Chapter Eight: New Mission, New Problems

Kakashi cleared his throat. "…Your mission is to help clean the Ichiraku. The owner and his daughter have a lot on their hands right now and requested that some eager Genin with nothing to do come help them clean up their ramen shop."

Sasuke scoffed. How pathetic. It's just like when we first became Genin and were assigned boring so-called missions like this one. What a waste of time. I'd much rather be training.

Coincidentally, Naruto had the same exact thoughts. "Are you kidding me?!" he hollered, "As much as I love ramen more than anything, I'd rather not clean up the old man's shop! Can't we at least do something more exciting?! This is just like that stupid cat mission we had when we first became Genin. At a time like this, shouldn't we be training, Kakashi-sensei?! You say we have nothing to do, but that's a lie! We should all be training for the final rounds of the Chunin Exam!"

"Oh, quit complaining, Naruto," Kakashi told him calmly, "It'll only take a couple of hours at the most, and besides, you had ample time to train in the past two and a half weeks since the end of the preliminaries. What have you been doing this whole time?"

"I have been training, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto protested indignantly, "Believe it! I've been working my butt off since then! But maybe—just maybe—I would benefit more if you trained me!" Naruto shot Sasuke a death-glare. "…Instead of that jerk Sasuke!"

Sakura couldn't help but smirk. If it were two weeks ago, she would have smacked Naruto in the head in an instant, but now, she whole-heartedly agreed with him. Cha! You tell him, Naruto!

Apparently, Sasuke didn't notice Sakura smirk. Instead, he just returned Naruto's glare with a haughty, "Maybe he'd train you if kept your mouth shut for once."

Naruto could feel his anger rising. "Want to say that again, Sasuke?!"

Yet before Sasuke could fire back another witty remark, Kakashi interrupted: "Okay, that's enough arguing, you two," he said, taking on the role of peacekeeper since Sakura had now let their disputes slide.

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "But he started it!"

Actually, you started it this time, Naruto, Sakura said to herself silently, in spite of herself.

Kakashi sighed. "I don't care who started it," he answered dully, "Just make sure all three of you complete this mission successfully." …And I certainly hope they have much more teamwork than they're displaying. They've been Genin for almost a year now, and still haven't fully learned what it takes to be a team. He glanced in Sakura's direction. And I'm surprised at how quiet Sakura's been lately. Normally, she would have jumped into Sasuke's defense… I just hope they all get their act together to succeed in this mission.

"…I'll check up with Teuchi and Ayame later to see how you did," Kakashi added at last. "Good luck!" And then—just like the last time—he was gone in a cloud of smoke.

After he left, the three Genin remained silent. Naruto wore a pout on his face and had his arms crossed, while Sasuke just glanced away toward the forest with his hands casually in his pockets. On the other hand, Sakura just looked at them both with blank stares. Neither of them was moving an inch, which Sakura had to admit she was used to.

"Um…" she said after a moment, "Don't you think we should get going now?"

Naruto glanced at Sakura before peering over his shoulder towards Sasuke, glaring at him one last time. "Not until he apologizes," he declared tenaciously.

Sasuke scoffed. "Well, just for the record, you're never gonna get one, loser."

"Then I'm staying here!" Naruto insisted.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Naruto can be so single-minded sometimes. "C'mon, Naruto! Stop being so stubborn!" she shouted impatiently, placing her hands on her hips. "We can leave Sasuke behind, if you'd like!"

Sakura's last statement caught Sasuke by surprise, but he didn't say anything. And unlike Sasuke, Naruto didn't even notice the dramatic change in Sakura's personality. "Fine!" he decided at last, an edge present in his voice. However, he still began to walk back towards the village. "Let's go!"

Sakura grinned. That's more like it. She then trailed after Naruto, not even bothering to glance back to see if Sasuke was following or not.

Within a few minutes, the three Genin had reached the Ichiraku, and were warmly greeted by Teuchi and Ayame.

"We're so glad you could come today!" Ayame gushed, "My dad and I have to close up shop early today to run some errands outside the village."

Teuchi nodded. "Sorry this place is such a mess, but we're running a little late." He beckoned toward the counter, where a pair of wooden buckets stood with sponges on both sides. "The counters need to be wiped, the dishes in the sink need to be washed, and the floors need to be hand-scrubbed, mopped, and swept. Do you think you guys can handle it?"

Naruto was the first to answer: "Of course, old man! We've got it covered! No sweat!" he replied fervently, pointing a proud thumb at himself. "You can count on us! After all, we're not your average D-rank mission Genin!"

Sakura sweat-dropped. Seems like Naruto still hasn't gotten over Kakashi giving us this low-ranked assignment yet…

Sasuke forced himself not to scoff again. What a loser…

Teuchi and his daughter smiled. "Well, that's nice to hear," Teuchi stated.

They both bowed slightly. "Thank you all," Ayame said sincerely, "We really appreciate it."

After a terse farewell of waves and good-bye's, Naruto took charge: "Sakura and I'll handle the floors," he said, glancing in Sasuke's direction, "And you can take care of the dishes and counters."

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Just to let you know, I don't take orders from losers like you…"

"What?!"

"…But… I guess I'm fine with that," Sasuke replied at last with a shrug of his shoulders. He then walked behind the counter, leaving a very enraged Naruto fuming.

Naruto's eyes burned with fire. "Why…you…"

Before Naruto could lunge at Sasuke, Sakura handed him a mop. "Give it a rest, Naruto," she told him, handing him a bucket of water and a sponge. She then starting scrubbing the floor with her own cleaning materials.

Naruto stared down at the bucket and sponge in his hands. "What sort of mission is this, anyway?" he whined, "This is B-O-R-I-N-G!"

"Deal with it, dobe," Sasuke snapped coldly. By now, he was already rinsing out a dirty bowl.

Naruto resisted the urge to fling the bucket in Sasuke's face. "I wasn't talking to you, jerk!" he retorted, and then fell down to his knees, scrubbing furiously at the floor. "Just you watch, Sasuke! I'll finish scrubbing, mopping, and sweeping the floor before you even start on the counters!"

"Hn. Just keep telling yourself that," Sasuke replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes again, but didn't say anything this time.

After just fifteen minutes, Naruto dropped his sponge and stood up, wiping sweat from his forehead. He surveyed the floor, which now glistened in the afternoon sun. "Whew! Almost done!" He glanced over at Sasuke, who was finishing the last of his dishes. Darn! He's almost done! I'll never finish with the floor in time!

"Don't forget; we still need to get the floor behind the back counter," Sakura reminded him.

Naruto's face fell. "What?! Are you serious?!"

Suddenly, he felt a tug at the corner of his stomach. Gah! Oh, no! Not now! Ugh! I-I think I might have ate too much ramen this morning! Naruto clutched his stomach. "Uh, I'll be right back!" he declared, before dashing off towards the nearest restroom.

Sakura stared after him. So much for his bold proposal of getting done with the floors before Sasuke finished the dishes… Naruto's not gonna be too happy when he finds out Sasuke'll be done with the dishes and counters all before he gets back, knowing how long Naruto takes in the restroom…

Yet now that Naruto was gone, it was just Sasuke and her alone in the ramen shop. It felt really awkward, especially since Sakura didn't say anything for a change. No "Are you almost done with those dishes?" "Are you ready for the final match of the Chunin Exams?" or even a "How's everything going, Sasuke?" All those questions felt trivial and unimportant right now, as if they were a part of Sakura that no longer existed.

"Sakura?"

Sakura recognized the voice immediately, but refused to respond. Oh, so now he wants to talk to me? she thought spitefully. Well, it's a little late for that.

"Sakura?" Sasuke's voice started to grow annoyed.

Sakura threw her sponge down. "What?!" she demanded, glancing up to see Sasuke's turned back. Just like Sasuke's, her voice now had an irritated edge to it, but Sakura silently hoped he would notice this. Though she'd never used such a tone of voice with Sasuke before, the feeling that came with it was surprisingly good and relieving.

"…If you're mad at me for what happened outside my apartment two weeks ago…you're wasting your time," Sasuke replied coldly.

The sudden question took Sakura by surprise, but she refused to falter. "…I-is that what you think? Just who do you think you are to tell me how I should feel?!" Sakura demanded after a moment. She tried to make it sound like one of those confident and angry retorts that Naruto always shot back at Sasuke, but she couldn't.

Sasuke continued to wash the dishes, not even bothering to turn around and face her. "What happened then was a long time ago," he went on monotonously, "You should be over it by now."

Sakura couldn't believe Sasuke was giving her another one of those dreaded lectures about how she shouldn't care again. "For your information, I am over it!" she protested. "I don't need you anymore, Sasuke! I've got Lee now!" The words came out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Sasuke paused momentarily. "Lee?" he asked curiously. What about Lee?

Sakura mustered up her courage. This is my moment… The time when I finally stand up to Sasuke… "That's right!" she replied confidently. "Why did I even waste my time obsessing over you when Lee was right in front of me this entire time?! Lee's a lot better guy than you'll ever be, Sasuke! He knows how to listen to me, and cares about how I feel…unlike you!"

Sakura glanced up at Sasuke expectantly, a smug smile on her face. That ought to show him!

After a moment, Sasuke asked, "Is that all you have to say?" His voice was even and cool. "Do you really think I could care less?"

Sakura did not expect Sasuke to say that. "What?"

"You know, what you need to do is chill out, and forget about it," Sasuke told her bluntly.

Sakura gaped at him for a moment, appalled. "Haven't you been listening? I already told you that I am over it, remember? I've got Lee, and compared to him, you're nothing!" She sneered. "You really don't know anything about me, do you?" She gave him a moment to reply, but he didn't say anything.

Sakura shook her head in dismay. She'd had enough of this, and wasn't going to put up with it anymore. She stood up to leave, but before she did, she gave one final, hard glare in Sasuke's direction. "You disappoint me sometimes…Sasuke Uchiha…"

And with that said, Sakura walked out of the Ichiraku, leaving Sasuke behind.

Sasuke waited a moment before turning off the running water, and then turned around to see Sakura's retreating back, walking out on him…again.

A/N: And so, the moment you've all been waiting for: Sasuke's finally found out about Sakura and Lee, and Sakura's finally given Sasuke a piece of mind! What else could happen? Well, just for the head's up, I'll reveal Sasuke's thoughts in the next chapter!