Chapter 3
Naruto sipped the last of his ramen and placed the bowl down on the counter. He graciously thanked Iruka again for the treat before leaving his favorite spot to head down to the bar. The sun had already set and a light breeze ruffled his blonde hair. He spotted two figures coming down an adjacent street and recognized them to be his comrades, Sasuke and Shikamaru. Waving to them the boys waited for Naruto to catch up.
"Dressed to impress, Sasuke?" he asked surveying the tight black sleeveless shirt that revealed the Uchiha's taught muscles.
"Maybe..." was the indifferent response.
"Where's Ino?"
"Ahh...she said she was going to come with Sakura," Shikamaru replied.
"Mmmm...Sakura," Naruto cooed. "I knew she'd finally come around, I mean who can resist a blonde?"
Sasuke slapped him upside the head. "Yeah, a dumb blonde."
"SASUKE!!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Tck, why is it that as soon as we come back here those two still act as if they never grew up. Lee appeared beside him, distracting the two rivals.
"Oi, Lee, did you ever find Neji?" Shikamaru asked looking at the tall ninja.
Flames appeared in his eyes. "No. He must be avoiding me. Avoiding the challenge I have been waiting to make to him. A fight to test our new strength, as I'm sure he has become much stronger like myself..." Lee trailed off as they approached the entrance to the bar. The doors suddenly swung open and a tall pale figure leaned out, gripping the door for support. In his raised fist he gripped four frosted sake mugs. His long dark hair hung matted in dreadlocks. His face was flushed from alcohol and a lazy smile crept on his features as he turned his white eyes upward in the direction of the ninjas.
"WELCOME TO MY HUMBLE ABODE!!" He bowed slightly and swept his free hand across the threshold of the bar, beckoning that they enter.
"Neji????" Lee stood unable to believe the scene before him. "Hyuuga Neji????"
"YES!!! LEE!!! We finally meet again!" He thrusted his fist holding the drinks into the air, sake sloshed out onto the ground.
"Neji?? What happened to you?" Lee was in shock.
"I'll tell you all about my life over a drink," he extended a mug to Lee. "Anyways, men....let's get this party started!!" The remaining mugs were distributed and Neji led the parade into the bar.
Chouji was conversing with Kiba, but turned to see who had entered. "Hey, look..." he nudged Kiba who looked over at the door.
Kiba flashed his canine grin, "So, the posse is finally here."
Shino also glanced up from his drink upon their entrance. The group made their way over to sit with their old friends and ordered another round of sake.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Of course.....there's only one road that leads to Konoha. Don't doubt me, little brother."
The pale eyes narrowed to peer ahead into the darkness. Gaara glanced back at his sister wondering why he even bothered to accept the invitation to come back to this village. It's not like we're good friends with anyone here.
"There....those faces carved into the rock are hard to forget." The sandy-haired ninja crossed her arms and looked over at the quiet face. "Gaara..." she sighed, "...try to forget the past. The people here will treat us good."
"Perhaps..." was all she got out of him.
"Hinata, you look cute," the shy girl blushed at Sakura's compliment. "I'm glad you decided to come along with us, you too Ten Ten."
"Yeah, the party will be a lot of fun," Ino remarked. "So will after the party...." she added thinking of one particular person.
"You better tell me the details afterwards," the pink-haired girl chided.
"Hmmm...I may not be able to...they might be X-rated."
"Wha?! Ino!!"
"I'm kidding...I'm kidding," she laughed. "I will make Shikamaru behave himself."
"I'm not worried about him."
"Whatever." She punched her friend lightly on the arm.
They neared the Ichi Ichi bar, completing a few last clothing and hair adjustments. Then Sakura and Ino put on their best flirty smiles which complimented their short, revealing dresses and pushed their way through the doors followed by Hinata and Ten Ten.
Naruto happened to glance over at the doors just as the girls walked in. The sight made him choke on his sake. Sasuke, Shikamaru and Lee looked over at their gawking friend before being swept away by the beautiful sight of the four females. All of them turned away quickly to stifle their bloody noses. Kiba and Chouji snorted out laughter at their reaction. Shino actually looked amused. Sure while the four ninjas were away in Rock there were girls. And yes, they had just seen these girls of Konoha a few hours earlier when they arrived. But not looking like they did now. All that acreage of visible leg and cleavage was for them. Naruto had to blink several times to guarantee he wasn't hallucinating. Sasuke remained cool and turned back to his drink, fighting his desire to stare for the rest of his life. Shikamaru had already left his seat and was at Ino's side. Lee was having trouble controlling himself before Ten Ten came over.
Shikamaru led Ino away to a more private booth. He sat down and she settled herself into his lap, snatching his drink in the process. He watched his sake disappear down her throat. She let out a long sigh when she finished. He smiled at the foam that remained on her lips. "Here, let me clean that off for you..." he said bringing her face to his to commence the kissing games.
Before the girls arrived, Neji was attempting to give Naruto and Sasuke a rundown of the basics: which seat he sat in when he had his first drink, which bathroom stall he threw up in after consuming too many drinks, which type of shot glass he preferred when drinking alone as opposed to when he wasn't drinking alone (which wasn't very often), which kind of sake tasted best with rice balls, which—Neji's train of thought was interrupted when he caught sight of Hinata.
"HINATA!!" Came the drunken cry.
Hinata froze and almost turned around to go back out through the doors, but Sakura caught her arm. "Don't worry; I'll take care of him."
Neji stumbled over to them. "Hey, Hinata...I didn't know you were coming tonight. Actually, I mean how could you stay away, you must have known I was here, huh? You must have a hard time controlling yourself around me and my handsomeness."
"Neji...good to see you...and that you made it," Sakura lied. "I see you've been here a while already."
"Yeah, well I wanted to be sure I was ready for the BIG party," he drained the mug he was holding.
"Grrreaat....Well anyways could you go get us something to drink, Neji?"
"Well, sure....anything for Hinata," He gave her a lazy-eyed smile and pointed his finger at her nose. "Don't you go anywhere, okay?"
"Whatever, Neji," Hinata said with an annoyed tone as he left.
"Come on, let's go hang out with Naruto and Sasuke," Sakura took Hinata by the hand and led her over to the bar. Naruto is looking especially nice, the pink-haired girl thought to herself.
"Hey guys!" Sakura leaned in between them, taking in the fresh smell of their cologne. She ruffled Naruto's hair and he flashed her a wide grin. She knew better than to touch Sasuke's. "When did you guys get here?"
"Not long ago. How's it going, Hinata? Come sit down," Naruto patted the seat next to him. "Sakura, you can sit here if you want," he patted his lap. Sakura's green eyes widened as she looked down at the enticing seat, Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kidding, wait here a second," but Sasuke had beaten him to the punch by pulling up an extra chair between them.
"Here, Sakura, this seat suits you better," Sasuke smoothly replied. Another glare hit Sasuke in the head.
"Yeah...I...uhh...was about to get you a chair..." Naruto trailed off feeling like a fool. What is he trying to do here? Win her back?
Sakura slid into the chair and flashed Hinata a sideways smile. Hinata just shrugged.
"HERE'S YOUR DRINK, HINATA!!" All four cringed at his loud announcement.
"Geez, Neji, we're not deaf here," Naruto glared at him.
Neji ignored him. "Hinata? You didn't save me a seat..." A look of sadness washed over his face as he peered down the row of occupied seats, setting the mug of sake in front of her.
"Neji, you don't stay in one spot long enough to sit down," Sakura quipped. "Is that mine?" She reached for the other drink in his hand.
"NO!!" He shielded the drink from her. "This is mine. Go get your own. Geez, Sakura is being a drink hog tonight."
"Neji, I haven't even had ONE yet."
Naruto jumped on the opportunity, "Here, Sakura you can have my—" But a black-haired someone was already one step ahead of him.
"Here, Sakura, I got you a fresh one."
Naruto wanted to scream at him. But settled for another glare. Sasuke just raised his eyebrows at him in response.
"Thank you, Sasuke," Sakura could hardly believe the cordiality that the Uchiha was displaying. This is definitely a different Sasuke from six years ago.
Naruto moved in behind Sasuke, pretending to study the list of drinks the bar offered. Then he leaned in, hissing in Sasuke's ear, "What are you trying to do here? You better not lay a hand on her or I'll—"
"Take it easy," Sasuke cut him off coolly under his breath. He turned to Naruto, that sly smile appearing on his face, "I'm just messing with you....Don't worry, I'm not after Sakura."
Relief flooded Naruto as he gave a deep sigh. "Good....because if you were I'd have to—"
They heard the doors swing open. Naruto and Sasuke turned to see who had just entered. Naruto's eyes brightened.
"YOKOSO!!!!" He ran over and threw his arm around the red-haired sand ninja. "You came! And just in time for the party! How's it been, Gaara? Has life been treating you well?"
"Uh...yes...Thank you for the warm welcome." The rather quiet boy felt slightly uncomfortable at being treated with such affection.
"And Temari, I'm glad you were able to convince him to come...nice outfit," Naruto referred to the mere piece of cloth she had draped around her body.
"Thanks.........."
The bar had quieted down upon their entrance and several glances were shot in their direction. Even though Sand and Leaf were allies now, there was still a wave of uneasiness that came with the presence of the skilled sand ninja.
Naruto killed the tension, "So....can I get you guys a drink?" He lifted his own mug to illustrate which Temari promptly snatched out of his hand. Naruto watched, bewildered, as she chugged the remaining alcohol. She wiped a hand across her lips and set the empty glass on a table. "I see this isn't new to you," he remarked.
"Thanks....I needed that," she coolly replied. She scanned the crowd and became fixated on one particular ninja who had moved over to the far corner of the bar. "Enjoy yourself, Gaara..." she said as she left them, drifting over toward the figure.
"Will she be alright?" Naruto pondered.
"Yeah...she's always like that," Gaara answered.
"You mean...I mean...she seems kind of...I dunno...seductive or something," Naruto tried to figure.
"Hmph..." the dark-ringed eyes turned to Naruto, "Give her a couple of hours..."
"Heheh..." Naruto was unsure of how to respond to that, "Well, let's go over to the bar..."
They made their way over to the counter to order some more sake, passing by Sakura and Hinata. Sakura was engaged in telling Hinata all about a mission she completed last week. Gaara studied the quiet pale girl as he walked.
At some point in Sakura's conversation Hinata sensed that she was being watched. She looked up and was immediately locked into the passing sand ninja's stern yet mysterious eyes. Gaara.... His eyes, which once were saturated with death and hatred, had now an almost questioning expression. She felt beckoned to stare deeply into them to see if she could unearth the thoughts that flowed through his mind.
Gaara felt reality fading away. The voices around him became blurred and indistinguishable. The only thing that was clear to him was the dark-haired girl that was staring back at him. I seem to remember her from somewhere...where...where? He heard Naruto's voice prompting him to order. He dropped his gaze and made a selection.
The drinks were served and the blonde was eager to return to his seat next to Sakura. He brought Gaara over to the girls. "Gaara, you remember Haruno Sakura," he gestured to the smiling pink-haired girl, "And Hyuuga—"
"Hinata...." Gaara finished for him, his eyes tracing their way back to the shy girl. She got up and bowed politely to him, "Nice to see you again, Gaara-sama."
He noticed that a blush crept on her cheeks upon their introduction and that she tried to hide it by lowering her head.
"May I sit?" he placed a hand on the seat Naruto had occupied.
"Hai, please do," she requested shyly as he slid into the seat next to her.
Naruto plopped down where Sasuke had been sitting. Noticing his absence he looked around. Over in a corner of the bar he spotted his friend. Seated next to him was the female sand ninja, finishing off another drink. Her cloth wrap had slipped down low on one shoulder, revealing more of her slender back. Sasuke said something to her that made her laugh, where he followed up by releasing that familiar sly grin that Naruto had seen many times over the past year. The blonde gave a short laugh and shook his head, "I know what that smile means...." he said aloud.
"What? What smile?" Sakura looked in the direction Naruto indicated. She saw Sasuke with Temari. "What do you mean 'that smile'?"
Naruto turned back to her still grinning. "Well...how do I put this...Sasuke has changed."
"I knew that. He's a lot nicer than he used to be."
"No...you don't understand...he's really changed. Ever since he killed Itachi, he's had a lot of free time on his hands...." Naruto looked at Sakura who still didn't seem to understand. "All of that effort he put into plotting revenge on his brother, he now uses it for, I guess you could call it...his new hobby." He paused to laugh, still unable to believe it himself, "His new hobby is women, Sakura. Sasuke is a sex fiend."
Sakura's jaw dropped.
"Isn't it funny!?" Naruto slapped his knee. "I get a kick out of it every time I think about it. I mean Sasuke! Uchiha Sasuke! A player! And I see that he has set his sight on Temari tonight, although she seems like the type who just might have the same expectations."
"However..." Naruto's voice took on a serious tone, "I thought he might have been after you earlier." He looked at her green eyes which were still wide as the new information sunk in. "Don't get me wrong, he's not a rapist or anything. It's just that he has this kind of irresistible demeanor about him that seems to drive women wild. It's like they can't get enough of him. I guess you saw that back when we were younger." He paused reflecting on her infatuation with the dark-haired boy. Maybe she still has feelings for him....
He felt Sakura place her hand on his own. She looked up at him, blushing, "I'm over him now...Those days are long gone. But now, I'm finding that I can't seem to keep my eyes off of you, Naruto."
His heart skipped a beat. He swallowed and turned slightly toward her so that their knees touched. "Sakura, not a day passed that I didn't think about you over there."
Six years ago those words would have landed him a punch in the face, but now they melted the pink-haired girl's heart. She reached up and touched his face, smiling sweetly at him. Naruto, when did you become so genuine? I was a fool back then. She looked into his blue eyes. All of these years, those eyes have only yearned for me, she thought as her fingers traveled up to his hair, her thumb brushing over his ear.
Is this for real, or is this the alcohol taking effect? Naruto wondered, but didn't really care. Sakura was showing affection for him. Oh yeah!! A patient man will be rewarded.
"GAARA!! GAARA OF THE DESERT!!" Once again the village idiot succeeded in interrupting the peace.
Gaara caught the swift hand that was about to clamp down on his shoulder.
Sakura had turned around to face the Hyuuga, "Neji! What's with you!? Some of us are trying to have a nice conversation here." Neji's attempt at a displaying a serious face cracked as he burst into giggles.
"Hey, Sakura, did you know that Gaara was here?" he said in a loud whisper. Gaara rolled his eyes. "Hey, does he know that this party is an invitation only, because if he's causing a problem I can take care of him for ya...SABAKU KYUU!!! (desert coffin) HAHAH!! Good one..." Neji praised himself.
"Neji, I invited him," Naruto answered with annoyance. "Didn't you see them come in earlier?"
But Neji had already turned his attention back to Gaara who was trying his best to ignore the drunken ninja.
"So, Gaara of the Desert...if I may be so bold as to call you that...what brings you here to this gathering?" Neji leaned into his face. "You wouldn't be trying to hit on Hinata, would you?" His voice carried a hint of warning.
Gaara glanced over at the small girl who was looking anxious during the confrontation. His dark-ringed eyes narrowed slightly as they moved back to answer the demanding Hyuuga.
"No."
"Well, good, because she's already taken."
"Fine."
"No, she's not! Neji stop your wishful thinking," Sakura interrupted. She turned to explain to Gaara, "Neji here, for whatever reason, is crazy about his cousin. His rude and inappropriate behavior becomes even worse when he starts drinking."
"HEY! What's wrong with a guy trying to get a little pleasure from time to time, eh Hinata?" He nudged her with his elbow and flashed her a grin.
"Pleasure yourself with this..." Gaara said in an even tone pushing his mug of sake into Neji's hand and left the bar, exiting through the doors to seek solitude.
"Baka," Neji scoffed before guzzling the liquid.
"You're the idiot, Neji," Hinata mumbled to herself.
"You know, Hinata," Neji continued, slumping into Gaara's seat, his hand sliding across the back of her chair. "Ever since my dad died I've had the responsibility of carrying on the branch family. I know he would want me to find someone with the right..." He waved his hand casually in the air as he eyed her chest, "...the right qualifications. I was thinking that maybe now is the time for the head and branch families to come together again..." He reached for her hand but she jerked it away.
"No way, Neji..." Hinata said through thin lips.
"Why not???" He whined. "Why not, toniiiight???"
Hinata gave him a disgusted look. She slid off her seat and disappeared through the doors to apologize to Gaara.
The dreadlocked Hyuuga just shrugged, spying the other Konoha ninjas, "Chou-HO-jiii!!! Kiiiiiiba!!! RUFF!! RUFF!!"
Naruto excused himself from Sakura's company to pay a visit to the restroom. The ever-observant Sasuke watched him go in. Temari was up getting another drink, so Sasuke decided to check on Naruto's status with Sakura.
The blonde was standing in front of the sink splashing water on his face when Sasuke entered. He ran his wet hands through his spiky hair. Sasuke leaned up against the wall, watching him. "Sooo.....?"
"Man, Sakura is hot!" Naruto exclaimed checking his appearance in the mirror. "I think she was about to kiss me back there if idiot Neji hadn't interrupted."
"You mean to tell me that you would have wanted your first kiss with Sakura to have been in a bar with a bunch of drunken idiots watching?"
"Wellll...maybe you're right...it's not the best atmosphere....it should be someplace more romantic like outside under the moonlight, where the stars can reflect her love for me in her eyes. I'd have her cute face cupped in my hands—"
"Don't you mean her chest..."
"NO!!! .....That part would come after I kissed her..." He manifested a wide grin to the mirror.
"Is that so?" Sasuke had doubt written on his face. He paused to think over the situation. "You know, Sakura is attractive. She's the aggressive type that could probably have most any guy she wanted...."
Naruto turned his attention away from his reflection to glance over at him. Where is he going with this? "Oi, what do you mean, Sasuke?"
"Sure, she was innocent back then, but how do you know that over time and maturity she didn't turn out to be like me or something?" The way he grinned when he said it bothered Naruto. Sakura-chan like Sasuke???? Kami, I hope not.
"Nah...I don't think she's like that...she's probably still a virgin." He tried to brush away the former thought.
Sasuke watched him deal with the possibility. "I can just imagine her in bed. I bet she's wild. Pink hair cascading down over her bare shoulders—"
"YAMERO!!!"
"You know....I could find out for you, I mean if she's still a virgin," he offered. "Just give me one hour alone with her...."
"NO WAY!!"
The black-haired ninja laughed, "I'm kidding...not that way, just let me go ask her a few questions."
"Hmph! I don't care to know..." Naruto crossed his arms and turned his head away from the idea.
"I have a one hundred percent accuracy rate on these things."
The blue eyes slanted at him skeptically, "Really?"
"Yep. I have a certain method I use to find out these kinds of things. I mean even I want to know what I'm getting myself into....sometimes."
"Weeelllll...OKAY. But hurry back."
"No problem." Sasuke blazed out of the restroom.
Naruto began to pace back and forth in front of the mirrors. Geez...is this something I even want to know? I mean if Sakura is like Sasuke, can I put that behind me? Maybe that's why she is being nice to me! She just wants to sleep with me! I knew it! He punched the wall angrily at his conclusion. He lowered his fist and looked over at his reflection in the mirror; the fox-like marks on his face had darkened slightly. Calm down...Naruto; you don't know that for certain. But, why would sleeping with Sakura be a bad thing??? He grinned at himself in the mirror and drifted back to Sasuke's tempting musing of her in bed, tossing her long pink-hair back over her bare— "NO!! NO!! NO!!" Naruto shook his head. He's trying to suck me into his world. He began to pace again. What's taking him so long? A couple of questions should only take a few minutes, unless.....unless he got distracted... "SASUKE!!" Naruto headed for the door prepared to punch in Sasuke's suave face, but the door opened just before he reached it.
The Uchiha had returned.
"Na! Na! What did you find out!?!" The blonde was practically bouncing off the walls.
Sasuke waited a few seconds before pronouncing his discovery.
"Naruto....she's totally a virgin."
"Whew!!!! Thank, Kami!!" He clasped his hands together. "Na, Sasuke, what did you ask her?"
"What did I ask her?" Sasuke repeated, thinking back to the mission.
She was sitting alone, waiting for her new obsession to return. Two empty mugs sat in front of her. What's taking him so long? Guys aren't ones to waste a lot of time in the bathroom. She motioned the bartender for another drink.
Sasuke wound his way around tables to approach her from behind. He picked up a full shot glass en route.
"Sakura." He placed a hand on her back as he sat down beside her.
"Eh?" She turned around to face Sasuke's dark eyes. Sex fiend...sex fiend...sex fiend...
"Oh? Sasuke....eheheheh...how's it going? Are you enjoying everything?" She wondered if he knew that she knew about him. Stop thinking about it. He's still just Sasuke.
"Yes."
"Ohhh...good. Umm...have you seen Naruto?"
"Sakura." He looked at her with persistent eyes.
"Uhhh...yes???"
"Are you a still a virgin?"
"What!?"
"Answer my question as an honorable shinobi."
"Ummm...yes, actually I am. I decided that I'm going to wait until I find the right guy. I know that probably sounds silly to you—"she cut herself off, laughing nervously.........that probably sounds silly to you, Sasuke the sex fiend, she mocked herself. STOP!!!
"Okay, that's all." He swallowed the alcohol in the glass and set it down with a sigh of satisfaction.
"What? Why did you want to know that?"
He turned to her, "Huh? Oh, not me. Naruto wanted to know."
"What!!??"
"He is too, in case you were wondering..."
Sakura just sat there with her mouth open in disbelief at their conversation. So, he's still a virgin.
Sasuke disinterestedly scanned the crowd at the bar and leaned back in his seat. He watched the second hand tick away on the clock mounted on the wall. After a minute he stood up and rubbed the back of his neck, then decided to report back to his eagerly awaiting friend.
That was easy...
Returning to the present, Sasuke smiled to himself and answered Naruto, "It's a trade secret that I can't tell you, my friend."
"Oooh...okay fine, just as long as you're right."
"Yeah, I'm right," Sasuke reassured him.
"Well, on that note you'll have to excuse me while I go work some more of my magic to further seduce her. After we leave here tonight she will be begging me to be her first." Naruto turned to leave.
"And when you get her, are you going to know what to do with her? Since when did you pick up seducing women, baka? You better leave that to the pros." The dark-haired ninja pushed past him out the doors. He looked over to his seat. "Ah...there she is...." Temari was perched on the bar stool that he had occupied earlier.
"Leaving me alone for such a long time? I could have been snatched up by someone else in your absence." She draped her leg over Sasuke's thigh after he sat down.
"You can't tear yourself away from me. I've got you hooked." He ran his hand up her mesh stockings.
"Are you sure it's not the other way around?"
Sasuke shrugged casually, "You may have caught my attention..."
"I know your type. You're the kind of guy who will sleep with a girl one night and not give her the time of day the next...."
"Wha??? That's not true..." he lied. "You don't even know me."
"HEY, SASUKE!!! UCHIHA SASUKE!!!" Neji came to invade their space. "Hey, man, I heard about the Uchiha....the legendary Uchiha."
"Well, I wouldn't consider myself legendary...."
"No, man, not you....your Uchiha...." Neji began to giggle. "COME ON, SASUKE!!! Why don't you whip it out! Show us your UCHIHA!!! WOOOOO!!!" He started pelvic-thrusting the air. "Yeah, man, I heard it was HUUUGE!"
"Shut up, baka."
The word 'huge' caught Temari's attention and she raised an eyebrow at Sasuke.
"UNLEASH THE UCHIHA!!! WOOOO!!!"
Sasuke just rolled his eyes and gave Neji his drink to stop his babbling.
"Hey, thanks, man!" The Hyuuga engrossed himself in the sake and left.
"Forget what that idiot said—" But no sooner had the words left his mouth when she grabbed him and flung him onto the adjacent pool table.
Temari straddled his sprawled body, leaning down in his face.
Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered, "When do I get to see this Uchiha?"
Sasuke was totally speechless at her sudden action, but quickly found his voice as that old familiar aroused feeling swept over his body. He wanted her now, but glanced at the bartender who was frowning at their antics on the table.
"All in good time....." He reluctantly slid himself out from under her. Temari gave him a disappointed look.
"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled across the bar. "Me and Sakura are headed out. We're going to crash at your place tonight." He flashed Sasuke a wide grin and gave him the thumbs up.
"Hey! Stay out of my bedroom!" The dark-haired ninja yelled back. Turning to Temari, "I'll be needing it later..." He slid a hand under her cloth and around her waist.
"Hmmph...you'll be begging for it later..." she said before chugging down another glass.
