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This chapter is dedicated all the mothers around the world! Don't forget to wish your mom a Happy Mother's Day!
Note: Heh heh, I just found out that ff didn't allow the star to show next to the quotations from the previous chapter! Sorry if I caused any confusion! I hope this chapter serves as a comic relief... Then again... ENJOY!
" ...text" dialogue/present
'...text' thoughts/flashback/dream/sound
" Give me light,"
You say to your crush-
" Take my light,"
You say to your love.
Diamond Vision
Three
Dark ambers gazed forward to the far off distance, where buildings short and tall, houses big and small all laid at peace under the dim sky.
From what she had observed, the glorious sun has not yet arrived at its usual spot above the heavens. Its magnificent rays were merely peeking throught the head-shaped monuments on the far side of town.
Dawn was drawing near.
' The brilliant sun will bring the people of Konoha light, just like you have brought him light...'
It would be another beautiful morning.
It was a fact. She knew. It was the truth.
It hardly rained in Konoha. Great clouds coated grey wept only in times of drought or tragedy (which, thank Kami, occurred rarely after the death of the previous Hokage).
' This would be the first sunrise that you won't be able to witness... But this shall be his first if he awakes just in time...'
" Tsunade-sama!"
The woman turned, tossing her random thoughts to the back of her head soon after her name was called.
" Shizune." She addressed.
" Hai." The brunette bowed quickly to show respect once she reached the Godaime's side. " You summoned me, Tsunade-sama?"
" Indeed. I want you to go to the Hyuuga residence and bring Haruno Sakura to my office. Make sure you also take her conditions into consideration and aid her in any way possible." She paused, looking to check for understanding in the other female's obsidian depths before continuing. " That will be all."
" Hai." Bowing one final time, she turned to leave without delay. The shinobi knew her mistress did not favor waiting after all the years of being her assistant before she was made Kage of the village.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
' Strange, I thought I'd never feel my heart beat such a way ever again...'
She comprehended that this was not a new feeling. It was all a part of the past, her past, all from not long ago. Maybe from just yesterday.
It was nervousness drumming loudly at her rib cage and anxiety in the form of millions of tiny butterflies fluttering restlessly at the pit of her stomach.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The knee-high boots she wore ever since becoming the Hokage's apprentice felt abnormally heavy. Propelling herself forward almost felt impossible, as if large cannon balls weighing a ton each were chained to her feet.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Her heart sounded as heavy as her booted feet.
She couldn't lift her feet, neither could she lift her spirits.
Her sight never left the freshly polished tiled floors of the hospital. They were held within her emerald depths as if they were the scrolls she studied from each night.
Kami, her emotions were thrown and mixed in with a pile of rubble. Was it even possible for her to grasp the one that she felt right now?
" Nervous? Or are you just afraid?"
' Eh?' Removing her attention from the ground below her, she sought for the source of the new voice.
Surprisingly enough, jade orbs clashed with narrowed milky white ones.
She recognized those unique pupil-less irises. They belonged to the owner who most calls a genius. He was currently the subject of her worries, her patient, and someone who she thought was careless and ignorant of his own well-being by the numerous visits he paid to the hospital for the past three years that she had been working there. He was arrogant.
" Ah, Neji-san, what are you doing out here during this hour? You should be resting in you assigned room since yours wounds haven't fully recovered yet." Disregarding his question form before, her face was twisted into slight irritation as she admonished him.
" I went for a walk." He replied calmly, simply.
" Topless? Do you want to worsen your condition!" She yelled, incredulous.
' Wait a second.' She pacified her anger the instant she came to realization. ' Topless?'
With the help of the luminous moon shining through the windows, her eyes captured the view of his well-toned torso wrapped in nothing but dirty bloodstained strips of bandages. The sudden rush of blood to her face then burned her cheeks.
" Like what you see, Haruno?" He smirked, sarcasm now written all over his once expressionless facade.
" Argh, put on some clothes, will you!" She shook off the unholy thoughts gathering in her head, forcing herself to look away at anything but the figure before her.
" Stupid men and their arrogance... Stupid men with their good looks..." She mumbled inwardly under her breath while fighting off the (stupid)blush that stained her face.
" Hn." His face returned to its usual colorless hue.
" Well, anyway, get well soon. And take care." She said finally, flashing him a farewell smile before walking past him to go to her next appointed destination.
He was her last patient of the night... Maybe even the last patient that she'll ever heal again in her life. There'll be a place for him within her memory, she was sure.
' Yeah,' she thought, thinking back to the times he spent at the hospital barking orders at her and being stubborn. ' I'll remember this arrogant bastard all right.'
" Don't do something that you have a doubt of doing." His cool voice spoke again.
It worked somewhat like a sorcerer's spell which had caused her to stop and freeze right on the spot.
" He was caught within darkness a few years ago when he pursued Orochimaru, he still is now. Whether we crush his ambition or not, it makes no difference. Even if you give him light, he will still see darkness."
" I believe in him!" She wanted to yell and prove. She wanted to show him.
And yet, her silence betrayed her determination.
" You have better eyes than I do, just like Naruto. You have people to save, things to learn. It would be a waste to give your sight away. Especially to someone who can't use his heart to see."
His last statement stroke her like a bolt of lightning descending down to earth from the hands of Zeus, Cloudgatherer, himself. It jolted her back to reality, returning to her the voice she had lost.
" No... You're wrong, Neji-kun," she spoke in a tone softer than the high-pitched sound she projected normally. " Yes, it's true that Sasuke-kun had once pursued Orochimaru, and who knows, maybe when he wakes up, he'll go after his brother too... I know none of the villagers here are brave enough to trust him again... But...
" I know, if no one is there to provide him with light, then he'll always be within darkness. So, just this once, I want him to see the things he hasn't seen from before...through my sight..."
" Hmph, if you had a halo and a pair of wings, you'd really be an angel." He remarked, once again with a sarcastic edge. " And you won't be able to see light ever again."
" I'm not afraid of the darkness." She lied, yet her confident voice alone was able to convince both him and herself that it had been the truth.
Then she ran, never once looking back as the dark night shadowed her retreat.
" Sakura-san! Sakura-san!"
Her eyes snapped open when the feminine voice fell upon her keen ears.
" Yes?"
' Damn, it's dark in here.' Soft curses spilled from cherry lips as petite hands worked to push the warm covers off of her figure. ' Where is the light?'
" May I come in?"
" Yes, please enter." The traditional Japanese sliding door shuffled open then closed with a barely audible thud.
She searched hard to find the maid who had just entered her chamber.
" Where are you?"
" I'm right here, Sakura-san." The same voice answered, yet she still could not make out a thing in the darkness before her eyes.
" Where?" She crawled out from the soft surface of the futon, desperately feeling for the owner of the voice that had been talking to her all this time.
"Here."
It was when she felt the gentle touch of another pair of hands that confirmed to her that she was not alone.
It occurred to the young servant the woman she was assigned to was blind. After all, it was impossible to not be able to see when the sun had practically lit up the whole room.
' Poor thing, she must be scared...' she empathized, staring into her lifeless pair of green eyes. ' She has a pair of exquisite green eyes... If only they'd gleam...'
" Sakura-san, a woman named Shizune-san is waiting for you outside. She states that she is here to take you to the Hokage."
" I understand." ' Maybe she has updates on Sasuke-kun's recovery...'
She pulled her hands away from the warmth of the other pair and roamed around for the clean pair of clothes that she was sure the maid would have brought with her.
Catching up to her actions, the female quickly piped up, saying, " Sakura-san, let me help you!"
Hearing this, the Haruno ended her hopeless search and dropped onto her knees.
Plop. Just like that.
Her sudden serenity seemed peculiar to the youth.
" Sakura-san, are you all right?"
" Yes, I'm fine. Please, I don't want to let Shizune-san to have to wait too long."
" Hai."
" Let me help you!"
Those words answered everything that troubled her.
She was truly blind.
There were, perhaps, at least a thousand questions left unanswered in her mind.
Like, how did the Haruno Sakura end up in the Hyuuga residence?
Or, why did Tsunade-sama send her to retrieve her?
Or-
" Shizune-san."
" Sakura-chan!" She greeted immediately after hearing her voice. Regaining composure, she added," Tsunade-sama would like to see you."
" I understand. Let's go." The kunoichi nodded, eyes looking towards her, but not directly at her.
Having to notice this, her dark brows knitted as she watched her through concerned eyes.
" Sakura-chan, your eyes..." She began.
"...Tsunada-sensei would surely explain it all once we arrive." Sakura finished.
Adding this to the long list of questions to ask, they set out together, unaware of the appearance of another figure near where they once stood.
His clothes were soaked with the sweat fresh from his morning workout. Long chocolate strands were stuck to the sides of his face, accentuating its almond-like structure.
He watched their departure like an eagle observing its prey from far away.
The short, shoulder-length flow of pastel pink hair... He recognized her right away.
' Haruno...? What the hell is she doing here?'
Author's Crap:
Woah, this took me a long time to write... Hope those who complained about the previous short chapters had a nice time reading this! I'm glad you've maded this far! Anyway, Neji makes his first appearance in this chapter!
Did any of you listen to the new Naruto ending theme? It's really really really good (al least for me), and I would recommend all of you to check it out at Narutofan dot com! It's called "Nakushita Kotoba"! The new Naruto album is pretty good too!
Okay, I'll shut up now! Don't forget to leave comments, "you sucks", and anything else in the Review box! THANK YOU!