Imitating Myself

By: Late-Sleeper

Beta-reader: Pay Backs a Bitch

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing…or else Naruto would be rated NC-17

Chapter 12: Scaring

Shikamaru shook his head and nodded every now and then as the raven recounted his meeting with his brother. He gave a loud sigh. "So he thinks you're the real Sasuke but since Itachi doesn't know you he thought otherwise."

"Hn."

"Hmmm? Let me get this straight. Before Itachi came Naruto believed you were the real deal?"

"Hn."

"Then when your brother pretended he didn't know you, Naruto now thinks you're not the real Sasuke."

"Hn."

"Then when he hired you he knew you were the real deal and now…"

"Enough! However you rephrased it, it's still the same. He thought I was the real Sasuke now he doesn't, period!"

Shikamaru smirked at Sasuke's sudden outburst; then again, he couldn't blame the raven for being angry. "It sucks to be you."

Sasuke banged his head on the table and groaned. Shikamaru was right! His life sucks.

"I thought your brother liked to see you suffer? So why did he help you at that time?" Shikamaru cocked his head and frowned. Sasuke shot him a frowned too.

"Because he's the devil, he knew that Naruto was suspecting it was me. He planned all of this! He knew it would turn out this way." Sasuke growled lowly as he felt himself trembling with fury.

Yes, his hate for his brother has reached the zenith.

He knew that somehow his brother knew this was going to happen.

He was the devil after all.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru shook his head and frowned. He felt a chill run down his spine as he imagined how powerful the older Uchiha is. He shuddered more as he imagined a black haired man laughing maniacally at him.

A loud laughter broke their conversation and both looked up and saw Naruto with a fear-stricken Kiba together with a…very pale looking man.

"Hey guys!" Naruto waved his hand at both Shikamaru and Sasuke as he dragged their redhead companion towards their table. "Gaara meet my roommate Sasuke. Sasuke, this is my boss Gaara."

The redhead grunted and took his seat near the blond. Sasuke too grunted in acknowledgement.

Naruto grinned. "Gaara said nice to meet you. Hey what do you guys want?"

Kiba happily raised his hand to say his order when his eyes fell on the glaring redhead, he felt a chill run down his spine and instead of a loud booming voice he usual have when he's ordering his favorite drink he squeaked it, like a girl. "Mocha Frap."

Naruto who's oblivious to Kiba's sudden look of terror shouted at the waiter to get their orders. Shikamaru shook his head and silently apologized for his friend's lack of breeding when the waiter came.

"Café Latte." Sasuke ordered.

Shikamaru ordered the same as Kiba while they all waited for both Naruto's and Gaara's orders. Shika watched nonchalantly as Naruto patiently read Gaara's face for an answer. He glanced at the redhead and only saw a glimpse of a sudden movement of his lips.

Or maybe he was just hallucinating.

He sighed at how troublesome it was. He knew that no matter how long they waited the redhead wouldn't say any…

"Okay! Black coffee and no sugar it is. Mine is chocolate with chips." Naruto chirped happily while both Kiba and Shikamaru jaws dropped in surprised.

Shikamaru wanted to question the blond how he managed to know what the redhead wanted when the redhead didn't even say a thing…nor made a face. Though Kiba beat him to it. "HOW DID YOU KNOW HE WANTED THAT?!!"

Naruto frowned at the question and glanced at Kiba as though he was on crack or something. "Cause he said it, Dog-breath."

"No, he did not say a thing. He just grunted Ramen-breath!" Kiba countered.

Naruto felt a bit irritated and jabbed Kiba's side with his finger. "Yeah. That's not just a grunt; it's called a manly grunt. Most men communicate by that."

"WHAT?! What the hell are you saying?! Men don't talk in grunt…I'm a man so I should know if it's true or not." Kiba growled at the infuriating blond.

Naruto rolled his eyes in annoyance. He pity Kiba, really. The poor Kiba doesn't even know he wasn't a man yet.

To be a man is to know how to talk like a man.

And men, true men that is, talk in grunts.

"Sasuke talks in grunts, Gaara talks in grunts, Neji too. Hell even Shika here talks in grunts most of the time." Naruto pointed to the bored looking genius. Kiba gave him the hey-come-to-my-rescue-look but he only receive the resounding you're-troublesome-look.

"See." Naruto smiled triumphantly as Kiba growled. "Che! I also grunt you know, for time to time."

Naruto snickered. "Baka, you don't grunt, you growl…like a dog."

Kiba almost launched himself at the blond when suddenly he felt two evil force throwing invisible daggers at him. He glanced at his front and saw Sasuke and Gaara making a threatening eye on him. He decided that he loved his life and wanted to marry before he could be castrated so he settled on his seat again and growled.

"Then you're not a man too. You don't grunt!" Kiba made a face.

Naruto sneered at the taunting dog boy and aim another jab with his finger this time towards Kiba's tummy. "I'm a man, a manly man, because I can understand their every grunt."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No you don't"

"I do! I do! I do!" Sasuke smirked at how childish the blond was right now.

Kiba feeling a bit tired with their banter growled loudly and dared Naruto to prove it to him on which the blond cheekily obliged. "Watch Gaara closely."

Kiba warily glanced at the redhead. "And?"

"Look…he's twitching his lips slightly up…and he's slightly rolling his eyeballs and puffing some air off his nose…" Kiba eyes focused on Gaara's face, he watched as Gaara's face indeed changed though just for a fleeting moment then no more. Like a blink of an eye.

Naruto smirked. "He said that you're an idiot."

"What he did not."

"He did too. Right Gaara." Gaara made a very slight nod at the blond in affirmation. "See?"

Kiba growled and was again on the verge on attacking the blond when he glanced once again at Gaara. He scooted on his seat and leaned more on Shikamaru like a dog taking refuge.

Sasuke who was silently watching the whole comedy act was quite amused at Kiba's sudden nervousness whenever he would glance at the porcelain doll that was called Gaara.

"Hey dog-breath…"

Kiba growled at Sasuke, intent on venting his anger to the Uchiha if only Shika hadn't stopped him from jumping at the bastard.

Sasuke smirked but continued. "Why are you afraid of this asshole?"

Gaara's glanced at Sasuke and gave a pointy stare but said nothing. Kiba on the other hand shifted uncomfortably on his seat and stammered. "I…Me…I…I'm not afraid of him." The end came in a hiss.

Naruto watched as Gaara's eyebrow made a slight furrow as his lips twitch. Then he heard a sound so eerie that it made the hair on his arms stand upright, it was a good thing that the sound was so rare…thank god for that.

Kiba cringed as he heard a sound escaped from Gaara's lips. It sounded like between a baby being butchered and a growl of a werewolf…or maybe that of a creaking door in a haunted mansion and a growl of a rabid beast.

He flinched and scooted more to Shikamaru that the lazy genius was already complaining of invasion of his personal space. Che, such friend he has. He glanced at Naruto and waited for the 'Manly interpretation'.

"He said you are afraid of him and that you're an idiot…." Naruto smiled "…and he also laughed." He added thoughtfully.

"That's a laugh?" Kiba felt a chill round down his spine.

Shikamaru gave a loud annoyed sigh and pushed Kiba off him, hopefully as far away from him as humanly possible. He wished that Kiba would take his advice and bathe more. He really stinks like hell. "Troublesome. Come on Inuzuka, what's the deal between you and him?" He pointed at Gaara.

Gaara, even though he wasn't saying anything, was feeling as though he was being talk about in a third person…far away from here. Yes, he was physically here but it seems like he wasn't really here when they talked about him. Or like he was sort of a thing and not a human being.

It was hurtful to be talk to like that.

Really.

It was breaking his tiny heart.

A snickered broke the eerie silence and all eyes landed on the now red face Naruto who was trying to restrain his laugh but failing miserably. "You…You mean he did…he didn't tell you?" Each word was followed by a suppressed laughter and snickers.

"Tell me what?"

"Our last vacation. The three of us together."

Shikamaru eyes rose a bit as he remembered that indeed his two friends and Gaara went on a three days vacation on some isolated island, the whole trip paid by Gaara's company. Unfortunately, he was on a job that he couldn't drop that he decided not to join the trio.

Although until this very day he haven't heard any story about that said vacation, which is quite perplexing because his two friends are the most talkative people he knew that ever existed.

Now for once in his twenty-five years of life he was really interested to know this one…even eager to hear a story for the first time…

"What about it?"

Kiba tried top cower and hide under the table as Naruto beamed at him maliciously.

"It all started when…" Naruto said in a dreamy voice.

Sasuke growled and threw a balled napkin at the blond. "Cut the crap and tell us the story, dobe."

"Che! Bastard doesn't even appreciate a good bedtime story…maybe your mother never told y…" Naruto sneered back.

Shikamaru grunted loudly that made Naruto flinched with fear. "Fine, Fine. Well it started when we first got there. We were so exhausted that we wanted to sleep, so we did. But Kiba here." Pointing to the cowering but glaring Kiba. "Is such a lousy bed mate. Shika, you know how he is, he snores, move, and sleep like a log."

Shikamaru nodded and signaled Naruto to continue. "Well, I wasn't really that affected because I was dead tired at that time though I couldn't say the same thing about Gaara here."

Everyone made a sidelong glance at the impassive porcelain doll …I mean Gaara.

"Well Gaara here is an insomniac so he couldn't really sleep at night at that time. So he witnessed Kiba every turns and hears his every snore."

"So?" Shikamaru growled in frustration. Naruto was talking slow deliberately and it's annoying the hell out of Shikamaru.

Naruto smirked and made his voice much slower than already is, annoying Shikamaru more and more. Che! Serve him right for all the lazy things he did. Pay backs a bitch.

"So on the second night before we went to sleep, Gaara stood beside Kiba's bed and loomed over him and guess what he did?"

Shikamaru snapped his hand on the table and glare threateningly at the unfazed blond. "What?" He asked in a hiss.

Naruto's grin spreads wider and chirped happily. "He tucked Kiba on the bed, kissed him on the forehead and bade him goodnight."

Shikamaru and Sasuke jaw dropped. Kiba sniffed a bit as he recalls the torture he went through that night.

"That was so…" Sasuke gently shook his head.

"Gay." Kiba supplemented.

"Creepy." Shikamaru sighed.

"Cute." Naruto chirped in and receives three hateful glares.

"That was so mean." Sasuke glanced at Gaara and shook his head in disbelief as he mouthed the words 'How could you?'

"So anyway Kiba couldn't sleep and was just watching Gaara warily all night, hehehe." Naruto grinned wider and chuckle heartily. "Though I still think you're a wuss Kiba. Just that and you folded like a leaf. It's like your mom tucking you in…"

"Shut up!"

"Wuss."

"Shut up! And it's not just that…"

Naruto frowned and looked at Gaara. "What is he saying?"

Gaara's eyebrow furrowed a bit.

"Hey Kiba, Gaara said you should tell us about it." Naruto demanded.

Kiba snarl at the blond. "He didn't say that."

"Of course he did."

"When?"

"He furrowed his eyebrows."

"THE MAN DOESN'T HAVE EYEBROWS!!!" Kiba shrieked at the blond furiously.

Gaara, who was again the topic of the discussion, sat silently at the table sipping his favorite coffee as he wonders how mean people are, especial to a sweet guy like him. Something, on the back of his head, cackle evilly.

"Just tell us Kiba." Shikamaru demanded through gritted teeth that made Kiba sat back again whimpering. "Fine. Fine. Fine."

"So?"

"Well…anou…ermmm…"

"Spit it out man." Naruto hissed.

"Fine. Well this happened after we, or rather, you woke up. Before I went for breakfast, like my usual routine, I went to the bathroom to pee but unfortunately I didn't notice him." Kiba with a shaky finger pointed to Gaara who was calmly seeping his drink. "Until I was already doing my business. I looked over my shoulder and there he was."

Sasuke face contorted into a frown. So what? It's normal to be with someone in a bathroom. It's like just…well sharing. Naruto and he do it all the time. Heck they even showered a few times.

Sasuke touched his nose as some blood trickled down from it as an image of a naked Naruto suddenly plundered his whole mind. He tried to pretend he was sneezing as he covered his nose and mouth. "So?" He asked to divert the attention away from him and back to Kiba.

"Well he was there…brushing."

"What? Are you afraid of a toothbrush???" Naruto frown in puzzlement and the same goes with Shikamaru.

Kiba scowled at the two and snapped. "NO! He was there brushing…slowly!"

"Huh?" Both Shikamaru and Naruto exclaimed.

Kiba almost tore his hair off in exasperation. "He was brushing slowly, as in thrusting the brush inside slowly and pulling it much slower. Don't you two fucking get it?!"

"Oh."

Sasuke shook his head again, he glared at Gaara and mouthed 'You're mean'.

Gaara responds to that was to sipped his drink as though he was not just been called meanie a few seconds ago, though deep in his heart he was hurt. It was sad, really…heartbreaking even…if only the fucking voice who's laughing maniacally in the background would stop. Can't a guy like him have some emo time and pretend he was really hurt and he cares about what people think of him. Another evil cackle ensued.

Oh well there goes his sanity.

He sipped once more and looked at everyone impassively.

Heh, he was such a badass.

A loud squeak broke Gaara from his self-praising, he turned around only to be blinded by the brightest hair, save for the Naruto of course, he had ever seen. He almost flinched at the sight. Pink! Who wear pink nowadays!??!!

"Sasuke-kun!!! It must be fate that brought us together." The girl screeched and Gaara found himself cursing a bit as the sound kept grating his nerves and have a ringing effect on his ears. He shot a glare at the now annoyed Uchiha.

Sasuke scooped a bit as Sakura flung herself towards him and hugged him for dear life. He gave an annoyed grunt.

Gaara shook his head and glanced at Naruto's way only to receive an irritated growl from the blond. He raised his non-existent brow.

'Interesting.'

:TSUZUKI:

Also please do read and review the fics of my dear friend: carms-lian0592 –bows down- thank you.

Sasuke: What the hell is this?! This is just like a filler!!

Late-Sleeper: What?! –rereads the whole chapter- it's not baka! It's a way to introduce Gaara –drags Gaara in front of Sasuke- ne? Gaara?

Gaara: hn –nods-

Sasuke: why does he have to be introduced? We already have so many characters. You even drag my evil brother in here! –glares-

Late-Sleeper: Che! 'cause you need more competitions.

Sasuke: As if I'd be jealous of that… -racks brain for biting comment- that!

Gaara: -sips coffee- hn.

Late-Sleeper: WHA? You bastard! You should 'cause I'm making him Naruto's first!

Sasuke: You wouldn't –threatening with daggers-

Late-Sleeper: I would –sneer-

Sasuke: why you little queer! I'm going to kill you! –punching the author with fury-

Late-Sleeper: -fighting back-

Gaara: -sips another coffee while watching the two idiots-

Beta: -is concerned about situation- -.-"