Inspired by Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect.
Promise
parings: sasusaku, narusaku
genre: Romance
summary: Inspired by Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect. To everyone, they seemed to have the perfect fairytale love story. High school sweethearts who fell in love, and got married. But something altered their seemingly perfect marriage as a frightening pattern took shape.
Chapter 1: - Sakura was married to the most wanted man on the planet, and she completely forgot about it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters. Nor do I own the novel Picture Perfect.
"In real love, you want the other person's good. In romantic love, you want the other person."
-Margaret Anderson
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Promise
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Stand Alone
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Friday, April 10. 8:10pm Konoha
The first object which came into her view was a grey, gravestone. She placed her petite, white hand atop the gravestone, and pulled herself away from the earth's cold floor. A hand flew to her head, as she flew into a state of vertigo. Finally her green eyes opened, and met with blurred letters of the gravestone. The hand holding her head drew back and as she stared at her hand, she realized it was crimson and wet. She felt her head yet again, only to conclude she was hit on the head. She dug around in the pockets of her khaki colored trench coat she was dressed in and came up with a tube of chap stick, and nothing else. No wallet. No cell-phone. No purse. 'I've been mugged.' She sat up completely and looked around her surroundings. Darkness enveloped the cemetery she was in. Her heart started to pound against her chest when she realized she was alone. She tried-but failed to remember what she was doing here.
A small church near the gate of the cemetery caught her eye, and she ran towards it. "A church." She told herself, suddenly feeling a bit more safe. Her sneaker pounded upon the gravel and grass, as reached closer and closer towards the church. When she finally got there, she pounded upon the wooden door. No answer. No movements could be heard. 'Maybe the priest went out for a bit.' She though to herself, as she filled her heart with hope. 'Then I could call someone for help…, but who would I call?' Beyond the entrance to the cemetery she spotted a bus stop. She made a move to go towards it but stopped. She didn't what the time was, so she had no clue when time the latest bus ran. She didn't remember where the closest hospital, or the police station was. She didn't even remember her name.
Naruto glanced at the street sign and sighed. He been past this block just five minutes ago. Last time he took a right, so this time he turned left. Glancing around he realized he was driving next to a cemetery. Naruto drew back the childish urge to hold his breath while passing it. Instead he pulled over, and proceeded to look at the map of the streets of Konoha. He cursed as he tried to find the street he was on, on the tiny map. Earlier, Naruto had decided to take drive around Konoha, so he'd be familiar with at least a couple of the main roads before his first day as part of the Konoha Military Police Force.
A movement caught his eye, as fear crept upon his heart. He cursed at himself for parking near a cemetery. He'd never admit it to anyone that he feared ghosts. He'd never seen one, but he'd heard stories, and he had no clue how to defend himself against a spirit. He decided that now was a great time to leave, as he proceeded to put his pick-up in drive. He glanced a the cemetery again, and saw figure moving towards him. 'Oh fuck.' She was pale white, with strawberry blonde hair, almost translucent pink, her wide green eyes caught his gaze, as she frantically ran towards him. The dried blood on her left temple, pink lips, and flushed cheeks told him that she wasn't a ghost.
Concerned, Naruto stepped out of his car. "Are you okay?-" 'What a dumb thing to ask, she's injured.' "I mean, what's wrong?"
"I-I think I might've gotten mugged…"
"….You think you were mugged?" Naruto carefully repeated.
"I mean, I can't remember, anything at all. No even my own name."
Naruto glanced at her clear green eyes, and clotted cut on her left temple. 'Amnesia.' "You don't know your name?" He automatically switched gears, questioning her as a cop. "Do you remember how you got here?"
"No. I woke up to find myself lying on top of a grave. I don't remember anything else." She choked on a tear.
"Relax, I'm a cop. I'll get you to a hospital." Naruto gazed at her innocent face, she seemed too trusting, and as a cop it was his responsibility to get her to safety.
"You don't look like a cop." She responded. "May I see your badge?"
"I've just transferred to the Konoha Military Police Force two days ago, I don't have a badge yet." Naruto walked over to the passenger side and opened her door.
"Oh…" She climbed into the navy blue, Ford Ranger, as Naruto started to put the truck back in drive. "What's your name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto. And in the meantime, what should I call you?"
"I guess I could be….uh…." She glanced at the street sign. "Kara."
"You don't look like a Kara."
"What do you think I look like?"
"Seeing your hair, I'd say you'd have a flowery-"
"Floral."
"-name."
"Maybe your right and I am named after a flower."
"Maybe."
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"Alright, now I want you to name the months backwards."
"December, November,…."
Tuning everything out, Naruto closed his eyes out of tiredness, and boredom. Slumped on a plastic chair, Naruto intertwined his hands together at the back of his head and let out a deep breath. The pair were now in the emergency clinic at Konoha General.
The doctor turned to him. "She definitely lost her consciousness during the past few hours." He stated disappointedly. He turned back towards her and held up his pen. "What's this?"
"A pen." Kara fought the urge to roll her eyes. She'd already answered a series of questions; what's this, what's that? And counted from one to twenty, and then backwards.
"See? She's fine." Naruto interrupted. He wanted to get out of here. Naruto never liked hospitals, they smelled of death and sickness, thinly masked by sanitizers. His dislike only increased after his parents had died in one.
"She has a mild concussion, but seems to be on the mend. As for her memories…" The doctor turned towards her. "You'll recover distant memories before you recover recent ones. You might never recall the few minutes surrounding the blow to your head." He turned back towards Naruto. "Officer Uzumaki, tell whoever comes to receive her to wake up every hour or so to check her level of alertness, by asking her questions like who she is, and where she's at."
"Alright."
"How long do you think I'll recover my memories by?" Asked Kara.
"Honestly, I can't say, it could be hours, days, weeks, maybe even months." He then pointed towards her white gold wedding band, and her white gold, sapphire diamond engagement ring. "But I'm sure your husband will fill you in."
Kara stared at the two rings adoring her ring finger. "I didn't-… I honestly never looked…I had no clue I was married."
'Neither did I…' Naruto thought as he too gazed at her rings.
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"Morning." Naruto, dressed in his uniform, called out to Sakura as she walked into the kitchen of his tiny, studio apartment. "Coffee?"
Kara nodded. Last night Naruto couldn't figure out if he should take her straight to the police station or not. But after watching her tiny figure slump away with sleep on his passenger seat, Naruto decided to bring her back to his place. She had an adequate amount of adventures that day, and she needed her rest. He had carried her out of his car and placed her atop his bed. He removed her black Converses, but refused to touch her any further.'She belongs to another man.' He thought as he tucked her in.
Naruto had then sat on the edge of the bed, studying her face. Moonlight flowed through his blinded window, and fell upon her delicate form. She was beautiful, he realized. Her white skin seemed soft, like a baby's. Her translucent, pink hair created a halo around her head. Her thin, tiny hand was clutching his blanket, while it's twin gripped his pillow. Her chest rose and fell with every breath. Naruto made a move to touch her, but withdrew his hand. She was another man's wife.
Naruto glanced at her from across the small dinning table. "I can't file a missing person's report yet, because it hasn't been twenty-four hours yet. So I left some money on the coffee table for you, if you want to get something for yourself. Like, I dunno, feminine stuff…Um…Oh yeah, the main market place is two blocks west. K?"
Mouth full of coffee, Kara nodded. Naruto stood up grabbing the dirty dishes, and placed them in the sink. He couldn't remember the last time he was this neat. Usually he left his dirty dishes scattered all over the place and didn't pick them up until he needed them, but having Kara here changed things. He didn't want her to think his personal hygiene was disgusting. Naruto put on his cap, and grabbed his keys. "So, I'll see tonight."
"Have an awesome first day, Naruto!" Naruto smiled and nodded in return before he shut the door.
Kakashi, his superior glared at Naruto in disapproval. "You know you should've brought her here first. We have medics here to take care of her injury."
"I know, but I-"
"But nothing. Her memory loss was caused by an act of violence. Since you weren't on duty, I'll forgive you this time, but from now on you play by our rules."
"Yes sir."
"Where is she?"
"At my apartment."
"Bring her in tomorrow, to file a missing person's report. So far, we've had no calls asking about a young, strawberry-blonde girl."
Naruto nodded in response.
"Oh, and head over to Obito Uchiha's office, he'll get you your badge and introduce you to your partner, and all." Kakashi's eye crinkled as stood up and offered Naruto his hand. "Welcome to the Konoha Military Police Force, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto beamed back. "Thank you, sir!"
Kara spent half the day at the market, buying Naruto some fruits and vegetables; he seemed to have nothing but ramen and milk in his apartment. She had also gotten herself some cheap undergarments and tampons, just in case. Kara looked around his apartment, she had already cleaned and dusted whatever she could, and dinner was made, but she wanted to do more for him. Naruto had, after all, helped her when she required it the most.
Kara glanced at the unopened boxes on Naruto's living room floor. Earlier, she had talked herself out of unpacking for him, since she didn't want to snoop through his private things. But after thinking about it, how else to help someone than turning their house into an actual home.
She had first looked through the boxes to find that none of them were marked. Her petite hands reached for the first box, and opened it. Clothes. Kara put it aide, she didn't want to go through his clothes; god forbid if he'd packed his underwear in the same box. She grasped the next box. More clothes. Finally, the third box that she opened, held what she was looking for. Sakura reached for the framed pictures and was greeted by a four year old Naruto held by a man who looked like him and a beautiful woman. 'His parents, probably.' She grabbed the next photo, which held his smiling parents at their wedding. The third one possessed a tall, older, man with long, white hair, and a cheesy smile. On the man's right stood a busty, blonde woman, probably in her late thirties. She was painfully beautiful.
There were various other framed photos, but before she could look through them and tiny, rectangular box caught her eyes. She reached for it, her delicate fingers sliding across the smooth, black velvet. She lifted her other hand and opened the box, revealing a beautiful light-blue, crystal necklace. But before she could even touch it, the door swung open revealing a wearisome Naruto.
Naruto had spent most of the day hanging out with his new partner, Kiba, who he decided was obnoxiously unintelligent. Not that he was any better, but at least he was street smart. Naruto yawned as he shoved his keys into the lock and turned it open. His day was slow and dragging. And so far, no one had called or came in asking for a lost woman. His door opened with the smell of yakitori and rice hitting his face, unconsciously making his mouth water. Fully opening his door, Naruto noticed something else. Kara, in his basketball shorts and white t-shirt was sprawled on his living room floor, with his family's heirloom in her hands.
Anger overtook him so fast, he hadn't had the chance to reason with himself. "WHAT THE FUCK?" Naruto's angry blue eyes zeroed in on Kara, as his fist unintentionally clenched. "WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO GO THROUGH MY STUFF?"
Kara unconsciously covered her head with her arms and shut her eyes, but the impact never came. After seeing Kara in such a feeble position, Naruto's anger subsided. He was shocked to see her so frightened. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to… get so angry."
Kara's green eyes cautiously peaked through her arms. After suspecting no more danger, she relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry I had no idea…" Guilty clenched his chest, and Naruto helped Kara up from the ground. "No. It's not your fault."
Dinner was a quiet deed as Naruto and Kara kept to themselves. Finally, Naruto decided to break the silence. "You need to come over to the station tomorrow, so we could get your picture taken and all."
"I've been thinking…"
"About?"
"When I was mugged, why wasn't my wedding and engagement rings stolen?"
"Most robbers are easily frightened. I'm guessing the robber didn't mean to hit you so hard, and when you had gotten badly hurt and fainted he had gotten scared. So the robber probably grabbed what he could and booked it."
"Oh…So, no one has asked about me yet?"
Naruto knew exactly who Kara meant by 'no one'. "Your husband could be on some sort of business trip or something like that…."
"Maybe. But doesn't he call me if he goes out of town."
"What if you both had a fight before he left?" Naruto didn't enjoy defending her mystery husband, but he couldn't stand to see Kara so gloomy.
"…."
"Besides, after we get you're picture out there, I'm sure we'll be flooded with phone calls of people who care about you!" Naruto cheerfully stated.
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Saturday, April 18. 7:30pm
It had been about a week and no one had tried to contact the police department in search of a twenty-some, green eyed, petite, strawberry-blonde woman.
"I guess my husband doesn't want me anymore…" Naruto and Kara were seated on his couch, eating take-out and watching television. "…What if he's cheating on me!"
"…What?"
"I mean what if he's glad to get rid of me?"
"…." Naruto picked up the remote to switch the channel. "Maybe he doesn't know you're missing."
"What do mean?"
"I mean if he's in the army or something, and hasn't had the chance to call." Naruto stopped on a random channel. "And what if your relatives or friends don't really read the newspaper."
"I dunno…"
"Besides, me and Kiba got the editor of the Konoha Times to move your picture to the second page of the newspaper for tomorrow."
Kara directed her gaze to the television were a hospital drama show was on. Her eyes glazed over as she took in the hospital's environment. "…has a appendicitis…" The memory hit her so fast, she hardly so it coming. 'Inflammation of the appendix. It is thought that appendicitis begins when the opening from the appendix into the cecum becomes blocked. The blockage may be due to a build-up of thick mucus within the appendix or to stool that enters the appendix from the cecum. The mucus or stool hardens, becomes rock-like, and blocks the opening.' She had learned this from somewhere, she just couldn't remember where, and why does she know all this. 'An alternative theory for the cause of appendicitis is an initial rupture of the appendix followed by spread of bacteria outside the appendix.'
Naruto looked over to Kara, taking in her concentrated expression. "The show can't possibly be that interesting." Naruto commented.
Kara turned her full eyes on him, a smile danced upon her face. "I think I know what I do for a living."
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Sunday, April 19. 10:00am Konoha
A sigh escaped his lips as Fugaku propped his legs up on the patio table. His gaze traveled across the length of his backyard, taking in the large manmade pond and the various flowers lining it, and smiled in approval. Mikoto, his wife, had taken it upon herself to make their backyard the best one on the block.
He reached for the newspaper which was placed next to him. After glancing at the cover story without any interest he flipped to the next page and started skimming it. "Holy-shit." He exclaimed as his coal black eyes fell on a picture of a beautiful, pink-haired woman. Pulling out his cell phone from the right hand pocket of his silk bathrobe, he dialed his son's number.
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Sunday, April 19. 10:02am Suna
"You know? You should really watch where you were going." His partner, Suigetsu exclaimed, as they grabbed their bags from the SUV's trunk.
Sasuke merely turned his head towards him in distaste. "We're already behind schedule. This assignment shouldn't have taken more than a week."
"Well, we are going after almost all of that business man, Danzo's close allies."
"There were only two."
"Still. Anyways, you've been in such a crappy mood for the past week. I know you don't wanna talk about it, and honestly, I couldn't care less about what happened, but don't take your frustration out on me."
"Don't tell me what to do."
Suigetsu sighed. "So what did happened? Another fight with the missus? I mean you haven't called her since we've got here."
"None of your business." The pair climbed up the hotel's stairs.
Sasuke stopped mid-step and cursed as his phone started to vibrated in his jeans' front pocket. Talking his sleek black, flip-phone out he caught his dad's number on the screen. "We're on an assignment, father."
"I know, Sasuke. I sent you."
"What happened."
"Sakura is- was missing."
Sasuke visibly froze. "What! And now you're telling me!"
"Don't talk to me like that!" His father scolded him. After Sasuke had mumbled out an apology, he continued. "Her picture was in the paper. Apparently she has been in police custody for about a week."
"Shit. What had happened? Is she alright?" His pulse was racing, as fear gripped his heart. "We own the Konoha Military Police Force. No one noticed that she was my wife? Not even Kakashi."
"You know Kakashi's busy. He probably didn't look at her picture. Besides, you never took her to the station and introduced her to anybody else. They just knew her name."
"How is she?" Sasuke pressed.
"Well she looks alright in the picture, but it seems that she's lost her memory. It says here she doesn't even remember her name."
"I'm coming."
"No. It's okay, Sasuke. I've got it under control-"
"Please dad. You don't understand. I need to be the first person she sees. I'm taking the next flight home. Call Itachi so he can finish things here with Suigetsu. I should be there by…" He checked his watch. "…at least two, your time."
Suigetsu, who had been listening in, groaned. He had never liked working with Itachi. He knew how to mask his emotions, so you could never tell what he was thinking. It really freaked him out sometimes. Other times it just got annoying.
Sasuke turned to look at Suigetsu. "I'm guessing you know what to do. Itachi will be here soon, make sure you let him know where you're staying and all that shit. I'm driving down to the airport, get a flight booked for me." With that said Sasuke turned and headed back towards the car. Suigetsu hated it when Sasuke treated him like he was his secretary or something, but then again, Sasuke is his boss. Suigetsu got his phone out and began to dialing. After all what Uchiha Sasuke wants, Uchiha Sasuke gets.
Naruto was beginning to see why Kara's husband hadn't stopped by to pick her up. She had been trying to explain her science to him, and all he understood were the words "the" and "and".
"Isn't it great to understand how the human body works?"
Naruto nodded, hoping it would shut her up. It didn't. "I mean can you believe how all of our organs and organelles fit so perfectly together…" Naruto tuned her out yet again. His phone started to ring. 'Freedom. Sweet freedom.'
"Officer Uzumaki Naruto speaking….Yeah?….Yes sir, she's-….Oh….Okay. We'll be there in about ten minutes." After hanging up Naruto turned to her. "You're husband's here."
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Everything was just a blur, as they had soon found themselves sitting next to each other in his pick-up. There were so many things Naruto had wanted to tell her. "Be sure to stay in touch…. Call me if you ever need anything… I'll be there for you…. I hope for the best for you…" But he couldn't get anything out his throat. He glanced over to Kara. She kept fidgeting in nervousness. She caught his gaze and spared him a warm smile. Naruto realized he was going to miss that smile of hers. The way her green eyes twinkled when she smiled. The way she so damn moody all the time. The way she talked. The intoxicating smell of hers'. The way her brow furrowed, and her mouth pouted when she was concentrating on a hard task. Naruto stopped himself, as reality set in. 'She was another man's wife.'
It seemed as if the drive had only lasted seconds as the pair pulled into the parking lot of the police station. Kara let out a whine. "What if he doesn't like me?"
"He'll love you."
"What if he thinks I'm hideous."
"You're beautiful." Kara smiled at him. After taking in a deep breath, she told him she was ready.
They got out of the car and walked towards the station together. He noticed that she was clenching up in fear as they got closer and closer. Naruto held the door open for her. "I'm scared."
"I know."
As soon as they walked past the entrance a voice called out in her direction. "Sakura." Naruto shifted his gaze to the dark-haired man who'd called out to them. Naruto realized that man was his boss's son, Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto smirked to himself in thought, Kara or "Sakura" was married to the most wanted man on the planet, and she had completely forgotten about it.
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To Be Continued…
(1) The song at the end is called Crestfallen, performed by Smashing Pumpkins. You should consider listening to it someday (just youtube it or somthing), it's an awesome, bittersweet song. Perfect for NaruSaku.
(2) Yes, Kara is/was Sakura.
(3) Am I the only one who thinks that Naruto would look sexy in a cop's uniform?
(4)REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Chapter 2 Preview:
Sakura glanced at the dark-haired man claiming to be her husband. Her breath caught in her throat. He was absolutely beautiful. He couldn't possibly be her husband, she couldn't possibly be that lucky.
She watched him as he cautiously approached her. "You don't remember me, do you?" Sakura opened her mouth to respond but couldn't seem to form any words. Sasuke reached for her arm. "Come on, let's go home."
"Do you have any proof?"
"Excuse me?"
"That I'm your wife. Do you have any proof of that?"
Sasuke though for a moment and then reached behind himself, taking his wallet out of his back pocket. Opening it, he grabbed a laminated photo and held it out to her. "Here." It was a photo of herself. It was a tiny picture, capturing her face and the upper half of her torso. Navy blue sheets were placed wrapped around her, covering her full breasts, her eyes were twinkling with a cute smile upon her flushed face.
"If she's having her doubts, I don't mind leaving with him." Sakura subconsciously heard a woman in the back say.
"And here." Sasuke handed her a piece of paper. "It's a copy of our marriage certificate. The real one's in our safe." Sakura glanced at her and Sasuke's signatures on the certificate, and then looked up at him again….
Please give me reason to update and...
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I won't update till I get reviews...^_^