┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓
The Nara
Curse
┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛
━━━✦❘༻ Asuka ༺❘✦━━━
Tentō Madoka was the most important person in Asuka's life.
She loved her little brother to death and would do anything to make him happy. He was the reason why Asuka had decided to go into politics and let her father train her to become the new Feudal Lord so his little brother could focus on his dream. Asuka knew from a very young age that her little brother was more interested in becoming a shinobi than earning the title of the new Feudal Lord.
That's why Asuka had decided to take the responsibility of becoming the new Feudal Lord so Tentō could pressure his own dreams.
Everything turned out the way they wanted to - Tentō was now a shinobi who worked for Konoha while Asuka was about to become the new Feudal Lord. Even though they couldn't see each other as often as they used to, the two of them always managed to stay in contact with each other.
»So ... is there anything you want to know?« Asuka asked with a worried look on her face.
Tentō, who was sitting right next to his older sister, let out a small sigh. »I can't believe you've been dating Shikadai for months now and didn't even bother to tell me.«
»I'm sorry but we both decided to keep the relationship a secret till we're ready to tell everybody.«
»Yeah but still. I'm your brother. You should have told me that you finally started dating the guy you've been in love with since .... forever.«
Asuka frowned and tilted her head. »Excuse me? What do you mean by that? I was not always in love with him.«
»Are you serious right now? It was so obvious that the two of you loved each other. Even father saw it and he only met Shikadai a handful of times.«
Asuka was about to deny having feelings for Shikadai when they were younger, but she stopped herself when she remembered that she couldn't really figure out the exact moment she started to have feelings for Shikadai. He had always been an important person in her life but she knew that their friendship was different from the one's she had with Inojin or ChōChō.
Could it be ... maybe I've been in love with Shikadai this whole time but I just didn't realize it.
»I-I mean ... love is kinda a big word .... maybe try not to mention that to Shikadai the next time you see him.«
»Huh? Why shouldn't he-« Tentō stopped in the middle of the sentence when he suddenly realized what his older sister was trying to tell him. »Oh my god. You haven't told him that you're in love with him?!«
»It is a big thing to tell someone that! And why the hell am I trying to explain myself to you? I can do whatever I want! It's my love life!«
»Honestly, I'm seriously surprised that Shikadai waited this long. That guy has been in love with you since he saw you for the first time.«
Does everyone in this village think that Shikadai and I are in love with each other?!
The young girl ran her fingers over her curly hair and let out a small sigh. »You don't know if Shikadai is actually in love with me. Liking someone and being in love with someone are two different things.«
Tentō frowned and tilted his head. »Why are you so in denial? It's so obvious that he's in love with you.«
»I'm not in denial!« She defended herself as she looked down at her freshly manicured nails.. »I-I just don't want to get my hopes up. What if he realizes that being with me is way too troublesome?«
»I think he already knows how troublesome you can be but he still decided to be with you. Trust me, Shikadai wouldn't date a girl if he wasn't in love with her.«
It broke Asuka's heart to lie to her little brother. She knew that Tentō had built up a good friendship with Shikadai over the years which kinda was ironic because he didn't really like Shikadai when they first met. It took Tentō six months after his first meeting with Shikadai to finally confess to Asuka that he had been jealous of the Nara boy because he didn't like how close Asuka and Shikadai were.
However, that changed pretty quickly when the two started to find more things they had in common - most of them were related to either Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls or video games.
»Don't call me troublesome. You sound just like him.« Asuka complained as she picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it in Tentō's direction.
Of course Tentō caught the pillow before it could hit his face. »What? You don't have a problem when Shikadai-niisan is using it.«
Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance. »It's because he and the rest of the Nara clan practically own that word. I would be worried if he suddenly stopped using that word.«
»That's true.« Tentō chuckled before his expression turned a little bit more serious. »So ... are you going to tell father about Shikadai-niisan?«
The elder sibling let out a small sigh. »He already knows. Actually, he's on his way to Konoha right now to talk about my relationship with Shikadai.«
»You told him before me?!« He gasped in shock and Asuka shook her head.
»Of course I didn't tell him! Ebizo told him after I yelled at him for convincing our father to get an arranged marriage for me.«
»Wait! Hold on a second! You're getting married?! To Shikadai?!«
»No! I'm not getting married!« She clarified, making Tentō sigh in relief. »Why would I marry Shikadai if we just started dating?«
»Well, technically you two have been dating since you were fifteen but you just didn't realize it.« Tentō pointed out as he earned a furious glare from his sister.
Asuka decided to just ignore her little brother's comment when she told him about the whole arranged marriage story and how Ebizo tried to set her up with his nephew which was why Shikadai and her had been arguing in the hallway before Tentō had interrupted them.
Of course she left the part where the whole relationship was just fake.
He really didn't need to know that.
»Do you think father is going to make you break up with Shikadai-niisan?« Tentō asked with a worried look on his face.
Asuka rested her head on her hand before she let out a small sigh. »I honestly don't know. He probably thinks that Shikadai isn't the right guy for me because he doesn't have the same social status than I do.«
»But ... you're not breaking up, right? I mean it took you two so long to finally get together. Are you really going to give up on him just because things are getting complicated?«
The young woman was surprised by Tentō's question. Asuka always had a feeling that her little brother actually wanted her to date Shikadai but she never really knew how serious he was about the topic. But then again, he had been trying to set her up with Shikadai a couple of times during the last couple of years.
It wouldn't be that bad if Shikadai and I really start dating ... He is a nice guy, he always makes me laugh and he respects me and my work ...
Her train of thoughts got interrupted when one of the maids entered the living room. However, the servant wasn't alone - right next to her stood no other than Shikadai. Asuka's heart stopped beating for a second when she saw Shikadai standing in her huge living room, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand which was clearly a sign that he was nervous. After all those years of knowing him, Asuka could read Shikadai pretty well.
At least most of the time.
»S-Shikadai? W-Wha... What are you doing here?« Asuka asked surprised, her cheeks flushing from embarrassment before she stood up from her couch.
»I know you told me to leave you and Tentō alone so you two could talk... but I can't do that.« Shikadai said. »I'm your bodyguard while you're here in Konoha. It's my duty to protect you.«
Asuka pushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. »But I'm inside my house... there are guards everywhere, so you don't really have to be here.«
»Oh my god! Does he have to spell it out for you?! He came here because he wanted to see you!« Tentō groaned loudly, already annoyed by how dense his older sister actually was.
The young woman looked over her shoulder and gave Tentō a warning look. »Shut up! Don't talk about things you don't understand! Shikadai wouldn't do such a thing.«
»He's actually right. I came here to see you.« Shikadai admitted, his cheeks flushed slightly before he reached out and held Asuka's hand in his. »We're in this together, remember? You shouldn't be alone when you tell your family about us.«
Oh my god! He actually came to see me?! Maybe he's just saying that to make our relationship more believable.
»Too late for that. It wasn't like I didn't already know about you two. You're not really good at hiding your feelings.« Tentō commented, earning a furious look from his sister.
»I'll seriously hurt you if you don't stop talking.« She warned him before she turned her attention back to Shikadai. »Sorry about him. He thinks just because he's living in this mansion all by himself, he can do and say whatever he wants.«
»I'm already used to Tentō's behavior. It's nothing new.« He chuckled, giving Asuka's hand a light squeeze. »There's one thing I have to do and I'm sorry that it took me this long.«
Asuka looked at him confused when Shikadai suddenly turned his head to Tentō. He was now standing in front of the younger Madoka with a confident look on his face while he kept a firm grip on Asuka's hand as if he was afraid that she would disappear when he would loosen his grip on her for a second. The red haired woman didn't really know what Shikadai was trying to do but decided to just stand still and let him talk.
»I like Asuka. I always have and I'm pretty sure you already know that but I still wanted to tell you in person since you are her brother and she cares about you. I'm not asking you for permission to date Asuka but I would appreciate it if you accept me as her boyfriend.«
Did he just seriously just ask Tentō if he's okay with me dating Shikadai?
The younger Madoka raised an eyebrow in surprise, not expecting Shikadai to say something like that. »Honestly, as long as you don't hurt my sister I'm fine with you dating her. Just keep the PDA between you two. I don't want to see you pushing your tongue down her throat.«
»Tentō!« Asuka yelled as she grabbed one of the pillows from the couch and threw it at his face. »You're unbelievable! I'm seriously doubting myself if it was a good idea to let you stay in Konoha all by yourself.«
»Oh please, me moving to Konoha was the best thing that ever happened to you. It gave you the perfect excuse to visit Konoha to see your boyfriend.«
I'll kill him. How can he say something like that in front of Shikadai?!
»Oh? So all those times you visited to see Tento was actually a lie? You just wanted to see me.« Shikadai gave his girlfriend a teasing smirk, already knowing she would get mad at him.
»That's a lie! I didn't come to just see you! Tentō is just exaggeratiating.«
»But I was one of the reasons for your visits and that's already enough for me to never let you forget.«
Asuka rolled her eyes in annoyance as she playfully pushed her shoulder against his. »Stop pushing your already big ego. You're not that great.«
»As much as I would love to stay and watch you guys disgustingly flirt with each other, I'm actually going to meet up with my team at Thunder Burger.« Tentō announced. »Congrats on finally telling my sister how you feel, Shikadai-niisan. It took you way too long.«
»Yeah, yeah whatever. Stop being so troublesome and go already.« Shikadai said before Tentō left the room, leaving the two young adults all by themself.
For a moment, no one really knew what to say or do. Asuka still felt embarrassed about her sudden outburst in the Hokage Tower. She had tried to think of a reason why she had said those things to Shikadai but nothing that came in her mind had been a good explanation for her behavior. Maybe her little brother was right and Asuka really had feelings for Shikadai and she was just too blind to realize them on her own.
I don't know what to do. How can I know for sure if I'm in love with Shikadai?
»You didn't have to do that... Tentō already believed that we're a couple.« Asuka broke the silence between them.
»I know but I thought it would be a good idea if I show him that I care about our relationship. He is your brother after all and if we start dating for real, I would want him to be okay with me being your boyfriend.« Shikadai explained as he put his hands in his jacket pockets.
Asuka raised her eyebrows in surprise. »If we start dating for real?«
Her heart skipped a beat. Did the guy she potentially love just admitted that he wanted to be in a real relationship with her?
Shikadai flushed before he corrected himself. »I-I mean if we hypothetically would start dating for real... I would ask him first if he's alright with me dating you. I know how much you care about his opinion. You wouldn't just date any guy if Tentō doesn't like him.«
»So... hypothetically if Tentō would be alright with us dating... would you ask me to be your girlfriend?« Asuka asked with a little hope in her voice.
Maybe if she knew how Shikadai felt for her, it would be easier for her to figure out if she actually was in love with him.
»Hypothetically... i-if I had feelings for you... and Tentō would be alright with us dating... a-and I would know you actually feel the same... t-the-then yes... I would ask you to be my girlfriend.«
Was that a confession? Did he admit he likes me? Damn it! Why am I so bad at this?!
Before Asuka could react, Shikadai continued talking. »But that's all just hypothetical. I don't have feelings for you and you don't have any feelings for me. We're just two friends who are helping each other out. When you become Feudal Lord, we can finally break up and return to our normal everyday life.«
She didn't know why but after hearing Shikadai literally reject her, Asuka felt like her heart just broke into a million pieces. Now she finally knew that Shikadai didn't feel anything for her and that the kiss they shared between the two of them had just been a heat in the moment. For the first time ever, a guy had actually managed to break her heart and the most ridiculous part was that this was actually Shikadai.
I should have known... There's no way he would feel the same. I was so stupid to think that he may like me back...
»Asuka? Are you alright?« She suddenly heard Shikadai ask.
The red haired girl tried to push the sadness away and forced herself to smile. She didn't want Shikadai to find out that he hurt her feelings. »I'm fine... I've never felt been better.«
It was a lie.
But Asuka would never admit it out loud.