Chapter Seven: The Snake Closes In
Sakura studied the interior of the Uchiha manor. She spotted a few expensive decorations, including a white antique vase painted with screaming blue mermaids. Their arms were raised and their faces were twisted in pure anguish, as if some invisible person was torturing them. Sakura pried her eyes away from the disturbing vase. It was painted by one of the seven great lords of the Land of Water, and all of them are very well known for being lovers of all kinds of pain. They were sadistic, masochistic, and just plain twisted. Sakura could not imagine living in a land ruled by such horrible people.
"Do you like it?"
Sakura turned and saw a young man who was probably the same age as her. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a bit droopy, giving him a sleepy look.
"I think it's beautiful," Sakura replied, "The pictures are painted beautifully, but I don't like its sadistic nature. I guess twisted pictures like these are to be expected from one of the seven great lords of the Land of Water,"
"I'm surprised you actually know who painted it," The boy told her. "Most of the women I talk to compliment everything about the vase, saying how beautiful the details are and that they love how the artist used only blue. But in reality, they don't even know who painted it, nor do they know how horrible the pictures are. I thought you were one of them, but you have proven me wrong. I'm impressed,"
Sakura felt a surge of pride, and she smiled at him. "Thank you for the compliment. I am happy that I made a good impression on you. You don't seem half bad yourself,"
"I'm Nara Shikamaru," The boy informed her, "And you are?"
"Haruno Sakura," She replied smoothly.
Shikamaru was one of the scholars of the Land of Fire's only lord, Sarutobi Hiruzen. He appeared to have the same age as her and like most people their age, he was unmarried. But as a member of an important noble family, his parents were pressuring him to start seeking a wife. That was obviously the least thing Shikamaru wanted to do. Sakura envied him because he was being offered a chance to marry someone, unlike her who could only become a crush, an object of affection, or an idol for men. But never a wife. She has already sold herself to this kind of life. There was no turning back.
She moved farther away from Ino and her company to find where Sasuke went off to. She also wanted to talk to his older brother and his fiancée, to congratulate them.
"Young lady, you are blocking my way,"
Sakura turned and almost gasped. There was a man standing in front of her. His appearance was incredibly startling. His skin was pasty and pale, his eyes were too narrow, his eyeballs were in a sickly colour bordering somewhere between blue and purple, and his face was thin and angular. His hair was long and black and added to the overall oddness of his appearance. His voice was rather odd as well. And his way of speaking was very unflattering. It was almost as if he was hissing.
"Did you hear me, young lady? I said that you are blocking my way,"
Sakura snapped back to reality and quickly moved aside, "I'm sorry, sir,"
The man sniffed disdainfully, "What is your name, child?"
Sakura did not like where this was going. "Haruno Sakura, sir,"
"Haruno…" Her name sounded vile and venomous when he was the one saying it. "Whose court are you from?"
"None, sir," Sakura replied with a firm voice.
"Ah, a mere commoner, I presume?"
"You are correct, sir,"
The man looked at her with even more distaste than before. He thought she was worthless just because she wasn't a noble. This made Sakura's blood boil. When he was about to walk away, she opened her mouth without thinking.
"I believe it is improper to ask for someone's name without giving your own," She said loudly. The snake like man turned slowly and raised an eyebrow at her. Then he chuckled. His laugh made the hairs on Sakura's arm stand.
"Quite the feisty little girl, aren't you?" He laughed, obviously amused. "I am Orochimaru of the Land of Sound. Lord of the Land of Sound, to be precise,"
Sakura's green eyes widened. The Lord of the Land of Sound was standing right in front of her. And she was sure that he was already thinking up dozens of ways to make her feel even more worthless. But of course, it was not in Sakura's personality to just allow her ego to be flattened. She hid her shock and stared at him with the sort of cocky arrogance she usually sees on Ino's face whenever she is on her 'powerful-rich-lady' mode.
"I see. I expected that the Lord of the Land of Sound would be more well-mannered, though,"
Sakura was satisfied at the half-angry half-shocked look on Orochimaru's face. She held her chin up and walked away, but before she could make her second step, Orochimaru grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around.
"Ah, I think I remember you know," Orochimaru hissed, anger clouding his eyes. "Haruno Sakura, pink hair, green eyes, annoyingly confident personality…"
"You just stated the obvious," Sakura said impatiently, "Now will you let go of my arm?"
"You know who Karin is, don't you?" Orochimaru continued. At the sound of the red-haired lady's name, Sakura's confidence slowly slipped away. She did hear from Naruto that Miyazaki Karin was a rich and influential lady from the Land of Sound. And he did tell her that she was taken in by a rich and powerful person. And she did read in one of her books that the Lord of the Land of Sound was unmarried. And lastly, she knew that the Lord of the Land of Sound had one adopted daughter.
"I…"
"Let her go, Orochimaru,"
Both the Lord and the pink haired girl turned to the owner of the voice. Sasuke stood beside Orochimaru, clutching the back of his cloak. His face was surprisingly calm, but the snake like man did not miss the anger clouding his onyx eyes. Orochimaru released Sakura's arm and gave Sasuke a smooth smile. This caused a chilly feeling to rise inside both Sakura and Sasuke.
"Ah, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said in a low voice, "I apologize for the—"
"Hey! Sasuke-kun is my nickname for him, so don't you dare—"
Sasuke quickly clamped a hand over the pink haired girl's mouth.
"This girl is my guest, Orochimaru," Sasuke said coldly, "I hope I won't see you holding her roughly again,"
"My, my, of course," Orochimaru nodded, a creepy smile still stuck on his face, "It was just…my way of acquainting myself with her. She is a fine looking lady. A very beautiful flower worthy to be added to the finest flower arrangement,"
"Mmmppff!" Sakura was still struggling to remove Sasuke's hand from her mouth. She wanted to make a witty insult to Orochimaru's latest statement, but Sasuke kept his hold on her tight.
"Yes, I agree with you,"
Orochimaru smiled. "I am off, then. I will see you again soon, Sasuke-kun,"
Sakura could feel Sasuke stiffening. She wasn't sure whether he was scared of that snake guy or if he was just grossed out by the affectionate nickname. Sakura guessed it was both.
Orochimaru was already a few meters away from them when he spoke, "Take good care of her, Sasuke-kun. It's always unsafe to leave a small bird on the ground before it even learns how to fly. You never know, a snake might be lurking not far behind,"
Sasuke stiffened at his last remark. Orochimaru lifted his hand and waved before disappearing back into the manor. Sakura felt his hand tighten on her shoulder and on her mouth. She gazed up at him worriedly.
"Sasuke-kun?" She said, but it sounded more like, "Fafuku-ku?"
He removed his hand from her mouth. Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke-kun…?"
"Are you alright, Sakura?" He asked, brushing away her concern.
"Uh, yeah, but…" Sakura trailed away. She thought she saw fear in Sasuke's eyes just before Orochimaru left. She never saw him scared before. Just shaken and lonely, but never scared.
"Sasuke-kun, don't worry," Sakura assured him, "I'm sure that snake-guy won't be able to hurt you. You're safe here,"
I'm more worried of what he might do to you, Sasuke thought, but he didn't say it aloud. If he did, it might give Sakura some sort of strange ego boost. Instead he said, "You sure are ridiculously overconfident, today,"
"Of course!" Sakura beamed, "That ugly snake guy doesn't scare me,"
But he knew Miyazaki Karin, Sakura thought. She wanted to ask Sasuke about her, but she was afraid that he'd ask how she knew her. She didn't want Sasuke to know that she had a run in with Karin, especially since she didn't really like the red-haired lady. And she had a strong gut feeling that Karin didn't like her much either. It showed on her face whenever she spoke, no matter how much she tried to hide it.
"Sakura,"
She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to look at Sasuke, "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
"If you see Orochimaru again, avoid him," Sasuke instructed her, "Don't try to talk to him or look him or do anything that requires coming near him. Make sure to avoid him at all times, and if he tries to talk to you, intimidate you, or even just look at you, make sure to tell me. Is that clear?"
"What if he tries to give me flowers and cake?" Sakura tried.
"I will send him to prison," Sasuke replied flatly.
"God, that's mean," Sakura wrinkled her nose. "What about if he gives me a pretty new kimono?"
Sasuke rubbed his forehead tiredly, "Sakura, I highly doubt that Orochimaru will give you a kimono,"
"But what if he does?" Sakura persisted stubbornly.
"Then don't take it!" Sasuke told her, annoyed, "I'll make sure to get you a much better one. Just don't take it!"
Sakura laughed. "You're so cute when you get annoyed,"
"Stop trying to flatter me. It won't work,"
Sakura sighed. "This party is boring…when is Naruto gonna show up?"
"That idiot is always late," Sasuke told her with a sigh, "If you're bored, I can take you to where Nii-san and his fiancée are,"
"Really?" Sakura's face brightened up.
Sasuke was amused by her eagerness. "Follow me,"
Itachi Uchiha and his bride-to-be, Nadeshiko Shimura, were tossing fish food in the biggest fish pond in the garden. They preferred to keep to themselves, away from the attention of the guests in the party. Sakura tagged along behind Sasuke until they got near the couple.
"Nii-san, Nadeshiko-san," Sasuke called out.
The older Uchiha turned to him, "Sasuke, is there something wrong?"
"Yes," Sasuke replied. He dragged Sakura with him and pointed to her, "One of your guests, the Lord of the Land of Sound, just threatened my guest here. You sure have a sick way of selecting your friends, Nii-san,"
At once, Itachi's face darkened, "Orochimaru is here?"
"Yes!" This time Sakura was the one who spoke up, "And I must say, he has rotten manners! So much for being an all powerful lord…and he was creepy! He keeps calling Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun!"
Itachi's troubled expression did not waver. The beautiful young lady by his side gave him a worried look, "Itachi…?"
"I'll be back," Itachi told her, removing her hand from his arm. He turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke, come with me,"
Sasuke nodded. He turned to Sakura, "Stay here,"
Sakura huffed indignantly, "Why are you leaving me out of this? I can help, you know! I'm not some worthless, helpless damsel that you need to protect! I want to go with you guys in case you need—"
"Sakura," Sasuke said sternly, "Right now I do need your help. I need you to stay here and—"
"Like I said, I want to—"
Sasuke cut her off. "I need you to stay here and take care of Nadeshiko-san! Make sure Orochimaru or someone else doesn't come near her. It's a tough job. Do you understand me, Sakura?"
She realized the importance of the job he was leaving her. Sakura grinned and saluted, "Of course, Sasuke-kun-sir!"
Sasuke smirked, "I trust you, you annoying idiot,"
Then the Uchiha brothers melted back into group of fancy dressed guests and were gone. Sakura turned back and walked over to where Nadeshiko was standing. She looked troubled and afraid, but not for herself. Sakura knew she was afraid for Itachi. The pink haired girl did her best to appear civilized and elegant.
"Hi…I'm Haruno Sakura, pleased to meet you, Nadeshiko-san,"
The young lady smiled, "Same here. Are you Sasuke-san's fiancée?"
Sakura grinned, obviously flattered. "No, I'm not. I'm a friend of his,"
"I see…" Nadeshiko nodded, apparently unconvinced. Then she smiled warmly, "So you're my bodyguard for tonight, right?"
"You can count on me!"
Nadeshiko looked around, "This part of the garden is a bit far away from the crowd. Should we go someplace else a little but more crowded? I think it'd be safer that way. For both of us,"
"But Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun are going to look for us here," Sakura told her. "It's best if we stay…at least they'll know where to find us,"
"I'm not going to argue with that," The lady shrugged and sat down on one of the large boulders by the pond. Sakura copied her by sitting on the one in front of her. It was dark, but the fishes on the ponds were visible because of the floating paper lanterns. Nadeshiko tossed some more fish food in the pond. At once, the fishes, both big and small, rushed towards the place where the food fell, and started splashing around.
Sakura's green eyes widened, "Wow…I've never seen a fish pond with this many fish in someone's garden, before. Are you sure they aren't going to eat each other? Cause those big ones might think those small ones are fish chow or something like that…"
Nadeshiko laughed, "No, those small ones are baby fishes. Someday they'll grow up to be big fishes, too. Parents will never eat their kids, right?"
"I suppose so…" Sakura watched as Nadeshiko tossed more fish food.
"Are you…going to marry Sasuke-san someday?" Nadeshiko asked.
Sakura nearly fell from the boulder, "Of course not! I mean…I…I'm a geisha…"
Nadeshiko stopped and stared at her. Her dark violet eyes examined her closely, then they relaxed again. "I see. I did not know. I apologize for any insult I might have implied,"
"No, it's alright," Sakura shrugged.
"So…you're really not going to marry?" Nadeshiko asked, "What about when you turn old? And your beauty wears off? How will you make money?"
"The okiya mistress saves some of our earnings," Sakura replied, "Then she surrenders it to us once we are unable to work. Or if I'm lucky, I'll have a rich Danna…"
"What's a Danna?" Nadeshiko asked, genuinely interested.
"If a geisha is lucky, a man might take interest her and request himself to be her Danna. A Danna is a sort of…husband for a geisha. Only that she can't choose him," Sakura explained, "But of course, a man can't be a Danna unless he's rich, because to become a geisha's Danna means paying for all of her expenses. Kimonos, food, living expenses…everything,"
"That's not a very good life," Nadeshiko commented. "It's kind of sad,"
"I can't have anything more than that," Sakura shrugged, "My experiences in life are going to be quite limited. But it's the life I chose,"
"I feel sorry for you," The older of the two said. And when Sakura looked up to meet her dark violet eyes, she saw real compassion. The pink haired girl looked down and tried to will back the hot tears that were building up behind her eyes.
Nadeshiko laughed, "Crying is not a shameful thing. If you don't pour out your feelings, you will explode from the inside."
Sakura grinned back, "If I cry now, my eyes will become red and swollen. I have to look my best right now. We are in a party, right?"
Nadeshiko nodded and smiled, "I won't argue with that,"
Nadeshiko was from the rich Shimura family. Her noble status was not as high as the Uchihas. She was probably on the same level as Ino. She was talented in many forms of art, including flower arrangement. Sakura watched with delight as Nadeshiko made a beautiful flower arrangement out of only the flowers growing in the garden.
"You're just as good as my friend Ino," Sakura exclaimed.
"You mean Yamanaka-san's daughter?"
"Yes," Sakura confirmed, "Do you know her?"
"Yes, I know her very well," Nadeshiko smiled, then she tilted her head to the side. "I didn't know you two were friends, though,"
"She's my bestfriend," Sakura informed her.
Nadeshiko looked genuinely puzzled, "Bestfriend…? Oh…that's…a bit strange…"
Sakura returned her confused look, "Strange? Why? We're childhood friends, even before I became a geisha…"
"Oh, I wasn't referring to your status as a geisha," Nadeshiko corrected, "I just…I just find it a bit strange, considering her feelings for Sasuke-san…"
Sakura stopped. She stared at Nadeshiko, still processing what she just said, "Feelings…? Ino has feelings for Sasuke-kun?"
Nadeshiko looked like she wanted to drown herself in the pond. "I did not know that you weren't aware. I thought…I just…forgive me Haruno-san, I hope this won't destroy your friendship with her…"
"No, of course not, Shimura-san!" Sakura assured her, "I was just—"
Sakura was cut off by a large explosion. Nadeshiko stood up, her eyebrows narrowed. The location of the explosion was far away from the Uchiha manor, but still, horror registered on Nadeshiko's eyes.
"What was that?" Sakura exclaimed, standing up. Thick smoke rose up from the ground like heavy black fog. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, "Whatever that was, I sure am glad it didn't happen near here,"
Then Sakura noticed Nadeshiko's troubled expression, "Shimura-san…?"
"That's…"
"That's what?"
"That's Lord Sarutobi's manor!"
Sakura's eyes widened. She turned her gaze back to the explosion, and a strange feeling filled her chest when the smoke cleared and revealed the seal of the Land of Fire embedded in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi's manor. Nadeshiko clenched her hands into fists.
Sakura noticed, and turned to her with a worried look, "Nadeshiko-san…?"
"Is this really how far they would go?" Hot tears were spilling down her cheeks. Her eyes burned with anger, "Blowing up the house of a kind old man like this. Lord Hiruzen has never been anything but kind to us! How could they…"
"Who are they?" Sakura asked, feeling her hands curl up into fists as well.
"Akatsuki," The black haired girl replied, "I know who they are because Itachi used to work for them. He told me something like this would happen, but I never would have expected this…"
Sakura was about to say something else, but then, Sasuke burst in through the bushes. He wasn't hurt, but he looked distressed.
"Sasuke-kun!—"
"Sakura!" Sasuke interrupted her, "Don't worry, we're going to take care of them! Nii-san and I are on it,"
"Who are they, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. She was panicking, "What do they want?"
"They're people from other countries," Sasuke told her hurriedly, "But I need you to do something for me,"
Sakura caught the seriousness in his eyes, and she nodded, "I'll do anything,"
"Keep Nadeshiko-san safe," Sasuke told her, "Nii-san has some connections with the people who blew up Lord Sarutobi's manor, and they have other plans, too. They also want to force Nii-san back into their organization, but as you can see, that will take quite a lot. Nii-san is afraid that they might try to use Nadeshiko-san against him, so he sent me back here to keep her safe,"
"But you want to go with him and help him," Sakura said, showing him that she understood.
Sasuke nodded, "Yes, you're right. That's why I need you to keep her safe for me,"
"But Sasuke, what can I do against a group of men? I—"
"I trust you,"
That was all he said before he left once again, pushing through the group of startled and panicking guests. Sakura turned and saw Nadeshiko sitting down on the boulder, looking shaken. Sakura wasted no time grabbing both of her hands and pushing her further into the dark parts of the garden, away from the panicking crowd. Sasuke trusted Nadeshiko's life to her. The group of evil men that raided the Lord of the Land of Fire's manor was after this innocent young lady. But no, they won't be able to land even a single finger on Nadeshiko. Not as long as she was alive.
I promise there will be a sasusaku moment in the next chapter XD sorry for depriving you of your sasusaku needs, but I wanted the main antagonists to come out already! XD
Thank you for all of your kind reviews. I REALLY APPRECIATE THEM! :D
