Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Sweetest Victory ❯ Don't Eat The Crab Dip ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: Big thanks to Cindelius for keeping me from looking like an idiot ^___^ The original (and probably less entertaining) version of the waking up scene is posted here: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_ch.php/110858/421909/ if you're interested.

Pairings: a little SasuSaku and NaruSaku in this chapter with eventual NaruSasu in future chapters and possibly NaruSakuSasu

Warnings: the usual: language, awkward moments, a grope or two. Nothing major ^^

Disclaimer: If I owned it, the entire village would be my harem. Muwahaha. *coughs* It's probably a good thing I don't.

 

The Sweetest Victory

Chapter 4: Don't Eat The Crab Dip

 

 

Sakura's morning had started out normal enough. Get up, use the restroom, wash face, brush teeth, change clothes. She'd gone outside to do a few exercises and a light meditation so she wouldn't disturb the still sleeping forms of her loudmouthed teammate and their admittedly perverted - though it had been more a lack of denying the accusation than actual admission, but it was all the same to Sakura - team leader.

 

She'd picked a clear open area on the grounds away from the annoying guards to begin her exercises, and she'd waved upon seeing Sasuke, who was still on what the three had lovingly named The Butt-Crack of Dawn Shift, up on the roof. Sakura stifled a laugh, trying to remember exactly when they'd renamed the shifts. It'd been a while, she realized, not long after they'd become team seven, but by habit, she still referred to them as such. What Kakashi had done - a typical night shift - was known as The Easy Shift. Okay, so it wasn't the most interesting name, but it fit. You could do it and still get a decent amount of sleep in afterward. The next one, the one Naruto had pulled, was appropriately called The I'm a Kickass Shinobi That Doesn't Need No Stinkin' Sleep Shift, and yes, Naruto had come up with the name for that one. You could nap before and/or after, but no matter how you swung it, you were going to feel like shit the next day. But ninja learned to love sleep deprivation, so it didn't really matter all that much.

 

Sakura cringed as she thought about the fact that tonight would be her turn in the rotation for The I Don't Need Sleep Shift (Sakura's abbreviated version) since the party was supposed to last well into The Easy Shift. `At least we'll be on our way home tomorrow,' she thought in consolation. Short missions like these didn't drain a person too much luckily.

 

She shook her head to clear it of thought and turned her attention to the task she'd set out to do: her exercises. It was shortly after she'd finished that things began to go wrong.

 

She was on her way back to the room to get some breakfast when she passed Kakashi just outside the building. “Morning Sensei.”

 

“Sakura, there's breakfast in the dining room if you're hungry. I'm on my way to relieve Sasuke before we get started today. I want all of you to meet me on the roof in thirty minutes. Can you tell Naruto?”

 

“Okay,” she replied, and with a nod, he was gone.

 

It only took one peek inside the crowded dining room for Sakura to decide she'd stick with the food she'd brought with her. `I wonder if Kakashi-sensei actually ate in there or if he just grabbed a few muffins to munch on before we meet him on the roof.' She huffed at the thought of an entire room full of strangers getting to see his face when they'd known him for four years already and had yet to come close.

 

As she walked into their room, she realized with a sigh that their team leader had just left her with the task of waking Naruto up. The blond was sprawled out on his stomach, half on the floor, half on the bedroll. The cover had been kicked off. She rolled her eyes. `Like a little kid,' she thought as she began rummaging through her things for her protein bars. `At least he finally quit wearing that stupid hat. Ah, there they are.'

 

“Hey, Naruto,” she called over to him as she zipped her bag back up. He didn't move.

 

“Come on. It's time to get up, lazy.”

 

Still nothing. She sighed and walked over next to him.

 

“I've got some raaaamen,” she tempted as she nudged his shoulder with her foot. He mumbled something into his pillow, turned his head the other way, and then was still once again. `I can't believe that one didn't work,' she thought in disbelief and quickly growing irritation. “Get up!” she growled and kicked him in the side.

 

Well, that worked. In less than a second, Sakura found herself shoved against the far wall with a forearm against her chest and kunai at her throat. Naruto blinked sleepily at her for a moment before his eyes widened in recognition. He immediately released her, putting some distance between them.

 

“Oh, shit, Sakura-chan. Sorry,” he apologized, raking a hand through his wild hair as he turned and tossed the weapon onto his bedroll, unknowingly giving Sakura a nice view of his profile.

 

The curses were on the tip of her tongue, but any outrage she might've been feeling at her teammate was quickly forgotten as her eyes were drawn from his tired, apologetic face down to… Sakura's eyes widened momentarily before she came to her senses and quickly averted her gaze.

 

Being the only girl in a group that spends so much time together, she'd become accustomed to the fact that there would inevitably be some awkward moments for her. Like the time she'd reached into the wrong section of her weapons pouch and hurled a tampon at Sasuke while they were training.

 

Or the time someone farted in the tent and stunk it up so bad her eyes burned. No one ever owned up to that incident, but she suspected it was Kakashi-sensei, considering how amused he had been by the situation.

 

Or the fact that no amount of griping or slaps to the back of the head seemed to be able to break Naruto's habit of scratching his balls in front of people. She'd become somewhat immune to it in recent years, no longer staring and stuttering in horror, but it still drove her up a wall!

 

And she wasn't even going to think about the few times someone forgot which sections of the bushes were designated `girls' and `boys.'

 

But this incident had to be the most uncomfortable that she'd ever had the misfortune to be involved in, Sakura decided. She could see Naruto watching her worriedly in the peripheral; however, she was busy staring at everything in the room but him. Her cheeks burned, and she knew she must've been as red as her shirt.

 

“Eh, Sakura-chan? You okay?”

 

`Does he not realize?' she wondered. From the way his eyebrows were raising, he was either ignorant of the problem or didn't know the situation was a problem, and she doubted he was that out of touch with the world. `Which means I'm going to have to point it out to him.' She groaned at the thought. I am going to kill Kakashi-sensei next time I see him, Inner Sakura growled.

 

She coughed and pointedly dropped her eyes to that which she shouldn't have seen this morning before dragging them back up to his face. Naruto blinked and glanced down to see what she was freaking out about.

 

“Oh.”

 

Indeed, Inner Sakura snorted.

 

“Uh, sorry. It does that, ya know. Nothing personal,” he chuckled nervously, and Sakura was glad he at least had the sense to look embarrassed even if it wasn't by much. He'd yet to bother hiding the tent in his pajama pants after all.

 

“Well, cover it up or something!” she groaned, more than a little flustered. He grabbed his wrist with his other hand, effectively covering his crotch.

 

“Better?”

 

Sakura only rolled her eyes. It looked like he was grabbing himself.

 

“No. Make it go away. I can't talk to you like this.”

 

And now Naruto was laughing at her. She had to resist the urge to punch him.

 

“I can't right now. Unless you want me to jerk off in front of you.” He gave her a questioning look. “I know you're a pervert and all, but we're on a mission. Try to have some self control.” The grin on his face was huge. He then had the audacity to wink at her before turning to dig some clothes out of his bag.

 

“What??!!” Sakura screeched at his back in disbelief before shaking her head. “Ugh! I'm going to go eat. Kakashi-sensei wants us to meet him on the roof in twenty minutes. Be late and I'll knock your teeth down your throat,” she growled, quickly making her way out of the room lest she attack her infuriating, blond teammate.

 

She could hear him laughing even after the door was shut.

 

Sakura was halfway down the hall when she realized that during the excitement, she'd managed to crush the protein bar in her hand. “Great,” she groaned, glancing back toward their room. There was no way she was going back in there now. Considering their brief conversation, she could very well imagine what he was doing right then. Not that she wanted to, of course. What she wanted was to eat, damn it! With a sigh, she tossed the dilapidated bar into the trash and headed off toward the dining room.

 

~*~

 

Twenty minutes later found all four Konoha ninja on the roof of the main building. Naruto was carrying on as usual, and for that Sakura was thankful. It made it much easier to pretend she hadn't just been pressed up against a wall by a half-dressed teammate with morning wood. She didn't have much time to dwell on it luckily, since Kakashi was going over the mission plan one last time.

 

“Sakura, you'll be inside while they set up, during the wedding and the reception. If anyone asks, you're a distant cousin, though it doesn't really matter. People know there are ninja here, but in case of the people who don't, you can blend the easiest and avoid any unnecessary confrontation.”

 

“How much do I need to blend?”

 

“Dance if someone asks you to dance, just keep an eye open.”

 

“Do I have to?”

 

“Last I checked, a dance was just a dance,” Kakashi replied with a bored look. “You don't have to agree to everyone, but it would look rather odd for you to hide in the corner all evening. The party is supposed to run pretty late,” he reminded them.

 

“I'll patrol the front grounds, Naruto on the roof, and Sasuke has the back. Everyone make sure your radios are set to channel 3.”

 

“What about my holsters?” Sakura asked as she switched her settings.

 

“Keep them. I have the feeling you won't be out of place with this crowd. Besides, you might need them. Are everyone's ear pieces working? Good,” Kakashi replied upon confirmation.

 

The three stood up, ready to move to their assigned positions.

 

“One last thing,” the scarred ninja added, catching his team's attention. “I know you think this assignment is a joke, but you'd better take it seriously. If I find out the three of you have been drinking on a mission again, it will be in my report to Hokage-sama.”

 

Sakura shot Naruto a nasty glare out the corner of her eye, but he didn't notice. He was too busy looking at their team leader in confusion.

 

“I found the bottle,” he explained blandly.

 

“Idiot,” Sasuke sighed while Sakura slapped the blond upside the head.

 

“That's all,” Kakashi dismissed cheerfully as he turned and jumped down to the grounds.

 

“I can't believe you threw it away where he could find it,” Sakura groaned.

 

“Hey, I didn't expect him to go through the trash. It's not like I threw it on top or anything. It was in there deep! Uh, at least he was cool with it,” Naruto shrugged.

 

“Just because he hasn't promised to send us off to be tortured by Gai-sensei, doesn't mean he's okay with it.”

 

“It doesn't mean we won't be punished when we get back to Konoha either,” Sasuke added to their female teammate's comment before leaping down to the grounds himself.

 

“Yeah, well, you drank it, too, asshole,” Naruto grumbled.

 

“I heard that,” Sasuke's voice crackled through their earpieces.

 

“Can you see this, then?” Naruto asked, holding up his middle finger to the figure below.

 

With a sigh, Sakura leaped down off the building also to get to her position.

 

~*~

 

The rest of the morning proved to be exceptionally dull. Not that dull was necessarily bad. In fact, she'd already had more than her fair share of excitement for one day, thank you very much, but still, she was bored. Sakura watched as people set up chairs, tables, and flower arrangements, sometimes arguing over what went where and how much time was left to finish it all. Naruto's occasional complaints of boredom over the radio weren't helping any either.

 

The wedding itself wasn't much better. It was on the grounds behind the main house and seemed to drag on and on and on. `Are all weddings this long?' she wondered as she fought back a yawn, because damn.

 

“Hey, Sakura-chan, I see you,” a sing-song voice buzzed into her earpiece. Apparently she wasn't the only one needing something to occupy her mind. She pulled a makeup compact out of her pouch and pretended to check her hair as she looked behind her and up. She sighed when she saw Naruto standing on the roof with a set of binoculars pointed right at her.

 

“A little obvious, don'tcha think?” she whispered, thankful she was sitting in one of the back rows away from most of the other guests.

 

“Hey! I'm supposed to be obvious. You aren't, though, so be quiet.”

 

She frowned at the reprimand and tilted the mirror so it reflected the sun directly into Naruto's eyes. `I'm the one who gets onto him for stuff. Not the other way around.'

 

“OW! That was cheap,” he pouted as he tried to blink away the spots in his vision. “Hey, bastard, how's your end?”

 

“Clear,” was Sasuke's only response. Naruto snorted.

 

“Thanks, man. I can always count on you for interesting conversation.”

 

“And what should I talk about? My nice view of the trees? The back of the house? I'm supposed to be watching for enemies, not entertaining you.”

 

“Excellent point,” Kakashi chimed in.

 

“I can't help it. I'm bored!” the blond complained. “And sitting in the sun is making me sleepy.”

 

Sakura didn't have to see him to know which expression was on Kakashi's masked face right then.

 

“Trade positions with Sasuke then.”

 

“Hear that? The roof's yours, man.”

 

“Fine. Just be quiet getting over here,” Sasuke replied.

 

Sakura grinned faintly. Her teammates were keeping her entertained a little at least.

 

~*~

 

Half-way through the reception, though, Sakura found herself wishing Naruto's communicator would just quit working. Apparently, the change of scenery hadn't helped his boredom, and he'd decided that watching her was a lot more interesting. He was currently commenting on every male in her immediate vicinity.

 

“Too old. Too young. Too ugly. Too… oh wait. That one's not a guy.” Sakura tried not to laugh, but dang, Naruto had a point about that woman looking rather manly.

 

And then it happened.

 

A young man, probably in his early twenties, approached her, offering his hand as he asked, “Would you like to dance?”

 

“No, Sakura-chan. Don't do it! He just wants to get into your panties!” the blond wailed in mock distress.

 

“I'd love to,” she replied with a smile and let him lead her onto the dance floor. Sakura wasn't entirely sure where Naruto was on the grounds, but as soon as her companion turned his back to her, she glared angrily out the nearest window all the same.

 

Too bad she hadn't realized that was just the beginning.

 

“Oh, man. That hand's a little low, don'tcha think?” It was so very difficult not to tell him to shut the hell up.

 

“Oh wait. My bad. Damn binoculars.” She forced herself to smile to prevent herself from making any embarrassing facial expressions at her annoying teammate's commentary.

 

“Huh. Dude must be gay, cause if that were me, I'd totally be…”

 

“Naruto!” Kakashi intervened once again, and Sakura almost sighed in relief. “I'm more interested in knowing how it is you're watching the grounds if you're busy watching Sakura.”

 

“What the hell is that guy doing?” the blond mumbled, seemingly ignoring their team leader altogether.

 

“Naruto…” Kakashi warned.

 

“No, not him. Hold on a sec.”

 

There was nothing but silence over the channel for several moments, and Sakura wished she could see what Naruto was doing from where she was. Luckily, the song had just ended, and she quickly excused herself, glancing around the hall and out the windows in search of her teammate.

 

“Naruto, report,” she heard Kakashi say.

 

“Under control. Gimme a minute,” he responded.

 

Sakura sighed and snuck off to the restroom where she could talk without giving herself away or people thinking she'd lost her mind and was talking to herself. It was just a few moments later when Naruto's voice crackled into her earpiece again.

 

“Ha ha. One attempt at sabotage foiled,” the blond boasted to his teammates. “Some guy was in the kitchen about to piss in a tray of food. I left him with the guards. It was a good thing I was checking out what was going on inside, too, huh?”

 

There was no response from Kakashi or Sasuke. At least none they felt like sharing anyway.

 

“It's no assassination attempt, but I suppose that's a good thing.”

 

“Ah, Sakura-chan. Were you worried about me?”

 

“Yeah, right. I was looking forward to finishing the mission without any more of your harassment actually,” Sakura teased.

 

“Heh. It's only fair I get to pick on you a little after the way you were checking out the goods this morning.”

 

Sakura gasped in disbelief, and it wasn't until Sasuke's flat comment of “I… really didn't need to know that” that she was able to shake herself out of her stupor.

 

“I did NOT!” she screamed in outrage.

 

“Jealous, Uchiha?” Naruto chuckled. No one heard Sasuke's indignant snort over Sakura's screeching.

 

“THERE'S NOTHING TO BE JEALOUS OF, BECAUSE I WAS NOT CHECKING OUT ANYTHING!!” Sakura paled and glanced nervously out the bathroom door to see if anyone had just heard her outburst. When everyone seemed too caught up in their own business to notice her, she slumped against the doorframe in relief.

 

“Children,” Kakashi calmly butted in, “If I hear anything irrelevant to the mission over the radio again, I will keep your portions of the pay for myself as compensation for putting up with the three of you.”

 

The mumbled apologies of the teens was the last message sent until a few hours later when Kakashi announced that they were done for the evening.

 

~*~

 

“I'm telling you it's a bad idea, Sasuke. You're taking this too far.” Naruto glanced out the window at Sakura who was sitting on the ground, watching the stars a short distance from the building.

 

“Whether you realize it or not, Sakura is a shinobi and a competent one at that. Yesterday should be proof enough that she's willing to keep going with the upped stakes.”

 

“Yeah, but this is pushing it. The worst we've done so far was inappropriate. This is… kinda mean, man.”

 

“Our first day as team seven, Kakshi-sensei made her think I was dying,” Sasuke stated in a bored tone. “An enemy would do that and more.”

 

Naruto didn't respond as he considered it. As much as he hated to admit it, his friend did have a point. What was more traumatizing? Seeing teammates broken and bloody on the battlefield or playing a little bit with one's head?

 

He nodded, ignoring the feeling that maybe he was just trying to justify what they were going to do.

 

~*~

 

Sakura was sitting in the grass as she stared up at the stars. She still had a few minutes left of her break before her patrol started, and she really didn't have anything to do. She'd already eaten, so she decided to enjoy the peace and quiet for bit. Nevermind that she'd have about four hours of nothing but quiet to deal with soon. After a day of small talk and dancing with strangers, she was more than happy to get away from everything.

 

She heard footsteps behind her and was a bit surprised to see Sasuke when she glanced over her shoulder. He took a seat next to her and began to pick at the grass in front of him for a few moments before he spoke.

 

“I wanted to talk to you about the other day,” he stated calmly in that smooth voice of his that seemed somewhat contradictory of his actions.

 

Sakura only nodded as she began to feel the weight of the situation. Sasuke wasn't one to beat around the bush. He came right out and said whatever needed to be said and was done with it, other people's feelings be damned. She could only wonder at what it was he could possibly need to speak to her about that would have him so… off.

 

“I… we went too far. It was unfair of us to put you in that situation. I'm sorry.”

 

Truly she was surprised by the admission. Judging by the pained look on his face, it was obviously not easy for him to say. Not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was, though, she smiled, deciding to play it off like no big deal.

 

“It's okay really,” she started with a shrug. “You play to win. Besides, it's not like my genjutsu wasn't just as bad,” she chuckled, and he grinned.

 

“Yeah.” Then his expression turned serious, and Sakura once again found herself wondering what was going on in his head.

 

“Is something else bothering you?” She didn't expect him to answer but was compelled to ask anyway. A sigh escaped his lips as he turned toward her.

 

“I realized something yesterday.” He paused a moment and stared off in the distance.

 

Sakura couldn't figure out if he was just trying to find the right words or what the deal was. She might've found it cute had it not set her so ill at ease. Uchiha Sasuke, coolest boy in the academy and self-proclaimed avenger, was not in the habit of tripping over his words. But then again, she'd never really had a personal conversation - as this one was appearing it might be - with him. Tactics and jutsu, yes, but anything else was locked deep within a vault somewhere, off limits to, as far as she knew, everyone.

 

He took a deep breath and suddenly turned his gaze on her. “I didn't like the thought of you with another man.”

 

Surely she was unable to hide the shock from that. Her eyes were wide, and her lips parted in wonder despite her brain's adamant demands that she keep her composure. It wasn't exactly a declaration of undying devotion, but it was a hell of a lot more than she'd ever expected to hear spill from his lips. Sakura could only stare.

 

`If I'd known that all it took to get him to notice me that way was to get him jealous, I'd have done it years ago,' she thought with a melancholy, little smile. `What the hell am I supposed to say to something like that?' she wondered. Luckily, she didn't have to.

 

“I was hoping it wasn't too late to give us a shot.” The slightly uncomfortable smile on his face was beautiful, she thought, as the corners of her own mouth curved up on their own accord. She unconsciously wet her lips as her mind spun a million thoughts all at once. Her response was automatic.

 

“I'd like that.”

 

As soon as the words fell from her mouth, he was leaning in. His face was so close she could feel his breath on her. Softly, his lips brushed hers, and her stomach began to clench in excitement. Sakura might not have crushed on him as she did before, but there was still that part of her that cared for him a little more than just a teammate, that always reacted to just being near him.

 

The kiss quickly deepened as she found herself trying to release years of pent up emotion in only a few moments. Warmth began to spread through her as her mind finally latched onto the fact that `Oh my god, I'm really kissing Sasuke-kun!' He smelled faintly of sweat and musk, a combination that normally sent her on a rampage about dirty boys needing a shower, but right then, it was causing potentially embarrassing things in her nether region. Or maybe it was just situation; she wasn't sure. All she knew was that her panties were getting very wet, and all he'd done was kiss her.

 

Sasuke leaned into her further, urging her to lie back onto the grass as he laid next to her and draped one leg over hers. He kissed her with the intensity she'd always seen in him, just never under these particular circumstances.

 

They broke apart breathless, but to her surprise, his lips weren't yet done with her. They trailed down her jaw and assaulted her neck. Her head tilted back, giving him better access as her eyes shut, allowing her to only focus on the sensations of Sasuke's mouth on the sensitive skin below her ear, his lean, muscular body pressed against hers, his hand slowly traveling up over the bottom of her ribcage. Her eyes shot open as her body tensed. This was not the time or the place for such things. They were making out on a client's front lawn!

 

“Sasuke-kun…” She went to nudge his face out of her neck, and when she glanced down, she saw bright, glaring orange. The hand on her breast squeezed as the face pulled away from her. Naruto got one last grope in before her fist connected with his jaw, knocking him clean across the clearing.

 

A kai revealed her teammates, standing in front of a nearby tree. Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable, while Sasuke looked smug.

 

“I believe that one puts us ahead,” the dark-haired teen stated.

 

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Sakura flatly replied as she stomped past them and continued toward the house.

 

“Sakura-chan,” she heard Naruto call after her.

 

She stopped for a second, not bothering to turn toward them as she said, “Tell Kakashi-sensei I started my patrol when you see him.” She then leapt up to the roof, not even waiting for a response.

 

Sakura somehow managed to keep the tears at bay. “Thank goodness for small favors,” she grumbled as she half-heartedly scanned the grounds. “I should've known it wasn't real! I can be so stupid sometimes.”

 

She had to admit, though, she'd never expected the bet to go this far, especially considering how silly the terms were. She remembered taunting them about their weak genjutsu skills. She had even gone so far as to say that the two of them together couldn't beat her.

 

“You're on!” they had both exclaimed.

 

“Alright, losers must ask out a person of the winner's choice.”

 

“Fair enough. Besides, thick-brows needs a date pretty bad.” Naruto had proclaimed, doing his own rendition of the nice guy pose which really looked anything but. Sasuke had smirked at the look of horror on her face, and it had taken her a moment to think of someone who'd invoke an equal amount of nausea in her teammates.

 

“Well, he's just going to be dateless for a while, because Anko's going to have two new admirers.” The guys had cringed at that one, and Sakura knew it was out of fear that she'd quite probably accept. Anko was, after all, notorious for being the number one female pervert in the village as well as having a few questionable fetishes. Truth be told, most men in the village were a bit scared of her despite her small stature and good looks. There'd been several rumors about a certain bondage swing-type thing the woman supposedly owned.

 

“It's a bet, then,” Sasuke commented as he extended his hand. Sakura smirked as she took it, thinking there was no way in hell these two could best her.

 

But as she admitted before, Sasuke plays to win.

 

“Well, so do I,” she growled, determined to come up with her next (and hopefully last) genjutsu before her shift was over.

 

~*~

 

TBC