Flick Through

:: Flick Through IV
:: Itazura (Tease)

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Author: Ms Trick
Notes: I thrive on reviews and cupcakes. I would be honoured to accept either.

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:: Konoha ::

Naruto stared sullenly up at the stars from where he lay in the cool grass. The crickets hummed in a constant racket.

So this is war, he thought dully as he listened to Kakashi dozing lightly at his side.

He always knew he’d have to participate in at least one war; he was a shinobi after all. But in all his thoughts and fantasies about fighting grand battles, he would attain glory by being better than Sasuke. He hadn’t imagined Sasuke would be on the other side. Even now, deeply ensconced in war, he found he constantly had to remind himself that Sasuke was a legitimate enemy.

Not that he’d met Sasuke on the battlefield yet. Their platoon was kept informed of his former team mate’s movements and actions, of course, but anything alluding to Sasuke’s location had been fastidiously kept away from his ears. He was beginning to suspect Granny Tsunade was up to something.

Naruto sat up, utterly restless and bothered by the noisy insects. Leaving his jacket behind, he crept away from Kakashi’s side and mumbled to Yamato, who was acting as their lookout, that he was going to pee. Then he jogged into the dark woods.

And kept jogging. He knew he should stop but the night air felt too electric. He had too much energy and so he just kept jogging until he reached a small glade that was complexly patterned with moonlight and shadows. The grass shone an eerie ice green and the trees appeared crippled and twisted.

Naruto stopped as though this small glade and the figure standing in it had been his goal all along. Maybe, subconsciously, it had been.

Sasuke turned to face him and a breeze meandered lazily through the forest, rustling their hair and sweeping the grass.

“Sasuke...” Naruto grated out.

For a few minutes, nothing was said. Blue eyes remained steady on Sasuke’s face while dark eyes trailed down Naruto’s right arm, which was tightly wrapped from his fingers to under the shoulder of his black t-shirt in bandages.

Sasuke had heard of the blonde’s upgraded and deadly atomic-bomb of a Rasengan. He knew it had destroyed a member of the Akatsuki in one hit. Over the last seven months or so, since the creation of Fuuton-Rasengan Shuiriken in its raw form, Naruto had crafted the move to be somewhat less detrimental to his health. Though from the looks of the bandages, his body still took a tremendous beating every time he was forced into using it.

“You nearly killed Neji,” Naruto said gravely, a hint of challenge in his voice. “I’m not going to let you get away with that.”

“Hmph,” Sasuke said, his tone dismissive and condescending even as his eyes gleamed with an old amusement.

The night had set them both buzzing with energy in need of burning but neither could muster up the will to delve into jutsus or to prod awake sleeping foxes or to summon bloodlines. So they fought hand to hand. And the fight ended predictably. Sasuke’s speed brought him forward as the clear winner and Naruto refused to get the memo.

A small scowl made its way to Sasuke’s face as he landed a punch that sent Naruto to the ground for the nth time. And again, though winded, Naruto had barely hit the dirt before he was dragging himself back to his feet.

“That’s enough games,” Sasuke said icily.

When Naruto was back to fully standing, he found Sasuke much too close and with his katana unsheathed. It reminded the blonde of that first meeting after the dark-haired teen’s betrayal. He hadn’t seen Sasuke in over two years and then suddenly he had been in sight and then suddenly he had been right there, close enough to touch. It had been a surprise too knotty for words. But now the surprise was gone and Naruto merely experienced a hot vexation.

A part of Sasuke felt a childish glee over his ability to once again neutralize Naruto’s defences so deftly. He still occasionally remembered and felt the worms of insecurity from that year when they were twelve and Naruto’s power had sharply increased.

“You’re still a Leaf nin, Sasuke,” Naruto said with a confident smile, his own blood smeared across his cheeks and chin.

Impassioned, Sasuke weighed his options and kept a cool gaze on Naruto.

This war meant nothing to him. It was Orochimaru’s war and Sasuke already had the power he had sought from the snake sannin. Killing him had been the next step planned but the declaration of war had put everyone’s projects in a spin. Orochimaru had been forced to do yet another transfer into a predecessor to the body he really craved to slither into--Sasuke’s--and Sasuke hadn’t had a chance to take his life since preparations for battle had begun six months ago.

Now he was playing the dutiful Sound soldier to keep his position of loyal subordinate believable. But what did it matter to him if Orochimaru or Konoha came out on top of this exaggerated bitch fight? He considered himself on neither side.

If he had to put up with this nuisance of a war, Naruto might as well make a welcome distraction.

“I want a rematch tomorrow night,” Naruto declared.

Without responding or even blinking, Sasuke’s lips quirked humourlessly. He sheathed his kusanagi sword and vanished.

- - - - -

:: Reno ::

“Kicking your ass, Neji,” Kiba muttered happily, his eyes glued to Sasuke’s large TV screen and his thumbs aggressively jabbing the buttons of the game controller.

The scruffy teen was leaning forward intensely, a feral look coming over his features. His leather jacket was strewn between him and Neji, who was a direct contrast to Kiba and sitting calmly with his legs crossed. His long, dark hair fell straight down from under the beige bandana he always had tied around his forehead. His brown leather bracelets chafed a little as his fingers worked on the controller.

“Pressing the buttons harder doesn’t make you any better at playing,” Chouji said from where he was lounging on the floor with a massive bag of chips.

Shikamaru yawned. A small scowl settled on Neji’s face as Kiba button-bashed his fighter to victory on the screen.

“Neji, have faith that you will win next time!” Lee called from his comfy spot next to Gaara, who was trying his utmost not to fall asleep (but angling himself so that his head would rest on Lee’s shoulder if he did).

The TV flashed a big red “K.O.” and the bass-toned commentator announced the winner.

“I am Master!” Kiba crowed, tossing the controller down onto the carpet.

Shino picked it up and slid his dark sunglasses off his eyes and up into his hair. His handsome face smiled and once again, Sakura found herself blatantly staring at the previously unseen face of someone she had known for years.

“Shikamaru?” He questioned, indicating Neji’s abandoned controller.

Shikamaru shrugged and scooted towards the screen as Neji tossed off a remark about calling Hana and telling her Kiba was at Sasuke’s.

Kiba grimaced, knowing full well that his sister had a bit of a crush on Sasuke (like every other girl that had graduated last year) and wouldn’t hesitate to have the excuse to drive over here in her new car.

Sakura was sure she was developing a twitch in her eyebrow. She sat on the couch with her arms crossed and her eyes closed irritably. Chouji was munching away at her feet and Sasuke and Naruto were good-naturedly wrestling next to her. Eventually the sounds of chips crunching, the video game’s theme song, and the boys’ macho talk combined with the constant jostling just got too much.

She stood up with a huff and stalked out to the hallway. Naruto swore he could see a column of steam rising from her head.

“Why is she here again?” Kiba asked curiously.

Sasuke looked up from where he had Naruto in a headlock and gave a small shrug. “I didn’t invite her.”

Sakura was halfway to the bathroom before coming to the conclusion that she really didn’t have to go. Irritated on both her future and past self’s accounts, she spun on her heel and walked back towards the kitchen.

This was wasting valuable time! Kabuto was out there, possibly already hunting people down and what were the good guys doing? Playing Tekken 5 and snuggling. Just great.

Sakura clenched her fists and made her way to the large walk-in pantry. Standing in the dark and surrounded by shelves of junk food and cans, she took three deep breaths. The doors’ well-oiled hinges meant that when she heard two others enter the kitchen, she was hidden from view but the wily doors. She turned and reached an arm out to push at the door but stopped when she heard Sasuke’s voice.

“You’re a tease.”

Sakura felt the tiniest shiver run up her spine. She’d never heard Sasuke’s voice sound like that before.

Naruto frowned in mock confusion. “What? You mean when I did this?” He asked, eyes on Sasuke’s as he coyly dragged his orange shirt up for the second time that night.

Without preamble, Sasuke abruptly put his lips to Naruto’s; his hands met the warm skin of the blonde’s bare abdomen.

With her face pressed to the crack between the pantry doors, Sakura’s eyes widened.

No way! She squealed with glee inside her head, unsure whether that was due to her future self, past self, or the two of them.

Naruto had his back pressed against the smooth door of the fridge and his hands were trailing up Sasuke’s arms as the dark-haired teen’s hands very casually stroked over the hard muscles of the blonde’s stomach. They settled on Naruto’s warm hips above the line of his boxers.

After a second, Sasuke broke the kiss with a small sound that found its way to Sakura’s ears and made her knees weak. Sasuke was bi. Not only that, Sasuke was bi with Naruto. That was so hot.

“Don’t you feel bad at all that you led Karin on?” Naruto said, his eyes open and his hands on Sasuke’s shoulders. “You did kiss her.”

“Nope.”

“You’re an asshole.”

Sasuke blinked in ersatz injury and slid his thumbs under the waistband of Naruto’s boxers. He then slowly pressed into the soft skin under the other’s hipbones. Naruto involuntarily arched against the touch and exhaled in a sudden rush from his just-kissed lips.
.
Sasuke smirked and added a little more pressure to the familiar sweet spot. Naruto’s legs unconsciously opened a little further, his thighs grazing Sasuke’s and causing Sasuke to swallow a little.

“You don’t seem to mind,” he said smugly, leaning in and capturing Naruto’s lips again.

“What’s gotten into you?” Naruto asked with sincerity after a few soft seconds of kissing. “You never get this touchy-feely unless you’re annoyed about something.”

Sasuke sighed quietly, a little of the irritation Naruto had sensed making itself clear.

Naruto was on the verge of inquiring as to whether it was about their new superpowers and the rather strange situation Sakura had gotten them into. But then he figured it would be a bad idea to remind Sasuke that he could breathe fire right when his face was less than a few inches from his own.

“I kept count this semester,” Sasuke stated. “I’ve fucked seven people and only one of them made me come.”

Sakura’s face burst into a blush. This was juicy gossip! She quashed the glee she felt as Sakura Hardwick and wondered if it was at all possible to escape the kitchen unnoticed. It wasn’t quite as disappointing as she imagined when she realised she couldn’t.

Meanwhile, Naruto counted on his fingers and frowned. “I’ve only got six.”

“You forgot Tayuya.”

“Right.”

“I’m just...tired of all the people who don’t know how to get me off or worse, don’t bother, because the sex god is expected to do all the work.”

“Poor little sex god...” Naruto said with a snicker.

Sasuke hit him with a glare at close range and Naruto gave him a gentler smile.

“No, I get it, I get you...Who got you off?”

“Sai.”

Naruto nodded thoughtfully for a second and then his eyes glittered. “Quicker than me?”

“No one gets me off quicker than you,” Sasuke confirmed in a deadpan.

Naruto grinned triumphantly into Sasuke’s face.

Sakura felt like she was about to explode or topple a shelf or giggle uncontrollably or something along those lines. She fanned herself, an action that belonged to Reno’s Sakura, and wondered how much longer she would last.

She was saved by the sound of the front door opening.

The two teens in the kitchen pulled apart languidly and Sasuke frowned.

“Itachi?” Naruto guessed.

“Has to be,” Sasuke said a little tensely.

As they left to see who was in the front hall, Sakura hurriedly searched the memory of her future self to see what she knew of Itachi, all feeling of giddy excitement leaving her in a dash.

As far as she could tell, Itachi was older than Sasuke by at least four or five years as Sasuke used to ride on the back of his motorcycle when they were in middle school. Ironically, he had to wear glasses--once, in the hallway outside the science rooms, she had overheard Sasuke commenting on how Itachi was nearly legally blind without them.

She tried to ignore the cold trepidation she felt at the older Uchiha’s sudden appearance and quietly crept out of the pantry.

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“Yo, ‘Roch, you still wearing fucking make-up?”

“No, I was born with natural purple eyeliner.”

“And an innate sense of sarcasm.”

“Ah, baby brother! Was wondering if you were still up.”

“Don’t be so loud. Kakashi’s asleep.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You are NOT allowed molest our foster father in his sleep.”

Sakura made her way slowly down the hall towards the noisy living room, dragging a hand on the wallpaper and trying to keep her heart rate steady.

Chouji stuck his head out of the TV room’s transparent double doors.

“What’s going on?”

“Itachi’s home,” she said automatically.

“Nice.”

He retreated to the company of the others and she continued towards the large living room at the front of the house, which was decked out with several cushy couches and another TV. The walls were lined with a couple of bookcases and two ceiling fans swished lazily overhead.

When Sakura finally eked into the room, her mind went into overdrive and zipped from face to face, labelling and categorizing.

Itachi was easy to recognize; even with the glasses, he resembled Sasuke. And he was smirking at his little brother in a manner that could only belong to an older sibling. He was dressed completely in black and Sakura noted that his fingernails were an odd silvery purple.

The platinum blonde in a shirt that said ‘God Is My HomeBoy’ would have to be Hidan. Sakura had thoroughly studied the report on Shikamaru’s defeat of him and a picture had been included.

The one in sunglasses and jeans she easily identified as Deidara, who had managed to abduct Gaara. Relaxing comfortably under his arm was a slim, rather sullen redhead.

Her eyes lingered on Sasori and vivid memories of her killing him slid through her mind.

And, of course, Orochimaru, who still resembled a snake with his long hair and pasty skin. Albeit, a teenage snake with an earring dangling from one ear and headphones around his neck.

Her entrance caught their attention and Sakura felt a trickle of fear freeze her spine as she wordlessly took in the sight of Akatsuki members lounging around. She blatantly didn’t look at Orochimaru. She didn’t want to see him or think about him because she could never consider him the innocent civilian he was in Reno.

But while these were some of the most evil, powerful people in the shinobi world, here they were just asshole teenagers. With their current levels, she could take all of them at once if she wanted to. This thought settled her nerves somewhat but her legs still distinctly felt like dead weight.

“Um...sorry,” she stuttered out embarrassingly before spinning on her heel and striding away. She found herself in the dining room across the corridor and she slumped against the large mahogany table with a shaky breath.

Belatedly, she noted that not all the Akatsuki members had been present. Her Reno personality supplied that maybe they weren’t home from college yet. Her eyes meandered over the army of photos hung on the walls and lining the shelves and the mantelpiece. Though this was Kakashi’s house, many of the pictures were of Sasuke and Itachi and Naruto.

Fascinated and in need of a distraction, she moved closer for a better look and only then noticed that Naruto had been standing just inside the door. Wait, but hadn’t she seen him head back to play a round of Tekken 5 with Shino?

“Practicing with your clones?” She asked, amused.

He grinned and came to stand at her side in front of the multitude of photos.

“It’s fun being in two places at once. I think I’ll send in a clone to take my last final exam and spend my time on the beach instead.”

“You know when it disperses, you gain its experience automatically.”

“Really? That’s awesome!”

He followed her gaze to a photo that featured him, Sasuke, and Hinata in formal wear. He was in the middle, an arm thrown around Sasuke’s shoulders while he hugged Hinata to his chest. Sasuke appeared a little annoyed and Hinata had a small smile on her face. He was grinning like an idiot as usual.

“Heh, yeah, that was junior prom. I took Hinata as my date but she seemed more interested in hanging out with her friends and Neji. I kind of get the feeling she doesn’t really like me all that much,” Naruto said thoughtfully, oblivious to the gobsmacked Sakura.

Hinata not in love with Naruto? ...go figure.

“Is this Sasuke’s family?” She asked softly, her fingers brushing the wooden frame of another picture. “Wait, yours too, right?”

Naruto eyed the group of people in the picture for a moment. “Yeah.”

The photo’s occupants seemed to be standing in a backyard. Sasuke’s mother, Mikoto, was smiling warmly at the camera, a hand on the young Sasuke’s shoulder. On her left, her husband and eldest child both had the same bored appearance. On her right was who had to be Naruto’s mother, a woman who appeared a few years younger than Mikoto with short, brown hair. Naruto was holding her hand and simultaneously elbowing Sasuke and waving at the photographer. Tsunade was in pigtails and was being prevented from throwing a punch at Jiraiya by a tall man with unruly blond hair.

Wait a minute.

“I think we were eight when that picture was taken,” Naruto supplied, watching in confusion as the pink-haired girl gave a start.

She snatched up the framed photo and peered at it intently before confirming that it was the Yondaime with a sense of awe--could this be true in Konoha too? Could her loud, orphaned team mate really be the Fourth Hokage’s son? But where was his mother? Who had the Yondaime’s wife been?

“Naruto, what’s your mom’s name?” Sakura asked, curiosity making her vivacious.

“Well, she’s half-Japanese so her last name used to be Uzumaki. Her first name’s Rin. Why?”


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