MisoHime
MisoHime's Note;
I haven't updated in a long time. For that, I apologize.
I've recently graduated from High School, and have officially ended schooling. I will be off a break until my College starts up, so hopefully I have a bigger opportunity to continue on - especially with this story.
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi .
For my reviewers and all of the readers:
- mommy-chan: Thank you very much, I'm very flattered that you find it worth reading. As I said, here is the new chapter, I look forward to hearing what you think of it.
- BananaphoneBob: Haha! Yes, I suppose that everybody has a small part to play with Sakura losing her cool. Thanks for reading!
- Chick182: Your review really made my heart warm up. I'm glad that you like it. I don't particularly have the best experience with writing, so it brings me joy to hear that you find my writing style interesting. Of course, Sai and Sakura couldn't be able to lie throughout their lives, especially when Sai's parents and Sakura's parents are in contact. I won't give anything away anymore, so you might have to keep reading to hear about the two.
Yes, I'm aware that Itachi hasn't been appearing all too often, but he will be! Soon! I promise.
Jealousy does play a big role in the story, feelings clashing and all that - you'd have to stay tune to see what happens..
- river of the sand: It certainly makes me feel conflicted when writing the story, since I wanted to link Sakura's pain to the readers. Everybody has a part to play with what has happened to her, but rest assured - this isn't the end for Sakura just yet.
- Jhen-ish: Thank you, thank you! Here is the next chapter!
- Girlalicious: Yes, poor Sakura.. I hated doing that to her. I'm sorry about the length - it was a bit of a rush to get the last chapter up. Anyway, here is the next one!
- Alice-hime of the moon: Thank you for letting me know how you felt about it. It seems like everyone is down in the dumps about what happened to Sakura in the last chapter. Here is the next one, I hope you enjoy it and continue on reading.
- Kcoolkat24: I'm flattered, thank you! Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter just as much.
- 24kk: Thanks for reading! It makes me happy to hear your thoughts. Here is the next chapter!
◊▫ 星の十字 ▫◊
Hoshina no Kurosu
Juuni
十二
Kiri
The familiar ring of her alarm clock brought a sheer sense of awakening for Sakura the next day. Without bothering to lift her head from the mountain of blankets and soft-cushion pillows, her slim, pale hand stretched out, lazily grazing over the bedside table to feel for the cold plastic of her alarm clock. With her eyes cleanly shut with dried tears of the previous day and an awful, cold weight hanging around her mind, Sakura couldn't help but feel that the morning was blissfully unaware of the traumatic and most ego-shattering event that took place the previous afternoon.
Cicadas and blue birds whispered in crisp tones, they sharp tweets and chirps contrasting with the pinkette's dull and gloomy mood.
'It's like their mocking me' Her bitter self thought.
Slinging her arm on the side of her bed, Sakura's arm accidently collided with an object.
It fell with a terrible 'thump', the weight of it of something heavy and enough to make Sakura flinch within her cocoon of cotton.
A harsh, pained grunt sounded from the bottom of her floor, causing Sakura to turn and pull herself up-right - startled. Her sudden movement caused the light leaking from her bedroom window to sting her eyes, bringing new tears. Ironically finding herself still able to shed more tears, the young girl drew a lazy yawn, rubbing her eyes and temples to rid of the sleep-induced haze.
Shuffling was heard and the pink-haired female drew in a cautious breath, slowly leaning over her side to look at the foot of her mattress.
"Ugly, you certainly know how to wake a guest." A lazy drawl called out between the bundles of cushion, which had shifted around in the dark from what used to be a makeshift sleeping bag.
Bleary eyed and unfocused, Sakura blinked, her mind working through a quagmire.
"S-Sai..?"
"Who else?"
Not responding, Sakura felt a wave of nausea hit her, making her stomach clench uncomfortably, while her throat closed up to the familiar gut-heaving pain stirring between the depths of her belly. A merciless pain stung at her temples as she worked through the events of yesterday. Sai was here. Sai was home. That meant that she had her dearest friend back.
That meant that she really did lose her part. To Karin.
Reaching down with effort, Sakura picked up the fallen book. A copy of Romeo & Juliet, the same one she had had since birth. The memories seemed to have found a sequence yet again and Sakura was tearfully reminded of the events of last night. A blur of crying buckets of tears, clinging to Sai while he awkwardly patted and stroked her hair, stuffing her face with pizza and diet coke, wailing and just wasting the night until she could no longer remember the heart-wrenching feeling of seeing Karin uttering the words she had been born for.
Numb and devoid of feeling, the rosette placed the hardcopy of Shakespeare back in its place before pulling back and crawling to the secure warmth of her comforter. A part of her hoped that it would bury her entire soul, just to keep her from facing what she knew she had to move on from.
"Sakura," Sai's familiar voice called.
Ignoring it, she wiggled herself deeper, reeling with self-pity.
"Sakura"
With a hard pull, the presence of her blanket and pillows were ripped away, leaving her bare and exposed - vulnerable.
"You can't keep hiding forever." The truth in Sai's words were more than she needed. He was right. But she didn't want it - she didn't want to hear what was right when everything had gone wrong.
Slim, strong fingers wrapped around her forearm, another pale arm winding itself around her waist and heaving her to an upright position once more. Hissing to herself, Sakura cast a sour look at her companion. It was times like these, when he was so male that it made Sakura feel utterly empty and pitiful that Sai couldn't be straight.
His dark eyes peered at her with protective determination. He wasn't letting her out easy.
"Get up, Ugly. Shower, coffee, school."
Sighing deeply through her nose, Sakura nodded with limp energy. She was beyond drained. Her joints ached and muscles protested from the strain of her ambitious run yesterday. Before anything, Sakura wanted to let go and curl up - locking herself away.
Nonetheless, Sakura allowed Sai to lift and haul her into the vanilla and disinfectant-smelling bathroom. Stumbling into the shower with uncoordinated feet, she shivered at the cold feeling of her bath quarters, stripping with slow, unpractised movements once the door had been shut.
Sai was most probably doing his best, knowing him. Feeling terrible about forcing her closest friend to take care of her when he had just managed to escape from his parents, Sakura slapped herself lightly on her cheeks, shaking her grumpy attitude and letting the warm water wash away the remaining traces of her post-depression hangover.
About half an hour later, Sakura and Sai entered their usual coffee hotspot. Ditching the groups of morning students and customers by the booths at the back, the pair hustled onto the barstools by the counter. This particular morning seemed to be extra noisy. With double the amount of patrons clucking around the coffee house.
Still feeling a little worn out, Sakura distracted herself with a thorough inspection of the menu while she waited for Sai as he ventured back into the crowd.
Her faded-green eyes wandered aimlessly through the words and letters that spelled out the selection of beverages. Taking a breath to soothe her foggy mind, Sakura's gaze wandered over to her partner.
Sai was groomed to his typical attire, his short hair slightly ruffled, either from the wind during their walk, or from the ragged disruption she caused the previous night. It was like he had never left at all. Sakura couldn't help but feel both relieved and guilt for getting so caught up with her own issues.
Sometime, during the mash of pizza and coke, Sai had told her he had been worried about leaving her, missing how he had led his life up until his parents 'uprooted' him. So he had packed up his bags, stirred up a storm right after getting settled at his camp, hailed a taxi and returned, unloading at his new place with an old friend, Yamato - only to find his dear friend tearing her eyes out in a crumpled heap. A new wave of appreciation flooded Sakura . What had she done to deserve Sai's company?
"Anything I can get you..?"
A sudden voice snapped Sakura from her daydream. Turning to look at the owner of the purely feminine voice, the pinkette found herself face-to-face with a very pretty lilac-haired woman. She was older than she was - probably by two years. Her face light in complexion and smooth to the last eyelash, her sunset eyes framed with heavy magenta makeup. A delicate silver stud decorated the skin right below her lower lip.
"Um, yeah, a mocha-" she regarded Sai "-and a espresso shot for me. Pure - no foam, no milk, no sugar. My senses need the boost."
The older female's lips twitched into a smile as she wiped her hands on the deep gray apron before jotting down the order on a slip.
"Rough night?"
Sakura allowed a bitter laugh/sigh out "Rough doesn't cover it."
Turning to hand the slip to a co-worker, the purple haired female outstretched a welcoming hand "Hah, I'm Konan, nice to meet you."
Slipping her own hand to her offered one, Sakura slipped on a shy smile. "Sakura. You're.. a member of Akatsuki, aren't you?"
An eyebrow went up as they shook. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I recognized you." Sakura shrugged. It was hard for her not to be aware of the members of the popular town band - Akatsuki. After all, her current pursuer, stalker and outrageous creeper-of-her-potentially-most-hated-rival's older brother, Uchiha Itachi was the band's lead guitarist and backup singer.
Konan quirked up a sly smile, "We're playing tonight. You should come."
"Come where, Ugly?" A smooth tone approached.
Sakura turned her head slightly to catch Sai's questioning look. He settled down into the barstool next to her, switching focus to the older female across the bar counter.
"Um, Konan-san here," Sakura informed "was offering us an invitation to watch her band play tonight," the rosette offered a half-hearted shrug, honestly curious to attend "I thought it would be fun, you know, since we didn't have particular plans."
Sai's eyes flickered unsteadily to the smirking Konan and back to Sakura. "Hm."
"Anyway, we're playing at around 8. The theme is 'Masquerade' tonight, so bring a mask and dress nicely. it'll be cool if you could drop by." The tangerine -eyed woman turned to serve their coffees before nodding at the younger girl and departing to attend to other customers further down the row of chairs.
Sakura took a sip of her bitter coffee, nodding happily at the rough taste that smoothed her mood. Her mischievous eyes flickered over to her companion.
It seemed like Sai was expecting her gaze. ".. Are you sure about this? How are we even going to get in?"
Pushing back a strand of pink that had fallen in sight, Sakura took a particularly big gulp of scaling hot coffee. The tangy flavour evening out the texture of her dry, sandpaper-like throat. She couldn't help the slight excitement that leaked into her jade eyes as she met with Sai's gaze over her espresso mug. Her mind was rebooting - conjuring up plans for the night and working the kinks.
"It'll be fun. I need fun. Plus, I've got a plan - so leave it all to me!"
Hours later, when the swarm of students finally flooded past the gates of campus, Sakura's hesitant footsteps echoed lightly on her way to the Drama Auditorium. School had just ended, meaning that most of the remaining students lingering were the scholars who had nothing better to do than coop themselves in the Academy's library. None of the others wasted their time remaining around the massive halls, for that, Sakura was relieved. Even though there were officially no rehearsals for the play today, the rosette couldn't escape the tight knot around her gut and the possible encounter with the present crew members that could possibly cause her heart to drive with shame.
Could her footsteps be any louder? With a shaky breath, her feet fell one after another, veins tingling like a terrible spy, right in enemy quarters.
'Don't be ridiculous!' Sakura chided herself. She had any right as any other student - cast or not - to be able to walk into the auditorium. There was no practice today - she would be safe. Or at least.. she hoped she would be.
With a trembling hand, Sakura forced a burst of adrenaline to push her final way, not giving herself a chance to turn and flee. As expected, most of the lights of the auditorium were switched off. Without the majestic lighting, the entire stage seems bleak and empty. These were one of the rare days when not a soul would be seem in the large theatrical hall, and the room, in all its glory, was devoid of a stranger's presence. Back in the day, Sakura would take joy in the rare occasions that it was empty. She would bask in the still air and vast walls - now it just felt cold. Unfamiliar. Unwelcoming. Haunted.
By the centre of the stage were two figures. Small in comparison to the massive hall. One was more curvaceous, the other fit and athletic. It took a few more steps closer to the stage than Sakura would have liked before she recognized the two Drama heads - Kurenai and Anko.
Kurenai was looking rather disarray. Even more so than her usual self after her time with Asuma. Her well-fitted wrap dress was crumpled and bunched around her thighs as she stretched on her place on the ladder, tweaking with what Sakura saw was a flickering light-bulb.
From the bottom of the ladder, Anko sighed heavily, running a hand through her choppy locks with exasperation.
The raven haired woman on the ladder scuffled awkwardly down the steps, pulling at her dress. Clearly she had given up on fixing the flickering bulb - instead choosing to descend and turn, catching Sakura's eye.
Masking a face of indifference, the younger pinkette pursed her lips with pride. This woman had chosen to pick Karin over her. She had sealed Sakura of what she worked and wanted - but she would not give her the satisfaction of her pride. Actress or not, she had more to offer, and if they didn't see fit that she belong on stage, surely there must be something she could do.
The strong stiletto heels of Kurenai's sounded and bounced off the empty room with a intimidating 'clack'. Lips turned to a sympathetic smile as she strode over a few paces to stand a few meters away from the green-eyed student. Her stance was cautious, but it felt as though her place on the stage was much too similar to a judge sentencing a felon with a very impressive alibi.
"Sakura," Tone loose - casual. Red eyes gleaming under the flickering, annoying light bulb. Whilst it suggested a comforting tone, it did nothing to hide the apprehensiveness in her smile. "How are you?"
'How do you think?' The other, more angry side of Sakura's mind whispered. Steeling herself with iron will - back ramrod straight, she turned her jade eyes piercingly towards the taller lass. "Fine. I wanted to see if there was anything to assist" Did Kurenai catch any venom in her sentence?
Her eyes seemed startled for a mere moment, but disappeared behind as quickly as it came. "No.. there is-" hesitation leaking within the pores of her reply "-.. nothing you can assist with today."
Sakura couldn't help the boiling, scaling anger that swarmed within her heart. Pushing it down with resolve, she tilted her chin up a little higher to meet the woman's fire eyes straight on.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing, my dear."
Something, somewhere, mustered up the undeniable feeling of pity ebbing within Sakura's heart - pity for Kurenai and her production. From where or why, she didn't know. However, she did know that she couldn't shield away the sympathy she felt for the middle-aged woman. Was it because she felt that the play was lost without her? Clearly not, considering that there were talents just as amazing. Was it pity over the fact that Karin had now taken over? No. Even if Sakura hated the aforementioned girl, she had been cast for a reason. Maybe not born with the same talent as she - but ability that was her in her own way. It was pity in its simplest form, and Sakura hoped that her eyes spoke the same sadness that would someday cause Kurenai to perhaps, regard Sakura as talent worth her play - anger issues aside.
"... Then I shall take my leave" Turning briskly, Sakura refused to shed anymore tears on the matter. She was done. Not her dream, but this particular incident. Let the story makers see to it that this has come to-
"-Wait!"
Halting mid-step, the Haruno turned around to face the very grim and unsure figure of Sarutobi's wife.
"I-I can offer you something else"
'Intrigued' Sakura thought wistfully. It couldn't hurt to hear her offer. She turned half her body, allowing Kurenai her attention enough that she could turn and continue on if she decided against her peace offering.
"I'm not offering you a role.. b-but if you still want to be involved.." Sakura perked a slim eyebrow. Not a role? What was she doing then? "... the lighting crew could use some help.. only if you want to. That's as good as I can offer."
The younger female weighed her options. The evening was fast approaching, but she took the time anyways - to carefully consider. True, lighting was obviously not something that she would be remotely interested in. Whilst not as prideful as most, Sakura sought herself to be a talent like no other. Fitting as a lighting staff - while undermining and painful, was the closest she would be able to get to the production. She found herself agreeing to most of her reasons. Centuries ago, when acting in old Opera houses was at its peak of popularity as entertainment, the industry had to weave out the weak actors from the strong. Most of the underlings sought help by watching the skilled main cast - even though they were nothing more than understudies and crew members.
"I'll take it."
At around 6, Sakura found herself more alive and awake from her comatose depression that occurred only half a day ago. After scrubbing herself clean and prepped, she wandered aimlessly over a side of her wardrobe that she hardly opened. The side her mother insisted all Haruno girls should have hidden somewhere so that when the time came, she would be prepared.
Pulling a cotton bathrobe, Sakura drew the door of the wardrobe across, revealing the rows of hangers that contained the girly, feminine clothing sealed away since young. Most were still hidden within their laundry bags. Each corner spilled with something fit for a red-carpet evening. From sequins to lace, Sakura bit her lip to flip through. Most were tasteful, and definitely pretty, but if she was planning to dress up and let herself out for fun for once, she wanted it to at least stay tasteful and strong.
A special dress caught her eye, right by the last row of hangers, a particular dress that made Sakura think: 'Oh, they're going to eat their hearts out'
With the sky dyed a mixture of hazy reds, oranges and purples, Sakura stepped out of the cab just around the curb of their destination. Sai followed behind in suit, with his hair tousled casually from its typical straight comb. He pulled and smoothed the creases of his blazer. A grey tie tied loosely around his neck. Behind his red mask, Sakura barely managed to recognize him. It was not often that Sai would dress up. While the evening called for a semi-formal attire at the place Akatsuki was playing at - a club no less, many had seemed to take advantage of the situation to pull out the most glittery, expensive attires Konoha seemed to have. Next to the long gowns and sparkling jewellery of the many bodies, the two students felt rather washed out in comparison.
"How are you planning to get us in, Ugly?" The pale male questioned with suspicion.
"Easy, look over there." The pinkette dolled in deep green and a black mask jerked towards the figure by the entrance of the club. A young, muscular, undeniably attractive figure stood leaning against the wall. Clad in a full black and grey suit, he looked smart, sharp and drop dead sexy as any other Uchiha would be.
Sai, with his dark eyes behind the vibrant red mask, turned to look at the pointed direction, only to catch sight of the figure and darken with disgust. He faced towards the pinkette "Uchiha?" His tone was coated with obvious distain. "Uchiha Itachi is your 'plan'?"
Disregarding the fierce look that her best friend was glaring at her, Sakura adjusted her dress slightly, taking a few experimental steps towards the taller man before catching herself when a particularly harsh grip from Sai almost caused her to falter and plummet.
"No."
She cast him a desperate look. "Yes."
His grip tightened with seriousness. "No, Sakura."
Tugging with brute force, Sakura ripped herself out of his grasp before placing a comforting hand on his formally dressed chest. "Trust me."
Green eyes watched as the distrust, distain and disgust disappear slowly from the other's eyes. He was obviously not certain, but Sakura was confident, she would do it for the both of them.
Turning with a practiced heel, the female strode with grace, over to the lone Uchiha observing the mass of well-dressed ladies ebbing their way to the bouncers, hoping that one way or another, they would be allowed in. It would take a blind man not to see that Itachi was weaving his eyes to find the best-dressed out of the pack, to take his pick and scam the unlucky female who had it coming.
"Hey," Sakura stepped into his sight, playfully.
His dark red eyes snapped into immediate attention, travelling up and down the curves of her body with lustful intention. Catching the swirls of Sakura's pink hair, his eyes lighted up with recognition.
Despite being one of the most attractive and sexiest men that Sakura had ever seen, the common Uchiha smirk made her feel the urge to smack his well-sculpted face. Behind her, Sai was still glaring darts.
"Haruno Sakura-chan.." His lazy baritone huskily drawled. His eyes sparked with interest and a little something more. "I figured you would come to your senses one way or another. Didn't I tell you it was only a matter of time?"
Steeling herself to suppress the shiver caused by his voice, Sakura allowed a confident smirk to shape her lips. "And here I am," -she stepped a little bit closer- "so what do you plan to do about it?"
He countered her ambitious reply with a look that was a little too intrusive for the female's taste. He definitely had something planned for her later. Instead of answering, the Uchiha male turned to catch the attention of the bigger looking bouncer. He nodded his head at him, jerking his chin to Sakura. A pass to go.
Inwardly celebrating her and Sai's ticket in, Sakura finished it off with a little flirtatious wink at Itachi, hoping that he would believe her ploy and deceit. She stepped around the growing piles of people, stepping through the decorated and classy entrance of the club, comforted when a few paces later, she felt Sai's protective hand slid around her shoulders and away from Uchiha Itachi's hungry gaze.
Past the ruby lights and flashing colours of club lasers, Sakura blinked in the overwhelming scenery. She obviously didn't have experience with clubs and alcohol. She wasn't legal just yet, after all. The room was decked out with everything from fairy & Christmas lights overhead, to drapes of expensive decorative streamers and walls of alcohols of all kind - Jack Daniels to Dom Perignon. Far in and deep behind the masses of jumping, moving bodies was the stage, set up with Akatsuki's instruments. A DJ situated to the left, crowded with more twirling bodies, was jamming up and spinning discs of the hottest music, the bass thumping and booming with force enough to rattle somebody's teeth.
Sai released his hold on Sakura, nodding at her before turning his attention to the bar along the side. Sakura, swept among the highs of movement and colour, turned with excitement to the dance floor just as one of her favourite tunes turned on. Sai might not be a dancer, but she was - and she was planning on having fun now that she had a chance to.
Haruno Sakura twirled and spun within the massive crowd, caught up between the wires of people who were friendly enough to dance alongside her. She let out a twinkling laugh, this was what she needed after the terrible events the following night. She needed fun.
A strong arm gripped around her waist sometime in between the changing songs. With her breath caught in her throat, the female turned around to catch a glimpse of the face of her new dancing partner. He was dressed in full-black. His attire formal, but loosened casually sometime during the night. His skin was clean, the top half of his face hidden beneath the onyx mask. His hair, dark as well, was sleeked and spiked. Attractive, no doubt - but somewhat familiar. Where did she recognise him?
Beneath the mask, his eyes, the same hue as midnight, were alive with fire. So much passion that Sakura seemed captivated beneath the burning gaze. His hands were gloved, pulling her around in a motion that left her breathless. Allowing her mysterious partner lead, Sakura allowed herself to be pulled in by his loving, yet sorrowful gaze - like an old lover who was left heartbroken with one-sided feelings. Why was he looking at her like that?
Sliding closer, his hands wound around the pink-haired girls hips, timing themselves to the music that shut themselves from the surrounding bodies. Sakura felt her breath die on her lips as she drew closer, swaying slightly with light-headedness. With the same intense, alluring eyes, Sakura drew nearer and nearer, unable to pull away from the magnetism between. The centimetres blurred and faded between the distance, lips connecting despite the fast-paced atmosphere. Something ethereal joining and bonding her to this unknown man.
'I know you... I know those eyes.. I know this kiss - these lips' Sakura thought with uncertainty. The sense of déjà vu and familiarity were ringing and gut-wrenchingly clear, yet somewhat unsure at the same time.
Lips together, a tingling sensation crawled up within Sakura's veins, through her very being, curling at her toes, deepening into her pores and up to the tips of her hair, soaking into her scalp. It was marvellous, the sensation. So jaw-shattering and painful at the same time. Her heart tightened like a coil. What was it about this guy that could give her a feeling so beautiful?
Pulling back with reluctance, Sakura allowed her eyes to slip shut as she encompassed and surrendered herself within the arms of the black-figure. Hands still on her waist and hips, his lips whispered over her ear, hot breath swirling with just as much intensity as his kiss. Hot electricity passed through the green-eyed girl as she jolted to the sound. It was brief, so light she wasn't even sure she caught his words between the heavy sounds of beat and bass.
Her jaded eyes flew open with sudden awareness. Goosebumps raised to the hairs. The room is just as crazy, flashing with lights and smoke, but her unknown kissing partner had already vanished among the bodies, leaving Sakura with the aftershock of their passionate encounter.
Not being able to process the sudden change, Sakura whirled in circles, occasionally colliding with dancing strangers before settling in a safe corner away from the bodies...
Cold fingers reached up to caress the warmth lingering on her soft lips, her mind reeling with the departing words her partner uttered:
''I'm still your Romeo"
AN; So, what did you think? I haven't written in a while, so I hope I am not losing my touch. I seriously appretiate reviews. Even one with a few short words. Let me know what you think of the story, or the characters, the plot, anything at all. I look forward to it.
See you guys on the next chapter.