A/N: Welcome back to the second chapter of Mismatched Fragments Redux. So, we started the story off from Naruto's point of view. Now, we get to see what Sayuri has been going through. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last one. Onwards!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of these characters. Don't sue me.
Mismatched Fragments Redux
By Yangster
Chapter #2: A Rainy Day
It is not your fault.
That had been what her brother had told her in his note; the one that she found before him as he hanged from the ceiling.
It had been just a day like any other when she found his body, dangling casually from the ceiling by a leather belt. She knew that he was long gone by the time that she had entered the room, but she was unable to acknowledge that for the longest time; instead, she just stared, the whole world slowing down to a crawl when the weight of what she was looking at finally hit her. And when it did, all she could do was look on—holding in her words until they poured out from her.
Itachi. No! No. No...
No one should ever have to see one of their own flesh and blood like that. In the moment, she had wanted to vomit, to cry, and to die all at the same time. Anything would have been a better alternative. Anything.
Lady Sayuri, what are you—... Oh...
She could still remember how her hands had shook as she held them out towards her brother, too scared to actually touch him. She had wanted to pull him down, but in the end, she was not strong enough. It had been Kakashi that ended up having to do that while she had a breakdown in the next room. He noticed her parents immediately after, and they had come back as quickly as they could—just in time to see the EMTs close the doors on their ambulance.
The finality in the sound of the ambulance as it drove away would haunt her forever.
News of her brother's untimely passing was kept hidden from all media outlets; it would not do their reputation any favours if the whole world knew that the heir to the Uchiha throne had committed suicide.
Her parents had awkwardly tried to force normalcy into their lives for the next few days. Perhaps they did it for her, or just for themselves; she appreciated the effort, nonetheless. As she sat down at the dining table and ate with her family each night, she could imagine that instead of being dead, her brother was simply on another business trip. Then, she would go to bed early, so that she could tell herself in the morning that she had simply missed the call he would give to her each night, and that he would scold her about it when he came back.
That was how they, how she, coped.
She felt grateful that her parents had put an indefinite pause on all her responsibilities so that she could come to term with the news. It was not like them to be so lenient with her, but she guessed it was because they were just made aware of how overbearing they were sometimes—especially when it was because of their overbearing nature that led to her brother's death.
Sayuri, despite wanting to, could not blame them. She knew that this was the way that they had been raised; and that they knew no other way of how to raise children.
Eventually there came a point where she was able to be her rational self again. Or perhaps she was just so mentally drained that she could no longer spare the energy to cry or scream.
She hoped it was the former, but deep down, she knew it was the latter.
The funeral had been planned for a week after he died. During that week, time moved very slowly as preparations were made, and calls and messages were sent out. She had been kept in the dark for almost all of it, her parents trying to alleviate her stress in their own way; though truth be told, she wished that she had been involved. Frankly, she hated it. It was infuriating that despite the recent changes, she was still being treated the same.
Someone to be put on a pedestal; just a girl that was too frail to take of herself, and too weak to handle the difficult things herself.
She wanted to be strong for her family; strong like her brother was. If only her parents could give her the chance to make her own decisions instead of forcing her to always go along with what they thought was best for them. She loved them, she truly did, but as she spent that whole week along in her room thinking, it became painfully clear to her why her brother did what he did.
The drive to his funeral had been quiet and awkward, and the funeral itself even more so. It had been strange seeing so many people there that she had never met before, that she was sure Itachi had never met before, singing praises and 'mourning' her deceased brother. She wanted to lash out at them; they were not there for him, but for themselves—to keep up their appearances and to search for any new weaknesses in her family.
She hated them. They got all go rot in Hell.
Behind those false smiles of theirs, she knew that they were plotting the downfall of her parents' company. She could not blame them though; the empire business was the business for sociopaths, where the only thing that mattered was personal success. Now was the perfect time for them to try and topple her parents' company now they no longer had an heir.
Now that they only had an heiress.
Her fists clenched tightly as she saw the last of them leave in their limousines. They were at least respectful enough to hold their facades all the way until they disappeared from view—not that it made them anymore convincing.
Giving them one last look, she then turned her head back to look over at where her brother had been buried. Just as she did that, a droplet of water landed on her nose, prompting her to scrunch her face a bit. Just as that one droplet fell down from the sky, a thousand more came down, and soon it began to pour. For a few seconds, she just stood there, wide-eyed in surprise before she finally closed them, and reveled in the feeling of the rain falling over her. It did not matter to her in that moment that the black clothes she wore would get drenched.
It felt as if the universe was crying her own tears for her.
It was comforting.
"Lady Sayuri, you should get out of the rain. You might catch a cold."
She turned her head to look at her butler, Kakashi; he was a strange man that always wore a mask that her parents had hired to take care of her. Staring at him for a moment, she then nodded.
He took off his jacket before walking towards her and draping it over her shoulders. Placing a hand on her upper back, he began guiding her to their car where her parents were already waiting for her. They were both dressed in the same style of mourning clothes as her, which was not unlike the clothes that they wore regularly; some thought they were vampires for a reason.
Sayuri sighed quietly half-way there. "This is unnecessary."
"Not at all," he replied, offering her a smile. "This is all to protect your health."
"My health is fine, Kakashi," she retorted, keeping his jacket, but shaking his hand off her before she finished the walk to her parents without him.
Kakashi stood there for a moment as he looked over at his charge before sighing quietly and continued walking back to the car. He would let her mourn, he figured; it would be in his, and her best interest if he stayed quiet for a while.
Opening the doors for them all, he waited patiently for them to get into the car before entering the driver seat. Wrapping his hands around the wheel, he looked over at Sayuri's father before nodding, and starting the car. She watched Kakashi's face in the rear mirror, trying to see his hid deceit just like the faces of the other mourners had. She found none; thus, no words were exchanged as they left the cemetery—because none needed to be said.
Sayuri took a deep breath as she then leaned against her window. On her side, she could still see the place where they had picked out Itachi's grave. It was on top of a hill, framed by two trees, and his tombstone had been lavished with flowers. Against her character, she mouthed a silent goodbye before her brother's grave finally left her view.
Glancing over at her mother, they caught the other looking at each other at the exact same time. Sayuri pressed her lips together before she reached over to hold her mother's hand. Her mother responded by giving it a soft squeeze, and smiling. Doing her best to smile back, she turned her head back to look out the window.
The rain was unrelenting; the only thing she could hear besides the sound of cars driving past was the sound of it hitting the window. Perhaps she was wrong in her assumption that the universe crying for her because if it were, it would know that no true, prideful, Uchiha would cry as much as this.
Or... Perhaps this was her true nature; not the kind that belonged to any self-respecting Uchiha that she would know.
She bit her bottom lip at the thought.
Through the window, she watched silently as more cars and buildings began to appear as they entered the more urban part of the city. If she were to focus, she would be able to see pedestrians, walking with their umbrellas in one hand, and their phones in the other. She envied them in some way; they had something to focus on—she did not.
She needed a distraction. Something. Anything. Her eyes narrowed as they passed by a restaurant.
"I'm hungry."
It had not meant to come out so sudden, but it had come out that way, nonetheless. A quiet moment passed as everyone in the car took a few seconds to get out of their solemn stupor.
Mikoto was the first to speak.
"Where would you like to eat, dear?" she asked, her eyes full of pain, but her smile still retaining its softness. "There are many restaurants here, or would you like Kakashi to make something for you back at home?"
Sayuri paused briefly as she thought up her answer.
"Something warm." She eventually answered. "Something traditional."
Her mother nodded her head before looking over at Kakashi. "Would you know of a place that serves something like that?"
"I do," he replied, not looking at her as he answered lest he accidentally crash into something. "Would Lord Uchiha approve if I were to pick which restaurant to go to?"
"Yes." Fugaku nodded plainly.
"Yes, sir." Kakashi leaned forward so that he could glance up at the signs before turning the car at the next intersection.
She was not hungry, but she was aware of the wonderful distraction that good food provided, which was exactly what she needed at the moment. As her mind found itself on the topic of food, she found it wandering back to Itachi, and the question of what their last meal as a whole family had been. She wracked over it for a minute or two before eventually giving up when she realized that she had long forgotten.
It was discouraging to know that what had once been a trivial thing had now become something so important. For that saying about appreciating the small things in life now actually applying to her was humbling.
Her train of thought was interrupted when she felt the car slowly turn into a small parking lot. How long had they been driving for?
Noticing that she was still holding onto her mother's hand, she frowned softly before slowly letting it go as Kakashi turned off the car. Taking note of how empty and cold her hand now felt, she placed it on her lap before waiting for him to tell them all that it was okay to get out.
"Do you wish for me to accompany you three to the door?" he asked as he turned his head to look at his passengers.
Her father shook his head. "No. We'll figure it out ourselves."
"Ah. Alright then. Please take this umbrella with you then, Lord Uchiha," replied Kakashi as he reached into a compartment, and handed them said item.
"Thank you." Fugaku took the umbrella before stepping out.
Sayuri followed him, opening the car door before Kakashi could do it for her before getting out. She then immediately walked over to her father. Standing beside him, she waited a little bit before her mother joined them. As they walked, they could not help but notice that the umbrella was just a bit too small for all them; they managed, nonetheless.
"I'll wait here while you three eat," hollered Kakashi, prompting her father to look back, and nod.
"Do you want us to get something for you?" asked Mikoto, offering Kakashi a small smile, her kind spirit shining through.
"I am grateful for your offer, but no thank you," he answered, bowing his head politely.
Her mother's kindness made her feel a bit guilty at how rudely she had brushed Kakashi off earlier. The man was just trying after-all. Perhaps she should try saying something to tell him that she was not angry with him.
So, she cleared her throat quietly.
"Take care, Kakashi," she said, the dullness of her voice betraying the sincerity she had in those words.
Sayuri groaned inwardly at how cold she sounded; she had not meant to sound like that at all. However, it seemed Kakashi got her meaning because he smiled at her.
"Thank you. I hope you take care as well, Lady Sayuri," he said as he gave them a polite wave farewell.
With that said, Sayuri followed her father as he led them away from the car. The restaurant was not at all difficult to find as it was surrounded by a beautiful garden; a garden that she was sure would look even more beautiful without the rain. Perhaps she would come back one day when it was not raining to admire it. That would all depend on whether the restaurant had good food or not.
As they stepped in, Sayuri felt an immense wave of relief wash over her as the chill caused by the rain slowly seeped out of her due to the wonderful warmth inside the restaurant; she had no idea just how cold she had been. It was not only the sudden warmth though, but also the wonderful smell of food that wafted through the air that immediately made her feel less mournful.
"Good afternoon! Do you have a reserva—?!" began Temari, smiling as she bowed her head politely, only to pause when she saw who was standing before her.
"Good afternoon." Fugaku glanced down at the list of reservations in her hands. "I apologize, but we do not have a reservation, but if you could kindly seat us, I'll make sure to put in a good word for this restaurant."
Temari quickly recovered. "Of course. I'm sure I can arrange something."
She looked down, and glossed over the list. Humming softly, she widened her eyes when she saw that there was still one table left open for the afternoon; it was quite strange for the restaurant, but quite lucky for its unexpected guests.
"There's one table available, but it's close to the window. The sound of the rain might be a bit annoying," she said as she looked back up at them.
Fugaku opened his month to speak, but was interrupted as Sayuri spoke up first.
"That's fine," she said. "I'd prefer to look outside at the garden."
She then looked up at her father. "Would that be alright, Father?"
"Yes. It's fine." He glanced down at her before looking back up at Temari. "We'll take that table."
"Very good. Let me get that umbrella for you." She offered them a smile. "Please come with me. I am sure your lunch will be fantastic; you'll be seated at our best waiter's section."
Sayuri lifted a brow. "What's so special about him?"
"Let's just say that he is an exceptionally kind person with a passion for making people happy."
"I see..." Sayuri trailed off, her gaze turning away from the blonde woman to the front of her coat as she went to brush it straight with her hand.
She looked back up just in time to look in front of her as she rounded the corner, and lofted a brow when she saw who she assumed was to be waiting their table; a tall, somewhat tanned, blonde-haired man with blue eyes. He looked as if he had just stepped out of one of those magazines with the gruff, yet pretty, men on the cover. Though he did not look Japanese, he had some of the facial features of one. Perhaps he was mixed?
"This is Naruto. He will be your server today."
Sayuri nodded her head, not paying much attention to what Temari had to say in favour of studying the man further. There was just something off about that smile of his; it was as if he was just barely holding onto it. Strangely enough, she could tell that he was forcing that smile more for himself than for them. It felt wrong, she thought, for such a warm face to hold such an expression.
It intrigued her.
"Good afternoon. I am grateful to be serving you today," he greeted, bowing his head politely. "Please come with me to your table."
Her father nodded, prompting Naruto to guide them over to their spot by the window. As they sat down, Naruto placed down a set of menus in front of them before filling their cups with hot tea.
"Usually it's cold brewed, but I figured something hot would be better for the weather." Naruto offered them all a smile. "Would any of you be interested in the alcohol list this afternoon?"
"Yes, I would," answered Mikoto, returning the man's smile.
"I'll be back as quickly as I can then."
Despite herself, Sayuri found her gaze lingering on the server as he left. Forcing himself to look down at her menu, Sayuri glanced over it before deciding the most wholesome looking dish on the menu: the poached salmon. Looking up at her parents, she then quietly cleared her throat.
"I'm going to go wash my hands," she stated, prompting both her parents to look away from their own menus. "May one of you please order the salmon for me?"
"Sure." Her father nodded.
Standing up, she walked around a bit as she looked for the restroom. While this restaurant was far better lit than some of the more dark and pretentious ones that she had been in before, she still found herself lost. Sighing quietly, she looked around for a server to give her directions; it was just her luck that Naruto quickly came back into view with what appeared to be the drink menu that her mother had requested in hand.
"Excuse me."
Naruto looked at her. "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"May you please tell me where the restroom is?" she asked.
"Oh, from here, you just have to go through there, and then turn left. After that, walk a bit more, and then turn right," he answered, gesturing with his hand as he gave her directions.
Sayuri blinked. "Can you just take me there? I am not in the mood to remember so many directions."
Surprisingly enough, he did not seem taken aback by her rudeness. Instead, he smiled, this time a bit more genuinely than he had before when he had first greeted her, before nodding.
"Sure. Just come with me," he replied.
She nodded her head as she followed him.
He was a strange man for sure, he thought. Mysterious some how, and yet she could tell that he was a complete open book. She was sure by now that he was probably foreign born even though he had a Japanese first name; he had a slight accent, but he was still understandable. There was something odd about him though... And she knew exactly what it was.
That odd thing being that she was practically ogling him at this point. While it may not have been the right word to use, it was the only word that she could come up with to describe how she had been staring at him whenever he was in sight; she was even staring at him now on their way to the restroom!
Sayuri figured that it had been that forced smile of his from earlier that piqued her interest, leading to this strange behavior from her. It had taken time, but she finally realized just why that expression had captured her attention, and it was because it was the same one she had seen every time she looked at her own reflect in the mirror. It was almost... It was almost as if he felt, on some level, the same way as her.
Did he also lose someone recently?
She shook her head inwardly. It was not her business to think so much for the sake of someone that she did not know—someone that she would probably never meet again.
"Here's the restroom," said Naruto as he pointed over at a door. "If you need anything else, don't be afraid to come find me."
"Sure." Sayuri gave him a nod.
She watched as he left to go back to deliver her mother the menu before stepping into the restroom. Once inside, she immediately walked over to the sink, and began washing her hands. It did not matter that the water was cold as all she needed to do at the moment was wash off the oily feeling from her hands. Despite her father being a complete germaphobe, she never really did buy into that washing the hands for two minutes in hot water scare; thirty seconds and some soap did the job just fine.
Looking up at herself in the mirror, Sayuri made a disapproving groan at the sight of her jet-black hair, now frizzy after drying from the rain. Sighing quietly, she pulled out a hairband from her purse, and tied her exceptionally long hair into a simple ponytail. She always did like having her hair up more, but her father always forced her to have her hair down during business meetings to emphasize her beauty.
Why she needed to emphasize besides her disinterest before her father's lecherous guests, she did not know; she did not want to know—she refused to.
Flattening out the front of her coat one last time, she then turned to leave. Making her way out of the restroom, she canted her head in the direction of where her table was... Just in time to catch Naruto's expression as he bumped into her, sending both of them onto the floor.
"Woa—!"
"Huh?!"
Both of them tumbled downward, him stumbling back onto his rear, and her being knocked onto her side. If one were to watch what happened, they would have seen a tall, broad shouldered blonde walk into a pale and slender woman, and send her flying. For Naruto, that would have been quite the funny scene if here not the one bumping into someone; and of course, that someone just had to be the heiress to one of the country's most prolific families.
Within seconds, he was back up, the surprised expression he had just a moment earlier replaced by one of concern as he looked down at who he had just bumped into.
"Are you alright?" he asked, frowning ashamedly as he knelt down to offer her a helping hand.
She groaned in response, her face scrunching up as she tried to process just what had happened to her.
"Well then," she finally remarked, forcing her eyes open as she slowly got up, stopping when Naruto's hand came into view.
Naruto did his best to offer the woman the most apologetic smile that he could muster. He must have been doing something wrong though because instead of accepting his hand, Sayuri turned her head down. Crap. Did he accidentally hurt her worse than he first thought he did?
Unbeknownst to him, she was blushing; mostly out of embarrassment for what had just happened.
He cleared his throat quietly. "Ummm... Sayuri, was it? Are you alright?"
"Yes... I'm fine," she replied, her breath hitching when their hands finally touched after she went to grab it so that he could help her up.
Once she was back on her feet, Naruto offered her a smile before immediately bowing his head as low as he could without looking stupid.
"I apologize for bumping into you."
"It's fine." Sayuri waved dismissively at him. "It's not like either of us could have prevented that from happening."
"Please, if there is anything I can do for you, I'll do it." He kept his head bowed; she did not need to see his face to know that he was being genuine.
Sayuri opened her mouth to say no, but closed it when she figured that she might as well make the best of his offer. She hummed quietly as she stood over Naruto, her hand unconsciously raising to support her chin as she thought about what the best thing would be to make him do. It did not take her long; she only had a question that she had wanted to ask him—the very same question that she had when she first saw him, but did not have the words for.
Why is your smile so sad?
Once again, she opened her mouth just to close it.
"No. It's fine," she assured, groaning inwardly at her own cowardice. "I'm going to head back to my table."
"S-Sure," he stammered his response before he stepped aside to allow her to pass.
As he walked back to her table, Sayuri once again had to flatten the front of her coat, and re-straighten her hair. While she may have looked a bit ruffled on the outside, she was even more so on the inside. It was not like her at all to hold back her words. Just where had her spine ran off to?
Sighing quietly, she rounded the corner, and arrived back at her table.
"What took you so long, dear?" asked Mikoto, nursing a new item: a hot cup of sake.
"It took me a while to find where I put my hairband," she lied, huffing in annoyance as she sat back down. "Did you order yet?"
Her mother nodded. "We did."
"Good." The corners of her lips curved upwards to form a subtle smile. "I'm starving."
Just a few minutes after she said that, Naruto came back with what they had ordered. It seemed their parents had forgoed the appetizer in favour of just having the entree; they had both gotten the mackerel. While it was annoying not getting to try out the octopus, she understood the need for a quick lunch. They had not planned to come here after-all.
Watching him place the dishes down in front of them, Sayuri took note that the smile Naruto had on his face now was just slightly less forced than the one he had when he first greeted him. She would never admit this to anyone, but she felt a tiny bit tingly on the inside at the possibility that she may have been the reason for his slight boost in happiness.
"I hope you all enjoy," said Naruto enthusiastically, his smile widening a tad before he pulled out a letter, and slid it towards her.
Sayuri lifted a brow at his actions.
Nodding his head, he took off before anyone at the table could ask him about the letter.
Looking down at it, Sayuri took note of its simple and unassuming appearance before sliding it into her coat pocket. As she did so, she could feel her parents stare at her curiously. While she understood their confusion, she decided to ignore them. So, huffing quietly, she turned her attention to the beautiful dish that she was about to have for lunch; picking up a spoon and a pair of chopsticks, she began to eat.
It was delicious. She had not expected it to, it being so fancy and all that, but it filled her with this warm feeling that she would usually only get from eating something nostalgic. She was right to have ordered this. It was exactly what she needed; something filling and warm to wash away the emptiness and cold. As she quietly ate, she could not help but to wonder if Naruto would also feel better if he got to eat something like this.
Perhaps it was how good the food was, but in the moment, she did not care how odd that last thought was.
The rest of the meal by quietly, the only sound being the soft pitter-patter of the rain against the window, and the footsteps of the servers as more and more diners arrived. She needed more moments like this, where she could just have some time to just enjoy herself without needing to worry about what had to come next. Maybe she would come back here every once in a while, during better times, she thought.
For now, she would just focus on enjoying herself...
"Thank you for coming!"
Saying their own farewells to Temari, Sayuri followed her parents as they left through the door. As it closed behind them, she turned her head to look back into the restaurant. Just as she did that, she was able to catch a glimpse of Naruto as he talked to another group of people. There it was again; that forced smile of his—it pissed her off just seeing it.
Then he looked up, and his gaze met hers. She would usually feel embarrassment at being caught staring, but for some reason, she did not—not this time.
As they looked at each other, she saw Naruto's smile widen just a tad for a brief moment. Unconsciously, her hand went to the pocket where she had put his letter before she finally turned to leave.
She would read it when she got home. She had a feeling that whatever was in it would help cheer her up even further, and that it would probably have something to do with Naruto.
That thought brought forth a soft warmth inside of her chest.
Biting her bottom lip, she looked back one last time.
"Hmm..."
A/N: Thank you for reading the second chapter of Mismatched Fragments Redux. I hope you all enjoyed! Please favourite, follow, and review. Feedback keeps me alive during these trying times!