Chapter Twenty-five- Total Set-Up

"So why do you think he calls himself Cat?" Naruto asked.

"Probably because he thinks that he's stealthy like a cat with how he gets away from people." Sakura answered.

"That's so lame…I still say I'd go with a cool name like Ramenator."

"There's the real lame name for you." Sasuke muttered.

"No one asked you!" Naruto snapped. "I bet yours would be lame too!"

"Who said that I'd make one?"

"Me." A thoughtful look crossed Naruto's face. "You'd probably call yourself something like Dark or the Avenger or something emo like that."

"And why do you assume that I'm emo?" Sasuke inquired irritably.

"Why would I assume not? You're all…dark looking." Naruto responded.

"Only my hair, eyes, and pants are black, and I happen to be wearing a white shirt."

"A three to one ratio! You are emo!"

"And you're an idiot."

"Oh, don't worry, Teme. Some girls really like the emo look. Right Sakura?"

A slight blush crept up on Sakura's cheeks; she tried to make it pass off as a red of annoyance with her furrowed brow. "Maybe some, but Sasuke's right. You're an idiot."

"But some still do! And I bet emo people like the Teme are just searching for a bright spot to call their own. Eh, Teme?" Naruto's eyes flicked between Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke forced his eyes not to look towards Sakura. "I'm pretty sure that contradicts an emo, Dobe."

"Some are unique."

"Just like you."

"I'm not emo."

"That's not exactly where I was headed."

"Shut up."

"Hn, Dobe."

"Teme."

"Will you two stop?" Sakura interjected. "I swear, if you two aren't fighting others, you're fighting each other."

"It's a guy thing." Naruto responded. "Just like a girl thing is wearing skirts."

"I don't see the correlation there." Sakura responded.

"It's just stuff we do. Guys fight, girls wear skirts. You have a choice in the matter, but you do it anyway." Naruto explained.

"That has to be the smartest thing you've ever said." Sasuke stated.

Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke. "Teme."

"Dobe."

"You two are ridiculous." Sakura huffed exasperatedly. "And girls can fight with each other too, it's just we're more mature and choose not to."

"And this is why guys need girls. They make us complete." Naruto made a motion with his fingers of drawing a big heart. "Eh, Temeee?"

Involuntarily, Sasuke's eyes glanced towards Sakura, and he tried to quickly look away before anyone made the connection as to why his face was getting a little brighter.

Naruto, however, caught on to what had occurred, and a big grin made its way onto his face. "Of course…sometimes it takes a while for guys to realize this. Once they do though…that's when love is made."

"Where are you going with this?" Sakura growled, her eyes also involuntarily flicking towards Sasuke.

This only caused Naruto's grin to grow wider, but he quickly looked away and walked forward towards the front of the group. He lifted his hands and twined them behind his head. "Oh nowhere."

Sakura stared down intently at the ground, trying her best not to look towards Sasuke. Sasuke was in a similar condition.

Kakashi looked up from his book and glanced around, having paid no real attention to the bickering between his pupils. All around them the trees were getting thicker. Kakashi glanced forward towards the three ninja that walked ahead of him.

"Hey, everyone," Kakashi called, causing everyone to turn their heads to look back at their Sensei. "I'd be on alert until we reach the pastures at the end of the forest. We've entered bandit area."

"Bandit area?" Sakura echoed.

Kakashi nodded his head, slipping his book into a back pouch. "I've had some nasty squabbles through here before. Bandits are mostly made up of bands of rouge ninja, so they can pose a threat if we're not careful. Of course…lately there's been a dry spell of attacks on the area. Probably because they've been unlucky enough to attack Jonin. Their numbers are dwindling; though I'd still be careful of the occasional traps."

"Traps? Like what?" Naruto asked.

"The usual. Trip wires, pits, standard things that anyone would use if trying to capture people and rob them for all they've got."

"Eerie." Naruto commented, turning back to gaze at the road ahead of them.

The group continued on for a few minutes more. Kakashi's words echoed in their minds, but for Sakura, Naruto's rang louder.

"He knows…he definitely knows…and he's not helping by prodding." Sakura thought. "I can't believe him. The way he tries to force people together. I mean…I like Sasuke…but Sasuke…I don't know how he feels about me past our friendship. Naruto's obviously assuming something or he wouldn't have pressed in on us so hard. He never did this in the past…then again…in the past he had a crush on me. Now it's obviously gone if he's so adamant about shoving me and Sasuke together, but…."

As Sakura contemplated things in her mind, Sasuke paid mindful attention to the ground. Something, he thought, felt off. It was the way the ground looked, how it crunched under his shoes as he stepped on it. The signs were faint, probably weathered down by rain or wind, but it was still there. His eyes skimmed forward farther up the road, and then he caught on to what he was sensing.

Sasuke's head whipped towards Sakura, who walked a little ways off to the left of him. His eyes flicked back towards the ground, and then quickly back up to the kunoichi. He opened his mouth to give a warning, but suddenly they were there, and it was too late.

The ground gave way under Sakura's feet, and with hardly enough time to gasp in surprise, a wide gap opened up, and she was falling down.

Suddenly, though, she wasn't falling, and she felt a strong force yanking her to a halt with her legs dangling freely below her into the pit.

Sakura craned her neck upwards to find that Sasuke had grabbed hold of her backpack, and held onto her tightly to keep her from falling farther into the hole.

"Sasuke," Sakura muttered.

Naruto's head poked out from the edge of the pit. "Well, there are those bandit traps Kakashi-Sensei was talking about."

"We've noticed." Sasuke grumbled. He held out his hand towards Sakura below him. "Grab on."

Sakura reached up and grasped Sasuke's hand with her right hand, and then turned around to face the dirt wall of the pit as her left hand came up and grasped his forearm. "Got it."

With a heave, Sasuke pulled Sakura up and out of the hole. However, as Sakura was just about out, the ground gave way a bit, and with the extra weight of Sakura, Sasuke stumbled backwards, and the two fell to the ground.

The two hit the ground hard, and the weight of Sakura nearly knocked the wind out of Sasuke. They both laid there for a moment, partially dazed by the incident.

Sakura blinked, taking in the situation. First off, she fell in a hole, real downgrade on her reputation as a ninja. Second, she was saved by Sasuke, which was good. Third, she was now laying on Sasuke, and she was quickly becoming aware of their proximities. She became aware of the feel of his shirt, the tough yet somehow comforting solidness of his chest under her, the radiating heat that felt somewhat surprising to her considering his usual coldness, and outside of that, she heard a voice; Naruto's to be exact.

"So are you two just going to keep lying there or what?" Naruto questioned, a sly grin on his face.

Sakura blinked again, and then she quickly pushed herself up and off of Sasuke into a sitting position beside him. Sasuke sat up, putting a hand against his chest as he took a breath. That's when Sakura noticed the slight redness to his cheeks.

"What's with that?" Sakura wondered. "It can't be because of the fall. So is he…blushing? Sasuke…blushing? That doesn't make sense. The only reason he'd be blushing is if…"

Sakura's thoughts trailed off as she thought of what it could mean. A moment later she pushed herself off of the ground and brushed the dirt off of her. Sasuke did the same.

"Um…thanks, Sasuke." Sakura announced, giving him a grateful smile.

"Hn," Sasuke responded, looking away when Sakura smiled at him and beginning to move forward. "Don't mention it."

Sakura blinked, watching Sasuke continue down the road. Everyone quickly fell into step behind him a moment later.

Sakura eyed the Uchiha skeptically, replaying in her mind what had just occurred.

"Perhaps," she thought, "fate may actually be playing for my side. But…I can't be sure. Not yet."

'"'"'"'"

After several more hours of traveling, the four exited the bandit area, and covered a few miles of open pasture before night finally fell. They came to a stop at the edge of a small thicket of trees and began to set up for the night.

"Hey, Sakura," Kakashi called, "can you go collect some wood to use for a fire?"

Sakura nodded her head. "Sure. I'll be right back." Sakura disappeared into the small thicket of trees.

The three boys continued to set up in silence, none of them really having anything to say. After about ten minutes had passed, Sasuke looked into the trees, wondering where Sakura was.

He drew closer to the trees, contemplating going in and looking for her. He took a couple more steps towards the trees, and then looked back towards Naruto and Kakashi.

"I'm going to see what's taking Sakura so long." Sasuke announced, moving another step closer to the thicket.

"Alright," Naruto responded, not turning from his work of setting up the tents.

Sasuke's brow rose, he had expected some sort of snide remark from the blond. He began to enter the trees when he heard Naruto's voice.

"I wonder if they're doing this on purpose. A guy…a girl…a place we can't see in to. Sneaky, sneaky."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he heard Kakashi chuckle. He should have known better.

Sasuke scanned the area, searching for a flash of pink hair. He walked a little farther forward, and then he heard footsteps approaching.

He froze, listening as the footsteps drew closer and closer. A couple moments later, Sakura emerged from the wood, a pile of sticks in her arms.

Sakura blinked through the growing darkness, noticing Sasuke just a while off from her.

"Sasuke?" Sakura called. "What're you doing here?"

Sasuke took a few steps towards the kunoichi. "You were taking a while, so I came to see if anything was wrong."

"No, nothing's wrong." Sakura adjusted the pile of sticks in her arms. "I was just collecting. I think I got more than enough, but you never know." Sakura took a couple steps forward, further closing the gap between her and Sasuke.

Sasuke reached a hand out. "Here, let me carry those."

Sakura shook her head. "It's fine. I got them."

"I can do it."

"So can I."

"I'm just helping."

Sakura walked forward and began to pass Sasuke. "You saved me from falling into a hole. You've helped enough today."

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but bit it back. He wanted to be nice, to help her out, but it didn't seem she wanted it.

"It's just that tough girl side of her…thinking she can do things on her own." Sasuke thought as he trailed behind the kunoichi.

Ahead of him, Sakura resisted the urge to look behind her at the Uchiha. His behavior really caught her by surprise.

"First he blushes when I'm near him, and now he's offering to do something for me that I can obviously handle by myself. What's gotten into him?"

The thought she had earlier crossed her mind, and she averted her gaze down to the sticks in her arms as a light blush crept onto her cheeks.

"The more this mission goes on…the more I'm thinking I may just be right. So…I wonder how everything will be by the end of the mission…."

'"'"'"'"

"So…who're you sleeping with Sakura?" Naruto questioned aloud at dinner.

"W-what?" Sakura stammered, her cheeks growing to a slightly pink color.

"He means for tonight." Kakashi reiterated. "The tents are set up for two each. Three guys in one smaller tent wouldn't really be right, and it's getting too cold now for us to sleep outside. It won't be so bad."

"Oh…well why didn't you say it like that?" Sakura inquired, casting a half glare at Naruto. "You made it sound like I was sleeping with someone."

"Well, tonight you technically will be, only you'll be separated by sleeping bags…unless you guys share." Naruto's gaze flickered between Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura's cheeks flared. "So I'm assuming from how you're speaking that you'll be in the tent with the extra guy?"

"Well, we were kind of expecting you and Sasuke to share a tent." Kakashi stated.

Sakura cast a small glance in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke seemed to be immersed in his meal, but they all knew he was just trying to stay out of the conversation.

"Why Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.

"Why not?" Naruto responded. "You're just sleeping. And after all, if my past suspicions are right and he's gay…."

Sasuke gagged on his meal and his head whipped up to glare at the blond across the fire from him. "What…did you say?" Sasuke growled between coughs.

"Come on…no one can deny that there came at least one point in their lives where they questioned whether or not you're gay." Naruto replied, an accusing grin on his face.

"I'm not!" Sasuke retorted. "If I was then—" Sasuke caught himself, and a moment later looked down at his food.

"If you were then what?" Naruto prodded.

"If I was, which I'm not," Sasuke thought, "then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like Sakura."

Sasuke bit his tongue for a moment as he thought of a response. "If I was gay, which I'm not, I still would have turned straight a long time ago. No guy can stay gay when they're in your presence for so long. It makes them feel straight."

Naruto's jaw dropped and both Sakura and Kakashi had to suppress the laughter that bubbled in their throats.

Sasuke returned his attention to his food. "I'll take the tent with Sakura, since you're so insistent on it. Though you should know it makes you look like the one who's gay seeing as you're preferring to sleep with your male teacher than your female teammate."

Naruto gawked at Sasuke for another moment, thoroughly defeated for once, and then shrank back to his food.

"Stupid Teme…you're gonna thank me for this one day. After all, it'll be partly because of me that you two are gonna end up together."

'"'"'"'"

"I think you were pretty thoroughly beaten with that one." Kakashi chuckled as he and Naruto slipped into their tent for the night.

"Tch, I let him have that one." Naruto responded as he flopped onto his sleeping bag.

"Seemed you were caught off guard to me. It was a very good reply."

"And what're you gonna do about it? I took it because we're trying to get them together."

"We? I have taken no part in this. I only occasionally tease them because it's fun, and it's obvious that they're both into each other."

"Exactly! Which is why I'm taking the initiative to get them together."

"Though aren't you sort of rushing things? In building a relationship I'd think kissing would come before sleeping together."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "They're not really sleeping together you know. That was just to mess with them. They'll still be separated by sleeping bags."

"Maybe not for long." Even through his mask Naruto could tell Kakashi was smiling.

"I think you've been reading too many of Pervy Sage's books. There'll be no real progress tonight."

Kakashi sighed. "Probably not."

Naruto rolled over so he was lying on his back. He stared up at the roof of the tent. "So, Kakashi-Sensei…are you in with me to get those two together?"

Kakashi hummed for a moment as he stared up at the top of the tent as well. "Ah, what the heck. I bet it'll help their teamwork."

"Tch, teamwork, yeah." Naruto then rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. Within minutes, he fell asleep.

'"'"'"'"

"W-w-woah! I-it's really cold!" Naruto declared as he wrapped his jacket tighter around him. "I-I never knew the Land of Fire…was this c-cold up north."

"It gets colder up north faster than it does down where we live." Kakashi explained.

"I-I can see that." Naruto responded, clamping his teeth together to keep them from chattering as a chilly wind blew around them.

"It shouldn't get much colder." Sakura announced, looking down at a map. "We're almost there, and unless there's a serious cold snap, this should be the worst it gets."

"I already miss Konoha…." Naruto grumbled as they all continued on their way.

Sakura rubbed her hands together after she put away the map. She also hadn't expected it to get so cold, and only packed her fighting gloves as protection for her hands.

Sasuke beside her watched her rub her hands together and then put them down. Inside, he felt an urge to reach out and take one of her hands to help her out, but he held it back and rubbed his own hands against his pants. The cold didn't bother him very much, and he had only put on a jacket to fend off against the weather.

After about another hour of walking, they finally came upon a village. Sakura confirmed for them that it was the village where Cat is suspected to be in, and took a lead as she led them towards their clients' house.

Upon arriving at their clients' house, they were greeted with food and rooms. The house was very decently sized, large enough for each of them to have their own rooms. Kakashi set off quickly, claiming to be going out to have a look around the town and to see if he could pick up on anything that could lead them to Cat.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all sat gathered in Kakashi's room, awaiting their Sensei.

"So do you really think this guy is here?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure; probably. He does seem to have a liking for the northern parts of the Land of Fire. It's probably the best area to do stuff without the real worry of ninjas coming soon."

"I guess." Naruto huffed, lying down on the bed.

As he laid down, the door opened and a familiar silver-haired man slipped inside.

Naruto quickly sat back up. "Kakashi-Sensei, what's up?"

Kakashi held up a piece of paper. "This."

Sasuke moved forward and took the paper. He looked down at it himself for a moment, and then passed it to Sakura who shared it with Naruto for the both of them to look at.

"A party?" Naruto declared, looking up from the paper to Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded his head. "They did say Cat liked to strike at big parties to grab hold of a few rich women, well this is where they're all going tomorrow night."

"Makes sense." Sakura commented. "So what are we going to do? We're not invited. Do we just sneak in?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "We're not invited…yet. We are ninja, Sakura. And unless you packed one, you're going to need a dress, and we're going to need some tuxedos."

The three ninja stared at their Sensei, who clapped his hands together.

"Well, chop-chop. We dogs have got a cat to chase."

Half cliffhanger. Not as bad as a full one, eh? Not really dramatic, but you do want to know what happens next. Don't worry because next is coming soon! And our story is getting closer and closer to the end! If anyone has bothered to check out my profile in the past well…by the time I post this it'll be about in the past month, then you'll see that if my estimates are correct, this story will be 31 chapters long! No more because that's some serious stretching I'd have to do unless I got yet another idea, and hopefully no less so people are still pretty content. (I mean, 31 chapters…that's over 3 times the length of my second longest story.) So be happy people! Till then readers! (And as a later note, 31 has been extended to 32 thanks to an idea that came to me!)