Hopefully you all are enjoying the story so far. I honestly never knew story a writing would be so difficult and complicated. I mean others make it look so easy but I guess it's just my need to make everything perfect. All these little details and planning makes it so much harder. I guess making it vague would have been easier but a story with a structure is always the most enjoyable.
The beginning is sort of like explaining everything so if it is confusing then please tell me. I promise it'll get better after all the explaining is done but until then please bare with me.
Warning: This was only proof read once, unlike all the others that were proof read multiple times, so just be aware that not all mistakes were caught. I wanted to get this posted before I went camping so please understand and enjoy!
Regular
Thoughts
"Talking"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Naruto is not mine, unfortunately.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S
A
N
G
R
E
A
L
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enjoy
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The moonlight illuminated the hooded figure that slinked through the forest. He stuck to the shadows, or more yet the shadows clung to him, the overhanging trees providing the perfect coverage, him being afraid to be seen by anyone who decided to take a midnight walk through the forest.
A clearing appeared ahead of him and he quickened his pace until he broke through the ring of trees.
In the middle of the large clearing stood four large rocks in a circle with weird, ancient looking carvings on them. Even though they seemed to have been there for thousands of years their surfaces were smooth, not a chip of stone having fallen off. The ancient symbols twisted and curled, like black smoke, down the rocks and seemed to disappear into the ground. The dirt surrounding the rocks was black and hard.
The hooded figure could feel the dark aura around the rocks and the carvings seemed to writhe on the rocks as he approached.
"I have been released at last, now I release you from your bindings as well to serve me once more," he murmured. A knife appeared out of no where and glinted in the moonlight.
"Ι διοίκηση σας να αυξηθεί και να χρησιμεύσει μου. Ι διοίκηση να λάβετε εκδίκηση." He grew louder as he sliced open his hand and walked towards the nearest rock. The upside down bloodied cross dripped blood down the stone. The blood slowly slipped down the rock, moving so that it slid down the carvings, tracing them. None of the blood dripped off the rock, it stayed neatly inside the caved symbols till it touched the ground.
"Rise and serve," he screamed to the skies, his voice echoing through the clearing and forest.
The clearing darkened as the clouds moved to cover the moonlight. Other hooded figures ascended from the tree line and stood behind their master, their hands raised towards the rocks.
"Break free and take your revenge." The hooded figure stepped back after he had finished with the last rock.
The dark clearing filled with a powerful aura as the wind picked up.
A cracking noise sounded through the clearing as the little pieces started to chip off the rocks. The cracking noise grew louder as more pieces fell off and the wind became stronger in response. The rocks started to take the shape of humans, their arms crossed over their chest and their legs spread to hold themselves upright.
Faces started to form along with the chains that bound them to their eternal cages. Their stone bodies shifted and struggled for freedom, creating an unreal sight.
The hooded figure stepped forward and flicked his dagger at each of the stone figures, his blood searing the chairs. The stone figures stopped for a second to let the blood break a hole in the chains before they spread their arms and broke apart the chains holding them.
The last of the stone fell away from each to reveal thousands of years old dirt. The dirt slid down their limbs till they were bared to the world.
The hooded figure smirked, victory was his. "Are you ready for justice?"
"After thousands of years we are more than ready."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tessares.
4.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I was the Chosen Guardian.
Even though I had no clue what that meant, or what it would mean in the future, it felt right. This feeling inside of me was telling me that she was right.
Auntie Tsunade sat at her desk and waited for me to sort everything out in my mind. Even though I was scared out of my mind and clueless as to what this meant, I accepted it. Clenching my shaking hands into fists, I stood and approached her desk, accepting my fate.
"What exactly is the Chosen Guardian?" Auntie Tsunade smiled at my acceptance and stood up, her fingers splayed out on the papers of her desk.
"Thousands of years ago you used your abilities to lock away the most dangerous Satanist ever known to both dimensions. This was after the biggest war known to man ever, between Satanists and Angels."
"Satanists and Angels? What abilities?"
"In the other dimension Satanists are the occupants of Hell, the world for the dark hearted. Angels are the occupants of Heaven, the world of the good hearted." She paused and seemed to think about something before shaking her head and turning back to me.
"Now don't get me wrong, there are stained hearts in Heaven and pure hearts in Hell, but they are rare. This dimension holds a gateway to both but they are both sealed. There is a gateway between the Heaven and Hell also but you have to have extreme power to be able to break through it, and no one knows how to get through, it was never written. When the Satanists started coming through this gateway things started going bad. Not only did Orochimaru come through to take over Heaven and Earth, but he opened a portal or an opening that let other Satanists come through." She sighed and stared at me, questioning with her eyes if I was getting all this.
"So we are on the sides of the Angels. And those people that came after me were Satanists," I said, more to myself so I understood than to her. She froze for a second before spinning around to me.
"Came after, as in they came after you and tried to kill you, or they threatened you," She questioned as she came forward towards me, her eyes urgent and surprised. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I guess I never got the chance to and both, the first time they tried to kill me and the second time I was threatened." I stared up at her as her face contorted into murderous rage.
"Twice, twice! This is bad indeed if they have already tracked you down." She started to pace before suddenly stopping and facing me. "Have you had any strange occurrences before they showed up? Any at all."
I tried to think back past that. It was hard considering my life had been flipped around in a matter of a couple days, something I didn't know was possible until it had happened.
"I don't think so," I told her. "No, I would have remembered if anything had."
She nodded before she started muttering to herself. A crease came between her eyebrows and she walked behind her desk and grabbed the bottle from earlier before taking a long drink from it. Sighing at the effects of the sake, the crease disappeared and her shoulders relaxed.
"So from what I've heard, your abilities were awakened when they appeared. What did they look like?"
"There were two of them with silver hair and black eyes, identical. I don't know how they did it but they just formed out of the shadows, was that their ability?"
Auntie nodded, a smile forming at my quick understanding.
"Yes it was. Those twins are sneaky and difficult, they can go through the shadows if the shadows are connected. What happened to them, what happened when they attacked," she questioned me.
"I came back from class and thought someone broke in but then they just appeared. They were asking for something but I didn't know what it was—"
"Ah…after all these thousands of years they still have no clue," she cut me off before I could finish but I didn't care. I wanted to know what they had been looking for, what I supposedly had that I didn't even know about.
"What were they looking for Auntie?"
"They were looking for the Holy Grail, still after all this time, and they still believe you have it."
I stared at her, confused. The Holy…Grail. The myth about the knights that took the Holy Grail and hid it so no one could find it and get their little greedy hands on? This whole thing was for some little silver cup.
A silver cup…
"Don't give me that look Sakura, and no it isn't a little plastic cup or whatever it was they were using at the time the myth was made, it's hard to keep up with all the time periods."
"If it isn't a cup then what is it?"
"Now that I cannot say because it is not my place." I glared at her. People were coming after me for it and she couldn't tell me? I took a deep breath, ready to argue but I let it out in a whoosh before any words came out. What was the point? Auntie Tsunade wouldn't tell me no matter what I did.
"But why would they think I have it when I don't even know what it is?" Nothing made sense. I didn't even know what the Holy Grail was and people were coming after me for it. Did I have it somewhere without knowing? Not possible, I would know if the Holy Grail was in my apartment considering it would probably be glowing from lights coming out of it. And if it was in my apartment then they would have found it. "Or where it is for that matter."
"With time you will come to realize what and where it is, but there is one thing that I can tell you. If someone was to realize what it was, someone very bad, and get their hands on it, that would be very bad. The Holy Grail possesses great powers that can either bring down the fine lines of life, or save them. But we don't need to worry about someone getting to it because the Holy Grail is in safe hands," she told me while she went back to her desk and leaned against it.
"Now, what happened to the twins, did they escape?" She asked me and I froze. Oh god. I hadn't really thought about what had happened to them till now. I guess my mind had sort of blocked that notion out, only thinking about how they had been surrounded in ice.
"I-I killed them, I didn't mean to...it just happened, the ice—"
"Ice, already? What happened, specifically?"
"I don't know. One minute I was on the ground, wanting to live, and the next minute they were…encased in ice. I have no clue how I did it," I told her truthfully. My head dropped at the realization that I had killed them, something that shamed me and made me guiltier beyond anything that I had ever done in my life.
"You did kill them Sakura, but they have taken too many lives and done far too many bad things for you to be upset over it."
I gaped at her, relief flowing through me. Her words made me feel better even though there was still a little thread of guilt left.
"But with ice, not water, but ice," Tsunade sagged against the desk in shock. "Normally someone who has an ability only has that one, but there are special ones that have a more advanced control over the ability, and that causes their ability to be more...powerful and different."
"So I have an advanced ability over water and ice?"
"You could say that, but it is more of an advanced ability over water which allows you to turn the water to ice. It is very complicated and those with advanced abilities tend to have more trouble controlling them," she told me. "Also it is hard for those with elemental connections. You feel close to the element and can sense it."
No wonder I was having problems with my ability, it was advanced. Great, just what I needed. People are hunting me for some object I don't have and the only way I can think of to fight them is my ability, which will probably go haywire and kill me instead of them. And connected to it? Even better. I'm suppose to have some personal connection to it which so far hasn't happened, more like the element has scared me shitless. No personal feelings of connection there.
Auntie seemed to sense my distress and said, "You can control it, but you have to feel it within you and embrace it instead of fearing it and trying to fight it. You have to understand that it is a part of you and in itself is you. It is like your soul, your heart, your mind, your feelings. It is another piece of you."
"But what if it turns on me?" I didn't care that I sounded weak or frightened, that's how I felt.
"Sakura your ability will never harm you, in any way, I promise you that." She stayed silent as I mulled it over. So far it hadn't hurt me at all, just scared me. And it had actually helped me the first time. Not so much the second and third, but there hadn't been any harm or threat there.
Deciding she was right I decided to ask another question that was nagging at me. "So thousands of years ago I had this same power?"
"Yes but we didn't find out until your abilities had evolved."
"You say that like you were actually there," I told her while I stood up. My feet were starting to fall asleep and all this information was making me fidgety.
"I was there, now don't look so shocked. People with abilities tend to live longer, way longer, than humans," she told me with a smile. I gaped at her, she had been here for thousands of years, and I would have too if I hadn't died. I flinched, I had died. I wonder how I had died, and how it had felt. Had it hurt or had I just faded away?
"What is your ability? How did I die? What was my past life like? What was I like?"
"Slow down Sakura, one question at a time," she told me while laughing freely, as if we were talking about the latest movie or the weather. "I can heal others and myself, but it takes a great deal of energy and understanding of the body. Let's see, you died locking up Orochimaru, the worst Satanist in history, and the most powerful. Your past life was thousands of years ago, no need to dwell on it, and I bet you already have some good ideas of your past life with those dreams. And you were just like you are now; a lot of questions and you accepted your fate just as easily as you did now."
I breathed out a sigh. Everything was being answered, maybe not the way I would have liked it to, but it was still being answered.
"In my dreams, there was a man…" I trailed off, my face heating up. Was Jackass somehow in my past life? If he had, had he been living for thousands of years, or had he died too? I felt my heart strings tug in pain as I tried to imagine him dying.
"Ah yes, I was starting to wonder when you would mention him since I assumed he would show up in your dreams," she told me with a small secret smile on her face. "And let me guess…he looked just like Sasuke Uchiha."
So that was his name. I guess it fit, in a jackass kind of way. I felt my face heat up at the thought of what she knew, I bet it was way past red and going for purple now. My hands started to sweat in embarrassment and I felt my scalp start to prickle as the embarrassing heat seeped into my scalp. My mood turned sour at the mention of his name as tingles erupted down my spine.
Ignoring them as best as I could, I asked, "What was he to me in my past life?"
"That doesn't matter now, but know this, keep him close because he might prove to be more helpful than you think," she told me with a knowing smile on her face. I glared at her, not even wanting to think about what she knew that I didn't, which was a lot I bet. One thing I knew though, based on my dreams, was that he had meant something to me. But if he had meant something to me then why was he so rude to me now?
"Did he die like me, or did he live?"
"He died protecting you."
"Protecting me from what?"
"Orochimaru. The sacrifice is what gave you enough drive to lock him up in the Inner Pits of Hell."
I felt the strings of my heart tug even more as some sad emotion came over me. He had sacrificed himself for me, for everyone.
"What's wrong with your neck Sakura?" I glanced up, coming out of my thoughts, and gave her a questioning look. I realized that my hand had been rubbing my neck now for some time, ever since the tingles had appeared from the mention of Sasuke's name.
"Oh it's nothing, just my back has been feeling weird lately," I told her while I dropped my hand. Compared to everything else going on, I doubted this was anywhere near the top of my list of things to figure out.
"Let me see, I do have an ability for healing so if anything is wrong then I can help." She smiled and motioned for me to turn around. I moved my now dry hair out of the way and with my free hand lifted the back of my shirt.
I heard a gasp come from her before I felt her cool finger tips moving up my back. They twisted and curved around my shoulders and back down along my spine. The way her fingers moved made me thing of someone tracing lines along a painting.
"Your back…" I couldn't tell if she was hesitating or if her voice had gotten caught in her throat, something that almost never happened to her.
"What's wrong? What's on my back?" I asked, nervous and curious at the same time. I tried to look over my shoulder to see but it proved hopeless. I wish I had a mirror so I could see what she was seeing, but I would have to wait till later to look.
"Your markings run up your back."
"My what?" I glanced over my shoulder at her. Her eyes were slightly wider than normal, in shock.
"When your ability awakens, the markings start to appear on your skin slowly till they have evolved, but yours are far more advanced than I would have thought after just one encounter—"
"Three." I corrected her, blushing in shame at not telling her…yet. Keyword, yet. I was planning to tell her but I hadn't gotten a chance to yet.
"—with danger. Ah yes three. Wait, what? There were other encounters with them?" Her fingers on my back stopped.
"Well there were three encounters with my water abilities, one being when they first showed up, and another encounter after, but my abilities didn't show up that time. I'm pretty sure that they were Satanists, they all looked the same with silver hair and black eyes and abilities."
"Hmm, well that might explain why your markings are so far along. The water encounters are normal, that is what helps it evolve, till your abilities are far enough along that you can control them on your own. They were, who was the other one that you encountered?"
"She looked like the others but she could read my mind, and she said something about not being able to kill me," I left my hair to drape over my shoulder while I scratched at my neck again, another tingle coursing through my back. Auntie Tsunade seemed to sense it because she started to rub my back, up and down till the tingle stopped.
"Ahh yes, evil little thing even though she looks no older than ten, but trust me she is much older, her name is Masa. It is easy to evade her mind reading, but it is hard to not think the whole time. She is a very hard opponent, considering she can read your mind and figure out what you are going to do before you even think it. But you can avoid that by going on instinct, not thoughts, which I will teach you." She continued to rub my back, and even though I couldn't see what my markings looked like I knew she was tracing them.
"Are you going to teach me how to control my abilities also?" I hoped she would for I didn't trust myself to learn it myself. Three scares in the last couple of days proved that much.
"Oh yes, I wouldn't leave you in the dark on that, never! You cannot possibly understand how to control it without my help," she reassured me softly.
"When I learn how to handle my abilities, will the tingles stop?"
"Well, how do I explain this...they are not exactly a bad thing. It is your ability trying to break free of it's restraint, which isn't a bad thing. I guess you could say that is part of how it evolves and grows."
"And how do I let it break free?" I had no clue how I would ever get the hang of all of this. The last thing I wanted was to drown myself accidently or fall into a lake, or make the lake come to me. Was that even possible? Right about now I was ready to believe anything was possible.
"It's different for everyone. For some it is easy and others it isn't. I remember for mine it had been harder. I had the tingles for awhile and could only heal small things like paper cuts, but one day my mate was hurt so badly he almost died and the binds just snapped. I was able to heal him mostly, since I ran out of energy before I could heal him all the way, but enough that he lived." She slowly stopped rubbing my back, I almost groaned as she stopped because it had felt so good. "It very complicated. Our great abilities are used to protect the ones closest to us, along with those around us."
"But…what if I have nothing to protect?" I know it sounded weird, and horrible, but I really didn't have anyone to protect. No family besides Auntie and she was perfectly safe. No friends to keep safe. I suddenly realized how alone I had been since I left high school, no…since my parents had died.
"Then until you figure out what to use your abilities for, you do not need them and they will remain as they are." I felt a fear erupt in me. What if I needed my abilities to protect myself and they weren't strong enough? Was I not important enough to myself to save myself? As soon as I thought the thought I felt bad. Here I was worrying about myself when my abilities were to save others.
I looked at Tsunade and all my fears about my abilities disappeared. Whatever trouble I would run into, she would be there right beside me, helping me.
"So, that is enough for now Sakura. Let's get you settled in your dorm and you will have a class tonight but it's only Human Theory, an easy and somewhat boring class," she said with a laugh. "I took the liberty of buying you some clothes, hopefully all in your size, and furnishing your dorm room."
"Oh, that wasn't necessary, I could have gone out and bought what I needed—"
"Nonsense, I'm not going to let you waste your money on little things like clothes and furniture, things you need. Save your money for things you don't need." She laughed while walking behind her desk and lifting up a bag. "I also bought you the books you need. Unfortunately we don't have the same exact classes that your old university had, but I enrolled you in some classes that are similar. I also decided that it was time you learned defense and weapon handling." She paused for a minute as if she were lost in a another memory.
I stared at her, waiting for her to come back to reality. Her eyes focused again and she snapped, her eyes flicking to me. "I had almost forgotten…your parents had taught you martial arts and how to handle a katana—"
"But that was more than ten years ago. If I had remembered any of it—" she cut me off like I'd cut her off.
"It's still in you Sakura. They didn't go through all that trouble just for your body to forget it, your rusty, that's understandable, but not for long." There was a glint in her eye, a determined one. I knew what to expect with her, she was my Auntie after all. When she was given a challenge she met it head on, determination making her strive till she accomplished everything she was meant to, and more.
I could feel the bruises form just thinking about what she had in store for me. The long hours of practice, the aching muscles, the sweat dripping down my back and arms as I practiced. It had been over ten years since then, but I would never forget what it felt like. I remembered the hard work, the determination to get to the top, the need to prove myself, and the feeling of accomplishment. Even though I knew it would be hard, harder than before because I was older now and could handle more, I looked forward to it.
"I'd like that, it's been so long and I can't wait to start training again," I told her with a smile. She winked back at me before handing me my bag and some papers. Glancing at them I found I was in Human Theory, a Problem and Solution based Biology Course, and a Psychology Course.
The bag was heavy, containing all the textbooks I would need for these courses which were multiple thick, new smelling books.
I looked forward to starting classes again. To be able to think again, well about something besides my now hectic life, would be a relief. A smile came to my face as an excited feeling formed in the pit of my stomach.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auntie had spoken to her secretary, telling her she was leaving the office for a while to show me to my dorm. The secretary, whose name I learned was Shizune, nodded and went back to her work. She didn't scream at Auntie, telling her that she couldn't just walk out of the office or that there was a meeting in five minutes that she must have forgotten all about, she acted like this was normal. Acted as if Auntie walked out of the office all the time, and I didn't doubt for a moment she did. She was just like that.
"So you're studying in Pre-Med?" She asked me as we exited the big brick building. I nodded in response. It was a nice day out and she suggested we walk to my dorm instead of driving. We crossed the street and cut across the grass lawn towards a huge park.
"That's what I majored it. If you ever need help just ask and I'll be glad to answer any questions," she told me while we walked down the parkway path. Huge cherry blossoms draped over the pathway, shading us from the sweltering sun.
"Thanks, I'll definitely take you up on that offer."
"Yes the courses are difficult, and it'll take a couple of years till your achievements are worth it, but it will be worth it. Plus you have plenty of time."
"I don't understand how the longer lifespan works," I admitted. I looked down at the path we were walking on and kicked a rock. It skidded down the path and disappeared into the lawn.
"Well you will reach a certain age, and then will slowly stop aging. Usually it is the age of twenty-one that you stop aging completely, but at the age of eighteen is when it starts to slow. You will still age, but after a very long time. Look at me for example, after thousands of years I am still here and only in my thirties. These abilities are hard to understand. They were given to the selected in the other dimension to help protect both dimensions, hence the long lifespan. Unfortunately some chose to go to the dark side and hence the Satanists formed, and their abilities turned darker." Her words took on an edge as the memories ran through her mind.
I mulled over everything she had said. It occurred to me that I had never once wondered how the Satanists had come to how they were, which was odd. They were dark and evil, and used their abilities in gruesome ways. Suddenly something else occurred to me.
"But how do you hide, I mean, if you've been around for thousands of years then how do people not get suspicious?"
"Well, it's not that hard. There are certain powerful families that are on our side. They hide us and protect us and some have abilities too." I nodded, understanding completely. The families helped stop any suspicion, and keep the long living on a down low. They were like inside spies, only they were keeping the secrets, not uncovering them.
We walked in silence down the path. Students who passed greeted Auntie and she smiled back and said hello. The pathway crossed the street and led to a row of buildings. I looked at the one in front of us, awed by its size and beauty. It was just like the building Auntie Tsunade stayed it, the same brick structure, the same old architecture, and the same home feeling. I was beginning to think this place was perfect.
She led me down the path, past some of the identical brick buildings till we stopped in front of the one on the end of the street. She opened the door and ushered me inside to a beautiful entryway. White marble columns framed the doorway and the walls were filled with framed pictures of past excelling students, old principles, and famous artwork pieces.
We passed into a room that was bigger than the entryway. I was surprised at the sheer size. From the outside it had seemed smaller, but on the inside it was huge. Huge and magnificent. No wonder it is the most sought after school in the country. I thought while looking around.
Students lounged around, watching TV and chatting, reading books, and writing papers or doing homework. As we entered they quieted and stared at us. I stared at my feet while a blush heated up my face, not liking the attention and their stares.
"Good afternoon everyone. Please, continue whatever you were doing, don't worry about us." Auntie Tsunade waved her hand carelessly and that seemed to break the spell everyone was under for they went back to whatever they had been doing, laughter filling the room again, not seeming to mind that the headmaster was right there.
"This is the living room as you can tell. There are TVs in each room so you don't have to come down here to watch one, but if you want to hang out then you can do it here," she led me to the right and through another doorway into a huge kitchen. It had two stainless steel refrigerators, three stoves, a couple microwaves and a lot of cabinets. The counters looked like marble too, but I was beginning to think everything here was marble.
"This is the kitchen. If you ever get hungry feel free to make something. The refrigerators are stocked with healthy food, we like to think that our students are feeding themselves, and on healthy food instead of junk. If you ever have some sugar craving, we do have soda and chips." She pointed to the pantry. She led me back through the living room and back into the entryway. Students came through the front door and left freely, bags hoisted over their shoulders filled with books.
To the left there was a grand staircase that I had failed to see earlier. I don't know why I didn't see it, since it was huge and marble and shiny, but I didn't. We headed towards it and made our way up it.
"These dorms are co-ed so I expect you to be responsible, not that I doubt you are. You will be rooming with an intelligent girl who I trust will help you fit in fine, which is why I roomed you with her," she explained while we walked up the stairs.
"I've never heard of a co-ed dorm anywhere," I commented as we walked down the hallway and up another set of stairs that curved around and around.
"The students here are top notch students with excellent grades and behaviors. We believe them responsible enough to stay in dorms together, plus the co-ed system makes the students thrive rather than drag them down." She stopped at the fourth floor instead of continuing up the spiral staircase to the fifth floor.
The hallway was wide and long. A large window with a seating area was at the end of the hallway, and after glancing behind me I saw the same at the other end of the hallway. We passed other students who also greeted Auntie. Unlike other schools everyone seemed to like her here. I laughed at myself at that thought. Of course everyone liked her, she was the coolest person I knew.
"The boys are on one side of the floor and the girls on the other, same with the bathrooms. At the end of the hallway is the boy's bathroom, and behind us at that end is the girl's hallway. Your room is the room that is right next to the first room of the boy's, on this side." She stopped at a door marked 204 and handed me a silver key. The metal felt cool against my sweaty palms. As much as I was glad to be settling in, I was a little afraid to be away from my Auntie. After everything that had happened so far, I could think of many reasons why.
I slid the key into the lock then unlocked the door. If the room looked anything like the extravagant entryway, living room, and kitchen, I wouldn't be surprised.
Okay maybe a little surprised. Or a lot.
The room was large, and by large I mean huge. The walls were a light red along with wooden floors. There was a small hallway we walked through then we were in the main room. On each side of the spacious room were large fluffy looking beds. One of them held a light blue comforter with white pillows while the one, which I was assuming was mine, held a light pink comforter with light green pillows. There were dressers next to each bed and in between each dresser stood a large window that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. A long cream colored cushioned, backless couch sat perpendicular to the window a couple of feet away from it. I thought it kind of odd that it was placed like this but then I saw the huge screen TV over my bed. A large painting of the ocean sat on the opposite wall over the bed with the light blue comforter.
In the middle of the room stood two metal desks, their backs to each other. Sitting at one of them was a girl with dark blue hair typing on a laptop. Her silver eyes looked up at us as we walked in and her hands stopped flying across the keyboard.
"Wonderful, you're here Hinata." Hinata stood up, a blush coming to her face. "This is my niece Sakura, Sakura this is Hinata, your new roommate."
"Hi, nice to meet you." I shook her outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you too," she responded in a soft voice. Her blush remained on her face as she fidgeted with her fingers.
"Well, I'll leave you then to get settled Sakura. Hinata you have a class this evening right?" Hinata nodded, her blush becoming redder. "Would you mind showing Sakura where her classes are? I would do it but I have a conference meeting." Hinata nodded her head yes and I felt a surge of relief rush through me. At least I wouldn't have to wander around trying to find where to go. How embarrassing would that be if I came in half an hour late because I got lost? Talk about bad first day.
Auntie Tsunade hugged me one last time and told me she would call me tomorrow to arrange for our first training session before walking out the door and closing it behind her.
Hinata stood there for a minute, uncertain what to do, before sitting back down at her desk. I looked at mine and found a laptop there along with notebooks and a holder with pencils and pens. All pink, even the pencils. Pfft, figures Auntie would go through that much trouble.
Even the laptop had a green cover on its top. I rolled my eyes. Geez, I just couldn't wait to see my closet. Insert sarcasm.
I placed my textbook filled bag on my desk chair before going to my bed and sitting down. Somehow my purse was there, the one I had brought from Yokohama. Opening it up I found everything still in there. Placing it on the floor next to my bed, I got back up.
The books in my bag were heavy and brand new. I look each out one by one, looking at each closely, before setting them on the desk next to my notebooks. Glancing up at Hinata I wondered what she was majoring in.
"Hinata...?" I waited till she looked typing to continue. Her eyes got big as she stared at me, her face paling in what I could only guess was dread. "What are you majoring in?"
"English Literature," she replied quietly, her shoulders sagging in relief. She glanced around the room, not being able to keep eye contact with me. I understood she was shy, but not for long. I didn't want her to be nervous around me if we were going to be roommates.
"So you are going to be a writer, or a teacher?" I questioned while sitting back down on my bed. She pushed her rolling desk chair back and out to the side till she was facing me directly over the desk, her laptop not blocking her anymore.
"I want to be a writer." I smiled at her, interested.
"That sounds awesome. Do you like to read?"
"Yes, that's what drove me to be a writer," she answered, her blush still on her face. She pushed a strand behind her ear when it draped in front of her face and I stared at her hair.
Her eyes met mine again and I once again noticed the strangely pretty silver eyes. For a moment I wondered if they were real or not, but then I shook my head at the silly thought. She didn't seem like someone who would wear colored contacts just to have silver eyes. Her eyes reminded me on the moonlight on a breezy summer night. Compared to mine they were spectacular. Hers an unique silver, mine the color of a weird shade green. It reminded me of grass. Grass was dull and boring.
"You have beautiful eyes." Her eyes had dropped to the floor but they suddenly snapped to mine, surprised and embarrassed.
"Thank you...is your hair natural?" I laughed which startled her. Here I am wondering if her silver eyes are real, and I'm the one with pink hair.
"Yes, it's natural, not dyed. You can check my arm ha—" My sentence was cut off by a loud grumble. I felt a blush work its ways up my neck and into my face. How embarrassing.
Hinata tried to hide a giggle but I heard it. This made me start to laugh too, well until my stomach decided to make another complaint to me.
"Want to go get something to eat before class?"
"I'm hungry too so sounds good," she replied and stood up to get some shoes on. I stood up and pocketed my key which I had placed on my desk earlier. Up until now I hadn't realized I was hungry, no starving. Thinking back I tried to remember the last time I'd eaten. Faintly I remembered eating a sandwich last night, but I'd been so tired I wasn't sure.
Hinata finished putting her shoes on and we headed out the door, locking it before we went downstairs. We both agreed that even though it was probably safe to keep the door unlocked, it would be better to be safe than sorry and lock it.
Now that we were more comfortable around each other, we chatted easily as we descended the stairs. Hinata was taking an English Literature Course, a Creative Writing Course, and a Reading Comprehension Course. They all sounded hard to me, but I bet by the look on Hinata's face when I told her my classes that the feeling was mutual.
As we got to the entry hall students were coming in through the front door, hauling their books lazily and yawning. I guessed the afternoon classes had just gotten out. Most of the students went straight for the stairs, but some headed for the living room.
We followed the crowd going into the living room and stayed on the outside perimeter of the room as we made our way towards the grand kitchen. Even though we couldn't see what was happening we could tell that there was an X-Box Competition going on. A large group of people crowded around a couch, cheering and chanting, where two un-seeable people were most likely slamming their fingers against the controls. From the looks on the large screen TV on the wall, the person playing on the left side of the screen was winning.
Finally we made it into the kitchen where it was deserted except for a few people just lounging around. My stomach grumbled again and I was tempted to tell it to shut up, but I restrained myself. It wouldn't be good if rumors started going around that I was crazy and talking to myself. Not that I really cared, if I wanted to talk to myself I could. It's called the Freedom of Speech.
I paused at that thought. Okay, maybe not exactly like that, considering we weren't in America, and I doubt it meant we had the freedom to talk to things that didn't talk back, but still. If I wanted to talk to my stomach then I had every right to.
Deciding I would rather be eating than arguing with myself on whether it is okay to talk to inanimate things, I walked over to the refrigerator to see what they had. The inside was like a rainbow of colors. Every imaginable vegetable and fruit possible was in there, along with meat. Lots and lots of meat. And a lot of bread. Bagels, sandwich bread, loafs of baked bread, garlic bread, everything.
I was beginning to think this place was perfect. I decided it was when I went to pick a cheese for my sandwich. Yep, perfect.
Still thinking this place was perfect, I assembled my turkey sandwich on some baked Italian bread with tomatoes and lettuce. Hinata had decided to make some ramen and was boiling water on one of the stovetops. I put the silverware I used into the dishwasher before sitting down on a wooden stool at the long marble counter.
Cheers erupted from the living room. I didn't even bother to look, figuring the X-Box match had come to an end. Screeches and shouts got closer but I chose to ignore that too. Maybe the girls thought it was hot that a guy could move his fingers so fast over a little piece of plastic.
I almost moaned at the first bite of my sandwich. It took all my willpower not to just shove the whole thing into my mouth at once, but I didn't like the idea of a stomach ache later.
Hinata sat down besides me, her ramen emitting a delicious smell. The smell told me it was chicken flavored.
"That looks good Hinata! I should have asked you to make some for me too," Naruto said as he came up behind Hinata and looked over her shoulder. I jumped at his sudden appearance while Hinata, who had been about to take her first bite, dropped her fork in surprise. Little droplets of ramen broth splashed onto the counter and Hinata just stared at Naruto, a blush working its way up her face.
Neither one of us had heard him come in or even approach us while we had been sitting here. Also the silence in the kitchen had made it even more surprising.
At the arrival of Naruto everyone else seemed to disperse till Hinata, Naruto and me were the only ones left in the kitchen. For some reason I got the feeling people were afraid to be near Naruto in the kitchen, but I didn't want to know why. It would be better not to know if Naruto was flammable or not. Especially since I was still hungry and didn't want to have to flee for my life as the kitchen burned down.
"Give her a heart attack next time will you?" I told him as I got up and grabbed some napkins. Hinata thanked me quietly while she helped me clean up the droplets of broth everywhere.
"Opps, sorry Hinata, didn't mean to frighten you. I could wear a necklace of bells if you wanted," he told her sheepishly while he got out a pan. He disappeared into the pantry for a second before coming back with a ramen package.
"No it's okay Naruto." Hinata's blush got stronger as she continued to stare at him. I sat back down beside her after throwing away the napkins and that snapped her out of her daze. Her hand shook as she picked up the fork again.
Naruto asked if we had seen the X-Box Competition and when we replied no he started rambling about it. He talked about how he had won it and startled us both by grabbing a ladel that was sitting on the counter and pretending it was a gun, giving us a play by play of what had happened. I half expected him to roll across the counter and duck behind it, using it as a shield against unseen foes.
Hinata seemed to be engrossed in everything Naruto was saying, while I on the other hand kept expecting him to hurl himself across the huge kitchen and break something accidently.
I got back up and decided I wanted some toast. I got out the Italian bread again and grabbed the bread knife. Just as I was about to cut a slice of bread the door swung open.
The bread knife halted above the bread. For a moment I forgot to breathe as his eyes locked with mine.
Sasuke Jackass Uchiha had just walked in. The door swung closed behind him, deluding the screeches of girls and loud chatter.
Just looking at him now in all his glory made my mind go haywire; him being all perfect, when he wasn't talking, and handsome.
I blushed at the thought of him being something to me in my past. He had most definitely been something special to me in my, no our, past. But he was a jackass to me now in the present. And I doubted we really had a future together considering he pretty much hated me. For no reason might I add.
I suddenly felt guilty. He had given up his life in the past life to save me, and I wasn't even giving him a chance to be nicer to me, if that was possible. Another feeling came over me, stronger than the guilt.
The feeling was weird, like I wanted something so bad that my heart ached. Wanting what I wasn't sure. Maybe it was the passion? Or was it the love? Or maybe it was the mind blowing kiss and what lay after it. Just thinking of that made me blush even harder. Things had been intense in the past, even if I had only dreamed of parts of it, they had still been intense.
Our eyes were still connected and I realized with a jolt that he probably though I was pathetic.
And I thought I was pathetic too. Here he was a prick and I was fantasizing about kissing him. All he had to do with walk in the room and I was a puddle of mush, which should not be happening at all. I realized that even though he was hot, and even though he had saved my life, that didn't give him the right to be rude and mean and not nice.
Rule number one I decided would be do not fantasize about Sasuke Jackass Uchiha. Big no-no. Because he didn't deserve to be fantasized about.
Realizing now would be a good time to stop the staring contest I went back to my bread. I sliced a piece for me and asked Hinata if she wanted a slice. She shook her head back and forth, her eyes flickering between Naruto and her bowl.
After the toast was toasted I buttered it and sat back down, careful not to look at the heart stopping man who was at the stove.
My eyes flicked up to look at him while his back was to me. Good, he wouldn't see me. I stared at his white clad shoulders, their muscles bunching under the fabric as he reached for something in one of the higher cabinets. Wow, he had strong looking shoulders. He bent over to pick up a pan from one of the cabinets closer to the floor.
I choked on my bread as it lodged itself in my throat. My eyes watered and a few tears spilled down my cheeks as I tried to breathe, the piece of bread finally sliding down my throat after a couple of swallows.
He definitely had a strong looking backside too.
The kitchen was silent and I looked up, wondering what was wrong. Everyone was looking at me. Hinata's face was contorted with worry, Naruto had a look of determination and I had a feeling he would have launched himself over the counter and wacked me on the back if he had gotten the chance to. Sasuke's face was a wall of no emotion which didn't really shock me. Why should he care about my well being?
Because he did thousands of years ago. The thought unwillingly ran through my mind before I could stop it. I shook my head, clearing that thought. Just because thousands of years ago he had cared didn't mean he did now.
Everyone was still looking at me. I bet I looked like I had problems, my face all flushed, tears streaming down my face, and a hand clutching the collar of my tee-shirt. And I did have problems, but not with almost choking because the slice of heaven over near the refrigerator had bent over.
"What?"
"Are you okay Sakura?" Hinata asked, her eyes watching me and waiting for me to start another choking outburst.
"I'm fine, sorry about that," I told her as I wiped the tears off my face and got up to get a bottle of water. I ignored Sasuke as I passed by him to the refrigerator next to the one he was reaching into. Well, tried to ignore him.
He closed the refrigerator just as I was about to open mine. I hesitated as he turned to me, a smirk on his face. It was a shock to me since I hadn't seen any other facial expression on him other than a glare, and a blank stare.
"What are you smirking at?" I told him with a glare. He crossed his arms and leaned against the refrigerator, the muscles in his arms flexing at the movement. I stared at his arms for a minute, wondering what it would be like if they were wrapped around me, before snapping my glare back to his face.
"You're not going to throw any thongs at me this time are you?" I gaped at him. Was he actually teasing me? We'll two can play at this game.
"Why? Do you want more to add to your secret collection?" His smirk fell from his face and I opened the refrigerator door, blocking him from my sight. This victory was mine.
I started to reach for a water bottle but Sasuke's fingers appeared on the edge of the door. My eyes stayed glued to them while he came around behind me, his hand still holding the door. The feeling of being the prey flashed through me but I ignored it. Just because he gives off the vibe of a predator doesn't mean I have to behave like the little rabbit.
"I just thought you'd like to have these back," he said lowly in my hair. His voice was rough and scraped across my skin, giving me goosebumps. He leaned even closer until his chest was pressed against my shoulders and back and slowly held up the thong I had thrown at him in front of my face.
I bit my lip, mortified and turned on at the same time. He had kept them with him instead of throwing them out. Tingles ran down my spine as body heat seeped through my shirt and into my skin.
Realization hit as more tingles ran down my back, making me want to shiver. I stopped the shiver though before it could start and focused on the tingles. They didn't hurt, but were almost pleasurable. I bit back a moan as more tingles ran through my back and down my arms. I wanted them to stop, not because they felt good, but because I shouldn't be feeling them because of this jerk.
But it felt like the tingles would break through my skin and skitter on the top. They wanted to burst in me and bring every single nerve alive, from my toes to the tip of my hair.
And his voice, low and rough and sensual with its teasing words, felt like it was brushing across my skin, dipping in every hallow and curve, and vibrating against my nerves. It was like silk running over my skin, making me want to moan and jump on him at the same time.
I heard a chuckle next to my ear and realized I had gone off into my mind, leaving Sasuke to assume the worst, that I was fantasizing. Even though I had been just a little bit didn't mean I was now, or that he had the right to assume.
I shook any last fantasy thoughts out of my head and spun around, smirking at him.
"That's so sweet that you kept my thong in your pocket all…day…long." Shock may have been written all over my face two seconds ago, but not anymore.
"I didn't have anywhere to put it." His smirk dropped and his tone was a no bullshit tone. I ignored it though, this was just too good.
"Hoping to show your friends you got some?"
"You wish."
"Wow, great come back dipshit. Next time you want to steal someone's panties, make sure you at least have a good cover up." My smirk widened into a triumphant grin. Victory was still mine.
"No, I bet you wanted me to have your panties so you could go tell everyone we had hot, toe curling, animalistic sex, when in reality these panties will be the closest you'll ever be getting to me." His face got closer till I could feel his breath ghost over my face and lips.
I laughed and leaned in even closer till our noses were practically touching and stared him straight in the eyes. "My panties are the closest you'll be getting to this," I ran my hands over my body. "So I suggest you keep those." He smirked and I could feel the panties I were wearing get wetter than they already were. Wait, when had my panties gotten wet? And why the hell was I being turned on by this asshole?
He kept staring at me, his eyes unreadable and his smirk gone. I watched his eyes as they roamed my face and stopped on my lip which I was biting. Trying to lean back I realized I was caged. His other hand holding the thong had somehow moved to the edge of the other closed door, the thong right next to my head, its pink frilly lace matching my hair.
Suddenly he pushed back away from me, tucking the thong into his pocket. I gave him a pointed glare but he ignored it, turning to finish making his lunch.
My mind spun with confusion at everything that had just happened. I couldn't tell if he had been flirting or just teasing, or both. Or if this was another one of his mean traits. Get a girl turned on then leave them high and dry. Not that I fit into the catagory that was turned on by him, or that I was high and dry.
I'm hopeless, utterly pathetic and hopeless.
Grabbing a water bottle I closed the door and found Naruto with his chopsticks sticking out of the front of his mouth and making walrus noises. Even though he looked like a moron and sounded like one too, either he had never heard a walrus before, or he was impersonating a dying cat, it still made me giggle. Hinata seemed to be enjoying herself too since she was laughing, something I hadn't seen yet.
I sat back down besides her and watched as Naruto continued to impersonate different dying animals.
Oddly enough Sasuke sat down to my left, at the end of our row at the table. I glared at him, wondering why he was sitting next to me and not next to Naruto on the other side.
He ignored me and took a bite of his sandwich. It was hard not to watch as his neck flexed when he leaned down to take another bite. It wasn't too bad either that his sandwich looked good too. The bread was toasted and the cheese melted perfectly.
A man that can cook, how nice. I involuntarily thought. Deciding that I didn't really need a pro and con chart of him I shook it out of my head.
"Stop staring at me, it's annoying." I hadn't realized I was still looking at him and this brought a blush to my face.
"I wasn't staring," I retorted while I took a very long swig of water while trying to get my face back to a normal color.
"Looking at someone for five minutes is staring."
"How do you know? Are you counting?"
"It was a rough estimation."
"Rough estimation my ass," I muttered but decided to drop it. No point in acting like a child around this emotionless jerk.
My eyes flickered to his face one last time and what I saw made me take another look. His face was smoothed out with no emotion, but I swore I had just seen a smile. Sighing I figured it was just my imagination, nothing else.
"Sakura the class starts in half an hour," Hinata told me softly, her face still faintly covered in a blush.
"Aww but Hinata I was about to do the elephant," Naruto whined behind her, his chopsticks poised and ready in front of his face.
"Sorry Naruto but I have to show Sakura around," I suddenly felt bad, knowing that she would rather be here conversing with Naruto than showing me around.
"If you'd like to stay here I can find my way around on my own," I offered to her, the guilt over riding the fear of getting lost and being late.
"Oh no Sakura, I would love to show you around!" Hinata hastily stood up, a small smile coming to her face. "Plus I have a class too."
I nodded, feeling half relieved and half guilty. After we cleaned up our plates we headed to the door.
Naruto stood up and came towards Hinata, cackling evilly and making the chopsticks look like really long fangs. Hinata giggled before waving and walking out the door. If I didn't know better I swear I could see something there, chemistry.
I hesitated at the door, holding it open and ready to walk out. I stared at Sasuke, his back to me. His hair was in its usual chicken ass style and his Ralph Lauren shirt was pulled taunt against his muscular shoulders.
Something on his shoulder caught my eye, and I stood there trying to make out what it was. It was black and curved.
I suddenly realized that it wasn't on his shirt, but under it. A tattoo! A familiar looking tattoo.
The black curved around his shoulder, the lines forming into what looked like the head of a dragon. I wasn't sure if it was truly the head of a dragon, the shirt making it faded, but it looked like it.
"Sakura?" I took one last long look at his shoulder, burning the image of the marking in my mind before turning around and smiling at Hinata.
"Sorry, let's go." I looked over my shoulder as the door of the kitchen swung close, Sasuke's stare disappearing behind it along with his mysterious tattoo.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
There's chapter 4! So I wasn't sure where to end this considering there is so much to add. I almost kept writing but I decided this was a good stopping point. I can feel the glares directed at me :/. Okay okay stop! A hole is burning through my forehead, stop!
Don't forget the drill: click, opinionate, submit=happy Riddler-of-Words :) or click, flame, submit=happy Riddler-of-Words
Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it!