𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 19

Tobirama's silver hair brushed against Haruka's cheek as his eyes narrowed at his work.

Haruka watched the man at work, not understanding any of it at all. She knew the basics of ninjutsu, sure, but whatever he was scribbling on his scroll looked like doodles to her. Her back leaned against his chest as her head rocked back. His hand was wrapped around her waist while his other held a brush that flowed gently against the paper. He was sitting on the floor while she was sitting in his lap.

Obviously he didn't get the hint that she was bored so she added an exaggerated lip roll. He felt him chuckle at her attempts to communicate, "Are you bored?"

She glanced over at him with her eyes, "Yes. Don't you ever do anything fun?"

His red eyes soon meet her pink ones, "Is this not fun?"

She shook her head, "Not really. I don't even know what you're writing down. It all just looks like scribbles to me." Her head popped back up so that she could look at his writing. Nothing made sense.

"Can you not read?"

"No. They don't exactly teach you how to read in the slums," Her lips drifted off to the side in a small pout. "Maybe that's why this seems so boring. . ."

"Wait, can you actually not read?" He set his brush down so his full attention could be on Haruka.

"I can't," She turned towards him. "They didn't even teach me when they adopted me."

"I can teach you," He raised an eyebrow. "I still plan on teaching you everything I know."

Tobirama's lips pressed against her cheek. She fake cringed and pushed him off of her, "Aren't you supposed to be teaching me, Tobirama sensei?"

His cheeks turned red, "I told you not to call me that." He pouted while taking her off of his lap. Standing up, he began to walk over to the bookshelf that stood tall on the side of his room. His eyes scanned each book until they stopped at the one he wanted. "I used this as a kid, so I'm glad I kept it."

He turned back around and skimmed through each page finding each one to his liking. Haruka moved over to the side to let him have enough room to sit. He moved the scroll that he was working on before to the side of his desk and placed the book in the now open space.

He turned to her with a smirk, "You're not going to sit on my lap anymore?"

She smirked back, "If that's what you want me to do. . ." She crawled over to him and sat back down on his lap. "Sensei."

Tobirama's cheeks grew hot again, "If you're going to call me that then stop saying it so seductively."

She turned around, "Why? Does it turn you on?"

Her smile grew as the heat that laid upon his cheeks only grew more. He grunted and decided to ignore her question. His hand reached out and opened up the book to the first page, "Okay let's begin. . ."

Haruka's eyes went over each letter that littered the page of the book while Tobirama explained all of their meanings and what they do and where to put them. He would show her certain words that sounded the same but all meant different things. He would read her small words and then ask her to read the sentences down on the pages. She felt like a child saying their first words with how much she was stumbling over them.

"Oh!" Her eyes sparkled at a familiar word. "That's apple!"

Tobirama's eyes widened, "How'd you know that?"

"During the summers a fruit vendor would come to town and I always managed to steal some apples from him," She smiled, feeling proud of her past crimes. She turned to see Tobirama's scowl and her smile immediately fainted. "What? You would steal too if you were like me."

"I guess you're right," He chin rested on her shoulder. "Can't believe I'm with a criminal."

She jokingly shushed him, "Someone might hear you."

After he laughed, he began to start teaching again. After a few more sentences, the scribbles on the page started to look more clear, though her head still hurt trying to inhale all of this information.

"Okay, now I'm going to have you write a short sentence for me and your name has to be in it," He picked the brush up from the table and placed it in her hand. "And if I can't understand anything you write, I will make you do twenty push ups."

Haruka glared at him, "Not push ups!"

"Then you better do good on this sentence," He moved the book aside and grabbed a clean sheet for her to write on. Her hand held the brush up against the paper, but he stopped her before she could write anything. "Wait, you're holding it wrong."

His cold hand wrapped around her hand and played around with her fingers until they had a good grasp of the brush. He still held onto her hand as he moved them upwards to the first part of the page.

"And I can write whatever I want?"

"Yes, whatever you want. But don't make it too hard for yourself."

She pushed his face to turn the other way, "Okay then, no peeking!"

Haruka leaned forward with her brush and tried her best to keep it steady as the words painted themselves on the paper. For such a short sentence, she was taking her time and making sure that each letter was perfect. She even had her tongue out and her eyes squinting at the paper.

She leaned back and smiled down at her work, "Done!"

Tobirama now turned back to her piece of paper. He wasn't sure if he should laugh, kiss her, or hang this somewhere in his house. Her penmanship was something. It looked like an earthquake occurred while she was writing. There was also a misspelling in almost every word.

Me Hamuka Ubhiha am hiri te say thyat I lofe Tobyama.

He had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing. This is her first time ever writing something and she was trying to be sweet. He shouldn't laugh. It would be rude and the way her eyes were sparkling with confidence made him feel even more guilty.

"Good job with the punctuation, Haruka," He took the brush away from her. "But you could work a little on the spelling so that's what we'll work on next time, okay?"

She frowned, "Is it time for me to go already?"

He turned back to the clock, "Seems like it. You can't have Madara getting suspicious of where you go for so long everyday."

She gasped, "But maybe I can tell him that you're teaching me how to be literate! Then we can see each other as much as we want!"

He gave a soft pat on the head, "That wouldn't work. I don't think there is a way for us to see each other without hiding it."

Her frown came back. This was her least favorite part of the day. Having to leave the arms of her lover and go home only to fall asleep and wake up next to a man she did not want to. She wished to see the golden, morning glow on Tobirama's face when he wakes up and hear his scratchy, morning voice. She wanted to sit in his lap all day and watch him work no matter how boring it was. She wanted to feel his hold around her while they slept. She just wanted to be with him.

Haruka leaned forward to press her soft lips against his. He would never be able to get used to how soft they were now, he'd always be expecting her scratchy, chapped lips. He would also never be able to get used to her sweet perfume that clouded into his nose or the way her hair moves so gently and is so soft to the touch.

Her frown still remained as she pulled away, "This sucks."

His fingers combed through her hair to give her a relaxed feeling. He leaned forward to give her a quick peck. But he knew no matter how much he kissed her, she would never feel better about their situation. He could only do so much to keep her mind distracted.

"I know."