A/N: Here goes! This is my first fanfic that I am publishing (if you could call it that), like, ever, so please read and review. It would be really, really appreciated. SasuSaku has always been my first love and I'm pretty excited about writing about them. It might be a little short and all, but keep in the mind this is just an intro. There is much, much more to come so look forward to it. Thank you for even bothering to check this out! Peace. - RS.
She had found a stray kitten.
Of all the strange things that were to happen to her that day, Sakura had considered this to be the strangest. It was a tabby with round, brown eyes, soaked from the light drizzle falling upon them and huddling next to the trash can she had been depositing the waste from the kitchens to.
It looked up at her with wearisome eyes. She stared right back at it.
After a few seconds, she turned on her heels and was heading right back into the restaurant but suddenly it mewled.
It was such a pitiful sound she couldn't help but smile.
Looking over her shoulder, Sakura saw that the kitten was still staring back at her with the same expression, an expression that now seemed to be saying mockingly, I didn't say anything. You were probably hearing things.
She had probably only raised her foot for another step forward that she heard it again.
"Oh, for Pete's sake," she huffed, going back and scooping the kitten up into her arms. It felt terribly skinny in her hands.
"Hey, Pinky!" A raucous voice shouted from inside. Oshiro.
"Be right there," she called back as the bony little creature in her arms cuddled closer to her body for warmth.
What was she doing? She didn't even like cats.
"Pinky!" Oshiro's patience had neared its end, apparently.
"I'm coming!" Looking down at the round brown eyes staring up at her now with complete adoration, she hissed, "You owe me, cat."
How stupid of her. It wasn't as if it could even understand her, much less begin to comprehend how foolish it was to stick to a human who could barely feed herself, much less a furry accomplice.
But Sakura felt an odd kind of relief talking to something animate however she liked without it snapping back or hitting her. A kind of companionship.
How strange.
"Pinky!"
She rushed into the backdoor before her boss could come out looking for her and find not one, but two.
It had been done.
Staring down at the limp body in front of him, Sasuke exhaled heavily. The pool of blood was spreading in every direction, coming in contact with his black leather shoes.
How red it is, he thought vacantly. As red as the Uchiha blood running through his veins.
As red as the blood of his family.
Suddenly a spark of something terrifying flashed in his dark eyes and he kicked the body over roughly. Danzo groaned lowly as he was shifted from his front to his back.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Not dead. Yet.
Danzo's white shirt was soaked in the blood steadily flowing out of the stab wound in his stomach. His wizened face was sweating profusely, wrinkled hands shuddering as he took in his last few gulps of air. The soiled bandage over his eye had come loose and formed a loose halo around his head.
"Is it over, Master?" He heard Orochimaru ask. In reply Sasuke threw the bloody dagger in his hands aside. It fell onto the floor with a loud clang.
"Start the preparations," he ordered, still unable to take his eyes off of Danzo withering in agony.
"As you command." Sasuke didn't have to turn back to see the large crafty smile on his subordinate's pale face as he bowed lowly and left the room.
Danzo cracked upon one eye and opened his mouth, struggling to say something. Only a wheezing sound emerged.
"Save your strength for the afterlife, Danzo," Sasuke murmured, crouching. "You have a lot of reckoning ahead of you."
A corner of the dying old man's mouth lifted up in a sneer and with a surprisingly display of sudden strength, he reached his hand out to grab Sasuke's wrist.
"Konoha…" he whispered, voice rasp. "Konoha will never…bow down to scum…scum like you Uchiha bastards!" He spat.
Sasuke continued to look down at him blankly.
"Cursed scum like you-" Danzo was interrupted with a violent series of coughing. Blood splattered the wooden floor boards, dripping down his chin. "-can never defeat the Will of Fire. You all will burn!" Both of his eyes had taken on a frenzied look. "Burn just like the scum that tried to take over the city before…"
His hand loosened around Sasuke's wrist.
"….the city…can never be… yours…"
Sasuke bowed his head slightly forward, his bangs covering his eyes. "The only one who'll burn…" A smirk appeared on his lips, cold and ruthless. "…is you, Danzo."
He shook the old man's hand off of him and got up, turning his back to the dying old man.
"C-curse you... damned Uchiha…"
His head rolled to the side, blood still dribbling from a corner of his mouth, as his eyes grew hazy and finally, his body stilled.
Sasuke straightened the cuffs of his shirt. They were also stained with splashes of blood. He would have to change into a fresh suit, he thought.
An important meeting was in order.
It was just one bad dream out of many.
There was nothing substantially different about this one, in fact, it was far less terrifying compared to its past counterparts. But it had still woken him up at 3'o'clock in the morning, his shirt sticking to his back with sweat, breath shallow and quick as if he had just run a marathon.
Naruto quickly discarded the top half of his clothing and ran a hand through his unruly blond hair.
"Old man Jiraiya..." he muttered under his breath. "What do I do now?"
When day would break he would have to evacuate the cramped motel room he was currently residing in. The owner had already threatened to kick him out several times already on account of overdue bills. Naruto wasn't scared of the little stocky red-faced man; he knew he could take him down in one punch, maybe even 'convince' him to let him stay for a week more or two. But if it was one thing his sensei had taught him, it was that peace was stronger offense than any kind of violence.
It was about time he moved on. The old man would have wanted the same, he knew it.
But to where?
He ruffled his hair again in frustration before collapsing face-down on the futon.
I'll think about it in the morning, he thought, half-asleep. After a nice...hot...bowl of...ramen...
The moonlight filtered in through the tiny window at the side, enlightening the tatami flooring, littered with empty ramen cups, and the sleeping form of the young blonde man. His back rose and fell with his rhythmic breaths, almost giving the illusion that the enormous tattoo of a fearsome red nine-tailed fox there was breathing as well, just waiting to be released.