When I went back to read this I realized the plot line hadn't been pushed as much as I'd liked. D: After this chapter, the pace does picks up.
Onward!
000
Sakura awoke to the patter of heavy rain on her window. She hadn't seen so much as a minute of sunshine since arriving; excluding the few moments of sunset she'd seen from the attic.
Naturally, Sakura had been thinking about the attic ever since last night, and had come to the conclusion that Itachi was either a ghost, some sort of tangible spirit, or simply not real altogether. She had never been afraid of spirits or ghosts, or any other sort of supernatural creature, because she'd never really believed in them. Logically, they were impossible. But last night's little adventure had hardly frightened her at all, even though it was quite obvious that Itachi wasn't human. Or not a live one, at least. She rolled over in bed and was moments from falling back asleep when her door banged open with a crash.
"Sakuraaaaa!!" The hyperactive Kirio had launched himself into her room and was jumping on her bed. "Happy Birthdaaay!" He yelled, narrowly missing leaping on her feet.
Unfazed by this rambunctious and sudden intrusion, Sakura tackled his legs and pushed him off the bed, then leapt out and pinned him to the wooden floor. In the moment it took for him to be surprised by this, Sakura yelled back just as loudly. "It's tomorrow you stupid idiot!"
Kirio smiled and spoke with sarcasm. "Oops."
Sakura wasn't sure if he'd actually forgotten, or if he had and done this simply to wake her up in a rude way. Him forgetting was probably the most likely, because both children knew that he didn't really care about her birthday, and bothering her was always top priority. Sakura glared and stood up to leave the room for breakfast when a loud thunk met her ears. She turned around and saw, horrified, that Kirio had emptied the contents of her stapled treasure box onto the floor, and was reaching for the broken music box that had fallen from it.
"No!!" Sakura screamed and made a grab at it, but he snatched it up first and teasingly held it above her head.
"Ooh, what's this, a jewelry box?" He was slowly opening the lid, and Sakura knew that if he opened it from that height, the contraption inside would fall, which would surely break it even more. Sakura made another grab for it, but to her horror, her fingers knocked it from his hands. Both watched as the metal cylinder fell from the small box.
It seemed to take and age for it to fall. Then it hit to the floor and broke into pieces.
Sakura screamed and swung a hand at Kirio, who grabbed her hair. She viciously dug her nails into his face and made a long scratch as he yanked on her hair again. Chaos ensued as both children swung their tiny fists at each other, each determined to do the most damage.
But strong arms were pulling them apart, and a loud, deep voice was speaking in a controlling tone. "What the hell's going on here?" Fuming, the siblings stared at each other, willing the other to drop dead. Mr. Haruno hadn't been surprised to see his children fighting, but was still upset by the violent measures they'd resorted to. They were getting worse by the day.
"He broke my music box!" "She pushed me!" They both yelled, eager to show that it had quite obviously been the other sibling's fault. Mr. Haruno took a moment to expertly survey the surroundings. The broken music box, the scratch on Kirio's face, and the fact that he had woken up Sakura were all taken into account, and he reached a verdict. Still holding their shoulders, he sighed deeply. "You're both grounded for the day. You can take the time to spend it in your rooms and unpack, unless we go out shopping sometime later." He was expectedly met with complaints and sobs. Personally though, he didn't think it was so bad. It's not like they had much else to do anyway.
So, after mild complaining, both children sent each other one final death glare, and set to work unpacking their boxes, Kirio stomping off to his room.
Rain now fell in sheets against the window as Sakura carefully searched the floor for the last piece of metal. She found it near her bed table and, after inspecting it for any gouges, carefully placed it back in the wooden box, along with all the other disconnected pieces. Miraculously, it had only broken into four pieces. Boxes unpacked, clothes organized and put away, and books neatly placed on shelves, Sakura sat on the end of her bed and stared gloomily out the window. She longed to climb the stairs and go to the attic. She couldn't shake off the sense that he was waiting for her, that he knew she needed comforting.
Sakura wrapped her tiny arms around herself, trying to recall the peacefulness she'd felt when he'd done the same. 'If Itachi were my brother, instead of Kirio…'
She hung her head and tried to imagine how different her life could be. Two loving parents would hold her close, and a caring brother would safely watch over her as she played with friends and enjoyed every moment she breathed. The thought made her feel empty. Sakura couldn't hold back tears as she thought of what her birthday would be like tomorrow.
'Stop crying!' Sakura shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to fall into a pit. Anyone would be sad in her position, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She was determined to be happy.
In a flash she was on her feet and at the door, listening closely for any signs of life on the third floor. She heard a thump on the floor below, which meant her brother was in his room. After several moments, a clanging pot told her that her dad was cooking something in the kitchen. Sakura slid out into the hall. On tiptoe, she lightly put each foot down, testing the floor for squeaks as she slowly crept to the stairs. She crawled up one step at a time, listening on each one for noise below. She was careful to keep secret her movement as she crept quietly towards the door at the end of the hall.
Her fingers rested on the doorknob. What if he wasn't there? Or didn't speak to her? If he hadn't been real… Sakura took a deep breath and pushed open the door slowly, it's low creaking made her heart beat faster.
But she knew in an instant that she was in her sanctuary.
The attic was pleasantly warm, and smelled of dust and cardboard. Rain gently pattered on every inch of the roof outside, the sound only adding to the ambience. The dark, pyramid ceiling loomed overhead, decorated by cobwebs, as high towers of randomly stacked boxes crowded the floor, waiting to be opened by curious hands.
Sakura sighed, enjoying the moment.
She wandered to the window and moved aside one of the curtains, allowing watery light to fall upon the dusty floor. Standing up on tiptoe, she attempted to latch the curtain on its hook. She was about to try and jump up, when a hand gently took hold of the curtain and hooked it into place. Sakura turned around expectedly, unafraid of his crimson eyes or his dark presence, to see Itachi gazing back at her.
-
"So then I tried to grab it back, but it slipped and fell right to the floor. I mean, if it had fallen on anything else it might not have broke. But it just had to be the floor."
Sakura crossed her arms and pouted at her feet. Itachi saw this and the slightest of amused smiles was set upon his face.
They were sitting in the pathetic excuse for light that came from the window. Sakura was leaning against an old trunk and was explaining the events of her morning in animated detail. Itachi was listening patiently. He spoke softly in contrast to Sakura, and paused before saying anything. "Why don't you ask your dad to fix it?" It didn't sound like a question, merely a monotone statement. Sakura looked back at him.
"He's busy with papers and cleaning." The added quickly, "Oh, but I help too, I mean, this house is full of stuff." She glanced over at the boxes piled high around the attic, and at the trunk behind her.
"Then, what about your mother?"
Sakura's face went blank, but her mind's gears were working carefully. She hadn't been asked this question by anyone yet. When the accident happened, the whole town had already known, and made it a point to avoid the subject completely around Sakura.
Avoiding eye contact, she decided to answer in such a way that would hopefully quiet the subject, but wasn't too descriptive. Sakura spoke after a long pause with carefully chosen words.
"She's dead."
"How?"
Sakura stared at Itachi, eyes wide. Well that certainly hadn't been expected. He had countered her immediate, simple answer with an even simpler question. But more than that, she noticed that this had actually sounded like a question. Sakura looked away from his curious gaze and inclined her head. She nervously chewed at her lip and quieted her voice.
"She, um.. She was driving late. And-" Sakura paused to take a breath. "She got hit by another driver who was… drunk."
A moment passed in which Sakura felt very awkward. She broke the silence by, in turn, asking the question that been bubbling on the top of her mind all day.
"Itachi?"
"Hm."
"Do you, uh, do you live here?" She gazed at him curiously. He merely looked back and answered.
"Yes." He paused before elaborating. "I'm waiting for something important to me."
Sakura's brain had barely wrapped around this statement when the loud clanging what sounded like pots hitting kitchen floor brought her to her senses. It sounded as though an avalanche of kitchenware had fallen, and sure enough Mr. Haruno's muffled exclamation of "Dammit!" was carried through out the house. Sakura had completely forgotten that she was supposed to be in her room. She stood up and turned to Itachi, an apologetic expression on her face. "I have to go, I'm supposed to be in my room." His face darkened the slightest bit at her words.
"Then why are you here?" Another statement. For a fraction of a second, Sakura had the feeling that he was scolding her. She bit her lip again and stared at her feet, drawing a deep breath before answering ever so quietly.
"I wanted to talk to you… 'cause you're nice.." She trailed off and looked meekly into his face, which hadn't softened into something understanding, as she had expected, but instead had the faintest trace of amusement on it, as if her rebellious actions had reminded him of someone. He nodded, and she waved a quick goodbye before making her way to the door. Just before opening it, she turned around, but he had gone again.
"Itachi?" She called out softly. And he was there beside her, his face expressionless as ever.
"Hm."
She smiled at him. "It's nothing. Bye Itachi."
"Sakura." She turned to look at him.
"If you'd like, you can bring the music box next time. Perhaps I can fix it."
She smiled, and thought of the same promise that had been made to a child about her age, a very long time ago.
"Thanks... Ita-kun!" And she flounced out of the room.
000
Yay, you're halfway done reading this! Things will get deeper and darker… Feeling brutal? Drop a review.
