Sasuke paced the hallway behind the curtains leading up to the stage. Everyone else stood still, lounging against walls or talking in hushed voices. There was a weird, churning feeling in his gut, making it impossible to simply stand around and do nothing. Some of that might be from the glares that followed him as he went back and forth. He didn't mind – let them be jealous of his good looks. He'd be out of their hair soon enough. (He could do without the not-so-accidental attempts at stepping on his feet, though.) Neji kept sighing at him, arms crossed and looking for all the world like he didn't care that their futures were all hanging on a thin line. That thin line being the whims of one Uzumaki Naruto, constant thorn in Sasuke's side.
He'd followed his plan, and his plans never failed. So, surely Naruto would send him home in just a few minutes, and Sasuke could go on with his life. He'd pass by some town on the way back and find a guy of five to sleep with, just to get rid of the itch underneath his skin. Naruto was many things, and top of the list was frustrating.
As soon as they were in the same place he could feel Naruto's eyes following him, and as soon as they were close enough the intensity of his gaze had Sasuke barely fighting off the urge to scratch himself. It was like Naruto was giving him a rash, but the rash was a pleasant buzz that didn't go away at night. Well, it was just sexual attraction. Sasuke could admit as much, he was not above such things. As fun as it was to rile the other man up, ignore him until he seemed close to boiling and then send him a raised eyebrow and silent dare – touch me then, if you're so desperate for it – he was going to enjoy coming back home. Things would return to normal. He'd go on missions, banter with his brother, pretend his mother didn't worry about him, and just generally exist blissfully out of range of Naruto's stupid face.
It was a stupid face. He had whiskers, for kami's sake. No one in their right mind could be attracted to that, though of course Sasuke's mind had been slightly bent ever since the whole Orochimaru-thing. And it felt more bent than usual today, as he stomped back and forth while they waited to be called up on stage.
He wouldn't have minded the stupid selection process half as much if it hadn't been such a public event. Who came up with the idiotic idea of having someone pick their arranged marriage through a public event? Not an Uchiha clan member, that's for sure.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were nervous," Neji sneered, looking far too calm and composed as Sasuke passed him.
"Do you want to live the rest of your life as a house husband?" Sasuke asked him, pausing for a moment to glare, completely forgetting that Neji was supposed to think he wanted this. "If you're that eager I might as well resign right away to hurry you along."
"Ha. I have no doubt as to which one of us he will keep, he's not the type to make level-headed decisions."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but Neji didn't have time to reply since someone stuck their head through the curtains and called for another staff member to round them up. He wasn't nervous. He just didn't feel in control of his own fate. Obviously Naruto wouldn't pick him, he'd done nothing but be a complete bastard towards him. Neji had been both polite and nice, hadn't he? At least, Naruto had yelled that Sasuke was the opposite of Neji's polite and nice, somewhere in the middle of accusing him of disrespecting his mother's tea ceremony. (Kushina kept laughing at them.)
Well, at least the time spent with Naruto wasn't boring, as opposed to the rest of his time spent here. He had a feeling he was sorely out of shape by now.
They all dutifully followed the staff member onto the stage, lined up to have their fate determined. He tried not to search for Naruto with his eyes, lasting approximately three seconds before they inevitably landed on him. He wore another kimono for the occasion, this one a deep green color with yellow accents. It looked way too good on him, and Sasuke gritted his teeth as he tore his gaze away.
"The time has arrived," Kushina started, her voice loud over the gathered crowd. "After three weeks of trials, we've reached the first of several ceremonies, where Naruto will officially ask those he deem worthy if they'll accept a token of his affection. Those not chosen, well, they'll have to return home!"
Naruto's face was twisted in a long-suffering grimace, and Sasuke could only agree. His mother was entirely too enthusiastic about the whole thing, the crowd whistling and applauding at her words. If he hadn't been an Uchiha, his own face might have looked similar. As it was he simply stood still, keeping his curses confined to the inside of his head.
Her speech went on and on, and he only realized he'd tuned her out when Naruto stepped closer to them, grabbing a kunai from a basket held by an assistant. It looked more ceremonial than functional, which he supposed fit. Naruto weighed it in one hand, letting his gaze sweep back and forth over them. Sasuke was thoroughly ashamed at the thrill he felt when Naruto held his eyes a second too long.
A deep breath, and then Naruto called forth one of the samurai. The other contestant from the same village stepped back, leaving after a short bow. What a relief it would be, he thought, to simply take a step back and be a free man again.
He tried not to gnaw on his lips as Naruto chose person after person, until it was only Konoha and Suna left. Glancing to his right, he saw Gaara straightening up.
"Gaara," Naruto said, pausing in front of him. "Will you accept this kunai?"
With a tiny smile, Gaara reached out and gently took it from Naruto. His heart was beating a mile a minute, for some unfathomable reason. Beside him, Neji coughed. Were his hands sweating? He quickly wiped them on his hakama, certain that the blood red color clashed with Naruto's chosen colors of the day. At least the simple kimono he wore underneath was dark blue, almost matching Naruto's eyes–
Why was he thinking about this? Naruto turned towards him and Neji, and Sasuke resolutely stared at Naruto's hands instead of his face. He almost jumped when he felt Neji's elbow discreetly nudge his side, giving him a glance with the promise of a slow death.
Naruto cleared his throat, and Sasuke swore his life flashed before his eyes.
"Sasuke," he started.
Whipping his head up, Sasuke barely refrained from gaping at him. Looking like he'd swallowed something sour, Naruto held the last kunai towards him.
"Ugh, just take it," he finished with, pretty much shoving it into Sasuke's chest.
Scrambling to grab it without cutting his hands open, Sasuke held back a snarl.
"Fine," he forced out between gritted teeth, meeting Naruto's glare head-on.
"Fine," Naruto echoed.
Neji coughed again, though it sounded more like laughter. The assistant cleared her throat, and Naruto twitched uncomfortably. They walked back to their original spot, Neji slipping away, disappearing somewhere behind the stage.
There was a ringing noise in his ears, blocking out all the information that followed in Minato's calm voice. What the hell? He blinked down at the kunai in his hand, disbelief and chagrin warring inside him. This was the opposite of what he'd planned. He'd been behaving terribly, hadn't he? All the diplomats should hate him. Naruto's parents should hate him, too. They should be able to tell that Naruto found him attractive and nothing else and they should have told him what a stupid idea it would be to pick him, and yet–
He shook his head, following the others as they trooped off the stage, oblivious to the calculating looks thrown his way by his remaining rivals. If his past, his slutty clothes, general arrogance, and absolute disregard for proper behavior wasn't enough to choose Neji over him… He calmed himself with a few deep breaths, trying to reassure himself. It wasn't that Naruto wanted him in particular, he must have just had such a terrible time with Neji that Sasuke was the slightly lesser evil. Surely, when the choice was no longer limited to one contestant per village, he'd be discarded without a second thought.
Naruto had certainly seemed reluctant as he handed the kunai over. Yes, that had to be it.
But there was still a gnawing feeling in his stomach, telling him he was lying to himself. His own self-confidence aside, Neji wasn't that horrible. He was a bit stiff and cold, but usually polite. And intelligent, good in a fight, not ugly to look at…
He returned to his room with a sinking feeling in his gut, and no idea how to go on from here.
It couldn't be that Naruto actually liked him?
He shuddered at the thought.
(Unfortunately, his fate was now sealed.)
They stared at each other. Perhaps glared was a better description, the tension filling the restaurant making the poor unfortunate waiters huddle in the kitchen, furiously arguing over who had to go out and take their orders.
Sasuke sat as still as possible, though Naruto was bouncing his knee under the table. It was distracting. His face was distracting, orange eyeshadow and perfect eyeliner highlighting his eyes, matching perfectly with his orange sweater-like shirt. He looked too casual, compared to Sasuke.
He was wearing the kimono again. Yes, the kimono, and Naruto's eyes kept darting down to the dip of skin showing at his chest. Sasuke, however, had yet to decide on his strategy. He'd thought a couple of weeks would be enough, that even if he did make it past the first kunai ceremony (much to his mother's delight, as she'd expressed in her letter – he tried not to think about how closely everyone in Konoha was following the stupid competition) he'd be safe in the assumption that Naruto would dismiss him soon after.
But yesterday, they'd released the polls. The polls of Doom, capital D. And the polls showed that Sasuke was the runner-up to Gaara's number one spot, which meant he ran the severe risk of staying on just for the drama.
Surely, they wouldn't risk Konoha's wrath like that? No, no they would. Uzumaki Kushina was not a person who knew fear.
So here they were, imprisoned by social mores in this tiny little restaurant, supposed to learn more about each other. He barely refrained from scoffing out loud. There was a half-opened scroll lying between them, containing too many questions to help them along. Naruto reached for it, still glaring at him, pulling it closer to himself.
"Can you even read?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto's outraged spluttering.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you to shut up if you've got nothing nice to say?" Naruto threw back at him once he'd gotten over his unintelligible noises. "I can't believe they sent you here."
Leaning back, Sasuke allowed his mouth to quirk up at one corner, making a show of tapping a finger to his lips.
"I don't think they sent me for my diplomatic prowess," he purred, enjoying the way Naruto's entire face flushed red. "But fine, go ahead. Read me a question."
"Stop ordering me around," Naruto muttered, shoving his face into the scroll to avoid looking at Sasuke. "Alright, let's see. How's this – what are your plans for the future?"
Sasuke clicked his tongue, waving a hand dismissively.
"Crushed and thrown away in favor of playing house husband, if you have the bad taste of picking me. Ask me something else."
Naruto frowned at him, tilting his head to the side.
"So you didn't volunteer," he said, biting into his lower lip.
He wanted to reach out and pull Naruto's lip from between those teeth, telling him to stop abusing it. It was distracting, annoying, absolutely tasteless, and he had to stop doing it all the time.
"Did you seriously believe I did?"
Naruto's lips formed a pout instead, his heels digging into the floor to push his chair back until it balanced on its back legs.
"Maybe you don't believe in love, but I want to find the love of my life."
"Oh, spare me." He barely had time to roll his eyes before Naruto sent a vicious kick his way under the table. It had him knocking his knee into the tabletop, cursing out loud. "Idiot!"
"Asshole!"
Glaring again, Sasuke gingerly moved his leg back and forth, checking to see no bones were broken.
"You think you're going to find the love of your life in a fake competition organized for political motives? Really?"
"It's not fake!"
When Sasuke raised both eyebrows, Naruto narrowed his eyes dangerously and aggressively smoothed out the scroll over the table.
"Either way, you're stuck here with me until I decide I've gotten to know you well enough," he said, a very obvious threat in his voice. "Now tell me what you like to do in your spare time."
"Training."
Maybe if he gave quick, short answers, this suffering would end faster. The way Naruto looked at him though, made him think it wouldn't be that easy.
"It's not like I have a lot of it," he sighed, picking up an empty teacup from the table, twisting it between his hands as he talked. "I train or read or spend time with my family."
"What about hanging out with friends?"
Sasuke gave him a look, but Naruto didn't seem to get it. His face was set in a stubborn expression, hand splayed across the scroll like it was a weapon he wouldn't hesitate to use.
"I prefer to spend my time alone."
"Don't you get lonely?"
Sneering, Sasuke pushed some hair out of his face with an irritated flick of his hand.
"What is this, interrogation? No, I don't get lonely. No, I don't want to spend my time chitchatting with annoying people pretending we like each other. I'd rather be productive."
"Huh." Naruto rubbed at his face, glancing towards the kitchens, where not a soul was in sight. "But you do spend time with your family?"
"Unfortunately."
The pout returned. Sasuke was going to have to do something drastic about that, one day.
"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Ever had a crush?"
"Absolutely not."
"Felt a single, positive feeling? Maybe? Just once? I won't tell anyone."
Naruto grinned at him, as if he'd just told the best joke in the world. Sasuke's glare deepened again.
"Are you at least attracted to men?" Naruto asked, fingers resting on the rolled-up part of the scroll, starting to push it back and forth. "I mean, I assumed they wouldn't send me anyone who wasn't, but you'd be surprised."
"I am."
Nodding thoughtfully, Naruto stared down at the text on the scroll for a moment. He seemed to contemplate Sasuke's answers seriously, as if there was anything there to take note of. Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he whipped out a notebook and started scribbling in it.
"What's your brother like?"
Sasuke sighed. Wasn't this supposed to be a conversation, rather than Naruto forcing answers out of him? When they'd played shogi it had been mostly the same, except Sasuke had refused to actually answer. It didn't feel like that was an option this time, somehow.
"Annoying. Thinks he knows everything. Way too serious about stupid things."
"Probably not as annoying as you."
"Probably."
"Well, I don't have any siblings, but I think you've met my cousin? Karin?"
"She offered to have my babies if you rejected me."
Naruto choked on air, thumping at his chest as he coughed.
"She what?"
"When she escorted me here. Good to know I have options."
He smiled condescendingly as Naruto gritted his teeth, muttering under his breath for a few seconds. She'd been surprisingly clinical about it, right until she got a strange glint in her eyes that made Sasuke think there were actually worse options than marrying Naruto.
"I'll show her options," Naruto said hotly, loud enough that Sasuke heard. "I'll find someone else to show you around."
"Why? Worried about competition? Careful there, I'm starting to think you actually like me."
"As if!" Naruto crossed his arms, kicking his shin again, but this time less hard. "You're a rude bastard with no redeeming qualities whatsoever."
"Fantastic, just tell me to go home and I'll be on my way."
When Naruto's lips thinned into a line, his eyes averted with guilt, Sasuke felt something sink in his gut.
"You can't keep me around just because I'm sexy," he added, effectively causing Naruto to choke again.
"Oh, fuck me," Naruto cursed as he slapped his hands over his face, slowly dragging them down. "You've got the worst personality."
"Like I said," Sasuke said tersely. "Don't keep me around, then."
"You read the poll results," Naruto replied, almost accusingly. "There's no way they'll let me send you home."
"I thought you said this wasn't a fake competition."
"It's not a competition!" Naruto insisted, leaning over the table. Sasuke leaned over it, too, barely resisting grabbing the front of his shirt to shake him. "I'm trying to find the love of my life!"
"And you're doing a shit job of it if you ask me."
There was a finger in his face now, pointing at the space between his eyes.
"You're the one being unnecessarily difficult!"
"I'm doing exactly what's asked of me."
"No, you aren't!" Naruto hissed, close enough that Sasuke could feel his breath on his face. "You-"
Someone cleared their throat, a rather timid sound. It still managed to break them out of it, whatever it was, Naruto immediately apologizing to the poor girl sent out to take their orders. Sasuke's heart was beating much too fast in his chest, throat a little raw as if he'd been out of breath for too long.
"Are we going to order or are you going to spend an hour apologizing?" he asked pointedly, when the poor girl started apologizing over him apologizing to her.
It earned him a dark look, and then Naruto gave the girl a blinding smile. Sasuke had to look away, just to keep his eyesight moderately intact.
"I'll have ramen," Naruto said, not even bothering to look at the menu. "The bastard can get a salad or something."
"A salad." His deadpan tone of voice did nothing to Naruto, who merely shrugged.
"If I'm paying, I'm ordering."
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke refrained from arguing. And Naruto had the nerve to call his personality the worst. He'd eat the damn salad and pretend he was enjoying it. He wasn't going to give Naruto the satisfaction of thinking he'd won.
Although, as the salad was delivered by the same girl, all but shaking with nerves, he had to admit the amount of tomatoes was impressive. Perhaps they'd read his file. Naruto eyed Sasuke's bowl with something akin to pain in his eyes, protectively curling his arms around his ramen.
"That can't be a healthy amount of tomatoes," he said, wrinkling his nose as Sasuke made a show of popping one into his mouth. "I still think your interest in tomatoes is fake. No one likes tomatoes that much."
"I could prove you wrong."
"Fuck off."
It wasn't a bad salad, all in all. As long as Naruto was suffering more than him, all was good.
They ate in silence, glaring at each other. A staring contest, if you will. Sasuke was determined to win it. Surely glaring at each other counted as some form of bonding? Hopefully Naruto would release him once they'd finished, except he was eating irritatingly slowly.
When Naruto was finally done eating, he leaned back in his chair with crossed arms, gnawing on his lower lip.
"What?" Sasuke huffed, half in exasperation. "Are we done yet?"
"Are you going to be this difficult the whole time?" he asked, as if the answer was going to be anything other than yes.
"Why shouldn't I?"
Naruto blew out a breath, mouth twitching like he was fighting amusement.
"What if I'm into difficult bastards?"
Sasuke had to roll his eyes at that.
"Don't bring your kinks into this."
Spluttering, Naruto's face turned an interesting shade of red.
"I wasn't–!"
"I'm not into idiots, for the record."
Pushing his chair back violently, Naruto stood up, hands slamming onto the table.
"You are the worst," he hissed, even as Sasuke comfortably leaned back, an arm slung over the back of his chair and a nonchalant look on his face. "I should have picked Neji!"
"Too bad you got yourself stuck with me."
The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife, Naruto's blue eyes hard as they bored into him. There was a by now familiar thrill passing through him, called forth by being held so intensely by Naruto's gaze. Maybe he should sleep with him, just to get this ridiculous tension over with. If he broke the rules, surely they'd send him home?
When Naruto's eyes flickered down to the dip in his kimono, he wondered how difficult it would even be to convince him. How far could his morals truly go? If all his talk about true love was real, he might be one of those saps who treated sex like something sacred. It was just pleasure, nothing to be so hung up over, in Sasuke's opinion. He'd yet to find someone good enough in bed that he'd consider a repeat performance.
"You'll see," Naruto said, fingers digging into wood. "You can fight me all you want, but I will find out who you really are."
Raising his eyebrows, Sasuke tilted his head curiously.
"As opposed to…?"
"As opposed to a snarky asshole."
"Unfortunately," Sasuke sneered, "I was born this way. But good luck."
Naruto's eyebrows rose as well, mimicking him. Though, his seemed more to convey a challenge.
"Your entire personality can't be 'rude and cocky bastard who likes tomatoes'. I'm not an idiot, actually, and I'm going to figure you out."
Something in Sasuke's chest clenched uncomfortably at the thought.
"I'd rather you just slept with me and got it over with."
The indignation on Naruto's face was strangely endearing.
Early morning on the day after the restaurant incident, as his mother liked to call it, Naruto nervously paced training ground number four. It was time for the chakra compatibility test, and he dreaded it more than the possibility of a no-ramen diet for the rest of his life.
His parents were excited, talking with the council elder in charge of the test. This left him alone with his thoughts, and the knowledge that soon he would know how many of the remaining men would potentially suit him as a husband. Of course, a low compatibility could be improved, given enough time and work. It wasn't precisely an elimination ceremony, more a check to see if there was someone he fit more easily with, and anyone who definitely didn't fit him.
It shouldn't leave him this nervous, though he supposed it might be natural to worry about his future. Only twelve suitors remained, and one of them was Uchiha Sasuke.
He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms for a moment. He couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like, if he'd been able to spend time with Sasuke without the pressure of falling in love. While he did have the worst personality, he was still as intrigued by him as he'd been those first few days, pouring over his file and wondering what sort of person he was.
What if you're in love with him already, Kurama snickered, causing Naruto to trip over himself.
Don't even joke about that! he shot back, dragging his palms over his face, wishing he'd never agreed to the whole thing. He was not in love with Sasuke…
But he wasn't in love with anyone else, either. Try as he might, his feelings for Gaara remained those of firm friendship. Sasuke was the only one who haunted his dreams…
"Naruto!" his mother called, waving him over. "It's time to prepare. Yukito-sama will explain it to you."
He forced a smile onto his face, following the old woman towards the center of the field. Even though he knew the general idea of the test, no one ever told him the actual details. He did know that the actual chakra bonding could only take place once both parties had reached a certain level of compatibility, and that his parents had reached that point only a few months after the start of their relationship. So, obviously he wouldn't be fully compatible with anyone, but it felt like things were going too fast and had become too real.
"Now, listen to me," Yukito started, her voice firm despite her ancient age. Her once red hair was now a stark white, wrapped in ringlets around her head. "The first test is the scroll."
Naruto glanced at the pile of scrolls lying next to a thick log, each wrapped in the same dark blue fabric, marked with numbers.
"We have to push our chakra into it, right?" he asked, and she nodded at him.
"I will activate the scroll, and you and each of the contestants put your hands on it simultaneously. The two seals on it will automatically pull the necessary amount of chakra from you, but you can aid it by focusing chakra to your palm. The chakra will then merge, and the seals will take the shape of a combined one, representing the level of compatibility."
"Huh. It's that simple?"
"It will only indicate whether the nature of your chakra is compatible or not, and to what level. A higher nature compatibility can mean your overall compatibility is higher, but it's not the only factor."
He swallowed, shifting his weight between his feet. His own chakra was wind-type, but he wondered if it would also take Kurama's chakra.
It's not just wind anymore, Kurama huffed at him. All that toad sage training you did with the old pervert wasn't for nothing.
"Okay," he said out loud, wondering if Gaara's wind nature would mean higher compatibility, or if they would cancel each other out. He would not speculate on Sasuke's fire and lightning. "And what happens after that?"
"The second test is a combined jutsu," Yukito said, smiling at the frown on his face. "Depending on your respective chakra types, and the compatibility between them, I'll choose something suitable. Your parents, for example, combined Kushina's water type with Minato's lightning, and created an electric flood."
Tilting his head in thought, Naruto contemplated her words for a while.
"But my parents have more than one type of chakra, just like me. How do you choose?"
"The scroll will tell us which combination has the stronger compatibility."
"Oh, alright then. What about bloodline limits?"
Yukito sighed, shaking her head fondly.
"You make it too complicated," she said. "The scrolls only measure chakra nature and interaction between the different types of chakra, not individual techniques."
Well, that made sense he supposed.
"And the third test?"
"The third test is the simplest, and the most interesting." She smiled at him, eyes narrowing shrewdly. "It will tell us how well your chakra mixes with the other person's chakra. In other words, it is the first step of the chakra bonding ritual."
Naruto blinked at her, at a loss.
"No need to look so worried!" she hurried to reassure him, though there was definitely amusement dancing around her eyes. "Even on the off chance that you are both ready to complete the first step, it won't complete automatically. It can't happen by accident."
Pretending his shoulders didn't slump in relief, Naruto ran a hand through his hair and attempted a smile.
"So, when do we start?"
.
.
.
What had sounded cool in theory, soon turned into exhausting work. Suigetsu had been first (and the only reason Naruto picked him over his companion was that the other guy was even more unhinged) and as they found out by countless botched attempts at a water tornado, their water and wind mixed particularly badly.
By the time they reached Gaara, who had drawn the number eight, he was emotionally exhausted.
"You look a bit tired," Gaara told him, lips quirking in that tiny smile that still spoke volumes. "Is it that difficult?"
"It's insanely difficult," he sighed, rubbing at his eyes. "You'd think it shouldn't be so hard, creating a combined technique!"
"I suppose I never tried," Gaara confessed, falling silent as Yukito arrived with their scroll.
She unfolded it, placing it carefully on the ground. Two beautiful, smooth stones were placed on each side, holding the corners down.
"Go ahead," she urged them, and Naruto sank to his knees with an uneasy feeling swirling in his gut.
So far his best match had been Takumi, the samurai, to both his own and his parents' surprise. He tried to ignore his mom and dad as they hovered nearby, their attempts to be discreet as they eavesdropped so transparent they might as well just join them.
He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in, and placed his hand at one end of the scroll. Once Gaara had done the same, he focused his chakra to his palm, making sure to call forth each separate nature type. The scroll never showed anything while they touched it – as soon as he and Gaara let go, swirls of colored ink appeared, intertwining with each other in a beautiful mix. Patterns bloomed and washed away, Yukito observing with deep focus. Some minutes later, little by little the ink seemed to dry into the paper, the kanji for wind settling in the middle. With a satisfied nod, Yukito leaned back.
"Your combination will be wind chakra for both," was the verdict, as she gently rolled up the scroll again. "You have a good foundation to stand on."
Meeting Gaara's gaze, Naruto couldn't help grinning.
"We're a pretty good match, huh?" he said, standing up to stretch his back until it cracked.
Together, they were able to produce a decent combination that neatly sliced through a few practice targets, in half the time it took with Takumi. Naruto silently thought that even though wind was his original affinity, he wasn't so used to using actual wind as a technique. He felt more at ease with his shadow clones, or the rasengan. And Gaara, for his part, would usually add his sand as an element.
Still, he felt fairly confident that things would go well in the third step. There had been varying results with the others, and he could tell that neither Yukito nor his parents were particularly impressed with his suitors.
He and Gaara settled into position, facing each other, palm to palm. It was calming, to stare into Gaara's pale green eyes. It was kind of funny, that Gaara had been the opposite of stable as a kid, and now it felt as if his presence steadied him. He smiled, ignoring the tiny voice in his head that kept reminding him he's not the love of your life.
His chances of actually finding the love of his life seemed terribly low, lately.
"Ready?" Yukito asked, and they both nodded.
She went through the hand signs, touching their wrists lightly as she placed the two parts of the seal. It tingled, just like it had done with the others. Chakra seeped through his hand, spreading his and Gaara's fingers wide. Their skin seemed to stitch together, hands locked as the chakra started to pulse.
"First seal," Yukito muttered, bringing her palms flat together with finality.
The first time he went through it, Naruto had jerked in shock and thus discovered just how inseparable their palms were. This time he gritted his teeth against the sting, chakra zigzagging through the chakra nodes in his hands and arms, searching for a familiar place to settle. Gaara's eyes were wide, staring down at their hands, where a ring of golden chakra pulsated faintly around each of their little fingers. It tickled, almost, growing bright one moment and fading the next.
Once the pinpricks of chakra faded, the chakra ring was still there.
"Very good," Yukito said, and his parents snuck close enough to see for themselves.
"Oh, look at that!" Kushina squealed, nudging Minato with an elbow. "An almost intact ring!"
"Why almost?" Naruto couldn't help but ask.
He could see the ring just fine, even if the chakra was thin. His mother shook her head at him, hands on her hips.
"It's really weak, you know," she told him, glancing to Yukito for confirmation. "You'll need one ring for each pair of fingers, and they should glow almost too bright for you to look at!"
"That's right," Yukito confirmed. "But this is a good start. You'd do well to consider this in your choice, Naruto."
Wanna bet how many rings you get with Sasuke? Kurama snickered, and Naruto mentally shoved him far away in a dark corner of his mind.
Stay there! he ordered, knowing it was futile.
Tsk, I'll bet four. On each hand.
Ignoring him, Naruto rubbed his hands when Yukito released them from the seal, smiling tentatively at Gaara. It truly was a relief that he and Gaara fit so well together, but it also filled him with a sense of guilt. If they hadn't been compatible, though, his choices for the future would have been depressingly bleak.
"Thanks, Gaara," he said, giving him a hug and a wave as he made his way back to the village.
"Who's next?" his mother asked, eyes alight.
She had way too much energy, Naruto thought, wishing desperately he could take a nap. Or at least eat something more substantial than some onigiri filled with plums.
"I believe the next one is Uchiha Sasuke," Yukito said, as if the very name didn't send Naruto's heart hurtling against his ribs.
All of a sudden, he wasn't very hungry at all.
♡♡♡
Sasuke wasn't nervous about the chakra compatibility thing. He didn't know how the others had fared, didn't know what to expect other than the brief info given to them in the morning before breakfast, since anyone who returned was to stay in their room until they were all done.
He followed Karin through the village towards the outskirts, walking slightly behind her. He'd found it to be the safest option.
"We're almost there," she said, glancing back at him. "Just so you know, most of the others have failed spectacularly."
That brought him up short.
Forcing himself to keep moving, he mulled the information over. If the others had failed, surely he would, too. It wouldn't increase his chances to be the next person sent home, but hopefully it wouldn't keep him as high in the poll. He clenched his fists, then quickly relaxed them. At least the second test should be simple enough to manipulate. He had good enough chakra control to fail on purpose while making it look like he really tried. Probably. He'd only done it once during a fight, but he was good at improvising.
"Did you know," Karin continued, oblivious to his inner turmoil, "that the chakra compatibility is affected by mental and physical compatibility as well? It's not just the chakra. Siblings, teammates… people like that who are naturally close can more easily combine their chakra to create new techniques. I was wondering why they'd do the test already, I mean, Naruto barely spent time with the lot of you."
Sasuke wished he could turn off his hearing, the way he turned off his sharingan.
"Oh really," he said with lacking enthusiasm.
"How long do you think it takes for two human beings to form a bond with each other?"
She'd slowed down to fall into step beside him, watching him closely.
"I don't really care."
"For a parent and child, it should be immediate. For strangers, it could take years. But sometimes two strangers can simply click. You wonder where they've been all your life, your every thought taken up by them all of a sudden."
He really didn't like the way she was eyeing him now, biting at her lower lip.
"I already told you I'm not interested."
She huffed at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose.
"You're being deliberately obtuse," she said. "My cousin and I have the exact same taste in men. Your file is the only one he actually bothered to read properly. Honestly…"
Shaking her head, as if Sasuke should have known this, Karin mercilessly continued.
"He told me once when he was drunk that the kyuubi talks to him in his head while he has sex. I think you're the only one who's crazy enough to deal with that on a long-term basis. So! Welcome to the family!"
Sasuke faltered, eyes wide, mouth open. She was joking, right? There was no real life scenario where anyone would have to suffer through the opinions of a monstrous chakra entity commenting on your sex life, was there? He shuddered at the thought. What would that even be like?
"I'm telling you now so you're prepared," Karin huffed, having paused as well, hands on her hips. "Naruto didn't introduce the two of you yet, did he?"
Sasuke stared at her.
"I guess not."
She flicked her hair, and turned to keep walking.
♡♡♡
Sasuke looked a little wild around the eyes as he reached the clearing, Karin urging him on towards the middle where Naruto waited. He tried not to drink in every single detail of him, but how couldn't he? Sasuke was dressed in standard ninja attire; dark blue uniform pants, a matching long-sleeved shirt, and a chuunin vest. The red swirls symbolizing the alliance with Uzushio were present on each arm, his headband tied neatly around his forehead, hair falling perfectly around it.
It was the most boring outfit he could have chosen, and yet, Naruto found his mouth too dry and his cheeks too warm.
"Hello, Sasuke!" his mother said, beaming at him. "I hope waiting wasn't too boring?"
"It was expected," was Sasuke's stiff reply, and Naruto resisted the urge to yell at his mom to stop the weird small talk.
"Yeah yeah, can we get on with it?" he told her instead, crossing his arms and definitely not staring at Sasuke.
Kushina scowled at him, smacking the back of his head.
"Don't be so rude, Naruto!"
"Ah, perhaps we should hurry up a bit, it's getting late," his dad mediated, placing his hand gently on Kushina's back and pushing her out of immediate hearing range.
Sasuke said nothing. Naruto said nothing. Yukito, on the other hand, snapped the scroll she held onto her palm, gathering their attention.
"Very well," she said, placing it gently on the ground.
They kneeled, just like he'd done with the others. Sasuke looked bored, but also tense. Like he was doing his utmost to look bored, and wasn't entirely succeeding. He placed his hand on the scroll, fingers long and elegant, yet calloused from all their rigorous training. Did his fire techniques ever singe him, Naruto wondered.
Letting out a breath, he placed his hand on the opposite side of the scroll, and pushed the chakra inside. Once Yukito motioned for them to stop, he snatched his hand back and stared at the ground, unable to hold back a grimace as the chakra started to swirl in patterns. Was it just him, or did it seem wilder than the others had been? Faster, somehow…
He glanced up at Yukito, her face wrinkled with focus. Sasuke was staring at the scroll as well, wide-eyed. He supposed it did look cool the first few times. The chakra slowed down, two tadpoles spinning around each other in the middle, slower, slower, until-
"Yin and yang?" Sasuke asked, frowning. "What does that mean?"
Naruto swallowed harshly, his meager dinner threatening to come back up. What the hell?
Oh, this is good! Kurama said, laughing that low, evil laugh he reserved for special occasions.
What does it mean? Naruto asked him, but of course he was ignored.
"Hmm," Yukito said at last, the silence stretching on too long. "Curious. Very curious."
"What's curious?" his mother asked, having slowly inched closer until she peeked over his shoulders. "Oh!"
"Is anyone going to explain this?" Naruto snapped, making the mistake of lifting his head to meet Sasuke's gaze.
He looked like he'd already figured something out, and didn't like it one bit.
"Please, stand up," Yukito told them, and they rose as she carefully rolled up the scroll. "We'll skip the second test."
"Huh?"
At least everyone else looked as confused as he did, Sasuke thinning his lips, arms crossed. He didn't say anything, and Naruto wondered what was holding him back.
Yukito handed the scroll to his dad, then rubbed her hands together.
"Palm to palm," she said, calm as ever.
"We're seriously skipping the second part?" he asked, neither he nor Sasuke making a move to obey.
"It's not necessary." When he kept staring at her, she finally elaborated. "If you have matching yin and yang chakra, it should be quite easy for you to combine an attack, and I don't want to experiment with something that powerful this close to the village."
Sasuke looked increasingly like he'd bitten into something sour.
"The second step is to make you more attuned to each other," his dad explained, a strange look on his face. "A preparation step. Kushina and I had to go through a lot of training before we were able to sync well enough to go through with the bonding ceremony."
"Alright..."
When Yukito gave them an impatient look, he forced down a sigh and moved to stand in front of Sasuke. He refused to meet his gaze, feeling it settle somewhere by his shoulder. Their palms met, though, and Naruto's skin tingled at the contact.
Like every other time, Yukito sped through the hand signs, touching their wrists.
Unlike every other time, his hands felt like they caught fire.
There was lightning in his palms. His palms were lightning, and it spread up his arms, causing him to go numb. He gritted his teeth against the feeling, like invisible sparks were bursting inside him, frying his chakra nodes rather than pass through them. When he dared glance at Sasuke's face, he found him with eyes closed, expression tense with pain.
Although, it wasn't pain, exactly. It felt like dipping your body in something cold and stinging, like a rash that burned and itched, like needles pricking skin. He shivered, lowered his gaze to their hands again, and-
There were rings around their fingers. Glowing, bright, steadily brighter until he could feel the chakra hum against his skin. Four, on each side.
I hate when you're right, he told Kurama, heart sinking low into his stomach. If he focused his anger at Kurama, he wouldn't need to think about what this meant.
Sasuke's eyes were still closed.
The release came without warning, and he would have fallen if his parents hadn't steadied him. Sasuke's legs gave out, too, and without thinking, Naruto reached out to grab his forearms.
"Shit," he swore, as Sasuke's knees hit the ground.
It had Sasuke opening his eyes, and for a second, time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other. Sasuke, kneeling in front of him. Naruto, gripping him tight with numb fingers. His eyes were swirling red.
"Let's never do that again," Sasuke said, shaking him off. He dusted off his knees as he got up, eyes blinking back to normal, scowl firmly in place. "What the hell was that?"
Naruto didn't know what to say.
♡♡♡
That evening, Sasuke sat on his bed, feet planted on the floor, head in his hands. His hands still tingled. He told himself it was fine. Nothing that couldn't be fixed.
I've never heard of anything like this, that old woman had said. Have you been meeting all these years in secret?
As if.
There's no way sexual attraction could be strong enough to almost complete the first step of a chakra bonding ritual. Sasuke had to face the facts.
The pull he felt towards Naruto was something more.
He groaned, wondering how something like that could just happen. They'd known each other for barely three weeks! Not counting when they were twelve. But all they'd done back then was fight. (All they did now was fight, too.)
He scrubbed at his face, hating the way his palms stung in memory. He was not going to become a political pawn. He still had his pride. His awful personality. What did it matter if their chakra matched, if they didn't?
It wasn't much, but he held on to the thought. It was a fluke. A weird coincidence. Some leftover crap from Orochimaru's weird concoctions.
Naruto wouldn't choose him.
Would he?
Two of the twelve had gone home. There had been a group date, all of them mingling with Naruto and each other. Sasuke had stood in a corner and glared at anyone who dared approach. Especially at Naruto.
They hadn't talked since that night, and now they were supposed to cook a meal together? Wasn't it enough that he'd already made inedible ramen once?
"Why are you so terrible at this," Naruto muttered, grabbing the bowl out of his hands. "You can't even make the broth properly. Is there anything you do know how to cook?"
"I don't need to cook," he said, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms. "I can cook enough to survive on a mission, but I'm hardly going to make ramen from scratch in the wild, am I?"
"You're awful."
It seemed to be Naruto's go-to phrase today. You're awful. Bastard. Why are you so rude all the time?
Because I don't want to be here, he wanted to say. He didn't.
"How were you supposed to find a husband like this?" Naruto continued, puttering about in the kitchen as Sasuke watched. "Tell him oh, I can't cook, I have a shitty personality, I don't like to hang out. But you should totally marry me."
How were. Past tense.
"What makes you think I want a husband?"
Naruto clamped his mouth shut. He spent a few minutes stewing in silence, maneuvering around Sasuke like he was an unfortunately placed piece of furniture.
"Should I put tomatoes in your bowl?" he asked eventually, raising both eyebrows, but not looking him in the eye. "Since it's literally the only thing you do like."
"Whatever."
There were no tomatoes in his bowl as Naruto eventually put it on the table in front of him, but a moment later he placed another, smaller bowl of cherry tomatoes next to it. There was a challenge in his eyes, daring Sasuke not to eat them. He hadn't really noticed Naruto prepare them, lost in thought.
He picked one up with his chopsticks, not bothering to wait for Naruto to sit down opposite of him.
"Incredible," he said, chewing slowly. "It tastes exactly like a tomato."
Naruto threw a kitchen towel at his face.
"You're the worst," he said.
There was no heat behind it.
He had to admit that the ramen didn't taste bad. Maybe Naruto could have made a living as a ramen chef instead.
"Haven't you eaten enough ramen?" he asked, before he thought better of it. "Must be a chore to make ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner several days in a row."
"You think this is the only thing I can cook?!"
Naruto actually looked offended. Sasuke shrugged.
"I think it's the only thing you eat."
They were in Naruto's apartment. Sasuke tried his best not to think about it. The kitchen was full of potted plants and knickknacks (mostly frog-themed), the window wide, letting in too much sunlight. It was too homely. Cozy. It made Sasuke's skin crawl.
"If I had my way, it would be!" It sounded like a threat. "What do you usually eat, then? You're gonna have to talk about yourself at some point, or they'll never let you go home."
He also tried not to think about the multiple people spying on them.
"I'm not a picky eater," he sighed, giving in. "Nothing wrong with variety, is there?"
He gave the ramen a pointed look, and Naruto huffed at him.
"You sound like my dad."
"Rather him than you."
Naruto threw one of his chopsticks. Sasuke caught it easily, then licked it, a long swipe of his tongue along its length. It left Naruto gaping at him, cheeks bright red.
"There you go," he said, handing it back.
Naruto snapped it in half.
♡♡♡
Naruto had to send home yet another person. It was morning. He'd barely slept, replaying dinner with Sasuke in his head. He was so infuriating. Naruto wanted to kick him in the face. And then kiss it better.
"Why does he have to be the most difficult bastard in the world!"
He was pacing the length of his living room, waiting for someone to pick him up and escort him to the same stage all ceremonies were held at. Only nine people would be left.
He kicked at the sofa. Ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. He had to wear another kimono, limiting his kicking range. He kicked the armchair, too, just because.
I'm sure he does it on purpose, Kurama said, yawning loudly. And you're disturbed for enjoying it.
"I don't enjoy it!" he spluttered, pausing for a moment. "What part of him being an ass is enjoyable."
Maybe you should just sleep with him, Kurama suggested, sounding bored. He did offer.
Naruto barely stopped himself from stomping his foot on the floor. If he did sleep with him, they'd probably just end up more compatible. The front door opened, breaking him out of his morose thoughts.
"Ready?" his mother called, entering without bothering to ask. "We're almost late."
"You're late," he said, pointing at her. "I've been waiting!"
She rolled her eyes at him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Even though she was shorter than him, she never felt like she was shorter.
"So, who are you sending home today?" she asked, steering him along the streets.
"Probably that guy from Land of Waterfalls," he muttered.
"'That guy?' What kind of way is that to talk about your suitors!"
He didn't manage to duck as she slapped the back of his head, but he did complain loudly.
"Why are you even asking?"
She shook her head, but at least she wasn't manhandling him anymore. He did know how to walk on his own, thank you very much.
"Just making sure."
"Making sure of what?"
Her mouth pinched disapprovingly, and Naruto put some extra distance between them just in case she had the idea of tweaking his ear.
"Shouldn't we sit down and discuss your options soon?" she asked instead of replying, smiling and waving at a few people they passed. "There's only so many of them left."
Ugh. Anything but that.
"The mission's coming up…" she added, looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"Don't remind me."
"Did you have a nice dinner with Sasuke last night?"
"No."
She frowned at him.
"You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss him."
"I'm not."
He wished he had pockets, so he could shove his hands in them. They veered into a side street, then down underground. The air was cooler down there, and he breathed in deeply.
"Why wasn't it nice?"
He sighed.
"Because he's a jerk. I had to do all the cooking on my own!"
"Hmm."
"Seriously, he doesn't cook, he doesn't like plants, he doesn't like hanging out with friends. I don't even know what he likes! And his humor is crap!"
"Still," his mother said, a smile playing on her lips. "He's the only one you talk about."
He snapped his mouth shut. It made her laugh, mirth bubbling out of her, and he turned his head so she wouldn't see his red cheeks. So what if he talked about him? It was only because he was a bastard!
And terribly good-looking. Terrifyingly good-looking.
Even though he'd replayed the whole dinner in his head, his brain seemed to enjoy the part where he licked the chopstick the most. He'd thought of what other things he could lick. Then he'd tried not to think at all.
"It's not like that," he mumbled, folding his fingers over the hem of the kimono sleeves. "He keeps fighting me. I don't think… I don't think he wants to be here."
Kushina paused. She turned towards him, serious for a moment.
"You'll just have to be more stubborn than he is," she said.
"Wha- I don't want him to be here!"
She tsked at him, shaking her head. Her red hair billowed around her with the movement.
"If you need extra time with him, just let me know. Okay?"
"I don't."
She didn't look like she believed him.
♡♡♡
There were only six people left.
Sasuke was not panicking. Things would go slower from here on out – let them get to know each other properly, or something. He was still number two in the poll (something about Gaara's eyeliner). Last night had been another political party thing, and Sasuke had loudly debated anyone willing, offering some of his most challenging opinions.
People had appreciated it.
He was still trying to wrap his mind around it. This was no Konoha, that was for sure. His supposed rivals had been mostly quiet. He didn't like thinking about them as rivals. That implied he wanted to win, which he didn't.
He shifted in his seat, wincing a little. His ribs were bruised, courtesy of Naruto. They'd sparred yesterday, no clones involved. Naruto had taken it very seriously. Sasuke had liked that part, up until Naruto had managed to actually land a good hit on him. That's when the fight was broken off – it hadn't even been five minutes. His fingers still twitched with the urge to train, to fight. To do anything other than sit around and look pretty.
Five minutes. He scoffed. His tea sat untouched. The small café was empty, only him, and a few hidden ninja strategically placed around the building. And the old woman running the place, of course.
He could tell he was offending her by not drinking. He didn't particularly care.
They'd barely even started! What kind of sparring session was that, anyway. Just because they'd argued a bit, and Naruto had flashed yellow, raw chakra billowing around him unlike anything Sasuke had ever seen… He itched to fight him again. To fight him for real, uninterrupted.
Not so much that he wanted to stick around, though, he told himself.
The bell over the door jingled, and Naruto's dad walked in. The current spouse of the Uzushio leader. Someone who had gone through exactly what Sasuke was going through right now.
He was not looking forward to this conversation.
"Sasuke," Minato greeted him, warmly as if they knew each other well. "It's nice to finally have the opportunity to talk to you."
Sasuke stared at him.
"Sure."
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions."
"Not really." Then, he thought better of it. "Why are there so many frogs in Naruto's apartment?"
If Minato was surprised, he didn't show it.
"He has a contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku. He went there to train."
Made sense. But also, it didn't. Sasuke's apartment wasn't full of hawks and snakes. They'd never really talked about that. They'd never really talked, he supposed.
When he didn't say anything else, Minato smiled at him.
"I'm sure this must all be going very fast for you," he said, and Sasuke had to force himself to sit still and keep his eyes dead. "It's your whole future on the line."
He said it like it mattered. Like Sasuke was supposed to share his woes.
"You must have questions about it," Minato added, frowning a little.
"Did the others have questions?"
"Of course."
"Then I don't."
He wasn't going to have a little heart-to-heart with Naruto's dad. And he already knew what waited on the other side, if he wasn't allowed to go home. Maybe he'd learn to live with it. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But still.
Still.
It wouldn't be his choice.
Minato looked at him for a while, face calm, eyes sharp. What kind of ninja was he, Sasuke wondered. What kind of person goes through this kind of selection process, and comes out the other side with zero resentment in his eyes?
"I love Kushina," Minato said, breaking the silence. "I loved her from the moment we met, I think."
"That's nice."
His mouth felt a little dry.
"It's not easy, you know. To love someone."
Sasuke blinked, once.
"When you're married to a village's leader, you can't just walk away from it. Every day, you have to choose to stay, and make the best of it. And the best, well, it can be wonderful if you let it."
He wasn't really making much sense, was he?
"What are you going to do, if Naruto makes his decision, and he chooses you?"
Sasuke was not going to answer that.
"Are you saying he will?"
"There's only six of you left."
He didn't need the reminder.
"Try getting to know him, Sasuke. How else will you know?"
This time, Sasuke did squirm in his seat. His gaze fell on the window next to them, though it was covered in curtains. No one was to see them.
"When did you know?" he asked, before he could change his mind. "That you wanted to be chosen?"
This time, Minato's smile was warm around the edges, his eyes far too knowing.
"When I started fearing that she'd choose someone else."