Burnt Toast
By: Xmarksthespot
Disclaimer: Don't own
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Chapter 2. Four Days
He was just a slice of bread when he left. He came back burnt.
No one wants burnt toast.
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"She had to give us a few documents from the Hokage and," Shikamaru explained and held up a bento, "gave us some lunch too." He sat up from his chair, just inches away from the rosette's fiancé.
"Oh," the man replied, holding out his hand. He gave a large grin. "That's so sweet of you," he said, pulling Sakura in for a peck on the cheek. He noted her slight hesitation, but didn't speak of it. He wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her closer to him. The brunet's head tilted so his chin was resting on her head. "Are you busy now or do you want to get some lunch with me?"
Pulling the sides of her lips upwards, Sakura looked back up at him, beaming with false excitement. "Of course."
The two started walking in unison, leaving the joyless building behind. They pushed through the snow easily with their winter boots, kicking the pile to the side and playfully at each other until they reached a heated restaurant with dimmed lights. It was their favourite restaurant – it was where he proposed.
Kyo Hagarashi. His name was Kyo Hagarashi. His as in Sakura's fiancé, the man whom she had decided to marry and spend the rest of her life with. She had decided the moment the two were together that she would become a devoted and loving wife and mother. Of course, she would never quit her dreams or her job as a ninja – Kyo would never allow her to do so. He was caring that way – respectful and optimistic just like she was.
The two had met like it was a typical cheesy movie. Injured man on battlefield and female medic, forming small sparks that would soon to increase in fireworks. Of course, Sakura hadn't looked at him the way he noticed her at first, at least, not until her repetitive run-ins with him.
He was different, especially from Sasuke. Many were confused by the two, flustered at how easily Sakura could be around her new beau, especially when her friends spent many years setting her up with other guys. But maybe it was because they had been setting her up with guys that reminded her of her past – after Ino's setup with Sai, Sakura was sure she didn't need to be reminded of Sasuke.
"Sakura?" He said, interrupting her moments of reminiscence.
Sakura's head leapt from the palm of her hand. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about some things." She smiled and her voice trailed off as a part of her mind starting to recall back memories again.
Her fiancé chuckled, finishing the rest of his food. "Actually, I wanted to tell you something." He picked up a napkin, cleaning the food from his mouth before he looked back up at the rosette. "A lot of things are going on lately, as you've probably heard, so I'm going to be home pretty late nowadays. Just for this week though, okay?"
Sakura nodded. "Yeah, winters mean more hectic patients in the hospitals anyway." She studied his apologetic face that was mixed with amusement. "I mean it," she assured.
His sunburned colored eyes sparkled, even with the low lighting. "And that's why you're running around, doing errands for the Hokage instead of working in the busy hospital?" He mused, pointing out her lie.
Sakura gave a little grin.
Getting up, he grabbed his coat hanging from the elegant chair with Sakura mirroring his moves as well.
Despite having a joyous conversation with Kyo on the way back home and all night, there was only one other man that was persistent to stay inside Sakura's mind: Sasuke. It left her with a sleepless night, as she consistently tossed and turned until her fiancé decided to spend the night on the couch.
"Sorry," she whispered late at night.
He shrugged it off. "Like I said, a lot of things are going on. Do you want to talk about it or anything?" When he received her head shake, he gave a reassuring smile. "Okay. Now I have an early morning, so I'm just going to the living room."
This caused the rosette to feel a little guilty, yet satisfaction at the same time. The moment Kyo left the room, she leapt off the bed and pulled a picture frame from her bottom drawer. Gazing the ten year old photo, her teeth nibbled onto the dry skin of her lips as she felt agony.
She knew it was wrong, but the young woman went to sleep, planning the next day's journey back into the prison.
Her fiancé was already gone by the time she had woken up. Her clothes were picked randomly from the closet as she marched outside her room. Despite what everybody believed, Sakura had requested a week's worth of vacation time from the hospital; she needed time to adjust to what was happening.
Her unemotional mouth pulled into a deep frown every time she walked passed the poster, stating the date and time of his death. But rather than stopping to analyze it's detail like she normally did (she needed to let it sink in), the kunoichi headed straight to the prison cell.
It took her exactly eight minutes before her hand decided to push the door open. The air in the building was also palpable, causing her breathing to quicken. Her body felt faint as she watched Shikamaru point to the same door he had the day before.
"Just tell me if you want to go in," he reminded her, jingling the keys in front of her face. When she nodded, he turned around to head back to his desk. The Nara clansman never questioned Sakura.
Like the day before, she tiptoed in order for her eyes to peak through the window. Despite him being in view yesterday, the apple-green eyes had to search for him, only to see his legs; he was resting against the door. Her inner voice kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, go inside, but she didn't listen to her conscious.
She just stared at his feet that seemed to wiggle every once in a while. His ankles were cuffed and chained, preventing him from doing anything drastic and only allowed him to walk within his cell.
Again, her heart's pace quickened every time her mind told her to call for Shikamaru. Finally, she turned her face. "Um, Shikamaru?" She called out. The corner of her eyes were still glued to the window, watching for movement – she wondered if Sasuke could hear her.
On cue, the man approached Sakura. He dangled the keys in one hand, but in the other, he held out a bracelet. "Sorry, I was notified that if you were to go in, you had to wear this." He placed the metallic object around her small wrist, which suppressed her chakra levels.
"I understand... " Her voice faltered, realizing that she was just moments away from entering the cell. Suddenly, her hand raised. "One second," she murmured, keeping the guard from unlocking the door.
She gave herself several deep breaths. Her brows were furrowed from her frustration. Sakura wanted to make sure she was both mentally and physically prepared; she didn't want to have an emotional breakdown at the sight of him.
After several minutes of waving her hands in the air, as if they were going to help relax her, her eyes darkened. They stared straight at the door in front of her. "I'm sorry. I can't."
Shikamaru blankly stared at her, before putting his keys back and taking off the wristband. "Alright, then," he muttered.
The moment he turned the corner and was away from her view, Sakura peaked into the window again. Startlingly, she gasped for air, stepping back from her location. Her back leaned against the wall as her fingers clutched onto the engravings of the old bricks.
Sasuke's face was up against he window and his intense eyes stared straight back at her's, as if he could see through her soul. He watched her – studied her – and refused to move from his position. The long strands of ebony hairs were long, covering most of his face from her view.
Because of this, Sakura never saw the questioning look that he had plastered on the porcelain skin of his. Instead, she glanced back at him with intense fear, but whether he knew what she was afraid of, it was hard to depict. Truthfully, she just didn't know what to do.
His mouth partly opened and he began to breathe in from it. His facial features seemed to soften after the intense moment, but Sakura never saw any of it.
She ran out the door as quickly as she could, tracing over her snow-covered trail that she had left behind just an hour ago; she needed to go back home.
Date: February 12
Days until the execution of Sasuke Uchiha: 4
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TBC
A/N: Yeah, I know. I make the chapters pretty short. It might get longer as we go, though. :)
Ohh, one more thing. There's a reason I made her fiance an OC: I wanted someone who wasn't aware of Sakura's and Sasuke's past, despite that just being friendship (sorta) and a confession by a bench. And with his description and all, I don't want to go too far into it. He won't show a lot of flaws mainly because this is, in a way, Sakura's point of view, so to her, being in love with him and all, she won't see a lot of those.
Please review!