a/n: This was supposed to be a one shot for 'SasuSaku Month 2017-Day 1: First Love' before it got so long, I was forced to divide it in to 5 parts.
Then, when I was chopping, I realize I can pattern every part with the other prompts for SasuSaku Month!
Therefore, the entire story is for Day 1: First Love. Then every part is for a specific day!
Next thing I want to clarify-the setting of this AU story is the Philippines, my country. So, expect some Filipino words and one solid Filipino sentence in every scene.
The words' translations would be given before the chapter starts while the sentences' translations are located at the end.
But don't worry! I made sure to put enough context clues for you guys to understand what's going on. XD
Lastly, this story is edited and polished by Akyura, my nerdy, hopeless romantic, study bug, best friend. :p and he wants to say, "Hello! I'm Akyura. You can call me Aky or Yura or Akyura. Koffing would be a great mascot for a new espresso depresso in Starbucks called the Koffeeng! Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!"
Vocabulary:
1. Ate- literally means big sister. Sometimes when we talk to a female stranger or acquaintance who is older than you, we call them ate as a sign of respect.
2. Kuya-literally means big brother. Same case with Ate, but for males.
3. Merienda-afternoon snacks.
4. Hija- Spanish word for daughter.
5. Barong- embroidered formal shirt; the national dress of the Philippines (for males).
6. Yaya- caregiver; nanny.
7. Bunso- refers to the youngest child in the family.
Sakura Haruno took a deep breath.
It had been four and a half years since the last time she had taken a whiff of the crisp and sweet air of her home town. After spending four and a half years inhaling the fumes of city air, her lungs were appalled. Childhood memories softly nudged her mind, pushing the four and a half years' worth of lessons that she learned at med school to an isolation-retention box. It was as if her entire being was telling her to focus on this moment for a while.
She raised her arms to her sides as if she's commanding an invisible pair of wings to unravel.
It was like breathing in the same room with God.
So much so, she almost forgot the reason why it took her four and a half years to come back here, to her beautiful province.
So much so, she almost regretted her choice of going to college. After all, it was a decision that made her mother disown her and left her best friend and her… lover in the dark for four and a half years.
"Ate! Tapos ka na bang mag-emote?" A gruff voice and a rough tap on her shoulder returned Sakura from her deep thoughts. "Your tricycle is here!"
The fresh-grad dropped her arms lazily then reached down for her buffed duffle bag. She turned to the barker who scored her a ride. She handed him a twenty peso bill and playfully teased, "Oh kuya, kahit panira ka ng moment!"
The barker gawked at the paper money, "Are you sure about this? This is too much-!"
"It's fine." She slid inside the sidecar. "Buy yourself some merienda." She gave him a small smile.
The barker repaid her with a toothless grin. His cheeks were slightly reddening and his eyes shone with pure delight, "God bless you ate!"
Sakura nodded curtly. She took out another twenty peso bill then handed it to the driver of the trike. "Um, kuya-"
"Well if it isn't the pink-haired Reyna Elena!"
The rest of Sakura's words died inside her throat. All at once, her heart picked up its pace, her hands went cold and her thoughts jumbled to a thousand possibilities of who could be the first person to know that she finally came home.
Half afraid and curious, she slowly peeked at the driver's face.
"How are you, hija?" The chummy face of Kuya Jose, the tricycle driver that serviced Sakura to school ever since she was nursery, came into view. His once thick, dark mane had gone thin and gray. The youthful face he referred to as his 'secret weapon for the ladies' was now decorated with sun-spots, overlapping wrinkles and laugh marks.
What remained the same was his 'killer' smile. Sakura looked at him with awe and reminisce. "Kuya! You're still driving this century old junk? When are you retiring?!"
The old man cackled with pride, "Until you've become a doctor, of course!" He gave her a knowing look, "we promised, right?"
Sakura's wide, excited eyes wavered slightly as his words reeled in a memory. It came up slowly, emotion first-sadness and passion; then surfaced the image of her mother throwing all her belongings to the street.
A pang pierced her chest as she remembered her mother's vitriolic words, 'sige, lumayas ka! That's what you've always wanted in the first place right? To, 'get out of this dead-end province…' Your dreams are bigger than your ego. Masyado kang mayabang…don't come back until you can feed yourself!'
Sakura shook the memory away. She reached out and patted Kuya Jose's arm affectionately. "Of course kuya. Don't worry, the next time you drive me home, you'll be calling me Dr. Haruno!"
He started the engine, "That's what I wanted to hear!"
She gave him a determined face.
"Are you ready to go home?"
She sighed out with a nervous laugh. Going home wasn't her primary reason as to why she went back. Her mother did say to never come back until she could feed herself independently. In those four and a half years, her supportive father sent her ample money to get by.
"Kuya… Didn't you know about Ino and… Sai?" She asked him cautiously.
Kuya Jose's eyes automatically sparkled with much excitement. His smile widened, cheeks stretching from ear to ear. "And here I thought she forgot to invite you!"
Sakura coughed up a snort. "Hardly."
'Sadly…'
.
.
.
Sasuke Uchiha pulled over his brother's car.
'The traffic would start at 7:00 am.' He thought glumly.
The last time he checked the clock, it was 4:26 am. That was the time he decided to borrow his brother's car and take it out on a three-hour drive.
At the back seat sat a bag where a week's worth of clothes were packed. Hanging on the assist grip was his freshly pressed barong. And vibrating in between his get-away-starter-pack (he just realized) was the head maid, Yaya Maine's, cellphone.
'Must've mixed it up when I retrieved my barong.' He reached for the phone with his sweaty hand. 'Calm down Sasuke. You're already halfway there. There's no way they would follow you now…'
Though, even with his self-prep talk, he hesitated on pushing the answer button.
It was now 6:55 am. He had to arrive at his destination by 9.
"H-" He cleared his throat. "Hello?"
His head created a mental picture of a murder of crows circling the car.
"Bunso." Itachi's calm and menacing voice resonated inside Sasuke's ear. "Maaari mo bang sabihin sa akin kung nasaan ka?"
Sasuke looked outside the tinted window, "The highway."
For a moment, he thought the sky was turning gray.
"To hell?"
"To…" He gulped down his saliva with utmost difficulty. Didn't yaya already tell him? Then again, tormenting him was one of his brother's hobbies. "To… Ino's home town."
Itachi sighed at the other side of the line.
He swore he could hear the faint sound of thunder in the distance.
"Look, I just have to see her again. I need it." Sasuke reasoned in desperation. "What father and mother is making me choose between… is something that I had to think about thoroughly-"
"Sasuke." The eldest interrupted. "You just spent four years of your life studying philosophy, stalling the inevitable. I thought we already talked about this."
"Kuya, studying philosophy is my pre-course to help me-"
"How would watching Ino, the woman who rejected you on the day of your junior high graduation-"
The bellows of the rolling thunder grew closer.
"Kuya-"
"-moved residences to the province the next day-"
"K-kuya, stop-"
"-maintained contact for three years, then mysteriously stopped replying-"
"Would you please-"
"-then haunted you again by sending a wedding invitation." Itachi sharply inhaled. "Tell me, little brother, how is seeing her get married help you decide between entering the monastery, mother's open suggestion and joining the army, father's requisition?"
His imagination was getting the best of him. In a snap of thunder and lightning, Sasuke silenced himself instead. The composure that he accumulated the night before his great escape was starting to crumble. His older brother's words invited his doubts and confusion to come out of their shadows. They circled his mind in a harrowing dance. His hands' temperature suddenly dropped.
"Kuya." He started again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned his head back on the rest. "Just please let me do this."
There was a tensioned pause between the siblings.
For Sasuke, even if his brother said no, he would still do it. In his life that was mostly based on his parents' choices, he had decided that he would go.
For what reason, he himself didn't know also, other than it being the right thing to do. What all he had was a vague heart seeking for its missing piece. And he knew once he found that shard, it would guide him in making his future.
Sasuke surmised that maybe, just maybe… witnessing such integral event was the only way to acquire that piece for inner peace.
'Absorb it… Learn from it… Then let go… And begin living anew.'
"I just need…" Sasuke held his breath to calm his nerves. "Just this once… Let me decide for myself." He begged hopefully. "Please tell mother that I'm sorry and that I'll be back after a week."
For Itachi, even if his brother disobeyed him, he would still welcome him with a sharp tap on his forehead. In his life that was mostly composed of self-sacrifice, he had decided that he would encourage his sibling to-
"Foolish little brother." He sighed in exasperation. "Not one scratch, Sasuke."
He hung up the phone. Suddenly, the sky had cleared, and the murder had disappeared into the horizon.
Sasuke Uchiha dropped his phone out of relief. He stayed idle for a minute, thinking if he's doing the right thing or not. Should he go back? Should he just send Ino a generic wedding gift and follow his mother's open suggestion since-
"Traffic starts at 7:00 am." He muttered stubbornly to himself.
He started the engine and continued driving, revving down the highway of uncertainty.
Sentence Translations:
1. "Ate! Tapos ka na bang mag-emote?"- "Hay! Are you done emoting?"
2. "Oh kuya, kahit panira ka ng moment!"- "Here! Even if you ruined my moment."
3. "Sige, lumayas ka!"- "Go ahead and run away!" Or "Get Out!"
4. "Masyado kang mayabang…"- "You're too conceited…"
5. "Maaari mo bang sabihin sa akin kung nasaan ka?"- "Can you tell me where you are?"
a/n: There you have it! Part 1! Hope you guys enjoyed it~ Review if you have the time!