Under the Mistletoe

Chapter 4: Mistletoe Madness

The sun had set long ago, leaving Konoha dark and spooky. A light breeze would flutter by, stirring up some snow and making the outside decorations sway. The bitterness in the air caused many to remain indoors, including a pair of young ninja, trying to solve an extremely easy puzzle.


Sasuke sighed again as he watched the person he loved more than anyone try to cut through the pair of handcuffs connecting the two together, with a kunai knife. The other was only successful in just barely scratching the surface. They sat in the winter training building, a room almost never used, for neither wanted to be seen in this condition. The Uchiha looked sadly at the blonde, wondering how they could get out of this, with their dignities in tact.


“Damn it!” Naruto screamed once again, throwing down the knife and glaring at the cuffs. “Why won’t these things come off?”


The raven hair couldn’t help but smirk. “Because we haven’t kissed,” he whispered. ‘Idiot.’


“There’s ‘got’ to be another way out of this!” The blonde looked at the floor, with the most pensive scowl he could muster.


Pain shot through the other teen, causing another lump to rise in his throat. ‘Why?!’ Sasuke’s mind kept screaming what his voice could not. ‘Why don’t you want to kiss me, Naruto? Am I that bad? Are you that repulsed by me? Do I make you want to vomit? Do you not find me attractive? What! Any girl would die to be where you are now, you idiot! Why won’t you, just this once, take the easy way out and kiss me!’


“Are you okay, Sasuke?” Naruto asked, startling the raven hair from his thoughts. “You look like you wanna cry or something.”


His eyes glanced at the blonde before he continued to stare at the floor. “I’m fine, it’s nothing.” ‘Just once….’


There was a sigh next to him. “I guess,” the blonde whispered, “we have no choice, but to….”


Sasuke looked at him as he trailed off. His cheeks were flushed as he was looking at his feet, and the raven hair could feel his own cheeks warm as he asked, “Are you sure, Naruto? If you really don’t want to, I’m sure Kakashi will remove the cuffs.”


“Naw, it’s all right, Sasuke.” Naruto turned and smiled. “I never back down from a challenge! That’s what I figure this is, right? It’s a test for our trustworthiness in battle!”


The raven hair looked at him quizzically. “Huh?”


“You know!” The blonde winked. “In case of a trap! If this were to happen on the battlefield or something, we’d no doubt have to follow through. This is practice in case of such an incident.”


Sasuke inwardly sighed. ‘You are so dense, Naruto. This isn’t about anything but us… well, me, but you, too.’


“So,” the other continued, leaning closer to his friend, “you ready?”


Uchiha could feel his heart pound hard in his chest as he nodded and leaned closer as well, only a few centimeters separating them.


“H-how long do you think it should be,” the blonde asked, cheeks flushing more.


“Long enough,” came the quick reply. ‘Hurry up!’


The other nodded and closed his eyes, slowly bringing his lips to touch his friend’s.


Sasuke’s world exploded into color, even after his eyes drifted shut. ‘His lips… are softer than I remember….’ He began to move his lips against his love’s, who returned the action, causing the Uchiha to drown in so much pleasure, he nearly moaned. He reminded himself he had to keep in check, hands to yourself, tongue inside the mouth, ‘no matter how bad I want to taste him, feel him… love him. Please,’ he pleaded inside himself, ‘please let me love you, Naruto.’


They slowly parted, Sasuke thinking it had ended too soon. When he did open his eyes, he saw the blonde’s eyes hooded and glazed over. His mouth was slightly open as he considered his friend.


The Uchiha smirked. “I think you liked it, Naruto,” he whispered.


It took a moment for the blonde to realize his friend had said something to him. “Huh? I… liked….” He suddenly shook his head violently. “I did not, Sasuke!” His blue eyes glared at his friend, as he reached down and grabbed the cuffs, which had fallen off during the process, without either really noticing. Naruto stood and waved the thing in front of Sasuke’s face. “I just agreed to do it to get these damn things off! Now that they are,” he turned and walked over to a trash can, swiftly throwing them with the garbage, “I am going home! And tomorrow, Kakashi’s gonna get it from me! I don’t know what the hell he was trying to do, making me kiss my own teammate, and a guy at that! I’m not some kind of pervert like that jackass thinks I am! Damn it!” The blonde then quickly took off, leaving a very shocked and hurt Sasuke in his wake.


His dark eyes drifted to the floor, Naruto’s words spilling much more blood than the proud ninja would have cared to admit. “So, I’m a pervert, huh, Naruto?” ‘He truly doesn’t… feel anything for me….’


Pain poured over his entire body, seeming to make the Uchiha numb, as he walked home. He didn’t even remember leaving the training building, and he couldn’t feel the cold around him. The doorknob to his house wasn’t even freezing, as it usually was that time of year.


The stupor remained, and his body seemed to be on autopilot as he did his evening routine, and getting ready for bed. As he lay in his bed, however, the numbness slowly disappeared, and an excruciating pain shot through his heart, causing Sasuke to curl up under the covers. ‘Why does it hurt? Just because Naruto—’


Another great wave of pain coursed through him. It took a moment for the Uchiha to notice his face felt cold, and when his fingers touched his cheek to make sure, he found them wet.


‘I’m… crying? Why would I…? Over him? I’m crying because….’ Sasuke closed his eyes. “Because Naruto doesn’t love me,” he said allowed, as if voicing the statement finalized its reality. He turned his face into his pillow and silently cried himself to sleep, dreams giving him no peace in misery.


“Where are they?” Sakura questioned as she looked around the street, waiting impatiently for her teammates.


The sun was bright, making Konoha shine, and many people walked about the streets that early afternoon. Kakashi stood next to his female student, more patient and composed, eye slowly drifting over the crowd.


“I can understand Naruto not being here on time, but Sasuke is always early!” ‘Even Master Kakashi made it here before him! Something has to be wrong.’ The pink-haired ninja shuddered, slightly. Worry began to creep into her heart. ‘What if… something happened to them after we left?’


“Something bothering you, Sakura?” her sensei asked, casually, gaze not leaving the mass of people.


“Maybe,” she hesitated, wrapping her arms around herself to keep warm. “Maybe we did the wrong thing, Master.”


“And why would that be?”


“Well, we left them cuffed together in the forest…. An enemy could have easily gotten to them, or… something worse.” Another chill ran down her spine as she imagined Naruto biting off his own arm to break away from the spell. ‘Gross!’


The jonin chuckled. “Don’t worry so much, Sakura. I’m sure they’re just fine. Maybe the two of them are late for… other reasons.”


Her sensei didn’t elaborate on what those “other reasons” were, and he didn’t have to. She glared at him from the corner of her eyes; ‘he can be so perverted sometimes!’ Inner Sakura screamed, ‘You know you want to imagine it, too!’


Sakura continued looking through all of the people and finally spotted Sasuke, slowly making his way to them. “Hey, Sasuke!” she screamed, jumping up and down, waving her arms. “I can’t believe how late you are!” the female ninja said, as he got closer. “I see you were able to get—” She stopped when the teen walked up to them.


His eyes were red and puffy, dried tear marks still on his cheeks, dark circles could easily be seen beneath tired, darker-than-normal eyes. Even the Uchiha’s hair was somewhat of a mess; he looked like he had gotten out of bed only a few minutes before.


“Sasuke,” Sakura asked, eyes full of concern, “what happened to you?”


His gaze shifted away from her, and she could see tears welling up in his eyes.


“Well,” their master voiced, as he looked Sasuke over, carefully, “I can see the two of you got rid of the spell I put on you. How, exactly, did you do it?”


The female ninja glared at him. ‘What a dirty, perverted shinobi!’


Sasuke began to tremble, hands curling into fists, scowl contorting on his face. “How…?” he whispered, before he whirled around, orbs looking fiercely into his sensei’s face. “We kissed!” He was practically shouting, and Sakura felt shocked, hoping she wouldn’t have to hold him back from killing their master. She shuddered; with that look in his eyes, she couldn’t say the raven-haired teen wouldn’t attack.


“We fucking kissed!” he repeated, louder, causing some people to turn and look at the small group. “Then all that bastard did was complain and say he wasn’t a pervert! Damn it, Kakashi, all you’ve done is made things worse! I ‘told’ you….” Sasuke’s voice grew softer as he looked away, a small tear rolling down his cheek.


‘He’s crying?!’ The kunoichi was horrified.


“I told you I didn’t want to tell him. I knew it would come to this. I told both of you… I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with a broken heart.” The teen fell to his knees, shoulders shaking, slightly.


Sakura joined him, placing a hand on his back, comfortingly. “Oh, Sasuke.”


The jonin kneeled in front of the Uchiha survivor, sighing. “Sasuke, did Naruto-” Sasuke flinched at the sound of his name “-tell you he doesn’t love you?”


“…His actions… spoke louder than any words could,” the raven hair responded, slowly.


“But did he say, in those exact words, ‘I don’t love you’?”


He slowly shook his head. “No, he didn’t.”


“Well, then, how can you be absolutely sure? You’ve got to talk to him, Sasuke.”


“No!” Sasuke shot his eyes to his master, tears starting to freeze on his cheeks. “I-I can’t face him! I don’t ever want to see him again!”


Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. “Then, why did you come here today?”


His face flushed as he looked away. Sasuke gazed at the snow on the ground, remaining silent.


Their teacher also placed a comforting hand on the Uchiha’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard, Sasuke, but you have got to talk to him. You don’t know how he feels, and I’m fairly sure he doesn’t know how you feel about him. The two of you need to clear this up, but it must be on your own.”


“He’s right,” Sakura agreed, looking into her friend’s eyes when he turned to her. “You must talk with him. Who knows, it might turn into something positive.” She smiled, trying to bring up his spirits; ‘I hate seeing him so depressed.’


The Uchiha looked away again, eyes full of uncertainty.


The kunoichi grasped his hands with her own, locking gazes with him. “Even if it turns out bad, Sasuke, I will always be there for you. I promise.”


Sasuke stared at her for a moment in awe, and then softly smiled. He held her hands in return, and whispered, “Thank you, Sakura.”


Naruto walked the many streets of Konoha, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn’t meet up with Kakashi and Sakura, despite his declaration the night before of giving his master a piece of his mind. He refused to even go see if Sasuke had bothered to show up, too. The blonde didn’t have to go, he knew the Uchiha would be there, and he couldn’t face him. Something was happening to Naruto, and he wasn’t sure what.


‘What am I afraid of, anyway,’ he thought. ‘It’s not like I’m scared to get into a fight with him.’ It was the mere thought of Sasuke’s face that brought pain coursing through his heart. There was something about him, which stirred up countless emotions within the blonde, many he did not understand. ‘I don’t know what to do about it. Damn! Why did Kakashi have to go and handcuff us together? This is all his fault!’


He kicked a snowball in irritation, watching as it exploded on impact. For a moment, the ninja pretended it was his master’s head. ‘Serves him right!’


Naruto continued to walk around in the sunlight, thoughts circling around, from the kiss he shared with the Uchiha, to finding a defenseless snowball to kick or stomp on, living out his morbid fantasies of beating up his sensei.


‘Those damn cuffs!’ He hated being stuck to his friend, especially because of the happenings as of late. The blonde was still holding a grudge from a few days before, when he finally told the team that he believed Sasuke to be sick. What else could it have been? It was the only explanation he could come up with for his friend’s strange behavior over the past weeks. ‘And Kakashi acted like it was nothing! Big jerk!’


The blonde was not happy at all to be told to kiss his fellow ninja, either. He didn’t feel like catching whatever it was the other teen had. In the end, however, Naruto gave in, and decided just to kiss and get it over with. ‘That had been the plan, anyway….’


When their lips locked, the blonde found his body’s reaction was… odd. A warm feeling spread throughout him, and all of his thoughts seemed to stop, except one stray notion; ‘I like his lips.’ At first, when Sasuke began moving his lips, Naruto believed it to be for a little extra effort to get the bonding spell removed, but he couldn’t believe the amount of pleasure it brought him a moment later. There was something about the Uchiha teen that made the blonde feel… warm, comforted… loved?


‘No!’ Naruto thought, shaking his head. ‘I don’t love Sasuke! I… I couldn’t.’


He sighed, irritated at this running around in circles. ‘Is this how Sakura feels when she sees that pretty boy? Does she get this tingly feeling whenever she thinks of his face, or even his name? Does her heart beat fast when she’s near him, so fast it feels as though it might explode, or burst from her chest?’


“Argh!” the blonde cried out, grasping his head. “I’ve got to get my mind off of him!”


“Get your mind off of who?”


Naruto looked up at the familiar voice, and was never happier in his life to see his old teacher, Iruka, standing before him. “Iruka-sensei!” he cried, glad for the distraction. The blonde quickly wrapped his arms around his good friend, whom he hadn’t seen in quite a while.


“Okay, Naruto,” Iruka chuckled, pulling his former student back. “I’ve missed you, too. Who was it you were talking about just now? Are you mad at someone?”


‘Why did he have to ask that!’ The blonde looked away. “It’s no one, Iruka-sensei.”


“Oh, I see. Something within your cell, right?”


“I guess,” he grumbled.


“Well, let’s go, Naruto. I’ll take you for some ramen and we can talk about it, all right?” A bright smile covered his old teacher’s face.


The young ninja placed his hands into his pockets, so he wouldn’t fidget in front of his good friend. “I… don’t really want to talk about it.”


“Come on, Naruto!” Iruka put an arm around his shoulders and began walking toward their favorite ramen stand. “I haven’t seen you in forever and you don’t want to talk to me?”


“It’s not that, Iruka-sensei, and you know it,” Naruto said, scowling at his friend, allowing him to take the blonde to get something to eat.


“Besides, it will be better if you talked about it,” the schoolteacher whispered.


“Sure, Sensei,” he responded, sarcastically.


The Ichiraku Noodle Bar wasn’t very busy that afternoon, but it was certainly decked out for the holidays. The outside and inside was strung up with twinkling, multicolored lights, little decorations of sleighs and reindeer were scattered about the place, and a Christmas tree sat comfortably in one corner, lights lit, a bright star shining at the top, and a few presents beneath its branches.


The two ninja sat at their usual spots and began eating the ramen served to them. During most of the meal, the blonde was quiet, trying to figure out exactly how he was going to avoid his mentor’s prying questions. ‘I could use a dopple ganger, but he’d notice. Maybe a substitution technique, but those don’t hold images for very long.’


“Now, Naruto,” Iruka said, setting down his empty bowl and looking at the teen, “about this problem of yours—”


“Uh, I gotta use the bathroom!” ‘Perfect!’ Naruto thought as he stood.


“Sit, Naruto.” The chunin’s words were stern, and the blonde knew better than to go against them, so he sat back down.


‘I’m so not looking forward to this,’ he groaned.


“What’s going on with your cell, Naruto? I’ve heard that Kakashi-sensei took cell 7 off the active list for the holiday season, saying it was some kind of internal, personal problem. What’s wrong?”


Naruto looked at his friend. ‘That would explain why we haven’t had any missions lately.’ “It’s….”


“What,” the older ninja encouraged.


The teen growled. “It’s all Sasuke’s fault!” he blurted out.


“Huh? Sasuke?”


“That loser,” he went on, “he’s sick and nobody’s doing a damn thing about it! It feels as though I’m the only one worried about this! Sakura doesn’t seem to care much, and when I told Master Kakashi, all he did was send us home! I don’t understand why we’re being encouraged to ignore it, Iruka-sensei.”


Iruka smiled. “You do sound pretty worried.” He raised a warm cup of sake to his lips; taking little sips here and there.


“It seems like I’m the only who is!”


“What do you think he has, Naruto?”


“I’m not sure, but I think it’s contagious!”


“How about his symptoms?”


“His face is always flushed and he never looks me in the eye! He’s scared because I’ve known about it longer than the others. He’s suddenly very quiet, and he just acts weird!”


“Let me guess,” the chunin mused, “he doesn’t like being near you, and when you two battle, he goes to great lengths to make sure you don’t get hurt… too much, anyway.” He sipped his sake.


Naruto’s shocked eyes looked at his friend. “Y-yeah! How did you know?”


He chuckled. “It sounds like Sasuke is sick all right. However, this sickness isn’t something that’s easy to cure.”


“What! What is it, Iruka-sensei! There’s gotta be something— Is it contagious?”


Another chuckle. “It can be very contagious. It’s….”


The blonde leaned closer to his master, just as he had done with the Uchiha the night before…. “What?”


“Love sickness!” Another sip.


“Love sickness?” ‘Why do I feel as though everyone else found this out already, even if I don’t understand it?’ “What do you mean?”


“I mean, Naruto, that it sounds like Sasuke Uchiha is in love… with you.”


All the younger ninja could do was stare, dumbfounded, at his friend. He struggled to get his voice to work. “S-Sasuke… in-in love… with me?” He shook his head. “No way, that’s impossible, Iruka-sensei! Sasuke has loathed me since the day we met!”


“Well, then let’s look at you.” Iruka set his cup down and looked at his former student. “How do you feel about Sasuke?”


Naruto stared at the table, pondering the question. ‘How… do I feel…?’ “I’m… I’m not sure.” ‘Ever since the kiss last night, my mind’s been a jumble of what had happened.’


“All right, we’ll start slow. When you hear his name, how do you feel?”


He thought hard, saying the name once in his head, ‘Sasuke.’ As the emotions came to him, the blonde let them flow through his body, so he could understand them better, learn what they were. “I feel… warm. My… my heart races and I… I’m… nervous, I guess.”


The chunin nodded. “Good, and when you see his face?”


The blonde closed his eyes and pictured the Uchiha in his mind, his heart pounding madly. “The feelings from before increase.”


“Kissing him?” It was a small whisper from his old master, and it startled Naruto.


His eyes whipped open, and shot to the other, who was smiling at him. “Who told you we kissed?” he asked in a venomous whisper.


Iruka chuckled, again. “The whole classroom saw it, Naruto. It’s probably been forgotten by now.”


‘Oh, that kiss.’ The younger ninja sighed in relief.


“Why? Did you two kiss more recently?”


Naruto flinched, glaring at Iruka. “N-no, of course we haven’t, Iruka-sensei!”


“Okay, okay.” He put his hands up, defensively. “What do you remember from that first kiss, anyway?”


The truth was, Naruto couldn’t remember much of the first, accidental kiss he shared with Sasuke, the result of trying to forget it over the past few years; ‘but he’ll want an answer.’ So, he lied, talking about the incident from the night before. “I remember… how soft his lips were… and….” His could feel the heat rise to his face. “I… I liked them. It was such a massive experience! It felt like my heart would explode, it was beating so fast! There… was just so much going on inside me, Iruka-sensei, I don’t think I could ever explain it all.”


The teacher nodded. “Are you sure you haven’t kissed more recently?”


“Yes, Iruka, I’m sure!”


He shrugged. “Well, it sounds to me like you’re in love with Sasuke.” He reached down and grabbed his cup again. “But that’s just my opinion.”


Naruto shook his head. “But I don’t understand! How could this have happened!”


“That’s one of the great mysteries of life, Naruto. Love is something nobody truly understands. Even when they think they do, love has a nasty way of proving them wrong.”


The blonde sat back, trying to take all the information in, which was never his strongest point. ‘I’m in love with Sasuke, huh? Well, I guess it makes sense.’ As soon as he admitted it to himself, the mixed up and un-understandable feelings suddenly fit into place. For the most part, he felt at peace, except for one little thing….


“Can this feeling go away?” he asked Iruka.


The chunin laughed. “Only if you turn extremely bitter and cold, or die and start life over again. Love of this caliber is pretty hard to just forget.”


Naruto nodded and folded his arms on the table, resting his head there. ‘There’s no way to change this feeling, fine. I can handle this. One thing has to be done, though.’ A plan slowly started to form in his mind. He grinned as he stood. “Thanks for the ramen, Iruka-sensei,” he said. “And thanks for the other stuff, too.”


“No problem, Naruto, but where are you going?”


The teen’s grin turned into an all out smile. “I’m going to get some mistletoe.” He turned and left the bar, heading for Sakura’s house. ‘I’ve got to put this plan into action!’ The blonde looked at the setting sun. ‘By this time tomorrow, Sasuke, you’ll be mine!’ He took off running into the Konoha streets.


Iruka grinned as he watched his former student leave.


“Thanks for the help,” came a voice from behind him.


“No problem, Kakashi-sensei.” He turned to look at the jonin, standing silently in the corner. “Anything to help cell 7, and to end a high-level mission.”


“It’s not quite over yet,” commented the older ninja, stepping from the shadows and standing beside Iruka. “In any case, your part of the mission is done.” He looked at the chunin with a smile. “The least I could do is walk you home.”


A blush crossed the younger shinobi’s cheeks. “Uh, well, I guess… you could.” He paid for the food and walked away with the jonin by his side.


“What do you think Naurto has planned for Sasuke?” Iruka asked, after a few minutes of silence passed between them.


“No doubt it’s something sneaky,” Kakashi replied. “He is the number one prankster, after all.”


The chunin chuckled. “Oh yeah. I still remember all the pranks he pulled back at the Academy. He would get into so much trouble.”


“I’m sure he welcomed the attention.” The jonin’s voice was soft, and the statement reminded Iruka that he was no different from the blonde knucklehead when he had been a child.


A small smile came to Iruka’s lips. “…I welcomed it, too.” He could feel the questioning gaze from the older shinobi bore into him like a blade, but he didn’t elaborate. The chunin was kind of enjoying himself; he had just confused one of the best ninja in Konoha, and another chuckle escaped him.


“Hey, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei!”


Both shinobi stopped to see Sakura running up to them. Her face held a slight blush and she smiled brightly at them, eyes gleaming in the vanishing sunlight.


“What is it, Sakura?” her teacher asked.


Her grin widened. “I just wanted to let you know that if you go any farther, you two will be breaking a Christmas tradition.” She pointed above them.


Iruka looked up to see mistletoe hanging from the power lines right above their heads. He could feel his face burn, as he glanced at the jonin beside him.


Kakashi seemed to be considering the plant, and stared at it a while.


“We do take tradition very seriously here in Konoha, after all,” Sakura said, smirking at her sensei.


The jonin glanced at her, before laughing. “I guess you’re right, Sakura!” He turned to the chunin, and asked, “Is it okay with you, Iruka-sensei?”


His face felt very warm, as he looked at the older shinobi, and he found, gazing into Kakashi’s visible eye, he couldn’t say no. “Uh, why not? I guess if it’s tradition.”


The jonin smiled. “Good, then.” He turned to his student. “Thanks for pointing that out to us, Sakura. We can handle it from here.”


The hurt look that crossed her face was cute, Iruka thought, before she scowled, turned on her heel, and stomped away, talking to herself. “Not fair! I get it all set up and I can’t even watch! What a load! I even missed the perfect opportunity to see Kakashi’s face!”


They watched her leave, smiling at her rant.


“I think,” Iruka pondered, “she wanted to be caught with you, Kakashi-sensei.”


“Could be,” he said with a sigh, then turned to the chunin. “Now, we have to continue the tradition, Iruka.”


His face flushed, again, and he nodded, stepping close to the jonin a little nervously.


“Close your eyes,” Kakashi whispered, and Iruka complied, closing his lids, shutting out the world around them.


After a moment, warm lips touched his own, and he gasped at the feeling. Iruka opened his mouth, slightly, and a wet tongue was quick to enter, the chunin allowing the older shinobi to explore his mouth.


A hand snaked around to the back of his neck, as the tongue delved deeper, playing with Iruka’s own. The younger ninja placed a hand on the other’s face, surprised to feel very soft skin beneath his touch. He reached up and buried his fingers into Kakashi’s sliver mane, pulling him closer, as the kiss continued.


It felt as though it was some time later when the jonin removed his tongue and lips from Iruka’s. The chunin took his time in opening his eyes, and he lightly panted, cheeks flushed, hand dropping to rest against the other’s chest.


When Iruka did finally reveal his eyes, Kakashi had his mask back in place, and was looking kindly at him.


“Iruka,” the jonin asked, “I wonder if maybe you could join me for lunch tomorrow?”


It took a while for him to answer, as his mind didn’t want to focus anymore. He smiled, and said, “That sounds great. I usually eat with Naruto on Christmas Eve, but seeing as he’ll probably be busy with Sasuke….”


Kakashi smiled. “Good. Now, I’ll finish taking you home, like I promised.”


The older shinobi grabbed the chunin’s hand. ‘At least, I hope Naruto’s busy with Sasuke,’ Iruka thought, as they walked away into the darkness.