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It involves teamwork, Kakashi has said.
Teamwork, my ass. Sasuke growls internally, an angry glare thrown at their Sensei who remains oblivious at the situation.
He looks at the piece of breadstick jutting out of his mouth, then at his pink-haired teammate who holds the other end in the same fashion, but her face is red in what he thinks is due to embarrassment.
He doesn't blame her since he feels the same, except he's feeling more annoyed about it.
"You better not kiss Sakura-chan, you bastard!" Naruto warns in the background.
As if.
"Ready?" Gai's overly enthusiastic voice booms. "Remember, the shortest stick wins!"
He should have been suspicious from the start, however seeing Hyuuga Neji casually volunteering himself and his female teammate following suit dismisses his doubts on what he thought is a simple game that involves impressive physical and mental capabilities. While he possesses both, he knows Sakura is more perceptive than he is.
Unfortunately, the game is far from what he imagines the moment he sees the edible stick. Even Sakura discovers it immediately as she stares at him with a horrified face. He glances at the Hyuuga who is unfazed by it all, to his surprise.
This act solidifies his resolve to take the game seriously. Damn his ego.
He and Sakura stand, mere inches away from each other with only a stick separating their lips. The same goes to the other teams lined up beside them. He silently thanks Kakashi for teaching him the Chidori already and vows to use him as a practice dummy after this stupid challenge.
Sakura draws a sharp breath, and her gaze steels, focusing on the task at hand. Despite the loud thumps in her chest, and her mind in a frenzy, she knows she has to keep her composure. Sasuke trusts her enough to let him join this crazy game, she won't let him down of course.
"GO!"
On cue, the pair nibble vigorously on the poor stick. Steadily, its length decreases, but so is the gap between their heads. He glances at Sakura whose gaze is dead set on the stick. Closer, closer the stick vanishes but the warmth of their breaths starts to fan their faces, their noses almost touching.
Sakura starts to falter on eating as their lack of distance sinks in. Her heart thumps faster and feels she's on the brink of passing out. She stares at Sasuke who gives her a small nod and they both stop to both their relief.
That is until Sasuke hears that Hyuuga Neji and Tenten's stick has a staggering length of one inch. An uncontested win. Gai is already congratulating his team for their imminent success.
However, it isn't the bragging rights that fuels his desire to outdo the pair, but the drilling gaze of his rival prodigy, contemptuously mocking him from behind. He glares at the stick. He must win.
He catches Sakura's attention with a grunt. His gaze switches from her to the stick and it easily dawns on her what he intends to do, however it is met with hesitation. Are you sure about this? Her eyes ask him.
Sasuke huffs in response, and to the shock of everyone present, especially Sakura who stills, dumbfounded, he slants his head and begins nibbling the stick, intending to shorten it further. Snapping out of her daze, she does the same in the opposite direction, cautiously avoiding any form of lip contact and pretending her heart isn't about to explode at their close proximity.
She can almost feel his lips drawing closer to hers, and her heartbeat comes deafening.
But before it can happen, something clicks between them, like a clock about to strike midnight they simultaneously bite off the stick. Into her hand falls the tiny piece that undeniably declares their victory. It’s definitely way too short than Neji and Tenten’s.
When she faces the crowd to present their stick, as she expected, everyone is too speechless, flabbergasted at their desperate act to win that Sasuke simply grunts and looks away, leaving her to take in the consequences of their action. While Ino seethes in jealousy on the side, most of the rookies and their Sensei’s have their jaws dropped in complete shock.
Kakashi is going to regret he volunteered for them, especially when Sasuke flashes his Sharingan solely on him.