Burnt Toast
By: Xmarksthespot
Disclaimer: Don't own
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Chapter 3. Three Days
I like having my breakfast straight out of the toaster. It's just nice and warm.
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Sakura's routine that day was basically a carbon copy of her previous. She peaked inside the building, catching the attention of the guards on duty. Her attentive eyes tried to look pass them, but their bulky, muscular figure kept her from doing so. Deciding on what to do, the small girl's body shifted inside to reunite with the warm air.
"Can we help you?" The stranger asked.
The thoughts in her head squirmed around at the possibilities of excuses she could use. When an appropriate one came to mind, the rosette said, "I'm looking for Shikamaru – mission details and stuff. Is he working today?" She tried to avoid further questions by stepping back a few steps, hinting to the guards that she was in a rush.
"Yes, later tonight he is."
Sakura responded, "Could you check his schedule, please?" She lowered her chin, scanning the pages that the man was flipping through and deciding that she would come back then. However, as the pages turned, she could hear another man creaking the door up ahead.
One of the other guards with a tray of food in one hand opened the door, causing the imprisoned man to fall back. He sternly stared at the Uchiha who was slowly getting back up onto his feet. "Hey, you. Why are you leaning against the door?" He questioned rudely. "Trying to escape, are you?" He kicked Sasuke's lower back, pushing him inside the cell.
Sakura wanted to speak up, but she didn't want any of the guards to be suspicious of her. No one really knew how long it took her to convince Naruto that she wouldn't try to let Sasuke escape. Instead, she pretended to wander as she waited. Her steps approached the man who gave Sasuke his food, but turned around before she let herself get too far. As for her eyes, they randomly looked around, studying dust mites and the intricate work of the spider's web.
"It feels warmer there," someone said.
Quickly, her head jerked to the side when the back of her mind assumed she heard Sasuke's voice. But when the guard up ahead slammed the door closed, her body slowly shifted back towards the main desk again. Whether it had been a hallucination or not, the girl tried to shake the voice out of her head.
"Nara will be here by 8:00PM. You can stop by then."
With an affirmative nod, Sakura left the building. Her eyes looked both ways, despite the empty street. Turning to the left, the girl took heavy steps through the snow, making her way towards the academy.
"Oh, thank you so much for supervising for me," Iruka pleasantly said as he rushed his moves. "I'm sorry, but there's just this meeting I have to rush to. It'll only be a few minutes, or so," the man explained.
Sakura returned with a bright grin. "Don't worry about it," she said before entering the classroom. The moment she entered, the students' voices died down as they stared at her like a stranger. But to her, the classroom hadn't been any stranger than her own home. It was the same location she had spent most of her childhood, learning basic techniques and laughing at Naruto's pranks.
She introduced herself as 'Ms. Haruno' to the students, sitting down on the teacher's chair. She made sure they had enough work to distract them while she pretended to be working hard, herself. However, the two boys sitting in the back corner were giving her a hard time, considering they wouldn't keep their mouths shut.
"My dad said that I can go see Sasuke Uchiha's execution. It'll be awesome!"
"No fair!" The other whined. "My mom refuses to let me go and it's a once in a lifetime experience. I wonder if they're using a guillotine or – "
Sakura's flat palms slammed onto the desk, alarming the students. "Enough!" She marched from behind the desk, making her way up the few steps that it took to get to the two boys' desk. "Do you think it's funny – death?"
The kids in front of her were wide-eyed, unsure of what to say. They just watched as their substitute teacher yelled at them even more.
"Do you think that just because he's a traitor to the village, he doesn't have people who love him?" Her voice was raised and stern. She used all the self-control she had within her to keep herself from raising her sound any further. Turning around, she made her way to the front of the class, so that she could face everyone.
"Let me tell you something, kids. When Sasuke Uchiha left, he was a genin." Sakura had a steady pace around the room. "That being said, who do you think he left behind?"
There was a brief silence that flowed through the room. Nobody felt like they had the guts to raise their hand. However, one of the two boys that Sakura had just yelled at hesitantly raised his arm into the air.
"Yes?" Sakura called out.
"My dad said that his family was killed – that's why he left. So he left noone behind...r-right?"
Sakura's dry lips parted, releasing a heavy sigh. Shaking her head disappointedly, she said, "No, you're wrong. You're not looking at the specifics – I said he was a genin. That means he had a team." Her voice had softened the moment her deep consciousness had entered a realm of memories.
She slowly made her way back to the desk, leaning on it with one arm. "You see, after you guys graduate, you will have a team – people who you will bond with and create many memories with." Her eyes gradually fell. "Sasuke Uchiha didn't have nobody. He had a team, and that team is still existent even to this day. Despite what he's done and what people believe, that team still loves him as much as they loved him before he left.
"So don't talk about death so casually. Even if you think that the person you're talking about is a villain, because everyone in this world has had someone who loves them at one point or another... and it just hurts them deeply knowing that, that person is going to die."
The academy students didn't speak up. Some were in awe about what had just been said, others went back to their work. Nevertheless, none of them dared to mention the Uchiha's execution.
For the rest of the afternoon, Sakura's mind felt void. She wasn't sure as to what to think anymore. There weren't many people left in the village who remember Sasuke as a genin – none of them were aware of his, the Hokage's, and her connection. As for Kakashi, all they ever talked about now was his new team, troubling the village as always. Team Seven was almost never mentioned; as long as Naruto was alive, he made sure no other team would receive that team number.
Her head restlessly turned to the side, viewing the scenery outside the window. She could see a genin team walking dogs across the courtyard with their teacher following behind them. Her face saddened, turning away to look at the clock; it was just half past three.
When Iruka had finally come back, Sakura quickly said her goodbyes before leaving, though she wasn't sure how responsive the students were. The girl had thought about paying the hospital a visit to see how things were going while she was away, but she never turned towards the building's direction.
Rather, she went back home, seeing her fiancé work busily through his paperwork.
"Hey," Sakura sang, walking towards Kyo to give him a kiss. She quickly took off her winter jacket and sat down on the seat next to him.
"How has your day been? I heard you sat in for Iruka with the academy kids – they weren't too rough on you, were they?" He didn't look up from his sheets, but felt Sakura's unresponsive shrug.
Sakura's chin rested on the palm of her hand, watching as Kyo quickly scribbled various notes. "What are you working on? You seem stressed."
The mahogany haired man gave a sigh, leaning back on his chair. "Well, it's just all these missions and the whole execution thing going on. You know, that Uchiha guy?" He watched as Sakura gave a quick nod. "I see," she managed to utter.
The man rubbed way the stress from his eyes, reaching out one hand to grab the plastic cup of water just ahead of him. "I heard he was pretty popular back then – when I was traveling with my dad, so I wouldn't know. Have you met him before?"
Sakura thought for many seconds, and then said with the most uncertainty, "H-He was a classmate. I went to school with him back at the academy," she gave a pause, wondering how much she should really say. "He was really cute, I was a big fan, like the other girls. And then we graduated and... that was it." It was a half lie, but luckily, Kyo didn't see any of it.
The corol spikes flipped to the side as she turned around. "I'll make you some food," she offered, heading to the kitchen. The adult pretended to be selecting food from the fridge the moment she stuck her head in and hummed a peaceful song. In reality, she was hiding herself from him behind the fridge door the moment she sensed a tear in the corner of her tired eyes.
As her hands reached, grabbing random bowls and such, her state of reality froze. Everything around her seemed to slow down until the moment her heart took over. "Actually," she said, standing erect. "Do you think you could wait a few, um, hours? It's only four and we don't usually have dinner at, uh, six, anyway," her speech was quick and the palms grasping onto the material of her shirt grew sweaty.
Kyo turned around, suspicious of the girl. "Are you okay, Sakura?" He pursed his thin lips, seeming to hold back other words.
Stutteringly, Sakura nodded with haste words that no one could really hear. "I just have to do an errand!" She breathed out, jumping towards the rack that held her jacket. Bolting out the door. she had traveled to her original destination even though the wind was blowing the heavy snow back at her.
Once she entered the building, the guards looked up at her. "May we help you?"
Her cheeks felt numb, but the forest green orbs only paid attention to the heavy metal door just up ahead. She knew she couldn't wait for Shikamaru to arrive.
"The Hokage has requested for me... to see the prisoner. H-He's busy today and wants me to talk to the prisoner – the Uchiha," Sakura lied. "I want to see him." She breathed heavily while giving the man across from her a confident smile. "I want to see Sasuke Uchiha. Please, open the door."
The taller man studied her before turning around and reaching into his desk. "Alright, then." His words suggested for her to reach out her hand, which was what she had done. He secured her wrist with the metallic band before leading her towards the jail cell.
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Date: February 13
Days until the execution of Sasuke Uchiha: 3
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TBC
Thanks guys for reviewing the previous chapter! I'm really excited about this story - it's probably my favourite to write.
Please review and have a good day. :)