Disclaimer: I own the plot and nothing else.
Summary: Sakura bit back a scream as his fingers tightened around her wrists and his face moved closer to hers. "Why did you run, my sweet blossom? You should know by now that I always find what is mine."
In the Shadows
The moon shone brightly through the trees, illuminating the deep wooded area. A few crickets chirped quietly in the dark, undisturbed by the stillness of the night. A few birds hopped through the branches, trying to find their nests hiding away in the corners of the trees. Suddenly, the birds scattered and screeched, startled by the incoming sound of frantic footfalls as a young girl ran through the trees, as if running from the very fires of hell.
The girl's feet pounded on the hard dirt ground, panting hard as she ran deeper into the forest. She turned back every now and then, as if trying to pick out an invisible pursuer from amongst the gnarled trees. She slowed down after a while, gasping for breath as she braced herself against a tree in a clearing with her right hand, her left pressed against her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. Her green eyes darted back and forth, scanning the area around her for any other sign of life before she straightened back up.
She lifted her hand, pushing her pink hair away from her sweaty face, wetting her lips with her tongue in an attempt to relieve her dry lips. Had she managed to do it? She thought. Had she finally managed to shake him loose?
Staring intently into the gaps between the trees, she stiffened when she heard the rustling of leaves to her right. She whipped to the right, forcing herself into a protective stance as she stared at the shivering bush. Holding her breath, she braced herself, ready to defend herself when she needed to. A moment later, a fawn emerged from the bushes. She stared at the innocent fawn before straightening herself, softly laughing at herself. "Thank god it wasn't him..." she muttered, wiping the sweat off her brow.
Her skin began to prickle as soon as she said that. She felt puffs of warm breath against her neck, and a dark whisper sounded into her ears. "Thank god it wasn't who, Sakura?"
Sakura stood stock still for a moment, before she wheeled around and attempted to shove the intimidating figure away from her. Instead, he grabbed her wrists just as her hands made contact with his hard chest and swung her, back first, into the nearest tree. She gasped in shock and pain, her vision clouded with stars for a moment, before blood red crimson eyes clashed with her clear emerald green ones. Sakura bit back a scream as his fingers tightened around her wrists and his face moved closer to hers.
"Why did you run, my sweet blossom? You should know by now that I always find what is mine."
Sakura shivered at the sound of his voice, drawing her eyes shut as she felt him lean in even closer to take in a deep breath of her scent. "You always did smell so intoxicatingly sweet, my blossom."
He looked at her face, stroking her left cheek with the back of his right hand, his other hand trapping her between his body and the tree. "Why do you insist on running away from me time and time again, Sakura? You know I will always find you. You know that you can never truly be free. Just accept it and join me." She shook her head, trying to block out the words that she knew rang true. It hadn't been the first time she had tried to run. For years, she had tried to escape his grasp, but she always failed and ended up being cornered by him time and time again before getting away just in the nick of time. His hands moved to grip her wrists again, his head leaning into her neck, his incisors lengthening as he drew closer.
Sakura panicked, valiantly struggling against his brute hold, sheer panic driving her to push him away from her body. "Let go of me, Sasuke, you know that I don't want this! You know I don't want to live a life with you."
Sasuke frowned, pulling away to stare deep into her eyes. He shook her roughly; his usually quiet voice grew in volume as he shouted at her. "Why? Don't you remember the promise you made me? Didn't you promise that we would be together? Did that mean nothing to you?"
"I was young! I didn't even know what it meant! How can you hold a nine year olds' word against me? It's already been eleven years! You don't really expect me to hold true to that, do you?" Sakura shouted back, her eyes stinging from the tears she willed herself not to cry in frustration. She struggled harder in an attempt to break his hold on her. She bent down, biting hard on the hand that held her. Sasuke gave a shout of surprise and released her, giving her the opportunity to run. Before she could even reach the middle of the clearing, she came face to face with a curtain of dark feathers. She spun around, gasping at the look of dark fury on Sasuke's face.
"Enough of running! I have already given you all the time that you needed to adjust to my presence in your life! I could have simply taken you years ago, disregarding your choice completely! Instead, I let you live your life till you grew older. We can do this the easy way, Sakura, or the hard way. Take your pick."
Sakura shivered at the heavy implication in Sasuke's voice. She frantically shook her head, trying her best to ignore the fact that his large wings surrounded her, leaving her no room to run anymore. She couldn't control her tears anymore as she collapsed onto the ground, sobbing to herself. Sasuke softened at the sight of her crumpled figure, his heart tightened at the sound of her crying. He moved towards her. Kneeling before Sakura, he reached for her trembling body, pulling her into his warm embrace. Sasuke stroked her hair, murmuring soothing words in an attempt to calm her as he rocked her in his arms.
"Don't cry, my blossom, don't cry. You don't know what your tears do to me. I swear I'll make you happy. I'll never make you cry again. Please stop crying."
She looked up at him, and he was struck by how vulnerable she looked with the moon illuminating the tears streaking down her flushed cheeks and her watery green eyes. He almost faltered in his decision in making her his, but in his heart, he knew that he would not be able to live without her. He knew that living without Sakura in his life would surely tear him apart and cause him to lose his mind and what little was left of his humanity.
"Sakura, either you come with me now, or this never ending cycle of tears will carry on forever." As he said this, he held her small face in his hands, wiping her tears with the pads of his thumbs.
Sakura closed her eyes, biting her lip hard as she thought for a moment, before nodding hesitantly in response. Sasuke leaned in, kissing her softly on the forehead before lifting her into his arms. Spreading out his black wings, he cradled his fragile cherry blossom close to his heart and flew out into the shadows of the dark night.
Author's Note:
Been sitting on the idea of writing a supernatural kind of romance for awhile, and I finally got around to doing it. Been more than a year since I've actually written a story, so please do forgive me if I make a few mistakes along the way. Anyway, I'm thinking of extending it into a serial, though I'm not very sure of how the response will be like. Let me know if you like it and if I should make it a serial, alright? I'd love to hear what my readers think.