Sakura groaned as she woke up. She sat up, rubbing her head. "You're finally awake." Sakura blinked and looked across the room to see Jack sitting in an arm chair. He looked like he had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. He was wearing a blank tank top that showed off his signer mark. Sakura blushed, clutching the sheets of the bed close to her.
It happened again. Oh god it happened again! She got put in a trance and kissed Jack Atlas! No...wait. Her entire face went red as she remembered that it was more than just a simple kiss. She quickly looked down, relieved to find that she was still clothed. Well, at least nothing too extreme happened. Sakura didn't know what she would do if she had slept with Jack while under a trance.
"I see you remember," Jack said. Sakura nodded slowly. She slowly stood up and adjusted her skirt.
"I should probably get going," Sakura said.
"Why? Between me and your parents, where would you rather be?" Jack asked.
"My parents, at least things aren't awkward over there," Sakura said.
"Why are things awkward, it's not like-"
"I know, but that was then, this is now," Sakura said, cutting him off. "I can't latch onto someone else. The last time I did..." She trailed off, glaring at him as she left her words hanging.
"Fine, be that way," Jack said. "But I want explanations. What happened?"
"If I knew I would tell you," Sakura said sadly. "I'll see you some other time Jack." She walked out of the room.
When Sakura entered her house she was greeted by a worried and fretting mother.
"Where have you been?" Hitomi asked.
"I was taking care of some things," Sakura said, putting her coat on the hangar.
"Well tell us next time!" Hitomi scolded. "You can't just come and go whenever you feel like it! That's not how it works! This is not that dump!"
"Don't call the Satellite a dump!" Sakura said harshly.
"Well what would you like me to call it? That's exactly what it is," Hitomi said.
"And you guys wonder why I would ever possibly run away from such a warm and lovely home," Sakura said sarcastically. She entered the kitchen and looked in the fridge for food.
"Look, this isn't easy on any of us," Hitomi said. Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed some of the leftovers, checking it. "But you have to tell us things. You can't just come and go when you want. You can't treat us like we're strangers! We're your parents for god's sake!"
"But we are strangers," Sakura said. "We haven't seen each other in 11 years. I know nothing about you, and you know nothing about me. Stop acting like you do."
"Well then tell us," Hitomi begged. "Tell us about you! I don't want to be strangers with my own daughter!"
"You wanna know everything about me? Fine," Sakura said with a huffed. "I've had over ten run-ins with Sector Security. I got sent to the reeducation center twice. My best friend is one of the most amazing guys I know, but I have no clue how to find him! My other best friend disappeared one day and I haven't seen him since, my third friend went crazy and nearly became a murderer, and another one betrayed us for his own gain.
"I've been living in a dog-eat-dog world for 11 years. I have been doing whatever I can to survive, even if it means stealing, or hell, hurting someone. I have been living in a dump and treated like a rat-"
"Well who's fault is that?" Hitomi asked. "You're the one that ran away and went there."
"But!" Sakura said, cutting off her mother. "I have felt safe there. I made friends, I felt truly loved. I know what it's like to have a family that actually cares for you. A mother that will always be there to clean your wounds and cook for you after, all the while scolding you. Three amazing brothers that I wouldn't trade for anything else in the world, no matter what they do. I have been hurt, and I've hurt others. I've lived so much more than I ever would have been able to do here." The two stood in silence, staring at each other in determination.
"Ma'am," a maid said, entering the kitchen.
"What is it?" Hitomi asked.
"Miss Yamanaka is here," she announced.
"Perfect! Send her in," Hitomi said. The maid nodded and left. "You have left that place, you are here now. Start acting like it."
"I don't have to do shit," Sakura muttered, leaving the kitchen. She was soon tackled to the floor by a screaming blonde. She lay there in shock before looking down at the young woman who tackled her.
"I-Ino?" Sakura said in shock.
"Sakura! You do remember me!" Ino said happily. "Oh, I'm so glad you're back!"
"Good afternoon, Ino," Hitomi said.
"Afternoon Mrs. Haruno! Mind if I steal Sakura for a shopping trip?" Ino asked, sitting up.
"Go right ahead. She needs some new clothes anyway," Hitomi said.
"Wait a minute, I don't wanna go on any shopping tri-!" She screamed lightly as she was dragged out of the house by an eager blonde.
Goodwin entered the living room. He looked around, trying to find Jack. He had come over because Mina said Jack was acting strangely, and now the duelist wasn't in sight. He finally found Jack sitting behind the couch. His knees were draw up and he was holding his arm, looking at the arm.
"What are you doing, Jack?" Goodwin asked.
"I spent hours running around the track last night trying to summon that stupid dragon and I didn't get a damn thing," Jack said.
"I'm sorry Jack, but these things take time," Goodwin told him.
"I didn't even get a shimmer, nothing," Jack said. "But here's the real kicker." Jack got up angrily. "Sakura touches it and it reacts! Explain that to me Goodwin!"
"What did you say?" Goodwin asked, looking at him in shock.
"I just don't get it," Jack huffed, running his hands through his hair. "She touches the thing and I'm in a trance. All I can think about is her. And how much I want her near me. Even though I don't. We're done, we've been done for years, and I'm fine with it. I haven't thought of her since. But then she just waltz right in and she can control me like that! How?"
"Jack, you need to calm down," Goodwin told him sternly. Jack took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. Goodwin sat down on the sofa and gestured to the other side. Jack sighed and sat down, leaning back. "Now explain this to me, slowly. What happened?"
"It happened that first time she came over," Jack said. "We were talking and she told me that she was in so much pain during my duel with Yūsei. Her whole body was aching. She said she blacked out during it. I grabbed her arm to see if there was a mark but there wasn't. Then she grabbed my arm and then..." Jack trailed off and sighed.
"Yes Jack, then what?" Goodwin asked.
"Next thing I knew she was passed out in my arms and those two guys were yelling at me to let her go," Jack said. He placed a hand over his mark and squeezed it. "Yesterday I remembered what really happened."
"What happened?" Goodwin asked, leaning forward slightly.
"She touched my arm and I was in some sort of trance. My mind was so foggy, I couldn't think. I could barely even see straight." Jack huffed and rubbed his forehead. "Apparently we did kiss."
"Is that it?" Goodwin asked. "Mina said she visited yesterday."
"She did, she came to congratulate me on my race with Hunter," Jack said. His eyes trailed off to the vase of flowers that sat innocently on the table. "We talked for a while. I...I asked her what she knew about the Crimson Dragon." Goodwin's eyes narrowed at that.
"And what did she say?" Goodwin pressed.
"She didn't know anything," Jack told him. "But then she touched my mark again and...I was gone. She was too. After we broke out of the trance she passed out, saying she was tired."
"How did it break?" Goodwin asked.
"I can't remember," Jack said with a groan. "I think she let go of my mark."
"What happened during the second trance?" Goodwin asked.
Jack rubbed his face, his cheeks turning pink. "Like I said, we were gone. Nothing extreme happened, but we were both pretty out of it."
"This is very interesting," Goodwin hummed.
"What happened Goodwin?" Jack asked.
"I'm not sure yet, but I will look into it," Goodwin said. He stood up. "Don't worry Jack, we'll figure this out. In the meantime, try to stay away from her."
"I'll try," Jack said.
"I'll tell reception that they can't let her up, alright?" Goodwin said. Jack merely nodded. Goodwin pat his shoulder and left, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts. He reached for his cards and grabbed the two on top. He looked at the two dragons and sighed.
Sakura plopped down on her bed with a sigh.
"That was exhausting," Inner groaned, laying down on the bed.
"Oh shut up, you weren't the one actually being tortured," Sakura said.
"How many clothes does she think you need?" Inner asked, looking at the bags that had yet to be put away.
"Too many," Sakura said with a groan. She laid back and looked at her ceiling. "The Crimson Dragon, huh?"
"You still haven't looked anything up," Inner said. Sakura hummed and looked at the clock on her nightstand. "The old man is probably done with his work."
"You read my mind," Sakura said. She rolled out of bed and quietly walked to her father's study. She flinched when she saw him sitting at the desk.
"What do you need?" Takeno asked.
"I-I thought you were done," Sakura said. "I'll just come back later, sorry."
"Hold it," Takeno said, preventing her from leaving. He gestured to one of the seats in front of the desk and Sakura huffed. Inner quickly sat in one, leaving Sakura the other. "Where were you last night?"
"It's like I told mom, I was taking care of some things," Sakura said, playing with her sleeve.
"I want a less vague answer," Takeno said
"You don't have to tell him shit," Inner said.
"It's none of your business," Sakura said firmly.
"It is my business," Takeno said. "You are my daughter, and considering what happened, I deserve to know where you are at all times."
"No you don't," Sakura said. "I ran away, and I still stand by it. It was the best decision I ever made."
"You were seven years old," Takeno said. "You didn't know what the hell you were thinking."
"I was thinking that I was tired of being treated like an annoyance in my own home," Sakura said. "If you had to take care of me, I was just in the way of your work. If mom had to take care of me, I was interrupting her socializing. I was pawned off on Sasuke and Naruto when I was with her. Even my nanny didn't like me that much. She just put up with me.
"I knew exactly what I was thinking," Sakura said firmly. She hardened her gaze, looking at her father with determination.
"You were a child," Takeno reaffirmed.
"Was I still a child when you locked me in my room and screamed at me for being abnormal?" Sakura asked. "If I was a child I should have had my parents support and understanding, and comfort! I knew as little as you did about what was going on. If I was a child you should have been helping me through whatever it was. But you didn't." They sat in a tense silence.
"I'm done here," Takeno said, standing up. "Don't make a mess."
"What, like I did to my room?" Sakura asked. Takeno didn't spare her a glance as he left.
"Damn," Inner whistled. "You handled that extraordinarily well."
"What did you expect?" Sakura asked. She went over to her father's seat and turned on the computer.
"Screaming, yelling, things flying across the room," Inner said with a smirk. "You were really calm."
"I have to be," Sakura said with a huff. "If I trigger my powers who knows what they'll do to me." She pulled up the closed browser and stopped. "Or maybe I know exactly what they'd do." Inner appeared behind her and leaned in to read the screen.
"The Arcadia Movement?" Inner read.
"An environment for training and controlling those with psychic powers," Sakura read with a huff. "Of course he'd try to ship me off."
"Get to that later," Inner told her. "Focus."
"Right," Sakura nodded. She brought up the search engine and took a breath. "Crimson Dragon."