Chapter I
First Snowflake
"The white, white snow's coming tonight
Make a wish upon your kiss"
~BoA's "Meri Kuri" (the last line)
The white snowflakes were falling, falling….
Somewhere in the distance, a voice was heard. It was almost like a melodic whisper from an angel at first, but then, as it came closer, the distinctive cry became familiarized. And with each frail step, she ran, not minding the sound of crushed snow underneath her black leather boots, not minding the fact that she almost slipped on the cemented ground coated with layers of transparent ice.
"Wait…please," she huffed. He heard her, but didn't take a break from his long walk.
The December air had a sharp bite, as if it scolded both the girl and the boy to go back, turn back away from the central clock tower. There was only about fifteen minutes left until midnight, until another new year, new sun rose from the unknown silence in the dark. Before he left for good, he wanted to buy a cup of tea near a convenience store alone, but the girl's annoying stalking dismissed him from that simple desire.
"Wait…," she said again in a tired voice. Finally, he stopped, and turned back to her.
His looks were never kind. They were as icy as winter, and his onyx eyes always pierced through her heart like the evening star shining brightly through the wisps of grey clouds.
"Go back," he told her sharply. "Stop following me around in the middle of the night."
He began to walk again, but knew that tears were falling from her eyes. Still, he didn't care.
"Sasuke-kun," she said, failing to hide her trembling voice. "Why… please don't go. Please, stay here with me."
The wind was harsh, and much more threatening than the swift winter breeze.
"Go home. I don't need you here-"
"I love you, Sasuke-kun! Can't you at least hear what I want to say?"
She sniffled and wiped her tears with her gloved hands.
"I love you with all my heart – all of it! I care about you so deeply, it hurts. It hurts as much as those who hurt you. I don't want you to go forever. Please… won't you stay… please…."
Her voice was falling apart. She began to shake from both the cold and heartache. This was her last futile attempt, her last hope. But she knew…. She knew that she had lost.
He stood there for a while, watching her tentatively, but still with little empathy.
"Good bye, Sakura, and you'll forget all of this," he whispered, and she fell on her knees to the snow white ground solidified from many footprints over the surface.
She bit her bluish lips and tried to hold back the hot crystal tears that dropped one by one, like the innocent snowflakes being carried through by the wind.
That was perhaps, about a year ago on Christmas.
"Hey Sakura, look, the snow's falling," Ino nudged the tea pink haired girl sitting right next to her. They were both in the silent classroom, with about sixty students jotting down their teacher's notes in their notebooks. While everyone stayed alert and busy, Sakura was the only one with her head slumped down in the midst of the crowd, with a text book held up near the edge of the desk. Ino tsked.
"Hey, Sakura," Ino poked her friend by the end of her purple pen. "Wake up, forehead."
Sakura started to move from her deep slumber for a little while, but later covered her head with her arms. Ino sighed, but then noticed a sturdy, authoritarian figure standing right in front of her. She quickly went back to her 'pretend-to-take-notes' position while worrying about her clueless friend still in her dreamland.
"Haruno Sakura," the teacher spoke, her voice always being a clear crystal ringing simultaneously. "Haruno Sakura, answer me young lady."
Slowly, the girl raised her head and simply nodded while still being half asleep. Then, realizing her surroundings and the tall, authoritarian figure that stood before her and casting shadow upon her face, Sakura immediately stood up and wiped the drool off her face.
"Smooth," Ino whispered as she tapped herself on her forehead.
Her teacher repeatedly tapped the discipline wand in her left palm. "Haruno Sakura, what is the meaning of this conduct?"
Sakura just scratched her head and rubbed her eyes again. The sight flouted her teacher.
"Haruno-san," the teacher cleared her throat while trying to keep her cool. "You are, by far, one of the best student here in Konoha high school, the most top, prestigious school in Tokyo. Lately your mannerism, your speech, your awareness… they are all falling apart, though your grades still stand as very exceptional. Now please, if you don't mind, can you please pay close attention to my Japanese History class, because I would like to keep you out of trouble, young lady?"
The girl nodded her tea pink head and plopped back into her seat. Ino rolled her eyes and leaned towards Sakura. She cupped one hand over the right side of her mouth to whisper, "What's up with you lately?"
"Oh and by the way," the teacher made her sudden announcement, turning around toward Ino and Sakura. "You two girls are on cleaning duty after school for interrupting class."
When the teacher turned her back to lecture, Ino stuck out her tongue and made rude signs behind her back. Most of the students who saw this either smiled or made a small giggle. All except Sakura. All she wanted was to get out of the boring class as soon as possible.
Then, as if the school bell had read her mind, the clock struck four, and all students stood up automatically to stand and bow respectfully to their teacher to the repetitive computerized sound.
"Geez, being stuck indoors to clean nasty bathrooms at the last day of class was not what I had in mind as being the romantic start of my winter break," Ino complained as the angrily pushed the plunger up and down in the toilet. At last, the tiny mouth of the potty was open, and Ino pushed down the 'flush' button in disgust.
When she came out of the cubicle, she saw Sakura mopping the floor quietly. Ino sighed. She couldn't stand to see her friend so down on her luck. She decided to use her sunny disposition and charm tactics to liven the mood a bit.
"Hey, hey, now, come on," Ino said as she face palmed her moping friend. "Lighten up! This isn't so bad, and it's almost done anyways!"
Sakura soon stopped mopping. Her eyes were cast down to the wet tiles of the girls' bathroom.
"Ino, are you going to Hinata's Christmas gathering tomorrow?"
"Well, no, I can't, remember? My family's going to Hokkaido for this holiday," Ino answered back. Already, she was deep in her romanticism of white Christmas, skiing, food, and hot springs.
"That's good," Sakura mumbled, and like their Japanese History teacher, Ino was finally tired of Sakura's dreary antics.
"Oh get over it, forehead girl. Just what the heck is bothering you so much? The year is going to end soon, you know. You've been like this for the most of the years!"
At the end of winter break and the start of new school year, Sakura came back weary and quiet. Although Ino noticed, she never mentioned or pointed out her friend's sullenness and solidarity, which seemed long as the months which the snow would last. When it was near March, Sakura's mood lightened a little, and by the time it was summer, she smiled and came back to doing school club activities. However, as soon as the first snowflake had hit the ground on November, Sakura had become a little less energetic. She tried to be herself, but Ino knew that Sakura was keeping faint, façade smiles.
"Seriously, it's not like you're PMS-ing continuously all year round," Ino blurted out.
Sakura's cheeks began to burn hotly. "Ugh, just shut up and get back to work, Ino-pig, and stop being so immature!" Ino crossed her arms and drew a small smile on her face. She slung her arms around her best friend.
"Now that's the Sakura I know. But seriously, if anything's troubling you, just tell me, 'kay?"
And Sakura nodded, though she had no idea how to control her body and moods. It was as if they knew something she didn't.
It was bustling and crowded as ever in Tokyo on the Christmas Eve. In any case, street lights and neon signs illuminated throughout the city like sparkling jewels against the velvet-crimson sky. Couples unconventionally linked their arms together to fight against the cold with their burning desires, and two Konoha high school girls walked home, laughing and jostling each other as if there was no tomorrow in the snow carpeted ground. Finally, they were about to go on their separate ways home.
"Sakura," Ino said as she threw her right hand on Sakura's shoulder. She was searching for the right words to lift up her friend's spirit, but decided not to, as it might further push her friend into depression. She hesitated for a moment, and then instead, she made an adorable grin and shouted, "Merry Christmas, and I'll give you all the best details about my beautiful adventure in Hokkaido!"
Sakura sweat dropped. "Right, right, whatever you say, pig-chan." She waved to her friend, whose body grew smaller as she walked away further to the west. Finally she was all alone in the streets, with the orange light hovering over her glossy pink hair.
She didn't want to go home, due to the fact that her parents went on a trip to Hawaii. She would be all alone, and she hated that. It always felt eerie to be without anyone in her household; it was like as if some strange creature would pop out of nowhere just to give her a heart attack. Perhaps that fear started when she was five and no one was there for her one morning when she woke up. In any case, even though her parents often warned her about staying out late, Sakura decided to ignore their advices just for once, to feel free from their obligations and rules.
There was no one where she was standing. She was all alone, with the exception of tall, snow coated evergreen and deciduous trees towering over her, and rabbits hopping along the rocky lanes near the snow covered cemented sidewalks. Strangely, this place felt more familiar tonight than any other nights, and though Sakura usually took the left road home, she wanted to try the right road just for once. It sounded stupid, but that small action made her feel daring and adventurous.
She was in the park, and the chill crawled into her skin even though she wore a thick red coat with scarves and black leather gloves. She muttered a few curse words to her good ol' prestigious school for giving girls short, ugly black skirts and thin, black cotton stockings in the winter. She was nearly convinced that their second vice-principle was a perverted kappa until she saw the tall, central clock tower standing in all its glory. It always carried its prestigious, Victorian air, with elegant carvings decorated along the sides of the stone wall. She had seen it plenty of times before, but tonight, it drew her attention, as if it kept an ancient secret or two in its hands.
The chilly December wind passed through Sakura carelessly. "Achoo!!!" Sakura sneezed and sniffled. Man, it's cold… Her eyes wandered around to look for a place with warmth. A few more steps and she would be out of the park and back into the busy streets of Tokyo again. It was a good thing that she saw a convenience store nearby. Sakura whole-heartedly walked toward the bustling streets, where there would be no silence anymore. Still, that had to be sacrificed if she wanted to stay away from catching a cold; otherwise, her mother would scold her through the phone about causing her so much trouble while she was away on a vacation. Her mother had a sharp eye for knowing almost everything.
It was almost fifteen minutes before midnight, before Christmas would come for its yearly visit. Slowly, one by one, tiny snowflakes were falling from the sky. Sakura saw them before anyone else could. She made her stop just before she could get out of the park to see this nature's wonder.
"I think I read somewhere that if you make a wish on the first snowflake that you touch, it will be granted," Sakura whispered. She saw one tiny snowflake making its way toward her above the rest. She remembered what she wrote on her wish list last year, when she wanted to kiss at least one snowflake. It still wasn't crossed out and remained as number one on the list.
Her eyelids slowly closed, and Sakura lifted her chin and puckered her lips a little.
'I wish that I could feel free for just this once this year. I want an escape,' she thought, keeping her eyes closed. The snowflake was heading toward her cherry lips which now had a tinge of blue from the cold. She lifted her toes a little, just to get a little closer to her wish, and clutched her hands together to her chest.
It was finally quarter to twelve, and strangely, the clock tower's bell started to ring. Tiny snowflakes which hand landed on the ground were lifted from the swift breeze and surrounded Sakura. They danced and sparkled around her, but Sakura took no note of this.
The tiny snowflake which Sakura held all her expectations in suddenly made a piercing bright light. And in one sudden flash, a transparent body of a boy appeared and became solid, showing its true form. Lightly, his lips touched hers. He descended down slowly until the breeze died out.
Crash! Boom!
Sakura's eyes abruptly opened as she felt warmth on her lips and pain on her back and buttocks. To her surprise, her emerald eyes met his pool blue ones.
He blinked.
"Gaaaah!!!!" Sakura screamed as she punched the boy off her body with all her might, resulting in him crashing into a huge deciduous tree that dropped a pile of snow on him.
She shivered from the unexpected event. "W-who are you?!" she shouted. She was on the ground, and he was on top of her. He came out of nowhere.
Slowly he emerged from the pile of snow- first his left hand, and then his head, body, and legs. He rubbed his sore head and gritted his teeth from pain.
"Ouch," he said, "That's what I'd like to know."
"Shut up, you pervert! Y-you came out of nowhere!" Sakura then paused, having a small thought rising over the surface of her head. With sudden insight, she quickly pointed her finger at him. "Ah, I know – you're one of those pervs who attack girls unexpectedly when they're caught off guard, aren't you?!"
"Wait, no I'm not-"
"And you stole my first kiss!!!!"
"Ah, that was an-"
"Well, today's your lucky day, dude," Sakura started to roll her sleeves and pull on her leather gloves. "I'm the Captain of the Konoha Karate club, and I also have a black belt. You're going to eat more than that pile of snow tonight!"
"You got it all wrong-!"
Just then, in another brilliant flash of light, another figure emerged spontaneously. Sakura slowly opened her eyes from the sharp brightness which passed by soon enough. An odd man in strange grey uniform appeared, and he was covered in blood and bruises.
Sakura gasped in shock.
"Sir, are you alright? Did that weird pervy freak attack you too?" Sakura said as she walked carefully toward the wounded man. Setting the mean comment aside, the boy still sitting in the snow yelled, "Don't get close to him; he's dangerous!"
"What?" Sakura said, completely caught off guard. But as she turned her head back to the wounded man, he already had a sharp kunai raised to the top of her head.
Sakura couldn't move. She couldn't speak. Her legs were rooted to the ground like all the trees around her. So this is what it's like to be a tree, she thought as she opened her mouth to give herself a last scream….
"Get down!" she heard another voice from behind scream at her. Immediately, she dropped to the ground and covered her head.
She heard the sound of flesh being cut through.
She thought dying would be painful, but she felt nothing but drops of liquid sliding against her face. Her eyes blinked a little, and then fully opened to see the boy, the one she deemed as a pervert, hovering over her. His back was turned away from her, and he had his left arm raised to shield her from the full blow of the kunai.
His blood was dropping down on her cheeks.
Sakura covered her mouth in horror.
"More… blood…," the grey coat mumbled through the thick, black mask he wore. His eyes were begging for more violence.
"It's time to say good night for you," the boy whispered as he quickly pulled out a kunai from his back pocket and plunged it right to the enemy's chest.
The grey coat groaned in pain, and then like a log, fell into the soft snow.
The boy who protected her turned back. He saw her eyes shrieking terror, her hands still covering her mouth. He knelt down to her and she slightly moved away from him.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you, no matter what," he said to her with a grin. His gesture was warm and sincere; all too quite genuine and pleasing. Slowly, she lifted her hands away from her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Before she closed her eyes down to cry…
Before he came closer to pat her back….
She caught a glimpse of his spiky blonde hair and eyes, as deep as the ocean, once more.
A/N: Ah, the first chapter. I just got back from my trip, and I kind of rushed in to write this story. Don't get me wrong - I got this all planned out. Anyways, it's for the NaruSaku Holiday contest, so I hope it turns out alright since this is my first time entering in a fanfic writing contest. I'm going to try my hardest to finish this story! By the way, I mentioned the word 'kappa' before. If you don't know what it is, kappa is a Japanese mythological creature, known for its mischiefs, perverted tricks, and monkey-like or frog-like form. I hope that clears things up!
This story was inspired by Wham!'s "Last Christmas" and BoA's "Meri Kuri." I do not own Naruto or these songs. I hope you enjoy as you sit back and see your own version of White Chrismas.