Chapter 5: To Protect and Serve

Naruto was a teenager, not yet married and struggling to make ends meet. He had the love and support of the village, of course, but he still had to prove himself worthy of becoming Hokage. Aside from all his studies, Naruto also had to complete specific missions to earn a spot in the running. What made this a particularly difficult task was the fact that he could not skip any of the trail missions he was assigned. Unless he completed them all, he would not be eligible to become Hokage.

So far, he had completed each and every one of his assignments. For weeks, there were no new assignments worthy of the Hokage trial, leading Naruto to believe he had accomplished them all and had proven himself.

That was until Kakashi discovered an assignment he felt would either make or break Naruto's candidacy. Feeling that no one else was worthy of such an assignment, Kakashi brought it to Naruto's immediate attention.

"There's someone in trouble outside the village you must help," he explained. "This is no ordinary rescue mission, Naruto. This person has been transformed and you must find a way to change them back to normal and there is a specific way to do that. If you fail to complete this mission, you can never become Hokage."

"I understand," said Naruto, itching to prove himself.

"Shikamaru will be going with you to verify. He cannot help you."

"I get that," said Naruto. "So, Kakashi-sensei, who's the person I have to save?"

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Sasuke."

"I hate this mission, I hate this mission… Why does it have to be Sasuke?"

"Aren't you mature enough to not be like this at the mere mention of his name?" Shikamaru asked as he walked beside Naruto on the road to their destination.

"I kicked his ass. He's exiled. He still won't admit how great I am and I have to rescue him? He better be on his hands and knees kissing my feet after I save him."

Shikamaru sighed and looked at the book in his hands which contained details of their assignment, along with location, and notes describing how Naruto conquered the task. Shikamaru would have to take extensive notes describing everything in detail in addition to being an eyewitness.

"According to reports, he should be somewhere around here." Shikamaru looked down the dirt path but all he saw were trees. As they walked, they came across a wood fence, marking the entrance to a village. Before long, they found buildings and something that made them stop in their tracks.

"Is that what I think it is?" Naruto asked in a whisper.

There was a figure standing before a couple of children, handing them a cat. The delighted children praised the young man, thanking him for finding their cat. That wasn't the odd thing, however. It was the fact that the young man had a pair of feathered wings on his back.

"Thanks, mister!" said the children, carrying their cat in their arms.

"You are very welcome," said the winged man. "Take care."

The winged man turned and stopped short, seeing Naruto and Shikamaru. Sasuke's face grew still upon seeing them.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said in disbelief.

Sasuke just stared at them.

"Are those wings?"

Sasuke tried to hide his wings as best he could, but they were almost the same size he was. He even tried using his arms to pull them down and out of sight.

"You got your arm back?" Naruto sputtered. "How'd that happen?"

"It must have been a result of his transformation," assumed Shikamaru. "I'm pretty sure he didn't have wings before either."

Sasuke would not speak with them, apparently embarrassed by his appearance.

"How did this even happen?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

The Uchiha knew they weren't going to leave him alone, so he answered them. "I ran into this thing in the forest who offered me help."

"What kind of thing?" Shikamaru asked, already taking notes.

"It flew," he answered. "Saw me fumbling with my one arm and took pity on me, I think. It wanted to know why I was out here and I told it that I was trying to get stronger and help people. Next thing I knew, I had my arm back and I had these wings."

"This thing gave them to you?" Naruto was in a state of shock. "Just because you said that?"

"Since then, I've been…"

"Excuse me, young man," came an older man's voice. "It seems the roof's been leaking at the store. Could you please assist us?"

Sasuke gave the man a charming smile which transformed his entire face into something very unakin to the Sasuke they knew. "Right away, sir."

Shikamaru dropped his pen in shock and Naruto's mouth hung open.

Sasuke gave them a quick glance and hurried away, biting his lip in embarrassment.

"What was that?!" Naruto gaped.

Shikamaru thought he understood. "I think he's a subservient creature. One that serves humans and helps them."

"A creature that serves humans in need?" Naruto asked, looking in Shikamaru's direction instead of Sasuke's.

"Yeah. You know," said Shikamaru. "Like a fairy."

Clutching his sides, Naruto doubled over in laughter. Having Sasuke Uchiha associated with the word 'fairy' was just too hilarious. The mental image alone had Naruto in stitches.

"A fairy… Sasuke's a… hahahaha!"

Shikamaru wasn't as tickled by this as much as Naruto and kept his composure. "Either way, you'll have to change him back."

Hilarity aside, looking at Sasuke gathering wood and a toolbox from a villager and using his wings to fly onto the roof to patch the leak had Naruto questioning why they should. Sasuke bent over the hole in the roof and started hammering a new board over the one they had removed, working hard to help people he didn't even know.

"Do we have to?" Naruto asked, approving of Sasuke's so-called predicament. "He's helping people. He's actually doing nice things. Why change him back if he can do more for people like this?"

"Because if you can't, you can't become Hokage," Shikamaru reminded him.

Something cracked inside Naruto and Shikamaru watched Naruto's knees buckle.

He was right. He had to change Sasuke back to normal or he couldn't become Hokage.

After he patched the roof, Sasuke flew to the ground and looked around for other things to occupy his time.

"Hey, Sasuke," called Naruto. "About that person you met in the woods. Do you think you can point them out to us? We'd like to meet them."

"Sorry, but I can't," he answered. "I don't know where they went. Even if I wanted to find them again, and I have tried, I can't."

"Oh." Naruto looked dejectedly at the ground. "Then…"

Sasuke looked to the side, seeing a woman trying to hang a basket of flowers from her awning. Sasuke went over to help her. He politely lifted the basket up and onto the hook.

"What do we do now?" Naruto asked. "Any advice?"

Shikamaru thought about it. "Well, based on his behavior and what little I know about their nature, creatures like him are good-natured and helpful. They serve humans and aren't confrontational. So…"

"Which is so un-Sasuke-like." Naruto said with a shake of his head. "Wait. Do you think he's acting like this because the transformation affected his disposition as well?"

"Hard to say. But what I can tell you is that if you can make Sasuke act against his fairy nature, he might change back to normal."

"In other words… I have to make him confrontational."

Shikamaru nodded. "Make him lose his temper or attack you. Those are things his kind cannot do. Getting him to do so may be enough to reverse this."

"Perfect!" said Naruto and went over to Sasuke. He tapped Sasuke on the shoulder, then punched him in the face the second he turned around.

"Ow!" Sasuke, yelled, holding his nose. "What did you do that for?"

"Makes you angry, doesn't it?" Naruto stood with a big smirk on his face. "Go ahead and hit me back if it will make you feel better."

Sasuke rubbed his nose and said, "I don't want to hit you back."

"Why not? Is it because the fairy in you refuses?"

Sasuke's lip curled. "F- fairy?"

"You got the wings, don't you?" Seeing the look on Sasuke's face, he added. "I insulted you, didn't I? Oh, well, I'd understand if you wanted to take it out on me. Go right ahead."

"I'm not going to hit you over that."

"Come on!" yelled Naruto. "You've straggled me over less than that. Feel free to break my arm."

Sasuke didn't move.

Naruto handed Sasuke his arm. "Go ahead." He physically put Sasuke's hands on his arm. "There we go. Nice and easy. Now twist and break a bone. Go ahead." He still wasn't doing anything. "Go ahead."

Sasuke let his hands fall back to his sides without bringing harm to Naruto.

"Come on, Sasuke! What's the matter? I know you want to hurt me so just do it."

"Why would I do that?" he asked, putting a hand on his hip.

"Because Naruto won't pass his test unless he fixes you," Shikamaru said, standing over Naruto's shoulder.

"Fixes me?"

"That's right," Naruto blurted out in desperation. "This is my task to become Hokage. If I can't get you to lose your temper and hurt me, I won't pass and will never become Hokage!"

A twinkle appeared in Sasuke's eye. It was subtle but Shikamaru noticed it. "You… won't become Hokage?"

"That's right. I have to make you do something outside your good-nature to change you back. You have to do something mean to me or be confrontational or you'll stay like this and I won't pass my trial."

Sasuke's brow raised. "I see."

"So, let's get back to it." Naruto stomped on Sasuke's foot. "Hurts, doesn't it? What do you say?"

Sasuke smiled at him submissively. "I forgive you."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"I think that was the point," Shikamaru told him, knowing what Sasuke was up to.

Naruto tried again. He stomped even harder on Sasuke's foot, grinding his heel into Sasuke's toes. "Well? Isn't this painful? Doesn't it make you mad?"

"Oh, how could I be mad at you?" Sasuke said, though it was clear he was in a lot of pain by the tiny tears in the corner of his eyes. "I'm sorry I left my foot in your way. How clumsy of me. Do forgive me."

Naruto pulled on Sasuke's ear as hard as he could. "The polite act is getting on my nerves," he screamed in his ear. "Aren't you going to yell at me or punch me in the jaw?"

"Why would I ever do something so mean?" Sasuke smiled politely at him.

Naruto pulled Sasuke's head down and kneed him in the jaw. "Just hit me back! You know you want to!"

Wiping away the thin line of blood from his lips, Sasuke smiled at him. "I have no desire to do anything cruel to you."

"You moron!" Naruto kicked Sasuke in the shin. "I'm trying to change you back or you'll be a fairy forever!"

Fighting back tears and a growl, Sasuke smiled pleasantly at Naruto. "Can I really stay a fairy? I can do ever so much to help others."

"What is wrong with you?!"

Shikamaru put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I don't think he wants to change back, which is why he's acting so submissive."

"What?" Naruto said over his shoulder. "But if he stays like this, I will never become Hokage."

"Exactly," Shikamaru spelled it out for him. "The two of you are still rivals. Not only that, but didn't he tell you that he was going to become Hokage one day? If there's the slightest chance he can prevent you from becoming Hokage, he'll do it, even if he won't be able to either."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Can't you tell by the way he's behaving?" Shikamaru pointed at the smiling Sasuke with a glimmer of malice in his eye. "He doesn't want you to pass."

Naruto snarled, glaring at Sasuke. "This guy is a sore loser." He punched his fist into his hand. "You wanna make this a challenge? Fine."

From that moment on, Naruto relentlessly pummeled Sasuke with everything he had. Kicking him, pulling his hair, using the Rasengan to launch Sasuke as far as he could, slamming him into walls, stepping on his feet, shoving him into a pile of broken glass and off ledges, spiking his food with a diarrhetic, gluing his hands together and following him around just to shout hurtful things in his ear but nothing worked. No matter what he did, Sasuke brushed it off with a smile.

Shikamaru watched from an outdoor café, sipping tea while Naruto pulled Sasuke's pants down in the middle of the street in front of two girls. He went so far as to light a firecracker and stick it in his pants as Sasuke pulled them back up. He screamed and jumped around while his pants crackled and popped, hurriedly trying to pull them back down. Even with his pants smoking and in tatters, Sasuke told Naruto that he bore no grudge.

"I don't think it's working," Shikamaru said as he lifted the tea cup to his lips.

"I'm open to suggestions," Naruto snarled at him angrily.

"I'm not allowed to help," Shikamaru said, setting his tea cup back down. Truthfully, he was enjoying this.

Naruto pulled on Sasuke's wings with all his might. "Come on, Sasuke! Get mad! Get angry! Do something horrible! The next firecracker's going up your ass if you don't!"

Eye twitching, Sasuke gave Naruto a forced smile, also at wit's end. "Why would I ever be mad at you?"

Changing tactics, Naruto handed Sasuke a gift-wrapped box. "I'm sorry I tried to make you change. Please accept this gift as a token of apology."

Sasuke could hear something sizzling inside the box and pushed it into Naruto's chest. "I don't deserve it. It looks like you spent good money on it, so you should keep it."

Sasuke flapped his wings to put space between himself and Naruto as the box exploded in Naruto's hands. Covered in soot and singed clothes, Naruto gritted his teeth.

"Oh, my. You're all dirty," Sasuke said, returning with a towel. "Let me help you clean up."

Naruto took the towel from Sasuke and poured hot sauce in it and pressed it into Sasuke's face. "You're looking a little pale. Mind if I add some color to your cheeks?"

Sasuke pulled the towel from his face which had turned bright red from the hot sauce. Lips swollen and eyes puffy and watering, Sasuke said, "Thank you, Naruto. You are too kind."

"Oh, wow. You look so red. Let me cool you off." Naruto grabbed Shikamaru's hot tea and threw it in Sasuke's face. "Better?"

Through a twitching eyes and scalding skin, Sasuke managed to wring out the words, "Much better. Thank you."

Naruto wasn't about to let up. This wasn't about becoming Hokage anymore. It was about winning.

"Why don't I treat you to lunch? Here's the menu." Naruto grabbed the heavy, leather-bound menu off a table and cracked Sasuke over the head with it. "Oops. My bad."

"Think nothing of it," Sasuke said through his teeth, smiling.

"Here. Have something sweet to eat." Naruto picked up a pie and threw it in Sasuke's face. "Fairies like sweet things, don't they?"

"You are so considerate, Naruto. Thank you." Sasuke wiped the cream and crust from his eyes.

"Now you're the one who's all dirty. Let me clean you up." Naruto grabbed the mop bucket and doused Sasuke with it. He took the mop and scrubbed Sasuke's face with it, making sure to get the long, braided cords into his mouth with each thrust.

Spitting out a piece of chewed gum and the wrapper from a straw, Sasuke pushed his hair back and said, "Thank you, Naruto."

"What the hell does it take to get you mad?!" Naruto was pulling out his hair over this. No matter what he did, Sasuke restrained himself.

Sasuke flew off to help some villagers who were calling for him.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru who hadn't stopped watching in all this time. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"You may not be able to help me, which I'm sure you take great pleasure in…"

"I won't lie. It's pretty great." It was part of the reason he was enjoying himself so much.

"But you can give me advice," Naruto went on. "What kind of advice can you give me?"

Shikamaru crossed his legs as he leaned back in his seat. "I have to be careful about that. There's some advice I can't give you because it would be helping you too much. What I can do is offer support and advise you in a way that won't give you the answer but help you get there."

"Then do that!" Naruto shouted. "I am this close to ripping off his wings and saying he's cured."

Shikamaru gave the most subtle of smiles and said, "If you keep at this, eventually he will return to normal."

"Then he will break? Just like I've been trying? After all this, he must be getting close."

Shikamaru scratched the side of his neck. "That's not what I meant but ok." Sasuke would eventually return to normal if things continued as they were, but not necessarily in the way Naruto expected. Not that he was going to tell him that.

Things escalated after that. In addition to causing Sasuke physical pain, he also started sabotaging his work. When he finished fixing a roof, Naruto tore it up again. When he finished repairing a fence, Naruto tore it down. He took a bat to the potted plants Sasuke just finished setting up on a porch. After gathering a bunch of sheep back into their pen, Naruto let them out again and chased them so they'd scatter.

Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand as he watched the angry villagers chased Naruto through the street with weapons in hands while Sasuke worked to repair the damage.

"I could've told you that would happen," he told Naruto when he came back battered and bruised.

Naruto spat out a tooth and tucked it into his pocket. "I was trying to make more work for Sasuke, not get the villagers mad at me."

"Well, what did you think was going to happen after you damaged their property?"

Flapping wings stirred up a breeze as Sasuke flew over to land beside them with a satisfied smirk. "And how are you doing today, good sirs?" There was a conniving undertone behind those words that made both boys uncomfortable.

"Don't think you've won," Naruto told him.

Sasuke merely smiled in answer which had Naruto on his feet and shaking him.

"I knew it! What did I just say? I saw that smirk on your stupid face! Don't get all high and mighty on me, you winged pansy!"

Sasuke tolerated the shaking and even laughed a little.

"I said stop it!"

"My apologies, dear friend. I believe am I just a bit confused." It looked like Sasuke was holding back laughter, enjoying this.

"I can't tell if he's talking like that because of his condition or because he's trying to mess with us." Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand again. It really was hard to tell at this point.

"I am going to break you one way or another," Naruto said, pulling Sasuke to his face.

It was more of the same. Naruto tortured Sasuke and Sasuke dismissed everything. Naruto used exploding tags on Sasuke's wings to knock him out of the air and tied his ankles to a fence so he couldn't get away. He didn't even try, knowing he would end up damaging the fence if he did. He merely stood there until the rope burned away from the barrage of attacks Naruto threw at him.

"Have some pie!" Naruto threw another pie in his face. "It's loaded with firecrackers!"

"Thank you, Naruto."

"Accept this token of appreciation!" Naruto stuck a smoke bomb in Sasuke's mouth and let it explode.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"Catch this!" Naruto hurled a cinder block at Sasuke who caught it in his chest and nearly fell over. "And this one, too!" Naruto threw another one and Sasuke caught them all, one after another.

He organized them into a pyramid and said, "Thank you for the workout, Naruto. You are too kind."

Fuming, Naruto tried harder. He lit Sasuke's pants on fire, replaced his water with oil and watched him roll around in the dirt until it went out. He took wood from the fence and beat Sasuke with it. He jumped on Sasuke's back and ordered him to fly which ended up causing both of them injury. Mouse traps on his toes, itching powder in his clothes, using his face to open walnuts and watermelons, and using him for target practice when everything else failed and he ran out of ideas.

Two straight days on constant assault and neither side broke. Both could barely stand and still wouldn't back down. Naruto repeated the same tricks hoping something would be the breaking point.

Shikamaru tried to enjoy a sandwich but Naruto took it from his hand to rub in Sasuke's face. Sighing, Shikamaru went hungry and waited for one of them to give up.

Neither of them would do that. They were equally matched when it came to stubbornness.

Panting and in tatters, they both continued with the same old routine.

"I brought you some cupcakes. The frosting's hot sauce."

"How thoughtful. Thank you."

"Have something to eat. This lemon should do."

"Thank you. It's so good."

"Wash it down with this. It's water from the toilet."

"You are so considerate."

"Let me help you drink it."

"I'll savor it later."

"I insist."

"Don't trouble yourself, Naruto."

"Allow me."

"No, allow me."

"You need to preen your feathers. Don't you? Allow me to help you."

"I- ow!- appreciate the gesture. Ow! You are getting fistfuls of my feathers, aren't you? Well, I forgive- ow!- you."

"For the love of all that is holy, break!" Naruto picked up a sign indicating the restaurant's specials and clubbed Sasuke over the head with it repeatedly. He beat him with it until the sign broke in two and discarded it.

He was out of ideas. He repeated himself hoping Sasuke would lose his temper by now but nothing worked. The repetition wasn't enough. His cruelty wasn't enough. The pain he caused Sasuke wasn't enough. What else could he do?

Falling to his knees, Naruto played the only card he had left. It wasn't because he thought it would work. He was at the end of his rope and couldn't do anything else. Hopelessness and desperation reduced him to this, his lowest point.

"Please. Please, I'm begging you."

Sasuke stood over Naruto, unsure if this was a trick or if he had actually broken Naruto.

"Please, just change back. Please help me help you change back." Naruto bowed his head to Sasuke, unable to hold himself up anymore. "I'm begging you, Sasuke. Please."

A smile spread across Sasuke's face and he started to laugh. "I like being a fairy. I like helping people. I like having wings and both my arms. I don't want to change back. I refuse! If you're waiting for me to lose my temper and hurt you, then you can forget about it. I won't lash out at you. I can take anything you throw at me. I will not go against my nature and change back. I will stay like this forever."

Shikamaru looked up from what he was doing to watch Sasuke carefully.

In an instant, the wings disappeared from Sasuke's back in a burst of feathers and his arm along with them.

"Eh?" Sasuke stood there in utter shock.

Naruto was dumbfounded as well. "Huh?"

"He changed back," Shikamaru affirmed, getting up.

"But… but how? He didn't hurt me or insult me or do anything mean to me."

"He didn't have to. As long as he operated outside his nature," Shikamaru told him.

Naruto looked at Shikamaru, not understanding. "But I thought you said that fairies weren't cruel and spent their time helping others."

"Exactly," Shikamaru informed him. "By refusing to change back in order to help you, Sasuke operated outside his nature and changed back."

Slowly, it started to make sense. "Refusing to help me went against his nature. But wait. If he helped me, he would have done something against his nature, too, right?"

Shikamaru nodded, smiling. "I knew it wouldn't make a difference. I told you that eventually, if you kept this up, he would change back. Either by losing his temper and hurting you or by refusing to help you. No matter what, Sasuke was going to change back. It was just a question of time."

Naruto's head was reeling from the ordeal and the information Shikamaru just gave him. He repeated it to himself over and over, hoping to grasp what happened. Hoping to understand.

"Losing his temper went against his nature, so he'd change back… Refusing to help me went against his nature, so he'd change back. If he helped me, he would have had to hurt me which went against his nature. By not operating outside his nature, he would have changed back because by not hurting me, he wasn't going to help me. So… If he did his nature thing by being kind, he would have not… helped me?" Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "It sounds to me like it was a no-win situation."

"Exactly," said Shikamaru, tired of waiting for Naruto to understand. "You gave him a task he could not complete because it was contradictory. He couldn't help you unless he went against his nature but refusing to help you also went against his nature. He was going to change back either way."

"Which…" Naruto started beaming. "Which mean I won! I completed my task! Alright! I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage."

"Yes, you are…" Sasuke picked up the broken sign off the ground. "If you can live that long!"

Shikamaru filled out his report while Sasuke chased Naruto around the village, screaming and unleashing all the pent-up fury he had for the blond shinobi.