Genin Exams Oneshots

Summer: Loved and Loathed

 A/N – Hello, this is DeathByShyKid. My prompt was summer and I apologize for the short length. I had a hard time writing this but I'm happy with it. Let me know if the character portrayed is too OOC; I tried to avoid it but if it's bad, sorry about that!

Summer.

A dreaded and beautiful season.

Truly gracious and almost everlasting.

The period of warmth and sunshine.

Full of life and smiles.

It had always been the summertime. Maybe it was the heat at noon that radiated off black-tiled houses and white concrete. Or could it possibly be the warm waters that crashed soothingly against the beachfront? People running down the streets in flip-flops and sunglasses? Of the melted ice cream cones and the laughter of children sounding off in the distance. How about the concerts played throughout the nights or the sports played in the sweltering heart? Possibly for the continuous tanning and sweating throughout the day. Could be the schools releasing children in June and the ongoing summertime showers in July. Probably the long road trips and visits to your family across the country. It was the season of exuberance and life, of fun memories that are not to be forgotten.

And it was everything brought on by the summer heat waves that Sasuke both loved and loathed.

He found his solitude at the beginning of the hot season, chugging a coffee that his assistant got him a few minutes ago. The Uchiha man could feel wide eyes staring at him in disbelief – probably one of the interns, he had mused to himself. If they were to be working in his company, they'd have to get used to all his... weird habits. He pulled the coffee from his lips, turning to gaze back at the paperwork on his mahogany desk. The older man had finished most of it the night before since he thought they'd have more business today but their shareholders rescheduled their monthly meetings. It was bummer because, once he finishes these last reports for an incident that occurred earlier that day, Sasuke wouldn't have anything to tether him to this building. He could leave, now that his duties were finished, but that meant going outside.

And going outside meant dealing with the summertime.

The black-haired businessman sighed, leaning back in his swivel chair. Sasuke reached for his coffee again, tipping it back and downing it quickly. The hot liquid trailed down his esophagus, lighting up his soul and setting fire to his insides. It burned his throat, getting a pleased hum out of him. It was always nice to feel some warmth in his otherwise cold world. The way it made him feel alive again, the burning and churning in his stomach just reminded him of a time long ago. Despite wanting to savor the heat as long as he could, Sasuke had finished it in record time, slamming it down unconsciously. The noise in the quiet office building startled his assistance across the workplace, making her jump. Rolling his eyes, he raised a hand and gave the older woman a frown as some sort of apologetic move. A shy smile came his way from her as she got back to work on certain paperwork Sasuke was sure she had.

He clasped his hands together in his lap, simply just contemplating to himself as he stared at the seven files left on his desk: two reports, a write-up, a client, and three applications for a new position in his building. All could be done within the next hour but he just couldn't bring himself to do this. The older Uchiha sighed out, turning his swivel chair to face the large tinted windows. As the chief executive officer, his office was on the highest level of the skyscraper, giving him the utmost perfect view of the city of Konohagakure.

West, Sasuke could see the sun beginning to set behind several towers. Glimmers of summer rays filtered into his dim and silent office, the tint of his windows being his only security against its bright waves of light. Skyscrapers' stainless steel and metals of all kinds shined in the evening sun as people bathed in its warmth. Cars packed the streets with their sunroofs open, hands peeking through as though teenagers were jamming out to whatever was playing on the radios these days. Envy filled his core, shoulders slumping in shame.

He hated summer only because it was stolen from him.

Sasuke had never liked the term 'vampire' to describe people like him, made him sound either too monstrous or too romanticized. He was written and portrayed in movies, TV shows, and books as either the criminal in the alleyways that drank the blood of millions or the love interest of a bratty teenager in an urban setting. He was never shown as a person in the crowd that just wanted to be alive again, never shown as anything other than fiction. People either loved or hated those who shared burdens like his, despite the population believing them all to be a hoax. They were creatures – that term doesn't sound good either – who'd been created for the sole purpose of entertainment without anyone ever realizing that the 'vampires' they were referencing were actually real.

It created a dilemma for him and a rift between those he'd come to know and care for. Coworkers liked to hang out at brunch to talk about how family life was going or the gossip running around the company. Sasuke liked to go to bars at night where the sun couldn't sear his skin or burn his eyes. Over holidays, his employees got to go home to the smiling faces of their family while he left to visit the graves of those he'd come to love and had to watch die as he continued to live on. On Sundays, people would laze around their house as Sasuke would leave to go to his weekly blood dealer so he wouldn't starve. Others would play in the sun, dance in the waves while he hid behind curtains during the day before stalking the streets at night. The Uchiha's burden hurt his relationships with people and cut down his mental state. It was hard to think that his 'vampire' assets had ever been a blessing despite what those ancient priests had believed.

Especially when the days got longer and the temperature started to rise.

Summer always made his dead heartache, made him feel even more lifeless than he already was. There was something Sasuke truly missed about the sun and the heated feeling on his skin, the goosebumps that'd raise because of it. He remembered the warm sensations on his chest as he attempted to tan but never truly getting darker or the sunburn he'd get on his back and shoulders from playing in the water too long. The coldness of sunblock being smeared over his pale body and the sand between his toes. Sasuke missed driving with the windows down in one of those older cars with a stick shift; he'd lay his arm against it, marveling at its warmth. The black-haired man missed never having to worry if the curtains weren't drawn in his home during the day. He hated that he couldn't go out to lunch with his coworkers, couldn't stand to be so antisocial. He loathed the feeling of summer sicknesses from just thinking about the sun and its beautiful rays, its harmful rays. It was too saddening to think about the times he had when he was alive and not just another undead scum left to live forever in an everchanging world.

After all, it had been centuries since he'd last been in the sun.