Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 1: Differences
OOOO
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"Hey, Sakura. Are you coming tonight?"
When don't I?
"It's going to be exhilarating to the MAX!!"
I bet it is.
"You have to try it out."
What haven't I tried before?
"You'll be so high, your brain will melt. Everything would feel trouble free."
And that's how I like it.
Free.
I want to be free.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
"Hey you punks. Get back here!"
"Whoot hoot!" Their screams excited the market street. Heads turned. Bodies moved aside, avoiding the human missiles charging recklessly down the street. Their hands were holding the loot of the night.
This feeling, I'm truly addicted.
Such powerful stamina that keeps me energized.
I crave for the excitements.
The thrills in life.
"Come back here again! I'll rip your limps off!" The scream of the old man was drowning out as the group run further and further away from the street corner. There he still stood, gasping for air from old age, no longer healthy enough to chase the bunch of delinquents through any more red lights. He watched them from afar, old eyes narrowed. Seeing flashes of them disappearing, their voices were echoing. It was the second time that month. They had done it again. More creative this time, sending two to steal a few packs of cigarette first so that he was lured into chasing them. Leaving his shop defenseless for the rest of the group to run in, taking their time looting everything else that they desired. Teenagers these days.
Sighing, he gave up. Turning his dreaded aging body around, he used the railing to support this way home. His mind bothered. What has today society becomes? What are the youth really turning in to?
Then the images of a certain hue flashed his mind. Pink.
She was a pretty frail body girl. Innocent green eyes and a sparking smile. Her hair was so distinctive that his ill vision was able to pick up the vibrant color.
Why was she with them? He couldn't understand. The girl looked so pure and naïve. Her voice harmonized. She was the first to advance toward his shop, serving as a decoy, asking to buy a few bags of chip. But once she was revealed to be part of that group. He was astonished. The girl tricked him with her façade mask. No one would ever believe from just looking at her would think she is a crook. Camouflaging the sin under the layers of innocent appearance, she would fool the whole world with her look.
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"Fuu…" A stream of smoke hovered around them. She let out a long breath of heavenly tasty cig. It numbed her sense, washing, cleansing her system.
Frail body leaned against a concrete balcony of a torn down construction building. Ignoring the group behind her, green eyes roamed the city afar. Bright and lively, it filled with spirits. Her body was lingering, floating as the blood flows smoothly through her veins. Every nerve of her body relaxed.
Crackle. Crackle. The sound of the fire burning its content, feeding the flame. Their shadows illuminating, flickering as the flames thrashed around inside the metal bin. It was the only light source in the abandoned hang-out.
"Man was that awesome. Hahaha." Recognized the voice of the annoying blond hair boy. She rolled her eyes. 'Everything is awesome to you. Idiot.'
Another voice, "Schyea. Look at all of this. Oi! Sak. You like these right? Here!" Closely noticed before, seeing that the girl only smoke that certain brand.
Hearing her name, Sakura turned her head slightly to meet a pair of amber eyes that belong to the red head male. His hand held out a stack of blue infinity packages, her favorite brand of cig. Pink lips curled up in a smirk, lazily blinking her eyes once, as in yes.
"Hey!" The idiot spoke up again. "Sasori. That's not fair. You grab a bunch of those for her but only a few of these. I want them too."
"Shut up. Dei." Flipping the blond with his middle finger.
"Screw you. I'm not being a decoy next time." He crossed his arms, sulking.
Taking a long puff, Sakura turned around, ignoring the two males as they continued to argue over the most frivolous thing. Only them three right now, the others had already retired their night. It had been about a week or so since she started to hang out with these amateurs. Seeing that they can bring amusement to her, she kept them. Allowing herself to partake in their group, running around playing their amateurish games.
"??!" Noticing the girl had dropped her bud and stepping on it with her red flats. "You're going home too, Sak?" Sasori asked from his seat on the cold floor.
"Of course, it's a school night." She lied. They never knew. "Thanks." Winking, she grabbed three packages from him indicating the rest were left for the annoying artist sitting across. A mystery always lingered around her, they never knew where she lives, what school she went to, or who she really was. Their impressions of her was just like them, just another teenage rebel. Having fun was all that's needed, background info was frivolous.
Waving goodnight, she walked away. Silently giggled, hearing one of them said faintly, "Oi, man speaking of school. I need to pass this month or my old man is going to skin me alive. I stay …" Kids. That was who they were. A bunch of seventeen years old kids. Even when she was younger than them. To her, they were just kids.
[…]
'Well, that was fun,' referring to the earlier amusing event of the night. A warm up to what's coming as expected.
The rest of the night went by like a routine. Lazily slouching on the bar stool, hand yielding a glass containing purple colored 'liquid'.
"Cherry. You're late tonight."
"…" Ignoring the enthusiastic company.
"What's wrong girl. Here, I got something for you." His hand searched his pocket, deep. Not caring whether they were being monitored or not, he pulled out a small package with a couple of white caplets. "New stuff I told you about. Wanna try?"
Green eyes glanced indifferently at the blue Mohawk man. Dropping the glass on the metal surface, she pulled out a wad of cash.
…
'Now, where to go?' Surely, home would be her last destination. No. It was not a home. To her, that was only a complex made of dry walls, a place to store furniture, where she would end up afterward from her nightly ventures.
Roaming the nightlife of down-town street, she glanced around the familiar district. With her long pink tress in a high ponytail, she whisked it about as her legs strutted under the many neon billboards. Blended with the crowded, her existence seemed insignificant. And she loved that.
She walked on, aimlessly passing groups and groups of hooting howling dogs. The auras she gave off only allow them to thirst from afar, not daring to go near. Getting tire of useless pricks, her emeralds eyes finally landed on the main game of the night. Standing from afar, staring at her for quite while, he stalked like a predator. The feeling of being hunted, wanted made her feel excited.
Meeting his gaze, she smirked.
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"Ooh." Groaning. His eyes were pained by the bright sunlight burning through the crack of the open curtain. Another one of those nights again, he really should pull thing together. It was starting to get worst and worst, like a routine now. Almost every night each week for the past months, he couldn't even comprehend how his body was able to work like that. It was purely a mystery. Even at his age, normal human would just collapse.
Obsidians finally adjusted to the light, slowly blinking a few times.
"Hn." Fully sitting up, he untangled his body from the comforter. Throwing his legs over the side, letting his feet touch the cold floor. A light shivering jolt ran up his spine, but it soon died down as he made his way toward the bathroom down the hallway.
His feet accidentally kicked the stack of books on the floor, the research materials that he had to dig through last night for his school project. It fell randomly over the pile of paper and knocking the nearby books down. Just like the domino affect, the table got bumped, the notebook was shifted. His book bag dropped. Uncovering everything, he had work for the last few days on to the floor.
'Great.' Now, he had to re-organize it again. Human research for Anatomy. The ridiculous impossible but completed Physics problems. The ten pages problem for Calculus. Psychology essays. Literature analysis. And the five pages history of Kamakura Shogunate that he had been ignoring sleep to complete.
Maybe taking all the advance classes along with being the captain for the soccer team, class president, and head of every possible committee was a bad idea. He didn't even interact much with the members or the student body. But the thought of beating his brother when he was in high school erases those regrets from him. Beside it was his senior year. A couple more months, he wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. His parents wouldn't be clinging to his back demanding everything accomplished to perfection. Just like how they terrorized his big brother. Itachi. Scoffing at the notion of the long hair sibling, he growled. No wonders he couldn't wait to move out of the house when he graduated.
Finally straightened up his mess, bathroom was the next destination. He only had ten minutes left to prepare for school. Breakfast was already out of the picture.
[...]
"Sasuke. What was with all the noises I heard? Why are you taking so long today?" Hearing her son walking down the steps, hand quickly tying the bento box, she turned around to meet the spiked raven hair. Her son, Sasuke Uchiha, in his school uniform.
"Mikoto, he's not a kid anymore." The father, turning a page of the new day papers, spoke from his seat.
The mother flipped her black hair, hand on her hip. "No matter how old, he's still my son. Youngest. Fugaku." Informing her husband.
"Nn," was his reply.
"Good morning Mom. Dad." Fixing his collar as he politely greeted his parents.
"You're skipping breakfast again Sasuke?" Worried, she handed him the bento box.
"It's nothing mom. I'll get something to eat on the way." Quickly gathered up everything and made his way to the front entrance. "I'm leaving!" Shoes on his feet, Sasuke dash out of the house.
"He looks paler everyday." Mumbled, the worried mother stood beside her husband. Hand on his shoulder. Looking out the glass window, she frowned from seeing the flashing silhouette of her son.
"I'm sure he knows his limit." Fugaku replied as he folded the newspaper, standing up. He gave his wife a peck on the cheek before leaving for work.
"Home soon for dinner hun."
"Ah."
[...]
"Huff. Huff. Huff." 'Damn it. The bus better be there.'
Holding tight to his book bag, the knot of the bento box and the extra folders for today meeting, Sasuke used his long legs to sprint like a bolt. But heedlessly without looking. He finally reached the bus stop. Leaning with one hand on the pole catching his breath.
Crash!
Ears perked from the collision over the other side of the street. He looked over. Seeing a lightweight body, upper torso covered in a baggy hoody. Head covered.
"Wah!"
Following the moving human, he was impressed by the speed that the slender legs can project to run toward his side of the street.
"Uwah…?" Her feminine voice was clearer. He watched as she dashed by him. The opposite force knocked the hood off her head, uncovering.
"!!" Astonished by the color. Pink. It was her hair color. Dyed? But it looked too real. Then another spasm of color hit him. Pure emerald green, the hue of her eyes was vibrantly beautiful.
"Sorry." Excusing her self from almost ran into him, the girl made a short eye contact as she turned around. Before he can recover, she disappeared.
'Who was she?'
His mind occupied through out the whole ride to school.
She wasn't different than other girls. But one look straight into those eyes, he was scared. It was too hypnotizing. Beside that, he was troubled. Slightly, out of curiosity for another being, the bruises on her face made him wonder.
'What happened?'