Story Title: Withering or Blooming?
Title: Meetings
Story Summary: Based heavily off of the Arcana Chronicles book, Withering or Blooming? follows the story of Sakura Haruno. An ex-mental patient who is living in the post apocalyptic world that was caused by The Flash. As she struggles to survive, Sakura finds out more about the dark past of her family and how it's related to the Tarot Cards. The only question is...Is this real?
Disclaimer: The main plot of this (The Flash and some of the key parts of the story) belong to Kresley Cole, author of The Arcana Chronicles! I'll be adding my own subplots, however! The characters, as all of us Naruto fans know, are property of Masashi Kishimoto.
A/N: So I considered putting this as a crossover, but then I figured that since I'm not using any of Kresley's characters that to me it doesn't constitute as a crossover. I will, however, make sure to give both her and Masashi credit! This first chapter resembles the first chapter of the book greatly, although I'm planning on changing a few things and characters to fit more of the Naruto characters as well as have my own shit going on as well!
Kabuto's POV
Day 182 A.F
I watch as my target follows behind me as I make my way across town. I pass a sign with the top part cut off so that the name of the city was unrecognizable, but the bottom part with the population was still there. Population: 127,000. While the population might have seemed small about a half a year ago, the mere thought of so many people in one town today would be suffocating. Now and days a town is considered large if the real population of it, not the one that the sign says, is in the double digits.
A few moments later, I see her stop at the sign. Surely reading the writing I had sprayed on it. Food and comfort and shelter in exchange for a recording session. I had also put the address of my current safe didn't know that I knew she was trailing me across this doomed city. This city with buildings destroyed and bodies laying on the street. I suppose some people would feel saddened by the sight...And to a certain point, I do. I'm saddened that the way they died was wasteful. Their bodies could have been used for something. A transplant for some poor soul, the brain that could help humanity survive this horror...Or even better...An experiment of mine.
But she'll do just as well, I mentally think with a smirk. The girl trailing me slowly is beautiful. Pink, shoulder length hair and wide green eyes. Such naive eyes...And yet, I can detect a darkness in them whenever she gets close enough. This girl has known pain. And as her eyes read the sign, I can see the familiar sign of hope. The sign of someone who's just practically seen the gates of heaven. But she doesn't know...She's not following me to heaven.
Oh no. She's following me into hell. Well, for her anyways. I chuckle as I shake my head. I had lost one of my experiments anyways...One of my elixirs had passed the threshold into an acid based liquid and burned her from the inside out. I can still smell the corpse in the basement of the house that I was currently hold up in. Of course, I make sure the rest of the house smells as pleasant as a daisy. I don't want to scare away anymore subjects, after all.
I make my way into the house. A rather small structure with the windows boarded up. The paint of the house was chipping, although it was hard to find any building that was chipping at this point. The Flash had fried just about everything in the matter of seconds...It's a miracle that some houses are even left standing. I sigh as I ponder over how such an event could occur. One house stands, while the house next to it perishes and is obliterated. Don't dwell on things you probably can't solve, I remind myself. Not when I have so much at stake. This girl looks like she would be a great addition to my subjects.
I open the door and close it, making sure that I slam it loud enough for her to know which house it came from. As if the spray painted Knock here for assistance isn't obvious enough on the door. I peer through the window as she hesitantly crosses towards the house. I can see that she's wearing a pink hoodie and a tight pair of jeans, an outfit that she likely had to peel from a body somewhere.
Come on...Come on...I mentally goad her, and I see her making her way towards the house. Finally! I quickly duck back, making sure that the curtain doesn't move to much, and I make my way to the kitchen. I turn the oven on and poor a can of stew...Along with one of my elixirs. It wouldn't seem to do much at first, but over a period of time determined by her genetics it would make her sleepy and drowsy. I've yet to come across anyone who is immune to this, although it wouldn't matter if they were. The windows were boarded up, and the inside handle of the door had been taken off by me. The only way out of this house was with the priers that dangled on the shelf next to the door.
I here a hesitant knock, and I try not to lunge towards the door as I step away from the gas stove. I make my way towards the door and use the priers to open it, making sure to hide them before she can see. After all I worked hard on making the outside of this shitty house to look presentable, I don't need her knowing how hard it would be to get out until the door was shut behind her.
"Hello there," I say, and I see her smile. She's beautiful, and for a moment I reconsider my thoughts of taking her as a subject...And instead as a partner. I could picture her in a bed with her arms opened in an inviting manor. I shake my head clear of these thoughts. I will not let anyone get in the way of my experiments...Unless this woman turns out to be something extraordinary, her fate is to stay chained up in the basement with the rest of the girls.
"H-Hi..." She says shyly, and I mentally chuckle. Shy to? How had she survived all this time? Something tells me she hasn't been by herself this whole time. Surely a girl like her couldn't handle it. "I-I saw your sign...And I would love to make the trade."
"What's your name?" I ask eagerly, and mentally curse myself. I don't need her to think I'm a creep. But I merely see her smile as she steps inside.
"Sakura. Sakura Haruno." I close the door after her and gesture towards the two chairs in the middle of the room by the fireplace, the fire cracking. The weather was...Odd. When standing directly in the sun one person could be burning up. But move to some type of shaded area? And you feel just how chilly the autumn air is.
"My name is Kabuto Yakushi." I say, trying to offer her a charming smile. And she's foolish enough to relax more, to the point of sitting down while I run off to get the stew and glass of water. Of course I had some of my elixir in the water to. "I'll get you more if you wish later...However I'm quite eager to hear your story."
I see the girl who can't be any older than sixteen, Sakura, blink at me before nodding as she took the tray that I offered her. "Okay...May I ask why you're so curious?" She asked, and I mentally yell at her it's not your place! But I have to remind myself that she doesn't know the horrible contract she just signed by walking into the door.
"I'm documenting stories...Trying to figure out why The Flash happened. And how we can come back from it." I'm such a great actor. I can play the concerned-for-the-world type of guy flawlessly.
"Okay...But Kabuto?" I look up at her. "What I tell you that I saw...Might not be what actually happened." At my curious look, she sighed and shook her head. "My story starts the first day that school starts back...As well as the day I get back from CLC..." At my confused look she goes on. "Childs Last Chance...A mental institution for underaged kids."
Could I have perhaps found a girl who is considered as insane as I used to be? I remember how my parents thought of sending me off when they heard about my essay to Yale being focused around how essential human experimentation is. My curious mind goes at ease I her beautiful voice starts talking. Hanging on to every word that she says.
Preview of next chapters:
You can do this Sakura, I think to myself. Two years. Just two years of pretending to feel sane...It can't be that hard...Right?
AN: Would love to hear your opinions! I'm also going to apologize for any grammar mistakes I have. I'm using Grammarly, a great grammar tool although it doesn't catch all of the mistakes, but grammar is not my strong suite. Would love to hear your feedback!