Thank you so much to everybody who reviewed the prologue. I've never written an AU Naruto story before, so I was a bit apprehensive about posting the idea to begin with. I'm really glad that many readers seem to have taken interest in this, and hope that you'll all continue reading and enjoying the plot. As mentioned in my profile, this will be a dark, somewhat morbid tale in places with explicit descriptions/themes of an adult nature. You have been warned people.
Just to respond to a note regarding the setting, there will be no ninjas in this story. Sakura is not a kunoichi. It's set in a modern-day Konoha world, with Greek Mythology elements woven in. This'll become clearer as the story progresses.
Chapter I
When by Fate's design his eyes fell upon her,
T'was as if winter had burst to exalted spring,
And the warmth of the sun engulfed him for the first time,
A brief, fleeting respite from the cold,
That made his frozen being tremble.
Thus began love's gentle thaw.
And he thought that ne'er had he looked,
Upon true enchantment,
Until that moment.
"No. Freaking. Way. No way am I doing that."
"It's compulsory."
"Compulsory? It's completely unethical!"
"It's a requirement to pass the module."
"Nuh uh. Majorly gross. I'm outta here, Forehead."
"Wait! Ino-"
"Sakura, do you smell that?"
"But if we don't pass Biology-"
"What are you talking about? You've already passed it. With flying colours. God, it reeks!"
"Okay, but if you don't pass Biology-"
"I don't need to pass Biology. I only joined this class because-"
"-of Shikamaru?"
"-because I took pity on my geeky best friend. I'm going to be a fashion designer. Or a florist like mother. Whichever. They're both colourful."
"But Ino-"
"I am not going to dissect a sheep's heart! I mean, seriously? Getting any of that on my new sundress? Ew? Now excuse me while I go hurl up my breakfast."
Sakura Haruno watched in dismay as Ino Yamanaka dove swiftly out of the lab in a flurry of blonde hair and sweet, designer perfume. Her closest friend had been aware when she'd first chosen to enrol on the Biology course that the dissection of a sheep's heart was a mandatory requirement in order to pass the final module of the spring semester. Or had she known at the time? Sakura suspected that Ino's mind had likely been solely fixated on Shikamaru Nara back then. She felt her spirits sink as her gaze travelled back to the military arranged rows of desks in the blindingly white science room. They were in their second and final year at college. Eighteen going onto nineteen. They had just over three months left before they graduated. They were so close to university. How could Ino give up on her now, after enduring Biology – which was certainly not a subject she naturally excelled at – for a year and a half already?
Sakura sighed tiredly. She would just have to try, somehow, to convince Ino to change her mind later. Slipping into the lab, she was hit forcefully by the pungent smell of strong disinfectant – fused with the distinctive, unsettling odour of freshly thawed animal meat. It was an unpleasant combination, and Sakura thought that she couldn't blame Ino for hurrying out of the room; she was very much tempted to leave herself.
"Good morning, Sakura."
Sakura jumped, startled out of her thoughts by the sudden greeting. Her head snapped around to find one of her classmates smiling at her. Tall, lean Sai was an exchange student who had recently transferred from another college. Sakura would have considered him quite handsome, were it not for his alarmingly pale complexion. His skin was tinged with unhealthy pallor, which contrasted greatly with the black strands of short, neatly trimmed hair atop his head and his inky-dark eyes.
Ever since his arrival in town, Sai had rubbed many people up the wrong way with his peculiar manners – or, more often than not, complete lack thereof. He was a social misfit with a creepy habit of smiling emotionlessly at everything and everyone. Ino considered him 'majorly cute'. Sakura usually made a conscious effort to ignore him, but couldn't help from laughing internally every time Ino's hilarious attempts to flirt with him sailed cleanly over his head.
"Uh," she replied uncomfortably, before scolding herself for her impoliteness, and offered a bright smile back. "Good morning Sai! How was your weekend?"
"I dissected a sheep's heart in preparation for this session," Sai supplied, his smile unwavering.
"O-oh?" Sakura responded, straining to keep her own expression amiable in his presence. "Well that's… that's fascinating. I guess you'll ace this, then, huh?"
Sai's eyes slipped to the closest of the sheep hearts lying on a tile before them. "I wonder what it would be like to dissect a human heart?" he pondered aloud.
Sakura's smile promptly faltered. What a weirdo, she thought, silently alarmed. Clearing her throat, she gestured to the desk at the front of the lab. "Oh look, there's Shikamaru! I'd better say hello. Good luck!" And she hurried away, relieved to approach someone who was relatively normal.
Shikamaru Nara was tall and slim in build. His brown hair was long enough to be scraped back into a ponytail, and small, silver earrings glinted in each of his earlobes. He certainly looked like he didn't care about anything or anyone – which Sakura supposed was the reason why Ino swooned every single time he slunk by – but in reality he was more lazy than bad boy. Nothing seemed to motivate him, and Sakura had always been secretly envious of how someone so unenthusiastic managed to sail through exams without so much as studying a single page out of a textbook beforehand. Shikamaru was something of a genius – and one who got by with minimal effort.
"Hi." This time her smile was genuine. Shikamaru was chewing on a tooth-pick - which Ino swore was the cutest habit she had ever seen – and turned disinterested eyes to her.
"Sakura," he nodded, voice anchored with boredom.
"Ready?" she nodded to the tile before him.
Shikamaru released a heavy sigh. "This is going to be such a pain," he declared.
Sakura fought the urge to giggle at that. Shikamaru found most things troublesome. Even walking from lesson to lesson seemed to be too arduous a task for him to endure. Sometimes she wondered just what it was that her best friend saw in the lethargic young man standing beside her. She knew Ino and Shikamaru's parents were good friends, and they both came from reputable families. But was Shikamaru as well suited to Ino as she so ardently believed? He neither encouraged nor rejected Ino's flirtatious advances. Sakura wondered just what he really thought of the vibrant blonde, and had been plotting to figure out a way to find out for a while.
"Your friend isn't here," Shikamaru observed plainly. Sakura blinked, her eyes flying to his face in astonishment. Did he mean Ino? Was he indirectly asking about her? Hope crested within her; of course he was asking about Ino. He had noticed how gorgeous she was. Ino turned heads all the time – she was that kind of girl. Why would lazy Shikamaru be any different?
"Ino isn't feeling too well today," Sakura covered, making a mental note to demand that her best friend buy her anko dumplings in exchange for the save. After all, she wasn't about to inform the object of Ino's affections that Ino couldn't even stomach a measly heart dissection.
Shikamaru's grey-brown eyes slipped away and he gave no response. Before Sakura could say anything else, their Biology teacher strolled into the room. Twenty minutes late, Sakura observed. She wondered how the tall, silver-haired man who took his place at the front of the class managed to keep his job when his punctuality was so terrible. Kakashi Hatake possessed a relatively calm disposition, although it was difficult to read the exact expression on his face as he was always wearing a lab-mask of some sort. In fact, Sakura was certain she had never actually seen him without it.
"Sorry everyone," he greeted. His lone, visible eye crinkled in what she imagined was a cheerful smile. Sakura had never worked up the courage to ask him just what had happened to his left eye, and why he always wore a black patch over it like a pirate. "I took a wrong turn."
How many times had she heard that unconvincing excuse? Kakashi-sensei got away with it because most students considered him 'cool'. Sakura settled onto the stool beside Shikamaru's, trying to ignore the smell permeating through her nostrils from the heart lying before her. She couldn't wait to get the practical over with.
"So, you all know today's drill," Kakashi stated, in his characteristically resigned tone. As if he didn't really hold much hope that any of the teenagers sitting before him were actually listening to a word he was saying. Or as if he just hadn't had enough sleep the previous night. "Cut up the heart. Tear it to bits. Try and identify the chambers and structures you should all be acquainted with along the way and note them on the diagrams beside you. Preferably before you tear it to bits…" his voice trailed off as he directed a less than surreptitious glance about the room. "Ah. We seem to have some people missing." His eye stopped pointedly on Sakura, who was once again required to lie through her teeth for the sake of her best friend's education. She felt her stomach twist knots of dread when her teacher's gaze seemed to linger knowingly – as if silently communicating that he knew precisely why vain, spoilt little Ino wasn't present – before moving away to acknowledge the rest of the class again.
"Scalpels, surgical scissors, gloves and mirrors are all by your tiles," he informed them. "Sick bags at the back," he added jokingly, before winking amiably at Sakura. "Have fun."
Sakura's eyes dropped to the heart resting upon the pristine white tile before her and she drew a deep breath. Picking up the scalpel and scissors as though they were dining utensils, she set to quiet and methodical work.
Almost an hour later, Sakura burst out of the lab, relieved that the ordeal was over. She had scrubbed her hands repeatedly with disinfectant following the practical, but was certain she could still smell the heart on her skin. How was she ever going to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor and mending bodies if she couldn't even handle one lousy organ dissection? How was she ever going to follow in her mother's footsteps if the smell of blood made her stomach feel queasy?
She was just as bad as Ino, really.
Her attention then diverted to her best friend. Ino hadn't told her where they would meet. The stretching corridors of Konoha's largest Academy for 15-19 year olds were bustling with students heading toward the quad and dining hall for lunch. Sakura didn't think she could eat much after the gruelling session she'd just endured. In fact, she was of a mind to just skip lunch all together and go straight toward the library-
Her train of thought was violently derailed as a hard arm closed about her shoulders, jerking her backward against a warm, solid body.
"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan! Lunch time! Gotta get to the hall before the ramen's all gone!"
"Naruto!" Sakura admonished, managing to wriggle out of his grasp. He pouted, feigning hurt, his large, cerulean eyes twinkling with mischief. Sakura rolled her own, immune to their endearing charm. Naruto Uzumaki had the well-toned body of an athlete which was remarkable given the colossal size of his appetite. His skin was heavily tanned in hue, offset by the shock of spikey, sunshine hair atop his head. He reminded her of the blond, hunky boys that many girls fantasised about meeting on beaches. Naruto had always been outrageously good-looking, but had spent the first few years at the Academy as something of an outcast. That had all changed the previous year when he'd single-handedly won both the basketball and football tournaments for Coach Asuma's teams; he had placed the Academy back on the map as a major contender on the athletics scene. What Naruto lacked in intelligence he made up for in sport, and it showed. He was in great shape, and as his closest female friend, Sakura had become all too aware of the yearning, adoring (and often jealous) glances from other girls at the college.
"I told you not to sneak up on me again," she huffed.
"Jumpy, jumpy," Naruto grinned, waving his hands goofily in response, before gesturing in the general direction of the canteen. "Fancy some ramen?"
"If you're paying," Sakura shot back.
"Sure, I'll pay," Naruto said, and then a small, sly smile graced his lips. Sakura raised a wary, slender eyebrow. She knew that look, and it usually didn't bode well for her. "If I do, then it's a date."
She swatted him on the arm, causing him to howl melodramatically. She loved Naruto like the brother she didn't have, yet that had never deterred him from making half-hearted attempts at asking her out over the years. "Dream on!" she retorted. But she said so smilingly and allowed him to guide her to the lunch hall.
"I knew it; you really are a pig," Sakura teased, as she found Ino seated snugly in the 'popular' corner of the canteen, ready to tuck into her extra light, lettuce-based salad.
Ino snorted less than graciously. "At least my appetite isn't as wide as your forehead."
Sakura stuck out her tongue, an action she knew to be quite beneath her eighteen years, but she really couldn't help it in Ino's presence sometimes. They had known each other since childhood, and were the most unlikely of friends. Beautiful, confident Ino was outspoken and daring. Sakura was meeker and more conscious of the opinion of others. She desperately wished she could one day acquire the same courage to speak exactly what was on her mind, instead of venting her anger internally. But she was only ever herself in the company of those closest to her, and she didn't think she had many whom she could consider true friends. She certainly didn't know half as many people as Ino did. And boys never seemed to fall over themselves to get her attention like they did with Ino, either. In fact, it almost seemed to Sakura that, with a few exceptions, boys preferred to steer well clear of her. Ino was always trying to set her up with someone – usually with disastrous consequences.
"Hey, Sakura," said the girl sitting on Ino's left. Tenten was slender with large brown eyes and brunette hair that was almost always twisted upon her head in cute little twin buns. She waved, fork in hand.
"Hi," Sakura smiled politely back. Then her eyes slid over to the pretty girl sitting beside Tenten. She had silky, waist length black hair which appeared to be tinged with blue in some lights. A straight-cut fringe fell just above eyes that were the palest of grey, like a cold winter's morning. Hinata Hyuuga hailed from an extremely prestigious and wealthy family, but was the quietest, most timid little thing Sakura had ever met.
"Hi, Hinata," she beamed. Hinata tensed, as though fearful of drawing attention to herself.
"G-good afternoon," she stammered back, offering a small, albeit nervous smile in return.
"So," Ino said, enviously eyeing the ramen and fries on Sakura's tray as her best friend took a seat beside her. "Do I even want to know how it went?"
"Kakashi-sensei noticed you were missing right away," Sakura replied, reaching for a fry. Unlike Ino, she could afford to eat without watching her weight, since she never seemed to put any on no matter how much she scoffed. But the chip she had been aiming for was snagged from her reaching fingers and popped swiftly into Ino's mouth. Baby-blue eyes blinked innocently back at her. Sakura sighed. Ino was always stealing her fries.
"Anyone else?" Ino probed, her eyes darting involuntarily in the direction of the table across from theirs. Riotous laughter drifted from it; a table consisting of good-looking, popular boys who were bantering and play-fighting with one another. And in the midst of the fray, was loud-mouthed Naruto, who always seemed to shine like a burst of sunlight.
A small smile touched Sakura's lips. "Shikamaru might have noticed too..."
Ino squealed delightedly, her eyes flying back to her best friend. "What did he say?"
"Just that you weren't there."
"So that means he was asking where I was, right? Right?"
It was Tenten who tiredly replied, "Ino, will you just ask him out already?"
"I'm traditional. The guy has to do the asking," Ino answered. Glancing at Hinata as she said this, she winked, "Right, Hinata?"
The dark-haired girl's cheeks were immediately set ablaze with crimson, and Sakura elbowed Ino admonishingly for her teasing. Everybody knew that Hinata was madly in love with Naruto; so much so that she always looked as though she were ready to faint whenever he came within ten steps of her. Only Naruto himself seemed to be completely oblivious to Hinata's silent adoration – which was typical of him, Sakura thought. In the many scheming conversations they'd had to propel the two together, Ino had often commented that Naruto would definitely notice Hinata if she didn't dress in such baggy clothing. Then she'd promptly rounded on Sakura's sense of style; her usual attire of jeans and a T-shirt, Ino insisted, did absolutely nothing to flatter Sakura's own figure. Then the talk about Hinata would end with Ino vowing to take them both on shopping sprees and dress them like alternate versions of herself.
"And you're one to talk," Ino was continuing at Tenten. "You've been drooling over Neji for just as long. Why don't you ask him out?"
Tenten raised her hands defensively, but her cheeks were now tinged a charming shade of pink. "It's n-not like that! We're just friends!"
"Yeah right," Ino dismissed. "I bet I can guess what you both really get up to during all those extra 'study' sessions-"
"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed, appalled at what her friend was implying. "Stop it!"
Ino huffed. Then she sighed. "Shika-kun is so hot…" she remarked dreamily.
"So lazy, more like," a flustered Tenten muttered beneath her breath.
"Hey, speaking of hotness, Forehead, Hot-Brows is incoming. What a turn-on those are," Ino giggled. "Maybe you could thread them for him when you guys start dating?"
Sakura shot her a murderous glare. But before she could formulate a response, a shadow fell upon their table, and she looked up to meet the strange gaze of Rock Lee. He was a lanky-limbed youth who possessed a close-cropped hairstyle that always reminded Sakura of a mushroom whenever she saw him. Unfortunately for her, she bumped into him far too often for her liking. His clothes always seemed too tight and/or small for him, but his most distinctive features were his thick, fuzzy black eyebrows and his disturbingly circular-shaped black eyes.
"Sakura-san," he bowed, and Sakura wished that she could just disappear into a hole in the ground at that moment. Lee seemed to be nice enough, but he just wasn't her type. He always made her feel awkward with his chivalrous gestures and ardent promises that she would be the happiest girl alive if she only gave him a chance. The problem was, she had no intention of doing so, and Lee just couldn't seem to comprehend that.
"Hello, Lee," she greeted politely. Politeness had always been her undoing; if she only had Ino's ability to bluntly dismiss unwanted small-talk…
"Sakura-san, tomorrow, as you know, is Konoha's Spring Festival. It would be my great honour if you would consent to accompanying me to the fair at the park."
Ino and Tenten were giggling and whispering amongst themselves. Hinata looked apologetic and sympathetic. Sakura shook her head, irritated that her friends were finding her discomfort entertaining, but before she could answer, Ino had spoken up on her behalf.
"Of course she'll be going!" she stated sweetly. Sakura turned her head to gaze at her in horrified disbelief. What in the world was Ino planning?
"We'll all go if Shikamaru comes along too," Tenten said, leaning over to raise her eyebrows pointedly at Lee.
Lee blinked in confusion. "I believe Shikamaru is not attending."
"Aw," Ino pouted, feigning regret. "Then I guess us girls aren't going either."
"Never fear!" Lee saluted eagerly. "I shall deploy the power of youth to convince him!"
Sakura had never quite been able to figure out what exactly the 'Power of Youth' entailed.
Ino folded her arms smugly and winked. "Then we'll see you there, Lee."
Lee thanked her and Sakura profusely, before hurrying back over to his table. Sakura frowned angrily and accusingly at Ino, who simply raised her slender, blonde eyebrows in response, as if she had done nothing wrong by raising Lee's hopes.
"What?"
"I wasn't going to go. You know I volunteer at the hospital after college."
"Oh puh-lease," Ino rolled her eyes. "Will you lighten up and start acting your age for a change? Don't be so boring, Sakura! All the guys are going; it'll be fun!"
But Sakura didn't think so. Ino had Shikamaru, Tenten had Neji, and Hinata had Naruto. Who was she looking forward to seeing? And although she normally cared very much for Ino's opinions, she didn't appreciate having her mind made up for her. Without a word, she rose from her seat, hauling her bag over her shoulder.
"Huh?" Tenten blinked up at her in surprise. "You've hardly touched your lunch."
"I'm not hungry," Sakura informed her. She ignored the way Ino's eyes narrowed at that and without another word, turned away and exited the canteen, the loud sound of Naruto's laughter echoing in her ears.
The remainder of the day crawled by at a snail's pace. When her final lesson was over, Sakura rushed out of the Academy's intricately carved iron gates, grateful that she was able to avoid bumping into any of her friends along the way. She headed straight toward Konoha Central hospital, where she volunteered for three and a half hours a day, four days a week. The walk helped to soothe her agitated mood; her home-town was a beautiful place, full of lush greenery and sprawling hills and mountains. The route toward the hospital led her through a long lane lined with blossom trees on neighbouring sides. They were just beginning to come into bloom in the early spring. Sakura had, since childhood, always felt sad when the beautiful pink trees surrendered their petals in the winter. It was one of the many reasons why she disliked the harshness of the punishing season, besides the fact that her body didn't tolerate cold well.
She took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy scent around her. She had always loved nature and particularly flowers. Ino's parents owned a floral store that catered to the highest circle of society. Sakura loved to visit it on weekends, and she and Ino had made their own exotic bouquets on many occasions. The thought of her best friend caused her expression to fall again. Sometimes the blonde could be so inconsiderate and selfish.
Sakura exited the end of the trail. The large hospital loomed across the road opposite her. As she stepped through the revolving front doors, she left all thoughts of college and bossy friends behind. The world of medicine was her world; time seemed to fly when she was in the hospital, helping to nurse patients back to health. It brought indescribable joy to witness a sick person make a full recovery and great sadness when they did not make it. But death, just like life, was very much part of the profession she wished to join in the future. She just hoped that one day she could harden her heart to it.
After swiping her authorised visitor pass at the front reception desk and greeting the receptionists stationed there, Sakura checked the volunteer rota. She found her name listed under Yellow Wing – the Gastrointestinal Centre. Next to the wing was the name of the staff member she was currently shadowing – a silver-haired, bespectacled doctor by the name of Kabuto Yakushi. He was only seven years older than Sakura and politer than all the other doctors she had shadowed; at least he took the time to actually explain things to her. But he also possessed a dry sense of humour and asked her lots of questions about herself, which sometimes made her feel awkward in his presence. She could never quite decide whether he was merely being friendly or nosy. She hoped he wouldn't pry too much today.
As she made her way over to the ward, she was welcomed by many smiling faces. The staff and patients at the hospital knew her. After all, she was her mother's daughter. She made a quick stop at the female locker-room, where she exchanged her blue jeans and red T-shirt for a mint green medical uniform, anchored back her hair and locked up her valuables, before exiting to start work for the evening.
She got home at precisely quarter to nine. The sun had long since set, and she was relieved to step in out of the dark. As usual, she was alone. Her mother worked ludicrous shifts at the hospital; sometimes Sakura didn't get to see her for days on end. She missed her terribly, and although they would do their best to catch up for a few stolen minutes over the phone, it wasn't the same as spending time together. Sakura often worried that her mother would work herself into the ground, would only stop when she fell ill and collapsed. Luckily none of those things had yet to transpire, and Sakura marvelled at the endless source of energy her mother seemed to possess. In addition to that, she always looked just fabulous. It was as though the fatigue of twenty-four hour shifts never registered on her beautiful face.
Sakura headed straight toward the shower, where she stopped to examine her own reflection in the oval mirror mounted above the washing basin. A young woman with pale, coral-pink hair and large, apple-green eyes, framed by long lashes, stared back at her. She hadn't inherited a single feature from her mother. They looked completely unalike. Sakura had possessed awkward features as a child – a wide forehead that she had thankfully, by the grace of nature, grown into – and a small, button nose that was still very much the same. She freed her hair from its elastic band, watching as it cascaded down to her elbows in soft, silky waves, and wondered whether she was pretty; a thought every girl entertained when examining herself scrupulously in the mirror.
She had certainly never seen anyone with her hair-colour before – a miracle of nature, her mother always said – but was she attractive? She knew that she wasn't stunning like Ino. She still felt like a little girl when she walked in her best friend's shadow. Ino was a sultry, seductive siren. Guys had fought and gotten hurt over her before, including ones that were more than a few years older than her. Ino delighted in the attention and power her feminine charms commanded – and Sakura found it too depressing to witness. Her overprotective mother had scared off the few boys who had turned up at her door with flowers and invitations to movies. Sakura wrinkled her nose unhappily, and the girl on the other side of the glass did the same. She couldn't be anywhere near pretty enough if nobody but Rock Lee had asked her to accompany them to the Spring Festival.
She turned away from her reflection with a discontented sigh, discarded her clothing, and stepped into the soothing hot shower.
An hour later, hair-dried, body-moisturised and satisfyingly full from the meal her mother had left in the fridge for her the previous night, Sakura sat at the desk in her bedroom, rewriting her Chemistry notes. Her bedroom had always been a haven –the elegant wallpaper was lavender and cream, and the furniture and décor had been specially selected to compliment the pretty colour scheme. Fluffy, cuddly teddy-bears she had never had the heart to throw out from childhood were sprawled on the bed. Her lavender curtains were drawn over an open window, the only source of light coming from the antique-looking stained-glass desk lamp to her right. Music streamed from her laptop, distracting her thoughts from the distressing scenes she had seen at the hospital.
The crescendo into the chorus was interrupted by her cell ringing. Sakura reached for her phone without lifting her eyes away from the sentence she was completing, succeeding in seizing the mobile on the third fumble. She lifted it to her eyes, and frowned lightly. Ino. She had been expecting another call, but wasn't sure she wanted to answer. Yet if she chose not to, Ino would just pester her all day tomorrow. Sighing in defeat, she accepted the call, lifting the phone to her right ear.
"Yes?"
"What is your problem?" Ino's voice demanded from the other side of the line. "Did I kill one of your patients or something? Why haven't you been answering any of my calls?"
"I was at the hospital," Sakura replied, swallowing thickly. As an afterthought, she added what she had been trying so hard not to think about, "And one of my patients is dying."
"You- oh." Ino stopped abruptly for a moment. Then she said, much more quietly, "Sorry."
Tears filled Sakura's eyes. She tried to push them back, but she had always been hopeless at not crying. That was how a five year old Ino had first discovered her, after all – weeping in the playground at school, after being teased by older kids for having a big forehead. Ino had always picked Sakura up. But this time, Sakura wasn't sure she could feel better. She had known Mr. Arakawa for four years. She'd been following his case for seven months. He was just thirty-six years old, and dying from a rare, incurable disease. He had two young children, and a loving wife who wept by his bedside every day; a wife who pleaded with the doctors to do something, anything to help her husband – anything to stop him from leaving her side. Mr. Arakawa had never smoked or touched alcohol in his life, and had always enjoyed a healthy diet and lifestyle. He had never hurt anybody. Life just wasn't fair.
"He's not going to make it," Sakura began in a small voice. "Doctor Yakushi says he could pass any day now. Mr. Arakawa's wife made me promise to look after him. How am I looking after him by letting him die?" She choked off, stifling a sob.
"Oh, geez," Ino sighed heavily. "Give me ten minutes to wash this conditioner out. I'll be right over."
"No," Sakura sniffled, shaking her head. "It's okay. I'm just- I'm just tired."
"Look," Ino began, her voice taking on a gentler tone. "You can't save everyone, Sakura. That's something you're just going to have to accept if you really want to be a doctor. You can't beat yourself up over it. You understand that, right? Sometimes, death is just meant to be. Right?"
Sakura was silent for a moment. Finally, she managed a wobbly, "Right."
"It's funny, isn't it?" Ino was musing on. "Here I am taking so much time over my hair, but one day it'll go grey anyway, so what's the point? That is, if I even live that long."
"I-Ino?" Sakura blinked in confusion.
"Oh, never mind. Listen. I'm sorry, okay, if I upset you earlier. I told Bushy Brows that you'd be going, not that you'd be going with him. And if he bugs you, I'll get rid of him. You can't go to the hospital in this state, anyway. So, will you come?"
Sakura wiped at her damp eyes. She still felt miserable, but Ino had apologised. Perhaps a break would do her good. And she believed that her friend would scare Lee off if he did give her trouble. "Yeah," she croaked. "Sure, I'll come."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come over?" Ino asked, open concern in her voice.
"I'm sure," Sakura said, clearing her throat. "I'm going to bed now anyway. Thanks, Ino. See you tomorrow?"
"I'll pick you up at eight," Ino replied, and after wishing each other a good night, the girls hung up. Sakura's eyes returned to the Chemistry notes. Suddenly, she didn't feel like writing anymore. She couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Arakawa and how his kids would grow up without their father. She reached out to close the cover of her laptop, and switched the desk-lamp off. Then she crawled into bed, and soon fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
The window was open. The same way it was each and every night, regardless of the season. He kept to the shadows, the gentle night breeze ruffling the raven feathers of his long black cloak. His eyes fixed intently upon the partially closed frame. The music had stopped and the light within had blinked out. She had fallen into slumber.
Silently he stepped forward, invisible to the human eye. Flickering effortlessly out of existence, he alighted atop the tree outside the house, easily maneuvering his way to the branch that stretched just above the window to her room. In another swift, graceful motion, he had slipped through the opening. The sweet fragrance of strawberries instantly enveloped him and for a moment he was lost in it. As he drew noiselessly closer to where she lay, he was once again overwhelmed by conflicting thoughts and feelings. And underlying his frustration at consistently failing to define precisely what it was he thought and felt, was a raw and inexplicable need. He had spent nearly all of two years struggling viciously against it in an attempt to shut it out, to shun her from his mind. Fighting to stop his thoughts from transforming into actions; actions that would surely damn them both.
Sakura. His gaze, so accustomed to darkness, followed the delectable curve of her neck, the softness of her jaw. Her freshly-washed hair was braided, and his fingers itched to unbind the long tresses, to feel the silky locks against his cold, calloused skin. It was a senseless desire, and he was certainly not ruled by senseless things.
He had spent a long time mulling over Sakura, knew that his fixation was more than just a physical craving to claim her body. It was maddening and disturbing, how often she intruded upon his thoughts. But the undeniable purity of her soul mesmerised him. He could see the light within her, even in the pitch blackness. He had watched her from the shadows beyond human perception, witnessed myriads of emotion shining through her expressive eyes. Happiness. Confusion. Sadness. Fear. And beneath it all, a great wistfulness and longing.
She appeared all the more innocent in sleep. Something about that innocence had called to him from the first moment he had set eyes upon her, drawing him in like a moth to a blinding flame. She was like an ever-changing canvas of dazzling colours, shifting hypnotically before him. His eyes, which had known nothing but black and grey and dimness for so long, were powerless to look away. And he despised her for it.
How many nights had he spent, watching curiously over her as she slept, as if her face contained all the answers he sought? Watching, in fascination, the way her soft mounds rose and fell with every breath she took? Listening to the sound of her slow, steady breathing?
She was a fully grown woman now, and he knew he had to decipher just what it was about her that made her so vexingly different to other mortal women – but he could not do so here. He was a death deity, tied to his own world, an underworld which he was bound, by blood, to rule. He was not of the sort to waste time over pleasantries. He had made up his mind - he would wait no more. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would rise to the surface. And he would pluck her as a flower, before her body and soul could wither on the earth.
He raised a hand, the hesitancy underlying the action at war with his characteristically self-assured nature. She was so slight, so delicate – how could he reach out to her without maiming and destroying, without stealing the very life from her veins? The awful power that flowed through his cursed blood was terrifying – how would she react when she discovered who - and what - he was? He brushed the thought off nonchalantly; her feelings were irrelevant. He did not care for them. As his cool fingertips inched closer to her warm cheek – close enough to touch for the first time – she suddenly stirred, and he reflexively snatched his hand back, as though he had been scalded by the deepest fires of hell.
In the blink of an eye he had vanished through the window, leaving behind no trace of his visit.
Author's note
Phew. An arduous, introductory chapter, meant to give readers a glimpse into Sakura's normal life. Life is going to get abnormal pretty fast for her soon though. Please let me know your thoughts, everyone! Reviews are gold and motivate me to continue.
Keep an eye out for a Hades-inspired Sasuke picture which I've requested. It'll hopefully be done in time for my next update, so I'll link to it then. If not, I'll post the link in my profile as soon as it's done.
Thanks for reading!