Summary: "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another." Prequel to Excavation. SasuNaru.

-The Prequel to the three-shot Excavation. If you haven't read it, please do. Or else, it won't make sense.

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Before today she had never ventured this far into the city before. Usually she preferred to stay on the outskirts of the town near the suburbs, considering she was much more familiar with it. The stores were friendlier and the prices were lower. It didn't mean she necessarily was cheap. She just thought it was more practical to spend less money for the same product or service. It didn't make sense for her to go further to be unhappy. The trip was costly due to high flatulent gas prices, let alone time consuming because of the compacting traffic. Out of habit, she was already annoyed by the taxing venture it was to even reach the spot that her friends had been raving about. Usually, she regarded her boundaries and never toyed with the idea of an asinine adventure but somehow she ignored her senses and did exactly the opposite. At the final stage of her journey, she wandered into the recommended the high scale high hangout that resembled a Starbucks.

When she guardedly sat down alone in a red booth intended for two, her garden green eyes quietly examined the area, inevitably was impressed. It was clean and orderly, looking completely professional for a new joint. She fished out the menu that was tucked behind the ketchup and mustard. After quickly browsing, she flagged down a bustling server and mistakenly ordered a $20 cup of coffee. Feeling, no, knowing that she made a huge mistake leaving her usual place. Already disenchanted and uncomfortable, a hostile group of teenagers huddled across the aisle jeering, calling each other obscence names. She rolled her eyes at their immaturity and clutched her purse, looking out the window, studying the busy rush hour environment. As she stared at the cluster of cars crawling on the asphalt, she instantly regretted not going to her favorite cafe. Undeniably, it wasn't the best place in the world but at least they would have gotten her order right. She sighed and proceeded to thoroughly beat herself up, until she saw "it" pushing open the front door.

It was remarkable, actually spectacular.

Despite her shameful description, it was not an "it." It was a male subject. Biting her lip, she quickly determined that he was a fine male subject.

Although her mind couldn't follow the rhythm of the heart, she steadily straightened her spine and happily flung her hair before her shoulder.

He confidently marched in a baring a reserved but solemn smirk.

She nearly fainted at his twinkling basalt eyes and provocative, but sinewy figure. Cashed out in a burgundy satin button down vest, Pima shirt, matching burgundy skinny jeans, he appeared to look like a miniature celebrity with his irrefutable gush of confidence. Eyes hooking onto him, she couldn't help but visually swoon over his elaborate but casual style of dress. It blended in perfectly with his boyish, god-acquainted features that consisted of spikey black hair with exotic grey eyes, glacier white skin, making him even more attractive.

She felt her forehead bead with a nervous streak of sweat as he stopped at the entrance's threshold. He curiously turned to peer down the aisle, his careless spears of touchable, silky hair effortlessly mimicking the fluidity of the wind on a breezy day. She swallowed hard. Could this finally be the embodiment of perfection she was waiting for all her life?

She looked down and tried to shove the varying thoughts into the back. Yep, she was officially being ridiculous. How do you look at someone and decide that they were perfect for you?

Talk about exaggeration…

Clenching her teeth and nearly regaining her breathing when "it" sat down and asked, "Mind if I sit here?"

Her head shot up, tongue twisted, she could only manage a curt to nod.

…

Although it had only been 10 minutes, give or take, she was already smitten with the gentlemen. It was so wonderful, that even her adamant coffee addiction and cold mistakenly ordered coffee couldn't bankrupt this sterling moment. He was enjoying this. She would even stretch and go as far to say that she was having the time of her life.

Every growing minute, the conversation greatly improved. He bore no resemblance to the assholes across the aisle. He was surprisingly elegant and articulate for someone at the raw age of 22. He was obviously an old soul trapped in a young body that valued the small things in life more than the average Joe. Such a refreshing outlook from the usually dreadfully miserable pessimistic people that often surrounded her. Maybe this was the small beacon of positivity she needed in her life.

The beautiful sight of perfection whipped out standard pen for the delightful part to this meeting: the continuation. Her feelings were reinforced with each methodical pen stroke on the café napkin. In his beautiful cursive handwriting, that appeared so close to professional font, it said, 'Sasuke,' followed by his personal cellphone number.

He teasingly handed over his number, making her promise to call him, 'effective immediately.' She laughingly agreed, finally earning the number with her word. Without ordering a single thing, he prepared himself for departure, putting his pen away.

As he left without a glance back, she immediately thought that maybe he tripped and fell from heaven… That wouldn't be a stretch, would it?

Okay, maybe a little. But hey, not by much.

Almost smudging the note with her nose, she ripped herself from her lackadaisical daze and dashed through the door of the small coffee shop, her long mane of pink hair flowing close behind her.

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After waiting a maximum of two days, Sakura Haruno, the peacemonger, the genius, the high school beauty queen, called Sasuke after their friendly but short-lived conversation at the coffee house. When the utter creation of perfection answered, she enthusiastically bounced around the room like a ping pong ball. Suddenly, she halted her excessive cavorting before she ruined the golden call—and before her ecstatic actions warranted sedation.

Green eyes grinning, she exhaled and eased out her slowest, sexiest, "Hello…"

That single hello was the beginning of many hellos.

After a few dinners, flirty text messages, and lingering goodnight goodbyes, it was a done deal.

The 22 year old college graduate had finally asked her to be his. She inwardly squealed, summersaulted, jolted, screamed, but outwardly, all she said was, "Yes."

As a qualified fisherman of the sea of men, she finally made the catch that was worth all the small fries. She was actually proud of herself this time. So proud that she wanted yell from the top of the world about her new accomplishment.

Even with the accumulating piles of souls her man-eating father had accumulated from the qualified losers their family had the dishonor of meeting since she was 16; she was actually pleasured to take Sasuke to her parent's house. Because Sasuke wasn't like them at all. He was different.

He was priceless, witty, charming, and handsome.

At 25, she had to admit, she carelessly carted various men to her parents. In that time, she had never brought a man to her best friend, Naruto Uzumaki.

It wasn't because she didn't want him to know. She just wasn't willing to embark on such a death sentence that would most likely result in causalities on the frontlines of her home. The mouthy blond was overprotective and unreasonably insulting to everyone, including her. And when it came to when it came to expressing his opinion, he was extremely vocal and terribly frank. If he was thinking it, he was more likely than not, he was going to say it. It was a trademark feature that made him… well, him.

Whenever the thought of introducing her boyfriends to Naruto crossed her mind, her hyperactive, but shamefully accurate imagination produced the image of a heated Naruto gloating as he used his fire spitting mouth to chop them down to size with his fire-spitting mouth. She tried to shove the picture down but the same scenario exploded in her head when she and her lovers became even remotely serious. Knowing the ending result of every relationship, she avoided bringing all the walking disasters to his doorstep.

Tapping her pen on her chin and pushing the mound of bills to the side, she caustically stared at her white cordless, doubting she could plan some civil arrangement between the two men.

Emphasis on civil. Was anything like that even possible?

Sasuke was amazing in every way but even he too had his flaws. His occasional sarcastic remarks did leave her feeling down in the dumps sometimes. Her gut could only conjure the effect his smart mouth could have on her rowdy, blue eyed friend.

Sighing, she decided she would try to get Naruto's blessing regardless.

Picking up her home phone, she flinched while dialing Naruto's phone number, hoping that she wouldn't regret this.

::;

The phone call was more anti-climactic than expected. He was surprisingly cooperative about squeezing in time for the remarkably glamorous Uchiha. With a sigh of relief, she readily prepared for Naruto's arrival, sprucing up the kitchen and reorganizing the living area. In the process, she scrambled to inform Sasuke about the planning. He was a disconcerted but eventually agreed with the idea.

"So, he's been my best friend for a while. He can be a little eccentric at times but don't get offended, he still means well," She speedily communicated to the slouched Uchiha as she arranged the tanned couch cushions on the love seat.

Sasuke nodded. "Mm," he acknowledged, absorbing all the information, pleading she wasn't delusional about his traits.

Mentally shrugging, he remained relaxed in his position on the couch. He observed Sakura throw an embroidered cloth over the studded center table.

Raising an eyebrow, an involuntary thought threatened his quarry of calm. 'Is he that critical that she has to change the furniture?'

Setting his elbow on the couch's back, Sasuke psychologically awoke to the ring of the doorbell.

"He's here!" She hurried to the door in her lively plum summer dress. The sound of her feet slapping the linoleum abruptly stopped as she fiercely snarled to him, "Play nice."

Sasuke innately processed the advice as an order. He disliked how quickly her cheery face turned grave. It was like she transformed into a different person.

She handily returned to the task at hand and his relaxed body immediately erected from the pressure.

At the door, squeals of happiness sparked from both sexes combined along with a loud exchange of kisses on the cheek. A humid wind swept the AC controlled house as the pair merrily conversed in the doorway, disregarding the elapse of time, and possibly the purpose of the meeting. Sasuke glared in irritation at the unplanned snub of existence. He just wanted to meet his best friend person and move on with his life. But leave it to a female to make everything overdramatic.

He didn't have a former description of her "her best friend" but he assumed he wasn't anything special. Most people overestimate the friends, shadowing the nature of reality. For the short time that he's known her, he deduced that Sakura was a person that was a stickler for the truth, influencing the opinion that she was considerably less likely to do this. Still the common fault didn't erase the possibility that she would be blinded by shear love.

Suddenly as deductions flittered around, Sakura stepped aside from the ivory green door, a prideful smile mounting on her face as she revealed her best friend.

Sasuke's unimpressed expression slowly morphed into that of a hyper bush baby.

No, this couldn't be.

What the fu-? How?

Swallowing a heavy ball of shock, Sasuke stare invaded the aesthetically pleasing visual of this Naruto-person. The crimson leather jacket and strongly contrasting black t-shirt dazzled his surprised grey eyes. Feeling time and space intermittently stopped, he took notice of the torn skinny jeans and corresponding red and white Jordan's. In slow motion, an elegant swan-like neck turned, sweet caramel skin and riddling azure eyes pinned him to the couch, riddling the components of nature, questioning the boundaries of life. The unapologetic beauty glinted at him, his unique allure causing his head to boil from the outer shell into the inner soft tissue.

The smile born in his sultry eyes traveled to his chubby cheeks and down to his anemone pink lips as he whispered, "Hi."

Sasuke failed to respond in a timely fashion, an apparent delay taking neurological root to his talking instrument.

Stumped at his body's failure to comply, Sasuke watched the lively lemon-yellow hair sway as he threw his head to Sakura in annoyance and partial astonishment. His mouth dried still failed to reply with an appropriate welcoming manner to the newly met acquaintance. He could tell this was an emergency that if left unintended—

"I don't like him," Naruto folded his arms and pouted like a small toddler. "He's rude."

For the first time in World History, a male Uchiha ashamed. A incessant need punch himself in the face or maybe jump off the Grand Canyon. For the sake of pride, for dignity. All because he was winded by some tidbit blond that he had only met moments before.

"Sasuke…" Sakura muttered, embarrassed, as her green eyes tried to find refuge in something in the room that would make her feel like that this wasn't all going to hell so quickly.

"This is what you wanted me to meet? He just sits there and stares like a dumpy statue." Naruto scowled at Sakura, accusatorily.

Squirming in place, Sakura missed the indications of Sasuke's flaring retort. "It's better than being vertically challenged."

The ice frosting the room was only countered by the accelerant Naruto scattered on the flames. "Well, it's better than being mentally challenged!" Naruto balled fists were thrown by his sides, as his hot white glare probed Sasuke's pensively aggravated leer from across the room.

Feeling her head spin, Sakura nervously shut the door.

"I'd rather be mentally handicapped then a goddamn lawn gnome!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, and walked toward the puny, angry male.

"I'm not a fucking lawn gnome, you shit-faced punkass!" Naruto's cheeks puffed as the controversy between them naughtily unfolded, neither of them trying to prevent it from progressing.

"Could have fooled me, you idiot!" Sasuke felt his temple throb, his brain withering at how gorgeous Sakura's best friend was up close, admiring his beauty down to the last detail.

The accomplished adult that inspired her with ambition was suddenly reduced to an impudent, annoying delinquent.

As one hand rubbed her bang covered forehead, the other rested on her hip, she sporadically felt something inside of her snap like a broken rubberband. "STOP!"

She stepped in-between them like a blade, shoving their shoulders forward harshly. "Now, shake hands."

"Not on his life," Naruto squeaked, haughtily looking up and away.

Sasuke growled as the pink haired woman shoved them together again. "I SAID SHAKE HANDS!"

They reluctantly lifted opposite hands, rolling their eyes and grunting respectively.

As Naruto's decadent finger pads brushed Sasuke's pulse, a resilient intensity matured inside Sasuke's subatomic structure. His brain cooked inside his skull, as irises similar to Topaz persuaded his gape into the stream of dare flowing behind his wall of cynicism. As their hands interlocked, the odd contact weaved something sinister inside them, the solitary gesture causing everything to go south.

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