UPDATING EARLY BECAUSE KITTY WAS SICK WITH NOTHING ELSE TO DO D: I LOVE YOU ALL :3
Kitty realized she called Chapter Eight CHAPTER SEVEN... There is no two chapter sevens D: I'm sorry for the confusion, so please dun get angry about it. I've been very busy lately and I didn't notice it until it was too late... So, let us pretend that I called it Chapter Eight last time, okay? c: Kitty is a good muffin!
Everyone did a really nice job giving me very lovely ideas and I loved them all xD... Hopefully, my writer's block will be done by now and we can go on with our lives to this story. I can't promise everyone their request in this story, but I will certainly try to please you all with what I got up my sleeve e3e"... And I'm wearing short sleeves in winter xD
REPLIES TO REVIEWS(that needs Kitty's answers)-
TheAthenzZ- I really love your enthusiasm QwQ Have I told you that?
RuhGezgini- The answer to your first question will have to wait, I'm afraid pwp It would reveal a bit too much. BUT! I can tell you the other answer xD Think of it as Sasori being older then Sasuke (who is about 600 years older then Sakura), and Sasori is also much older then Itachi, too but is younger then Chiyo since he is her biological child C: His proper age is...OLD.
momoXvolturi- Your ideas are helpful, so please don't feel down about it C: You know I'm open to anything! Thank chuz.
ImmaPiratte- I LOVE YOU TOO xD Thank you for having so much hope in me, Schatzi. It's helping a lot. I'm afraid I can't answer the questions right now, since it would give away too much ;w; But you know all will come at a good time, ne? (ps... APPLES. Really? xD That just made my pervy mind go nuts now QwQ")
AnimeLover'sInTown- I'm sorry? ;w; I don't think I was going anywhere close to Black Bird (besides the Forbidden Flower idea...lawl). But I do hope that you're enjoying it x3 No, you are not an idiot and I thank you for Reviewing and reading!
harusaki-tsukiko- Maybe the girls (and guys) who like Sasuke as much as I adore Itachi can help him out with it? owo Derp, I'm a noob, I know xD I will say that Deidara will make an appearance; will he be part of the story?...ich habe keine Idee pwp (I have no idea).
Tris Prior Tobias Eaton- And I have no regrets C: Hopefully you like it!
JessiaJade(guest)- I will take a close look to the song you requested and I will make a pinky promise that I will do my best to make it happen in the story C; (and Kitty never stops her pinky promises).
To the ones who complain about me and not my story...have a nice day C:
Everyone knows what Kitty likes? Reviewing, Favoriting, Following or doing nothing will make me fuzzbally, and better in winter that I live in ewe~ I love winter, you know! I hope everyone has a nice day, okay?
=xxx=
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Slowly I am starting to understand them...
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Demons are not as scary as I thought they were, but...you know.
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They still want to eat me.
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And then, there is him.
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I don't know what to make of it, but I feel something weird by him.
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I don't know what it is...but it feels nice, too.
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Tasting Flesh
Chapter Nine
Sasuke was inside his little cabin in the morning. Ever since he had gotten there, he had taken residence in his private cabin behind the Haruno Shrine; fixuated with a sink, iron oven, a futon bedding with silked sheets and pillow, and a pair of robes with towels for the shower house. Sasuke used to share this room with Itachi when Mebuki was pregnant, he remembered, and his parents would have their own cabin to themselves during their stay here. Sasuke and Itachi used to wrestle in this cabin for whoever got to have the futon for the night, and the other will be awake standing watch. But then Sasuke would complain (not that he lost...) and then Itachi would call quits and allow his little brother to take the bed.
Sasuke always wins.
But now Sasuke doesn't have to fight for the bed. He has this cabin all to himself now, and he wasn't going to give it to anyone else. He was meditating now, sitting back-straight ontop of the bed that he had arranged when he woke up an hour before sunrise; his breathing absolutely even and finding his inner peace. He was slowly finding the time to relax...
"Affu!" a woman's sneeze instantly made himself snap out of his innerplace filled with tomatos, making his eyes open slowly with one annoyed twitch. He turned his head to find the scent of something sweet.
'Sakura...' Sasuke's eyes softened instantly. He let go of his fingers from meditating and he stood up, knowing what was going to come next, he lazily walked over and opened his cabin door to find Sakura's pale face startled and her little fist once being close to the door.
Not speaking to her in a few days, Sasuke started to wonder if she was scared of him again. Had that first night when he gave her apples mean nothing to her?
"G-goodmorning, Sasuke," Sakura winced, forgetting his own request. "I mean, goodmorning, Sasuke-kun! Sorry, but I sometimes forget."
"Hn... You haven't spoken to me much to say my name," Sasuke simply rolled his eyes, making Sakura's face redden. He thought of playing around, and so he leaned his torso against the door like one of those flirtacious boys you would see in the movies, his black eyes looking down at her to inspect. "Did you need me for something..?"
Finally remembering what she came her for, Sakura perked a little. "Oh yeah, I figured you could use a visitor since you haven't been in the Shrine House lately... Are you ignoring us?" she asked softly while rubbing her chin curiously, her green eyes sparkled with a childish game that she didn't think was possible for her to do now; but at this point, Sakura just feels warm around Sasuke. And, she will never admit it firsthand, that she likes this feeling more then she was aware of.
"No, I'm not," Sasuke explained simply. "I just don't like Chiyo, that's all."
"That is ignoring, Sasuke-kun," Sakura pointed out matter-of-factly. "Nii-chan told me about this one time, you and Chiyo-baachan got into this arguement over a game of poker. Something about the one or the other cheating and it had gotten out of hand, then Sasori had to come in and-!"
"Do you plan on standing while telling this story?" Sasuke raised a brow.
"Ah! No, no. I'm losing my train of thought," Sakura whined softly. "I didn't come here to tell you what Nii-chan told me, Sasuke-kun. But, he did say something that caught my attention for the past couple of days, and I was wondering if you can tell me." Sakura used her other hand to hold up to black music box that Sasuke didn't notice she had with her -too focused on her porcelain face, honestly- and holding it with the most gentle care ever. "Nii-chan gave it to me on my birthday, but he just told me recently that he didn't buy this at a store. He said that you gave this to me a long time ago."
Sasuke stared blankly at the music box, finding all the lost memories of that particular item coming back with this sweet sensation; his heart thumping hard, and he wanted to take the music box and see if it was still working properly over the years of being unused. When he finally tore his eyes away from it, he found Sakura looking up to him with a curious gaze. Soft, simple and totally serene being in his presence. Standing up straight and leaving the edge of the door, Sasuke breathed in the scent of spring.
"I made that for you on your first birthday," Sasuke said quietly. "I had to leave with my family for a few months, and I took the time to make your a gift for when I returned."
Her mouth forming into a small 'o', Sakura's eyes glittered. "Wait, you made this music box? How did you know how to make it, ne?" she pressed with a childish awe that Sasuke had to smirk about. He allowed her to come in and he left the door open to resume his spot on the futon bed while Sakura sat on the floor, still holding the music box in her little hands. "I don't remember this at all... But this would have to be my most favorite present."
"Hn. I wrote the song that it plays; a lullaby that you would instantly calm down to," Sasuke's eyes softened to the music box again, his voice getting more quiet. "I first hummed it out of random, when you were fussing one night, and you started to get happy about it. So, I did it again and again until I had to leave. And the idea to make it into a music box came to mind for when...I couldn't hum to you as often as I wished."
Sakura's green eyes looked to her music box, her pale fingers carressing the top designs carefully. She smiled with a flushed expression, her heart thumping hard against her ribs as she spoke in a little voice. "When I heard it recently, it made me stop crying."
"That song was made for you and you only," Sasuke said, causing silence in the room.
The silence lasted for a while, making both of them unable to look at each other for whatever reason. If one sneezed, they didn't look. If someone made any movement, the other didn't look. Sasuke could tell that she was still smiling at the box, making him a bit more pleased that the situation wasn't all that bad. He let his energy creep into Sakura's thoughts, looking into her mind to find that the barriers were still there; but the whole cloud of her opinion on Sasuke had totally changed from fear to comfort. She was not afraid of him anymore.
That's good.
"Sakura," Sasuke called softly, startling her. He slowly stuck out his hand towards her, silently asking a request that he should have thought twice about. He saw her swallow shyly, looking at his out-stretched hand with hesitation. Sure, not all the fear for the man was gone, and Sasuke wasn't going to blame her for being careful. She liked this music box, and she didn't want it taken away.
Eventually, Sakura used her upmost care to place the black music box into Sasuke's big hand, which he took onto his lap with his own careful gestures to look at it. It had been a long time since he had seen this thing, and Sasuke actually felt like he was greeting an old friend. He rubbed his thumb ontop of the detailed swirls and leaves he made all by hand, admiring his old work from so long ago...
"Have you looked inside when you opened it?" Sasuke asked softly, getting Sakura's attention. He didn't notice how Sakura was watching him with her eyes soft and sweet. When she shook her head, Sasuke smirked softly and opened the box to find the pair of dancers staying still -since the box was not winded- and reached inside the box, feeling the red velvet carpet that he made on the inside. "I made this for you for when you would be older. I'm surprised that you didn't see it."
"I tend to fall asleep..." Sakura's face went red in shame and she looked down. "The song you made is very calming to me. I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun..."
"Don't be. That was the point of my song," Sasuke breathed the last part barely audible. He was glad that Sakura wasn't paying attention this time, so he took the chance to make an entrance of what he had to show: a silvering chain was first to be noticed with its soft swish noise to reveal a cirular pendant with a decorated ruby in the center, being part of a cherry blossom flower that was surrounded with swirls and vines that made it more perfect. It was shining in the natural sunlight, sparkling like glitter when Sakura's jaw dropped and her eyes reflected that marvelous jewelry.
"Do you like it?" Sasuke asked after a long moment of her staring at it.
"It's so..." Sakura had to creep her hand to touch her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling. She felt tears of amazement silking her eyes, yet nothing shed. "Wow... I mean, Sasuke-kun, that is just... Wow! Did you actually make things like this for me? Why would you do-?"
"Because I wanted to," Sasuke said stern, yet softly. He didn't want to say his reason yet (and we are sure why) but he wanted Sakura to do it first. No matter how long it would take. "You can wear it and it can remind you of the music box easily..."
"Yeah, the designs are the same!" Sakura chirped with glee. She kept looking at the amazing jewelry, wishing that she had such a thing years ago to show to others, and actually be able to say who made it. Her music box was something secretive from the outside world; like if anyone heard, they would take it away from her forever.
Noticing her own wish, just because he knew her so well already, Sasuke carefully reached with his other hand and gently gripped her wrist. Shocked by this, Sakura was reminded from her dreams of how absolutely gentle he was with her, not even using harsh grips; she allowed him to hold her wrist and pull it towards him, feeling how soft and silky it was to stroke his thumb on her hand and open her palm. With her fingers being guided by his, he held her hand open to carry the necklace to hover and drop into the center of her pulse. He watched her carefully when she peeked down to the necklace, a tiny, shy smile twirking her dolly lips.
"This is yours, Sakura," Sasuke informed softly, his voice relaxed for the first time in a while. He smirked amusingly when her fingers encircled around the pendant, as if she had to make sure it was real.
"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Sakura choked cutely, slowly pulling the hand back and touching the pendant gently, her eyes glittery and adorable. Sasuke watched her in observation, waiting to see if she could remember anything else. "Thank you for making these gifts for me, and I'm sorry I can't remember much."
"It is alright, Sakura," Sasuke said truthfully.
Their eyes met. She smiled and caused Sasuke to react with a uncomforted grunt. "Can you tell me a story of back then, Sasuke-kun? Please? I am very curious to what I forgot."
Sasuke looked at her smile, feeling himself slowly coming loose. He couldn't hold anything back anymore. His throat bobbed against gently with his own nervousness, but he wasn't showing it to Sakura; there was nothing left to fear unless it was something harming this piece of heaven infront of him.
"What would you like?" he asked quietly, resting his chin on the palm of his hand that had its elbow on his knee.
Sakura made a thinking face: her lips pouting and her brow raised as she looked around. Sasuke remembered her making these faces when she was very little. "Chiyo-baachan said something last night about Ino and you always fighting..."
"That part is true," Sasuke grumbled at her choice. "Ino is a breed of Demons that are meant to protect someone they care about, and become more then attached to that person for some odd reason. She didn't like that I would be near you all the time, and would constantly threaten me and cling to you."
Sakura gushed about her friend's attitude. "That sounds so adorable of her!"
"No, it's not. She would get her family's kitchen knives and chase me with them until I had to knock her out and drop her off infront of her parent's doorstep," Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "You may not remember, but she try to kill me."
"Why?"
"Because she is just Ino," Sasuke shrugged, uncaring for the blond teen. "Although she has done a fairly good job taking care of you when I wasn't present."
Sakura stopped talking then, remembering what happened when Ino tried to comfort her in the time she feared everything around her, that she thought her whole life was a lie. Sakura yelled at Ino and told her something she never thought she could say to her best friend.
"Don't touch me!"
Grimacing her features, Sakura curled her knees to her chest, holding the necklace Sasuke had given her to her heartbeat as she looked down to the floor. She didn't mind Sasuke looking up at her and give her a confused face; his whole presence there wasn't bothersome as much as it did in the beginning.
"Ino-chan hasn't been here, has she..?" Sakura asked softly, her voice instantly cracking.
Sasuke eyes narrowed. "No, she hasn't been here since I had arrived. I haven't heard anything from the Yamanaka family either."
"I should probably go and visit her. I feel really bad about...being angry at her," Sakura confessed quietly as she rocked a little. "Hey, Sasuke-kun..."
"Aa?"
"Why did my memories get blocked? Or whatever you guys called them...barriers?" Sakura glanced up to Sasuke hopefully, just wishing that the answer would make so much more sense then what Sasori had been teaching her about Demons. So far, as she understands, Demons purr and are more graceful then a cat; they are capable of taking over human's minds and can consume their souls and spirits depending on their thirst.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed into slits, more threatening then soft from before. His face was stern, even though he wasn't going to do anything to harm her feelings. "That is something I refuse to answer. Don't ask me that again."
Sakura shivered by the sound of his voice, feeling the slight fear coming back. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," she whimpered lightly, burying her face into her knees to hide. She didn't mean to bother him so much, did she? She just wanted answers.
Gripping his chin with his long fingers, Sasuke cursed himself for overreacting. He didn't mean to scare her, after all; he was trying to win her heart all over again, right? Sounds very original for the Uchiha Sasuke. "Just..." he bit the inside of his cheek until he tasted his own blood. "It is something I don't like talking about, Sakura. It's not a good thing to bring up."
"...I should go see Ino-chan now," Sakura said as she started standing up. She noticed that Sasuke was still holding the music box to his lap, not looking like he was going to give it back. 'That is alright for me. He made it for me after all...'
Smiling the tiniest bit to herself, Sakura turned her back to him and carefully walked to the opened door. She almost tripped when she heard Sasuke's voice going back to that sexy tone that would send pleasant shivers up her spine. "Let me come with you."
"Eh?" Sakura squeaked as her head spun around to look at him. As a result, Sasuke's face was just as stoic as ever when he gently put the music box down and stood up, walking over to a closet door to pick up his black sweatshirt loaned by Chiyo's box filled with Sasuke's old things. "Y-You don't have to, Sa-"
"Since the barrier to your blood has been taken down, Demons will try even harder to attack you during the day," Sasuke explained with no interest. He put on his sweater and started walking ahead of Sakura and out the door.
"...Eh?" Sakura fumed with puffy cheeks, angered this time that she was not aware of how much more valuable she was to those scary things (even though she had only seen Kiba being possessed).
=xxx=
When they crossed the little rocky wall that housed the property of the Haruno Shrine, Sasuke took the time of their walk to explain about the barriers inside Sakura's mind. He didn't go into the story of how and why the barriers were installed within her memories and mind when she was just a child, but he did explain the basics of what she is honestly curious about. It wasn't too much, but it was a start.
"Three Demons placed blocks, also called barriers, into your mind," Sasuke spoke lowly, gentle enough that only she could hear him while walking ont he dirt path. "One Demon placed a barrier to your blood, housing the Forbidden Flower inside until you reached adulthood; then it would become sensed by other Demons."
"So my blood was...hiding?" Sakura guessed as she looked up to his taller form, taking in on how tall he actually is close up.
Sasuke nodded. "I was the one who put the barriers to your blood. To protect you from demons trying to find you when I was not around," Sasuke gritted on the last part. "My Clan is capable of producing illusions -making your blood become hidden with a illusion for others to think that you were a normal human- and it seemed to have work for the most part... They always kept rounding up at the shield protecting the property at night."
"Oh... Then, it was very helpful, Sasuke-kun," Sakura's cheeks tinted a little bit to a light pink, matching with her hair. She thought it was a little brave of him to use his Clan's power to protect her for all these years... How many it was, she can't remember.
"Hn. The other demon took care of the your Forbidden Flower powers, such as your healing abilities and chakra," Sasuke went on, sending confusion all over Sakura's face. He glanced his eyes down to see it, becoming unamused. "What?"
"What powers would I have?" she asked. "And what is chakra?"
"Chakra is the energy inside all living beings," Sasuke explained thoroughly. "Some beings have more chakra then others, and they can use it for different reasons. For example, humans have very little chakra inside them, but they can use it for their strength, speed and agility if they work hard for it.
"For Demons, on the other hand, they have more chakra that surpasses humans. They can use their chakra for making explosions, possessions of humans and have much more strength," Sasuke went on, making more sense for Sakura to understand. "For you, being a human but also a Forbidden Flower, you have a little more chakra then humans, but less then Demons."
"So I can do things that humans can't do?"
Sasuke nodded again. "You have this kind of green chakra, that I remember, and you could use it to heal others instead of using your blood. When you were little, Chiyo would have taught you what she knew by getting injured animals to the Shrine and you would try and heal them. Chiyo was the one who placed a barrier of your chakra."
"Can I use my chakra now?" Sakura asked curiously. She hoped that she could try it out when they returned to the Shrine.
Sasuke looked at her again, raising a brow gently. "It is hard to say. Your chakra is more different, therefor your barriers for it will have to be up to Chiyo to find out."
"Oh, okay," Sakura forced a smile as she hurried up to catch Sasuke's slow, yet big strides. "And the last Demon must've put a barrier to my memories, right?"
"Aa."
"Who was it who did it?" Sakura pressed gently as she tried to place the puzzles together. If she knew the last Demon, maybe she can get it fully removed and try to make sense to all of the madness.
Sasuke went silence, causing Sakura to become a little concern when she looked at him. His face -more like the eyes- were pained and disturbed from looking back into the thought of it. Sakura wondered if she went back to that state of Sasuke when he didn't want to tell her what happened that the barriers had to be placed inside of her. But all of it went away when Sasuke sighed to calm himself down.
"I do not remember who it was," Sasuke confessed. "I was told that I was forced to forget who placed that barrier inside you. I don't know why they did that."
"Oh..."
The rest of the walk was in silence when they reached into Konoha, where people were as lively as ever. Everyone was all of smiles and laughter with their own couples, children or loved ones; walking side-by-side or showing them something cool in the street stands of candy, makeshift toys or little trickets that were said to give good luck. Sasuke looked over the crowd of people, seeing how the teenage women instantly look upon his features with cat-like smiles and giggle umong themselves. The elderly people and men didn't pay too much mind to him, but when they saw Sakura pass by, however, they smiled and greeted her with a bow. Sasuke smirked a little when Sakura flushed shyly and bowed back with equal respect, finding her sweet nature interesting to watch.
When the townspeople tried to bribe her attention to their stand to show off their cool items, Sasuke became short-tempered with the wasting time to go to the Yamanaka household, and also how difficult it was for Sakura to say no to the people without displeasing them. He knew she was too sweet to make someone upset with her.
With that, Sasuke had to play the part.
Walking up to Sakura's back, Sasuke reached one of his hands out of his sweatshirt pocket and grasped Sakura's little shoulder and caused her to stiffen from nodding to the vendor. He saw her head look up to him, just like when she was little, and met his eyes. She blushed and he smirked in return.
"Sakura-sama, you will be late for your appointment," Sasuke said cooly, like a caring guard he was posing as. He knew he startled everyone around them, and he was damn well pleased by it. "I would hate to see you displeased by being late."
"Ehh, Sakura-sama! You didn't say anything about an appointment!" an old lady with a missing tooth screeched in fright. She grabbed Sakura's wrists and shook her gently. "Leave us be until you have time to chat, okay? Now go with your guide to your appointment."
"Hai hai!" her husband nodded in agreement. "Go with him before you are late; a shrine maiden such as yourself can't be late for an appointment!"
"Uhm..." Sakura was confused by this behavior of the old people and Sasuke himself. She was about to say something to Sasuke when he gripped her wrist away from the old lady and started to guide her away from the busy streets of Konoha to a more private sidewalk.
"Why did you-?" Sakura was about to ask.
"I don't like being around people too often, especially when you have somewhere you wanted to be in the first place," Sasuke explained with a scowl that a little child would show when a toy was taken away. Sakura couldn't contain her laughter and caused his scowl to produce more. "What are you laughing at now?"
"I-I just..." Sakura covered her mouth with both of her hands. "Your face looks so silly! Sasuke-kun, you pout when you're around people?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "People were looking at me."
Sakura giggled and rubbed her eyes. "I'm s-sorry, but you should try and calm down a little," she whimpered her laughter through her lips, trying to stop as best as she could.
"Look who's talking..."
"I'm sorry," Sakura cried with a smile as she tugged on Sasuke's wrist that was holding her own. She was gentle, but Sasuke reacted majorly by stiffening. He didn't pull back, and that pleased Sakura when she moved her fingers to grasp around his large palm. They weren't holding hands, but it was causing Sasuke to stiffen more.
She simply smiled at him and started dragging him along the sidewalk. "If you keep standing there, I will be late for my appointment, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke allowed her to drag him along. His heart was pounding hard, but he allowed the small smirk to grace his mouth without her noticing. He was starting to think about the good progress she was making.
"Hn."
The rest of the walk to the Yamanaka Flower Shop took only a moment to reach the back door, where Inoichi's wife was already sweeping the back step with a broom and wearing an apron.
Yamanaka Chi is a shy character with pale skin and bleached blond hair that her daughter inherited. She had soft brown eyes and a sweet smile that would make all the costumers wish they got a flower for her instead of their loved ones (and Inoichi doesn't share), giving her husband more then a backbone to try out the demonic glare to those who dare to flirt with Chi. Chi is fairly quiet -not really the one to talk compared to her husband and daughter- and enjoys to cling to Inoichi's side with a smile and look up to him with a angelic giggle.
Seeing her just tending to her duties, Sakura couldn't help but sigh in relief that one thing didn't change in her life: Chi just being Chi. She smiled and let go of Sasuke's wrist to hurry up to the back of Chi's form.
"Chi-bachan!" Sakura called softly to Chi's relaxed form. She found her back straighten greatly before turning around to meet the pink haired girl's green eyes with her coco ones. A delighted smile came from Chi's face when she placed the broom against the wall and held both her arms out to her. Sakura didn't hesitate to jump into Chi's long arms and allow the woman to cuddle her with a gentle purr. "Chi-bachan, how are you doing?"
"Um," Chi purred softly as she cuddled her head against Sakura's soft hair. She let go of the teenager to look her over with a approving nod and finally look behind her considered niece's shoulder to see Sasuke standing in the shadows. Chi smiled a welcome and waved at Sasuke politely. "Hi again..."
"You know Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked in slight surprise.
Chi nodded shyly and flushed. "Demons know of Saku-chan's groom," Chi spoke quietly before looking up to the sky's blueness. She waved her hands for both of them to follow her as she opened the back door to their little shop.
Inside the shop, Sakura was taken into the memories of spending the weekend days in here before she had to go back to the Haruno Shrine before six. The sweet smell of flowers and water consumed her senses in a sweet way that Sakura wanted to sigh. Despite being aware of the Yamanaka's demon traits, she couldn't help but feel safe in here. Looking to her side, she found Sasuke next to her but not touching. He didn't seemed too please about the constant smell of flowers and prettyness, but he wasn't complaining.
"Inoichi," Chi called out quietly in a whisper. She jumped a little bit when Inoichi's very tall figure pop out of nowhere and wrapped his arms around his wife's little frame and and nibble her ear. She fussed childishly against her husband's assault and forced him to drop her. "Guests, Inoichi. Saku-chan and Uchiha-sama."
"Aah, I wasn't expecting you to come here, Sakura," Inoichi blinked when he looked at Sakura sudden stilled form. He tilted his head to the side as he examined her with his teal eyes. "And you don't seem...too aware of everything, right?"
Sakura shook her head. "The, um...barriers are still there," Sakura pointed to her own head and made a lame face to Inoichi, smiling when Chi giggled lightly at her attempt to be up-to-date. "I came to see how Ino-chan is doing."
Inoichi instantly frowned. "Aa, I see... She's not doing too well."
"Huh?" Sakura blinked.
"Ino came home sad," Chi pouted lightly as she pointed to upstairs. "Sleeping all day and night."
Inoichi nodded in agreement to his wife's claim, holding both of her shoulders as he looked at both Sakura and Sasuke with a serious expression. "When Sasuke-sama's arrival went bad, Ino felt like she failed her mission to keep you happy; her whole training was to keep you happy and safe."
"Because she is a Demon who cares for me?" Sakura tried to add in.
Chi nodded with a smile. "We like to care, and we like Saku-chan."
"Sakura, your father and I were very good friends until he passed away, and we promised that our child will be your guard as you grow up. We Yamanakas are very serious with our nature to protect, and if we somehow fail to please the one we care for, then we just fall apart," Inoichi looked down to Chi's pouting face, taking his hand to touch her cheek to get her to smile. When that worked, Inoichi did a little smile when he looked back to the human and Demon in his household and store. "Ino really wanted nothing more then to see you happy and remembering everything, but she was not aware of the barriers still blocking the semi-important things..."
"Can I see her, please?" Sakura asked politely to get both Chi and Inoichi's attention, and Sasuke's as well. She touched her dress pocket, where the necklace Sasuke had given her a while before, and she felt the calming tune from her music box giving her the wanting confidence that she needed. Bracing a smile, Sakura looked at her best friend's parents. "I want to see my Ino-chan and make her feel better. I would be more happy to see my best friend's smile."
Chi was the first to smile back at Sakura's adorableness. "Hai," she whispered and clapped shyly with her little fingers. She looked back up to Inoichi and gave him the smile to agree with her.
With a long moment of looking into the dominant eyes of his wife, Inoichi forced a smile and nodded to Sakura. "Go ahead. I think Sasuke-sama and I have a lot of catching up to do right now."
Sakura's face beamed with brightness as she turned her head to look at Sasuke who had kept quiet the whole time. "Will you be alright here, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a seat on the little chair by the table with a venus-flytrap plant chewing on a fly. Sakura took that as his silent yes and she offered him a kind smile before going to the wooden stairs to where the bedrooms of the flower shop owners live and sleep. Sasuke watched her little feet disappear before turning his black eyes to the married couple infront of him, just watching him curiously.
Chi pointed to her mouth with a questionable blink.
"No, thank you," Sasuke mumbled lowly, denying the woman's offer.
"Eh..." Chi pointed to her throat gently, getting the same reaction from Sasuke. Chi only smiled and pointed to her husband's face, earning a scowl from Inoichi from her offer and she giggled lightly. She patted Inoichi's arm in apology when Sasuke took the chance to speak for himself.
"Has there been anything abnormal, Inoichi?" Sasuke raised a brow to the taller man who was still shocked from Chi's offer. "Of the hungry ones similar to the kind that took over that kid's body at the fire?"
Inoichi sighed quietly. "Honestly, Sasuke-sama, we have not heard anything from them since Ino killed the Inuzuka kid and when you finally arrived through the portal," he explained rubbing the back of his head. "We had explored the forest and tried to find camps...but there was nothing in evidence of them."
"Hn..."
"No hungry. No Demons," Chi pouted. Sasuke nodded to Chi in understanding and allowed her to pass through him to go and retrieve her broom, leaving the demon men alone in the kitchen area and the plant that eats any flies that come from the outside.
"I had Chi try to find them in Konoha, and outside the Haruno Shrine's shield," Inoichi confessed sorrowly. "We fear that they may have gone back into the Demon World to see if Sakura had returned to your kingdom, or something."
"Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto are suppose to alert me if anything else comes through the portal," Sasuke informed with a deeper frown. "I haven't recieved any message. Are you sure that they are nowhere to be found?"
"Absolutely."
Sasuke rubbed his temples in annoyance, sighing displeased by the given evidence by the Yamanaka. "Don't stop looking for anything abnormal, understand?"
Inoichi smirked. "What else do we have to do here besides tending to our beloved plants, Uchiha-sama?"
Sakura opened the door to the little hallway of doors to bedrooms and a restroom. She knew which one was Ino's, after spending lots of time of doing girly things growing up, and the decoration of photos and posters of popular japanese and korean boybands that Ino was going gaga over; Sakura was careful to walk gently to the particular door and found it closed, knocking ever-so-gently on the wooden door.
"Not hungry, Mommy..." Ino's voice drawled on the other side with depression and sadness. It made Sakura's heart clench with guilt and regret. "Tell Daddy to eat my portion or give it to the plant in the kitchen..."
Sakura opened the door with her given courage, finding it all dark from lack of sunlight and the drapes closed shut. She saw Ino's long hair sprawled from under her purple blanket, being so different from the purpleness inside Ino's room; she tip-toed over to the edge of the bed and looked at the unmoving form underneath the blanket.
An overwhelming feeling inside Sakura's thoughts blurred her vision, and pretty colors contrasted against the dark with bright lights and hues.
"Saku-chaaan!" Ino's childish voice perked above the blanket that Sakura was hiding under. She felt the level of the futon rise from the added weight of the little child that was now glomping the covered form of the little Sakura she knew everytime she dreamed. "What's wrong, Saku-chaaan? You sound saaad!"
Sakura pouted under the blanket and tried to wiggle away from her. "I'm not happy..."
"But why? Did Sasu-bastard do something to you? He did, didn't he?" Ino forced a baby growl from her lips, but failed to sound as fierce as Sasuke would. "Ohh, I'mma rip his throat out and make him cry for hurting my Saku-chan!"
"Sasu-kun didn't hurt me," Sakura mumbled against her pillow. "I miss Sasu-kun a lot. He is gone all night now with Inoichi-ojichan and Chi-bachan..."
"Oh, I know that," Ino chirped matter-of-factly. "But you know that my mommy and daddy will make sure that Sasu-bastard comes home to you. Even though sometimes I promise Daddy my candy if he can kick his butt for me."
Sakura giggled a little bit at Ino's stubborness against her beloved. She popped her head out from her blanket to see Ino's pretty, baby blue eyes sparkling in triumph. "I'm still not happy..."
"Well, I'm just gonna have to fix that!" Ino roared as she laid herself down on Sakura's side and started to cuddle against her friend's body, sharing the soothing warmth that they both provided to get that fuzzy feeling inside your own heart. "It's okay, Saku-chan. Whenever you're sad about something, I will cuddle you until you feel better!"
Sakura's eyes filled with unshedding tears as she buried her face into Ino's little chest, feeling the heartbeat as Ino played with her pink hair into braids. "Can I do the same...with you, Ino-chan?"
"If you want to," Ino shrugged.
Sakura smiled a little to herself, sitting on the edge of the bed and kicking her feet into the blankets to entangle her limbs with Ino's, causing the blonde to groan and retort against her mother's actions. It was then when Sakura wrapped both of her arms around Ino's shoulder and buried her face into the blanket and pretty hair of Yamanaka Ino.
"You always had pretty hair, Ino-chan," Sakura whispered softly, feeling Ino's arms stiffening. "You know, I miss seeing you at the Shrine. You said you wanted to stay for the weekend..."
Feeling her arms shaking, Sakura closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against Ino's shoulder, humming a little bit to try and ease her dearest friend. Ino whimpered against her tears and tried to wiggle away from Sakura's hold, but she wasn't using force to stop.
"Ino-chan, I'm so sorry," Sakura said quietly. "Please, don't be upset with me. I didn't know what was happening... I was scared and I thought you were going to hurt me."
Ino held still, but didn't look behind her. "I-I would never hurt you."
"I know, and I am sorry that I ever thought of that," Sakura cuddled more against Ino, hearing her breathing quicken from the close touch. "You are my best friend, Ino-chan, and I could never think of you as something evil. You were always there to take care of me when I was sad or hurt... I'm sorry."
"What about that damn Uchiha?" Sakura opened her eyes to hear Ino's demonic growl for the first time. It was angry, but Sakura thought it was rather...adorable. "Are you still scared of him?"
Sakura simply shook her head. "I still don't remember anything... But I am not scared of Sasuke-kun."
"You called him 'Sasuke-kun'?" Ino's head finally turned to face her friend. She found the green eyes sparkling with some joy that they were now facing each other. When Sakura nodded gently, Ino didn't stop her own tears from falling in giant blobs of salty water. She bit her lip as she pushed her angelic face into the crook of her friend's neck. "You called him 'Sasuke-kun'! You called him that when you were little, you know?"
"Uh-huh," Sakura smiled a little as she wrapped her arms around Ino a little tighter, allowing her to cry as much as she wanted. "And I get little dreams about back then, too... Did you chase Sasuke-kun with a kitchen knife?"
"He started it!" Ino gurgled an annoyed growl, causing Sakura to giggle. "He keeps hugging you when I'm around, and it pisses me off!"
"I know," Sakura sang girlishly as she smushed her cheeks against Ino's. She earned an approving purr from Yamanaka Ino and the tears came back from the baby blue eyes, only it was joy this time as she cuddled the shrine maiden back.
"Can I eat something now? I'm hungry!" Ino whined softly as she clung to Sakura. "That plant in the kitchen took my dumplings, god dammit!"
=xxx=
Sasuke watched as the two girls sat at the kitchen table with Chi, her daughter chowing down her overly full plate of rice, chicken, dumplings and sweet syrup. Yamanaka Ino apparently didn't care for calories and fatness within human food, since demons can't gain weight from the Human World's fatty goodness, so she will eat to her heart's content and feel no shame. He didn't seem bothered by her animalistic hunger, since he was glad to find Sakura smiling at Ino's reaction to when the venus-flytrap snapped at a fly who dared to touch the inside hairs of the leaves.
"Back off, meanie!" Ino snapped at the humane plant doing it's job.
"Ino-chan, it's not going to eat your food," Sakura giggled when Chi sighed sadly for the verbal abuse her favorite plant was recieving from her spoiled daughter. "Ignore it and finish."
"Bah, who're you to say to finish my meal, ne?" Ino rolled her eyes and used her free hand to poke Sakura's thin stomach. "Looky here, Mommy. This girl doesn't eat enough, in my opinion, so we should- Hey! What's this here?" Ino swallowed her mouthful of rice as she pinched the dress pocket Sakura was wearing. Without her consent, Ino went along to dig inside the pocket and pulled out the silver necklace that Sasuke had given to her earlier that day.
Eyes widen a fraction, Sasuke wanted to march over and snatch the present away from the annoying girl and give it back to Sakura. But he stopped himself when Ino took a peek at him with a sly smile -Sakura looking down with a deep blush- and turned her attention back to holding the pendant to the light with admiration.
"This is a pretty thing, isn't it, Mommy?" Ino cooed sweetly as she winked at Sakura's blushing face.
"Pretty!" Chi clapped with a smile.
"Did Sasuke-bastard give it to you, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked as she nudged her with an elbow. "It's a really pretty necklace, don't you agree?"
Sakura nodded without looking at Sasuke's blanked yet surpised face when Ino unhooked the necklace's string and wrapped it around Sakura's neck. Sakura shut her eyes tightly when Ino placed the necklace in place and leaned back to admire it. "I think it looks nice on you, Sakura-chan! Why didn't you wear it over here?"
Sakura mumbled in slurring words, "I forgot...sorry."
"Ne ne, it looks pretty," Ino boasted about her friend and cupping her cheeks enough to make her look like a pufferfish. "If you don't like it, I'll take it for ya! I'll take good care of it."
Sakura, despite her face being held in a firm grip, shook her head and her eyes narrowed. "No...it's mine, and I plan on wearing it everyday; you can't have it." She wasn't sounding mean, but Ino couldn't help but smile toothly.
"Saku-chan, help," Chi beckoned for the pink haired girl's attention. "Help? Inoichi's food?"
"Oh sure," Sakura gaped slightly as she got up and followed Chi into the cooking room, closing the curtain that separated the tiny eatingroom from the kitchen. Sasuke heard Sakura and Chi making noises to drown out any noises coming from the blonde and Demon God.
"You're a bother, you know that?" Sasuke raised a brow at Ino, who was simply eating her fatty foods with a smile as she chewed. "Don't pressure her."
"I did no such thing, bastard," Ino purred and licked her lips. She stabbed her chopsticks into a dumpling and picked it up lazily. "You know, I think Sakura is starting to remember the good things we all used to do back then. She's starting to trust you a little bit more."
"Hn..."
"You know you like it," Ino jerked her free chopstick at his cheek, hoping with all that she had to annoy him to hell. "And, if you ask for my opinion-"
"I don't."
"-I think she likes it too," Ino did a cat-like smile. "Look. I'm not going to be poking around her head anymore, so don't be bothered by that idea... But I wanna work on getting her closer to you with dreams, and I'm sure Pakkun will help out there. By the way, where is that little mutt?" Ino's eyes narrowed as she recalled the last time she saw Pakkun. "I doubt Sakura has heard him talk."
"He is looking at the portal door," Sasuke said casually. "He's making sure that those shitheads don't pass through the portal."
"Mommy and Daddy haven't seen anything odd though."
"I know that, brat," Sasuke hissed lowly, making sure that Sakura didn't hear. "Just keep Sakura safe and out of anyone's way."
Ino smiled deviously. "I wouldn't have needed to listen to you nag anyhow, bastard."
Inside the kitchen, where Chi was sputtering a childish rhyme to herself as she stirred the pot filled with vegetables and rice while Sakura was cleaning a plate, Sakura felt more at peace whenever Chi would be in a calm mood. For some reason being, Chi was always the odd one compared to other mothers...talking very little like she doesn't understand her own words, and seeming very childish when she encounters something that makes her happy. On the flip side, Chi was always motherly to Sakura even to Mebuki when she was alive. The slight memory of that just made Sakura smile, and she couldn't help but touch her skin between her collarbone and breats...
Touching the pendant that Sasuke gave her, but Ino put on herself.
Feeling her heart thumping like a rabbit's foot, Sakura's cheeks openly went red to the point that her ears pinked a little. She allowed herself to smile the tiniest bit when Chi cooed on a higher note of her little song to the point that the older woman hopped to her toes with a happy grin.
Closing her eyes, Sakura allowed her mind to wander to the focusing point of her newly given necklace; the hum of the music box ringing so sweetly into her ears, her whole body calming down with her shoulders relaxing. She felt the warmth of the metal against her bare skin to the point that she sighed quietly.
'I'm not scared...' Sakura thought gently, her mind's voice calm. 'Ino-chan will protect me, along with Oji-chan and Oba-chan; Sasori-niichan and Chiyo-baachan...' Sakura swallowed all her troubles down as she thought of his face. 'Sasuke...-kun, too.'
'You trust Sasuke-kun now?' the voice sneaked in quietly, yet gently.
Sakura's eyes opened.
'It is okay, Sakura-chan,' the voice cooed, being so sweet and soothing to Sakura's ears that it sounded like it was right next to her. It was nowhere close to Chi's singing voice that was echoing in the far backround -despite her being only a few feet away- and the cooking noises became quiet and out. 'We are the same...'
'Who are you?' Sakura asked with a small serious tone. Why are you inside my mind... Are you a Demon?'
The voice giggled. The giggle was young and sweet, so similar to Sakura's own laughter when she meets someone new. 'Nu-uh, I am the same as you...
At least...I used to be.'
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Inside the mind of a human, there are always two sides of a person.
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The Good and the Bad; and they will constantly fight each other...
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But that is usually what is suppose to happen.
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I am someone who is targeted by monsters who wish to eat my flesh and soul...
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Exactly...what is the Forbidden Flower?
=xxx=
AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- ... I feel like this chapter was eh xD But it needed to be done for my pleasure, right? I have no regrets and no shame, so I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway C: A little bit more of SasuSakuness and INO IS BACK INTO THE PICTURE~ I KNOW YOU'RE HAPPY. I also wanted to get Inoichi and Ino's possible mother in the picture owo' They're important for later.
Chi is inspired by the Chi from Chobits. She is also used in my other Fanfiction in Sing To Me, Baby; but her character is a little more different in this story then the other. If you have noticed, Chi isn't very talkative and seems more childish in a way; reasons why will be explained later on in the story, so please be patient C:
HOLY CRAP, THAT VOICE IS BACK IN HER HEAD. WHO THE HELL IS IT AND WILL WE EVER GET THE NAME? -gets mauled by Chuck Norris for already knowing the answer- You know I love to hear who you guys' think it is C: Guesses make my day and people who try to guess will get an imaginary cookie! (made out of love and sprinkles).
You guys know what I love more then cookies? Reviewing, Following, Favoriting or doing nothing will put me in a good mood from my sniffles. I hope you all enjoyed this and will have a nice day!