The Little Voice
Standard disclaimer applies.
Due to some issues, I have to reveal more of the plotline than I wanted to.
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The beautiful flower
And the thorn covered stem that supports it.
Daring to touch the flower
Will only poison you.
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/scene one/
the flower and the stem
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"Sakura!"
She reached through the iron bars to grab his hand, the smoking growing thicker and the flames licking at her feet. "Big brother!" The girl cried out at the sight of his fingers, reaching for them. But, her hand was slapped away and she could hear him say in his usual calm voice, "Go. I'll be fine."
"Go. Don't worry, I'll see you again." Sakura remembered saying it to her silver haired companion, who she never saw again along with her family. Except, her brother hadn't said that they would once see each other once more.
Before she knew it, her view changed to her rose garden and her porcelain doll, which sat where it normally did on the outdoor chair.
"Wake up, master."
"Shut up!"
"That's not the way noble's speak."
"Fine! Go die."
"…That wasn't better than the last."
The pink haired girl opened her emerald green eyes to stare deeply into endless, black ones. His pale, handsome face was only a centimeter away. The nostalgic white rose garden she remembered quickly burnt to ash and was swept away by the wind. Of course, she had to admit that his beauty surpassed the oasis in her broken memories.
"It's time to get dressed."
Wearing an oversized, button up shirt, she sat up and squinted under the morning light. She hissed angrily and waved her arms around, causing her large sleeves to make flapping noises. The older boy smirked and commented,
"Are you trying to fly away?" He walked over to the curtains and closed them a little, "Unfortunately, that's not going to work my lady. There's this thing called gravity and…"
"I know what gravity is, Sasuke." Sakura interrupted as she frowned, "So, please, stop talking to me like I'm an idiot." She hated it when someone challenged her intelligence, much like someone else she knew. It was easy to tell that he was biting himself from making another comment.
Sasuke gracefully walked over to her and gently pulled the velvet red sheets. Then, he tenderly picked her up and placed her upright to stand on the plush stool. "We have a lot to do today." His said in a suave voice as he unbuttoned her white shirt. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, groaning in frustration, "How big is a lot?"
A mysterious smile spread across his lips. Sasuke slowly leaned down to undo the last button with his teeth, caressing and kissing her stomach. "A large amount, master." He whispered low and temptingly as he eased her shirt over her shoulders, letting it drop softly onto the floor. Sakura narrowed her eyes, her face turning a bright red and her mouth curving into a cute pout.
"Stop teasing. I have no time for your badinage." She grumbled, clearly embarrassed as she shoved him off, "Must we go through this sexual harassment every day? I'm not even close to being of legal age yet, so does that make you a pedophile as well?" Sasuke grunted as he picked up the first garment of the prepared outfit. "I fail to see why not, and to your question, I disagree." Came his (smug) reply as he continued to dress her.
"M-Mistress!"
"Come in, Hinata." Sakura called out as she held out her arms, letting her butler put the sleeves of her grey, uncomfortable-looking (though, it was actually quite the opposite) Lolita dress. When the door clicked and the knob began to turn, Sasuke encircled his arms around her legs (he was kneeling while she was on the chair, so the tip of his head reached her chin) and buried his head into her stomach.
"U-uhm, Lady Sakura, I-" The shy maid gasped, flinching as she took a step back, "O-Oh my! Am I interrupting something?"
"What the?! No, not at all, Hinata. Everything's fine-" Sakura tried to push his head away, but his grip was too strong on her. She could see her female servant's face heat up. "Get off! At least put the rest of my clothes on!"
Hinata giggled as she shook her head, "N-No, it's okay, Mistress. I'll tell you later. I-It's not that important, anyway." The maid bowed and quickly exiting the room, gently closing the oak door behind her. After her flustered footing finally eased into silence, Sakura thrashed around in hopes of shaking off her butler.
"Why'd you do that!? She misunderstood!"
Before she could inflict any pain, he let go. She gaped at his expression: a smug smirk.
"Wipe that look off your face, you sadistic…"
Sasuke stood up from his kneeling position and brushed off his black clothes. He dismissed her angry comments, picked her up from the stool and placed her on the carpet covered floor. After making sure both his and his mistress's appearances were neat and perfect, the butler pushed and held open the bedroom door.
"Master wasn't much of a morning person, hm?"
Sakura exited the room, but before he did, his onyx eyes darted to the window. He caught sight of a white feather falling softly. Walking over, he swiftly grabbed it before it went down any further. In calm anger, he said,
"An omen of a someone's unwanted arrival."
Then, Sasuke crushed the quill in his hand.
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I not only act as the stem that supports you,
I act as the thorns as well.
Though,
an enemy cannot simply cut me off.
It'll take more than that to remove me from my position
Of protecting the flower.
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"Here." Sasuke stated as he placed the delicious looking (and smelling) dish in front of Sakura. "The first course meal. Enjoy your breakfast." He bowed, taking a few steps back to his rightful place beside her. She stared at him, her eyes narrowing at his blank expression: he could fool everyone else with his cool behavior, but not her.
Sakura sighed then picked up a vanilla scone, taking a bite of it. She didn't forget her manners and asked her maid after swallowing the food down. "What was it that you wanted to tell me, Hinata?" The said girl jumped, suddenly remembering, "Oh yes!" Hinata scurried out of the room, but came back just as quick with an envelope in her hand. She ran up to Sakura, bowed, and held out the envelope.
Sasuke could easily guess what was going to happen next.
"I-It's a message from Master Naruto, m'lady."
Sakura nodded as Sasuke took the letter from the maid's hands. He pulled out a small knife out of his sleeve to open it, then handed the message to his mistress. She carefully unraveled the paper and skimmed it over multiple times before emitting another sigh.
"Another troublesome thing is running our way." Leaning back, Sakura threw it over her shoulder and began pinching the bridge of her nose. "The stupid idiot…" The butler caught the piece of paper before it even had a chance to flutter away.
"What is the problem?" Sasuke raised a thin eyebrow as he glanced down at the message. Though he showed curiosity, in actuality, he knew and it was confirmed with her silent complaints.
The girl gave a frightening and strained yell, causing her female servant to jump three feet into the air and her male one to stare expectantly. "Nothing. Never mind. Just make sure that tomorrow's schedule is completely free, okay?" Sakura ordered before quickly finishing her food and exiting the room in a hurry. She left Hinata and Sasuke to clean up.
An silence dawned the two servants. Sasuke didn't have anything to say and usually said nothing if it was anyone but Sakura or Naruto. Hinata, meanwhile, was too shy to talk to anyone, especially Naruto, with the exception of Sakura. Actually, they never had exchanged words, but the two did share a common fondness of their female master.
"Mistress Sakura really cares about Master Naruto, huh…" Hinata mumbled as she picked up the dishes and forks. Sasuke watched the delicate china stacking up to a scary height.
"I'd prefer it if you'd let me bring the dishes…" His onyx eyes watched the stack of plates warily. The tower was teetering dangerously back and forth. The dark haired girl shook her head furiously and denied, "N-No, Uchiha-san, I want to clean up the d-dishes. It's the least I could do for Lady Sakura. Please." She pushed up her glasses and continued building it up at an alarming rate.
"…at least start with a smaller pile and carry that to the kitchen." Sasuke suggested as he continued to have his eyes glued at the glass. If any of those china were broken or scratched, Sakura would ignore all of them for a week. Anytime she was upset, she'd ignore anyone and everyone, keeping herself occupied with as much as work as possible and talking to anyone with the least amount of words or replies. Last time Sasuke upset her, she ignored him every day, and because she was used to being dressed by him, her outfit would be very sloppy and out of place. He inwardly snorted, trying to contain his laughter.
"A-ah, I see. Th-That's a good ide….a?" All hell broke loose when Hinata had taken a step towards the table and lost her footing, causing all the fragile items to fly into the air. Sasuke held out his hands, catching all the plates and forming a neat, tall stack of them on each hand.
"As I said before, I'd prefer it that I took care of the dishes."
The timid girl flinched and looked down, "I failed Lady Sakura, again…" She gave a sorrowful sigh but shook it off and stood up determinedly. "N-no! I'll t-try again and again if I have to, just s-so I can be useful to Mistress!"
With that, the raven haired man held out one pile, allowing her to take half of it. "Like I said earlier: Start out with a small pile." He spun around on the heel of his leather shoes and began walking towards the oak doors. Just before he left, he turned around and suggested,
"Oh. And hold them with both hands. The very last thing we want to do is upset her."
The door closed with a soft click. After a few moments of silence, Hinata to raise a thin eyebrow.
"W-well, I h-have to admit…he d-dodged the subject ah-about M-Mistress Sakura and Master Na-Naruto quite easily…" She picked up the dishes with one hand and tilted her head to the side, "I w-wonder what's uncomfortable a-about the matter." Giggling to herself, she thought of Sakura sitting on a throne and Sasuke standing loyally beside her, "He's probably jealous- Ack!" Hinata nearly dropped the dishes, but with the quick movements of the phalange bones in her feet, she caught them all with an ease. Appearances of clumsiness may be deceiving.
The said man, who happened to still be standing outside the hallway when she made the comment, snorted in irritation. He walked away quietly and grumbled under his breath,
"Of course not. I just don't feel like dealing with that idiotic angel right now."
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An angel.
A
devil.
Though both are opposites, both care for their master.
Unfortunately, that's the only thing they have in common.
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"What do you want to do today?" Sasuke asked the pink haired girl who sat in the carriage. "After work, we can go shopping, if you'd like." He suggested as he steered the black horses down the street. His pale ear caught the quiet laughs coming from behind. "What are you laughing at." Sasuke didn't ask; he demanded to know.
"You're being a bit too warm today. An adequate amount of words are coming out of your mouth, which is odd for someone like you. Where's the moody sadist that I know?" Sakura asked with a grin.
The man could feel the smirk on the young girl's face, much too similar to his own. He could feel the same trademark expression spread across his own lips.
"Well, I was just a bit curious about that letter."
"You poked your little nose into the message, didn't you." Came the accurate accusation from the usually accurate girl.
"I just happened to see it on the floor." Came an innocent reply from a not-so-innocent butler.
"Don't lie to me." Sakura smiled, her voice playful yet her face obviously painted with anger. She began to crack her knuckles.
"I don't lie, Master," Sasuke replied as he tried to hide the haughty tone in his voice, "I did happen to see it on the floor, pick it up, and read it. I never planned on giving such details, but I can never lie to you." He adjusted his black top hat.
"Really, now?"
"Of course. I'd never lie to you, Lady Sakura." The butler pulled the horses to a stop and gracefully stepped off. He opened the door and held out his hand for her to take.
"Never."
His voice held no sarcasm or secrecy whatsoever, but his beautiful face could say otherwise.
Sakura looked at him in the eye from her red, plush seats. She took his gloved hand tightly, but Sasuke could feel her grip loosen almost immediately. Her emerald eyes looked up at the shop, causing her to laugh.
"How'd you know I felt like seeing flowers?" She asked as she pulled a gold key from her pocket and inserted it into the lock. Sasuke shrugged as he pushed and held open the smooth, jade green door for her. With a snap of his fingers, the white lace curtains were pushed open to let sunlight into the room. Flowers shimmered as if it was their after-rain glow. Obviously, they were well taken care of.
"I didn't. But, I'm sure many of your regulars have been waiting for you to come back from your little vacation." Sasuke commented as he began fixing the place up; straightening out the flowers, quickly arranging small bouquets, etc. "Besides, this is both perfect opportunity to practice your flower arrangement and gain a good amount of money." Always the one who looks for the most beneficial paths.
Sakura pouted and stomped towards the back area, retorting, "We don't need money, and you know that very well. I wish we could take a break for studies once in a while." In reply, he had nothing to say to her first accusation, but about her studies, she got a stern 'Of course not.'
"In case you didn't notice," Sasuke continued as he began wrapping the bouquet in clear plastic, "my main purpose on coming here was stress relief. You've been overworking a bit more than usual." The 'over-worked girl', who was examining all the different kinds of wrapping paper and ribbons, replied, "I didn't expect you to notice." Her tone was bordering on sarcastic. Sakura shivered and commented, "I don't like this 'caring' Sasuke."
The sound of a bell rang throughout the store.
The raven haired servant made no move to greet the customer as he continued to make more mini bouquets. Sakura gave a sigh as she took hold of the red ribbon and tugged, letting the decorative item pool onto to the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced at her pinky.
"It seems a princess has run away from home yet again." She grumbled under her breath in irritation. Honestly, this person of royalty never ceases to poke her nose in trouble. What would the kingdom do if something suddenly happened to their next Queen?
"Um…Hello~? Excuse me."
Rang out the voice of the said girl.
A blonde (probably one or two years older than Sakura) stood in front of the store, looking around. Her grey cloak covered her platinum blonde hair and barely concealed her sky blue eyes. She wore an expensive looking light green dress, and it was definitely clear she was trying to hide it with the cape.
"Ah!"
The girl walked straight and quickly towards Sakura, who had caught the blonde's glance at her butler. Sasuke, though, didn't seem to care much as he began picking flowers for his next bouquet. He looked up for a second then quietly snapped his fingers, the effect being that all the red ribbon she made a mess with get pulled back into the roll.
"E-excuse me, Ms. Sakura, I need a bouquet."
Sakura laughed politely as she leaned on the desk, tilting her head to the side, "Of course. It's what half of my customers want when they step in here. What else would you need? A cake?" Among other things, she thought quietly to herself while sending Sasuke a look. All the boy did was appear angelic.
"Y-yeah…" And right on cue, the customer sent him a look. "Anyway, t-the bouquet is for my mother…she's quite ill, so…"
The Esmeralda nodded absentmindedly, whether it was because of jealousy (which she declines violently) or because she really didn't care was unknown. She then turned around and exited the room, despite the fact her customer was still talking.
"…Uhm…Okay, I'll wait here." The elegantly dressed princess trailed off and returned to sending glances to Sasuke, which bounced off his invisible stoic barrier.
Sakura quickly returned, holding a clear vase that contained water and yarrow. Tied around the small bouquet of yarrow was a white ribbon. She placed it on the counter and pushed it towards her customer.
"Here is what you call yarrow, princess." Sakura began explaining in a straight-A-student voice, "In one culture, it is known to symbolize health and healing. Though it's a rare case, it sometimes causes severe allergic skin rashes, so if you don't want to take the chance of getting one, be careful about touching it." The blonde girl did seem to care about her appearance, but Sakura tried not to judge. She continued, "Anyway, do you see the white ribbon? Do not remove it UNLESS your mother's condition has worsened to being on the brink of death. If you remove it for any situation other then that, the chances for you mother's recovery will lower. Questions?"
Her customer shook her head, seeming to make the mental note most important. With a friendly smile, she glanced once more at Sasuke and then quickly exited the store. Sakura let out a sigh as if she had been holding it in this whole time.
"Seems like the Fates are messing with me…But, it's normal for the threads of SOULdiers to be tangled with each other." She grumbled under her breath as she looked up. Her eyes seemed to be looking right through the sealing and into the sky. The girl shook her fist angrily, "The stupid…I can hear him laughing at me now! She better do something about it." Both could've sworn he heard a loud 'thunk' followed by an irritated sigh, but said nothing.
The entrance bell rang once more.
"Ah. " Sakura coughed and regained her composure, while Sasuke grunted in amusement.
"Welcome."
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The Fates;
The one who spins your thread of life.
The
one who measures your thread of life.
The one who cuts your thread of life.
The threads of SOULdiers are knotted
Not entwined neatly.
They do not sit there and try to untangle this mess.
Instead, they get rid of it altogether.
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"You idiot!" Tsunade yelled angrily as she stomped the fallen Jiraiya's face. The white haired hermit groaned in agony as he tried to deflect her hits, "Stop it! Ow! That's unfair! You can't favor that SOULdier's thread out of all the other threads! Ow! That's REALLY unfair! Ow!" The woman continued to kick him, "I'm not favoring hers! You better stop tangling her thread and Ino's thread JUST because you're hoping to see a cat fight, you hopeless TWIT." Meanwhile, Orochimaru sat quietly with his scissors and doing his work.
Tsunade, the goddess of fate who spun thread and created life.
Jiraiya, the god of fate who measure thread, deciding how long one would live and what would happen in that life.
Orochimaru, the god of fate who cut thread, deciding when it was time for someone to perish.
"Stop your bickering." The snake man hissed, snipping a life string, "Their string is spun differently than others, without Tsunade's accord. And you, Jiraiya, can't decide what will happen during their lifetime, but enough things are happening, so quit it." Orochimaru dropped the thread.
"I, myself, cannot decide their death, either. Their strings snap on their own."
What are SOULdiers?
Supernatural beings that collect souls and influence everyone and anyone, positively or negatively. They work to change the world, either to pollute or purge it is up to them. Some work they do? Ah, they could do anything they want as long as they collect souls. They have free will and free minds, but usually act as puppets without strings.
They walk a path filled with death, sorrow, and tragedy. At the end of their path? A violent annihilation. Always consumed by darkness, eventually. No matter how much they are admired or feared, and no matter how much they influenced the world; it was worthless.
Each SOULdier is unique, having different servants and influencing the world differently.
Who is Sakura?
A SOULdier.
Who is Sasuke?
He says: A mere servant who will change his master's fate.
One way or another.
"Are you finished shopping, yet?" The 'mere servant' asked as he carried the huge load of boxes effortlessly. Despite doing so, his tone seemed to hint at impatience. Sakura smiled innocently and shook her head, "Of course not." She had said this with the face of an angel but the voice of a dangerous devil.
Sasuke politely held in his sigh as he continued to follow her around. Despite his inward complaints, he felt a little light inside to see her having a day off. Besides, splurging once in a while couldn't hurt. An endless supply of money (the green paper was easy to get with someone like him around) and the rare occasions of going out combined to create a shopping day. He blinked, and she was pressed against a shop window again.
His onyx eyes rolled when he caught sight of a silver necklace with a black rose ornament, but then narrowed when he saw something in the reflection of the window. He wasn't talking about Sakura or himself, or any normal person by the matter. Sasuke quickly remember his face before the stranger disappeared into an alley.
"Master-" Sasuke started but cut himself off when she had run into the store to take a closer look at the piece of jewelry. This time, the butler couldn't hold in his sigh. Honestly, she had more energy than that blonde dead least. He reluctantly followed her inside, not caring much for all the expensive necklaces and rings incased around him. An elderly man chuckled as he saw Sasuke walking his way.
"Oh, is this your husband? What a handsome, young fellow he is." The shop owner smiled sincerely. Sasuke bowed and smiled back politely, while Sakura blushed and shook her head. "Ah! N-No, he's not…" She began to deny, but the shop owner continued to smile.
"A butler and noblewoman you may be, but love is love, is it not?"
Love, huh?
Sakura looked up. Love? Love. Do SOULdiers know love? Is love capable of being on the SOULdier's road called life? Ah, she was being uncharacteristically dark; that was Sasuke's job! She giggled, "Yes, love is love no matter who you are, but he's still not my husband." Sasuke remained silent, wearing a mysterious expression: a frown bordering on a smile? Or was it a smile bordering on a frown?
The older man disappeared in the backroom and came out holding four special looking boxes. "Here, I'll give this to you. No need to take out your money! It's free." He placed them in front of her and grinned, "This one will be perfect for you. You can choose who to give the other three to." Sakura opened the box the elder had pointed out, taking out a black pearl necklace accessorized with a white rose. She gasped out and let out a squeal, unaware of her transition from her haughty persona to her girly one.
"Thank you so much, Mr…"
"Sarutobi."
"Thanks, Mr. Sarutobi. I visit you again, soon!" Sakura bowed and quickly exited the store to her bags, carefully putting the jewelry in one. Sasuke could hear her complaining about him leaving her things outside, and what would he have done if her stuff is stolen. He was ready to follow when he was stopped by Sarutobi's comment,
"To think they have SOULdiers this young is such a sad thing."
Sasuke paused mid-step and turned around to look him in the eye. Now he understood the source of the odd energy he felt his man was strong and powerful. He was not of bad or of neutral party, but is definitely good. And he knew much more than the butler knew he did.
The raven haired boy said nothing and continued to look (maybe even glare) at Sarutobi, who chuckled in reply.
"Do not worry; I'm definitely on your side." He laughed, his words oddly reassuring, "I support you in your goal one hundred percent. You'll thank me later for gifting those necklaces to her." Sarutobi gave a smile that held both wisdom and mystery.
"So you and Naruto better take care of her, alright?"
Sasuke left the store feeling odd; was it relief? Was it anger? Was it curiosity? Whatever. He needed no emotions when it came to people other than her, so…Where was she anyway?
Looking around, he saw nothing but her bags and boxes of bought items.
Damn, he can feel the hammer starting to pound on her head.
"That idiot…" With swift movement, he had pulled a silver pocket watch engraved with the Esmeralda family crest from his pocket. Click! And it opened, ticking annoyingly for him as it showed the time he didn't want to read. Sasuke sighed exasperatedly and closed the item with a flick of his wrist.
"I hate it when someone messes up the schedule."
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Oh my! Did you try to try to touch the flower?
Did the thorns prick your fingers?
That's too bad.
I guess you're going to have to die soon.
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"…You're stupid, aren't you?"
"Shut up! Don't insult me!"
Sakura was smacked, causing her to fall unto the floor with a loud thud. She rolled her eyes and spit out the blood that came with the bruise. "And that proves me right- UMPH!" The kidnapper hissed in annoyance and kicked her stomach, "I said, SHUT UP!"
The kidnapped chuckled and sneered, "You're a coward, too. Acting like you're a big boss, yet kicking someone when they're down and their hands are tied. You obviously fear me; it shows in your eyes."
With one more kick, she decided to stay quiet. No use getting bruises just because of stating facts. She could see that the stranger had grown an ego, thinking he had finally scared her. Closing her eyes, she decided to feign a nap and listen in on his plan.
"I guess I knocked the little girly out." The man grunted and brushed off his shoulders. Sakura could hear him walking away and relaxed a little; let him keep believing what he wanted to believe. You never want to break a child's fantasies.
"Uhm, sir. Who is this person, anyway, Mr. Mizuki?" His assistant coughed uncomfortably as he looked at the pink haired girl. "If you disregard her age, she looks like a high-ranking person." Mizuki retorted, "A high-ranking person, indeed! She's the Avenging Angel."
The underling gasped and was suddenly overtaken by fear. "T-The Avenging Angel? The one who's said to reek of death and sees through all, even to the depths of your soul? I-It's said that all of her red clothes were white…once upon a time." He stopped, "But, what did she do that made you do this, Mr. Mizuki?"
Mizuki frowned and smacked a nearby vase, causing it to shatter on the floor. "Nothing. It was what her fiancé did that sent me to ruin!" He began to bite the nail on his thumb, "That blonde brat embarrassed me in front of so many other nobles, and after the incident, no one dared to have any association with me. This is my revenge!"
The pink haired girl grit her teeth. This was that idiot Naruto's fault?! When he comes, she swore- Even if he was her guardian angel, she's going to kick him into the next dimension over! And this idiot Mizuki!? How was this revenge?! It wasn't even well thought out!
The underling eyes widened, "L-Lord Naruto? But, I h-heard many things about this girl, Mr. Mizuki. They say she was the black sheep of angels, and was forced to live on earth as the grim reaper."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. Wow, this was the first time she had heard rumors about herself. Was she this feared? Probably. Like a plague. She guessed, in public, many probably didn't realize this cute girl was the Avenging Angel. She inwardly giggled at her ego.
"A-Ah…B-but, also…" The underling started as he glanced at the said man with sudden nervousness, "Th-They say…she has a scythe th-that takes shape of a man, who is with her at all t-times…Did you by any chance see him?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly, "Yes, but I was smart enough to kidnap her while he was in the store."
"Actually, kidnapping her in the first place isn't very smart at all."
Mizuki flinched and turned his head towards entrance to see his glass doors shatter into millions of pieces. His other companions quickly came out from different places, aiming their guns at the intruder. The black shadow walked calmly towards them, its footsteps echoing throughout the hall. The room's temperature suddenly dropped, and the enemies felt as if someone was crushing their insides. Sakura could see their guns shaking through her eyelashes:
So her knight has arrived.
"All this kidnapping nonsense always seems to be Naruto's fault, one way or another. I'll have to slaughter that dobe next time he comes." Sasuke sighed in annoyance as he took off his gloves, causing the gunners to raise their guard. Mizuki laughed manically as he picked up the 'Avenging Angel' by her pink locks.
"So, are you the scythe he was talking about?" The light haired man demanded, tugging her hair with every word. A smirk spread across the butler's lips, and said in a voice dripping with danger,
"I guess that's one way to describe me. More specifically, I'm the thorn-covered stem that supports the pretty flower you're holding so improperly." He seemed to be stretching as he continued walking towards them, "When handling a flower, you have to hold her delicately or a thorn like me might have to slice your fingers off. Maybe even more."
Sakura grinned, the corners of her mouth smudged with dry blood as she greeted her butler, "Why did you take so long?" Mizuki flinched back but quickly covered it up with feigned an air of arrogance, "Ha! I'd like to see you try taking another step with all these machine guns pointed at you."
Sasuke snorted, obviously not caring. "Machine guns? Why pick such a well known gun? There are a good amount of other guns out there that are more sufficient. Were you to lazy to research any? How unintelligent." He shoved his pale hands into his pockets and continued walking, slowly and agonizingly.
The white haired man could no longer take it. With a motion of his free hand, his underlings opened fire on the knowing butler, who then fell to the floor lifelessly. Sakura did not cry out.
"Look at your loyal servant now; he's like Swiss cheese." Mizuki cackled, yet underneath it all, he was panicking. He continued on, hoping to soothe his fears rather than torture his captive, "You're nothing without him, are you? Nothing!" He threw the pink haired girl across the room by the hair, her own body crashing against the marble floor.
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"…Please…get up."
Through gritted teeth, Sakura hissed in annoyance at the raven haired man. Her body was quickly overcome with lethargy due to lack of sleep. 'Always at the worst of times…' She thought as she looked at Sasuke's black clad figure that lied a few feet away from her.
This was stupid. Even though he was faking it, she still couldn't stand someone dying in front of her eyes. Sasuke was unfortunately good at acting.
An image of her brother's body appeared in her mind, and his voice calling for her name.
"Stop it! Don't fooling around! GET UP!"
Mizuki's eyebrows scrunched as he grinned with sudden overconfidence, "What? Are you serious? Telling a dead person to get up?" He chuckled and shrugged, "It's useless." Tears poured Sakura's cheeks.
Suddenly, everyone froze.
Her butler was a real bastard.
His body shifted, moved, and got up. Sasuke sighed as he held out his coat, wearing a face of repressed animosity. His voice grew more dangerous before, and his eyes glowed with an eerie blood color. The sclera of his eye turned from the normal white to a pitch black, outlining his crimson irises. Black, swirled tattoos wrapped around his face and body, making a transition from a pale white to a dark grey.
"Fine. No more fooling around."
He flexed his new claws and a smile spread across his ebony lips.
"Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked, as if naïve. "Hn. Whatever." He pulled out the black case and unsheathed the Kusanagi. The bright reflection would be the last thing these people see.
A ghostly silence engulfed the whole area, but it was soon broken by an amount of ear splitting screams.
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Without a stem, the flower's equipoise is disturbed.
A rose can no longer support herself without a stem,
And soon withers and dies.
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"Haha, you talked about holding a flower 'the right way'. You're the last person I'd expect to talk about it!"
"Be quiet. We're going to be late for dinner." Sasuke grunted as he placed all the purchased goods for the day into the carriage. Standing outside, Sakura watched him work with slight amusement. It wasn't long before he started getting annoyed by her stares and told her to the look the other way.
"The knights came to deal with the problem before it escalated into my kidnapping, but they seemed to have come a little late." She said as she changed her view from the butler to the said armor clad every-day heroes. "Nowadays, they aren't really needed unless there's a war, or on smaller cases, a riot. Actually, they're also around when some important person's in town. Seeing them is pretty cool." The pink haired girl caught a little boy running over to a red paladin, who crouched down to his height and rubbed his head.
"Which would you rather have, a butler or a knight?" Sasuke asked with a curious smile. He was loading that last packages up onto their ride. Sakura smiled at pat his head, causing him to growl in annoyance. She replied, "I'd rather have you. You're a butler, a knight, and pretty much anything else." With a satisfied smirk, he stood up and brushed off his pants.
"Aaah, we have to buy a new coat since this one was ruined." Sasuke continued; she remembered that he had been shot down by machine guns, so obviously his clothes were ruined. He had changed to spare clothes he had brought from hell, which made him look like he was from a higher class. Sasuke noticed that she was staring again and feigned sarcasm, "After all, it was from hell, so nothing can really replace it. I'll just have you pick one for me" Sakura blushed and coughed, hiding her face, retorting,
"Yeah, well, don't be surprised if it's pink- AH! Wait!"
She quickly pulled out something from her pocket. It was one of the necklaces, which she seemed to have been removed from the box. He guess she was going to give it earlier, but was then…kidnapped.
"Here." Sakura went behind him and put the necklace on; it had a silver chain and a black rose. He wasn't that much taller than her, so it was easy to reach. She then went back in front of him and gave a satisfied smile.
Sasuke touched the necklace, then smirked and opened the door, "Let's get going. The schedule left for the day has been slaughtered, so we at least quickly go home, eat, and sleep." The raven haired man grumbled under his breath as he held out his hand for her to take. Just as she was about to enter the carriage, she was soon stopped by someone's call:
"Excuse me!"
The same red knight from before ran up to them, causing Sasuke to reflexively step in front of his master. The stranger stared at him for a few seconds and then laughed sheepishly, "Oh, yeah, you probably can't recognize me with all this armor on." As the person removed his/her helmet, the voice sounded less masculine. Sakura could feel her pinky become numb, and she soon realized what was happening. With no surprise, the helmet came off to reveal a brunette wearing two buns.
Tenten,
the Spade SOULdier.
Recalling the rumor of her own clothes being dyed red, this strong woman's armor wasn't painted with crimson paint. Sakura knows for a fact that the iron was still covered in the blood it had been tainted with from many battles.
"It's good to see you again, Sakura." Tenten said as she held up her hand. The pink haired girl forced a smile as she removed her gloves and showed the half-heart tattoo that was exactly the same as her mothers. Two SOULdiers encountered in one day.
"This is fate. Accept that."
Sakura's eyes widened when the voices she had desperately tried to ignore made outbursts, shouting over and over again. Another servant was coming, really soon.
To be continued…
A/N: I just realized something. NO. TENTEN IS NOT MADEM RED.
GODDAMMIT. Now it's obvious who the next servant is.
If you're still unsatisfied, we will rewrite it as many times as you want.