A/N: Hey, people! So, the idea for this chapter came at a really weird time and place. I was having PE and while I was running with my friend, I noticed a pile of wooden planks in a classroom(more like storage but yeah). So I was shaking my friend and shouting shit about inspiration and new chapter. Yes, I got inspired by a pile of planks. Anyways, enjoy the chapter~!

-Naruto's POV-

"Sakura-chan, wait for me!" I yelled as I ran towards the pink-haired girl, nearly dropping my pile of sticks. So, this jail was a bit different than your normal one, if you haven't figured it out already. When a prisoner does something out of order, there is a type of "punishment" to be met. The prisoner has to be transported to a forest near the edge of the village and collect wood for the winter. Of course, if the prisoner is unstable or has a habit to try and escape from the prison, they wouldn't let them out. The punishments differ depending on the type of deed done by the prisoner.

If it's something minor, like the food fight or breaking a chair and so on, they send you to collect wood for the winter and as for the unstable ones, they let them do chores in the prison, with a guard watching over them. Basically, manual labor. But if you tried to stab an officer or kill your co-prisoners, you get sent to the interrogation room, where Ibiki breaks your soul. Me and Sakura got sent to the forest with Sasuke, who is our "guardian", so to speak. We also have shackles on our wrists but without the chain that links them together, allowing us to move freely to collect the sticks. There is a certain mechanism about these shackles. If me or Sakura decide to hurt Sasuke or try to escape, he has a remote where he can press a button, and we would get an electric shock from our shackles, rendering us unconscious.

Even if I could escape, I wouldn't. First because I wouldn't get that far anyways, and second because I already made a deal with Duck Queen, and I plan to keep my end of it. Besides, it's pretty fun to mess with him. Sakura told me she planned on sticking with me, even though she could get out earlier, because her crime was half self-defense, and because of good behavior if she really tried. She was mainly thrown into prison because of her numerous fights. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a branch snap and turned my head around to find Sasuke leaning on a tree nearby, looking at the sky and probably just spacing out. Sakura had gone to place her pile of sticks in the truck, where two police officers waited for her, just in case she decided to run away.

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, why aren't you helping us collect wood? Stop standing there like some princess and start collecting!" I said, pointing my finger at him and making him roll his eyes.

"Dobe, this is your punishment, not mine, so do it yourself. I'm just here to watch over you so you-"

"So you don't try to escape blah, blah, blah. I know that already!"

"Then do your work." I just growled and threw a stick at him.

"You just don't want to get your hands dirty and lose to me, admit it!" I said. I saw his eye twitch and grinned. Mission Get Sasuke To Participate: Complete! He looked sharply at me and pushed himself off the tree, throwing the stick back at my face in the process.

"Hn, I won't lose to the likes of you, Dobe." He said, starting to pick up sticks at a fast pace. We went like that for about ten minutes, both of us shouting profanities at each other every now and then. I was starting to move deeper into the forest and before I realized it I had arrived at the edge of a lake that was at the end of the forest. My back was towards the lake so I didn't even know it was there at first, until I stepped backwards and my foot met thin air. I lost my balance and fell into the lake. I noticed, while I was underwater, that I had been walking on a wooden bridge. I was going to swim upwards and get out of the freezing water when I saw Sasuke's silhouette on the bridge. I grinned. I had an idea.

-Sasuke's POV-

I hadn't really realized when I had gotten into the challenge. It had been a long time since I last did something other than work and it felt good, like a breath of fresh air. Of course, I knew it was only for a while, before I had to get back to the normal routine. I had collected a lot of sticks, so I turned around to show the Dobe. He wasn't behind me though, so I went deeper into the forest. It was around noon now and the forest looked beautiful, the sunlight shining through the colorful leaves. I could hear the fallen leaves crunching under my shoes and I arrived at a clearing, where I saw a lake with a bridge going a little into the lake. I walked to the end of the bridge and looked around. The lake was reflecting the sunlight and I noticed there were a lot of sticks floating in it. I frowned and looked around for the Dobe. Did he drop them and scram back to the truck? Maybe he decided to grab a pile of them from there and tell me he collected them, I wouldn't be surprised.

I turned around to walk back into the forest but before I could take another step I felt a strong tug at my ankle and I fell backwards into the water, dropping my sticks in the process. I landed with a loud splash and when I opened my eyes underwater I saw Naruto grinning at me. I glared at him and kicked him away from me before swimming to the surface. I caught the edge of the bridge and pushed myself up. I lay on my back and waited for the idiot to plop down next to me.

"What was that for, Dobe?" I asked, feeling irritated.

"I saw you and thought it would be fun to drag you in the wat-" He turned his face in my direction and bursted out laughing. "Oh my god, your hair looks ridiculous!" He managed to say and I punched his shoulder, hearing him yelp. We lay on the bridge for a while until I heard someone calling us.

"Oi, you two, what do you think you are doing, lying there? I don't care how, you are going to collect everything you dropped again or else!" Sakura said, cracking her knuckles menacingly. Naruto chuckled nervously near me and I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. I've been doing that a lot lately and I didn't know if it was a good thing or not. Sakura turned and shouted something about waiting at the truck and I stood up, ready to head back.

"Lake."

"Huh?" I turned to look at Naruto, who grinned at me, stood up and slung his arm around my neck.

"The first word of the riddle. Since the village is on the outskirts of Tokyo, and it's the beginning of autumn, it's September right now, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then this is the first word for the first month. I was planning to tell you when you called me for interrogation but I told you now because...well the scenery fits, I guess. And maybe because your hair looks hilarious." He said, dragging me towards the forest. I pushed his hand away from my neck so I could walk normally, before I suddenly stopped. The Dobe was walking a little ahead of me and he turned around to look at me, confused.

"Sasuke-teme, hurry up! Sakura-chan is waiting for us and I don't wanna make her angrier. We still have to collect the sticks again, too." He said, pulling my arm. Ugh, I didn't want to say this but I had to.

"Oi, Dobe, th-" Agh, dammit, this was harder than I thought. Come on Sasuke, be a man for god's sake!

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you."

"I said-" I started, but I suddenly sneezed. Oh no. Don't tell me I caught a cold. I swear, if this was a cold, I was going to castrate this idiot.

"Well, what is it?" He looked impatiently at me. I hit him upside the head and sneezed again. I started walking away while rubbing my nose. Ugh, I needed a tissue.

"Thank you for the cold, Dobe." I sarcastically said. I could hear his shouting behind me and this time I actually smiled.

'Thank you for the fun day, Naruto.'

A/N: Welp, hope ya liked the chapter. It's shorter than usual but I had to write it down. Also, as Naru said, the village is on the outskirts of Tokyo, so I'm using their time zone(not sure if time zone is the correct term, but you get it). I checked and autumn begins in September (or that's what Google said), and I wanted to clear that out, since other people may live in different time zones and may get confused. Anyways, cya in the next chapter and R&R~