Act iv

scene I: hair is jewelry.

Sakura comes to choose a hair clip adorned with sparkling blue stones that catch the sunlight in front of his eyes. The hair accessory looks heavy, and expensive too, however none of it would matter if his mother did not like his gift.

He clenches his fist. Just how much could he rely on this witch's taste? He'll see.

He pays Anko a hefty amount for the clip which the sly woman takes and recounts the Ryo in delight. Sakura still fumbles with the hair clips, her long slender finger every so often brushing by a particular ruby red one, which had smaller stones than the rest displayed on Anko's stall.

He wonders if he should tell her something, but his work here was over, he should head back soon.

His imagination, though, appears to take him to places where he dreams of buying this particular maiden the ruby stoned hair clip and tucking it softly in her subdued pink hair. He was going to gently part her hair, and just like he saw Itachi do it with Izumi, he was going to take a handful of those strands to clip it in…

Sasuke shakes his head as if trying to get rid of the mental image conjured by his thoughts. He was watching too much of Itachi and Izumi being inappropriate in public these days.

Sakura, realizing their current situation, suddenly retracts her hands from all those hair clips as Anko finishes counting.

"Let's go Sasuke-kun.'' She hands him the silver silk-wrapped clip, bids Anko farewell with a smile on her face; a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes and starts walking ahead. Her hair catches the wind which suddenly picks up speed, implying an impending rain later during the day. Her hair was long, well maintained, messily tied by a single frayed red ribbon which looked like it was about to fall off any moment. Sasuke eyes the red hair clip lying on the wooden table amidst the various multicolored ones. Anko raises an eyebrow at his actions, and even if his heart doesn't want to, Sasuke just sighs and moves on.

Maybe another time.

scene II: stay awhile, and lose a mile.

Sakura's steps are small as she falls behind his back and Sasuke can't help but slow down so that he doesn't lose her in this crowd. Sakura doesn't say a word as the evening fast approaches, the festival livening up with all the lights and many more people joining in for the final entertainment of the day; the dance show. Sasuke means to ask if she is dancing today, but her forlorn expression makes his lips stick together on his own.

"Sakura?..." He holds her hand to stop her.

"Yes?" Her expression is soft, although it's faking a smile.

"Wait here, for me." He lets go of the hand, missing the warmth immediately as they lose contact.

He asks her to wait, by the peepal tree situated in the middle of the festival. Says he will come back.

scene III: then she will either wait for him or forget him.

Sakura sits and watches lovers and families pass by. She wonders if her found family is looking for her at the moment. She has undoubtedly run away from her responsibilities and Tsunade might be losing her mind, perhaps she has given Ino a lot more trouble than she had promised for, but she does not want to return. Watching the sunset, she thinks she has a good half an hour before the show and she could just disappear from here, but he has told her to wait.

Is he even going to return?

In a solitary life as hers, she never thought she would find the warmth that comes with the feeling of being in love. When her hands found his, there was that inexpressible warmth in them that made her feel like her soul had dipped too close to the sun with no fear and she had felt a certain surge of happiness flowing in her veins.

Was she being practical when she thought she had fallen for him? Certainly not. Was love practical? Certainly not.

Bells above start ringing like a prayer setting her heart afire. She rises up from the cold marble slab she was sitting on Sakura decides it's time to go. She had seen the last of it all, and now it was high time she came back to her senses to play her part, to do what she was born to do. She was foolish to think he was going to return; it was all a play to get rid of her. He was a knight and her, a foolish maiden.

There was never a 'they'.

She fixes her dress for the evening and tightens her hair in the red ribbon that has been a part of her everyday life for a long while. Her beige-colored sandals are worn out and she mentally notes to buy some cheap sandals before they leave Konoha or else she would become a liability while they traveled to Suna.

One last lingering look at the direction the knight left with her heart in his hands, Sakura picks up her pace towards the heart of the festival, her showground.

scene IV: later is better than never

He returns to ghosts in her place. Sasuke looks around for a while but when he cannot find a single trace of that godforsaken pastel hair amidst the bland colors among the crowd, his hand clutches hard around the red glass stone which breaks under the pressure of his muscles with shards coming in contact with the blood that freely falls on the stone pathway.

Silently.

tbc.

a/n: *drumrolls* that's it on today's episode folks. Again this is not geographically correct by any means, neither it is something you should take notes from. It's just a world I created that is not modern. The next update would definitely before the year ends but my midterms don't end till like the 20th so no promises about it.

kickasskunoichi: Honestly I was aiming for that vibe too, so I am happy that someone got the memo here asdfghjkl. I intended this fic to fall in the 'love at first sight' trope hence the summary 'they are born from just a single glance…' Its all part of the charm and of course I love me some cheeky Sakura with shy Sasuke huhu.

kin: hope you have some idea of what Sakura does now? If not, it should be clear by the next update. :)

can I just say how moved I am with all the love you guys have left me? Thank you so much for encouraging me with this project!