The Marionette

Chapter one: Of music boxes and Crazy old women

For Sakura Haruno, life couldn't be more perfect. Spring had finally come in and warm breezes danced through her hair. She felt the slight chill occasionally, but it always came with the sweet smell of freshly bloomed flowers. The clouds were bright and fluffy, with barely a dark spot with them, not that the bubble gum haired girls minded April storms. Each time a storm would roll in, she would curl up beside a window and read or just watch the cascade of rain water flow down the glass.

If the weather wasn't enough to lift the young girl's spirits, it was surely the job she looked forward to everyday. She worked at the most prestigious hospital in all of Konoha. The lead doctor was her mentor from an early age in the arts of medical care. She was in charge of the children's wing most of the week, but she also helped in physical therapy for all age groups. It was stressful at times and she did lose her temper when some people would purposefully irritate her for unknown reasons. On some occasions, she did have to undergo her own mental therapy…especially for terminally ill children. Rare occasions brought them under her care though.

At home, in her wonderful apartment, was everything she thought she would possibly need. A nice TV and her own garden on the balcony. She had a nice little kitchenette because despite her wonderful medical knowledge, she was a terrible cook and never needed the extra space most kitchens had. Her room was decorated in a deep blue paint with cherry trees permanently imprinted into it.

As for love, well she had the perfect fiancé. He had a cool exterior and calm demeanor, but was a softy to her when she really needed it. The man was there for her in an instant. On top of that, he also was the current VP of the Uchiha Enterprises, his older brother being the current owner. Sasuke was a wonderful provider and had popped the question to her in the most romantic of ways.

They sat alongside a row of cherry trees. It was night, but the whole park was lit up beneath a starry sky. There was an annual Spring Festival in Konoha, to celebrate new life and new beginnings. Sakura was dressed in a lovely red and pink yukata, with a black obi. Sasuke was wearing his family's traditional Uchiha silky blue haori and matching hakama. The white jacket over it had the Uchiha fan emblazoned in the back. She loved that symbol, and felt giddy just thinking of wearing it one day.

There were many people at that festival, but none were more entrancing as the Uchiha beside her. He smiled coolly and pointed to the sky just as they were about to start the fireworks. A woman's voice came over the sound system and she announced a request from a lovesick fool to his Cherry Blossom Princess. Sakura gasped as her and Sasuke's song started to play. Tears ran down her cheeks as he offered to dance. A short time later he grinned and pointed once again to the sky.

Bright streaks began to shoot across the sky and ended in brighter explosions. Each one spelled out a new word. Her breath hitched as she read them to herself. She didn't notice all eyes were on her and her beloved. 'Sakura, marry me? Sasuke'. It was her dream come true and she immediately turned to him, only to find him on his knee holding the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. Tears flowed freely down the emerald eyed girl's face and she nodded, not trusting her words. Sasuke grinned and slipped the diamond on her hand and stood to kiss her.

Sakura blushed intensely every time she looked down at her left hand.

It had been almost a year since then, but the memories were still fresh, and with the wedding coming up sooner than she realized, she was left to finish preparing for the celebration with her best friend, yet rival, Ino Yamanaka. The blue eyed blonde glanced at the lovesick girl walking beside her, "Oh, Sakura, it seems like yesterday we were sitting on the playground arguing about who was wearing the white dress when this day came…"

Sakura giggled, "Yeah, we were silly then…" she remembered the flower obsessed girl would threaten with deadly flowers and such, just to get her way. The feuds ended in community college, when Ino found herself watching Sasuke fall for her old best friend.

"Don't get me wrong, Forehead, I'm happy for you, but I would have stolen his heart if you hadn't worn your mother's old dress to that party," she smiled, "It may have been old, but I'll be damned if it wasn't absolutely perfect for that masque ball themed dance…"

The affianced girl nodded and remembered the night she and Sasuke had shared their first dance and kiss. She had worn a dress that was sort of like a family heirloom. It was styled the same, but due the generations of possession and use, it was constantly being mended and re-fabric-ed. It was a floor length cherry pink gown with white trim and red blossoms embroidered into the bottom. There was a red mask that went with it, and while it didn't match the gown perfectly, it made one wonder where such and object had some from to be paired with a beautiful dress.

"Yeah, I had to have that dress placed in a special place because it was so old, I was sure it was going to fall apart on me!" Sakura laughed. Ino smiled and noticed a small antique shop. Her eyes widened and a devious smile came across her face.

"Some thing old?" She motioned towards the ominous building. Sakura stared at it warily, but Ino was pulling at her hand kind of hard, so she gave in.

"You sure about this?" Sakura mumbled, "I was thinking I could just, you know, wear my mom's old cherry blossom necklace…"

She received a rolled eyes 'remark' from Ino. She blonde turned, "You said yourself those things were falling apart anyways, so maybe you can get a pretty 'new' antique to wear, or something," the girl danced inside and started her typical 'oh' and 'ah' at the many things she saw.

Sakura hadn't thought the girl to be so into antiques, but the smiled softly at old baby dolls from who knows when. The soft cherry haired girl sighed and began her own search alongside the shelves of dusty knickknacks and boxes. Some things were beautiful, like a porcelain box. The main color was white, but there was a scene of a Japanese setting. It had huge towering pagoda buildings and a small blue stream with a red bridge across it. Koi danced along the edges and cherry trees covered the side. Petals from said tree danced along the entire scene.

The young woman smiled, "Maybe I'll get that for fun…" She set the box down and looked at more of the decorated pots and things. One other porcelain box caught her attention. The scene was a bit more gruesome than the last. The buildings were darker, and instead of blue, there was a river of red. The sky was crimson and there stood a man in white with deep red hair. He was strung up in a 'puppet' like fashion. The cherry tree was bare except for one small blossom that clung the branches, like it was the only ray of light for the single figure.

Sakura felt dawn to the scene, mostly because it was in deep contrast to the other boxes around her. As she touched it the lid fell from its spot and the same figure from the décor popped up and began swaying to a light haunting melody that crept from the old box. She smiled at the dancing figure, it was dancing to song she thought she knew. It was eerie. The girl had no idea where it had come from, but she knew the song, but didn't know how. She brushed it off and closed the box to stop the music. It was giving her a headache.

Sakura ventured further into the small shop and saw many of the items Ino had looked at. She smiled at a cute little doll with a silk dress and horse hair braided down her back. It was adorable, but Sakura set it down and continued looking. The blonde haired woman was already at the front looking at the bodily decorations and jewelry.

After a few more items, the girl began to grow restless. It wasn't like her, but something about the shop was giving her the creeps. She felt as though she were being watched. She finally got the nerve to turn to the supposed area where the supposed 'person' was supposedly watching her.

A shiver ran down her spine when she saw it wasn't a person, but a whole wall of puppets and marionettes. Each was different, some more human like than others, some were downright creepy, with a third eye, or looked like some monstrous creature from the dark side of the fairy tale woods.

Despite her original rise of fear, she began to walk towards them. The craftsmanship on them was simply amazing. Each had its own personality. One was tall with dark black hair cascading wildly around 'his' head. He wore a dark shawl with a furry tan lining at the top. 'His' eyes were a deep yellow and in an almond shape. Deep lines marked where this puppet would have opened his mouth. She smiled at its life like looks.

The next one frightened her a little bit. It had three eyes in a pyramid fashion. Its body was weirdly shaped and four arms stuck out below its dark shawl. A messy mop of hair sat upon its head. She stepped back and felt something press into her back. The girl jumped and turned to be face to face with a couple. The woman stood with a sad expression on her face and she had a cascade of chocolate hair. Her partner was a taller man with dark red hair. He, too, wore a sad face. Their eyes were sad, but had a loving gleam to them. Who ever had made them was truly a master.

The final one she looked at was a small scale marionette. He sat limply on his stand with his little head tilted to the side. Flaming crimson hair spiraled in every direction and his eyes were a deep chocolate color. He had a vacant smile, almost like it wasn't there. His eyes were hung in a bored kind of expression and he wore a crimson cloak, torn at the edges and a hood drawn up over part of his head. One of his arms laid gently to the side, as if he was offering his hand t someone unknown. The other held a small sword.

Sakura's eyes widened at how real the weapon looked. She reached forward to touch it, but yelped in pain as the small blade pricked her finger. Crimson blood beaded at the tip of her finger and she placed the digit in her mouth to clean away the liquid. Deciding she had had enough fun looking around she turned to leave. Ino was standing at the counter like before, but something was off. There was an old woman like puppets hanging by some strings beside her. One that had not been there before. Her wrinkled face started at Sakura hard. Sakura began to step away carefully.

She felt fear grip her as the saw what looked like the puppet's fingers move. Suddenly, it jumped forwards and Sakura screamed. Ino rushed to her side, but all she heard was soft laughter and an old woman's cackling. She opened her green orbs to see the 'puppet' doubled over in laughter with Ino.

"I told you I would get her!" she woman gleamed with her smile, "I still got it in me!"

Ino gasped for air, "Oh, forehead," she gasped again, "You should've seen your face! It was priceless! You thought that Chiyo was actually a living puppet!"

Sakura's face lit up a deep shade of red, one that rivaled even that of the small marionette's hair. The elderly woman, known as Chiyo, helped Sakura up and offered the two girls some tea.

Ino accepted saying Sakura probably needed time to recuperate after her little 'episode'. The bubble gum blonde disagreed, but thanked the woman for her hospitality. Chiyo nodded, "Come back soon, okay?"

The girls agreed and began walking out of the shop. As they passed the first shelf Sakura heard the music box song drifting to her ears. She turned to see the little red headed figure gliding once more across his tiny porcelain box.

Thank you for reading, please feel free to read and review, I would LOVE some feedback ^_^

This story is loosely based on a true story I read about. It happened in Florida, but like I said loosely XD. I got this idea hours ago and had to write it down before I crawled into bed and was satisfied with myself. Thank You again ^_^

On another note, I don't usually write SasoriXSakura, but Sasori was the only one fitting enough XD and I thinking an alternate universe they could actually get along! Lol but I still prefer DeiSaku and SaiSaku lol

Your Tired Author, Lady Pyrien