There was no problem convincing Naruto into telling him Sai's whereabouts, the slight issue was getting Ino to tell them Sai's address. Using the guilt trip to an excessive amount, they managed to pry it out of her.
Had it been earlier in the year Naruto would've settled for searching all over Sai's college campus. But since this was now the end of the year, college classes have ended and Sai would be back at his apartment, to which the boys now had the address to.
"So tell me again why we're visiting Sai?" Naruto asked as they walked up to the apartment complex.
"I just want to ask him some stuff," Sasuke said, as he looked down at the sheet where the apartment number was written. Third floor then…
Naruto came along with hopes that Sakura would've come along with them, but as they headed out the bastard made a big deal on why in fucking hell would he bring Sakura to her stalker's apartment!? Granted it wouldn't have been wise, but Naruto also realized that Sai wasn't really a stalker it wasn't like he followed her home or anything… he hoped.
Reaching the third floor and the designated door number, Sasuke knocked without a second of hesitation. There was a three second pause before the teens heard footsteps on the other side of the door, and soon enough the door was swung open, revealing a dark haired, pale skinned guy with an even more expressionless face than the Uchiha who stood before him.
"Ah," he began, "Ino told me to expect you," he offered the two a smile, though it was obvious to the two that it was false.
"Hey, Sai," Naruto greeted, "It's been a while."
"Yes, it has," he replied automatically, "Please come in," he stepped aside making room for the two to walk in.
"How did this guy remind you of me?" Sasuke asked hushed at the blond as they walked in.
"It was when you were away!" he whispered back, "Looking at you two in the same room now kinda makes me wonder that myself."
"So who's this Naruto," Sai asked, oblivious to their exchange.
"Ah!" he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "This is Sasuke, he's the guy we talked about, the one who went abroad."
"Oh," he showed his fake smile again, "It's nice to finally meet you Sasuke."
As a generous host, Sai offered the two a beverage as well as told them to make themselves comfortable in the living area.
They noticed how neat the college student was, everything was in perfect align but then again there wasn't much furniture either, only the bare essentials, a couch, a simple arm chair, a wooden coffee table and reasonably sized flat screen TV. Sasuke noticed an isle placed by a window in the room and next to it a few of what he assumed to be his drawings.
"So you're an artist?" Sasuke asked as Sai sat the cups onto the coffee table.
"Yes," he replied automatically, "Now not to be rude," he said as he sat at the armchair, "But why are you two here?"
"Oh well, Sasuke wanted to –"
"I wanted to ask you something," Sasuke interrupted.
"Concerning what?"
"You recall a Cover girl?" Sasuke asked without missing a beat.
Sai's eyes widened ever so slightly, "What about her?"
So he still remembers, Sasuke thought, "Why did you keep an eye on her?"
Sai sighed, "Ino told you about that."
"No, Shikamaru did."
"Well," his otherwise emotionless face turned into a thoughtful one, "I don't really know, just something about her…"
"Dude you were dating Ino," Naruto interjected, "I mean if Sakura interested you that much – Ow!" a hard shove to his ribs shut the blond up. What was this idiot suggesting that Sai should've ended it with Ino and go off to be with Sak – Hell no! Sasuke quickly shook the idea out of his head.
"No dickless," he said simply, earning a glare from the blond, "I didn't see her like that. I want to say it was curiosity, but even then that doesn't seem like the right word. It was kind of like a pull. Something about her just made me want to learn more, I was fascinated," he settled on the word, "But like I said curiosity had a big play into it, she just seemed so sad," his eyes now looked away, as if he was remembering those times he watched her, "It was odd, I didn't need to see her face to know that she was sad. And even more that I'm not that good with emotions and for me to be able to see that in someone else, I just wanted to know more," he concluded, blinking back to reality.
Sasuke stared at the college student; Sai felt Sakura's sadness, while he had to look into her eyes once to see it. That was it then, Sasuke thought, her sadness pulled us in. Sai couldn't do anything about it because of Ino, Sasuke on the other hand had no restrictions to explore and find out more about the sad girl they were both drawn to. Sasuke didn't notice his face creasing into a frown, until Sai spoke again.
"Why do I have the feeling that the same thing is happening to you?" Sasuke looked up to see Sai staring attentively at him.
"What gives you that idea?" Sasuke asked.
"Simply because you asked," Sai explained, "Naruto isn't speaking enough for this to be his problem, and I don't know anything about you, but I can tell that cover girl," he air quoted, "interests you, and possibly a lot more than she interested me."
Sasuke glared at Sai, who did this guy think he was to tell him how much Sakura interested him… and to possibly be right about the amount he did.
"There's no need for that face," Sai gave another one of his fake smiles as he got up and made his way into what Sasuke would assume to be his room, "Since she's captured your interest, I might as well give you something," he called out.
Sasuke stood from his seat as Sai came out from his room, a brown folder in his hand, "Here."
Sasuke slowly took the folder from the older man before carefully opening it, to which his eyes widened.
"This is," Sasuke gasped.
"What is it?" Naruto asked as he rushed behind Sasuke, looking over his shoulder to view the folder's contents, before he gasped himself, "Are those…"
Sai nodded, "I made those sketches last year," he glanced down at the black and white drawings, "My fascination towards her ended up being a good motivation to draw, and she hardly moved, making her a good model," he explained.
Sasuke would've been furious at the existence of these drawings had they not been actually pretty good. The drawings ranged from Sakura sitting under a familiar tree with a book in her hand, to ones of her standing possibly waiting for Kakashi, for sketches they were detailed and as he flipped through the folder they became more and more so. Until he reached the last one, his eyes fixed on it immediately, he felt himself grow numb.
Noticing Sasuke's lack of movement, Sai stretched his neck to see the image he was looking at only to give off an amused huff.
"Oh that," Sai began, the image was a sketch of Sakura's hooded self, only that unlike the others she was looking up and instead of the shaded over face which the other drawings consisted of, Sai had drawn it out, "Don't mind that. It was my last day at school so I decided to try and catch a glimpse of her face."
Naruto was about to speak up, but Sai continued, "But I never did."
Sasuke looked up at the college student, "What do you mean?" he asked almost angrily, "You drew her out perfectly."
Sai raised his hands in defense, "No, I just guessed," he explained, "I never saw her face, but I knew she was sad, I didn't want the last drawing I made of her to be another faceless one, so I just did my best to imagine her face and that's what I thought up."
Sasuke glared wide eyed at Sai, he was shocked yet angry at the same time, the face was almost identical to the real thing, her sad tired eyes were on point, how could he draw her and say he never saw her face?
"Wow, Sai, if it gives you any kind of comfort Sasuke can tell you how accurate you were," Naruto suddenly said.
You idiot, Sasuke thought.
"How would he…" Sai paused grasping the new information, "You saw her?!" he asked loudly, his excitement clear when Sai uncharacteristically grasped Sasuke's shoulder.
With wide eyes Sasuke nodded, surprised by the older man's reaction. After a few second, Sasuke was still wondering why Sai was still holding onto him, before it hit him, "… You were… pretty close," he muttered reluctantly.
"Are you serious!?" Naruto yelled, "Let me see that picture I need to memorize it!" he attempted to snatch the image from his best friend before Sasuke closed to folder firmly.
"No, you dumbass," Sasuke stated sternly, "Sakura still doesn't want you to see her and I plan to keep it like that," he ignored the pouting blond before turning to the older artist, "And you, do you mind keeping this image of her in your head, I know you don't know me to make me favors," he took a breath, "But for her and at least for now keep this in your head," he didn't like the pleading in his voice.
"To be honest," Sai began, "I had promised Ino that once I graduated I wouldn't draw her again, and I plan to keep that promise. So don't worry, besides I'm giving you those to keep me further away from temptation. And its about time I let these go," He smiled, finally a real smile, "They were some of my best work. But," he stressed the word, "they were done without the model's consent so I can't really use them for anything professional but it seemed like such a waste to throw them."
And there it was the real reason to why he was giving Sasuke these sketches.
"So was that all you two wanted?" Sai asked.
"Pretty much," Naruto said bluntly.
"Okay then," Sai walked towards his door, opening it to the two teens, "Then would you mind?"
Naruto frowned at his college friend, "Wow, might want to work on your rudeness to guests."
"I'll work on it, now if you don't mind," he motioned towards the door.
"Thanks for the… sketches," Sasuke muttered as he left.
Sai nodded a farewell to the teens and retreated to his apartment, he stood there for a moment. Something was building within him, something he can only describe as… excitement?
"I was right…" he muttered to himself. He lifted his hand into his line of sight… his hand was able to draw out cover girl's face, he didn't have to see her to know… The urge to draw her again was so strong… he clenched his hand shut… "No," he told himself as he walked forward preparing his new canvas.
All that was in the past now.
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"So I can't even get a peak?"
"No."
"Not even a glance?"
"No."
"… How about you just open and close the folder real fast?"
"… That just might work."
"Really?"
"No."
Naruto was being insufferable on the car ride home. The issue with the sketches was something the idiot wasn't going to let go of.
"C'mon, teme! She's my cousin!"
If he jumped out now and tucked appropriately he'd live with a few scratches here and there… Nah, the idiot wasn't worth getting the car wrecked. He continued driving, trying to drown out his loud blond friend. He just wanted a peaceful Saturday drive home… and as much as he wanted to deny it, he wanted to see Sakura. He wondered how accepting Kakashi would be to him visiting them unexpectedly. It probably wouldn't be the best reaction. Not to mention he wasn't necessarily wanted by either of the two, one less than the other.
"Can you at least tell me what we're doing now?" Naruto asked slouching in his seat.
"… I don't know."
"Why don't we visit Sakura-chan?"
"Don't think that will go too well," Sasuke muttered, "Kakashi might not like us intruding his house just for the sake of seeing Sakura."
Naruto scoffed, "You mean he might not like you," he stressed, "going to his house just to see Sakura. But you know what? How about I go visit Sakura-chan and you can just drive on home?"
Sasuke frowned, hitting his breaks rather hard for a stop sign, surprising his blond passenger, "Dammit teme! Careful!"
"Then stop saying stupid shit, dumbass," Sasuke growled.
Naruto pouted in his seat. He did mention that messing with Sasuke was an amusing feat to this whole relationship of his, right? Well it was, but to be fair it probably wasn't the smartest idea to get him all worked up while the bastard was practically in control of his life.
However, he wasn't just saying things to frustrate his friend; he really did want to see his cousin. After all this time, there was finally some hope in actually getting a connection going with his once favorite playmate as a kid. They haven't really had much of a conversation since, well, ever and he wanted to talk to her, about anything. He wanted her to trust him like family should. And at that he was a bit envious of his dark haired best friend. He saw her, accidental or not, he can hear her, she lets the true her out when she's with him. He didn't fully know their arrangement, only that Sasuke convinced her to play as his girlfriend and that he was closer to her than he thought the bastard would be.
Naruto glanced over at his friend who was frowning at the road, a frown usually worn when he was debating something. He let his hopes rise a little when Sasuke's frown softened slightly, meaning that he made up his mind.
"Text Kakashi, warn him that we're heading over," he said stiffly, as he turned a corner.
Naruto allowed his mouth to spread in a wide grin, before he giddily went on to text his uncle about their arrival.
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It was a usual Saturday afternoon for Kakashi, he was down in the living room organizing and grading papers from the week enjoying a nice cup of coffee at the same time. It was a silent afternoon, just like any other day. His house was normally silent except on those occasions where he turned on the television to see the news in the evening. Sakura he assumed was awake. His only hint that she had awaken was when he heard the hallway bathroom door open and close. He often wondered what she did in her room all day, and he was more worried about her mental state. He knew better than anyone that being alone with one's thoughts was either very beneficial or very self-destructive.
She would occasionally come downstairs for water, for fruit or something else she needed from the kitchen, he knew better than to make any sudden movements when that did happen. She was keen on avoiding him.
His eyes lowered at the thought, he didn't know the reason why she hid from him, he couldn't even be sure that it wasn't some form of resent of him but it worried him constantly.
A buzzing on the coffee table brought him away from his thoughts.
He reached for his phone, seeing the name of his nephew he sighed, this can't be good, he thought.
Hey Kaka-sensei! We're coming over for a visit, so no heading out! The message read.
He felt his eye twitch ever so slightly. What purpose did they have for… They? He repeated in his head.
He stared at the message on his phone's screen, the word "we're" being the target of his, close to a, glare. Knowing that Minato and Kushina would have called him a day before they decided to drop by, there was only one other person Naruto could be bringing over. Kakashi sighed, his eyes traveled to his house's staircase. Well, he thought, its better than having her spend the day alone up there.
As he finished his thought he heard the distinct sound of two car doors closing. He let his eyes drop close as he knew the two boys would be walking up the steps to his front door. He would wait until they rang to even bother getting up.
It took a lot longer than he expected. His sensitive ears could detect a bit of murmuring on the other side of his door. If anything they were probably arguing about whether they should knock or use the doorbell. And finally one of the two pressed the damn button.
Kakashi took his time in getting up from his couch, he took slow relaxed steps up to his door where the murmurs were even more clear to decipher.
"You idiot, why did you press it?"
"Well your cowardass wasn't going to!"
"It's called fucking knocking!"
"Who the hell was going to hear that!?"
When Kakashi opened his door he was met with his two students, both holding onto the other's collar, his usual tired eyes didn't falter at the sight, if anything he expected worse.
"What do you want?" he stated bluntly.
The two teens straightened up before Naruto answered, "We just came for a visit Kaka-sensei!" he said grinning, before ducking around his teachers arm and proceeded to intrude his house.
Kakashi sighed, "Alright then," he stepped back to allow Sasuke to enter.
"Pardon for the intrusion," he thought he heard the dark haired teen mutter on his way in. Kakashi allowed himself a small chuckle, if he wanted to gain Sasuke's respect as an elder he should've just let him "date" his daughter ages ago. Almost as quickly as the amusing thought came to him it was gone as his eyes narrowed on Sasuke. He may understand the situation Sasuke is in with his daughter, but that didn't mean that his fatherly instinct to beat this boy senseless was dormant.
As Kakashi was about to open his mouth to speak, he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs.
The three males were silent at the foot of the steps all three eager and patient as the steps grew louder.
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Sakura lay on her stomach in her bed. Watching her and Sasuke's jarred project crawl around the twig she had placed in it. She was never a fan of insects or bugs or anything creepy crawly, but when it was revealed that she would have to take care of a caterpillar for a grade; she pushed all her disgust aside. At least she didn't have to touch it. She had to thank her father really and she guessed this little creature as well.
It provided her more distractions. She and Sasuke agreed that the first week/weekend she would take care of it; he said he didn't want to deal with it right after carrying the damned box full of jars. They would switch off each week. Aside from finishing her homework and getting an occasional snack she stayed in her room watching the little thing crawl around. Her sad eyes focused on it the whole time. She felt bad for it being trapped in a small jar, yeah it was for her grade. But it didn't stop the feeling. Isolated against its will being forced to see the others enjoy their freedom… she can relate… except that… she chose isolation.
She sighed again. Alone in her room was the only time she didn't wear her hood or her hats, she felt free there in her solitude. Until she would catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eyes momentarily strayed off to her full body length mirror in the corner of her room, before she quickly averted her eyes again.
She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like a long time before she heard the doorbell ring.
She sat up immediately.
Dad didn't say anything about Aunt Kushina and Uncle Minato coming over, she thought. She may not be one to literally show her face, but her father did raise her to show a descent amount of respect to visitors.
She got up, grabbing her short-sleeved button-up hoodie and slipping it on, she adjusted her hair to make sure it was well hidden and then made sure her hood was low enough to hide her face. And then she exited her room, preparing herself to greet her relatives.
She heard murmurs at the front door and proceeded to descend the stairs. When the voices died down she realized that they had heard her steps. But something was off. Usually her aunt and uncle would continue to talk and chatter away, then notice her presence in midst of their rambling in a big exaggerated way, anything to make an excuse to hug her. This time it was too quiet.
She turned the corner of the stairs and immediately stopped in midstep.
You've got to be kidding me.
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So the men were all staring at her as she stopped halfway down the stairs… granted they all had reasons. Kakashi, the father who was devoid of his daughter's presence at their own house, stared up in hope that she would speak up in some way any way. Naruto, who hasn't even seen his cousin outside of school, was just relishing the sight of his relative out of formal wear. And then Sasuke, who like Naruto, hasn't seen his "girlfriend" outside of school wear, and was now curious about her style.
She wore white house slippers, and as his eyes traveled up he couldn't ignore the fact that he was seeing a lot more skin than he was used to. Finally, a little higher than mid-thigh he saw white fabric, She was wearing shorts, his mind stated the obvious. As his eyes traveled further up he took note of her plain black tank top that clunk perfectly to her body, as well as the loose opened blue plaid, short-sleeved hoodie. His sight finally caught her neck and he was almost disappointed to see her hood all the way up. He gave her a wide enough smirk, enough so she would know that he was aware of the glare she was sending him.
There were a few seconds of silence before Kakashi cleared his throat bringing all of their attention to him.
"Sakura," he began, "These two have come to pay us a visit."
There was a small pause before she replied, "I see," her voice soft, but Sasuke could hear a bit of contained anger in her voice, "Well then," she turned around quickly, making her escape.
Naruto reacted first, "Sakura-chan! Wait!" he cried out as he chased after her.
Sasuke being surprisingly too slow to catch the blond on time, tried dashing off after his friend, "Dammit Naru –" he was cut short by a firm hand placed on his shoulder.
Sasuke was a little hesitant to turn his gaze to his teacher, aka his girlfriend's dad, but he knew this was unavoidable, besides… he had something for him.
Both Sasuke and Kakashi stood silently listening to the blond's hurried steps to the second floor. They weren't really concerned of the blond; he was Sakura's cousin after all. So they waited a few more seconds after the steps were no longer audible. Only then, did Sasuke finally manage to fully turn to face his teacher.
"So…" he began awkwardly, trying to ignore the hard look Kakashi was giving him.
There was a small pause before Kakashi pulled Sasuke into his house's living room.
"Sasuke," he said tiredly, "Why exactly are you two here? And please don't say it was Naruto's idea."
Well not entirely, "He did suggest it, I was just the one that drove us here," Sasuke muttered the last bit.
"And I repeat, why?"
Of course Sasuke knew his reasons… but saying that he just wanted to see Sakura wasn't an option, and well Naruto's reasons, he could only guess, "Naruto… wanted to see his cousin."
"And you had to tag a long for that?"
"We were already coming back from some where," his hand twitched to the lighter folder in his hand.
The slight movement caught Kakashi's eye, "What's that?" his mind traveled to dangerous territory, "That is not what I think it is." He stated flatly, his tired eyes narrowing at the teen.
Kakashi was aware of Sasuke's plan to get Sakura to open up, and he was aware of how rapidly things were going, even if it had only been a week into their "relationship". But that was what his mind was bolding, it's only been a week. But according to Naruto's little fib, they have been dating for well over three years… it wasn't even two years that he and Rin were together that they decided to – his eyes widened.
"You're not marrying my daughter," he said firmly.
Sasuke's utter confusion was evident on his face. Had he been drinking something he was sure he would have spat it out. Just to make sure his eyes scanned the area around him, he was sure that the idiot was upstairs and he was fairly certain that no one else was in the house. What on earth possessed him to think of such a ridiculous thing?
He frowned, "Kakashi –"
"I don't care how convincing you have to make your relationship with Sakura be, but I am not letting you marry my daughter," Kakashi seethed.
Sasuke waited until his teacher was finished before he responded, "Kakashi, first, I don't know about Sakura but I'm not eighteen yet, so for this," he waved the folder in his hand, "to contain those kinds of documents is very unlikely. Secondly, I don't plan on marrying Sakura just for the sake of convincing people we're in a relationship," Sasuke noticed the glare wasn't wavering, so with a sigh, he held out the folder for the masked man to take.
Kakashi eyed the folder. Part of him wanted to rip it up on the spot, just to make sure but another stronger part wanted to see the contents of it. He took hold of the folder, not to gently, and opened it. He didn't even look up to see the small smile on Sasuke's face.
How could Kakashi describe how he felt the moment his eyes settled on the folder's contents? His fingers gently and very lightly ran over the black and white drawing. When was the last time he saw his daughter's face? Ten, eleven years? The last time he had a full clear view of her was that day, that day he thought it was about time Sakura found out who her mother was.
"Daddy?" he heard his daughter call from behind him, as he sat on his bed. A picture frame held tightly in his hand. He heard her soft steps coming closer to his side, he quickly tried to wipe away the tears from his face.
As his hand edged towards his mask that lay at the base of his neck, a small hand rested on his arm.
Her young eyes grew wide when they spotted the redness around her father's eyes. She quickly maneuvered herself to sit on her father's lap, trying her best to get her small arms around his waist, "What's wrong?"
He gave out a breathy chuckle, patting Sakura's back to assure her, "It's nothing," his eyes traveled to the framed photo still in his hand, "Have I," he paused, making sure his voice was steady, "Have I ever showed you your mommy?"
Sakura tilted her head up to her father's eyes, she had asked so many times for him to show her her mother. His answer was always the same, another time. She'd seen her father's face multiple times and all those time he told her something, he would with the most softest, and truthful expression and now, with his tear glossed eyes, he never looked more sincere. She shook her head, her eyes glowing with wonder.
The frame, which remained in his hand, suddenly felt so light as he brought it closer to her line of sight.
Her wide eyes scanned the image. In the photograph she saw her father, his face uncovered, his eyes down-casted to the swollen belly his hand rested on of a woman she had never seen before but recognized almost immediately. As her father's eyes were staring lovingly to where his hand laid, the woman's wide brown eyes glanced adoringly at the man next to her, brown hair framed her face and a wide smile spread across her lips.
Sakura didn't know what to think, her mother was so beautiful. She felt her own mouth curve into a small smile.
She looked up to her dad, noticing that his eyes were overflowing with tears again. She hugged him tighter than the last, nuzzling her small head under his chin, "Don't cry, daddy."
He huffed out a shaky smile, using his free hand to smoothen out his little girl's hair, "You know," he began, his eyes fixed on the old photograph, "This is actually the last photo taken of your mom. Just a few days before she had you," his arm tightened around her.
"There are none after?"
"No, Sakura… There wasn't enough time," he couldn't stop his voice from breaking, "Her name was Rin," he choked out. There really was no time, she barely had enough time to see her child, just enough to kiss her forehead, just enough breath to give Sakura her name. He hugged his daughter tightly against him. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this. He was supposed to be strong for her, yet here he was, breaking down in front of his only child.
"Rin," her voice muffled against her father's chest as she tested out her mother's name. Had he looked down, he would have seen Sakura's eyes brimming with tears. She twisted around enough to see the photo again, "She has Granny's eyes," she noted.
"Yeah," his voice slowly readjusting, "Daughters almost always look like their mommys."
He loosened his hold on her, enough that she turned fully around and hesitantly reached for the treasured frame of her mother and father. He met her half way gently handing the frame to her awaiting small hands.
Kakashi rested his exposed chin on his daughter's head, looking down on her as her small fingers traced the smile on Rin's face. She smiled just as wide, and just as bright as Rin had. It gave him enough strength to continue on. She was his everything now.
"Hey," he said softly, "I want you to have this," he placed his hand over hers which were still holding onto the frame. She turned her head then, a questioning pout adorning her face, "That way you can always see her when you wake up and right before you sleep," he gave her a small smile.
She gave her own little smile before returning her gaze to the frame.
Perhaps he had imagined it, but as she turned around he could have sworn he saw her smile drop. He didn't dwell on it he reasoned that it would be a bittersweet moment for the both of them. Before she had the knowledge of a deceased mother, without a face to put to the fact, now she had it but if anything it only made the sadness have more meaning.
"Thanks, dad," she murmured as she held the frame close to her chest.
That was the last smile, he'd seen of her. The next day she wore her red cadet hat, her hair was tucked underneath it and the cap shadowed her eyes.
Now, in his hands he held a black and white sketch of what he can only make out to be a mature version of his seven year old daughter. How have the years gone? Had Sasuke not been right in front of him, he wouldn't deny that he would crying out of sheer joy. There was no doubt in his mind that the image was of Sakura. There was also the bittersweetness of this moment, of having to see those sad eyes on his daughter's face. It's been years since he'd seen her wide eyes and now he got to see them… but in such a state.
He looked up at his student. Not missing the small smile that Sasuke was now trying to hide.
"Where did you get this?"
"An old student," Sasuke began, "I don't know if you knew him, but Sakura's presence seemed to have given him some motivation to draw," he tried his best to hide the bitterness in his voice.
"… Should I be concerned," Kakashi eyed the teen.
"Not really," Sasuke shrugged, "He was the one Naruto and I visited earlier today. He gave me that sketch and I figured it'd be better to give that to you," there was no need to mention the other twenty something drawings of Sakura, or that he was given them as well.
"Well thanks for… this," he motioned to the drawing.
Sasuke had seen his teacher angry, he'd seen him serious, he had seen him sadly tired more than anything. And for the first time, he can finally he had seen him genuinely happy, even behind that mask of his.
"Ah," he said with a small smirk curving at his lips, "I'm gonna make sure the idiot isn't causing some sort of trouble for Sakura," he took a step back before fully turning towards the stairs.
"Just don't let me find you causing trouble for my daughter," the older man called out.
"That's one of the last things I want to do," Sasuke called over his shoulder as he ascended up the stairs.
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Hey, so yeah, I did say that I am very inconsistent, right? Well, just in case, I am. So sorry about that, but I want to assume that this is better than having to wait two and a half years for an update… right? Yeah? Okay.
So back to business. I originally wanted to wait until the 17th to upload this, since it's my birthday and what not, (my little gift to you guys) but I wanted to get started on the next chapter already and for some reason I can't bring myself to start until the finished chapter gets posted. Yeah, that's just how I am.
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Ja ne!
-Ira