Death Angel
"Sasuke-kun," she poked him lightly. "Hey, Sasuke..?"
He didn't budge, but just continued sleeping. Sighing, she grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it, arms folded on top of his desk as she laid her chin over her arms, eyes showing concern at the Uchiha who continued to sleep before her. She watched as he breathed in and out at an even pace, saw how some strands of his bangs moved from his breathing, and blushed at how he looked so angelic and much more handsome at the way he slept.
He only used one arm as a pillow to cradle his head while the other lay unmoving at his side.
She had no idea why she was moving closer to him, her lips just a few inches away from his face, and she stopped herself, moving to his ear instead as she tucked her hair behind her ear and sighed softly. "Sasuke." She called, "Aren't you even hungry..?" she pulled back and pouted. He still showed no sign of moving or waking up. "What could he have been up to all night then?"
"Hm? Shouldn't you two be eating at the cafeteria at this time?"
Sakura stood up and bowed down a bit to greet her English teacher, Hatake Kakashi.
Chapter 3: Courtship
"Geez, he didn't have to hit me…" Sasuke muttered, rubbing the back of his head where Kakashi used a book to hit him. "And why didn't you wake me up?"
"I did." She answered, smiling at how he cursed at the pain he felt on his head. "I even poked you, and you still continued to sleep." She sat down and he did as well. They weren't sitting with her friends this time, and he was grateful for that, since he was in no mood for another interrogation from the guys, or another staring fiesta from the girls. "What did you do last night anyway? It couldn't be school work, since you finish yours pretty fast."
"Training." He answered, yawning again. "Apparently, our eyes can be enhanced to that of Death Angels."
"Wow. And you're only seventeen," she got up and leaned closer to him, eyeing his sleepy eyes. "Eye bags at an early age don't look good you know."
He smirked. "You should know, huh?"
"Hey!" she slapped him playfully on the arm before sitting back down across from him. "I don't have eye bags!" she protested, taking out a pocket mirror all of sudden. "Right..?"
Sasuke just shook his head and took the mirror from her hands, keeping it away from her reach. "You don't." he said. "In fact, you're too beautiful to have eye bags."
She blushed, but still got the mirror and turned away from him. "Hmp. Smooth talker…"
"Heh. It's the only way I can escape from your hitting."
"Oh, so you don't mean it?"
"Hm? I do." He said with a shrug, finishing his food when he noted that she was done eating her onigiri. "And why is it that CA soldiers keep patrolling at night time?"
Sakura sighed, got up when he did, and walked beside him towards their classroom. "I don't know, dad said something about keeping the streets safe," she murmured. "But I feel like it's pressuring more civilians…"
"Did you tell him that?"
"Eh? No! I can't..!"
He raised a brow. "Coward much..?"
"F-fine! You tell him!"
"Me? Hey, I'm supposed to be on his good side if I'm ever going to-" he cut himself off, turning beet red all of a sudden before looking away. "Forget it."
"There you go again! What were you saying? Come on! Tell me!"
And that's what they've been doing until school was over…
"Tell me…"
"No."
"Please..?"
"No."
"Sasuke..!!"
"No."
"…"
"..?"
"I'm not talking to you." She crossed her arms and walked ahead, Sasuke blinking, and then laughing slightly. "Sure, see if you can handle it." He challenged, keeping his hands pocketed and continuing to walk next to her, watching how she twitched, how her lips forced themselves shut while she tried to keep herself busy by looking elsewhere. She was a talkative type, and she feels uncomfortable with the silence, whereas Sasuke can handle the noise or the silence.
"Don't kill yourself Sakura."
"Ugh! You're… you..! I hate you!" she yelled, acting like a child once more.
"You hurt my feelings…" He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and poking her arm lightly. "You can't possibly be mad at me for not telling you."
"Yes I am."
"Well, let's say, it's a secret, for now."
"But-"
"Patience, Haruno."
She sighed and nodded, stopping once they reached her place. "Be seeing you then." He was about to leave when she called him back, so he stopped and turned to her, his head tilted slightly to the side. She blushed again and looked down, playing with her fingers like what she sees Hinata does when nervous, and stammered. "Well… you see…" she encouraged herself, but each time she'd open her mouth, she ends up shutting it again, pretty much like how a fish does in an aquarium. "Um…" he was amused, to say the least, so he just waited for her to say whatever she wanted to, but she was getting frustrated at how he was smirking at her like that. "Stop that!" she yelled.
"Stop what?"
"That!" she pointed. "Your smirk..! It's... it's so annoying!"
And he just continued smirking.
"Sakura," The two teens blinked, and then turned to the front door of the Haruno household, seeing her father standing there, eyeing them both. "Have you asked him yet?"
Sasuke raised a brow then turned to Sakura with a questioning gaze.
"No dad…" She said truthfully.
"Well, ask him now, your mother is waiting." He nodded at Sasuke, who bowed a bit in response.
"You see," She said, turning to her companion. "My dad was wondering if… you… would… have… dinner… with us..?"
Sasuke thought of his plans for the day, only resulting to a blank, so he accepted. Sakura smiled and led him inside, introducing him to her parents.
"Why the sudden invitation?" he asked her when her parents were out of ear shot.
"Yesterday," she started. "Dad was curious about you."
"Dad, can we go home earlier?"
Ikichi looked at Sakura, then at Sasuke.
"Why? Do you need to head home soon as well?" he asked the male teen.
"Not entirely sir, but I don't think letting Sakura go home by herself would be safe."
The CA captain's eyes turned to the earring on Sasuke's left ear, recognizing it as a sign that he was a Hunter.
"Then, I leave her safety to you." He said, eyes not leaving the two even when they left.
"Just because I walked you home?" he asked, sweat dropping.
"He recognized you as a DAH."
"And did you tell him I'm not?"
"I did, and he asked me to ask you to join us for dinner tonight, since it's his day off today."
"Hn."
Sakura led him in the dining area when her mother had called them. Ikichi kept his mouth shut all the time, but his eyes were studying the young Uchiha, even when Sakura had served him the rice and the food Haruno Kasumi had prepared. And while Ikichi was silent, Kasumi couldn't stop talking to Sasuke who responded as politely as he could, with Sakura blushing when her mother would say something embarrassing.
"Mom..! Can you please not bring that up?"
Kasumi giggled. "Oh sweetie, don't be so ashamed of crying when you get a cut on your finger! It's normal!"
"Yeah, if you're not seventeen years old…" She pouted, glaring at Sasuke when he laughed a bit. "And you better keep your mouth shut about this, mister!"
"Hey, your secret's safe with me, relax."
"Sasuke, was it?"
All three stopped when the Haruno patriarch had spoken.
"Yes sir."
"And you're a Hunter of Death Angels, correct?"
"No sir."
"But you're an Uchiha, right? You're automatically a DAH."
"Well, technically, yes, but my father gave me an option whether to join or not."
"I see…" Ikichi nodded at this before eyeing him again. "Any plans..?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
Kasumi cut their conversation when she got up. "Why don't you boys move to the living room while Sakura and I take care of this mess first?" she offered. Sakura got up and assisted her mother while Ikichi led Sasuke to the living room.
"Why?" Ikichi asked, continuing their conversation as he motioned Sasuke to take a seat.
"With all due respect sir," he began. "I know how your daughter loves Death Angels."
"What does that have to do with your decision?"
Sasuke looked back at the kitchen, seeing how Sakura and Kasumi were still busy.
"If it's alright with you sir, I'd like to ask your permission."
"Permission on what..?"
"On courting your daughter..."
Silence followed afterwards as Ikichi studied the teen's facial expression. From the looks of it, Sasuke was sincere and serious about it.
"Why my daughter..?"
"I don't know either, sir." Sasuke said, looking down as his eyes half-closed. "When I first met her, I admit, she was different. I mean, sure there may be other girls in school who are better looking, but…" he smiled slightly and looked up at Ikichi with determined eyes. "With Sakura, I feel different when I'm around her. I feel like I want to be there by her side, whatever happens." He looked down. "The feeling of… not caring for your own life, just as long as she's safe, you're content. As long as she's happy, you're happy."
And while the teen was musing on this new found feeling, he had missed the way Ikichi smiled.
"We should do this again some time," Kasumi said as the family of three walked Sasuke to the front door. "I'd love to have another conversation with you."
"Looking forward to it." He said with a small grin. Ikichi gave a nod as Sakura walked Sasuke outside.
"My parents sure like your company," She commented, opening the gate for him. "And hopefully this won't make your head big, but you're the first guy who made it in and out alive."
Sasuke raised an amused brow. "That bad huh..?"
"Well, I am their only child, a girl at that."
"I can understand." He said, glancing back at her home before turning back to his love interest. "See you tomorrow then."
"Mm. And this time, be awake!"
"Don't worry, I have to be." He gave a wink to her before leaving. Now that her parents have granted him permission to court her, he can finally make his move. "But I still have to take things slow, if I'm not mistaken…" he glanced back at Sakura, seeing her wave goodbye as he nodded and walked on. "She was raised in the traditional way. Hn, shouldn't be too hard."
"You're courting her today?!"
"Yes, dobe, do you want me to repeat that?" he took a bite out of his toast and eyed the blonde before him. It sure sucked when his teammates stayed over at his place. Well, Naruto makes the idea bad…
"Good luck then, Sasuke-nii."
"Hn. Thanks Hinata." He glared at Kakashi when the silver-haired man attempted to make a comment. "And no, I will not use your book as a guide to courting Sakura."
Haku just chuckled and finished his breakfast. "Tell us, then, what you're planning?"
"You'll see. Sort of."
Since Haku is working undercover in the senior year division, there's a small chance for that guy to witness what Sasuke is planning.
"Anyway, enough about your lives as students," Kakashi stood up and handed each of them a folder. "Our next assignment, additional to the original one we have since day one, is to identify if there are undercover CA soldiers in the school." He eyed them all seriously, waiting for each of the teens to finish reading the contents of their mission. "I wish you luck on this, it's only a matter of time before CA gets a step closer to our tails."
"Hn, as if they can." He snapped his folder shut. "And even if they do, wiping their memories would be a cinch."
"True." Naruto said, grinning.
"Yes but, I don't want you depending too much on your specialties." Kakashi said, preparing himself for the day. "Let's move."
"Glad to see you're awake!" She greeted when she spotted him enter the classroom. "No training last night?"
"None." He said, stopping before her desk as Ino pretended to do her make-up when she was actually listening. "About yesterday…"
"Yeah?"
He smiled slightly and handed her a single gloxinia. Sakura blushed, while Ino held in her excitement – being a flower expert, she knew what it meant.
"You free tonight?" he asked casually, and Sakura could only nod numbly while taking the flower from him as he smiled a bit. "I'll pick you up at seven." And he headed straight to his seat, leaving Sakura and Ino behind as the latter started grabbing the former's shoulders and shaking her like crazy.
"A gloxinia! Sakura! Do you know what it means?!" She cried out. "Love at first sight!"
As Ino continued her non-stop rant and giggles, Sakura could only stare at where Sasuke was, who later looked up when a teammate from Physical Education approached him to ask about something.
"I wonder where he's taking me?" She asked all of a sudden, as Ino squealed.
"Who cares?! He asked you out! That's all that matters!"
Ino was somehow right about that.
"Even if I like him, and he likes me too, the fact that he made a move is already making my heart flutter." Her cheeks turned red, and Ino continued to be giddy for her best friend.
"I heard someone's got a date..."
"Shut up dead last."
Hinata and Haku just laughed lightly as Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke in a childish way. On the other hand, Sasuke glared at Naruto, who jumped a bit, almost spilling his ramen before muttering an apology to Sasuke.
"You're so abusive of your status!" he whined, pouting at the raven-haired teen who just rolled his eyes and turned to Hinata, silently pleading her to shut the blonde up.
"Naruto, you really shouldn't annoy Sasuke-nii too much."
"Aww... you're siding with him now?!"
Haku just chuckled and walked a bit faster to keep in pace with Sasuke.
"Any news?"
"My teacher, Zabuza." Haku answered in a low voice. "I'm suspecting that he's a rogue in disguise."
"Then, what's keeping you from finding out?"
Haku paused for a bit as all four of the DAH reached an empty table.
"His level isn't ordinary."
"Sou." Sasuke looked at his rice balls before taking one and biting the top part, eyes scanning the cafeteria. "That's not our only concern though."
"What do you mean?" Haku asked.
"CA soldiers have enough technology to actually detect a Death Angel."
Naruto stopped ranting as Hinata turned to Sasuke.
All three had their eyes set on the Uchiha teen whilst his dark orbs continued to study their surroundings.
"How did you get that information?" Naruto asked with his voice a lot quieter than normal. "Did Sakura tell you?"
"No." He murmured, closing his eyes for a bit. "Yesterday, her father asked me to stay for dinner, and when it was still too early, Sakura asked me if I knew anything about computers."
"What for?" Hinata voiced out, wondering.
"She said she needed help in opening a file that Ino sent her."
Naruto sighed and leaned back on his chair. "And what does that have anything to do with CA's technology?"
"Better keep your mouth shut this time dead last." He leaned forward a bit, and so did the rest of the group. "When Sakura went to change in her bathroom, I had to stop time for a while and hack into Ikichi's files."
"I thought you said you weren't going to take advantage of Sakura?" Naruto had his eyes narrowed, but still remained calm.
"I didn't." Sasuke replied. "I only seized the opportunity, and besides..." he leaned back and glared at something. "My father will start hearing from the damn council that I'm betraying everyone if I don't do what I'm supposed to do."
"You're right about that," Hinata said, looking down for a bit. "Fugaku-sama did not prohibit you from living a normal life despite having two lives; he doesn't disapprove of you liking Sakura too, which means the council won't argue with that. So, I guess it's to be expected that you do your part in exchange."
"Aa."
Naruto looked away for a moment before staring back up at Sasuke. "Sorry, I keep forgetting how hard you have it."
"Hn. Forget it."
"You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."
"That's exactly it, I want to."
She smiled at him, and he smirked in return.
"Wouldn't you be bored waiting for me?"
"Nah, I can grab a book to read, or..." he trailed off, still smirking as they reached an empty table. "I can stare at you for the remaining free period."
"Sasuke..!" she hissed as silently as possible, albeit blushing. "You're going to make me feel awkward!"
"Heh. It's not my fault Kakashi let us off early."
"He did say to spend the remaining time in the library..."
"Yeah, but he also said it was optional." Though inwardly, Sasuke knew that Kakashi was trying to help him out. He ought to pay him back for that some time. "Anyway, go and read." He smiled in a teasing way at her. "I'll sit here and watch."
"You're not going to make me focus!"
He laughed and leaned back against his chair, turning his head to the side instead. "Fine, fine, I'll look elsewhere."
"Thank you." She smiled, and continued reading a classic novel.
As she was drawn to the story, Sasuke's brows had knitted together as he spotted four male students positioned in places where he and Sakura were in the middle. One was reading a book to his right, but Sasuke knew that behind those dark, tinted shades, the boy's eyes were directly looking at them. Next, he sensed someone eyeing them from the shelf behind him, pretending to be searching for a book. Another, who was on his left and also sporting long hair, seemed like he was asleep due to his head resting on top of his folded arms.
"...These people..." he thought. "Their auras are familiar..."
Lastly, another boy, chubby at that, stood not very far, looking like he was busy gathering some books, but his eyes, from what Sasuke observed, went from the books, to him, and to Sakura.
"They can't be Rogues..." he tried to act casual, keeping his guard up in case the four men decide to make a move. "And they can't possibly be stalkers of Sakura..."
A little while later, he relaxed when the fat guy left, along with the sleeping, long-haired boy who pretended to yawn and leave the library.
Sasuke glanced at the shades-wearing boy who closed his book and returned it to a shelf before taking his leave, and the guy whom the Uchiha sensed watching them earlier from behind the shelf was no longer there.
"Could they be fan boys?" he didn't bet on it, because the auras coming from all four felt weird and oddly familiar to him, yet he doesn't recognize any of them. "I ought to check this up with Kakashi later."
He soon raised his head when he felt the wind slowly come to a halt. He noticed how Sakura's eyes were glued to the book, yet her fingers remained stiff upon attempting to turn to the next page. With these observations, he gave a sigh and stood up, hands pocketed, before turning around to meet three visitors.
"Is it that important that it cannot wait?" he asked with a raised brow.
The two men from each side of the taller man in the middle suddenly went down on one knee, heads bowing as Sasuke gave a nod of acknowledgement for the respect shown before him.
"We have an urgent meeting later." The man in the middle said.
The young Uchiha's eyes widened for a moment before returning back to its usual calm gaze. "How long will it take?"
"It depends on how late the people will arrive."
"...Am I needed?"
"Sasuke, you are my son, therefore, your presence is very important. If you fail to attend, what would the other members say?"
He snorted, catching how his father had given him a stern look of disapproval.
"Dad, seriously," He muttered, running a hand through his hair. "When will you learn that I don't give a shit?"
"Watch your language, my son." And he turned his back to Sasuke. "Be there. I mean it."
"Fine."
And as the three men faded into the darkness, time started to tick again, and Sasuke turned to Sakura, who blinked and looked up at him, frowning upon seeing the scowl on his face. "What's wrong?" she got up after closing her book, hoping she hadn't done anything to cause him to look like he is now.
"I..." he trailed off. "...I just remembered something important." He said, looking at her directly in the eye. Sakura noted the disappointed look on his face, and she somehow had a feeling that she won't be having that date he scheduled. "I understand." She managed a small smile. "Maybe some other time then?" she was hopeful, and Sasuke didn't miss it.
"I'm really sorry Sakura." He apologized, turning away. "But believe me," he gave her a serious look, which had her a bit taken aback. "I am serious about courting you."
She stared at him, seeing how his fists were clenched, whether from anxiousness or anger. His eyes were locked onto hers, and behind those orbs, she saw his sincerity. Slowly, her lips formed a grin, and he blinked, surprised at her reaction.
"I believe you Sasuke, what made you think I ever doubted?"
"I... it's just that..." he couldn't seem to find the right words to say. "Look, I'll keep that date, alright? Wait for me."
"But you don't really have to, if you can't-"
"I'll be there!" he said, cutting her off. "I promise, I will."
Sighing, she giggled and smiled brightly at him. "You're just the kind of guy I've always wanted."
And he blushed at those words.
To be continued...
Next on Death Angel: Chapter 4: Trust
"Sasuke..." she hiccupped. "He... he took on those Rogues to protect me!" she cried. "It's my fault dad! He could die because of me!"
"Hush now..." he comforted her and continued to stare at the closed door, brows furrowing in worry. After meeting the teen last night, he had begun to respect him, especially when he asked for his permission to court Sakura first before making a move. And based from Sasuke's confession last night, and from how Sakura reacted to what just happened, Ikichi knew for a fact that Sasuke may not only like Sakura, but could possibly be in love with her, or to be sure, Sasuke's feelings are getting close to love, and it can be safely assumed that Sakura feels the same way.
A/N: "Sou" is a shorter version of "Souka" which means "I see" for short.
