AN: I don't own Naruto, I only own my OC, Lord Yutaka and the rest of his family. And also Akira's parents.
Surprise, I managed to update way earlier than I predicted. Who knew that the hotel I was staying at would have a computer I could use? Thank you Marriott! Thank you for being patient with me, and enjoy chapter 10!
'He kissed me,' That was the first thought that popped into my head when I woke up the following morning. My fingers flew to my mouth and I closed my eyes, remembering how his lips felt on mine. It felt amazing, like fireworks were exploding the whole time. It was one of those kisses that left you breathless and light-headed. But where did that leave me and Zabuza? Did he have feelings for me, or was he just messing with me? God, if it was the latter his ass is so grass. No, just keep a postive attitude Akira. But, that's hard to do considering who I'm dealing with. Okay Akira, just see how he acts towards you today and then you'll get your answer.
What should I do before I have to report for duty? Maybe I can check out the library I saw yesterday. I could crack open a new book and just chill out on the plush couch. Yeah, that sounds like an excellent idea. Getting out of bed, I changed into a pair of comfy sweatpants and tank top, secured my weapons pouch around my thigh, snapped the kunai pouch around my waist, slipped on my sandals, and left my room. Before hitting the library, I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a plate of eggs and bacon which were absolutely delicious. After finishing my breakfast, I went to the library.
Stepping into the library, I started to scan the various bookshelves for a good book to read. It took about ten minutes before I found one I liked. It was a romance novel about a young woman and a cold-hearted ninja. I snorted at the irony of it. With the book in hand, I flopped down on the couch and cracked open the book. And, I was correct. This book was so good, I couldn't put it down. From what I read so far the story is about a young woman named Aiko who lived in a small village. She came from a family of merchants. The family wasn't necessarily poor, but they weren't rich either. To help with the income Aiko worked in a small restaurant in the main square of the town. One day, while working she met a ninja from a nearby village named Takeru. Takeru was cold and distant each time Aiko tried to talk to him, but something about him intrigued her. Almost everyday, Takeru would stop into the little restaurant where Aiko worked and his demeanor did not change. It was only when Takeru saved Aiko from a couple of thugs who attacked her when she walking home from work did their relationship start to shift. Little by little, Takeru opened up each time Aiko talked to him, and the attraction between them grew. It grew so much that they entered into a love affair. There wouldn't have been a problem with it, if it wasn't for the fact that Aiko was betrothed to marry another, a man who came from a wealthy family named Shigeru. Shigeru was stuck up and rude, he was everything Aiko didn't want. She was against the marriage, but was being forced to go through with it because her parents were receiving money in return. The story was getting really intense, and when I checked the clock that was in the room I knew that it was time for my shift. I didn't want to put it down, but sadly I had to. I put it one of my poches so I could take it back to my room later.
Maybe I can stop in the kitchens again real quick and get Haku and me a quick snack? He must be hungry. I thought as I left the room.
With that in mind, I quickly went to the kitchen grabbed a few apples and started to head out to the meeting spot. Haku was where he was supposed to be, and I walked over to him. Sensing my presence he turned towards me and smiled.
"Hey," I said waving my apple filled hand at him. "Catch." I tossed one of the apples at him, and he easily caught it.
"Thanks Akira," Haku replied with a smile before taking a bite of the bright red fruit.
"What are friends for? Besides I knew you were probably starving. You've been up all morning." I said in return. "Well, I guess I better start patrolling. Don't won't to be caught slacking on the job. Zabuza would have a fit if he found out, and I really don't want to face his wrath and glares of death. It's not really a pleasant sight."
Haku had an amused look on his face clearly conveying to me that he found what I said hilarious and but also an exaggeration.
"Haku, don't give me that look. You might not always be on the receiving end, but somehow I am. I don't know what it is though. Maybe I'm just misunderstood?"
The answer that I got to that question was a very loud snort.
"Fine, you wouldn't understand. I'm just to brilliant and amazing for a mere human to understand." I said.
"So, what does that make you then?" Haku retorted.
"A goddess," I answered simply with my arms crossed and my nose slightly pointed in the air.
Haku coughed trying to cover up his laughter. "Okay, Akira the goddess,whatever you say."
I scowled at him. "Shut up."
Haku shook his head at me. "You're so interesting and weird, but mostly weird."
"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or an insult. So, I'm going to take the first option and take it as a compliment. Thank you, Haku."
Another shake of his head, and Haku turned slightly away from me. "I should go. Zabuza would be upset if he found out I was distracting you from your duties. Goodbye, I'll see you later."
"Bye," I called out with a wave in his direction.
"Thank you, again for the apple."
"No problem," I reply. Haku leaves and I am left alone. Gosh, this will probably be super boring. But, I know that no matter how much I whine and groan, I still have to do it.
For the next two, three hours I ran across the perimeter of the large estate, checking carefully into the surrounding forest and around the property for anything out of the ordinary. Even though, I didn't spot anything, that didn't mean that there couldn't be an attack any time soon. A couple of hours into the patrol, my stomach growled loudly notifying me that I was hungry. Time to break out the my secret snack; my apple. Okay, so maybe it wasn't really a secret, but it sounded much more mysterious and awesome that way...or at least it did to me. Anyway, I took the out the apple that was stashed in my kunai pouch and my mouth watered at the thought of eating it. Apples were my favorite fruit in the world, if you didn't already figure it out. It's been that way since I was a toddler. It's one of those things I just can't live without. Stupid and silly but I don't care.
Now to find a spot to eat. I thought to myself. I did see a bench in the garden when Lord Yutaka took us on a tour yesterday. Hmmm, perfect. I shall enjoy my delicious snack there.
Yeah, I could just sit right where I was standing at, but truthfully I didn't feel like it, and I also wanted to take a closer look at all the flowers that were there. And if you didn't like it, you coud sue me, although I'm pretty sure Momo wouldn't be to thrilled with that. I'm sure one day he's going to explode with all the anger he's got, and I'm quite confident that it will be me who caused it. But, I'll deal with that when it happens. I started walking back to the garden, and sure enough there was a bench like I thought there was, the only problem was someone was already sitting there. It was Hiroshi who was laying lazily on the bench with a book in his hands and what looked like an apple in the other. So, he's an apple lover to. I just found myself a new apple buddy. Sighing, I turned to walk away, when I saw Hiroshi turn his head in my direction. His eyes were trained on me, and I stopped where I was.
"Well, hello there," I said awkwardly, a closed eye smile was on my face.
"Hey," he drawled out lazily, as he turned a page in his book. I let out a small cough because I was unsure of what to do next. I really wanted to sit on that bench to. I guess Hiroshi saw the sad stare I was giving the bench because he gave me a quizzical look and sat up.
"You can sit here if you want," he stated with a raised eyebrow. A huge smile worked its way into my face.
"Thanks," I strolled over to the bench and sat down next to the young man. I took a bite of my apple and let a satisfied moan escape my mouth. I sat in silence eating my snack since the person next to me didn't feel like talking.
"So... what are you reading?" I asked, not being able to take the silence anymore. I mean it was so awkward. We were literally sitting right next to each other, and we hadn't said one word to each other since Hiroshi invited me to sit next to him. Hiroshi looked up from his book with a weary expression plastered on his face.
"It's a mystery/thriller novel," he answered me as he showed me the book cover. I nodded my head appreciatively.
"The Killing Game. Seems like an interesting book. I like a good mystery now and then, but it has to be tastefully done and it has to leave me in suspense the entire time. If I can already guess or if I already know who the killer most likely is, than the book was totally not worth the time I spent reading it." I explained.
Hiroshi eyes widened slightly and he nodded his head thoughtfully. "You feel that way to?" he questioned a little eagerly. I nodded my head mutely in answer. He smiled and it was a gorgeous one. Hiroshi has one of those smiles that show his perfectly straight and white teeth every time he smiles. I'm pretty sure it had the women swooning at his feet. If I was a couple of years younger, I would probably be one of those girls. Lord knows he had a killer smile. This was probably the first time I've seen him not have a lazy or bored look on his face.
"I'm actually pleased that someone feels the same way as I do," he said, finally putting the book down beside him.
"Well, my best friend Haku feels the same way to," I replied with my own relaxed smile.
"I'm just seriously glad that we have the same viewpoint. Sometimes it's hard to find that. Like when it comes to reading, the book definitely has to keep me entertained."
"I know. There are so many books that are just a bore to read or just drag out the plotline," I said.
"And then those are complete torture to read."
"I know!" I enthused.
"Have you visited the library yet?" Hiroshi asked.
"Yeah," I responded with a nod. "It was awesome. I think I fell in love with it. There were so many books and the couch was just so soft and comfortable. If I didn't have to work now, I would probably still curled up in there."
"It's my little get away spot. The garden is a close second though. Most of the time when I decide to go out to the garden, I grab a book to read, an apple and just plop down on the bench. That's what I was doing now when you found me."
"I kind of had the same idea as you. Well, everything except for the reading a book thing. I was gonna take a quick break and eat the apple I picked up from the kitchen. Take in the garden while I was at it, before going back to what I had to do." I said while I took a quick bite of my forgotten apple.
Hiroshi nodded his head. "So, are you a ninja or are you an assassin?" he asked. "I mean, I read books about being a ninja, but I never really met one."
"I guess I could be considered a ninja, but I have no affiliation to a village which is the reason I have no forehead protector. But, I can do jutsus and can fight the same like other ninja. Honestly, the only reason why I can do any of that now is because of Zabuza. He basically gave me a choice; work for me or die. Obviously, I chose the first option and when I picked that it meant intensive training. My father helped to. He and my mother used to be shinobi when they were younger."
"That's pretty cool," he said.
"Yeah. My father would train with me a little when I was younger and he taught me the basics mostly. He was so patient to. I remember when he was first teaching me how to throw a shuriken. I had the worst aim in the world. I could barely hit the mark that I was supposed to, and I was just getting frustrated since it wasn't going working out. Each time though, my father he would just calmly walk over, correct my form and give me little bits of advice and encouragement. Eventually, I got it and he was so proud of me." I stated fondly with a laugh.
"Your father, he seems like a very nice dude," Hiroshi said.
"He is," I started to say, but I caught myself. "I mean he was. He and my mother passed away a while ago."
Hiroshi shot me a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry for your lost."
"It's fine," I said as I cleared my throat. "They're in a better place now."
I could feel the familiar prickling in the corner of my eyes when I thought or talked about my parents. "But to also answer your other question from earlier, I'm not an assassin. I haven't killed anyone yet, and I don't do it all the time. Zabuza is one though. I'm pretty sure that's his specialty. "
"Zabuza's the man with the scary, intimidating looking sword right?" Hiroshi questioned with a slightly off-putting expression.
I laughed at his expression. "Yes, that is him." I responded with a small smirk.
Hiroshi shuddered. "Remind me not to mess with him." he said to me.
"He's not that bad. He's actually a sweet guy," I said smiling. Hiroshi shot me a not impressed look. "Okay, he's a sweet guy deep deep deep deep deep down." I corrected with a laugh.
"He's not that bad. Neither is Haku," I stated.
"Haku's the boy who you were with right?"
"Yeah. He's really nice. One of the most kind and gentlest people you could ever meet. You should talk to him. I'm positive that you two would get along."
Hiroshi looked thoughtful then nodded his head. "I might just take you up on your word."
"You should. You won't regret it." I said as I finished up the rest of my apple. "Well, I should probably head back before someone thinks I've slacked on the job." I slipped off the bench and stretched out my arms.
"Don't want that to happen. It would be all my fault." he said playfully with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Yeah, it would be," I retorted back with a wink. Hiroshi laughed a deep laugh.
"I thought you were supposed to deny it?" He asked.
I shook my head 'no'. "You thought wrong." I said with a smirk. "I should go. I'll see you later Hiroshi. It was nice talking to you."
"It was nice talking to you to Akira," he responded with a lazy wave of his hand. I smiled one last time at him, and left the garden but I turned back around to catch Hiroshi going back to the spot he was in when I first found him.
Walking close enough to the woods, I tossed the apple core in there so an animal could eat it. I'm not sure if one actually will, but I'm hoping one does. I didn't feel like carrying it around anymore, and it's always good to recycle. Killing Mother Earth is bad, and I don't want to be on her bad side.
I went back to being bored again, and I was happy that I only had a few more hours to go before Zabuza relieved me. I was actually kind of anxious to see him. Would he choose to acknowledge what happened last night or wouldn't he? I guess I would just have to wait and see. I spent the rest of the time walking around the property and chatting with a few of the guards. It was nighttime when Zabuza did show up. I was sitting on the ground looking up at the full moon and the huge mass of stars when I felt his chakra behind me.
I turned my head over my shoulder so I could see him. "Hey," I greeted softly with a smile.
He didn't respond and I could feel my smile falter some.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" I said attempting to get him to say something to me. Once again there was no response and I let my smile turn into a frown.
"What's wrong?" I questioned concerned. I touches his hand lightly, but I could feel him pull it away.
"Seriously Zabuza, what's your problem?" I asked again, trying to mask the hurt I felt from what he just did.
"You're sitting there not doing what you're supposed to. You would've been dead if I was the enemy."
"But I'm not. I checked the perimeter of the property at least four times before I came here to wait for you." I replied confused.
"Enough time for someone to slip through undetected."
"I don't think that would have happened." I said a little annoyed. "Now what's really bugging you?"
"What happened last night, shouldn't have happened," he stated coldly.
My eyes widened in shock. "What?! Why not?" I demanded. I pushed myself off of the ground and stood up facing him so I could see his face when he gave me an answer.
"It was a mistake," he simply said.
Involuntarily, I took a step forward in anger. "That's not even a reason," I stated as I crossed my arms across my chest tightly.
Zabuza just shrugged his shoulders carelessly as if I just told him what the weather was. "You're just a tool to me Akira. Nothing more," he sneered. "I was just playing with you." he finished with a cruel laugh.
I could feel my breath catch in my throat because his words hurt me deeply. I tried not to let it show, but I'm pretty sure he could see even in the dark that my eyes were shinning with unshed tears.
"You're kidding me right?" I asked with a scoff. Zabuza just continued to stare at me with no emotion. "I can't believe your serious. First of all, I'm a human being with FEELINGS, NOT some piece of cold hard metal that you can use for your own little purposes. And secondly, I'm NOT a toy who's feelings and emotions you can just play with and exploit when you feel like. I'm a woman not some whore you can manhandle and kiss when you feel horny." I ranted with a barely suppressed scream.
I took a quick breath before I went right back into tearing him a new one. "Do you want to know what the crazy thing is?" I asked, but I didn't give him a chance to answer. I really didn't think he deserved one. "The crazy thing is for the entire day since I woke up until now, I have been stressing over what happened last night and what that kiss meant. How I felt towards you and if you had any feelings for me. But, I'm realizing now that I had no reason to worry. I was stupid and naïve to think that you could ever like me. But you don't care do you? You don't even care that I like you!" I screamed at him.
Once again there was no response, like I was expecting one, but one still would have been nice. He was just standing there stoically, avoiding my gaze. The painful feeling of rejection was totally kicking in right now.
"Fine," I said throwing my hands up in frustration. "If this is what you want, fine. You're a complete asshole, Zabuza Momochi." I bumped into his shoulder roughly with mine and attempted to storm away, but a bruising grip on my upper arm stopped me from going any further. It whirled me around to where I was chest to chest with a pissed off Zabuza. Well, the feeling's mutual buddy. No, I'm to pissed and hurt to even call you buddy, even if it was sarcastically.
"I thought I told you to watch what you say to me, Akira." Zabuza growled out. Any other time I would have shivered at the roughness that was present in his voice, but I was to angry to even acknowledge it.
"Was I not being the perfect tool right then Zabuza?" I spat out, with a fake innocent look plastered on my face. "I'm sorry."
His grip on me tightened to the point where it hurt and caused me to wince.
"You always have something smart to say don't you?" he snarled. I thrashed around in his grip.
"I wouldn't be me if I didn't," I retorted.
Zabuza stared at me for what seemed to be for hours and finally let go of my arm. I stumbled slightly and when I knew that he wasn't going to say anything else to me I ran. I ran back to the house with tears running down my cheeks and pain etched deeply into my heart. As soon as I ran into my room, I closed the door and sank down to the floor. Since I was in the comfort of my room, I didn't have to hide my tears.
Stupid Zabuza. Stupid men. Why do they have to be such douchebags? I mean who kisses a girl just to mess with them. Zabuza freaking Momochi that's who. Stupid jerk face. I'm stupid for actually having feelings for him and ever thinking he could feel the same. I knew it was a bad idea from the start. It's like workplace rule number one; never get involved with your boss because it will never work out. I should have listened to my brain, it sometimes has the right idea. Maybe since he's a demon he's incapable of feeling something like that. No, you know what Akira? He didn't deserve you. You are a beautiful and amazing woman and if he can't see that, then screw him.
With that thought in mind, I let myself cry for a few minutes more before I pulled myself together. I was not going to cry anymore over him. I trudged my way to the bathroom and took a nice hot shower to calm me down. After that, I went to the kitchen to fix me something to eat and when I was done I went back upstairs to my room to finish reading the book from earlier. Maybe Aiko's love life will turn out to be better than mine.
"...I loved you, Takeru. I loved you with all of my heart, and it hurt me. It hurts that I still love someone who I know will never love me the way I love them. I waited for you to come back for me and to take me with you and when you didn't come back, I was heartbroken." Aiko cried with tears streaming down get cheeks.
Takeru looked at her with an intense gaze. He saw that,the woman who was in front if him was hurt immensely, and it was his fault.
"I tried to move on with Shigeru, but everything would remind me of you, and I hated it. I hate what you're doing to me and I wish I could hate you" Aiko said before she was cut off by Takeru's lips.
His lips met hers in a passionate and fiery kiss that seemed to convey everything he wanted to say to her. When they pulled apart, Aiko was left extremely confused and hopeful.
"Takeru," she whispered softly. "I don't understand."
"Aiko, I was a fool. I let you go, when I never should have. I was confused by what I was feeling towards you, and I left thinking they would go away, and they didn't. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, you're face haunted me. And then I finally accepted the fact that my heart was yours. I love you Aiko, and I hope it's not to late." Takeru stated. His chest was heaving up and down from the ferocity of his speech.
Aiko was sobbing. This was what she was waiting to hear. Throwing her arms around his neck, she crashed her lips to his and kissed him with all her might.
"It's not too late. I love you, Takeru." She proclaimed with a watery smile.
Takeru smiled back at her. His love, Aiko. "I love you to, Aiko." And with that he pulled her close and kissed Aiko with a smile.
I closed the book and wiped a tear that escaped my eye.
Well, at least someone got a happy ending, I thought with a sigh.
AN: So, there you have it folks chapter 10. I hpe you guys liked it. Wow, Zabuza really is a jerk. I hope I didn't upset people with this chapter but as I said before Akira and Zabuza will not be a couple right away. It will be a few more chapters before that happened. Please review and tell me what you think about it. Chapter 11 will be up soon. Thanks for reading :)
- ILoveTeamSeth