Chapter 3: Acceptance
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"Idiots!" Sasuke muttered to himself as he slowly walked towards the pit he calls home. A look of disgust ruined his calm expression, showing to the world how vexed he truly is. Not to mention that his piercing eyes intensified as it stared at anything that moves within his vision.
People began staring at him. But he didn't care. Who cares if he looked like a devil right now? It's only been the second day of school and already, his patience snapped. He truly cannot believe it!
He could bitterly remember how those girls clung to him like leeches, while the others rushed in, not caring if they trampled his books and school work. They were only interested in his looks, not his personality, and certainly not his existence. Not to mention that these same harpies voted for him to be the new President of the freshman council. Didn't they know that he doesn't like dealing with people?
He soon discovered that these harpies only voted for him because they want to gain his favors.
This intensified the anger that he felt. Still, irritated, he turned left and made his way to his house. Yet as he made his first step in the small road that leads towards the gates of his house, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He quickened his pace clearly realizing that something is amiss. The house! Yes, he could clearly see it now.
The feeling of dread intensified, setting aside his anger, as he finally saw the entrance to his house. The said place is dark. The mere sight of it invokes a feeling of fear. But not for Sasuke. He had a strange feeling that's far from fear, or sadness.
He can't shake the feeling. This feeling urged him to increase his pace. And this time, he ran, until he reached the gates.
The feeling came again. Only this time, it overwhelmed his system. The stillness of the house awakened a strange side of him- something that he's not accustomed to, but know it existed.
Quickly reaching out to his backpack, he searched frantically for his keys and unlocked the lock on the gates. Without wasting a second thought, he dashed to the main doors, only to find out that they've been locked from the inside.
"Naruto!" He voiced out, not realizing the caring tone his voice held as he hastily slipped the key to the keyhole and turned.
His worry is now evident. The usual sound of his father's typing did not greet him, this time. The quiet house did nothing to sooth his already rapidly beating heart.
Impatience gnawing at him, he quickly set out to find the nearest light switch. But as if a challenge to his patience, the light switch did nothing.
My room! My room has the controls for the house's electricity! With this thought, he dashed upstairs and with shaky hands, he reached out for the door knob. He noted someone shifting inside. Slight movement and a deep breathing that he heard drove his body on high alert. Grabbing a nearby object, which happens to be a baseball bat, he turned the knob and opened his room.
As he did so, he nearly jumped in surprise when the entire house lighted up, a booming noise was heard, and lively lights danced before his eyes.
The next thing he saw is a grinning face right in front of him, and a cake with a lighted candle shoved in front of his face.
He stared at the figure. He was about to slammed the door when his ear suffered through his father's voice, who yelled right through them.
"Congrats on your Presidency, Sasuke!"
That was it! His anger returned. And this time, it was directed at the only person in front of him. Seeing nothing but red, he punched his father's face, as hard as he could, sending the man flying across the room, the cake landing on his face while the candle safely landed on the cake.
It was hilarious sight to behold. And had Sasuke not been blinded by anger, he would have laughed. But the bottled anger did not release its hold at him. His gaze intensified and watched the fallen man. And as he saw his father standing up, about to whine and complain, he silenced his father with a glare and yelled at him.
"That's for making me worried about you, dobe!" The teenager left the room as he slammed the door, leaving a confused blond behind.
Nevertheless, a grin formed on his mischievous face. Did Sasuke just said he was worried about him? Now that's an improvement.
-o-o-o-
Sasuke sat on their living room, flipping through the random channels that eventually bored him. Tomorrow is Saturday, so it's alright for him to stay up late.
But that's not what's on his mind right now. He reflected back to what has just happened. Did he just worry about his father? No way! The man is his enemy! The man is his prey! THAT man hid his family from him, so why should he care?
His gaze shifted across the room and found a neatly folded white paper. He flipped it open and found out that it's a letter addressed to Naruto. It was already opened to so he knew that the man already read it.
Uzumaki-sama, thank you very much for accepting our deal. We are actually surprised that you refused the three-day trip to England to meet up with our superiors because you want to watch over your son there in Konoha, Japan. Normally, this would have insulted our superiors, but they appreciated your devotion for your son. As a result, our superiors themselves decided to pay you thrice the agreed amount over the rights of publishing for the anime and live act version of your novel "Weeping Paradise"
It was nice doing business with you.
-International Coalition of Writer's Guild and Live Productions
Sasuke's eyes softened at this. So Naruto risked his meeting with a powerful entity just to watch over him? Tsk. He really is a dobe. But still, the thought of his father worrying about him. His eyes widen at the thought.
Why should he start caring now that his devil of a father has been doing this for years? He shook his head and crumpled the letter, throwing it against the television.
His anger subsided when he felt a familiar presence enter the living room. And in a soft, enchanting voice, Naruto apologized to him and offered him a bowl of Ramen noodles.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry for about earlier. I guess I was just overwhelmed when I heard that you became the school council's president." The man said in a soft yet uncertain voice.
"Hn. You really are an idiot. I'm only elected for the freshman council. Is this miso ramen?"
"Hai! Cooked just the way you liked it."
"Hn. Celebrating my presidency is stupid, you shouldn't have done it." Sasuke paused as he brought the bowl to his face and ate greedily. He always denied it and always insulted his father's cooking. But he had to admit that it actually tasted good.
Naruto's voice broke the silence.
"I was just excited. I should be happy. What kind of a father am I if I won't be happy for my son?"
Hearing this, Sasuke tensed, as his hand's gripped on the bowl tightened. Naruto realized his mistake when he heard the chopstick snapped and was broken into two.
"Err... Sasuke..." Naruto suddenly felt uncomfortable as Sasuke's gaze shifted to him. He could feel the weight of the eyes themselves, staring straight at him.
Then the younger one placed the bowl on the table, and silence reigned. Naruto took a deep breath, preparing himself for his son's anger. He has now realized that his son will never accept him as his father. His thoughts lingered on and drifted further to the time when he would tell Sasuke his real parentage. With the tension going on between them, who knows what will happen?
He was surprised though when his son's voice liven the atmosphere and a rare smile graced Sasuke's face.
"Just don't make me worry about you again, or a mere punch won't be enough. I'm full, satisfied and will need rest. So I'll see you this morning Naru--" he paused then stand up, and once he's facing away from Naruto, he let his smile drop.
"Good night, father." And this time, Sasuke can't help but smile as he heard Naruto jumped from his chair.
Naruto did not question the sudden change of event. As he keep away the bowl and washed the dishes, he couldn't help but let out a wide smile as he saw the first hint of Sasuke's approval. He won't ask why. For now, he'll be satisfied with his son's acceptance, and find out later what change.
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End of Chapter
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This story is to be continued. More events will come. So if you like the story and would want to read more, simply add this to your STORY ALERT LIST, so that you may be informed if a new chapter is uploaded. As always, official update time is once a week. But update may come earlier than that.