Outside the room, and down what Sasuke assumed must be a hallway, there were hurried footsteps that accompanied some bickering, as Sakura's mother seemed to have finally retrieved Sakura's father. Their voices were low but harsh to one another, and even though Sasuke could not hear what they were saying, he had a feeling it had something to do with his presence there that evening. He listened carefully, straining to hear what was being said, however, before he could confirm the topic of argument, the quarreling quickly fell silent as the both of Sakura's parents approached the room.
"We'll talk about this later," were the only faint words that he caught from Sakura's mother before both entered the dining room, "All together at last. I'm sorry you had to wait."
"It wasn't that long of a wait, Mom," Sakura replied as Sasuke heard both parents take a seat.
There was a mumbled apology from Sakura's father, who otherwise remained silent. Sakura's mother then proceeded to pass around the food, continuously saying that it wasn't enough, while Sakura insisted that there was too much. Because he was unable to see what was going around the table, Sasuke listened to Sakura's short but elaborate descriptions of each dish as it came along, interlacing the scents with her descriptions where seemed appropriate. To be polite, Sasuke took a little bit of everything, and upon the first taste of the food, he deduced that Sakura got all her recipes from home—the dishes had the familiar touch that he had come to associate with her cooking.
"I hope it's to your liking," Sakura's mother said uncertainly just barely after he had put the morsel in his mouth. He nodded in reply after savoring the mouthful for a moment; Sakura's mother sighed happily, "I'm glad."
There was a silence in which everyone sat quietly to eat their food, light chitchat flowing back and forth across the table. Most of the conversation was between Sakura, Kanaye and Sakura's mother, Sasuke sometimes throwing in a polite comment where he felt it appropriate to comment. Throughout these mini-exchanges, there was not a word from Sakura's father, who remained silent where he was, and if Sasuke hadn't been able to hear the older man eating, he probably wouldn't have known he was still there. After a time and the food on the plates began to diminish, and Sasuke felt considerably better, his hunger satisfied. It was only at this time that Sakura's father, whom Sasuke felt comfortable ignoring up until this point, finally spoke.
"You're a quiet one," was the comment Sakura's father decided to make from the head of the table. A silence fell over the table in surprise of the utterance.
"So I've been told," Sasuke replied without emotion as he turned his head slightly towards the voice, suddenly wary due to the fact that he was unsure of how the comment was to be taken, "The same could be said about you."
The chuckle that was the reply was a polite one, a mirthless one. Sasuke immediately knew that the man at the table's head disapproved of him from this alone.
"Well, I suppose an introduction is in order, how rude of me," Sakura's father said evenly, his voice a little cold, "I am Haruno Kisho."
"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke replied politely, but he liked Sakura's father less and less with each passing moment. Sakura's assumption that he and her father would not hit it off was so far proving to be correct.
"I've heard many things about you," her father continued in an ambiguous tone. Sasuke decided to take the comment without care; Sakura's mother however didn't seem to think so highly of it, and kicked her husband quietly under the table—but not quiet enough for Sasuke to miss. "Tell me a little about yourself."
"If you've heard about me, I am sure there is little I can say that you haven't already heard," Sasuke stated politely, but even he could hear the icy tone that matched the older man at the table, "What do you wish to know?"
"Well, I've heard plenty about you from when you lived in Konoha," the man did not need to finish for Sasuke to know where he was headed with his question, "Tell me about your time after your…defection."
Sakura's mother kicked her husband hard under the table, and Sakura herself was immediately on his defensive, "Dad, that's none of your business!"
"Oh, I don't know about that," Sakura's father said offhandedly, "After all, if you're living with him, I deserve to know a little bit of what he was doing while he was away."
"It's a little bit of a personal question, don't you think?" Kanaye asked cautiously from across the table.
"No, it's a fair question," Sasuke stated coldly, and he felt all eyes land on him, "You are an ANBU, right?"
"…Yes," came a hesitant reply from the direction of the table's head.
"Well, then feel free to read the files from my interrogations to find out what you wish. The files contain the most of what I remember," Sasuke replied, his tone as pleasant as pleasant could be for him.
"I'll be sure to review those," Sakura's father replied gruffly, clearly displeased that the question had been sidestepped so easily.
"Anything else you would like to know?" Sasuke asked calmly, the awkwardness of the situation being laid on thicker by the moment. Sakura had surreptitiously grabbed his hand under the table and gave it an anxious squeeze. Then carefully and slowly—most likely so that nobody at the table would notice—she turned his hand over in hers, so that the palm was facing upwards. Sasuke was slightly distracted by her actions, curious as to what she was doing.
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