Wow... I can't believe I broke 300 reviews. I've never been so shocked in
my whole entire life. 196 was the most I've ever gotten... and of course
ff.n has to go and delete my fic right on the 100th one. I've also never
done a story this long before. ALSO I've never been interested this much in
a story for such a long period of time. So this one is dedicated to
reviewer 300(Luna) and Skittles the Sugar Fairy who reviewed not five
minutes after I posted (at four in the morning).
Chapter Title: 28. Being Mislead
For a couple of weeks, Sakura and Naruto went everywhere together. He took her out to ramen every other day and she dragged him along while she went shopping for warmer clothing in the winter months. And they were quite the pair. Sakura would pound on him like usual and he would follow after her. It was almost as though nothing had changed. Almost. When he wasn't around Sakura, Naruto would become withdrawn and silent, and they hardly ever showed any sign of affection save the occasional friendly hug. The other exception was the reaction that occurred whenever Naruto was within ten feet of Sasuke.
Sasuke was in the forest late one night letting off steam from the sheer number of stupid and frustrating assignments Kakashi had piled on him when an even darker shadow fell upon his place of rest. He'd just toppled two trees and was relaxing before he worked on the third, but when that shadow appeared, he tensed up and shivered feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He knew who it was.
"What do you want, Naruto-kun?" He stood up, dusting off his warm pants and turned to the blonde boy, not at all surprised to find the familiar sneer on his face. "Why can't you ever smile normally?" He asked aloud. Naruto frowned, but the smirk never left his face. In an instant, he had Sasuke knocked off his feet and rolling with him in the snow. Not putting up much of a fight, Sasuke allowed himself to be pinned to the cold hard ground.
"What, have you realised that I'm better than you and are finally giving up?" He snarled lamely. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed the boy away from him angrily. He was starting to get annoyed with Naruto's recent behaviour.
"Go away."
"Are you angry because I got the girl?"
"No, I've been having a bad week. I could care less about Sakura."
"Well then it's obviously because I finally bested you in something. You just can't admit it." Sasuke snarled at his rival.
"You beat me in nothing, dobe."
If he hadn't been too full of himself, Naruto would have known to take caution at the sight of Sasuke's Sharingan wheels. They had begun to spin dangerously as the Uchiha got angrier. He didn't need Naruto making his day worse, but he figured he'd play Naruto's little game for a moment to let off some steam. He lunged at the boy and they began fighting again.
Jumping back from each other, Sasuke smirked and pulled out a few shuriken. He hadn't been able to spar with anyone in a long time and it felt good to be in a real fight. It relieved some of the tension built up from waiting for a possible outbreak of war between the Sand. They fought with shuriken and kunai, jutsus and fists until they were both too tired to do anything more than collapse in a heap together, Naruto splayed out, face down, over Sasuke's stomach.
"Thank you for taking my mind off of my stupid missions." Sasuke breathed. Naruto turned his head to the side and moved back slightly so it rested just below his partner's ribs, grinning like mad.
"I don't mind. I needed to vent and you looked like you needed a vent too." He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing until he was fast asleep. Sasuke would have chuckled to himself if he hadn't thought the movement would wake the sleeping fox.
They had been sparing like this ever since Naruto and Sakura had started dating, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. The blonde would just lunge at him for some unprovoked reason and fight and fight until he worked whatever tension he was facing out of his system. Aside from the villagers' growing dislike for him, Naruto had just about everything he'd ever wanted. Tsunade and the other genins were fairly friendly to him. Sakura was his girlfriend. He was continually proving his strength against Sasuke. But still the dark shinobi couldn't wrap his mind around the reason for the boy's constant need for an outlet.
He sighed to himself and sat up, gathering Naruto in his arms. Dusting off some of the snow, he began walking to the apartments, ignoring how light Naruto had gotten. Maybe he just sparred with him because he couldn't get to sleep. He sighed and shook his head. Maybe he'd just ask in the morning.
***
In the morning, however, Naruto avoided all of Sasuke's questions and even managed to turn a few on the boy himself. Sasuke dropped the topic and left the apartment to go home and change. Naruto was surprised that he hadn't left a change at his house with the number of times he ended up sleeping on the blonde's couch. Sasuke had once tried to leave, but Naruto had effectively hidden the key, and fearing burglars or something worse, Sasuke had been forced to spend the night. He never did find the key.
Frowning to himself, Naruto pondered over the questions his rival had brought up. To be honest, he'd never really thought about it. Hell, he didn't even truly know the answer himself. Sighing to himself he decided to just go early to their meeting place to find out what kind of mission Kakashi had called them all together for. He quickly got dressed, not even having to think of what to wear, and went to the kitchen to get a quick breakfast.
He stopped outside of the smaller guest room and glared at the white washed wood for a moment. He remembered the first time Sasuke had slept over, it was just after the 'Orochimaru Incident' and he had refused to let him anywhere near the room. The dark-haired genin was confused and argued that the couch was no place for a guest, but Naruto would not be swayed. He told Sasuke that if he wanted to stay over he would either take the couch or get out. Reluctantly, Sasuke had stayed on the couch, but every time Sasuke was over Naruto was afraid Sasuke would go into the room.
He was afraid Sasuke would learn his secret. But he would have known if someone entered it without his permission. He'd seen Sasuke when he woke up. From the look on his face, Naruto could tell that he hadn't seen what was inside.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he continued on to the kitchen, not bothering to open the door.
***
When Kakashi finally showed up on the bridge spanning the frozen river, he had Sakura in tow. Naruto bounded over excitedly, not bothering for a moment to lecture his sensei about being on time. He lavished massive amounts of attention on her, asking her how she slept, if she was in good spirits, if she was prepared for the mission. She hesitated at his exaggerated affections, glancing sadly at Sasuke, before smiling at her boyfriend and answering his questions. Sasuke ignored both of them altogether. Seeing that he wasn't even paying her any mind, Sakura sighed to herself and paid more attention to the blonde.
She found that, while she had no feelings for him as a boyfriend, he was actually not as annoying as she'd previously thought. She had gotten to know him better, and she was surprised that Naruto was forcing things to stay the same as before almost as much as she was. The most they'd ever done was hug or hold hands.
Kakashi cleared his throat to get their attention. Putting his book in his back pocket he looked from Naruto to Sasuke.
"Shikamaru-kun has a mission for you two if you'd accept." He stated. Naruto frowned slightly and looked back to Sakura, noticing for the first time that she wasn't wearing any of her gear for a mission. Apparently she'd already known about the mission before hand.
"Why not me and Sakura?" He asked.
"And what if the enemy gets a hold of Sakura? She'd be used against you." Kakashi waved a finger in front of his nose. "Shikamaru requested both you and Sasuke because he also knows that you two won't mess up a mission by fooling around with each other." All three of his students turned crimson at this.
"Get your mind out of those books, pervert." Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"Of course this mission will be very dangerous," he continued, pretending he didn't hear Sasuke's snide remark. "So, if you two are too afraid to go together on this mission, I'm sure I can find someone else for the mission, but Shika-"
"I'll go!"
"I'll go!"
"-maru would be so disappointed as he picked both of you personally." Kakashi grinned. They were so easy to predict. Neither one wanted to be out done by the other, even though they hadn't heard the details of the assignment. "GO and see him now then; he should be at home waiting for your responses." The two nodded in understanding before Naruto turned to Sakura.
"Don't miss me too much!" He laughed. "I promise to bring you home something really special if you promise to wait for me."
"Ganbatte Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!" She waved them off as they started to walk over to the Nara household. She was slightly disappointed that she wasn't allowed to go with them, but she'd been offered to study some healing methods with Tsunade while they were gone and she figured that learning a thing or two about the practice would end up benefiting her team more than if she tagged along. Just as she turned to go back home, Kakashi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't hurt him, Sakura." He said. For a moment she was confused before she remembered Naruto.
"I would never intentionally hurt Naruto-kun." She replied. "I actually kind of like him now, even if it's not exactly in the way he wants me to."
"Don't let your selfishness mislead that boy." Kakashi persisted, a frown evident even with most of his face covered. He didn't seem to approve of their relationship. The kunoichi huffed before walking away. She didn't think her selfishness would hurt anyone. Plus, Kakashi didn't know what he was talking about.
***
"You'll go undercover in the Sand village in order to learn what some of the attack plans are against us." Shikamaru told them. "Undercover means one of you may have to switch genders in order to remain hidden."
"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. He remembered quite vividly the last time he was a female and never wanted to have to repeat that performance. Seeming to understand his concern, Sasuke spoke up.
"I'll do it." He also remembered that Shikamaru would recognise Naruto's jutsu and he figured that volunteering would save them a whole lot of grief. "But why aren't you going?" He asked on the side. Shikamaru made a weak attempt at a glare and rolled his eyes dejectedly.
"I would have gone, except this mission requires people to work as closely as possible. The only person I'd trust that much to do the mission with me is Chouji... Ino would end up shopping or something, and any of the others I don't trust as much. I needed absolute trust. Well..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his head and muttering 'she's so bothersome' under his breath. "Ino wouldn't let me go with Chouji, so I had to pass on the mission and give it to two people I felt could work as closely as I could with Chouji. I didn't even have to think about it. You do have an absolute faith in each other, right?"
They both looked at each other before blushing and nodding curtly, turning their heads away from one another in embarrassment.
"Well, I want to make sure your disguises are perfect before you head off."
Looking even more affronted, Sasuke went first.
"Henge no jutsu!" He muttered, and when the smoke cleared, he looked like a very pissed version of his Sexy no Jutsu. The Chuunin nodded and looked expectantly to Naruto.
"Henge!" The blonde cried. It took a second for the smoke to clear and when it did, even the lazy Shikamaru had to raise an eyebrow. "What? What did I do wrong?" Naruto's voice was a lot deeper than usual.
"Nothing, it's just... what were you aiming for?"
"To make myself look a lot older."
"Well... it's really weird... I've seen pictures."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're the spitting image of the Fourth."
***
"He doesn't know what he's talking about." Naruto complained, dropping the jutsu once they reached the outside of the village.
"He's right though, Naruto-kun. Didn't you see how many people were staring at you like you were some sore of god?" Sasuke snickered before he too dropped the jutsu. They hadn't wanted anyone to know that they were heading out on a mission. To the village they just appeared to be passing through.
They'd been given a number of supplies; enough to last for a week and ordered to return in two days to report all that they'd seen or heard.
"Why didn't you want to do your jutsu again?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of walking in silence.
"How'd you know?"
"I could read it in your face."
"I guess I was afraid of it. Last time I did it I was stuck inside of my head fighting a losing battle with that stupid fox." Sasuke asked a couple more questions but Naruto clammed up and refused to say anything more about the subject.
"Why are you being so stubborn about this?" Sasuke spat in frustration. Right when they were starting to get somewhere.
"I don't see why it's any of your business!" True, Sasuke thought, but he was being too defensive for it not to be his business.
"If it gets in the way of our mission, then that makes it my business!" He snapped back. "Do you want to fight me or something?" Naruto stopped and dropped his backpack into the January snow. "Why don't you just show me how strong the Uchiha blood really is." Sasuke blinked in surprise, confused as to why Naruto was acting like this. He glared softly at the boy and continued walking, ignoring the challenge.
"We have a mission to complete, baka. I don't have time to deal with your childish attitude." Naruto sighed and picked up his things again, sprinting to catch up to his rival. Sasuke decided to lay off his rival for a bit.
***
Kakashi wasn't at all impressed with the way Sakura handled his warning, but decided to let it pass for the time being. He wouldn't let it ruin his dinner. Not that there were many things that could spoil his dinner.
He had stopped by Iruka's place later on that day and invited the teacher out for dinner. The younger man was surprised and for a moment believed it was a turning point in their non-existent relationship, but there was still a coldness in Kakashi's voice that prevented him from getting closer. He agreed to the dinner deciding to let Kakashi take things at his own speed.
He ate his ramen in silence (Kakashi had done another speed-eat), watching the jounin from above his bowl. Kakashi seemed to be reading his perverted book again, but Iruka wondered if it was just a way of throwing people off guard. He smiled at this and was about to voice his question when a gleam caught his eye, heading straight for them.
"Kakashi!" It was Gai, followed closely by Lee. "I see this fine young man has distracted you from our rivalry!" He looked only slightly upset, still wanting to show off his wonderfully bright smile.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, is it true what I've heard about Sakura dating Naruto- kun?" Lee spoke out, seeing that his sensei had taken to posing in an effort to show off in front of Kakashi. Only Iruka was paying any attention, looking alternatively sick and amused at the same time.
"Where have you been, Lee? They've been dating for just over a month now!" Lee was still limping, but it was obvious that he was trying to regain his old Taijutsu skills with the help of his team mates. Suddenly, he burst out crying.
"It's so unfair!" He wailed and clung to his teacher, sobbing his heart out dramatically. Everyone in the ramen bar turned around to see what all the noise was about. "But I haven't given up hope yet! I will not lose to Naruto! Even if it's for one drunken night, I will get my moment with Sakura-chan!" He made a valiant pose with Gai-sensei. Iruka looked to Kakashi nervously, wondering why he'd missed the weirdness of Lee when he was in the academy. Kakashi returned his attention to his book, neither impressed or overly shocked by the dramatic outburst, while everyone else sweatdropped and went back to their dinners.
~~~~~~~
Oh, about a possibility of Sasuke getting jealous... heh heh... nothing doing. He's had practice concealing his emotions so there won't be too many outbursts by him (*drools over the only one she can remember*). But also, he's way too smart to get angry over them two anyways... (*zips again*)
I hope I was able to get Shikamaru and Lee-kun's personalities right. I don't have much experience in writing these two, even tho I love them to death (Shikamaru especially). Without giving too much away, expect to see a lot more of them in the future.
Oh and to all you people who think this story has abandoned the YAOI... I hope you will be very happy when you read the next chapter. It's one I've been waiting to type up for a very very very long time now. Yesh this means there's going to be some SHOUNEN AI in the next chapter, and yes it's ~*NARUSASU*~.
Hopefully people who skip the AN will see that. *grins*
And the next part will be out in a couple of days!
Chapter Title: 28. Being Mislead
For a couple of weeks, Sakura and Naruto went everywhere together. He took her out to ramen every other day and she dragged him along while she went shopping for warmer clothing in the winter months. And they were quite the pair. Sakura would pound on him like usual and he would follow after her. It was almost as though nothing had changed. Almost. When he wasn't around Sakura, Naruto would become withdrawn and silent, and they hardly ever showed any sign of affection save the occasional friendly hug. The other exception was the reaction that occurred whenever Naruto was within ten feet of Sasuke.
Sasuke was in the forest late one night letting off steam from the sheer number of stupid and frustrating assignments Kakashi had piled on him when an even darker shadow fell upon his place of rest. He'd just toppled two trees and was relaxing before he worked on the third, but when that shadow appeared, he tensed up and shivered feeling the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. He knew who it was.
"What do you want, Naruto-kun?" He stood up, dusting off his warm pants and turned to the blonde boy, not at all surprised to find the familiar sneer on his face. "Why can't you ever smile normally?" He asked aloud. Naruto frowned, but the smirk never left his face. In an instant, he had Sasuke knocked off his feet and rolling with him in the snow. Not putting up much of a fight, Sasuke allowed himself to be pinned to the cold hard ground.
"What, have you realised that I'm better than you and are finally giving up?" He snarled lamely. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed the boy away from him angrily. He was starting to get annoyed with Naruto's recent behaviour.
"Go away."
"Are you angry because I got the girl?"
"No, I've been having a bad week. I could care less about Sakura."
"Well then it's obviously because I finally bested you in something. You just can't admit it." Sasuke snarled at his rival.
"You beat me in nothing, dobe."
If he hadn't been too full of himself, Naruto would have known to take caution at the sight of Sasuke's Sharingan wheels. They had begun to spin dangerously as the Uchiha got angrier. He didn't need Naruto making his day worse, but he figured he'd play Naruto's little game for a moment to let off some steam. He lunged at the boy and they began fighting again.
Jumping back from each other, Sasuke smirked and pulled out a few shuriken. He hadn't been able to spar with anyone in a long time and it felt good to be in a real fight. It relieved some of the tension built up from waiting for a possible outbreak of war between the Sand. They fought with shuriken and kunai, jutsus and fists until they were both too tired to do anything more than collapse in a heap together, Naruto splayed out, face down, over Sasuke's stomach.
"Thank you for taking my mind off of my stupid missions." Sasuke breathed. Naruto turned his head to the side and moved back slightly so it rested just below his partner's ribs, grinning like mad.
"I don't mind. I needed to vent and you looked like you needed a vent too." He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing until he was fast asleep. Sasuke would have chuckled to himself if he hadn't thought the movement would wake the sleeping fox.
They had been sparing like this ever since Naruto and Sakura had started dating, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. The blonde would just lunge at him for some unprovoked reason and fight and fight until he worked whatever tension he was facing out of his system. Aside from the villagers' growing dislike for him, Naruto had just about everything he'd ever wanted. Tsunade and the other genins were fairly friendly to him. Sakura was his girlfriend. He was continually proving his strength against Sasuke. But still the dark shinobi couldn't wrap his mind around the reason for the boy's constant need for an outlet.
He sighed to himself and sat up, gathering Naruto in his arms. Dusting off some of the snow, he began walking to the apartments, ignoring how light Naruto had gotten. Maybe he just sparred with him because he couldn't get to sleep. He sighed and shook his head. Maybe he'd just ask in the morning.
***
In the morning, however, Naruto avoided all of Sasuke's questions and even managed to turn a few on the boy himself. Sasuke dropped the topic and left the apartment to go home and change. Naruto was surprised that he hadn't left a change at his house with the number of times he ended up sleeping on the blonde's couch. Sasuke had once tried to leave, but Naruto had effectively hidden the key, and fearing burglars or something worse, Sasuke had been forced to spend the night. He never did find the key.
Frowning to himself, Naruto pondered over the questions his rival had brought up. To be honest, he'd never really thought about it. Hell, he didn't even truly know the answer himself. Sighing to himself he decided to just go early to their meeting place to find out what kind of mission Kakashi had called them all together for. He quickly got dressed, not even having to think of what to wear, and went to the kitchen to get a quick breakfast.
He stopped outside of the smaller guest room and glared at the white washed wood for a moment. He remembered the first time Sasuke had slept over, it was just after the 'Orochimaru Incident' and he had refused to let him anywhere near the room. The dark-haired genin was confused and argued that the couch was no place for a guest, but Naruto would not be swayed. He told Sasuke that if he wanted to stay over he would either take the couch or get out. Reluctantly, Sasuke had stayed on the couch, but every time Sasuke was over Naruto was afraid Sasuke would go into the room.
He was afraid Sasuke would learn his secret. But he would have known if someone entered it without his permission. He'd seen Sasuke when he woke up. From the look on his face, Naruto could tell that he hadn't seen what was inside.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he continued on to the kitchen, not bothering to open the door.
***
When Kakashi finally showed up on the bridge spanning the frozen river, he had Sakura in tow. Naruto bounded over excitedly, not bothering for a moment to lecture his sensei about being on time. He lavished massive amounts of attention on her, asking her how she slept, if she was in good spirits, if she was prepared for the mission. She hesitated at his exaggerated affections, glancing sadly at Sasuke, before smiling at her boyfriend and answering his questions. Sasuke ignored both of them altogether. Seeing that he wasn't even paying her any mind, Sakura sighed to herself and paid more attention to the blonde.
She found that, while she had no feelings for him as a boyfriend, he was actually not as annoying as she'd previously thought. She had gotten to know him better, and she was surprised that Naruto was forcing things to stay the same as before almost as much as she was. The most they'd ever done was hug or hold hands.
Kakashi cleared his throat to get their attention. Putting his book in his back pocket he looked from Naruto to Sasuke.
"Shikamaru-kun has a mission for you two if you'd accept." He stated. Naruto frowned slightly and looked back to Sakura, noticing for the first time that she wasn't wearing any of her gear for a mission. Apparently she'd already known about the mission before hand.
"Why not me and Sakura?" He asked.
"And what if the enemy gets a hold of Sakura? She'd be used against you." Kakashi waved a finger in front of his nose. "Shikamaru requested both you and Sasuke because he also knows that you two won't mess up a mission by fooling around with each other." All three of his students turned crimson at this.
"Get your mind out of those books, pervert." Sasuke muttered under his breath.
"Of course this mission will be very dangerous," he continued, pretending he didn't hear Sasuke's snide remark. "So, if you two are too afraid to go together on this mission, I'm sure I can find someone else for the mission, but Shika-"
"I'll go!"
"I'll go!"
"-maru would be so disappointed as he picked both of you personally." Kakashi grinned. They were so easy to predict. Neither one wanted to be out done by the other, even though they hadn't heard the details of the assignment. "GO and see him now then; he should be at home waiting for your responses." The two nodded in understanding before Naruto turned to Sakura.
"Don't miss me too much!" He laughed. "I promise to bring you home something really special if you promise to wait for me."
"Ganbatte Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!" She waved them off as they started to walk over to the Nara household. She was slightly disappointed that she wasn't allowed to go with them, but she'd been offered to study some healing methods with Tsunade while they were gone and she figured that learning a thing or two about the practice would end up benefiting her team more than if she tagged along. Just as she turned to go back home, Kakashi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't hurt him, Sakura." He said. For a moment she was confused before she remembered Naruto.
"I would never intentionally hurt Naruto-kun." She replied. "I actually kind of like him now, even if it's not exactly in the way he wants me to."
"Don't let your selfishness mislead that boy." Kakashi persisted, a frown evident even with most of his face covered. He didn't seem to approve of their relationship. The kunoichi huffed before walking away. She didn't think her selfishness would hurt anyone. Plus, Kakashi didn't know what he was talking about.
***
"You'll go undercover in the Sand village in order to learn what some of the attack plans are against us." Shikamaru told them. "Undercover means one of you may have to switch genders in order to remain hidden."
"What?!" Naruto exclaimed. He remembered quite vividly the last time he was a female and never wanted to have to repeat that performance. Seeming to understand his concern, Sasuke spoke up.
"I'll do it." He also remembered that Shikamaru would recognise Naruto's jutsu and he figured that volunteering would save them a whole lot of grief. "But why aren't you going?" He asked on the side. Shikamaru made a weak attempt at a glare and rolled his eyes dejectedly.
"I would have gone, except this mission requires people to work as closely as possible. The only person I'd trust that much to do the mission with me is Chouji... Ino would end up shopping or something, and any of the others I don't trust as much. I needed absolute trust. Well..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his head and muttering 'she's so bothersome' under his breath. "Ino wouldn't let me go with Chouji, so I had to pass on the mission and give it to two people I felt could work as closely as I could with Chouji. I didn't even have to think about it. You do have an absolute faith in each other, right?"
They both looked at each other before blushing and nodding curtly, turning their heads away from one another in embarrassment.
"Well, I want to make sure your disguises are perfect before you head off."
Looking even more affronted, Sasuke went first.
"Henge no jutsu!" He muttered, and when the smoke cleared, he looked like a very pissed version of his Sexy no Jutsu. The Chuunin nodded and looked expectantly to Naruto.
"Henge!" The blonde cried. It took a second for the smoke to clear and when it did, even the lazy Shikamaru had to raise an eyebrow. "What? What did I do wrong?" Naruto's voice was a lot deeper than usual.
"Nothing, it's just... what were you aiming for?"
"To make myself look a lot older."
"Well... it's really weird... I've seen pictures."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're the spitting image of the Fourth."
***
"He doesn't know what he's talking about." Naruto complained, dropping the jutsu once they reached the outside of the village.
"He's right though, Naruto-kun. Didn't you see how many people were staring at you like you were some sore of god?" Sasuke snickered before he too dropped the jutsu. They hadn't wanted anyone to know that they were heading out on a mission. To the village they just appeared to be passing through.
They'd been given a number of supplies; enough to last for a week and ordered to return in two days to report all that they'd seen or heard.
"Why didn't you want to do your jutsu again?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of walking in silence.
"How'd you know?"
"I could read it in your face."
"I guess I was afraid of it. Last time I did it I was stuck inside of my head fighting a losing battle with that stupid fox." Sasuke asked a couple more questions but Naruto clammed up and refused to say anything more about the subject.
"Why are you being so stubborn about this?" Sasuke spat in frustration. Right when they were starting to get somewhere.
"I don't see why it's any of your business!" True, Sasuke thought, but he was being too defensive for it not to be his business.
"If it gets in the way of our mission, then that makes it my business!" He snapped back. "Do you want to fight me or something?" Naruto stopped and dropped his backpack into the January snow. "Why don't you just show me how strong the Uchiha blood really is." Sasuke blinked in surprise, confused as to why Naruto was acting like this. He glared softly at the boy and continued walking, ignoring the challenge.
"We have a mission to complete, baka. I don't have time to deal with your childish attitude." Naruto sighed and picked up his things again, sprinting to catch up to his rival. Sasuke decided to lay off his rival for a bit.
***
Kakashi wasn't at all impressed with the way Sakura handled his warning, but decided to let it pass for the time being. He wouldn't let it ruin his dinner. Not that there were many things that could spoil his dinner.
He had stopped by Iruka's place later on that day and invited the teacher out for dinner. The younger man was surprised and for a moment believed it was a turning point in their non-existent relationship, but there was still a coldness in Kakashi's voice that prevented him from getting closer. He agreed to the dinner deciding to let Kakashi take things at his own speed.
He ate his ramen in silence (Kakashi had done another speed-eat), watching the jounin from above his bowl. Kakashi seemed to be reading his perverted book again, but Iruka wondered if it was just a way of throwing people off guard. He smiled at this and was about to voice his question when a gleam caught his eye, heading straight for them.
"Kakashi!" It was Gai, followed closely by Lee. "I see this fine young man has distracted you from our rivalry!" He looked only slightly upset, still wanting to show off his wonderfully bright smile.
"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, is it true what I've heard about Sakura dating Naruto- kun?" Lee spoke out, seeing that his sensei had taken to posing in an effort to show off in front of Kakashi. Only Iruka was paying any attention, looking alternatively sick and amused at the same time.
"Where have you been, Lee? They've been dating for just over a month now!" Lee was still limping, but it was obvious that he was trying to regain his old Taijutsu skills with the help of his team mates. Suddenly, he burst out crying.
"It's so unfair!" He wailed and clung to his teacher, sobbing his heart out dramatically. Everyone in the ramen bar turned around to see what all the noise was about. "But I haven't given up hope yet! I will not lose to Naruto! Even if it's for one drunken night, I will get my moment with Sakura-chan!" He made a valiant pose with Gai-sensei. Iruka looked to Kakashi nervously, wondering why he'd missed the weirdness of Lee when he was in the academy. Kakashi returned his attention to his book, neither impressed or overly shocked by the dramatic outburst, while everyone else sweatdropped and went back to their dinners.
~~~~~~~
Oh, about a possibility of Sasuke getting jealous... heh heh... nothing doing. He's had practice concealing his emotions so there won't be too many outbursts by him (*drools over the only one she can remember*). But also, he's way too smart to get angry over them two anyways... (*zips again*)
I hope I was able to get Shikamaru and Lee-kun's personalities right. I don't have much experience in writing these two, even tho I love them to death (Shikamaru especially). Without giving too much away, expect to see a lot more of them in the future.
Oh and to all you people who think this story has abandoned the YAOI... I hope you will be very happy when you read the next chapter. It's one I've been waiting to type up for a very very very long time now. Yesh this means there's going to be some SHOUNEN AI in the next chapter, and yes it's ~*NARUSASU*~.
Hopefully people who skip the AN will see that. *grins*
And the next part will be out in a couple of days!