Ｕｃｈｉｈａ

XXV

"No, no, no. You're doing it wrong." I nagged, taking Sakura's place and taking my rightful place as chef of the Inuzuka manor, where I took pride in making the woman of the house—Tsume— her precious afternoon lunch.

Alright, I lied. Tsume got mad at us so now we're all doing something around the house, shut up.

The guys were all dispersed throughout the house—dusting off the higher places, sweeping, gardening, studying, feeding the dogs, establishing a hierarchy of who knows what, and painting portraits as best as they could of their leader, Haku. You know, the usual.

Only, Haku wasn't here, otherwise the portraits would be a lot more accurate. I'm pretty sure their eyes weren't that dull, if anything, that kid had the most shiniest dark orbs anyone has ever seen. Of course, the portraits had some flaws to it, and especially...

"Are you guys seriously trying to tell me you think Haku is a girl?" I asked, immediately getting three faces looking my way.

"...She's... a boy?" The three of them asked.

"Seriously guys?" I asked and I could hear Sakura behind me laughing.

Yes, she laughs.

"You guys are idiots." Kiba mumbled as he passed by with the laundry bin. "We all know Haku is a mystery."

"A beautiful one." One of the guys dreamily added.

"Idiots." Kiba once again shouted from down the hallway in a teasing manner.

Idiots, indeed.

"Naruto," Sakura tapped my shoulder, "are you sure this is okay?"

"I don't know, Sakura. Last time I tried baking, Choji ended up taking all the frosting. I had to make do with shaving cream but I guess it wasn't the same." She blinked, looking at me with an empty expression. "For the record, we were like, eight, and it was Sasuke's idea."

A small smirk tugged at the edges of her lips. "I mean about what I told you." She said.

"Oh, that..."

Earlier, Sakura had pulled me to the side, saying she needed to tell me something important. At first, I had thought it was going to be some 'I'm going to break up with Sasuke so you guys can go out because you guys make a pretty pair' thing, but no. She didn't say anything about us making a pretty pair.

"It's fine."

"Naru—"

"It's my choice, not his, Sakura. If it were up to me, then I'd gladly take it, but let's face it. You were right." I hated talking about this. "He has no interest in me, so I forbid you from doing what you told me. In fine with this all being one sided."

"Naruto, I know I've always been a bitch, but this time, I'm serious. Yesterday, Sasuke said nothing to me. Your transfer is really getting to him, don't you see? I've given up entirely. You and I both know Sasuke since we were kids—there's never been anything that had ever made him that way until now."

"Sakura, you're the one that told me to transfer. He loves you—and the only reason he's sad now is because I left him in charge of being vice for the Uzumaki group." She looked at me, blinked. "Its a secret, he doesn't know yet." She nodded. "Sakura, really though, thank you. But you're not going to break up with him simply because he chooses now to be a mess."

"Who's made a mess?" Kiba asked, sitting down on top of the kitchen island.

"Sasuke is heartbroken because I'm taking you and Sai with me." I answered. "Speaking of, what should I leave for him? You know, as a congratulations on becoming Vice?"