It's been brought to my attention before that Sasuke is OOC in this chapter, thanks to my good friend Karnia who critiqued the entire story herself on TONFA ^^ But I thought I'd post the story in its original formated (this chapter was written back in 2008) before revising it, even if I do, because, hell, I'm lazy.
~ 6 Hours Earlier ~
"What do you prefer, eh? Milk or dark chocolate?"
They took turns responding to Rayne's question.
"It doesn't really matter to me! I'll eat any kind of chocolate!" Sakura giggled.
"I like milk personally…dark gives me a stomach ache…" Naruto groaned.
"No way! It does that to me too!" Rayne gasped. Her and Naruto stared at each other in disbelief for a moment before Rayne addressed Sasuke. "And you, Sasuke?"
"I don't like sweets."
"Don't like sweets? Are you NOT human?!" Naruto screamed into his face, spreading his spit.
"Gah! Naruto, you're disgusting! Wipe your spit off of me right now!"
"Naruto! Don't get your germs all over Sasuke!"
Rayne arched her eyebrows as she watched the two boys wrestle on the ground as Sakura ran up to them. She smiled briefly to herself and requested a half pound of milk chocolate from the store clerk. Knowing that they'd have to campout at least once before they reached Konoha, Rayne decided she'd take the opportunity to get to know her teammates, especially Naruto. And what better way was there than to bond over a campfire when you're out in the desolate woods where no one could hear them scream?
She grabbed a hold of her bag of chocolate and sprinted toward the others with excitement in her eyes. Upon being ignored when she got there, Rayne kicked Naruto off of Sasuke, sending Sakura, who was clawing Naruto, and Naruto himself, backward and onto a bench. Oh…and what a sight to see.
There was no other way to put how they landed in words other than epic. Sakura had landed flat on her back on the bench, and Naruto was laying on top of her, slightly propped up on his hands so he could look down into her eyes. Unfortunately for Sakura, she had clung to him as they flew through the air, leaving her arms to be wrapped around him.
While Sasuke let his guard down as he watched the two of them, Rayne took the liberty of dusting him off, much to his dismay when she started patting his tush.
"Wh-what are you doing!" Sasuke exclaimed as he reached his hand around him to grab Rayne's and stop her. She merely blinked.
"Well…I was trying to be a courteous teammate and dust you off. Dirt doesn't exactly flatter white shorts, Sasuke."
"So your definition of being courteous is to paw at another's body when you're allotted the chance?"
Rayne blushed out of embarrassment and slight anger. Then, she smirked, "I can't help it if I take advantage of opportunities once they're handed to me, Uchiha."
"Tsh, don't tell me you're going to be as bad as the other girls. I had actually thought you were different."
Wait a minute, she did it! She actually did it for the first time! As Sasuke bantered on, Rayne squealed, and Sasuke sweat dropped.
"I knew it…just like the othe-"
"I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it!" Rayne bounced around, doing her own personal victory dance (jumping around, thrusting arms in the air and "walking like an Egyptian") as she praised herself, leaving Sasuke utterly dumbfounded.
"What di…did what? What are you talking about?"
'I did it! I said his name without thinking about Itachi! …oh no wait, that's a lie, because now I'm thinking about him. SHITCAKES!'
"S…Sakura…" Naruto stuttered while doing his best to suppress his blush, "I…I've been waiting for this…for a really long time."
His voice caught the attention of the other two as they watched Naruto approach Sakura's face, lips fully puckered. Sakura, obviously in shock, and more than likely fear, just laid there.
"Don't tell me he's actually going to…" Rayne's speech was interrupted by a shriek from Sakura. Her thoughts were then further interrupted by the sound of fist colliding with bone as Sakura punched Naruto in the face, launching him further down the road, spiraling into a tree.
"Idiot," Sasuke simply stated and sighed.
"HOW DARE YOU CLIMB ON TOP OF ME LIKE THAT YOU SICK PERV! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS BECAUSE IF THESE PEOPLE WEREN'T AROUND I'D CASTRATE YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"
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Rayne sighed as she glanced to her left to look at Naruto who was covered in medical bandages and dirt. Out of the three of them she hadn't expected Sakura to be the most emotionally unbalanced. A simple quest to buy chocolate turned into an ordeal because of the two of them.
After being sent into the tree, Naruto had blacked out. Sakura stood there fuming whilst Rayne threw her bag of chocolate at Sasuke, who didn't catch it with ease, instead catching it upside down, causing nearly all the chocolate to pour out onto the village street. Rayne darted down the road to Naruto, leaving a cloud of dust behind her, and attempted to pry him from the bark of the tree that he was stuck in.
Rayne grasped the bag with the three remaining pieces of chocolate and looked to her right, past Sakura, to Sasuke. Her face: ڪ_ڪ …
Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Sasuke looked to his left, but was soon blocked by the body of Kakashi.
"It's time to set up camp for the night," he declared.
"Man, I didn't think it would take us so long to get back to the village! I only brought one change of clothes!" Sakura whined in disgust.
"e_e it's called showering, Sakura."
Sakura's green eyes connected with Rayne's grey ones, and their pupils instantly exploded with flames of fury.
Kakashi sweat dropped. 'These two are like Naruto and Sasuke. I had better split them up…let's see, Rayne and Naruto can go collect fire wood while Sakura and Sasuke…wait, that won't work. Then again, if Sakura's with Naruto, the likelihood of them bickering is just as high as her and Rayne…oh what the hell do I do?'
"Rayne, Sasuke, go collect wood for the fire. Naruto, you can help me set up the tents…Sakura, you prepare our meals!"
'I'm such a genius! ^ ^ '
"WHAT?! Kakashi Sensei, why does Rayne get to go off with Sasuke?!"
He hung his head. 'I should have known she'd protest.'
"Because unlike you, Rayne will actually stay on task when working with Sasuke."
Now Sakura hung her head.
'Hah! Take that fan girl!' Rayne thought to herself in victory. "Naruto, don't impale yourself when you're setting up the tents! Come on Sasuke, let's go get some wood!"
"Whatever."
Rayne twitched. "You know, I'm just going to start calling you Buzzkill from now on."
Sasuke growled and scoffed.
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!"
"Guys, please, just go," Kakashi asked in distress. They each responded with a dull "fine" and were off. Kakashi smiled and then reached into his pack, "Alright, Naruto. You set up camp."
Naruto looked up, "What are you going to do sensei?"
"Read of course!"
Cue Naruto's anime fall. "I should have known…"
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Since the sun hadn't fully set, the view in the forest was beautiful. Even when she and Sasuke had only gotten about 30 feet into the forest Rayne felt totally at peace with herself. The air was fresh, sun rays were shining through the trees, lighting the path before them, and the breeze was just enough to carry a few strands of hair in it.
Rayne hadn't been anywhere near the Leaf Village, and the Cloud Village was basically stone and water, so being around true nature was something she was grateful for. Sasuke had a hard time understanding that.
"We're out to get fire wood, not to jerk around, Rayne."
She ceased rolling around in the tall grass, sat up, and looked at him. "You really are no fun at all, Buzzkill."
"Enough with that name already!" He snapped at her, to which she replied with a giggle.
"Aww-haha! Is Sasuke getting all flustered?" She bat her eyes in his direction and he merely turned his back.
She frowned. "Hey, just be glad Kakashi Sensei didn't send you out here with Sakura…what's your problem with her anyway."
He turned his head slightly to peer over his shoulder. "You mean you haven't noticed?"
"She's energetic, likes to smile, and has a short temper…squeals…is clingy…likes you…I don't see your point," she said sarcastically with a wink.
He smirked, "You hit the nail right on the head."
"But what I don't understand is why you don't give her a chance, I mean, I'm sure a guy like you loves that kind of attention. And from what she said, it seems like plenty of girls throw themselves at you."
"I can't be bothered with that shit," he said bluntly, "And besides, there's no depth to someone that will just throw them self at you; there's no chase, no excitement. It's just there."
Rayne stared. 'Well…damn, that was deep.'
It was at this time that Sasuke fully turned around to face her.
'She isn't completely a mirror image of Naruto…at least she has some brain cells.' He shook his thoughts. "Come on, Rayne, let's get going."
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Naruto wailed as the pole that held up the tent flew back, smacking him in the face, sending him backward into the tent he had just finished placing, causing it to collapse.
He instantly sat up with a large red line in the middle of his forehead. "That's IT! I'm sick and tired of this! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
Before you knew it three other Naruto appeared before him…well, their deflated white forms did on the floor did at least.
Naruto screamed at the sky, "God damnit! I REALLY DO SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
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Rayne, who had punching the shit out of the side of a tree limb, stopped as she heard Naruto's wail.
"Sasuke, did you just hear something?"
Unlike Rayne, Sasuke continued punching the tree limb he was working on. "It's probably just Naruto…being a loser, as usual."
She glared over at him from her tree, "Oh ye of little faith."
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Soon enough the two of them had returned to their camp site. Rayne was happy to see Naruto sitting quietly alongside of the two tents that were formed. She quickly made her way over to him, throwing the wood she had collected in a misplaced pile for Sakura to configure.
"Way to go, Naruto! The tents look perfect!"
"Thank you!"
Rayne re-directed her attention to Kakashi who emerged from one of the tents. She sweat dropped.
"N-Naruto…don't tell me…"
He hung his head, and she soon did the same.
After a half hour they were able to eat. Sakura had prepared a pot of vegetable soup for them, and there was just enough to feed the whole group. Rayne stared down at her empty bowl, and then reluctantly looked up at Sakura, who glared in her direction.
"The soup…was good. Thank you, Sakura." Rayne briefly bowed to her and set her bowl down. Sakura said nothing, just smiled and nodded.
"Alright you guys…since there are only two tents that can only hold two people at a time, we're going to have to take turns guarding. I'll be the one to go first. After me will be Sasuke. Following Sasuke will be Naruto, and then following him will be Sakura and Rayne. That should get us through the night if we do three hours at a time."
"TWO HOURS?! THAT'S SO LONG KAKASHI SENSEI! IT'LL BE SO BORING!" Naruto screamed as he jumped up and pointed in the Jounnin's face.
Thanks to his complaining, Naruto's guard duty was switched with Kakashi.
Rayne was awoken by a knee colliding with her side, and a pillow being pushed against her face.
"Sa…Sasuke…oh, Sasuke…"
Rayne shot up like a rocket and peered down at the dreaming Sakura next to her, pillow squished against her body, covered in drool.
'If only I had a camera…' Rayne evily thought. She glanced over at the wrist watch Kakashi had placed in their tent after his shift was over. It was 2:10, and Rayne hung her head. They had started their guarding at 9:30, so she plenty of time before her own shift at 5:30.
'Hm…well, since I'm up now, I suppose I'll go ask Kakashi if I can keep guard for now. He'll need his rest too.'
She had attempted to get up until a hand grasped onto her own. Utterly creeped out her eyes shot over in Sakura's direction; she was still asleep, calling Sasuke's name. Rayne slouched. Stealthily she slipped her pillow next to Sakura's hand, and just as Rayne had thought she would, she grasped onto it, calling Sasuke's name once more. She then made her leave.
Upon crawling out of the tent she stood up. She had brought a black t-shirt and grey, green, and blue striped boxers with her to sleep in. Studying the trees she looked for Kakashi's figure. Bingo. Walking toward the tree she had stepped on a rock, causing her to whimper and collapse to the earth, rubbing her foot with tears in her eyes.
"What the hell did you do now?"
Such coarse language.
"Sasuke?" Rayne asked, dumbfounded.
As she squint she could see the outline of his body more clearly. He had his head turned to the side which had caused her to believe it was her Sensei's lopsided hair cut.
"Why isn't Kakashi Sensei out here?"
"He switched shifts with me. After reading the whole time we were collecting wood he wanted to finish his book as fast as he could since it was coming to the climax."
Rayne snickered; who the hell used the word climax when speaking of something other than sex?
"You're such a child."
His insult drove her to jump up onto the branch he was on. Concentrating her chakra into her feet, Rayne intentionally slammed down onto the branch flat footed with force, resulting in a shaky branch and a shaky Sasuke. There she stood before him with her arms crossed, glaring down.
"Oh come on, you know you have perverse thoughts cross your mind too sometimes."
He looked away, "As if."
"You're a guy, Sasuke. Not only are you a guy, but it's the early age of teenage hood. Your hormones are raging just as much as all the others kids our age are."
"I'm not like the others," he replied with a cold tone.
Sasuke was pushed against the tree, his shoulders pinned by Rayne's hands as she stared into his face.
"You tell me what your problem is right now, Uchiha. You act so high and mighty, why? Why do you think you're so much better than Naruto, eh? Just because you have such a lax demeanor and he has one people would actually like? I can't understand why so many people think you're hot shi-"
She was thrown backward onto the branch as Sasuke pushed her, this time pinning her shoulders with his hands.
"You wouldn't even be able to begin to understand the reason behind who I am or the way I think!"
"No…no, I wouldn't! So please, by all means, enlighten me."
Her eyes narrowed as she tried her best to deplete the blush forming on her face. Thank God it was a night that the moon wasn't shining or else he would see. Rayne did think he was cocky, but he wasn't cocky with his looks, so she could at least admire them. Not to mention, he was now on top of her.
Sasuke slightly pulled back and relieved the pressure he put on her shoulders, "I don't…I don't want to open up to someone I've just met so suddenly."
"Because then there's no mystery?"
Sasuke's eyes were lowering, but then were fixated on Rayne's as she said that. She merely smiled as she felt his body relax.
'I'm guessing that she's enjoying this,' Sasuke thought to himself, 'She's fast, so I had better move so she doesn't take advantage of his situation. Lord knows Sakura would.'
"Something tells me Sakura would hate to see me in this position with you, Sasuke."
Sasuke: O_o …he twitched which caused Rayne's body to move slightly. Did she just read his thoughts? What the hell?
"I mean…did you hear her in the tent? It's no wonder I can't sleep. It's Sasuke, Sasuke! Oh, Sasuke!" Rayne moaned his name in a mockery of Sakura, causing Sasuke's cheeks to form a light shade of pink. He mentally thanked the moon for being masked by the clouds.
"I'm pretty sure she was making out with her pillow too, it was shrouded in drool. And then, when I had gotten up to get out of the tent, she grabbed my wrist! I think she thought I was you. God only knows what she would have…done to me…e_e "
"What'd she have done to you? It wouldn't be half as bad as what she's doing to me in her dreams."
"I'm positive she would re-enact them with me."
Silence.
"That's just disgusting."
Rayne chuckled. "Well, let's face it, Sasuke! Boy's hormones aren't the only ones raging at this age~ "
"Please don't tell me you're as bad as her."
Just then, by another act of God, the clouds moved and the moon lit their faces. Rayne had known she was blushing…but she was shocked to see that Sasuke also had a pink face. Talking about such personal things must have really struck a nerve; hormones weren't something you just talked about in public daily.
"I thought…there was a new moon tonight…" Rayne quietly said as she felt her face get a shade redder.
"You thought wrong."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious."
He narrowed his eyes down at her, and she narrowed her eyes up at him.
"Whatever," he scoffed as he pulled back from her and sat against the tree's body. Unlike him, Rayne remained lying down. It was ten minutes since they had stopped talking. Sasuke knew exactly how long it was: he was counting.
"Why are you still laying there? Go back to the tent and leave me to watch guard; I can't have you distracting me more."
No response.
"Rayne, don't be cocky. Listen to me, go back."
Still no response.
"Rayne!"
Nothing.
He had finally gotten agitated enough to crawl forward, grab the bottom of Rayne's shirt, and sit her up. Not knowing his own strength, Sasuke had pulled her up too forcefully, causing her body to fly forward, pushing him back against the tree.
His face heated up just as quickly as before. "Rayne, get the hell off of me already!"
He pushed her shoulders away, but her head still hung down, her hair framing her face. What the hell? He pulled her against him once more, positioning her so he held her supported her back with his left arm. Cautiously he moved his hand down, aiming for her bangs, and swiftly moved them.
Her eyes were closed; she had fallen asleep.
"Idiot…why didn't you just go back to the tent if you were so tired."
"Because she wouldn't shut up."
Sasuke, scared shitless, increased his grip on Rayne's shoulders with his left hand, unknowingly pulling her toward him, squishing her face into his chest. Suffocating, all Rayne could hear was his heart beat, and boy, was it fast.
