ChapterTHREE
A remake of the original 'Little Red Riding Hood', starring Haruno Sakura as Red Riding Hood, Uchiha Sasuke as the Woodcutter, and Orochimaru as the Big Bad Wolf. Coming soon to a theatre near you. –Warning: Mature audiences recommended; includes mature themes–
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Previously:
"You're stubborn and you don't listen to adults." Because you forget what say.
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"I don't have many friends back home."
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"What does it take for you to remember things?"
"I remember lots of things, Sasuke! I can remember things but I just can't... do anything about it."
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"I want to be your friend."
"Why?"
"I thought...maybe, if you had a friend you wouldn't be lonely."
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"You're already getting wet. If you get sick..."
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The Woodcutter got to know Red Riding Hood a little and they began to develop a friendship.
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/ / Little.
Pink.
Riding.
Hood. / /
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The news that Sakura, precious Sakura-chan, had fallen ill spread like wildfire around Konoha. Rumours spread immediately. First Sakura had a cold. Then people started saying that she had a high fever. Then, apparently, Sakura fainted. Before long, old women were whispering to each other that the town beauty had a deadly illness that no one could cure and that she would die before the grey day had ended.
Anxious young men showed up to Sakura's doorstep, holding rose, lilies or daisies. They bombarded Sakura's mother with questions, the most common one being, "How exactly contagious is this disease?" And after Sakura's poor mother assured them that it was perfectly safe, they demanded to see her.
"I'm sorry, I can't let that happen," Sakura's mother shook her tired head. "Sakura-chan is resting. You may come to visit tomorrow if you wish."
It was a well rehearsed line that Sakura's mother had to say so often. However, this did nothing to discourage the young men. They left their names with Sakura's mother and asked her to mention them to Sakura. "You know, just casually. Something 'He dropped by the moment he heard you were ill. It's such a pity you were asleep. He's such a strapping nice young man.'"
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
The way to a woman's heart is through her mother.
Probably.
"Yes, I'll be sure to tell her," she promised, almost having to literally push the butcher's persistent son out the front door. "Don't you worry about it."
"I trust you, madam, bu-"
"No, seriously," insisted Sakura's mother with some force, "don't worry about it."
The young man grunted enthusiastically as he left. Sakura's mother quickly closed the door before he could say anything else. She let out a sigh of relief. But her worries weren't over yet. It was fortunate that she was home when Sakura had stumbled through the gate.
Since a young age, Sakura always had a weak immune system. Her body was just unable to handle sudden temperature changes, whether it's from a windy morning to a sunny afternoon or from a humid afternoon to rainy night.
Sakura was home for only a while before she began burning up. Sakura's mother jumped about the living room, where they were having lunch. She couldn't remember where she put the medicine, but Kakashi, who was often freeloading off them by having lunch with them, calmly carried a sleepy Sakura to her bedroom.
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After a lonely and quiet dinner, Sakura's mother head to Sakura's bedroom to check her temperature.
She finished tucking her ill daughter into bed when a flash of lighting lit up the room. Thunder was rumbling in the distance. Sakura moaned softly and turned her head slightly. Her mother looked sadly at her and kissed her forehead, just as a tear fell and landed on Sakura's pale cheek.
"Wake up soon, my angel," Sakura's mother whispered and left the room. She was on her way to the kitchen when three sharp knocks echoed throughout the house. Sakura's mother shivered and made her way to the door. The rain was already pelting down with such a great force that it sounded like pebbles were being hurled at the roof.
"Please wait," she called out as she unbolting the door and swiftly opened it. An unfortunately timed flash of lightening lit up the face of whoever was at the door. Sasuke. More thunder rumbled, just to add to the effect.
Sakura's mother almost screamed at the eerie and blank face. Water was dripping from his face as he raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry," Sasuke muttered, though he did not sound like he remotely cared. He didn't even know why this woman was staring at him like he was a ghost. "I only just heard from Yuhi-san that Sakura was sick. Is she ok?"
Sakura's mother nodded silently. The handsome boy at her door nodded stiffly too and shrugged as he began to leave. Sakura's mother blinked as though she had awakened from a trance.
"Where are you going?" she asked gently.
"Home. I only came to see whether Sakura was ok."
Sakura's mother started to feel sorry for the poor boy, whose clothes were already drenched. The rain continued to fall relentlessly. He, too, would be sick if he continued to walk in the cold wet night. Her motherly instincts took over and she called out, "Please come in. You'll get sick if you walk all the way home in this weather."
Sasuke looked at her but did not move.
"Please."
Sakura's mother let out a sigh of relief when she saw that the boy had heard her and decided to do the wise thing. She moved aside to let the wet boy into her home and closed the door quietly behind him.
"Would you like something warm to drink?" asked Sakura's mother kindly.
"No."
Sasuke didn't even look at her. He just stood there, eye closed for a brief moment. Sakura's mother smiled softly. This young man looked decent enough compared to the other visitors who barged into their house. She ran her eyes up and down the young man. She had some of Kakashi's old clothes in the drawers. They were old and faded, but at least they were warm and dry.
"How about you get changed? I have a few old clothes lying around that use to belong to our neighbour..."
"I'm fine, thank you."
"I insist. No one under my roof shall wear wet clothes when there are perfectly fine clothes lying around." She led Sasuke to a room on the other side of the house, filled with big sacks and boxes. In the corner was a small set of drawers. Sakura's mother pulled out the top drawer and pulled out a pair of baggy pants and a loose shirt. They smelt like mothballs.
"You can change in here."
Sasuke looked like he didn't want to but he took the clothes anyway and bowed his head politely. Sakura's mother left the room and smiled, as she gathered her thoughts.
They brought flowers; he brought nothing.
They demanded to see Sakura; he only wanted to know if she was ok.
They dressed up and did their hair; he looked like he'd just run a marathon.
They didn't want to leave; he looked like he didn't want to stay.
How different.
"Please come this way and have a seat," Sakura's mother said when Sasuke finally came out with dry clothes on, gesturing the living room. It was a small room with two armchairs and a feeble looking bookshelf, filled with thick volumes. She took his wet clothes and hung them over a chair. Sasuke followed her slowly, taking in his surroundings. Sakura's mother sat down on one of the arm chairs and gestured the other for Sasuke, lighting a lamp next to her. "What's your name, young man?"
"Sasuke."
How emotionless.
Sakura's mother nodded. "I've known a few Sasukes in my life. What's your family name?"
"Uchiha."
How interesting.
"I see," said Sakura's mother, narrowing her eyes at Sasuke. Yes, she could see the Uchiha family's aristocratic good looks in him. It had been years but she could still remember the great Uchiha's reign. "Then you must be related to those who died in the fire ten years ago."
Sasuke showed no emotion to her but Sakura's mother could sense his slight discomfort. He was silent for so long that Sakura's mother thought perhaps he was ignoring her.
"I was related to them," he said finally, glaring at Sakura's mother. She smiled apologetically and nodded slowly.
"I see," she said again and paused briefly. "How do you know my Sakura-chan? No. That's a silly question... You're the town's woodcutter. Everyone knows you... Hmm..."
Sakura's mother trailed off into an uncomfortable silence. Sasuke still wanted to leave. The only reason he was sitting here was because he knew he'd feel bad if he just left without saying a proper thank you. He stared at Sakura's mother blankly as she 'hmm'ed to herself.
"Where is Sakura now?" he asked stiffly.
"Resting. Sleeping, actually. If you want to see her, you shall have to wait until tomorrow," said Sakura's mother cautiously. Perhaps he was like the other ones after all...
"You're mistaken; I don't wish to see her at all to tell the truth," said Sasuke in a deadpan voice. Sakura's mother raised her eyebrows and was about to reprimand Sasuke, he added in an offhanded tone, "No offence. But I think it's odd."
"What is?"
"I moved here two years ago," said Sasuke coolly. "I thought I knew everyone in the town within the first few months, yet I've never seen your daughter until three days ago. Did she just move here?"
"No, she's lived here all of her life," Sakura's mother smiled, but Sasuke noticed how it was slightly forced. "It's just that Sakura doesn't go out much. And when she does...I... I make sure that there is a boundary and time limit."
"Why is that? She seems capable," Sasuke paused and tried to correct himself, "most of the time."
Sakura's mother laughed. It was weak and humourless.
"Surely, you have noticed her behaviour? She could get hurt or deceived so easily, and she'd still think it was a game or something," Sakura's mother sounded bitter now. She fiddled with her fingers, staring at them intently. "It's not safe for her."
Sasuke looked at the woman opposite him, feeling slightly confused and annoyed. Sakura was growing up and her mother was suppressing her like this? He'd started living by himself when he was just eight. True, he was given no choice but to live that way, but he enjoyed his solitude those past years. Sasuke understood where Sakura's mother was coming from; Sakura was ditzy, and dare he say or think it, stupid, and not to mention she was a girl, but being denied her freedom, a luxury that most teenagers enjoyed? It was somewhat ridiculous.
"I agree," Sasuke said, with a single nod. "But is a time limit and boundary necessary? My parents-"
"Yes, I know," said Sakura's mother softly. "You are a son of the Uchiha. Everyone knew the Uchiha. They were rich and owned large pieces of land. You wouldn't understand what my daughter..." She stopped and looked at Sasuke, with intense eyes. "You look very much like your brother."
Sasuke stiffened and scowled. He didn't like speaking of his brother, who had abandoned him when he needed him most. Sakura's mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose tightly.
"Uchiha will always be Uchiha, I guess. Maybe if you knew, you would understand...I will tell you what happened to my Sakura-chan..."
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[Flashback:: Eight Years Ago]
Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was the cutest little eight year old in the country, with long pink hair and big green eyes. But it wasn't her looks that made her so lovable; it was her sharp tongue. The witty remarks she said seemed so out of place coming out of the mouth of someone so young.
"...and then the three bears came home and found that someone had eaten their porridge!" read Sakura's mother, with an exaggerated gasp, looking at her daughter with wide shocked eyes. Mother and daughter were sitting cross legged on Sakura's bed, both were wearing their nightgowns. Sakura was leaning on her mother's arm as she read from a worn out book in the dim light of a candlestick.
Sakura pouted.
"Goldilocks isn't very smart, is she?" she remarked, with a raised eyebrow. "Who would wonder into a stranger's home and start eating their food? Or sitting in their chair? Or sleeping in their beds? It's too unbelievable."
Sakura's mother chuckled. "How do you think we met Kakashi-san?"
Sakura rolled her eyes and sat up straight. "I don't like that man. He's different. I miss Tsunade-chan."
"Yes, but Tsunade is moving to Dan's house, remember?" reminded Sakura's mother, poking her daughter lightly on her nose.
"Wouldn't it be more reasonable if Dan-san moved here? Tsunade-san's work, friends and home is here. Her patients are here too. What if I get sick?" ranted Sakura, pointing to herself with her small hands. "That Kakashi is so uptight. I heard that anyone who gets close to him dies..."
"Sakura! Who told you such a thing? Was it that blonde girl from the florist? What have I told to you about gossiping?"
"Okaasan, please. It was hardly 'gossiping'," sniffed Sakura indignantly. "I wouldn't talk to that pig even if you paid me."
"Sakura-chan, enough," said her mother strictly. She closed the book and glared at her daughter sternly. "You can go to sleep now. Goodnight dear."
As she leaned in to kiss Sakura's forehead, Sakura said, "How can I sleep knowing that there's a child murderer out there?"
Sakura's mother froze, her lips hovering above Sakura, who stared expectantly at her mother. The topic of Orochimaru still at large was an avoided topic around children. The man had taken many people and ended up killing them. Most of them were children.
"You ask too many questions, sweetie," said Sakura's mother quietly. She kissed Sakura lightly and left the room with the candle. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, mother."
Sakura frowned in the dark. Her mother was so annoying sometimes. Actually, all adults were annoying. They spoke to Sakura like she knew nothing, but sometimes she felt like she knew more than the adults. When they talked, all she heard was "Blah, blah, blah..."
It wasn't her fault that she was so small and 'adorable'.
Oh, how she hated it when old ladies would pinch her cheeks (painfully) and lean in close so that she could feel (and smell) their breath. She hated how often her mother would tell her that wandering off on her own was going to 'be the death of her'.
Who told that to an eight year old? Honestly?
The next morning was cool and breezy. The air was crisp and just a bit chilly, however, it was nothing a light jacket couldn't handle. Sakura always woke up before her mother and watched the sky from her window. There wasn't a single cloud that morning. It was autumn, when the trees were gold, red and brown. It was so beautiful that morning, how could anyone have seen an omen?
It was possible that Sakura had spent longer than usual watching the blue sky, because her mother was getting restless, calling her name.
"Sakuraa! If I have you call you once more, you can just forget about having breakfast," shouted Sakura's mother, loud enough for the whole street to hear. Sakura pouted and slid off her bed. She changed into her clothes slowly, just to annoy her mother.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," yelled Sakura, when her mother began to tap something, probably a spoon, on the tables loudly. She ran to the kitchen and sat in her chair like a goof girl.
"Don't look like that," said her mother sternly when Sakura made a face at the bowl of porridge that was put in front of her. "Your face will stay like that."
"No, it won't," said Sakura. "There's a blonde boy in the next village who makes lots of faces and he still looks the same."
"Huh... Really? What do his parents say?"
Sakura shrugged as she spooned some honey from its jar and into her bowl. Her mother tutted.
"Sakura, don't shrug like that. It's un-ladylike."
"Well, that doesn't matter. I'm only eight. I've still got a couple of years before I'm a lady."
"You have something to say for everything, don't you?"
"You tell me, mother. You're the one who has to listen," gurgled Sakura, mouth full of oatmeal.
"Don't speak with your mouth full."
"Then don't talk to me while I'm eating."
Sakura's mother quickly hid a smile and said briskly, "We have to go to the butcher's today."
Sakura shuddered. "I don't like the butcher's. Can I stay home?"
Sakura's mother sat opposite her at the table and looked appalled at the idea. "Alone?" she whispered. "What kind of parent leaves their eight year old at home alone?"
"Ino's, Chouji's, Shikamaru's-"
"Not the point, Sakura," said Sakura's mother with a small frown. "I don't like the idea of you being by yourself. Now, I know you don't like the butcher's-"
"Or his son," Sakura quickly interjected. "He keeps following me around."
"He's just being friendly," explained Sakura's mother. Sakura pouted. "Anyway, if you come with me, I'll buy you a new book. How about that?"
Sakura looked at the mother carefully. "A proper book? Like for grownups?"
"Yes, fine, whatever," Sakura's mother waved her hand dismissively. Sakura grinned cheekily.
"Alrighty," she sang happily and slurped the rest of the porridge as fast as she could.
"Don't slurp."
"Don't expect me to eat quickly then."
Within the next ten minutes, Sakura finished her porridge, brushed her teeth, washed her face and put on her boots. Sakura's mother held up a jacket, but Sakura shook her head.
"I don't wanna wear a jacket," whined Sakura, jumping up and down. "No, no, no, no, no, no-"
"Alright! Fine," sighed her mother, throwing the jacket on the back of a chair. Mother and daughter left without another word.
By the time they arrived at the butcher's, there was a crowd of people outside of the butcher's. There was a discounted price on meat today. Sakura's mother pursed her lips as they stood outside, waiting to even enter the store. Sakura continually tugged on her mother's sleeve, just out of boredom.
When the smell of meat filled Sakura's nostrils, she tugged harder on her mother's sleeve.
"I'm bored," whined Sakura loudly. "Can I go out and play?"
Sakura's mother looked at the long queue and then at her little girl and then at the queue again. She cast a suspicious look upon her daughter.
"Fine. But you are not to leave this area. You can just go outside. Understand?"
"Yeess, Mootheerr," Sakura rolled her eyes before jumping up and kissing her mother on the cheek. She ran outside quickly, just as a breeze was picking up. She shivered. She should have worn that jacket. When Sakura realised that there were no other children around, she sighed and made a face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a stray tabby cat, playing with something in her paws. Sakura walked up to it slowly and saw that the cat was fiddling with a very small dead snake.
"Eugh," said Sakura loudly. The cat looked up and sped off behind the store. Sakura followed it. She thought over what her mother had said. She wasn't technically leaving the area, Sakura thought happily as she stepped behind the building. The cat was already gone, but Sakura saw something far more interesting. There was an alleyway behind the store. Sakura giggled as she walked into it and then walked to the end. The sides of the alley way were littered with bags of five day old lamb chops and pig feet. Sakura made a face at them but brightened up when she saw another alley attached to the end. She realised that there was a series of alleyways, crisscrossing like a maze.
"Wheeee!" she cried as she ran down another one and then another and then another. She finally stopped when her lungs were burning and her legs wouldn't move properly. For a few minutes, Sakura sat down on the cold ground, catching her breath. She stretched lazily and stood up.
Now which way had she come...?
Sakura shrugged and began to walk randomly. She noticed how quiet it was compared to the loud bustling of the market square, where the butcher's was.
A bit too quiet. She couldn't even hear any birds, but she dismissed the thought. Sakura knew that young children were often imaginative. When Sakura turned into yet another alley, she saw little circles on the ground. They were a few inches apart and stretched to the end of the alley. For the fun of it, Sakura followed them. They lead her around in a circle and then finally to a dead end.
Sakura crouched down to inspect the drops. They were black and shiny. Curiosity overcame her and she touched the drops, which to her surprise were still wet. And red. Sakura's mouth opened slowly when she realised that the drops weren't black but a sickening dark red. She fell back onto her bottom and gaped at her sticky fingertips.
"Wh-what is this...?" she whispered in horror. But she already knew the answer. Blood. Someone's blood. Sakura's lower lip began to tremble.
Sakura scrambled to her feet when she heard a stomach-churning choke. The person who's blood this belonged to was still around. Should she run? Should she cry for help? There was a shuffling of footsteps behind a wall and a raspy breathing.
Curiosity killed the cat.
Sakura staggered towards the wall, taking in quick shallow breathes. Her feet felt heavy and slow, but Sakura didn't want to leave. She was slightly disturbed but too intrigued. Sakura paused and hugged herself with her shaking arms.
"...that it? Such a waste for a Uchiha," laughed a voice softly. Cruelly. Sakura heard a man talking behind the wall. She looked up and around the area, realising that whoever it was, was standing in a door-less, roofless room. It was the area where the garbage cans were stored when they weren't being used. The sun was shining brightly down on the area.
"Come on. Get up. Keep running," teased the man. Who was he talking to? Sakura approached the wall and edged towards the doorway. There was a hoarse response and the man snorted. "This was too easy. I don't like doing easy tasks..."
Sakura heard gravel crunch.
"Maybe your brother will give me a more of a challenge," sneered the voice. There was a soft hiss from the second person.
"Leave...my...you...bastard," choked the second person. It was also a male voice, but it was strained. "Bas...tard...You-"
He was interrupted with a violent coughing fit. The first man laughed loudly. Too loudly. Sakura covered her ears. She didn't want to hear the cruel laughter or the sound of the other man dying.
"Mother," whimpered Sakura softly and began to cry silently. Her legs would no longer move. She wanted to run away from the abandoned alleyway. She wanted to find her mother and never leave her side. She wanted to find Ino-chan and apologize for all the mean things that she'd said to her. She wanted to go home and crawl into her bed.
A loud snap brought Sakura back to her senses. It was followed by a guttural cry of pain. The first man had just kicked the second one.
"You're boring me," stated the first man dangerously. Sakura shivered at his tone and finally gathered up the enormous amount of courage to peek into the room. The sight she saw would surely scare her forever.
A body.
No, not even a body. It was a living lump of bruised flesh and broken bones that lied on the floor, behind a trashcan.
Sakura noticed that one of his legs was disturbingly twisted and bent the wrong way. She shivered as she saw the first man stand over the broken body. He had long black hair, tied loosely into a low ponytail, with loose strands of hair framing him thin white face. Sakura could see his thin lips stretched into a mocking smile.
"Uchiha, Uchiha, Uchiha," he said tauntingly, looking down at the body. He licked his lips hungrily and crouched down. The second person shuddered. Sakura wished that she could see his face, but he had his back to her. "Family of child prodigies, right? Skilled in everything they do. Pity you weren't smart enough to evade me..."
The second person took in a long breathe and let it out shakily.
"Go. To. Hell. You. Snakey. Bastard," he gasped. The first man stood up and kicked him in the ribs brutally. Two loud snaps filled the air. Sakura was shaking like never before. It was like her soul had been lifted up and out her body and forced to watch the scene before her. Her hands clutched the edge of the door frame tightly. It was horribly silent. The lump stopped moving.
Breathing.
Shaking.
Living.
"Not even worth claiming as a trophy," the first man commented lamely as he stared at the body. He stepped over the body and looked up. A little girl was staring at him with horror and disgust. He smiled and licked his lips again. A new challenge. And so young, too. Perfect. The poor thing probably couldn't even move a muscle. He chuckled. She was just like the rest of them.
"Hello, little one," he hissed softly, arms slowly reaching out. He took small steps towards Sakura. He looked like an owner who was trying to recapture his escaped pet, not to make any sudden moves to startle them. "Want to play a game with me?"
Sakura gritted her teeth together. She may not have been able to move but she could still think. As the man moved closer to her, she could see his facial features more clearly. Strange yellow eyes, with slits as pupils...
Like a cat... No, a snake, thought Sakura.
"What kind of game?" Sakura was glad that she could speak, and even happier that she didn't stutter or stammer, but the volume of her voice could barely be heard. The man's smile grew wider, until he was showing all of his teeth.
"It's called 'Hide and Seek'," he said very quietly, with a possessed look in his eyes. "I was playing it with him, but I found him too soon."
This did nothing to generate any reaction from Sakura, who looked at the man with a stony face. His smile faltered slightly but nonetheless he continued speaking.
"How about this?" he offered. "You go hide and I'll seek. If I find you within 2 minutes, you lose and I get to kill you. If I find you after 2 minutes, I won't kill you and I'll even make you one of my trophies. How about it?"
"What makes you so sure that you find me at all?" challenged Sakura. The man laughed at her question, shaking his head slowly. Sakura had not meant to ask him that, but her brain had begun to go into overdrive and her heart began to thump painfully against her chest.
"Haha. I like you... What's your name?"
"..."
"Ah yesss..." he said softly, emphasizing the 's' in 'yes'. "No giving away personal details to strangers, right? How about this... I'll tell you my name in exchange for yours?"
"Why... Why would I want you know your name?" she spat angrily. Sakura hated the way he spoke to her. Like she was an idiot. No, she was not an idiot. Sakura knew very well that he could have just killed her the moment he saw her. She shivered when she thought of death. Goldilocks faced the three bears and didn't die. She just ran away at the end. Sakura was determined to do the same. Just run. Find a way out and just run.
But the man hissed furiously and snarled, "Because my name is great, you little brat! You probably know my name already, yes?"
He reached out and twirled his finger around a lock of Sakura's hair. Sakura flinched violently.
Do it, now. Do it now! cried a voice in her head. Now! Now! Now!
Sakura bit down on the man's hand. She made sure her teeth clamped down as hard as they could. The man didn't yell, as she thought that he would, but hissed violently like an animal. Automatically, he slapped her on the side of the head. A cold sweat broke out all over Sakura's body and tears sprung into her eyes, but she wouldn't let go. In fact, she bit harder and finally broke through his white skin. A tiny amount of blood seeped into her mouth and Sakura tasted the metallic flavour of blood. The man slapped her again and she finally let go.
Sakura spat out as much of the taste as she could. Her instinct was to run and find her mother, but she couldn't see properly. Her head felt heavy and the side of her face burned painfully.
"Sakura! I specifically told you not to leave the building. You are so grounded, young lady!" screeched her mother's voice. Sakura instinctively turned in the direction of the voice. The man, who was a nothing more than a colourful blurry silhouette in Sakura's vision, noticed her reaction.
"This'll be fun," he chuckled darkly. Sakura rubbed her eyes with both hands. She stumbled backwards until she fell over onto her back painfully. All of a sudden, she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She writhed on the floor weakly, rolling onto her side and finally stomach, where she took in a deep breath.
"I know you're here, Sakura," yelled her mother. Sakura opened her mouth to yell back. Scream something. A word; a noise, it didn't matter. Quickly, the man grabbed her and covered her mouth with his unbitten hand.
"Oh, no, no, you don't. You're far too feisty to let go. Much better than that Uchiha boy," the man said lifting her up. Sakura kicked viciously and twisted her body but his grip was too strong. He grinned at her struggling. This was fun. He quickly looked around the abandoned alley and ran to the end of it. There was another, much narrower, darker, pathway. It was only about two feet wide. The man, with Sakura still in his arms, stepped into it.
Sakura, who had given up kicking, looked around jerkily. Her mother was looking for her. That was all the motivation that she needed. Sakura twisted in his arms again. He began to laugh again but Sakura twisted sideways, so that it was almost like he was carrying her bridal style, and kicked off the wall as hard as she could. The man didn't expect it. The small force caught him by surprise. It knocked him back into the other wall. Sakura took the chance to push away his arms. She fell and landed on her shoulders and then head.
A sickening crack, for the fourth time in fifteen minutes, filled the air. Sakura's body went disturbingly still.
"Oh shit," muttered the man in a disappointed, sad voice, like a child who broke his new toy on Christmas day. He crouched down and automatically tried to find the girl's heartbeat. "Come on. You were going to be one of my trophies..."
He smiled gleefully when he found a weak thumping. He lifted Sakura again and threw her other his shoulder like a sack of grain. He ignored the red sticky mat of hair on the left of her head and began whistling a cheerful tune.
When he emerged on the other side of the alley, he looked around carefully. There were only a few people but they were working on their farms. His instincts told him to wait but he ignored them. It would be more exciting to carry the body in broad daylight under the noses of the stupid villagers.
"S-Sakura! Sakura-chan?" shouted a boy's voice. The man looked around and saw a small boy around the girl's age. And before he could do anything, the boy started screaming at the top of his lungs, "I foooooouuuunnd heeeeerr!"
One by one, men and women appeared behind the boy, who was pointing at Sakura dramatically. One woman stepped forward and took her from the man's arms.
"Thank you, thank you," she sobbed. The man wanted nothing more than to hurt the woman who had just taken his trophy from him. Then she saw Sakura's bleeding head and cried out in shock.
"Haruno-san! What's wrong?"
The villager gathered around the man and Sakura's mother. The man stayed silent. He didn't like big crowds. He hid his fidgeting hands in his pant pockets.
"What happened?" the woman whispered to him, her tear stricken face fearful.
"I was just passing by an alleyway and I saw her skipping around. She tripped. And then she fell and hit her head. I was looking for her mother," said the man, showing no emotion, but his eyes were furious. However, no one noticed as all of their eyes were on Sakura's bleeding head. "I have to go now," he said through gritted teeth.
"What? No, you saved my daughter. Please, please... How can I ever repay you?"
"Just... Nothing. Make sure she stays healthy and alive. I may come and visit her again."
And with that, Orochimaru left.
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"...And by the time we got her back, there was nothing that could be done. She's been like this ever since. It's like a reverse of personalities," sighed Sakura's mother, wiping her eyes as discreetly as she could. Sasuke's emotionless face wasn't helping. "Anyway, when we looked around the area, we found another body of a young boy, but we couldn't identify him."
"Did you know the name of the man who had her?"
"No... but," Sakura's mother smiled very weakly, "I keep thinking what would have happened if he hadn't found Sakura. We were very lucky that he found her. She could have died."
At that moment, Sakura turned on her side and smiled in her sleep. She dreamt of running freely in a meadow with a hawk flying above her.
A/N: I apologize profusely to all of my readers. You guys are the best and thank you for being so patient with me. I'm sorry about the last piece I posted. I wrote it quickly and I only posted it because I felt like it'd been too long since my last post. It's completely random and not meant to be canon to the rest of the story. But this chapter is the longest so far. I hope you liked it.
Now, on a less happy not, I won't be updating for a bit. I have an essay due on Macbeth and then subject selections for Year 11. Fun right?
But since I love all of you so much, here's a teaser:
"You like her, don't you?" Kakashi asked slowly, his mouth dropping open. Sasuke looked coldly at him.
"Don't be ridiculous. I just feel protective towards her, that's all," he snapped. Kakashi shrugged.
"That good enough for me; you like Sakura!"
Is that enough? More? Fiiiine, if you say so:
"Don't go."
Sasuke's words lingered in the air. For a second, he thought that Sakura hadn't heard him.
"Eh?"
Yup, she hadn't heard him.
"Don't leave. It's too dangerous out there. Stay here."
Until later, tooodles ;)
Elle.