Fading Dreams and Blossoming Faith
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The plot... Well, it's plainly RIGHTFULLY MINE! XD
Reminders: Italics for inner thoughts/past/narration; Inner Sakura's dialogue will be all underlined.
Read and...
Chapter 5: Beginning
RECAP
"I'll be looking forward to your answer," he whispered, and smirked a little. His breath lingered on her ear, her neck, her shoulder. He then went to his cousin, who had a wide grin on his face.
Sakura just stared blankly, not focusing on anything. His words, his warmth, were all over her.
Inner Sakura was also stunned at what had just happened. Her jaw had dropped to an imaginary floor.
End of RECAP
"Here!" Someone clutched her arms, as she stumbled into the man who grabbed her.
Fear.
Disappointment.
'I'm caught...' Tears escaped from her emerald eyes, as she sensed that her strugglesto free herself from the man were futile.
Sakura snapped out of it soon after Itachi got to the side of other man, who had proclaimed Itachi as his cousin. Still, she couldn't take in the words that Itachi had told her.
'What the hell was that?' Inner Sakura raged, aflame with anger. 'You cannot accept that man's request!'Inner Sakura continued with her babbling.
Sakura didn't take pay attention at all to what Inner Sakura was saying. Itachi then faced the man who called his attention, the man who proclaimed to be his cousin, was also wearing identical clothes as him, but lighter in color. He was much different from Itachi and Sasuke. Even from afar, one could tell that he gave off a friendly and welcoming aura. He was teasing Itachi with a wide grin, poking him at the same time.
He took notice of the staring pinkette. The same eyes as his cousin interlocked with her emerald eyes. It was as if he was capable of looking at her soul as his eyes pierced her through. It lasted for a second, until Itachi nudged his cousin in the side. Then the cousin smiled warmly at her, as he was being dragged by Itachi at his collar. The man waved goodbye at her. "Bye! Sakura-chan, see you next time!" the man shouted as they left her sight.
'What the-?' Inner Sakura interjected, then looked at the still Sakura. 'Hey!'Inner Sakura smacked her with her rolled up paper.
'Who the hell do they think they are?'Now it was Sakura who was aflame with anger.
Inner Sakura just nodded.
'And who the hell is he, telling me that request? No one has ever gone to that kind of extremes! Even Naruto has never gone that far when I asked him what he wants in return!'
Inner Sakura nodded again.
'Who the hell is that man? We're not even that close, and I don't even know his name! We're just mere acquaintances.'
'Which man?'Inner Sakura asked.
'Inner Sakura... are you getting on my nerves?'asked Sakura.
Inner Sakura ferociously shook her head as she felt the deathly aura coming from Sakura.
'Both of them!' she answered. 'His request, and who the hell is that cousin of his, shouting my name as if he was so familiar with me?' Sakura let go of her frustration as she let out a big sigh. 'This is all a big daymare,'Sakura massaged her temples.
Sakura picked up her bag, which was lying on the ground. She then walked back again at the path to her home, continuously reminding herself that what had just happened was just a daymare. As soon as she got back from the road, a sudden clasp of a pale hand on her arm alarmed her. She looked back at the person who stopped her.
"Sai?" Sakura was a bit surprised. 'Why is he here? Did he see what just happened?'
"What was that all about?" Sai asked in his monotone voice, with a hint of dissatisfaction.
"That's not your concern." She shrugged his hand off her arm, and went on her way.
He didn't move from his place. "Sakura…"
She stopped, and turned back to Sai. "I know… Time is running out… I know," she said bitterly.
"Then, that's all I came for," he informed, then turned back and went on his way, on the opposite side of the street as hers.
Sakura sighed as Sai went too far ahead. 'Inner Sakura, we just have to do what he suggested, don't you agree?'
'Ne, Sakura, if we don't get there in time, we could just run off again, you know,'Inner Sakura suggested, with a faint smile and a doubtful tone.
Sakura chuckled. 'As if he would help us again. He's already done many things for us, you know,'she thought back.
'… I guess his advice was kind of nice,'Inner Sakura finally agreed, to lessen the burden that Sakura was feeling.
'Then, that's great. Our plan shall commence… Let's look for someone who's totally close to Sasuke!'
'Who should we start with?' Inner Sakura asked curiously. 'We can't just walk into the fire without a plan, you know?'
Sakura dramatically fell to the ground.
'Ow… We don't have a single clue, do we?'Inner Sakura dramatically fell to her imaginary ground as well.
'We should try and investigate Sasuke-kun first… I think that would be a great start,' Sakura said, and Inner Sakura agreed. '…But, you know, that man... Itachi. I've seen him somewhere before.'
'…So, you felt that too, huh?'
'…'
'I've been looking at your memory book, but I can't seem to find any name of Itachi in your past. Maybe he just resembled too much of Sasuke,'Inner Sakura said, looking around the messy file room.
'I guess so… But, it was bugging me the whole time. Maybe I'm just too tired, don't you think? After all, this is only a daymare, and nothing more.'
They started walking back to their place. She passed the riverbank, and the last place that she'd have to pass was her favorite…
'…Sakura path,' she smiled as she observed the pink scenery swaying with the wind. Everything was at peace. This place always made her feel calm, as all her worries were taken away. She started walking along the path as she twirled around gracefully.
'Hey! Don't twirl so much. I'm looking at the scenery and also drinking my tea, you know?'Inner Sakura said, trying to balance herself on her comfortable, imaginary couch. Both of them laughed. Soon after, Sakura finally stabilized herself.
'Hey, Inner Sakura?'
'Yeah?'
'This place, isn't this where we first met Sasuke-kun?'
Flashback
"Grandma!" a little pink haired girl struggled with all her strength to pull her grandmother to walk faster along the Sakura path. "Come on!" Her emerald eyes glittered pleadingly.
The grandmother chuckled. "Yes, yes, Sakura-chan."
The little girl was fairly happy and excited as they got to the place. Everything was all pink, complementing her hair. She danced blissfully as she tried to balance herself. The grandmother watched her granddaughter off to the side happily.
"Grandma!" the little girl called.
"Can I go there?" she pointed out the direction.
The grandmother nodded, and she watched her granddaughter run towards the place she'd pointed out.
'Where was that place again? I made a Sakura necklace for Grandma.'She ran towards the place that she remembered.
The little girl reached her hiding spot, and found what she was looking for. She hurriedly went back to her grandmother, who was waiting for her. She was extremely excited about what reaction her grandmother would give as soon as she received the necklace. She got knocked back as she bumped into someone.
Sakura fell down on the ground, trying to fight her tears, and a pair of hands reached for her. A boy held his hands to her, allowing him to assist her back to her feet. She accepted the offer. She got back on her feet. The boy in front of her had onyx eyes, full of depth, and reflected a faint joy. It felt a little sad and pitiful to the little girl.
"Umm… thank you!" she replied happily. "I'm sorry I didn't pay attention and bumped into you."
"That's alright," he said. "What matters is you… Are you alright? You bumped into me pretty hard," he asked in a worried voice.
The little girl blushed. "I'm alright," she smiled. "You?"
The sad boy just smiled at her. He then pointed in the direction where the girl was about to go. In that same direction, both saw an old woman was deep in worry, as if she was searching for something.
"Grandma..." she whispered.
"You better go. She's your family," the boy told her in a sad voice.
The little girl just stared at the boy in front of her. She felt sad seeing someone who had such a kind smile have that heavy of a heart inside. "Let's meet tomorrow!" she offered.
The young boy suddenly looked at her in surprise.
"Be here tomorrow, okay?" she continued, as she dashed off, closing their little deal without the other party's consideration.
End of Flashback
'And you met him consecutively from time to time, until you had to fly back home,'Inner Sakura continued, as she blissfully remembered the short, and yet happy, encounter.
'...Sasuke...'Sakura's smile lasted for a few seconds, and she remembered again the request of the man who unconsciously crept into her mind like a madman.
'You know, if I could only have a big memory eraser here, I would pretty much have erased that event, or rather, massacred all the memory Sakura-spirits here,'Inner Sakura glared at the small spirits, who turned white and fainted on the spot, as she tried to calm Sakura down in her own way.
'I hope you can invent something like that, but don't massacre my memory spirits! They are also a part of us!'Sakura said, worried about the upcoming massacre that was about to happen.
'I know, I know…'
Sakura got back home, helped with the chores, did her homework, and went to bed.
8:00PM
'Finally, I can sleep. Today was a stressful one, huh?'Sakura flopped onto her bed.
'You said it,'as Inner Sakura floated to her imaginary, cushioned bed.
9:30PM
…
11:00PM
…
12:30AM
…
2:00AM
…
4:00AM
'Why the hell can't you sleep?! I need my beauty sleep already,'Inner Sakura complained grouchily.
'Can't sleep. I've been struggling already,'Sakura said exhaustedly.
'Tell me your problem so that we can sleep already,'Inner Sakura demanded.
'Whenever I close my eyes, everything flashes to what just happened at the riverbank.'
'…'
'He's haunting us! What are we going to do?'Sakura was freaking out.
'This is what we are going to do.' Whack! Inner Sakura's rolled up paper smacked Sakura's head, which made her fall asleep. 'And with that, we can sleep…'
7:00AM
Sakura grumpily woke up as her alarm clock kept bugging her. Her hand reached for the clock, and she made an effort to look at it. Her eyes jolted open as she saw the time. 'Shoot! I'm late!'Sakura panicked, and got out of her bed. She took a fast bath, fixed herself in her school uniform, and ate a quick breakfast.
At School
"Isn't this the first time Sakura-chan hasn't arrived at school yet?" Naruto asked worriedly, as he playfully twirled his fingers at Sakura's table.
Sai looked at him, emotionless.
"Hey! I'm talking to you. Aren't you worried about her?" Naruto grabbed Sai by the collar.
"Hey Naruto, calm down, will you? Once in a while, someone has to slack off." Shikamaru tapped Naruto's hands to release Sai.
"But…" Naruto looked at Shikamaru.
"Sheesh, Naruto, it's not like it's the end of the world when she's not yet here, you know. Maybe she just had a little errand to do, like us," he winked.
"Sakura-chan is not like us!" Naruto defended.
The school bell rang…
'Everyone is here, I guess. Only she hasn't arrived yet,' Iruka noticed the unoccupied seat in front of Sasuke. 'Better start the class.'
"Anyway, as all of you have heard, I have been appointed to help out at our sister school in Suna. There will be a substitute homeroom teacher for you guys. He is one of my former kōhai, still in his college years, so please, keep him entertained in a well manner." Iruka spoke the last few words looking at the mischievous group of Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Chouji.
Small snickers erupted in the classroom.
"Anyway, I'm a little bit surprised myself from what I heard from him," he smiled at Sasuke.
Sasuke glared back at Iruka, and Iruka just laughed it off.
"You may come in now," Iruka called. The sliding door of the classroom opened. Every student just stared at the man who entered. Some were dumbfounded as they saw the man, some looked back at Sasuke, who seemingly became grouchier in his seat, and some were already entranced with the handsome features of the man who was beside Iruka.
7:30AM
Sakura hurriedly went up to her classroom. 'Shoot, Inner Sakura! This is your damn fault for not waking me up!'
'It's not my fault, you loud woman! You didn't let me have my beauty sleep,'Inner Sakura grumbled.
As soon as Sakura reached the room, she forcefully slid the teacher's door open. She bent down for a while to grasp some air. Everyone in the classroom looked surprised to see Sakura. Naruto was glad that she was able to come to school, while Shikamaru and Kiba grinned at him. Sakura heard some slow steps coming toward her. A hand was held out to her, and that person led her into the classroom.
"Hello, Haruno-san," he whispered.
She jolted up to look at the man. Her emerald eyes stayed into his onyx eyes, which seemingly had a hint of a (evil) glint in them. She suddenly backed out into the hall in fast strides that made her bump into the far wall. 'What the hell is he doing here?'
He walked over to her slowly. Following behind him was Iruka, who looked at her worriedly. Some of her classmates were also peeking through the windows to see what was happening.
"Haruno-kun?" Iruka called her. "Are you alright?"
"Umm… Yes, sensei," she bowed.
"I see. Then, that's good," he smiled. "This would be Itachi-san. He will be my substitute for a while, since he has good grades. The school asked for permission from his college for us to have him here for a while. After all, just like you, he was also a prodigy here before.
Sakura's eyes widened, and she looked intensely at Itachi, who had a smirk on his face. "I-I see…" She bowed again. "Hello, Itachi-sensei," she greeted. She then walked passed the two sensei as she walked towards her seat.
"You know her?" Iruka asked.
"Yes. We had an eventful meeting yesterday," Itachi said. "I'm glad that I took this opportunity," he said in a low voice, avoiding Iruka's confused expression. He then strode back into the classroom, seeing Sakura walking to the empty seat, leaving behind a gaping Iruka.
'Inner Sakura! He's stalking us!'Sakura shivered.
'…'
'Inner Sakura?' Sakura asked again.
'I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I will be going on leave for now. I hope you will take care of yourself,'Inner Sakura shut herself in one of her imaginary chambers.
Sakura sighed, and sat in her seat. She looked ahead, and saw Sai looking at her intently.
"Didn't get enough sleep?" he asked in his monotone voice, with a hint of worry.
"Yeah." She then closed her eyes in relief.
Sakura felt a kick to her seat. 'What the-?'She looked at Sai, who was already facing the front. She then looked at her side, where Chouji was just intently looking at his lunch bag. Then she turned around, and saw Sasuke looking at her.
"Um… Sasuke-kun?" She gulped some air, feeling the atmosphere cold outside, but warm in her. 'He's talking to me!'
"How do you know him?" he asked angrily in a small whisper. Sakura shuddered.
"Who?" Sakura asked, confused.
"Him," he said, looking at the new substitute teacher. Sakura followed his eyes, and looked back at Sasuke.
Sakura wondered why he was asking. 'Maybe he's jealous,'Inner Sakura snickered as she opened the door to her imaginary chamber a little.
"We kind of… met yesterday. Why do you ask?" Sakura finally answered.
"This is the first time I've seen my brother interact like that," he answered, and looked somewhere else, ending the conversation.
Sakura looked back to the front, happy that she was able to talk to her beloved. But there was something that was bothering her. Sasuke's answer kept on repeating in the back of her mind.
"This is the first time I've seen my brother act like that."
"This is the first time I've seen my brother act like that."
"This is the first time I've seen my brother act like that."
"…BROTHER…"
Sakura finally realized what Sasuke had told her. Everything made sense then, the thing that kept bugging her, the reason why she thought the first time she saw Itachi that he looked identical to Sasuke, his eyes, his features, and his persona. She peeked back at Sasuke, and then looked at the new substitute teacher, Itachi.
Sai followed the gaze of the new substitute teacher. He looked back at Sakura, whose face color paled. Going white, her eyelids slowly closed, as her body collapsed to the side.
"SAKURA!" Sai shouted, and was about to bolt out of his seat, when…
…A pair of hands grabbed her lifeless body. Sai, Sasuke, and their other classmates, even Iruka-sensei, who was in a state of disbelief, looked at the man who ferociously strode out of the room with Sakura in his arms.
To be continued...
A/N: About the Sakura-spirits, I made them up. If you watch Skip Beat, there's this little spirit with her, and Inner Sakura is talking about the memory spirit who is in charge of writing Sakura's memories, and who also publishes Sakura's memory books. Another example was in one episode of Spongebob, where he needed to take out everything he knew, as only the stuff about fine dining should be in his head.
Preview:The next chapter will finally tell us what Itachi's request was, and finally one of the words in the title will be used, 'Contract.'
A/N: Review!