Teardrops in Summer
Chapter 1: The Diary in the Attic
Summary: Two siblings find a diary up in their attic amongst other long forsaken mementos. Opening the diary, they discover the story of an old romance that took place in an old beach house near the sea as they themselves journey to a part of their past.
Standard Disclaimer: If I owned the Naruto franchise, I wouldn't be stuck writing fanfiction now would I sunshine? Sigh, I also don't own any copyright to the story Rumor Has It.
Aneko: Based on the movie 'Rumor has It' featuring Jennifer Anniston except it centers on the story of her mother in the story whom I do not know the name. I just love Jen Ann so much, so I made this one although it's not her story… There are some things I changed in the story though and I do hope that you like it. LOL, this is dedicated to my new friend Miyano Ran!
Heavy footsteps made a raucous noise as they bounded up wooden stairs. Slight panting wheezed through the air from a young woman's parted lips. She looked around the surrounding and when she had deemed it safe enough, closed the door from where she entered.
She maneuvered her way across the litter of boxes and junks strewn across the floor. She contentedly sat and laid her perspiration dotted head on a plush red velvet divan. It was her favorite part of the house especially when she was little, because a big gold framed window was directly beside it and she just loved staring out of it and looking at the neighbors doing their daily routines.
At dawn, she looked forward to seeing the sunrise through misty and crusted eyes. She would awake to the warm rays of the sun and the sound of her mother's voice calling her down to breakfast.
After eating, she would come back up with a book in hand and stare out the window until afternoon. Her mother would often try to coax her down with sweet afternoon snacks and cold beverages and it became their daily ritual, it was mom and daughter bonding time for them.
At nights when she couldn't sleep she would bravely come up the attic to bathe herself with the light emitting from the moon and stars. Sometimes, she would drag her big brother with her when she was convinced that the 'Boogie Man' was lying in wait for her in the dark corners of the room. They would bring blankets to warm themselves and awake the next day finding that they've slept there through the night.
Now that she was all grown up and moved out of the house, she would sometimes yearn for her little sanctuary place especially when she was stressed from work or when she was lonely.
She chuckled a little as she remembered the scowl her brother would wear whenever she asked him to come up with her. Nevertheless he came up with her anyway, along with some pity crying from her part and grumbling from his. He used to pretend that she wasn't her sister, and mockingly, asked her mother who 'the little girl who lived in the attic' was. This would successfully make her cry and their mother would scold him for it. Ah, sweet revenge.
Speaking of that stupid brother of hers, he had some nerve dousing her with water as they washed the dishes after eating for lunch. She doused him right back but with soapy water so it would hurt his eyes, she smirked. This of course had propelled her brother to chase her around the house. It was like hide-and-seek as they went through the numerous rooms in the mansion like house. She was getting tired anyway so she came to the one place she knew her brother would be sure to look for her, the attic.
She looked at the room she was in and blinked her eyes for a couple of minutes at the stack of boxes near the divan. She sighed and got up from her comfortable position. She approached the stacks of boxes to get started on what she came back to the house for; clean out the house for the summer, or at least so her brother says so.
She knows it was just his excuse to spend time with her, before the wedding of course. She was getting married to her wonderful fiancée in a week. He might convince everyone else but she knew he was bothered at the thought of his little sister growing up and marrying. She chuckled, hell, he was even more nervous than her you'd think he was the one getting married!
Some strands of pink hair fell to the side of her face as she dusted the boxes with her left hand; she was left handed just like her father. She coughed a little as the dust mingled with the air and seemed to surround her. She picked one box and laid it down on the floor. She opened it to see the contents.
There was an old picture frame of her and her brother playing in the snow. The picture had been taken by their mother one cold winter Christmas. There was also a few of her mother's favorite books and a few more of her knickknacks.
A silvery glint caught her eyes as stray beams of sunlight reflected on it. She held it up and it looked like a key. It had an equally silver chain connected to the lock of a hardbound notebook. Her eyes marveled at the sight, it was pink and adorned with watercolor paintings of cherry blossoms, much like her mother's namesake. It was so cute!
She wondered what was inside, though from the lock she knew it was a diary. Only a girl would lock a diary… She wondered if it was her mother's. Fitting the key through the lock, she opened the diary right at the middle. She read the date and the description.
'A Journey to Okinawa'
She knew running away was never the answer, but that did not stop her from madly storming out of the mall and leaving her blonde bestfriend as they were in the midst of picking her bridal gown. You'd think she could've done this at least a month ago, along with other wedding arrangement, but she kept pushing it further saying she had to work (fat chance, she was a freelance) until it came to a boiling point with her finally realizing that there was so much to do and only two weeks to accomplish it all.
That day she called her bestfriend, Ino, after a long day of taking pictures in Tokyo for the new opening of the newest and biggest theme park in Japan, the Kino Amusement Park. Well, actually, she just took a couple of pictures of the most popular rides and then took the liberty of trying out the rides for the rest of the day. Either way she was beat as a bush and flopped down the covers of her soft bed.
Sakura twirled her pink hair as she asked Ino to help her the next day for the wedding preparations. She had to distance the phone from her ear as the blonde screamed her head off. Ino berated her and proceeded to scolded her like a mother, which she was probably very familiar at doing since she had been the closest female to her since Sakura's mother died. In the end, she had to reassure her that she was quite all right and wasn't suffering amnesia or Alzheimer's.
Ino conceded, much to her relief. They were going to meet tomorrow, which in the case of the current narration and point of view, today. The pink haired woman slept rather fitfully rather than peacefully that night. Sakura woke up two hours before she was supposed to in a nightmare she couldn't remember.
Ino and her had already spent hours in the mall looking at napkins and plates, flowers and tablecloths, as they passed a boutique that sold gowns. That was when she remembered that she hadn't bought a gown yet. Amidst Ino's yelling she managed to drag the blonde without any broken windows or worse, bleeding ears.
The pink haired beauty tried on five different gowns before she took a break, during which Ino recounted stories of her own marriage. Ino was happily married to Shikamaru, the Nara genius, for five years and counting.
Ino told Sakura of the time Shikamaru had proposed to her. They went to the park right after eating out in a Chinese restaurant that night. There weren't that many people left at the park and they stopped near an oak tree. Shikamaru held her hand while they stared out at the open winter night sky.
It was cold back then and when they breathed, or sighed in Shikamaru's case, a small fog of white frosty air formed. They felt very peaceful there, it had to be since Ino wasn't beating Shikamaru's ass for making her stay out in the cold. Looking back, Ino wondered why she hadn't done just that. Could she have sensed what Shikamaru wanted to say or what he was about to do?
To Ino's surprise, Shikamaru dropped down on one knee. He reached for something in his right pocket and when his hand shown, he had produced a velvet covered box. He looked at Ino seriously and opened the box. It revealed a glimmering gold ring encrusted with a princess cut diamond sitting atop blue silk.
Ino couldn't describe her joy when Shikamaru finally asked her the million dollar question. She remembered saying three yes-es and tackling her beau to the ground. She couldn't stop crying so Shikamaru had to silence with a kiss, after which he muttered something akin to 'So troublesome…'
After hearing this romantic story from her ever romance searching friend, the pink haired woman had to think about her circumstance. Her chest suddenly felt like it tightened, as if someone was crushing her lungs and she couldn't breathe. Her heart pounded and she could feel the rhythmic pulse throughout her body.
Without thinking, she grabbed her purse and ran out of the mall. Ino shouted after her but was too dumbstruck to move. She hailed the first taxi she saw before she could even think why she was leaving. All she knew was that she had to get away. Away from the wedding gowns, away from Ino and her romance, away from anything and everything that reminded her of weddings!
Now, lying sprawled on her warm bed (again) that was in contrast with her cold countenance, she wondered if what she had done was right. Hell she didn't even know why she did what she did! All she remembered was feeling trapped after hearing Ino's story.
Her eyebrows scrunched nearer as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. That wasn't right. Why would she feel trapped? This silently made her wonder if she was claustrophobic but then dismissed it as a silly thought. She breathed a moan and fisted a handful of her bed covers.
She crawled up her bed to the pillows. She took a pink one and slammed it down her face then screamed.
Sakura raked her hand across her hair as she crossed to the other side of her room to the windows. The sky was blue albeit cloudless. A few stray yellow leaves fluttered in the wind along with some pieces of a newspaper.
Whatever she did, she couldn't get the heavy feeling off her mind and heart. She slumped her figure, her back against the window, as she surveyed her room with lazy bottle green eyes. Her gaze got caught on her bookcase, precisely on a pink bound notebook. Her eyes widened fractionally then she got up to get said notebook. It was her diary.
She sat on her soft bed and opened the notebook exactly where she had last written on it because there was a postcard slotted in between the pages. It showed a picture of a bunch of people enjoying the hanami while clumps of cherry blossoms floated in the air, on the front.
The back featured handwriting that was familiar to her, they had once adorned love letters and sticky notes from that person.
Sakura,
I'm willing to talk this out if you are… I'm spending the summer at my family's beach house in Okinawa, you know, that place where we spent the New Year… Meet me there if you're still willing to fix this… Us…
Uchiha Sasuke
'Uchiha Sasuke…'
'Sasuke-kun'
She reminisced about her times in college, before she met her soon-to-be hubby, Neji. She remembered picnics on the lawn during cool spring days, running around sprinklers while laughing, and little stick-it notes on her locker.
Uchiha Sasuke had been her 'college sweetheart' if you will, although he would rather die than be called as such. She looked at the letter again; Sasuke always was straight to the point.
He had been her first love, her first real serious relationship. It was during the annual school foundation celebration that they had met. Sakura had volunteered to be a part of the organizing committee and Sasuke was a member of the school's track team. They were going to use the field as the main juncture of the whole festival where they were going to set up booths by day and the banquet by night. A few unwitting hair toss there and more clumsy mistakes here, and she had caught his attention.
Sasuke asked her out to the banquet at the night of the foundation festival, partly because he was commissioned to do so by his friends. She had agreed and they were a couple since. She had been unexpectedly happy with him, unexpectedly because she had thought that he would eventually get tired of her anyway.
The strangest thing though, she just couldn't remember why they broke up. All she remembered when she was with him was the surreal heaven that his persona seemed to exude, then next thing she knew, she was thrust into the unforgiving life of adulthood.
This was the time that she had met Neji; cool, calm, and sensible Neji. When the letter arrived into Sakura's mailbox, she had already dismissed whatever relationship she had previously had with the midnight haired man. Even the possibility of being friends after everything has mellowed down.
Perhaps it was to spite him that she refused the meeting (although technically, now, she couldn't even remember the reason) or that the break-up had ridden her desolate to seek comfort in the arms of Hyuuga Neji, all she knew now was that it seemed to rushed.
Sakura searched the postcard for an address and closed her eyes as she imprinted it in her mind. Hastily, she grabbed her white luggage shoulder bag and filled it with clothes that would last her a week and a half and other necessities. She shoved her slim red phone in her bag, desperately trying to fit everything in, after calling a cab to her flat.
When the cab arrived, she took one last item with her: her camera. Sakura ran down the stairs, outside the front door, and into the taxi cab's open door. She gave the driver the coordinates and relaxed into the hard fake leather seat.
She didn't know what things she might find out along this one week journey, which she hoped was herself and her true feelings, but Haruno Sakura wasn't as hell gonna stay put.
Aneko: Should I continue or just leave it as a one-shot? This is a SasuSakuNeji by the way, with hints of other pairings.