The Moonlight Walkers
By withered-soup
two
It was Sunday when it came to her that when she got to the city, she woke up in a different way. She was no longer woken up by the insistent chirping of the birds or the smell or the loud barks of three dogs racing around the wooden house. Whenever she would go down for breakfast, she no longer heard the sweet call of her mother saying, "good morning, sweetheart, I made you your favorite omelet!" When she went out the front doors, she no longer saw the green land with flowers and trees and clear skies.
No, the place she was in was so much different.
The alarm clock and the honking of the cars woke her up. Whenever she got down to the dining area, she had to cook herself something. Her mother was always on the phone, sorting things out for the business while her father was always into the newspapers. Whenever she'd step out of the house, smoke, concrete houses and buildings that reached the skies decorated the whole view her eyes could accommodate. The place changed and so did the ones in it.
"Look, I know you're panicking." Sakura found her mother pacing to and fro with a clipboard holding charts in one hand and a wireless phone in another when she got down that morning. There was a half finished coffee on the table and there was cold fried chicken in a tuperware in the center of the table. Sakura picked it up and raised it to eye level.
"Just heat it in the microwave." Her father passed by on his way to the front doors.
"Okay."
"Go buy some batteries for the remote. It's about time you become responsible for the things here at home." Her father added and then left.
She turned once more to the chicken and headed to the microwave. She placed it in, turned the dial and watched the contained go round and round.
"Oh, COME ON!" Her mother threw the clipboard at the sofa chair. "He didn't!" She grabbed the unfinished coffee and sipped a little. "Do you have any idea—not now—will you listen for a minute?" Her mother disappeared into the second floor and then came down with the conversation apparently done. She continued muttering to herself before sitting down on the sofa to reread the charts.
"Breakfast's ready." Sakura took out the chicken and placed on the table. She prepared the plates and the utensils as her mother sat. And silently, without looking at each other, they ate. Minutes passed.
"How's school?" Her mother sipped some water.
"It's okay. I got high in the last test." Sakura reached for some more chicken.
"You…like something orange? Your favorite color?"
Sakura stopped chewing and swallowed the rather large piece. "Sure."
"I need to go and meet up with this stupid partner of mine." She stood up and placed her finished plate on the sink. "I'll be quick."
"Okay, Mom." Sakura stood up and followed her mother as she rushed to the door. When she got out, the pink haired lass locked the door and stared at the wood for a long time. "It's red."
Beep. Beeeep. Beeeeeep. Beeeee—
Sasuke slammed a hand on the alarm clock that immediately stopped complaining. He shifted and curled and sprawled and curled and rolled under his soft sheets.
Ring. Riiing. Riiiiing. Riiiiiiing. Riiiiiiiiing. This is Uchiha Sasuke's residence. Apparently, he's away and is unable to answer your call. Rather, please leave a message after the beep. Beeeeep. Good morning, Sasuke. I would just like to remind you that tonight we have a scheduled dinner. It's our father's birthday, in case you choose to forget. We're expecting you to be there. Wear something decent, please. I already sent you a suit. Beep.
"Fuck." Sasuke brushed some hair that stuck to his face as he sat up. He ambled towards the full length mirror and noted how purple, how large and how many his bruises were. There was a prominent one around his left eye and the rest were scattered on his torso while a few and the smaller ones were on his limbs. He touched the cut on his lower lip and eyed the other wounds at his knees and elbows.
It's Sunday and there was nothing to do the whole day. Where should he go? To the mall? To the park? What time was it? Already twelve noon? Sasuke headed to the showers and after which, he got into a shirt and jeans and headed out of his condominium.
The roads looked different to him. He had always been in Konoha. He was born there, actually. But the places were different. There were strangers roaming the streets too but the strangers had grown in numbers. And their numbers had started to suffocate the life out of the city. Trust had become the major issue among people. And that trust became the main issue when he decided to head to a grocery store to get himself food supplies.
Sasuke didn't like it when people stared. Actually, he did not care what they thought of him but he just didn't like being observed. And to eliminate the possibilities of him being stared at, he wore a jacket with a hood, a pair of jeans and a sling bag for some other stuff. However, he could not really eliminate everything that made people stare at him…
"Welcome." A staff greeted him as he passed through the entrance of the store. He kept his eyes down or forward and headed to the noodles section. He grabbed as much instant noodles as possible and stuffed them all into a cart. He went to the dairy section and grabbed bottles of fresh milk as well.
"Good afternoon." The lady smiled.
"…" Sasuke began piling the noodles and the milk unceremoniously on the counter and the lady just scanned away. "That'd be—" she stopped. Sasuke saw her eyes land on his hands which showed injured knuckles. Moreover, in his hands were old, dirty, crumpled bills with some stain of what looked like dried blood. Their eyes met. At that moment, the lady saw Sasuke's black eye. She suddenly felt scared of him.
Sasuke thrust the bills on the counter and muttered, "keep the change."
"Ah—you—" Sasuke took the bags and moved on without looking back. He had exited the doors and was to turn around a corner when the lady ran out and called out, "Sir!"
He looked over his shoulder and—BAM! In a split second, two people collided at the corner of that street. The witnesses stopped at their tracks when cup noodles rolled in different directions. Two cup noodles were accidentally stepped at while a bottle of milk broke upon impact.
"You missed…a noodle, sir." The lady's voice trailed off.
He didn't know what to think at that moment, something in him was waiting to burst.
"I'm sorry!" a panicking pink haired girl knelt down and began picking the noodles that dropped from the toppled grocery bag. When she saw the milk, she panicked all the more. She stood up and gave the cup noodles to Sasuke. "I'm going to replace…those." She eyed the wasted noodles and milk. "I'm really sorry—" She stopped. It was obvious in the face of the girl that she was actually surprised. A part of him nudged his memory and realized he had seen that girl before.
"Whatever." Sasuke pulled the noodles from her hands and took the noodle from the cashier lady who preferred to shut up.
"No, I need to—"
"…shut up." Sasuke looked at her straight in the eyes. Those emerald orbs stared back with actual fear in them. He glared at the passing people and they decided to move on. Pulling his hood further to cover his face, he brushed against the crowd and walked away.
"The talk made my head hurt, I think." Sakura's mother massaged her temple as she hung her head over the sofa chair back rest.
Sakura was preparing their dining table for their dinner when her mother came home. She tried hard to be unnoticed as possible because she knew her father was not in the mood. When he came home that afternoon, his face was crumpled and he slammed the door of his room when he went up the stairs.
"It's because you worry too much." Her husband commented and then turned to Sakura. "Sakura, can you get your mother some tablets there. For the headache."
Sakura went to their medicine cabinet but there was no sign of the tablets. Wondering if her parents had taken the pack somewhere, she called out, "where are they again?" And right after she let go of the words she thought of as a bad choice, she felt that something wrong would happen. The proof came within a second. "Are you stupid or something? You've been in this house for months and you still don't know where the tablets should be? You're only smart in school but in real life you're dumb. You think…" And her father's rant went on. She couldn't bear go back to the living room where her tired mother and her hot headed father were. She stayed for a few minutes at the room where she was while listening to the continuous insults of her father. I'm wrong again. That was what she felt. Why did she not choose a better set of words like, "the tablets are not here, do you know where they are?" But of course it was too late for that. Her father would continue to rant anyway.
She sighed heavily and wiped the building tears in her eyes. She breathed deeply twice and then walked back to the living room. "There are no more tablets. I'll just go buy at the drug store." She quickly turned her back and controlled her desire to rush out of the door and disappear from the wretched house. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she let the tears flow.
She walked with her head down as she passed a few more houses before she got to the main street. A few more steps away and she already saw the drug store. It was a quick trip. She went into the drug store and then came out with a lighter purse and a small container of tablets. Upon stepping out of the store, she felt enveloped by the night once more. Nights are dark and dreary, she thought. And night had always been one of the symbols of disappearing. What if she disappeared? The thought made her smile. What if she disappeared just for tonight? She looked at the endless street that led to the commercial area of the city. And then, she began to walk.
"Welcome, Mr. Uchiha. You look fine in that suit."
"…"
"May I escort you to your table?"
"…"
"This way, please." The assistant was more than happy to lead the way through the many tables and chairs that invited guests to fine dining. They passed couples in formal dresses and waiters serving wine and champagne. Finally, they came upon a separate area—the area for the VIP among the VIP's—and the assistant opened the glass doors and slightly bowed as Sasuke went in. The young Uchiha was greeted by literally a circular garden in the middle of the structure. There appeared to be a dome in the middle of the garden and the dome's poles were covered with leaves and flowers in bloom. On the grass were lanterns that illuminated the stone path to the dome that sheltered a large table and its guests. A band that played soft music could be seen at a side of the garden. And there were waiters standing and eager for orders.
Around the table were two distinct people among others: his father and his older brother.
"Sasuke, glad you could come." His father gestured him to cross the garden. He did not move. "We saved a seat, come here." He took a step and that step was followed by a couple more until he arrived at the table. He remained standing with his eyes sharp at everyone.
"I see you wore a good attire for once." He turned and saw his older brother behind him and he was subtly coerced to sit beside their father.
When he settled down, everyone at the table observed him intently. The men there appeared to be his father's business partners. "He does look like his mother." One commented heartily as he winked at Sasuke.
"Hn." Sasuke looked away.
"There's plenty of food, don't be shy." Another laughed.
Fuckin' morons.
"It doesn't kill to comb and dress once in a while, does it?" Itachi, his older brother, whispered as he cut his tender beef.
"Shut up." Sasuke remained looking off at the distance. His eyes fell on the band that was slowly weaving music for the celebrant.
"I heard you're studying at that prestigious school." One of the businessmen talked to the silent high school student. "You're really smart, huh. Your father is proud."
"I am." His father swallowed a chop. Sasuke looked down on his plate.
"You know you don't get to eat these things as much as you want. Maximize the opportunity." Itachi said in a lowered voice. "We know what you're doing with the money we're giving you."
"Just shut up." Sasuke watched as the waiter served him some soup that meant for some appetizer. He stared at the swirling liquid with its green spices floating on the surface. His eyes slightly mellowed as he watched the swirl of liquid. The conversations around him was suddenly drowned by the music that reminded him of something that was once happy. On the soup surface came a smile of a woman.
He stood up. Everyone stared at him.
"Sasuke—"
"I'm going." He walked away without giving a second glance. He passed the same assistant who hurriedly walked at his side.
"Thank you, sir. Shall I call a cab?"
"No." Sasuke passed the assistant without looking and began walking.
"Sir!"
Ignoring the man, he continued to follow the lamp posts that led to a smaller street. There were a few people who passed opposite him who actually stared at him. Who would have thought that a guy in a luxurious suit would walk alone in the middle of the night. And not only was he in a fine suit, he also looked fine with that ink black hair that was combed back to rid his face of those long bangs. But despite that handsome look, he looked utterly carefree.
Beneath those obsidian orbs, however, his mind was racing as fast as his heart. That smile, that soup, he was brought back to somewhere he half wished he would not come back to. Damn that father. Damn that brother. Damn that… Shit.
His walk remained a silent, lonely one when from afar he heard a girl yelling, "THIIIEF! STOP HIM!" Sasuke stopped on his tracks and looked back. He saw a desperate looking guy darting to his direction. On his right hand something reflected that seemed like a knife and at his left appeared to be some kind of purse. "STOOOP!" The shouting girl followed far behind. Everything happened fast. Just when the thief ran at the very point where he was, Sasuke extended his leg and the thief stumbled and dived to the pavement. When the poor man scrambled to his feet, the Uchiha grabbed both his wrists, stepped hard on his back and pulled his arms back.
"AAAAH!" The man cried and dropped both the weapon and the purse.
"Run or I'll break your limbs." Sasuke whispered and let go of the guy. The man dropped, looked over his shoulder, whimpered and then hurried away. Sasuke picked up the purse and watched the running girl come into a halt. She was bent forward with her hand on her chest as she panted. She lifted her head to say thank you but her smile faded right away. Sasuke apparently opened her purse and took out a bill or two right in front of her. He then threw the purse to her before she could speak.
"Wh—what did—" She didn't know what exactly to say to him. She stood dumbfounded before she decided to follow the guy in a suit who started to walk away. "Excuse me." She managed to say between pants. When the raven head did not turn, she cried, "Excuse me!"
Sasuke stopped and turned. "What?" He eyed the face of the girl. "Are you this annoying every time?"
The girl was taken aback but when she looked at him closely, she gasped. "You're that guy…at the grocery?" He looked different since he had his hair combed back and he did not wear a hood this time.
"What do you want?"
"I…that money. I mean," she panicked, "I mean, thank you." She eyed her money in his clamped hand. "But you, um, you took my money." Sasuke looked at his hand. "Yes, that money."
Sasuke lifted a brow and turned back. When he began walking, the girl continued, "are you that rude?"
"Listen, annoying girl," he turned, "I did you a favor. I could have died by stopping that shithead. I got your purse back so maybe I deserved a little something."
"But—"
"And I thought you were going to pay for my noodles and milk?" Her mouth was left open at that. "This is not even enough for those." He waited for a second before he began walking again.
"W-wait." She shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry for that…the noodles." Sasuke kept on walking. "I-I'm Sakura." She continued talking though she seemed to talk to a wall. "I'm really sorry but that money…I need that money. I can't go home."
"That's not my problem now, is it?" Sasuke did not look.
"I need a cab. I'm not sure where I am. And it'll take time for me to get home and my parents will be really worried…" she paused, "…angry."
Sasuke stopped but he just went on before a second elapsed.
"Are you this inconsiderate?!" No response. He just looked back. Sakura looked shocked herself that she said those words. After that moment, he walked on.
She was once more, alone.
The night seemed darker than usual because of the dim light posts that lessened in number as she went from this street to another. She looked really tired and worried as she scanned the area. Did I turn at the wrong street? Tears were brimming up her eyes. She rubbed her eyes gently and when she saw two guys see her from across the street, she pulled her skirt to cover more of her knees. What time is it? She automatically looked at her left wrist that was bare.
"Hey miss! You walking alone?" One of the two guys whistled. Sakura glanced at the two guys and hurried her pace. "Hey! Why in a hurry?" Her brisk walk turned into a run. She could hear the fast foot steps along with laughter and calls behind her.
"Go away!" Sakura yelled. End of the street. Oh god, oh god. Please! Please! After a few more steps she reached the end of the street that led to a smaller street perpendicular to where she was at. One end was a dead one while the other led to somewhere darker. Oh god, oh god!
"Miss—"
Suddenly, a car zoomed from an unseen road and seemingly jumped in front of the two guys who leaped back. Silence reigned as both Sakura and the pair waited for the driver to emerge from the vehicle. A man in black went out and his long, dark hair slightly moved with the wind. Cream eyes gazed down at the two men. "Hm?"
"Fuck, it's the Hyuuga." One of the guys muttered and then they ran off. When the two disappeared, the Hyuuga turned to face the flustered pink head. "You okay?"
More than surprise came to her face, "Neji?"
Hyuuga Neji smiled a rare genuine smile. "What are you still doing here? Come on, ride with me, Sakura."