"Unknown Jealousy"
The tendrils of the refreshing sun rise seeped through the trees as dawn came. Sasuke was huddled in a corner, leaning on a tree as Sakura sat beside him. Her head leaning unto his shoulder. The scent of the forest was refreshing since the ground and trees were moist because of the rain last night. The pink-haired kunoichi wrinkled her eyes before finally opening them up. She looked around and was surprised to see the half-naked Sasuke sleeping peacefully beside her. Because of her sudden movement, Sasuke was awakened. "Hn... Good, you're awake..." He said nonchalantly.
"Uh, good morning, Sasuke-kun." Sakura greeted, still sitting down and leaning on the tree. Sasuke stood up and went to the remains of their fire. Beside it laid Sakura's red dress. Upon seeing her red dress, Sakura looked at herself. "Oh, my God!" She suddenly shrieked. She looked at herself and saw that her torso was bandaged and that she was not wearing anything on top, in short, she was half-naked just as Sasuke and she was only covered with none other than Sasuke's shirt! Her mouth fell open at the realization. "Don't tell me you were the one who placed this bandage on me!" Sakura asked in sheer shock.
Sasuke merely picked up her clothes, and yes, including her bra, then handed it to her. His eyes were closed as he refused to answer her question. "Other than you and me, do you see anyone else around here?" Sasuke asked in annoyance. He sweared, sometimes, girls are such of low pick-up. "No..." Sakura answered his question as she got her clothes from him. "Then, does that answer your question?" Sasuke asked back.
"Then... You... You saw my...!" Sakura was a bit hesitant to say 'that' upper part of her body because Sasuke was in fact a guy. Her cheeks turned crimson as she saw his own cheeks turn beet red. THAT answered her question. Sasuke chose to rather turn his back on her to hide his embarrassment, but clearly, it was too late since she had already seen the blush on his face.
Without looking back on her, he extended his right hand. "Give me my shirt back." It was more of a command. Slowly, Sakura handed him his shirt as she covered her body with her red dress. "Hurry and dress up. We have to reach the village of Ame." Sasuke said as he doned on his shirt and jumped up a tree. Then, he began going towards the direction of the village of Ame, giving Sakura some time to put on her dress. Then, she began applying medical jutsu to her wounds and in a matter of minutes, all of her wounds were healed. Soon afterwards, Sakura caught up with him and forced him to stop for a while.
"You better give me a good reason why you wanted us to stop." Sasuke ordered. Sakura crossed her arms across her chest and heaved out a sigh. "Fine!" She said as she went towards him. She stood in front of him and picked up his right hand. "Hold it up for me." She managed to order the Uchiha who was a bit bewildered at what she was trying to do. She did a series of hand seals and applied Chiyute No Jutsu to the slash on his wrist. She did the same to his other bruises, then, afterwards, she went on jumping from tree to tree, leaving behind the bewildered Sasuke. After recovering form his trance, he also caught up with her and they both traveled to reach the village of Ame.
Sasuke was lost within his own trail of thoughts as they headed for the Village of Ame. He couldn't get last night's memory out of his mind. He tried to shake those thoughts off but they just kept coming back. 'Stop thinking about!' He told himself but it was just not possible. Sakura was unconscious. She had lost a great deal of blood. It was raining and they were both soaked. Of course he needed to do something!
He remembered how he felt when he slowly slid the kunoichi's dress from her shoulders. He had to use every ounce of self-control he had just to slowly take off her dress and not hurt her wound in the process. Taking off her bra took much effort and finally, Kami-sama knew that it took all of his will power to place those bandages on... He tried to look away as he placed those bandages on her but, he had to make sure that the bandages were placed correctly. He had to take several moments of concentration just to control himself and his raging hormones from doing... things... to Sakura... 'Stop it... You're pathetic' Sasuke thought within himself but couln't do anything about it. He was, after all, a pure-blooded, straight male. 'Damn hormones...' He cursed silently.
Finally, they reached their destination. The streets of the village of Ame was filled with people. There were stalls selling different goods but both Sakura and Sasuke went directly to the house of the village's daimyo. They were welcomed by the village's daimyo who was named Mashino Andou. His son, Akiyoshi Andou or 'Aki' was standing beside him. His long, raven hair was pulled into a knot with a blue ponytail and he was wearing a navy blue gi and a black hakama. He looked like the same age as Sakura and Sasuke.
"Welcome, ninjas of Konoha." The daimyo said as they all sat around a table while having a morning tea. "I am Mashino Andou, the daimyo of this village and this is my son, Akiyoshi, to whom the title of being daimyo will be handed during the Rain Festival." The strength of the daimyo's character was obviously shown in his voice.
"I'm Haruno Sakura and this is Uchiha Sasuke, we were sent by Tsunade-sama to help you." Sakura introduced themselves. "To tell you honestly, our village has powerful samurais who are experts in wielding swords but we have information that our rival village has sent ninjas to ruin our Rain Festival." Mashino spoke after sipping his tea.
"That's why we're here, sir." Sakura answered. "Very well... Hm... I see that you have a katana..." The elder Andou spoke noticing the katana that was hanging on Sakura's back. "Uh, yes, I am still learning a technique in using it." Sakura answered meekly. "May I see it?" The younger Andou asked as he looked at Sakura intently. "Uh, sure..." Sakura slowly slid the katana down from her shoulder and handed it to Akiyoshi.
"Hmm... I see that this is a good and dependable sword... The metal used is not of ordinary origin..." Akiyoshi looked at Sakura and smiled. "I really admire women who can yield swords. In this village of ours, very few women choose to learn how to use a sword. More often than not, they rather choose to marry and be a mother." Akiyoshi seemed friendly enough and Sakura decided that she liked him.
"Father, may I tour them around the village? I think, as visitors, they should also be allowed to enjoy our Festival." Akiyoshi turned to his father. "Besides, the turnover ceremony will not be held until tonight." He further said. The older Andou only nodded in response.
"Very well then, Father, we shall get going now. See you later then." Akiyoshi stood up as Sakura and Sasuke followed suit. They followed Akiyoshi as he went through their gate. "This is a jinrikshaw. We'll have to ride this for us to get to town." Akiyoshi explained with a smile. "But, I think, we have a slight problem. Since only two passengers can occupy one jinrikshaw."
"Oh, that's fine! Sasuke can ride another. He likes to be alone anyway. Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura turned to Sasuke who only snorted in response. True enought, he liked being alone. But when she said that he'd ride on another jinrikshaw, it's like saying that she'd prefer to ride with Akiyoshi. That realization made him sulk deep inside.
"Well, that's good... I think... Now, why don't we go ride to town?" Akiyoshi smiled as he helped Sakura up the jinrikshaw while Sasuke got up on another. Sakura and Akiyoshi rode on one jinrikshaw while Sasuke was mentally sulking. Because of what reason? Even he, doesn't know why. He simply placed both his arms across his chets and pretended not to care.
"Do you have jinrikshaw back in Konoha, Sakura-dono?" Akiyoshi asked Sakura while riding the jinrikshaw. "You can call me, Sakura-chan. Sakura-dono is a bit too formal." Sakura said with a smile. "Well, we, ninjas of Konoha usually travel by foot or by riding horses that's why don't have jinrikshaws. People of Konoha are usually physically strong anyway, that's why they prefer to travel by foot. Um... Akiyoshi-sama, might I ask, is it hard to be a daimyo?" The pink-haired chuunin asked innocently.
"Call me Aki-kun and I'll answer your question. Hmm... Based on experience since my father is the daimyo of this town, I think it is. You know, you have to tend to the needs of the people. You have to let justice prevail and when the town has enemies or is being attacked, the daimyo has to fight for the town. Pretty much like a leader of the town. Plus, you have to be a master swordsman in order for you to prove that you are strong."
"You are a master swordsman then?" Sakura asked. Akiyoshi smiled uncomfortably. "Ne, Sakura-chan, I just know how to use a sword, that's all." He said. All the while that Akiyoshi and Sakura were chatting merrily, Sasuke was throwing deadly glares at the young samurai. He tried to find a logical reason why he was acting that way but he could not think of any logical reason to explain why.
At last, they reached the town plaza. The streets was filled with stalls selling goods, flowers, toys and even accessories. Akiyoshi toured Sakura around and many people had recognized Akiyoshi's presence, making it obvious that he is a well-known personality around town. 'So what if he's popular!" Sasuke sulked mentally but kept his mouth shut.
As Sakura and Akiyoshi were looking on a stall, Akiyoshi suddenly pushed Sakura behind his back and at the same time unsheathed his sword and deflect the attack of shurikens towards them with the use of his sword. "Sakura-chan, are you alright?" The young samurai asked. "Yeah, I'm okay... Where did those come from?" Sakura asked.
"From that roof over there!" Sasuke answered. Even before the shurikens have been deflected by Akiyoshi, Sasuke already sensed them and was about to do something about it, but Akiyoshi already did something. "I'm going after it." Sasuke said and began jumping up the roof, trying to find the person who threw those shurikens. "I'll come with you!" Sakura said and began going after Sasuke.
Meanwhile, the young samurai who saw them jump up high was only dumbfounded. 'Who are these people?' He thought bewilderedly.
tbc
a/n: school kinda sucks... imagine Physics, Chemistry, Trigonometry, Statistics & Economics being crammed all in a day, 4 days a week with a minimum of 50 minutes each subject with Physics taking up two periods, meaning having 1 hr and 40 minutes of lecture in Physics. Not to mention, other subjects such as English, Filipino, Music, P.E. & Home Economics... Plus our Citizen Army Training once a week... Oh, Kami-sama... It's only the start of our school year here in the Philippines but I'm going crazy already! That's why updating my fiction story is a little hefty... Hope you guys understand... And pls REVIEW! I need inspirations!
Preview of the next chapter: "Past Bussiness"
Meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke hid behind a thick bush and watched as the scene slowly unfolded before them. It looked like Akiyoshi was about to battle the guy who was standing across him. "Should we help Aki-kun?" Sakura whispered the question to Sasuke who was crouching beside her. "No, we shouldn't interfere and you better hide your chakra. Besides, I think we have our hands full." Sasuke said as he pointed towards a certain tree. There, above the tree, was no doubt, one of the Akatsuki ninjas.