Title: Fallen Angel; Concealed Goddess
Summary (full): The key to restoration is the girl...restoration of the pride...avengence...memories...restoriation of the heart. Sasuke Uchiha has no clear memories of his past before the death of his entire family. The only thing he remembers is the bitter pain and lonliness while growing up after it. Now, he returns to his hometown in search of revenge. But instead of the murderer, he finds five girls. And as he begins to know them, he begins to realize that maybe, he's in search of something else...
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Naruto, otherwise I'd be living in Japan and writing in Japanese, which I'm not. So, that's just too bad.
Prologue
"Listen closely child, for it is you and you only who holds this family's future as well as your own. You mustn't dwell upon the past but be attentive of everything before you at the moment and keep your dear ones embraced and within your reach.
"Seek the girl who lives and has lived two fates- for she can aid you in your journey. Two destinies converged to burden a single girl- the fallen angel who lies blanketed in times of sorrow, the concealed goddess who lives on by hopeful memories; she is the key to restoring and unlocking what you seek.
"But my son be cautious, for everything that you see clearly in your eyes, there are two of them. Everything visible and imaginable has two faces. Whichever one you choose is up to you.
"And to do that, you must learn all there is to know...
"About yourself..."
Chapter 1: Home; Stranger
He walked down the sidewalk on the street.
Noise-filled, busy, excitement.
He wasn't sure whether or not it was the right direction to the high school, but he let his shoes continue to take the quiet, bounding steps and lead the way. His black hair swayed in the rush of the bustling town-goers, the spike in the back causing him to stand out slightly among the crowd. His height was average when compared to the other guys his age joking around as they walked past him, wearing the same summer school outfit as him: a light, white shirt with a pen pocket that had a swirl crest sewn on and dark brown pants.
People hurried past him both ways in crowded groups, but they were only black and white shadows to him. Everything was like a piece of a puzzle, and he was unable to make sense of them- how they fitted into his past. Unsure. Undefined. Unrecognizable.
Yet this place was home. The only home he had since his family had died. Where he grew up until he turned eight. This was where he once knew everyone and everything about the town, and ventured with joy- joy that he no longer remembered. But that didn't matter.
Because this was the place he was going to avenge his family. Find those people and get revenge for all he had suffered- loneliness, broken pride, and the past.
The teenage boy brushed off the flicker of pity he felt starting inside him like an annoying fly. He stopped at an opened metal gate that welcomed students with the sign: Konezuku High School.
He had found his way there.
There was no pride in him as he walked towards the path that stretched to the building. Red-tinged leaves, the sign of autumn's arrival, surrounded the path. Red...fire red...flames...
Flashback
"Why?! WHY?!"A little boy's voice screamed.
Flames engulfed the scene. Destroying, killing, torturing. Roaring and striking out into the air.
"I-I'm sorry, I had no choice." A choked voice replied, his own sorrow strangling him.
A burst of red cut through the air, among blazing flames. This time, it wasn't fire.
Everything went black.
End of Flashback.
His whole body stiffened, but nobody would've noticed. He ignored all the other students' gossip and conversations, not even attempting to fit in. They didn't matter. They were only normal teenagers.
They'd never gone through what he had.
On the corner of his eye, he noticed a pink-haired girl wearing the girl's school uniform- a forest green sweater vest with a short sleeved blouse underneath and a dark brown pleated skirt- get shoved by the shoulder from a passing boy racing his friend. The girl fell to the cement hard, her messenger bag flipped open and everything inside scattered around her.
He walked past her. She wasn't any of his business, and was a waste of time. Someone else would help her, and the guy who knocked her over would help her; he could waste his time. But the guy didn't, he run right past her without saying sorry. He didn't even acknowledge her.
He found himself looking back, and saw her scrambling to reorganize her things. No one stopped to help her.
When she reached towards a headband a careless student stepped right on it. Breaking the fragile accessory in two. The girl who walked over it simply continued talking and strolling towards the school.
It was like she never noticed. As if the headband was never there. As if the girl didn't exist.
She stayed sitting, with her hands gently cupping the trinket. Her deep, spring green eyes dulled with regret over her precious charm. The short pink hair hung, blocking most of her face. The headband that she used to hold her hair back had broken.
And suddenly, he had no clue what he was doing. He found himself bending down and rearranging the books and pencils for her. He stood up and held out his hand.
It was then 'till he saw what she was holding.
Flashback
Music. Laughter. Stars above in the night sky. Lanterns lighted any shadowy areas.
"Here." A boyish voice said, hiding embarrassment.
Everything was a blur. The girl's voice who answered belonged to a young child, who took the gift into her small hands, "Really? This is for me?"
"Yeah, I...uh...won, yea, won it in a stall. I don't need it."
"YAY! I love it! Thank you Sasu-chan!"
"H-hey, don't get the wrong idea. It's only because I don't want it."
"I don't care! I still love it!" The girl's voice giggled in joy as she wore the headband. It had three wires and jeweled pink cherry blossom flowers twined around them.
End of Flashback.
It was a headband. With three wires and jeweled pink cherry blossom flowers twined around them.
Shaken by the sudden vision, he mentally ignored, telling himself it meant nothing. This girl means nothing, simply someone I am assisting right now. She'll get on with her useless life after this as if this never happened.
The girl accepted his hand and got up. She was still looking at her broken headband.
"I can fix it easily if you want." He found himself saying.
She looked up in surprise that he had talked to her. Her eyes showed sadness as she smiled at him, "It was a gift from someone dear. For now, it represents our friendship." Her voice was hollow.
The jeweled flower that was still connecting the two pieces of the headband snapped and fell to the ground. Now the headband was unfixable.
He said nothing. Partly because he was silently infuriated at himself for even bothering to help her and partly because he had nothing to say.
Luckily the girl spoke up first. Her head snapped up to look her helper in the face; her eyes back to life again. She gave a sheepish smile, "How rude of me, I let you help me and I didn't even ask for your name." She gave a small, polite laugh. "Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you!"
No doubt, he found the girl strange. She'd just completely changed personalities. But he decided not to question her any further. The last thing he needed was a girl in his way.
The first bell rang, warning the students to get moving to class. He walked off without saying goodbye to Sakura, leaving her behind.
However, when he reached the building and walked into the main office to grab his schedule, he heard the same cheerful, smooth voice.
"Ooh...Are you new then?"
He looked around and there she was, the same girl- Sakura- peering at his schedule. He quickly stuffed it into his school briefcase and walked off ignoring her. There's something weird about her... I always notice people around me, so how come I didn't even see her behind me? Was she there the whole time?
He forced himself to look behind him, although usually he could sense the presence of others without looking. She was still following him.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she tailed him walking with a small bounce in every step. "Hmm..." She thought out loud, putting a finger to her lip. "I wonder which teacher I'm gonna get."
She was the joyful, clueless type. He had already classified her as the type of person he hated the most. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't make himself tell her to leave him alone. Somehow, it seemed too harsh to him. But that was something he never gave a second thought to before.
"Look, why are you following me?" He asked her without looking back.
"I don't know." She chirped happily and smiled innocently, "I just feel like we could be great friends."
He stopped and stationed himself against the wall; right next the door with the sign above it: 307, 3A
"Hey! I have homeroom in here too!" Sakura looked excited about this and hopped into the room, "Hey, hey, can I show you around then?"
He said nothing and hung his head, avoiding her gaze.
"But at least let me know your name right?" She bent down to meet his eyes.
The second bell rang. All students had to be in their homerooms by now or they would be punished with after-school detention.
He sighed as she walked in and shut the door. But he found himself enjoying the girl's antics and cheerful personality. He realized that for those few short minutes, he completely forgot about his purpose here, and felt like a normal new guy.
But he wasn't normal. He was here for a reason. He was here to get revenge for his past. So what was he doing beginning to befriend a girl who knew nothing about pain?
He set his thoughts back to normal. Cold. Calm. Solitary. He didn't need friends. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he still couldn't help replaying the smile and laugh of the girl.
In the middle of the hallway where he stood alone, his voice echoed.
"Haruno Sakura, huh?"
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Students were all about the room. The boys were chatting about the latest video games, sports games, and some about porn. Some of the impatient ones skipped the catching up on their lives over the summer and began arm wrestling or playing paper football. The girls sat in groups by tables gossiping about the latest trends and celebrities and caught up over summer romance.
"...Oh the Max Combo? I totally could do that..."
"...Yeah...wasn't she hot?..."
"...Totally no! I mean, denim is soooo much better!..."
"...ohmygosh, I know! And then he..."
Only Sakura was the one not caught in the excitement of the start of a new school year. She only maintained a mild smile as she watched all the others with their friends. Although she sat close by a table were a few girls were small talking, no one bothered to invite her. In fact, no one even bothered to look at her to wonder why she was sitting there alone.
Seconds seemed like hours to her- even though she didn't show it- as the red hand rotated around the clock. The teacher was late.
Finally, after ten minutes, the door slid open and a silver haired teacher walked in and set his briefcase onto the desk.
He called out, "Okay...okay, back to your seats everyone...For those of you that haven't had me before, I'm Hatake Kakashi, Hatake-sensei to all of you." his tone made it seem like he didn't really care for teaching.
But everyone immediately sat down. They all have heard of this teacher if they didn't have him before. Rumors, no, facts had it that he seemed easy going but he was actually incredibly strict and quick to give unusual punishments.
After he finished attendance, he announced. "Okay, now that we're starting a new year, I expect all of you to try your best this year...despite some of your past records." He gave a weary eye at a certain blonde, blue-eyed boy. "I'm not going to say all the other crap I'm required to say, since none of you are going to listen. So...we have a transfer student from the Fushichou district." He began writing down the katakana on the chalkboard while calling out, "Come on in."
Like always, everyone was interested in new students. All the attention was directed towards the door, as they saw a tall boy with raven hair spiked up in the back walk in.
"Class, this is Uchiha Sasuke. I hope all of you get along well with him and help him find his way around here, so on and so forth...Hmm..." He looked around the classroom for an open seat.
It took a while however; it appeared he couldn't find one. But Sasuke could see an open seat perfectly: right at the left of Sakura. And he saw her smiling and waving at him excitedly, yet the teacher never noticed.
He was scared if he pointed out there was an open seat right next to Sakura, people would look at him like he was stupid. Somehow...he was starting to wonder if the girl was part of his imagination. That in reality, there was no one sitting next to the seat.
Sakura stopped waving after a few minutes and put her hand down; a shadow came over her face when she realized no one was noticing her. When suddenly she spoke out in a hollow voice, "Sensei, there's an empty seat next to me."
The teacher's head turned towards her surprised, as if he had never noticed her before. "Ahem, well uh...Uchiha-san, there's a seat next to uh...Haruno-san right there."
Sasuke made his way over to the seat, ignoring the guy's approving looks for athleticism and the girl's flirtatious giggles. He saw only her, forgetting all that he had told himself alone in the hall before.
Her eyes down in a resigned look, in a way, she seemed exhausted after speaking up. It was as if she had never stuck up for herself before.
He sat down and allowed the lecture to begin, but found himself looking at Sakura. She seemed like an outgoing girl. But despite that, she was mysterious. She could disappear and yet no one realized she was gone. She never made herself known.
She seemed unaware as she took fast notes and paid close attention to the teacher. Her pink hair blocking her forehead and her green eyes sharp with life...
Flashback
Blurs of scenes.
A lively smile.
A beloved smile.
A smile he wished to see forever.
Bubblegum pink hair, blowing in the wind.
Innocent, friendly eyes ready for fun.
"Sasu-chan!"
Bouncy voice full of excitement.
"Sasu-chan!"
...
End of Flashback
"Uchiha-kun?"
"Uchiha-kun?"
A more mature, female voice brought him back.
He looked up with his dark eyes and saw himself looking into the curious face of Sakura.
She flashed him a bright smile, "Lunch time!"
Happy to be able to hang out with Sasuke, she rushed to the door just as he got up and started putting his stuff back into his briefcase. She waved, "Come on!"
He followed her, not sure why he was doing this. But it didn't seem to bother her that he wasn't really smiling as she gracefully and agilely weaved past the wave of students in the hall and to her locker.
He left her to organize and put her stuff back into her locker and went to his. Quick to be able to put his books back, he turned to see that she was done too, but instead was facing her open locker in a trance.
Walking over, he saw that her locker was filled with pictures and bulletin boards. But she was staring at the collection of headbands and ribbons.
He gave a small cough, snapping her out of her day-dream mode.
She smiled faintly, as if she had just received a disappointing vision. "Oh. I started collecting them when my friend gave me my first one."
But then it was like she thought of something happy and gave a bright smile, "So, which one should I wear now?"
Sasuke felt a strange heat in his face and quickly regained control it. His surprised expression was molded into the same expressionless face in a flash that Sakura didn't notice it as she waited for his response.
"Why should it matter to you?" He found a stutter in his voice, a tinge of unsure-ness. Something he never had a problem with before. What the hell's wrong with me?
She looked at him a giggled, "Of course it matters! I always used to ask my friend this!"
Nobody said we were friends...since when was that established? But he replied anyway, "The white and pink cherry blossom ribbon." And walked off feeling embarrassed.
She tied it on and ran after him. The two went outside and sat underneath a tree to eat lunch. Sasuke took out a bento box of onigiri and a bottle of tomato juice.
Sakura took a peek at his lunch and said in wonder, "Wow! You really like onigiri!"
He ignored this and started eating. Sakura took out her lunch, starting with sour raspberry jam roll.
"NO! I AM NOT GOING TO WATCH CLOUDS AGAIN!!" A guy's voice yelled.
The holler belonged to the blonde in Sasuke's homeroom. He was running right past him and Sakura. But instead of avoiding Sakura, he tripped right over her, causing her to knock all her lunch over into the grass.
Sakura didn't say a thing. The same shadowed look appeared on her face as the other guy ran along like nothing happened.
Sasuke made a cough that stopped the boy. And as if he'd seen her for the first time, he said obnoxiously. "Whoops... Hehe, did I knock that over?"
Sakura looked up in surprise, looking the boy in the face as he knelt down.
The guy looked at her like he was studying something, "Hmm...are you new?"
She shook her head, "Haruno Sakura, class 3A."
He looked surprised, "Hey! That's my homeroom too! I never noticed you!"
Just like everyone else. Sasuke watched the two from afar.
"Uzumaki..." Another guy caught up to him in an annoyed tone, "How many times did I tell you not to ruin my concentration while studying?"
"104 times and counting." Another guy yawned. He walked over and lay down randomly to look at the clouds. His dark eyes gazed enviously at the sky and his spiked ponytail was flat against the grass.
The other guy, with long black hair and cloud white eyes, sighed and introduced himself as well as his idiot friends. Offering his hand to Sasuke, he said, "Hyuuga Neji of 4A, these dorks are Nara Shikamaru and Uzumaki Naruto."
Sasuke purposely ignored him and reached into his paper bag to hand Sakura a bowl containing jelly. She looked at it curiously and peeled off the lid, only to have her eyes light up when she realized what it was.
"Sakura sundae anmitsu!" She exclaimed happily. "How did you know I liked it?"
"It came along with the package. I hate sweet things." He shrugged it off. But somehow, he had a feeling she would've really liked it. Somewhere far back in his mind. No way, I've never met her before. He told himself.
Neji looked over to her like he had just noticed her and asked, "He knocked over your lunch didn't he?"
"Great job Naruto, not only do you ruin my life, but now her's too?"
"Hey, I said sorry? Right? Right? See, I even know her name! It's Sakura-chan!" Naruto looked at her for help.
Sakura never had so much attention at once before and smiled shyly, "Yes."
"Whatever. At least I can have a better cloud-watching partner."
"Don't take me for granted. I wasted two whole year's worth of lunchtime watching damn white things in the air!"
"Hey, Haruno, do you yell a lot?"
She didn't know what to say. It was the first time she had so many things said to her and about her at once. So she didn't know how to respond. Instead, she looked down at the ground.
"See? She's better than you already."
The two continued to have their friendly fight while Neji hung out with Sasuke.
"So you're the rumored new kid." He said while finishing up his college-level Calculus workbook.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Neji raised an eyebrow in sudden interest. Uchiha? But instead he continued on solving the problems.
"It's 2x squared y cubed over 7z to the fifth power plus 18." Sasuke interrupted.
Neji shrugged, hiding his annoyance at being beaten by a 3rd year student. A group of girls passed along and giggled, waving at the two. Neji ignored them. Sasuke followed his lead.
"You get used to it."
He brought up another subject, "Since today's a Wednesday and I have nothing to do, would you like me to show you around?" Shutting his book he continued, "I assume you might need help fitting in this place." Then of course...if you can remember this place from nine years back in the past...it should be no problem.
That did it for Sasuke. He coldly stood up and walked away. Leaving Sakura and her new friends alone.
"I don't need any help."
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The rest of the afternoon was spent in his own frustration and confusion. He literally had to keep checking every few seconds to make sure his eyes weren't wandering to Sakura. And that was what made him angrier with himself.
He was becoming like a normal guy. What happened to taking revenge? Where was his pride? He didn't need friends, not ever, and not now. He had lived without a single friend or family member for nine years, and he absolutely had no regret over it.
None.
So what was going on?
Flashback
"You must learn all there is to know about yourself..."
End of Flashback.
Damn it! I know myself fine. He knew everything there was to know about himself. He was Sasuke Uchiha, the last Uchiha living.
He was here for revenge.
Not friends.
Not help.
Not love.
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He walked in a faster pace than usual out of the building. He needed to get away from that place and everyone in it.
Especially her.
But Sakura still followed him as he threaded through people in the city to get to his house. He had to look back to notice her tailing him.
"Don't you have anyone else to bother?"
She didn't seem hurt by this and simply answered in a chirpy voice, "Nope!" And skipped along side of him. "Plus, I wouldn't call it bothering. I'd call it; hanging out!"
She jumped in front of him and walked on, "My house is this way too!"
He walked faster at a speed she couldn't catch up to walking, "I don't need company or help."
"I never said you did!" She smiled as they arrived at a street crossing. "I just wanted to get to know you better. For some reason, I think we should really be friends. Hey, is onigiri your favorite food?"
He ignored the red, flashing stop sign in impatience to get away from her. She followed him, trying to catch up.
When he reached the other side he was standing in front of a large, wired gate that guarded what was once a large house. The building was ruined though, all the wood was burnt and the pretty walls were bashed. Whoever once lived there also grew a garden full of cherry blossom trees as well as many other flowers, but they were all dried and shriveled, colorless like the rest of their surroundings. He could even see the once-polished wood floor, which was now covered in dulled blood.
He looked behind him, checking to see her reaction and expecting an explanation, but Sakura was still in the middle of the road, staring at the broken down house. And the sign was still flashing red.
Cars beeped as they drove by quickly from the other lane, warning her to move. But she couldn't hear them. Her eyes were wide and her irises turned ice green, shaking with fear. She was shivering with her knees bent, hugging herself. One look at her and he could tell she was seeing something equivalent to hell.
A car beeped and was driving quickly at her.
She wasn't moving.
He sprinted towards her.
A/N: Hmm...I'm going to be putting my comments, or afterword here at the end. I actually, suggest you read this section, since I'll be putting some of the vocab up here (I think you noticed I used some exessive Japanese...teehee) But I'll make you guys read my dedications first:
To my editor Michelle, who I can never give enough credit for sticking although with me, despite my impatience and rashness. You'll see her pop up here all the time, and you'll be grateful for her too, otherwise this whole thing would be a mess of mispellings and grammar issues.
And to anybody who comments and reads this fanfiction first!! I'll LOVE YOU!! Seriously, comment, otherwise I'll get unmotivated...:(
Vocab:
Konezuku- A highschool name I made up. Ko means leaves, and nezuku means to nurture or grow.
Onigiri- Rice balls
Amnitsu- Jelly-stuff...that's sweet. (yummies)
Characters:
I'll explain them and how I came to use them...but I don't think you'll need an introduction. But I've tweaked some of their personalities.
Sasuke- Our main character. He's new to the town of Konoha. And yeah, his cold personality and his little thing for revenge hasn't changed.
Sakura- Our heroine. She's lived in Konoha for a while, but she is unnoticed to others, with an exception of Sasuke. Yes, she's taken an attachment to him (as a friend). I've changed her personality slightly to make her innocent, bubbly, and a bit cute.
Naruto- Yes, he hasn't changed. He's still an idiot.
Shikamaru- Still as lazy as ever.
Neji- One year older and a genius. His family right now is the most powerful in the town, after the Uchiha family was exterminated. He hasn't changed much either.
Kakashi- Yes, he's a teacher now, and still has odd teaching methods.
Oh yes, and before I finish, I'd like to mention that this fanfiction was inspired by the following anime/manga series: Naruto, AIR, Kanon, Clannad, H20: Footprints in the Sand, Myself;Yourself