Selfish Desire [Sasuke Uchiha]

Chapter 26: One Suspenseful Night

Ayuda's P.O.V

[That same night...]

"Reina, when I said that we're going to make a barbeque party for Ayuda's return tonight, I really meant a barbeque party, not a drink-till-you-drop party!" chided the tomboyish Jounin called Shiori who glared on the three liquor bottles that Reina just purchased in other store and held them within her arms.

My older sister then hugged the aforementioned drinks closer to her chest and spoke like a clingy little girl who did not want to let go of her teddy bear, "I need them! A lot of things have happened today and this is sort of an option to calm me down!"

Shiori, Reina, Sakura, Kaito, Kazuki, Neji, and I were now occupying a table in the far corner of the barbeque restaurant. All the girls were sitting on one side while the boys sat across from us. The two older women among us began to bicker about whether or not Reina should drink the liquor during the party with the addition of the crow – still settling itself atop my sister's shoulder – cawing occasionally as though it also had its own comment. Nevertheless, the three of them were making quite a loud noise and we were fortunate to have picked the table in the very corner of the shop to evade any glares of other customers.

The rest of us sweatdropped at the three of them – if you included the crow – and turned our attention back to one another when Kazuki spoke up, "As long as we get to celebrate for this occasion, then I'm fine with anything."

"Same here," added Neji.

Kaito then pointed out, "But I'm sure that Shiori-sensei is just worried that Reina would ruin this celebration in her drunken self."

I joined in, "If it's Reina, there's nothing to worry about. She has a high tolerance for alcohol so the chance of her getting drunk like a madman is very unlikely."

"You hear that?!" told Reina to my tomboyish teacher once I finished talking, "My sister knows me better and she said that herself! So fret not, Shiori. Everything will go just fine."

Shiori ended up sighing in defeat, "If you say so."

Sakura chimed in with a grin, "Then, why don't we start ordering our food, guys?"

True to Reina's words, everything did go very well despite the fact that she had gotten a tad drunk but was still pretty sensible after chugging down the three bottles. However, she spent the last fifteen minutes by laying half of her upper body across the table with her chin pressed on the surface. She was, by then, must be emotionally and physically exhausted for the day.

I sent her a sad smile without her awareness. Well, the man whom she is smitten with was killed by his own brother. It would be not shocking if she needs a handful of liquor to soothe her emotions down.

Since she was in such position, the crow was now standing on the open window. I was just noticing a certain behavior of this bird when Kaito voiced out my exact thought, "You know, I find that crow really odd. He's glued to Reina-san since we headed back to our village and it hasn't yet fled like other birds even though the window is wide ajar."

"You're right," agreed Kazuki.

"I thought that crow is Reina's pet or something," opined Neji.

Sakura added, "It's like it doesn't want to separate itself from Reina-san."

"Hmm, let me talk to him or her real quick," Kaito rose from his seat and sauntered towards the window where the crow was at. He then bent his upper body forward to somewhat even out their eye-level and patted its head with his pointy and middle fingers. He cooed, "Hey there, little fella. Mind telling me why you still stay with us?"