Title: Breathe
Summary: With no money and no work, Sasuke accepts a part-time job in a small clothes store where he encounters a very unique mannequin with incredible, life-like blue eyes. SasuNaru. Yaoi. AU. :D
Important: SasuNaru. YAOI. AU.
Prologue: A Thousand Years
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A thousand years ago, there was once a peaceful and prosperous kingdom ruled by a wise king. The king was the fourth of the legendary rulers in their country and he was known for his bravery, speed and intelligence. The king didn't have a wife with him to rule their kingdom of fire, but he wasn't alone. He had a son who possessed his same courage and who possessed an extraordinary amount of determination.
Everyone who lived in the kingdom and its villagers all knew the young son of this king, for they said that they almost looked like each other. They have the same shade of blonde hair and the same vividness in their blue eyes. Only, the son of the Fourth, who was called Naruto, had scars that were whiskers-like on either cheek of his face.
The young boy was very popular among the townsfolk, for he was always alive with cheerfulness. Wherever he went, even if he was loud, he was always gracious enough to lend a hand to anyone. The villagers loved their king and they loved his son too. They were the two pillars that protected the peace and the happiness of their kingdom.
For as long as anyone could remember, it has always been a peaceful place. Until one dark night, a powerful sorcerer from the faraway Kingdom of Sound came to look for a bride. His eyes were the same of a snake's and his heart was as dark as its blood. He said that if he managed to find a bride, he would claim that person, with or without anyone's consent. He searched through the villages, harassing the local people whom he had disliked and those who displeased him, thus several local villagers were hurt.
The Fourth King was terribly angered, "Why are you looking for a bride in our kingdom?" he asked, "The Kingdom of Sound has long denounced its friendly liaison with us! Leave and your life may be spared."
But the Sorcerer of the Kingdom of Sound refused. He claimed that he had finally found someone he would like to be his bride. The moment he laid his eyes on the king's son, he knew that he should claim this prince, under any circumstances.
The young blonde prince was angered with it and with the way their villagers were treated by this unwanted guest. His fury summoned an incredible wave of light-blue energy and he called upon their blood-alliance with the frog chiefs (Because back then, the contract between the humans and the animals was still whole.) to help them in their battle against the powerful sorcerer.
The Sorcerer summoned his own monsters: giant snakes with uncanny strength and unimaginable blood lust. For several days, the kingdom and its army, led by the prince, were fighting against the sorcerer and its snakes until the tragic day arrived. After having drained all of his energy, Naruto collapsed unconscious in his father's arms.
The king fearfully pressed two fingers on his son's neck and exhaled, "He's still alive." The king had no other choice. He wanted to protect his son so much that he had to perform the forbidden curse in order to save him. "Naruto, my son, I am going to lock you under a spell for a thousand years, where you shall stay safe from the wrath and the insanity of the Sorcerer." The Fourth king embraced his unconscious son for the last time.
He took his necklace, hung it around his son's neck and kissed his forehead as the king muttered divine words that echoed through the countless halls of their castle. The green, cylindrical pendant of the necklace glittered under the moonlight as its clasps closed around the neck of the unconscious, young prince.
The king watched with sadness as he said the final words of his spell. "Live, my son," The prince's body gradually changes its softness. His body was slowly turning into wood. "…I shall make sure he no longer exists in the time that you will live your life."
Darting past the guards of the castle, the sorcerer finally came face-to-face with the king. "Hand me your son." He demanded.
The king turned around to face the sinister magic of the snake sorcerer, "But he is no longer here." He showed the wooden body of the prince to the sorcerer and the king watched as realization dawned on the face of his enemy.
"Undo this curse, King!"
"It won't be broken for a thousand years."
The sorcerer howled in fury as he attacked, but the king was prepared for him.
"…and I'll make sure that you will die now."
A faint light glowed momentarily and a powerful explosion destroyed the whole castle.
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One thousand years later …
Tokyo.
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"So, like my cellphone rang right in … Oh my god! Is that Sasuke-kun?" A girl waved frantically, believing that it will catch the boy's attention. "You're going home? Take care, Sasuke-kun!"
The boy 'Sasuke' didn't even look back and pretended not to hear anything. Sasuke has grown tired of being 'the one' in their university. He had this irresistible black hair, dark brown eyes 1, and a fair skin. He looked local, but he would definitely stand out.
Sasuke's family wasn't exactly that rich, they weren't that poor either. Sasuke and his older brother Itachi, have learned to survive on their own. Itachi was the one with more stable job since he was already finished with college.
While Sasuke on the other hand, has a part time job in a clothing store, a few minutes away from his university if he took the shinkansen 2. The shop located in Harajuku was just a modest store. Even if its customers weren't that many, they were all loyal. That's how the Japanese were. Their trust was so difficult to obtain, but once you have it, you have their loyalty.
Sasuke usually took the subway train to go there. When the weather was good, he would leave the house with bike. But today was quite dark and gloomy, so it meant that Sasuke would be heading for the train station.
When the train stopped at Tokyo Central station, Sasuke fixed his backpack and headed out. A lot of people also seemed to be getting off here, as always. It was like the hub of all the subway trains in Tokyo. Sasuke would get off here to board another train to get to Harajuku.
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Finally, Sasuke checked his watch and was once again pleased at how prompt the bullet trains in Japan were. He arrived in Harajuku right on time. Sasuke got off the his last ride and he started walking from the station. Across this, was a narrow street 3 which was always packed with young and fashionable crowds.
In Harajuku, this was the place were the latest street fashions in Japan got displayed to the public first. Most of the crowds here were around Sasuke's age and they often hunt around for bargains in different number of groups.
Sasuke walked a few more blocks and finally arrived in front of a small shop with a large, green neon sign. Sasuke opened the front door and got inside. Before closing it, he noticed that the clothes shop was already full of customers. He bowed down slightly as one of the customers passed by him to browse on their merchandise some more.
"Ahh! There you are Sasuke-kun! Right on time!" A man with white spiky hair greeted from behind the counter. "Get over to the stock room and take over for Sakura. I need her on this counter!" Then he turned his attention to another customer who was asking for a larger sized skirt.
"Hai, Kakashi-san." Sasuke made his way for the stock room, muttering a few 'excuses' to the customers as he passed by.
He opened the door to the stock room and saw Sakura counting a few large boxes on the floor. The boxes were quite big, Sasuke figured they might be new cabinets.
"Sakura, I shall take over here." He said. "Kakashi needs you upstairs."
The girl Sakura stopped what she was doing and brightened up at the sight of Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun! Hello to you too!" She handed the notebook and pen she was using to Sasuke and then lightly pinched his cheek. "You're looking cute today, as always!" She commented then headed upstairs quickly before Sasuke could bite her arm off.
Sasuke thought he made it clear that he hated being touched in any form.
Reading the notebook for the first time, Sasuke found out that the boxes were deliveries from the warehouses where they got their mannequins. The last ones they had have gotten so dusty. It was no longer advisable to put on the clothes on them because the clothes would get filthy too.
He started counting the boxes and checked their tags to make sure they got the right ones. Sasuke checked the details of their orders and among those that he found strange was there was only male mannequin.
And according to its details, this certain mannequin has blonde hair… Sasuke quickly scanned other boring details and got to the bottom. "What?" This mannequin was thrice as expensive as the others.
Now that got him curious. Sasuke quickly searched for the box with the corresponding tag of the blonde mannequin. After finding it, Sasuke opened it and all he could do was marvel at the beauty of craftsmanship of this mannequin. This certainly was worth the price Kakashi paid for.
With great care, Sasuke removed it out from the box and let it stand right there, in the middle of the stock room. First thing that Sasuke took noticed was the brilliance of its blue eyes. The maker must have extreme talents, for the eyes looked so alive.
Among other things, it was quite rare in Harajuku shops to have a mannequin with a western-colored hair. This mannequin was blonde and its hair was a little spiky. Sasuke reached out to touch the hair and raised an eyebrow. "Good quality, what the hell is this thing made of?" The mannequin was wearing the latest line of clothes their shop has prepared to release this month. Kakashi must have sent those clothes to the warehouse prior to this delivery.
Sasuke ran a finger on the face, the wood was smooth, but Sasuke noticed faint scars across the cheeks. It must have been a result of mishandle from the warehouse. Sasuke inspected it some more and thought that it could be part of its design, because the scars were symmetrical on either cheek. Besides, they did not look like scars, they looked more like whiskers.
All in all, this blonde mannequin with blue eyes that was wearing a pair of western black jeans and an orange shirt looked really pretty. This would really grab attention if displayed on their shop's window.
Sasuke was about to put it aside, when he noticed the green, cylindrical pendant on its necklace. It was strange. He hasn't seen anything like it yet. Sasuke checked the list if the pendant was listed in the inventory. That was strange. "Hmm, not here."
Sasuke touched the pendant, it sure looked handmade by someone with skill. He
could identify great craftsmanship when he saw one. He was very fascinated by the necklace that Sasuke debated whether it was all right to remove it from the mannequin. His arms went around the neck of the mannequin and he shrugged the feeling of guilt of attempting to remove it.
He proceeded to unclasp the lock behind the mannequin's neck, but he was having a difficult time. Sasuke moved closer until the mannequin was completely in his arms.
Click.
"Aha! Got it." Sasuke whispered to himself. He pulled his arms away from around the mannequin's neck to examine the necklace he got. For a moment, he decided to stare again at the mannequin's real-looking blue eyes.
And he saw those blue eyes blinked back at him.
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… to be continued (as soon as possible)
1 - Actually, humans do not have black irises. The darkest ones are dark brown.
2 - Shinkansen – bullet train.
3 - Narrow street in Harajuku – "Takeshita-dori". Harajuku is one of the 14 Japanese districts most famous to tourists. Harajuku is particularly popular for its boutiques and cafes:D Sugoi na!