Boooom! Three essays, six exams and a big-ass project that lasted for a week straight into Hell and back. How am I still alive? I got cookies and I am willing to share the leftovers with you wonderful readers, if you guys wants some c: I am taking my time to relax now and writes chapters to Tasting Flesh and watch movies until I pass out from awesomeness (because who needs sleep when you can be lazy, huh? xD) I have no idea how I am not fat ._. But there is no such thing as fat, only fluffy :3
Anyway, thanks to those who have Reviewed and the other things that I have asked for (hopefully you guys got yourself a treat) and you are ready for chapter seventeen of this fanfiction that is slowly growing into a much more fun project for me then I expected! Thank you guys for being so supportive of this story and the many people who are following and/or favoriting this fanfiction. I am actually shocked to see more then 100+ people looking into this - I honestly didn't expect any of this xD So...from the bottom of my heart, thank you all sooo much for all that you do! You deserve a round of applause -claps like Dumbledor- Did you guys remember that I have a DevianArt..? I totally forgot about it xD I need to do something with that soon.
Wanna add another song to the Tasting Flesh soundtrack? Upload Youtube and look up Landfill by Daughter. Allow it to load and, when I give the signal, play the song and tell me what you thought of it c: I love feedback on songs.
(And to JessicaJade, Thank you for being so sweet and I wish I could respond to you properly on how much I appreciate your awesomeness D: If you ever make an account on here, review and I will surely give you a sweet response c: Find me on the Tumblr link on my profile and say hi? Anyone is welcomed!)
Now, if you're new to this, I always ask people to Review, Follow, Favorite or do nothing if you don't want to c: I want my readers to enjoy each chapter and have a wonderful day, so please have a good one! Enjoy!
=xxx=
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He doesn't hide his scars away from me, but he still does not show it in public.
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I still won't ask him how he had gotten them, I won't ask anymore of him...
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He held me carefully as I listened to his heart; the sweet thumps against my hands.
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My breathing becomes messed, my heart twists and turns, my mind goes numb...
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I think... I think I am falling...
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Tasting Flesh
Chapter Seventeen
Sakura wrapped her arms around the strong neck, sweat beading down her forehead as she gasped in slight tension. She felt her muscles constricting without her order as she grabbed the fistful of hair and pulled... Inhaling sharply, Sakura wrapped her legs around his waist and and switched their positions; with her ontop and pinning him beneath her.
"Got you!" Sakura announced as she stuck her tongue out teasingly at the redhead under her. She rolled off of the male Demon underneath her and stood up, hands on her hips as she smiled with victory. "Nii-chan, I thought you said you were strong."
"Not when Chiyo helped out when I put you into headlock! Jesus, I swear that counts as cheating," Sasori grumbled as he rolled to his side and crossed his arms. He blew cheeks until he turned pink in the face. He acted like a child as Sakura whined and glomped him on the ground, ignoring Chiyo's sigh and Ino's giggle; Karin clapped alongside with Hinata.
It has been about a week and a half since Sakura challenged Kakashi at the training field and had a bad experience with Rin inside her head (not to mention the nightmare involving that creepy shadow), and she has not heard from Rin since then. Sakura had even tried to get her attention, hoping to ask questions of why she saw Kakashi in his past youth, but it proved worthless as she gave herself a bad headache; even as she dreamed, it was nothing more but replays of the horrid dream of holding Sasuke's beating heart and having him touch her in the most intimate way. She couldn't help but feel disgusted and felt sorry for herself to blush at such a gross thing...
Besides that, Sasori and Chiyo had finally arrived to the Uchiha Compound with happy faces and tight embraces from Sakura and the Yamanaka family. Sakura instantly forced her brother-figure to train her about defense moves. Chiyo had mostly stayed inside the castle with Fugaku and Mikoto, talking about things that she refuses to share with her grandchild, but Sakura didn't seem to mind it all that much - when Ino finally returned Sakura's musicbox at one night, when her bleach-blonde friend witnessed her crying in the middle of the night and stumbled into her room that she shared with her parents. Sakura was so happy to get it back and eventually found more comfort when she twisted the knob and opened to the sweet song, that she fell asleep easier then with Hinata and Naruto's stories. She still spoke to Sasuke about her nightmares, and he behaved more then she expected and listened: asked some questions here and there, but one conversation yesterday has plagued Sakura's thoughts ever since.
"I don't know why it keeps coming back," Sakura sighed sadly as she buried her face into her hands infront of him, curling her legs closer to her chest. "And it always feels so real when that shadow man puts your heart in my hands. I feel the blood and muscle and everything..."
Sasuke blinked softly, unmoving as he sat in the dirt as Sakura did as well. He watched her fingers curl into shaking fists out of mere anxiousness. He has watched her hands do this whenever she mentions his heart or the shadowman ripping the organ out from his chest. It always makes him blink so slowly as he watched her do so, and it makes him powerless to hold back and see her act this way. It pisses him off so much to hear from Naruto, yawning and saying that he didn't sleep well last night and refused to say why.
Slowly, Sasuke reached with his hands and grasped her tiny wrists. Sakura's head jolted up on instinct as she stared wonderingly at him as he pried her palms away from her cheeks, gently pulling until his own fingers loosened their grip to slide into her hand, then holding it again with pressure. He didn't look at her face as he bowed his head down and pressed his mouth against her hands and pressed actual kisses on her fingers, one-by-one.
Sakura's heart thudded against her chest as her face blushed red as a tomato. She bit her lip to bite back the shrieking cry of embarrassment when he moved to the next hand. Once he was done, he took her small hands and pressed them on each side of his face; his eyes closed as he pressed his angular cheeks into her palms, exhaling slowly before opening his black eyes and looked at her.
"Don't be so sad about this, Sakura," he said in a deep, low voice. His voice vibrated against against her skin and spread a pleasurable tingle through every nerve. "My heart...is not going anywhere."
"I-I..."
Turning his face, Sasuke buried his mouth into her left palm, pressing a tender kiss on her pulse. His eyes were so soft as he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "I promise."
Shutting her own eyes, Sakura hid her face into her arm - where Sasuke's chin barely touched the top of her head - and she tried to breathe gently through her mouth. The tears she almost shed shrinked as she allowed herself to ask him a shy question. "Promise me that I won't hold your heart? And that you won't get hurt, like in my dream..?"
She understood that the damage was done on his skin; the scars that marred his skin with those maroon-colored scars and velveted-feeling flesh that was stained years ago. Sasuke explained it so and told her that it wasn't as bad as her nightmare had presented it, but she knew that it was all a lie to make her feel better.
His head moved from her hands, as she felt it, and pressed a heartmelting kiss ontop of her hair and then nuzzled his nose into her head and breathed. His hot breath warmed her already steaming face as he whispered in a very soft voice, almost out of his stoic-average attitude.
"I promise."
Sakura's face reddened at the memory of how gentle he was in holding her hands and kissing her fingers and palms. She found it more exciting the more she thought about it, and she would always lose her train-of-thought as Ino leaned in her sightings and smiled evily.
"What'cha thinking about, cutie?" Ino cooed as she poked Sakura in the belly and ribs, causing her to jump in her standing position and fell to her knees.
"Hey! What the hell was that for, Ino-chan?" Sakura yelled at her as she waved her hands around above her head. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"What do you mean?" Ino smiled cat-like as she plopped down next to her best friend. She pressed her face against Sakura's own cheek like a kitten as she purred. "You must be out of your own mind if you keep this up; zoning out like you are daydreaming about something related to boys...or, in your case, Sa-su-ke-bas-tard!"
"Mn!" Sakura groaned out with an upset tone. She didn't realize that Sasori was offered iced-tea by Hinata and invited Chiyo and Karin back to her place to discuss about today's events and ideas for the baby's cradle. She was alone with Ino now, and so she felt less crowded with her own emotions with other people huddled close to her. "Really, Ino-chan, just stop with it."
"Stop what? I'm just trying to read this book called Sakura's Big Forehead, but it's getting harder everytime I mention the bastard's name infront of you. What gives, honey?" Ino crossed her arms calmly as she glanced at the pink-haired teen playing with the hem of her springdress in the color of limegreen.
"What's with you and Shikamaru, ne?" Sakura countered back with a blank stare at the now shocked blonde. Before Ino could cuss out at her, she simply shrugged. "I'm just trying to read a book called Piggy's Brain, that's all."
"You're good, Haruno, but I asked first," Ino whined as she fell forward and landed her head onto Sakura's lap, allowing her to thread her fingers through the long blonde hair with interest and friendly affection. "Why do you always zone out, Saku-chan?"
"I don't know, honestly... I just think about things that bother me, you know?" Sakura shrugged again and huffed out a breath. "I think about things... Like what happened before Sasuke-kun left me."
"Baka, he didn't leave you," Ino growled as she rolled to have her face look up to the lavender sky and see her friend's natural beauty. "If I know anything about that jerk-face, is that he would light himself onfire before he would leave you for anything!"
"Then why..."
"Sakura-chan, honey bun...the cutiepants I want to kidnap, put into my pocket and feed you cookies," Ino named with a relaxed, yet serious face as she grabbed Sakura's hand that was petting her hair. "That was ten years ago when...things went wrong, and I really don't want to be the one to tell you because I was not there. If you really want to know about what happened, you should ask Sasuke yourself."
"But...he doesn't want to talk about it. At all," Sakura briefed quietly. Her eyes became life-lidded as she looked down at Ino with sad eyes. "I don't want to bother him about it."
"Maybe," Ino prodded her fingers together in genius thought, "if you spend time with him and try to realize your feelings for him, you can get answers yourself or eventually tempt Sasuke-bastard to tell you?"
"How would I get-?"
"Forbidden Flowers have their past lives inside them, don't they?" Ino intrupted with a bright smile, like she figured out a puzzle. "Why not pop into your conscience and say hello, ne?"
"... So, how come you still hang out with Shikamaru even though you always try to kill him?" Sakura changed the subject to get Ino to go limp in defeat. "Come on, Ino-chan! You haven't crushed on a boy since junior high, I should at least have my fun with you if you're going to abuse me. It's fair, don't you think?"
Ino pouted angrily at her, her arms crossed as she grumbled under her breath, sounding like a pissed dog with another dog in its territory. Sakura only smiled sweetly until Ino sighed and muttered someone on the ends of 'You spoiled pinky' as the blonde nodded. "Just don't bring it up around Daddy or anyone else. Mommy doesn't think much of it, but I don't want rumors spreading here; I had enough of a reputation back at school about that time I put the chemistry-experiment in that one girl's makeup kit!"
"You were guilty on it, Ino," Sakura said flatly as Ino grinned toothly, much like Naruto's smile. "It caused a rash on her face that lasted for a month and a half."
"Bitch deserved it, Saku-chan," Ino cooed innocently as she gripped Sakura's knees. "She teased you to the point where I had to show her place on the food chain."
Sakura couldn't help but laugh alongside with her best friend. She learned about the Yamanaka Demons and how they take pride in protecting their loved ones. It goes, if a Yamanaka finds you 'worthy' or 'special' to them, similar to a best friend or considered-sibling, they will use their own powers to ensure the safety and joy in the one they love. Sakura learned from Ino that her family carries a gift from the Demon Gods of mind-manipulation; taking over the conscience of their enemy and do what they wish to their bodies while the original host is unconscious. For the stronger ones, you can have telepathy, but Ino has yet to be taught that from her father...who has been busy on catching up with his old friends.
"I think it's rather awesome that you can take over minds," Sakura confessed quietly after a moment of silence after laughing. Sakura looked up to the grey clouds and lavender sky in great awe as her emerald eyes sparkled in curiosity. "I still want to know what exactly I can do as a Forbidden Flower..."
"I remember you healing injured animals back at the Shrine," Ino pointed out, catching the pink haired girl's attention. "Yeah, Sasori and I would go into the woods and find injured birds and rabbits for Chiyo, and she would give them to you and you would do this green-ish glow from your hands and heal their broken bones or cuts."
"But what about my blood? People tell me that I heal fatal wounds with it," Sakura remembered on Sasori's teaching after she discovered her true species.
Ino shrugged. "I've never seen you use your blood for anything. You have a low tolerance for pain, so I highly doubt you would've pricked your finger to save a animal or something."
"Sakura."
The called teenager's head whirled around to see Sasuke standing a few feet away, looking at her calmly as Ino rolled her head off of her lap and held her cheeks in fists, her lips all pouty as she stuck her tongue out at him. Sakura's cheeks instantly pinked when Sasuke raised his hand silently and made a motion telling her to follow him. With this, Ino pitched a fit.
"Oi! She's with me now, turd-nugget!" Ino growled sharply as she pointed an accusing finger at the raven-haired man. "Don't you try to hump her, understand? I know all your hiding places and I have ears on all the walls, you horny old man!"
"Inooo," Sakura ground out at her friend's immaturity.
"Wheres' my -chan, huh?" Ino smiled as she got up and hugged Sakura, pressing a friendly kiss on her cheek before getting up. "I'm gonna see if I can hunt Shikamaru down and demand him a rematch over training. The pinapple-prick still hasn't apologized to me for calling me his lady!" she grumbled out as she took off at an inhuman speed, much to Sakura's amazement.
She heard Sasuke summon her name again before getting up, dusting the crumbs of earth off her sundress skirt and hurried over to him with a bubbly smile as she took hold of his outstretched hand that was waving her over. With her other hand, she quickly poked the pendant made by Sasuke when she noticed that he had the ring on his left hand; feeling that she should 'match' Sasuke, she just wanted to be sure she had hers on...
'I can't even remember the last time I took the necklace off either,' Sakura realized to her own shock as she glanced up to the tall and dark Demon prince. "Are we going somewhere, Sasuke-kun?"
"Aa," he answered simply with his usual tone and facial expression, making Sakura smile a bit bigger since she can read him so easily. Sasuke noticed how Sakura wrapped two arms around his one, making him swallow a bit thickly as he looked down at her. "I want to show you something."
"What is it?" Sakura tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Is it another courtyard? Or is it a secret passageway to the village you rule? Oh, is it another cool flower like Karin showed me? By the way, I still have that ice flower she gave me and it is still not wilting! Kushina-chan said that I don't even need to water it or put it in soil; that it's suppose to be frozen in time. Isn't that the coolest-"
"You talk too much," Sasuke stated as he led her into the same hallway that he took her to meet Mikoto and Fugaku for the first time, however, they went the other way and went through a decorated arch of paper-lanterns, entering a plaza-like room with a large capacity. A large fountain stood in the middle in decoration in the design of a bare tree, the tips of the branches leaking sky-blue water into the tiled pool. The sky-blue water plattered into the fountain's pool, creating a soft mist to rise up and sparkle like stars in the night's sky. Plants of different shapes and different shades of brown, black and greens, making it look like a conservatory of exotic plants.
"So pretty..." Sakura awed dreamily with a dazed expression, becoming lost in the rich decoration Sasuke lived in.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted with no interest as he continued to guide them through the bricked floor, passing the fountain and continuing on into another archway that entered a hallway with portraits.
"Where are we going, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura blabbed outloud of her own curiosity.
Sasuke's lip cornered into an amused smirk as he curled his arm into a more gentlemen-like pose, holding her hands on his strong muscle. "You need to wait and see."
Sakura's mouth pouted as she rested her head on his arm, causing Sasuke's chest to tighten into a sweet, yet painful way. For Sasuke, he felt like he was becoming a masochist with all this amazing torture she gives him on accident. He obviously knew that she had no intentions of getting his attention this way, or for the face that her closeness drove his senses up a wall to the point it comes pouring our of the roof. Whenever she would say something that doesn't seem like her rejecting him, or minding the idea of being 'close' to him, it reminds him of the past of when she was a newborn to growing up to a young child.
Sasuke listened to the gurgling swallows the tiny baby took from the bottle he was feeding her. Holding it the way Mebuki showed him how, Sasuke tilted the bottle up a bit more when the last of it was being consumed of the hungry infant. He was amazed on how babies can eat more then they can hold, hoping that he wasn't overfeeding her to have a stomach ache later on in the day before she would take her nap, but he was assured by the human parents and Chiyo that this was all the signs of a happy and healthy child.
Sasuke stared wonderingly at Sakura's sleepy-look as she suckled on the bottle with her tiny fists by her cheeks, her growing legs ocassionally kicking out of uncontrolled nerves. He found this baby to be more then entertaining, but much more worth his time then training with his soldiers or fufilling his royal duties as a prince. He would much rather hold Sakura then to do those particular things, and he finds himself more and more amused with the time he spends with her.
Which is actually more then you can expect.
Sasuke was there since day one, from the early mornings to the late at night; until she became old enough to have a 'big girl's' bed for her fourth birthday, and she demanded Sasuke (with a stomped foot and pouting lips) that he slept with her to keep the scary monsters away, thanks to Sasori's idea of creativity to tell her horror stories with his puppets. He didn't mind it though, he enjoyed the close bodies and listening to her heartbeat as he relaxed by her side.
"Nighty-night, Sasu-chan," Sakura whispered when the lights went out, twisting her head to peck his head like a parent to their child before burrowing herself into the thick blankets and cuddled into his chest. She only took one moment before falling asleep in his arm, and then he would wrap that arm around her for extra cushioning and warmth.
He would rest his head on he pillow she shared with her, press his mouth to her tiny, tiny ear and hum the lullaby he made for her when she was a child. Soothing her into a wonderful dream, Sasuke would give her another token of sweet dreams by kissing her cheek before he would close his own eyes, but keep his ears open...
Then there was the time she turned eight, and she-!
Sasuke frowned before the memory could replay in his head. Out of paranoia, the ugly scars on his chest and shoulders burned with the horrid memory of Sakura covered in blood, blank eyes and the stench of Hell itself would toxicate his senses to the point he wanted to go and lie down for an hour alone. He stopped himself in time when he stopped by order, facing an expensive shouji door of thick paper and black wood framing and felt Sakura's hands tighten in excitement before he could breathe out an invisible chuckle.
"What's this, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura instantly, on cue, started asking questions and shifting her weight on the other leg and back every five seconds.
Sasuke didn't say anything, instead he used his free hand to slide the door open and motioned his head in a single nod for her to go ahead and step in. Sakura did so and waited for him to step in and slide the door shut before looking at her with a stoic face, watching her eyes sparkle as she surprised herself in the room.
Sakura saw the light painted walls with no decoration, besides a tapestry of the Uchiha Clan on the right side of the room above a dark brown dresser with assorted knives she had seen Shikamaru show her, called kunais, and a long katana sheathed into its case with a pure white yukata-shirt hanging on top like a coatrack. She allowed her eyes to scan the black-tiled floor until she found a king-sized (or bigger) futon bedding with obvious plush with silky white sheets and four pillows covering the last exposing skin of the matress, topped with a navy blue quilt neatly arranged. The room was not very decorated, however, the lighting in the room gave it more personality through the shouji window that covered the other side of the wall...
"This is a bedroom," Sakura chirped out matter-of-factly, feeling herself to be dumbfounded to be shown a bedroom. Her hands clung to the fabric of her sundress.
"Aa," Sasuke said quietly in the silent. "This is my bedroom."
Suddenly, Sakura's heart stopped beating for a long second. She could feel her face getting intensly red as she heard Sasuke's footsteps coming behind her, his hot body radiating heat to her back. He didn't touch her. Sakura suddenly felt the sudden need to shiver or curl into a ball at the corner, but Sasuke simply took her delicate fingers and led her across the room, passing the bed to her relief. He guided her quietly to the shouji window and opened it with one easy swift to expose a oaked porch with a small backyard, towered with the tall bricks similar to the brick wall that surrounded the Uchiha Compound, but it was now bordering out of what looked like a private area; a tomato plant was dug in one corner of the yard, and the other side sprout a cherry blossom tree in slightly-bare exposure, due to the ending time for the particular flowers to die out until next spring.
The grass was dark and plushed to give Sakura's bare feet a break from the slightly crumpled grass in the courtyard or training field, feeling so soft on her toes as Sasuke gently pushed the small of her back over the edge of the porch. She glanced around in a circle and spun on her heels, trying to take in the natural beauty and relaxation this little place was giving her. It was like that all the bad things can lift away from her shoulders.
"Wow... I never pegged you as a garden-person, Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled out of the blue, obviously not thinking before she speaks. Sasuke smirked and sat on the porch with his elbows on his thighs, hands limp, simply watching her look around and start smiling. "You grow tomato in your yard? I thought you just went to the Human World to get some and come back, but I guess I was wrong. How does the soil work for the plant, ne? It just seems like the dirt is different in both worlds, so it can't work, can it?"
"Aa..." Sasuke shrugged softly when she looked at him for an answer, not giving a yes or no. He didn't know, all he cared about is that his tomato plant was alive and he eats it (and it tastes just perfect). He watched her take a hesistant move before settling herself on her rear on the very soft grass, hugging her legs and glancing around with a continious rhythm of left and right, her eyes dreamy and relaxed. "Do you like it in this spot?"
Her head snapped curiously to him, tilting back as her pink hair fell to a longer length of her back. She looked at him with a curious blink before smiling brightly and nodded. "It's really calming here! I like it a lot, Sasuke-kun."
"Then you can come here whenever you are stressed or do not wish to deal with others," Sasuke said with a confident nod. When Sakura started to fuss about barging into Sasuke's room, or even about bothering Sasuke when he wants to be alone from other people.
"No! I can't do that, Sasuke-kun," Sakura gasped with wide eyes as she walked on her knees over to him, her arms flying up and down. "What if you have a headache because Naruto bothered you so much, and you want nothing more then to be left alone? Or-or what if I walked in on you while you were sleeping, and I woke you up - Or what if you were changing clothes! Oh my God, Ino would totally get on my butt about that, or even if you were naked! No, no, that's not okay, Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke, who was sitting on the edge of his porch with his arms resting on his thighs, raised a brow as she stood half a foot infront of him, her face all panicked. "I would assume that you know how to knock..."
"Well, yeah, of course I do!" Sakura fumed with puffy cheeks. "But this is your bedroom, Sasuke-kun. I can't just be allowed in here when you're occupying; like if you were trying to-!"
"I am rarely in here," Sasuke said blankly. "If I am ever tired, it is very rare for me to sleep for very long."
"But that's not the point! I just can't-!" Sakura could not even finish her rampage when Sasuke took his right hand and cupped under her chin, squishing her cheeks to the point that her lips puckered like a blowfish. She blinked in confusion as he used his other hand to make a hushing gesture with his index finger. Sakura made a quiet whining noise but nodded in understanding.
"I am allowing this for you," Sasuke spoke in a quiet voice, staying in total eye-contact with the pink haired teen. His black eyes bore into to her emerald eyes in such a firey way, so much like fire and ice clashing together into a sweet consquence of steam of tension. But it was nowhere in a bad way. "You are allowed to come here when you are stressed or upset... You are not in your world anymore, and you deserve a sancturary whenever you need it."
Sakura's eyes glittered with shock and amazement, her cheeks reddened when he gently let go of her face and placed both arms back on his legs, looking away from her to...nothing else, really. Frowning a bit, Sakura stood on her knees more before speaking.
"Are you serious, Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to ignore me now?"
"... Hn."
Sighing, Sakura allowed herself to smile brightly as she went limp, falling forward into Sasuke's chest, her pale arms wrapping around him as she buried her face into his clothed chest. Right where the scars stained his sculpted chest, she pressed her nose against him and inhaled her masculine scent. She could tell very well that this surprised him; feeling his muscles stiffen on the sudden contact, and to that, she smiled a bit bigger against him.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she whispered against him as she tightened her arms around him. "It means so much to me that you are willing to do something like this for me..."
Twitching, one of Sasuke's hand pressed at the small of her back, rubbing gently as she cuddled more into his lap. His head was bowed as he watched with very soft eyes, feeling his stomach do a twisting flip that hurt oh-so-sweetly; his nose inhaled the sweet smell of her scent, her natural, normal scent that had been sticking to her since day one. He breathed slowly, letting the aroma sink in and toxicate him into the behavior that his mother warned him about.
Slowly, with his other hand, he reached for her face and cupped her cheek. Leaning back to have her look up on instinct, Sasuke pulled her face up with intense eye-contact before he tilt his head and pressed his lips onto her flushed cheek in an affectionate kiss. He felt her whole body stiffen against him as he pulled her closer with the hand on her back; she didn't pull away or yell at him to stop, simply staying still until he felt her eyelashed flutter shut against his ear gently, an exhale of contentment escaped her lips as she melted against him slowly. She was shy, but she was slowly turning into goo.
Once he was done, Sasuke gave her another brief smooch on her cheekbone before resting his forehead against her shoulder. He breathed quietly as she shivered slightly in delight, her fists clinging to his shoulders, clenching and unclenching as she obviously nibbled on her lower lip to try and find something to say to him. Anything really.
Instead, Sasuke smirked against her shoulder. "I do these things, because I love you... Don't forget that."
Sakura's eyes snapped open, stiffening again. "I-I... Uhm..."
"You don't need to return my feelings, Sakura," Sasuke muttered in a low voice, causing her to shiver. He hugged her closer to his chest, letting her know how his heart was pounding just for her. "Just come here when you are in need of a place to hide... This place is just for you."
Before Sakura could say anything, a pound on the wood made her jump into an 'eep'. "Sasuke-temeee, I know you're in there! Your dad wants you right now, man!" Naruto's gruffy voice tore her ears a little bit, but her hands clung to Sasuke's shoulders a bit harder, shyly glancing at the the head buried in her shoulder. "Don't make him wait, otherwise he'll start training without you. I don't want to be put to blame. Heeey, stupid Temeee; get off your ass and chase meeeh!"
A slight rumble vibrated Sasuke's throat in an annoyed growl when Sakura's knuckles tinted white upon holding onto his yukata-coat so tightly. Lifting his head back, Sasuke witnessed her pretty pale face all flustered and embarrassed, unable to look into his eyes for anything, making him smirk slightly as he rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs carefully.
"I'll be back in a little while," he said quietly once Sakura crawled a bit away from him to give them the space he needed to stand up. "Try to amuse yourself with Ino, but keep her from breaking something..."
"Ahm..." Sakura flushed harder when she saw his smirk widen at her struggle for words. She settled for nodding like a fool and stare at the grass as he left the room, hearing Naruto speak out of her language of blubber and nonsense about how Sasuke shouldn't take his time staring at himself in the mirror or picking his nose. Sakura couldn't help herself but fall to her back, relishing the soft grass, as Sasuke closed his bedroom door.
"What the hell was taking you so long?" Naruto growled as he walked ahead of Sasuke. "You know, I have to figure out on what to do for the cradle in our room for the baby, and I don't even know the gender yet! I can't hear the baby's heartbeat or anything, but I'm just thinking of painting it orange...sounds about unisex, right?"
"Hn..."
"You're right," Naruto scoffed to himself. "I should do red- No wait! Dark blue or deep navy! Just like Hinata-nyan's hair; so then, whenever the baby opens its eyes, it will think of its mommy because the cradle matches her hair! Perfect." Naruto clapped his palms together in victory, jumping up and turning around to look at Sasuke. "Oi...what are you staring at, ne? You thinkin' I'm too good-looking for you? 'Cause I know it's true!"
"I'm just surprised on how...serious you are about this child," Sasuke confessed quietly, looking at Naruto with narrowed eyes, yet soft. "You seem to be more mature about it."
"Dude, I'm over nine-hundred years old - Just like you!" Naruto flapped his arms around in his baggy sleeves. "Never, in my whole life, have I dreamed of being a father. But I'm so happy about becoming a dad, Dattebayo! Especially with Hinata-chan! She's gonna be a great mother, you know."
"Hn..." Sasuke closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. He took a few steps to stand beside Naruto before reaching out and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"You're...going to be a good father," Sasuke addressed quietly before removing his hand and starting to walk off without waiting for Naruto to start beaming in sparkles and rainbows. Sasuke flatout ignored his friend calling out to him.
"Say it again, Sasuke-teme!" Naruto commanded with a goofy smile as he skipped over to his side. "Say that compliment again, Sasuke, so I know that you meant it."
"No."
"Aww, come on! Does it hurt when you say it, or something?" Naruto whined as he yanked on Sasuke's sleeve, like a little child wanting a piece of candy. "Does it break your widdle heart and make you cry on the inside, Sasuke-ukeee?"
Sasuke did not hesitate to grab Naruto's ear, twist it hard, and drag the wailing Demon down the hallway.
=xxx=
Sakura walked through the hallway, quietly taking herself out of the palace and find the exit to the outside. She planned on looking for something to do after taking another half hour in Sasuke's backyard, admiring the tomato plant that he owned and the bare-cherry tree; she didn't feel comfortable walking back into his bedroom and eyeing the giant bed and dresser set that he owned too, which made her heart twist uncomfortably. She can't explain it properly, but she couldn't bring herself to stay much longer in his bedroom for anything - and she was done collecting herself and she was ready to go on with her day.
Entering to the outside world, Sakura instantly ran into the sight of Kakashi's back. Tensing her shoulders, Sakura recalled the 'accident' of the training with the Demon, and tried to reach out to her inner-mind to speak to Rin; as Chiyo taught her slightly on what do to if she ever wanted to try and speak to her past lives. It was all about focusing your energy into the back of her mind (as fuzzy as it looks, with purple blobs and smudges) and calling out to whoever was there to listen.
Which, in Sakura's current case, was only one person. And it seems like Rin wasn't paying any attention to her right now.
Swallowing all her negative feelings about being neglected by the one who promised to be with her, Sakura breathed and started walking towards Kakashi with a confident plan to get answers from the masked Demon.
"This mask itches." Sakura heard Kakashi complain lightly, realizing that Shizune was infront of her target, adjusting the black-colored material covering over his mouth and nose. Sakura found the respect for the two and decided to approach in his wife's line-of-sight, allowing the dark-haired woman to peek at her and smile in shy greeting. Shizune reached up to her husband and pulled down the mask on Kakashi's face - although Sakura couldn't see his face - she got onto her toes and pressed a kiss to what seemed to be his mouth. Sakura couldn't see anything, but she allowed that part to pass when he purred loudly enough for her to hear. Shizune giggled and pulled his mask back into place before she pointed to Sakura gently with a graceful finger.
Kakashi turned his head to see Sakura's face blushing on the sudden put on spotlight. She blinked and looked at Shizune, who smiled sweetly and curtsied to Sakura. "Good day, Sakura-hime," she spoke in a gentle tone as she brought her head up. "Please pardon me, Sakura-hime, but I must go pick up Anko-chan from her lessons in the village. I will speak to you later, and I may bring a treat for you and Kakashi-kun."
Before Sakura could turn down Shizune's plan on bringing something for her, the Demon woman waved and hurried off when she found the opening of the wall exposed for her passing. When Sakura met up to Kakashi's side, she saw that his Sharingan eye was exposed and looking at the tall bricks that kept them separated from the village and misty forest. When he looked away and began to pull the headband down was when Sakura saw the bricks in the gap emerging like coming from the clouds, staring at Kakashi's face with narrowed eyes.
"The Sharingan makes the opening to the wall," Sakura said outloud as she pointed a finger at him, her lip twitching.
"I suppose my fun secret isn't going to be as fun anymore, ne?" Kakashi chuckled as he covered his eye, his only visible one crinkling into a smile. He patted the top of Sakura's head like an adult to a child. "That's alright though, as long as you don't tell Anko about it; she has yet to figure it out on her own. Deal?"
Sakura blinked, realizing her whole mission toward this mysterious Demon was being held up by her becoming easily distracted. She straightened her back and inhaled enough air to calm herself down. "Kakashi."
"Mm?" Kakashi blinked at her in curiosity, finding it absolutely odd in her behavior.
"The Sharingan is only known in the Uchiha family...are you an Uchiha?" Sakura asked with a bland expression, trying to keep her uncomfortable urges to demand answers from him. She didn't hate Kakashi, but she feels that Rin's ignorance has something to do with him since she started training with him. "If you are, then you should be in the royal family, and a Demon God."
Kakashi looked at her for a moment before offering a kind smile that was hidden beneath the black mask. He gently offered his hand to her in a gentlemen-gesture, to which Sakura placed her palm ontop of his hand allowed him to walk her over to where Sakura first met Karin in the flowers. There, Kakashi bowed his head for Sakura to sit down first, and she did in the traditional japanese-style, and he followed by crossing his legs lazily and took on to look at the flowers.
"Tell me, mi'lady, if it is not too much to ask," Kakashi started in a smoothe voice, "but have you encountered to previous Forbidden Flower when you were woken up from a portion of your barriers?"
Sakura blinked. "Are you talking about Rin?"
"Aah, I miss hearing that name," Kakashi chuckled. He turned his head to look at Sakura with sad eyes, the darkness seemed to sparkle with memories that hurt him, and Sakura felt her heart clench. "You are probably getting chunks of Rin's memories, I assume? And I bet she's causing a fuss with the way I am dressing; she never liked me wearing short shirts in the chilling weather."
"I saw...a memory of when you were younger, and Rin would follow you around," Sakura confessed as she looked at her hands. "It looked like to be back in the Human World, but I can not tell for sure."
"Well, your eyes don't play tricks on you," Kakashi said as he leaned back onto the soft grass. "You see, Sakura-hime, I was sent by the previous man who was promised to the Forbidden Flower to take care of her until she reached the age of eighteen, then I would have brought her to her future-husband."
"You knew the man who was promised to Rin?" Sakura asked with deep interest, more curiousity then gossip.
"Uchiha Obito, the prince of the Uchiha Kingdom and the only son of Uchiha Madara, the king of the country at the time," Kakashi announced with a proud voice. "Madara was kind've an odd character, mostly emotionless and had an easy mad voice, but he meant well to his people and they loved him back.
"Uchiha Obito was the only sont o King Madara, who sought him as a treasured gem. He was an adventurous brat, I might add, and never listened to his tutors or servants when it came to safety," Kakashi said with a smile under his mask, his eyes crinkled at he looked up to the grey clouds. "Although, while being a fearless punk, he was kindhearted and can easily sort out the good people just by looking at them."
"You knew him very well, Kakashi?"
The said Demon nodded slowly, taking a pause to look for proper words to say. "If you must know, mi'lady, I was actually adopted by Uchiha Madara when I was exiled from my own kingdom. I was the son of a noble man named Hatake Sakumo, and I was driven out as a child by King Hiashi."
"You came from Hinata's home?" Sakura's eyes widened at the newfound discovery.
"Yes, but I was much younger when I was pushed out of my home," Kakashi sighed. "Miss Hinata was the matured age of a Demon, while I was barely a preteen at my own age..."
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Stories of the past will teach you lessons, so that History won't repeat.
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Sometimes, those stories are not meant to be told so that they may protect one face.
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The story of a young child, losing a home and family, would reveal a fragment of hurt...
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And the bad confession that the ghost of the past will soon tell.
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Tattered and hungry, the youthful Demon child scrambled over a black log with hurried pace, feeling the presence of the chance of getting a small meal may be promised to his hardworking exercise. For too long has Kakashi been scavenging for scraps of foods, feeding mostly off of plants of trees and edible flowers that he learned in books he has read from his father's study; he was itching for the needed diet of flesh and meat. He couldn't help it, it was the needed item for a Demon's belly, whether he could try and resist it or fall for the temptation of pounding blood.
Kakashi, with his smart nose, could smell out the tiny rodent with sharp teeth only a few feet infront of him, trying to get away from the hungry boy that was seeking it out. It may have been a dirty, matted rat, but Kakashi was desperate for an actual meal for his taste. He was tired, and he couldn't wait anymore...
Seeing the pitch-black rodent scrambling over the dead leaves and tall grass, Kakashi's only opened eye widened in anticipation as he kicked chakra into his legs (just like his father taught him) and reached just a tail-length from getting a hot meal-
"Chidori!" a ghosted voice screamed into Kakashi's ear as blue-lightning struck into the rat's body, sending it to crash into the black-barked tree and spasm from electicution before going limp - although the body would jerk from a spark of the leftover lightning.
Gasping from both shock and anger, Kakashi's head twisted hard to the emerging body of a boy not too much older then him, probably the same age, looking at Kakashi with a goofy grin. "Lucky shot, huh? I've been waiting for something that big to come by so I can show it who was bo-!"
"That was mine, you heartless asshole!" Kakashi screamed as angry tears fell from his good eye. He held his hand over his wounded eye, feeling the unwanted sting as blood and tears dripped slowly out. "Do you know how fucking long it took me to find game so I could eat something for the first time in days?" he howled at the young kid, who blinked in mere confusion. "I'm probably gonna turn into those lowlive-Demon-shitheads any hour now, thanks to you!"
"Huh? That was...your lunch?" the boy shivered in disgust as he eyed the now-toasted rodent. "I wouldn't be eating that polluted thing; its been eating corpses of the lowlife Demons in these forest, and who knows what else."
"Yeah, well, it was my meal and I would've eaten it nontheless!" Kakashi sneered as he sobbed bitterly, falling to his rear when his stomach was twisting painfully. He knew he shouldn't have been running for his meal, but what choice did he have? He used his mask that covered this mouth and nose -although tattered and stained - used it to clean the blood dripping from his wounded eye. He was so hungry and cold.
"Hey, how did you get that wound?" the kid asked out of the blue, kneeling down to get a better look at the scratch that was probably infected by now.
"Why should I tell you?" Kakashi bit back, still angered at his lost-meal.
"Because I'm curious, that's why!" the kid snickered teasingly as he plopped down infront of Kakashi, uninvited. "Doesn't look anything that creatures would do to you, since you have been chasing them, I assume?"
Kakashi glared. "I was punished by the King of my home...what used to be my home," Kakashi sighed tiredly as he applied pressure to the wound. He coughed semi-sickly. "Before you ask, it was a worthy punishment for what I have done."
"What did you do?"
"The King's wife's noble died...my mother; she suffered from a fatal-blow of my move when the King demanded a fight between her and I," Kakashi shivered as he looked down. "I'm a horrible noble in my kingdom, and the King wanted me to be punished by the woman who brought me into that life... and she allowed me to kill her out of fucking love!"
"Wow..." the boy breathed as his eyes softened. "I know how that is, my mother died in my doing when I was foolish enough to have her chase me into the forest and lowlifes got ahold of her. She wasn't weak, but she did it to protect me."
Kakashi tsk-ed at him, causing the other lad to smile a bit. "Bet that the King was pissed that you killed his wife's sole-protector, huh? That's a shame; I would've made you my wife's protector if you took down the previous one! Dog-eat-dog World, I tell ya!"
"That was my mother."
"Yeah, but she did it for you, right?"
Kakashi went silent and started to ignore the presence infront of him, feeling to tired and angry to put up with him anymore. The unnamed his probably found that out, so with a run of his hands through his spikey black hair, the kid grinned and reached into his warm cloak.
"If you're that hungry, I'll spare my treat for you," the kid declared as he pulled out a stringy piece of meat, sopping with blood and muscle as it dripped little from his hand as he held it out. "I have a whole container filled with it, and I'm not hungry. Take it!" He shoved the wet meat into Kakashi's hands as he stared hungrily at it before yanking down his concealing mask.
Revealing numerous and gruesome scars and revealed fangs.
The kid blinked at the sight as Kakashi devoured the piece of flesh like a madman, feeling another tad of symphathy for him. "My name is Obito, by the way."
"Kakashi!" he responded with a gasp after swallowing the meal in a big gulp. "Hatake Kakashi!"
"Aa! So you're from the Kishimoto Kingdom, ne? The Hatake are said to be smart nobles, and very hardworking," Obito explained from his own knowledge. "I hear that the Hyuuga family is popular there, too, in the business of trade and military for the Kishimoto reign."
"Uh-huh..." Kakashi starved when Obito revealed a metal container with the ghastly stench of meat and blood, to which Obito opened the container and placed it gently in Kakashi's lap.
"That's pretty far away from your borders, too..." Obito said quietly when he watched Kakashi suck the blood from a soaked piece before swallowing it whole. "It is a shame that you were kicked out of there, and you must've been traveling a long way just to get food, hn?"
Stopping in a mid-biting, Kakashi looked with his only opened eye before nodding slowly, unable to take in what this kid was going to do. Obito suddenly grinned and clapped his fist into his palm. "I know! Come home with me and be my nobleman!"
"Eh?" Kakashi growled.
"I need a noble, and my kingdom one hasn't beared any children yet. And I certainly don't want a pesky baby to be my companion," Obito explained with a sniff. "My father would allow it, I just know it. You are a good sport with a punk-like attitude, just like me!"
"Why are..?"
"Uchiha Obito, reporting for rolecall!" Obito sang as he smacked a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, causing the young boy to stiffen on the contact. "I like you Kakashi, and I think you will excell in my homeland; you can be my noble, my friend...hell, I'll make you my brother because we are so similar in gruesome pasts!"
"Mmm..." Kakashi looked aynwhere but at him, self-consciously pulling his mask back up over his face.
"Hey, Kakashi, I won't let anything bad happen to you, okay? I think you have a lot of great things to do so I'm gonna give you a chance," Obito whispered confidently. "I will give you a room next to mine to sleep in, food to eat so you won't be bitchy all the time; and we can train together and we can go on missions!" Obito held out his hand, his black eyes sparkling with happiness. "Come on, Kakashi. Let's have an adventure together."
"Obito," Kakashi breathed, "took me home that very day, but I was still doubtful to his promises. For all I knew, he could've sent me back to the Kishimoto kingdom for the end of my days."
"Then what happened?" Sakura asked quietly.
Opening his eye, Kakashi looke more at peace as his voice was soft as silk. "Obito kept his promises and we became brothers."
"Not fair, Kakashi! I could've sworn you were older then me!" Obito whined as they both held up the calendar, hoping to count up the months they were apart. They were curious at the age of ten, and this was something that would define their friendship, as Kakashi felt inside. "Now you're gonna have to call me 'nii-sama', so I guess it will be alright."
"Like I'm going to call you that," Kakashi rolled his eye, arranging the headband that Obito gave to him last year to hide the scar over his marred eye. Kakashi could see just fine out of it, but he hated people looking at him with a critical eye of the unwanted tramp that the Great Uchiha Prince picked up. "You're still Obito, Obito."
"And you're still Kakashi, Kakashi," Obito sniffed bitterly before smiling, which Kakashi grinned under his mask as they both placed down the calendar. "Well, since we missed your birthday weeks ago, I will give you a present right now."
"I don't need a present." To be frank, Kakashi can't remember ever having a birthday present in his life. He honestly couldn't think of anything that would appeal as a great present.
Obito's eyes sparkled as he stood straight, walking over to his father's only throne and sat upon it, crossing his ankles as he held his chin up high. "Hatake Kakashi, you do know that my father has agreed to let you live here, in the palace, and be my noble, yes?"
Kakashi nodded childishly, obeying the future king of his new home.
"Well, I discussed with Father last night," Obito grinned toothly, "and he has offered the idea of adopting you. You'll be my brother for real, Kakashi!"
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat as he fell to his knees. Here, he was recalling how the Uchiha King would check up on both of the kids, asking what they were doing or how they were feelings. How when they trained and Madara would plop in and both of the boys would wrestle with the King, and he didn't push Kakashi away like his father did. Although, Kakashi's orginal father never hated him...but he was negative of public affection towards his only son after the death of his wife. With Madara, however, Kakashi would feel absolutely happy about being alive.
"M-Madara-sama...wants to adopt...me?" Kakashi stared up to Obito, who was now kicking his legs like the kid he was. When his friend nodded, Kakashi held a hand to his chest. "But...I can't, Obito. I'm not an Uchiha and I'm just as normal as any other Demon. I wouldn't fit into your family!"
"That's why I'm giving you a present, Kakashi," Obito chirped as he beckoned a hand to Kakashi to come closer. Being his noble, Kakashi didn't dare to disobey and stood infront of the slightly older Demon child. Placing on hand on his shoulder, Obito used his other hand to lift up the headband that covered his scarred eye, looking into the black eye carefully. "I'm gonna give you a gift, and you will return something to me. We can share it."
Kakashi blinked both eyes, feeling cautious as Obito's black eyes shifted into a red-color, three commas spinning lazily as the Uchiha prince smiled softly down to him. Kakashi's breath caught in his throat with three fingers pressed around the tainted eye, two above and the thumb below...
And Kakashi braced himself for the numbing pain as Obito removed his eye.
From the entrance of the throne room, Madara stepped in and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, watching as Obito held Kakashi's eyeball and performed the same idea with his right eye. Both kids were sobbing in the pain, but they both stood with straight backs as Obito mumbled something under his breath. It was a chant of the Demon gods of making a 'blood-brother' ritual, and making it official with these words. Smiling a little, Madara was proud of his young son performing this all by himself with his nobleman. He had grown fond of the young Hatake child, and even would call him his own child when addressing both kids in one place.
When Obito finished chanting the words he memorized, he placed his right eye into Kakashi's socket, and placed Kakashi's eye in his own. When he hummed, the pain decreased to an uncomfortable soreness for both boys as they both blinked and rubbed carefully around the lids. Obito was the first to open his eyes, bringing the Sharingan away and have his eyes look matching once more; when Kakashi opened his present, the Sharingan's commas twirled out of mere shock and curiosity.
Kakashi's vision was heightened, things became more clear and defined before he looked at Obito, tears falling out of the grey-haired childs eyes when Obito grinned tiredly and grasped his shoulders. Getting down from the tall throne, Obito pulled Kakashi in an embrace that they only have seen done with Madara and his own brothers and male cousins.
The embrace of brotherhood.
"Welcome to the Uchiha Clan, Kakashi," Obito muttered when Kakashi cried out and hid his face shamelessly into Obito's shoulders for support. All the overwhelming feelings of being loved and accepted into one simple hug made Kakashi's walls fall down. He felt unworthy of being in the presence of the Uchiha Prince, and once Madara strolled up to them and placed each hand on both of his sons' shoulder was when Kakashi realized that he was home.
"You were adopted when Obito gave you his Sharingan," Sakura concluded when her storyteller fell silent. "The burden you held of your mother's death was then shared with your brother when he gave you a Demon God's most prized possession?"
"Um," Kakashi said in a whisper. He closed his eye and sighed slowly. "After that year of being in the Uchiha Compound, Madara and Obito showed me what it was like to be in a family that I could never have with my own father. Madara became my father, as he called me his son...and Obito was still Obito, but he was my brother."
Sakura's eyes softened at the serene expression he had, feeling something inside her tug a certain question that has been bothering her for a while now. "And how did you meet Rin?"
"When I was thirteen, the Demon Gods spirits went to Madara and said that his youngest child by blood was to have his taste in the Forbidden Flower's life, thus was when Obito was starting training to become a ruler of his kingdom when Madara would retire or pass on," Kakashi memorized it with closed eyes. "Because I was a noble companion of Obito, as well as his best friend and brother, he asked me to travel to the Human World - when Humans and Demons lived together in peace - and raise Rin to know about the Uchiha Compound when she turned eighteen.
"When I went to the Human World, Rin's family was already passed from a epidemic that went on in the village," Kakashi went on quietly, allowing the wind to push his grey hair. "Rin was given to her grandmother, who survived the illness but was paralyzed at the waist-down, and I came into the picture when she was just a week old. I stayed with Rin and her grandmother and took care of both of them, just as Obito asked me to do for his bride."
"And you aged slowly, so you may seem even to Rin," Sakura added when Kakashi nodded, and he included that Obito was doing the same thing so he was not too old for his bride's liking.
"I was at her side at every minute and I taught her everything she needed to know about the Forbidden Flower and the Demon World, for that matter," Kakashi sighed softly again. "When the time came to her eighteenth birthday, I brought her over the Door to our world and given her to Obito so that Rin may have her happy ending with my brother."
Watching him sit up, Sakura stayed locked on his calm face. It was calm, but a hint of sadness still pinched in his only visible eye. "What happened to Rin and Obito, if you're still alive as you are now..?"
Kakashi glanced his way to look into Sakura's emerald eyes, looking deep and finding the similarity that Sakura held with Rin. Her curiosity. Her big eyes. Pretty much the little details that most others won't notice.
"She died," Kakashi put simply, looking away. "She died, and Obito could not bare to be apart from her for too long... He killed himself right when the war started between the Demon Gods and the lowlife Demons. Madara perished in the war to protect his kingdom, and so his only living kin on the Uchiha Clan was Fugaku at the time. Fugaku took the throne and brought order into this world."
Sakura's heart stopped. Invisible depression and heartbreak swarmed her whole body as she heard Rin's whimpering sobs in the back of her mind. Looking down, Sakura reached with her hand and leaned into a half-given hug to Kakashi, pressing her forehead on his shoulder as he looked at her wonderingly.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura added in his suffix that she only called him once during training, before he praised her of her strength. "Thank you for taking care of Rin and keeping her happy when her grandmother couldn't... If it wasn't for you being found by Obito...I would not be here."
Blinking slowly, Kakashi lifted his head to the sky, noticing clouds covering the white sun in the warning of upcoming rain. His heart flipped at the memory of Obito thanking him in this kind of weather, right before the rain, when Kakashi brought Rin and had her covered in his cloaks to keep warm.
"Thank you, Kakashi," Obito had said with the brightest smile he has ever seen his brother, like the time they became brothers. "Thank you for being my brother..!"
"No, I suppose there would be the chance that you wouldn't have been here," Kakashi breathed through his mask once Sakura pulled back and looked at him with a shy gaze. He turned his head and smiled warmly at her, Sakura could feel it, as he got up. "If it were me, Sakura-hime, I would consider you as my niece; since I am the adopted son of Uchiha Madara and Fugaku was his nephew... as I think of Sasuke as an annoying brat of a nephew myself."
Sakura smiled in return. "I would see you as an uncle, too, Kakashi-sensei. But Sasori is still my favorite uncle."
"Aa, yes, the redheaded lad who pampers his beloved man so well," Kakashi cooed. "As long as I can teach you during training, I will have no complaints."
Sakura giggled shyly. She was about to say something else to tease Kakashi, but the Demon's head snapped upward, his headband quickly pulled up to show the Sharingan spinning at the wall. Sakura looked behind her to see Shizune walking hand-in-hand with their daughter, Anko, who sought out her father quickly and made a dash for him.
"Papa!" Anko yelled in a roar-ish manner as she ran fast, leaping into the air for Kakashi to catch her easily and hold her against him. Sakura watched in fondness when Kakashi growled playfully and buried his face into Anko's mixed hair of her parents, causing the child to snicker and hug him tight.
Kakashi chuckled and looked up lovingly to his arriving wife, watching as Shizune flushed shyly like a crushing schoolgirl as she peeled Anko off of her husband. Kakashi didn't waste that moment to grab his wife's waist and nuzzle his nose into her neck; through his mask, without tearing it, Kakashi opened his mouth and gave a light bite to her skin, causing Shizune to giggle before Anko grumbled about how 'icky' her parents were. Sakura blinked gently before getting up from her spot, smiling in greeting as Anko blushed at Sakura and hid behind Shizune's long skirt.
"I wish you a goodnight, Sakura-hime," Kakashi startled her a little as he wrapped an arm around his wife and ruffled his child's hair. "I believe it is starting to rain soon, so I would suggest you find shelter before Sasuke sees you getting wet. He might hunt me down if I was so careless for your health, mi'lady."
(*Author's Note- You may start the song now c: Enjoy)
Sakura blushed at Sasuke's name and nodded quickly. "Hai. Goodnight Kakashi-sensei, goodnight Shizune-chan and Anko," Sakura curtsied before dashing off when Shizune called out to try and give her the treat she promised. Sakura barely heard Kakashi suggesting to give it to her tomorrow as she entered the high-statused Uzumaki household and made a dizzy way to her given bedroom.
She felt sick in her head, feeling lightheaded as she leaned against the wall for support and tiptoed to her room, not wanting to draw attention to anyone who could be in the house during his time. She entered her bedroom and fell back onto her futon bedding, minding the cushioning comfort it gave and how she wished it could swallow her and hide her from her troubles...
"Rin," Sakura called out as she closed her eyes, falling to her own spell as she entered her mind of the colorless world that Rin brought her to. Looking around sternly, Sakura found the only colorful item of red and the person she was looking for facing away from her. Inhaling an angered breath, Sakura marched over and found solid contact as she grabbed Rin's shoulders and spun her around on the ground, emerald gems meeting melting chocolate.
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Kakashi-sensei while I was training?" Sakura demanded, angry tears swelling into her green eyes as she shook the previous Forbidden Flower, who remained blank. "Why didn't you tell me that he took care of you and brought you to Obito? Why didn't you tell me anything, Rin, huh? I'm lost with myself now and all you do is hide things from me! You said you would help me, Rin..." Sobs wracked Sakura's shoulders and she slumped onto her knees and let her face fall into Rin's breasts, crying as she clung to her red cloak. "You said you would help me!"
'But I am...' Rin said with an unmoving mouth, using telepathy to her own advantage to hold back her own sobs as tears leaked from her brown eyes. 'Please, Sakura-chan... I am helping you.'
"Then tell me why you ignored me earlier today!" Sakura screamed at her, her angry yet sad face met her past's face. "I wanted answers. I wanted to try and understand on what it means to be a Forbidden Flower, to know about your past and get advice, but you ignored me!"
'I couldn't...look at Kakashi again,' Rin whimpered mentally. 'I couldn't look at Kakashi again after what I did to him - to everyone who depended on me!'
"Rin, please...please," Sakura begged when Rin held her face gently. "Please, tell me what happened to you. I beg you."
Rin closed her eyes, allowing tears to fall down. Her lips parted as she spoke with her own mouth in the most pained way; sounding exactly as Sakura's stressed voice, Rin bowed her head in shame. "It's all my fault that the Demon Gods are dead... It's all my fault that this world is what it is..."
Rin looked into Sakura's eyes before taking her turn to bury her face into Sakura's shoulder, sobbing outloud in agony. "And...it's my fault that Sasuke-sama has those scars on his chest, Sakura. I'm so, so sorry, Sakura!"
Holding back another wave of tears, remembering the horrid nightmare that had her be held by Hinata and comforted by the Uzumaki couple and Sasuke (in a certain way when she stripped him of his shirt to see if it was real) as she cried for both of them, Sakura wrapped her arms around Rin as her past self broke down her hidden secrets.
"How is that possible?" Sakura asked in a pained whisper. "How could you be the one to give Sasuke-kun his scars..?"
Rin's whole body shivered as she raised her face to whisper into Sakura's little ear. "It's all my fault...because I loved Kakashi-kun instead of Obito-kun."
"Eh?" Sakura pressed on with wide eyes. "B-but...you were promised to M-Madara's youngest son by blood."
"When Obito gave Kakashi the Sharingan," Rin licked her lips to moisten her drained mouth, "by the ritual...Kakashi became Madara's youngest son, because Obito shared his blood to become brothers with Kakashi."
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Deceived for another man, the woman's heart is very mysterious.
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She hold secrets that she will take to the grave and Afterlife...
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She holds the shame and burden that nonother can understand.
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Except, maybe, her reincarnation.
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AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Hoooooly shiiiiiiiit~ Cliffhangers are so much fun and I know that I will be swarmed with so much angry readers, but guess what! I still love you all c: You all deserve a bit of better meat in this fanfiction before I give you guys the grand surprise...
What will that be, I will never tell.
But I can promise that it will be coming REALLY soon, because Kitty loves all of you and you deserve a much better treat them Rin's girl problems ;D How do you think Rin will explain herself about all the blame she's putting on her own shoulders? Will Sakura be different mentally as she journeys on of her Forbidden Flower abilities? When will I stop giving you cheesy questions? Can't I just have Itachi and Kakashi in my closet so they can do things for my pleasure? (such a naughty Kitty!)
Remember to Review (if your happy or angry), Follow or Favorite, and you can even do nothing as you please, so long as you have a good day. Kitty gets all smiley when others are happy with whatever they want, so do it please! Have a wonderful day!