A/N: HERE WE GO! I had the first part written since a while ago, but needed some time before I figured out how to continue with the chapters from then on. Now I have even chapter 10 planned out, so you can all be excited for that!
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Chapter 9: The Things You Do
"I have a bus plushie." She stated it like it were the most normal thing in the world; and probably, it was.
But having spent so much time with her, Kuro knew nothing about Rosalia, absolutely nothing ever ended normal around her.
"Hn." His eyes fixated on the distant horizon, where he could make out the small, fuzzy shape that was a helicopter, crossing the heavens to who knows where.
"It has a face, you know, with eyes and mouth and all that. It's on my bed, at the corner towards the wall."
Kuro frowned slightly, righting himself on the field they rested upon, "And what's so special about it?" He inquired with curiosity, not with disdain.
"I have another toy on my bed." She now turned her viridian orbs towards his, a cunning sparkle glittering inside them knowingly.
He quirked an eyebrow, "What kind of toy?"
Should he fear the answer?
"A fish."
Not really.
"What kind of fish?" The dark-haired boy returned to observing the sky.
"I don't know" Rosalia scrunched up her nose in memory of her beloved toy, "but its big with lips and all and it faces the bus."
Gradually the frown deepened on Kuro's face, large obsidian orbs inspecting his friend questioningly.
"I don't know why they face each other, must've happened when my mom changed the bedding. But today when I made my bed I saw them kissing."
"A bus...and a fish...?" Could you chastise him for his...interest?
"Yeah! How weird, right!? My bus and my fish are kissing."
A curt silence followed her hyperactively spoken statement, wherein Kuro tried to figure out the hidden meaning behind her tangling words, whilst Rosalia simply smiled as if she had won a large basket full of candy.
"And...what does that mean?"
"Huh?" She turned towards him in confusion.
"Well, a bus and a fish kissing, what does it mean?" The question seemed to seriously plague him by now.
Yet the young pinkette shrugged, "I don't know. But each time I pull them apart and awake the next day, they're kissing again. So I guess they are truly in love with each other."
"Where do you think they'd live?"
Large malachites opened even wider, if that was at all physically possible, observing something in front of her wondrously, "That's a good question! A fish can't live on the land, and a bus not underwater!"
"Which means they would love each other but never really be together."
Upon this realisation, Rosalia scowled, being obviously displeased about her discovery.
"But they're not a real fish, nor a real bus. They're made out of wool and cotton and that. And they live on my bed." she smiled smugly, "So it's okay, they can be together."
Shrugging in defeat and with a light smile plastered on his lips, Kuro lay back down on the grass, enjoying the funny scene within his mind of a bus and fish kissing.
They did not really spend much time with each other after their stalemate merely a week and a half ago. The occasional coffee here and then in a café down the street from the Uchiha building, picking up Akuma together and taking him to the park, the arcade, to whatever place he desired to go to.
Those things did occur when both parties saw it fit. Of course, during these journeys, words were exchanged casually, but there was no real friendship between Sasuke and Sakura.
Yet even so, Sasuke started to note several things about his rosette flatmate which made him raise a curious eyebrow.
For example, only a couple of days ago he had suggested to her that he drive her to work, if she didn't mind getting up earlier to join him.
It would save her the walking-distance which she undertook each morning, even though always with a mood as bright as daylight.
At first, she protested, claiming the small activity did her body well and helped her wake up, yet not wanting to strain the small bond she and Sasuke had just begun to plait, she agreed.
Her attempts at weak small talk were not welcomed by him, yet she never failed to attempt it anyway.
Sakura decided it was clever to come up with random facts during their short car-ride, hoping most likely in that crazy mind of hers that she could fascinate him with them, making him go "oh!" or "ah!" as he realises that he did not know any of them.
But Sakura had to quickly learn that facts like "In Bulgaria, a shake of the head is a 'yes' and a nod is a 'no'" nor "only female mosquitoes bite, not males." weren't of any true interest to the Uchiha heir.
Her...randomness irritated him at most, even though he never displayed his dislike towards her attempts at poorly constructed conversations. He simply grunted in response, gave a simple "hn" or ignored her all together.
That was, however, not what surprised him so openly about her attitude.
It was during one of those accumulating mornings that he, after noticing on his wrist-watch that they were late for work, knocked on her bedroom door to see if she was alright.
"Sakura?" His patience was gradually fading as she did not respond and the handles on his watch ticked past mercilessly.
Time waited for no one, after all.
When Sasuke still received no answer, yet could make out faintly music seeping through the walls of her chamber, he decided to simply peek inside her room to see what exactly was going on.
He carefully pressed down the handle, opening the door by a crevice, scared he might see her lacking clothes and thus causing another scene as on the other day where he more or less saw her naked in the shower.
"Saku-"
The source of music was obvious now: she had her mp3-player tuned on, earphones plugged in and most likely to the loudest volume-degree it contained.
He really questioned how it was at all possible for her ears to not burst when even he could bloody hear it through the walls!
Even so, he understood why she hadn't heard him knocking. With the music so loud and her body dancing around like a mad hooligan on the bed, jumping down, throwing her pillow in the air and catching it as if that were an art, she pranced across her room, oblivious to time.
How old was she, 14?
Leaning against the door frame, with his arms crossed across his chest, he watched her small parade continue, wondering how long it would take for her to notice his presence.
And as he pondered further, she shrieked lightly, a hand darting towards her heart as she panted in front of him.
"Gosh, Sasuke, never heard of knocking?" Her fingers grabbed the small cable of one earphone and pulled it out.
"Sure I have, but you were too occupied as to notice me knocking like a serial killer at your door."
Twirling her eyes at him, she walked past his form and seemingly towards the kitchen, "Serial killers don't knock."
Now if it were only for that one incidence where she danced around as if there were no tomorrow in sight, but Sasuke soon discovered; and it surprised him how it could evade him for so long, that Sakura liked to dance all the time.
If it were at 3 O'clock in the morning, because she could not sleep, which he remembered too well, or if it was before she went to work, or to bed, or to pick up Akuma, or simply because she felt like it during the middle of the day.
She never failed to present him with a smile as bright as daylight. Even when something went wrong and you could hear her cursing silently, just in case Akuma was around the corner, she would quickly turn around once more, smiling like the Mad Hatter.
And Sasuke was unsure if he should frown or smirk in response. She definitely seemed to be someone who lived according to the motto of "start every day as if it were your last".
Her dancing-sprees deepened in strangeness on a rainy morning.
Now Sasuke might have mentally been exaggerating, but he was pretty sure the rainy morning was actually a hazardous day where tonnes of water were thundering maddeningly down onto Konoha City without mercy, drowning all passengers on their way.
He swore to have seen and heard even lightning and thunder somewhere within the grey fog of clouds.
"Right, I'm heading to work!" Fingers dipped little headphones inside her ears, "See you later Akuma!"
The young boy, still chewing on his cornflakes, waved a hand and smiled a milky grin before continuing his meal.
Sasuke, who stood by the grand living-room window turned with a raised eyebrow and unreadable expression, "Are you going to walk to work?"
Her bright malachites looked rather nonchalantly at the big business man.
"Yeah, sure!" And she smiled.
"Have you looked out of the window at all today?"
Her orbs darted past him to the horrific scenery that presented them in the outside world. The downpour was accompanied by a piping wind, causing the droplets to sprinkle all over the place, having the roof vibrate in accordance to their attacks.
"Yeah...and?"
"And? Are you aiming for a flue to get extra holiday or what?"
"That little water won't do me no harm, I love walking in the rain anyway and" she grabbed an object out of her bag and waved it in front of her face, "I have an umbrella on me!"
"You are mad." There it was, he finally had said it. It was about time it left his lips.
The raven-head only feared it might cause another argument.
"Probably, yeah." And she waved his comment off just like that, leaving the apartment and heading out to work.
The grey weather held on for another couple of days, making the sun a legend to behold, having disappeared for a total of eight days by now.
A suffocating mist slithered around the roads, moisture was ever-present and no matter what Sasuke did or tried, he always felt drenched.
With the cooling temperature and coming winter it made daily life everything else but pleasurable.
The Uchiha tried to keep within buildings and vehicles most of the time; for they were warm, dry and bright with artificial lights.
Life had become a ritual, wherein he'd drive Akuma to school, heading off to work, meetings, inspections and lunches with the nerve-wrecking Dobe or his beloved mother as she kept calling and persisting (and Hena simply agreed without his consent).
Later he'd head back to the school to pick his nephew up, who would talk non-stop about all the great things that happened that day, about how classes were easy and the teachers quite nice.
Sakura was, so Sasuke felt, avoiding him. Or maybe she had just gone insane.
The latter made a lot of sense.
She did not want to drive along with him anymore, preferring to walk on the pavement to her destination and heading back too. Thus their small coffee's together grew sparser, less words than before were exchanged and she seemed to stop with her nonsense-talking, as Sasuke dubbed her fun-facts-giving.
He considered his actions over the past few days and questioned himself with a slight frown plastered across his visage if there was anything he had done wrong.
"Have I insulted her?" He mused silently as he stood in the entrance of his office, listening to the lulling rhythm of Hena's constant tap-tap.
"Not that I recall." She answered monotonously, eyes darting between a document and the monitor, "But of course I do not know what exactly happens behind closed doors."
There was a suggestive tone in her voice, yet her face stayed impassive.
"Nothing." was her boss' curt answer.
"Well, if you haven't insulted her, or argued or whatever, then I do not see why she is avoiding you at all. After all, you are such great company to have."
"Hena I can hear the sarcasm." He took to glare at his secretary who only grinned in response.
"Maybe it's the weather." She suggested with a shrug.
"The weather..." once more, he inspected the endless mountains of monochrome colours through the window's glass, leaving raindrops to pelt onto the stone and causing puddles which soon developed into ponds and lakes.
It really hadn't ceased, the rain. Nor at night nor daylight.
He grunted, "Yeah right."
When he returned home that afternoon, watching as Akuma rushed inside and towards the kitchen from which a rich aroma wafted along, he saw another sight to make him quirk a curious eyebrow.
Sakura stood in the kitchen, obviously frying something in the pan, the music on a bursting loud volume (as always).
And her cat, that little dark-haired, fury fluff-ball that liked to leave his hairs around everywhere as if to remind everyone of his presence, was situated on her shoulders.
Like a parrot.
Balancing perfectly like an acrobat, head dipped to purr inside Sakura's ear as she waltzed around and he did not waver nor fall.
"What the..." He never got to finish his sentence, simply out of shock or confusion, he was not quite sure.
"Oh hey Sasuke!" there was that terribly ever present grin again, "I'm making dinner. Chicken curry!"
She grabbed a pot with rice and chucked it through a colander into the sink, the water gurgled through and disappearing within the pipes.
"What's up with the cat?" he finally spoke, having stood there as if mesmerized.
"Jiji? Oh, he likes to stand on my shoulders sometimes. That way he can watch me work." She smiled once more, grabbing a few things from the fridge for which she had to bend down.
And still, the cat stood perfectly still, not jumping off.
Not even the blasting music seemed to annoy it.
Shaking his head and deciding he needn't know more, Sasuke left the kitchen to get himself underneath a scorching hot shower which would allow him to simply ignore the crazy things that underwent in his household.
It was official to him the very next day, after another mundane drowsy work-day where she avoided him like the plague during daytime.
Official that she was a lunatic.
He and Akuma arrived home a little late that afternoon as the weather had coated the roads in so much water that you would be better off with a boat than a car.
The news had announced several areas to be flooded and further to undergo the same fate within the next days.
They had also spoken of an increase in thunder and lightning.
Which did not please Sasuke at all. Nights with thunder would be sleepless nights, for they usually ended up so damn loud that the whole building would be shaking and he would be awakened every five minutes.
And blinding lightning flashing into his eyes? Might as well try sleep in a disco...
He gazed around the living room once his rain-coat was off and hanging by the entrance. The pinkette, however, was nowhere to be seen, nor heard.
No high-pitched country singer yowling her love-stories to the world. No chit-chat from a phone call she might be having, or loud gasps and giggles as she embraced Akuma after work as if she hadn't seen him in weeks.
"Sakura?" He carefully watched his environment; there were no signs of her being home. Nor were there any that she wasn't.
Sighing and stuffing his hands deep inside the pockets of his business-pants, he trudged over to her bedroom.
"Sakura, are you there?" His knuckles rasped the hard wood of her door, but no response came from the other side.
His frown, which had formed in the meantime, only deepened.
"Akuma? Is Sakura with you?" he called out without having moved, but the boy simply opened his bedroom door and shook his head innocently.
Letting out another sigh, he headed back into the living-room, inspecting everything and finally noticing the fluff-ball of a cat on the couch, sprawled out all merrily.
If she were taking a walk, that thing would be with her. He walked over and slightly poked the feline in its leg.
Yawning heartedly, Jiji opened his lazy amber eyes and, upon realising the disturbance was none other than Sasuke, jumped to his feet abruptly, ears flat on his head before he ran away, hissing.
He grimaced, Even if it rains, he's always with her.
"Sakura!" He was turning impatient, and he did not like that.
Fingering his pockets to see where his phone might be so that he could call her, he headed over to the kitchen, knowing the signal was best there during bad weather.
As he entered, however, he saw her sitting there. Once more, traditionally wearing those earphones as if she had discovered only yesterday what great inventions technology had brought to the world.
And like it was his second trademark, one of Sasuke's delicate ebony eyebrows raised itself upon the sight.
She sat, concentrated, a hand outstretched in front of her face, fingers erect and trembling under her persistent stare so that she did not take note of Sasuke gradually approaching her table.
His eyes observed her facial expression which never wavered, and the slight concern and something else within those endlessly deep malachites.
Turning to look over his shoulder, he found the jar of sweets he knew stood there; the very one Sakura had bought shortly after she and Akuma moved in. It was obvious Sasuke didn't own one, for his dislike towards sweets was great, which anyone knew, being able to read such in any magazine or on any website which held information about the infamous Uchiha heir.
His hand quickly found rest upon the glass lid, lifting it and extracting one of the bright red candies before rearranging the top and turning back to the pinkette in front of him.
Leaning forward, his free hand quickly plucked one of her earphones.
"Sakura." he whispered sensually, causing her to look up into his face with surprise, her mouth agape upon his sudden presence which caused her heart to jolt ever so slightly.
Yet before she knew it, he had plopped the sweet inside the cavern of her mouth and fingered her chin up, standing once more erect.
It took her several seconds to register what exactly his actions meant, before she understood and her tongue found pleasure in the artificial cherry taste that melted off the small treatment.
"You're not eating enough. You didn't touch dinner yesterday, which is the reason you are low on sugars right now." His impassive eyes and flat-lined lips left no room for emotions, for sympathy or worry nor understanding.
It was as if she were chastised by her father.
Shaking his head ever so slowly, he turned on his heal and headed out of the kitchen, missing the crimson blush on Sakura's cheeks.
Takeout would do them good today. And it would be a new experience for Akuma.
During their Chinese takeout Sasuke had ordered, he made sure to glare at her quite obviously, causing her to avoid his gaze and push more food inside her malnourished body as to please him, and keep herself alive.
Akuma joyfully tasted all the different recipes, being delighted upon the rich aromas and giving his new found glee a voice by comparing the takeout to other food he had eaten before.
Sasuke decided to not present his commentary with much attention whilst Sakura smiled and giggled, having new food shoved onto her plate by the eight-year-old and being thus forced to eat more than she would have most likely wanted to consume.
When all the takeout had been annihilated, leaving behind three overly stuffed people, Sasuke stood up, taking the garbage with him and chucking it inside the trash before his vision faltered and everything turned black.
Shortly after, loud thunder roared to life like an aggravated lion.
Shit, he cursed mentally, not loudly, knowing there was a child just next door.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called out and the Uchiha might have just been imagining it, but he could make out something close to desperation within her tone.
He carefully made his way back into the living-room where they had taken in their meal, "Electricity cut, happens during such weather. Don't worry, it'll be back soon."
"Don't you maybe want to check the fuse box?" Was her voice going raspy?
"That's in the cellar."
Even through the darkness he could tell her glassy eyes begging him.
Rolling his own in defeat and observing through what meager light existed that Akuma was slightly fearful, he nodded, "Alright."
His obsidian orbs quickly scanned the small table to his side, finding a torch he knew he had placed there ages ago, during the last storm, and clicking it on.
"I'll go into the cellar, you guys stay here and keep your mobiles with you, just in case."
The young Uchiha, now hugging the pink-haired adult, nodded with her in sync as Sasuke turned to leave the apartment.
"I'll be back in five."
Yet it took him slightly longer than that.
He carefully had made his way towards where he knew the fuse box to be, watching as the electrician was already at work.
Not a surprise, this was, after all, a first class building with highly professional technological constitutions, employing only the most reliable of technicians available.
"Something wrong with the box?" He questioned the man that scratched his head in confusion.
"Seems like one of the cables burnt through. I'll need help fixing this."
"Well, you got me at hand right now."
Turning to look at the visitor, the man's eyes nearly bulged upon the realisation that the Uchiha Sasuke was standing in front of him.
"U-Uchiha-sama! I-It's not necessary for you to-"
"It's okay, let's just get this done with. I've got a women and a kid pissing their pants upstairs because of the darkness."
Not minding how that commentary sounded, Sasuke lit into the box and together with the professional at hand, began an hour long maintenance job which finally resulted in the bulbs jumping back to life and brightening the view.
With a smirk, he said his curt farewell and headed back up the stairs, dabbing inside his phone and calling Sakura's number.
However, she did not pick up her device, and nor did Akuma once he tried for his phone.
Shit, what are they up to?
Slight worry etched itself within his features as he decided to take two instead of one step at a time, jolting rapidly back to his front door before he unlocked it and burst through.
He saw the lights back on within the kitchen and the living-room.
"Sakura? Akuma?"
Trudging towards where the couch stood, he gazed around, finally finding the two of them snuggled up on the sofa, Akuma having his arms wrapped around Sakura's fragile frame whilst she clutched the phone with one hand, the other resting on the boy's back.
Shaking his head with a smirk, he grabbed a blanket from a wardrobe and neatly placed it over their sleeping forms, before switching the lights off and heading to bed.
The thunder and lightning stopped the next day, although the news promised their return very soon.
Still, the endless pitter-patter of raindrops never stopped, causing further towns to become flooded and Konoha being at the border of a "serious situation".
Sasuke hoped it stopped soon enough before he was forced on a five-day holiday simply because cars couldn't swim and nor should the people during such weather.
Carefully making his way towards the Uchiha building, listening and observing with a creased eyebrow as water splashed noisily towards the side-walks, his eyes darted along the streets until he found what he was targeting.
He knew she would be walking along here.
Her umbrella featured sparkling sunflowers and fluffy clouds on azure blue skies; quite the contrast and happy-maker.
Sasuke stopped the vehicle a little before her, causing the pinkette to stop in her tracks and look at him through the window, which he swiftly let down using the button to his side.
He briefly glanced at her before redirecting his focus towards the road.
"Get in."
She seemed irritated upon his actions and thus decided not to respond.
"Sakura." He finally glowered impatiently, "Get. In."
Lowering her umbrella and closing it, she opened the passenger seat's door and quickly jumped inside, shutting it with a loud 'thud!'. He did not heed her a glance, thus missing the way she began to chew her lower lip and nervously looked around the vehicle's inside.
Wordlessly, he drove them to work.
A/N:So yeah...I have a bus toy...and a fish...and they kiss all the time...
….Dub me weird and crazy if you want to, it'll only be taken in as a compliment :D
So, anyone want to guess why Sakura is all of a sudden acting all strange? What is up with her? You might just find out next chapter...
But beforehand, REVIEW GUYS! MOTIVATE ME TO UPDATE THE NEXT CHAPTER FASTER!
Thanks!