the best part about slow-build romance is the subtlety. give me not looking at each other while the backs of their hands are touching. give me unexplained heavy glances across the room. give me looking at the other’s lips and then looking away. give me the brush of fingers on an arm while walking by.
i don’t want to set the world on fire, i just want to start a flame in nick valentine’s synthetic heart
Hey everyone! Chapter 6 of my Fallout 4 fic is now live!
You can read it here.
Rose sets a course for Concord, and she makes a new friend at the Red Rocket truck stop just outside of Sanctuary. After discovering the place has a secret underground cave, she encounters more of the ghastly wildlife that the Commonwealth has to offer. After tending to her wounds, she discovers that her Pip-Boy can pick up radio stations, and she hears a voice talking of some place called Diamond City.
I would’ve had it up sooner, but last week was Black Friday week and I work in retail, so you can imagine my exhaustion.
Thank you all for being so patient in waiting for this update, I’m about halfway done with chapter 7, so it should be up pretty soon after this.
You can start from the beginning here.
Rose Halloran is the sole survivor of Vault 111.
Before the bombs fell, she was an accomplished lawyer, a new mother, and wife to a loving husband. After waking up from a horrible cryo-sleep experiment, she finds that she's been stripped of all of these titles. Widowed, alone, and afraid, she sets out to find the man who has kidnapped her son, the need for vengeance festering in her heart every step of the way.
It’s far away, on the outskirts of Konoha, and much older and creepier than other neighbourhoods. Some older kids say it’s haunted by the ghosts of the dead Uchiha, which Sakura knows is nonsense. Most parents complain how the village should resettle the area, but no one ever does.
She wouldn’t be here today, except...well, it could be her last chance to get this right.
In two months, she and the rest of their class will take their graduation exam. Once everyone becomes genin, they will be split into teams, and she probably won’t get the chance to see Sasuke so often. He’s at the top of the class, and if teams are formed based on class rank, she suspects she won’t be in the running.
Shikamaru’s a genius—she heard Iruka-sensei once say he could be the first of them to become a jōnin if he tried. And, despite Sakura’s best efforts, all the other girls say Ino is the top female student in the class.
If this is my last chance, I will make it count this year!
She leaves her house at dawn, ignoring her bleary-eyed parents’ queries as she grabs the container she bought from the market the evening before. Papa makes a bad joke about early birds and worms, Mama shakes her head knowingly, and Sakura is on her way.
Upon reaching the abandoned quarter, it doesn’t take Sakura long to find Sasuke’s house. It’s the only place that looks like someone lives there, with the walkway swept of debris and the paint around the eaves renewed. She wonders if he did that himself, or if the Hokage sends someone from time to time.
She raps on the door a few times and waits, rocking nervously back and forth on her heels. It’s early enough that he should still be here, and she doubts she’s waking him. Still, after a full ten minutes with no answer, her hopes begin to fade.
Did I miss him after all?
Sakura considers the merits of bringing her gift with her to the Academy but decides against it. She came here to avoid the drama and attention that inevitably comes from giving Valentine’s Day gifts in a classroom surrounded by the other contenders for Sasuke’s heart. She could always leave it here with a card—but there are plenty of stray animals in Konoha that would make quick work of her offering.
I could always come back after school. Or would that be weird? He might think I’m following him around, and then—
“Sakura.”
She shrieks in surprise, fumbling with the carton in her hands, miraculously managing not to drop it. Turning toward the road, she faces a tired-looking, sweaty Sasuke Uchiha. His clothes are scuffed with dirt, but his demeanour doesn’t suggest someone who was just attacked.
I bet he was out training. Wow. He gets up early to train, and he’s always first to class? That is dedication. Sasuke is so cool.
It’s also not fair that he looks so good after a workout.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, not unkind necessarily, but not in a particularly welcoming way either.
“I just... I wanted to give you something,” she blurts.
Sasuke exhales in annoyance at this. “I told you already, I don’t like chocolate—”
“I know. I remember,” she interrupts because he’s already heading for his apartment! “I got you something you do like, so you can accept my gift.”
“You’re wasting your time,” Sasuke says, reaching for his front door.
“N-no! Wait, Sasuke! Hold on. Don’t shut the door on me yet, please?” she beseeches. “I want to... Here, look.”
By some small miracle, he doesn’t ignore her, but his imperious over-the-shoulder glance isn’t exactly comforting. Not to be deterred, Sakura flounders a little with the box, but pries open the thin wooden lid to display its contents.
Two dozen shiny red cherry tomatoes gleam up at Sasuke in the morning sun.
“These are for you,” she tells him needlessly. “I saw you a few weeks ago, shopping. I mean, it’s not like I was following you or anything. I was with my—well, we were getting groceries. And it’s weird to see someone our age shopping alone at the market that early in the morning, but then I realised it was you because...you know. Anyway, I thought I should get you something you’d actually like this year, and these aren’t sweet at all! I tried a few to make sure. Oh, and I read that tomatoes have a lot of health benefits! There’s vitamins and potassium, and they help bone growth which, I mean, if you’re training as hard as I know you do, would be great, right?” She pauses, reviews everything she just said to make sure it’s not too lame, and quickly adds, “And...and don’t worry about giving me anything back, okay? I just wanted to give you something. This doesn’t have to be a...a Valentine’s Day gift.”
Throughout her entire speech, Sasuke has slowly turned around to face her, staring down at the tomatoes like he’s never seen such things before. His eyes inch toward her face, calculation there, as if she’s something inexplicable—a bacterium that’s decided to get chatty, perhaps.
He opens his mouth to say something—probably to reject her, so she braces herself for it. Then he closes his mouth, frowns thoughtfully, and exhales again. Except this time, it isn’t in annoyance, but more like...resignation? Acceptance?
“...it’s fine,” he says in a stiff tone, the word sounding awkward and unfamiliar to her ears. Perhaps they feel even weirder for him to say, but she can’t really think about the implications of that since her brain has stalled. Sasuke reaches out to take the carton from her outstretched hands.
She shakes herself out of her stunned joy and, bolstered by her success, boldly suggests, “I can wait for you to get cleaned up, if you want. Maybe...maybe we can walk to class together?”
She knows she’s pushing it, but why waste the opportunity?
“No,” he replies as he unlocks the door to his house.
The interior is too dark to get much of a clue to what is hidden within, but it smells heavily of a combination of cedarwood, incense, and tatami. It strikes her as an odd smell for someone’s home—more suited to a temple interior than a living space. It possesses none of the comforting scents she’s used to in her house.
Sasuke turns to face her, the tomato carton loosely cradled in the crook of his arm.
“I’m not going in today,” he says. He considers her a further half-second then adds, “You should go, or you’ll be late.”
The door closes, once more putting an impenetrable barrier between them.
Sakura is surprised to find she doesn’t mind this rebuff. In fact, it does nothing to destroy her bewildered giddiness. All the way out of the Uchiha district, she feels a strange disconnect, as if she’s floating. Once across the small bridge that divides of from the rest of the village, the giddiness turns into fully formed joy and she laughs out loud.
“Shannaro!” she shouts at no one in particular, punching the air in triumph.
It’s the first time he’s ever accepted anything from her—perchance, even from anyone. The enormity of this moment is not lost on her, and she’s sure she’ll be coasting through the rest of the day on that.
As much as she wants to track down Ino and rub it in her face, the inner part of Sakura cautions her to keep this quiet.
This will be mine and Sasuke’s secret.
And that makes it a hundred times better.
つづく
Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome, but if you feel like keeping me caffeinated out of the goodness of your heart, it certainly would be appreciated! I’m also starting to post original works to my patreon.
I’m only able to keep writing as I do thanks to the support of readers like you, so every bit helps!
Omg the ask box is Open! Do you have any cute/slow-build/smut taekookie? (I love you guys so much, Thank you for helping us lost taekook-shippers!❤️)
Heya!! ^-^/ You should, if you haven’t already, check out the long fics -tag for awesome slow-build fics. Many of the longest fics are some major slow-build fics. Also the fluff tag is worth checking out as well!
Here are some newer ones!
✄ Hold Me Like I’m Hope Let me present to you the most cliché trope of all, starring tattoo artist jeon jeongguk & florist kim taehyung.
✄ Last Year There’s a reason why Jungkook didn’t like talking about last year. There’s a couple reasons actually. [this is a follow up for a yoonmin fic Someone Special]
✄ Life Is Sweet (When You’re Growing Up So Fast) Jeongguk works at Bath & Body Works as he pines over the Ice Age Froyo employee Taehyung while Build-A-Bear worker Hoseok drools over lazy Game Stop employee Yoongi. And Jin does not give Namjoon the Starbucks barista free ice cream. Totally not. Hoseok is lying.
✄ Refrigerator Humming, Chewing Gum And Instant Karma Taehyung sets the flowers down on the dining table, plucking the card off the little holder. “Dearest Taehyung, just wanted you to know that I’m thinking about you. I hope you’re thinking about me too. Love–” he pauses and squints before cocking an eyebrow and pursing his lips. “Hyung, why is the boss of your little boy band gang professing his love for me?” [Not maybe the fluffiest fic but dude… i just thought it might just fit in the slow-build/smut section]
✄ Snowflakes Taehyung falls in love for the first time, right when the first Snowflake kisses the ground. Taehyung, a Single father, Drown in responsibilities & pressure, Finds his strength in a pair of Doe eyes, exactly a week before Christmas Eve. In a pair of Doe eyes, belonged to a simple country boy-Jungkook. [this one comes with the cutest 5-year-old Jimin]
As always, please check the tags of the fic before reading! ^-^
Notes: If you want to find it on Fanfiction.net, feel free. The Link’s below. I’ll probably try posting it to AO3 as well, later, but I’ve got to figure out how to use it first. Anyway, I got stuck again and decided to go through the entire chapter again, so...yeah. I’m going to be going through these and self-editing to remind myself of writing style. Honestly, I meant to post something else, but.... too many Muses stuck in my brain.
The Art of Motivation
Fandom: Naruto
Summary: The latest of Naruto!AU’s by Hakuei Shirei: Featuring a strange child, a broody avenger, an unpredictable knucklehead, their Sensei, and the everyday crazy that is Team Seven.
Characters: Team 7, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, OC
Iruka-sensei would be calling his name at any minute, and then he would know…
Was he going to be on the same team as Sakura-chan???!
Naruto bounced in his seat, ignoring the brooding raven-haired, self-proclaimed avenger beside him. Neither of them wanted to think about the earlier 'incident', and though it was too late to switch seats, that didn't mean they couldn't put as much distance between themselves as possible.
Still, several teams had been called and grouped, and the 7th was only now being revealed to the class.
"...Team Seven: Tsukino Kohaku, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke-"
"WHAT?!" the blonde cried out, half yelping and yelling. Sasuke?! He was teamed with Sasuke!? And there wasn't even a girl on their team! He was stuck with the creepy kid and the bastard!
(Somewhere near the back of the room, a sleepy looking dark haired brunette sniffed awkwardly, somehow managing to resist the sudden urge they had to sneeze.)
"Iruka-sensei!" He exclaimed, eyes half pleading, half indignant, "Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to be on the same team as that bastard over there?!" he demanded, more riled up by the fact that Sasuke was on his team than the rather gloomy and sleep-deprived looking kid that always sat somewhere near the back of the classroom and always seemed to leave as soon as they were dismissed.
Of course, it would've been Awesome if he'd’ve been able to have Sakura-chan on his team (actually, scratch that, Sakura was way better than that Sasuke-bastard! ...And he really, kinda-sorta...maybe sort-of-didn't-mind being on the same team as the gloomy looking kid. If only they could just get rid of that stupid bastard!
In front of the chalkboard, Iruka withheld a sigh. As much as he loved the whiskered prankster like a brother, there were just times when the kid was such a brat that he wondered. Still, he tried to be patient, Naruto could be a bit slow at times after all. "Sasuke's grades were the best of all 27 graduates, Naruto. You were dead last. You do understand we have to do this to balance the teams, right?" He pointed out calmly, not really expecting much of a response from the blonde.
"Hn, just don't get in my way… Dobe." Sasuke nearly sneered, instead just telling the hyperactive knucklehead the one thing.
There was no way he'd ever let anyone get in his way. He'd get his revenge one day -and if the other dragged him down? Well… He was an avenger for a reason, and he'd stop at nothing to get the bastard that'd had the gall to massacre his entire family and think he could get away with it.
"What did you call me?!" Naruto bristled, turning to glare at the noirette as he slammed both hands on the desk. Between the two, similarly to Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura was mourning the fact that she'd lost her biggest chance of getting closer to her precious Sasuke-kun, turning to glare at the blonde with annoyance as her aggravation hit a new high.
"Shut up, Naruto!" The pink haired genin yelled, far too upset with the fact that she hadn't gotten to be on Sasuke's team...though at least Ino-pig or some other girl hadn't ended up being on the noirette's team either. That was the girl’s only consolation as she fought back tears of disappointment, refusing to sulk as she took her misplaced anger out on the blonde knucklehead beside her -even as Naruto tried to defend against the red-wearing girl that he had a crush on without hurting her.
Iruka sighed. Hopefully everything would work out. Especially with Naruto. Taking another breath to fortify the remaining patience he had left, he spoke again, completing the list of potential Genin Teams before setting the class free for lunch. "We'll be introducing your Jounin-sensei after break, so don't be late!" The Chuunin-sensei warned, shooting a disapproving look at the squabbling -though thankfully no longer fighting- duo in front of him.
Trying not to sigh as most of the group scattered, he shook his head and left. He hadn't been able to pack a lunch today due to all the events that'd occurred in the past few days. He had been planning to restock his fridge the day after Mizuki's little Midnight Betrayal, after all. But with his own injury impeding him and the Hokage calling him in along with the desk-work he did after and between class days, the Chuunin had unfortunately been far too busy to remember until he'd found his fridge all but empty that morning. Hopefully there wouldn't be too long a line at the restaurant not too far from the Academy and he could get a bento to go in case any of the students had any questions before break ended.
Letting one of his fellow Chuunin teachers know that he was heading out (and thus ending up with quite a few orders from some of the others that either hadn't bothered, were too lazy, or had -not so conveniently- 'forgotten' to bring their lunches once again), the brunette made his way to the closest restaurant that sold the most decent to-go Bento that he knew of.
Meanwhile, as the newly minted Genin separated (or grouped up, as the case may be), Naruto made his way up to the roof to devour the packaged bread that was his lunch for the day, trying to decide what to do as he polished off his meal. Having escaped the classroom that had begun to fill with the chatter of new teammates (just as Sasuke had -if only to escape his Kami-damned fan-girls), the youth remained unaware of the figure that had slowly stood from their seat, taking their sweet time to stretch before bothering to look around with dull, slit-pupiled eyes that, along with their owner, seemed perpetually tired and apathetic.
Not finding the two that were the lethargic looking genin's new teammates, said preteen resisted the urge to sigh and sat back down in their seat. Mentally shrugging, the dark-haired brunette took their time to unwrap the home-made bento that they’d brought, deciding not to waste the time it would take to find the two far more infamous students who had clearly not understood that the lunch was meant for the newly minted Genin Teams to get to know their new partners.
The preteen, wearing charcoal black pants over navy blue shinobi sandals and a long-sleeved black ninja shirt with wire under-armor netting -that revealed a thin midriff and shoulders- didn't even bother to look at the three other bento that sat beside them on the seat that, more often than not, remained empty.
There would be a chance to pass them on later if either of the other orphans were interested -along with the Jounin-sensei that would be taking said genin under their wing. The amber-eyed brunette had only made the extra's out of politeness after all, and if none of them wanted one that would just mean less cooking for the brunette to do -at least for the next meal or two. It wasn't like their guardian would be back in the next few days unless they finished a mission early, after all.
Besides, Kohaku didn’t really like socializing very much. It was difficult to tell whether something said was offensive or not at times, even if it wasn’t meant to be. And that was even with all the people-watching the child did when not at home...
Outside, around the Academy Grounds, Naruto (masquerading as Sasuke) interacted with the pinkette that he would soon be seeing far less of for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for him, he would not only learn of the fact that his beloved Sakura seemed to truly despise him, but also the reason that he'd come to realize that he liked her. Too bad for the blonde that diarrhea caused by the expired milk he'd drunk earlier in the day would end up sending him to the nearest toilet even as the real Sasuke appeared before the pink-haired girl, dismissing said girl until she said something the young avenger considered unforgivable.
Even as said events went on, however, the Hokage continued to show Team 7's soon-to-be Jounin-sensei around the jinchuuriki of the team’s home (a pseudo-attempt to guilt trip the man he still worried about that would -no matter what the ex-AnBu captain said- still work on the socially stunted genius).
Naruto peeked out into the hallway again, impatient to meet the Jounin-sensei who appeared to be running far too late for the blonde's liking. He, Sasuke, and Kohaku were the last three genin to remain. Even Iruka-sensei had already left (the man having waited until the last minute, to the point he'd had to hurry out in order to avoid being late for the desk-job he'd taken at the Hokage’s Tower. As it was, the Chuunin would be cutting it very close, barely making it in time to check himself in).
"Ugh, why is Team 7's Jounin-sensei so damn late?!" The blonde exclaimed at last, all but tearing his shortly cropped hair out of impatience. "All the other teams have gone with their Sensei's, and even Iruka-sensei's gone!" He sulked, not seeming to be aware that his outburst had drawn the attention of the two darker haired genin.
Unfortunately for the blonde, however, both genin seemed to be quite happy to remain quiet and boring, though their reactions and actions towards the blonde seemed to differ. Sasuke being his usual asshole self, while Kohaku…
Well, the toffee-eyed genin seemed to be mute or something since the other hadn't said a single word as far as the blonde could remember, only nodding in acknowledgement when they'd all converged back in the classroom to meet up with their teams. Naruto really wasn't quite sure if the other was really just mute or simply stuck up (though thankfully not as bad as Sasuke if he was).
Still, something about the other genin gave him the heebie-jeebies. Maybe it was the feeling that the other genin was like some kind of cat or other predator to the blonde's senses. The brunette always seemed so detached and uninterested in everything that went on and never seemed to have a single friend as far as the blonde could tell. Not like that bastard Sasuke who seemed to have fans following him around absolutely everywhere, even with his puffed up ego and chicken-butt hair.
In fact, the detached yet somehow curious slit-pupiled eyes (even his eyes were like a cat's! the blonde thought -not quite hysterically, but close enough to a feeling of panic that he had to quash the urge to get as far away from the creeper as he could. Not even Shino and his weird bug-hive body was so creepy! Those Freaking Eyes) on his back made the genin want to shiver. Still, he repressed it, deciding to go through with his prank even as he ignored the itch he felt from the gaze that was boring into the back of his head.
He was sure that Sasuke was watching too, though the noirette was probably doing so with his usual condescending black eyes as the blonde wedged the chalk-iest eraser he could find between the classroom’s sliding door and the wall. Thinking about his prank (simple as it was), he snickered, feeling much better now that he wasn't thinking about annoying or creepy things.
"Heheheh~ That’s what you get for being late!" He grinned, jumping off the table that conveniently sat next to the doorway and making his way back towards his seat with a feeling of pride.
"Che, like a Jounin would fall for such a stupid trap," the killjoy Uchiha muttered, just loud enough to ensure that the words would travel, as Naruto scowled. Kohaku, wearing a dusky, off-white jacket (somewhat reminiscent to the apparently classic Aburame coat) that seemed just a size or two big, seemed to lose interest as the blonde puffed up in response to the bastard's stupid logic.
Before anyone could say anything, however, a pale hand slid the door open, the eraser covering spiky silver hair in white chalk dust before bouncing off as the masked Jounin blinked.
Naruto burst into laughter, pointing at the now white haired Jounin. "You fell for it! You fell for it!" The blonde chanted, too busy laughing to really think about the potential repercussions of his actions.
Sasuke frowned, sweating a little as he wondered at the Jounin's reliability, while Kohaku's face remained as blank as usual, apparently neither amused nor questioning as dark eyes stared.
The Jounin hummed, ignoring Naruto for the moment as he seemingly studied his new students, offering an insincere smile behind the mask he always wore. One that caused his single visible eye to curve into a crescent.
"How can I say this…?" He started at last, "My first impression is… I don't like you guys~" He announced, two out of three members of the new Genin Team sweating in response, even as the last apparently reserved judgement. Ignoring the reactions to his seemingly careless remark, the man led the children (and they were still children, no matter that the law stated they were now legal adults with the hitaeate that adorned their bodies) to the roof.
Kakashi waited for all three genin to take a seat, having long since begun evaluating the trio and noting that they all seemed to be just as reported -with the exception of one Tsukino Kohaku. Who was, for whatever reason, carrying a somewhat bulky bundle. The Hatake's sharp nose couldn't seem to give him much information on the containers that were stacked inside said bundle. Three if he was correct (which, of course, he was quite sure he was). He didn't ask, however, even if he was a little curious about the anomaly.
Naruto's brash curiosity had already revealed that the other wouldn't be answering any questions after all. Even if there was a higher chance that the Jounin-sensei would be answered, unlike the loud blonde that had practically run circles around the Mikazuki heir. Oh, sure, she'd taken her mother's maiden name, but that didn't mean it wasn't still on her file. That wasn't even considering the distinctive markings of the Mikazuki Clan, dark markings under the eyes that could be mistaken for bags if not for the fact that said bags didn't actually exist. Not to mention the slit-pupiled eyes and distinctive shared scent that he recognized from his interactions with others of the clan (though a few had had variants) that had existed until the night of the Kyuubi's attack.
Kakashi refused to think about that night however, the pain, though no longer fresh, still a wound that the Emotionally Stunted Genius hadn't been able to get rid of. In fact, just looking at the son of his previous teacher made his heart twinge, but the Infamous Copy Ninja pushed it aside, even as he specifically avoided looking straight at the bright ball of mischievous sunshine that reminded him so much of those he'd lost.
Shaking the feeling off, he brightened the crescent-eyed smile that he'd been giving the trio for the past few minutes, even Sasuke being unable to help but shift a bit at the supposed awkwardness. The only one that didn't show any sign of discomfort was Kohaku, but if what he suspected of the apathetic seeming preteen was true, the stillness the girl showed only meant that she was taking things seriously.
Honestly, if Kakashi were any other person, he might have been weirded out by the child. As it was, the silver-haired Jounin was only slightly discomfited. After all, knowing was one thing, being right there to observe it himself…
Well, Kakashi might have admitted that even he felt a little uncomfortable by the gaze that was concentrated so strongly on his person, if only to himself. All the observations he'd had of the trio he'd made during the several hours he'd made the trio wait (all the while reading his precious Icha Icha, of course) had coincided with the files he'd been given on the three.
The Uchiha worried him of course, especially with the preteen's mentality (something that was apparently up to the equally emotionally stunted Jounin to handle, no matter that it was just a Terrible Idea all around). The self-sufficient little brunette that looked more like she might have been just another shinobi rather than a kunoichi like she actually was (something that anyone with discerning or sharp senses could -and should- have noticed), on the other hand, seemed not to care that her teammates had apparently decided she was male. Not at all bothered by the apparent lack of femininity that graced the child.
Then again, the girl, at least, seemed to be far more logical as well as being much calmer than the two boys on the team if the fact that she'd kept herself further back yet still somewhat in the middle of the last Uchiha and the rambunctious blonde was anything to go by. She hadn't said a single word so far, but Kakashi was sure that she wasn't mute…
Well, almost completely sure, anyway.
Clapping his hands together to ensure the trio's attention was still on him (which, of course, it already had been, even as he’d continued to simply draw the awkward silence out during his musings), Kakashi beamed once more. "Well then! Why don't we start with introductions from you kids, hmm~?"
Dark eyes watched the Jounin with wary, narrow eyes. "...What do you want to know…?" He asked, still suspicious of the Jounin they'd gotten assigned as their team leader.
"How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future and things like that?" He hummed, purposely acting the way he was to further mislead the trio that just might possibly become his new Genin Team. (As much as it hurt to be so close to the blonde, it wasn't like he'd accept letting another Jounin teach the Yondaime's legacy, after all. Hypocritical as it may be.)
Even as he spoke the blonde squinted at him, as if staring hard enough would give him all the answers. Crossing his legs and supporting himself with his arms, he leaned in to speak. "Hey-hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!" He all but demanded, the noirette beside him approving of the dead-last's tactics for once.
Nodding, Sasuke continued to watch the Jounin suspiciously, sitting on the other side of the strange brunette that he'd all but dismissed already. At the very least the other wouldn't be as bad, considering that they at least wouldn't be dragging him down like the blonde would. On the other hand, the other could still do so if he was as average as the noirette believed due to having no real recollection of the slit-pupiled brunette… Better to believe they’d both just drag him down, if there was no proof otherwise.
"Oh, me~?" The silver haired Jounin mused, "Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi," he began. "I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes," he continued, seeming to think for a moment before continuing on, purposely leaving information out. If the trio had really done their homework, they would have known who he was already. But from what he could see, the only one that might have any prior knowledge about him -or any of the other more well-known Konoha Ninja- was Tsukino Kohaku. Especially considering who the child's guardian was -but he was getting off track. Continuing on, he went on to give the trio blank answers that would at the same time inform them of just what he wanted them to list when it came their turn. "Dreams for the future…" He hummed noncommittally before finishing up with a just as anticlimactic: "I have a lot of hobbies."
Seated in a loose but uneven ring, the trio shared a glance. Two dubious and unimpressed, and one just as unimpressed and blank if the look on their face was any indication.
"In the end he didn't really tell us anything but his name, did he…?" Naruto muttered, even Sasuke nodding in agreement -and disgruntlement- as toffee-colored eyes flickered between their fellow genin and the Jounin.
"Saa, now for you. Why don't we start from the right?" the masked Shinobi suggested. The two boys shared a glance, the last member of the three-member team being more focused on their new Sensei, even if they still paid attention to the blonde that shifted his hitaeate in what appeared to be preparation for his introduction.
"Yosh! My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like Cup Ramen," he started, grinning at man. "What I like even more than that, though, is when Iruka-sensei pays for my Ramen! I don't like waiting the three minutes for Ramen to cook, and my dream…" He took a deep breath, confidence clear as he firmly announced his dream. "I'm going to surpass the Hokage, and then have the people of this Village acknowledge my existence!" He all but shouted, a look of determination on his face that, coupled with the straightening of his back and the confidence he exuded, could almost make the man believe that the blonde would someday have what it took to follow in his father's footsteps.
Even surprised as he was, Kakashi couldn't help the fondness that crept into his expression, though he covered the moment with a blink. For a moment, the silverette had believed that all the blonde thought about was Ramen, but this clearly proved him wrong, the slate-eyed Jounin mused, chagrinned.
"Uhm, Hobbies…" The blonde continued, ending the moment of inspiration as he slumped a bit, crossing his arms in puzzled thought. "Well... Pranks? I guess…"
Kakashi sighed, rubbing his head and sending some of the chalk that didn't seem to want to completely leave everywhere. Well, he probably should have expected it, to be honest, but then, it had been such a juvenile tactic and he'd already known about it. Still, it did explain quite a bit about the abundance of pranks that seemed to have occurred even more often in the recent years.
"Well then, how about we have the moody one go next?" He smiled, sitting back against the railing.
Dark eyes met his, and the man almost frowned behind his mask.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," the noirette began, eyes hard and face partially hidden by the hands clasped before him, elbows resting just above his knees. "There are a lot of things I dislike, and I don't particularly like anything. I wouldn't call it a dream, but I do have an ambition.
“And that is… the resurrection of my clan -and to kill a certain person." The last Uchiha spoke shortly, tone clipped, a heavy aura pressing down around him as the other three stared, even Kohaku's caramel eyes boring into the self-proclaimed avenger.
Though it wasn't clear what the Mikazuki heir was thinking, Kakashi looked as if that had been pretty much what he'd expected to hear. Naruto's reaction being a bit more obvious in the way he shuddered and inched just a little further from the Uchiha.
Sasuke didn't seem to notice, too lost in thought as the frown he wore turned as dark as his emotions. His introspection only broken when the only Jounin and actual adult of the group spoke up once more.
"Alright… And how about we have the last member of our little group speak up now," He continued calmly, not quite asking so much as stating.
"..." For a moment, the silver-haired Jounin thought she wouldn't answer, but much to his -and the others'- surprise, the brunette that had been silent up until now finally spoke. "Tsukino Kohaku," the soft voice that sounded too close to belonging to either gender sounding just loudly enough for the three males to hear. "I like taking naps," she continued quietly, voice smooth if clearly disused for the most part. "I dislike socializing, being woken, or bothered," the brunette told them, keeping her words as short as she could while still being polite. She hadn't shared much that couldn't be figured out just by watching her or which could be used against her, really. Something that was more habit than anything. The less people knew about her, the less they would try to bother her. But with this being her team for the foreseeable future, she felt she at least owed them some information, sparse as it may be.
Besides, Kohaku had never been very good at vocalizing, so it’d be easier for them to figure it out themselves as they spent more together (something that would, unfortunately, be very likely considering how Konoha ran itself).
"Dreams…" She paused, a single hand moving from its place in her lap to touch the Hitaeate she'd hung around her neck. Deciding not to answer it since even she wasn't quite sure what it would be herself (to protect her precious people -or rather, person? To be left alone? She honestly didn’t know), moving on, the tawny-eyed brunette gave her team a slight shrug, chin-length hair bobbing just slightly from the slight head tilt that had occurred instinctively, just prior to the shrug. "I like reading... and cooking," she said at last, seeming to just remember the package that had been the source of quite a bit of curiosity -even if it'd been forgotten in favor of the Jounin-sensei's introductions.
Untying the somewhat thick cloth she'd tied around the trio of uneaten bento, she held the square-ish containers out to her new team. "This…" She started, holding it up towards the trio of males that she would have to acquaint herself with, an unsure look on her face. Words awkward and almost stilted as slit-pupiled toffee-colored eyes stared resolutely at the stack of bento.
"For you all," she murmured, letting her words die, silence encompassing the roof-top as a gentle breeze blew past, brushing against all of their hair. It was said that gifts between new people were more likely to foster some kind of...amiability (she didn’t particularly care about ‘making friends’, after all). And since Kohaku was resigned to having to -somehow- get along with her teammates, she had prepared the trio of bento early in the morning before heading to school (for ease of career if nothing else -like she’d said, she wasn’t exactly fond of socializing, after all… with the exception of her uncle, but family was different, and it...wasn’t really socializing…? As far as she was aware, at least).
A slightly surprised look adorned all three of the male members. Blue eyes staring widely at the offering, while black remained unreadable, and slate only showed mild surprise.
So that's what was inside the bundle, Kakashi mused, even as Naruto gave a shout of excitement and asked if he could really take one, and if the brunette was 'really, really sure' he could. The only answer to the excited question being a nod as toffee eyes refused to look directly at rest of their team.
"Well now, this is a pleasant surprise," the masked Jounin mused, experience telling him that the brunette was embarrassed if the slight pink tinge against her cheeks was anything to go by. Walking towards the trio as the other two genin accepted their bento (one excitedly, and one almost reluctantly though he did at least thank the girl), Kakashi accepted the last with a ruffle of the only female's hair.
As much as the girl seemed like she might be agender or even gender neutral, it was possible that it was something the child might grow out of later (or never, but in his experience it tended to be later). The Jounin had known a few people that didn't seem to care much about their gender, few as they were. One being a Jounin that was quite open to crossdressing for missions, and didn't seem to care much about being male or female, the other being completely agender (not including certain AnBu members he knew of, of course). It was rare, but it did happen occasionally.
"Wow, this looks good!" Naruto exclaimed, bringing the others' attention to him as caramel eyes finally looking up, startled by the hair ruffle as well as the exclamation. "Did you make this, Kohaku?!" Bright blue eyes sparkled, staring at the brunette that he'd just seen a new facet of, looking even more awed when the brunette nodded slowly.
Seeming to hesitate, the other genin spoke up at last, even Sasuke discreetly cracking his own open out of curiosity. "I...was going to share them during break," the brunette explained awkwardly, spots of pale red appearing high on the girl's cheeks even as she looked away.
Kakashi had to resist the urge to crack his own open since he could smell the other two's clearly enough, and could see with his own (uncovered) eye just what was inside the bento. From the smell (likely the containers sealed scent in, which he probably should have expected considering what clan the girl came from, now that he thought about it), he could tell that both of the other containers contained the same things. So there was really no need for him to open his own. And looking at Naruto's (Sasuke had only taken a peek and shut his own), he could see that there was plenty of rice, what looked (and smelled) like chicken, and other vegetables (a stir-fry?). From what he could tell, the bento looked quite balanced, something that actually surprised him. It was almost impressive, he thought, partially at the thought the girl had put into making the food….as well as the speed and gusto that Naruto was eating his own.
"Ish'uz 'uh-rish-us!" The blonde shouted between gobbling his food, unfortunately also proving that he'd never been raised to understand that you weren't supposed to be talking and eating at the same time. A matter further proven when the blue-eyed genin choked for a moment, hitting his chest a few times to dislodge what was stuck in his throat before polishing off the rest in record speed. "Ah~ that was great!" The Uzumaki grinned, sitting back with his weight supported by his arms as the emptied bento box sat in the orange-wearing genin's lap.
On the other side of the brunette, Sasuke gave the blonde a disgusted look. "That was disgusting, Dead-Last. Don't you know anything about manners?" He sneered, resisting the urge to inch further away from the blonde though he did seem to be holding his own lunch somewhat protectively.
There had been tomatos in the scrambled egg, and smaller half-cut grape tomatoes in the vegetable stir-fry. The karaage looked good too, actually, but the male wasn't about to say anything since it didn't seem like anything was poisoned (though he doubted Tsukino would want to kill him off, anyways. There was really no reason or motive for it).
"What'd you say, bastard?!" The blonde exclaimed, straightening to glare at the noirette before appearing to think there was something more important to do. "Hey, hey, Kohaku! Can you make more of those bento?! That was really good!" He exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling like brilliant aquamarine gems as he leaned towards the brunette...who leaned a little further back, looking somewhat alarmed by the close proximity.
"Maa, I'm sure Kohaku here'll do it if *(s)he feels like it," the Jounin spoke, clasping a hand on the sparkling blonde's shoulder and edging him a bit further away from the relieved brunette. "However, there's still something important that needs to be discussed before we can do anything else," he hummed, still standing as he smiled the soon-to-be-familiar one eyed smile at the trio.
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, "Hey, where'd your bento go?" The blonde asked, somehow managing to notice that the silverette's had disappeared.
Kakashi hummed, "I'm sure I'll have time to enjoy my bento later. For now, however…" He trailed off warningly, the trio before him straightening at the serious tone despite the Jounin relaxing his aura a bit as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He'd already sealed his bento away while the trio had been distracted, and watching as Sasuke and Naruto put their bento's aside (one, of course, still practically untouched aside from the shifted lid whilst the other was all but empty) to pay attention.
"Now, we'll be starting our duties as Shinobi as of tomorrow," the Jounin told them, having somehow managed to make his way back to the railing to sit down before any of the Genin could really notice.
Bright blue eyes and a wide grin met the slate-eyed ninja's proclamation. "Aw yeah! What kind of duties?!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly.
"Maa, first we're going to be doing something with just the four of us," he told them as Naruto settled, still fidgeting as he stared with bright eyes.
"What is it? What is it?!" He asked, clearly excited.
Kakashi allowed for a moment of pause, giving his next two words a sense of importance.
"Survival Training." The man announced dramatically.
"Sur...vival...training…?" Naruto questioned, a clearly confused look on his face. Neither of his other teammates said anything, both of the darker haired members of the team more focused on their Sensei.
"This isn't normal training, of course~ This time, I'll be your opponent," The silverette smiled.
"Then…! Then what is it?" Naruto asked, seemingly causing the Jounin to chuckle in response.
Dark eyes narrowed even as caramel sharpened, zeroing in on their Sensei's shaking shoulders.
"Wh- What's so funny!" Naruto demanded after a moment when it became clear that no one else would say anything.
"Ah, well… It's just that, when I tell you this, you guys will totally freak~" The man smiled, eye once again shaped into a crescent of short, silver lashes.
"F...freak…?" Naruto asked uneasily, fidgeting in his seat, eyes wide.
"You see...of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen to become Genin," he told them, creating the illusion that he was looming over them. "The rest? Well, they'll be sent straight back to the Academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent after all~"
A look of shock crossed the whiskered blonde's face. Sasuke's own expression not quite as shocked so much as surprised with Kohaku's being even less so. Whether it was a shock to her or not, or simply just a mild surprise was difficult to tell. But, having watched the trio for a while, Kakashi was at least somewhat confident that the child was surprised. It had been kept out of most of the books, after all (the only exception being certain journals typically kept private by their owners and records kept by the Hokage for filing).
Of course, if she was as studious (and deductive) as he believed her to be, then she would probably have at least a vague idea of said information.
Kakashi laughed, "I told you you'd freak out~" He smiled, even as the obviously building outburst escaped the genin as he changed position to yell.
"What?! No way!" He exclaimed, clearly shocked by this news, "But we worked so hard!" He yelled, as if it would change anything. "If that’s the case, then what was the point of graduation?!" He all but demanded.
The Jounin hummed. "Ah, that~?" He mused, "That was simply to select who'd be given the chance of becoming Genin," he explained, enjoying his trolling of the genin perhaps just a tad too much.
"Ugh. What?!" The blonde exclaimed, clearly still somewhat disbelieving of the situation.
Unsurprisingly, however, the only one that didn't seem to show any anxiety was Tsukino Kohaku. Or perhaps she was anxious and he simply wasn't used to reading her expressions (or lack thereof) enough to be able to tell just yet. The only thing he could see on the girl's face was a look of deep thought that didn't really tell him anything (yet).
"In any case, you'll have to show your real skills on the training ground tomorrow. Bring all the Shinobi tools you have," he announced, smoothly running through the rest of the explanation he'd given to every other genin team that had been handed to him prior. Of course, all of them had failed, but then, Kakashi had (slightly) higher hopes for this group. "Ah," he added, as if just remembering something important. "Skip breakfast, you might just end up throwing up otherwise~" He smiled. Pulling out a few sheets of paper, he passed them out to the shaking Uzumaki, the somewhat anxious looking Uchiha, and the stone-faced heir of the Mikazuki clan -a clan that would be all but extinct if its only other member ended up dying before he could sire his own progeny as well.
"The details are on these papers, and don't be late tomorrow~" He practically sang, disappearing almost as soon as the last sheet had left his grasp, leaving only a trio of genin staring at their own individual sheets of paper with a time and place noted. He'd even been kind enough to give directions!
Really, Kakashi was just such a kind person…
More importantly, however, he kind of wanted to try that bento. Not until the kids all separated and went home, though, the silverette mused, scent and presence pulled in tightly enough that not even an Inuzuka would be able to figure out he was there if he didn’t want them to.
Watching as Naruto and Sasuke squabbled over the bento that Sasuke had yet to touch aside from finding out what had been in it, and Kohaku doing her best to separate the duo despite her blank face and reluctance to speak, Kakashi almost chuckled.
At least it looked like this year's set would be more interesting than the last~
Maybe they'd have an easier time of passing the test if things went well. But considering the fact that two of the members clashed quite often, and the last preferred to stay out of the way as well as being far more reluctant to speak than the scarecrow had expected, the upcoming team looked to be one that would be quite amusing, to say the least.
Ending Notes:
To the Readers:
*(s)he : Why hasn’t Naruto or Sasuke noticed that Kakashi called Kohaku a ‘she’? Well, because despite the fic/story being in English, he’s not actually using the word ‘she’. Since Naruto seems to have a mainly Asian language (and of course, assuming that everyone speaks in a common language, that being some kind of alternate pseudo-Japanese or Chinese), in which “she” is either pronounced the same as “he”, “her”, “his”, “their”, etc. Or, as in the Japanese Language, is actually left out and more implied than anything. Hence the reason the boys haven’t figured out that Kohaku’s actually a girl. (I’m still trying to decide whether I want to make this some sort of running gag, but I guess we’ll have to just wait and see whether things go to keikaku/plan.)
Yeah, confessing your love in a dramatic rain scene is romantic. But have you ever imagined being at a ball that you were forced to go to by your controlling father and hating it? But then you run into your political enemy and you hate him, the ball, your father, everything even more? Your father forces you to dance with your enemy and it's the first time you realize just how tall he is. He pulls you close, almost too close to be socially acceptable. You're tempted to slap the smirk off of his face. But then he leans down. You can feel his breath on your neck. He compliments your dancing. There's mockery in his eyes when he leans back. You can't help it, it affects you. You're left confused, irritated for the rest of the evening. When he bids goodbye to you and your family, he doesn't look at you. But you can feel the brush of his fingers on your arm right before he leaves. You try not to stare after him, failing miserably.
AN: As mentioned in previous post, most people sent me asks about Gal Friday, so I decided to post that tonight :) The conclusion of Scion will be up tomorrow.
The lunch meeting with Hyūga Neji takes longer than expected. Some sort of internal crisis is going on with the latter’s company, and he needed to call in a favour. And of course, Neji is just as averse to asking for help as Sasuke is, so it took an entire meal of discussing stock options and comparing quarterly earnings before he cut to the chase and broached the subject.
Sasuke, naturally, made him stew for a minute or so, before agreeing, if only because he respects the other man. He also trusts him to a certain extent, at least in financial matters.
Neji has better business acumen than the entire Hyūga clan and company put together, yet might be passed over because of the family’s archaic inheritance laws. His cousin Hinata is technically supposed to inherit everything, being the oldest child of the family, but she has little talent when it comes to business. The whole reason for her being offered a position with the Uchiha family was to help her ease into things, but honestly, he thinks she’ll peak at the level of secretary.
Nothing against her character, she’s loyal and competent. But that’s about it.
Running a business requires a certain level of mettle and cool headedness that she doesn’t have.
And, of course, the ability to talk to people without fainting…
As he returns to his office, Sasuke glances at his watch, groaning when he sees that it’s only three o’clock. He’s meant to meet with Hatake Kakashi in an hour, but the man is constantly late, he likely won’t arrive until five.
Kakashi has been his mentor since Sasuke started working at the company after school as a teenager, and he has served as the right-hand man to both of Sasuke’s predecessors—his cousin Obito and, of course, his older brother Itachi. Kakashi even acted as Interim CEO before Sasuke took the reins, so it’s not as if Sasuke can simply cancel the meeting on him.
Maybe there’s something I can get started on for tomorrow, he thinks as he passes Sakura’s empty desk. He assumes she’s gone home or whatever she does after work. Didn’t she say something about night school?
He wonders at her ability to keep on top of everything during the day and then also be studying at night; he was consistently first in all of his post-secondary courses, but he hadn’t almost every second of it. When it wasn’t tedious, it was boring, and he slept through most of his MBA.
He somehow doubts Sakura will do the same, and then frowns at himself a second later for the direction of his thoughts. He gives his head a shake and tells himself it doesn’t matter as long as she shows up on time tomorrow for work, and doesn’t forget about the Oto files he asked her to get from Legal—
He pauses, catching sight of something on the immaculately organizes surface of her desk. A dozen neatly stacked grey folders, and printed summary on top.
“The Oto files,” he murmurs, bemused, picking one up, flipping it open, and then putting it back down on her desk with a scowl. “How the hell does she…?”
“Sasuke, stop loitering and get in here,” a voice interrupts his thoughts, and he won’t admit it, but he jumps.
Sitting in his office, Kakashi is watching him with amusement. Which makes no sense, because he shouldn’t be here for at least another two hours. And yet, he’s leaning back in a chair, straightening the white surgical mask across his face.
Kakashi is always sick with some cold or flu, thanks to his kids, so he always wears a mask around the office; Sasuke doesn’t think he’s ever seen him without it.
“Did someone die?” Sasuke asks, stepping warily into his office. “Or is someone holding your family hostage?”
“What? No.”
“Then why are you here?” Sasuke asks. “You’re never on time.”
“Very funny,” his mentor grumbles, sounding put out and a little insulted. “I’m allowed to care about the direction of the company and want to use our time wisely.”
Sasuke ruminates on this, then narrows his eyes and says. “What’s she got on you?”
“Spoilers for the latest Icha Icha novel,” Kakashi admits gloomily.
Sasuke snorts, because at this point he’s not longer even surprised. Sakura did say she would ensure everyone adhered to her schedule and somehow—whether through coercion or some kind of witchcraft—she’s done just that.
Still, the fact that something so mundane is what snared Kakashi in the end is a bit pathetic.
“You are a pitiful portrait of a man and I feel ashamed just being in the same room as you,” he informs him.
“Then let’s do this fast so that I can go home and stop subjecting you to my questionable morals.”
うちは
“Ever hear the saying ‘to ere is human, but to really screw up you need some kind of technological entity’?” Kakashi asks around five hours later, breaking the silence and making Sasuke look up, bleary-eyed.
“No.”
“Yeah, me neither. And this wouldn’t be one of those cases,” the white-haired man sighs and leans back.
There are dozens of papers spread out between himself and Kakashi, both of their laptops open as they iron out budget allocations for the various branches of the company, evaluate resource demands across the departments, and offer last minute input on the company’s latest advertisement campaign.
There is a sound like rattling from the doorway, and when they both glance up, Sasuke is surprised to see Sakura standing there, wheeling in one of the fancy tea carts they use during board meetings or when courting clients. On it is an assortment of sushi and shashimi, as well as a pot of tea.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, surprised. He thought she went home hours ago.
“Well, classes don’t start until next week,” she says, and he realises he said this out loud. “I’ve been in the file room all afternoon—and I’d love to meet the people who set up your system. Let me tell you, the Antikythera mechanism was probably easier to operate.”
Kakashi snorts. “You mean someone with your blackmail talents also has to file?”
“I know I make awesome look effortless, but there is a bit of prep,” Sakura sniffs, tossing her hair. Then she grins at them both and gestures to the cart. “But lucky for you two, the restaurant two blocks down does deliveries. So not too much effort.”
“I’m not hungry,” Sasuke says, turning back to his spreadsheets. “Eating slows me down.”
He pretends he doesn’t notice the way his stomach growls to belie that statement.
“That’s the beauty of finger food. You can eat it while you work,” Sakura says, and then points at several pieces of omusubi . “I even made sure to get your favourite. Tomatoes, and everything.”
He scowls at her. “If you’ve been talking to my mother again—”
“She’s talked to your mother?” Kakashi asks, only just changing his guffaw of amusement to a cough when Sasuke shoots him an annoyed glare.
“Ino, actually,” Sakura chirps. “She says you get cranky when you get hungry. And I figure, if what I’ve seen so far isn’t cranky, I don’t ever want to actually see cranky, so really, feeding you is probably a public service.”
She grins proudly, one hand on her hip. Kakashi raises an eyebrow, indicating that Sasuke that the metaphorical ball is now in his court.
He considers for a moment and shakes his head stubbornly. “Not now. We’re working.”
Kakashi sighs.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Sakura rolls her eyes. “It’s scientifically proven that working on an empty stomach increases your tendency to make mistakes.”
“That doesn’t happen to me.”
“Really? So that zero you left off the cost estimate for the Sarutobi Account was on purpose?” she asks, pointing at one of the papers to Sasuke’s left. “I didn’t realise your company had forty-five million yen just lying around.”
Sasuke’s eyes widen incrementally, but he refrains from snatching the paper to see if she’s right; Kakashi does that, though, picking it up and scanning through it. His face pales a little.
“She’s right,” he says. “We’ll have to reclacluate this before sending the official numbers out.” He smiles at Sakura beneath his match. “You’ve got a pretty good eye for a personal assistant. Are you sure you want to spend all your time with this one? I’m sure I can find someone more pleasant for you to work with.”
Sakura opens her mouth to speak, but Sasuke cuts her off. “We’ll eat now.”
He tells himself it’s because he doesn’t want to make a major mistake in the company over a stupid matter of pride. But Kakashi observes him carefully as he reaches for a plate of food, spitefully taking all the tomatoes he can see.
Somewhat spitefully, Sasuke begin to eat, relaxing a little bit because, well, he was actually hungry
He notices eyes on him and glances up, Kakashi’s eyes comically wide, while Sakura is watching him with amusement and something oddly like exasperation.
“What?” he demands.
“Were you absent in playschool when they went over manners?” she chides him. “I just saved you a fortune and brought you dinner. Anything you want to say?”
She crosses her arms and looks at him in challenge. He notices for the first time that she has rather muscular forearms, which seems somewhat at odds with her otherwise delicate-looking self. And her knuckles are callused the way his were when he still trained routinely in martial arts. He wonders if she still practices—
“Sasuke-kun,” she prompts, soft but at the same time a prompt that demands an answer.
Kakashi’s mouth may be invisible to him, but from the way his eyes focus on Sasuke’s like lasers, he’s probably repeating the words ‘Sasuke-kun’ with incredulous mocking.
“Tch!” Sasuke frowns at her, and then says, “Thank you.”
And then looks away from her, a clear dismissal, as he takes another bite of food. Kakashi is gaping at him now, but he ignores that, too.
Still, he can’t help glancing back at her out of the corner of his eye.
Her challenging expression changes, and she beams with genuine warmth. “You’re welcome!”
Sasuke feels like he was just physically punched in the gut and as he breathes in sharply, inhales a large glob of sticky rice.
He begins to choke.
“Sasuke?!”
“Sasuke-kun!”
Sakura is already reaching for him, perhaps to clap him on the back, but he waves her off.
“It’s fine,” he says tightly. “Go home.”
“Alright,” she says slowly, hanging back. She offers him a last worried once-over, and then smiles. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then flounces away.
Sasuke watches her go, not entirely sure what just happened, but fairly certain that something did.
He is brought back to himself with the sound of quiet chuckling.
“What?” he snaps at Kakashi.
“Nothing,” the older man says, in a voice that is miles from innocent. “I just suspect things are going to get very interesting around here.”
Sasuke scowls. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Hm…I don’t feel like telling,” Kakashi drawls. “More fun to watch you figure it out yourself.”
“I can fire you.”
“No, you can’t.”
つづく
I’m going to start getting plotty with this story after this chapter. I’ve finally got some ideas, it’s just going to take a while to outline. But I figure more stunned/clueless Sasuke can tide you over for a little while at least.
As always, reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated! Also, if you are in a supportive mood, you can find my tip jar here.
