Hey, everyone! This is chapter two of my collaboration with the lovely MissKluck! Thanks for being with me every step of the way, girlie! Be sure to go and check out her work, and she's a fabulous writer. We hope you enjoy chapter two!
I don't own the Naruto series.
It was the night before the festival, and preparations had been going swimmingly. Team 7, joined by Hinata, walked through Downtown Konoha, which was where the festival was to take place. Sakura gazed at the pretty lanterns and elaborate decorations that lined the streets, and smiled to herself. While she was still upset that Sasuke and her friends were to be auctioned off just to make a quick buck, she couldn't help but think that maybe the festival would be a good thing after all. It was hard not to think that way when she stopped to appreciate the work that went into preparing for it.
The sound of a certain blond haired knucklehead's voice dragged her out of her thoughts.
"Will you quit complaining already, you teme!?"
"No, I won't quit complaining. I can't believe I'm actually participating in this garbage," Sasuke grumbled.
"You've been bitching about it ever since you found out! You need to prepare yourself, because this is just another challenge in our rivalry!" Naruto declared.
"To think that you could possibly rival me in anything is laughable," Sasuke muttered.
"What was that!? This auction is going to determine who is better, once and for all!" the blond exclaimed.
Sakura was about to yell at both of them to shut the hell up, before Hinata chimed in.
"N-Naruto-kun, please calm down. You and Uchiha-san are b-both great shinobi," Hinata said quietly, hoping her boyfriend would calm down.
Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the blond, as he felt a headache coming on. The raven was more than up for the challenge, and Naruto knew it. Even so, Sasuke still wasn't keen on having a bunch of girls ogle at him like some prize to be won.
Kakashi, who had been walking beside the teens silently until now, chuckled at his students. "You two will never determine who's better. You'll always find something else to compete over," he said, thinking of his own 'rivalry' with Gai.
"Sasuke-kun, I know you're less than thrilled about participating in this auction, but just try thinking about how good it'll be for the village. It's just a couple of dates, how bad could it be?" Sakura said, trying to cheer Sasuke up.
Sasuke said nothing to the pinkette, instead simply opting to continue looking straight ahead with a sour look on his face.
Sakura sighed to herself. Yes, she was trying to cheer Sasuke up, but she was also trying to cheer herself up as well. The pinkette had been dreading this auction ever since she'd first found out about it in Tsunade's office. Sakura immediately said she'd never be a part of such a thing, but now she wasn't so sure. The thought of some random girl winning Sasuke drove her crazy, as much as she'd like to deny it. She'd been trying to get over Sasuke recently, but she was beginning to come to the realization that it was impossible. After all of this time, after all that Sasuke did, she still loved him.
Kakashi noticed the pinkette looking down and deep in thought, and he was pretty sure he knew the direction her thoughts were going. He lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him in surprise. Kakashi gave her a smile, his eye crinkling. No words were needed, Sakura knew that he was trying to reassure her. She gave her sensei a grateful smile in return.
The group finally stopped at a small café, as Naruto wanted food and the rest of the group was getting hungry as well. After everyone ordered their food, they sat and enjoyed some tea while they waited.
"It's hard to believe the festival is seriously happening tomorrow. The time has gone by so fast! Hinata-chan, you promise to outbid everyone, right!?" Naruto exclaimed.
Hinata smiled and nodded at the blond, a blush adorning her cheeks. "I promise, Naruto-kun. I'll definitely o-outbid everyone!" she said.
"Okay, good! It's your duty as a girlfriend to outbid all of those ugly hags for me!"
"NARUTO!" Sakura screeched, punching the blond in the arm hard.
"OW! Sakura-chan, that hurt!" Naruto pouted.
"That's no way to talk, you idiot!" Sakura growled.
"Um, Sakura-chan? Naruto? People are staring," Kakashi said.
The teens looked around them to see every pair of eyes in the café staring at them. Some were looks of disgust, and others were looks of amusement. Sakura felt her cheeks heat up.
"Hahaha! E-Eh, nothing to see here!" Sakura chuckled nervously, patting Naruto's arm and looking away in embarrassment.
Sasuke couldn't help but smile slightly, finding the pinkette's embarrassment slightly amusing. Of course, it was always fun watching his moron of a best friend get beat up as well.
"You two keep that up, and you'll get us all thrown out," the raven said.
"Heh, sorry, Sasuke-kun. I guess I got carried away," Sakura said softly.
"You have nothing to apologize for," Sasuke replied seriously, not quite knowing where that came from.
An awkward silence suddenly overtook the table, with Sasuke and Sakura glancing at each other momentarily and then looking away. Ever since the raven had returned to the village, there'd been tension between the teens. Though everything seemed okay on the surface, everyone knew differently. The raven and the pinkette had never actually talked about everything that had happened between them, both simply opting to pretend it never happened. Because of that, the two tended to avoid each other when possible, neither feeling very comfortable around the other.
The awkward silence was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat.
The group looked up to see none other than Sai and Yamato by their table, the latter smiling and giving a wave.
"Fancy running into you all here," Yamato greeted.
"Hey there, you two!" Naruto replied.
The team made room so that the two newcomers could sit down with them. Sai gave a smile and nodded at the group in greeting. "Hi there, dickless. Hello, boobalicious," he said, looking straight at the Hyuga heiress.
Sasuke promptly choked on his tea. Hinata let out a horrified gasp, her arms flying to her chest in an attempt to cover herself. Even though she wore modest clothing, it was obvious that she was very well endowed. She blushed as red as a tomato, not knowing what to say.
"HEY! That's my girlfriend you're talking about, you asshole!" Naruto yelled, incredibly pissed off.
"I swear, if we weren't in this café right now I'd kick your ass into next week!" Sakura scolded.
"Calm down, ugly. It seems like you're jealous because boobalicious is well endowed while all you have are mosquito bites," Sai replied.
"Sai, that's enough! Show some respect," Yamato chimed in, trying to diffuse the situation before Sakura killed somebody.
Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't believe Sai had been his replacement in Team 7. He was obviously awkward and had no idea how to act around others. Sasuke had never liked the guy, not one bit. He refused to admit that part of the reason was jealousy.
Sakura growled and attempted to reel in her temper, muttering something that sounded like "fucking pig" under her breath.
Naruto turned toward his blushing girlfriend and put an arm around her, attempting to cheer her up. "It's okay, Hinata-chan. Don't let Sai bother you. Your boobs are perfect!"
Hinata gasped and her blush increased tenfold, ducking her head into Naruto's chest in embarrassment.
Sasuke couldn't help but face palm. "You goddamn idiot," he muttered.
"What'd I say?" Naruto asked.
"Anyway, I think it's impressive how you're actually participating in this auction, Kakashi-senpai," Yamato said, changing the subject.
"Impressive? Why's that?" Kakashi asked.
"Well, it just doesn't seem like your kind of thing, is all. I really can't picture you dating anyone," Yamato replied.
"I really don't know how I got dragged into this whole thing. I figure if it's for the good of the village, I don't have a problem with it," Kakashi said.
It was true. Unlike his two students who did nothing but complain about the whole auction thing all of the time, Kakashi was pretty neutral to the whole thing. He had no idea how he ended up being some 'young, eligible bachelor', but he certainly wasn't complaining.
As the night came to a close, all Team 7 could think was that tomorrow would definitely be a long day.
It was the day of the festival, and last minute preparations were underway. People were putting the finishing touches on their displays and booths, and Tsunade was incredibly pleased.
"Everything looks great! If this doesn't bring our village out of debt, nothing will," Tsunade said, smirking.
"Baa-chan!"
Tsunade turned toward the voice and saw none other than a loud mouthed blond and the rest of his team approaching her. She couldn't help but smirk at the sour look on both Sasuke and Sakura's faces.
"Why, hello there. Where's Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.
"Tch. You know him. He could be anywhere," Sasuke scoffed.
Tsunade sighed, hoping the jounin wouldn't be too late. "Of course. He'll probably just show up at the last possible moment," she muttered.
"Everything looks great, baa-chan! A lot of work sure has gone into preparing for this," Naruto said.
"It sure has," Tsunade replied, before turning to her pink haired student with a smirk.
Sakura eyed the hokage, wondering what she was thinking. Surely it wasn't anything good.
"Sakura, I'm glad you decided to show up. I thought you wanted no part of todays festivities," Tsunade said.
The pinkette frowned and looked away, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. To be honest, she was ashamed of herself. She'd promised herself that she'd have no part in the festival whatsoever, but Sakura just couldn't help herself. She had to be there, so she came up with the perfect excuse. However, she'd be damned if she actually bid on anyone. There was no way in hell that was going to happen. She looked back at her master with defiance.
"Please don't get any ideas, Tsunade-sama. I'm only here to help out with the medical tent. You know, in case anyone gets hurt," Sakura said.
"That's very kind of you, especially since we have more than enough medical personnel on hand," Tsunade smirked.
"Someone called in sick," Sakura replied, a little too quickly.
The hokage's smirk widened. "Really now? Who called in?"
Just when Sakura thought she was totally busted, a familiar voice rang through the air.
"Naruto, it's nice to see you again!"
Tsunade and Team 7 turned toward the voice to see none other than Gaara and his siblings approaching. Naruto grinned wide and ran up to the kazekage, greeting him with a friendly hug.
"Hey there, Gaara! Temari, Kankuro," Naruto greeted with a smile.
"Sup, kid," Kankuro replied.
"Hello, everyone," Temari greeted respectfully.
Sakura gave a respectful bow, grateful for the siblings impeccable timing. Sasuke simply nodded in acknowledgement.
Tsunade smiled and walked up to the siblings, shaking Gaara's hand. "Welcome, everyone. I'm glad you all could make it," she said.
"Of course, we wouldn't miss it. Especially not Temari. You should have seen the look on her face once she heard about the auction," Kankuro grinned.
Temari blushed ever so slightly. "Kankuro, knock it off," she growled in warning.
The hokage chuckled at the siblings before acknowledging Gaara again. "I take it your trip here went smoothly?"
"Yes, it did. Representatives from our village, as well as the rest of the great nations are arriving," Gaara replied.
"Perfect. The rest of the kage should be arriving shortly as well. You're all more than welcome to walk around until the festivities officially begin," Tsunade smiled.
Gaara gave his own smile in return, as well as a nod. "Thank you, we're eager to look around," he said, before turning to Naruto. "You and I will have to grab a bite to eat later, Naruto."
The blond grinned and nodded at the redhead. "You bet! You guys enjoy the festival!"
With a final smile and wave, the siblings disappeared into the growing crowd to go and explore the festival. Tsunade watched with a satisfied grin, pulling out a bottle of sake from her robe and taking a swig. Sakura's eyes widened and she frowned at her master, not amused whatsoever. "Tsunade-sama, are you really drinking sake at a time like this?"
"What better time than at a festival?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the woman. "How professional," he muttered sarcastically.
"Pipe down, Uchiha," Tsunade barked.
Just as he was opening his mouth to retort, Sasuke spotted yet another annoying blonde from the corner of his eye. The raven took a deep breath, trying to reel in his irritation. "Great. There's another one," he growled.
Before anyone could ask what the Uchiha meant, a loud feminine voice rang out. "Tsunade-samaaaaa!"
The hokage sighed and turned toward the girl, knowing where this was heading. "What is it this time, Ino?"
The girl came to a halt in front of the hokage, giving a deep bow. "Tsunade-sama, please let me lead the auction!"
Sakura frowned at her friend with disapproval. "Ino, this is the fifth time you've asked Tsunade-sama about that. Why can't you take no for an answer?"
"I can't take no for an answer because these bachelors are hot!" she said, before she glanced at Naruto. "Except for you."
"Hey! What do you know!?" Naruto yelled.
"Why are you mad? You have a girlfriend, dobe," Sasuke scoffed.
"Just because I have a girlfriend doesn't mean I can't get insulted when someone tells me I'm not attractive! I mean, come on! I'm way hotter than you, teme!"
"Are you seriously going to argue over something so petty, you idiot?"
"Shut the hell up, both of you!" Tsunade boomed.
"But baa-chan-"
"No buts!" Tsunade yelled, growing very irritated.
Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Not wanting to deal with Ino's nagging anymore, the hokage decided to relent and let the young girl have her way.
"Alright, fine. I'll let you assist me with today's festivities, and host the auction. But no funny business, got it?" Tsunade relented.
Ino let out a happy squeal, and started bouncing up and down like an excited child. Without thinking, she gave the older woman a big hug, ecstatic. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama! I won't let you down, I promise! This is going to be so much fun," she gushed, letting go of Tsunade.
At that moment, Shizune came up to the group, greeting them with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Tsunade-sama, but the rest of the kage have arrived," she said.
"Not a problem, Shizune. Thank you for letting me know. Please escort them to the town center, where the auction will be taking place. I will meet you all there shortly," Tsunade replied.
The brunette gave a nod, and hurriedly left to meet the kage. Tsunade turned toward Team 7, and was ready to get the show on the road.
"Alright Naruto, Sasuke. The auction is set to begin in about an hour. You two are coming with me. It's time for you to get ready," Tsunade instructed.
Sasuke sighed, resigning himself to his fate. "Fine. Let's just hurry up and get this over with already," he muttered.
Naruto on the other hand wasn't very worried whatsoever. Hinata had assured him that no matter what happened, she would definitely be the highest bidder. If anything, he was excited that he'd get to show off what an amazing girlfriend he had. "Don't be so down, teme. I'm sure a really nice girl will be your highest bidder. It won't be bad at all!" he said.
"You are so full of shit," Sasuke deadpanned.
"I know, aren't I?" Naruto grinned.
Sakura simply shook her head at her teammates. No matter where they were or what they were doing, Sasuke and Naruto always found something to bicker about. She loved her boys, but sometimes she just wanted to clock both of them in the face. Especially now, when she was busy having an internal crisis over the damn auction. It was going to be torture, being forced to watch Sasuke be auctioned off like some piece of meat.
'No matter what happens, I will not bid on Sasuke-kun. No way, no how. I'm not bidding on anyone. If some other girl wins Sasuke-kun, that's fine by me. I won't bat an eye,' Sakura thought, trying to convince herself she didn't care.
The pinkette sighed and put on a fake smile, looking straight at her teammates. "Well, I should be heading to the medical tent now. Try having fun, you two. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think, Sasuke-kun," she said. She sounded as if she was trying to reassure Sasuke, and she was. However, she was also trying to reassure herself.
Without another word, Sakura turned on her heel and took her leave. Her teammates and Tsunade simply watched her retreating back, not knowing what to say or do. She made her way to the medical tent and didn't look back.
"I am not wearing that."
"Oh, come on, Sasuke-kun! Don't be a party pooper," Ino pleaded, holding up a suit.
"It's a stupid idea, and you should feel stupid," Sasuke growled.
"If I may interject, traitor, I think that wearing matching suits is a good idea," Sai chimed in.
"Bite me."
"Why would I bite you? I didn't know you were into that sort of thing, traitor. Perhaps the rumors are true after all-"
"Will you shut the fuck up?" Sasuke snapped, incredibly irritated.
"Sasuke-teme, baa-chan said that Ino-chan is in charge so we need to listen to her, whether we like it or not," Naruto said.
"This whole thing is so troublesome. Why did I agree to this, again?" Shikamaru complained.
Ino sighed and shook her head at the boys. "You agreed to it because it's an official mission from the hokage herself! And as part of this mission, you boys need to do what I tell you! Now put on these suits, damn it!"
Kiba smirked at the blonde, enjoying watching her get upset. "Now, now. No need to get feisty. I'm not really a suit and tie kind of guy," he said.
"Too bad, Inuzuka. You're listening whether you like it or not!" she screeched.
"What if I don't want to?" Kiba challenged.
"Then I'll just have to strip you guys down myself!"
Before anyone had time to react, the feisty girl lunged toward the Inuzuka, trying to rip his clothes off and forcibly put the suit on him.
"Damn, girl. At least take me out to dinner first!" Kiba smirked, not really trying to resist.
Sasuke couldn't believe the sight in front of him. Was Ino really trying to strip Kiba down in front of everyone? Was she really planning on doing that to all of them? Did she have no shame?
'I can't believe I actually graduated with these idiots,' Sasuke thought.
"Hey, guys. I just thought of something. Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, making Ino and Kiba stop what they were doing. Sasuke was actually grateful to hear Naruto speak for once.
"Why are you asking a stupid question like that? He's probably in a bush somewhere reading his trashy book," Sasuke muttered.
"Well, he better get here soon. The auction is starting in less than half an hour," Shikamaru said.
"Crap, we don't have much time at all! Come on, guys! Strip or I'm stripping you guys myself!" Ino yelled.
The boys sighed and eventually just gave in, agreeing to wear the suits. After taking the suits from Ino, she left the room and left them to change, a satisfied grin on her face.
Sakura sat inside of the medical tent, which was located just off to the side of the stage where the auction was to take place. The pinkette sighed to herself, less than thrilled with having to sit through the whole thing. Technically, she didn't have to. It was her own fault she was there, she didn't have to come. But she just couldn't help herself.
'I must be some sort of masochist,' she thought.
The nurses around her were chattering away about how excited they were to see the bachelors and how hot they must be, but Sakura just blocked them out. She took in the sights around her, watching the growing crowd gather around the stage. She saw the kage front and center, and saw some familiar faces among the crowd, one of them being Hinata. Sakura smiled to herself, happy that at least Naruto would have a nice girl to bid on him.
She turned her attention to the pretty booths and decorations lining the streets of downtown, and smiled wider as the scent of yummy sweets wafted through the air. Sakura just kept telling herself that if nothing else, the festival was sure to bring in a lot of money for the village, and bring them out of debt. She was already shocked at how many people were in attendance. She'd expected a large turnout, but this was incredible. Maybe it was a good thing she came, after all. More people meant more of a chance for injuries of some sort. It was then that Sakura decided that she would do nothing but focus her energy on staying positive and working on any patients that came her way.
The pinkette was broken from her thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice.
Tsunade stood center stage, holding a microphone up to her lips with a smirk on her face. "Hello there, everyone. Thank you very much for coming to our festival. We hope that your trip here was a good one, and we hope that you have a great time during your stay. To kick off the festivities, we'll be holding an auction. Without further ado, I present your host, Ino Yamanaka," she announced, as Ino walked up on stage.
The audience applauded as Ino took the microphone from the hokage with a smile. Ino wore a sleeveless purple dress that went to her mid-thigh, with a lot of sparkles. Her hair was in an elaborate braid, and she wore light makeup and flashy jewelry.
'That is so Ino…' Sakura thought, as she watched the events unfolding.
"Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon! I'm Ino Yamanaka, and I'll be your host! Who's ready to meet Konoha's most eligible bachelors?"
The crowd erupted with applause, as well as some hoots, hollers, and cat calls.
"I'll take that as an affirmative! Alright then, come on out, boys!"
One by one, Shikamaru, Kiba, Sai, Naruto, and Sasuke walked on stage, all wearing matching suits. Ino gulped when she realized that Kakashi was nowhere to be found. Just as the blonde was getting nervous, said jounin appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Sorry I'm late, I was rescuing a cat from a tree," he said.
The crowd simply stared in silence and Ino laughed nervously. "Heh, isn't he great, ladies and gents? Just stand next to Sasuke-kun, Kakashi-sensei," Ino instructed, trying to hide her irritation at the tardy man. Sakura had to resist the urge to face palm.
Turning back to the crowd, Ino continued. "Alright, folks! We'll be calling our bachelors up to center stage one by one, and everyone will have the opportunity to bid! The highest bidder will be the winner! Is everyone ready?"
Once again, the crowd erupted in cheers, and Tsunade watched it all unfold with a grin on her face. This would be good.
"Alright, then I declare this auction open! Let's get started!"
Sakura watched from the medical tent, and gulped.
This was it. It was time to begin the auction.
Well, it looks like the auction is officially underway! Who will win Sasuke? What crazy things will happen? We'll find out in chapter three! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please leave a review and follow this story! Until next time!