note.
It's chapter 20 already!
As always, please R&R (flames are welcome too) - it means a lot to me =] they are my fuel for writing.
track 20.
Dinner is a simple, homely affair. A single bowl of rice, miso soup, sunomono, grilled fish and nikujaga.
None of the dishes were hard to make, but to Sakura who is used to instant food and microwave heat-ups, it was the heartiest meal she had eaten in a while. Noticing that she was eating well, Mikoto had then extended her offer for Sakura to come over for dinner whenever she wanted, to the embarrassment of both Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura - as she noticed that she must've been inhaling her food. And Sasuke - as Itachi shot him a pointed look before nodding towards Sakura's direction. He was only safe from further awkwardness as Sakura didn't seem to have seen it.
"Sasuke-chan told me that you guys are in the bunkasai committee together. You're not working too hard are you? It's already so late." By now she should really be used to it, she really should. But Sakura couldn't help the familiar giddy feeling that bubbled in her chest start up again each time she heard Sasuke's mother call him with the suffix.
"No, surprisingly, it's actually not. I'm actually quite excited and working with Sasuke-kun and Naruto is such a relief, Sasuke-kun is really reliable and even though Naruto is a bit of a trouble maker -" Fugaku coughed to hold back his own opinion of the boy. "He does have some good ideas. You should come over to the cafe if you have time."
"Isn't a cafe a bit too simple for the cultural festival?" Mikoto asked. "I remember we used to have butler and maid cafes or animal themes and stuff. Is that too 'out-there' now? Am I getting old? Is that no longer how it works?" She looked to her husband, worry evident on her face.
"Kaa-san. It's a cosplay cafe. Basically the same thing as what you and tou-san had."
Sasuke rolled his eyes when he felt Sakura try to kick him under the table. Dodging it successfully. She had wanted to surprise them on the day!
"Have you decided what theme you're going for?" Itachi asked, picking up a piece of cabbage from the nikujaga.
"Not yet." Sakura answered. A mischievous smile settling in as she told Mikoto her predicament. "We all have our own little romance right? I told Sasuke that I would've loved it to be uniforms - any type really -" She pointedly glanced at Itachi, still in his uniform. "But when I asked him what he would like, he never told me."
"Oh?" Itachi joined in. Not letting go of an easy chance to tease his brother. "I had always thought you were fond of cheongs -"
"Aniki. Have some meat." Sasuke placed a bit of the sparingly used beef onto his brother's plate, well aware that he wasn't fond of the ingredient.
"Really? Cheongsams?" Sakura pretended to be focused on de-boning the piece of fish on her plate. "I had always thought Sasuke-kun to be more of a kimono type of guy."
"Sakura. That's -"
"Oh no, it cheongsams. He was really into Street Fighter when we were younger." Itachi pointed out. "Though I suppose, any type traditional dress would still be favourable."
By now, Fugaku's sole intent was to finish his meal before choking because he had to hold back on yet another chuckle as he saw the look on his younger son's face. On the other hand, Mikoto was very much in her element, adoring Sakura's amicable ability to capture her whole family's attention.
"Sasuke-chan, don't you think Sakura-chan would look stunning in a red cheongsam? It would go so well with her complexion."
While his first reaction would have been to answer 'No, Kaa-san. Your dear Sakura-chan's hair is pink'; what came out as he pictured her in a crimson cheongsam, the slits separated at the thigh, figure-hugging silken material brushing the floor ever so slightly was instead:
"Hn."
Sakura giggled as she saw how red his ears burned. Eyes squinting in laughter. "Thank-you, Sasuke-kun. I'll be sure to leave a slot open in the class votes for traditional dress then."