Chapter Seven; A True Shinobi
Another quick note for this chapter as well; ninety-nine percent of this chapter along with a hundred percent for the next chapter wasn't in the roleplay and is completely original for this fanfic just because I wanted to have more of a storyline in showing the development of Sasuke's and Keiko's relationship.
Sasuke heaved a deep and heavy sad sigh as he exited her bedroom and then quietly shut the door behind him while leaning his head up against it. "Are you alright Sasuke?" Sakura asked him.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He replied. "I guess I better get to bed then." He told her.
"Really?" Sakura questioned him before glancing up at the clock on the wall. "But it isn't even ten-thirty yet." She said.
"We have Naruto with us remember? I need all the rest I can get." He told her before he turned around and walked down the hallway. However that night Sasuke didn't get much sleep at all as he spent most of the night tossing and turning inside his bed. The next morning he slunk out of bed rubbing his eyes while his hair stood up on all ends.
"What happened to you?" Sakura asked him. "It looks like you got into a fight with a mountain lion." She told him.
"I'm fine." He lied while he slowly walked into the kitchen when suddenly Keiko burst out of her bedroom excitedly and hurried down the hall before spinning around in her nightgown gleefully.
"Good morning Sakura Chan," she began cheerfully with a wide grin before turning to look over at Sasuke. "good morning Sasuke-Kun." She finished.
"Hey kid." Sasuke replied while he started making his coffee. Keiko giggled.
"You look funny." She told him.
"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night." He admitted.
"Why not? Did you have a nightmare or something?" she asked him.
"No." he replied. "More like a guilty conscience." He added secretly inside his mind.
"Wait a minute," Keiko began. "this wouldn't happen to have anything to do with our discussion last night would it?" she inquired.
"Hmm?" Sakura questioned. "What exactly did you guys talk about last night?" she wondered. That's when suddenly Sasuke narrowed his eyebrows and glared at the little girl.
"Keiko,.." he growled warningly.
"Oops!" Keiko exclaimed with a blush while quickly covering her mouth. "Sorry, I forgot that I wasn't supposed to tell you. It's private business." She told her sister.
"Yeah, speaking of private business there's something else that I wanted to discuss with you this morning." Sasuke began while he walked over to her and picked her up hoisting her up inside his arms. "Come on, let's go." He told her before he carried her outside and sat down on top of the front step with her on top of his lap.
"What is it Sasuke-Kun?" she asked him while turning her head over to look at him.
"It's about this telekinesis power of yours." He replied.
"Tella ka what!?" she questioned him with incredibility and disbelief as Sasuke chuckled.
"Telekinesis." He repeated. "It means that you have the ability to move things with your mind." He explained.
"Oh,.. yeah,.. that. Now I understand what you mean." She replied. "So what about it?" she wondered.
"Well Keiko, first of all I feel like I owe you an apology." He began.
"Really? What do you mean?" she inquired.
"I mean I underestimated you. And it's like Naruto always told me, never underestimate a ninja. You may only be a child, but you are also a very special child with extraordinary abilities." He told her.
"Thank you." She told him with a warm and loving smile.
"You're welcome, but part of being a shinobi is knowing how to pick your battles. I once made the mistake of thinking that violence solves everything, and I really don't want you to make the same mistake I did." He told her.
"I know Sasuke-Kun, I mostly just use my power to scare people and make them feel threatened." She said.
"Well that's good, but you will remember what I told you right?" he questioned as she nodded at him.
"Yes Sasuke-Kun I will." She assured him. "Right now I have to go eat my breakfast and pack though." She told him before she leapt off his lap and then turned around and ran back inside the cabin. Sasuke watched her go while meanwhile Naruto yawned and stretched and started walking out of the cave of rocks that she had made for him the previous night. Then he unzipped his pants and started urinating on the wall.
"Do you really have to do that in front of me?" Sasuke inquired while being able to see his friend out of the corner of his eye.
"You don't have to watch you know!" Naruto snapped at him as Sasuke laughed and then slowly got back up onto his feet and afterwards turned around and started walking back inside the cabin with a slight shake of his head.
"What a loser." He muttered underneath his breath.
…
"So, got everything packed up?" Sakura asked Sasuke while she carried Keiko out of the cabin.
"I think so." He replied.
"Keiko, do you have to go to the bathroom before we leave?" Sakura wondered but Keiko just simply shook her head.
"Nope!" she exclaimed.
"Good, could you make the cabin disappear or something then?" Sakura wondered as Keiko nodded as she turned over to look at it and made her eyes turn white. The cabin was starting to fold together like a table before it collapsed and magically disappeared altogether in a shimmery white magical dust.
"Right, I better get Naruto and get in the car so we can get on the road now that I'm ready to go, dressed, and looking decent." Sasuke said while fishing inside his pocket and digging out his car keys.
"Alright, but I do wish that you would give the magic carpet a try." Sakura began. "Who knows? You might even like it." She told him with a kind, warm, and loving smile.
"That would involve two things." Sasuke began while raising his keys up above his head and counting them on his fingers. "One, me being in the air,.. and two,.. letting Naruto drive my car. And I'm telling you right now that neither one of those things is going to happen." He told her with a shake of his head.
"Whatever! Can we just go already!?" Naruto complained with a stomp of his foot.
"As soon as we get back home to the hidden leaf village, I'm kicking Kakashi's ah_" he began as Sakura glared at him.
"Sasuke!" she scolded.
"Butt." He finished while quickly glancing over at Keiko.
"What?" she inquired. "Why is everybody staring at me?" she wondered.
"Never mind, we don't have anymore time to waste." Sasuke said before he grabbed ahold of Naruto's arm. "Come on!" he exclaimed reluctantly with a groan while he dragged him away.
…
"So where exactly are we going now?" Naruto asked while Sasuke continued driving down the dirt path. That's when suddenly Sasuke slammed on the brakes and heaved a light sigh while hanging his head.
"Sakura knows this great place to stop to eat in the sound village, and then there's a hotel nearby." He replied.
"Really? That's great!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah,.. fantastic." Sasuke responded while running his hands down the steering wheel.
"Gee Sasuke, what's wrong? You seem kind of upset." Naruto told him.
"Weren't you listening? I just told you that it's in the sound village." He repeated. "The land where Lord Orochimaru is from." He said.
"Oh, I get it now." Naruto began. "Sasuke, you have to stop beating yourself up for that. It's already in the past and there's nothing else you can do about it to change it. Why can't you just forgive yourself for it? The rest of us already have." He told him.
"Because,.." he began while resting his head on top of the steering wheel and glancing down towards the floor. "I hurt the two most people who matter to me more than anything else in the world." He said.
"Oh I see, and what about Keiko?" Naruto wondered as Sasuke slowly raised his head and looked back over at him.
"What about her?" he questioned him back.
"How are you going to feel when she finds out that you've only become friends with her out of greed?" he asked him.
"Nothing." Sasuke began. "Because she isn't going to find out." He told him.
"Oh Sasuke stop trying to kid yourself! I know that somewhere inside of you no matter how deep it is you have a heart and feelings just like the rest of us. And what you're currently feeling is guilt, why else do you think you had such a problem trying to sleep last night?" Sasuke questioned him.
"Actually, it just so happens that you're right. I do feel guilty, but now about Keiko, about Sakura." He told him.
"I see, so then you have no feelings for Keiko whatsoever then right?" Naruto questioned him.
"Right." He replied.
"Alright so if that's the case why did you tuck her into bed last night?" Naruto wondered.
"Because she asked me to you idiot!" he snapped.
"Alright, I'll buy that." Naruto began. "But I'm not buying the fact that you didn't have the opportunity to say no." he told him as Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Just shut up and stay out of this!" he snapped before he stepped back on the gas pedal and accelerated again.
"Fine, but just so you know she's going to find out the truth sooner or later whether you decide to tell her or not. She may only be ten years old but she isn't stupid. And if I were you I would tell her before she finds out on her own, otherwise, consider yourself flattened into a two hundred pound pancake." Naruto told him.