Author's Note: This has been about 3/5 done for months. Part of it was actually done before I started the rest of the story. Unfortunately, I've had a terrible writer's block lately and the only thing I can do is draw. (To see the fruits of this labor, see http colon backslash backslash hoshiaka dot deviantart dot com.)

So finally, I have a new chapter out! I'm so sorry for the wait, I hope at least a few of you are still with me, though I wouldn't blame you if you weren't. -sweatdrop- About the chapter itself: I have to say, I hate how... typical some of the parts are. But I do like the mood. It's very... bipolar. LMAO, it goes from comical to serious to comical again... I'm such a terrible writer.

Reviewer Responses:

Phoe-chan: Aw, thank you so much! And Sasuke doesn't seem to need anyone to mind-rape him to give him problems, huh? lol!

Jenniyah: Thanks for your review! Yes, there will be some Akatsuki action (eventually), if I can remember what I was planning to do with it... -sweatdrop-

kirby freak: Thank you so much! I really try to use proper grammar, but I always end up making so many typos that I have to go back and fix the chapter about five times before I get it right, lol!

kawaii kitsune-kun: Lol, yeah, it's mistletoe! Thanks for your review, I think you'll like this chapter, mhm... -wink-

tracy-kins: Kya! I'm sorry for not updating! I promise, I will explain things eventually, but it's going to be a few chapters, I'm afraid. Though I do plan on throwing a few hints out now and then. Unfortunately, this chapter seems to be so superficial and devoid of them... -kicks self- Anyhow, I hope you like this one!

hujin: I'm sorry about the mistletoe and the kissing and stuff... Just between us, the fic actually started out with the mistletoe and the kissing, so it's kind of a crucial thing to the story, BUT! After I started writing it and really developing the plot, it became something entirely different. I actually almost wanted to make them punch each other in this scene... -sweatdrop- Oops! I'm spoiling the chapter, I'm sorry!

Lady Samurai: I'm sorry for not updating, but here you go! Thanks for your review!

Eleature: Thank you so much, I absolutely loved reading your review! That's exactly the way I intended the story to be, you seem to understand it really well! I'm always so paranoid that I'm going to screw it up, so if you have any pointers on the way I write the characters ("Naruto is too "this" here, try to write him more "that"), please, feel free to do so! -hug-

Jadej.j: Thank you! If you mean the sand nin, I really have no idea... I've thought about throwing them in, but I don't have any solid plans yet. -sweatdrop-

paper fox: (I like your new name!) Thanks so much! You're amazing, you really seem to have a grasp on the characters' personalities! I'm glad that you're enjoying the interaction between them. This chapter is kind of a turning point for them, but hopefully, you'll still see the same things that you like about the way they handle each other. I loved reading your review!

AnnieThePipster: I'm so sorry for not updating! -is bitten all over the place- Lol, I hope you like the chapter!

Wistful-Eyes: Thank you for your review! Here's your next chapter, though I'm sorry for how late it came out... Lol, yeah, Sasuke and Naruto sure do misunderstand each other a lot, don't they?

me: Gah! I'm so sorry! I've been meaning to update this thing, it's probably been another two months since you reviewed! ...Okay, only one, it looks like. But that's still too long! I hope this chapter makes up for it... -wink-

Thank you all for your amazing reviews! I'm just floored by every word of encouragement. You all help keep me going! -hugs you all-

Disclaimer and everything else: See the first two chapters, because I'm too lazy to state all that stuff again. :P

Locked Crimsons

Unit Six: Provoke Me

"You've got to be kidding me," the blond deadpanned, glaring up at the innocent-looking sprig of mistletoe for another moment before hurling his eyes back to Shikamaru. "You don't actually expect me to kiss that... that bastard, do you?"

Sasuke narrowed his gaze at the insult, but remained silent. All he wanted was to go home without hassle.

"Why not? It's not like you haven't kissed before," Shikamaru recalled. Neji's face morphed into confusion, as he wasn't present when the incident the boy was speaking of occured, but with a short whisper from Hinata, his smirk returned full force.

Naruto continued to protest. "Yeah, but we were younger, and it was an accident!"

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten chose that moment to saunter in curiously. "What's going on? I thought I heard..." Sakura trailed off, taking in the situation. Chouji, Kiba, the Hyuugas, and Shikamaru all stood in the foyer looking positively amused at her crush and her friend, who both stood in a doorway. Even without glancing upward, the predicament was obvious to her and to Ino and Tenten as well.

Ino giggled. "You don't mean...?"

"Oh yes," Shikamaru assured his teammate, "this is the price they'll pay for fighting at the party."

Naruto growled and let out a muted kind of grumble. He'd had a sort of hope before that if he ran fast enough, he might be able to get away relatively unscathed. Now that the rest of the girls had shown up, namely Sakura, that was no longer an option. He turned to Sasuke.

"Come on, jerk, let's get this over with."

"Fine," the addressee conceded easily, though he wasn't quite as relaxed about it as he seemed.

He's going along with this so readily, Naruto noted absentmindedly as he returned to face his ex-rival, I wonder if he's planning to punch me or something...

So what now? Did they just stand there and wait for their lips to gravitate toward each other? Sasuke sure didn't seem to be making a move; did that mean he wanted Naruto to do all the work?

"Well?" the blond murmured impatiently. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"...Maybe."

This wasn't working. Naruto was already down to his last nerve with the pale-skinned boy, and the ordeal was taking so long that he was even beginning to feel awkward. He needed to think of the situation in a different way, just long enough to get through the stupid mess. And the first solution that came to mind upon that revelation was that they needed to be provoked.

Maybe a challenge, anything to make it feel competitive or... I dunno, violent.

Naruto leaned a negligible amount closer to the other boy and gave another murmur, "Come on, our first kiss did suck, don't you want to prove you can do better? Or are you scared you haven't improved?" And with a bit of effort... there! a smirk to finish it off.

"Scared...?" Naruto didn't even have to try to widen his smirk when a slight frown appeared on the stoic face before him. Success! Just a little more, and maybe they could even finish what they'd started earlier, if in a bit of an unorthodox way. He leaned closer.

"Yeah, you heard me, coward," he said in a whisper meant only for the Uchiha's ears. "After all, you're scared of the truth, why not this, too?"

And that did it. With a feral growl, Sasuke crushed his lips to a waiting Naruto's, earning gasps from all persons whose mouths weren't presently occupied.

Naruto tried to submerge himself in the kiss, or rather, the assault. Rather than letting himself be led, however, he attacked back with equal force, nipping, biting, and sucking at the other's lips. He let loose all the anger and frustration that had been gnawing at him over the lasthour and poured it like gasoline into the firey exchange.

Sasuke, though understanding that the kiss was a fight, was slightly unprepared for the sheer violence of Naruto's reactions and unsure at first how to respond to the energy he was being greeted with. A slightly gentler sensation, and then there was a break in the kiss.

"What, is that all you've got?" was breathed into his lips.

Sasuke growled and dove in again, not willing to lose the little battle. Now he let himself go completely, taking every punch and kick that he'd been wanting to give to Naruto and translating them into a barrage of oral attacks. But he didn't stop there -- he dug up all the desperation and hopelessness he'd felt during the months since he'd returned and used them to fuel the fire as well.

The blonde ninja succumbed to a slight 'meep' at his rival's sudden increase in passion, unexpectedly finding himself pressed between the wooden doorframe and a cloth-covered chest. A cold hand made its way to his warm cheek, and a foreign knee between his legs secured him firmly in place. Despite the flicker of doubt that had sprung up with Sasuke's last move, Naruto allowed his body to do what it wanted, his hands darting up to grasp the dark-haired boy's collar and drag him further in. His tongue slid none-too-gently against the other's lips, but couldn't force its way past. Instead, barely a moment after Naruto let up, Sasuke pushed his own tongue through.

Eyes snapping open, Naruto was caught completely off-guard by the change in dominance. He tried to pull away, but the moment air hit his mouth, he heard another deep growl from Sasuke and was violently jerked back into the boy's lips.

Well fine, two could play at that game! Naruto's brows knitted together as he took the initiative and fought back against the other body, pushing them both from his side of the doorframe to slam the taller boy against the other side.

Neither let up for nearly another minute, Sasuke's arms at some point trapping Naruto's torso and the blond trying ferociously to suffocate his companion while simultaneously attempting to pull his hair out. Finally, however, the kiss broke, leaving Sasuke's breathing considerably more ragged than Naruto's.

"Ha, I win..." the blonde huffed, having expended a surprising amount of energy in the 'fight'. He slowly raised his body from that of his rival, allowing them both to stand up straight.

It was then that Naruto noticed something: entire room had gone dead silent. During his and the dark-haired boy's little exchange, he'd completely forgotten that there were other people in the room. Now, of course, he was forced to come to terms with that fact. Turning to face his fate (what is this, the apocalypse?), however, he found himself in yet another unexpected problem.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Iruka asked, in a tone that decisively left no room for any bullshit.

The other jaw-dropped shinobi had cleared the way submissively, only Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Ino, and Sakura remaining. Naruto figured Kiba presumably got sick watching, Tenten may have gotten bored or gone to find Kiba, and Hinata... where did Hinata go?

"Um..." Naruto really had no idea what to say that could possibly suffice for any part of what had just happened. He looked to Sasuke, only to see him... blushing? Oh god, he wasn't going to be any help at all. So Naruto did as Naruto does: he pointed at Shikamaru and yelled, "It was his fault!"

Iruka glanced from Naruto to Shikamaru, and then back again. The blond looked ready to sweat to death, and the accused still leaned casually against the wall, neither affirming nor denying Naruto's words. Sasuke just turned his head to face the other way, quite possibly contemplating running away.

"Naruto," Iruka began dangerously, "did I not specifically tell you there was to be no physical confrontation and/or sexual activity in my house?"

Naruto was quickly becoming frightened. "Yes..."

"And were you not moments ago engaging in not one, but both of the aforesaid forbidden situations?"

"...No?"

And before the blond could process what was going on, his left ear had been kidnapped, dragging the rest of his body along with it. "You and I are going to have a long talk, young man."

"But-" Naruto struggled, but Iruka gave a sharp tug to silence the protest. "Ouch! Ugh, hey Sasuke!"

The boy in question abruptly jerked his eyes in Naruto's direction.

"Don't you dare leave yet, you bastard! We're gonna try talking about this one more time, you got it? Right after- Ow!" Naruto then disappeared behind another door.

And Sasuke suddenly found the remaining five pairs of eyes on him. Am I really going to stay here like that idiot says?


tbc!

Well will he? -shrug-

If you review, maybe it'll remind me to get my (CENSORED!) moving, lolz. Ciao!