The Boy in the Park
Chapter Sixteen
He remembered preparing breakfast for himself and Naruko —the girl having slept on his sofa the entire night. He remembered the doorbell ringing, and him moving to open it. He remembered all of that clearly.
Then there had been a blur of grey and nothing more.
When he next opened his eyes, he was dangling from a tree straight above a waterfall filled with jagged rocks.
He proceeded to faint again.
When once more he opened his eyes, he stared at the utterly drenched appearance of Naruko —breathing hard and with her entire frame trembling— and Sakura —who was righteously angered at their sensei. Even then, he simply blinked as Naruko's arms tightly hugged him.
The girl looked positively miserable, drenched and crying, but she still proceeded to hold tightly on his neck as if her life depended on it.
He would have hugged her back, if his hands hadn't been tied behind his back.
"Yo!" the silver streaked sensei said with a wave of his hand. "Thanks for cooperating."
"Onii-sama, are you…all right?" Sakura whispered looking at him.
"Oh, right! Aniki! Sakura-chan was great!" Naruko exclaimed, wiping away her tears. "She's like, really good! She made us place wire all around to slow down Kakashi-Baka…"
"It's Kakashi-sensei," the Jounin remarked dryly.
Naruko gave him a withering glare. The Jounin returned to his Icha-Icha.
"And really, you should like, totally talk to her! Yeah!" Naruko nodded firmly. "You can have two sisters instead of one, right? Right?" there was a light pleading tone in the back of her voice, which just made him sigh.
"Onii-sama," Sakura murmured. "Please…I know I was wrong," she looked downcast. "I know I said hurtful things…but I didn't want…I'm sorry."
He exhaled slowly. "Come on Aniki! Forgive her already! She told me and I think it's stupid to keep up being angry at her for something like that!"
He shook his head in disbelief, and finally he acquiesced. "Fine," he gestured for Sakura to move forward. The girl literally leapt in his arms with a squeal.
"Onii-sama!"
He hugged with his left arm the pink-haired girl, as his right instead circled around Naruko's shoulders. He remembered the scene all too well. He had just wanted to help his sister, and she had replied that as a 'civilian' he was better off leaving her alone.
The words exchanged had been hurtful, and he had stopped talking to her after that. Well, that and because she had said she really didn't want him as a brother at all —she had been angry back then, he supposed.
That had been the reason that brought him to read outside, on the bench in the park.
"Really," he sighed. "What am I ever going to do with you two?"
He slowly stood up, shaking the dust out of his clothes. "Well," he looked up at the sky. "Tell me someone warned the Academy I was 'kidnapped'."
The Jounin eye-smiled. "I have something to do! See you tomorrow at eight in front of the Hokage tower, kids."
With that, the man disappeared.
"Ehm…" his stomach grumbled. "Ichiraku?"
"Aniki's the best!" Naruko replied with a 'whoop' of joy. He laughed and began to walk behind the girl, before stopping for an instant and turning his gaze towards Sakura, who was standing there still.
"You're not coming?"
"Ah! Yes!" Sakura hurried behind him. His gaze then went to the silent Uchiha, who looking elsewhere seemed to be brooding.
"You want to come too?" he asked then to the boy.
The Uchiha huffed and then began to walk past them. "No, I've got to train."
He shuddered slightly —mockingly. "I feel the Emo-side strong within that one," he muttered looking at Naruko.
"Duckbutt is a brooding bastard," Naruko nodded back. "I don't understand why people like him, AnikI! You're much cooler when you brood than him!"
"I don't brood," he deadpanned back.
"Uh-Uh, you always brood when paying the bills!" Naruko nodded. "Always!"
"Onii-sama?" Sakura said hesitantly, as they moved through the streets of Konoha towards Ichiraku. "W…Will you come back home?"
"Sakura," he exhaled. "I already have a new home," he shrugged. "I was going to leave anyway after finding a job, so really…"
"Ah, I see," she grimaced. Then she blinked. "Where do you live, Onii-sama?"
"Right next to me 'ttebayo!" Naruko grinned. "Aniki's got the apartment closer to the Academy."
"Bought, not 'got'." He corrected Naruko without much verve.
He entered Ichiraku a moment later. Ayame's eyes locked with his.
"Ah!" she was wearing her usual white apron, but a floral looking pin rather than the usual white cowl held her hair away from her face.
"Naruko-chan, did you pass?" she asked.
"Yeah Ayame-neesan!" Naruko smiled brightly. "Baka-sensei told us we had to save Aniki or he'd die, and we all had to work together because he was dangling over a river with pointy rocks beneath him, and…"
He actually felt sick realizing just in what position he had been before. He was sort-of glad: he had been unconscious through the ordeal, so he wouldn't have any traumatizing memory to recall.
There was a moment of beatific silence after they ordered and began to eat —a moment which didn't last much longer.
"Neh, Aniki? You know Sakura-chan doesn't actually like Sasuke-bastard? She has a crush on—"
"SHANNARO! NARUKO! YOU SWORE!" a punch flew from Sakura's side towards Naruko's cheek, hitting the girl and sending her to fly against the nearby wall.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruko whined. "Why don't you tell Aniki!?"
"Tell me what?" he raised an eyebrow.
"She likes—" Naruko's voice came less by Sakura's attempt to strangle her.
"No one, Onii-sama!" she exclaimed red in the face. "No one at all!" then she whispered to Naruko's ears —loud enough for him to hear anyway. "You speak of this and I will kill you, understand?"
Naruko sweated as she nodded furiously.
"Good!" Sakura smiled then cheerfully, before taking her seat back. "And I'll be visiting your house soon, Onii-sama! Kami only knows what mess you have made without someone cleaning it!"
He blinked. "Wait, the one cleaning my room back at…"
Sakura began innocently to whistle.
He shuddered in fear.
Naruko went back to eating Ramen without a worry in the world.