Title: Twenty Questions
Pairing: MitsuSara
Rating: K+
Warnings: Probably a lot of OOCness and lack of general canon content.
Summary: In which Sarada's curious, and Mitsuki isn't exactly making things easy on her. MitsuSara.
A/N: Does anyone even like MitsuSara? Because I just see all the possibilities and it is glorious. Seriously, I want more interactions between these two bundles of joy. Also, this is just my take on Mitsuki's character, since he's still pretty up in the air at the moment. Regardless, he was hella fun to write. Lol.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. That honor belongs to the marvelous Kishimoto.
It wasn't until they were teammates that she realized how little she actually knew of him.
It was as if one day he was suddenly there- all careless small talk and cheeky remarks. He did well in class, better than most, yet never well enough to draw unnecessary attention towards his abilities. Their peers were fond of him, and yet he never allowed himself get too personal. Conversation was almost exclusively monopolized towards whomever he was conversing with, and by the time they realized they failed to acquire any new information about the elusive boy, he was long gone. The only one he seemed to really take to was Boruto, which Sarada always found a tad strange, if not a relief. Her closest male friend (and rival, as of late) needed someone he could rely on.
When they began training as the 'newly formed' Team 7, her papa made it a point to encourage teamwork and partnership. He put them in scenarios that required their mutual understanding, lest failure be the result; and despite all their shortcomings, the squad could collectively agree they hated loosing. They would even have the occasional group outing to Ichiraku- Papa's treat. And still, Sarada could count on one hand information she was certain of regarding the blue-haired stranger.
One day, over a year since being promoted to genin, she came to the conclusion that something needed to change.
She worried as the chunin exams approached. How would they succeed if they were still in this awkward 'getting-to-know-you' stage? If the stories she heard were correct, they would undergo serious tests in the exam, and they needed to be in top shape in order to perform up to the judge's standards.
She pulled him aside after training, slender fingers wrapping around his forearm just as he turned to leave. He had grown substantially the past year- all of them had. Faces thinned; void of the baby fat they once held in their rounded cheeks. All three of them had grown in height- the boys more so than her. Their shoulders had broadened, toned muscle becoming more prominent. Her hips were getting larger, rounder, and her hair growing out longer than usual. They were already fourteen, almost fifteen, and they were slowly but surely beginning to grow into the young adults they were destined to become.
"Uchiha-san, is something wrong?"
His voice broke through her thoughts just like the kunai they had been throwing all afternoon. He still called her by that annoyingly formal term of address, despite all of the time spent in each other's company. She shook her head, muttered something about meeting him at the bench by the village entrance tomorrow at noon, and scurried off after the retreating form of her father before he was given a choice to question her motives.
Now here she was, sitting alone on the stone bench, foolishly waiting for the boy when she wasn't even sure if he heard her correctly. It was already past the time she specified, what if he didn't show?
She couldn't be mad, really. She never gave him the chance to decline, should he be busy. His parents might have something else for him to do.
That was another thing- she wasn't even certain he had a family. She never noticed anyone waiting by the school for him during their academy days, and he certainly never mentioned them.
The sound of footsteps echoed upon the concrete pathway, pulling her out of her reverie. Mitsuki was nearing her, raising a hand in welcome briefly before taking the unoccupied seat to her right.
"You're late," she huffed, suddenly feeling awkward. This was the first time they were alone, just the two of them. Boruto was the glue that held their team together, which wasn't always going to be the case, and Sarada belatedly realized this should have occurred much, much sooner.
"I am," he confirmed, resting his back casually against his seat. She'd be lying if she said his offhand attitude didn't help relieve some of the tension that was coiling in her gut.
Amber eyes flickered towards her, as he continued, "If you had stuck around, I would have informed you I wasn't able to be here until 12:30."
"Oh," she said stupidly, a pretty blush staining her pale complexion, "sorry about that."
He shrugged, before sitting up and finally gifting her his full attention, "It's fine. Though, I am curious, why are we here?"
"We're teammates. Is it unusual for teammates to spend time together?"
She toyed idly with a loose string on her dress, making a mental note to do something about that later. Mitsuki was tilting his head slightly to the side, pastel blue locks falling carelessly into his face, something she recognized correlated with him being suspicious.
"Then I suppose we should go get Boruto," he said finally, making to stand up, only to be stopped by his female counterpart. She held onto his wrist, mimicking her actions from the day prior, and carrying the same determination.
"Hold on. I want to talk to you," she hesitated, before adding a reluctant, "just you."
She didn't like the way his lips turned upwards, as if celebrating a silent victory. What he won, she didn't know, and quite honestly, she didn't want to find out. Sarada had a feeling it would only make her angry in the long run.
"What about?" he inquired, settling back into his seat.
Onyx met amber as she gazed intensely at him for a moment. There was a distance to his gaze, despite the general familiarity he conversed with. If she was still reluctant, that sealed the deal, and she shifted so one leg was propped up on the stone and her body was turned to fully face his.
"I want to know more about you."
His eyes widened marginally, clearly startled. Sarada felt a jolt of satisfaction at this discovery. Mitsuki possessed this uncanny ability to predict people's behavioral patterns, and usually used that to his advantage- in both daily life and on missions. To catch him off guard was a rarity, indeed.
Still, she decided to spare the poor boy, explaining, "We've been working together for over a year now and I still know nothing about you. If we're going to be fighting side by side I think it is important to get to know each other."
He nodded, slowly, a faint smirk painting itself on his angular lips. Pools of amber sparkled, the way they usually did when he was plotting something she knew Papa wouldn't approve of. They had seen his mischievous side more and more recently, and when paired with Boruto, the Uchiha family had been gifted with more headaches than they would care to remember.
"Then how about we play a game?" he asked, casually placing his chin in his hand as he looked across the bench at her.
Sarada didn't like the sound of that. His 'games' were generally what landed them into big heaps of trouble. Like that one time they knocked over an entire table full of Mama's medical supplies. She's pretty sure the boys were still having nightmares from that. "What kind of game?"
His smirk transitioned to a genuine smile, obviously entertained by her distrust. "The kind where you ask me what you'd like to know and I decide how to appropriately respond."
"So, like twenty questions?" It sounded too simple to be true, in her opinion.
The smile disappeared as he intoned, "Twenty sure seems like an awfully large commitment."
"They don't all have to be today," she assured, eager at the idea of finally solving this seemingly endless mystery.
He regarded her for a moment, observing the soft sparkle in her dark eyes from behind her glasses and how she seemed so genuinely excited, before sighing resignedly, "Very well. How about we start with three for now?"
"Deal," she grinned.
Now came the hard part; deciding what she wanted to know. She actually made a list of things to investigate; it was stuffed in the top of her desk drawer, a place she knew Mama wouldn't stumble upon it while cleaning. But now that the opportunity was before her, she found it difficult to settle on one thing. There was so much she wanted to ask, yet at the moment, only one thing stood at the front of her mind.
"What's your surname?"
He laughed, a surprisingly pleasant sound, not that she would ever admit it aloud. His head was tilted back attractively as the music fell from his lips, and Sarada actually had to shake her head to rid herself of those thoughts because that is not what this is about no matter how aesthetically pleasing the sound of his voice is.
She actually had to keep from making a noise of relief when he spoke again.
"Sorry, sorry," he began through his soft chuckles, "I'm not laughing at you."
She raised a slender eyebrow, disbelief painted clearly on her elegant features.
"Now, now, don't give me that look, I'm not," he assured, albeit, courtesy of his amused expression, unconvincingly.
She repressed the desire to roll her eyes at the boy, instead scrutinizing, "Then why are you laughing?"
She didn't like the look he gave her, wordlessly communicating, it should be obvious for someone of your intelligence, Uchiha-san. But perhaps I overestimated you.
Regardless of what his eyes read, he explained, "You caught me off guard. I wasn't anticipating that would be your first question."
"What were you expecting?" she crossed her arms, annoyance dusting her words like rain at the start of a storm.
"From you? Anything."
"And yet I threw you off."
"That you did," he conceded. He reclined back once more, staring unseeingly into the blue of the afternoon sky. "Anyway, to answer your question, I don't have one."
"You don't have a last name?"
The blank smile he gifted her with reminded her of the way Inojin's father sometimes looked- as if it took too much effort to show any sort of honest emotion, so instead settling for a blatantly obvious substitute. "I believe your hearing is up to par. Well done."
"Gee, thanks," Sarada replied, wishing she had his natural knack for sarcasm.
It took her a moment to realize Mitsuki was looking at her expectantly. This time she didn't spend any time contemplating what the best question would be, instead going with her gut. "Where are you from?"
He was obviously expecting this one, as he didn't even flinch when he replied, "A small village of little consequence to you."
"I take it your hometown doesn't have a name, either?"
He once again flashed the bright white of his teeth, entertained by the unintentional sass she demonstrated. "Not one that would make any difference to you. It's unlikely you would know it even if I told you the name."
Well, if he was going to play that way, so be it.
"What land is it in?"
"That's your third question."
"Dammit," she swore under her breath- loud enough, though, for him to catch it.
He seemed to catch everything.
"Very ladylike."
"You're stalling."
"How observant."
This was getting old, quickly. In a bout of impatience, she snapped, "Just answer the question, Mitsuki."
He stared at her for a beat, fascinated by the outburst. "Fine. It's nowhere powerful, like the Land of Wind or Waves. No, it's… different than that. Much different..." he trailed off, lost in thought. A dreamy look had overcome his features, and yet there was a sort of sadness mixed in, like just the thought caused a torrent of unwanted memories to resurface.
She let him have his moment, attune enough to the emotions of other people to know when they needed time. Despite herself, she couldn't help but think of even more to ask him. What did it mean? How did he get here? For every answer he gave, she had at least another three things to ask him about. The thoughts swirling in her mind were enough to drive her mad.
Surprisingly, he didn't need as much time as she thought.
"I believe you've reached you quota for the day."
And all at once he was back to his old self, detached yet entertained, and observing her like a particularly interesting exhibit on display. He made to stand; yet still, he watched her.
And she glared right back as Mitsuki rose. He was so, so… annoying.
"This isn't going to be easy, is it?"
He spared her a final, shining glance, before leaving her with a final, "Few things in life are, Sarada-san."
It was the first time he addressed her by her first name, she would realize later. For now, she simply watched as his form retreated back into the village, genuinely wondering how he managed to be such a pain in the ass. She came here for answers, and all she seemed to get were more questions.
Perhaps, she considered, that was his goal. She smiled at the thought, unable to hide the sudden rush of excitement.
Unfortunately for Mitsuki, Uchiha Sarada never backed down from a challenge.
A/N: Wow, that was an adventure. This was just my take on Mitsuki, and even if it was super wrong, it was fun to write. About them being almost fifteen by the time they take the chunin exams, I think Sasuke would want them to hold off a bit, regardless of skill. Lord knows his experience was killer. This might not stay a oneshot, depending on my inspiration and time at hand. But if you'd like more, be sure to let me know! I'll see what I can cook up ;)