SailorStar9: Wha...? So, are only two people reading this fic? Anyway, Chapter 24 goes up, this is Chapter 25. To all my non-reviewing readers, I love you all! Will love you more if you review! *hugs all round!*
Disclaimers: I do not own both the animes. However, I do own the pairing, I hope.
Chapter 25: To The Tower
"He's waking up." Shikamaru said, waving the others over, "Bastard slept through the entire fight…how troublesome."
Naruto groaned and covered his head, feeling like he had received the biggest hangover in existence.
"I swear if I open my eyes and find myself in someone's bed I'm going to butcher the first person I see…and anyone else if I feel like it."
Shikamaru snorted and moved aside as Choji helped the blonde sit up.
Naruto looked around then frowned at Shikamaru.
"You got lucky." He muttered, making it clear that his previous statement was not a bluff.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, wincing as Eva wound the bandages around his arms.
"The sound Nin attacked us a while ago, if these guys hadn't shown up we'd be dead." the unmasked Eva supplied.
Naruto looked up and noticed that 'fuzzy brows' and his team-mates were here too, he frowned at the long haired guy.
"Have we met before?" he asked, before noticing the pale eyes. "Wait, you're a Hyuuga, right?"
Neji frowned, "Your point?"
Naruto shrugged, "Just wondering if you saw Hinata-san around."
At the girls name, the long-haired Genin's eyes narrowed and he marched off. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"Something I said?" he asked, looking over at the teen's female teammate.
Ten-Ten shrugged, "It's a personal thing." She explained, and Naruto nodded.
"Ah, I see, another Sasuke-wannabe." the blond noted.
The Uchiha snorted, tossing an apple at the blond, "I'm not that bad, Naruto."
The blond smirked, "Not now, but I remember when all you did was grunt and frown at people if they talked to you."
Eva snickered, "That, and threaten them if they wouldn't piss off.", as Sasuke turned a pained expression at the girl kneeling beside him.
Naruto snickered and bit into the apple, "Come to think of it, Eva-nee's the only girl who's able to get close to you without getting the Uchiha treatment."
"Finally decided to take off the control device huh, Eva-nee?" he nodded towards the mask beside the Guardian.
As the three bantered, Ino and Sakura were glaring at them, flames roaring in the background.
How dare they speak to Sasuke-kun like that! they thought jointly, Sasuke-kun shouldn't lower himself to speaking to trash like they!
"Haruno,Yamanaka." Eva deathpanned. "If you two are going to stand there glaring at me like that, I may mistake you for an enemy in disguise."
Sakura, seeing a chance to insult the girl, snorted, "I don't see why Sasuke-kun has to be attracted to you, ugly."
Sasuke had turned a Uchiha Death GlareTM at the two girls when Ino grunted in agreement, only to have Eva raise her palm.
"Water Sprout!" she shot two pillars of water at the two fangirls, soaking them thoroughly through.
"What was that for?" Ino screeched.
"Normally that attack would have blasted them through the forest. Should've waited until my reserves kicked in." the Guardian shrugged as Sasuke turned an amused snort at her. "Oh well."
"That was fun." Naruto grinned. "Guess I'm not the only one wanting to use them as target practice."
He looked over at Rock Lee and frowned, "So, Fuzzy brows, was that your dad we met back at the academy? I forgot to ask."
Lee looked confused for a minute, and then laughed out loud, "That was Gai-sensei! He is the best Taijutsu master in Konohagakure! Alas! I only wish he was my father, so then I could better understand his ways!"
Flames erupted from the teen's eyes as he clenched his fist.
Naruto, and everyone else sans Neji, sweat-dropped at the sight.
"So…the reason you dress like him…" Naruto shivered, "You're not stalking him are you?"
Lee face faulted, as did the Sakura, Ino and, to the surprise of Ten-Ten, Neji. Eva just burst out laughing.
"NO!!!" Lee howled, looking crimson, "Master Gai is my idol! He's taught me everything I know! Don't you ever insult him like that!"
Naruto leaned back from the force of the yell, "Easy there pal, it's just…" he looked the guy over, "The way you guys were hugging each other…"
He smiled a little, "Kinda looked like something a family would do."
Lee looked at the blonde, "You think so?" he asked, Naruto nodded.
"But if you guys are so close that you even dress like him…maybe he sees you as his little brother?" Naruto shrugged, "Just my opinion, sorry if I offended you."
He pulled out his book, snorting at the dirt that got on it, "Someone better tell me who was going through my pockets."
He glared at the assorted Genin, "And so help me if they were trying to cop a feel, they'd better be prepared to lose that hand."
Eva shook her head as the girls blushed at the comment, whilst Shikamaru snorted, "So troublesome..."
Naruto glared at him then smirked, pulling out a chocolate bar he had stashed away, "Choji, if you tell me who did this I'll give you this."
"Shikamaru did it." The Akimichi answered quickly, grabbing the chocolate and promptly munching down, "He was looking for your scroll."
Eva snorted, "Tough nuts then, 'cause it's with the Peacock here." she thumbed her 'Bonded'. "And I doubt he'd appreciate you groping him."
Naruto snorted at the affronted look on the lazy Genin's face, "Oops, did Eva-nee pop your little fantasy bubble there?"
Shikamaru snorted, "How troublesome, maybe we should have let the Oto nin get you…"
Naruto scoffed, "But then your lewd fantasies of Sasuke would be at an end."
He dodged a rock tossed by Sasuke, who was immediately chastised by Eva for harming her 'ototu', "Just kidding, besides, maybe that's why he's always sleeping."
Shikamaru snorted and walked away.
Naruto frowned a little then stood up, pulling the storage scroll out of his pocket.
"Right listen, up, grateful as I am for the assist and 'charming' conversation." He started, holding the scroll up for all to see. "I don't like having debts."
He released the sealing jutsu and pulled out the spare heaven scroll. "So here's how it works, whoever needs a heaven scroll, step forward, it's all yours."
Ten-Ten stepped up, but so did Ino, causing Naruto to sweat drop, "Oh crap."
He thought for a second then smirked, "Got it, we'll settle this the old fashioned way."
Ten-Ten and Ino braced for a fight.
After an embarrassing round of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Team Gai walked off with a complete set of scrolls, a beaming Ten-Ten talking amiably to Lee, whilst Neji shook his head at the audacity of it all.
Team 10 had left, sulking, whilst Ino shrieked at the two for being so incompetent, whilst Shikamaru lazily pointed out she had been the one to lose ten times in a row.
"Now, that was lame." Eva noted and Sasuke nodded in agreement.
Naruto sighed, "Thought we could have bartered for another scroll there, ah well."
He looked over at the other four, "I miss anything other than the fight? What did the ero-hebi do?"
Eva snorted, "Aside from 'copping a feel' as you put it? Nothing, after he knocked you out, and that's after giving the Peacock here his 'Curse Mark'."
Naruto grimaced, rubbing his stomach, "I swear, everywhere I go, it's one freak show after another, now we've got a horny transvestite following us around."
Sakura blushed and Sasuke shivered. Eva and Maya shook their heads.
An ANBU member dropped in just then and looked at Eva.
"Mercury-sama." the dragon-masked ANBU greeted the Overseer. "Hokage-sama wants you in the Tower."
"Can't give me a moment's rest, can they?" Eva sighed.
"No rest for the weary." Maya pointed out.
"Sorry." Eva looked apologetically at Naruto and Sasuke. "Duty calls."
The two nodded in understanding.
"I'm already there." Eva nodded at the ANBU and replaced her mask.
"And remember what I told you." Keena reminded her 'Bonded'.
After a moment's silence, she added, "When all this is over, we'll got to have a talk; about him."
Giving him a kiss on the cheek and ignoring the 'him, who?' look on Sasuke's face, she shunshinned off with Maya on her tails.
In the tower...
"Anko, how is it?" Sarutobi asked.
"Amazing." Anko blinked. "I can't feel the 'Cursed Seal's presence anymore."
"I may be no Seal Queen, but I'm proficient enough to remove a 'Curse Seal' like yours; the one Orochimaru gave you was only a weaker version of the one he gave Sasuke." Keena remarked, having used a seal-removal spell on Anko's 'Curse Mark'.
"Seal Queen?" one of the two ANBUs inquired.
"Guardian Venus." Keena supplied.
"This remains me." she turned to Sarutobi. "Not only did Orochimaru give the 'Curse Seal' to Sasuke, he also screwed up the kit's charka system with his five-element seal."
Sarutobi's jaw went slack before clumpingonto his pipe.
"Hey teme." Naruto greeted, smirking.
Sasuke snorted at the reference, "You're awfully cheerful."
Naruto shrugged, "Just picked up a spare."
Holding up the scroll he acquired, "Seems answering nature's call has two uses now."
Sasuke smirked, "If that's the case, what say we make our way to the tower?"
He glared at Sakura, "Unless you wish to try opening that scroll again."
Naruto frowned at the girl, "Is that big forehead of yours the result of all the air in your skull? We were told not to open it."
He shook his head, "Why'd you give it to her, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha shrugged, "I was setting traps," he reasoned, "and she volunteered to watch the camp."
Naruto shrugged, "Whatever."
Aside from a run-in with the Rain Nin's teammates, the trip to the tower was pretty uneventful.
Giving Yoroi the finger as they walked through the door ahead of them, Naruto snorted.
"What a dick." He muttered, looking up at the scroll on the wall, "What the?"
Orochimaru looked at the card with Sasuke's data on it. He looked up at Kabuto, "I do so enjoy your intelligence…good work."
He shunshinned off, wondering, How far can you go...Kaji-kun…?
SailorStar9: Wow, now that's done, read and review.