[Fic-shaped Thing] Naruto -- Post
Feb. 15th, 2006 12:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterHere, have some Valentine-ish fluff. I'm kinda tired, so this is not beta-ed or even coherent, I think. This one fits in with the drabble universe that I created here, but haven't actually drabbled in yet. :P
All you really need to know is that Naruto has been gone from Konoha for quite a number of months, but he still manages to keep in touch with everyone.
When Sasuke went to pick up his mail from the post office, he was somewhat surprised by the volume of it. Instead of the few bills or missives he was expecting, he was confronted by a large stack of envelopes, most of which were bound to small wrapped packages. Checking the stamps, he realized that it was another batch of post from Naruto. Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke managed to secure a sack from the intimidated mail clerk and shoved everything in. Ever since being assigned his farce of an ambassadorial position, Naruto had started mailing back numerous packages back to Konoha. Naruto had complained that as an ambassador, he was often gifted with beautiful (but useless) items as gifts of goodwill. And because he rarely came home, and certainly couldn't carry around "a huge pile of crap everywhere," Naruto just shipped everything off to Sasuke to deal with. Naruto also happened to have an affinity for buying things from the foreign markets, and the girls often would harangue him through letters for the latest in this-or-that to be sent to them as well. The blond was all too happy to comply -- he avoided getting beaten by Sakura that way -- and so Naruto's post was a regular occurrance. And, Naruto had told Sasuke in a letter, if Naruto shipped everything to the Uchiha, then he couldn't spend all day brooding and staring at the walls; he'd have to interact with their friends a little, even if only to give them their presents.
But it was the middle of the month, not the end of it, so Sasuke was confused as to why Naruto would be sending out little packages and letters (he usually just crammed everything into one big box). Shrugging, he made his way towards the training field that the Rookie Nine (and Team Gai) had unofficially staked out as their own. Someone was always in that particular training field, and it was a good bet that Sasuke could offload most of the packages in one go. He passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop on the way, giving Ino the barest of nods when her head popped out of the doorway, her eyes on the bulging sack in askance. Sasuke didn't stop his trek to the training field -- he didn't have to -- just continued on his way while he heard Ino screech at Shikamaru to get Chouji behind him. The dango shop yielded Hinata and Kiba, who immediately set down their half-finished cups of tea to join the InoShikaCho. Shino ghosted out of an alleyway a block later, settling himself on the other side of Akamaru and at the edge of the group. Sasuke listened to the group's idle chatter and speculations, noting when Hinata's soft voice called to Neji to join them. The Hyuuga eyed their motley group and the sack over Sasuke's shoulder before tucking his hands into his sleeves and taking up Hinata's unoccupied side. At the training field, Sasuke was pleased to note that Tenten was already sprawled on the grass, an empty weapons scroll beside her. Lee was going on about something enthusiastically, and Sakura just laughed in reply.
The pink-haired kunoichi turned to face Sasuke as he entered the field, a look of surprise on her face before her green eyes focused on the sack. Sasuke just nodded to her, and noted that she stripped off her gloves and dusted off her shorts before moving in their direction. Almost immediately, Ino and Sakura began their friendly squabbling while Tenten poked at Neji's recent lightening of his training regime and Lee jovially agreed that Neji should not "not forget that practice will lead to a passionate explosion of youth and health." Sasuke ignored all the conversations, opening up the sack and calling out names as he retrieved the packages. The Uchiha supposed that he should feel upset for being a glorified messenger boy, but just remained silent instead, committing everyone's expression to memory for a later date, when he was sure Naruto would ask if his gifts had been well received.
Everyone settled onto the grass, opening them with various levels of haste or carefulness. Sasuke himself stared at his own little package, wrapped simply in brown paper. The conversation dimmed around him, then changed note, and Sasuke looked up to see everyone looking at their letters with confusion on their faces.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura asked, "why is Naruto sending us pictures of fat, naked children?"
The Uchiha blinked, then furrowed his brow when Sakura held up her letter, which was in fact a card of some sort. On the front was, indeed, a picture of a chubby, smiling, naked baby. Strangely enough, the baby had wings and some sort of weapon, and the scripted writing on the card blared out: Will you be my Valentine? Everyone else was showing their cards around, which were simply variations of the theme.
Kiba snorted, frowning at his card that was liberally covered in those fat babies and fuzzy puppies. "Maybe he's finally snapped, ya know? Gone so long and stuff."
Tenten just giggled, waving her card with two of the chubby babies kissing cutely on the front in emphasis. "I bet those bad habits he picked up from Jiraiya-sama are finally showing up."
"Never!" Lee exclaimed. "Naruto is a good and stalwart man! He would never be seduced by wayward and licentious behavior!"
"This IS Naruto we're talking about," Neji added, his Byakugan present as he scanned his still wrapped package as if more perversity as laying within. "He's always been able to surprise everyone."
"W-well... the p-packages are fine," Hinata said, hers open on her lap. "It's just... chocolates, I think."
Ino scowled. "Why would Naruto send us chocolates from Rain Country? We have chocolate here. It's not so special."
"Oh!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, looking over Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata! Yours are WHITE! Are you sure that's chocolate?"
Hinata timidly bit off a piece of the confection as everyone watched her. Her face flushed pink, and then she smiled. "O-oh... I've n-never had chocolate like this before. It tastes so... uhmm... different."
There was a sudden flurry of activity again as packages were opened and chocolate tested. The girls were particularly eager to sample everyone's, especially when it became clear that they had all gotten different kinds. Chouji refused to let anyone but Shikamaru have a piece off his bar, which had been filled with caramel. Kiba was grinning as he gave Akamaru a biscuit that had been dipped in a special chocolate that wouldn't make dogs sick. Neji's chocolates were filled with the smooth taste of liquor, Lee's were not. Tenten's were molded in the shape of kunai and shurinken, while Shino's honeycomb chocolate melted in your mouth. Sakura crowed loud and long about HER chocolates being filled with cherries, which were SO much better than Ino's orange flavor.
"Feh... this is troublesome," Shikamaru grumped, sucking on the end of a chocolate-covered peppermint stick. "This is all a part of a traditional holiday in Rain."
"A holiday about naked babies?" Chouji questioned, still breaking off pieces of his bar to munch.
"No... it's some sort of holiday about love or something. You give your loved one cards and chocolates and flowers to show how much you care or something. It's so troublesome to go to all this for something we don't celebrate." Shikamaru lay back on the grass again, arms tucked behind his head as he stared up at the sky.
"Oho!" Ino laughed. "Well, if it's so troublesome, Shikamaru, you can just give the rest of your chocolates to me!"
"That's no fair, Ino-pig!"
"Shut up, forehead girl! He's MY teammate!"
"S-Sasuke-kun...?"
Sasuke blinked, turning to regard Hinata, who was still slightly pink. "Uhmmm... I was wondering... since Shikamaru said this was a day for l-love... what did Naruto-kun get for you?"
One brow raised, Sasuke just turned to his own forgotten package. With a shrug, and pretending not to notice the attention now turned on him, he unwrapped the box and opened it, revealing a set of small chocolate squares, some with strange swirling designs on the top. Taking the smallest piece, Sasuke bit in, then allowed a small smile to pass across his lips. Naruto had obviously remembered that Sasuke didn't care for sweets; the chocolate was rich but bittersweet, lingering on his tongue even after he swallowed. And, after a moment, Sasuke realized that the taste reminded him of Naruto's kisses.
"It's just chocolate," he finally said to Hinata, who just smiled and nodded and moved over to Kiba's side once more. Sasuke continued to mull over the taste of the chocolate while he opened his own card, then quickly closed it and stuffed it back into its envelope. Seeing the strange look he was getting from Neji, Sasuke frowned. "It's just another one of those cards."
"Mou!" Sakura punched her fist into the grass. "That Naruto! If he knows enough about this holiday to send US presents, he should at least put more thought into yours, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke inclined his head towards Sakura, then got up, taking his package and the card with him. "Don't expect so much from that idiot, Sakura. He's still only Naruto."
Then without even a word of goodbye, he left the training field. No questioned it, only giving their goodbyes to his back. The further he got from the field, and the closer to his house, the more Sasuke allowed himself to feel smug. Of course, the card he had gotten was the same as all the others, but the pictures inside of a barely-clothed Naruto were especially for him.
He'd look at those pictures more closely once he was home.
And he'd enjoy those chocolates with them, too.
All you really need to know is that Naruto has been gone from Konoha for quite a number of months, but he still manages to keep in touch with everyone.
When Sasuke went to pick up his mail from the post office, he was somewhat surprised by the volume of it. Instead of the few bills or missives he was expecting, he was confronted by a large stack of envelopes, most of which were bound to small wrapped packages. Checking the stamps, he realized that it was another batch of post from Naruto. Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke managed to secure a sack from the intimidated mail clerk and shoved everything in. Ever since being assigned his farce of an ambassadorial position, Naruto had started mailing back numerous packages back to Konoha. Naruto had complained that as an ambassador, he was often gifted with beautiful (but useless) items as gifts of goodwill. And because he rarely came home, and certainly couldn't carry around "a huge pile of crap everywhere," Naruto just shipped everything off to Sasuke to deal with. Naruto also happened to have an affinity for buying things from the foreign markets, and the girls often would harangue him through letters for the latest in this-or-that to be sent to them as well. The blond was all too happy to comply -- he avoided getting beaten by Sakura that way -- and so Naruto's post was a regular occurrance. And, Naruto had told Sasuke in a letter, if Naruto shipped everything to the Uchiha, then he couldn't spend all day brooding and staring at the walls; he'd have to interact with their friends a little, even if only to give them their presents.
But it was the middle of the month, not the end of it, so Sasuke was confused as to why Naruto would be sending out little packages and letters (he usually just crammed everything into one big box). Shrugging, he made his way towards the training field that the Rookie Nine (and Team Gai) had unofficially staked out as their own. Someone was always in that particular training field, and it was a good bet that Sasuke could offload most of the packages in one go. He passed the Yamanaka Flower Shop on the way, giving Ino the barest of nods when her head popped out of the doorway, her eyes on the bulging sack in askance. Sasuke didn't stop his trek to the training field -- he didn't have to -- just continued on his way while he heard Ino screech at Shikamaru to get Chouji behind him. The dango shop yielded Hinata and Kiba, who immediately set down their half-finished cups of tea to join the InoShikaCho. Shino ghosted out of an alleyway a block later, settling himself on the other side of Akamaru and at the edge of the group. Sasuke listened to the group's idle chatter and speculations, noting when Hinata's soft voice called to Neji to join them. The Hyuuga eyed their motley group and the sack over Sasuke's shoulder before tucking his hands into his sleeves and taking up Hinata's unoccupied side. At the training field, Sasuke was pleased to note that Tenten was already sprawled on the grass, an empty weapons scroll beside her. Lee was going on about something enthusiastically, and Sakura just laughed in reply.
The pink-haired kunoichi turned to face Sasuke as he entered the field, a look of surprise on her face before her green eyes focused on the sack. Sasuke just nodded to her, and noted that she stripped off her gloves and dusted off her shorts before moving in their direction. Almost immediately, Ino and Sakura began their friendly squabbling while Tenten poked at Neji's recent lightening of his training regime and Lee jovially agreed that Neji should not "not forget that practice will lead to a passionate explosion of youth and health." Sasuke ignored all the conversations, opening up the sack and calling out names as he retrieved the packages. The Uchiha supposed that he should feel upset for being a glorified messenger boy, but just remained silent instead, committing everyone's expression to memory for a later date, when he was sure Naruto would ask if his gifts had been well received.
Everyone settled onto the grass, opening them with various levels of haste or carefulness. Sasuke himself stared at his own little package, wrapped simply in brown paper. The conversation dimmed around him, then changed note, and Sasuke looked up to see everyone looking at their letters with confusion on their faces.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura asked, "why is Naruto sending us pictures of fat, naked children?"
The Uchiha blinked, then furrowed his brow when Sakura held up her letter, which was in fact a card of some sort. On the front was, indeed, a picture of a chubby, smiling, naked baby. Strangely enough, the baby had wings and some sort of weapon, and the scripted writing on the card blared out: Will you be my Valentine? Everyone else was showing their cards around, which were simply variations of the theme.
Kiba snorted, frowning at his card that was liberally covered in those fat babies and fuzzy puppies. "Maybe he's finally snapped, ya know? Gone so long and stuff."
Tenten just giggled, waving her card with two of the chubby babies kissing cutely on the front in emphasis. "I bet those bad habits he picked up from Jiraiya-sama are finally showing up."
"Never!" Lee exclaimed. "Naruto is a good and stalwart man! He would never be seduced by wayward and licentious behavior!"
"This IS Naruto we're talking about," Neji added, his Byakugan present as he scanned his still wrapped package as if more perversity as laying within. "He's always been able to surprise everyone."
"W-well... the p-packages are fine," Hinata said, hers open on her lap. "It's just... chocolates, I think."
Ino scowled. "Why would Naruto send us chocolates from Rain Country? We have chocolate here. It's not so special."
"Oh!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, looking over Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata! Yours are WHITE! Are you sure that's chocolate?"
Hinata timidly bit off a piece of the confection as everyone watched her. Her face flushed pink, and then she smiled. "O-oh... I've n-never had chocolate like this before. It tastes so... uhmm... different."
There was a sudden flurry of activity again as packages were opened and chocolate tested. The girls were particularly eager to sample everyone's, especially when it became clear that they had all gotten different kinds. Chouji refused to let anyone but Shikamaru have a piece off his bar, which had been filled with caramel. Kiba was grinning as he gave Akamaru a biscuit that had been dipped in a special chocolate that wouldn't make dogs sick. Neji's chocolates were filled with the smooth taste of liquor, Lee's were not. Tenten's were molded in the shape of kunai and shurinken, while Shino's honeycomb chocolate melted in your mouth. Sakura crowed loud and long about HER chocolates being filled with cherries, which were SO much better than Ino's orange flavor.
"Feh... this is troublesome," Shikamaru grumped, sucking on the end of a chocolate-covered peppermint stick. "This is all a part of a traditional holiday in Rain."
"A holiday about naked babies?" Chouji questioned, still breaking off pieces of his bar to munch.
"No... it's some sort of holiday about love or something. You give your loved one cards and chocolates and flowers to show how much you care or something. It's so troublesome to go to all this for something we don't celebrate." Shikamaru lay back on the grass again, arms tucked behind his head as he stared up at the sky.
"Oho!" Ino laughed. "Well, if it's so troublesome, Shikamaru, you can just give the rest of your chocolates to me!"
"That's no fair, Ino-pig!"
"Shut up, forehead girl! He's MY teammate!"
"S-Sasuke-kun...?"
Sasuke blinked, turning to regard Hinata, who was still slightly pink. "Uhmmm... I was wondering... since Shikamaru said this was a day for l-love... what did Naruto-kun get for you?"
One brow raised, Sasuke just turned to his own forgotten package. With a shrug, and pretending not to notice the attention now turned on him, he unwrapped the box and opened it, revealing a set of small chocolate squares, some with strange swirling designs on the top. Taking the smallest piece, Sasuke bit in, then allowed a small smile to pass across his lips. Naruto had obviously remembered that Sasuke didn't care for sweets; the chocolate was rich but bittersweet, lingering on his tongue even after he swallowed. And, after a moment, Sasuke realized that the taste reminded him of Naruto's kisses.
"It's just chocolate," he finally said to Hinata, who just smiled and nodded and moved over to Kiba's side once more. Sasuke continued to mull over the taste of the chocolate while he opened his own card, then quickly closed it and stuffed it back into its envelope. Seeing the strange look he was getting from Neji, Sasuke frowned. "It's just another one of those cards."
"Mou!" Sakura punched her fist into the grass. "That Naruto! If he knows enough about this holiday to send US presents, he should at least put more thought into yours, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke inclined his head towards Sakura, then got up, taking his package and the card with him. "Don't expect so much from that idiot, Sakura. He's still only Naruto."
Then without even a word of goodbye, he left the training field. No questioned it, only giving their goodbyes to his back. The further he got from the field, and the closer to his house, the more Sasuke allowed himself to feel smug. Of course, the card he had gotten was the same as all the others, but the pictures inside of a barely-clothed Naruto were especially for him.
He'd look at those pictures more closely once he was home.
And he'd enjoy those chocolates with them, too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2006-02-15 09:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-15 07:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-15 01:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-15 07:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-02-16 01:29 am (UTC)::the chocolate was rich but bittersweet, lingering on his tongue even after he swallowed. And, after a moment, Sasuke realized that the taste reminded him of Naruto's kisses.:: Aaah, that was gorgeous.
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Date: 2006-02-16 08:18 pm (UTC)