Chapter 61

"Man, Hinata always makes really nice tea," I thought to myself as I gleefully sipped from the upscale tea mug.

"Haru-kun, tell me about your mission. You were gone for a month," Hinata said. The three of us were seated around a low Japanese-styled table. "Did you see anything interesting?"

"Yeah! They just finished building this humongous bridge all the way across the ocean. It's called the Great Kaiza Bridge. What about you? How are Shino and Naruto?"

"Shino-san is kind of quiet but he's really nice. Naruto is the same as ever, you know," she said happily. "And I didn't expect Kurenai-sensei to be our jounin leader. Did you know she's really good at genjutsu?"

"Haha, yeah. She's actually given me a lot of tips over the years on how to improve my own genjutsu," I admitted.

Hinata looked annoyed. "What? Really? Why didn't they put you on Team Eight then?"

"I don't know. Something about trying to balance out the genin teams? I don't think it worked very well." I gave a shallow chuckle as I considered how Team Seven turned out.

"I'm kind of curious...how did you and Haku-san meet?" Hinata asked, sipping her tea.

"Before I get into that...Haku, what do you think of Hinata? Isn't she adorable? She's a bit shy until you get to know her. And she's single. Perfect girlfriend material, if you ask me." I waved my arms as if showcasing a grand prize on a gameshow.

At my right, Haku nodded placidly. "Indeed, Haru-sama, she is quite beautiful." On my left, Hinata turned an intense shade of red.

"Well, there you go, Hinata! I brought you a cute boyfriend as a souvenir! Aren't I a great friend? Haku, make sure you take good care of Hinata-chan."

Both Haku and Hinata shouted simultaneously, "Ehhhhh?"

"You two will make the cutest couple!" Internally, I celebrated, "This way, Haku will find a new purpose in life and Hiashi will finally get off my case about marrying his daughter! Two birds with one stone!"

I should have predicted that Hinata would faint. It was easy to forget that she was still a shy person around others. Despite all the confidence she would show me regularly, Hinata still had a long way to go before she would truly come into her own.

"Oy, Haku, aren't you going to help your new fiancé?" I asked.

Haku chose that moment to faint himself.

"Truly a pairing made in heaven."

"Haru-sama, do I truly have to court that girl?" Haku asked as we walked home that evening.

"You're the one who said your life belonged to me. If you don't like it, then do something about it. But if the two of you do get along, I can always talk to Hyuga Hiashi and make the arrangement official." I was enjoying this situation immensely.

Haku paled. And then he mumbled, "It's so sudden..." I just ignored him.

A couple minutes later, he asked me, "Is Hinata-san also someone who is precious to you?"

I pulled up my hood and kept walking silently.

Eventually, Haku asked, "Haru-sama...am I...what am I to you?"

We had just arrived outside my apartment complex. "Haku, take this ryo and go get yourself something to eat. Don't come back until morning."

"What's going on, Haru-sama?" he asked confused.

Even from the ground, I could already see the outcroppings of pink hair belonging to a girl waiting next to my door on the third floor. "This is for your own good, Girly."

"You didn't have to keep me waiting so long, you bastard!" Sakura scowled at me once we were in my apartment.

"So I take it you've come to a decision about my offer?" I said, habitually making tea for myself and the exasperating girl.

Sakura seemed to calm down. "...yes."

Waiting in the kitchen for the electric kettle to boil, I idly asked, "And your answer?"

"I want to do it. I want to be strong enough to stand by Sasuke," she said confidently.

"You really trust me that much?"

"You might be a massive jerk, but you've never done anything to hurt me or Sasuke." She looked away. "You act like you don't like me but ever since we met it's like you've been looking out for me. And for Sasuke too. I don't really understand it but..."

"No, it's true. I really don't like you."

Sakura punched me on the top of my head. "I was going to say thanks but now it feel unnecessary." Her eye was twitching in anger.

"Is it really a good idea to give me a concussion right before I perform an eye transplant?!" I yelled back, rubbing my head.

"Ah, sorry," she apologized embarrassedly. She was about to pull her bangs out of her face but suddenly stopped herself, remembering why I asked her to change her hair style.

I poured some hot water into a mug over a bag of tea and handed it to the girl. "You know that this will permanently affect your chakra system. You're absolutely sure you want to do this?"

Sakura stared into the cup. "I know. You told me already. And I'm sure." She reached into her hip pouch and pulled out a small black jar I hadn't seen in years. For such a small jar, it sounded so heavy when she set it on the table.

I took off my coat and folded it over one of the chairs next to Sakura. "Alright. I'll implant the Sharingan first and then you transplant your old eye into me."

"It doesn't really seem like a fair trade," she said, glancing at the jar.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling that having two eyes will come in really handy someday." I smiled reassuringly but it didn't improve the girl's mood.

I opened one of my cupboards and pulled down my hoard of medical supplies. I moved her half-finished tea and asked, "Please lie down on the table, Sakura."

The eye was probably the easiest organ to transplant, only requiring the growth of a relatively small amount of nerves and tissue. When I was finished, I lifted the genjutsu keeping Sakura in an unconscious, dream-like state. The girl gasped for air and placed her hand over her new right eye. "It hurts..."

"Did you already forget everything you learned from the medical classes? Your chakra network is still adapting so it's to be expected that it hurts. Just make sure you keep it closed as much as possible to minimize the chakra drain." I threw away the latex gloves I had used for the surgery. Medical chakra could sterilize tools and prevent infection but I preferred to be on the safe side.

"I can...feel it..." she said, slowly prying her hand away.

I spoke plainly. "Shut up and get off the table already. You can play with your new toy later. Right now, it's your turn to fulfill your part of the bargain."

She slid off the table and stood dumbly while I took her place on the kitchen table.

"Um, are you going to put yourself to sleep or what?" she asked.

"No? I can't cast genjutsu on myself," I said irritably.

"I...I don't know any techniques to put someone to sleep," she confessed.

I sat up and growled, "What? What the hell did you do for the last six years then? I can't believe...arggh. Whatever. Just do it." I lay down again and tried to calm down. Breathing through my teeth, I told the airhead, "Hurry up already. I don't have all night."

"Without anesthetic?" Sakura asked fearfully.

I pulled off my eyepatch. Most people never realized anything was wrong with my eye because I kept a genjutsu on it constantly. But for me, it was a daily reminder of how close I've come to dying.

"I'm sorry my kitchen isn't quite a fully stocked operating room," I said sarcastically. "Open that drawer and give me a towel." When she handed me the clean dishtowel, I bit down on it and prepared for the worst.

"Goddamit. At least Haku isn't here to see this."