𝐀 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄 ━━ S. UCHIHA

XLII

Sasuke and Naruto are still acting funny. How long has it been since Ryuken came to school? A week? And these dudes still can't seem to at least act like it's okay for him to exist. It's frustrating.

Sakura finds amusement in all this. Though she realizes my irritation and will make fun of the boys for how they're acting, she'll sit back and hold her laughter until one of us three gets mad at her for it.

Thank Jashin, Hinata is sane in our group, and as such is the only one. Despite her careful eye glued to Naruto, she does keep our lunch group from erupting in madness. For that, I'm more than grateful.

I glance outside as if in a daze while the two boys side-glare our popular student. Granted it's extremely warm outside and could potentially harm me, there's no place I'd rather be than at a secluded picnic table under the shadow of a sakura tree, its green leaves prancing in the light breeze.

I dream about the day where I can enjoy a peaceful minute and wonder if that day will come soon. Maybe I'm just in a mood, but I really want to sit out there, maybe play soccer for once with friends after they convince me to put my book down, and we laugh at someone when the soccer ball nails them, then take a break afterwards to eat some ice cream and soak under the sun.

Why can't I do that? Sharp tingles in my arm answer that for me.

"You feeling alright, (Y/n)?" Hinata's finger prods my arm as her curious eyes peer into mine. For some reason, her worry rots a pit inside me, and I immediately feel guilty. She's concerned, so why I suddenly feel disgusted by it?

I smile at her. "I'm fine, Hina. I'm fine."

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"You know Mom's flight got delayed, so..."

My fork pauses mid-rise and I turn to look at my dad. "Why's that?"

"Hurricanes," he replies with a raised brow.

"Hurricanes?"

"Well, I should just say hurricane, but yes."

"Oh. So, how long will her flight be delayed for?"

Unexpectedly, my father's eyes narrow. It isn't an expression that appeared as angry, but confused.

I glance at Kaito, expecting him to know something, but he just shrugs.

"D-did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's just your mother tried calling you."

"She did?"

"At least, she said she was." He tilts his to head to peek at Kaito who pays no mind to our conversation. Mouthful after mouthful, he shoves his meal one spoonful after the other without ever finishing the first bite. Dad sighs. "Kaito, did your mother call you?"

"Huh?" he stammers. "I think so."

"That was a yes or no question."

"Oh, uh, then yeah."

"Do you know when she called you?"

"Yesterday, I think."

"I didn't get a phone call then," I pitch in. "I always have my ringer on."

"You sure you weren't doing anything and you didn't catch it?"

"Maybe," I answer. "I didn't see it in my notifications so I didn't know."

Dad shakes his head, gladly not minding this. He knows I usually answer her calls, but I'm afraid that maybe he'll get upset that I'm not organizing my priorities properly. In his eyes, family always comes first and I have to abide by that.

Nervously, I play with my food before saying what he's expects me to do. "I'll call her back later then."

"Thank you. I'm sure she'd appreciate that."

"Y-yeah. I'm sure she would."

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"Looks like you slept well last night."

"Is it that obvious?" I croak.

Ryuken chuckles. "Only a little bit."

"Oh well, can't have a good night every night."

"You could."

I chuckle, putting down my pencil and glancing at him. Like the rest of his classmates, sweat glistens on his skin. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you want it to."

"I really shouldn't be trusted with my imagination right now."

"Because of your lack of sleep?"

"That's a possibility."

My eyes drift back out to the field, all of them testing the concept of soccer. Besides your athletes, nobody else really seemed to understand how the game is played. Either that, or they were very similar to Hinata and were too timid to actually kick the ball unlike Sakura, who didn't hesitate to full-throttle the ball to the other side of the field, regardless if it helped her team or not.

Unfortunately, Ryuken landed wrong from a slip and hurt his knee. Nothing too serious, but probably uncomfortable for him to continue using it intensely, so he sits by me as I do my schoolwork.

"So, how's moving in?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh, it's going good. We won't be able to get all of our furniture from another couple months, though. So we're renting a whole bunch in the meantime."

"Anything's better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah, but the beds suck."

"The beds specifically?"

"You don't realize how much you appreciate a mattress until you get one that's stiff. It's like sleeping on the floor."

I snicker. "Again, anything's better than nothing."

He chuckles. "Yeah, yeah. If you say so."

Finally, after one of the teams scores a goal, Guy-Sensei blows the whistle which signified the end of class. "Let's go, everybody! Run to the locker rooms! Hustle, hustle, hustle! It's never a time to rest!" Following his own protocol, he high-knees his way back to the building, chanting something that falls deaf to my ears.

I gather my supplies before standing up, taking a final glance to the soccer field.

"Hey, um..." Ryuken starts, lightly scratching the back of his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Would you... Would you like to, um..."

I raise a brow as he struggles to find his words. It was almost amusing the way he stuttered. I giggle, saying, "It's okay, take your time."

He smiles, but looks away. "Um... Actually, forget about it."

"What?" I stammer. "Oh, come on, now you have to tell me."

"Nope. No, I don't."

"Come on, Ryuken! Tell me."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

"Maybe another time."

Giving in to his stubbornness, I shrug my shoulders. "Fine, fine. You win. This time."

As if my remark was lighthearted, his shoulders drop and he smiles. "Um, we should probably get back to class."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea. Just don't hurt your knee more on the way back."

Crossing his arms, smiling at me as he replies, "No promises."

Sorry for disappearing, but I cannot find time, oh my lord. I posted something on my message board that gives a little update if you want to read it. Anyway, teehee, high chance I'll see you in 7 months cause I can't keep my shit straight. KK, tah tah for now. :)