He Who Took Care (Naruto fanfiction)

Chapter 9: Sasuke Was Absolutely Right. Ugh

Enjoy. I kind of, maybe, sort of forgot about this...

--Gabe

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As Kiba and Tenten stared each other down, Naruto stood by Sasuke's side, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his hip pouch, "Thoughts?"

"Mm?" Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him before looking at the two genin in the middle of the clearing, "This battle? I think it'll be interesting but it won't last long."

"What makes you say that?" Naruto tilted his head, tone more curious than offended.

"Kiba's attached to Akamaru, which isn't a bad thing, but if he was captured or injured, he'd do anything for him. Tenten's smart. She'll use that to her advantage."

The blonde nodded, taking it all in, "That's true. I don't think I ever heard you compliment someone like this before," He grinned and placed a hand on the Uchiha's forehead, giving a mock frown. "You getting sick there?"

"Shut up," Sasuke swatted his hand away but there was a twitch to his lips. He looked up at Tenten and Kiba, who still haven't moved. "Stretch for five minutes and then you'll start."

The two nodded, performing some basic katas, and Sasuke turned to see Naruto looking straight ahead with his smile tilted with amusement, "What?"

"Nothing, just that they follow your word without complaint now," The blonde shrugged, glancing at him briefly before watching the genin practice.

"They do for you, too," Sasuke said before gesturing to the rest of the Rookie 12. "They all do."

"What?" Naruto allowed his eyes to sweep across the genin and he blinked in surprise when they looked up and smiled at him like he was one of the sensei, "Why would they do that?"

"Ugh," Sasuke rolled his eyes, like he couldn't believe how dense the Uzumaki was being. "Yukimoto influenced you. Just by being around him, it made you calmer and more mature. When you need to, you become a leader and that's what they see."

"Huh," Naruto nodded, a thoughtful frown on his face. He faced Kiba and Tenten. "Ready?" At their nods, he raised his hand and swiped it down, "Begin!"

For a moment, they looked at each other before jumping back, making more distance between themselves. Tenten made sure to keep her hands near her hip pouch, ready to grab a shuriken or kunai if needed. Kiba was watching the girl but he was whispering to Akamaru, who seemed alert and ready. Kiba grabbed a shuriken before tossing his partner a red pill.

As Akamaru transformed into a clone of Kiba, Tenten tensed, waiting to see what would happen. She was vaguely aware of the others watching them, observing to see who would make the first move. Finally, Kiba through a smoke bomb and he and Akamaru ran forward, zigzagging to confuse the girl as to who was who. Tenten wasn't worried though and crouched low enough to see where there legs were under the smoke. She quieted her breathing as much as possible before she took out a few seals, setting them about before her opponents reached her.

"Interesting," Naruto murmured as he studied a seal from afar.

"What is it?" Sasuke looked at his boyfriend, knowing that he was more knowledgeable in this area.

"You'll see," The blonde smiled, glancing at him before looking back at the battle.

While they were talking, Tenten was in a three way taijutsu match. She was quickly defending blow after blow from Kiba and Akamaru, slowly and un-noticeably inching them backwards. With one final kick, she pushed one of them back (and she was running on hope that it was Akamaru) and a seal lit up.

"Amazing," Naruto whispered, unheard by all. He was grinning broadly, arms crossed and eyes filled with pride.

When the smoke cleared, Akamaru was stuck in a cage and Kiba looked defeated and cornered, like he couldn't function without his partner.

The battle was over. Tenten had won.

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Wow, I did not like this chapter. I, honestly, don't like writing their battle scene so it turned into this thing. Bleh.

--Gabe <3