An Invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstances. The thread may stretch and tangle but it will never break.
Sunday was the first day.
Sasuke had woken up a little later than usual, Sundays being his lazy days. He sat up in his bed, still half asleep. The sun blared through his window, making his 'only-the-bare-necessities'-room bright. With a yawn, he threw off the blankets and touched his feet to the cool wooden floor. Making his way to the bathroom, he made a mental list of what he had to do for the day: Sweep the floors (they were getting dusty), grocery shop (his fridge was empty), and do the laundry (the pile was getting higher). Thinking about what else needed to be done, he raked a hand through his hair and then he noticed it. "What the..."?
Tied around his right-hand pinky finger was a thin red string, it's other end trailing the floor and going beyond his bedroom door.
Sasuke's brow furrowed in annoyance. Is this someone's idea of a joke, he thought as he tried pulling on the piece of thread. It did not loop off his finger like he thought it would but it did stretch and snap back at him, hitting the back of his hand. At that little action, Sasuke's annoyance flared into anger because it was as if the string had mocked him for his futile effort. And so he stomped over to his ninja gear and grabbed a kunai. Holding his hand high and stepping on the string to keep it taut, Sasuke slashed at the red line in front of him. Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight: the kunai slid off the string, the fiber not even slightly frayed. He tried again, deciding to use a sawing motion. When that didn't work, the fuming man found himself in the kitchen trying to burn the damned thread over the stove.
The red string was still perfectly intact.
"What's this shit made out of", Sasuke growled to himself. After an hour of trying, nothing he did affected the string. Sasuke concluded that the only thing left to do was to find the person who pulled the prank in the first place. He suspected his idiot friend, Naruto. Sasuke sulked back into his bathroom to clean himself up before heading out. Standing in front of the shower, Sasuke mused about how the string would be a problem when he removed his shirt. Wouldn't it get caught and hang off of the string? He pulled the piece of clothing over his head anyway, prepared to cut off the fabric if it did get caught. To Sasuke's surprise, the shirt fazed through the thread and landed on the floor.
That was the last straw for Sasuke. He went through his morning routine at lightning speed and dashed through his apartment door out onto the street. He was going to find the person who did this to him at all costs.
Sasuke walked at a brisk pace following after the red line that trailed the ground. It was an amazing thing, the string. As Sasuke walked, its length shortened with his steps so it never bundled or snagged at his feet. To his relief, no one else seemed to notice it either. He had passed dozens of people but none had commented or even glanced at the peculiar sight. The string didn't seem to trip them either. When someone crossed its path, they simply fazed through it much like his shirt.
Sasuke picked up his pace, the string became weirder and weirder to him by the second. Was this some sort of jutsu?
The red string lead Sasuke everywhere in Konoha. He passed the outdoor market, the Hyuuga compound, the hospital, the training grounds and the Hokage Tower. Finally, Sasuke reached an apartment where the string ran under its front door and his eye twitched. The string had brought him to Sakura's place.
Should have known, Sasuke thought as he made his way to her door. Although Sakura no longer openly proclaimed her love for the last Uchiha like she used to, it seemed that she still had lingering feelings for the man. After the war, when Sasuke was re-enlisted as a Konoha shinobi, she once again told him of her feelings. He had rejected her, telling her that he only saw her as a comrade. Sakura expected as much, she confessed, and told him that she only wanted to hear his rejection so that she could move on. They were still friends.
"Tch, yeah right", grumbled Sasuke as he banged on the door. He heard scuffling footsteps before the medic revealed herself.
"Sasuke-kun", she said while standing in the doorway, her emerald eyes wide. "What are you doing here"?
Sasuke had to stop himself from scowling. "What's this about, Sakura", he gritted through his teeth, holding up his hand to her face.
"Uh...", Sakura looked at his hand then to his face and back to his hand. "Wh-what are you talking about Sasuke-kun? Is your hand hurt or..."?
He let his scowl show then. He was going to let her have it, he thought. He was going to throw a fit, yell and curse so that she would never pursue him again. "Look", he began and Sakura took that as permission to examine the hand in her face. She brought up her own hands to take hold of his. Sasuke stopped then, his mouth agape, when he saw that there was no red tied to her finger.
He was silent as Sakura was checking for injuries. His mind was still processing this new information when he heard someone call from the inside of her house. "Sakura-chan, is something wrong", the voice questioned. Looking beyond the medic, Sasuke saw the form of a girl sitting on Sakura's couch and the thread trailing the floor. The gears in his head started turning. Whoever was sitting there was the person responsible for this insane event. He rushed past Sakura and entered her apartment before she could react. Sasuke reached the living room and before he did anything, he looked at the girl's hands. She was holding a teacup but Sasuke saw it clearly.
Tied around her right-hand pinky finger was a thin red string, its other end connected to his.
Sasuke brought his eyes up to see the surprised face of Hyuuga Hinata.
