Chapter 1: The thread and the flowers
A/N: Soooo I'm back everyone! I've been avoiding updating anything due to the fact I lost total inspiration to write. However, I'm ready to clean up all of my stories and updating more frequently. Remember: If you have something negative to say don't say it at all and a few years ago it was brought to my attention that this story reminded someone of another story. At the time I was not aware of any similarities and yes I did end up reading and realizing they were nothing alike. So enjoy this story and expect updates from now on! Plus I will stick to first person until further notice!
Naruto's P.O.V
"Get out of my way loser" a nasally voice sneered.
Well, excuse me for existing. There's these things called particles that are the reason I'm even here.
A small push and I'm against the lockers. The complete audacity of these people. It's like they have no manners at all! A whine escape my lips as I felt the locker handle dig against my hip. This morning was not off to a great start, and I had my favorite ramen too!
"She said to get out of her way, so why didn't you?" her overly huge boyfriend told me as he practically breathed all of my air. Seriously what steroids was this gorilla taking?
I stayed quiet to avoid even more trouble, but in hindsight I should've seen it coming.
He punched me across the face. It was painful to say the least and all I wanted to do at the moment was punch back, but I'd risk having a broken hand which didn't seem like the best idea.
My body tensed up, expecting other hits that never came.
He left me alone which was the understatement of the century. I guess it was because today was a "special" day.
Today was the day you found your soulmate! Which is something that I never want to do but alas it's required to attend. I'll hope for the best and by the best I mean not spending the rest of my short life with someone I just happened to be connected to. Have the people forgotten about free will?
They walked away and I watched. Transfixed by the utter train wreck the pairing was. Yeah yeah everyone wants to be loved yada yada, but there's more to life than just wanting to bone someone.
If I were a better person I would wish them happiness, but after all the hell they make me go through lets just say I can't be the bigger person. This is assault dammit.
I was brought back into reality by tasting something metallic. Right. My blood. Time to make myself presentable and pretend I don't get attacked every day. I wiped it off with my shirt sleeve.
"Well if it isn't the dead last" snarled the voice that I would never forget in all of my life.
It was him. My blood went cold and I froze. The last thing I wanted to do was go through another torment. What was I? The student body's punching bag?
It was time to face the music. I looked up into the face of Sasuke Uchiha. Resident prince of the school and my tormenter since elementary school. If anyone were to hate me with their entire existence it was that guy. Not sure what I did to even make him hate me? He had everything and I had nothing, so why couldn't he just back off already?
When will this hell end? This torment that I go through won't escape me and I feel like I'm drowning in my self-pity.
But the only thing that was keeping me afloat was the fact that I had one year to go, Just one more year and I would graduate and leave everything behind. Soulmate be damned. I wanted that fresh start.
To avoid any other injury than the one on my face I hunched over. Might as well look as pathetic as I can so they left me alone. I was just so tired. Tired enough to go to sleep and forget everything that made me hurt. Moving would break Iruka's heart, but everything was becoming too much.
I had been saving money ever since the bullying started. Ever since middle school when everyone seperated into their cliques and I watched as an outsider and became even more alone. Tormented by people that made everything worse.
So I had enough.
I was startled when I felt a foot hit me on the side. I groaned yet again. With the amount of pained sounds I made I might as well become background music for these bastards.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue dobe?" The malice in his voice was truly evident. No way anyone could have missed it. I opened my mouth to retort, but the crackling overhead interrupted something that may have caused me a broken rib.
"Attention Juniors, the Soul Thread Finding will begin now, please direct your way to the auditorium" the monotonous voice of the secretary would have me tuning it out on a normal day, but today it was a blessing.
I stood up, with great difficulty getting kicked by a goat does take a toll on this young body of mine.
Sasuke left with his best friends who were douches as well, and I'm talking about grade-A douches well only one of them was.
Neji Hyuuga. Thing number two, he always came in second to Sasuke. And I mean always. Second in command. Second in football. Second to being the smartest student. I sometimes felt bad for the guy, but it was short-lived. He was an asshole and it's not my fault the man can't get out of Sasuke's shadow.
The other one was Shino. He's actually nice. As weird as it sounds after Neji and Sasuke separate from him he comes back and helps with the wounds. He's never hit me or bullied me. He just offers his hand. And for that I'm grateful; he is after all the only student willing to help me, but still. Hanging out with assholes like that has to take a toll on someone.
I limped towards the auditorium in great pain and regret.
When I went in the stench of the student body was truly evident. Strong perfumes and colognes mixed to create a cloud of smell that made my eyes water. Do they not know how to properly apply these products? The entire middle section was filled to the brim and the back seats towards the door were as empty as they could be. Something that didn't escaoe my notice was the shock of red hair that I had never seen before. Not knowing where this sudden surge of courage came from I decided to approach this boy.
"Excuse me, are you new?" I asked him politely as I tapped his shoulder hoping that I wouldn't get hit or anything like that.
But he was giving me a vibe that made me want to befriend him. It was hard to explain but I never felt this strongly about friendship before.
He turned towards me and scowled.
"What's it to you?" he asked with sass.
"Er. I was just curious because I've never seen someone with hair as red as yours" I blabbed and like a fool I had insulted him.
"Ha someone with hair like yours shouldn't be talking" he smirked.
"Sorry about that, I'm not good at talking to people for the first time" I smiled sheepishly at him.
"It's Gaara Subaki" he simply stated his name which was better than nothing.
"Naruto Uzumaki, at your service" I smiled brightly, as I turned to the front again.
I looked at him from the corner of my eye. At that exact moment our eyes met, and he snickered. I pouted of course. Obviously I'm a mature 16 year old. Totally.
"Quiet everyone!" our principle's voice was as commanding as ever. Wonder what I had to do in order to get a voice like that? Go through more of puberty maybe?
"As you all know today is a very special day. Today you are going to find your soul mate. I must warn everyone; choose wisely. Now will everyone proceed outside and load the buses?" she said excitedly as she clapped her hands. Which was weird to say the least. No one had ever heard that tone of voice from her. It seemed like she really enjoyed sending us to our dooms.
We filed into a line and we were ushered onto the buses, I was surprised when Gaara sat next to me, something I found to be a great honor.
"Tell me about the Soul Thread Finding" Gaara wasted no time in demanding answers from me. Had he been living under a rock? Everyone knew about the Soul Thread Finding. I looked at him in shock. Apparently I wasn't the only one who heard him. The boys who sat in front of us turned towards us.
It was Shikamaru Nara and one of his best friends Kiba Inuzaka or something. I was never good at remembering names especially from people I did not care for or I had no interest in.
"Dude the Soul Thread Finding is a huge deal. It's where you find out who you are meant to be with" Kiba said excitedly.
I stayed quiet and let him explain better that he wastes his breath.
"Basically you have to choose one of two roses. Each rose is the same species of it, but one looks fresh and has a gold thread that wounds across the stem while the other rose looks dead and has a red thread that wounds across the stem. Each one also has its own "guardian". The guardian has a needle that they use to thread you to your soul mate. Once the needle touches your pinky they start threading from the rose and they lead the thread to your soul mate, but you stay in the room. Once the thread has been tied the guardians make replicas of themselves and those replicas lead you to where your soul mate is. They magically take you of course. But it's not all sparkles and shit. If you choose the wrong rose, the thread will instead make your soul mate hate you, but if you manage to make them fall in love with you, the "curse" is lifted per say and they live happily ever after. So yeah that's basically how the finding works" Kiba excitedly explained.
"Are you new or something? Everyone knows about the soul thread finding dude!" he continued oblivious to the death stare that Gaara was giving him. Seems like he doesn't like people who talk a lot. Note to self: never talk Gaara's ear off or risk a shivering- inducing stare.
Kiba realized that he wasn't going to get any reaction from him and huffed. He turned around and then blasted his music on full volume. Seriously. You could hear his music coming through the earbuds and frankly I'm surprised he hadn't become deaf or something.
"So, you didn't know how it worked?" I asked curious as I turned back to Gaara.
"My family didn't exactly bother to tell me" he simply replied. But as always I was interrupted from saying anything by the sudden stop of teh bus. What's up with everyone interrupting me?
"We're here" the bus driver said as he opened the doors from this hell into another one. Joy.
This building looked more like a tower. Like the ones that came from fairy tales and I have to hand it to the Soul Thread Finding committee. They sure know how to make a cliche out of everything. The vines that wrapped around the tower shimmered with a soft golden glow, but what really amazed me were the white orchids that were sprouting randomly from the stone. Frankly it was very magical which was probably the whole point of this majestic tower,
As we approached the entrance we were greeted by a very eccentric fairy. Her long blue hair flowed magically (I assumed) and small black flowers bloomed every time she moved. Her dress was floor length and was a beautiful burnt orange. Though it never touched the floor because her clear wings kept her afloat. needless to say it was a strange appearance but it worked wonders for her.
"Hello, welcome to the Soul Thread Finding, I'm Lucie and I'll be your guide today!" she was too joyful as she led us into the once again majestic tower.
The inside was more gorgeous than anticipated. The flooring was a maroon red velvet texture and the walls matched to boot. There were gold symbols along the bottom edge of the room. Twinkling lights blink in and out of focus. The room had black cushioned chairs that floated and lowered as we chose where to sit. However the thing that was the main attraction was a rose petal curtain. The multiple petals swayed and seemed to beckon us into going into whatever they offered.
Lucie's voice had shaken me from a trance that I had unknowingly entered.
"I will take you all one by one through this curtain and I want you all to not make any sounds while the finding is taking place. As you all know this is a sacred ceremony that will change the course of your life. You will either find your other half and build a life with them or receive absolute hatred from them. Remember! You will always have a connection with them that cannot be severed unless under extreme circumstances that will have to be brought to our committee. Now it's time"
We all did as she told us and closed our eyes.
"Excellent, now I will begin and remember! Choose wisely" her laugh tinkled like bells in the wind. A gorgeous sound that I calmed the anxiety that I had been ignoring this whole time. I didn't want to meet whoever I had to spend the rest of my life with. I don't want to be tied down with someone that can potentially ruin my life.
She tapped my shoulder. I tensed up and reluctantly held her hand. I gasped as I realized that i was floating with her but I obediently left my eyes closed.
I could immediately tell we were past the curtains. The air had become chillier and a bit more heavy. I felt my feet touch solid ground and I sighed a bit. Thankful to have some sort of reality with me.
"You can open them now" she softly said.
I opened them as was met by the legendary roses and their guardians.
On my left was a black rose with gold tips and a beautiful jade thread floated around it. There was a slender woman floating beside it in a gold dress and a short pixie cut and on the right side was a dead white rose with red tips and a crimson thread wrapped around the stem. There was a man with red hair and eyes dressed in all black.
"Choose" they both commanded. Well I see they wasted no time.
"Point to the one you want" Lucie helpfully added.
I chose the one that looked dead hopefully I could have my soulmate hate me and I could escape them.
"Close your eyes" Lucie told me.
When I did I felt the man's presence. A cold small object touched my pinky, I felt small pressure. Then I felt small pulls but I didn't dare move and then they stopped.
"I will guide you to your soul mate, but keep your eyes closed until I say to open them" his deep and calm voice washed over me and I felt as if I was floating on cloud nine.
His velvet-smooth voice continued to wash over me.
"When I lead you to him you will have to initiate a kiss in order to secure the bond formed between your two souls." I nodded in agreement. Not realizing I had chosen the rose that would not have let me escaped so easily.
The pulling sensation had finally stopped and I could already feel the heat of another's body.
"Now" he softly commanded me.
I leaned hesitantly and accidentally hit their nose. I giggled still under the spell of something the man must've done to me because my nose has been throbbing in pain for a while. They took control and settled their hand on my neck. I was pulled into a soft but flat chest. Another boy. Before I could think of anything else he pressed his lips to mine. I felt a warmth flow through me and I pushed back eagerly. I gasped as I felt a tongue brush slightly against mine. He was insistent and all I could do was let him in. He slowly stroked my mouth and pushed a bit harder on the roof of my mouth. I shivered in absolute pleasure. His other hand settled on my lower back as he tried to push us together even more.
Then I felt a fire ignite in my soul and then it was over.
"Now you can open your eyes" the man said.
My heart thumped in anticipation and I could tell his was too since we were still pushed together. I opened my eyes and saw an orange and blue hue surrounding us, Intertwining together and then I looked at his face.
And all I saw was Sasuke Uchiha.
A/N: Sooooo this is the new version! I'm currently working on chapter two and I'm planning to clean up my other stories so look forward to that! If you have any suggestions or nice comments feel free to do so! Sorry for the long wait.