Third Person's P.O.V
"You know, Sasuke... Kazuki, Naruto, and I once thought that you're a homo."
Sasuke Uchiha immediately threw a risible look at Kaito, "Why would you think that?"
Kaito shrugged nonchalantly, "You look like you are not interested in women at all. Sakura, Ino, and practically every girl in our class are throwing themselves at you and they are all pretty, and yet you look completely apathetic to it. That's why we thought you're homo."
Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Hn. Why would I want to speak with them? I have no reason to give them my attention. All they do is stalking me and irritating me wherever I go."
The brown-haired boy sweatdropped, "Wow, you are cruel. But that's what makes you and Kazuki so different. And I'd say you have a better chance to woo Ayuda than any other boys I've met."
Upon hearing this, the ravenette threw his full attention at Kaito with his onyx eyes gleaming with interest. Kaito added, "One of the things that make you two so different is that Kazuki is a ladies' man while you are the complete opposite. Ayuda once liked Kazuki a long time ago, but once she saw him flirting with another girl, her feelings for him vanished that instant. So, if you continue to make her feel special, put her as your top priority and never pay attention to any other girl, trust me, you will win her heart in no time. The only problem is that you have to show her that you care deeply about her."
***
Sasuke and Kaito knew – without a doubt – that they finally reached Ichiraku Ramen when they heard Naruto's noisy voice, "Waaaah it's so spicy!"
The sight of Naruto and Ayuda sitting in the small restaurant side by side was getting clearer and bigger as the two boys walked closer to them. They witnessed Naruto stuffing his face with ramen in an almost animalistic way while Ayuda was eyeing him with a composed look gracing her features.
The blond boy slammed his bowl of ramen down on the table, generating a loud thud which no one paid attention to, and exclaimed jubilantly, "I want another one!"
"Geez, Naruto," Ayuda began taking a few tissues, "eat it slowly this time, okay? You have made quite a mess on your face for eating hastily."
The Uzumaki's lips parted in an instant, revealing the kind of smile that showed all of his teeth and he brought his arm up to scratch his head sheepishly, "Sorry, Ayuda. I can't help it."
The purple-eyed girl pressed the tissues to the corner of Naruto's mouth where there was a spot of marked stain. She started wiping the smear off of his dark skin as gentle as she could. Naruto simply shrugged this action off as something a friend would do, and Ayuda thought the same thing too. But one particular boy couldn't merely brush this matter off as something normal, and he would do anything to terminate this small deed.
Taking long, purposeful strides toward them, Sasuke seized the girl's wrist firmly and pulled it away from Naruto's face in a jealous rage. The sudden appearance of the Uchiha startled both Ayuda and Naruto, and after a moment of registering his arrival, the latter beamed at him, obviously too dense to perceive the anger on Sasuke's face, "Oh, hey, Sasuke! Took you long enough to arrive!"
Before Sasuke could utter a word, Kaito rushed to cut him off, "Sorry, Naruto. We ran into a tiny problem on our way here."
"Hmm..." Naruto was about to ask them what the problem was when a fresh bowl of ramen was placed on the table in front of him. Without further ado, he began gobbling up the tasty noodles.
Kaito patted Sasuke's back and sent him a 'calm down' message through their connected stares before the two separated to take their seats – Kaito seated himself next to Naruto and Sasuke next to Ayuda.
Kaito began speaking to the blond-haired boy who only nodded his head in response since he was so busy wolfing down his ramen. Ayuda tuned them out and shifted her attention to the ravenette beside her and inquired, "What happened when you were on your way here?"
Sasuke sighed soundlessly, merely shaking his head from side to side, "It's nothing."
Ayuda's dark eyebrows rose a little bit, certainly baffled at his answer but she let it go nonetheless, thinking that the problem they encountered was something she should not be worrying about. She then shot her gaze to Naruto and rebuked him for slurping the noodles without a care in the world and hence producing the incessant noises that were too much for Ayuda to hear.
Meanwhile, Sasuke directed his attention to Kaito, waiting for the brown-haired boy to notice his burning gaze and look at him. In a few seconds, Kaito looked up to meet his onyx eyes, instantly getting the hidden message the Uchiha threw at him. He responded by merely shaking his head in a subtle manner as though telling him to wait. Sasuke wordlessly averted his gaze.
Two minutes have passed and that's when Naruto once again stuffed his face with the fourth bowl of ramen. Kaito sent a sharp look at Sasuke who immediately caught on to it. He grasped Ayuda's wrist and began walking out the small restaurant noiselessly, pulling the clueless girl with him. Kaito stayed put in the restaurant along with the oblivious Naruto. It didn't take long for Ayuda to figure out that Sasuke was taking her away with him to escape from Naruto's eyes.
Sasuke asked Kaito a favor to get him and Ayuda slip away from Naruto's radar. Kaito gave his consent to help him, for he has approved Sasuke's profound affection for his purple-eyed teammate. So their plan was to wait for that moment when Naruto was completely unaware of things around him and Kaito would send a signal to Sasuke which means it's the right time to sneak away from the ball of sunshine.
After watching the two dark-haired young couple walking down the street, Kaito shifted his gaze back to Naruto who was still incognizant of their egress. He sighed, thinking in his mind, 'Naruto, why are you so dense? Ayuda was literally sitting beside you and you didn't even notice her getting up from her seat. Oh well, that's Naruto Uzumaki for you. By the way... I hope Sasuke is taking good care of her. If he hurt her in any way, I'm pretty sure I will regret helping him with this. But there's no way he would hurt her. Yup, there is no doubt about it. He will never hurt her... right?'
***
[Ayuda's P.O.V]
It was around 5 o'clock in the afternoon and, as much as I wanted to spend more time with him, we knew we had to return home in that moment, especially me who has strict parents. My family made it clear to me that I have to return home before 6 o'clock unless I have understandable, important stuff to do such as mission. Sasuke wanted to escort me to my house and I acceded to it delightedly.
I will never forget this one special day. But still... this could be the longest moment I've had with Sasuke, but why do I feel so disappointed than ever now? Could it be that I'm not satisfied? That I want to spend more time with him? Yeah, that must be it. Ugh. If there are 100 hours in one day, I'd spend 99% of that time hanging out with him. But I have a feeling that I still wouldn't feel satisfied yet, despite the ridiculous amount of time.
I felt a smooth surface brushed against the back of my right hand. My mind started whirling around to figure out what it was without taking a glance at it and in two seconds I finally realized what it was. It was Sasuke's hand! The skin on the back of his left hand brushed against mine!
I was a bit astounded but I did not move my hand away, instead, I just let it hanging as usual. Maybe a small part of me wants to feel his skin once again... even if it's for one split second.
And then the back of our hands grazed one another for the second time. Neither of us moved our hands away. A small feeling of fear began to wash over me when the thought of Sasuke pulling his hand away to avoid touching me again sprang to my mind. But my mind was rest assured when I felt our hands kissed each other lightly for the third time.
We carried on walking at the same pace with our hands constantly brushing against each other. This went on until I saw my massive house just around the corner. The image of my parents flashed in my mind, causing me to move farther away from Sasuke just a few inches in a not-so-obvious way. I hope Sasuke doesn't notice it. I do not want him to get offended by that small gesture, but I also do not want my parents to see how close we are. There is no doubt they will lose their shit if they see us and think that we're holding hands.
Once we reached the front of my house, we halted right there and spun to look at each other with my back facing the house. My lips curved into a warm smile, "Thank you for everything today, Sasuke."
A tiny smile curled Sasuke's pale lips, "Likewise. And I would like to apologize that the idiotic loser Naruto ruined our-"
I immediately cut him off, "It's okay. Maybe next time we have to be more careful then."
"Yeah..." Sasuke's voice trailed away into nothingness, but it took like a few seconds to fully register my last words because his voice emerged back, "...next time?"
I averted my gaze shyly and nodded my head as a yes, "Yeah, next time..."
Do you get what I'm trying to hint there, Sasuke? Do you get the message?! You're not dense like Naruto too, right?
I erased that thought out of my head and looked up – he was taller than me – to meet his onyx eyes which mirrored my face, "I'll see you later, then?"
He nodded his head subtly, still with the tiny smile on his lips, "Certainly."
We stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. The thought of my parents could be spying on us never occurred to me, for I have already immersed myself in his hypnotizing eyes. Because of this, I could easily notice Sasuke darting his eyes down for a split second. As if wanting to get rid of an unpleasant feeling from his mind, he straightened up his entire body and said, "Farewell."
I responded, "Goodbye, Sasuke."
He then spared me a last glance before he turned around and walked away. I remained in the same spot, watching as his form went darker and smaller as he ambled into the distance. I was supposed to whirl around and enter my house at this moment but I found no energy in my body to perform such simple things... because there was this feeling in my heart that told me that something was not right.
Letting him leave just like that feels absolutely wrong.
So what should I do then?
That's when it hit me – this one action that holds dangerous risk. This idea summoned a great amount of fear in me. I know this is our first date but I am now certain about my feelings for him. It feels like it's the right thing to do. But what if he rejects me?
Are you an idiot, Ayuda?! Do you remember that time when he indirectly confessed to you?! He likes you, so what's with the hesitation?! Say it now! This could be your once in a lifetime chance to do this! If you don't, you will regret this deeply. He has shown you on many occasions that he deeply cares about you, so now it's your turn! So stop being a coward and do it! Do it before someone else take him away!
The final words that came from the deepest part of my mind seemed to have knocked some sense into me. I focused my attention on Sasuke who was still clearly visible in my eyesight but was getting farther and farther away from me. I wasted no time and immediately called him, "Hey, Sasuke!"
The boy looked startled to hear my voice, but then he relaxed and turned to face me. A perplexed look was all over his charming visage and his eyes indicated me to carry on. I calmed myself down first and it was in that moment that I realized that my heart was pounding wildly against my chest.
After a much needed tranquil silence, I finally managed to steady my nerves. Staring back into Sasuke's eyes, my lips quirked upwards in a beatific smile:
"I hate you too."
The look of pure shock promptly consumed his entire face, making me a little bit proud of how big those words affected him. But then I began to fear of what his answer would be. Will he reject me or...?
Three seconds have passed and he finally showed his second reaction. A broad smile of unfeigned delight graced his lips right away, followed by a bright, pink hue that thoroughly bathed his pale cheeks. He chuckled lightheartedly and replied, "You finally said it, huh? You idiot."
I returned the same irrepressible smile to him. His answer told me that he had been waiting for me to say that since... I don't know, but anyway, he looked totally thrilled to hear those words coming out of my mouth. And I, on the other hand, was certainly elated about his answer.
Sasuke, still with the warm smile on his face, nodded his head as if wordlessly bidding farewell to me and I responded back with the same nod, giving him my approval to let him leave. He left after giving me his last adoring smile.
Of course, I was also confused about the current status of our relationship that time, but in that moment I didn't care. All I cared was that I finally confessed to him. Once I uttered those four words out of my mouth, I felt a huge weight was lifted off of my chest. I did not have to hide my feelings anymore. We both knew we had feelings for one another and that's all that matters. One thing for sure was that we have gotten closer than ever before. And maybe one day, he will properly ask me as his... you know.
***
A/N: First of all, I apologize for the late update and if this chapter does not meet your expectations. But oh look, she finally said it. You see that Sasuke's pic I posted on this chapter? That's how his second reaction looks like. Now we just have to wait for Sasuke to ask her as his... mhm. But the real question is... when? Because in the next chapter, a hottie and a shark will make their debuts in this story. This is where it get intense. By the way, thank you for all the votes, comments and the supports! I love you all! Anyway what do you guys think about this new chapter? Tell me in the comment section below! Thank you! ー( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ