Disclaimer: Naruto not mine. Sniff.
A/N: Hello again minna-san! It's now time for our next chapter but first let me make a few announcements (Which I know you're not going to like): I'm going to be in a two-month hiatus starting this April because I have to go to a cram school. Even my beta-reader is going to do the same thing so I guess we'll be able to post the next chapters late. But school is also important…hoo-boy. Anyway, here's the chapter! Please enjoy!
Another reminder! My beta-reader got sick while doing this so there are some parts of the story that still needed proofreading. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience.
Chapter 20: Egad! The baby talked!
Here's a slight recap from our previous chapter!
…………
Alone, Sasuke slumped back against the sofa. "Man, what was that all about? What in the hell was she thinking, planning to stop those guys?" He removed his glasses then massaged the bridge of his nose with his hand. Now he was getting suspicious of Sakura's behavior.
Is she connected to Chouji and his group of thugs?
3:00 AM
Living Room…
"Guwaahh!" Sasuke immediately sat up from his bunk. It was dark and only the quiet hum of the refrigerator from the kitchen broke the tranquility of the night. Well, if you also add his scream, then it's also counted. With his forehead dripping with sweat, he wiped it with the sleeve of his sweater. His eyes were wide and filled with terror as the memories of his dream haunted him.
…………
He was standing in front of several people.
And to top it all off…
His disguise was completely blown off!
And in front of him was none other than the pink-haired girl with the blasted Hyuuga holding her by the neck. Sakura's green eyes were filled tears as if she was trying, no, begging for him to help her. Naruto and Tenten stood on either side of him, clutching both of his arms as if they're trying to stop him from whatever move he'll make.
Oh, and add Itachi standing at the far corner of his dream burning all of his precious geek collection into ashes.
…………
The raven-haired Uchiha took a deep breath. "That was definitely a nightmare," he concluded. "Or maybe a premonition?" he couldn't help but add.
Suddenly, memories began to flit across his mind. The events with Sakura earlier began to bug him. She was acting strange, and she said that she would stop Chouji and his thugs from beating him up. For him, her outburst was definitely out of the line. It was simply ridiculous. How would a girl manage to beat the crap out of a burly captain of the football team with only those thin arms and squeaky voice?
Sasuke sighed. "Nah…absolutely not. But, looks can be deceiving. She may be nice on the outside but on the inside…" he gritted his teeth. His entire cover will be blown!
Yawning, he decided to ponder that thought the following morning. His first day on the job as the Sanitation Maintenance Officer is about to begin.
Wednesday
8:00 AM
"Neh, Suke-san. Our baby doesn't even have a name. Wouldn't it best if we thought of the name together?"
Sasuke shrugged as he flipped the pancake. He wasn't interested in taking care of babies, let alone think of a name. But…since this was a project and he was "officially" the father of the 'baby'…there was nothing else he could do. And his wife is expecting his answer. "If that's what you want Sakura-san, we'll come up with a name. However, I'm not sure of what names that I should give to the baby."
"That's all right." Picking up the baby, she nuzzled its tiny nose with hers. She then went to Sasuke's side right away to savor the pancake's aroma with her nostrils. "Mommy and Daddy are going to give you a name my liddle widdle baby." The simulator gave a loud giggling noise. Sakura giggled then turned to her husband who was inching away from her.
"Suke-san?"
He was trying his darndest not to freak out. He was still uneasy because of the stupid dream he had last night. "What?" he asked quietly.
Sakura stared at the baby in her arms then to him. "Since we're starting on our first jobs, I'm worried about him. Since I'm going to be the CEO, there will be times that I would be facing piles and piles of paperwork. So…"
Turning off the stove, Sasuke transferred the finished pancake to its plate. He then head towards the table and place it beside the other dishes. "So, what about it?" He removed his apron, putting it next to his chair.
She sat down on her chair then watched him do the same. Placing the baby in the high chair, she sighed. "I was wondering if you could look after the baby for awhile."
He almost dropped the bowl of rice he was about to give to Sakura. "W-What? Me? Going to babysit him?" The pink-haired girl accepted the bowl with thanks then proceeded to eat. After taking in some of the food in her mouth, she swallowed then nodded. "Yes. We'll be working under the same department. But don't worry! I'll be able to see the both of you during lunch."
"Yeah, I know. But," he glared down at his food as if he was trying his best to melt it down. "I'm not used to taking care of babies, let alone electronic simulators. They give me the creeps." And I hate their whining voices and loud outbursts, he added as an afterthought. Sakura only gave him a dumbfounded look.
Then she laughed.
'Oh great! Now she's thinking of me as a weak clingy guy who doesn't have the guts to take care of a girl's job,' Sasuke thought wryly. This project was ridiculous from the start and because of their perverted principal; he was facing four more days of hell.
"You really don't have to do much, Suke-san. All you have to do is hold the baby, nothing more. I'll just change the baby's nappies before going to work so that he won't cause you trouble. He doesn't require a change, not until after three hours," she explained.
The Uchiha sighed in relief. "Whew. I thought that I'm going to undergo all those stuff. There's no way I am going to change that baby's diapers."
They ate their breakfast then afterwards prepared for work.
10:00 AM
Mitarashi Anko, the P.E. teacher, clapped her hands together. "Hello again, class! I trust that you all had a wonderful time together with your new families! I will be filling in for your Kurenai-sensei so please be good!"
A loud groan could be heard from the entire class. Even Jiraiya, the principal yawned.
"Well then," Anko reached behind her back and took out a sheaf papers. She then waved it for the entire class to see. "As of this day, you're going to start your assigned careers. Your tasks are listed in these papers and also the instructions for your five-page essay." Loud moans and whines could be heard among the students.
She glared at them lightly. "Aww…stop your yapping! You're all grown-ups so act like one! Now I'm going to call your names so listen and listen good!"
As the students were called one by one, Neji only regarded the whole career thing as a nuisance. He glanced at the other end of the gym to find Sakura pre-occupied with a young man with thick glasses and wearing rather a janitor's uniform. Sandwiched between them was the electronic monster that the teachers were considering as their project. He clenched his fist as he eyed them angrily.
"Neji!"
And he was rewarded with a loud Whap!
On his head.
Rubbing the back of his head, he threw menacing looks at the person responsible for the pain. "Why, you! No one does that to me and lived to tell the tale!" he snarled.
His partner smiled at him coyly. "Why Neji-kun, if you weren't so distracted…I wouldn't have the nerve to hit you! I know you're still sore from your fight with forehead girl, but would you at least set that issue aside for a few days and concentrate on the assignment?"
Rats, he was now annoyed. And the main cause is nonetheless a girl. "Ino, why you…"
Ino retained her smile. "Neji, I'm sure Sakura is also feeling the same way. We've been together since we were kids and I know she's the type that will never let you down." She also stared at the pair then winced. "Not unless she'll do something that you might both regret in the future."
"Like how?" He couldn't help but ask.
She turned her back on him.
"You'll see."
…………
Sakura stared at the list of tasks that she will be doing for today. "Looks like my first job as the CEO is to become the acting president of the student council. And I have to attend their meeting from 10:30 to 11:30! Oh no, I'm not good at meetings and I tend to fall asleep during the session!"
"That's nothing. Compared to mine," muttered Sasuke. Unfazed at the tasks on his paper, he read aloud. "I'll be cleaning the storage area of the school at 12:00 and the hallways at 2:00. Afterwards, sanitize the classrooms next at 4:00 then finally the lavatories at 6:00. Man, they sure know how to work their people hard. It's hard to believe that the janitors follow this schedule subsequently and receiving meager salary. And they don't even stop for breaks."
The girl beside him giggled. "Good luck on your first day, Suke-san."
He fumbled with his glasses. "Right."
4:00 PM
"Oh man…"
Sasuke eyed the gigantic pile of trash with distaste.
Today he finished cleaning all of the assigned rooms and boy, was it hard. And now, he began to head to the storage room which, is located at the back of the school. Standing in front of the mottled plank of wood called door, he yanked the doorknob and pushed his way in.
Before he knew it, he gaped.
The first thing that came into his mind that very moment was to leave the mess just the way it is but…
He knew he just couldn't.
"I'm nothing but a good citizen. Nothing bad will happen to me," he said to himself aloud. Carrying the bucket filled with water on his left hand and cleaning tools on the other, he stepped further.
And suddenly, he was completely surrounded by darkness.
CLICK!
"What the?" He immediately turned around to find the door, the only link to the outside world…completely shut. Dropping his tools, he dashed to the door and tried to pry it open. "Oh, shit…it won't budge!" he cursed.
Why do these things happen to me?
I'm getting bored doing it every single day…
Crap…
Unsuccessful that he couldn't get the door open, he sighed. "Judging from the extent of my temporary confinement, I'm going to be kept here for three hours max. Or…" he scratched his head. "I'll just yell out to someone for help."
Either way…He plopped down next to the bucket. "Worst comes to worst, I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of the evening. Hoo-boy, I hope that she will be able to notice that I'm gone…"
"WAAAHHHH!"
…………
Or maybe, we're gone…"Oh shoot," he muttered as he reached behind him. Sakura had hideously tied the baby behind his back so that he will be able to watch over him. At the same time, promote bonding between father and son, she said. He raised an eyebrow at that statement but the pink-haired girl was too busy gushing on how the baby cooed and giggled as if his father's presence somewhat made him happy.
"KYYAAAAHHHH! You both looked so cute!" she said, at that time too.
Right…Pissed at the situation he was unexpectedly put in, he held the wailing infant at arm's length. He was somewhat afraid that the simulator might eat him or worse, turn into that hideous serial killer in Child's Play. "There, there little fella, don't cry. I'm going to be in very trouble if you keep on crying."
"HUWAAAHHHHHH!"
Sasuke sighed as he began to think of a way to stop it from crying. Now what am I going to do whenever this electronic critter starts to cry itself out?
Slap it on the back?
Nah.
Shake it vigorously till it stops?
Nah.
Kill it?
Nah. And doing that can result in a failing grade too.
"So what the heck am I supposed to do?" he wailed in the empty air. The baby continued crying. Thinking harder, he finally had an idea. "I wonder what that stupid girl does whenever this one is crying…"
…………
(Flashback!)
2:00 AM
"There, there little baby. Mommy's here so don't cry."
Sakura rubbed the baby gently on the back. The baby somewhat 'pooped' while sleeping, and its wailing sound rang throughout the suite. Sasuke grumbled because of the lack of sleep and pulled the blanket close to his body. The bedroom door opened then Sakura came out. He heard her footsteps heading towards the nursery.
Curious, he stood up from his bed then peeked through the crack of the door. Sure enough, Sakura was there. She was holding the baby in her arms and it seemed like she was whispering something in its ear. The dirty diaper was folded neatly and placed aside for disposal in the morning. "Looks like she got everything covered up," he mused. "She has a knack for these sorts of things…"
Since he was so rudely interrupted in his sleep, Sasuke decided to study the situation more. Watching Sakura so closely bonded with the simulator reminded him of his mother. Uchiha Mikoto was a famous broadway actress. She started acting at a very young age. Talented, beautiful, smart, she was the epitome of a perfect woman.
Everyone thought that she was going to continue to aim higher in the Broadway industry. But the biggest shock came when news about her sudden marriage to the heir of the well-known Uchiha Industries. The initial shock was quickly replaced with happiness when the whirlwind marriage was blessed with two sons.
Well, that's what everyone had thought so far.
He sighed as he went back to the sofa. "If Okasan hadn't thought so highly of father, then maybe…things wouldn't have turned out this way."
(End flashback!)
…………
A vein in his temple throbbed. "So I didn't observed her that much after all. I was too caught up with my own stupid thoughts."
The baby continued crying. Sasuke pulled the baby close to him. With trembling fingers, he rubbed the baby's back. It didn't take long and the baby started making those goo-goo sounds that his wife likes. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought that you'd never stop. For a while, I thought that I was a goner."
The baby kept on goo-gooing and Sasuke smirked. He couldn't help it but pat it on the back. Sakura was right. The baby was too cute. Well, it was kind of strange since it's an electronic toy and all. But…
The door was burst open.
"GYYAAAHHH!" Sasuke screamed as splinters of wood rained on him. He shielded the simulator from the attack and he was suddenly engulfed in bright. Then before he could recover from the shock, he felt like a vise was squeezing him tight.
"SASUKE-CHAN!"
He opened his eyes. "What the? Naruto!"
Naruto glomped him like a predator finally stalked its prey. "I caught you! I caught you! I didn't know you liked to play Hide-and-seek!"
Sasuke pried himself from the bear hug. "Let me go, stupid! If everyone finds out about you calling my name, I'm going to send you straight to hell!"
The blond only laughed then released him.
Once everything was finished and Sasuke cleaned the place, they returned back to the dorms. Naruto watched his bespectacled friend intently, from the way his rigid back was set and his eyebrows meet into a single line at the center.
He couldn't help but ask. "Is there something wrong, Suke-chan? You seemed upset."
Sasuke didn't answer. He just focused on retreating to his humble abode while carrying the baby in his arms. The blond lad blocked his way. "What's wrong, Suke-chan?"
Okay, that does it. He glared at his friend. "I'm just tired. You know, doing all these sorts of projects. I mean, I'm a janitor!"
"Uh-huh. The janitor. You're pretty good at it, I think."
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You know you're not helping, Naruto."
The said teen gave him a huge grin. "I understand that you're pissed and all, Sasuke-chan! But that's how life goes! All you have to do is to go with the flow, like a river."
"That's so cliché, dobe. I wonder if there's still some wisdom left in that tiny brain of yours." When they finally reached his room, Sasuke gave him a small smirk. "Here's my stop. Thanks for rescuing me back there."
Naruto slithered in front of him like a snake and for a second there, had him backed up against the door. Sasuke looked at him with inquiry. "What the heck do you think you're doing, Naruto?"
He raised a hand up and twirled a lock of Sasuke's hair. "Well…I was thinking, since our wives are not here and we're all alone, why don't we…" Naruto trailed off as his other hand went to back of his neck. "…Rock the house?"
Instead of being freaked out, a tiny imitation of a smile crossed the raven-haired Uchiha's face. Naruto was about to lean down when he felt a sudden excruciating pain.
"YOOOOOOWWWWWCCCHHHH!"
Unexpectedly, Sasuke mercilessly stomped on his foot.
Hard.
7:00 PM
After dinner…
"You're not going to believe on what happened to me today!"
Sasuke took in a few breaths to calm himself as thick and soapy suds fluttered in the air. Some hit him on the arm while the lucky ones landed on his head. He threw an annoyed glance at the girl next to him. She was so focused in her tattletaling that she forgot to notice that the person next to her was already annoyed because she was a bad dishwasher assistant.
"Sakura-san," he muttered in quiet tones. "If you want to continue your story, I suggest you finish soaping those dishes first. I don't want to dawdle around especially since I'm going to be the one to rinse them later."
Sakura blinked. She playfully bit her lower lip. "Oops! Sorry, Suke-san! I was too caught up in telling you my story that I forgot my dishwashing duty!" She turned back to her work. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. But it was only temporary when she began to open her mouth again.
"But you know what, Suke-san! Today was a blast! I was…"
It was better if he should've covered her mouth with tape. Boy, does she love to talk!
Sasuke had no other choice but to listen.
…………
Several minutes later, the two of them sat on opposite ends of the couch. The baby sat between them and making those weird googly sounds again. Sakura brushed her hair while Sasuke read the newspaper. His eyes narrowed when he read an article about his father attempting to buy another company which belonged to the Hyuuga Corporation.
No wonder that bigshot Neji wanted to kill him. His own father was cruelly depleting the others of their wealth.
"Ne, Suke-san."
His thoughts were immediately thrown aside when he heard her speak. He cast a sideways glance at his wife. "What is it?" he asked while putting the newspaper on top of the coffeetable.
Her green eyes were filled with mirth. She picked the infant simulator up then thrust it at him. "We still don't have a name for our cute widdle baby yet!"
"What? Well…I," he faltered. So that's what she wanted? For him to pick a name to that horrible pipsqueak. He raised his hands in total surrender. "Sorry, but I can't help you with that. I'm not…creative when it comes to those things."
The pink-haired girl stuck her tongue out at him. "Mou! You're so mean!" She raised the baby closer enough to his face. "Come on! It'll be fun!"
In order to not being irked by his wife, Sasuke tapped his chin and pondered hard. After a long period of silence, an idea hit him. "I know! Why don't we describe some of the baby's qualities? That way, we can come up with a name based from those qualities we're going to choose."
Sakura's eyes lit up. "That's great! Let's see…" She stared at the baby's features then began. "Since he's so cute, how about we call him Kawaii?"
Sasuke sweatdropped. "That's not a good name. He's a baby boy, Sakura-san. That name should be given to a girl."
"Hm," she tried to think again. Then she clapped her hands together. "How about Ichinosuke?"
His jaw dropped.
"Gomen, gomen." Sakura's eyebrows met at the center. She was thinking so hard that tiny lines are forming at her smooth forehead. Sasuke leaned back on the sofa and was about to close his eyes when she spoke.
"How about Itachi? That'd be so cute!"
Silence hung in the air.
"Itachi? That's an ugly name," he retorted dryly. He flapped a hand pleadingly towards his wife. "Maybe…you should try another name, Sakura-san. If we're going to call him by that name…it'll bring us bad luck. Weasels are known to bring bad luck you know."
Sakura nodded as if she understood. "Is that so? Okay then…" Sasuke sighed in relief. At least it wouldn't be his brother's name. Calling the baby by his brother's name all the time will eventually make him puke.
"Sasuke!"
"What?" he asked. All of a sudden, his eyes went wide. Did he just say what he wasn't supposed to say? He immediately looked at Sakura. To his horror, she was staring at him with confusion etched on her face. Her mouth was gaped open as if she suddenly discovered something terrible.
"Suke...san...are you...?"
UH-OH!
A/N: Well there you have it! I want to apologize again to my dear readers for my very long hiatus. After cram school my beta-reader and I are going to have our vacation to one of my favorite tourist spots: Singapore! It is the world's cleanest country and riding the airplane from Japan to there is exciting. Unfortunately, it's also my beta-reader's first time to ride a plane so I'm now coming up ways to torture her. Who knows? I might add some of our escapades in the next chapters so stay tuned! Don't forget to tell me what you think of the story! I MEAN it! Arigatou gozaimashita! Ja ne!
Well, here's an excerpt from our next chapter! Hope you enjoy this!
This is terrible.
In less than a few minutes, his cover is about to be revealed.
And Sakura has an idea that he's...
"No! I can't let this stupid project and this girl get the best of me! I have to outwit them!" he said to himself.
But how can he get out of this situation now that this girl in front of him knows the real deal?
NOOOOOOOO!
B/N: Hehehe. So how was that? But we're not yet done! Here's our question for today:
"What is Sasuke going to do?"
a. Kill himself
b. Find a way to escape, even if it's impossible
c. Find a way to shut Sakura up
d. Kiss her senseless so that she will be able to forget the entire thing
A/N: Don't forget to answer this! I mean it! Your answers will decide the course of the story! Or my beta-reader will kill me due to my lack of ideas. Ja ne!