Origami Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or maybe I do? Maybe, secretly, I'm Masashi Kishimoto and I amuse myself by writing crappy fan fictions, instead of drawing the actual manga. Maybe I'm just a person that hides in the shadows and controls the manga industry in the whole world. Maybe I'm a God and I control everyone and everything (including Naruto)... Yeah, I don't own Naruto.

AN: Well, it did take me a while to update. Hm, to answer some of your reviews – I know some things seem contradictory but it all has some kind of purpose. Oh, yeah, I decided to add some romance to this chapter, just cause. Hope you like it. If not, then feel free to give me some hinters – in my whole life I read three novels with romance involved, so my experience is limited.

Chapter 2

Sighing, Tsunade of the Sanin forced herself to open her eyes. It was at times like these that she wished she could just go back to her carefree life of gambling, traveling and drinking.

The morning sun has just began to look up from the horizon, gazing at the village, drenching it in warmth but to her all it meant was another busy day.

Oh, how she hated busy days. She should ban them, or better yet, remove the word 'busy' from the dictionary all together.

A dreamy smile appeared on her face.

"Tsunade-sama, Shikaku and Shikamaru Nara are here to see you."

'Argh, is it the time already?' A scowl hardened Tsunade's face as she watched Shizune leave. Ever since the brat left, the village was in turmoil: houses had to be rebuilt, food had to be restocked and corpses had to be identified.

In other words, the desertion of one Uzumaki Naruto has been extremely-

"Meh, Troublesome."

She glared at the Nara duo that has just entered her office. 'What is it with people interrupting my daydreaming?'

"So," the bored voice of Shikaku drawled on as he leisurely stuffed his hands into his pockets, "are we here for any particular reason or is it another one of those B-ranked missions?"

Straightening her back, Tsunade tried to seem professional but after a week of not sleeping even the smallest and simplest of things were out of her reach.

She was just too damn tired.

She began by clearing her throat and the words just left her mouth, almost automatically.

"I called for you here because we're going to create a full portfolio of A-ranked missing-nin, Uzumaki Naruto. This will include a full report on his abilities, his psychological and physical folio, his heritage and the crimes he has committed against Konohagakure no Sato."

"Are we," the younger Nara pointed at himself and his father, "supposed to do all that?" 'All that' would be beyond troublesome.

"No. I will be helping you and I'm pretty sure Jiraya will help some as well. Besides, I have a whole lot of papers just waiting to be read."

Shikamaru groaned and Tsunade grinned.

"Oh, and just so you know, everything that is being said, written and done during this meeting is S-classified. Revealing any kind of information is going to be treated as treason."

'So basically, whatever will be said in this room is important enough to get people killed...' With that thought Shikamaru decided that enough was enough.

"Troublesome doesn't even begin to describe this."

Tsunade's grin widened.

Busy days were much more enjoyable in company of lazy people.

He told himself it was only natural to feel uneasy.

Cautiously, Haiko surveyed the crime scene. He was a retired chunin of fifty and some years and he stumbled upon a job of a local policeman by an accident.

So here he was, standing in an old and dusty barber's shop, looking at the stinking corpse of an old woman, feeling uneasy.

A shiver crawled up his spine. It was his first case on murder.

The village of Kasai was tiny and so crime was a relatively rare occurrence. Minor thefts were quite common but otherwise Haiko had a peaceful albeit boring job.

So here he was staring at the stinking corpse of an old woman, the iron-like smell of blood making him dizzy. The rotten flesh made him sick but he held it in. He needed to keep his cool.

Alright, he told himself, it's clearly a murder...

Slowly, he walked up to the already decaying body. There were two average size stab-wounds: one that punctured the left lung and the other that grazed the spine.

Seemed like no real thought was given to the strikes, the woman probably died of blood loss.

So... Unprofessional job. That was something.

He walked up to the counter and after looking for God knows how long he decided that the cash was gone.

So it was a theft.

Or was it?

Wouldn't it be easier to just brake the window and take the money during nighttime?

Why would someone go through the trouble of killing if knocking out would work out just fine?

No. He was missing something. Something important.

Again, he looked at the dusty room, noting that everything was clean, sterile.

Everything except a chair to the far left.

A shiver crawled up his spine, as he stared at the blond hair that were scattered all around an untidy chair.

So, someone got a haircut and then...

Another shiver, this one more intense, laced with fear and anger.

He knew of only one kind of people that would do something like that.

Only shinobi would kill a human being so ruthlessly.

Taking a kunai from within his coat he gently slipped it into the wound and then into the second one.

It was a perfect match.

Kunais were only accessible to ninja, that was a fact. Common thugs used simple knives and besides, who would be stupid enough to steal from ninja?

No, it was a job of a ninja, stab wounds were proof enough. Without much thought, he took a bunch of blond hair and put them in a plastic container.

Half an hour later he sent it out to the village hidden in leaves.

Gaara watched with a smile as Uzumaki greeted Kankarou.

"What's up doll-face?"

"Fox-boy! It's been ages, man!"

With laughter and smiles they shook hands. The duo always did get along, Naruto being the smart-ass that he was and Kankarou being an asshole, they were like a hand and a glove.

"Say, you wouldn't, by any chance, have the newest Icha-Icha, hmmm?"

"Y'know, We haven't seen each other in, like, half a year and the second thing you say to me is about some perverted book."

"Well, I'm sorry your highness, I didn't know I would hurt your feelings so! Please do forgive me, oh...."

Tuning the pair out, the young Kazekage wondered where his only sister was.

He rarely hid the fact that he preferred Temari over his brother, and although he got along with Kankarou just fine, it was Temari that he, somehow, looked up to.

It could only be interesting to see how she would interact with Uzumaki.

On one hand, Uzumaki, the cunning fox that he was, could use visual and verbal means, or as people called it, flirt with Temari in order to win her favour.

Of course, reasoned Gaara, in that case Uzumaki would have an unfortunate accident involving not-at-all-special sand.

On the other hand, Uzumaki could act like the child that he was, in which case Temari would undoubtedly smash him with her fan.

Although personally, Gaara preferred the first option, just because he could annihilate the blonde's existence, the second option would certainly prove amusing.

Hmm... what to chose, what to chose? Pondered Kazekage.

His silent pondering was broken when Uzumaki addressed him with a question.

"So, where am I going to sleep?"

Gaara did not like it when people interrupted his thinking and a particularly beautiful image of bloody Uzumaki crushed by his sand crossed his mind.

Now, now Gaara, he thought to himself it is not the time to think about the pleasures of life.

Absentmindedly, he answered.

"On a couch."

A baffled silence swapped through the Kazekage's household, and he could almost hear the gears turning in that empty shell of a head that Uzumaki possessed. No doubt, an outraged shout would-

"On a couch? What do you mean on a couch?!"

Ah, so predictable. Surely, the mental capacity of one Uzumaki Naruto was equal to an animal of some sorts. Ape, maybe?

"On a couch. Is the concept of sleeping on a couch too much to comprehend for your little brain?"

"But-but! Your a Kazekage! You have to have some kind of – I don't know – spare bedroom or something!"

Apes were too smart. A dog maybe.

"No."

"No?"

Why did Uzumaki repeat everything he said? Hmm... Dogs, too, were too smart. Something smaller. Insects? Yes, an insects would do just fine.

"No."

"Aw, man. This sucks!" At the wild exclamation and the depressed face, the young Kazekage knew it was the time to attack.

"Uzumaki," he started calmly and when the blue eyed gaze turned to stare at him he continued, "Your mental capacity is equal to that of an insect."

Uzumaki stared and so did Kankarou.

Gaara smirked as he heard his inner self.

That will show him! SHANNARO!

Truly, the mind of Sabaku no Gaara was as dangerous as the demon held within him.

She didn't believe in love at first sight.

No.

Besides, it was only a romantic attraction, nothing to worry about.

And yet, as hard as she tried to forget those intense blue eyes, those electrifying orbs, she never succeeded.

Not like her brothers were helpful.

The last time she tried to date someone, Gaara threatened to kill the poor guy if he as much as looked at her the wrong way.

Suffice to say, she would never forget that evening – it was that bad.

The blue eyes of Uzumaki Naruto haunted her and she could do nothing about it.

That truly terrified her.

She never actually talked to him and as far as she knew, he didn't even know her name and yet, here she was, standing in the bathroom, wondering if he would like the way she looked.

It was ridiculous.

Funny.

Alarming.

More and more often these days, she found herself wondering if Naruto would like her, if he would find her attractive, if he would caress her gently and lovingly, placing little kisses all over her exposed body, or if he would become an animal, taking her roughly on a kitchen table.

She blushed.

But she wasn't in love with him.

She was only attracted to him, it was all chemistry.

Deep down, she was scared – absolutely petrified – that she fell for him.

Would he turn out to be a jerk?

Would he brake her heart?

Would he love her?

She was becoming insecure.

Oftentimes she would compare herself to other girls as she walked through the busy streets of Sunagakure.

Would he like them better?

She knew she was quite plain looking, she never really bothered with make up and her face was a proof of Suna's harsh weather.

So she pushed Naruto to the furthest corners of her mind.

She didn't love him.

Leaving the bathroom she wrapped herself in a towel and ventured downstairs, where her brothers were.

Then she looked into the ocean-blue eyes.

Unthinkable.

Simply outrageous.

He was a fucking Kazekage for God's sake.

His house was supposed to be big, it was supposed to be a mansion, with servants and all that.

But noooo, Gaara had to be a prick and live in a three-bedroom house. Couldn't he just abuse his power a little, and buy himself – and his siblings – a decent house, with one spare bedroom?

Apparently, he couldn't.

Fucking bastard.

Naruto knew that it wasn't entirely Kazekage's fault, but still, he needed to be angry at someone and who'd do better then a guy with ultimate sand defense?

No one.

"What the fuck? Gaara, I distinctly remember you saying I can crash at your place."

"You can." Came the smug reply.

Oh, sometimes he just wanted to kill the bastard, Kazekage or not.

"But how am I supposed to sleep?"

That oh-so-annoying smirk on Gaara's face just made him more rilled up.

"Why, on the couch, of course. I think it's a perfectly acceptable place to sleep. Don't you?"

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch while I'll sleep in your bed."

Ha, that should show him.

"No, but I'm a Kazekage. Imagine what would happen if someone came in and saw me, the strongest ninja in the village, sleeping on the couch."

"Family problems?"

"Good try, but my bed is just that. My."

Turning around, blue eyes all sparkling with hope, Naruto turned to Kankarou.

"No, sorry mate, but your not getting my bed. Not happening. Nada. Just no."

"Oh, come on! That's just cruel!"

"That's the world for you. Sorry mate."

Kankarou, what a traitor you have become!

There was no hope for the damned, or so it seemed.

After weeks of sleeping on a rough ground of Fire country, his curse continued.

He was to sleep on the couch.

That's when the soft footsteps broke the uncomfortable, and – in Naruto's case – depressed, silence.

Looking up, the blue orbs of Uzumaki landed on the still wet, towel clad form of Sabaku no Temari.

Damn.

Who would've thought Gaara's sister was that hot?

Wow.

Ooh, was that a towel wrapped around her?

Did she just came out of the shower?

Come on, Naruto, come one, pull yourself together, stop acting like Jiraya.

As his eyes traveled north, he noted that the towel seemed to be pretty loose.

Maybe it would fall?

Finally, his eyes met hers.

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

Nope, that did not sound right.

Eyes – windows to the soul.

That, she was willing to believe.

As a shinobi, she was trained to interpret non verbal interactions between humans and eye contact was a major part of that training.

To the trained person, eyes could tell more then words, and she was definitely very well trained.

So, when those beautiful, beautiful eyes finally returned her gaze she got dizzy.

They were so intense.

Heat blazed from within her cheeks, as Naruto held her stare.

Ah, she felt as if she was naked.

Naruto's eyes clouded with lust, and she realized that a wet towel was all that separated her from nudeness.

At least he liked what he saw.

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

For some strange reason, his voice was deep and hopeful.

The blush doubled. She just couldn't believe how manly his voice was.

What was he asking anyway?

Something about sleeping in her bed?

Sleeping in her bed?!

She could feel the righteous fury flowing though her veins.

That bastard!

That little perverted shit!

How dare he ask her that!

Did he think he could get away with, just because she felt attracted to him?

Oh, how mistaken he was.

He would not get away with this, she would make sure of that.

She would make him pay.

It was amusing.

Watching Temari beat the shit out of Uzumaki was certainly satisfying, maybe even as satisfying as abusing Uzumaki with his sand.

No.

It was a close second.

He supposed he should inform Temari of the fact that the question 'Can I sleep in your bed?' was not as perverted as it seemed.

He was too busy looking smug.

Kankarou was too busy laughing.

Oh, well.

Such is life.