A STRING OF HOPE
By midnight07
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! His Greatness, Masashi Kishimoto, ruleZzzz!
Chapter 1: THE MEETING
Everything happens for a reason...
and we seek to understand them every time.
Believe me, some things are better left undiscovered...
After all...reason couldn't fathom the ambiguity of fate...of destiny.
midnight07
Flashback
" Miss Sakura please calm down, the Lord isn't in a good mood today. I think it's better to set that matter aside for a moment or else… Mr. Tanaka said calmly halting me from entering my grandfather's office.
"Or else what, 0ji-san?" I said blankly.
"Please Miss Sakura, don't call me that way." he quickly uttered. "As I was saying, the Lord may be angered if you…"
"I don't care... He can curse me as much as he wants to. Open the damned door and stand aside Oji-san or I'll kick this door into pieces!" I stated with irritation and anger in my voice.
Mr. Tanaka was clearly taken aback by my rude words. "Please…Miss Sa-…"
"Let her in Jiro!" a cold and commanding voice coming from the other side of the office door said.
I stormed immediately into the room and faced the very man I loathed--- the business tycoon whom almost everyone feared and bowed to---the father who banished his own son---the monster who sent my brother away… "You! What did you do to my brother? Where is he ?!" I howled with much contempt.
"It's been a year since I took you in but you still haven't learned Sakura. You're manners are still as crude as your mother's." he said.
"Yes, it's been a year and I still hate you, and maybe I'll hate you even more! Don't you dare slur my mom, old man…I swear you'll regret it!" I barked. "Now tell me where my brother is."
"Is that how Yojiro taught you in treating your grandfather?Huh?! Such impertinent children…After all the things I've done to keep you out from that slum, now I get this?!Really now, I knew it would be best if you and your good-for nothing- brother won't see each other. You two are a pair of mischief!"
And that was it… "Yamero! Don't get my father into this! We never asked anything from you. Let me remind you Haruno –sama, you forced me and my brother to leave Midori through your wicked schemes. I know you hate us just as much as you hated our parents and I don't exactly know what you're planning to do. But never expect me to follow you like an idiotic minion, because I might as well die than beg you to keep me!
"Miss Sakura!" Oji-san said pleading me to calm down.
" Hn. You almost sound like Yojiro, Sakura. But you should've known better when to act brave and when to leave well enough alone. You should've learned from what happened to your father."
"I did learn a lot from your son, and one thing is to NEVER TRUST YOU." I remarked sarcastically.
"Is that so?" He stood up from his chair walking towards me. "Trust…indeed is a fragile thing to be given away easily. But my dear granddaughter, "trusting me" is something you should live with from now on... or else you'll never see your precious brother ever again" He sneered.
"What the fuck are you driving at?"
"Let's have a deal…"
Things don't always go the way we want them to be. At some point in our lives we would wish for something big for ourselves, but would end up hurting instead. A special someone told me, "Til you have that thinnest string of courage and hope, you'll always have a chance to make your dreams real even if fate denies you again and again." I did believe in him…that's why I grew up to be a very optimistic person--- always seeing life on the brighter side, believing that for every negative thing that happens God has a very good reason for allowing it…
Well, that was me before the accident. I was still the same 17-year old Sakura Haruno that my friends from the little town of Midori knew---the same simple, cheerful, positive, smart, easy-to-please, transparent, sporty, clumsy, sickly, GHOST-phobic freak gal…but after that incident I felt I was a little LESS of myself than before. I dunno…A year after my Daddy died leaving me and my brother all alone, I nearly believed"..the thinnest string of courage and hope…" was just a piece of rotting crap.
My mom died when she gave birth to me. Daddy told me it took him weeks before he could finally look at me without feeling regret and loneliness. I wouldn't blame him because he had every right to do so. I was the one who took away the person he loved more than his own life—the woman whom he left everything for. But then, as much as he loved my mom, Daddy realized he loved me the same way. From then on he took care of me—guiding and protecting. I always wanted to be a doctor and though we're not rich, dad never doubted I'll become one someday. Life was simple and happy with him and nii-chan by my side… I had contentment.
All I ever dreamed was to give my family a better life… but then…he's gone…And nii-chan--- who's all I have left…dad's hell-of-a-father sent him away. The reason? Well, it's pretty bullshit to be told…
I'd been talking to Daddy ever since. Yeah, pathetic me. I almost lost to sorrow and sulk into the darkness, hating myself, but talking to Dad and nii-chan as if they're really in front of me brings back my sanity. I swore in front of Dad's grave that I'd be a brave and strong girl and live a purposeful life. I promised nii-chan that I'd never cry pathetically for myself…never again…
Both of them weren't there anymore to protect me, that's why I'd have to protect myself. I wouldn't give in to my evil grandfather's scheming tactics…He might be rich and sly, but poor people never fall back without a fight.
I kept on telling myself , "Nii-chan, I'll find you soon enough…"
Just as the wind drifting from the taxi's window blew strands of hair falling from my baseball cap, I whispered, "unless the thinnest string breaks, I'll never give up."
Little did I know that on the same day I broke free from my grandfather's clutches, I would be taking a harder path…a path that would reveal things I never imagined to ever happen--- uncovering emotions I never wished I'd feel--- making me ask for more than what God had originally planned for me… That day--- I came to Konoha Academy.
I looked out the window and there before me was the main gate of Konoha Academy, my "doorway to the future"… Yeah, and it's quite a huge door I must say… 30 meters huh? The metal doors automatically opened and the cab driver made its way through it.
"Uhm, excuse me mister, I'm Haruno Sakura a transfer student from Midori High."
The man I talked to whom I assumed as the gatekeeper was wearing a green vest and a forehead protector. He looked at me curiously and said. "Midori High? Never heard of that school. Elite kids from Japan and foreign transfer students come to Konoha. You don't seem like a foreigner to me. Which family are you from?"
"What is this, the Ellen Degeneres show?!…" Well if I was dumb enough to start my own hell in this school I would've said, "Midori High is a public school exclusively for highly intelligent people of the human race. But since you're dumb, naturally, you wouldn't have heard anything about it!" But since I preferred to be pretty smart and polite I simply said, "My school is a town's school. But I applied for scholarship in Konoha Academy. Luckily, I got in. Can you please tell me where the Principal's office is?"
The man seemed content with my answer, and told me to go to the main building. I thanked him and asked the driver to move straight ahead. The main building had an archetypal design but it's kinda cool coz the Fire symbol stands tall at the top of it. I went out of the cab bringing my luggage with me. I scanned the environment. "Woah! This school is indeed a lot bigger than my previous school!"
Students were everywhere so I guessed classes had not yet started. Some people were not minding me as I stood in front of the Administrator's building. Well, I mean, who would? I was wearing a black baseball cap (I was hiding my friggin hair, you see!), a red Tazmanian shirt, a knee-length brown pedal shorts and a pair of red converse high-cut shoes, then I had these two BIG travel bags with me. I looked more like a short Japanese boy in junior high going to a convention or something…
I did say "some" ,didn't I? You see, there were others checking me out (not in a perverted way you sicko). I was thinking, they were thinking, I was weird. Got it? Not that I cared, but it really freaked me out when people pay attention to me especially that I was new. So no matter how much "I loved seeing the pine trees scatter the sun's light rays" , I believed meeting the principal at that point would be better.
From the ground, I pulled my bags and climbed up the stairs going to the front offices of the building to check out that of the Principal's. The bags were really heavy but I managed to climb six steps. I looked back to the ground area. "My, my, that was only six steps but I feel like I've been doing this forever…" With a few inhales and exhales I held on to my bags. "One more step to go!…" But then I didn't see someone was going down the stairs too. I lifted my two HUGE bags full force in such a way that when I turned around I hit the boy, and both of us came rolling down the stairs!...with my poor bags of course…
" Ouch…this really sucks…" I muttered in pain. "Wait!Where's that guy?" I looked around to see him still lying on the ground. "Hey, are you hurt? Gomenasai, it was my bad… Hontoni, gomen…" I said worriedly.
The guy propped himself up on his elbows and was not badly injured (except for a few scratches). Actually I wasn't more aware of his condition than I was with his face. From the moment he opened his obsidian eyes and stroked his ebony hair…Woah! I was really DUMBFOUNDED…
Ticktockticktock…
After 1 minute and 59 seconds…
"Uhm, hey, you a-alright?" Gosh, why am I stuttering?
"You…." he said as those eyes stared intently to my emerald ones.
What could I say? The sound of his deep voice sent shivers along my spine. For the first time, my brain was completely shitty!
"Huh?" I began. "Don't worry I'm alright."
He stood up and glowered at my kneeling form.
Wait…GLOWERED?
"You messed my favorite shirt." he said.
Then it hit me….WHAT THE HECK?!
Looks like I'm in for a BIG trouble…BIGGER than my freakin bags!
A/N Hey there! This is my first fanfic. I don't expect people to like it. My grammar sucks…I just wanna know your opinion about it so feel free to criticize, scrutinize and mock my work. If you're too lazy to type…please, a word may do. Do tell me if I should continue this fic or not…tanxtanx