One year and twenty days ago, nothing would've been the same.
A year and twenty past she would have been rubbing his soiled clothes, scraping her ever-so calloused hands before he got home from work. One and twenty before she would've been done, and she would've been out with her eyes directed at the sky, at it's soft streaks of pink and orange vanilla and she would've been fine.
One year and half a forty ago he would've gone in by now, with his cheeks blank but his face smiling, white teeth staining the black twilight and illuminating the shadows. One year and twenty days ago, she would've been enveloped in his sturdy arms and they would've been one together, unseeing of the future because, what where they to care?
One year and twenty days gone by and nothing is the same.
One and Twenty
by Alex
Part I
Right Now:
One year and twenty days later she is still here, at the present. One year and twenty later she is undefined, unknowing, scarred and struck and doesn't exactly know what he is anymore.
She forgets his name, his smell, his touch. She doesn't even know he existed.
Instead she stares into the fading twilight and doesn't even think twice of what should've been. All she is familiar with now is strength, lies. She doesn't know him, she isn't supposed to. She is their puppet, their embodiment of obedience, nothing but a pawn in such a vast and barren wasteland of rules and regulations.
She isn't Tenten, because one year and twenty days ago she told him she wasn't her without him.
She rubs her hands and tells herself she shouldn't have remembered that, she should not remember that, and the keeps her face in defined chisels as she stares in front, facing the quick blurs of trees and mountains and the underlying filth of the world.
She turns to her left and sees Sasuke seated at the long couch beside them. She chose to stand up and look at the window. Sasuke was deployed for breeding too, which she expected, because of his dark charming looks and his strength in hunting.
She isn't stagnant at the city and she isn't working her hands off. She isn't chasing goats and she isn't pouring milk out of cattle and she isn't even moving, well, she isn't supposed to either. She is supposed to be lucky, she tells herself, as one of the few that are chosen for breeding.
But she isn't. It's that driving force in her stomach that makes her cringe at the idea of it. Because behind that supposedly hard figure and that serious look she knows he's still inside there, and it tugs on her heartstrings and it makes her heard to breathe.
Because she can't possibly think of what she would do if she were in a room with another - male, and it wasn't him, and they were expected to ravish each other in the darkness.
Existence. Sacrifice. Love. Does it even matter anymore?
No, she tells herself, and she shuts herself up before she can venture on to even darker thoughts. Now there is only rules and crafting tools in the world and she is one of them.
She surveys her card again, and the numbers 23 and 51 are blurry in her eyes, because she doesn't know their meaning. She is supposed to, she tells herself, but she doesn't anyway, because nothing is important to her.
"Your room numbers," they said, she recalls. The supposed rooms where she would have to go to after deployment, and then do her business, and expect to be out of by daybreak. Knowledge was a fickle thing, she thought.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud 'ding!' of the train bells, and all the lights switched on and it blinded her as she made her way through the crowding people. Sasuke gave her one last look and she nodded before he rose up from his seat quickly and not even bothering to flash her a last glance. They weren't supposed to. Exhaling, heart beating, she made her way down the long space between the passengers and their seats.
The train was a busy one. She eyes the other passengers and examined their labels, each one indicating their purpose. She frowned because she lost sight of Sasuke in the crowd, probably heading on to his pick up center. She hoped to see him again, at least.
Sasuke had been her only friend before being deployed. Each of them had been sent out of Konoha and into Suna where the air was hot and the wind was piercing. She remembered the way he plopped his bags down into their shared space and shot her a glare before heading to his room. He loosened up by then.
A pair of sultry eyes looked at her when they saw the machine-sown patch on her left arm, licking his lips when they bent down to see the words written down there. She exhaled, because she already knew that she was for, and she was for breeding, and she didn't like it one bit.
Konoha had been peaceful. This was utter chaos.
She frowned again. Naruto had been deployed for guard service last year, and she tolerated on the fact that Konoha hadn't been all that peaceful when he was there. Her frown deepened remembering the way they pulled him by the shirt and he had been sent into this huge, white car so exquisite she needed to squint. He was blindfolded that time, she remembered, and it pierced her heart remembering it.
"I'm gonna be the hero of this world! Believe it!" the voice said, and she remembered that spiky yellow hair and sky blue eyes. He had always been with her, brooding through the darkness and cleansing her soul with just a single tinge of his sound. He was a brother, a piece of her, the one person who stayed with him even at the darkest hours.
She didn't even know anything about the place except the two room numbers she was supposed to go to. She didn't even know the name of the village or the people on it, but there was one other thing she knew and that it was the capital, the headquarters, and that she was required to breed in it.
Twisted mockery.
She exited the train right before the doors hissed close, and found herself being pulled ever so harshly being pulled by the arm. She switched her gaze before meeting the dark helmet of one of the police, his whole body covered in black armor and shining metals. He didn't say anything, except pulling her none too gently through the crows of people.
They were all nothing in her mind. They were supposed to be nothing in her mind.
Bodies crashed with hers and people snickered, looking at her as the girl for breeding, eyes darkening with jealousy. Because in this world romance was forbidden, and thoughts of care and love were replaces with work, ethic.
She is supposed to be lucky, she tells herself.
The gloved hand lets go of her arm and her vision steadies as she sees the building, that beautiful white of glass which they call the Aura, where all headquarters for specific privileged people. Lucky. She was lucky.
Gates opened in front of her and she was once again pulled through the crowds by the guard, surrounded by technology she never expected she'd see. The upper class, rushing and pushing her at giving her looks, because she was a mere breed specimen, with their leather hats and their metal heels clinking on the glass courtyard. The walls towered above her, with silver trees surrounding her with their expensive fakeness.
Trees were green, a voice in her head said, and she reckoned she might as well believe it.
They stopped again in front of a tube. It was translucent and it was cold, and a hand slapped hers before she could reach out to touch the illuminate crystal, and she sighed seeing it left a red mark on her skin. Her hand was the one that held the card, losing it's grip from her fingers, but she willed herself not to let go of it, all of it, her destiny.
Fate is predetermined, she remembered someone say, but although she couldn't quite remember who she still sighed at it's truthfulness and waited.
She blinked when a capsule slithered down from the top of the tube and landed in front of her and the guard. A glass screen shot out of the wall, and she gasped when the guard's hand held hers rather protectively and pressed her hand down on the screen. Green lines scanned over it in short strokes and a sound beeped once it finished. Suddenly, the doors of the capsule hissed open and the guard pulled her in, hand clasping hers.
It gave her a feeling of familiarity, but she can't seem to figure it out. It comforts her.
Once she stepped in the guard fiddled with some buttons before the doors whooshed close again, and it was just the two of them. She looked up, and is she squinted she could see that white dot in the sky that indicated the end of the capsule's trail. She faced forward again and noticed that the capsule was traveling at mediocre speed, with lights flashing each time they passed a floor.
She kept silent, but the guard's rather high voice broke the silence. It was muffled, she noted, and she smiled inwardly to know that it wasn't that unfamiliar. Awkwardness filled the atmosphere.
"What's your name?" The voice asked, and she shivered at the sudden informality of the supposed high-ranking stick-up-your-ass human being.
"Tenten," she answered, wisely deciding not to question authority. She blinked when the guard started chuckling, breathing in as if trying to stop it. Was he making fun of her?
"What's so funny?" she asked, completely obliterating her decision earlier, and she shook her head again, wondering if this was real upon hearing the guard's answer.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"It's just that I know it already..." the guard said, and she sighed at it's simplicity. The guards were supposed to already know their target's names, so what was so special with this one? Surely, surely it was not very normal.
She gazed up at the sky and bounced on her heels while noting that the once tiny speck of light was terrifyingly nearing them. She sighed. "So why did you need to-"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm here to save you!"
"What?!"
Her eyes went wide and she jumped at the noise, and blinked wildly when she saw the familiar spiky yellow hair and the bright smile. But then, a sound in the capsule started beeping and a gloved hand covered her mouth just before they reached the top of the tube. Was this possible? How-
They both jumped when they reached the top and Naruto quickly pulled back his mask on before the doors hissed open yet again. This time, they were faced with a long, winding hallway full of rooms. Naruto let go of her hand after letting her out of the door.
Simultaneously Occuring:
Sakura was rich. She knew that.
Which inevitably led her to thousands of assassination cases, directed at her. She wasn't complaining.
Her job at the Aura served very tedious, but she tolerated it. How else would she live then, with the poor? No. There was a family she needed to support, a place she needed to stay in. It just wasn't right.
Grabbing her briefcase, she ran the short corridor of her apartment and down the fleet of stairs, before saying goodbye to the kind landlord. It was a privilege she chose the spot near the outskirts of town, where the guards were scarce, or else she would have been arrested for being in contact with the lower class.
As the glass doors opened in front of her, a gust of wind blew past her face. She made sure to wear a hat today, and made sure it was locally made. She didn't exactly like the idea of people identifying her as rich, or else merely walking in the streets would prove extremely dangerous. The sidewalks were comfortably enough, dry, unlike all the times they were wet from the rain.
But this was life for Sakura, living almost undercover for the sake of her own life, hiding herself from the real word in danger of being killed. But what choice did she have? Life, as it is, always had it's impediments, and she wanted above all to avoid that. Yes, running from her problems was not only a genius plan but an effective one too, for nobody had fired a gun at her direction for the past two months.
Fast, and steady, her boots made light touches on the pavement, attracting only minimal attention from guards and shop owners. Sakura was just a naturally kind person, so she made sure to greet anybody lower than her, of course without the presence of any guards. It made life more - thrilling, rather than that normal humdrum days she spent at the Aura, assigning people rooms and whatnot.
Smiling, she steadily approached the large gates of the Aura, towering above her. She didn't need to gasp at it's brilliance, being a daily worker at the building. Actually, she kind of dreaded the place. Due to popular belied the Aura was becoming one of the most hated places for the lower class, where as they say, eat up all your hopes and dreams by the government.
Sakura didn't deny it's truth.
The gates opened and she hurried inside, tightening her grip on her suitcase before facing the crowds of many people, hurrying and scurrying about their own business. A train rushed in from the tunnel and stopped at the train station, hissing, before she heard the indistinct yelling of the engine driver and signalling all passengers to leave. She stared for a moment but continued walking.
At the Aura was a space she liked to call her safe zone, away from the potential assassination she might face in the suburbs, where the lower class always pulled the trigger. Here, she was an equal, which meant no killing, making her sigh in relief.
Bumping people on the way, she met tons of serious faces and deciding to avoid that, she shifted to the side of the large pathway to avoid the crowds. There, she thought. Personal space. She smiled at her spaciousness before she heard a loud bang! of a gun and turned around to see a large AK fired at her from her left. She crouched, waiting for the contact of the bullet, but it never came.
Opening her eyes, she saw a stranger, sprawled at her feet, squirming and grunting at her feet. She hasn't been hit!
She was panicking, she realized, when she lifted up the boy by his shoulders, avoiding contact with the bleeding wound. When she thought he wasn't looking, she took a sneak peek at his face and blushed when she saw his handsome features and raven hair. She had never seen anyone this good-looking in a while. She started sweating.
She shivered in her grasp as every time he brushed her chest she felt a tingling hot feeling in her stomach and gosh, did it tickle her. Gazing down and finding out she hadn't moved ever since she looked at him, she picked up her pace again and headed for a small building that was still in construction. Kicking open a door for a spare room, she led him inside.
The room was dimly lit and she closed the door to make sure nobody would see them, and smiled when his breathing became less ragged. Gasping again, she crouched down to look at him and saw that he opened his eyes. They were a very pretty shade of obsidian, she thought, while mentally noting his strong jawline and chiseled chin. He was pretty.
"Oh my gosh," she gushed out loud, while turning his arm to see where he got hit. Sure enough, there was a bullet embedded into his system, but not deep enough, signalling the firearm used wasn't legitimate. Then she gasped once more realizing, oh my gosh, I almost got killed!
"Shhhh..." she tried to say, rubbing his other arm to calm him. Then his dark, onyx eyes looked straight up her, and she was mystified, and smiled for a split second before he knelt down and starting tugging on his arm again.
She squeezed his arm to make the blood flow out. It was gross, she thought, but she was all used to this. Seeing his calmer expression, she tried to sneak in a smile again.
"Are you a medic?" he asked, wincing at the end when she took out a pair of tweezers from her front pocket and pulling the bullet out in one swift motion. She was really good at this, she thought to herself, while wiping the shiny gunthing on her fingers with one swift motion.
"Yeah," she replied, trying not to get giddy with the alluring smoothness of the stranger's voice, before pulling out a gauze pad and medical tape. Gently patting the wound, she squeezed it one more time before opening her canteen and pouring water on the wound. He hissed at the cold contact and she smiled. The regular patient would have been screaming.
"Why did you save me?" she asked, patting the stranger's wound one last time with her napkin. "You are a female, it's only polite," he answered, trying not to wince in pain. She laughed.
"Okay then," she said, standing up on her feet and smiling broadly. When she opened her eyes to see his face she realized her cheeks were turning red again. What would the officials say? She, in contact with a breeding specimen? She frowned when she saw his patch.
"What are you here for?" she asked, even if she knew the answer. She frowned when he answered.
"Breeding."
It hurt even more when he said it, like he was mocking her. Scolding herself to get a grip, she wondered why it affected her so much, rather than him saving her from a near death situation. Sure, several guards have shielded her from bullets but she never thought of them as a potential love interest. What was this guy doing?
"Oh, okay," she replied. The stranger noted the suddenly sad expression in her face. "Do you want to?"
"Hell no," came his reply. "I don't wanna get someone pregnant for them," he said, crossing his arms, his face bothered as the wound on his arm still stung. She smiled a lonely smile. She was authority, something that was shown to everything just because of the way she dressed. She didn't want him thinking badly of her. Her hat had been knocked off during the collision before and now she was once again, a victim of assassination.
"I'm sorry," she tried to say, but he shook his head.
"Shouldn't you be getting going?" he asked, turning towards the door. She timidly nodded and headed out, marking his image into the very depth of her heart. Seeing that his wound should be doing fine on it's own, she replied. "Yeah."
She smiled. "Goodbye, stranger."
"Goodbye"
Oh.
"What's your name?" she asked, and wondered where she mustered the courage the courage to asked that. Hearing that he had no reply, she nodded and went out of the door before hearing one last noise.
She blushed, and her lips tugged to a smile. Because she had just fallen in love with the handsome stranger, and there was no way out of it. Uchiha Sasuke.
Time After:
Tenten shivered in Naruto's touch as he lead her on into the crowd. This was a living miracle! Never in her life did she think she would see him again, his smiling face. This opportunity was Heavensent, even if it was for a while.
"Naruto-"
"Not here," he whispered, nudging her arm lightly while keeping his steady gaze forward. He nodded when other guards looked at him, and he saluted, visually telling them he was just going about his duty and that this was no threat. Tenten sighed.
Still, it didn't stop the jittery feeling in her stomach that seemed to arose once she saw his face again. She was still in disbelief; but she was more than happy to see him again. It was beyond her that she even remembered his face - all memory of past life should be wiped out before deployment. It was wicked - this gave the capital the advantage of breeding instantly, and none of the feelings of the specimen should be damaged.
She knew she wasn't supposed to feel this way. She was supposed to listen, dammit, and it wasn't working, certainly not with Naruto here. But still.
Suddenly, Naruto's hand jerked up and let go of hers. He bent over just enough to whisper into her ear. "We're here."
She looked up to see herself standing in front of a large glass door. The door had been covered with wintry plastic that blurred her vision only to block her vision from the inside. The door was enormous, and she really had to tilt her head all the way up to see the room number - 23, the first number on her list.
She lifter her card up to see the figures written on it again, and sighed once more. It would be the last time she would keep her innocence. But she didn't care - at least, she wasn't supposed to - and she inhaled bravely amidst the sparkling glass. Naruto had been fiddling with a bunch of buttons on a device by the door handle, and his fingerprint had been scanned and emitted another beeping sound similar to the one she heard before, at the capsule.
The door unlocked with a click before Naruto reached over for the door, ever so slowly, but then stopped, before looking at her. She could see those pretty sky blues under the dark mask, and his worried eyes. It was a relief there were no other guard inspecting, and he took a small breath before tilting his head up back to the door. The cameras would catch this scene, and she knew if they were caught Naruto would be taken, but let it be. She couldn't do anything to stop it. She craved his support.
"Will you be alright, Tenten?" he asked, with that same worried voice. It took effect on her again because the voice seeped inside the very depths of her soul like it used to do, it scared her silly and made her want to cry at the same time. She closed her eyes when she felt a bunch of fingers wrap around hers, her pulse quickening in contact with the dark leather. Not wanting to cry, she squeezed it, as tightly as she could, and so did her eyes, the river waiting to flow out, her eyes like stained glass. She really, really, really wanted to cry, but her body forbid it and she took a step for the door and opened it bravely.
The room was bright and clinical and the lights blurred her vision. She never really adjusted since she came and it bothered her.
But everything bothered her, her mind tried to say, and she blinked rapidly to regain her sight. There was a rather long, dainty table just like the glass she was seeing, sparkling in it's aesthetic simplicity. The room seemed to be white, and it smelled of aspirin, and couldn't help but remember something in her old days which they called a hospital - a place to tend for the wounded.
Frowning, she recalled the new order in which the injured would be displaced after inspection. It was a selfish rule; eliminate those who didn't follow the rules, because what good would they serve if they were not to follow order? It was a simple yet completely disgusting rule, and she despised it with every bone in her body.
Sitting on a small glass chair behind the matching table, sat a petite young girl, crossed legged and her lips frowning. Tenten saw her pretty green eyes and pink hair and winced wondering how anyone that gifted should work at a place like this. She simply thought it wasn't suited for her. Naruto took a step back and closed the door, and upon hearing the sound, the girl's eyes widened considerably and she rose from her seat. She was smiling.
"Oh! You're finally here! Tenten, right?" she asked, her voice bubbly and full of joy. Tenten wondered if this was some kind of test to see if she should break the rules and be informal with authority, but she felt Naruto's hand on her shoulder and gasped.
"Don't worry, she's with me," he said, rubbing her knowingly, and she felt like she had to trust the girl anyway, at least before her darkest hour. The girl clapped her hands merrily and smiled again. "Yeah, Naruto told me a lot about you, you seem nice," she commented. She felt Naruto nod and smile behind her.
"So, you're from the Hidden Leaf Village in the fire country, but you were displaced to the Hidden Mist. Am I correct?" the girl asked, thoughtfully, and Tenten could only nod. At least it wasn't that bad, being like this, with a superior who seemed nice enough to be casual with her. She ended up thanking the superior gods for blessing her with such a goodhearted spitfire of a boss, and somebody who she would consider an...acquaintance.
"Oh yeah, by the way, my name is Sakura. Please don't call me Sakura-sama or all that jazz, I'm fine with it. Just make sure none of the guard hear you, alright?" she asked, and Tenten whispered the name in silence.
Sakura. Like her hair.
Sakura rose up from her seat and gestured to one of the rooms directed at her right. Tenten couldn't quite see it clearly but noted that it seemed to be small and rather isolated from the blinding white of the room. Instead, she looked at the contents of the glass table and squinted as she read "Breeding Specimen" on one of the papers. She noticed that there were names in that paper and a bunch of numbers at the side. She would probably be the one to assign her to her designated room, where she was expected to breed. The thought made her angry and she wanted to stay away from that at the moment.
"I'm going to call someone. You two have to wait together before the room is cleared up and then you could go there. His name is Lee, and he's here for body examination. He's quite the exercise freak, that's why they want to experiment with him so bad. I kind of feel sorry for him," Sakura added sadly, but kept her smile on as she entered.
Tenten heard the faint muffling of voices from behind the room, then heard a really loud exclamation of "Youth!" from it and then a really distressed shushing sound she could only guess came from Sakura. Naruto stood at the side, looking at her, before the door swung open and a loud little fizzler with the bushiest eyebrows she's ever seen walked out of the room. He wore a bright smile, almost blinding, and she shook her head when she heard a pang she could imagine came from the boy's teeth.
"Hello, youthful flower! My name is Rock Lee, the handsome devil of the leaf- er, body tissue experimentation room!" he corrected quickly. His voice was very loud, she deduced, and gazed in shock since the boy was even able to beat Naruto's loudness, and for her, that was a lot.
"Uhh, hi," she said, attempting to sound friendly. Actually, being isolated from the presence of different human beings was different for her, Sasuke being her only companion in their little room in Kiri. Instead, her voice sounded itchy in her throat and an awkward strangles sound came out. But she was outgoing, she knew that, and pulled out a hand to greet him. "I'm Tenten."
Lee smiled again and Sakura laughed, seeing the two meet. Naruto finally chose to talk when their hands started to shake. "You know, I think you two could really get along-"
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
"Oh shit!" Sakura gasped before she hurried up and fixed her belongings. Naruto seemed disgruntled to, before fixing the creases of his shirt as the loud beeping continued. Tenten didn't know what to do before the kid, Lee, pushed her down to the seats and pushed a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. She obliged.
"Inspection," she heard Sakura mutter under her breath, before two guards barged into their little meeting area, holding handcuffs on each hand. Naruto straightened up, and they all froze in their spots as the guards moved around the office, inspecting for anything they would find suspicious. Seeing none, they nodded to each other before making a motion to leave the door.
They weren't getting caught!
She willed herself not to sigh in relief but got surprised when Sakura did, and it was rather audible, then the guard's heads whipped back at her direction. Sakura stayed still, unmoving, her face fierce.
She inhaled unevenly, scared that the girl should be caught, and closed her eyes.
"Miss Haruno, official number 2931, what is rule number seventy-two of the official's handbook?" a guard questioned, his voice gruff and robotic. Sakura kept her glance as she dutifully carried out what was asked of her.
"Do not display signs of relief among specimen"
"And the consequences?"
"Displacement," she answered, narrowing her eyes, before the guards nodded again and left the room. Inspection should be in by another two hours, after her experience with it in Kiri. It was harsh how these guards seemed to always be in check with them, eyes full of suspicion. She mentally hugged Sakura after that brave encounter with the guards. That girl sure knew how to deal with problems.
The while before:
Sakura waited in her desk, patiently.
Her room had just been inspected, and when the officers found nobody in the room but her, she sighed quickly in relief, waiting for her next assignment. Being an objective official was something that she never really wanted; this would mean she would be one of the last people these poor specimen would have to face before they go on about their duties and have their dreams would be crushed. This made her feel pity and she tried her best to be at home with the specimen, smiling.
Still, she couldn't forget about the handsome stranger she ran into a while ago, and his beautiful obsidian eyes. It seemed like he was looking right through her, she thought, and she blushed thinking about him.
Get a grip! She told herself, and she fixed her smile before she heard the door lock beep and the sound of the next specimen's footsteps sounded in her ear. He was escorted by a guard, and it was somebody she wasn't familiar with, so she wiped of the grin and tried to look formal, like she was expected to.
Her eyes widened by a fraction. She saw the hair and the face and then the world started to tilt in it's axis when she realized that it was him who was assigned in her care.
But what she didn't expect was for her to meet him, again, and well, what were the odds? Just the sight of that dark hair made her want to melt into jelly, but then she felt his gaze on her, then she turned to feeling extremely mystified, by him. It was happening all over again.
And as much as she wanted to pull him into her arms and hug him, because she knew he was going to face breeding, and that she was head-over-heels in love with him, she told her body to do the very best it could manage for her not to do just that. His face was as serious as ever, and it seemed to cast a dizzy spell at her. She took a deep breath, wanting to talk to him again, and sighed.
"Officer, you are dismissed."
She prayed to God above that he would leave and put on her best serious worker impression, before the officer bowed and left the room, exiting the door with a click. Once they were alone, she shared a gaze with the Uchiha, each of their eyes soulfully longing for explanation, freedom, anything.
"Your wound healed," she noticed, trying to force small talk. She croaked out the words, her voice full of rusty steel, and he nodded. The atmosphere was blank, and the room was so bright and clinical Sakura thought she was going to faint.
"Yes," he answered, simply. She nodded. It was awkward being alone with him here, especially since she was about to give him the go signal to stay at his next room and wait patiently for his breeding partner. She didn't want to see him go.
"Do...you know your room number?" she asked, sympathetically. She stared him down as he handed her his card. It was the regular card for breeding specimen, she noticed, and compared the two numbers, not really caring which room he would go to.
She just wants him.
"Alright," she tries to say, pretending to look busy while rearranging some of the items in her desk. Sasuke stared expectantly, eyeing her walking in between the desk. She felt vulnerable; to his eyes, the creepy aura he emits, the beautiful obsidian that eats up her head. It hurts her.
She sits down at her desk to scan her list of room numbers one more time, feeling his gaze. Sighing, she looks back at him, face crimsoning when they make eye contact, and speaks.
"The waiting room's that way," she says, pointing to the room on her right. Sasuke doesn't budge, as if waiting for her to say more, but when she doesn't he stands up. He's leaving, she realizes, and she watches him with glossy eyes as his feet make footsteps on the ground. He's dark, and light, especially wearing that specimen coat made for them specifically.
She attempts to look down, but his head turns around just enough so he can see her, and her mind stops functioning for a split second. They hold that gaze at each other as Sakura feels herself being lifted up, up, and into him, her hair floating in empty space. She wants to cry, she really does, but he speaks just before she has the chance to let go of the river. It's a goodbye song, a last hurrah, and she sinks into his words right when he speaks.
"Thank you."
And with that, he is gone.
Her eyes damp, she stared after him closing the door with a click. Her muscles are failing her and her mind is a bunch of mixed up numbers. She stops to think, but finds that she cannot, before hearing the door to her office open with a beep from the security scanner.
"Hey, Sakura!" she hears, and she recognizes the voice as Uzumaki Naruto. "I got assigned to a new specimen, and she's for breeding too!"
A pause.
"And what's more, she's headed for your office!"
A she? She flips her documents open to see the new registrars for the day, and looks for the specimen scheduled for 1100 hours.
Tenten.
And those to come:
"Oh, Sakura," Lee gushes, putting a hand to his heart as if said person was within his grasp. "Certainly the most youthful flower. I want to have her heart someday."
Tenten tried not to roll her eyes as Lee continues with his poetic serenade to the pink-haired girl. Sure, Tenten thinks she's cool but she never expected anyone to be this...obsessed. She and Lee talked a lot after the inspection, and they decided on their own that they were friends. Really close ones, only if it were for a couple of minutes.
She found out a lot of interesting things, like that Lee idolized the popular gym star Guy-sensei, someone who she thinks she remembers in her previous days, but quickly decides against the fact. She isn't allowed to remember those things, she reminds herself, and instead focuses on Lee as he continues talking.
Lee had been sent to the Aura because of his abnormally quick speed and luscious amount of stamina, something she was surprised with as well, learning that his daily training regime was about a thousand sit ups and push ups and other exercises she can't quite remember. But she enjoys his company, a lot, something that warms her heart before she faces breeding.
Along the talk, which continued on for a while, she was able to share laughs just like the old times. It feels like she has traveled back in time and came back again; he warms her heart.
"Well, what's stopping you?" she asked him mid-rant, and he looks at her like she is stupid. She opens her mouth to retort, but suddenly he starts speaking.
"Well, didn't you hear?" he asks, expecting her to answer. She shakes her head and he continues.
"Sakura is engaged."
The opened mouth voices a soft "oh" before Tenten blushes. Lee said it miserably and he might've took it miserably too.
"I'm sorry," she says, forcing a fake smile. Lee laughs and she stares, her heart dropping at the sight of a friend in rejection.
"It's okay, Tenten," he says, but she can't help but notice that slight spider sting in his voice when he talks. "i have long accepted the fact that Sakura had already found a future husband, but that doesn't mean my flames of youthful love should burn out!" he says, beating his chest with a fist in an attempt to look bold.
Tenten's smile becomes real.
"Anyway..." Lee tries to say, and she shifts in her seat to listen. "Guy-sensei told me once that I should be stronger than the Lee of yesterday."
She blinks considerably. "Oh?"
"That's why I must move on, no matter how huge that challenge is!" he says, and Tenten senses the burning passion in his throat. She smiles again, eyes full of consideration, and moves her fingers to wrap around Lee's. He looks up to her in shock, but she smiles softly.
"You are a good man, Lee."
Lee, surprised by the statement, lights up. His eyes widen and he smiles slowly, revealing a shiny set of teeth.
"Thank you, Tenten," he says, seriously this time.
They stay in that position for a lingering moment, eyes fixed on each other and the warmth spreading. They hold their gaze until the muffled voices behind the doorframe fade, and they turn around at the door creak.
Sakura walks outside, smiling, her cheeks rosy red and with a parchment in hand.
"So..." she says. "You have to go."
Tenten nods slowly and Sakura's smile fades. Lee looks at them both and shrugs.
"Well, I hope you'll be doing fine. You were a great addition as one of my assigned specimen. I'll miss you," she continues, and Tenten nods quickly and blushes.
Sakura then moves to the table, unclasps the bind that holds the ends of the parchment together and opens. Out comes a small paper, and Tenten can't clearly read it. Lee nudges her on the shoulder and she turns.
"Good luck, Tenten-san!," he says, giving her a thumbs up.
"Yeah, whatever," she says, ruffling his hair.
Suddenly, it's silent for a while except for the faint scraping of paper from Sakura's desk. Tenten decides to speak up.
"Sakura?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you engaged?" she asks. Sakura's eyes widen considerably and she stands up, still in shock, and Tenten notes how her cheeks flare up. She glances at Lee for a second and sees his solemn look, unlike the Lee she'd been hanging out the while ago.
"I-well, yes I am..." she says, and her smile is sad. Her shoulders limp and Tenten almost feels guilty for asking the question.
Suddenly, the door creaks open and a figure stands on the doorway, strong muscled frame making the silhouette.
"Yes."
Her hair stands on it's ends and her heart is beating erratically. The figure moves into the light, out of the room, and Sakura's gasps are unheard, silent, feathery breaths that send shivers and makes her mind go numb.
Heart. Race. The flight of the wind.
And at that moment, when all world is just fire and water and the shimmering steel is mundane it's just night and darkness under the fleeting light and all you can do is stare.
"To me."
One year and twenty days gone by and nothing is the same.
Author's Note: As promised, more AU!
I've actually been working on this for a while, around a week and counting. I admit the theme is a little screwed up, but that's okay. I wanna work on new things too.
AUs are hard to write compared to the Narutoverse but you gotta believe they're amazing. There will be two parts, this being the first and a second following shortly. I hope you enjoy this one.
Until Then!
(And for any of you who are worried about me not finishing this, don't worry — I got it all covered).