Sasuke Uchiha and I

Chapter 15 - The Books

Winter's P.O.V

From today, it has been exactly three months since I was supposed to be dead. More importantly, it's my birthday. Of course, I wouldn't tell Sasuke that, what would he do anyway? No offense to him but he doesn't seem exactly the partying type.

I've been getting quite worried for him lately, he returns home and eats the dinner I prepared for him and then he goes to bed - and that's on a good day. Usually, he returns home covered in cuts and blood, a lot of blood. His onyx eyes have grown more and more empty, what is Orochimaru making him do?

His eyes have gradually become nothing, I can no longer read his expressions unless he wants me to, there's nothing I can think of to lighten them. He doesn't trust me one little bit, he watches me like I'm a bomb about to go off.

But on the bright side, I've managed to live to my sixteenth birthday. Hooray.

Brushing my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ears I walk around his home, cleaning, and dusting. I've become his unofficial housemaid and in payment, he supplies food for dinner and when I'm really lucky, clothes.

He can't be seen buying ladies clothes, though, so the clothes he brings back are all men clothing, long pants or shorts and baggy t-shirts. But I make do with what I get, I cut the shorts shorter and fix a belt around the waist. I don't mind baggy t-shirts, I find them so comfortable so I usually just leave them. I don't need to keep up appearances, who is going to see me anyway? I don't care what Sasuke thinks of me and he doesn't care what I think of him, it's a mutual agreement.

Sasuke is due to come home any minute now and I've prepared Spaghetti, a dish that I used to have back home - I doubt he's ever heard of it. I would have loved to make something more to secretly celebrate my birthday but this was all the food I could find.

Setting the dinner table I decide to wear the nicest pair of shorts I have and a matching t-shirt. Because I want to look neat and tidy, I tuck in my shirt and brush my hair into submission. I put a little bit of concealer on to get rid of the bags under my eyes and I do a thin coat of mascara on my eyelashes. 

Looking nicer than I have in a long time, I sit on the newly made couch (I had straightened all the pillows and folded the dark green blanket) and waited for my captor to return home. 

I don't know why I was so nervous, perhaps it was the fact that I didn't want him to ruin my birthday dinner. I knew already that he was going to come home looking like something the cat dragged in, but I didn't want him to turn up his nose at the Spaghetti or yell at me again because of something I didn't know. 

He'd been doing that a lot lately, I might get him to smile and then his face turns cold and he yells at me like he's afraid of being happy or nice. Even though he doesn't know it's my birthday, a part of me still hopes tonight will be a good night - a yelling free zone. 

The door clicks open and I turn my head to see Sasuke's dark figure walking through the door. His pants are torn and there's a jagged cut across his left cheek. His empty eyes squint at me, probably trying to figure out why I am dressed so neatly. "What's with the getup?" He asks his voice gravely.

I grab the notepad and pencil that I now leave permanently on the glass coffee table and write, 'No reason, get cleaned up for dinner.' Sasuke shrugs and walks into his room where I hear running water. 

As I wait for him to take a shower my eyes drift curiously over the books sitting stoically on the bookshelves. Unable to contain myself, I reach for the first book. After all, he's in the shower and I'll put it back before he notices it's missing.

Opening it to the first page, I read again over his mother's name, 'Mikoto Uchiha'. Curious, I turn to the next page. Astonishingly, I find that it's written in English: