Updating this early, because I had a lot of freetime this weekend and I will be busy for the next week or so ;w;
I'mma firin' mah lazar? xD Lawl, I love to have fun. I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter with the intense cliffhanger ewe I don't regret it at all, sooo...-dodged chairs and bricks- It was all out of love, I tell you! All my love goes to you guys with the amazing Followers/Favoriters; your kindness melt my heart and I can't thank you all enough, even though I wish I was a millionaire so I can send you all cupcakes ('cause everyone loves cupcakes). I still have winter weather here and it's snowing so much more now owe'' I feel like I want to share it with places who don't get snow, but...I claim it as mine D: I'm sorry but the snow ish mine!
Great feedback from the song I put into the last chapter, thanks to those who took part into it and had fun! x3 I will try to add in some more inspiring songs for this fanfiction, but I still need to pick a song for Sakura's music box (crap, I haven't had time to find one yet!), so there will still be your imagination to guess what Sakura's song is ;w; I want it to be perfect but... SO MANY CHOICES.
REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that need answers)-
16craftytigers- Your request of longer chapters is actually in the tough process QwQ I'm trying to make them longer, but there are things I don't wish to show yet, or it would make a better for the next chapter (cliffhangers...what can I tell ya?). I'm actually in college classes, but I kinda go carefree with writing stories on here, it's like a hobby for me and it helps to improve for me. Thank you though, and enjoy yourself!
harusaki-tsukiko- Always expect the unexpected, dear C: You never know what I'm gonna do, honestly xD I'm a simple nut, ne? I'm sure all your questions of Ino will be answered in this chapter, and so is Kiba. Don't hurt your pretty head, bitte! Q.Q
ImmaPiratte- Two reviews by the talented reader? Amazing! Okay, I shall answer the first Review: I'm glad that you're reading Black Bird and enjoying it C: And don't think that every little thing from that particular manga is going to be in the story, 'cause I'm doing it my way whether the world likes it or not. And I'm glad you liked the song from Red Riding Hood, they featured one of my favorite bands on there and I was just like 'lawwwwl~'. And, yes, longer chapters mean longer waits xD... And I hate doing that to amazing readers like you. And to your second Review: I really don't care for the Bah person, honestly. Their words really are not worth my time if they are simply going to complain about how I talk o.o" I didn't get the Fruit Basket thing, since I don't read it, but that is their opinion; I'm not going to spend my time replying to it so... xD Yeah. Honestly, I've heard worse. Compared to the Bah person, I have actually had worse PMs about how people 'threatened' (is that the proper term?) about taking my story off for some worthless reason. People's negativity is not worth my time and I only refered that Author's Note to them and I'm done. I don't respond to the negative ones.
Anonymous(Guest)- Thank you and I'm very glad you liked the dance scene; don't I wish I can have a birthday like that minus the hungry monsters? Yes... I really do want a party like that.
To all those negative reviews I recieved... Haters gonna hate ;3 If you don't like it, don't read it and have a nice day!
You guys all know what to do to get Kitty into the fuzzbally mood for winter seasons? Following, Favoriting, Reviewing or doing nothing will get me ready to embrace the coldness of my wintry homeland! Everyone enjoy the chapter and have an amazing day!
=xxx=
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Traveling between worlds is rather difficult, you see...
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Not knowing what is on the other side or knowing what is going on back home.
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Paranoia is the worst enemy.
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Hopefully, to see your face, it will put my heart to ease;
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Only this time...you won't be a dream.
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Tasting Flesh
Chapter Five
Sakura's head was hurting like someone took aim to her skull with a metal pipe. Throbbing pain and drowsy slurs of her thoughts proved unworthy to her sensitive nerves and personality as she tried to fight off the pain, which will prove worthless in her attempt...
Because, it freakin' huuurts!
With an uneasy groan, Sakura forced her eyes to open wide and rejected the pure white light that burned her emerald orbs like dry wood to a little flame. Crying out, Sakura fisted her hands to her face and shield her eyes; rubbing her lids furiously to ease the uncomfortable numbness from the intake of the flash. Was she dead? Was she in a hospital or something? What happened?
"Fuuu..." Sakura breathed out in a croak, taking the courage to try again to open her eyes one more time. With all her effort, Sakura cracked open her eyes to let it adjust to her surroundings. Her hands slowly let go from her cheekbones to inspect better.
She was in her bedroom. The window open to let in the bright sunshine of spring and the smell of the cherry blossom trees to fill the room, birds chirping a melody as if it was just any other day. Slowly moving her head around, minding the painful headache that was thunderous, she looked down to see that her attire was different from what she remembered; she doned her favorite pajamas of pink silk and red lining of hearts patterns all over it. Her hair was let out of the decorative braid Ino and her mother did with flowers and the twig tiara Inoichi presented to her. All was stripped off her slim body and replaced with sleepwear like any other night Sakura would slip under her covers.
Something shift by Sakura's body, cuddling closer to her side as her head snapped to the side- which turned out to be a bad deal, a sharp pain hit the crown of her head that she had to press her palm against her pastel hair. Wincing a bit, Sakura found the face of her best friend, Yamanaka Ino, sleeping away in dreamland in her own pajamas of a purple tank and grey shorts. Her hair was a rat's nest, blond strands matted from tossing and turning on a pillow and neglect of brushing before bed, Ino simply looked like she was sleeping restlessly.
"Ino..." Sakura mumbled lightly, removing the hand on her head to shake her friend's arm gently. "Ino-chan...wake up, please."
Whining softly, Ino instantly let her bright eyes open to greet the sore pinkette. Ino, despite looking like hell and having lack of sleep, flashed a bright smile with pearly teeth. "Goodmorning, gorgeous! You know, I would love waking up to this lovely face right here every day," Ino purred as she pat Sakura's red cheek gently. "Sakura-chan, I want to have a Seme and Uke with you! I call being Seme."
Sakura didn't have the energy to give back remarks. "Ino-chan...my head hurts really bad. What happened last night at the fire?" Sakura watched Ino sit up and push the covers off of her legs to get her slippers.
"What fire? We hung out here until, like, three in the morning," Ino said in a cautious tone. "You must've had a dream or something, because there was nothing involved with fire last night."
"What?" Sakura sat up fast, her head spinning from the quick move as she gripped the blanket tightly. "You arranged a party behind the monument heads with a giant bonfire; you invited Kiba and everyone and we danced! Kiba danced, then he-" she swallowed thickly "-t-then you pulled me into a dance...and then I lost you! I was starting to panic and then a little kid guided me into the woods and Kiba attacked me-!"
"What kind of messed up dream did you have, missy?" Ino snapped, flicking Sakura's broad forehead. "We didn't see Kiba last night, we never went out! You know your grandmother doesn't allow you off the property after six, you billboard-brow. She'd kill me if I ever thought of a plan like that!"
"You've been planning the party for weeks and-!"
"Look, you must have a illness or something," Ino cooed softly, pushing Sakura's shoulders for her to lie down again on her futon bedding. "You said your head hurts, right? I'll go get you some tea and something to snack on, so you stay here and rest. God, you must've eaten too much sugar before bed; all we did last night was hang out and dressed Pakkun up like those purse doggies!" Ino squealed quietly and left the room with a final note. "Don't you dare leave that bed!"
Sakura laid there stunned, her heart thumping in her chest hard as her head throbbed equally. She was uncomfortable, confused and scared to the bone. Last night was not a dream, and something was going on with Ino because Sakura can not recall a single memory of what her best friend claimed to have happened. The warmth of the fire felt real, Kiba's soft touches on her hips were real too, being led by that little girl who looked exactly like Sakura-
'That little girl looked like me...' Sakura thought slurry-like, her eyes half-lidded as she stared at her ceiling. 'She wasn't a dream... Kiba attacked me with those...scary, scary...eyes.' Her head swimming in dense syrup, Sakura closed her eyes in a groan and allowed darkness to consume her again back to a light sleep while she waited for Ino to come back with tea. She pulled her covers to her mouth and snuggled her head into her futon pillow, sighing softly to try and empty her head.
She wanted to let go and forget about things for a while, hoping that the headache would stop and Sakura could take a bath in the bathing house outback of the Haruno Shrine.
Chiyo and Sasori were silently eating their breakfast when Ino burst in with harsh breathing. They both looked up to her wide eyes and uneasy expression as she forced herself to calm down and stroll into the kitchen over to the stove where the kettle sat in waiting to be poured. Chiyo's eyes narrowed at the back of the girl's head and she simply resumed back to eating her breakfast noodles.
Sasori didn't neglect Ino's strumming heartbeat. "Ino, is Sakura awake now?"
Ino nodded slowly, careful as she made the tea in a big mug. "Yeah, just a moment ago... She has a really bad headache right now, so I'm going to give her some tea and maybe a muffin. She looks really beaten up."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Chiyo chipped in quietly. "Last night's events caused quite a stir around town... It was sad to hear about the Inuzuka kid though, Ino."
A free plate shattered by Chiyo's head, splintering into hundreds of pieces and fell to the ground. A vein popping on Ino's flawless skin, her eyes blazed in a firey passion of violence and fear at the same time. There was no way she was showing complete respect to the elderly woman anymore.
"You know very well what I had to do," Ino hissed deeply, sounding completely different from her usual perky voice. "Kiba's soul was completely possessed by the demon, and I had no choice but to end both of them unless you wanted a well-fed monster and a psyco-maniac teenager running around Konoha. I tried to have Kiba, I really did, Chiyo!"
Chiyo placed her chopsticks elegantly and glanced up to the angered girl. "I know...but you could have done something to save that human's life. I know you're not educated in saving human lives, but I know you had tried your best, but...the human residence of Konoha will surely be curious of the two dead bodies in the forest where a party was thrown."
"I erased all the teenagers' memory of the bonfire," Ino claimed as she squared her shoulders. "They all think they went to a party at the school, which would be in the complete opposite direction from the forest! I also planted drugs into Kiba's bloodstream to make it look like an overdose homicide and suicide."
"They will still find something, Ino," Chiyo muttered. "They always find something that doesn't fit the scene of the crime."
Ino held the mug with both hands, the liquid shaking within the cup but barely dropped onto the floor. "I thought I would make everything alright if Sakura remembered about the door, Chiyo. I wanted Sakura to remember everything so badly before he came through!"
Sasori sighed. "Those barriers are unmovable until we can get her to you-know-who, Ino. But you know Sasuke isn't going to be happy about hearing about the party-crasher."
"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Ino yelped, going slightly pale. "You wouldn't do that!"
"Sasuke won't do anything bad to you," Sasori grinned almost cheerfully at her reaction. "You're Sakura's best friend and I doubt Sasuke would dare to kill you."
Ino grunted in anger at Sasori's teasing, squaring her shoulders a little higher as she grabbed a muffin from inbetween the two demons eating and stomped out. Chiyo picked her chopsticks back up and resumed eating the fruits that were set on the side for her; her face absolutely calm and serene, yet the eyes were pained. "I worry about this, Sasori..."
"I know," he nodded in response. "But this was bound to happen someday, right?"
"Hai."
"Then we should let destiny take the wheel and hope for the best then, right...Momma?" Sasori took hold of Chiyo's free hand, squeezing lightly in reasurance as he held all his bravery within his mind and soul.
Chiyo couldn't resist that smile. That smile resembled the very look of Sasori's father and her husband before he left to protect his family. "You're right... Thank you, Sasori."
Outside of the kitchen, when Chiyo and Sasori let their senses stay within the kitchen's walls as they picked up the shattered plate, Ino pressed her back against the cold wall in the hallway, her eyes still wide with a coat of unshed tears glittering in the dark. She clung one hand to the mug that held Sakura's tea and the other held the muffin that was now being suffocated but not breaking into crumbs. Her face scrunched up as she shut her eyes tightly, allowing the tears to fall out and drip to the floor.
Never before had Yamanaka Ino killed anyone in her life.
The spell was working perfectly. Ino smiled brightly when she saw Sakura walk away from the hypnotized teenagers and fire to follow the glowing form of her own memories, one that Ino prefered since Sakura dressed so adorably in her red cloak as a child; she twirled onto her toes as she sighed out happily. Everything was going perfectly her way.
Her plan was to have Sakura's past guide her to the door where Chiyo had told Ino that Sasuke was going to enter from, allow their eyes to meet for the first time in years and have those god damn barriers knocked down by the power of intense love. Corny, sure, but Ino had heard stories from her parents of the ability for the thickest barriers to be torn down by the power of one's love for another; and, let's not get carried away, Ino remembered Sasuke being a hunky man from the gods!
She could just remember when she would find Sakura running in the forest with Sasuke, chasing or running away from him in her red cloak as she tried to hide behind Ino's back. Ino would always protect Sakura when she asked for it, even if it was from the coolest, hottest piece-of-yummy-meat that was going to give her best friend the future she deserved; she would stand her ground and growl at Sasuke while he scoffed off her weak voice.
Well, when he gets a taste of Ino's fist, he wouldn't be scoffing at her anymore!
"Kiss my ass, Uchiha!" Ino laughed victoriously, knowing that he couldn't hear her right now. Ino was in too much of a great mood to let anything stop her now, not even-
Ino's baby blue eyes snapped into an alert when she sensed another body follow Sakura into the dark woods, once weak and innocent was now being consumed like a dark smoke that ate the soul like a spider with a fly on its web; circling it's trap around the weak thing and kill it with a single bite. Her head swirled around as she saw the back of Kiba's body, slowly bending backwards with a pained look on his face.
Kiba's backbend was impossible for a human to perform, being possessed by a demon couldn't even allow that. But the snap of his spine gave way to Ino that Kiba wouldn't have felt anything anymore...being completely gone under that blanket of evil and hunger. Kiba's pupils dialated and continued to expand until no white was shown, his jaw disconnecting from its socket as the gums of the human boy began to bleed as his teeth grew an inch longer then normal and pointed to a sharp edge. The skin of his face stretched and torn as he smiled evily at Ino upside-down, knowing fully well what she was thinking.
Unable to tolerate the monster any longer, Ino let out a high-pitched shriek of bloody murder at the beast before her and allowed her canine fangs to be exposed to the sharpest point. Her eyes glittered in flaming anger against the bonfire as her nails grew longer into claws. She was angry. She had allowed the demon to stay in the party, as long as he didn't touch Sakura any longer, and usually these kind of demons would listen to the blonde teenager, but this was just too far; eating the boy's soul like candy and now going after Sakura...
Kiba howled giddy until he ran into the forest at full speed, taking in Sakura's overflowing scent of quenching his thirst, his hunger...his need to consume the rare blood of unknown power.
"No!" Ino cried out in fury as she ran in her flats, ignoring the holwing teenagers as they continued to party in their spell that Inoichi, his wife and daughter took the time to distract from their normal lives to live a little, to make them believe they are at a innocent party. Her hair came undone from her usual ponytail as she ran as fast as she could after the demon. She was taught to protect, to serve the Forbidden Fruit to death!
Ino loved Sakura like her own sister. There was no way that her life should end like this, especially when Ino was trying to save Sakura's mind and memories. She was going to stop this in the only way she knew how.
Ino sensed the door near, and Sakura's hypnotized body crouching in pain, holding her head as she whimpered 'You're not real' to the memory of Sakura's childhood. It pained Ino that Sakura was scared to remember anything, even if it was nothing scary. She heard Sakura call out Kiba's name and a sudden scream of fear as the moon unveiled itself from behind the dark clouds of night; the scream that only a dying human would do before it was cut short.
Bursting into the clearing, Ino found the possessed Kiba holding Sakura's skull against a tree, slamming her soft hair against the hard bark of the frozen tree. There was no scent of her blood, but Ino definitely knew that it tore the thin, bloodless layer of skin, not to mention it was hurting her skull. The free hand the possessed Kiba had began roaming around Sakura's torso, his nails touching the bare flesh to feel the softness and smooth skin Sakura had. He groped Sakura's small breast and freely chuckled in pleasure.
"Soft, soft... So soft and pretty," he said out loud in a crazy laugh, his shoulders bouncing as he squeezed Sakura's chest, causing her to squirm harshly but proved worthless. "Forbidden Flower so soft and pretty... Yummy, yummy!"
Sakura cried out, inaudible words to the human ears, but Ino could see that she was still thinking of the child-self of her past, trying to call out to her and unable to see Ino's aurora flaming higher then the bonfire; running fast and crazily when 'Kibas' disconnected jaw opened and readied itself to take a bite of Sakura's soft flesh.
Ino yanked him away, sending him flying through the doorway that sparked from impact of the body, letting the possessed boy scream at Ino in agonizing pain. Ino knew, from just feeling it, the door was opening; the spark came back, a milisecond longer this time, as Ino and Kiba's hands collided in a pushing-stance, eyeing each other challenging as they snarled and bit at each other. The sound of Sakura's pained whimpers caught Ino's attention as she took a second of her time to glance at her, letting Kiba to throw her away and try again to get to Sakura.
It proved foolish when Ino grasped his ankle and yanked him back, wrestling until she pinned Kiba to slam his head against the ground. She snarled at him. "You will not touch her!" Ino screamed at his face. "She isn't yours' to claim, you scum! Back off!"
The doorframe behind Ino sparked, making a 'bzz' noise in the process that caused the demon below Ino to freeze, his underbite pricked the skin as he yelped in fear. The widening of his eyes showed his enemy that he knew what was now becoming present now: the door was opening to allow the Prince Demon God through and slay any demon that dared to be within feet of Sakura, especially in pain. Unforgiving and merciless, the demon shrieked in fear and let all his guard down away from Ino as it tried to release it's possession on Inuzuka Kiba.
The jaw of the teenaged boy connected once more and the teeth went back to the normal size, the skin still torn from the stretching as the eyes leaked out tears from the blackness. The mouth opened again and two hands frantically pushed out and choked the unconsious boy as the demon inside tried to escape from the body it took over. It was pointless, since the demon had eaten the kid's soul and would have left the host in a maniatic-state of mind; becoming just as deadly for Sakura to encounter any longer...
He is a threat. Ino's father and mother taught her what to do with a threat.
Ino's eyes stung with tears as she bit back her sob and she grabbed the hand with one, and the other was slowly reaching to Kiba's throat.
Snap. Snap.
Ino had no choice last night. She had to kill her friend -a child she grew up with and befriended!- in order to protect Sakura and the demon who had eaten Kiba's soul and attempted to ruin everything Sakura's life was meant to be. All Ino wanted was to have Sakura to be with the one who was meant to love her. With the events that left Sakura to pass out, Ino had no choice but save her own self from Sasuke's chance of seeing his bride in pain and unconcious, she had to pick up her best friend and run back to the Haruno Shrine. Being ignored by Chiyo and had the help from Sasori with changing her clothes and burning the evidence outback with a backup story.
No choice. Ino had to do it.
Going up the stairs and down the hallway, Ino entered the bedroom to find Sakura sleeping again. Relief rushed over Ino's thoughts as she sighed quietly and strolled over to the bedside; placing the mug and muffin under the lamp and crawled in next to Sakura. She flipped the quilt over herself and wrapped her arm around Sakura's slim waist and pressed her front to Sakura's back.
'All I want right now...is just to pretend that you remember, Sakura-chan,' Ino told in her mind, a sad smile on her lips as she rest her head on the pillow. 'When we would be little and share a bed for sleepovers, looking for adventure in the woods together and try to catch rabbits in the winter, picking flowers in the spring... Sasuke can be there too, if he wanted. Just as long as we would be happy like old times.'
=xxx=
Pakkun sniffed the remains of the burnt wood of the fire that took place last night. He could make out that teenage boys, between the ages of sixteen to nineteen, helped to gather the wood since their scent was still embedded in the ashes and it was started by a educated lad with a match and some newspaper. The leaves and grass that suffered from the intense flame fluttered from the morning breeze to the standing trees that witnessed the party last night. No human lingered in the forest behind the monument heads, with the tall figure standing infront of Pakkun's way, causing the mutt to look up from his snooping with perked ears.
The shadow of the woods refused to show the details of the person, yet the red eyes with three black commas stood out from all the earthy colors of springtime. Pakkun dropped his guard and wobbled over towards the edge of the woods to bow his head to his front paws.
"Sasuke, I hope the travel went well?" Pakkun spoke softly, knowing the effects of traveling through worlds will make all your senses sensitive for a bit. "Sorry for the mess here, Ino settled a party with her classmates."
"Hn," Sasuke responded, uncaring for Ino's activites. He took a brief moment to stick his hand out of his cloak ad pinch the bridge of his nose, smelling the faint ash and sweat of human bodies bothered him so much. Even his speech sounded drained. "What is today's date, Pakkun?"
"It is March twenty-ninth, your highness," Pakkun perked lightly, turning around to go back to sniffing the remains of red cups. "Your spare clothes are over there on the log, sir; Chiyo washed them so they didn't smell like being in a box."
"I would rather take a bath first, if I can," Sasuke grunted, rubbing his palm against his eyes and reopened to show black gems. "It has been a very long wait."
"I'm afraid that would be a bad idea, Sasuke," Pakkun hesitated to glance back before resuming his sniffing-route. He wasn't happy that Chiyo sent him out to make sure Ino did a proper job hiding any evidence of demonic works, and Sakura's scent along with that note. Pakkun concluded that she did a thorough job cleaning up after herself, especially with that Kiba boy's body. "You see...Chiyo is still trying to dust everything and you know how picky she is with things like that."
"Aa. I remember."
Pakkun was thrilled in his head. It wasn't everyday that his white lies would actually work, especially to the Demon God's son, Uchiha Sasuke. His little pig-like tail wiggled a bit before he started digging in the dirt, finding some teenage girl's hoop earring that would have flipped off from lack of protection; surely to find it's owner later wearing short skirts for Pakkun to glance up to. He heard Sasuke slowly shift to sit down on the grass and watch the dog move around frantically.
"This must have been some party..." Sasuke with lack of interest, yet he was already bored out of his mind for his escort to finish his inspection so he can leave and bathe properly. He wanted to get the smell of Dobe off as fast as he could; damn Naruto and his 'cuddling' moods.
"Yeah, I guess it was to celebrate your arrival or something? She's been bragging about her dream to surpass you in a spar," Pakkun explained cooly, earning an amused smirk from the prince himself. "Although, we can already guess that she's a bit in the head, right?"
"Correct." Sasuke rested his chin on his palm, tapping his pointer finger to his temple and hoping to let the power of this world's nature to ease his mind of any trouble about back home. He closed his eyes slowly and listened to the noise of nature; the sound of the robins chirping, leaves rustling in the wind and the smell of a starving demon-
"Pakkun."
"Yes, sir?" Pakkun looked up to him rather too carefree. The instant the dog saw the twitch of the man's lip, always meaning something bad, he got the flash of red with his family inheritance of the Sharingan: the all seeing eyes for the Demon Gods. The poor canine cringed in fright and wobbled back in fear as a whiny whimper escaped his muzzle.
Out of the blue, a pasty-dry skinned creature burst into the clearing. Pitch black eyes of a mouse and large teeth that were sharp pricks against it's chapped lips. Ribs exposed through the veining skin and boney arms frailed out with slashing claws. The sound of its breathing was dry and thirsty, minding Pakkun's scruff to bristle from the surprising jump.
"Thirsty, thristy..! Heehee!" the demon giggled in a shriek as its blue tongue licked out to taste the air. His torn-jeaned legs stumbled into the ash pile, creating a giant cloud of dirt and burned remains of wood to stain its skin. "I know she was here, doggy! Where'd the yummy go?"
Pakkun's claws unsheathed and his teeth bared. He didn't say anything as he growled lowly and threatening; claiming this territory as his but not challenging the demon. That would have been a mistake with a certain someone present.
"I saw her yesterday," the demon laughed a cough, "being all pretty like that! She was being followed by my brother, yes, yes! Where's my brother? We have been waiting, waiting!"
Its laugh was cut short when someone cleared their throat not too far away from them. Snapping their head around, the beady eyes of the hungry being widened at the sight of the elegantly-dressed body still sitting on the ground, cross-legged and rather bored; the raven hair covering his eyes and the pointer finger that continued to tap in a rhythm that was not tuned properly, but it showed a displeased snap everytime the dark man pat the skin.
"Ooh, you were at the party to get a piece of meat, ne?" the demon chuckled with a sheepish grin. Raising to its toes, it hopped in delight. "Have we caught her? I'm starving!"
Pakkun glanced his way to Sasuke, who was now getting to his feet. The demon with lack of proper clothing suddenly perked joyously as it clapped its own palms together. "You're from my homeland, aren't you? Your total attire reminds me so much of my family! How lovely, I'll be dining with a bretherin." It let out a amused chuckle until it met Sasuke's pure red eyes.
Stiffening in their stand, the demon swallowed thickly and stopped laughing. "Y-your eyes..."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted with his lip twitching once, twice. Slowly, the Uchiha unclipped his cloak and allowed it to fall freely to the ground as he took lazy steps towards the backing monster. "So, you say you're starving..."
"I-I wasn't refering to... you know, her! Your majesty, I would never ever touch a hair on your darling, pretty-... I wouldn't disrespect your bride, Uchiha-sama!" the demon wailed in fear as it raised its palms in defeat, ready to be freed from the own thirst and hunger its been searching for days. "M-my mistake, your royal-"
"You called her 'a piece of meat'," Sasuke intrupted it, glaring down in a evil way that would make your bones shiver in fright. "You mean to tell me, after everything you have said as you barged into this clearing of the woods...that you didn't mean it?"
Pakkun looked down when the demon started to cry, not wanting to see this. "I didn't know it was her- Wait, I didn't mean to speak so badly of her like that! She's a very important person to you, prince, and I wouldn't go that far as to-!"
"You didn't mean it...now, I just don't believe you a single bit," Sasuke smirked.
Cornering the hungry demon against a tree, Sasuke's hand shot from his side and grasped its neck, raising the body in a choking hold. The creature cried and struggled in Sasuke's grasp, but it proved worthless as Sasuke tightened his hand around the thin neck and let the body jerk in a sharp pain. Pakkun watched in slight horror as he watched Sasuke lean forward and alined the heads together as he spoke in a demonic voice of a whisper.
"I want you to get out of my sight, you worthless piece of trash..." Sasuke voice snaked into Pakkun's ears instantly in a slither. "Go to wherever you shitheads are camping out, and tell them that their hunts will lead them to a slow, painful death... Because, Uchiha Sasuke has come to reunite with his bride."
The demon wailed in fear and nodded, coughing its own saliva when Sasuke simply dropped him like it was nothing, scrambing against the ground as it cried out for its escape; jumping to the pads of its feet and sprinted away from the two beings watching it run off like a coward, one with a blank expression and the other being in complete shock.
"S-Sasuke, that was very...generous of you to let him live!" Pakkun gasped out in a gruff, looking at Sasuke with wide eyes of amazment.
"Hn...I'm not generous, Pakkun," Sasuke scoffed like it was an idiotic statement. "It doesn't take long for hungry demons to find a corpse if they're starving."
"Oh..." Pakkun's ears dropped. "I see, Sasuke."
Raising the hand that was once holding onto the demon's neck, Sasuke stuck out two fingers and lazily aimed to the shrinking figure that was running away from them- from Sasuke. In a blink, Pakkun saw darkness for a short milisecond and was blinded by a blue-white light of electricity forming from Sasuke's fingertips, shooting in a zigzagged line between the trees and bushes until it strucked something in a distance that Pakkun dared not to look at.
Uchiha Sasuke never missed a shot on anything.
"Pakkun, I would like to get cleaned before dinner," Sasuke said cooly as he walked over to the chopped log and picked up the neatly folded clothes that were meant to be for him. "I would like it better that I didn't have meet Sakura dressed like this and dirty."
"Sure..."
"And you can tell me what happened at Ino's party last night."
=xxx=
She was dreaming, she was sure of it this time, standing at a short height in a very girly dress with frilly ends. She remembered this dress as a nightgown and having a print of a white bunny on the front with a pink color fabric covering her little, slim body and a red ribbon in her hair. She was tiny for a little girl, probably age seven in this dream, and standing infront of the very tall dresser that she still has to this day. Just staring upward to the unknown flat top that held something...that she wanted. She wanted something that was ontop of the dresser that she couldn't reach (even her little stool wouldn't help much) and it was something important to her; something she needed before going to bed properly.
Sakua felt someone behind her body and she looked up by tilting her head all the way back to see the tall form of her imaginary friend. His dark clothes and black hair seemed to match perfectly with milky-white skin that was soft to the touch like feathers, but calloused hands held her shoulders assuringly and was gentle as she was unable to see his facial features.
"What are you looking for, darling?" his silky voice was deep and rich, like chocolate. Sakura liked chocolate a lot as a kid.
Pouting her lower lip adorably, Sakura used the puppy eyes to her own advantage. "I can't reach it..." She pointed up to the top of the dresser to define what -what she couldn't see- and it seemed to have made the man understand of what she was refering to. She watched him reach over with his large hand and grab hold of something, twisting a nob and let it make cricking noises and a simple 'ting!' that excited Sakura.
Being picked up carefully into the strong, warm arms this person had, Sakura instinctly snuggled her face into his thick neck and watched behind the little curtain of short, spikey strands as he opened the blurry item's top. A buzzing tune started out for a long moment before the bell started the song that she was wishing for to hear in her little ears; the melody so soothing and sweet as it filled the lamp-lit bedroom perfectly as he carried her to her bed and settled her on the comfy futon that was plushed to comfort and blankets that would keep her warm at night while she slept.
"No bedtime," Sakura protested with puffed cheeks, crossing her arms when the blanket was being covered over her legs by him. "I'm not tired yet."
"The music is playing, so it will help you relax."
"But I wanna play!" Sakura whimpered and reached out, shutting her eyes tightly to force angry tears. Sure she was a very well-behaved child, but she was somewhat pushy when it came to him. She can't remember why, all that she knew is that he was going to be leaving soon for something she couldn't understand. "Stay with me, please."
The short silence bothered her. She scrunched her face as much as she could until she felt her bed dip with added weight, causing her to open her eyes and find him sitting infront of her, his legs crossed as usual, gently holding both of her hands with his own; his fingers intertwined with her little ones and held her very gently in the grip, almost like he was afraid to displease her.
"Stay with me, please," Sakura asked politely, pouting again as she clutched to his hand with all her strength. "You have been going out at night a lot and I don't like it... Do you not like to be with me before bedtime? Did I do something bad?"
"No, no," he whispered urgently. "No, you're a very good girl, Sakura."
"Then why can't you stay while I go to sleep?"
She watched his throat bob from his thick swallow, unable to see his face because she was afraid to find the truth in his eyes, even if she can't remember, his eyes showed more expressions then his face. How did she know that? She didn't know right now. This was simply a dream...a possible memory.
His right hand let go of her hand and cupped her child-chubby cheek, swiping his thumb gently across her flushed cheekbone before poking her doll-like lips when it wobbled on the verge of sobbing. She was a big girl and she didn't want to cry anymore. "Baby, you're too young to understand. This is something grown-ups have to take care of at night when you're sleeping; it's to protect you so you can be safe and happy."
"I will be happy if you stay here with me," Sakura pointed out and was responded with a perfect chuckle. She couldn't help but smile a little bit when he did that and held her hand against his, holding it to her face, but then her expressioned changed instantly to a rather confused face. "Is it...because you have to go every night, is it because I'm your special girl?"
His thumb rubbed her cheek again. "Yeah, it's because some people want to take you away from me... You're very, very special."
She knew that being special was something...different. Being in this dream, she knew that she needed to be protected by everyone from everyone. She didn't remember why or what caused her of being so different from everyone else but it hurt knowing that it was something rather dangerous; she didn't want people to sacrifice themselves for her, especially her most treasured Prince Charming.
"If I wasn't special...would you still-" Sakura fell silent after that, refusing to say those words that made her have butterflies in her tummy and her face feels really hot. "Would you still... You know?"
She saw the smirk on his mouth, his pointed chin angled right so it looked natural, like a model. "Are you trying to say 'If I wasn't special, would you still love me'? Sakura, that is a very annoying question."
"Well, answer it," Sakura grumbled and crossed her arms, letting go of any contact from him just to bother him. He was teasing and she didn't like being teased; she got that enough from school about her big forehead. This was just getting so-
Sakura was pinned down to her bed, his body hovering over her as his face was buried into the side of her head, smelling her pastel hair and pressing his lips to her temple in a apologetic kiss while he actually purred into her ear. "Even if you were an angel that I couldn't touch or hug, give her a treat or get her down from the tree...I would still love you with all my heart."
He never said the words 'I love you' often, mostly because people would usually try to catch him saying it and bother him. Other people could see her imaginary friend, and they always spoke to him like every other adult in the household; being that he was kind've an emotionless man infront of other people, as Sakura thought about it, but he would be incredibly affectionate and adoring when alone with Sakura. He would spoil her and do everything in his power to get her to smile, laugh, fuss or just simply hold her in his arms. Hearing them sometimes sent Sakura to Cloud Nine... Whatever that was, it was something Ino told her about in school from watching these romance shows with her mother.
"You're my girl and I would do anything to keep you safe," he said suddenly, sounding a bit strained in his speech. "I love you too much to have some monster take you away and make you cry..."
Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and smushed her face into his really soft hair. She made a fussing noise and held on as tight as she could to him and refused to loosen her grip. "I love you lots and lots!" And she meant it with all of her heart. Despite how much she didn't want him leaving for a long hour or two, she couldn't be angry at him for doing something to keep her safe so she can see him again. "You come back and then stay for bedtime with me?"
"I will make it go by as fast as I can, darling," he promised as he hugged her back with gentle effort, using his gentle touches to relax the child's body so she may cuddle into the bedding when he let go. Once he tucked Sakura in for the second time, she complied to listening and placed her head on her pillow and cuddled the other half of the quilt that had his earthy scent soaked into it. "Please, just try to sleep a little bit and I will come back."
Sakura nodded and obeyed his wish by closing her eyes. She felt his mouth press against her forehead, kissing very tenderly while she sighed in content. "I love you...-"
Sakura's eyes snapped open. "Sasuke?"
Ino looked down at her while nibbling on her fork. "No...this is sausage, Saku-chan. Sorry, but I ate your muffin while you slept."
Sakura slowly sat up, rubbing her head with both hands. "Ino-chan, what time is it now? How long was I sleeping?"
"It's only twelve at noon," Ino shrugged. "Honestly, you were sleeping like a drugged dog! I have never seen anyone unable to wake up to my singing; I have to give you credit, baby." The blonde girl plopped herself on Sakura's bed and offered a piece of food which Sakura gradually took. Not realizing how hungry she was, Ino smirked teasingly while she watched her eat. "Wow, does becoming an adult mean you will become fat now? No more burning fat by being a child?"
"Shut up, Pig," Sakura grumbled. She took a moment to just breathe before speaking ina croaking voice. "I had this really, really weird dream; like it was almost real. It had him in it-"
"You mean your imaginary boyfriend?" Ino wiggled a brow intensly with a purr in her speech. "Must've been a really hot dream, ne?"
"No... I think I named him Sasuke," Sakura stared off into space as her eyesight stayed put on the tall dresser where her wished item wasn't present anymore, instead piled with a stack of books from her old school and her freetime reading favorites of fairytales. "His name was Sasuke, and he would tuck me into bed every night as a little kid."
Ino sighed dreamly, circling her hips while she cooed at her best friend. "How sweet! You had better fairytale dreams then I did while watching those Disney Princesses get the man; which, in my opinion, do not let them wear the pants in the relationship! Pfft! Who the hell tells Belle in Beauty in the Beast that she can't go to the forbidden wing? Girl, she can go wherever she wants and-!"
"Ino, I'm serious," Sakura snapped quietly. "I don't think he was imaginary- At least, I don't know yet... But-but it's like, uhm, it just felt...real!"
Ino puckered her lips, staring at Sakura's nervous expression. 'Barriers are still up...'
"Time for a bath! Let's have a spa day and then we can hang out by the trees. Doesn't that sound like fun, Saki-channy?" Ino announced with squared shoulders and a twinkle in her eyes. Oh yeah, she looked like a proud chick with this plan.
"Bathe and trees..? We haven't done that since we were kids-"
"What's stopping us now? Come on, pretty lady, I'll wash your hair and you can allow me to be Seme," Ino chirped with excitement. She glided off the bed and pulled Sakura with her, still in their pajamas as they left the bedroom when Sakura giving a glance to Sasori's birthday gift, the black music box, still under her lamp and not yet even played.
She really wanted to hear it.
During the walk down three flights of stairs, Sakura noticed how incredibly empty and quiet it was in the housing shrine. When she brought this up, Ino replied that Chiyo had to attend to a funrel service, as it was in her job description, and it was held outside of the small town of Konoha; and Sasori was unavailable to Ino's conscience, she didn't know where he went. Sakura simply nodded in understanding and hoped that he wasn't with his partner that she would hear so much about, Deidara was his name, and getting into trouble that Chiyo would try to shove her slippers down his throat.
The bathing house behind the Haruno Shrine was like any other homemade structure of a bath; two separate rooms for the genders of men and women, each having a cubbyroom to place their items into woven baskets and fresh towels ready to be used; through a small curtain was the washroom, where the showers and stools where and the giant bathing tub that was always filled with hot water, ready to give you the pleasant relaxation from all your troubles in your daily life. The housing was made of wood and a vented roof to sllow the steam to drift out perfectly without bringing in drafts of the outside wind.
When Sakura and Ino were children, she remembered, Ino would occasionally sleep over at the Haruno Shrine and they would spend all their night time fun in the bathing houses, splashing each other with warm water and pretended to be adult women to talk about boys, work (Sakura was a doctor and Ino was a fashion designer, of course) and what they planned to do with the weekend by going out to the bar and socialize with popular stars and princesses that were brought over by their carriages and shiny cars. When the shrine would be unoccupied of men on the other side, Ino and Sakura would venture into the unknown territory and try to figure out what made boys and girls so different...
Too bad that Chiyo didn't install urinals in the men's department.
Since it was a gorgeous day of spring outside, the sweet-smelling breeze of cherry blossoms filled Sakura's nose perfectly once she stepped out of the door and into the bright sunshine. Everything in Sakura's backyard was looking more vibrant and colorful then other days, which pleased Sakura, as if the world was greeting her for the first time as a adult, it was more lively and carefree to her; something was different, and it was good. The world seemed to be brighter and Sakura couldn't help but smile.
Ino glanced at the shining face and gushed. "What are you smiling about, ne?" Ino laughed as she tightened her hold on Sakura's fingers and pulled her closer to the bath house, which was having steam smoking through the right side of the roof- the men's section.
Sakura halt her movements to look up, frowning now. "Ino...are you sure you didn't see Sasori today? Did he go into the bath?"
"No, but someone checked into the prayer room's guest book," Ino said with a blink. She shrugged uncaringly. "I remember Chiyo-sama saying something about a guest checking in either today or tomorrow, so that must be him. Now come on! I'm ready to take a nice, long bath."
With that, Sakura was dragged through the thin curtain of the bath house by her dear friend, suddenly feeling shy and nervous of whoever was minding their own business on the men section of the bath.
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After a long day of stress, it's healthy to take an hour to yourself.
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They say that being in silence, taking a hot bath, and drinking something you like is the way to go.
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Well, when it comes to you being just a thin, weak wooden wall away...
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I don't think my mind can stop racing.
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Struggling to stay still is not easy.
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Wouldn't the ladies who are Sasuke-lovers love to see Sasuke wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and all wet from a steam bath? xD... Too bad I am not much of a Sasuke fan, then I probably would've done that... Then again, I might do a little treat for all those good girls (and boys...) who want to see a little something-something.
Being an adult has so many benefits for writing stories, you know? xD
...Not to mention that this could be counted as a cliffhanger? I don't know, you tell me. I also don't regret killing Kiba (as much as I like his character in the manga and anime).
Everyone knows what to do here, right? Following, Favoriting, Reviewing or doing nothing will make me all warm and fuzzy inside for the winter wonderland that I live in for the next...many months xD I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter and will have a good day!
P.S. I REGRET NOTHING ;D