𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

Surprise Entry

They didn't even knock.

The next day, I was in the kitchen preparing the children's lunches with Ino and Miho when we heard a loud bang from the foyer, and the screams of one of the younger children in the hallway. I instantly tore away from cutting up carrots and sprinted to the front door, wielding my knife in hand. There, inviting themselves through the front door, were a band of soldiers, all dressed up smartly with their hats and trench coats and whatnot.

The child who had screamed, six year old Yuki, ran from the other side of the hallway straight into my arms, whimpering as the harsh military men shut the door behind them. It was a group of three, and, dare my eyes deceive me, two of them looked very familiar.

"May I ask what your business is?" I asked coldly, sheltering Yuki and picking her up in one arm. The hand holding the knife dropped to my side, and I stared intently at the three soldiers.

"My, my, my... is that you, Miss Yoruno?" asked one of the three, looking at me from under the brim of his cap. I paled in recognition of his steely voice, and turned my back so that Yuki was hidden from their sight. Behind me, Ino and Miho had run from the kitchen, and were both standing in fear at the realisation that the soldiers had arrived. I put Yuki down and ushered her towards Ino, where she was again swept up into a caring, sheltering embrace.

"General, sir," I said slowly, turning the three men again and nodding curtly at the cruel eyed Uchiha. He looked just as he did yesterday, with his immaculately sculpted features and piercing, obsidian gaze. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I eyed him out, and realised that all three men were armed.

They were in an orphanage.

And they were armed.

"I didn't expect to see you so soon," he said smoothly, crossing his arms. I watched as his perfectly ironed coat creased at the movement, noting the crisp and clean motions.

"As did I," I said, putting on a brave face. "I assume you're here to test our children?" Sasuke smirked, and tilted his hat at me.

"If you don't mind."

Ino pushed forward, holding Yuki in one arm, and holding Miho's hand with the other.

"Kohana, I'll go get Kyoko," she whispered fervently, before ducking past the other two men and shooting up the staircase. I grimaced and put my hands behind my back, shielding the knife from the soldiers' view. I recognised one companion as the blond man from yesterday. The third man, I didn't know. His hair was dark and unkempt, but it seemed that he bore some form of relation to the General that stood before my eyes.

This wavy haired Uchiha carried a clipboard in his hands, eyes skimming and scanning the page before he looked up at me.

"Hello, Miss," he greeted warmly, earning a wary nod on my behalf. He chuckled, and flipped through a couple of pages of his clipboard. "If you don't mind, is there a room where we may carry out our tests?"

"You may use the children's playroom," I said curtly. "Space is limited here, and I'm afraid that's the only room big enough for all of us."

"Us? My dear, we will be carrying out these tests individually," explained the kinder Uchiha, tapping his clipboard. "We ask to view these children one by one. It's harmless, really- the test should only take about five minutes apiece."

"With all due respect, sir," I said insistingly,"I ask to be present during these tests. Myself, or the Director. I will not allow these children to be tested without our supervision." He frowned, and exchanged glances with Sasuke and the blond, who shrugged and said, "Don't look at me. I'm only the security guard."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at me, arms still folded tight, and I heard noise from the stairs. I turned and saw Kyoko rushing towards us, her elderly face flustered.

"Hello, hello!" she exclaimed, reaching me and bowing deeply to the men. "I see you've met Kohana!"

The man with the clipboard nodded at Kyoko, and said, "We have already discussed plans with this young woman here. May we proceed?"

"I want to be present," I said more forcibly, stepping in front of Kyoko, who looked at me with confusion in her eyes. The clipboard guy sighed, and scratched the back of his head, looking at Sasuke for guidance. His gaze never wavered, eyes locked intently with mine.

"Let her come," he said with an air of finality. "Then when the time comes, she'll know just what she has to do."

"What?"

Kyoko stepped forward this time, grabbing me by the elbow.

"Do you mean to say we're getting tested too?!" she exclaimed, squeezing my arm with all her might. Sasuke scowled at her disruptance, and behind him, his blond friend snorted.

"No, old lady," he said with a cold look. "From what we've seen, you currently have three members of staff here, all within the ages we seek. We'll be testing them alone. I'm afraid you don't meet our requirements."

"I thought you were just testing the children."

Sasuke smiled viciously at me, and my heart thumped faster and faster.

"Round up your kids and bring them to the playroom one by one," he ordered. "Take us to it now." I closed my eyes briefly, before tearing away from Kyoko and walking forward to lead the soldiers down the hallway behind them. I walked past them, blindly leading them through the brightly coloured hallways that led up to the playroom. The children's screams and laughter could be heard as I stopped at the entrance of the playroom, grimacing at the soldiers.

"We have a few in here," I said grimly. Sasuke pushed past me and marched straight into the room, not caring about, well, anything.

"I want you all out!" he announced, as I rushed in after him at the sound of the children crying out loud. There were three of the younger ones in here, along with Ryo and Kurumi, who instantly leapt up and dashed towards their younger siblings.

"Come on, Mika, let's go!" exclaimed the young boy, grabbing the one year old Mika from her building blocks. She let out a loud scream as Ryo pried her away from the toys, seven year old Kurumi grabbing three year old Reina and four year old Naoki.

"Nee-chan, where do we go?!" asked Kurumi, looking at me with frantic worry in her eyes.

"To the kitchen," I said swiftly, leading Sasuke's two cohorts into the room which he'd so rudely vacated. "Ino and Sai will be there, okay? Go to Ino and Sai, quickly." With a taut nod, Kurumi led the younger children away, leaving me to move around and pile all the toys onto one side of the room. The soldiers set up camp, the clipboard soldier reading through his notes. The blond man pulled a small, boxed package with a red string around it out of his coat pocket, handing it over to Sasuke before strutting out of the room.

"Who's first, Shisui?" he asked boredly, looking as if he had better things to do. He untied the red string, before moving onto the brown paper and tearing it off. I saw a small, white box, and watched as Sasuke opened its lid.

"Yuudai Tachibana," said Shisui, looking at me. I nodded in understanding and walked out of the room, numb, and uncertain.

What on earth were they going to do?