Author's Notes:

In one of the character data books, it states that Tenten enjoys fortune telling. Thus, this fic was born. I've exaggerated her little hobby for the sake of humor, of course.

I decided to make Naruto a more predominant character since he's been such a perfect sweetie in the last chapters of the manga. I seriously just want to smoosh his sweet face. However, Sasuke and Sakura will be the main characters as well. Of course, SasuSaku is major part of this story ;)

Before anyone comments on this, I have based Sasuke's personality more on his first season self. Since the Sasuke of the recent chapters of the manga wouldn't really be chillin' around Konoha. ((There's still hope he will someday!))

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Please enjoy the fiction!

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Once upon a time, there was an idiot.

At this very moment in time, Naruto Uzumaki was 19 years, 7 months, 23 days, 14 hours, and 6 minutes old. He was a happy young man, and rightfully so for many reasons.

The first reason was that the sun was shining through his bright blonde hair, warming his shoulders and backside. The birds were chirping above him in the tree tops, while children ran about his village in play. The day was simply gorgeous.

The second reason was that he had recently been promoted to the rank of Jounin. That much closer to his lifetime goal of Hokage, the young nin felt victory.

But the final, and most important reason Naruto Uzumaki was joyful was that all the people he loved were about to be united over the food he loved. Yes, his best friend, his gal pal, his strange friend, and his former sensei were gathering around a table at Ichiraku's. This meal was a casual, friendly lunch. His reluctant best friend had even agreed to arrive at the meal, despite returning from a strenuous mission only a few hours ago.

Naruto's life was simple, fulfilling, and pleasant.

Making his way past a local tea house, he saw Team Guy gathered to share a pot of tea. The three members sat outside in the grass, slowly sipping away at the soothing drink. By the looks of their gear, they were headed out on a mission soon. Youthfulness, however, demanded that all members of the team be relaxed, refreshed, and empowered before embarking on a quest.

The three sat in a circle, Lee and Neji's eyes fixed upon their female teammate. Her eyes wrinkled in amusement, Naruto watched as Tenten laid out four cards before Lee.

"Ready for your fortune, Lee?" Tenten asked playfully.

"Yes, Tenten-chan. I am prepared to accept my fate!"

Naruto paused at the scene, not quite sure what to make of it. Tenten flipped the cards over. Chattering quickly, she told Lee about this upcoming week. Lee reacted dramatically to his fate, of course. Naruto, however, was unable to make out of the reaction was based on good or bad feelings. Noticing the blonde peering at them intently, Tenten waved over Naruto.

"Naruto-kun! How are you doing this morning?"

"Uhhhh…. What are you doing?" Naruto asked, somewhat bluntly. He had always believed Team Guy to be the strangest team on earth and the tarot cards on the ground seemed to confirm his theory.

"Tenten-chan likes to read our fortunes every week! She's impressively accurate," Lee began, regarding Naruto with a look of strong belief. Neji looked away from the scene, subtlety indicating that he bought into all Tenten's readings, but was too proud to agree aloud. Lee continued his preaching. "Last week she predicted Kakashi's latest injury!

"Oh yeah?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head. Weirdos.

"If you'd like, I can give you your weekly fortune," Tenten commented to Naruto with a wink. "Could be fun…"

"Yeah, sure. I got an escort mission coming up anyway. The guy is supposed to be a really huge pain…I'd like to know how that goes," Naruto said with a shrug. Sitting down, he watched Tenten lay out four cards.

Three cards were aligned into a horizontal line. Below the center card, lay a single card. Tenten explained to him that from left to right corresponded with past, present, and future. The final card below the other three was the outcome card. The past, present, and future cards were said to combine to create the inevitable, which allowed the reader to understand one's future. Naruto stared at the process, slightly entertained and slightly excited. He wondered if such nonsense actually worked.

The card furthest to the left was flipped over first.

"Your past card is the Knight of Wands," Tenten explained. "The knight of wands has dual representation. This card characterizes a person, place or thing."

"Gee, that's pretty vague. No wonder they always think she's right," Naruto thought to himself.

"On one hand, this card is full of vitality. He's daring and willing to invest himself completely. He's charming, passionate, and sexy. On the other hand, the knight is reckless and constantly in trouble. This card has confidence, but is also a bit cocky."

"Your past card is about you then, Naruto!" Lee exclaimed, anxiously leaning forward. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He had been using the expression more frequently since Sasuke's return. The pair would spend hours together on end, resulting in Sasuke's mannerisms occasionally being picked up by Naruto. Of course, none of Naruto's expressions had rubbed off on Sasuke. No amount of time spent together would ever accomplish that.

Tenten continued with the fortune reading.

"Your card for the present is the X of Cups," She showed a picture of several golden cups to Naruto. He leaned forward in mild interest. "This card means there will be a search for fulfillment marked with success. A secure state has been reached in your life, currently. You are filled with content."

Naruto nodded his head excitedly, agreeing with the card completely. Why, this very morning he had been so happy he whistled on his way down the street. Her words struck him as rather remarkably accurate for his current mood.

"Go on," He urged Tenten. Suddenly, he was buying into the reading completely.

At that moment, Neji's head tilted. He was aware of a special sound in the distance. A sound that could only be Guy-sensei arriving for their mission. A wild laugh echoed across the buildings.

"Could you stall him, please?" Tenten asked Neji and Lee with a friendly smile. She was more than familiar with the sound of her sensei's bizarre, obnoxious chuckle. "I want to finish Naruto-kun's fortune before we go."

"Yeah! Yeah! Let her finish it!" Naruto advocated with a grin.

Neji nodded to his female teammate as he stood. Lee jumped up dramatically, giving Tenten a silent salute. Both members took off in order to perform some kind of distraction technique. Left alone with Naruto, Tenten leaned forward to flip over the third card.

"Ahh! The Future card is The Fool!" She murmured with excitement.

"Tenten! It's time to leave!" Guy-sensei called. Obviously, whatever method Lee and Neji had attempted did not work.

"Just a second!" She cried over her shoulder. Rapidly, she turned back to Naruto and blabbed the meaning of The Fool card. "The Fool means you are about to learn from experience. You will embark on a journey of self-awareness!"

Naruto nodded anxiously, feeling pressured to know the outcome of his journey. Unfortunately, Guy-sensei appeared behind the twin bun girl. He clasped his hand roughly onto her shoulder.

"Tenten! Playing cards at a time of a mission? Oh how you have fallen!"

"-But!"

"Now, now. I demand you leave with us at once! We cannot delay our fate! We cannot delay our destiny!"

"-But sir, I was!"

"Youth cannot wait for silly games, Tenten! Youth must act! Youth must do!"

Roughly, Guy pulled Tenten by the arm dragging her away from Naruto, scolding her the entire way.

"HEY! Wait a minute! I want to know my outcome!" Naruto cried, trying to grab their attention. However, he was completely unsuccessful. The team was long gone. Sighing with frustration, Naruto pulled at his hair.

"Awww man!" He whined to no one in particular.

Disappointedly, he turned over his outcome card. Maybe the meaning would be blatantly obvious, and he wouldn't need Tenten. Tragically, it was.

His eyes gawked in wide confusion and shock. The card proudly displayed a single word, indicating the outcome for his week.

Death.

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Team 7, minus their blonde member and a former root member, had gathered into a booth in the ramen stand. Sasuke sat beside Sakura, rubbing his eyes occasionally in exhaustion. Kakashi sat across from the pair, smiling as Sakura prodded the details of Sasuke's mission from him. From what they could gather from the quiet man, he had been somewhat traumatized.

"I don't understand… It was a simple information gathering mission, wasn't it? Weren't you just filling in for Shikamaru?" Sakura questioned, nudging Sasuke into explanation. He let out a long sigh.

"I was unable to sleep during the mission. There were other factors that were exhausting."

"Like?"

"Ino."

Kakashi let out a low chuckle while eyeing his wrist that Sakura had recently wrapped for him. His mind, obviously, had traveled into more pornographic territory.

"What do you mean exhausting?" Sakura asked with a raised brow.

"She was constantly molesting me."

"Molesting you? Like how?"

"She broke an ankle and refused walk. Of course, I had to carry her," Sasuke explained with a hint of a whine in his baritone voice.

"You know she's trained in healing, right?" Sakura interrupted. Sasuke's eyes darkened in response.

"No…" Sasuke grumbled while rubbing his temples.

"What else happened?"

"She kept using that stupid shadow technique and making me hold her body."

Both Sakura and Kakashi chuckled in a more pronounced manner at this. Sasuke frowned in response. Thankfully, Sakura and Kakashi would be distracted by Sai's dramatic entrance into the stand. Settling beside Kakashi, the awkward nin stared straight ahead at Sasuke and Sakura. His wide eyes were reminiscent of a fish. Bluntly, Sai directed the conversation to the first thing on his mind.

"You look uglier than usual," he directed boldly to Sakura. "I am going to assume you have been busy working."

"I have," Sakura answered shortly, practically seething. Sasuke observed the surroundings, making sure no one would be damaged in the inevitable cross fire between Sai and Sakura. Once, he had considered asking Sai to stop bugging her so much, but decided that effort would have been in vain. Nevertheless, he grew tired of Sai provoking Sakura's temper and removing all of her patience. Her fiery attitude was amusing to Sasuke initially, but with time he decided that he liked her best when she was pacified.

Naruto swept into the Ramen shop, interrupting Sai's future punishment for his rudeness. Sasuke felt a bit thankful for the change of pace and Naruto's arrival. Before Sai or Naruto had arrived, Sasuke had placed their orders in hopes to speed up this lunch. He seriously needed some sleep.

Sakura, being one of the most observant of the group, immediately saw a strain on Naruto. He seemed to be struggling with some inner turmoil. His eyebrows were furrowed together while his lips were set to a line. This was extremely unusual, since there were few things that could distract Naruto from the joys of ramen. She watched as Naruto pulled a chair to the end of the booth and settled into his seat.

"Have any of you ever have your fortune read?" Naruto asked, directing the topic to the trouble on his mind. Sakura thought with some dismay that teaching the men of her team to transition into conversation would be useless. They always insisted on speaking their mind immediately, regardless of what other people had been talking about. That is, except for Sasuke. Getting Sasuke involved in conversation was like pulling teeth. Regardless of the poor manners of her teammates, Sakura decided to answer Naruto.

"Oh, a few times I guess. Just by Tenten though," she answered with a shrug. "Why?"

"She just read mine," Naruto answered while frowning. "But… her prediction was weird."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know… my outcome card said death."

There was a short pause in conversation while Sakura considered if she had ever been given the death card. The readings had happened pretty sparingly in her life. Usually she only was informed that little change was coming her way. However, she could not recall ever seeing a Death card in the stack.

"I've never seen anything like that before," She answered honestly. "But I really doubt the card means literal death."

"Yeah, I wasn't really worried about that," Naruto lied. "I figured it meant something cool though… it's gotta be pretty rare, right? I just wanted to know since I've gotten it and all."

"I'm sure it does mean physical death," Sai butted in. "You work in a high risk profession, and you are clumsy."

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, flicking his finger into the air. "I am not a klutz!"

"But you are an idiot," Sasuke grumbled moodily. Distracted, Naruto turned his gaze to his avenger friend.

"You know, when I look at you Sasuke, I can practically see the thunderclouds forming above your head," Naruto snapped with a smirk. Sasuke returned the banter, unable to resist a fight with Naruto. Especially when he was annoyed enough to want to beat the crap out of something.

"At least I'm not a pussy about a deck of cards."

"Hey! I am not bein' a pussy! I was just curious!"

"Whatever."

"Don't you whatever me, teme!"

"Idiot."

Sensing a possible fight about to break out, Kakashi stretched and distracted the pair of males. If it wasn't Sakura and Sai being volatile, it was Naruto and Sasuke.

"So Naruto," Kakashi interrupted. "Want to hear about how I hurt my wrist? It's a cute story."

Sakura smiled as she watched her sensei expertly calm the fires between Naruto and Sasuke. Kakashi really was an expert in the field in his own way, and sometimes she felt as if she were his apprentice. Team 7 continued their dinner. All the while, Naruto pondered the card in his pocket. Seemingly, it was weighing him down.

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Despite saying that he knew he wasn't going to die, Naruto felt a twisting feeling churn through his stomach. He couldn't describe why, but he felt a serious apprehension.

During lunch, he had asked if anyone wanted to spar that afternoon. Sasuke looked as if he was considering saying yes for half of a second, but his exhaustion outweighed his desire to compete with his lifelong rival. Sakura was busy, as always, studying and working at the hospital. Kakashi gave some shady explanation for why he couldn't, but Naruto felt like his sensei was really up to something else. Sai, of course, followed suit of the rest of the group. Not that Sai was really busy, but lately he would watch others for social cues.

Too uneasy to go home and rest, Naruto wandered across the village's main streets. He considered buying some groceries, but decided to live off of what he still had for awhile. As he wandered aimlessly, he ran into a pretty, young blonde.

"Watch it, Naruto!" Ino exclaimed, but not in a seriously angry tone. Peering around Naruto, she searched for his common companion when he was walking through the village. As if reading her mind, Naruto answered her.

"Sasuke isn't with me."

"Drat!" Ino pouted. There was an awkward pause as the pair starred at one another.

"Soo…." Ino drawled in attempt to quell the silence. "What's goin' on?"

"Just taking a walk, I guess."

"What's bothering you?" Ino asked, catching quickly onto a hit of juicy gossip before her. She could smell out news faster than Akamaru could sniff out a dead bird. Having a weak moment, Naruto cut right to the point in his mind.

"Do you know much about tarot cards? Tenten starting giving me a reading… then she took off for a mission. I got my final card, but I don't know what it means at all."

Ino smiled wide.

"This is your lucky day! I have her do mine every week!"

"Really?" Naruto asked, relief a little evident in his voice.

"Yeah. It's really fun, huh?" Ino began to prattle. "I've made Sakura to it a couple of times with me too…. And sometimes my teammates. I never thought that stuff was true, but Tenten seems to get it right every time! It's so bizarre… she should retire from being a ninja and just do readings for a living. I totally would pay her."

"Uh huh," Naruto nodded, trying to move Ino along. "So, do you know what the death card means?"

Ino's face fell.

"Asuma-sensei got that one before.." Ino trailed off, her voice suddenly changed completely. She had accepted her teacher's death long ago, but sometimes talking about the situation made her a little gloomy. "I made him do it as a joke… and then a few days later… It was all really strange."

Ino looked downward, rubbing her eye lightly.

"Why do you ask?" she questioned without looking up.

"Umm… that's supposed to be my outcome card for the week."

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Haruno Sakura blew her long pink bangs from her face with annoyance. If she could ever get enough spare time to care, she would have shortened her hairstyle long ago. However, she didn't have the time, and haircuts were something that just could not be rushed. Normally, she preferred her hair's ends to reach her jaw line with bangs that framed her face. Enough time had passed since her last trim that her bangs brushed against her cheek bones. Her ends barely kissed above her shoulders, threatening to touch them any day now.

She'd have to cut it soon or people would start up with the "I'm excited you're growing your hair out" talks.

Smiling as she made her way past a few nurses, Sakura slowly made her way down the hospital halls to her 'office'. In reality, the office was a closet size room that had no foreseeable purpose in the hospital. Years ago when she was fourteen, Sakura had claimed the space as a study room for various scrolls Tsunade or Shizune would assign to her. Today, she was reading through some scrolls that discussed venoms of the Land of Waves. The scroll was pretty cryptic about the cures, since the poisons were not researched too thoroughly yet. However, Sakura was forced to obtain as much information as possible. Battle often forced her to rely on obscure knowledge.

Opening the door to the small room, she was surprised to see Naruto sitting on the top of her desk.

"Naruto-kun!" She announced with some confusion. "What are you doing here?"

She watched as Naruto rubbed the back of his head, a trait that meant he was pretty uncomfortable with what he was about to ask.

"It's kind of embarrassing," Naruto began, a sheepish smile on his face. "I know it sounds stupid."

Setting the scroll onto a shelf, Sakura turned to face her friend. She gave him a reassuring look and patted his knee.

"You can tell me anything. I promise not to judge you."

Reassured, Naruto smiled widely at his long time friend.

"Well… Ino and I were talking…" He began slowly. Sakura knew that sentence could only mean trouble. "And… she mentioned that the death card means physical death. It happened with Asuma-sensei."

Sakura's mouth fell open. She had never heard something so utterly ridiculous. Not sensing her blatant disapproval, Naruto continued with his speech.

"And I'm kind of concerned. I was hoping you'd give me a full body physical? You know.. make sure I don't have cancer or something?"

"Naruto, that's the stupidest thing you have ever asked me." Sakura answered with wide eyes. "You just had your mandatory physical two months ago!"

"You promised not to judge!"

"Yeah, but I didn't know you were going to say something so silly!"

"Ugh! You make a terrible doctor you know that?" Naruto replied in frustration.

Sakura tapped her foot at him in annoyance.

"Naruto, you know I am always busy around here. You should be helping my work load, not hindering it!"

"I have a serious problem here, woman!"

"No, you don't! You're only problem is that you are being gullible! People don't die because Tenten gave them a card that says Death!"

Both friends starred at one another, panting slightly in frustration. Trying her best to be more gentle and feminine, Sakura calmed her inner self. She attempted to be more empathetic to her patient, as all good medical professionals should.

"Okay, what makes you think this is a legitimate concern?" Sakura asked, controlling her breathing.

"Well… everybody! I mean you said it was right! Ino said her's were always right! And it happened to Asuma! And Kakashi got that injury they said he was going to get! I mean it's really stupid and freaky, but what if Tenten is like divinely blessed or something and we just don't know it?" Naruto sputtered out rapidly.

Sakura starred at him.

"You know you sound insane, right?" She questioned without bothering to hide her frustration. Naruto threw his hands up into the air.

"Fine! If you won't help me, I'll find someone that will!"

And with that, Naruto stormed out of her office.

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Uchiha Sasuke didn't like many things. In fact, on any given day he could only name five single things he actually liked.

He didn't particularly like the village he lived in. He just tolerated it for a few specific reasons. He didn't like sweets or any kind of unhealthy food in general. He especially didn't like funny movies or the situations that came with them. He loathed loudmouths (except for one) and people who made vast assumptions.

But he did like one thing in particular at this very moment.

The blessed item of his affections was his bed.

His bed was large enough for him to stretch out entirely and still fit a second person. Not that he ever wanted to share his bed. He would much rather sleep alone for the rest of his life, or so he believed. The bed's mattress was soft enough to cradle his body, yet firm enough to support his tired back after missions. Covered with soft white sheets, the bed was soft against his cheek as he drifted off to sleep.

If Sasuke were the kind of man to smile, he would be grinning from ear to ear about the reunion he was sharing with his bed. However, he wasn't one for smiles. Instead, he let out a contented sigh. His mind eased itself from worries. Slowly, he drifted off into the beginning stages of sleep.

Nevertheless, the cursed phone screeched into his ears forcing him from his own bliss. With some aggression, Sasuke rolled over to remove the phone from its receiver.

"What?" He hissed into the phone.

"Hey, you need to not get pissy. I've got some serious news," the melancholy voice of Naruto responded to him. Sitting up, Sasuke waited for the news. Naruto inhaled a deep breath. "I know this sounds crazy, but I think I am going to die in seven days."

"You didn't seriously wake me up for this, did you?"

"Ino says it's real!"

"Ino's an idiot!"

"You say that about everybody!"

Sasuke let out a long, unhappy breath.

"Just tell me why the fuck you are bothering me…" Sasuke muttered.

"I want you to help me with my will. There's stuff I wanna get done, just in case I do die. I figured you'd know a lot since you have so much experience with death?"

"Fine," Sasuke growled. "Just go away."

Slamming the phone back into the receiver, Sasuke grumbled about how much he hated everyone. With time, Sasuke rekindled his love affair with his bed. Unbeknownst to him, he had enabled Naruto's paranoia in the worst way possible.

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Author's Notes:

This piece was supposed to be only 7 parts, but I think it may end up being around eight. The next chapters are far more exciting. ;) This prologue was more to set down the base of the plotline, rather than entertain entirely.

As a side note, the layout of the tarot cards I found on the internet. Most card layouts are a lot more intricate, but I picked the simplest one I could find for story convenience. All of my information on the cards is based on the internet, so I apologize for the inevitable inaccuracy. Of course, the true meaning of the Death card will be shrouded in mystery. ;)

Please review! ^_^ It really helps me get off my ass and work on this! Lol