A/N: This story is for Hikari_Shiroki. It was supposed to be a oneshot, one of those from 'oneshots on deadline' project. Once it hit 15,000 words and I didn't say half of that I had planed… Well. It stopped being a oneshot, that's for sure.

So this is Part one of that is now officially a MC.

Inspired by Bakuman, but doesn't have much in common with it, plot-wise.

Make It or Break It

Part I

Chase and Challenge

The music was good, but too quiet. Or, more accurately, the noise of hundreds of people talking was stifling it. The lights were too bright, and everything smelled vaguely of sandalwood or, closer to the buffet table, of some strange cheese. Sasuke had to avoid that side of the hall completely, which wasn't improving his mood.

All in all, it was a really dull, tiresome party. Just like every other work-related party he was forced to attend.

Kakashi had promised he would get to meet other mangakas, though. At least Sasuke would get something out of the party. There were a couple of people he'd wanted to check out and this evening was the perfect opportunity – not that any of them were a threat to him. They weren't.

But they had potential to be, one day. Especially this one guy.

"See? I told you it was going to be fun."

Instinctively, Sasuke accepted the drink Kakashi pushed into his hand. It was champagne, if the glass flute was any indication. But he had a chapter waiting to be finished later that evening, so alcohol wasn't even an option. Besides, he could tell just from the smell of it that it was of poor quality.

He glared at Kakashi, "I'm not here to have fun. I'm here because you promised me that the author of 'Whirlwind' was going to be here."

"Ah, yes. I saw Naruto a few minutes ago, he definitely came." Kakashi turned to scan the room, but he came up with nothing. "I'll bring him so you two can meet.

"No. I don't want to meet him. Just show him to me when you find him."

Kakashi gave him a long, unreadable look. He didn't question it, for which Sasuke was grateful He couldn't tell his editor that the author of 'Whirlwind' was a couple of tips away from tying with him in ranking, but then again… Kakashi was a really good editor. He might have known that already.

Besides, his curiosity about the guy was a bit irrational. Seeing him wouldn't change that something had happened to improve his work lately. The only thing Sasuke could do was to keep an eye on the guy's work and make sure he stayed on top. But when Kakashi had said that all the authors would be at this party after the last two chapters of 'Whirlwind', he had felt compelled to check him out.

"Ah, there's Shikamaru Nara," Kakashi spoke, looking at someone so far away Sasuke couldn't distinguish him in the crowd.

"Where?" He wasn't really interested. Nara could only threaten his series if someone was pointing a gun to his head, making him draw. He was a mediocre artist. His stories were brilliant, though. They alone could push him to the top – but not when the artwork was so sloppily done it made it hard to follow those stories.

"He's leaning on the table with bingo prices, you see him? Asuma Sarutobi is his editor, they're talking with Ino Yamanaka right now."

Sasuke saw them. He had never met Ino Yamanaka either, but she looked so much like the heroine in her series, he could have easily picked her out. She was a decent artist, and her story – even though it was a slice of life love story – wasn't bad. Her characters were too weak, though.

"She's going to get canceled. Probably soon."

"Who is?"

They both turned at the sound of the voice. It was Sakura, the half time assistant Kakashi had gotten to work with Sasuke last year, when his manga got serialized. She was still working for him, three to four days a week. Her cheeks and her hands that were grasping a glass were red; she must have been outside without her coat.

"The author of 'The Language of Flowers', Ino Yamanaka."

"I hope not," Sakura sighed, looking into the direction they'd been looking before she showed up. "I love that series."

"You could do better."

"I've no time, Kakashi. I need to study."

Sasuke tuned them out. It was an old argument. Kakashi was trying to talk Sakura into attempting to do her own series. She was in med school and definitely couldn't do both. The assistant job was was to help her pay the tuition. It was her dream to be a doctor, but Kakashi thought that she was wasting her talent and should at least do a oneshot in her spare time.

But if she did decide to do it, she'd be better than Ino and definitely better than Shikamaru. Her art could never compete with Uzumaki's, but she was the type to have all aspects well balanced, so she'd beat him with good strategy instead of in art alone.

Of course, she'd never come anywhere near Sasuke.

Kakashi leaned over Sakura to touch Sasuke's shoulder briefly and point out, "There he is."

Sasuke turned toward person Kakashi had pointed out. He was standing next to the buffet table, sniffing a tea sandwich suspiciously and frowning. How Kakashi missed him when he had scanned the room before? It should have been impossible among all these people in their business suits, because the author of 'Whirlwind', Naruto Uzumaki, had come to the magazine's official New Year's party in a mostly orange jumpsuit. With his broomtop of garish blond hair on top of that, it should have been impossible to miss him in the crowd.

"Oh, were you looking for Naruto? I just met him, we were talking outside on the terrace," Sakura said, which explained her mild frost bites and Kakashi's inability to find Naruto. "He was coming on to me, I think. He was kind of cute."

Sasuke was listening to her but he couldn't stop staring. He'd expected someone younger, actually. The obvious lack of serious thought put into 'Whirlwind' suggested lack of experience and immaturity, and the series was riding on raw talent alone. This guy was about Sasuke's age.

"Of course, all he talks about are mangas," Sakura chatted on as Kakashi and Sasuke watched Naruto take a careful bite of his finger sandwich, looking for all the world like he was expecting poison – or a hidden bear trap at least. "I could never date someone like that. I like manga too, but there are other things to talk about."

"It's a good sign for me when a mangaka dedicates his whole life to manga."

"Well, obviously. You're an editor, you earn your living off them."

"Don't make it sound like my job is a joke," Kakashi protested Sakura's accusation. "Mangakas need editors, otherwise they'd never make their deadlines."

"I know that! Wait, did you just include me with them?"

"I always finish on time," Sasuke said, before the conversation became an argument. They were always at each other's throat. If they kept it up and it started interfering with his work, he would have to take matters into his own hands and rent them a hotel room for a night. "And you rarely have anything you want me to change."

"When I do have something I want you to change, you refuse," Kakashi answered. "I have a lot of experience so I could help you, but you won't let me. The truth is, it's really boring working with you. I'm kind of glad I got Naruto."

"What?" Sasuke hissed, turning toward Kakashi.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Ebisu said he couldn't work with him and asked to be appointed to someone else. The chief editor gave Naruto to me instead."

"You didn't tell me a thing. When did this happen?"

If Kakashi was insulted by Sasuke's harsh tones, he didn't show it. But this wasn't a good thing. Kakashi was an excellent editor. He could provide some of the help Naruto needed to reach the top.

"About a month ago."

Naruto's ratings had been steadily growing in the last two or three weeks - just when the chapters Kakashi had been working on with him started coming out. That was what made Sasuke pay closer attention to him in the first place.

Sasuke opened his mouth, not sure what would come out. He felt angry – and eager to leave the stupid party, go home and see what he could do to make his own manga better.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, with something akin to a half smile on his face. His cheerfulness in the very moment Sasuke was feeling betrayed cut deep.

"Hey, Kakashi! Here, I came like I said I would – can I go home now? I have this amazing idea for how to start on the next chapter, and I want to do it right now!"

Kakashi smiled more openly at someone over Sasuke's shoulder, "But we haven't played bingo yet, Naruto. Better stay, you might get something interesting."

Sasuke turned slowly. In the crowd, he hadn't noticed Naruto approaching them. He was a bit taller than Sasuke. Just a little.

"I don't care about…" Naruto started impatiently, when he noticed Sasuke. "Oooh, I know you! You're the author of 'Kaleidoscope'! You're Sasuke Uchiha!"

The awe in Naruto's voice felt really good, but Sasuke was too upset with Kakashi for that to calm him down.

"There is no need to shout. Everyone here knows who I am already," he said as coldly as he could, faced with that bright, enthusiastic smile that was rapidly melting away. "The question is who are you?"

He could hear Sakura gasping in surprise behind him. He was usually colder with her than with most people. There had been signs that she had been crushing on him when they first started working together and he had to cut it off right away. If she was surprised, his response must have come off as low blow.

All traces of a smile disappeared from Naruto's face. He was rapidly getting very angry.

"My name," he pronounced every word carefully, in a high volume. "Is Naruto N-Uzumaki! I'm the author of 'Whirlwind'!"

There was a sort of authority in the way he said that. Like he knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that no one could stay unaffected at the sound of his name. The blazing conviction would be enough to sway even those people who hadn't seen his art; it would make them stare, fascinated. Sasuke, who knew there wouldn't be many people who wouldn't be swept off their feet at the sound of Naruto's name if he kept improving, forgot to breathe for a second.

But this was about his career, too. He squashed the feeling, "Oh, that piece of crap?"

Naruto went red to the roots of his bright blond hair, "A piece of crap? A piece of crap? I've been ranking in the single digits for a month already!"

"I assume Kakashi was writing the story for you?"

Like a plug had been pulled, Naruto began shouting, "He's been giving me tips! All editors do that! It's my story and it's one hell of a story, too!"

"If your story was that good, you wouldn't need the help of your editor to get into the first ten."

"You're just scared I'm going to outrank you!"

That hit a little too close to home, but Sasuke effortlessly put on a mocking smirk, "You can only dream about that."

It was meant to set Naruto off even more, but the effect was exactly the opposite. He narrowed his eyes and raised his chin a little, "No, I can do it. I can outrank you. I'll work harder. I'll make my story better. I'll blow past you in no time."

Sasuke snarled at him, "Like I'm going to sit back and let you do that."

"Well, it wouldn't be any fun if you did, right?" Despite talking about it as if it were supposed to be fun, Naruto just looked dead serious, grim and determined. "I'm going home to work, Kakashi. I can't let this asshole keep beating me."

He was talking to Kakashi while still looking at Sasuke. They were staring at each other, but it didn't feel like a staring contest. More like a very careful mutual assessment. In the end, Naruto nodded – in acknowledgment, as if sealing a pact. Then he turned and walked away.

"Wow," Sakura said. "That was intense."

Intense? It was exciting. Sasuke could feel his heart hammering in his chest and ideas that were always looming about his consciousness all started digging their long nails into his brain at once.

"Well," Kakashi said. "That's Naruto for you. Sasuke, do you realize that he isn't the type to say something and then forget about it? He'll be breathing down your neck now. He will see you not as just another author out there in the sea, but as his rival. Someone he has to beat."

A rival, huh? That wasn't what Sasuke had come to the party for. He had wanted to check Naruto out, maybe find out why he had been getting better all of a sudden with his storytelling. It wasn't his intention to challenge him, to inspire him.

And he certainly hadn't come to get challenged and inspired himself, yet…

"Haven't I said it already? I'm not going to let him do that." Sasuke left the glass he was holding in his hand on a nearby banister, ignoring the looks Sakura and Kakashi were exchanging. "I'm going home."

They didn't say goodbye, but as Sasuke started walking away he heard Sakura saying, "The next issue is already in printing, right? But I'll be looking forward to the one that goes out after that."

There was just enough time for Sasuke to hear Kakashi's faint, "Me, too" before he was out of range. He sent a message to the chauffer the magazine appointed to him for the evening that they would be leaving and left the brightly lit, noisy hall.

Ideas on how to improve "Kaleidoscope" descended on him, overwhelming - as if the creative thunderstorm of the century were raging in his brain. He could barely focus on walking down the stairs. It had been so long since the last time he'd felt this way.

"Naruto Uzumaki, huh?" he whispered, his voice coming back to him in a jumbled echo in the empty stairwell.

"It can't go on like this."

Kakashi didn't need chief editor to invite him into his office to tell him that. He knew things were spinning out of control and that he was the one who had to put a stop to it. Though maybe while he was in the office already, he could get some help. He did have an idea or two.

"It's my fault, I'm afraid. I never thought a little rivalry would hurt anyone."

Danzou, the chief editor, frowned, "Both of their mangas have definitely reached another level lately. I don't see how 'Whirlwind' can ever tie with "Kaleidoscope' though, even with it ranking seventh and eighth consistently now."

"It can't. Naruto, I'm afraid, has written himself into a corner. Sooner or later, his ratings will drop."

"But how can Sasuke keep 'Whirlwind' in such high regard, then? Not even you think it can outrank "Kaleidoscope'."

"Sasuke doesn't care so much about 'Whirlwind'. But he can see how much Naruto has grown with it. Once the ratings drop and the series is canceled, Naruto will be able to start over again."

"I see. It's the potential that Sasuke can see in Naruto. It's not a rivalry of their series…"

"No, the rivalry is between the authors."

Danzou hummed thoughtfully, gazing over Kakashi's shoulder through the glass, where dozens of people were pretending to work while gossiping among themselves. He didn't want to do anything to drive off two of his best authors, but he couldn't let Naruto and Sasuke keep up the way they were going. Kakashi sympathized; he was feeling just as torn. Perhaps more so. Some of his colleagues were calling him on getting too attached, but he liked working that way. Investing emotion into work always produced the best results – and greater satisfaction.

"Still, this isn't the first time they fought in the editorial department. I can't allow them to continue with that. The previous time they even had a fistfight." Danzou frowned like the word tasted foul. "That isn't something people who work with their hands should ever do."

It wasn't much of a fistfight. True to their profession, they were both inexperienced and also a little clumsy. They had mostly rolled around on the freshly swept floor. Despite all of that, Kakashi couldn't help but enjoy the show. He wasn't known as resident pervert in their department for nothing, after all.

"I know. I've been thinking about what to do about it."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Only one," Kakashi admitted. Only one fully formed idea, anyway. "But it's risky."

"Tell me."

"I thought about making them do a oneshot." To make it clear, Kakashi added, "A collaboration."

"I don't see how that will help. They'll keep fighting and come up with nothing."

"Not if we put their professional pride on the line. I thought I'd tell them their contracts depend on its success."

"I don't want to lose them that way, either."

"We wouldn't really break their contracts over it, but I don't have to tell them that." Danzo didn't look convinced, so Kakashi elaborated. "For Naruto, the most important thing now is to beat Sasuke. He is desperate not to get canceled. And Sasuke wouldn't allow himself to get canceled, even though any magazine would accept him with open arms, because then he wouldn't be able to shove it in Naruto's face that he's still higher in rank every week. They will do anything to keep this up – even if it means working together."

"But we don't want them to keep it up."

There was a note of annoyance in Danzou's voice, but Kakashi persisted.

"No, we don't want them to fight all the time, but we do want them to keep the rivalry. It's what has made them grow and become so much better. There are significant benefits from it for our magazine as well." They had both set personal records selling out the last volumes of their respective series, both of which had been published after Kakashi had taken on Naruto. The chief editor had to know that Kakashi knew what was best for his mangakas. "But I thought making them spend a lot of time together would actually end up making their interaction less explosive – in the long run."

The sad part was that there wouldn't be any more rolling around on the ground. Unless the explosiveness of their rivalry transferred to other aspects of their relationship, but Kakashi was almost positive that Sasuke's foul moods and sharp tongue would not be an easy obstacles to overcome, even for Naruto.

"I see," Danzou allowed. "Do you think they could manage to do a oneshot while working on their series?"

"No," Kakashi admitted. "I'm hoping to get them to fight less, but they'll still fight a lot. They'll need to go on hiatus."

"Then there's no way. Think of something else."

"Like what, locking them in a room for 24 hours?" Kakashi tried his best to keep his temper under control, but he needed the chief to agree to this. He turned his words into a joke at the last second. "I thought about it, but it's apparently illegal."

"I can't put the both of them on hiatus," Danzou said, apparently deciding that it was for the best to ignore Kakashi's frustration. "Naruto is barely making the top ten as it is."

"I think that's precisely the reason to put him on a hiatus. He's spending all his time trying to artificially keep 'Whirlwind' alive and that's a waste. He can do better. He's learned a lot."

Danzou caught on, "You want to let the series die."

"Yes. He'll be better the next time. He will come up with series that won't rank below the fifth spot even when it's in the first half of a new arc."

"You believe in him."

"Yes," Kakashi answered easily. Naruto was a talent that came about once in a decade. Sasuke wouldn't admit it, but Naruto was easily more talented than him. "He just needs some careful guiding and a lot of space to let the advice sink in. I think I think I'm a much better match for him than Ebisu was."

Which was why he'd subtly encouraged Ebisu to ask for someone else. Kakashi had only worked with Sasuke, so the chances that he'd get Naruto had been high. He had decided he wanted to work with him on the very day the oneshot of 'Whirlwind' the series was later based on was out. Kakashi had brought a sample of the issue to Sasuke and would never forget the look on his face. He'd never seen such mixture of awe, jealousy and frustration in his life.

"Please don't talk that way about your colleagues," Danzou spoke, bringing him back to the conversation.

"I wasn't badmouthing him. Ebisu insists on strict discipline. He'd accomplish a miracle with someone like Shikamaru Nara."

"I think that if the author is good, there is no difference in who their editor is." Kakashi held his tongue. If that were the truth, Naruto would not have grown so much as soon as Ebisu asked to be transferred. "But it's true that you are very good at your job and have an excellent instinct. If we do this, 'Whirlwind' will definitely get canceled. What about "Kaleidoscope"?"

"The anime is starting in April. It will probably drop a notch, but it won't affect it in the long run. Besides, think about the oneshot they will work on."

"You mean the oneshot they will work on - if they can stop fighting long enough."

"They will stop fighting," Kakashi assured with conviction, trying not to take the cynicism personally. "And they will produce the greatest manga we've seen in years."

Danzou picked up a pen and looked through looked through some papers on his table. They were probably plans and schedules for the next issue – or he was just putting on a show of checking on things while thinking. Kakashi was never sure about the chief editor's motivations and feelings. It was unnerving.

"Alright then. I'll make the preparations for both their series to go on hiatus as of the week after the next one," Danzo finally agreed. "Of course, if this fails, you will be fired."

Kakashi wasn't very surprised. Danzo was ruthless when it came to the magazine. He had suggested the plan knowing that it would put his job on the line.

He nodded, "Of course."

"Go on, then. Break the news to your mangakas and finish other necessary preparations. Don't let them fight over simple things like where they're going to work and who is going to assist. Take all the decisions possible out of their hands and report back directly to me."

Dismissed, Kakashi left chief editor's office. There was a reason Danzo was the boss. The idea not to let Naruto and Sasuke make the decisions about simple things was a great one. It would save them at least a few days.

Maybe some would consider him insane …. But Kakashi couldn't wait to start this project, even with his job at risk.