Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
YAY UPDATE. Enjooooy~ :)
Chapter 2
School is too long.
Why can't it be 4 o'clock already?
Asuma and I used to hang out all the time – you know, before he graduated the academy at 11. Then he got very busy. He said he'd be there for me forever and he has, but we haven't hung out as much as we used to over the past year. All the missions he has taken on have pulled us apart. Especially since he's a jounin now. He's so busy now.
So I'm thankful for all the time that he gives me when he's free.
3:56 PM.
I look out the window.
I see his familiar pineapple head at the gate.
I could almost jump off my seat.
Come on, time. Come on. Pass faster!
3:57 PM.
Ughhhhhhhhh!
I put my head down on the table.
"Uchiha, up!" I hear my teacher, Takura-sensei say.
I immediately sit back up. My teacher doesn't tolerate much. I also don't want to get him mad. Takura-sensei is known for his awful temper, and though I'm my grade's representative, I've heard that he doesn't really like students at all.
Why is he a teacher?
I will probably never know.
3:59 PM.
I'm about to go crazy.
Seriously.
I look out the window again. I find myself staring at the back of his head. I feel that familiar feeling of love swell up in my chest. I feel like my chest is about to burst.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
I can't possibly jump up out of my seat any faster. I quickly throw my books and pencils into my bag and run out.
"Uchiha, a minute?"
I feel a jolt strike up my leg as I stop suddenly. I turn and look at Takura-sensei.
"Yes, sensei?"
"You're the grade's president, yes?"
"Yes."
"There is a fundraiser next week and we need a speaker from every grade. Would you be willing to speak on behalf of our school?"
"It would be my honor."
He smiles a little. "I'll give you the details tomorrow. Enjoy your day."
I bow. "See you tomorrow, sensei." I exit the room.
Once out of sight, I start running.
By the time I get to the gate, I'm out of breath. Asuma turns and starts laughing. "You didn't have to run, you know."
"I – gasp – didn't – w-want – gasp – you to – wait – t-too long."
He laughs again. "Breathe," he says as he puts his hands on my shoulders. "Breeeeathe."
After I catch my breath, he wraps his arm around my shoulder and beings leading me away from the school. He really should stop touching me so unnecessarily. It gets me so confused sometimes. And I overthink a lot.
But I'm happy.
My heart is beating so fast.
"So how was school?" he asks.
"Boring, though, I did get asked to represent my grade in a fundraiser."
"That's great. You're such an overachiever."
"Says you."
He laughs. He pulls me tighter to him.
Seriously, does he want me to die of a heart attack?
My heart could not beat any faster.
"How was your mission?" I ask.
"It went well," he says. "Shisui nearly cost us the mission though."
"How?" I laugh a little, imagining my brother whining about the 'pointless' missions as he always does.
"He pulled out the plants instead of the weeds."
"How could he get that wrong?"
"He got a little too enthusiastic."
I laugh. "And what did you bribe him with?"
"How did you know it was me?"
"Only you would be that cruel to him."
He laughs. "Fine, it was me."
"So what was it?"
He pauses. "It's a secret," he says while laughing slightly. He looks at me, then says, "Stop pouting."
"I'm not pouting," I respond back. I'm really not. I don't pout. It's not ladylike.
"Yeah, you are," he says. He lets go of me and we begin walking separately.
I feel colder since he's not next to me. It isn't cold outside, but it's just colder since his arms aren't around me.
"So where are we going?" I ask.
"We're going to Ichiraku's."
"Ichiraku's? Again? That's not something good! That's something unhealthy."
"Hey, our Hokage eats ramen every day of his life for every meal."
"Somehow I doubt that."
"How is that?"
"His wife is Uzumaki Hinata. There is no way someone so caring as her would let him eat ramen all day every day."
He laughs a little. "That's true." He pauses. "Are you really against eating Ichiraku's though?"
I shake my head. "Of course not."
"Great. My paycheck can only afford so much."
"I'm sure a strong thirteen year old jounin like yourself can afford much better than Ichiraku's."
"I give most of my money to my mother, as you already know."
'Why is that, anyways?"
He shrugs. "Her shopping needs."
"That's such a lie."
He smiles.
It's kind of forced.
It kind of makes my heart hurt.
We've known each other our whole lives and he doesn't realize that he can trust me with anything. I hold back a sigh.
"So how's your mom?" he asks.
"She came home pretty late last night," I say, shrugging.
"She came over to my house for dinner," he says.
"Oh," I say, "That's nice."
I can see him hold back a sigh. "You should put in more of an effort."
I've heard that I have my mother's temper sometimes. This is one of those times. I stop walking. "Excuse me?"
He sighs. "Never mind." He pauses and reaches for my wrist. "Come on, let's just get some food."
I take a step back instinctively. "No," I say, "What did you say? I need to put in more of an effort?"
"Come on, Miyuki, just forget about it."
"No." I pause. "You know me better than anyone. How could you say that I need to put in more of an effort?"
"Miyuki – "
"This was a bad idea," I say, "I'm going home." I turn to go home.
"Wait, Miyuki." He reaches out again. "I'm sorry."
I sigh. I stop walking. I turn and look at him. "Tell me what you meant. You of all people know how hard I try."
He shrugs a little. "I just think that your mom really does love you. She just hides it very well. I can see it."
I don't scoff. It's not ladylike, but if I could, I would. "Yeah, she hides it so well that it isn't there."
"Don't be mad," he says, "I just think that you should give your mom a chance."
"You have no idea how many chances I've given her."
"Well, I think you should keep giving her chances."
I sigh. "Can we just…move on from this?" I pause, "Can we just go eat?"
Silence.
Then, he smiles as he holds out a hand. "Let's go."
I take his hand and we begin walking to Ichiraku's again.
He holds on tightly.
I'm still a little angry, but I can't help the way my heart beats faster every time he touches me.
We walk in silence. It isn't uncomfortable. It's never uncomfortable between us.
And soon, we arrive at Ichiraku Ramen.
"Welcome back, Nara," says Ayame, "Oh, Yuki-chan, you're here with him this time." She smiles.
"Ayame-san," I greet, "How is your father?"
"He's doing well," she says, "He's recently taken up a fascination with udon."
"Udon?" I laugh. "My godfather was so happy when he found out you were selling ramen again. Don't tell me you're going to start selling udon instead."
She laughs. "No, no. We wouldn't dare. Naruto-kun would be devastated if we stopped selling ramen again. I remember the first time."
"That's great news." I smile.
"Well," she says, "What would you like today?"
"Two house specials," says Asuma.
Ayame smiles and nods. "Coming right up."
Her little son is next to her, helping her out.
It warms my heart.
I hope that one day I'll have a beautiful family as she does.
"Miyuki?" I hear Asuma's voice. He's waving a hand in front of my face.
I must have zoned out.
"Oh, sorry," I say, "Zoned out a bit."
"What were you thinking about?" he asks.
"About how one day, I would like a family like Ayame-san does."
"You will."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you're going to get everything you want in life. I know you are."
His words make me smile. "I hope so."
"I know so."
If I do get everything I want in life, one day, I will be happily married to him.
I just smile.
And I forget how we were angry at each other just moments ago.
X
After finishing our food, we sit there just talking. I think of all the times that we've done just this – no arguing, no yelling – just talking. I don't know when we began arguing so much, but I hate it when we do.
"And then he jumped into the river," says Asuma, ending his story of how Shisui ended one of their missions. "And he screamed because it was cold."
"Sounds like him," I say, laughing slightly.
"He's like Naruto-sama in personality, you know," says Asuma, "Maybe one day he'll be Hokage."
"Who knows? Maybe one day you'll be Hokage," I say, "No one really knows what's going to happen in the future."
"They say that Naruto-sama knew that he would be Hokage ever since he was a kid," says Asuma.
"Well, his father was the Fourth Hokage, and knowing what we know of what happened when our parents were kids, it isn't surprising that he became Hokage with all that he has done for Konoha," I say.
"Are you two talking about Naruto-san?" asks Ayame-san.
Asuma and I both nod. "I remember when he would come here every day. He was quite the little ball of fire."
"Sounds like him," I say, "You basically watched him grow up."
"Yes, and I am very proud of him," she says, "Sometimes I feel sad watching how far all of the children I watched grow up have come. Time passes very fast, you know. Take every chance you can get."
"Thank you for the advice, Ayame-san," I say, bowing slightly. "I will."
She winks knowingly at me. I know that many people have noticed my feelings for Asuma by now. It seems like the only person who doesn't notice is him.
I smile at her. She turns to Asuma and says, "Yuki-chan is going to grow up to be very beautiful one day, you know."
"Sure, sure," he says, waving his hand back and forth, brushing her comment off. I feel a little insulted, but I know that he doesn't really mean it.
She leans forward and whispers something in his ear. Asuma's cheeks turn a flaming red, then he backs away from Ayame-san. "N-No!"
"What?" I ask, "What is it?"
Asuma crosses his arms and sits there, pouting. Most of the time, he doesn't act his age, but rare times like these, he does, and I find it very adorable.
"Ayame-san, what did you say to him?" I ask persistently.
She imitates his motion from before, waving her hand back and forth.
I start pouting too.
She laughs. "Oh no, I didn't mean to make both of you upset." She smiles, "One day, I'll tell you what I said to him."
I look at her and stop pouting. "Promise?" I stick out my pinky. She looks at it and kindly crosses her pinky with mine. Our pinkies tighten around each other.
"I promise." She smiles again.
"Come on, Miyuki, let's go," says Asuma, grabbing onto my other hand. He tugs my arm slightly.
I nod. "See you another time, Ayame-san."
"See you, Yuki-chan, come and eat more often," she says.
I nod. "I will."
To my surprise, Asuma doesn't immediately let go of my hand. He continues holding on. It's times like these that I question whether or not he likes me too.
I open my mouth to speak, "Asu – "
He suddenly lets go of my hand and stands up straighter. I can tell that he has seen something, and when I look up, I realize that it isn't a something, it's someone – Sarutobi Akai.
Her wavy black hair and her fierce red eyes had always made me envious. Her hair is long – longer than mine – and her eyes are beautiful. They're sharp and they're striking. They're supposed to make her look somewhat angry most of the time, but she inherited her famous father's friendly features too. Akai's a shinobi and she's beautiful. Like my mother.
I should have been like Akai. Like everyone had hoped.
I can tell by the look on Asuma's face that he's quite taken with her.
She's older than us, but not by much. My dad is older than my mom more than she is older than us. I don't like it. I don't like it one bit.
"Akai-san," says Asuma, bowing slightly.
I try my best to hold back a scowl.
"Asuma-kun, Miyuki-chan," she says, greeting us. "Coming from Ichiraku, I see."
I nod. "Yes, where are you heading, Akai-san?" I ask.
"To train with your father," she says, "How have you two been? Asuma-kun, I hope your leg is healing fine. Miyuki-chan, I don't see you around much. School must be busy, huh."
"Yes, very busy," I say, "But not nearly as busy as you are, what with all the training and the missions."
"I love it though," she says, "Your father is a great teacher."
I almost want to yell at her. Of course I know my father is a great teacher. He taught me for a few years too. I know that I am just overthinking and overreacting, but I just don't like her. I sometimes feel as if she's stealing my family. She stole my father. He looks at her like she is his actual daughter, like she is all that he has ever wanted me to be. She also stole Asuma. I knew him first, yet she can just swoop in and capture his attention and affection like nothing.
I also know that both Asuma and my father don't solely belong to me and I am just being annoying, but I can't help it. There are just people I don't like, and while it's wrong because there is no actual reason for it, I know that I can't help myself.
"Thank you," I say instead.
She looks around for a bit, then says, "I have to go. Any later and I'll be late." She smiles, bows and then walks away. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I'd been holding.
He doesn't look away from her.
He doesn't realize that my heart is breaking with every second that he keeps looking at her.
He doesn't see it.
"Let's – " I start to say.
"Hey, Miyuki, you can go back by yourself, right?"
Ten thousand pieces.
Seriously.
My heart just broke into ten thousand pieces.
"Yeah," I say. I'm annoyed. "I can." I proceed to stomp away.
I hear him sigh. "Miyuki," he calls out.
"What," I snap back.
"Are you mad?"
"Nope! Why would I be mad?" I continue walking away.
He doesn't respond. He doesn't come after me.
I mean, why would he? He has Akai.
And I'm like this. I'm so messed up. I'm so –
"Yuki!" I hear a voice. I know it's not Asuma. When I turn around, I see Takeo-kun.
"Takeo-kun," I say as I bow a little.
"How are you? Was that Asuma just now?" he asks.
I nod. "I'm good. How are you?"
Takeo-kun's one of the many people that know of my feelings for Asuma.
"Where's he going?"
"After Akai-san."
He falls into step next to me. "Akai-san, huh."
"Yeah, he likes her."
"And you like him."
I shrug. "Always have."
He smiles and looks away. "Did you eat yet?"
I nod. "Yeah. Ate at Ichiraku's with Asuma."
"Wanna grab some dessert then? It'll make you feel better." He smiles.
"Parfait?"
"Sure."
"Let's go then." I smile, all excited. "Last one there pays!"
I take off running.
The great thing about Takeo-kun is that he'll always let me win. I know that he can beat me in running. He's a shinobi – a chuunin. He has more than enough skill to beat a civilian like me at running.
But he lets me win.
Also, it's great that he'll just race with me. Sometimes, I just need to run. I don't normally get to run. There usually is no need for it. He lets me win. It's great.
"Guess I'm paying," he says, shrugging.
I laugh, just happy because I got to run. "Yep, you are."
He smiles and puts his hand on my shoulder to lead me inside.
Sometimes I miss the days in the academy. The freedom of running. The wind that would rush past me. The feeling of feeling like I'm floating on air. The feeling of being in control of something. The feeling of chakra. The feeling –
"Yuki," I hear Takeo-kun say. He waves his hand in front of my face. We're already seated. "Stop thinking so much."
"Thinking so much?" I ask. How can he tell?
"You get this look in your eye when you're thinking too much."
"Look?"
"It's kind of like you're on tons of drugs. Your eyes glaze over and stuff, ya know?"
"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic."
He laughs. "I am."
I laugh too. "So how do you know?"
He shrugs. "I just do."
"How often do I tell you you're awesome?" I smile.
"Not quite enough," he says.
"Well," I say, "You, Hyuuga Takeo-kun, are very awesome."
He smiles. "I know."
"Hey, hey, return the favor. I just complimented you," I say.
"Fine, fine," he says. He then pauses, deliberately. "Um, wait, this is harder than I thought."
"Hey!" I snap jokingly.
"Complimenting you is hard."
I pout. And give him the puppy dog eyes.
"Fine, fine." He pauses. "You're beautiful, Yuki. And you're one of the best people I've ever met."
I'm surprised by his response. There are many people who are better than me. I can't say that to him. People tend to get annoyed at me whenever I put myself down. Asuma included.
"Thank you," I say. I smile. "You're sweet."
A waitress comes by and puts down two green tea parfaits. I look at Takeo-kun. I don't remember ordering. He shrugs. "I know what you like."
I laugh a little. "You're really awesome."
"I know." He smiles.
I pick up the little spoon and dig in. He does the same.
It's so good. My taste buds are in heaven. Literal heaven.
"Tastes so goooooddd," I say.
He nods. "Yep." He pauses. "Oh, Yuki. Your chin."
"Hm?" I reach up to wipe my chin. "Did I get it?"
He laughs and I narrow my eyes at him jokingly. He grabs his napkin and then reaches over the table to help me. He rubs my chin a little…
And…then it's awkward.
I cough a little and he looks away. Then we both laugh awkwardly.
"How's your family?" I ask.
"They're good," he responds. "As overbearing as always."
"Isae told me that you had a family meeting yesterday."
"Yeah," he says, "I don't remember what happened. I fell asleep."
"That's horrible."
"Well, I'm not going to be the next head anyways It's probably going to be Hokage-sama's son. Besides, they don't really care if I pay attention or not."
"You're going to be great anyways," I say. "Oh yeah, I don't think I've seen you since your birthday. Congratulations on becoming a chuunin."
"Yeah, it's been a while," he says. "You've been pretty busy, huh."
I nod. "Well, between our schedules, it's pretty hard to see each other."
"True." He nods. "You know, I could do what Asuma does. Go see you right after a mission."
"Oh, he broke his promise yesterday."
He gasps. Sarcastically. "Oh no."
I laugh. "Oh yes. Guess why. He had to hang out with Akai."
He laughs. I didn't say anything funny, did I? "Well, if it were me, I would never break that promise. To you, especially."
"Awww, thanks," I say, "But I doubt that. It's a hard promise to keep. And when you find a girl that you like more than me, it'll be impossible to keep."
He looks away. "I already have a girl I like," he says, "And I doubt I'd break that promise."
"Fine," I say, "Let's make a bet then." I smile a little deviously. There is no way that he'll win. "If I win, you'll do whatever I say for a week."
"And I'll let you know what I want after I win," he says.
"It's a deal." We shake hands.
X
"I'm home," I announce as I enter the front door.
"Welcome home, Mi," says Shisui. He's lounging on the couch. "How was school? You're back late today…"
"I ate with Asuma and then hung out with Takeo-kun."
"Oh, Takeo, how is that loser?" he asks. It's a little hard to believe, what with Shisui calling Takeo-kun a loser and all, but they're actually best friends.
"Like you wouldn't know. I know you guys hang out all the time."
"Yeah, yeah," he says, "How's Asuma?"
"He's you're teammate," I respond.
"Oh, you're mad. What happened?" he asks a little tauntingly.
"Nothing. Where's mom?"
"She's out. Dad's coming back today."
"Oh."
My dad is closer to me than my mom, but that doesn't mean that he and I are that close. We used to be…then he got his own team of genin, who are now all jounin.
Akai is one of them.
"So tell me, what happened with Asuma?" he asks. He's more serious this time.
"Nothing," I say. "Really."
I sit down across from him. "So how long is this break of yours going to be?"
"Not that long," he says, "We're going out on another mission in four days."
"Oh, what rank?"
"A. And before you ask, yes, Akai is going with us on this one. She's our team captain for now."
"I understand."
"He'll come around," Shisui says. "Don't think too much."
"Thanks."
He smiles. "So Takeo, huh?" He wiggles his eyebrows.
"Oh shut up," I say, "I would never go for my brother's best friend. It's kind of gross."
"At least you understand."
I shrug. "What can I say, I'm a great sister."
He gags. "What a joke."
"Hey," I say as I tackle him. I put my knuckles to his head and mess up his hair.
And just then, our parents are home.
"Kids, your father's back!" says our mother.
I hear someone scramble down the hall. Kotori. Behind her are some more silent footsteps. Mamoru, probably.
I get off of Shisui and let go of his hair, which is now a mess thanks to me. He glares at me and gets up too.
"Oh Shisui," says our mother, "What happened to your hair?"
She walks over and starts combing through his black locks with her fingers.
"I took a nap," says Shisui.
I see my father look at me. He knows it was my fault, but he's not going to say anything because he knows that Shisui and I were just playing around. And Shisu i wouldn't say anything because he knows how our mother expects me to be.
"You should comb your hair then," she says. She then pats the top of his head and send him to our father.
"Hey kiddo," our father says as he messes up Shisui's hair all over again.
"Welcome home, dad," says Shisui. After Shisui steps aside, my father picks Mamoru and Kotori up at the same time, one of the kids in each arm. "How are my kids?" he asks them.
"Good!" says Mamoru, "I got first place in the genjutsu examination!"
"I missed you, daddy!" says Kotori.
And then he puts Mamoru down. He pats him on the head. He then looks at me. "Come here, my daughter."
I walk towards him and he wraps his free arm around me. Kotori's knee digs into my arm lightly and I am instantly annoyed. I don't like my little sister. She has stolen everything that was mine, or what could have been mine.
I'm upset.
He lets go of me, but keeps a hand on my shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good."
"Anything new?"
"I'm making a speech for my school's fundraiser next week."
"That's great. I'm proud of you."
I don't think he is. I think he says it just to say it…or for me to hear it. He cares about me more than my mother does. But that doesn't mean much because my mother doesn't care at all. Besides, he doesn't even care for my school fundraisers. No one does – well no shinobi does, so I guess I shouldn't blame my father.
"Thanks, father," I say.
Sometimes, I know that they're wondering how I can live like this. I know that both my parents have tried to live as civilians at some point. Obviously, that didn't work out well. Shinobi live on the edge – they can't just suddenly only stay home and take care of children. They have to do something. So, to them, I'm like some alien. I don't think my life is boring – especially since I have all these shinobi friends and family, but to them, my life probably seems like it's going nowhere.
"Wait, wait," says my mother. "Miyuki, wait."
"What?" I ask.
"How many piercings do you have?" she asks as she moves my hair.
"Three on each ear." I decide to leave out the one on my bellybutton. I don't get to rebel much, so when I can, I do.
"When did you get those?" she asks. She's mad. I can tell.
"A while back," I say. How would she notice? She barely cares about me.
"Sakura, it's her body," says my father.
"No," says my mother, "It's not ladylike to have so many!"
"Mom, it's her body," says Shisui. "Let it go."
She runs a hand through her hair. "Fine, fine." She looks away and Shisui crooks his head to the side, telling me to go.
And this is why nothing ever gets solved in the family – at least nothing that pertains to my mother and me. It's not a perfect family – not by a long shot. They worry more about my mom's moods than they do about my life.
I walk to my room. I hear them talking afterwards.
I'm always left out.
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Until next update, ma friends.
