Almost a week had passed since (Y/n) ran off Kakashi's apartment, but even with the perspective of time, she still blushed whenever she remembered the incident. 'How can he read that and have such a normal face?!' 'I can't believe he reads that all the time...' she continued to think despite finally accepting it. Even so, it still puzzled her and make her flustered in equal parts.
Once again, she was thinking about Kakashi while she walked home. Even though she had concluded Kakashi's likes as 'normal', she still became a tomato whenever she thought about meeting him again. What should she do when that happened? What should she say? Taking into account how she left the last time they saw each other without letting him say anything... even if back then he wasn't able to muster a single word either... She sighed as she rummaged through her pockets for the keys to her dreary apartment.
"Finally," a voice made her stop just when she grasped her keys. She looked up from her pocket to the owner of the voice only to find her father.
"Dad?" she asked, surprised "What are you doing here?" she sounded less scared than usual, but she didn't realize it then.
"Can I come in?" he said, taking (Y/n) even more aback which was shown through her expression.
"No," was her answer "What do you want?" she said, this time being consciously bold; although deep down she still felt slightly scared. Her father sighed but didn't complain.
"Your sister and I are having a dinner with the Tachis tonight," he said, making a dramatic pause that didn't help ease her confusion. He looked at the floor and sighed "I want you to come as well" he added. And once again, (Y/n)'s mistrust and amazement were uncaringly portrayed on her face.
"Why?" she immediately asked, brows frowning and arching at the same time while keeping her distance from her father "And why would I go?" she asked assertively and crossing her arms. Meanwhile, she continued to be more and more taken aback by her unusual way of responding.
"Because it's a dinner between both families," he said, subtly ignoring the first question.
"Since when have you cared about me? Or since when I'm part of the family, to begin with?" (Y/n) asked, still incredulous. His father's frown started to take his usual scrunched shape, not caring to disguise it anymore.
"Since now that you're coming. It wasn't a question, I was informing you" he said, deciding he was done trying it the nice way. (Y/n) frowned as well, now even leerier for the reason behind the dinner.
After all, both Alyss and he used to just do their thing without her. Why not do so now? She would have preferred not to go, but it had been so long since she last had dinner with her family that unfortunately, she didn't remember just how bad it could be.
"Tell me why you want me to go and I'll accept"
"I told you, it wasn't a question," his father said, walking past her. But with a grunt, he spoke one last time before finally disappearing "It was the Tachi boy who requested for you to be there. Don't be late," he added, telling her the place and time as well.
But (Y/n) stayed outside her home for a while. She remembered Tachi Sho from when they were kids. It had been so long since she last saw him... She didn't have particularly good memories of him. She remembered the little kid with big and wide green eyes and rosy skin. His messy and short black hair and how he used to push back his small fringe every time he mocked her. (Y/n)'s face automatically grimaced upon remembering the many times he would ally with her sister just to provoke her. (Y/n) hated her sister, that much was obvious, but she despised Sho. He was the literal definition of nuisance and menace to society. When they were kids, he would cause all and every kind of trouble you could imagine, but somehow, she was the one who got blamed for it. And of course, that ended up being just another reason for him to make fun of her. What was worse, irritating her seemed to just be his favorite thing to do in the world. And because his father and her father were friends, well, the times they were together more often than not.
She couldn't know why Sho wanted her to be there, but she was certain it couldn't be for anything good. She sighed, already feeling a disaster looming in the distance. Finally, she got inside her place and started to get ready for a dinner she felt less and less excited to go as time passed. But time is unforgiving, and without having even a chance to sit and rest, (Y/n) found herself sitting at a table with four other people.
To her right, she had her dear sister, and to her left, her father. It kind of felt as if she wasn't sitting between them but rather trapped by them. And tension around her was the chains that bound her to her spot. Then, in front of her, she had the elder Tachi, the father of the family, and lastly, the son: Sho.
He had aged properly, but he had the same childish and malicious features. And if he truly was the one to request her presence, he made absolutely no sign of it. In fact, he didn't even talk to her when they all met outside the restaurant. 'Luckily,' (Y/n) thought. Instead, all he did, was show her that thin sly smirk of his.
"I heard you've become a very outstanding jonin," the elder Tachi praised Alyss, but (Y/n) couldn't help but repress a small smile. Something that became more difficult when she felt how Alyss tried to mask her annoyance.
After all, she would have preferred to be an Anbu, but there she was. (Y/n) continued to pay no attention to the conversation that seemed to be starting to be set around praising her sister. Instead, she found her nails and the skin surrounding them more interesting.
"Isn't that remarkable on a woman, Sho?" his father asked him. The boy shrugged.
"Aren't there many jonins out there?" he asked, irking Alyss further. (Y/N)'s smirk became more difficult to hide.
"But not so young like her!" his father quickly retorted, bothered by his son's answer. But he sighed when he realized Sho didn't quite care about Alyss "And what is that you do, (Y/n)?" Suddenly, all eyes were set on her. And unused as she was to the attention, she would have definitely preferred for the conversation to continue being surrounded around someone else.
"Uh," she began, unsure as to how to describe her job as one of Kurva's girls "I've been working around," she just said, sounding uninterested.
"By around she means a bar and a flower shop," Alyss muffled a tiny laugh as she drank from her beer. Sho repressed a chuckle as well while both fathers sighed.
"I-is that it?" the Tachi elder asked, not wanting to sound disrespectful even though disappointment was clearly seen on his face. (Y/n) bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.
"Don't worry," her sister talked again "she's already used to disappointment" again, Sho failed to repress a grin. (Y/n)'s father cleared her throat.
"And what is that Sho does?" he was the one to ask. Just then, the menus were brought by a young waitress.
"I'm the second in charge of our business in the construction industry," Sho said with a proud air. (Y/n) blinked twice, uninterested.
"But he will be taking the lead in two years when he is 20," his father added, proud as well.
"Construction industry means we mostly build bridges, paths, and especially zones affected by wars," Sho added while looking at (Y/n).
"I know what construction means," she answered, looking at him with disdain. Her annoyance made his smile turn into a smirk.
"You've never been too smart," he shrugged his shoulders.
"She still isn't," Alyss added "After all she has been fired from two jobs in record time," (Y/n) was about to retort and say she was not fired. But she was stopped when almost everyone at the table chuckled.
"Son," the Tachi elder called Sho lowly with a worried look, but he seemed to ignore his father "Why is that everything you've done?" he turned (Y/n).
She felt like telling the truth, saying it was because her father had abandoned her. But then she remembered what he once told her. Could she really put all the blame on him? Was he the owner of her life for sure, then?
"She can't even answer such an easy question," Alyss chuckled when (Y/n) remained silent and thoughtful for a little while.
"I think I can hear the wind blowing through her ears," Sho added making it as if he was listening closely. He and Alyss chuckled openly while both fathers did so more subtly although less quietly.
"Is she really a (L/n)?" Sho's father asked her father, not caring so much about being respectful anymore. They had even started to talk as if she wasn't even here.
When her father sighed a familiar yet almost forgotten sensation started to spread through her body. Slowly overwhelming heat started to take over her chest, head, and ears.
"Somehow," was her father's simple answer. And even though she knew she meant nothing to her 'family'. It still always hurt to hear it "She's like broken inferior machinery," he added. And once again the table laughed. (Y/n) bit her lip, her eyes heavy.
"What is it you want to eat?" Alyss asked her when they stopped laughing and joking. But by then, any small hunger she could have had completely disappeared. She didn't crave anything and felt that she would throw up if something entered her stomach. Perhaps the fact that she didn't want to stay there any longer didn't help at all.
"I don't care," was (Y/n)'s low answer.
"C'mon, there must be something you like," Sho said, no trace of a smile anymore. (Y/n) looked up at him with a frown, but she became less defensive when she realized his characteristic smirk had disappeared.
"Let her be," her sister's voice managed to put the frown on her face again "We can ask for the kids' menu," she added, deliberately failing to repress her smirk.
Everyone at the table laughed again, and when (Y/n) looked back at Sho she saw him looking away with a hidden smile too. She looked around the restaurant and realized everyone else was looking at the laughing table as well. And just like that, that well-known sensation started to grow more and more intensely. Now it wasn't just her ears and eyes to tingle, but her whole skin. She felt her throat closing and her guts twisting, definitely not feeling hungry at all. She bit the inside of her lower lip with a frown, and with a bitter thought, she remembered why she had been so adamant about leaving her family as soon as she could. How could she have forgotten how they made her feel? How could she forget all the times that she was publicly ashamed?
"I'm fine with some fries," she managed to say bitterly "I'm not that hungry," she added standing up "I'll go to the restroom," she excused herself before leaving.
And as soon as she entered the small and stuffy room she wasn't able to hold it anymore. After so much time of not being made fun of, she had lost the strength to stand her family's toxicity. And it was obvious when a couple of tears slipped. It only angered her more, especially upon seeing her reflection in the mirror. She knew Alyss and Sho were looking for this, so it irked her to know that she had given them what they wanted. 'It's just a dinner, then I'll leave and continue with my life' she said, trying to calm down and find her strength back. She breathed in deeply and exhaled. And after washing her face with cold water she came back as good as new.
It didn't last long. As soon as she reached her seat she saw the meals had already been brought. However, there was no trace of fries on the table. What she did find was a burger on her plate. A plain burger. It had no salad, no tomato, absolutely nothing. Just the burger, cheese, and bread.
An ache on the throat let (Y/n) know she had once again tears threatenung to slip. But she stood strong and bit her lip again, drawing some blood from it from so much biting in one day. That was also something she used to easily endure but that she had quickly become unused to. She stared at the burger again, and a slight wave of nausea overcame her.
She had said she wanted something as simple as fries, but not even that they cared or listened. (Y/n) visibly grimaced but sat down anyway. She opened the burger to see if perhaps it had something else that she didn't see at first. It didn't.
"I wanted fries..." she couldn't help but complain almost in a muster. The burger didn't even come with fries.
"See, I told you she'd whine about something," Alyss rolled her eyes, eating her steak. Her father sighed.
"You said you didn't care," he answered, eating from his dish as well "God, when will you stop being such a crybaby..." he muttered to himself, but being seated next to him, (Y/n) managed to catch it. She could feel less and less control over her forthcoming tears. Was this why they wanted her to come? So that they could make fun of her? Was that all they were going to do?
Not caring anymore, and with a frown, visibly bothered and angered despite her wet eyes, she got up and left almost in a second.
"Wait," Sho sounded surprised and remorseful. But she didn't care, especially of Sho "Dad!" he called his father with anger, almost reprimanding him. But (Y/n) couldn't nor didn't care to listen anymore as she had already left the place.
"Fine, I'll go," Alyss quickly said with a sigh, following her behind.
"C'mon, (Y/n), don't be like that," she said loudly, jogging in the distance to get to her sister "C'mon, we're sorry!" she complained once she reached (Y/n). She extended her hand and stopped her younger sister by her wrist.
(Y/n) quickly and messily dried any spilled tears and turned around with a death stare. Her cheeks were still a little wet, and the fact that a few more tears slipped didn't help. But even with tears and reddened cheeks, the anger was predominant on her face. Her lips scrunched as well when a chuckle escaped her sister's lips upon seeing her bothered state.
"Let go," (Y/n) said seriously, trying to pull her hand away from her sister's grasp. But Alyss grabbed her with more strength.
"See? There you go, being a crybaby again. You can't even accept an apology" she complained, tugging stronger from her sister to bring her back. (Y/n)'s face grimaced from the sharp hold her sister kept on her "Can't you even see we're doing this for you?"
"Let go!" (Y/n) said louder, trying to get rid of her sister's grip with her other hand.
She finally managed to escape, but Alyss, who was surprised and bothered that she worked it out of her grasp, took a step closer to get her with even more brute force. When (Y/n) saw her sister's hand being raised she turned around, protecting herself for she knew she could do nothing against a jonin.
But Alyss' hand never reached her.
(This is supposed to be Sho Tachi as a kid. I made it with picrew https://picrew.me/share?cd=ktQPv4aGMt )