~The Fire, the Ice, and the Wind~
-10-
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Sometimes, there are no words necessary.
The silence between two lovers, or enemies. Best friends. The spoken word is simply not needed.
She hasn't learned this yet. Therefore, she has hurt herself and those closest to her for all fifteen years of her life. Fifteen… almost sixteen.
For some unfathomable reason, she is drawn to him. He knows silence, and knows it well. Perhaps he could teach her if he wasn't so very far away.
He doesn't believe in happy endings. Life has given him no reason to.
Yet still, he strives to give others a good life by staining his own with blood.
Martyrdom is a double-edged blade—he helps others while injuring himself and the ones who love him.
That's why he is a mystery.
The drain in his room clogs because blood has washed down into the pipes so frequently.
Now, she's about to find out that the blood sacrifice is not always selfish like her own.
Now, she will see the world she lives in.
Even the part where people bleed for others.
-=([{ Sakura }])=-
I don't make a fuss. I calmly walk into the other room, and ask Shiro if I could talk with her. She nods (looking worried) and goes into the next room with me.
I tell her what I saw. She considers my words for a moment, and then asks me if Aunt Tsunade taught me about her work yet.
Now, Aunt Tsunade may be our principal, but she's also a retired doctor. She's awesome at both jobs and ever since I was little I wanted to be just like her. So, she took me under her wing and taught me what she could in the time when she wasn't busy and I was locked in my room reading or doing schoolwork.
So yes, I do know quite a bit. But it is all book learning, I tell Shiro. She just nodded and went down into the basement.
I followed.
I don't know what I was expecting, but it was dark, messy, and creepy down there. Fits Hideo perfectly.
Shiro finds him in record time—god knows how, it was so dark--- and the first thing she does is wake him up.
"Otouto, wake up."
It surprises me when he does. I mean, she is very quiet… if I was asleep, there is no way that would wake me up. But his eyes snap open in the dark. Plus, I've never heard that language before…
Now, I'm absolutely sure that something about this family is weird. First, he does that weird out of body thing, and now his eyes glow in the dark.
That's right. His eyes glow in the freaking dark. Well, his hair hid one eye but the visible one was illuminating that side of his face.
He was paler than usual.
Shiro was using some form of wordless sibling communication thing, because she didn't even ask a question before he answered.
"Side wound. Stitches… came undone." He wheezed. Wait. Stitches? What did he do to himself? Wait. I…
"Mmhm." She agrees and begins to unwrap bandages from his torso, then turns to me, "Can you find the light switch? It should be over there…" Shiro pointed to the far corner near the stairs.
Hideo's eye narrowed. I could see it because the light dimmed a bit. He was probably ticked that I followed him.
A sinking feeling gaped in my stomach. It had probably been me who broke the stitches—I had after all been sitting on him. I found the light switch and flicked it on. He hissed as his eyes adjusted to the light.
"Aneue, what is she doing down here?"
"Shut up, Otouto, you would still be out if she had not come and gotten me. You would still be bleeding as well… why is it that you are bleeding so much?"
"Hell… if I know…" He replied, wincing as Shiro accidentally poked the area around the gash. It was pretty nasty, about four inches long and probably one inch deep at the middle.
"… What happened?" My own voice surprised me. He wouldn't tell me. I knew it even before he said anything.
"Nothing."
Soon enough, I was locked in the same staring contest that always seemed to happen when he and I argued. I focused all of me into one thought: I want to know, tell me. I repeated this like a mantra for a minute or so in my head before Shiro told us she needed to get something from upstairs.
Hideo growled, sitting with his back up to the stone wall. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned on one leg.
"Look, Sakura, it's none of your business." He spat when Shiro was out of the room. I almost recoiled at his acidic tone, but fired back, "Oh really?"
"Yes. Why should you care?"
"Because I'm a human being."
"You're implying I'm not?"
"Maybe. You don't seem to understand basic empathy."
"So be it. And?"
"AND what I'm TRYING to tell you, you moron, is that I was WORRIED," For good measure, I added, "Duh." Then I realized that if hadn't added that, it'd just sound… well, I don't know. Too… concerned. If I had exempted the 'you moron' part, I'd sound like I actually liked him. Right now, I was pretty annoyed at him, so depending on what he said next…
There was silence until he said, "Some things are better left alone, Sakura." I huffed and was about to reply when he continued and stopped my heart short, "Just like that band on your arm, no?"
We'd had this conversation before, all those years ago, hadn't we? He knew. He's known since fourth grade. Last time, I kicked him and that was that. But now…
"Care to take it off, Sakura?"
"Wh-what?" I stutter back, unable to counter his silent accusation. I could see myself in my mind's eye, reeling backwards as if struck. But in reality, I was just rooted to the floor. His eyes burned in the dim light, words dripping poison like a rattlesnake. I wished Shiro would come back suddenly.
"You know what I'm talking about, Haruno. If you think that you're safe by hiding it like that, you'd do best to wear long sleeves all the time."
I looked at him, awestruck. Hideo knew about the thin white scars on my wrist. Nobody that has ever known me has guessed, and here he was, this… this boy that I'd only really known for a few months. Fine. I… I cut myself. I used to. I still do. I want to. I don't want to. He's…
"You…" I couldn't even finish my reply.
Stoplight eyes regarded me with apathetic interest. Predatory. If anyone could go in for the kill, it was Hideo.
(And Sasuke. Sasuke could always do that too.)
Again, I didn't realize that I was moving till I did. My other arm took the sweatband off, and I cradled my wrist while tracing the scars with my finger.
"I haven't done this since last summer…"
Same gaze. A long pause. He got up and pushed my arm back towards me, "Aneue is coming."
My eyes widened more.
I quietly squeaked, "Thank you…" as Shiro came down the stairs.
He'd given me a choice.
Either stop and have him leave it alone, or keep going and have him secretly on my tail forever.
I hastily wiped my stupid crybaby eyes. But you know, I couldn't help it.
He had given me the choice. And I was grateful.
Since he was standing again, I saw that the gash really was dripping. The bandage that had been around it was on the ground, almost completely red. Upon closer inspection, I could even see the shredded black thread that had been holding his flesh closed. Shiro trotted up like this happened every day with new bandages in one hand and a plastic bag in the other. As she pulled out a needle and threaded it, I felt a little sick. Even Hideo was eyeing that needle a bit warily.
"I know that this isn't as sterile as the clinic's, but it'll have to make due until you break them again," Shiro said, amused. Wait… break them again? How many times does this happen? How many times do you get sliced open, anyway?
"Umm… uh… What is—why do… what's going on?" My voice is still shaky and even if I managed to fend of the tears earlier, my vision gets blurred as the needle inches closer to Hideo's side.
"Don't worry about this, it happens a lot." Shiro starts to sew the gash shut, and Hideo's voice becomes a little higher and strangled. If just watching makes me sick, then it must be hell for him. His eyes try to focus on something else but keep flicking back to the needle. For the first time, he looks scared. It's unfamiliar on his tanned features and he looks so much younger. He looks his age; I can't help but wonder what made him grow up so fast. People always mistake me for being older than I am because my eyes, my demeanor, and my voice have aged before my face. Results of missing my parents, never having them around, sitting and hating them... I'm sure even my face will look old too if something else happens after… the plane.
But something didn't make sense. Why would Hideo, a fifteen (Sixteen? I'm not sure) year old, get… knifed? He said something about a switchblade. I'm positive Shiro isn't the kind of older sister to let him run around in the rough parts of town, but here she is joking about him getting hurt. Like it's common.
"Sakura?" It's Shiro. I look up into her watery aqua eyes. That's the thing about Shiro: she has a melancholy look to her, with mournful eyes that are always sparkly. She continues, "I know you're confused. But you'll be told soon what is going on here. Very soon. Is that acceptable?"
"What about Kikyo and Kazuki?" I ask, trying to ignore Hideo, who was glaring at the new stitches and the dried blood that stained his pants. He was sitting on the other side of the bed now, as far away from the bloodied needle as possible. Shiro assures me that Kikyo and Kazuki will be told what's going on as we walk up the stairs. The problem is that I don't even have the slightest inkling of what is happening to me. To them. To… him.
First, the odd things that Hideo does, like die temporarily and glow in the dark. Then, this… this suggestion of violence. Before he's out of sight, I turn for a second to look back at Hideo.
My head reels. His back is towards me, and I can finally see the thick white scars running horizontally across his shoulders.
I've seen different patterns of scar tissue in my textbooks. There are the thin white knife slashes, the grotesque burn scars, and I remember always thinking that the most disturbing was always the whip scars. Previously flayed tissue trying to knit itself back together, becoming a pattern of knotted vines across the skin. The only whip scars I'd ever seen before were in pictures on a page. Now, I wonder how I didn't see the marks on his back when he walked past Kikyo, Kazuki, and I earlier.
He turns and sees my expression and his stop-sign eyes narrow knowingly in the half-light.
He knows my secret.
Now I know part of his, whatever it is.
…_-=[( Itachi )]=-_...
Walking up to the big, seemingly deserted warehouse though the slums with two rather noticeable people such as Hana and Deidara is no small feat. It may seem simple, but Deidara is always earning sneering looks from the men along this street. Little do they know that in combat he is a dangerous beast. None of them would stand a chance.
Hana is complaining to him that he doesn't ever do the laundry. Deidara tells her that he indeed does not because he already does the dishes.
I clear my throat loudly, and they stop bickering long enough to slip unnoticed down an alley. The warehouse is silent until Roku's voice addresses our presence.
"Come on guys, we all know you're not anyone else. Get in here," The intercom buzzes, crackling to disguise his voice. I don't bother to search where he's hidden the camera this time. It is nearly impossible to find anyway.
The floor splits, growling open with complaint. Hana is down the rickety steps before I can move, zipping into the tunnel below the building. She hasn't been to camp recently, I suppose. When Deidara and I follow, the familiar stench of earth and rusting metal reassures me nothing has changed.
This is the Camp. It is our true home. Hana has already began to gossip with Rosie, the hulking storekeeper. Hana's gravelly voice clashes with Rosie's low growl as they reminisce. Deidara nods at me and heads over to the office to receive their mission info.
After a few moments, I decide to go and check on Rayn. After Shiro's visit (which she described to me in detail), he is probably suffering from confusion and pain. Even doctors have illnesses they cannot treat.
The clinic is still exactly the same as always when I arrive. Sure enough, Rayn is there. However, there is another person there that I could frankly do without. Dragga.
"Oi, if it isn't Itachi. Wait… you're not engaged yet, are you? Please tell me you aren't!" Indeed, I could most definitely do without Dragga no Jyuubi's presence. This boy, no more than seventeen, was incorrigible already. It didn't matter who he was talking to. If they were remotely attractive, he would most likely start to flirt incessantly. Male or female.
"I did not come to converse with you. Rayn, would you spare me a moment?"
Rayn lifts his shaggy head and nods. Despite the dark circles beneath his eyes, he still retains his professional, clean-shaven look. Dragga complains in the background, but is promptly ignored.
(I am envious of Rayn's strength. I Shiro left the way Riyu did… I would not be able to go on at all.)
"Yes. Dragga, kindly get out."
The boy starts to whine, "But-" Rayn shoots him a stoic glare, sending a flash of white hair and yellow eyes out the clinic door like a rocket. I wonder why he was here in the first place, and raise my eyebrow at Rayn questioningly. He shakes his head wordlessly, indicating that Dragga had no apparent purpose in his irritating visit. Even so, I feel that today may be one of the rare occasions when Dragga is a civil human being.
You see, Dragga is a complex person despite being seemingly two-dimensional. If you are around him long enough, you'll understand. The person who would know best is a girl Hideo's age named Ino Yamanaka. Speaking of…
"Rayn, has Ino been alright lately?"
He looks up, an odd expression flitting across his features, "No. By no means. I don't think she'll ever recuperate unless she… she has to stop doing that to herself."
Ino hung around the bad parts of town. We had reason to believe that she has been assaulted numerous times. Rayn, Shiro, and I have tried to help her, but we still have no clue what goes on. We've tried asking Dragga, but he withdraws into himself and becomes moody and remote every time.
Rayn continues after a while, "I think she was the reason he was here today. Maybe he needed to tell me something," he paused and though for a bit before adding, "But I don't see why he would leave without saying anything when you arrived. If he was going to say something… he'd had ten minutes before you came to say it."
I knew what it was. Even if I was not a Psychology major, I would know.
"He was afraid."
The medic's brow furrows, "Of what he had to say?"
"Yes. It was definitely about Ino then. Perhaps I should go find him…?"
Rayn shakes his head in defeat, "No. If it is that important he'll-"
A shadow enters the large tent, startling Rayn, "Come back? Yes."
Dragga's face looks much older without his usual jaunty grin. Expression grim, this time he opens his mouth we listen.
"You need to recall Ino immediately. Keep her in Camp. Out of the streets. Now."
"Dragga, we cannot do anything without an explanation."
He growls, frustrated, much like Hideo does when annoyed. Dragga never leaves Hideo alone when he's around, so it makes sense that he acts similarly sometimes. Of course, Hideo is not in the least thrilled at Dragga's flirtatious presence…
"She's not being safe. Look, Ino is going to get seriously screwed up if she's left to her own devices. Ever wonder where she gets her money?" He bites out, almost hissing. Talking about Ino has always been difficult for Dragga.
"Very well. I'll speak to the Commander then."
Dragga looks relieved, running a hand through his hair, "Thank you."
He dashes out of the clinic. I stay, and worry about what he meant.
-~+{[( Kikyo )]}+~-
Well, some days are good and some days are bad. Today, I decide, is a good day. A very good day. Mainly because of the food. And the people.
These people are AWESOME. I'm with Anko, Shiro, Sakura, Kazuki, and… wait.
That's right! Sakura left. And Hideo was gone… somewhere. I looked around and saw that Shiro had disappeared. What next, is Anko going to up and leave? Or Kazuki?
I sigh and finish the last on my mashed potatoes. Ah, dear potatoes… I love you. Kazuki is staring out the window. The grey sky had finally given in to rain, and somehow the way he looks now is nostalgic. Kazuki's gaunt face against a rain-streaked window is just natural. Depressing, yes; but that's just the way it was. Maybe if he ATE MORE he'd look better.
I mean, he was hungry and he's not even done. Sheesh. But… crap! Anko is stealing his plate.
I cough obnoxiously, and he looks over in a daze. She freezes as he regards her calmly.
After a moment of me trying to look innocent, Anko looking guilty, and him snapping out of his daze, he says, "It's okay, you can have it."
"THANKS SWEETIE!" Anko thanks him enthusiastically and indeed steals the plate.
I examine him a bit longer. Kazuki's all skin and bones, and I wonder what happened. Blaming myself for not ever noticing how painfully thin he was, I begin to worry. Worry for this boy I'd known for only months. But he was so similar to Kazu, every time I saw him out of the corner of my eye I had to whip around to see which one he really was.
It was always Kazuki. Kazu has evaporated from my life, never to be seen again.
The melted marshmallow foam in my hot chocolate swirls as I stir it. The mug is warm.
Shiro passes the dining room on her way upstairs. She motions Anko over, leaving me and Kazuki in the room with a lot of dirty dishes and even more silence.
I decide to be that jerk who shatters it.
"Hey Kazuki?"
"Mmmhhwhat?" he sighs, turning away from the window on his awesome swivel-ly bar stool (I really want one. I need to ask Shiro where she bought them.) and looking at me with hazy green eyes.
I wait a minute for him to snap out of it. When he does, he jolts a bit and massages his temples. Then he looks up, sees my bemused expression, and promptly starts turning red.
I think he has a blushing issue. I mean, he ALWAYS is blushing. It's kinda cute, actually.
"Wh-what?" He stutters. It would make me laugh if it was anyone else. Kazuki can stutter without looking like an idiot, somehow.
"Well, I just feel outta the loop here," I pause, wondering if it's okay to ask, "What… happened? I mean, if you don't want to tell me it's fine but…" I trailed off uncertainly. His eyes flickered with some sadness.
"It's fine."
There's a long pause again. He keeps fidgeting and I start to wonder if his leg is aching. He did break it, after all. He doesn't even have a cast yet, and I end up thinking that we should probably get him to a hospital soon so… but the people at the hospital wouldn't help him. The collar's silver emblem seems to burn my eyes, reflecting the overhead light's glare.
His voice startles me, "It's my father."
His father.
The words echo. His father. I accidentally choke on my own spit in my surprise, and start coughing. His own father did this to him.
And Kazuki didn't tell anyone.
"W…hy?" I wheeze out in between coughs, "Why didn't you," coughed again, "Tell us?"
Green turns sad, like the sea, "I was scared. Scared he would find me. Even now…" He sends a longing look out the window, "I'm worried about a jerk and I'm not quite sure why."
My eyebrows knit together in confusion, "A jerk?"
"My brother. My twin brother," he says, head resting on his hand, "I don't know how Father will react, but if my imagination is accurate he won't take the disappearance of his favorite punching bag too well."
"Why is your brother a douche?"
His blush, which had gotten better, goes bright red again, "T-that's n-not what I said!"
I wave him away, "Pshaw, that's what you wanted to say."
He snorts, and the redness fades into pink again, "W-well, fine then. But he's not a very nice person," (I take the pause to insert, 'douchebag'), "And he hates me as much as Father. But he'll be hurt worse than I am if he inadvertently goes home and Father gets him. So I need… I-I n-need to go back."
"WHAT?" I growl in disbelief. He gets away from his abusive father and then worries about his douche of a brother. But before I knew what to say to that, there was another thing I needed to know. I poked the air in the general direction of the collar, "Is he…?"
Kazuki shakes his head, ruffled hair following the movement, "No. He's not. It's a mutation so even though his genetic make-up is exactly the same he isn't… a collar."
"So he hates you, isn't a collar, is a douche, and you're worried about him getting hurt?"
"Yes, yes, yes, and yes."
I consider playfully swatting him, but since he's all cut up I decide not to.
The next time I look out the window, I get up and stand next to it. Kazuki looks too, and his profile looks natural in the sunlight too.
There's a rainbow outside.
It's beautiful.
_-{[( Hideo )]}-_
Darkness. Funny, I actually like being knocked out sometimes. I just don't like waking up.
My sister's voice. I can hear it.
My eye snap open in the darkness of my room. The piles of crap are familiar and make me feel safer than normal. Sis is there.
She has her contact films on. Her eyes aren't glowing. I know I should have mine in, but… Okay, fine, I'm lazy sometimes.
"Side wound. Stitches came undone." My words became broken by a painful cough. My throat was raw. I swallow a few times to alleviate it. Doesn't work too well.
Sis hums something in reply, and begins to unwrap the hastily thrown on bandages on me. It's a horrible job, and berate myself for being sloppy until she turns and asks into the darkness, 'if you can find the light switch' and points out the switch.
After a second of looking, I see the Sakura standing there. She looks guilty. There's an eating burning sensation in my chest. I'm angry that she's down here. She fumbles with the light, and when it turns on my eyes adjust painfully. Fortunately, I am hurting enough that I don't notice but I still hiss. Just to make her feel bad.
"Aneue, what is she doing down here?" I'm still hissing. I'm angry. I bit the inside on my mouth. It hurts and adds to the list of injuries I already have.
"Shut up, Otouto, you would still be out if she had not come and gotten me. You would still be bleeding as well… why is it that you are bleeding so much?"
"Hell… if I know…" It was true, that was bleeding way more than usual. If anything, I should be bleeding less. I bleed enough anyway, thanks much.
Sakura's still watching, "… What happened?"
I want to tell her to go upstairs, to shut up, and tell her the truth all at the same time.
Instead, I tell her it was nothing. Nothing. The word reverberates in my skull, making it hard to think and making me even more weirdly angry than before. I feel as if I'm not myself today.
Sis goes upstairs to get the dreaded needle that Rayn gave her for incidents like these. Just the thought of that thing distresses me. I prop myself up against the wall, fingernails scraping the stone floor. A deep growl makes my chest vibrate, mildly surprising even me.
But Sakura stays. After a while, it's just me and her. I know I'm glaring at her, but I feel removed still.
"Look, Sakura, it's none of your business." I adopt my knife-edge voice in an attempt to make her go away. I was cornered, literally up against a wall, and she just wouldn't go away. I was under orders. There was nothing I could tell her.
"Oh really?" She fired back immediately.
"Yes. Why should you care?" Sakura, Sakura. She just can't seem to understand the concept of privacy. Even then, she's a hypocrite for asking for privacy herself.
"Because I'm a human being."
The words sting like a blow. My back starts to tingle menacingly against the freezing stone wall.
"You're implying I'm not?" I spat.
"Maybe. You don't seem to understand basic empathy." Again, if she had actually slapped me it would have been less effective. I've heard the accusation before, along with a lot of painful memories. Not human. I feel like laughing. Hysterically.
So I played the game, "So be it. And?"
"AND what I'm TRYING to tell you, you moron, is that I was WORRIED. Duh." For a moment after she said that, something dances across her face. Confusion? But it didn't matter. What I really needed to do is pull this conversation away from me.
"Some things are better left alone, Sakura." She starts to speak again, but I interrupt her, "Just like that band on your arm, no?"
Sakura's eyes go wide. I see tears well up and she doesn't even notice as they pool. They don't fall.
I press on, "Care to take it off, Sakura?" She starts to stutter, showing me that I was right all along. I continue, "You know what I'm talking about, Haruno. If you think that you're safe by hiding it like that, you'd do best to wear long sleeves all the time." I use her last name. I don't know why.
"You…" She trailed off. I'm sure she wonders how I know. In reality, I just knew. It was so blatantly obvious to me for whatever reason. How could Tsunade not see it?
She take it off slowly, like she's scared of what will jump out at her, "I haven't done this since last summer…"
I heard my sister's light footsteps and I wonder if she knows. Probably not. She hasn't been around Sakura enough. I pull myself up, using the wall to stand. I've thankfully stopped bleeding. My pant leg is soaked quite disgustingly. But I've been worse. I walk up to Sakura and push her wrist back towards her.
"Aneue is coming."
As I walk past her to maybe hide from the needle, I hear her whisper.
"Thank you…"
Sis comes bounding down the stairs and if Sakura wasn't here I'd be running away crazily. I hate needles, I hate needles poking me, and I REALLY hate needles going in my flesh.
"I know that this isn't as sterile as the clinic's, but it'll have to make due until you break them again," Sis says good-naturedly. Ah-hah. Like hell I'm going to break them again. I don't want to get more stitches. She starts threading the needle and all I can think about is how gross stitches are. I can't even remember the anger I had before. Sakura is stuttering madly again (I guess I'm not the only one who is creeped out by needles).
"Don't worry about this, it happens a lot." I say- then I realized that I might be shivering as the needle started sewing my side back together. Look away… look at something else… Holy crap that's an ugly needle. And yes, needles can be ugly.
Sis is explaining to Sakura that she will be told what's going on eventually, blah, blah. Sis finishes and puts away the bloody needle and snips the extra thread. When she turns and starts up the stairs, I poke the red area around the wound. It hurts. I poke it again, but sigh and get up to put a shirt on.
I feel eyes boring into my back. Turning a bit, I lock my glare onto Sakura.
The scars feel like they are boiling.
I pull my shirt on as she scurries upstairs.
"Damn it, Sasuke."
-{=( Shiro )=}-
Sakura tells me.
But I know, somehow. Things have became clearer lately.
I can see as they see now.
So happy, yes. So worried, yes. Afraid. Exhilarated.
When she leads me downstairs, I wake up Otouto.
He sees her there and it triggers an adverse reaction,
Anger,
And he forgot to put in the film contacts again.
Again.
Sakura- she's guilty. She is carrying more weight than
She should be at this age.
Otouto broke the stitches
So I go to get the needle upstairs, but I needed to talk to Anko
(I think Otouto and Sakura need to talk as well. Something odd is wedged between them, like a slip of paper in a bookshelf.)
"Anko. May we talk?"
"Yup."
We go up. The windows are dirty, but they still
Make music
With the rain.
"Anko, I heard that Hana and Deidara were dispatched
A day ago."
She nods. I shudder.
"After Sasuke?"
She nods.
I wait till her anger
(I can see it boiling around her head)
Overflows
And it does.
"That boy, no, man deserves to die. Itachi told you what he saw at his house?"
I start to nod, but she continues without waiting,
"There were thirty collars there. Without necks. He killed them, Shiro. That little child killed them, and he thinks it's right. Orochimaru has poisoned him beyond repair. In fact, I- I… I want…"
She looks at me pleadingly.
I look out the window
"I... I want to kill him... myself."
(Coward, meet her gaze!)
I feel it too. The want
To find him
And make him pay
For what he has done
To these innocents.
I go to the drawer and get the needle. Anko
Seems to not notice
And I'm glad because she would be angry at Otouto for busting his stitches again.
I go downstairs, leaving her to her thoughts,
Pass Kazuki and Kikyo.
I can still see the shades following Kikyo.
But there's a horrible creature hovering behind Kazuki.
Burnt flesh, holes for eyes, bony scratching fingers, bloody lips stitched shut,
And it's wrapped around his thin frame.
I speed up.
Once in the basement, I sew up Otouto and notice the slip of paper is gone.
The anger has faded from my brother. Sakura
Is still afraid, but now it is real
She must stop fleeing from her past.
And Otouto?
He needs to let people closer without lashing out and running away.
I leave to go upstairs.
I think I am forgetting something.
But when
I open the door
To my room
It stares me in the face, pale skin and all.
Sasuke.
~#((( Kazuki )))#~
Dear Nameless,
I know, I know. Still Nameless. Maybe I'll name you that: Nameless. The three months that Kazuki was not creative.
At dinner, I stay quiet and eat what I can. Really, I am starving but my body doesn't need as much sustenance to survive so I'm full pretty quickly. I hope I can eat normally now that I'm free… free from Father. And Yukio.
When I'm done, I turn to the window. It's raining, but it's still nice to look outside. I follow a single raindrop running down the window with my eyes.
The pangs in my chest start to bother me, and my leg hurts a lot. My minor injuries are nothing compared to it. Shiro splinted it for me, so it will get better. It was really painful to set it, but she's so nice about everything.
I wonder what Father will do when he realizes I'm not coming back. Most likely, he'll take it out on Yukio… what if- what if he does what he did to me? Breaks a bone? Or even… Kill him? He's still my brother, I can't just leave him even if he hates me. I-
Kikyo coughs loudly. I look over my shoulder to see Anko stealing my leftovers. The sight makes me stifle laughter, and I tell Anko that she can have it.
"THANKS SWEETIE!" She yells, and when I turned back to the window I was grinning like an idiot.
After a while, I think Anko got up to leave and Shiro had slipped away too. Sakura left a while ago, and Hideo didn't come at all.
Kikyo's voice surprised me, "Hey Kazuki?"
My eyesight and mind still foggy, I reply groggily, "Mmmhhwhat?" I swivel around on the stool (I had sat at the island in the kitchen) and try and snap out of my daze. When I do, I notice Kikyo staring at me and I feel my face heat up as I stutter, "Wh-what?"
She gets serious, "Well, I just feel outta the loop here," She looks kind of hesitant, "What… happened? I mean, if you don't want to tell me it's fine but…"
"It's fine."
The words flew out of my mouth before I knew it. I berated myself for a minute (Why'd you do that you MORON?)
"It's my father."
I immediately regret telling her, because she swallows wrong and starts choking violently, "W…hy? Why didn't you," she coughs and swallows, "Tell us?"
"I was scared. Scared he would find me. Even now…" I look away from her questioning eyes, "I'm worried about a jerk and I'm not quite sure why."
"A jerk?" her expression is exaggeratedly confused, but that's just Kikyo. Even when we were younger, she always was extreme.
"My brother. My twin brother. I don't know how Father will react, but if my imagination is accurate he won't take the disappearance of his favorite punching bag too well." My head jerks up and don because my hand is stopping my jaw from moving as I rest my chin on my palm. My hair falls into my face.
"Why is your brother a douche?" She asks, and I start to blush again because I would never, ever call Yukio a douche to his face. I'd get creamed in an instant.
"T-that's n-not what I said!"
She waves away my protest with her hand. Her blue nail polish is chipping, but it looks natural on her, "Pshaw, that's what you wanted to say."
"W-well, fine then. But he's not a very nice person-"
"Douchebag." She cuts in mischievously.
"-And he hates me as much as Father does. But he'll be hurt worse than I am if he inadvertently goes home and Father gets him. So I need… I-I n-need to go back."
She snorts, "WHAT?" Kikyo pauses and jabs a finger at the collar around my neck, "Is he…?"
I answer her partially unasked question, "No. He's not. It's a mutation so even though his genetic make-up is exactly the same he isn't… a collar." It was true. The OUT64 mutation was not carried in genes at all.
Kikyo regards me with her violet eyes, "So he hates you, isn't a collar, is a douche, and you're worried about him getting hurt?"
I blink, "Yes, yes, yes, and yes."
And that was our conversation. Eventually, the sun comes out and she comes to stand next to me.
The rainbow is missing a color, though. Violet wasn't there.
Green was.
Shut up, Sakura.
The girl, only about thirteen, stiffens. She's alone with her friend and doesn't know why he was being so cold to her today.
Sasuke? Are you OK? You've been-
He fixes her with a terrifying glare, and she whimpers a bit and shrinks herself into the wall.
They're at his brother's house, and she had been so happy to spend some time with her crush she hadn't questioned why they were here.
We are not here for fun. So be still and quiet, Haruno.
She is. She is scared of this boy now, and some tears escape down her porcelain cheeks.
He pulls out a cell phone and speed dials. He sounds sickly happy.
Yes, I have the Haruno. Yes. Hurry up those harebrained idiots. No, she's quite useless. Talks too much, etcetera.
He's interrupted when his older brother bursts through the door and grabs her arm, pulling her behind him.
Sasuke, you've gone too far. Leave! Your forces cannot reach here any longer.
The boy's eyes narrow, and he backs up to an open window. Twisting, he leaps out of the two-story house into the alley below. His brother turns to the girl.
Sakura, I am sorry to admit this, and I should have seen it before, but… my brother was faking. He is cruel, and has been to you. I am sorry.
His voice is earnest, and comforting.
Still, the tears don't stop until she is home and safely in her aunt's arms.
Those thugs will pay for hurting you, love. Shh, don't cry. Boys like that are useless.
That was the girl's first glimpse of being in love.
In the end, even that was stripped from her by Sasuke Uchiha.