Inevitable :: Chapter Six
Title: Inevitable
Anime: Naruto
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto
Rating: T - language, violence, and implied sexual activities (in later chapters)
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, SasuNaru would be canon. Um...wait...maybe I do own Naruto! No nevermind, I'm still poor.
Summary: It was bound to happen. Their infamous meeting after all these years. But, with Naruto's new position in Konoha and Sasuke's status as an S class missing ninja, nothing ever comes easy to these two. Not that they'd expect it any other way.
Status: In Progess
Chapters: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three
| Chapter Four
| Chapter Five
|
Preview: Naruto also ignored the way Sasuke’s jaw hit the floor. “And then you wouldn’t have to draw me naked all the time!”
Inevitable
Chapter Six
Kakashi left the hospital, followed closely by a chattering Sakura, to bask in the bright sun of a Konoha summer day. It was the perfect temperature, one where you weren’t too hot or too cold, for Kakashi to resume his favorite past time: lying on a rock, basking in the sun, and reading his porn.
When Sakura parted ways, muttering something about finding a certain Hyuuga, the jounin had to laugh. It was still so different not having Sakura go on and on about Sasuke, but she found a different stoic dark haired man, one who was actually interested in her. His gaze lingered for a little while on Sakura’s receding form before casually walking toward his intended reading spot.
He was nearly to his favorite rock, the one that separated the path to the park and the path to the main business district, when his eternal rival disrupted him. Kakashi stopped, sighing heavily, and waited for Gai to finish his ‘youthful’ speech.
“My eternal rival, Kakashi, I have come to tip the balance of our eternally youthful tie!” Gai stood in his self-named pose, flashing Kakashi a very bright toothy smile.
“Actually, Gai…I’m in the lead, remember?” His eye crinkled as he smiled while he scratched the back of his neck. “I won the push-up contest last week.”
The toothy smile faded and the thumbs-up slowly fell limp against Gai’s side. “Oh…well, in that case, we will have another battle!”
“Actually, Gai…I was kind of hoping…”
“I won’t take no for an answer, my eternal rival!” The green-clad jounin crossed his arms, signaling he’d won the conversation no matter what Kakashi said.
Sighing, Kakashi motioned for Gai to lead the way. He knew he wouldn’t get any rest until the battle was won either way. Today was starting out to be a long day. As they walked on, Gai’s expression suddenly turned from exuberance to seriousness.
“Kakashi, what do you know about the Fifth’s apprentice, Shizune?”
“Um…well…” Kakashi began, suddenly realizing he didn’t know a lot about that woman. “She can be a firecracker when she’s all riled up. Mostly she’s pretty quiet.” Casting a sideward glance, he saw Gai was taking in everything he’d said. “Why, Gai?”
“N-nothing, Kakashi!” Gai flashed the fakest ‘Gai-pose’ Kakashi had ever seen. “Forget I said anything, eternal rival! Now let’s go settle our youthful battle!”
Sighing again, Kakashi shrugged. “Whatever.”
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“This door is broken.” Tsunade said, her tone making it hard to tell if it was a statement or a question. Shizune froze when she heard Tsunade speak, having not noticed her arrival in the office, and slowly looked up from the paperwork she was sorting.
“Lady Tsunade!” The paperwork dropped from her hand as she took in Tsunade’s shocked expression. “I told him to fix it, that’s the best he could do, but he would have done better had he stopped staring at me like that…”
Tsunade gaped at Shizune’s rambling, having not heard it for quite some time, at least not since she was a teenager. “What happened to the door?”
“Lee, Lady Tsunade! Lee and his damn dynamic entry bullshit!” Instantly, upon swearing in front of her mistress, Shizune covered her mouth with both hands; her eyes wide as saucers.
Tsunade was biting back the smirk and fit of laughter, instead she settled on an amused expression. “Hell, he’s Naruto’s friend. Let the Hokage deal with it when he wakes up.”
“Wakes up?” Shizune asked, her voice muffled from the hands still held over her mouth. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine, just exhaustion. He held the jutsu for over three hours, it was amazing he lasted that long.” She took a seat in front of the desk, the pile of paperwork looking quite a lot like it did when she was Hokage. “Shizune, you don’t have to sort his paperwork, he’s got Sakura for that. Where is she anyway?”
Finally taking her hands away from her mouth, Shizune swallowed hard and began to answer, choosing her words carefully as to not swear in front of Tsunade again. “I don’t know. She never came back here.”
Tsunade nodded and looked out the window. If Naruto could take a break, even Sakura could, Tsunade supposed.
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Neji stomped into the Hyuuga Manor, never taking his intense stare off his front door. He was determined to hide for the rest of the day and pretend that Tenten did not just beat him in a sparring match and Sakura did not just try to heal his - as far as he was concerned - bruised groin.
His Uncle watched him enter the front gates, his jaunt barely registering a limp, and the expression on his face that was a mixture of horrified and embarrassed. Hiashi waited until Neji came within a few feet of him before talking to his nephew.
“Neji, what happened?” Hiashi knew he wasn’t Neji’s father, nor was he trying to be, and he sure as hell wasn’t good at comfort or things like that, but he was trying.
Neji paused for a moment, his eyes still staring intently on his front door. “I really don’t want to talk about it, Uncle. Please allow me to my room.”
Hiashi waved him through, not pressing the matter, until he spied a pink haired woman peeking around the gate. “Sure, nephew, but you might want to talk to her first.” Hiashi left, but not before hearing Neji squeak out a greeting to the woman. Who would have thought the usually in control Neji would lose his control at the sight of a woman he liked?
“Sakura?” Neji squeaked, his eyes showing a surprise he didn’t normally have.
Sakura smiled and walked, slowly, into the one place in Konoha she’d never been, besides the Uchiha District - which no one entered. “Neji, about earlier…”
“No, Sakura, it wasn’t your fault…”
“I shouldn’t have interrupted you…”
“I should have been paying better attention…”
Realizing they were just talking over each other, and really not getting anywhere, Sakura giggled lightly. Neji stopped talking, staring intently at the ground, and trying desperately not to break into a cheetah-speed run to his room. The Hyuuga prodigy never took embarrassment well; it just wasn’t in his character. In fact, as often as possible, Neji avoided situations that could be considered awkward. He even found a way out of Sexual Education class in the Academy. Of course he was forced to do a very un-Hyuuga-like thing and fake an illness, but he did what he did to avoid embarrassment.
But now, as he watched Sakura’s eyes travel down to the ground, following his gaze, he realized he’d entered an awkward situation he could not avoid. Her eyes settled, once again, on his crotch and she began to smirk slightly.
“Um…Neji…I think your ice pack is leaking…” She slightly motioned with her hand toward his crotch, her face contorting in an effort to not laugh. The whole situation was awkward enough already.
Glancing down, Neji saw what Sakura was pointing at. The ice pack had been sweating from the heat of the day and, in turn, made a wet spot on the front of his pants; a spot that resembled one urinating on himself. Sakura had never seen Neji’s face turn any color, unless seeing him after intense training - usually with Lee - or that one time he had a high fever in the hospital. But never had she seen him turn this shade of pink, which slowly turned into a deep red.
He stuttered a bit, trying to hide the spot, before excusing himself and running into his room. Sakura stood there for a while, swallowing her urge to roll on the ground with laughter, before slowly walking out of the Hyuuga Manor. Sakura figured she’d embarrassed the poor Hyuuga enough for one day.
Inside his bathroom, Neji leaned over the sink and stared, intently, into the mirror, studying his face and the blush still evident on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Never before had any woman had this much of an effect on him, nor made him lose control. It hadn’t always been that way with Sakura, though. Just since she’d turned nineteen, it seemed that she’d blossomed and grew into all her awkward features. She definitely wasn’t the same Sakura he’d meant at the chuunin exams when they were younger and still rookies.
Sighing, Neji made his way to his wardrobe and pulled out a new, dry pair of pants. There was always the next day, another day for Neji to, hopefully, not embarrass himself in front of the girl he’d come to dream about. And, maybe, another date that Lee wouldn’t crash.
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It was cold and damp, the floor covered in an inch-deep pool of water. At least, Sasuke thought it was water, but he wasn’t bending over to check it out. Instead, Sasuke stared straight ahead, his eyes focused on the illusion in front of him - a wispy, translucent vision of Naruto, in his Hokage uniform, with Itachi standing behind him.
”If I can’t have your eyes, brother,” Itachi reached through Naruto’s head from the back, plucking out an eyeball and holding it purposefully in his hand, “then I’ll take his.”
Sasuke felt himself leap forward, grabbing at Itachi and the translucent Naruto. A pale hand, Itachi’s hand, left go of the eyeball. It made a ‘plop’ sound as it landed in the water covering the floor. Horrified, Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, his eyes seeming to concentrate on the black hole that was once Naruto’s left eye. The blonde was still standing perfectly still, as if nothing happened. When Sasuke’s own eyes doubled in size, still fully concentrated on the empty socket, Naruto cocked his head to the side.
“What’s the matter, Sasuke?” A tan hand reached out, slowly tracing his jaw line. “You look scared. Let me help you.”
Sasuke felt himself being pulled into a hug, but was too frightened to move. Over Naruto’s shoulder, Sasuke watched as Itachi picked up the eyeball and slid it inside of a glass jar. When Itachi turned to walk out, Sasuke pulled from Naruto’s grasp and lunged at his brother. He raised a fist, aiming at the exact spot on the back of Itachi’s neck to knock him out cold.
It connected with something…something firm and warm…
“Damn it, Sasuke!”
Sasuke’s eyes snapped open, only to find himself sitting up in the hospital bed, fist still stretched out.
It did connect…with Naruto’s jaw.
“Na-Naruto?” Sasuke asked, still disoriented from the dream. He let his fist drop to his side; his eyes watching as Naruto tenderly touched his swollen cheek.
“Yeah, bastard, why’d ya hit me?”
Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second, still having the image of an eyeball-less blonde floating through his head. Giving his mind a vigorous shake, Sasuke finally let his eyes focus on the swollen tanned cheek and the cerulean blue eyes glaring intently at him.
Realizing said eyes were glaring because he still hadn’t answered him, Sasuke shrugged. “I was having a dream, I guess.”
Naruto sighed and stood up. “Yeah, I figured. I could hear you moaning or something, and you kept thrashing around.”
“Oh.” Sasuke watched as Naruto walked toward he window, hands behind his back.
“Was it another nightmare about him?”
For a second Sasuke couldn’t figure out how Naruto knew what his dreams were about. For a second Sasuke forgot all about the jutsu and that Naruto was inside of his head. But, the second ended and Sasuke remembered he was angry with the blonde for violating his mind like that.
“Sasuke?” Naruto wasn’t staring out the window anymore. Instead, he was staring at Sasuke, a puzzled look on his face. “Answer me.”
Crossing his arms, Sasuke turned his head and stared at the wall. He could sense Naruto glaring at him, and knew he was probably being childish, but he didn’t care. The blonde used his power, his Hokage power, and forced his way into Sasuke thoughts. The one place Sasuke was supposed to have all to himself. It wasn’t fair, he felt violated, and he was angry.
“Fine.” Naruto growled out, turning back toward the window. “Be a bitch. I already know the answer, don’t I?”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them for what felt like an eternity. Never being one that could handle silence, Naruto opened his mouth to break it first. Sasuke beat him to it.
“Did you have fun in my head?” Naruto turned around, facing Sasuke, who was glaring back. “I’ll bet you did. I’ll bet you enjoyed peeping through every memory and dream I’ve ever had. Find anything interesting?”
“Why does this bother you so much?” Naruto asked, waving his arms around. “It’s not like I wanted to go in there! Do you know how weird your mind is? Everything is neat and arranged and black, red, and white…and booby trapped!” Sasuke arched an eyebrow, but Naruto continued. “A damn snake tried to bite me. But that was after one of those boxes tried to swallow me! And then I had to sort through all of your bullshit to find what I really wanted to find. Your mind was so confusing and frustrating!”
“No one said you had to stay!” Sasuke growled back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I did this for you!” Naruto spat out. “I did this to save you, why can’t you understand that?”
Sasuke shook his head and stood up, hands fisted at his sides. “Did I ever ask for your help?” Sasuke took a big step toward Naruto, eyes still narrowed and glaring.
Naruto took a step toward Sasuke as well, emotions flaring. “Maybe you should have!”
“There are a lot of things I should have done, according to you!”
“Maybe if you would have asked for help you wouldn’t have nightmares about killing me, Sasuke!” Naruto was on a rampage and ignored the way Sasuke shivered when he spoke and the way Sasuke’s eyes doubled in size. “Then maybe you could tell me how you really feel in reality instead of in your dreams, bastard!” Naruto also ignored the way Sasuke’s jaw hit the floor. “And then you wouldn’t have to draw me naked all the time!”
Twice within an hour, Sasuke’s fist was swung at Naruto’s jaw. This time, however, Naruto was ready for him. Grabbing a pale wrist in his hands, Naruto swung Sasuke around, slamming his back into the wall. With Sasuke’s other wrist in his hand, he brought them both up above Sasuke’s head and held them there. Their eyes connected for a moment, intensity emulating from both pairs, before their lips connected fiercely.
Sasuke attempted to come to his senses and pull his head away, but it slammed into the wall behind him. He opened his mouth to groan, but Naruto took it as an invitation. He slipped his tongue in Sasuke’s mouth, making Sasuke decide that ending this wouldn’t be his best idea ever. When Sasuke’s arms went limp, Naruto left his wrists go. Pale hands slid up his arms and around his neck, burying the fingers into Naruto’s golden hair. Their bruising kiss went on, neither breaking to breathe, until Naruto’s fingers wandered underneath Sasuke’s prison-issue t-shirt. Sasuke pulled back, a breath hitched in his throat, when the calloused fingertips skimmed over his heated skin. They stood there, their foreheads pressed together, panting rapidly.
When Naruto opened his mouth to speak, Sasuke’s hands gripped the front of his jounin vest, throwing him around into the wall. Naruto’s head hit hard, but the pain was lessened by Sasuke’s bruised and swollen lips crushing against his own. Sasuke’s hands stayed fisted in the vest intensely, keeping the blonde pinned between him and the wall. They stayed that way for a while, kissing and nipping each other’s lips, before Sasuke’s hands began to wander. They slid, slowly, down the front of Naruto’s vest until they reached the hem of his black shirt. Sliding slowly over Naruto’s heated skin, he felt Naruto’s breath hitch and a moan escape him. Naruto dug his hands into Sasuke’s hair deeper, intensifying the kiss. Sasuke’s hands continued to wander toward Naruto’s belly. When he reached the bellybutton, a spark of chakra made both men jump back.
“What was that?” Naruto breathed out, his voice husky. Sasuke shrugged, tugging Naruto’s shirt up further.
The spiral seal on Naruto’s stomach was visible, the inky black of the seal outlined by a faint blue glow of chakra. Sasuke tenderly reached to touch it again, only to have his fingers sparked with the chakra again. It was an odd sensation, akin to a rush of pleasure mixed with a hint of electricity. A devious plan was hatched as their eyes met, and a faint smirk from both of their lips, and Sasuke’s hand, palm flat, pressed against the seal again. The jolt they both felt was nearly orgasmic as they both plunged into a searing kiss. Sasuke rubbed his thumb across the seal, making the jolt strike them again. This time, it earned a groan from both men and Naruto clutching the sleeves of Sasuke’s t-shirt.
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Sakura sighed, trudging up the stairs of the hospital. They wanted somewhere quiet and nearly isolated to do the jutsu, so Tsunade suggested the coma ward. Hardly anyone was ever up there, save for a few nurses, and they spent most of their time behind the nurse’s desk reading magazines and gossiping.
Her mind was wandering, thoughts of an adorably embarrassed Neji running rampant. Walking past the nurse’s station, Sakura barely took notice of the empty office. It was their lunch time, after all, so it wasn’t entirely unlikely that there were no nurses there. What was unlikely was the amount of noise that seemed to be coming from that floor. More accurately, coming from the room Sasuke and Naruto were in.
Part of Sakura reasoned that they were just fighting, sparing, and that it was normal. Crossing the gap between herself and the door rather slowly, Sakura was nearly knocked over. Naruto was running, rather quickly, down the hallway. Stunned, Sakura didn’t know what to do, or which friend to comfort first. A peek inside the room, she watched Sasuke slide slowly down the wall, digging his pale fingers into his dark hair tightly. After another round of glancing between a distraught Sasuke and Naruto’s retreating form, she opted for the one closest to her in proximity. Taking a deep breath, she walked into Sasuke’s room and prepared herself for the worst…she was pretty sure that’s what she’d be getting anyway.
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Kiba walked Hinata home, determined to end this date on a positive note if it killed him. First he was so nervous he could be knocked over with a feather, and then he’d witnessed Neji holding an ice pack on a sensitive area. All that within the first half hour, and that wasn’t even everything that went wrong.
And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had to witness Gai and Kakashi’s latest eternal rivalry match, which apparently began somewhere else and spilled over into downtown Konoha. How thumb wrestling could spark that much rage in anyone was beyond Kiba. Needless to say, the date was ruined from the start and all that was left for Kiba was to wish Hinata wouldn’t hold it against him.
Suddenly he regretted making Akamaru stay home. He needed his companion by his side when, he felt sure, he got rejected. There’s no way this date went well, and he could kid himself all he wanted to but the truth remained, Hinata wouldn’t want to see him ever again. It was with a pang in his gut that he realized if she didn’t want to, she didn’t have to. The team went their separate ways a while ago and, although they still got together every once in a while, Hinata could stop seeing him.
With thoughts like that it was no wonder Kiba was caught off guard when, after reaching the Hyuuga’s gate, Hinata grabbed the front of Kiba’s shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. It was quick, but intense enough to leave the Inuzuka wide-eyed and gaping as a blushing Hinata rushed toward her front door. He was still standing there a few moments later when he heard her soft voice call out “See you tomorrow, Kiba-kun!” before shutting her door.
Hiashi Hyuuga shook his head and walked back toward the family room to find his wife. He was sure the day could not get any stranger. But, just in case, he wanted to know where Hanabi was. Hiashi Hyuuga was not getting surprised three times in one day, not if he could help it, at least.
Anime: Naruto
Pairing: Sasuke/Naruto
Rating: T - language, violence, and implied sexual activities (in later chapters)
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, SasuNaru would be canon. Um...wait...maybe I do own Naruto! No nevermind, I'm still poor.
Summary: It was bound to happen. Their infamous meeting after all these years. But, with Naruto's new position in Konoha and Sasuke's status as an S class missing ninja, nothing ever comes easy to these two. Not that they'd expect it any other way.
Status: In Progess
Chapters: Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three
| Chapter Four
| Chapter Five
|
Preview: Naruto also ignored the way Sasuke’s jaw hit the floor. “And then you wouldn’t have to draw me naked all the time!”
Inevitable
Chapter Six
Kakashi left the hospital, followed closely by a chattering Sakura, to bask in the bright sun of a Konoha summer day. It was the perfect temperature, one where you weren’t too hot or too cold, for Kakashi to resume his favorite past time: lying on a rock, basking in the sun, and reading his porn.
When Sakura parted ways, muttering something about finding a certain Hyuuga, the jounin had to laugh. It was still so different not having Sakura go on and on about Sasuke, but she found a different stoic dark haired man, one who was actually interested in her. His gaze lingered for a little while on Sakura’s receding form before casually walking toward his intended reading spot.
He was nearly to his favorite rock, the one that separated the path to the park and the path to the main business district, when his eternal rival disrupted him. Kakashi stopped, sighing heavily, and waited for Gai to finish his ‘youthful’ speech.
“My eternal rival, Kakashi, I have come to tip the balance of our eternally youthful tie!” Gai stood in his self-named pose, flashing Kakashi a very bright toothy smile.
“Actually, Gai…I’m in the lead, remember?” His eye crinkled as he smiled while he scratched the back of his neck. “I won the push-up contest last week.”
The toothy smile faded and the thumbs-up slowly fell limp against Gai’s side. “Oh…well, in that case, we will have another battle!”
“Actually, Gai…I was kind of hoping…”
“I won’t take no for an answer, my eternal rival!” The green-clad jounin crossed his arms, signaling he’d won the conversation no matter what Kakashi said.
Sighing, Kakashi motioned for Gai to lead the way. He knew he wouldn’t get any rest until the battle was won either way. Today was starting out to be a long day. As they walked on, Gai’s expression suddenly turned from exuberance to seriousness.
“Kakashi, what do you know about the Fifth’s apprentice, Shizune?”
“Um…well…” Kakashi began, suddenly realizing he didn’t know a lot about that woman. “She can be a firecracker when she’s all riled up. Mostly she’s pretty quiet.” Casting a sideward glance, he saw Gai was taking in everything he’d said. “Why, Gai?”
“N-nothing, Kakashi!” Gai flashed the fakest ‘Gai-pose’ Kakashi had ever seen. “Forget I said anything, eternal rival! Now let’s go settle our youthful battle!”
Sighing again, Kakashi shrugged. “Whatever.”
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“This door is broken.” Tsunade said, her tone making it hard to tell if it was a statement or a question. Shizune froze when she heard Tsunade speak, having not noticed her arrival in the office, and slowly looked up from the paperwork she was sorting.
“Lady Tsunade!” The paperwork dropped from her hand as she took in Tsunade’s shocked expression. “I told him to fix it, that’s the best he could do, but he would have done better had he stopped staring at me like that…”
Tsunade gaped at Shizune’s rambling, having not heard it for quite some time, at least not since she was a teenager. “What happened to the door?”
“Lee, Lady Tsunade! Lee and his damn dynamic entry bullshit!” Instantly, upon swearing in front of her mistress, Shizune covered her mouth with both hands; her eyes wide as saucers.
Tsunade was biting back the smirk and fit of laughter, instead she settled on an amused expression. “Hell, he’s Naruto’s friend. Let the Hokage deal with it when he wakes up.”
“Wakes up?” Shizune asked, her voice muffled from the hands still held over her mouth. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine, just exhaustion. He held the jutsu for over three hours, it was amazing he lasted that long.” She took a seat in front of the desk, the pile of paperwork looking quite a lot like it did when she was Hokage. “Shizune, you don’t have to sort his paperwork, he’s got Sakura for that. Where is she anyway?”
Finally taking her hands away from her mouth, Shizune swallowed hard and began to answer, choosing her words carefully as to not swear in front of Tsunade again. “I don’t know. She never came back here.”
Tsunade nodded and looked out the window. If Naruto could take a break, even Sakura could, Tsunade supposed.
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Neji stomped into the Hyuuga Manor, never taking his intense stare off his front door. He was determined to hide for the rest of the day and pretend that Tenten did not just beat him in a sparring match and Sakura did not just try to heal his - as far as he was concerned - bruised groin.
His Uncle watched him enter the front gates, his jaunt barely registering a limp, and the expression on his face that was a mixture of horrified and embarrassed. Hiashi waited until Neji came within a few feet of him before talking to his nephew.
“Neji, what happened?” Hiashi knew he wasn’t Neji’s father, nor was he trying to be, and he sure as hell wasn’t good at comfort or things like that, but he was trying.
Neji paused for a moment, his eyes still staring intently on his front door. “I really don’t want to talk about it, Uncle. Please allow me to my room.”
Hiashi waved him through, not pressing the matter, until he spied a pink haired woman peeking around the gate. “Sure, nephew, but you might want to talk to her first.” Hiashi left, but not before hearing Neji squeak out a greeting to the woman. Who would have thought the usually in control Neji would lose his control at the sight of a woman he liked?
“Sakura?” Neji squeaked, his eyes showing a surprise he didn’t normally have.
Sakura smiled and walked, slowly, into the one place in Konoha she’d never been, besides the Uchiha District - which no one entered. “Neji, about earlier…”
“No, Sakura, it wasn’t your fault…”
“I shouldn’t have interrupted you…”
“I should have been paying better attention…”
Realizing they were just talking over each other, and really not getting anywhere, Sakura giggled lightly. Neji stopped talking, staring intently at the ground, and trying desperately not to break into a cheetah-speed run to his room. The Hyuuga prodigy never took embarrassment well; it just wasn’t in his character. In fact, as often as possible, Neji avoided situations that could be considered awkward. He even found a way out of Sexual Education class in the Academy. Of course he was forced to do a very un-Hyuuga-like thing and fake an illness, but he did what he did to avoid embarrassment.
But now, as he watched Sakura’s eyes travel down to the ground, following his gaze, he realized he’d entered an awkward situation he could not avoid. Her eyes settled, once again, on his crotch and she began to smirk slightly.
“Um…Neji…I think your ice pack is leaking…” She slightly motioned with her hand toward his crotch, her face contorting in an effort to not laugh. The whole situation was awkward enough already.
Glancing down, Neji saw what Sakura was pointing at. The ice pack had been sweating from the heat of the day and, in turn, made a wet spot on the front of his pants; a spot that resembled one urinating on himself. Sakura had never seen Neji’s face turn any color, unless seeing him after intense training - usually with Lee - or that one time he had a high fever in the hospital. But never had she seen him turn this shade of pink, which slowly turned into a deep red.
He stuttered a bit, trying to hide the spot, before excusing himself and running into his room. Sakura stood there for a while, swallowing her urge to roll on the ground with laughter, before slowly walking out of the Hyuuga Manor. Sakura figured she’d embarrassed the poor Hyuuga enough for one day.
Inside his bathroom, Neji leaned over the sink and stared, intently, into the mirror, studying his face and the blush still evident on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. Never before had any woman had this much of an effect on him, nor made him lose control. It hadn’t always been that way with Sakura, though. Just since she’d turned nineteen, it seemed that she’d blossomed and grew into all her awkward features. She definitely wasn’t the same Sakura he’d meant at the chuunin exams when they were younger and still rookies.
Sighing, Neji made his way to his wardrobe and pulled out a new, dry pair of pants. There was always the next day, another day for Neji to, hopefully, not embarrass himself in front of the girl he’d come to dream about. And, maybe, another date that Lee wouldn’t crash.
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It was cold and damp, the floor covered in an inch-deep pool of water. At least, Sasuke thought it was water, but he wasn’t bending over to check it out. Instead, Sasuke stared straight ahead, his eyes focused on the illusion in front of him - a wispy, translucent vision of Naruto, in his Hokage uniform, with Itachi standing behind him.
”If I can’t have your eyes, brother,” Itachi reached through Naruto’s head from the back, plucking out an eyeball and holding it purposefully in his hand, “then I’ll take his.”
Sasuke felt himself leap forward, grabbing at Itachi and the translucent Naruto. A pale hand, Itachi’s hand, left go of the eyeball. It made a ‘plop’ sound as it landed in the water covering the floor. Horrified, Sasuke looked back up at Naruto, his eyes seeming to concentrate on the black hole that was once Naruto’s left eye. The blonde was still standing perfectly still, as if nothing happened. When Sasuke’s own eyes doubled in size, still fully concentrated on the empty socket, Naruto cocked his head to the side.
“What’s the matter, Sasuke?” A tan hand reached out, slowly tracing his jaw line. “You look scared. Let me help you.”
Sasuke felt himself being pulled into a hug, but was too frightened to move. Over Naruto’s shoulder, Sasuke watched as Itachi picked up the eyeball and slid it inside of a glass jar. When Itachi turned to walk out, Sasuke pulled from Naruto’s grasp and lunged at his brother. He raised a fist, aiming at the exact spot on the back of Itachi’s neck to knock him out cold.
It connected with something…something firm and warm…
“Damn it, Sasuke!”
Sasuke’s eyes snapped open, only to find himself sitting up in the hospital bed, fist still stretched out.
It did connect…with Naruto’s jaw.
“Na-Naruto?” Sasuke asked, still disoriented from the dream. He let his fist drop to his side; his eyes watching as Naruto tenderly touched his swollen cheek.
“Yeah, bastard, why’d ya hit me?”
Sasuke stared at Naruto for a second, still having the image of an eyeball-less blonde floating through his head. Giving his mind a vigorous shake, Sasuke finally let his eyes focus on the swollen tanned cheek and the cerulean blue eyes glaring intently at him.
Realizing said eyes were glaring because he still hadn’t answered him, Sasuke shrugged. “I was having a dream, I guess.”
Naruto sighed and stood up. “Yeah, I figured. I could hear you moaning or something, and you kept thrashing around.”
“Oh.” Sasuke watched as Naruto walked toward he window, hands behind his back.
“Was it another nightmare about him?”
For a second Sasuke couldn’t figure out how Naruto knew what his dreams were about. For a second Sasuke forgot all about the jutsu and that Naruto was inside of his head. But, the second ended and Sasuke remembered he was angry with the blonde for violating his mind like that.
“Sasuke?” Naruto wasn’t staring out the window anymore. Instead, he was staring at Sasuke, a puzzled look on his face. “Answer me.”
Crossing his arms, Sasuke turned his head and stared at the wall. He could sense Naruto glaring at him, and knew he was probably being childish, but he didn’t care. The blonde used his power, his Hokage power, and forced his way into Sasuke thoughts. The one place Sasuke was supposed to have all to himself. It wasn’t fair, he felt violated, and he was angry.
“Fine.” Naruto growled out, turning back toward the window. “Be a bitch. I already know the answer, don’t I?”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between them for what felt like an eternity. Never being one that could handle silence, Naruto opened his mouth to break it first. Sasuke beat him to it.
“Did you have fun in my head?” Naruto turned around, facing Sasuke, who was glaring back. “I’ll bet you did. I’ll bet you enjoyed peeping through every memory and dream I’ve ever had. Find anything interesting?”
“Why does this bother you so much?” Naruto asked, waving his arms around. “It’s not like I wanted to go in there! Do you know how weird your mind is? Everything is neat and arranged and black, red, and white…and booby trapped!” Sasuke arched an eyebrow, but Naruto continued. “A damn snake tried to bite me. But that was after one of those boxes tried to swallow me! And then I had to sort through all of your bullshit to find what I really wanted to find. Your mind was so confusing and frustrating!”
“No one said you had to stay!” Sasuke growled back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I did this for you!” Naruto spat out. “I did this to save you, why can’t you understand that?”
Sasuke shook his head and stood up, hands fisted at his sides. “Did I ever ask for your help?” Sasuke took a big step toward Naruto, eyes still narrowed and glaring.
Naruto took a step toward Sasuke as well, emotions flaring. “Maybe you should have!”
“There are a lot of things I should have done, according to you!”
“Maybe if you would have asked for help you wouldn’t have nightmares about killing me, Sasuke!” Naruto was on a rampage and ignored the way Sasuke shivered when he spoke and the way Sasuke’s eyes doubled in size. “Then maybe you could tell me how you really feel in reality instead of in your dreams, bastard!” Naruto also ignored the way Sasuke’s jaw hit the floor. “And then you wouldn’t have to draw me naked all the time!”
Twice within an hour, Sasuke’s fist was swung at Naruto’s jaw. This time, however, Naruto was ready for him. Grabbing a pale wrist in his hands, Naruto swung Sasuke around, slamming his back into the wall. With Sasuke’s other wrist in his hand, he brought them both up above Sasuke’s head and held them there. Their eyes connected for a moment, intensity emulating from both pairs, before their lips connected fiercely.
Sasuke attempted to come to his senses and pull his head away, but it slammed into the wall behind him. He opened his mouth to groan, but Naruto took it as an invitation. He slipped his tongue in Sasuke’s mouth, making Sasuke decide that ending this wouldn’t be his best idea ever. When Sasuke’s arms went limp, Naruto left his wrists go. Pale hands slid up his arms and around his neck, burying the fingers into Naruto’s golden hair. Their bruising kiss went on, neither breaking to breathe, until Naruto’s fingers wandered underneath Sasuke’s prison-issue t-shirt. Sasuke pulled back, a breath hitched in his throat, when the calloused fingertips skimmed over his heated skin. They stood there, their foreheads pressed together, panting rapidly.
When Naruto opened his mouth to speak, Sasuke’s hands gripped the front of his jounin vest, throwing him around into the wall. Naruto’s head hit hard, but the pain was lessened by Sasuke’s bruised and swollen lips crushing against his own. Sasuke’s hands stayed fisted in the vest intensely, keeping the blonde pinned between him and the wall. They stayed that way for a while, kissing and nipping each other’s lips, before Sasuke’s hands began to wander. They slid, slowly, down the front of Naruto’s vest until they reached the hem of his black shirt. Sliding slowly over Naruto’s heated skin, he felt Naruto’s breath hitch and a moan escape him. Naruto dug his hands into Sasuke’s hair deeper, intensifying the kiss. Sasuke’s hands continued to wander toward Naruto’s belly. When he reached the bellybutton, a spark of chakra made both men jump back.
“What was that?” Naruto breathed out, his voice husky. Sasuke shrugged, tugging Naruto’s shirt up further.
The spiral seal on Naruto’s stomach was visible, the inky black of the seal outlined by a faint blue glow of chakra. Sasuke tenderly reached to touch it again, only to have his fingers sparked with the chakra again. It was an odd sensation, akin to a rush of pleasure mixed with a hint of electricity. A devious plan was hatched as their eyes met, and a faint smirk from both of their lips, and Sasuke’s hand, palm flat, pressed against the seal again. The jolt they both felt was nearly orgasmic as they both plunged into a searing kiss. Sasuke rubbed his thumb across the seal, making the jolt strike them again. This time, it earned a groan from both men and Naruto clutching the sleeves of Sasuke’s t-shirt.
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Sakura sighed, trudging up the stairs of the hospital. They wanted somewhere quiet and nearly isolated to do the jutsu, so Tsunade suggested the coma ward. Hardly anyone was ever up there, save for a few nurses, and they spent most of their time behind the nurse’s desk reading magazines and gossiping.
Her mind was wandering, thoughts of an adorably embarrassed Neji running rampant. Walking past the nurse’s station, Sakura barely took notice of the empty office. It was their lunch time, after all, so it wasn’t entirely unlikely that there were no nurses there. What was unlikely was the amount of noise that seemed to be coming from that floor. More accurately, coming from the room Sasuke and Naruto were in.
Part of Sakura reasoned that they were just fighting, sparing, and that it was normal. Crossing the gap between herself and the door rather slowly, Sakura was nearly knocked over. Naruto was running, rather quickly, down the hallway. Stunned, Sakura didn’t know what to do, or which friend to comfort first. A peek inside the room, she watched Sasuke slide slowly down the wall, digging his pale fingers into his dark hair tightly. After another round of glancing between a distraught Sasuke and Naruto’s retreating form, she opted for the one closest to her in proximity. Taking a deep breath, she walked into Sasuke’s room and prepared herself for the worst…she was pretty sure that’s what she’d be getting anyway.
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Kiba walked Hinata home, determined to end this date on a positive note if it killed him. First he was so nervous he could be knocked over with a feather, and then he’d witnessed Neji holding an ice pack on a sensitive area. All that within the first half hour, and that wasn’t even everything that went wrong.
And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had to witness Gai and Kakashi’s latest eternal rivalry match, which apparently began somewhere else and spilled over into downtown Konoha. How thumb wrestling could spark that much rage in anyone was beyond Kiba. Needless to say, the date was ruined from the start and all that was left for Kiba was to wish Hinata wouldn’t hold it against him.
Suddenly he regretted making Akamaru stay home. He needed his companion by his side when, he felt sure, he got rejected. There’s no way this date went well, and he could kid himself all he wanted to but the truth remained, Hinata wouldn’t want to see him ever again. It was with a pang in his gut that he realized if she didn’t want to, she didn’t have to. The team went their separate ways a while ago and, although they still got together every once in a while, Hinata could stop seeing him.
With thoughts like that it was no wonder Kiba was caught off guard when, after reaching the Hyuuga’s gate, Hinata grabbed the front of Kiba’s shirt and pulled him down for a kiss. It was quick, but intense enough to leave the Inuzuka wide-eyed and gaping as a blushing Hinata rushed toward her front door. He was still standing there a few moments later when he heard her soft voice call out “See you tomorrow, Kiba-kun!” before shutting her door.
Hiashi Hyuuga shook his head and walked back toward the family room to find his wife. He was sure the day could not get any stranger. But, just in case, he wanted to know where Hanabi was. Hiashi Hyuuga was not getting surprised three times in one day, not if he could help it, at least.