I do not own Sengoku Basara - Capcom does (they do, right?)
Happy New Year! I know it's a little...uh, i mean really late, but still, I did my own share of greeting. Thanks for the reviews - I know they're few, but that doesn't change the fact they're reviews and I'm really glad for receiving them. It feels great to know that some of you actually liked this fic :D
I hope you guys enjoy reading this one - it took me a little longer than usual. Really, I had a hard time finishing this up so please be kind to me xD
Kasuga stared blankly at the white board, giving her cheeks a little pat. Math was one of the many things she's good at, but not staying up until morning. Last night, she went to the hospital after she got home and found out her aunt was not around. Kasuga learned through a phone call that she had been rushed to the hospital earlier that evening due to severe heartburn, which was the most probable reason behind her feeling all unsettled since her last class. She'd arrived by nine in the evening, and since then, she'd sat in a monoblock chair, talked to her aunt, asked her things, watched her sleep and forced herself to stay awake. At about four in the morning she'd completely fallen asleep, and by six, her aunt had woken her up and given her the house keys. Kasuga had gone home, taken a bath, prepared herself and her lunch all in one hour.
Her eyelids felt heavy, threatening to close if she ever gave into their weight. She pinched her arms, but it was no use. Then, she felt someone tap her right shoulder lightly, dissipating some of her drowsiness for a moment. She looked to her right, noticing Sasuke, who sat five seats away from her, immediately - his eyes were closed and his right hand cupped his chin. He had a simple black headband on, which didn't make him look less like a guy – it even made him look a little cooler, if she allowed it.
Kasuga frowned slightly – why did she have to tutor Sasuke, the kind of guy who doesn't even try to listen to the lesson, let alone sleeps during class? She was irked – she couldn't bear that happy-go-lucky attitude of his.
Suddenly, her head started to ache – must be another effect of sleeping for barely two hours. She stood and approached the professor, asking for permission to go to the clinic. He stared at Kasuga with a questioning look, then jerked his head in the direction of the door, as if he wanted Kasuga out of the room immediately. She bolted out of the room and headed to the clinic.
Her head still hurt a little, but she was definitely feeling better now – she'd been given the medicine she needed and taken a quick nap inside the clinic. Kasuga checked on her watch – five more minutes before math class ended. She hurried to the third floor, not wanting to get anymore unwanted attention from her professor. As she trotted along the classroom hallway, she saw Sasuke leaning on the wall outside their classroom, his bag sprawled on the floor beside him.
Averting his eyes from him, she continued down the hall. She had no intention of having the smallest talk with him, but when she was a few steps away from him, she heard him say "The door's locked."
Kasuga stared at Sasuke like he was the one responsible for the door being locked. "No worries. He didn't mark you as absent." he said as if prompted for a reply. The hardness in Kasuga's eyes vanished, replaced by a relieved look.
"Did he tell you to get out?"
"Yeah, told me to sleep in the clinic if I wanted to."
Kasuga had to turn away to smile – while she wasn't the kind of person who made fun of other people while they were asleep, she couldn't help but smile when she remembered that look of total peace on his face. Sasuke was the type who'd have a poker face most of the time, but with Kasuga, he had his own playful expressions to show every now and then.
Sasuke noticed Kasuga's lips curving into a very small smile, and he felt like smiling too - well, more of smirking. "I guess you found my sleeping face adorable?"
The slight smile from Kasuga's lips disappeared. "Not at all!" Kasuga cried out. "And why do you sleep in class when you know you don't do so well in math and that I'm doing my best to tutor you?"
"I'm sorry. Calm down, Kasuga-chan. It was the first time I slept in class, you know that."
"Are you implying that I always look at you whenever we have math class?"
"I wasn't hinting on something like that. Well, do you?"
Kasuga's face was bright red – whether from annoyance or from embarrassment only she knew. She merely sighed, eyeing Sasuke like she was going to murder him - anymore arguing with him and she'll surely explode.
The bell rang, and students from every classroom started flooding the hallway until there was little space to move on. Kasuga had gotten inside the classroom to get her things, giving Sasuke one last I'm-pissed-off look before she turned away. He wanted to tease her a little more, but he had training so he left shortly after she disappeared into the room.
"Good afternoon, Sasuke!" Yukimura greeted, giving Sasuke a little pat on his right arm. He was dressed in his full judo gi, his trademark red hachimaki replaced by a sweatband of the same color. "Are you ready for today's training?" Yukimura asked in a voice filled with enthusiasm. Sasuke nodded in agreement, a small smirk on his lips showing that he was more than ready.
"Well then, get into your battle outfit and let's train until our bodies give out!"
"Yukimura!" boomed another loud voice behind Sasuke.
"Takeda-sama!" Yukimura exclaimed, his face lightening up even more. He ran towards Shingen, stood in front of him and stared at him with zealous eyes.
"Are you going to start the training now?"
"Of course not, Takeda-sama - not without you to lead us. In fact, Sasuke and I were waiting for you to join us in our training so that we may be able to learn more from what you have to teach us."
"Is that so? But Yukimura, I have an important report to prepare for. Today, I'll be entrusting the training to you. Do your best."
"But Takeda-sama, I can't possibly do–" In an instant, Yukimura was sent flying like a projectile…well, not really. Shingen had given him a not-so-solid blow to his mid-section, causing him to back away a few steps.
"You're an excellent judoka Yukimura, so be more confident in yourself. I recognize and admire your capabilities – both inside and outside the mats."
"Takeda-sama!"
"Yukimura!"
"Takeda-sama!"
"Yukimura"
Sasuke sighed. He stood unnoticed on the side, as if Shingen and Yukimura had created their own world and decided to do their two-line act there - no stage, music, no props, just their loud voices in the background. It was too early for their crazy tricks, not that he cared much though. During times like this, he'd have given himself the good old face-palm sooner or later.
Kasuga went up the flight of stairs leading to the rooftop. She'd never been up there before and, thinking that it was one of the few peaceful spots in the campus, decided to hang out there.
The rooftop was indeed very quiet – the exact opposite of the canteen on the grounds. Kasuga had only been there a few seconds, not to mention that she had barely moved from the doorway, but she already like it. Besides from being a quiet section of the school, the view is also nice - above, white fluffs of clouds scattered throughout the blue canvass of sky and around, well, there were lots of buildings, houses and other structures to look at.
Kasuga walked forward and rounded a corner, searching for seats. In front of her there was open space; to her right, there was a small office with two divisions and something like a ground-level verandah in front, only the fences are replaced by polished concrete seats; still farther ahead to her right was a bigger wooden structure, and Kasuga knew at first glance that it was a dojo – the shoji windows screamed it all. Perfect, Kasuga thought and went to the verandah, settling down on one concrete seat – she'd check out the dojo later.
Kasuga dug out her lunchbox from inside her backpack and opened it without any enthusiasm. The contents didn't look as good as her aunt's cooking - she had no choice but to prepare her own lunch earlier, since her aunt was still at the hospital. Why she didn't use more of her time – in the past – to cook bothered her now.
After uttering a short prayer, she started eating her lunch. It was evident from the way she lifted the rice-and-viand-filled spoon to her mouth and chewed on it gently how well she had been taught table manners. A few more minutes eating in silence and she was done, leaving her lunchbox clean except for the streaks of grease that clung to the plastic container. The meal wasn't as bad as she though it would be – although a little flavor and a better presentation would really help. She finished her meal with yet another short prayer, and stashed the lunchbox inside her backpack, exchanging it for a bottle of water.
She stood up, drinking the water little by little until there was none. Bottle in hand, she continued her exploration of the rooftop, noticing the small shaded area located between the dojo and the office. There were two tables and a lot of chairs, and Kasuga decided it must be where the members of the club hanged out. Through the dojo's windows, she could see guys and girls seated, in seiza, along a straight line. The person seated in front of them had a boyish charm, and he seemed familiar – she couldn't see his face that well because she stood a little far from the windows. But the scene was all too familiar to her that from it, she knew that the guy seated in front of all the other people was Yukimura, and that she was standing outside the judo dojo. And that Sasuke was most probably the guy on the farthest left – that long hair was unmistakably his.
Kasuga ran back to the verandah and took a seat beside her things, noticing her heart had beaten faster. She was sliding her arms through the straps of her backpack when she heard a whistle from somewhere really close.
Kasuga looked behind her, and she'd bet her face looked a little more than surprised when she saw Sasuke standing there, topless. Kasuga quickly turned her face back, hating the world for letting her see him like that. Now she'd proven herself wrong for thinking that she was more used to seeing half-naked guys than fully-clothed guys.
"Kasuga-chan! What're you doing here?" Sasuke said as he sat beside her. He sat a one-person space away from Kasuga then shifted in his seat so that he was facing her.
"I was eating lunch." Kasuga ran her fingers through the long locks of her hair to keep herself busy. From her peripheral view, she could practically feel Sasuke's eyes on her –seemingly studying the way she combed her hair with her fingers.
"Alone?" Sasuke asked, fairly surprised – sure enough, he didn't think someone like Kasuga would be hanging out here in the rooftop all by herself. "Why, isn't that lonely?"
"Shut up! I'm used to it, so there's nothing to be sad about." Kasuga said, turning her face sideways to meet Sasuke's eyes. He was smirking, and she wondered if he really enjoyed annoying her that much. Breaking the eye contact, she said "I'm in a bit of a hurry, I better leave now." She stood, locking eyes with him once again, and declared "See you later at the library." She started walking, but stopped shortly to remind him not to be late.
"Kasuga-chan," – Sasuke started before Kasuga could even start walking again, his voice urgent – "next time you come here, call me, alright? We'll eat your lunch together." He gave her a hesitant smile after, and Kasuga read it as an apology of some sort.
Resisting the urge to shout back at him when he was being considerate, she uttered a simple 'sure'. Kasuga could imagine what'll happen if she turned down his suggestion – Sasuke will probably count off the reasons why she refused, and tease her to no end because of that. She didn't want that, and besides, she could use some company during lunch, even if it's someone as irritating as him.
Reviews, anyone? Thanks :D