Shippuuden – I'll Win My Enemy's Heart, It's My Way of the Ninja!

By Unborn
Fandom: Naruto
Pairings: Naruto/Sasuke
Rating: PG16
Spoilers Warning: Shippuuden Manga roughly up to date.

Introductory Notes: Shippuuden has become my favorite Naruto fanfic... how can that be? Have you seen the last chapters that came out in Japan?! It's smuttier than my fanfic, the fandom's own parody. And here I have been hiding in the shadow of old Naruto jokes to set a parameter of "canon" and failed! I failed!
Author Unborn fails at life... (Data: The name "Unborn" comes from that chapter when Shikamaru reveals who is the King in a Chess representation of the Village of Konoha.)

CHAPTER 3-- Date

"Ahhh, that was a good sleep!" a well-rested Uzumaki Naruto said and stretched under the sun of an early morning, ready for some light morning exercise.

The following day was looking like a bright day ahead for them: clear weather, birds chirping… and Sasuke descended from up over a tree.

All of the sudden, the motion by Uzumaki Naruto was halt to a stop mid way to regard Uchiha Sasuke. Peculiarly enough, Naruto's behavior could come across as… defensive.

Sasuke, for whatever reason, stepped forwards.

Right away as that came, Naruto took a step back. He stared back at Uchiha uneasy and leaning slightly as if expecting an attack. Sasuke took another step, and Naruto stepped back… and stepped back again.

Sasuke eyed suspiciously this behavior. Naruto had never before, not openly, looked as if he was intimidated of Sasuke.

"Yo, Sasuke, had a good night sleep?" asked his ex-sensei coming from up a tree with Icha Icha Flirting Tactics book at hand. It was not difficult to see his ex-student was currently brooding.

"It's been just fine," he said with a tone and bags under his eyes that said the opposite. He turned around to go, lingering with his back at them to say in a bratty attitude, "We are leaving in ten minutes so don't waste my time."

And then he was gone.

Naruto looked relieved. Kakashi sensei thought, he had no idea how much so he should be. If his intuition was correct, Sasuke had come to rush them up and probably to earn an excuse to pick a fight with Naruto.

You could tell by the way Sasuke's chakra demeanor spoke of vengeance, though it was usually like that with him nowadays. None of that a complimenting trait.

"Yo, Naruto!" he said, regarding his apprentice, to what Naruto rewarded in an overenthusiastic tone, "Good morning, Kakashi-sensei!"

"You heard Sasuke," the voice from Sakura came from behind, and behind was Sakura indeed, picking things up, "We need to raise the camp and eat breakfast in less than 10 minutes."

"Eh?" Naruto said upon turning around, he had spotted Sai as he was picking up his camp and noticed… "Oi, Sai, what's happened to your eye?"

Naruto hadn't noticed yesterday night. The thing was swollen and black around, but Sai was wearing the usual smile, as he recounted…

--FLASHBACK--

Sai was coming back from the Sasuke and Naruto's naked jutsu talk, just as he had said Naruto that he would return ahead of him.

"Welcome back, Sai," greeted him Sakura.

Sai gave her a cheerful smile and answered, "Hello, Usuratonkachi!"

--END FLASHBACK--

"The rest is a black pit," finished Sai, still cheerful. "But I think I am bonding with Sakura-chan."

Naruto's face went white with fear. Sakura's cheeks were flashing red but her face and her demeanor demonstrated she was less moody than she tried to appear… more like embarrassed, in fact.

"We have no time for that," she said. "Come and pick your things Naruto, we are leaving, didn't you hear?"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," said Naruto. But then, coming to find Sasuke forgetting he somewhat was apprehensive to the idea before, Naruto got hold of a scent. He jumped up a three and though the bushes following that smell…

Back in last night clearing, a single pot of ramen sealed and left untouched was by the cracked stone bed.

Some time later that morning, their stomachs were full and their backpack in place and they had erased any signs of life they might have made. "Oy, Naruto, what are you doing? We are leaving now!"

"Yeah, I know, Sakura-chan," said Naruto. Sakura watched puzzled the kunais on Naruto's fingers. Before she could ask further, he had thrown the kunai at a tree at a relatively large distance, all of them hitting. He allowed himself to display a self-content smile.

"Basic Kunai Techniques," commented Sai, joining in watching. "So you are a 'greatest looser' after all!" (Note: He is meaning 'Usuratonkachi')

And all that self-pride he was just before feeling died out. "DON'T CALL ME THAT YOU IDIOT!"

"You idiot? Is that my nickname?" said a smiling Sai.

"No, your nickname is PERVERT you PENIS-FETISHED FREAK!"

"I?" Sai looked over at Sakura with what looked like a questioning expression. "But I thought Sakura was that."

Sai's other eyes went black. His new nickname was 'cute panda bunta'.

----

They were back at traveling though the woods in formation, with the exception of Sasuke who was far behind. They were heading for the Hidden Village of Rain. If they could avoid the bigger, Hidden Villages of Rock and Cloud, they would be in safer territory. Besides, diplomats had only finished making announcements of their arrival to other countries and had not settled a definite date for meeting with Team Kakashi… so had explained Kakashi-sensei.

It sounded, though, like there was something Kakashi had kept from them, and in fact there was. In lieu of formal introducement, meeting a welcoming party and not starting a war, he had to purposely delay the team.

'Orochimaru, are you there?'

In the silence of that universe in Sasuke's mind came an irritating voice, hissing at first unintelligibly to turn into sound laughter.

"I get it, I get it," the mocking tone was like the teasing tongue coming from that dirty mouth. "So much do you admire that boy, you also wanted to have your own inner demon."

The face on the stone was tired from fighting to keep itself alive, drained of chakra.

"Or maybe it was because you missed him that much… this makes you closer to him, doesn't it, Sasuke?"

"Those are stupidities, tell me what I want to know."

"The shortest way to the hidden village of rain?" Orochimaru lingered in his response, only to annoy him. "Why do you think there is one?"

"I see, no shortcuts," Sasuke had put a hand over Orochimaru's forehead, the latter looking strangely surprised with his tongue now hanging dead looking from his mouth.

"You were going to take the information yourself, I don't see the point of asking. See, I wasn't lying."

"But you still have got some pretty good information," Sasuke said and prayed his hand from that man, almost as if disgusted. "That's why I kept you: my own private library," he said smiling smugly.

"I see," Orochimaru hissed. "By the way, I was meaning to ask you about that sound."

On cue, echoing though those empty spaces of nothingness was the ghost of those words, a harassing buzzing in his ears…

Sasuke-sama

"Just ignore it," said Sasuke.

"Easy to say but," continued Orochimaru.

Sasuke-sama…Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama…Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama…Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama… Sasuke-sama…

'That bastard,' thought Sasuke irritated. 'I couldn't take the impression of his words from my head all night.'

----

It was a pretty good guess but an incorrect one. Following the news of that chaos in the country of Rain, they had strayed far enough to interrupt the two members of Akatsuki with the body of a young girl but none of them was Itachi.

"Alright!" said Naruto. "We'll just kick his ass first!"

But Sasuke disagreed. "I've no reasons to engage in this battle. Leave that woman and let's get moving," he said moodily.

With each word, Sakura's heart seemed to contract in pain.

"Asshole!" was barely on Naruto's lips when one of the two figures spoke, "I'm afraid we can't let you go now you have come to us, Nine-Tails," said one of them and this one revealed marks lined vertically over a face with spiraled eyes behind his hat.

"What's that," he asked his companion, "You look rather unmotivated."

"Leader," said a familiar voice, "These people are the dangerous one, especially the one with half his face covered, hm."

"Yeah, and the Nine-Tail's quite the reputation too. How unkind of them to spoil out date –"

"HOW THIS WAS A DATE, HM?!" the spazzy other replied.

"That's why," ignored him the Leader, "I'm asking you to take the Three-Tails while I take care of them, Deidra."

"Do you think you can take care of them alone?"

"Don't tell me you are worried about me –"

There was a cloud of smoke and black monsters came from it 'Here they come…' thought the Leader. "Go Deidra!"

"What do you think I'm doing, hm!"

Kakashi saw what was happening and gestured them, "Sakura! Sai!" Both went to chaser the other. Kakashi had only some seconds to fill them in on this character's abilities while those two shady characters were talking, and decided to stay with Naruto behind. This 'leader' must be strong. Sasuke was watching from over a branch.

There was no choice. They'd have to fight this battle without Sasuke.

"Sasuke you idiot!"

It had been Naruto. "What are you doing up that tree, come down and help!"

Sasuke didn't seem to have the intention to abandon his retreat watch from a safe distance. Well, might as well give it a try.

"What about you help us then, for old times' sake?" offered Kakashi.

"I have no reasons to help Naruto," Sasuke had said, and their efforts were regarded useless. Naruto looked too ready to let out an outraged scream.

"Leave that be, Naruto," said Kakashi-sensei.

Naruto cussed under his breath. It was because Naruto's eyes weren't in the battle that he was an easy target for a kunai, had Kakashi not pulled him aside out of danger at the last minute. That had been no ordinary kunai. Probably poisoned.

That was not all: Naruto's response to battle was unusually slow. It was as if he had reverted to his young inexperienced self's level. Was the influence of Sasuke acting as a déjà vu or something of the sort? This was bad. An enemy this powerful, Naruto won't be able to take in the current –

"Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi was surprised by Naruto's voice. "I know I acted like an amateur before, but I'm ready to go now."

Kakashi nodded. That's right, they just needed to be careful.

O-MAKE-CHIBI: Again, a Pointless Author's Note

Starring: SHIKA and TEMA

TEMA-"How do you call those eyes?" (Note: meaning Akatsuki Leader's)

SHIKA-"Who knows, but in lieu to finish this chapter at some point, the authoress can invent that spiral-eyed thing while not altogether correct. It's part of her self-given creative license. Anyways, it's too troublesome to explain it in the middle of the story."

TEMA-"Ah… Can't say I care that much."

But anyways…

Shikamaru leaned over a post at the roof where he usually lays down at to stare at the clouds. The other figure heaved down the tool to the floor with an audible bump.

"You are coming to Konoha a lot lately, it would appear you like it here."

"Tsk," said the woman's voice. "Maybe it's not Konoha as much as something at Konoha... Well, I should get going, unless you need to say something to me."

Shikamaru starred up at the sky. "There's something," he stands up. "It's troublesome but there's no way around it."

"Spit it out already," Temari, the spare hand on her hips, urged him moodily. Shikamaru lowered his head in a sigh.

"My, you are a great mood killer. I was going to ask you out." He almost whined the words. "This is why I said it was troublesome, having to create an atmosphere is not my thing. I'd rather just say it."

Temari tsked with a smile and smugly, "Like you just did, right? You are also bad at creating moods."

"That is what I said."

In a swift motion for such a large object, Temari opened and threw the gigantic fan to the air where it hovered before jumping right up.

"I've sand matters to attend to now," she says, and then she flies up to and kisses Shikamaru on the cheek, "you can invite me dinner when I get back."

Shikamaru responds to her, "Yeah..." and watches her go.

"... my, how troublesome..."

NARRATOR VOICE: And the authoress survived one more day of frustrated expectant fan's rage…

----

Author's Notes2: SASU vs ORO...

SASU- puts a hand on ORO's head "Orochimaru, will I win my battle against Itachi?"

ORO-"I'm not a damned fortune-teller!"

-

KA CHIN!