Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters therein.
Was it possible to have a sexual attraction to a color?
Sakura didn't think so, but wherever she was it was pitch black, the darkest of black everywhere, and she had the sudden urge to feel it. She knew she was dreaming; somewhere in her mind she was consciously aware of the confines of her room, the softness of her blanket, and the cushion of the pillow against the side of her face. But wherever she was now it was... peculiar... not that she could point out what was unusual since she could not see a thing.
And then she felt it.
It was a soft caress against her shoulder and the side of her neck that sent tingles down to her toes and all the way back up to the area of contact. She tilted her head to the side in an unconscious manner, allowing it to slide up like black silk to the hollow behind her ear.
The color was touching her.
Though in "dreamland" she was clothed in her pajamas, Sakura felt so exposed as she felt the same touch slide down her arms and to her fingers, filling in the space between them. And even more strange: it was almost as if it was interlocking her fingers with itself. She could feel the coldness of the touch all over her arms causing her to shiver, yet it was soothing and almost familiar in some weird way. As she glanced down, Sakura noticed the crisscross design of black that marred her body. It was suddenly consuming her... feeding off of her, crawling up her petite form, twisting this way and that. And when she felt it seal over her lips, she heard the lilting tenor of a voice deep inside of her ear.
"Sakura."
The pinkette was jolted into an upright position at the sound of that voice. She was back in her room. Her emerald eyes were wide, her heartbeat was erratic. She hunched over as she passed her hands over her face in an upward direction and combed her fingers through her hair as she continued over her head. "Impossible," she muttered to herself, replaying the dream-like experience she had. When she remembered the sound of the voice she heard, a sudden gasp escaped her lips at the realization. Her mind instantly went back to the previous evening... the man who she had seen... his black, coal-colored eyes, and the sound of...
It was his voice. There was no mistaking it.
I'm just overthinking this.
With a tension-relieving sigh, Sakura lay back down on her back, resting an arm over her forehead.
It wasn't the first time it had happened. Granted, this was the most extreme experience so far, she had gone through similar experiences in the past. She could not exactly pinpoint when it had all started, but she had suddenly found herself hearing the same voice whisper in her ears, and how the mere mention, thinking, or glancing at something unknown, mysterious, or dark in color would stir up a nostalgic feeling inside of her... like some small corner of her mind knew what it was, or what it stood for, and would send that uncanny sense of familiarity like a screaming murmur throughout her.
There were two possibilities: either she was going crazy, or there was some "logical" explanation for all of it.
She preferred the latter possibility.
There was only one person who could provide her an answer.
The problem? She didn't know where to find him.
As Sakura rolled over to her side, she decided that it may not be that important after all; it would probably go away soon; it was probably like a "phase" or something. She let out a "hmph" at the thought, burying her face in her pillow, her hair a wild mess of pink satin.
However... she was dead wrong.
So he had found her. Now what?
Sasuke leaned back lazily on the couch he was sitting on. The living room was dimly lit... he preferred it to be that way. His fingers drummed the armrest as if it would alleviate his indecisiveness. He dragged a hand over his face and let out a sigh. Only hours ago he was determined to make her remember everything because... he wanted her—no, needed her back in his life.
Would that be best for her?
Sasuke found himself asking that question ever since he had come into contact with her the previous evening.
Maybe this would be the one time he would afterall have to stay on the sidelines.
With a resigned sigh, Sasuke got up and headed for his room. He glanced momentarily at the staircases that led to the rooms above him and shook his head. After inheriting the house, he had never ventured up there often. The last time had probably been two weeks ago—
Before his foot could pass the threshold of his bedroom, his head whipped to the side, in no particular direction. His eyes automatically burned red, and the small tadpole-like designs around his iris spun madly. A small, infinitesimal tear of blood escaped the corner of his left eye.
There was only one person who could instigate such an involuntary, spasmodic response from him.
Sasuke hurried outside and stealthily walked the midnight streets. His blazing eyes gave him a greatly increasing and heightening sense of vision, and that helped him notice the group of men up ahead. He kept a large enough distance so that his presence would not be noticed and followed them quietly. And when his trained eyes caught sight of the broken half of an orange and black colored mask in the hand of one of the individuals, he knew exactly what—no, who they were after:
They were after her.
She was the only thing on his mind.
She couldn't go back to sleep. Stupid dream.
Every time she closed her eyes, she would imagine his face, the sound of his voice...
What would it be like to touch him?
Sakura froze momentarily at the sudden thought. It was an unconscious desire... something she had not come up with voluntarily. She got out of bed, her cheeks a light hue of pink. She had to admit that he was quite attractive from what she had seen. The mysterious nature she assumed he would have did interest her—
Sakura shook her head as she walked into the kitchen to grab a mind-clearing glass of water. There was no reason to be thinking such things. She barely knew the him and had never seen him before. Sakura drummed her fingers against the cool glass, thinking what she could do to pass time. She couldn't go back to sleep; she had already tried that with no success at all. Maybe some music? Strolling into the living room, Sakura headed to the small shelf of CD's she had, picked her favorite, and played it. She took a couple steps back, bobbing her head to the music and mouthed the lyrics; but as soon as the song reached the chorus, Sakura frowned, dissatisfied. She abruptly ended it. It wasn't occupying enough.
Sakura glanced around once more, noticing how inviting the bookshelf against the wall seemed. She picked her favorite romance novel and plopped down on the couch, a content sigh escaping her lips. She leafed through the book, occasionally stopping here and there to read a couple pages before moving on. After a couple minutes, however, Sakura threw her head back against the couch, a sense of restlessness spreading through her. Why was she suddenly so fidgety? As the pinkette got up to place the book back on the shelf, she finally realized why; the feeling shot through her like electricity. Her head automatically whipped to the curtain-drawn windows of her living room.
Someone was watching her.
She knew it.
If it was a sixth sense or something, she didn't know, but she found herself tempted to peek through the curtains just to make sure.
Her heart drummed loudly in her ears as she sauntered over to the window. Her hand shook as she reached out, her fingers barely brushing the cloth.
It's probably nothing, she thought.
With a small breath of determination, she pulled it back and—
It was the loudest she had ever screamed.
There, standing in front of her window was a man dressed entirely in black, his face half-hidden by the cloak of the night.
Sakura was petrified, frozen.
It was as if everything was happening in slow motion:
Before Sakura could respond, pull away, and run elsewhere, the man's hand shot out and through the glass of the window, grabbing her neck forcefully and jolting her forward. Sakura attempted to scream, but whatever sound she had tried to make died in her throat. She clawed at the arm in desperation, but he only tightened his hold, pulling her face against the already cracked glass that threatened to fall any moment. And when the shards of glass fell, the skin of her face stung at the small nicks and scratches the tiny pieces of glass left as they spilled into her living room. She coughed loudly, pushing relentlessly against the arm—her vision began to blur, tiny black dots marring her sight of the living room ceiling as he forced her head up and back.
And when she thought she could take no more, she felt the grip around her neck suddenly loosen. The man let out a cry of pain as he jolted backward, clutching his blood-covered and handless arm. Sakura braced herself on her knees, taking in large gulps of air and noticed the severed hand of her attacker lying next to her on the living room floor, the fingers twitching spasmodically. Her eyes widened in alarm and she let out a shriek as she wasted no time in running deeper into her house. She was lucky; whatever had stopped the man had saved her life.
Her heart beat quickened as she ran down the main hallway of her house and to the back door. She didn't think the man was alone...
She pushed the door open and ran to the backyard gate. Her heart pumped with hope, thinking her escape was possible, but when an almost identical figure materialized in front of her before she could reach the gate, she let out a scream and swiveled around violently, desperate to get away. Her mind panicked when another figure emerged, effectively blocking all of her means of escape.
She felt her body jerked backward by two large hands that gripped her forearms violently from behind. She flailed as the figure in front of her tried to grab onto her legs. In her desperate attempt, she managed to deliver a hard enough kick to the man's jaw, and he staggered backward and off balance, letting out a hiss of pain. She tried jabbing her elbows into the figure behind her, but his grip was too strong.
"LET GO OF ME! Someone, please help!"
Her cry for help, she knew, was in vain when she felt two hands lock around her ankles. The man behind her gripped her wrists in one hand while he tried covering her mouth with the other, preventing her from making a sound. She jerked violently as she tried to free herself, twisting her legs and arms this way and that. The sound of her sobs died in her throat and her eyes stung with tears as the full weight of the situation fell on her.
"What should we—"
The man holding her feet let out a grunt as his grip loosened and he fell to the floor. She planted her feet on the ground, desperate to free herself from the other attacker still holding onto her before he forced her upright, her back pressing into him. A sweaty hand clamped down on her mouth.
"Don't come any closer." The deep voice of her attacker rang in her ears as her eyes tried to discern who he was talking to. It was too dark to see anything, but her eyes could make out the vague silhouette of another figure. The person stepped forward and she felt the blade press deeper into her neck. The small trickle of blood that traveled down her throat tingled her skin.
"Let her go."
Sakura's eyes widened as she recognized the voice, her mind briefly flitting images of the man she had met the previous evening across her eyes.
"Why, so you can use her for yourself?" The blade against her neck jerked, the sharp end of it digging into her skin. What was he talking about?
The newcomer didn't respond; the man stayed motionless.
Sakura could barely make out the pair of red eyes that stared in her direction before the man behind her slumped to the ground in silence.
Sakura glanced behind her at the body on the ground before she whipped her head around, staring in the direction of the man that had just saved her. Her emerald eyes were wide and she took a tentative step back.
The man stood still, making no attempt to stop her. But he spoke. "Don't be afraid. It's all over. Come here."
His voice was now like liquid gold to her ears in comparison to how he had spoke to her yesterday evening. She stopped, midway in step, her left foot behind her right, not sure if she could simply trust him so easily. What if he was with them? What if the whole "saving fiasco" was all fake? What had her attacker meant by "using" her?
The man stepped closer, and Sakura could see him clearly now... his spiked hair... dark, coal eyes. It was definitely the man from before. As if reading the uncertainty in her eyes, he softened his gaze slightly, trying to appeal to her. "There are probably more of them coming. It's best if you come with me," he urged.
Sakura glanced at the hand stretched out to her, her eyes flickering to his. The way they stared at her was different now... his eyes bored into hers in recognition... like he knew her...
It was somehow comforting.
She slid her hand into his. She could feel the dried tears on her face as she acquiesced. "Okay."
Author's Note:
I know this chapter is a bit late, but I hope it makes up for the delay. I tried hard to convey all the emotions I could, because as a reader, it's important to feel what the main character feels. Please read and review! I love hearing from you all. Feel free to ask me any questions if you have them.
PS: To all you wonderful guests who have reviewed my story, if you have a fanfiction account, please log in and review, because I make it a point to reply to all the amazing peeps that review my story! And I want to give back to all of you.
I send meh love to you all.
-cocoablossom
