When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 47 -

"You're sure they're coming?"

"For the last time, Kiba, yes! Iruka's bringing them back here in just a few minutes. Now hurry up and get into position."

The sound of shattering glass filled the room. Naruto sighed in exasperation.

"What was that?"

"Umm... nothing, Naruto."

"Choji, did you drop your glass?" Silence. "I told you to wait till the lights were on..."

"But I was thirsty!"

"Leave him alone, Shika. We have to time clean it all up, right?"

"So troublesome..."

"Kiba, hit the lights again, will you?"

Suddenly, the dark entryway of Sasuke and Kakashi's house lit up, revealing a room full of teenagers. Choji stood in the middle of a puddle of soda and broken glass. Kiba stood near the light switch at the entrance. Naruto was in the middle of the room, directing Gaara and Lee to the kitchen while Shikamaru and Temari rushed to the bathroom for towels.

Ten minutes before the housewarming party had even begun, it was looking like a total disaster.

Aside from the broken glass and spilled soda, there was the fact that the party store had mixed up their order. Instead of receiving several dozen multicolored balloons and a banner reading "Welcome Home," they instead had black balloons and an "Over the Hill" sign. Kiba had insisted that they use the supplies anyway, since, for one, they were free, and two, they were better than nothing. Then there was Lee, who had somehow gotten the impression that this was a costume party, despite Gaara's insistence to the contrary. Cleaning up the glass by Choji's feet, he was dressed as a 1960s version of Robin, complete with a red shirt, black cape, domino mask, and a green Speedo. Despite the fact that he was the only one dressed up, Lee insisted on staying in costume and, as well as he could, in character.

"Holy Spillage, Batman!"

"Not now, Lee," Naruto said, shaking his head at the sight.

As bad as it looks right now, I'm still amazed we were able to throw this together so quickly. We only started planning this thing last Saturday, and here we are, a week later. Not terrible, all in all.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Everyone in the room froze as they heard Kakashi's voice come from the other side of the door.

"Why'd you ring? We're right here, Iruka."

"Ah, you're right. How silly of me... haha..."

Turning to the others, Naruto began issuing orders in a hushed voice. "Hurry! To your positions, everyone!"

Once the others had rushed to their positions beneath the banner, Kiba flicked off the light and darted over to the group. The only problem was, in the dark, he couldn't see the group all too well, and he wound up crashing into them instead. Thus, when Sasuke, Kakashi, and Iruka entered the house and turned on the lights, they found only a tangled mass of limbs amidst the decorations. After a few moments of silence, it was finally Sasuke who eloquently voiced the others' thoughts.

"What the hell?"

"Umm... surprise?" Naruto offered with a sheepish grin before being inadvertently kicked in the face by Lee.

Shaking his head, Iruka ran a hand through his hair and looked over to Kakashi with an amused smile. "Well, we were trying to surprise the two of you with a housewarming party. That's why I kept you guys out all afternoon."

"I'm relieved," Kakashi replied, glancing up at the 'Over the Hill' banner. "I didn't think I'd aged that quickly."

After the pile of teens slowly clambered off one another, Naruto stood and attempted to get the party back on track. "So, would you like to join us in the kitchen? We have all kinds of goodies for you."