You have no idea how much trouble I had with this chapter. Seriously. I had to keep changing different scenes because it was too fast or too unrealistic. Then I get distracted with other stories and worrying about school. I'm meant to pass English and Math to get into the classes for animation, but I've been so distracted. Goddammit. Anyways. I also would like to inform you guys that I have a poll on my profile for who you want Kuroki to be paired up with. Obviously Sasuke's going to be one of them, but I'm planning on having a Sasuke/Kuroki/?. My dear reviewer MockingBird wants it to be with Shikamaru. The ones who've actually voted actually want her to be paired up with Neji. I was like; Holy shit, what?
It'll be open for quite a while, and I will inform you guys when it will begin to close and the pairing will be official, but so I can prepare for later chapters, I would appreciate votes and/or reviews. I've also added Gaara, for any who love that panda. Now, read the story. I hope you guys like it.
"Sasuke!"
Aonami called out to the startled child, Sasuke turning abruptly to see the woman in panic and worry. I sat up, pulling the little Uchiha with me because we were still holding onto each other. His grip on my hand told me he knew why Aonami was in a state of horror. I cringed at the thought of seeing his clan all dead, bodies everywhere and blood splatters staining the ground and wall.
"Something has happened to your family!" She spoke urgently, quickly shuffling towards us and grabbing Sasuke's other arm, forcing him to literally jump out of bed with me closely following. Shiruba barked as he followed us. We were basically racing down the stairs with Aonami in the lead. I glanced to the door, and there was an unknown shinobi. He was wearing a dog mask, dressed in ANBU clothing. Even if I couldn't see his face, I felt eyes on me. "ANBU-san!" Aonami called to the mysterious being, the ANBU member turned their head in the slightest to face the disturbed woman better. She was pulling us along to the door, Sasuke looking back at me. We shared a sorrowful look, and our grips on each other's hands tightened.
"Uchiha Sasuke is confirmed as the last of the Uchiha clan." The ANBU stated with an emotionless tone, his voice was young though, around twenty-five.
"He's not going back to that place! I am not having a child live in the very area his family was slaughtered at!" Aonami announced, outraged. She let go of Sasuke and held her hands on her hips. The Uchiha and I held each other close, his arms wrapped around my waist and hiding his face within my chest. Small sniffs escaped him as I held him tightly, Shiruba moving to our sides and surrounding us with his warm body. He nudged his head against the despaired boy in a comforting manner.
"The council-" The ANBU started to reply after Aonami's outburst, but was quickly cut off by the woman's motherly wrath.
"Listen here! We are not of a clan! We have nothing to gain by having an Uchiha at our home except another family member! Do not think my family would use a child for such dark purposes!" She exclaimed, her voice and body language obviously showing that she wasn't going to just sit and let Sasuke be all by himself at this time of grief. She stepped forward, her face all up in the ANBU's concealed one. The entire time he was just an emotionless messenger. "I don't care what the council says. The Taidana family will take care of Uchiha Sasuke whether they agree or not." She stated softly, evenly, but there was a tone of a subtle threat in her voice. I almost grinned when the ANBU member's hand twitched. He was annoyed, and while he may be able to say some things in response to the fiery woman, he knew that nothing would perturb her from her current goal.
"We promise to take good care of him if they let us adopt him." I voiced softly, petting the crying Uchiha's hair as I looked up at the dog mask. His head shifted to face me. For some reason, I felt like his eyes were on my scars, rather than my non-reflective eyes. Hm. "My scars were from training with my father. They don't abuse me, sir." I pointed out, I feel like that's what he was thinking. Sasuke shifted in my arms, his ear now against my childish chest and possibly listening to my heartbeat now. I saw the ANBU sigh.
"Fine. I will inform the council of this...proposal. There are no guarantees." And with that said, he was gone. That's it. I'm training to be at the level of ANBU. Aonami sighed in relief as she shut the door and leaned against it. She looked to Sasuke and I. A soft, loving smile and a single bead of sweat running down her cheek gracing her facial features.
"Thank you, Kuroki-chan." She thanked, dropping down to her knees and wrapping her arms around us children. It was an aura of motherly love. I wouldn't cry, it was something I would never do again. It was my resolve. And soon enough, it would be something Sasuke would never want to do again either. The little Uchiha used this Taidana cocoon to let himself cry like it was the end of the world. It wasn't far off, his clan was wiped out, but he still had us. He still had people who loved him. He better know that.
I felt Aonami kiss my head softly, and soon after she released us, standing up. "Alright...you two go sit at the lounge...I'll make some hot chocolate for you both." She said with the affection only a mother could have. I nodded, and pushed Sasuke softly, his eyes puffy and red with tears still escaping freely. He looked up at me and I smiled slightly, grabbing his hand that that held the bunch up material of my hoodie from my back and leading him through the hall way and into the living room. Shiruba followed closely.
The couch was big, meant for four adults. Shiruba, Sasuke and I would be able to fit easily. I yawned lightly as I finally made it to the couch and crawled up, being too small to just turn and sit. Sasuke and Shiruba followed, but Shiruba jumping up instead of crawling. I leaned against the arm rest of the couch, my legs folded underneath me, causing me to sit on my feet, but I didn't mind much, everyone sat like this here and there. The despaired Uchiha rested his head in my lap, his raven hair scattering on my legs. Shiruba sat beside us, his fur keeping us warm from the morning cold. My fingers combed through his hair soothingly as he turned to face the television. He was sniffing and hicking here and there, but no sobs. He curled up, his head still resting on my lap. I heard Sasuke whisper something, but for once, it was too low for my trained senses to hear. "Sorry, Sasuke. What did you say?" I asked gently, still combing my fingers through his hair. I know how strangely soothing the action was if you were on the receiving end, Aonami doing it to me sometimes whenever we watched the television together.
Sasuke sniffed. "I said..." He spoke a little louder, but it was barely above a whisper. "I love you..."
I closed my eyes. "I know..." I replied. "I love you too, Sasuke." I felt the Uchiha shift a little.
"Not the way I do...you love me the way mum and dad did..."
"You said you were going to make me fall in love with you, didn't you?"
I could see the light blush forming on his visible cheek, and he nodded. "I will...and I'll...I'll become stronger too...for Itachi-nii..."
A small smile graced my lips. I'd like to see him grow and become stronger. I changed the way he thought when I entered his and Itachi's lives...I couldn't predict the end result of his personality. I leaned down, using my free hand to push back the hair that was being pulled down by gravity and hindering my view behind my heavily pierced ear. I actually had forgotten about them, they were light despite the numbers, so I could never tell they were there. Sasuke noticed my movements and turned his head, looking up at me with mild curiosity. I used this action to my advantage and leaned closer, pushing his bangs out of the way before placing my lips on his forehead. Only a few seconds past before I broke the physical contact with my lips and his forehead, leaning back up and pulling the hair behind my ear back to its original place. The little Uchiha looked a little surprised, an instant blush on his cheeks making his tears seem almost unnoticeable.
"What...?" He put a hand over his forehead, still not really understanding the reasoning behind my action. I smiled a little at him.
"I like it better when you're blushing, rather than when you're crying. It's...cuter." I almost grinned at him.
He frowned, a little pout on his lips as he looked away. Despite the annoyed expression, his blush deepened quite a few shades. I gave a small childish chuckle, combing my hands through his bangs which pulled them back again. "You're not alone, Sasuke...I'll always love you...always be there for you..." No matter what he did, I would always love him. Sasuke's eyes returned stare into mine.
There was silence between us, it wasn't awkward or tense, but it was a silence that was needed for us. Looking into each other's eyes was like looking into each other's souls, trying to read their emotions, to understand them. Sasuke's eyes were expressive, but mine...they felt dead to me. "Sasuke-kun..." I blinked, looking up to see Aonami standing on the other side of the coffee table that was in front of the couch with two mugs of hot chocolate, the steam rising up. I hadn't noticed her, at all.
The Uchiha sat up, his feet now dangling off the edge of the couch as Aonami reached over to hand us our cups. I leaned forward and grabbed the mug with both hands. "Thank you." I said to Aonami, who smiled softly at me, then to Sasuke, who was blowing softly on his hot chocolate. I didn't do that, my tongue was dulled to the hot sensation due to the mild torture training Kuroi put me through. It sounds bad, but it's only a genin-level torture training session. Helps with whenever I get caught and my captors want to be sadists to get information. I sipped on my drink. "It's good." I commented, Sasuke nodding in agreement after taking a small sip. Aonami grinned softly.
"Of course. I made it." She boasted casually, soon walking over and wanting to sit between Sasuke and I. We shuffled over, and Aonami fit easily. The little Uchiha was leaning against Shiruba and drinking his hot chocolate slowly. I yawned and took large sips from mine. Aonami sighed and leaned back. "I'm sorry I didn't ask if you wanted to stay with us, Sasuke-kun." She apologized to Sasuke, who looked up at her. He shook his head.
"No...I want to stay with you...thank you..." He replied, his voice remaining just above a whisper. He stared into his cup with sad, puffy eyes. Aonami placed her hand on my shoulder and her other on Sasuke's, bringing us towards her in a gentle hug. We still held onto our mugs of hot chocolate, and her grabbing us didn't cause any to spill. Lucky.
I rested my head against her, taking a sip from my drink. As the two of us drank, all four of us were silent. A lot of talking wasn't really necessary at the moment. It was only a few moments later that I finished my drink and leaned forward, Aonami letting me move to place the mug on the coffee table and move back into her arms. For some reason, I was more tired than I should've been in the morning. Sasuke was probably almost finished with his drink by now. Oh, now, it seems. He leaned forward and did the same thing I did only a few minutes ago. We both silently snuggled up to Aonami, who emitted warmth and love. That's probably why I was so tired. I could feel myself being dragged back to sleep, and I didn't resist despite disliking to sleep anywhere but my bed.
When I felt myself waking, something warm was pressed against me, but my eyelids were practically glued shut at the moment. I yawned, stretching on...the couch? That's right, I fell asleep. But I was laying down...Aonami left? I finally cracked an eye open, my vision a little blurry from not using it for a little bit. A few blinks and everything was fine again. I swept my hair out of my face, and then attempted to sit up. I couldn't because there was a certain child clinging to my form. One leg was entangled with mine, arms wrapped around my waist and a face in the crook of my neck. I stared at the ceiling.
I'm his goddamn pillow.
I sighed, deciding not to wake him. From the natural light lighting the room, I could guess it was still day. Aonami must've left to go to the Hokage Tower for negotiations. A small moan caught my attention, and the little Uchiha shifted, trying to bury his face deeper into my neck and tightening his hold on me. "Itachi-nii..."
Damn...I hope he's having a good dream about his brother. Speaking of him...did he speak with the Hokage about protecting Sasuke? I better not have changed Team seven's arrangements any more than I already have. It'd ruin everything and I'd be pissed. I wonder how he got the fatal disease, and how he had such willpower to keep on living just to let his own brother kill him. It's admirable. I heard the soft steps of my loyal canine come towards me, and I turned my head to look at Shiruba. He whined a little as he was close enough to rub his forehead against mine in an affectionate manner. I used my free hand to pet him gently, smiling a little.
"Hey, there Shiruba. How long has it been since mum left?" I asked in a whisper. The silver dog leaned back, and I raised my hand. He pressed his nose against my palm four times, signifying four hours. I looked to the window closest to me. The sun was almost blinding, it must be around twelve. I looked back to my faithful Shiruba and gave him a praising pat and smile. "Good boy." Shiruba was smart, and with the little training of being able to communicate with us whenever we asked a question or wanted him to go tell someone something, he was a good informant and messenger. A knock on the door peeled my mind from my thoughts. I could feel Kiba and Naruto's familiar chakra just outside the door. I sighed.
Carefully attempting to pry the little Uchiha off me, I tried to first grab his arms and gently pull them off me. The little shit tightened his grip. Goddammit. Fuck it then. I slowly placed my free hand under his closest arm pit...then tickled the shit out of him. Sasuke's eyes flew open and he squirmed erratically, trying to stop the tickling sensation. "A-Ah! Hahaha! K...Kuroki-chan~! S-stop!" Sasuke pleaded as I was finally free from his grip holding himself to stop me from tickling him. I sat up, grinning lightly at him. He panted with a light blush, looking up at me with less puffy eyes. "Wh...What was that for?" He asked, flinching a little when I moved over him to get off the couch.
"You were clinging to me in your sleep, so I couldn't move." I explained simply, yawning and stretching. Sasuke turned to face me, lying on his side as I made my way through the living room to the hallway. Shiruba followed me. An annoying amount of loud bangs on my front door were sounding, and I quickened my pace to grab the doorknob, turn it and fling the door open. The loud-mouth brats had their hands still up in fists, wide eyes and gaping mouths indicated their surprise. I frowned in annoyance. "Do you need to bang on my door so loudly?" I asked, cracking my neck.
They finally dropped their hands and were soon up in my face, both looking worried. "Hey, we heard about Sasuke-teme's..." Naruto started off loudly, but soon trailed off into silence after. He looked down, not wanting to voice out the fate of Sasuke's clan. Kiba averted his eyes to the wall.
He frowned as he scratched his head. "We...we wanted to check up on him...because we knew he'd be here." Kiba explained softly, a small blush taking his cheeks. I smiled at them, it's good they cared. I ruffled their hairs, earning myself protests from the brats. I shuffled around them to let them in, and they went further into the house as I grabbed the doorknob and shut the front door. When I turned around, Kiba and Naruto were already disappearing into the living room. I looked to Shiruba, who yawned lightly.
"Yo, Sasuke-kamo." Kiba greeted the little Uchiha who was surprised to see them and sat up. He frowned a little at being called a duck. Kiba sat on one side of Sasuke as Naruto tripped over nothing. I snorted and snickered as Kiba laughed loudly. Sasuke was giggling before smirking smugly at the blonde.
"Dobe, you're such a klutz." He mocked light-heartedly, the said person groaning in agitation and jumping up.
"Shut up, Sasuke-teme! I came to see if you were alright! Be grateful the great Uzumaki Naruto has come to see you!" Naruto exclaimed with the dramatic finger pointing. Kiba snickered.
"Idiot. Kamo here would rather me see him than you."
"No way!"
"I'd rather not see both of you."
"Well, we're here."
"Yeah, put up with it. We don't know what kind of things you've wanted to do with Kuro-chan."
What?! I snapped my head up from the fridge, looking in the direction of the living from the kitchen. What the fuck did he just say?! "What?! Sh-shut up!" I heard Sasuke yell in horror. I took a deep breath and sighed, running a hand through my hair. I feel so old when they're around. Shiruba barked, and I glanced at him. I grinned.
Well, it was nice that they came here for Sasuke. Even if they're loud and annoying, they know how to get your mind off depressing things. Naruto was a ball of blinding sunshine, much like Kiba, but he was more animalistic. The racket they made from the living room made things livelier. I liked that.
Wait a fucking minute. What is that horrible taste in my mouth? Oh, my god! My entire morning routine is ruined! I dramatically slapped my hands to my head as I dropped to my knees. No! Why?! Goddammit! "Shiruba. Go look after the little shits. I'm doing my morning routine." I ordered the dog, who didn't seem to mind at all, even barking in affirmation and dashing off to the living room. I growled as I stood up and shut the door of the fridge. I hate messing up my routines.
I was currently standing in the bathroom, using my black toothbrush to clean my teeth. I annoyingly needed a stool to reach the goddamn sink, and the mirror was even higher, so I was never able to get a look at my appearance. Not that it really mattered to me, as long as I was comfortable. Though I feel like my eyes are becoming a bit darker around the edges. I've been stressing a lot lately, so it wouldn't surprise me if I had major bags under my eyes. I sighed in relief after having finished my morning routine, it felt wrong not to do it in the morning, but at least I had done it. I don't have an OCD about it. I don't. Oh, my fucking god! I need breakfast and lunch now! ARGH!
Practically stomping down the stairs, I walked into the living room where the three brats were with an annoyed aura. They stopped their conversations, noticing my mood. "Get your asses up. We're getting food." I commanded, giving them a look that dared them to defy me, even if I knew they would want food anytime. Naruto stood from the couch, fist pumping with a fox-like grin, chanting ramen. I sighed as Sasuke walked over to me, Kiba slapping the blonde over the head, instantly causing the said blonde cease his ramen chant.
"We're getting real food, idiot." Kiba commented, looking down at Naruto who was currently rubbing the back of his head and glaring at the Inuzuka.
"Ramen is real food!" Naruto protested, basically chest thrusting at his first rival. Kiba scoffed as Sasuke grabbed onto my hand, standing extremely close to me. I didn't mind. Somehow he calmed me down when I was in bad moods.
"Whatever, idiot. I don't know how you're still alive, only eating ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner." Kiba replied, walking towards us in a dismissive manner. The blonde groaned in annoyance. I decided to ignore them and turned to walk to the front door. They'd follow. I gently pulled the little Uchiha along, who was rather withdrawn and probably deep in thought and memories. I've probably mentioned this before, but he's handling it so well, I expected...I don't know...something like he was still in shock and unable to comprehend, but that wasn't the case. He cried so many times, but he was still able to express his emotions properly. It's safe to say that I'm proud of him.
I drowned out the ongoing argument of ramen being a real food by the two loud-mouths. We left my house only a few minutes ago, but here I figured they would've dropped it once we left the house. I was wrong. A sigh escaped me, and Sasuke's grip tightened slightly. I glanced down to him, but his face was concealed by his raven hair. Was he still deep in thought? I was about to ask him when some female voice called out to the Uchiha.
"Sasuke-kun!"
I looked up, slowly reducing my walk to a simple stop when I realized that the one who spoke was Haruno Sakura. Naruto and Kiba were too absorbed with their conversation that they literally bumped into Sasuke and I. I turned back, giving them an annoyed look as they rubbed their faces. They groaned and muttered under their breaths.
"Haruno...-san?" Sasuke looked up, giving the painfully bright pink-haired girl a look of confusion. I wanted to growl, to tell her to piss off, not because she was Sakura, but because I was in a bad mood, and it wasn't exactly best day for my little Uchiha to be bombarded with puppy love and adoration.
The little girl quickly ran over to us from where she was when she called out to her beloved Sasuke-kun. I shivered. I never used suffixes. I used to, at the beginning of my ninja life, but I got used to not doing it. I cringed at how repulsed I was by mentally saying it. I'm so weird.
I heard Kiba nudge Naruto. "Hey~, look. It's your precious cherry blossom." Kiba teased, I could feel the teasing grin plastered on his face. I admit, I was grinning too. All of us knew of the blonde's crush on the pink-haired girl. Why did he have a crush on her? 'She's really pretty.' The idiot replied.
"Shut up, dog!" Naruto hissed in hushed whispers. He probably nudged the Inuzuka in the gut, because I heard a grunt of pain from behind me. I snickered lightly, Sakura stopping less than a metre in front of us, and leaning more towards Sasuke. She basically ignored us.
"I'm so surprised to see you out here, Sasuke-kun!" She chirped with such enthusiasm. It kind of hurt. "Did...did you want to hang out?" She asked not even five seconds after her first sentences. She went from chirpy to bashful like that. The power of women. I looked to the one she was addressing, and he was staring at her with a look I knew well. It was the 'What-the-actual-fuck?' look. I let myself smirk-grin at the amusing expression whenever someone else had it.
"Uh..." Sasuke was dumbfounded, to say the least. He had no idea what to say to the girl. She fidgeted and blushed, looking at her feet and waiting in response. I had the urge to punch something.
"Ugh! Why does Sasuke-teme always get the girl! First, Kuroki-chan and now Sakura-chan!" It was only moments after the damned blonde stated his opinion in horror that I had turned and kicked him upside the head without breaking my grip on the Uchiha's hand. The Kyuubi-jailer flew into the Inuzuka, who shouted in shock. They both fell to the ground with a loud thud.
"Ooow~! Dammit, Kuroki-chan!" Naruto whined as he clutched his aching head, a rather large lump forming rapidly. I had to refrain from laughing right there and then. "What the hell was that for?!"
Kiba growled as he pushed Naruto off him, sitting up with a scowl as he shook the dirt out of his messed up hair. "It's because you said Sasuke-kamo always gets the girl like Kuro-chan and Haruno-san are objects!" Kiba explained in annoyance, muttering insults as he got up and dusted himself off. "It's your fault for getting kicked in the head and flying into me!" He flicked the blonde's forehead, who reeled back at the impact, still on the ground. We all basically ignored the looks and gazes people were giving us, especially Naruto. I actually heard some people say; "Serves him right to get kicked in the head." or "That brat is lucky that that girl doesn't kill him, if only though." I sneered at them, and they seemed to back up rather quickly.
What adult is afraid of a ten-year-old? Well, a ninja-in-training ten-year-old who can actually kill normal people like them. Yeah...I can see why. I turned back, finally remembering the pinkette. She looked as dumbfounded as last time something similar happened. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the blonde who was probably rubbing that massive lump on the side of his head. She then gulped and turned to me, soon formally bowing in front of me. "G-Good afternoon, Kuroki-chan!" She greeted hastily, as if she were to be punished if she wasn't polite. What now? I gave her a strange look, and Sasuke snickered lightly, which I'm sure made the pinkette go pink in the face. I should throw her in some black dye.
I nudged Sasuke lightly, who glanced up at me, I smirked slightly and held the hand he held up. He blushed, but reluctantly let go. God, he's so cute. "Head up, Pinky. If you're going to hang with us, there's got to be some rules." I stated like we were a gang. We kind of were, but not like my old life. The pinkette stood back up to her full height, her bright emerald eyes shining with curiosity, eagerness and a spot of fear. The sun did compliment her petite form though, I'll admit, even if her brightness pisses me off. I'm a dark person by default. Oh, god. Was that a pun?
"First. Raise your hand if you approve of Haruno Sakura joining, if she accepts the terms and follows them." I announced to the brats of my little group. Naruto instantly raised his hand straight in the air; a strange grin mixed with that fox-like expression plastered on his face kind of creeped me out. Kiba shrugged and raised his hand in a half-assed manner. Sasuke was the one who seemed skeptical. Understandable. When I looked to the young Haruno, she seemed a little dejected that her beloved was the only one who didn't approve.
"Well, I'll have to explain the terms to you. But we're in the middle of the street and I'm starving. Follow us." I ordered, stepping forward and trudging to my destination. The boys followed without question.
"Hai, Kuroki-chan!" Sakura almost yelled as a soldier would. She extravagantly bowed in front of me and began to follow. I grinned a little. I may actually like her a little more.
Well. The dango shop was the closest place to eat, so we chose to eat here. Sakura actually seemed happy about it, Naruto and Kiba weren't minding, but Sasuke dreaded the place.
"I...I don't want to eat here..." Sasuke stated softly, stepping back and looking a little ashamed for not wanting to. The blonde was about to insult his rival, but the other rival slapped a hand over his lips, reminding the daft Uzumaki that they were there to cheer him up, not piss him off. This worked pretty well, and I was surprised that the Inuzuka actually had common sense and logic. Sakura looked disappointed, but refused to say anything. It was likely she knew nothing of his clan's predicament.
I sighed, pushing the little Uchiha's shoulder, throwing him off balance and about ready to fall. Before he could though, I grabbed the hand that was closest to me and pulled him back up, causing him to bump into me. The others looked confused, and I waved a dismissive hand in there face. "I didn't want to bend down and grab his hand."
"You're...joking, right?" Naruto asked as if I said I was going to marry the Hokage. I shivered. That's a horrible example.
Kiba sighed. "You're lazier than Shikamaru sometimes. It's scary."
"Tch. Whatever. You guys head on in while I take this brat to get some Omusubi." I began to pull the Uchiha with me to the place they sold his favourite food. I could hear Sakura's small whine of protest, but I chose to ignore it. Before I was too far to hear them, I could hear Naruto's enthusiasm of being with his crush and Kiba complaining about being a third-wheel, then the village's residents drowned out their voices.
I looked around, trying to look past all the adult's tall forms. They're starting to piss me off now. "Where the hell is that damn shop?" I asked, more to myself in frustration than to Sasuke. I actually kind of forgot I was pulling him along, even though our hands were intertwined.
"Kuroki-chan. It's over there." Sasuke responded in a soft voice, the crowd almost cancelling my receiving of his words. I glanced at him, and he was pointing to our mid-right. My eyes followed to where he was pointing, and I saw a shop that had the picture of Sasuke's favourite food on it. I cheered, pushing my way through the annoying crowd to quickly get to the place I had been searching for ten minutes,.
"God, I love you, Sasuke!" I grinned back at him, rather happy that he found that godforsaken place. I realized what I just blabbered out, and saw that Sasuke's eyes widened, that dark blush that took his face was something I had gotten used to. He frowned and looked down, still blushing, but he was pouting.
"Don't make my heart beat so fast, Kuroki...it hurts to know you only love me as a brother..." He was basically mumbling, but since we had just entered the rice ball shop, I could hear him a lot better. I frowned a little bit in regret.
"Sorry, Sasuke." I apologised genuinely, using my other hand to lightly mess up his hair. He frowned just a little bit more and looked up at me. "But you know...I could fall for you."
The little Uchiha's eyes widened. "W-what?"
I turned and let my other hand drop to my side, the other still holding firmly onto Sasuke's. I lead him to the counter, it was tall, but the server was tall and could see us easily. My cheeks were heating up a little, and I refused to look back at him. That last part wasn't for his ears. "Kuroki-chan...What did you say?" Sasuke asked behind me, tightening his grip on my hand and causing me to stop and look back at him with a half-annoyed, half-embarrassed expression. He had to dramatically gasp, didn't he?
"I said I could fall for you, alright." I repeated, using my fingers as bristles for a comb and running it through my hair. I was embarrassed enough that it slipped out and now even more than I repeated it for him to actually hear. Even if there weren't many people in the shop, they were curious that two children came in, and now the women giggled softly, stating how cute we were together. Great.
Sasuke stepped a little closer, my eyes shifting back to him. He was so close to my face right now, and I blinked a few times to make sure my eyes didn't just zoom into his face. "Seriously?" He asked.
"Gah! Yes. I could." I replied, now frustrated with myself. "It won't be easy though, I'm not the type to easily swoon over you just because you're cute."
"Ah, yeah bu-" The raven-haired boy started, but was soon cut off by a much deeper, manlier voice.
"Sorry to interrupt kids, but is there something you'd like?"
I turned and looked up; the one who had spoken was the man behind the counter, an amused smirk gracing his youthful features. I could tell he was already amused by his tone. I frowned. "We'd like a six-pack of omusubi with okaka and tomatoes." I requested in a kind of professional way. The man chuckled lightly as he scribbled down my order on his notepad and moved to get it.
"I'll be right back, love birds." He winked at us as he disappeared from our view. I heard more of the guests in the shop giggle softly again.
I lightly glared back at Sasuke, who was red all over, looking down with such embarrassment. I must look exactly like him though. "Your fault." I turned back.
"Not my fault." Sasuke retorted, but I didn't look back at him. "You're the one who said you could fall in love with me."
"Could." I replied.
"Should."
I was about to retort but the man behind the counter was back. He grinned down at us, reaching over the counter to pass the pack of omusubi to me. I released Sasuke's hand to grab the pack. "How much?" I asked.
The man chuckled. "For you two, I'll be kind today and give it to you for free." He smirked at us. "I always enjoy seeing youthful love."
I had slapped the pack of omusubi against the Uchiha's chest, his hands quickly wrapping around it as I let go to prevent it from dropping. We were almost back at the dango shop, but I had avoided holding his hand. I was pissed off that I was embarrassed.
"I love you."
I stopped dead in my tracks. Blinking a few times, I slowly turned to face the Uchiha. He was looking at me with a serious expression, only a light tinge of pink tainting his pale cheeks. I was taken aback by the random confession.
"I know that." I replied, about to turn and continue walking.
"I'm going to make you mine." He announced with an even voice. I was shocked really. We weren't being pushed by passing citizens, as it wasn't as crowded anymore and we were given a bit of space.
"What...?" I asked, befuddled greatly. What was up with him?
"I'll make you love me. I'll become stronger. For you, for Itachi-nii..." He stepped closer. "For myself as well. You...You may think I just have a childish crush on you, but I don't." The look of fire in the Uchiha's onyx eyes was surprising, but an unknown feeling gathered inside me. I waited for him to continue, because there was bound to be more to his small speech.
"If it weren't for you...I would've ended up hating Itachi-nii...I would've strived to kill him for the revenge of my clan...It...It doesn't seem right. I can imagine it; I can imagine myself growing up with the resolve to kill my only brother..." I am currently so proud of Sasuke right now. He figured it out, he knew. I felt so relieved that he realized what I was trying to achieve, although I did question his large vocabulary. He was only eight and knew some pretty big words.
He used the hand that wasn't holding onto his omusubi to cup my cheek. He looked up at me. There was admiration, kindness, relief...love in his young eyes. He was on the verge of tears, and the liquid brimming his water line shone under the sun's warm rays. "I can't thank you enough...for being there, for caring about me, for letting me feel for you." His first tear overwhelmed the gathering liquid in his eye and raced down his cheek. I blinked, bringing a hand up and using my thumb to wipe that single tear away. His eyes slightly twitched under my touch, but he didn't move away.
Perhaps there were people watching us. Or maybe they were ignoring us. Right now, though, I really couldn't give a shit. "Sasuke..." I started softly, gently putting my hand over the one on my cheek. Gently removing it from my face, I entangled my fingers with his. "I've told you time, and time again that I will always be there for you. No matter what." I smirk-grinned at him, and in a matter of seconds, the tears ran down from his eyes in a waterfall. He pulled his hand from mine to rub his face free from the tears. I let him, and waited for him to finish. When he was, he smiled brightly. My heart clenched at the sight. It was so genuine, so innocent.
"Thank you."
We had walked in silence the rest of the way back to the dango shop. It wasn't awkward or tense; it was a comfortable silence, as words were not needed. We walked through the entrance of the shop Sakura and the others were at, and almost immediately spotted the three sitting at a booth all the way in the back of the shop. Sakura's hair is going to cause a lot of shit if she goes on assassination missions. People will be like 'I saw a flash of pink! It was so bright, like a jigglypuff coming out of nowhere!' I openly snickered at the thought, holding my stomach and forcing myself to keep walking towards them, albeit a little weirdly. I felt a few glances, but currently couldn't bother with their opinions. Imagine Pokemon and Naruto mixing into one. Oh, god. There would be chaos.
"You guys are back!" Naruto's voice exclaimed loudly, knocking me out of my snicker fit and sobering. I sighed deeply as a further step to calm myself. Naruto was enthusiastically waving over at us, Kiba beside him and Sakura on the other side of the table. She turned and her eyes brightened at the sight of her crush. I could practically feel the discomfort of the Uchiha leak from his small form. Really, I wouldn't want much to do with her, but she can be tolerable. I would like her a lot better if she just stopped being a drone and followed everyone's examples and made herself fawn over the uninterested brat we call Sasuke.
"Hey." I greeted nonchalantly, waving my hand towards Sakura, an indication of her to scoot the fuck over. She obeyed silently, moving over and letting me sit, Sasuke soon following me and sitting to my left.
"You guys already ordered." I stated absent-mindedly, looking at the sweets on the table. Kiba and Naruto had plates of coloured dango, whilst Sakura had a bowl of Anmitsu. Sasuke placed his pack of Omusubi on the table and opened it, taking one and biting into it. I leisurely leaned over and snagged some dango from Kiba's plate. The normal colour of dangos would be pink, green and white, but the one I was holding was blue, purple and green. Different. I like it.
"Scab." Kiba called lazily, not minding all that much.
"Scabs beg for whatever they want, I, on the other hand, just take it." I retorted calmly, dipping the tip of the dango in the syrup they gave as a bonus. "Therefore, not a scab." I shifted my eyes and stared at the Inuzuka as I ate a single dango ball whole. It was chewy, though the inside was creamy, like a paste. The syrup made it sweeter, which I liked. A lot. Sweets were amazing. I wasn't sure how Sasuke couldn't like sweet things.
"So, should I do that often?" Naruto asked with curiosity, he always liked to follow some of my examples. I was the 'cool and awesome' rival apparently. Kiba was the 'dirty dog' rival and Sasuke was 'duck bastard'. I snorted lightly. Duck bastard.
"No. Unless you want to get beat, no. I can do it because I have the skills to be able to handle the menial occurring if the people I take what I want from don't like it and want to 'punish' me." I explained, smirk-grinning slightly. I moved to dip my dango in the syrup again, just as Sakura began to meekly speak.
"U-Um...Kuroki-chan?" Sakura stuttered, I glanced to her. "About your...terms?"
"Ah." I leaned back a little bit, biting the rest of my dango and chewing on the stick out of boredom.
"First rule; No fangirling over Sasuke or any of the brats in our group." Sakura's eyes widened a fraction, and then she looked offended.
"I am not a fangirl!" She protested.
"You are." The four of us deadpanned in sync, though each of our tones was different. Mine was indifferent, Kiba's was annoyed, Naruto was sulking but at least he admitted the truth, Sasuke was uncomfortable with a fangirl so close. The pinkette gasped dramatically.
"You broke off your friendship with your best friend, Ino, for a boy who had no interest in you, and probably never will, sad to say." I pointed out.
"You have hearts in your eyes and I think you drool whenever you look at Sasuke-kamo."
"They're right, Sakura-chan...You're a fangirl."
One would think we were bullying her, but we were just giving her the evidence that she was, in fact, a fangirl. The girl moaned in disapproval, looking at her lap but no longer denying her habits. "I really am..."
"Exactly. None of that. It'll piss some of us off and make some other uncomfortable. Maybe both." Sakura looked up at me, a sort of assertive look on her face.
"Alright. The others?" I grinned a little.
"Uh...okay. So, no fangirling, no fawning, no trying to get closer to Sasuke-kun, rekindle my friendship with Ino, worry less about love and more about school and friends, no bringing female friends over to the group for fear of fangirl attacks..." Pinky repeated the rules to us, surprisingly remembering all of them. I had actually forgotten half of them, partially because I made them up and partially because the brats were giving their own rules out. I really had no idea how many there were, but she was smart, she'd know to listen to them if she really was scared of me. I wasn't going to beat her up if she didn't listen, but it helps when you have a bit of influence, good or bad.
My train of thought was broken when I heard the loud snores of a certain blonde. His mess of blonde spikes was against the table, Naruto's face turned away from my view. Kiba was lying back, probably thinking about Akamaru. He was sick and couldn't come out apparently.
"Dobe's asleep?" Sasuke asked, leaning over and poking the blonde with a dango stick. Naruto didn't even flinch when the sharp tip poked into his head. Was he that hard-headed?
"Seems that way." I replied, pulling on one of his hairs with a bored expression.
"You're basically saying; 'Stop being yourself', Kuroki-chan..." Sakura voiced, first starting out confident, but quickly losing it when I shifted my gaze to her.
"Is that really you? Or someone who just wants to fit in and follows everyone else?" I asked, yawning. How long had we been here?
Sakura seemed surprised by the questions, and stared at the table with furrowed brows. She was thinking, then. "I...I don't know."
"Haruno-san..." Sasuke addressed the pinkette, who instantly had her head snapped in his direction. I backed away in the slightest. Doesn't that fucking hurt?
"Y-Yes, Sasuke-kun...?"
"I...would like you better if you were to be your own person, instead of some mindless fangirl..."
For the umpteenth time, Pinky gasped softly. "I-I..." She looked to her lap. I glanced at Sasuke, who glanced back with a little confusion, then all of a sudden the girl's head, again, snapped up. This chick has some good bones. "I'll do my best to be my own person! If you'll have me, I'll try not to disappoint you all!" She bowed from her spot at us, in which I looked at her in mild surprise.
"Heh. I might actually start to like you, Pink Stuff." Kiba commented, a toothy grin decorating his marked face as he sat up. Said Pinky blushed at what I assumed to be a compliment.
I smiled. "Alright, welcome to the gang."
Well. It only took a goddamn week for me to finally get this chapter out! How did I do? Was it realistic enough for you guys? Sasuke should still be grieving and all, but Naruto and Kiba seem to know how to get people out of their depressive shells and be a little more expressive. As for the Sakura part, well, I dislike how vain and self-centered she was in the beginning, not to mention a little bit too useless. I've decided that I'll gradually build her character to a more likeable version, as I have done with our beloved Duck Bastard. Would it surprise you guys if I told you I kind of dislike Sasuke with a passion? Like, I don't hate him, but it's close. I really only decided on a pairing with him and Kuroki because he wasn't like he is now when he was a kid. Makes things more realistic, and easier. Anyways. Thanks for reading, and be sure to leave a review. Give me the power! This isn't even the beginning yet. It's five in the morning, hoorah. School is for sleep, not learning. Mwahaha.