Notes: The. Longest. I have ever written.
Sorry for the dragged days!! I just don't know what to write, so pardon me if the chapter is not good enough.
But...by the way, Kudos and comments as usual~Have a great night/day~
The Black Market.
A simple name, nothing special or too dramatic. However, to those who understand it, the name sends a deep, chiling fear down their spine, so bad that a grown man cries and a woman becomes quiet.
A Market, ran by the so called mighty nobles and underground forces, with their own, filthy rules. Where there is no right or wrong, just the strong and the weak, just gold and silver. Every country has a center for Black Market, but the strongest one placed in the Land of Water.
And this land, my friend, is where we are heading to.
You see, in the underground, they sell things that you can never find somewhere else above. Illegal subjects, drugs, weapons,…. Everything you can't buy in a normal market, the Black can fulfill your desire, if you have enough money, and bravery, of course.
Everything you want, even….
Slave.
From the young, pretty girls to poweful, muscular man. To the fallen noble to poor peasants. All types of humans with crumbled destinies end up in the Black, chained and locked in the humans' cruelty.
And when they say all types, then they really mean it. Yes, even children. Even the poor, innocent, sweet children are not spared from the hand of greed.
This world has no mercy, after all.
_
Where is she going?
Sakura can feel the familiar rocking motion. Not wagon, however. Shaking and moving, like a boat on the sea.
Ah yes, she is on a large ship. A brig, a holding ceil made from wood and metal, held with iron shackle on her wrists and her ankles. Heavy, cold material presses against her pale skin, leaving some bruise marks that starts to bloom like flower.
Humans bodies are really fragile.
White Diamond won't be pleased. She hates color, especially easily noticeable color. Like Pink. Like Red. Like Purple.
It doesn't matter. Soon, her Diamond (not hers) will wash it away.
Where is she going?
Even if her mind is dizzy and her sight blurring from the White fog, she can still feel it, crystal clear. The unpleasant smell of sweat, dirt, blood, fungus…. It mixes together, so thick that you can't breathe without coughing or panting. The smell of despair and hopelessness, or the poor and the doom.
A soft, wet sound reaches Sakura's ears. A child's cry, a muffled sob.
It's not hers. Gems don't cry. Pearls don't cry. Servans don't cry.
That means…..She is not alone.
Her normal eye stares up, somehow manages to find out the shape of those around her. Humans. More humans. Living, breathing humans. Males, females, elders, children…. More than 30 beings, all together in a room that seems far too small, crowd, huddle against each other like some frightened animals. There is something that makes them alike, she thinks, an expression. An emotion.
What does it call? She wonders. What is that emotion name? The feeling that steals the light from people's eyes, shatters their mind, shuts down the living will inside their soul. The feeling brings tears to their empty eyes, lets the dark spills into their hearts until everything left behind are a bag of useless bones, blood and emptiness.
It doesn't matter.
Emotion is not for her. A perfect Pearl needs no emotion.
Nonononononononononono-
The screaming, again. Where does it come from? The ghost of lost Gems? The ghost of her stubborn, stupid Pink? The pieces that didn't broken under the Diamond's hands?
Sakura feels something icy sparkles inside her Gem. The old touch of rage burns her, brings color to her world in a moment that lasts too short, too beautiful to be real.
Faint pain claws at her body, and Sakura stiffens. Her small, shivering mouth opens, letting out hollow apologies and preyer for mercy.
Nothing comes out.
She can't talk. A Pearl doesn't speak if her Master doesn't require her to. She deserves this. This is all her fault.
The cold fire fades away, like everything is just her silly imagination. Of course. How can she be so foolish? How can she let herself to be so weak even in just a moment? She is White. Nothing more, nothing less.
She is White. Just White and only White.
She puts her hands in her lap, on the greyish fabric of the kimono, and she stays like that. Ignore all the organic creatures in the dark, dirty room, she holds the red scarf in her hands, tightly, a drowning girl clutches at the very last straw of her life.
She smiles.
I will be good, my Diamond.
I promise. I will be good.
Perfectperfectperfectperfecrperfectperfect-
_
At Konoha.
Thumb!
"Akagi Renji, ID 014444, report." Renji smirks, an action that reveals more teeth than a normal smile, while carelessly waving a bloddy black scroll in his hand.
The Mission Deck ninja, a boring one with muddy brown short hair and simple black eyes, winces slightly as the smell of old blood tortures his nose.
"Yes….. Akagi-san, gim'me a minute." He flips through the notes. "Ah, an A-class mission right?"
"Yeah. Some random fuckers that decides robbing a whole village is cool." He rolls his eyes. Dramatic people, give him such a mission. "Boring as fuck. So, can you just hurry up? I am not very patient."
"O…Ok, Akagi-san." The ninja takes the scroll in his hand, then hands him the paper. "Please write your report here. After finish it, give it to Tayaka-san over there and you will get your money."
"Sure, sure. Whatever." He clicks his tongue, roughly puts the paper into his pocket. "Have a nice day in Hell, bastards."
Leaves the boring office behind, Renji spends time wandering around the village in a few minutes, before comes back to his house and takes a quick shower, cleaning the last part of some suckers off his body. Don't misunderstand, he kinda like the taste of blood. Hell, he loves it, but once it dries, cleaning is a pain in ass. Also, blood of losers doesn't worth such effort.
Put on a normal turtle-neck sweater, a black jeans and some random sandals, Renji walks straight to the Midnight Bar, one of the best place in this village. He points some familiar faces, and decides to just ignore them like usual.
"Like normal?" The bartender, a hottie girl, also the rare who don't hate him just because of his nature, shakes her dyed red hair and looks at him through the long eyelashes.
"Hn. Is there anything new?" He sits down at the long table and yawns. Bonus of being a Gem: your body works differently, so don't have to worry about some thing like drunk.
"How about a nice cup of Blowing Orgasm?" She winks. "On the house."
"You know me too well, baby. But sorry, not into sex tonight."
"Ok, then. But if you change your mind, know where to call me." The bartender pouts, swaying her hips as she turns around.
"Long time no see, Renji." A male voice approaches him from behind, careful footsteps to show their non-ill intention. Renji scowls a little, before relaxes at the known chakra. Ah, one of the less annoying people.
"Long time, Genma." He looks at the brunette, raising an eyebrow. "Haven't seen you in….what, a month?"
"1 year and 4 months." Genma corrects, orders some sake before turns back to the ravenette. "So, how is your day? How many did you kill this time."
"Dunno. Didn't count. Too lazy to count." He shrugs. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nah. Nothing special, really. Some gossiping from both civilians like the economy, politics bla bla bla." Renji laughs at the man's digusted face. "They have such imagination."
"Yeah, whatever." He shrugs, takes the drink the girl gives with a polite 'thank you', (Suprise! He has manner, fuckers) creating a small jingling sound as the Gem meets the glass cup. Bittersweet alcohol burns his throat slightly, and Renji allows himself to sigh in pleasure.
Ah…the joy of eating…..of tasting real tastes, not the sandy, rubbish flavour stubbornly clings on his tongue.
Life can be such a bitch sometime….
Some light from the bulbs above shines through the pale pink liquid, creating some sparkle and shadow of pretty pink lays down on the wodden table. He suddenly remembers a little Gemling with bright pink hair and smooth Jewel in her socket, eye-like but not really eye.
His Gem shines a little.
He almost forgets about the little doll. How long has it been since the Kyuubi invasion? 1 year? 2 years? Or more? He doesn't have a good thing with time, fuck it.
Ah, yes, nearly 5 year. His brain finally gives him a good answer.
So…one more year, hn? One more and he will know if that little pinkie will live or not. He kinda wishes she will be able to survive. It's lonely, being the only Gem in this place…
Actually….there are some other, but they all burried deep down in the earth now. And Orochimaru doesn't count. He is not in the village, and they are not close, honestly. So…Yup, the only.
Fuck his life.
"How long are you donna stay this time?" Genma breaks their silence.
"How the hell can I know? Maybe a few weeks, or month? Or maybe tomorrow, I will leave for some andreline." His fingers caress his Gem, a habit from old days, longing for the hot, boiling burning energy it gives everytime he fights. Of course, have to be in controlled, though. Too much, and he is doomed.
Renji hears a tired sigh comes from Genma's mouth as he pinches his bridge of nose.
"Renji….really? Not even a vacation? Or a short break? You are always out of the village, Renji!! You will become worse than Kakashi!"
"Aren't I already worse than him?" He laughs, a sound more bitter than it should be. Who knows? Maybe they can have a competition to figure it out. "Who will care, hn, Genma? Who will care about a Gem? A tool? Don't waste your worry on me, my friend. It's not my shattered day yet. And don't act like you care. You never did."
He takes out some money to pay for the drink and leave, rude as usual. Soft whispers reach his ears, but doesn't reach his scared heart.
"I care…..We care….Renji…."
Fuck them. Fuck them all. Fuck. Them. All.
He doesn't need pity.
He doesn't need anyone's caring. He is fine. He is good.
He is just a Gem. He is powerful, a perfect machine. Why should they care, hn? Why now? It's not like they care before? They never did. Not when he was a child. Not when the blood of his first victim tainted his Gem. Not when he lost all his teammates.
"Useless fuckers…." He hisses, staying in the shadow of buildings, watching the warm scene of Konoha Market, a way to sooth his too much angriness. "Pretend that I need their kindness. Hah…like I do."
His heart aches, a dulling pain growing bigger and bigger day by day. A need. A desire, a simple wish that can't be done.
Packs all that fucking depressed think and throws it somewhere in his Gem-mind, Renji turns around, ready to go home before some phrases catch his attention.
"-runo right?"
"Yeah, those one."
"What happened?"
"His wife is mad, don't you know? She is in the hospital now. Something like depression and madness."
"Oh God, really?"
"Uh hn. And their child, the little girl with pink hair, is gone too. No one sees her after they return from Wave. ."
"Maybe they divorce, and Haruno-san leaves his child back at his parents' home? He was born near Wave, after all…."
"It's possible. Poor child, has to witness and bare her parents' faults this whole time…."
Haruno?
Wait. Haruno? Pink Hair?
Isn't that….the Gemling? The baby doll?
Renji doesn't have a good feeling.
_
Shouting and screaming.
So much voice. So much noice. All kind of noises. From a man's stranggled cry to a child's pleadding, rings in the air like a harmony of chaos and pain.
Nails scratching the metal bars. The sweet sound of money in a bad as the riches trade their subject. Shackle shaking as the slaves walk.
She is in a cage too. So that means she is going to be traded away, right?
A new Master to serve.
She must be good. She will be good.
She is Perfect. She is Perfect. She is White.
She is out of her cage now. Sakura notices. Hands on her limbs, forcing her at her place, kneeling, head down, can't fight. She won't fight. She is good. She is good.
Her kimono is pulled down, showing white, young flesh that can olny be found on children's bodies. Clacking sound of metal, the fire hissing, the dance of ashes and smoke….
Burn.
White, hot, burning pain explodes at her back, hot like lava and sour like acid. Worse than an electical shock, but not the most painful feeling she has felt. Still, it's unpleasant, to be burned down to the bones, in and out, until what left of her snowy flesh is dark, ugly roasted skin. Frying, reddish, bad smell skin, like an overcooked meat. Ruined and destroyed.
Is she being punished? For not being a good Pearl? For bad behaviour?
Please...pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
She is burning. She is in pain. She is bleeding. Humans shouldn't be burned. They don't eat humans.
Ah, but she is not a human.
She is Bad. She is Not Good.
Sakura stays silent, even if the others around her wailing, thousand voice of torment, a cacophony of Hell. She stays silent even when the people puts some liquid on the wound so it will never fully healed and throw her back to her cage. She keeps her position when they pull her up to the stage, shouting the price like a lifeless subject.
Isn't it irony? A subject, she is. Nothing more. Nothing less.
A man, a middle age man wearing expensive clothes with grey hair, small eyes, fake, cheesy smile buys her, a high price for a slave. He is not even bother with her wound, only wants to clean her up so that she will be fittable for his reputation. Only lets her keeps the scarf, for it will help her entertaining him, brings her back to his house in the Land of Tea. He has a lot of slaves, too, serving the parties or just for his twisted desire.
The first day she arrives, he puts her in a small room down the long basement, separated from the outside world. Very small, only enough for her to sit in the seiza position, hands at her side, still chained, but he changes it to golden one to show his fame and all. Everything is Dark, not even a light comes from the slight gap between the door and the floor. She can still see through it, her sight is imhuman, after all.
Her Master keeps her in that room, feeding her tasteless food, enough for her to live. Gem doesn't need food, but it's her Master's order. She will obey, even if the food is like rubbish and cheap crystal, cutting her tongue like a forever torment.
She has no awareness about time. In the Darkness (White), a second lasts a century and a hour lasts a blink of eye. Time, a powerful, mischievous creature, flows by it own will but noticed by your own mind, never the same.
He wants to break her with this eternal Darkness. Break every pieces of the fighting will left in a human soul, bends her mind with his words. He will turn her into a slave like how he has done with other people. He knows the power of Silence. The silence talks more than sound, for your mind never stops thinking. It traps you, it never lets you go. It crushes your hope, and than….
And than…..
You are nothing but a tool. A mind-break, pitied tool.
He is a master in this Game.
Nothing compares to White Diamond, but still, a very, very arrogant and skilled mind-player.
But the man, he never knows…..
The patience she has, longer than life. The time she has waited, the age of stars. The Darkness, a sand in desert, after all the White.
How can you break something….
That has been far broken than a fragmented glass?
_
"No!! No!! No!! No!!" Young, squeaky voice screams over and over again in the giant Land of Mind. Never stops. Can not stop.
Her fists slams against the hard, mighty White Wall covers the White Pearl and the young Opal, deperately to knock it down and stop the spreading White.
"Pearl!! Opal!! Stop!! Stop!!" The Pink Gem, a bunch of Pink Light, has died before getting a physical form, shaking back and front. The Amethyst, the only clear thing in the whole body, shines an aura of Pink in the whole sea of White.
"Not White!! Not White!! Pink!! Pink!! Sakura!! Sakura!!" She repeats it again and again, tries to break them out of their circumstances, what she decides to call the White Mode.
She hates it.
"Perfectperfectperfectperfectperfect-"
White Pearl, a shadow of what used to be Pink Pearl before being bleached, chants under her breath. White wires tied her neck, her body, forcing Pearl into the awkward position, is now wrapping around Sakura's tiny form, which is a mess of blending Pink and White. Such a pain to look at.
The White is begins to take control.
"No!! No!! No!!" Amethyst punches the wall one more time, yelling on top of her lung. "Never!! We are Pink!! Never White!! Never!!! NEVER"
Bam!!
The wall cracks, slightly, under Amethyst's violent action. The whole White shivers, unnoticeable, but enough to bring up her hope.
"Shannaro!!" She yells again, and goes on with the punches.
Sakura's hands curled, slightly. The finger twitches, and her Opal gem lightens up in the whole darkness.
She stays still.
But something inside the little girl, begins to change.
_
We are White and Pink.
We are not followers. We are destroyers. We control. We fight. We protect. We kill.
We are different. We are rage. We are ice. We are monsters. Twisted under White hands but grew powerful through years of suffering.We died and we survived. We lived on.
We are Pink Pearl. We are Pink Opal. We are all in one and one in all. We are many.
Soon, we will wake up and take back what's ours. Ours and only ours.
Soon, our rage will touch the sky and shake the land. Soon, our sword will drink blood and eat meat. Soon, our song will play one more time and we will dance on the ravaged battlefield, wearing our enemies' skin as the cape, their bones as the crown, their fear as jewels to out glory.
Soon….. Soon…
We will wake up. And. We. Will. Sing.