Umm...I blame the fact that OneManga is closing down for this late chapter U.U
+The Crisis of a Cherry Blossom+
Chapter 7
Narrator: ...two forces act on the cherry blossom as it falls: there is the insensitive force of gravity; pushing down so it can always be superior...and then there is air resistance; it is soft but, it will always try its best to cushion the blow from its opposing force...
According to her schedule, Sakura had Physical Education/P.E/Gym Class/Hey let's all run around the field like crazy people next. Luckily, because it wasn't the last term, she didn't have swimming and therefore was able to avoid any awkward meeting with Itachi again.
Her brain was wracking with thoughts as she walked,
"Be careful? Of Sasuke-kun? Why? He's been so nice to me! He's practically the ONLY nice guy I know here! But Itachi said I was a friend...does that mean he really is trying to look out for me?...Or is he just jealous that someone else actually appreciates my existence here? No way! Why would he be jealous? He keeps telling me he'd NEVER like me...Man! If I'm his 'friend' then he should treat me like one!"
Ending on such a strong note, Sakura slammed open the doors to the girls' changing room, making a few girls jump and grab their clothes to cover themselves. When they saw it was just Sakura, they sighed with relief and went back to changing.
Sakura quickly found a small empty locker and put her stuff inside. She changed into her P.E. outfit and joined the female crowd walking onto the field.
The boys quickly joined the girls and the large bundle made it to the middle of the field and stopped. In front of them stood a man, in green spandex.
"GOOD MORNING CLASS! WELCOME TO ANOTHER TERM OF YOUTHFUL SCHOOL! AND YOUTHFUL GYM!" the greenly-dressed man shouted loudly.
"PLEASE SPILT INTO TWO GROUPS. GUYS IN ONE, GIRLS IN THE OTHER!" the man continued. The students co-operated but Sakura just stood there. She couldn't get over the man's appearance.
"Why...is this guy...wearing...spandex...GREEN spandex...of all things...summer just finished but it's STILL hot as hell...and this guy chooses to-" Sakura stopped her train of thought when she was violently nudged by another girl.
"What are you spacing out for, commoner? Hurry up and follow the instructions you were given!" the girl said and flipped her hair as she walked to join the group of girls.
Sakura clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Then took a deep breath to calm herself, and joined the group.
"OKAY! NOW THAT WE'RE ALL IN TWO YOUTHFUL GROUPS! GIRLS! YOU WILL PLAY BASKETBALL! SO CHOOSE YOUR TEAMS! GUYS! FOLLOW ME TO THE TRACK AREA! WE'LL BE DOING SPRINTS!" the man shouted out as he, himself, began to sprint towards the track area.
The boys started to follow as fast as they could while the girls faced each other and started to talk amongst themselves. Sakura slowly walked to the group, she liked hanging out with the class when the guys were around because they were less antsy around her.
"Sakura!" a boy called out and Sakura turned round to see Sasuke jogging towards her. Her cheeks immediately flared and her conversation with Itachi also came up in her mind. This made her smile drop temporarily. She quickly shook her head to get rid of unwanted thoughts.
"What's up, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, freaking out happily on the inside that she was able to talk normally to this guy even though her heart was beating like crazy.
"I know this probably isn't the best time, but, I wanted to give you this." Sasuke said and took out a small, simple bracelet out of his pocket. It was a silver bracelet and had a heart pendant attached to it.
"You can think of it as a good luck charm for Gym. Those girls can be really rough when it comes to physical activities like basketball." Sasuke warned as he put the bracelet on her hand.
Barely listening to his words and just happy he was giving her something and actually putting it on her hand, she nodded silently. Noticing her totally in love reaction he smirked.
"Good luck." he whispered in her ear, making her jump slightly. He leaned up and looked at the group behind her to see Ino's shocked face. This made his smirk even wider. He quickly turned and jogged to the group of boys at the end of the field.
"Perfect. And Ino of all people. She'll report it to Karin, and I won't have to be the bad guy yet."
Sakura, slowly walked to the basket ball court. As soon as she entered, a basketball flew towards her head. If she hadn't looked up right before, she would've gotten a concussion at the speed the ball was going at.
She quickly protected herself by making an 'X' with her hands to block the ball. When the ball fell and she removed her hands slowly, she noticed all the girls had formed a semi-circle around the entrance to the basketball court, and so Sakura was surrounded by them.
"W-what's going on..." Sakura asked quietly.
"Don't play innocent with us, you COMMONER!" one of the girls shouted out and spat. The saliva landing on Sakura's shoe. Sakura looked down in disgust at the spit on her shoe, then back up to the group with a WTH face.
Another girl started bouncing a ball, "I saw you talking to Sasuke-kun, commoner!" and threw the ball with all her might at Sakura when she said commoner.
Sakura quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly missing the ball. Ino started bouncing her ball this time.
"And I saw Sasuke-kun give you a bracelet. THAT bracelet!" She shouted out as she slammed her ball to the ground with both hands. The ball flew high in the air and behind the group towards the middle of the court.
The girls made a small clearing and Karin stepped in to fill the gap. She had another ball in her hand. "Why must I keep repeating myself? I thought, no I KNOW I told you to stay AWAY from MY SASUKE-KUN! So WHERE did you get the idea that I was joking? I'm . STAY. AWAY. FROM. HIM."
Karin paused, "Didn't you say you didn't like him?"
Sakura froze. It was true. She did say that. And she kept telling herself that. But ever since art, he's been coming up a lot in her mind. And she realized that she was starting to fall for him. However, she also realized that right now, falling for him was not an option.
"Do you like him, Sakura?" Karin asked, tossing her ball in the air with one hand.
Sakura hesitated. She relayed all the events that happened previously and came to the conclusion that right now, Sasuke was definitely an option for future boyfriend for her, no matter how impossible it seemed.
Of course she couldn't tell them that. "WELL?" Karin shouted, her anger rising by the second as she stared at the trinket on Sakura's hand. Sasuke had never given her anything, ever.
"N-no!" Sakura stuttered out, feeling like she betrayed her heart. Karin began to smile,
"Really? Still no? Well then, that's a relief! Right girls!" Karin asked out loudly. The surrounding girls were taken back but nodded their heads and mumbled yeses.
The sweet smile on her face then turned into a wicked one, "Well then I guess that ALSO means that the bracelet MY Sasuke-kun put on your hand means absolutely nothing to you doesn't it?"
Sakura's eyes widened and she looked to the piece of jewellery on her arm. Ino smiled wickedly as well.
"And I guess that ALSO means you wouldn't mind giving it to me then, would you, Sakura?" Karin continued, "After all, he is with ME, not YOU. And you DON'T like him. So it must have been a bother to receive it from him. Did you accept it out of pity? Was that it?"
Sakura looked up at Karin with a scared face. She wanted to respond but, she didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie about love. She felt like someone stabbed her heart the last time.
Karin walked slowly towards Sakura, who backed up against the gate that was now locked. Trapped in the corner, Karin approached the pink-haired girl.
"Why don't you GIVE me that bracelet, Sakura? I'll keep it safe and treasure it for forever." Karin said sweetly, stepping on Sakura's foot as she said give.
Sakura yelped in pain as Karin stepped on her foot. She looked down and saw that Karin was wearing spikes, not basket ball shoes or normal sneakers. She looked back up at Karin's smirking face but didn't move.
Karin saw that she wasn't moving, and so decided to take the bracelet herself. She grabbed Sakura hand and began to take off the thing. Sakura tried to pull her hand back but Karin only stepped harder on her foot, making her wince in pain. The red-head quickly took the bracelet while Sakura winced and walked away.
"Let's play ball girls!" Karin shouted out as she skipped onto the court. The other girls followed suite, putting down their extra balls to play with Karin's [lol?]
As soon as Karin's spikes left Sakura's foot and air quickly swooped in, the pain intensified and Sakura fell onto the opposite knee of her injured foot. She grabbed the ankle and writhed quietly. With eyes squinting, she looked to her toes to see small trickles of blood coming out of the small holes of her sneakers.
"That little-!" she thought and quickly stood up but when she tried to step onto that foot she quickly stumbled to the ground. The girls laughed when they saw her fall.
"Sakura dear, why don't you sit on the bench with the reserves? You can be on my team." Karin called out to the pink-haired girl. Sakura glared at her and she smiled and waved very obviously with the hand she had put the bracelet on.
Sakura knew she couldn't really run up to the girl and punch her in the face like prep school because of her foot. Also, there were too many people on the court on her team so she couldn't walk on the court without interrupting the game.
Guessing that no one knew her foot was bleeding, she limped to the bench at edge of the court, and leaned against one of the fences that enclosed the court. The girls on that bench quickly got up and moved to the other end. Some stood up and started to cheer.
Sakura didn't care though. Her foot was throbbing with pain but she refused to admit defeat and leave the class. Plus, the nurse's office was too far for her to go by herself.
She sighed and looked to the field where the guys were practicing sprints. She looked to Sasuke and apologized for giving away his bracelet in her mind. She looked further, past the boys, to see the building that held the pool, and thought of Itachi.
"I wonder what you're doing now Itachi..." she thought and closed her eyes, feeling the breeze against her face and calming down.
However this peace was brought to a sudden halt and Extreme pain took its place. Karin threw the ball at Sakura's injured foot and the girl screamed and grabbed her foot,
"What the hell is wrong with you why did you do that?" Sakura barked out but quickly closed her mouth when she saw Karin walking towards her.
"We're making a substitution. I'm putting you in. Get up." The girl said in monotone as she picked up the ball and walked back to the court.
Sakura growled softly, and pulled herself up with the fence. She tried out her injured foot. The pain was horrible but, she would not give in to Karin. She leaned onto her other foot when she reached the court.
Unfortunately, Karin gave Sakura the position of centre forward, and so Sakura had to move a lot, which wasn't really working.
"Sakura!"
"Come on commoner!"
"It's not that hard! Look at the ball!"
The girls on the sidelines ridiculed Sakura as she tried her best on the court. She had finally gotten the ball by blocking someone's pass in the air. She landed on her good foot and was about to pivot when a girl with fairly big build rammed her like an angry bull and Sakura literally flew for two seconds.
When she hit the ground she skidded once before crashing onto the asphalted ground.
"Ooooooh." the sideline girls commented, feeling her pain. Sakura had also landed on her side with that bad foot and even though her shoulder hit first, her foot followed last and banged against the ground, sending a shockwave of pain.
She had had it. Sakura sat up and flinged the ball hard on the ground, making it launch into the sky like Ino had previously. Her face, arm and thigh were scratched and bleeding. The girls nearest to her quickly backed away when they saw her injuries.
"You okay, Sakura-chan~?" Karin asked sarcastically, but when Sakura turned to her immediately with a glare, the girl quickly gasped and took one step back. Sakura cheek had a fairly large gash and was bleeding profusely.
"What! You're all just gonna stand there and watch me! Does it PLEASE you to do these things?"
The girls were silent. "WELL!" She shouted out as she turned back around to glared at the set of girls in front of her.
"You're all useless! Screw you!" she shouted out and pushed herself up. Standing on her good foot, she limped towards the gate of the court that was now open.
The teacher had left the boys awhile back and as he walked across the field, saw Sakura fall down. He quickly sprinted to the court and by the time he reached Sakura was at the gated exit.
"You there! Are you okay! You're the new student, aren't you? Don't worry I'll get you to the nurse's office right away!" the man shouted out and lifted Sakura up bridal style but the girl screamed out in pain as her injured leg was pressing against him.
He held her more loosely to ease the pressure, "I'm sorry. Don't worry, you'll be there in no time. Continue your practice girls!" the man shouted out and ran as fast as he could across the field to the buildings on the far side of campus.
Soon the two were at the infirmary. As the man ran through the corridors, students loitering in them gasped loudly and shouted out and pointed at Sakura. The girl however didn't care. She didn't know any of them and didn't really care what they thought of her at that moment.
She was feeling light-headed and just wanted to sleep. The man kicked down the office door and quickly but gently placed Sakura onto one of the white beds, which her foot immediately began to paint red.
"You wait here. I'll be back shortly with the nurse." the man said and dashed out of the room. Silence drenched the place. Sakura just closed her eyes and sighed.
"The nurse will come and fix me up so I don't have to worry about that. I'll probably also get to skip a few classes so I won't get to see those demons for awhile. Plus, I also won't have to face Sasuke and explain why Karin has the bracelet instead of me. I'm sure she'll take the liberty of making up her own excuse so I'll just go along with whatever it is. I'm sure he'll understand. Honestly? I can't bother with him. I don't think I have the guts to go through Hell just for one guy...maybe if I was also guaranteed a happy ending in which I would be able to date him easily, get married, get an awesome car, live in a huge house, have kids that are NOTHING like the children HERE, and live a peaceful life with a good job that gives reasonable pay...something like that maybe...sigh..."
Sakura was about to doze off when the door was kicked down again, startling the girl. She turned her head, squinting at the cheek tissue being pulled in the process. A guy entered the room, and quickly ran to her side.
"Sakura! What happened? I heard from some students in the hallway that-" he stopped talking when Sakura silenced him with a finger to his lips. It was a long and painful journey, but she finally managed to clamp his mouth shut with her hand.
"You're too loud..." she whispered, eyebrows furrowed from the previous outburst. "Sorry. I was just very worried." the guy apologized quietly. Sakura removed her hand and flopped from her good side to her back, only to wince by the sudden jerk.
"Y-Your face...!" the boy whispered in sheer horror. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then stood up from his crouched position, and walked to the other side of the room and began to pick up some items. He put them on a tray and pushed the trolley, parking it beside the bed.
"Where are all your injuries Sakura?" the boy asked. Sakura took a breath and replied quietly, "Face. Shoulder. Thigh. Foot. All on one side."
After she finished speaking, the boy leaned over the bed and checked each area she mentioned, as well as glancing at her left side to confirm.
"I'm going to need you to sit up Sakura." the boy said, staring at her foot with deep concern.
"What are you going to do?" Sakura asked weakly, while sitting up. The boy helped her up and gently turned her feet so that both legs hung off the side and faced him. She braced herself for pain while he moved her legs but was surprised to feel none.
"This might hurt a bit." he said and slowly untying her laces, then, after loosening the shoe as best as he could, pulled the shoe off in one smooth motion. The pain was less than expected and Sakura only gripped the sheets and whimpered softly.
He removed her sock agilely [is that a word?] and the cool breeze brought relief to her toes. The boy examined the small holes in her foot to see if the cuts were infected and was relieved to see they weren't. He collected some water in a basin and gently washed the area. Sakura held her head down and gripped the sheets tightly, trying to be strong.
He then wrapped the area in bandages. "It's...tight." Sakura said softly. "Sorry but it's better that way." the boy replied and kissed the bandaged area, put the foot down, and cleared his tray to begin working on the next injured area.
Sakura, on the other hand, yanked her foot back in reflex, "What was that-ow!" but slowly put it back due to the pain on her thigh.
"What was what?" the boy asked as if nothing was wrong. "What do you mean what? You just kissed me! On my foot!" Sakura shouted back out incredulously.
"Hmm? Oh well, my mother always did that to my cuts and said that they would get better faster that way. So I did it to you!" he replied innocently with a grin.
Sakura only stared back, utterly bewildered. "Um...thank you...Itachi..." Sakura muttered.
"Hmm? Oh this is nothing! I'm just doing my job as a friend! Plus, that nurse is practically NEVER at school."
Itachi looked up at her and stared hard. Sakura began to feel uncomfortable, "W-what?" she asked. "I'm going to do your cheek next. I don't like that gash. A girl's face should be spotless. I hope it heals nicely." he said more to himself rather than to her as he took out a piece of cotton and dabbed it into a small dish of rubbing alcohol.
"This will sting a little but bear it." he said quietly. He sat beside her on the bed and held her chin with one hand. This made her blush but the feeling quickly disappeared when the cotton touched her cheek. "Ow!" she cried out and withdrew from the boy beside her.
He held her chin again and cleaned the area. Luckily, the area wasn't very large or deep, and so it was quickly cleaned. He put a large band aid on her cheek.
"There. Should I kiss this one too?" he teased and Sakura's cheeks flared pink. "N-no! I'm sure it'll heal just fine without your 'help'." Sakura retaliated, being difficult. Itachi only sighed.
"Fine. Fine. You know how many girls would kill for these lips? And you're rejecting them?" he asked but threw away the cotton piece and took another one and dipped it in the alcohol for her shoulder.
He used one hand to hold up her sleeve and the other to clean the area. She winced but stayed still so that he could properly clean the area. As he cleaned it, he spoke,
"Sakura, I want to be the one to protect you."
"Itachi...?"
"But because we're in different years, I won't always get the chance to. When I can't protect you though, I want to be able to heal you, or be there to help you along, like now. If I can't do any of the two," he began to bandage the area, "I promise you that I'll still be there, right beside you the entire time, whether it's after or during the time you're getting hurt. I'll bear it with you, okay?" he looked up at her, finished with her arm.
Sakura was speechless. She didn't know how to respond to that. "Well now it's time for another get well soon kiss from yours truly!" Itachi said happily and began to lift up her arm. Realizing what he was about to do, she tried to pry her arm free.
While she was occupied with her arm however, Itachi quickly leaned in and kissed her cheek, making her freeze. "I want that one to get better more though." he said thoughtfully to himself as he leaned to the tray to get another piece of cotton for ther thigh.
"Is this guy crazy! What's wrong with him?" Sakura thought.
Itachi pulled up the trolley so it was in front of her. "I know your foot is injured but I need you to raise it you I can get to your thigh. Rest your heel on one of the ledges of the trolley." he said in his 'doctor voice'.
Sakura hesitated, but then followed. The cuts were really just tiny scratches, the largest ones on her foot and arm. So Itachi quickly cleaned the area with alcohol and put a band aid on it.
When he was finished he stared at the band aid, then looked up at Sakura with his eyes only, a playful smirk on his face. Sakura stared back innocently but then put up hands to block herself when she realized,
"Stay away you, you pervert!" she shouted out, cheeks red. Itachi hesitated at being called a perv, then started to chuckle, "Me? No way! But since you're so against it, I feel like doing it more~" he teased and her cheeks only got redder.
"Look at the reaction! I wonder who's the bigger perv?" Itachi joked and grabbed her hands with each of his, the two falling back onto the bed, Itachi on top of her.
They stared at each other, green eyes meeting onyx. Sakura's heart was going crazy. So was her mind. Itachi made a smile that would've made her melt had she not been already lying down. The light on him from the window making him look even more angelic.
"Get well soon Sakura." and with that he let go off her hands, eased off the bed, and left the room without looking back. Sakura watched him leave. And heard the room go quiet once again.
He didn't kiss my thigh...wait what! Why am I thinking like that! Ah I really am perverted! It's his fault! Doing things like that...! I can't believe I feel disappointed because he only told me to get well...sigh...and what was with that stuff he said earlier...I don't understand: he keeps saying that we could never be a couple. Then he goes and acts like my knight in shining armour, saying he'll protect me...Ah! So confusing! I can't bother!"
Sakura rolled onto her stomach and quickly fell asleep, tired from the day. The Gym teacher FINALLY returned and kicked down the door shouting out SAKURA! as he entered. Fortunately, Sakura was a dead sleeper, so she didn't wake up.
"She must've passed out from blood loss!" the man freaked, his hands messing up his hair and he freaked. [lol]
He quickly took up some cotton and alcohol and went to Sakura's bedside. He was surprised to see that she had already been taken care of. He also noticed the trolley beside her bed with cotton and alcohol.
"Guess she fixed herself up after waiting too long. I would've done the same." he said quietly and left the room.
Since no one had gotten injured for the rest of the day and the nurse or nurse's assistant were not seen for the entire day, Sakura had a peaceful nap after gym class.
CHAPTER 7 JAAAAN~ lol
Hazaa! Itachi's a perv! And Sasu and Karin and the female student body are jerks! Please review! X3
