Remember
*Chapter 1: Off to...Where ever I'm going!
(Sakura POV)
"Remember, Sakura, no one is to know about your abilities," my mom reminds in a hushed tone. She strokes my waist length hair and delicately ties it into a bun. She continues to adorn my hair with wreaths of white and black flowers. She shuts her eyes and leans against my shoulder. I stand tall and inhale slowly, trying hard not to cry.
"Okaa-san, take good care of father. He can be so forgetful sometimes," I say softly, touching her hand. She nods, keeping her eyes on my peach-colored kimono. She straightens the layers of my kimono and fixes my obi. I gingerly slip on my dark fancy sandals that I rarely wear.
"They're here, Mebuki," my father informs. He holds the door open, blinking at me and looks away. I walk over to him and wrap my arm around his neck as I hug him. There's nothing my parents can do to stop them. I'm doing this for the good of my small village.
"I'm so sorry, blossom. If there was any way to stop this, I would do it, but there isn't. Forgive me," he murmurs against my ear. I hug him tighter, never wanting to let go of him. A few seconds pass and my dad lets go of me hesitantly. He touches my forehead and tells me to be careful. I nod my head because I know that this will probably be the last time I get to see my parents. I highly doubt that they'll let me visit them.
Before I leave the house, my mom places a thick white veil over my head. I want to scoff out loud. Why not throw a bed sheet over my head? I cluck my tongue in response, growing irked by the moment.
"I'm getting married, Okaa-san, and you guys won't even be at my wedding," I murmur. I feel like this is my funeral, not my wedding. Why couldn't my mysterious suitor and his family allow my parents to attend my wedding. After all, they are my family!
My mother sighs and says, "Try not to overdo your sarcasm and wittiness, Sakura."
I press my lips into a thin line and my father chuckles before he says, "Maybe you should overdo it? They might send you back?" I smile at the thought of my suitor not liking me and hopefully, sending me back to my village.
"Remember, Kizashi, these aren't normal human beings. They could just kill her if they didn't like her," my mother warns. She gives him a dead stare, reminding me that my groom isn't normal. His people are 'godly.' They have the power to control elements; if they wanted it to rain, I guess they could make it rain. Some of my fellow villagers say that the forest fires happen because they are mad. Personally, I don't give a horse's butt about them. My father clamps his mouth shut, worry covers his face. I smile weakly, like that will assure him of my safety.
My mother leads me out of our house, the house I grew up in for 18 years. My father holds the ends of my kimono, making sure that they don't get dirty. First impressions are important, right? I, on the other hand, do not care. However, I have a village to keep safe.
"Can anyone see me, Okaa-san?" I ask. I shift my head to look at her. I can partially see through the fancy veil. My mother meets my stare and shakes her head, telling me that the veil is too white and solid on the outside. Nodding, I continue to stare up ahead of me. I can already spot the main entrance to my village. That is where my ride awaits, I suppose.
"Be safe, Sakura," other women wish as we walk past them. I level my chin, square my shoulders, and walk straight. My mother always said that your posture says a lot about you. I want to lift my veil and smile at the children watching me leave. My heart aches, but I remain quiet. If I sacrifice myself, then these children have a better chance of living in peace. It's better to lose one person than a whole village, right?
As we slow down, I spot a large rectangular shaped carriage and two black horses. Four men wait outside the entrance. I hear my mother's breath sharpen. She's nervous, I know. My father sniffs twice before silencing himself. I study the unknown males. Two of them have dark hair. Though, one broods more and the other grins wildly. One of the males is blond and it seems like he has a thing for whiskers. The other is half-masked with spiky silver hair. A weird combination, I'd say.
Our village leader appears from the side with his wife. No one speaks my name. I guess that's a part of the tradition. From what I know, I am the second person from my village to be offered as a "gift" to the 'godly' people. The last girl sent from my village was three decades ago and of course, she never came back- not even once. I'm hoping that my village will remain in peace for more than three decades if I leave.
"We present you our gift. May your prince be pleased with it," says our village leader. His voice is laced with submission. I fight the urge to stomp my feet and exclaim angrily, "It? Am I an object? Do I look like one?" For the better of my future, I decide to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes, my mouth lands me in the most shittiest places.
"Of course, our prince will be satisfied," assures the smiling black-haired man. Charming people into reassurance is his thing, from what I can analyze. Broody crosses his arms and I don't know if that is a good thing or not. The blond grins at me. I can see his curiosity shining in his blue eyes. Thank Kami no one can see my face. I almost snicker as I imagine their reactions when they find out that I have pink hair and green eyes. That isn't very common in my village. Though, who knows what they have in their place. Maybe they have people born with naturally blue and purple hair and orange eyes?
"That is good to know," our leader says diplomatically. He moves to the side and his wife smiles at me. Her eyes are sad, but she willingly sees me off. As I cross the small distance, my mother grasps my left arm. I blink furiously. She's making this hard for me. I make the mistake of looking at her face because she's crying silently; tears streak down her pale face. I sigh inwardly and gently pry her fingers off my arm. Do these people not have a heart? Don't they see the pain my parents are facing right now? If not, they must be emotionless jerks who need several good punches in the head and some major scoldings; I wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson.
"I'll be fine, Okaa-san," I assure with an even tone. In reality, I have no idea what's going to happen to me when I leave the village. They could kill me for all I know. They might even dump me in the middle of nowhere just for fun. My father comes and holds her in place, wrapping his arms around her. She whips her head in the direction of the four men and demands, "She better be safe or else..."
I speed up as gracefully as I can. My mom and her threats need to stop. They don't need to know what she'll do; they don't know what she's capable of. They don't even need to know who she is. All they need to know is that she's a normal human and I'm her offspring.
"Or else what?" Broody exclaims.
I step closer to them and reply, "Or else I might throw a tantrum...I'm very temperamental like that."
I'm smirking, but unfortunately, they can't see my lovely smirk. So, I won't get to see their reaction this time.
"Dramatic also," my father adds; he chuckles lightly. Hopefully, they'll let my mother go and see her threat as something unimportant.
Broody arches a brow and I hope that he's going to tell me to stay in my village. Instead, he just looks at me with disdain and opens the carriage door. I bite my lip and enter. Once I sit down, Broody tosses the long ends of my kimono into the carriage. I resist the urge to rip off my veil and stick my foot in his snooty face. I'd like to give him a broken, bloody nose.
Time ticks by. We've left the village for a while now and no one has said a single word to me. That's a sign, I think. They're not hospitable people!
The ride to where ever I'm going is long, lonely and boring. I slide the window open a creak, hoping that no one will notice or care. They didn't give me any orders so I'm pretty sure I could make up a reasonable excuse if they got mad at me for opening the window. I'm constantly aware of the white veil, making sure that it hides my face and hair.
I watch as we forge our way through the forest. I lean into the comfy cushion, wondering to myself if there was a path like this in the forest. I don't remember there being any paths in the forest at all. These people must be familiar with the forest. I lean closer to the crack and feel the wind drizzle into the carriage. It permeates through my veil.
"Please refrain from opening the window," one of the men instructs. Damn! I slide the window shut, not caring if they hear or not. Why have a window if you don't use it? I purse my lips. They obviously don't want me memorizing the way to where ever we're going.
I slide the window open half way and before they can respond, I spout out, "I'm bored. Let's have a conversation?"
I wait and there's no response. I only hear the wind whip by and the horses galloping and the wheels of the carriage grinding against the surprisingly smooth ground. I slump against the seat. So this is how it's going to be?
"Am I talking to the crickets?" I ask loudly, not hiding my irritation.
"No, you're not," the blond replies instantly. He's hanging upside down, peering at me. I look up at the ceiling of the carriage, hoping that it's sturdy enough to maintain his weight. I wouldn't want him crash-landing on me.
"Trust me, this carriage is one of a kind; it's chakra-enhanced," he explains. He opens his mouth to say something but someone shouts his name and demands that he should keep his mouth shut. I frown. This 'chakra-enhanced' topic was interesting.
"Naruto? That's your name?" I ask, turning to look at him. He grins and nods. Someone tells him to shut the window and he yells back saying that he's in the middle of a conversation. I like his spunk. He looks back at me apologetically, motioning to the window. I hold up my hands, implying for him to wait, and ask where we're going.
"Ah. I guess, it wouldn't hurt to tell you where we're going; you're going to live there anyways," he muses aloud. His spiky blond hair dances wildly in the air. He purses his lips and his eyes drift to the bottom of the carriage as he thinks. I tap my finger against the wooden window and he snaps back into reality.
"Our destination is Konoha. We'll be there in a while, so make yourself comfortable." He grins one last time, slides the wooden window shut. I hear a lock from the outside. Great, this window has a lock. What if I suffocate in here or what if there's an emergency? I'll just fling open the door, unless that's locked as well.
Naruto shouts at someone, saying that he was being nice unlike someone. I think hear a grunt from Broody. So Broody isn't a nice guy, eh?
"Off we go to Konoha," I mutter and cross my arms. I'll just wait like the good girl I am. I sit in my seat for a second and lunge for the door. Of course, the door's locked. I sit back in my seat and adjust the veil. One day, I promise to myself mentally, one day I will escape from these people.
A/N: Hi! I just had a wonderful idea today while sitting in class, so here it is. Though, this is obviously just the beginning...so it's okay if this doesn't fully make sense yet! Review your thoughts please :)