Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Especially not Naruto! Wah!
Story Title: True Love
Chapter 17: The Proposition
.: Start :.
When Yuukie had finally got the towel off her hair, she winced a little as the twisted towel had pulled a few stands of her hair. She silently cursed the accursed piece of fabric and turned to brushing her hair. When the grooming secession was finally over, she went downstairs to entertain the young Uchiha prodigy.
"What took you so long?" Asked the dark haired teen, sounding annoyed.
Yuukie just shrugged and sat on the living chair across him, twiddling with her fingers in a nervous action. "So Sasuke-san, what is it that you wanted to ask me about?" She finally spoke out.
"I need you to tell me about your past, from the very beginning, every moment that you remember that concerns you, Daisuke and his and your family. This is the only way to help you." His eyes were serious and he leaned back on the armchair with his hands resting on his lap.
"Help me with what?" Yuukie asked him, a bit puzzled by his question.
"Sanada, you can ask questions later. Your wasting my precious time, do I need to tell you again that I have something going on later? Hurry up, we're not making any progress." He growled in annoyance.
"Right… Well, I was born on the 23rd of January…"
"Sanada, I said stuff concerning what I just said." He said coolly, taking out a pocket watch, opened it and put it back. "Look, we just wasted 5 whole seconds. Sanada, I'm not here to get to know about your birthday."
"It is, if you would just let me explain!" She protested weakly.
"Che. Fine, go."
"After an hour I was born, my grandfather died. So my grandmother predicted that it was something like a bad omen. So they thought that me coming to this world would bring others around me bad luck and death."
"That's just not fair isn't it? Might have been a coincidence."
"I know, but then Aunt Megumi, she's my uncle's wife, died when I was six and that certainly pissed Uncle Takashi. So then, my whole family decided to just leave me alone since they believed that I was cursed. Now, I'm starting to believe it too since both my parents died…" She lowered her head to hide her eyes from him, her gaze falling to her lap instead of the Uchiha prodigy.
"Take my advice and don't believe what people say alright? And you, you shouldn't be blaming yourself for something that you didn't even do." Sasuke interrupted. "Continue…"
"I never actually had a friend before. That was until my cousin Mizuiro talked to me for the first time. She actually thought being ignored was fun! And I can't believe that she said that 'the bad omen' was actually cool!" She said with a bright smile.
"Sanada, you just went off course." Sasuke warned.
"Oh, sorry…" She apologised, blushing in embarrassment. Well, anyway when I got unofficially engaged with Daisuke, I was of course shocked that a higher- classed noble would pick me. I know we've met quite a few times but we weren't even that close!" Yuukie's eyes once again fell to her hands twisting on her lap and she bit her lip. "To tell you the truth… I was never really that happy to be with him. Like I said, my life is full of lies…" She closed her eyes momentarily, feeling very ashamed of herself.
"Then, why in the world did you breakdown when he sent you that letter?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"I did had feelings for him…" She croaked, as the words slipped from her lips. "That was after he saved my life… I felt like I owed him! As- as a lady and a person, I really should appreciate the kindness he had given me… And the only way to repay my debt is to give my own life to him like he gave his in order to save me. So I learned to love him, masking the unhappiness growing inside of me. But I'm used to it you know, saying that everything will be all right. I cried that night because everything I have given to him was a waste. I didn't know what to do! My family would be humiliated and I would certainly be disowned!"
"What made you change that feeling for him then?" His fingers tapped lightly on the arm of the armchair.
Yuukie slowly lifted her head to face Sasuke, she looked at him in the eye and these words escaped her lips. "You…" Her voice was barely even a whisper but Sasuke heard it.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Sasuke asked, his voice full of denial. "That I influenced everything?"
"Yes… You said so yourself, I shouldn't live a world with lies." She reminded him. Her voice went softer and she kept looking at her twisting fingers. "I've realised that if I kept on lying, I would completely loose myself. I-I don't want to live in a life that is not seen, a pretend happiness anymore..." Tears rolled down her cheeks but she had not made any attempt to wipe them away.
"That's good then… Wipe your tears Sanada."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologised and wiped her tears. "Umm… Where were we? Oh, yes. He saved me on the night when our engagement was announced. I was unfortunately hurt that night by a brute that tried to kidnap me and also from Daisuke's mother because I had brought harm on her son, and the horrible images kept haunting my dreams. After a few weeks had passed, gifts were sent to my household. It was a custom for us in engagement and marriage ceremonies, to show that the husbands-to-be could provide their wives."
"I've read about those customs. And the 1,500,000 gold pieces was the final offering before the marriage ceremony begins. But weren't you supposed to be married to him a year after the dowry was paid? And you should have been given an engagement ring." Sasuke pointed out.
"I kept calling it off. Daisuke understood my request and held it for another few years. Even if we were engaged, I didn't want to be more that best friends before our… wedding." Yuukie coughed as she said the last word. "I wanted to take it slow and I didn't want anything… intimate." She coughed again. "To happen between us." Her face turned slightly pink when the words left her mouth.
"That still hasn't explained why you don't have an engagement ring."
"This ring." Yuukie pulled out her chain from under her shirt. "Is not my engagement ring. It is kept at my household, safely tucked away. This? It's just a symbol of Daisuke's love for me. I was such a fool back then…" Yuukie gave a fake laugh and she placed the ring back to its original place.
"The only way to solve your problem Sanada, is to find a suitor." He said simply and folded his arms, looking so fatherly.
Yuukie gave a small laugh. "That's not possible, or even allowed. Actually, I'm not supposed to even interact with another male, besides family, of course. I would be severely punished if I was caught letting you in the house."
"There must be some way. A loophole or some sort." He uncrossed his arms and shifted his position on the armchair. Clearly he was not at all amused with the details provided to him. He propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and rested his chin on his hands, a sign to show that he was thinking. He wanted to figure it out.
"I really do appreciate what you're trying to do Sasuke-san, as my guardian and as my friend but there is not much that you could do." She shook her head irritably. "You can only break my fall when I stumble, a person I can go to for comfort. Even so, when I get married, my legal guardian would automatically shift to Daisuke even if you had the legal papers." She said in a sad tone.
He placed his hands down and seemed as though he had thought up of something. "Sanada, are there any books about your customs?" If there were Sasuke could use them to get the right answers.
"Yes, in the attic. I would get them if you like but first, would you like some tea?" Yuukie offered. "I'm sorry that I didn't make any earlier when you came."
"Yes, I'd like that." Sasuke said giving a nod.
"I'll be right back…" She said, as she headed off to the kitchen.
Sasuke sighed, again he rested his chin on the back of his hands like before. Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to piece up but the last piece is yet to be found. Those books were to contain mysteries that maybe not even he could solve. Three knocks erupted from the door and his head snapped to it's direction. The knocks were starting to get impatient and Yuukie was still busy in the kitchen. So, he himself decided to answer it. It must be Naruto, he thought since the impatient knock was uncannily his. He opened the door only to find his mirror image smiling right back at him, only to falter when he realised to whom he was greeted by.
"What are you doing here?" Both asked in synchronisation.
Yuukie had just entered the living room with a tray of goodies. "Would you like any cakes with you tea, Sasuke-san?"
"Yuukie what is the meaning of this!" An elder asked, clearly angry about Sasuke, a man, who is neither family nor her fiancé, is in the house alone with her.
She had nearly dropped the tray that she was holding and that bright smile on her face faltered. How could she have forgotten? It was that very day… Today was the day that they are going to take her back to Snow Country.
…
Yuukie carefully poured tea into each teacup and served it to the family members, her heart beating thrice as fast in fear. The elders were all seated and were currently munching on the cakes and cookies that were served. Sasuke and Daisuke were having a glaring contest and it looked as though Daisuke was winning with the very sour look on his flawless face. She was on the floor praying to her poor little heart that somehow this could just be a nightmare.
An old woman in her mid-eighties cleared her throat and adjusted her black, fake-jewel incrusted glasses that were set on the bridge of her nose. "Now, young lady, please tell us why you are alone with a man in your house. Are you not clear that you are currently engaged with this very fine man." She smiled at Daisuke who nodded in agreement. Sasuke could not help but roll his eyes and Yuukie was finding it hard to breathe as her breath hitched when the old woman addressed her.
"I'm sorry Grandmamma but… Well, you see…" Yuukie just couldn't fine the words to say what she wanted to say and kept trailing off. How could she explain? She couldn't just say 'I let him in Grandmamma because he's one of my male friends'. It simply isn't done!
"What she is trying to say is that I have every right to stay here as long as I please." Sasuke stated with his arms crossed.
Yuukie mentally slapped her forehead. What the hell was he saying! He's making the situation a whole lot worse! Does he know whom he's up against? This is her very, very stubborn family he's dealing with and not to mention her very, very overprotective and easily jealous fiancé! But she should know that Uchiha Sasuke never backs down on anything and would eagerly accept a challenge.
Yuukie's grandmother's lip twitched in irritation and was about to tell him off but Takashi beat her to it. "And who are you supposed to be young man? You do know that my dear niece here is engaged, do you not? And that you are supposed to stay away from her?" He emphasised the last sentence.
Sasuke's lip curled into a smirk. "I know." He replied coolly, running his hand through his hair and Takashi raised an eyebrow at this. "How rude of me, I never actually introduced myself properly have I? Uchiha Sasuke, last of the Uchiha clan and legal guardian of Sanada Yuukie."
Takashi stood up. "What is the meaning of this!" He pulled Yuukie who sat on the floor by the arm. "You are no legal guardian of her!" He pointed at Sasuke. "Did you set this up as a joke!" He yelled at his niece who just shook her head. He raised his hand in order to slap her but immediately let go when his hands were cut, it appears that Sasuke had thrown a kunai when everyone was too busy watching Takashi trying to strike his niece. Yuukie fell back to the floor staring and him wide-eyed and so did the other members of the family.
"If you do not treat her properly I will see to it that you will not be her guardian any longer and will take legal action." Takashi who was holding his bleeding hands tried to speak but no words came out and momentarily looked like a goldfish in a fishbowl. "I can do this because as I said I am her legal guardian. These papers were signed and her mother had trusted her to be left in my care." Sasuke held the papers in front of him, showing them his signature on the legal documents along with Yuukie's and her mother's.
"That is not possible!" Daisuke yelled, snatching the papers from Sasuke's hand roughly. He skimmed through the papers, wide eyed as he realised what Sasuke said was definitely true. Angered, he clutched it tightly, as though trying to rip the document apart to vent on his anger.
"Ah. Don't even try to rip it. That's just a copy and I have many others." He gave him a triumphant smirk.
"You signed it!" Daisuke cried in disbelief at Yuukie's face. "How could you! We promised to have a better life! The vows you made on our engagement ceremony! What's wrong with us being together!" He made a grab to Yuukie's leg but she scurried of to Sasuke's side. "Oh, I see. It's you that's the problem!" He pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "You've influenced her! You wanted her all to yourself!" He spat.
Yuukie blushed at the comment while Sasuke didn't even twitch. "I didn't say that me being her guardian would stop you two from marrying." He said and Yuukie clamped her hand onto his arm, her nails painfully digging onto his flesh, her face a mix of worry and fright. He gave her a reassuring look to tell her that he knows what he's doing and pried her hands off of him.
"Then what are you babbling about, riff raff?" Daisuke asked sourly, apparently 'riff raff' was his favourite nickname for Sasuke whose eye twitched in annoyance.
"All I'm saying is that I request her permission to stay in Konoha until her marriage ceremony is about to be conducted. Let her have her freedom will you? She's just not ready for all these responsibilities."
"Fine." Takashi grunted the answer. "She may stay."
"What!" Daisuke turned to face Takashi with his mouth agape.
"You could catch flies with that." Sasuke pointed out.
"Why you…" Daisuke snarled, reaching for his gloves in his back pocket but Takashi stopped him. "You can't just let him get away with that!" He yelled.
"I can and I already did." Sasuke mocked just to annoy the already angered teen.
"Now Daisuke, I know how much you love my niece but she just have two years of freedom left before returning to your arms. Remember, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Besides, she won't be reluctant of you anymore, I'll make sure that she'll devote her life to you." Takashi advised.
Yuukie had visibly cringed at the last sentence and Daisuke noticed. "Fine but I'll be back every month to check on her. I don't trust you to be her guardian, riff raff." He exited the room, deliberately bumping shoulders with Sasuke.
The rest of the family went their way as well but Takashi and his mother stayed behind. "I'll let you have your freedom but no funny stuff, alright? I don't want you to humiliate my family and you better make sure that you will dedicate your life to him when the time comes." And with that he went off but still grandmamma lingered behind.
"She will be the cause of your death, young one." She warned in a threatening voice. "If you get too close with her… You'll end up just like the others."
"I think I can handle her but thanks anyway for the warning." Sasuke had once again tuned down the Suichi family with his comebacks.
A few minutes had passed since the family left but both Sasuke and Yuukie were rooted to the spot. Yuukie snapped out first and giggled lightly. Sasuke made a 180-degree turn and faced her.
"And what, may I ask is so funny?" He crossed his arms, annoyed at her sudden burst of giggles. He never was the one who liked giggling people, especially giggling girls with their high-pitched voices.
"I'm sorry, it's just that this whole scene is just plain ridiculous." She covered her lips to stifle another fit of giggles. "Did you see the horror on his face?" She asked with a smile and gave a faint chuckle.
"Yes, I certainly wished I had a camera at that point."
"And thank you for everything, I would have a swollen cheek by now if you hadn't stopped him." Yuukie gave him a small and sincere smile. "At least I'll be able to live freely for the next two years. I really appreciate your help."
"That's not why I came here. I'll help you by letting you off the hook from marrying that guy but we just have to find out how. Could you get me those books now?"
"Oh, yes. Why don't you finish your tea and I'll look for them in the attic. Please excuse me." She hurriedly went upstairs.
…
Moving her way carefully through the dusty attic she searched for the box that contained the books Sasuke was looking for. It would have been easier if the lights were working. She bumped her leg on an old end table and silently screamed. Now hopping on one foot she tried to sit on something so that she could nurse her throbbing foot. Hissing in pain she sat on an old rocking chair and rubbed her injured foot. Something touched her shoulder and she screamed in sheer terror, falling off the chair and landed on her bottom.
"Sanada?" Sasuke called out in the darkness.
"Sasuke!" Yuukie felt both relieved and angry that it was just Sasuke. She momentarily glared at the dark figure in front of her.
"What took you so long? And why are there no lights up here?" He asked and extended his arm to help her up.
Yuukie took it and pulled herself up. "We didn't replace the light bulbs up here in a while and because of that I bumped my foot on something and thanks to you I nearly got scared to death." She brushed the dust off of her shirt.
"Why don't you just get flashlights if you knew that the lights weren't working? It would have saved you all the trouble." Sasuke pointed out in as-a-matter-of-factly tone.
Yuukie stared at him. "I am so stupid." She shook her head.
"Come on, before you injure yourself even more." Sasuke pulled her arm, guiding her back to the entrance. "Where are the flashlights?" He asked when they were finally out of the room.
"The kitchen." She told him. "I'll go and get them." She offered and started to descend the stairs.
…
Yuukie was out of breath when she reached the top of the staircase with flashlight in hand. She saw Sasuke leaning on the wall while reading a book with the Suichi emblem on the front. "Where did you get that?" She asked.
"Was this the box you were looking for?" He pointed to the box at his feet. "It was near the doorway. Since you were taking so long I decided to search for it a bit. It seems as though I have found it."
She was running down the stairs to fetch the flashlights and found out that they weren't needed anymore? "That's… great…" She said breathlessly plastering a smile on her face.
"Come on, I need another cup of tea to read all of this." He carried the box and went down the stairs to leave Yuukie once again dumbfounded.
"Didn't you have something to do?" Yuukie asked, reminding him as both of them descended the stairs.
"Yes. I was supposed to read the rule books and currently I am." He sat on the armchair and turned a page, totally mesmerised by the book. "I still want my tea. The teapot is empty so why don't you make more?" He said, without looking at her.
A small smile played on Yuukie's lips. Sasuke tore his eyes from the book when he felt her eyes on him. "Will do, Sasuke." She turned around and fled to the kitchen to make more tea.
…
"So how much more did you find out?" Yuukie asked the ebony haired teen as she placed the teapot down and poured tea into his cup.
"A whole lot. It says here that you can have a suitor…" He trailed off reading the next few lines. When he turned a page, his face showed slight interest.
"That's not possible! They never told me that! The specifically told me that I could not have another suitor! That I was to marry Daisuke at all costs!" Yuukie exclaimed. There was no way! It was made perfectly clear, for no reason at all that she was to be wed with Daisuke.
"They've been lying to you Sanada… Think, why would they eagerly wed you to that bastard?" Sasuke tore his eyes from the book to face her.
"I-I don't know. Honestly, that question never entered my mind… I-I… I've always followed the rules but never thought of why I was doing it…" She had just realised something and her mind started to drift back to one of her memories.
"You're family must have some profit off of it. But the question is… what exactly?" His head turned slowly to Yuukie and looked at her straight in the eye. "Is there something that you didn't tell me, Sanada?" He asked with his left eyebrow raised in question.
"Well… There is this one other thing… It's not something to brag but… My family was placed under the Royal Court because of the Takeshi family. I don't exactly know if it means something…"
"You mean you have a title?" Sasuke interrupted. "As in a royal title? The whole Suichi family were given titles?" He asked, and when he got a nod as an answer he just gave a cynical grin and faced her female friend. "You do not realise what they're doing to you Sanada. They're getting the profits out of you. You're easy money… They marry you off and they'll be left with the riches."
Yuukie bit his lip and stared at the hands on her lap. Her eyes closed shut and tears were threatening to spill. "I… I don't believe it… They used me?" She faced the young Uchiha her eyes shimmering with tears.
"Sanada…" Sasuke called out.
A knock interrupted the rest of Sasuke's sentence and Yuukie went to answer the door. He stood up when he heard a familiar voice and headed towards the entrance. Yuukie was there being embraced by his mirror image, her face blushing furiously but made not attempt to push him off. Sasuke decided to watch the whole scene before he interrupts them. So he leaned on the wall with his arms crossed to view them.
"I'm going home tonight but I want you to come with me…" Daisuke placed his head on her shoulder. "How could you sign those papers? Don't you love me anymore? Were the vows you made lies? Why did you do it?" He pulled off but still held her hands with his own and looked deeply in her eyes.
"Daisuke… You have to tell me… Did you pay for my engagement?" She asked, not looking at him.
He laughed playfully. "Is that what you're worried about? I did, remember? All 1,500,000 gold pieces… How could you forget? It was one of the happiest moments of our lives. You were wearing that light blue kimono I bought you and had your face all dolled up for the occasion, remember?" He smiled, remembering the memories. "We held hands and you said that you were to love me forever, didn't you? Like right now… Please, say it… Say that you love me before I leave. It's okay if you want to stay in Konoha for the next two years, I can wait, but please… Before I go say that you love me…" His eyes were pleading but Yuukie kept her head down to avert his pleading gaze. He lifted her chin gently so she could face him. "Please…" He gave her another one of his charming smiles.
Yuukie's soft heart was wrenched terribly at the look on his cute face. These were the effects of Daisuke's charm she had experienced years before. It hurted her deeply, whenever he gave her that look but sometimes he took advantage of her when he did. Yet she couldn't say it, she just couldn't… Even if she did it would be more of pity than the real thing. Yet she didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise either. Again her tears started to well up in her eyes, she bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything foolish to worsen the whole situation. She tore her eyes off of him and her eyes settled to look at her feet instead.
"Daisuke… I didn't mean that…" Her voice was shaking and tears were already falling down her cheeks. "I meant if my family was paid for the price of my marriage. Is that why they were determined to marry me off to you? For the profit?" She asked and more tears fell and Daisuke gently brushed them away with his thumb.
"W-where did you get that idea?" He laughed nervously, trying to cover up the lie but failed miserably. But he knew he couldn't keep the lie from her any longer and he was sure that she would like an explanation.
"Please Daisuke… Tell me… Tell me the truth…" Her voice was now raspy as she tried to hold back the tears.
"I wanted you that much Yuukie… I wanted you to be in my arms so badly… You can call me selfish all you want but… I don't care; I want you to be always with me no matter what. I-I agreed to the whole thing… Just to be with you…" He confessed as his voice too saddened and pulled her into another embrace, resting his chin on her head.
Yuukie shook her head. "No! How could you? They used my Daisuke, does that not mean anything to you!" Her breath uneven and tears flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall, Yuukie cried into his chest for the comfort she sorely needed.
"It'll be okay, I promise…" He rubbed her back, smiling in reassurance.
"And then you'll break it, am I right?" Sasuke finally voiced up and pushed himself off the wall to approach him. "That's what you're going to do." He smirked.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He yelled glaring at Sasuke.
"Unlike you I am welcomed to stay in this household." He tried to take Yuukie from his arms but Daisuke slapped his hands away.
"Don't touch her riff raff!" He tightened the hug but was surprised that Yuukie pulled away and went to Sasuke's side. "Yuukie?" His voice held a hint of hurted and bewildered.
Sasuke placed an arm around her while she buried her face in her hands. "You've done enough for one day, now leave…" Sasuke said in a low and threatening voice. Daisuke opened his mouth to object but Sasuke cut him off. "Leave, now." He gave a low growl and his Sharingan flared to tell him that he was dead serious.
"I'll be back in a month… Don't you dare do anything to her riff raff or you'll have to answer to me." He turned himself around and headed for the door. He took a glance at his fiancée for one last time before he shut the door, his face masking the sadness within his heart.
"Sanada?" Sasuke called out but she did not say a word just the tiny whimpers and sniffles that escaped her fingers. Her face was buried in her hands so Sasuke couldn't make out her expression but he guessed that her eyeballs must be red from all that crying. "Come on." He lead her back to the living room and they both sat on the couch. "Open your eyes, Sanada." Yuukie shook her head slowly, indicating that she did not want too. So Sasuke had to pry her hands off her face and saw that her eyes were blank, giving out no expression at all and was still leaking.
Sasuke sighed and went to the kitchen. Moments later he came back with a mug of hot chocolate and held it in front of her face. "Drink it and I don't want any excuse from you."
At first Yuukie merely stared at the mug but then she gingerly took it from his hand and place it on her lips. The mug was warm to her cold lips and the liquid seemed to soothe her aching throat. She drank half of the contents and looked up only to be stared back by Sasuke. He eyed her every move and urged her to drink the rest. She had to admit, it made her feel a lot better and she placed the now empty mug on the coffee table. When she sat back down, she proceeded to hug one of the throw pillows.
"Let's get back to business now, shall we?" Sasuke said taking the book back into his hand but when he saw that Yuukie was still saddened by the whole ordeal, he closed the book and heaved another sigh. "What am I going to do with you Sanada?" He took out a handkerchief and started to wipe the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. (1)
"No." She stopped his hand. "I-I can do it." She took the handkerchief from his hands and wiped off her tears. "Thank you…" She whispered softly when she handed him back his handkerchief.
Sasuke pocketed the cloth and faced her once more. "Sanada, I've been thinking… I want to make a little proposition…"
"Yes?"
"About that suitor problem. I want to solve it and I think that this is the only way. I don't want you to take this personally but… Why don't I be your suitor?" (2) His face didn't show any signs of humour nor mockery, he was seriously suggesting his statement.
"What!" Yuukie scooted away from him as though he was a predator who was about to pounce on her, his prey. "What are you talking about?" She asked, still dumbfounded at his request.
Sasuke sighed. "To put this simply Sanada, I'll marry you." Again his face was neutral, this certainly was no cruel joke but Yuukie took the matter as though it could seriously kill her if she were to agree.
"You have got to be joking me! Do you know what people are going to say! Have you any idea how brutally I'll get beaten up by your fan club? I don't even like you that way and I'm sure you don't like me that way either!" She was nearly screaming at him in objection. Honestly, how could he even think up of that idea!
"I told you not to take it personally, Sanada. There will be nothing in it, no love, and no emotion whatsoever. All of it will just be an act… I've read the books and I did found a loophole. A little cash has to be sacrificed but, no matter. This way Daisuke can't get you, then when you find someone more suitable, I'll divorce you and you can live on happily and merrily with your new husband." He had said it so easily, as though it was a mere ride to the park. But of course it was easier said than done.
"What about you? What do you get out of it?" Yuukie asked, still curious and horrified onto why he had come up with the plan.
He gave another smirk. "I'll be filling in my duties, as your mother requested. It'll stop my fan club from chasing or bothering me. I get to screw Daisuke's mind off and it'll be fun to watch the reaction of every villager's faces when they think I'll get married and get cute little Sasuke juniors."
Yuukie stared at him as though he had sprouted a second head. She then sighed and began to rub her temples, everything that has happened to her today is giving her a migraine. "Don't you care?" She asked suddenly.
"Care? Care about what?" He asked, amused to hear what his female friend had to say to him.
"Care about what you are about to do? You're marrying someone you don't even love just for the sake of filling in your duties. Don't you care about your first kiss? Your first love? Anything at all?" Her voice full of guilt, she faced him with worried eyes.
"No." Was the simple reply. "I already told you Sanada that I don't care for all those things. My first kiss was already stolen by Naruto anyway…" Yuukie was once again taken aback by his words. "It was an accident in the classroom, some guy push him when he was sitting on my desk and we locked lips." He explained. "All that matters is what you decide, Sanada. Your feelings are concerned in order to do this, not mine. If you take my offer it's fine and if you don't, I'll just help you find another rich suitor who you like."
"I guess I should thank you?" She asked still dazed as his words replayed again and again in her mind.
"Your decision doesn't have to be decided now you know… It'll take time. If you finally decided, you'll know where to find me." He said standing up. "Can I take the book with me?" He asked, holding the book in his hand. "I need to do more research."
"Sure. That's fine. You can take the whole box if you want."
Sasuke took a final sip of his now cold tea and went his way, carrying the box of books with him. Yuukie followed him to the entrance so she could lock the door later. Her eyes were locked on the Uchiha emblem on his back. If she were to agree to the decision her surname would be erased and be replaced with that. He turned and she took a step back as though frightened that she was caught.
"Hey, don't get so tensed up. Don't worry so much all right? I'm here." She simply nodded at him, knowing nothing else to say. "If anything is bothering you just come to me for help and if you feel bummed about anything, eat chocolates." He advised. (3) Yuukie could see that his eyes were smiling in reassurance, even though his face did not show it. "Good night…" He said before he disappeared into the night.
"Good night…" She repeated, closing the door slowly.
.: End :.
A/n: As usual I apologise if I did any spelling or grammatical mistakes. I did put on the effort of finding any though… Hehe… Yeah, Sasuke here was a little OOC… I must admit that. But I kind of think that his OOCness in this chapter made it look nice and romantic… Hahaha…
Hehe… I just wanted to make a cute fluffy scene here. I hope you don't mind. (1)
Umm… Surprise? (2)
This stuff works! If you feel sad or depressed or whatever… eat chocolates! Chocolates do not make you fat! Sugar does! Some people get that confused so don't worry about your figure when you make a grab for chocolates! Chocolate contains chemicals that make you feel good about yourself. (3)
…
Yes! Another chapter done! It's finally the holidays here in Brunei… The stupid thing about it is that I was the only one to be assigned to do some stupid paperwork! The teachers just had to put me on the debate team! Not only that I also have to write a few freakishly boring articles for the school newspaper which is interfering with my fic writing! And the holidays are only 15 days! What a bummer!
Naruto saved my project! Literally! We had this PowerPoint presentation thingy and when the competition results came out, I slammed first for it and got the best music award too all thanks to Naruto soundtracks! They loved it! Along with the presentation… That presentation made me score big marks on my midyears too! If I ever got the chance, I would thank Toshiro Masuda for the awesome soundtracks.
Okay, I'm starting to babble about my life again when I should be babbling about my fic right? Well anyways… How did you like this chapter? I hope it was okay… I looked at my past chapters and felt so disappointed with this chapter. I don't know why… but it seems as though I'm loosing my touch. Can you figure out what's wrong with this chapter and tell it to me if you find anything different? I so need your help right now on ways to improve my chapters! So please read and review with any comments/criticisms/suggestions!
Don't worry I'll be back soon with the next chapter. That is if you continue to review… (Hint, hint, wink, wink) Next chapter will be something about her starting a new life… No not with Sasuke! She hasn't agreed to the proposition yet! Also, it's a special chapter for the NaruHina fans if they're still out there reading my fic… Anyway I'm gonna write it…
Once again thanks to all the people who read and enjoyed my story and also a big thank you for the people who reviewed and gave me their comments/criticisms/suggestions. About you guys guessing who it was who sent Yuukie the flowers… I must say… You guys made very interesting guesses but you gotta wait to find out who sent them to her… Hehe… but you guys are good!
Remember… Read and review!
Neogem…
