Too Late to Change
Some things would take forever to explain. Some things would be hard to understand. In some instances, love could be like that – hard to explain and understand.
As for Sasuke's case, his love for Sakura was unexplainable. He loved her a lot. He wanted to make her safe from his life's adversaries. That was the reason why he stayed away from her for such a long time.
Sakura's love was pure and immeasurable. She loved him more then anything in the world. She wanted to be with him even if he had hurt her. But was that love enough for the Rituals of Transformation?
The Rituals of Transformation was an old ritual done so that the advance bloodline could remain. This process had been used in clans like the Hyuuga clan and the Uchiha clan.
There were three stages of this process. The first stage was called Physical Transformation. This stage consisted of a potion called Mangekyo. It was made from the Mangekyo bug juice and spring water. After drinking the potion, the person should do the hand seals of Nezumi (rat) – Inu (dog) – Usagi (hare) – O-ushi (ox). After the hand seals, stage one would be complete.
Stage two was called Blood Transformation. This stage requires the blood of the advance bloodline carrier. The ritual performer must drink the blood of his or her fiancé and perform the Ryu (dragon) – Hebi (serpent) – Tori (bird) – Ousu-buta (boar) hand seals. If this process was done, stage two would be complete.
Stage three, however, consisted of the scroll called Soul Transformation. This stage was also known as the most complicated one of all. This stage required the love and trust the two people had for each other. If any of those two things were missing or somehow not enough, the Soul Transformation would be useless and things could go wrong. This transformation was somehow alike to the summoning technique of the legendary sannin. The performer had to use her blood and draw a line on the middle of the scroll horizontally. Then, she had to perform all the hand seals in this order – Saru (monkey) - Uma (horse) - O-hitsuji (ram) - Tora (tiger).
If these stages were completed, the performer changes her bloodline and yes, he or she could live happily ever after. Would Sakura and Sasuke live happily ever after? (Do continue to read on to find out.)
Sasuke and Sakura walked together that night. As they walked, Sasuke explained the complications of the Rituals of Transformation. Sasuke saw her curiosity fade into a frown.
When he was done explaining, silence was in the air. A million things ran through Sasuke's head. Then, he couldn't take the silence and suddenly grabbed Sakura into a hug. "I don't mind if you don't do it. I don't care if our child will look like Sir Kakashi. As long as you're with me, I'm happy."
Sakura was surprised but she smiled at him and said, "I'll do it for you, for us, and for our future children." She added, "We've already gone this far. Let's do this ritual so we can have our happy ending." She kissed his cheek. "But for now, let's go home and rest." She took his hand and they walked back.
She'll really do it for me. Sasuke smiled to himself as he imagined little versions of him and Sakura inside the house, playing with their Sharinggan eyes.
Sasuke's POV
Two days later, I decided to prepare the ritual room in my old home. I wanted to do it alone so I slipped out of my room in Sakura's house silently during the morning. But when I opened the door, Sakura was standing behind me.
"Where are you going, Sasuke?" She asked me. "It's such an early hour…" Her voice trailed off.
I turned around and saw her sad expression. I smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I'm just going to my old home. I need to fix a few things there. I'll be back later."
"It's for the rituals right?" Sakura looked at me. "Please let me help."
I stared at her and I noticed that she was wearing some skimpy night gown that was three inches above her knees and her cleavage was visible. I removed my dirty little thoughts and thought of her question. I answered, "Sure. I needed someone to prepare the Mangekyo potion."
She smiled and hugged me. I could feel her breasts press into my chest. I started to remove perverted thoughts on my head and just hugged her.
End Sasuke's POV
By the time they finished eating breakfast, they headed to Sasuke's old house. It had become a dark, sinister place. Before it was a home for Sasuke, but now, it was a place where he had his dark memories.
Sasuke and Sakura stood right in front of the house. Sakura was in awe. "I was never able to visit your house before, Sasuke."
Sasuke responded, "It's because of the difficult situations at home. My father never wanted me to bring anyone here…" His face showed his sadness of his childhood.
Sakura placed her hand on his shoulder. "The past is the past. There's nothing you can do to change it."
Sasuke smiled at her. "Let's go inside now."
The whole inside of the house was dark. Sasuke turned the lights on and saw that the place was totally covered with dust and cobwebs. There were still dried blood stains on the floor, on the walls, and on the furniture.
The room they entered was the living room. Sasuke led Sakura into his father's old study. There, he fiddled with some books and a hidden pathway revealed itself. Sasuke brought an oil lamp with him and turned it on. It was their only source of light.
Sakura held onto Sasuke's shoulder as they wandered. The path ended in front of a door. Sasuke opened it. Inside, there was an old-fashioned laboratory. It was similar to Orochimaru's laboratories; however, this one is specifically for the Rituals.
There were cabinets filled with vials. Sasuke pointed, "Do you know how to check if there's poison or toxic substances in liquids?"
"The Godaime taught me how." Sakura walked toward the nearby cabinet and inspected the fluids. Sasuke made the room brighter by turning on the lights. "This is the Mangekyo juice. Your family must've preserved it here. All I have to do is mix it with spring water and it's good for the first stage."
"That's good to know. Is it safe?"
Sakura nodded and said, "I'll prepare the Mangekyo now." She was prepared for this. The Godaime, Master Tsunade, had taught her everything she knew about making potions and antidotes, detecting poisons, and healing so it was an easy job for Sakura.
She looked for water but sadly, she found that there was no pluming in the room. She decided to explore the whole room. Luckily, she found a pedestal filled with water. "I guess this is the spring water." She went back to the table where she was preparing the potion. She grabbed an empty vial and filled it with water. After a while, she was finished with the Mangekyo bug juice.
While she was making the potion, Sasuke cleaned the room where Sakura would have to perform the last stage. The room was circular. Nothing was inside. There was a circle drawn on the floor. It looked like the Sharinggan eye.
After their activities, they decided to go home. Much to their dismay, it was already sunset. The path out of the house was too dangerous to walk through. Even though they were top notch ninjas, they chose to stay inside the house for a while.
Sasuke showed Sakura his old room. When they entered, they saw cobwebs on the sides of the ceiling. His old things were covered with dust. Sasuke sighed at the sight of his old room. Too many memories of his family came back to him.
Sakura saw the frown from his face. She held his hand tighter which made him look at her. "Why don't we do the Rituals tonight? I'm sure we could manage. I already finished the Mangekyo. We can finally be together now."
Sasuke asked her, "Are you sure?"
Sakura nodded. "I'm sure."
They went back to the ritual room. Sakura wore a blue yukata with the Uchiha symbol on the back. She entered the room Sasuke cleaned that day. She had the vial of Mangekyo ready in her hand. "I'm ready now."
Sasuke walked towards her and kissed her lips. "Please, stay safe and be careful..." He took out his konai and cut his skin. Red blood oozed down his porcelain like skin. He took a vial out of his pocket and scooped some of his blood. The vial was full after a few more seconds. "This is for the second stage." He handed her the scroll. "This is for the final stage." He gave the vial and the scroll to her. Then, he turned back and closed the door. Behind the door, Sasuke whispered to himself, "Sakura…"
Sakura sighed and placed the vial of blood and the scroll inside the yukata. She took a deep breath. It's now or never. She drank the vial. It tastes horrible! Then, she performed the hand seals as she said, "Nezumi – Inu – Usagi – O-ushi!"
Red smoke came out as Sakura felt her body burn. She screamed in pain as her pastel pink hair changed into dark blue and her emerald eyes changed into black ones.
Outside, Sasuke flinched as he heard her screams. He wanted to barge inside and save her but he knew he couldn't do that. He just covered his ears, pretending not to hear her screams.
The Physical Transformation was complete. Sakura fell on her knees as she regained all of the chakra she used. She looked at her hair which covered her eyes. She gasped to see it dark blue. But she didn't regret it because she knew that this was a part of the Rituals.
She stood up once again. She needed to do the next stage, the Blood Transformation. She took the other vial and drank his blood. It didn't taste as awful as the Mangekyo. Then, she did the hand seals. "Ryu – Hebi – Tori – Ousu-buta!" Red smoke once again came out and Sakura could feel her blood boiling. She screamed louder as the pain got worse.
Sasuke was still outside, waiting. "Please, be okay, Sakura."
When the pain stopped, sweat was all over her face. She panted as she once again, regained her strength to do the last stage. She took out the last scroll and started the last stage by cutting a small part of her hand and let the blood drip from it. She opened the scroll. Then, she did the hand seals and placed her palm over the opened scroll. Bright light flashed from the floor and the light engulfed Sakura.
The trip from Wave country to Konoha took two silent days. Master Makoto didn't talk during the whole trip. The boys were preoccupied with other things.
It was nighttime when they reached Konoha's gate. There were two figures in front of the gate. One was a woman with brown hair and the other one has silver colored hair.
"It's about time you guys got back." Master Tsunade said. Then, her attention focused on the woman. "Welcome back, Makoto."
Master Makoto bowed. "Godaime, thank you for welcoming us."
Suddenly, bright light flashed from the direction of the old Uchiha house. Kakashi looked at the light. "They did the rituals without our supervision. This is bad." Kakashi said, "I'd go ahead and see if she made it." Kakashi ran off.
Neji didn't know what to say. He knew that Kakashi was pertaining to Sakura. He just hoped that he was okay.
Sakura screamed louder as the writing ran through her skin and into her face. (It was somehow like when Orochimaru's mark covered Sasuke's face. She looked like that.) The pain was all over her body but most of the pain was in her eyes. Tears ran down her cheek as the pain grew. She tried opening it and if you were there, you could see her eyes changing from black to blood red – like the Sharinggan.
Sasuke was outside, enduring emotional pain. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't bear to hear her scream in pain. He looked at the door and he was surprised. Bright light came from inside. It was blinding him but he managed to open the doors and saw her lifeless body on the floor.
Smoke came from her body and the light disappeared as he entered the room. Scrapes on her body were visible. Sasuke approached her body and looked at her face. Her hair was different. When he saw her open eyes, he gasped. It was half Sharinggan and half black. It was beginning to become a full Sharinggan. "Sakura…" he whispered.
Kakashi stood in front of the door, shocked. A few seconds later, the others came as well.
"We're too late!" Master Makoto said, "You shouldn't have opened the door while the Sharinggan is stating to form.
"Sakura, why?" Neji whispered. He didn't say anything more. The others merely looked.
Sasuke stood up and carried her body. Tears came from his eyes. He approached Master Tsunade. "Please, change her back. Please…"
Master Tsunade said, "It's too late to change her back to the way she was."
Author's Notes:
OMG! It's been like months and this is all I can come up with. I had such a busy schedule so I'm really sorry for the late update. Please don't hate me for updating just now…. A ton of things came up like schoolwork, the whole "I-want-to-be-valedictorian" drama, the whole "I-have-officer-duties-now" drama… Being a senior with a lot of responsibilities is so hard! .
But honestly, I finished this chapter last June 18. I didn't have time to upload it.
Also, I have Chapter 7 now. It's finished but I just wanna hear what you have to say before I upload the saddest chapter yet.
Standard Disclaimer Apply