Chapter 5

After what had to be the world's longest shower, Sakura slipped into an old bathrobe that had raspberry stains on it and began to towel dry her hair as she went in search of her son. She was sure she would win the title of World's Worst Mother for leaving her son in the hands of someone she had tried to fire, but maybe Kenji was a better judge of people than she was, for, inexplicably, Kenji certainly did like this man. And considering that Kenji didn't like any men and only a few women, Sakura was indeed intrigued.

The sight that greeted her had to be seen to be believed. Sasuke, wearing what had to be a handmade shirt and very formal wool trousers, had Kenji stretched out on the kitchen countertop and was trying his best to change his diaper. And all the while he was fiddling with the thing, Kenji was staring at him in intense concentration, not wriggling as he did when Sakura changed him.

Putting her hand up to stifle a giggle, Sakura watched until she was in danger of being discovered; then she silently ran back into the bedroom to take her time dressing.

After a luxurious thirty minutes of putting on her clothes, combing her wet hair, and even applying a little eye makeup, she went into the living room, where Sasuke sat on the couch, looking half asleep, while Kenji played quietly on the floor. Kenji wasn't yelling for breakfast, wasn't demanding attention. Instead, he looked like an ad for Perfect Baby.

Maybe she wouldn't fire Sasuke after all.

"Hungry?" she asked, startling him. "I don't have much, but you're welcome to it. I haven't been to the grocery store in a few days. It's difficult since I have no car. My mother-in-law usually takes me on Fridays, but last Friday she was busy, so . . ." She trailed off, since she knew she was talking too much.

"I'm sure that anything you have will be fine with me," he said, making her feel silly.

"Cheerios it is then," she said as she picked up Kenji, took him to the kitchen, then strapped him into his plastic booster seat, which she placed in the middle of the little kitchen table. She did the best she could to make the table pretty, but it wasn't easy, not with a red, blue, and yellow baby chair in the middle and Kenji's feet kicking at everything she set out.

"It's ready," she called, and he sauntered into the kitchen, all six feet of him. He's gay, she reminded herself. Gay, remember?

As she prepared Kenji's warm porridge and mashed banana, she did her best to keep quiet. It was tempting to chatter away, as she was hungry for the sound of an adult voice, even if it was her own.

"Naruto said you were looking for a job," the man said. "What are you trained for?"

"Nothing," she said cheerfully. "I have no talents, no ambition, no training. If Kenichi hadn't shown me what's what, I wouldn't have figured out how to get pregnant." Again she saw that tiny bit of a smile, and it made her continue. Kenichi always said that what he liked best about her was her ability to make him laugh.

"You think I'm kidding," she said as she held the cup of porridge up to Kenji's mouth. He was much too impatient to give her time to spoon-feed him, so he usually ended up drinking his morning meal. Of course a third of it dribbled down his chin and onto his clothes, but he got most of it inside him.

"Really, I'm no good at anything. I can't type. I have no idea how to even turn on a computer. I tried to be a waitress, but I got the orders so muddled I was fired after one week. I tried to sell real estate, but I told the clients that the houses weren't worth the asking price, so I was asked to leave. I worked in a department store, but the perfume caused me to break out in a rash, and I told the customers where to buy the same clothes cheaper, and the shoes, well, the shoes were the worst."

"What happened in the shoe department?" he asked as he ate a second bowl of cereal.

"I spent my whole salary on the things. That was the only job I ever quit. It cost me more than I made."

This time he nearly gave a real smile. "But Kenichi took you away from all of that," he said, his eyes twinkling.

Sakura's face lost its happy look, and she turned away to grab a cloth to wipe the porridge from Kenji's face.

"Did I say something?"

"I know what everyone thinks of Kenichi, but he was good to me and I loved him. How could I not? He gave me Kenji." At that she gave an adoring look to her messy son, and in response he squealed and kicked so hard that he nearly knocked over the booster seat.

Sasuke stuck out a hand and steadied the thing. Frowning, he said, "Isn't he supposed to be in a high chair? Something with legs on the floor?"

"Yes!" Sakura snapped. "He's supposed to be in a high chair, and he's supposed to sleep in a bed with sides that lower, and he's supposed to have a changing table and all the latest clothes. But as you know, Kenichi had priorities for his money and . . . and . . . Oh, shanaro!" she said as she turned away to hide her sniffling.

"I always liked Kenichi," Sasuke said slowly. "He was the life of every party. And he made everyone around him happy."

Sakura turned around, her eyes bright with tears. "Yes, he did, didn't he? I led a pretty sheltered childhood, and I didn't know that the cause of Kenichi's forgetfulness and his—" Abruptly, she halted. "Listen to me. My mother-in-law says that I'm so lonely that I'd ask the devil to dinner." Again she stopped. "I'm not complaining, mind you; Kenji is all I want in life; it's just that—"

"Sometimes you want an adult to talk to," he said softly, watching her.

"You're a good listener, Mr. Uchiha. Is that a characteristic of being gay?"

For a second he blinked at her. "Not that I know of. So, tell me, if you need to get a job to support yourself and you have no skills, what are you going to do? How are you going to support yourself and your son?"

Sakura sat down at the table. "I haven't a clue. You have any suggestions?"

"Go back to school."

"And who takes care of Kenji all day? How do I pay someone to take care of him? Besides, I'm much too thick to go to school."

Again he smiled. "Somehow I doubt that. Can't your mother-in-law take care of him?"

"She has a bridge club, swimming club, at least three gossip clubs. But, anyway, you're right, and I have to get a job. I was going for an interview this afternoon."

"Doing what?" he asked, and the intensity of his eyes made her look down at the banana she was mashing with a fork.

"Cleaning houses. Now, don't look at me like that. It's good, honorable work."

"But does it pay enough for you to hire someone to look after the baby?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not very good with numbers, and I—"

"I am very good with numbers," he said seriously. "I want to see everything. I want your checkbook, your receipts, your list of expenses, whatever. I need to see your income and your outgoing money. Give it all to me and I'll sort it out."

"I'm not sure I should do that," she said slowly. "Those things are private."

"You want to call Naruto and ask him about me? I think he'll tell you to show me any papers you have."

For a moment she studied him. It had been so long since she'd been around an adult, and it seemed like years since she'd been around a man. Kenichi never cared about finances. If there was money, he spent it; if not, he found a way to persuade someone to lend it to him. "There isn't much," she said slowly. "I have a checkbook, but I don't write many checks, and . . ."

"Just let me see what you have. You take care of Kenji, and I'll deal with the numbers."

"Do you always order people around?" she asked softly. "Do you always walk into a person's life and take it over as if they had no sense and you knew how to do everything in the world?"

He looked startled. "I guess I do. I hadn't thought about it before."

"I bet you don't have too many friends."

Again he looked startled, and for a moment he studied her as though he'd never seen her before. "Are you always so personal with people?"

"Oh, yes. It saves time in the long run. It's better to get to know people as they really are than it is to believe something that isn't true."

He lifted one thick black eyebrow. "And I guess you knew all about Kenichi Senju before you married him."

"You can laugh at me all you want, and believe me or not, but, yes, I did know. When I first met him I didn't know about the drugs and the alcohol, but I knew that he needed me. I was like water to a thirsty man, and he made me feel . . . Well, he made me feel important. Does that make sense?"

"In a way it does. Now, where are your financial records?"

It was Sakura's turn to be startled at the abrupt way Sasuke dismissed her. What is he hiding? she wondered. Whatever secrets he had, he didn't want anyone to know what they were.

After she gave Sasuke her box of receipts and her old checkbooks, she spent an hour cleaning the kitchen and pulling Kenji out of one thing after another. If there was a sharp edge, Kenji was determined to smash part of his body against it.

"Could you come in here?" Sasuke said from the doorway, making Sakura feel like a child being called into the principal's office. In the living room, he motioned for her to sit down on the couch, Kenji squirming on her lap.

"Frankly, Mrs. Senju, I find your financial situation appalling. You have an income well below the national poverty level, and as far as I can tell you have no way to replenish your resources. I have decided to make you a, shall we say, permanent loan so you can raise this child and you can—"

"A what?"

"A permanent loan. By that I mean you'll never have to pay it back. We will start with, say, ten thousand dollars, and—"

He broke off as Sakura got up, walked to the front door, opened it, and said, "Good bye, Mr. Uchiha."

Sasuke just stood there gaping at her. He wasn't used to people turning down money from him. In fact, he received a hundred letters a day from people begging him to give them money.

"I don't want your charity," Sakura said, her lips tight.

"But Naruto gives you money; you told me he did."

"He has given my son free medical treatment, yes; but in return, I have scrubbed his house, his office, and the inside of his car. I don't take charity, not from anyone."

For a moment Sasuke looked bewildered, as though her words were something he'd never heard before. "I apologize," he said slowly. "I thought—"

"You thought that if I was poor, then of course I was looking for a handout. I know I live in a house that needs work." She ignored the expression on his face saying that that was an understatement. "But wherever I live and how I live is none of your concern."

For a moment Sasuke just stood there blinking at her. "Mrs. Senju, don't you know that nowadays people believe that you should take all that you can get and the rest of the world be damned?"

"And what kind of mother would I be if I taught values like that to my son?"

At that Sasuke stepped forward and took Kenji from Sakura as the baby was trying his best to pull her arms from her shoulders. As before, the baby went to Sasuke easily and quickly settled against his chest.

"I do apologize, and you have to forgive me for not realizing that you are unique in all the world."

Sakura smiled. "I hardly think so. Maybe you've just met very few people. Now, if you really want to help, you can take care of Kenji this afternoon while I go for the job interview."

"To clean houses," he said with a grimace.

"You find something else I'm qualified for and I'll do it."

"No," he said slowly, still looking at her as though she came from another planet. "I don't know what jobs are available in Konoha."

"Not many, I can assure you. Now, I need to tell you all about Kenji, then I have to get ready to go."

"I thought you said the interview was this afternoon. You have hours yet."

"I don't have transportation, so I have to walk, and it's five miles. No! Don't look at me like that. You have, 'I'll pay for a taxi,' written all over your face. I want to make a good impression at this interview because they've said I can take Kenji with me if I leave him in a playpen. If I get this job, all our problems will be solved."

He didn't return her smile. "Who would you be working for?"

"Jiraiya. Do you know him?"

"I've met him," Sasuke said, lying. He knew Jiraiya very well, and he knew that Sakura would be hired because she was young and pretty and because Jiraiya was the biggest lecher in three counties. "I'll take care of the baby," Sasuke said softly. "You get dressed."

"All right, but let me tell you about his food." She then launched into a long monologue about what Kenji would and would not eat, and how he was to have no salt or sugar. Everything was to be steamed, not baked, and certainly not fried. Also, there was half a chicken in the refrigerator and some salad greens that could be Sasuke's lunch.

She went on to tell him that Kenji didn't really like solid food, that he would much rather nurse, so, "Don't be upset if he doesn't eat much."

Sasuke only vaguely listened, just enough to reassure her that everything would be fine. Thirty minutes later she was out the door and he was on the phone to his brother.

"I don't care how many patients you have waiting," Sasuke said to his brother. "I want to know what's going on."

"Sakura's great, isn't she?"

"She is . . . different. Wait a minute." He'd put Kenji on the floor, and the baby had half crawled, half dragged himself to the nearest wall socket and was now pulling on the cord to a lamp. After Sasuke had moved the baby away from the dangerous socket and put him in the middle of the floor, he went back to the phone.

"This woman," Sasuke began, "lives on a tiny life insurance policy left by that husband of hers, and she has no way to make a living. Do you know where she's going for a job interview today? Jiraiya."

"Ahhhhh," Naruto said.

"Call that old lecher and tell him that if he hires her, you'll inject him with anthrax," Sasuke ordered.

"I can't very well do that. Hippocratic oath and all that. If I didn't know you better, I'd say you sound a little like a jealous husband. Sasuke? Are you there?"

"Sorry. Kenji was caught under the coffee table. Wait! Now he's eating paper. Hold on a minute."

When Sasuke got back, Naruto spoke in frustration. "Look, big brother, I didn't mean for you to get involved with her, just take care of the kid so I could have time with Sakura. That's all you're to do. Once I convince Sakura we're made for each other, I'll support her and she won't have to work. Why don't you tell her wonderful things about me?"

"If she thinks you're going to take care of her for the rest of her life, she might not marry you. She has more pride than anything else. And can you tell me why a baby can't have salt or sugar or any form of seasoning on his food?"

"The theory is that he'll grow up to crave sweets if he has them as a baby, so if you eliminate those things, he'll be healthier as an adult."

"No wonder the kid only wants to nurse and won't eat much solid food," Sasuke muttered, then dropped the phone to move Kenji away from the door, where he was swinging it and trying to hit himself in the face.

When he returned, Sasuke said, "Do you think she'd allow me to give her a Christmas gift?"

"What did you have in mind? Buy a business and give it to her to run?"

Since this is exactly what Sasuke had in mind, he didn't answer. Besides, Kenji was now chewing on Sasuke's shoe, so Sasuke picked the baby up and held him, and Kenji grabbed Sasuke's bottom lip, nearly pulling the skin off.

"Look, Sasuke, I have to go," Naruto said. "Why don't you use your brain instead of your money and figure out another solution to this problem? Sakura's not going to take your charity, no matter how you disguise it."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Sasuke said as he looked across the room to a potted plant set on a folded newspaper. "You call Jiraiya. I'd do it, but I don't want him to know I'm here, and you say whatever you have to, but he's not to hire her. Got it?"

"Sure. How's the monster?"

Wincing, Sasuke removed the baby's fingers from his mouth. "Fine."

"Fine? The kid is a brat. What's that sound?"

Kenji had grabbed both of Sasuke's cheeks painfully and pulled him closer as he planted a very wet raspberry on Sasuke's cheek. "I'm not sure, but I think the kid just kissed me," Sasuke said to his brother, then hung up before Naruto could reply.

For a moment, Sasuke sat down on the couch, while Kenji stood on his lap. Strong kid, he thought, and not bad looking. Too bad he was wearing what looked to be hand-me-downs from someone's hand-me-downs. He could believe that every kid in Konoha had worn these overalls and faded shirt. Shouldn't a smart little fellow like Kenji have something better than this? So how could he arrange it?

At that moment, the newspaper caught his eye, and in the next moment he was fighting Kenji's hands to be able to dial his cell phone.

"Hyuga," he said when his secretary answered the phone. There was no greeting. She had been his private secretary-assistant for seven years, so he didn't need to identify himself.

Within a few minutes he had told her his idea. She didn't make any complaint that it was Christmastime and he was telling her that she had to leave her home and family—if she had one, for Sasuke had no idea what her personal life was like—she just said, "Is there a printer's in Konoha?"

"No. I wouldn't want the work done here anyway. Do it in Yukigakure."

"Any color preference?"

Sasuke looked down at Kenji, who was chewing on a wooden block that had probably been his father's. "Blue. For a manly little boy. None of those pink-and-white bunny rabbits. And add all the bells and whistles."

"I see. The whole lot."

"Everything. Also, buy me a car, something ordinary like a . . ."

"Toyota?" Hyuga asked.

"No a Jeep. And I want the car to be very dirty so I'll need to hire someone to clean it. And buy me some clothes."

Since all Sasuke's clothes were made for him, it wasn't unusual that Hyuga should ask if he wanted something sent.

"No. I want normal clothes. Denim. Blue jeans."

"With or without fringe?"

For a moment Sasuke stared at the phone. In twelve years he had never heard Hyuga make a joke. Was this the first one? On the other hand, did she even have a sense of humor? "No fringe. Just normal. Country clothes but not too expensive."

"I see," was Hyuga's toneless reply. If she had any curiosity about any of this, she didn't say so.

"Now call Hiro and tell him to get down here and make this kid something good to eat."

There was a pause on the phone, which was unusual for Hyuga, as she usually agreed to anything he said instantly. "I was wondering where Hiro would be staying, because he'll want proper equipment." Considering that Sasuke's private chef was a snob as well as a genius, this was an understatement.

Kenji was trying to pull himself to a standing position by dragging on the faded cloth on an old end table. If he pulled it off, three flower pots were going to crash onto his head. "Just do it!" Sasuke snapped into the phone, then shut it off and went to retrieve Kenji. Was this the fifth or sixth time the baby had tried to kill himself in the space of an hour?

"Okay, kid," Sasuke said as he untangled little hands from the cloth and picked the baby up. "Let's go see what we can do about lunch. A lunch with no sugar, no salt, no butter, no flavor at all."

At that Kenji again planted another wet raspberry against Sasuke's cheek, and Sasuke found the feeling not unpleasant.