WanderingRurouni's Collection of One-shots and Short Stories
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(Started 4/22/2014 - Published 4/24/2014)
Chapter 5: Walk with Me, Down the Road to Eternity.
CONTINUITY: One-shot
INSPIRED BY: r/WritingPrompts - Everyone in the world has a clock that counts down to the moment you meet you soulmate. Your clock is on its last hour. What are your feelings? Thoughts? And what happens when you meet him/her. By Anzum
I saw this prompt, and I just had to write something.
NARRATION: Third Person, Omniscient
MAIN CHARACTERS: Naruto/Sakura
RATING: T
GENRE: Romance/Another Unspecified Genre(HINT: It's my first time writing in this type of genre.)
SETTING: Modern Universe, Unspecified City
WORD COUNT: 1,777
WARNINGS: You'll spoil the ending if you scroll all the way down to the end Author's Notes. Also, this is a very bias piece of writing, I guess you could say that I have some of my ideas in it, as well as what I believe to be a "soul mate."
I'm not here to debate anyone, just here to express it in a more creative way.
DISCLAIMER: One-shot, so they'll be shorter, I know that I set a "standard" for my first story, but in all honesty, if there won't be a great amount of continuity, and chances are, the chapters won't be too long.
OTHER NOTES: Characters are likely to be very Out of Character, due to the setting.
It was a rather strange device that was strapped to his wrist. He'd had it since birth; some type of customary religious mandate by the state. It was believed that every child had a purpose in life. For every man, there was a woman; and for every woman, there was a man; determined by Fate, Destiny, The Universe, or God, each child was given a watch, which supposedly counted down the time until you met the person you were going to spend the rest of your life with.
Fate would determine who you would be with, and when the clock struck zero, the person that you were with would be the person you would be with forever.
It was the plan that divinity had in mind for you; and he was raised to believe in it.
He stared at it while sitting alone on a bench late at night; it seemed odd, but for some reason, he always found peace in the solitude of the night. Those times that he really needed to think, to have some time to himself, this was always his first answer, a quiet bench, just on the outskirts of a park, next to a regularly busy street. But at this time of night, it seemed barren. Just the way he liked it. The watch on his wrist was counting down, and now it was in its final minutes.
...
24 Hours until the countdown ends; Current Time: 9:00PM
...
"Hey, Naruto! Open up!" A voice called out from behind his door, accompanied by an annoying knocking. "You're in there, aren't you?!" The voice intruded again. Naruto let out an annoyed sigh while walking to his door. He looked through the peep hole, an automatic reaction to hearing others requesting entrance to his home.
"What do you want, Chouji? Can't you just leave me alone?" He cried out while leaning against the door.
"We're going out to eat! Come on!" He continued to knock on the door.
"Chouji, seriously, just leave me alone!"
"Naruto…" Chouji started in a low voice. "Look at the watch you have on your hand." He instructed, Naruto followed and looked closely at the digital digits. "Do you think that your soul mate will just come and knock on your door, as you sit in there?"
"Well…" No he didn't believe it. But in the same notion, the anxiety of finding out who he would be with was tying a knot in his stomach. "…I guess you're right." He let out a sigh of defeat. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Good! We're going out for drinks!"
…
23 Hours until the countdown ends; Current Time: 10:00PM
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He sat in a crowded, loud, and confined space, surrounded by others who seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. The knot in his stomach seemed to grow exponentially with every passing minute as he watched the countdown his final moments.
"Come on! Naruto! Have a drink!" A visibly inebriated Chouji shouted while wrapping his hand around Naruto's neck.
For being a big guy, Chouji, you sure get drunk easily.
He smiled and clinked his glass against Chouji's. He brought it to his lips, but didn't actually take a sip.
"See! Doesn't that make you feel better?!"
"Yeah, it feels great." He sat up from the table. "I'll be back." He dismissed himself before walking through the crowds. Unseen by the company that had followed him, he slipped out of the establishment and made his way back home.
He walked back home, the outside seemed as if the air was lighter, it was indeed quieter, and an aura of peace engulfed the entire atmosphere. He took a deep breath, and let the crisp oxygen enter his nostrils while staring up into the night sky. Taking in the sounds of the night, he closed his eyes and began to let his footsteps guide him, swaying from side to side, he moved rather carelessly through the street.
"Ouch!" He heard a woman shout before also taking in the sound of a crash to the ground, and a paper bag wrinkling upon itself.
"S-Sorry!" He cried out while opening his eyes. "Are you alright?!" He offered a hand to a woman with pink hair and pulled her up to her feet. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and I-" She looked into his, and he nearly lost himself within the emerald glow in hers.
"It's okay." She smiled as he bent down to pick up the items that he had knocked over. "I'll ask the clerk in this shop if we can use another bag, its okay." The pink haired woman ran out of his sight, and disappeared into the warm glow of a nearby convenience store.
Wow…She's…She's stunning. He thought to himself. Could she be…
He looked down at his watch.
No, she couldn't be. He thought again with a deep sigh.
"Sorry for the wait!" She cried out again while returning. "Here, put them in this bag." She offered him a new paper bag that he unraveled and began placing items in. "By the way," she spoke calmly. "My name is Sakura. Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you." She held out a hand.
He blankly stared at her for a moment.
"Naruto." He spoke. "Uzumaki Naruto. It's an honor." He took her hand and bowed down while shaking it. He handed her the bag, now filled with her groceries. "Again, I'm sorry that I was spacing out there."
"It's okay, don't worry." She breathed a breath. "It's been nice meeting you." She smiled as she began to walk away.
"I feel the same way." He replied before taking off into the opposite direction.
…
14 Hours until the countdown ends; Current Time: 8:00AM
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He woke up from his slumber with the Sun's rays that entered his house. Something was off. He couldn't sleep that night. The only image that dominated his mind was the image of her deep, entrancing emerald eyes. He couldn't stop thinking of her. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn't his call, it was Destiny's decision.
And he still had fourteen long hours until he'd find the answer. He went among his day as usual, attending his office job, and went through the motions.
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10 Hours until the countdown ends: 12:00PM
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Lunch break. He wasn't hungry, she was still running through his mind. But he had to tell her how he felt. Never before had someone been so prevalent in his mind. He didn't eat lunch. He just wandered the streets, hoping to catch a glance, bump into her, and stike up a conversation again.
He looked for her for the entirety of the hour he was given.
But he was never able to find her.
And it felt as if Destiny had dealt him an unfair hand, tempting him like this, only to end up ripping it away from his grasp.
He needed time to clear his head. He needed time to be alone.
…
5 Minutes until the countdown ends; Current Time: 8:55PM
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And here's where he found himself, sitting on the bench, alone in the dark quiet of the night. Waiting.
If "Fate," "Destiny," "The Universe," or "God" existed, and really had a plan for everyone, now would be the perfect time to execute it.
He slowly watched the clock count down, and in its final moments. He closed his eyes.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
0.
He opened his eyes, and saw two black boots standing before him. He looked up at her, and stared deep into her emerald eyes. She overturned her wrist, gazed at her watch, and returned her eyes to his. She smiled, bringing a smile to his face as well.
"Is this seat taken?" Sakura asked him.
"No, go ahead." He replied. She brought herself next to him, and slightly tilted her right wrist. He replied by tilting his wrist; both of them caught a glimpse of their respective watches, and looked at one another.
"Fate works in mysterious ways." Sakura spoke. "Why did you come here?" she asked. He took a deep breath.
"I needed some time to clear my head." He admitted.
"Really? What's been bothering you?"
"There's one thing that I couldn't get out of my mind."
"What was that?"
He took a deeper breath before admitting it.
"The truth is…The only thing that has been in my mind was…you."
She stared at him with blood rushing to her face, a smile crept upon her lips.
"I came here for the exact same reason." She admitted.
There was something they could not explain. He took her hand, and moved closer to her. She took hold of his hair, and rested her forehead against his.
"There's just something here that feels…right." She whispered.
"Something that feels like it was just meant to happen." He replied.
…
They heard the sound of a horn interrupted their thoughts.
"LOOK OUT!" Naruto called out as he wrapped his arms around her, and turned away.
The vehicle struck him, and continued to accelerate until it crashed into a tree.
…
When he opened his eyes, he felt light. He felt as if he was floating in the air, standing on a cloud, as if he had no worries in the world. He looked up at the silver sky; he gazed around him to see himself surrounded by bright green meadows. He looked in front of him, and saw beautiful white shores on the horizon.
He knew where he was.
A pulse of energy came from behind him, he turned to see the air blurring as if there was a heat wave that disturbed his vision. The air began to form.
And when it did, he saw Sakura standing before him.
They were speechless, only communicating through their eyes. They understood the gravity of the situation, but could not bring themselves to shed tears.
"I never knew too much about you, Uzumaki Naruto." She spoke.
"That's one thing I regret." He replied. She brought her expression up and smiled.
"But you know what they call this, don't you?"
He looked down to find a path that lead to the white shores in the distance.
"Eternity Road." He replied.
"That's right…And it's our one chance to finally learn much more about each other."
She extended her hand.
"So, walk with me. Uzumaki Naruto. Walk with me, down the road to eternity."
He took her hand, and followed her every step.
And together they walked, down a never ending road; together, until the end of time itself.
…
…
…
…
A/N: Mystery Genre: TRAGEDY.
But it's only a tragedy if you choose to see it that way.
Until next time, and as always:
Thanks for reading!