Cornerman—Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Two individuals, a woman and a boy, sat at a wooden desk. Papers were scattered across the surface, as well as various medicinal ingredients.

Holding her chin in one perfect, manicured hand, Mineko watched Sasuke work. Since their agreement a few weeks ago, she’d been teaching him the poison arts. As expected, the start was awkward and difficult, but as one session gave way to the next, their relationship and co-operation improved.

The young Uchiha wasn’t much of a conversationalist, but when he did speak, Mineko couldn’t help but be impressed by his maturity and sense. She’d even come to enjoy their talks—Sasuke’s thoughts, whether related to medicine, martial arts or politics were all novel and insightful.

‘…there really are geniuses in this world.’

Dully, she watched Sasuke’s perfect recreation of a tincture he’d only seen once before. At this point, she wasn’t even surprised.

“Hey, Sasuke-kun.”

Mineko broke the silence, unafraid of disturbing his concentration, given he was basically done.

The boy raised his eyes to meet hers, brushing stray hairs out of his face with faint annoyance.

“Hmm…?”

He didn’t seem happy about the interruption, but Mineko was unbothered. Putting her other elbow on the table, she leaned forward, bringing her face closer to Sasuke’s. Her dress was modest, but because of her posture, the fabric spanned tightly across her generous chest.

When Sasuke’s eyes wandered to her breasts, Mineko’s lips curved upwards.

“What are you looking at, Mister?”

Her tone was mock-scolding.

After getting an eye-full, Sasuke huffed and returned to his task.

“You want me to look.”

He didn’t sound the least bit guilty or embarrassed.

Barely suppressing her amusement, Mineko raised a hand to her mouth, seemingly outraged.

“In the past, boys knew how to treat girls. Men were gentler, back then—they’d never say something so… lecherous!”

Mineko fanned her face, looking every bit the proper lady. Of course, Sasuke knew it for the act it was.

Not looking up from his task, he raised an eyebrow and responded.

“You’re what, seventeen? Don’t talk like an old lady. It’s weird.”

His words were surprising. Mineko wasn’t seventeen, but it was true she wasn’t as old as she presented. Her mature, experienced look was something deliberately cultivated through mannerisms, make-up and styling.

As an escort, the last thing a girl wanted was to seem easy to take advantage of. Of course, she knew how to handle herself, but avoiding trouble was preferrable to dealing with it.

Turning silent, Mineko stared at Sasuke’s face. From his inky, black hair to sharp eyebrows and heroic features—it was no wonder that, despite his youthfulness, so many girls had fallen for him.

Really, it was practically a miracle Ichika remained unaffected. Mineko had to admit that, if she were ten years younger, she’d be ensnared as well. However, after everything she’d been through, thoughts of romance had long since lost their sweetness.

“What a glib tongue. Maybe I should cut it out, lest it ruin the lives of countless girls.”

Mineko had intended it as a joke, but the words sounded bitter and ill-intended, even to her own ears.

Sasuke looked up from his work, his eyes glinting darkly.

“You may do so, if you have the ability.”

His statement was both goading and a threat. However, when he glanced at Mineko, her expression already turned disarming.

“How scary~, but it was just a joke, Sasuke-kun. No need to take everything so seriously.”

Smiling innocently, she batted her long lashes at him.

The young Uchiha held her gaze for a while. He was expressionless, with deep, brooding eyes. Then, his sight returned to the bubbling concoction in front of him.

The moment he did, Mineko’s smile lost much of its vigor. Since starting their lessons, she wanted to probe Sasuke regarding Tadamasa Goto. Notably, she wanted to confirm whether he knew an Uchiha secret had leaked, possibly even ferret out what it was.

However, in a single moment, she invertedly ruined weeks’ efforts. Undoubtedly, Sasuke’s impression of her had taken a U-turn.

‘…even in death, you continue to vex me, Yuuto.’

Silently, she cursed the man responsible for her outburst. She’d thought those feelings were buried alongside him, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

Mineko considered apologizing to Sasuke, but for some reason, the words wouldn’t leave her mouth.

‘Why should I lower myself? He’s just a child, not even ten years old.’

What adult could tolerate being looked down on by a child? Mineko’s breath of life experience gave her a broad-mindedness others didn’t possess, but she wasn’t perfect.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Given the apartment’s two total inhabitants, there was no need to guess who it was.

“Ichika? You can come in, I think we’re done for today.”

Looking over her shoulder, Mineko spoke toward the door.

The knob turned and indeed, Ichika’s figure was revealed.

“Sensei, I…”

She started speaking excitedly, only to halt when she saw Mineko wasn’t alone.

“…you’re here.”

Her gaze, directed toward Sasuke, was displeased.

Pushing back his chair, the young Uchiha stood and made his way over to the door. Normally, he would say his goodbyes as common courtesy dictated, but not today.

However, when he arrived in front of Ichika, she didn’t budge. There was a small gap between her and the doorframe, through which Sasuke could squeeze if he wanted, but why would he do that?

“Move.”

Ichika’s lips flattened into a line. She didn’t give way to Sasuke, instead looking at her sensei, standing behind him.

For a while, there was silence, but then Mineko spoke.

“That won’t do, Sasuke-kun. If you’re asking something, it’s only proper to say ‘please.”

Her tone sounded reasonable, like an adult coaxing an unruly child.

The boy turned his head to look at her.

“…when I asked you about apricot poison, why didn’t you answer?”

His stare was half-lidded.

Mineko sighed, almost seeming disappointed.

“It’s for your own good, Sasuke-kun. You’re still a novice—if we rush things, it will only harm you.”

She sounded like she anticipated backlash from him, but wasn’t going to capitulate regardless.

Sasuke wasn’t impressed.

“If you’re unwilling to teach me, then there’s no reason for this to continue.”

He looked at Ichika again, but this time, his eyes turned crimson.

“Move.”

His voice was filled with authority.

The girl in question had learned much about the Uchiha’s abilities, both from her sensei and her own experiences. She knew about their genjutsu prowess, but at that moment, she was caught completely off guard. Never did she expect Sasuke to have such guts, acting out inside their home.

Immediately, her pupils contracted. Turning expressionless, she shifted out of the way, like a zombie.

Mineko was immediately furious.

“Sasuke…!”

Outraged, her voice rang loudly inside the flat. However, the boy completely ignored her, walking out the front door and closing it behind him.

For a second, Mineko stood there, fists clenched at her sides before rushing over to Ichika’s side. The girl was already coming to her senses, rubbing at her eyes with one hand.

“Sensei…”

She looked into Mineko’s eyes, sounding ashamed of her incompetence.

The older woman patted her on the back sympathetically.

“It’s fine, Ichika. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Though she attended to her pupil, her gaze turned toward the door. Chewing on her lip, she considered the current situation. At this point, she realized Sasuke had circumvented her poison. During their lessons, she tried to re-administer it through contact and scents, but hadn’t succeeded.

This was not good.

‘I was too stubborn.’

At this point, it was impossible to keep ignoring her wrongs. Who was more familiar with the male mind than her? Sasuke was only a boy, but he was as arrogant and headstrong as any man she ever met. Those disagreeable types seemed hard to deal with, but that actually wasn’t the case.

There was only one thing they wanted—respect.

Sighing, she helped Ichika sit down before walking into her room and grabbing a paper umbrella. Hopefully, she could still catch up to Sasuke.

“Sensei, where are you going?”

Ichika’s tone was confused.

Coming to a stop in front of the door, Mineko addressed her pupil.

“…I’m going to apologize.”

From behind her, the woman heard a chair toppling.

“No way! Why?”

Ichika was outraged. Her dislike of Sasuke had steadily grown. It had already become hatred, though she wasn’t necessarily aware of it. The reason was their spars—the girl had come to look down on the spoiled scions of Konoha and he was included in that list.

After all, her own abilities were nothing to scoff at. Not only was here natural talent prodigious, but she’d grown up hard, which had only honed her further. Combined with Mineko’s teachings, she was confident Sasuke would be defeated or, at the very least, be pressed like he’d never been.

However, that wasn’t what happened. He’d cleaned her clock thoroughly. At first, she couldn’t believe it. She demanded a rematch.

It went the same way, as did the third and fourth. He was so slippery, she couldn’t even scratch him! His bag of tricks seemed bottomless: from blinding flashes of light, disorienting sounds, genjutsus and martial arts—his tricks were endless.

It made her furious. Of course, she never planned on fighting fair, but never did she imagine he’d be more unscrupulous than her!

Mineko’s eyebrows furrowed in response to her outburst.

“You know why. Stay here and be good, okay?”

Her tone was coaxing. Before her pupil offered further objections, the young woman opened and closed the front door, following Sasuke down the streets of Konoha.