Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto. If I did I wouldn't be hopelessly typing away my fantasies... *Sigh*
Happy reading :)
She stood at the balcony, overlooking an exquisite garden. The flowers were planted neatly in rows parallel to the castle, as were the trees, grown the same height and bearing fruit of equal size. The bushes were just as primly kept; each leaf was cut to a meticulous precision. There were several rare species of beautiful flowers and trees- 'all very costly' Sakura noted. But as lovely as they all were, she couldn't help but grimace at the factitious nature of the colourfully dull flowers, to the bitter, saccharine taste of the fruits in the trees.
She sighed in disgust at the reality of it all. The garden was all a lie; deceitful accessory for the lies that are kept at the Uchiha castle. The flowers and trees were merely a mask for the dirt and the filth that lay beneath the castle. She, herself, was nothing more than an accessory. Something useless but pretty, kept to sustain the artificial reputation of the Uchihas.
Her eyes watered in self pity. Tears threatened to spill onto the pearl white dress that clung to her body. It was her wedding day today, the 'happiest day of her life'. It was a reality one can only dream of living. The large castle was decorated with bright lights and flowers. An army of chefs were cooking exquisite meals for the hundreds of prestigious guests that have attended in order to view the coming together of Sand's finest families. She was dressed in an elegant gown, whiter than pearls and her body was dolled with thousands of dollars worth of jewels and gold. She was getting married today, to a handsome heir and they were going to live happily ever after. Right?
She thought of Sasuke, her soon to be fiancé. They had known each other since they were toddlers- their wealthy families had been life-long friends. And since she was young, Sakura had always dreamed of a future with him, constantly showering him with presents in exchange for the little attention he gave her.
A cheerful girl skipped towards a boy. In her hand was a basket, filled to the brim with delicious handmade delicacies. The young girl was reeling with excitement as the boy's dark gaze fell upon her.
"Sasuke! Look! I've made us onigiris today for lunch! It's your favourite: pork, spinach-"she chirped, only to be cut off by his angry response.
"You're so annoying. Why can't you see I don't like you? Leave me alone!" With that, he got up and left, leaving the pink haired child alone and teary eyed.
It was until she gave up on him that he returned the interest. But her mind had already gone and she proceeded to learning about health, focusing her attention on the poor and less fortunate.
He tried everything to win her back-taking full advantage of his family's fortunes. Her mother eventually found out about his interest in her daughter and proceeded to push Sakura into a relationship with him. But as hard as she tried, Sakura couldn't help but feel disgusted by his arrogance and his self centered ways. He stopped her from helping out at the hospital (as it was 'something only slaves and servants do'), he tried several times to bed her and in failure, he left her to sleep around with other women.
"Sasuke, stop!" she pleaded as he forced his tongue into her mouth. She struggled to release her hands from his strong grip. Tears sprung from her eyes as his hands began to lower on her back, trailing down to her-
"STOP!" she screamed, pulling away from him. He released her hands and stood up from the bed, his back towards her. She shook in fear; her cheeks ran rivers of tears as she watched his back quiver in anger.
"I'm sorry Sasuke, I just-"she whispered into the stale night air in hopes that he will find peace.
"Save it. If you don't want to give yourself to me, I'll just pleasure myself with my countless other affairs." He smirked, facing her one last time. "You're nothing more than a producer of my off springs, something nice to look in the house. At least Ino can pleasure a man." She choked on her sobs. Her best friend too?
He cupped half her face with his hand, tracing her lips with his thumb as he watched her cry.
"You're just a weak, dependant girl."
To him, she was nothing more than someone to produce heirs and pleasure him.
Her family did nothing to help. They criticized her for her selfish attitudes towards the relationship and pushed away any notion about Sasuke's cheating nature. Her mother urged the two to marry, stating that it would bring the two families even closer together. In reality, the Haruno family's estate has decreased in value and the fear of having to give up her glamorous lifestyle ultimately lead to Sakura's betrothal. Her mother had made no regards as to whether or not her daughter wanted the marriage.
"But mother, I can't marry him!" Sakura said, her voice was trembling with anger and hurt. Tiny hands were in fists underneath the long sleeves of her formal gown, trying to sustain her composure in the presence of her mother.
"And why not? He's rich and handsome! What more could a mother want for a son in law?" Her mother's voice echoed in the large house as she filed her nails, disconcerted with the conversation."I've already arranged the marriage. I've talked to-"
"I CAN'T MARRY HIM!" Sakura screamed. Her eyes widened at her own actions, years of obedience went down the drain. She watched in fear, face saturated with her tears, as her mother turned her angry gaze upon her. A hand struck her across the cheek, the sound boomed in the echoes of the large house.
"Do not be so selfish. The marriage cannot all be about you! A gentleman as fine and as wealthy as Sasuke doesn't show up out of the blue so you either take this opportunity or regret it for the rest of your life." With that, her mother got up and left, leaving Sakura with an imprint on her cheek.
To her, Sakura was just another pawn to help reach her materialistic desires.
Tears stained her face as her tiny hands bunched up the silk dress. The light, supple material felt heavy on her body and she found herself suffocating. This wasn't what she wanted. She wanted so much more than just a pretty dress, a pretty house, or a pretty husband. Sakura wanted her life, her freedom. She wanted to life her own life. To be independent, to be free, to flee this life of deceptive prestige. More than anything in the world, she just wanted to escape from her artificial life, her materialistic family, and her assertive husband.
She sighed heavily and carefully wiped away her tears. Giving another overlook of the sickening garden, she made up her mind.
Escape.
He ran.
The sharp winds blew harshly against his face and his crimson locks flew back as he ran away from the mob of men chasing after him. His breath came out in even pants and he closed his eyes in a moment of serenity. This was bliss. He loved the adrenaline in a good chase. It was euphoric...addicting.
He had been stealing since he was twelve. The first time he stole, it was a mere apple from a lowly fruit vendor. He had been caught and like that, he ran. And he hasn't stopped running.
"Come back you lowly thief!" Yelled one of the men behind him. Gaara looked back at them and smirked before pushing a cart at the group.
He leaped over a fruit stand, knocking a few oranges over, and listened to the angry slurs from the owner. It was always something along the lines of, 'You dirty thief!' or 'Street rat!'
A devious smirk grew upon his lips as he found his exit. Running into the dark alley way, Gaara met with a large brick wall. Seizing his opportunity for escape, he jumped off the neighbouring wall and found his way over the brick wall. He leaned against it and caught his breath, running a cool hand through his hair as he scanned over his riches from the day. A few loaves of bread, a couple of apples, some cured meats... He smirked as he pulled out a bottle of wine. 'Kankuro will be absolutely giddy about this.'
He was about to head back into the desert's wilderness when his muscles seized. Two pairs of eyes were surveying him from the shadows. 'Shit, I've been caught.' He thought as he positioned himself for another quick dash before halting. The eyes were nothing more than two children, a boy and a girl no older than ten, dirtied from years of survival on the streets.
The young boy's eyes lit as they found their way onto the loaves of bread. He reached out to grab one before another tiny set of hands stopped him. His older sister clutched his sullied clothes tightly as she whispered harshly into his ears about manners and curtsy. Gaara sighed and handed them each a loaf of bread and the remaining apples as he walked away.
"Thank you sir!" A small voice called from within the alley.
He gave them a courteous nod before climbing to the roof of the building.
Gaara leaped over the dark alley ways. Night was falling and he had to get home before more soldiers come out to do their nightly checkups. He could see the borders and he ran faster, pumping a minute amount of chakra into his feet. He couldn't use his sand transport jutsu in open daylight or he could face death. Ever since the Uchihas invaded when he was twelve, chakra use was outlawed. There was a mass genocide of shinobis,Temari and Kankuro were lucky enough to have escaped the execution but unfortunately his father, the Kazekage, had not.
"NO!" Gaara screeched as the Uchiha soldiers lit the Kazekage tower on fire. His father and his siblings stood by his side as they too watched in despair as their home burnt to the ground. His anger bubbled inside as he watched his father's face fell in defeat as the soldiers laughed and taunted them.
"Wow some Kazekage you are! You didn't even put up a fight!" yelled one of the soldiers. "Your children probabl-" A piercing scream was heard from him before he was engulfed by a terrifying wave of sand.
The soldiers moved quickly to capture the Sabaku children and the Kazekage. A light haired man appeared from within the crowd. His hair was an odd shade of strawberry blond. 'It's almost pink,' Gaara noted. He wore a long cloak with the Uchiha symbol on it and had a look of authority.
"Which one of you is using chakra?" He spat, his face contorted with anger when none answered. Suddenly, a smile flickered on his face. "Alright, if none answer, all shall be killed! Just behead them-"
"It was me." The three children turned to look at their father. His red hair curtained his eyes as his head pointed down in shame.
"Father-"
"RUN!" The Kazekage screamed as he sent a wave of smoke in the air, blinding the ninjas as the children were able to make their escape.
Temari held onto Gaara as he cried in despair, watching his father fight the large army of soldiers.
"It's okay Gaara, dad will-" She choked on her words a large explosion sounded from the Kazekage tower.
"FATHER!"
Gaara shook off the bad memories. Since then, the Sabaku kids have been stealing and living in the desert's wilderness, the only place where his sand bending skills were not detected.
Suddenly, he halted. 'Green?' A green light was being emitted from the alley way. It was too powerful to have been a civilian light which only meant one thing: another shinobi. Gaara ran back to the alley. Night was about to arrive and the soldiers would have no trouble finding the light in the dark. Jumping down from the roof top, he was met with a sharp beam of emerald light.
In front of him laid a girl, roughly his age. She wore a long wedding dress which would have been white and elegant had it not been sullied and ripped. Her face bore tear stained cheeks and tiny bruises marred her pale skin. Most surprising was her bright pink hair that crowned her head with a shining pink halo from the emitted light. She looked like a fallen angel.
The green light was coming from her leg where a large, bloody gash resided. His eyes widened in shock. 'A healer?' Sure enough, the patches of skin surrounding the gash were beginning to regenerate. Gaara looked up at the sky. Night had fallen and the curfew bells had rung. Sighing in annoyance, he covered up her leg and took the sleeping girl into his arms. He stiffened as she stirred, mumbling incoherent words against his shoulder before wrapping her arms around his neck.
The sound of footsteps began to sound from the streets. Gaara quickly secured the girl before a tornado of sand circled around the two before they disappeared completely.
'Temari and Kankuro are going to be surprised.'
Thanks for reading! Please leave any critiques or comments in the reviews! I'm open to*cough* pleading for *cough* suggestions for further chapters so please feel free to PM me :)