Satyrs
Author's notes- Sakura(Flare) Susuke(Sadad) Ino(Kee) Hinita(Lilian) Kin(Quinta) Oruchimaru(Eath)
Has nothing to do with the story line of Naruto. Sasxsakura Everyone is OCC
Council of Choosing Includes-Iruka, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Gai, Tsunade...Ect(All in suits)
For hundreds of years our race has been playing the game. The game is the symbol of Heven and Hell to us. It is played every Emperor's birth and death. The Emperor decides what the target of the game will be. It could be almost anything; a tree, a cat, even one of us. How do we choose the players for the game? The Emperor or in some cases the father of the Emperor to be will send out applications for anyone of any age to fill out. The Emperor then selects trust worthy people to read the applications, check the people they think will be worthy, and he makes the final desicions. Theses people that help him are called the Council of Choosing.
Well atleast, that's how it used to be. Nowadays, people just send in tapes of them selves on film doing a few of their fighting moves. It makes it easier for the selected people to choose.
What's the prize for all of this? Glory for one thing. You get gloating rights for years on end. Rank would be another reason. People in our society have ranks. The lowest rank is call the ground level or as some call it "The Commoner Level" or "Double P". Double P meaning poor people. The rank just above that would be the Farmers or the Merchants. It goes on till Emperor. Emperor being the highest rank. That is the only rank that you must be born into. The way our race gets into other ranks is through the school. At the end of our schooling lives we are sent through a series of tests to test our abilities. What we score the highest in will be what our trade will turn out to be. The lowest scores will be tossed out. In other words, if you wished to become a farmer but you didn't know how to tell the difference between corn and celery then you arn't going to be a farmer. The rank you must be tested most for is the second highest. You become a gaurdian of the Emperor or the son of the Emperor. It's one of the most wanted positions and one of the most honored positions to have. The Emperor will even treat you with some of the greatest respect.
Now, where do I come into all of this? I guess I could tell you where all of this started with me. It really wouldn't take much time to get to the real parts of this story. It started at school one day. Our teacher, Mr. Yin, and his wife, Mrs. Yang, came in much more enthusiastic then usual.
"Sit down children," they commanded in unison. My friends and I all sat in our seats at the front of the class room. Mrs. Yang over the last summers has made so many cussions from her sewing classes that she demanded that instead of regular desks we all were to sit on her new cussions. It didn't bother any of us. The floors where wooden so all we had to do was sit on the cussions and bend forward to do our work. It was rather nice compared to a few of our other classes.
Mrs. Yang stood by the door waiting for her husband to start the class. Mr. Yin at that point in time went to the board and wrote on it four words under the "To Do" collom. "The Game Try Outs," it read. Everyone gasped. That's right, I thought to myself. Last night the son of the Emperor, Erago, was born. It had been the main topic of everyone's conversation that morning. They were going to let us try out! This was wonderful!
"Good morning class," the couple said again in unison. "As you can read, hopefully all of you can, we will be doing videos of some of the students to send into the Emperor's Council of Choosing. Three weeks ago we talked to all of the parents that attened the council meeting. All of them gave their permission to let their child if fifteen or over try for the spot light of being part of the game." My heart stopped. My parents never went to any of the council meetings. They had never been the sort to go to that kind of stuff. I raised my hand and asked about the people's parents who hadn't attened. They both looked at me with solem faces knowing this was one of my many dreams. They told me that unless the parent had been there, I'd have to do the taping of my self in my spare time, not that I had any. I hung my head. I wouldn't be able to do it.
The next two days passed and life stunk. Everyone else was having a blast but me. My friends were a bit sympathetic but when it came their turns they forgot all about me. That's not what bothered me. What bothered me was that I was one of the top students in my class and I couldn't even try. At home I didn't have time to film myself. My family always had something to do. I was either helping my father in the fields fighting off animals that would love to eat our plants or planting and/or gathering seeds, corn, cucumbers, watermelon, and almost anything else that can be sold as food at market. When we weren't doing that we were rushing here or there for my brothers practices or my lessons.
What made it worse was all Sasuke talked about was that he'd be able to make it. Like that jerk could, I thought looking at him from the sides of my eyes. Just cause he's the top male in the whole school means nothing. I could beat him easily, but it's forbiden with the exception of the game for the male and female sexes to go head to head against eachother in physical fighting. It's one of the forthmost commonly recited law. It was created by the fourth Emperor for the safety of his daughters. Anyways, Sasuke on a paticular day came right up to the tree my friends and I were sitting under just to paranoy me. His tail-tip twitching from side to side with excitement. Ears upright pointed forward, his smile reaching each one of those ears. The glint of his devilish horns looking a bit more pointed as if he'd sharpend them just for this tease. His blue-black hair shone in the light of the morning sun as the ray's hit the newly place dewdrops. His toned muscles from all the practiced fighting we'd learned in school look larger as if he was ready to fight me if the time came. Just below his belly button started his black hairs that ' v ' over his hips and then lowered into another ' v ' at the end of his spinal cord and the the begining of where his tail started. He wore his favorite cloth. It was two large squares(one in front, one in back) that were tied together by a thick piece of string. (And yes we do wear underwear. They are like your human kind but different in texture.) It bore the sign of our race upon it. A circle of Willow leaves with the first four Emperor's elements in it (Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth). The Black fur that look horribly untamed bellowed out at the hooves that shone a dull gray from their collected dewdrops. (We're what you humans call Satyrs; half-man, half-goat.)
He leaned against our tree crossing his arms over his chest. I looked up at him with an all most hated look telling him he was interupting something. "What do you want, Sadad?" Hinita said.
"Hmm?" He went from a dazed state to his normal one of teasingness. "Oh, I came here to ask Sakura why she wasn't particapating," he said letting his gaze linger on me before going back to Hinita. I felt in raged. How could he just rub it in like that.
I stood throwing the book I had just been reading aloud to the ground. I shoved my face in his making sure he heard quit clearly what I thought of him. "You jerk! How could you rub that in like that? Why don't you just leave before I get really mad and decide to singe your fur off!?!"
He backed off a little making sure I couldn't hit him. "Whoa! Whoa! I wasn't looking for your rage. I was just wanted to know why you weren't participating. You are one of the best girls," he added quickly, "that can fight."
Oh, so I'm 'one' of the best. I am the best you jerk! "What do you mean 'one' of the best!? She is the best." Hinita stood up and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Calm down, Sakura," Kin said. Kin looked at him with a serious face. "You really are here just to find out aren't you?" He nodded. "She can't participate because her parents have never once been at one of the meetings. Now that you know, will you please leave? We were much happier when you where not here." The rest of the girls that were still seated nodded in agreement.
"Okay, okay. Just make sure that she," He pointed at me, "doesn't come chasing after me and tries to kill me." I snarled and he left. I spat on the ground as if to say 'And don't you even think about comming back!' not that he saw it. He was waving to some girls heading into the school for tutoring.
Hinita sat me back down between her chestnut legs and began running her fingers through my frock. "Sakura, you shouldn't let him bother you so. He's just trying to show off in front of the girls." I looked around at everyone but was stopped by a smack on the back of my head. Hinita knew I had been about to say, "What girls?" that's why she hit me, and I knew it. Hinita had always loved to run her fingers through my bushel of flames. The oranges and red all mixed together to make it look like fire. That's probably why my parents called me Sakura.
"What girls? All I see are 'mature' women." I felt another slap on the back of my head. I wonder why I don't have brain damage from the many times that she'd done that in the past. "What? It's true. And quit playing with my hair." I slapped her hands away and we start doing a play cat fight between eachother that turns into an old nursery ryme of having to clap eachothers hands together at a beat.
The bell rang telling everyone it was time for school to start. Everyone stood up and headed for the school's entrance. "Sakura!" I turned around to see Ino standing at the tree waving the book I had been reading in her hand. I tell the girls I'll meet them inside.
"Thanks. I would've died if I couldn't find that." She pulls it back as I try to grab it.
"You have to meet me at the stream if you want it back."
"But why?" She never answered me, as she ran past me heading for the entrance of the school.
All through the school day I wondered why she would want me to meet her at the stream. There's nothing wrong with the stream. It's just I haven't been there since I was a wee little girl. The girls and I had found it and used it as a meeting spot or hiding spot. Now it was just a memory. I go there from time to time to practice away from my family that never sleeps. The bell rang and I rushed out with out saying good bye to anyone. I'd get the complaints from my friends tommarow, but I needed to get my book.
The entrance had over grown with thorny bushes that I had to tear through before I could get to the center of the stream. Mom was going to scold me for getting wet, but it didn't matter to me. The scent of potent flowers filled my nostiles with familar smells of childhood. How long ago had it been since I'd been here? Nearly two years. I was a girl then. I'm a woman now and I needed to act that way.
I'd been waiting nearly ten minutes before I realized she was either late or not comming at all. During the wait I decided to try to fight the current of the river with a few of my favorite kicks and jabs. It was fun play untill I really started to think that I might be able to change the direction of the water. It'd be cool if I had, but I never did.
I left when I knew she wasn't really comming and when I didn't have any more stamina to hit the passing by stream that took no damage or care of what I was trying to do to it. I was scolded for worrying my parents and not being there for my lessons. Months went by as everyone lay in wait for the final tally on who would become part of the game. The announcement date had been moved three or four times before the Council of Choosing finaly said that enough was enough. The new son would need guards soon.
It was two hours before school let out and everyone wanted to get home so they could find out who'd won when the principal was at our door banging with such +ferocity that the door flung open. There was a total of seven men and women at the door. All where dressed in suits, but only one was without sunglasses; our principal.
"Yes Mr. Tentric?" our teacher and his wife asked.
Stumbling over his words he finaly got out, "Mr. Yin, Mrs. Yang, I would like for you to meet a few of the Council of Choosing." The wispers that had started up ceceed as those words left his mouth. "Two of our finest students have been chosen for the game." He looked to Sasuke. No way... I thought. They were going to take that creep. Big mistake! "Sasuke Finch, please come up here and Sakura Dutch also." My eyes grew to the size of bolling balls, I swear. Me? How though? I didn't even try out!
"What?" Everyone, including me, choursed. Then only my voice could be heard. "But how? I didn't even try out! I couldn't have!" I tried to keep going but the shock that had tanken over my body seem to control everything. Then there was a burst of laughter from the back of the room. Ino was laughing. At what?
Mr. Yin and Mrs. Yang gave her such a look that said if you have a reason for laughing please share it with the class or hush. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She gasped through bundles of laughs and giggles. Finaly when she stopped laughing, Mr. Yin and Mrs. Yang got an answer out of her.
"I asked you to go the stream for one reason! That reason was so I could tape you doing a few of your moves. When I arrived a few minutes late you had started doing them yourself. I decided that instead of acctualy asking you, I'd just film you then. It was better then getting your hopes up." My mouth dropped. Shock took my body over for the secound time. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to find Sasuke on the other end of that hand. "Hey, great! You might acctualy be able to hit me now." Ooooh! If no one had been in that class room, I would've too.
The roar of applause sounded throughout the school as more and more classes got word of what was happening. Susuke and I were escourted out of the school into a large black car. The whole car was filled with the Council of Choosing. They said they'd drop us off at our homes to pack a few things for the trip for it was to be one of the longest games ever made. They told us that two more would be joining us for the game. Sasuke was so estatic about it. I started worrying about how I was going to tell my parents. I mean they'll be thrilled to find that I have made such an accomplishment, but they'll also question when I got the tape in. They weren't stupid and I knew it. I'll have to be really smart and trick them with one of my best lies or I could tell them the truth. I'll go for the truth.
Mom and Dad were on the front porch as normal. Mom was sewing my new gown for the dance that was comming up. Dad was smoking his pipe trying to make those little cicles of gray smoke like they did in the movies. When the black car pulled up, my father picked up his gun that was always at his side.
"Who goes there?" The window rolled its self down to reveal my face to my father. He blinked a few times before lowering his gun. "Sakura?" I stepped out of the car.
Heat rose to my cheeks. "Hi Dad. Surprize?" I half grinned. He dropped the gun at the relization at what was happening and he hugged me. Mom came running from her rocking-chair with tears in her eyes. Sasuke got out and stood behind us as we all stood there in eachothers loving hold. Mom looked up from the hug and noticed Sasuke looking away. She made a motion with her hand for him to join, but I guess he must've refused.
Mom led us into the house, including the council members. I went straight for my room; Sasuke followed. Our house wasn't much. Four rooms including the kitchen and living room. The living room was the biggest, of course. Second would be the kitchen in which mother ruled all. Then there was my parent's room in which they keep very tidy. Mine was the smallest and included the bath room, a bed behind the beads for a door, on the bed where little animals I'd had since I was extremely young, a dressor, a cabinet, a mirror, and the rest of the things in my room stood on the other sides.
Sasuke stood in the door way with the beads of blue and grey pulled behind his back. I went to the closet but stopped when I felt his eyes upon me. "Do you want something?"
"No," he stated. I glanced backwards at him to find him staring at my porcilen carosel. I looked back to what I had been doing. Should I pick the black or green cloth?
"The green would look better on you." Startled, I looked up to find that he was leaning against the opening to my closet holding my carosel in his hands looking at me. He sounded serious. Blah! Him serious...YEAH RIGHT!!!!
"Then I'll take the black one," I retorted. With that, I threw the green one back on a hanger and threw the black one on my bed. I grabbed a few more(none of them being any sort of green color) and then a few tops that I liked throwing all of them on top of my bed.
When I turned to find out why he'd been so quiet, he was gapping. I swear no ones mouth could've been larger or rounder. "What?" I asked.
"I gave you an honest oppinion and you throw it out like..." he stopped.
"Like?"
"Like...you, um, uh," he paused again before blurting out, "Don't care what others think."
"Well, for your information, I don't care." I stood and went to my bed. Getting on all fours, I reached under the bed and pulled out a small bag just large enough to carry all of my clothing and a few other things.
"What's that for?" he asked.
"What's it look like it's for?" Instead of some retort, Sasuke left the room. Mom came in the room.
"Honey, what's wrong with him?"
I shrugged. I shouldn't have. Mom had known ever since the first time I had learned to lie that I was lying. She could read me like a childs book without flaw every time. I couldn't lie; not even a white lie got through her.
"What'd you do, honey?" She sat down on my bed and stroked my hair while I finished packing.
"I didn't do anything. Mom, I just don't like him."
"Ahh, so your being rude. Honey, you'll never meet any men if you keep acting that way towards them." She put her fist beneath my chin pushing my face to face her. She smiled. "Listen, have fun and please be careful." She sighed and kissed me on the forhead.
Tears came to my eyes as the realization of leaving my family finally hit me. I pulled her into a tight hug that lasted a few moments longer than intended. "Mom, I'm going to miss you," I cried in her arms. She patted my back. She was crying also. "I love you, Mom."
"I know," she said through the tears of her own. "I love you, too." Daddy walked in with Sasuke behind him. I looked up and Daddy rushed to my side. He looked worried and confused probably wondering why we were crying.
"What happened!?!" he asked. Mom and I burst into laughter. Daddy's worry dispersed as he realized that nothing had happend. Mom pulled each of us into another hug. There was mumbling as Sasuke tried to leave. Daddy pulled him over into the hug. The four way hug felt nice, but it had to end. One of the council members walked in on us all lauging.
"Ahem, I'm very sorry for the interuption, but we need to be going. We have two others to pick up." We all stood and nodded. I hugged Mom and Daddy one last time before stepping up next to Sasuke to let the elder Satyr know I was ready.
We stopped off at Sasuke's place also. It was so huge! No wonder he flaunted all the time, he 'had' something to flaunt about. He ran up to his porch (that was gigantic probably spanding twenty feet!) and into his house. The council members were just getting out of the car when an even larger one pulled up just behind us. A man stepped out of the drivers seat and went to one of the doors further down. He opened it, held out his hand, and pulled a gorgeous woman in white out of the matching white car. Now that I think about it, the house, the fence, even the bench furniture were white. Did she live there?
The woman was pure white almost as how Sasuke was black. Her hair was a straight white cut. Her face stern and strong. She looked like a leader. A woman who didn't need a man in her life. Her strut said it. Her left hand in the air said it. How formal she looked said it. Even the pursed lips said it.
She came straight to us. "What are you doing in my yard?!" she asked in a very high voice looking me over. "This is private property." She looked them over and gave it another thought. "What has he done? What ever it is, I'll pay." She took out a small white pocket book and a pen ready to write the price down.
"Maam, I haven't done anything. It should make you happy to know that I'll be leaving for a while." Sasuke(Sadad) said walking quickly towards the rest of us.
"Oh? Why?" She seemed happy...Maybe he didn't live here.
"I have been chosen for the right to participate in the game, Maam." The woman's eyes seemed to lighten when she'd heard this.
"Well, that's wonderful to hear. Have fun now." She turned and left heading for the gates. Sasuke turned from were he'd been and slowly walked to the car that we'd been in. After he put his lugage in the back of the car, he let him self in not waiting for anyone else. When I sat down next to him he looked to be sleeping, so I tried to be as quiet and still as I could.
"Do you know who that was?" he asked eyes still closed, body nonmoving other than his lips, black hair falling helplessly across his face. Startled that he was still awake and probably very consious that I was sitting next to him, I shook my head not thinking that he couldn't see my answer. He smiled and opened his eyes staring ahead never looking at me.
"She's the one who runs this town. Everyone listens to her. No one says 'no' when she wants something. She gets whatever she wants." He turned his head from me so I couldn't see what mask he wore at that point in time. I would've asked him why he had told me, but the Council of Choosing had joined us. He didn't even make a sound untill our next stop.
Our next stop was a small chruch in an even smaller town. It was out in the middle of no where. I hadn't ever known the world outside of the village I'd lived in it my whole life. I never expected the outside world to be so sandy either. One of the Council of Choosing pointed out that we were in a large desert and that our next companion would be joining us here.
Four hours and we'd finaly arrived at our next stop. Stepping out of the car, my hooves felt the ground the beneath them slip. Unfortunately, Sasuke was the one who caught me; around the waist, too. "Whoa! Falling for me already?" He had that same grin from the other day. I would've slapped him if it hadn't been for the person that glided his way over to us. He must've come from the church for he wore long robes of a light silver that nearly shone white-yellow from the golden sun above.
Bowing very deeply, the man said his greetings to the Council of Choosing and Sasuke; he paid me no heeding. "Hello Good Sirs. Would you please come in?" It could be seen on the council's faces that the four hours in the very long car wasn't only getting to us. They agreed to go in. This made the preacher, Orochimaru, just exstatic.
I got this odd feeling when it came to the preacher, but I said nothing. It's not like I had anyone to tell anyway. Sasuke? No. We filed in one by one seeing as how the door was made for one person to enter at a time. The council and the preacher to my front while Sasuke was lagging behind me.
I walked up to the door that was being guarded by two large balck wolves. How they got there I didn't know. I hadn't seen them when I'd watched the council go in. I reached out to open the door and the wolves began growling. The hairs on their backs rose stifly. I removed my hand from where it had been and the wolves seemed to relax. I decided that it wasn't a good idea to touch the door.
"Hey Sasuke, these wolves won't quit growling when I reach for the door handle."
He walked up behind me. I was very consious of how close he was to me, but I tried to ignore that. He looked around saying, "I don't see any wolves. What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean you don't see them! They're right there." I pointed to both wolves.
He raised a black eyebrow at me. "I don't see any wolves."
I let out a laugh realizing what he was probably doing. "Oh, I see. I got mad at you and this is your way of turning back at me. I should've never said anything to you."
Surprise took over his face. "I mean it really. I see nothing! And you getting mad is not a reason to play a joke on a woman."
"Yeah right! If you had the chance you would play as many jokes as you could on any girl, woman, or thing you could."
"No I wouldn't!" The door behind us opened up.
"There you are son and who was that making all of that racket?" the preacher looked sternly at me.
"Sorry," Sasuke and I both replied at the same time.
"What are you saying sorry for sonny? You did nothing. It's this god for saken girl that made all the racket."
"What!" I said as more of an exclamation instead of a question. "He was yelling, too."
His deep brown hair stood on end at this. The preacher didn't seem to like the idea of me speaking up for myself. "You started it, didn't you?"
I gaped at him for a minute before replying. "Well...yes...but he still-" Sasuke stepped in front of me as if to keep me from causing anymore damge. The preacher was a small man who only stood up to Sadad's chest.
"Now, you look here Mister, I don't know who taught you how to treat women, but you will not treat Sakura as if she's a piece of dirt." He looked kind of like a prince, I thought. Then I reminded my self that I hated this guy...but only right then.
"Fine...but she's not aloud in this chaple of the gods, understood?" He tried to look around Sasuke at me but failed horribly. "Now, are you coming in or not, sonny?"
Sasuke looked back at me, then to the preacher before he spoke again. "No, What's the point in going in there?" Before the preacher could protest or say anything else, Sasuke turned around, took hold of my arm, and dragged me towards the car.
He ended up dragging me all the way to the very small town. I decided not to ask why he hadn't gone in or why he'd dragged me away in the first place. No point in it really.
The town was so small that all of the stores were also homes to these people. We looked around not seeing much. Some nice looking hand made jewlery, home made food, poorly made weapons, and other things for the household needs.
I tripped and stumbled all the way. People stared. I felt like a clown walking next to Sasuke who didn't stumble on the sand once. It's like he was born on sand. Which can't be so for he was born two years before me in the same hospital. I wonder who his ma' is...I wonder what she's like...I wonder- trip, fall, land flat on face. Laughter could be heard as I tried and failed to push myself up off the sandy ground. More laughter elapsed from my second fall.
Sasuke gave everyone around him a menincing look as he picked me up off of the ground.
"Would you like me to help you?" He asked looking me over. One of the men from the store nearest us walked over as I agreed to let Sasuke help me.
"Son, do you know what you're doing? This gal hasn't even said she was sorry for having someone such as you touch her," the man said.
"Why would I say sorry? I would say thank you, not sorry," I said looking at the man.
Slap. The side of my face burned horribly. I put my hand up to my face.
Sasuke took the man by the collor lifting him four feet off of the ground. "Look old man, I don't know who taught you how to act around women, but if no one else will teach you then I will." He let the man fall the ground and looked around at the crowd that had begun to form, all of them men. The women sat in the back looking at us with faces of fear but something else showed in their eyes. Everyone of them looked joyful. They expected something of us.
The man had stood up and some of the other men were readying themselves to fight, when there was a loud yell comming from a tavern not to far from us. A man flew out the door and into the street. He landed on his leg letting out a howling yell of pain. A small brown Satyr walked out of the tavern and her voice could be heard for miles.
"How dare you call me that, you bastered!" She walked over to the man nearly at a run and took one of his hears so he could hear her perfectly. "If you ever, I mean ever, call another woman or me that again I swear you will not know what's comming, understood?" The man just shook his head vigurously in understanding. She pushed him down and looked at the rest of us.
"What? Do you want a piece of me also?" She said to one of the men in the crowd.
"Don't you dare," said a voice behind us. Everyone turned to look and found the Council of Choosing, the priest, two farmers that had gone and gotten the priest when the commotion had started, and a boy who stood in front.
The boy looked from her, to me, to Sasuke and back to her. "If you do, I will personally take you to the wolves."
"You wouldn't," she scrieched.
"Now, now, both of you. We wouldn't want you two hurting each other while the game hasn't even started. I mean, you both will be working together, non the less," one of the Council of Choosing said. "And," he motioned towards Sasuke and I," they will be joining you."
I looked to Sasuke, to the girl, to the boy, to the Council of choosing, and then to the sky. This was going to be a long long journy, a very long journy.