Author's Notes: Next is a Sasuke/Wakaba chapter. C'mon admit it—there are fans of this couple among you!!

Disclaimer: Suikoden is not mind. Of course I long for it… seeing as how cute Luc/Millie and Sasuke/Wakaba and Futch/Meg and Hix/Tengaar and a lot of other stuffies in it are!!

The Great Easter Egg Hunt

Chapter 12: Definitely Not A Board-Chested Tomboy

           

            "Just leave me alone." Came a familiar voice from outside the sliding glass doors of the terrace.

            A familiar, annoying, know-it-all voice. Wakaba's eyes narrowed. She ignored it and went back to staring at the mountains. Not many people know it, but the view from the laundry area was breath taking. Not to mention the fresh air laced with the scent of grass, the fresh green blades tickling the feet, and—

            "It's none of your business!!" Came that voice again, louder this time. Wakaba fell from the boulder she was sitting on in surprise.

            "Itai!!" She whimpered. Why that baka!!

            Other voices talked, but in much softer tones that Wakaba couldn't understand them.

As luck would have it, the one person she really didn't want to see just had to follow her all the way to the laundry area. So much for peace…

            The voices came nearer, now they were standing right outside the laundry area.

            "Well, see here," Wakaba heard another familiar voice say. It's Futch. Despite herself, Wakaba listened. "You should at least try."

            "She's not going to listen to an apology, Futch." The ninja's voice grumbled.

            "I wouldn't be the least bit psyched either, if I got my ankle sprained and somebody rubbed in my face that he got something that I wanted because I fell behind." Piped up a feminine voice. And Meg-chan…

            "RIGHT-RIGHT." Gadget said in an unusual show of loyalty.

            "And who gave you the permission to butt in?" Sasuke spat spitefully, presumably at both girl and clockwork barrel.

            "Hey!! She's my friend and I—"

            "You are not involved." Sasuke cut in. "Go away. Tell her to go away."

            There was a pause. And then Futch could be heard saying, "Umm, Meg…"

            "Nevermind, I'm leaving!!' Meg cried, sounding pissed. The heels of her green boots clacked loudly on the stone floor.

            "Well, what are you waiting for?"

            The sound of the doors sliding open caused Wakaba to turn.

Sasuke stumbled in the laundry area, a dark frown on his face. Futch gave him another push and then the dragonknight slid the doors close.

For a while, ninja and martial artist stared at each other. Or rather, glared.

Sasuke took a step forward. "Ah… umm… eeto…"

"What?" Wakaba snapped. An apology, huh? Well don't expect me to make things easy for you!!

Sasuke's long fingers played with the ends of the blue scarf tied around his neck. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What I was saying… err… I'm…"

Wakaba placed her hands on her hips. "Just spit it out already."

Sasuke's mouth dropped open in indignation. Straightening himself, he sputtered, "Too bad you lost." Oops!! It wasn't supposed to go like that.

Wakaba's eyes narrowed to slits and her mouth was set in a thin line. Why that arrogant, cocky, bastard—

She hopped down from the rock. However, her left ankle gave way and she fell most ungracefully on her butt. For some reason, she had managed to walk all the way to the laundry area. It seems she would not be able to walk away from it however.

Wakaba suppressed a howl of frustration and struggled to get up. Sasuke kneeled beside her. With an expert tug, the sash around his waist loosened and he pulled it off.

He reached up his head and removed the sash underneath his headband.

He removed a few other pieces of cloth from various parts of his costume; from around his ankles, below his thighs. Wakaba watched him curiously.

Sasuke grasped Wakaba's left leg, just above her knee. She gave out a little scream and kicked him upside the head with her right foot.

Lucky he was a ninja and managed to deflect most of the blow. "Do ahou!! What do you think you're doing??!"

"What do YOU think you're doing?!!" Wakaba yelled. "Don't touch me."

"Baka. I was trying to help you." Sasuke reached for her left leg again, but Wakaba kicked out her right leg.

"Do you want to remain in pain??" Sasuke asked exasperatedly.

"...?" Wakaba fixed him an inquiring look. "You can relieve it?"

Sasuke sighed and held her left leg. This time, she did not kick him, although she looked at him warily still.

His hands were cold and shaking. Wakaba noticed that he did not use any more pressure than he had to. As a matter of fact, he held her leg carefully, almost as if he shouldn't be touching it.

Sasuke straightened her leg on the ground. "This would hurt at first."

"I thought it would help the pain??" Wakaba cried.

"Baka. I'd have to pull your foot back to its normal position first, and that would hurt." Sasuke said impatiently. He grasped her left foot with both hands and without a warning, yanked at it.

"OUCH!!" Wakaba kicked out her right leg, but Sasuke anticipated it and raised his arm to deflect the blow.

Wakaba yelled at him. "You baka!! That hurt!! You—"

She stopped and looked at her left ankle. It was still swollen but at least it was not stuck out in a weird angle anymore. It did not hurt as much either.

"Wow." Wakaba pushed herself on her feet and was about to test her weight on her left ankle, but Sasuke pushed her on the boulder.

"Hey!!" Wakaba cried.

"You can't stand on it yet, or it's never going to heal." Sasuke scolded. "Just sit there…" Sasuke kneeled by her feet and took the pieces of cloth he gathered. He straightened some of them, folded a couple of others. He started wrapping her ankle.

His hands are so cold. Wakaba bit her lip. They actually soothe the throbbing though. How can he tie those sashes straight when his hands are so unsteady?..

"Hey… I'm sorry for making you angry."

Did he just… apologize? Wakaba felt her cheeks turning red. What do I say? She looked down at him. He did not seem to be expecting anything so she remained silent.

He looked up at her. Seeing that she was staring at him, he looked down immediately. He wound the cloth faster now. "Don't worry, it will be done soon."

Wakaba simply nodded.

"There." Sasuke tied the last knot. "That will have to do until I take you to Doctor Huan." He dusted his knees and sat on the boulder beside her.

You… take me? Wakaba managed to act as if was not anything out of the ordinary. "Ne, Sasuke-kun? I'm sorry too. It's not your fault."

"Huh?" Sasuke's eyebrows arched up in puzzlement.

"It's just… many things… that made me angry." Wakaba explained.

"So…" Sasuke scratched his head. "I had nothing to do with it?"

"Hey!! Don't wash your hands clean of it!!" Wakaba said irritatedly. "Of course you did something too."

Sasuke prudently chose not to reply. "………"

"But it' s a lot of other things too…" Wakaba turned her gaze to the mountains, a wistful smile on her face. "I guess the egg hunt made me remember…"

"Funny how a silly egg hunt can do that." Sasuke said in an off-hand manner.

"That's easy for you to say!!" Wakaba cried.

"What did I do wrong now?!" Sasuke raised his voice as well.

"Don't call it silly!!"

"Don't get so worked up over it!!"

"It's because you're so insensitive!!"

Sasuke blinked. The last word was not a part of his everyday vocabulary. He chose to ignore the statement and change tack. "I seem to remember trying to make up with you."

"… Me too." Wakaba said.

"So can you stop arguing with me?" Sasuke asked exaperatedly.

"I wasn't arguing with you, you were arguing with me!!"

"No I wasn't, you're the one who's always jumping at anything I say!!"

            "That's because you keep jumping at anything I say!!"

They both stopped yelling.

"Let's not argue." Sasuke proposed.

"Right." Wakaba agreed. Her hands fiddled with the hem of her orange gi. "Ne, Sasuke-kun… I'm sorry for taking out my frustrations at you."

"………"

"You're lucky you know… having the other ninjas trust you enough to send you here to the Alliance Army."

Sasuke grunted. "I didn't want to go to this stupid army anyway."

Wakaba bristled. "That's some nerve you got, insulting the people who treated you as a friend."

"You're right, you're right." Sasuke said submissively. "Didn't we just promise not to argue?"

"We didn't promise, we agreed."

"Whatever."

"Right." Wakaba rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, you're lucky."

Sasuke would beg to differ but kept his mouth shut anyway. "………"

"You must be from a good clan, right?"

Deciding that two statements without a remark would put him in her bad books again, Sasuke said in a non-committal way, "I guess so."

"And you're the only child?" Wakaba prodded.

"… That's what they say."

"Figures." She sighed. "Good for you. Nothing like how it is with me. My eldest sister is perfect, my older brother is the most handsome boy in the village and my little brother is the favorite."

Sasuke listened, so as not to be disagreeable, than out of any desire to do so. "………"

"I was never anything but average," Wakaba continued glumly. "That's why, I always try hard and do my best in anything I do… hoping I will succeed at something…"

"So that's why you bust up unoffending jigsaw puzzles that just happen to stump you from finishing them." Sasuke snickered.

Wakaba turned red. "Are you spying on me??"

Sasuke huffed and said. "You're going off-topic."

Wakaba eyed him suspiciously, but continued anyway. "When I found karate… it was something that only I was good at. Of course, I still want to be the best at anything."

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "You might think it's stupid, to get so worked up at so little a thing such as an egg hunt. But if you've been overlooked all your life…"

Sasuke was just staring at the mountains, his face placid and showing no reaction. Wakaba did not notice the way his hands clutched at handfuls of grass, crushing the plant with his grip.

She was annoyed. "Of course I don't expect you to understand. I may not know much about ninjas, but you must have a nice life, being the great ninja that you are—"

"You think you're the only one?"

Wakaba's breath hitched. His voice was so soft and low that she was not even sure if he really talked. His back was stiff and his now-muddy hands balled into fists. He turned to her with hardened onyx eyes.

"Sasuke-kun…"

"My parents don't even care enough about me to raise me."

Wakaba's eyebrows turned down and so did the corners of her eyes. You're so stupid, girl…

"I never knew them." The ninja continued in his dangerously soft voice. "I was passed among the attendants of Hanzo-sama. Apparently, they are of too high a rank to claim me as a son."

Sasuke punched the boulder with his left fist. Wakaba winced. The ninja composedly placed his hands on his lap. His left hand's knuckles were bleeding and bits of dirt stuck on it. He paid it no mind, however, as he continued talking.

"They'll never reveal themselves… perhaps until the day I become as important as them."

Wakaba gingerly held his left hand. He flinched, but made no move to shake her off.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I didn't know it was like that—"

"So don't act like you know what kind of life I've led. Don't act like the world is against you." Sasuke snapped.

He expected her to yell another angry retort.

"I won't." Wakaba said sincerely.

"………" He certainly did not expect that. The silence he normally reveled in had turned oppressive.

"I believe you'll surpass him. Your father." Wakaba said. Coming from the obsessive-compulsive competitor of a martial artist, the comment meant a lot.

"Thanks…"

Silence hung in the air once again, but it was more comfortable this time.

"Wakaba-chan… I think you're anything but average."

"Do you mean that?" Wakaba leaned forward and looked him straight in the eyes.

He could have sworn her brown eyes were sparkling. He swallowed the uncomfortable lump in his throat. "Of course I mean it—geez."

He hung his head down to hide his blush. "You do better than them, the other girls. You're stronger and faster and you look good—uh, you look like you can take good care of yourself, I mean." He finished lamely.

Wakaba clapped her hands delightedly. "That's so nice of you, Sasuke-kun… HEY!! Does that mean you think I'm like a boy??!"

Sasuke groaned exasperatedly. "I do not!!"

"Yes you do!!" Wakaba stuck out her lower lip belligerently. "You always call me a tomboy."

"Fine, fine." He held out his hands and said in a placating tone, "I do not think you are a board-chested tomboy."

Wakaba smiled. "That's good… HEY!! Pervert!!" She punched him in the jaw and he fell of the boulder.

"Ow!!" Sasuke held a hand against his jaw. "What are you talking about??"

"You've been staring at my chest!!" Wakaba yelled.

"I have not!!" Sasuke cried.

"PERVERT!!"

"Ouch!!"

Author's Notes again: Nah, don't worry about them, they're fine now. =P I've been wanting to write a bit more about this couple. Would anyone be interested in a multi-chapter Sasuke/Wakaba fic, which would take place after Suikoden 2?