UP-TOWN GIRL

CHAPTER I
~ UPTOWN GIRL AND DOWNTOWN MAN ~

I'm gonna try for an uptown girl,
She's been living in her white-bread world,
As long as anyone with hot blood can,
And now she's looking for a downtown man.
That's what I am.

"Sasuke, this is an exercise in futility!" Shikamaru grumbled.

Hurriedly, he followed his stubborn classmate down the too-clean-for-it's-own-good street. Not only was his friend on a wild goose chase, but the posh part of town was making him uncomfortable. Seeing so little gum on the pavement was unnerving - he was all for being green and saving the planet, but at that moment he would kill to see a stray crisp packet or even an old condom wrapper.

He could tell that Suigetsu was as equally disturbed - his left had kept clenching as a means to vent his unease.

Sasuke ignored both his friends and their obvious discomfort, instead searching for the small café known as Girvan's. Catching sight of the small shop, he changed his course almost too quickly for Shikamaru and Suigetsu to keep up.

"Sasuke, I realise that all the girls at school want to jump your bones, but they aren't rich girls!" Suigetsu stated, as if his words would resolve the matter.
They fell on very nearly deaf ears.
"So?"

"So? So they have different standards than the girls at school! They go by looks and wallet! You, my friend, fail one of those standards! This is a wild goose chase if ever there was one!" he yelled.

His vocalizations earned himself a shocked look from a neatly dressed elderly couple.
"What cha staring at oldies? Never seen a dye-job before?" he asked, referring to his white hair.

The couple hurriedly moved away from the possibly violent youth.
"Nice, Suigetsu, now were gonna have the fuzz on our asses because you scared a couple of grannies!" Shikamaru complained.
"I didn't want to be here!"

"Then why did you come?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.
"Because you've lost it man! I swear, if I'd have know how much trouble it would be if you actually snogged a girl, I would have turned you gay months ago!" Suigetsu raged - earning some more frightened looks.

Despite his occasional stupidity (like now), Sasuke had no doubt that had Suigetsu truly wanted to turn him gay, he would have probably succeeded. If Suigetsu would only apply his mind to his studies more, he might actually be passing his classes.

Shikamaru could not help but agree.
Sasuke was acting like… Like some kind of obsessive, arrogant, lovesick… hyena! All because of one kiss from a random rich girl! Though honestly, if that kiss was anywhere near as good as it had looked, then Sasuke at least deserved a pardon for his insane actions.

Sasuke allowed himself a small grin as Kankuro thumped his back in a celebratory manner. Even Shikamaru seemed to be showing some energy in their celebrations (Suigetsu was flailing his shirt wildly - Sasuke pretended not to notice. It was healthier), not that they did not have a reason for their antics.

For the first time in twenty years, West Konoha Publish High School's football team was going the district finals for the national tournament. They had just crushed the reigning district champions, Sarutobi Private Academey, in 3-0 match.

In spite of all the cheer, the cheerleaders were particularly enthusiastic; a blonde girl on the Sarutobi side of the pitch diverted his attention.

The black, purple and gold crop-top and mini skirt identified her as one of the cheerleaders, and she was something of a looker (long blonde bunches, blue-eyes, average breasts, and short but well toned limbs and stomach; she was basically sex on legs) but that was not what drew his attention to her.

She was laughing at the captain of the opposing team, and Sasuke could clearly hear her squalling:

"someone finally wiped the floor with your ass Neji! This was the best match in months!"

Now Sasuke was no expert when it came to cheerleading, but judging from her performance during half time, she was the captain of the squad.
Surely the captain of the cheerleaders should be sympathising with the captain of the team she supposedly supported after his loss? Why on earth was she laughing?

"No way… Are you checking out Blondie? Holy-fucking-shit! Guys! Sasuke hit puberty!" Suigetsu yelled to his other team-mates, having followed Sasuke's line of sight.

The captain of the other team, Hyuuga his shirt-back read, also seemed to hear Suigetsu's loud mouthings and seemed none too pleased with what he heard. He marched over to the victory side, and stopped directly in front of Sasuke. A boy with large black hair and matching eyebrows followed him with worry written all over his face

"I don't know if what your friend was yelling is correct, but take my advice anyway; stay away from Naruto!" he growled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke growled in reply, not liking his tone.

It screamed 'superiority', and Sasuke was not fond of being belittled.
Let alone by a snobby rich kid.

"It means, plebeian, that she's out of your league. You don't have the right wallet to even register on her radar" he smirked with obvious condescension.

The boy's companion gave his friend a worried look but made no motion to intervene. The look of exasperation on his face - fuzzy eyebrows and all - told Sasuke this was a regular occurrence.

Students of west Konoha public high school were not known for their diplomacy, and Sasuke was no exception. He knew the basics - at least try to be polite to elders, never hit girls, and never stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice - but that was about it. The normal response to hostility in Konoha was, well, more hostility, and Sasuke was very proficient at it. It was therefore no surprise when he grabbed the front of the boy's shirt, and all but lifted the taller senior (damn those few inches) off the ground.

"Say that to me one more time, you rich snob, and you'll get a plebeian solution to your word-vomit!" he hissed at the boy - who seemed for all intents and purposes scared shitless. Apparently, violence was non-existent amongst the species of the upper class.

"Neji!" his companion - a boy with a bowl cut - squawked.
"Aww… Not gonna say anything, you prissy little rich boy?" he pretended to pout in annoyance, earning several snickers from his team-mates and their own cheerleaders.

He shook his fists a little, widening the boy's pale eyes. He was pondering how else to scare the snob shitless before dropping him when a loud familiar voice broke through his thoughts.

"Do you have a problem with our captain? Or are you just acting like a thug because you're bored?" The blonde cheerleader, apparently known as Naruto, asked apparently placatingly.

Sasuke knew otherwise; her words promised pain if he failed to give an answer she was happy with. It was all in her body language - the slight frown on her face and pom-pom covered hands on her hips

"Yeah, I do; tell him to control his mouth. I don't appreciate being belittled by some rich snob!" he informed her, taking care to make sure his anger was directed towards the captain - indicated with the nod of his head towards the boy still in his grasp.

"What? Is that true Lee?" she asked the bowl-cut, a hint of frustration in her voice and a twitch in her brow.

Lee hesitated for a moment before nodding, giving pale-eyes an apologetic look. Any anger that had been directed at Sasuke instantly diverted towards the captain of the Sarutobi Private, converted into the attack-of-the-pom-pom.

"Fuck Neji, would it kill you to act like a decent human being just once?! Cant you get your head out your damn ass for one god-damn game!" she yelled, bashing the captain around the head with her glittery black and gold pom-poms.

"Stop it! You're ruining my hair!" he shrieked.
"That dude's the captain…?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.
"He's a pansy!" Suigetsu snickered.

"Ow! Leggo! He was staring at you like you were his next meal! What was I supposed to do?! And he assaulted m-"

Naruto was no longer listening to the pansy-pale-eyed boy. Her attention was back to Sasuke. Much to his surprise, her expression was not one of offence, one of flattery and… was that excitement?

"You were staring? Really? How come?" she asked, ignoring the looks of horror from both of the opposing team members.

Sasuke briefly considered lying, but something told him that he would be in trouble if she picked up on that, and would receive worse consequences if she took the truth badly.
With this conclusion, he replied bluntly.

"I just thought you were hot."

"Holy crap, he really did hit puberty!" Kankuro gawped.
"Thank god! I was beginning to think he was asexual…" Shikaku grumbled.

"Seriously? Not 'cute' or 'beautiful' or any of that?" she asked with obvious glee.

Sasuke looked her up and down in a slightly more critical manner than he had previously. True the other words did fit her, but they were far too… reserved.
Naruto had a spark that didn't fit them.

"Nope. Hot is the word I would use, or possibly sexy. It'd depend on the clothing…" he mused, noting the ecstatic look on her face.
"Ok, that's good, but do you mean the 'better-than-usual' kind of hot, or 'can-I-take-you-now' kind of hot?" she asked, with surprising seriousness.

Sasuke snorted. Honestly, what other kind of hot was there?
"The 'can-I-take-you-now?' kind, idiot."

"Really? Thank god!" she yelled with obvious, albeit somewhat confusing, relief.

Sasuke assumed that was the end of the conversation and it took a while for her next set of words to enter full comprehension.

"Then, you wouldn't mind if I kissed you would you?"
"No. Wait, wha-?!"

He was cut off by the press of her lips on his and the feel of her hands snaking around his neck. One of her thighs bushed over his pelvis to rest on his hip ad she pressed her tongue against his lips, flicking at them with practiced ease.

Sasuke, who had been somewhat frozen by the sudden presence, had little option but to act on instinct when her other leg pushed into the space between his own.

One hand vigorously caressed her thigh, moving to the very edge of the short mini-skirt (He suddenly found himself thanking whoever designed the standard cheer uniform) his other hand gathered into her gold strands, having escaped from their restraints during the halftime performance. It was with gentle aggressiveness that he parted his mouth to brush her tongue with his own, before giving her upper lip a nibble.

He now understood why she enjoyed being referred to as sexy, or hot: she was to hot-blooded for the reserved upper-class demeanour owned by the boys she was used to. It also explained the laughter that had first drawn her to him. She was a passionate creature; she was constantly on the look out for something fun, risky, something that would give her an adrenaline rush, but she could not find it in her world. The upper classes probably bored her beyond belief.

When they finally parted, her pigtails were almost none existent and her skirt seemed to have risen several centimetres. Sasuke, for his part, looked like he had played two games instead of one - both had sentiments of victory and satisfaction on their faces.

Naruto did her best to re-arrange his hair to its former chicken-like glory, and then proceeded top fix her own uniform - smoothing out the wrinkles, readjusting the skirt, and picking up her abandoned pom-poms.

"I go to Girvans on Thursdays and Sundays at four' o'clock. I'm usually there for at least an hour. Feel free to drop by sometime" she grinned with a wink.

She then turned on her heel and walked back to the other side of the field - pausing to drag Neji in the same direction by his ear, making her displeasure with his action well known (bowl-cut took this moment to also take his leave).

There was a remarkably stunned silence amongst the group of Konoha west players before Suigetsu broke it.

"Dude, I get that you've just hit puberty and realised that girls are human, but you nearly rounded second base in the middle of the pitch!" he stated in apparent awe, or shock; Sasuke was still too stunned to be sure.

"Forget second, he was going for a freaking home run!"

Unfortunately, for Kankuro, Sasuke had recovered enough to bash him around the head for his comment.

Ever since that stupid match, Sasuke had been letting his thoughts wander off to alternate dimensions - he had missed three passes during practice today alone! Shikamaru was all for encouraging Sasuke to take an interest in… well, anyone, but this was just too much!

"Sasuke, you are embarking on a wild goose chase! That girl was probably suffering from temporary insanity!" he yelled, though not in the manner Suigetsu used, and therefore avoiding unwanted attention.

Sasuke let his friends' warnings and protests drift over the top of his head - focusing on the task of finding the last remaining location. He had checked all the restaurants named Girvan's bar one in the last two weeks, and he had not seen hide nor hair of the girl who had accosted him in the middle of the pitch.

That left the remaining unchecked restaurant, and if the neighbouring businesses were anything to go by, he finally had the right place (the price of a sandwich had been enough indication of that - 1,200¥ was ridiculous!)

"Sasuke, please get your head out of dreamland and let's go back to the normal side of town! This street is too shiny…" Suigetsu pleaded, giving a modern fountain a perturbed look.

Sasuke considered responding before he caught sight of the cream-fronted café at the other end of the street. After finally catching sign of the burgundy writing above the front of the establishment, he completely blotted out the chaos he had created, sights set on his target.

Not that Shikamaru and Suigetsu had failed in raised some doubts within him - the girl had better not be expecting him to buy her lunch from one of these places.
Aside from the obvious price issues (his wallet had taken up a serious diet after that frightening experience at the sandwich shop), the cafes and restaurants were all in French. He could read Japanese just fine, but French? He didn't think French was even on the curriculum at Konoha West.

As they drew nearer the shop itself - amidst much protesting form his unnecessary companions - he could make out strikingly familiar long blonde bunches in one of the window seats.

He also recognised the purple skirt, black jacket with gold and purple detail and purple ribbon-tie on a white shirt from what the spectators had worn. He recognised two of the girls who accompanied her from the opposing cheer squad - he found it amazing that he actually recognised them given his usual attitude towards uninteresting females. One with two brown buns, and another with pale-eyes and bluish black hair - he suspected she was a relative of the team captain.

With these factors recognised, he concluded that he was definitely in the right place this time, and wasted no hesitation in walking towards the entrance.

"Sasuke, this is madness! Please come back to the real world before you make a fool of yourself..." Shikamaru insisted with his enthusiasm next to none.

Once again, Sasuke ignored him and headed towards the supposedly intimidating door attendant instead. One glare was enough to grant him passage when the man - after taking one look at his rumpled uniform - tried to deny him entry.

"Aww shit! Now he's gone and done it!" Suigetsu groaned, dropping to a crouch with his hands pulling on his hair to vent his frustration.
"This is just sad… I knew I shouldn't have come along… I swear to god, he has turned into such an ass-pain since he grew hormones!" Shikamaru growled, kicking a nearby plant pot.

"I can't believe you won't give Lee another chance!" Tenten shook her head is disapproval as she took a bite of her apple lattice.

Beside her, Hinata looked more disappointed than disapproving over her lemon torte.
"Tenten's right Naruto; Lee's really nice. He's nothing like Neji or the other boys…" she stated, taking a calmer approach than the brown-haired girl.

Naruto shook her head stubbornly before taking a long gulp from her bottle of pineapple Ramune - earning herself yet another frown from Tenten. Rolling her eyes, she poured the remnants of the liquid into the glass that had been provided by the waiter. Honestly, this wasn't a business dinner. What happened to relaxing?

"Lee is exactly the same as Neji and the others," she stated stubbornly.

She was not surprised to see looks of confusion and indignation on the faces of Hinata and Tenten respectively. Every time one of her failed dates entered the conversation, she would get this reaction.

"Um, in what universe?" Tenten asked, accompanied by frantic agreement from Hinata.

Naruto resisted the urge to pull her hair from her scalp once again. Despite their claim to be close friends, the two girls did not understand her at all. They were model heirs who welcomed the cloying conversation and generic dates they received from the boys at Sarutobi Private. They would never understand her need for a thrill, the rush of adrenaline she could not get at the stodgy school, or why she could never date one of the boys who asked her out for longer than a week at best.

That had been more than proven when they took Neji's side after her 'unseemly display' at the football game. They were so god damn reserved it was unholy! God, she knew for a fact that Hinata and Kiba had barley kissed (let alone frenched) in their three years of dating. If even her so-called friends were too plain for her to be truly satisfied, there was no chance she was going to find a decent guy to date at Sarutobi's.

This led to the reason she had even bothered to turn up to these meetings - knowing the lectures she would received - for the past two weeks.

Dear god he'd called her hot, and to a lesser extent sexy! Neji had almost died from the culture shock, but it was music to her ears. That kiss (the word 'kiss' here meaning 'full-on make-out session') had been non too shabby either.

Most people would have given up on waiting, but not Naruto. She knew that boy - what had his team mates called him? Sasu-something - would turn up. She also knew her information sharing had not been too detailed, and there was probably more than on café called Girvans in Konoha.
Though that being said, he was taking his sweet time in turnin-

"Oh my god! That's the guy from the football game who attacked Neji!" Tenten hissed in a terrified whisper pointing out of the window.

Following the direction of Tenten's finger, she caught sight of the guy who had possessed her thoughts for the past thirteen days glaring at the door attendant.

She almost squealed right there, but 1) Naruto Uzumaki did not squeal. She may not be as concerned over her image as her fellow rich-kids, but she had something of a reputation to maintain.

2) She was in a public place, and she did not want her exploits to be reaching her haggard old grandparents and beloved uncle just yet. She was not quite prepared for following her twin's footsteps and getting the hell out just yet.

Well, her sister had been thrown out but that was beside the point. She would find her eventually, but Naruto had arrangemts to arrange before that could happen. If her dear family received word of her interaction with Sasu-something before that, she would be up shit creek, no questions asked.

Hinata paled as she watched his interaction with the now near-traumatized door attendant.
"I-Isn't he the one who f-forced himself on Naruto?" she whispered in horror.

This time, Naruto could not suppress her snort.
"Hinata, honey, were you even watching?" she asked for what must have been the hundredth time in the past two weeks.

Even Tenten gave her freind a withering look.
Sweet little Hinata was to pure minded to imagine that Naruto could have even thought about instigating their little display, and so her mind had instantly concluded that the guy was a budding rapist. Hinata gave another squeak of terror and pointed towards two boys standing by one of the boutiques on the other side of the street.

One of them was kicking one of the 27,000¥ plant pots.
Good, they were ugly flowers.

"Never mind them, he's coming in here!" Ten-Ten's voice rose in panic as the door attendant allowed the spiky-haired boy passage.

Moments later, he could be seen heading towards their table. Naruto briefly wondered if his presence around Hinata and Tenten was a bad idea, but she did not have much of a chance to consider it as he was already closing on their table.

Hinata had turned into something resembling dead wood buy the time he stood over their table, his eyes were fixed on her, and Naruto could detect a spec of playful irritation in his otherwise blank expression.

"Could your instructions have been anymore damn vague woman? Do you know how many restaurants in this city are called Girvans?" he asked, not completely managing to hide the victorious smirk on his face.

"What do you want with us?" Tenten demanded.
Unlike Hinata, Tenten was made of sterner stuff despite her earlier reservations. Or she could talk to him at least.

"I asked him to meet me at the game Ten" Naruto informed her friend.

She finished the last drops of Ramune from her bottle before picking up her schoolbag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"What? Why? Wait, where are you going?" the brunette demanded, horror once again sinking into her features.
"Dunno, but I'm not waiting around here" Naruto replied after throwing her share of the bill onto the table.

God, why was a bottle of Ramune so expensive here? It was just water and a bunch of flavorings wasn't it? Yet another reason she hated the upper-class world. It was all money-money-money, and my-car-is-bigger-than-your-car'.

She linked her arm with that of Mr T.D&H, and guided him towards the exit.
"I don't care where you take me, but get me out of this hell hole! I can't stand this place!" she begged in a whisper.

He smirked. The good kind of smirk for once too. Not the snobby kind that Neji had a permanent order of, but the dirty kind. The sexy kind.
"Gladly - Your name's Naruto, right?" he asked as the exited the damnable café and past the ugly plant pot.

"Naruto Uzumaki, the fishcake Whirlpool at your service… err… what is your name? It seemed to slip my mind the last time we met…" she replied, her enthusiasm morphing into sheepishness.

"Sasuke Uchiha" he replied.
"I knew it was Sasu-something!" she grinned.

I was listening to The Westlife version of Uptown Girl at Chrimbo, and this was the end result. I May put up a limey-lemony sequel in the future, since I had a bit more plot development when the bunnies came knocking (depends if I can get over my weird phobia of actually writing a lemon or not).

I might even be able to extend it to a four or five chapter thing if I stick to the same writing style. I have a tendency to drift from fairly general to more involved and my oneshots somehow turn into lengthy things, so I may just leave it as it is.

Consequence or Fate was only supposed to be a three-four shot, but I can't even remember what my plot for that was now (for readers, it's noyt abopandoned, i'm just waiting for an inspiration but to hit me for DGM).

Handy Currency Converter!
*1,200¥ - £8.00 - $4.00
*27,000¥ - £200.00 - $400.00

Hope you liked, and leave a few thought if you have the time.
Nat.
xxx

Note: My name is not Masashi Kishimoto, hence, I dont own Naruto