AN: again, I am so sorry for the long delay...this is a kind of transition chapter- past and present rolled into one....kinda puts a different perspective on who the real antagonist is and it makes Sasuke's life less one dimensional...it focuses more on the family and it's part of the story just so it could tell more about the main characters
no poetic lines, no real time frame
please read and review!
Chapter 11:Push
There were once three sisters.
Cerise: pink-haired and gentle, beautiful and clean, emerald eyes and porcelain-skinned, innocent and intelligent.
Lavender: lavender hair and ash mauve eyes, pretty and smart, strong and ambitious, clear-skinned and tall.
Ebony: raven-haired and brown-eyed, statuesque and fair, secretive and analytical, quick and determined.
The first was broken, the second was hollow and the third was Keiko.
Unlike her sisters, there are lesser words to describe Keiko. She was an uncanny mix of restraint and liberation. For Keiko was always perfect. Her grades were perfect, her life was perfect. Her hair was always done well, her nails were always clean and even the way she walked was graceful.
She sang and she dance and she wrote and she spoke-well.
And Keiko, despite her blessings, only cared about herself. Her achievements were hers. Her failures were non-existent. And that is why it killed her, it absolutely killed her, that she was the most ordinary of them all.
For unlike Ami who could unconsciously stop someone with a gaze and Sakura who had effortless beauty, Keiko had to work for her talents. So she did. She fought to eclipse her sisters in everything.
That is why she became what she was-perfect, precise and unyielding. But somehow, she cannot stop that nagging feeling that everything was unfair.
How could Sakura be so beautiful even beneath those ugly clothes, even when she was a freak?
How could Ami be so feared and venerated when she was so superficial and straightforwardly unkind?
Keiko asked these questions to herself and it continued to haunt her, though it would never show. After all, Keiko was perfect; there can be no failure in her demeanor.
And that is why she told Ami's friends she wasn't a virgin at 14 and she did nothing when she heard Sakura's strangled cries when her father abused her-even when she heard her many times.
The first was good, the second was bad, and the third was Keiko.
--
In the almost empty Haruno household, the phone rang. Ami raced to it, thinking it was the boy she met
yesterday.
"Hello?"
"Ami, is this you," asked a cool voice on the other line. Ami smiles a little, "Yes, keiko."
"Well, how are you?"
"Is that statement limited to me or does that include Sakura?"
Keiko's reply was colder than usual. "That depends, is she still her usual self?"
"Of course," Ami replied with a sneer.
"Then I don't really care."
Ami graced that with a laugh. "well, why did you call, did you need something? Any news over there?"
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to tell you that now that I'm of age, I'll be handling our accounts. Mom and Dad's trust fund…well, it's a bit larger than I expected."
Ami's eyes lit up at this. "Really?"
"Hmm."
"Why? What's wrong?" Ami sensed something her sister was keeping from her.
"Sakura's is, well, there's no other way to say it, larger. It seems her real father was filthy rich."
"Hmm," Ami replied, contemplating, "I don't really care and she doesn't know so…"
"Exactly," Keiko confirmed, "that's why I'm transferring schools. I can't let that money go to waste, can I?"
"Alright Keiko."
"Goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
As Ami put down the phone, Sakura came down from the stairs. Ami looked at her mockingly.
"Keiko says hi."
And in a swish of pink, she left the room.
--
There was once a pair of brothers.
Black: raven-haired and obsidian-eyed, handsome and youthful, strong and prodigious, agile and skilled.
Red: black-haired and dark-eyed, brilliant and strategic, handsome and calm, young and powerful.
The first was alive, the second was Itachi.
There are a lot of words to describe both of them but Itachi stood out in a way that was sad, twisted and predatory.
He was power-hungry, bloodthirsty and somewhat maniacal. But he was also perfect, so handsome, a genius.
And all through this weird blend of traits, there was one thing that kept Itachi together: Sasuke.
Itachi liked few things but there was only one he loved and that was his brother.
That is why he brought up Sasuke very unlike him-uncorrupted and virtuous. He brought Sasuke up being a hypocrite to himself.
Through all his sins, Itachi did one thing right and it was Sasuke. In their corrupt and money-driven family, Sasuke grew up to be decent and content.
And when Itachi died- shot through the heart by an assassin from a rival company – he left a legacy that was truly amazing.
The first was the legacy, the second was Itachi.
--
"Itachi."
The older man looked up from his desk and straightened up a bit when he saw that it was his brother.
"Sasuke," he acknowledged, noting the frown on his brother's face, "what is it?"
"I saw father with another woman," he replied.
"Hmm," Itachi said, mock contemplating, "what did she look like?"
"She was tall, with red hair and she was wearing the shortest skirt I've ever seen."
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly in recognition. "That would be Mrs. Kang, our Chinese associate.
Don't worry yourself Sasuke, she's just doing business with dad."
Sasuke's frown deepened. "You don't understand."
"What do I not understand?"
"I saw them kissing," Sasuke replied in all his five-year-old glory.
Itachi frowned and called his brother to his side. He put him in his lap and smiled.
"Let me tell you of one of my adventures when I went abroad," he started.
Sasuke widened his eyes in excitement, forgetting his qualms as his brother launched into another animated account of something he encountered in one of his travels.
–
thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers! I loved all your reviews! Next chapter is in-progress...
here's a preview:
"Sasuke," she says and he literally drops everything as he walks towards her and tries his best to smile a little.
"Sakura," replies almost reverently as he approaches her. He raises a brow at the pretty box she holds out to him.
"Happy birthday," she says softly.
"I'm allergic to chocolate," he teases though it sounds like a reprimand. He starts to apologize as he realizes the tone he used.
Sakura just shakes her head and gestures for him to open the box. Hiding his eagerness but still unable to completely suppress it, Sasuke tears open the box.
"It's a pair of gloves," he declares a bit confused as he holds up a pair of fine dark blue gloves.
I'll leave the speculating to you...
