Hey guys. This was just a quick little something that I did in my spare time. When I saw Vesper chan's contest, I guess I wanted to write a one-shot, even though one-shots aren't my thing... But this was a hell of a lot of fun to write, and I hope you guys will enjoy it too~
x-o-x
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven
At first, she felt nothing but pain. It began in low rumbles, fading and growing into the background. It was almost soothing, the way it folded around her like a blanket. The way it made her mind dull, giving her waves of relaxation.
It throbbed. It hummed. And it squeezed.
But the pain was growing, swelling. The rumble turned around and transformed into a roar. She winced but remained stoic, like ice. But the pain continued to gnaw at her, clawing her, and devouring her. It was like a living beast, ripping her apart from the inside, struggling to break free to the outside, so it could roam the living world.
The darkness nipped at the edges of her mind, crawling back, offering her peace, an endless sleep free from pain.
And she almost accepted.
But instead, she screamed. Or at least that's what she tried to. All that came out was a moan. But it was enough to ease the pain; just a little. The small motion of her tilting her head back, opening her mouth and drawing a breath, was enough to cut off the pain that was emerging from her.
And so the pain stopped.
And… She was awake.
Sakura's POV
My sour eyes creaked open a crack, just barely but enough to allow the sunlight to move in. I didn't know where I was, or what happened to me. I couldn't even remember my name. Sa- Saru? Sakire? I wasn't sure, but I was getting close.
I laid on my back, hard against the cold floor. My arms were spread out to my sides, each hand tightening into a fist. Small, sharp objects bored into my back, biting into my skin. Somehow, they made everything feel more real. I was afraid to fall into the darkness again, so I remained lying there. Just for a few more minutes.
I couldn't even move my head, so I darted my eyes side to side trying to make out what was around me. But all I saw was smoke, a tall statue, and one lone copse engraved door.
Where am I…? I thought once more, my breath rasping as I sucked in more air. There was a quiet whisper deep in my mind, but I couldn't make it out. Again, I asked myself, but intentionally, I asked the whisper, hoping for it to speak louder.
Lost.
Lost. I was lost.
But I didn't believe it. Maybe, I thought, this was all a dream… So I laid still, breathed and waited for the darkness to cradle me once more. And perhaps, send me to heaven.
Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please
Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven...
Normal POV
At first, she thought she was just imagining him. Shadows flickered at the corners of her eyes—motion. She thought he was a phantom and waited for him to disappear.
Instead, he approached. Slowly, like she was a wild animal, like she would bite. Ha, like she could move.
The closer he got, the easier it was to make out his appearance. It was a familiar face. She knew him, and she felt calmer when she knew that she met him somewhere.
He had scarlet red hair, shaggy and messy, but natural and unintended. His burnt hazel eyes bored into her mental system, locking her eyes apple green eyes with his. She felt herself burning up and cursed herself for this unusual feeling she had. She felt like someone who was just getting ready for a performance, in front of millions of people. Yet she felt sad at the same time, depressed and confused.
'What am I feeling…?' she asked herself once more. It was strange for her to think that someone would answer again, but taking a chance wouldn't hurt.
Love.
She gasped when the same voice answered her in a droning soft murmur. She was surprised that the voice replied to her again. 'Love. I wonder what that feeling is suppose to mean...'
She snapped out of her thoughts when the man strode closer to wear she laid. Panic swept through her, without reason and without end. She needed to stand, to be calm, to fight.
'Now,' I commanded to myself. 'Stand up!' But she couldn't stop shaking; she couldn't even catch her breath. She felt like a cosset compared to him.
And so, she couldn't run away, all she could do was wait for this man to do whatever he intended.
"Do you know your name?"
His question caught her by surprise. But she was obligated to answer it. "… N-no." Even if she won't speak that much, she will still answer.
His eyes relaxed and sighed. "Ah. Then you're suffering from amnesia."
'Amnesia.'
The thought of loosing all her memories from her past didn't make her flinch, because she already knew something like that was wrong. Now, she wanted to know more from this man.
"W-who are you…?" She gasped out, using all the energy she had. She didn't care, she was desperate for an answer.
The man bit his lower lip, causing a tiny droplet of blood to surface, and sighed again as if he was afraid of her answer.
"… My name is Akasuna no Sasori—" He cut off abruptly, giving her a second to allow that name to sink in.
'Akasuna no Sasori, Akasuna no Sasori, Akasuna no Sa-as-sori..i…' Her head pounded from the blood and her vision flashed, turning her vision red, then blue, then red again.
She let out a blood curling scream and fell into the darkness once more.
Sakura's POV
I saw the lights flashing once more, and pictures roamed my mind. They were grouped particles of... diamond; or some other clear, shiny object. First, I saw a short pink –haired girl running around and holding hands with another short girl, who was blond. I stared at that photo for a short period of time before another photo came along and slid in front of the first one.
This one, was a picture of an older pink haired girl performing a… special power on a bandaged bird. And there was a beautiful blond woman standing behind her, smiling in pride. When I was concentration on the pink haired girl, the photo shattered and formed a new picture, a slightly bigger one.
The next one was a scene in a grand garden. The same pink haired girl was there again, looking a little more older, and she was surrounded by a silver haired man wearing a mask that covered most of his face. He was lying against a tree reading a small orange book. Beside him, sitting on the picnic tarp, was a pale, short black haired man with jet-black orbs. He smiled kindly at the pink haired girl who offered him a small onigiri. Finally, beside the pink haired girl, was a blond haired man crossing his arms and giving a evil glare at the black haired man, almost as if he was jealous.
All of the pictures contained an important event in her life, which she knew. And with every picture, she remembered more events. She blinked, and felt wet drops in her eyes. Perhaps it was raining? But when she looked up, there was no sky, no clouds, no rain. She rubbed her eyes wondering what the droplets were.
Then, a large photograph appeared in the very front, blocking all the other ones and making them look like tiny insects.
It was an animation of the pink girl, except now a grown woman, fighting with a old lady with her hair loose from a messy bun, against…The same scarlet haired man as before. Akasuna no Sasori.
She watched the fight with large, curious eyes while hundreds of questions poured into her head. Why was she fighting him? What were those things Akasuna no Sasori was using? And most of all, who was that pink haired girl?
The fighting got more intense. As the man unleashed multiple wooden dolls, the old lady used the girl as a… puppet. When the girl missed the man, he would send one of his dolls to stab her from behind. After four stabs, the man ripped the skin on her side, and grabbed her wrists and ankles. Then, while the old lady tried to pull her back, a doll came up from behind and shoved a poison dipped knife through the lady's torso. I watched with horror as the lady fell to the floor, loosing all her blue energy and her life.
I darted my eyes quickly away from the blood and scanned my eyes around the picture to find that girl. But she was lying on the rocky floor, with her hands raised up and attached by multiple blue strings. The man pulled her up with a pull movement, and the girl rose, after shaking a little and drooping to the floor. She has been turned into a puppet.
Normal POV
Now there was more light surrounding her. But no more pain. The man from before, Akasuna no Sasori, remained standing there, watching her every move.
"You're awake."
It was strange. There was no more pain entering and exiting her. She didn't feel anything. Just… Emptiness.
But she liked the feeling.
She became less afraid of the man, because she feels as if she was his own. Not physically, but mentally.
She sat up from what she was lying on, and stared at him. "Now I know that you're Akasuna no Sasori, who am I?"
It was something she wanted to know for a long time now. Her identity could maybe bring her memories back. So she waited for him to answer.
"…You're name is Haruno Sakura."
Haruno… Sakura… Spring cherry blossom. What a nice name. "Sasori-san, could you tell me where I am now?"
Sasori remained silent, but then he offered a hand to Sakura. "Let me show you around first, okay?"
Sakura liked this Sasori. He was different then the Sasori in the vision that she had. Why was that pink haired girl fighting him, she still wondered. When she took his hand, she expected warmth, but in return, she received nothing; no warmth, heat, or coolness, nothing.
She shook her head to forget about that and let him pull her up. That's when she took in what was around her.
It was beautiful. Like a holy museum. In front of her, she noticed an enormous arc made of cement, and on top of it, was a statue of Kami-sama, the god; the deity. Sakura continued holding Sasori's hand and dragged him closer to the statue. That's when she noticed that they were walking on a cloud.
"Ne, Sasori-san? Aren't we walking on a cloud? That's not possible, so then, where exactly are we?"
The burnt-sienna eyed man grabbed her waist and hugged her back from behind. He turned around with Sakura and positioned themselves to stand in front of three angels. Wait, angels?
The angels floated around a sanctuary and sang dreamy lullaby songs. Beside the angels sat a tutelary saint, praying for the dead souls lost in the world.
This was what heaven sounded like in folktales.
"Sakura, you are in heaven." Sasori muttered in her rosy hair, prepared as to what she was going to say.
"Heaven huh? I guess that's not too shabby."
Sasori's eyes widened at her response and then relaxed his eyes. He was tired from doing the incantation when he replaced Sakura's heart with his own. The pink hair girl did not know what doing this will happen.
Sasori wanted to love someone, and to be loved by. But this girl that he cared for will loose her memories again when the time comes. And then, everything will repeat.
"Well then, I'm glad you find it to be of your pleasure. Shall we head on then?" He smiled kindly and led them closer to the statue.
When they closed the distance between them and the statue, Sakura noticed a paragon script located locked in a glass case, lying on a podium. As she began to read the text, her reflection sparkled.
The girl had pink hair. The girl had apple green eyes. It was the same as the girl in her visions. How was that possible? Maybe it was a ghost? It is heaven after all. It would be understandable if the girl was in heaven because she died right? Well, not really died, but being transformed into a puppet is similar to dying... right?
As she was about to show her finding to Sasori, a thought came to her head. Could it be... That she was the mysterious pink haired girl? That meant… That she was the one who was fighting Sasori.
Sakura swiftly turned her head back to Sasori to see what he had to say, but all there was in his eyes were sadness and regret. She was momentarily confused, until she remembered something. The pink haired girl in her vision got her heart taken away and replaced by a fake wooden heart. But…
Sakura placed a hand over her 'heart'. Silence. There was no pounding. There was no sound at all. There wasn't even a brief heartbeat.
She let go of Sasori's hand and fell to the floor, using her hands to hold her up. She began to vomit get rid of everything in her stomach, even when there was nothing there at all.
Nothing came out of her mouth, just pain filled groans and screams. Sakura felt disgusted.
She was a puppet, a toy to her master, and that was that.
Sakura wiped her mouth and got up, with her head still hanging. There was now a new question pounding in her head, begging to be asked. "Sasori-san, why did you turn me into a puppet?"
He made no rush to reply and remained silent, like usual. "Sasori-san! Why did you turn me into a puppet?!"
In replacement for the answer, Sasori lifted Sakura's chin so theirs eyes could meet, and brushed away a strand of hair. He looked at her for a long period of time and continued to stare at her. Then, he leaned his face towards Sakura's and whispered in her ear, "Because I wanted someone to love."
x-o-x
Almost a year has passed and Sakura and Sasori were getting ready for their first year anniversary of when they first found eachother at the Music Hall.
Sakura giggled as she pulled Sasori into an embrace and kissed him on the cheek. "Sasori-kun! I picked these daisies for our anniversary! Oh, I can't wait!" She hugged him tighter and spun around. "Do you like my dress? The angels made it for me!"
Sasori smiled at the girl dancing in front of him. For Sakura, today was the day of their anniversary. But for him… It was the day he would loose his beloved. "You look beautiful."
"Sasori-kun! I have a gift for you!" Sakura chimed as she hid the present behind her back. "Close your eyes…" He closed his eyes and held out his hands. "I'm ready."
Sasori felt something wooden and hard in his hands. When he opened his eyes, he found the same box that he came upon many times already. It was the same music box with a golden lining swirling all around. "What is it?" he asked, already knowing fully what it was.
The girl giggled and replied, "go on, open it!" He did what he was told, and was already fully aware of what the music box was going to sing.
Everybody believed we would never be,
Look at us up above,
We are so in love,
Everyday in your arms,
Baby can't go wrong we are strong look at us now,
For every night I dream
together you and me
look at us baby
look at us now
Like a flower blooms
the blooming of the moon
we'll make it baby
look at us now
Sakura laughed and informed him, "It's a music box! I found it in the center on the Music Hall on this stool thing! I was surprised to see one there but it is a Music Hall right?" Sasori thanked the girl for the gift and kissed her on the forehead. "I love the gift, thank you."
Sakura grinned and pulled on his sleeve again. "Come on! I want to take you to the Music Hall so we can remember all of our precious moments together!" She held his hand and skipped around the sanctuary to the Music Hall. This was the place where Sakura will again loose her memories and wake up, just like before.
"Here it is!" She jumped up and waved her arms around. "This was the place where you first found me! Our beginning!"
The clock hung on the front wall of the hall. It read, 11:59 A.M. It was almost time for good bye. "Come on Sasori-kun! Play the music box again!" Sasori did as he was told and played it.
Everybody believed we would never be,
Look at us up above,
We are so in love,
Everyday in your arms,
Baby can't go wrong we are strong look at us now,
"I love this place! Don't you Sasori-kun?" She asked, looking up to meet his eyes. "Yes, it brings back memories."
For every night I dream
together you and me
look at us baby
look at us now.
"I love everything about this place!"
Like a flower blooms
the blooming of the moon
we'll make it baby
look at us now
Sasori looked again at the grand clock. 7 more seconds left to go. He wanted to make these final few minutes special before she had to start over again.
"This year has been so wonderful and amazing!" She hugged him and snuggled her face into his chest.
4 more seconds left to go.
"And I want to tell you something too! I was preparing it for today so here goes...! I, love, yo—" The girl was cut off with twelve loud gong chimes ringing in the air. She was screaming from to waves of sonic energy. Sakura opened her eye and rang to Sasori for pretoection. But in midle way, she stopped walking and fell to the floor, motionless, like a dead body; a puppet. The time was up, and the twleve gong bangs were over. It was exactly one year.
And the music box music box continued to play the same tune, even with the hood closed.
Everybody believed we would never be,
Look at us up above,
We are so in love,
Everyday in your arms,
Baby can't go wrong we are strong look at us now,
For every night I dream
together you and me
look at us baby
look at us now
Like a flower blooms
the blooming of the moon
we'll make it baby
look at us now
Sasori picked up the body of the girl and brought her to her beginning place. The same cold cement floor. As he watched the girl motionless on the floor, he picked up the music box and placed it exactly where she would find it again. He head back to the girl and sat down to meet her eyes. It was time to wind up the doll. He perfomed a few hand signs and pressed his hand hard against the girl. After a few seconds, the girl started to vibrate. He got up and prepared for her to wake up. A loud scream petrified the music hall and after the same few minutes, the scream stopped.
The girl woke up and scanned the room briefly before spotting him. She looked afraid for a while before backing away, and trying to sit up. Sasori then asked the same question that he could not keep track how many times he had asked already. "...Do you know your name?"
And the girl replied, same as always, "…N-no."
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
x-o-x
And it's done. Yes, it was a sad story, but I was in the mood for one. I hope everyone got the story idea. Sasori traded his heart with Sakura's to get her to stay with him forever, but the spell only works for a year. So after every year, she looses life and forgets everything. So the story goes around and around.
There was two songs used here. The first one is called, 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton. The second is 'Look at us now' by Sarina Paris.
Bye bye, Inkaide.