There has always been a mark on Sakura's side, since the day she was born below the last of her ribs and opposite to her heart. She's known what it meant since she was five and asked her mother, of course at that age the gravity had went right over her head.
Her own parents didn't have marks but they were still shamelessly in love to the point of embarrassment but in the end there were a lot of things they couldn't answer. Still, Sakura's immediate concern had been about whether or not her soulmate would even like her. At 5 and in school most of the other children ignored her or outright bullied her. For her hair, for the too large forehead she'd never noticed before, and perhaps most egregious in their eyes being a Teacher's Pet.
In young Sakura's opinion the worst of it was the forehead jokes considering she could pretend to be stupid but she couldn't change her physical aspects.
There were many times that she desperately wished that the person she was bound to would come bursting into her life, that like the pieces of her favorite puzzle (one with ridiculously sparkly, rainbow cats with huge eyes that made most adults cringe to look at) the two of them would seamlessly fit together. Even at five she knew that a piece by itself was alright, but when joined by another it became so much more.
Days came and went, seasons passed and they never came but she wasn't alone anymore. Ino was there. Ino was the one who taught her not to hide, to be more confident at least on the outside than Sakura ever felt on the inside. Ino, who had a mark that looked like a weird face between her shoulders and didn't seem bothered by it in the least.
"I might never meet them.' The blonde said, plucking some of the many petals off a white chrysanthemum. "Tying my whole life into someone I might never know...what's the point? It's better to just focus on the things I have right in front of me." She smiled, bopping the flower against her companions nose teasingly. "Like you," The grin turned into something rather conspiratorial. "And all the cute boys."
Ino at seven was prone to about one crush a month and that august happened to be devoted to Kiba after he brought one of his clan dogs into school for show and tell. It was the same summer that Ino caught a glimpse of the pink outline along Sakura's side for the first time and said "It looks like a cockroach, maybe it's an Aburame or something."
Sakura had nothing against Shino or his clan, but she really didn't want a bug permanently etched into her body. It wasn't very feminine, much less girly. Although if she looked at it the right way-or perhaps the wrong way, it did look like a bug. 'Or maybe a lobster.' she had thought, squinting at the mirror for a long while after that until pondering what it was just led her in circles and she gave up.
It took another four years for Sakura to decide that maybe Ino had the right of it, or that at the very least she should go through the motions and be like every other girl her age. She had come to the pragmatic decision that Uchiha Sasuke would be the target of her affection. If she could make him like her she could make anyone like her.
Sakura had perfectly logical reasons to choose him of all people, Sasuke was the most popular, the most lauded of everyone in their class therefore getting his approval, his attention would be like getting everyones .
So she'd gathered up the courage that had been years in the making, intending to ask him a question about the right angle to hold her wrist to hit one of the trickier long range targets in their weapons class when he'd simply looked at her, held tilted to the side and mumbled "Oh, Yamanaka's Shadow." And her whole being plummeted.
"That must be what everyone thinks." Sakura thought, equal parts dejected and...she supposed the word would be disappointed-in herself. It was like she didn't even exist outside of Ino and that had been fine for five year old Sakura but 11 year old Sakura wanted more .
Sakura wanted to be seen as herself not an extension of someone else and the fact that Ino also professed an interest in Sasuke gave her the inspiration to make a change. It wasn't out of animosity because as good looking as Sasuke was, as smart and cool as he was he could never supplant Ino and what she had done for her.
The day after graduation she called Ino out to the same place they met years ago and Ino, who probably knew her better than her own parents seemed confused for just a moment before her shoulders slumped in resignation, fist wrapped around the red ribbon Sakura had worn in her hair faithfully for years. The new shiny headband in its place was much heavier.
"I won't lose to you either." The blonde had declared, eyes closed and lips tilted into a proud smirk. From then on they bickered in public, loudly. They shouted and made snide comments, pushed and pulled at one another but not once did Sakura ever feel anything but thankful to Ino. Even Shikamaru, genius that he was seemed perplexed by the sudden shift.
It wasn't necessarily that Sakura was in love with Sasuke, she liked him. He was popular, he was handsome and at the top of their genin rankings and she was so sure that if she could just get him to like her a little bit it meant that anyone could like her, that she wasn't just unpopular, self-conscious Sakura anymore.
The mission to Wave came and went and it wasn't lost on Sakura how out of depth she was between Naruto and Sasuke but she was at a loss when it came to changing the status quo that they all seemed to have fallen into naturally. Her Sensei was not a bad man-he was supportive in a way that years later she might term accidently patronizing. Kakashi would risk his life for her, she had no doubt...but when it came to teaching it felt like he had no clue.
Often it felt like when he was looking at the members of Team 7 he was seeing something, or someone else entirely.
So, without a guidepost Sakura found herself gravitating back to bad habits-trying to catch Sasuke's attention.
Unfortunately it seemed like no matter what she did it just wasn't good enough. If she fawned all over him she was annoying, if she excelled at something Sasuke didn't it hurt his fragile ego and he spent hours sulking about it like it was some great offense. 'And now I'm even worse than Naruto?' which when Sakura thought about it, it wasn't that much of an insult since lately she'd sort of decided Naruto really wasn't all that bad.
Well, he still had moments that made her want to clobber him-like their current situation. His mouth was about to get them killed by a creep in a black catsuit. So there she was 13 years old, confused as hell about her path in life with Naruto's neck locked under her forearm and apologizing quite sweetly for his profound stupidity when her side started to sting something awful.
It had never hurt before but Sakura knew what it meant, what her parents hadn't been able to explain to her very well she had researched on her own like the industrious person she could be when she had to be. 'Oh no, don't let it be Face Paint. He wears more makeup than I do.' she thought miserably.
The feel of a thousand tiny needles pressing through her skin made her whimper, arm dropping from Naruto's neck to grasp the wet spot that was quickly forming. No one else seemed to be in pain and she recognized the sound of her own voice but she didn't quite register what was coming out of her mouth.
Things felt tense to say the least. Naruto was fussing around her, Sasuke had shown up in his normal, totally cool fashion but there was some weird red head with a giant gourd in the treetops looking down at her with a completely blank expression. For half a second she wondered if it was him and he was just really pain tolerant but then he was gone and the whole world became a blur, her waist wrapped in what felt like an ironband.
"The hell?!" This time she knew exactly what she was saying as the pain faded into something more tolerable and began to twist aggressively trying to break free. She only got in about two wiggles before she was dropped, the incline of the roof made her slide for a beat, but as quick as Sakura felt it she pressed a thin film of chakra to her soles to keep herself stable.
Hand pressed to her side, Sakura turned her head to face her temporary kidnapper. He wasn't nearly as tall as Kakashi or as broad as her dad but he was taller than her by more than a foot. From the color of his clothes and the headband dangling from his waist she knew he was from Suna, which left her wondering what the hell he was doing in Konoha anyways.
Her eyes were drawn to the untamed chaos that constituted his hair, falling in not-quite waves about his face and over his forehead. In the bright afternoon sunlight the color verged on scarlet, a more intense red hue than her clothes favoured.
Oh, but it was his face that squeezed her heart, even at 13 Sakura had a bias towards pretty; With a slim, straight nose and sharp heavy lidded eyes that were wreathed in thick lashes he certainly fell into the category. All except for the firm,displeased set of his well shaped lips. 'Well so what if he's good looking?' Sakura thought, recognizing after much scrutiny that he had to be older than her by at least five years and came from a foreign country.
'And he also ran off with me.' She hoped Naruto didn't freak out too badly, the last thing they needed was an international incident. "Who are you?" She scowled.
The man heaved a sigh like the universe itself had inconvenienced him, and pulled the zipper of his jacket down swiftly, giving her a good look at the skin tight black shirt beneath it. He wasn't just a pretty face, but wiry muscles built for speed and dexterity. It took a moment for her brain to catch on to the fact that over his heart there was a wet spot that corresponded to a red splotch on the inside of his jacket.
"Oh," Sakura breathed in realization, eyes growing wider. Now, what she had meant to say was that he was older than she had expected but the words got all tied up on the way from her head to her mouth and they came out all wrong. "But you're old…"
"And you're a brat!" He snapped back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This whole thing is ridiculous."
Sakura was beginning to wonder if there was something about Suna that made everyone who came from it into a monumental jerk. At a complete loss when it came to her current predicament she decided to do the polite thing. "I'm Haruno Sakura…" She bowed minutely, peeking up at him through the fall of her hair and waited for him to introduce himself.
He looked annoyed just from hearing her name and didn't bother bowing back. "Sasori." His eyes slid off to the left and narrowed just a fraction before he moved further back. About an inch from where he had previously stood Kakashi flickered into sight, looking about as frazzled as Sakura had ever seen him.
"Sakura, are you okay?" As it turned out Kakashi was developing a sense solely dedicated to knowing when something foul was afoot in concern to his students and as soon as he had nominated his cute little team he'd gone looking for them. What he found on the way was a bunch of Naruto's running around in a panic. It didn't take too long to find the original one.
The real Naruto had been having a rather public freak out in the company of a bunch of Suna genin while Sasuke managed his disquiet in a more constructive manner, casually questioning a Redheaded boy-Gaara as it turned out to be about why his Instructor had run off with Sakura.
There was something that was almost amused in the boy's pupiless eyes when he answered. 'No,' Kakashi amended. 'Vindictive.' when he thought about it that seemed to be a recurring trait when it came to Sunagakure ninja. 'At least in my experience.'
"Sensei isn't going to hurt her..." Gaara's arms were crossed over his chest as he looked off into the distance-presumably the direction the two had whisked off to. It felt like there was a probably dropped off at the end of his statement.
Hearing that particular name in conjunction to Sakura's had sent a swift bolt of alarm through him but it was what Gaara said next that really put a spur in Kakashi's side and apparently everyone else's.
"After all, wouldn't that be like suicide for soulmates?"
The fallout was bombastic.
Naruto shrieked, rather like a girl-looking as though someone had told him ramen was banned from the village indefinitely.
Sasuke mumbled a rather confused "Huh?" because given how ardently the girl had pursued him he'd always assumed she didn't have a soulmate.
The girl with spiky pigtails began to laugh hysterically, throwing her head back to the sky.
The last of them, another puppeteer if Kakashi's assumptions were correct seemed almost as disturbed as he felt. The poor boy actually trembled but the jounin didn't stick around to watch.
It wasn't necessarily that Kakashi thought Sasori was a danger to Sakura's wellbeing-at least not her physical being. 'I'm sure he could do plenty of mental damage.' he repressed a shudder. Sasori had a reputation that proceeded him when it came to his...art. 'Nothing says fun like dissecting corpses or making them dance around a battlefield to tear apart their once allies.' and a sad point of fact was that his sharingan was virtually useless against the younger man's tactics.
The copy-wheel could help him predict movements but Sasori averaged about one puppet per finger if he wasn't using his Sandaime-which was a whole different danger. That basically meant anyone who fought him one-on-one was out numbered. 'And that's taking the fact that they are all soaked in poison out of the equation.' The Suna-nin was without a doubt vicious, in word and in deed.
For the life of him Kakashi couldn't figure out why the gods would want to bind nice little Sakura with a monster. Sure she had a bit of a temper, but she really was such a good girl. 'And he's…' The devil might have been a good term as far as he was concerned.
"Why wouldn't she be?" Sasori wondered, holding back a snort it wasn't like he could do anything to her without risking himself. "You're being a bit rude, don't you think Hatake?"
Technically, butting in on them as he had was a bit against etiquette-finding one's soulmate was a once in a lifetime thing and it could take...adjusting to. "In my defense she's 13 and you're 23…" Sakura made a faint noise from behind him and if he had to put a name to it Kakashi would have termed it scandalized . 'Oops, guess she didn't know.' he couldn't really blame her, Sasori still looked a good deal younger than he actually was. 'Well, he is short.'
"Watch what you insinuate." before you end up writhing in agony was the unspoken threat that seemed to slither through the spike in killing-intent.
The faint twitch that was forming beneath the other man's left eye wasn't lost on him, and Kakashi filed it away for a later time. "Maa, just think of me as your friendly chaperone, ne? You won't even know I'm around." Kakashi held his hands up placatingly, gave a brief pat to Sakura's head and then true to his word seemed to disappear altogether.
Except Sasori could feel the copy-nin's eye boring into him and if he moved just a touch closer to the girl it was only to bother the other man.
"Uhm…" The pink haired girl began, wondering what to even say. 'Hi hello, we're soulmates, wanna go eat Anmitsu with me?' that sounded stupid and honestly, other than the distant pain she didn't feel terribly different. "Why is your team in Konoha?" that seemed like a nice thing to start with, only the question made his eyes narrow at her.
"The chuunin exams are coming up in a week." Sasori's dead-pan answer came and with it Sakura's nerves sky rocketed, the blood that had suffused her face with a pleasant blush drained away, leaving her pale.
'Oh no, that's right.' it would be around time for the exams and she had completely forgotten about it. 'There's no way Team 7...no there is no way I'm ready for them.'
"Kakashi would be stupid to nominate you." It was strange but it felt as if he could feel her concerns coiling about his chest like phantom fingers. It wasn't unheard of for Soulmates to catch glimpses of one another's emotional states if the feelings were strong enough, especially when they were in close quarters.
He didn't like it. It made his stomach flop pathetically like he was slipping into a free fall. 'I'll have to work on that.' on filtering out what was her and what was him.
It was one thing for Sakura to disparage herself but it was very different for someone else to do it, Soulmate or otherwise. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She seethed, hands finding their way to still flat hips.
"Stop that." Sasori huffed a sigh, looking almost amused. She went from one emotion to the next with startling speed, anxious to angry. He found that he preferred the anger, it had warmth to it.
It reminded Sakura of the way one might eye a precocious hissing kitten and that thought only made her puff up more. She actually bared her teeth at him, luminous eyes narrowing in on his own.
Without intending it Sasori found himself squishing her cheeks which as expected were soft . He tsked. At his lack of control, at her and the sad state of the universe that brought him so low. 'She really is a liability, what exactly am I supposed to do with her?' Between the Chuunin exams that Kakashi would be an idiot to allow her into and the impending Invasion it seemed that everywhere he looked something was threatening her life.
Sasori would have to consider things more carefully later, he never did anything without a plan in mind.
Since fear had been quite effective in getting his own Genin to listen he'd employ the tactic on her, if Kakashi did nominate his team she'd be too scared out of her mind to agree to the folly. "It means you're wholly out of your depth and if by some monumental lapse in logic your Sensei does enter you, you'll probably die." somewhere along the way he'd stopped squishing her, his grip became more of a cupping.
Sakura might have blushed because having her face cradled in the palm of his hand was very different from the conciliatory pats Kakashi liked to place on the crown of her head except she was focused on the anger coursing through her. "You don't know me well enough to decide that!" her head jerked away.
"Little Girl, you've probably never even seen a dead body before." He should have told her that Gaara, at the age of 12 had already killed well over 60 people and that there would be others just as dangerous as him lurking about and Sasori had meant to but Sakura continued talking, voice rising.
"Well, you'd be very wrong about that. I've seen more than one." Her teeth ground together as she spat the ominous words out. Sakura tried often to not to think about Haku and Zabuza, to not think about Sasuke's almost death and how she wept. She had been so ashamed of crying at first, until she realized that even though she was a Kunoichi she had no interest in throwing away her emotions. 'At the end of the day even a Shinobi is a human being and has the right to feel.' she was resolute in that.
Thinly veiled interest began to creep into his eyes. "Oh?" He prompted, his hand dropping from the air where it had lingered.
Sakura did not tell him names, or places because even if he was her Soulmate and technically allied with her village it seemed...unprofessional to give out that sort of information. She stuck to the facts of a mission that was meant to be a C-rank-as it had been recorded but in truth was A-rank.
Sasori withheld the unwanted aggravation that Kakashi even continued the mission despite knowing that he had been lied to about the details and listened as her voice became less a matter of fact and more suffused with emotion.
She spoke of a man who killed an entire academy class as a child, one he hadn't even been a part of, a man who took in a child and honed them into a weapon. Of a land that might as well have been nothing, strangled under a tyrant while the people choked and gasped, unable to find a way out.
The sad fate of an orphan who loved a man so much he used his body as a shield, of how that same man laughed about it-for a time at least. "And then when he found that he was to be used as a tool the same as...just the same as the boy who died for him he wept and died with a knife in his mouth." or maybe he had been eaten up by the thought of it the whole time and simply knew how to hide it better than Sakura ever could.
Sometimes if she closed her eyes she could still see Haku's ghastly face smiling in death, lips painted in blood and Sasuke's cold body pierced all over with senbon.
it had occurred to her now that Haku was probably more than just some orphan Zabuza had found on the street and molded into a weapon. 'No, they were probably more like me and Sasori.' The tears came unbidden because it was just awful to think about.
The rules said that a Shinobi should never show their emotions, but Sakura had long decided she would never be any good at that and after seeing how things had turned out for Zabuza she rejected the notion thoroughly. 'Just like Naruto.' She thought fondly. No, she wouldn't be killing her own heart with a blade as Haku had said, just so that she could become a text-book ninja.
There had to be a better way.
"What's there to cry about?" For the first time since meeting him there was an almost wildness to him, nutmeg colored eyes thrown wide and head cocked to the side as he looked down at her. "They died as they lived."
"They were still people!" Her voice rose in pitch, hands fisting until her knuckles turned white.
"Hey, does that sound like something an aspiring Shinobi should be saying?" he asked suddenly a breath away, bent close enough that she could feel his hair brushing her forehead. "Do you know how many lives you'll end up taking? Do you know how many will try to steal your own? If you keep thinking so valiantly you're going to die."
Maybe it was because Sakura had grown up feeling loved her whole life-never once made to feel like she wasn't allowed to be a human, or maybe it was because Kakashi had taught them that the written rules weren't always right. It even could have been because she had simply made the decision that being a Kunoichi didn't mean that she had to stop valuing other lives but she was appalled by his careless disregard for life.
In that moment she hated him and without thinking her foot lashed out and caught him in the shin. A feat which normally would have been impossible if it weren't for the fact that Sasori had been feeling rather complacent in her presence.
He learned his lesson about that because despite how small she was the kick had hurt.
"Idiot!" Sakura seethed. "How is that the only way you can think? People, Shinobi or otherwise have meaning." she didn't bother to say much more, buzzing with angry energy as she dropped down from the roof.
Sasori absolutely refused to rub what he was sure would be a forming bruise mostly because he was sure Kakashi from where he was hiding would have himself a good snicker over it.
"Brat." he mumbled. 'Only someone who's never taken a life or had their life threatened can spout off like that.' It was high time he got back to his own team. '...and they'd better keep their mouths shut, I'm in no mood.'
No matter how long he thought about it he just couldn't understand why she had cried. People died everyday.
Anger didn't last long for Sakura,not after she spent a good thirty minutes kicking a rock down the street. Instead all she felt was a mess when she found a nice quiet bench to drop into, developing into a nice sulk. "Stupid." unsure if she meant herself or Sasori. The blood soaked into her tunic was drying and making her itch.
"Sakura."
Her name spoken by a familiar voice had her head turning.
Sasuke had dropped into the bench besides her. Now normally Sakura might have blushed or squealed but in light of recent events she couldn't be bothered. "Uhh...hey?" she offered weakly.
He didn't quite look at her, his eyes off to the side as he spoke. "You worried us. Naruto has been running around looking for you." Apparently Sasuke had been too. Which made her feel warm and fuzzy but not quite the way it might have any other day.
Sakura blinked a few times as she registered the words because she never expected to hear something like that from him. "Sorry...I wasn't expecting it either."
There was a moment of silence before curiosity got the better of him. " If you knew you had a soulmate…"
Sakura supposed it was mostly his ego that drove him to ask because she had a very hard time believing he'd suddenly fallen in love with her, but then maybe she was being unkind due to recent events. 'I really do owe him an explanation.' She took a deep breath and put her thoughts in order.
"I guess I never thought that I would meet them...and you were always so cool, everyone liked you. I thought if you liked me then a little of what made you so special would rub off on me." She shrugged. "and it's not that I don't like you or anything...its just different."
She liked that Sasuke was always calm and collected, above the fray and tempestuous emotions she and Naruto often found themselves into. That being said she liked Naruto's determination, how he always picked himself up even after a failure and charged ahead.
What she felt for Sasuke was a choice based on a desired outcome. "I guess that makes me sound bad." Sakura's shoulders slumped. "And annoying."
The boy beside her laughed shortly. "it's surprisingly pragmatic of you." He had always thought her to be vain and vapid, but in Sasuke's opinion he sort of understood the reasoning. He was confident and proficient anyone would want to be like him. "So what's he like?" Sasuke hadn't even caught a glimpse of him besides a brief blur of red and he wasn't sure if it was Sakura's clothing or something else.
More than anything he wanted to know who was teaching that browless weirdo and how capable they were.
Sakura pouted and turned her head away. "I should find Naruto before he makes trouble..." She picked herself off the bench. "Besides, what you really want to know is if he's strong or not." She teased, offering a wane smile when he came to walk at her side. "I guess, Kakashi-sensei seemed kinda worried about him."
It only seemed to make Sasuke more interested. "What's his name?" He wondered if the instructor was as famous as theirs. Or as dangerous.
"Sasori. Didn't get a last name." It didn't take long to find Naruto-or rather two of them.
"Sakura-chan, You worried me!" And the first one threw his arms around her in a bear hug. It didn't matter that it squeezed her side and made it twinge or that he was loud and grabby. In that moment all she really wanted was to be hugged. She just about melted into him much to his surprise. "Oi, did that guy do something weird, dattebayo?" The other Naruto popped into nothing, dispersed in thick plumes of vapor.
Sakura guessed that depended on what weird meant and dropped her chin into his shoulder. "Not really ...he just isn't what I expected I guess." She was still trying to define how she felt other than angry at him but the more she tried to focus on the elusive feeling she'd been left with the more it seemed to slip from her grasp.
In the end Ino was right. It was best to focus on the things right in front of her. "You can let go now."
Naruto, not about to push his luck for once and get walloped after he managed to sneak a hug dropped her, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What's he even doing here?" he complained, arms tucked behind his head as he took up the empty space beside her.
"The chuunin exams are coming up." The worry was back again. They weren't really meant to meet with Kakashi again for another few days but she was beginning to dread what he would say.
"Huh?" Naruto looked utterly lost-the proof that he hardly paid attention during classes unless it meant physical activity was required but Sakura launched into a quick but brief explanation and watched as his face lit up. "Oh, I get it! I hope we get to enter, dattebayo!"
Even Sasuke looked about as thrilled as he got at the thought.
'I guess I'm the only one who's worried.' Sakura was well aware she'd slipped into an unladylike slouch as she put one foot in front of the other. "I think I'm just gonna go home."
Naruto pouted briefly but after catching Sasuke's elbow in his side his attention turned to vocally complaining. "What was that for, Bastard?!"
Sakura heard the faint strains of mostly Naruto bickering as Sasuke threw in a few bored one liners as she walked away. She caught sight of Ino leaning against the wall of her house immediately, even as the other girl tried her best to look casually uninterested there was an almost visceral energy buzzing about her.
"Well?" Ino asked, spreading her arms wide expectantly. "What are they like?"
"Is everyone I meet going to ask me that?" Sakura scowled and then looked at her friend suspiciously. "How do you even know?" Her voice was high and squeaky even to her own ears.
Grinning, Ino looped an arm around the Pink-Haired girl's shoulders. "Naruto's been around the village looking for you and complaining the whole time. Don't be surprised if everyone knows by now."
'Well that explains the clone." Sakura groaned and slammed the door to her house open only to be hit in the face with a handful of confetti. "Stop that!" she wiped the sparkly bits off her face.
"Congratulations!" Mebuki wiped a tear from her eye. "We'll be having your favorite tonight." sometimes it was hard to believe how fast her baby had grown up.
"Mom,It's not like an award or a birthday!" Sakura ignored Ino's giggles, torn between exasperation and anticipation-her parents wouldn't let her eat tempura everyday, muchless anmitsu.
"Of course not, its rarer than either." Mebuki sighed as she watched Sakura kick her shoes off in the entryway, leaving them scattered about. "How'd it go, what were they like and when can we meet them?"
Sakura shuddered at the thought. 'I don't think that would go over well…' it was a bit hard picturing that man sitting at her dining table.
"I just asked that!" Ino intoned having placed her shoes neatly by the door after collecting Sakura's.
"I'm going to get cleaned up!" Sakura made a hasty exit up the stairs and into her room, Ino at her heels just as fast when she sensed the running intent.
"Oh come on it can't be that bad…" Sakura's tunic was thrown in the blonde's face cutting off whatever else she had meant to say.
Looking in the mirror Sakura got a good look at the undeniable proof that something about her had in fact changed that day. "Well, it's not a lobster." she pouted because she wasn't sure what she got what much better than what she used to think it was.
"Or a cockroach." Ino dropped the clothing into the hamper and perused the bottles of nailpolish Sakura had scattered along her dresser. "I guess a scorpion is a step up."
Apparently fate or whatever god was in charge of things such as soulmates had decided to be quite literal with Sakura. She was basically walking around with Sasori's name in picture form, colored a purple darker than violet larkspurs.
Later at dinner, which Ino had of course invited herself to stay for Sakura allowed herself to be interrogated all at once rather than piecemeal.
"He's than me older." Sakura had stuffed a piece of tempura into her mouth.
"By how much?" Kizashi had managed to maintain an eerie sense of calm after hearing the news-it was strange because he was by far the more...animated out of her parents.
"Ten years."
Ino laughed like a hyena that night.
"Oh," Mebuki smiled knowingly. "Well, it always did seem like you liked them mature." There was no use in throwing a fit about it she thought, watching her husband sob.
Sakura choked on a tempura fried carrot.
Across the village, in their temporary quarters the Suna contingent had their own troubles to deal with.
Temari had been sent out an hour ago to go retrieve dinner and normally Sasori would have reprimanded her for being so late-and he was about to until he saw the blood trail running from her neck, starting beneath her head band and staining her clothes. The fingers he had been drumming against the table stilled.
"Don't. Say. A. Word." She threatened, dropping the bags on the table. 'Is this like...karma for laughing at Sasori-sensei?' The guy she was stuck with wasn't even cute. He was a slouchy, lazy bastard who took one look at her and said troublesome. 'At least he's my age.' she thought viciously.
"Does anyone else," Sasori looked between Kankuro and Gaara seethingly. "Have a Soulmate in this godforsaken village?"
This chapter was meant to end at "Sakura choked on a fried carrot." But I couldn't resist throwing Temari under the bus right along with her and Sasori. Basically the entire cast exploded all over this chapter, my bad lmao.
In all honesty, Sakura IS the more emotionally mature one out of her and Sasori despite being a 13yr old girl whose feelings flop all over the place.
I mean;
Sakura: I have feelings and that's ok. c:
Sasori: Feelings? What are those...oh wait I do have one: Annoyance.
Its why Sasori is capable of feeling Sakura's emotions more than she can his.
On a side note, I've had to go back and re-read a good portion of part one just to remember key details...talk about nostalgia. -Me remembering when I actually liked Sasuke.- and then the whole apple smack thing happens and I'm like "Naaah."
Larkspur,or Delphinium is poisonous-but in the language of flowers the purple ones can mean
sweetness and first love. In ancient times they were also used for driving away...scorpions. Hahaha.