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Disclaimer: "City of Water" by Rin and Len Kagamine Vocaloids
2: 22 A.M....
First Night
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Ah~! Mi~ sukashite~ hitomi no so—no— oku wo~
Seeing right through to what lies behind your eyes
Kakusa~zunii~te~ fuan wo~ tsumu~ mimi wo~
Hidden anxiety pinches your ears
Yuruya~kadeite~ kioku no~ oki—basho yo~
A gentle memory of a place long left behind
Sono ma~ma de ite~ inai de~
Just the way it was. But it isn't real
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An abrupt jolt beside her bounced the mattress rather roughly, quickly throwing her into wakefulness. Confused and still groggy-eyed from being disturbed from her deep sleep but alert with paranoia that K—san was in the room with her, Sakura automatically shot to her feet, hands instinctively searching for Hikaru. After a few moments of not being able to find the little one, panic settled in fast. With a heavily thudding heart and hyperventilating breath, the rosette called out for him. The girl, running on adrenaline and panic, didn't register until several scared minutes later that Hikaru was not there, and she was not at her mother's home.
Realizing her little brother was safe and not in any sort of danger, Sakura allowed herself to release a breath of reprieve. Meanwhile, her ears unconsciously caught some strange sounds in the cool air. They were odd sounds; deep and guttural, almost like an animal. Green eyes now adjusted to the dark scanned the room carelessly to locate the source of the noise when they landed on the tossing lump on her bed. The guttural sounds she now figured out was Uchiha-san grunting in his sleep. Pink brows furrowed while head tilted to one side in question.
There was a small gleam of sweat coating the young man's face and neck and his countenance was contorted in discomfort as he battled his nighttime demons. It didn't occur to the rosette until now that Uchiha Sasuke might still be suffering from nightmares after all these years. Witnessing them now made her feel like some sort of sick pervert. There she was, watching him with a morbid curiosity and he didn't even know it. Though, she was pretty convinced that she would be at the receiving end of his stink eye if he knew about it.
Not wanting to see him looking so vulnerable anymore, Sakura climbed back into the bed and began to stroke his hair. She kept doing this until his whimpers ceased and his face smoothed over with a restful sleep.
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3:36 A.M....
Second Night
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Ah~! Mitou~shite~ owari no so—no— sa!ki wo~
Seeing clearly in the future, your final moments
Yamena~ideite~ honne wo ko~u~ a!shi wo~
Never stopping, your feet bring the question of your true intentions
Odaya~kadeite~ inori no~ iki~ saki yo~
A gentle prayer bound for the future
Sono ma~ma de ite~ inai de~
Just the way it was. But it isn't real
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"No!"
He was thrashing even more violently than he had the night before. With the jerky, jumpy movements of the bed, she was awake in an instant. Her first instinct was to search for Hikaru as always, but it was quickly overridden when she heard Uchiha-san grunting and whimpering.
The fog of sleep was immediately washed away as her green eyes swiftly scanned the bed. His side of the bed was in disarray compared to hers. The blankets were pooled by his feet; the pillows littered the carpet-covered floor; and the bed sheets were rumpled from his constant flailing. She had recognized instantly that this nightmare was worse than the night before, and that no amount of comforting touches would soothe him. The only way to calm his frantic movements was to wake him. Although, judging from his violent thrashings, waking Uchiha-san would be easier said than done. With that thought carefully in mind, she went around the bed leaned over his prone form, and placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder.
At first, she shook him gently, but he did not respond. Instead, he cried out and lurched away as if she was hurting him. She tried again, however, this time she gave a harder shake and called out to him. Apparently, that was all it took because his eyelids popped open in shock. The black of his pupils were so constricted that they were barely visible. However, gradually, as he calmed down and gained awareness of his surroundings, his pupils dilated, adjusting to the dark.
It was only for a moment, but she saw his emotion-filled eyes flicker between sadness and painful realization of whatever it was that his brain was processing before it quickly darted away into a mask of indifference. She wasn't given a second to process what had occurred when she was yanked down and her face was met by the pillow and a mass of unruly black hair. She was going to pull back and demand what he was up to until she felt a miniscule tremble. Had she not been held down by the boy and was instead watching him, she would never have noticed.
Unsure of what to say, but pretty sure he didn't want her to say anything at all, the girl sighed silently and relented to his silent plea and gathered him into her arms as she had the first night and hummed him to sleep, unaware that her presence was slowly chasing away his nightmares and becoming his lifeline.
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2: 58 A.M...
Third Night
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Thump!
Crash!
Almost immediately, as soon as her eyes snapped open to the noise of the bedside lamp breaking on the floor, she automatically knew that this night was going to be different. His movements were much more violent this time around. Rather than the grumblings and whimpers she had heard the first couple of times, Uchiha-san was growling and grunting like he was in a fight. She had to quickly roll to the edge of the mattress when his arm came swinging down where her head had been. She looked on in uncertainty, the adrenaline in her blood making it impossible for her to think.
"I'll kill you!" he screamed at his phantom enemy, throwing out another punch.
At the rate he was going, she was positive the whole room would be destroyed. Although, on the other hand—somewhere along the same lines—she knew she'd be on the crappy end of his attacks as well if she did wake him. And so, mustering what courage she had—'Or stupidity,' she thought sardonically—she climbed back on the bed, swiftly straddling him and restraining his swinging arms.
"Uchiha-san, wake up!" she said firmly, meanwhile struggling to keep his wrists pinned. "Tada yume da!"
But her words passed over unlistening ears as the legs beneath her kicked out and hips bucked upwards to throw her off. However, not deterred from a little rough housing, she held on steadfast and firm as she crawled up to sit on his chest, trapping one of the arms underneath her knee. With a hand now free, she slapped the Uchiha painfully hard, hoping the force and sting would wake him.
The action itself was effective enough, having opened the young man's crazed eyes. What she didn't anticipate was the consequences of her action because even though he was now awake, his brain didn't catch up with his eyes and Uchiha-san couldn't recognize her. As a result, the rosette found herself on her back with him on top of her, hands constricting painfully tight around her throat. She was vaguely aware that the air in her lungs was dwindling, but it was actually her brain that screamed for the oxygen. If she hadn't been struggling for breath, she would have snorted at the irony of the situation. Here she was being strangled, and all she could think about was the biology of what was really happening. With legs kicking and flailing and one hand trying to remove his own large ones while the other grasped his bicep, Sakura tried to fight for her life, all the while attempting to wake him.
"Sa—Sa—su—" Her words were choked off as the grip increased, slowly dimming her vision.
At this, her body screamed and shouted for her to forget Uchiha-san and concentrate on her survival. Abandoning the idea of waking him, the hand that was clawing at the bicep flew instinctively to help pry strong fingers from her neck. But it was too late. Her vision of Uchiha-san was getting blurred with unshed tears while the black swiftly closed in, coming to claim her.
Yet as her fingers lost their desperate grip on his hands, his own fingers also did the same; and, as if she had resurfaced above the water, her lungs instantaneously expanded, flowing in as much oxygen as possible as she coughed and blinked, hands at her chest and throat. She was semiconscious of the bed bouncing shakily and barely heard the small gasp.
Throwing her head to the side, the last thing she saw before the darkness took her was Uchiha-san stumbling backwards into the wall, horror in his eyes.
And then she fainted.
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Ima su~ki tou~ru gogo no so~ra! wo hitotsu~
Now, just once in the clear afternoon sky
Minamo~ no tenbi~n~ ni ka~kete mita Nara~
If I try to balance on the water's surface
So~no kage no~ omosate~ kataguite~
I'll sink under the weight of those shadows
Yoru ni! shi!zu~n~de iku~ dake~
I'll only sink into night
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Chapter V
By: Hoozuki
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Tangling
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"Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."—Sir Walter Scott
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Wednesday, 4: 45 A.M. ...
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A few hours after waking to see himself strangling the nerd, and then fleeing her room to retreat to his own like a coward, Sasuke still couldn't fall asleep. For one, he couldn't because every time he attempted sleep, her tearful frightened green eyes would stare back at him. For two, he just heard her door open and refused to go back to sleep, intent on listening to her movements.
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Creak...
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Creak...
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Creak...
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There was a momentary pause in her steps as she stopped by his door. As autumn was now underway causing the nights to be longer and days shorter, the hallways were still dark and he couldn't see the shadows of her timid actions.
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Creak
Creak
Creak
Creak
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His eyes stared affixed to the door, but his mind followed her hurried steps to the bathroom. He listened closely as the door was opened slowly and softly before being closed in the same manner. It was when the showerhead was switched on that he crawled out of the confines of his comforters and pillow fortress, went to the walk-in closet, to the wall shared with the bathroom, and pushed his clothes on either side of the bar before sitting down and leaning against the wall. He bent both legs so that one was folded beneath the other as he plopped an elbow on the propped up knee. Now comfortable, he exhaled heavily, closed his eyes, and just listened to her move here and there as she showered.
He didn't know why he was doing this. Perhaps it was because he couldn't get that terrified expression of hers out of his mind. Was he feeling guilty for almost killing her? He probably was; after all, wasn't that the normal reaction for doing something you didn't mean to?
Yes. Yes, it was.
But then...what was this other sensation he felt in his chest? His stomach? It was a tickle—something that made him tremble with—
Onyx eyes flickered to the clenched fist on his knee. It was shaking he was clenching the fist so hard. He looked at the fist on his lap. It was shaking, too. Bringing the two limbs before him, he untightened his fingers to stare in wonder at the quivering digits. There was an odd tingling sensation surrounding them. Like an itch that wouldn't go away.
Clunk!
On the other side of the wall, the sound of the showerhead being switched to faucet mode caused him to start. All thoughts of the strange sensation were soon forgotten as he turned his attention on her. He sat frozen, almost fixatedly, wanting to know what she was currently doing now. He held his breath, afraid to breathe as if she might hear him from her side of the wall.
But he was already imagining her routine, though she made no other sounds besides shutting off the water. He had been trying to figure it out ever since she began to live here. Somehow, she'd always leave at exactly five-fifteen. He'd imagined that she was one to shower quickly in order to leave on time. It sounded like she only showered from about five to seven minutes. What, it took a couple of minutes to both shampoo and condition her long ass hair, right? And then, the rest of the time to wash her body? He'd figured she'd spend more time on her body than her hair. She seemed like the type to freak out over dirt. Did she ever shave? She must have, yet she was never in the shower, at the very least, longer than ten minutes. Maybe she was one of those lucky girls who didn't have to shave often. Then he got to thinking about her hair again. It must take forever brushing through all of that and then braid it. She must also dress in her uniform right after her shower, too.
Click!
He got up from his spot and went quickly to his door, pressing his ear against it as his gaze caught the red glowing numbers of his clock. It read four fifty-five. Dark brows furrowed. She did all that in ten minutes?
The floor creaked in quick succession, followed by another near quiet click. And then, she was off, winding through his home's many hallways. He went to wait at his desk, slowly watching as the clock slowly moved towards five-fifteen. Yet, as he thought about it, it shouldn't take her that long to get to the main doors. But patiently—the only time he ever was—he waited for her, and several minutes later like clockwork, there she was. As always, for the past seven days—yes, even the weekend—he'd watch her leave and wait until she disappeared past the gates before going back to bed.
But today had to be different.
Sasuke scoffed. Of course today was going to be different. He'd started the morning in the worst way possible.
Today, she stopped just short of vanishing beyond the gates, hand automatically flying to her neck, making him inhale quite sharply. From his view, he could even see her hand tremble slightly, and was curious if she had cried in the shower or if she wasn't as strong as he assumed she was. Then, what felt to him like hours, Sasuke saw her inhale deeply and roll her shoulders back and went beyond the stone wall like any other day.
Mildly impressed by her backbone, Sasuke turned away from his double balcony doors and wondered if he should carry on like he normally did every time he felt angry at himself and the other person involved: sleep in; sulk all day—which included skipping school, go to his parents' graves, get mad at himself and his brother, and go downtown to find trouble to vent; after that, he'd return home and destroy everything again for Naruto to clean up afterwards. Or he could do what Haruno did what he was pretty sure she did every day, too: instead of sulking, she'd take a deep breath to calm herself; go to school like always—trying to do everything she could to get good grades; he didn't know what she did after school, besides work at the hospital and he was sure as hell wasn't going to work or step into that hospital willingly. Then, all that was left for her, he assumed, was to go home.
Obsidian eyes flickered upward to his door, mind's eye seeing past the wooden barrier to her room. The one thing he had definitely noticed in her time here, aside from her impeccable and obscene habits for punctuality and sticking to routine, was the fact that she had never once let her guard down. The one time she had let it slip was when he caught her off guard with the kiss. Other than that, she was always aware of everything around her. Curiously, he wondered if she was just as shiftily guarded at home as she was at school and his house. But then the boy remembered witnessing Haruno's mother abuse of her, and immediately retracted his previous inquiry. Still, when would the time come that he could see her in her most vulnerable as she had him so many countless times before?
A small, barely audible sigh passed through his lips as he trudged back to his bed. His decision made once his head hit that pillow, Sasuke pulled the comforter over his head, cocooning himself from the world and his problems.
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Knotting
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11: 40 A.M. ...
English...
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The moment he had stepped into school earlier that morning, he already had a bad feeling and knew that today was not going to be an easy day.
For starters, even though he begged his friends to stay extras hours to help him study for the history test—which was earlier—for the past three days, he still forgot everything. People thought he did this on purpose for every test, but he didn't. His test anxiety was so bad that he would actually forget that he had one that day. His sulking best friend knew this, and so would take pity and help him each time one came up. To make the test situation worse, the moron wasn't even present for him to whisper a butt load of questions to! Honestly, what was the point of his asking all those questions if the bastard wasn't there for him to cheat off of?! Not that Sasuke would ever let him cheat; but still, a guy could try. But he was digressing. The point being: Sasuke was not at school on a test day, and that already meant bad news.
His second clue sat in front of him in the shape of a pink haired nerd. As soon as his eyes landed on her in history, he could tell she was more closed off than usual. He knew this because when he said, "Guu—do mou—ningu, Sakura-chyaan!", she only flicked her eyes at him instead of her casual nod and responding, "Yo." He was going to try to get her once he finished his test, but the damn thing turned out to be harder than he originally thought.
Gah! Why is history so fuckin hard?! And what was with all the fricking years?! How would I know when the ninjas revolted against the Hokage?! Or was that against the daimyo? Crap! Did I put the wrong answer?! Aw man! Sasuke-teme is going to beat me up again. Stupid bastard didn't even—
"Uzumaki-san."
...show up and let me cheat—
"Uzumaki-san."
What the hell could he be doing this time? Fu—
THWACK!
Naruto was interrupted from his inner monologue from a sharp sting to the back of his head with a loud yelp as hands quickly flew to the site of injury and body bowed over in agony. Sucking air in through his teeth, shiny cerulean eyes that glittered from unshed tears flashed upwards to give his attacker his infamous pissed off glare.
"What the hell, baka?!" he snapped without thinking, almost instantly regretting it when he saw who it that smacked him.
Sakura-chan was glaring murderously at him, hand still poised in midair. He could tell that she was already in a bad mood and may have worsened it.
Laughing with nervous sheepishness, he sputtered, "Did I say stupid? Haha. I meant, I meant...uh..."
"Save it," she cut him off icily. "Because your best friend decidedly skipped school today, do you just want to do some more research before we actually write the paper? Or should we get started now?"
Naruto thought about his options. If the two of them continued researching hormones secreted during masturbation, he was sure he would die from blood loss due to it gushing out of his nose from embarrassment. When the three of them were gathered at his apartment last Sunday, Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme were talking about jerking off and fucking like it was a normal everyday topic. Of course, they hadn't referred to both acts as such. He just found it way too hard and long—he giggled silently to himself at this—to pronounce masturbation and sexual intercourse. There was another word that Sakura-chan used as well to make it easier for him, but he quickly refused it. What kind of word is 'coitus' anyway? Sounded like something gross. But the point was: he could not do anymore research without turning red in the face.
On the other hand, if they started writing today, that would mean work for him as well. She'd probably want his input and then ask if the bastard would think so, too. God dammit! Can't those two figure out that he's got more important things on mind than a boring porn book being used as a stress reliever? He ran out of ramen and now has to somehow beat the five o'clock traffic on the way home because for some reason he decided that today would be a good day to be eco-friendly and ride his bike. Damn Sakura-chan and her random factoids about the ozone layer!
The blonde groaned in indecision, so at war with himself that he didn't notice the rosette's growing impatience. After minutes of having many different mental arguments, Naruto snapped his head up abruptly, causing the girl to jump and stare warily at him.
"What...?" she hedged cautiously. "Have you finally come to a decision?"
Tittering gleefully with eyes that sparkled with mischief, Naruto leaned forward as he rubbed his hands together like he had some huge plan. His bright sky blue eyes looked left and right, making certain no one would eavesdrop on their conversation. He beckoned Sakura-chan forward with his index finger, and the girl squinted her thick lens gaze at him in distrust.
Cupping hands around his lips, he said in a whispered conspiratorial tone, "We should do an experiment."
Immediately, her expression quickly shifted to one of disgust as she moved away with a sickened scoff. "Really? Experiment to see if porn works or not?" spat the girl acidly.
Dismayed by her attitude, a pout pulled on the corners of his mouth. "Well, how would we know it would actually work if we didn't experiment?"
"And how would you conduct this experiment then?" her eyes narrowing further. "Are the three of us going to sit together and watch people fuck their brains out?"
"Uh..."
"Or maybe one of us should try it out while the other two watch?"
"Ano..."
"Oh I know!" Sakura-chan exclaimed while loudly clapping her hands together once, causing him and the other nearby students to jump as a cruel, fake excitement lit up her face—which in his opinion was worse than her glare.
He unconsciously winced when she leaned forward, mimicking his earlier movements but with a nasty smile curling her pretty coral lips. Ugh...
That smile widened even more. "Why don't we just have ourselves a real fuckfest and see what all that fuss is about? How about it?"
Now she was just being evil, he thought. "Okay, I get it. It was stupid."
But she didn't stop there. "Do you think Uchiha-san will mind?"
"Alright, woman. You've made your point."
"What about his fangirls?"
He was getting angry now. "Sakura-chan, stop."
And then she went there. "Oooh! Maybe I should call his ex over to join us? What about that Hyuuga girl? I know she likes you!"
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SLAM!
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His chair fell back, slamming against the floor as it did so. His breath came heavily through his nostrils. His chest and shoulder moved in sync and large movements to accommodate his temper. His eyes were a blazing blue as he gripped the thin fabric uncomfortably tight in his fist, all the while trying to burn a hole into the lifeless, unsympathetic countenance of hers. He was only vaguely aware of the class falling silent and watching them. He could only focus on wondering why this girl affected him so much. Was this what Sasuke felt staring into that blank face?
"Doushita no, Uzumaki-san?" came her quiet and calm voice.
Even now, his anger did not faze her as it did with others.
There was shifting from the corner of his eye followed by a heavy weight on his shoulder. "Naruto, ochitsuke," Kakashi-sensei told him. "Unhand Haruno-kun or we go to the Headmaster's office."
Roughly pushing Sakura-chan back, he shrugged off their sensei's hand and went out into the hallway. No words were exchanged between them; however, he could hear the beginnings of more gossip and rumors to spread throughout the school. Once out of the buzzing classroom, he began pacing anxiously, futilely attempting to keep his temper in check. He wondered why he reacted so violently when she mentioned Hinata's name. Sure, he had always shot up to defend his friends no matter what, but it just really pissed him off to hear the Hyuuga girl being talked about like that.
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Clack
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"Now, Naruto," called Kakashi-sensei, "Would you care to explain what happened in there? Why did you attack a fellow student?"
Naruto spun around, intent on giving Kakashi-sensei a piece of his mind when his attention was caught by Sakura-chan's movement. It was that exact moment that he noticed the ugly red and purple marks around her thin neck. It was a fairly large bruise that he was practically positive was not there yesterday.
Then, it clicked.
Sasuke's absence, Sakura-chan's guarded posture and cruel words. The bastard must have done something in his sleep again. Of course, the two oblivious geniuses didn't know that he knew about their interesting sleeping arrangements. He doesn't wish to die an early death, after all. He only found out early Monday morning when he came by to pick up the Teme. When he didn't find the brooding Uchiha in his room, he did some exploring before finding him in Sakura-chan's room. Naturally, he was as surprised as the next person, but also found the situation amusing. Right before he left, Naruto made sure to take a quick snap to use as blackmail and insurance.
However, as a fellow recipient of Sasuke's violent post-nightmare reactions, he knew that the guy must be beside himself with self-loathing and grief.
And as he watched with his best friend's guilt as the rosette straightened out her collar, he swallowed whatever retort that sat on this tongue, and said, "S-Sorry. The stress from this morning's test, and Teme's absence got to me." He looked at her earnestly. "It won't happen again, Sakura-chan."
Kakashi-sensei turned to glance over his shoulder at her. "Well, what do you want to do, Sakura?"
Without glancing at either of them, she responded distantly, "Nothing, Sensei."
A silver brow lifted. "Are you sure?"
"He said it wouldn't happen again," she shrugged, and then after a second, added, "I also provoked him due to misplaced frustrations. I apologize, Uzumaki-san. Can we go back inside now?"
At her response, there were two different reactions. His was one of mild surprise. He knew he shouldn't be because Sakura-chan always did shrug off any bullying that came her way. However, for some insane reason, he wanted her to yell since that would have meant that she did care what he did do to her. For Kakashi-sensei's part, he saw the man simply sigh, apparently having been used to this kind of reply from the girl. It made him curious as to how many student she had let walk away from punishments because she said they did nothing wrong or nothing had happened. Why didn't she stand up for herself?
Their sensei sighed again while muttering to himself, "Kono ko..."
Watching they two of them walk back into the classroom before him, Naruto felt like this day was only going to get progressively worse.
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Raveling
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3: 30 P.M...
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Long dark lashes fluttered like feathers against pale cheeks while equally pale eyelids clenched firmly to keep sleep in and consciousness out. But alas, his body was telling him that he had had enough rest and needed to get his day of sulking started. Sasuke groaned, rolling onto his stomach to bury his face in the pillow, wanting to prolong the inevitable. However, in the end, it wasn't his head that pushed him from his comfy and warm hiding place. It was his stomach. Growling in annoyance, the Uchiha threw the blanket off and tossed his feet to the floor, all the while grumbling about his stupid stomach under his breath.
After several minutes of completing his morning routine, he navigated through his house with a hand under his shirt, scratching his belly as he stifled a yawn with the other. The normally blank and empty expression that sat on his face mildly twisted into a confused scowl. Honestly, he should be used to this by now. The girl has been only living here for a week now for goodness's sake. He didn't understand why he never remembered that. Maybe it was because he spent the better part of his childhood alone. Maybe it was because he forgot what it was like to have someone cook for him.
As the times before, he entered his large kitchen to see a full traditional Japanese breakfast sitting on his dining table. Seeing as he woke up later than usual, Sasuke was careful to reheat the food, and not let his miso soup especially boil.
Now eating quietly, the young man inwardly wondered how she learned how to cook. Did someone teach her or did she learn along the way while learning how to take care of a newborn? Either way, she was a pretty good cook. How many failures did it take for her to improve as much? Then he thought of her mother. Did the girl get beat if she didn't do it right? His eyes shifted downward to the little plates of food that he always finished, remembering the exact placement of each plate and how each of them tasted so perfect and delicious. For that, he wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't had anyone else's cooking for so long aside from his own or he was just giving her too much credit. But taking another bite, he realized that it was neither. Her food must taste so good because it had to be. Otherwise she'd probably face what he witnessed before.
It made him morbidly curious and interested in her upbringing. Growing up with a loving family—despite how short it lasted—he had never had a hand laid on him. Sure his father was a stern and strict man, showing very little affection to his two sons, but his mother made up for it with her kind, compassionate, caring personality. Whenever he felt insecure about his father, she was always there to reassure him that the man cared. For him, his past was his happiest time. It was a time where his older loving big brother lived. It was a time that he knew Itachi had loved him and always has.
So with these facts lodged in his head, it was difficult to comprehend why Haruno's mother would harm her. Weren't all mothers supposed to be maternal and protect their children—even from themselves? Granted, he couldn't exactly go up to her and ask, not if he wanted to keep her close by and know more about her. But still, he couldn't help it. It was his first time meeting anyone who was abused and still suffering from it today. Of course, this was all conjecture and only based on one incident. Who was to say that this was a regular thing? Yet, as soon as he thought it, Sasuke knew that it was. Everything about the way the girl moved, the way she regarded each person, the way she held herself—he knew that she was still suffering. Did she have scars like most abused kids did? Were they all over her body? Or were they all psychological? Mental?
Realizing where his train of thoughts was heading, Sasuke shook it in disgust and scoffed at his own perverse curiosity. Finishing up the last of his breakfast, he quickly washed the dishes and dried them before eagerly returning to his room. Not stopping once he found his room, Sasuke headed straight for his desk and turned on the laptop, waiting for the screen to load up. As soon as all the applications started up, his finger slid the mouse over to the documents icon, clicking it open and navigating to his recently saved downloads. The files were all of the music files Naruto sent him—music that Ruka composed since beginning her high school career. Since receiving them last week—it was honestly the only time Naruto was on time about anything—the Uchiha had spent many hours listening to them and analyzing them.
Naruto had snorted and rolled his eyes every time he came to him with different theories as to who this mysterious singer was.
"We already know what kind of person Ruka is," Naruto groaned, rotating his mechanical pencil on either of its ends so that it hit the desk with annoying tap each time before being slid back up again. Sasuke could see that Naruto was hoping that by distracting his hands and attention, he was less likely to punch him in irritation. This made Sasuke want to snort in arrogance. As if that idiot could beat him—he didn't count the time when Naruto dragged his ass back even if he was unconscious at the time.
His momentary drifting was cut off when his best friend grumbled again.
"So why are you still listening—no wait—"analyzing"" –the blonde had put his fingers up to make air quotations over the word 'analyzing' with a look of pure disdain at this—"her music? What more can you get from them?"
Sasuke rolled his deep back eyes at the boy's ignorance. "Sometimes, unintentionally or intentionally, an artist would put pieces of their life into the songs besides emotions," he explained slowly like he was speaking to a monkey which in his opinion, he was. "It isn't always obvious especially if the artist is extremely careful."
Blonde brows wrinkled into a confused frown. "Dou iu koto?"
The Uchiha wanted to groan and smack his dim-witted friend upside the head. Instead, however, he settled for pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing out evenly yet heavily. Sure that the migraine eased a bit, Sasuke opened his eyes to glare at Naruto.
"When you listen to her music, do you feel that you understand the verse?" he questioned, eyes shifted to glance at the paused media player on his open laptop. "Do you feel that you can immediately feel all that she wants you to feel? Is it obvious? Can you picture her emotions at the time?"
Naruto blinked wide at the sudden bombardment of questions. "Whoa, dude," he raised his hands up in defense, "give me a second." He tilted his head back, thumb and forefinger on his chin in thoughtful reflection. After a few minutes, he answered, "The emotions I can definitely picture and relate to, but her words are kind of hard to get. For me, I'm more caught up with the sounds and emotions than the actual lyrics?"
Sasuke cocked a brow at the questioning sentence. "Are you asking or are you telling?"
"Graahh...I don't know! Both? It sounds like gibberish to me in some, and in others, it makes perfect sense." The Uzumaki spared him a tentative glance. "Do you get it?"
"Hn," he grunted, not really giving a 'yes' or 'no' response as he returned to the laptop.
"So have you composed a list on who you think is Ruka yet?"
"Almost done—just looking at a few more girls before I give the list to Haruno," replied Sasuke absently, not noticing the look Naruto was giving him—though he felt it concentrated on him. "What?" he said after a few minutes of silence.
Naruto's hesitance was long enough to drag his attention from the screen to the blonde's troubled countenance. Sasuke knitted his brows in puzzlement.
Naruto bit his bottom lip for a moment before saying nervously, "I don't understand why you're doing this. What's the point on trying to find the girl who doesn't want to be found? I don't really see any reason that makes sense. Do you?"
To be honest, Sasuke wasn't sure either. He just needed to see who this girl was. He couldn't exactly explain it yet without knowing why himself. It was just something that was telling him that he needed to do this—to see her. Maybe she could answer that question for him if he found her.
"If you found her, would you expose her?"
The Uchiha blinked. "Nani?"
The blonde shrugged noncommittally, but Sasuke could still tell that he was apprehensive of his answer. "It's just...maybe there's a reason why she kept her name secret."
"Why do you think that?"
Again, his shoulders rose and dropped quickly. "I just think that maybe singing was a way to vent without people actually butting in her business." At this, the Uzumaki gave him a pointed look.
Sasuke bristled at the underlying accusation. "I don't give two shits about her problems," he grunted, his patience getting thinner.
"Then why are you so set on looking for her?" When all Sasuke gave him was silence, Naruto sighed audibly. "Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then I won't force you. I just hope you won't regret what you find."
Of course, this only further confused him. "Why would I?"
Instead of answering his question though, Naruto waved it off distractedly and asked, "Is Sakura-chan helping you?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No, she's been busy taking care of her brother. She keeps telling me to just leave Ruka alone, but I just can't. Not yet."
And that was the end of it.
Yet as he sat there, hand hovering over the touchpad, he still couldn't figure out why it was important to him that he'd find this girl. He just needed to.
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Snarling
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4: 00 P.M. ...
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Seeing the large traditional mansion over the equally traditional gate reminded her how old and how long this family has occupied this part of the Fire Country, this part of Konoha City. She suspected that they have been here as long as the Uchiha clan. Somehow, that fact always seemed to elude her whenever she glimpsed at the Uchiha heir and the Hyuuga heiress. Maybe it was due to the fact that her family was so small and part of the working middle class. Either way, despite the reasoning, standing before any large gate with looming buildings beyond always made her uneasy.
Clack!
The main gate opened, startling her from her ruminations as a member of the household staff came out to greet her. Like the rest of this strange family, this girl had lilac, pupil-less eyes. But she must have been from the branch family because only they greeted her. She knew that if she could, she would have come out and met with her instead. However, seeing as the girl's father was a strict and old-fashioned man, she had to wait for the guests to come to her.
While she was led around the house, she was bombarded with many reminders on how similar the mansion was to the Uchiha compound. She could have sworn they probably had the same gardener there were so many trees, bushes, and flowers. There was a feeling to old places like these. She wasn't sure if it was because of the landscape or the mansion itself, but it felt as if she was transported back in time. The air was as clean and clear here as it was at the Uchiha Manor. But as much as it was pure and beautiful, places like these always made her feel anxious and wary. Mostly because in her experience, just because everything looked perfect on the outside did not mean everything looked as great on the inside. Didn't matter if the family was rich or not, there was always a dark secret somewhere, just lurking behind a corner or hidden within the walls, waiting to be revealed.
"Hinata-sama, your guest has arrived," announced the young woman beside her. "Would you like her to enter now?"
The two of them stood behind a screen door as a barely audible 'Hai' was heard. The branch family member stood off to the side and slid the door open while Sakura gave a small nod of appreciation in return as she passed. As soon as she was through, the door quickly closed behind her, leaving her in a bright sunlit room despite the time of day it was. The room was sparse, devoid of anything personal, making her suspect that this room was one of many to greet guests in. Before her sat the person with whom she was to meet upon the girl's request. The second set of doors was open, allowing the sunlight to brighten up the room and the natural purple highlights in her hair. In this light, the girl's pale skin seemed even more translucent. With the sound of the water trickling in the garden in the background and her perfect posture, Hyuuga Hinata seemed to complete a portraitesque scene.
Once pearl lilac eyes landed on her, they lit up in recognition before her face recomposed into something more subdued. At this, Sakura found herself frowning. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who had to be something she wasn't.
Taking a seat across from the Hyuuga, Sakura gave a small bob of her head. "Please pardon my intrusion, Hyuuga-san."
Said Hyuuga shook her head. "No, pardon me for asking you on such short notice. I didn't realize until after I asked you if you were busy for the afternoon," the dark haired beauty apologized with a full blown blush.
It didn't take much for Sakura to see what being around in her presence did to the Hyuuga. She did wonder, however, if the nervousness had anything to do with their short-lived affair or the fact the she knew more about herself than anyone knew about who or what Haruno Sakura was. Either one didn't matter to her. It just felt nice that, for once, she didn't have to pretend in front of anyone aside from her little brother.
Shrugging, Sakura mumbled, "It's fine. I didn't have much to do today."
And it was true. She already finished two more songs and will be posting soon come Saturday at midnight. Putting that and the fact that Shishou wouldn't have her working while Hikaru was at the hospital together, all she was able to do was catch up on other homework and continue to work on her music. Not that she needed to finish her homework, seeing as how the semester barely started. She just wanted to get them done and out of the way just in case.
The other girl smiled in relief. "That's good."
When she didn't go on, the rosette lifted a pink brow in question. "Why did you call me here, Hyuuga-san?"
The small smile faltered even further before it fell completely, making Sakura feel somewhat guilty as being the cause. Wordlessly, Hyuuga-san pushed a towel and a shallow basin forward, both of which Sakura didn't even notice so preoccupied she was with her own thoughts.
"In this place, you don't have to hide Sakura-chan. You're safe here."
Taken aback by the girl's sincerity and empathy, Sakura felt suspicion and hesitance immediately churn her stomach before moving a steady hand to push the items back to her.
"Why am I here, Hyuuga-san?" Sakura questioned again, not allowing the downtrodden expression of the other girl to affect her.
Twiddling her thumbs, Hyuuga-san stumbled over her answer. "I-I just thought we could catch-catch up."
Shrugging again, Sakura took to putting her chin on the heel of her palm as her gaze zoned in on the garden beside them. "What for? You can tell how I'm doing so far at school. You clearly succeeded in your speech therapy since I last ran into you at the hospital. Still going to that?"
Hyuuga-san swallowed heavily. Sakura could practically see the girl sweating around. "Y-Yes, I am. Sometimes I relapse."
With a raised brow, she glanced at the Hyuuga from the corner of her eye from under her bangs. "Why? You don't seem to have a problem at school."
When she didn't reply, Sakura's eyes opened wider in interest, turning fully to face her. By doing so, she could see that she had bowed her head, her fingers rotating faster around the other. There was also a slight tremor racking the girl's entire body as a light sheen of sweat began to make itself known. Seeing her reaction to her made Sakura almost snort in amusement, but she opted to instead tilt her head with a miniscule smirk.
Leaning forward, she took her pointer finger to lift Hyuuga-san's chin in order to see the girl's eyes. "After all you and I did together, do I still intimidate you that much?"
Again, there was no answer.
Standing up as she trailed that finger along the girl's jaw line, Sakura stood behind her, bending over to talk into her ear. "Well, Hinata-chan? Do I?"
Even with her body shaking due to her proximity, Sakura was somewhat impressed that the girl found enough gumption in her to actually shake her head 'no.'
Sakura, taking pity on the Hyuuga, simply chuckled before giving her a kiss on the cheek and settling herself back to back with her. "It's alright, Hinata-chan, you don't have to lie to me. I know what I am."
"Sakura-chan...," Hyuuga-san started, and Sakura wondered if she was going to stop now that all of her bravery had been used up. But, once again, she was surprised by how much the girl had changed and grown up compared to herself. "Are you...are you okay?"
Sakura rapidly raised and dropped her shoulders nonchalantly, staring at the geometric ceiling. "Depends on how you define 'okay.'"
"It's just...you seem to be more stressed these days. I know you told me to keep your secret, but don't you think it would be better if you could actually share it with someone else?"
"And what secret is that, Hyuuga-san?" Sakura asked, automatically reverting to formalities when the subject got too close to home.
She felt her move as if she was twisting her body to look at her. "About what you look like, about the kind of person you really are."
Sakura snorted this time. "Honestly, if you can tell me, let me know, huh? Because I can't even tell anymore these days."
There was an intake of breath, and she suddenly found herself falling backwards and lying with her head in Hyuuga-san's lap. The girl had turned so fast, her head kind of just fell with a thump; but she didn't even seem to notice as she glared at Sakura with those pupil-less eyes. Uncomfortable with anyone looking down at her, Sakura moved up and away from her acquaintance—because that was what she was to her. Making sure there was at least two feet between them, Sakura frowned at Hyuuga-san.
"Nani?"
Seeing Hyuuga Hinata have to take a deep breath to calm herself was strange to Sakura. The girl wasn't really known to have a short temper; but when she did, it was interesting.
"Sakura-chan, you're as strong as Neji-niisan, as smart as Shikamaru-kun, and as kind as Lee-san. You're not a bad person. That accident wasn't your fault."
At that, Sakura stiffened up, eyes turning glacier cold. "Don't talk about that," she growled.
But she wasn't going to stop. "Why do you let yourself get hurt? Why do you always have to do things by yourself?"
The scowl deepened. "It's not like I have a choice," she snapped.
The dark-haired girl shook her head firmly. "But you do. You can rid yourself of your problems if you just drop the façade. Let people in. Let them know who you are—that you and I are friends. That you can stand up for yourself. And...and..." The Hyuuga's head lowered again, face flushing redder and redder now that all of that courage has left her.
Sakura had stayed quiet throughout the entire lecture, but on the inside, she was pissed. "What do you know about it, Hyuuga Hinata?" Sakura said almost silently, however, Hyuuga heard just fine as her head snapped up. "Your family is strict, but, at least, they love you. It took a bit of time to understand, but your father loves you and so does everyone else. At least, you don't have to sleep with one eye open all the time."
"What are you—"
Her anger couldn't be reined in anymore, she was just so furious. Snapping to her feet, she stared the Hyuuga down. "What would you know about it, huh?! You're just a little spoil rich princess! You don't know what it's like to fight for your life! To wish you could just leave everything behind and no one will find you!"
"Sakura-chan—!"
But Sakura couldn't hear her. Everything was just white noise as every one of her nerves was stretched beyond what was comfortable. It wasn't that she didn't fight because she did. It wasn't that she didn't try to run because she did. And it wasn't like she blamed her brother because she didn't. She loved her little brother. Loved him like she was the one who gave birth to him. And because she would do anything it took to get them to safety, there were some days that she felt like that goal was completely unattainable and she hated herself for thinking it. She hated it even more when she saw the looks like the ones that Hyuuga-san was giving her like she was weak and pitiable. Well, she wasn't. She has made this far. What were another few months?
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Sakura.
Sakura shook her head, ridding herself of that stupid voice and attempting to ignore it as she tried to school her emotions again. "You don't know anything about me," came her quiet reply.
"I di-didn't mean to—"
"So don't you sit there and act like you do because you don't!"
She couldn't stay there any longer. She needed to leave or she would do something she regretted. Grabbing her stuff, Sakura dashed out of the room, all of the voices blurring into one as she turned twist way and that until she was out the front door. Blindly and unthinkingly, she just took off in a random direction, ignoring the calls of a certain Hyuuga.
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Meshing
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5: 33 P.M...
Konoha General Hospital...
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"No! That's mine!"
The pout on the little boy's face threatened to pull a smirk from his lips as he watched with amusement while Hikaru crossed his small arms, bottom lip still jutting out petulantly.
"Didn't your sister teach you how to share, gaki?" Sasuke reprimanded, taking a bite of the gelatin he swiped from the five year old. As soon as he took that bite, he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. He expected the dessert to be ridiculously sweet, considering whom she made it for; but, really, he could barely taste it.
As if reading his mind, Hikaru grinned, grabbing his own cup amongst the many that his older sister had brought with her earlier this morning. "It's good, huh? The green one you have is pa-pan-panda, I think."
"Pandan," Sasuke automatically corrected, taking another bite.
Shining emeralds lit up in excitement, giving a small jump in his hospital bed. "Yeah, that one!" After swallowing a large bite, Hikaru leaned forward towards him with pink tinting his chubby cheeks. "I like when you visit, Niichan. I always wanted a big brother."
Controlling his amusement from manifesting, Sasuke drawled out, "Better not let your sister hear that. She already hates me enough as it is."
Instead of asking why like most kids his age, the redheaded child simply nodded as if he knew what the older boy was talking about. "Mama's scary when she's angry," stated the boy absentmindedly while attempting to dig a broken piece of gelatin out from the bottom.
"Sou ka," answered the Uchiha just as absently, content to just watch Hikaru work at the gelatin.
Bobbing his head, Hikaru tried shaking the piece to his mouth and then grinning in triumph when he did. "The last person to make Mama mad got his butt kicked. Haha. At first, it was scary 'cause it's Mama. But when the stupids ran away, it was funny."
Sasuke handed Hikaru a napkin to wipe his face. "Should you be laughing like that?"
The happiness on the five year old's face fell almost instantly at his words. While he wrung the napkin nervously, green eyes that were fairly darker than the elder Haruno peeked up at him through the dark red fringe. "No, but they were hurting Mama. They deserved it."
Shocked at the dark words, Sasuke swallowed the lump in his through, remembering what he did this morning. Just hearing how heavy those words were coming from Haruno's usually happy little brother made him even more curious about her and her home life. Did the child ever witness any of the abuse at home?
"Hikaru, can you tell me about your mother? Not your sister, but your and your sister's mom?"
If he ever wanted to find out what was going on with this pink haired girl, he needed to approach the subject carefully and not quite so obviously. Despite what he had seen that day, Sasuke felt that there were more secrets that Haruno was hiding.
Hikaru shrugged and averted his eyes which told him that the boy knew that this was something he wasn't allowed to talk about with anyone. Probably was told so by his older sister.
"What do you want to know, Niichan?" Hikaru asked instead, now pushing the empty cup around, avoiding his gaze completely.
Alright, he needed to make sure to word the question so that it didn't sound so suspicious. He was pretty sure that Hikaru may have witness some things a child his age didn't need to. "Your mom must be a hard worker, right, if your sister is always taking care of you?" he asked gently. Again, the child shrugged. "Taking care of two kids is hard."
"Neechan take care of herself okay. She cooks our food, cleans the house when Kaasan doesn't have time, and do homework." The answer was so robotic that it concerned the Uchiha a bit. "Hikaru is always asleep though when Kaasan come home."
"What about Sakura? Is she asleep when your mom gets home?"
The child shrugged again. "Hikaru sleeping, remember?" Finally, he looked up with a frown, green eyes glinting, now strikingly similar to his older sister's. "Why do you keep asking questions, Niichan?"
"I just wanted to know what your sister's like," Sasuke replied easily since it was technically the truth. "Sakura doesn't talk very much."
"That's 'cause Mama is tired. We always wake up at five, but sometimes Mama wakes up before Hikaru."
Sasuke's scowl deepened. "Why so early?"
"'Cause we walk to school. School is too far and the bus is too ex-ex—too much money."
Without thinking, the Uchiha said, "Do you want me to pick you and your sister up?"
The child's expression would have been almost comical with his gaping mouth and large unblinking eyes if it weren't for the fact that he looked scared than appreciative. Here he automatically assumed that that was how someone was supposed to react when being presented with an offer, but the little boy looked just as apprehensive as his sister did when he let her stay at his place.
Just what was wrong with these two that they seem to be afraid of a little assistance? He knew he was a dick, but he wasn't that bad. He had even forgone his whole day of sulking to come see Haruno's kid brother instead. That should count for something in their book, right? Well, judging by the boy's expression, that would be an apparent no. Clearly it was a crime to give the Harunos any help. God forbid they looked at him like he killed someone or have gone insane.
Nevertheless, Sasuke attempted to ease whatever it was that set the boy on edge by saying, "I do have a car, kid. Don't think your sister would appreciate having you ride on my bike."
The hesitance was still present, however, the emeralds lit up again. "A bike bike? Or a motorcycle?" Hikaru questioned to verify.
Sasuke scoffed with a tiny smirk. "A motorcycle," he replied shortly. "No way am I riding a bicycle." Glancing at the time on his Smartphone, Sasuke flicked his gaze over his shoulder at the door. "Where's your sister? Doesn't she usually come to visit after school?"
"Mama already came this morning, and said she wouldn't be able to come after," answered Hikaru, making a grab for another gelatin cup.
"What's she doing now?"
Mumbling an incoherent 'I don't know', Hikaru gave another shrug, taking a big bite into his mouth. "Want another one?" he asked, pushing a second cup forward without waiting for Sasuke's answer.
Mind still wondering about Haruno's absence, Sasuke took the cup silently and began eating as well. About three spoonfuls in, the young man felt a poke on his knee which brought his attention back to the little Haruno. He grunted, letting Hikaru know that he was listening.
"Niichan...you know what would be cool?" Hikaru wasn't looking at him anymore. He was back to playing with his food, the pink tinge just a touch darker.
Curious, Sasuke tilted his head to the side to better see the child. "What?"
By now, Hikaru was pursing his lips together and wringing his hands tightly. But Sasuke was in no rush. He knew what it was like to be shy and how hard it was to form words so that it made sense at that boy's age. He almost snorted out loud though. Even at the age of seventeen, he still can't form a full sentence properly without a grunt or two. Mostly, it was due to a choice of not wasting his time that he didn't speak very often. At least his words made sense, however, unlike that creepy social retard, Sai. Every time he saw that moron smile, Sasuke had to suppress the urge to punch his face in. The so called nickname he gave Naruto was beyond ridiculous. How he even came up with it was beyond him, and he had no real need to understand that guy's inner workings any time soon. So long as he didn't actually interact with him was fine any day.
"It would be great if we could live you instead," answered Hikaru shyly, ducking his head deeper into his chest.
That was not what he was expecting. "Why's that?"
Hikaru turned his face away when he said, "Maybe me and Mama could be safer and Mama would smile more."
It was very quiet, but he definitely heard it. Whatever was going on with them, with Haruno, Hikaru most certainly knew about it enough to be worried about her safety. All the more, despite what he had learned, he still wanted to know more about her as well. He wanted to sigh loudly. Between trying to find out about Ruka and practically stalking Haruno, he'd never thought he'd have his hands or plate so full. And all because of two girls. Wouldn't it be nice if Haruno turned about to be Ruka? That would lessen his search greatly. But again, Haruno told him that she was essentially tone deaf, so she couldn't be Ruka.
But he was getting off track. He needed to focus on the suddenly crestfallen child. Seeing kids like Hikaru, he felt his heart go out to them because he knew what it was like to have no parents or family for that matter. It was what made him understand Naruto so well and vice versa. They both lost their parents at such a young age. He didn't know who had it worse: him or Naruto. Naruto didn't even know his parents, both having died when he was an infant. Where as in his case—which everyone in the Great Five Nations knew—his family was massacre by his own brother and some accomplice. However, he supposed he couldn't really put a scale on things like these. Naruto taught him that.
So even when he knew that it was probably wrong to lie to a child, it was probably better than what the kid was going to face at home once he got out of the hospital.
Leaning forward, Sasuke placed a heavy on Hikaru's head. "If it makes you feel any better, I wish you could, too." And seeing that bright smile on his face was definitely worth any guilt he was feeling.
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Jumbling
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1: 24 A. M...
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Turned out he did go drinking after all. After having a kind of successful talk with Hikaru, Sasuke, for some reason, felt dirty for manipulating a child like that and wanted to wash away that feeling. So he decided that drinking would do that trick. Although, now he kind of sort of regretted that decision. Sure he could hold his liquor better than anyone at their school, and sure it was completely irresponsible and reckless to drive home when he could have taken the taxi—not that he wanted to, those taxis were fuckin' nasty as hell—his head pounding like no other and his stomach was churning. It didn't help his headache when Naruto had called a few hours earlier to bitch at him for not coming to school on test day. Well, fuck him. If the idiot wanted a good grade, he should fuckin pay attention in class. Right now, what he wanted to do was probably empty out the contents of his stomach, shower the stink of cheap perfume off him—because those bitches can't take 'no' for an answer—, brush his teeth, and hit the sack.
None of those things happened, though. By the time he made it upstairs, his stomach actually settled only just managing to screw with him for a bit, and he was way too fuckin tired and lazy to even step foot into his bathroom. Because when he got home and the entire house was dark, he assumed that Haruno went to bed. He had bypassed her door completely and shuffled to his room, probably figuring that his face was the last thing that she wanted to see. However, he barely had gotten the first button of his shirt unbutton when his door slammed opened with an obnoxiously loud bang.
Sasuke instantly groaned, feeling the sound reverberated on the inside of his skull in painful agony.
Snapping his glare at the door, he saw Haruno standing there looking somewhat disheveled with a bottle of what looked like liquor in her hand as she supported herself with the other hand brace against the doorframe. The sight of her sobered him up quickly as he instantly took in her appearance. Her hair wasn't in its neat twin braids, but loose in wild, kinking waves. The style looked surprisingly good on her. She pulled off the sex look well. At least, that what he thought she looked like anyways. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but he could feel himself getting hard just staring at her and her angry alcohol induced eyes. She was still dressed in her school uniform with the tie pulled so that it hung loosely from the open collar of her neck, revealing what he had done to her neck this early morning. Seeing the dark red and purple bruise in the shape of his hand made him wince, but not enough for him to look away. And dear god, did he want to look away. He couldn't, though, not when all he could do was stare because she was less guarded than she normally was. Her skirt appeared rumpled as the tights disappeared, showing off milky white legs that stretched for miles. With her blazer hanging off her arms, his could see her heaving chest a little better, and saw with what little light had shine in his room that she was wearing a black bra.
But what really got his attention were the tear tracks on her glasses-less face. Was she at home the whole time crying? Where in the world did she get the booze and how? Why was she crying in the first place? And why the hell was she glaring at him?
"The fuck's wrong with you, Haruno?" he spat out, torn between pissed and annoyed and turned on. Really, it was hard being a guy these days.
"Where the hell have you been?! It's fuckin one-thirty in the morning, Uchiha!" she screamed back, stomping one foot down and taking a large swig from her bottle.
His mood quickly shifted to pissed off at her abrupt belligerent attitude. But, to be fair, he was kind of a dick, too. Sasuke snorted condescendingly, and turned around to resume undressing. "How the hell is it any business of yours what the hell I do with my time? It's not like we're together, you stupid—"
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
CRASH!
He didn't get to finish his sentence when he found himself on the floor as Haruno fuckin Sakura pushed him with a strength he knew she had but kept forgetting. As Sasuke scrambled around to yell at her some more, he suddenly found himself once again surprised while the girl situated herself over his waist and grabbed the open edges of his shirt to yank him to her face.
"Don't you dare call me stupid, Uchiha Sasuke," she grounded out with alcohol—sake he could now identify—on her breath.
Seeing her so up close, her light color eyes contrasted so differently from her younger brother's. The color was so much colder and icier—frigid even—but at the same time, that lightness was made them so clear and brighter and innocent. Her face even looked smoother and blemish-free in this light. Maybe those face washing formulas that she has does work. Because, dare he say it, she even looked pretty. She appeared even prettier with that small smirk curling at the corner of those perfect coral lips. Dear god, this had got to be the alcohol talking. No way was he that much of a sap in real life.
Sasuke blinked, noticing that said pink lips were moving, and had to force himself to pay attention.
"What?"
Those lips curled even wider as sea foam eyes sparkled with mischief. Yet underneath that, he could still see the sadness lingering, moving like waves in between fake and real emotions. A small pale hand he didn't even notice by his face went to move his fringe in order, he suspected, to see his eyes better. The touch was light and hesitant, but was very gentle in comparison to all of her rough and tight grips. It was like she was trying to memorize him, but he wasn't sure. One thing he was, though, was that they would probably blame the alcohol for everything that he could see she was about to do. And for once, he would happily accept that excuse as he leaned up and met her halfway, the feeling of their lips melding together having him suddenly more at ease and tension free than any good beer or cigarette could do. The whole day going without her was agonizing. With all the amount of beers he drank and cigarettes he smoked, he still couldn't find that peaceful, floating feeling. It took him a while to figure out what the strange sensation was, the tingling in his hands and his chest. He knew what it was, but was doing everything he could to deny it. He didn't want to feel like he was dependent, but he couldn't help himself. She was the only seemingly constant thing in his life right now. He just wanted to see her face even if it meant that his guilt would expand tenfold. He just wanted to be near her. To touch her. He felt like an addict with the way she was making him feel.
And as she melted into him, pressing her chest close to his and whispering his name in the dark and as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, holding her even closer, one clear and frightening thought echoed itself nonstop in the back of his head.
He needed Haruno Sakura.
I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT.
For those of you I've been messaging before, I'm sorry for the late reply, but I will respond. Secondly, all of you know that I had a family emergency earlier this year. So it was difficult to get any updates out.
BUT IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS MY LAST YEAR OF UNDERGRAD AND I'LL BE APPLYING FOR THE PHARM PROGRAM SOON. WHEN I GET IN, I INTEND TO JOIN THE MILITARY CUZ I IS POOR.
However, despite my busy ass schedule (don't take Ochem, Micro, Immunology, and some elective together guys, bad idea), I will still be continuing the stories. Have no fear! I may be slow in my old age (older people grumbling in background), I WILL GET THE CHAPTERS UP.
Also, anyone who has caught up with the THE WALKING DEAD can read ahead. If not, beware of spoilers:
I've been obsessed with Bethyl for a while and there are some great stories out there. But after what happened with Beth (I'm still seriously upset with this bullshit flob that the directors and writers call a good ending for a "character that COULD be strong only to be killed by a character that ONLY APPEARED to be strong."-Scott Gimple's words. Stupid man. BTW, the fuck's up with his beard? Is he goin for the Rick Grimes look?) I almost gave up on the show. But because I love the show, not to mention the awesome character development for both Carol (she was fuckin scary as well when she threatened that kid! It was great!) and Daryl, I'm going to keep Bethyling on and watch.
Anywho, I've decided that to satisfy my Bethyl feels, I will be posting a new story as well for Bethyl after this. Anyone who wants to check it out, it's called "In My Time of Dying."
TRANSLATIONS:
Tada yumeda - It's just a dream.
Ochitsuke - calm down
Dou iu koto - What do you mean?
Kono ko - This child...
gaki - brat
POLL QUESTION (though not really a poll)! Cause I miss you guys so much and want to know you guys again. I also have a twitter account if anyone want to talk to me there. It's manseriouslywhy. It's where I spout nonsense thoughts.
FOR WHOEVER GIVES ME THE BEST ANSWER GETS A GIANT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE! And...MAYBE a drawing by yours truly. MAYBE.
If you could have one wish, what would it be?
Mine: If I could have a wish, I wished I had the ability to comprehend things faster and with a snap of my fingers, BOOM! I'd get a degree like that!
YOUR TURN!
Have fun and please be kind and review. If you have any questions at all, feel free to pm me or if you just want to goof around, I'm at twitter manseriouslywhy.
Love and sincerely,
Hoozuki
Final Word Count: 11, 683 Words