Notes: Grrr… this side is a lot harder to write than the Kakashi/Iruka side. Sorry it's so late, peebles.
Chapter Four: Sand Castles and Snow Angels
Naruto had kicked Sasuke's stomach no less than three times during the night. Sasuke, in retaliation (or maybe in his sleep), had pushed Naruto off the bed twice. Both woke up slightly bruised and rather angry at the other. Breakfast was a silent double bowl of rice, some toast, and water (Sasuke didn't drink milk). After eating, Naruto borrowed one of Sasuke's plain black shirts- as Sasuke wouldn't leave the house with Naruto "smelling like a trash can." Sulkily, they headed towards their usual meeting area where Asuma and company were supposed to meet them. Fortunately, Sakura was already there and dispelled the mood by starting into a rant about Kakashi leaving them to fend for themselves at such a critical time.
"Shut up!" Sasuke suddenly said at last, rubbing his head with the palm of his hand. "You're annoying."
Naruto, who was perched on the railing of the bridge, shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about him, Sakura-chan! He's just tired from last night." The blond sniggered and thought about how wonderful it felt to have his foot buried in the dark haired boy's stomach.
Sakura, however, didn't take it quite the way that Naruto had meant it. She turned pale and her green eyes fixed on Sasuke. "But… but… Sasuke-kun…"
"SAKURA, YOU FOREHEAD-GIRL!!" Ino's voice appeared before she did. And then suddenly, she was there, her blonde hair flying and her eyes snapping. "What are you doing here?! My team was supposed to-" she stopped, seeing Sasuke. Instantly, her tone changed. "Sasuke-kun! Is your team working with mine? We should be partners for training!" And she sidled up to him.
Sasuke moved away.
Ino was about to say something whiney when Sakura interrupted. "Sasuke-kun… you didn't really spend the night with-with Naruto, did you?" Her eyes were wide and shimmering. It was something she had practiced in the mirror the entire night before- hoping to impress Sasuke with it.
Sasuke was not impressed. "Hn," he said, and nodded shortly.
Both girls were floored.
Naruto snorted. "You should try sleeping with him! He pushed me off the bed twice!" The blond lifted his shirt to show off his purpling bruises. "See? He's evil!" Naruto tried to look cute, but the girls ignored him.
"Sasuke-kun, you didn't!"
"Oh, Sasuke-kun! How could you?"
"Sasuke-kun, did he hurt you?"
"Sasuke-kun-"
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Oi, oi! You girls are so noisy!" They had been so noisy, in fact, that no one had noticed Shikamaru and Chouji walking up to them. Shikamaru's hair was bound back as usual (which was no surprise) but for once, Chouji had tried imitating his friend's style. The two of them were walking slowly, Chouji with a lolly in his mouth and Shikamaru with his hands in his pockets. "Ino-chan, leave Sasuke alone. You're being troublesome." Shikamaru yawned without bothering to cover his mouth. "Where's Asuma-sensei?" he asked, when finished.
"He hasn't shown up yet… duh," Naruto said brattily.
Shikamaru shot him a glare. "I was trying to make conversation, Naruto." He slung one arm casually over Chouji's shoulder. "I would honestly rather that Asuma-sensei didn't even show up today…" he trailed off at the sight of his teacher coming down the opposite side of the path. "Never mind," he said grumpily and Chouji consoled him by offering a cherry lolly.
Asuma was chewing a toothpick instead of his usual cigarette and looking a bit under the weather. "Oh right… Kakashi's kids," he said in his deep, mellow voice. "Shikamaru, Chouji- get those lollies out of your mouths. I have a serious mission for you."
Naruto bounced up onto his toes. "What is it, sensei? Beating up some sound ninjas? Saving a princess in distress? Fighting demo-" he stopped suddenly and looked almost sad before continuing in his usual tone "so what is it?"
"All of us will be guarding a delegation from the Hidden Sand Village. They are coming here as part of an exchange program. Our duty is to guard them from people who might want to kill them, and to prevent them from killing anyone else. It's a 'round the clock job of at least B class." Asuma took a drag from around his toothpick as though it was a cigarette. "They consist of three genin and their teacher. I'm sure you're familiar with them." He pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "Gaara, Temari, Kankuro… and their teacher whose name is a little blurred since-" he stopped, blushed, and put the paper back in his pocket. "Anyway, we'll be meeting them now."
Sakura, Ino, and Chouji had all gone slightly pale and Chouji was even looking a little green around the gills. Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his teacher. Sasuke, too, suddenly had an angry look pass over his face. Naruto, of course, was not paying attention, and was chirruping happily to himself about ramen.
"Gaara… of the Desert?" Sakura said slowly, sounding slightly wilted.
"And his brother and sister and teacher," Asuma confirmed. He rolled the toothpick between his right forefinger and thumb.
"Wait, Gaara? What about him?" Naruto looked up, confused. "Is he here again?"
This earned him a well-deserved smack from his dark haired teammate. "Idiot. That's what he just said, isn't it? We're watching over the delegates from the Hidden Sand."
"WHAAAAAT?!!"
Gaara was his usual creepy self when they arrived, and Temari didn't make up for it with her bitchy glare. Their teacher was some man named Korudo who seemed the most normal out of them… if slightly aloof. Strangely enough, Kankuro was dressed normally in a pair of sparring shorts and a shirt with the Hidden Sand symbol on it. His doll was being toted under one arm instead of strapped across his back. Devoid of his makeup, he was surprisingly attractive, Ino thought… and then shared this with Sakura in a whisper. The pink haired girl giggled in response and shoved her childhood playmate lightly. "Giving up on Sasuke? Finally admitting defeat?" she whispered back, green eyes sparkling.
"No way, Forehead Girl!" Ino replied just a little too loudly, and blushed when Asuma glared at her.
"As I was saying," the bearded teacher continued gruffly "we will be your guides while you are staying in our village. I hope you will feel welcome here… and if any of you wants anything, just ask one of us." And he smiled pleasantly. Or, at least as pleasantly as he could while craving a cigarette.
"I want to stay with you," Gaara said suddenly, pointing at Naruto. "In your house."
Asuma's eyebrow twitched. "We have a house prepared for yo-"
"I want to stay with Naruto," Gaara said, turning his hooded eyes on the dark haired teacher. "I trust there will be no problems."
"N-no problems?!" Naruto sputtered. "No PROBLEMS?!" His expression ranged somewhere between horrified and amused. "You expect me to share my house with-with-with you? You tried to kill my friends! You're a creepy, sandy, weird-" he was cut off by Sasuke's hand over his mouth.
"You'll spoil the mission if he kills you now," the dark haired boy hissed in his ear. Out loud, he said, frowning, "I am currently living with Naruto. If you want to live in his house, you must ask both of us."
Naruto's eyes bugged out and he tried to bite Sasuke's hand, to no avail.
"Fine." Gaara glared at Sasuke. "I want to live with you, too."
"Fine." Sasuke replied. He didn't like the situation, but it was better than leaving the two of them alone. Who knew what would happen to the village if they started fighting over who took a bath first?
Asuma sighed heavily. "Is it settled, then, boys?"
"Yes," Sasuke and Gaara said together, and there was a muffled protest of "no" from Naruto, which everyone pretended not to hear. Most of them figured they'd rather settle for griping and pouting from the blond than sand and death from the red head. Shikamaru sighed, being the only one to see that it was actually a good plan to have the three of them together- whether or not Naruto enjoyed it. There was some sort of strange dynamic between the three of them, but he wasn't sure what it was. Probably something to do with …
"Well, then, if that's all, we'll be heading towards where the rest of you will be staying," Asuma said, coughing a little. He held out his hand courteously to Temari, who sniffed and then took it. Turning to Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke, he said quickly, "You two help Gaara-san to settle in."
Once everyone else was away, Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and released Naruto's mouth.
"BASTARD!" was the first word out. "I don't want to live with either of you!" He sat down on the ground and crossed his arms over his chest in protest. "You're both evil bastards."
Gaara trembled a little, but why, Sasuke couldn't tell. "You don't want to live with me, Naruto-kun?" he asked, his voice surprisingly quiet.
"No, I d- " the blond stopped. "Naruto-KUN?"
To be Continued…