Sakura's Journey

by ArashiKira

Sakura isn't your average 13 year old. She is a slender, or at least that's what she's supposed to be... As she struggles with her newly develloping powers, she must evade capture all the while surviving in the woods with only children younger than herself. Will her parents ever find her? Sequel to Nature's Spirit.

3. Chapter 3

Sakura's Journey Chapter 3 Pain in the Silent Night

When I went to change into my pyjamas, I grinned as I noticed that the marks on my back were darker than usual. They tingled when I touched them. I was slightly concerned when I went for a shower and felt a slight burning pain in their general area when the water poured on my back. I didn't question it though. If I was starting to show more and more powers, I could very well be getting tendrills of my own. I loved to watch my dad, especially when he was using his tendrills. They were dark, shadowy and semi-transparent. He often used them when he was working in the garage or doing work around the house, holding all kinds of things and even hammering in nails or changing a lightbulb. I was also familliar with how they felt to the touch, both warm and cold at once. They were soft and smooth, like some kind of fabric used in pyjamas or something. I also remembered something else my dad had told me though. "Now Sakura, you see, when I first got my tendrills, it was awfully painful. It's not fast either. I had to stay home for over a week just to learn to controle them enough so that I could hide them." He was just 6 years old when this happened to him...

I was reminded of these words even more when I went to lie down to go to sleep. It started as just a mild discomfort, but soon, my back was in agony. I had to lie down on my stomach and tears pricked at the corner of my eyes. I got used to the burning pain and managed to ignore it, drifting slowly to sleep. My sleep, be it short or long, was interrupted though when, in the dead of the night, I felt the pain intensify. I cried out and gasped, bringing a hand to my back as I felt the four spots that were there. They burned as though they were set on a fire made of ice and snow and I managed to feel slight bumps there. I tried to get up and head over to the door, but fell to my knees before I could get halfway across the room. I bit down on my own tongue as I felt a pain rip through my back, followed by a horrible pulling sensation. Then, the pain died down. The burning in my back lessened to the point that I felt something heavy drapped down on it through the fabric of my pyjama shirt. The instant this registered in my mind, my eyes snapped open. I tilted my head back and gasped. In the darkness of the night, I could indeed see a set of four tendrills, each about 5 feet long, protruding from my back. They hung limply on the ground, looking lifeless. I tentatively moved my arm back to try to touch one, but the simple movement of my shoulderblades from this action brought a new wave of pain through me.

I winced and tried to get up, feeling weighed down. I struggled for balance but managed. At this point, they burned once again. I actually tried to take off my pyjama shirt, but it was as though they were part of the fabric too, having fuzed with it. I could do nothing to lessen the pain. There was only one person I knew who could help me right now. I struggled to advance, making my way to the door. My new apendages dragged on the floor, reigniting the burning pain. I wasn't even 10 feet out of my room before I leaned against the wall in the hallway, out of breath. The stairs that led to my parents' room on the top floor was just at the end and then the room was right beyond the stairs. It was only about 10 steps up, yeah, I could make it. I overestimated my self... I was barelly at the front of the stairs before it became unbearable. I collapsed on my knees once again, this time letting the tears out. For this being something I anticipated my whole life, I hadn't expected it to be this much torture. Squible scampered over from his little bed in my room and came by my side. I reached my hand up to him and scratched his head lightly. He sniffed one of the shadowy tendrills and I winced in pain when his little snout brushed up against it. My attention was brought back to my current mission. Swallowing back tears, I looked up at the top of the stairs once again. I knew I couldn't make it.

"D-Daddy? Daddy!" My voice wavered. I ached everywhere. I started to cry again. I heard very light footsteps and felt a very powerful presence at the top of the stairs. I cast a slight glance through my thick curled hair. My dad was up there, in his boxers. He was currently in human form and was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, not appearing entirely aware of his surroundings, then, his sky blue eyes fell on me through the darkness. "Sakura? Oh my God Sakura!" He rushed all the way down the stairs and kneelt down beside me. "You made it all the way here from your room?" I looked up at his face and nodded a bit. My head felt heavy and I was exhausted. He picked me up in his arms, being careful so nothing came into contact with my new tendrills. It felt as though I had lines sunken into the skin of my back with heavy stones attached to them. They also burned and felt numb. In other words, not very comfortable. I barelly registered the other set of footsteps at the top of the stairs, or the gasp as my mom ran down. "Tom, what happened?!" He looked up to her and smiled faintly. "Our little Kura's got tendrills." I felt the pride rayonating from them. I might have cared if I wasn't this tired.

My dad carried me to my room and laid me down on my bed, pulling the blankets back up to my waist. He scooped up all four tendrills and placed them differently. I winced and screwed my eyes shut in pain at the contact, but when he let go, I had to admit it was pretty comfortable. He kissed my forehead gently, strands of his curled brown hair tangling with mine. I had gotten my hair from him. He stood up and left the room, shutting the door quietly. I vaguely heard him talking to my mom. "Get a wet cloth, an ice pack and some scissors. We might want some medicine ready, she'll most likely get a fever." If they spoke more after that, I didn't hear it. Squible jumped up on the bed and curled up next to my neck, burying his little head under my chin. My eyelids felt so heavy and, despite the pain, sleep came very easily.

AN: Heeeeeeeeeey! Ya. I'm probably not gonna write a chapter tomorrow, and technically, this is tomorrow compared to the day at which I started writing this chapter. I hope the story is ok so far. I think it's much better than my previous one...I'm expecting a minimum of 45 000 words from this one. And if I don't meet that mark by the end, well...I'LL MAKE IT LONGER! I hope this is ok...please let this be ok ;-;