Chapter One-
Now four years later, Sasori's transformation has completed.
Visuals-Sasori is now twenty-two years old. Five-foot eight inches tall.
Sakura is now twenty years old. Five-foot four inches tall.
Side note- By now, Sakura has awakened her reserve seal (the hundred healings mark) Her appearance is slightly modified to don longer hair and although young, she has been promoted to lead konoha's hospital.
-Lady Tsunade is still hokage.
-Konoha has moved forward with becoming more of a city.
-The other surrounding villages (if they had the funds) followed Konoha's example and also began working on becoming more modern.
Four years later...
His body was protected within a cocoon-like shelter that the reconstructive chakra had provided. It had been four years since the regenerative process took place. Putting together a complete human body was something not easily done after all.
The old, dark, bleak cave that thrived with nothing but rocks and small animals, seemed oddly still today. Pale fingers twitched with slight movement; both of his legs shifted to straighten out while honey-colored eyes flickered open to intake the dark environment. The blue chakra that surrounded him had since faded to a transparent state, then eventually ceased to nothing. With a heavy groan, he maneuvered and brought himself to a kneeling position before standing up. Circling his head back and around, then rolling a shoulder to stretch the newly acquired toned muscle, he stepped away from the rubble that encased him for the past two years. He felt every muscle twitch; the feeling of the blood flowing to each limb was a unfamiliar sensation. Feeling indifferent, he looked around and took in his surroundings.
"I'll need to get used to it again." he said, referring to his body. Sudden flashbacks of the super-punches that were dealt onto his puppet form took over, causing him to flinch. Imaging how those punches must feel to a fleshy human body was something he'd rather not think about.
It was time for his new life to start, his new beginning. Was this a mistake? Maybe. Did he regret this decision? Hell no.
"Now, to find the pink-haired Athena. I think I'll repay her heroism with my substantial gratitude." the red haired man stated; vengeance dripping from those words.
Leaving behind the miserable cave, he continued down a path that led into the surrounding forest. He tilted his head to look up to observe the natural conditions, deemed it to be the middle of winter. The grey skies and cold wind that naturally went along with this weather, were unforgiving.
It wouldn't have been much of a problem if he were to have his old Akatsuki robe. Though the issue at hand being- when he disrobed himself to reveal his own puppet masterpiece, it ended up being shredded to pieces and buried somewhere in the crushed debris.
A series of small chills ran up and down his spine, then also the shivers that captivated his body to accompany the natural reaction. Hissing in cold air, his hands came up to rub his arms in an attempt to keep whatever warmth he could hold on to. "Damn. I almost forgot how dreadful the weather could be." Disgruntled, he kept on his path, until he noticed a very drunk, wavering man stumbling and tripping from tree to tree.
The man kept mumbling to himself and laughing until he noticed Sasori walking up."You...You there. Why are you out here alone, eh? Are you a ghost? You have no shirt, aren't you cooooold? It's the middle of winter, don't you know that boy?"
With no immediate response from Sasori, the man laughed hysterically. Once calmed, he began blurting out random memories he had, some words being so slurred, Sasori couldn't make out what was said. 'This pathetic creature.' Sasori thought to himself, before repulsive brown eyes watched the boozer moving closer.
The drunkard began walking towards him.
The bottle of sake he had in hand was raised in offering to the red haired man. "Wanna swig of this? It's like magic. I swear by it. If you're having problems in life, and by the looks of you, you are. This will help ease the load, my boy. I cheated on my wife with her sister and she kicked me out. So...being homeless is something I know a great lot about." he said with humorous laugh before continuing on with his rant of the hardships of homelessness.
If this speech of human hardship and the overcoming of it was supposed to teach Sasori some sort of life lesson and motivate him, it was doing very much the opposite. 'This imbecile...he thinks I am…I've had enough of this clown act.'
Red brows furrowed in annoyance, as the drunkard grabbed onto Sasori's arm to balance himself. Moments later, he realized that he'd been swiftly thrown to the ground. "Ughhhaa" the alcoholic groaned and winced as the air was knocked out of his lungs. He heaved in an attempt to regain the lost air, although that was painful as well.
Sasori looked down at the man with apathetic eyes. "If you don't mind, I'll be needing to borrow a few of your things." Crusty eyes peered up at the towering man. "Wha..?" Before he knew it, the black hoodie jacket he wore was taken from him. "Hey boy, that's miiinne" The man began rolling around in the dirt in a fit of defiance, until he laid upon his back to once again meet the intimidating gaze of the younger man. "Y-you know what boy, you c-can have it. This sh-shirt I have on will do f-fine." Sasori tipped his head slightly in acknowledgment, before leaving the scene.
The only thing the drunkard could do now, was watch as his jacket's captor left. "Damn. My mini bottle of booze was in my jacket pocket." he mumbled under his breath. His head fell back as he smacked the ground with balled fists.
Long pink tresses flowed down a petite frame, reaching the mid of her back. Her bangs swept to the side, complimenting her face shape. Long black eyelashes framed green emerald eyes as they scanned the heavily worded paperwork that filled the page with medical information. Pink lips pursed as she read through each page of her current patient's chart.
A voice outside her office began calling out to her. "Sakura, oh Sakura where art thou?"
A blonde and bubbly being walked into her office, holding a tray containing two coffee cups from her favorite cafe. "There's my beautiful friend!" A gleeful smile covered the approaching woman's face as she made her way into Sakura's office. She carefully placed the coffee tray on the office desk, then took a seat.
Emerald orbs raised to meet a pair of over-cheerful blue ones. "What did you do, Ino?" The gleeful look Ino had carried in with her soon disappeared and was replaced with an apparent look of being caught. She knew this would be the first question Sakura would ask, so an answer was quickly produced.
"Well you know that guy in room 1304...he kinda hates me and I'm pretty sure all the other women working on that floor. So what happened was, I stood my ground and told him I was going to take care of him today whether he wants me to or not, since everyone else that tries to go in there gets kicked out. And well, he yelled and cussed and threw just hateful words at me! He almost seemed like he wanted to become violent. I may have called him a few poor-choice words afterwards... But anyways, it's obvious he hates females." Sakura sat back and crossed her arms. "Oh, I've heard of the problem child. He's only been here what, two days so far? So...how did you come up with that being the reason for his outbursts?"
"Girl...Every time any male staff member enters his room, he acts like any normal patient would. When a woman enters his room, he gets this agitated attitude and starts being a complete ass about everything. I am willing to bet he got dumped by his girlfriend and is now taking it out on everyone!" As she continued on her rant, her voice began raising in volume the more she spoke of the unreasonable man.
"Ino." The sudden call of her name stopped her mid-sentence. "Yes, Sakura?" Ino pouted. "For the time being, stay out of his room. Isn't he the one with a gunshot wound?" The blonde women nodded in response. "I know the last thing we need now is another combative patient. It'll be another report on Lady Tsunade's desk if something happens. I'll try to diffuse the situation." Ino opened her mouth to voice a complaint, but stopped and sat back into the plush chair. "Fine. But only because I don't want to feel the wrath of Lady Tsunade."
A small smile appeared as Sakura leaned forward, placing both elbows on her desk while taking a sip of warm coffee. "He'll be discharged soon anyways. From his reports, it looks like he'll be leaving within the next day or so. Just try and keep calm until then." Hesitantly, Ino raised a hand to form a thumbs up as her compliant answer.
"Oh and next time you bring me something, bring a pastry. How can you expect someone to drink something like this without a pastry to compliment it? Tsk tsk,Typical Ino-pig." This caused the opposing woman to roll her eyes. "Oh okay, I see how it is. Next time I won't even bring you coffee. Or I'll bring coffee you don't even like! Tsk, Look at this girl trying to be picky all of a sudden." Ino stated, sticking her tongue out at Sakura in a playful manner.
Before she could retaliate Ino's immature gesture, the phone rang. "Sakura." she calmly announced to the other person. As the person began reporting a situation, her eyes widened. "Okay, got it. I'll be there in just a moment." She ended the call and swiftly stood from her seat. This alarmed her friend, as she too stood from her seat. "Sakura, what's going on?" Ino curiously asked, before subconsciously following in suit after the pink-haired woman.
With a hurried pace, the two women walked down the long hospital hallway to the location of issue. "It's room 1304. He just attacked someone." Sakura stated, with a concentrated expression. Once outside the room, they noticed there were already several security guards spread out within the room trying to calm the irritated man. "Get the hell out you bastards! All I wanted was something to eat since that blonde bitch made me lose my appetite earlier! It's not my fault the people working here are incompetent and brought me something I don't even want!" spat the man as he yelled at the guards. Apparently after Ino had left the room, he asked another person to bring him lunch. The lunch that was brought did not suit his taste, therefore, it was thrown and wasted upon the floor.
After hearing the commotion, Sakura cautiously entered the room. The man's attention was immediately shifted to the young women. Suspicious eyes looked at her from head to toe. Dressed in a black well-fit pencil skirt and appropriate blouse to match, and complimenting wedges worn on her feet, she was easy on the eyes. The man picked up on that quickly. "Ah, behold gentleman. A femme fatale has entered the room. Better hold onto your hearts, she'll rip it clean out of your chest after toying with it, just like all the other women around here."
'Ino was right. He was definitely dumped. by his girlfriend.'
The patient looked to be a couple years older than her. " Mr. Momochi, please refrain from drawing out this situation." This made the man chuckle. "Please Miss...Haruno." He paused as he looked at her ID displayed upon her chest. "If you would have trained these hopeless people to do their job properly, then I would have not one complaint. And please, call me Zabuza." the man stated as a smirk splayed across his face.
A pink brow raised with displeasure as she stood at the foot of his bed with crossed arms. "Zabuza, how can I help dissolve the conflict here?" Sakura stated with a hint of distaste. This made the young man's expression change from an amused state to something more serious yet interested. "Hm. Well for starters, how about getting a new tray of food. I promise I won't throw it...if you are the one to bring it to me."
'This bastard is really trying to be like this. Ugh.'
With a small smile, she nodded in agreement. "Sure thing. I'll be right back with the meal of the hour." Without waiting for a response, she left the room.
Ino followed her friend as she made her way down to the cafeteria. "Sakura, what's with that guy? Was I right about him being a hater? Did he not cuss you out? He must like you for some reason." A quick elbow embedded itself gently to Ino's side. "Ahh.. Ino, I don't know, all I know is that I'm bringing him food to diffuse the situation. I don't want Lady Tsunade to catch wind of this and get involved. If I can't control an issue like this, then making me head of konoha hospital was a mistake." Ino nodded in agreement. "You're right. You know what Saku? All this maturity you display in situations like this is impressive. The old Sakura would've told him how it was gonna be whether he liked it or not and put his ass in place." Sakura giggled and shook her head. "Believe me..the Sakura you see now at work, is the Sakura that has fifty years years of professional customer service experience. Later after work, you'll see the real Sakura you know well; the plain, yet charming twenty-year old girl who would put bastards like him in check." That last comment earned her a sarcastic side-eye look from her best friend.
"Quit giving me that look, let's hurry up and give this trouble maker his food before he hulks out."
Once they reached the cafeteria, she picked up a lunch meal tray and headed back. They approached room 1304 again yet again, but now noticed the security guards were stationed outside the room. Zabuza was just sitting there watching tv, and eating a snack that he kept on the table next to him. He looked up at the young woman when she entered and smirked. "Well, that was quick. If only the other women around here were as efficient as you are." Ignoring his sly remark, she reached over and placed the tray on the table.
Without warning, a large hand clasped around her wrist before she could step away. "Listen, ...Sakura." His impish eyes scanned her name badge once more to catch her first name. "How about you and I meet after I get discharged. That way it won't violate your little hospital policy-mumbo jumbo. I can take you out to dinner or maybe a club, you seem like my type of girl."
Before he could add any more to his ridiculous request, she snatched herself out of his grip and backed away towards the door. "That's highly inappropriate Mr. Momochi. Not only is this against hospital policy, I also decline on a personal level. Your behavior is unacceptable, and if you continue to disrupt the flow of things here, we will have no choice but to terminate your stay. You know actually, you are no longer in a state of emergency, so there really is no reason for you not to leave."
Zabuza coolly smirked. "Yikes, the lady speaks such big words. You think threatening to kick me out of this place will prevent me from having a little fu-"
Not giving into the temptation of cursing him, she instead, interrupted him. "Mr. Momochi, if that's all, please excuse me." She turned and quickly evaded the room before the pretentious man could add any more dialogue.
Walking past Ino and the guards, she quickly turned the corner and let herself lean against the wall. 'That crazy bastard...how dare he?! He actually had the nerve to ask me out, and with that demeaning look! Argh.' her thoughts rattled, as her fists balled. Images of herself punching Zabuza in various ways crossed her mind before she heard her name being called.
"Sakura?" the blonde woman called out as she searched for her friend. "Sakura, oh there you are." As Ino turned the same corner, she found Sakura looking down with balled fists. "Uh-oh, I know that look. Hey, are you alright? Did he say something ugly to you?" she asked while a comforting hand raised to touch her friend's arm. This startled Sakura back to her senses. "Oh...yeah I am fine. It was nothing. You were right about his personal situation. So...ahem,do you wanna have lunch together? Maybe some udon with veggies?" Blonde brows raised at the sudden change of subject. "Sure, Saku."
As they began walking towards the cafeteria once more, their arms locked while they engaged in small talk. "Oh and by the way Saku, if that bastard said anything demeaning or crude to you in any way..I am just saying, if we bump into each other on the streets. There's a high possibility that I'll throw down, and you know I'm not one to give up easily! Especially if it involves my best friend." Ino expressed.
"I know Ino...thank you."
It was nice to know she had a gem of a friend such as Ino Yamanaka. She truly was the best friend everyone wished they had, if they didn't already have their own version of Ino.
After what seemed to be hours of walking, Sasori reached a small ghost-like town named 'Redwater'. Hungry, tired and with aches to his feet, he decided this place would suffice for the night. The barely visible sun had already left the grey skies for the day, so finding some place to take shelter became his top priority. No more than twenty people walked up and down the streets as they either scurried home or closed down their vendor shops. Vibrant red hair stood out amongst the darked-haired people, earning him glances and stares as he passed by them.
As he continued walking, an older man approached him. "Excuse me, young man?" Sasori stopped and turned to face the stranger. "It's a bit late out, are you looking for someone, or looking to stay the night?" Apathetic eyes looked down at the older man. With nothing but the clothes on his back, there was no way these people would let him stay overnight in their establishments. The town, although small, looked to be one that survived on visitor's income.
"No thanks. I'm just passing by." Sasori stated as he began walking once more. The old man shuffled as he reached out to grab a hold of Sasori's arm, but hesitated and retracted his actions. The look he received from the red haired man made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a warning to not touch him.
Why was everyone he met around here so far, so clingy and grabby? Don't people these days know to not grab onto strangers?
"Ah well, we do have an inn down the road. We could spare a room for you in our guest house, if you'd like." Turning to face the older man, Sasori looked down with a questioning gaze. "I haven't any money, so I'll just continue on my way." The old man nodded in understanding and clapped his hands together. "It's far too cold to keep going on like that, young man. You look cold. Please...I insist. Just think of it as a kind gesture. In return, you can tell more people that you run into on the road about our town so we can obtain more customers. Our guest house is a single room behind the inn. It's basically an extension of the inn, just in case we have extra visitors. Enter through the front of the inn and ask for Aina, tell her I sent you and she'll take care of ya."
With that said, Sasori did not reject the offer. Following a polite nod, he made his way towards the inn and did as he was told. The woman Aina, courteously showed him to the guest room behind the inn, and showed him the commodities that were within the room before leaving him be.
He sat upon the bed and let himself fall back to stare at the ceiling. The room was small and simple, but comfortable for one person. They even had a decent t.v. for entertainment,sitting on the dresser in front of the bed. 'One step at a time.' he thought to himself.
The question that bugged him since speaking with the old man earlier, was WHY on earth would he offer a stranger a free room for the night? There had to be something they wanted, right? Advertising for them was definitely not the real reason behind that kind gesture.
Suspicious as he was, he would keep his guard up for the night and leave at the crack of dawn.
He switched the light off and attempted to doze off into a light slumber.
In the small lobby area stood the old man, Aina and a few of the inn employees. They all spoke amongst each other with a hushed tone so no one outside the small group could eavesdrop.
"Aina, please stop worrying. I let him stay here for a reason. You all know, as the mayor of this small town, I try to keep our people safe to the best of my ability." Aina and the others exchanged nervous looks before looking back at their mayor.
Aina was the first to speak out. "We know that… It's just the last time we let someone as strange as him stay here, that person ended up coming back...multiple times, to cause us chaos. Heck even to this day, he still comes forth." The employees murmured as they gossiped about the man Aina spoke of. The mayor grunted as he shifted his weight. "I know that Aina. But this man, he seems different. Is he dangerous? I would think most definitely. But his eyes speak differently to me. Let me tell you, the timing of this situation worked out for us." the mayor voiced.
One of the employees spoke up to question theory. "What do you mean?" A smile spread across the Mayor's face as he began to answer. "Well, you see. It's about the thirty-day mark since that trouble making blonde man visited us. He always shows up once a month on the dot to either play with our young maidens, or cause a scene. That red haired man, he's of shinobi culture. His aura is strange but he definitely is shinobi. Tomorrow when that bastard comes to wreck havoc, I will ask our visitor for assistance in ridding our troublemaker." the Mayor stated, feeling confident in his plan. Aina crossed her arms and looked around at her peers for their internal responses. "Mayor, to be honest...how will you know if that young man would be willing to help us? Just because you offered him a free room?"
The old man snorted and crossed his arms. "Just trust me."
Were those the last few famous words spoken before the destruction of this small town called Redwater? Everyone was unsure, but were hopeful for a better outcome.
Tossing and turning to the point of being aggravated, Sasori sat up in the bed and shuffled a hand through his red locks. "Damn...why is it so hard to sleep?" Looking around for nothing in particular, he reached for the remote on the nightstand next to the bed and turned the t.v. on to find anything somewhat interesting to lull him to sleep.
'Boring. Boring. Boring.' he thought as he continuously surfed. "Dating shows, reality shows, cooking shows and the news...how boring these broadcasts are. People actually thrive on these programs? Tsk." As he changed the channel once more, he sat frozen. Focusing on the screen, he noticed a familiar feminine face displayed upon the screen. Could it be her?
Those familiar emerald eyes shone brightly as she spoke with an interviewer on a medical news channel. His back straightened as he attentively listened to what was being said.
It seemed as if they were interviewing about various topics; topics being medical related and then a mix of a few personal questions.
Only fifteen minutes had passed, and he was able to identify quite a bit of information from the segment so far. The most important facts being that (a)-She worked as the head of Konoha's main hospital. (b)-She was now twenty year of age. (c)- She was doing well in life...so far. And lastly (d) -She is currently single. Wondering why people had the need to know what the relationship status of a public figure is, was out of Sasori's range of knowledge. But that small piece of information seemed to please him. Although that would never be admitted.
As he tried rationalizing his thought, he came up with a perfect excuse to himself. 'I wouldn't want there won't be any unwanted collateral damage in this predicament. She's the only one I am targeting, after all.' Shaking any more unwelcome thoughts, he turned his full attention to the television once more.
Curious amber eyes carefully watched the object of his attention as she spoke. He noted every feature, each unnoticeable gesture she made, such as the slightest nod of her head or the way she brushed her pink tresses away from her face. He studied as much of her as the camera angle allowed.
Then recognizing that the last time he saw her, she had donned shoulder length hair, his mind seemed to let suppressed thoughts run out once again. 'Beautiful...that girl seemed to have grown up quite a bit.' he thought.
Was he going crazy? Why was he thinking these sort of thoughts? Maybe he could't help it.
He would never admit it aloud, but up until now, he never seemed to notice how dazzling those gem-like eyes were. The memory of those familiar eyes that had bore into his own just four years ago, sent him into a low chuckle. Although small, yet another thought that possessed a corner of his mind crept up to make itself apparent.
A sinister smirk appeared as the thought presented. 'It'd be a shame, if I were to miss the opportunity to see that sweet blossom up close again.'
Thanks for reading Chapter One of my story Crush.
I'll be working on chapter two!
