A/N: Ohayo, minna! My name is Khofflakes, (pronounced koh-flakes). This is my first fanfiction, so please help me. I accept criticism and praise. Both will help me get better at writing. So, anyway, please enjoy! Oh, and review please!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 1:
"Sakura-tan, it's time to wake up. Today is your first day at school isn't it?" a sweet voice came from outside Sakura's dream world. It was Haruno Kisha. She was Sakura's older sister. Ever so a charming girl, her mint green, shoulder-length curls bounced about her face creating a beautiful contrast with her pale skin and freckles. Her amber eyes were filled with love for the girl before her. They have no resemblance at all besides their personality.
Ever since the accident that happened when Sakura was five, Kisha has watched over her little sister like she was her own child. Even though their parents still lived, Kisha has always had parental instincts. She wouldn't let Sakura out of her sight.
Flashback
"Sakura-tan, it's time to go home!" shouted an 11- year-old Kisha. It was getting quite late and their mother would be mad. Sakura was playing by the swings in Mizukagure's local park. That's what she thought. Instead, she found Sakura bent over, with her back to her.
"Come, Sakura. We'll be late and in big trouble if we don't run. Let's go already!" Kisha was one to be a bit impatient. When there was no response, or any sign Sakura had heard Kisha speaking, only then did she turn Sakura to look at her. What she saw then tore her heart in two. There was a black eye swelling in her left eye, and a mark on her right cheek that will definitely start to bruise. Her lip was torn and bleeding. Tears were freshly flowing from Sakura's mesmerizing emerald green eyes. But she didn't even make a sound.
What Kisha didn't notice was a swelling where Sakura's vocal cords should be. Tears of anger glistened in her eyes. "Who did this to you?" she asked slowly. When Sakura didn't answer, Kisha gave her a look which demanded an answer. Sakura pointed in the direction of a three older boys sniggering in their direction. Without another word, Kisha whipped off her tears, kissed Sakura's bruising cheek, and walked off in the direction of the bullies.
Those boys were around the ages of fifteen and sixteen, but that didn't wear her down. When she got there she didn't say anything, but what she said was heard loud and clear. Let's just say the dislocated shoulder, the broken nose and the shattered rib would take a longer time to heal than normal.
When they got home that night, their mother, Sakurako, was mad they came home way later than expected. But that was later directed to those boys that bullied her little girl. Their little brother, Torinaga, was only two-years-old. He was all over Sakura, asking: "Does it hurt?" over and over.
"So what did you do with them, Kisha?" asked Sakurako, while treating Sakura's wounds, "Knowing you, you must have put them in hospital."
"Precisely that, Okaa-san, I couldn't let those wastes of air pressure laugh at my sister like that. What's worse, she hasn't said a word!" cried Kisha, gesturing at Sakura, who hadn't been listening at all to their conversation. Sakura looked up at Kisha with bewildered eyes. Sakura has never seen Kisha this angry before. Kisho, their father, was on the phone talking to a doctor to set an appointment for his daughter to inspect her swollen neck.
"She can't speak… Yes, yes, yes, we've already checked to see if she can utter a sound… No, there was nothing coming out. I wouldn't have called you about it if she was fine...Tomorrow morning, 8 o'clock, got it. Arigato gozaimasu," Kisho put the phone down gently and scoffed. Then he muttered something incoherent.
Kisha heard her father walking over to the kitchen and asked, "Otou-san, can I come with you tomorrow to the doctor's office for Sakura?"
"Don't worry, Kisha-chan, we're all going," smiled Kisho. He was still thinking about the possibility that Sakura may never be able to speak again, let alone laugh. The thought of not hearing that musical laugh was unbearable. Kisha seemed to be thinking the same thing, for she hung her head and started to sob.
"Don't cry now, little bear-chan. Sakura will be fine," Kisho comforted, as he pulled Kisha into a hug. Sakurako watched them as she lulled Sakura to sleep on her lap and shed a tear. Torinaga just stood there by his father's lap, scratched his forest green hair and farted rather loudly. His hazel-brown eyes went wide and his mouth went into an 'o' shape. Everyone looked at him and after a second, he burst out laughing. Kisha soon followed and doubled over in the heartiest laugh. Sakurako and Kisho chuckled as they watched the sweet moment.
End of Flashback
Sakura stirred but made no effort to wake up at all. Kisha got impatient, "Sakura, wake up already!"
No movement was made and Kisha's eyebrows twitched. Resorting to a more evil way of waking someone up, Kisha walked over to the edge of the bed and pulled the comforter from Sakura, but Sakura was well-prepared and tugged on it in a firm hold. 'Oh-ho ho, no, Sakura,' thought Kisha. A thought came into her mind. She picked up Sakura's favourite stuffed bear, named Kurumu, then she picked up a pair of scissors from Sakura's desk and said: "Argh man, Sakura-tan, you don't have to wake up. But I think you should because I'm about to decapitate Kurumu, any last words?"
Before she knew it, Sakura had already snatched Kurumu and kicked the scissors out of Kisha's hands. "There we go," a satisfied Kisha said, "you know where the bathroom is, lil' sis."
'Why does she always resort to violence?' thought Sakura crushing Kurumu, eyeing her sister as she walked through the door. 'Wow, first day at school. Fiery Leaf High to be exact.' thought Sakura with despair. She didn't like new schools in new places because it's really hard to fit in with her being mute and all. She felt her stomach turn uneasily as she thought more about it.
'What if I don't make friends? I won't be able to sit with Torinaga because I'm in high school and he'll be in middle school, and Kisha is going back to University. I'll be so alone!' she mused. Fiery Leaf High was not a bad school at all, but was the best in Konoha. It was just her insecurities that weighed her down.
Finally standing up, she made her bed and opened the windows and the curtains. She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water over her face then brushed her teeth. Then she proceeded to wash her face. After her face was clean, she examined herself in the mirror.
She had freckles like her sister and mother, but hers were quite subtle in appearance. She looked exactly like her mother. Her irises were ringed with black and faded into emerald and viridian hues. Her skin was a creamy, porcelain colour. She had a slim waist and fairly long legs. She wasn't that short, she wasn't that tall. Her hair is the most distinct feature on her. Her cherry-blossom pink hair was her namesake. Just like her mother's. It was waist length and naturally wavy. For a seventeen-year-old, she was very attractive.
She preferred showers to baths so she turned the tap on and proceeded to strip and wash herself. After she got out, she moisturised and let her hair dry naturally so she'd have more time to pick out her clothing. She decided, because it was a little chilly out, she'd wear her black leather skinny jeans, which she tucked her white long-sleeved vest into, and a maroon sweater with the white letter 'M' on it. She adorned her maroon Adidas sneakers on and styled her almost dry hair into two space buns. To finish her look, she put on light mascara and highlights and matte maroon lipstick on. (A/N A lot of maroon, hey, I get you my girl!)
Satisfied, Sakura grabbed her bag and was out the door. She walked casually out the door and checked her watch. It was an hour before school started so she could laze around for thirty minutes then walk to school. It was now 07:00 am. She went to her parent's room and knocked. "Come in," was the reply.
Sakura walked slowly in and found her mother getting ready to accompany her to the parent's orientation. Her father was in the shower. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan. Did you sleep well?" asked Sakurako. Sakura greeted her mother in sign language and answered with a yes. She asked back.
"I was fretting over you, I didn't get a wink. Hey, don't you look beautiful!" her mother said with a coy smile, "You'll knock those boys dead! What can I say? It runs in your blood…" she continued with a flip of the hair. Sakura blushed bright red, and then laughed at this, of course with no sound coming out. Haruno Sakurako was such a drama queen. With reason anyway, she was drop-dead gorgeous, even at 42. "So what time is this orientation thingy again?"
Sakura moved over to sit on their king-sized bed and signalled at 09:10. Sakurako nodded and proceeded to brush her hair. She was wearing a black tailored, slim fit suit and a crisp white shirt. She also wore black pointed 5-inch heels. Her finished look was a slick ponytail with a side part. She was very fashionable. She fixed her eyebrows and drew a cat-eye with a light coating of mascara. She put some contouring and highlights and finished with a bright red lipstick. She turned on her heel and asked: "How do I look?"
Sakura signalled: 'You look awesome!'
"Why, thank you!" replied her mother. 'Mom, I've gotta go.' She signalled. "Well okay, be careful. I'll see you in a bit."
Sakura got up and waved then went out the door. She went to the kitchen and saw Torinaga and Kisha sitting and talking. She signalled a hello and bye-bye, snatched Kisha's toast and stuck out her tongue at Torinaga. He did likewise. "Hey, what about my toast?" screeched Kisha. 'I'm stealing it for threatening me with Kurumu!'
"Yeah, whatever, it's just a stupid bear!" she retaliated.
'You're a stupid bear, little bear-chan!' With that, she was out the door, without waiting for retaliation.
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The cool breeze refreshed Sakura as she tried to be optimistic about her day. 'Maybe it won't be that hard to make friends. I'll just use a notebook to communicate for now, than as the year goes on, I'll teach them sign language. Not that hard, right?' She thought and hoped. Konoha was a beautiful village. The people were friendly and Sakura liked that. It was a fifteen-minute walk to Fiery Leaf from her house, which was not that bad. As she saw the vast building, an emotion went through her. She couldn't place her finger on what it was. It was a mix of fear and despair.
She got to the doors and pushed them open. She immediately saw the many people and gasped. Gulping her fear, she proceeded to the first door to the left which read 'reception'. She got in and walked up to the desk. She bowed respectfully as she was taught by her father, and greeted the lady in sign language. Said lady looked up and saw Sakura and immediately recognized her from the interview a few weeks ago. The name on the desk read Nagasaki Nami. She smiled and answered back in sign. 'May I please have my schedule?' signalled Sakura. Ms. Nagasaki nodded and handed it to her. 'Your homeroom is room 345, teacher is Hatake Kakashi. You're locker is no. 342. I'll call someone to help you look for it okay?' Ms. Nagasaki signalled. Sakura nodded and waited as she (Ms. Nagasaki) stood up to call someone. She scanned around and picked the first one she saw who was in that homeroom.
"Uzumaki Naruto, could you please come over here. This is Haruno Sakura. She is new and mute. She can hear you though, so you can talk as normal. Use what skills you have from that sign language course you all did and communicate, please." She ordered in a stern tone.
"Yes, Nami-san," cried the loud-mouth, "I'll take care of her!"
With that, Nami nodded and smiled at Sakura and closed the door. Naruto turned to Sakura and examined her then sniffed her. Sakura, a little creeped out, stood back and stared at Naruto like he was crazy. Naruto, coming back to his senses, shook his head and apologized for his rudeness.
"Come on, Sakura-chan; let's go meet my friends over there!" Naruto pointed to his friends in a far corner and offered his arm to her. She took it willingly and looked him over properly. He was a really handsome boy. He had the most clear cerulean blue eyes she'd ever seen. His hair was short, golden and spiky. He also had whisker-like markings which she found peculiar, but it added to his hotness. He was lean, but built, as she could feel in his arm. All the while he was blabbering about how much he loved ramen. After his rant, they reached a group of people whom she assumed were his friends.
"So guys, this is Sakura-chan. She is mute. Nami-san said we can speak to her as normal, but understand that she'll use sign language. At least we did that course, right?" he introduced.
"Yeah, Naruto, you're right," piped a gorgeous girl with platinum blond hair which was in a very long ponytail at the top of her head. Her eyes were baby blue and her skin was flawless. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Yamanaka Ino." Sakura bowed and offered her hand for a shake but Ino just squealed and squeezed her in a bear hug. Everyone raised their voices in protest in fear for the delicate-looking girl. Sakura just laughed inaudibly and hugged Ino back with just as much force. 'Perhaps it is easy to make friends,' she thought.
After that she was introduced to Hyuuga Hinata, a beautiful, shy girl with long blue-black hair and pearly eyes. Hyuuga Neji, a handsome man of few words, who had long dark hair in a loose ponytail and the same pearly-white eyes as Hinata. He was apparently her cousin. Then, Nara Shikamaru, a boy with a lazy look in his onyx black eyes, his hair in a ponytail that looked like a pineapple. After him it was Akimichi Chouji, a chubby boy who always had a bag of potato chips in his possession. He had long orange hair and cute swirls on his chubby cheeks. Then it was Tenten. She is a beautiful, cheerful girl with hazel brown eyes and dark brown hair in space buns just like Sakura. And lastly there was Karui. She had beautiful dark skin and striking red hair and golden eyes. She was truly beguiling.
"You really have beautiful hair. Is it natural?" asked Tenten. Before Sakura could answer, she saw a figure coming to them. It was a boy around her age who seemed to come their way. Now he beat any other hot boy in this school. He had dark black hair and the darkest obsidian black eyes that seemed to draw her in. His complexion was pale but healthy. He had a body built just like Naruto. He had this aura about him that drew Sakura in.
"Did you know that staring was considered rude?" he broke her out of her reverie. 'I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it.' She signalled.
"Oi, teme, this is Sakura-chan. She is mute. Sakura, this is Uchiha Sasuke. He is a dude that's got a stick up his ass," said Naruto. Everyone laughed except said stuck up boy. Sasuke just squinted his eyes shut and pursed his lips into a thin line. Deciding to do nothing about it (which was so out of character) he simply muttered something incoherent.
RING!
Every around them shuffled their way to their respective homerooms. "Oi, Sakura, show us your schedule," said Ino. Sakura handed it over and thought about the boy she had just met. He intrigued her.
"Alright, so you have homeroom with us, Math, Physics and Chemistry with me; Art, Music, and Gym with all of us and we'll see who else throughout the day."
As they walked to homeroom, Sakura was aware of the Uchiha's eyes on her.
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When they had finally arrived at homeroom, all eyes were on Sakura. There were ugly looks from jealous girls and catcalls from the boys. There were assigned seats on a chart so Sakura had to sit in the back of the class with Sasuke, behind of Ino and Shikamaru, and Chouji and Karui. To her right it was Naruto and Hinata and to her left it was Neji and Tenten.
Everyone was talking to their desk mates and Sakura suddenly felt alone. She didn't know what to do with Sasuke! What if she did something completely weird! She glanced over at him for a split second and mentally cried. He had this emotionless look in his eyes, like his being there was not worth anything. Well, of course for education, but anything else seemed to irk him to no end! Being one who didn't like awkward silences, (really, who does?), she poked her fingers together and tried to think of a conversation.
'So, Ms. Nagasaki said you guys know sign language. Is that true?' she signalled, trying to spark something up. He simply replied, "Aa," and said nothing more. Sakura nodded and got the message that he clearly didn't want to talk. She opted to sketching in her sketchbook instead. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched Sakura and examined her.
"Oi, teme, be polite won't you and talk to the girl!" scolded Naruto. Sasuke merely glared at him and continued with his brooding. Sakura was preoccupied with her own thoughts to care about Sasuke anyway. But that's what she thought. She was actually rather disturbed by his monosyllabic responses and his cold demeanour. At that moment someone walked through the door and Sakura assumed he was the educator. He wore a navy blue mask over his face and only showed one onyx-coloured lazy eye. His shock of silver hair covered the other.
"Ohayo, everyone, sorry I'm late. I got lost on the road of life and then I met a nice lady who showed me the way." He lazily remarked.
"That's no excuse, Kakashi-sensei!" bursts Naruto from the back of the class. Kakashi made what looks like a smile, and continued: "As I was saying before interrupted rudely by Mr. Uzumaki, we have a new student it seems," he said looking straight at Sakura, "Won't you please come and introduce yourself, Ms. Haruno."
Sakura looked up wide-eyed at Kakashi and slowly stood up and walked to the front of the class. It was a very big classroom so there were so many people who hadn't noticed her. There were many whispers as she continued on, but she chose to ignore them. She finally made it to the front and smiled. Because they had had a course in sign language, she signalled who she was and that she was mute but could hear perfectly.
"Thank you Ms. Haruno, I trust that you all will be nice." said Kakashi with a smile. As Sakura walked back to her seat a girl sneered at her. Sakura just looked at her and walked on.
"Alright everyone, the time now is 08:53 so we have to be at the hall in seven minutes. The parent's orientation starts at 09:10 so we need to be there a little earlier. I need to go see Kurenai so you'll have to go there by yourselves. Be there at precisely nine o'clock, got it?" ordered Kakashi.
"Yes, sensei," They chirped. When Kakashi finally went through the door, half the class flooded to Sakura's desk. Questions flew from every direction. Questions like, 'Who are you really?', 'Where do you come from?', 'Why is your hair pink?', and the like. Sakura suddenly felt very claustrophobic and Sasuke was starting to lose his temper. He put his arms around her protectively and growled a low, but dangerous growl. When he did that a sharp pain shot from his arm to his heart but he didn't care about it. Sakura, meanwhile, was beet red.
A girl from behind the midst of now scared people piped up: "Tch, is she your girlfriend now Sasuke-kun? I am fated to be yours. She can't just come into the scene and take you away from me!"
"First of all, Karin, you're not mine, and second of all, she's not my…" he was stopped mid-sentence when a senior bounded into the room and shouted something about a Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha calling their son Sasuke. With one last glare, Sasuke reluctantly removed his arm around Sakura and stalked out of the room. They all fell silent.
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"Sasuke-chan, I saw what happened! Who is that girl?" Sasuke's mother, Mikoto Uchiha, asked.
"Who are you talking about exactly?" the boy asked suddenly confused, "And why are you here so early?"
"The girl with the pink hair, dummy!" she said flustered. "We have to take her home with us."
"Yes, we should. We'll have to get her parents' contact numbers. Is she human?" asked his father, Fugaku Uchiha. Sasuke was even more confused.
"Could someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Sasuke demanded. Husband and wife looked at each other. Mikoto turned to him and said: "When you put your arms around her, did you feel a sharp pain from your arm to your heart?"
Sasuke slowly nodded, not liking where this was going. Although he wondered how they knew about it. Mikoto gasped and Fugaku spoke, "You have bonded with this girl. We need to go see Kurenai."
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"So you're telling me that your son has bonded with Mr. and Mrs. Haruno's daughter?" asks the headmistress Yuuhi Kurenai, with a raised eyebrow. They had called both parents and their children in secret to the office. Haruno were on the right and the Uchiha were on the left.
"Yes, she is. You know already that the Uchiha are an elite clan of vampires and have various abilities," at that, Sakura, Sakurako and Kisho perked their ears in utter surprise, "and my lovely wife had a vision of the two of them together with the markings of being bonded together." Fugaku paused to let it sink in before he continued.
"So we now humbly ask for your daughter to live in our household. We know it's a lot to take in but there is nothing we can do about it."
Sakurako was quick to protest, "But she has just started school! She hasn't even settled that well into Konoha yet."
"That is the exact reason we need her to settle in with Sasuke. This isn't the appropriate place to discuss such things. We may do so at my house, isn't that so, Fugaku?" Mikoto truly wanted Sakura. There was something about Sakura that drew her in the first time she laid eyes on her. Fugaku nodded in response. The whole while, Sasuke didn't say a word. He and Sakura were pondering about the awkward situation. It seriously bugged them, seeing as they have just met.
"I will dismiss Ms. Haruno and Mr. Uchiha for a month to figure this out. Mr. Uzumaki is a frequent visitor right, so I'll send weekly lessons for the duration of that time. I hope you figure this out." Kurenai sympathetically said.
While Sasuke and Sakura went to fetch their bags, the two different parents decided to continue this conversation in the privacy of the Uchiha household.
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On the way to the Uchiha household, the Haruno parents were bickering.
"I can't believe you, Kisho. You are literally selling our daughter off to some family we haven't met until 2 hours ago!" shouted Sakurako, losing her temper very fast.
"Hey, you don't have a right to say it's me alone! You were a part of it too. You know, as well as I do, that you would have protested if you knew this was not the right thing to do." He retaliated, almost losing control of the car.
There was an uncomfortable silence after that. Sakura had put on earphones and listened to music to drown out her thoughts, and the bickering. Mostly her thoughts, anyway, they weren't that comforting. Think of it, she is bonded to a vampire? Who knew? He just seemed like a normal human being. What is the deal of this bonding stuff anyway? It made no sense.
'Well, to be honest, at least I'm not bonded to some nut job. Sasuke-kun is rather hot anyway. I'm not complaining about that. I remember when he put his arms around me, I blushed like crazy. Tell me I don't have a tiny crush on this boy?' she thought in horror. 'I am destined to love him right? So I shouldn't be so surprised at this crush. This bonding thing works so fast…'
At that very moment, they pulled into the Uchiha neighbourhood, with the Uchiha's themselves leading them. Sakura's stomach was beginning to turn. They were obviously getting closer to the Uchiha Manor. Two minutes later, they pulled into the gate. Sakura saw Sasuke coming out the car and her heart suddenly leapt. She hadn't realised how much she missed him, even though it has only been twenty minutes. Sakura thought about this and suddenly tried to scold herself for loving so early. She hasn't realised it yet, but he feels the exact same way.
Sasuke pretended he was being polite and waited for the guests so that he can usher them in, but in true fact, he only wanted to see Sakura. But of course he wasn't going to show it. She finally came out the car and looked to the ground for a distraction. She followed behind her mother so she can hide from seeing Sasuke's face. She didn't want to trip over something.
"Welcome to our home, Mr, Mrs, and Ms Haruno. Please, make yourselves at home." Fugaku declared. He was trying his best not to make this meeting sound awkward. Mikoto asked Sayuri, the maid, to serve them hot beverages while they started the conversation.
"So, I know you would like to know more about the situation at hand, so I'll start from the beginning." Fugaku started. "The Uchiha are the main clan which consists of vampires. Our ancestors, Uchiha and Senju, were brothers. The Senju and Uchiha clans are still allies even unto this day. Uchiha and Senju were out playing in the woods as young boys, looking for something interesting to discover. They stumbled on a bat and a fox about to die. It was rather strange to find them dying at the same time as each other. Senju chose to examine the fox and so Uchiha was left with the bat. Senju prodded the fox's lip and suddenly, it lashed out and bit his hand. At that very same moment, Uchiha got a fright and stuck his finger inside the bat's scratches. He had cut his finger on a rock he fell on earlier, so the wound opened and mixed with the bat's blood."
At that moment, Sayuri came in with the tea and coffee. Only after they fixed their drink and drank their first sip, did Fugaku continue with his story. "Uchiha screamed as the bat's filthy blood mixed with his. Senju had fallen unconscious as a result of the tremendous pain. Senju was a rather sickly child, so his being weak was understandable. Uchiha was crawling painfully towards his brother, calling out his name. When there was no response, he lay down as he felt as if they both were going to die. Uchiha's pulse started ebbing away, and after an hour, he died." He paused to catch his breath. All the while, the Haruno's listened intently.
"Some village men found them after five hours when the sun was almost down. After they were brought home, there were some changes. Even though it was not in appearance, it was in behaviour. Senju started to wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the full moon. He was becoming more attuned to nature and the beasts that their parents thought he was some sort of a fox. His teeth also became sharp like a bat's fangs. The boys hadn't shared their experience with their parents for fear of rejection. Uchiha had a strange thirst. His throat was never satisfied no matter how much he drank. He became an irritable, brooding little boy. Maybe that's where our brooding genes come from." He commented, attempting to lighten everyone's mood. It wasn't working so he chuckled awkwardly, cleared his throat and continued:
"Any who, he became so depressed because of his unquenchable thirst, a crazy idea came into his mind. Maybe he should hunt a doe and drink its blood. So he called Senju, and they went out into the woods together. Somehow, because of Uchiha's heightened senses, they managed to find a suitable doe. He then took its neck and brought it closer to his face. Senju looked on in pure curiosity and disgust. Uchiha slowly opened his mouth and dug his fangs into the doe's neck. After he had drunk the blood, his throat became moist again. Uchiha found that the doe's blood lasts for two days before he has to hunt again. That then, is the story of our clan." Fugaku finished, feeling satisfied. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he could trust these people.
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A/N: So, I felt I should stop there. I will be publishing new chapters every five days or so. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!