Thanks to TheBlackRose123 and eva16uchiha for reviewing. =) (I'm glad you guys like it so far!)
Also, thanks to M. animaniac for adding this to their story alert.
O, one filled with darkness,
Let the light embrace your pain
And wash away your troubles
And fears
And hate
Sakura
During music, I saw Karin and the other girl.
They kept on glaring
And staring
And talking.
I asked Hokage-sama if I could switch classes.
I didn't.
The teacher is nice, I guess.
He's tallish
Blondish
Scaryish.
His name is Kabuto,
And stars dance around his fingers.
Hinata does art instead of music
And I hate it
Hate it
Hate it.
But there is a nice boy in my class
Named Shikumaru
He looks bored all the time
But he seems nice
And keeps glancing
At the blond girl
Who he says is named
'Ino'.
There is another interesting boy in class
He is looking away all the time
(He doesn't want to embrace it)
And has black-blue hair
Like the night sky.
I ask Shikumaru his name
But he just shakes his head and says
"Just avoid him."
So I do.
There is a boy absent from class today.
I ask Shikumaru what his name is
But he just keeps winking at Ino
Who smiles back.
I ask others but
Everyone else seems to not care.
The last bell pierces through the air and everyone dashes out in a hurry. But Sakura takes her time, since she isn't in a hurry anyways.
"You fucking bitch!"
She feels the impact on her chest, and everything spins. She hears the high-pitched laugh coming from Ino.
"You were talking to Shikumaru, weren't you? Weren't you?"
Sakura's nose starts to bleed, and she wipes it away. "I was just-"
"He's mine! He's mine and don't you forget it!"
Ino throws her against the locker. Tears are streaming down the blond's cheeks (PainPain) and she punches her again and again (LoveLove) until Sakura's face is covered in blood.
"Stay away from him you… you… whore."
Is this love?
Sakura doesn't know what a whore is, but she can feel that it's not something pleasant. She nods silently and Ino goes away. Distantly, the pink-haired girl can hear Shikumaru's laughs. (He loves an empty girl)
I am alone.
She dumps her stuff on the worn-out couch and wants to cry. But she doesn't, since she must stay strong.
The girl stopped on the market her way here, and bought some fruit. Even that was hard to buy. She couldn't beg anymore. No way to earn money.
Someone knocks on the door. He has a friendly smile, and whisker-like scars.
Hinata is with him.
"Hinata-chan?"
The girl stared at her friend in surprise. "You live here Sakura-chan?" Her voice isn't scorning. It was a statement, and a true one.
"Yes, I do." She confessed. "Who's this?"
"W-well you see…"
The whiskered boy salutes to her. "Would you like to buy some muffins? They're for a good cause."
Stars surround him.
"What cause?" she asks, even though she has no money to spare.
"Myself!"
He sounds a bit selfish, before Hinata speaks up. "N-Naruto's an orphan. He doesn't have much money, and h-he's making money this way."
He knows what loneliness is…
"I saw you. At school. During Japanese, maybe? Were you the one Gai-sensei was encouraging because you were loud?"
"That's me! Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto responds, smiling. Sakura smiles too, because his smiles are contagious. His hair is embedded with stars. (He knows hope)
How do you hide your pain?
Hinata notices the red stains of blood on Sakura's cheek. "Sakura, what happened?"
She laughs, but it is fake and forced. "I spilled of cherry juice, silly of me, huh?"
Naruto laughs with her, not knowing the laugh is a fraud. (Totally blind to the world) "You managed to spill it on your face? You're even more careless than I am!"
Sakura smiles. "Yeah."
Hinata glances at her suspiciously, but doesn't speak. Sakura fidgets.
"Here. Take a muffin." Naruto raises the sweet smelling muffin to her mouth. It smells like blueberries.
"I couldn't-"
"No, I insist. Take it."
She takes the soft delight in her dirty hands. "Thank you Uzumaki-kun." She breathes out.
"Call me Naruto."
Naruto left
But Hinata stayed
And went into my house.
I thought she would make fun of me
But she said it seemed like a cozy place
To live in.
I asked her to show me her house sometimes
But she said her cousin, Neiji, doesn't like strangers coming to her house.
She compared schedules with me
And I discovered
We had Home Economics, Biology, and Math together.
We talked and talked
Until she had to go home.
"Will you visit me again?"
Stars glowed in her eyes.
"Of course."
(Friend Friend)
Dad came home today
Blabbering about
Drugs and smut.
He took the muffin
And gobbled it
And threw it back up.
(Wasted)
He fell asleep on his bed.
I cleaned the mess up
Since no one else would do it.
The stars
Danced around me
And kept me company.
I crept into his room
When he was sleeping
And took some money.
I felt kind of bad
But the stars didn't hold me back.
(Guilt guilt)
Sakura woke up to the sound of her alarm clock that is blaring. The stench of fresh alcohol is agonizing as it fills the room.
It has been two days.
Today she is wearing a sweater that will hopefully cover up the ripped t-shirt underneath. Her pants are a pair of baggy jeans she found at Goodwill; hopefully they won't fall apart.
She begins her long trek to school, reminding herself to buy some pencils. The morning air is chilly, and it nips at the holes in her jeans. Her shoes are dirty, but again, she doesn't mind.
Some stars are still out, since, weirdly, it is very dark for 7 in the morning. They glimmer like shards of light.
Can you see me, Mom? Are you proud?
The latter doesn't seem likely.
(Because she never cared, or said goodbye.)
The real stars are different from the multi-colored stars that surround Sakura's vision. The real ones seem to hold more hope than the fake stars. (There's no such thing as hope for people like you dear.)
"Yo, Sakura!"
Naruto comes running up, hair messy and clothes wrinkled. He smoothes out both of these, and smiles. She hasn't seen him for a day.
"You're up early."
"You live close by here?"
"Yeah. That's great, 'cause we can walk together!"
Sakura smiles at him. He inspects her. "Did you like the muffin?"
"It was great!" She lies. She doesn't want him to know that it was wasted.
"I'm glad you think so."
They chat like old friends, talking about school, teachers, and classmates.
"Where does Hinata live?" Sakura wonders, almost to herself.
"She actually lives close by to where I live, but she gets a ride with her cousin Neiji."
Neiji. Sakura imagines him as a mirror image of Hinata, but with a bit of a prankster attitude, like Naruto.
A sleek, black limo drives by both of them. It has tinted windows, so she doesn't see what's inside.
"I wonder who that's for." She remarks, watching it drive away.
Naruto starts to speak, but is drowned out by the nearby sound of shouting, running, talking children as the school approaches.
He grabs his hand. Sakura enjoys the warmth that spreads through her, making her tingle. "Come on! We're going to be late!"
I had speech today.
Orochimaru-sensei hisses his 's' like a snake.
Karin is in my class
But so is Lee
That night-haired boy with dark eyes
Who I'm supposed to avoid.
Lee is
An energetic person
Who said I was pretty.
No one had ever said that before.
There is a boy who sits in the corner
Silent
Like he is waiting for something
To happen.
(Stotic. Alone like you.)
He has violent red hair
That reminds me of blood
And a tattoo
That spells the kanji for 'love'.
Has he ever felt love,
Or does he just do that
So he will someday feel it?
He carries a big gourd
That is cracked in many places.
He has sea foam green eyes
That are faded out
Like they are disappearing
From the world.
(Just like you.)
There are no stars around him,
None at all.
I want to talk to him
But he is sitting far away
Drawing something.
Instead, I sit next to Neiji
Who has pale eyes
And a stern face
And long hair.
I mentioned Hinata to him
And he stiffens
And turned away
Like it was a crime to talk about her.
Does Hinata feel
Like she is a crime?
A sin?
A dishonor?
Neiji doesn't talk to me
For the rest
Of class.
Sakura waited for Hinata on the end of the table, avoiding other kids and moving away from them as far as possible. The lunch was some kind of stew with potatoes and carrots floating on the top.
Hinata comes and smiles, then sits next to me. "H-How are you today, Sakura?"
"Fine." She sips from her bowl, and then blows on it to cool it down.
They don't talk much, and both of them don't feel like eating, so they leave the lunchroom early. Together, they sit on the grass, enjoying the cool breeze of fall.
Someone throws a rock at Hinata, and it bounces off the side of her head. She winces slightly, but doesn't bother her.
"Whore."
Hinata freezes. Sakura stands up and shouts at Ino, "You've got no right to call her that!"
The girl smirks back. "I call her what she is. She is a whore." She turns to Hinata. "Who did you do it with this time, huh?"
"I-I d-didn't-"
Hinata sounds like she's about to cry. "Stop it!" Sakura shouts.
Ino steps up to them and pushes Sakura out of the way, making her land on the grass. "You're not involved in this."
Hinata pulls back, but Ino is too quick. There is a dash of flesh and red, and Hinata's mouth is covered in blood.
"S-stop-"She tries to gurgle but is cut off by a kick in the stomach. Ino's eye's flash glamorously. Sakura gets up and tries to pull her back.
"STOP IT! STOP IT YOU BITCH!" (You're just one of them now)
Ino is frozen in shock for a heartbeat, but then delivers a punch to her face. (Hurt. Blood. Pain.) Stars swirl around Sakura as she falls to the floor.
Another shadow approaches them. Ino squeals, and there is the sound of body hitting earth. The shadow leaves, and a familiar voice calls out to them.
"Hinata? Sakura?"
Ino growls, and runs, only to be stopped by Shikumaru. The usually calm face is now disoriented with anger. (Love. Broken.)
"S-Shikumaru!" Ino squeaks, barely making a sound.
He glares at the ponytailed blond. "We need to have a talk."
"Are you okay?" Naruto helps me get up. Stars are still dancing around.
"Hinata-sama!"
I see the blurred face of Neiji. He comes running up to Hinata, who is crying. He murmurs soothing words and helps her up. (That is what you don't have.)
"Who was…"
"Who was what?"
"That person… Helped…"
Naruto shook his head. "The only one who was even around here was Gaara, and he doesn't like to get involved. And besides, he was more that 300 yards away. How could he have gotten there in such a short time?"
"G..Gaara?" Sakura thinks of the red-headed boy whom stars seemed to avoid. He has an almost dark aura around him.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up."
Hinata doesn't come to the next class, because she's gone home. The nurse didn't question what happened to her and Sakura, and just checked their wounds. These things must happen a lot.
She was sitting at her desk, silent, while Jiraiya-sensei talked about the parts of a frog. Sakura dreaded the day when they actually had to dissect a frog. Karin was passing notes to Sasori, Naruto looked bored and sometimes sent her funny faces. But Sakura's attention was on Gaara, who was staring blankly at his desk.
His eyes look so empty.
(Just like his soul.)
The multi-colored stars dissolve as soon as they get close to him. The red headed boy doesn't really react at much.
The bell rings, and students scurry out the door. Gaara blinks, and realizes the bell has rung. He gets up.
Sakura makes his way toward him, but a stiff hand pulls her back.
"Don't go near him Sakura. He's not normal." The gruff, doglike voice of Kiba warns her. He doesn't notice Naruto approach from behind.
"There's nothing wrong with him! He's just…"
"Weird? A murderer? A monster?"
The girl shifts uncomfortablely, since Gaara is right there within perfect hearing distance. Gaara looks at the two boys, gives them a little nod, like he is accepting their words, and walks away.
"What's wrong with Gaara?"
"Nothing."
"Everything."
They start to bicker again, and Sakura leaves them, heading to her locker.
A/N Deleted Scene time! This was supposed to be after music, in Social Sciences.
"Sakura."
She turns, facing Asuam-sensei. Knowing herself, she knows that he is talking about her failing already.
A dishonor.
"Yes, Asuma-sensei?"
He holds out a sheet of paper for her to see. It was the sheet of paper she got during the first day of class.
He points at the question where she put down 'There isn't enough love in the world."
"Am…I in trouble?"
"Trouble? No. It was just a very philosophical answer, that's all. You're different Sakura.
She blushes, and grabs the sheet of paper and tucks it safely away into her pocket.
"I have high expectations, Sakura."
A/N This took less time then I thought it would. Well, I stayed up until 3 yesterday, finishing this, so I guess that explains it. Please review. I would really appreciate it.