Kei-Kei Yuki: Thank-you for enjoying the last chapter!
Beta by: Ana-DaughterofHades
A/N: Shares connection to the Kakashi chapter.
Drabble Six
The First Step to Bonding
When Sasuke felt an intruder inside his apartment, his first thought was to eradicate the threat but not before questioning the suspect first. That, of course, was the most logical thing to do. Though as he worked his way to the kitchen, kunai in hand, he felt the grip on his kunai loosen a bit, his breath catching in his throat, heart racing fast. The image he saw before him made him lose his guard as with trembling lips he murmured, "O-Okaa-san...?"
It was just for a second, but Sasuke swore that the image he saw was mirrored to that of his deceased mother when she was alive. An apron was tied around her waist, greeting him with a loving, angelic smile, before asking him about his day. Though as he steadied his breathing and got himself under control, he remembered that his mother was no more, and she would never greet him like she did in the past.
Sasuke recognized that the person in his kitchen had loud, yellowish blonde hair styled into two annoying and childish pigtails. Humming happily, she stood over the rice cooker, an orange apron tied around her waist along with her orange jumpsuit jacket. She seemed to have detected his presence and had the nerve to greet him like her being here in his apartment was normal.
"Yo! We're having miso grilled butter flavored yaki onigiri! So, stay out of my way, teme, until the food is done." She pointed her wooden spoon at him. Sasuke glared at her and she glowered back at him. After letting the situation sink in, Sasuke did what anybody would expect of him.
He promptly kicked Naruko out of his apartment and locked the door behind her. "Teme, open this damn door! You did NOT just lock me out?! Oi! Jerk, you're going to let the rice burn! Damn it, Sasuke, let me in before I break this damn door down! You girly looking asshole, I know you can hear me!" Naruko continued yelling insults and threats as she pounded her fist against his door.
Her voice was grating on Sasuke's nerves, but soon she stopped pounding on his door and finally gave up on yelling. When he heard nothing more from the other side of his door, Sasuke thought that the blonde had given up and decided to go away. Though, he had to wonder just what on Earth was she doing in his apartment in the first place?
Nonetheless standing in his kitchen and wearing an apron? It was totally out of the blonde's character and a little bizarre to witness. Not to mention the image reminded him a lot of his dead mother, which was a little scary and disturbing. Yet, it brought to mind fond memories that he had buried and locked away deep in his heart as he had no time to be reminiscing about the past. Leaving the door, Sasuke began taking a few steps forward, when he paused, turned around, and glared at the intruder once again.
"What are you doing back in here?" Sasuke coldly asked the blonde who did nothing but aim that ridiculous grin of hers his way.
"Well, I'm not known as Konoha #1 Orange Prank Mistress for nothing! Besides, your lock was really easy to pick, jerk!" Placing the bobby pins that she used to unlock the door back into her pockets, Naruko casually walked through the open doorway, right passed Sasuke and back into the kitchen.
"Alright, the rice did not burn. Phew, wouldn't want that to happen." Naruko checked on the rice cooker that in few second made a beeping noise to signal that the rice was now done. "Yosh! Time to get to work!" She began scooping out the rice and put it in a bowl, sprinkling some toasted white sesame seeds on top, before mixing it well, using the large wooden spoon in her hand. Sasuke watched as she next divided the rice into four equal portions and skillfully began molding the rice into the perfect triangular shape, setting them on a cutting board.
"Alright, time for the sauce~!" Naruko began adding one tablespoon of sweet sake to the small portion of miso with a little added sugar. "And just a pinch of dashi powder." After the last ingredients were added in, Naruko began mixing them all together in the small bowl.
By now Sasuke was transfixed on how Naruko somehow knew what she was doing and by some miracle had not initiated a fire yet. Picking up the pan that was resting on the counter, she added just a little bit of sesame oil, before turning the flames of the stove on medium. After a short while of watching Naruko, the food was done as she presented him with a plate of miso yaki onigiri.
"Ready to eat? Oh, how about we eat them while we watch Super Senshi Ninjas!" suggested Naruko. Sasuke's left eyebrow lifted upwards as he sent Naruko a befuddled look.
"Super-What?"
After Sasuke's question, Naruko gasped in an overdramatic fashion. "How do you not know about Super Senshi Ninjas?!" exclaimed the blonde. Sasuke was about to form a retort of how he had no time to watch useless cartoon shows, but the blonde had already gripped his wrist and dragged him towards the living room.
"Sit down and take a seat, jerk!" ordered Naruko, still carrying the plate of miso yaki onigiri that Sasuke would admit smelled delicious.
Leveling the blonde with a glare, he asked, "Since when do I start taking orders from a loser like you?" Naruko bared her teeth, before pointing a finger at him with her spare hand.
"Since I'm the one with the food!"
"As if I would risk food poisoning."
"Bastard, you did NOT just insult my cooking!"
"So what if I did. I refuse to eat anything cooked by you-" A growl came from Sasuke's stomach. Naruko smirk. Sasuke's cheeks turned a faint tint of pink before forcing it away. All he was able to do was glare at the grinning idiot she walked over to his couch, picked up his remote, and turned on his tv. The plate of onigiri was placed in her lap, brushing off the heated glare that was coming from Sasuke as she turned the volume up.
By all rights, Sasuke should have walked away or kicked Naruko out of his apartment again. But for some reason, he settled on taking a seat next to the blonde, obsidian eyes directed towards the screen that displayed four teenage girls clothed in bright flashy outfits. "Dobe. What is this show about?" Sasuke decided to allow the blonde to stay until the end of the show... Then he was going to kick her out. She was already putting a dent in his training schedule.
"It's about a strong group of female ninjas who transform to fight against evil. It's awesome~!" Naruko exclaimed like she was a small kid, taking a bite out of the delicious onigiri that was in her hand. Sasuke found himself eyeing the onigiri, mouth watering just a little when suddenly one was thrust into his face by Naruko, who kept her attention solely on the TV. "Just eat it. My cooking is quite good from what I hear from Iruka and Hina-chan. It is not poison," she assured him.
Hesitantly, Sasuke reached for the onigiri and took a small bite out of it. The raven found the taste to be delicious and almost addicting. It seemed the blonde really could cook after all... but he was not going to tell her that. He quietly began eating, paying the show little attention. It was thirty minutes later when the cartoon came to an end, and Naruko animatedly talked about one of the cool attacks moves one of the characters performed, when he cut her off as he opened his mouth to ask,
"Loser, why did you show up here?" These words brought forth a minute of silence between the two. Naruko stared down at her lap, sitting Indian style on the sofa, looking as if she was pondering on how she should answer Sasuke's question, who never took his eyes off of her. He found her actions to be strange and out of character.
It was a known fact that Naruko hated his guts. So for her to just to show up in his apartment out of the blue and cook for him, brought some questions to mind. Raising her head upward, she looked him in the eyes as if she was peering deep inside his soul, which made the last Uchiha heir a little uncomfortable under her intense gaze before a wide cheesy grin spread across her face.
"Se-cre-te~! Konoha #1 Orange Prank Mistress and Future Hokage never reveal her secrets." The blonde hopped to her feet and raced to the door. "See ya later, jerk-face~!" she yelled out to him before slamming the door after as she left. Sasuke stared at the plate of onigiri and saw that only two were left, and he pondered on why Naruko had refused to give him an honest answer.
End of Drabble Six