Father's Day Surprise
By Winter Thunder
Dedicated to: NakoudoByakugan, Parade, and Kawaii IceCream who are my steadfast supporters in writing. Also, Aly and DixiePixie on A Single-Spark. And most of all, to my beloved father, who I did get something for this Father's Day.
A/N: Yes, I am perfectly aware that Father's Day was, in fact, yesterday. I however, being the smart person I am, remembered.
And then I forgot.
And then I remembered to write this. And I didn't start.
And then I forgot.
So here I am, the morning after Father's Day, trying to get this ridiculous little thing out of my head.
For any of you who read my fic, Liar, I'm gonna tell you a few things at my author's note at the end…
Onward, friends! (Aka, potential reviewers)
Wait, wait, wait. Has anyone wondered why I'm Winter Thunder when it's the summer? I don't know. I just don't. I wonder why…I'll figure it out…er, shutting up...now.
Uchiha Sasuke and his wife, Uchiha Sakura were sitting at the edge of the lake, relaxing. Or at least, Sakura was. Sasuke had had enough relaxing yesterday to last him a lifetime. What happened yesterday, you ask? Well, yesterday was Father's Day…that should explain itself. After all, life in the Uchiha family—yes, family, a nice family of three—wasn't exactly normal.
Sasuke felt extremely relaxed today.
Oddly, while many would consider that a good thing, it put him in a stage of extreme paranoia.
He was never relaxed. As head of the ANBU guard division, it was his job not to be relaxed.
Today was simply not normal. It was far to quiet, a sound never heard in the household, even in the nighttime, when everyone was supposed to be sleeping, and it simply unnerved him. It was too peaceful. Sure, Sasuke liked peace. He hadn't had his nice share of peace and quiet since the day the dobe became Hokage. Or was it the day his daughter had been born? Or maybe it was the day that Sakura found out she was pregnant…and the terrifying nine months that followed.
But I digress.
Certainly, he'd been annoyed a bit today, by the dobe, his wife, his daughter, his annoying subordinates, his annoying friends, his annoying former sensei, the Hokage… now he was repeating himself. Just a morning of the people was enough to drive him insane. He just never acted it. Therein lay the problem. Just a morning. The second the day had turned to the afternoon—the second—all the "Let's annoy Sasuke!" club had disappeared. Vammoosed. Or whatever that word was that Sakura liked to say.
The unsettling quiet was enough to drive him more insane than a day of annoyances. Not only was it cutting into his "train and fireball everyone" style or just "Hn" the heck out of them, it was a really, really, really bad sign. Not that Sasuke was superstitious. Just, usually, when he was by himself and not doing anything…something was bound to pop up. Of course he's not superstitious! Why would he be? He's the frigging head of the ANBU guard for chrissakes'!
Just as he was about to clamber—yes, clamber—out of the extremely comfortable, but disturbingly comfortable chair in which he was currently residing (Sakura had insisted, during one of her odd cravings, that they purchase a large, dwarfing chair), his daughter suddenly appeared in front of him. Wait, what? When did that happen? Uchiha prodigy she was, but having magical abilities she did not. Judging by the way she was standing and how she gave a small yelp when he started to get up, she must have been standing there, trying to get his attention. Which, by the way, is very impossible (Unless your initials are S.U. and your name means cherry blossom) if Sasuke is brooding. Yes, the great shinobi, head of ANBU, patriarch of the Uchiha clan, said to be of the second generation of Sannin, and the oh-so-famous-chicken-butt-haired-Sharigan-eyed man was brooding. Because he was too relaxed. What was the world coming to? His eyes snapped back to attention, taking in a silent, still daughter, who, he realized after a full minute of her not blinking, was paralyzed with…fear? Nonsense. Riyaku wasn't afraid of anyone, not even her father.
Especially her father.
So what was going on now?
"Riya…?" He stood up, gently knocking her head. Thankfully, that got her out of her trance-like state and she blinked dark viridian (1) orbs at him.
"Otou-san…?" She blinked again, then let out a very un-Riya-like squeak and tumbled back. He quickly reached out to catch her and steadied her. Thank goodness what's-his-face—Ino and Shikamaru's kid, Tori, wasn't there. Had he been there, he'd yell out dramatically, totally ignoring the fact the Riya was a kunoichi and play hero and save her. Heaven forbid the unworthy and dirty floor touch Riya's beautiful self. (If only Sakura heard the comments about her floor…) Of course, assuming Sasuke didn't rip Tori's arms out first, for trying to catch his daughter. "Thanks, Otou-san." She managed a wobbly smile. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Stop.
Pause.
And rewind.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Sasuke moved.
Sasuke had an expression.
...nope. The world's not ending yet. You probably forgot that Sakura's been working on him for a while. Not to mention, he really wasn't that ice-cubey. It wasn't like he didn't talk at all. (2)
Now, if Naruto didn't eat ramen…that's another story.
I digress…again.
First of all, Riya always gave a toothy, smile-like-her-favorite-character-in-Inuyasha-Rin-grin and second of all…was that a present she was holding? Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Was it Valentines' Day? No, Sakura would have yelled at him for not getting her chocolates…or flowers…or whatever she wanted that year. White Day? No, boys were supposed to give something. So, what? Sasuke sighed when Riya still said nothing. That was absolutely, positively, not normal and a great sign of—well, it was just plain scary.
"No matter what your mother says, I don't bite." He informed her dryly. This produced a normal smile—normal, what is normal anyways? Oh yeah. "Let's annoy Sasuke!" club striking once every five minutes for everyday of his life normal—from her and she inhaled deeply. Sasuke could practically hear Sakura say, amusedly, "In…out….in….out…breathe honey." Riya had a talent for overworking herself and hyperventilating.
"Well, Okaa-san just told me about this holiday…me n' her we shopping and we saw a bunch of ads about this thing an' 'kaa-san started freaking out and rambling on about how she forgot about it and I was freaking out 'cause she was freaking out an' people were staring at us and then Uncle N—"
"Riya."
"Oh. Sorry Otou-san." She scratched her head sheepishly. "Um, well, they were advertising this thing called 'Father's Day' and today is 'Father's Day' and it's kinda new 'cause um…I forgot. Anyways, so, 'kaa-san tol' me about it and…" she trailed off uncertainly.
Sasuke wasn't dumb. He knew exactly where this was going. However, his daughter wasn't blonde, didn't have blue eyes, didn't wear ridiculous orange jumpsuits (most of the time—Naruto had way too much of an influence on her), and was, from what he could tell, sane. Riya also didn't have emerald colored eyes, bubblegum pink hair, a short temper, and so far, hadn't shown any talent as a medic-nin. She was more into the big stuff, like her father. So he crossed his arms indifferently as an okay for her to go on.
"…an' then 'kaa-san said—" Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. He'd have to start fixing her speech. Dobe… he thought irritably. (3) "—'kaa-san said you probably hadn't celebrated Father's Day before, 'cause…oh." She looked up hesitantly. "Sorry, Otou-san."
"Don't worry about it." Her father told her gruffly, setting a hand on a mop of black-brown hair to show he understood her. "But if you don't just get to the point, I think I'll have to talk to your teacher about going back to the academy…I don't think you have the ability to give a proper report." He teased.
"PAPA!" she wailed, slipping back into her baby name for him. "Don't!" She glared at him before going back into babble-mode. "Anyways, you know how 'kaa-san calls you…um…"
"Uchiha-daddy?" he offered, mentally shuddering at having to say the horrid nickname. At least she knows you don't like it. He thought
"Er…well, yeah…so, um…well, you're my daddy—" even she winced at this, "I mean, you're my otou-san, so, um…I thought…well, 'kaa-san too, um…do you want this present from me, please?" her voice dropped steadily, her words speeding up. Sasuke had to lean down slightly to hear and understand the last part. When he looked at her, a box wrapped in plain-blue—wait, no, there were flowers on it—was shoved in his face, obscuring his view of his young daughter. Sasuke stood there, looking at it, and wondered why—Riya wouldn't do something even if her mother tried to force her, unless she wanted to too—on earth she thought that he was, well, a good father. If he wasn't, he really wouldn't be on the receiving end of a gift, would he? Not that he thought he was a bad father…he just was gone a lot because of his missions.
With one last look at her, or rather, lackthereof, Sasuke began to mercilessly rip through all of blaring pink and yellow flowers away and slowly lifted the box's lid when he came to it. Honestly, he was expecting something like a talking fish since she was shopping with his crazy wife, after all. Instead, he saw a simple wrist watch with a leather band. It looked like it was hand crafted, and extremely well at that. Taking it out of the box, he held it in his hands for a while before putting it on and examining how it looked. It looked pretty damn good, if he did say so himself. Of course, the fact that his daughter had most likely picked it out had to make it a hundred times better. "Arigatou, Riya…chan. But you know, you didn't have to. "
"I know!" Sparkling viridian eyes smiled at him. "But I wanted to! And 'kaa-san wanted me too and Uncle Naruto wanted to see the look on your face, but me n' kaa-san wouldn't let him and 'kaa-san got mad at him an' punched him and then people started staring again, 'cause she was yelling at the Hokage for 'trying to interrupt some quality father-daughter time an', an', well, I wanted to do something for you Otou-san! You always do stuff for me n' 'kaa-san!" She exclaimed. "I wish I could help more."
"You could always do the dishes for your 'kaa-san." He pointed out, knowing she wouldn't anyways. Her face scrunched up.
"'Touuu-ssaaaan!" she whined, then she rolled her eyes. "Um…" she wouldn't look at him again.
"Oh, just do it Riya-chan." A new voice ordered, exasperated.
"Hai, 'kaa-san!" Without another word, Riya threw herself at her father and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him in a hug. "Happy Father's Day, Papa!" Sasuke was frozen for a second, unsure of how to react. After all, Sakura was really the only one who hugged him, and, well…Sasuke saw said person shaking her head at him, mouthing, 'Geez, act like a father, Sasuke-kun!' So, Sasuke wrapped his arms around his only child and dropped a small kiss on her head.
"Thank you Riya. Now, I think Tori and Yuuyuu are waiting for you…" (4)
"I'm so glad you like your present, Otou-san!" With another bright smile, she let go of him and skipped outside to her waiting friends. "Bye 'kaa-san! Bye 'tou-san!" she called happily.
"Have fun, Riya-chan!" Her mother called after her. Sasuke fell back into the extremely, disturbingly comfortable chair, examining his new watch.
"That was very sweet," Sakura came behind him and draped herself behind him, leaning on the chair, "wasn't it, Uchiha-daddy?" He ignored the hated nickname.
"I don't see what's to like about me, as a father." He finally confessed.
"Oh, Sasuke." Sakura sighed. "Are you still going on about not being here a lot?" No reply. "Sasuke, you are Riya's father! You can't deny that you two share a special bond. Don't worry about it. Riya understands. After all," she sounded amused now. "She is your daughter. Honestly. You'd think after taking more after me in personality she wouldn't be so much like you, my mission-minded man. You know, I really think she's spending way too much time with Naruto. Maybe you two can go train or something…no, no shinobi stuff. Go spend—Oh I know! We can have some quality family time tomorrow! Or today. I don't know though. The hospital usually gets louder in the afternoon. Anyways, you should spend more time with us when you're home! Especially Riya. You can't deny she's the sweetest girl in the whole world. Unless you're denying your paternal instincts. Anyways, how can Riya not see you as a good father? Geez, Sasuke! Sasuke, are you listening?" Sasuke had tuned her out till her last comment about being a father.
"Hn."
"Insufferable man."
"You do have a point though. What with you yammering on about fathers and her spending so much time seeing Nara in action as a father…"
"Shikamaru's not that bad. He's just, um, less inclined to become physically involved in raising a child. Poor Ino."
"Hn." Sakura moved herself into a position in which she could put her head in Sasuke's line of vision. A large smile filled his sight, accompanied by messy pink locks and twinkling emerald orbs. Sakura kissed his nose. "Happy Father's Day, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke kissed her back. "Sakura…arigatou."
A/N: -squeals- Oh, I just couldn't help it! I had to throw that last bit in. Anyways, I hope you like it! I had fun writing this. (Which probably means that you won't like it…Oh well.) I don't own Inuyasha—since there's a reference to it, so, there's my disclaimer about that.
(1)- I decided that Riya has viridian colored eyes. Viridian is a darker shade of green than Sakura's eyes, so I figured the black from Sasuke might do something.
(2)-I always get so annoyed when people call him ice-cube! In case you hadn't noticed, he does talk. He's just not a word-waster! Look at the Shipuuden!Q (DAMN Q!) He does too talk! GAH!
(3)-I kinda got this from on of NakoudoByakugan's fics. I think Naruto's daughter talks more casual, so I thought Riya should be more like that since you know, Naruto's really close to their family and everything….Shout out to Bya-chan!
(4)-Yuuyuu is Naruto and Hinata's daughter.
Note-Riya does call Sasuke "Papa" sometimes. I did that because I think, since "Otou-san" really is more formal, she ought to have a more casual name for him. Also, Riya's a little younger than Team 7 when they started their Genin training, so, yeah. And Papa was what she called him when she was really little
A note about Liar: If any of you were a bit confused, I've decided to continue it, so yeah. It isn't really supposed to tell you very much. Originally, I was going to make it a oneshot that really shows that they lost trust in each other—mostly because of what Sasuke did. So, look to the next chapter—Beautiful!
And I just figured out a good reason to be Winter Thunder when it's summer. I actually created an account in the winter, last year, but I never used it and it was under a different name. I just changed it so…yeah! It works! –maniacal laugh-
…Right. Shutting up now.
Two more notes: I'm working on starting my trilogy! (Look to my profile for more info) So, Look for the first chapter of Creases of Time: Legacy of a Sister! It'll be called "Mother to Daughter."
Second, I finally have the first chapter of the spin-off to Marshmallow Collection (I mentioned this on my profile), Memories Made Us, up! Tell me what you guys think—should I keep my OC in it or wait? Tell me! And be sure to read all of Tenshi no Hana-chan's stuff!
Review!