."

"Ino called. They'll be at the bar in a couple of hours."

"Hn."

Sakura shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She didn't know if she should talk to him more to help him feel comfortable or to simply leave him alone.

"Do you need help unpacking?"

"No. Almost done."

"Oh." Now she chewed the inside of her mouth.

"Do you need help cleaning up in there?" He jerked his head towards the other part of the apartment, obviously referencing the kitchen and dining area from where they just left. It was really bothering him to have such a mess (though in most others' eyes, it wasn't a big deal) just left there.

"No, it can wait."

"The dirty dishes?" 'She's got to be kidding me.'

"They're just tea cups, Sasuke."

"Hn." '. . .and about thirty other filthy, dirty dishes. You haven't touched any of them in days.' He couldn't help himself; he didn't know why, but he had an uncontrollable urge to comfort and protect her.

"Is. . .everything okay?" He didn't want to face her, so he made himself busy re-arranging his belongings in drawers. . .again.

Sakura's head shot up. To say she was surprised didn't even cover it. He was concerned for her well-being, which was definitely out-of-character for. . .any Uchiha.

"What? W-what do you mean?"

"I don't know. You're just very nervous and depressed. I can feel it in your chakra. I don't like it." 'I don't like it if something's hurting you. I have to fix it, to heal it.'

"No, nothing major. Besides you dropping in, nothing big has happened recently."

"What about Kiba? Has he been giving you a lot of trouble?"

'Oh, brother. Not this again.' "No. In fact, I haven't seen him in quite a while. But my personal life is none of your concern."

"He looked like he was bothering you. If he decided to get rough, he could have hurt you just by harassing you."

"Kiba? Sasuke, he's one of us. He's harmless, though he is a pig. Besides, there's nothing going on between us."

"What?" Sasuke let a little too much of his emotions slide through on that one. He turned back to her, just a little too intrigued by her answer. His outburst earned him a raised pink eyebrow.

"I said there's nothing going on between me and Kiba." 'Jesus, does he now suddenly have a hearing problem?'

"Oh. Hn." 'For a second there, I thought she was addressing us. Whew.'

"What does it matter to you?" Sakura didn't turn to look at him for that question. She was actually pretty nervous. She didn't think she wanted to venture down this road just yet. Not only was she scared she would hear something she didn't want to hear, but she was scared pushing for feelings too early on could turn everything into a disaster. But then again, she wasn't ready to let him in again; not into her heart. He had done terrible things, and she hadn't heard an explanation yet. If he pushed justification more than regret, she'd possibly kill him on the spot. The thought about his misdeeds made her sick to her stomach. He was under her roof! That hadn't sunk in yet, and Sakura honestly would rather not think about it yet.

"Hn. I just didn't like him handling you inappropriately when you didn't want him too. That's all. We've had to save you numerous times. What's one more, right?" Sasuke thought that could have been a knight-in-shining-armor answer, and Sakura's eyes would sparkle with gratitude and desire. But they didn't. The second he turned around to face her and to look for the sparkling eyes, he was met with a closed fist to his face.


Shino, Lee and Kiba wandered into the bar from the sidewalk outside, chatting about their latest missions and their successful outcomes. Konoha, and the rest of the world around them, didn't seem to be in much of an uproar since the last peace treaty was signed and held firm. All in all, it was a wonderful time to be alive and happy.

Shino looked around. "So, where's the avenger? Nara said he'd be here."

"He's over in the corner booth, with his teammate and a few of the others." Well, they couldn't very well refer to themselves as the Rookie 9 now, could they? They were all Jounin now, though some were in more specialized fields than the average shinobi. Shikamaru, of course, was within the confines of intelligence. His girlfriend, now fiance, was a Yamanaka. They were within intelligence due to their abilities to inhabit bodies and minds in order to extract information. But all in all, everyone was successful. A few even had their own teams of Genin to train, as is the Jounin custom.

The guys walked over to the booth and was greeted by Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Predictably, Choji had a plate full of nachos, and he was unceremoniously scarfing them down while Sasuke, Ino and Sakura sat in audience, disgusted yet amazed. Shikamaru, however, seemed to be cheering him on. Lazily of course.

The guys sat down to welcome Sasuke back properly, although he and Kiba exchanged quick heated glares. Just to be a douchebag - he concluded - Sasuke inched slightly closer to Sakura in the booth. She noticed his movements and gave him a sideways glance.

He whispered an excuse into her ear: "It looks like we have more company. We need to make more room."

Sakura looked around and saw what he meant. In walked TenTen and Neji. They were officially a couple, much to Sakura's delight. It was easier getting Naruto and Hinata together! TenTen was a stubborn mule, but was hopelessly in love with Neji. He just kept shrugging her off, for some odd reason. The guys knew he had a thing for her, too, but he was just way more stubborn. He kept making excuse after excuse. . .until last year's festival, where TenTen dropped his jaw in a very beautiful green kimono laced with gold trim and beautiful designs. The fit was perfect for her body type, and made Neji's imagination stir with possibilities. He just couldn't take his eyes off of her, and his hormones finally got the best of him. She wasn't even ready to go yet before he snuck her away from the girls. . to scratch an itch. They soon left the festival together, and they've been inseparable since.

TenTen and Neji joined Sasuke on the side where e had made room by scooting closer to Sakura. He and Neji exchanged nods, while TenTen was closer and not at all shy about saying hello right to his face.

"Sasuke Uchiha! We're so happy to hear you're back! And on honorable terms, too! Hey, wait. . ." TenTen inspected his face from the shadow in which he was trying to hide it on his left side. "What happened to your face? You have a black eye!"

Sakura covered her mouth with a hand to control her laughter. Ino didn't bother with an attempt to stifle hers. Of course, Sakura had explained her triumph over the great and powerful Uchiha over snooping in her personal business and once again underestimating her strength.

"Sakura did a number on him!" TenTen put two-and-two together and joined in on the laughter, and the whole booth joined in once they understood. Kiba especially enjoyed a good laugh at Sasuke's expense. Sasuke bore a hole into Kiba's forehead with his eyes. 'Damn, if only I could activate my Sharingan. . .'

"What's the matter, Sasuke? You not strong enough to take down a woman?" Kiba snorted and directed his thumb at Sakura. "Not this little ol' thi-"

Sakura wasn't going to take that, either. She picked up her short cocktail glass and threw it at Kiba's head. Sakura had very good aim, because it hit him square in the nose, shattering once it fell and hit the table below him.

"Ahhh! Fuck! Goddammit!" Kiba stood upright after sliding out of the booth, clenching his nose. Blood trickled from in-between his fingers. "My nose! Dammit, Sakura!"

"You boys should really watch your mouths. Sakura can obliterate entire mountains. You're lucky you still have a face, Kiba." TenTen was spot-on, to tell the truth. Hinata and Ino agreed, nodding their heads. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes. But Kiba was not happy with the answer. He stormed to the men's room to fetch some paper towels and do damage control. He was sure it was broken. Neji followed to help calm him down before they caused a bigger scene.

A young civilian waitress scurried over to the table with a mini-broom and dust pan.

"I hope everyone's okay!" She placed the dust pan on the floor, bending down in front of Sasuke. He couldn't help but notice the short uniform dress she was wearing, and he had a feeling she wanted him to notice. She didn't have to bend down right in front of him; in fact, most women in short dresses would arrange themselves in the opposite direction to avoid embarrassment. But not if you're trying to show it off. He wasn't stupid, you know. But he was a red-blooded male, so he didn't object. She was young and cute.

TenTen, who was also getting a view and was not happy about it, turned over to the gawking young man and slapped him on the arm.

"Don't stare, you pervert."

Sakura turned to him, raising an eyebrow. Then she looked over at the bent waitress.

"Excuse me, ma'am? The glass is predominantly on the table."

She looked back at the table surface. "Oh, you're right. There wasn't much on the floor." The waitress leand in to the table, now exposing ample cleavage.

Sakura, TenTen, Hinata and Ino rolled their eyes. Of course, a young girl would show off her 'assets' to any table with guys, no matter if they were with their girlfriends. They wanted big tips, and they were willing to show a little bit of skin to get them. Ino's blood boiled, and she was never the one to remain silent about something.

"Miss? Christy, is it?" Ino read off her name tag. "Here's a ten. Please just bring us a round of sake and finish buttoning the rest of your dress, please. When you lean over the table again, I don't want one of your breasts to pop out in Choji's nachos."

Shikamaru spit out his current drink. You'd think he was used to Ino's sharp tongue by now. But she could still shock even Genma or Jiraiya with her boldness.

The waitress blushed, nodded her head and walked back towards the bar area. She did adjust her uniform, as well.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Ino, but wasn't happy to receive the look from Sakura. Se was obviously disappointed in his hormone levels. But what could he say, honestly? The girl was displaying her body out there for anyone who wanted to see. He just so happened to appreciate the female form enough to. . .aw, Hell. Okay, so he was a regular perverted guy for a few seconds. No big deal. Right?


After the evening in the bar, with Lee chastising his beautiful cherry blossom for not respecting Sasuke's youthful appreciation of life within the curvature of the waitress's form and everyone else at the table having to hold her down and pry another glass out of her hands, the bar manager and employees were silently relieved to see them go. TenTen, Ino and Hinata walked Sakura home, and Sasuke stayed behind as the guys moved to a different bar to get re-acquainted with the guys. . .well, to get shit-faced, pretty much. But still, with the guys.

"Shooo. . .Shashay. . ." Shino picked up his beer glass, which he had been using to chase shots this evening. "Tell ush shomethin'. Tell-tell. . .tell ush what Shakurah's bedroom looksh like."

Sasuke blinked through his glazed eyes. "Huh? What are you talkin' about? I dunno." He wasn't quite as inebriated as the other guys, but he was close. He just had better control over himself. For now.

Lee butted in. "Yeah!" He threw his fist up into the air. "Shweet, shweet Shakurah! Shucsh a fragi-freg-fra-fruh. . .sucsh a delicate little pretty pink flower!" He slumped an arm around Sasuke, buddy-style. But Sasuke was suspicious as to why his body weight was suddenly on his shoulders. Sasuke was pretty much the only force holding Lee up in the bar right now. If he let go, Lee would be looking up at everyone from the filthy wooden floor. Lee pushed his face right into Sasuke's, his alcoholic breath making Sasuke want to gag.

"Shika told us! He he!" He used his other hand to stifle a childish giggle, which unnerved Sasuke. He now liked the close vicinity even less. You're shentenshed to live with Shaku-shak-Saka-" Lee fell onto a bar stool to his opposite side, half-falling, half-being shoved by Sasuke. Sasuke adjusted his shirt so it wasn't hanging lop-sided, since Lee was holding onto the collar for dear life.

"Now look, guys." He straightened up as much as possible while in his stupor. "I did move in with Sakura, but it's just platonic."

"Is that right?" Kiba, still too sober for his own good, was behind Sasuke in a flash. Sasuke really wished his chakra levels weren't sealed, because he thought he could use them right about now. There's no way he'd win a fight against an Inuzuka without his power. And Kiba knew it.

Sasuke didn't bother looking at Kiba. He played it smooth, though.

"Not that Sakura hasn't. . .hinted." He grinned.

"Ooooohh!" All the guys started up with cat-calls and whistles. Even a sloshed Neji, without TenTen, joined in on the guy fun.

"Now, now. Let's not get too judgmental." He used his hands to visualize the guys calming down. "Nothing's happened between us. . .yet. I'm not saying there hasn't been. . .moments. You know,. . .the looks. The flirting. . .the-"

"The black eye." Kiba had to throw it in, didn't he? The guys erupted in a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, and the shattered glasses." Sasuke wasn't done yet. The guys started laughing again, this time pointing to Kiba's gash on his nose. It was broken, but he was just ignoring it for the time-being, letting the liquor keep the pain levels down before he could go in to the clinic.

"Yeah, I specifically remember she tried throwing one at you, too. In fact, I think she just plain tried to gore you like a bull." The guys were on their knees with tears welling in their eyes now, Shino even leaning on the bar and slamming his fist and Neji kicking his feet in uncontrollable spasms.

"Well, why? She punched me because she didn't like. . ." He remembered he accidentally put her down, so he had to think of something else on his toes. ". . .because I commented on another woman's breasts, and she got jealous. She came at me again in the bar because that waitress was coming on to me, and she caught me looking. You, on the other hand. . ." Sasuke smirked, "just smarted off to her and offended her honor. You aren't really on her good side, Kiba. I'll be sleeping in her apartment tonight, and you'll be in your doghouse, as usual."

The guys were laughing again and weren't paying attention to Kiba's low growl. Without warning, Kiba lashed out at Sasuke. Kiba jumped on him from the front, knocking both of them onto the bar and knocking over the closer bar stools. Glasses and bottles shattered, and a couple dishes of cashews spilled all over the bar. Kiba was at Sasuke's neck, trying to bite him like a crazed, rabid wolf. He had a good grip on the front of his shirt. Soon, buttons were ripping and the shirt was coming open a bit from the top. The dark green shirt, which was once neatly tucked into a nice black pair of slacks, was now disheveled. Sasuke's hair was also disheveled. He would have been more upset if he wasn't currently so drunk and panicked, knowing his life really was in danger now. Why did he wave to be a smart-ass now, when he didn't have the inhuman strength at the moment to back it all up? Why, you ask? Because he's a man. A prideful man. No, not just any prideful man. He's an Uchiha.

Neji and Shino noticed,and jumped on Kiba from behind. Genma, Izumo, Kotetsu and Kurenai happened to be in the same bar, and rushed over to help diffuse the situation.

Kurenai was surprised to see Kiba in a fight, but was very surprised to see Sasuke Uchiha on the almost-losing end of it.

"Boys-no, young men. What do you think you are doing? You're drunk." She quickly scanned the entourage. "All of you. You have women to go home to, so I suggest you leave now and take your beatings from them early this evening. Beat it, guys." The guys did as they were told, all except for Sasuke and Kiba. Kurenai turned back to Kiba, who was still snarling at Sasuke.

"Kiba! Stop that right now. What has gotten into you?"

Kiba stopped, and turned to face her. Kurenai could see the flames of hatred in his eyes. It didn't take long for Kurenai to understand. They were likely fighting over a girl. A certain pink-haired girl. She was pretty sure Sasuke probably had first dibs on Sakura, considering their history together. And she - and at this point, the whole village - was aware that he was back and staying with her. Some people were conflicted over Sasuke begin back, so this was surely not the way he would want his first night back in the civilian population to be remembered.

"Sasuke, what started this mess?"

Sasuke could tell she already had an inkling.

"We were smart-mouthing each other. I guess I won the war with words, so he won the war by ambushing like a cowardly dog."

"Unless you want to start fighting again, I suggest ya take a better tone, kiddo." Genma took his senbon out of his mouth, further suggesting he was making a serious statement to Sasuke.

"It's. . .well. . ."

"Spit it out, Uchiha!" Kotetsu was getting impatient. Izumo chastised him for interrupting.

"It's Sakura." Kiba started talking, still with a low grumble to his voice. "He was teasing me about Sakura."

"Bullshit, man! You pissed her off tonight and disrespected her. She beat the shit out of you at the other bar, Kiba! Don't talk about her like you're with her, because she's made it perfectly clear to me that you two are bad history!"

Genma looked at Kiba's face. He eyed the gash and bumpy nose.

"Hey Kiba, you know your nose is broken, right?"

"Yes, I fucking know. But this less than a civilian didn't do it. Sakura hit me with a cup earlier tonight. This bastard doesn't even have any fucking chakra in him to make a good enough hit!"

Sasuke snarled at him, even without any canine influence in his clan, and lunged for him again. The guys and Kurenai had to separate them again, while the bar manager ushered them all out the door and onto the sidewalk.

"Sasuke, go home. I will personally attend to Kiba."

Kiba gulped. "Wh-what are you gonna do? No more training punishments, please. I just got back from an S-Ranked mission! I'm fucking tired!"

She cackled. "Oh, no. You aren't getting off that easy. I'm calling your sister."

Kiba backed up, looking for an escape path.

"No, no. Hana will not let this go. She'll tell my mother, and then I'm really done for! Shaming the clan - don't you get it? You can't-"

"Yes, I can. Let's go, Kiba. March!"

Sasuke slunk around the corner just in time to hear what sounded like a whimper from Kiba. He smirked, on his way back to Sakura's apartment.

'That was pretty close. But I liked the outcome. Such a mama's boy.'


Please review!

A mini-battle scene! Kiba and Sasuke are pretty much right at each others' throats. . .Kiba really was at Sasuke's throat, ready to rip out his jugular. Step back for the spray.