Naruto walked to work feeling liberated ever since the whole ordeal began. He had just declared war on Uchiha Sasuke, and he felt good, no he felt great! On his way to work Naruto was singing and dancing the entire time. Hinata welcomed him to work and saw his cheery attitude. He smiled happily at her and went to go change. When he came out of the back room, Hinata had to ask why he was so happy today. Naruto laughed and at first said that nothing in particular made him happy, he just was. "Oooh, is it maybe because of Hyuuga Neji?" Hinata looked at him and waited. Naruto stared at her in shock and finally shook his head. "No no no no! You...don't…he…just cause he helped out once doesn't mean that I like him or anything like that!" Naruto huffed. "Ah ok Naruto-kun, sorry…" "Since you are so intent on hearing why I'm so happy its because I feel liberated today!" "Liberated?" "Yes! Oooh Hinata you should have been there! That jerk Sasuke actually smashed all my ramen onto the floor and so you know what I did?" Hinata shook her head. "I punched him in the face." Hinata practically fell to the floor after hearing that remark. "Heh that wimp didn't even say anything! Not that I gave him a chance to." Hinata began to worry about Naruto, just a little bit.
The next day, Naruto was walking on his way to school, as usual. He noticed something a little different today. He was being followed. Naruto ran as fast as possible, but was cornered into an alley. He struggled to get out of the men's grasp. "No!" Naruto went limp when one man placed a handkerchief to his face. While Naruto was unconscious, he was placed nude under a sheet. Then, five people surrounded him, all wearing gloves. When Naruto awoke, he was on a bed. He didn't quite feel like himself, and when he stood up he had an uneasy feeling. He looked around the room and spotted none other than Uchiha Sasuke. Instantly he glared, but as Sasuke smirked he looked around the room. He realized he was in the Uchiha mansion. "Why did you bring me here!" Sasuke merely pointed to a long body length mirror. Naruto turned around and he was shocked. He wore an all white tuxedo, except for the bow, which was a beautiful sky blue, to match his eyes. His shoes were shiney, and also white, perfectly matching his outfit. On his cuffs were cufflinks that sparkled. And last but not least was the silk handkerchief that matched the bow, and had UN embroidered on it. Naruto turned around to see the smug look on Sasuke's face.
The spa treatment you received today was worth ten thousand dollars including the hair stylist who came from Italy. The hand made suit itself cost almost two hundred thousand dollars, which was imported from France. The cufflinks are also from france, are worth one million dollars for the both of them. The shoes are leather and cost five hundred. The bow tie is also from france, hand made with silk, it cost another five hundred. The silk handkerchief cost one hundred thousand, being hand made, imported and embroidered. Total cost is one million three hundred and eleven thousand dollars. Naruto stared at him blankly. "You're not doing this to force me into debt are you!" Naruto shouted and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. A loud laughter ensued. "Don't be silly, I'm not that petty." He walked toward Naruto and came close to him. Sasuke's face was as close to Naruto's as it has ever been.
Sasuke began to pace around Naruto as he spoke. "Look at you. You are now stunning. An image of beauty." Sasuke stopped directly in front of Naruto and faced him again. "Admit it, You want things like this. You like the tuxedo, knowing that you can be dressed so nicely. Not bad if I do say so myself. Even the handkerchief matches you beautifully. Now all you have to do is take back that declaration of yours. Go ahead! Take these things, if you want more I'll give it to you. Smile and be happy. Turn and look at yourself in the mirror once more." Sasuke placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders to make him face the mirror once more. Naruto slapped his hands away and a look of shock came across Sasuke's features. "Don't be stupid! How can I smile knowing it was you giving me all these things! I Hate you! You think that just because you're rich you can go off and buy people! Well not me!" Naruto glared at Sasuke who looked like he had been punched in the face. Naruto turned away from him and stormed out of the room.
Naruto was completely lost. He wandered into room after room and found nothing. "Where is my school uniform!" Naruto was shouting out of frustration. Suddenly, everything stopped. He saw a beautiful picture of a woman. Naruto blushed at the image. It was her wedding picture. The woman had beautiful black hair that was slightly curled. Her eyes were red and she looked to be in her early twenties. He heard footsteps and curses coming his way so he decided to try another room.
Sasuke cursed at his absent-mindedness. He was shocked. How DARE some lowly poor person talk to HIM like that! More importantly, what he had said stung a bit. Sasuke shook his head. 'Who cares what that idiot had to say, I just need to get him out of here before Itachi finds him.' Sasuke walked down the hall; still cursing he entered his sister's room. "Hn, Could have sworn I heard someone in here." He looked at his sister's wedding picture. She seemed so happy…seemed being the key word.
Naruto found his way to the first floor, but had yet to find his lunchbox and uniform. He was shocked when the door suddenly opened and four bodyguards filled in followed by a very pretty person. At first, Naruto was unsure if it was a man or a woman. Getting a closer look, the person seemed a bit masculine despite his long hair and painted purple nails. From the muttering of a guard, Naruto found out that the person's name was Itachi, confirming the gender of the person to be male. Suddenly Naruto froze as Itachi looked right at him. Naruto blushed and bowed a bit. Itachi waved his hand at the bodyguards ordering them to disperse. He walked up to Naruto at lifted his chin. Naruto was embarrassed at this point. "Who are you?" Naruto looked away, unable to look this person in the eye. Itachi's eyes were red, similar to the girl in the photo he had seen earlier. "U..Uzumaki Naruto…" Itachi narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Naruto stayed silent.
Itachi moved his hand from his chin to the top of his head. He then moved his hand down to Naruto's check, squeezing it softly. "What is an adorable boy like you doing here in my mansion? Did someone send you here?" Naruto began to get nervous. Something about this person was creepy. As Itachi moved closer and closer, Naruto moved farther and farther until he reached the wall. "I got you now…" Itachi smirked. 'What a beauty this young one is…where did he come from?' "Stop!" Itachi looked up to see Sasuke glaring at him from the stairs. "He is my guest and you should treat him as such." Itachi backed away from a blushing Naruto and Sasuke stared at the both of them. "I guess I'll see you around, Naru-chan" Itachi went up the stairs, passing by Sasuke as if he didn't exsist. Naruto was about to yell at Itachi for calling him "Naru-chan" when a hand closed over his mouth. "Don't say anything to him." Sasuke whispered in Naruto's ear. Naruto shoved him off. "Don't tell me what to do! And give me my things so I can go!" Naruto left everything Sasuke put on him, lest he give him the wrong idea by taking anything. He left the mansion as he had left his house that morning.
Naruto still went to school and found all of his classmates around his desk. "Ooh I wonder if he finally gave up?" "Maybe he was taken care of by Sasuke-kun" "What if he's somewhere on the bottom of the ocean?" "Nah, he's probably just chicken." Naruto stood behind the crowd and shouted. "Sorry to disappoint all of you, but I'm live and kickin' right here!" He sat in his desk and the day proceeded like all the others. Taunts from his classmates and teachers acting as if he never exsisted.
While at work, a new face came into view. It was none other than Sakura. Sakura looked between Naruto and Hinata and was about to walk away when Naruto spoke up. "Can I help you with something?" Sakura turned around but didn't look at him. "I wanted to…I don't want to bother you at work…" Naruto laughed. "Well I'll be getting off in like five minutes, do you want anything in the meantime? This is a snack shop you know." Sakura looked up at him and smiled. After work, Naruto decided the least he could do was walk Sakura home. "So Sakura-chan, what exactly did you want to tell me?" Sakura fidgeted with her hands and spoke a little softly. "I…I wanted to apologize for ignoring you at school…it was wrong of me and I'm sorry…" Naruto smiled and stopped her from walking any further. "It's ok Sakura-chan, but does that mean we're friends again?" Sakura smiled and nodded. Naruto spoke again, "It's ok if you don't want to talk to me in school, I understand. We can exchange phone numbers and stuff." Naruto and Sakura began walking again. "Oh hey Sakura-chan! Why don't we be pen pals? I always wanted one. Here I'll give you my number and my e-mail ok?" "That sounds great Naruto-kun!" Naruto stopped in his tracks when he saw a familiar figure on a bench. "Wait here ok Sakura-chan?" Naruto jogged over not even noticing the black car close to them. The window rolled down to reveal none other than Uchiha Sasuke who stared at Naruto.
Naruto went over to the figure and walked around to see his face. "Neji! I thought it was you!" Naruto looked at where Neji was staring. He was looking at a giant billboard of Anko. "Oh hey, Neji, Did you know that Anko is the reason I attend Konoha! I was so moved by her words that I decided right then and there to attend the same school that she did!" Naruto smiled at Neji, but Neji seemed to be elsewhere in his mind. Finally he spoke "Naruto, do you happen to know the time difference between here and France?" Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I have no clue. Oh speaking of France, Anko is in France now right? I hear she's a famous model there!" Neji smiled "Yea I hear she's really famous in France, but I think she's getting famous here too." Naruto looked to see Sakura looking around and decided it was time to head back. "Well I'll see you at school tomorrow! Bye!" Neji waved goodbye and Naruto headed back to Sakura. "Sorry about that." Naruto smiled and Sakura shook her head. "I didn't mind, not at all." Naruto and Sakura continued to walk until a black car came up to them. The car stopped and the driver came out. "Miss Sakura, Sorry I missed you earlier…" Sakura looked at Naruto and back at the driver. "It's ok, but can we give my friend a ride home?" Naruto blushed and shook his head "It's ok I can walk…" Sakura had already opened the door and gestured him to sit in the car.
Naruto walked up the stairs to his apartment when he saw Jiraiya, his neighbor, who winked at him and gave him a pat on the back. "Way to go Naruto, She's a cute one." When Naruto came through the door Ikura, who was grinning wide, greeted him. "So who is this Sakura-chan? Hm?" Naruto looked at him in shock. "How did you…" Ikura smiled at him "Well someone was yelling outside 'see you tomorrow Sakura-chaan!' So, is she your girlfriend or something? You can tell me." Naruto blushed. "No no she's just a friend of mine. She came by my work today, and offered to give me a ride home that's all." Ikura nodded. "Right ok Naruto, whatever you say. Well, dinner will be ready soon, so clean up ok?" Naruto huffed and Ikura placed his hand on Naruto's head, ruffling up his hair a little. "Go on, you don't want the food to be cold when you get out right?" Naruto's eyed widened and he ran into the bathroom. In the tub, Naruto smiled and thought about what Neji and him talked about. It was decided, Naruto would need to look up the time difference between Japan and France. Naruto shook his head. "Anyway, I'm glad Sakura-chan and I are friends again. She's the one I like. Yup, I'll ask her to go out with me in secret…" Naruto said that out loud, but he couldn't help but think of Neji and how kind he was to him. Naruto smiled and got out of the tub. After he ate dinner, Naruto retreated into his room. He lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time. "Arg! Now I have to find out…" Naruto got up from his bed and looked at his computer. It was rather old, but at least it worked, and it had Internet access. Again, not the fastest Internet access, he had dialed up which seemed to take forever, but at least it worked. Naruto stayed up looking for the time difference between France and Japan. "Ah here it is!" Naruto looked carefully at the screen. Naruto smiled. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.
The next day, Naruto headed to the stairs balcony, hoping to see Hyuuga Neji again. 'I'm just gonna tell him the answer and that's all…' Naruto was relieved to see him standing there, book in hand. Naruto walked up to him and his heart raced a little faster. Neji turned around to see him. "Come to relieve more stress?" Naruto laughed a little. He did come here to do that usually, but today was different. "I found the answer…It's seven hours." Neji looked at him and thought for a moment. "Ah I see, thank you." Naruto smiled and looked at his watch. "Oh, I gotta go…"Naruto turned to leave. "See you." Naruto turned and smiled at Neji. "Sure" With that said, Naruto left to go to his locker. On his way there he saw Sakura. They smiled at each other without saying anything; after all, he wouldn't want Sakura to get in trouble for him. They parted ways and Naruto continued on. Before he got a chance to open his locker, he heard something horrible.
"It's a red notice! Haruno Sakura got a red notice!" Naruto looked towards the shouting and ran to look for Sakura. Everyone was swarming around him. They all seemed headed to the lunchroom. Naruto became more worried than before. The lunchroom was the place Sasuke usually cut down the people who defied him. 'He wouldn't hurt Sakura…would he?" Naruto got there out of breath to see Sakura. She had her arms around her body, and she was crying. Naruto got angry that Sasuke would resort to such a thing. Sakura was covered in eggs, which were still being thrown at her. Naruto moved to the center of the crowd and stood by Sakura. "Leave her alone!" Sakura looked up to see Naruto, standing be her side. Just as she looked up, someone in the crowd covered her with flour. Sakura collapsed to the floor, and Naruto came to her side. "She has nothing to do with this! I'm the one that declared war on you! Not her!" Sasuke sat there. "You think I care? She's against me that's all." Sasuke looked to the side and one of his right hand men. The young boy then took a bottle of soy sauce and flung it at Naruto and Sakura. Naruto blocked the small bottle and it was sent flying, only to land on, and stain, Sasuke's white shoes. Now he was angry.
Sasuke got up and began to walk toward the duo. Naruto and Sakura began to look very small, huddled together on the floor, while Sasuke was looking very threatening. He got to the front of Naruto and looked down at him. "Lick it. Lick it off." Naruto looked around not sure of what to do. He was in trouble that was for sure, and if he left now, the crowd would push him back into place. Naruto bent down not sure of what to do. Suddenly a voice called out. "You were wrong." Naruto looked up, as did Sakura. Neji stood there, and came to the center of the crowd, standing next to Naruto; he bent down to face him. "You forgot about daylight savings time. It's an eight hour difference." Sasuke looked between the two and stormed off. "Forget this! This is stupid anyway!" The crowd dispersed and all that was left were the two sitting in the middle of the floor.
The next day, Naruto did not see Sakura at school, and it was a shame too, since everyone seemed to be treating him differently that day. Naruto walked into class, and everyone applauded him. During lunchtime, Temari, Tenten, and Ino came up to talk to him. He looked at them, expecting a taunt or to be teased. "Oi Naruto! We're gonna go to a party tonight!" "Yea Yea! Please say you'll come!" "We were waiting for someone to stand up to Sasuke like that!" Naruto looked at them disbelieving at first, but then he responded. "It's ok I don't have anything to wear anyway." The three girls looked at each other and then back at him. "But Naruto! It's a casual party!" "Yea it's a welcome home party!" "Here are the directions, please think about it!" Ino handed him the paper with the address and direction. Naruto didn't know what to think. He took the paper and he nodded at them before walking off. Apparently Neji's help allowed him to become popular in the school. Naruto had never been popular…ever. It felt kind of weird to be the center of attention all of a sudden.
Naruto was walking up to his apartment when his neighbor Jiraiya had come out. 'Probably going to do some pervy stuff and end up drunk outside of his apartment again…' Naruto smiled at him as he walked by. His ex-babysitter smiled back and noticed the small paper in Naruto's hand. "What do you have there Naruto?" Naruto looked up at him and didn't know what to say. "It's a party invitation for tonight, but I don't think I'll go…" Jiraiya perked up at this. "Why is that?" Naruto sighed and continued. "It was an invite from these girls who used to hate me, but all of a sudden they were nice to me. I wouldn't know what to wear anyway." Jiraiya nodded in thought. "Perhaps it would be best to stay away, but…if it were me, I would go anyway. Who could turn down chicks and a party?" Jiraiya leaned in to make sure Naruto was paying attention. "BUT! I would be very cautious while I was there" Jiraiya patted Naruto on the back and walked off. "See ya Naruto." Naruto looked to see Jiraiya's walking away, waving. "Bye Ero!" Jiraiya's hand turned into a fist, but by the time he turned around Naruto was gone.
While walking into the apartment, Naruto seemed to have forgotten that he had a paper in his hands. He left to his room to relax for a while until he heard a nock at the door. "Naruto? I came home early today…I found this on the floor…" Naruto opened his door to see Iruka standing there. "Naruto, aren't you getting ready for the party?" Naruto shook his head. "I don't feel like going." Iruka looked confused. "Well I was going to tell you how you shouldn't come home late…but now it seems I'll have to convince you into actually going there…" Naruto sighed. "It's ok I don't fit in anyway." Iruka smiled, having thought of a "hostage" he could use in these situations. "Nonsense! Get ready and go to the party or else no ramen for a month!" Naruto's mouth nearly hit the floor. "WHAAT!" Iruka smiled "You heard me, you are going out there and socializing! I want you to make new friends!" Naruto sighed and slumped on his bed. "Ok, I'll get dressed." Iruka closed the door.
Before the party, Uchiha Sasuke sat doing a puzzle. Lately he was feeling upset because of a certain poor blond boy, although he would die before admitting that the boy actually got to him. He glanced at the suit that Naruto had worn, it was laid out on a small loveseat next to him. He turned around and straightened his bow tie, pushing all thoughts of the boy from his mind.
Naruto was at the door, thinking about things. He wanted to not go to the party, but he couldn't lie to Iruka either. Also, he didn't have anywhere else to go tonight. He took a deep breath before walking in the huge gate doors. As he got into the ballroom he realized that he was in fact underdressed. He wore the best clothes he had, which consisted of a nice pair of slacks with a button up shirt. However, he noted that the other men at the party were wearing tuxedos, and all the girls were in ballroom dresses. Naruto saw a familiar figure far off. 'Was that Hinata? No way, she wouldn't be in a place like this…' Naruto was not only embarrassed, but he was a bit depressed. He knew he shouldn't have come here. He made his way out to the pool side and sat there feeling sorry for himself. A young girl came by and began to talk to him. "Hi! You've got some interesting taste there…" She smiled at him and Naruto looked up at her smiling. This small moment of happiness was cut short when the three girls arrived. Temari, Tenten, and Ino stood there a moment until Ino spoke up. "Oh don't waste your time on this guy…he's only interested in men." The girl who had talked to him blushed in embarrassment before running away. Naruto looked up at them and they laughed in his face. All of them were holding drinks in hand and drinking while they made fun of him. "Oh? Didn't you know we were kidding when we said it was casual?" Temari taunted him. "Yea, you look ridiculous!" Tenten added. "Don't think that just because Hyuuga Neji is nice to you that he's interested in hanging out with you. He probably doesn't even want to be your friend!" Ino laughed after the remark. Temari pointed toward Neji and Anko as they came walking past into the hall. "Lookie there! He's gonna be so busy since his fiancé will be in town that he won't care what happens to someone as lowly as you!" Naruto felt a small pain in his chest as he saw Anko and Neji walk by. Temari then proceeded to pour her drink all over Naruto's head. "Opps it looks like my hand slipped!" Naruto flinched at this and felt another drink being poured on him. All three girls had drenched him in their drinks, laughing.
Uchiha Sasuke saw the whole thing. 'Why doesn't he shout at them they way he does to me?' He got up, ready to give those annoying girls a piece of his mind for disrupting the party like that when Neji suddenly stood up and walked over. He looked at the girls who stood there in shock, and bent over to be face to face with Naruto. "It seems as though you got wet. You don't have a handkerchief?" Naruto shook his head side to side. "Ooh? Naruto is soo poor he can't even afford a handkerchief?" Ino boasted this as the others laughed at him. Neji said nothing, but held out his own handkerchief to Naruto. Naruto took the handkerchief and mumbled a thank you. Anko came along looking at the commotion. "Ooh how nice of you three to come to my party." The three girls looked and Anko and smiled. "Anko-san! Welcome back!" "We missed you!" "We're glad to see you again!" Anko nodded and took out a bottle. "Well a party is nothing without drinks right?" Anko shook the bottle and opened it, spraying the contents all over the three girls, causing them to fall into the pool. Anko smiled at Naruto and offered her hand.
Naruto was taken to a room, a big room that was presumable Anko's. "Um are you…? Uh…Isn't it bad that I'm in your room?" Anko almost laughed at that remark. "The only bad thing about today is the way those girls treated you." Anko turned around and held out a nice tuxedo, about the right size for Naruto. "I hope this fits, my brother may be a bit taller than you. Your short for your age aren't you?" Anko patted him on the head and laughed. "Ah, but that makes you cute!" Naruto blushed at this. "I…why are you helping me?" Naruto got dressed and Anko turned to give him privacy. "Well, why can't I? Anyway, I think Neji really likes you!" Naruto finished dressing and she turned around. "Oooh you look really cute!" "I don't think Neji really cares, I'm just a classmate…" "Nonsense! He always talks about you." Naruto felt something in his chest. 'Do I really like Neji?' Naruto walked over to Anko's dresser and saw her pictures. "Is this Neji?" Anko looked at the picture and smiled. "Oh yes that's him with the other three. They had fun, especially when they came to play with my brother. The picture was of four small boys and one small girl, all smiling into the camera. "I've never seen him this happy…" Naruto turned to find a pair of shoes that were set in font of him. They were black, with small diamonds in the shape of a square below the tongue of the shoe. The tuxedo was nice enough being a classic black and white tux, with a silver bow tie and handkerchief. The shoes were just amazing. Naruto shook his head. "I can't take all of this…" Anko ruffled his hair. "Just be grateful, my brother is so snotty he probably won't even notice. Besides, if he saw who it was for, he would probably give it to you gladly in exchange for a kiss." She winked at him and he blushed deeply, excepting the outfit happily.
Naruto walked down the stairs into the ballroom. Anko followed him and smiled at the shyness shown from Naruto. He was a cute kid, and she somehow thought that he would be cute with her brother. 'Sai is an idiot though, Neji seems more suitable.' Naruto walked to the center of the room, feeling as though many people had their eye on him. Most of the room looked at the beautiful young boy, both boys and girls hoping to talk to him began rushing over. However, no one would dare approach the boy unless the F4 talked to him first. Neji came up to Naruto and smiled at him. "You…look handsome" Naruto smiled the biggest smile he had for quite some time. Through all of his troubles, times like this made him happy. He really did have a crush on Neji. Anko stood next to him, showing off her hard work at making Naruto as handsome as he was.
Sasuke stood up, rattling the chair as he did so. He couldn't take anymore. Seeing that damn brat smiling happily. He gave him the same treatment and got nothing. No reaction. And here this girl comes in and Neji even compliments him! Sasuke walked over to the three of them standing together. "Who gave permission to talk to him?" Sasuke pointed an accusing finger towards Naruto. Anko tried to lessen up the mood. "Oh I see Sasuke, you think he's cute this way huh?" Anko smiled at him. Sasuke was not happy. "No I think he looks stupid. No one allowed you to talk to him or help him in any way! I won't forgive you Anko!" Sasuke was shouting at her and getting closer. Neji quickly stepped between them. "Then, I can't forgive you for talking to Anko in such a way." Naruto looked between the two. The tension was clearly visible. Seemingly out of nowhere, Sasuke punched Neji in the face and sent him stumbling back. Neji steadied himself and wiped at his mouth. He stood proud and held his head up. Sasuke was angry that the two of them would defy him like that. He lunged for Neji.
Naruto saw Sasuke lunge for Neji and tried to stop him. "NO!" Naruto dove in and pushed Sasuke to the ground. Everyone gathered around disbelieving. "Well that's not bad" Lee said, laughing a bit. "That's a good way to stop him…" Kiba was smiling with a glint in his teeth. Anko looked at the two of them, just as shocked at Neji was. Naruto was sprawled out on the floor, with Sasuke on top of him. The two looked at each other wide-eyed and lips locked.
Author's Note: Sorry for the late update " I lost my flash disk and it scared the heck outta me! "
