[Chapter 23: Huh. Wasn't so bad after all.]

The funeral was bittersweet and silent, not that it wasn't supposed to be like that. Believe it or not, this was actually my first funeral ever.

Well, unless you consider my clan's funeral where literally only 7 people attended.

Yup, that's how much the Uchiha were hated with their sticks up their ass.

Anyways, here I was, standing next to Sasuke as we listened to Iruka's speech. It was a good one, I had to admit, but I low-key didn't want to listen to it when we're mourning Hiruzen. Like many things in the series, Hiruzen was a controversial topic: he was either glorified at being kind to Naruto and yadda yadda or berated as a weak jerk who got manipulated easily by his 'friends'. I v honestly have to agree with the latter but I can understand those who think otherwise, especially those who are blinded by their childish nostalgia.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I called out to my team when it was over, waving towards Kakashi and Sakura in general. "You guys are invited to our house for dinner!"

"Nee-chan, when did we--"

"Yeah! Great idea, Megumi!" Naruto interrupted, raising a fist up in excitement.

"Re-really? I wouldn't be a bother to you and Sasuke-ku—" The girl faulted on her words, "Sa-Sasuke?" She stammered with red cheeks: I had pinched the girl's cheeks earlier when she said that she felt terrible that she wasn't able to be there when Naruto fought Gaara.

"Nah, not at all," I assured, grasping Kakashi's sleeve before he could yeet himself away to his depression. I stretched my smile as I turned to my teacher, "No objections, dum dum."

"I--"

"No. "

"Itadakimase!" Twirling my chopsticks in between my hands, I dove into the prepared food.

"Oi, dobe!" Sasuke scolded at the said blond, "Quit hogging all of the food over there."

"It's not my fault that you're just too slow, dattebayo!" He countered, swiping a slice of meat before the duck head could get it.

"You...!"

"Mahhh... no need to be all competitive with this," The scarecrow spoke, placing down his empty bowl and chopsticks with a soft thud. Letting out a satisfied moan, the scarecrow laid back against the back of the chair.

"E-eh?!" Our enthusiastic teammate stammered out, slamming his hands on the table, Sasuke taking a slice of tomato quickly. "How do you keep on doing that, dattebayo?!"

I giggled, plopping a piece of food into my mouth. Chewing, I moved my eyes to find a familiar pink-haired girl eating silently. I held in my sigh, is she really still upset about that?

"Oi, Sakura," I blinked, turning to my left to see that, yup, my brother starting a new conversation. Which was to my surprise! "You were good in your match."

The girl fumbled with her chopsticks, widening her eyes at the unexpected words, "U-uh, but...!" Recomposing herself, she lowered her head and lid down her hands, "I... I lost with just one attack."

"Huh?! What are ya blabbing about, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed, confused with a brow arched up. "Did you see what you did there? It was so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah!" I agreed, adding on to the motivation train. It's Sakura-Loving hours! "You fucking—"

"Language."

"When did that matter in the life full of fucking " I objected with a whip of my head, smiling back at our Sensei. It was subtle, but I swore he tensed for a second. Turning back, I continued, "You punched the Earth! And it cracked! Did I mention that you also looked like an Earthbender when you kicked those rocks at Hiro!?" I giggled as Sakura's cheeks quickly turned into shades of red. "Uwahhhh... I know I trained you to be stronger and stuff but I didn't you'd turn into Toph!"

"Who?"

"A fictional character!"

"Bu-bu...!" She stammered, spouting out sounds as if that was an excuse to lower herself down.

"Hn. Just accept it already," Sasuke stated with slight irritation laced in his voice, releasing a closed-eyed, tired sigh at her. Blinking his dark eyes open, he darted them to stare intently at her flustered green eyes. "You've improved."

The silence was what came out of her: blushing and all. It was then she slowly nodded and raised up her hands to squish her cheeks together, "Ye-yeah...!"

Oh. My.

Is— is this a SasuSaku moment? That caused?! Oh yes! I couldn't help but giggle, dropping my utensils as I cradled the sides of my face with my hands, "" I couldn't help but let out, as my maniacal laughter only kept on growing.

"Oh no," Naruto couldn't help but cringe away. I couldn't help it— it was too cute! "She's in fangirl mode, dattebayo."

Kakashi only hummed as he read his book that the silver head had opened whilst our conversation.

✌∀

"Hey, Sakura," Sasuke called out to the back-turned girl with his hands tucked in his pockets. The said kunoichi turned around and tilted her head in confusion. It was after dinner, where Sasuke was seeing off the guests whilst Megumi was washing the dishes. However, Naruto had already entered his apartment and Kakashi had only body-flickered away so it was only them.

"Yes, Sasuke-ku— Sasuke?" She messed up on her wording again, fumbling with the hem of her skirt. There was a certain awkwardness with them, as it was probably one of the few times them being alone together without her fangirling or his brooding.

"Hn..." The Uchiha averted his eyes away from his teammate. "You can keep calling me 'Sasuke-kun'."

The girl blinked, stepping just a bit forward as she opened her mouth to object. "But, doesn't that annoy you?" She questioned, hovering a hand over her pulsing chest. Sakura couldn't understand: why would you want to keep something that will only remind you of something that you like?

"It would be more annoying if you suddenly stop using it." He answered abruptly as if a little embarrassed to say those words. The twin looked at her, "It's fine if you say it."

Sakura, once again, fell silent, not knowing what to take from this. However, it was soon that she smiled, feeling warmth bubbling deep in her chest. Raising up a hand, she waved at her teammate. "Goodbye, Sasuke-kun!"

And then she shifted her feet and rotated around, lifting them to walk back to her home.

Standing there, the said boy stayed silent, watching her slowly disappear. It's strange, he couldn't help but think— When did I start caring about her? Letting out an inaudible huff, he strode back inside, bearing just the tiniest smile as he mentally prepared himself from his sister's weird antics.

"So, how's Hinata-tan been?" I asked Hiro, who sat across from me, sipping on his cup of tea. It was yet another cafe date that we somehow managed to get. In fact, it was a bit surprising: somehow, the cafe only had minor property damage so most of it was fixed in a day or two. Nice to know that God isn't fucking everything over yet.

"She's been fine, no thanks to you." He replied back with a quite sip, setting his cup down, "Hanabi's been really enjoyed by the fact that Hinata's spending more time with her now."

"Awwww~ that's nice!" I replied back, setting my spoon down as I analyzed him. "Are you still pissed at me for ditching Hinata-tan?" I asked him even though I knew that he clearly was.

"...No." He mumbled out, averting his eyes with his head leaning in his hand.

"Sorry about that," I sighed, feeling a small pang in my chest. "Besides, It worked out in the end anyway so it's fine!" I added with assurance, hoping that it would lift his spirits a little. "And, her heart problem got fixed!"

"I know." He stated. Lowering his hand down to stretch his arms out in the table. Taking a spoonful, I ate a bit of my sundae. "You know, Hinata's been wanting to be stronger." He stated.

"Of course she is: she wants to impress her Naruto-kun, after all!"

"No, it's not because of that." He countered, letting out a sigh that almost seemed prideful. I eyed the boy, eating more of my food. The Hyuuga heir let out a smile, looking out to the window. Which is weird cuz why the hell do you want to look at construction?

("Hiro," Hinata called out to him after the Hokage's funeral.

"Yeah?" He craned his head at his side as he glanced at his older twin. Her fist was clenched at her sides as her eyes stared at him back with determination. He almost tensed at the sight of her: when did she start to look like that?

"I..." She almost looked hesitant to say her next words. However, that was swiftly dismissed when she shook her head vigorously as if that would shoo away all of the bad thoughts going through her mind. "I want to be stronger! Strong enough that I won't worry you! Strong enough to be like Megumi! Strong— Strong enough that I can

Hiro stared back at the girl, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. When did she look so much... so much like a 결정된 사람! (a determined person or I hope so, I don't know Korean. Someone, please correct me)

His lips curved upwards slightly, going in to pat a hand onto her head. The current Hyuuga heir chuckled at she softly exclaimed with a small exclaim. "You're my sister, I'm bound to worry for you.")

"She's doing it for herself now. Hinata's pushing herself to improve and prove her worth. Hell, she's even trying to take back her heir title." He explained. I giggled, placing a hand over my mouth as if to conceal it. "She also wants to be strong like you."

I paused, blinking owlishly at his claim. "Huh?" I let out, thinking. Why would she say that? I'm not strong, or at least she hasn't seen me do anything like that. I sighed through my nose, smiling a little as I traced the rim of the sundae cup. "Well she's mistaken to do so: I'm not strong at all."

Feeling my friend's curious gaze on me, I clapped my hands together, indicating that the current conversation was now over. I plopped my chin on the table, suddenly feeling bored, "Mouuuuu...! There's so little to do. I want to start the next arc already!"

"Why the do you want to get yourself into danger again?" Hiro asked in a deadpan manner, scrunching his nose a little in confusion. Repositioning my face, I melted my cheek against the cold, flat surface. "Do you have a death wish?"

"I don't know, do I?" I then pouted at my realization, "But then again, I probably won't have a chance to be in it for a while~ Damn, what's the point of being reincarnated in a shounen when there's gonna be fillers in it~?" I drawled out, feeling the utter boredom filling the void that is called my mind. Though, it's better than the actual fillers.

Hiro just sighed at the disaster that is me, staring at me with furrowed, squinting eyes. "Isn't it good for there to be peace once in a while though?"

"Why are you asking me this now even though I've complained about this a lot before we became genin?" I countered with my own question. The Hyuuga darted his eyes away, shifting his posture just a bit to be farther away. Straightening my back, I hummed in thought. "Well, I guess it's cuz with all this free time," My eyes fell to the wooden floor, suddenly finding them interesting. "I just don't know what to do with it. I... never really had it happen before."

"So," I let out a soft laugh as I moved my attention back to the male, the ends of my lips up to form a smile, "I'm grateful that you exist to be the Giyuu to my Shinobu!"

The dark-haired shinobi bolted his widening, pale eyes, his arms slacking in what I guess was a shock. Whaaaat? Did he think I wouldn't- He suddenly shouted, slamming his arm down as his shock hastily turned into anger. Thank the bubble butts for silencing seals or we would've been banned by now. "You're basically admitting you

"Awwwww, is the Tsun Tsun angry~?" I asked the fuming yet madly blushing male with a giggle.

"I'm fucking than you!"

"Don't worry, dear friend," I continued without a beat, flicking my hand out as if to further my greatness, raising my chin up. "You aren't that easy to rile up, even if you're an aloof person who's actually just too lonely and stubborn to leave your sisters' side!"

He stared back at him. The other did the same. It was a stare off as a tense air filled the atmosphere. The Hyuuga heir resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably, wanting this just to end—

"I apologize!" Hiro flinched when Neji suddenly exclaimed that, bowing down to a 90-degree angle. "I was rude to both you and Hinata-sama and ever since the tournament, I have realized my past actions and regret it!"

His breath hitched at his confession, widening his eyes as the boy stared at his cousin. Is... is the power of talk-no-jutsu powerful?! The Hyuuga thought in his head. Shaking the inappropriate thoughts out, he let out a soft, barely audible huff before stepping forward.

Neji shut his eyes at the sound of his footsteps, expecting some kind of punishment: will he beat me? Activate the curse mark?

And so, he was surprised when he felt just the slight nudge of a fist on his forehead. Snapping his eyes open, the older male straightened up to glance at Hiro's annoyed face.

"I... I really wanna beat you up!" Hiro spoke, a hint of anger in his voice. The dark-haired individual moved away from his fist, which was now slightly trembling from the restraint. "But... you don't deserve that." He concluded. "Don't think I won't forget all the shit you did to her because I won't." Stepping away, he dropped his fist to his side. Using his other hand to place on his hip, the ends of his mouth curved up to make a small smirk, "But, I will forgive you."

He held a hand out to Neji, "So how about it?"

Staring at the outstretched hand, the long-haired boy couldn't help but wonder if maybe, this was the destiny that he truly picked. Remembering a certain blond's words, he couldn't help but smile, knowing that yes: this is what he wanted, and he will become strong enough to never lose grasp of it. Neji caught Hiro's hand and shook it, forming a new social link.

"Gaara-kun..." Kugui called out to the boy, who laid on the window still whilst facing the night sky that held the moon. Kugui resisted the urge to gulp in worry and hesitance, not really knowing what to say.

"Kugui," The smaller redhead spoke, in such a soft manner that would seem to be out of character to others. He craned his head, his brow bones creased as he stared at her with eyes that held so much pain. "Do you... do you hate me?"

Her heart felt like shattering like glass. "No!" Was her immediate response, rushing up to the small child and hugged him, pressing her against his body. The sand did nothing to stop it, both Gaara and Shukaku knew just how much she cared for him. And yet, he couldn't help but doubt that maybe... maybe she'll realize just how much of a monster he was. "I will never hate you!"

She pulled back, still holding him by the shoulder. The woman smiled warmly at him, "You're not a monster. And you are loved." The jonin assured him in her usual soft-spoken yet caring tone. "Don't give up: others will learn to accept you if you start trying again."

Remembering a certain blond's speech before he had to leave that foreign village, Gaara ushered himself closer to Kugui, thinking that maybe... Just maybe, both of them were right.

"Heyyyyyy, foolish little brother," Sasuke let out a tired 'Hn' in reply from the other side couch, flipping through the channels of the tv. Television: apparently that exists. Now that I think about it, the technology here is pretty modern, besides the weaponry and all. Makes sense, since the show would end if missiles were flying everywhere. Anyways! "Ya know I love you, right?"

My brother fell rigid in his spot, his cheeks dusted a light pink as he tore his gaze away from the tv. I never said things like this often so I can understand his reaction. "...What brought up that, Nee-chan?"

"Nothing much," I replied with a small hum. Smiling at the shit I'm about to spout anyways, "I just feel like it's any day now you'll find the perfect girl to 'revive the clan' with and then I'll feel so alone!" I teased with giggles bubbling out of me, laughing as his face grew redder.

"Do-don't phrase it like that!" He stated, scooting away from me. I let out another giggle at his adorable-ness.

"It's your fault for saying exactly that when we did our team introductions~" The boy groaned, turning away as if to hide away from me. Heh, like stop me. It is the time to tease my dear younger brother!

My laughter died down as I snatched the remote from him, "But, I really do mean it."

In the corner of my view, I saw the duckling look back at me but he never decided to comment on it. I didn't talk to either.

Extra:

"Oh, right!" I suddenly exclaimed from my seat, pushing the ends of my fingers together.

Hiro rose a brow in front of me, contortion ghis face into one of curiosity. "What?"

I smiled, clasping my hands down as I leaned forward slightly. "Congrats!"

"Huh?" Was his confused response, "The hell are you talking about, Princess?" The Hyuuga inquired, not knowing where I was getting at.

"I don't really know why you did it in the first place but," I started to explain, shifting my body away slighter from him, averting my eyes away. Feeling my cheek being lonely, I placed a hand under it as I plopped my elbow against the table. I let out a sigh through my nose, "I'm glad that you finally stopped holding back towards females."