Ch.19 Sasuke's POV
"Sasuke?, can you hear me? Sasuke? Come on, wake up." The voice gradually got louder as conscious came to me, slowly but surely.
"Sasuke? You okay?" I nodded, instantly regretting it. The movement sent sharp pains down my neck and back, the muscles sore and aching.
I tried to open my eyes, but it felt as if there were weights holding them down. I tried to swallow, only to find my mouth dried, and my throat swollen and sore. I made several more attempts to move, though it seemed they were all pointless.
"Hey, just calm down for a second, you're okay." I started to recognize the voice, a quiet at it still sounded.
I whined, pain shooting through my back again, through my legs and arms.
I shuddered when I felt a large, cold hand come to rest on my shoulder, and a quick kiss placed on my forehead.
"Nenneko, nenneko, Nenneko yo, Oraga akabo no Neta rusu ni, Azuki wo yonagete, Kome toide, Aka no mamma e, Toto soete, Aka no ii-ko ni Kureru-zo." I could feel tears spill over, though I kept my eyes closed. I could hear father continue to sing; Something I hadn't heard since I was a small child.
"Nenneko, nenneko, Nenneko yo, Oraga akabo wa, Itsu dekita, San-gwatsu, sakura no, Saku toki ni, Dori de o-kao ga, Sakura-iro." I felt my body start to shake, as I slowly opened my eyes. Father was sitting next to me, several bandages covering small areas, along with clearly defined bruises.
"Nenneko, nenneko, nenneko ya, Netara o-kaka e tsurete ina, Okitara gagama* ga totte kama !"
My mouth curved upwards, and I could hear myself laughing quietly. I'd always thought that song was silly, even more so when Father sang it to me. I thought it was ironic- he never sang it to me at bedtime; Only when I was sad, or upset, would he sit next to me and sing.
When I looked up at him, he was smiling, a guilty, terrified look in his eyes. His hands were shaking, and his shoulder slumped slightly.
"I'm…I'm sorry…" I couldn't help but to keep smiling at him.
"I never meant to…abandon you, like I did. I didn't mean to…" Tears freely fell from his eyes.
And I honestly couldn't think of more than one other time I'd seen that happen.
"Do…you even get it?" I winced as a sharp burn spread along my throat, but I tried to ignore it.
"G-get…what?" I looked down to Fathers hands, where he now had them folded in his lap.
"We don't hate you for leaving us behind. We hate that you see…that you saw us a burdens. Or at leas treated us as such. You never told us you loved us-you couldn't even pretend like you did. And even if you say you did….you never showed it. Never."
"I.." The tears rushed down, leaving small watermarks on Fathers jeans as he leaned his head down, running his hands through his hands roughly. His body shook with his quiet sobs; His eyes showed how humiliating it was for him.
"But…"
Fathers head slowly raised, his eyes meeting my hand. I extended my arm a little bit, offering my hand to him.
"If you're willing to show me you can be a Father, and you actually care…I'm willing to show you I can forgive."
Supershort. I'm trying to get back into the rhythm of writing more angst-ridden stuff.
Oh, and I lied. I'm not rewriting the car crash from everyones pov. I really wanted to move forward with this, so I left it with Sasuke and Minato's pov's.
Some fatherly love going on...
The lullabye Fugaku is singing to Sasuke is actually three different Japanese lullabies.
English words:
Sleep, sleep, sleep,
Little one!
While my baby sleeps
I will wash some red beans
And clean some rice;
Then adding some
Fish to the red rice,
I will serve it up
To this best
of little babies.
Sleep, sleep,
Sleep, my child!
When was my
Baby made?
In the third month,
In the time of the blooming
Of cherry-flowers.
Therefore the color of the honorable
Face of my child is the color of the cherry-blossom.
Sleep, sleep, sleep, my child !
If you sleep I will go home to fetch your mother!
If you stay awake the
Gagama* will catch and bite you !
* An Izumo name for some kind of Goblin.