I'm back! And only have one thing to say.Test's suck. And studying. Half of my time gone down the drain, when I really should have updated last week. Or maybe the week before that.
But alas, it simply wasn't meant to be.
*Sweatdrop*
...yeah, let's leave it at that.
But thank you for being so patient!
(I don't own Naruto or any other references)
O.o.O
"I'm heading out now, Kaa-sama" A young voice said, a certain amount of childishness present in the five year olds tone. She was garbed in a dark red chinese-styled top with a hollow white circle embroidered on the back, sleeves flowing over her small hands and wrists. Black tights stopped at her calves followed by flat, white sandals. A similar headband adorned her head, framing her face with short rose coloured bangs.
"Come back a second! Take some money if you wish to eat out or buy something." A blonde woman called faintly, followed by a strained cough.
"Kaa-sama?" The girl turned, looking past the threshold, gripping the white painted door. Her concern was still present even as her mother waved her off as she approached, crouching.
"Don't worry, you wanted to go to the library, yes? Then go have fun. I can take care of myself. It's not strenuous to do flower arrangements and calligraphy you know." She said gently with a joking tone, pausing her actions with a faint laugh. She gestured to the small red coin pouch resting on the side to which the pink-haired girl picked up. When green eyes met her sea-green, she surveyed the girl, seeing something off. More specifically, her eyes which were lined with a dark curve against her lid in a swept motion.
It wasn't a style she knew of, because it was usually applied to be a thin line or curve, not cat-like. And she has hints of red powder at the far corner of her eyes. It was subtle, and you couldn't tell it was there unless you looked hard enough.
"Haruno Sakura, what is that on your face?" Meruna arched a thin blonde brow at her daughter. The brow raised higher at the sound of her throat clearing, lips turning downwards.
"Okaa-sama, I have no clue what your talking about." She said with a smirk, standing on the balls of her feet and rocking back and forth with a high-pitched whistle. Her sleeve was held in front of her face to hide the look on it.
Busted.
"Sakura sweetie, are you self-conscious about how you look? Is that why you wear it? Or wait-" Meruna's smile became teasing, playfully nudging her on the shoulder lightly. "Is there a boy you want to impress~? Hmm~?"
Sakura pushed her mother away lightly, trying to hide the small flinch from from her implications. Shaking her head to the side, she answered. "I don't have time for things like that." She bit the inside of her cheek and cast her eyes down to the forest green rug of the living area.
"There's always time for love!" Her mother had hearts in her eyes with stars with a grin on her red painted lips. Her hands were clasped under her chin as she looked off into the distance with a dreamy sigh and blush. Her previous qualms about her makeup long forgotten.
"...Right." Sakura said uncertainly at her dreamy nature with thinly veiled concern.There she goes again. The pink haired girls expression soured as her eyes fell on a family photo of a woman, a man, and their own child. Her nose wrinkled in disgust.
Her eyes trailed over her kimono and workspace in their living room. Turqoise eyes narrowed at the glass bottle shaped jar of ink, which was a little too close for comfort. "Kaa-sama?"
"Yes dear?" Her mother asked, picking up the brush from it's stand and dipping it in the dark ink bottle, just slightly. She hummed a light tune and continued her light strokes, smiling at the fine writing.
"You might spill-"
The slightest movement of her arm shifting caused the dark green silk kimono sleeves to brush against the ink, splashing against the white and olive underlayers.
"That." Sakura sighed, moving the glass bottle away only to cringe at the amount of ink spilled on her clothing.
"Huh?...oh." The blonde woman blinked in surprise, watching her daughter eye the bottle, lightly twirling it to see the black swirl insde the glass. Then she pointedly arched a brow, glancing down at the dark stain. She peeked down to see what she was staring at, gasping at the sight with disappointment.
"Oh no! I had just bought this too." She frowned, lifting up her arm only to see it drip onto the faded white paper, ruining her elaborate brush strokes. She sighed, getting up to clean up her mess. Before leaving, she this time gave a pointed mock-glare to the girl at her advance to clean up the stray drops.
"Get going and please, for the love of Kami Sakura, stop." Right now her daughter was in the midst of observing the flower arrangement curiously, blinking and tilting her head to the side with narrower eyes, due to the liner. Although she doesn't like being called cute, she's just so adorable! She stifled a giggle by her sleeve, hiding the wide smile on her painted lips.
She took in how Sakura bounded to the door after adding something to the arrangement that she couldn't see due to where she was standing and placing the bottle down on the table. Before exiting, she spun around, hip jutted to the side with one hand placed on it, a smirk tugging on her lips.
"Kaa-sama, if I didn't know any better, or if I were someone else, I would think you're trying to be rid of me." Sakura said, eyes flashing with mischief.
Her mouth parted, stunned. But before she could reply, she closed it at her next words.
Sakura leaned against the door frame, foot resting on it. She looked up at her spot between her home and the rest of the world, crossing her arms and feeling strangely thoughtful. Boundaries... "But then again..." Her pursed lips curled upwards into something akin to a smile, but not quite.
In the end she just shook her head to the side. "Never mind," it came out as a muttered whisper, but she still heard her. With those final words, she finally turned to leave, the door faintly clicking as it locked with a quiet goodbye.
A small smile worked it's way to her mouth as she shook her head with fondness. Well, she has always been rather mature for her age. And smart. "Honestly, who taught her those words?"
She walked back to the foyer and passed by the living room. But then she remembered something Sakura put next to the arrangement. With curiosity in her veridian eyes, she bent down carefully to avoid the rest of the greenery from her ink soaked sleeve. She brushed aside the aged paper for her calligraphy only to see something written on the corner of the page.
Her daughter(as much as they really didn't want to admit this)had really, really bad handwriting.
Kaa-sama, I hope you don't mind but I thought it felt right to put in there.
Feel free to remove if it looks bad.
In between the different clusters of flowers and delicately trimmed stalks she set it on the low table gently, smiling at the flower placed among her arrangement. Between the varying shades of blues and buttercup yellows, placed next to it was her notebook opened to a certain page with a different shaded flower beautifully presented in a rose pink.
Meruna couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face at her daughter's gesture and the familiarity of her messy handwriting.
Why would I remove this?
Azalea ; a flower of temperance and self-care.
O - O - O -O
Bardiche, why have I been feeling so strange lately? No- Sakura weaved nimbly through the crowd of people bustling in subdued annoyance. Why did it have to be so crowded in the mornings?-these past few years? And that's saying something, considering I've only been alive in this place a few years?
Sir-
Sakura bit her lip to surpress a groan as she walked faster to her destination. It was around eleven, so just before noon. The library typically opened at varying times each morning, so it was a hit-or-miss kind of thing. But on the subject of missed swings, (in this case misled insults about her gender) four years and he still had a habit of speaking so archaically. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?
I.. His automated voice seemed to falter and take something she could place as thoughtful, but still monotonous. And really, he didn't have to be that way, she was just joking. Why is he always so literal?
I am the same 'age' as you, but I don't age in a similar fashion to you, I simply 'exist'.
Her stomach churned as she slowly stopped walking. Oh, but on the subject of existing, can you explain my other question, please?
Yes sir. He started, as she closed her eyes briefly, before opening them once more. She slowed down from her brisk steps and spotted the white stone library steps just in front of the dark brown building. They were pretty big and wide, so she sat down on the farthest side as to not get into anyone's way. In turn, she decided to also ignore everyone staring at her oddly as they exited and entered respectively.
Sakura sunk back against the railing, bringing her one of her legs up under her chin tightly with her arm and leaving the other just dangling off the other pristine step.
...So? What's up with me? She questioned. What she had been feel lately was strange. This would sound normal, but it really wasn't. What Sakura had been feeling for the past few years was just...there really wasn't a way to explain it either.
It's rather simple, you passed at seventeen, correct? My data shows that you were seventeen and 3 months, 21 days and-
I'm not even going to ask how you know all of that stuff, but actually wait- A.I, how could I forget? Of course he would have information on her. Please continue. Sakura sighed, than took a deep breath.
Time has stopped for you Sir, and while your body is currently that of a child, your own soul is not.
I...I don't follow, what do souls have anything to do with this?
Your souls must match frequencies Sir, no matter the body you have. On the topic of that, you don't really have two souls, but instead one split one.
Right, Akihiko mentioned that. Souls split and born through regret and tragedy, was what he said. Sakura's expression became unreadable, by the blankness of her sea coloured eyes. How depressing. Her head tilted to look at the cyan blue sky. A sudden thought came to mind, but Bardiche seemed to acknowledge that it was private and stayed silent. Something wasn't adding up. She could barely remember the Akihiko telling her this, but it still crept up to the forefront of her mind. He had said that there were two bodies. Because if this was her other body, then what happened to her other mind. A chill spread through her body when she felt a slight breeze blowing past her. What is going on? This wasn't making sense.
Continue, Bardiche.
As I said, when both bodies reach the age of seventeen, the feeling you can sense will leave you. The tugging motion you always feel in chest will become more and more.. pulling when you reach the age of eight and a half.
Eight and a half? Isn't that half of seventeen? Her face twisted into contemplation. Tell me, will the process speed up more as I get older?
Yes it will. She winces at that. He didn't cut corners did he? It was hard enough to ignore it now, but it would become worse? After the age of eight, you will have to take potion suppressants, so I hope you find the grimoire quickly, lest your life become more painful.
A...book? A dark blue tattered book sprung from her thoughts as she lurched forward from her position in shock. "Wait a second, but it's stuck inside the jewel." She said quietly, trying to reign in her surprise as she just remembered the leather-bound artifact. She quickly got up to walk inside the building, only to stop to hear her weapon's words.
After you fell through the gate- more like after Akihiko pushed her, she snorted. -everthing you once owned or acquired was split, separated. Your soul and your device, the gem, were those primary things.
"But that doesn't make sense, why would everything be split?" She pondered, leaning against the side of the building but then started pacing along the concrete steps. She turned back again, struggling to pronounce her thoughts into japanese. It wouldn't be smart of her to voice it out in a language everyone knew either. In the beginning, it was hard. Hell, it still was at times because if how difficult retaining languages was. She tried to run phrases of each language everyday, but that still didn't help.
Sakura also sucked at writing in kānji and hīrigana.
"Splitting. Why is everything split off into black and white? Light and dark? Chaos and hope? Why is there no gray area? For those who maybe act wicked and simply playing a part? What then?" Sakura knew her questions were getting off topic, but she hadn't a chance to speak so freely in ages.
She spun around again, this time deciding to go inside the library. Her eyes flicked to a nearby clock. Around 12-ish."You know what Bardiche? I think I would fit into a grey area, but actually nevermind that. What's this about suppression potions?" If she kept getting off track, they would be getting nowhere. Her body was on autopilot at this point as she asked the question. Her hand reached for the door to jump back at the sound of a door slamming and her body being shoved aside.
"Get out of the way brat!" Sakura's eyes widened and tried to grasp for something to hold onto but the railing was no where in sight. Her eyes closed as she twisted her body backwards to turn around and stop her descent. She actually would have fallen if it weren't from something yanked her body backwards in a gentle yet firm motion.
Her eyes cracked open and narrowed as they followed upwards at the pale wrist holding her own.She straightened herself and didn't look up, only bowing at the stranger. Inwardly cursing at the loud brash voice that had pushed her. "Thank you." She muttered. It was her own fault for pacing in front of a library of all things.
She really needed to get her priorities straightened out.
"It's no problem, are you alright?" a quiet voice said, it was male, but at the same time a bit...shy? No that wasn't it. Polite, she decided on as she looked up at the boy and her face morphed into something of confusion.
He had long black hair that was pulled into a ponytail and had strands framing his face. He had alabaster skin and dark black eyes, along with the startings of tear troughs. Her gaze drifted to his forehead, a navy blue band and a strange symbol etched or scratched on. That didn't bother her but something nagged at her in her head. She chewed on her inner lip.
Why did he look so...
"Are you okay?" He asked, watching her purse her lips in deep thought and furrowing her light pink brows.
"Familiar," Sakura whispered, staring at him deeply before snapping out of it, pink tresses swaying to the side. Staring is rude, she reminded herself. "I'm fine," she said, sliding her arm out of his grip.
He only nodded, seeing her preoccupation. "I see, then I will be going now." Her eyes dropped to the lone book in his right hand -Element chak-wa? And it's blah blah Forms-. She couldn't read it further and then scrunched up her faceHis back turning caught her attention and it was then she noticed a strange mark on the back of his shirt for a brief second before his tied hair concealed it again.
"What's chakra?" She questioned out, watching him turn back around. She closed her mouth with an audible click at his chuckle as he walked back up to her, form towering at least a few feet above her.
His orbs lingered on her, indulging her question. "Chakra is the manifestation of physical and spiritual energy." He bent down in front of her, "do you want to become a ninja?" She almost reminded him a little of Sasuke and his eagerness to learn.
Her eyes flashed with recognition. "Nin...ja?" So familiar, why? She had heard the phrase tossed around the village so many times, but that's not why it was familiar to her. Living in this place..was always giving her a strange sense of dêja-vu. This place was so outdated and gave her the vague feeling she was living in Japan at it's earliest time, or something. That was originally why she wanted to visit the library in the first place, to gain information.
It's official. When she died Akihiko was going to get it from her. What the hell was I thinking, agreeing to something like this? Was she really that desperate to live?
"I'm not sure," she finally answered. Thick tension ran through the air, the temperature seemingly dropping on the rather bright day. His tone turned deadly serious, black orbs dulling. "Becoming a kunoichi or Shinobi is not for the faint of heart, so choose well." He wasn't going to sugarcoat his words, that would get her nowhere. He knew that better than anyone, and was certainly not about to drag another child into this lifestyle.
Not for the faint of heart, huh? Sakura exhaled. Her mother had never mentioned the subject, why was that? She had seen first hand the powers they had in their possession. The elements bended to their will, along with things like cloning or teleportation. The possibilities would be endless.
But at the same time she knew why her mother wouldn't say anything.
Her mother had always told her she was frail from birth due to constant illness, and if it wasn't said in a bad way, almost a bit weak. And when she meant that she was referring to her constitution. In a similar way, her mother was strong. She owned a seamstress shop, and worked as well as she could, stopping from time to time. Meruna knew when to stop and when to lie down and rest, but Sakura sometimes had to persuade her into doing that. She usually jokingly said that she was more like the mother out of the two of them and made a face at that when she said no way.
It was always just them and no one else.
"-ay?"
Sakura shifted her eyes to the pale boy in front of her at the sound of his voice. She blinked once as he began to speak again as he noticed her attention on him.
"Some in this world do not have a choice of what they want to be, or what they make of it. Stay true to your own beliefs." He reiterated, eyes softening towards the girl. Her exotic eyes settled on him, slowly nodding in assent.
"I understand," She bowed again out of sheer politeness. Sakura bit her lip in thought. "And thank you." Make what I want to make of it? It was pretty sound advice, one that she would follow. She wouldn't let just anyone tell her what to do.
When she saw a small smile quirk on his face and she had a feeling he didn't do that much. It was just the corner of his mouth twitching upwards, but it was still something. Sakura tried to hide the small smirk on her face, using her crimson bell-like sleeves. "Then I'll be taking my leave now."
She felt him pat her rose-colored hair and her turquoise irises shot up to meet onyx eyes that had crinkled upwards as well.
"I wish you good luck on your endeavors then." Itachi offered politely.
"Believe me, I think I'm going to need it." Sakura murmured, shaking her head at her lack of plans. I'm going to need to get started soon. And first things first...
Welllll actually...
"Excuse me?" She called seeing his back turn around with curiosity. "What is your name?" She should have asked sooner.
He answered nevertheless. "..Uchiha... Uchiha Itachi."
Sakura immediately felt warning bells blaring in her head but she pushed it away. Her eyes sharpened at him. Who was he? Itachi? Where have I heard that? It was one thing to think a face was familiar, but a name was a whole other story. Her own name emerged from her lips quieter than she expected but was cut off.
Sir? She flinched lightly at the sudden ringing in her head. My apologies, but I am detecting a wall in memory. I am not currently capable of removing it due to the fact that you have not yet acquired access to your neither mana storage nay linker core.
One phrase that stuck out to her most was 'acquiring access to her mana'. But she had to focus. "Haruno," She eyed Itachi warily. "Haruno Sakura."
When she saw him leave, his hair swishing to the side with every step. In turn, she saw a strange symbol embroidered similarly to her own. A red and white fan? Or at least, that's what it looked like to her. The top was a deep red that seemed to be split from the white bottom half. Is that his clan symbol?
Tiltling her head to her head to the side, Sakura couldn't help but notice one thing that made her laugh a bit. His symbol kind of looks like a ping-pong racket!
Quiet snickers left her lips even more as she slipped through the door.
~O-O-O-O~
"Back to square one." Clearly this was a bad idea, I can't read half of these symbols! The book in question was a light tan, kanji and other symbols scattered across the cover.
Sakura leaned on the palm of her hand, watching the clock tick. When she had come here, she had full intention of finding something that gave her a clue about where she was, but so far she had no such luck. Now what was she supposed to do? Speaking a language was so different compared to writing it out. I could ask for help... her eye twitched at the librarian shouting at some teenager wearing a similar headband to the one she had sewn before. Nevermind.
"And why the hell is this written so strange?" She muttered, touching the yellowed paper. Japanese was written vertically, which threw her her off a bit. She was so used to writting horizontally and not vertically. She slumped back in her chair, opening her thoughts to her weapon, who was being oddly silent.
Bardiche? You said your main functions were to guide and assist. Her brows knitted as she flipped through pages. Isn't there some way you can help me?
You need only ask, she heard him intone. What is it you require of me?
Sakura sighed, shutting the book with a snap. It's my memory, I can't do anything like this. How can I remember anything here when I can only try to keep what should be long forgotten?
Sir, if you were having problems with memory as of late, you could have switched places with me.
Switch...places? What was he talking about? That's- what?! Sakura became alert. Switch..switch with you in what way?
Switching in the sense of minds temporarily, Sir. I have the ability of scanning and processing information easier than most types, due to your lightning affiliation. This has a limit though, only once a year.
Hold on, I happen to think that my memory is getting worse because of too many memories. And now your saying I should have it easier now? She thought with a frown. Lightning affiliation sure as hell wasn't helping her now. What makes it easier for you then?
Simply put, Sir, he meant no offense to his Master when he spoke. I have access to what you do not... power.
Power? Something started clicking in her mind, gears shifting. That's right, mana was considered the main power source in their terms. Then how do I get access to it?
I believe Akihiko had informed you, but have you forgotten? In that case, I shall go more in-depth. Mana is unlocked through will, as you may already know. There are limitations, however. This power must first be taken when you are on the brink of death, but your mind makes the connection to your heart, wanting the strength to see a new dawn.
But why death? What if I don't live? She was sure the chances of living were 50/50 on this. And it made sense too. But couldn't there be other ways? A chill ran down her spine, she couldn't just die again, she had only just started living again.
Sir, many minds are opened during that time, to see if they are worthy of it. I suppose you could say, death provides startling clarity to some. Besides that, you need not fret, Sir. I am sure you are more than capable of facing your judgement.
Judgement? You mean when I...die? She tried to shuffle through her memories at that. Right, that's when I die, I remember now.
You are mistaken in that sense, there is the judgement of power, but also the final one. In your judgement call for power, you will face yourself and every aspect of yourself. Your own mirror reflections. The seven deadly sins. Oh, so that's were it comes from.
Seven versions of myself? Let's see, pride, greed, wrath, envy, gluttony, sloth, and lust. How would that play out, a series of seven tests? She questioned herself on that until he spoke again.
Now, are you ready to begin?
Sure, do I need to do anything?
No, just clear your thoughts and relax, similar to meditation. Breath in, breath out, that's it. Her eyes had fallen shut, covering her face with her arms and feeling cold, smooth wood beneath her hands. Focus on nothing yet everything.
As strange as the contradiction was, it was similar to viewing life through peripheral vison. Focused on nothing yet everything.
Now...awaken.
There was just something about the way he said it, and it made her head feel ten times heavier, drowsy. Her breath became labored, as if she was in a deep sleep. Her mind was slowly detaching from her body and a new one filling it. A strange feeling tugged her thoughts back, making her feel like taking a nice, long, nap. Bardiche slowly inserted his mind through her person, feeling the steady thrum of his/her heartbeat. Sakura lifted her head, bangs covering her eyes. When her head tilted, an icy aquamarine replaced her eyes instead of her normal sea-green.
She got up from the sleek sectioned desks at the back of the library. Bardiche delved deeper into the shelves, seeing the 'language and literature' section. She reached up, grabbing a book and opening it to the front page.
Eyes flashing, her eyes glowed eerily with a misty hue. She kept the book open, flipping the pages quickly. Her eyes had reflected the information in a holographic fashion. Words bouncing back and forth, her eyes copied everything they saw on it. When she was done, she picked up the next one, doing the same thing and repeated the process.
Bardiche suddenly stopped, feeling his/her head throb. "I suppose I should stop now," he/she mused, taking in to account the age of this body. Their minds wouldn't be able to retain to much of this, so it would have to be released gradually."Too much of anything is never a good thing."
"Now...reset."
The real Sakura jolted, dropping the book. Her mind shuffled hers forward, body automatically reseting with a different concious. She hunched in on herself, feeling a strange chill over her body. She suddenly didn't feel like sleeping anymore, only cold. It felt like mere seconds, but it was apparently ten minute when she gazed at the clock again.
She was never doing that again and and he could count on that.
Sakura shuddered, fingers tightening around the binding of the book. Even with the long sleeves, she felt cold. She shook her left hand, curling it into a fist then uncurling it.
Sir? Are you alright?
"Just peachy," The pinkette gritted out, practically slamming the book into the proper shelf. Walking out of the library, she leaped off the stone steps and felt the warmth of the sun on her back. "That's a lot better." Taking a deep breath, she asked the question nagging at her. Bardiche, what was that?
It was as if he had compelled her to sleep, only he had used the word 'awaken'. Last I checked, awakening means to wake up, not fall asleep.
You awakened your mind, do you feel rejuvenated? Well rested?
Sakura paused, cold drifting of her skin from the sun. If she ignored the chill every now and then, she did feel good. Yeah, I guess so. Sakura kept a steady walk as she browsed through the different vendors. Some sold foreign dishes, some sold wooden and glass jewelry, and others had metal workshops, heat beaming down on the village from above. Happy cries of children filled her ears as she moved out of the way for some, watching the way their parents scolded them.
When she looked up, she could see the carvings just atop the hillsides. Sakura didn't know if they had mountains on the other side or anything, but it looked that way. Depicted on it were four faces, every one of them having a manner of spiked hair but the first (or maybe it was just the rock type?).
She turned streets, admiring the way the place looked as a whole. Her ears picked up a faint jeering sound as she walked faster. There was a large cluster of people surrounding the outside of a street vendor. She bit back a yelp when a shove pushed her forward. Claustrophobia ran through her, pushing the other people away from her. I hate crowds, maybe I should just leave. When she turned to leave, she only felt herself being completely closed off by swarms of shouting citizens.
"Get out of my shop demon! And take the mask with you!" The sound of a cracking mask and a cry of pain alarmed her. What's going on?
"Leave him alone demon brat!"
"What a pitiful child," the mutterings of a woman nearby caught her attention. Demon? Was there actually supernatural beings existing in this village? She twisted around, curiosity winning over logic. She inched forward slowly and cringed in pain at the sensation of someone steping on her foot. She extended her arms and slipped through the throngs of people, grateful for her short stature. She stumbled slightly, foot catching in a rock and making her fall forward combined with someone elbowing her in the side. Her hand shot to her stomach and fell, face-planting on the ground.
With a groan, she sat up to rub the dust out of her eyes and smearing the powder across her lids. When Sakura's eyes finally opened, they widened in surprise and disbelief at the person before her.
"But how-now way- this can't- what?!!?"
Aqua-green and cerulean clashed.
I'm going crazy.
No way in hell is this real.
The small blonde with a blooming shiner on his left eye and telltale whisker marks made her rethink everything. Her eyes fell on the ironically cracked porcelain fox mask on the ground.
Uzumaki Naruto, her mind whispered helpfully.
What have I gotten myself into?!? Sakura screamed internally, cursing her stupidity.
End.