(teamwork) ZOMG THE DINNER IS DONE

[askerian]

It's like. DONE.

DOOOOOONE.

and. and.

there are only two connecting bits to weld together, and then gotta add maybe four lines to the end scene.

AND THE CHAPTER WILL BE COMPLETE.

WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO.



"You love him," she replied softly, peering at him, visibly confused.

Startled, he could only shrug, and only force of habit kept him from spluttering angrily; even under torture, he wouldn't answer that.

"... Like -- like you love Sakura?"

"No," he replied with a snort, "not at all."

She stared at him a while longer, then relaxed. Sasuke hid away all traces of emotion; if she wanted to be relieved by her assumption that his feelings for Naruto were born out of pure, platonic gratitude, he wasn't going to say anything.

He stood in silence for a few seconds longer, then, nodding a salute, he returned to the dining room. Three pairs of eyes stared up at him. Uncomfortable, he rolled his eyes briefly, and -- of course -- targeted Naruto. He was the most blatant anyway. "Do I have something on my face?"

Naruto glared at him, but before he could retort something loud and probably unfit for polite company -- not a wise move on Sasuke's part, to provoke him -- Sakura intervened. "Um, Sasuke-kun... did..."

"Everything's alright," he replied with a sigh, and sat down again, trying to ignore his teammates' curious looks.

Yukihiro chuckled. "So you are secretly a diplomat, I see."

Sasuke couldn't help it; he stared at the man incredulously. Half a second later, Sakura and Naruto choked on a burst of laughter. Sakura politely pretended to have been coughing, but Naruto had to press both hands to his mouth to stifle his laugher. Yukihiro had adopted a ponderous, benevolent expression that didn't entirely hide the mirth in his eyes.

"Oh yeah," Naruto snickered. "He's like... a special diplomat. An Interrogation Squad diplomat."

"Naruto, shut it before I make you."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but sobered up, lowering his voice as he glanced toward the door worriedly. "No, seriously, are you sure --"

"Yes. But maybe you'd like to go and make sure?" Sasuke growled, challenging the blond with a harsh glare.

"Does either of you young men drink tea?" Hana inquired briskly from the door. "Coffee?"

Naruto grinned guiltily. "Ah -- either is fine... Though--"

"Tea," Sakura intervened, giving Naruto a quick glare before he could ask for coffee, and then glanced quickly at Sasuke. "They'll both have tea."

Sasuke frowned -- he didn't want to drink anything -- but let it slide. He had a feeling anything he said at the moment would be too aggressive, and it wasn't the time or place to rip into either of his teammates. Crossing his arms, he attempted to smooth his expression. They wouldn't be expecting to stay long after dinner; it was late after all. Then he'd go and lock himself in his bedroom, and if Naruto made noise he would kick him out and beat him up in the building's courtyard. They were about due for another row.

"Sakura, why don't you go and help your mother with tea?" Yukihiro suggested softly.

Sasuke tensed, looking up sharply.

"Dad--"

"Sakura, please."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke quickly. Sasuke shrugged minutely; nothing they could do. The blond grinned at Sakura in reassurance that they would survive. She sighed, giving them a quick, worried look before departing. She probably had the same thought as them; "divide and conquer." It would be easier to sound them for cracks if they weren't covering for each other... argh. It wasn't a mission, and Sakura's father wasn't Intelligence, damn it, he was barely a genin.

"Sir?" Sasuke asked, going on the offensive.

Yukihiro huffed and leaned back in his chair. "I have no real say; Sakura is of legal age to make her own decisions. Ultimately, my opinion on your arrangement isn't all that important either. But..." He placed his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together. "There are still worries I would like to lay to rest, if you don't mind."

Sasuke considered him for a few seconds in silence, wondering why the man hadn't become a negotiator.

"Uh, sure, shoot. Wait, no! Don't shoot."

Yukihiro chuckled softly. "Don't worry. I wouldn't want to splash blood on the carpet."

Naruto gulped. Somehow that had failed to reassure him; not that it reassured Sasuke. Well, damn, the old washout wouldn't have been half-bad at Interrogation himself.

The man turned to face Naruto, expression suddenly turning grimmer. "You do realize the stress and danger Sakura, and presumably the child, will face by being with you, don't you?"

Sasuke's hand clenched spasmodically on his thigh; but he didn't have any kunai with him. At his side, Naruto had gone frozen, staring at Sakura's father in shocked betrayal. Slowly, Naruto's hand rose, hovering over his stomach.

"Because of the Kyuubi?"

"Yes."

"You think he's gonna burst out and eat them," Naruto replied, quietly. "I thought... No, nothing."

Sasuke suddenly wanted to kill the man a lot more than he'd ever wished to kill his wife.

"I find myself liking you, Naruto-san... And the Yondaime was a great man, a genius. Both Sandaime and Godaime trusted his handiwork. Who am I to doubt them?"

Naruto's head jerked up; Yukihiro looked pained.

"Fair or not, though, you are still an outcast in most circles. And if you live with Sakura, you will drag her down with you. How do you plan on taking care of that?"

Sasuke bristled. How dare he put it all on Naruto's shoulders -- Naruto goddamnit don't look like that -- don't...

"...They don't have to know," the blond finally replied with a smile that Sasuke wanted to punch off his face, never to see again. "I'd be all right with just passing as a roommate."

"You would hide it, then?"

Sasuke's blunt nails were leaving gouges into his palms. But he wasn't welcome to take part in the discussion.

Naruto scowled briefly, hands clenched in his lap. "No! I just... wouldn't mention it. Unless people ask for it and I think they have a right to know."

"People will gossip."

"The gossips can go hang for all I care."

Sasuke wondered when exactly his hand had landed on Naruto's wrist. He was probably leaving bruises by now. But the blond wasn't protesting.

"I'm not gonna be ashamed," Naruto added, glowering fiercely. "If it was just me I wouldn't care who knew. But... it's not just me, so I'll keep it quiet. People are always watching what Sasuke's doing, and Sakura-chan isn't used to being stared at like that -- like they watch him, and like they watch me... And then there's the baby... But I'm not gonna sneak in and out in the night either. I'm not."

"You better," Sasuke managed to growl past the lump in his throat.

Yukihiro watched them in silence, then sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well, at least you are a lot more aware of the issue than I thought you would be. And no doubt Sakura will grow more resilient with time. This does mean no public displays of affection, though..."

"Oh, come on," Sasuke snapped, at the end of his rope, "we're ninjas. If people want to spy on us looking for little signs, they'll find them. They'll probably find them more between them than with me."

"... and why is that? I thought you three were equally..."

"Because I hate being pawed at." He tossed his head impatiently, pushed back a lock of hair that had been tickling his cheek for the past half-hour, damn Sakura's hair gel. "So they'll gossip. So what? I agree with Naruto; they can go hang, I don't give a damn. And if the baby has blond hair, it will be more than a few speculative whispers behind our backs. So? We'll deal."

"You two might be used to it," the man replied somberly, making Naruto wince guiltily.

Sasuke scoffed at them both. "You all treat Sakura as if she was made of China. She's sturdier than that; and if she was less sheltered she might even notice. She'll mope a bit, and then she'll decide that the gossip-mongers are a bunch of brainless twits and get over it."

Yukihiro frowned faintly. "...Is that really what you think?"

Sasuke's eye twitched, but he worked on getting it under control. He shrugged, pushing the lock of hair away again. He didn't want to snap at him; he'd already been too blunt.

"She doesn't trust in herself; so long as we're taking front, she stands back, she lets us deal with the heavy violence. But when push comes to shove, I've never seen her run away. She won't run from that either."

Naruto stared at him, then grinned widely. "Hee. I'm so telling her that you said that."

Sasuke didn't have the time to threaten him with violence to make sure he kept quiet.

"Well, if you are sure that you can deal with this little matter appropriately, there are a few others, Uchiha-san. None of the other clans will object, or feel slighted?"

Sasuke was thrown off-track by the realization that the man was actually aware of clan politics. "...It's not like any of them can push for an alliance via arranged marriage. I can't marry anyone from a clan without endangering my bloodline."

"Mmh. I also assume that you do not wish to leave the village any longer."

That, Sasuke noted distractedly through the faint buzzing in his ears, was probably revenge for the accusation of coddling Sakura earlier. He swiftly dodged the hand that Naruto was lifting to rest on his shoulder, and realized belatedly that things were too clear and flowed together too neatly; he had slipped into the Sharingan.

"Sasuke--"

He closed his eyes briefly, shoving his feelings down, deep down below where they couldn't touch him, and reopened his eyes. Black. Better.

"I am not," he hissed, "going to abandon my family. Ever."

Naruto looked like he was about to try a desperate tackle to save Yukihiro's life. Sasuke had better control than that.

"Not even if the child is blond?"

... Sasuke had better control than that. He did. He really did. He closed his eyes again, though; just in case.

"No."

Naruto snickered weakly. "Hey, you never know, he or she could be a nine-headed redhead with the hand-wings things you got from the cursed seal."

Sasuke glared at him, and had the satisfaction of seeing him wilt. "This isn't funny."

"Ah, lighten up, okay?"

If they had been alone, it would have been his cue for a "no, not okay" and a punch in the face. Sasuke glared at Naruto, silently promising to save it for later.

"You have no sense of humor."

"Not about my family, no," he growled back.

Sasuke stared hard at Naruto for a moment longer, until the idiot stopped muttering, then turned to face Yukihiro. "Do you have any more... concerns?" If he had any, he could stuff them up his ass.

Yukihiro was still cutting him open with his eyes, still calm and poised and neutral enough to make Sasuke snarl. "Mmh. You seem to have decided to do your best as a husband and father. I wish you and your clan the best, Uchiha-sama."

The man even added a deliberate respectful nod.

Sasuke was suddenly past caring, though.

He was going to have a clan again.

He was going to have a clan again, and he had nowhere to house it, nothing to feed it with, and was still too weak to protect it.

And Itachi was still out here.

Itachi was still out here, and if he didn't know yet about the child, he probably would soon.

... and then what? What would happen? What could he do? He'd grown stronger, yes; but so had his brother, more than probably. And Sasuke was still locked inside Konoha until further notice -- until they trusted him again.

He needed more fights, more experience -- badly. He needed more money -- the pay scale of a genin wouldn't work anymore. He needed to corner Kakashi and force more techniques out of him. Kakashi and -- who else would teach him? Orochimaru was dead, and most other jounin...

"Sasuke? Here's your tea," Sakura offered quietly. She didn't meet his eyes; he wondered what his expression looked like -- how long she and her mother had been listening in. The woman was serving Naruto, neutral -- but when Naruto offered a little smile and his thanks, Sasuke caught her lips quirking up weakly in response.

He hadn't even heard them come back.

But Itachi...

No. Not now. Now was the time to listen to more small talk, and even -- sort of, cautiously -- to participate. A little. Now was the time to hum and nod, leaning over pictures of another family.

Now was not the time to think about his brother, leaning over a crib.

Comments

[stripedpetunia.livejournal.com]

*wibble* The ANGST. I love you. And yay, Yukihiro has some talents after all. :D

Yay for Sasuke promising not to ditch his precious people to go hunt for Itachi all alone

[askerian]

XD Yukihiro would have been a good diplomat. the kind who holds you by the balls and yet doesn't stop smiling. XD

♥

[finnigan-geist.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAH! YAY!

Hoooo, I knew Sakura's father couldn't be as cool with everything as he seemed. XD Seriously, it's very weird how much Papa and Mama Haruna remind me of my own mom and dad.

I've liked all of the dinner, but this is just great. It's just people talking, but it's tense and tight and wheeee drama and Sasuke going into Sharingan he's so mad (HOT).

And, HOMAN THE LAST LINE. Afjsldjfslj Sasuke angsting about his clan and his brother, YAY. I am in love with you, Asuka.

[askerian]

hah, he's trying his best, but he's only human. XD

eeeeeeee~ so glad you like, because it was definitely not easy. ♥ (the sharingan thing wasn't planned, it just happened, but hee. I like it when sasuke throws me curve balls like that. XD)

#^_________^# ♥ ♥ ♥

[joisbishmyoga.livejournal.com]

*desperately wants to LEAP INTO THE FIC AND SLICE ITACHI TO RIBBONS*

Wow, Sakura's parents just aren't GETTING it. Genes mean bullshit; the baby is Sasuke's, the team is his family. "Even if the baby is blond", pfft. Somebody hasn't considered that mayyyyyybe Sasuke was there when Naruto had sex with Sakura.

I love, love how Sasuke slipped into Sharingan unconsciously. And how he's only barely managing to keep from beating the shit out of Naruto.

[askerian]

oi, poor itachi, he hasn't done anything yet, it's all in sasuke's head. D:

*snerk* know what would be awesome, brainbreaky fun? If sasuke was preggers too XDD Kyuunaru: .. well, duh, I mean, I'm a kitsune... you know, magical...? serves a fertility goddess...? There's something really amusing about the idea of kyuubi with one bitch on each side. XD

mrrrr ♥♥

[malika.livejournal.com]

ahh, Teamwork *_* how I love it~

love the last line too :D

[askerian]

heh, thanks ^^

[kill-kirin.livejournal.com]

Nyaaaah !!
For once I got first dibs on a comment !!!
mwahahahahahahaaaa !!!
*cough*
Nice, 'suka ! I really like your Teamwork fic ! Wish you could have done it in French though ... Ah well ... beggars can't be chosers ...


edit : sigh ... why is it that during the 30 seconds it took me to write the comment four people managed to beat me to the stake ? ^^;

[askerian]

hahahaha *moque sans pitié* trop leeeente~

*calincalin copinedemoi* i'm too lazy to translate all that in french. You wanna do it? O:DDD

[quickthorne.livejournal.com]

Oh god, the ANGST. How much do I love you for it? So, so much.

Also, that "Uchiha-sama" seems like too little too late for Sasuke. But oh well. He has his clan now. So yay!

[askerian]

mmm, angst. I was wondering if i wasn't laying it on a bit too thick by the end. XD oh well. (mmh, if the next scene makes people cry, i shall be happy. muahahahahaha.)

[shiny-glor-chan.livejournal.com]

*squeaks* Ya know, I may have to reread your Teamwork to remember half of what's going on. >>;; This chapter was love! Poor Sasuke-kun. Yukihiro is as brutal as Ibiki-san! Nyah! Continue soon!

[askerian]

*snerk* eyy, maybe. if you hit the tag, the previous scenes from this chapter should show up ^^; (unless i forgot one)

[rianax.livejournal.com]

/Now was not the time to think about his brother, leaning over a crib./

God, how you can get such menance in that one parting image-- you drive home bone deep what kind of damage Itachi has dealt to his younger brother.

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

Hooboy. Itachi better not ever show his face near Konoha - a berserker Sasuke is not anything anybody sane should want to face, and I think that's what he'd be dealing with. Add in Naruto and Kyuubi in full agreement on something ("Sasuke MINE! Cub MINE! DIIEEEEEEEEEEE!") and I don't think even Itachi could survive. Or anyone else, for that matter.

[askerian]

XD oh, he's not gonna show up in konoha anytime soon. *insert evil laughter here*

[sparklemagpie.livejournal.com]

ZOMG SASUKE WACKINESS!

I.... love you to bits and doom. You rule! ^^

Best part is your last line. Mainly because I have more than once imagined Itachi looming over Sasuke's precious children and Sasuke bolting up from nightmares of the same. SUCH a good image.

Love you to bits and bits and bits.

[animeprincess.livejournal.com]

ooo, heavy realizations. and DAMN creepy image of Itachi blinking down at a new nephew or niece.

i don't quiiite understand what exactly Yukihiro is asking of Naruto. he's and outsider, so what? he still gets work. i don't get politics, i guess. ^^;;;;;

[askerian]

hohohoho. mrrr. can you imagine how much Sasuke would FREAK if anything like that happened?

*blinka* what he's asking where? mostly his problem with naruto isn't about politics, it's about being a social outcast. Sakura is a social girl, not like sasuke who'd be happy if he lived on an island and naruto who dealt with rejection all his life. ^^;

[sarolynne.livejournal.com]

Yay! You're finally getting through this scene! And it's turning out well, toward the end here. I think you did a very good job of making Sakura's parents like parents. It's a peeve of mine that when most authors include parents, their either totally evil for telling their kids to turn their music down, or they're very empty, or they're much too cool. Through out, they've seemed mostly like people who were worried about their daughter, and sometimes express their need to be involved badly.

My mother was talking over my shoulder during her lunch break while I was trying to read this, so I'm afraid I fail at catching bits that need to be cleaned up. If you like, I'll read over again later?

Either way, I think you need to celebrate getting the scene done. Probably with sleep.

[gothicstargrl.livejournal.com]

[link] (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/gothicstargrl/starchanomg_page1b.gif) [link²] (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/gothicstargrl/starchanomg_page2b.gif)

It's official. I now speak only in Chibiscribble. XD;;;

[askerian]

!!!!!!! *DIES*

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~ *squishes you*

[ivyadrena.livejournal.com]

o____o Oh man, Asuka... LOVE!


And that last line-- kheeeeell! X3

[askerian]

fufufu. thank you~

[askerian]

ohoho, yes, poor sasuke. *muahahahaha*

... v-voldemort...?

*asuka goes splodies* !!!!!!!!!! x__________________x XD

nitpicks noted, thanks! will edit tomorrow cause. lazy. sleep now. thank you ^^

[a-white-rain.livejournal.com]

"Does either of you young men drink tea?" Hana inquired briskly from the door. "Coffee?"
Should be:
"Do either of you young men drink tea?" Hana inquired briskly from the door. "Coffee?"

and if Naruto made noise he would kick him out and beat him up in the building's courtyard. They were about due for another row.
This line just stuck out for me for some reason. (I can sort of picture Sasuke, for some reason, at some point, figuring how long it takes for them to fight, because he’s paranoid like that.)

Sasuke suddenly wanted to kill the man a lot more than he'd ever wished to kill his wife.
I love Sasuke. And I love your Sasuke.

"...They don't have to know," the blond finally replied with a smile that Sasuke wanted to punch off his face, never to see again. "I'd be all right with just passing as a roommate."
Poor Naruto, I like that his problems are subtler then Sakura and Sasuke are in this.

"I am not," he hissed, "going to abandon my family. Ever."
That line stuck out for me, I like how you contrasted him with Itachi. Itachi’s never far away from Sasuke, and this family thing is making that pain Sasuke feels everyday sharper.

Now was not the time to think about his brother, leaning over a crib.
I want to hug Sasuke.

Overall, I think this piece was the strongest of the dinner thing. I can feel it now, like I usually do when I read you fics, and the other bits kind of lacked that.

And yeah on the chapter being done!

[askerian]

thankies for the help *squish*

sasuke has figured out that when they go too long without fighting, they start gathering tension XD after a good fight they're almost best buds and all XD (yeah, i could feel it too. whee :3 ♥ )

*Dead*

[kiwi-socks.livejournal.com]

I had a heart-attack of joy from seeing this <3

Really should not have giggled at that last line, though; it looks very loverly and serious and foreshadowing. But I got this random picture of Itachi showing up, peering over the crib like the 'Kilroy was here' man, and wibbling like a fool.

Sasuke's panic attack (Except not, because he's too cool to have one) was very fitting and properly brought reality crashing down.

Re: *Dead*

[muffytaj.livejournal.com]

Okay, now that has just implanted in my head the idea of Itachi having a bit of a soft spot for babies, which is not at all right! In fact, I think the image of Itachi holding a baby trying to get it to say "Uncle Itachi" even though it's only a few months old is more terrifying than him standing in a field of blood. *cowers under bedsheets*

A brilliant fic, with the emotion running high, and poor Sasuke trying not to kill everyone. And yes, I like Sakura!Daddy very much, he's so cruel in such a kind way. He's the sort that will politely smile even as he is preparing to gut you. And I love how the mummy has that tiny little wobbly smile for Naruto. No one can resist his wooby love! (He even managed to break Sasuke's heart when Daddy was mean to him)

[silverkiiri.livejournal.com]

Oh, the woob. I love Sasuke getting getting all defensive over his family. SO precious.

Itachi... Honestly, I'd kind of forgotten about him... ::bite lip nervously::

[askerian]

ahaha. XD Yeah, so much is going on with their little lives right now, people forget about Itachi... and Akatsuki.. and their plans...

*rubs hands gleefuly*

[gypsy-sonata.livejournal.com]

Wow! Great chapter! Started out nice and mellow. Then the tension with Naruto and Sakura's dad. Followed by Sasuke angst. Finishing it with that great line at the end. Beautifully done.

Now was not the time to think about his brother, leaning over a crib. I got chills when I read that line. It just sound so threatening.

[askerian]

*^___^* eee, thank you~

*posts the next part whee*

[sanjuno.livejournal.com]

Is it bad that the last line about Itachi leaning over a crib made me think the scary, scary thought of Itachi wuth children?

Itachi: I will not allow little brother to surpass me in any way.
Itachi: *eyes Kisame in speculation*
Kisame: ...
Kisame: Oh, hell no. Go find somebody else.
Itachi: *pouts*

Craaaack. It makes what's left of my mind hurt.

But anyway, I really liked this part, and yeah, I agree that this bit is the strongest of what you've got out so far. I just want to give them all hugs. And wheee! Sasuke the protector is so cute! ^______^

*luvs you*

[askerian]

.. *dies of crack* XD

♥

[complexphoenix.livejournal.com]

Yeah, getting your family brutally wiped out would tend to destroy your sense of humor about your family. And now it is time to ANGST ABOUT HOW ITACHI IS COMING AFTER YOUR BABY MUAHAHAHAHA.

<3

[askerian]

*snickers* no, seriously, sasuke, why don't you find it funnyyy. XD

mm, angst.

[kayryn666.livejournal.com]

Ah. Ow. Very poignant bit here. I adored seeing Sasuke's emotions running a little bit away with him.

"Not even if the child is blond?"

... Sasuke had better control than that. He did. He really did. He closed his eyes again, though; just in case.


This line made me giggle a bit. I absolutely loved the way you wrote this tiny little amusing line in the middle of such a high tension moment.

...I just actually realized that this is the part of your writing that I love the most. You know how to write these little lines where you don't say exactly what has happened, but because of the character's reaction you know exactly how this moment panned out, and this is a trait I find that most native English authors don't know how to work properly. And you do it with seemingly such ease!

Brava love, this, I feel, is the best part of chapter 5 yet!

_{The angst-muffin Sasuke made me smile. A lot. Hee!}

[kayryn666.livejournal.com]

From. I totally meant to say I adored seeing Sasuke's emotions running a little bit away from him.

Gah, and I even read over that comment a couple times. >

I like this

[rc1ca.livejournal.com]

I really like this snippet and you have a wonderful way with last lines that was perfect.

Just a few questions. Would not Sasuke still have the clan Lands and houses.? As he was underage when the clan was killed it would of gone into trust till sasuke reached his majority.

thus when he ran away he was a minor so the lands would still be in trust . He just has to get the village to release the trust. As well the clan was likely very well off and thus Sasuke cash flow would be better.

Also it is possible that the scroll Itachi told him about had also a few more clan secrets then how to obtain the final form of the Sharigian.

Just some thoughts for your wonderful team work fic. Now off to read your wonderful cyborg fics, again.