A/N: Hi guys. It's been awhile. 7 months to be exact? =O Half of that time, I, and obviously this story have been on hiatus. Not anymore! I have an update for you. Forgive me! I'm not going to bore you with excuses. Here we go, enjoy.
P.S - Thanks again for ALL your reviews! Love them so much, keep 'em coming!
When I got back home, Sasuke wasn't in. No surprise there.
Frankly, there really wasn't anything I could do. Well, there were things I could do, but simply didn't want to or really had the right to do. I could go out and beat-the-bushes, and uncover him from whatever rut he's managed to bury himself in. But that would be wrong of me. He left to think this all through, to angst about our future (provided we even had one anymore) - in true Sasuke fashion. I figured it would be days before I saw him again. Hours if I was lucky.
We've gotten into arguments before. But they really weren't anything to brood about.
We would fight, he would leave, walk it off.
There was only so much nagging and screaming he could take. Though, I can't really say he did any of the screaming, that was usually me. He usually just stood there making his snide remarks. This should shock no one.
But this time...it was different. I was uncertain as to what was going to happen. I've never quite seen him so angry and upset. I'd like to think that it was all going to get better, and that by next week everything would be back to normal...I'd like to think so. But I wasn't sure.
And I doubted it would happen.
To be completely honest, as bad as I felt about this so-called 'betrayal' that I've managed to put Sasuke through, I still couldn't feel necessarily guilty about it. This was me. I wasn't going to deny it. I may have been sorry for making him so irate, but I certainly wasn't sorry for being delighted that I wasn't preggers. I'm young, and I still have so much to do, so much to see, people to fight, a possible existential crisis to sort out. With a mini-me, that was going to be a little hard - not to mention dangerous. And if he can't get seem to grasp that, then maybe this whole thing was a bad idea after all. I refuse to make any sort of serious adult effort with someone who neglects to see things my way - even for a moment. We're not kids anymore.
Figuring that I really didn't have anything to do at the moment, I would go down to the tea shop to help Midori out with the customers. Aside from her and myself, there really wasn't anyone else who ran it. We were situated in more of the outskirts of the village. So although Midori had pretty good business, she never quite felt overwhelmed with customers. Allowing her to run it by herself for a while.
It would probably be good for me to help out a little bit and just forget about this whole thing; if only for a few hours.
I put on my apron, and strolled down into the shop where I found Midori speaking to one of our regulars at the counter. Arata Daisuke was one of our most frequent customers, one that I was very fond of. He was probably one of the nicest old men one could ever meet. He also happened to be one of Midori's closest friends. A friendship that has grown over the years. Something that would be bound to happen. Midori says she's only too happy to be-friend someone who has managed to give her so much money by ways of business. That's just her way of saying how much she truly appreciates him. Not only as a customer, but as a friend.
More importantly, he was someone who was aware of my true identity. I trusted him with my secret. And in turn, he kept it.
Midori broke away from her conversation with him and regarded me as I entered the shop.
"Well, well, look who's back." She said with a smile.
Daisuke smiled as well, and looked at me from above the rim of his glasses, "Midori says you visited the doctor for something? I certainly hope it was nothing serious."
Not quite serious, more along the lines of hugely inconvenient.
I gave them a half-hearted smile, "No, it wasn't - nothing I can't handle."
"I certainly hope so," Midori put her hands on her hips, "by the way, you tell Sasuke that avoiding me isn't going to make those boxes in the back move by themselves."
I flinched at the mention of his name, "Yeah, will do."
It would help to actually know where he was first.
Midori pursed her lips together as if she could feel my discomfort. She knew that something was wrong - that much I could tell. All these years of living and working with her made her pretty susceptible and aware of my moods. This was no exception. If she knew something was wrong - which she did - she sure didn't mention it. Which I was grateful for.
"Well then," she breathed, making an effort of lightening the thick mood that had settled, "I'm glad you came down Isaaru, because I'm going to take my leave."
"What, why?"
She appeared confused for a second, before a knowing look spread across her features.
"That's right; I haven't told you have I?" she took a few steps behind her and grabbed a tea pot from the burner and refilled Daisuke's tea cup, "well, since I have errands to run for the rest of the day, my nephew is going to take over for me! I haven't had the chance to introduce you yet, right?"
Right; I remembered now. She had told me that she had a family member helping out in the shop earlier in the week. He was visiting from another village in the Wind Country, one that I hadn't seemed to catch, or cared for, for that matter. I had more important things to worry about at the time. Like the possible restructuring of my life. I don't know about her, but my life, trumps her nephew - any day.
This nephew of hers had apparently worked his first shift yesterday, when I wasn't here and away at the doctor's office. She had intended that we meet, since after all he is technically supposed to be my 'cousin'. That obviously never happened. I've always wondered that after living down here for so long, why I've never once met the boy. But I really couldn't be bothered with that at the moment.
I wondered if this nephew issue would be a problem since I was pretty sure that Midori's real relative would be somewhat aware that I wasn't his legitimate cousin. Apparently, she just told him to just 'go with it'. Nothing more. I'm assuming he did. From what she told me, he wasn't one to pry, and apparently didn't want to know anyway. I appreciated the gesture. Because I knew that if it were me, I wouldn't stop until I knew every last detail. Some might call it nosy, I call it aware.
Anyways, the less he knew the better.
But I wasn't so sure about being alone with him. Midori said she had to leave, and wouldn't be around to formally introduce us. We had to do that ourselves.
Before she left she told me two things: One, his name was Kenta; he was around the same height as Sasuke with dark brown hair. Two, so when the time came for him to make his entrance from the back of the shop, I wouldnt be compelled to attack him.
It had been an hour since Midori had left, and Kenta was supposed to be here by now. He was already late by the time Midori had left, hence the reason why she wasn't able to stick around with me until he came.
This troubled me.
I was always punctual, so it pissed me off that he wasn't. Suna was not that big of a village and wherever he was, he had best think of hurrying up. With the days' events adding to my already growing bitch, he might possibly be faced with a monster by the time he arrived. I wasn't afraid of taking on that role if need be. I was starting to wish that Kenta knew that.
Where could he possibly be?
As I walked over to a couple setting down some sweets on their table, I caught sight of someone emerging from the back room in my peripheral vision. The couple smiled at me and mouthed a 'thank you' to me as I walked behind the counter to greet who I was assuming was Midori's late nephew. Well, at the moment, 'greet' was not the word to describe what I was about to do. I was going to give that boy a piece of my mind.
"Look, I don't know what your reason for not being on t-" As I looked up at him, I found myself going limp, "but we...-"
"I'm sorry, I know I'm very late."
THIS MAN IS NOT A BOY - afdsffhghg.
"It's...it's...no, it's fine. J-just don't let it happen again." My mouth hung half open as I spoke to him. Midori had made it seem that this man in front of me was supposed to be her young lanky teenage nephew. He was absolutely not; lanky and teenage that is. It's not often I find myself confounded by the looks of another. But this was ridiculous. Surely I'm not so shallow as a female to drool over Midori's nephew? Who, technically, is supposed to be my cousin. I've taken a lot of roads, but incest is not one I'd be traveling down too soon. Even if we weren't actually related...
He inclined his head and shook my hand, "I'm Kenta." A very good, firm handshake. It wasn't until he let go of my hand that it had occurred to me how utterly limp mine had been. It was about as sturdy as wet paper.
"Right, I'm Isaaru." I smiled lamely.
He grinned an all consuming grin and placed his hand at the side of his mouth, like a child getting ready to tell a secret, "Uh-huh, so you're my cousin, right?"
Wow, that smile. It was about a hundred watts. I wasn't used to handsome, personable, well-proportioned men smiling at me. Sasuke hardly counts, as he isn't personable at all. Nor does he smile, and if he does, it's rare. Which may as well be never anyways.
"Yes, that's correct." I wasn't exactly sure on whether he was implying that he knew, or he just deduced that I was some long-lost cousin of some sort. Even though Midori had informed me that he did indeed know.
He winked at me, and my joints were suddenly Jell-O. I'm a woman alright? I'm about as receptive to good looks and charm as the next hag.
"It's okay Cuzzo, whatever your secret is, it's safe with me." He made a gesture implying that his lips were sealed shut.
I grimaced at his use of the word, 'Cuzzo'. If there was anything that could stir me from my womanly daze, it was that. The last think I wanted was to imagine him as my cousin. That was enough disgust to last me a lifetime. I picked up a blue an apron from the counter and handed it to him.
"Okay, get to work, you're late enough as it is."
"Alrightt, sounds good Cu-"
"Don't call me that. Or any other abstracts of that word."
He chuckled behind me as he got to what looked like a decent, relaxed beat of work.
As for me? My brain was buzzing.
I don't really know if that Jell-O reference was even warranted, seeing as how I'm not even sure if Jell-O exists in the Naruto world. Haha, oh well. I'm sure that they have some sort of version of it somewhere that I'm not aware of. Anyways, that's it! I'll TRY TRY TRY to have something else in the next couple of weeks or so (or sooner). Since I'm in a writing mood. Till then lovely readers. :)
