So, this is a story I was coming up with during the summer,but due to circumstances involving annoying cousins and dictator relatives, it was postponed and hidden away in a secret vault...UNTIL NOW!! The inspiration of this story involved a medieval chant that involved magpies, and was called the magpies lullaby, hence this story.
I own a few characters that shan't appear as of yet, but the rest are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.
I don't own the Smashing Pumpkins nor James Iha(curses!) although they are mentioned in minor detail and absentia.
I do not own The Peony Pavilion.
I do not own Shan Sa In fact I barely own myself and my emotions.
So, please enjoy this small ten-chapter story.
The Magpie's Lullaby- One for Sorrow.
(Thinking)
''Speaking"
dreaming flashbacks
In my dreams, I was in a pavilion,looking over a moonlit lake. Around me were blossoming peonies and roses, and in my palms I held a few anemones. Surrounding the lake, and the pavilion, was a wide range of mountains, capped in snow. I was alone, and the pavilion simply rose from the lake. I tried to look to the mountains and saw a fire beginning to rise from behind. Although distant, I hear the screams of people rising and falling in a crescendo, rising and falling like the waves beneath me. I feel something slide down my cheeks and slowly, like in the ethereal movements that accompany a dream, I touch my cheeks.I look at my fingers and instead of translucent tears, they are stained with the redness of a pomegranat. I look back a see something floating to me. I wake up to the sounds of my screams
" So, have you spoken to the teacher about it"
"No. Why would I"
" Because it's your third favorite novel! You seemed desperate about having it in the school library"
"I guess, but I'm also afraid"
"Why? That scary dream keeping you up at night"
"No!" But what was the truth of it? Why didn't I want my favorite novel in the library? What strange curse followed it? Was it the girls it had killed? The lovers it left lonely and cold? The families left behind? Or was it worse than that? I stirred my straw around the bottle, and watched as the bubbles fizzed into oblivion. Wow, I'm creeping myself out now! Fizzed into oblivion...who says emo crap like that now?
Hey, that reminds me, I never introduced myself to you fine gentlepeople. My name is Yumi. My last name? You can say it's Ohanabotan. Okay, that's not my real last name, but right now, names are not of importance. I was contemplating a perfectly worded excuse against my old frie- Oh, wait, he's saying something.
"Nani?" Haku took in a great sigh. He was used to my tuning out, and today it would not take him down. He looked at me with the eyes of an annoyed bishonen. " I said why don't you want The Peony Pavilion on the library shelves?" He brushed back a long woven string from his books and got up. He looked down at me warmly and handed me his notebook. I looked at it, slightly confused. It wasn't a Thursday, so why would he hand me his notebook now? " I think you'll figure out what you'll want in the end", was all he said before he walked out of the school cafe into the hallway. I sighed. He knows it takes forever for me to decipher his 'inner meanings'! God, I can't even tell him a joke without him saying something like " Was it a zigzag bridge? Then that means the joke is a pseudonym for chaos!" or ," why the hell does the chicken even look at the road? It's bad feng shui!". But that was how I endured and loved this little kook; he was as disturbed and slightly whimsical as he is beautiful and loving. I looked down back at the notebook, it's ornate drawings Haku doodled during classes, the various messages our small group of friends wrote on it. The notebook wasn't necessarily Haku's,but he was appointed it's guardian because of his semi-hypochondriac ways. The notebook in fact is more or less a tradtion for the school; every year in the beginning, the notebook was circulated throughout the school to every individual student every day, and often switched between classes. It was used to write memories of the past, moments in the present, and hopes for the future; it was the what held this school together from the outside realm of politcs and the authoritarian world of society,families, and the plagues of teenage-hood.No pages torn out, and no added pages. The maximum amount of pages were 5,000 plus, and the notebook was almost always a college-bound compostion notebook. The front was covered in cartoons, messages or epitaphs, and no secrets were kept hidden. In the end of the year, the current notebook was placed in a small vault and was locked away, which would stay locked until hell froze over. The tradition started nearly thirty years ago, so we estimated that by the time the notebook count would reach one hundred, the remaining books would be buried and the process would start anew. Right now, I was going to revel in seeing what Haku wrote for Sociology, what Hinata wrote for physical education, what Tayuya wrote yesterday for world history and what Naruto wrote during Biochemistry.I smiled at thinking that Naruto, as usual, would be thinking of ramen, homework, and the chores his mother would set upon him when he got home.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
I was startled out of my thoughts and looked at my wristwatch. Three minutes before bell rang again, and in three minutes my first ever tardiness would be pounded onto the white margins of my permanent records, my report card, and my life. I scrambled for my stuff which lay strewn all over the coffee tables, and hurriedly stuffed them into my bag. Finally, after silencing my phone and grabbing hold of my slippery laptop, I walked out the school cafe and into the bright searing eyes of the school lights and the students that hurriedly ran into their classes.
I arrive to my last destination of the day, History 2, and walk to my appropriate seat, which was in the back of the class. In front of me, Haku sat down gracefully and brushed back his hair, while Kimimaro sat next to him, shrinking forward to cough suddenly. For a second concern filled my veins at remembering Kimimaro's cancer, and how he had only returned to school under the condition his treatment would resume during breaks. Suigetsu roughly pushed his way into the group and with that the three friends that had literally been raised together was complete. I turn away from the triumvirate and look around at the gathering class; here comes Neji, his bag bursting to the seams with books and journals and whatever else a blooming writer needs. Following Neji is Sai,who carried a book, a sketch pad, a pencil and charcoal; his day never started without him drawing the tree outside the window he sat next to. Kiba followed promptly, hiding his dog Akamaru in the bag, althoug half the class new he was in there. Sakura,Tenten and Ino followed in,heads bent, shoulders quivering slightly, and a burst of giggling as soon as they sat down in their seats.Shikamaru, who had already arrived before the bell rang, had fallen asleep the moment his body touched the desk. Sasuke entered next,followed closely by my cousin Naruto, who was busy texting someone on his phone. Then a crowd of students surged threw the door, and I managed to discern a tad few faces from the crowd; Tayuya's red hair, Shino's glasses reflecting the light,Kankuro's tattoos, and Juugo's orange hair. The bell rings, and all is at peace. Kakashi-sensei begins to drone on about some historical massacre, and next to me, Naruto is still texting and occasionally looking up. Finally, he puts the phone away and turns to me. He looks at me and for a few moments, nothing happens. Finally, he inhales and whispers quietly ," We're missing someone." And he was right. Someone WAS missing. "Sorry we're late, sensei"
That voice. That hearthrobbing voice that stole my breathe away everytime I hear it, and makes my heart stop, and makes me think of a million things; thousands of blooming roses, a single drop of water united by another drop of water, a warm fire, a moon reflecting off the waters of a lake.
(no no no not that not the lake)
Kakashi-sensei looks up from his desk and blinks." Huh? Oh, Mr. Uchiha, so glad you can join us." Oh, he's here. Naruto looks from Itachi-san to me, back to Itachi and to me. He smirks and whispers ," Itachi and Yumi sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He begins to laugh behind his books, trying to hide it, but nothing can escape Kakashi Hatake.
"Mr. Uzumaki, care to explain what is so funny"
"Huh? Aw,oh shi- I mean, oh fu- I mean-I mean- Aw crap"
"And that is exactly what you will say to Tsunade-senpai,so please walk quietly so as not to disturb any class to her office,please." Naruto hangs his head low,face red as a beet, as he (quietly) walks to Tsunade-sensei's office. I look down, sighing. This was the eighteenth time he went to her office, and always I manage to find fault in myself whenever he does. Everyone comments about my lack of courage, right down to my own crush." What Naruto does in his own time has nothing to do with you, so snap out of that little bubbly world before you run out of air." Itachi told me once. I burned with humiliation that day, and buried myself in The Peony Pavilion throughout the day. Now, as Itachi-san helped Kakashi-sensei in his teachings, and without Naruto spying on me, I was free to watch as In watched my beloved's graceful, lithe movements, all I can think of is what possible future we may ever have together. I sigh at how girlish and foolish my daydreams were, right down to how our wedding would be like! I smiled at my own folly to spite myself, and awoke to find my crush's eyes on me. I sit up like lightning had struck me and I did the only thing I could muster; I blushed furiously and buried myself in the history book. It was a technique I watched Hinata do around Naruto and I learned to use it well. I waited a few seconds, looked up and saw Itachi still looking in my direction, grinning slightly and a looking a little confused. No,no,no! Don't look at me! I'm only an insignificant bug in your godly sight! Don't taint your holy sight with the likes of humble me! I look down and look back up again. He has turned away, and his eyes were indescribable. I sigh a breathe in relief, but deep down, as deep as hope could be buried in a sea of sins, I felt a slight pinprick of guilt. Why was I so damn shy? Was my love for books and music and the wordly arts only slightly keeping me adrift from drowning in my own fears and worries? Or was The Peony Pavilion the very sea that was dragging me to the abyss? Had I hurt my crush by ignoring wahtever marginal feelings he had towards me? I looked down to my thin fingers.They were trembling slightly, and the small mood ring glistened in the light of the class. It was the color red, the color of passion, new beginnings, and blood.
Class ended, and I was still sitting pensively on my seat. The sea of students was beginning to disperse,but there were still dozens of students left, talking, exchanging notes and cheats, and pondering the meaning of life. I, meanwhile, was watching my crush helping Kakashi-sensei gather his papers and stack them in a neat pile, and I was thinking to myself how to approach myself to Itachi. Endless possibilites filled my mind and more, and all ended in outrageous fashions. I slapped myself mentally, and I got up. My sudden movement attracted attention from Sasuke, Haku,Suigetsu, and (unfortunatly) Sakura. However, Itachi remained unperturbed, although he did slightly straighten up. I gather my things and begin a slow, steady march towards Itachi. No one noticed, but I was heading towards the crossroads that decide between love and loneliness, pain and pleasure, life and death.
I stop in front of Itachi, who was still gathering some papers for Kakashi-sensei, who had left the room for whatever reason. His back was turned to me, and even though the shirt wasn't (that) tight, the muscles were still visible through the whiteness of the shirt, rippling like waves. Even though he was muscled, he still held an elegance within him, refined and tasteful and yet rebellious in it's own way at the same time. And all this radiated from his own back. I gulped hard, trying to dissovle and abstraction that had formed in my throat, and I only managed to be rid of half of it. "I-Itachi-senpai?" I asked feebly. I really had no desire to want to speak to him now, of all times, but something deep within me was pushing me to speak to him. Maybe a ghost from the past, something whispered to me in my mind. He turned to look at me and something flashed in his eyes. Was it some memory, or was it one of those seven emotions Haku talked about? Whatever it was, passed within milliseconds, and a beautiful smile formed on his beautiful face. "Yes, Yumi-san? You need something?" Always so polite to me, no matter the circumstance! I smiled almost desperately and bowed my head a little." Well, I guess you can say I need help with an assignment, but I...I can't stay after school, so I was wondering if you...have any free time,that is"
" If I could come over to your house and help you with the assignment"
"Uh,well...yeah"
" Well I gu"
"Itachi-kun! Long time no see! How are things going?" A voice, a very familiar voice,booms heartily from the doorway. Itachi and I turn to see Jiraiya-sensei, the vice principal and science teacher walk in through the door. It seems Kakashi-sensei had been talking to him outside and now he had walked into the classroom. " How's your family? Is your sister(!) alright? How about your mother? Or that fiancee of yours? Come, lets have a drink together?" He pulls Itachi towards the door, and Itachi turns to me.Clearly, he had not intended for me to hear the conversation. He gave me a look that was indescribable, and he left. I was left in the emptying classroom, thinking only to myself a few things: He has a fiancee? He's getting married? It makes sense, though. Itachi and Sasuke come from a rich family, so it would make sense that his family would choose a girl of higher stature to marry and reproduce refined children. I almost chastised myself, thinking at how foolish I was to ever think I had a chance with him.Silently, tears slid down my cheeks, and when I touched them, they were as pale as my skin.
"Yumi-chan?" I feel a soft touch on my shoulder, and I quickly wipe my cheeks dry. I turn around and find Neji Hyuga looking at me, pity shining from his pale eyes. He offered me a small smile, and held out a piece of paper. I look at the paper, almost perplexed. Neji Hyuga came from another refined family, older than the Uchiha family, so knowing that someone like him would reach out to a poor common girl like me almost shook me to the core. Nevertheless,I take the paper. He smiled at me, and walked away. For a while I stay rooted to the ground, aware that the class was almost empty. I held the slightly crumpled paper and snap myself out of my aloofness. Slowly, I open the paper and gasped slightly. The paper was decorated with a seemless background of a garden, with a blossoming peony tree overshadowing the whole beautiful scene with it's magnificence, and resting below the tree is a young women dressed up as a geisha, holding out her hand from under her umbrella, and catching a few petals.Above her was a poem written in delicate cursive letters;
The swiftness of a dagger and the slice of the pen
the well defined gift of my ancestors
can never bring as much pain as a maiden in sorrow.
The poem had been written by Neji in the style of his favorite writer, Shan Sa, and the background was drawn by Sai, who sat next to Neji during class. I held the paper a while longer, then slipped it into my notebook. I walked out of the classroom, and passed Zetian Tanakamoto. She looked at me with distaste,much the same way Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha would look upon me later on. For a moment no one spoke, and the tension weighed heavily on my shoulders. Finally, Zetian wrinkled her paper-cutter nose and said in a powerful voice ," So, how's your family treating you, Yumi-chan? Are your mother and brothers' jobs paying them well? Or has the well of Johns zapped dry again?" With that she let out a heart laugh and with the swish of her hips left. I sighed. Zetian had always been cruel to me, and always taunted me over the fact that my brother Yuri had been arrested several times over the same charge, prostitution. But, as always, I let her have the last word.My heart had been crushed today, so why should I let her add coals to the fire? Zetian's words had stopped hurting me years ago, and deep down, she knew it too. But there was one major reason I couldn't reply to her comments; my mother Nadeshiko relied heavily on her job, a large succesful company that was owned by Zetian's father. Recently, Mother's wages had been cut back to nearly half of what they were worth, and although the manager had said it was due to recent 'economic setbacks' I knew Zetian was somewhat behind it.
I walked out of the building and spotted my cousin Naruto with several of his closest friends...including Sasuke Uchiha.Naruto spotted me coming out of the building and waved." Yumi-oneechan! HEY! YUMI!!OVER HERE!TURN OVER HERE!!" I cringed back at hearing my own name, and as soon as I turned, I was attacked by my own cousin. " Heya, cuz! How's life treating you lately? Hey, why so sad?" Typical Naruto, always so concerned when he shouldn't be.His goofy,adorable face remolded into that of a young man that may possibly be taken for serious." What did that old whore Zetian do now?" It was no secret Zetian had a grudge against me, and despite her wealth and near celebrity-status, she had a majority of the students against her and her group.Once, when I asked Haku why Zetian hated me, he stated ,"A spiteful woman is a jealous woman." As usual, it made no sense to me. I smiled a little and shook my head." Nothing, Naruto-san"
" For the love of Elvis(yeah,don't ask) Yumi, can't you call me little cousin for once? I'll let you call me your little kitsune!" I laughed despite myself at hearing Naruto call himself a nickname his mother gave him that he despises so much. I was related to Naruto through my mother, Nadeshiko, who was the older sister of Minato Namikaze. Both had grown up defending each other, yet they looked so different no one would believe they were even related; Uncle Minato had the spiked blonde hair,sun-darkened skin and unruly stormy blue eyes of his father, while my mother had the long curly black hair,pale skin and crystalline blue eyes of her mother.After my brothers and I were born, Uncle graduated and along with Tatsuichi Tanakamoto and various others,he started the Heavenlight Corporation, which was extremely successful. Uncle Minato then married Auntie Kushina,who was and still is a successful opera singer(yeah, this gets more outrageous), and three years later had my cousin Naruto.However, my mother Nadeshiko was poor and desperately needed a job to support herself and her three young children, to which Uncle Minato offered her a job as a secretary. In fact, Uncle Minato still wants to offer my mother a better job in the corporation, but either because Tatsuichi has a grudge against him or it's Zetian's play, my mother has still retained her secretarial job and is earning less than she normally did before. When my brother Yuki managed to earn himself a nod at a prestigious school, Mother was unable to pay for anything and Auntie Kushina,who adored her sister-in-law and her niece and nephews,secretly payed for his tuition and the dormitories until Yuki got himself his own job.Although she becomes stressed from her job and the fact that she still has to support two children and one abroad, my mother is generally happy and cheerful, something both she and Uncle Minato share.
I push my younger cousin off of me and brush myself off. Naruto pouts and begins to tell me about his day."So, this morning, I was talking to Kiba, and you are SOOOO not gonna believe this, but his sister Hana is getting married." I freeze. The Inuzuka family wasn't well renown or as rich as the Uchiha family, but they still had plenty of connections to the world of the elite. Nevertheless, I paste a smile and ask sweetly," Really? To whom"
"Remember that guy we met at the Uchiha's party a couple weeks back? One of Itachi's buddies"
"Umm...Itachi has a lot of friends"
"Kisame Hoshigaki. Apparently, during TEH party, they hit it off quickly and,you know, this and that and everything else, they get engaged. Isn't that SOOO SCANDELOUS?" He ended his sentence in the same tone Sakura Haruno uses when she wants to relay something 'juicy' to her peers. I laugh." Yeah. I guess so. Anyway, tell Kiba to congragulate his sister for me"
" You got it,dude! Anyway, Hana and Kisame aren't the only ones hearing wedding bells!" I gulped. I knew Naruto knew about my crush with Itachi,but after what I heard, would he be foolish to tell me about it?"Remember my my mom's older brother"
"You mean Katsu"
"Actually, he changed it to Katsu-YA. You know how OCD that man can be." True, he is very much OCD." Well, he got engaged...again...to this old hooker named Yui. So,yeah they're getting married next month.Mom's pretending to be happy, but I know she wants to tear Yui's throat out. Dad's trying to hold her back,as usual. You and Aunt Nadeshiko are invited to come,by TEH way"
"Naruto, you know how much I hate Leetspeek"
"Yeah, I know. Why else would I talk this way"
He starts laughing and gets up to join his friends. I smile but inside I want to scream. I want to tear out whatever was holding me to Itachi and stomp on it and just disapear. But I can't. Aside from problems at school, my brother Yuri has more than ten criminal charges against him. Each time my mother was too poor to bail him out, each time my uncle bailed him out, each time he went to juvey,got out and did it again. I try to calm him from doing what he normally does, and being the protective older brother he was,he was forcd to comply. So far nothing bad has happened,but I knew he snuck out at night to hang out at a nearby brothel.My mother knew about it,too, but she was far too kindhearted to do anything about it. I snap out of my mind and grab Naruto's cuffs. He looks down in surprise." Any news about the Uchihas? Any wedding announcements." He looks shocked and for a moment, his face changes; first into realization, then into a gloomy look, and then he tried to cover it all up with a look of no knowledge." Nope. I'm not an Uchiha, and they generally don't announce things until a month before it happens. But... don't tell anyone, 'cause he wants to keep this a secret," he lowers his voice to a mere whisper," Sasuke's actually an U-Chi-Ha."I feign a look of utter shock." Really? And all this time I thought he was an anorexic Akimichi!" Naruto nods his head in compliance, then pointed his thumb at Sasuke,who was sitting under the tree frequented by Naruto's friends, brooding as usual. Naruto turns to his friends."Ask him about it." was all he said before he joined the picture of worry-free adolescents. I look at the Kodak moment, come to my senses, reach into my bag,and bring out my camera. It was a hobby, and an inexpensive one at that. Mother never complained about it, because she knew it was a better hobby than Yuri's pastime.I snap a couple pictures, then pull away to admire it personally. I looked at life through a camera's lense, but I was careful never to leave it open all the time,in case I should snap a picture I disagreed with.
(like today)
Shikamaru Nara is sleeping on one of the branches, and was in danger of falling off on top of Choji Akimichi, who was busy eating the barbecue-flavored potatoe chips he loved. Kiba Inuzuka had freed Akamaru of his confounds( methinks that be-eth a word)and was playing catch with the beloved pooch and unofficial mascot of the school.Rock Lee was standing on his hands, counting to 200, and yelling at at his friends that if he did not reach said number,he would do three hundred jogs around the city again.Gaara No Sabaku was busy being amused by Lee's antics while Kankuro,his older brother, was busy fixing a much loved puppet. Their sister Temari was with Hinata Hyuga and Tenten Ama, talking about the apparent wedding plans of Hana Inuzuka. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka were busy spying on Sasuke and vying for the much coveted role of Prom-date with Karin Haruno,Sakura's cousin. Sai, the local school artist was with Neji,talking about the latest art project the school had issued out.Shino Aburame was also on the tree,opposite Shikamaru, trying to catch some bugs for his 'collection'.Juugo Tenpin and Kimimaro Kaguya were waiting for Shizune-san, who would drop them off to the hospital for Kimimaro's blood transfusion and Juugo's therapy. Haku Shiro and Suigetsu Houzuki, the local couple as they were called, were busying themselves over which movie they would see tonight. I knew that Haku would demand Mamma Mia! being a big fan of Meryl Streep( who isn't?) but that Suigetsu would be partial to The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor( two words; Jet.Li). down below, I spotted Jirobo,Tayuya,Sakon,Ukon and Kidomaru, the members of a notorious gang that had once been nine people(I'll give you a cookie if you figure out which gang I'm talking about!) but had spanded to nearly a thousand more. It was strange to notice that Dosu Kinuta,Zaku Abumi and Kin Tsuchi, who were also part of the gang, were not with them. I chalked it up to gang-related issues and continued my sweep of the school(this is were the OCs,movie and the filler characters play their parts); Mameha Katsemiyo,Raiha Tatematsu and the younger sister of Itachi(by five years) and Sasuke(by three minutes) Sayuri Uchiha were walking out of the art building,arms conjoined. They were the 'Three Muskateer-ettes' as Raiha called themselves, and never were their a group of their kind more displaced then they were; each was the total opposite of another; Raiha Tatematsu was the the proclaimed 'Fashion Queen' of the school and whose lockers were filled with make up and various accesories. Mameha Katsemiyo was the bookworm of the group who was simingly raised by Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe; she was tall and thin, but not without her glasses. Sayuri was more of the liberal hippy; while she could afford the finest clothes in the world, she chose the same path as her twin brother,Sasuke; she had forgone richs for the needy people of the world, and was often seen at rallies and protests. They had met through some strange twist of fate, and although each had a disliked one another in the beginning, they had formulated the group and became the closest of friends. They marched off towards the tree, Raiha laughing at what Mameha had just said.I watched the school empty itself and spotted familiar faces;Shizue who sat next to her during orchestra,Ami who was always coloring her nails during Math,Miharu whose locker was next to mine,the two Asukas who looked completely different and yet were close friends,Kairi,Hanami,Reika,Kiyoshi,Daisuke,Yakumo Kurama,Ayame,Ibiki Morino from gymYagura,Sumaru,Mizura,Hokuto,Sagi,Toki,Chishima, Suzumebachi,Temujin,Hikaru,Aoi,Sasame,Kagero,Sora,Shion,Matsuri,Isaribi,Menma,Akane,Natsumi, and faces she knew but didn't know their names.
Then Zetian Takakamoto and her posse marched out. Zetian walked passed me, and smirking,whispered something to her second in command,who began bawling in laughter. Naruto,who had decided to sit down next to Sasuke, looked up. He turned to me and mouthed ,"Aren't you going to ask?" I nod and head towards Sasuke. I try hard to march,but wearing black leggings that are a bit too small under a black peasant skirt was hard, and it resulted in me nearly falling. I finally managed to get to Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke seemed oblivious towards me, and it takes a second for me to know Sasuke was listening to his MP3. I wave a hand in front of his face, and he is startled out of his thoughts. He looks up at me and nods, which I take as either "May I be of service?","Sit and talk to me" or "what the hell do you want?". I sit down and turn to Sasuke. " So...Sasuke. Your here...under the tree"
"Yep. Pretty hard to imagine my life would lead to this"
I nod towards his MP3." So...what are you listening to"
"Smashing Pumpkins"
"Oh, I see. Which song"
"The End is the Beginning is the End"
"You mean the one from Batman and Robin"
"Yep. Good song,bad movie"
"Well, maybe it could have been better if it had been executed better. I could sorta see where they were heading, but they went there to quick"
"Yep, that's certainly true. So... I hear you want to ask me something."I turn to him in surprise." Umm...uh, yeah...you remind me of James Iha!" I squeak out and cover my mouth quickly. Certainly that part was true, but that was not what I wanted to say. Naruto smacked himself on the foreheaded and mouthed "Aiya! She's crazy." While Sasuke stood muted,amused over the situation. "Really? The bassist for Smashing Pumpkins? Why"
"Well, you were never compared to him"
"Nope. I'm flattered,though. Anyway, I know you want to ask about Itachi's engagement. I'm sorry to say he is getting married." I freeze up again. So, it was true. I had half hoped what Jiraiya-sama said was a mistake of words, but Sasuke was Itachi's beloved younger brother. He may as well have shot me through the heart, although I felt the experience of the pain a bullet would have caused as well. Sasuke sensed my heartbreak (or maybe he heard it it probably cracked like vase)
and a mixture of pity and self-regret filled his eyes." Sorry you had to find out. And I'm sorry to say that my parents chose the least compatible person for Itachi." I look up, unaware that a tear had leaked from my eye. But I force myself to ask." Who"
"Zetian Tanakamoto." There. Out like that,without a hint of remorse or pain. My head turns towards Zetian. She turns and wiggles her fingers at me. She knew. She knew how much I wanted Itachi, and she took the opportunity to tear my heart out. More tears burst from my eyes, and for several minutes I sat their tears sliding down my cheeks. Neji and Sai's picture ruffled from the wind, and my black hair flowed in the air. "Hey, Sasuke." The three of us turns to the voice. Itachi stands over their red Mercedes, and Sayuri was already sitting in the backseat." It's time to go home.Hey, Yumi, what's wrong?" He walks up and bends to my level. With his finger,he lifts my face towards his. Any other day I would have appreciated such kindness, but today I felt like dying. I pull away,grab my things and run from the sight, despite the many calls from Naruto, Itachi and various others. I could hear the conversation from the distance;
"Naruto, what's wrong with Yumi"
"Geez,Itachi, you graduated from Yale top of the class, and you can't even take a hint from a sad girl"
"What"
"Hey, Itachi, you really ought to change from 'Man of the Year' to 'Hearbreaking Bastard"
The voices faded away as I ran towards my house.Uncle Minato's car was parked outside the house,but I burst through the front door and up the stairs. I ignore my mother and uncle's calls until nightfall. During the course of four hours, my phone wouldn't stop ringing; it seemed everyone I knew was calling me. I remained where I was and listened to my voicemail.
"Yumi-chan, it's me, Sakura. What's wrong?Did something bad happen"
"Hey, Yumi, it's Choji. I tried to get your favorite dish,but your mom said your not feeling well, so I guess I'll give you the teriyaki bowl later"
"Yumi-oneechan, answer your phone! Don't be so down! Your crush will end like spring rains or whatever! Come on"
"Yumi-san, it's Sasuke. Sorry you had to find out about Itachi and Zetian through me. You don't have to go to the wedding"
"Heya,Yumi. It's Sayuri Uchiha. I never get to talk to you despite what everyone says's about you, so I guarantee you that I will make Zetian's life a living hell for you"
I listened to the 52 messages I got, until I heard the two recordings I didn't want to hear. "Yumi, this is Zetian. I just wanted to invite you to the wedding. It's October 31, which I heard was your birthday, so I guess that means I'll finally be able to get you a present you'll never forget! This isn't actually an invitation, it's more or less a command. I hear that white is the traditional color for death, so I'd expect you to wear the whitest dress out their, for the apparent death of whaever romantic relations you had with My Fiance"
Then, I heard the voice that would have earlier brought me out of any depression,but only furthered it.
"Yumi-san, this is Itachi. By now, you may have heard I was getting married, so I guess I would invite you to the wedding, but I hear your sick.I hope you get well soon. And Sasuke will give me the directions to your house so I guess I'll be able to help you on your project"
That night I cried myself to sleep, and only vaguely heard my mother come in to tuck me in the covers and kiss my forehead.She sets my camera, the notebook,The Peony Pavilion and Neji's poem on the bedside.
In my dream, the pavilion has changed. It no longer rises from the lake but is now on an island. The lake has now become misty and the rain pours on the roof of the pavilion. The flowers had died and even now I was holding a dead rose.The mountains are shrouded and I can only vaguely see the sun shining through the mist. I am crumpled on the floor of the pavilion, and I feel something warm ooze down my front. I reach towards my heart and pull my hand back. It is covered in blood and there is a jeweled dagger pointing between my breasts. I was the had become a hearbroken ghost. I let out a cry of sorrow as the blood stains my white dress
What a strange turns of events this story has taken. This makes me feel so emo, and accompanying that is Evanescence music! So, I guess this means another chapter shall arrive, this one to be titled 'Two for Mirth.' When it comes out, I dunno, but I promise Yumi will certainly feel happy, as is the name of the second chapter. And I apologize for any typos, for I have long nails and I was a bit rushed.
-And Bids You All Adieu