Hello Everyone! I know it's been a long time since I have updated, so here we go haha. I've kinda been suffering from writers block lately, so I apologize if this chapter isn't that great, but I tried by best, you gotta give me credit for that haha. I hope you enjoy…
Sakura had decided freshman year that she loathed high school. It was not that she could not handle the intensity of the academic courses, because of course she was an extremely intelligent girl. It was the students that really edged on her nerves. It was the fact that she could not have a simple sophisticated conversation with one individual throughout the entire school. If she was talking to a girl the conversation would normally have to be pertained around boys or makeup or fashion or some other stupid, superficial thing in which Sakura was not interested. If it were a boy she was talking to, things would be a tad bit different, instead of cutting her off after 4 seconds and switching to a stupid, superficial topic, he would cut her off after 3 seconds and switch her to a just plain stupid topic.
That is why Sakura Haruno was known as the geek of Westington High school. She was different. She was not interested in anything a girl her age normally would be, and bluntly, wasn't really like a normal person at all. She didn't judge, or criticize, or discriminate against anybody for anything which they could not help or did not want to change. She was nice, very nice, to everyone she met. Unless that person did not return her kindness, in which case she would just do her best to stay away from them. For that reason she was currently avoiding half the school. Another trait universally known about Sakura Haruno was that she didn't really care what the general population thought of her, she was the imperfect person she wanted to be and acknowledged it, for sticks and stones may break her bones, but words could never hurt her. So she stuck it out, and endured. I didn't matter anyway because she was not living for the now, but for the future. Her future of achieving her dreams.
As for her personality, sometimes she showed an edge to her closest friend, Hinata, but usually, she lacked the ability to stand up for herself. She wrote poetry for the school newspaper, sung for the chorus, and worked for the local library. She talked about intelligent things, like books, current events and other matter not considered normal subjects for teenage discussion. She was obsessed with fantasy and the mystical worlds of folklore and legend. So much so that she often found herself lost in daydream, far away in a world where she belonged, because this world definitely wasn't it.
Her appearance did not earn her any extra points on the normalcy scale either. She was short, 5'2 feet tall with ivory skin and glassy green eyes but that was not what struck ones attention when first laying eyes on the girl. It was her shoulder length, blossom pink hair that set her apart from the rest. She was a freak. She had few friends and the only adventures she had were the adventures between the soft edged paper of her books. She went home, did her homework and went to bed. As expected she was bullied to a great extent. People would take advantage of her all the time, making her do their projects for them, or complete the homework which they should really be doing themselves. She was harassed in every way almost daily and most mornings had something nasty to look forward to in her locker, normally a rotten banana peel or some crusted, old peanut butter smeared across the inside of the door. She never reported anyone.
However she did not feel sorry for herself because though her school life could be unbearable at times, her home life was not that horrible. She had no father, never had, he had died long before she developed enough consciousness to remember him. She had had a mother. In her opinion, the most wonderful woman in the world. Her mother had taught her everything she knew about life. She has taught her not to judge, and not to value oneself upon the judgment of others. She had taught her to live for the future and strive for dreams and to never perceive a situation as impossible or ridiculous, because in the end, there was a reason for everything. The most traumatizing moment in Sakura's life up to this point was undoubtedly the day her mother left her. Is it not been dramatic, there was no fighting, no screaming or yelling, no constant threats of leaving, there was nothing that would've given Sakura the idea that anything akin to it would ever be possible. However one morning, she woke to an empty house, and she had not seen her mother since. That had been two years ago. She now lived by herself since now at age 16 she was legally allowed to own her own apartment. The apartment was nothing special, with a kitchen, living room, bathroom, and one small bedroom with a queen size bed. She figured that she had nothing to complain about since though it wasn't as if her life was fabulous, it wasn't all that terrible either. At least she had fond memories of her mother, she was sure some kids her age couldn't say that.
If there was one thing on her mind it was to grow up. She wanted to grow up and become a Doctor, and that was a goal she knew she was going to achieve. She knew she would achieve that goal simply because she would not allow herself to do anything but achieve it. She worked herself rigid in school and was pleasant to everyone no matter what offences they'd committed against her. One may wonder why such a girl had yet to give up on the prospects of humanity but even through all Sakura had experienced in her horrible high school years, her ultimate goal was to help people. That is why she sought to become a Doctor, because she knew that in that profession she would be able to help more people that she would in any other.
Sakura was a Junior now and starting a new chapter in her high school experience. In her mind she prayed that things would be better this year even though she doubted they really would be if her first day was any indication of how the rest of the year would play out. It started off with Ino Yamanaka pushing her in the mud on the way to school. Things then got better in her second period when Naruto Uzumaki dumped gelatin into her backpack while she wasn't paying attention. Lunch was even better because while sitting by herself, not even Hinata, her only friend, daring to join her, she realized that someone had applied glue to her seat. They had to call the janitors to separate her pants from the plastic base panel. However that was not the worst predicament of the day. The worst quandary was by far when Sasuke Uchiha, her longtime heart ache pretended to flirt with her before pronouncing to the entire class but he would never date a pink haired freak, with nothing to her name but a few crappy fantasy novels. It hurt, badly, but Sakura knew better than to let such a shallow boy agitate her and sauntered out the classroom as if it had never happened.
Now she was making her way home, Hinata at her side, chatting lightly about how cute Naruto Uzumaki looked in his gym uniform. Sakura on the other hand was far away in her mystical world of imagination, a.k.a. daydreaming.
"Sakura, Sakura did you hear me?" Hinata questioned, apparently she'd been saying something in which she deemed as extremely important.
"Oh no, sorry Hinata I wasn't paying attention, heh" Sakura shrugged, maybe this is the real reason why she lacked the skills for socialization, because she could never stay in a conversation long enough to decipher its importance.
"I said, I really admire you for what you did today, it was really brave" Hinata repeated, Sakura was left wondering.
"Ummm… what exactly did I do?" Sakura replied, besides it being one of the worst days of her life she didn't really remember much else taking place.
"The way you handled the day I mean, everyone was so mean to you but she still got through with a smile on your face, how do you do that?" Hinata asked, and from the look on her face she appeared to be genuinely curious.
"I don't know. I guess you just have to know that it doesn't matter what other people think, it matters what you think of yourself, and what the people whose opinions you value think of you" Sakura couldn't believe she was saying this. She has spent her entire life trying to live by these ideals, but days like this were a reality check that really got her down. Maybe her mother was wrong. Maybe being your own person wasn't so important as long as you fit in with the crowd. 'Come on Sakura, what kind of thinking is that?' She coached yourself 'nothing good can come out of thoughts so negative'.
"Oh well there's a library, I guess you should probably get going, I hope you have fun. See you on Monday" Hinata then took her leave, leaving Sakura perplexed on the front steps of the library, contemplating the purpose of life.
It was a Friday afternoon and though Sakura didn't usually work at the library on Fridays, they had needed extra help to handle the large amounts of students filing in from the first day of school. Sakura consider herself lucky to have found such a job. She loved books, they were one of her passions. She had realized at a young age how much she could learn just by reading a simple page, whether in a novel, a biography, or even a medical text. So when she turned 16 and required money to pay the rent, obviously the first place she had checked for job availabilities was the library and lucky for her they had a part time position available. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays she worked in the children's section of the library helping adolescents find their books of choice. It gave her just enough money she needed and was an enjoyable experience as well. So she made her way down to the basement where the children's section was located and gratefully took up her usual spot behind the circulation desk, in her comfy satin leather chair. However the library's children's section was more empty than usual, since though highschooler's had started school today on a Friday, the younger children would not start till the following Monday. So naturally the place was a ghost town and Sakura was left organizing books on a long forgotten shelf of fantasy narratives.
It was there when she came across one of her favorite books, Harry Potter. Out of all the adventure novels she had read throughout her years, Harry Potter was indisputably be her favorite. The first book was the best of the series in her opinion. One may wonder why out of such an elaborate series the first book would appeal the most to her. However the reason for this is most likely because the first book was a wish for Sakura, a wish for how her life should have gone. A normal boy with no parents just like herself, and a bully victim just like herself, is flung into a greater adventure that anyone could ever imagine. That is exactly what Sakura wanted for her life, she wanted an adventure. However with the way things were going, it didn't seem like she would ever get one. That was until she got her PhD and became a doctor. That was the second reason she wanted to become a doctor, because not only can she save lives but she could have an adventure while doing it. However that was still a long way away, and Sakura hoped that some form of adventure would touch her life before then. This thought led to another, and soon Sakura was deeply engaged in a train of thought pertaining to what she would like her adventure to be. Would she want to sail away to a far-off lands and live the life of medieval fantasy, or would she want a Cinderella story with Prince charming and two elegant glass slippers. She doubted that a Cinderella story would ever happen, so she decided that a journey would be more to her advantage.
Then finally, out of nowhere, a young girl entered the children's section and made her way over towards the magazines. Sakura pounced on the opportunity.
"Hi my name is Sakura, is there anything I can help you with?" Sakura asked in the sweetest tone she could muster.
"Yes actually, I'm looking for the horoscopes, do you know where I could find them?" The young girl replied, flipping her long brown bangs from their obnoxious position in front of her eyes.
"I most certainly do, here let me show you where they are" Sakura responded, leading the girl over towards a remotely placed shelf in the corner of the room. "Here you are" Sakura pronounced, proud of herself for locating it so quickly but then again not entirely surprised, she did know this library like the back of her hand. "May I ask you what sign you are?"
"I'm Scorpio" the girl shot back, nearly a second after the question left Sakura's lips.
"So your horoscope is…" Sakura looked down at the magazine page. "If you have questions or doubts about the 'skittish behavior' of another, it may be wise to 'run everything' past a good pal or pals who 'know you really well'" Sakura continued to read. "Your lucky number is 96 and your animal is the orangutan"
"Huh, that's funny. I have this friend that acting kind of strange right now so this horoscope totally pertains, isn't it weird how they always seem to apply" The girls laughed to herself, she seemed very mature for a girl of such a young age.
"Well I can't say I've ever been one for horoscopes so your confiding with the wrong person" Sakura laughed back.
"What's yours?" The girl then asked innocently and Sakura was forced to stop and think. Had she ever read her horoscope in her entire life, she never remembered doing so. It would be a new experience, and Sakura was all for new experiences.
"I don't know…let's see…I'm Aries, so my horoscope is" Sakura began to read "Today is the day for you, something will happen today that will change your life forever and take you down a road of happiness untraveled by the inhabitants of your world, it will all be thanks to him. Your lucky number is 16 and your animal is the shark"
"Woah! That's so cool! I've never heard a horoscope like that before. I wish I was an Aries, mine is so boring compared to that" The girl enthused, jumping up and down in a state of exalted excitement.
However Sakura not so was pleased with her prediction. 'Change my life forever, what is that suppose to mean? I have my whole life planned out, I'm going to become a doctor, I don't want those plans to change' Sakura thought 'And who is this 'him', I definitely won't be relying on a man for anything'. "I don't know" Sakura then announced to the girl "this horoscope doesn't really seem to fit me. I mean I have a life plan and I don't really know any boys, especially one capable of ratifying my existence" The girl just looked at her, slightly confused.
"You know what miss. I think this horoscope is perfect for you because I could tell just with the look of your eyes that you would find happiness no one of this world had ever found before. And I'm sure he will help you do it." And with that the sentence the girl turned around and walked away, not another word spoken.
"Wait! Stop! What do you mean?"But the girl was already gone.
Sakura spent the rest of the afternoon pondering the girls words. Happiness that no one has ever found in this world huh? Did that mean that she would have to go somewhere else to do it, or maybe, it would come to her. All Sakura knew was that she was confused, and confused was one thing that Sakura did not like being.
When Kisame awoke he did not recognize his surroundings, it seemed that the modest Akatsuki base was no longer his current location, but instead, what looked to be a small apartment. However this apartment was like nothing he had ever seen before. Everything looked different. From the strange looking machines in the kitchen, to the weird fuzzy stuff all over the floor. Overall though he seem to be ok. He still had on his Akatsuki uniform and Shamahada was still safely strapped around his back but there was still one very prominent question on his mind. 'Where the fuck am I?' He questioned, moving toward the window to examine the exterior environment. 'What the hell' There were buildings, buildings bigger than any he had ever seen before, and people, loads and loads of people littering the sidewalks. That though, was not what he was interested in. It were the carriages. They were moving by themselves, how was that possible?
Kisame backed away from the window, now engulfed in thought. He was in another universe and he knew it, it was the only logical explanation. Ok maybe not logical, but it was an explanation. One may think it rather strange that he would so quickly jump to this conclusion, but unlike other worlds, the ninja world was notoriously open minded. He had been hearing stories of other universes since he was a child, but up until now he had never believed them. He still wasn't sure if he believed them. Maybe this was just some sort of bad, achohol induced dream. For how else could he, even being the capable ninja he was, manage to get sent to a world of legend. 'Wait a damn minute, the orb'. That was it, it must have been the orb that sent him here, since the last thing he remembered was falling in that nasty goo.
What was that stupid legend surrounding it? Oh yeah, if you touched it and your heart was evil, you would be banished to a life of misfortune for yourself and those around you. But that couldn't be right, for while this place seemed strange, it's not as if it was horrible. There was another legend though, the one of happiness, but he couldn't imagine an apartment in a parallel universe would make him happy either. Besides, happiness was only granted to those with a good heart and the potential of change, with all the things he'd done, he was most likely hopeless. So the question was why. What had happened to him and why was he here?
It was then when the lock of the door began to rattle with an attempted entrance and Kisame scrambled for a place large enough for him to hide. 'Crap, who knows who's going to come though that door'
But it wasn't an enemy, or a threat, or the devil himself as he had been expecting, but a girl.
'A girl? Is this where the orb sent me to, this girl, that's ridiculous she's half my age' Thought Kisame, blatantly ignoring the fact that he had just slept with a girl not too much older than her the day before. The girl was small, very small, nearly two feet shorter than himself but this is not what initially caught his eye. Her hair was short and pink, yes pink, as in the color of bubblegum and her eyes. My god they were the two most beautiful circles of green he had ever seen. Looking at her gave him a weird feeling, and he wasn't quite sure whether he liked it or not.
She moved towards the sofa near the center of the room and slowly lowered herself to the cushions with a long sigh, dropping her bag next to her ungraciously. She then preceded to close her eyes and within what seemed like a minute, she was asleep.
Now Kisame was really confused. So here he was. In another dimension. With a sleeping little girl. What the hell was going on? However after a few more minutes of waiting, he decided to rebel against his inner judgment and go take a closer look.
He moved towards her slowly, and cautiously, making sure not to make a sound and before long he was kneeling in front of her, eye to eye with her sleeping form. He suddenly felt strange, being by the girl, and something in the pit of his stomach told him not to get any closer. It was then when he got a sudden urge. He wanted to touch her, see if that milky white skin was a soft as it looked. He lifted his hand towards her face, but before he came into contact with the proclaim skin of her cheek his inner stopped himself. 'What the hell are you doing?' It nagged, reminding him of his still present hangover. 'You should be focusing on how to get out of here, not on some insignificant child'. He then came in to a final realization of his predicament and deduced that his inner was probably right. He needed to find out where he was. But then again, finding out who the girl was might be able to help him. So once again, being as cautious as he possibly could, Kisame reached towards the girl. He took a hold of her shoulders and began to gently shake her back to consciousness.
Slowly, she began to open her eyes
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-Kaus-y