"This is a nice place. What's it called again?"
I nodded in approval as I sat with Gaara and Kannon around our low table on cushions, located in a private room at the back of the restaurant. It was traditionally styled, with shōji walls and doors, lit with low light lamps that hung from the ceiling, covered by thin paper lanterns.
"Wan," answered Gaara as he passed me one of three menus, keeping the buzzer to alert our waiter when we were ready to order. "They have good food. It's the best restaurant in Suna."
"I'm honoured you thought to bring us here," I replied eagerly, reaching for my menu and opening it up. As soon as I did, I could see why Wan would be so popular among its kind. There was an abundance of options available, with dishes ranging from exquisite sushi and sashimi to an array of rice and noodle dishes. "Ah! They have okonomiyaki!"
"You like okonomiyaki?"
"Like hell I do! Oh my god, yes, gyoza and yakitori... I can't choose which one to get!"
"Hmm, I like the look of their unadon," said Kannon thoughtfully, tapping her finger on the table as she skimmed over the photos of the dishes. Gaara looked at me, amused, as I struggled to pick something to eat.
"I hope you weren't thinking of ordering only one dish?"
I blinked at him in confusion as he sat across with me, exchanging a look of entertainment with Kannon.
"Order what you like," he finally said, picking up the pen next to him and pointing at our order sheet with it. "Really. I can't imagine they fed you well at the Uchiha place."
I scrunched my nose as I remembered my extensive stay and treatment at the compound. While it hadn't been the worst I'd ever been treated, it certainly had nothing on what I was getting here in Suna.
"Actually, they had some pretty decent food there," I shrugged. "I never missed a meal. But the menu was so repetitive and boring. They didn't have any of this for us!"
I glanced over at Ayumi as she slept in her stroller, reminiscing on my early days with the Uchiha before her conception.
"Then tonight, eat to your heart's content," said Gaara softly, gaze flickering between me and Ayumi. "In fact, you have to order at least five dishes. As Kazekage, I order you to choose at least five dishes to be brought in for us to enjoy tonight."
"Might as well order the whole menu," joked Kannon, nudging the redhead in the side. He snorted and waved her away, focusing his attention on me.
"So? What will it be?"
I looked down at the menu once more, biting my lip.
"But what if we don't finish all the food?"
"Tera, trust me, with me here, that won't be an issue," said Kannon, wiggling her eyebrows at me. "And knowing you, I'm sure you have quite the appetite as well. I'm not sure how much Mr. Kazekage can take, but we can definitely ingest a lot of this stuff. And have room for dessert."
Gaara rolled his eyes as Kannon and I chuckled, shaking his head as he wrote his order on the sheet.
"I'm having katsudon and tempura. You two?"
"We get edamame and miso soup as a part of it, right?" asked Kannon, looking like she was ready to go. I was too; for a brief moment, I closed my eyes and thanked Gaara in my mind while they spoke.
"Yes. Knowing you, you want inarizushi as well right?"
"Yes please. Tera, what are you getting?"
I frowned as I thought carefully about what to pick.
"At least five, right?"
"Yes."
I stretched my arms, letting it go for today. Since Gaara had offered... go hard or go home, right?
"Okay, so I want this okonomiyaki-no, this one- gyūdon, chicken katsu, some gyoza, and yakitori!"
Gaara merely nodded as he scribbled down the numbers of what I ordered, and looked at Kannon as he waited for her order.
"Unadon and takoyaki," she said with a small nod. "I'm sure we'll all be able to finish the food."
"I have no doubt about that." Quickly writing down his own order, Gaara set the pen aside as he pressed the buzzer. No more than a few seconds later, the door to our private room opened, and a young waitress dressed in a black yukata with a black apron around her waist popped her head in.
"Here you go." Gaara handed the paper to the waitress, who looked starstruck at being face to face with the Kazekage. Judging by her appearance, she looked like she was a teenager, probably a high school student working part time. With flushed cheeks she took our ordering card from Gaara and bowed deeply, before quickly shutting our door and leaving us alone.
"She seemed to like you," I said jokingly, reaching over and pulling Ayumi's blanket down as it grew warmer in the room. "Mr. Kazekage, you seem to be quite popular with the ladies."
Kannon snorted while Gaara looked anything but amused.
"Thanks for your observation," he said sarcastically. "Only popular because I'm in a position of power. If it wasn't for this title, not a single person would take interest in me."
"Aw, don't be like that," said Kannon teasingly. "You're pretty good looking. I'm sure girls would have flocked to you regardless of whether you were Kazekage or not."
"Very funny, Kannon," said Gaara dryly. A smile began tugging at the corners of my mouth, and I looked away from the pair to hide my face.
"Excuse me! Your drinks have arrived!"
There was a knock on the wooden frame of our door before it slid open again, and the same young waitress reappeared carrying a tray with three glasses and a jug of water. Behind her was a shelf on wheels, similar to what attendants pushed around on trains, which held countless bottles of beverages.
"Amaterasu, would you like a drink?" asked Gaara smoothly, taking the tray from the waitress and sliding it onto the table.
"Oooh, give me a bottle of that red wine," said Kannon, pointing to the bottom shelf of the girl's cart. "I don't care what brand it is."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know your name was Amaterasu," said Gaara, making Kannon laugh.
"Okay, fine, give me the cheapest bottle of wine you have," said Kannon, rolling her eyes at the Kazekage.
"What? That's not what I meant," he said hurriedly, waving at the girl. "Just give us your finest bottle of red wine. Amaterasu, you?"
"I'm fine with water, thank you."
The girl looked nervous as she took out two wine glasses and placed them before Gaara and Kannon, before giving Gaara the wine bottle with shaking hands.
"You okay there?" I asked as the girl picked up the tray, almost dropping it in the process.
"Y-Yes. I'm sorry," she said fervently, bowing at us once more before sliding the door shut at the speed of light.
"She's so flustered by Gaara," laughed Kannon, making the Kazekage frown at her.
"I think it's cute," I announced loudly, pouring myself a glass of water as Kannon poured wine for herself and Gaara. We exchanged casual banter for a good ten minutes until our food arrived, which I could smell before anyone had even knocked on the door.
"Wow, this all looks so good!" I exclaimed, hearts in my eyes as the young waitress slid dish after dish onto our table. My mouth watered as the vast array of scents wafted up towards my nose, making me close my eyes and deeply inhale the intoxicating smells. As my stomach grumbled, I realised just how hungry I was, and that I could probably eat everything in front of me by myself if I wanted to.
"Really, thank you for such efficient service," nodded Kannon, earning a small nod from the girl as she handed out the small side dishes before moving onto our main dishes.
"It's my pleasure," squeaked the young girl, glancing briefly as Gaara before resuming her job.
"What's your name?" asked the Kazekage, catching the waitress off guard. She froze for a second, as if she had forgotten everything about herself, before shaking it off and clearing her throat. She stood straight and bowed courteously at Gaara, before beginning her introduction.
"My name is Yukata, Kazekage-sama. I'm eighteen years old, and a student at Sunagakure Girls' High School. I'm sorry if I've been making you feel uncomfortable tonight- it's just a great honour to be in your presence!"
I turned away and casually sipped my water as I glanced at Kannon out of the corner of my eye. For someone who had more pressing matters to worry about, right now all I was concerned about was watching two women battle it out over Gaara. Much to my dismay, Kannon didn't even look swayed. She merely nodded at the girl's introduction, not even looking at her once, as she focused on pouring herself more wine.
Well, I got the student part right, I said to myself, suddenly reminiscing on my life in Konoha. Once upon a time, I had been like her. As soon as I had turned sixteen, I went out, found a part-time job, and started saving money. It was arduous, and it was tiring, but up until the Uchiha took me, that's how I lived. And I was thoroughly annoyed, because I had discovered that all my accounts now basically belonged to them, meaning that my years of hard work were all for nothing. If we were ever to return to Konoha, after kicking out the Uchiha, the first thing on my mind would be to reclaim the money I had lost because of them. I didn't care how I got my money back; I would get it, one way or another.
"Please, enjoy your meal."
"Thank you, Yukata."
I pursed my lips as Gaara smiled at the young waitress, who radiantly returned the favour and left the room with much more confidence than she had when she had originally entered. I raised an eyebrow at Kannon as she closed the door, but my cousin was not swayed.
"Shall we eat?" she said nonchalantly.
I sighed and smiled at the pair, although something was niggling the back of my mind.
Is this how bored you've gotten with your life?
I almost snorted at the thought, realising just how meaningless everything I did these days had become. I wasn't working, I wasn't training, I wasn't studying. My current life was sleep, look after Ayumi, eat. With a sad sigh, I picked up my set of chopsticks and held them before giving thanks for the food.
Thirty minutes into the meal, I noticed Kannon glance at Gaara with an eyebrow raised. He cleared his throat after he swallowed his mouthful of food, before wiping down his mouth and sitting up straight. I, in the middle of devouring my okonomiyaki, watched the pair suspiciously as they both put down their utensils, looking solemn as they stopped eating.
"What's up?" I asked, wondering why I had suddenly become the only person eating. Almost as if on cue, Ayumi let out a loud, unannounced wail, prompting me to stop my meal in order to pick her up. Reaching into the stroller, I took her out and rocked her gently in my arms, taking a couple of minutes before successfully soothing her wails.
"Um, Gaara has something to tell you."
As soon as Kannon said that, I knew something was off. She avoided looking me in the eye, and Gaara himself looked uneasy at being called out.
"What is it? Are you kicking me out of Suna?" I joked, although keeping it in mind that that could be a possibility.
"No, of course not," said Gaara, shaking his head. "I wanted to have dinner with you so that I could tell you myself. Tsunade didn't like the idea of it, but I thought it would be better for you to know than be in the dark."
"In the dark about what?"
"When the shinobi were sent to hold back the squadron of Uchiha, Sasuke broke free from the ranks and went straight after you," he began explaining.
"I know?" I said questioningly. "He broke free, had his own standoff with Kakashi?"
"Yes, that much happened. But when the squad he had left behind left, he was on his own when the four other shinobi joined Kakashi in the fight against him."
I sat up in my seat, more alert now.
"Are you telling me Sasuke's dead too?!"
At this point, my heart was racing.
"No. Sasuke's still alive."
"But??"
"But... we kind of have him held captive in the Suna prison. Tsunade didn't want to tell you because she thought you would feel uncomfortable at the prospect of having him so close to you, but I decided it was better that you knew and stayed alert rather than go on mindlessly."
"So you're telling me, Sasuke Uchiha... the Sasuke Uchiha... is here right now?"
"Not here here, but he's here. We haven't decided what we want to do with him yet, but I just wanted to let you know," said Gaara hurriedly. "He's one of the clan's top generals. We could use him as a bargaining chip"
"Oh, really? That sounds... beneficial," I said weakly. I didn't know how to react, or feel. I was neither happy nor unhappy that Sasuke was here right now. My feelings towards him were mixed: I hated his family. I was still anguished and mad at the circumstances under which I had met him, and how Ayumi came to be, and how he had initially treated me. I hated his cold, callous personality, and his lack of basic respect for others. Believe me, a part of me still hated that asshole for how he treated me.
But on the other hand, the newer memories I had with Sasuke were beginning to resurface. Due to the fact that my bad memories with him had more impact on me than the ones that had left good impressions on me, I had almost totally forgotten about my final months at the compound.
For some reason, out of all people, I had found solace and companionship with the man who had promised to make my life a living hell. I knew that from an outside perspective, it looked terribly unhealthy, but I do believe people change. And since I first met him, Sasuke had changed a lot. Even around the time of Ayumi's birth I had sensed a shift in his attitudes, had seen him actually begin to value lives that weren't his. He had opened up to me, and even though we did give each other hell a lot of the time, he had actually learned how to listen. The little grievances I carried at the compound, he was all ears for. After he had proposed that he would ask his father to have me removed from the programme so that I could raise Ayumi... I didn't know what to think anymore. Maybe he genuinely only wanted me released to take the burden of raising Ayumi off of his hands. Maybe he wanted to pursue a meaningful relationship. Maybe he wanted me closer to him, and not locked up like an experiment. My mind was full of maybes.
"Please, you're safe here," reassured Gaara, taking in my pale face and speechlessness. "He's under guard twenty four seven, watched by the best Konoha and Suna shinobi. You're under guard as well- even if he were to track you down, he'd have to get through the likes of Tsunade and Kannon first. Trust me, Amaterasu, your safety is no joke to me. While Sasuke is here, you don't have to see him if you don't want to."
"What exactly are your plans for Sasuke?"
"We haven't quite established anything yet," said Gaara, "but knowing the Uchiha, they'll want him back as soon as possible. After all, the expansion of their empire relies heavily on him. I have to discuss this with Tsunade before we do anything, so don't worry about it too much. Okay?"
As I held Ayumi in one arm, I picked up a stick of yakitori and just started eating again, numb.
"Okay."
Author's Note: in honour of me turning 18 today i've decided to go and update a couple of other stories after this :') my gift to you guys!!!