He scowled mentally; they were back on this topic again, and he did not want to speak of it. She didn't know it, but the entrance to the room, where he found his parents dead, was a little ways from here, and the closer they got to discussing the massacre of his clan, the closer the room seemed to feel. It was like a twisted presence that was looming over him, getting closer to him every time he thought about the deaths of the people he cared most for. He didn't want to have to go into that room if he could help it—he wasn't ready, not yet.
"But you know, you could learn to smile again," Sakura said passively, "I know that you can't ever forget what happened, but that doesn't mean you should let it hang over you all the time. It's just stupid not to smile ever again, over anything."
She sounded slightly uncertain, like she was pondering if the massacre of over a thousand people would be something to make an exception to. It was obvious that she was aware that she couldn't begin to understand.
"It will continue to follow me," he stated coldly, "until the clan is avenged, until Itachi has paid for what he has done; the fall of my clan will always be the first thing in my mind. And until things are put to an end, I have no reason to smile."
She gave a weary sigh, "No offense, Sasuke, but that's stupid. You should smile when you're happy, even if Itachi is out in the world. Would you give him the satisfaction knowing that you gave up enjoying life just because he was alive? You can't tell me that you're constantly thinking of your clan, every minute of the day. There must be some time that you tuck away that thought and focus on other things."
He scowled slightly, ignoring the reason in her words. The ice cube in his mouth was no larger than a sliver on his tongue and it slowly melted away, becoming no more than a trickle of water.
"Don't be annoying."
"As you will, Sasuke," she replied and the sound of movement told him that she was standing up, "Just try to smile a little more. For me? Please?"
He grunted in a way that was neither yes nor no, and held out his empty glass of lemonade for her to take from him. After taking the glass from him, he heard her collect the rest and pick up whatever she had brought them in on. After she departed, he shifted his position so he was leaning against the pole she had notified him about earlier, letting one leg hang over the edge of the veranda as he listened to the genin group hard at work.
Smiling… He shook his head slightly side to side. No matter what Sakura said, he knew that there was no possible way that he could bring himself to smile. The very word seemed strange when mentioned in association with him. Smile for her? He didn't have any reason to smile for her, or for that matter, anyone. Itachi lived, that was reason enough not to smile to begin with.
Would you give him the satisfaction knowing you gave up enjoying life just because he was alive?
Who said he wasn't enjoying life? Perhaps a part of him didn't particularly find it thrilling, but that wasn't the point. Even if he wasn't exactly enjoying it, Itachi didn't have to know that it was as a result of him. Sasuke ignored the fact that that probably wasn't Sakura's point. She said to smile when he was happy, but he couldn't be happy when his brother was alive—true happiness had been stolen away by his sibling, and true happiness could only return once Itachi had atoned for the crimes he had committed.
The light footfalls, which he had come to associate with Sakura, returned, and sitting down beside him, she took his hand. Her thumb grazed his knuckles briefly before she turned his hand over, and slapped something down in his hand. He closed his fist over it, feeling its shape. It was an egg shape, and by the feel of things, made of wood, with tiny little grooves or cracks running over it, making the surface a little rough.
"What is this?" he asked her, holding up the object.
"It's a simple three dimensional puzzle," she replied lightly, "It'll be a while before Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon are finished in the yard, so in the meantime you'll be working with this."
"You want me to assemble a puzzle?" he asked her, his eyebrows raised slightly and a dubious tone in his voice.
"Yeah, basically," she replied cheerfully, "It'll help you be able to do everything from cooking to opening locked doors, dismantling traps and an assortment of other things. If you can assemble even the most complex puzzles by touch, there's hardly any small job you can't do."
She took the puzzle from him and after a brief moment, she returned it in two pieces to his hand. He tossed them lightly in his palm, listening to them clack against one another.
"Two pieces?" he asked her, a little surprised.
"Mm, not as easy as it seems," she replied, a mischievous tone in her voice, and in his mind's eye, he could see a matching expression on her face, "It can fit together in multiple ways, but you'll know that it's right when the two pieces don't have a gap between. Good luck."
And with that, she stood up and went out into the yard, calling the children happily, leaving Sasuke with the simple, yet intricate puzzle to work on. This was going to be a piece of cake.
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