Nerdy

Forty-Six

"Thank you for the trouble you took for this, Uzumaki Naruto." (Name) said while glaring at Sasuke who had just left the kitchen to see what, or who, was making (Name) take so long at the door. Sasuke caught her gaze and looked away, pretending to have nothing to do with anything.

"Don't be so formal, (Name). I was planning to come over anyway." said Naruto as he casually slung his arm around her shoulder. "We're friends so it's only natural to help each other out." He grinned at her and then at Sasuke. But Sasuke wasn't looking at him. His glare was burning holes in Naruto's hand on (Name)'s shoulder. Naruto gave out a nervous laugh and slowly brought his hand back to his side. Sasuke's glare softened, but only a little, as he shifted it to Naruto.

"Your mom was baking again. She made muffins for everyone." said Naruto explained as he handed them out to Sasuke. "Oh, and she said she was sorry that she couldn't come herself but she will stop by in the evening."

Sasuke nodded.

"Oh, and she told (Name) not to make any dinner because she will bring something."

Sasuke nodded again. "Anything else? " he asked.

Naruto was about to shake his head, but he caught himself. "And she told you to be a good boy." he said.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Don't just stand there." Sasuke said to him as he started making his way back to the kitchen, expecting Naruto to follow him.

Naruto kicked off his shoes, ignoring (Name)'s glares at that, and went after Sasuke. As soon as he reached the kitchen, he immediately stopped.

"Man, what is this horrible stench ? It reeks in here." he said while holding a hand over his nose.

"Tell me about it." (Name) said as she walked past him and entered the kitchen.

"No, seriously. Who died in here ?" Naruto asked as he looked around the kitchen for signs of anything. With (Name) and Sasuke together, they might even kill somebody they find annoying. Maybe it was Shion. Maybe he was next. Naruto looked up to find Sasuke glaring daggers at him and (Name) putting on gloves and a face mask.

"Don't tell me.." Naruto's eyes widened.

"Whatever you're thinking, it's wrong." (Name) interrupted him, realizing that he was jumping to conclusions. But Naruto still looked at her warily.

(Name) sighed. "This person here was trying to make something for Shion." she said as she vaguely gestured over to Sasuke.

Naruto raised his eyesbrows and nodded slowly, prompting her to continue.

"Well, he failed." she said.

"But what- what was he trying to make ?" asked Naruto.

(Name) looked pissed for having to explain everything, but she sighed and did it anyway. "He wanted to show me how to make a salad. He did make one. But then he got too ahead of himself and decided to make a chicken salad."

(Name) paused. Naruto stared at her as he waited for her to continue. But she just stared back with a frown.

"What ?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know." she said. "He made me wait outside while he made it, you know, to keep his recipe a secret." (Name) rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what he did in there. He won't tell me. All I know is that it left behind this horrible stench and was purple."

Naruto looked at Sasuke with an amused look for a confirmation. Sasuke avoided his gaze, but Naruto had gotten his answer. He burst out laughing loudly as he patted hard on Sasuke's shoulder.

"And I thought you could cook." said Naruto, in between laughs, as he rested one hand on Sasuke's shoulder with the other clutched his side as he laughed.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him and shook off Naruto's hand off his shoulder. "I can cook." he said. "It's just that I was trying to make this myself without referring to a recipe, and, well, I couldn't." he said, scowling and looking away from (Name) and Naruto. Even with half her face covered with the mask, Sasuke knew she was smirking. He could see an amused glint in her eye. Sasuke's expression softened, if only a little, and he let out a sigh.

"You go keep Shion company. I'll clean this up and get rid of this stench." he said, taking the air freshner from (Name)'s hand before she could stop him. "I wouldn't like it if you cleaned up after my mess anyway." he mumbled, lower than anyone could her.

(Name) was about to object, but the doorbell rang and interrupted her. She frowned and looked at both the guys.

"I wonder who it is now." said Naruto. "Should I go get the door ?"

"Is your mother here early ?" (Name) muttered softly, but Sasuke heard her.

"I don't think so." said Sasuke. "She believes in being 'fashionably late' so she will never be on time, let alone arrive early."

"Did you guys order anything ?" asked Naruto, but he only got negative replies.

(Name) stopped Naruto and headed to get the door. She stood on her tiptoes and peeped through the peephole. Frowning to herself, she opened the door and the frowned at the man in front of her. She opened her mouth to speak, but someone beat her to it.

"What are you doing here ?" Sasuke demanded as he frowned at his brother. Itachi looked unfazed by Sasuke's hostility as he looked up from his feet to meet Sasuke's eyes, and then looked back to his feet. He somehow looked even more tired than he did the past week. His eyes were looking dead and unfocused and he looked as if he hadn't eaten a proper meal for days. He probably hadn't. Even though he was standing in front of (Name) and Sasuke, it was as if his mind was elsewhere.

Itachi ran a hand through his hair, which was tied in an extremely messy and loose ponytail. It looked like a half-hearted job. "I.. I came to talk to Shion. I need to talk to her." he finally said.

(Name) took in his appearance. He seemed to have had a very rough afternoon. Itachi was a person who was always groomed and well-mannered. It was rare seeing him this way. She was unsure if it was alright to let him talk to Shion. She had no idea what he was going to say and whether Shion wanted to hear it.

In her moment of indecision, she looked up at Sasuke at the exact same time when he looked down at her. For a few quiet moments, they held each other's gazes, as if having a silent conversation. Then they looked at Itachi. He still looked extremely out of it and in a total daze. Even though he was looking in their direction, he wasn't looking at them.

Silently, both of them stepped aside and let Itachi in. In those few silent moments, both of them had come to a conclusion. Whatever happened between Shion and Itachi, was not a matter they could stick their nose into. It was better for them to talk about it and sort out their problems. (Name) and Sasuke were in no position to interfere.

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A/N:- Sorry for the delayed update. I was having a writer's block and also I wasn't at my own house. The ending to this book is only around 4 chapters away :) Dont worry, though. There will also be a sequel.