𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗔 || sasusaku

Chapter 25: Sword

Christmas Holidays had passed by in a blur. A day after the 25th of December, Sasuke stood outside on the balcony overlooking the wide City of Tokyo. In his hand was the sword his father gifted him on his tenth birthday when he successfully shot the bull's-eye and won the first place in a gun shooting competition.

But despite giving him the sword, his father did not look pleased at all. Instead, with a simple 'that's my boy', his father turned his back on him and walked away.

Sasuke found himself gripping the hilt of the sword, his knuckles turning white.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura's voice pulled him out of his reverie and Sasuke loosened his hold on the sword. He noticed Sakura walking towards him and stopped just right beside him.

"What are you doing? It's midnight already, shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked, but he noticed Sakura simply chuckled.

"I'm used to sleeping late especially when there's an emergency in the Hospital."

Sasuke nodded. Of course she does, she is a Doctor after all.

Sakura looked at the sword he was holding. A katana with onyx black hilt and same black sheath. Simple yet elegant and Sakura knew it was not the same sword she saw that he used to carry quite a few times before.

When Sasuke noticed her eyes staring on his sword, he lifted it up slightly and pushed the hilt up to reveal its blade that shone from the lights in the living room.

"This was a gift from my father," Sasuke said, his eyes boring into the blade. "The only gift he ever gave me."

While his older brother was practically showered with a lot of things and most of them Itachi had refused to take or he would secretly give to Sasuke, Sasuke on the other hand had only received this only thing from his father.

"It must have been sad," Sakura said. "But to get only one thing from your father means that only thing must be treasured forever."

And Sasuke does treasured the sword forever. So much that he swore to kill Itachi using this very sword.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, taking Sakura's attention as she looked at him. "There are a certain customs that Yakuza leaders must follow. One of those is giving your child a sword once they have met their parents' expectations."

Sakura listened intently but she has no idea why he was suddenly talking about this kind of thing.

"My brother got his sword when he was four years old," he said, now looking at the katana that reflected his face. "I got mine when I was ten and even so, my father had never looked any more proud."

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, lifting her hand to touch his shoulder but stopped halfway. She slowly put her hand down and averted her eyes in front.

"I can't really say anything because I was an only child but, I think parents always give equal love to their children. And every parents feel proud at some point, maybe your father did not show it or you did not see it yourself."

Sasuke thought, that day his father has his back turned on him. Sasuke couldn't see his face very well when he said those words. For years he believed those were just empty words he had to say because his mother urged him to do so. But after hearing what Sakura said, somehow Sasuke felt a flicker of hope that maybe, maybe his father was actually smiling that day. Sasuke just couldn't see it because he was turning away from him.