Time kept on passing. After finally getting his hands on some bounty, Sukuna relaxed a little. He wasn't taking anything too extraordinary; small-time bounties for money and experience were enough.
He limited himself to Chunin-level ninja at best and kept to the borders of the Land of Fire for the time being. He could have taken missions outside, but he didn't have to.
He didn't have much time on his hands either; he barely got a few hours outside the academy, training, learning genjutsu with Izumi, and working at the hospital.
Everything seemed to settle into a predictable recurring routine for him.
Today was different though. Today he had taken leave from his daily tasks. It was a village-wide holiday, and he planned to laze around all day long. That was what he deserved after working hard for so long.
"Man… if only I had some of those video games from back home." He yawned, lazily munching on his breakfast.
"So kids, what do you plan to do today?" Kizashi Haruno asked with a wide smile on his face. Today was one of those peaceful days in the village, and he was planning to spend it with relatives in peace yet again.
Turned out that in this case, father and son weren't that far off.
"I will go ask out Sasuke-kun for a date." Sakura chirped happily, bringing a frown to Kizashi's brows.
His girl was always talking about that Uchiha boy like he was some sort of Daimyo. He couldn't get his head around it.
He shot Sukuna a look that asked, "Why ain't you doing something about it, boy? Ain't she your sister?"
To which Sukuna replied with only a look and raised eyebrows that said, "What can I do about it? Beat him? That bastard gets orgasms when people do that, always running at me to challenge. Don't expect anything from me, old man. It's your daughter with the faulty brain, don't blame others for stealing her. If anything, it's your fault. Why'd you have to make twins, huh… a few less strokes would've killed you?"
Kizashi almost spat out his morning tea. That look on his son's face was definitely full of contempt. The language was too graphic for him to interpret; however, he knew his son had nothing but shit in his mind.
"And what about you, Sukuna? Got any girls you're taking on a date?" Kizashi grinned, trying to find trouble with his son now that he was sitting quiet.
Mebuki Haruno's ears twitched at that. The entirety of Konoha knew one Sakura Haruno liked Sasuke Uchiha. There was nothing new about it. At this point, which girl of that age didn't have a crush on that boy?
However, Mebuki never got to know about her son's love life. Just like any mother, she was hungry for gossip.
"Nope, got none. Planning on sleeping all day, or perhaps a little cardio training to open up those muscles…" Sukuna replied nonchalantly.
Mebuki deflated. At this rate, the Haruno lineage would end with her husband. "Why can't this boy act like a normal kid for once? Ain't boys supposed to get interested by this age…" she grumbled. And yeah, this was the Naruto world—by age seven or eight, this really happened here.
"Oh, then what about Karin's invitation to join her later today…" Sakura suddenly spoke from the side, making both parents' ears twitch.
Sukuna glanced at her from the side. She had that mischievous smile on her face. Sukuna just remained calm, though he mentally filed away a promise to spank her when he got some time.
"Oh really? Who's Karin? Is that the red-haired Uzumaki girl?" Mebuki asked with a teasing tone, dying to get some gossip.
"Ah, you sure are my boy. Already have girls around you," Kizashi shamelessly said, making both siblings deadpan and Mebuki raise a brow, completely sure that no girl ever gave her husband any time back in the day.
"But what about the one who asked you out on a date a few months ago…" he grinned.
Sukuna knew Sakura would be the one to tell him that. He was going to get even with her sooner or later.
"Ah, it wasn't a date, just an ice cream stroll, Dad. Like you have with Aunt Kiyoko. They don't count, right…"
CoughCough…
Kizashi almost felt like his heart escaped his chest. "How did the kid know…"
Mebuki's smile stiffened for a bit and then came back full force, though a lot creepier.
"Kiyoko huh… the one with the big hips, right?"
"Ah, you know her too, Mom. She's a nice lady, always treats me like I'm her own son."
"Own son, huh…"
Sakura looked at Sukuna, face stiffened.
"Honey, let's call this Kiyoko. Let's call it another 'Ice Cream Stroll,' okay? Maybe I too would like to be friends with her…" Kizashi almost spat out blood. He sent a grievous look at Sukuna.
"Don't worry, old man, we all know who wears the pants in this relationship. Tonight you're getting some meat…" Sukuna flashed an innocent enough smile.
"No, honey, listen. The kid is joking, there's no one called Kiyoko that I know… Wait, listen to me."
His mother just dragged him inside, making Sakura shudder.
"Peace at last…" Sukuna prayed over the food with bliss in his heart.
"You know you're going to hell one of these days, right?" She shot him a glare.
"That's the plan, sweetheart, 'cause there ain't no heaven big enough to contain me." He winked at her and got up, earning an eye roll from her.
"Oh yeah, this is for you." He took out a small box from somewhere and tossed it to Sakura.
Sakura looked at it with suspicion, half expecting it to be a prank. But curiosity too was gnawing at her.
After gathering all her courage, she opened the box and jerked back just in case anything came out of it. Nothing did, making her look a little sheepish.
Inside she saw a beautiful pink hairpin shaped like a sakura flower.
"This…" Her eyes widened almost instantly at how beautiful it was. It looked expensive. Because it was—not even from Konoha. Sukuna had gotten it from the Fire Capital.
Since he was earning well with his bounties, he decided to buy it.
"This… this is for me?" she asked with a half-shaky voice, in disbelief.
"Obviously. Do you really think I'm the kind of guy who likes wearing women's hairpins?" He rolled his eyes.
She didn't want to, but a smile just appeared on her face. The hairpin was beautiful, no doubt about it.
Now though, she felt a little guilty thinking about her earlier actions.
"Hmm… why are you giving it to me?" she asked with pink dusting her cheeks.
"Just thought it would look good on you." He shrugged and turned around to leave the room, leaving behind a blushing Sakura, who felt that maybe her big brother wasn't that bad at times.
...
Just like Sakura said, Karin had been waiting for Sukuna to hang out with her. Sukuna would have said no; however, the look on her face didn't let him. The girl looked desperate for this.
If Sukuna didn't know that she most likely had no one else to go with—since she had only recently come to the village, and most people she could have asked would probably be going with someone else—he would have ignored the request.
However, he knew the reality, and since the girl was feeling lonely, he agreed. So now, here they were, walking together through the streets of Konoha, going from shop to shop. Karin was practically glowing with excitement, walking close to him, sometimes even grabbing onto his sleeve like a lost puppy.
They weren't the only ones. Many people had come out to enjoy their holiday with family or friends.
"Why do we have this holiday again…" Karin asked with a bright smile—the kind of smile that clearly said she didn't give two damns about why there was a holiday at all. She was just starting small talk.
In her head, this was a date. Sukuna had observed his idiot little sister enough to spot the symptoms.
However, Sukuna didn't mind. It was just a childhood crush; these emotions would be forgotten once they grew up. For now, he just enjoyed his time with the girl.
"Almost 8 years ago today, the Nine-Tails attacked the village. Many died, even the Fourth Hokage while protecting the village. Ever since that day, today is celebrated as a holiday. For those who lost someone, today they reminisce about them and their sacrifice.
Those who didn't lose anyone—it's a reminder of how blessed they are. And for those who come after, it's just that. A holiday." He explained, and Karin hummed, not knowing there was so much history behind it.
Her thoughts suddenly recalled a certain blond whom Sukuna had wished to tag along, but he refused.
Earlier she was hoping Naruto wouldn't come, but now she felt a little bad. Unlike others, she could spot Naruto's chakra from miles away. She didn't need anyone to tell her what Naruto was—she knew.
She shook her head. In the end, she couldn't do anything about that, so she focused all her attention on the boy beside her. She tried her best to act cute—pointing out shops, laughing at lame jokes (all of which were hers, mind you), leaning a little closer every time she spoke. Sukuna noticed all of it. He wasn't dense. He understood very well what was going on in Karin's head.
But to him, this wasn't a date. She was 8. That was a one-way ticket to jail in his past life, and maybe not here, but still—nope.
He wasn't interested in a loli.
He was just spending time with someone who didn't have many people to spend time with. He had wanted Naruto to come along as well, but today wasn't his best day.
Especially today.
Still, he didn't mind the it. They stopped at a dango stand, and Sukuna ordered food for both of them. Karin smiled brightly and kept sneaking glances at him like a schoolgirl in love.
Sometimes he wondered how this deredere even came to be. For the most part, the girl acted like an airhead, with a lot of sass built in.
Only a few times had he seen this side of hers—the love-seeking schoolgirl side.
Which one of his actions was responsible for this, he wondered. If anything, he considered dumping this problem onto Sasuke's head, just like in canon.
As they continued walking, she kept trying. From acting cute to holding his hands—but basically no reaction from Sukuna.
He just ignored it all. This was the pickle he found himself in. Crushing the little girl's heart was not something he wished to do, it was just that he wasn't interested in these things right now.
"Hmm… are you not enjoying yourself?" she finally asked straight out.
"Huh… no, it's alright. I'm just not into this whole holiday vibe. If you're enjoying yourself, then that's enough for me. Don't mind me."
This answer did lift her mood a little bit. One thing that was different about Karin from Sakura was that she wasn't completely love-brained right now.
She just as much enjoyed his normal company, even if it wasn't a date. Even if it wasn't him but another one of her friends, she might have enjoyed it—since ultimately she just wanted to go out and have fun.
Sukuna knew it, and that was the only reason he accepted.
This was another reason he knew that this wasn't love but a childhood crush, which most likely would go away sooner or later.
"Oh, have this." He said, suddenly remembering something, and took out a box from somewhere, handing it to her.
"What's this?" she asked.
"I saw this earlier. Thought you'd like it."
She opened the box, and inside was a small, fragile-looking hairpin, shaped like a swirl—just like the Uzumaki clan symbol.
Karin froze. Her face turned bright red. For the first time that day, she couldn't say anything.
Sukuna just shrugged and started walking again. "It will keep you safe."
And he meant it. He had been meaning to make something to keep Karin safe. The item itself wasn't much, but he poured his cursed energy into it. If the item broke or was damaged, he'd know.
He had, of course, bought one for both Sakura and Karin.
That was also why he picked the most fragile-looking one, and gave it to her right now. Knowing that if there was even a bit of Sakura inside her, she'd keep it close and relatively safe.
Meaning, if the pin were to be damaged in any way, he'd know she was in trouble. Yes, it was a dick move to play with the little girl's feelings like that, but he was too lazy to do it any other way.
All for the greater good, and maximum efficiency—that was his motto.
Karin, not knowing any of this, had a big bright smile on her face. She jumped up and ran to Sukuna, latching onto his arm like a koala.
"Oi… what are you doing."
"Hehehe… nothing, nothing. Let's go, I'm hungry…" She grinned, not noticing Sukuna carrying one more gift package with him.
…
By nighttime, all the bustling of the streets was calming down.
Naruto was home alone. In front of him was a steaming bowl of ramen—one of the special flavors he was saving for special occasions like today.
Just as he was about to dig in, he heard someone knock on his door, making him grumble.
This was one of those days Naruto didn't like going out. And not many people disturbed him on these days either. Sometimes, his Grandpa Hokage gave him a visit, but that wasn't happening today.
Hiruzen was too busy dealing with the Uchiha and their growing demands to go after Itachi, if not the myriad of other things.
Today Naruto was all alone, like most years.
Naruto grumpily opened the door, only to find a pink-haired boy with glasses standing there waiting for him.
"Ah, Sukuna, I told you I'm not interested in going out today." Naruto replied. He really wasn't. Any other day he would have, but not today.
"I know… I'm not here to take you out. I'm here to give you this." Sukuna replied nonchalantly, pushing a gift box toward the blond, who stood there confused.
"Eh? What's this?"
"What do you mean, what's this? Isn't today your birthday? This is your birthday gift, of course." Sukuna pointed out.
Naruto remained blinking in a state of no motion until finally his mind processed the words. He looked down at the gift and then back to the boy, who was looking at him with the same nonchalance as earlier.
"H..how di-d you know it's my birthday?" he asked, his voice becoming harsh.
"Asked Iruka-sensei. He had a log of everyone's date of birth." Of course, he was lying. He knew from the start. He knew today was Naruto's birthday. Any self-proclaimed Naruto fan would know.
Naruto felt his eyes burning. Subconsciously, his little hands clenched tighter around the gift package. A strange tightness strangled him in his chest.
'Damn it, don't cry.' He bravely held back his tears, not sure what to do after this.
He wasn't alone anymore. He had friends too, Dattebayo…
Sukuna smiled. There was nothing else to say at this point. Let the blonde's face say it all.
"Happy Birthday, Naruto…"
...
A/N: Alright guys, Last chapter before Time Skip. Hope you like the story so far.
xxx
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