A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourite and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter. I would also like to apologize for the long update but this chapter eluded me.
(Two weeks later)
Is Sasuke doing alright?
Naruto chewed on her bottom lip as her blue eyes stared out at the door. It had been two weeks since Sasuke informed her about the supposed mission his boss had given to him. Two weeks since she last saw him or heard his voice and it was driving her mad not knowing what those people were making him do. She slumped her shoulders and looked up at the television as the door slid open.
"What got you down in the dumps, Naruto?"
Naruto jerked her head away from the television screen, blue eyes widening at the sight of Mina looming over her with a frown playing on her lips. Those golden eyes searched her as if trying to figure out what made her upset and it made Naruto smile. It was sweet of her classmate to worry about her but Naruto couldn't tell her about Sasuke.
She couldn't tell anyone about having contact with Sasuke, not when they were going to judge her for her relationship with him.
"How can I be down in the dumps?" Naruto let out a huge, high-pitched laugh. "I'm excited for the tournament."
Mina raised an eyebrow. "You look like a girl that has been heartbroken her boyfriend hadn't talked to her in the last few days."
"B-Boyfriend?" Naruto squeaked, cheeks glowing a bright shade of red and the pink-skinned girl bobbed her head before leaning closer to the blonde. With the way those yellow eyes seemed intent on staring at her, the blonde couldn't help but avoid looking at them. It wasn't like she was scared. Sasuke wasn't her boyfriend. He had never been her boyfriend.
He had always been her best friend, her rock and most of all the one constant in her life, but never her boyfriend.
"But best friends don't kiss each other twice or cuddle with each other."
Naruto felt her cheeks burning up as those traitorous words echoed in her mind. Why did her mind keep reminding her of this fact? The first kiss had been Shikamaru's fault. The second kiss happened because she had been so overjoyed at the knowledge that Sasuke was alive and not dead like Haku made him out to be. But what about the cuddles? Naruto gulped as the various memories of her childhood rushed through her mind.
"So who is the lucky guy?" Mina asked and Naruto jerked her head again at the pink-skinned girl. Golden eyes twinkled with so much curiosity that it made the girl squirmed. This only made the pink-skinned girl smile even larger. "Can I guess? Is it Bakugou? Oh! Oh! Todoroki?"
Naruto blinked. "I don't have a boyfriend! And even if I did have a boyfriend, why would you think it was either of them?"
"Well Todoroki apologize to you and he doesn't seem like the type to do that," Mina explained, looking at her like she was an idiot and maybe she was. Naruto didn't really know much about Todoroki but Mina was right to presumed their classmate wasn't that type. "And well Bakugou seems to really pay a lot of attention when it comes to you. Beside, I think he likes you."
But I don't think I like either of them in that way. The words were on the tip of her tongue but something made her pause. Maybe it was the fact Mina would question her about the kind of boys she liked and Naruto wasn't certain how to answer if it came up. She knitted her eyebrows together. Now that she thought about it, she never consider it before.
Bakugou was attractive and the same goes for Todoroki but she didn't feel anything when it came to them.
"Naruto?"
The blonde shook her head. "Well I don't have any feelings towards them. How can I have a crush on someone that I don't really have an emotional connection to? Isn't that weird?"
Mina blinked and stared at her like she had never consider those thoughts before. This only made Naruto frown. Was she strange? Even when she was twelve, Sakura-chan and the other girls liked Sasuke for his looks despite not having any emotional connection to him. She chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe she really was a weird one.
"Naruto, have you ever look at a guy and thought he was hot?" Mina asked slowly.
The blonde shook her head. "Why would I? I was always focus on working or studying and well other things."
Other things being Sasuke of course. Her best friend was always so sad and as his best friend, Naruto did everything that she could to make him smile. I was always trying so hard with him. She curled her lips into a smile as the memories of various nights of prank planning filled her mind alongside the various ways of making her best friend smile. It was all for nothing if you asked her.
In the end, she couldn't help him forget.
"What about Sasuke?" Naruto froze as Mina stared at her with curious yellow eyes. "If I met your best friend before he turned evil then I wouldn't mind tapping that. He is quite a good-looking guy."
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke!"
Her throat dried up as the memory of a six-year-old Sasuke flashed before her eyes. Even as young as she was, Naruto would never deny the fact her best friend had been adorable as a six-year-old or that he grew more and more attractive as years went by. But it had always been wrong of her to think of him in that way. Best-friends should never look at each other in that way.
She didn't have the right to look at him in that way but she had to now. Because using the seductive arts meant she needed to throw away any notion she had and keeping her childish lens would never help her goal.
It wasn't going to bring him back to her side.
"Sasuke is my best friend and best friends should never look at each other in that way."
It was the best lie that she could make in this situation.
"So you liked him when you were kids!" Mina stared at her with such sad eyes while Naruto swirled her head at Mina. I didn't like him when we were growing up! I was too focused on my goals to even like someone! She wanted the words to come out of her mouth but the words were jammed up in her throat, not ready to come out. It was like something was stopping her from saying those words.
Okay more like the memories of their two kisses but it didn't mean she had feelings for him.
"It must have been so sad for you to see him like that," her classmate said softly. "And it is so tragic too! You guys are like one of those tragic shoujo manga where the heroine can't be with the one she loves."
Naruto laughed. "Mina, has anyone told you that you read too many shoujo manga? What makes you think we want to be with each other or any of that bullshit? Life isn't like a story."
Maybe if things had been different then she would have been like the heroine in the shoujo manga, who didn't have to manipulate her romantic interest, and could be honest from the start. But life was cruel. She had to toughen up and learn how to seduce Sasuke. Not only because he was up to something or because she needed to pass information to the heroes.
But because this might be her only way of bringing Sasuke back to her side.
"The Student Representative is from Class 1A: Bakugou Katsuki!"
Sasuke lowered his hood as he took a seat in one of the sports bar. A part of him knew he should be focused on picking out underlings for Shigaraki but then he recalled the date and well things changed. It was not like All For One was going to be so pissed off with him if he took the time to watch the Sports Festival.
It was not like he wanted to support Naruto while she went through this tournament or the outcome of their bet.
"So that is the kid with the highest grade from their entrance exam? He looks like a punk." A guy beside him whispered as the television screen zoomed in on the spikey blond-haired boy walking up to the podium. Sasuke grunted. Idiots. Who cared about appearance? Naruto looked like she couldn't hurt a fly but the girl could throw a wicked punch.
He allowed himself to focus his eyes on Naruto, who stood right in front of the podium. The blond-haired girl had her head tilted to the side, blond eyebrows knitted together as her blue eyes focused on the blond-haired boy. Sasuke tensed up. With the way Naruto was staring at that Bakugou boy, he could only wonder what his best friend thought about him.
He didn't even know how close they were.
"You were fucking lying when the Wrap Bastard asked if the two of you were in a relationship."
Sasuke clenched his hand into a fist and black eyes darkened as he recalled how the boy balanced Naruto. It had been needed at the time. That idiot would wake up the moment that blonde dropped her. Beside he ordered him to do it. It wasn't like he could have gone over there, placed Naruto in the hands of her teacher right in front of everyone, and walked away. He shook his head.
The mere fact Kurogiri figured out his feelings from his expression told him that the situation would have been worse if he had done it right in front of everyone.
"Make no mistake about it!" The television boomed and everyone jumped up from his seats. Sasuke schooled his expression and stared blankly at the boy that he handed Naruto to. "I'm gonna take first place!"
"Laugh all you want but I'm going to become Hokage!"
Sasuke hunched his back and stiffened his shoulders as the people around him broke into whispers. He didn't know anything about that boy Bakugou but at that moment, he sounded like Naruto. Naruto, who always screamed at the top of her lungs that she was going to become Hokage. You don't think I'm an idiot for declaring I'm going to be Hokage, right? Because I'm going to make that dream come true. He sucked in a deep breath.
Why must he remember this?
"I care about you."
He hated her for doing this to him.
"If you are going to become Hokage then I'll be your ANBU Guard."
He could never become her guard, not with what he had done and the things he planned to do. Sasuke curled his hands into a fist and stared at Naruto. Blue eyes glowed with amusement and Sasuke looked up at the ceiling. Why did she look at him like that? Why must she always show those eyes to someone that wasn't him? He felt a growl creeping up his throat and Sasuke shoved it down.
"You don't have the right to be jealous." A voice whispered in his mind. "You lost all rights when you shoved the chidori through her chest. She could have died because of your actions."
He clenched his hands into a fist. Those words were right but he had to interact with her. He had to vocalize his feelings more when it came to her, to make her see only him because his mission required it. But what if she had feelings for someone else? He hunched his shoulders and shook his head at the thought that came to his mind.
Naruto would never make that stupid bet if she was in love with someone else, not even to bring him back.
He shook his head and watched as the camera zoomed onto Bakugou. The boy strolled down the staires, never acknowledging the various people that seemed furious with him. He only stopped when it came to Naruto and Sasuke pressed his lips into a thin line. Years of working with All For One allowed him to learn the art of lip reading.
He had to learn when it came to his missions.
"I'm going to beat you, Whiskers." That was what Sasuke could make out from the way the boy moved his mouth and those words made him snort. That was arrogant of him to say. The kid only just started learning how to be a hero. Naruto had years compared to him and unlike those people, Naruto loved playing dirty.
I beat you!
He curled his lips into a tiny smirk as that memory played out in his mind. He hadn't allowed Naruto to win but Sasuke wouldn't lie if he admitted the girl distracted him by tackling him down the ground. She really played dirty with him. By tackling him, he had to make sure his best-friend never even realized the situation in his pants and could never squirm in her gasp.
Life had been enjoyable at that time.
"That top spot is going to me." That was what Naruto finally replied and Sasuke curled his lips into a smirk. No one in those classes can match up to Naruto. He leaned his body forward and stared up at the screen. No one could beat her but he was curious to see how quickly his friend was going to beat that match.
"You interested in her?" Sasuke swirled his head around and paused at the sight of the man right in front of him. Burnt marks decorated his arms alongside his face. There were several staples around his arms, chest and even under his eyes. No emotion came out of his eyes but there was something about those eyes that reminded him of someone.
He grunted. "None of your business."
"She looks hot."
Sasuke tensed up and felt his temper rising as those turquoise eyes mocked him. No one is allowed to call Naruto like that. He grinded his teeth while the man took a seat right beside him. Even though the bar was filled with various villains, he was not going to allow himself to rise up to those words. Showing he cared about Naruto in that way was going to get him killed.
"You are too fucking old for her." He grunted.
The man smirked. "I'm never going to go after her, not when she is a stupid hero-in-training but I'm still a man and I still know when a girl looks hot."
The black-haired boy darted his eyes to the side and frowned at the way those turquoise eyes glowed with hate. The same kind of hatred that I have when it comes to Itachi. He curled his lips and looked at the television screen. It seemed like not only was he going to see how well Naruto was going to do in the Sports Festival, he was going to find out if this man would be a good follower for Shigaraki.
Today is going to be an interesting day.
If the man fit the criteria, Sasuke would push aside his dislike for the man and bring him to Shigaraki.
"Wow we already have two declarations of war, today." Mina commented, fanning herself as Bakugou walked away from them. Naruto shrugged her shoulders and allowed her eyes to look at the television screen. Was he watching her? Or was he too busy on his mission? No, she should focus on winning the whole thing.
She had to pull out all of the stops when it came to winning this thing.
Everything was on the line for her.
"Bakugou is smarter than Todoroki," Naruto declared as everyone else from her class ganged up on Bakugou. Blue eyes focused on Izuku. Out of everyone in the class, he looked the most concern for Bakugou. "Unlike Izuku, I'm an actual threat to his stop spot."
Mina frowned. "I guess you are right. You were the only one from us that took on an actual villain…even if said villain was your best friend."
Sasuke isn't a villain! She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile as several eyes darted at her. Their eyes glowed with determination and a part of her wondered if word spread about her actions in USJ. She guessed not. If they knew about her friendship with Sasuke then wouldn't they look at her with hatred?
Even though she told them the truth, Naruto knew not everyone was going to see it that way.
"It isn't just that! I have got experience over him," Naruto declared, putting her hands over her head as her blue eyes focused on the screen. I don't understand why you waste your time, Naruto! You are never going to be as strong as Sasuke-kun. Those fangirls never understood her desire to beat him in a fight. "And I have a better reason to win this tournament."
Mina curled her lips into a frown. "What reason?"
"It's a secret." Naruto chirped and the pink-skinned girl knitted her eyebrows, looking so at loss of her sudden shift of behavior. The blonde looked up to the stadium, blue eyes skimming through the various heroes and reporters on the stand. Most of them didn't look recognizable to her but she was certain in a fight that she could beat them.
Her friend sighed. "I still don't think you should underestimate Bakugou. He is in the student representative for a reason, Naruto and well you might be strong but—"
"—I'm not going to lose to him or anyone." Naruto declared loudly. Everyone swirled their heads at her, eyebrows raising to the top of their hairline and she locked her eyes on Bakugou before shifting to Todoroki and Midoriya. Those three had nothing to lose if they didn't win this tournament. They only had to face disappointment.
Her chance of saving Sasuke would just decrease if she lose because how could she call herself his rival if she allowed them to beat her?
"Class A is filled with arrogant assholes." A purple-haired boy declared, glaring at her.
The blonde grunted. "Arrogant? Say that again after I wipe the floor with you."
Mina let out a nervous giggle and grabbed her by the sleeve of her P.E uniform, dragging her to the side while her classmates looked at her with wide eyes. Naruto kept her head up high, blue eyes never wavering and a large cocky smile on her face as her classmates tried to defend themselves from the sudden attack.
"Naruto, we aren't going to make any friends if you say stuff like that!" Mina hissed. "They are going to be attacking us!"
Naruto shrugged. "So what? We were going to be their targets the moment those villains put us in the spotlight, so why pretend to be friendly? They aren't going to give us the same respect either way."
Her pink-skinned friend slapped her forehead and let out a little whimper as several eyes continued to glare at them. Naruto only waved at them before walking right back to her spot. Right now, she needed to show the whole world that she wasn't just all talk. She was going to win this tournament and show everyone that she was the one to look out for.
She was going to show Sasuke that she wasn't being arrogant when she declared to him that she was going to win this tournament without any problem.
Despite what Sasuke would like to believe, Naruto knew full-well of what she was putting herself through when she made that bet. If she even had the slightest doubt she was going to lose, she would have never made such a reckless bet that could potentially put her classmates endangered.
She was Uzumaki Naruto and she would always try her hardest to protect her precious people even if it meant she had to do things in underhand method.
A/N: As you can see that there is not much going on in this chapter but this was the best that I could come up with before the actual Sports Festival start. What do you think of this chapter? How would you describe the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke in this story? And what type of relationship do you see Sasuke and Dabi have?