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Teamwork, chapter 3
Naruto rose to consciousness crouched on the windowsill. He didn't wonder where he was; he just admired the sight. The view he had on the sleeping Konoha wasn't one he was used to, but he liked it; it gave on a courtyard from which grew large trees, with footbridges built between them. That was one of the things he liked in his hometown, the dozens of passages from one building to another, from one street to another. Other towns were boring, all on the same level. In Konoha, there were always layers upon layers, a veritable maze of stairs and catwalks and platforms, tunnels and arches that seemed to have grown more than they seemed to have been built. It reminded him of a man-made forest. It was a nice compromise.
Sasuke's building had good security, he observed absently, letting a claw-tipped finger brush against the wall under his perch. Though it could be done, it was hard to stick with chakra. Maybe he wouldn't bitch too much about leaving the window open. Naruto wanted to explore the courtyard, and the trees. But it would wake Sasuke up, and he didn't like leaving like that.
Though he hadn't woken up when they had prowled through the small apartment, trying to get used to the cramped space and the feeling of being a guest.
The moon was shining on the tiles, in the leaves. He couldn't see her directly from here, and Kyuubi was restless. Sasuke would understand, and if he didn't, well...
Decision made, Naruto stopped thinking. Hand gripping the top of the window frame, a swing to the left -- catching the edge of the banister that ran along the left side of the building, and then climbing -- jump, roof, chimney, roof -- flying -- and a branch finally.
'Maybe we're a squirrel demon instead,' he thought, vaguely amused. Kyuubi snorted, and scaled the rough bark to settle in the highest fork able to bear his weight.
They couldn't run through Konoha tonight, not with a mate to protect. Bastard was still injured, his den unsecured; they couldn't stray too far. Other mate was staying with a family of vicious, underhanded fighters. They'd check on her quickly, later. For now, they watched the moon, and the way it shone over the roofs of their territory, soothed by the gentle swing of the tree and the faint rustling of its leaves and the caress of the midnight breeze.
+
Yawning, Naruto sat on his heels in front of the Yamanaka flower shop and closed his eyes against the morning sun as he waited for his teammates.
He felt almost bad for letting Sasuke come in alone, but Ino was nowhere in sight; her father was manning the shop today and Naruto didn't feel like dealing with him. Most adult ninjas didn't like him much, and he was too sleepy to bother with any kind of hostility.
Stretching lazily, he leaned back against the wall. Maybe he could catch a quick nap; spending half the night prowling around Sasuke's building had left him borderline comatose and he didn't want to force himself awake just yet. Shikamaru had it right; laziness was of the good.
It didn't last long. He'd counted on Ino and Sakura needing about a half-hour of goodbye hugs and applying make-up and girly things -- maybe only fifteen minutes if Sasuke felt particularly pissy. He hadn't counted on Sakura stomping out, barely remembering to say goodbye to Yamanaka Inoshi, a mildly bewildered Sasuke trailing after her.
"Sakura...?"
"He refused my letter. He REFUSED my letter. He said if I wasn't about to stop being a coward and come back home, he wasn't about to read my apology. MY WHAT?!"
Naruto wanted to tell her that maybe his father just wanted to hear it from her because he believed it felt too impersonal otherwise, like she didn't care enough, but he wouldn't have been sincere and she would have killed him anyway. Besides, what did he know of what was acceptable with parents?
"I just -- I mean -- ARGH! It's just so. So. ARGH!"
"You said that already," Sasuke commented dryly.
Sakura whirled around, and for a second Naruto thought she was actually going to hit him over the head. Sasuke looked bewildered enough to forget to dodge. Before either of them could say or do something they would regret, Naruto jumped on his feet and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura, babe, breathe. Okay?"
"I don't want to breathe, I want -- I want--!"
"To beat on something until it breaks into tiny little pieces, which you can then stomp into the ground. Don't you?" he said, before she could find her words.
"YES!"
She was fuming, her green eyes throwing murderous glares around. She pulled away from him, pacing, raking her hands in her hair carelessly. She was flushed, disheveled, and he reminded himself that it was a very bad moment to kiss her.
He glanced at Sasuke, smiled at him in a I've-got-everything-under-control way -- the bastard dared to look wary -- and put his hands on his hips decisively. "Good. I've got exactly what you need."
She paused, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Behind her, Sasuke was arching an eyebrow. Good; they were intrigued. He grinned confidently.
"Come on. Let's spar."
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Good thing he said spar because if he said the other, Sakura would have taken his head off. Though sparring--- getting into all kinds of compromising positions, getting sweaty, panting, and watching sweating panting men getting into of compromising positions......*falls back into chair and drools slightly*
Sakura-- go for it, girl!!! You have them, use them, my God, use every sweaty glistening perfect inch of them!!!
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~Sam
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Or at least enjoy the floor show?
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>.> They better watch it around Sakura's stomach, though... *laughs* Something tells me Kyuubi would NOT be pleased if she miscarried, though the rest of the village might breathe a sigh of relief...
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okay. i finally got something done.
http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/17196452/
here it is: a grainy ass picture of the fanart i promised. luff!
*snuggsnugg*
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That should be go. I think you have sex on the brain. ;-)
Hmm. I wonder if fighting will let Sakura unwind enough to consider other activities...? I also wonder when Hinata and Kiba will come by for an explanation of just what the heck was going on the other day. I'm sure they're curious about that council meeting, and the evidence of Sasuke's... er, wild night. :-)
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You've corrupted me, you know. You got me into the Naruto fandom. ::sulks:: I'm not sure it's a good thing. I keep spending more time checking LJ for teamwork updates than I do actually doing my homework. ::sigh:: ah well. such is life.
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Welcome to the club !
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It's not the manga of the century (hey, it's a *very* standard shonen), but worth the read, and Asuka's fics are even more enjoyable when you know the original, since they're very much IC.
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May I friend you?
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In any case, this particular part of the fic rocks. Naruto is so protective/supportive through the whole bit, and sakurais integrating more and more of inner sakura, becoming more and more honest about who she is and what she thinks and I love it to death. I don't even LIKE sakura from the anime- how'd you DO that, anyway? Geez girl. I mean, really.
Much as sparring helps with the immediate problem- getting sakura to be calm enough that she can discuss the situation like a rational person- I really can't wait to see how they figure out a solution to the whole situation with Sakura's parents. It's like... it's like since naruto and sasuke don't have parents to freak out over the situation, sakura's parents are being UBER bitches to even things out. :) Very cool, and I like.
And about the comment up there ^ a bit , oh, man, don't you dare have her miscarry, that would suck so much. I mean, I guess that it would be realistic and all, cause it COULD happen, and heavy physical labor early in pregancy would be the way to do it, but... it would be such a cop out! Meh....
Also, I love how you've incorporated bits from your naming drabble the other day into this (or maybe I'm just now being aware that naruto does this?) with naruto calling sasuke "Bastard" as, like, a nickname more than really even an insult anymore. It's very cool.
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I'm a little worried about Sakura's stomach too. ^^;; Of course, I knew girls who were in judo who could still take it up to 3 months into their pregnancy with being thrown all over the place.
Are we going to have interaction with Sakura's parents again soon?
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You're right to be worried. XD but i've got everything planned!! now i just have to find a way to write it that doesn't suck. *deletes what she wrote and starts again* T_T
Hmm, parents, i dunno. i guess she'll try again soonish, but right now i'm trying to sort out the little details. ^^;;;
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She was flushed, disheveled, and he reminded himself that it was a very bad moment to kiss her. Oh, now that was just great! <3