Warnings: Non-cannon, take place approximately 3 years after the Chuunin exam. Anyways, I'm pretty sure the quote I'm using in the summery is what they did say to each other, if not, meh.
Pairing: Kank/Naru, background paring of Kiba/Hinata mentioned.
Summery: "You're original, I like you." "You're not original, I don't like you." Maybe Kankuro's words meant more than Naruto thought.
Genre: Romance, Action (Very badly written fight scenes, you'll have to forgive me for that.)
Rating: PG – PG13.
""-speech
''-thoughts
It had been several years, but he could still remember the first time he met Naruto. Some kid ran into him, so he lifted him up by the shirt collar, ready to teach the little gaki a lesson. Naruto tried to intervene, failing horribly of course, and he barely gave the boy another thought. That is, until the final minutes of the Chuunin exam, when the blonde loudly and confidently proclaimed that he wouldn't give up
He was a confusing, annoying little brat, but his willpower was something Kankuro couldn't ignore. And so later on, in the prelims, Kankuro found himself approaching the boy and saying, "You're original, I like you." He wasn't too surprised when the blonde crossed his arms and huffed. "You're not original. I don't like you!"
Many thought of him as weak, especially when comparing him to his blood thirsty younger brother and giant-fan wielding older sister. He was nothing but a puppeteer, hiding in the shadows while his 'dolls' did the work for him. A coward that could be easily beaten so long as his main weapon, Karasu, was destroyed. But for the past three years Kankuro had been training hard, using his puppeteering skills and even trying his hand at more advanced tai-jutsu, gen-jutsu and nin-jutsu.
Three years had passed, he was now seventeen and was proudly going on what he referred to as 'the hunt', since he could find no better name for it. He had become a Chuunin two years ago and was now completely prepared for 'the hunt'. His prey was blonde, with blue eyes, and was loud and would be remarkably easy to find.
'I like unique people Naruto, and you are very unique.'
Meanwhile, hundred of miles away, Naruto shivered. He glanced around curiously, it was a hot, sweltering summer day and even in the shade of the forest it was almost unbearable to train, so why had he shivered?
'I have a bad feeling about something.'
And two days later, the feeling still remained, twisting and turning at his insides until he was sure he- "GAH!"
Naruto, having been lost in thought about his 'feeling' had walked straight into someone, lost his balance and had fallen down to the hard, unforgiving earth beneath him. He heard the person above him let out a chuckle and he looked up, mouth already moving to form a barrage of insults, but instead he stopped and stared.
'There's something familiar about this guy.' The baggy black clothing, the narrow eyes that eerily reminded him of Kiba's, the purple face paint- 'Wait a minute!' He angrily pointed at the man in front of him. "You're Gaara's brother!"
Kankuro grabbed a hold of his outstretched hand, pulling him up off of the ground.
"The name's Kankuro, and it's good to see you too, Naruto." Kankuro smirked lightly, not letting go of Naruto's hand as the other boy angrily glared at him. "What are you doing back in Konoha! And why don't you have your puppet with you! And why aren't you letting go of my hand!" Naruto was practically seething as he yanked his hand out of Kankuro's grip and crossed his arms stubbornly, foot tapping impatiently as he waited for answers.
"Well, I back in Konoha because I have some business to take care of, Karasu isn't here because whtever fights I may get bin while I'm here I can handle without my puppeteering, and I wasn't letting go of your hand because I liked the feeling of your hand in mine." He answered off handedly, turning to leave when Naruto, who had just been nodding along with the answers, finally processed the last one.
"Wait… WHAT?" But Kankuro was already gone. 'Dammit, what the hell was that supposed to mean?' He thought angrily before glancing at his watch. "GAH! I'm late for training with Ero-Sennin!"
It was later that night, exhausted from training, (mostly with himself since there were lots of scantily clad girls trying to cool of in the river for Jiraiya to peep on.) that Naruto began thinking over Kankuro's appearance in the village.
'He got taller, damn him and his growth spurt!' Naruto thought as he stomped to his room, he had only gotten two or three inches taller over the past few years, so Kankuro was at least a head taller than him. 'But he still has that stupid face paint. At least he got rid of that weird hat.' Naruto's grin diminished as he thought over one more change in Kankuro's usual appearance. 'He's a Chuunin now. He can become a Chuunin when I can't? I had enough power and ability to beat Gaara when Kankuro was still freakishly afraid of him! Why does everyone hate me so much!' Naruto flopped onto his bed, frowning as the answer made its way into his mind.
'Oh yeah, 'cause I'm a demon host, right.' He snorted before curling on his side, waiting for sleep to come to him.
Meanwhile, not to far away Kankuro was going through his nightly ritual of carefully removing his Kabuki Paint, then taking his dark brown hair out of his low ponytail and brushing it out. His hair was still a bit too short to get tangles, hardly long enough for him to put it in the ponytail, but he liked keeping it in order.
Many past flings had made fun of his almost feminine nightly habits, and they quickly found themselves kicked out. Kankuro hated being called effeminate.
He looked into the mirror appraisingly, time had certainly blessed his features, or at least that was what he, and everyone who saw behind the Kabuki paint believed.
'Naruto's appearance hasn't changed at all. He's even still wearing a strange orange jumpsuit.' He dryly chuckled to himself before stripping of his clothes. 'This is going to be fun, I don't think his personality has changed much either, if our earlier confrontation is any sign of his… Individuality.'
The next morning he carefully applied his Kabuki paint, tied his hair back and dressed, preparing himself for a lovely day of 'hunting.'
For an incredibly skilled ninja, Naruto was very clueless as to when he was being followed.
Kankuro followed him to the ramen stand, to the bridge, the forest where he was having a D-Rank mission, and then to the river where he watched Naruto train with an older man with long white hair, who seemed to be keeping a close eye on the girls splashing around in the water.
Sure what he was doing could technically be considered stalking, but that was such a harsh word. It was more like research really, kind of, maybe not… Well it wasn't stalking, most assuredly not.
He had stayed in his hiding spot near the river for hours until the old man finally left and Naruto was by himself.
It was time for his grand appearance.
"Hey Naruto, how about a spar?" Naruto's head whipped in his direction, eyes narrowing dangerously, making him look almost feral. "What are you doing here!" He demanded, but Kankuro just stepped forward, calm as ever. "I already told you, I think we should have a spar, you're not going to improve if you only fight against clones of yourself." "We'll see about that, I can kick your ass any day!"
Naruto quickly performed Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and then the seven Narutos ran forward, Kankuro grabbed a hold of his shuriken, throwing them at the clones until only two Narutos were left.
They raced at him angrily, kunai in hand, but Kankuro evaded their attack, for the most part.
One of them lunged at him, kunai slicing his cheek before Kankuro gave him a swift uppercut to the jaw, and the clone disappeared with a small poof of clouds.
Kankuro went into a low fighting stance, grabbing a kunai from the holster on is thigh.
"You haven't kicked my ass yet Naruto, maybe you need to try harder." Naruto growled lowly, his hands forming and unfamiliar set of seals before he shouted out.
"Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!"
Kankuro heard a loud rumbling and quickly flipped out of the way as a large cyclone of water that was horizontal to the ground passed through the area where he once stood, destroying and un-rooting some of the trees that were once behind him. Even where he was now standing droplets of water smashed into his body, stinging from their contact.
'My my, that's a nifty technique, but the classics are always the best.' He whispered, "Kugutsu no Jutsu." Under his breath and let his chakra run to his fingertips, forming small strings of chakra in Naruto's direction. Naruto didn't notice, still slightly worn from the technique he'd been learning for a week, it took a lot of chakra to control that water.
The expression on his face was priceless when he went to grab a shuriken and he found he couldn't move. He cast an angry glare over at Kankuro. "No fair! You shouldn't use your marionette technique when you don't have you're puppet around."
"In the real world, only the sly survive, you have to be cunning to win battles, raw power doesn't always matter." Kankuro replied as his finger moved with practiced grace, Naruto walking closer as the strings of chakra around his legs pulled him closer.
"Anyways, since I won I think I deserve a prize." "Hey! I never agreed to that!" "True, but it doesn't matter much, I don't want anything big, just a little thing." His fingers slowed to a stop as Naruto stood before him, looking uncomfortable and adorable.
"Well, what is it that you want? I don't want to be here all day!" Naruto's eyes were so expressive and Kankuro could tell the boy was uncomfortable, so other than drawing it out, like he usually did like to do, he made it short, sweet and simple.
He leaned down and gave Naruto a kiss on the lips while detaching his chakra from the boy who was far to shocked to notice. And then, with a triumphant smirk on his face he leapt back into the foliage.
'Well, that wasn't too hard.'
Meanwhile Naruto pressed his fingers to his lips, his eyes wide with shock before narrowing with anger. 'He just stole my second first kiss! The bastard!'
"KANKURO! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT!"
Kankuro sneezed.
The next day consisted of Kankuro once again following Naruto around unnoticed. The blonde didn't have any missions today, so he just lounged around the river for a good deal of time, staring up at the clouds, splashing around in the water, it was kind of cute to watch, not that Kankuro would admit that.
Besides, who didn't like a dripping wet Naruto, in nothing but his boxers on a nice, sunny day?
Hours later, when the old man first arrived Kankuro snuck closer to hear what they were saying. His movements were swift and silent, undetectable by even the greatest of ninjas. Controlling things silently from the shadows had benefits to one's overall sneaking ability.
"-akufu no Jutsu properly yesterday! I felt really tired after it, but look at all the damage I caused!" "Exactly! Today you're going to have to learn how to narrow your attack down so that you can make a critical hit!" "Ano, what does that mean?" "It means that the way you're currently using it has the cyclone with a diameter that is too wide, you have to make the cyclone smaller in diameter so that when you attack the cyclone will be more concentrated and do more damage."
Kankuro watched carefully as Naruto used the cyclone attack again and again. 'Hmm. Next time we fight it'll have to be away from any water source, I don't want to have to go against that attack again. I barely escaped unharmed from it last time.' Kankuro slipped away unnoticed, plans for his next little spar with Naruto already running though his head.
'Next time is going to be much more fun Naruto, and I hope I get more than just a kiss when I win.'
The next morning Kankuro waited outside of Naruto's doorway, knowing from his recent observations that Naruto would come out a couple minutes after eight.
And sure enough, at 8:07am Naruto's door was flung open and Naruto swiftly and gracefully slammed into Kankuro's chest, falling down to the ground, much like the incident four days ago.
"YOU! WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Naruto angrily (and loudly) demanded, an angry flush rising to his cheeks when Kankuro just grinned down at him.
"I thought you might appreciate a re-match, maybe this time you'll come closer to winning." "Dammit! I could have won the last time, I was just holding back." Naruto picked himself up off the ground, dusting off his clothes.
"Well then, this time don't hold back."
It really wasn't too hard to convince Naruto to have another spar with him, the boy's string were easy to pull, if you'll excuse the bad pun. He was just so easily angered at some things, like when you threatened his 'manly-ness' or easily swayed by promising him as much ramen he wanted if he won.
Kankuro picked his ideal fighting area, the forest. Even without Karasu Kankuro could still fight from the shadows and foliage, and he was also depriving Naruto of the water source he'd need for that new technique of his.
He was so sure he'd win he wondered if he should even bother really trying, after all, all odds seemed to be in his favor.
What he wasn't expecting was Naruto's other new trick.
He could easily deal with Kage Bunshin, and deflect any kunai or shuriken sent his way, and find a counter attack for every physical attack Naruto decided to throw out him.
But as soon as their fight began something seemed off, Naruto was still far to confident and cocky, even though Kankuro knew he'd normally be more serious about a fight to avenge his own defeat.
Oh he dealt with the Kage Bunshin, the weaponry, the U-zu-ma-ki Naruto Rendan, the physical attacks and had even barely jumped out of the way of a couple Rasengans.
It wasn't until he noticed that Naruto was creating a clearing that Kankuro realized than Naruto had actually planned this, the less foliage for Kankuro to hide in, the better for Naruto to find him, the more open space Naruto had, the easier he could see and evade attacks.
That's where Naruto's other new trick came in.
Kankuro himself had been working admirably hard for the past three years so that he could prove his strength, learning the very basics which he had ignored before, and slowly working his way up as his skills in nin, tai and gen-jutsu increased.
Naruto already had the basics, he had great stamina to go through training quickly and he had a sensei that Kankuro could tell was quite powerful, despite him being an old, perverted man.
"Kaze no Yaiba!" A bade of wind appeared in Naruto's hand and the blonde dashed forward, tearing away at the remaining foliage and trees around him.
"Come on out Kankuro! Fight like a man!"
Kankuro heaved a sigh, if the blonde was going to destroy his hiding place he might as well come out and show Naruto that he'd learned a couple of new tricks to.
'I just hope he doesn't use that wind blade on me.'
Naruto growled, his wind blade dissipating in his hand. 'Why the hell hasn't he come out yet?'
"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!"
Hands from below him grasped at his ankles and Naruto found himself being pulled underground until only his head remained above the soil.
"Well Naruto, it seems like I've won again." Kankuro whispered in his ear, Naruto shuddered at the feeling of the warm breath on his neck.
"Don't underestimate me." Naruto ground out, already struggling to move.
"Don't strain yourself Naruto, this fight is over, just admit it."
'I'm not going to let you win!' Naruto closed his eyes, frown set on his face. He let the world around him fade away and soon he found himself in the strange corridor of his mind, walking down an all too familiar hallway which led him to a giant set of sealed gates.
"I can't believe that you're being beaten so easily." Behind the gates the voice of Kyuubi growled, his blazing eyes and wide grin the only things visible.
"Dammit! I don't have time for this! Lend me your power Kyuubi!" Naruto demanded, foot stomping on the wet floor.
"Oh? Am I some sort of trump card?" But even as the demon spoke a wave of red chakra passed through the gates and engulfed Naruto's form. 'Heh, thank you Kyuubi.'
Naruto's eyes snapped open, a beautiful ruby red and with a loud growl the chakra around him began pushing at his earthly confines. Kankuro took a step back, eyes wide. 'Damn it, that's one powerful chakra, the same one I felt when Naruto fought Gaara. If I'm gonna win, this is going to take some effort.'
Kankuro formed a seal and focused all of his energy on creating an illusion. 'Let's just hope he can't see through my gen-jutsu.'
Naruto scowled as he looked at his surroundings, Kankuro was no where to be seen. 'He must be hiding out in the trees again!'
"Kaze no Yaiba!" The blade of wind once again appeared in his hand and he was already dashing towards the tree line, when from the ground multiple sprouts began growing rapidly, turning into large trees before his very eyes, the branches moving rapidly, trying to hit him.
'What the hell is this technique? Can Kankuro control the trees?' Naruto angrily swiped at the branches, but his blade was doing nothing to harm the trees, the branches remained fully intact.
It only took Naruto a few more swipes of his wind blade to realize that the trees couldn't possibly be real, nothing can block a blade of wind.
'So it must be gen-jutsu!' Naruto leapt away from the trees and formed a hand seal.
"KAI!"
The trees disappeared and Kankuro was once again visible, Naruto dashed forward, his blade stopping centimeters away from Kankuro's throat.
"I have won this time, yield." Kankuro frowned for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders obediently.
"I guess this means I have to take you out for ramen now."
Naruto blinked before a grin spread out on his face, his eyes going blue once again.
"YATTA! RAMEN!"
Kankuro outright stared as Naruto gulped down his eleventh bowl and he vaguely wondered where all of that food went. 'Maybe he has a wormhole in his stomach.'
"You're going to eat away most of may paycheck if you keep going." He muttered dryly.
"It's your own fault, I didn't have any breakfast yet, and it takes a lot of energy for me to fight a worthy opponent." Naruto said through a mouthful of ramen and Kankuro grinned, leaning over and wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulder.
"A worthy opponent huh? How about future boyfriend?"
Naruto immediately stared choking, coughing and hacking and pounding at his chest until his airways were clear and then he turned to Kankuro with an incredulous look.
"NANI?" "Oh come on, why do you think I came here in the first place?" "You said you had business here!" "Exactly, if I had important business that involved something other than you, why would I be hunting you down to spar?"
Naruto seemed to take the question into consideration for a moment.
"Ano… Because you want to see if can beat me?" "Then why do you think I kissed you?" Kankuro asked, taking a small swig of water. "… Because I am one hot piece of ass?" Water sprayed out of Kankuro's mouth.
"W-what?" "Kiba told me I was a hot piece of ass when we were going out." "Dog boy is gay!" "Bi actually, he split up with me when he found out Hinata had a thing for him, they've been dating ever since."
Kankuro leaned back a bit. 'Well, at least now I know he's into men.' "Doesn't it make you angry that he left you for someone else?" "No, not really, Kiba was my friend first, so when we broke it off we still remained friends. I'm just happy that he's happy." Naruto said with a smile before engulfing the rest of his ramen.
"Well, I've got to go train with Ero-Sennin now, I'll see you later." Naruto turned to leave but was stopped as Kankuro grabbed onto his wrist.
"Naruto, how about we meet up tomorrow?" Naruto blushed a bit and looked down at Kankuro's hand around his wrist.
"You're not going to try and fight me again, are you?" "Nah, this time it'll be more like a date." The blush on Naruto face deepened and he pulled his hand out of Kankuro's grip hastily.
But he gave a small nod before running off.
Kankuro stretched his arms over his head. 'Ah, life is good.' He heard a cough a lazily looked over to the man behind the counter and then his gaze drifted to the many empty ramen bowls stacked beside him. '… Damn…'
Kankuro spent the rest of his day planning what exactly he was going to do with Naruto on their date.
Giving him flowers was far too feminine. Ramen was out of the question. And although Kankuro would love to snog with him in a dark corner, he was pretty sure that Naruto wasn't going to want to get physical to fast.
So that was why the next day all Kankuro really had planned was a nice stroll up to the top of the Hokage monument to go star gazing.
Naruto didn't seem to mind, and the stars in Konoha shone brightly despite the harsh lights of the town below them.
"Kankuro, why do you like me?" Naruto asked softly, his eyes focused on the stars above them.
"I told you before, you're original. I like people who are unique." Kankuro absentmindedly ran a hand through Naruto happy, happy to notice the blonde didn't tense up or act uncomfortable.
"Is there any other reason you like me?"
"Well, let's see. You're a powerful shinobi, you're a nice guy, always willing to defend and forgive people, and although I myself would word it differently, you are a hot piece of ass." Kankuro grinned as Naruto playfully swatted away his hand.
"What? You've got beautiful eyes, sunshine hair, and you're a nice petite size. You were adorable when you were younger, and now you're grown into a beautiful young man."
Naruto blushed and breathily asked, "Do you mean it?" Kankuro loomed closer until his face was inches away from Naruto's own.
"Yes." And they both leaned in for a kiss.