Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, VIZ Media, et al. No money is being made from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: This ficlet was written for wistfulmemory, in response to the prompt: Ayakawa Yukiko being amused at the antics of Naruto and Sasuke (who are temporarily allied because they're conspiring together about something). It's set a year or two after "The Guardian in Spite of Herself," which means Naruto must be TERRIBLE at remembering birthdays, but hey. Nobody's perfect. *grin* (Also yeah, consider yourselves spoiled on one more character who definitely survives that story. Tally thus far: Yukiko, Sasuke, Naruto. Everyone else? Ah, now that would be telling...)

Summary: Naruto and Sasuke conspire together, to Yukiko's secret amusement.

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A Likely Story
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"And where do you two think you're going?" Yukiko asked, looking up at the ceiling where Naruto and Sasuke were attempting to sneak into her office. She'd give them credit for a novel idea, and also for successfully stealing the rock-climbing gear they were using, but if they expected their ingenuity would excuse them from helping her repair the damaged tiles over the weekend, they had another think coming.

The kid and the brat exchanged a frantic barrage of glances and eyebrow waggles that were obviously failing as code judging by their increasingly confused frowns. Finally Naruto gulped and said, "We want to buy you a birthday present, but we need money, so we need your signature to get at Sasuke's bank account, but we didn't want to bug you 'cause it's been a really hot week and we know you hate summer, and anyway if you come with us you'll know how much money we take out, which would give you a hint about what we're buying, and that's not fair 'cause it's supposed to be a surprise, so we thought we'd borrow your name seal, and-"

Yukiko bent down to open a desk drawer while he babbled. Then she handed Sasuke a withdrawal authorization, neatly written, signed, sealed, and infused with her chakra signature. "Here you go, don't spend it all it one place, and when whatever you're doing blows up in your faces, I wasn't involved and I know nothing. Also, for future reference? My birthday's in January."

As the boys vanished in a swirl of apologies and insults, she gave up on holding back her laughter.

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AN: Thanks for reading, and please review! I'm particularly interested in knowing what parts of the story worked for you, what parts didn't, and why.