The Perfect Plan

ItaSasu

Author's note: Zomigosh! 10 chapters! TwT I like to think it's a big milestone…. And I can't believe I haven't given up or gotten bored yet. Lmao. xD

And, like woah D: 11 reviews on one chapter! That's amazing! Thank you so much, you people make me so happy! Thanks for all the encouragement! I could never do this without your kind words. .. ;w; This chapter is dedicated to those who have reviewed!

'Kay, this isn't an Oscar speech.. shut up Cia. c.c;;

Thanks for the feedback on lemons! I have decided that there will be lemons! n.n Yay! So I have changed the rating to M. :3 Ahh I feel so mature. 8)

Oh my, just got an email entitled "Men enhancer" o.o;; How… interesting… but I'm sure you don't wanna hear about that! xDDD

Gah, the music I'm listening is WAY too happy for this fic. -changes to the depressing/angsty playlist- ..ah, much better. 8) Even though it doesn't seem to be very angsty atm. Actually this chapter isn't very angsty at all. –changes back- Oh well, it'll get angsty-er later on… bwahahaha. 8D

Chapter 10 – Touch

We walked down corridor after corridor. It all looked the same and I began to worry whether I'd ever be able to escape one day without getting lost. Kisame led, and Sora walked behind me. I began to feel rather insecure, having a pervert following so closely behind me…

I decided to think of something else.

Kisame stopped suddenly and I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice and ended up walking into the back of him. I jumped back in shock. Shock turned to fear as he slowly turned to face me.

"Pay attention to where you're going, punk," he told me in a dangerous tone. I stepped further back but he withdrew and glared at me before opening the door. I was signalled to walk in first.

A kitchen.

Sora and the Akatsuki member came in after me.

"Right," said the latter, drawing my attention from the pots and pans back to him. "Sora, you are to clean the dishes from earlier then clean the table and lay it for tonight's meal. You, Sasuke, will be required to cook the meal for those members of the organization currently in the building. And you'd better not mess up, because if you do, you can be sure that a few guys are going to have your head off."

I gulped and suddenly I felt very cold. Cooking… I had to cook…?

Why… why…. Why must I cook?

I was Uchiha Sasuke, the boy who could do anything. The boy who succeeded in everything. The boy who was superior to others in every way.

Almost.

If there was one thing in the world that I couldn't do, it was cook. Luckily for me no one else knew about this because I lived alone. At home I would normally eat ready made meals, get take outs or eat out. The thing was, I'd never been taught how to cook and hell, there was absolutely no way I was going to ask someone to teach me! I began to feel slightly resentful of my stubbornness and arrogance then – if I hadn't been so damn proud, I wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe before I lost my memories I'd known or would at least have some idea from watching my mother cook, but if I had, then that knowledge had been taken from me too.

And now here I was, completely dumbstruck. I had to cook for some of the strongest and most deadly shinobi in the world and if I failed, I would die. I couldn't even think straight, because I was panicking so much.

Of course, I never let it show. I stood there coolly, arms folded, wearing my usual detached expression. I wouldn't let the fish know this sad fact in case he killed me there and then. "Since when did I get so cowardly?" I thought. I was in Anbu! I was a high class hunter-nin! I'd killed hundreds of criminals and succeeded in every mission I was given! Why was I so afraid now?

"We're expecting the meal to be ready for ten o'clock," stated the sharkman. "Any later and I'll kill you both. That is, if the others don't kill you first. There will be three of us eating." He paused, the continued, "Well, you've got forty minutes. Do not get this wrong… or you'll regret it… we might even eat you if you taste good enough."

And with a snicker, he left. I felt myself shaking a little and tried my hardest to keep still and hide my emotions in front of Sora. I looked over at him and he looked back, raising an eyebrow. I turned away hastily, taking off my cloak, and headed for a brown paper bag on the kitchen surface by the sink. With a gulp, I looked inside and realised that it contained what would be needed for the meal. I tipped the contents out onto the side. Rice, pork, onions, various spices and various other little things. So I was to cook a curry? Where was I to start? How was I to make the sauce? How long should each thing cook for?

A figure appeared suddenly beside me. Sora had begun to clean the plates. I watched how carefully his hands went. Not a single movement wasted, he was removing the scraps quickly and efficiently. Then I turned my head back to the problem at hand. What to do? I was stood there, stiff, staring at the ingredients. This was going to be more difficult than any battle I'd fought. I cursed silently that I couldn't carry out such a simple task. Sakura often invited me and Naruto to her house where she would make meals that had always tasted amazing. Geez, if she could do it, then surely I, the great Uchiha Sasuke who excels in everything he does, would be capable of cooking a curry? Hey, maybe I was a natural, like I was at everything else. Maybe I'd be able to do this perfectly and create the ultimate curry. Sadly, I doubted it.

Just then, I felt a breeze against my back and, instinctively, I looked to where Sora was… or had been. My eyes widened when I noticed the lack of plates and cups in the sink. He'd finished that task already! He'd even put it all away! Just how long had I been standing there? And where had the washing up pro gone to?

I looked to my right and noticed for the first time another door. It was ajar. Curiosity walked me over to it to see what was on the other side. When I looked through, I discovered that it was the room that the Akatsuki were to dine in and Sora was there, cleaning the table. I blinked, and as my eyes opened, he was already straightening the chairs. Woah… he was fast! Was this guy the ultimate household chores master? Well, probably not. I could do that almost as fast, being a shinobi. Sora wasn't that great.

"Shouldn't you be preparing the meal?" he reminded me, looking up. I stepped back, almost impaled by his piercing look.

"I- I- That's what I'm doing!" I said in a voice that was louder than necessary, before I dashed back to the spilled contents of the brown paper bag. I immediately grabbed a knife and one of the onions and started attacking it viciously.

A hand caught my wrist. I followed it with my eyes, to be met by a very belittling expression.

"You're doing it wrong," he said, "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Then, I cried. Well… I sort of cried without meaning to. I wasn't even feeling upset. But for some reason, a tear trickled down my cheek. What the hell! Sora must have noticed my utterly perplexed face because he explained to me, "It's the onion."

I looked down at it, feeling my eyes sting. The onion itself looked like it had just been attacked by a pack of ravenous wolves, but I could feel the acidic fumes pouring from it.

"Try another and I'll show you what to do."

He released my wrist as I shakily reached for another onion. I felt like such an idiot. Damnit… I never made a fool of myself in front of others! I always stayed cool and collected, but here I was, flustered and humiliated.

He moved right behind me and I felt myself blush hotly as both his hands enclosed mine, guiding them and making them cut the damn vegetable properly. I felt bloody glad that he couldn't see my face because I knew for sure that I looked like a complete moron. I caught my breath when I felt his rushing down my neck as he looked down over my shoulder to see what he was doing.

Then he spoke again, right by my ear, "You've never cooked before. You have no idea what you're doing. How pathetic."

I was immediately angered by this. How dare he, who didn't even know me, insult me like that! He had no idea about me! My hands clenched into fists.

"You don't know that! I could be the best chef there is! I could have my own restaurant! How could you know? I don't need your help!"

He was silent for a few seconds before replying in his slow and steady voice, "You can't even cut an onion. The proof's right there. And I don't feel like being killed today, so you'd better let me help you otherwise I will kill you."

I immediately shut up then and let him finish the chopping.

I'm not quite sure why I let him rule me like that, but I knew that I needed him in order to cook something other than an utter abomination.

So, he demonstrated how to mix this, how to cut that and how to use the gas hob. At the end of the job, he was completely spotless. I however, had somehow managed to get sauce all over my hands and shirt. I was secretly glad that I had removed the Akatsuki cloak earlier because I could use it to hide the marks.

Together, we took the plates into the adjacent room and set out the table. Then, we made our way back to the kitchen to clean up. With the two of us, it was done in seconds.

"Ah, the meal's cooked and everything is clean," I said, breathing a triumphant sigh and smirking at Sora. He looked back at me for a minute, and I caught a glimpse of what could have been mild amusement in his face.

"Not everything," he said, walking over to me.

And then, the unthinkable happened. It felt like everything had gone into slow motion, because his hand lifted up, holding the cloth and I saw it coming towards my face. I screamed inwardly. So this was it! He was going to suffocate me! This was his plan! I'd been suspicious of him from the start and now I knew what he was up to! I shouldn't have let my guard down. I'd been such a fool to accept the mission. I should've known. Now I was going to pay the ultimate price. It was too late – he was too fast! I shut my eyes tight.

And then the cloth made contact with me. With my nose. It lightly rubbed the top of my nose before pulling away again. Huh? I opened one eye and there he was, with the cloth. Suddenly, I felt very angry with him again. What gave him the right to do that to me?

"What the hell was that for!" I snapped.

"You had curry sauce on your nose," he answered, nonchalantly. "You should clean the mess from your shirt soon too before it dries and stains."

I blushed furiously, holding my arms across myself defensively. He'd noticed that?

"Why does it matter to you if I get these clothes dirty anyway?"

"It doesn't. Though I can't imagine Kisame not getting angry at it."

A good point. I snatched the cloth from him. There was a split second of contact between our fingers as I grabbed it and I pulled my hand away from him quickly. Then I scrubbed at the sauce on my black shirt.

"What's the point? It's a black shirt, you can barely see the sauce anyway. Damn Sora making me look like an idiot again. And why do I feel so weird every time we make contact?"

It was true. Every time we touched, even if it was only for a brief moment, shivers ran down my spine and my head spun. I couldn't tell if I hated it or liked it. I hated it because it made my legs wobble and my cheeks heat up. I liked it because he was very soft and surprisingly gentle. Shit… what had come over me? There was definitely no way that I was into guys and besides, I had no time for romance when I was working towards finding and killing the eradicator of my clan and my memories. After that, I needed to revive my clan, which, obviously, required a woman. I'd already set my eyes on a mate and I knew that she wouldn't choose anyone other than me.

I had it all planned out: I would avenge my clan, and then I would return to Konoha as a ninja, make her my wife and use her to revive my clan. I'd realised when I thought I was about to die back in the forest that I'd loved her. As a friend. But who knows, if I married her and lived with her long enough, I might feel something more. My main priority was to father as many children as possible though, not to go falling in love. I had no time for that kind of petty emotion when I needed to be focusing on becoming the strongest shinobi I could be. But I knew that Sakura would settle for it, whether I loved her or not.

The sound of a distant door opening startled me from my musings. Then, multiple footsteps. I dashed over to the door to the dining room, opened it a little and looked through. I witnessed Kisame, a blond, long haired man or woman (I couldn't tell which) and a short, brown haired man. They were all clad in the traditional black cloak with its red cloud motif. I waited in anticipation as they sat down.

Once they were seated, they made no signs of eating. Kisame suddenly made eye contact with me, "It's rude to stare."

I pulled away quickly, my back to the wall and drew the door shut.

And so began the wait.

I found myself pacing up and down the kitchen. Would they like it? Did it taste alright? Or would they hate it and come kill us?

Sora was leaning against the kitchen surface, arms folded and eyes shut. He didn't seem in the slightest bit bothered. I was amazed at how he could stay so calm.

Time dragged by and I swear about two hours must've passed. By then, I was leaning on the kitchen surface too, my head in my hands.

The door between the dining room and kitchen opened and there stood Kisame. He looked extra intimidating and I began to have real doubts about the curry. Slowly, he advanced on us before stopping and folding his arms. What was to be the verdict?

He stood there for what seemed an eternity. I began to get rather irritated. However, before I could snap at him, he spoke.

"The meal was…"

I clenched my fists and bit my teeth together.

"…good."

My eyes widened and I let out a breath that I didn't realise I'd been holding. So, today was not the day I would die. I'd never felt more relieved in my life.

Author's note: I looked in Word's thesaurus for another word for "perfect" and.. Hahahahaha.. one of the suggestions was "just what the doctor ordered." xDDDDD Can you imagine? "Maybe I'd be able to do this perfectly and create the just what the doctor ordered curry." Hahahah hahah… Hehh.. –wipes a tear- …

…

…well I found it funny! xO

And I'm letting that funny factor slip in again! -sobsob- I really have to learn to control that habit.

So, did you enjoy this chapter? ) I had a fairly good time writing it. :3 It took many hours though. xD But good news, everyone! I have a very clear idea of what I want in the next chapter, so you may be seeing that pretty soon! (I'd write it now, but it's 2.30am and I need sleep… u.u"")

Reviews always welcome. 8D Until chapter 11! Ja ne!