Haunted, Chapter 8
Recap:
She would never forget that day when she first met Itachi. Never ever. And little, did she know on that day, her new guardian would become a heartless monster...
Chapter 8
On the way to Itachi's whereabouts, that fated day when she was supposed to meet him, the weather was terrible. Rain heavily poured down from the skies and the clouds were a dark ominous gray was if warning her of her horrible future. Sakura remembers vividly, how wind shook the trees. She could feel the wind's wrath rattling the car. It was needlessly to say, that she was shaken and afraid. They were far from the city and into the barren country, the remote country.
She could tell the social security worker, Rin driving the car was also shaken. With the directions to the place she was suppose to meet Itachi in one hand, Rin drove recklessly with the other hand, going twenty miles over the speed limit.
"Are we there yet?" She would ask Rin, every ten minutes, her teeth chattering.
"Not yet." was Rin's brief answer.
Finally, by the time the dark ominous storm had passed they had arrived. The sky was bright and sunny as if the storm had never even happened.
Rin took a deep breath.
With an uncertain smile, she turned around to the back seat. "We are here!" she said before opening the car door and stepping out of the car.
A look of fear and curiosity was on Sakura's face. Will this person be the same as the rest? she wondered. Very slowly, she gripped the handle to the car door and opened it and gingerly stepped out.
She gasped as she saw what was in front of her. A gigantic Japanese style mansion.
Whoever this person is, he or she must be a very rich and a traditional person.
"Never seen anything like it?" A deep voice behind asked.
Sakura whipped around.
A fair dark haired man was behind. He was handsome with breath taking features and beautiful obsidian eyes and long black silky hair up in a ponytail. He had a tall but lean and muscled body.
Sakura felt herself flush.
"H-hai. I've never really seen anything like it since I use to live in the city."
Rin smiled and blushed when she saw the handsome man. Sakura had a sneaking suspicion she had a small crush on him.
"You must be Sakura's new guardian." Rin said a little too sweetly for Sakura's liking and held out a dainty manicured hand for Itachi to shake.
He ignored Rin and fixed his attention on Sakura. "Was the ride long?" He asked Sakura softly.
"It was fine." Sakura mumbled.
"You must be tired. Let's go inside." He said turning back towards the house.
Sakura watched his retreating figure and hesitantly began to follow him.
He pushed open the entrance door to the enormous mansion and gestured Sakura to follow him.
Sakura entered the house and her jaw dropped open at what she saw.
The halls were decked with beautiful paintings, statues and other art work, and were spacious with high ceilings and had exquisite designs etched into the walls. Sakura had no doubt this was a beautiful house. But it gave off an eerie dark aura.
"So, what's your name?" Rin said, batting her eyelashes and fluffing her hair.
Sakura stifled a giggle and fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Slowly, Itachi turned around to face Rin.
"Your business is done here. Leave woman. We don't need you here." Itachi said coldly, the expression unreadable.
"But the paperwork a-" Rin protested.
"Leave. Now. Please, don't make this complicated." was his answer, his black long bangs covering his eyes, his hand reaching for something in his pant's pockets, pulling it out giving Rin a glimpse of it. It was a knife, glinting in the light, daring Rin to disobey to him.
Rin gulped and took a couple steps away from Itachi before running out of the house.
Scary, Sakura thought.
Once, she had heard Rin's car had started up and left, roaring off in the distance, Sakura spoke.
"Why did you want her to leave?" She wanted to know.
"She was a foolish, useless, annoying woman that would get in the way." Was his reply.
"But you didn't have well... so cold." Sakura said, a bit suspicious of him.
"She wouldn't leave, so I needed to scare her a bit. You don't really think that I would have actually used that knife on her, if she didn't leave?" He said pleasantly, laughing.
She decided not to answer that question. Now, he acts all nice, I guess he didn't really like her. But still, I don't think I can trust him. The rest of my foster guardians were total assholes.
"So, now that's she's gone, we can progress to knowing each other. So, what's your name?" Itachi asked her, flashing her, a charming smile.
"Sakura Haruno. What your name?"
"Uchiha Itachi. Sakura, that's a very beautiful name. Suits you well." He said, smirking.
"I'm not beautiful." Sakura told him, scowling.
But inside, she was really pleased. Maybe, this guy isn't that bad as I thought. No one really told her she was beautiful or pretty except her mom.
"Is that a Vincent Van Gogh Painting? she thought, raising an eyebrow, while she was passing a painting.
But even more noticeable in the halls, was a symbol of a paper fan that was everywhere. Most of the symbols were demolished, some with knives through the middle of the paper fan and some with half of the symbol torn off of the wall.
Sakura squinted at a paper fan symbol that had a knife through its middle.
What the hell?
"I see you're observing the symbol. It's my clan's symbol, uchiwa the paper fan, where my surname originates. Did you know, ancient Japan, uchiwa were used in court ceremonies to denote nobility, as souvenirs, and to protect soldiers from arrows?" He said matter-of-factly.
"No. But why are all the symbols demolished somehow?" She asked him.
The expression on his face darkened.
"My clan was pathetic, greedy, and full of themselves. It's a long story. I'll tell you sometime later. Let me show you around." He said bitterly, clearly showing he didn't want to talk about of it.
Sakura shut up for a while as he showed her the all the rooms, the living room, family rooms, empty rooms, etc.
"This is your room." Itachi said, sliding the shoji door to a room. It was spacious room with tatami flooring, a large closet, a spacey elegant modern bathroom, and a large comfy futon.
He sauntered over to closet and opens the doors, revealing a bunch of new clothes.
"I bought you new clothes. I thought you would need some. Looks like I was right." Itachi said.
He was eyeing the dirty, worn, clothes Sakura was dressed in.
Finally, they had finished touring the house and were back in the halls near the entrance.
Sakura's eyes flashed. I don't need his charity, she thought.
"Thanks." She said flatly.
"Let's go eat some ice cream in the kitchen. Which one do you prefer, chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?" He asked her warmly, flashing her, a pleasant smile and held out a hand for her to take.
Sakura stayed put and stared at him.
"Why? Are you so nice to me?" She asked him, looking suspicious at him. She maybe had softened up a bit to him, but she wasn't quite ready to trust this man yet.
He simply flashed her, another pleasant smile.
"Because I know what you've been through."
Those words struck a chord with Sakura.
Very slowly, she took her fragile, pale, slim hand and placed it into his hand. His hand was warm and calloused and his fingers were slender.
He gently squeezed her fingers and strolled into the kitchen with Sakura in hand.
He let go of her and sauntered up to the freeze/refrigerator, retrieving a tub of Neapolitanice cream.
Sakura stared at the tub of ice cream. She hadn't had ice cream in such a long time. Before, her mom rarely bought since it was too expensive at the store she had shopped at it.
But before they had moved into the apartment, her mother had bought it all the time. She had so many memories of laughing with her mother, eating ice cream in the good old time before they had any money problems.
Her hands started to shake at the thought of her mother. She didn't want to remember. She wanted to forget.
"What kind of ice-cream what would you like, Sakura?"
"Strawberry, please." She said quietly.
"...I had a feeling strawberry was your favorite." He said pleasantly and began to scoop ice cream from the tub into too small bowls.
"Itachi?"
"…"
"What flavor did you pick?" Sakura asked him shyly.
"Vanilla. I like the taste of it. It's unique. Sinfully sweet and white... the color of purity and innocent." Itachi said thoughtfully. If she had listened closely, she would have heard the tone of his voice was quite dark.
"I like strawberry ice-cream too. It is also very sweet and innocent. The smell of strawberries is intoxication. But the taste is not as unique."
He finished scooping the ice-cream. "Here. Try it." He said, handing Sakura a delicate bowl with a quite large serving of soft crème Strawberry ice-cream and a spoon.
Then he began to eat his ice cream.
She took a taste and closed her eyes. It was delicious. There were so many words to describe what it tastes like that. It was adorable, ambrosial, appetizing, choice, dainty, darling, delectable, delightful, delis, distinctive, divine, enjoyable, enticing, exquisite, good, gratifying, heavenly, luscious, lush, mellow, mouthwatering, nectarous, nice, palatable, piquant, rare, rich, sapid, savory, scrumptious, spicy, sweet, tasteful, tasty, tempting, titillating, toothsome, very pleasant, well-prepared, well-seasoned, and every other word in a dictionary that basically meant yummy.
It had a soft, sweet creamy taste.
And at the same time it was quite melancholy bringing back many memories.
"Did you like it?" Itachi asked her.
"It had been some time since I've had ice cream. It was delicious. Thank you" Sakura said, meaning it very much.
Itachi had a pleased and amused expression on his face. "I had no clue you liked ice cream so much. I have a sweet tooth. I'll buy more ice cream every week." He promised her.
Sakura smiled.
And the both of them slowly started to eat the rest of their ice cream in silence.
"Where's the rest of your family?" Sakura suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
Itachi stopped eating. "Dead." He said emotionlessly.
Sakura felt awkward and bad for asking such a question.
"Oh."
"Don't be sorry."
"... Do you miss your family?" Sakura wanted to know.
Itachi stopped eating. His emotionless composure changed and an emotion Sakura couldn't recognize flickered through his usually cold facade.
"I guess... My family didn't really understand me. Do you miss your mother?" Itachi questioned Sakura.
Sakura's eyes filled with tears. "Yeah. She was one the most precious people in my life. I'll always miss her."
"Hn." Itachi grunted.
Sakura finished the rest of her ice cream and set aside her empty bowl. She folded her hands in her lap, signifying she was done eating.
Itachi, soon afterwards also finished eating.
"Let's go to the park. It's nearby." He said, flashing Sakura another one of his enchanting smiles before getting up and exiting the kitchen.
"Hai." She said quietly before running after him, trying to keep up with his quick pace.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Her mint green eyes were sparkling with life and her cheeks were flushed.
"Go faster, Ita-kun!" Sakura howled with laughter.
"Hn." It just made her laugh harder to see an embarrassed and annoyed expression on his usually stoic face.
Itachi was currently giving her a piggyback ride in the park. The park was adjacent to the large mansion and was also a playground, built by his clan for the childern to play in and the adults to relax in. The park was lush and full of greenery, beautiful flowers, and play equipment for children such as see-saws, swings, merry-go-rounds, jungle gyms, and sandboxes. It was every young child's dream.
There was also a golf course, a tennis court, a swimming pool, and beautiful walk ways to look at the breath-taking scenery creating an exquisite environment.
It was quite a grand place to be. And it was quite the scene, seeing Itachi giving Sakura a piggyback ride. She was on his shoulders, screaming, laughing and pointing at things while Itachi, who was holding unto Sakura's slender ivory legs, was glowering.
So, far she convinced him to go on the see-saw with her, and to swing on the swings, and to climb the jungle gym.
This is so much fun! I could play here all day! she thought, while clapping her hands in glee.
"Let me down!" Sakura commanded.
Itachi let her down with ought any argument.
She grabbed his hand. "Let's go on the merry-go-land."
He shook his head. "Forget it. It's getting late. We have all of tomorrow and everyday to explore the entire park."
Sakura pouted. "Pretty please?" She begged him.
Itachi considered her proposal for a moment. "Fine. But the merry-go-land is the last thing we do and then we go back." He muttered.
"YAY!" She cheered and grabbed Itachi's hand, dragging him towards the merry-go-round.
She jumped on the merry-go-round.
"C'mon, push me." She demanded.
"…" He gave the merry-go-round a big shove and it starting spinning fast.
"Wee! This is so much fun." She screamed.
"…Please hold on tight."
Sakura clenched the bars on the merry-go-round tight, while screaming and laughing having the time of her life.
Finally, when it stopped spinning.
"Get on, Ita-kun!" She said.
"No." was his firm reply.
"C'mon, it will be fun." She tugged on his hand.
"Fine. You have the energy of a four-year-old. But we are defiantly going back after this." He said grumpily before giving the merry-go-round a final hard shove before hopping on the platform.
As, they spun, time seemed to stop for a minute.
Sakura smiled at Itachi. She removed one of her hands from the bar, slowly reaching out and held his hand. He flashed her pleasant smile back.
Slowly, the merry-go-round stopped.
"Let's go." Itachi said.
"OK." Sakura said cheerfully, following Itachi towards the house.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the entrance of the gigantic mansion, Itachi told her to stay there.
"Wait here. I'll be right back. I have a surprise to show you." He told her, before disappearing the huge mansion.
And so, Sakura waited. Her heart beating fast with excitement. I wonder what it is, she thought.
A couple minutes, Itachi reappeared. He had a bag with me.
"Close your eyes. Hold my hand and I'll guide you."
And so Itachi guided her, while she thought what in the world could his surprise be.
"Open your eyes. We're here." he said.
And she did. Her mouth fell open is surprise and awe.
"Wow, it's so beautiful." She said quietly.
They were in the backyard. Tons of tons, of Sakura trees surrounded them. All of them in full bloom. Cherry blossom petals swirled around them, gently swaying the air before falling. Itachi had meant for her to see the Hanami.
It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. A beautiful scene of fully blossomed Sakura trees and a beautiful sunset in the background. Paper lanterns were hung everywhere.
Sakura loved Hanami. When, she was younger, her mother would drive them all the way Kamogawa or Hokkaido. She was always struck in awe seeing the beauty of all the full blossomed cherry blossoms.
"I knew you would like it." He told her.
The both of them stared at the beautiful scene before them.
Soon, the moon appeared in the sky. It was a full moon, clear and bright.
He set out a picnic blanket and gestured Sakura to sit down. He took a seat and handed her a small box.
Her face brightened. It was strawberry Yumiki Daifuku. One of her favorite kinds of ice cream. She eagerly opened the box and removed the carton contained the ice-cream and started to dig in with the plastic pick that came in the box.
"You're hungry." He noted and started removing items from the bag he brought with him. The items he removed from the bag was food in containers. There were all kinds of food, Onigiri, Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Sekihan, Nigiri-zushi sushi, Anpan, Yakisoba, Taiyaki, Oshiruko, and delicates such as Caviar, Foie Gras, Fugu, Shikasashi, etc. Some of the dishes, Sakura didn't even recognize. There were her favorite foods such as Umeboshi and syrup-coated Anko dumplings.
"Please choose anything you want." Itachi said, handing her a bowl and chopsticks.
Sakura dumped some Onigiri, Sekihan, Umeboshi and syrup-coated anko dumplings in her bowl.
Itachi scooped some Anpan and Dango on his tray.
"It's been a really fun day." Sakura said, popping an Anko dumping in her mouth with her chopsticks.
"I loved Hanami. Especially when I was a little kid. It's been a long time since I've seen one." She continued to say, staring at the Sakura trees.
"I like Hanami too. But I favor cherry blossoms. I admire them for their luminous yet fleeting and ephemeral beauty. They show that nothing beautiful lasts for ever." Itachi said solemnly.
"Hai"
Tears began to fell out of Sakura's eye. "Thank for everything. Arigatou for giving me a life again." Sakura whispered.
His face was downwards and not visible, as his blank long blanks covered the expression on his face. Very slowly, he reached out to her, wiping away her tears.
Sakura closed her eyes in surprise.
"Don't be sad or thankful. You don't owe me for anything." He said.
Finally, he looked up at her, his onyx eyes magnifying as he stared at her.
"Trust me."
He flashed her, another of his pleasant smiles and held out his hand.
"I trust you." She whispered softly.
Sakura didn't even stare. At once, with no hesitation, she slipped her slim ivory hand into his warm, inviting, calloused hand and squeezed it. And she made the decision that would change her life forever. She decided to trust him, falling into his luring trap, having no idea what was in store for her in the future. Oblivious, that he would turn on her and abuse her, and make her life hell. Not knowing that he would make her a shell of what she was and haunt her in her dreams and in her head. No where was safe from him.
Oblivious of anything, they lay there in the beautiful night, gazing at the Sakura trees.
END OF CHAPTER 8
a/n: Not much to say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. My head's killing me right now. I really do need to find a new BETA reader again, no one is responding! E-mail if you are interested. To qualify, you must be a native English speaker and know grammar extremly well.
Definitions (All definitions were retrieved from Wikipedia or Japan Twinisles.)
Hanami (花見Hanami lit. "flower viewing") - is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always meaning cherry blossoms (桜 or 櫻, sakura?), or ume blossoms (梅, ume?). From late March to early April (early May on Hokkaidō), sakura bloom all over Japan.
Kamogawa or Hokkaido – regions in Japan
Onigiri (おにぎり, 御握り) also known as Omusubi (おむすび) - is a Japanese (short grain) rice ball snack most commonly formed into triangle or oval shapes and wrapped in seaweed (nori). Traditionally, the onigiri is filled with pickled ume fruit (umeboshi), salted salmon (sake), katsuobushi or any other salty or sour ingredient
Yukimi Daifuku (Japanese: 雪見だいふく "snow-viewing daifuku") - is a brand of mochi ice cream manufactured by the Japanese/Korean company Lotte. It consists of a ball of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of mochi, or rice cake. Lotte originally created Wataboshi (Japanese: わたぼうし "cotton hat or capped with snow"), a bite size ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of marshmallow in 1980. Marshmallow was quickly replaced by mochi that is favored much more than the western flavor by Japanese as the company perfected a technology to keep mochi soft in the freezing temperature in 1981
Okonomiyaki - (お好み焼き, Okonomiyaki) is a pan-fried Japanese dish cooked with various ingredients such as kimchi, octopus, squid, mochi, cheese, etc. In Japan, okonomiyaki is usually associated with the Kansai or Hiroshima areas. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.
Takoyaki - (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, Takoyaki?) (literally fried or baked octopus) is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, konnyaku, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings), that originated in Osaka.
Sekihan - (赤飯, lit: "red rice") is a Japanese traditional dish. It is sticky rice steamed with azuki beans, which give a reddish color to the rice, hence its name.
Nigiri-zushi - (握り寿司, lit. two-cut or hand-formed sushi). Arguably the most typical form of sushi at restaurants, it consists of an oblong mound of sushi rice which is pressed between the palms of the hands, with a speck of wasabi and a thin slice of a topping (neta) draped over it, possibly bound with a thin band of nori.
Anpan - (あんパン) is a Japanese sweet bun filled with red bean paste. There are many types of Anpan
Yakisoba - (焼きそば, Yakisoba), literally "fried noodles", is a dish often sold at festivals in Japan. It originates from Chinese chow mein, but has been integrated into Japanese cuisine like ramen. Even though soba is part of the word, yakisoba noodles are not made from buckwheat, but are similar to ramen noodles and made from wheat flour.
Taiyaki (鯛焼き, Taiyaki?) literally "baked sea bream," is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings are custard, chocolate, and cheese. Some shops even sell taiyaki with okonomiyaki or a sausage inside.
Oshiruko - (hiragana: お汁粉), or shiruko (kanji: 汁粉; Chinese: 紅豆湯; pinyin: hóng dòu tāng) is a traditional Japanese dessert. It is an azuki bean soup with mochi, which is a Japanese rice cake, served in a bowl. There are different patterns to oshiruko, such as oshiruko with chestnuts, or with shiratamas instead of mochi. It is loved by many Japanese, especially during cold weather. The half-melted sticky rice cake and the sweet, warm red bean soup are thought by many to be an absolute delight.
Caviar - is the processed, salted roe ( Roe is fully ripe egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as sea urchins, shrimp and scallop.) of certain species of fish, most notably the sturgeon. It is commercially marketed worldwide as a delicacy and is principally eaten as either a garnish or a spread; for example, with hors d'oeuvres.
Foie gras -(French for "fat liver") is the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened.
Fugu - sliced poisonous pufferfish (sometimes lethal if not prepared correctly), a uniquely Japanese specialty.
Shikasashi - sliced deer meat, a rare delicacy in certain parts of Japan.
Arigatou - Japanese for "Thank You."