For: pervertbitch Part 1
For: pervertbitch
Title: Alibi
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Naruto comes up with a ridiculous plan, just to provide Sasuke with an alibi. Gaara plays along.
Warnings: None
A/N: This is most probably somewhat AU as I am not currently caught up on the manga canon. My apologies. Also, this plot is pasted on…
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
********
It was strange, Sasuke decided, to be traveling with a group of Konoha ninja on their way to Suna. He had been under house arrest for so long, and it had been even longer since he had traveled this particular road to Suna, it left him feeling off kilter. Though, for all he knew, that feeling was just Tsunade’s seal reacting badly to being outside of Konoha’s walls.
Sasuke knew that he’d been sent along with Naruto to make the point that the dangerous and wily Sasuke Uchiha was once again under Konoha’s thumb. And even if he hadn’t been smart enough to figure that out, which he was, the additional ninja that were traveling with them would have clued him in. Diplomatic mission or not, he was positive that it wasn’t usual to send a handful of jounin along - especially when you considered that it was Naruto who was heading to Suna for diplomatic purposes.
Not that anyone had seen fit to let him know what, exactly, those diplomatic purposes were. Considering his position in Konoha as persona non grata that wasn’t at all surprising.
So far the trip had been as uneventful, and as boring, as Sasuke had remembered it to be. The farther one got away from Konoha, the more barren the landscape became. They had left the lush green forests the surrounded the village and worked their way across thinning prairie until they had reached the edge of the desert. Thin, hardy, grasses clung tenaciously to the ground and the sun pinwheeled above them, bright and merciless.
It reminded Sasuke of places he was trying hard to forget.
It didn’t help that the two jounin that flanked him, a young woman with a rather startling scar across her cheek and an older man who was somewhere around Kakashi’s age, both kept their eyes so pinned to the landscape in front of them that Sasuke knew they must be studying him. It was something he had become so accustom to, the dirty looks and the avoidance it really didn’t register. It may have bothered him as a child but he had long since passed that point where it could do any damage to his adult self.
Naruto, who was, so far as Sasuke could tell, solely responsible for the decision to bring him along, seemed oblivious to everything, running at the front of the pack and laughing with one of the younger nin that was traveling with them. The young man didn’t seem to know quite what to do with Naruto and Sasuke felt the briefest bit of pity for the new jounin. Naruto was a force of nature, as much now as he had been back then, and there were few ninja in the village that knew what to do with their local hero when he got going.
The detachment Sasuke had felt towards others had only increased since his return to Konoha despite everything that Naruto had tried. It didn’t bother him. He had decided that detachment and distance was the way to go when Naruto had slammed him into the dirt and cried and refused to let him be an avenger any more. It still made Sasuke laugh that Naruto had thought he could prevent Sasuke from doing what he was bound to do. It made Sasuke laugh harder (possibly more manically) that he had thought he would be able to push Naruto away again as easily as he had all the other times Naruto had been hell-bent in stopping his crusade.
The group was nearing Suna now and Sasuke could see the walls of the village rising sharply from the rock and sand.
Good, he thought, more than ready to be finished traveling with people he felt little more than contempt for and vice versa. He was sure his guard would be more than happy to be free of him. He just hoped that they weren’t required to stay in his room with him.
Naruto gave a whoop of joy from the front, increasing his speed as he raced towards the heavy gates that protected Gaara’s village. The group surged ahead with him, keeping pace as they jogged across the sand. The gates swung open upon their approach, a lone figure waiting in the opening to greet them.
Naruto raised a hand in greeting and the other person raised theirs in kind. As they got closer Sasuke recognized the stranger as Temari, Gaara’s sister.
“Naruto,” she offered him a slight, smirking smile, “Welcome. Gaara will be pleased that you’ve arrived.”
********
“Naruto,” Gaara stepped out of the group of people that surrounded him, reaching forward to shake Naruto’s hand. Naruto took the proffered grip but pulled Gaara into a loose hug.
“Gaara, long time no see,” Naruto thumped him on the back heartily, “You’re looking as good as ever.”
As the two men continued talking Sasuke watched them with interest. It was well known that Naruto and Gaara were close, but Sasuke was surprised to see that Gaara took Naruto’s enthusiasm in stride. The man was the Kage, after all, and he’d never been the friendliest of people, demon or no. But he seemed genuinely pleased to see Naruto, almost as much, maybe, as Naruto was to see him.
Sasuke waited patiently, curious to know if he would be introduced and well aware, as he always was, of the stares of those around him. There were any number of people in the world that believed Tsunade was crazy for allowing him back inside Konoha’s walls; that Sasuke should have been given the same fate he had planned for them. And who was Sasuke to blame them? He had been planning on razing their village and holding every man, woman and child, guilty or not, responsible for the crimes that had been committed against his family. At the time there was nothing that would have convinced him to deviate from his chosen path.
No reason except, inexplicably, Naruto. And, once again, he found himself somewhere he never intended to be, all because of Naruto’s whims.
Finally relinquishing himself from Naruto’s hug, Gaara turned his way. Sasuke kept his face impassive, allowing Gaara the scrutiny that he was owed. It was the sort of thing that made Sasuke’s skin itch. Two years ago he wouldn’t have stood for it. Then again, two years ago, he had been speeding towards his own early demise. Surprisingly, Gaara only looked him over cursorily, only pausing briefly at the scar that now bisected his left eye.
“Sasuke,” Gaara inclined his head, “Quite the surprise. I assume that you are doing… well.”
Sasuke nodded slightly, “Yes, thank you.” Neither man offered a hand to the other. Gaara would know something of what had occurred in Konoha, there was no need to further inform him. Gaara’s eyes were hooded with caution but they didn’t hold the contempt of many that Sasuke came across. It was a novel experience.
Naruto was watching them like a mother bird watching her chicks though Sasuke doubted that any had ever shown such a ridiculous grin as Naruto did. It was as though all the evil thoughts that came Sasuke’s way had no effect on the man who had made his return possible.
“Well,” Gaara said, “Please allow Tashi to show you to your rooms. Naruto, I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Sasuke but, as he is a surprise guest, it’s the best we can do.”
“No problem,” Naruto smiled, “We were planning on that anyway.”
Sasuke wondered if he was going to go on and explain the obvious, namely that Sasuke generally freaked people out, even other, highly ranked nin, but Naruto left it at that.
“Feel free to clean up before coming back down. We’ll begin once you’re ready.”
A young boy, who Sasuke could only assume was Tashi, stepped forward, bowing to the group of Konoha nin before turning and heading down one of the many corridors that branched off from the room they were standing in. Naruto followed the boy easily, obviously at home in Suna’s HQ. Sasuke and the rest followed closely behind.
Naruto spent the entire trip to their rooms chatting with the young man who lead them there, asking about people he knew and inquiring after the boy’s training. Tashi answered shyly at first but, by the end of the journey, had something like hero-worship in his eyes.
It seemed for a moment that Tashi would stay with them even after he had shown them to their rooms. After he left, Naruto addressed the guards that had come with them.
“Hanada,” Naruto placed a hand on the shoulder of one of the younger guards. Sasuke recognized him as the one Naruto had been talking to on the journey. “You’re on first shift. Tell Tetsu he’s on second.” Looking over his shoulder he called out to a man at the back of the group, “Fujimi, you’re on third.”
Fujimi looked like he wanted to protest but he wisely kept his mouth shut, nodding stiffly at Naruto before disappearing inside his room.
“He’s been pushing it lately. Oh, this is the same room I had last time.” Naruto said as he led Sasuke into the room they were sharing. “Tsunade’s concerned that he’s been,” he paused briefly, as though he was weighing his words.
“Compromised?” Sasuke prompted. If that was what the higher ups were thinking, his presence in the diplomatic envoy made more sense. Someone wanted to see if he was as reformed as Naruto claimed he was.
“Yep, that’s it in a word.” Naruto walked to the window and pushed the heavy wooden shutters open, “You know, sometimes I still don’t quite know where I am in this place and I’ve been the liaison to Suna for quite a while now.” Leaning out the window he looked down into the courtyard below, “It’s just so different from our HQ you know.”
Sasuke nodded but said nothing. Naruto didn’t seem to care, just stood at the window, staring down at whatever was below him, seeming to enjoy the hot breeze that blew in.
Dropping his pack on the bed farthest from the door, Sasuke stretched the muscles between his shoulders that had tightened over the course of the trip. He was finding that being little more than a political prisoner didn’t lend itself to maintaining one’s endurance. He would have to remedy that when they returned to Konoha. Surely, between Naruto and Kakashi, Sasuke could get in some more training.
“So, enjoying yourself yet?” Naruto asked, interrupting Sasuke’s thoughts, “It’s been awhile since Tsunade’s let you out of Konoha.”
Sasuke just gave Naruto a look.
Naruto didn’t appear to care that Sasuke wasn’t going to answer his question because he carried on as if he hadn’t asked it in the first place. “This is the only time of the year that it’s actually pleasant to be in Suna, you know, otherwise it’s hotter than hell and you eat more dust than you do food.”
Humming a half-hearted acknowledgement, Sasuke continued to half-listen to Naruto’s idle chatter as he knelt down to dig a change of clothes from his bag. The dust had settled down into his clothes and he felt gritty and far too dirty to remain in the clothes he had traveled in.
He was just getting ready to go and clean up when he felt Naruto approach him and stand behind him. Sasuke knew that if he were to look up the blond would be staring down at him, an odd expression on his face. It was a look that conveyed something they didn’t talk about, something that they didn’t even hint at. Sasuke was sure that, if they did, the tenuous peace they had built between them would crumble. It’s not worth it, he thought for the hundredth time.
Pretending indifference, Sasuke waited a moment before looking up at Naruto. He must have gotten the timing right because the sharp edge of longing had faded from Naruto’s face and the man was looking as happy as ever.
Smiling, Naruto reached out and shook him lightly, “Hurry up and change, if you’re going to, I’m starving and I don’t think I can wait. Plus, Gaara promised me he’d make sure they served Kouchu.”
“Do I want to know?” Sasuke was well acquainted with Naruto’s questionable culinary enjoyments.
“Aw, it’s delicious. See, they take one of those funny desert rats, did you see one on the way? And then they…”
Sasuke gagged slightly. Leave it to Naruto to want to eat some desert rat.
********
Part 2
Title: Alibi
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Naruto comes up with a ridiculous plan, just to provide Sasuke with an alibi. Gaara plays along.
Warnings: None
A/N: This is most probably somewhat AU as I am not currently caught up on the manga canon. My apologies. Also, this plot is pasted on…
Mod note: Reminder for the author/artist of this submission, please do not reply to comments signed in, if you want to reply anon commenting is enabled.
********
It was strange, Sasuke decided, to be traveling with a group of Konoha ninja on their way to Suna. He had been under house arrest for so long, and it had been even longer since he had traveled this particular road to Suna, it left him feeling off kilter. Though, for all he knew, that feeling was just Tsunade’s seal reacting badly to being outside of Konoha’s walls.
Sasuke knew that he’d been sent along with Naruto to make the point that the dangerous and wily Sasuke Uchiha was once again under Konoha’s thumb. And even if he hadn’t been smart enough to figure that out, which he was, the additional ninja that were traveling with them would have clued him in. Diplomatic mission or not, he was positive that it wasn’t usual to send a handful of jounin along - especially when you considered that it was Naruto who was heading to Suna for diplomatic purposes.
Not that anyone had seen fit to let him know what, exactly, those diplomatic purposes were. Considering his position in Konoha as persona non grata that wasn’t at all surprising.
So far the trip had been as uneventful, and as boring, as Sasuke had remembered it to be. The farther one got away from Konoha, the more barren the landscape became. They had left the lush green forests the surrounded the village and worked their way across thinning prairie until they had reached the edge of the desert. Thin, hardy, grasses clung tenaciously to the ground and the sun pinwheeled above them, bright and merciless.
It reminded Sasuke of places he was trying hard to forget.
It didn’t help that the two jounin that flanked him, a young woman with a rather startling scar across her cheek and an older man who was somewhere around Kakashi’s age, both kept their eyes so pinned to the landscape in front of them that Sasuke knew they must be studying him. It was something he had become so accustom to, the dirty looks and the avoidance it really didn’t register. It may have bothered him as a child but he had long since passed that point where it could do any damage to his adult self.
Naruto, who was, so far as Sasuke could tell, solely responsible for the decision to bring him along, seemed oblivious to everything, running at the front of the pack and laughing with one of the younger nin that was traveling with them. The young man didn’t seem to know quite what to do with Naruto and Sasuke felt the briefest bit of pity for the new jounin. Naruto was a force of nature, as much now as he had been back then, and there were few ninja in the village that knew what to do with their local hero when he got going.
The detachment Sasuke had felt towards others had only increased since his return to Konoha despite everything that Naruto had tried. It didn’t bother him. He had decided that detachment and distance was the way to go when Naruto had slammed him into the dirt and cried and refused to let him be an avenger any more. It still made Sasuke laugh that Naruto had thought he could prevent Sasuke from doing what he was bound to do. It made Sasuke laugh harder (possibly more manically) that he had thought he would be able to push Naruto away again as easily as he had all the other times Naruto had been hell-bent in stopping his crusade.
The group was nearing Suna now and Sasuke could see the walls of the village rising sharply from the rock and sand.
Good, he thought, more than ready to be finished traveling with people he felt little more than contempt for and vice versa. He was sure his guard would be more than happy to be free of him. He just hoped that they weren’t required to stay in his room with him.
Naruto gave a whoop of joy from the front, increasing his speed as he raced towards the heavy gates that protected Gaara’s village. The group surged ahead with him, keeping pace as they jogged across the sand. The gates swung open upon their approach, a lone figure waiting in the opening to greet them.
Naruto raised a hand in greeting and the other person raised theirs in kind. As they got closer Sasuke recognized the stranger as Temari, Gaara’s sister.
“Naruto,” she offered him a slight, smirking smile, “Welcome. Gaara will be pleased that you’ve arrived.”
********
“Naruto,” Gaara stepped out of the group of people that surrounded him, reaching forward to shake Naruto’s hand. Naruto took the proffered grip but pulled Gaara into a loose hug.
“Gaara, long time no see,” Naruto thumped him on the back heartily, “You’re looking as good as ever.”
As the two men continued talking Sasuke watched them with interest. It was well known that Naruto and Gaara were close, but Sasuke was surprised to see that Gaara took Naruto’s enthusiasm in stride. The man was the Kage, after all, and he’d never been the friendliest of people, demon or no. But he seemed genuinely pleased to see Naruto, almost as much, maybe, as Naruto was to see him.
Sasuke waited patiently, curious to know if he would be introduced and well aware, as he always was, of the stares of those around him. There were any number of people in the world that believed Tsunade was crazy for allowing him back inside Konoha’s walls; that Sasuke should have been given the same fate he had planned for them. And who was Sasuke to blame them? He had been planning on razing their village and holding every man, woman and child, guilty or not, responsible for the crimes that had been committed against his family. At the time there was nothing that would have convinced him to deviate from his chosen path.
No reason except, inexplicably, Naruto. And, once again, he found himself somewhere he never intended to be, all because of Naruto’s whims.
Finally relinquishing himself from Naruto’s hug, Gaara turned his way. Sasuke kept his face impassive, allowing Gaara the scrutiny that he was owed. It was the sort of thing that made Sasuke’s skin itch. Two years ago he wouldn’t have stood for it. Then again, two years ago, he had been speeding towards his own early demise. Surprisingly, Gaara only looked him over cursorily, only pausing briefly at the scar that now bisected his left eye.
“Sasuke,” Gaara inclined his head, “Quite the surprise. I assume that you are doing… well.”
Sasuke nodded slightly, “Yes, thank you.” Neither man offered a hand to the other. Gaara would know something of what had occurred in Konoha, there was no need to further inform him. Gaara’s eyes were hooded with caution but they didn’t hold the contempt of many that Sasuke came across. It was a novel experience.
Naruto was watching them like a mother bird watching her chicks though Sasuke doubted that any had ever shown such a ridiculous grin as Naruto did. It was as though all the evil thoughts that came Sasuke’s way had no effect on the man who had made his return possible.
“Well,” Gaara said, “Please allow Tashi to show you to your rooms. Naruto, I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Sasuke but, as he is a surprise guest, it’s the best we can do.”
“No problem,” Naruto smiled, “We were planning on that anyway.”
Sasuke wondered if he was going to go on and explain the obvious, namely that Sasuke generally freaked people out, even other, highly ranked nin, but Naruto left it at that.
“Feel free to clean up before coming back down. We’ll begin once you’re ready.”
A young boy, who Sasuke could only assume was Tashi, stepped forward, bowing to the group of Konoha nin before turning and heading down one of the many corridors that branched off from the room they were standing in. Naruto followed the boy easily, obviously at home in Suna’s HQ. Sasuke and the rest followed closely behind.
Naruto spent the entire trip to their rooms chatting with the young man who lead them there, asking about people he knew and inquiring after the boy’s training. Tashi answered shyly at first but, by the end of the journey, had something like hero-worship in his eyes.
It seemed for a moment that Tashi would stay with them even after he had shown them to their rooms. After he left, Naruto addressed the guards that had come with them.
“Hanada,” Naruto placed a hand on the shoulder of one of the younger guards. Sasuke recognized him as the one Naruto had been talking to on the journey. “You’re on first shift. Tell Tetsu he’s on second.” Looking over his shoulder he called out to a man at the back of the group, “Fujimi, you’re on third.”
Fujimi looked like he wanted to protest but he wisely kept his mouth shut, nodding stiffly at Naruto before disappearing inside his room.
“He’s been pushing it lately. Oh, this is the same room I had last time.” Naruto said as he led Sasuke into the room they were sharing. “Tsunade’s concerned that he’s been,” he paused briefly, as though he was weighing his words.
“Compromised?” Sasuke prompted. If that was what the higher ups were thinking, his presence in the diplomatic envoy made more sense. Someone wanted to see if he was as reformed as Naruto claimed he was.
“Yep, that’s it in a word.” Naruto walked to the window and pushed the heavy wooden shutters open, “You know, sometimes I still don’t quite know where I am in this place and I’ve been the liaison to Suna for quite a while now.” Leaning out the window he looked down into the courtyard below, “It’s just so different from our HQ you know.”
Sasuke nodded but said nothing. Naruto didn’t seem to care, just stood at the window, staring down at whatever was below him, seeming to enjoy the hot breeze that blew in.
Dropping his pack on the bed farthest from the door, Sasuke stretched the muscles between his shoulders that had tightened over the course of the trip. He was finding that being little more than a political prisoner didn’t lend itself to maintaining one’s endurance. He would have to remedy that when they returned to Konoha. Surely, between Naruto and Kakashi, Sasuke could get in some more training.
“So, enjoying yourself yet?” Naruto asked, interrupting Sasuke’s thoughts, “It’s been awhile since Tsunade’s let you out of Konoha.”
Sasuke just gave Naruto a look.
Naruto didn’t appear to care that Sasuke wasn’t going to answer his question because he carried on as if he hadn’t asked it in the first place. “This is the only time of the year that it’s actually pleasant to be in Suna, you know, otherwise it’s hotter than hell and you eat more dust than you do food.”
Humming a half-hearted acknowledgement, Sasuke continued to half-listen to Naruto’s idle chatter as he knelt down to dig a change of clothes from his bag. The dust had settled down into his clothes and he felt gritty and far too dirty to remain in the clothes he had traveled in.
He was just getting ready to go and clean up when he felt Naruto approach him and stand behind him. Sasuke knew that if he were to look up the blond would be staring down at him, an odd expression on his face. It was a look that conveyed something they didn’t talk about, something that they didn’t even hint at. Sasuke was sure that, if they did, the tenuous peace they had built between them would crumble. It’s not worth it, he thought for the hundredth time.
Pretending indifference, Sasuke waited a moment before looking up at Naruto. He must have gotten the timing right because the sharp edge of longing had faded from Naruto’s face and the man was looking as happy as ever.
Smiling, Naruto reached out and shook him lightly, “Hurry up and change, if you’re going to, I’m starving and I don’t think I can wait. Plus, Gaara promised me he’d make sure they served Kouchu.”
“Do I want to know?” Sasuke was well acquainted with Naruto’s questionable culinary enjoyments.
“Aw, it’s delicious. See, they take one of those funny desert rats, did you see one on the way? And then they…”
Sasuke gagged slightly. Leave it to Naruto to want to eat some desert rat.
********
Part 2