I like the rain. The sound of it. The feel of it.
It's refreshing.
With a morning bowl of cereal to keep her company, Sakura stood on the porch during the downpour. Countless, miniature waterfalls were cascading from the roof and onto the garden below. Before she knew it, it was time to go to school. The bowl reached the dishwasher. She threw on a coat and was out the door.
I know running around without an umbrella isn't the smartest thing to do, but I love feeling the water drench my face, my hair. It's like every worry washes away.
Every sin disappears.
Like magic.
The sky was a somber grey and the winds were getting colder, tossing around the tassels of her hair bit by bit. But her mind was clear as day.
Rainy days have such a bad image.
The sky opened up and the rain pounded even harder. Her clothes clung to her like a second skin, growing heavier and heavier with every step she took.
It's like the sunny days are the good guys, the rainy days are the bad – a common misconception. Most people are too swayed to see it any other way.
Her boots splashed against the little lakes forming on the uneven sidewalk. She faced the weeping heavens and exhaled with her entire body. Somewhere in the sea of clouds, angels were crying out of joy or sadness, their tears splashing down onto the Earth. A much-needed calm rushed over her.
But I do.
Out of the blue, a car horn thrusted her out of the meditative state. Her thick, soaked bangs whipped painfully against her face as she faced the source of the sound.
Because I like the rain, the clouds, the puddles.
The mystery, the darkness.
The heavily tinted windows rolled down and unveiled the sole reason she learned to enjoy the rain. She smiled brightly at him even whilst knowing he wasn't the type to return it. Without any further instruction, she ran to the other side of the car and her saturated clothes squished against the passenger seat. The wet sound caused him to make a face and she laughed at the man who barely showed any emotion. In the rare moments when he did, it was for her to see.
I want to say I'm tired of the sun, the warmth, the bright, shining days. But I don't think that's the problem here…
"No umbrella?"
"Mm, I don't like umbrellas."
"You'll get sick."
"Mm, you're being so thoughtful today."
"..."
She slyly watched his passive features and giggled; he was back to his stone-cold appearance. She leaned back in her seat and enjoyed the oddly comfortable silence between them. Considering all they've been through, it was something to be treasured.
Because sometimes, you can't help but fall for the bad guy.
And I've fallen.
Hard.
[16] The Apology
"Why are you smiling so much?" Sasuke commented, leaning his cheek against the palm of his hand.
It was raining. He was right in front of her. What more could she want?
"It's a free country, she can smile as much as she wants!" argued Naruto, nodding his head and crossing his arms.
"Exactly. And smiling is good for you, Sasuke," Sakura agreed. "Maybe you should try it sometime." She spun around in her seat to face the chalkboard after delivering her line, smiling self-righteously. Naruto laughed aloud from his seat next to Sasuke who ignored the mockery.
Sakura gazed out the window, seeing the rain pounding against the glass. It made her content despite the muggy atmosphere surrounding the school. The mud tracked along the hallways. The ceilings leaked in parts of the school. Everyone seemed to hate it.
In the parking lot, car beams flashed beyond the wall of raindrops and for a minute, she wondered if it's their missing teacher.
"When's Kakashi getting here? He's like 30 minutes late!" Naruto yelled to no one in particular. Sakura sulked in silence. If anyone deserved detention, it should have been Mr. Kakashi Hatake, considering he's been coming in late more often than not.
"It a good thing he's not here…no work," Shikamaru hummed from his head-down position. He tried to catch some sleep, but he was unsuccessful. The entire classroom was in a state of anarchy without an adult present. The students were flicking paper footballs, texting on phones, and drawing crude pictures on the board, in textbooks, and every desk they could get their hands on. In a matter of minutes, the supposed "best and brightest" students of Konoha High turned into the rabid animals at the local zoo.
"Ah well! Works for me." And Naruto decided to join them. Binders tumbled to the floor when he swept his desk clean. He then pulled out a music player, shoved the earphones in, and cranked up the tunes. It would have been completely fine if he didn't have to sing along with every lyric to every song on every playlist. It would have made even more sense if the windows shattered and caved in.
Sasuke heaved out a distraught sigh as he scrolled through a webpage on his phone. Sakura, on the other hand, studied the madness. Shikamaru, miraculously out like a light. Naruto, rocking out to some catchy music. Sasuke, on the internet via mobile device. Humans and vampires doing completely normal, everyday things. It was weird.
They blend in so well.
"I'm excited," she announced, leaning over Sasuke's desk. "Actually, I don't know if excited is the right word…" He looked at her for a brief second before going back to his phone.
"About?"
"Our transaction," she beamed at him. She was practically bouncing in her seat in eager anticipation. "I have so many questions to ask you."
"Che," he sounded, giving her his full attention. It's been a few days since the plan's original proposal and he hasn't snacked on anything since. He was saving his appetite.
"When can we start?"
.
They had five minutes until the next bell.
"Where are we going?" Sakura tried to keep up as they paced against the flow of traffic. Sasuke was expertly dodging the incoming students, leading the way. She noticed the faces of her classmates, heading towards AC History like properly-behaved scholars. She almost wanted to hang her head in shame. Cheating on tests, skipping classes, tardiness. What was happening to her? She used to be such a good girl.
The arm reaching out reminded her why she was getting into these bad behaviors in the first place.
"In here." The vampire yanked her out of the crowd and she stumbled through the doors. She recognized this place and spoke, confused.
"The library? You know we're gonna be late, right?"
"It'll only take a minute."
With a tight hold on her arm, he continued to pull her in some unknown direction. Sakura fumbled over herself in attempts to keep up with his pace. The demented gleam in his eyes was making her nervous, but he was eager after trying to keep his inner demons at bay as long as he could. After a few more periods of mindless schoolwork, he had enough. The library, a relatively empty sanctuary, was on the way to their history class, so he decided they could sneak in a little snack time. He led her into the historical nonfiction, aisles and aisles of books that were completely void of life.
"Are we going to start researching for the history paper?" Sakura joked, touching the spines of the dusty literature. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the vampire, dropping his face into the palm of his hand. His fingers tensed at his temples and he raised his head slowly, revealing the pointed fangs.
"W-Wait, we're doing this now?" she asked, sounding more scared than she hoped to. "What if someone sees us?"
"I can't wait anymore." His voice was deep and lined with a ravenous growl. "I thought you were excited."
Her back was pressed against the bookshelf and Sasuke closed in. "I am…"
Sakura watched his bangs fall over his face and felt the wisps tickling the top of her face, but she noticed his hesitation. He looked…on edge.
"A-Are you okay?" she breathed out. It was almost funny – she should've been asking herself that question. But the excitement was coming back, the fear was fading.
She was ready.
"You're not afraid?"
"I trust you."
Trust, she says. He huffed a pessimistic laugh. A human trusting a vampire with her life and a vampire trusting a human with his secret.
What has the world come to?
"Don't scream," he whispered desperately as his nose nuzzled her soft skin. In a flash, his fangs ripped through, sending the pain searing through her entire body. Every time he sucked, she felt the burn slither. It was the ache of blazing knives burning the flesh surrounding her throat, but without the fear of death knocking at the back of her mind, it was more overpowering than agonizing.
Even so, she tried not the scream, she really did.
The school bell was able to drown out the nanosecond of her scream before Sasuke roughly planted his free hand against her lips. She started to feel lightheaded as he unlatched from her. She leaned into him, her legs feeling like gelatin. He was gasping uncontrollably, fighting the urge to tear her apart even more. After another minute, he composed himself and kept her from tumbling to the floor.
"Sakura–"
"I'm… okay," she reassured him, but she wasn't quite so sure. The room was still spinning and the carpet felt like quick sand. Her vision was going black. She slumped onto the floor and he joined alongside her as his self-control was returning. It wasn't so bad, she kept trying to tell herself. To keep her words comprehensible, she talked slow to subdue the lightheadedness.
"Okay…," she started, taking deep breaths. She wanted to get down to business. "Question…number 1… How…old are you?"
"Old." He smirked at the cliché, but eyed her with masked concern.
"That's not…a very good answer."
"Very old."
"Don't dodge…the question, asshole."
"You asked for the truth."
Fricking loopholes. "A number…would be fabulous."
"Next question." He completely brushed her off.
"Can you take this seriously?" she snapped. Feeling faint after rushing to her feet, she nearly toppled over, but he was ready to catch her if it came down to it. She kept her hand out and steadied herself. "I'm fine… I'm fine."
"I'm sure." Other than that, he kept his mouth shut.
"Dodging questions…wasn't…a part of the deal," she pouted at him. "You're…not playing fair."
"The less you know, the better," he said, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder, ready to leave. That saying was making her blood boil.
"You don't know…what's best for me. Stop treating me…like a child."
"Then stop whining like a child." She hated how patronizing he was. "If there are people trying to protect you, appreciate it."
"So I should appreciate that you're going back on your word?" Sakura stared angrily at his back. "Huh, and here I thought Uchihas…were supposed to be honorable men…" She exaggerated the shrugging of shoulders when he turned around. He was not very happy. "Maybe I was wrong…?"
"…"
.
"Researching at the library again?" Asuma asked amused, watching the pair walk in late.
"Something like that," Sasuke replied dubiously as they separated to their respective seats.
"No late pass?"
Sasuke shook his head. Sakura didn't say a word, too busy focusing on not falling on her face. Asuma handed her a worksheet, but she had no idea what it was about. The text was fizzing in and out of clarity and she couldn't keep her vision intact. He then started catching her up on the missed lecture, but his words sounded like hums and mismatched syllables. The only thing she could do was nod and stare at the gibberish in front of her. When he walked away, she started to feel the effects of nausea. She bit the bottom of her lip.
She was not dead or in a coma, at the hospital or at the nurse. But she felt like she was barely hanging onto consciousness. She was hyperventilating in her seat and the pain from her neck throbbed with every breath. How she was going to survive the day, she didn't know and it was only fourth period. And if this was him "holding back," she didn't know how she would handle the rest of this ordeal.
Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, sitting a few rows away. The backstabber didn't even answer any of her questions, yet he was answering the questions on the worksheet like a model student. He was shining with a healthy glow while she was growing paler every second.
He didn't even send a concerned look her way. Did he even care?
Everything felt so one-sided.
.
Sakura was nearly bored to tears waiting outside of Kakashi's room after school, wondering if he would show up again to throw a detention slip on her permanent record. Sakura cursed herself for losing her cell phone because in this day and age, it was impossible to live without it. She wanted to call her mom for a ride home if he wasn't going to show up because she was not in the mood for riding with a certain unnamed asshole. Her phoneless situation wasn't helping the cause.
'Maybe I can try for a payphone. Wait, does this school even have payphones anymore?' she wondered, tapping her foot against the floor. 'I could always just walk home...' Suddenly, she remembered the pouring rain outside and her body jerked forward with a violent sneeze.
"You're sick?" Footsteps. "That's not a surprise."
That arrogant voice. "I'm not." Sakura avoided eye contact with him at all costs.
"Lie better," Sasuke impolitely advised. "Don't tell me you're walking home like this."
"Who says I'm going anywhere? I'm stuck waiting for Kakashi so I can quit worrying about this stupid detention shit, which was YOUR fault by the way."
"For being too perfect?"
"You're not too perfect, your test answers were. You conceited prick."
Sasuke snorted. "Someone's in a bad mood…"
"No shit, Sherlock," Sakura grunted back. "Did you have to cheat to get that that conclusion?"
He got a closer look at her, reading her easily. "But you're not angry about the test."
"But it has to do with YOU. We had a deal! Why can't you take it seriously? Why can't you take ME seriously?"
"I don't like to repeat myself," he stated darkly. "Just stay out of it. Things could be a lot worse for you if you knew anymore. Besides, this is me being nice."
"You? Nice? Could've fooled me."
"It wouldn't be difficult."
"Being nice, my ass!" Sakura raised a hand and threw all her body weight into a deadly slap, but he was quick to catch it. Of course he was.
He didn't let go.
"I'm taking you home."
.
Through some violent coercing, Sasuke managed to literally toss Sakura into the front seat of his car. She landed with an "umphfff!" and murmured disjointed words after sitting properly. Sasuke slid into the driver's seat and started down the road. It was quiet as Sakura kept up a sour face and pressed herself against the car door as much as she could. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched her behave like a toddler.
"You should be thanking me. Kakashi wasn't going to show up and detention's a waste of time."
"…This still doesn't count as you being nice."
"You're so stubborn," he accused heatedly. His anger was rising exponentially and it wasn't stopping anytime soon. "It will make everything easier on the both of us if you'd shut up."
"Oh, and I'm sure you're so used to everyone just bending at every your whim, Sir Sasuke. You're just oh so handsome and rich, and you get whatever the hell you want and everyone just listens to every pretty word you have to say." Sakura used a nasally, high-pitched voice to spite him. "Newsflash, I'm not like that."
"I fucking noticed," he growled, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "You're resistant to it."
"To what? You're boyish charm and dashingly good looks? Your loads of money and intimidating demeanor?" She used the voice again.
"…Mind manipulation. Compulsions."
"You can control minds?" she asked incredulously.
"Except yours."
"Why?"
"I don't fucking know." He raked a frustrated hand through his spiked hair. "It's such an inconvenience. If you weren't so stubborn–"
"Then you could get whatever the hell you want? Oh gee, I'm so sorry. I'm so so so sorry that you're such a psychotic control-freak, Sasuke. I must be a HUGE burden to bear."
"You are."
She really didn't expect him to agree so easily.
"Sakura, you are easily the most annoying person I have ever met."
Ouch. "So…why bother?" Her voice cracked. "…Why do you even care?"
"All I care about is the blood running through your veins. I don't give a fuck about what happens to the rest of you."
Was that the sound of her heart breaking?
"Of course you don't…"
She curled into herself on the passenger's seat as if his loathing words were physically ripping her apart; his meaningful words seemed to do more damage than any kind of bite imaginable. She struggled to fight back the tears, but everything kept playing in her head. Maybe he was just livid, into the moment, he didn't really mean it. He would take it back, apologize, and try to work things out.
But he didn't.
The rest of the ride home was filled with hushed tension. The car stopped down the street from her house and Sakura released herself from the seatbelt. She sat for a minute hoping for a request of forgiveness, but she was hoping for too much. As usual.
"Sasuke…" With a disparaging smile and a pained face, she turned to him. "Ever since I met you, you hated me..." She choked on the lump in her throat; the bottom of her lip was trembling. "W-What did I do to make you hate me so much?"
Shaking, she left without receiving an answer. He had a clear view of her, walking home head hanging low without an umbrella or hood, climbing onto the porch, searching for her house key, unlocking the door, disappearing. Yet her scent remained.
Sasuke rested his forehead against the wheel and stared blankly at his hands. A novel sadness pooled somewhere inside him and he only recognized it as remorse. After decades of heartless massacres, this one human girl made him feel regret. Meeting her, hunting her, breaking her.
Was it wrong that a part of him secretly enjoyed it?
"Shouldn't you be at the high school? Doing your job?" Yamato positioned his creation against the wall in his underground workshop.
"Took the day off." Kakashi tapped the lid of his coffee cup. "Besides, this is my job now."
"You don't say…"
"Did you work on this all night?" The teacher stood back and scrutinized the contraption. "Is it…done?"
"I did, but no, it's not finished." Yamato tossed his gloves aside. "I want to consult someone before we move forward. If we plan on overstepping ANBU's orders, we need as much help as we can get."
"I see. And we're not overstepping orders, per say. We're…expanding them."
"They specifically told us to stop hunting vampires, Kakashi. The Kages could track down ANBU if we kept hunting in Fire Country."
"That was years ago," Kakashi replied, ascending the stairwell. The woodworker followed suit.
"And the order is still in effect… This could spark something huge, something beyond just you and me."
"Then, we really do need the help, don't we?"
.
A matured, gothic cathedral was hidden in the outskirts of Sunagakure, a desert city in the Land of Wind. The building stood tall and majestic as it had been for hundreds of years. It was barely hanging on as a crumbling piece of art, the ancient archways and the sculpted columns flanking the stained-glass doors. Every window depicted a biblical scene that seemed to be lost in the sandstorms. After hours of travel, they arrived.
"Come." Yamato pulled his coat closer. He shielded his eyes from the drifting winds and led the way.
They entered the decrepit building, overlooking rows and rows of pews that stretched endlessly. The ceiling was extending towards the heavens and murals of angels decorated the sky. Along the walls, sanctified relics retold divine stories from the holy book. Down the center of the walkway, the altar was covered in white, embroidered linens and lit with flickering candles that were itching to die out any second. A massive crucifix hung from the ceiling above the podium which was empty. Like the rest of the place.
"They should be here," Yamato mumbled. They marched down the aisle to stand before the altar and stopped in front of the baptismal font. Kakashi leaned over the giant basin and dipped his finger in the cleansed liquid.
"Holy water."
"I'm aware," the masked man answered, rubbing his fingers together.
"That's not why we're here…" Yamato noticed the elderly woman emerge from the priest's chambers. "She is."
The woman was clad in black and white attire, complete with a beaded rosary around her neck. She shuffled her feet and slouched over as she walked.
"We're closed," spat the old woman, grabbing a goblet from the altar. She rubbed it meticulously with a cloth. "Come back Sunday."
"We need your assistance."
"Sunday," she repeated, walking away with the cup in hand.
"Honorable Puppeteer Chiyo," Yamato pleaded. "Please, help us."
She stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes. "My puppets have been a secret for decades… Who are you, boy?"
"Yamato Tenzo and Kakashi Hatake, hunters from the Annihilation: Blood Unit."
"Bah! ANBU," she said with disgust. "Talentless buffoons with guns and whatnot. They rely on their weapons, not their skill. As if they have any…"
"Uh…"
"Ex-ANBU," Kakashi corrected. "We are no longer affiliated with them."
"You are Kakashi Hatake, are you not?" she asked with coarseness. He nodded, stepping forward. "Son of Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, lead hunting operative from the Blood Unit – the face of ANBU. Any kin of his is not welcome here." She turned her back, detestation radiating off her. "Leave."
Yamato called out in dejection. "But we have the same objective, Lady Chiyo! With your wisdom, we can challenge the vampires–"
"Don't!" she yelled, her feeble voice cracking with rage. "Don't you dare speak their name in front of God." She eyed the crucifix and sighed roughly before bringing her tone to a solemn whisper. "If your matters are as grave as you make them to be, then come. Monsters from hell wait for no one."
The two men exchanged looks as the fickle elder shuffled towards the chambers.
"I won't wait either if you two don't step on it."
.
"Vampires are considered preliminary demons. They have yet to become full-fledged servers of the underworld, followers of Lucifer…" Chiyo told, pouring steaming tea into a cup; Yamato mouthed a word of thanks. "They have a hold onto this world and the next, remaining here as 'undead' creatures of the night…"
"Well, we want to send them into hell. Permanently," Kakashi stated, inspecting the shelves of dolls surrounding the room. "Did you make these yourself?"
"Every single one of them," she responded proudly.
"Lady Chiyo is not only a woman of the cloth, but a puppeteer specializing in warding off demons and evil spirits," Yamato explained, sitting the table.
"Each one is crafted after every hellish fiend I've come across."
'That would explain the army of them,' Kakashi thought, holding a petite, delicate figure in his hand – one of many. Cotton puffs and wheat stems were sticking out between the old stitching. 'There must be hundreds, maybe even thousands of dolls here.' "What happens to these fiends after you make puppets of them?"
"They perish, of course. Banished to hell. They have no purpose on Earth."
"How do you…banish them, exactly?" Yamato asked with the rim of his cup to his lips.
"God's blessing. Rituals, prayers, chants."
"Like voodoo," Kakashi added.
"No, not like voodoo." Chiyo shook her head at their naivety. "Voodoo is the work of the Devil. This is a form of channeling spirits, good spirits that ward away the bad. The puppets are talismans that work against the respective demon."
'Sounds like Voodoo to me.' Kakashi replaced the doll and wandered around.
"You know a lot about vampires," Yamato complimented as the woman sat across from him.
"I have to, they're a part of my life now."
"It wasn't before?"
She heaved a dreadful sigh. "I have been a priestess for 60 long years, coming from a long line of devout followers, and had more generations to come. My son never joined priesthood, but he was a righteous man, along with his wife and my grandson. But they were killed…by a vampire." A deep frown appeared on the woman's face, but she continued on.
"My grandson was a young man when it happened. He was fascinated with the mystery, the darkness of the underworld…he said he wanted to find a way to destroy it, but he was consumed. He died when at the age of twenty because he turned…"
Yamato's eyes widened. "Your grandson became…"
"A vampire. And in his wake, he mutilated his parents and my brother who was the head priest of this chapel. But I was able to ward him off…with a doll that I made for him when he was a boy. It was 10 years ago and I have been using puppets ever since. He was the only fiend I couldn't kill…"
"Your entire family. That's devastating…"
"Tragedies make you stronger, and for that, I am grateful," she said quietly. "I learned how to cleanse the world of evils that I never once imagined were possible. I use the light of God and my puppets redirect His light. ANBU once believed in the same principles, but it has lost its way."
"How so?"
"They believe in destruction. They have no higher purpose; they kill for blood, for better numbers, for higher pay. I believe in cleansing the world of wrongful sin."
"But humans sin just as much, don't they?" Yamato asked, deeply involved in the conversation.
"That is true, humans aren't ideal," she spoke, having some tea for herself. "Adam and Eve failed the Lord by pilfering fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And now, humans are plagued by knowing too much. But vampires were rumored to have been born from the same Garden of Eden, as well. After Adam and Eve were banished, God created a being to survive alone in the garden, to protect it, and to only to abide by one rule: stay away from the Tree of Life. Again, this being failed, banished to a forever-life of loneliness."
"To become the first vampire…Well, that would explain a vampire's immortality. Religiously, of course…" Yamato scratched his chin.
"But humans and vampires are vastly different," she reminded. "Humans can be forgiven, for they were cast from paradise to prevent harm to the Tree of Life. But vampires… can never be forgiven. They committed an ultimate sin in the eyes of God. They fed off of life, an unforgivable act."
"Hmm… They never teach you these kinds of things during ANBU summits, right Kakashi?"
"Aah. There was a lot of things ANBU didn't tell us," the man replied from the other side of the room. A doll near the top shelf caught his eye. It was highly detailed, probably recently crafted considering the experience etched into its elements. An orange, swirled mask blocked the entirety of its face. Gently, Kakashi lifted it and the figure showed long, flowing black hair, spiked in edges. Red, swirling eyes glared back at him. 'Those eyes...' "Lady Chiyo," he called, holding the puppet in front of him. "Who was this modeled after?"
"The monster who took my grandson away, Madara Uchiha," she answered, cold and incensed.
"But this puppet was made recently. Is he dead?"
"You have a good eye, Hatake. It was made recently, but in order to complete the ritual, I need his blood, but I have not seen him in 10 years…"
"And you said his name was Uchiha? Are you sure?" Kakashi questioned, observing the figure and the familiar crimson eyes.
"I may be old, but I'm not senile just yet, boy," she assured him brusquely. "I can never forget the man who tore my family apart."
'Uchiha… Sasuke Uchiha.' The resemblance was uncanny. Kakashi placed the doll in the middle of the table.
"Then I think you might be interested in working with us."
Hina sat beside the girl and nudged her arm. It was breaking her tiny, undead heart seeing Sakura crying so powerlessly. At times like this, Hina really wished she was allowed to talk.
"Merrrow," was what she had to make do with.
The pink-haired girl lifted her head from the dampen sheets, hair matted to her cheek, and gently petted the feline's head.
"Hina, love is for stupid people," she declared maliciously and threw a fist at a pillow. "Stupid Sasuke…"
"Rowr?" Sasuke?
'Maybe I'm the stupid one…' Sakura slowly sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. "I thought he actually liked me. So much for being in love, right?"
Hina tilted her ears back and her entire stature slouched.
"He made me feel special and wanted… needed…" She choked on a sob, tears threatening to fall. "And I'm so… angry."
She told herself she wouldn't do this. She specifically told herself to never ever cry over Sasuke Uchiha.
I hate myself.
"But I don't want to feel like this anymore. But I can't help it. I can't– "
I love him too much.
Her hands covered her face; she wept uncontrollably. There was only so much one heart could take before it shattered forever. She gripped her chest, urging it to stop bursting at the seams.
"I j-just want it to stop hurting."
Hina watched on. "Mreow…" Please. "Meooorw." Don't cry anymore, Sakura. "Sasuke's not worth it…"
"I-… d-did you just say something?"
Oops, slipped out. "Meow?" The cat tilted its head.
Sakura wiped her swollen eyes. "I s-swear I heard you say s-something…"
"Meow, meow?"
"SAKURA!" came a call from the hallway. Hina's ears perked up and Sakura groaned habitually at her mom's nagging voice.
"Damn it…" She stood and in the bathroom, she cringed at her dying reflection in the mirror.
Okay, pull yourself together, Sakura. She slapped her cheeks. Get over him in 3. 2. 1.
She nodded at her doppelganger and her brow furrowed.
Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts for…
After dousing her face in water, she rushed down the stairwell. "COMINGGG!"
Sakura landed on her feet and entered the kitchen. Her mom was buzzing around the room, throwing pots in the sink and spoons in the dishwasher. Sakura wasn't used to seeing her mom at home, mostly because she was at the hospital – or lately, detention – when her mother left for the night. "There's some dinner in the fridge if you get hungry. I made some soup because I know you're not feeling well," Mebuki said, pulling on her shoes. "I'm off to work."
"Thanks, Mom."
"And did you walk home in the rain? No wonder you're getting sick all the time."
"…Thanks, Mom."
"You should've called me."
"I kinda sorta…lost my phone," the girl replied, coughing into her arm.
"What? How could you lose your phone?"
"I…" I was getting drunk at a party, then getting the life sucked out of me, then ending up in the hospital, then– "…have no idea."
"God, Sakura, you're killing me," she complained, snatching the keys off the counter. "Oh, and why did I get a message from the school saying you missed detention? You…have…detention?"
Frick. "It's a long story, and oh, look at the time. You're late! Can't keep those starving people waiting, can ya? Nopeee, you can't. So bye, Mom!" She verbally tried to push her mom out the door, but she wouldn't budge.
A quick glance at the clock: 4PM, plenty of time. A quick glance outside: raining cats and dogs. A quick glance at her daughter: pale, sniffling, lying?
"Sakura…"
"Ugh okay, my teacher thinks I cheated on a test, so he failed me and gave me detention. Happy?"
"He assumed you cheated? I'll call him right now and yell at him if I have–"
"But that's the thing!" Sakura cut her off. "I…did cheat."
"You did? Why on Earth would you resort to cheating when you're always locked up in your room studying?"
"The test was hard and I panicked. I don't know, it's really not that big of a deal… Just leave it alone, okay?" Sakura plopped down into a chair, exhausted from just about everything. "I'm just…really tired." Her mother crossed her arms and the girl knew she was in for it.
"…Fine, I trust you," Mebuki sighed, her expression softened.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. That was easier than I thought.
"But I don't want to hear about detention, suspension or whatever else you get yourself into. I know you're not a troublemaker."
"Right. No troublemaking here."
"And get some sleep, you look like death."
"Okie dok."
"Don't forget to lock the door. And close the windows, too. I don't want the whole house to be soaked by the time I get back…"
"Yup, won't forget."
"And if you do eat, start the dishwasher for me. It's almost full."
"Gotcha."
"And Hina needs some food. Feed her, okay? But I don't think she likes that new canned food I bought her… "
"Mom…"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going now." Her mother rushed by, pecked her on the cheek.
"Okay bye, drive safe."
Mebuki waved promptly before leaving. Sakura leaned her back against the closed door and exhaled, elated. "Holy hell, she never stops talking…" She was suddenly thankful that their work schedules crossed constantly.
Sluggishly, Sakura threw open cabinets until she found bottles of painkillers. After scanning label after label, she found pills that were fever reducers, courtesy of the Konoha Medical Center. The heavy stuff. Her body rejoiced upon the discovery. She happily took two and climbed the mountain-like stairs back to her room. Standing, she debated on what to do next: curl in bed with her favorite kitty or do school work that she would eventually have to do anyway. Her pounding headache was swaying her thoughts.
…Oh fuck it. Now she could add "skipping homework" to the long list of wrongdoings.
She crawled onto the mattress and has a staring contest with the feline making a nest out of her pillows. Hina was the first to look away, grooming her front paws.
"Don't play dumb with me…" Sakura hissed half-jokingly before going into a coughing fit. When she recovered, she collapsed on her bed with a crumpled tissue against her nose. "Ugh… I hate being sick."
"Nreow." With the tip of her nose, Hina pushed the box of tissues towards Sakura, who looked peeved.
"I know I'm borderline mental…and currently on meds…and a maybe even little delusional…but I know I heard you say something. Blink if you understand me."
Hina stared back with big, lucid eyes.
"Smartass…"
Sakura lay on her back, facing the ceiling. Drowsiness started to set in, thanks to the mix of medications and her weeping affair.
"I'm sorry, Hina. It's not you I'm mad at." Sakura whispered with closed eyes, yawning and falling into a deep, relaxing sleep. "I'm sorry…"
"…It's okay."
The gymnasium had a way of echoing every sound. There was the smacking of the volleyballs and the slapping against hands and forearms. Then, there were those sports-obsessed kids grunting for no good reason and antagonizing the "useless" players on their team. Mr. Gai didn't make it any better because he was babbling about sunshine and rainbows. All of it was a jumble of madness when added on to the ringing presently in Sakura's ears.
"SAKURA! HEADS UP!"
That didn't help either.
Before she could even register what happened, a mass of synthetic leather pelted her across the face and she fell ungracefully onto the polished gymnasium floor. Sakura immediately regretted taking drowsy decongestants this morning.
"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," announced Tenten, a high school senior on the team. She was the first to jog over and she spotted the line of blood oozing from Sakura's nose. "Way to go, Naruto! She's bleeding!"
Sakura swiped at her face and saw the smeared redness across her arm. 'Great, as if I didn't lose enough blood already…'
"My bad! I thought she had it!" Naruto ducked under the net. Hinata, playing on another court with Ino, immediately watched the scene unfold. Naruto kneeled down. "You okay?"
She was seeing stars and spots of red. "I think my nose is broken…"
"Ah fuck, I'm so sorry!" Naruto was frazzled, but seemed more fazed by the mishap than anything.
Sakura found some way to laugh. "I'm kidding, Naruto."
"I'll help you up," Tenten offered a hand.
"I got it," she declined. Trembling, she stood and forced her body into a ready position. 'I don't want to be babied anymore…' She noticed Sasuke, her emotionless teammate, observing her. '…like a child.'
"Okaaay…" Naruto dribbled the ball back to the opposite side of the net. "It's a little unpredictable, so uh, here it goes." The ball was tossed in the air and with an arched swipe, he struck it with inhuman strength. It grazed the top of the net and flew straight towards her again, looking like a bullet fresh from a gun. It was ridiculous how a volleyball of all things made her life flash before her eyes.
God, how she hated gym.
She crouched into herself waiting for the pain, but besides the hand full she already had, she felt nothing more. The sound of a soft thump chimed in her ears and the ball fell gently into awaiting hands. Sakura lifted her head and for some reason, she's always surprised to see him appearing out of nowhere. Sasuke, standing in front of her and he never looked more like a savior than this very moment.
"…You were all the way over there just a second ago," Sakura whispered between them, catching her breath.
"Just keeping up my end of the deal." He tossed the ball back to Naruto. He ran from the opposite side of the court just to save her?
Divine intervention took on a whole new meaning.
"Oops, sorry Saku- Hey, where ya going!"
"Serve," he ordered to Naruto, taking Sakura by the wrist and escorting her off the court. They stood at the sidelines, watching the rest of the rally play out. Tenten smacked the hell out of the ball and sent it flying back over the net. Neji dove for it, but it grounds and Sakura and Sasuke's team cheered and set up to play another round.
But in their own little world, all of that was unimportant.
Sasuke faced her and with his thumb, he dabbed the pooling blood under her nose. She watched helplessly as he placed her blood into his mouth.
She was melting.
"Um…thank you for saving me," Sakura said quietly. "But I still hate y–"
"…almost 100." He kept his eyes on the court and his voice low.
She tilted her head and said, "…almost 100?"
"Years."
Years? …Oh. The next question that formed in her head: How old are you, exactly?
But she decided this was a good start.
"Apology accepted," she said instead, smiling at him. "When you do turn 100, we should celebrate."
"It's not something worth celebrating." That look on his face…
Is that the sun shining or did he just smile at me? "It should be."
"It really isn't."
"Surprise birthday party, it is."
"Tch." He rolled his eyes.
"Tch, I'm Sasuke and I don't like birthday parties," she mocked him with a grungy, masculine voice.
"I do not sound like that."
"No, you do."
"Stop talking, Sakura."
"Stop talking, Sakura."
"You're so annoying," he said, walking away with a smirk on his face.
Sakura laughed and ran after him, following the crowd heading towards the locker rooms.
.
I'm sorry, heart – for being so fickle. But I just can't help it.
"Hey, we have lunch next! Where are you going, missy?" Ino threw her hands on her hips, standing in a bra and gym shorts.
"I'll see you guys there," Sakura muffled, throwing on her shirt faster than lightning. She grabbed her books and squeezed by. "There's something I need to do first!"
"Yeah, you better not hide out in the bathroom again! If I find you in there, I swear to GOD."
She waved to Hinata and Ino, then raced out of the locker room.
Like how Ino can't help but be a sassy drama queen or how Hinata can't help but be a giant sweetheart…
Sakura nearly slipped on the wet floor as she turned the corner. A group of boys walked out of their locker room, talking and laughing. Naruto must've told a joke because it had the whole gang in an uproar. Among them, Sasuke, looking less pissed off than usual. She liked to think it was her doing.
Or how Naruto can't help but be a lovable jokester and how Sasuke can't help but be a colossal jerk…
Their eyes met. And he took this time to slip away and join her at the end of the hall.
…Sometimes.
His hand touched her forehead and she jumped at the sudden contact.
"Still sick?"
His hand was cold. "A little."
"Should've stayed home."
"…I should be doing a lot of things."
"I agree, but you never listen to me."
"I guess that makes me kinda special." She winked at him; he brushed it off. "I'm like a challenge to you, right? That should make me interesting."
"Or annoying."
"Flip a coin."
I can't help it, heart. I know you're probably really fed up with me, and I don't blame you. I'm fed up with myself. But I see something that I think a lot of people miss…
"So…," Sakura started, as they headed towards the lunchroom. "Are you hungry? Or thirsty?"
He thought about it. "Not really."
"Are you suuure? I think my blood is really tasty right about now."
"I can manage."
"Going once…"
"I'll pass."
"Going twice…?"
"Don't tempt me, Sakura."
I never really understood him or his darkness, but there's something there…like a light. And I want to see it.
I'm sure it's warm…
They were sitting in the Viper after another monotonous afternoon of detention.
"Driving me home again? I think this counts as you being nice to me. I like it."
"Don't get used to it."
"I won't. I know you're always in a bad mood, so I mentally prepared myself."
"Good. I wouldn't want to make you cry again," he said, buckling his seatbelt. "You're ugly when you cry."
"Excuse me?" Insulted.
"You heard me." Straight-faced.
"You're making fun of me, again…"
"You make it too easy."
"Where'd the nice Sasuke go? I liked him better…"
I'm sorry, heart. This is who I am.
A sucker for love.
I keep forgiving him and he keeps breaking you over and over again.
But I think this might work out this time because Sasuke is…
Changing.
She stepped out of the car and into a puddle that glistened against the light. She looked up at the sky. Blue, clearing. The sun was shining.
So I apologize, heart. I'm so sorry I keep putting you through this.
I'm so sorry.
"Later," he said, driving off. Sakura waved even when he disappeared down the road.
I'm sorry.
I really, really am.
The Apology
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