Define Chapter 4: Remote, a naruto fanfic

Chapter Four

Remote

Far apart, far distant in space or situated at some distance away: the remote jungles of Brazil.

"Kaa-san—Kaa-san! Look what I found!" Little socked feet ran through a large household, stumbling cutely around corners, sometimes tripping over his own feet as he scuttled in search of his mother. Both arms straight out and hands holding a tulip tightly out in the air with pride, the smaller than average eight year old had found the perfect 'no reason' gift for his Mommy. He'd found the beautiful yellow flower on his way home from school, and kept it in complete and utter safety while spending time with some of his classmates at the park.

Now it was late, a couple minutes later than his curfew, he presumed while walking through the too-quiet roads of the Uchiha compound. He shrugged it off as he entered his own house. Sometimes, especially on Saturdays, his cousins and other family members went about doing their own thing late at night.

Presently, he stepped carefully into his kitchen and turned on the light. The tiled white floor was too cold for his liking. Keeping his smile though, he laughed, "Oh, you're funny, Kaa-san! We're not playing hide and seek, you can come out, silly goose!"

There was no reply, not even a small nod from his father, who was usually right there to reprimand him for being far too loud or enthusiastic about such childish games or small happenings. The boy stepped further into the room with wary, and asked cautiously, his heart beating faster, "Kaa-san? Itachi-nii-san...Tou-san? "

The noises became much louder to the little boy now, the dripping and plopping of the water from the faucet against the metal of the sink, the small mechanical noises from the refrigerator, the tick of the clock all feeding more fire to his growing anxiety. Gripping the tulip tighter and closer to his chest, his big, charcoal eyes widened further as he squeaked, "I-It's me. I'm back from the park…"

His eyes traveled to a lit light a little further down the hall, the only lit in the whole house, and curiosity took the better of him as he slid on the tiled floor, starting his way toward that room—his father's study. His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Father would never leave just one light on; especially that one—he took more care of that room and did more in there than he did with him, his youngest son.

The jitters seemed to take control of the young boy, his hand shaking so much that he couldn't even grab the handle to open the dreaded door. His blood ran colder with each growing millimeter toward opening the corridor. He bit his lip, "Tou-san, are you in there?"

An empty gust of wind that seemingly came from nowhere pushed the wooden door wide open; making it hit the wall beside it. His heart beat faster, it felt like it would rip out of his chest at any given moment, the sound echoing and pounding in his ears. He ran over toward the two frozen forms lying in the middle of the floor, ignoring all the puddles of blood he was splashing in, dirtying and staining his socks, shorts and shirt.

He fell toward the ground, on his knees as his jaw starting chattering, the tears flowing down his face furiously. Choking on the salty feeling in his mouth he muttered, "Mommy…this isn't funny-sniff-wake up," he softly pushed the cold form, "W-wake u-up I—Mommy! Kaa-saaan, wake up!" The boy pushed the deceased woman harder, denial running fast in his veins, blood thick on his small hands, "Wake up, Mom! Nngh; Momma, Momma, please wake up."

Sasuke fell on the bloody chest of Mikoto, continuing to cry harder than he thought possible. He needed to hear a heart beat—anything. He gripped the material of the woman's kimono as he fought to keep the tears inside, "I-I promise I-I-I'll be your big Little Man, o-okay, Mommy? And-And I w-won't get into any trouble," His voice started to crack as the tears found a way out, "I-I'll be the best at the academy, I'll do a-all of my chores and never ever-ever-" His lips quivered as he hiccupped, "I'll be the best, Mommy. I-I swear…"

He placed the flower he got for her in between her fingers, hoping she would know how much she really meant to him. Gathering the last bit of faith, courage and strength he could muster, the young boy cried, "Just please wake up, Kaa-san…please."

Sasuke snuffled, "I love you, Mommy. Tell Dad I love him, too…" The boy continued crying softly on his mother's chest, heaving as he tried to breathe through his now clogged nose.

"I'll miss you so much…Mommy…"

Sakura gripped the sheets tighter against her body, the soft material wrinkling in her tight grip. The woman blinked her eyes open slowly, cautiously as she rose, trying to ignore the burning pain on the back of her neck. She didn't even remember how she got it, or going into a bedroom last night, let alone seeing this open, clean, fresh area. The walls were a soft yellow, and on one directly to her left held a large viewing window that gave sight to the Mizukage Towers.

She removed the white sheets sluggishly, still reluctant toward waking up, especially at such an early hour that it had to be. The sun hadn't even creaked its way up into lighting up the dark dawn sky yet. It was almost…peaceful…the way the town looked now. For one, it wasn't even raining or misty outside. The birds were arriving, tweeting, flying back and forth, feeding their younger offspring. It was, dare anyone say, relaxing. For the first time since hearing about coming here, she seemed somewhat happy.

Kiri wasn't terrible at all. It just didn't have the chance to grow well. She started noticing the gorgeous rivers following, the never-ending ocean surrounding the island. With a little effort, a lot could come from here. She sighed happily. The mornings never seemed so beautiful before.

A sudden noise born from the lower floor caused the rosette to jump up quickly, her heart rate speeding a second later. Without second thought she yanked open the bedroom door and raced down a long hallway until she reached a grand staircase. She leaned on the banister as she began to skip down the steps two at a time, "Sasuke-kun? Is that you?"

After a few moments, she calmed herself down, seeing as the front door and windows were in perfect shape, and walked her way down the rest of the stairs. She was probably just overreacting. Rounding a corner to the kitchen, she bumped into a dark form. He muttered, "Heal this." When her vision focused on what was being shoved into her face, she grabbed the bloodied hand, suspicion obvious on her features.

"What'd you—?"

"No questions."

Sakura scoffed, "Why're you ordering me around like I'm some puppet?" She threw his hand down, wiping the red residue on her own palms all over his t-shirt, "You know, I was going to do it, but now I'm not." She pushed her way around him and continued toward the refrigerator. She knew the ropes of the colossal house—for the most part. It was situated like an average house, except much larger and more stretched out. The kitchen was connected to the family room, which was connected to the dining room. On the opposite side of the house was the living room and a study, a bathroom was most likely hidden around this floor too. The upper floor she had a harder time decoding.

That thought brought another question to her mind—how'd she find the room she slept in that night. She didn't remember much after her little stare-down with the Uchiha, the rest of the evening just slipped away, then she was awake and it was morning. She rubbed the back of her neck in a way she hopped was nonchalant. There was no need to get Sasuke's attention about something she didn't have information on. The green-eyed beauty grabbed the handle used for opening the refrigerator, but before opening it asked, "Did you carry me to that room last night? I don't remember going there at all."

The Uchiha just grunted as he stalked his way to the counter and grabbed a washcloth from the sink, wiping the blood off his hand and swiping the bloody counter clean. He was somewhat glad the girl wasn't observant enough to see it, and was too busy searching through his empty refrigerator for some breakfast. He had, in fact taken her there after she fainted randomly in the middle of the foyer after leaving the bathroom. She did look sickly the whole day, but that was normal. The Kiri air is hard to breathe in for the first few weeks and can make people wheezy. Besides, didn't Juugo find her at the bar drinking sake?

When he finished cleaning, he casually threw the cloth back in the sink, not caring if it landed in there or not. He would get to it when he had time. He had other matters to take care of. The dark-haired Kage reached over for the steak knife and continued chopping.

Sakura stopped searching the ultimately vacant appliance when she heard the constant sound of metal hitting marble behind her. The girl turned, "What're you doing?"

"Go back to sleep." He mumbled dryly, in more of an attempt to get her to back off than to show he actually cared about whether she was still tired or not. Sakura immediately noticed this and walked carefully over to where he was, arms crossed.

"That's not what I asked, though—okay, now that's why your hand keeps getting all bloody! You don't shorten tulip stems with a steak knife and if you must you definitely don't put your hand in the way!"

Sasuke stopped when he jabbed his hand once again and glared at the flowers, but honestly wanted to at her, "Don't interfere."

She stared at him with confused eyes, "I'm not, I swear," she threw up her right hand, "Konoha Scout's promise. Whoever those tulips are for isn't going to be so happy when she finds out you cut off your hand trying to make the right size bouquet for her so it'll fit in the vase." She gestured toward the clear glass already put out on another section of the counter, "I mean, I may not be the best flower arranger or own a flower shop like the Yamanaka's but I am best friends with one."

Trying to hide her inner sadness, she added, "I'll help you make those pretty for your girlfriend. I'll try, at least."

Sasuke stared at her for what seemed like whatever until he scowled, "They're not for a girl."

Under normal circumstances, she would've most likely burst out in laughter, accusing the man in front of her as being gay, but the complete serious mask on his face changed the entire tone of the potential joke. Instead, the girl sighed, "I'll help you out, anyway. Is that okay, Sasuke-kun?"

Moments seemed to pass on end before he nodded slowly, awkwardly, "…Yes…"

I smiled brightly from my own little hiding place—not like I actually needed to hide, though, they'd never see me—glad to see that 'someone' was finally opening up to another 'someone'. It took them long enough. Tch, such a foolish little brother he is.

Living with Uchiha Sasuke was boring, I concluded after cohabitating with the ice cube for a week. Nothing happens at all. You wake up to him gone, you come home to him gone, and you go to sleep to him gone. I hate sounding like a pestering housewife, because that's just the type of woman that I find despicable in most all aspects, but that's how it is. I can't help but be myself and cook dinner as I usually would, except for adding in an extra serving for him. That'd be compensating for him giving me a place to stay, right?

That's just having plain old manners, something of which he apparently has no idea exist. He doesn't ask questions—he orders. It's always, "Make some coffee," or "Do the laundry," or "Cut off the TV." Am I some type of maid? Do I look like one or something? I'm sure I don't, lounging around in sweat pants and cropped t-shirts while I'm not working.

Wait—don't get me started about work. These people here are worse than Kiba and Naruto combined. They are incompetent, repulsive, rude, idiotic Baka people. If they honestly wanted to learn, I would've honestly thought they would shut their pie holes and show a little respect. Just a little is all I ask for. Most of my students, though, excluding the few Baka-minis, are just like little angels and I love them so; but they're excruciatingly, irrevocably stupid. It's hard being a teacher when the brain capacity and amount of brain cells available to use are severely lacking.

I spun the chopsticks in between my fingers again, out of habit and irritability. I came home late just to have the slightest chance of seeing him at home and eating some Udon noodles with me for dinner. However, no, he's the great redeemer of this land, the one who'll bring Kiri back on the maps, give it the good reputation it never had; he is the 'Messiah'. He needs long hours to perform his miracles. I almost barfed. He's Sasuke; no more, no less. However right about now, all I get on my radar from him is bastard.

I groaned, angrily stuffing the last bit of my noodles in my mouth then casually placing the bowl in the sink. The only light in the room was that coming from the moon and small digital clock on the microwave, its neon radiance reading 11:32 PM. The guy still isn't home yet. Something has to be up. Work hours for Naruto aren't even that ridiculous, and if they are, which they normally aren't, he takes those papers home with him.

Curiosity took over the best of me and I walked over to the front door, only to be greeted to cats and dogs. It's raining like there's no tomorrow. I rolled my eyes, feeling stupid for not bringing a jacket, cloak, or even an umbrella. I thought this place was of the mist not of continuous pouring rain. I'm surprised I didn't even hear the storm from inside, but, then again, he might've soundproofed the whole estate. 'Security' is of 'upmost' importance when you're Mizukage. Yeah, yeah, yeah; you don't see me soundproofing my house and I'm the most elite Medic Nin in the Ninja World.

I growled again, stepping out from the house and staying cautiously under the protection of the porch. I seriously hate this hellhole. Against all the thoughts in my mind, telling me to mind my own fucking business and let Sasuke come home when he wants to, I had that one piece of sense that told me otherwise. Half the time those feelings are wrong, but other times, they are absolutely, one-hundred percent true. I didn't want to take that chance with another life, so I took it with my own and ran out into the pouring rain, nothing but my half-tee covering me. I smacked myself mentally again; this place wasn't Suna! It's cold here in May!

The cold rain immediately hit my smooth skin as hard as rocks, freezing as dry ice, unforgiving as a hurricane, and the heavy fog hovering above the ground made it hard for me to see. I rolled my eyes. The things I do for other people, I tell you. I cupped my hands, yelling, "Sasuke, you out there?" I waited a couple seconds for a response, and my conscious was screaming at me for being such an idiot. There were so many creep-os out here who just wait for someone to come out so they can kill him or her.

Don't do it again, Sakura.

Just go back inside and go to sleep.

He'll be fine.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes, yelling again, "Sasuke-kun! I feel like an idiot yelling for you, so if that's what you really wished to accomplish, you got your wish!" I heard a twig snap from around the corner of a building, and my blood started racing faster throughout my veins. Being a ninja, I subconsciously reached for the tan pouch that was supposed to be around my waist at all times. Keyword: supposed. I inwardly swore, a torrent of curses daring to exit my mouth toward my utter stupidity. I could blame it on the late hour, but then again, you can't gain anything from lying, now can you?

I relaxed into a lounge, preparing to fight by any means necessary. If you couldn't stab someone in the heart with a kunai, you could punch them in the throat. My eyes narrowed as I scanned the area as best I could with the heavy smog surrounding me, and waited for the worst to happen. I waited and waited and waited, then quickly realized how pointless my waiting was. Who would come back here, in the most secluded—?

"EEEK!!" A cold, strong grip wrapped its way around my neck, and reflexively, I threw my hands up and grabbed the arm, using all my strength to through whoever the hell this was a good three yards away into a muddy puddle. My heart pounded faster when the person backhand sprang his way back onto his feet, and I surged the chakra through my veins, charging at full speed through the dirt. I pulled back to punch, yet the attacker grabbed my elbow into his own hands, taking his own and pulling me into some sort of headlock.

I struggled kicking my feet, "Damn it….let me…go…you sick bastard…before…I fucking pummel you into…ugh…hell!" I felt the circulation start to cut when he squeezed tighter, making me choke on my own saliva. I wheezed, growing dizzy, nauseous, and disoriented. Oh, of all the things, I've imagined happening between me and a boy in the rain, this is about the last thing on my list. "I'm from Konoha—kill me later if you want when you have a fair fight….okay? I'll…even…give you my address…" I managed, using the last bit of breath I had stored in me. The rain never felt so painful until now.

Suddenly, the grip loosened, and I fell to the ground, may I add involuntarily into a disgustingly muddy puddle, wheezing, gasping, and rasping for air. I gripped my throat to check for blood, swallowing back the tears in a huge gasp. I wasn't bleeding, but man, I've never felt like I should've been like this before. Whoever pounced on me had an iron grip given from a god.

"Get in the house, Sakura."

My head snapped up with painful difficulty, I stared first at the wet black shinobi shoes, followed by the muddied shin guards, slightly wrinkled pants, drenched white shirt, black sash holding a legendary sword, and I ogled in awe at the annoyed face of Uchiha Sasuke. I smacked myself mentally; did I seriously just give him permission to kill me if he felt like it! Stupid, stupid, stupid—I should've just stayed in the house and went to sleep like my conscious told me to earlier.

Stubbornly I rose from the ground and dusted off my ass to the best of my ability, and tried to follow the furiously storming form ahead of me, expecting me to follow him whether I liked it or not, which I was reluctantly doing.

Once we got in the house, I started becoming a little more…protective of myself, especially when I saw the smallest glimpse of his tired eyes before he went on a tyrant looking for something hidden in his own home. Plopping down on the couch, still dripping wet, I pouted.

I'd never seen Sasuke half as mad as he was now. I could tell by his posture, too straight, strained and stiff, his steps were far too calculated, jaw clenched so tightly that he had to be bleeding, eyes distant, obviously trying to sort out thoughts and decide what would be best to do. I couldn't focus on my surroundings, I could care less I was in his house, no matter how grand it was in all honesty. The ninja side of me kept on telling me to ignore all the expensive paintings, royal furniture, hand-carved bookcases, extravagant crystal chandelier hanging above me, and sleek, modern and clean, designs. I had to see past that and realize that, quite frankly, a pissed off Sasuke is a crazy Sasuke, and a crazy Sasuke is an unpredictable Sasuke—in a bad way. My hands just itched to grab hold of anything that could keep him from storming through his own house like a madman.

Suddenly, a pile of cloth was hurled at me, right at my face. It was warm, hot, even, and I caught it before any damage could be done. Who knows what he could do with cloth—I knew you could poison it, for sure. Soon the heat resided, and I opened up the dark cotton and saw the small uchiwa fan in a corner.

From a darkened part of the house, I heard Sasuke mutter, "Your clothes are wet. The bathroom is upstairs." He pointed toward a closed door up the stairway and the first in a long line of doors, "Change." He ordered. I glanced in his eyes, dark and intimidating, cold, frozen, yet caring. Those words didn't add up in my mind one bit. I scowled, crossing my arms, "I'm fine. A little water will dry before I get sick. I would know that."

The sudden change in his mood scared me, so much so that he didn't even have to tell me twice to put on the dry clothes. It was like some abusive father staring down his daughter for not doing her homework or something of the like. I didn't appreciate that at all, but I felt my pride weakening as I bit my tongue and stalked over to the restroom. Who did he think he was telling me what to do as if he owned me? I could care less if he was the Mizukage. That's a girly title anyway.

"This is going to be so hard…" I mumbled under my breath, brushing hair out of my face. How could anyone expect me to kill him with my own hands? He—he was my teammate if not anything else. I am humane and I have a heart that actually holds ties and bonds. I can't forget any of those great memories, however few they were, I can't even imagine trying to kill the guy without getting all panicky, guilty, and paranoid.

A sudden breeze from behind me shook me from my inner sulking, and I glanced around the hall, even into the foyer that you could see from upstairs. And there was…nothing. Nothing at all, which was severely awkward considering none of the windows were open, and if they were, I wouldn't be feeling any type of breeze like that all the way up here. I shrugged my shoulders and started heading down the hall Sasuke went down, assuming that the bedrooms were down there.

Then again, harder and colder this time, the gust of wind hit me, sending chills down my spine and making the small hairs on the back of my neck stand tall. I rolled my eyes—if this is some sick idea of a joke, I am not laughing. I walked, or what others would say, stomped, toward the little area that gave the best view of the foyer, and grabbed the railing, leaning over and looking once again downstairs. This is getting seriously creepy. I took in a deep breath, "Hello…anyone down there?"

The wind blew again, hard and worthy of being in a tornado, its sheer power sending me over the ledge of the small 'balcony' and tumbling down to the foyer. In pure shock, my hands and arms flailed trying to stop my fall, but after seconds going on minutes of falling, I calmed. Stupid people and their stupid Genjutsu. I brought my hands together in attempt to create a release, but a voice coming from overhead stopped me.

"Don't release it yet. I want to talk to you for a second."

I flicked my eyes in that direction to see no other than the great Uchiha Itachi strolling hypnotically in my direction, eyes red in Sharingan. I stood mystified for moments, his godly appearance enough to stop my heart if it wanted. He was as gorgeous as he was before, even now as a ghost. After another second or so, I realized I'd left my mouth hanging wide, and I snapped it closed. He smiled, "You're quite the pretty one, Sakura-chan."

My eyebrow furrowed angrily, "Why're you talking to me?"

"Some people would accept the compliment with a 'thank-you'."

He walked closer to me then shrugged, looking over my still pissed off expression. "Anyhow, I just thought I'd speak with you for a little bit. Catch up some, you know, have some tea. I haven't seen you in what seems like a decade, am I correct? You are twenty-two, right?"

My face contorted once again. I've already experienced some of the most awkward moments in my life here in Kiri and I haven't even been here for a month. Oh, joy. Glancing over to the ever-moving ex-Akatsuki member who was now resting in an elegant looking chair, I scoffed, "Yeah. Twenty y dos. I doubt you just want to talk to me. Maybe it's Sasuke you wanted to knock off a banister, perhaps?"

He shook a finger from right to left like a mother does to a bad child, closing his eyes patiently, "Now, now, Sakura-chan, no need to put so much acid in your tone. I just want to know why you're here; mission, I'm assuming. It's just a little—"

I interrupted him, placing my hands on my hips, quickly muttering, "It's none of your business."

Itachi opened his eyesin an aggravated snap, Mangekoyou flaring before he sped over to me until he was hovering menacingly above me, eyes glaring into my soul. Somehow, his voice still sounded patient when he repeated, "I said I wanted to speak with you—not have a conversation. Now, let me get to the point; why're you here?"

I felt each bead of sweat roll down my forehead at my growing anxiety, my heartbeat speeding faster and faster. My eyes searched for anything to look at besides his enchanting eyes. It'd suck to get in it worse than I already am. I swallowed my dry throat, "I have no information to tell you."

With a hard smack, I felt a hand hit the back of my neck, and my world flashed white, then faded into black as I fainted onto the marble-tiled foyer floor, fading into a mysterious world of red.

Her hands on mine felt, if anything, interesting, the warmth of her own body against mine as she guided my arm on the 'correct' way of cutting flower stems—as if there was a 'wrong' way—and the sometimes accidental brush of her thumb gently gliding against my cold skin sending hot tingles through my body. It was quiet, still far too early for any other grand human activity, yet still not. I could hear her small breaths and melodious heartbeat and how it compared to mine, not as heavy, lighter and more carefree.

When she finished she sighed, "I healed your hand, too. You weren't really paying attention much, so, I thought I'd tell you. You like your coffee black right?"

I watched her walk elegantly away from my form and to the coffee pot, her elbow-length hair bouncing with every step she took, hips swaying in a natural way, legs toned and perfect in their own right, the light hitting her skin in ways that made her look sun-kissed and extraordinary. My chest tightened awkwardly when I ripped my eyes away from her and looked at the tulips again, gathering them in my now 'better-than-before' hand, and placing them in the vase I'd set out earlier.

They were for my mother. It's her birthday. I found myself spacing out, remembering old memories as I stared at the yellow flowers now contained in the simple vase. How I wished things were that simple now.

Two fingers lightly tapped my shoulder and an angelic smile found a way to my view. My mood immediately started smoothing out, and I watched the girl place a mug of fresh coffee on the counter ahead of me. She nodded toward the tulips, holding her own much in both her delicate hands now, "Those are very pretty Sasuke-kun. Those are actually my favorite type of flower, you know."

I smirked lightly, "I would've thought they'd be Sakura Blossoms."

She laughed, taking a sip of her own coffee and sighing blissfully. She inhaled the caffeine for a moment, then smiled wide, bright, beautifully, "I like the pink one's best, though. You're theory wasn't too far off, Uchiha."

A comfortable silence filled the air as we both drank our coffee, sorting out the schedule for today mentally. I didn't mind one bit at all, the silence gave me time to think about everything I needed to, and straighten out everything I didn't need to be thinking about for the good of focus and sanity. I glanced at the flowers again and breathed heavily, composing myself, trying to keep my thoughts from straying for the fifteenth time in one day.

Out of nowhere, I mumbled, "They're for my mother."

Sakura lifted an eyebrow, surprised at her outburst more than I was myself. Her green eyes were glazed over with curiosity, a childish attribute that always seemed to be hidden in her gaze. Opening her mouth she squeaked, "Huh?"

"The flowers. They're for my mother," I repeated.

"It's her birthday today."

I didn't mean to tell her but it was too late. She already had me.

Hook,

Line,

and

sinker.

Control

Authority or ability to manage or direct

Okay! End of Chapter 4, I believe it is. I like this chapter. ^_^

Review, if you please! They make me update faster!

~NaruBaby2496