Forever It Shall Remain Untitled.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Usually, the sun rays were the wake-up call for a certain male teenager, but this night it was the desperate emptiness of his stomach that pried him from his slumber. His eyes fluttered open, long lashes framing the dark irises, and there in itself was a sight to behold. The tone of his usually spiteful, brooding onyx eyes was different, soft and tired and world-warn.
Those very eyes drifted over the scene before him, glancing to the window in time to see the last shades of the sunset begging to stay. They faded eventually to blackness, just like every other night.
He blinked. A low groaning sound came from his abdomen and he suddenly remembered he was hungry. He lazily sighed and sat up in his soft, warm, dark bed and let the blood flow properly through his being before standing and making the short journey down the stairs, into the lit up kitchen.
His mother, Mikoto Uchiha, was at the stove, depositing a pan full of her special chocolate chip cookie dough into the oven to bake. She straightened up and turned her head towards her son. "Sasuke-kun, you're awake!" she exclaimed with glee, rushing towards him with her arms open, seeking a hug. He tensed up, but didn't evade the physical contact.
"Yeah." He said shortly, gently squeezing his mothers small frame. She tightened her grasp once then let go and held his shoulders as she looked up at her little boy. Well, he certainly wasn't little anymore, she inwardly admitted, already eighteen and so tall.
"I was afraid you'd never come out of that room! You've been cooped up all day." She said, grabbing his chin and forcibly examining his face, "You look like you've just woken up. You haven't been wasting your day sleeping again, have you?" She inquired worriedly.
"I didn't get much sleep last night." He muttered, pushing her hand away and sighing.
"Sasuke Uchiha!" She hollered, hands immediately placing themselves sternly on her hips, "You know I don't like you staying up all night! What's your excuse this time, huh?"
The boy in question shrugged and strolled to the refrigerator, "I was working on the business again." He muttered while examining the foods, then made a grab for the small carton of cherry tomatoes he so enjoyed.
"That's always your excuse!" His mother frowned, strutting forward and grabbing hold of the tomatoes before he could pop any into his awaiting mouth. He frowned.
"Because I'm always working." He ground out, making a grab for the tomatoes. She bumped him away with her hip and grinned while rinsing the tomatoes in the sink.
"I worry about you, Honey. Don't work to hard. No matter what your father says, you're doing just fine." She reassured her troubled boy and handed him a few rinsed tomatoes which he grabbed and ate quickly.
"That's all I'm doing though," He sighed dejectedly, "I'm doing just fine. I'm not doing great, or even good. Just fine. That's it." He said as he reached for another tomato.
His mother gave him a small smile, "and that's better than most! Your father's proud of you, I know it." She clucked, putting the rest of the tomatoes back in the refrigerator.
Sasuke lifted himself onto the counter and gave her a small smile. "If only." He said, letting his guard down as he tended to do around his mother. He knew she wouldn't knock him down like his father.
"He is! Now lick this spoon." She ordered, shoving a dough covered spoon under his nose. He wasn't really a big eater, so he could have been satisfied with the few tomatoes he ate, but he never could resist his mother's chocolate chip cookies, let alone the dough.
He licked the dough silently, watching his mother as she flitted around the room, cleaning up whatever was dirty or out of place and he suddenly wondered how she survived here. With her husband a cruel, seemingly heartless man and an apathetic, quiet son. It was no secret that her and his father had had an arranged marriage when they were twenty three. It was a big part of the Uchiha files, after all.
She was just so full of energy, and happiness, and she was just so good. She was a good wife, and an even better mother. Would she be an even better grandmother? Sasuke paused. She might not ever get grandchildren. Sasuke was currently not interested in any type of woman, they were just a hindrance to his work now and he didn't know if that would ever change. And as for his brother…well he didn't know. He hadn't seen said brother in almost six years.
Mikoto came and snatched the spoon from his hands and quickly washed it off. As she was putting it back where it originally started they both heard the front door open and slam closed.
Fugaku Uchiha.
The heavy sound of his boots hitting the hardwood floor seemed to echo around them as he stomped into the kitchen, looking as stuck up as always.
"Get me a beer, B*tch." He ordered Mikoto grumpily, taking a seat at the table. Sasuke's fist clenched with the sudden urge to remove his father's face. He suppressed the feeling entirely with practiced ease. It wasn't the first time he'd addressed Mikoto in such a manner. She obediently fetched him a can of his favorite beer.
"Sasuke." His father looked over at him as he took a swig of the foul drink.
"Yes, Fugaku?" Sasuke responded, his voice betraying none of his upset. He'd practiced this many times. He found he gained more of the respect he so craved from this man when he was cold.
"I got a call today," He started off, fixing Sasuke with a disapproving glare, "apparently, the squad you sent out yesterday evening was shot down and killed."
Sasuke winced inwardly. That was the reason he had been up all night, trying to somehow work the problems in the system and see what exactly went wrong. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the number of guards protecting their target. He had messed up.
"I know." Sasuke replied shortly, staring his father in the eye, like he was taught.
"You messed up again, boy." He sneered, taking another swig of his drink. "You know what? I'm sick of you. I never did like you that much. Itachi was always better. Itachi did what he was told, when he was told, how he was told. He never made a mistake. Not a single one. But you? You stay cooped up in your room, drowning with your boo-hoo-me emo self pity. You don't do anything for my company, and worst of all you don't listen and you don't try." Fugaku ranted, while Sasuke held his tongue, glaring at the wall behind his father's head.
"Fugaku, dear, you know he tries. He stays up all night and-" Mikoto tried to defend her son, but Fugaku interrupted.
"It doesn't matter if he was awake working non-stop for the rest of his life, nothing would change. He's useless and a waste of space. He can't do anything right." His father spouted more of his degrading words straight to Sasuke's ears and mind.
His rage was building and the need to rebel and deny every false accusation was bubbling over his limit.
"Fugaku! You know he is not! He is your son and he is fairing just fine!" Mikoto glared harshly at her husband, warning him not to take this scene any further than it had already gone.
Fugaku, being the stubborn man he was, stood from his seat and slapped Mikoto straight across the face in the blink of an eye.
Sasuke saw red. He couldn't control his mouth as he screamed out every possible thing he could remember. Every word coming from the boys mouth held truth, and raw feeling. Anger unimaginable, but Fugaku just glared and shouted right back. Eventually Fugaku advanced on Sasuke, shoving him into a wall and holding him by his throat.
"You are not my son. You are a failure and a worthless piece of garbage." He spat, sneering down at him menacingly.
Ignoring all previous thoughts of pleasing his father, Sasuke gathered his clenched fist and punched his father right in the jaw. His dad stumbled back and grabbed his jaw, swearing heartily and returning Sasuke's favor by punching him back.
"Stop it!" He heard a shrill scream, and he suddenly remembered his mother was in the room. Sasuke and Fugaku both looked over at the distraught woman, who was in tears. "Stop it! Both of you!"
Sasuke looked lost. He then looked back at his father, the hate and just plain disgust in his eyes. He couldn't take it. Sasuke left the room, into the living room and slipped on his shoes, grabbed his favorite leather jacket and ran out the door.
He ran for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only about ten minutes. He finally stopped on a dark corner, the warm late spring air danced around him as he glanced around frantically. He didn't know where exactly he was, but he recalled driving by once or twice.
He pulled out his phone and tried to decide on who he could call. He immediately dialed his best friend's number. It rang three times before a tired voice answered, "What, Sasuke? I call all day and nothing, but once I try to sleep it's suddenly 'call Naruto' time, eh?" The blonde accused, already yelling.
"I ran away." Sasuke stated the three words as if they were dangerous, which they probably were. Naruto was silent for a few seconds.
"Really?" Naruto asked, completely shocked but at the same time he knew it was coming sometime. Sasuke had told him about his father's cruel ways years ago.
"Well, it's not legally running away since I'm eighteen. But I literally just ran out of my house and I don't think I'm going back." He explained, looking around as a few cars drove past.
"Ugh. Dude, Sasuke. I would say come over but I'm all packed up and leaving early tomorrow." Naruto sighed. That's right, Sasuke thought, Naruto was going on an all-summer vacation to some distant country with his grandfather, the pervert author.
"Oh right, I forgot. Well, I could always call someone else…" Sasuke trailed off. He thought for a moment, then realized he had no other close friends he could call. He wasn't really a people person and all his high school acquaintances had moved on.
"Alright man, be careful and don't fall for the candy in the van. Or the puppies." Naruto warned seriously, even though Sasuke knew he was kidding.
"I'll try not to. But you know how much I love those puppies." Sasuke sighed, inwardly laughing.
"Stay fresh, dude. Later." Naruto hung up and Sasuke snapped his phone shut.
As he watched the cars drive by, he wondered where he was going to go. He had no plans for the summer, and there was no way he was going home, not now. So Sasuke did something that Uchiha's never did. He stepped to the edge of the road and lifted his thumb at the passing cars. Most just kept on driving not caring at all that he wanted to get out of this cursed town.
He wasn't paying attention when a small little black car stopped in front of him and was surprised when the driver honked once to get his attention.
The passenger window rolled down and a woman came into view. She grinned up at him, her eyes some odd color he couldn't figure out in the dark, and her hair seemed to be glowing, so he guessed it to be some light color. "Headed somewhere?" She asked.
He nodded once and ran his fingers through his hair as the cool breeze blew through it. She rolled her eyes playfully and laughed, "Well then get in!"
He complied, and slid into the dark seat which was rather soft, he admitted. He felt a gaze on his face and turned to face the only possible person.
"So. Where to?" She asked excitedly, as if her happiness counted on his decision. He shrugged.
"Anywhere but here." He muttered, running a hand through his hair again and letting out a tired sigh.
"Really? I'm headed that way myself! Want to come with?" She raised a brow, starting the engine again.
"Why not?" He half smirked, "So where exactly are you going?" His dark eyes watched the road ahead as she expertly drove through the slow traffic.
"Well, as you asked, anywhere but here. But if you really want to indulge in specifics, I'm headed to my cabin up north. About a two day drive from here, including stops and such." She informed without taking her concentrated eyes from the road.
"And you plan to drop me off where?" He asked, shifting his hold on the jacket in his hands. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She was smiling.
"Well I didn't plan to, but if you want I can drop you off somewhere." She suggested. He examined her. She had a lip ring and two piercings in her earlobe. Her hair was twisted into a bun atop her head, but he could see it was long. He couldn't decipher the color of her hair, but he thought he saw the tone of her eyes in the light of a streetlamp. Green.
"Well…I've never been camping before…" Sasuke trailed off, having nowhere to go and he didn't really want to be dumped in some random city. So he digressed.
"Oh! Really? Well, I guess that's about to change, huh? Oh, by the way, my name's Sakura." She threw him a quick smile but seemed determined not to take her eyes from the road. He commended her driving.
"Sasuke." He replied, staring out the window at the passing city and all it's bright lights. The buildings just kept on flying by.
"Sasuke? That's a nice name. So…care to explain why you're hitchhiking?" She giggled, making a slow left turn at a stop light.
"I don't believe it's any of your business." He stated rudely, his sudden spite made her look at him with wide eyes for a moment. She instantly scowled.
"Your in my car, going to my cabin, and you're probably going to be using my food and clothing, so I do believe I get some sort of explanation as to why I'm driving you." Sakura retorted, nearly matching his tone which surprised him a bit. He didn't show it as he glared harshly at her.
"It was you who decided to be the heroine and save me from getting picked up by a crazed lunatic. So I owe you nothing, you did this on your own." He concluded.
"How do you know I'm not a crazed lunatic?" She gave him a wicked grin. He rolled his eyes.
"I don't." he admitted, watching her. She raised her brows and grinned again.
"Exactly. Don't push my buttons or I might whip out a chainsaw on you." She joked. It was amazing, Sasuke thought, how she could just completely change a mood from slightly awkward to hostile to joking. It was like she controlled emotions and bent them at her own will. He wasn't to sure that he liked being controlled.
"I'm still not going to tell you." Sasuke informed his companion. She shrugged.
"You will. In time, love, in time." Sakura said ominously. Suddenly Sasuke was blinded by a bright light that faded slower than he would've liked. He looked out his window to see the bright neon sign of a hotel.
"You're stopping?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah. I can't drive all day and all night, can I?" She countered with the same amount of petulance.
Oh. She'd been driving all day too. He hadn't thought of that.
"I suppose not." Sasuke said as she pulled into a parking spot and stopped the car. She looked over at him with a half smile.
"You only have what's on you, right?" Sakura suddenly demanded, her tone leaking excitement.
"Obviously." He dead-panned. He wasn't sure what she was up to, but he had a feeling he wouldn't enjoy it as much as she would.
"Glorious!" She uttered, swinging her door open and hopping out. He raised a brow and swung his open too, although he chose to calmly step out of the vehicle instead of acting a fool.
As he looked around, he realized he was far away from home already. Maybe a good hour drive. He didn't realize they had gone that far already. The tall white castle-looking building towered over them. Sakura then appeared in front of him, not blocking any of his vision because of her extremely short stature. He suppressed a chuckle. He still couldn't tell the color of her hair in the faulty neon lighting, but her eyes were definitely green.
He didn't know why he was getting along so well with her. He usually never made a connection with anyone. He simply wasn't a people person. Maybe it was the way she looked at him. It was obvious she found him attractive, no one could deny his handsome features, but she didn't ogle him like all those girls in high school. She stared him down with her intelligent green eyes. It was like a challenge, not an invitation to hop in bed, but a dare. A dare that said, "why don't you just come on and try then?"
She had a lot of emotions in her eyes. He could tell she wasn't just going on vacation, but it was also some sort of get-away-from-life trip.
"One room, please." Sakura said as she handed over the required amount of money. The cashier took the money and handed over a key.
Sasuke wondered why exactly she didn't get two rooms, but figured it out in his mind that she probably only brought enough money for herself and not another person.
Once in the room, Sakura was relieved to find there was a couch against the wall that Sasuke could sleep on. Sakura didn't think she would get much sleep if she was in the same bed as him.
She had to admit, that boy was beautiful. His strong jaw and thin, pale skin was flawless, smoothly shaven and all. He had a tall, lanky build to him. He seemed more of a broody bad boy with his leather jacket and dark clothes, but he proved to be a very smart person. She could tell by the way he held himself, as if he was better than normal people.
She put her overnight suitcase down by the bed and looked back at Sasuke who was strutting towards the small linen closet near the bathroom. He pulled out a clean white sheet and draped it over the couch. There was hardly any space between the couch and the bed, maybe two feet. A small bedside table was in-between the white couch and the bed.
An awkward silence overtook them as Sasuke sat down and looked at Sakura as she slowly lowered herself onto the bed. They stared at each other.
"So…" Sakura trailed off, not comfortable in the silence. She was exhausted but she didn't want to just go to sleep with him in the room. She hardly knew him.
"I'm going to bed." He stated, rolling over and letting his head hit the cushion. He wasn't really going to sleep, he wasn't tired. He had slept all day after all. But nonetheless, he saw she was tired, and decided to at least fake for her sake.
Sakura was grateful as she climbed into her sheets and muttered a small, "goodnight," which was left unanswered. Her eyes closed.
Sasuke had a strange feeling in his gut, but he blamed it on whiplash. His life had taken an unanticipated turn, and he didn't know if it was for better or for worse yet. He sighed almost silently.
She has pink hair, Sasuke thought as he laid there, pink hair. He sighed again. Now he understood the name.
A/N: So, new story? Yes. I got this idea very suddenly and I fell in love with it. I've always wanted to run away. It's not that I hate my home, not at all. I'm a weird person. I want to expirience things. So I wanted to know how it felt to run away. I was watching a video by The Used. It was "The Taste Of Ink." When I saw the blonde guy trying to hitchhike I got the idea, and I called my friend to tell her about it. She urged me to write it because she loved it. So, I'm hoping you guys like it too?
I'm not very pleased with the ending, it seems a little rushed and dull to me. But it's what I have. Enjoy!
Read and Review, please! The next chapter will be out soon!