Chapter 11: Older Brother [Part 1]
"Welcome!"
Today, nearly every customer who walked into Ichiraku Ramen felt like they were seeing things. Was that really a bashful little boy standing by the door with a shy smile—the son of the Uchiha clan? Since when had a proud member of the Uchiha family started working here?
Time passed slowly as the sun sank behind the mountains, bathing the world in a warm golden-red glow, like a delicate veil draped over everything.
Although he'd been greeting customers all day, Sasuke still felt nervous. What he didn't realize was that his shy demeanor had drawn in countless female patrons. Most of them had come just to catch a glimpse of this pure-hearted young Uchiha.
"Finally done for today!"
The last few customers slowly trickled out. Ino and the others rubbed their shoulders before gathering around the table, enjoying their downtime after a long day's work.
"So tired," Sasuke muttered listlessly, slumping into a chair. His face felt permanently stuck in a smile after holding it all day long.
"Well, thanks to Sasuke, we've had way more customers than usual!" Ino chuckled, covering her mouth. "And almost all of them were girls! Guess Sasuke's got some serious fan appeal!"
Sasuke froze at her words. Flashbacks of being teased by overly bold female guests flooded his mind—absolute nightmares.
"Pfft! Those girls've got zero taste if they think Sasuke's so damn cute," Kiba scoffed jealously. "What about me?! Don't I look just as good—if not better?" Why hadn't anyone noticed how handsome he was even after working here for days? Was this what people called envy from the gifted?
"That's because you're nowhere near as cute as Sasuke," Shikamaru bluntly stated. "From my observations, mature women tend to go for shy and adorable types like him. As for energetic guys like you, you're definitely less popular compared to the cute style."
"I'm back!"
Sakura entered dragging Naruto along, who carried a backpack full of what they had picked up today.
"So where exactly have you two been?" Ino asked curiously.
"This one? Let's keep it a secret for now," Sakura said mysteriously, then pulled both Naruto and Sasuke toward the second floor.
"Geez, why does Sakura seem so off today?" Ino sighed helplessly.
Inside the upstairs break room, Sakura took the backpack from Naruto's arms, opened it, and pulled out several pieces of clothing and accessories, carefully laying them on the bed.
"There we go! Put this on first—I wanna see how it looks—and I'll show you how it's done!"
Full of excitement and expectation, she quickly pushed Sasuke toward the bed and personally drew the curtains shut, leaving him alone to change inside.
Sasuke looked visibly embarrassed. There was just something off about this outfit, or so it seemed to him. Yet every time he thought of Itachi, he steeled himself mentally. C'mon, it'll be worth it if I can just convince my brother to change his mind somehow.
More than ten minutes later, a blushing Sasuke shyly pushed aside the bed curtain and stepped out. This outfit made him feel super awkward.
"Umm..."
Sakura immediately covered her nose with one hand and took a few steps backward. The childlike, shy Sasuke wearing this outfit was almost adorably over-the-top.
"Great! This looks exactly how you should dress. Your expression is also perfect. Now you just need to remember two lines of dialogue."
After regaining her composure, Sakura started explaining the required lines and corresponding expressions to Sasuke while stroking her chin thoughtfully.
Minutes later, after Sasuke nodded to indicate he understood and even rehearsed on the spot, Sakura finally felt satisfied enough to let him go change back into his normal clothes.
"Sasuke!"
"What's wrong?"
Sasuke turned around in confusion. The adorable expression on his face actually suited the outfit surprisingly well, making for a weirdly cute sight.
"Click!"
Sakura put down her camera, very pleased with the moment she had captured.
"Nothing. Go ahead and change your clothes."
Puzzled by what exactly Sakura was up to, Sasuke could only head off with lingering questions.
After carefully putting away her camera, Sakura turned around and saw Naruto staring intently in Sasuke's direction, completely dazed.
"Naruto?!"
"Huh? What?!" Tapped on the forehead by Sakura, Naruto snapped back to reality, looking somewhat bewildered.
"Just now... what were you spacing out about?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Sakura... Was he... a boy or a girl?" Naruto hesitantly posed this question. The Sasuke from earlier left him genuinely confused.
"He's definitely a boy!" Sakura chuckled and replied, "But his performance just now makes him a classic 'crossplay' expert—looks like a girl on the outside but definitely a guy inside!"
"It feels... really... scary."
Naruto shivered involuntarily. Just thinking that the Sasuke he saw earlier was actually a guy sent chills running down his spine.
When Sasuke finished changing and came out, Mr. Ichiraku and others had already prepared dinner. At this moment, nine out of the twelve future strongest ninja of Konoha gathered together for the first time.
After dinner, everyone returned home. Hinata was picked up by the Hyuga clan guards. Clutching his backpack tightly, Sasuke headed back to the Uchiha compound.
"Honey, don't you think Sasuke acted a bit strangely today?" Mikoto Uchiha remarked, watching her son dash straight into the house as soon as he got back. "He seemed pretty nervous."
"Kids always have their own little worries and secrets," Fugaku Uchiha casually waved his hand and said, "As long as he doesn't turn out as precocious as Itachi."
Mentioning that brought a brief silence between Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. That left them barely feeling like proud parents at all. Their eldest son, Itachi Uchiha, had been far too mature. This made them hope that Sasuke wouldn't grow up to be like his older brother.
Inside the room, Sasuke tightened his fists. "I've made my decision," he muttered to himself, and started pulling on his clothes.
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