Summary: Naruto does not appreciate being treated as a delicate flower.

Rating: T

Warning: possible OOCness, shounen-ai

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.

A/N: To everyone who reviewed the first chapter, thank you so much. Your encouragement got me to finish this chapter a lot sooner than expected.

Claimed

Part Two: Of Fights and Lectures

"Naruto, I think you've had enough," whispered Sai, trying to extract a bottle of sake from his blond friend's grip. "Why don't I take you home now?"

In response, the other ninja shook his head unsteadily and continued to sag against the dark-haired Anbu. Sighing in exasperation, Sai gazed down fondly at the Jounin who had managed to become his closest friend in a span of four years.

He still marvelled at how easily the blonde had managed to creep into his life and fill the gaping hole left by his brother. As part of Team Seven, they had continued to pursue the evasive Uchiha Sasuke even though failure had plagued them through out the journey. His dislike for the young Uchiha had mounted to a new level after each failure when he witnessed the raw pain evident in Naruto's eyes. Even though by that time Sakura had developed immunity to the hurt, it seemed as if Sasuke had left a wound in Naruto that refused to heal. Never the one to understand feelings, Sai had been at loss at how to support his team mate until one rainy night following another such failure Sakura had told him that his presence was all that Naruto needed. Following her advice proved to be the right decision when the vacant look in Naruto's eyes slowly started to disappear in his company. Sai was left with a feeling of accomplishment, knowing that he had also managed to return the favour by mending the wound in Naruto. After years of loneliness, both boys had finally managed to form another meaningful bond – a bond that Sai vowed to cherish, unlike Sasuke, who had chosen to severe the one he had had with Naruto.

For that reason alone, he could not curb the resentment he felt for Uchiha Sasuke, when the teen decided to waltz back into their life one day. According to the report given to the Hokage by the runaway, he had finally attained his revenge and hence decided to retire back to his village in hopes of amending the damage he had caused. Sasuke's acceptance into Konoha was hesitant, but still inevitable. Even though his position as a ninja was suspended during the first few months, his aid in the capture and execution of Orochimaru led him to be seen as a hero in the eyes of the villagers once again. What irked Sai the most was the easy manner in which Sasuke managed to gain Naruto's forgiveness. However, to his and Sasuke's surprise the blonde Jounin had chosen to keep his company instead of running back to his returned friend. This was how Sai found himself part of a fierce competition – one to determine who deserved to be Naruto's closest friend.

I'd rather chop off an arm than let you be taken away by that deserter, thought Sai running a hand through the silky golden hair of his dozing friend.

Suddenly the air around them dropped a few degrees, jolting the Anbu out of his thoughts. Speak of the devil, he thought in annoyance when he felt the ominous chakra radiating from the dark figure in front of them.

Lips quirking up in a small smile, Sai raised both eyebrows in question at the dark-haired man. Unwilling to indulge the young Anbu with an answer, Sasuke tightly pressed his lips together and continued to glare at the man who was still clutching on to Naruto in a distinctly possessive manner.

"May I help you, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sai, raising his voice just enough so that his voice could be barely heard over the loud music playing in the club.

At the mention of the cursed name, the blonde stirred and lifted his head from Sai's shoulder. "Sasuke?" he mumbled, blinking bright blue eyes at the young Chuunin in an attempt to clear his head from its alcohol-induced state.

Tearing his eyes away from the silent challenge in the Anbu's eyes, Sasuke looked down at his friend and frowned at seeing the undignified state of Naruto. The blond hair was standing up in disarray, a slight sheen of sweat covered his forehead, too bright eyes were unfocused and his cheeks were flushed as if suffering from a high fever. To sum it all up, Uzumaki Naruto was drunk as a skunk and yet, his fingers still held another bottle of sake.

"Idiot, are you trying to drown yourself in alcohol?" snapped Sasuke, trying to pry the bottle away from a surprisingly firm grip. "And you, why didn't you try to stop him?"

Sai's polite smile vanished without a trace. "The last time I checked, you are not Naruto's master," he bit out snidely, "or his best friend anymore. So kindly refrain from sticking your royal nose in our business." Naruto stiffened next to him, the effects from the sake receding away at a fast pace while Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"I'm sorry, but I think Naruto is the only one who has the right to decide who his best friend is." growled Sasuke, clenching his fists tightly.

"And he has, while you were busy licking Orochimaru's toes," replied Sai with a smug smile, ignoring the warning glare directed at him by the unsteady blonde in between them.

"Sai-" started Naruto only to stop abruptly when the seething Chuunin landed a hard punch directly in the center of Sai's face. "Sasuke! What the hell are you doing?"

Reeling back from the shock, Sai's hand went up to his nose and felt the warm wetness. The shock was promptly replaced with a boiling anger. Leaping away from the other dark-haired teen, Sai reached inside one of his pants pockets to withdraw one of his scrolls. At the same time, Sasuke's hands flashed in a very familiar sequence of seals as he drew in his breath for the valued fire technique of the Uchiha clan. However, before any of them could act upon their intentions, the drunk Jounin they were fighting over decided to take control of the situation. With a strangled war cry, the sake from his precious bottle was splashed at a startled Sasuke, who unintentionally swallowed some and ended up choking on it. In another clumsy motion, Naruto leapt towards Sai and both of them ended up on the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Everyone in the club froze, gazes locked on the spectacle. The music still thundered in the background. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt, Sasuke masked his mortification by schooling his expression into one of utter calmness. His eyes landed on the two figures sprawled across the floor, but before he could move a muscle another person stepped in between them. Looking up, he was met with the fierce green eyes of Sakura who shook her head at him warningly. Then without a word, she grabbed the collar of Naruto's vest and lifted him onto shaky legs. With her other hand, she grabbed on to Sai's left ear and dragged him to his feet as well.

"You three kids are going to go home now," she stated firmly. "And apologize to everyone before you leave,"

Wisely, none of the three men argued back even though Sasuke bristled at being called a kid. Instead, they mumbled their apologies and shuffled out of the club with Sakura at their heels. Disappointed at the turn of events, Kiba slumped in his chair. "Damn, when things were getting good…I guess no one wins this time,"

An eerie smirk crossed Neji's handsome face. "What are you talking about, Kiba? The game has only just started,"

At the confused looks that appeared on some of their faces, Shikamaru sighed in resignation and explained, "We didn't set a time limit for this bet, did we? Naruto just hasn't chosen yet, but he probably will in time. It doesn't look like Sasuke or Sai are planning to back away any time soon,"

Suddenly Ino jumped up from her seat and started to stride towards the entrance of the club.

"Ino, where are you going?" called Chouji in confusion.

"I don't want to miss anything," she replied, winking cheekily. Soon, a small group of ninja's were crowded at the door, peeping at the four figures that stood outside on the deserted road of Konoha.

Eyes were averted as the three men fidgeted around uneasily under the disapproving frown of the pink-haired konuichi. Naruto was still being supported by Sai much to the irritation of Sasuke. Seeing the pout on the Chuunin's face, their female companion fought back her amusement. After all a smile wouldn't suit the stern lecture she was about to bestow upon her friends.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves," rebuked Sakura, shaking her head in exasperation. "Naruto, haven't I told you before to control your drinking? Seriously, hanging around Jiraiya-sama too much sure hasn't been good on you,"

Naruto hiccupped and turned big blue eyes pleadingly towards her. "But Sakura-chan-,"

A hard whack on his arm nearly upset his delicate balance and he ended up wobbling precariously on his legs. "Don't you 'Sakura-chan' me, you idiot!" The blonde quickly ducked behind Sai and squinted at her with a wounded look. "And don't look at me like that! Obviously you have no tolerance for alcohol, so stop trying to impress everyone by drinking so much. In the end, it's us who get hassled with the task of dragging you home,"

The blonde sniffed behind Sai who gulped nervously when the fuming female shifted her frown at him. "Sai, you really need to stop giving into this idiot so easily every single time. If you keep spoiling him like this, his dependence on you will know no limits. On top of that, his health is at risk here. Keep buying him alcohol and one of these days he'll come around asking you to buy him a liver as well."

Sasuke stared gleefully as the Anbu paled with every single word. He was too busy taking pleasure in the cornered look that had etched across Sai's face to notice Sakura whirling around to face him. The only warning he received was the sudden smirk that appeared on the dark-haired man's face before his head was chewed to bits by the volatile woman. "And you, Sasuke-kun! I expected Naruto and Sai to act like idiots as usual. But never would I have thought that the elite Uchiha Sasuke would initiate a brawl in public. Did you by any chance leave your pride and dignity at Orochimaru's headquarters?"

He opened his mouth angrily but shut it at once when both the men behind Sakura shook their head. With a sinking feeling, he remembered the strength of the pink-haired Jounin's punch and quickly decided to keep his opinions to himself.

"If you have a problem with these two, then sort it out with them in private. We don't need the people of this village to think that the Konoha ninjas are emotionally and mentally unstable. Remember, you are still on trial among us and if we feel that you are trouble, we'll confine you into your apartment and place you under surveillance again. So, behave yourself,"

Finally reaching the end of her lecture to the immense relief of the others, Sakura gracefully turned heel and started to stroll back into the club. "Make sure you get Naruto home, safe and sound," she called over her shoulder.

Rolling his eyes in irritation, Sasuke walked over to the other two men and stretched out an arm, ignoring the questioning look Sai gave him. "I'll take him home,"

"Look, I'm-" started Naruto, darting nervous looks between the two dark-haired men surrounding him. However, he was interrupted once again as Sai snorted and draped an arm protectively against his waist.

"I don't think so, Sasuke-kun. As Sakura pointed out, you are mentally unstable and I really don't want to leave my closest friend in the hands of a betrayer," said Sai with a forced pleasant smile.

"I don't need-" Naruto tried again only to be cut off by a furious Sasuke. "Is that the only thing you can talk about? It's getting rather boring now, so until you can come up with some original material, keep your trap shut. Now, hand him over."

"No. He's going home with me,"

"I'm taking him home, so do us a favour and disappear,"

"Are you deaf as well as dumb? I said-."

A vein twitched at Naruto's temple as he listened to his friends' argument. Maybe it was the alcohol in his system fiddling with his brain, but he couldn't help but feel like a girl who was stuck in the middle of a game of tug-of-war between two jealous admirers. It was understandable that the blonde did not appreciate this feeling, when his masculinity was under question. Just because he was a bit intoxicated, it did not give either of his friends the right to treat him like a delicate little flower that needed protection. And anyway, their voices were suddenly sounding too high-pitched for him. So he chose the only option that guaranteed his sanity to be left intact. He took advantage of the distraction of the other two as they quarrelled and detached himself from the possessive hold Sai had on him. Then Naruto wobbled off into the night, imagining his inviting bed that was fortunately very far away from the two screeching cats.

"…my friend!"

"We've been friends for a longer time," snarled Sasuke, tightening his grip on Sai's collar.

"You left Konoha and him. Don't think that you can crawl back and claim him as if everything is back to normal,"

"Fine! We'll let Naruto choose then,"

"First sensible thing you've said," Sai muttered as both of them turned towards the blonde…and gaped in confusion at his noticeable absence.

"Naruto?" called Sai, worry clouding his mind as he thought of the many disastrous situations the other might be in, in his drunken state – and Sakura's wrath for letting the blonde wander in that state.

"Where's he? What did you do with him?" Sasuke snapped, looking positively murderous.

"I've been here with you all the time, did you see me do anything?" the Anbu asked incredulously.

"He's gone home," said a deep voice, startling both of them before they could start another fight. They whirled around to find a smirking Hyuuga Neji. "While you two were busy arguing, he went home. There's no need to worry. Shikamaru and Sakura are accompanying him,"

"Oh," Sasuke felt his ears burn with embarrassment at the revelation. "Hn, I'll head home as well," He shot one last glare at Sai that promised him a lot of hard times in the days ahead before stalking away from the two Anbu members.

Sai kept his smile fixed on his face until the Chuunin disappeared into the darkness. You don't deserve Naruto and I'll make sure of it, he thought darkly. Then turning to Neji, he nodded once in farewell and started on the trip to his apartment, all the while thinking of ways to keep his blonde friend safe from the clutches of the young Uchiha.

A/N: I'm not too happy with this chapter. > Continue?