----------------------
Chapter 10 - Chibi Mornings
A certain Uchiha pinched at the bridge of his nose. He had thought that someone might have at least tried to mess with the Kazekage and future Hokage, but no. Not one single attack. And while it meant that those two got a good night's sleep, it also meant that he was bored out of his mind. It was pretty rare for him to be bored, usually because he had at least one or two people trying to challenge him, to prove they were better than the great Uchiha. They always regretted it, of course, and some didn't have that luxury.
'thunk'
The sound of a kunai on wood nearby drew the young man's attention, and he turned to look in that direction. With one last glance at Naruto's apartment, the brunette tugged the kunai loose from its resting place, pulling at the small scroll wrapped around the handle. Opening it, his red eyes skimmed over the hastily-written note. Short and to the point, as he had commanded.
"The Hokage's messenger is coming to retrieve the Kazekage." With a sigh, the Uchiha fixed the note back to the kunai and slipped down to Naruto's front door. He was highly against making an appearance, so he merely stabbed the kunai into the wood of Naruto's door, knowing the sound would be enough to wake Gaara, who was so unused to sleep. He was certain Naruto could sleep through the building falling on top of him.
As silent as ever, he moved back into the shadows and slipped away to find something to call his breakfast and bathe. Then he could rest for a few hours before returning to protect the two teens again. As he passed the guards he had terrified already, he told them very clearly that, if even one scratch was seen on the blonde, he would make sure they suffered the purest forms of hell. He knew already that the idiot would guard his friend until the end, so if the guards kept Naruto safe, they would be keeping their Kazekage safe as well. No need to be repetitive, or say more than was necessary. He didn't really like talking to them, anyway. Actually, he just didn't like talking to anyone.
With that, he turned and headed towards a place where food was readily available.
---
Gaara's eyes snapped open the instant someone's footsteps could be heard outside of the apartment. When the sound of metal on wood reached his ears, he stood and quietly stepped over his friend, making his way to the entrance to see what had happened. As soon as his eyes skimmed over the note, though, Gaara felt the urge to panic rising up. Not that he ever would, of course, but he still held urges, just like any other human. And the last thing the proud Kage wanted was for not only his own shinobi to see him dressed in such a manner, with his hair in such a disarray, but for a Konoha nin (other than Naruto, of course) to also see him in such a state.
His sand swirled around him, slithering over the floor to bring his bag to him as he made his way to the bathroom, brushing his teeth and combing his hair into more dignified spikes. As soon as his bag entered the room amidst his sand, he changed clothes in record time, barely having enough time to tie his gourd in place before the knock was heard, announcing the messenger's presence.
"Huh? Wha?" Naruto's morning appearance was even more disheveled than that of Gaara's, and the red-head found himself fighting off a smile as the blonde stumbled to the door, opening it to reveal a man with small round sunglasses. When the two saw each other, Naruto seemed to tense, and Gaara could see that the man was giving him a very familiar look. It was one that he himself had seen far too many times. That look of disgust, hatred... To say that these two did not get along would no doubt be the understatement of the year.
"What the hell do you want?" It wasn't often such a harsh sound issued from the blonde's mouth, and Gaara was surprised by the sheer ferocity behind it.
"I'm here to escort the Kazekage to Hokage-sama's office for their meeting." His voice sounded like that of someone who thought they were far better and more knowledgeable to the common populace, making Gaara's frown deepen.
"So why didn't Shizune or Iruka-sensei come? Or Kakashi-sensei? Or even Sasuke-teme?" The Kyuubi-holder's fists clenched, and the sand ninja could feel the tension thick in the air.
"Unlike you, they have responsibilities that needed to be attended to." He pushed the glasses up, the light glinting off of the lenses. In his anger, Naruto took a step closer.
"HEY! I have responsibilities, too!" The older man laughed disdainfully, obviously fueling Naruto's rage.
"Please. Responsibilities? Like what, lie around sleeping all day?" Finally, the messenger saw the person he came for and bowed. "Ah! Honored Kazekage, I apologize sincerely for the lack of appropriate company you've had to suffer thus far! Please, allow me to escort you to the Hokage's tower. If we hurry," he cast a dark glare at Naruto, "we may still be able to make it on time."
Crossing his arms, Gaara tilted his chin up slightly and stared darkly at the man.
"Naruto." He stated quietly, getting his friend's attention. "We need to leave soon. Do you think you can get dressed in a few minutes, if I promise to buy you Ramen later?" They two stared at him, before the younger of the two nodded and moved away to get ready. Turning back to the messenger, Gaara allowed his sand to float into the air around him. "Naruto was assigned my guardian and escort. I prefer his company right now. Tell the Hokage I shall be there shortly." The man opened his mouth to argue, but a cold stare and sand inching even closer to him had him quickly changing his mind, and he merely nodded before fleeing, leaving the red-head to close the door behind him and lean against it, waiting and trying not to smile as he thought about the familiar fire in the blonde's eyes.
It had been a while, but that look in his friend's eyes brought back memories of fighting against that same person, as a boy. Perhaps he should ask Naruto to spar, later. After all, no one could give a demon-holder (or a former demon-holder) as good a workout as another demon-holder.
He watched his friend with the barest hint of a smile tugging at his lips, thinking to himself how he'd actually be glad for the chance to be close to the blonde, without having to worry about frightening off his dearest person. The last thing he wanted to do was lose Naruto, the one who had been such a great influence in his life.
---
Naruto was so. Freaking. Bored. Gaara was busy in that meeting with the old hag, and he wasn't needed by anyone today. Iruka was teaching, no doubt Kakashi was training Sasuke-teme. He didn't even get to eat breakfast... Wait! A grin split Naruto's face as he checked his pockets to make sure he had enough,before running over to Shizune, who stopped what she was doing to glance at the young man.
"Hey, Shizune! When Panda-man comes out of there before I get back, tell him I went to get breakfast, okay? He knows where I'll be!" Shizune merely nodded. Everyone knew where Naruto would go for food. The same place he always went.
"Ichiraku, here I come!"
Minutes later, he was approaching his favorite restaurant, only to see a very familiar brunette at the counter. Grinning, he leapt onto the stool and slapped the back of his (though he'd never admit it) best friend (other than Gaara).
"Hey, Sasuke-teme!" Said boy looked up from his bowl of miso ramen, which he had been calmly eating until a certain dobe had almost caused him to choke. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be training with Kakashi-sensei!" The brunette shrugged.
"The new volume Icha-Icha came out today, so Kakashi-sensei went to go wait in line for his pre-ordered copy." Naruto nodded and happily ordered pork ramen, bouncing happily in his seat as he counted out his change. Just enough for one bowl, really. He was running low on pocket money this week. Not to mention he'd left the majority of his money on his table at home. Oh well, it would last him until Gaara took him out later.
"Only one bowl?" Sasuke was watching him, one eyebrow raised in curiosity at seeing such a small appetite. When the blonde blushed in embarrassment and hurriedly pocketed his money, Sasuke sighed in annoyance before reaching into his own pocket and tossing enough money for another bowl to his teammate. Naruto looked ready to argue, but he was cut off by the brunette's statement of "You can pay me back by sparring afterwards. Kakashi's not there, but I need to train."
Naruto nodded and turned back to the bowl that was just being placed down in front of him.
"Itadakimasu!" Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched the blonde idiot dive into the bowl, slurping up the noodles happily.
"So where's Gaara? I thought you'd be by his side all day." Naruto turned to him with a grin as soon as he finished off his mouthful of noodles. Iruka had made sure to teach him against talking with his mouth full.
"Hey's talking to the old hag.. OH! I forgot! I told him I'd be back there after I ate!" Sasuke shook his head.
"Well, you eat fast, and those meetings last a while. Just leave him a note." Naruto drank down the broth greedily before moving onto the second bowl, which had been prepared out of habit. The people here knew that when it came to Naruto, always make at least two bowls.
"I suppose. I just don't want him thinking I forgot about him." Sasuke merely went back to eating his own ramen, making a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat.
As soon as they were done, and Naruto finished screeching at Sasuke for even daring to think about leaving a bowl of ramen unfinished, they made their way back to the tower, only to see that, yes, the meeting was still going, and no, Shizune didn't mind relaying the new message. Immediately afterwards, the young men made their way to the training fields and began their usual sparring session, almost unaware of the people following them. They weren't bothered by it, though. They hadn't been called one of the best teams of Konoha for nothing. Besides, their chakra signatures were familiar, so they merely brushed it off as fangirls coming to watch the infamous Uchiha heir train, no doubt hoping to see his shirt come off at some point. Which, of course, gave Naruto an evil idea.
It was just too good an evil idea to pass up.
Sasuke was going to kill him. Slowly and painfully.
----------------------------
WOW! I made the deadline! I promised one of my readers I'd update by tonight, so here it is! YAY!