[Two days later...]
Ayuda's P.O.V
I would have never thought that Sasuke would immediately put a lot of efforts to prove to me that he indeed had romantic feelings for me. I had a small amount of doubt that he would do that right away once I told him about my worries and hesitation upon hearing his confession. Remember that time when he said he would let me return home on my own but on one condition?
Well, to my surprise, he asked me out on a date!
Err... well... sort of.
Well, you see... the way he asked me was actually a bit confusing and unclear to me. Just like that time when he 'indirectly' confessed to me. It turned out that the stipulation he initiated was that he would allow me to return home on my own, but in return, I have to 'accompany him for an entire day'.
***
"W-what do you mean...?" I asked as red glow began to blossom on my cheeks.
The onyx-eyed boy in front of me shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. His cheeks took on a bright, pink hue as well and he clarified, "Just hang out with me for one day, that's all. Those short words can't be hard enough for you to understand, right?"
"I-I understand what you mean...," I stuttered, "...but why? And what are we going to do throughout that whole day?"
He gave out a short sigh, "Idiot... we'll walk around the village and do whatever we want to do. It's easy."
That's when it hit me, "Ah... is this a d-date?"
He shifted his onyx eyes back to mine. Even though his face displayed an emotionless visage, the bright pink hue on his cheeks still lingered there, and he replied, "...If that's what you want to call it, then so be it."
***
Geez, Sasuke... at least say it a bit blunter than that.
I was now wearing a beautiful white, one piece dress which I deemed very stunning in my eyes. I hoped it looked beautiful too in his eyes. I aimed for a look that screamed simple yet elegant. I wanted to look good for this 'date' and I wanted to impress him as much as I can. It was around 11:40 a.m. and I knew it's time for me to leave the house. He and I agreed to meet at 12 o'clock.
Before I left his apartment that day, Sasuke and I briefly discussed about when our date would start and I suggested the day after tomorrow (two days after that day I first entered his humble abode) because I needed some time to prepare myself for this nerve-wracking 'date' and to find a perfect dress to wear.
Of course, my family was curious why I dressed prettily like this. It's a bad idea to divulge this 'date' to them. If they know about this, they will be very disappointed and outraged because they will think that I am cheating on Neji. Well, if it's Neji I'm hanging out with, I bet they will let me go and feel proud of me.
To escape from the predicament of being lectured on by them, I simply and nonchalantly told them that I was just going to hang out with my group of friends. They seemed skeptical at first, but they let me go nonetheless.
I finally reached the place where Sasuke and I are supposed to meet up - the abandoned park. He was the one who suggested this spot to be our meeting place and I couldn't agree more. Is this his favorite place, too? Just like mine?
I strolled into the silent park while throwing my gaze all over the area, searching for one particular boy with dark hair and a pair of dark eyes. A sense of terrible foreboding began to fill my very being when I didn't spot him or even one human anywhere in this site. I frowned deeply in disappointment and perturbation. I stood still in the middle of the park, feeling absolutely lost. Is he dumping me at the last minute?
After a second round of exploring the area, I finally accepted the harsh fact that no one was indeed here in the park, except me. I breathed out a dispirited sigh as I leaned my back against the trunk of a tree. Why is he... dumping me...? Is he changing his mind and decide to cancel this... this date...? Does he think that spending time with me for one day is a big mistake...?
Think positive, Ayuda! I shook my head from side to side rapidly, attempting to shake negative thoughts off of my mind. Maybe he still hasn't changed his mind yet. He's probably late for whatever reasons he might have encountered right now... and he's taking his time to solve whatever it is... and after that, he will come here... right...?
I'll just wait for him here...
***
[Five minutes later...]
It had been several minutes since then and there was still no sign of Sasuke Uchiha up until now. I was losing my patience in each second. I had my arms folded over my chest by now and my right foot thumped repeatedly against the ground, showing obvious signs that I was certainly upset and irritated.
Where is he?! He's supposed to be here by now! There's no doubt about it that he's dumping me! Accompany me for one whole day, my ass! That's it! I won't talk to him or even glance at him after this! If he tries to talk to me or mock me like a rival would do, I will ignore him. I will turn a blind eye to him! I will-
"Judging from that look on your face, you're angry that I'm late, huh?"
I didn't have to turn around and look at the owner of the said voice. His voice and his words were more than enough for me to know that it's him. He's finally arrived... Despite the fervent anger that was boiling deep in my core, I couldn't help but feel exultant and relieved that he finally came. His appearance here made it clear that he never even thought of dumping me at the last minute.
But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to act like none of this silly waiting happened and just foolishly smile at him.
I whipped around sharply, turning my back to him and kept my arms fold over the chest. I berated, "You're late. Boys should be the ones who wait for their partner in date to arrive, but here I am, a girl in white dress waiting for you for like five minutes."
A quick silence filled the air around us before he broke it, "You've been waiting for five minutes, not thirty minutes. Don't get sulky over that petty matter."
"You might think that this sort of matter is unimportant to you, but to me, it is," I responded, "I've been raised and taught by my family and society that a man should be the one who waits for their date to come, not the other way around."
Shortly after that, a faint sigh was heard from behind me, followed by the noises of feet thumping the ground in an unhurried pace; the sounds were getting louder and louder, signifying that he was moving towards me.
"Alright, you spoiled brat," that's when a somewhat heavy object was placed atop my head. An unthreatening presence inched closer to the left side of my body, spreading its cordial warmth all around my figure. Unable to contain my curiosity which was also mixed with a handful of confusion, I shot my gaze to the source of the heat.
Sasuke looked down at me with a soft look dancing across his fetching features. Though there was no smile displayed on his face, his tender gaze revealed that he was not at all annoyed about me being childish and sulky over what he deemed a petty matter. My cheeks flushed bright pink as I realized that his right hand was settled on top of my head. I could easily feel his five long, manly fingers were stretched wide all over my dark hair. I was also fully aware of the casual clothes he wore that day.
He resumed, "Sorry for not being a man that waits for you, but I was late for a very good reason."
I turned my head away once again, ignoring the feel of his hand moving against my hair as I did so, and queried, "Hmph. Care to tell me what it is?"
A smirk made its way to his lips, "Instead of telling you, I'll show you. Follow me."
The next thing I knew, we pushed our ways through thick bushes, jumping from here to there and walking up a small cliff by infusing chakra in our feet (the worst part was that I had to make sure that the bottom part of my dress wasn't blown away by the breeze). I've remained patient and uncomplaining throughout all of that because I thought he's leading me to our destination through a bumpy shortcut. But when I saw him preparing to leap over a big-sized, absolutely-smelly river, I have lost my patience.
"Wait!" Sasuke put an abrupt halt in an instant upon hearing my yell, "What kind of path is this?! We went through many terrible places that are definitely a turn off to even a cheap date! Is this really a shortcut?!"
"I never told you that this is a shortcut," he nonchalantly replied, turning his head around to glance at me, "As a matter of fact, this is actually the longest path to reach there."
My eyes widened in confusion and mild shock, "What? Is this the only way to get there?"
What kind of place is he taking me to?
He went silent for a moment there, "There are only two ways to go there. One is a shorter way, and another one is this one we're taking."
I face-palmed that instant, "Why aren't we taking the short one?!"
He threw me a vacant stare, "I don't want to. By the way, what's the problem in using this way? You're a shinobi so this path is not at all difficult for you to go through."
I protested strongly, "Dates aren't like this! People usually take their partners to romantic and easy-to-go places! You just made me walk through thick, thorny bushes, walking up a cliff, and all of that! And don't forget that I am wearing a dress right now!"
He raised an eyebrow, "Why are you even wearing a dress today?"
"Because I-" I cut myself off. I didn't want him to know that I wore that dress in an attempt to impress him. I let out a cough, "Because this is a date! Of course, I'm going to wear something pretty like other girls do! A-anyway, are we there yet?"
He answered, "No. We're actually halfway to go there."
I groaned in exasperation. I ambled forward and moved past Sasuke, getting closer to the malodorous river to prepare myself to jump over it. Sasuke was right behind me, probably watching my every movement. Of course, I had the option to cancel this date right away, but I chose to oppose that since I did not want to offend the boy and also because I had the longing feeling to spend the entire day with him. Plus, we have walked halfway to go to whatever he wanted to show me, so why should we stop midway?
I gave out a sigh, "Fine, let's finish this- wah!"
Something long and hard swept my legs from behind. This attack was not at all sensed and foresaw by me so I was unquestionably caught off guard. My legs were pushed forward from the ground because of the rough move and I started to fall backward. However, my back never hit the ground; instead, I was met by an arm sliding across my back to support me and another arm slipping under my legs.
I sent my gaze to the source of the arms. Sasuke's face was just above mine. The left side of my body was pressed against his form as he carried me in his strong arms. The emotionless look on his face showed that it took such small effort to support my whole body and weight. It's as if he held me without any difficulty. Am I really that light or is it him who has the strength of Hercules?
I finally realized that he had kicked my legs on purpose and, by making me fall backward, he would slide his arms in and carry me in bridal style. He literally swept me off my feet.
I stumbled over my words as my cheeks burned from embarrassment, "Wh-what are you doing...?"
He stared deep into my eye, "I don't want you to nag anymore so I'll just carry you throughout the rest of the path until we reach there. It will be a lot faster this way."
Without uttering another word, he leapt over the foul-smelling river and proceeded running towards our destination while carrying me securely in his arms. I've never felt so safe in my life before...
We said not a word to each other throughout the whole journey. I would occasionally glance at his face or the path before us. My hands were gathered in my chest altogether. I could wrap my arms around his neck for steadier grip, but I did not have enough courage to do so. His chest was constantly pressing against the side of my body and that simple touch alone could tell me that he had a slight muscular chest (suitable for a boy his age) which I find very attractive in men. Judging from the fiery heat that was consuming my face in that moment, I knew without a doubt that my pale face turned as red as a fully-bloomed rose.
Two minutes later, the ravenette broke the silence between us, "We're here."
I spun my head around, attempting to gaze at the scenery of our destination with curious eyes which eventually became a lot wider as I registered the view. Dark purple flowers were scattered everywhere in the wide-sized grassy field. There was not even one tree that stood with them in the middle of the grassland, but a massive amount of trees surrounded them in thick, irregular circle as if protecting the area from danger.
Sasuke landed somewhere in the flowery field and put me down gently. I set my feet down on the ground, being extra careful not to step on a single flower. I stared wide-eyed at the magnificent sight I was beholding. The divine blue sky, the radiant sun, the beauteous dark purple blooms strewing all over the green grassy field, and the youthful trees... it was all so exquisite.
I knelt down to get a better look on the blossoms. I delicately touched a single flower and scrutinized it closely. It turned out that these flowers were tulips... dark purple tulips...
My mind immediately flashed back to that time in the hospital when I gazed on a vase which kept various kinds of flowers in it. Reina said that those flowers were left there by my teammates who visited me. And one of those blooms was a dark purple tulip...
"Sasuke," I stood up and without spinning around to look at him, I continued, "I saw one flower like this when I was in the hospital... that time after the invasion... I never give it a thought about who left it there but... was it you?"
I turned around and stared at him. He stood still behind me. His hands were already hidden in his pockets. Though his face was void of emotion, his gentle gaze gave it all away that it was indeed him who left the tulip in my temporary hospital room. It's like his onyx eyes nonverbally told me, "Yes, it's me."
The Uchiha then moved and walked past me saying, "I chose this flower because... your dark hair and your eyes... these flowers resemble you a lot."
I once again blushed crimson. Is he comparing me with the flower?
I followed him closely from behind, "What is the name of these flowers?"
The onyx-eyed boy carried on walking but he turned his head to look at me over his shoulder and he answered, "They are called 'Queen of the Night' flowers. Anyway, I have prepared something for you."
I hurried my pace to catch up with him. He slowed down when I reached him and the two of us halted at once upon seeing something on the ground. There were a rug and wooden basket placed in the middle of the flowery grassland. It's like a picnic... so this is what he's been preparing?
Turning my head slightly to get a good look on the ravenette, I realized that he had been watching me with a tiny smile curving his lips. He glided his hand up to settle them on top of my head; his five fingers extended out there and he said, "This is why I'm late so stop sulking already. I have been thinking of reserving a table in a restaurant, but then I decide to make a picnic so you would know how it feels like to have an outdoor meal. I bet a rich kid like you haven't experienced that yet."
Is he mocking me in the end? I frowned, "Pfft. I don't have to do it. I can just imagine how it feels like. Just visualize somewhere in the forest while eating and there you have it."
Sasuke withdrew his hand from my head and moved down to sit on the rug, "That's the loser's way. And now that I mention it... you are a loser."
He flashed a gloating smirk at me. My jaw dropped in slight shock. I didn't know why but... his words did not piss me off even the slightest bit. Instead, it's quite the opposite. His smirk looked pretty alluring and inviting and...
I shook my head that instant, trying to erase that thought out of my head. I plunked myself down on the spot across from him. I was elated to see my favorite cream buns inside the picnic basket along with some onigiris, a few bento and bottles of water. He then enlightened me that onigiri is his favorite food and those bento were bought from Kazuki's mother's restaurant.
Everything was so pleasing. We ingested our meals while sharing our interests to each other. He even mentioned about Naruto making numerous troubles while they were on their missions and his mishaps made me giggle a bit. Even though there was a stoic expression gracing his features, the tone of his voice was patently affable and the warm gaze in his eyes was never gone from his face.
I could see from all of this that he really put a lot of efforts to prove to me that he sincerely had warm feelings for me.
Everything is so lovely.
I hope this will stay forever.
***
A/N: Sorry for any mistake and confusion here. Anyway, thank you for the long wait and your patience! I love you all so much! I am so happy to have wonderful readers like you! Do you know... that the end of this story is getting closer and closer? What will happen in the end? And what do you guys think about this new chapter? Tell me in the comment section! Thank you! ー( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ