Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

It's a Hard Knock Life	By : Tatemshope Category: Naruto AU/AR > General Views: 2830 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
I do not own Naruto or any characters or products mentioned in this story. I make no profit from them either.
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Sasuke turned and followed Naruto quietly back to the table where Jiraiya and Choji were waiting. Kakashi gave Naruto, Tsunade and Sasuke a knowing looking before walking up to a small podium that had been erected at the front of the auditorium.
"I'm glad you could all make it tonight. I imagine you've had time to eat and introduce yourselves around the table. If you will all reach under your chair you will find a list of three questions. The worksheets are all the same, so don't bother switching. You will partner up in twos or threes with those at your table and ask each other these questions. When you are finished I ask that you return the list of questions to me, with the answers printed neatly, and then you may leave," he finished as he made eye contact with Sasuke. "As you answer these questions, remember, honesty is the only path that will ever lead you anywhere worth going. You may begin."
Tsunade quickly chose Jiraiya and Choji and pulled them off to the side of the room, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to themselves at the table. The blond was staring at the list of questions uneasily and the Uchiha boy understood why when he looked down at his worksheet.
1. 1. What is your biggest fear?
2. 2. What is your biggest fantasy?
3. 3. How old were you when you lost your virginity and what were the circumstances surrounding it?
"This is bullshit," Sasuke mumbled under his breath and Naruto nodded in agreement.
Kakashi noticed the mutinous looks on their faces and strolled casually over to where they were seated at the table.
"We're not answering these questions," Sasuke insisted. "They're too personal to just write on a piece of paper and hand in."
"Look around. No one else seems to be having trouble with this assignment."
Both boys looked around the room, and sure enough, everyone else had broken off into little groups and were dutifully asking questions and scribbling down answers. Much to their astonishment it looked like most of the other groups were laughing and enjoying themselves.
"I tell you what boys. If you promise to ask each other these questions and answer them honestly, I won't make you write down the answers or hand this in. It can be between the two of you," Kakashi said.
"I would like that better," Naruto whispered, looking at Sasuke to see what the older boy had decided. Sasuke sighed and leaned back in his chair, glaring at Kakashi.
"We'll do it," he said quietly.
Kakashi stepped away from the table.
"I guess I'll answer first," Naruto said as he lifted up his glass to take a sip of water, "Seeing as how I think you already know, my biggest fear is being burnt. Every time I see someone with fire, I think they're going to burn me. I hate candles, and cigarettes and lighters."
Sasuke nodded. He'd suspected that would be the case. His fear was darker and ordinarily he would not share it, but sitting here with Naruto, he had a sudden urge to open up a little. He wasn't sure exactly how the truth would sound when it was floating through the air instead of contained inside his head, but he was willing to find out.
"My biggest fear is that I'll lose someone close to me and it will be my own fault."
Naruto looked at him with sad eyes.
"Why?" he asked quietly, searching Sasuke's face for a clue.
"My brother killed my parents because I wasn't strong enough to just let him do what he wanted with me."
Sasuke bit his bottom lip as hard as he could and dug his fingernails into his palms so that he would focus on not crying.
"Oh," was all Naruto could manage to come up with as he screwed his face up in sympathetic horror. He hadn't been expecting a revelation like that. He knew Sasuke's parents were dead, but he had no idea his brother had killed them. That was horrible. He had a whole new respect for Sasuke's success.
Seeing the pity on Naruto's face made Sasuke furious with himself. Why hadn't he just said closed spaces? Claustrophobia is a perfectly normal fear.
"Let's just get this over with," the Uchiha boy grumbled. "What is your biggest fantasy?"
Naruto looked down at the table and muttered something so low that Sasuke couldn't make it out. The blond boy was obviously uncomfortable with this and Sasuke couldn't blame him. He was done with this trust exercise.
"This whole fucking worksheet is worthless. We're getting out of here," Sasuke said as he rose to his feet and kicked his chair. Both boys noticed that many of the room's other occupants were already on their way out the door.
"I wonder how everyone else got done so fast," Naruto mused aloud, just as Tsunade stepped back over to the table to grab her purse.
"Well, it's not like those questions were rocket science," she said.
She bent forward to gather her belongings and Sasuke got a glimpse of the worksheet she was holding.
"That son of a bitch," the Uchiha boy growled before racing up toward the stage where Kakashi was pulling down decorations.
"What was that all about?" Tsunade asked, watching with interest as Kakashi sidestepped a punch Sasuke threw at him.
Naruto glanced down at the paper in Tsunade's hands and he knew the answer immediately. The questions on the worksheet read:
1. What is your favorite color?
2. What is your favorite movie?
3. Do you have any pets?
"Did everyone in your group have this same worksheet?" Naruto asked, wrinkling his forehead in thought.
"Of course. Weren't you listening to Kakashi? All the worksheets were the same."
"Ummm... not all of them," Naruto replied, noticing a wry smile cross her face. "You knew! Didn't you! You crazy old hag! That's why you grabbed Jiraiya and Choji so quickly. You were in on it!"
Tsunade simply smiled and then turned back to the stage to see Sasuke almost land a punch on his silver-haired mentor.
"Care to wager on if Sasuke will land a punch?" Tsunade asked, enjoying the sight of the men fighting far more than she should have. Sasuke had taken to grabbing knives off of the table and hurling them at the older man's head. Every few seconds a "crash" or a "clang" punctuated the air.
"What will my pay rate be when I work for you?"
*crash*
"When you work for me? Sasuke gave you permission then?"
*bang*
"It's not like that. He was just worried about me, but I know that I'll take the job. So what will you pay me?"
*CRASH*
"I was thinking eight dollars an hour."
*SMASH*
"I'm going to bet that Sasuke will land a punch before two minutes is up. If he does, you pay me nine dollars an hour, if he doesn't; you can pay me seven dollars an hour."
*SLAM*
"It's a deal, brat."
"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto yelled up to the front of the room. The Uchiha boy paused for a second to listen to the blond. "The whole table was in on it! They knew our questions were diff--" He would have continued but Tsunade slapped a hand over his face. They both laughed as he attempted to wiggle out of her grasp. He was a little surprised at how at ease he felt.
Only a few days ago he would have been terrified to have a strange woman gripping him so tightly, but now, the safety of having Sasuke in the same room made all the difference in the world. No one could hurt him now. Realizing Tsunade was stronger than she looked he took a different approach. He stuck out his tongue and licked the length of her hand. She unhanded him with a horrified squeal while at the same moment Sasuke, Kakashi and the podium came tumbling down. Much to the
Uchiha boy's credit he managed to roll forward and land a left hook before they both crashed to the ground. Kakashi swiftly flipped Sasuke over and pinned him to the ground.
Naruto smiled charmingly at Tsunade as he headed forward to collect his friend.
"That'll be nine dollars an hour!" he declared to the irritated blond woman.
"I think that was cheating but call me in the morning," she called out toward the front of the room as she walked hurriedly toward the door.
Naruto reached his struggling friend and glared down at Kakashi.
"Let him up or you'll be fighting us both," Naruto growled, although a slight smile was evident on his face.
"I would rather fight neither of you. Get your boyfriend to stop struggling and I'll let him up," Kakashi said as he adjusted his weight to make up for Sasuke's struggling. The dark-haired boy was unwilling to give up though and pushed off the ground with considerable force.
"He's not my boyfriend and if you don't move your knee off my face I'm going to have a case for justifiable homicide," Sasuke hissed at his teacher not noticing the look of pain that flashed across Naruto's face. Without another word the blond boy walked slowly back toward their things and glumly sat on the table facing the door. Kakashi leaned down so that he could whisper in Sasuke's ear.
"I think you just hurt his feelings. Are you going to fight me or go apologize?"
"What are you talking about? I hurt who's feelings?" the Uchiha boy asked, genuinely puzzled. His anger was instantly forgotten.
"Who do you think? Maybe you should have thought twice before being so adamant about him not being your boyfriend. Does he even know?"
"Know what?"
"Does he know he isn't your boyfriend?" Kakashi asked patiently, still keeping his voice low enough that Naruto could not hear from his perch on the table.
"Of course he knows that. We've known each other for less than three days. You can't honestly think that what I said hurt his feelings."
"I can honestly think it because I think it's clear that it did. I'm glad to see you've calmed down, but now I think you and Naruto have some talking to do. I take it you didn't finish your questions?"
"You could say that," Sasuke replied distantly. His focus was solely on the blond boy sitting on a table half way across the room.
"I gave you different questions from everyone else and I understand why you are pissed off. There was a lesson to be learned and if you want to fix this, I think you should finish up that worksheet before the night is through."
"There's nothing to fix," Sasuke answered coldly before leaving his teacher abruptly and walking over to Naruto's side.
"Let's get out of here," he said softly as he approached the younger boy. Naruto did his best to muster up a smile for Sasuke before following him out the door. The cab ride home was quiet, only interrupted by the thunder of a passing storm. It wasn't until they made it to the stairwell of the building that Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the hand and turned him around to face him.
"Are you upset?" he asked, trying to mask the irritation he was feeling. Honestly he felt like this whole issue was a bit ridiculous. He liked Naruto a lot, but that didn't make them boyfriends.
"No," Naruto stated simply before turning around and continuing up the stairs. He quickened his pace just a bit at the top flight so he was halfway in the door of the penthouse before Sasuke caught up. The dark haired boy was about to ask Naruto again if he was upset, but an unfamiliar man stepped around Naruto before he had a chance to speak.
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the unfamiliar boy suspiciously.
"Inuzuka Kiba," the boy said as he offered his right hand in greeting.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in warning but took the offered handshake because Hinata stepped into the doorway at just that moment. Naruto took the opportunity to head further into the apartment and away from the possible trouble that was brewing.
"Uchiha Sasuke," the dark haired boy introduced himself politely before turning to Hinata. "Is Neji here?"
"No," she answered firmly, "and there is no reason that he should be."
"We promised your father you wouldn't have un-chaperoned male guests in the penthouse," Sasuke said coldly before turning his gaze back toward Kiba. "I assume you're leaving."
"No," he answered steadily, shocking Sasuke slightly. The Uchiha glare generally sent people scurrying. "I escorted Hinata home in the hopes that I could speak to you. We'd just walked in the door and realized you weren't in when your friend opened the door."
"What did you want to speak with me about?" Sasuke questioned, already knowing the answer.
Kiba took a deep breath.
"Today at lunch one of the nurses told me Hinata has a crush on me and that works out great because I have a crush on her, too. We got to talking and she told me that you and her cousin are very protective of her and I respect that. Before I ask you if I can take her out I just want you to know that I'm a good person. I live with my mother and my sister Hana, who's a veterinarian. I'm kind to animals, I get good grades, I've never gotten a speeding ticket and I never play video
games in case they do someday prove that playing them can turn you into a serial killer.
So now that you know the basics, I would really like to take Hinata out to dinner on Friday night... with your permission... which I've been told will most likely be impossible to get."
Sasuke stared at him for a moment, amazed that anyone could say that many words at one time.
"Come to dinner tomorrow night. We're eating at seven," Sasuke instructed before walking into the apartment to find Naruto.
"Was that a yes?" Kiba asked Hinata as he pushed the button for the elevator.
"It wasn't a 'no', which is a really good sign," she answered, giving him a small wave before stepping back into the apartment and closing the door. Sasuke was still pulling off his shoes at the kitchen table when she ran over to him and pulled him into a hug, almost unseating him with her enthusiasm.
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!" she laughed, twirling around a few times before settling dramatically on the couch.
"Don't thank me yet, Hinata. Thank me after I manage to get Neji to agree to sit politely through a dinner tomorrow night," Sasuke warned gently.
"He'll be nice if you are. He trusts you to keep my best interests at heart. Why did Naruto look so upset?"
"Did he?" Sasuke asked, noticing briefly that all the clocks in the kitchen were blinking 00:00. "Did the electricity go off?"
"Yeah, it must've. Don't change the subject. Did you do something to upset Naruto?"
"No... Yes... I honestly don't know... I was fighting with Kakashi and he said something about Naruto being my boyfriend and I corrected him, and apparently that hurt his feelings," Sasuke explained hoping that maybe Hinata could give him some clarification.
"I see... I know you pretty well, and when you're mad, even I have a really hard time telling what you mean from the tone of your voice. Maybe he thought you sounded ashamed of him, or maybe he's worried that any minute now you're going to get tired of him and send him back out to fend for himself. It could be just about anything, but you won't know if you don't ask."
Sasuke thought about what she said for a moment before answering.
"I did ask him, and he said nothing was wrong."
"Of course he did... but that doesn't mean nothing is wrong. Geesh, you act like you've never dated before."
"See, there it is again. Even you think we're dating."
"Would it be so bad if I do think that?"
"It wouldn't be bad at all; it just isn't accurate. Honestly, I just want to make sure I'm not putting all sorts of expectations on Naruto. I mean, I bought him for a lot of money, and he just found out today, so for all I know, the only thing he feels for me is gratitude. I'm not saying we'll never date. I'm saying we aren't dating right now."
"Maybe you should go tell him all of that," Hinata prodded.
"You don't have to," Naruto's voice echoed softly into the kitchen. "I think something went wrong with the intercom when the electricity went out because I'm in the bedroom and I heard everything you said."
"Come out here," Sasuke directed. When Naruto appeared he patted the chair next to him so the blond would come sit down. "You could have made yourself known before you heard me pour my heart out. Now there's no mystery," he scolded softly before kissing Naruto gently on the forehead.
"I'm not upset. I'm really not. Hinata was right... I just thought it sounded like you were ashamed of me," Naruto explained.
"Well, I'm not," Sasuke replied.
"Of course he's not," Gaara said, poking his head into the kitchen. "You make some serious arm candy, Naruto. If I didn't have an incredibly hot man of my own, I'd be after you in a heartbeat."
"Do we have no privacy?" Sasuke asked, his eyes flashing with irritation.
"You left the door wide open," Gaara scolded.
"You never know what kind of riff raff you'll let in that way," Neji smirked as he and Shikamaru stepped around the redheaded boy and into the kitchen.
"If you're referring to me as the riff raff I think you might want to check that. I'm not the one whose boyfriend is wearing leather chaps," Shikamaru said lazily as he crossed the room to give Hinata a hug.
"Leather chaps?" Naruto gasped as Gaara emerged into the room.
"You look like a porn star... and not the good kind," mused Sasuke as he pulled Naruto tighter to his side playfully.
"I think they're quite tasteful," Shikamaru said seriously. "I just hope the cowboy stripper you stole them from doesn't find out where you live."
"Neji said I look really hot in them." Gaara protested giving the lazy boy a dirty look.
Naruto started laughing, quietly at first, but then he burst out into tears, clutching at his chair to keep him up right. "Leather Chaps!!!." Sasuke broke into a smile at the sight of Naruto laughing and held him tightly so he wouldn't slip to the floor.
"You have no taste," Gaara growled, glaring at both Naruto and Sasuke, before turning to Hinata. "You think I look hot, don't you?"
"There is absolutely no way for me to answer that question without at least one of you getting angry at me� said Hinata diplomatically as she looked between Neji and Sasuke.
Gaara smiled smugly. "You're attracted to me," he insisted. "It's only natural."
"Just don't wear those things tomorrow night. We're having a dinner party and you're all invited," Sasuke interjected, changing the subject to get Hinata off the hook. If her face became any more flushed he was afraid she would faint from embarrassment.
"A dinner party? What time and why?" Gaara asked.
Sasuke took a deep breath because this was about to get unpleasant. "It's at 7:00 and it's because I want everyone to meet the boy that has asked for my permission to take Hinata out on a date Friday night."
"Sasuke, can I talk to you?" Neji asked, as he headed toward the bedroom without waiting for a reply.
Sasuke started out of the kitchen and Gaara and Naruto followed him. Hinata was staring at the floor biting her lip in an attempt not to cry, and Shikamaru stepped over to her to give her a brotherly hug.
"This is between me and Neji," Sasuke stated as he stopped in the hallway to block the two other boys from following him. "Go tell Hinata I'm taking care of this."
He watched as the blond and the redhead retreated back to the kitchen before he opened the door to the bedroom.
"You told her she could go on a date without talking to me first?" Neji said as soon as Sasuke had walked in the door.
"No, I met the boy today and told him he had to have dinner with us tomorrow. I gave him no assurances, but I plan on telling him it's ok if everything checks out."
"Checks out?"
"Between you, me, Gaara and Shikamaru, we should be able to find out what he had for breakfast this morning if we want to. We can add that to the agenda for tonight. If anything suspicious comes up, we'll tell him to get lost, but if he checks out, the date will happen."
"And if I say no?"
"I'll talk to her father," Sasuke said firmly. "Hinata is not a pet to be owned and controlled. We're all starting school next week, and if we don't allow her to date someone suitable that we have some amount of pull over, she's going to start sneaking around. It's inevitable. Why not try to like this guy?"
"You really think she would go behind our backs to date?" Neji asked.
"I do." Sasuke answered. "I promised her I would give Kiba a fair chance, and I plan to. He seemed nice enough when I met him, and he did ask me for my permission which was a good sign. I don't think he would have done that if he was just trying to get in Hinata's pants."
Neji turned three different shades of purple before he could find words. "Don't even joke about that."
"She's grown into a very attractive woman, Neji, and we're lucky she hasn't caught onto that yet. I would prefer her to be engaged before she realizes exactly how capable she is of getting men's attention."
"Fine. You've made your point. I'll play nice," Neji relented, his face still stuck in a sour expression. "This is your responsibility though. If she ends up pregnant, you're going to be the one telling her father."
"I agree. So let's go tell her that the dinner is on and that her date is currently safe," Sasuke said as he turned toward the kitchen.
"Sasuke?"
"What?"
"Don't get mad, but we heard a little more of your conversation with Hinata and Naruto than we let on. I think we should move our meeting to the morning and I don't think you should keep it a secret from him that we're trying to get revenge. Stay up here and talk to him tonight."
"Neji--"
"Shikamaru said it would take well into tonight to switch the format, so any decisions we make tonight won't be based on facts anyway. It will be more productive if you would come downstairs at 10 tomorrow."
"Neji�"
"Sasuke, stop being an idiot. You clearly like Naruto and if you lie to him or hide things from him, you will lose him. I know all about you buying him, and so he may feel obligated to stay, but he will never be able to truly love you if he doesn't trust you."
"When did you become a psychologist?" Sasuke asked grouchily.
"When we broke up I read every self help book I came across. I learned a few things," Neji explained seriously.
"Fine. We'll meet tomorrow morning. Can you take your entourage downstairs? If I'm going to talk to Naruto I want to do it before we both get too tired to make sense."
"Of course."
They walked together back into the kitchen to find Gaara shaking with laughter and Hinata patting her face with a paper towel.
"What did we miss?" Neji asked as he pulled the red-head into a hug.
"Shika was talking about getting into trouble with Ino because she checked their Internet History, and I asked him what he'd been looking at and he said porn and then... and then..." the red-head was laughing so hard he could barely continue. "And then Naruto said... 'There's porn on the Internet???"
"I didn't know!" Naruto pouted before he finally broke into a smile.
"Shika was so shocked that he spit his drink all over Hinata!" Gaara finished, finally getting himself under control.
"I'm so sorry, Hinata. I just... he hasn't... and the porn..." Shikamaru stuttered.
"It's ok, Shika. I know it was an accident. Besides, I was about to get ready for bed anyway. If you will excuse me, I think I'll turn in for the night. I'll see you all tomorrow at 7. Sasuke, can we work out dinner details in the morning before I go to work?"
"Of course. Go to bed," he directed. As she walked past him he gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and she whispered a soft thank you. He had definitely made up for his earlier admission of scaring boys off by standing up to Neji on this.
"I think we'll be heading downstairs as well," Neji hinted. Gaara and Shikamaru followed him out the door, and Sasuke followed them to lock up.
"I don't know exactly what it is on that video, but you aren't going to need to pay me. Naruto seems like a great guy," Shika said quietly as he headed for the stairs.
"Thanks, Shika. I'll see you in the morning," Sasuke said as he shut the door and locked it. He turned to look back at the kitchen where Naruto was still sitting, looking off into space.
"Earth to Naruto. You ok?" Sasuke asked.
"Oh yeah... I'm fine... I was just thinking... praying actually," Naruto explained.
"You don't always do it out loud?" Sasuke asked.
"No. Do you?"
"Honestly? I don't pray. I was only asking because I've overheard you praying several times."
"You didn't listen did you? Prayers are private" Naruto replied, horror playing across his features.
"Yes. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. We can talk about that later though. I have something less pleasant to talk to you about right now and I want to get it over with."
"Can we talk in the bedroom?" Naruto asked as he reached over to Sasuke and placed a hand suggestively on his thigh.
"Yes we can talk in the bedroom, but I actually want to talk; not fool around."
"We can't do both?"
"No."
Naruto stopped abruptly and shoved Sasuke roughly into the wall, pressing his body flush with the older boy.
"Then we aren't going to talk," he whispered huskily before entering the room and flopping sexily onto the bed.
"We are going to talk. We have important things to talk about," Sasuke insisted, but he could feel his will melting as Naruto pulled off his hoodie and then his tee shirt. Framed by the soft glow of the bedside lamp, the blond boy looked positively sinful.
"Let me make this really easy for you, Sasuke. I want to go down on you. Right now. Don't argue, don't say anything dumb about me owing you; just lay down here on the bed and let me do what I want."
"But, we need to--"
"No. I'm saying no. We'll talk in the morning. You looked so hot fighting Kakashi, and then you looked even hotter when you were standing up to Neji for Hinata, and now, you look so hot I'm going to drag you onto this bed and have my way with you whether you want it or not... so lay the fuck down," Naruto growled before pouncing on Sasuke and dragging him forcibly down onto the bed.
"Is this a new personality I should meet? 'Cause I think I like him," Sasuke smirked as Naruto attacked the Uchiha boy's cargo pants with fervor.
"No. This is me. Really me," Naruto purred as he placed a line of kisses below the older boy's belly button.
"I think I like the real you," Sasuke said softly, ruffling Naruto's hair. "I think I'm going to keep the real you around for a very long time."
~~~~
A/N: I don't put these in very often, but occasionally I have a slight need to rant and it's gonna be here. :) It's come to my attention that someone has been commenting all over AFF about author's being jerks for begging for reviews. If you're the person doing this, please stop, because it's discouraging some really amazing writers. I myself have been feeling a little bogged down by this story (Don't worry, there's no way I would not finish it.) but in all honesty, getting good, long reviews are what helps me stay motivated, and it's what's gonna keep me from ending this story lamely in two chapter instead of taking it out to the 25 or so chapters I have planned.
That's just my two cents. Be encouraging, leave reviews that actually talk about the story, and then you'll see that the author's will update more often and the story will be better for it, I promise.
Anyway, I have to give credit where credit is due, and I snitched a few things from this chapter from other places!
*The Gaara in leather chaps thing is a completely reworded version of Draco wearing chaps in Cassandra Claire's AMAZING fanfic Draco Veritas.
*Part of Kiba's asking Sasuke for permission to date Hinata came from the Gilmore Girls.
Please review!!! :) Thanks so much to the people who already have! This whole story owes its existance to you!!!!
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It's a Hard Knock Life