AN: Just a quick note. Some japanese terms that some people may not be familiar with are used. So here are the definitions really quickly.

Dobe = "Loser" or "Dead-last"

Usuratonkachi = Basically calling someone else "Useless"

Teme = Very rude and disrespectful way to say "You"

That is all! Enjoy the one-shot! (Edit: No longer a one-shot! :P)

An elderly man with a heavily wrinkled face and a goatee was sitting in his office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was relaxing, smoking his lovely pipe and enjoying his time away from the bane of all kage...

Paperwork.

Seriously, no worse enemy than that.

You can burn enemy ninjas with powerful fire jutsu.

Paperwork? Nope.

So it was understandable that the elderly man was a bit happy and content with life at the moment.

He looked out of his window to watch the villagers of the Leaf go about their business, all under the watchful eyes of the Hokage Monument.

He looked up to admire the structure, shaped in the faces of all previous kage...and in his case...former successor.

At least...he would have admired it. Kind of impossible to do that when it has been defaced.

He blew out smoke from his pipe...damn it...there goes his pleasant afternoon.

He knew exactly who was responsible for this.

His name was...

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT YOU BRAT!"

"No way! What's the problem anyways!? Just clean it up and it's as good as new!"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

This was the exchange between a relatively short boy wearing orange clothing and a chūnin chasing after said small boy.

The chūnin was Umino Iruka; a teacher at the Ninja Academy...and part-time catcher of the infamous Uzumaki Naruto.

He was possibly the only ninja in the Leaf that could catch the little ball of energy and trouble.

Today was no exception.

The two weaved through the streets, up top buildings, and even over a woman's garden, much to her horror.

The young boy tried to lose his sensei by running towards an alleyway while pushing himself through a crowd, making his sensei lose sight of him.

He grinned as he saw his sensei run past the alleyway he has hidden himself in, the big idiot had no idea!

"...Did you really expect me to fall for that Naruto?" a certain sensei's voice drawled behind the orange-loving boy.

Naruto froze up.

Ah damn...

Next thing the young boy knew, he was bopped upside the head and was getting dragged across the streets towards the Academy. Listening to his sensei's rants along the way.

Such was life for Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was eventually dragged back to the Academy and was sitting down at one of the desks, trying his best to alternatively ignore and/or listen to his sensei's words.

He genuinely liked Iruka-sensei...but he had a hard time listening to him drone on and on...

Besides, it didn't matter. It was his performance out on the field that mattered! So what if he failed a test or two? He'd still be Hokage dattebayo!

"Naruto! Are you listening to me!?"

The young blond blinked, he looked down to see that Iruka-sensei was glaring up at him with an annoyed scowl.

What? He didn't do anything yet!

"...I am doing a surprise test on hand seals. I called you down so that I could test your knowledge." Iruka said with a sigh.

The whiskered boy nodded and then jumped up top his desk, ignoring the indignant cries of his classmates and hopped over towards the front of the classroom.

He gave his sensei a cheeky grin at his performance.

Iruka didn't look amused.

"Alright...now that Naruto is here, we can continue with the demonstration." Iruka continued, as if he hadn't just seen the orange-clad boy jump over his classmates.

He glanced at his clipboard in order to ascertain who would be doing the exercise along with the dead-last of the class...

He groaned. He thought what he was about to do was a smart idea in spurring Naruto to do better...but at the moment he was just questioning his sanity.

"...Naruto's partner in this exercise is Uchiha Sasuko. Please come up to the front." Iruka droned, dreading the reaction of the hyperactive blond.

Said blond grinned.

"I see what you're doing Iruka-sensei...you sly dog you." Naruto said with a sly grin on his face, as if sharing a secret.

The teacher gave him a deadpanned expression, Naruto definitely had no idea why he did this.

"You're giving me the chance to prove myself against that damned Sasuko, right? I knew you had faith in me. No need to be shy! I'm going to be Hokage after all." Naruto claimed while giving his teacher an understanding look.

No. He totally didn't understand at all.

As Naruto was apparently patronizing his teacher, Sasuko left her seat and walked towards the front of the class.

She was a pretty girl at age twelve, unusually long black hair pooled over towards the middle of her back and sharp features gave people the impression that she was a bit of an ice queen.

They couldn't be more right.

But it was also very cool to the young children at the Academy.

A pretty girl that was the best in class...and acted like she didn't have the time of day to talk to any of them?

That was cool right?

Regardless, the young girl was walking towards the front of the room with an indifferent expression.

Once she arrived, she stood at the ready. Ignoring the irritating blond next to her.

Iruka decided that he should start the lesson.

"Ok you two. I'm going to call out specific hand seals, once I do...you will show me what they are. Understood?"

Both students nodded, one with cool indifference and the other with heated determination.

The teacher turned to his best student first.

"Show me the hand seal for Boar, Sasuko." Iruka asked.

She quickly and efficiently raised both fists to her front and horizontal to her body. Then she twisted both hands upside-down and clasped the fingers against one another.

A perfect Boar hand seal.

The class clapped politely, expecting this from the best in class.

Iruka then turned to Naruto, praying that he would manage to get the seal correct.

"Naruto...show me the seal for Bird."

The young boy crunched his face up, seemingly looking through his memory banks to find what the seal looked like.

Then his eyes lit up in recognition.

The teacher's eyes widened as well, did he remember...?

Naruto raised one hand up to his front...

Then he raised the middle finger.

"Bird!" the blond troublemaker chirped.

The room exploded into laughter as Iruka felt a vein burst in his head.

"...Naaaarrrruuuuutttttooooo...!"

Naruto was pouting. He had a large lump on the crown of his head, courtesy of an irate sensei.

How cruel! This was child abuse!

Mercifully for the whiskered boy, the bell rang and he was allowed to escape the horrible building of boredom.

"Naruto! I need to speak to you after class!" Iruka called out. This brought up the snickering of his classmates, assuming that the class clown was in trouble again.

Damn it, they were probably right.

The rest of the students filed out of the classroom in droves, much to the young boy's annoyance.

There was one person who stayed behind, at least for a little while.

It was his self-proclaimed rival; Uchiha Sasuko.

She was staring at him, seemingly curious about something...like one would regard a strange animal at the zoo.

"...What do you want?" Naruto asked grumpily, annoyed at her stare.

The young girl continued to regard him with deep black eyes, unresponsive to his question.

Then she smirked, but the smirk wasn't of the friendly variety...no, if anything it was mocking.

He didn't like that smirk.

"Usuratonkachi."

He was gonna punch her.

He got off from his seat to do just that, but before he could follow through...

"Naruto! Get over here!" Iruka called out, trying to stop the fight from breaking out before it began.

Sasuko continued to give the blond a cold smirk as he stormed towards his sensei...damn it he wanted to punch her! She'd get hers eventually!

Once he arrived to the front of the classroom, his sensei spoke again.

"...Naruto. Why do you fight so much with Sasuko?" Iruka asked with a sigh.

Seriously, the two were like oil and water. It was usually Naruto who tried to instigate the fights, but Sasuko wouldn't exactly try to defuse the situation...

"That's because she always looks down on everyone! She thinks she's sooo much better than anyone else! I hate that! Heck, I bet she kicks puppies around in her spare time!" Naruto complained, crossing his arms in frustration.

Then he stopped, considering the idea.

He turned around to leave the classroom. "Hold on Iruka-sensei, I wanna test that idea out. I'm gonna find Kiba."

Iruka grabbed Naruto by the collar and gave him a deadpanned look, annoyed at how the little joker would switch topics so easily and try to escape, hyperactive in every way...

Then he sighed dramatically, it wasn't like Naruto was wrong about Sasuko...she did have an arrogance streak. But it wasn't like he could do anything about that...

But what he could do...

The teacher's eyes lit up.

He could try to stop their fights!

He glanced at the orange-clad boy for a moment, there was a very easy way to get them to stop fighting...at least for a limited amount of time. Besides, he was gonna task Naruto with an extra credit assignment anyways.

This would take down two birds with one stone.

"Hey Naruto...you do know that by this rate...you may not be able to take the graduation test right?" Iruka asked with a frown.

That got the blond's attention.

"Huh!? Why not!?" Naruto asked, horrified at the thought that he may not even be able get a chance of becoming a ninja!

The chūnin gave whiskered boy a look. "Your grades are abysmal. There is a grade requirement that has to be met before you could even take the graduation exam...you've taken it before haven't you? How do you not know about this...?"

The young boy waved the question away, focusing on the more important issue.

"But Iruka-sensei! I have to graduate! Is there something I could do to help my grades?" Naruto begged, hoping that he could do something to at least get to the graduation exam!

Iruka grinned, Operation: One Less Headache was a go!

The streets of Konoha was bustling with people, as usual. Consistently filled with people looking to shop, relax with friends, or on some kind of business.

Uchiha Sasuko cared for none of that.

She was ignoring the presence of everyone and everything around her, passing through so that she could get back to her home and train.

Business as usual for her.

She was a bit later than usual, she had to take care of a little something before she left the Academy...

The prankster of the Academy was annoying as usual, constantly all talk and no bite. No appreciable shinobi skills to speak of...

Yet he kept trying to defeat her in anything that she was involved with.

It was ridiculous and humiliating that he would consider himself her rival. So much so that she actively tried to discourage it, push him away so that she could concentrate on her true goal...

She supposed that instead of actively reacting to his boasts, she should do her best to ignore them entirely...? She did that before...why did she stop doing so she wondered?

Nevertheless, that was her active policy from now on.

Internal thoughts prioritized, she continued her trek towards her clan's original home...

"Heeeeey! Sasuko! Wait up!"

...Ignore it. She just made up her mind hadn't she? This would be the first test...maybe he would go away.

"Don't you fucking ignore me damn it!"

The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched as her irritation grew. What did she possibly do to deserve this?

She also remembered why she stopped ignoring him from before. He was practically impossible to ignore entirely, from his annoyingly bright clothes, to his annoyingly persistent personality.

Everything about him was annoying.

"...What do you want, dobe?"

"Don't call me that!" Naruto retorted angrily, he hated that name!

She raised a delicate eyebrow. "It's what you are, isn't it?"

The blond was about to angrily refute her words, before he stopped himself.

He wasn't here to start a fight. As much as he hated to admit it to her...let alone himself.

So he took a deep breathe, trying to rein in his temper as he prepped himself to ask the absolute impossible from his rival...

"...Sasuko. Please help me with an extra credit assignment!" Naruto cried out.

For a moment, the incredulity of the situation managed to break Sasuko's cold expression into that of shock. It was truly just that out of character for the blond.

The Uchiha managed to gather her wits about her after a moment's pause and schooled her expression accordingly.

Then she gave her answer.

"No. Now leave me alone." the young girl said gruffly, before turning away and heading towards home.

"Huh!? You're not even going to hear me out!? But this would be good for you also!" the whiskered boy claimed loudly, trying to convince the recalcitrant girl to reconsider.

She wouldn't budge, she snorted and kept moving forward. Completely disbelieving that there could be anything on the planet that would convince her to help him.

"Iruka-sensei said that while you have the best grades overall...that you are in danger of losing your number one status. Something about your grades in cooperation classes bringing your average down...? Anyways, if you work with me then it will help with that grade." Naruto explained, hoping that his words would be enough to convince her.

It wasn't.

The Uchiha clicked her tongue in annoyance. "...Tch. So what? Grades aren't important to me. I'm not going to help you."

"Oh come on, please? Pretty please? Pretty please with sugar on top?" Naruto begged, before turning serious for a moment. "But ramen is definitely not something that I will beg you with...you don't deserve ramen. You're too much of a bastard for that."

She felt like a vein was about to pop, such was her overwhelming annoyance at the idiot's actions. However, she was successful in ignoring him again, but she was suddenly stopped when she felt something grab her ankle with a fierce grip.

"No way! I can't accept no as an answer! My dream is riding on this! Help me!" the class clown cried out while gripping the young girl's ankle fiercely.

Once more, the Uchiha's indifferent expression was broken due to her incredulity of the blond's actions. She quickly began to try to shake off her hanger-on with all the might she could muster.

"Usuratonkachi! Let go! I'm not helping you! Get that through your thick skull!" Sasuko growled as she began to contemplate whether killing the dobe would be a viable option.

It was tempting at the moment.

"No way!"

"Let go!"

"No!"

"Let go before I stab you with my kunai!"

Naruto clenched his eyes shut as he held on with everything he had, determined to not let go. "Damn it Sasuko! Iruka-sensei said that you would definitely agree to this once you heard that you may not be number one anymore! He even said that you may lose the number one spot to Sakura-chan!"

Sasuko suddenly stopped moving.

"...What?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden shift of the Uchiha's demeanor. What happened?

"Uh...well Sakura-chan is really smart, right? So it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that she could get a better average right? Doesn't she look up to you anyways?" the orange-clad boy rambled on.

Then he felt himself getting lifted off of his prone position on the ground and back to eye level to the black-haired girl.

"...Let's do that assignment of yours." Sasuko said briskly, before motioning for him to move.

Naruto blinked, he wasn't sure what just happened...

But he did know that he managed to recruit his rival into helping! This would be great!

"I take back every nice thing I have ever said about you." Naruto said flatly, giving a dull stare to the girl next to him.

She just shrugged, not really caring. Though to be fair, she also didn't know that he ever thought about her in a positive light.

The more you know.

Ignoring his complaints, she moved forward into the building in order to get started on...'their' project.

She was going throw up for a split-second there.

The two Academy students entered the building with the intent of achieving their desired grades, but one of them clearly didn't want to be there.

"...Can't we just go somewhere else? Libraries are evil dattebayo..."

They were inside the Konoha Library, the perfect place to get to work and find information.

She once more ignored his complaints and trudged forward, intent on completing this assignment as quickly as possible so that she could train once she returned home.

The duo grabbed seats at a table deeper inside, Sasuko finally turned to Naruto.

"Alright. What's your assignment exactly?"

Naruto blinked, oh right...

He twisted the backpack that he brought with him to the front of his body, allowing for easy access. The blond then began to shuffle around in it's contents, looking to find the scroll that held the assignment.

Sasuko gave him a dull stare. He didn't bother to look at what the assignment was...?

The young boy finally found the scroll and pulled it out, ignoring the little bit of paint that managed to get stuck to the piece of parchment. It was an unfortunate casualty to his pranking materials, this backpack was originally meant for his paint.

He quickly read the parchment over and relayed the information to his homework helper. "We have to write about the 'Warring States Period'...sounds boring."

He turned to get Sasuko's opinion, but she was already gone. Looking for books on the era maybe?

The young boy sighed, this would be fun...he could already tell. But he also wanted to get this assignment finished as soon as possible. So he went off to look for history books about the Warring States Era.

After a few minutes of fruitless searching, which really did test his patience in a building that he already didn't like...he found it.

A book specifically about the Warring States Era!

He moved up to grab it and clenched the hard spine of the book's cover...

Then he pulled.

...

He pulled again.

"...What the hell?" Naruto muttered in annoyance, he couldn't take the book! It was as if it was stuck there!

He began to pull with all of his might, which did budge the book, but just as quickly it was pushed back into position by whatever was holding it there.

Then a strange thing happened, the book began to get pulled away from the blond.

Almost as if...

"Usuratonkachi! Is that you on the other side!? Quit pulling the book!" Sasuko growled in annoyance as she tried to grab the book from the opposite side of the bookcase.

So that's why...

Then the boy felt his hackles raise.

"No way! I found it first you bastard! You let go!"

This was the fruits of his labors damn it! No way would he be giving credit to her!

The two youths began having a tug-of-war with the book as the price for their clash. Both contestants heaved with all of their strength, not willing to give the other the prize of claiming that they found the book.

It was as stupid as it sounded.

Their clash was also beginning to push them against the bookcase itself, making the structure slowly rock back and forth...

Then Naruto pulled it a little too hard...

*Crash*

"...Good job, Usuratonkachi. We've been kicked out of the library because of you."

"Teme...it's as much your fault as it is mine!"

The unlikely duo has been kicked out of the library for disturbing the peace and quiet of the building.

...As well as for damaging public property.

"Damn it...what do we do now? How are we supposed to finish the assignment without that book?" Naruto asked no one in particular, he was just voicing his thoughts due to his frustration.

The young girl next to him just smirked. "Why...with this of course."

The young boy gave his 'rival' a confused look, not sure what she could have possibly-

Then his jaw dropped. How did she...?

Right in front of him, Sasuko was carrying the very book that they got kicked out over.

"How!? When!?" Naruto stuttered.

"I snagged it during the confusion and hid it under my shirt. We are training to be shinobi. I'll return it once we're done with it." the black-haired girl claimed as she held the book firmly under her arm.

Well...he hated the library anyways. So maybe this was a better option.

"Alright then! Since the library isn't gonna be an option...let's go to my house so that we can get this assignment started!" Naruto declared, happy at the chance of actually starting the assignment.

Seriously, he expected that they were gonna take a while but this was ridiculous.

"...Hn." the would-be kunoichi responded before she motioned for him to move.

"Alright! Here we are! Welcome to my humble home!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, excited at the prospect that someone would be visiting his home. It was exciting!

He loudly opened the door and took off his sandals before he walked inside, allowing for his partner to enter behind him.

His partner looked around, taking in the sights that was Uzumaki Naruto's home.

"...It's a dump." Sasuko arbitrarily decided.

This comment stopped Naruto cold.

"Come again?" Naruto asked sweetly, a dark aura enveloping the blond shinobi as his shoulders started to twitch in rising anger.

Ignoring the warning signs of the boy's anger, she continued.

"...It's smelly, drafty, small, messy, and has no air flow...it's a dump." the Uchiha decided without remorse.

Sasuko then felt a hand grip her shirt collar, while the owner of the hand gave her an annoyed scowl, before waving his fist threateningly.

"...I will use this ya know?" Naruto said with a tic mark on his head.

The Uchiha did not deign to threaten the blond in return, she only gave him a cool stare with a slightly mocking smirk.

Only after a few seconds passed without comment, did her hand snake towards Naruto's shirt collar and tighten around the neckline. Bringing their faces closer as a result of this action.

"...Will you? Will you really?" Sasuko asked quietly, eyes practically daring the orange-clad boy to do something.

Both would-be shinobi began a stare-down with one another, neither wanting to give an inch to the other.

Before one blinked, if only so that they could actually get started on their stupid project.

"Tch. Whatever, let's just get to work already." the blond muttered, letting go of his rival's collar and ignoring her smug look.

She would get hers...in about ten seconds.

He plopped himself down on a chair in the kitchen, motioning for Sasuko to take a seat for herself.

She raised an eyebrow, surprised that the blond would let go of his loss so easily. So she walked up to the only other chair on the table and moved to sit down on it while keeping a watchful eye on the blond to make sure that he didn't try anything...

*Pfffft*

The Uchiha's eyes were wide as she felt something make a fart sound under her...

"Ha! Wow Sasuko! I never knew you had it in you! You should lay off of the gassy stuff don't you think!?" Naruto howled out in laughter. Trying desperately hard to not fall over from his seat.

Sasuko didn't reply as she immediately left her seat and examined what the hell she sat-

A whoopee cushion.

She sat on a fucking whoopee cushion.

Her eyes saw red.

"...Usuratonkachi!"

"Oh come on Sasuko! It was just a joke! So quit sulking!"

"...I'm not sulking..."

Naruto sighed, he thought that his rival would punch him or maybe even try to get back at him. But soon after she roared at him...she sat down. The embarrassment of the situation seemingly catching up with her.

Now she's sulking in her chair.

He had no idea how to deal with her now...it was weird dealing with a Sasuko that wasn't confrontational.

Seems she wasn't too used to dealing with embarrassment...

"Hmph! To think that you'd end up like this after a setback...I'm almost ashamed to call you my rival!" Naruto complained loudly, hoping that she would take the bait.

She did.

Sasuko glared daggers at the blond. "Rivals!? You aren't even in my league, dobe!"

The whiskered boy then pointed a dramatic finger at her in response. "Then why are you moping!? Random civilians take pranks better than you!"

"...It's precisely because I fell for one of your ridiculous pranks that I'm upset. It's fine for a civilian, but for an Uchiha...it's unacceptable." the black-haired girl retorted with an annoyed scowl.

The table went silent as Naruto seriously pondered about her dilemma.

Then he came up with a solution.

"Get over yourself, bastard."

"...I swear I will kill you, dobe."

Both of the young would-be shinobi were staring at the history book about the Warring States Era. One reading diligently while the other was barely paying attention to the material.

He was trying to though.

Then something caught his eye.

"What the hell is a 'Senju'? Apparently they were your clan's rival, Sasuko!" Naruto exclaimed while looking closely at the material.

Sasuko just nodded, looking somewhat absent-minded at the moment.

Reading about her clan's exploits was bringing back some memories.

Memories of the stories that her mother and father would share with her, about the achievements of their clan.

She should stop. She was getting dangerously close to a topic that she didn't want to remember at this very moment.

Darker emotions began to stir in her heart, wanting to claw itself out as if it was a physical entity that wanted out.

Then she felt someone flick her forehead.

She turned to face the whiskered blond in annoyance.

"...What?"

Naruto pointed at a picture on the history book.

"This guy; Uchiha Madara, was the strongest Uchiha who ever lived right?" Naruto asked, blue eyes questioning her.

Sasuko nodded, aware of the most famous member of the Uchiha clan that has ever lived.

The annoying blond in front of her then grinned, his whiskers stretching to the point that his appearance was very similar to that of a fox.

"Well it looks like this guy; Senju Hashirama, kicked his ass every time they fought! Looks like your clan's strongest guy got his ass kicked a lot huh?" Naruto said with a foxy grin, eyes mocking her.

Sasuko's face contorted in anger.

"Senju Hashirama was the strongest ninja to ever live! The fact that my ancestor was able to fight him nearly on par was incredible!" the Uchiha protested hotly, defending the prestige of the strongest Uchiha.

"Doesn't matter! He still got his ass beat! One day, I will be like the new Hashirama! Beating up the modern-day version of Madara! It seems pretty poetic that we're reading the future eh?" Naruto crowed, he enjoyed riling up his rival.

Much better than her usual cool disposition any day!

Sasuke gritted her teeth, then restarted her argument with her annoying 'rival'. Starting a childish argument with a childish person.

She never realized how easily Uzumaki Naruto removed the ugly feelings from her chest just moments prior.

"Done! Man...that took forever!" the young boy exclaimed, he was stretching his limbs as he was talking. Trying to wake up his sleep limbs since he was sitting at one place for way too long.

He wasn't used to that.

"Hn."

Naruto gave his partner a dull stare. That was all she was gonna say?

They finished their project! She would still be number one in the class and he would still be able to take the graduation exam!

This was cause for celebration!

"Hey! As thanks for helping me out, let's go get some ramen! My treat! How's that sound?"

Sasuko blinked slowly, before turning around to face her annoying partner.

"...Your treat?"

"...Yes. My treat."

"Who are you and where's the dobe?"

Naruto did his best to ignore her 'subtle' insult. He was generous when he wanted to be, damn it.

After a little cajoling and a lot of dragging around, the two eventually made it to Naruto's favorite restaurant on the planet; Ramen Ichiraku, in order to get some food.

Both of the Academy students grabbed seats for themselves and waited to be served, although it was obvious which one of them had the most enthusiasm.

"Hello there Naruto-kun! I've been wondering when you would come by! I thought that we might go bankrupt without our favorite customer!" a young waitress chirped to the whiskered blond.

"Hey there Ayame! Sorry I didn't come by yesterday, I was busy." Naruto replied sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

Pranking was hard work. Lots of preparation time.

"I'd like to have the usual! Also, can you tell the old man not to give me any menma? That stuff sucks!"

"Hey you brat! That happened once! Get over it!" someone hollered from the back of the restaurant.

Ayame grinned as she took down his order and then turned to his companion.

Sasuko was staring blankly at the menu, unsure of what to pick. She hasn't been in a restaurant in a very long time.

Rolling his eyes, he turned to Ayame. "Just give her the same as I'm getting...maybe a smaller portion though.

The waitress nodded and then scribbled down the order, she then left to the back of the restaurant to give her father the orders.

"Don't worry Sasuko. You're about to be introduced to the food that could bring world peace. You will one day become converted to the 'truth' and 'justice' of ramen dattebayo!" Naruto declared exuberantly. Confident in his words, no one could resist ramen in his eyes.

Especially the holy land of ramen, that was Ramen Ichiraku!

The black-haired girl merely gave him a straight face.

Then she sighed.

"I'm regretting that I came here with you. I don't even like ramen that much..." Sasuko complained lightly, annoyed at how she allowed herself to get dragged into the restaurant.

"Wh-Whaaaat!? One does not simply reject ramen! Ramen is meant for all! Ramen is a peace-bringer! Ramen is love! Ramen is life!" Naruto cried out, shocked at the blasphemous words coming out of his partner's mouth.

"What are you blabbering about? Ramen is just like any other food. The only food that can claim to be love...is tomatoes." Sasuko retorted without a hint of shame. Assured that her words were true.

Naruto just gave her a deadpanned look.

"...Tomatoes suck."

"...You just crossed the fucking line, dobe. Ramen sucks."

"That's it! You are sooooo gonna get it!"

The fight ended with both students punching each other in the face and getting kicked out of the restaurant for disturbing the other customers.

Naruto was devastated that he couldn't get his daily fix.

When the next day came, Naruto made extra sure to get up early.

He was a man on a mission.

Something that he really...really didn't want to do.

Thank Sasuko for her time and effort.

Dear mother of...he felt dirty just thinking about it. May the ramen gods cleanse his sinful soul.

But it had to be done, they went through a lot of trouble yesterday and his rival didn't have to help him at all. She did it only because Sakura-chan would have been rookie-of-the-year and that wasn't a bid deal, right?

So maybe...somewhere in that empty space she called a heart...she did it because she wasn't all that bad?

Either way, he had to thank her properly. Uzumaki Naruto always paid his dues!

So he made it to the Academy early and waited in front of the school. Nervous at what he was about to do.

He really hoped that no one asked too many questions...

Then, as if someone was answering his prayers, he saw the female Uchiha walking casually up to the Academy building!

He'd give his thanks to the ramen gods later.

He ran up to the intractable girl, building up the courage for what he was about to do.

When Sasuko noticed him running up to her, she stopped in her tracks to stare at the incoming blond.

Then when he reached her, they both stopped and said nothing to one another. Willing the other to say what they had to say.

This led to a ridiculously awkward silence.

Naruto's face was contorting, trying to say the words that wouldn't leave his mouth, no matter how hard he tried.

This made him look constipated, in Sasuko's opinion.

"...What do you want, dobe?" the Uchiha asked with a sigh. The silence was getting ridiculous.

This seemingly managed to give the whiskered boy the courage he needed to say what he had to say.

"I...I...! I wanted to thank you!" Naruto shouted out.

Sasuko blinked.

Then she blinked again.

Then she performed a hand seal to dispel any genjutsu that may have been placed on her.

Nope, there was no genjutsu. This was real.

"...Hah?" the black-haired girl asked with a confused face.

Naruto fumbled for words. "Look. I know that you didn't have to help me and that you were probably annoyed...but you really helped me out back there. So I just wanted to thank you is all! Don't take this the wrong way though! This doesn't change anything between us! We are still rivals, ya hear!?"

Sasuko was silent. Staring at the boy in front of her as if he had grown a second head.

He may as well have.

"...You don't have to thank me." the Uchiha replied quietly.

Naruto looked up at her, confused.

"...You were very annoying, a pain in the ass, an idiot, and many other things...but." Sasuko began, before sending him a small smile.

"...It was kind of fun."

Naruto forgot to breathe for that moment.

When she wasn't scowling...or mocking...or doing the many things that she did...

...She looked kind of cute.

"...But you are still a dobe. Don't forget that."

She just fucking killed it.

His shoulders shook as his anger bubbled to the surface, as the Uchiha looked on in slight confusion. Unsure of why he was reacting the way he was.

"Teme! To think that I actually changed my opinion about you for a split-second there! As I thought...a bastard will always be a bastard!" the orange-loving boy retorted angrily.

That's right! He must never forget how she rejected the ramen! She was a bastard! Through and through!

As a matter of fact...to prevent any such thoughts from invading his head again...he can't look at her as a girl anymore!

From now on...she wouldn't be Sasuko in his eyes...she'd be...

"...From now on...I'm calling you 'Sasuke'." Naruto said bluntly, wanting to prevent any other blasphemous thoughts from entering his head by replacing his mental image of her in his head.

Sasuko's eyebrow twitched, but she didn't respond. She merely responded by raising a fist...

Then raising the middle finger.

That's it.

"...Usuratonkachi."

"...Bastard."

AN: Hey there! RekkingPride here!

This is a one-shot homage to my favorite pairing. I know that it ain't possible, but I would definitely ship it if it was. :3

Anyways, this was also something that I wanted to do to test how far I've come with my writing skills. So please tell me how I've done if you can! :D

That and since I'm in the middle of writing my first-ever harem story...I figured that a little bit of single-pairing was needed to balance it out. No matter how small. :P

Idk if I will ever expand upon this one-shot to a legitimate story or anything, so plz don't expect much.

Welp, I think that's it! Have a nice day everyone! :D

-RekkingPride