Race around the world: I love you Sakura Haruno!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and any of its characters and make no money from this story... support the official release and all that jazz!

Written by Ghostsammeo

AN/ So, this is, in a sense, the first chapter of the re-written Race around the world. I had this story up back in 2011 but took it down this year to rewrite and publish again, so this time I can at least try to regularly update. Please review to tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!

"That is quite amazing," Ino breathes down the phone to me as I regale her with my recent misadventure.

I am on my mobile, driving down the roads of northern California (I know; that's dangerous, illegal blah blah blah.) Just earlier, my car was robbed... with me inside. I was also arrested, had a gun to my head, freed from arrest and am now fleeing the scene from a crime I didn't commit.

"I thought so," I say back.

"Aren't you like, a wanted man now Sasuke? You're in what the cops think is a stolen car and you ran away from the police after all."

"Yeah, I guess so," I pause and then, "Any luck finding out about Sakura?"

"Not really. I checked her facebook page... nothing."

"Great detective work there Ino, thanks."

"Shut up. You talked to Naruto yet? Is he still ahead?"

I sigh, "Yep, I phoned him just before you, says he'll be in Oregon within the hour."

"Well then, good luck catching him Sasuke."

"Good luck with whatever you're doing Ino," I say back.

Her voice goes on a little but I hang up and throw my phone onto the seat next to me. Although I'm a wanted man, driving a 'stolen car' and am a fair few miles behind that dobe Naruto, I'm feeling pretty confident that I can do some good in this journey. After all, by the time I reach a city in Oregon it'll be night, and I'm sure Naruto will have stopped off somewhere for his beauty sleep. That'll give me a chance to catch him... well I hope it'll give me a chance to catch him.

The drive takes a long time and by the time I reach Oregon the sky is darkening. As I drive, signs of civilisation finally cropping up over the place, I get a phone call; mobile buzzing against the opposite seat and screen lighting up.

Naruto.

"Sup?" I greet.

"Hey Sasuke!" Comes Naruto's loud, grating voice, "Where are you?"

"Where are you?" I cryptically ask back.

"I'm in a bar... Ashland... with Kiba!"

Ashland... Ashland? If basic middle-school geography is anything to go by, that's southern Oregon! I'm close, very close!

Casually as I can I enquire, "You staying there tonight?"

I hear muttering away from the phone and then Naruto's voice again, "Err... yeah."

"Which bar?" I demand.

"Chuckie's!"

I hang up as he speaks (that's a rather rude habit of mine if you haven't noticed) and speed up in my car. I'm close! I'm coming Naruto!

By the time I reach 'Chuckie's' my eyes are tired and the sky black. Being close to somewhere is never really close when you don't know where to look. I got lost at the Highway and had to ask some fat guy called Choji who owned a travelling burger van for directions (he also gave me a burger, which looked like cooked baby poo in bread but tasted surprisingly nice upon that first, frightening bite.) Finally, though I arrived at Chuckie's, a bar just outside of Ashland, so it still seems like some desolate crap-heap far from anything civilised.

Various bikes (motorbikes, not old man bikes) adorn the outside of this wooden shack. When I step out my car I immediately look for Naruto's, but then realise he's not in his shitty green Honda still stuck back in the Uni car park, California. He got a ride with 'Kiba'... I keep asking but who the fuck is Kiba?

I lock my car (making sure to take my wallet out of the glove box first) and then stroll over to Chuckie's front.

Pushing it open I am met by a dimly lit bar, full with people talking, arguing and fighting. A bikers bar... perfect. I walk over to the bar counter where the guy behind gives me a long hard glare. (With one eye... he only has one eye.)

"Water... please," I order. He growls something at me (out of anger because I ordered water!?) then spits on the floor before turning to fetch me my drink.

"Slightly unhygienic," I comment but then shut myself up when the guy (note: very big guy) on the stall next to me fixes me a threatening glare.

I scan the room as I sit at my stall, looking for really anybody smaller than everybody else and blonder. I can't see him, but I can feel his presence. I know he's here somewhere. With Kiba... whoever the fuck that is.

"Water," Comes a grunt behind me.

I turn to see the barman, placing a small glass full with (green?) water in-front of me.

"Err thanks... Tell me, anybody by the name of Naruto opened a tab?" I try.

He stares at me for a long while (so long I am about to smile awkwardly, apologise for being alive and then promptly leave) but then he nods.

I bob my head at my drink, "He's a friend of mine, put it on his tab."

The barman grunts and then leaves me in peace.

His tab is still open. He must be here. We're on level footing now!

I wait about at my stall a bit longer, simply waiting for my Naruto sense to start tingling but nothing comes up. I sigh and scan the bar once more. Nope, Naruto's not about.

I scoot off my stall and make my way to the toilet doors to the right of the bar. Maybe Naruto was in there? Knowing him he was probably stupid enough to eat some infested nuts, sitting in a bowl on each bar table, and is now in the men's rooms vomiting.

Pushing open the door I am hit by a wave of... well... the stench of shit, vomit and blood; but there's still no Naruto. There's a guy in the corner who may very well be dead, but no Naruto.

Sighing I go to leave, honestly baffled as to Naruto's whereabouts, but something catches my eye as I make my way to the door. I pause and turn. At the end of the bathroom is a small, open, rectangular window… He never!

I rush to it, carefully stepping over dead guy, and heave myself up to look through the gap. It's just the side of the bar, gravel and shadowed bushes, but there's still the possibility that Naruto did what I suspect him of doing. He could have fled through the bathroom window to get a head start. The jammy bastard.

I fall back down and rush out of the bathroom. I figure if I'm lucky (and right of course) I could still possibly catch him before he gets away. I'm not exactly sure what I'd do if I did 'catch' him, to be honest. Punch him in the nose? Cut his tires? Yeah, I'd cut his tires.

I march through the bar, heading towards the front, and as my hand wraps around the door handle, a voice makes me freeze in my tracks.

"You looking for Naruto?"

I turn my head slowly.

A guy, maybe about my age, with a spikey set of brown hair, a leather jacket and a beer bottle in hand, sits at the booth to my immediate left. I turn my body fully and slowly sit down in the seat opposite.

"Kiba?" I try.

He grins, "That's right. And you're Sasuke."

I nod.

"You're racing Naruto to find a girl? I'm surprised this Sakura chick hasn't just chosen you already. I'm straight n' all but Naruto isn't exactly as pleasing to the eye as you, if you know what I mean."

"It's not as simple as that," I return, "But thank you."

He smiles once more and then begins to peel the wrapper around his bottle. I cough.

"So… Naruto."

Kiba looks up at me from his bottle, "You wanna know where he is?"

I smile, "Just to chat."

He lifts a finger and daintily points at the bar where I once sat.

"He's there."

I turn and look only to lock eyes with the guy behind the bar. He narrows his eyes and me.

Quickly I draw away and turn back to Kiba, "Where?"

"Behind the bar. They took him."

I frown, "Who took him?"

"The bar people. They took him back into the kitchens."

"Why!?"

Kiba shrugs.

I stand and move out of the booth. This Kiba guy is really weird. They took Naruto? It sounds like he's bullshitting me. Just to check though I return to my stall, and tap the counter.

The big guy with the missing eye comes to me, growling.

"What now?"

Taken aback, I ask quietly, "Erm. Yeah. Hi. By any chance do you happen to be holding hostage a blonde kid. In the back there… Sir?"

He spits on the floor again (why?) and then simply marches off, without answering me.

I'll take that as a no. Though Naruto's a bit of a trouble maker he's not stupid enough to somehow get himself taken hostage (and although scary I don't think these bikers are evil enough.) So Kiba was bullshitting me. But why?

I turn around to say something, but the aforementioned guy has gone. His beer bottle the only trace of him ever being there.

Oh crap.

I leap to my feet and race to the door, charging out into the night to the sound of a rev of an engine and car lights shining into my face.

"Oh shit!" I hear Naruto's voice yell, "He's here! He caught us!"

It's Naruto. In a car. Kiba next to him.

Shit, Kiba was distracting me while Naruto ran away to get into the lead. They probably didn't realise I was so close, so when I arrived at the bar they devised some crappy plan to give Naruto a head start.

Their car is moving.

I glance at mine. No time, too far away. I'm not falling behind Naruto again, even if it is just by a couple of metres! Time to do something crazy!

I bound forward, stopping myself in-front of Naruto's (or Kiba's I guess. Naruto's driving though) car. The vehicle stops with a screech and after a couple of seconds I hear a car window lowering. Naruto's voice speaks out of it.

"Sasuke! Get out of the way! Don't cheat, be fair!"

"Oh, using this weird Kiba guy to distract me so you can run off is fair is it?" I retaliate.

Naruto's voice continues shouting from out of the window, "We got caught up. I was sick because I had some food poisoned nuts or something, from the bar. That's the only reason you caught me! I'd still be ahead otherwise!"

"I don't care. Get out of the car I want to talk to you."

Silence. Only the sound of the car engine running and the flattened sound of jukebox music from inside of Chuckie's.

Naruto's blonde spikes suddenly pop out of the car window. He grins at me.

"Hey," He smiles.

I take a deep breath, then speak again, "Naruto what are we doing? Why are we racing? You don't even like Sakura!"

His face morphs into anger immediately, "Yeah I do! I like her more than you!"

I snarl, "No you don't!"

"I do!"

"No you don't!"

Kiba pops his head out of the other window, "He does."

"Shut up you!"

"Look, Sasuke," Naruto suddenly says, "I love Sakura. I have since high school. Apparently, so do you. We agreed, we agreed back in her flat that we would find her. We both have to find her. To tell her how we feel. Nothing's going to stop me from getting to Canada. Especially not you. Now get out of the way."

I narrow my eyes. I feel annoyed. Annoyed that Naruto clearly does love Sakura as much as me. Annoyed that even though he's a dobe who barely passed his Literature classes, he can still express how he feels better than I can. I'm also determined. Determined to find Sakura first. I've been behind in this race the whole time and now it's time to change it up a bit.

I sit down, crossed leg, on the ground.

Naruto's eyes widen and he moans, "Awww. Sasuke stop being a dick!"

I point my nose in the air up at the stars, "Get out of the car."

Kiba, still leaning out his window, laughs.

"Wow, you two are pretty crazy. This is an awesome road trip! It's like a movie or something!"

"Sasuke," Naruto continues to moan, "This is just childish."

It is. And since I never get to act like a child, I love it.

I point my nose even further in the air.

"Can we not just reverse around him?" I hear Kiba ask.

"Not without hitting the cars parked next to us." Naruto returns.

"That's right. So get out of the car Naruto so we can talk." I add.

"No way! That'll mean you're on level footing with me! I've been ahead this whole time!"

I shrug. I'm not moving. Man, I feel like Ghandi.

I watch out of the corner of my eye as Kiba and Naruto bob their heads back into the car. I hear some talking, not loud enough for me to understand. What are they planning?

After a couple of seconds, the car door opens and Kiba steps out. He strolls up to me. I look up at him.

"What?" I snap.

He shrugs, "Sorry about this bro."

I go to speak but before I can a horrible, sharp pain runs through my jaw. I fly backwards, landing with a skid in the dust.

HE KICKED ME!

I prop myself onto my elbows, hand resting on my mouth, blood trickling out of it, "What the fuck!?"

No. No. Nobody kicks an Uchiha and gets-a-fucking-way with it! That little shit Kiba Inuzuka.

Dammit Naruto! God dammit.

This race just got fucking violent.

AN/ So this story will sort of be on the backburner as I have just started a Naruto AU High school fic about murder and romance and stuff, so updates most likely won't be too regular. I'll try to get another one out soon though. Thanks for reading!