How to Adapt and Overcome

Two of A Kind

I don't understand why the Wattpad editor doesn't like me >_> It completely messes up the format of the writing and doesn't space it out properly. I've tried to fix it countless times ;u; I'm so sorry.
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"What do you prefer, eh? Milk or dark chocolate?" Rayne had decided to treat her new acquaintances to chocolate. After falling out of a tree and on top of them, then facing the drama they had with the Raikage, she thought it would be a nice second impression.

"It doesn't really matter to me! I'll eat any kind of chocolate!" Sakura's smile was warm, certainly a different expression than Rayne had received earlier.

"I like milk personally...dark gives me a stomach ache..." Naruto groaned.

"No way! It does that to me too!" Rayne gasped. Her and Naruto stared at each other in disbelief for a moment before Rayne addressed Sasuke. "And you?"

"I don't like sweets."

"Don't like sweets?! ARE YOU NOT HUMAN?!" Naruto screamed into his face, spreading his spit.

"Gah! Naruto, you're disgusting! Wipe your spit off of me right now!"

"Naruto! Don't get your germs all over Sasuke!"

Rayne arched her eyebrows as she watched the two boys wrestle on the ground as Sakura ran up to them. She smiled briefly to herself and requested a half pound of milk chocolate from the store clerk. Knowing that they'd have to camp out at least once before they reached Konoha, Rayne decided she'd take the opportunity to get to know her teammates, especially Naruto. And what better way was there than to bond over a campfire when you're out in the desolate woods where no one could hear them scream?

She grabbed a hold of her bag and sprinted toward the others with excitement in her eyes. Upon being ignored when she got there, Rayne kicked Naruto off of Sasuke, sending Sakura, who was clawing Naruto, and Naruto himself, backward and onto a bench. Oh...and what a sight to see.

There was no other way to put how they landed in words other than epic. Sakura had landed flat on her back on the bench, and Naruto was laying on top of her, slightly propped up on his hands so he could look down into her eyes. Unfortunately for Sakura, she had clung to him as they flew through the air, leaving her arms to be wrapped around him.

While Sasuke let his guard down as he watched the two of them, Rayne took the liberty of dusting him off, much to his dismay when she started patting his tush.

"What are you doing!" Sasuke exclaimed as he reached his hand around him to grab Rayne's and stop her. She merely blinked.

"Well...I was trying to be a courteous teammate and dust you off. Dirt doesn't exactly flatter white shorts, Sasuke."

"You aren't a teammate, you're a mission."

Rayne glared at him. "Even so, I'm accompanying you for the next couple of months, so I may as well play the teammate game."

"It isn't a game. You don't even realize what we've gone through to become an actual team. You can't just walk up to us and act like-"

Wait a minute, she did it! She actually did it for the first time! As Sasuke bantered on, Rayne squealed, and Sasuke sweat dropped.

"What are you-"

"I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it!" Rayne bounced around, doing her own personal victory dance as she praised herself, leaving Sasuke utterly dumbfounded.

'I did it! I said his name without thinking about Itachi! ...oh no wait, that's a lie, because now I'm thinking about him. Damn!'

"S...Sakura..." Naruto stuttered while doing his best to suppress his blush, "I...I've been waiting for this...for a really long time."

His voice caught the attention of the other two as they watched Naruto approach Sakura's face, lips fully puckered. Sakura, obviously in shock, and more than likely fear, just laid there.

"Don't tell me he's actually going to..." Rayne interrupted by a shriek from Sakura. Her thoughts were then further interrupted by the sound of fist colliding with bone as Sakura punched Naruto in the face, launching him further down the road, spiraling into a tree.

"Idiot," Sasuke simply stated and sighed.

"HOW DARE YOU CLIMB ON TOP OF ME LIKE THAT YOU SICK PERV! COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS BECAUSE IF THESE PEOPLE WEREN'T AROUND I'D CASTRATE YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"
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Rayne sighed as she glanced to her left to look at Naruto who was covered in medical bandages and dirt. Out of the three of them she hadn't expected Sakura to be the most emotionally unbalanced. A simple quest to buy chocolate turned into an ordeal because of the two of them.

After being sent into the tree, Naruto had blacked out. Sakura stood there fuming whilst Rayne threw her bag of chocolate at Sasuke, who didn't catch it with ease, instead catching it upside down, causing nearly all the chocolate to pour out onto the village street. Rayne darted down the road to Naruto, leaving a cloud of dust behind her, and attempted to pry him from the bark of the tree that he was stuck in.

Rayne grasped the bag with the three remaining pieces of chocolate and looked to her right, past Sakura, to Sasuke. Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Sasuke looked to his left, but was soon blocked by the body of Kakashi.

"It's time to set up camp for the night."

"Man, I didn't think it would take us so long to get back to the village! I only brought one change of clothes!" Sakura whined in disgust.

"You can always just bathe out in a lake, Sakura."

Sakura's green eyes connected with Rayne's grey ones, and their pupils instantly exploded with flames of fury.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Rayne, Sasuke, go collect wood for the fire. Naruto, you can help me set up the tents...Sakura, you prepare our meals!"

"WHAT?! Kakashi Sensei, why does Rayne get to go off with Sasuke?!"

He hung his head. He should have known Sakura would protest.

"Because unlike you, Rayne will actually stay on task when working with Sasuke."

Now Sakura hung her head.

'Hah! Take that fan girl!' Rayne thought to herself in victory. "Naruto, don't impale yourself when you're setting up the tents! Come on Sasuke, let's go get some wood!"

"Whatever."

Rayne twitched. "You know, I'm just going to start calling you Buzzkill from now on."

Sasuke growled and scoffed.

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!"

"Guys, please, just go," Kakashi asked in distress. They each responded with a dull "fine" and were off. Kakashi smiled and then reached into his pack, "Alright, Naruto. You set up camp."

Naruto looked up, "What are you going to do sensei?"

"Read of course!"

Cue Naruto's anime fall. "I should have known..."
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Since the sun hadn't fully set, the view in the forest was beautiful. Even when she and Sasuke had only gotten about 30 feet into the forest Rayne felt totally at peace with herself. The air was fresh, sun rays were shining through the trees, lighting the path before them, and the breeze was just enough to carry a few strands of hair in it.

Rayne hadn't been anywhere near the Leaf Village, and the Cloud Village was basically stone and water, so being around true nature was something she was grateful for. Sasuke had a hard time understanding that.

"We're out to get fire wood, not to jerk around, Rayne."

She ceased rolling around in the tall grass, sitting up to look at him. "You really are no fun at all, Buzzkill."

"Enough with that name already!" He snapped at her, to which she replied with a giggle.

"Aww-haha! Is Sasuke getting all flustered?" She bat her eyes in his direction and he merely turned his back. She frowned. "Hey, just be glad Kakashi Sensei didn't send you out here with Sakura...what's your problem with her, anyway?"

He turned his head slightly to peer over his shoulder. "You mean you haven't noticed?"

"She's energetic, likes to smile, and has a short temper...squeals...is clingy...likes you...I don't see your point." That was some nice, thick sarcasm. "But what I don't understand is why you don't give her a chance, I mean, I'm sure a guy like you loves that kind of attention. And from what she said, it seems like plenty of girls throw themselves at you."

"I can't be bothered with that shit." That was blunt.

Rayne growled under her breath. She wasn't going to get anywhere with knowing Sasuke. Why couldn't she just have been paired with Naruto?
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Naruto wailed as the pole that held up the tent flew back, smacking him in the face and sending him backward into the tent he had just finished placing. Naturally, it collapsed.

He instantly sat up with a large red line in the middle of his forehead. "That's IT! I'm sick and tired of this! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Before you knew it three other Naruto appeared before him...well, their deflated white forms did on the floor did at least.

Naruto screamed at the sky, "Dammit! I REALLY DO SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"
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Rayne, who had been furiously punching the side of a tree limb, stopped as she heard Naruto's wail.

"Sasuke, did you just hear something?"

Unlike Rayne, Sasuke continued cutting the tree limb he was working on with a kunai. "It's probably just Naruto being a loser, as usual."
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Soon enough the two of them had returned to their camp site. Rayne was happy to see Naruto sitting quietly alongside of the two tents that were formed. She quickly made her way over to him, throwing the wood she had collected in a misplaced pile for Sakura to configure.

"Way to go, Naruto! The tents look perfect!"

"Thank you!" Rayne re-directed her attention to Kakashi, who emerged from one of the tents.

"N-Naruto...don't tell me..." He hung his head, and she soon did the same.

After a half hour they were able to eat. Sakura had prepared a pot of vegetable soup for them, and there was just enough to feed the whole group. Rayne stared down at her empty bowl, and then reluctantly looked up at Sakura, who glared in her direction.

"The soup...was good. Thank you, Sakura." Rayne briefly bowed to her and set her bowl down. Sakura said nothing, just smiled and nodded.

"Alright you guys...since there are only two tents that can only hold two people at a time, we're going to have to take turns guarding. I'll be the one to go first. After me will be Sasuke. Following Sasuke will be Naruto, and then following him will be Sakura. That should get us through the night if we do three hours at a time."

"Just them? Why can't I help?" Rayne chewed on the inside of her cheek. She felt insulted; she felt safer guarding herself than relying on Sakura to do it.

"Our mission is to protect you. We wouldn't be doing our job sending you out in the middle of the night by yourself to be a target, would we." That shut her down fast.

"TWO HOURS?! THAT'S SO LONG KAKASHI SENSEI! IT'LL BE SO BORING!" Naruto screamed as he jumped up and pointed in the Jounnin's face.

Thanks to his complaining, Naruto's guard duty was switched with Kakashi.

Rayne was awoken by a knee colliding with her side, and a pillow being pushed against her face.

"Sa...Sasuke...oh, Sasuke..."

Rayne shot up like a rocket and peered down at the dreaming Sakura next to her, pillow squished against her body, covered in drool.

'If only I had a camera...' Rayne evily thought. She glanced over at the wrist watch Kakashi had placed in their tent after his shift was over. It was 2:10, and Rayne hung her head. They had started their guarding at 9:30, so she had plenty of time before her own shift at 5:30.

'Hm...well, since I'm up now, I suppose I'll go snoop around. Tell me I can't take care of myself, tsh.'

She had attempted to get up until a hand grasped onto her own. Utterly creeped out, her eyes shot over in Sakura's direction; she was still asleep, calling Sasuke's name. Rayne slouched. Stealthily, she slipped her pillow next to Sakura's hand, and just as Rayne had thought she would, she grasped onto it, calling Sasuke's name once more. She then made her leave.

Upon crawling out of the tent Rayne stood up, straightening her waist cloth which had been coiled around her like a boa constrictor. Studying the trees, she looked for Kakashi's figure. Bingo. Sneaking around the tree she had stepped on a rock, causing her to whimper and collapse to the earth, rubbing her foot with tears in her eyes.

"What the hell did you do now?"

Such coarse language.

"Sasuke?" Rayne asked, dumbfounded.

As she squint she could see a clear outline of his body. He had his head turned to the side which had caused her to believe it was her sensei's lopsided hair cut.

"Why isn't Kakashi out here?"

"He switched shifts with me. After reading the whole time while we were collecting wood, he decided he wanted to finish his book because it was coming to a climax."

'He wouldn't let me stand my own guard, but he spends his guard time reading a book instead of paying attention. That's comforting...'Rayne scanned the surrounding forest with her eyes. There certainly were large forests in Kumogakure, but since they had stepped into Fire Country, it seemed as though the trees were never ending.

"What are you doing out here?" Rayne's concentration broke as she looked up to see Sasuke's dark eyes upon her.

"Couldn't sleep with Sakura constantly moaning your name in my ear. I thought I'd come out and get some air."

"I'm sorry I asked." Rayne grinned devilishly.

"I mean, did you hear her in the tent? It's no wonder I can't sleep. It's Sasuke, Sasuke! Oh, Sasuke!" Rayne moaned his name in a mockery of Sakura.

"I didn't ask for you to-"

"I'm pretty sure she was making out with her pillow, too. It was covered in drool."

"You can stop-"

"And then, when I had gotten up to get out of the tent, she grabbed my wrist! I think she thought I was you! God only know she would have done to me-"

A small, broken branch flew down to where Rayne was standing. Quick stepping to the left, she watched as the leaves ruffled past her face. Looking up from the corner of her eye, Sasuke had turned his back to her once more.

"You're annoying."

"Whatever." Rayne began to her trek toward the darker edge of the forest.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to pee. What, do you want to hold my hand?" She snarled over her shoulder as she turned a cold shoulder. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he watched her continue to walk away. Kicking over some tall grass, Rayne stumbled around the uneven ground, steadying herself against the mossy trees.

"I can't let you go off alone." Sasuke came to a halt behind Rayne as she straightened her body, standing tall at the edge of a root.

"You can't abandon guarding the campsite."

"Are you planning something?" Sasuke asked her suspiciously as he gave her a once over. Rayne hadn't considered their mission to bring her back to Konoha very important, she was confident she could hold her own against anyone who attacked her. However, Sasuke was taking it seriously. Too seriously.

"Planning to pee. Want me to hold it in all night?"

Sasuke turned away for a moment, looking back at from the corner of his eye before he began walking away. "Like I said earlier, you aren't a teammate, you're a mission. That doesn't mean I'm going to trust you. The last person we had to protect turned out to be trouble, and we were only supposed to bring him back to his village. Now we're bringing you to ours...I can only imagine what problems you can bring for us."

Rayne couldn't be mad, he was right. She was a total stranger, so there was certainly doubt clouding his mind. As she crouched down over the mossiest rock she could make out, Rayne made sure Sasuke wasn't looking in her direction. "What happened with that person?"

"They were a target of a gang. We were almost killed several times protecting him, and all he was was a bridge builder."

"Huh...Well, they were only a gang, of course you guys beat them."

"They weren't just a gang... They sent two rogue ninja against us."

Rayne felt her heart pound. Rogue ninja? Could they have been part of the Akatsuki? They did travel in pairs... Worry washed over her as her brain over worked itself.

"If you guys can go up against rogue ninja, then I definitely feel safe in your hands." Rayne pushed the worry away from the fore front of her mind. It wasn't time to be concerned with that, she wanted to turn her attention to the new opportunity she had before her. A kunai to her throat stopped her thoughts in their tracks.

"Why is it that we're protecting you, exactly?" Sasuke's eyes held an intimidating gaze. "We weren't given any details, just given the mission. And then to be insulted and berated by your kage once we got to your village, to have him talk about my family name... What's the deal? Who are you hiding from and why?"

"You really think you should be putting a kunai against the throat of-" The blade was cold against her skin. "...someone...you're protecting..."

"As someone who can supposedly spar with your kage, I don't see why you'd requite protection."

Sasuke didn't understand the picture, and that was perfectly fine, there was no need for him to. No one their age should have been subjected to the information and danger Rayne, and Naruto must have certainly been. Though, what was she supposed to say? Yeah, I have a tailed spirit inside me that the Akatsuki are after. Oh, you don't know the Akatsuki? Well, let me enlighten you...?

"I can assure you that Rayne won't be bringing us harm." When did Kakashi's hand get on Sasuke's? When did Kakashi even get there? Both Rayne and Sasuke were bewildered, yet only a smile could be seen under Kakashi's mask. "Sasuke, don't confront our guest with such hostility. What if something were to happen to you on our way back to the village and Rayne was the only person capable of saving you? Not a wise enemy to make."

"As I recall, she's the one needing me to protect her." Withdrawing his hand, Sasuke slid his kunai back into its holster, his eyes not once leaving Rayne's face.

"The information of this mission is confidential. Apologize."

Rayne was feeling a strong case of second hand embarrassment. It wasn't until Kakashi instructed Sasuke to apologize that he looked. With a quick "sorry," Sasuke turned on his heel, assuming his position back in the tree as look out. Kakashi pat Rayne's shoulder, retracting her attention from Sasuke's dark shadow looming over her. When he was up there, he certainly reminded her of Itachi.

Maybe they weren't so different, after all.