Chapter 3: Fire Mistress ~*SAKURA*~

"Summon the warriors" Sakura was never able to finish off her dreams. Her dreams were always stopped by the break of dawn. Whenever the sun rose, she awakened. It always left her frustrated, yearning to be able to finish whatever dream she would be dreaming at the time.

She quickly got out of bed and glanced at her alarm clock. The red numbers blinked 05:00; too earlier to start getting ready for school. She got out of bed and softly padded across the hall to her bathroom.

She opened the door after she finished washing her hands. She stepped out and turned to close the it when another sound caught her attention. He looked down the hall to her mother's room and saw a dark figure coming out. As he it walked down the hall, it noticed Sakura. He then smiled and slowly revealed himself as he moved closer to the open window.

"Your mom was good last night. Here," he handed her a hundred dollar bill from his pocket, "give her this when she wakes up." Sakura begrudgingly stuck out her hand though she didn't want to take the felt disgusted and embarrassed being a daughter of a whore.

"Why didn't you leave the money on her night stand instead of giving it to me?" she asked. "Well... let just say I was going to pay her later on tonight for our next appointment. But, since you're here now, you might as well make yourself this is your rent money. Aren't you ladies behind on your rent anyways?" He smiled at her. Sakura grit her teeth and snatched the money from his hand. He walked around her and headed to the door. As an afterthought, he slightly turned and called over his shoulder,

"Oh yeah one more thing."

Sakura slowly turned toward him, disgust written all over her face.

"You should consider doing what your mom is doing. With your face and that body, you'll have all kinds of clients coming to see you; especially me. I wouldn't mind having a younger woman to satisfy me," he said with a wink.

"You sick bastard!" she shouted at him.

"No, your mom is the sick bastard around here. Remember that." He walked away,laughing.

Sakura ran to her room, and slammed the door behind her. She hated seeing her mother selling her body to other men. She wanted to get away from this type of life. This was all of her dad's fault. If he hadn't have left, or at least had left a little money for her mom, they wouldn't have to suffer with bills or over-extended payments. Why couldn't her mother have found a normal job instead of doing this? Instead, she took the easy way to earn a living. Sakura shut her eyes and crushed the bill in her hand. She hated how thinking of her life always made her just so angry... A weird, tingling feeling of energy flowed up her arm into her hand. Suddenly, black ash poured through her fingers.

She unclenched her hand to find remains of the money, burnt to a crisp. Sakura's eyes widened in shock, not being able to make sense of what had just happened. She stood leaning against the door, silent, until she heard someone outside in the hallways. She peeked and saw another man heading to her mother's room.

Sakura quickly dressed into her school uniform as a reason to get out of the house. She quickly left, ignoring the moaning coming from her mother's room. She took a step out the door and took a deep breath, feeling the sun radiating on her skin. She loved the feeling of warmth it produced. It always made her feel full of energy.

"It's an honor to meet you."

Sakura looked at the tall man that stood on the steps in front of her home . He bowed towards her, making her feel awkward. She gave him a confused look, subtly surveying him up and down. He had black, spiked hair and was wearing a snug, sleeveless, medieval costume that showed off his muscles. They both remained in silence for a few minutes before one spoke. "May I help you?" she asked. "Yes. I am here for you, Fire Mistress," he said in a respective manner. Sakura looked at him even more confused. Fire Mistress? Suddenly, it all clicked. He probably was talking about something sexual her mother specialized in.

"Oh... I see." She narrowed her eyes, and thought he might be another client.

It was a shame knowing that he was just like the other men; just using her mother for their pleasure.

"Well if you're looking for Junko, you're so call 'Fire Mistress' is inside upstairs." Sakura looked away, embarrassed that someone her age had been confused with her mother. She turned to leave, but the man grabbed her arm, stopping her. She turned back to look at him, shocked.

"Fire, please we need your hel-"

"Let go of me you perve!"

she yelled, cutting off his words. Her anger came over her when he still wouldn't let go of her. An intense sort of energy came over her as her anger starts to skyrocket.

Sudden, the man shouted in pain and released her arm. Sakura took it as her chance to run and took off as fast as she could. She didn't stop until he was out of sight and he could no longer hear him.

Sakura ran towards her best friend Ino's house. She looked around, making sure she didn't see him, and took a deep breath of relief. She decided to sit on the curb and wait since she didn't want to wake up her friend early.

She felt warm with the sun radiating on her. She looked up at the beautiful sun and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. She felt her energy go up, making her forget all her problems. There was something about the sun that made her feel full of strength. It made her feel one with the sun. She was so distracted by the feeling, she failed to hear Ino come up behind her.

"Umm... Sakura" Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Ino. She smiled at her.

"Oh, hey." They talked for a little while before they headed off to school. While walking, Sakura thought of the money that she had burnt. She didn't understand on how she caused it to happen. She didn't recall having a lighter or being near a fire.

Sudden a large dog bumped into Ino and landed on top of her. "Ino!" She shouted in shock, worried that her best friend might be hurt. She tried to get the dog off of her, but it wouldn't move. "Get off of her, you stupid dog!" She continued to yell. She felt energy go through her and grow up towards her arms as she pushed. Suddenly, the dog barked in pain and ran off.

Sakura looked at the dog in confusion. She slowly looked down at her hands and noticed something strange that she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes widened as she saw her arms and hands glowing red. Then slowly died down as she started to panic. She decided to keep quiet about it, not wanting to worry her friend.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked. Sakura looked at Ino. "I'm fine. Let's just go, okay?"

She walking away in fear. Sakura didn't know what was going on with her. Still felt as if she had some abnormal disease or condition that might put people off. She didn't know how people might react if she were to tell someone. She felt Ino touch her shoulder. She debated telling her best friend, but she decided against it. She wouldn't be able live with herself if she harmed her. "Sakura, what's wrong? You know you could always tell me."

"Ino, I said I am fine! Stop asking me!" Sakura yelled at her, leaving a thick silence between the two. Sakura sigh in regret. She was trying to help her. "I'm sorry…It's just...Today isn't my day. So please, can we just drop this."

"All right, Sakura. If you don't want to talk about it, then I will respect your decision, but whenever you're ready to talk about it, you know I'm always here to listen."

Sakura was glad Ino said those words to her. Ino was always there for her and, for that, Sakura was grateful. She smiled at her.

"Thanks, Ino."

They both continued walking to school. Once they arrived, they headed to their separate classes. "See you at lunch," Ino said.

"Okay, see you later," Sakura respond as she headed off to her class.

As hours flew by, she arrived her fourth period history class. She quickly walked in and sat in the back corner of the room. It was right next to a large window. She sat there quietly, waiting for class to starts. She turned to look out the window, noticing the clear, green meadow. She started daydreaming about the man in the medieval suit, wondering why would a good-looking man like him would want to be seduced by a prostitute like her mom. She doesn't like how things are in her home-life. Girls at her school made fun of her for how she is and because her mother was known for bring tge local whore. She didn't understand why no one ever tried to reach out to her instead of using the information as a cheap bargaining chip whenever they wanted to make her feel bad. Other girls were mean. Just because she didn't have a boyfriend or the newest accessory...she wasn't that different from the rest of them.

The feeling of anger took hold of her. She clenched her left fist, trying to subside it. The feeling of energy rushed through her as her hands started heat up, causing her to look down at her desk in shock. Her hand was glowing red again, creating a large burn mark on the desk. Sakura quickly grabbed her backpack and ran out of the class. She decided to go to the girl's bathroom that was near the cafeteria and hide there.

She sat on the lid of the toilet seat, too afraid to go anywhere else or touch anything. She sat there patiently, waiting for the school to be over. As the hour went by, the lunch bell rang and a few girls filed into the bathroom to do their makeup and hair. Sakura waited until they left before she thought about leaving. She heard another girl come in and wash her hands. Sakura still stayed quiet, hoping the girl would leave soon.

Her phone vibrated, letting her know that she had a text message. She opened up the screen and found it was sent from Ino.

'HEY, WHERE ARE YOU?' She was about to reply back to her friend when the girl that was washing her hands dropped her water bottle. It rolled into Sakura's stall and stopped between her feet.

"Oops, I'm so sorry. could you get that for me please?" the girl asked.

"Umm... sure," Sakura said nervously. She worried something bad might happen if she touched the water. She slowly reached for it and picked it up. Luckily, the water felt was ice cold. She rolled it back under the stall to the girl.

"Thank you," the girl said as she stood.

"No problem, glad to help." Sakura watched the girl stand there for a moment, hearing her drink from the bottle before looking confused and murmuring to herself.

"Is there something wrong?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Oh, nothing." the girl replied. "

It's just something i found strange. My water was ice cold a minute ago, and now it's all warm. Well, I guess that's what I get for being too clumsy. Well, bye now. I've got to go. Lunch is over." The girl left the bathroom, leaving Sakura alone and confused.

"Why is this happening to me?" Sakura stayed in the stall for another hour before deciding to leave instead of sitting in the girls' bathroom till school was over.

She peeked her head out of the bathroom door and saw no one in the hall. She quickly walked towards the back of school and ran out of the exit doors.

Out of nowhere, the medieval man appeared. Sakura stopped and ran off in the opposite direction. She when she looked over her shoulder to see if he was following, she say that he wasn't following her. Sakura wasn't paying attention to where she was going and accidentally bumped into one of the girls from her school. The collision caused both of them to fall to the ground. "Stupid, Sakura," she groaned. "Can't find anything else to do but knock people down?" Sakura looked up at the girl she knocked down and realized it was one of her bullies, Kin Tsuchi and her friends. She quickly stood up and dust herself off. "Look, it was an accident." She tried to explain. "This guy was chasing me and-"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk… Wow. Is that your excuse, Sakura? A guy is chasing you? It would be a day if any guy would ever want you," they laughed. Sakura looked at her angrily. "You know, Kin, if you would have stayed in school more often, you might have learned a thing or two. You don't have to go out showing off to guys that you are a whore; they already know you are. Kin, in a flash of anger, punched Sakura's face, knocking her down on the ground. Kin's friend circled around them, chanting encouragement to their friend. "Kick her ass, Kin." Kin got on top of Sakura and continued to punch her. Her fist split Sakura'a lip an caused her nose to bleed.

The school bell rang, signaling the end of school. Girls filed out of the school, seeing the fight and decided to run over to watch. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" they chanted. When Kin felt her point had been made, she stopped and grabbed Sakura's hair, using it to pull her face closer to hers.

"This is the last time you make a fool out of me. Now you're my little bitch." Sakura quickly grabbed Kin's right arm, squeezing it with as much force as she could manage. "Let go of me!" Kin yelled.

Sakura ignored her and moved closer to Kin. "I'm not your bitch!" she yelled. Sakura realized Kin was screaming in pain. She quickly let go of her and saw her arm had burn marks. She looked down at her hand and noticed it was glowing. She couldn't believe it. The money, the dog, the desk, the water bottle, and now this. Sakura looked at Kin, who was holding on to her arm in agony. "Oh my god. I'm sorry," she apologize and quickly ran through the crowd, hearing Ino from behind her calling out her name.

"Sakura!"

She ran as fast as she could to get away from the scene. She found an alley and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. She wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve, feeling pain from her face. She looked up and saw the sun shining down on her. "Please, help me," she begged, closing her eyes. "I would if you would let me, Fire Mistress." Sakura eyes opened and looked up at the man from earlier.

"Look, I'm not your so call 'Fire Mistress'. Just ,please, leave me alone." She stood up and walked past him. "You have been feeling the energy of the fire lately, have you not?" Sakura stopped walking and turned to face him. "What do you mean? Do you know something about this?" She asked, nervously waiting for an answer from the man.

"Yes, I do." He bowed to her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I am warrior from the Kingdom of Kohona and my Queen send me to get you, Fire Mistress."

"Why does she need me?" she asked curiously.

"She knew it was time for you to know the truth about yourself and to save Kohona. It is in your birth right to become the Fire Mistress like your mother once was." Sakura gave him a confused look. "My mother, Junko?"

"The mother you have right now is not your real mother." Sakura's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? My real mother is Junko and she-" her words were cut off from a force of wind hitting her and suddenly vanishing.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, confused and panicking.

"Fire, we don't have time we have to-"

"Sasuke!" A man with blonde hair wearing the same costume walked up next to him. "I can't find the Water Mistress."

Sasuke looked at him.

"You idiot. You will find her. The queen gave you supplies. Just use the stone." Sakura just stood there, watching them arguing. She didn't know what they were arguing about. "Is this some kind of a game? Go find the Mistress or something."

They both looked at her. The man with the blonde hair smiled, as if he was surprised to see her.

"Is this the Fire Mistress? How do you know it is her?"

Sasuke didn't respond. He lifted his palm up to the blond-haired man and showed him his burned hand. Sakura gasped, remembering what she did. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Sakura stared at his hand with guilt.

Sasuke grabbed her hand with his non-injured one. " It is alright, Fire" he kissed her knuckles formally, making her blush. Suddenly, there was an earthquake. The ground shook 20 seconds.

"Hurry up and go find her!" Sasuke yelled at the man

"But how?"

"She has her cousin's eyes, you idiot. Remember that?!"

"All right. Sheesh." The man vanished without a trace.

"Whoa. What happened to him?" "Never mind him, Mistress, we have to go." Sasuke reached in his pouch and grabbed a hand full of powder.

"Wait. What are you going to do with me? I didn't say that I was going with you."

"If you do, we can help you maintain your fire ability." Sakura thought about it. She didn't want to harm anyone.

"And don't worry, Fire. I won't let anything happened to you. I promise you that." She looked in his eyes and somehow knew that she could trust him. Sakura nodded her head, giving him permission.

He blew the powder in her face. It cause Sakura to fall asleep as Sasuke carried her. He pulled out a small, red stone from another pouch he had.

"Fire, I wish to return to Kohona."

Sasuke slammed the red stone towards the ground, shattering it. He looked up and saw a large fireball from the sky, aiming towards them. The fireball's figure turned into a phoenix and swirled around them, hot flames surrounding them. The next moment, they were gone.

nt here...