Sorry this is soooo long! Its my first fan-fic so be gentle, but let me know what you think! I know not a lot really happens in this chapter. I was really just trying to set up the story with this one and I'm a little bit of a description freak so I spent a little longer then I probably should have on the weapon and outfit descriptions. Just bare with it for now; I promise to get some more action, and (hopefully) Sesshy in the next one! Thanks!:P
Moonlight and Cherries
An InuYasha fan-fic by XxTorturedHeartxX
Disclaimer: I do not in any way own InuYasha or any of its characters.
Claimer: I do however own this particular storyline and OCs Sakura, Yasuo, Jiro, Setsuya, etc.
Prologue: The Cruelty of Fate
Terror. Unspeakable terror. That was what this particular child felt as she ran from her cruel fate. She prayed that someone would rescue her, that she would be saved from the monsters that haunted her dreams… and her reality. And so it was that as she ran, she wondered how; how could this be the rescue she had prayed for? The answer was simple: only a curse could fight a curse. Such was the cruelty of her fate; be destroyed by one curse, or controlled by another. And so, as the girl's foot caught on a fallen tree branch and she sprawled forward onto the harsh ground, the two people she cared for the most watching in horror as their beloved daughter was consumed by the curse she would be forced to bear until death or eternity, whichever came first.
Chapter One: Early Surprises
Sakura cried out as she bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat, her pajamas clinging uncomfortably to her skin. Sakura groaned, falling back onto the bed in exasperation. It was the fifth time that week! Couldn't that stupid nightmare give her a break already? She had a test today! She should at least be allowed one night of good rest! Jeeze… if I weren't a complete and utter genius I don't know how I would manage to keep my grades so good with such a want for sleep. Sakura thought to herself, barely smirking at her feigned ego; she really couldn't be that smart if people were always telling her how stupid she was, could she?
Sighing, Sakura rolled groggily out of bed and made her way to her dresser closet where she had hung her school uniform the night before. She paused a moment, eyeing the inappropriately proportioned—at least in her opinion—outfit warily before groaning in exasperation, grabbing it along with a towel, and heading to her personal bathroom for a nice warm shower before subjecting herself to the Hellish life she was forced to live in. Her Step-Father was a douchebag and a total jerk, her Momma was sick and depressed, her Dad had randomly disappeared off the face of the Earth, she had an A- in English (not that she couldn't correct that soon enough) and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was quickly approaching 'that time of the month'. Oh, and today was her seventeenth birthday— not that anyone in the screwed up mass of emotions she called a family would remember. Except maybe her Step-brother Yasuo. He was probably the only person besides Sakura's few friend-like acquaintances that cared at all for her; even if he wasn't related to her by blood, the two had become unlikely friends relatively fast. Other than Yasuo, Sakura practically had no family. Her mother was too sick with grief over the loss of her late husband to notice Sakura most of the time, even on her birthday, (though, when she did take notice, she was overprotective to the point of it being suffocating) and her Step-father was… well, her Step-father, (suffice to say, he could only ever seem to look at her with disgust for some reason)
Sakura sighed again and reached an alabaster-pale hand out of the shower, gripping the pink and gold towel she had brought and pulling it so that it unrolled. Wrapping it around herself, she lingered in the shower a moment longer, taking the time to wring at least a little of the water from her exceedingly thick, long hair. It was a curious color, especially compared to her own mother's jet black locks and her birth father's deep brown ones, being a color almost as pale as her skin. In a way, it was, but also, it wasn't. Sure if she was standing in a dark shadow it appeared to be white like her skin, but really, it had a strange golden shine to it that was unique in Japan where most people had dark hair. However, as it was, Sakura didn't particularly like her hair. It was too thick and it grew at an alarming rate—she had to cut the damn stuff every four weeks to keep it from overwhelming her! And even if the color of her hair was unique, that didn't mean it was pretty. Sure the idea of white hair with gold shine was pretty when you imagined it, but the way it looked with her unnaturally pale skin tone just made her look sickly and colorless. That, paired with the fact that Sakura was too skinny, had ultimately no curves, (or boobs) whatsoever, and had relatively plain features, put Sakura at almost the end of the attractive list. The only feature Sakura thought was remotely attractive about her person, were her strikingly electric green eyes.
They were even more unusual than her hair and fit with her gene pool even less. Her mother's eyes were deep brown, like rich dark chocolate, and her father's eyes had been blacker than night. Technically she shouldn't have ended up with green eyes, especially in a shade that was so uncommon even among people who regularly were born with eye colors like green and blue, such as Americans. It was the one feature that gave Sakura any color and for that, Sakura liked them the most.
Unfortunately for Sakura, her list of unusual features gave her Step-father even more reasons to hate her guts and screw with her already Eff'd up life. He viewed her as a freak-show, unsuitable to be viewed and so he often averted his gaze from her when she would enter a room. That was, he would until she would step awkwardly and accidently trip and destroy the new vase that had just been added to the décor of the traditionally styled Japanese mansion they lived in. Then he would give her this disgusted look that seemed to be saying something like, 'why is there a walking dog turd destroying the furniture in my house? It must be taken from my all-mighty, God-like gaze immediately!' before actually saying something like, "Why are you so clumsy, girl? If you were not a child of this house, I would tell you to clean that up yourself. Maid! Clean that at once!"
As if he would be the master of such a mansion if he weren't married to her mother. Why Sakura's mother ever did marry him, she would never know. Especially since said mother starts crying and yelling if Sakura even brought it up. Then Sakura would feel bad and have to turn to hugging her and telling her it was fine while she said repeatedly that she's sorry for no apparent reason. Maybe she was sorry for marrying such a complete A-hole with a stick up his butt the size of Florida and an ego that could literally obliterate the moon if it were channeled into an energy bomb. Probably.
Sakura sighed again, as she looked into the mirror at the awkward, sixteen—no, seventeen year old girl in front of her. At least Mother was pretty, before she got so sick, and even now she's still undeniably beautiful… Sakura sighed for the millionth time and began the arduous task of drying and brushing her nearly two and a half feet of hair. It came down to just above her butt; she hadn't cut it since the month before last, which was much too long concerning her hair which had been cut to just below her shoulders the last time. How in the name of Hell does hair manage to grow that fast? At least she'd gotten up two hours earlier today. That meant she had plenty of time to figure out what to do with it. After drying it for half an hour, then taking another half hour to brush it, she decided on a messy ponytail so it would be out of her way… well, most of it; her bangs which were cut across her forehead were brushing her eyelashes now, so it was going to be a little difficult to see where she was going. Not like I don't do a good enough job of crashing into things when I actually can see… she thought to herself as she picked up her school uniform from where it sat on the counter.
She eyed it and almost groaned at the thought of putting it on then wearing it where people would actually see. The skirt, which was a pale cream color highlighted by the black thread and trim, had just a little lacey black chiffon sticking out the bottom. The non-see-through part of the skirt only came down to about mid-thigh; the chiffon brought the total length to an inch and a half above the knee. As Sakura stared incredulously at the skimpy piece of fabric, she couldn't help but cringe, only one thought in her mind: This screams 'Rape Me'. I mean seriously, who the hell decided mid-thigh was appropriate for school? Sakura thought angrily. How in the hell was someone to even manage bending down to pick up a pencil without showing off their entire butt? Sure the skirt was cute, in a, 'I'm not a hideous color and I'm not mismatched with the top' sort of way, but did it have to be that… that…. SLUTTY? Not to mention the fact that we of the "feminine variety" have to where thigh-high gray stockings as well! The only part of the outfit that didn't scream 'I'm a hooker' was the black button up and jacket, which was, like the skirt, a soft cream color with black trim and threading, and even that paired with the skirt came off whorish. In fact, the only part of the entire school uniform Sakura preferred as compared to other school's uniforms, was the fact that the girls wore regular red ties just like the boys instead of one of those hideous bow-ties or sailor ties most schools had. It was the only redeeming quality. But a regular tie could only go so far and it didn't in any way relieve any of the "sex-appeal".
Sakura stared at the outfit a moment more, before groaning one last word of protest and dropping her towel, first pulling on her clean white bra and panties, then her skirt, followed by the button-up, tie, jacket, and finally, stockings. Her usual black ankle-high combat boots, (the only sign that she was into the punk sort of style) waited patiently by the front door, as was custom in Japan, so for now she would go about her morning in only her stockings. With one last glance in the mirror, grimace at the tight fitting school uniform, and a quick smudge of colorless lip balm, Sakura made her way back into her room where she gathered the finished homework from the previous night and, with an annoyed 'huff', realized her backpack was no-where in sight. She proceeded to first tear her room apart looking for the damned thing, then, once she had found it, rearrange it all back into working order, (if her Step-father found it the slightest bit out of order, he would probably whoop her ass and ground her for months. Plus she was just naturally cleanly)
Sighing for the millionth time, Sakura pulled open her book bag and slid her numerous textbooks, sketchpad, drawing and coloring pencils, and of course her homework inside, then took a quiet moment to admire the sturdy pack that carried so much of her life inside of it. It was made of a soft, strangely silky canvas with even more silky threads embroidering in black, soft pink, and red cherry-blossom trees, her name sake flower. Her mother and father had given it to her as a present when she was a child and over the years she had kept it and cared for it, making sure it was mended when it happened to rip and taking great care to keep it from getting dirty. It was one of the only things she had left of the life she had lived before… it was a symbol of a memory she cherished more than anything.
She closed her eyes, sighing contentedly for once as she let the memories wash over her in soft, soothing waves, gentle and calming as the sea she had frequently visited as a child… she was never permitted to visit anymore, now that her Step-father was around… and she longed for the salty odor of the foamy sea waves as they crashed softly against the shore. She could hear her childish laugh, bright with the feeling of being loved and loving so heartily in return. She could hear the laugh of her mother, undefiled and pure of the pain of loss she now felt, her beautiful mother who was so sickeningly sad now was so beautiful in the arms of her husband, who's deep baritone echoed beautifully with her soft soprano. And Sakura was once more filled with the happiness of being with her family… her true family—not the horrible excuse for one she had now. A contented smile graced Sakura's mouth as she remembered the five short years she had been truly happy, the times when she would play among the cherry-blossoms in the garden, the blossoms swirling around her dancing form as they fell and drifted in the breeze, the times she would frown as her mother and father berated her for slouching or having her elbow on the dinner table, teaching her proper manners for a young lady, the times she would say that she loved them and they would smile and say they loved her back… the memories were bittersweet though.
Not long after her fifth birthday, Sakura had taken extremely ill, blacking out in fits of fever, unconscious for days at a time and disoriented and hallucinating when she wasn't. She could never quite remember what she had hallucinated about… only that whatever it was, it was the single most terrifying experience of her young life. She had eventually been hospitalized, often bleeding randomly from her mouth and nose and having to be under constant supervision so that, in her fists of hallucinating hysteria, she wouldn't injure herself. Her mother was hit hard and never left her bedside unless the doctors made her, never getting enough sleep for her worry over her only child. Her father had stayed for a while too, until it was clear she wouldn't get better for quite some time and he decided he needed to continue with his work so he could pay for the upkeep of their house and the monthly hospital bill. She stayed sick for almost a year before suddenly, and quiet unexplainably, she recovered. Her parents were overjoyed, but nothing was the same after that; both of her parents became overprotective in the extreme, never letting her go out by herself, not allowing her to be alone even while indoors for fear of a relapse, and sometimes even yelling at her when she was too carless and got hurt, even at the tiniest scratch.
Her parents only became worse. They would always seem nervous, terrified even, and sometimes Sakura would catch her mother weeping over her when she would tuck her in and think Sakura had fallen asleep. Other times she would cower outside of her parents rooms, listening to her father yelling at her mother, telling her as she screamed back at him that it wasn't her fault, whatever 'it' was, angered that she could ever think it was. It got worse and worse and then… suddenly, at seven years old, her father vanished, leaving her mother and her all alone in the world; her mother had been an orphan with no siblings and her father had been an only child and his parents had died a year before Sakura was born, so they weren't there either. Sakura thought that he had abandoned them, but her mother… her mother always scolded her roughly for even thinking such a thing, telling her that her father had done so only because he loved Sakura so much. Sakura's mother would not permit her to ever think badly of her father for disappearing and so, though Sakura still believed him to have abandoned them, she could never bring herself to love him any less than she had before.
Four years later, Sakura's mother remarried and her life became a living hell. Well, except for Yasuo, that was. He was the one good thing that came of her Mother and Jiro's— her bastard of Step-father's—union. Though Yasuo and her were close to the same age, him being twelve and her being ten, they never really established a brother-sister relationship… after all, they weren't truly related and at the time, Sakura felt that any man was unwelcome in her home and frequently took the time to remind him of such, to which, he would only laugh whole-heartedly and tell her she was a 'strange girl', then she would yell that she wasn't strange and he would laugh again and smile that soft, friendly smile he sometimes did. Sakura chuckled a little, remembering how it unnerved her that he could smile so easily at someone he had just met. It also pissed her off, but eventually, she had been broken by it and began to smile back. After that though, it was too late to establish the brother-sister relationship, so instead, Sakura viewed it as if he were a close friend who had come to stay with her... a roommate of sorts. She was glad that she had him to confide in about the numerous cruelties she had to suffer at the hands of his father, her Step-father. It didn't strike her till she was a bit older that it was strange his father had such a cold heart and he did not and, even then, she had simply thanked her stars that it was so.
Sakura was drug back to reality as a soft knock came at her door.
"Who is it?" She asked, fake frowning, knowing perfectly well who it was.
"It's only me, Sakura," Yasuo exclaimed cheerfully, recognizing that, since she wasn't grumbling incoherently, she was already awake and ready. He peeked his head in the door at this and gave her a bright smile that reached his soft grey eyes as he brushed a lock of jet black hair out the way. "Just came to see if you were awake yet. I didn't want you to be late for breakfast, since it's your favorite—waffles with strawberries on top." He winked at her, giving a smirk as he spoke, "I know, I'm awesome. Who else is cunning enough to convince the "stone cold statue" to serve your favorite on your birthday. Marvel at the greatness that is me." Sakura grinned at this, shaking her head at the boy who had come to be her best friend. Only he knew what a freak she was for anything with strawberry anything in it and only he would risk upsetting the balance to request a certain breakfast from the head of the cooking staff and get her to go against his father's wishes. Yes, only he knew that she was a strawberry fanatic. She could be content surviving on strawberries for the rest of her life if she had to.
"I'll be out in a sec, Yasuo," Sakura said grinning. "I just have to get a few other things, then, I'll be done." He smiled his naturally inviting smile and nodded his head once before a thought seemed to come to his mind and it turned into a mischievous grin. Sakura's smile immediately turned into a frown at this, knowing the kind of pranks Yasuo had pulled on her all of her previous birthdays since she had met him. She could practically see the cogs turning behind his eyes, cooking up another devious plan to irritate her to no end. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, thinking of the many things he could do to freak her out or piss her off or embarrass the living crap out of her, probably all of the above.
He stayed silent for a moment more, obviously enjoying the tension, before she barked a nervous and irritated "What?" at him and he snickered ominously, shaking his head.
"Why, nothing at all, darling sister! I was just thinking of the presents I got for you. I think you'll find them… most memorable…" Sakura's eye twitched little at the ominous tone, but she stayed silent as he continued. "I'll give you one of them before you leave for school, but you'll have to wait for the other one. See you at breakfast… Oh! And happy seventeenth birthday." With that he snickered once more and closed the door before Sakura could get another word out.
Oh great, what in God's name does he have planned this time? Sakura groaned, shaking her head in annoyance and anxiety.
Blinking once more at the closed door, she sighed and reached for the small black leather studded purse she had recently bought with the money she had earned from her odd jobs, (usually random things like babysitting, mowing lawns, and walking dogs) unzipping it to make sure everything she usually brought with her was still inside. She counted all of her favorite nail polishes, the only "girly" thing she indulged in; one was a glittery gold, one was a vibrant pink, one was a grass green, and one was just plain old black.
So, nail polish? Check.
Next she found her small hand held wooden mirror made from cherry-wood with beautiful cherry-blossom trees carved into it; another keepsake from her "happy" life.
Priceless family heirloom? Check.
Lastly, she made sure she had a few pads and tampons… you know, just in case.
Girly products for the worst part of being a female? Check.
Oh, and just for the sake of it, she stuffed the remainder of her money inside; she was all good to go. She stuffed the purse into her back pack, leaving only enough room for maybe a change of clothes, (if she wanted to bring any) and her home-made lunch, which, as of then, was downstairs in the fridge. She slung her bag over her shoulder and strode to the door, opening it then locking it behind her with her room key. Strange you would need to lock your own bedroom door from the outside, but whatever. It kept her prankster step-brother out of her stuff so she was glad for it. She hooked the key onto the keychain on her backpack and rushed down the stairs, eager for once to eat breakfast; it wasn't very often she got her favorite breakfast and she intended to enjoy it, even if she had to do so in the company of her Step-father.
As she entered the dining room, she noticed with a glance that her Step-father was absent for once. She smirked happily at this. Oh goody. No overlord of hell to make me feel like trash for once. Maybe my birthday won't be such a terrible one after all. She frowned then, noticing that Yasuo was also absent. Her mother was too, but that was relatively normal behavior so it didn't matter much. Grimacing, Sakura took her regular seat at the end of the table on the right side of the end chair that was opposite to the one her Step-father normally occupied, the seat reserved for the head of the household, and waited to be served, wondering idly what kind of 'present' her step-brother would unleash upon her this year. He had said he had two, one for now and one for later, but that was normal. It was a tradition with him to give her one present she would like and one that she most definitely wouldn't, the order in which he gave them however, was always random. Would she get the bad one now or later? She really hoped it was later; right now she just wanted to enjoy her favorite breakfast and get to school so she could ace her test and bring her score in math back up to an A+.
If she had anything to do with it, she would end high school with perfect marks, get into a wonderful college, (preferably far from here) and get a job as a veterinarian when that was finished. She had thought about becoming a doctor at some point, but she had always felt more comfortable with animals then humans; the only thing she had always been certain of was that she wanted to be someone who could heal and help others, even if those 'others' might be less than human. Sakura grinned at that. It almost seemed she was speaking of demons or some nonsense like that instead of animals. Hah. Now that would be interesting. Too bad they didn't exist except in folktales.
Just then, Sakura was interrupted in her musing by the sound of a plate hitting the wood of the table in front of her. She gasped, then mumbled a quiet 'thank you' at the servant who she hadn't even noticed until then. The servant just bowed, gave a dirty look, (the servants had all been hired by Mr. 'You-Are-Beneath-Me' himself and most of them seemed to agree with him on the notion of Sakura being trash) then left. Sakura just sighed, exasperatedly, shrugged it off and turned to her favorite breakfast with a wide grin before taking her fork in her hand and cutting a small portion with a large strawberry and lots of syrup on it. Taking the first bite, she smirked in pure delight, letting loose a contented, 'mmmm…' before digging in.
"How can you eat something that sweet without gagging?" Sakura jumped at the sudden noise, choking on the strawberry she had just placed in her mouth. She heard a small chuckle from behind her as she gulped down her glass of water, trying to keep from suffocating on the tiny red berry. What a way to go; death by strawberry… now that would be embarrassing. Sakura thought as she coughed a few more times, got up, and turned to face the laughing boy behind her, an angry scowl on her face. Oh, yeah, Yasuo, you better laugh it up now 'cuz in a few seconds, I'm going to Death Glare the crap out of you… except it wasn't Yasuo behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise, losing all her rage in place of shock at the boy she hadn't seen in three years, not since he was sent to a high-class boarding school in America.
"Se…Setsuya-sama… your… back." He smirked, his narrow black eyes empty and cold, always seeming as if he were planning something to the utmost detail. He was the first son of Jiro-sama, Sakura's Step-father, and future head of the household. He wasn't like Jiro-sama… no, not in the least, but… he was also nothing like Yasuo, either. Scratch that. He didn't really look like anyone she had met before. His hair was a strange red-black, the colors seeming to fight each other for dominance every time it was presented in a different light. His eyes were a cool, calculating black, empty like two dark pits. His skin was almost as light as hers, if not just as and his nails and canines always seemed a bit sharper than they should be, like he was a predator—some kind of wild creature that might attack at any moment. Speaking from another perspective, he was also shockingly handsom, even more so than Yasuo who was hounded by the fan-girls all day at school. The strangest thing Sakura had noticed about his looks though, was that sometimes it seemed like he had a strange, blue-black mark on his forehead, if Sakura happened to surprise him, which was rare, and even then it was faint and seemed to disappear as soon as he noticed her presence. Yes, he was strange, in appearance as well as personality.
She had little contact with him, even after Jiro-sama had married her mother and combined their households. This was due to the fact that he spent most of his time overseas, studying in prestige boarding schools, learning to become 'all that a head of the Ishikawa household should be', as her Step-father had put it when she'd dared to ask when she was younger and had less insight into just how much he despised her; nowadays she would not speak to someone who was so displeased with her if it was not absolutely necessary.
Anyway, Sakura had only seen Setsuya-sama once or twice every year and he did not stay longer than a week or two when he was around, and even then he stayed mostly to himself, only speaking directly to her once or twice when they had accidently bumped into each other in the halls of the main house or sometimes at dinner, which was the only time she was sure to see him. Suffice to say, Sakura didn't know much about him other than the few things she had learned from Yasuo and the few instances she had come into speaking distance with him by accident. All that she could pick up about him was that he was quiet, extremely intelligent, seemed to like tormenting her, even more than his younger brother, though he did it much less often (duh, he's never around to do it) and, though he had never looked at her with much displeasure like his father, he seemed as though he didn't particularly like her... or anyone that happened to meet his calculating gaze.
But above all of these things Sakura had managed to observe about him, one thing in particular caught her attention every time she encountered him: he scared her… more so than any one person had managed to scare her with nothing more than an unwavering, judging stare and a tight lipped, somewhat malicious smirk. There was just something about him that seemed wrong, something that was off, and she didn't like the way his eyes always looked at someone like he was reading their deepest, darkest secrets just by looking into their eyes… like he knew something that they didn't, like he was judging them, and had something horrible planned for them. It didn't help that his eyes were such a dark, empty color… it was enough to make her shudder, thinking of those black, empty orbs examining her like a piece of meat… He was the one person that could make her act like she was now, trying not to meet his gaze, speaking in hushed tones, almost unable to make a complete sentence. And she knew that he realized this… from the way his smirk tightened a little bit more, from the way the corners turned up just a little more, from the way his eyes narrowed just a little more… he knew… and he liked it.
"And a hello to you too, Little Sister." He said, chuckling darkly. Sakura looked up at this, jerked suddenly once more from her own thoughts by his deep, smug voice.
"I am sorry, Setsuya-sama. I was just startled… you aren't exactly around too often, you know…" She trailed off, bowing her head a little in respect, speaking softly to him, in the voice she only allowed herself to use when speaking to him; she didn't like being weak and this voice made her appear so more than anything else she did. Unfortunately, she could not help it in his presence, for 'weak' was exactly what she felt around him. Suddenly, it struck her that it was odd for him to be around for more than just the reason that he hardly ever was.
He chuckled darkly again, bowing a little in return before straitening to his normal relaxed pose. "It's fine, Sakura-san. I understand it isn't normal for me to visit unless it is a holiday and the school is giving a break." He said, as though reading her thoughts. He paused a moment and she forced herself to meet his gaze, flinching a little when he stepped closer, his height difference forcing him to look downwards at her and her to look up at him. "However… I have already met the qualifications needed to graduate, so I left early, figuring that I could for once visit my special little sister on her birthday. In fact, I even got you a present." Sakura's eyes widened at this as he stepped even closer. He had come back for her birthday? It made sense, if he had truly graduated early, that he might come back for a step-sibling's birthday… but he was Setsuya for God's sake. And he had gotten her a present, which he had never done before. Something was just wrong with this picture.
"You got me a… present?" He fake frowned at her incredulous voice.
Sighing with fake exasperation, he shook his head at her. "You think I would come home specifically for my lovely little sister's seventeenth birthday and fail to even get her a present? You hurt me with your opinion of me, dear little Sakura. Just for that, I'm not going to give it to you until tonight. You have dance class after school today, yes? You won't be home until around seven, so I'll give it to you then." Her mouth dropped open in shock, her eyes widening a little more, as she ran over what he said. How did he know she took dance lessons? And that she was turning seventeen? Even as little as she saw him three years ago, she hadn't even seen him once since he had been sent to America, and yet, here he was, completely informed on her when she didn't know if even her own mother knew those things.
Setsuya, seeing the girl's shock, smirked again, lowering his eyelids and leaning into close to her face, almost laughing as her electric green eyes widened even more, her mouth still hanging open slightly in her shock. He secretly loved the many different facial expressions he found he could make her do, even though he rarely got the chance to see her, due to his fate of being the head of the Ishikawa household and so always being away at prestige learning facilities in other countries. He looked forward to the one he would get to see later that night, when she returned from the lessons he had secretly followed her to time and time again, when he was curious as to why she was sometimes so late coming home and when he wished to escape the boredom of his "father's" presence. Oh yes, he knew that look would be utterly unique on her… it would probably be one of his favorite as well and one he had yet to make her do. Yes, if she was shocked now… it almost made him want to give it to her right then, as soon as he could... but he would wait. He had his patience and now was not the time. He had to wait until everything was completely ready, until the moment she truly turned seventeen. Then, and only then, would he give her his… "present".
So instead, he would settle for shock. But perhaps… maybe he could still get a different version of it, if he just did something like…
Sakura had no idea what the in the name of Hell was going on. One second Setsuya was frowning and teasing her, the next second he was closer than he had ever been, his face a mere three inches from her own as he smirked and lowered his eyelids at her, his thick lashes almost concealing his shudder-worthy gaze as he lifted his hand and gently brushed a lock of whitish gold hair from her eyes. Her mouth closed immediately and she stiffened when the tips of his cold fingers lightly brushed her eyelid. He leaned forward just a bit more and then… he turned swiftly and walked away, waving his hand lightly behind him, and telling her "happy birthday, Sakura" before disappearing around a corner.
Shell-shocked and confused beyond belief, Sakura just stared at the spot he had just been, her brows furrowed in utter dis-belief at what had just occurred. Setsuya, though never around, was still just as much considered her brother as Yasuo, even though the relationship between them was even less brother-sister-like than the one she shared with Yasuo. Sure they weren't actually related, but he had never treated her differently than he might a sibling who he simply didn't connect with well enough to want to speak with them or treat them with affection, and now it almost seemed like he was actually… NO. She would not even consider that, it was just too weird and messed up to even think. He was just teasing her again was all. Yes, only teasing her… TEASING. She forced herself to turn around, sit her butt back down in the chair, and eat the rest of her special birthday breakfast with a blank mind that didn't even consider the preposterous notion that Setsuya was actually… no she would not finish the sentence. Sakura didn't taste a single bite she took for the rest of her meal.
Sakura just ate mechanically, only stopping when she felt her fork hit an unyielding surface and looked down to realize her plate was now empty. Suddenly, Yasuo entered, making much more noise than his brother and alerting her to his presence almost immediately as he sat down and started to eat his own breakfast. Sakura stayed zoned out long after noticing his presence and only 'woke up' after he was suddenly beside her, waving a hand in front of her face and snapping his fingers, saying things like 'earth to Sakura, come in Sakura' then asking if she was okay as she violently shook herself into concentration and nodded her head at him, forcing a smile.
At first she thought he would notice it was forced, but that thought was relieved as he grinned at her, pulling her seat out and offering a hand to help her to her feet. She pushed it away, annoyed that he seemed to think she needed help standing up and decided she shouldn't let stupid nonsensical thoughts get in the way of possibly having a decent birthday for once.
Yasuo, seeing that his friend had finally 'regained consciousness' took the moment to motion for her to wait a moment as he left the room then returned a few seconds later, holding three neatly wrapped presents in his arms, each one a different size and shape. This somewhat shocked Sakura. Hadn't he said he only got her two presents? And that he wasn't giving her the second one until later that night? Who could have possibly given the other two?
Yasuo laughed at his Step-sister's questioning gaze. He had expected it, but it was still enough to pull a laugh, the way she looked at the presents in his arms like they were the strangest things she'd ever seen. He had to admit he'd been a little surprised as well when he had received the extra two from the head maid along with small note asking him to deliver them along with his own. He knew Sakura's confusion would only increase when he revealed who they were from.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Sakura. Just don't have a heart attack when you hear who they're from; I don't want to be the one to have to drag your dead body out to bury before you start to stink the place up." Sakura frowned at this, glaring at him and making him laugh once more. "First things first. Here," he said cheerfully, holding out a small, cube-shaped one with pink wrapping paper and a white and red ribbon. "this one's from me." He informed her as she glared once more, then let the glare fall from her face in favor of curiosity as she took the delicately wrapped package and removed the ribbon and wrapping, finding a wooden box about the size of her alarm clock with cherry-blossom trees painted skillfully over it, curving gently around her name which was painted on in golden lettering. Hesitantly, she opened the box then gasped in awe at the item she found inside. It was the single most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a small choker with white lace and black trim on either side of the inch-thick white silk material which was embroidered with lovely black and pink thread depicting a cherry-blossom tree that spread gracefully across the white of the material, the petals making it more pink than it was white as they dancing in the wind across the shimmering white silk. The black contrasted wonderfully, long, graceful branches reaching across in a lovely arc, delicately lacing the picture with the beautiful black silken threads. And the choker itself wasn't even the best part.
The best part was the three jeweled cherry-blossoms that hung in a small bundle at the end of a black inch long chain hanging from the middle of the choker. The flowers were created to the utmost detail, the largest fanning out it's petals and slightly covering the other two smaller blossoms with seemed more to be buds than fully blossoming flowers. The petals were a soft, snowy white at the centers that turned into a light pink that darkened at the edges. The very center of the blossoms faded to a vibrant red, akin to the color of blood with tiny, delicately crafted pollination clusters poking out from it. At the end of each one was a small blood colored gem that sparkled as if light were radiating from its center. The flowers were so real and yet so unreal as she gazed upon their beauty and gently ran her finger along the polished edge of a solid petal, half expecting it to give way under her fingers as a real blossom would. It was by far the most beautiful thing she had ever received.
"Yasuo… i—it's too much! It must have cost you a fortune! There's no way I can take something like this!" Sakura gasped, trying to push the box back into his hands. Yasuo just shook his head, grinning and chuckling as he pushed it away. Sakura was definitely Sakura.
"No way. I worked for all my money and I have every right to spend it however I please. If I want to use it to buy you stuff then you damn well better take it. Besides, it's considered rude to reject any gift that is freely given." Sakura shook her head again and for a moment he thought she would try and give it back again, but she just settled for shaking her head in disbelief, then turning back to the choker and gently stroking one of the tiny red gems at the tips of the pollination stems. "Those are red diamonds. Not really anything more than chips, though, so don't freak out." Sakura just laughed a little and shook her head some more before turning back to him with a wide, cheerful grin and throwing her arms around him for a hug, which was made somewhat awkward due to the fact that he still had two more gifts in his arms, one of which was shockingly large and REALLY heavy and the other medium sized, though quiet light.
Pulling back Sakura smiled a genuine smile of happiness at her wonderful step-brother, uttering a happy, "Thanks a lot, Brother" before turning her curious gaze back to the other two presents and quirking a brow. She could tell immediately Yasuo was having trouble carrying the biggest of the two, which was a tall, skinny rectangular box almost the same height as her, if not taller. It definitely picked her curiosity who had given such a thing, what in the name of Hell it was, and how she was expected to lift it when Yasuo appeared to be having so much trouble. At the motion of his head she followed him into the sitting room where she quickly flopped down on a fluffy cushion, watching as Yasuo placed the huge box down on the coffee table then flopped down across from her on another cushion.
He seemed to give it an appraising look before shaking his head as though in disbelief and panting at the effort of getting it on the table which only made her more curious to see what it was. Unfortunately, it seemed it would have to wait, as Yasuo quickly tossed her the other flat rectangular box instead. It was very light, compared to how the other one looked, and Sakura wonder if it even had anything in it at all as she gave it a light shake, then, feeling nothing move inside, shrugged a little and fingered the plain white wrapping paper and black ribbon.
"I think you better open that one first, Sakura. You'll be less likely to have a heart attack from shock knowing who that one's from than you will the other one. Plus I'm seriously not sure what kind of hazardous thing could possibly weigh that much and I would rather not give you something you could kill people with if I can help it."
Sakura glared menacingly at him as he held a look of complete seriousness even though she knew he was teasing her. "Whatever." She growled, turning back to the box on her lap and ripping the wrapping paper and ribbon off in annoyance. It was just a regular cardboard box, the kind you used to wrap clothing in. In fact that was probably what it was. It would explain the lightness and seeming lack of movement. Sakura pulled it open and found herself filled with awe for the second time that morning.
It was clothing. And it was also the coolest thing she had ever seen. It fit her punk style perfectly, at the same time as being cute and rich looking, blending punk qualities with that of traditional Japanese clothing. The dress was made of white silk, much like the choker, with patters of blood colored cherry-blossoms snaking up the left side, a lovely black cherry-tree weaving it's branches through them as they traveled up the side. The top of the dress was made up of a black corset with pink criss-crossing laces on either side of the chest area; when it was on they would travel directly up along the center of each breast. The white silk came up above the edge of the corset about two inches and a silver zipper came across it, disappearing behind the corset as it came down diagonally from the left to the right. The silk was trimmed with white and black lace at the tops that ended only as it reached the two black straps that held the dress up. Additionally there were two puffy white sleeves meant to wrap around the top of the arm, connected to the dress at the arm pit and traveling down just under the puffed-up part in two tight black sleeves made of the same material as the corset, each ending at the elbow and having the same criss-crossed pink laces on either.
The skirt flared out drastically at the hip, the material bunched up on one side to show another layer of pretty black silk with yet another layer of white lace peeking out from under it. The skirt was short, coming only to about four inches above the knee, but it was much less slutty than it would seem due to the finery of the outfit. On the bunched side, the material was drawn up to mid- thigh to show a pair of black shorts that came down to just above the edge of the full-length side of the skirt, effectively hiding the other leg on that side. Along with the dress was a pair of charcoal thigh-highs rimmed with the same white lace as the dress. A single white note sat on the top of the outfit. Picking it up Sakura read in familiar writing, Wear it tonight.
Sakura was speechless, only able to open and close her mouth much like a gold-fish and run her trembling fingers along the silky fabric in shock and awe. Yasuo compensated for her speechlessness with one simple word. "Whoa." Sakura simply nodded. They sat in awed silence for a few more minutes before, Yasuo decided to speak again. "We don't have too much longer before we have to leave for school. We better get around to the last one. Oh, and that one, is from Mother." Sakura tore her gaze from the outfit to gape at her brother in shock. Then she smiled a gentle and loving smile, her eyes tearing up a little in sheer joy.
"I can't believe she remembered… this is so beautiful. She even remembered the type of clothes I like. I'm so… happy... I might cry." Sakura said softly, her voice filled with love and happiness. Yasuo smiled. He knew she would be happy. Then he frowned. He knew how happy she would be, just as he knew how she was going to react to the information on who had given the next gift; with complete shock and disbelief.
"That's enough of that, Sakura. You still have to deal with the next gift." Sakura nodded, wiping a quickly shed tear from her eye, setting the dress aside and shifting forward to the last present. It was wrapped in blood colored paper with black and white ribbon. Slowly she tore away the fabric, then braced herself, untying the ribbon then hesitatingly lifting the edge of the box so that she could pull the rest of the wrapping and ribbon from under it, expecting it to be heavy as hell. Apparently Yasuo had expected the same and had moved to help her, but stopped at she lifted it with ease. She gasped a little at the lightness of it. There was no way something that had given Yasuo, who was relatively strong from years of mixed martial arts training, could be that easy for her, who had never been very strong, to lift. She stopped for a moment, then took a deep breath and slid the wrapping and ribbon out from under the box, placing it to the side next to the discarded wrapping of the other two boxes. The box under the wrapping was made of cherry-wood, the same as the mirror her parents had given her, and shockingly, it was decorated with carved wooden cherry-blossoms just as the mirror was. It was so similar, there was no way for it to be a coincidence. Had her mother gotten her this as well?
Hesitantly, she opened the box, and then, her eyes went wide as saucers, and she heard Yasuo gasp in shock. Inside, resting in black velvet, and wrapped in pink and white silk with red rope around them, were two ENORMOUS swords. Only the handles were visible, but there was no mistake as to what they were. The handles were crafted of something akin to polished jet, silver, and ivory. The jet twisted with the silver to form an inner hilt that was rectangular, banded with the silver and black, and a mainly ivory knuckle guard completely circled the centered hilt, curving all the way around to connect to either side of the blade which lay still concealed by the silk. The ivory was carved into lovely curving cherry-blossom branches, silver curled in and out of the blossoms, swirling in rune-like designs under raised portions of the branches, curling up and over some of the flowers, in areas, and over the branches themselves in others when there was no place to go under. The branches were twisted and entwined in more inlaid jet. But still, Sakura's eyes were once again drawn to the blossoms themselves. The ivory was stained with color, ranged from the bloodiest of reds, to the lightest of pink. The petals were speckled with red diamonds that glistened like drops of blood.
In a daze, Sakura felt her hand drift down to stroke one of the hilts laid before her, then, as if dreaming, she felt her hand pull along the intricate carvings of the outer guard and then grip the handle of the inner sword. Her other hand swiftly untied the red rope that circled the blade around the silk. Yasuo, reached forward, gasping as he tried to stop her from lifting the thing that she could surely never lift without hurting herself… but he stopped once more in shock, as the blade lifted easily and she stood as if hypnotized, lifting the sword with her.
She could not help but stare in wonder as the silk dropped from the shiny black, somewhat see-through at the sharp edge, blade and pooled in the case. Obsidian. Sakura was almost certain, that the blade was constructed entirely of obsidian; volcanic glass. The black blade was about an inch thick at the thickest point, nearly eight inches wide at its widest, and at least eight feet long, two and a half feet taller than her! Embedded partially in the hilt, hidden by the silk previously was a large, flat black gem, (more polished jet) rimmed with silver, big as her hand with the fingers spread wide, and extending at least a centimeter from the flat of the blade on either side of it. The top of the blade was completely straight all the way to the tip and blunt, but the sharp underside jutted out sharply from the hilt, making the blade grow wider till it was at its widest point, then it curved back in sharply, creating a pointed corner that looked like it could slice through anything. As the blade grew thinner, there were rectangular cut-ins along it, each one about a centimeter thick, and a centimeter apart, making teeth-like edges to the blade that ended about five inches from the tip, making a final uncut edge at the end. The entire blade was imprinted with the same silver rune-like designs as the hilt.
Sakura raised the blade, so that the tip pointed up, her arm bent at the elbow as though trying to ease the support, but no support was needed; the sword was virtually weightless. And… it felt so… right in her hand, as if it were an extension of her own arm. Kuro… she found herself thinking as she gazed upon it. Kuro No Ken… Black Sword… Slowly she laid it back in the case, then, using her opposite hand, took the hold of the other sword, and, untying the rope, lifted it as well.
In a flutter of fabric, the second sword was revealed and Sakura and Yasuo both gasped again in wonder. The handle of this sword was an exact replica of its brethren, but everywhere the handle had been white, it was black, and everywhere the handle had been black, it was white. The only constants were the delicate cherry-blossoms and the rune-like silver swirls. The blade was also the twin to Kuro No Ken, but instead of being the deepest black of night, it was a pure, untainted white. White quarts, she was certain. The large gem at the center of this blade was the same ivory as parts of the handle. Shiro… Shiro No Ken… White Sword… Shiro No Ken was just as weightless as Kuro No Ken, and fit just as well in her hand, Sakura's right side extension, where the other was her left. And as she placed the second sword back in the case, she knew that the two swords belonged only to her.
With one last glance at them, Sakura closed the case and sighed. Then Yasuo freaked.
"HOW IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DID YOU MANAGE TO LIFT EITHER OF THOSE?" Sakura jumped back, startled at the sudden outburst, her eyes widening at the question. How did I lift them? She thought. It should have been impossible and, if she hadn't been so hypnotized by the beauty of the swords, Sakura would have never even tried lifting them, but… when she looked at them, it didn't even occur to her that she may not be able to lift them. And so, she had. She had lifted both, using only one of her arms for each.
"I… I don't know…" She said, her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at Yasuo. He eyed her, trying to decide if he thought she was lying, then, seeing she was not, also furrowed his brows in confusion.
"It was so heavy when I was carrying it… I was certain that you wouldn't be able to lift it at all the moment I picked it up… maybe it was just the box that was heavy?" With that, Sakura shrugged and watched as Yasuo stood and opened the case, taking the hilt of Kuro in his hand and lifting up. But, to both Yasuo and Sakura's surprise, he couldn't even lift it a millimeter from the case. Frustrated, he pulled harder, his muscular arm straining with the effort, but the sword didn't move. Then he placed his other hand on it as well and lifted with all his might, the veins in his head popping out as his face reddened with effort, but the sword didn't even shift. Gasping he let go and once again turned his confused gaze to the mirrored one of Sakura. At that moment, both thought the same thing; What the Hell?
"Well… uh, that… was weird." Sakura muttered, breaking the silence. Yasuo simple nodded, eyeing the swords in wonder. "Who gave them to me?" At that, Yasuo shook his head in disbelief, chuckling a little.
"You would never believe me." Sakura quirked a brow in question and waited for him to continue. "They were from Father." Sakura gasped for what seemed like the millionth time in… you guessed it, utter shock. After a moment, Sakura's brow furrowed again in more confusion. How weird could one day get? Apparently, very. First, a surprise visit from a creepy step-brother who may be having… pervy thoughts about his own step-sister (as unrelated and un-brother-sister-like as they were, it was still disturbing) then a awe inducing present from Yasuo, a shocking gift from a mother than normally would not even remember she had a daughter, and finally, receiving two extremely exotic swords that it seemed now only she could lift as a present from her Step-father who hated her guts and usually didn't waist the time of day to look at her, let alone ever give her a gift on her birthday.
"That, is almost more shocking than the fact that I just picked up two swords with each one arm, that you carried perfectly well before hand, and then you couldn't even lift one of them with two hands after." Yasuo laughed at this nodding his head.
"Yeah right. Not even being abducted by werewolf-vampire-aliens from the moon could be as shocking as that. You're weaker than a stuffed rabbit with most of the stuffing ripped out."
"I am not! That is a total lie!" Sakura yelled, glaring at her friend. Yasuo only snickered.
"Whatever, bunny. Now, as strange as this morning has been, we are going to be late for school if we don't leave right this moment. Even then we'll probably still be late. So, while you sit there and glare, I'm going to try and forget this morning ever happened and get my butt to school before I'm put in detention again. See ya!" And with that, Yasuo jumped up, snatched his black book bag from the floor and darted out of the room, leaving a shell-shocked Sakura sitting there for a moment before she bolted up, stuffed her neatly folded new dress and her choker with its box in her bag, and glanced at the case that held Shiro and Kuro one last time before bolting out the door after Yasuo.
Little did they know, the entire moment of shock had been watched from the other room. A pair of calculating black eyes stared in wonder at the case on the coffee table. Then he slid the door open all the way and walked slowly towards it, opening the case and gazing for a moment in awe at the masterpieces inside. They were the most amazing weapons he had ever laid eyes on. He reach down as if to grasp the hilt of the black sword, but as he was about to touch it, a burst of pink light shot out from the swords, repelling his hand in a flash of burning pain.
"Interesting…" Setsuya, whispered in wonder, rubbing his scorched hand in amazement. Then, a tight lipped smirk pulled across his mouth as he began once again to do what he was best at… plan. "Time is running short, my dear Sakura… will you be prepared for what is to come? Or… will you die under the weight of your curse?" Chuckling, Setsuya stepped back into the shadows, his calculating eyes thinning in anticipation of the "present" he would soon be giving.
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Okay, I just wanted to say, I re-wrote a few sentences of this and did some editing when I tried reading it and found out there were a lot of mistakes and I gave too much away at the end. So if you're re-reading this, and are wondering why it's a little different, thats why. Once again, sorry for how long it is, and I dont know when I'll have time to write more, but I promiss to try and get another chapter out as soon as I can. I'll be reviewing and editing the second chapter as well, as I am almost certain it will be filled with just as many mistakes as this one.
Till next time,
XxTorturedHeartxX