A/N: This will be the final chapter before the final round of the chunin exams begins. I promised you something cute, so I'm giving it to you. There *will* be another scene that's quite a bit less wholesome, but it won't involve Naruto or Satsuki.

So, most of this chapter is gonna make y'all happy

Time for Chapter 43

Enjoy!


Naruto despised crowds.

They were inconvenient, nearly always ill-placed, and popped up at the most inopportune times. Beyond that, they were disorienting. Loud noise coming from all directions, a blur of colors and faces, and immensely irritating foot-traffic made navigating through the clusters of people a royal pain. Unfortunately, the Jinchuuriki found himself neck-deep in a rather large crowd at present. As it turned out, the final matches of the Chunin Exams were considered something of a national holiday. They were set to take place the next afternoon, and people were coming out in droves a day early.

'I just wanted some groceries.' Naruto grumbled mentally. On the positive ends of things, there had been no jeers or sideways looks of displeasure at his public appearance. They were all simply too distracted by the festivities to care. The streets were packed, and they were loud, but at least they were peaceful. Pushing his way through a seemingly endless sea of people, Naruto kept his eyes fixed on the sign of the convenience store from which he bought his food each week. The entrance was less than fifty feet away, but the journey was poised to be a long one.

As he rushed to reach his destination, he lost focus, and disregarded his surroundings for a moment. His concentration returned to him too late, as when he turned his focus back to what was directly in front of him, he was already within centimeters of another person's skull. Knocking heads, both Naruto and his unfortunate victim fell to their rear ends.

"Sorry, that was on me." the blonde muttered, rubbing his forehead as the stars cleared from his vision. When he had his wits about him again, he took a more measured look at who he had crashed into. Staring at him with slightly wide eyes was his very own teammate, Satsuki Uchiha. He had not seen even a shadow of her in nearly two weeks. Her outfit was as it always was. A blue shirt bearing the crest of her family, and a matching skirt that stopped just above her knees. Her hair appeared a bit shorter, though it still dropped well past her shoulders.

"Long time no see." Naruto greeted her, grinning at the development. Satsuki visibly flinched, as though she had been snapped from a stupor. Blinking several times, the Uchiha girl rose up to her feet and offered him a hand. Taking it after a moment, Naruto was pulled to his feet. Oddly, her grip on his palm lingered for a few seconds after he was fully upright.

"Anybody home?" Naruto joked, snapping his fingers in front of her face. She had still yet to speak. Lightly swatting his hand away from her face, Satsuki knelt down and picked up a bag she had dropped during their fall.

"Sorry. It's a little loud out here." she replied, her eyes drifting up and down his frame as she spoke. Naruto nodded in agreement and made a wide motion with his hands.

"It's kinda wild to me that people care so much about a few fights, but hey, maybe we'll get a cut of the ticket sales." he said humorously. Satsuki momentarily showed a small smile, but it quickly faded away. She appeared rather unsure. Of what, Naruto could not tell.

"What are you out and about for? Kind of a bad time either way." Satsuki asked. The Jinchuuriki pointed over the heads of the mob toward the convenience store.

"I'm out of bread and everything with protein in it. Honestly, though, the place looks packed." he explained. The Uchiha glanced down at her own bag.

"It's like a can of sardines in there. It took me almost forty minutes to grab this stuff and pay for it." she said. They had come with similar goals, it seemed. She had simply beaten him to it. Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well, wish me luck, then. Sounds like I'm gonna need it." he said with a laugh. He then began to step past her, determined to run his errand before the store ran completely out of stock. He was stopped by Satsuki's hand taking a grip on the back of his sleeve.

"Hey, wait." she said, tugging him back slightly. Naruto halted and turned back around again. The raven-haired girl's expression was one of slight apprehension, but her grip was firm.

"I bought supplies to make myself dinner back at home, but I think I went overboard." she said, leaving her aim in stopping him somewhat ambiguous. In his density, Naruto failed to catch on.

"Why're you telling me that?" he pressed skeptically. Satsuki let out a long sigh, holding up her bag and presenting it to him.

"Do you wanna help me eat this stuff? We fight tomorrow, so I don't want to get stuffed and have stomach issues during my match." she offered. Naruto perked up at the proposal. It would certainly save him the trouble of shopping in a crowd, and it would be an ample chance to catch up after her long absence.

"Sure, I'm down." he said with a nod. Satsuki appeared to relax somewhat at his words. She then began to walk off down the leftmost street, the direction of the Uchiha sector. Jogging to catch up with her, Naruto weaved around several people before finally falling into step with her again. Her pace was brisk.

"It's not a race, ya know." the blonde complained as they walked along. He then knocked shoulders with somebody by accident, stumbling a bit from the unexpected impact. Satsuki promptly took him by the wrist and pulled him shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

"The faster we move, the sooner we get home. You're gonna get yourself hurt with your attention span." she said curtly, not bothering to let go of him. Naruto began to retort, but decided against it. He was being offered food and a place to eat. He had no room to argue. Wincing slightly, Naruto tugged against her hold on his wrist.

"You're gonna break something." he said. Satsuki gave him a sideways glance. Her hand then slid down from his wrist to his palm, her fingers interlocking with his.

"Better?" she asked. The blonde looked from her expectant face to their bound hands and vice versa several times.

"Yeah, much." he said, adjusting his own fingers to better fit with hers. Satsuki turned her gaze straight ahead once again. Why she was insisting on keeping him on a near-literal leash was lost on the Jinchuuriki, but he had little desire to complain. As he had acknowledged to himself days prior, he had missed her. Nothing was said over the following five minutes as they trekked to her empty neighborhood. Despite the silence, Naruto could have sworn that he caught her smiling inwardly several times.

Eventually, they reached her front gate, which was locked as per usual. Finally letting go of him, Satsuki reached down and pulled a key from her sandal. It was an odd place to keep such an important item, but if nothing else, it was less likely to be stolen that way.

'To each their own, I guess.' Naruto thought to himself as she opened the gate. Once the entrance was fully open, she beckoned him inside, to which he quickly obliged. Closing the gate again, Satsuki led him along down the empty street. Taking cursory looks around, Naruto recalled the first time he had been within her domain. Quiet, solemn, but in the end, shockingly warm.

Studying the pale girl walking just in front of him, Naruto smiled at the memory. It was a positive one, if just for its ending. He had seldom few, so he cherished what little he had. Soon enough, they were at the steps of her home.

"It's kind of a mess. Try not to judge." Satsuki muttered, opening the front door for him. Stepping inside, Naruto kicked off his sandals and stretched his legs. From what he could see, the entryway was no more disheveled than it had been during his last visit, and what little he could see of the kitchen through the hallway appeared mostly in order. Satsuki joined him soon after his own entrance, nudging him along toward the kitchen.

"Take a seat. I'll make dinner." the Uchiha girl said, pointing to the dining table as they entered the kitchen. Naruto did as he was told and sat himself down. Without another word, Satsuki made her way over to the counter and began to unpack the bag she had been carrying. Of all the things Naruto had ever expected to occur upon the formation of Team Seven, Satsuki Uchiha willingly cooking for him was most certainly not on that short list.

'She made the offer, too.' Naruto thought to himself. It was a surprise, to be sure. A pleasant one, but a surprise all the same. As he watched the girl fiddle with the dials on her stove and sift through the ingredients she had at her disposal, Naruto's mind applied a label to his present situation.

Satsuki had coaxed him into a date.

It was short-notice, which challenged the notion, but reviewing the conversation that had led them to the kitchen, Naruto found very little logic in what she had told him. Not wishing to overeat the night before a competition was fair enough, but he was hardly needed to avoid such a result. She could have simply stored away the extra for later use. The more carefully he considered the details, the clearer it became that she had simply wanted an excuse to bring him home.

'You could have just asked.' Naruto silently projected to his teammate, a humorous smirk forming on his face. Satsuki was many things, but as it appeared currently, subtle was not one of them. The Jinchuuriki could feel no ulterior motives or intentions from his teammate. As far as he could tell, she wanted company, and had been too hesitant to request it directly.

'It sorta fits, I guess. She usually just takes what she wants instead of asking for it.' Naruto mused. She hadn't forced him to join her for dinner, per se, but she had hurried him along the moment he'd agreed to do so. Her intrinsic hastiness spoke to an underlying anxiety that Naruto found quite relatable. Leaning back in his chair, the blonde looked on humorously as Satsuki prepared their food.

'Never thought I'd say this about you, but you're cute.'


Satsuki stared at the chicken sizzling in the pan impatiently. She had considered burning it with her chakra to speed up the process, but she dared not risk ruining the meal. In most cases, she would not have minded waiting fifteen minutes, especially not for fairly expensive meat. Unfortunately, she was very much not operating under normal circumstances. She was being observed. She could practically feel Naruto's eyes following each move she made. She could hardly blame him. The dining room was bland. There wasn't even a picture on the wall to study.

She had made her own bed, and now she was sleeping with it. She had not planned on seeking the Jinchuuriki out before their cell's scheduled reunion the next day, but as fate would have it, the choice had never been hers to begin with. Her initial instinct upon quite literally knocking heads with him had been to scurry along and maintain her distance for the final day of their preparation, but the moment he'd spoken, she was unable to do so. He had looked and sounded genuinely pleased to see her again. Relieved, almost.

'I never gave him any warning. I just disappeared.' she thought to herself. With context, his enthusiasm made a fair degree of sense. He was as solitary as she was, if not more so. Separation without explanation was almost certainly an unpleasant experience from his perspective. There was no point in fretting now. As awkward and poorly thought out as her offer had been, Naruto was now in her kitchen. In reality, her sudden hospitality had not been planned in advance whatsoever.

The moment it had become clear that the Jinchuuriki was poised to go about his day and leave her in the crowd, she panicked. As short as their conversation had been up to that point, Satsuki had latched onto the feeling again with no intention of letting go. Thankfully, Naruto was easily manipulated. As her mother had always told her, the quickest way to a man's heart was through their stomach. She had never expected the advice to matter much, given how little attention she had paid to the opposite gender throughout much of her life.

Even her initiative to hold him by the hand on their walk back to the Uchiha sector had not been intended as a gesture of forwardness. In part, she had taken hold of him to prevent herself from subconsciously retreating. She had locked them together. Her nerves had required it. Shelving the thoughts for the time being, Satsuki refocused her attention on the chicken. It appeared to be sufficiently cooked. Carefully removing both pieces and depositing the meat onto both plates, the Uchiha went about preparing the dishes.

Her perfectionism largely only pertained to things of greater importance than a meal, but currently, she would accept nothing less than absolute symmetry. In a process that somehow took her three entire minutes, Satsuki arranged, reset, and rearranged both plates several times. When she was finally satisfied, the raven-haired girl carefully picked up both plates and turned around to deliver them to the table. Upon pivoting to face in the opposite direction, she was met with Naruto, who looked rather amused.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling rather awkward. The answer to her own question hit her in the back of the head rather quickly when she took a quick glance down. She had put on an apron to prevent any potential burns or stains on her clothing. Chances were, she looked incredibly out of place wearing it.

"Say anything, and I'll spit on your food." she warned her teammate as her face burned. Naruto threw up his hands defensively.

"I've had my mouth shut this entire time." he countered. Satsuki huffed slightly, but completed her journey to the table without incident and slid him his plate. Seating herself across from him, Satsuki watched him intently as he took his first close look at the food she had made.

"Not complaining, but why'd you cut it into little pieces?" he asked curiously. Once again, the Uchiha girl felt heat rise up to her face. For better or worse, she knew exactly why she had prepared the meat a certain way.

"It's the way my mom used to do it, and the last time she made this for me, I was…nine." she admitted rather meekly. The Jinchuuriki smiled at what he had been told.

"That's really sweet, actually." he said. Satsuki stabbed her fork into one of the pieces of chicken and popped it into her mouth.

"Just eat it already, dead-last." she grumbled, unsure of how to take the compliment without tripping over herself. Naruto shrugged and did as he was told. The moment of truth had arrived. Satsuki rather enjoyed the results of the limited cooking she did for herself, but an outside opinion was a far stiffer test of her skill.

"I kinda expected this to suck, but this is great." Naruto said upon swallowing his first bite, immediately reaching for a second. Satsuki barely managed to contain the smile threatening to expose itself.

"Thank you very much." she said gratefully. Her smile then turned to a frown when she replayed his words in her mind.

"Wait, why'd you expect it to suck?" she questioned. Naruto, whose mouth was full, momentarily tensed, realizing that he had said just a bit too much. Hastily swallowing his chicken, he gave her a sheepish look.

"You just didn't seem like the type of person to be good at it." he said. Satsuki practically stared a hole in his skull for several moments before breathing deep to calm herself.

"Well, now you know." she said simply. She then returned to the compliment he had given her.

"I'm glad you like it." she said quietly. Naruto gave her a thumbs up and downed another three bites at once. His table manners were far from perfect, but truth be told, Satsuki found it endearing.

"So, what've you been up to? You've been a ghost lately." the Jinchuuriki asked. The Uchiha tightened and loosened her grip on her fork several times. Telling him the genuine reason for her absence was simply not an option.

"I've…had a lot on my plate. No pun intended." she said. It was an honest answer, if not a descriptive one. Naruto tilted his head off to one side.

"Are you doing okay? I know it's been a while, but the last time I saw you…" he asked, trailing off into silence near the end. The Uchiha girl absently chewed on a piece of chicken as she held his concerned gaze.

"I think I'm starting to feel better. Just now, actually." she said. Naruto's expression uplifted, though his concern remained intact.

"What do you think did it?" he asked. Satsuki silently watched him crudely bite off a piece of chicken from his fork and chew it with relish.

"I really couldn't tell you." she replied, another smile tugging at her lips. Naruto was soon finished with the chicken on his plate, and promptly moved on to the rice on the side. He ate each part of the meal separately. It was an odd habit.

"Have you seen much of Shikamaru? He's been kinda hard to find." Naruto asked between bites. Satsuki shook her head and slowly chewed the last of her own chicken.

"No, but I did see him two days ago." she recalled, a laugh escaping her as she remembered a few key details of what she had seen.

"Alright, something's up. What'd you see?" Naruto pressed, leaning across the table slightly. Satsuki tapped on her own neck.

"It was really early in the morning. I was out on a run. He had hickies on his neck. His hair was down too, which I've literally never seen before." she revealed. Naruto snickered at what he had learned.

"Good for him. Guy's got game, apparently." he said with a smirk. His face then quickly soured, appearing to have had some sort of epiphany.

"You know that the hunter we fought is on the Anbu now, right?" he asked in an odd change of trajectory. Satsuki frowned. She had heard of no such development.

"That's news to me. How'd you find that out?" she asked. Naruto gathered up the last of his rice on his fork, balancing the clump in front of his face.

"I ran into her at the ramen stand I took you guys to last month. We talked for a few minutes. Long story short, she was a bitch about it, and I punched her in the mouth. She left a bit after that." he recounted. Satsuki shook her head and chuckled.

"You really went and hit a girl in public. You of all people not ending up in jail for that is kind of incredible." she said jokingly. Naruto wolfed down the rice on his fork.

"It was behind a curtain. I don't think anybody saw. Either way, what I'm getting at here is that she's probably the girl Shikamaru screwed around with." he said as he chewed. The Uchiha girl blew a strand of hair out of her face and leaned her cheek on her palm.

"Yeah, but are you really all that surprised? She had whipped back when they barely knew each other. Add in a few more weeks of exposure, and it was sort of always gonna end up this way." she reasoned. Naruto sighed and set his fork down.

"That's more true than I want it to be." he grumbled. The pair soon switched to other topics. They discussed their preparation, though in largely vague terms. They each theorized about why exactly Kakashi insisted on keeping his face hidden at all times, and whether or not he bathed in his mask, among other things. Throughout the many twists and turns the conversation took, Satsuki was struck by a single realization.

For the first time in weeks, she was happy.

Many of Naruto's jokes were duds, but they brought her joy regardless. Many of the topics they discussed were fairly uninteresting, but simply exchanging words back and forth was wholly refreshing. Above all else, even in the silence that occasionally took hold of them between talking points, she felt no sinking dread as she had grown used to. Instead, she felt content. The contrast between how she felt now and how she had felt only hours earlier was so stark that it caused her to call into question every decision she had made regarding separating herself from the blonde.

Eventually, after they had spent well over two and a half hours at the dining table, Naruto took a look up at the clock. Satsuki did the same. It read nine-forty.

"We should probably wrap this up. We've got fights to win tomorrow." the Jinchuuriki said, sounding rather disappointed at the late hour. Satsuki felt her mood dip in an instant. He was entirely right. Rest was important. That night especially. The prescience of his suggestion did little to quell her.

"Yeah, true." she muttered under her breath, her eyes looking down at her lap. She had forgotten to take off her apron upon sitting down, and she had just now noticed. She had even used the bathroom twice in the past two hours.

"You alright, Satsuki?" came the voice of Naruto once again. Looking up from her folded hands, the Uchiha girl saw that her teammate had stood up from the table.

"Can I be honest?" she requested. The Jinchuuriki nodded. Satsuki fidgeted with her hands below the table for several moments. The thought had been bouncing around in her mind subconsciously for several minutes by this point.

"One of the big issues I've been having is that…my dreams suck. They've been getting worse, too. I don't think I've had another episode like the one you saw since it happened, but still." she said carefully. Apparently, Naruto did not require further explanation to understand what she was implying, as he gave her a look of understanding.

"You want me to stay, don't you?" he guessed. Satsuki gave a nod. Having experienced the freeing feeling of being without her usual stress and instability, she could not bring herself to let go without an effort to hold onto it at a bare minimum.

"Don't feel like you have to." she said softly. The last time she had kept him from leaving her home at his own pace, the results had been bloody.

"I'll stay. I snore sometimes, though." the blonde said after a time. A wave of raw relief washed through Satsuki. Hearteningly, his tone held no guilt or apprehension. If anything, he sounded quite comfortable with the idea. Slowly rising to her feet, Satsuki finally removed her apron and draped it over the back of the chair.

"You don't have anything to wear to bed, do you?" she asked. Naruto shrugged and looked down at his outfit, which consisted of black shorts and a dark-orange t-shirt with a spiral pattern in its center.

"I've slept in this sorta thing before. I'll be alright." he said. He then glanced around the kitchen.

"So, do you have a couch, or what?" he asked. Satsuki fought back to urge to groan and bury her face in her palm. His heart was in the right place, but he had entirely missed the point.

"You're staying in my room." she said bluntly. For the first time since their dinner had begun, Naruto's face gained color.

"Wait, the only thing in there is–" he began. Before he could state the obvious, Satsuki cut him off halfway.

"Is my bed, yes. Please don't make this any more awkward than it already is. It was embarrassing to ask you in the first place." she interrupted, her face shaded a similar hue of red to his. Naruto began to say something in response, but closed his mouth again. Sighing tiredly, Satsuki took him by the sleeve and pulled him out into the hallway that contained her room and the bathroom.

"I'm gonna take a shower. Unlike me, you don't smell like chicken grease, so you can go wait in my room. Once I'm done, we'll work out how sleeping is gonna work. How's that sound?" she said, looking him in the eyes with every word. Part of her felt rather shallow for being so authoritative when Naruto was doing her a favor by agreeing to stay at all, but it was clear that he was entirely unsure of himself.

"That works. I'll, uh, be in your room, then." the blonde said clumsily, quickly speed walking down the hall and turning into the open doorway of her room. Once he was clearly inside, Satsuki released the breath she had been unknowingly holding. Thankfully, she had set out her nightwear on her bathroom counter that morning, as she always did.

'I shouldn't make him wait. His nerves might kill him.' she thought to herself, locking on to the bathroom door's handle with her eyes on the left side of the small corridor.

With one more deep breath, she set off to bathe.


Naruto's night had already taken an unexpected turn when he had shared an extremely pleasant dinner with his most abrasive teammate. To say that his current circumstances were entirely outside of what he'd expected when he had awoken that morning would have been a gigantic understatement. Dinner was one thing, but spending the night was another altogether. Especially given that Satsuki had explicitly required him to sleep in her own room. He had no issue with doing so for the most part, but the notion still made him rather nervous.

Nothing about the Uchiha girl's behavior throughout dinner had betrayed any improper intentions, and he did not suspect her of such a thing, but the mere idea of sleeping so near to her was jarring for how foreign it was. An immense amount had changed during their tenure as comrades. Rubbing one of his eyes and sitting up a bit straight against Satsuki's bed, Naruto traced his index finger along the floorboards. He was sitting in the dark, and the door to the room was closed.

'Don't overthink it. She needs support. You're gonna give her that support.' he mentally coached himself. He wanted to be there. That much he knew for certain. In a stroke of fortune, he was not afforded any more time to dig himself into a hole of apprehension, as he was snapped to attention by the sound of the door knob turning. A moment later, the room was illuminated by light from the hallway. Squinting due to the new brightness, Naruto was greeted by the outline of Satsuki standing in the doorway.

As his eyes adapted, he gained a clearer view of her. She was wearing a sleeveless black nightgown, with her hair laying in front of her shoulders. It appeared to still be a touch damp. Her expression was neutral.

"Any particular reason you're sitting on the floor?" she asked lightly. Naruto drew his knees up to his chest.

"I didn't wanna screw up your blankets." he answered. Satsuki stepped into the room fully and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear.

"We're gonna mess them up anyway, so I wouldn't have cared." she said. Both genin caught the unintentional second meaning of Satsuki's wording.

"I said that wrong." the Uchiha girl said uncomfortably. Naruto laughed a bit at her verbal slip up. There was a comfort to be found in knowing that she was no more confident than he was.

"It's all good. I'm guessing I'm taking the floor?" he inquired. Satsuki took a few steps toward him, stopping just in front of his feet.

"I just said 'we', didn't I?" she pointed out. She then reached down and pulled him vertical by his wrists.

"Don't ask any more questions, please." she said, her voice hardly above a whisper and her eyes downcast. Naruto immediately clammed up. Satisfied with his silence, Satsuki let go of his wrists and pulled back the sheets of her be before sliding under them.

"Under the blankets, next to me." she ordered gently. Doing as he was told, Naruto laid down next to the raven-haired girl with his arms at his sides. Satsuki yanked the sheets over the top of them. At first, they both said nothing.

"Thanks for this, Naruto." Satsuki said after a minute had ticked itself away. The Jinchuuriki craned his head to the side, and found that her eyes were already on him.

"Of course. I'll always be here to help you if you'll let me." he said kindly. The Uchiha girl's pale features twisted up in visible emotion. She reigned herself back in rapidly.

"I'm not good at…letting people in." she said honestly. Naruto fiddled with the bedding underneath him.

"That makes two of us. But hey, I think we've both made some strides. Baby steps." he said. Satsuki turned onto her side and faced him fully.

"I really missed you." she said out of the blue. The Jinchuuriki felt a heatwave spread out from his chest, taking his whole body over. Turning onto his own side, Naruto met her gaze. The raven-haired girl's eyes held a number of emotions within their black irises, but among them, he found affection.

"I missed you too. I know I already asked, but where'd you go off to? This is the first time I've even seen you in weeks." he asked. Satsuki's lips pulled into a guilty line.

"I had some demons to wrestle with." she said vaguely. Her intonation betrayed the outcome of her personal conflict.

"You're losing, aren't you?" Naruto asked. The Uchiha girl turned her head partway into her pillow. Her hair fell over her eyes.

"I always lose. Every single time." she said, her tone dejected and tired. Naruto reached out and brushed the hair from her face. Only one of her eyes was visible.

"You pulled it together last time. You won that fight. I don't care what you say." he said strongly. Satsuki turned her head again to reveal her entire face once more. She then covered the hand he had placed on her temple with her own.

"You're a real sap, you know that?" she said. Her words were teasing, but her tone was not. The Jinchuuriki cracked a smile.

"If I am, then oh well. I'll just keep on being me." he replied. The Uchiha took his left hand that remained on her face into both of her own. She then tugged on his arm. Taking the cue, Naruto scooted closer. Satsuki then pulled herself into him with a grip on his shoulders.

"If you ever quit being yourself, I'll make you regret changing." she threatened only half-jokingly. Then, before he could say a single word in response, she tilted her head to the side, leaned in, and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. As he struggled to process what had just occurred, Satsuki tucked her head under his chin and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. For what felt like an eternity, the Jinchuuriki stared off into the dark open space of her room wordlessly.

When he finally regained his faculties, Naruto slowly wrapped his arms around the Uchiha girl to return the hug she was already giving him. She was breathing evenly, with only small sounds escaping her. She was fast asleep. Resting his head atop hers, Naruto closed his own eyes. What would come of the shared affection, if anything at all, he could not predict. Satsuki Uchiha was nothing if not inconsistent. He cared little.

'Goodnight, Satsuki.'


"You're late. Punctuality is important, child."

Gaara paid the reprimand no heed as he stepped into the quarters of the Kazekage. His freedom had been interrupted by being summoned in the first place. His compliance was service enough. Shutting the door behind him, the Jinchuuriki swept his pale blue eyes across the space. It was certainly much larger than the motel room he had been sharing with his sibling since their arrival, and it appeared to be far more accommodating. The air was less stale, the humidity more neutral, and the furniture was far nicer. It was far from surprising. No matter how little they knew, Konoha was hosting a Kage. In their own minds, at least.

"It's a bit late, don't you think? In more ways than one." Gaara pointed out, settling several steps from the chair his so-called leader occupied. His face was still covered by a cloth, and he still donned the blue and white robes of the position he had stolen. He was reveling in it.

"Nothing has changed. Nothing important, that is. I've called you here to remind you of a few things." the Kazekage said smoothly. His voice was, and had been for several weeks, a poor man's imitation of that of Gaara's father. The Jinchuuriki had never had much love for the man who had neglected to raise him, but to hear his likeness so badly butchered grated on his nerves.

"Use your own voice, then. I'm not one of the people you need to fool." he said, folding his arms across his chest. The Kazekage's eyes darted around the room briefly, as though searching for something unseen. Once his silent suspicions were seemingly put to rest, a slight shift in atmosphere occurred. The thin veil of professionalism that had surrounded the man melted away, leaving only a conniving tension in its wake.

"I know you're a fan of…putting a stamp on your work, but you aren't permitted to kill Satsuki Uchiha. No matter how decisively you defeat her." the man said, his true octave and dialect revealing itself. Orochimaru, Sanin of the Snake. His voice coiled and hissed, very much like the serpent he so embodied. Gaara gripped the sleeve on his biceps.

"I can't promise you anything. I tend to lose myself in the fun." he said calmly. Orochimaru narrowed his false black eyes.

"Let me reiterate, then. If you value your life, or the lives of your siblings, you'll spare her." he said, menace seeping into his voice. The Jinchuuriki raised an eyebrow at the open threat.

"What makes her so important? I'd argue that Naruto is far more interesting, even to a man like you." he asked skeptically. The Sanin recomposed himself.

"What do you know of the Uchiha clan?" he asked. The Jinchuuriki thought for a moment.

"That they're a bit low in number, and that they have special eyes. Not much else." he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Orochimaru nodded.

"Low in number is an understatement. In fact, Satsuki is one of only two remaining members left alive. That alone makes her valuable." he said ominously. The way he said the girl's name was unsettling, even to Gaara. There was a barely-hidden anticipation. A hunger.

"I feel like there's quite a bit more to it than that." the redhead said. The imposter scoffed at his inquiry.

"Of course, but that's not for you to know. You're simply a tool. A precious one in your own right, but a tool and nothing more." he said haughtily. Gaara's lip curled in irritation.

"We'll see who uses who when the dust settles. You can't hold that office for long. When it all comes crashing down, I'll be the one holding the reigns." he shot back. Orochimaru laughed in amusement.

"And of what value would a person like you be as a leader? You're heartless, arrogant, bloodthirsty, and you have no shame or empathy. What's more, you're a murderer." he sneered. Gaara's hands returned to his sides, curling up into fists. The Sanin sent a warning look his way.

"Careful, boy. I've killed men for less." he said as Gaara's sand buzzed within its gourd. The bloodlust that Orochimaru sent his way tamed the Jinchuuriki in an instant. Gaara was powerful. He always had been. But the man before him was of another caliber entirely. Worse yet, the redead could sense that what he had felt was only a fraction of what the Sanin could bring to bear.

"My father included." Gaara hissed, earning a look of surprise from the disguised Sanin sitting before him.

"I'm surprised a monster like you spares the man any thought at all." Orochimaru said candidly. The Jinchuuriki coaxed himself into relaxing for the sake of self-preservation.

"I hated him, but he was mine to overcome. I would have surpassed him. You took that chance from me. I will not forgive that." he said more evenly. The imposter adjusted the traditional hat on his head.

"Thankfully, your forgiveness isn't a factor." he said matter-of-factly. Sensing that the conversation had reached its natural conclusion, Gaara turned his back on his father's murderer and headed for the door. Before he could leave, he was addressed one more time.

"Who's side are you on? Genuine question." Orochimaru asked. The Jinchuuriki didn't turn around, or even glance back. Instead, he opened the door and stepped out of the room, leaving his answer as a parting gift.

"Certainly not yours."


A/N: You all asked for more Naruto x Satsuki shit, so I gave you 5,000 words of it. They aren't an item, though they're certainly in that ballpark to some degree. They have a long way to go before they're allowed to be happy.

From here on out, those two will be the focus of this story almost entirely, with a few scattered exceptions.

Also yes, for my more cultured readers, Orochimaru's mini-speech to Gaara about leadership *is* a reference. Gold star for anybody who can tell me what it was inspired by.

Please leave a review on this one. I'm new to writing anything wholesome, so I wanna know how I did :)

I love you all

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