6: The Chase Continues
Naruto let out a loud cry of frustration after having wandered around town at least five times with fruitless results.
"SASUKE!" he exclaimed, eager to toss the blame to someone other than him. "How could you let them get away?!"
Sasuke shot him an extremely dark glare. "I let them get away?!"
"WHO was the one who feel for the replication technique!?"
"I wasn't the one who let an eight-year-old kick me."
"I did that on purpose! Everyone here knows that you fell for a trick played by a couple of kids!"
"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, irritated that Naruto could so easily pick on Sasuke. Naruto pouted. "We have to find those kids before they do something dangerous! If you were eight and were being chased around by ninja, where would you hide?"
"I'd kick their asses!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I wouldn't hide," Sasuke replied stubbornly.
"Okay, so if I were eight and being chased by ninja, where would I hide?" Sakura asked. She was silent for a few minutes.
"Hey! I think I saw them!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, pointing in the opposite direction.
"What?!" Sakura cried, looking behind her. "Where?!"
"I think they went this way!"
Sasuke glowered. "What makes you so sure?"
"Just trust me!" Naruto said impatiently. "I swear I saw something head over this way."
"I think we should split up," Sasuke said. "So that certain people don't drag me down."
Sakura's arm shot into the air. "I'm going with Sasuke!" she said eagerly.
"I said we should split up so that we don't slow each other down," Sasuke said, not looking at her. Sakura looked downcast.
"Sakura-chan can come with me!" Naruto offered eagerly.
Sakura's eye twitched, "Hell no," she said through clenched teeth.
"I'm going to go this way," Sasuke said, suddenly running off in the opposite direction that Naruto had pointed at earlier. He left before they could make any protest.
"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "Let's go this way!"
"I'm following Sasuke-kun," she said, flipping her hair and walking quickly away from Naruto, who sulked.
"Screw that bastard, Sasuke!" Naruto said vehemently, clenching his fists. "I'll catch those goddamn kids first! And then he'll come crying to me like the loser he is and Sakura-chan will start to think I'm cool! That's right!" He chortled as he ran off into the direction he pointed at earlier, growing excited by his own delusions.
After a few minutes of running through the streets at random, not exactly knowing where he was going, he ended up in what appeared to be a playground. Naruto was thunderstruck; in his entire childhood, he had never seemed to make his way here. Although he had heard rumors of such a playground, he didn't really know for sure… because everyone hated him. In any case, Naruto was struck by its amazing splendor and grandness of the place. He felt himself drawn to the swing set that jangled merrily in the wind, enticing him to no end.
Maybe I could just swing for a little while, Naruto thought wistfully. After all, with a childhood like his, he never really had time to sit down and just swing. So he eagerly walked towards the swing, with all the intent of swinging peacefully without bothering anyone, when a dozen kunais lodged themselves in the ground in front of his feet. Naruto went instantly on alert.
"What—"
"Damnit, Kiri, they found us!"
Naruto froze. Then his face broke into a gleeful smile. "That's right! Did you think you could get away?! I've been tracking you for blocks!"
The twins appeared in front of him with a cloud of smoke. The boy wore a defiant expression on his face as his sister hid unsuccessfully behind him. "I guess there's no choice," the boy said, shrugging. "We'll just have to fight."
Naruto gaped at him. "Fight with a little kid?!"
The boy glared at him. "I can kick your ass any day! Or are you chicken?!" He made a mocking gesture with his hands and Naruto was taken aback by his impudence. But he still was not willing to give in.
"Karin-onii-chan…" the girl said. "Maybe we should go home…"
"Shut up, Kiri!" the boy said. "I'm gonna fight this bastard and beat him! Just you watch!"
Naruto was stunned into silence. "I don't think it's very ethical for me to beat up a little kid… OUCH, WHAT THE?!" He clutched his shin with pain. "Why you—!"
The boy clutched a kunai defiantly. "Just you watch, Kiri," he said.
Naruto could tell from the boy's expression that he would be unwilling to back down. He let out sigh, and reluctantly pulled out a kunai of his own. "Well, I warned you…" He stood into position. "Let's go, then."
The boy glared. Naruto stared back. The girl merely trembled from behind him. Sweat beaded down the little boy's forehead from the immense pressure.
"Well?"
The boy took a bold step forward, and Naruto backed slowly. Then, without warning, the boy grabbed the girl's hand and sprinted off into the opposite direction, yelling, "RUN, KIRI!"
Naruto was dumbfounded for a few moments. Then,
"HEY, YOU LITTLE BRATS! THAT'S CHEATING! YOU CAN'T DO THAT, GET BACK HERE!"
---
"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said brightly. "Maybe we should just go and wait by the house. They turn up eventually, once it gets dark. In the meantime, we could… well…"
Sasuke shot her a venomous glare. "What are you suggesting," he said coldly. "Do you honestly think I'm going to leave Naruto to screw up this mission?" He then turned and walked faster, hoping she'd finally stop following him. But she would not be deterred so easily.
"That's right!" she said. "Then we should find them first and bring them home so that we can finally have some time to ourselves."
Sasuke chose to ignore her.
"Ne Sasuke-kun—KYAAH!!"
Sasuke whirled around to see Sakura on the ground with a breathless Naruto. It seemed that Naruto had tackled Sakura down to the ground for no apparent reason.
"NARUTO!" she screamed. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"THEY WENT THIS WAY!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling Sakura back to her feet and dragging her off around a corner. "MOVE YOUR ASS, SASUKE!"
Sasuke glowered as he followed. He didn't like being out of the limelight.
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Coming up...
7: Warning—Painters At Work
"I don't think you're motivated enough. Maybe we should raise the stacks of our bet?"
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