Chapter Six:
The Baby
(The theme song for this chapter is "I Knew I Loved You" By Savage Garden)
Sasuke scrubbed a dirty dish vigorously.
His apron was soaked. It was as if the water and soap were attacking him, and he was obliged to retaliate with a sponge as his weapon. A stench of rotting food filled the air, forcing him to make a mental note to himself: he needed to invest in nose plugs.
He wiped stray soap suds from his forehead with his wrist as he did his best to hold back a gag.
After adding the clean dish to his pile, he grabbed another disgustingly dirty one. What was wrong with people these days? They ate like animals. Sasuke didn't even want to ponder what was originally on the plate. It was at times like this he was proud to be a well-mannered vampire and not a slob.
He began to second guess his decision to stand in for Kakashi, or even Naruto. He had, unfortunately, assumed that he would be working with customers: meeting people, learning faces and names while simultaneously building his positive reputation.
Sasuke was suspicious when Steve was all too eager to hire him. The burly man was almost excited when he told Sasuke that he had impeccable timing; he was looking for a new employee and was ready to hire on the spot.
When he handed Sasuke gloves and an apron without negotiating a payment rate or plan, Sasuke was uneasy. Rin did her best to reassure him; "Employees get paid nightly, which is great if you need money right away... Unless it's a slow night. Then you may not get paid." Sasuke thanked her for her attempt to make him feel better.
He was positioned back in a little corner hallway that connected the kitchen and bar, out of the way of any people, but unable to see what was going on in either room. Sasuke had never felt loneliness in recent memory, but he was very familiar with boredom.
He had nothing to entertain him but his thoughts, which he tried to silence. They tended to be annoying worries about the situation he was in and the never-ending list if things he needed to do. He tried to clear his mind; he just needed to get through the night.
Suddenly, Sasuke heard a loud crash. Knowing he probably didn't want to deal with whatever the issue was, he ignored it.
"Sasukeeeee!"
He heaved a sigh. Rin and Sasuke had already developed a weird routine: she would call for him, and he would run to her immediately. He knew this meant she had more work for him, probably some random job that he had no interest in doing, like taking care of whatever mess she just made.
Sasuke found his co-worker with a mop in her hand and a large puddle of liquid at her feet. "You can hold off on the dishes for now. I made an oopsie and knocked over a bottle of stinky smelling stuff. Would you mind mopping it up for me while I get another bottle?"
Sasuke kept silent as he took the mop from her and began to scrub. He didn't necessarily hate cleaning. He used to keep a tidy house wherever he and his comrades ended up staying, but cleaning up other's messes was a whole other level of horror.
He was nearly done with his task when he heard a strange voice fill his ears. "I see you are fit and ready to take over the village. You look most intimidating with that mop. Is it your new royal scepter?"
Sasuke froze. A few thoughts flew through his mind: Should he kill this trash where it sat, or should he wait until it left the bar? Then he could taunt and hunt it. That sounded more appealing.
An image of Kakashi chastising him flooded his mind.
Damn his conscience.
He turned around slowly to confront the being. He was far from impressed with what he saw. A man with beady eyes and glasses nursed a beer. He couldn't tell what he was, but he definitely did not feel threatened.
Sasuke's mouth was open, and he nearly spewed a flurry of nasty words at the ugly man, but he was cut off by a pretty voice from behind him.
"Anyone who starts any sort of bullshit in this bar is kicked out and banned. And I'll make sure to slander your name all over the damn world, too."
Rin appeared beside Sasuke, her arms crossed and her lips tight.
The man with glasses blinked. He pulled his drink away from his lips. "Excuse me?"
Rin shook her head in disgust. "I heard what you said. If you want to cause problems, you can just leave."
The man slammed his beer down. "I have no fucking clue what you are talking about! If you'd rather me take me money elsewhere, damn right I will!"
Sasuke watched Rin's face change. This man had a different voice, nothing like what she and Sasuke had heard earlier.
She quickly bowed and tripped over her apologies. "I'm so sorry, I thought... I heard... Someone said something offensive, you were closest, I thought it was you. Please stay. I will even get you another drink. It's on the house, on me." She quickly grabbed another beer from the fridge behind her and placed it in front of the man. "I'm so very sorry! I do hope you come back again." She forced a smile in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
The man seemed to consider his options before he nodded, pulled the new beer close to him, and mumbled under his breath.
She bowed once more before she grabbed Sasuke's wrist and pulled him towards the back hallway he had been in earlier. Sasuke dropped the mop, which clattered on the ground as they nearly ran away.
When she was sure they wouldn't be overheard, she looked at Sasuke seriously. "Please tell me I didn't just imagine that!" Rin rapidly rubbed her hands over her face, stopping only to focus on her eyes. "Please tell me I'm not going nuts!"
Sasuke grabbed her hands and threw them to her sides. "Stop doing that. It looks painful."
"Ugh! I'm just, you know, embarrassed!"
"I heard it, too. I was about to kill him. It's a good thing you stepped in."
"You did?" She sighed dramatically, throwing a hand to her chest like she was apt to do. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was a charming or annoying quality. "Thank goodness. I nearly lost it, too. Who said it then?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Someone with a death wish."
She frowned. "Don't talk like that. You don't seem like that kind of boy."
He scowled in return. "I'm am more than a lifetime your senior."
Red embarrassment returned to her face. "Oh... Sorry. I keep forgetting... That that's possible. You look so young."
Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "How the hell did you end up in a place like this? It seems like these things keep blindsiding you."
Rin looked uncomfortable as she absentmindedly reached for her necklace again. "I would rather not say right now."
Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes.
"Listen," she said as she looked at her wristwatch. "You should probably leave now. It's a few minutes until the start of the hour. I can get your pay and you can go home."
"I don't care if I leave now or later."
"I imagine you want to leave before the sun rises and you bake like a cookie in an oven, right?" She smiled her genuine smile.
"Fine." He turned towards the cash register. "I'll leave after you pay me."
She brushed past him; she was relieved to see the man she had accused earlier had left, and pleased she didn't have to relive that embarrassment.
Sasuke soon joined her at the cash register. She began to add up his earnings, her mouth mumbling the numbers as she counted. She folded the small wad and handed it to Sasuke. "Don't spend it all in one place, now!" She winked at him.
"I hope I don't disappoint you when I give this all to the same plumber when they install our plumbing," Sasuke replied, a failed attempt to tease her back.
Her eyes softened, and she appeared almost sad. "You don't have plumbing?"
Sasuke shoved the money into his pocket. "Does that really surprise you?"
Rin clapped her hands together emphatically. "If you ever need to shower, you can shower at my apartment! I mean it. Please don't hesitate to ask."
Sasuke took a step back. This was a little too friendly for his taste.
"I appreciate your offer, Rin. We should have a bath in the shack soon."
"Shack? You live in a shack?!"
Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm not sure how this is relevant-"
"That is so sad! Do you need anything? Do you need anything at all? Do you need lamps? Do you have blankets? Oh, what about pillows? I have some you can have!"
"Rin!" Sasuke grabbed her shoulders. He stopped himself from nearly shaking her to her senses. "I... appreciate your offer. I will let you know if we need anything... Thank you."
Rin nodded slowly. "I mean it, Sasuke. My apartment is always open."
Sasuke dropped his arms to his sides. "Thanks." He turned to leave, before her voice stopped him once more.
"Would you like some blood to go? On the house, of course."
"Yes, thank you."
"Also...Are you coming back tomorrow?"
Sasuke sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
Rin readied his drink for him; after heating it in a glass, she poured it into a styrofoam cup. She plopped a straw into the beverage as she handed it to him.
"You always have a choice, but it may not be the best one sometimes, you know? I was just worried you were bored, or something. Anyways, see you tomorrow night."
Rin returned to the cash register as Sasuke walked out, the bells above the bar's entrance doors ringing as he went.
He didn't pay any mind to the strange cloaked creatures in the corner of the bar. Their faces were hidden. They kept close to each other, their voices barely above a whisper.
One of them chuckled lowly. His voice would have been unsettling to anyone who had been listening to him. "You were right, he didn't realize it was you who said those dreadful things earlier."
The other covered figure laughed lightly. "I knew he was too stupid. He is all pride; his head is filled with hot steam and no brain."
"Now now, don't talk that way about our Sasuke." It pointed a playful, gloved finger at his companion. "He is still young."
"I still don't see him as a threat. And I don't see why we are here wasting our time. He is a fucking janitor, not some ruling king."
"You underestimate him."
"And you want him to succeed in some sick way, don't you? Then, you can pull him down to his lowest point imaginable, and make him beg for mercy."
The creature with the gloved hands brought his mug of ale to his face, still hidden from view, and sipped.
"We need to keep an eye on him."
There was silence in the tavern from then on.
Rin turned from her work at the bar and announced the tavern was closing for the night. She was surprised when she realized she was alone. She didn't remember hearing the bells above the door. She was more tired than she thought.
She wiped her hands on her apron and put them on her hips. "Yeah! No shuffling anyone out tonight! Makes my life easier."
"This is it?!"
Sasuke sat beside Naruto at the tiny table; Sasuke's earnings were laid out on the tabletop, little bits of cash bundled together by Naruto's sorting. Naruto had jumped Sasuke the moment he entered the shack, demanding to count the money.
Kakashi was on the floor reading a book, doing his best to ignore his boys.
"Fuck you, Naruto. You go wash dishes, clean up messes, and cater to disgusting beings with zero manners." Sasuke sipped on his blood, thankful that Rin gave it to him for free. He and Kakashi often went hungry; while it was usually tolerable, it could get dangerous if they went too long without nourishment.
"Well, it's unfair. You should have gotten more."
"It doesn't work that way." Kakashi glanced up from his reading to look at Naruto. "I know you are sheltered, but in the real world, you take what you can get. And, since Steve isn't paying mortal taxes or running an establishment policed by anything, he can do as he wishes. We are just lucky that cute woman got Sasuke hired."
Sasuke glared at his mentor. "She has a name. It's Rin."
"Rin…" Kakashi echoed, before returning to his so-called "literature."
"Hmph." Naruto slid back into his chair and crossed his arms. "I want to sleep."
"Too bad," Sasuke countered. He frowned at his now empty cup before he threw it into the waste basket beside him. "You need to keep watch."
"No one even comes here!" He threw his hands in the air out of frustration, like it would somehow help him prove his point. "I would smell them coming, and I-"
As if on cue, Naruto jumped to his feet, his face attentive towards the door.
Kakashi was by his side at once, his book nowhere in sight. "What is it?"
Sasuke, exhausted, slowly slinked out of his chair to join them.
Naruto sniffed the air before he turned his ears towards the door.
The room was dead silent for a few moments. Naruto slightly relaxed, but he was still ready to pounce at any moment. "Someone… was here."
"Was?" Kakashi held his chin thoughtfully. "I didn't sense anything. Did you, Sasuke?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing."
"Probably just someone passing through," Kakashi concluded. "I imagine people will start to get curious, what with all the work we are doing here, and you working at the bar, Sasuke."
"Crap." Naruto shrugged off his orange and black jacket, revealing a tight black shirt underneath. "Guess I'm not sleeping tonight… Wanderer or not, that was too close for my comfort. I'm going to hang out on your, um, trap door… You know, just in case."
"It's late. Sasuke and I will call it a night. You should sleep a few hours after sunrise, Naruto." Kakashi opened the hatch and jumped into their dirt room. Sasuke soon followed, taking a candle from Naruto after he landed feet first on the hard ground.
They said their goodnights, and Naruto shut the door. Kakashi and Sasuke could hear his weight settling on top of it, protecting them when they were most vulnerable.
Sasuke was thankful for it.
It was the screams that woke him.
Screams. Crying.
He bolted upright, gasping for air, though he didn't need to breath.
He grabbed his chest. It throbbed beneath him. Was his heart threatening to beat?
When the pain subsided, he heard it again. The screams. The crying.
He haphazardly jumped from his cot, only pausing to grab a black sweater from his pile of clothes.
He leapt through the hole in the ceiling, slamming the door into the ground, its hinges rattling in protest.
Naruto, who never made it to his bed and instead passed out on the floor, jumped up to attention. "What?! What the -" He turned to find Sasuke slipping on his shoes. "Sasuke! What the hell is your problem!?"
Sasuke looked out the window and winced. The sun was just beginning to set.
He turned towards his friend. "I need your winter coat."
Naruto rubbed one of his eyes. "What? Why?"
"Just give me the fucking coat!"
Naruto glared at Sasuke angrily for a moment before turning around to dig through his own clothing stash. After finding what he was searching for, he threw the coat to Sasuke. Sasuke hastily slipped into the coat and pulled the hood over his eyes. As he zipped the jacket up to his chin, he faced Naruto once more. "Did you hear it?"
"Huh? Hear what?"
"I don't know. It was…" Sasuke's voice trailed off before he threw open the door and hung his head, pulling further down on the hood with his hand in an effort to shield himself. The sun would be past the trees soon enough; but he didn't have time to sit around and wait for it.
Sasuke bolted, running faster than he could ever remember while Naruto yelled at him. "You crazy son of a bitch! What is wrong with you?!"
Sasuke ignored him as he ran through the crumbling village. Feeling his hands begin to burn, he turned towards the woods. The trees sheltered him from the light, giving him a moment to think. They stood tall above him, and the rays barely peeked over the tops of the forest ceiling.
He stopped suddenly, nearly toppling over from his own sheer speed. He wasn't even sure where he was going, or what he was running to. It was as if something was calling him; something unseen, something confusing that caused a whirlwind of emotions and pain in his chest.
Then he heard the screams again.
His head twisted around towards the sound. Without hesitation, he began to run again. He barely recognized the fact that he was going back out into the sun; at present, he had bigger concerns than his own demise.
Something important needed him.
He was soon past the place where his old mansion was, back where his family's fancy garden had been; and then into the now overgrown clearing where he had spent so much time as a child with his friends.
He slowed to a near crawl, his mouth agape.
The ancient cherry blossom tree was in full bloom. Flowing pink petals, light and airy as snow, danced in the wind on branches that threatened to hug the ground in their embrace.
Beneath the tree, tucked away close to the trunk, was a crying baby.
Dumbfounded, Sasuke slowly approached the tree. Ever the paranoid one, he was partially worried the child was bait to draw him out. Sensing no one else, he took cover under the tree's forgiving shade.
It was only now he noticed that much of the skin on his hands had burned away, revealing sore, swollen flesh.
The pain was a only a slight annoyance when he reached for the infant.
The child's screams hurt his soul. A tenderness that he had never felt before overwhelmed him as he carefully picked up the babe.
The baby was swaddled in a soft green blanket, though it was otherwise nude. Little fists attempted to nudge past the fabric, the tiny being in obvious discomfort. Its eyes were shut tight and wet with tears, and its skin was red with the newness of birth. The child's head was crowned with a tuft of the strangest hair shade he had ever seen - a light pink that matched the cherry blossoms dancing around them.
Sasuke held the baby close to his chest, its head resting near his heart. A petite hand pushed through the blanket, threatening to grab whatever was in its wake. Sasuke's own hand, which was nearly healed, hesitantly reached for the baby's.
It was when they touched that he knew she was his.
His hand dwarfed hers, and he rubbed her palm tenderly with his healed digits. Her fingers wrapped around his reflexively, clinging to him with trust.
Her crying subsided instantly as her bright eyes opened to meet his.
Irises as light as jade blinked while she made a weird gurgling sound, as if she were acknowledging and approving his presence. Sasuke, in turn, stared at her with wonder. He could feel an emotion thrumming through his soul. It was something he had not felt before; something he couldn't describe with words.
For all that had happened recently, for all the uncertainty… None of that mattered now. He knew she was his. His bride.
He held her close to him as he waited for the sun to finish setting. The minutes flew by as he petted her hair and stroked the soft, flushed skin of her cheeks. She was so incredibly precious and perfect to him. He never wanted to let her go.
He was about to return to the shack with her when he heard Naruto shouting his name.
Kakashi soon appeared a good distance away, halting abruptly. Sasuke was sure he was staring in bewilderment.
Naruto arrived beside him, looking quite nearly out of breath and flustered. Sasuke could hear him yelling at Kakashi, wondering why his mentor had stopped. Kakashi, at a loss for words, could only point towards Sasuke where he stood underneath the cherry blossom tree with the baby.
Naruto mouthed "Oh my God" while Kakashi casually walked towards Sasuke. Naruto sprinted to join him, and they were soon both blanketed by the tree's branches.
Naruto wasted no time in attacking Sasuke with questions. His eyes were huge and he was emphatically waving his arms like he had earlier that day, again trying to prove a point. "What. The. Hell?! Where did you get this baby, Sasuke?! Who does it belong to?! Why did you steal someone's kid?!"
Sasuke ignored Naruto as Kakashi reached out towards the bundle he held protectively. His hand gently caressed her short hair, which was soft like feathers on his skin. A calloused finger traced her cheek and chin. The babe attempted to follow his digit with her bright eyes, failing when his hand disappeared back to pet her hair again.
He chuckled lightly. "Well, what's her name, Sasuke?"
Forcing himself to pull his gaze away from her, he told Kakashi her name, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Sakura."
A/N:
This chapter is dedicated to Tiger Priestess: my first reviewer and a very patient, very loyal reader. I always look forward to your reviews and thoughts! Thanks for reading! ^_^
Update: story has been edited, but still not beta'ed. I've already started the next chapter but I'm not sure when it will be done.
I am forever grateful for your patience... and reviews!
I want to address a few questions:
On if Itachi is still alive yet or not: if you go back and carefully reread a few parts, this is mentioned. :) I don't want to spoil the story, but trust me... It's going to be good!
On Rin's importance... I'm really, really liking Rin. You are going to see a lot more of her. She died way too fast in the manga/anime, so let's hope she sticks around, yeah?
I am falling for these characters. Hard.
Here's to more chapters soon! Have a good week!
