The Art of Dating
by Diana-san
04. The Art of Apologizing
Sarada and Inojin seated themselves down as they sat inside Ichiraku's. The smell of ramen filled the air as the coziness of the bar table kept Sarada and Inojin warm from the cold, brisk air outside.
"What will it be?" Teuchi asked as his daughter, Ayame, smiled from behind the counter.
"Two miso ramen please," Inojin ordered.
Sarada turned in surprise as she glanced at Inojin. "How did you know that was what I was going to order?" she asked.
"Boruto mentions how you always pick miso ramen whenever you eat with him. He says you are so boring because you never try the other flavors."
Sarada gives a small smile as she laughs quietly. "I guess I prefer consistency."
Soon, their orders were placed in front of them as Teuchi gave them two large bowls of miso ramen. Teuchi winked at Inojin as he had added extra meat in Sarada's bowl. Inojin smiled back as he began to dig in.
Sarada reached for her glasses as she took them off and placed them to the side of her bowl. Inojin watched in surprise as Sarada began to eat her ramen without her glasses on.
"You look different," he commented.
Sarada glanced up as her obsidian orbs caught Inojin's gaze on her. "Oh… yeah. I have to take off my glasses when I eat ramen. I hate when the lenses fog up from the steam." She squints at Inojin as her vision is slightly blurred from not having her glasses on.
He laughs as he watches her squinting at him. He tilts his head to the side and tells her to stop it. "You're ugly when you do that."
She frowns and stops squinting as she returns to her ramen bowl. "Whatever," she murmured as she continued to eat.
As they finished eating, Ayame hands Inojin the check and immediately, Sarada protests as she reaches to grab the check out of Inojin's hands. They fight for it for awhile but Inojin is slightly taller so he waves it away from Sarada's hands. He jumped off his seat as he reaches for his wallet to pay.
It was then that he heard the loud cracking sound underneath his shoes. Both of them glanced down at the direction of the sound. Sarada squints at the blurry object below Inojin's feet and could only gasp when he stepped off it. She could see that there was shards of glass on the ground and Sarada quickly reached towards the side of her ramen bowl as she tries to reach for her glasses to put on. Only they weren't there. Because they were on the ground. Crushed underneath Inojin's feet.
The glasses must have fell during the fight for the check and Inojin could only gape in shock at the broken pair of red-framed glasses at his feet. He bent down to pick up the frames which were now slightly bent in the center with the lenses half missing. "I'm sorry," he said in apology as he felt really bad about it.
Sarada sighed. "It's okay. I have a spare pair at home. Only it's not as pretty as this one."
"I'll fix it," he promises her. "I swear. Tomorrow morning, you'll have them back. Brand new!"
Sarada shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I have a spare."
As Inojin paid for the meal, the two of them left Ichiraku's. He watches as Sarada stumbles a little as she exited the ramen shop. She was squinting around and her hands was placed slightly in front of her as if she was scared that she would fall or walk into something. Inojin stuffed the red frames into his pocket as he reached for Sarada's hand.
"I'll walk you home so you don't trip and fall into a ditch," he said as he held her hand. His fingers intertwined around Sarada's fingers and she glanced at their hands as if it was a foreign object.
"You don't have to," she protested but he didn't bother to listen as he pulled her along.
"You're going to take the whole night to get home if you have to stop and squint at every house to check if it is yours," he remarked.
Sarada muttered something incoherent but followed along. They walked home in silence and soon, they reached Sarada's house. "Thank you for tonight," Sarada murmured as she let go of his hand.
"Sorry about your glasses. I'll fix them," he apologizes again.
"Ah, sure," Sarada said as if not really believing him. She smiles a little as she waves goodbye before turning to stumble her way back to her front door.
Inojin walks into his own home as he greets his mother and father in the kitchen.
"Did you eat already?" Ino asked her son as she glances up from the flowers she was arranging on the kitchen table.
"Yes, I ate with Sarada."
Ino's ears perked up. "Sarada? Just the two of you? Boruto, ChouChou, Shikadai… they weren't there?"
"No, mother. We were on a date."
Ino accidentally snipped a stem as one of the flower heads fell and dropped to the table. "A d-date?!" she gasped. "Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?!"
Inojin looked confused. "I didn't know I was supposed to."
Ino could barely contain her excitement. "So, how was it? What did you guys do? Where did you eat? Did you pay? You paid for her, right? Oh please, tell me you paid."
"Yes, mother. According to father's book, the one who extends the invitation to go eat should pay." Sai only smiles as he continues to sketch in his book while his wife and son continue their conversation.
Ino rolls her eyes. "I don't know why you learn from his books rather than your mother's own wisdom."
Inojin bit his lip. "But mother… I accidentally broke her glasses." He took out the red frames from his pocket as he showed it to his parents.
Ino took the pair of frames from Inojin's hands as she examines them. "Hmmm, I think I have a fix for this. Be right back," she says as she heads over to the kitchen phone to dial a number. "Shino? Ah, you're home. Good, can you help me fix a pair of glasses? I know how many you must have broken back in the days. Don't think you can fool me with your sunglasses. I can tell that you wear a different pair each week. What do you mean how can I tell? I have an eye for these things."
Inojin sits down at the kitchen table besides his father as he listens to his mother ramble on over the phone. "Sarada didn't seem super upset when I broke her glasses but I wonder if she is just hiding her feelings."
Sai smiles. "You know what would cheer her up? You should draw a picture for her."
"Is that what you always do for mother?"
Sai leans in close to his son as he whispers softly. "I draw your mother with a smile on her face and then I give it to her when she is mad and tell her that she is most beautiful when she is smiling. That always gets her to stop being mad at me."
Inojin gapes at his father. "You're smart."
Sai nods. "I read it in a book."
They heard a sound of a click as Ino hangs up the kitchen phone. "Okay, Inojin. Shino said he can fix it tomorrow morning before school starts. So you just get to school early and go find him."
Inojin nods as he takes the glasses back from his mother. "Oh and we should send some flowers to Sarada along with the glasses," Ino remarks as she hurries to her book of flowers. "Hm, what is a good way to say 'sorry but how about a second date?'"
The next day in school, true to his mother's words, Shino-sensei was able to fix Sarada's glasses. Inojin watched as Shino-sensei took out a big box and got to work on the red frames.
"How did you get new lenses?" he asks.
"I looked at Sarada's file so I know her prescription," Shino responded. He quickly bends the frames back in place as he unscrews around the sides to pop new lenses back in. Inojin only watches in amazement as Shino completes the job in ten minutes.
"Here you go," Shino says as he hands it back to Inojin.
"Thank you," he murmurs as he takes the glasses. They looked almost brand new.
Sarada enters the schoolyard and notices Inojin waiting at the entrance for her. He runs over with a package in hand and hands it to her. It was only then that he stops and stares at her. He laughs loudly but covers his mouth quickly in an attempt to cover his surprised laugh.
"I know. They look ridiculous," she mutters as she adjusts the black frames on her face. She hated her old pair of glasses since they made her look like a grandma. But she had no choice since her newer pair was broken.
Inojin snickers a little as he calms down before placing the package in Sarada's hand. "I fix them. Like I promised," he said.
Sarada glanced at the package in her hand with a surprised look. She hadn't believed his words when he had said that he would fix it by the morning. She was still skeptical nonetheless so she slowly unraveled the string that held together the wrapping paper. She opened it up to see her red frames sitting inside the package. The lenses were no longer broken and looked to be newly polished.
"How did you—-?" she began to ask.
"I have my ways," he answered with a smile.
She picked up the red pair of glasses as she fingered the smooth texture of the rims. Before she could change her glasses, she felt a pair of hands near her face. She looked up as she saw Inojin slowly removing the black pair of glasses from her face. He took the red pair from her hands as he slowly placed them on her face. She could feel a red blush creeping through her skin as she sat still in astonishment.
"Much better," he murmurs quietly as he smiles at her.
Sarada glances down at the wrapping paper and notices that there was a drawing inside. It was a drawing of her. The picture was her smiling with a new pair of red glasses on her face. In the picture, her hair was tucked back behind her ear with a flower. Sarada could now feel the blush on her face intensifying as she continued staring at the drawing.
"Oh, and last thing," Inojin murmurs again as he takes out a pink gerbera daisy. Gently, he pushes the bangs from Sarada's face as he tucks the flower behind her ear. "The gift of cheer. Hoping you will stay cheerful today with thoughts of me."
"Do you see that Sakura? That's our babies!" Ino squealed as she stood beside her best friend at the school entrance. They were quite a distance away from Sarada and Inojin, who seemed to be lost in their own world.
Sakura clasped her hands together in excitement. "Oh my god! He is putting a flower in her hair!"
"I told him to get her white tulips to apologize but this might be just as adorable," Ino squealed some more.
Ino grabbed Sakura's hands as the two of them jumped up and down in unison. "We're going to be in-laws!"
Sai only smiled nervously as he glanced over at Sasuke. The man stood there silently as if stewing in anger. Sasuke glanced up from the ground as he shot a murderous glare across the schoolyard. Sai shivered in slight fear as he felt the dark intent surround the area.
"Don't touch a single hair on my daughter," Sasuke muttered. "AND YET YOU'RE TOUCHING HER WHOLE HEAD!"
It took all three of them to hold back Sasuke from killing young Inojin that day as Sakura hugged Sasuke from behind with Ino and Sai each pulling on one of Sasuke's arms.