"Here's your assignment."
Uchiha Sasuke took the mission statement from the man behind the front desk. He glanced it over briefly before wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Nn."
"What is it?" Nara Shikamaru lifted one eyebrow lazily. "Don't like the client?"
"Not that," Sasuke waved the hand with the paper in it dismissively. "It's just…"
"What?" Shikamaru pressed.
"…it's on my birthday."
There was a pause. The man behind the desk rubbed the back of his neck and coughed nervously before speaking up again.
"That is a bit troublesome, but…you have the best survival ratio on our entire team," the other man said almost apologetically. "If I didn't think this were the best course to take, I would reassign it…"
"It's alright," Sasuke turned to go, "I know how you like to calculate mission success rates. It'll be fine."
"But…"
"SASUKE!" a loud cry sounded from the lobby.
"Well, it was quiet…" Shikamaru grumbled and the dark-haired man had to silently agree before he was unceremoniously tackled. The blond in his green and blue uniform hung on to Sasuke's neck, wrinkling the white Anbu vest as he tugged down with all his weight.
"Sasuke! Have you gotten your assignment yet? What is it? How long is it going to be? Will you be back in time for your--"
Sasuke shoved the piece of paper into Uzumaki Naruto's face, turned, and walked out of the building, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto ran out after him, clutching the paper in one fist. Shikamaru waved lazily at their backs before going back to scanning his eyes over the reports in front of him. "Sasuke!" the blond caught up to his companion. "What is it? What's the matter?"
"Nothing," came the curt reply, and Naruto stopped walking, puffing his cheeks in agitation.
"You never tell me what's going on!"
"There's nothing to tell."
"Then you wouldn't be upset!"
"I'm not upset."
"Liar!"
"Shut up, usuratonkachi."
"Stupid Sasuke!"
The blond man turned and ran in the direction of the training grounds. Sasuke momentarily debated following him, but preparations had to be made and paperwork needed to be done before heading out. Sighing, he faced the other way and walked slowly back to his apartment.
Naruto did not come back to see him at all that day.
"Are you sure he knows you're going?" Haruno Sakura handed her former teammate a medical kit neatly wrapped in leather binding.
"He has my damn mission sheet," the darker figure grunted as he swirled the black cloak tight about himself, taking the kit and slipping it into his white belt pouch. The pink-haired woman made a face and waved off their friend's behavior dismissively.
"It's Naruto, I wouldn't be too worried," she tried to assure him in the best way she knew how. "He'll probably attack you as you're leaving the village."
"Probably," he grimaced and pulled the white, red-stripped porcelain mask over his scowling face. "Thanks. I'll see you in a week or so."
"Good luck, Sasuke!" Sakura watched him go, waving after him. Sasuke moved silently through the crowds of Konoha's streets, glancing into the throngs of people for a familiar streak of bright yellow and green. When he finally reached the city gates, he briefly turned and looked back. Nothing. Sighing inwardly, he started out on the path.
"S-Sasuke! Sasuke, wait!" The voice made him tense. Only when the caller was in his Sharingan range did he relax: it was Hyuuga Hinata. She caught up to him and took a second to collect her breath while Sasuke waited patiently. Finally, she straightened and held out a long black shaft. "Naruto told me to give this to you before you left; he said you forgot it in his apartment…"
He looked at it again: it was his sword. His damn sword. And that's when he realized he wasn't wearing it at his hip, as per usual.. Flushing slightly, and grateful the woman couldn't see that, Sasuke took the black-sheathed blade from her. "Thank you," he nodded. She shook her head and smiled softly, giving him a small wave.
"Thank him. I'm just glad I found you in time. Good luck, Sasuke!" And with that, she ran back into town. Sasuke watched her disappear into the flock of people down in the streets, then shook his head and started out again, tying the sword to his left hip as he walked.
"I'm so stupid--" 'Stupid Sasuke!' "…Why didn't he just come and bring it to me himself? Is he really that mad…?" The black-haired man snapped his head abruptly from side to side. "Who cares? I'm the one that has to be on a mission for my birthday."
Feeling particularly bitter, Uchiha Sasuke left on his mission.
Five of them. Maybe six, if he was reading the charkas correctly. He could do it, but… Dammit, Shikamaru. The mission statement said nothing about this… It was supposed to be a simple in-and-out: go into the old mansion, steal (although his fellow Anbu liked to call it 'obtain') a forbidden jitsu scroll that had been left behind in the aftermath of a nasty battle between two clans, and come back with it so it could be properly sealed and placed in safekeeping. That was not the way it was turning out, however, and Sasuke had to wonder briefly if the lazy jounin had actually predicted this would happen. Oh, he would have words with the other man when he got back. But for now, Sasuke returned his attention to the five (six?) shinobi gathered at the top of the old stairs that led out. Normally, he would have used a window for his escape, but his stakeout of the mansion earlier that day told him that all the windows were either blocked off or boarded up, and the quickest (and easiest) route was right down the stairs and out the front door. Not right now, it seemed.
"It's not here! They said it would be!" One.
"Maybe someone got to it first?" Two.
"No one's been in this mansion for years! It's closed off, and people think it's haunted…" One again.
"Speaking of, I have a really creepy feeling…" Three.
"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts!" One again.
"No!" Three defended himself. "I just… I feel something weird, okay?"
"R-Really? I feel something too…" Four.
"The both of you are morons." Five. "Let's just find this thing and go. I'm hungry."
"Look who's talking." Two grumbled and Sasuke barely caught it. Five didn't even hear it.
"Alright, do one more sweep of the--what is it, for godsakes?" Five was interrupted by someone.
"Seriously… I feel something coming from over there." Sasuke didn't even bother to count who it was; they were pointing at his corner! "Something…hot. Like a fire." …fire?
"There's no fire, you idiot." Six, and the leader. There are six--damn you to hell, Shikamaru!
"But…"
"No. Find that damn scroll."
"But…!"
Five sighed: "I'll go check it out, sir."
"Thank you," Six sounded like he was rolling his eyes. Number five started closer. Sasuke tried not to panic, and he forced his mind to clear so he could concentrate on a quick solution: Alright, Uchiha. There are definitely six, and you have a basic idea of where each of them is. If you leave a doppelganger here, you can rush past them and down the stairs. But, that tells them someone got there before them and the chase begins. I have to end up fighting them, whether I run or stay. So, I may as well get the jump on them…
Sasuke pulled out his trademark windmill shurinkan and lunged.
Five separate death screams rattled the dusty walls of the empty mansion. Five dull thumps of five different bodies hitting the rotting wood floorboards echoed in the darkness. Five. Five! Where's the sixth--?
The attack came from behind. Sasuke dropped the large-bladed weapon and snapped open the sword's thumbstrap, pushing the handle away from the scabbard and--
He was dead.
Sasuke blinked his fading red eyes once. Twice. Then he rubbed them and blinked three times in rapid succession. There were six bodies now, and five of them were his doing. The sixth--the leader--was sprawled in a bloody heap right behind where he had been crouching and half-turned to meet the ambush attack. The wounds were wide, jagged gashes, and the black-haired man could swear he knew the only person that actually attacked like that…
"Naruto?" he spoke aloud, and then he shook his head in denial. "No, you can't be here, you're--"
"And why can't I be here? Don't think I can handle it?"
More blinking from the black-haired Anbu. He finally saw a pair of feet that neither belonged to himself or the enemy. His eyes followed the blue-clad legs up to a slender waist tied off by a brown belt, tucked under a forest green vest that covered a broad chest that two blue-sleeved arms were crossed over. And it was all topped with a scarred, scowling face and a mass of blond spikes held back from sharp blue eyes by a metal headband tied tight against his forehead.
"Na…ruto?"
"Yeah," the blond scowled and picked up the blood-covered shurinkan, wiping it absent-mindedly across his chest, staining the vest he wore an ugly brown. Then he flipped it closed so the four bladed aligned and handed it back to his partner with a half-upset look.
Sasuke took it, feeling dumbstruck: "Did you…follow me?"
At this, Naruto grinned. "You could call it that." He pointed his chin at the sword Sasuke still had half-drawn. "In actuality, I just traced the signature I left on that sword and arrived in time to help."
"Signature?" he asked, but at the same time, it now made sense why the recently-departed shinobi had felt a fiery aura nearby. Naruto's aura--his signature. Of course.
"That's the main reason I ran off the other day, and that's why I couldn't come say goodbye to you before you left. I had to finish that."
"That?" He knew he sounded dumb, but he couldn't help it; he was still stuck on the signature thing. Naruto came up with a system like that all by himself
"Your birthday present."
"My birthday--"
"Happy birthday, Sasuke."
He did some more blinking. Truth be told, the mere thought of doing anything else right now just seemed impossible. The blond was grinning at him, but then he suddenly slapped a hand to his forehead and grimaced.
"Ah, hell," he pouted. "I told Iruka I'd meet him for lunch and I'm late. And if he finds out I did something like this, he'd kill me." His eyes flickered. "Oh yeah! So, whenever you're on a mission and you need help, or you just want to see me, just pull the sword like you did before and I'll be here." His grin softened into a smile. "Okay? Even if it's for something little, just, call me to your side, okay? I want to be able to welcome you home, and I can't do that if you're dead." That shocked Sasuke out of his…well, shock. "See you when you get home, Sasuke. Safe journey. And happy birthday again." And with another dazzling smile, Naruto was gone as quickly as he had shown up. Sasuke just stood there, half-drawn sword in his right hand and the folded up windmill shurinkan in his left, his blank and confused look covered by the white porcelain Anbu mask still pulled down over his face. Finally, he blinked one last time, turned, and headed down the stairs and out the door toward home.
Naruto… When I see you, I'm going to beat you senseless for doing something so stupid, he reasoned. Then, I'm going to kiss you until you can't breathe for giving me something so wonderful… He contemplated this and nodded in satisfaction. And then, then you can welcome me home.