Tragedy
It was like he was born with utterly the worst luck in the world - as if fate had already carefully planned out every misfortune and tragedy in his life and was just waiting for each moment to unfold on him.
Sasuke stood quietly in shock, staring down at his deceased fiancee, Karin. Her face was grotesquely thin to the point where her cheek bones seemed like it would cut through her skin, and her lips were chapped and parched as if she hadn't had any water for days. She had lost her appetite a few months ago and lost weight at such a rapid rate that Sasuke was terrified that all that would be left are her bones on the futon. Her skin seemed to be literally melting away, hollowing itself into the depths of her skeletal structure.
He felt angry, despaired, and confused all at once. She was supposed to be the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. She was supposed to be his safe haven and his happiness.
He couldn't understand why life had to throw its sadistic twists and turns at him just when he thought he could finally be happy. His family was already gone, and now, he couldn't even have the woman he loved so dearly.
There was a rage building up in him that he could not describe. He wanted to pound his fists onto the ground to the point where his knuckles would be raw and bloodied just so he could focus on the physical pain instead of the emotional and mental turmoil spinning in his head. He would give anything, even his own soul, to have her back.
He would no longer hear her voice and sweet laughter. He would no longer be able to see her beautiful smile and the way she occasionally flipped her uniquely red hair over her shoulders. He was sure he would never meet anyone else with such a fierce and confident personality. It was one of the main reasons he fell for her...she was just so different from the other girls who were obsessed with getting his attention with their die-hard damsel in distress acts and obsessive swooning over him.
It was easy to tell Karin was attracted to him, like every other girl he came across, but the way she displayed her liking towards him was not like the other women. She had the courage to walk up to him, introduce herself with no acts of that disgusting eye-lash fluttering and obvious blushing that others did, and carried a normal conversation without mentioning anything about his looks or her affections towards him. She was transparent and honest with him from the start, and that was why he chose her.
Forcing himself to look away, he turned to the physician, Lady Tsunade.
"I assume her family has already received the message?"
Lady Tsunade nodded. "Yes, my lord. They have sent two servants to bring her body back home, as it is with tradition since you two have not officially wedded yet."
"Fair enough. I will send my regards to them in writing."
Taking one last glance at his beloved and reminiscing about the 4 years they've spent courting each other, he finally forced himself to maintain his emotions and posture and walked out of the room.
As much as he longed for her, he knew she would be nothing but a memory now.
Sasuke slid the doors open to his lonely home and sat down on the bamboo porch, shaking off the snow from his heavy robe and the sides of his kimono sleeves. He let out a sigh and his breath came out like a puff of smoke in the icy coldness.
He watched the streets silently for a few moments as merchants started to bundle up their products to go home and peasants were slowly making their way back to their homes. Every so often, people who walked by his residency bowed to him before continuing on their way because he was one of the most respected shoguns in the Osaka district of Japan.
The honor, respect, and wealth he has today was merely inherited when his family was murdered by bandits who raided their home nearly 15 years ago.
He was only a 7 year old boy when it happened...but he could remember every detail of that gruesome night. He remembered how Itachi ushered him quickly to hide in the wooden wardrobe when they heard footsteps outside. He remembered feeling so helpless watching through the tiny wooden crack as his father and Itachi tried to fend them off. His heart still felt heavy whenever he thought about his mother's scream that was inevitably cut short when she was slaughtered and the grunt of his father being stabbed straight through the heart. Even now, he could hear the clanking sounds of the swords clashing and that horrible squelching of blood pouring out like a river from Itachi when two of the bandits pierced their swords through Itachi's stomach.
The sound of blood gurgling in Itachi's throat and how Itachi managed to glance his way with a tear dropping from his eye haunted Sasuke till this day.
When he met Karin, that heavy void of loneliness from losing his family disappeared. She slowly paved her way to his heart and for the first time since his family's death, he felt like he could truly be happy again.
He never imagined that he would lose her, too.
She became ill with a sickness that even the most skilled physicians in this district could not diagnose nor treat. She became withdrawn, barely smiled, and was often bed-ridden because she either felt weak or in pain.
He was helpless, once again, and had to watch someone he loved die again.
Maybe this was just his fate - to be alone. Maybe the heavens saw fit that it would be better to not have anyone close to him, whether it be family, a lover, or even friends. Growing up as a shogun in Japan, he had a reputation to uphold as a military and political leader and even had multiple daimyos (feudal warlords) and samurais under his command. He never let anyone come close to being a friend because it was just better to keep relationships professional. That way, it was easier to maintain the hierarchy and no one could accuse him of playing favorites.
He did try desperately to keep Karin at the professional level as well. She was one of the most beautiful geishas in the Nagoya district, skilled in dancing as well as playing the most graceful and melodic tunes on the koto and shamisen. She was hired as an entertainer at a popular geisha district and he often saw her performing whenever he passed by to report back to the Emperor in Tokyo. At first, he stopped by simply for drinks and a break on his travel, but then he found himself wanting to go solely for the purpose of seeing her and hearing her play the instruments.
It wasn't long before they started to steal glances at each other and when she noticed he became a regular. Their romance began not long after that and before he knew it, she became the most important person in his life. As much as he tried to resist his attraction to her, he could not suppress his desire and longing for her. She was unique, incredibly talented, and of course, stunningly beautiful.
Letting out a small grunt, he closed his eyes and tried to forget her smiling face. Reminiscing about her won't bring her back.
Maybe he just needed to learn to accept it...the fact that his life was nothing more than a tragedy.
Sakura finished covering up the last of her medicinal herbs. She was not able to sell much today since the snow came early.
She looked down at her money-pouch hanging around her waist and guessed that she probably only made half a day's regular profit due to the weather.
"It's ok...there's still tomorrow." She muttered to herself and resumed to cleaning her shop. Just as she reached for the broom to sweep away some snow that blew in, a figure walking in caught her attention.
Sakura looked up to see the all-too-familiar face and immediately glared at him.
"...really, now? I just barely stepped foot into your shop and you're going to give me that face?" The man was dressed in a thick purple kimono with a wooden-straw hat to protect him from the snow. His long hair was tied in a low pony-tail and he gave her that disgusting smirk and seemingly undressed her with his eyes.
"Please leave, Lord Orochimaru. My shop is closed for today."
Orochimaru walked closer to her and reached over, his finger tracing her jawline. Sakura's hands clenched into fists and she abruptly took a step back from him.
"Please leave." She replied more firmly.
Orochimaru just let out a sigh and looked around her shop. "You wouldn't have to live like this, slaving away your youth, if you would just accept my marriage proposal, Sakura. I came to ask you again-,"
"I already gave you my answer. I have no intentions of marrying you." She almost hissed at him. God, she hated him so much. He was one of the daimyos who oversaw the Osaka district's businesses and merchant shops. He was a respected authoritative figure around town and probably one of the richest daimyos in this area, but the way he viewed women as sexual objects and lowly peasants aggravated her. Ever since he took an interest in her one day visiting her shop, he's been persistent in asking for her hand in marriage no matter how many times she refused.
"I don't understand why you keep refusing me, Sakura. I can literally give you the whole world."
"I don't want the world." Sakura pointed out the door. "For the last time, please leave. I would like to go home."
Orochimaru ignored her request yet again. Sakura nearly shrieked when he snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "And I would love to take you home with me."
In a desperate effort to get out of his hold, she stomped down hard on his foot, causing him to push her away and grasp his leg in pain.
"You wench!" He growled at her and sent her a menacing glare.
"Do not touch me. For the last time, please leave or I will report this incident to the authorities!"
Orochimaru limped backwards and scoffed at her. "I am the authorities, my love." He regained his posture as a few villagers passed on by the shop before once again meeting her gaze. "Mark my words, Sakura. I will have you for myself, no matter what tactics I have to use."
Sakura's jaw clenched in anger but she remained silent as she watched him disgustingly blow a kiss to her before disappearing off in the snowy streets. Her heart still felt heavy from what he said...because she knew he was capable of nearly anything. She was afraid that he would one day order henchmen to come destroy her shop and force her hand in marriage. The villagers around her who watched her grow up would push her to marry him because of his wealth and power. Her childhood friends, Ino and Hinata, have already been scolding her about refusing Orochimaru's marriage proposals. They would probably marry him in a heartbeat if he asked them instead.
She didn't understand their mindsets. They valued wealth over everything, even to the point of leaving their poor families to starve if that meant a better life for themselves.
Sakura could never do that. She would rather live in the slums with the people she loved than to leave them behind while she married someone rich.
Sakura shivered as the cold breeze blew into her home. She shuffled quickly inside her home and slid the doors closed before a gust of wind blew in some snow.
She then walked over to her family room and knelt down on the mini-sized futon that was placed in front of the jarred ashes of her parents. Placing her hands on the ground, she gracefully bowed three times in respect, her forehead fully touching the floor each time.
"Father, mother...today has been hard...but don't worry." She forced a small smile. "I will work hard now so that I can secure my own future."
She then stood up and bowed one more time before going to her own bedroom.
Fixing the sleeping futon, she then laid down comfortably in the layered sheets and blew out the small candle keeping her room lit. Her emerald orbs stared up at the dark ceiling...she knew it would be a while before she could fall asleep.
It has been the same silence every night.
Her father, a medicinal merchant, died when she was 9 years old. He was her hero...he always brought home sweets for her and protected her from things that seemed scary to her as a child - dogs, insects, strangers. When he was drafted to be a soldier for the Japanese Imperial Army and died during a raid from an enemy district, she and her mother were left alone to keep the business going. Her mother was the reason she knew everything there was to know about medicine. She knew the names of nearly every herb and plant and she knew which types of medicines were best to treat any wound. If she had the chance to get an education, she would probably even be at the level of the physicians who worked for the royal palace.
She was fortunate enough to spend at least another 5 years after her father's death with her mother before a sickness took over her mother's body. She had to take over the medicine shop after her mother passed and it was difficult to try and scrape in any coins she could make from selling herbs at only 14 years old. The people around her pitied her, and some even looked down on her. There were days when people would just randomly kick over her medicinal jars and threw her herbs on the floor if they didn't like it. The other merchants who had daughters her age all shunned her and made sure she had no way of making friends. Only Ino and Hinata came to her rescue when other girls bullied her or when parents and other villagers spit at her and called her names - orphan, dirty peasant, poor wench.
She soon developed her own skills in sculpting wood and making weaponry. She didn't intend to make money off of sculpting, since it was just something to do in her leisure time, but she figured if she could make a little extra income with it, she would take the chance. Her skills enabled her to expand the shop; generals from the Imperial Army stopped by to request custom-made bow and arrows, spiritual and holistic healers bought her sculpted wooden talismans, and even the villagers around would occasionally stop by to purchase small wooden sculptures for their children. Slowly, she was able to gain the respect of the merchants and villagers who grew up with her.
Despite her circumstances after her parents' deaths, she kept reminding herself that one day, her hard work will pay off.
She refused to let her life be a tragedy.
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