How To Break a Mask (Sasunaru)

The Office

How to Break a Mask

Author: Kinomi Akai

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the characters would solve their differences not with epic ninja battles, but with epic ninja dance offs.

Summary: An incident at the festival on Oct. 10th reveals that there is a lot that everyone doesn't know about Naruto. Smart!Naruto, Sasunaru/Narusasu, Rated M to be safe

Pairings: Sasunaru/Narusasu, mentions of KakaIru, as of now.

Warnings: Shonen-ai, yaoi, boy x boy, whatever to want to call it. Sakura "bashing" in earlier chapters; starting to be toned down now.

Author's Note:

"Blah" - talking

'blah' - thinking

'blah' - Kyuubi talking

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Last time:

Sasuke turned back to the now seemingly unconscious blonde boy. Guilt washed over him in waves, but he threw it away, now was not the time for such things. He needed to figure out how to move Naruto without injuring him further.

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Chapter 7: The Office

"Wait, they did what?" Tsunade growled angrily, and Sakura stared at Kakashi, confused.

"They brought out an empty plate, and acted as if it was normal," the jounin repeated, this time continuing on. "I went back into the kitchens to talk to the staff. You really have to do something about the prejudice here, Hokage-sama. It's not right."

"Of course it's not right!" She exclaimed, but Sakura interrupted.

"But I thought Naruto just ate quickly...that's what he said, isn't it?"

"He tried to play it off?" Tsunade asked, incredulous.

Kakashi nodded, and stated, "It means he's used to that kind of treatment."

Sakura kept her mouth shut and tried to shun the guilt that was threatening to overflow. Naruto...most people had matured over the years, but Naruto had stayed the same. So had Sasuke...so she had done the same. Sasuke was still handsome and Naruto was still annoying, but she did seem to automatically act differently around them then she did around others, or, that is, the same as she always had. It hadn't even really occurred as a problem until just now...was she another one of the people who made him "used to that kind of treatment"? Was he always treated like this? How could she be so blind?

She was supposed to be his teammate, and she was just another part of the village who tried to drag him down. On the other hand, he was so clumsy and weak most of the time...

Sakura's internal battle went unnoticed to the two adults in the room.

"Where is Naruto, anyway?" Tsunade asked in a defeated tone, slumping down to rest her elbow on the table, and hold her head up with her hand.

"He got lost, Sasuke's finding him." Kakashi told her.

Tsunade's eyes snapped up and she stared at him. "He got lost." It wasn't a question.

Kakashi frowned and nodded, the hope in him that Sasuke was overreacting dimming. Before he could speak, however, the doors were crashed open, and several bodies fell through, onto the floor.