Chapter 5: It Worked?!

The next morning, Naruto got up early which was unusual for him. He was still excited about what happened then night before. He couldn't wait to find Neji and see if the commands took. Despite being excited, his morning started out slowly, taking his time in getting dressed and eating. Around 10:00 he decided to leave his apartment and see if he could find Neji.

So far, he had no luck in finding him. Maybe he wasn't around. Maybe he was still home or off training somewhere. Naruto started searching. Once he saw that all the commands had taken, then it was time to try it out on Sakura and get that long awaited date he had been dying for.

"Why do you look so determined?" asked a voice.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to yell. "God, Shino! Will you stop that?!"

"What?"

"Sneaking up on people like that! It's creepy!"

"I wasn't sneaking. You just weren't alert enough to notice me."

Another wise answer from the ever serious Shino. If Naruto had his way, Shino would never sneak up on him again and he wouldn't answer everything with a snide remark. He hated how Shino had an answer for everything and came across as such a know-it-all. No matter what he did, it always seemed wrong in Shino's hidden eyes. If only there was a way to change Shino for the better so he wouldn't come across as 'creepy'.

"So why the serious look, Naruto?" he asked.

"I was looking for Neji. Have you seen him?"

"Last I knew, he had gone off somewhere with his team. We didn't say much. But I'm sure he's off to train with them. Judging from Lee's reaction, at least..."

"So training, right? Where?"

"I told you, I don't know. We didn't say much. Just a passing 'hello'. You need to learn how to listen."

"I am listening! I just want you to tell me where he went. Was it near the training grounds? Was it near the park? At least point east or west, man!"

Shino sighed, annoyed. "Clearly you don't listen well. I have no idea which way he went. The way they train, they're all over the place. Even if I knew, it may not be very helpful to you seeing as how it happened this morning."

"Shino, it's ten in the morning. It's still morning," Naruto pointed out.

"I meant as in dawn."

"Dawn..?" Two seconds later, Naruto almost yelled, "They went off to train at dawn?! Seriously?! That early?!"

Shino didn't move away but his body language told Naruto that he wasn't comfortable with his shouting. "They're part of Team Gai. Most of the things they do are considered extreme. Rather than ask me questions, why not go looking for them? Listen for counting. That's most likely Lee and where you find him his team can't be too far behind."

"Whatever, thanks." Naruto went back to searching. He was glad to be rid of Shino. It wasn't that he didn't like him. It was just that Shino struck him as weird. They were friends and all, but he hated Shino's constant criticisms. One day, just one day without hearing Shino find fault with something would be heaven. Maybe if he found a genie lamp it would come true.

A few minutes later, he heard another voice. "Please, Neji? Just one quick one, I promise." Through an alley Naruto spotted Lee, Tenten and Neji standing together talking. Lee seemed to be trying to get Neji to do something, but he was refusing.

Now that Neji was in his sights, Naruto hurried over to see if Neji remembered his commands.

"I told you no, Lee. Accept that," Neji was telling him.

"Please? I know I have improved a lot. My skills have increased! I want to show you how much stronger I am. Spar with me. Just for a few minutes."

"I said no. Don't make me say it again."

"Come on, Neji. Humor him," said Tenten. "If you do it, he'll stop pestering you."

"I'm not giving in. He has to accept my answer. I told him no and I meant it."

"He asks all the time. We should all be used to it," she went on.

Neji scoffed. "I don't care. We've been training since dawn. I would like to eat something before I fall over. I don't think I'm asking too much."

Lee wagged his finger. "Ah... But through proper training, one can go days without food."

"Lee, I'm not fighting you when my stomach is eating itself. Later."

"Just for one minute. Right now. Please?"

"No, Lee!"

Naruto chose to show up at just the right moment. Just as Neji's face was starting to change color, his shoulders shaking with rage, Naruto stepped into view. "Hello, guys! What's going on?"

Naruto was greeted by the team. However, his eyes were only on one person. The second Neji caught sight of Naruto, his rage melted away. His shoulders slumped slightly and his face returned to a normal color. There was something else happening that Naruto could not explain. Neji's lips were twitching. It looked almost like he was fighting back a giggle fit.

The command was 'every time you see me you'll feel as if you're being tickled', Naruto thought to himself. Looks like it's working.

"Good morning, Naruto!" greeted Lee excitedly.

"Hey, Lee." Naruto glanced from him to Neji. "So what were you guys talking about? You wanted to fight him or something?"

"Yes. I was asking Neji to a friendly spar but he refuses. It is very disappointing."

"That's because I haven't eaten yet and I was forced to get up early to train," Neji said bitterly. He was not in a very good mood.

Naruto moved closer to Neji. "So you're mad at him because he keeps bugging you?"

Neji glanced at Naruto, his face twitching oddly. Then Neji turned away trying to hide a small smile on his face. Neji seemed to find it impossible to stay in a sour mood when Naruto was nearby. This pleasant feeling kept swelling up inside of him. It made him feel almost happy. It was a nice feeling, but Neji wondered why it was happening to him.

"Just one quick spar, Neji," repeated Lee. "Please? I have so much energy I simply must use it!"

Neji came back to his senses a moment later. "Then use that energy to keep your mouth shut because I'm not doing it."

Time for another test. Naruto put a hand on Neji's shoulder in a kind gesture between friends. In reality, it was done to hide the trigger. All he had to do was touch Neji and he would agree to anything he said. "Come on, Neji. Lee seems to really want to spar with you. Why not let him? Just for a minute? Then you can do what you want."

The hand on his shoulder was comforting. And Naruto's voice put him at ease. So did his blue eyes.

A strange feeling came over Neji.

"Just spar with Lee for a minute, Neji. Ok?"

Neji blinked, an odd look on his face. And then... "Yeah. Alright, I'll do it. I'll spar with Lee. Just for a minute."

It worked! It really worked! Neji agreed! This was wonderful news. The hypnosis was a complete success.

Best of all, no one suspected a thing. To everyone around watching, it simply appeared that Neji caved in. Neji himself suspected nothing. As far as he was concerned, he was just won over by Naruto's persuasive words. He didn't feel like anyone was controlling him and no one around saw anything to tell them he was. This was perfect.

Neji and Lee found a clear space near the park to spar and faced each other. "Let's make this quick. No more than two minutes, alright?" said Neji.

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you for agreeing to this." Lee was already in his stance.

Sighing, Neji took his position, fully prepared to end this match quickly. He tried to focus but something was amiss. He looked to the side, spotting Tenten and Naruto standing nearby, watching them. The second he caught sight of Naruto his mind went blank. He felt strange, as if he was being tickled by soft paint brushes all over his body. It felt wonderful but he wondered why he was feeling this way. Suddenly, he felt Lee's foot in his face. He hadn't be concentrating on the match, completely forgetting that Lee was there and that they were sparing.

"Neji, are you alright?" Tenten asked from the sidelines. Lee had never caught Neji off guard before and never landed a direct hit like that.

"Yeah..." Neji clasped a hand to his stinging face. "Just wasn't paying attention."

Lee never sensed that Neji was distracted. He thought he had improved so much he was finally able to land a hit on his rival. He was already celebrating.

Naruto decided to leave them alone so Neji could focus better on the match. He had other things to do now that he knew that the hypnosis worked. It was time to use it on his real target. Now he just had to find Sakura.

Naruto hurried back into town and started searching in all the usual places he would find her. After running around for fifteen minutes, he finally spotted her walking down the street with something in her arms. He ran up to her, calling her name. She turned around. "Sakura! I'm glad I caught you."

"What is it?" She was carrying a bag from one of the nearby markets. She must have been heading home when he stopped her. As long as he wasn't interrupting her work or stopping her from completing errands on time, she shouldn't have a reason not to give him a few minutes of her time.

Naruto was so excited. Time for that long awaited date. He started to unzip the front of his jacket to get the necklace out. "Take a look at this, Sakura."

As soon as she saw him unzipping his jacket, she jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Naruto, you disgusting perv!" Holding the shopping bag in her left hand, she delivered a hard punch to his face with the right and sent him flying. Naruto slammed into a fence shoulder first. Sakura snarled. "I'm not interested in some perverted strip-tease, you idiot!"

"Wha..? What?! No, no! You have it wrong! I wasn't trying to-"

Sakura turned her back on him and marched off.

"Wait, wait! Sakura! I was just..." Naruto moaned. That was a complete disaster. Even if he did try to explain himself, there was no way she would allow him anywhere near her now. Once again she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. There was no way he could use the necklace's power on her now. This was a complete failure. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

He needed a new strategy. If he couldn't get to Sakura directly, then he would have to get to her through someone else. How was he going to do that? Within a few minutes, he had an idea. He would use someone else, someone under hypnosis. He would make them act really rude to Sakura and then he would rush to her aid. She would be so taken with his heroic act that she would ask him out on a date out of gratitude. It was fool proof. Now he just needed someone to take the heat for him.

He couldn't use Neji. She would know something was up. If Neji acted rude towards her, she would know it was some sort of trick. Neji would never be a jerk to her or to anyone else for that matter. He had matured a lot in the past few years. For him to behave the way Naruto wanted for this plan to work, he would be completely out of character. It had to be someone else. Someone who would be rude, even if they didn't realize it. Someone who was already a bit strange so it wouldn't be too far out of their character to act this way. Luckily, Naruto knew just the person for the job.

"I think I'll pay a visit to Sai," Naruto said with a smirk.

Please review! ^-^