Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Underneath The Leaves	By : ChaCha92 Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 4798 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Don't own anything in the Naruto universe. Some dude in Japan does. Make no money on my stories either.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Crisp, frigid air gives way to the occasional light snowstorm, teasing with a promise of considerably more snow come New Years as the days drag on through November into December.
Tearing his gaze from the frosty window, Sasuke sighs imperceptibly and refocuses on the messy assortment of documents spread out on the table in front of him. He doesn’t get very far in sorting and organizing when Kakashi entering the room captures his attention.
“That’s everything,” the silver haired jounin states, handing the younger man a few more documents.
“I’m not surprised,” Sasuke mutters, flipping through the new additions to his collection. “This house is too small to yield much in the way of clues. Seems all we got this time around was a disorganized mess.”
“You didn’t find anything useful?” Kakashi asks, cocking his head to the side.
“Double check for me if you like,” he replies, gesturing at a small pile to his left. “Our search didn’t yield more names like the others.’
Easing into a chair at the kitchen table, Kakashi begins scanning through the indicated papers.
“Seems the Uchiha who lived in this house were only useful to Danzo in name only,” Kakashi muses several minutes later, having moved on to scrutinizing the remaining papers on the table with Sasuke.
“I don’t think Naruto will be too heartbroken,” Sasuke absently replies while scowling down at the document in his hand. “She’s still ticked at being stuck in the tower running down all the new names we’ve uncovered so far.”
“She’s been in the archives so much she knows where everything is and we have the Sharingan to check for hidden compartments. She really can’t argue against the current arrangement,” Kakashi points out.
“Doesn’t stop her from bitching about it,” Sasuke grouses.
“It’d be completely against her nature if she didn’t,” Kakashi points out in amusement.
“Yeah,” he agrees. Arching back in his chair to stretch his back, he straightens up to glare at the papers now neatly stacked on the table. “That was a waste of time.”
“At least we can check this off our list.” At Sasuke’s nod he adds, “Tomorrow you’re pulling gate duty, right?”
“Yeah,” the young brunet answers. Rising to his feet, he gathers the stacked papers and shuffles them into a folder. “We can start on the next house in a couple of days.” Tucking it under his arm, he looks over at Kakashi and asks, “Are you going to be working with Naruto in the archives then?”
“Yes,” he nods. Standing up, he follows Sasuke through the house. “We’ve uncovered quite a few new names so far and since they’re not Uchiha, their files will be scattered all over the tower.”
“More long dead corpses with no immediate family to remember them,” Sasuke muses as they step out the front door. He locks it before walking with Kakashi in weak afternoon sunlight back to his home.
“Probably,” Kakashi nods. “We have to check them since this is their first appearance in our investigation.”
“At least Naruto’s going to be happy to have some company in the archives. I seriously think the dusty air is driving her insane.”
“Didn’t you peg her as insane years ago?” Kakashi sardonically asks.
“Okay, it’s making her insanity worse.”
“I heard that, teme,” Naruto growls while landing silently between them.
Unperturbed, Sasuke arches a brow at her.
“Like I wouldn’t say it to your face.”
“I didn’t expect to see you for another hour or so,” Kakashi’s amused voice distracts her.
“I caught wind that Koharu was in the building and I was pretty much done for the day anyways,” she explains after throwing one last glare at an unaffected Sasuke.
“Why would Koharu being in the building matter?” Kakashi asks.
“’Cause the old bat’s been coming around trying to chat with me. Not sure what she wants, but it’s enough of a pain in the ass to be digging through all those dusty files without her droning on about nothing,” she grouses, rolling her eyes.
“We’re not going to make much headway with all these interruptions,” Sasuke grouses.
“Actually, I have, teme,” Naruto smirks at him. “I’ve been digging through the personnel, property and financial files of the names I’ve got on my list. I still don’t find much on the Uchiha names, but I’ve been getting more off the civilian names. I’ve found more names that’ve turned up as associates or business partners. I’m not halfway through the list yet, but turning up new names is giving us more places to look. Find anything at this last house?”
“No,” Sasuke grouses succinctly as they arrive at his home.
“We just finished and found nothing new,” Kakashi explains, warding off another round of bickering between the two while Sasuke ushers them inside.
“Not like we’re done with all the names on the list,” Naruto sighs in resignation and shrugs off her winter cloak, handing it to Sasuke to hang up. “I think I came across something good, though.”
Sasuke pauses long enough to arch a brow at her. Knowing she’ll explain, he heads for the kitchen to start on dinner. Trailing behind with Kakashi, she continues.
“About twenty of the names on the list have bank accounts that held a lot of money. That wouldn’t be much of a flag, but these guys didn’t come from wealth and didn’t have great paying jobs, yet their accounts periodically held a lot of money before it got transferred.”
Kakashi silently gestures for her to remain seated at the counter while he helps Sasuke with dinner. Rolling her eyes, Naruto continues detailing what she’s found.
“Turns out some names owned valuable real estate that was later sold. Again, these folks weren’t exactly rolling in the ryo. So far with every name I’ve come across like that the money got split transferred into several accounts. I only got to look at a couple of names and found something really interesting.”
She grins at the annoyed look both men level at her when she pauses too long for their liking.
“The money didn’t sit for long anywhere before getting transferred again and again in smaller amounts. I’ve lost the trail for now, but the money is there somewhere. What makes it really interesting is the circular route the deposits travel because they’d come back to accounts belonging to other names on our list, sometimes even the same accounts. I took notes on what I’ve got so far. It’s really confusing, but I think if we keep at it we can figure out where the money is going and who’s guiding it.”
“Whoever is laundering the money can’t make it too complicated,” Kakashi muses, carrying a tea tray over to the kitchen table. “It has to be confusing enough to discourage the curious and appear random, but there has to be a pattern in there.”
“Yeah,” Naruto agrees, rising to her feet and moving to sit at the table. “They can’t make all those financial documents disappear or someone will notice and likely figure out the pattern.”
“Still sounds like a long shot,” Sasuke states. He hands Kakashi two plates of food before filling his own plate and joining them at the table.
“Long shot or not, I’m seeing this through,” Naruto declares determinately. “I’m not going to waste all this time and effort for nothing and I told you we’d find the truth.”
“Yeah, I know,” Sasuke playfully rolls his eyes.
“Since Sasuke has gate duty tomorrow I’ll be able to help you in the archives,” Kakashi informs the redhead.
“Cool,” she replies. “Maybe we can get through more of the list and find something else useful. I just have to shadow Baa-chan in the morning, but she’ll let me skip it if nothing important is going on.”
The trio continues discussing the investigation through the rest of dinner before calling it an early night.
Naruto jauntily strolls through the hallways of the Hokage Tower the next morning; happy Tsunade let her out of shadowing to join Kakashi in the archives.
“Ah, Naruto-chan!” Koharu calls out, approaching from the opposite direction.
Groaning softly, Naruto manages to smile in greeting.
“Hi, Koharu.”
“I’m glad I was able to catch you after shadowing Tsunade. Since you’re leaving early, I wanted to speak with you before you left.”
It takes a moment for Naruto to process her words.
“How did you know I was leaving early? I just asked Baa-chan permission,” she frowns.
“It’s of no consequence,” Koharu waves off. “I happened to run into Shizune-chan a few minutes ago and rushed to catch you before you left.”
A red brow arches, but before Naruto can comment Koharu continues.
“I wanted to personally invite you to a tea ceremony I’m co-hosting with Homura this weekend. Since for all intents and purposes you’ve been named Tsunade’s successor, you need to participate more in formal social settings. Tea ceremonies are the perfect setting for you to gain this experience. Many guests are prominent citizens from Konoha and surrounding villages. You already connect very well with your fellow shinobi, so this is an excellent opportunity for you to strengthen your interactions with your fellow civilian citizens.”
While Koharu speaks, Naruto hides her surprise at the invitation. Now she knows neither Koharu or Homura hated her growing up, but she can’t forget the years of wariness and distrust they expressed toward her. They made it very clear they’d rather see her severely restricted to the village than be an active, successful kunoichi.
“The ceremony is scheduled for one in the afternoon on Saturday,” the old woman finishes, looking at Naruto expectantly.
“Thanks for inviting me, but I can’t.” She resists the urge to smirk at Koharu’s surprised expression. Obviously the old bat expected her to accept. “I have other plans Saturday. Excuse me, I’ve got to get going.”
“But, Naruto-chan…” Koharu tries stopping her as she starts walking away.
“Sorry, can’t stay and chat. Got someone waiting on me!”
Naruto turns a corner and disappears into the shadows when she hears Koharu attempt to catch up. She suppresses the urge to laugh at the irritated expression on the old bat’s face as she stalks off down the corridor.
Sticking to the shadows, she heads to the archives to join Kakashi. Briefly she considers telling him about what just happened, but decides not to bother wasting her breath and opts for focusing on finding more clues instead.
The following week Naruto wishes for the thousandth time she would make more realistic promises.
Otherwise she wouldn’t be wiggling between haphazardly stacked file boxes, warped and misshapen by time in the far corner of a dusty storage room of the Tower. She wouldn’t be struggling to extricate a particular box from the bottom of a stack, hoping the precariously teetering towers surrounding her won’t collapse on her and result in an extremely lame death.
After much creative shifting she finally succeeds in freeing her prize. Unable to twist around, she carefully maneuvers backward out to the reading area she set up on the far side of the room where a lone, rickety table groans with the weight of two other boxes under a dim light bulb.
Emerging from the nightmarish maze, she starts twisting around to walk properly.
“Glad I caught you, Naruto-chan.”
“Shit! Ow!”
Startled, Naruto dropped the box right on her foot, destroying one side and causing several documents to scatter across the floor.
“The box must’ve been in poor shape to break apart like that,” Homura observes thoughtfully.
Throwing a glare at the bespectacled old man, she crouches down and starts gathering the loose papers together.
“What can I help you with, Homura?” she asks in a barely civil tone.
“Nothing really,” Homura replies without making any move to help her. “I wanted to personally invite you to join Koharu and I for a tea ceremony we’re hosting this Saturday at 1 pm.”
Having snatched up the last leaf of paper, Naruto frowns in confusion and rises to her feet.
“Why?”
“Because we’d like you to be our guest,” he explains like it should be obvious.
Rolling her eyes, she steps over to the table to set down the papers.
“I meant why are you inviting me to these tea ceremonies all of a sudden?” she asks, stepping back over to the broken box on the floor to carefully pick it up. “Koharu invited me to the last one.”
“The weather has been fair enough to host them recently,” Homura explains, pushing up his glasses. “You convinced young Sasuke to return to Konoha and continue to support him, which is no small feat. It reminded Koharu and I of our unfair behavior towards you. It is long past due, but having you as an honored guest at our tea ceremonies is a prime opportunity to correct our errors and socialize with you in a more informal setting.”
Having moved the damaged box to the table, Naruto blinks in surprise before turning to face him.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t,” she politely declines with a slight smile. “I’m really too busy and don’t have the time to socialize right now.”
“Surely you can spare a couple of hours on Saturday?” Homura insists, clearly put off by her rejection.
“Nope,” she shakes her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I like tea ceremonies since Anko used to drag me to them all the time. But I just have too much going on. And who can really enjoy a tea ceremony in two hours?”
Inwardly she smirks while watching the old geezer struggle with a counter, knowing he can’t come up with one.
“All right then,” he grudgingly concedes. “It would’ve been nice if you could attend, but I understand.”
“Thanks for the invite,” Naruto smiles.
Rolling her eyes after he disappears from the room she focuses her attention back onto the contents of the table. Shaking her head, she briefly wonders what game the two old coots are playing before pushing the entire matter from her mind entirely.
Naruto has all but forgotten about the two councilors and their tea ceremonies nearly two weeks later until Tsunade unexpectedly reminds her one frigid afternoon.
“’Bout time you got back, gaki,” the older blonde grouses as the redhead steps back into the office after running several errands.
“Then get off your lazy butt and do your own grunt work and see how fast you get done, Baa-chan,” Naruto retorts. Crossing the room she drops a couple of files on the edge of the desk. “What’s got your panties in a twist?”
Tsunade glares at the younger woman for adding the new files.
“You’d be irritable too if you had Shizune on your ass for slacking off when it was Homura and Koharu’s fault for talking your ear off instead of letting you work.”
“Like you need an excuse to slack off,” Naruto snorts, ignoring the golden-eyed glare while stepping over to the sofa and stretching out comfortably. “So what did those two old bats want this time?” she asks, tucking her hands behind her head.
“You’ll find this funny. They’re worried about your social life.”
“Huh?”
Tsunade smirks at her confused frown.
“You heard me. They came in to get me to ease up on your workload. They feel it’s unhealthy for you to be so driven and not have the breathing space for the social life all young people need. Then they trotted Kakashi out as an excellent example. They said his only idea of fun is reading those trashy novels written by Jiraiya. Since Konoha isn’t at war and doing well, there’s no excuse for me to drive my shinobi so hard. So apparently I should be encouraging you to slow down and enjoy life a little.”
Looking over, Naruto gapes incredulously at the blonde before rolling her eyes.
“Seriously, they need to find something better to occupy their time.”
A blonde brow arches.
“I take it this isn’t news to you?”
“They’ve been badgering me for weeks to go to the tea ceremonies they host every weekend. I don’t trust them, so I always say no.” Pulling her right hand from behind her head, she starts ticking off on her fingers. “They play up how I need to socialize more with my fellow civilian citizens, that it’ll help me when I become Hokage and it’s a great way for us to mend fences.” Tucking her hand back behind her head, she adds, “They’re too insistent not to be up to something and I’m not really interested in going.”
“I don’t blame you,” Tsunade muses, returning her attention to her work. “I reminded them I don’t get involved in my shinobi’s social life. That’s asking for more trouble than I want to deal with.”
“Also cuts into your gambling and drinking time,” Naruto mutters, pointedly ignoring the death glare thrown at her.
“Anyway,” Tsunade bites out through gritted teeth. “I told them you’re not any more overworked than any other shinobi and aren’t so overwhelmed that you don’t have a social life at all. Going to the ceremonies or not is your business. If you said no, they need to deal with it and shut up about it.”
“My sentiments exactly,” she sighs, closing her eyes.
“Glad you feel that way,” the older blonde replies cheerfully. Gruffly she adds, “Now get your ass over here and help me with this shit.”
It begins innocently enough.
Over the course of the next few weeks Homura and Koharu alternate between inviting Naruto to their weekend tea ceremonies and badgering Tsunade to encourage the Jinchuriki to attend.
When those efforts fail to yield results, the two councilors resort to playing hardball, focusing solely on the youthful looking Hokage.
They randomly appear in her office to discuss inconsequential things or ask inane questions at the most inopportune times, especially at the end of the day when she’s eager to run off to either gamble or relax with some sake. Then they’d deliberately draw out these discussions as long as possible knowing Shizune only allows Tsunade to play for two hours each night after work and only if all her work is complete.
Attempting to outsmart them, Tsunade convinces Shizune to allow her a two-hour lunch and vary the times she takes it to avoid the old councilors. This ploy works for two days before they catch on and start showing up at those times as well.
Upping the ante, Koharu and Homura call the council into session more frequently. Instead of settling as much business as possible, they take turns motioning to table as many items on the agenda they can get away with until the following meeting, requesting more information for consideration.
This causes much grumbling among the other council members but it especially annoys Tsunade since she’s required to attend every meeting.
That simply isn’t enough. The diabolical duo adds to the blonde’s workload by deliberately directing paperwork dealing with some of the more mundane everyday workings of the village they usually handle for her review and approval.
Despite acknowledging the council is getting called into session more frequently than usual, Shizune refuses to believe Homura and Koharu are conspiring against her mentor.
With no other recourse, Tsunade promptly summons the root of all her problems.
“Hey, Baa-chan!” the redheaded focus of her ire greets cheerfully.
“Sit your ass down, gaki.”
The growled order causes Naruto to stop dead in her tracks.
“What bee buzzed up your ass?” she snaps back in irritation while flopping into a chair in front of the desk.
“Try two old farts who are determined to drive me insane,” Tsunade grumbles.
“Hmm,” Naruto muses thoughtfully. “As a potentially successful strategy for a coup I’ve got to give them points for creativity.”
Gold eyes narrow dangerously.
“Since you’re the reason they’re bugging the living hell out of me, you’re going to humor Koharu and Homura and go to the fucking tea ceremony.”
Blue eyes gape at her incredulously for a few moments. Reaching up, she wiggles a pinky finger in her ear.
“I’m sorry, Baa-chan, I don’t think I heard you right. You can’t be ordering me to go to their tea ceremony because I’m not going.”
“Oh, but you will,” Tsunade breathes, leaning forward to rest her forearms on the table. “Those two have far too much time on their hands to come up with even more creative ways to drive me crazy and if I snap you’ll be the first to go.”
Completely unfazed, Naruto leans back in her seat and crosses her arm, eyeing her fiercely glaring Hokage with complete disinterest.
“Maybe if you had less addictive hobbies the two reigning geezers of the council wouldn’t be annoying you as much,” she drolly retorts. “You’re forgetting all the years they’ve brushed me off and dismissed me. They never gave me a chance and they never bothered trying to really get to know me. I call bullshit to them wanting to do that now. I told you they’re up to something and I don’t trust them.”
Already at her limit in dealing with the councilor’s shenanigans, Tsunade takes a deep, calming breath.
“It’s not up for debate,” she carefully emphasizes. “If you’re going to be stubborn I have no problem returning the favor. I’ll start with assigning you as my personal bodyguard again, especially for the council meetings.”
Gold eyes coldly watch Naruto’s resolve waver a bit before her gaze becomes determined again.
“Not enough? Okay, then how about I’ll also assign you alternating shifts as Homura and Koharu’s personal bodyguard for an indefinite period of time?”
That did the trick.
Blue eyes glare at victorious gold. Realizing she’s been outmaneuvered, Naruto sighs in defeat.
“Fine, I’ll do it,” she grudgingly concedes, glowering off to the side.
It takes a few moments for Tsunade to realize how upset Naruto is when she continues sitting in silence, diminishing the sweetness of victory as her smirk melts off her face.
“I’m sorry, gaki,” Tsunade sincerely apologizes. “I normally wouldn’t be insistent, especially regarding your personal time, but I’m really at my limit with those two.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Naruto mutters, rising to her feet. Refusing to look at the blonde, she heads for the door. “I’ve got to go. See you later.”
“Gaki…”
Guilt washes over Tsunade as she watches Naruto ignore her and disappear out the door.
Naruto grudgingly attends the tea ceremony that weekend much to Koharu and Homura’s delight. She would’ve preferred skipping it completely since she’s meeting Kakashi at Sasuke’s place that afternoon and is in a fine mood by the time she arrives.
“About time you showed up,” Sasuke greets his irritable teammate when she shows up an hour late.
“Shut up, teme,” she snaps irritably, tugging off her scarf with one hand since her left is holding a rucksack.
Joining the two in the foyer of Sasuke’s home, Kakashi arches a brow at the creamy yellow yukata she’s wearing.
“Although you look very nice, aren’t you a little overdressed?” he asks, taking the rucksack from her so she can finish removing her winter cloak.
“More than a little,” she grouses in agreement.
Sasuke silently arches a questioning brow while taking her cloak from her to hang it up. Noting their confused expressions she rolls her eyes.
“It happens when your beloved Hokage orders you to attend a tea ceremony you don’t want to go to,” she sarcastically explains as they drift into the living room.
“Tsunade ordered you to attend a tea ceremony?” Kakashi asks, handing her bag back while arching his own incredulous brow.
“Yeah, let me go change and I’ll tell you guys all about it.”
She disappears from the room, returning a few minutes later dressed in jeans and a short sleeved, fitted gray sweater and flops into an armchair.
“So what happened?” Kakashi asks, easing into a nearby armchair while Sasuke settles on the sofa.
“Koharu and Homura,” she rolls her eyes. “They’ve been cornering me at the Tower for weeks trying to get me to attend their tea ceremonies, but when I kept turning them down they started bugging Baa-chan. They got on her so bad she ordered me to go to shut them up.”
“I thought you liked going to tea ceremonies?” Kakashi asks in confusion.
“Naruto likes tea ceremonies?” Sasuke looks at him in surprise.
Blue eyes glare at the brunet as Kakashi answers.
“Anko used to regularly drag Naruto to tea ceremonies until she started liking them.”
“Yeah, but then I joined ANBU and had zero free time to go anymore,” Naruto adds, calming down somewhat from her irritation.
“So why refuse to go to Koharu and Homura’s tea ceremony in the first place? You could’ve just shut them up by going to one and refusing to go to the rest,” Sasuke frowns in confusion.
“Like I told Baa-chan, I’ve got no reason to go and I don’t trust them,” she replies. Seeing both men are still confused, she rolls her eyes again. “All of a sudden they start inviting me to these things, claiming they want to get to know me better to make up for the past and so I can be more sociable with my fellow civilian citizens. I kept saying ‘no’ and they wouldn’t let up. They ended up badgering Baa-chan into forcing me. And I’m not supposed to be a little leery of going?”
“It is suspicious, but Tsunade can get viciously vindictive if pushed far enough,” Kakashi agrees.
“For once I don’t think it’s all in your head, dobe,” Sasuke smirks at the renewed glare she throws his way. “So now that you’ve gone you can just blow off any future invites.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think it’s going to be that simple,” she sighs wearily, rubbing a hand across her eyes. Feeling their questioning gazes, she looks up again. “It was a typical tea ceremony, but really uncomfortable since I didn’t know anyone and all the other guests were civilians. The two old buzzards kept taking turns introducing me to people. That’s when I figured out what they were up to.”
“That they’re exacting revenge for some prank you pulled on them?” Sasuke smirks.
“Please,” she sneers back. “When I pranked them, they totally crawled back into their burrows and didn’t dare look at me for a long time.” Slouching down in the chair she leans her head back to gaze at the ceiling. “Nah, this has nothing to do with them getting revenge on me. The old buzzards only introduced me to guys who happen to be available.”
“Were they hoping to hook you up with one of them?” Kakashi asks in slight disbelief.
“Yeah, and they kinda succeeded.”
Not bothering to lift her head, she shifts enough to look at both men to see their stunned and incredulous expressions.
“Wasn’t intentional on my part,” she clarifies. “I got stuck talking to one guy named Kureno. He was okay and was really interested in me, but I made it clear I didn’t feel the same. Still surprised he asked me to lunch,” she shrugs. “I was working on letting him down easy when Homura walked up and said it’d be great for us to go to lunch together and he was happy I was doing my part to strengthen the relationship between ninjas and civilians and some other inflated bullshit. So,” she sighs heavily. “I’m stuck going to lunch with Kureno tomorrow.”
“You could’ve fought it, dobe,” Sasuke points out. “If you came off just right, Kureno would’ve immediately lost interest. Now your only option is to blow off tomorrow.”
Naruto frowns at his words. She isn’t sure, but he seems upset she’s going out with Kureno.
“Yeah, and if I ditch, Homura’s gonna go bitch to Baa-chan about it. I didn’t even want to go to the damn tea ceremony, remember? And like hell I want to get in another relationship right now, not after all the shit with Genma. I’ll go to lunch and that’s it. Homura and Koharu can’t say shit if it doesn’t work out. At least,” she adds reluctantly. “Until the next guy they try hooking me up with.”
“You really think that’s what they’re trying to do?” Kakashi arches a brow.
“Uh-huh,” Naruto nods, slouching a little more into the chair. “Until today, I kinda forgot how they used to drop hints about how I should retire, get married and start a family. Preferably in that order.”
“Wait,” Sasuke frowns in confusion. “What about becoming Hokage? Everyone and their grandma knows that’s your dream.”
“You think that matters to them, teme? They don’t give a fuck about what I want. Hell, I’ve lost count the number of times they’ve insisted I’ve done enough for the village and it’s time to lead a quieter existence. They’ve also told me they don’t think I have the strength of character to become Hokage and insist it’d be safer for everyone in the long run.”
Sasuke gapes in shock, absorbing her words.
“It’s true, Sasuke,” Kakashi backs her up. “Koharu and Homura have been very vocal in arguing Naruto should give up on becoming Hokage.”
Sasuke continues staring for a few more moments before averting his gaze.
“Those damn idiots never learn their lesson,” he seethes. “They just have to interfere in other people’s lives instead of minding their own fucking business.”
“They won’t change,” Naruto shrugs. “Like I said, I really wouldn’t have gone to the tea ceremony if they hadn’t pestered Baa-chan so bad. Yeah, I could’ve ignored all of it, but it was just easier to go along with it this time.”
“Those two are particularly good at making everyone miserable until they get their way,” Kakashi comments
“They’ll go too far one of these days with their little games and they won’t be happy with the repercussions,” Sasuke mutters darkly. Taking a calming breath, he focuses back on Naruto. “I’m tagging along in the shadows just in case this guy isn’t who he appears to be.”
“What?” Naruto frowns, straightening up before realizing what he said and rolling her eyes. “Y’know, I’m a big girl and a kunoichi; I can handle one little civilian.”
“It’s too risky for you to go alone,” Kakashi surprises her. “It’s a good idea if we both shadow you.”
Naruto briefly opens her mouth to start arguing, but reconsiders.
“Well, it’d make it easier to ditch Kureno if I need to. That way neither of the two old coots can accuse me of deliberately sabotaging the date if he complains to them.” Shrugging her shoulders, she facetiously adds, “It’s simply impossible to control my interfering, overprotective teammates.” Grinning when both men roll their eyes, she adds, “Okay, you two can tag along and in exchange for your help in sabotaging the date if I need you to I’ll buy you dinner as payment.”
“Like we need your permission, dobe,” Sasuke snorts.
“It is a free meal, Sasuke,” Kakashi sardonically points out.
“True,” the young brunet agrees.
“It does give Naruto more practice working on her rusty social skills,” Kakashi reasons, ignoring her glare. “She’s been too anti-social lately.”
“Can we finally stop talking about my social life and actually get to work?” the angry redhead bites out tersely.
Both men merely grin, further irritating her as she climbs to her feet and leads them out of the room to retrieve the files they’ve been working on.
True to their word Kakashi and Sasuke shadow Naruto on her lunch date the following day.
Kureno is a nice, considerate young man, but they aren’t halfway through the meal before she’s completely certain she did not want to pursue a relationship with him. She feels no connection with him, not even as a friend. She has a nice time while he asks her for suggestions on improving security at his family’s import/export business.
After lunch Kureno surprises her by asking if he can see her again. His attention makes her uncomfortable, but she politely smiles and turns him down, citing her erratic work schedule. To his credit he graciously accepts her refusal and offers to walk her home. After declining again, Naruto walks away down the street.
Moments later Kakashi and Sasuke fall into step on either side of her.
“That was a boring date,” her rival mutters, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“So says the social butterfly,” she retorts, adjusting her face mask and scarf while ignoring his glare. “How’d you get all that experience, you stud? Your fangirls?”
Sasuke’s glare intensifies as Kakashi wards off his reply by sharing his own observations.
“I have to agree that your date wasn’t very interesting, Naruto. At least we can say that Kureno certainly has a very healthy opinion of his own worth.”
“More like a self-important, arrogant, blowhard,” Sasuke huffs.
“You’d certainly know all about over emphasizing one’s self-importance, teme,” Naruto drawls earning a particularly wicked look from the Uchiha. “Kureno’s more interested in spending the profits than improving the security of his family business. I’d be surprised if he actually implements any of my suggestions. I give him credit, though, for not being obvious about it.”
“He was certainly obvious about eyeing your cleavage,” Kakashi points out.
“I know,” she sighs and rolls her eyes. “He wasn’t so blatant at the tea ceremony. Granted I wore a yukata, but the scoop of the neckline of this shirt I have on can’t even be called revealing.”
“Maybe he was waiting for the neckline to magically drop?” Kakashi suggests facetiously.
“Now you’re being perverted,” she retorts, giving him a flat look.
“If this idiot’s family is smart they’ll never let him anywhere near any business negotiations,” Sasuke muses, attracting their attention again. “He doesn’t know the meaning of the word subtle. He’s good at watching his words, but lousy at keeping his face inscrutable.”
“Yeah,” Naruto agrees while Kakashi nods. “At least you guys didn’t have to step in to help to get rid of him, but dinner is still on me.” Looking between their confused expressions she adds, “Think of it as incentive because I’ve got a feeling this won’t be the last tea ceremony Koharu and Homura manipulate me into.”
“Probably,” Kakashi agrees while Sasuke scowls in thought as they continue walking through the village.
As suspected, Koharu and Homura keep inviting Naruto to their tea ceremonies. She tries avoiding them, but they’d simply resume badgering Tsunade into forcing her to go whenever she refuses an invitation.
Before long, Naruto is totally fed up.
“No, Baa-chan.”
Gold eyes narrow dangerously at her favorite redhead standing with her arms crossed glaring back defiantly.
“I’m not giving you a choice, gaki,” Tsunade growls low.
“Then get ready to write me up and take disciplinary action against me ‘cause I won’t go to anymore tea ceremonies and I won’t do the punishment details,” Naruto growls back in the same tone, surprising the blonde. “I did as you asked and humored them, but they haven’t lost interest and left me alone.”
Dropping her arms she leans in, placing her hands on the edge of the desk, her gaze boring into Tsunade’s eyes.
“My personal time and love life is my business and if you even think of joking otherwise, I’m defecting to Suna.”
Tsunade gapes in shock, realizing Naruto’s completely serious. Her expression then drops into a frown.
“Wait a sec, I thought the point of getting you to the damn ceremonies was to get you to socialize and interact more with the civilian population and for Koharu and Homura to get to know you better?”
“As if,” Naruto scoffs, straightening up before flopping into a chair. “They are only around long enough to start introducing me to a string of good looking, eligible guys before disappearing while I’m stuck awkwardly chatting with them. They only show up again if the guy is showing serious interest in me to encourage us to go on a date.”
“That is not what they told me,” Tsunade bites out tersely.
“And you just took them at their word to have your fun time back,” Naruto snipes, causing the blonde to look abashed. “You’re not the one they keep throwing guys who are totally wrong at hoping one will eventually stick like a spit wad.”
“Okay, granted they’re being manipulative, sneaky old coots, but the men they’re introducing you to can’t be all that bad, especially with your ability to make friends.”
Naruto gives her a sardonic look.
“I would not become friends with any of them,” she bites out tersely. “The three tea ceremonies I’ve actually gone to so far resulted in five dates total, one from the first ceremony and two each from the rest.” Raising a hand she ticks off her points. “Two were immature momma’s boys. One made it clear he only wanted in my pants and was all hands. And two were irate and offended after our dates because someone told them about me being the Kyuubi container.”
That grabs Tsunade’s complete attention, causing her to straighten up in her seat.
“Koharu and Homura warned them about the law and suggested they forget about the whole thing and never say anything to anyone about it,” Naruto explains before the blonde can ask.
“Their matchmaking attempts are seriously interfering with the investigation. Kakashi and Sasuke insist on shadowing these stupid dates just in case any of them might be an assassin. They practically jumped the touchy feely one,” she rolls her eyes in annoyance. Becoming serious again, she adds, “I’ve asked them to stop trying to hook me up, but pretend I’m joking or don’t know what I’m talking about.”
Blue eyes become more pointed.
“They may dismiss my dreams and career as inconsequential, but they don’t have a right to actively interfere with either. After the next tea ceremony, which I already agreed to go to, I’m not playing along anymore.”
Sighing wearily, Tsunade runs her hands along her face before meeting defiant blue eyes.
“I’m sorry, gaki. I’ll get them off your back,” she promises with her own determined gaze.
“If you don’t, I will and it won’t be pretty,” Naruto firmly promises back while rising to her feet and heading to the door with a wave. “I’ve got to go meet up with Kakashi and the teme. See ya later, Baa-chan.”
Tsunade sighs heavily into the empty office before an angry scowl settles on her face.
Briskly walking the village streets against the mild slap of the cold breeze Naruto ponders the entire situation before grinning to herself when a really good idea forms on how to throw a major monkey wrench in the two doddering councilor’s plans.
As usual, Kakashi is already at Sasuke’s house when she arrives and is the one to open the door for her.
“How did your meeting with Tsunade go?” he asks, helping her out of her cloak.
“Okay, I guess,” she replies, tugging off her scarf and handing it to him. “She’s not going cave into their demands to force me to go to their parties.” Rolling her eyes, she adds, “That was after I clued her in as to what they were really up to.”
“They probably won’t stop inviting you to their tea ceremonies, but at least you won’t have to attend against your will,” he points out as they walk through the house into the kitchen where Sasuke is finishing preparing lunch.
“There’s that at least,” Naruto sighs before remembering something. “Hey, Kakashi, I’ve still got one more to attend to fulfill my promise. Want to go with me?”
“I’m allergic to tea ceremonies,” Kakashi smiles benignly, irritating her.
“You just don’t want Koharu and Homura trying to match you,” Sasuke smirks, carrying their plates over to the kitchen table.
“Yep,” Kakashi agrees, easing into his seat.
“Fine,” Naruto huffs before turning to Sasuke. “What about you, teme? Want to be my guest?”
“I wouldn’t have to be your guest since I have my own invitation, dobe.”
Kakashi arches a brow at him while Naruto blinks in shock.
“Why’d they invite you?” she wonders. “To try matchmaking you too?”
“Probably,” Sasuke grumbles as they begin eating. “They’ve bugged me to go to the last three tea ceremonies they’ve hosted.”
“What?” Naruto asks in shock before shaking her head. “Never mind, just please go to this one with me.”
“You just want me to distract them from you so you can slip out unnoticed,” Sasuke retorts, his gaze daring her to deny it.
She pouts before sullenly admitting, “Yeah.”
“Why don’t you go together?” Kakashi suggests before an argument can erupt. Both stare in shock as he reasons, “People tend to jump to conclusions. Even if they mistakenly believe you two are dating then maybe Koharu and Homura will stop trying to match you up. Unless the idea of other people thinking you’re a couple is that repulsive?” he finishes with an arched brow.
Naruto looks at Sasuke, who’s frowning in thought, before a grin spreads across her face.
“Why not? I mean, it figures they’d target you too. They’re probably itching to jump-start the Uchiha clan. If we don’t act like we’ve hooked up you’re so gonna have a new group of fan girls drooling after you when word gets out they’re trying to land you a wife.”
Sasuke shudders in horror before regaining his composure to smirk back.
“It’s a good idea,” he nods. “Wouldn’t be hard to convince them since we spend so much time together.”
“It could be another way to distract Danzo’s attention away from what we’re doing,” Kakashi points out.
“Yeah,” Naruto agrees.
“We should arrive at the ceremony separately before sticking close together,” Sasuke suggests. “We can be a deterrent to other people if we refuse to budge from each other’s side. It keeps people guessing, especially if we deny being together. Playing coy will go a lot farther convincing people we’re together.”
Naruto shrewdly scrutinizes him.
“You’ve turned into a devious, sneaky teme.” A mischievous grin spreads across her face. “I like it.”
Sasuke rolls his eyes.
“Just finish your food, dobe.”
Kakashi and Naruto chuckle at his irritation, chatting through the remainder of lunch before leaving to examine another home in the Uchiha district.
As promised Naruto arrives at the tea ceremony alone and isn’t there more than five minutes before Koharu zeros in on her.
“I’m glad you made it, Naruto-chan,” Koharu smiles at her warmly.
“I dreamed of missing it,” Naruto falsely smiles back.
Deliberately ignoring the comment, Koharu latches onto her arm.
“Come along with me, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Sighing wearily, Naruto allows herself to be dragged over to a young man with spiky, pale blonde hair, eyeing the rest of the milling guests with bored green eyes. His attention shifts to the two women when they’re close enough.
“Naruto, I’d like you to meet Okamoto Hiroshi. Hiroshi, this is Uzumaki Naruto. I was telling you about her earlier,” Koharu explains.
Attempting to come off as suave the young man takes Naruto’s hand, raising it to his lips to kiss her knuckles.
“It’s Hiro to close friends and companions.”
Inwardly gagging, it takes all of Naruto’s will power not to roll her eyes and tell him to take a long walk off a steep cliff.
“Nice to meet you,” she politely nods when he releases her hand.
“I must leave you two to check on the other guests,” Koharu excuses herself with a fond smile, disappearing from their sight.
Turning to Naruto, Hiro’s eyes slowly rake up and down her body in pleased satisfaction.
“I hope you don’t believe everything you’ve heard about my family. We’re really down to earth people.”
“Um, is your family from Konoha or are you from another village?” Naruto asks, unsure of what he means.
His smug expression turns into a confused frown.
“Aren’t you familiar with the Okamoto Bank?”
“Yeah.”
“My family owns and runs it,” he replies with a flat look, offended she obviously doesn’t recognize his family name.
“Oh…” Naruto replies with dawning realization. “Sorry, but I never pay attention to that stuff.”
“That’s okay,” he airily replies. “Not many people understand our importance as one of the largest banking clans in Fire country.”
As he happily educates her about his family, Naruto wonders why he’d think she’d give a shit about all that. It crosses her mind that as much as she teases and argues with Sasuke about over-inflating the importance of his clan he was never this bad. Hiro comes off like he believes his family is more important than the Daimyo.
Minutes later she wonders if her eyes are glazed over as he monopolizes the conversation. At least it saves her from saying much. When he does bother asking questions he cuts her off and as soon as he feels she said enough to answer it.
She seriously wonders what weird shit Koharu was smoking to think she’d be interested in such a blowhard. She keeps an eye open for Sasuke, hoping for a chance to escape, but as Hiro continues droning on she’s starting to think the teme ditched. She’s so going to have to seriously prank his ass if he did.
“I think I’ll go get something to eat.”
“What?” Naruto asks, snapping out of her daze and not quite understanding what he said.
“I’m getting hungry, so I’ll be right back,” he replies. Taking a few steps he pauses to glance over his shoulder. “Oh. Would you like something too?” he asks as an afterthought.
“Sure,” she replies cheerfully, immensely grateful for the reprieve.
The moment he continues walking away she takes off the opposite direction looking for an escape and is startled when a strong hand lands firmly on her shoulder. Refraining from decking the idiot, she looks over her shoulder and is relieved see Sasuke.
“You finally succeeded in ditching your date, I see,” he smirks.
“No thanks to you,” she snaps. “What happened to fooling everyone into believing we’ve discreetly hooked up?” she hisses quietly so no one else will hear.
“It’s not my fault,” he throws his hands up placatingly. “Homura introduced me to some annoying, air-headed, daddy’s girl who just wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“Great,” Naruto drawls, rolling her eyes. “We both got saddled with leeches.”
Sasuke only gets as far as smirking when Hiro shows up, eliciting a low groan from Naruto.
“There you are,” Hiro declares coming to stand next to Naruto. Intrigued green eyes give Sasuke a thorough once over. “Oh, you’ve found a friend.”
“Yeah, I’d like you to meet my teammate Uchiha Sasuke,” she introduces.
Hiro doesn’t give her a chance to introduce him to Sasuke.
“Oh, you’re of the formidable Uchiha clan!” he needlessly points out before introducing himself. “I’m Okamoto Hiroshi.”
Sasuke merely nods and catches Naruto rolling her eyes again out of the corner of his eye.
“Now I feel much more at ease now that I know there is another of superior social standing in attendance here,” Hiro continues without waiting for a reply. Then with another appraising look, he adds, “I must admit my surprise because I thought the Uchihas were either extinct or wanted fugitives.”
Naruto struggles so hard to hide her amusement at Sasuke’s reaction. To anyone else, his face remains inscrutable, but she can tell he wants to either activate his Sharingan on the preening fop or fry his ass on the spot.
“Understandable,” Sasuke smoothly replies. “I was wondering where the other guests of superior social significance are at this party. Could you tell me where they are?”
It takes every ounce of self-control for Naruto not to bust out laughing at Hiro’s gob smacked expression. To his credit he quickly regains his composure.
“My family owns and operates one of the largest bank banks in the Land of Fire,” Hiro informs Sasuke with forced politeness.
“Is that so?” he replies, looking intrigued by this new information. “I’m sorry for not having heard of your family before.”
Oh how Naruto wishes she had a camera to record Hiro’s reaction! Although she knew Sasuke could handle someone like Danzo, now she knows the old bastard has no clue what he’s in for by befriending the Uchiha scion. Before Hiro can respond, she decides to throw him further off balance.
“Did you find the food table?”
Recovering quickly, he’s happy to be the focus of her admiring attention again.
“Yes I did. Koharu-san and Homura-san have a fine spread laid out and the food is delicious.”
Naruto stares at him in disbelief.
“You asked if I wanted anything, so where’s my plate?”
Hiro looks at her confused.
“Did I? I must’ve forgotten.” Gesturing generally to his left, he adds, “If you’re still hungry the tables are over there.”
Naruto bristles in annoyance as Sasuke arches a brow.
“Oh really? Excuse us.”
Gently grabbing her elbow, he guides her away. Naruto exhales harshly.
“I was coming awfully close to killing the twit,” she mutters just loud enough for him to hear.
“Agreed,” he mumbles back. “I wonder if shoving a chidori up his ass would be less messy than going for the heart.”
She laughs as they reach the food tables.
“I’d to say no, but it might be less messy as your fist won’t emerge from the body from that direction.”
Sasuke smirks, handing her a plate filled with food.
“Shouldn’t we try escaping now that we’re clear?”
“No,” he shakes his head before pausing to take a bite of a small pastry. “We haven’t dropped enough hints to make people think we’re a couple. If we don’t get them gossiping it will never get back to Koharu and Homura.”
“Damn,” Naruto grouses, popping a strawberry in her mouth.
“Relax. We’re here so we might as well enjoy the free food.”
“There you are!” the voice that is quickly becoming the source of her new nightmares grandly declares behind them.
Both turn as Hiro approaches.
“You did indicate the food tables were over here,” Sasuke points out with an arched brow.
“Glad you were able to find them,” Hiro replies before eyeing the plate in Naruto’s hand. “Are you really going to eat all that?”
Blue eyes narrow dangerously.
“Of course,” Sasuke replies as if it’s obvious. “Naruto’s not some lazy, useless girl who starves herself instead of exercising. I don’t know about you, but I prefer a woman who properly takes care of herself and enjoys the finer things in life.”
“Plus, Sasuke was gentlemanly enough to go through the hassle of fixing me a plate,” she adds as she turns and smiles at him sweetly in gratitude.
Hiro decides to attempt regaining control of the conversation while wondering about their relationship.
“So how long have you been teammates? And how many missions have you gone on together? You seem to know each other very well.”
“Hmmmm,” Naruto looks up and taps her chin with an index finger in thought. “I’d say nearly ten years.” Looking back at a shocked Hiro she adds, “Technically longer since we’ve been friends since attending the academy together. Lost track of how many missions we’ve done, though Too many to count, you know.”
“Since the academy? Really?” Hiro asks, his voice sharpening slightly in pitch.
With a fond smile she nods.
“There’s the academy plus all the years we’ve known each other before that. I’d guess we’ve been best friends for over fifteen years.”
“Fifteen?” Hiro repeats in disbelief.
“Yup.” Reaching over she brushes some imaginary lint off of Sasuke’s shoulder. “It’s safe to say no two people know each other better.”
“It’s annoying during those times you wish to keep your true feelings to yourself,” Sasuke adds in mock irritation. “But our closeness has certainly improved our mission success rates, especially for our more dangerous missions.”
“Oh really?” Hiro asks, attempting to appear as if he understands.
“They’re usually classified so I can’t say much about them,” Sasuke shrugs. Reaching over he pretends to pick something out of Naruto’s hair, adding, “Although we don’t get them often sometimes we’re gone for months on a mission. So it’s important teammates get along well.”
“I found you!” a high-pitched female voice squeals before Sasuke staggers slightly from the sudden weight on his arm.
A young woman with green hair and pale blue eyes clings tightly to Sasuke’s arm much to his disgust.
“I’d like you two to meet Miyagusuku Mimiko,” he reluctantly introduces the newcomer.
“It’s Mimi to my friends and close acquaintances,” she informs them with a giggle. Looking at Sasuke, she childishly scolds, “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“That was probably my fault,” Naruto apologizes with a sheepish smile. “Sasuke ran into Hiro and I and we got caught up chatting.”
Extricating his arm from Mimi’s vice-like grip, Sasuke takes Naruto’s empty plate out of her hand.
“I’m going to get these out of the way.”
“Get me a plate, Sasuke-kun!” Mimi calls after him as he continues walking away.
“I’m Okamoto Hiroshi, but it’s Hiro to my friends, Mimi,” Hiro introduces himself, taking her hand and brushing a kiss along her knuckles much to her delight. “Is your family of the Miyagusuku clan that is one of the leaders in the silk textile industry?”
“Yes they are!” Mimi happily acknowledges.
“That’s great!” Naruto replies. “As you’ve already guessed, Hiro’s clan runs one of the largest banks in Fire Country. What a small world if your family happens to use their bank.”
“Um, no,” Mimi reluctantly admits. She quickly adds, “However, my family is looking to change banks. Service has been sub par lately,” she snipes.
That statement launches Hiro into starting in a lengthy conversation with Mimi. One that Naruto is more than happy to be excluded from until Sasuke returns.
“Sorry it took so long,” he apologizes to Naruto. “I got detained by Homura and introduced to a couple of other guests.”
“Where’s my plate?” Mimi asks with a slight pout.
“You wanted some food?” he arches a bored brow.
“I asked you to get me something when you walked away.”
“I didn’t hear you,” he shrugs dismissively.
Deciding to let it go, Mimi eyes Naruto up and down.
“So do you and Sasuke-kun know each other?”
“Uh-huh, I’m Naruto,” she finally introduces herself. Placing her hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, she leans over to adjust the strap of her sandal as she continues speaking. “We were just telling Hiro how we’ve been friends for over fifteen years. Ten of that as teammates.”
“You’re a kunoichi?” Mimi asks incredulously.
“Yep. A proud Leaf jounin,” she grins. “I love being a kunoichi, but it’s hard sometimes. I mean the job can get to you and make you short tempered, violent and irrationally territorial. And you can’t be too into fashion like most women. Why bother dressing pretty when it takes repeated washings to get the bloodstains to fade somewhat from your clothes? So although the uniforms aren’t pretty, the dark color makes it hard to see the stains.”
“Don’t forget constantly mending tears from kunai slashes and explosions,” Sasuke reminds her.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Naruto cheerfully agrees.
As Mimi and Hiro stare in appalled horror at Naruto’s sweetly smiling visage Koharu joins them.
“Good to see everyone enjoying the party so far. The tea ceremony will be starting soon.”
“We are,” Sasuke replies before Hiro can. “Naruto and I have been enjoying Hiro and Mimi’s company. Unfortunately we have to leave. I heard from one of the Mission Room attendants our team is up for an extended mission early tomorrow.”
“You can’t stay for the ceremony?” Koharu asks in disbelief.
“Not with the kind of missions we’ve been running lately.”
Dark eyes dare the old woman to contradict him so openly. Not giving Koharu a chance to counter, Naruto speaks up.
“Thanks for the lovely time, Hiro. And it was really nice meeting you, Mimi. I hope you two continue enjoying each other’s company. Looks like you guys have a lot in common.”
“We better get going,” Sasuke informs her.
She nods as he grasps her elbow. Giving the others a lazy wave, he guides Naruto out, ignoring their baffled expressions. They’re almost in the clear when they reach the main gate of the house and run into Homura.
“Are you two leaving early?” he asks in surprise.
“Yes,” Sasuke replies. “Our team apparently is up for an early mission tomorrow and it may be a lengthy one,” he explains, shifting his hand from Naruto’s arm to her waist.
Homura’s disbelieving gaze fixes on how Sasuke is holding her.
“We were having a really nice time, but we just can’t stay,” Naruto adds.
“Let’s go,” Sasuke urges with a gentle tug on her waist.
“G’night, Homura,” Naruto waves with a grin as they leave him gaping after them.
As they walk down the street, Sasuke slips his hand from her waist to grasp her hand, causing her to look at him startled.
“We’re not at the party anymore, so we don’t have to keep up appearances, teme.”
Without looking at her, Sasuke shrugs.
“Never know who’s watching. Besides, is it that bad if I hold your hand?”
“No, it’s just you’ve never held my hand before,” she points out with a slight blush dusting her cheeks.
Shrugging again he glances sidelong at her.
“It’ll reinforce the rumors we just triggered.” Smirking he reminds her, “We already kissed and now we’re holding hands. We just did things backwards.”
Naruto blinks at him for a moment before breaking out laughing.
“Yeah, we did. Hopefully this time I don’t get beat up by some rabid fan girl of yours.”
“You realize you’re calling Sakura ‘rabid’ since she’s the one who beat you up for that kiss, don’t you?” Sasuke drolly asks.
“It’s the truth,” Naruto nods. After a moment she adds, “Make sure not to ever mention it to Sakura. I’m not interested in determining if she truly left her fan girl days behind forever.”
It’s Sasuke’s turn to nod.
“What do you want to do now?” At her confused look he adds, “It’s early and we’re dressed up. Might as well go have dinner or something. Unless you want to go back to the tea ceremony?”
“Oh, hell no,” Naruto shudders. She then points out, “We just ate, though.”
Sasuke gives her an annoyed glare.
“That’s never been an issue for you. Or have you grown shallower the older you get and started dieting?”
“Watch your mouth,” she growls. Relaxing a little she thinks about it. “I’m game as long as you’re paying.”
“I’m not some pompous ass named Hiro who’d likely stick you with the entire bill,” Sasuke snorts. “I’m buying, but no ramen.”
“No, you’re a different kind of ass,” Naruto glares. “And if it’s so important to reinforce the rumor we’re dating then people are more likely to believe it if we’re seen at my favorite haunt. Besides,” she pouts. “I haven’t had it in ages.” Blue eyes narrow at Sasuke’s arched brow and she growls, “I haven’t. Kakashi turned into a sort of twisted, evil ramen warden who gets on my ass about eating too much ramen.”
Sasuke snorts in laughter before finally relenting.
“Okay, but if you get in trouble with Kakashi over this, it’s all on you. I’m not claiming any responsibility.”
“Yay!” Naruto throws her free hand into the air and cheers as they continue walking hand in hand toward Ichiraku’s.
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Underneath The Leaves