"… don't you see? Beauty was the beast all along."
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The first signs of winter trickled like chilled honey through an open window, waltzing gracefully along the egg white curtains before settling, a blanket of numbing cold pressed gently against the bedding, as dawn began to break. Frost leaked through the folds of duvet, waves of sea foam green within ensnared limbs, slowly pealing away like a Poinsettia's leaves, hesitant when met by the bitter cold.
'Morning… its… morning.'
A dull pain began to make itself known within the layers of warm clothing, a sharp edge protruding from underneath the soft flesh of Sakura's back. A smooth copper object was plucked from beneath the bed sheets, glistening in the autumn light; a bronze flame alighted at the tips of her fingers. Sleep glazed eyes began to focus on the shape, jagged and slick, a bruised key.
"S-Sasuke!"
Yesterday's events came in a flood to her already clouded mind, filling like a wine yet to rich to drink. An aching sensation traveled up the back of her skull, temples throbbing, the fragile gift slipping from her fingers as the pillow met her head and the world spun before turning a deepened shade of black.
"Eyes."
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It started as a soft glow, dull, almost gray, something you might expect to see in a black and white movie, blurred as if looking into a pool of steaming water, everything deeply distorted. Then, as suddenly as it came, the light flickered and sighed before fading into the surrounding blackness, and there was nothing, there was no one. A sound similar to white noise rose and fell in giant waves, Sakura almost believed it to be screaming but that couldn't be for there was no one in this desolate place save herself. Deep in the subconsciousness of her mind she knew all this to be a dream, nothing in reality could be so dark and oppressive, so… alone.
'Cry out, cry out until somebody comes and wakes you, takes you away from this place, let your throat go raw, do it before the nightmare comes!'
The panicked voice inside her mind let out a shrieking wail.
'To late, to late, here it comes, no, no, I can't stay, we can't stay!'
Ice enclosed itself around her whitened throat; no it was hands, wringing her like a damp cloth until she fell limp, arms aquardly embracing her dying body in a subtle caress. Soft moans escaped Sakura's pursed lips before transforming into a fragile scream, quickly stifled by another's violent mouth in what could only be a forced kiss, a forced excuse for silence. Just let it come. It seemed then as if time dragged on, an eternity spent in this hostile stranger's lap until the light from before, still a lukewarm glow, overwhelmed the couple.
"Then this is the end, I bid you a good night Ms.Haruno, rather a good morning."
The presence was then gone and Sakura found herself alone once more until the warmth of her bedding began crawling up her arms and her bedroom began materializing around her. It was once again reality.
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Edit: Wow, a lot of people are commenting on how short this chapter is (and I do apologize) but this was just a filler chapter. I felt I had been neglecting the story altogether so I decided to add a little something in as compensation. The other chapters will be much, much longer but please, I would appreciate the comments to be about the story, not so much the length.