Opal and Onyx
chapter two; routines
Sasuke watched a flame dance before him, on, off, and on again. Idly, he flicked his lighter, again and again, watching it ignite, only to die once more. He had been stuck behind a train for well over twenty minutes, and the only thing preventing him from speeding off in an angered rage was the certainty of death, if not to him, surely to his vehicle.
He didn't consider himself a patient person. As the minutes dragged on, his temper heightened, so he flicked the lighter and watched the fire to preoccupy his mind. It was not an ideal way to start a Tuesday morning.
Most people hated Mondays, but Sasuke was a true, die hard fan of the anti-Tuesday club. At least on Monday, he was refreshed from a Sunday off. On Wednesday, he only had two more days until another day off. But on Tuesday, there was never anything to look forward to. His claims were backed up as the slow moving train continued to halt him.
I'm going to be damn late, he grumbled to himself. He was supposed to be opening the bar at ten, and it was getting dangerously close to that time. When the traffic was finally able to move again, Sasuke was too quick to press on the gas pedal. He managed to arrive at work just in time to open late.
Sasuke was cleaning the bar, while the cooks made their daily preparations in the back. The bell at the door rang, and Sasuke lifted his head. Fiery red hair caused him to inwardly groan.
"Hey, you," the girl chimed.
"Karin," Sasuke muttered, bringing his attention back to cleaning a mug (that was already spotless). "I see you're working today."
"Sure am," she winked and swung around the join him. She eyed him with mischief as he tried to ignore her. She poked her head in front of his and studied his face. "What the hell happened to you?" she gaped. Sasuke turned away.
"Had some trouble last night," he grunted. "Just forget it."
"Whatever," she said, before disappearing into the kitchen. Sasuke released a sigh. Thankfully, his ex-girlfriend wasn't feeling too nosy that day. It was just like her to meander around in his business, but she also had her sights set on one of the new cooks. She staggered off to bother him, leaving Sasuke in peace. He turned around and surveyed himself in the mirror. The busted lip and a purple bruise around his right eye were certain to bring unwanted attention. He glowered, remembered the ridiculous girl from the previous night. If she had just accepted his offer to cab, none of that would have happened. He reminded himself that she was not at fault; those two scum bags were the true source.
After about half an hour, customers started to pile in for lunch. For the regulars at his bar, alcohol had no time limit. They would probably drink themselves to death if they had enough money to do it. Sasuke served as he always would, while Karin waited tables. It was mid-afternoon when he was taking a small break. The place had mostly cleared out, and he leisurely leaned against the wall, checking his email, when the bell tinged again. Sasuke lifted his eyes from the screen.
It was Hinata.
She sheepishly clutched a new purse to her chest. When she caught sight of him, she flushed and looked away, before taking a deep breath and approaching the counter. Sasuke watched her with his eyebrow raised.
"I told you not to come back here," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I-I know," she stammered. "But... I have to properly thank you, for last night."
"Don't worry about it," he mumbled. She helped herself to a seat, the same one she'd been in the night before. She opened her mouth to speak, when a rambunctious redhead emerged from the back.
"Hey there!" she exclaimed, strolling up to Hinata, who shied away. When Karin took in the sight of her, and her proximity to Sasuke, her welcoming façade melted. She scanned the two of them with suspicion. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Can I get you anything?" Karin inquired with a monotone voice. Hinata shyly nodded.
"S-Sure... Well, I just came for tea."
"Tea?" Karin asked, flabbergasted. "Well, that's his job." She glared as Sasuke, who shrugged, turning to the automatic kettle. Karin made her exit as he filled it with water.
"I wanted to apologize..." she murmured. He glanced at, then returned to his task. "Please, believe me, I was not in the right state of mind last night."
"I believe you," he said. "I know what getting dumped looks like."
Hinata was taken back. "Um, well, yes."
"So what are you doing back here?"
She reached into her new wallet and slid a fifty dollar bill across the bar. Sasuke looked down at it in disbelief. "What do I look like to you?" he queried, sliding the bill back to her. "Some sort of bodyguard-slash-prostitute?"
"N-No, well," she stammered. "I just, I don't know how to repay you."
"You don't need to repay me. I did what any decent human being would do." He returned with the tea and set it in front of her. "On second thought, you can repay me by never coming back here alone, okay?"
To his surprise, the girl giggled. She covered her mouth with her hand, as if she were embarrassed by it, and Sasuke was stunned for a split second. So, she was cute. She still embodied everything that he hated. She was stinking rich, clearly careless with money, and had no idea what the real world was like.
Hinata put one sugar in her tea and sipped from it. Now that she was sober, she took in the appearance of the bartender. He was intimidating, with jet black hair and tattoos up his arms. Though not her type, he was also handsome, in a tough sort of way. Her face flushed.
"S-So, are there often men here? Like the ones last night?" Hinata cheeped in a feeble attempt to continue conversation. Sasuke shrugged.
"Some nights. The bar isn't the problem, it's the neighbourhood."
"I've haven't spent much time around here," she admitted it, as if it were a crime.
"I've been here for my entire life." He watched her expression, to see if it would twist in judgemental disgust, but she displayed nothing but the same bashful demeanour.
"I'm sure there are nice things about it," she assured, forcing a tiny grin. Sasuke shook his head.
"Not really." He grabbed himself a glass of water. "I suppose the history is interesting. This area used to be downtown, years ago, before either of us were born."
"That is interesting," she said. The girl idly sipped from her cup, and Sasuke dismissed himself to turn away. He set down his glass of water, accidentally splashing some out of the cup. When he grabbed a rag to wipe it up, Hinata spoke again.
"You should really let me repay you," she said. He faced her with a cocked eyebrow. She was fidgeting with her fingers. "I really am truly grateful... Who knows what could have happened to me, had you not stepped in."
"Like I said, I did what any decent person would do."
"Lunch," she blurted. "Let me buy you lunch."
With his eyebrow still raised, Sasuke checked the tawdry watch on his wrist. It didn't go without notice that Hinata's was silver, probably real, too.
"Well, it is my break time, so fine." He left the nervous girl and went into the kitchen, where Karin was neglecting her waitress duties by flirting with the cook. He scoffed.
"Karin, that plate is getting cold. Bring it out to the customer." When she scowled at him, he rolled his eyes. He grabbed his denim jacket off the coat hook and slung it over his shoulder. "And I'm going on break, watch the bar," he instructed passively as he left his co-worker with a permanent scowl. Karin annoyed him. They had dated for a while in high school, but she was quick to cheat on him. She still tried to treat him as if he was her boyfriend, getting jealous over other girls, while she was the one ruthlessly flirting with every cute guy she met. Because he grew up with her, he couldn't hate her, but damn... She got on his nerves.
I should fire her, he thought to himself with a devilish smirk. When Hinata saw him leave the kitchen, she stood up and adjusted her pink shirt. Sasuke put on the jacket, and the two left the bar.
"I drove today," Hinata peeped. "Let me drive."
"All right."
The dark purple Porsche parked at the back of the grubby bar was characteristically out of place, much like Hinata, herself. He had never been in such an expensive vehicle. When he entered, it smelled like it was brand new. For all he knew, it was.
"How much money do you have?" he inquired, as Hinata staggered to put her keys in the ignition.
"U-Um," she blushed. "Well, my dad owns one of the top businesses in town... This is my first car, though. I got it last week."
"What for?" He almost laughed.
"An early birthday present." She started the car. Apart from Sasuke's, its engine ran perfectly smooth. She reversed and began driving towards downtown.
"But your birthday isn't until December."
Hinata's eyes flickered to him. He remembered her birthday. How odd, she mused, but dismissed it. "I told my father that I could wait for the car, but he'd already purchased it."
"No point in waiting then," Sasuke grumbled with uncanny jealousy. He didn't consider himself envious of her, on the contrary, she was far too privileged to even be considered a 'real; person. But the car he was sitting in cost more than he made per year. He imagined, for a fleeting moment, what it would feel like to have such expendable income, but quickly stopped himself. Sasuke didn't allow himself to daydream like that; it was unfair to who he'd worked to hard to become.
The car ride was silent. He didn't ask questions as they found their way downtown. Hinata pulled into an underground parking garage near a large shopping centre. When they got out, she explained to him that she knew of a restaurant she thought he might like.
"I can't afford to eat at most places downtown," he told her, nonchalantly hanging his hands in his pockets. Surely enough, when they got to the street, she brought him to a casual, yet pricey eatery. He'd never been there, or so much as heard of the place. They entered the posh building. It smelled of wonderfully cooked meat and spaghetti. A waitress, one much more elegant than Sasuke's ex girlfriend, lead them to a booth. There were already rolls of bread and butter displayed in a fancy basket in the centre of the table. Hinata thanked the waitress as she handed them each a laminate menu.
"Fancy," Sasuke commented.
"It's my favourite restaurant," Hinata peeped, avoiding eye contact, which unwittingly irked him. It spoke of her shyness and uncertainty and lack of utter confidence. Simultaneously, it was refreshing. Modesty wasn't something he'd grown up with. The girls he knew were always tough and brash. They needed to be.
Sasuke carefully examined the menu, but found himself lost. He was looking for a burger or a steak, but everything was in a language he didn't recognize. After a few moments of trying to find something he knew other than pasta and salad, he grew irate.
"This doesn't make any sense," he declared. "What is all this?"
When Hinata raised her eyes from the menu. When she met his scornful ones, she hid her face. "I'm sorry," she murmured. The apprehension in her voice made him feel guilty. He always had been impetuous and prickly by nature. Evidently, it contrasted against Hinata's kind, yet timid attributes. He sighed.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, I just don't know what to order. I just want something simple."
Hinata, feeling pressured, made a quick inference on what he might like. From her experience with men, anything with meat in it was suitable. She pointed her finger on an item and showed it to the man across from her.
"Chicken sandwich," she translated.
"Good enough," he grunted, though red meat would have been preferable.
The waitress was quick to return with two glasses of water. When she offered any other drinks, Sasuke ordered a beer, while Hinata stuck with water. They placed their orders and were ill prepared to face the true awkwardness of the situation. Hinata almost regretted bringing him there, but she knew she had to follow through with it. It was part of her code; kindness must always be returned with kindness, though she was aware she owed the man more than lunch at a restaurant he didn't like.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them looking around at the various foreign wall art painting the room. Hinata had read them all before. It wasn't her first time being in an uneasy situation in that very booth, but looking around the room gave her something to preoccupy herself with.
She was about to speak, to make small talk as she'd been taught during her father's social events, when she realized something. "I don't know your name," she chimed sheepishly. His eyes flickered to hers, almost dangerously.
"Sasuke," he said. "Uchiha."
"A-Ah, I see." Hinata had inadvertently made the situation worse. Her father had always cursed her on her timid behaviour while entertaining guests. Unlike her younger sister, Hanabi, or her older cousin, Neji, Hinata was poor at accommodating strangers. Yet here I am with one, and not even on behalf of my father, she thought to herself.
The food couldn't have arrived any sooner. They ate quickly. Sasuke thought that the meal was delicious, probably the best chicken he'd ever tasted, but he kept the comment to himself. They finished, and Hinata paid with haste. The walk to her car was silent. The drive to Sasuke's work contained even more of it. It felt dense between the both of them, and then came the fatal goodbye.
"Thanks for lunch," Sasuke said, stepping out of the vehicle. He shut the door and took another glance at her through the window. She merely nodded at him diffidently, before clumsily making her way out of the parking lot.
Sasuke stood around the bar until his feet were certain to fall off. He may have needed the money, but he also needed his feet to drive, so around ten o'clock, he called it quits.
The bar was owned by a bizarre, slimy man named Orichimaru, who despite his odd behaviour, took favour in Sasuke. The man was almost never around, so Sasuke was technically the leading manager, though his colleague, Suigetsu, was the one who ran the kitchen. Sasuke was in charge of schedules and the whole hiring and firing process. He was also tasked with the tedious duty of alcohol inventory, but that wasn't as bad as the protracted hours behind the bar, watching the same dreary faces come in and out, experiencing the same lame sports games over and over again.
It's a job, he urged to remind himself. He cashed in just over minimum wage, which paid more than most places in his end of town. He exited the bar feeling discontent, reading the events of the day from the moment that train had made him late. Primarily, the day was satisfactory, despite Karin, despite the dragging hours, and even with the vomit he had to clean up around dinnertime. It was just another day, but diversely, he was given a free (and overly expensive) meal.
He laughed to himself as he started his car. Hinata was amusing, in her own, undesigned way. It had been a while since someone had given him a genuine act of kindness. Maybe it had been a while for her, too.
Sasuke lived in an old brick building in the heart of what used to be downtown. It had been converted into loft apartments from an old factory. Konoha's ex-downtown district was full of history, in contempt of how dreary it had become. In the 1900s, it would have been full of life, rather than littered with zombies and garbage. He pulled into the back of the building and parked his car. A man with a long beard, veiled in tattered clothing and a withered face, stood alongside the building. When he passed, the man extended his hand and begged for change. Sasuke dropped a few coins as he crossed.
When he geared around to the front of the building, where he would find the front door, he discovered a pink haired girl was also expecting him. She hugged herself and watched as her breath made a small cloud. Sasuke stopped and sighed. His ex-girlfriends really did like to follow him.
"Sakura," he spoke apathetically. The girl twirled around in shock.
"S-Sasuke," she stammered. Her eyebrows furrowed in vexation, before she smiled heartily. "Hey."
"What are you doing here?" he inquired with exasperation. Her eyes softened, hurt.
"You haven't been returning my texts. I was worried."
"We broke up," he muttered. He breezed past her and took out his keys, fumbling to get them in the door.
"Can I come upstairs?" she asked softly. He looked back at her, taking in her shaken appearance, and considered it. He didn't particularly dislike Sakura, but like Karin, they weren't a good match.
"I don't think so." Once unlocked, he had to kick the door to open it, chipping off more of the pine green paint. Before he went inside, he looked back at her. "You found a better life, Sakura. Stop coming around here." With that, he slammed the door in her face and rushed up the antique staircase.
Sakura was annoying.
He entered his apartment and threw his coat over the couch. He turned on the lamp and sat down, exhaling a tired breath. In the morning, he would greet yet another long, arduous day.
Hinata his her face as she parked her car at the hospital. It was early in the morning, and as she was accustomed to, many familiar faces exited their vehicles and strolled towards their place of employment, tired, but ready for another day of work. Some eyes fell on Hinata as she shut the door on the extravagant vehicle.
"Nice car, Hinata!" Sakura, a pink haired nurse chimed to her, and the girl faltered.
"T-Thank you," she mumbled. Sakura waved as she continued her way towards the building. Hinata was virtually allergic to attention, even if it was positive. What she had failed to inform the bartender on the previous day, when they went for lunch, was that she didn't want the car, period. It was too flashy. It drew all eyes to her and reminded everyone that Hinata's family was incredibly wealthy. In their eyes, it defined her; it masked who she was beneath her father's endless riches. Sasuke must have thought the same thing, she concluded.
The hospital was the one place where Hinata liked to think her money couldn't speak for her. The sick children, the elderly folk and the kind doctors saw her simply as a reticent woman who volunteered to help the needy. She intended to keep it that way, but she also was incapable of refusing her fathers present.
"I don't mind taking the bus to the hospital," she had told him, and he scowled at her, insisting that no child of his would be taking a city bus to get around.
In the hospital, Hinata stood behind the reception desk and followed simple orders from the secretary. Every so often, a nurse would ask for her help on small duties. Hinata hadn't gone through the necessary schooling to become a nurse, but she considered it an option. The pressure of going to University was piling up as she got older. Being a volunteer was a last ditch effort to get her father off her case; she was terrified of telling him that she had no idea what she wanted to become, so she said she'd volunteer, to see if being a doctor was the right career path for her. She had her doubts, but helping people was one of the few things that came naturally to her.
Sakura was a student who was taking her co-op at the hospital. Hinata talked to her sometimes, often enough to consider her a friend, even if they never spoke beyond the confides of the reception room. Hinata watched as she wheeled an elderly woman into a room and informed her that the doctor would soon be with her. The pink haired girl teetered over to the reception and leaned her elbows against the counter, her green eyes appearing somber.
"Is something the matter?" Hinata inquired, and Sakura let out a sigh.
"It's my ex," she muttered. Hinata nodded. She knew the feeling. When she continued to flip through a folder given to her by the secretary, she was surprised when Sakura continued to speak.
"We broke up a few weeks ago, but I'm not entirely sure why. It just seems unfair, you know?"
"I know the feeling," Hinata concurred, her eyes crinkling sadly.
"Ah, well." Sakura pushed herself off the counter and twirled on her feet. "I shouldn't be bringing this to work!" The spunky nurse winked and skittered off, leaving Hinata blushing. Sakura was an admirable person, someone she desired to be true friends with.
Hinata's reverie was cut short as paramedics came rushing down the hall. Normally, when the EMTs were in such a rush, it was because an older person had suffered from a stroke or heart attack, but Konoha was also no stranger to gang related violence. Either way, Hinata never fell short to a burst of anxiety when she saw them dashing, some speaking into their radios, with looks of outright gravity plastered on their faces. Following the paramedics, a few curious nurses, Sakura included, lightly jogged. They stopped before the exit. With her eyebrows knotted, Sakura returned to the desk and looked at Hinata.
"W-What's going on?" she dared to ask.
Sakura's orbs blazed, laced with an unmistakable fury. "It appears there's been a stabbing."
A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews, faves and follows on the last chapter. I really wasn't expecting so many!
I really hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. I know it was a tad boring, but I wanted to take some time to better introduce the characters, y'know? I'll be writing some more back story on Hinata soon. I know there isn't really much to her at the moment.
Please review and let me know what you think! I'll be honest, I was worried about this chapter and that it was too uninteresting. :P
Also, I still don't have a cover for this fic... If you can think of a good one, or wanna draw one or something idk, I'd be very grateful. xD