A/N: Hello readers! I'm blowing dust off of the shelves in my mind where all my story plots seem to hide, hoping to find something worthwhile lodged with all the dark, dank dirt. Looks like I stumbled onto something, but whether it's any good or not is up to you to decide! Speaking will "be like this, of course," and thinking 'like this, duh!'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also it's been awhile since I've seen it, so thank Jashin for Toonami playing the originals again! I get sooo many feels when I see the old episodes! Also, I'll leave it up to you to decide for yourself if the story fits better pre- or post-shippuden. I don't really care either way, I just want to write something amusing.

Paper Hearts

Chapter 1

It was unseasonably warm for a mid-morning in February. The wispy remains of the fallen snow had melted down into a messy, sticky mud that clung to the bottom of the open toed sandals preferred by shinobi. The jackets donned by the locals were light and left open, as if their bodies were sponges out to absorb as much fresh sunlight as possible. The faintest sniffs of spring floated in the air, tossed to and fro from the gentle yet constant passing breeze. It was a beautiful day with the weather promising to last into the following week.

Team Seven was never one to miss out on apropos training times; no sooner had the first patches of grass begun to poke out from their blanket of slushy snow then Kakashi had rounded up his two favorite boys from their cozy beds, waving them off to their usual spot with a promise of punctuality. That had been nearly two hours ago. Naruto huffed as he kicked at a slush pile at his feet, his expression sour and impatient. Sasuke had perched himself on a rock to both avoid the mud and Naruto's bitching, but of course both found ample ways to annoy him.

"All I'm saying is it wouldn't kill him to show up on time once and awhile! What if I had somewhere else to be, like on a super secret top mission for the Hokage and I missed out because I was stuck waiting around for Mr. Can't-Show-Up-On-Time?!"

Naruto whined and crossed his arms, glaring up at Sasuke expectantly. Did the fool really expect him to sit there and whimper childishly over matters they couldn't control? Please. For awhile, Sasuke pretended he hadn't heard a word the blonde had said and closed his eyes to show it. Naruto wasn't taking silence for an answer; he repeated himself multiple times, his voice growing louder and more aggravating until Sasuke could feel the vein in his forehead pulsing.

"Do you have a super secret top mission to be on?"

Sasuke growled in irritation. Naruto made a face and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then shut up about it,"

"Hey, you aren't the boss of me! Sitting up there acting like you're so big and cool!"

Naruto flailed his fist around his head, his tone growing even louder. He got no reply. Sasuke was really beginning to tick him off, and he needed to find a way to return the favor. His whiskered cheeks lifted up as a sneaky grin spread across his lips, his eyes glimmering with mischief. Oh, he knew exactly what to say to get under Sasuke's skin, even if he wouldn't admit to it.

"Are you yelling already, Naruto? It's a little early for that,"

Kakashi peered out from over his newest Paradise book, an amused look on his face.

"You're late AGAIN Sensei! Why can't you ever show up on time for things? Gah, you're hopeless, you know that!?"

Naruto declared, pointing an accusing finger in the white haired man's direction. Kakashi shrugged as if he really didn't care, which he didn't, and turned his head Sasuke's way. He watched the Uchiha boy watch him, but said nothing, as if he was mulling something over but refused to say it out loud. Finally, Kakashi cleared his throat and explained what the plan for the day was.

"Naruto, I want you to keep popping out shadow clones and attack Sasuke with them all at the same time,"

It was a simple exercise, and the idea of beating up on his rival made Naruto giddy; he clashed his hands together and, in just a few basic gestures, had five clones flanking each side of him. Sasuke stood up slowly and placed one hand on his hips lazily, observing the clones with a bored look on his face.

'I'll wipe that smirk off your face soon enough you duck-haired jerk!'

Naruto and his doppelgangers lashed out a violent series of attacks, each one giving his all, even as Sasuke took them down with a single hit. As one by one, each of the clones disappeared in a poof of heavy smoke, Naruto created more to replace them. The sparring went back and forth for awhile as Kakashi watched passively from the sidelines, his attention seemingly more focused on the book then what his students were actually doing.

"So I bet you're bummed Sakura isn't here to train too, huh?"

One of the Narutos asked with a devilish smirk. Sasuke made an annoyed grunt for a reply and sent a swift kick to his stomach, correctly assuming he was hitting one of the clones. He spun on his heel and kept his kick going, knocking out three more clones in the same fashion.

"Come on, admit it! You totally miss her!"

Another one laughed at the hardened glare on the Uchiha's face. Sasuke panted slightly and took that clone down as well, his concentration wavering. Sakura had been excused from the training today since she had a shift at the hospital. She worked quite a lot, too much in his opinion, pulling double and even sometimes triple shifts if there was a shortage of staff. She said she loved the work and didn't mind, but it bothered Sasuke to see those dark bags under her sleepless eyes day after day.

"If she were here, she'd still be fighting better than you are,"

Sasuke snapped, sensing an array of fists from behind him. He lunged to the left and dodged most of them, but felt one collide with his back. He stumbled forward only slightly before regaining his balance and whipping out multiple shuriken between his fingers.

"I think we should make a little bet, Sasuke,"

The many Naruto clones grinned, forming a tight circle around their target, their voices swelling into one big chorus that rang in Sasuke's head like an old migraine.

"If we beat you at this stupid training exercise, you have to give Sakura a gift for Valentine's Day next week!"

Sasuke stiffened at the proposal, his fingers hesitating for a heartbeat. It was the most ridiculous idea he had ever heard of; leave it to Naruto to spat something that stupid from his mouth. But what did that make Sasuke, then, as he was the moron who was still considering it in his head. He flicked his wrist and sent his projectiles flying in all directions, grabbing the jacket of the nearest clone and yanking the body up into the air. He curled back his free fist and stated in a dry tone

"I'd sooner spend time with Yamanaka Ino then do something as idiotic as-"

While his attention had been adverted to the clone in Sasuke's fist, the real Naruto had taken advantage of the opening from below; he kneeled down and sent a sharp uppercut up through Sasuke's front and shouted happily as his knuckles met jaw. Sasuke staggered back and growled, sending a dark look as he rubbed at the spot where he had been hit.

"Well, I think that's enough training for today you two,"

Kakashi called merrily from the background, snapping his book shut after marking the page he was on.

"So that means I won, right?"

Naruto grinned hopefully.

"I never agreed to-"

"It looks like it,"

Kakashi cut Sasuke off with a deciding nod of his head. Naruto fist pumped and danced in a circle, laughing and shouting in his excitement. Sasuke stuffed his tightly balled fists into his pocket and glared at the two.

"I'm not getting that annoying girl a present for Valentine's Day,"

His tone was harsh and firm; these two idiots needed to realize that he wasn't messing around here. Why on earth would he want to get Sakura a gift for any occasion, save her birthday and Christmas, when he was expected to throw something together? That day was one of the most sickening wastes of time he could ever imagine and could spout out a hundred other ways he'd rather spend the day.

"Don't be such a sore loser Sasuke! You have until Valentine's Day next week to give Sakura something special or else I'm gonna do it for you!"

Naruto declared, sticking out his tongue. That vein in Sasuke's forehead was beginning to pulse again; he fought to keep his composure when every fiber of his being was screaming for Naruto's big fat mouth to shut up. But what else could he do? If he let Naruto do anything, he'd only end up screwing everything up. He'd make Sasuke look like a fool, or a coward, or something even worse- one of those love sick, whipped, pathetic excuses for men who didn't have the stones to stand up to their women. No, if he was being forced into doing this, it would be better for him to do it himself.

"I'm out of here,"

Sasuke turned away to leave, his shoulders hunched over in his humiliation of being defeated. Naruto and Kakashi watched his departing back until they couldn't see him any longer and burst into fits of laughter.

"Did you see the look on his face?! He's totally going to do it! Man is Sakura in for a surprise!"

Naruto rested his hands behind his head and gazed up at the brilliant cerulean sky, his imagination running wild with possibilities.

"You have some sort of prank in mind, don't you?"

Kakashi hesitated to ask; he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what the little blonde devil had in store for his teammates. Naruto laughed once more and took off running, his face set rigid in a mischievous smirk. Oh, he had something in mind all right. Something that was really going to mess with Sasuke. He couldn't wait.

A/N: I'm hoping that I'll have time over Christmas break to keep updating this story quickly. But this is my first attempt at a chapter fic in, like, forever and a half. So bear with me and my crazy work life…