Teach her to read? He didn't really see why he should—after all, she would be dead before the year was over. However to say no would cause questions to arise. Having to come up with a reason for not teaching her would cause trouble, seeing as Nariko would not know any reason not to learn. She was a smart girl, despite her inexperience with the world, and could easily put two and two together. She had already been afraid for her life when she first arrived with him and the two subordinates—chances were that even though she had been temporarily reassured, fear for her life could still be a primary concern for her.
"I have somewhere to go," he replied finally, "But when I return, I will teach you."
"Thank-you, Itachi-sama!" she smiled up at him with adoration, her eyes all lit up with wonder.
Something inside of him jabbed him sharply. The more he was around her, the more he was reminded of his brother. There was something disquieting about that fact, but he forced himself to shake off the feeling. It wouldn't be too long before she would be gone anyways, and any more reminders he received about his brother would be gone with her.
Sasuke sat broodingly in the backyard of the Uchiha manor, letting the morning sun shine down on his back, the warmth compensating for the cool freshness in the air. It was around ten o'clock, and he was merely waiting for the spar between Sakura and her father to be done with, so he could take out his anger on the day's training. Sakura said that she was going to test him on how well he could detect chakra signatures, and if he passed, she would put him through a taijutsu test the next day. Even though he was still angry with her for opening Itachi's room, he wanted to get her tests over with.
He was not only impatient that morning, and brooding, but irritated as well, his mood having done the opposite of improve due to events that followed his departure from his brother's room that morning. When Sakura's father had exited the bathroom and returned to the room next door, Sasuke had taken the opportunity to occupy the bathroom next, only to trip over towels left on the floor. Not only that, but he had to submit to a hunt for the shampoo in the shower stall, the bottle having been moved to a foreign corner. After that, he knocked his toothbrush into the sink after discovering that the toothbrush holder had migrated as well. In retaliation to these horrible inconveniences, Sasuke had given Sakura's father the silent treatment at the breakfast table—but he didn't think the point had gotten across, as he was hardly any more quiet than usual.
Where he was sitting, he was off to the side in the yard, sitting near the place where Sakura had been gardening a little less than a week ago. Sakura and her father were both standing in the middle of the yard, discussing the terms of the spar with one another before beginning. Sasuke was not really paying much attention to what they were saying, merely waiting for the fight to begin so it could be done with, but when he heard mention of him, Sasuke tuned in to what was being said.
"What's with Sasuke?" the voice of Sakura's father was quiet, but with his sharpened hearing, Sasuke could catch it in the clear morning air.
"He's just not a morning person, that's all," Sakura lied easily in reply, "Nothing to be concerned about."
Outwardly, Sasuke did nothing to show that he had even overheard this comment, but inwardly he was bewildered at her ability to pretend like nothing was wrong. She was probably angry with him, yet unlike him, she was able to mask it completely. Kanaye had been right when he had told him that Sakura had an amazing knack for masking her emotions when she wanted to. He on the other hand was making his point to her: she had opened Itachi's bedroom, and he was deeply displeased with her.
He was actually very surprised with what she had done. Hadn't he made it clear enough to her that he did not want that room opened at all? He had; he remembered telling her clearly. But had she said she would leave the room be…? Now that he thought of it, he didn't recall anything of the sort. She had said the notion of keeping the room permanently sealed was stupid—a waste of space. He growled mentally to himself, as he recalled his conversation with her. He reluctantly admitted now that she had a point.
Off to the side, Sakura and her father were beginning their spar; both of them had taken positions ten paces from one another, the location of their chakra signatures told Sasuke as much. He listened half-heartedly as Sakura's father gave the beginning sound and the fight launched into action. What was the difference between him and Sakura, Sasuke wondered as the two signatures darted back and forth on the lawn, why didn't she understand? She had asked him to talk to her, to make her understand. A reasonable request, yet one he could not fulfill. He could not truly explain it to himself.
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