Disclaimer: This piece is created based on Naruto series, which is created and solely belonged to Kishimoto Masashi - no profit is made from this piece for it is used resolutely for fun. No copyright infringement intended.
Warning: Be careful of those twisted twists, they're all here in the seventh chapter :D
Author's Note: This seventh chapter was supposed to be posted on April the 7th (seventh on the seventh, I just think it's cool xD) but my plan failed miserably, and all I can do is apologize to you all... So, here it is, the seventh on the ninth.
XXXXX
CATASTROPHE
By Silbi
Chapter Seven
The easiest way there was to put a certain pink-haired (that, at the moment, had her hair dyed black without her consent) now raven-haired kunoichi into a nerve-wracking situation was as follows: Leave her high and dry in the middle of a flock of desperate housewives.
"You're only seventeen? And he's thirty-three?"
A series of feminine gasps followed the shocked exclamation.
"Oh my God, that means he's almost twice your age!"
"A pedophile - ?" someone whispered, and the kunoichi raised an angry brow at the ill-conceived
Sakura herself was as desperate as she could be - in the middle of excited housewives asking about her and her enigmatic 'husband', it was as if they were sharks gnashing their teeth right in front of her face for food - she even thought she had a bigger chance of marrying Kakashi and having two rabid kids with him (one blonde, another brunet, those kinds that always fight each other and leave the mess to be cleaned by the parents) than of escaping the whole pointless conversation her virgin ears couldn't take. She blushed numerously the whole time, earning devilish giggles from the 'experienced' as they shared their 'escapades' and give her tips on how to 'keep the fires burning'.
"Bet he's almost as old as your father!"
"But you got nothing to worry about - he's got twice the experience!"
All of them giggled helplessly but Sakura, who was sitting on a stool in the middle of them and clenching her fists on her lap, working hard to ignore the itch all over her fingers that wanted so badly to reach for her weapons and shred them into fine ribbons.
Eh, that's sadistic! That Sand guy must've gotten into your system.
The kunoichi thought Gaara's ability to control sand could be of enormous help that time - she really wanted to be safely kept inside that shield of sand, in a shell away from them all.
"Ah, you newlyweds, I'm so jealous of you!" One housewife sighed from one of the stools circling the table in the chocolate shop, "Yuichi wouldn't even look at me in my new kimono last night, and I'm beginning to think coming to the festival tonight won't be such a good idea..."
Finally seeing something she recognized in the housewife's case - reminded of herself trying so hard to catch Sasuke's attention some years ago - Sakura jumped into the conversation right away. "You shouldn't think that way, Tsumi-san, I do think you're still attractive," said she, meaning every word. She did, because as she said those reassuring words, she looked at the elderly woman and saw a matured beauty instead of a stressed wife in a mid-life crisis.
The kunoichi tore her gaze off the lady and looked at herself.
Real skinny limbs, she noted mentally, narrow hips, she unconsciously felt the said part, and... she looked at her bosom, and after a minute or two, sighed desperately. Gosh. What I'd give to have something of that kind... and she eyed the full ones that belonged to the elder woman surreptitiously from behind her bangs, carefully not to get caught eyeing those... said part.
She then desperately wanted her pink hair back. If her hair were pink that time, at least she had something to be proud of, something distinctive... In black, she looked just like any women in town - but that was just her forgetting that she had another good point that the other ladies silently envied. Her deep emerald eyes, not too big to look childish and innocent, but small and clear like a doll's.
But that's just not the point this time...
Tsumi huffed and slumped further, accentuated her ample breasts that were overflowing from over her tightly-wrapped obi (much to Sakura's discomfort and jealousy). "That's very kind of you, sweetie. But I'm not convinced enough to make an appearance." As the lady performed a light stretching of her muscles, the kunoichi suppressed the rising premonition that the elder lady might have caught her ogling her stuffs and did that on purpose - had the lady not say anything at all and give a foxy grin, that might have been true.
She didn't anyway, be nice, won't you? This kind of thing is important as a newbie.
What do you know about being a newbie?
You know, first impression is a priority and the rest is up to you.
"That would be such a pity if you miss this one-night fest, Tsumi-san!" Sakura quickly replied, and then felt a surge of embarrassment for sounding too enthusiastic... at least in her opinion she did, though no one said anything about it - but the slip of evil that made an appearance in Tsumi's grin made her want to take her words back.
"I think it'll be such a good idea if you come too... How about this: if you do, I'll drop by and have some fun." The elder woman added with an unreadable gaze at her.
Eh?
"Tsumi-san, I don't think I can make it tonight... You know, um, I'll have my husband waiting, he's out to do something and if I'm not there at the inn to welcome him - "
"Leave a note or something that you want to have some fun too! Right, ladies?"
"Right!" Other ladies cheered and cried in unison, made Sakura narrowed her eyes and scooted back a bit.
This is not good.
"Um, Tsumi-san..."
Why am I suddenly feeling jeopardized?
The elder woman looked at her, shiny eyes and all, and took the kunoichi's hands into hers. "Please?"
"Well..."
"You shouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime fest too, Sakura-chan, for you won't be staying here long..."
"But I don't have clothes for the occasion - "
"We'll take care of that, Nitta here will lend you something from her bottomless cabinet," Tsumi nodded to a unique-looking lady next to her - the blond hair and the stylish looks really matched Ino's, and she thought Nitta would be a reflection of what Ino would become in the future, though this older version of her looked paler, the skin more translucent - "...It'll mean so much to us. I think your husband will be pleased if you come with us." Tsumi finished with a wink.
Surrounded by those housewives, all staring at her with hopeful and eager eyes waiting for her answer, she could only say: "...okay."
The shopkeeper bent forward and said in an undertone, "Don't forget to bring your husband, too."
"You're soooo evil!" A lady next to Tsumi pinched the shopkeeper's forearm as they all laughed heartily.
"Can't help it, ladies!"
They were all so kind towards Sakura, but she concluded sometimes they could be evil.
Especially when they want something out of someone... they're experts.
Quit it and help me out! Now what did they say before - don't forget to bring your husband? They meant Kakashi?
Admit it, he's hot, full stop. They can't wait to get their claws all over him. I myself am deeply intrigued... what's behind that dark mask? Sexy lips and unmarred skin? The other Sakura wondered, actually voicing her own imagination she'd conceived from having an eyeful of the silhouette of his face for five years already, more or less, and she was pretty confident with her memory.
Wait. She's supposed to be his wife now, was she really going to let him be thrown into these... these predators?
Then by any means I'm not gonna -
Just go with the flow.
The careless advice didn't do her any good. She just wanted to freak out, go back to Konoha and apply for a mission that didn't include getting undercover and kick some assassin's butts in real missions.
XXX
Later on, in a ramen shop next to Tanemura Chiyo's inn -
The three Konoha ninjas were sitting on a round table, all nursing their cups of ocha seriously.
Kakashi turned to the dark-haired ninja. "Sasuke, what did you get?"
"Two weeks ago was when the first unexplainable occasion took place - some attentive sellers described tall guys in dark clothes who'd made their appearance in the Town Square, where most of the villagers gather at whenever there was a special occasion - and that was the starting point of other oddities following right after."
"Naruto?"
"People, especially ones who had routines at night of crossing Town Square or working near it, started to disappear and still haven't been found yet, so people began pointing their fingers on superstitions. They believed that it was because of an evil doing, and intended to keep the festival going so the evils will keep out. The place where the villagers believed the evils must stay, which is also the most likely place to keep something big unseen was - "
"The Forest of the Fireflies." The team minus Sakura said in unison. Afterwards, they stared and grinned at each other in satisfaction over their new finding.
"Perfect! Now now... Oi, Grandpa! I want a large bowl of ramen, lots of soyu and chicken please!" The hungry blonde hollered to the old guy behind the desk, who then gave him a thumb-up.
"The Forest of the Fireflies... Our next issue." Sasuke sighed, and drank his chilled ocha.
Kakashi's eyes glinted with a mischievous spark that soon disappeared behind the steam as he helped himself to finish the extra-sized bowl of hot ramen.
Nitta's residence -
"The Forest of the Fireflies?" Sakura asked, wincing, trying hard not to move a millimeter as her hair was involved in a scalp-removing acts of twisting the dark, shiny locks into an immaculate bun.
"Yes, it's believed to have fireflies so beautiful you won't remember them after you've seen it," replied Tsumi, who was holding a handful of hairpins to keep the hair in place.
"Also believed to be the center of all the evil things..." Nitta whispered, and looked down to her lap and interlaced fingers. She looked even paler than she had been in the chocolate shop, and in the dimness of the room she looked rather ghostly. Nitta was sickly pallid.
The kunoichi directed her eyes, the only thing that she could move at the moment - as her head was firmly held by three ladies, Tsumi sticking hairpins into her hair, another holding the stock of accessories, the other was simply holding her in place before a big mirror - to the seemingly anxious lady. "How so?"
"Don't you know? They've taken five people already, I'm truly against tonight's festival - "
"Hush, Nitta! That's just a rumor! Bad luck if you spread those nasty gossips to visitors," Tsumi cut off, and busied herself back to her former activity. "Don't listen to her, Sakura, she was just terrified of the fact that some villager went past that forest to go someplace else and haven't come back here yet."
"You're generalizing things, Tsumi," the pale lady said in mild surprise, sounding rather accusing. "You did know that something did happen in that forest."
But none of them minded Nitta, for Tsumi and the other two ladies had released Sakura's now elaborately made hair, turned her around to face the waiting flock of women in the room; all of them held their breaths as they saw the astounding youthful beauty in front of them, now looking like an elegant princess ready for a stroll in a special night - the hair was perfect, with all the right accessories holding the twists, the emerald stones dangling from the ends of thin chains of her hair piece glinted under the dim light together with her riveting eyes.
"Um... Do I look weird?" Sakura asked nervously, as the ladies were taking in her new look intently, yet saying nothing in response. She fingered the black fringe on her forehead and tittered, "Haha, I knew that my forehead is so wide..."
Hey, why are you babbling?
"...But thanks for doing my hair, ladies."
Uh, go. Just get the hell outta here.
"My God, Sakura-chan, what are you talking about? You look gorgeous," breathed Tsumi in awe, virtually touching the hairpins she herself had stuck to the pink hair, admiring her work of art.
Sakura found herself pink on the cheeks, being given a compliment from a lady whose beauty she at first envied, "Thanks." said she.
The elder woman clapped her hands. "Good! Now, the kimonos please..."
As if on cue, other ladies were suddenly gathering around the young kunoichi, already bringing a set of kimono, each were of vibrant colors and Sakura found them all desirable. The young lady had never seen such beautiful patterns and materials all belonged to only one person - the only kimono she had was the one to be worn in an undercover mission, one she kept at Tsunade's for fear of having it torn or one thread pulled - and there she was presented all of the kimono in any patterns and colors she could imagine of.
"She'll look best in these!" proposed one lady, bringing a set of yellow kimono decorated with bamboo patterns of silver threads with dark blue obi.
"You're making her look like a corn, silly! This one!"
"No, these - "
"That clown outfit?"
Sakura helped herself to sit on the bed next to Nitta, who seemed all that bland (but hey, at least she didn't try to get closer and force you into those multi-layered hell-descendants) but spared her a regretful stare. The kunoichi stared back in question.
"Just don't get near that forest, okay? For my sake." The pale lady put her hand on Sakura's lap. To the kunoichi's surprise, it felt so cold that it made her flinch. Looking into the other woman's eyes, what she saw wasn't just some kind of prank - it was all fear.
Tsumi pulled Sakura away and stood her in front of a mirror, trying to match the colors of her features with the kimono in her hands in the reflection, effectively cutting their talk before the brunet could even answer. Nitta watched them in hurt, and pulled her hand back to her bosom.
XXX
In the evening, at the Tanemura Inn -
"Whew, it's such a long day! My back - ngh - hurts," Naruto groaned as he stretched, and fell into the couch where he quickly initiated his beauty sleep, as stated by the soft snores following right after, slowly making a crescendo into pig-like grunts.
Snort.
"..."
Snort. "Mmm..." Burp.
The other occupant in the room started feeling restless and irked, and he start drumming his fingers on the table to drive away his irritation.
"Haha... That's what you get for laying your hand on my ramen..." And he snorted some more.
"D'oh!"
He was obviously dreaming.
At one point, his roommate took his left sandal off and aimed dangerously accurate to the slobbering blonde's head - the black footwear kicked him out of his light dream and he came rolling down the couch. Pulling himself up with a swell on his forehead, Naruto's angry bellow had had Sasuke laughing his face off -
"Bastard! I'll kill you, Uchiha!"
...until the blonde had begun bearing down on the other guy, and the laughter died instantly.
Meanwhile, on the higher floor of the inn in the other's team room, far from the bloody war downstairs, Kakashi frowned silently upon a rather crumpled piece of paper in his hand. He read them again and pondered the meaning, why the writing looked as if it had been scribbled in haste and left to be found on the bed.
Kakashi-sensei,
I'll be waiting at tonight's festival. The ladies treated me well and they're nice, so don't worry.
-Sakura-
The jounin reread them a couple of times, turned it over, repeated the process, and still hadn't found the information where he was supposed to meet her.
He shifted his head protector up and focused the red eye upon the paper in hope of finding a secret message of some sort - the words became fuzzier, but when the red haziness cleared and he didn't see anything different, the silver-haired jounin opted to study the message all over again. He read the first line aloud. "Kakashi-sensei, I'll be waiting at tonight's festival."
Kakashi-sensei.
The air temperature around his neck suddenly dropped to zero.
Shoving the paper into his pants' pocket, he reached for his discarded vest and departed without a word.
"Don't try to get that rotten sandal near my head again!"
"Feh! Better than yours, at least they don't smell - "
"Mine don't either!"
"Naruto, Sasuke, change your clothes. We're having a day off, so have some fun."
The couple turned their heads to find their teacher, and found that he's already gone.
Two hours (or so) later -
"Have some fun?" Naruto jeered, squatting next to a huge basin filled with goldfish, swimming to and fro carelessly as if they hadn't been put there to be caught and paid for - well, their ease was reasonable, for no one had caught any of them since the festival started - the net must have torn open just before the goldfish could be transferred into small plastics, and the fish found its niche back where it belonged while the person at lost cussed and cursed, just the perfect description of what Naruto was going through. He had paid for the third time for the third catch, yet his luck didn't seem to get better at all. "What did he mean by 'have some fun'? Does he have fun at all?" he muttered, plunging the net into the basin and concentrated on one particular fish, before with a flick of his hand he caught the unfortunate fish between the net.
He smiled victoriously and he waved it up in the air - yet not even three seconds after the success, the net tore open, in which occasion the goldfish found a way back to the basin. "What? That's called cheating!" The blonde accused angrily, waving the broken net and aimed it at the seller's head. "You're trying to collect dirty money from this?"
The brunet eyed one net, bent down and dropped a coin into the small cup containing golden coins, and dipped his own net.
"Hah, betcha don't even have the chance to - "
Sasuke yanked a plastic bag from the gaping seller and quickly dumped the fish into the bag. Smirking, he took the plastic bag with him, followed by amazed exclamations and unbelieving stares as he made his way through the shoal.
Naruto's fists balled, his veins pulsing angrily as he yelled at the top of his lungs up to the heavens - "INJUSTICE!"
Still smirking, the brunet slipped his hands into his pockets, the plastic bag made low plopping sounds as the water and the fish inside rocked, colliding with his thigh as he walked away. As his smugness slipped away, he momentarily felt that something was not there, something, someone that was supposed to be there with him, bugging him and calling him.
Sakura.
The more he thought about it, the more the Uchiha heir realized that he had somewhat grown attached to the persistent, if not obstinate pink-haired kunoichi - his mind drifted back to his genin days, when Sakura and Ino were those love-struck teenagers trailing behind him, pushing and persuading him to date one of them (and they had always insisted that each of them was better than another, starting a cat-fight and then become lost in their own world as they battled for the 'prize' that had walked away without a slightest care). Those two had been amusing to say the least, actually, so he didn't react much and waited until they lost their interests in him. The brunet had almost been sure that they had, for he'd seen for quite some time now Ino trying to catch a certain chuunin's attention (whom he thought was more interested in his chess pawns), but then, being in the same team with Sakura made it possible for him to see that the girl still had that indiscernible look towards him.
That counts as something.
Right?
Why would he care if she still had that feeling?
Sasuke bumped into someone, and quickly apologizing to the person he raised his head and his eyes that had been fixated on the dark, damp ground - and there, on the far side of the festival, standing under a lamppost, the bright light was reflected by every strand of her hair, her face incandescent against the backdrop of ink-black night.
He was staring at her, and kept staring until it came to a point when it was supposed to be rude.
The raven-haired ninja was stunned, forgetting the need for breathing for a moment and it heightened the loss of his alertness, his ability to think straight - he sucked in a deep breath, and felt the cold air freezing his lungs. He saw that her eyes were scanning the sea of people nervously, unaware of his presence yet, and wondered who was she waiting for in that gorgeous kimono, black silk with silver and light blue butterflies woven onto the fabric and secured with a wide crimson obi, also made of silk.
Do you know how much I like you, Sasuke-kun? The confident voice bounced back into his skull as he was reminded of one particular day when he rejected her offer of going on a date - he remembered all that she had said, they all came back in a dizzying rush - and for some reason, the young man felt that it was too late for him to regret it.
So much, she had said when he hadn't replied. So very much. And then she smiled. The kunoichi showed that she wasn't hurt, but he knew that deep inside her heart had torn open. I'm not angry that you turned me down again this time, because...
Her gaze fell upon him, and right then it came down crashing on Sasuke that he was falling for her.
Someday, I'll make you like me...
XXX
Searching eyes scanned the crowd, and in less than a minute, the gaze fell onto a raven-haired lady with green eyes. The lady was gorgeous, those emerald eyes cast somewhere far away, and she was standing there alone.
"Hime..."
How can that girl look so much like her?
He avoided the angry exclamations as he parted the crowd painstakingly, reaching to the lady that was the mirror of his past.
XXX
A girl rocked back and forth on the balls of her sock-clad feet, making soft clacking noises as the wooden sandals collided with the stone ground, and she was biting her lips in anxiety.
Will he show up?
After that corny letter? You do the math: A letter plus an anxious jounin equals catastrophe.
Since when did I ask for your opinion?
Hah! Can't beat me with that!
She tried to swat a moth that landed peacefully on her hair with mild irritation.
"Ask for permission before you land!" she hissed menacingly, "I don't want another hour of pure hell - do you?"
The harassed moth flew away shakily, and looked for another source of light that was friendlier - at least fire only burns and don't swat.
The kunoichi looked down, and saw two kids with balloons hanging from the back of their obi - they were dumb-struck with horror - one had his forefinger frozen half-inside his nostril, and another was in the brink of crying, tears welling in her innocent eyes. She gulped down her nervousness and tried to lighten up the situation by giving them a (somewhat nervous) smile, that had actually came out as a menacing smirk - and they ran away as fast as their stubby feet could, wailing for their mommies.
"What, kid abductor?"
"Call the police!"
Hearing the mutters all around her, she pretended to admire her shiny wooden sandals, trying hard to shake her fringe forward so they could cover a good half of her face.
"That didn't seem to be a good idea..." the kunoichi muttered, and quickly gave her back to their direction, avoiding attention.
She pretended to be bored and looked around, went back to searching a person who might be the only one who wore a sloppy headband and a mask, and thought the possibility of him coming without them all.
Maybe I'll see a red eye amidst all of these...
Instead, her eyes met a pair. Ones that she had been familiar with, ones that always exuded coldness and deep grief.
When her breathing suspended, a hand touched her shoulder, startled her and reminded her of breathing.
"Hello, Sakura-chan."
She dared not to look over her shoulders. She already knew who it was.
The other Kakashi.
XXX
Sasuke felt his fists balled, the rage bubbling like molten lava in his veins when he saw Kakashi came to her, parting the mass of people with ease, and touched her shoulder lightly. She didn't turn, she only stared at the brunet, staring through him as if he wasn't there.
Why?
XXX
Slowly, with both of his hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him. He released his light grips on her, and Sakura tried so hard to conceal her relief.
"Kakashi... sensei."
She lifted her chin and looked him in the eye daringly.
The silver-haired jounin gave a masked smile. "Don't bother with the 'sensei', Sakura-chan, without that I'll still consider you gorgeous."
Yeah, right.
"Thanks."
Help! her mental alarm wailed.
From whom?
Shifting her gaze slightly, she found that Sasuke was still there, staring deeply at her - no, them - her and Kakashi. Kakashi followed her eyes, to the spot where Sasuke was rooted at, and everything stopped around them for a split second before the silver-haired jounin pulled her hand roughly and took the shocked kunoichi away from the massive sea of people, making their way through them so fastly she couldn't stop and say sorry to the ones she collided with. He, on the other hand, didn't seem to care.
Sakura turned and tried to look for Sasuke amidst the people standing and passing by - which was a very hard task, her being smaller than anyone else in the crowded space made her have to stand on her tiptoes with her wooden sandals - and saw that he, too, was on his move; Naruto joined the picture, talked with the anxious brunet, and soon followed him going after the two.
Still being dragged away, it was almost like a rollercoaster ride, the lights moving and leaving long trails like falling stars, the hubbub muffled her ears as they went further and further into the woods, away.
XXX
"How did you cheat on the fish-man like that, man? Teach me the trick, I want to settle some old scores!" Naruto added grudgingly, and punched the Uchiha heir on the shoulder.
"I found her."
"Sakura-chan?"
"And Kakashi-sensei."
Naruto seemed unaffected by his curt answers, since that was how he always behaved. "Good, then. Where are they going to?" the blonde said, following Sasuke's gaze. The brunet was already advancing them furiously.
"The Forest of The Fireflies..."
XXX
"Ow!" Sakura screeched as she was being thrown against a tree bark, the rough skin making small scratches on her hand as she tried to pillow herself with them. The kunoichi looked up, and immediately regretted doing so.
Her teacher, chest falling and rising in tune with his deeply taken breaths, was looking at her intently, the eye burning holes on her.
She suddenly felt cold. Her hands flew to her thighs, where she usually strapped her kunais, and bashed her head mentally against the walls when she remembered that she had disarmed herself prior to the makeover at Nitta's, not wanting to share them the fact that she was a kunoichi, and that all of her weapons were safe and secure in her bag under her bed.
Fuck.
Why am I checking my weapon? It's my teacher! Or...
She'd seen the eye for a couple of times before to recognize it again now.
It wasn't.
The low intakes and outtakes of breaths coming from Kakashi heightened her fear, and it made her flesh crawl when he moved closer.
She shrieked when he rammed his fist into the tree bark, just next to her face, and silence enveloped them as fireflies poured over them like fireworks, glinting in eerie almost-green light, and flew into different directions around them, circling.
Done gathering her courage, she hissed to him, "You are not Kakashi," she began, repeating what she'd said before but not believed, her tone increasing, "and I knew it all along, and I'm stupid enough to let that slip - now what do you want taking me here?" At the end, she was going back to that pattern of yelling at him at the top of her lungs.
Gulping in lungfuls of breath, Sakura wondered how her outrage could suck all of her energy and left her feeling hollow.
I wasn't mistaken, right?
Were you?
The dark-haired kunoichi didn't know what more to expect when his features softened, and he brought up his hand, smoothed his knuckles against her cheek - she felt wet warmth and smelt a coppery tang wafting to her nostrils, it was his blood, she noticed as she saw the wound and the wood splinters etched to his bleeding knuckles - "Hime," he said so softly, like he'd do to a lover, "this was all for you."
It was familiar, yet strange in other sense.
Who was this Hime he's talking about?
A surge of jealousy crossed her features, and she wondered who had the guy in front of her, whoever that was, addressed his feelings to.
I'd die to be in her position...
To be loved was all she wanted.
From Uchiha Sasuke, all she got was ignorance. The single fact hurt her the most.
Whoever got his attention must be very lucky, she'd used to think.
Then, she realized, apart from all the coldness and bitterness she'd been experiencing, there was always that one person who cared for her, helping her get out from that well of despair and giving her all that small attentions, but that was all that she had wanted, all she'd ever wanted in life.
That moment was the time she discovered her building love for her teacher.
What's keeping her from further minding it was those big question marks, who was he? What was behind that mask? She was facing all of those that very night.
She wanted to run away from her teacher that seemed to turn into a psycho every second passing, but the thing she wanted the least was to die of hunger in the middle of a God-forsaken forest without weapons in a borrowed kimono, so Sakura stayed where she was, between Kakashi's arms - his palms were pressed onto the tree - imprisoned and deep in thought.
With him, it was always riddles.
"What do you mean by that?"
Looking deeply into her eyes as he spoke every word slowly, as if wanting her to memorize every line, the man began, "There... was a princess."
He opened his head protector, still keeping his close proximity, and revealed his other eye - she was staring at two red orbs, the color swirling like lava, and once again Sakura was mesmerized.
"She was - still is - my Hime... and I had been sworn to guard her life, though that meant sacrificing mine."
No, she said, when a rush of images swept her brain - a young lady clad in an intricate kimono behind a shoji door of a hidden house, a pond in front of it reflecting silver moonlight from the full moon, a silver-haired samurai on one bended knee on the other side, his head bowed - no, stop...
What he said afterwards made Sakura want to shrink into her minds and disappear.
"For you I'd kill, and I had once before."
Battling her consciousness - if she still had it - that was pulled by those crimson eyes, she was troubled to find the words. "I can..." if that makes sense, "...I'll help you find your Hime, if you want, but - "
Let me go first!
Before she had the chance to blurt that out, the guy in front of her, keeping more than she could imagine, spoke once more.
"I'm Kakeru, and I was sent to collect information by occupying Hatake Kakashi's mind."
It all came back to her like a tidal wave, the night she tried to make him tell the truth, the pink potion, the blurriness in the morning, both had loopholes - it was all wrong. The sudden change of personality, the flirty wink, those lilting words... they hadn't fit at all to Kakashi's image because it was a whole different person.
"Who did - ?"
"Uchiha Itachi, the eldest Uchiha heir."
XXXXX
TBC, mufufu.
Author's Note: I think from now on I'll write this AN thing at the end of the chapter... That's one. Two, if you have read my profile, you must've known about that one-out-of-a-hundred incident (to you who might have not, it's how many people reviewed - and still no difference, though the number of hits has crawled higher... I'm puzzled, really.) Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed, but again, I'm already grateful for you reading Cat and bearing with me :) Sorry if the update plan is messed up because of that. In less than three months I'll be facing my third grade of high school, and that's another factor of my delay. Those reviews have been my salvage when I'm on rock-bottom.