Ayuda's P.O.V
The next morning, a nurse notified me that I was as fit as a fiddle to be discharged from the hospital and that they gave me the permission to leave the building on the spot. They detected no more injury on any of my body parts. While I was changing my clothes, I realized that the severe cut on my right waist was gone without a trace like that wound never occurred to me before.
And the next day after my release, the majority of the Leaf villagers (including me and my entire family) wore black attires and departed from our houses, heading for the one funeral that became everyone's destinations - the Third Hokage's funeral. To be precise, it's not only his funeral but also the Leaf shinobis' who died fighting for their lives and for our beloved village during the invasion.
The gloomy, dark sky showered us with relentless rain that went on for the entire day as if it was also shedding tears for their unanticipated deaths, but we paid no heed to it since the funeral was more important for us to attend than protecting ourselves from the rainfall.
It was at this moment I found out that Konohamaru was the Third Hokage's grandson. The said boy was sniveling throughout the whole ceremony, and the thing that managed to pull at my heartstrings was the sight of Iruka-sensei hugging him in the way a mother embraces her child.
After the heart-rending ceremony, nearly all of us dawdled from the scene, while the others stayed there such as Konohamaru. My family and I went our separate ways - my parents betook themselves to our home, my sister to meet her fellow friends, and I... I just needed some time to myself. I was perturbed and stressed over one matter, and my house wasn't a good choice to relax at. In fact, I know one place that will give me a much-needed equanimity.
I ended up at the abandoned park... where I first met Sasuke Uchiha who soon became my rival in the academy, where I cried pitifully after receiving the appalling news that I was put in an arranged marriage without my permission, where no annoying people could find me and interrupt me and my serenity. This is, by far, my favorite place.
I ambled into the park when a single thought came to my mind, causing me to halt in the middle of the somber park. Is it possible for me to end up with Sasuke in the future...? That sounds completely ridiculous. It's so utterly absurd and ludicrous, especially when I have an inescapable arranged marriage with Neji Hyuuga. And it's absolutely wrong for me to think like that, but I can't help it...
There's no denying that I am indeed enamored of my rival named Sasuke Uchiha.
And what about Sasuke? Does he... feel the same way too?
As soon as I began ruminating on that question, his words and actions from that night sprang into my mind in that instant, suffusing my entire face with embarrassing reddish hue despite the cold environment around me.
***
"I want you to decipher everything that I say about you into the opposite meaning."
The onyx-eyed boy leaned closer to my face with valiant movement. His eyes held such intense fondness and dauntlessly stared back into mine. I involuntarily smiled back to him, still with the heat bathing my pale cheeks with color. He proceeded, "I hate you so much."
***
Does he really mean that? I don't want to put too much hopes in it only to cry in the end. I know that he is pretty shy when it comes to something embarrassing such as love, but I hope he says it as blunt as possible. But it doesn't matter now. Even if he fancies me in all sincerity, I would still have to marry Neji in the future.
The sky was still perpetually overcast and I was indubitably soaked wet due to the never-ending drizzle. I felt a bit chilly due to the obvious wet climate but I simply disregarded it and I held myself to prevent shivering in the cold air, and I succeeded in restraining it. Suddenly, I felt no more raindrops pouring over my petite form, but I could still see the rainfall pelting down all over me and heard the noises of precipitation hitting the ground.
Filled with curiosity, I looked up to the sky but was startled by the view of something dark with darker, thin lines spreading from the center and to several edges of the seemingly circular thing. Wait... isn't this an umbrella?
I shot my gaze to my right side, finally noticing a dark, tall figure standing next to me. My face flushed crimson as soon as the face of the boy whom I had a crush on entered my clear eyesight. I spoke up in confusion, "Sasuke...?"
"What are you doing here? You'll get a cold if you keep standing here like a statue," his composed voice was loud enough for me to hear above the din that surrounded us. His left hand was holding the umbrella in a steady grip above us, shielding ourselves from the endless drops of liquids. His hair was dripping wet that I could clearly see drops of liquids falling off of his locks. I bet mine is soaked like that, too.
I responded as I averted my gaze, "I just... need some time alone."
The Uchiha noiselessly stared at me, probably pondering the next thing he was going to say. He soon spun his body slightly, "Follow me."
I stared back into his jet-black eyes in confusion, "Where?"
His illegible look did not provide an answer for me while he replied, "You'll see."
The two of us sauntered out of the park and the ravenette began leading the way to wherever he wanted us to go to. I tried to stay as close as possible to him without making any skin contact because it became apparent to me that he wanted the umbrella to fully protect me from the rainfall, and I was certainly touched by that. He looked like he really cared about me. He did not mind having the umbrella shielding only a small part of his form because right now... he was busy paying his undivided attention to me and made sure that not even a single raindrop could touch me.
Sasuke dropped the umbrella from above me when we entered an apartment building. Our journey did not end there since the boy continued walking upstairs and I just wordlessly followed suit, but I began to have an inkling of where we were heading for.
We halted in front of a door and I watched my rival taking out a key, slipped it into the keyhole and twisted it around. The simple-and-easy action was greeted by a clicking sound which meant that the door was unlocked. I inquired, "Is this your apartment?"
"Yes."
The door creaked open as the ravenette stepped in the room first. I was still standing outside, hesitating and wondering if it was safe for me to enter his apartment. A boy's apartment, to be precise. I knew that my parents would be mad at me when they found out that I went into a boy's apartment or house because they deemed it downright inappropriate, especially for young teens like me. There was one time when I boldly asked them why, but they only said that such action was completely indecent, and me being an innocent little teen, just nodded along with it. They made a rule for me and that was - do not enter a boy's house all alone unless I am accompanied by more than one trusted comrade.
I couldn't blame Sasuke if he didn't know about this so-called rule since his family died when he's at such a young age and that they didn't have the time to tell him about this. Or maybe my parents are the only ones who made up this silly rule. The other teens probably don't know about this. But putting that aside, I believed that the Uchiha boy would mean me no harm. And my parents won't be upset if they don't know about this.
And of course, I didn't want to pass this up. This might be the once in a lifetime opportunity. Plus, Sasuke led me all the way from the abandoned park to his apartment. He will be upset if I just turn this down and go home.
After taking a much-needed breath, I walked in with poised strides. Sasuke walked past me and gently closed the door behind me as I took in my surroundings.
Every object in the living room was neatly arranged. He had nearly everything in this apartment, but I couldn't help but see it rather empty. It's like it was rare for him to be here and use his property. Maybe all he does here is eat and sleep, and then he would go out to train. Although it's not much, it still looked quite presentable. This room told me that he liked living in a clean and silent environment, and the furniture in this one big room also showed me that he's somewhere between poor and wealthy, though I already knew that.
"Make yourself at home," said the onyx-eyed boy as he placed the umbrella leaning against the wall next to the door. I walked further into the room with pusillanimous steps, wondering if it's discourteous or not to wander around freely in someone else's dwelling. The young owner of this apartment must've noticed my unusual behavior since he stared at me longer than necessary while walking past me, but he didn't say a word about it.
I couldn't sit on a couch, for I was still drenched due to the unceasing rain and I did not want to wet someone else's couch and cause some trouble. After I stood on a corner of the room, I watched him walk to the small room I assumed as the kitchen. Once he exited the kitchen, I queried curiously, "Why are you taking me here?"
His eyes turned to me, his movements slowing down as he responded, "I can't just leave you in the park and under such cold weather. You should be thanking me."
I rolled my eyes, "Thank you, Sasuke. So that means... you will bring Naruto and Sakura here too if you see them standing there?"
"No," he answered in an instant, "Those two are nuisances. You're the only one I am willing to bring here."
Faint blushes leaked into my cheeks, "Why?"
He sent me a look, "Because you are the only annoying person whose company I can really tolerate. I told you that, didn't I?"
I felt more heat blooming across my face as I recalled that time when he expressed that to me. Sasuke began heading for a closed door saying, "I'm going to change my clothes. And how about you? Your current outfit is soaking wet I bet you'd get a cold if you keep wearing that. I'll give you a set of my clothing after this and you can put that drenched attire into a bag."
I knew it's a bad choice for me to accept such offer. If I return home while wearing Sasuke's clothes - a boy's clothes - my parents will notice in no time, thinking about me breaking the rule and visualize dishonorable situations that Sasuke and I never did, and they will lecture me over and over again. They will definitely forbid me to speak with Sasuke, too.
Well, guess what? I know a way for me to escape that kind of problem.
"That's a great idea," I shot a small smile at him.
He nodded his head, "I'll be back in a minute."
And he returned exactly in one minute, no longer wearing the dark attire he wore to the Hokage's funeral, and now donning relaxed and casual clothes. White towel draped over his head and he massaged it gently against his hair, drying his drenched raven locks. He then sent me a knowing glance, "I've prepared some clothing and a small bag for you on the bed... and also towels for you to dry yourself. Try not to be so picky, okay? And do not complain. You can change it in my bedroom."
Perturbation began to fill my very being. I was still very nervous about this whole situation. I'd been into a boy's house. In fact, two boys' abodes - Kaito's and Kazuki's, and I wasn't disquieted as much as this time in Sasuke's apartment. My parents knew that I went into my teammates' humble abodes, but they simply disregarded it after I said that my entire squad, including Shiori-sensei, was there with me too, and that's a truth.
Why do I feel so uneasy now when I'm with Sasuke? Maybe it's my endearment for Sasuke was what caused me jittery, and also the fact that it's just the two of us here in his apartment and I was about to change my clothes in someone else's bedroom.
I dragged myself to his bedroom and closed the door, locking the door as gently as possible to avoid making the loud clicking sound, but failed nonetheless. I turned around and began surveying the Uchiha's bedroom. It's just like his living room. Empty and dreary. His bed was assuredly bigger than the single bed type but still smaller than the queen-sized bed. The blanket and everything was tidily folded, and on it were the set of clothing and a plastic bag the boy had prepared for me before he exited the room.
I hastily and vigilantly dried myself and changed clothes. There was a short white towel placed next to the Uchiha's clothing and I bet that he prepared it for me to dry my hair, so I picked it up and tossed it over my head. I used two hands to press the cloth against my soaked hair and stroked it with gentle pressure, attempting to towel my hair dry.
After putting my dark, soaked garments into the bag, I stood in front of a mirror that was hanging on a wall. I took my precious time scrutinizing my whole figure.
The first thing that came to my mind was Sasuke's big black shirt made me look fat. The short sleeves reached my elbows and the bottom edge of this shirt reached down to half of my thighs. Is he really this big? Or maybe this shirt is the big one. Or maybe it's me - a tiny girl who is plainly smaller and shorter than him. I was also wearing his gray track bottom that reached my ankles. Of course, it's a little big for me, but I found it rather comfortable.
I exited his bedroom with the plastic bag of my saturated attire in my hand and immediately looked for the owner of the apartment. Once I found him sitting on the couch where I sat previously, we exchanged some meaningless glances before he scanned my form up and down, starting from my hair, my face, my chest, my belly and down to my feet. I suddenly felt so insecure in my seemingly unkempt appearance.
Sasuke quickly diverted his gaze elsewhere. His enigmatic visage lingered on his face as he rose to his feet and went in the direction of the kitchen. I was completely unaware to the tint of roseate that blossomed on his cheeks. I set the polybag down on the couch when I heard Sasuke's voice from the kitchen, "What do you want to eat?"
"Huh?" confusion struck me and I reluctantly made my way to him. All of the kitchen utensils were in good order. He was taking out an apron from a shelf while I asked, "What I want to eat...?"
"I supposed you must be hungry right now. Every shop and restaurant must be closed right now since everyone was busy attending the Hokage's funeral. So I figured that we'll have lunch right now," he turned to me, handing out a simple, grayish blue apron to me, "Here, wear this apron. We will be cooking together if you don't mind."
Cooking with Sasuke Uchiha, huh? I don't want to pass up such a rare event.
It took me fifteen seconds to finish tying the laces and neatly wearing the apron. I soon stared at the onyx-eyed boy who had been observing me since I started putting on the apron. I blinked my eyes at him, "Are you not going to wear an apron?"
A look of disgust danced across his face as he peered down on the apron around my petite figure, "No. I don't have to wear such things and I'd still have my shirt clean after cooking. Now let's get started. I've prepared some onions for you to cut."
I was stunned on the spot. Me...? Cutting onions...? Sorry to say, but I've never cut onions in my life before.
Sasuke was quick to perceive the horrified look that graced my features, seemingly able to read the hidden message and his eyes widened in disbelief, "Don't tell me you don't know how to cook."
I retorted, "I-I do know how to cook, but... I'd never cut onions before..."
He gawked at me wordlessly before he turned his head around, his hair facing me and he talked under his breath, "What a spoiled blockhead."
I vociferated, "I heard that, you duckbutt!"
He spun his body around to face me and extended his hand out, gesturing for me to come closer, "Come here, let me show you how."
I watched him explaining and cutting it elegantly without a question. After he demonstrated how to cut one big onion, he handed the knife to me and waited for me to make a move. And I did, eventuating in the boy to yell at me.
"No, don't hold it like that!"
"Why are you holding the onion in such a careless way?!"
"You're cutting it too slow I bet a snail could cut it way faster than you."
"Don't cut it too fast, you moron!"
"I swear someone is going to lose a finger today."
"Why are you crying?!"
I slapped his shoulder with half of my strength, "I'm cutting onions! Of course, I'd be crying, you dunce!"
"Ugh," Sasuke groaned. Suddenly, he walked around and stood behind me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his somewhat firm chest, leading to my cheeks taking on a bright, pink hue. He released my waist, and both of his hands advanced to hold mine in a firm yet tender grip. His head was on the right side of my head. His warm breath on my neck made me shiver and his husky voice sounded louder in my right ear, "Let me show you again. Watch closely."
With his solid chest constantly pressing against my back, with his hands holding mine, with his voice penetrating my ear and his breath hitting my delicate skin, it's undeniably hard to focus on everything he said and his actions. His reposeful warmth enveloped me and my core. The stinging tears on my eyes were long forgotten. I knew by the prickling heat that was spreading over my face I was turning crimson.
His touches gave rise to goose pimples and they were sticking out like a sore thumb around my arms.
The boy behind me stopped, "Wait, why are there goosebumps all over your arms?"
My face turned redder than before, "Ju-just shut up."
"Hn," the noise he emitted was quite short, but I knew just from that sound that there was a growing smirk that stretched his lips. Oh great. He knows now.