Chapter Two: A New Perspective
My muscles ached but strangely enough they felt relaxed, similar to the feeling of crashing on your bed after a long day of being on your feet. That's strange. I don't recall the grass in the park ever having such a calming effect on me. I'll have to find this spot again for the next few nights.
"You found her in the park?" a womanly voice asked.
"Well technically it wasn't me that found her."
That voice was sounded very familiar to me. And that's when I realized that I wasn't in the park. It was way too quiet here. No rustle of leaves, no sounds of the distant city, no children laughing. There was, however, the sound of a hospital machine beeping a constant slow rhythm nearby.
I opened my eyes. For some reason all I saw was darkness but in my slight panic I could still hear the two voices as they conversed.
"You know what I mean…"
"Yeah. Good thing we got to her on time."
There was silence for a moment and I had time to ponder on their words. I was positive of the identity of one of the voices, but who was the other one? And what did they mean by 'we'?
"I found something interesting while I was examining her," the woman said seriously. And without waiting for her companion to respond she continued, "She has a seal. Two to be exact."
"I know."
There was a short huff. "Obviously since one of them has your chakra signature!"
What? What are they talking about? What is chakra? What did she mean by seal? And why did I have two?
"And the other one belongs to…well, you probably know that too."
"…"
"It's not your fault. He just plays dirty."`
I heard the scrape of a chair across the floor and I guessed that the other one stood up.
"You know it's my fault. They trusted me and I let them down and now look…"
I was getting tired of being in the dark, literally. I had to look at the two people who were having a private conversation over my presumably-there hospital bed. I moved my arm, expecting to find resistance, but I was surprised to feel it move effortlessly. Feeling brave, I moved my other arm and my legs and found that they could move easily. I slowly sat up and heard a gasp from the woman but before either of the two could say anything, I frowned.
"Why can't I see?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry," the woman said and I heard a shuffling and something at the back of my head shifting.
The next thing I knew light flooded my vision and I grimaced. When my eyes adjusted to the lighting I looked up and first saw the old man. He had a grim look on his face as he observed me. Next to him stood a blonde with light brown eyes and a tiny purple diamond in the middle of her forehead. She looked quite young to me.
"Don't be fooled by her baby face. It's all a lie," the old man said first and grinned sheepishly when the lady shot him a death glare.
She turned her attention back to me, waving a black piece of cloth around. "Sorry about blindfolding you, girl. I got complaints from a bunch of patients about the bright lights in the hospital."
I nodded, my throat dry.
"Who are you?" I croaked. My face flushed at my horrid voice. Was I out so long that my voice had rusted over from lack of use?
"This, my dear, is Tsunade. She owns this hospital. She is also the sexiest woman in the world and the mother of my children!" the old man explained. I really need to find out his name. I'm tired of referring to him as an old man, even though he really is one.
Said woman was handing me a tall glass of water, which I accepted gratefully before taking a sip. The cool fluid slid down my parched throat and I immediately felt better. I watched her from the rim of my glass as she walked back to her place next to Mister X and none too gently landed a fist on his face. Yes, he will be called Mister X until I know his real name, which will hopefully be today.
"Stop feeding her lies, you old geezer! There's no way on earth I'd marry you or bear your children!" Tsunade snapped and crossed her arms.
"It's not like I'm lying every day. At least I look my age!" He cried and caressed his abused cheek, backing away slightly when she scowled at him.
These two sure acted like an old couple. I coughed politely, gaining both of their attention again. I leveled a suspicious look at Mister X before turning back to Tsunade. She seemed to be the mature one of the two right now and maybe she'd answer my questions.
"So," I started. "How do you know Mister X?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow at me. "If by Mister X you mean this perverted old man next to me, then I've known him since we were kids. His name is – "
"Tsunade no!" he wailed, jumping at Tsunade in an attempt to stop her. But she side stepped and let him fall to his face.
" – Jiraiya," she finished.
I grinned at her and she smirked back at me. I like this lady, old or not. After a few questions on my condition and what had happened to me the night I was attacked, I lay back down on my pillow. I had been knocked out for the whole. It was just a little after lunch and Tsunade had decided to pay me a visit when she found Jiraiya sitting next to my bed. When I asked who had found me Jiraiya had immediately given me an account of what had happened, telling me that the identity of my rescuer was unknown.
The attack last night had supposedly left me with a minor concussion and a few heavy bruises to my face and my stomach. Surprisingly enough, I didn't feel any pain. I probably must be drugged up.
They were asking me if I remembered anything else. I shook my head at them. I didn't want to tell of them about those peculiar eyes that I saw. They'd probably think that something was definitely wrong with my head.
To say that I liked Tsunade was quite an understatement. She was amusing and she had an attitude that screamed "I will not put up with your BS" but at the same time she showed concern toward me that spoke of a kind hard. And so far she answered all of my questions.
But now it's time for more important questions. Questions like what were they talking about when I was still blindfolded. Before I could get a word out, the door to my room opened and a nurse came in and informed Tsunade that she was needed at the operating room.
Tsunade rolled her eyes before smirking at me. "I hear you don't have a place to stay, Sakura."
I nodded.
"You can stay with me, if you like. I don't have a mansion but I'm sure my place is better than this loser over here."
Jiraiya protested weakly at being called a loser.
My eyes widened. I just met her and she was offering her home to a complete stranger? It was too good to be true, if you ask me.
"I'd really appreciate that, Tsunade-sama!" I tried my best to bow, given my current position.
She snorted, probably because of the honorific I used. "Good. You can move in today. Don't leave the hospital just yet and stay until I'm done with work. I'll bring you over." She turned and left but not before smacking Jiraiya at the back of his head when he ogled her cleavage.
When the door had shut Jiraiya turned back to me.
"So…Jiraiya is your name, eh?" I teased, smiling a winning smile.
Jiraiya pouted. "You weren't supposed to find out, Sakura-chan. It was going to be my lifelong secret that I'd keep from you."
I shrugged. I was going to find out sooner or later whether he liked it or not. "Speaking of secrets," I paused. "I happened to overhear you and Tsunade-sama talking a while ago."
He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ceiling, feigning innocence. He suddenly became quiet.
Oh no, he wasn't going to make this a secret too. This time I have to know especially since it has to do with me. I have a right to know!
"Something about chakra and seals…?" I hinted.
Jiraiya clicked his tongue and his frown deepened but he wouldn't look at me. He crossed his arms stubbornly.
"Aw, c'mon! I've known you for years! You can't hide something from me when it's obviously aboutme."
"Now's not the time, Sakura-chan," he said solemnly. "I promise you will know but now is not a good time. All I can say, though, is that you should be more careful about where you go now. I don't know who reportedly assaulted you but you should exercise more caution."
It was my turn to pout. I'm eighteen years old and I've been out on the streets since I was ten years old. I'm pretty sure I know how to take care of myself. I mean, I haven't died yet, now have I?
As if reading my thoughts Jiraiya looked at me patiently and sighed. He uncrossed his arms and went over to the side of my bed to ruffle my uniquely colored hair.
"I know you've been out on your own but I'm going to need you to trust me on this. Now that you've been attacked and reports have been filed to find the men that accosted you, I have a feeling that things are going to start to get a bit dangerous."
His words confused me. What was going to change just because of what happened to me last night? I really wanted to know but judging from the look on Jiraiya's face, it'd be a long time before I'd ever find out from him. I let out a short, defeated sigh. If he wanted to stay stubborn, that was his problem. I'm going to find out what's going on one way or another.
"Fine," I muttered.
He grinned at me and laughed his hearty laugh before making his way to my door. "I think I've overstayed my visit, Sakura-chan. I'm going to head on out before the personnel decide to kick me out."
I raised an eyebrow in confusion. "They can kick you out?"
"Well, they can kick me out specifically. That's because Tsunade owns this hospital and she doesn't want me to 'bother the patients'."
"Is she right?"
He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Pfft, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I am the best thing that ever graced this hospital." He had his hand on the door handle and was about to turn the handle when he looked at me mischievously. "So I've decided to let my friend keep you company until Tsunade finishes her shift."
"A friend? You have other friends aside from me?"
Jiraiya feigned an offended look. "Is there a problem with that?"
I inwardly smirked at him. "Yeah, I can't believe I'm friends with someone like you."
He grinned. "Well, you know what they say about birds with the same feather."
"They die together?" I ventured with a giggle.
He sent me a flat look. "Anyways, as I was saying, this friend of mine is actually my godson. Treat him nicely Sakura-chan. I'm sure you'll enjoy his company, though." With that said, Jiraiya opened the door and peeked his head outside before reaching out and pulling someone inside the room with a grunt.
A startling myriad of orange, black, and yellow crossed my vision as the person crumpled to the floor disgracefully. He stood up quickly and growled at Jiraiya in a loud voice.
"Pervy-sensei what's your problem? Didja hafta throw me to the ground like that?"
Jiraiya just smiled and pointed a finger in my direction. When the blonde turned around I was surprised to see shocking sky blue eyes curiously looking at me.
I offered a shy wave. "Hi."
My visitor's lower jaw dropped to the ground in the most unflattering manner I'd ever seen. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He slowly tore his gaze away from me and looked at Jiraiya.
"W-what is she doing here, Pervy-sensei?"
"She's being treated for any injuries, Naruto. Duh."
Seeming to ignore the jab, Naruto seemed to realize his state of surprise and quickly shut his mouth before clearing his throat. He shot me a weird look before turning back to Jiraiya and pulling him out of the room and into the hallway.
"He'll be back Sakura-chan. But for now, I'll see you soon! Byeee…" Jiraiya said with a small shake of his hand before the door slammed shut behind him.
Well, that was weird.
I sat up and finished the rest of the water in my glass and set the empty glass on my bedside table. On it was a small bouquet of flowers that I hadn't noticed until now. Just inside the wrapping was a card with an inscription on it. I gently picked up the bouquet and sniffed it's fresh scent before pulling out the card to read what it said.
"Get well soon."
The penmanship was neat and crisp and not styled beautifully in a special font. It was simple and straight to the point. I turned the card over in hopes of seeing any names or initials but there was none. Maybe Jiraiya brought this for me. I smiled. He surely was a nice old man.
I stuffed the card back into the bouquet and put the flowers back on my bedside table before lying back down on my bed. My eyes focused on the ceiling and I allowed my thoughts to wander.
It was weird having someone care for me. I've been alone for so long that I don't remember anything else except for the streets of Konoha. I have no recollection of my parents. To make things more puzzling, I don't remember anything in my life that happened to me before the age of 10. Yup, it's true. I just woke up one day next to a burned down building smothered in a pile of soot, a few moderate burns on me and I didn't remember a single thing. I was looking around but nothing seemed familiar to me.
That was the first day I also met Jiraiya. As soon as I woke up he had walked by and approached me, seeing that I was obviously not well. He kept asking me questions about what happened to my parents. When I told him that I didn't remember a thing, not even my name, his eyes grew wide and it looked like he was about to cry. From there he took me to the hospital and I stayed there for several days due to my injuries. I didn't think it was weird that no one was there to visit me in the hospital but I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen to me.
One day a lady entered my room and said that her name was Anko and that she was a social worker. She was there to tell me that she was either going to put me in the orphanage or a foster home. After listening to her explanation, I decided I wanted to try living with a family to see if that would remind me of anything.
I was put into the Yakushi family. At first glance, they were a nice family. They had one child, a son, named Kabuto, who was five years older than I was. The first few days were nice since his parents were nice to me but something about Kabuto was off. He avoided any type of communication with me at first and only watched me with narrowed eyes behind his evil spectacles. But not long afterwards he started to bully me. He would trip me when I was playing outside, he'd laugh at the color of my hair, he'd once put a dead rat in my steamed bun, and most time he'd secretly hit me. But what irked me the most about him was his affinity to sharp objects like knives and needles. Every now and then he would try to draw blood out of me. If I hadn't put up a fight I was sure that he would've aspirated all the blood out of me. It was when he started to use restraints on my wrists and ankles when his parents were not home that I decided that I'd had enough. I just had to get away.
So one night I snuck out in the middle of the night. I was as silent as could be and I was sure no one heard me since I had tons of practice trying to get away from Kabuto. As soon as I was outside of the house I ran down a couple of blocks and I bumped into someone familiar. It was Jiraiya.
He looked worried, wondering what I was doing out so late at night. When I told him what had happened to me, he quickly took me away from the vicinity and brought me to another part of Konoha. Although he didn't get me a place to sleep, he found an alleyway that he knew was safe. I had slept propped up against the wall of a building that night with Jiraiya's large coat shielding me from the cool night. I only lasted a month in the Yakushi household but I'd much rather be out on my own than live with a boy who found pleasure in torturing me.
That night was the night when I became homeless. Jiraiya was always around, giving me food and sometimes clothes, but he never took me to his house, despite my constant hints. During the day I'd see him at least twice and at night I wouldn't see him but if I decided to sleep in another area I would coincidentally find him lingering nearby. Definitely seems like a stalker, right? He could pass as one. But it seemed more like he was keeping an eye on me rather than constantly monitoring my every move.
A large part of me is hidden in the memories of those ten years of my life. I longed to know my past and why I was obviously being guarded by Jiraiya. His conversation with Tsunade and myself confirmed that he knew the answers to my questions but that stubborn man wouldn't tell me a darn thing.
My eyelids began to feel heavy and I felt the fingers of sleep pulling at me. I succumbed to it's tender embrace.
OoooOooOooOoo
My mouth was hanging open and I knew it but I couldn't help it. Tsunade's apartment was a complete mess! Bottles were lingering here and there, some half empty. I stood at the doorway to her apartment and I tried to devise a route into her living space without having to knock over at least five bottles. She seemed to be used to her liquor store of a home. Naruto and I, ironically, felt burdened for some reason.
"Ah, are you sure I can stay with you, Tsunade-sama?" I asked nervously as I hoisted up my bag on my shoulder. When I left my room I found it sitting on the floor by my bed.
Naruto elbowed me in the side. "I told you not to call her 'Tsunade-sama'. Just call her Grandma!" He whispered none too softly.
Tsunade glared at him but gracefully made her way into her apartment, miraculously avoiding the bottles. I briefly wondered how she managed to do that as she went into another room.
"Naruto! Pick up the bottles so that Sakura can move," she ordered.
I looked at Naruto when he didn't say anything but the look on his face had me hiding a giggle. He started to sputter and whine before he too stepped into her apartment and also made his way without knocking anything over.
Okay, there had to be something wrong with me. Either this glass maze just appeared harder than it seemed or they were experts at the art of maneuvering their way through it. I bit my lip in concentration. I definitely had to see if I could do it too. Upon closer inspection I noticed that there was a space big enough for a foot to fit and it led to a narrow path through the glass bottles. I tentatively put my foot in the space and felt a surge of courage self-pride at my small achievement. However when I brought my other foot forward to take another step, I grazed against one of the bottles and it toppled over onto another bottle, which landed on another bottle, which caused a domino effect. The next thing I knew I heard and saw an innumerable amount of bottles crashing to the floor, creating an epic shattering noise as they broke into pieces.
I felt the blood drain from my face. How could I do this on my first day of staying at someone's house? What was wrong with me?
"Sakura? Are you okay? Naruto I told you to pick those up and now look what's happened!" Tsunade scolded. "Now you have to go and sweep all that up."
"But…but…but why?" Naruto wailed.
Tsunade didn't respond but I could tell she had done something because Naruto was again near me with a scowl on his face. I felt bad for him at that moment. He was picking up the mess that I caused.
"S-sorry Naruto-kun," I mumbled.
"It's alright Sakura-chan! Don't worry about me."
"Yeah, don't worry about this brat. He owes me a favor anyways," Tsunade said at the doorway to the room she was at. She looked at me and motioned for me to follow her inside before she disappeared into the room.
I cast Naruto an apologetic look before inching my way into the room Tsunade was in, trying to avoid the glass particles. Once inside I was relieved to see that the room didn't have a single sign of alcohol inside. It had a bed with what looked like clean sheets positioned so that the foot of the bed was right next to the window. Beyond the foot of the bed was a desk with a few books. To the side of the bed was a meager dresser and in the center of the room was a low round table that had cushions underneath it used for sitting. On the ceiling was a fan.
Tsunade was sitting on one of the cushions, watching me inspect the room.
"So what do you think about your room?" she asked.
"It looks great! I don't remember ever having a room to myself so this is a really nice change. I like it very much. Thank you Tsunade-sama," I ended with a grateful bow.
"Oh please don't call me that. You can just call me shisou."
I looked at her weirdly. "But I'm not your student or anything."
"Well if you want to work in the hospital you're going to have to learn from someone, right? I'm going to be your teacher in medicine."
My jaw dropped for the second time that day. First she invites me to stay in her home and now she was offering to teach me and hire me? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
"Don't be so surprised, Sakura. I think you're a great girl but I'm not about to let someone freeload in my place. It's either you get your but to work or it goes back out in the streets," Tsunade said with a smirk on her face, as if she was issuing a challenge.
I stuck out my chin stubbornly, not willing to back down. I'd show her that just how hard working I was.
"It never crossed my mind that I'd be freeloading, Tsunade-shishou."
Her smirk deepened. "I'm a tough teacher. Don't cry if you get butt hurt or something."
I grinned. "Won't even dream about it."
"Good," she nodded. "Now the first activity I'll have you do today is to clean my house."
What.
"Don't give me that look Sakura. You better get moving," Tsunade said airily and stretched her arms.
I bit the inside of my cheek to avoid making a comment on her laziness. Instead, I set my bag down by the door and stepped out of the room to help Naruto clean up the bottles. I could hear her laughter as I closed the door.
"Hey Sakura-chan," Naruto said from his crouching position on the floor. In his hand he held a dustpan filled to the top with glass shards. "Here to help?"
I smiled. "You bet. Is there a broom around here?"
It took less than twenty minutes for us to clean the broken pieces on the ground. We tossed them into a black bag that we'd put outside in the dumpster. But before we could do that, we decided to rid the house of any other bottles so that we'd only have to make one trip down to the dumpster. In about ten minutes we had rounded up all the empty bottles and put them in a separate black bag. I looked around and I felt like a weight had lifted off my chest. I could actually see the floor now!
Naruto chuckled and we shared a mutual look of relief. But then something in his gaze changed. He looked at me sadly before we grabbed the bags and headed outside.
Too many strange things are happening to me today. I decided to ignore his downcast look for now.
The apartment complex that Tsunade stayed in was definitely situated in a good neighborhood. It was clean and well-kept, with little to no litter on the ground. It was a far cry from where I was used to hanging out. Across the street there was a small café, next to it was a ramen shop, and on the other side of the café was farmer selling his fresh produce. The shop owners looked kindly at me and Naruto and I instantly knew I was extremely lucky to have been taken in by Tsunade.
"How long have you known Tsunade-shishou?" I asked Naruto. I didn't realize how heavy the bag of glass shards was until I tried to carry it downstairs.
Naruto spotted my distress and offered to carry it for me. After a bit of resistance, I complied and handed him the bag. He beamed at me before continuing on his way to the dumpster.
"My whole life."
"That explains why you call her grandma. How old are you by the way?"
"I'm eighteen, like you."
I shot him a wary look. How did he know I was eighteen? I never gave him any information about myself even when I woke up in the hospital and found him sitting next to my bed enjoying a steaming bowl of instant ramen. We hadn't talked much but instantly felt comfortable in his presence. He was such a happy person.
"How'd you know I was eighteen?"
"I have a better question for you," he grunted as we arrived at the dumpster. I opened the lid for him as he threw both bags inside. He brushed his hands before placing them on his hips.
He had my attention now. "Okay. What's your question?"
There was a pause as he stared at me, as if he was weighing the consequences of what was going to happen next.
"What happened to you eight years ago?"
My eyes widened and I stared at him, dumbfounded. There are no words to describe how much his question disturbed me. He was asking the very same question I've been asking myself for the past eight years.
"You don't know anything?" He continued.
I shook my head. "D-do you know what happened to me?"
He frowned. "No. That's why I'm asking you. That perverted teacher of mine won't tell me anything."
"You mean Jiraiya? He won't tell me anything either! You won't believe how frustrating it is for me."
"You don't remember anything from before either, do you Sakura-chan?"
"No, I don't Naruto," I said slowly and watched his downcast expression grew more depressed. "Is there something I should know?"
"We," he paused again. "We were best friends. And then you suddenly disappeared after the fire. I thought you had died."
I choked on I don't know what. Naruto was my best friend? That would explain the weird looks he's been giving me. He knew who I was but I had no clue as to who he was when in fact we were best friends. My desire to learn more about my past burned brighter with a vengeance.
"Oh Naruto… I don't know what to say…"
"And what do we have here? A confession?" A new voice interrupted from behind me and a cold shiver ran down my spine.
Naruto looked up and his sad countenance immediately changed into one of anger.
I, however, turned around slowly. I was afraid of who I might see. When I had finally turned enough to see who it was, my throat went dry and my blood froze.
A/N: Cliffhanger! Perhaps you can guess who mysterious intruder was. I bet you can. If you can't, then that's okay. That just means I'm doing what I've set out to do.
Anyways, I must say I like where this story is going. If you haven't already noticed, I changed my tenses (you know, past tense, future tense…). I realized that the words just flow out more easily when I write like this. Hopefully you guys think so too.
Please review and let me know what you think!
-Chynee