Chapter 2 – Childhood Memories
Author's Notes: Okay so I wasn't going to continue this series but I've had some inspiration, so I guess it will be continuing it, even though I have no idea where it is heading. So I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, and I will be hopefully updating soon, I have two exams in two weeks though so I wouldn't expect an update until after the end of the month.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this series nor do I own Naruto.
(Things written in italics are memories)
I awoke as the brilliant sun started to shine over the roof I'd been sat on last night, the one where I had first noticed the swimming beauty below. Her long blonde hair flowing behind her as she swam through the water, the moonlight had glistened and reflected off the water as it shifted and changed as the beauty had kept swimming.
It was only after the beautiful girl had stood up and started walking out of the water that I truly noticed who it actually was, it felt like my eyes were betraying me with an illusion of the one thing I wanted in this world.
As I turned to look at that same sleeping beauty all seemed right in the world, her face looked angelic as she slept against my shoulder, even now she still remains angelic in sleep just like she did when she was a child.
Shifting slightly, I decided that it would be better for us to get out of the cold and maybe both put some clothes on before the friends I had come with starting waking up.
Ino started stirring as she felt me shift underneath her, rubbing at her eyes cutely just the way she used to when she was little she asked "What time is it?"
"Sunrise by the look of it, we need to put some clothes on before my friends wake up and I need to make sure that you don't caught your death considering how cold it is out here." I said as I grabbed my black combats that were lying next to me.
"Hmm, still concerned with my safety as ever I see, but I guess you're right." She said as she picked up the towel that was lying on top of her as she stood up, trying to keep some of her dignity at least, even after last night she still tries to act like a lady.
Standing with her I grabbed my all my other items of clothes, putting most of them on as we walked inside the temple, only then did I notice that I was just following her the same as I always did when we were young, not knowing where we were going or why just knowing that I was going to be with her.
Thinking back on it, even though we'd been away from each other for years, we still seemed to act the same around each other.
Memories started flowing back to me as I walked behind her.
Memories
I was only young when I first meet her, but even when I did I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, even to this day I still believe in that statement.
I stood there with my father, telling me that he had already found me a job; he had noticed that I had a skill with weapons even when I was as young as five, which is usually rare for people from our small home. He had taken me to the castle that stood on the hill, at the time I didn't know what he had planned for me; even now I still can't believe it sometimes.
It was in this visit that I first meet the king of our village; he was sitting atop his thrown looking at us both as we kneeled in front of him.
"I have brought an offering my lord, a skilled young child for you to train and do with as you wish." I heard my father, none of it really sank in while I was there my mind at that age just couldn't understand the full meaning of his words.
"How is she skilled? She a child of merely six at most, what can she do?" The king voice was loud and bold it cause me to shake slightly at the strength in his voice when I that age, now it no more than warned me of when he was coming.
"She has a talent for using weapons, sire. She would be useful to you as a bodyguard perhaps for your daughter maybe, I had heard that you were looking for someone you could fully trust, who better than a child who's will you can bend to suit your own."
"Very well then, we shall keep her, you may leave us now." The big man had now stood over my father who had finally stood up as well, as I watched my father leave the king turned to me. "Follow me child, I will show you who you will be looking after."
In silence we walked along the dimly lit corridors , while we were followed by a team of trusted servants, I was still unsure of what I was still doing there, as a child I remember thinking that I wanted nothing more than to return home to my family.
Opening a door, I found that we were stood in a huge bedroom; one that definitely could fit my house into it, being poor with several children had many disadvantages. There was a girl sat across the room at a desk, she seemed to be staring out the window watching the world go by. Her beautiful blonde locks coming down to her shoulders, the pale yellow dress blending with it perfectly while the clicks holding her fringe back crossed over themselves.
"Ino" Hearing her name the girl, Ino, turned her attention to the king and myself. "Would you come over here please?" The stepped delicately off of her chair before walking swiftly and silently over to our current position.
"Ino, I'd like you to meet your new bodyguard, she will be living and training her with us, she will be under your look after her." With that being said the tall man left the room with his servants trailing behind him.
The girl turned her attention to me again, looking over me once, her eyes locking with mine once she was done; it was then that I expected the evaluation and criticism to come, but none ever did.
"Hello, my name is Ino Yamanaka, what is yours?" She as she tilted her head towards me.
"Sakura Haruno." I said quietly as I leant down on one knee showing my respect for her, my father had always taught me to kneel before royalty and this girl most definitely was royalty.
After that she showed me were I'd be sleeping, it was a fairly small room located opposite lady Yamanaka's room.
I think that memory has always stayed with me no matter where I go; I can still always see her as the child that showed me a kindness I never knew existed. My father had given me away, even before he had done that he'd always been hard on me saying I was his only hope.
Even now I still don't understand what he had meant by that, but it didn't matter anymore, I'd escaped from that place and after thinking I'd never see the person I love more it in this world than life itself, here she was walking in front of me, pulling me along my hand.
"So where are you taking me exactly?" I asked as I quickened my pace to be able to see her face, walking along side her once again. It felt like I was finally home again.
"Somehow I knew you would say that, not much has changed with either of us really." She said as we finally stopped outside of a room. "You were the one that told me to put some clothes on right, well my clothes happen to be in my room."
"Ah, I should have realised." As we walked into the room Ino told me to go sit down on her bed while she started to get changed.
While I was waiting for her to finish my mind started wondering off back to another memory of when we were both no older than sixteen, I had been training all day and was in a pretty bad shape due to it.
She was trying to put bandages on me as I sat there squirming, I'd never been good at taking medicine or keeping still when being healed. I guess I just liked living with the pain that I got dealt, my father had always told me that I should grow from the pain and that it'd teach me to be faster at avoiding hits.
Either way I had been getting beaten up every day since I got here but then again it wasn't exactly a bad thing considering the princess herself would wrap me up again. It just made me scared to be this close to her, I know I'd been feeling more and more attached to her since I got here, so maybe that was a reason for why I kept messing up and getting hurt because if I didn't she didn't look after me as much.
I know it may sound sick and twisted considering that she was, one a girl, the same as me, and two she was princess who was way out of my league, but how can something that feels so right to me be considered wrong in some people's eyes. I know that my growing affection for her hadn't gone unnoticed by her father so maybe I should try my best and stop letting myself be hit, I don't want him to up and replace me.
"You've gotten unusually still, what are you thinking about?" I looked up to see her sitting directly in front of me her face inches from my own, feeling myself blush slightly I shifted my eyes to the floor to attempt to hide it before finally replying.
"Would you still spend as much time with me if I wasn't getting hurt all the time?"
" Of course, you are my bodyguard after all, so please stop forcing yourself to get hurt just to see me okay? It pains me to see you like this when I know you can fight a lot better than this." She stroked my forehead as she was speaking before moving her hand away, so she was able to stand up. "So, are you going to show me how much you've learnt since the first time I meet you or are you just going to sit there."
"Sure." Ino and I had been sparing for a years now, I'd figured that I might not always be there to look after her, so her know a few martial arts moves would be such a bad idea. When I think about it I wasn't sure why her father hadn't gotten her to learn anything like this before, it was leaving her wide open for attack, and I didn't like that.
It was at times when we spared with each other that I'd find my self control the most difficult to control, considering most of the time we would end up fighting on the floor, mainly rolling around with one another. Just like now, she was on top of me and even with my slight struggling I knew that I didn't want to be the one leaning over her, the temptation would be too much for me to handle.
"Hey, you're not really in the mood to fight are you?" Ino said as she tilted her head to the side, giving me a curious look that reminded of me of the way a puppy would look at you.
"I guess not." Even as I talked I knew that I should be looking away from her before anything happens but I couldn't help it, her eyes had a power over me that I had never known.
I still couldn't draw my eyes away from her as I watched her lower her head slightly, her lips slowly connecting with my own as I watched with wide eyes. When she pulled back, she quickly moved away from me as she started apologising profusely, her hands coming up to her mouth as she sat there in a state of shock.
I couldn't help myself from moving over to her and moving her hands away from her mouth before I kissed her, this time it was her turn to look surprised as I moved my lips against hers.
"There's no need to apologise, we just need to make sure that no-one ever finds out. I mean you're a princess and I'm just a lowly guard it would look bad."
Before I could say anything else she tackled me to the floor in a hug as she kissed my lips again.
"Hey Ino, do you remember the first time we ever kissed each other?" I asked as I looked over towards Ino, who was standing there in a pair of combat trousers and a white t-shirt that cut off just above her naval.
"Yeah, I remember that like it was yesterday. It's a shame you were forced to leave shortly after that night, my father said you were my personal bodyguard yet he was constantly sending you away on mission. I never understood it until he told me you were dead, it made me realise that he'd been trying to kill you, that he'd figure out how close we truly were to one another. It made me realise that he'd been trying to kill you, but I'm so glad that he didn't." Through the course of her little speech she had made her way over to me and now once again gently kissing my lips in the same way that she had done all those years ago.
All her sweet kisses she had given me over the years, I knew that she would be giving me so many more to come. I knew that now that I could be with her, there was nothing that was going to get in my way, that I was never going to let her slip through my fingers again.
Hope you all enjoyed, please R&R to let me know what you thought, some more chapters will be coming soon hopefully.
