Disclaimer: ... three guesses... Also, the cover-picture is the work of Chewuppy from deviantart.

A/N - Written quite some time ago. I had my doubts whether to publish it at all, since I believe my writing skills improved a bit in the meantime. However, I reread it few days ago and discovered it still makes me chuckle. Mission accomplished.

I hope it'll work its magic on you, as well - we could all use some laughter. :D

The Challenge of… Plush!

A blond boy yawned.

He had tried humming, whistling, finger-tapping, he had even intently stared at a master example of tavern art hung on the wall for a good amount of time, but to him the meaning of the picture remained just as vague and blurry as the picture was itself.

It was useless, and so were all the other attempts at making these boredom-filled minutes pass by.

So, in his latest attempt he resolved to sighing. Approximately, fifteen sighs per minute - because she counted, you see.

Yes, the owner of the light green orbs that were seemingly calmly following every sharp, impatient movement of the bored boy had done the math and was – as expected – one sigh away from exploding in annoyed rage.

The atmosphere in the tavern they were currently situated in was heavy in general - the atmosphere of a hot, lazy afternoon.

A waiter was dozing off behind a bar and a few regular customers were staring through a dirty window glass - without any interest whatsoever - at the deserted, heated street outside. A buzzing of a fly was the only sound to disturb the silence.

That, and the sighs, of course.

Naruto abruptly threw his hands in the air: "I'M BORED!"

"I KNOOOW!", Sakura's reaction followed immediately, "You've been whining about it since we got here! You're such a BABY! Can't you be still for an hour?!" she inhaled deeply, as the intensity of the tantrum only increased,

"WHAT KIND OF A NINJA ARE YOU?!"

If the young shinobi who was currently thoroughly yelled at had any intention of shouting back, it disappeared the moment his questionable abilities as a ninja were brought up.

His defiant eyes immediately turned depressingly sad and he lowered his head in shameful defeat.

Unfortunately for him, Sakura didn't buy the poor-little-puppy-got-lost-in-the-rain kind of look. She slammed a tea cup she had been clutching in her hand on the wooden surface of the table, and it only miraculously remained in one piece. After about a minute of sending intense dagger-stares in Naruto's direction, she picked it up again and continued sipping her tea.

The spectators lazily returned their gazes on the dusty street, and the waiter - who had almost fallen from the chair, suddenly awoken by the youthful intensity of Naruto's yelling - muttered something fairly unpleasant and closed the dreamy, half-conscious eyes once more.

The time went on in an uncomfortable silence. Neither the boy nor the girl uterred a word.

Suddenly, quiet rumble filled the air as whispers greeted a dark figure that had just entered the tavern.

A pale raven-haired boy approached his teammates' table.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's eyes lit up at the sight of his rival/friend but darkened the moment they took in Sakura's reaction. The girl's light green orbs grew twice the size and sparkled. "Sasuke-kun!" she squealed.

The dark-haired teen joined them in silence.

"Have you found out anything?" Naruto's voice brimmed with hope.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing. You two?"

Naruto lost his enthusiasm immediately. "No", he grumbled. "Nothing", Sakura confirmed, and the three of them sighed in unison.

"We're waiting for Kakashi, then", declared the Uchiha.

The members of Konoha's Team 7 didn't bother to hide their annoyance. The reason they had separated in the first place was to gather information necessary for their new mission. Each of them had chosen a part of this small border-town to explore and the deal was to meet up in this little tavern when they finished.

The only one still absent was the infamous Hatake Kakashi and - knowing their sensei and his incredible ability to cross path with black cats which (as anyone who has ever had a close encounter with a black cat know) calls for detours - his students weren't happy about the fact that they would probably be stuck in there for another hour or two.

"Sasuke, here. I've ordered too much so you can have my lunch", Sakura shyly raised her chopsticks, flushed by the idea of feeding the Uchiha. "Would you like to try this?" she muttered and attempted to stuff a rice ball into his mouth.

"I'm not hungry", he dodged.

"Oh, come on! Just a little bite!" denying defeat, the young kunoichi bluntly ignored his attempts at escaping.

"I said no."

"One bite!"

"NO!"

"One bite!"

"Sakura, stop it!"

Naruto observed their game, sulking quietly in the corner, while his aura emitted dark and hateful feelings. With his hands folded over his chest, the blond pouted like a child.

'Why does she always do this?! The moment he appears, she becomes all sweet and lovey-dovey and teme doesn't even care!'

The blonde's lips curved down. 'Why isn't she all lovey-dovey with me?'

Suddenly Naruto realized something had caught Sakura's attention (something besides the fleeing Uchiha, that is).

A young couple turned to be the distraction: a guy and a girl, probably in their twenties, who were standing in a shadowy corner of the room, holding hands and exchanging soppy, saccharine looks.

'Great. More lovey-dovey people.'

Unexpectedly, the Guy turned his attention away from the Meaning Of His Life and onto some kind of a rusty bright yellow ancient object. When he put a coin into it, it produced a howling, muffled childish melody. Only then did Naruto realise it was some kind of a toy machine.

With just one swift simple movement, the Guy won a fluffy dark-blue penguin, a happy squeal from the Girl and a passionate saliva exchange.

'Why do they even keep those things here?' was the question to cross Naruto's mind, but it quickly escaped his thoughts the moment he noticed Sakura's long wishful gaze. Her eyes turned heartbreakingly dreamy, and when they suddenly glanced at a disinterested Sasuke, saddened in such a manner that left Naruto deeply touched.

It didn't take long for an idea to form in his mind.

"Hey, Sakura!" he called out to her, excited. "Would you like me to grab you one of those plushie things?"

"Uuuh… Wha?" Sakura broke from her daydream and turned to Naruto only to find an empty seat. "Naruto?"

"Over here! I'll bring you one in no-time!" the boy waved from across the room.

"You don't have to do that", she said a bit embarrassed, a bit annoyed, and a bit, well – glad.

"Alright!" Pulling out a fairly full frog-shaped wallet, Naruto grinned. When he put in a coin, the awful squealing melody started once again. His fingers wrapped around the control stick and a pair of mechanic hands slowly lowered to the fluffy bunch. A victorious grin grew on his features as they closed over an adorable little fox.

He pulled it back up with a self-confident smirk, and reached for the prize, but…

The mechanic hand was empty.

"Huh? It must have fell off", the boy scratched his head in confusion. "Doesn't matter, I'll try again!" he exclaimed enthusiastically." The young ninja sacrificed another coin and started moving the mechanical hands once more, going straight for the foxy… only to realise that the story's repeating itself. Just the moment he thought he had it for sure, it somehow managed to slip off again.

The first sweat-drops started to appear on his forehead as he observed the confusing device. "No problem, I'll just try again!" he shouted at his teammates with a confident smile he didn't truly feel.

'What the…?'

The third attempt - as were the fourth, the fifth and the tenth - was a failure. Naruto didn't bother to hide his anger and confusion anymore. "Why can't I grab it?!"

'Idiot', thought Sasuke as he observed the blond with his fingers entangled under his chin. Sakura sweat-dropped.

"It's okay, Naruto! Really! I didn't even want a plushie! Come back", she yelled at the angered blonde's direction with an awkward smile – which Naruto ignored completely.

"I won't give up until I get Sakura-chan a plushie!" he growled threateningly to the dratted thing.

"Naruto!" the pinkette called out again.

"Let him go. Let the loser embarrass himself if he wants to."

Although it seemed that Sakura's pleading remained unheard, the cold and quiet voice of Sasuke definitely managed to reach Naruto's ears as the Jinchuuriki froze on the spot.

An ominous-looking red mark popped out of his forehead.

"What did you say… SASUKE!?"

"I said", the Uchiha heir dropped his hands and send a challenging glance to Naruto, "that you're a loser unworthy of a ninja who can't even grab a plush toy out of a toy machine."

"You… take… that… back!" the boy snarled with a scary, beastlike expression contorting his features.

Sasuke sent him a long, cold stare. "No."

"Then how about you come here and give it a try!" Naruto yelled an invitation.

"…"

Sasuke stood up in silence. After taking a few steps he suddenly stopped and called out without turning his head: "Sakura."

"Y-yes?" a tiny voice squealed. The startled Sakura stared at the Love of Her Life's back.

"You're getting a teddy-bear."

Light green eyes widened.

Although her heart brimmed with unexpected happiness and overflowing emotions, a heavy feeling nested in her chest as well. With a strong sense of uneasiness, she observed her two teammates. When their gazes met, mini-lightnings flew. The air in the room suddenly turned uncomfortably competitive and the regular customers turned to the sight with anticipation, as well.

Sasuke nonchalantly passed Naruto and put a coin into the machine. Naruto followed his movements with fear. Although he would have never admit it, he was sure his rival would win a plushie successfully. And when he does, with that stupid smirk of his, Naruto is going to look as a complete moron!

He gulped.

In the meantime, Sasuke had already managed to grab a brown little teddy bear and was about to take it out. His lips curved into a self-pleased smirk as he imagined rubbing victory in the Uzumaki's face when something unimaginable happened.

The teddy bear. Slipped. Off.

…

Sasuke blinked. Naruto blinked.

The rest of the room was too far away to see what had happened, but darkening Uchiha's features and a growing mocking smirk on Naruto's face gave them a pretty good idea.

A few customers snorted, throwing a comment or two at their neighbour's direction and returned to doing what they did before – which was pretty much nothing.

"He… couldn't do it?" Sakura's big eyes showed disbelief.

Naruto burst out into a loud, vicious laughter.

"SHUT UP!" the enraged Uchiha yelled.

His companion was merely seconds away from rolling on the floor.

"This time… I'll definitely make it", he promised himself and a dark dark patented glare he usually saved only for vengeance-related speeches about his brother managed to silence the choking blond.

He grabbed the stick once more, fully concentrated, and reached for the teddy again.

"Oh, come on!" the usually stoic Uchiha kicked the machine after the about seventeenth attempt. Naruto had stopped laughing long ago. It wasn't funny anymore. More like… desperate.

"Guys", Sakura cautiously approached them, "it's alright. I think we should go back to our table now, okay?"

No one deigned to pay attention on her.

"Why won't it go?!" Sasuke glared. He removed the sweaty black bangs that fell into his eyes.

"Stop it, Sasuke. The machine doesn't work. It must be broken", Naruto thoughtfully concluded.

"Idiot! If it's broken, how come did that guy from before manage to win a toy?" The unusually passionate Sasuke froze on the spot, and so did Naruto, when they realized what Sasuke had just said.

Their eyes met for one looong, long understanding moment - and turned towards the end of the room.

A fluffy dark blue penguin filled the space between the Guy and the Girl. They held hands from across the table as they intimately gazed at each other's faces, completely lost for the world outside of their own.

He was just drowning in the ocean of her eyes and she was just trembling sweetly at the sound of his deep voice when two teenagers appeared out of nowhere and sat themselves at their table.

The Girl yelped at the unwanted company and the Guy switched into his protective mode. Feeling quite uneasy, he noticed their headbands.

'Ninja.'

Faking bravery, he spoke up. „What do you want?"

"We need to ask you something", a blond replied in a serious voice. The black-haired just nodded, dark eyes not leaving his for a moment.

'Not good. Not good!'

"Yeah? And why is that?"

"Just come with us", the dark boy said and grabbed him under his left arm. The blond did the same with the right one.

"Hey! Let me go!" the Guy gave weak ressistance. Mini-ninja were still ninja. They dragged him a few metres away and threw into another chair. The Girl observed them helplessly. Who could she call for help?

The blond leaned towards him with a deadly serious look and the Guy helplessly tried to shrink into the chair they'd thrown him at. Blonde's face got closer, and closer, and while the Guy's mind raced to come up with as many bizarre worst-case scenarios as possible – the boy whispered a question in his ear.

"What?" the Guy laughed, thinking he had surely heard the weird kid wrong. The other weird kid's dark look stifled his laughter immediately.

But… they couldn't possibly be serious.

"We're not kidding. Tell us."

The Guy sweat-dropped. "Uh… okay. Well… it's all in the wrist actually. See, when you grab it, you do something like this so that the hand doesn't drop it… see?"

He twitched his wrist in a certain way few times to show them.

"… and that's pretty much all there is to it."

He rose his head only to twitch himself. Terrified, he thought: 'Were this kid's eyes red before?!' The pale dark-haired boy was smirking. As if that wasn't already scary enough, his eyes were glowing a distinguishing blood red glow.

The blond seemed to notice it too because he immediately cried out: "Sasuke, no! It's not fair! You can't use the Sharingan!"

The Sasuke-kid completely ignored his companion as he started running towards the toy machine.

"SASUKE!"

The Guy fell from the chair as he watched - his eyes falling out of their sockets - the blond kid jump over him towards the other one. Not waiting to see the result of the ninja-kids' confrontation he ran to grab the Girl and they got lost as quickly as civilians can.

Sasuke had made it to the machine first, of course, and Naruto couldn't do anything but to stare in quiet desperation as his won Sakura-chan a plushie. But…

"What? BUT I COPIED HIS MOVEMENTS RIGHT, IT WENT THIS WAY!" Sasuke exploded, madly flicking and twitching his wrist around.

Sakura sat on the table by the toy machine, hopelessly and helplessly observing her teammates. The boy she loved and the boy whose love she had turned down more times than she could count.

'They're both idiots', the conclusion came on its own.

Suddenly, the tavern's door opened.

A tall figure of a silver-haired man with a dark fabric covering the bottom half of his face entered the room. Sakura disinterestedly turned to see the newcomer and…

"Sensei", she whispered.

A tiny flame of hope lit up.

She started running towards the man. "Sensei!"

Kakashi warily took a step back. "Now, now, Sakura. I know I'm late, but before you do anything reckless let me explain. You see, I've got lost on the…"

"SENSEI!" Sakura threw herself at his direction and grabbed the man's Jounin vest tightly.

"Kakashi-sensei, you have to stop them! I've been trying, but I can't! They're driving me insane and I don't know what to do! Please, DO SOMETHING!"

Kakashi gazed at his student's twitching eyes.

"Sakura. Tell me what happened."

Sasuke and Naruto intensely stared at the damn machine. The air around them tense and electrified. Any moment now, something will crack. Whether their sanity or it, it didn't matter anymore. They had it. If they hear a single note of that blasted happy-go-lucky melody again, they'll…

"Sasuke. Naruto", gloved hands fell on their shoulders, "we need to talk."

"Sensei?"

A silver-haired head lowered to their level and joined their death-staring contest with a machine. "Boys, do you see this?"

One black and one blue eye twitched. They had been seeing only this the whole afternoon!

"This", Kakashi continued, "is a toy machine. It's a game. A game specially designed for spending a large amount of money on futile attempts at winning a plush toy." The boys' eyes fell on the empty frog-shaped wallet that lied tossed away on the floor.

The reasonable voice of their sensei continued: "That's how the game works. Every now and then someone manages to win a toy so that the others would be tempted into playing, but the chances that that will happen to you are weak. Do you understand?"

Slowly, they nodded.

"Now when we got that straight, can we leave the toy machine and finish our mission?"

They didn't respond. Their gazes remained locked on the yellow thing.

"You couldn't do it."

Kakashi blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Sasuke continued. "Even you couldn't do it. It's impossible."

"Yeah!" Naruto turned his blue eyes to his teacher. "That's true, Kakashi-sensei! Even you couldn't beat it", the boy stated. It wasn't a challenge. It was a fact.

"Well, it's not easy, but it isn't impossible."

"No, Kakashi. It's impossible", Sasuke clarified with a resigned look in black eyes.

Kakashi was silent for a while.

"Give me a minute", the young sensei said and searched his pockets for some change.

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes.

'Sensei, you too…?!"

She stared at the three men, the three boys in her life – all gathered around a…

yellow

machine

"…"

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei! You dropped it again!"

"No, Kakashi, you must do a flick. Like this."

"Maybe, if you guys weren't backseat-driving me, I could!"

"…"

'They really are just like big kids', her maternal side – the one that observed the sight with patient resignation – concluded.

"Ah! Did you see that?"

"You almost had it!"

'Then again…'

Sakura inhaled deeply and prepared her vocal cords. The inner-her was about to kick in.

A/N - There are forces out there that human beings cannot conquer, my friends.