Chapter 3
A steady stream of water poured over the roof of the little temple. Bamboo chutes out in the garden overflowed and tipped, draining its contents into the small fish pond under the bridge. The constant 'clack' of one chute hitting the next sent a blanket of security throughout the compound, for someone who'd been hearing it all his life. The once bustling headquarters of Konoha's most famous ninja clan boomed with the sound of silence, sweet silence. The rhythmic tapping could only be heard in a few surrounding feet, and the rain drowned that out anyways. The rain was dark, sinister: sucking up every other sound and pushing it out for another time. The rain here was not the same as it was anywhere else. Any person who entered here would feel the oppression, the weight, the deep sad sorrow of the sky, and would wish only to turn and run. The ghosts of the Uchiha family still lived, and they didn't take kindly to strangers. Especially not after what happened.
The cold unease would melt away, though, further along the down the oath, where the bamboo could be heard. Nothing but warmth, a pleasant calm surrounded those little stone steps overgrown with moss and slick with rain. The temple was the only place that seemed to be well kept.
Sasuke kneeled inside of it, his handsome forehead pressed against the old rice mats. He wasn't praying: the Uchiha clan hadn't been very religious, and as they were all dead, weren't about to start. Nevertheless, it felt nicer to sit before the shrine with his head against the floor than it did to sit at home. People were murdered at home. Blood, pain, tragedy, the threads of the nightmare tapestry. Nothing like that was near the gardens. Nothing related to the incident was anywhere near the temple, in fact. Even the heavy stone urns of his family were picked up and moved into various houses along the compound's walls. Sasuke felt pretty bad about it, true, but they gave him a feeling of unease in the only place that could ever make him feel otherwise.
The so-called secret of his family was scratched out of the wood beneath the mats, leaving a slight dip in the floor. Any normal person wouldn't have noticed, but to Sasuke, the slight dip became a ravine. He tried not to walk there, in that ravine. It was full of decay, full of old things his family didn't want anymore and maybe never did. But he couldn't let that spoil his temple. The temple was the only building left untouched by blood, and in a way, it helped him put things in perspective. Even the most pure, the most beautiful things could harbor deadly secrets, and vile intentions. They were very much alike, the building and the boy. Beneath that breath-taking exterior lie more scratches, more murderous intent, and most noticeably the neglected mind of a child curled up on the floor, sobbing.
A cool mist cascaded over the windowsill and hit the plush carpeted floor silently, spreading out across the field of pink fiber and swirling around the ankles of a young woman at her vanity. It smelled wonderful; the smell of fresh rain. Her perfume, also Fresh Rain, was just a little sweeter, and she briefly considered not wearing it at all. But she did, just a little bit, on her neck. She examined her nails critically, checking for any minor flaws: a chip, maybe some dark spots in the Princess Pink polish. There were none. Her nails were perfect. She ran them over the top of her head, brushing away the few vagrant strands of hair overlapping her headband. With eyeliner perfected, just the right amount of glitter on her lips, and an outfit any teenage boy couldn't help but notice, Sakura was ready to go. The only thing that was out of place was that freakish, disgusting forehead of hers. But, now wasn't the time to worry about that. Now she had to worry about her walk. She wasn't used to moving with heels on her feet, and considering the marshy ground outside, it was going to be difficult. Hell, it was hard enough walking on solid ground, Sakura thought as she wobbled down the stairs, knuckles white on the railing. Now all that's left to do is—
"Saku, honey?" Shit. Sakura's mother sat on the couch, flipping through a copy of "Kosmopolitan Kunoichi". She turned her head, her big green eyes and broad forehead mirroring those of her daughter's. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going out with some friends." Sakura lied; walking briskly passed her mother before she could see the blush on her face that always crept in when she stretched the truth.
"When will you be back?" Her mother asked with a sigh, turning back to her magazine.
"I don't know, mom!" It was a little terser than she liked, but at least it didn't give her mother time to make a suggestion before she shut the door behind her.
Sakura's mother smiled as a pair of small, calloused hands ran across her shoulders.
"Your daughter is such a troublemaker, Seji." A mop of pink hair, just long enough to extend below the ninja's eyebrows brushed against his wife's cheek.
"Uchiha's boy again?" Haruno Seji's voice was higher than most men are, being almost feminine, and it had caused him a lot of grief in his younger years. But much to the dismay of his much manlier classmates, the frail little botanist Seji had snagged the classically beautiful, fun-loving babe that had been the object of many boys' desire. He really hated himself for thinking it, but the woman he married was much more wonderful than the woman he created.
"I feel so bad for that boy." Seji melted under her honey-sweet voice and the feel of her soft cherry lips as she kissed his cheek. "God forbid something like that happen to our family." Yes, Seji frowned, God forbid.
AN: I got the coolest flame, right? Look, CC is when you offer advice and explain why you did or didn't like a story, and what can be done about it. A flame is senseless bashing, which is what I have recieved. Please, for the love of Buddha, know the difference. By the way: What is a chickenshit asshole? My school used to have chickens, before we killed them, and the shit definately left their assholes.
Thanks to the other reviewers, though. I'm glad to answer your questions about the story, and please, feel free to ask more.