leishe
Dream Country
It was sunrise again, but this time, in another part of the city. Green velvet Weeds grew in between the cracks in the sidewalk, and the air had a subtle feeling of deterioration in it. The run-down, neglected neighborhood was all that was left of what had once been the suburbs of Konoha, and tall, proud houses had been reduced to eccentric, ancient crumbles that people regarded as architectural trash.
But neglect was what had saved them from the harsh uniformity of city grey.
A dog barked, or perhaps it was only someone's imagination.
The street was called Lambridge. But it didn't have a lamb, or a bridge. All it had were seventeen old lamp posts, six of which were standardized and looked exactly like all the other lamp posts in the city, and ten of which were old, traditional ones, but didn't work. Only one wrought iron lamp post shone with a small, yellow light, and it was the one that stood a bit crookedly, next to an old brick house with tangled violets growing out of the window.
The curtains of the window were drawn, but a tiny bluish light emanated from behind the old thick glass, as a woman brushed her long flaxen hair, muttering softly to herself in front of the large oval mirror.
I.
Rhombus Garden was bland and deserted in the afternoon, because all the adults were at work, talking on their miniature black cellphones and barking orders at subordinates. The rich children who were finished with school were not permitted to roam about in the city, because the pollution would affect their brains and there was this constant fear of being held up, mugged or kidnapped.
There were only three residents in the Uchiha household, and two were at work. Sasuke closed the front door with a short thud and walked up to his room, taking short, deliberate steps. The servants loitered around the gardens when they had nothing else to do, and the young man wasn't really demanding. He usually concentrated on reading books about war and religion, and practicing gestures of the ancient kind, used in the old times as martial arts.
Tap. Tap.
He sighed and rolled off his soft bed, shuffling feet across and opening the door. The woman servant who usually attended to his mother--Chiharu--was in the hallway, smiling at him lopsidedly.
"…yes?"
"Your mother is on the phone, young master. She would like to speak to you."
Sasuke grunted and nodded once to Chiharu. He walked past her, down the hallway, and descended the large mahogany staircase that led to the spacious velvet-carpeted living room, where the telephone was.
He picked up the receiver.
"Mother?"
"Sasuke, darling, we're here at your brother's um, apartment. I called to tell you that your father and I won't be back until after dinner, since these wedding arrangements and all that will take quite a bit of time…"
"Aa."
"So you're fine there? I asked Hideo to let Korosu out of his sanctuary so he can play with you."
"Mm."
"Okay honey. See you later."
Sasuke put the phone down, wondering why Itachi had decided to tell them about his life all of a sudden. His brother would be…twenty-one by now, and that was seven years after the ugly incident that had marred his ties with the family. There was no love lost between the brothers, however, and Sasuke had regarded Itachi as someone who would be better left alone. He was an evil brother, with a rare smile and a sardonic sense of humor…
"I wonder who the female specimen is." Chiharu said, putting a sudden end to Sasuke's train of thought. After a few moments, he found himself wondering that also. Only a very patient and extreme female would be able to cater to his brother's unsettling personality…
II.
"…that will be all for today, Sakura. Can we meet tomorrow?"
She nodded once, and gathered up her books. Kabuto adjusted his glasses on his nose, and grinned at her, putting his own things away. Upstairs, Sakura heard the sound of frantically running feet, and a face poked out above the railing of the narrow staircase. It was a woman, whom she knew only as Shizune.
The young woman waved at her. "Hello Sakura-chan."
Sakura smiled and returned the greeting, while Kabuto sobered and flashed a warm, loving smile at Shizune, who met it only with a blank stare.
"Kabuto, how long are you going to take…?"
He grinned. "Not long, dear one."
The woman was unruffled. She met his gaze steadily with one laced with venom. It looked horribly odd on her clean, friendly face, and a chill ran down Sakura's spine. Shizune's words were accurately paced; dangerous maybe.
"Itachi's parents are coming," she stated. "For the wedding arrangements."
The light reflected off Kabuto's glasses, and his eyes couldn't be seen because of the whiteness. He took them off and wiped them with a piece of violet cloth, and replaced them on his noise. An ugly, out-of-place smile suddenly came onto his face, and the canines of his teeth glinted murderously in the afternoon glow.
"Of course not. Dear Shizune."
The woman nodded once. "Good." She disappeared, and the tutor's gaze landed on Sakura. The pen was still wedged in between his long, lithe fingers, in such a position that Kabuto would be able to snap it in half. His face was strained and upset.
"And you're still here because…?"
Her face flushed, and she realized that she had been standing there for longer than was appropriate.
"Ehe…sorry. I'll be going now…"
The girl closed the door behind her with a wary smile on her face. There was a universal law for all unfortunate high school students that tutors, no matter how skilled in their respective subjects, were to be disliked, hated and proclaimed as extremely annoying. It just so happened that Kabuto had been struck by Shizune's rejecting, accusing manner, making Sakura giggle softly with pleasure. She knew he liked her. But she also knew that Shizune hated Kabuto, for reasons unknown to the young woman.
Walking past the outside garden, she noticed that the flowers were blooming and the leaves shining bright green. Sakura cocked her head to one side and thought of how odd the garden looked when compared to the monochromatic landscape. Oh well.
And then she passed the rosebush, which was a huge monster of a bush in itself. A secret, sly grin found its way to her lips, and Sakura thought of the drawing on the piece of scratch paper, still on top of the willow table. She reached out to touch one of the leaves, and smiled.
"You really wouldn't eat Kabuto, would you?"
The rosebush smiled and did not answer.
III.
Hanabi looked out at the empty streets, and at the small, clear plastic bags and pieces of paper that danced upon the asphalt while the brittle wind blew. She rubbed her arms and her hair, and for a slight moment, allowed her face to betray feelings of worry for Naruto, who hadn't arrived from work since late afternoon.
"…idiot…" she muttered, narrowing her eyes.
The sky was dark already, and in the distance, she could see the neon glow of the large nightclub signs, standing white in the dank greyness of the nighttime surroundings. The thin girl let out a feeble sigh and walked back to the homeless factory, her bare heels gathering filth with every step.
IV.
The man with white hair had left the blue and white diner behind, convinced that he was losing his touch, but not entirely accepting the fact. Every beautiful creature residing within the eating place had vanished upon his entering, and the only one left was the old, middle-aged sag-skinned crone who managed the cooking of the oily breakfast meals.
He had gotten one. A happy-face meal, with egg eyes and a bacon mouth. The traveller's staple, whenever people passed the diner, on their way to the city. Chewing on the leathery pig meat, the man wondered how often people left Konoha. Once in ten years, perhaps.
"They're afraid of the things here," said the woman cook. "Think Dream's a place of nonsense. Of moonshine." There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "But they're afraid, still."
He forked the food into his mouth, ignoring her talk. It was similar to the other stories that he had heard of the strange place that lay beyond the black, bland city. Rarely had Tsunade talked of it, but he knew that she knew many things of this so-called Dream Country, and just was not in the mood to reveal anything. Perhaps it had something to do with their other friend, who had run off and never came back.
The man with white hair finished his drink and handed it to the sag-skinned woman. She grunted at him through her old, cracking lipstick, and he paid her, regretting the vanishing of all the beautiful creatures. And after that, he had left.
V.
Lights seemed to float in the dark, clouded sky, and the thick smell of burning jasmine flowers filled the air. The night was alive surprisingly, with people, with parties, and with an illusion of what love was supposed to be. Faint wisps of magic floated about, which was rare in the grey city. Tsunade's house stood in the background of the garden reception, tall and proud…old but unwavering against the evening sky.
People were dancing to music. High heeled ladies sprung easily, laughing softly with each graceful gesture, with each note of elegant music. Their men moved along with liquid-like precision, grinning and putting their hands on their ladies' silken bodies. Bottles of wine popped open at each white cloth-covered table, and guests chatted amiably.
The couple was secluded, covered by shadows from an overgrown willow tree that stood at the side of Tsunade's garden. They exchanged subtle smiles once in a while, and some people didn't call it love. But they knew it was, because for some reason, destiny had intervened to make it so, and they were both powerless against it.
Itachi wore black, and his bride, faded white. Together, they were oddly beautiful, and vaguely untouchable. She watched as the guests made merry, and her ethereal face glowed in the muted moonlight. The wedding night was one of unpredictable mischief, reminiscent of A Midsummer Night's Dream. All around lay magic and witchery, and unvoiced possibilities of what could be.
VI.
"Mother, where is the bathroom?" Sasuke was not one to depend on others, but when he had to go, he had to go. The fact that the reception grounds were alien to him, (Tsunade's garden was huge; rumors of lurking snakes, but few or none were seen) irked the young man all the more, and he was forced to inquire regarding the whereabouts of the lavatory.
"Ask Miss Tsunade, darling. She's the woman in greeeeen."
The woman's voice was too shrill and too soft, and Sasuke knew that she had had plenty of champagne for one night. But his brother was getting married, and so what? He couldn't care less. Itachi was never part of the family in the first place…not since seven years ago. Sasuke deserted his tipsy mother as quickly as was possible; he was not her darling baby anymore.
Grumbling to himself, the boy had failed to notice that the tall house was as good as a dark and winding maze, but he couldn't ask any more questions at the risk of appearing as a little boy. Which, technically, he was, being the younger brother and all. But it wasn't true. It wasn't.
"…stupid…bathroom…"
He crept up behind the garden reception, bumping into a large, thorny rose bush. It shook and growled softly, and Sasuke backed away, feeling slightly apprehensive. He stepped on something that broke, and upon closer inspection, found it to be a pair of round glasses.
Raising a brow, the young man looked forward, and swept his eyes over the dim outline of a large wooden door that was supposed to be the back entrance. It looked ancient, and Sasuke reached out to feel over it. Something soft touched his fingertips.
"Ah--!"
He drew his hand back in surprise. The door was covered in several thick layers of ivy. Cursing softly, he avoided the leaves and fumbled for the iron handle that was bound to be somewhere in—
Aha.
The door swung open like rust, but Sasuke ignored it and strode inside. The bathroom. It was there. It had to be there. Unconsciously, he began walking at a strange angle, feeling slightly desperate for the welcome sanitary aura of the lavatory. His hands wandered to the space between his legs, and the uncomfortable holding sensation leered.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Thunk.
Sasuke froze, and then realized that he was listening to the sound of his own footsteps. Sound in this particular hallway seemed to come two seconds after he actually stepped, which struck the boy as somewhat odd…
After a few minutes of walking, turning, and maneuvering through seemingly endless mazes and paths, a door came into view. There was a table beside the door, on which was draped a white knitted table cloth, and on the cloth were three silver angels and an old picture frame. The young man ignored the table and its white knitted drape and its angels, and went straight to the door, which was the same color as the wallpaper. Sasuke's fingers looked for the knob, but it didn't exist.
"Agh…" He cursed loudly and gripped his pants, for Sasuke really really really needed to use the bathroom, and although he did not want to admit it, was severely lost inside Tsunade's labyrinth of a house. Absently, the young man glanced at the table beside him, and picked up the old picture frame to scrutinize it closely.
A little girl, with a daring smile and pigtails and a
White haired boy with a
Huge cracked grin, and lastly
someone with
coal
night
hair
And pale skin with a ghost of a smile.
Written below were words he couldn't understand.
'Scribblescribblescribble.'
Sasuke tipped his head to one side and thought that the three children in the picture smiling beside each other looked rather familiar. He stood there for another three seconds, and then realizing, with a sinking feeling, that he did not have to go to the bathroom anymore. His dark eyes narrowed, and a twisting came to his mouth. Sasuke cursed again.
….and the floor opened beneath him, swallowing his entire body with its splintery mouth. Sasuke didn't have time to scream.
Author's notes:
Hey people:-) Thankies for the nice reviews. Interesting is what I'm aiming for, and I'm trying to keep it short and straight-to-the-point (which doesn't seem very possible, knowing meee…argh) I love you guys. You know that, right:D Wheeee… Thanks to KO'ed for giving be a bit of constructive crit, and to aya for making me feel so special. –wink- XD And to the rest of you wonderful people. :-)