V.


"Took you long enough," Sasuke said at the door; tapping his foot impatiently and checking the time on his watch. It was exactly 5:00 PM on the dot.

"S - SHUT UP! Jeez!" Growled Naruto; his fists curling up in anger. He still hated how the teme thought he could overpower him, even in his own house! He had the upper hand here in almost every way! And Naruto hated it.

Sasuke snorted and walked outside with all their supplies and everything (including kunai sets, scrolls, shuriken and then some, and also old texts about chakra). "Uh...whoa." Naruto crouched down to the book bag and flipped through the pages eagerly. There were tons of illustrations of people with elements around their bodies and their energies or whatnot.

"What is this stuff?" He says incredulously; scrunching his eyes up in thought. Sasuke thought it looked cute internally, but even he wouldn't say something like that in public. That was simply child's play.

"Tch, you idiot." Sasuke snatched it back with a huff, "If you had a brain, then you'd know that all of these documents were from my family's library." Seeing Naruto's face fall, he adds in too quickly than he'd liked to admit, "Don't sweat it, dobe. Go ahead and read it." He shoves it into his chest and turns away; his face flaring up in red.

"'Read?' Oh..." Naruto looked down at his lap sadly. If only he wasn't self-taught. Sure, Iruke-sensei taught him bits and pieces of kanji here and there, but it wasn't enough to become smart enough like Sakura-chan or even the bastard.

And seeing how he'd be test taking during the Chuunin Exams...A wonder he was so stupid. He was largely illiterate and his writing was always in chicken scratch.

Sadly, he looked down at his hands; the ones that he stabbed into with a kunai. Luckily, he had Kurama to heal his cuts, but still...

It hurt. Even now, he couldn't smile without faking it completely. Which is why Sasuke was wondering what the hell was going on with the blonde. He heard Sasuke stand up from beside him, and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He gasped, looking up into the face of his rival.

"C'mon," he said, and they all carried their packs as they walked around the village.

And Naruto grinned.


"We need to get stronger," Sasuke snarled; "Strong enough for us to beat each other into a bloody pulp. And I'm ready now more than ever. The stupid Chuunin Exams can wait. Catch," he tossed a water bottle. And Naruto caught it with a look of confusion.

"So, uh, Sasuke..." His blue eyes looked around Konoha, and he spotted the heated looks from the villagers. They still hated him, and he tried not to show it.

"Why're you walking with me?" he sputtered, as they were holding hands together. Something that seemed even a little more than..."friendly". The Uchiha's eyes widened and he shoved it into his pocket with a glare.

"Because," Sasuke says, as if that was answer enough. "'Because'?" The blonde boy repeated with a raised brow.

"I - I just wanted to, okay?! Now quit asking me stupid questions!" Sasuke snaps, looking to the side and blushing slightly; but Naruto didn't see any of it. He sure is acting suspicious all of a sudden...

'What's with him lately? Normally he acts all high and mighty, but today he's...' If he's losing his composure like this, then that means he's losing control. He giddily thought to himself, with an over the top muscular chibi version of himself standing over the corpse of a chibi beaten up Sasuke. He crushed the boy into pieces, the whopping 200 Ib. persona of himself with abs and muscles big enough to squash the teen to the death. Like a squished ant, Sasuke was suffocated to death, and Naruto kissed his own muscular arm with a laugh.

And a Haruno swooning over him with hearts hovering over her head.

'Sakura-chan would be so proud of me!' He gushed, with blood filled cheeks. He could just imagine the girl falling head over heels for him, literally leaping from heaven like a fallen angel and into his awaiting arms. "Naruto-kun, I love you~!" His image of Sakura giggles. Just hearing those words come out of her mouth was like a dream come true. He passionately kissed her under the light of the sunset on top of his hokage's head on the mountain. And together they live happily ever after. The end.

- Score one for Naruto Uzumaki! -

"Snap out of, Kit! The Uchiha is looking at you all funny-like."

Glancing at him, he knew. He was a little behind him, but gradually picked up his pace with a peeved look.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and tried to walk faster and trying not to trip over his own feet. But of course, Sasuke caught up to him. Cockily, he walked even faster, and eventually at full speed. But, he wasn't even watching where he was going. And so he bumped into a pole face first. He fell to the floor unconscious, with stars twinking over his head like in cartoons.

"Usuratonkachi." Sasuke shook his head, and crossed his arms. 'What a loser,' he thinks with a smirk; looking down at the idiot. He nudged his foot into his crotch. His limp body twitched and then the boy continued snoring on and on. "Hn, definitely out like a light." Sasuke observed, crouching down his level.

"Maa, maa." Kakashi said from up above them. He was propped up on the lamp post and he waved to the two of them. "Hope you're having fun down there. Feel free to invite me in on you sometime. I swear I won't bite."

"Sensei. Shut up." Sasuke said seriously.

"Aww, but that's no fun. Well, whatever." He snapped his Icha Icha Paradise book shut. "Time for a date with a dolphin! Hoo hoo!" In a poof of smoke, he was gone.

Sasuke stared off after him, and sighed. What a weirdo. Dolphins? Those were only in the Land of Waves. Anyway, that didn't matter. Training could wait 'til later. Right now, he had a certain ninja to worry about.

Hoisting the blonde over his shoulder; he leapt away from the streets. Hopefully, the baka wouldn't mind sleeping with him for the night. With that thought in mind, he hurried off to his estate swiftly.

What he didn't know, was that a certain redhead was watching them carefully.