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travellingmonk · 5 years ago

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YST Shin Kon Hen (Early Dusk Volume) Book 4 - Summary

Chapters 3 - END

Solely because writing out the full story exhausted me, so I went ‘forget this’ and summarized the thing. Enjoy. It’s now in English. whew~

- SUMMARY OF EVERY CHAPTER'S EVENTS -

Book title : Book 4 * Samurai Troopers * Shin Kon Hen (Early Dusk Volume) SUMMARY

Published by Keibunsha Novels

Character designs by Enzan Norio Art by Ushyuu Miki Story by Yoshie Kawahara

Chapter 3 - Era of the Oni

After the attack on Yakushi's mansion, the damage was fixed and it was as if the attack had never happened. Nearby in the heart of the city was a place where many houses of rich people were at. In the middle of these was a single large garden space. Yakushi meets the retired emperor here, then walks into a nearby house where they quietly sit down and talk. She says that she is glad he's feeling better, but will be glad when he regains power and becomes the emperor again. He says that he will never become the emperor again. Having power as the emperor is one thing, but being able to help people live better, more peaceful lives is the wiser way to be. His brother is now the emperor and it is fine. Besides, the retired emperor was already exhausted having had so much work to do when he was the emperor. If he were to become the emperor again, it would be too much work. Too exhausting. Also, before this latest illness, he already suffered from many illnesses when he was younger. He was never 100% healthy. Instead, they (the retired emperor and her) should live in a quiet, nearby city and live out the rest of their days in peace and quiet. This gets Yakushi extremely upset. She loves him very much. She wants him to be emperor again so she can have the power she wants. Why does not he not understand this?! She's completely ignoring what the retired emperor is telling her that he wants. She's sticking to what she wants and nothing else will do. She begins to cry. He hugs her. He tries to comfort her by telling her a story about an ancient emperor that wore shining armor. This 'shining emperor' was very, very strong. This shining emperor wearing armor appeared only because the world was a horrible, terrible, scary place and innocent people prayed for help. This shining emperor removed all of the evil from the world to make it peaceful and happy. Because of this armor wearing emperor, this is when the world began. Or, so this is how the story is told. Yakushi hears this and, instead of hearing this as a fictional story, she thinks this story is real. She leaves the retired emperor and returns to a temple located outside of the capital city. There, she flirts with the priest in charge of the temple, that way she'll get the answers she wants a lot easier. Aas she asks about the emperor with shining armor. Some years earlier he'd worked on a scroll talking about that very topic. He finds and shows her the scroll and it shows a shining white armor. She's not impressed by how it looks, because the paper is very old and the art style is not new and beautiful, but this goes to prove to her that this is real. She reads text written on the side of the paper. The prayers of those who fear evil will make this warrior appear. This warrior collects the power of living things. She asks the priest to tell her how to make this emperor with the shining armor appear. He says that the story only describes it as 'screams and prayers of help from scared people will make this warrior appear'. This gives Yakushi a new idea. She will use her Oni to change the Earth from a nice place to live. Instead, it will become a living hell and that armored warrior will have to appear. When he does, she will order her Oni to steal the armor. Then, the retired emperor will have the armor and become the most powerful person in the entire world. As the priest escorted Yakushi out of the temple and to her vehicle, Kose was quietly sweeping the floor nearby, watching and listening to everything.

Back in the city, Yakushi and Oni are in an empty room where they can talk alone. He is clean, dressed in armor, and looks more civilized, but anyone can see that this is a terrifying man and someone to be afraid of. She asks how the recruitment of warriors is going. If she is going to turn this world into a living hell, she'll need more than one warrior at her side. She will need an army, and Oni will be the leader of that army. Oni says that there are no skillful people he can use. Yakushi says he'll have to tolerate it for now. They need numbers to make this work, even if they're not the best or strongest warriors. Knowing that she can't continue to call him 'Oni'. He has to fit in with everyone else, and that requires a proper sounding name. As they talk, a memory surfaces in Oni's mind. His name is 'Arago'. When he was living out in the wild countryside, he lived alone. He had no idea who his family was, if he even had a family. Where he was born. Or even his own last name. The longer he was around her and here in this city, the more of an influence it was having on him. The less stupid and silent he was becoming. He finds it amusing how a 'woman' reacts to hearing his name, and his tone angers her. She scolds then dismisses him from her presense.

A month later finds Arago in charge of his own military group. Yakushi managed to get Nakanari, her brother, into a position of power. He was the only person that Arago answered to when it came to this. This military group is charged with keeping the capital city safe. Over time more men had come forward to join this group, thinking that they were going to help keep the precious capital city safe from danger and evil people. However, only four people truly stood out as suitable warriors. These four directly served under Arago. Everyone else served under these four warriors. Shinsei, Yokuseki, Takekuni (Ryou look-a-like), Akimitsu. Their latest order was to go out to the wetlands near the capital city and take care of the thieves living there. It was night time and anyone out here would be fast asleep, making an attack easy.. A full moon over head was their only light. Arago led the way. They were all on horseback. They quietly approached a rough and poor looking settlement. The four men spoke quietly as they surveyed the area. It didn't really look like any sort of secret hideout for bad people. Even if they were terrible people, this was no way for anyone to live. As they tried to decide how best to approach, Arago charged forward on horseback to stomp across and begin destroying the poor looking huts. It didn't take long befor confused, screaming, and frightened people came running out of the huts. The four were absolutely shocked at Arago's actions, and doubly shocked to see that, instead of bad-looking, evil people scurrying out of the buildings, these looked like poor people. Old, grey haired people. Pregnant women. Little children. People who posed no threat to anyone. Arago wasted no time in using either his horse to stomp down and kill people, or his sword to cut through anyone within reach. Shinsei was the first to react, racing forward on his horse to stop Arago. This only got his horse kicked and Shinsei knocked to the ground. The other three hurried to their comrade's side, echoing Shinsei's cries to stop. They used their horses to block Arago's horse, but this didn't stop him. He dismounted, then ran after people, slaughtering anyone who wasn't fast enough to get out of his way. Which included a feeble old man and then a small child. The four warriors felt sick at what they were seeing. Once the survivors had managed to scatter and hide in the darkness, away from where Arago could reach, that's when the large, muscular man stopped his ruthless attack. He got back up onto his horse and didn't see at all bothered by the brutal massacre or by how his four leading soldiers were reacting. One of them called Arago out on what he'd just done, but he shrugged and acted like it was nothing important at all. Whether they were thieves or poor people, worthless lives were still worthless. They were breaking the law and this was their punishment. And, that was that. He mounted his horse and led the way back to their barracks in the capital city. The four silently followed along behind, but once they were back within the city's borders, they headed straight for Nakanari's office to talk to him. They told him about what had happened and, instead of supporting them, he was as nonchalant as Arago was. Nakanari didn't exactally agree with how Arago had decided to carry out punishment, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Worthless lives were still worthless lives. 'Their fate was their own fault'. Besides, Arago did what he thought was best to keep this city safe. End of discussion. Akimitsu asked what should be done about the dead bodies, but Nakanari really didn't seem to care. Leave them were they fell. Nakanari left the room and the four young warriors were in complete agreement. Nakanari and Arago were completely wrong. What Arago did was very wrong. What could they do? Report them to the emperor? Takekuni pointed out that they couldn't do that. According to the information he'd gathered, Nakanari was Yakushi's brother. Yakushi was very close with the retired emperor. And Arago was said to be the personal guard of Yakushi. Even if they went to the current emperor with this information, it would be a wasted effort because of how connected they all were with one another. A single word from Yakushi to the retired emperor to the current emperor and no disciplinary action would be taken. This is when Takekuni decided to be honest about his identity. He told them about how he was really Nosuri. About the clan of Kaosu. About how Kaosu was going to try and help, but, for now, they needed more information before they could act and do anything. He would leave his meeting and report to Kaosu. Until then, the young men had to patiently wait. They agreed, then parted ways. Nosuri hurried out of the city to meet with a young woman, a member of his family. This was a good thing because the young woman had managed to work her way into not only being a servant of Nakanari and Yakushi, but being the one person in charge of all of their servants. She reported that Yakushi had left to visit a nearby temple and pray for the retired emperor's health to improve. The only thing is that this particular temple had a reputation for preforming curses and casting spells if the people who came there were willing to pay a high enough price. Nosuri thanked the young woman for the information, then went to the temple. He needed to find evidence of anything that could show Yakushi was trying to harm, not help, the retired emperor. He successfully snuck into the temple and began looking around for anything out of the ordinary. He discovered a hidden room where a priest was preforming a weird spell, making a creature emerge from the flame of a candle. Before Nosuri could find out anything else, a night watchman monk stopped him. However, instead of any big, noisy fight, it was clear that neither person wanted to fight the other. Instead, they ended up talking. The monk, sharing that he is Kose, tells Nosuri that a month ago he'd tried to run away from this temple because of the bad things that were happening, but that he, instead, found a new friend named Kaosu. The only reason he returned here was to be a spy and gather information. All to try and put an end to the bad things that were happening here. Nosuri tells Kose about who he is, and that he's also here to help get information for Kaosu. They both thought it was funny and wonderful how they, two complete strangers, out of every person in this entire world, both know Kaosu and were currently working to help out their friend. With a new friendship forged, they work together in the temple to find any evidence of Yakushi's wrongdoings. Soon enough they find an altar with bits of spellpaper on it. On the paper was clearly her handwriting. They find a small wooden doll dressed in very fancy clothing. This was meant to represent the retired emperor. The body was covered in many scratches. In its chest is where a hole had been dug out and several needles were sticking into it. There were also small bones nearby this, as well as a lock of cut hair. This is exactally what Nosuri had been looking for.

Chapter 4 - Opening Eye

Both Kose and Nosuri felt troubled by what they'd found, and understandably so. They wished one another good luck and stay safe, then parted ways. Somehow Nosuri had to find Kaosu and show this to him.

Far out into the mountains and the forests, Kaosu had returned to the hidden village after Kose had left. That's where Onjiyou had told Kaosu that his training was finished. There was nothing else that he could teach to Kaosu. Kaosu how had to leave and confront his destiny out in the world. Kaosu thanked the old man, then, with Byakuen at his side, left the village. He had a vision about Arago, and feeling his evil presense made both Kaosu and Byakuen feel nervous. They walked through the forest and Byakuen eventually led Kaosu to a lake that was hidden deep in the forest. This was unlike any lake he'd ever seen before since all of the animals gathered here were peaceful. Animals that would've been enemies and tried to kill each other out in the world were peaceful here. He had a nice night of sleep, then awoke the next morning to see that the lake had changed. It looked cleaner, brighter, shimmering in the sunlight.

In a nearby village of Kaosu, a man rang a bell. Everyone became very excited. "Kaosu has finally awoken". They hurried to make their way to Mitama Lake. (Yes, THAT lake. The lake where Shuten, Nasutei, and Jun found the Inochi no Magatama (Jewel of Life).) (Note from the translator : The only thing I can figure that makes any sense is because they're all a part of the clan of Kaosu, they're aware of each incarnation of Kaosu and when his powers activate / 'awaken'. Though the author never explains this. AT ALL.)

Kaosu and Byakuen stood on at the edge of the lake as the water changed, then moved. It revealed a hidden temple that had been under the water. They went into the temple and the first thing they saw were suits of armor lining a hallway. They entred into a room with a golden shrine to see a single suit of armor there. When Kaosu moved the armor, somehow knowing this was reserved for him to use and wear against the evil he would soon face, he found the Inochi no Magatama (Jewel of Life) resting on a small space in the golden shrine. He took the armor and left the shrine. Once outside, he was greeted by the people from the clan of Kaosu surrounding the lake, as well as lots of different animals. They were aware of him and were ready to celebrate his awakening. Kaosu had returned to his home village and managed to get a good night of sleep after his people celebrating his awakening. The next morning he was woken up by Nosuri's return. The leader of the clan looked over the little wooden doll his friend had brought back. It was difficult to believe anyone would go so far to do something this horrible. Nosuri explained, to the best of his understanding, that Yakushi had made her way to the retired emperor's side solely because she wanted to seem so loving and devoted to him and his wellbeing. Little did he know that the source of his health problems was Yakushi herself.

Back in the city, the Oni's reputation had only grown, and this was, by no means, a good thing. Word had spread of the savage attack in the dead of night. It was at the point that no one dared to go outside at night, for fear that the Oni would suddenly attack and slaughter them without a second thought. With Oni's reputation growing and getting more fierce, so, too, did Yakushi's self-confidence grow. It was as if whatever weakness she may have been seen as having, solely because she was a 'woman' were vanishing from sight. Due to Yakushi quietly pulling the strings in the background, working to get her brother more power, he was becoming more greedy. Sure he could try putting forth the effort to do it himself, but why bother when she was already doing so much on his behalf to further her own plans? Because of her ambitions, Yakushi's evil ways were only pulling her more and more into darkness without her even realizing it. It would only be a matter of time before she would stop existing and only pure evil would be in her place. As for Arago, what little information that had been gathered didn't do anything to make anyone feel better about him. Arago had been born into poverty and was like little more than some feral dog attacking, killing, and managing to live by eating human flesh.

(Note from the translator : Yes, you read that last bit correctly. Directly translated from the original Japanese text. HE. KILLED. PEOPLE. AND. ATE. THEM. blech... )

The only reason why he was even seen as a human was down to Yakushi's influence and dressing him like a proper person. Putting him into a more civilized enviroment. Though that didn't really do anything to change the beast of a man that he was. A long time ago he'd met a monk who had tried to help him be better. Arago was taught words, shown how to have a better life, how to understand other people. However, the monk couldn't stay and eventually left. This left Arago as being neither a man or a beast. Perhaps he was something of them both, in the end.. In the end. Arago had to make up his own mind and live his own life the only way he could. For him, this was the right path. This was the only path. There was nothing else for him. A part of him had wanted to see that monk again. Every time he killed, he'd been hoping the monk would appear soon after. A familiar, kind face. But, no. So, this is what it was. His life was to instill fear into people and kill. Just as this was his life path, so was Kaosu's path to lead his people into a world of peace. Light and Shadow. Two opposites. Eventually, they would have to meet.

After Nosuri had left Kose at the temple, Kose had decided to follow after. His first thought was to return to the waterfall where he and Kaosu met. He was disappointed to not see his black haired friend anywhere near the water. Out of ideas, not familiar with the area, and having no intention of aimlessly wandering about in these woods, he placed his hands into the waterfall and concentrated on his friend. Maybe, by some miracle, this body of water was somehow connected to Kaosu. Maybe his desire to see his friend would be transmitted. Surprisingly so, it worked. He could hear Kaosu's voice telling him that there is a village nearby on the other side of the mountains. Following the instructions, and hoping it wasn't simply his imagination or some daydream, he soon found himself entering a hidden away little village.. Much to his surprise, he was greeted by the village people and Kaosu had told them to expect Kose's arrival. Kose was clearly surprised and marvelled at how awesome the people of Kaosu's village were. Before he could dwell too much on this fact, Kaosu appeared nearby in the doorway of a hut, and wearing an impressive suit of armor. Before they could talk, an older woman walked up to Kaosu and gave him a sword. He accepted it and said that he would protect this entire family just as he had done from the most ancient of times. As long as evil exists, he would be there to stop it. Kaosu sheathed the sword on his hip, then Kose and Kaosu, with Byakuen close behind, walked into a nearby shrine. Everything seemed normal, up until the point that the shrine began to glow and shine. Then the trio began to shine as well. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight and the glowing came to a stop. Everything looked like it had returned to normal. (aka Kaosu, Kose, and Byakuen teleported somewhere else.)

Chapter 5 - Right and Wrong Determination (Correct and Incorrect Determination)

In the capital city, the emperor had arrived and, in a room of a very nice building, was holding a meeting with the retired emperor and all of the lords. Yakushi and Nakanari were there, too. The emperor announced that Nakanari's military group would have more men added to it, and then be split apart so there would be a smaller police division to patrol the city and keep everyone safe. This meant more power for the already-greedy Nakanari. However, unfortunately, the emperor had made up his mind and said that the capital city would now be a completely different location and be called 'Miyanaka'. This make Yakushi upset. This was ruining her plans. To make matters worse, the retired emperor, and by association, Yakushi, too, would be excluded from any further meetings like this. The retired emperor said he was fine with this and happy to live a quiet life, but Yakushi was having none of it. She tried to look really sad and make the retired emperor change his mind, but it doesn't work. Suddenly, Nosuri stood up from the back row and walked forward. He presented the retired emperor with the doll he had found in the temple. The retired emperor saw the writing, the scratches across it's surface, the hole in the chest, and the needles stuck into the hole. To add to this, Tomoaki approaches next. He'd been investigating as well. He'd found a very old and somewhat small box that belonged to Yakushi. In it were scraps of various cloth, some loose, some sewn together. Some pieces being the exact same cloth and sewing pattern that the emperor's wooden doll was currently wearing. The retired emperor went from feeling betrayed to absolutely angry. The woman he cared so much about had worked her way into his life, put a spell on him to make him ill, and, to him, been pretending to pray for his wellbeing when, the entire time, she was the one making him sick and weak. The emperor ordered Nakanari and Yakushi to be arrested, but Yakushi fought back. She struggled and managed to escape from the guards. Outside, she ran across the street to Arago and told him that the people in the building were going to harm her. He had to protect her. Akimitsu, one of the four men who had been serving directly under Arago, was the first outside of the building, sword in hand. He rushed over to Arago and Yakushi, intent on not letting her escape, even if that meant fighting against this beast of a man. Arago withdrew his sword to fight. As he swung his sword down, Akimitsu was quick to move out of the way, but Yakushi was not. The sword came down and cut Yakushi's head, splattering his face with her blood. He withdrew the blade, but didn't flinch or even show any signs of remorse. More people had exited the building. Nakanari had witnessed the scene and ran away screaming. Tomoaki and Shinsei hurried after Nakanari as he was climbing up onto the roof of a nearby building to escape. Tomoaki shot a single arrow at him, the arrow landing in his thigh. Unfortunately, this threw him completely off balance. He fell from the roof and died when he hit the ground. Arago took several steps back from Yakushi's dead body and laughed. He then aimed his sword at the retired emperor. Without a word, making it clear that he would be the next to be killed. Akimitsu jumped in the way, followed by Nosuri, using their swords to hold Arago's sword at bay. For the moment, stopping any attack from happening. Tomoaki and Shinsei quickly join in to stop Arago as the emperor orders the gates of the city to be shut. The gates securely slammed shut. The doors of buildings were closed and locked. The capital city was now under martial law and no one would be allowed out. Arago shoved the four warriors away from him, freeing his blade. He moved fast, running down the street and being chased by soldiers. However, the longer he went, the more exhausted he became. Speed and endurance were not what his body was built for. He couldn't go into the building where the meeting had been held. He couldn't get out of the city and flee into the nearby mountains. He'd gotten lucky and managed to lose the guards who'd been chasing him, but, all too soon, he heard a man's voice talking to him. A familiar voice. Kaosu appears to Arago and the large man recognizes the figure to be the same monk that had come to him so long ago. Kaosu tries appealing to the humanity within Arago, saying that he doesn't have to be an Oni. He doesn't have to be some blood thirsty monster. He can still choose to turn away from this kind of life, from seeking power. Kaosu is standing in the same street as Arago. After everything he's been through, Arago refuses to listen to reason and draws his sword on Kaosu. At that moment, a pure black force flew through the air, swirling around Arago. He asks for darkness to take him and says that he's not a person. He's not a man. He is a monster. He's not afraid. Suddenly, the dark force showed its true form as a spirit. An old, thin man wearing the tattered robes of a high ranking monk and pale, greyish blue tone to his skin. It's clear that this person is nothing from this world. He introduces himself as Badamon, bowing to Arago with respect. He's a spirit that comes from a world of evil and who knows of Arago's evil ways. He says that Arago is the being powerful enough to become emperor of that world. Arago asks how he can accomplish this. Badamon is a spirit. Arago is still very much so alive. Badamon shows a creepy smile and says that he can make Arago into a being like him. The power from the world Badamon comes from can surpass the power of 'life' and having a physical body. Arago smiled in return. That's all he needed to hear. Badamon summoned energy from everywhere, the ground, the sky, the water, making everything appear to sizzle and explode as energy gathered around Arago. A lightning bolt shoots down and, suddenly, massive hoard of dead mean can be seen on the ground, crawling towards Arago. They are now his servants, attracted to his power, his greed, and his desire. Another bolt of lightning strikes and suddenly Arago finds himself wearing a huge suit of black armor. Badamon explains that this evil armor is just for him. It was created to combat the menace that is "Kikoutei". Arago takes a moment to look over himself, seeing that he's no longer his human-sized self. He's much larger and the armor that's completely covering his body reflects the beast, the warrior, the monster that he was as a man. The mask guard is blood red, there is ghostly white flowing hair on either side of the front of the helmet, and the dark, menacing grey of the armor reflects the dark and evilness that he represents. A final bolt of lightning strikes and Arago finds himself surrounded by an armor of soldiers. HIS soldiers. HIS army. A sharp rumble of thunder is heard, dark, ominous clouds can be seen in the sky, blocking out the sun, and a heavy rain begins pouring. With Arago in the lead, he wastes no time travelling through the city with his army laying waste to everything in its path. Like some weird, horrible tsunami, the soldiers destroyed houses, slaughtered people, leaving nothing behind but destruction. Men, women, young, old, it didn't matter. Anything in his path would be cut down. The emperor's soldiers tried to fight back, but it was completely useless. No matter how the emperor's soldiers struck, attacked, or cut into Arago's soldiers, they didn't fall. They weren't injuried. Nothing was stopping them. The emperor completely shut down the section of the city that held this invading, other wordly army. Any innocents who remained alive either stayed hidden and out of sight, or made a mad run out of the city to escape Arago's army. Despite several different attempts, the soldiers proved to be unstoppable. The four young men who'd been serving directly under Arago, having seen the atrocities he'd committed, now fought against him alongside Kose, but nothing seemed to work. They poured oil on the grould then lit it, hoping a line of fire would stop their approach. No. They fired numerous arrows hoping that would stop them. Again, no. The emperor's soldiers piled up sandbags at the closed gates, half for protection, half in another effort to stop the invaders. Nothing seemed to be working. Tomoaki reported this disappointing news to the emperor, but the emperor tried to reassure the young man. The enemy they were facing wasn't from this world. There wasn't anything left for them to do. Nothing left but to pray. It's at that very moment that Kaosu, wearing his armor and with Byakuen at his side, appears amid the rain and walks towards them. In unison, Nosuri and Kose happily call out to Kaosu, letting everyone around know that this was a friend, not an enemy. Nosuri couldn't help but cry a little bit. Here stood his childhood friend, his best friend, who was also the leader of their entire clan, was also THEE Kaosu of legend. That young boy had become this amazing man, this warrior ready to fight to protect, and save, this world. The warriors, the retired emperor, and the present emperor all felt a great sense of relief at Kaosu's presense. Nosuri took a moment to speak with Kaosu, giving him several beads. He says that they are special beads, made from a sacred tree that the clan has been protecting for a very, very, very long time.

(Translator's note : It really doesn't go into detail here, but my best guess is that Nosuri just handed Kaosu the 'beads' that would later become the crystal spheres that will house the 9 armors.)

Kaosu accepts the beads, thanking Nosuri for being here, then tucks them away and out of sight. Being as prepared as he is ever going to be, the emperor's soldiers allow Kaosu through the gates along with Shinsei, Tomoaki, Nosuri, Akimitsu, and Kose.

(Basically, Kaosu + Nosuri (Ryou look-a-like), Shinsei (Shin look-a-like), Kosu Shuusetsu (Shuu look-a-like), Tomoaki (Touma look-a-like), and Akimitsu (Seiji look-a-like).)

Each of the five young men shout at Arago's soldiers. They're determined to defeat this enemy. They'll save this city. They'll save the people. No matter what. Somehow this gives them the power, the strength to inflict damage on the soldiers, cutting into the armor and making the bluish grey smoke escape, rendering those injuried soldiers completely useless. Even Byakuen got in on the action, leaping forward with bites, scraches, and slashes, doing as much damage as his human counterparts. Kaosu participates as well, using his sword to cut down numerous soldiers. Finally, at long last, instead of seeing this seemingly endless army of soldiers, Arago appears at the back. He was no longer human. No longer recognizable. He was now nothing more than a huge armor made of iron. The armor seemed to emit a sort of pressure on everything around it, including the young men. However, they're quick to regain their footing and shout at Arago, asking if he's even human any more. If he sold his soul to evil. If he really wants to kill people. Their reply is Arago's laughter. He doesn't care about this city, about the emperor, or even the country. He has exactally what he wants and everything else beyond that is worthless. The young warriors charge at Arago, telling him to wake up, trying to plead with anything left inside that may still be human. However, their attack is in vain. Arago throws them back, the strike throwing the sword clear out of two of the warrior's hands. Kose attempts an attack with his staff, now made of iron and not wood, but the attack is easily repelled by Arago's incredible armor. The staff is thrown so violently away that it escapes Kose's grip and stabs deeply into the stones that line the ground of a nearby alley. Arago laughs at their failed attempts. The five band together with a single, unified attack, only to be thrown down to the ground with no real effort on the demon emperor's part. Kaosu steps up and launches an attack at Arago, cutting into the armor with a single slice, looking into the eye holes of the face guard but, to his shock, the only thing he sees inside is darkness. Within that darkness he can feel numerous, vengeful dead spirits present there. Arago shoves him away. Instead of anger or fear, Kaosu finds himself pitying the demon, the Youja, emperor standing before him. Standing before him was what use to be a poor man who was lonely, who struggled just to survive in this world. Who had to become a monster simply to remain alive. In that moment, old, forgotten, vague memories flashed through Arago's mind. The monk he'd once known. The monk who had given him the name of 'Arago'. 'Arago', meant to be immortality. The immortality of all things in the universe. Something to represent happiness, to represent the beginning of precious things. The memory turns to the monk screaming, and then is gone. Arago is screaming. He's holding the sword above his head. As he brings down the sword, instead of cutting through anyone, or even Kaosu, only the sound of a beautiful bell could be heard. He dropped down to one knee and Kaosu said that the armor was an evil purgatory armor. Arago calls him an idiot, then demands to know his name. Kaosu refuses to say it. Arago says he will return to this world one day and have his revenge. The power of his armor will guarantee this, then he collapses onto the ground. Defeated. Kaosu stands over Arago's body, saying that this world never belong to him, then plunges his sword into Arago's chest. Reddish smoke emerges from armor, flying into the air and out of sight. As the five young men cheer, the emperor's soldiers cheer out as well. It stops raining. However, Kaosu can still sense evil within the armor, despite Arago's spirit having left it. Kaosu looks at the remains of Arago, the now-empty armor left behind and comments about how this should be a warning to all humans. Basically, greed and evil is bad. The present emperor and retired emperor stand beside Kaosu to inspect the armor, pressing his sword into the armor, but everyone is surprised when, suddenly, the armor's head springs to life and begins flying around. Then, it flew into the sky and vanished. Probably to follow Arago's spirit, where ever it had gone to. All that remained behind now was a giant suit of armor without a head. Nosuri is worried, both of the emperors are clearly afraid, and Kaosu decides that the only solution is to break apart the armor, then seal each part away. . . somehow.

Several months pass by. Kaosu had taken the armor and been working on breaking it apart, reshaping each piece, instilling a precious virtue into each one, then magically sealing each piece into the sacred beads (crystal spheres) Nosuri had given to him before the fight began. The virtue magically instilled into each separate piece of Arago's armor would help make these a weapon for good, no longer a weapon of evil. Benevolence. Justice. Gratitute. Knowledge. Trust. Loyalty. Filial piety. Respect for one's elders. Endurance. If the head of the armor hadn't flown away to join Arago's spirit, there would have been a tenth armor. The virtue for it would have been 'courage'. With a virtue magically instilled into these armors, they would help the future warriors be stronger than evil by making the strength of their heart, of their spirit, of their virtue something that is in the armor itself, and would be a characteristic of that warrior's unique personality. The nine new armors were complete. Sky, water, earth, light, darkness, dreams, power / strength, medicine, and fire. Each one would represent a natural ability all its own, so, whether used alone or alongside the other armors, it would be a force for good. To keep the skies safe, Tenku. To protect the water and all that live in it, Suiko. To protect and manage the land, Kongo. A light that will protect and help manage the Earth, Korin. To protect the light and manage the night, Yami. To keep your dreams safe from evil and scary thoughts and manage your fantasies, Gen. To heal injuries and soothe the body, Doku. To lead the others and help to remain on a good path, Oni. To protect the weak and show compassion towards others, Rekka. With this, the evil armor of Arago was purified of its evil and, now, has become a protector. Unfortunately, one problem remained. That last piece of his armor. The helmet that flew away. Arago may be defeated for now, but he was still out there. He still existed. . . somewhere. One day he would, without a doubt, return. Although this wasn't his personal desire, Kaosu surrendered to the fact that he now had to be directly involved with this physical world. He had to keep a watchful eye on what humans did and be ready to intervene and act, to find suitable warriors for these armors when the time came. Although the world of humans (i.e. the physical world) and the world of spirits were two separate places, the fact of Arago's life and transformation, that there were people who'd been using dark magic for evil things, like Yakushi, this had only proven the fact that these two worlds were no longer separate. There was a crack in the boundaries between these two worlds and this would be dangerous for everyone. Kaosu was only one person. He needed to remain in order to protect them. Going forward, now more than ever before, the clan of Kaosu was needed to help out mankind. He struggles with what to do, not sure how to help. He asks aloud "Kikoutei, what can I do? How can I possibly protect both worlds?" This is when Byakuen suddenly begins to shine brightly then splits apart into two separate tigers. One is white, the other is dark grey and wearing a suit of beautiful, prestine white armor. The metalling clanking of metal filled the air and the temple was bathed in golden light for a short time. When the light vanished and he opened his eyes, five of the crystal spheres rolled to his feet, each one momentarily shone a single color, displaying a kanji. Benevolence, justice, gratitude, wisdom, trust. He paused a moment and realized the other four crystal spheres were missing. No matter where he looked, they were nowhere to be found. This was Kikoutei's will. Kaosu was directly in charge of these five armors, to keep them safe and wait for the time when Arago would return. That's when he'd find a suitable warrior for each to wear. They would protect the Earth. The four remaining armors would protect the spirit world. Looking at the two tigers, now more than ever it was clear that the two words, as different as they are, were balanced opposites of one another.

Kaosu gave the armor of benevolence to Nosuri to guard and protect. After a few years Shinsei left the area with his family and moved to the east. Eventually becoming instrumental with the Kamakura Shogunate (a Japanese feudal military government of rule that ruled from 1185 to 1333), and eventually leading to the family bearing the name of "Mouri". Akimitsu was entrusted with the armor of gratitude. A few generations later his family took on the name of "Date". Tomoaki was entrusted with the armor of knowledge and remained in the capital city. His family eventually taking on the name of "Hashiba". And Kosu Shuusetsu, who was entrusted with the armor of justice, returned to his family home for a while, then moved up into the mountains of the area, becoming a veterinarian. Alongside that, he'd also foster young kids and help teach them how to live a good life. His family eventually taking on the name of "Rei Faun".

It took a while before the whole uproar over Oni's antics in the capital city began to fade from people's minds. It helped that this area stopped being the center for Japanese politics and was no longer where the capital city was.

Over in the other world, the world of spirits, the Youja World, weakened and, for the time, defeated, Arago fell asleep in the darkness. Although his ambitions had been stopped and his new, terrifying body of armor had been ruined by Kaosu, time had allowed Arago's power to return. When he woke next, he was ressurected as the Youja Emperor Arago. It took very little time after he awoke to become stronger and stronger. He created his own city in the Youja World, one that imitated the capital city of Heian-kyou. A place for him to reign over that was completely his own. With Badamon knowing how to move between the Youja World and the Human World, he was extraordinarily helpful to his Youja Emperor, helping him gather more and more power, and, eventually, being instrumental in allowing him to find his four Mashou. Shuten Doji. Anubisu. Rajura. Naaza. Although that is a different story to be told for a different time.

In a vision from the future, Kaosu saw Arago's return. The floating castle in the sky. The ominous dark clouds. War would come. Until that time came, the nine armors would have to remain in their respective worlds. Until that time, he would have to keep a watchful eye on the Earth and the humans. Try to keep this world a good place, even if it wasn't perfect and tranquil. For now, though, peace had returned and people could be happy again. Kaosu took his clan's armor with him and decided to travel across Japan dressed as a monk. He would confront and deal with any spirits from the Youja World that happened to appear while he waited for Arago's return.

Epilogue - Where The One Village Becomes Eternal

Late at night, sparkling stars in the sky, somewhere far off in the mountains, the wonderful sounds of ringing bells could be heard. Deep in the forest of the area was an open grassland. Everything was peaceful and quiet. On an old, small, wooden stage, Kayura wore a samurai costume and was dancing in time to the sound of the bells. Small bells being tied around her wrists and ankles. She was the only one left behind to celebrate this festival, to dance in its honor. So, dance and celebrate she will. Now knowing all of the memories and history of her clan, she is free of her role as a replacement for Kaosu. She can be allowed to be a free girl in this world. The calm, reflective surface of the lake had shown her all of these precious memories. After so long, after so many things had happened, finally the two worlds had been returned to their original forms. Kayura, unlike Kaosu, no longer had to live for a long time to prepare for the return of any Youja. The only thing she has to do is protect the memories of her clan and of Kikoutei. If and when evil would dare to appear in this world again, Kaosu will be reborn again. With no need for them, the guards from the Mitama Lake's temple returned to the temple. The Inochi no Magatama was set back into its rightful place in the shrine of that temple. The lake burying the building, its power, and its secrets from the rest of the world.

(Note from the translator : The story includes that the crystal spheres / armor spheres / kanji spheres, whatever you want to call them by, were also buried within the depths of the temple, but, after the whole thing with Kikoutei Densetsu and MESSAGE, we all know that that's not possible. Five of those nine armors were destroyed, so no way for their respective spheres to still exist. So... yeah... you can definately tell this was written before MESSAGE was released.)

This night markes Kayura's departure from a warrior, from being needed as a replacement for Kaosu. This is the first day of the rest of her life, and her chance to live a normal, peaceful, nonmagical life. So, here in Asuka she danced. With a heart full of gratitude to everyone who had helped her, supported her, and for everyone who had to live through horrible battles, able to only find a life as a Youja, this was all that could be done. A simple dance in order to honor and show respect. A good distance away at Mitama Lake, the bells are faintly heard. Deep within this hidden temple, embedded into the wall are the ten beads. The nine that housed Arago's reformed armor pieces, and the final crystal sphere that was never used. At the entrance of this room is a statue of a sacred tiger wearing armor. Sheathed on the sides of the armor are the swords of Kikoutei. In the darkness, a small movement of pure white light moves around then out of the statue before vanishing into the darkness without a trace.

The End

Otogaki (Afterword / Postscript)

(Note from the translator : This is basically Yoshie Kawahara talking about 'I hope you liked this story, despite me being an amature writer', 'in my opinion, the story ended when the TV series ended and the armor wearing warriors are no longer needed', and 'thanks to everyone who's supported me in my life while I've worked on this book!'. The end.)

"I hope this show has an impact on you and gets a special place in your heart." No matter what project I write for, this is what I pray will be in the reader's mind. This is what it was like for me with Samurai Troopers. However, with this, it sure seems like this series was a big hit and the prayer was successful. As for me, I started writing this book, but it was fairly unexpected. I'm someone who's a novelist for anime shows, but I wasn't expecting to end up making five books for it! I'm pretty sure that all five books will be available soon in bookstores all around the country, in case you were wondering about that.

This book took several tries before I ended up settling on the story. When I got to that moment, all I could end up saying was "Finally!". To date, this was the most difficult story I've had to write. I mean, sure, there's the story itself, but there are a lot of things from that time period that I only have middle school / junior high school knowledge about. I'm sure that if an expert on that time period reads this book, they'll be able to find every last bit and piece that I got wrong about it, and that the story might even be sort of disorganized.

I like history well enough, but I don't know every last detail about it. So, the contents of this book are my own theory about that particular time. I'd like to think that this is an interesting story. It deals with the beauty of the mind and the heart. The Japanese tradition associated with the word "Samurai". It takes place in a world that's full of traditional beauty. A place and time that should be protected and cherished. Even though I deviated from the aesthetic and beauty of the era, I'd like to think that this story ended up being a fun read. Besides, if a story is all about how pretty and lovely and peaceful everything is, that's not much fun. Sprinkle in a bit of drama, adventure, and danger, ah, see? That's when it becomes something more exciting to read. Alongside that, there's another aspect from traditional Japan that I worked into this story. The natural world, for as dangerous as it can be, is also a beautiful and wonderful place. Something to be both feared and awed. Something that people should have a great reverence for. This is something that history and culture has shown about our ancestors. They had equal parts fear and respect for the natural world, something that we here in the modern age tend to lack.

However, that's just my opinion on the matter. I've gotten letters from many people who noticed this and, I'll admit, I was pretty happy about. (I didn't expect so many people to write me about this story! This story that such an amateur, like me, wrote. If you're one of the people who sent me a letter but haven't gotten a reply yet, I'm sorry! Please, be patient. I'll get around to replying to every last one of them!)

As for the story, from this point onwards, please, feel free to think about the future of Kayura, about the future of the five Samurai Troopers, in whatever way you like. However, in their world, the way I see it is that the era of war and danger, the times that needed those armor wearing warriors to defend the world, that ended when the television series ended.

At this point in my life, I think I finally understand what it means to exist as a human being, a person who lives in Tokyo and no where near the countryside. My dad was also born here in Tokyo. He likes paintings, climbing stuff, the natural sciences, and stuff like that. So, when I was a kid, we'd go out to the countryside where kids can be allowed to climb stuff, fall off of them, even going to visit the sea in summertime. My personal recommendation about that is you should totally go. Don't wait around. The view and enviroment is worth it. All of the flowers and various insects I saw along the way were like something out of an educational picture book. I was never much of an artist, but that didn't stop me from going outside to sketch the flowers and the scenery alongside my father. Even picking up random stones and seashells to bring home as souveniers. I remember that, one summer night when I was laying clothes out on the clothesline, I looked up into the sky and saw one star in the faded constellation overhead. It brought back those rich childhood memories. Thanks to my dad, I guess I could be seen as an unusual sort of son. I love to stick my hands out and cut through the wind. I enjoy going out for a hike and soaking in the great views of nature. I love getting to go to the beach and walk through the waves and the wet sand. It's a little strange, but in a good way, to know that how my father raised me, the things I experienced as a kid, will, in some form, live in through these novels I've written. Though I think that my feelings probably seem weird to parents who've brought up their kids knowing nothing but city life and robotic pets. They'll never get to know how wonderful getting to be outside in nature, away from all of the steel, concrete, batteries, and technology, can be.

This series of books I've written for the Samurai Troopers, I love it. I kinda wish I was allowed to keep writing more for these guys. I'll feel a little bit lonely to leave this series behind, but I'd like to think that I've helped create a new path for them. Sometimes I would like to imagine getting to meet them, being able to write something new and create a whole new world just for them. If nothing else, when you're in a bookstore and see 'Kawahara' just know that I wrote that and remember me. Please.

I plan on letting this series go, saying my final goodbyes to the Samurai Troopers, and moving on with my life after this.

Last but, most certainly, not least, to those of you who were so kind and helpful, giving me useful and constructive advice, Mr. Shioyama, Ukai-chan. Mr. Danna, everyone who's sent me a letter of encouragement for these stories, I want to say to each and every one of you, thank you for everything.

Kawahara Yoshie

April 5, 1990

Final Note From The Translator

Hey there, dear reader!

First up, thanks for taking the time to read my humble little translated version of this book. It's been a very, VERY long process for me, but I'm glad I was finally able to finish this. To find out about the past of Kaosu and learn that Arago was once human. (Still can't get over just how violent Arago was, though. And the fact that he ate human flesh!!?? Yuck!!! I knew he was a bad guy, but, dang! That puts a whole new perspective on him.)

Second, sorry that I wasn't able to yet provide you with a full detailed and translated version of this book. I ran out of energy, but still wanted this book to be DONE. So, I went the easier route and summarized each chapter. I know it's not perfect, and, one day, I do hope to resume the fully detailed version of the story, translated into English, and release it for everyone to read. For now, however, this version will have to do.

Third, for the love of God, if you at all appreciate the fact that this summary exists, that this story exists AT ALL, then, while it's still available, go buy an official copy of this book. As of 2019, it's still available to be bought via

Amazon www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00VR8X3US/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=adrenalize04-22&linkId=93bdd2364754d793b52a3c16001c3e2f

and Adrenalize.co.jp adrenalize.co.jp/list04.html

I know, I know, you're probably going 'But, This stuff is in Japanese! I can't read Japanese!'. Neither can I, but spending about $7 / 6.40 EUR / 9.30 Canadian to buy a digital copy of this book to officially show that there are fans that are still around and still wanting to read these stories is kinda worth it. Right? I mean, it's no guarantee that SUNRISE will release any new stories for our favorite armored boys, but, hope is ever eternal.

Last but not least, thanks again for your interest in this story and wanting to read it. Thanks to Yoshie Kawahara for having written this. Thanks to SUNRISE for having made and released this anime series.

Now, go on, shoo! Go take Yoshie's advice and go outside for a while. Get some nature around you and go pamper yourself! You deserve it!

See you in the next book I translate for this anime series!

#yoroiden samurai troopers #ronin warriors arago talpa kaosu the ancient one byakuen whiteblaze book 4 shin kon hen early dusk volume

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pagsys-writings · 6 years ago

Note

MeiRai 48 or 87 either is fine you pick 💜❤

I’m not even sorry for the below mess lol (48 - “Why are you crying?” 87 - “You’re so adorable.”)

He knows he’s not perfect even if he likes to play that role. High and mighty just fit his persona best on the mound and the fact that it annoys his opponents is just an added bonus. It’s entertaining to say the least.

But he’s not without fault. There are always areas to improve. His latest game had been filled with mistakes on his part. Pitches missing their spots, underestimating his opponents, not giving it his all throughout the game… the list goes on. He’d been sloppy today and he knows he has to fix it for the next game.

“Mei!” He blinks out of his thoughts and turns to see his teammates filing out of the locker room. Shirakawa’s giving him a hard look. “Hurry up. We’re leaving soon.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he huffs, stuffing his uniform into his bag with more force than needed before following his teammates out. It’s weird being the last one. He’s not used to the quiet of it all.

Behind them, he takes his time for once. Formulates all the ways he can better himself. Can’t let Kazuya get wind of this, he decides randomly. He doesn’t want to hear that annoying asshole’s voice.

“Hey, have you seen Raichi?” The voice catches his attention as much as the name. Mei glances over to see Sanada speaking to another teammate. Both look equal parts worried and concerned.

Not my problem, Mei thinks as he keeps walking. He’s fallen even farther behind his teammates and they are already long gone. At least he knows they won’t leave without him.

Turning a corner, there’s less people around and Mei wonders if he’s lost. The area doesn’t look very familiar… maybe he should have tried to catch up with the rest sooner after all.

He’s about to turn back when a sound makes him pause. He waits, still as a statue, until he hears it again. A sniffle. Don’t, he tells himself. He hears the person’s breath catch as he tries to steady his breaths. Not my problem.

But his jaw clenches at the thought of just leaving because he has a strong feeling as to other’s identity. Mei closes his eyes and takes a breath. Damn it, he mildly curses himself for caring.

He pushes open the bathroom’s door. It’s silent as it opens and the person in the far corner doesn’t even notice. Mei watches him. It’s annoying really, seeing this person falling apart like this.

The person everyone’s been looking for, Todoroki Raichi. So unlike he is on the field. The monster batter from Yakushi sits in the corner, back against the wall with his knees pulled tightly to his chest. Mei can’t see his face but he assumes it’s covered in tears. Raichi’s shoulders shake and tremble with each hitch in his breath.

This is… very annoying.

“Hey,” Mei whispers in fear of startling the other too much. But as Raichi’s head snaps up and Mei sees terrified wide eyes, he knows it didn’t work. “Why are you crying?”

Raichi’s face flushes a deep red. His mouth works, but no words come out - just broken sounds. The younger trembles and Mei hopes he’s not scaring the kid. That’s not what he had intended.

Is this really the same person? He finds himself wondering.

He takes a step in, noticing the way Raichi flinches away, almost hitting his head against the wall. Mei hopes he doesn’t cause a panic attack and ignores the fearful eyes staring at him. He sits beside Raichi on the bathroom floor and he assumes he’s lost his mind to sit somewhere so grimy.

Screw this, he thinks, knowing he probably wouldn’t do this for any of his own teammates. But he doesn’t move.

He just sits there, waiting for Raichi’s breathing to slow. I wonder if my teammates are looking for me…

“I… I…” Raichi’s looking at him again but his eyes seem less scared and more unsure.

“What? Spit it out?” He doesn’t mean to snap but he’s never been very patient. Something he’s sure anyone who knows him could attest to. Though he feels a little guilty when Raichi flinches away.

It takes a few more moments for Raichi to collect himself again and Mei has to take slow breaths to keep his cool. His teammates are probably going to kill him for taking so long. They’ll all be waiting for him to leave.

“Why… a-are you he-re?” Raichi asks. His fingers tremble just like his voice and the red staining his cheeks is still present.

Mei wonders about the answer. He has no idea why he thought this was a good idea, so he goes with the first thing that pops into his head. “Do you know how annoying it is to hear crying?” Raichi’s eyes widen like saucers. “I could hear you from the hallway. How was I supposed to just let it go?”

Raichi lets out a bunch of jumbled words that Mei just assumes are apologies of some sort. Raichi’s split behaviors on and off the field are literally night and day. It’s both concerning and entertaining.

Mei pats his head and Raichi’s words stop altogether. “So anyway,” Mei continues. “You’re teammates seemed worried and I figured you were the one crying. You’re a lot different than I expected.” Raichi just stares and it’s a little unnerving. “So why were you crying?”

He watches as Raichi curls into himself a little more and Mei finds he doesn’t like how the younger attempts to make himself smaller. It’s really, really weird. Mei takes his hand away and waits. “I didn’t…” A pause as Raichi worries his lower lip. “We lo-st and I…”

Ah. Mei gets it now. “Baseball’s a team sport idiot.” Raichi flinches at his tone. “One person can’t win a game. There’s nine people on that field,” he continues when Raichi watches him seriously. The fear that was there doesn’t seem to be plaguing the younger anymore. Mei’s actually relieved that the other is listening so intently. “If you’re that worried about it then just get better.”

The words seem to spark a fire in Raichi’s eyes and Mei wonders if he just made his own job as a pitcher harder. Probably, but is it really fun if it’s too easy? Raichi stutters out something that Mei doesn’t even try to understand. At least the stuttering sounds excited this time.

Standing, Mei stretches a little and readjusts his bag. “Let’s get you back to your team.” He offers his hand to the younger and pulls Raichi to his feet. He keeps his shock hidden as he feels the numerous callouses on Raichi’s hands and fingers. It shouldn’t have been a surprise. No one became a great batter on luck and natural talent alone, but still… the rough feeling had taken him off guard.

As they leave the unused bathroom, Mei guides them in the direction that he came from. He’s highly aware of the now rejuvenated third baseman behind him, who’s basically bouncing on the balls of his feet. He’s even more aware of the fact that Raichi hasn’t stopped staring at him with admiration. He usually loves attention, but for some reason this was getting a little embarrassing.

Mei looks around for the other Yakushi players, knowing Raichi’s not paying any attention. Finally, finally, he sees Sanada not far away. The other is still obviously worried. “Hey, Sanada!” He calls, gaining the other pitcher’s attention. Confusion replaces worry. “I think I found something of yours.”

Placing a hand on Raichi’s back, Mei guides the younger forward. Raichi snaps out of his trance when he sees his teammate. “Nada-senpai!” He yells loudly. Mei mourns the loss of his silence as Raichi points wildly in Mei’s direction. He has no idea what he’s trying to say as Sanada walks over.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Sanada says with a sigh to Raichi, which seems to placate the younger. “Thanks, Narumiya.”

Mei shrugs it off. “Don’t worry about it. He seemed a little… lost. I couldn’t just leave him there.” Though he could have, he just chose not to. “I gotta go.”

He turns to leave but pauses when Raichi starts talking again. Or at least trying to. “Th-thank you!” He watches Raichi bow and when he stands tall again there’s a bright smile on his face. “Thank you, Narumiya-senpai!” There’s a fire in the young batter’s eyes that makes Mei smirk in anticipation for their next battle.

Sanada looks between the two in confusion, but Mei just laughs at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. He pats Raichi’s head fondly. He just can’t seem to dislike him. “You’re so... adorable.” Mei finds himself saying his thoughts without care. Sanada’s mouth falls open. Raichi flushes. Definitely adorable. “You’re going to have to work harder if you want to stand on that field with me,” he warns.

Raichi nods enthusiastically, as Mei waves and leaves the two. He’s taken much too long to get back to the bus. He can already imagine Shirakawa’s glare when he reappears. Mei wonders if he should say he got lost or maybe it’ll be more believable if he says he was taking pictures with fans. Yeah, the second one would work best.

It’s not until he’s back on the bus and listened to his many teammates complaints that he realizes what Raichi called him. Senpai. The word shouldn’t make him smile so much, but it does.

#meirai #narumiya mei #todoroki raichi #daiya no ace #Anonymous

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juniebooks · 6 years ago

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DnA Act 2 Ch.143

This chapter made me so happy. I loved seeing Eijun interacting with Raichi and Amahisa; it was cute and encouraging to see since these two are key players on their teams and acknowledged Eijun before he got the ace number. They also just seem really happy for Eijun and supportive -- nor do they come across as surprised that he received the ace number --and Eijun needs more of that in universe (cue Raichi's "Sawamura got the 1! You got even MORE awesome!" Of course, I knew Raichi already thought of Eijun as a worthy opponent, but this just hits it home even more). If only Eijun wasn't all "you're the enemy!! 😠😤🤐 and more "you're pretty cool, let's be friends 😁" as I feel it would be so much better in helping him build relationships for the rest of his baseball career at Seido and beyond. I think this trio's friendship would be awesome (although they do need someone logical to keep them all in line -- possibly Haruichi and Akiba?), and I bet their group conversations would be pretty interesting (once Raichi gets a phone, of course, haha). Can I also mention how chill Amahisa is when asking Raichi if he wants to join their LINE group? He's not hostile towards Raichi (which would be a logical assumption considering Yakushi have beaten Sankou twice now) but seems to want to be friends? I think that's awesome and the kind of attitude I wish Eijun would take with members of other teams. We already see it happening with Miyuki after his games against the U.S. players, and Miyuki seems like the person least likely to be super approachable or friendly with other teams' players. Please, sunshine child, you can still be friends and rivals. I want you to pick up tricks and tips from other aces/great players at other schools to not only make yourself a better player but also to have other friends (because honestly they seem to be the only ones you gave you any credit before you wiped the floor with high level schools and got the ace number).

Hoping the next chapter dives right into the first game for Seido. Also hoping that as the series progresses, we see Eijun loosening up and making new friends. ❤

#daiya no ace #daiya no ace act 2 #chapter 143 #sawamura eijun #amahisa kousei #todoroki raichi #<3 #please let them be friends

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hiraethstill · 5 years ago

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THIS WEEK AND LAST WEEK ON DAIYA NO ACE (7/16 and 7/23)

SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT!

7/16 LIVEBLOG:

IMMEDIATE assault by eijun's handsome face

and his DETERMINATION

every time the OP comes on im like where are the babies? THERE THEY ARE @ firsties

the way i GASPED

THIS IS HOW WE FELL IN LOVE WITH EIJUN I TELL YOU

haha poor audience member doesnt know sawamura is mostly good at swinging from the bunt stance

eijun... you have every right to be frustrated

ugh... the way he looks when he was a doormat to the ace... i feel this too much my chest hurts

"if i had pitched like furuya did today i wouldve been subbed out" TOO TRUE AND OUCH

HE HITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

THE BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGENDDD

AND JUST LOOK AT ASADA AND KUKI'S F A C E S

DOUBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

lmao did eijun learn to run bases from mochi? now i want this

uhhh the announcer was wrong? the STANDS were all cheering and happy, it was mostly the dugout that was surprised

bc this is level of trust he gets from first string sigh

sorry all my frustration is here

HAHA OKAY BUT why does this look gayalso sawamura's little "na!" with the pew pew is so cute wtf

his lil cheeky face in the corner im hashjdlkdgj

haruichi and toujou in that shot look like they'd been helping him practice batting and it paid off

hslkhg eijun and his "hips!" i cant

KANEMARUUUUUUUUU

HELL YEAH TAKUMI NICE SHOULDER

nice eijun is safe

haha i never know who to root for bc i love all the bois

okay but

has anyone ever talked about how cool amahisa's eyes are???

i mean

look at this

so cool

yoooo wtf amahisa's voice in this part is really appealing??? damnn

so... kanemaru's a capable batter even if he's not top tier, why you gotta keep making him bunt

oh well, i like that face you're making kanemaru

noooooooooooo

it's okay kanemaru you did your best

cmon mochi bring him home!!!!!!!!!!

EIJUN ENOUGH WITH THE HIPS LMAO

yeah thats right mochi + other batters, give him the run support he deserves

AMAHISA THE DISASTER BI IM

"did he shave his eyebrows? he looks like a strong fighter" are you just checking him out

you'd want him to do those jump kicks amahisa

moon-face?????

omg i feel the tinglings... of a rarepair... amakura.....................

what was i saying about his EYES??

come the fuck ON dont leave eijun stranded on second!!!!!!

HHHHH

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MY BOISSSSSSSSSSS

SHOW ME YOUR FACEEE

(and u rite yall amahisa is yabai)

THERE BE YOUR FACEEEE

IM SO EMOTIONAL

AND HIS VOICE

FUCKLE

AND HIMSTDVEEE

whoaaa that slowmo pitching sequence!

HARUCCHIII

oh hello eijun upping the tempo and looking great doing it

wow this super HD sparkle miyuki

EIJUN IS BEAUTIFULLLL and lowkey this looks like the OP

ASADA AND KUKI MY SONS I WOULD DIE FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUUU

BEING SO EXCITED ABOUT THE CUTTER KAI AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I ALSO LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

HLKDHFS AURA

okay sun we gettin a lil cap happy

another pretty eijun shottttt

WHOA 3D BALL

3D SLOWMO BALL

N* H* TT * R

i feel like i jinxed him sorry eijun

also i LOVE when the stands yell OSH OSH OSH back

wow toujou's voice was. so cute??

noriiiii i love you so much and thank you

furuya silently reflecting huh?

YO WTF IN THE MANGA NORI'S CAP COVERS FURUYA'S NUMBER WTF ANIMATORS ITS ICONIC

awww theyre all patting him i wanna pat eijun too

NORIIIIII YOU ARE SO PRECIOUS

kanemaru's eyes are gray??

kousei-san.......... mayhaps i have.......... Feelings about this

"gureato" man tahara is great

HLJSKDFHKGSFJGKFHDGLDF BLONDE AMAHISA

THIS IS JUST FUELING MY AMAKURA LMAOOO

WHY IS BLONDE HAIR IN MIDDLE SCHOOL A RUNNING JOKE IN ANIME

kuramochi, amahisa, hyuuga from knb, alla dem yankees

oh my god is that suddenly shaved head amahisa still in first year he's so smol

wow kousei is so eccentric haha i love it

YESSS BRINGING BACK MANAKA-BOY

omg yakushi cameo!!

wow this is so pleasant to look at and idk why??

his eyeeesss

and this too omgg

I SEE NISHINO

omgggg are they who i think they are

YES THEY AREANIMATORS REALLY BE FEEDING ME TODAY

sorry mimei that was too much tension in a single glance not to be homoerotic

go shirasu-senpai!

wellll shit, rip zono and rip seidou

142 pitches???????? are they throwing out amahisa's arm imma fight

YO OKAY BUT DOES THIS MEAN INAJITSU VS ICHIDAI

"that wouldnt be any fun" uh you do realize you're talking about a person's physical health right audience member???

the. ace. is. not. the. only. player.

its okay this is the peanut gallery they dont matter in the long run

omg are the first years wearing their school uniform slacks

AWWWW TAKU OFFERED TO CARRY SAWAMURA'S BAG

taku always worried about everyone and sawamura looking rather nice actually

HLJSKFDHGD AMAHISA'S FACE LIGHTING UP AT EIJUN

omg was that a little bow eijun made at amahisa before moving on?

"something i want to ask you" are you boutta ask him out amahisa

im sorry i love eyes too much

and also! eijun getting the recognition he deserves!! buuuut from another team rip

cmon eijun he's trying to be nice tbh

lmao koushuu and shirakawa should meet... resting bitch face club

"i've never seen kousei-san take interest in another pitcher" THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO UNPACK IN THIS STATEMENT

LMAO HE DID HE DID ASK FOR HIS LINE

my sonsssss

yes asada and kuki, be free! go move around!

asdkfh i just squee every time taku

and these lines on koushuu look so nice??

intense son

scremmm

he's so happy and fired up to see koushuu fired up im

wholeass Sons™

lmao koushuu getting mad for sawamura

my inexperience... yes kataoka

teito and inajitsu coaches lmao

500K rivals to fwb to lovers

ive always thought kunitomo's neck crack is so funny

UHHHHH CARLOSHIRA REALLY TOYING WITH MY HEART HERE

THIS IS NOT OKAY

IM NOT OKAY

mochi looking mighty fine in this shot

aw... ejun sitting alone....

just wanna say oda and kuroki very lesbian in the ED

preview

ooh mei batting

sawamura and furuya watching so intently!!

INUI KENGOOOOOO

aw... eijun turning to harucchi for support

oh man third years...

SUMMARY (7/16):

eijun DOUBLES!!

rip seidou tho

amahisa's eyes??? pretty???

ATTACC BY INAJITSU CAMEO

taku offering to carry eijun's bag + serious senpai face

careful amahisa your gay is showing

koushuu mad on eijun's behalf lmao

inajitsu vs teito next!

7/23 LIVEBLOG:

ah yes, that tension-filled mimei look

CAN THEY STOP TESTING ME WITH CARLOSHIRA SCREENS

ooh this parallel of mei and mukai #1s

why does mei look so young at bat lmao

rather nice shot of mukai tbh

omg that tiny background akamatsu is adorable

WOW i love this shot

hell yeah mei kicking ass and taking names

boi... what you doin

KANETOU RIGHTS

kuraharu rights too!!

wow mochi's voice, never over it

BOI ARE THEY JUST SHOWING SHIPS LOOK AT MINORI

lookit mochi bein a good senpai

ooh eijun finally said no huh

mochi and harucchi look so concerned tbh i am too

mm and miyuki and furuya too huh

WHAT IS THIS BLEP STAHP

oowada always cracks me up lmao

esp when mine is so grave next to her

oh so mukai likes gambling? im not surprised lmaooo

INUI-SANNN I LOVE YOUUU

THE BOIIII

H E

H I M S T

omg the way tetsu says carlos sounds all proud and im soft

PRETTY BOIS DOIN J O B S

GETTIN THAT BREAD

omg two RBIs too good job shirakawa!!!

omg im so glad mei encouraged itsuki

have i ever mentioned

inui x mukai RIGHTS

ESP THIS SEQUENCE OF MUKAI (AND INUI) PRACTICING

BOIIII

that toujou face... some toujou and mukai art i saw comes to mind

DAMN THE IMAGE WHEN INUI HITS IM WOW

also is carlos actually wearing his compression undershirt holy wow

he didnt used to at least

ANYWAY INUI DINGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

HELL YAHHH

omg was that a little tiger next to inui SO CUTE

oh my god "mei-san mei-san" too cute

LMAO TOO LONG

MEI I SWEAR

yoo mei you okay there

SLOW MO BALL

okay why does he look so good please

OKAY WHY DOES HE LOOK SO GOOD PLEASE

do you know how many times i had to rewind for this screenshot

shirakawa also looks good frustrated fuckle

mei stop shakin off signs dammit

ooh nice akamatsu shot

seidou shares one (1) brain cell in this screen

much too short a game damn...

ive heard we were robbed of itsuki's blush??? cause hello i need catcher catcher goodness with him and inui

omg... they're literal children

SSLKDFHLSKDHGSSTOPPPPPPPPP

IM WEAK OKAY

I KNOW IT

I ACCEPT IT

HOW DAREMSTDVE

AND HIS V O I C E

WTFFFFFFFFFFFFF

hahaha anyway im just laughing at carlos being a momentary harada

"mei-san" !!!

mei x mukai... so chaotic

wow amahisa looks so nice???

lmao they really didnt HAVE to put harucchi in the bg when miyuki's talking to furuya but they DID

miyuki... looking at mei too long not to be homo there

eijun :c

oh man

that really hurt

the face of a SON tho

"so you are human after all" so many things i want to say about this

sawamura... doesn't seem to hold a grudge against furuya at all and honestly wow...

tho its def not furuya's fault i think thats a mark of him being pretty mature!

anyway im glad furuya wants to watch the video too

also nabe!!!!! i wonder how close eijun and nabe are and how many times eijun has bothered him for the videos haha

ochiai, a backup catcher... interesting

"he must overcome this on his own" do you know how many problems there are with this statement

yeah it wasnt fair

"for better or for worse" are you kidding

oh furusawa lmaoo

and nabe just patient over there

oh hello masayui and kanetou

anime fist clench

koushuu!!!

oh man miyuki introspection......... i know where this is going.........

appreciating sawamura's hard work and optimism!!!!!

HE IS READY DAMMIT

how many more times does he have to prove it to you

loveLY but also reused?

WOW IM EMOTIONAL ALL THESE MEMORIES...

ALSO THIS IS PRETTY DAMN GAY...

and the shadow of miyuki in the background... WOW

three months............. until the third years retire...........................................

im not okA Y............................

all the things this smile hides

preview

BOI YOU ALREADY PITCH THAT WELL

wow too many sons

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

BABY TAKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

AND BABY KOUSHUU

END CARD WITH MANAGERS AAA CUTE

SUMMARY (7/26):

mei kicking ass and taking names

mukai and his fooken BLEP

PRETTY INAJITSU BOIS DOIN JOBS

INUI DINGERRR

inui/mukai rights

mei + mukai actual CHILDREN

carloshira stop attaccing sun challenge f a iled

eijun @ harucchi :c

three months...

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

#daiya spoilers #daiya no ace act ii #daiya no ace #inajitsu #teito #seidou

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silverfootstepswrites · 7 years ago

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title Bang Bang summary The neon lights make me numb pairing Itasaku rating babies, close your eyes. racier than what i normally do.

The view from Victoria Peak was one of her favorite things about this city. Sakura clung to the metal barrier. The wind whipped at her cheeks and clothes, angry for a moment. And then calm again.

The entire island took on a strange gradient of glows. The bottom buzzed orange and warm as the streetlights beat back the darkness. And then came the high-rises growing from the concrete. Their many windows lit up florescent white and blue. She could pick out some of the nightclubs and parties even from here- the windows pulsing bright purples and greens. Last were the skyscrapers that reached like hands to the heavens. It almost looked like the clouds would snag against their pointed tops.

In the distance, she could make out the dark skeletons of buildings still in progress. The strangely-shaped one by the harbor was of particular interest. Yakushi Kabuto had invested a significant amount of money into that project. Her boys were still looking into why.

“Aunt Cheng.”`

“I know,” Sakura said, pushing away from the barrier.

“Uncle Hashirama is waiting,” Tenten reminded her, opening the back door of the car.

“We’ll stop by the restaurant and pick up some roast goose. He never gets mad when I come with food,” Sakura said. Tenten sighed as she got into the back with her.

“Honestly, you’re the only person I know who tests the Dragon Head’s patience,” she scolded half-heartedly. Zabuza chortled as he started the car and began driving. He took them through the long, winding road that spiraled down from Victoria Peak.

“I’m also the only female Red Pole, Tenten. I didn’t just get here by being a pretty face,” Sakura quipped in return.

“You’re late,” grunted Yamato as she got out of the car several minutes later. He leaned against the hood of his expensive sports car. It was one she didn’t recognize. Perhaps a gift from one of the Red Poles? Or maybe even Uncle Hashirama himself?

“You still playing as Uncle Hashirama’s chaffeur?” sneered Zabuza. Yamato lowered his cigarette, giving Zabuza an incredulous look.

“Fuck you. You’re her chaffeur too,” Yamato retorted, looking at Sakura.

“Now, now, boys. We’re not here to fight. Play nice while the grown-ups go up and talk,” Sakura said with a saccharine smile. Tenten smirked at the two men as she followed Sakura into the building.

Uncle Hashirama owned countless buildings in the city. But his preferred meeting place was the building that overlooked Victoria Harbor. It had a direct view to Kowloon on the opposite side of the water. But more importantly, some of the busiest ports were in clear sight from his office from the top floor. The floors below housed shell companies and fronts that never actually seemed to have any clients. The bottom floor of the old building housed a yum cha restaurant that was apparently quite popular. Even at this time of night, there was a line out the front door. Sakura glimpsed the busy restaurant as she walked up the stairs from the back entrance.

“You’ve got to convince Uncle to get an elevator installed in here,” huffed Tenten as they reached the 5th floor. Sakura shrugged.

“You pick and choose your battles with him,” she replied. She nodded to the thugs on guard duty who immediately opened the door for her. Taking the takeout container from Tenten, Sakura strode in, an extra swish in her hips.

“Uncle Hashirama-”

“You’re late.”

Sakura looked over to see who had spoken. Tobirama sat in an old leather armchair. An unlit cigarette sat between his lips.

“You know why you’re boring? You just said the exact same thing to me as Yamato,” she sighed, tilting her head. Tobirama scowled at her. Reaching into her coat pocket, she grabbed her lighter and tossed it. He caught it with one hand without thanks.

“But my brother is right, Sakura. You are late,” Hashirama said, turning in his chair. Middle age hadn’t taken his charm from him. His dark hair was perfectly silky, framing his tanned face. In his pressed shirt and and rolled up sleeves, he looked like anybody’s handsome father. He was one of the rare gangsters who had avoided scarring on his face. That was a testament to his strength rather than to his vanity, though. There were rumors that his body was unblemished too, although nobody could confidently confirm.

Hashirama rested his chin on his folded hands, waiting.

“Only because I stopped to get your favorite, Uncle,” replied Sakura in a sing-song voice. She held up the takeout, fluttering her eyelashes.

Hashirama heaved a deep sigh. He leaned back in his chair, making it squeak.

“Did you ask for extra sauce?” he asked.

“Uncle. How could you even ask me that?” gasped Sakura, holding up an extra plastic container.

“A fucking Red Pole bribing the Dragon Head with roast duck,” grumbled Tobirama a few minutes later. He watched Hashirama tear into the meat with both hands. The disgust was clear on Tobirama’s face. Sakura laughed as she shed her coat. Tenten draped it over her arm, leaving Sakura in a black blazer and matching skirt. She walked over to Tobirama, red heels tapping against the cement floor.

As her shadow fell across him, Tobirama glanced up at her. She reached into his shirt pocket to pluck out a cigarette. Placing it in her mouth, she leaned in close to press the tip against his. The paper sizzled. Tobirama grimaced.

“Are you serious, woman? You could have just asked for yours back,” he grumbled. But still he didn’t resist when she deposited herself in his lap, her calves resting on the armrest. Tobirama held up her lighter. She only batted her eyelashes at him. Sighing and muttering under his breath, Tobirama twisted to place the lighter in the pocket of her blazer.

“You’re a peach, Tobirama,” she said. She blew smoke into his face, making him squint. She used the opportunity to peck the tip of his nose.

“You’re hopeless,” he sighed.

“Okay, stop teasing him, Sakura. What did you want to talk to me about so badly?” Hashirama interrupted after swallowing a mouthful of duck. He wiped his fingers clean on a handful of cheap napkins. Sakura took her cigarette out of her mouth, holding it between two fingers.

“I just wanted to see if you got my present the other day, Uncle. I had it expedited just for you,” replied Sakura. She felt Tobirama let out a silent snort of laughter.

“Yeah and we got the card too. What Red Pole writes notes on stationery covered with bunnies?” scoffed Tobirama. Sakura turned to look at him, her eyelashes lowering.

“What kind of Red Pole calls them ‘bunnies’ and not ‘rabbits’?” she asked in return. That shut him right up. They both looked back at Hashirama. He took his time wiping his mouth.

“I have to say, Sakura, the handiwork was commendable. What gave you the idea for the presentation?” asked Hashirama. Sakura looked up humming, pretending to think.

“Oh, it’s just that he threatened to cut my face into ribbons. So I thought I’d return the favor. Although, the credit has to go to Sai for the actual work. He’s a real artist,” replied Sakura. Hashirama laughed at that.

“You know, I was worried when you brought in so much new blood during your initiation. But it seems like everywhere I turn, I’m hearing good things about them. I’m glad I trusted your eye,” Hashirama commended her. Sakura smiled shyly, lowering her gaze.

“Oh Uncle, you’re such a flatterer,” she replied. But then her expression sobered. She lifted her chin.

“I wanted to ask if this makes us even with the Uchiha-gumi? If you’re satisfied, I don’t feel the need to pursue any further retribution against the Japanese,” she went on. It sounded like a question but it wasn’t really. And Hashirama seemed to pick up on this. He tore off a piece of goose, dunking it into the sauce. He examined it as he spoke.

“Well, my dear, if you’re not upset, then I can hardly hold onto my own anger. Although I did hear that they damaged your lovely face,” sighed Hashirama. He stuffed the goose into his mouth when he had finished speaking.

“What?” Tobirama demanded.

Grabbing Sakura’s chin, he twisted her face to him. Pushing her hair aside, he found the small white bandage.

“It’s only two stitches,” Sakura assured him. “Relax.” She pushed his hand down. And then she leaned in close.

“It’s okay, Tobirama. You know I like it rough.”

Tobirama’s entire face flushed red. His hands clamped down on the armrests as he looked away from her.

Hashirama watched the exchange with a helpless expression. He hadn’t heard what she had said, but he could guess. He had to admit that it was somewhat funny to see her mess with his stuffy, uptight little brother.

“Oh and one other thing, Uncle,” said Sakura, turning back to the Dragon Head.

“I’m giving a bigger cut of our profits to you starting next month,” she announced. Hashirama’s eyebrows rose.

“Sakura, I’m not demanding more from you. You bring in almost as much money as Tobirama’s boys do. And you far outshine the Red Arrow boys,” he assured her. Her upper lip curled at the mere mention of the Red Arrow gang.

“Uncle, I’m not interested in being compared to the likes of Kabuto and his tweakers,” she complained. Tobirama bit back his smile. He met his brother’s eyes and quickly looked away to avoid laughing outright.

“Anyway, my boy Charlie Lau made a connection. We started moving product in through Ginza from Kowloon and he’s making a killing. Thought it would be nice that some of that trickles into your pockets.”

Hashirama looked straight into her eyes. His stare seemed to search her very soul. Many mistook this Dragon Head as being too light-hearted compared to his predecessors. But Sakura knew that he could spot a lie like a hawk spotted a field mouse. Talons out. Dive and kill.

“What do you want, Sakura?” he demanded. The laughter was gone.

Sakura took a drag from her cigarette. Tilting her head back, she expelled the smoke in one long trail toward the ceiling. With her left hand, she reached back, as if to hold onto the back of the armchair. Instead, she gently combed her fingers through Tobirama’s hair.

“Nothing....yet,” she responded. And then she smiled, eyes narrowing. She met Hashirama’s gaze.

“But when the time comes, Uncle, I want you to remember that I’m your favorite. Not Kabuto,” she added.

Hashirama looked her over one more time. He clicked his tongue against his teeth. Pushing his takeout aside, he motioned for a cigarette from one of his cronies.

“Are you about to start a headache for me, Jing-Mei?” he questioned.

Sakura raked her fingers across Tobirama’s scalp. She felt his grip tighten around her thigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that his expression hadn’t changed. She smiled.

“Now why would you say that to your favorite, Uncle?” she giggled.

Sakura sent Tenten ahead after her meeting with the Dragon Head. They paused in the lobby outside Uncle Hashirama’s office as Tenten helped her into her coat.

“Go ahead with Zabuza. Make your rounds in Central and check in on the boys. I want to make sure that we’ve got this month’s protection money. Be especially careful towards the east. If you run into the Red Arrow boys, avoid a fight if possible,” Sakura ordered, flipping her hair over her collar. Tenten frowned.

“What about you, Boss?” she questioned.

“I’m going to have a talk with Tobirama. If I need the car later, I’ll call,” Sakura assured her. As Tenten hesitated, the doors to Uncle Hashirama’s office opened. Tobirama strode out, his silhouette somehow filling the entire room.

Tenten didn’t understand how her boss got away with teasing him. Just looking at the man was enough to make her blood run cold. She had shed plenty of blood in her day, but this Red Pole was on another level. She had never seen a man with such murderous eyes.

“Go. I’ll be at my apartment in Aberdeen if you need me later,” she urged Tenten.

“Got it, Boss,” Tenten finally agreed. And then she hurried down the stairs before Tobirama could try to say something to her.

Sakura took her time fidgeting with her coat and brushing imaginary lint off her skirt. She waited until she was certain that Tenten was long gone before she began her lazy way down the stairs.

She listened. Heard his footfalls follow her.

His hand slammed against the wall just beside her head when they reached the landing for the deserted third floor.

“What were you trying to pull in there?” Tobirama growled. His chest heaved up and down. In the darkened stairwell, she almost couldn’t make out the red tattoos on his cheeks and chin. She looked up into his eyes, unwavering.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied. When her mouth moved, their lips almost touched. She could feel him trembling, hear his fist tightening beside her ear. She could even hear his teeth grinding together. His breath stank of tobacco as he exhaled.

“What will you do if Uncle sees us like this here?” Sakura whispered.

Tobirama didn’t move.

Sakura reached out, her palm resting against his chest. He flinched a little. But stilled as her hand ran down his leather jacket, smoothing over his side. She slipped her fingers under the zipper, depositing a key card into his pants pocket.

“Good night, Tobirama,” she then said. Without another word, she ducked under his arm and made her way down the stairs. Unhurried. Her hands in the pockets of her unbuttoned coat. She made it all the way down to the first floor, out the back doors. Yamato gave her a sullen nod as she passed. He didn’t seem to hate her as much as he hated Zabuza and Tenten.

“Your ride left, Aunt Cheng. Need a lift?” he offered, uncharacteristically generous. Sakura looked at him over her shoulder.

“No need. You have a good night,” she responded, already walking. Yamato gave her another nod, his eyebrows rising.

Sakura flagged a taxi a couple blocks from Uncle Hashirama’s building. She told him her address and then pulled her phone from her pocket.

Tenten must have spread the word that she was busy. There were only a few messages and they were mostly about things that could wait. She replied to Tommy’s text about their meeting next week. And then she read over the short email from Sai updating her on the goings-on at the club in her absence. By the time she was done catching up, the taxi had stopped in front of her building. She paid and then headed into the high-rise.

This apartment in North Point had been her first big purchase. Technically, it was in the Chrysanthemum gang’s territory, but they didn’t seem to mind. At the time, she had thought to stay in Uncle Hashirama’s territory. Back then, Red Pole had been a distant goal she had thought she would never reach.

She had started off as a hostess in her mother’s little snack bar in Yokohama. Her mother, a Hong Kong immigrant who never talked about her past, had raised her on her own. Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that either her mother had run away from her father or didn’t know who he was. Either way, she had grown up as Cheng Jing-Mei until the sidelong looks and snide comments at school had driven her home in tears. Where she had begged her mother for a Japanese name. To stop all those judgmental stares.

So the name Haruno Sakura replaced everything on the register. But the new name didn’t help. Everyone knew that she went home to an apartment above a smoky little snack bar in Chinatown. They knew that she was different, made comments about her mother and her whiskey-voice.

The only comfort Sakura could find was in her mother’s snack bar. Where other Chinese-born and their children stopped in after work for a drink and someone to talk to. Together they could share in the experience of not quite fitting in. Like jamming feet into shoes that were just a half-size too small. She started fighting those sneering bullies, learning to band together with those like her.

But then her mother had died. And with the money she made selling her mother’s bar, she could have finished school. Entered the work force and made an honest living. Instead she decided to move back to Hong Kong where her mother had grown up. With her passable Cantonese and middling Mandarin, Sakura had managed to find a job at a seedy little karaoke bar.

Which was where she had first met Hashirama.

At the time, a rakish man in his early thirties, Hashirama had been a Red Pole. In charge of the Chrysanthemum Gang under the previous Dragon Head. He had caught her staring at the fresh tattoo of the god of war, Guan Yu, on his right arm. She sang him a couple songs, had a few conversations. And she eventually became his favorite each time he visited.

“You know. We’ve been looking into making some friends in Japan. Do you think you’d be willing to translate for us?” he had asked one night. Barely 17, living in a dirty apartment with five other karaoke hostesses, she had jumped at the chance to do something bigger. To be useful to the handsome gangster who often felt like the only person to really hear her voice.

The favors multiplied. They asked her to hide a weapon. To make a phone call and recite some numbers. As her skills in Cantonese and Mandarin improved, Hashirama invited her to come work at a different club- this one run by the Chrysanthemum Gang. Where she didn’t have to sit on the laps of men she didn’t like. Where if anyone got mouthy with her, one of Hashirama’s men would be sure to step in.

She continued to translate, learning to smile and laugh to smooth over the tense moments. And that charm helped her ingratiate herself with his goons. They taught her to fight, taught her how to shoot a gun. Instead of “bitch” and “girl” they started to learn her name.

Soon, she was out of the karaoke booths. Instead, she was in the back room of the club. Helping Hashirama plan, sinking deeper and deeper into his secrets. Finally feeling like this was the shoe size that fit her.

These little things piled up one on top of another. Until the night she had been given as a present to another Red Pole: Orochimaru.

The betrayal had ruined her. She was inconsolable. Drowning herself in alcohol and fleeting flings with nameless men. She hadn’t understood what she had done wrong to make Hashirama throw her away like she didn’t matter. Why had big brother Hashirama suddenly come to hate her, she lamented. And as the months dragged on, she began to see how Orochimaru took a liking to her and trusted her.

She was given one laundering business. Then two. Then ten. Handed over the racketeering in the night market. Orochimaru bought a building in her name because she was just so damn good at keeping secrets. As the years went on, she gathered her own following as Orochimaru’s right hand and the second most powerful member of the Jade Gang.

She still failed to see the bigger picture until the night the Dragon Head was assassinated by Orochimaru.

He was executed by Hashirama’s men maybe an hour later. And by the end of the night, Hashirama was named Dragon Head.

She remembered standing in the back room of that smoky karaoke bar a week later.

“Was this all part of your plan? Sending me to Orochimaru? You taking over?” she had demanded. Hitting him and hugging him. Relieved to see him and hating him all at once.

“The Chrysanthemum Gang had to go to my younger brother. I knew that eventually I would have to kill Orochimaru. And having someone like you to take his place made things much easier. Of course, I didn’t realize how soon I would have to take him out.”

Now that she no longer needed to cower under Hashirama’s wing, Sakura devoured freely. Her ties to local businesses deepened. She invested in different companies, expanding and raking in so much money that at first she hadn’t believed the profit reports. Central was firmly in her grasp. Each cog in the machine spun smoothly. And those that couldn’t obey were ground to dust between the spinning wheels.

Soon, her slice of Hong Kong wasn’t enough. Hashirama, seeing her voracity, had sent her to work with their connections in Japan. The little seeds of influence in Yokohama bloomed under her hand. All of her old connections came in handy as she sweet-talked and fawned her way to control. Her influence spread, seeping up the coast of Japan like a disease.

As she tapped her key card against the door, she felt his heat engulf her back.

“You know, the point of us arriving separately was to avoid being seen,” she remarked, her fingers resting on the handle. Tobirama placed his hand on top of hers, turning the handle together, his breath hot against the back of her neck.

Her back hit the wall as soon as she stepped into the apartment. Their bodies twisting together, fingers tangling deep into her hair. She bared her teeth as he tugged her head back.

“I’m boring?” he demanded. Sakura smirked at him, watched him unbutton the top half of her shirt.

“The Dragon Head isn’t a fool. You can’t keep playing games like that in front of him. You’re going to get us caught,” Tobirama warned, his hands stilling.

“Oh. As if you’re subtle. Worrying over a little cut like a mother hen,” scoffed Sakura. Tobirama’s eyes narrowed, finding her bandage again.

“If that little rat wasn’t already dead, I’d drown him in Victoria Harbor myself,” he snarled. Sakura laughed. She dragged him up by the hair to meet her mouth.

“Ooh. Talk dirty to me,” she teased between kisses. Tobirama pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.

“...You’re really fucked up, you know that?” he stated. And she couldn’t quite tell whether he was being serious or not.

“You are too, Tobirama,” she reminded him.

A smile warmed his face, burning from deep within his eyes.

“Never said I wasn’t, Madam Red Pole.”

#writing #eastern suns #triad!sakura x yakuza!itachi #itasaku #also it became tobisaku for some reason #idk what happened #this is what happens when you listen to your heart #fuk u heart #triad!au

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grey-kisses · 7 years ago

Photo

Sanada visiting Yakushi during practice when he’s a first uni year. Can you tell Raichi has a little lip quiver going? He’s definitely freaking out and unable to hold it.

There’s more under the cut that’s like a fanfic/not quite a fic.

“Wow, you’ve gotten so big these past few months!”

“No, you just got t-too strong!”

He literally JUMPS out of Sanada’s arms and runs away behind a building to just scream and cry from his pent up feelings.

Probably texting Eijun [I MISSED HIM SO MUCH BUT I RAN AWAY. IM SO STUPID] and cries. [I RUINED EVERYTHING! I MADE IT WEIRD!]

Raichi hears the team calling for him but it’s barely because he’s sniffling and confused and scared that he’ll be a screw up for forever. And Eijun’s text only gets noticed because it’s on vibrate and he can barely see through his soaked eyelashes.

[What are you saying? You’re about as stupid as me, but you’re going have to explain this.]

I think Akiba finds Raichi first though and has a banana ready for him and says he only gets the Banana if he just starts breathing slow and deep until he calms down. And Raichi doesn’t have the ability to speak well, so he just shows Akiba the messages he sent Eijun about his crush and how he reacted and it’s the first time Raichi mentions to his dear friend how gay he is. But Akiba looks so gentle and understanding that Raichi thought it would be the only way to explain how and why he ran away.

And Akiba is kind and sweet, even if he seems unsure how to help. But the banana and breathing helps, Raichi assures, so Akiba extends a hand to pull Raichi up

“I can tell him you cried because they were tears of happiness, but that you felt to embarrassed for crying, so you ran away from shyness. They’d believe it if it’s you and me.”

Raichi nods and smiles. “It’s barely a lie. I’m … so happy … to see him.”

Sanada is skeptical since it looked like Raichi ran away before crying, but he keeps it to himself until later. He just keeps apologizing for disrupting their practice, and Raizo is annoyed that it looks like Raichi is out of commission for the day. That just means Sanada offers to take care of Raichi while the rest continue playing.

So he brings some water and walks over to Raichi sitting alone in the field, hugging his knees, Money Tree beside him untouched. “It’s weird to not see you swinging, but even if you aren’t practicing, you should hydrate yourself after a good cry.”

Raichi goes stiff and mumbles “Gyah um I-I um snn” But takes the water and tentatively has some. “I’m sorry … for crying. I was. Am. Happy you visited. I got overwhelmed. You couldn’t pick me up like that before, right? Naada-senpai is so cool. So strong.”

Sanada ruffles Raichi’s hair and chuckles, but it’s almost empty, almost uncertain. “I wouldn’t say that. Maybe I could have always picked you up, and I just didn’t. I got so overwhelmed, too, that I just. I just had to scoop you up. I’m happy to see you.”

Little tears prick Raichi’s eyes again. “Please don’t not come back! Y-you probably have a lot in university, but I don’t want you to not come because I was scared! I want to see you again! All the time!”

Sanada sits beside Raichi and sighs. “Is that what happened? You got scared.” Even though Raichi is silent, Sanada knows the little slip-up was true, and he waits to think of how to continue. “I’m so sorry for overwhelming you all at once. When I visit again, I’ll even try to text you in advance.”

Raichi looks up from his knees and stares at Sanada with so much hope. “You’re okay with seeing me again? I-I may be okay if it’s not all of the sudden. I’ll be so happy.”

“That’s nice to hear. I’m always happy around you. I never want to sca- ‘overwhelm’ you again.”

“You won’t. You won’t. I’ll be better now. I’ll act the same as when we were together before.”

“That’s not much of an improvement. You were still shy then, too. Other than picking you up, there’s something else, right? I won’t pry, but … What was the full reason you got upset?”

Raichi’s little kahaha laugh fills the air and Sanada wonders how we survived going months without hearing it. From being used in a loud boom for making a good play to the shy and unsure one he let out just now, Sanada missed all of them. Raichi just kept getting redder, and kept his little laugh going, but he also remained steady at looking at Sanada.

“I scared you, right?”

“No!” Raichi shouted, but his throat was still too sore to get loud enough for others to notice. “I don’t get scared of Sanada-senpai! You make me happy and you make me feel safe!” Raichi swallows more water and he tries to go on because he knows Sanada knows there’s more to say. Raichi can tell Sanada won’t pressure him for more, but at the same time Raichi thinks Sanada deserves to hear it. “I loved being in your strong arms and feeling like I mattered to you.”

Sanada puts on hand on Raichi’s, feeling how very hot, and clammy, and rough it was. “I’d love to have you in my arms again. You can feel safe with me because I don’t mind protecting you. It’s hard not to just lean in and squeeze you tight and never let go.”

“I-I wouldn’t let you let go. I’m scared to see you leave. I’m scared when I see you it’ll be too much because I feel … so strongly about you. I get so happy I get scared of myself.”

“Please just … Be yourself, even if you get scared. It’s selfish, but that’s the you I fell in love with, and I wouldn’t mind holding the person I love near me forever. But that’s selfish, and you don’t owe me that privilege.”

Raichi stopped working.

“R-Raichi? Raichi? Are you- are you okay?”

Raichi’s eyes seemed to follow out and steam left his ears as his face burned and his entire body shut down and wobbled. “L-L-L-L-L-L-”

“Raichi? Raichi, please don’t freak out. I love you but it’s not a b-”

Raichi grabbed back at Sanada’s hand still holding his, then pulled on his arm so that they collided and Raichi roughly kissed Sanada’s nose. “I love Sanada-Senpai!”

#Sanada Shunpei #Todoroki Raichi #SanRai #SanaRai #Daiya no Ace #Daiya no A #art post #Drabble post

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tenkeitekinamonogatari · 7 years ago

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iii〜citadel🌸本丸

Their return was punctuated by a flurry of activity that spread like wildfire through the stronghold. Kitsune scampered ahead calling orders to each other and leading the way as their master half-dragged, half-carried the cloaked man to the repair room, the latter's ineffectual insistence that he was fine having petered out into the occasional weak mutter. Candlelight flickered off the golden skin of the Yakushi Nyorai statue that presided over the beds, one of which Airi now lay Yamanbagiri on. His gore-caked clothing peeled away with minimal resistance, though the woman suspected that under normal circumstances their wearer would have put up quite the fight. Presently, a white myoubu entered long enough to deliver supplies and a thin slat of wood.

"What's this? An ofuda?" the saniwa blinked, turning it over in her hands.

"A housewarming gift from Her Ladyship Benzaiten. Activating this in divinity rooms alters the flow of time within."

“Perfect.” The declaration came with the flare of pale blue light as the goddess’ power was invoked.

“...Why are you bothering so much with something like me anyhow?” Having spent until now conserving energy, the tsukumogami now mustered enough strength to quietly press her. “It doesn’t matter whether I rusted away or not--”

“Yes it does.”

For a moment her control slipped, vehemence born from the overflow of memories threatening to spill into her emotions. Already she was fighting back the phantom sense of the ground falling out from beneath her feet, the sting of glass shards raining down on her head, the ache of her white-knuckled grip on her master’s final gift: an uchigatana preserved and protected from the ravages of time and technology. With a stuttering breath she centered herself and gave him a practiced answer.

“I may be required to be pragmatic, but I am far from heartless. You are my touken danshi - my only one, mind. I take care of my own.”

Whether out of satisfaction or exhaustion, he did not rebut. Instead, his half-lidded gaze, now glassy from pain, watched her as she let the kanji-inscribed white cloth flutter over her face and raised a gohei and bells in either hand. Her first few lines of mantra were hesitant, concentrated on recall and coordination with her limbs. Gradually the words blurred in her ears, losing meaning as she eased into a trance. One by one, symbols carved into the wood lit up in time to each chime, saturating the room with the soft white of divine power.

Experience had taught Airi that such dances consumed substantial amounts of time, so her shock was warranted when she shuffled wearily out of the repair room to find it was still light out before she was reminded of the ofuda that Benzaiten had gifted her. Yamanbagiri had lost consciousness some time during the ritual, so she began arranging around him, sending aides to move him to the infirmary and to launder their clothes. One fortuitous aspect of the touken danshi was that the raiment they manifested in seemed to be considered a part of their spiritual essence in some manner; when she’d handed the soiled garments over she’d noticed that the nicks and tears in his outfit had disappeared. It wasn’t until after she was certain the blond had been settled in that she trudged to her room, collapsing into her futon.

Morning filtered sunlight and a few stray petals in through the window, rousing the saniwa as warm rays caressed her cheek. Still savouring the nostalgic bliss of a quickly-fading dream, she lay there a few minutes longer until her mind registered that she was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling from an unfamiliar distance. Tatami floor. Paper doors. Futon. Yesterday's events came rushing back, provoking her to scramble out of bed. Minutes later she rushed off down the hall, still tying back her whip of long hair, calling for the foxes to start the day.

Konnosuke met with her in the dining hall, where they debriefed over breakfast. Their swift and sudden intervention had rewarded them with some breathing room, granting them time to regroup and recuperate. Hakodate had been a fluke; the next time she met the History Retrograde Army, she would do so without the element of surprise. Once she finished eating, the small kitsune led her out back to a building that radiated arid waves. Materials were scarce at present, but Airi resolved to forge a blade with what was on hand; a small sword was better than none. Her team of smiths, led by a stout vixen whose roan fur was singed and patched with soot, has spent the majority of the previous afternoon and evening working and sorting the steel. Binding back her sleeves and bangs, she set to work on the forging process.

How long had it been since she last held a hammer, felt the blast of heat from the furnace? The thought sent a pang of wistfulness through her. Even the frugality of their resources was nostalgic; in the twenty-third century, every bloom of jewel steel they were given was treated like the treasure after which it was named, knowing that Amatsumara's saniwa had spared no effort into seeing it into their hands. Was this, perhaps, her share of the last batch Master Suzuran could make before leaving to her station at the Museum? She could almost imagine the older woman's toothy smirk, stark white against skin darkened by sun and flame, her robust ruddy wine, like the glow of a hearth just past its prime--

"--ki. Master Chousaki? Are you alright?"

Snapping back to herself, Airi realized the steel had long since cooled in her trembling hands. A tight smile as she brushed sweat from her brow, blinking back the hot prickle in her eyes.

"Yeah. Just a little nostalgic."

Every strike and heat was made with redoubled effort and care, spurred by the memory of her former forge-mates and a desire to do them proud. Hours melted into a steady rhythm of ringing sparks and metal that heated and cooled like a slow heartbeat, broken only when the blade was taken for shaping. Her lunch of onigiri was wolfed down, and then she began mixing her clay as the small sword was returned to her for differential heat treatment. A faint smile crept along the corners of her mouth as she spread the dark paste along the dagger’s spine. Jungo had gifted one like this to Noriko the day he’d departed for the Museum with his master. A pet project, according to Kennosuke, one he’d named with the wish that his close friend would be shielded from the sorrows of war. A tantou for Jungo. A tantou for Nori.

Heat treatment and tempering completed, Airi refused any plea by the working myoubu to rest, relenting only when they promised she could finish the polishing in exchange for eating dinner in the dining hall. As she sat alone in the immense chamber waiting for her meal to be served, she slipped into a half-daze, the difference in time flow slowly seeping into her bones. Her thoughts drifted, first to her sisters under Master Kousuke, then to the man himself. The desperation in his usually calm features, sweat beading his furrowed brow as one by one his meticulously crafted barriers failed. The velvet of his indigo-blue voice, clear even in the chaos around them, his large, slender hands against her back urging her forward before him.

“Run Airi! RUN! Keep my reason to love alive!”

Wispy colour bleached near-white and the aroma of food lured her back to the waking world, where she became aware of the dampness of her cheeks. The foxes beside her gazed at the woman in confused concern, but dared not investigate as she took up her chopsticks and quietly gave thanks for her meal.

With Benzaiten’s ofuda still in effect (and some suspected kitsune magic), the forge team had made far more progress than she’d expected. Since it was only a medium, there was no need to put the tantou through finer grits; nonetheless, Airi made certain the blade was in presentable condition before she moved it over to an atrium connected to the building to enact the ritual.

The swirl of petals that answered her kotodama ebbed to reveal a young boy with dark hair cropped into a bob as smart as his uniform. He introduced himself as Hirano Toushirou, only for his expression to immediately contort into open worry when the woman standing before him swayed precariously on her feet.

“A Toushirou... wonderful...” Her words slurred with exhaustion; she sunk into darkness chased by panicked chocolate tones.

#;a typical tale unfolds

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coccinellebleue · 8 years ago

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Fresh scent of a pining hero

Hiya!

So this 43 pages long, 19k+ words mammoth took two weeks to write, phew, the plot wouldn't leave me alone though, the general idea is based on the tumblr prompt from OTP prompts below, and also inspired by a bollywood movie I saw recently starring shahrukh khan (My favorite bollywood actor).

AU where everyone has their soulmate name written on their wrist. The name will be written when they meet each other. Alive soulmate name is written in black ink, while the dead one is written in red. Imagine Person A has Person B's name on their wrist, but Person B doesn't have Person A's name. Person A thinks Person B will have theirs, sooner or later. But one day Person B meets and falls in love with Person C, and both of them have their name written on each other's wrists. Person A is broken hearted and leaves. One day, Person A's name is written on Person B's wrist, below Person C's name. In red ink.

It's just a little something (well, maybe not so little) to dip my toe back in the water, hope you enjoy!

ps. Thank you so much for everyone who has reviewed The secret wife, I really, really, really appreciate it, it meant so much to me to see people stick with it to the very end, I know the ending didn't satisfy everyone, and I know some of you wanted an epilogue with kids and all, but I really don't like the happily ever after where they have a bunch of kids and go into the sunset together, I prefer a more real ending. Also, thank you, everyone who wished me well, with kind words and heartfelt prayers, and thank you to those of you who wished me well on my exams, very much appreciated. You are the best readers in the whole world.

Seven year old Sasuke wakes up at exactly seven o'clock in the morning, five seconds before his mother knocks on his door. She stands in his doorway, and gently calls out that it's time to wake up.

He sits up on his bed, ready to swing his legs over the side when a twinge draws his attention to his left wrist, he frowns and resists the urge to scratch, the skin there is already red and welted, and smeared with thin streaks of dry blood.

He twists his wrist away from his mother's line of vision, and stands. As usual, it is impossible to keep anything from his mother. She is beside him in a second, her hands envelop his left hand and she begins her inspection.

"Sasuke-kun," She exclaims, "What have you done to your skin?"

He wants to pull his hand away but knows not to. "It's itchy."

She gently prods at the scratches, and he flinches. "Sorry." She murmurs. "How long has it been itchy?"

His right shoulder rises and then drops in half-shrug, a gesture he knows his mother detests, she does not scold him on his manners, though, too concerned about the crisscrossing wounds on the inside of his wrist. "A few days."

She continues to look at it for a few more seconds, a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, and he frowns. It is an unexpected reaction from the woman who usually airlifts him to the emergency room if he so much as scrapes his knee. "What's so funny?"

A bluish black eyebrow, identical to his own, arches. "Isn't there a better way to ask that, Sasuke-kun?"

He corrects himself. "Why are you smiling, ka-san?"

Her smile widens. "Nothing, sweetheart". She pinches his cheek and stands. "Hurry up and wash, I'll be waiting with the first aid kit in the kitchen." She begins to leave and calls over her shoulder, "Don't take too long."

Confused, he does as told, nonetheless and is heading towards the kitchen twenty minutes later. His father and older brother are already at the breakfast bar. He calls out a greeting, Itachi smiles at him and returns the greeting, his father acknowledges him with a nod.

"Did you sleep well, little brother?"

Sasuke nods twice before hopping up to his own place. He glances at the kitchen clock, the two hands both rest at seven, which meant that he had twenty five minutes before his first period.

Mikoto leans next to him and takes his hand in hers, an open white box of bandages and band-aids beside her. The subtle scent of surgical betadine spreads through the air as she begins to dab at his broken skin with a wet cotton swab, he recoils when he feels a sharp sting, but her grip on him is firm, and she does not allow him to pull away. "Don't be a baby, Sasuke-kun. It will be over in a second."

He tries not to pout but fails miserably. He does not attempt to pull away again.

Fugaku sets the paper he is reading on the counter. "What happened to you?", Almost at the same time, Itachi says, "Did someone hurt you?"

He denies the accusation immediately, almost offended that his older brother thinks someone could do such a thing to him, that he would let them. "I did this to myself, it was itchy." His tone exudes annoyance, because he is annoyed, he doesn't like explaining something so silly, so many times, especially to Itachi, and his father, who already thinks him careless enough.

Instead of a warm, but condescending, smile from his brother, and a disapproving shake of the head form his father, the pair exchange looks instead, while his mother continues to bind his wrist with three times more bandages than he thinks necessary with that curious little smile still present on her face. His eyes travel between the three members of his family, irritated that there is a joke buried somewhere in the situation and he isn't in on it.

His mother finally releases him and starts to gather her supplies, he expects some sort of explanation from one of them, but nothing comes, his father carries on with his reading, his brother reaches for his spoon again, and his mother goes about preparing a plate for him.

"Have you made any new friends lately, Sasuke?"

The question comes from his father, which is odd, so odd, that for a second, young Sasuke does not even register the words. The question is odd, because one, it comes from his father, and his father rarely asks him about anything, let alone his friends and two, because the the chances of him making a new friends are extremely low, bordering on inexistent.

The Uchiha patriarch does not shift his attention from the newspaper, but the air around him is expectant, so, Sasuke swallows a mouthful of scrambled eggs with a sip of milk and replies, "No. I haven't." He adds because his parents are sticklers for grammar and proper speech.

Fugaku does not do anything but nod, the movement barely perceptible behind the paper he is holding wide open. Itachi stands and sets his dish in the sink, backpack firmly placed on his two shoulders, he ruffles Sasuke's hair on his way out.

"Perhaps you will soon, Sasuke."

Sasuke is just about to ask why every single member of his family is acting strangely today, when his mother places a hand on her hip. "Quickly, Sasuke, finish your breakfast, you have mathematics in ten minutes."

He climbs towards the third floor where the schoolroom is. Mr. Yakushi joins him exactly three hundred and seventy seconds later, and they start the lesson not two minutes after that.

Of course, his mother does not completely forget about his so called injury, she acts within character for the first time today, and informs him that they will head to the hospital for a checkup and antibiotics. he knows better than to argue, even as a needle is introduced into his arm for the umpteenth time for a blood sample, and not when another pierces his skin again for a shot of antibiotics, and not even when he watches his doctor prescribe three different pills. It is useless to point out that this is completely unnecessary, and that they are overreacting, he is, after all, seven years old, what does he know?

A nurse redresses his arm, and he waits with his mother for his blood test results.

A mop of pink to his right commands his attention, he turns, and discovers that the mop of pink is actually someone's hair, she is small, sitting two chairs away from him, beside a tall blonde woman. She takes notice that he is looking at her and smiles widely, there is a brief exchange of words between her and the woman beside her, whom he assumes is her mother, the blonde nods towards him, and the girl with strange hair scoots down the two seats to sit beside him.

Her eyes are even stranger, a bright, bright green he does not remember seeing on anyone else. Her presence goes unacknowledged, even after his mother nudges him not so subtly. She makes the first move.

"Are you here for your flu shot?"

Another nudge from his mother.

"No." Another nudge. "I am not."

"Oh." She returns. "I am here for mine, needles scare me."

He does not know any way to answer this, so he says nothing, even when he feels his mother's elbow gently jab him for the fourth time, his mother gives up seemingly, and they sit in silence until the nurse calls out his name. Hand in hand, he heads, with his mother, towards the lab reception.

For a reason he does not know, as they walk past the girl he says, "Needles aren't scary, they only hurt for a second."

That night he wakes up in pain, on the tail end of a scream, his right hand immediately wraps around his left wrist and he grips tightly, in a frantic effort to put an end to the agony. Within seconds, two doors slam open, footsteps echo loudly in contrast with the silence of the night, and he is no longer alone in his room.

He is not aware of much beyond the pain, but the deep scent of jasmine tells him that his mother is nearby, he feels her kneel beside him, and her arms pull him into an embrace, the bed dips on the other side, and he does not know if it is his brother or his father that joins them.

"Let me see, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha matriarch attempts to pry his fingers off the bandaged area, and he does not let her.

"It hurts." He groans. "It hurts, ka-san."

His hair is brushed away from his forehead. "I know sweetheart, let me see, please."

His resistance cedes, and he tries to breathe deeply through the torture of her unwrapping the bandages, the cool air brushes his skin, and there is some relief in that.

"Look, Sasuke-kun, what do you see?"

He does as told and expects rivulets of blood, or some other grotesque sight, instead, what he sees stuns him into silence, the pain forgotten, almost as if it never existed.

Sasuke's brother prods gently. "What do you see, Sasuke, is there a name?"

He is even more stunned, because true enough, beneath the newly healed scratches, the thin, brown layer of betadine is a name in black, bold letters. A full name.

"Y-yes." He finally replies. "It's-"

His mother's index finger shushes his lips. "You don't have to say it, Sasuke-kun." Her own lips stretch into a smile. "Is the pain better now?"

He nods yes, because the pain is almost gone. "What is happening?" Because clearly, everyone save him knows what is the matter with him and the strange name that is now tattooed on the inside of his wrist.

"You've found your soulmate, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke wakes up fifteen minutes to seven, still lying down, out of habit, he brushes his right thumb against the skin of his wrist, he raises his left hand into his line of vision and reads, for the millionth time, the black letters in sharp contrast with his pale skin, his thumb continues to rub but the two words remain there, permanent, he should know, this isn't his first attempt at erasing the name.

It isn't that he is opposed to having a soulmate, the idea that there was a person out there who belongs to him, and whom he belongs to in return, did not bother him, it is even comforting to an extent. It is the fact that he does not know this person that is an irritating thorn in his side.

His mother says that is bound to happen sooner or later, that it is only a matter of time before he finds the person with his name written on their own wrist.

He remembers that for the first time ever, his lesson will not take place in the schoolroom on the third floor, but at Konoha High school and he springs off the bed. He makes short work of getting ready, because the school is a fifteen minute's bus ride away, and he cannot afford to be late.

His mother greets him with a brilliant smile, and his father is nowhere to be found. He takes his seat at the breakfast bar and serves himself some cereal while the Uchiha matriarch busies herself with piling a plate with heaping amounts of food she insists he needs.

"It's a big day, today, Sasuke-kun? Nervous?"

He makes a big a show of chewing the cornflakes just to prolong the enjoyment of watching his mother fidget. She stands with her back to the counter, her hands working knots out of her apron. It is apparent that though she no longer verbally protests his wish to join highs school, as opposed to homeschooling, she is still opposed to the idea. "It's not too late to change your mind you know." She adds.

"No." He finally answers, dragging the one syllable out until he can see a twitch in her brow. "I am not nervous. Not even a little."

Her disappointment is so glaringly obvious, it is funny. "Alright then, are you sure you don't want me to drive you there? I could drop you off on my way to work, it will be no trouble."

He does not drag it out this time, it is cruel to tease her any further. She is not coping well with his decision to step into the outside world, so to speak. He isn't purposely trying to hurt her, it is just that he believes that eight years of homeschooling is enough time, he can no longer find it in himself to humor her, his sheltered life is not a lifestyle he can stand anymore, it grates on his nerves, to sit in his house all day long, to leave it only when strictly necessary, and then, only when accompanied. Since Itachi's departure to university, it is only been getting worse and worse, without his brother around, his mother denies him the simplest trip outside.

School offers him an opportunity to actually get a breath of fresh air five days a week. "No, thank you. The bus stop is not far away."

He dutifully places his bowl of cereals in the sink and puts the milk in the fridge. His mother's cheek is warm when he places his lips against it. "I'll be fine, ka-san, don't worry about me." In compromise he offers, "I'll call you at lunch break?"

She leans into his kiss, and her eyelids flutter over dark orbs identical to his own, her chest heaves with a surrendering sigh. "And when you get there, and when you head back." Her eyes open, and she hooks her hands over his shoulders, his taller than her now, barely, but her arms are forced to reach upwards nonetheless, and he can tell that it bothers her, that she can no longer curl around him in a cocoon of protection. "And if anything happens, Sasuke, anything, you call me, and I'll come get you right away, promise?"

"Nothing will happen, ka-san, but yes, I will call you."

It is her lips that meet his cheek this time, and she lingers there, she pulls away and her lips stretch into a forced smile. "Have a great first day, sweetheart."

The trip to the bus stop is just as he thought, uneventful, the weather is uncharacteristically nice for an autumn day in Konoha, there is a gentle breeze teasing his hair back and forth instead of a strong wind that might as well push him of the sidewalk. Four empty seats greet him when he steps onto the bus, in spite of it being the first day of school, and he guesses that it is not a busy route from the Uchiha residence to Konoha high school, it isn't surprising, since they live in a secluded part of the town, almost on the outskirts of it, fresh, clean air and all that.

His pocket vibrates just as he settles himself at the very back of the bus, his brother's name appears on his cell phone screen.

"Hello?" He greets.

"Hello, little brother. How is your first day going so far?"

He smiles at nothing in particular, because his brother, busy as he is with his studies all the way in Ame, remembers that it is his first day and calls to check in. "I'm on my way, so technically, my first day hasn't started yet."

There is a soft chuckle on the other side. "So mother let you out of the house after all? I was certain we would have a hostage situation on our hands."

"She tried, believe me, but I," He pauses, searching for the right words, "I made up my mind, if it were up to her, I'd be covered in a layer of dust, I know it sounds ungrateful, and I know mom wants what's best for me, but-"

"You don't have to justify, Sasuke, not to me. It is your life, and you're free to live it however you want." There is a pause. "Within boundaries of course, you're fourteen, too young for girls, drugs and alcohol."

"Does that mean I can do girls, drugs and alcohol when I'm older?"

A pause. "Perhaps mother should reconsider the hostage situation after all, I think you have a lot of pent-up misbehavior, fourteen years is a lot to make up for, it could be dangerous."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "I'm going to hang up now, Ni-san, thanks for calling."

The playful banter is forgotten when his brother sighs. "I wish I could have been there, little brother, I never wanted to go to Ame-"

Sasuke does not allow him to finish, it is an old, old conversation that his family enjoys to recycle every once in a while, and it is exhausting to listen to it every single time. "You trying to build your lives around me does not make it easier for me, it only serves to hurt me, Ni-san, you're the best, you deserve the best, not to settle for a second grade institute because your little brother-"

"Alright, alright." His brother interrupts. "There is no need to get so worked up, I won't bring it up again." A blatant lie. "Have a great day, Sasuke, I'll call you in the evening."

"Alright, thanks. Bye."

The bus comes to a stop several minutes later and then again, in front of a building he does not recognize, which is not saying much since he is not familiar with most if the city, he steps off anyways, because he knows that KHS is the second stop.

It is everything he expects it to be, and at the same time, beyond his wildest imaginations. There is an embarrassing faint flutter in his lower belly, and he refuses to acknowledge it as excitement. It is the first day of school, new students all over the place, so people do not single him out as the kid that never set foot inside a school before, and he refuses to acknowledge that as comforting as well. A sensation that dates to seven years ago returns, and he finds himself absentmindedly rubbing the area linking his arm to his hand, he frowns, there is a subtle burning constricting his wrist, it is nothing like the agony of that night, but it is there, and it bothers him. He tries not to pay it too much mind and calls his mother like he promised.

His schedule, a paper handed to him by his mother, who received it from the administration, indicates that his first class is to be biology, he follows the signs into the appropriate building and classroom, he finds a seat in spite of it being empty of anyone but him.

People begin to filter in when the bell rings, in groups, talking loudly, laughing, no one pays him any heed, which is more than fine with him, they take random seats until the classroom is full, save but the one next to him.

Their teacher joins them fifteen times later than when the class is set to start, he is an odd silver headed, albeit young, man with a surgical mask covering the bottom half of his face.

"I'm sorry I'm late kids, I was-" He is interrupted when the door is brusquely thrown open. All eyes settle on a pink haired girl bent at the waist, chest rising and falling rapidly. She straightens abruptly, and then bows again to apologize profusely. The scene is so comical that Sasuke cannot resist the tug at the corner of his lips, as other kids openly laugh.

"I am so sorry, sensei." She manages to get out between frantic gulps of air. "I did not mean to be late on my first day, I am so sorry."

Their teacher tilts his head, almost at loss for words. "I suppose that is alright, since it means that I'm actually early for once, take a seat."

Her eyes widen, as is she cannot believe that she is not being sent to the principal's office. She walks towards him nonetheless, and settles her things beside him. Something about her is oddly familiar, which is ridiculous since pink hair is nothing something you come by every day. He brushes the odd feeling off, and stares ahead.

"Well, hello, class. I suppose I should welcome you to high school, these will be the best and worst years of your lives, yada, yada, yada. My name is Hatake Kakashi, you may call me Kakashi-sensei, I'll be your biology teacher as well as your football coach." He writes his name on the board, as well as their subject for the day. "Take a good look at the person beside you, they will be your partner for the rest of the school year for lab work, projects, papers, everything."

He turns to the girl beside him at the same time she does. Red covers the majority of her face, her odd hair is in disarray, and her shoulders continue to rise and fall very noticeably. She smiles and extends her hand. He hesitates for a second, for reasons he does not know, before shaking her hand.

She tilts her head. "This is going to sound cheesy, but do I know you from somewhere?"

He opens his mouth to reply but the teacher interrupts.

"Alright people, enough introductions, let's talk mitosis."

They don't talk for the rest of the period, concentrated on cellular division and DNA replication. The bell rings before he knows it, and he begins to gather his things, the girl, Sakura, does the same, and so does everyone else. They start to leave the classroom.

At the door, the teacher, calls out to him. "Uchiha, right?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke Uchiha, sir." He corrects, because he does appreciate being referred to with his prestigious last name, as if he is nothing more than the name. "Can I help you?"

The silver haired man shakes his head. "You are the spitting image of your mother, I wanted to make sure."

Sasuke cannot help the surprise from appearing on his face. "You know my mother?"

"We went to the same university, I was a freshman, Mikoto was a senior, she helped me pass psychology."

Sasuke's arms cross over his chest. "My mother is an architect."

His teacher laughs. "True, but she knows her psychology."

Sasuke wants to ask exactly how his mother, a senior, who had absolutely nothing to do with psychology, could come to know that Kakashi, a freshman, struggled with it, and help him pass, and then he decides that he most definitely does not want to know, and turns to leave.

At the door, he stops. "She asked you to watch out for me, didn't she?"

He doesn't need to turn back to know that Kakashi is smiling when he says. "Good day, Sasuke."

Incorrigible woman.

The following classes are thankfully do not involve meddlesome mothers and their long lost college friends, by the time lunch break rolls by he finds himself surprisingly hungry, starving actually. He calls his mom as promised and does not mention the thing with his biology teacher, he figures it, along with a conversation about boundaries, could wait until he gets home.

The cafeteria does not offer very appetizing food, nothing like the meals his mother prepares for him at home, but it is a small price to pay, he opts for an underwhelming slice of pizza, because it's the only thing that has tomato on it, and an apple, not exactly a meal his mother would approve of, he thinks he might as well bring his own lunch from now on.

"Hey!" He hears from a place behind him, he almost does not turn around, because he is not sure the call is for him, but does when he hears it again. His dark grey eyes meet green.

"Hi, want to have lunch with us?"

The pink haired girl asks, a smiling blond beside her. "Our friends are sitting at a table right there." She points at a relatively less crowded part of the cafeteria.

His first thought is to say no, but he remembers that his mother, albeit reluctant to let him join high school, hopes to see him actually interact with people and make new acquaintances if not friends, as opposed of going from a solitary existence at home, to a solitary existence here.

"Yeah." He hears himself saying. "Thanks."

The table their lead him to has two people already sitting at it, two guys one named Shikamaru, the other, Sai. The blonde girl is Ino.

"I never introduced myself, sorry." The pink girl says. "I'm Sakura."

He pauses, his pizza midway to his lips. "Sakura?" He repeats.

She nods, her smile unwavering. "Yeah, Sakura, Haruno Sakura."

A couple of heartbeats pass by, and he continues to stare at her, before he realizes how crazy he looks. "Sasuke." He counters. "Uchiha Sasuke, sorry."

There is no reaction from her beyond a small shake of her head. "Don't worry about it, you're not the only one to find it weird."

"It's not weird." Not uncommon, but not very common either. "It's…fitting."

He goes home to an empty house, which is not odd given that his father does not finish work until dinnertime, and his mother at around five. He does what little homework he has to do, given that it is only the first day of school, then lies on his bed, and stares at his ceiling for the better part of an hour, and kneads his left wrist which begins to ache with a vengeance, until sleep overcomes him.

He wakes up to soft knocking on his door, he is slow to respond, and the knocking comes louder, he sits up and glances at the clock, forty five minutes past five. "Come in."

The door reveals his mother, still dressed in her business suit. "Sasuke-kun, were you sleeping?"

He nods. "Did you just get home?"

"Yes. I went grocery shopping. Are you okay? You're not sick, are you?"

He almost rolls his eyes but recovers in time. "No, mom, I am fine, just tired."

She shakes her head. "I should have taken you, I told you to let me drive you, tomorrow, I'm taking you, no protests."

"Mom-"

"No, I concede some, you concede some, that's compromise, Sasuke-kun."

"Does compromise include talking to my teachers about things I don't want you to talk to them about? Like babysitting me for example?"

Red immediately overcomes her pale complexion. "I did no such thing, I don't know what you're talking about."

His eyes narrow, just as hers widen in mock innocence. "Lying is a sin, mom."

She takes hold of his cheek and pinches gently. "So is disrespecting your parents, young man, Kakashi is a friend, and I…talked to him to, uh, put my mind at ease, there is absolutely no shame in that."

"Sure thing, ka-san, I wonder how tou-san would feel about you talking to your college boyfriend about me, I-"

A pillow collides with his face a second before he hears his name exclaimed in outrage.

"You have no respect, whatsoever." His mother's face is the same color as his favorite fruit. "And I should ground you!" She stands and swats violently imaginary dust grains off her skirt. She starts to leave and then turns towards him abruptly. "And for the record, Kakashi was not my boyfriend."

His laughter follows her out of the room.

From the hallway he hears, "And do your homework!"

He finds immense satisfaction in yelling back, "Already did."

He heads to his bathroom and sprays cool water on his face. He winces when the water touches the bold black letters inked on his skin. It occurs to him that he does not as much attention to the issue as he probably should. The letters are there, he knows what they mean, or at the very least, what they should mean, but he does not care overly much. It will happen when it is supposed to happen.

At least, he does not pay much attention to it until the next day when he, once again, shares the table with Sakura and her friends. It is odd to think of her that way, they are not his friends, but neither is Sakura, so the proper way to think of them would be 'classmates' in general, instead of Sakura and her friends, as if Sakura is in a different category than the rest.

His eyes happen to fall on her wrist and he takes notice of her skin there. He finds himself asking, "Sakura, is your wrist bothering you?"

Her eyes, bright, bright green eyes, widen, and her eyes follow his line vision, she raises the appendage for closer inspection and frowns. "No, not at all. Why do you ask?"

He shakes his head and digs into his sandwich. "Nothing, it seemed a bit red to me, that's all."

Her shoulder lift and drop in a shrug and she continues her conversation with Ino.

At the dinner table his mother asks, "Sasuke-kun, are you alright? You've been quiet all evening?"

Which is an odd question, given the fact that he is not exactly a chatterbox. "I'm fine."

She persists. "Are you sure? You don't like the chicken?"

He shakes his head and takes a forkful of the roast for emphasis. "No, it's great."

His father chooses to join the conversation then. "Is everything alright at school? How are your classes?"

Sasuke almost sighs but catches himself just in time, his father joining the conversation means that it will continue further than he wants it to, he digs around his brain for something to satisfy them.

"A classmate asked me to try out for the football team."

When his mother's fork clatters against her plates, he knows that he hit jackpot. "I said I didn't want to."

The Uchiha patriarch clears his throat; his hand subtly covers Mikoto's on the table, whose other hand tightens until her knuckles turn white. "Sasuke," His father begins, "I know-"

"I know." He quickly interrupts, and he feels guilty for playing their emotions this way, it is necessary though, to avoid conversations he does not want to have. "I know I can't. Thank you for dinner, mom, may I be excused?"

They become friends, he and Sakura, and by extension the rest of her group become friends of his as well. She calls him at odd hours of the day, to share funny stories she heard from Ino, to go over details from their assignments. They sit in the library for hours, they study together, eat together, and share most of their classes together. He doesn't know exactly when it happens; he only knows that somewhere, somehow, along the way, they become best friends.

The first time he takes Sakura home is during their sophomore year, to work on a project, this time, they are partners out of their own volition and not because the seat next to him is the last empty one.

She walks shyly up the stairs, behind him, he leads her into his room, because that's where his computer is, and tells her to make herself at home. She is the first person outside his family to ever set foot in his house, let alone his room.

She is stiff when she sits on his chair, her arms holding her bag firmly to her chest, so he takes the bag from her and sets it on the desk. "Relax." He orders. "Get your stuff out, I'll be right back, I'll get us some food."

She nods reluctantly, reaches for her bag and pulls out her notepad and pencil case at the same time he reaches forward to turn the computer on. Her hair tickles the exposed skin of his upper arm and he ignores the slight burn that is his constant companion.

She smiles. "I'll look some stuff up while you're gone?"

The front door opens just as he plates the four sandwiches he put together, his mother steps into the kitchen to find him placing the plate on a tray along with two apples and a knife.

"Sasuke?" She questions and inspects the contents of the tray. "Are you going to eat all those?"

It occurs to him that he should have asked his mother for permission before asking Sakura over, this is unknown territory for him this is his first time bringing a friend home. "It's not just for me, there's someone in my room."

Her eyebrows nearly disappear into her hairline. "Someone? In your room?"

He shifts uncomfortably, as if the tray is too much weight, eve, though it barely amounts to a kilogram. "Yeah, my partner for a school project. Her name's Sakura." He adds as an afterthought.

"A girl?"

He scowls at her disbelief. "Yes, mom, a girl, and if you don't mind, we have a project to do."

Her hip supports her against the counter, and her arms cross over her chest, pulling the light fabric of her blouse taught. "I don't know, Sasuke-kun, is Sakura the reason your phone bill skyrocketed over the past year? And why have I never met her before?"

"You can meet her now, ka-san."

His mother's rose painted lips stretch over pearly white teeth. "Leave the tray, I'll bring it up."

Sakura is hunched over the computer, her notepad has a page's worth of information on it already. She smiles in greeting and scoots over so he can pull a bench next to her. "What took you so long, Sasuke-kun? You're not slacking up on me, are you?"

He rolls his eyes and reaches for a paper and pen of his own. "Shut up and work."

They both turn towards the door not five minutes later when someone clears their throat, his mother is standing in the doorway, holding a tray twice the size of the one he had prepared, laden with a plate of biscuits, a bowl of chips, a steaming kettle of what he assumes is tea, in addition to what the sandwiches and apples.

Sakura stands so fast she nearly knocks her chair over, her hands join in front of her and she bends low. "Hello, Uchiha-san, I apologize for not greeting you earlier, thank you for having me." Although he mostly has his back to her, Sasuke can feel her green eyes burning holes into the back of his skull.

The tray goes on the desk between them and his mother smiles broadly. "That's alright, sweetheart, I just got here, and you're always welcome here, you must be Sakura."

It is his turn to glare flying daggers at his mother because he knows she purposely makes it seem as if Sakura is all he talks about in spite of, up until a few minutes ago, not even knowing her name. She smiles back at him innocently.

"Yes, Mrs. Uchiha, Sasuke and I are working on a paper for our social studies class." She tucks a rose lock of her hair behind her ear, a habit Sasuke recognizes as a nervous gesture. He wants to cover her hand with his own and squeeze in assurance, but he does not do that, because that would give his mother ammunition for weeks, he'd never hear the end of it. "Our school library is closed for repairs, so Sasuke suggested we do it here-"

"Sakura." He finally interrupts, because if left up to her, Sakura could go on for days. "I think we should get back to work, now?"

"Of course, of course." It is his mother that replies. "Sit down, dear. I'll leave you guys to it." She starts to leave. "And Sakura, if your parents don't mind, we'd love to have you for dinner."

He begins to worry for Sakura's health when her face burns even redder than it already is. "Um, thank you so much for the invitation, but I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"None sense, we'd love to have you."

Sakura is uncomfortable, she wants to turn down the invitation, that much is obvious, and it is understandable, she doesn't want to walk into unknown territory, unprepared, she is the type to want to bring a gift, a pie or something, make plans, put together a few witty remarks arranged around polite conversation, she does not know how to say no, though, so he does it for her.

"Some other time, mother." There is a silent communication between him and his mother, and the Uchiha matriarch relents.

"I will hold you to that, Sakura-chan, work hard, now." At the door she adds, "Leave this open, alright children?"

The second his mother is no longer in sight, her footsteps echoing softly down the stairs, Sakura's tiny, but very much effectual, fist collides with his upper arm, she regains her seat, then punches him again, this time his shoulder, when it looks like she's aiming for his shin, he scoots away.

"Crazy much?"

"You could have told me your mother was here, Sasuke-kun! You said your parents weren't home."

"They weren't." He countered. "Mom just got here, she must have gotten off early. What's the big deal?"

She slouches in her chair, comfortable now that they are alone and that she has successfully turned his skin black and blue. "You're supposed to ask your parents about these things, don't you know this?"

He merely shrugs. "I wouldn't know, never had anyone over before." He is not embarrassed about this, or self-conscious, though he knows that it is odd for someone his age not to have at least one friend visit him.

Her eyes study his ceiling and he knows that she is thinking. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Hm?" He replies as he shifts his attention back to where it belongs, the assignment that is due tomorrow.

"You never told me which middle school you went to, I mean you never mention your other friends."

He takes a minute to ponder her question, and realizes that yes, it is not something he shared with her, not a conscious decision on his part, it is simply not a subject they ever talk about. Their friendship is pretty straightforward, she talks, he listens with an impeccably concealed rapture, taking in every detail about her, every childhood anecdote, and every aspect of her personality.

"Up until freshman year, I was homeschooled, homeschooling doesn't exactly lend itself to making new friends."

"Homeschooled, why?"

"My mother is a bit too protective for her own good."

The answer comes easily.

He clicks on a random link on the computer link. "So, recession?"

Sakura wants to ask more questions, and it is obviously killing her not to do so, but the nerd in her cannot resist the pull of homework, so she starts to read a particularly interesting paragraph she found during his short trip to the kitchen.

When he tells his mother that he is walking Sakura to the bus station, she begins to protest, exactly as he thought, she opens her mouth, then closes her eyes, glancing briefly at Sakura. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you home, Sakura? I'll be more than happy to."

"No, thank you, Mrs. Uchiha, I really don't want to trouble you, my house is very close to my stop."

His mother's teeth sink into her bottom lip, and although it is obvious that she wants to protest some more, but a look from Sasuke changes her mind. "Oh alright then, be careful now. Take your jacket, Sasuke-kun, it's cold outside. I mean it."

It is an easy enough thing to do so he grabs a jacket and waits for Sakura to put on her shoes. It isn't exactly cold outside, but he isn't overly warm either.

Sakura laughs suddenly and he raises an eyebrow in question. "Your mother," She starts, "Is really overprotective, isn't she? I mean, she really doesn't want you to catch a cold."

He shoves his hand into his pockets and looks ahead. "You caught that, didn't you?"

She laughs more. "Kind of hard to miss, isn't it? It's nice, I guess. I'm an only child, a girl nonetheless, as you know, so my parents always had a 'tough it out' attitude."

"Did I tell you that I have an older brother?"

She stops dead in her tracks. "What?"

His lips curve upwards. "Yeah, Itachi, he's in college in Ame, so that's why he never came up I guess."

They resume walking, and out of his peripheral vision, he can see Sakura studying him closely. "I really don't know much about you, do I, Sasuke-kun?"

He shrugs. "I guess you don't." His answer does not deter her, instead, she links her arm through his and pulls him closer to her, he stumbles for a heartbeat, then adjusts his stride to accommodate her body pressed against his.

"That's alright." She chirps. "Still have at least two years to know all there is to know about you, Uchiha." Her head tilts to the side. "For example, what was it like? Being homeschooled? Was it fun?"

Sakura thinks back on his waking at the exact same hour, every single day, sitting at the same chair, looking at the same board, and more often than not, receiving his lessons from the same person, all day, every day. "It's not exactly what I would call fun, but it was alright." It isn't like he knew any different.

"Tell me more."

She seems genuinely interesting, so he begins to tell her. "I had one teacher from grades one to six, Kabuto, Mr. Yakushi, I didn't like him much, and then another for seventh and eighth grade, Orochimaru, liked him even less, but they did their job well, tou-san wouldn't have settled for anything less."

"Were they mean?" Sakura asks this in a tone interlaced with anger and a subtle inclination for violence, as if she was prepared to march to wherever his teachers were, and hurt them, badly, were he to say yes.

"No." He answers. "Not at all, I guess they were too nice, I don't know, they just didn't sit well with me."

"I suppose that's why you sometimes sound older than you actually are, you've only ever been around older people, not us, lesser mortals."

They come to stop just as the bus pulls in, Sakura pulls away from him."That's me, I guess, thanks for walking me, Sasuke-kun, see you tomorrow?"

He nods. "Text when you get home."

She smiles and steps in. "Sure thing."

His mother isn't pacing their driveway as he expected to find her, instead, she is in the kitchen, putting the last finishes on what is, no doubt, a delicious meal. He kisses her cheek in greeting, and she responds with a smile. "Did Sakura make it home okay?"

"Yeah. She just texted me." He opens one of the cabinets and starts to set the tables, he reaches for concave plates, but sets them down, and reaches for flat ones instead, when he picks up on the smell of his mother's signature spaghetti sauce.

"She seems like a great girl, very polite. Somewhat familiar."

"She is." He calls back from the dining room.

"Have you been friends long?" She joins him in the dining room with a steaming platter of spaghetti. "Your father should be down soon."

"We met first day of school, we were lab partners."

They both head back to the kitchen for glasses and silverware. "First day, this year?"

"No, last year."

She stops, and rests her weight on one leg, with a hand on her hip. "Oh? You've never mentioned her before."

He doesn't look up from the table he's setting. "I didn't have reason to."

"Oh. Well, invite her for dinner sometime, okay? She's your first friend, I'd like to properly meet her, and I'm sure your father would like it too."

"Meet who?"

Fugaku Uchiha joins them in the dining room and takes his place at the head of the table. His gaze shifts between the two of them, waiting for an answer. His mother takes her place as well, and does not bat an eyelash when she says, "Sasuke-kun's girlfriend."

Sasuke freezes, half-crouched, halfway through lowering himself on his chair. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Let us make one thing clear, Sakura is not my girlfriend, alright?"

"Whatever you say, Sasuke-kun."

"You're hopeless."

They're in the library, one day, going over their chemistry notes together, because they have a test the following day, and though he never admits it out loud, Sakura's notes are always better than his.

"Hey, wanna go out tomorrow with the guys? We could catch a movie?" She asks, after they finish calculating the mass of sulfuric acid on an problem they did a while back. "There's this really good thriller in theaters."

He blinks at her. "I have a thing to do."

She narrows her eyes. "What thing?"

"A thing."

A breath of annoyance escapes her lips and she begins to calculate the half life of the reaction. "Come out and say you're scared, Sasuke-kun, there's no shame in that."

"Come out and say you're scared to watch it on your own, Sakura, there's no shame in that." He counters.

"Whatever, Sasuke-kun, you never go out, don't you ever get bored?"

He taps his pencil against his copybook, on a whim he says, "I'll tell you what, if you come to dinner so my mother can finally get off my back about inviting you over, then I'll come watch the stupid movie."

She drops her pencil. "For real? Are you for real?"

He nods, inwardly preparing himself for the arguments he is bound to have with his mother. "Yeah, what do you say?"

Her lips stretch into a smile so wide, a dimple he does not remember ever seeing dents her left cheek. "Next weekend okay for you?"

"Aright, dinner my place next weekend, movie tomorrow."

The soft skin of her lips is not something he ever expected to feel pressed against his cheek, but sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, all he sees is pink, all he smells is strawberry, and all he feels is Sakura. It is over before it even began, pink dusts her cheeks, but her smile never leaves her face.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun."

True to her nature, Uchiha Mikoto refuses to listen to anything about him going anywhere. "No." She exclaims. "No, no, Sasuke, absolutely not, you want to go see a horror movie, no!"

They are in the living room, he is sitting on the sofa opposite his parents, at least, opposite his father, his mother jumped from her seat the second he mentioned going out.

"I can't allow this, Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry. Fugaku say something."

Sasuke opens his mouth before his father can. "I promised Sakura I would go, Sakura." He speaks calmly

"Well, you shouldn't have." She counters. She takes a second to breathe in, eyes closed, to calm down. "You can watch a movie here, Sasuke-kun, certainly not horror!"

"A horror movie is not going to kill me, mother. I'll be fine, you're overreacting." A burst of anger he does not understand takes over his senses, and he has to employ considerable effort, to maintain a respectful manner of speech. "I've never said no to you, ka-san, I have never done anything you did not want me to do, don't make me start now, please!"

Her eyes widen but she does not relent. "I've never forbidden you from doing anything, Sasuke, you don't make me start."

"Mikoto." His father finally intervenes, he looks at Sasuke when he speaks. "You can go, Sasuke."

"Oh, no, he cannot, I-"

"Mikoto." His father repeats. "Not this time, he can go, what time does the movie start?"

"Five thirty." There is a knot in his throat, and he tries to swallow it down, this is his first time going against his mother, the first time his father has to come to his defense, it is usually the other way around, and it is hard.

"Alright, then, you can go, you have to be back at eight, eight thirty at the latest."

He can almost hear his mother grind her teeth, her jaw is held taught, lean muscles protruding, she is so tense, she visibly trembles. He has never seen his mother so angry, so hurt. When he opens his mouth to speak, she holds up her hand. "I will drive you to and back from the theater, Sakura can either meet you here, or we can pick her up, I will not settle for anything less, if I call you, at any given moment and you don't answer your phone you, you bet your ass I'm calling the police, the firefighters, and maybe even the army, understood?"

He simply swallows the saliva that gathered in his mouth in response to the adrenaline that rushes through his system the second he hear his mother use a word, so casually, like 'ass'. He nods, and when she turns on her heels to head up the stairs, and his legs launch him after her. Like a child, he latches on to her sleeve.

"Ka-san," He starts, small and humble, "I don't want you to be this angry, don't be angry at me, please." His fingers tighten around her arm. "I know you want what is best for me, and you want to protect me, but a life lived like this," They are words he has wanted to say all his life, but somehow never made it past his thoughts, "Is not a life worth living."

There is no response, the Uchiha matriarch simply pulls away from him, and continues up the stairs.

His mother accompanies him to the front porch of Sakura's house, she stands beside him while he knocks on the door. Sakura's house is your typical middle-class home, small front yard, white fence, white walls, and a brick roof, a man he assumes to be Sakura's father, -his hair is a shade lighter, and greyer than Sakura's hair-, opens the door, he smiles broadly at the two of them, greets Mikoto as if they are old friends, instead of people who just met, within minutes, he is cracking poor dad jokes, and laughing at his own nonexistent sense of humor, until his wife, a tall blonde, chides him for not inviting them inside.

It turns out that there is no need for that, since Sakura joins them a second later, she blushes when she catches up with the punch line of another distasteful joke.

"There is Sakura, now." Haruno Mebuki exclaims. "You'll be off, now." She nudges her husband subtly to make him shut up. "Thank you so much for taking them, Mikoto-san."

"It is my pleasure, Mebuki-san, Sakura, dear, don't you look lovely."

It is his turn to nudge his mother, because while Sakura is of course lovely, there is nothing particularly different about her today, she's dressed in boyfriend jeans, ripped at the knees, a white printed black tank that seems a bit too short for her torso, and black sneakers.

She tucks a lock of her hair behind her hair and bows quickly. "Thank you, Mrs. Uchiha, and thank you for coming all the way here."

She slings a beige bag over her shoulder and waves at her parents.

"It was lovely meeting you, Mikoto-san, Sasuke-kun, come back to visit soon."

They all pretend not to notice when she holds her husband's hand in a vice like grip so he doesn't say anything embarrassing, the man simply waves at them, making a poor attempt to smile through the pain.

He chooses to sit next to Sakura, on the backseat, as opposed to riding shotgun, because he can feel that she feels very self-conscious and awkward, she fiddles idly with the strap of her bag, and smiles at him when he catches her eye.

"Did you do well on your test this morning, Sakura?"

"I think so, Mrs. Uchiha, it wasn't very hard, and Sasuke-kun and I studied well for it the day before."

"I'm glad."

That is the only attempt at small talk that his mother makes, and the rest of the ride is silent; they make it to their destination before they know it, anyways. They step out of the car, and both wave at the Uchiha mother. In dark grey eyes, he sees hesitation; pale hands tighten around the steering wheel.

"Have fun you two, I'll be back at around eight, okay?"

"We'll be alright, mom, thanks."

"Remember what we talked about Sasuke-kun, alright?"

"I will."

They watch her reverse out of the parking lot, before they go inside to get their tickets. "Is your mom alright, Sasuke-kun?"

He nods absentmindedly. "Yeah, why do you ask?" They stand in line at the ticket booth and he reaches into his pocket for his wallet, he sees Sakura do the same, but does not stop her.

"I don't know, she seemed kind of sad to me, I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business or anything, but," She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

He shrugs. "We sort of got into an argument, yesterday." He tilts his head, and then corrects himself. "Well, not an argument, more of a disagreement, really. Two tickets, please."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaims when he pays for both tickets. "No fair, I invited you."

He gives her a look. "Whatever."

She smacks his shoulder. "Don't 'whatever' me, snacks are on me, agreed?"

No, he does not agree, but he remains silent just to humor her.

"So, you argued with your mother, and she still let you come out?"

A sigh escapes his lips, and his shoulders heave, because Sakura is like a dog with a bone, he merely gives her a look, and she frowns.

"Oh, so the argument was about you going out."

"Where were we supposed to meet the others again?" He asks before she has the chance to ask a question he does not want to answer. "It's five fifteen."

She glances at her watch. "Oh, you're right, they should have been here already, let me text Ino to find out." She reaches for her phone and types at the screen, a few seconds later, the device vibrates with a reply. Sakura's eyes barely land on the screen before she's groaning.

"Oh, come ooon."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow in question, and is even more confused when Sakura blushes. "What's the matter?"

"They're not coming, Ino says she came down with something, Shikamaru's girlfriend is in town, and I don't know what the hell is wrong with Sai but he's not coming either."

"Well, I guess that's that, why so pissed?"

Sakura stares at him in disbelief, and then shakes her head. "Of course, you've been sheltered most of your life, you don't how these things works." She shoves her phone into her pocket a bit too roughly, and mutters to herself. "Came down with something, my ass." To him, she adds, "They did this on purpose! Ino put them to it, I'm certain."

He remains confused. "Care to explain?"

"Ino told them not to come, so she can orchestrate a 'date', it's classic Ino, and the oldest trick in the book, I just can't believe I fell for it."

His face is expressionless. "What?"

"I know, right? As if, let's just get in, we'll miss the opening."

The movie is tolerable, to a point, it isn't terrifying, it isn't good, it isn't bad, it is just there, Sakura watches the screen, enraptured, flinching every once in a while, nearly jumping out of her chair every time something jumps from the shadows, she watches the screen, and he watches her. His so called tattoo hasn't bothered him in a while, more like he got used to the somewhat constant ache, today, it comes back with a vengeance. He does not try to rub it, as he has discovered that that does little to make the burning disappear, if anything, reminds him of its presence.

A particularly well done scream draws his attention to the screen a heartbeat before Sakura's hand closes around his arm, she holds it tightly, afraid to let go, her palm is damp with sweat, and very warm, but it cools the warmth of his own skin, so he holds on to the armrest as if his life depended on it.

The movie ends to an approving aura from the audience, Sakura stands and stretches her arms above her head, her top rides up, exposing a band of creamy skin, he almost reaches up to tug the shirt down, but catches himself at the last minute.

"You were right." They start walking up the theater. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd have walked after the first ten minutes."

He smirks. "Scaredy cat."

"Oh, come on. You have to admit you were a little scared." When he shakes his head, she pinches her thumb and index finger together. "Just a little bit? Not even a little?"

When he shakes his head again, she pouts. "Then you weren't watching."

True, but he is not about to tell her that. "There are scarier things in life, Sakura, than horror movies, you know, things that actually exist, everyday things, not ghosts and demons."

"You're sixteen, Sasuke. Be sixteen, jeez, you sound like you're sixty, or something." Her eyelids narrow over her green orbs. "Are you? Are you some immortal being trapped in the body of a sixteen year old?"

He walks past her, purposely shoving her shoulder with his. "You never know, Haruno, you never know."

Outside, they find his mother already waiting, she waves them over. He expects her to be a little less sad, a bit more her usual self now that she saw that he went to see a movie and the sky did not collapse on the earth, but she is even more subdued, her smile weak, like she barely put any effort into it.

In the rear view mirror, she studies them. "Sasuke-kun, I'll be happy to drop off your other friends, where are they?"

"They never showed, it's just Sakura."

He sees the first hint of a real, teasing, smile worthy of Mikoto Uchiha, and he can't find it in himself to be apprehensive about the teasing that will surely follow. "Alright, then, just Sakura, did you guys enjoy the movie?"

"It was okay." He says.

"It was great." Sakura counters. "Sasuke-kun's just too scared to admit it."

For a moment, he is speechless, shy, awkward Sakura who couldn't seem to say anything more than 'yes, ma'am' around his mother, is no more, the latter is just as surprised , at Sakura's newfound attitude, only for a moment, though, and then she starts to laugh.

"Of course, he is, sweetheart, of course, he is."

He walks Sakura up to her porch because his mother tells him to, it's May, so the air is comfortably warm, Sakura rubs her exposed arms nonetheless. "I had a great time, Sasuke-kun, we should do this more often."

He does not promise anything, because he knows that his mother is not likely to agree to anything anytime soon, with or without her husband's intervention. He merely nods. "Maybe, you should go inside, you're cold."

There is an odd light in her eyes, a mischievous glint that he barely has any time to study or interpret, because before he knows it, Sakura's lips are touching his cheek. "See you, Monday, Sasuke-kun."

And she disappears into her house.

He returns to the car and opens the passenger door, before he's even got his seatbelt on, he warns. "Don't."

A sound very similar to a snort a person makes when they are trying to hold in laughter escapes his mother. "I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

"I was."

The comfortable May air somehow turns stifling.

It takes a few kilometers before he feels cool enough to open his mouth. "It was nothing, by the way."

"Whatever you say."

"And the fact that the others didn't come is their doing, not ours."

"Of course."

As if. He remembers.

"Shut up." It is the most disrespectful thing he has ever said to his mother and she bursts into laughter.

He scoffs. "At least, you're laughing."

His mother's eyes drift towards him for a second before she focuses back on the road, she is still smiling when she says, "I always laugh."

"Not today." He counters. "And not yesterday, I went to the movie's and I came back, in one piece, no disasters, see?"

"Yesterday," She starts, "I was upset, heartbroken, because what you said, it sounded like you've given up."

He doesn't even hesitate. "On the contrary, ka-san, on the contrary."

He does not pick Sakura up for dinner, instead, they head there straight from school. They get on the bus to find that the only empty seats are a three chairs away from each other. An older lady occupying the seat next to one of the empty ones stands. "Here, you can sit next to each other." She smiles at them as she heads towards the back of the bus. "Such a cute couple."

They tell her thanks and claim the seats. "This is becoming a common occurrence."

He arches an eyebrow in question. "What?"

She gestures between them. "Us. People thinking we're dating, last week with Ino, can you believe mom told me to let my hair down this morning, because she was sure you'd appreciate it. And now this. Can you believe it?"

Sasuke studies said hair, gathered in a high ponytail, only a few wisps left to their own devices, and thinks to himself that yes, he would appreciate it. Thankfully, that is not what comes out of his mouth, instead, he bats his eyes mockingly. "What? Am I too ugly for you or something?"

As if. She has said.

Sakura throws her head back and laughs. "No, Mr. Sarcasm, quite the opposite really, I mean clearly, they should see that you are way out of my league, we would make an awful couple, no balance and all that." She smiles. "We make good friends, but not a couple, I'm afraid."

"I'm heartbroken." Sarcasm, does after all, make for excellent cover.

She whips her ponytail to the other side. "I'm sure you'll get over it, difficult of course, but not impossible."

When they reach the stop, Sakura stands too soon, and lurches forward. Sasuke reaches for her, and her weight nearly pulls the both of them down, he manages to steady them at the last second, with one arm around Sakura's shoulder, and the other braced against the metal pole. The bus stops and the driver tells them to be more careful, when they step off, Sakura laughs. "Clumsy old me, thanks, by the way, great catch."

He digs his thumb into the skin covering the join between his hand and arm. Sakura frowns. "You always do that." She whispers, taking his hand into hers and taking over the process of trying to soothe the burn. "Does it bother you a lot?"

He pulls his hand back because it suddenly burns like someone's holding a lighter to it. "I don't know, habit I guess."

She starts to say something but her eyes widen when they land on his other forearm, she takes the limb in her hands again, and twists it almost uncomfortably. "You're hurt."

He contorts himself to get a better vision of the back of his arm, which Sakura does not let go of, the pale skin is married with a long streak of inflamed skin, and several droplets of blood. He inwardly groans at another trip to the hospital. "Must have scratched myself against the bus pole, it's nothing."

Sakura worries he bottom lips with her teeth. "Sorry."

"It's nothing." He insists. "Just a scratch."

She starts to reach into her backpack. "Hang on, I'll give you some tissue." His hand fists around hers.

"It's fine, I'll take care of it at home, don't worry about it."

He tugs her forward, and somehow forgets to let go the whole twenty minutes it takes them to get his house, and Sakura does not process. Uchiha Mikoto greets them at the door, clad in a dark purple dress and a tan apron, the whole house smells like culinary delights, and baked goods, and Sasuke knows that his mother has went above and beyond for their one guest.

Hellos and common courtesies are exchanged, while Sasuke feels as if his standing barefoot, on shards of glass lit on fire, he wants to go upstairs and bandage his arm before coming down, preferably dressed in something that would cover the bandages, before his mother takes notice.

When Sakura insists to help out and his mother finally agrees, he excuses himself. "I'll be right back." He says to Sakura, and starts to turn around, thinking that he's made it.

"Sasuke-kun!" The Uchiha matriarch exclaims. She walks towards him. "What happened to your arm? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Just a scratch, mom. I was going to take care of it."

Her hands start to work the knot behind her neck. "I'll get the kit, and-"

"Mom." He grits, his eyes drift to Sakura. "Just a scratch, I can take care of it, you just stay here with Sakura."

That's when the rose haired girl intervenes, she raises her hand like she's in a classroom. "Um, I can take care of it." When they both look at her, she adds. "My mom is a doctor, Sasuke-kun, remember? I can clean and wrap a cut properly, I promise."

"I'm not-"

"Sure, thanks, we'll be right back, mom."

He leads Sakura to his room, and then into the bathroom, and hands her the first aid kit, then takes a seat on the edge of the tub. She doesn't say anything, and he realizes that she does know what she's doing when she reaches for the saline to do the preliminary cleaning of the cut.

He cannot help a hiss, when she applies oxygenated water. "Sorry." She continues to dab at his arm until all there is left is the long red streak of inflamed skin, only then does she reach for the betadine.

"How's that?" She asks after she covers the whole thing with a wide rectangle of plaster. She smoothes the edges with her hands and disposes of the used material in the bin, he inspects her work and nods. "It's good, thanks."

She leans against the skin, and steadies herself with her hands. "Sasuke-kun, if I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?"

He does not shift his gaze from his newly acquired bandages. "If I can."

He hears her swallow. "Are you…are you sick? Is that why your mom is so overprotective? I mean, the cut, the movies last time, the homeschooling-"

"Yes."

She swallows again. "Is it autoimmune or something?"

One side of his lips curve upwards. Smart, smart Sakura. "Something like that."

Her voice shakes when she asks, "Is it…dangerous?"

He raises his head and faces her with a full smirk. "Don't worry, Sakura, you can't catch it."

She scowls. "I'm serious! Is it dangerous to you? I mean, I don't know, are you okay? Are you-" She chokes and cuts herself off, her hand at the base of her throat.

It takes everything he has to not go to her, and instead, roll his eyes, like she's being a drama queen. "I'm not dying, Sakura, don't cry, save for when you'll really need it."

She visibly relaxes, her shoulders loosen up, and her breathing picks up to its normal pace, a smile replaces the concerned frown. "I'm glad."

Before he can say anything, they hear a knock from his bedroom door. They exit the bathroom to find his father standing in the doorway. "Sasuke, your mother sent me to," He glances at Sakura, "Inspect. You must be Sakura." He extends his hand, because he is a business man and that is how he is used to greeting people. Sakura at this point, has lost her awe of his house, and so, unlike the first time, manages a greeting that does not involve knocking anything over. She shakes his father's hand then bows respectfully.

"Yes, sir, thank you for having me."

The business man nods his head. "Well met, Mikoto says nothing but good things about you."

This, makes her face redden. "That is very nice of her, sir."

"And your parents are alright?"

"They're very well, Mr. Uchiha, thank you for asking. They send their regards."

"Be sure to send outs as well, I'll leave you to it then." To Sasuke, he adds, "The door stays open."

The dinner goes smoothly, Sakura is a very educated person for her age, and manages quite a few conversations with his father, the older Uchiha is obviously impressed, but it is only obvious to his wife and Sasuke. He asks her about her aspirations for university, and he is even more impressed when she says that she wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and be a doctor.

When the time finally comes for her to go home, she feels like family.

At her door, she does not kiss his cheek, because this time, it is his father waiting in the car instead of his father, she squeezes his hand. "Thank you for telling me, Sasuke-kun, it means a lot that you trusted me. And I'm glad you're alright."

He half-shrugs. "Just don't submit it on wikileaks."

"Sure thing."

Sasuke lies on his bed, arms behind his head, and stares at the key chain Sakura left behind, it is cluttered with unnecessary trinkets that are heavier than the keys himself, a couple of plastic cherry blossoms, a small teddy bear, a fish and a smiley face. He throws it at the ceiling and catches it repeatedly.

"Enter." He calls out when he hears a knock, and does not stop bouncing the key chain, it rattles as the metal objects collide with each other, but the sound does not bother him.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes, ka-san?"

He looks at her to find her leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. "You're not going to let me take you to the hospital, are you?"

"No." He answers. "I am not."

"Sasuke-"

"I'm not going, mom. I'm fine, Sakura cleaned it well, it's going to be fine, all these antibiotic shots, all the good bacteria is gone, want me to end up with chronic diarrhea and constant bloating?"

She wrinkles her nose and he raises and eyebrow in challenge. She huffs. "Is that Sakura's?"

He does not answer the question.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

The bed dips at the edge. "Sure, sweetheart."

He sits up, because it is not the sort of question one asks lying down, ka-san sits closer to him, and says encouragingly. "What is it, Sasuke-kun?"

"Is dad your soul mate?"

The question takes her aback, but he does not regret it, it is something he's been wanting to ask since freshman year, his parents' marriage is a happy one, even he can tell that, they don't constantly compliment each other and exchange kisses when they think no one is looking, but they are supportive of each other, they help one another, together, they raised two kids, one into adulthood, and the other nearly there, one understands the other without there being need for words, the true definition of what a soul mate should be.

"I like to think he is." She finally answers. "For us, it wasn't like it was for you, we didn't receive the brand, so to speak, not all people do, remember I told you it is very rare, but I found the person I was meant to be with in spite of that, and I wouldn't change your father for the world."

"Then what's the point?"

She reaches for the keys and studies the cherry blossoms. "Sasuke-kun, it's okay if you like Sakura, it's great, don't let a few letters get in the way of what you want." Her hand covered his on the bed. "If you grow up and meet this person, then that's wonderful, if you don't, then that's great also. Live your life, if you want to be with Sakura, go for it."

"Then, what is the point?" He repeats, almost forcefully.

"Think of it like a GPS, very useful, isn't? Makes your life easier, almost always takes you to the right address, sometimes though, it puts you against a wall. The soul bond, or whatever it is called, is a guideline, you can choose to follow it, or ignore it, whichever feels right for you."

There is a new student, he is blonde, blue eyed, loud and very noticeably stupid and named after food, three traits Sasuke does not appreciate in a person. He sits next to him because Sakura is sick, and proceeds on a mission to shred his eardrums to pieces. He does not seem to be capable of respecting boundaries, or personal space, and firmly believes that he and Sasuke are bound to be best friends.

Because he follows him around like a lost puppy, Sasuke is forced to have lunch with him, thankfully, he does not have to make introductions, because Naruto introduces himself quite enthusiastically.

"Did you talk to Sakura, Sasuke-kun?" Ino asks, sitting disgustingly close to her boyfriend, Sai.

"Yeah, out with a bad case of the flu, she's probably not going to make it all week.

"Poor forehead, rarely gets sick, when she does, it's like the plague, I'll go see her later, want to come?"

He wants to, but when he talked to Sakura on the phone earlier, she strictly forbid him, in an extremely raspy voice, to stay away from her, like she did have the plague, she said she didn't want him to be sick, and if he showed up, she would kick him out at the door. "Maybe tomorrow."

Sakura does not show up all week, just like she said, and that provides the blond loudmouth to worm himself further into Sasuke's life, with social media messages and invites, -how many times can a someone tag a person they don't know?-, unwarranted physical contact, and loathe to admit it, within a week, the idiot starts to feel like part of the gang.

Monday morning, he meets Sakura at the school gates, she definitely looks like she's had a terrible week, but she doesn't look sick. She hugs him like she hasn't seen him for years. It's a normal day.

Until it isn't.

He doesn't get the chance to introduce Sakura to his new self-proclaimed best friend, until lunch time. True to his nature, Naruto barely gives him time to get the names out, before he's enveloping Sakura in a bear hug.

They hug for a few seconds and then both jump back as if they were burned, both clutching their left wrists. Sasuke knows exactly what it feels like to have your heart stop, so he does not use the words lightly, but at the moment, he swears he feels his heart freeze, his blood turns to ice in his veins.

The world wobbles, and turns black for a second, and he has to hang on to the edge of his bench so he does not fall on his face.

"Ow." Sakura exclaims. "Why does it hurt so much?"

"I don't know." Naruto grits. "Hurts like a bitch."

Ino gasps. "Oh my god, soul bonding!" When people stare at her like she has grown another head, she clasps her hands and continues. "My mother told me about this, look at your wrists, what do they say?"

The pair stares at her in confusion and then do as told, blue and green eyes widen, and then lock with each other.

"Haruno Sakura."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Forehead." Ino exclaims. "You've found your soul mate!"

Sasuke leaves because he cannot bear it, not anymore, he slips away in the excitement of Ino explaining about soul mates, black names, red names, and bonds for life, he slips away, and no one can tell. The ice in his veins melts into fire, and he can barely breathe, his lungs fight for more air, and his heart kicks into overdrive. He barely makes it to the men's restroom, throws open a stall door, and collapses on the ground, bent over the toilet, he throws up bile. There is pain, so much pain, all over his chest.

He continues to heave, until there is nothing to eject, until his whole system is clenching on nothing. His vision is blurry and he can barely make out the objects in front of him, he heaves again to the sound of insistent knocks on the door.

"Who's in here? Are you alright?" It is a voice he recognizes. Kakashi's. "Do you need me to come in? Open this door, or make a noise if you're okay."

He tries to respond, he opens his mouth, but nothing comes out except gasps for more air. The door opens.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi kneels beside him, and lifts him upright. "Sasuke, talk to me, what is the matter?" The silver head reaches into his pocket. "Just breathe, I'm calling an ambulance."

"No!" Strength comes from a source he does not know, he tries to hold himself up and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. "N-no, don't."

"Sasuke, you need a hospital."

"N-no." He tries to make the room stop spinning, he focuses on Kakashi's face until there's only one of them, and he wills his breathing to slow down. In and out, in and out. He attempts to stand but finds that his limbs have turned to jelly.

"I'll…I'll be..alright."

Kakashi is insistent. "You need a hospital. If you don't want an ambulance, then let me take you there."

Sasuke is stubborn, but he is not stupid, so he lets his ex teacher lead him to the school parking lot, and into his car. He does not protest when Kakashi calls his mother, and tells him that she will be meeting them there. He is just stepping off the ECG table when she storms into the room.

Her arms are around him in a second. "Sasuke-kun, sweetheart, oh, god, I thought, oh god." She hugs him tighter. "What happened? What's wrong?"

She examines him with her eyes from head to toe for injures. The doctor steps in with a clipboard.

"Your ECG looks normal, son, which is great. From what your teacher described you were having a panic attack, do you want to tell us what caused it?"

Sasuke bends to put on his socks and shoes, he takes his time tying the laces, so that his head is shielded from view when he says, "It's just school and stuff, nothing to worry about, when can I leave?"

The doctor, a sixty-something year old man that has been on his case since the first time he became sick, exchanged looks with his mother. "I'd like to keep you overnight, do a cardiac CT scan, and a stress ECG, just to be sure."

"Absolutely." His mother answers for him. "Whatever you think is right." She adds, at the same time he sighs a tired, "Mom."

She holds up her hand. "No, Sasuke-kun, you don't get a say in this, we'll do what the good doctor said, and that is the end of discussion."

He does not relent. "I'll do them, but why do I have t spend the night? Why can't I just do them now, or tomorrow morning?"

"Observation." The doctor butts in. "Especially after the stress ECG, it would be prudent to keep you overnight, just in case, it is most likely exactly what you said, school can be very stressful."

In the end, between the doctor, his mother and eventually his father, he does not have a choice but to slip into a hospital gown and occupy a bed he absolutely does not need. He jogs on the treadmill with several wires sticking out from his chest, and lies perfectly still on an ice cold gurney inside a big magnetic cylinder.

When he returns to his room, he finds his mother settled on an uncomfortable looking chair. "Don't give me that look, you're a kid, I am your parent, I get to stay the night with you." He rolls his eyes. "Don't you roll your eyes at me, it's enough that I sent your father away, here, Kakashi-san gave me your things."

It occurs to him that he hasn't seen his ex-teacher since Kakashi brought him to the emergency room, he told him that he would linger until his mother showed up, and didn't show his face since.

"He left just a while ago, and he said that he would settle your absence at school with the administration, I signed a slip for a week off."

He is so caught up on the dozen messages on his phone, and several missed calls, that he does not immediately register her words about a week off. Most of the messages and missed calls are from Sakura, one is from Naruto. The last one reads Where r u? Should I file a missing peoples' report?

He shakes his head and dials her number, she picks up on the first ring. "Hey!" She exclaims immediately. "Where the hell are you? Where did you disappear to?"

He ignores the ache in his chest, and does his best not to show any outward signs that he is feeling anything but great, because his mother is watching like a hawk. "I, um, I didn't feel well, I left after lunch."

"Oh." She responds. "Are you okay? Where are you? I went by your house after school, there was no answer. Oh my god, Sasuke, are you really okay? It's not the, you know, is it? I-"

"Sakura." He interrupts. "Slow down, I'm fine, do you hear me? I am fine, I am not at home, I am at the hospital."

Pause.

"WHAT?"

He winces and pulls the phone away from his ear. "I said I am fine, remember?"

Undeterred, she continues t yell. "Why didn't you tell me? I've been looking for you all day, I wanted to talk to you about this whole stupid thing with Naruto, and mad at you because you weren't there, and all this time, you've been in the hospital? What the hell, Sasuke?"

The mere mention of his name makes Sasuke angry, so angry, he nearly forgets the façade he's trying to act out for his mother's sake. "I didn't exactly have time to call you, Sakura." His mother raises his head from the magazine she's been leafing through. She arches a questioning eyebrow.

"You're right, sorry, sorry. Can I come see you now?"

"It's late, visitation hours are probably over."

"Tomorrow, then?"

"I don't know when I am supposed to be discharged, it might be early morning."

"Oh, I'll call you then."

"Sure, tomorrow."

He hangs up the phone before she has the chance to say anything else and casually throws it on the bedside table, his mother's eyes follow the projectile until it lands on its destination, and then she looks at him again. She tilts her head to the side. "Why didn't you tell Sakura you didn't feel well?"

He shrugs. "She wasn't around."

"Did you have a fight?"

"No." He answers. "No, we didn't."

Tuesday morning, when the doctor steps into his room, Sasuke knows that whatever he has to say, it isn't good, so does his mother apparently, because she reaches for her husband's hand, she hangs on tightly.

"I've looked over the results of your scans, and compared them with previous ones." He swallows. "I'm afraid the fibrosis extended over the majority of your myocardial tissue, Sasuke."

Sasuke blinks, once, twice, and then again for third measure. "And?" He finally says when his mother, who has gone as pale as a ghost, does not react verbally, and his father simply stands there.

The doctor adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "I'm afraid that means that your myocardial cells are losing function."

"W-what," His mother inhales deeply, almost a hiccup, before continuing, "What can we do, doctor?"

"Normally, I would suggest a heart transplant, however, because of the nature of Sasuke's, um, illness, I'm afraid he is not eligible for the donor list."

"What does this mean?" His father finally decides to contribute to the conversation. "What are we supposed to do?"

"What this means, tou-san, is that no committee on the planet would even consider giving me a perfectly healthy heart, just to have it destroyed by my immune system. When can I get out of here, doctor?"

"Sasuke, I am sorry, so sorry, at this state I cannot recommend your current lifestyle, you need outmost rest, the slightest effort can-"

"Can." Sasuke hisses. "Can, not will, I did perfectly well on the treadmill, I did not keel over, my heart did not stop. Now, what? You expect me to be hospitalized for the rest of my life?"

"There are some facilities that off-"

"NO!" He yells, he is throwing a tantrum, something he has never done before, even when he was told, almost ten years ago, that for some reason, bacteria tended to attach itself to his cardiac tissue and his body attacked said bacteria with a vengeance, destroying his heart in the process; at that point, he wasn't exactly aware of what that meant, simply that he wasn't allowed to play tag, that he wasn't allowed to go to school with all the other kids, and that every scrape, scratch or cut mandated a full antibiotic treatment.

He turns to his parents. "Don't you even think about it! Don't you dare, you're not locking me in some bubble to rot, no."

"Sasuke-" His father starts, but Sasuke cuts him off, he is not willing to even listen to their reasoning. They are considering it, he can tell, in the way his mother looks at him sadly, in the way her eyes shy away from his when he meets her gaze.

"I said no, if you do this, if you fucking do this, I will sue you if I have to, do you hear me?"

"I don't want to see you die!" His mother finally snaps, she wrenches her hand from her husband's grasp and advances on him, she clasps his shoulder. "Is that so much to ask? That I want to keep my baby?"

"What changed? For god's sake, what? We've always known that my heart was a time bomb, now, it started ticking, you've always known that I could go to sleep and not wake up the next morning, tell me, what has changed?"

There is silence in the room. His mother pulls away from him, and stands in the corner, her arms wrapped around herself, his father holds himself rigid, his hands fisted at his sides. And the doctor, the good old doctor, stares with pity practically dripping off of him.

"Nothing." He finally answers. "Nothing has changed."

His heartbeat beats loudly in his ears, accentuating the deafening quiet of the room, he draws his knees up and rests his arms on top. "When can I leave?"

Before the doctor can answer, there is a knock on the door, the person on the other side waits for a few seconds before opening the door.

Green eyes widen when they land on the three adult figures in the room, Sakura's face flushes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here, I'll come back later."

She starts to back away but Sasuke stops her. "It's alright, we were finished, weren't we, doctor?"

The doctor does not hesitate. "Yes, Mr. Uchiha, Mrs. Uchiha, if you just follow me to go over the discharge papers."

Sakura waits until the three exit the room and close the door behind them before moving to stand next to his bed. She has a small basket of cherry tomatoes in her hands, a card inserted between the small red fruit. "You're being discharged, great."

He moves off of the bed and pulls his clothes out of the cabinet. "I told you I would probably be discharged early. You didn't have to skip school to come all the way here." He steps into the attached bathroom to change before she has a chance to reply. In the bathroom, he drops his clothes on the floor, and supports himself on the sink. He waits for his heart rate to return normal before washing his face. He did not think it would be this painful to be close to her, being close to Sakura has always been painful, but it was more of an ever present throb, than a sharp knife between the ribs. He is on fire, his skin, his eyes, his insides, hell, even his teeth feel like they're being held over a torch.

There is this unbearable feeling of a fist closing tightly over his heart, and a tight band wrapping around his chest, preventing it from expanding, depriving him of some much needed air.

He splashes more water on his face, and leans there for a few more seconds, only when he feels capable of standing on his own, despite the pain, does he reach for his clothes.

"Are you mad at me?"

Sakura's voice is muffled through the door, but he understands her words perfectly fine. "No." His voice sounds fake, even to his own ears, and he hopes that she does not catch on. "Why would I be?" It's not like she unknowingly tore his heart to fragments, then set the whole thing on fire.

"Because I yelled at you yesterday? I am sorry, it's just what happened at lunch, I wanted to talk to you about it, and you weren't there, and I got mad because I thought you didn't care, stupid, I know, but then you told me you were in the hospital, and I got mad because you didn't tell." She took a deep breath. ""I'm talking too much, bottom line, I'm sorry."

He opens the door. "Tell me about it now."

She sitting on his bed, tomato basket on her lap, she looks up at him, and smiles. "No, silly, it's not really important."

He takes a seat beside her and reaches for one of the tomatoes, germs have done as much damage as they can, it's not like he has to worry about them anymore, he pops it into his mouth, and reaches for another. "Of course, it is, soul mates, true love, etcetera."

"Don't mock what you do not understand."

He scoffs and easily segues into a roll he's been playing for nine years. "Of course."

She stops his hand when he reaches for a third cherry tomato. "Are you really alright? You're not keeping anything from me, are you?"

He rolls his eyes, and it is not even an act when he says, "You've been watching too many Korean dramas, no, I am fine, just haven't been drinking as much water as I should."

She smiles so widely he can see one of her not-quite-there-yet wisdom teeth. "Alright, then. So, this whole soul bonding thing is weird, apparently it's not that common, I mean, all people have the brand, or whatever it's called on their left wrist, but they can't see it until they meet their match, sometimes they never do!" She takes one of his tomatoes even though she claims she can't stand the stuff, but he knows that Sakura is a nervous eater, and will devour even cardboard when excited. "Did you know about this?"

He shrugs. "Vaguely."

"And the whole living soul mate's name shows up in black, dead, in red, how messed up is that?"

"What do you plan to do about this thing, you and the idiot?"

She smacks his shoulder. "You calling him an idiot does not make me feel better, imagine, my soul mate, double digit IQ." She laughs, a tiny chuckle at the back of her throat. "To be honest, I don't know, I mean, this is monumental, not something you can just ignore, that's like throwing a giant middle finger at fate, or whoever is responsible for this, I guess."

"So don't." Sasuke hears himself saying, and he pretends like it doesn't feel like his eyes are being ripped out through his nose. "Don't ignore it, go for it. Isn't this supposed to be the purpose in life, anyway? To find someone? To build a life with them? You've found your person, Sakura, early, yes, but that just means you have a decade to get to know him, to fall for them, go for it."

Her eyes are wide, lips open. "And if it doesn't work?"

He shrugs. "Then it doesn't, but it will, he's your soul mate isn't he?"

Sakura starts at him for a few moments, then squints. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He rolls his eyes and shoves her off the bed, she barely manages to land on her feet, crouched on the floor, she begins to laugh and takes hold of his left foot, in an attempt to drag him down. That is how his mother finds him, Sakura on her knees, pulling on his leg with all her might, and him hanging on to the bed as if his life depended on it, the sadness in her eyes is temporarily eclipsed by her immense amusement at the ridiculous scene.

"Are you ready to go, Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura releases him and practically jumps to a standing position. "Yeah." He sits up and reaches for what little things he had on him, his phone and his wallet. "Come on, Sakura, we'll drop you off."

As they're exiting, they pass the inoculation ward, full of annoying little children and screaming toddlers, with the occasional senior citizen.

"Hey, I finally remembered." Sakura says, they are trailing behind his parents, his mother half-turns, also interested in what Sakura has to say, he arches an eyebrow in response. "I finally remembered why you and Mrs. Uchiha are so familiar. I passed through here when I came in and remembered, we met, about nine years ago, remember? Tiny little kid, afraid of her flu shot? Your mother kept nudging you to talk to me?"

His mother stops walking so abruptly they nearly slam into her, his father continues for a few more paces before he realizes that he is on his own, he turns. "Mikoto, what's wrong?"

Her eyes are locked on him and Sakura, wide, feral.

"Yeah, I remember."

Sakura frowns. "You knew that?"

He does not take his eyes off of his mother when he says, "Yeah." She knows.

They drop Sakura off at her house, she says that there is no point going to school now that she's missed most of her morning classes, and that her mother would understand and write her a slip.

"So, see you tomorrow?"

He shakes his head. "I'm not coming for the rest of the week."

"Lucky you, chat later?"

"Sure."

The second they drive off, his mother turns in her seat. "Sasuke-kun, tell me it's not what I think."

He fixes his eyes on the window. "I can't tell you that, mom, because I can't read minds."

"Not funny, Sasuke. Sakura, you met, nine years ago, when you got your, oh god, it's her, isn't it?"

He does not answer, which is an answer in itself.

"Then why?"

He lifts his wrist into his line of vision and reads the two words, twelve letters, six syllables.

HARUNO SAKURA

"Because I belong to her, she, does not belong to me."

"Sas-"

"Enough, mom, please, enough." He whispers the last word, because he can't find it in himself to speak in louder, because his voice is just as small as he feels, just as weak, because he is suddenly so exhausted, that he feels something he has not felt in a long time, he feels the prick of tears at the corners of his eyes. Because saying it for the first time, a truth he has known since freshman year but never admitted, takes the wind out of him.

He blinks rapidly, determined to chase them away, one things he is not, is a crybaby, he does not see the point in it, sure, it makes you feel better for a couple of cathartic minutes, stimulates endorphin release and all that shit, but then what? Your problems are still there, you're still a six year old kid who can't play outside, still a sixteen year old who's practically been handed a death sentence, pointless.

But driving home, in his parents' car, Sasuke cries. He knows that his mother can see him, he knows that his father can hear his pathetic wet sniffles, and he does not care. He cries, because those two minutes of feeling better, feel worth it, he hasn't felt better in years, and if two minutes is all he can get, then he'll take it.

At home, he heads straight to his room, he does not take his shoes off at the door, a huge taboo, he mechanically walks up the stairs, he collapses on his bed and wills himself to lose consciousness.

When he wakes up, the sky is dark. He knows that there is a person in the room with him before he can see them, he doesn't have to turn on his bedside table light to know who it is, he does it anyway, and Uchiha Mikoto occupies his desk chair. Her elbow supports her chin on the desk, it's a lazy position, one that she's always scolded him out of.

"You know, when you were born, you were barely the size of Fugaku's hand, so small, so fragile, but you had the strongest grip I've ever felt, definitely stronger than Itachi. It was like you came into life, and you were hanging on with all you had."

He draws his knees up towards him. "Ironic, isn't?"

"Heartbreaking." She counters. "You've been in pain, Sasuke-kun, and I did not see it, it's not just about the soul bonding, is it? You love her."

He does not show any outward reaction, even as his very core is inundated with magma. "So? What of it?"

"If you do, you cannot let some silly tradition dictate the rest of your life. So what if she doesn't wear your name? It doesn't matter, it shouldn't. You, and only you, can control your life, talk to her, tell her, convince her, don't just give up!"

"Even if she's been bonded to another guy?" He speaks the words to the far wall, because he can't bear to see the pity he can hear in his mother's gasp. "Even if there is a name on her wrist, and it just happens that it's not mine? Even if everything points to the fact that it is not meant to be instead of the opposite?"

"Maybe, yes, maybe you-"

"I am sixteen years old, mom, I shouldn't be thinking about true love, and soul mates, it shouldn't matter to me! But I do, and it does, I thought about it hard, about how unfair it is, for years, it was all I could think about last night. And you know what I came up with?"

"I didn't care about any of it, before, it was just something that happened, it was just a person that, for all I know, just met once, I didn't want to find her, I didn't need her, until I met her, and even when I knew that she didn't feel the same, I loved her, and yes, I did think it unfair, and pointless, but now I know, if it hadn't been for the brand I wouldn't have given Haruno Sakura the time of the day, she would have just been another girl I sat next to in biology, her name was branded on my wrist so that, even for a short while, I could love her, these few years have been meant for her, but she was not meant for me, because I was not meant to last that long."

"Sasuke-kun." His mother groans out his name as if it hurts, it probably does, as much as he is in pain to say the words he's always thought but never admitted. "Please, don't say that, please, you can't just-, I can't lose you."

He picks his miserable self off his bed, he kneels by his mother and wraps his arms around her waist, she leans over him, holding on for dear life, chest heaving with barely restrained sobs.

"Please, accept it, mom." He can't help but cause her more pain. "One of these days, you're going to wake up and I'm not, I want to know that you'll be okay, after that, I want to know that you'll-"

"How the hell am I supposed to be okay?" Her voice is muffled against his back, the material of his shirt sticks to his back, becoming damper by the second. "How can I let my baby go?"

It is not clear, after that, who is holding whom, who's comforting whom, he holds her and she holds him back, and neither can find it within themselves to let go.

"You know, mom, I think it might be just a little it unfair."

He does not go to school that week, and when Monday comes, he does not go either, his parents say nothing when it's already eight o'clock and he's still in bed. He does not answer Sakura's calls, his excuse is that he came down with the flu and his voice is too messed up for talking, the truth is, is that he doesn't think that he can keep his act around her anymore, he doesn't think he can keep it out of his voice, it hurts too much.

And so they send messages on messenger, whatsapp, and every other social media platform, about the classes he's missing, about notes, homework, and upcoming exams, and about how Naruto asked her out on a date, how the blond imbecile was taking the whole soul bonding thing well, she talks about the date, about how great it was, about the date after that, and about how Naruto isn't so bad after all.

Sasuke does not have to hear it from Sakura's mouth to know that she's falling for the blond, it's obvious, that's when he knows that he is never coming back, he might be a tough-it-out kind of guy, but he is not a masochist, listening to Sakura gush about her dates, watching the two stare into each other's starry eyes and all that crap would be like slashing up his own arms and holding them out for her to pour salt, acid, and dirt on them.

On the third Monday since his brief hospitalization, his father asks him if he is going to school, Sasuke simply shakes his head and spoons another mouthful of cereal into his mouth.

Sakura becomes suspicious after that, she tells him that she wants to visit, and he says that he is still sick and pathetic, and that he wasn't fit for company, when she insists, he says that he can barely talk and that her visit would just exhaust him. She gives up.

"Is that Sakura?"

His mother asks when she finds him staring at his phone screen on his bed. "Yeah."

She crosses her arms over her chest. "It's been almost three weeks, Sasuke-kun, tell her something, don't leave her hanging, tell her you're not going back."

"I might."

"No, you're not, you're never going back there, I know you. I talked to your school administration, they understand, the teachers will be e-mailing your lessons and homework from now on, and you can take your exams online, if you want to continue, that is."

He merely shrugs, because there is no point and they both know it.

"Tell her something, Sasuke."

So, the following morning, Sasuke catches a ride to school with his father, he waits at the gates. Sakura shows up not ten minutes later with Naruto in tow, they both grin when they spot him, Sakura practically jogs towards him, she throws both arms around him with such force they nearly topple to the ground.

She looks pretty, prettier than he remembers, in light yellow dress, and high heels, she's never worn high heels before, and her hair is half up, half down, as opposed to her usual bun or ponytail. She's putting effort into it, he realizes, for Naruto, she wants to look pretty.

"Hey, man, we haven't seen your face for a while." Naruto bumps him on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Where have you been? Excuse me, but you don't look at death's door, what the hell, Sasuke?"

She surprises him when she hugs him again, with more strength than before. "Never mind, we have tons to catch up on, you have tons to catch up, so much homework."

He resists when she starts to pull him inside. "Actually, Sakura, I'm not back, can I talk to you, just you?"

She exchanges looks with Naruto, then tucks hair behind her ear, nervous. Naruto is confused but he shrugs and goes ahead anyway. Sakura studies his face intently, and he tries to keep it as neutral as possible.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun? What do you mean, you're not coming back?"

He squares his shoulders and shoves his hands into his pocket, his eyes study his shoes as if they are the most interesting thing in the world, because, for all his bravado, he can't lie to her, not to her face.

"I'm moving, abroad, my parents want to me to study overseas, they enrolled me at an elite school." It is easier than he thought to lie, she does not say anything, and he does not look at her. "I'm going, tomorrow."

"W-w-what? M-moving, abroad? What the fuck, Sasuke-kun? What the actual fuck?"

The heel of her palm slams into his shoulder and he stumbles back, he does not look at her even as she strikes him again, he hears her bag drop on the floor, and she is now using both hands, alternating between his right and left shoulder.

"Answer me."

He can feel peoples' stares on them, Sasuke and Sakura, KHS' top two students, arguing at the school entrance.

"Say something."

"I'm sorry this is sudden for you, it's just as sudden," He swallows the lump of dirt in his throat, "just as sudden for me, too. It's just what it is, I thought you should do."

And he walks away.

It takes immense willpower, not to look back, he wants to, but he spares himself the torture of looking at her, knowing that it is the last time, knowing that she is angry and hurt, and maybe, just maybe, finally just as heartbroken as he is.

With every step, it becomes harder and harder to keep moving, his feet weight more, it's almost like they're strapped to the floor and he has to exercise physical power to lift one. He can feel his heart beating a mad tattoo against his rib cage, he feels pain, burning, pain that conquers his chest and spreads to his every extremity, and still, he walks.

He is drenched in sweat by the time he makes it home, dark patches cover the area above his sternum and beneath his arms, he feels droplets of perspiration traveling down his back, but inside his body is a paradox of fire and ice, fire so hot it makes him shiver, and ice so cold it makes him burn.

Itachi's car is parked in their driveway, he is the one that opens the door for him, he takes one look at his younger brother, and takes him into his arms, sweat and all, Sasuke nearly, nearly, breaks down then and there, instead, he picks himself up, and pulls away from his older brother.

"What are you doing here? School doesn't end for a month."

Itachi's kind brown eyes are framed with barely perceptible crow's feet when he smiles. "To see you, of course, and look what you've done to yourself. Come in, before you catch your death with a cold, and then mother will kill all of us."

The shivers don't stop, and the amber does not cool down, even after he takes a shower, if anything it intensifies.

He sits with Itachi at the dinner table and tells him everything, from the very beginning. Itachi listens, he does not say anything, until Sasuke tells all there is to tell.

"Sasuke," He finally says, "Have you considered that you're making the greatest effort of your life?"

Sasuke scoffs. "Really?"

"Yes, let me understand this, when you didn't know miss Haruno, it didn't matter to you, soul bonding, soul mates, none of it did, I suspect, if you didn't have the evidence glaring at you every night, you wouldn't have even believed in any of it."

True.

"It didn't matter, until you met miss Haruno, and you thought that it would make your life easier, but it didn't, it hasn't and it won't, because very little in life is easy, little brother, you know this better than any of us, the question now," Itachi takes a sip of his tea, "Is why are you letting it govern your life now?"

"I am not."

"You are, you ignored fate completely when it didn't serve you for anything, you embraced it when you thought it would give you what you want, but now it isn't, so surpass it, ignore it, and do what you want."

"She has Naruto, now, what does it matter if I go for what I want or not?"

Itachi shakes his head, his usual condescending smile pulling at both sides of his face. "She has known you for two years, Sasuke, while she has known this new person for three weeks, presented with a choice, which do you think miss Haruno will chose?"

Sasuke bows his head, he supposes that he's always known that if he wanted, he could win Sakura over, but he thought it would be pointless, when she was bound to meet someone else, and yet, is it really that impossible to ignore his fate and convince her to do the same?

His mind rejects the thought as wishful thinking the second it crosses it. "Is it fair, to her, when I- when I don't know if I will even wake up tomorrow?"

"Maybe." Itachi counters. "But if your love for her is so great, isn't it worth it to live it if only for a short while?"

It chafes a bit, to know, that as usual, it only takes a few words, literally a few words, from Itachi to get him to do whatever was required of him, be it his homework, his chores, or even, when he was very young, his bath. For the first time, he allows himself to think about what it would be like to tell Sakura, everything, to confess so to speak.

"What is the worst that could happen, little brother?"

The worst thing would be for her to say that she's found her person already, the worst thing would be for her to say no, but wasn't there some comfort to be had, in even that? That it wasn't meant to be, simply because she didn't want him, as opposed to some grand universal scheme that no one even understood.

"Don't be noble, Sasuke. You deserve to be ignoble."

Sasuke knows then and there that he will talk to Sakura, today, he doesn't know what he plans to say, he simply knows that he will tell her the truth and let her do with it what she wanted. If she said no, then that was that, if she didn't, then they'd take it from there.

He does not give himself the chance to chicken out, to think it through, to go over all the reasons he's decided on this course of action in the first place, he glances at the clock, thirty minutes to lunch break, he grabs his phone, and is almost out of the door.

"Wait." Itachi calls out. "I'll drive you."

"No, thanks, but I want to think about what to say, I can think when I walk."

He opens the door and turns, something he does not recognize urges him to speak, to say anything. "Itachi," He starts, "Thank you for coming, it was good to see you."

He walks, determined, to the bus stop, like a forty something year old woman in a shiny pink tracksuit intent on burning some calories, the usual twenty minutes are cut down to half, and he is there before he knows it, it is easy t dismiss the ache in his belly as excitement, or something teenager-ish like that.

He fidgets on his seat, unable to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time, a middle aged man sitting across from him gives him an odd look, and Sasuke returns it with a frown on his own.

He steps off the bus, and it is easy to dismiss the heaviness weighing his feet down as apprehension.

People recognize him in the school hallway, when he passes by them, the straight A student that hasn't showed up for weeks, he feels their stares on is back, catches them whispering to each other out of the corner of his eye, and he does not care, all he cares about is catching Sakura exiting her creative writing class.

He is almost there.

Just a few more steps and he can tell her, a few more steps and he can be free, a few more steps and he can take his chances with the girl that somehow came to mean so much to him.

Just a few more steps.

He sees her, and he sees her seeing him.

Their eyes lock.

A few more steps.

He doesn't make it a few more steps.

It is only when someone screams that Sasuke realizes that he is lying on the school floor, facedown, unable to move with excruciating and constricting pain, pain that he feels even in his finger tips.

He is cold, so damn cold, colder than he's ever been in his life, and feverish at the same time, his stomach clenches and he wants to empty it, but he cannot find it in himself to move a finger, even his diaphragm is weak and immobile, he cannot draw a sufficient amount of air, his breathing is heavy, and so so painful.

He sees shapes and hears noises in the background, several people are talking at once, but he cannot focus on the words, he cannot understand them, there are hands on him, several people touching him.

Someone turns him on his back, faces loom over him, the lights blind him, a contrast against his darkening vision, his name is called from miles and miles away.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, hold on, please! We called an ambulance, hang in there."

He hears someone shout. "Someone get the nurse!"

Sakura is beside him, he cannot see her, he can barely hear her, but he feels her, he feels her arms cushioning his head, he feels her tears wetting his face, he feels her head on his chest.

"Hurry!"

It is getting harder and harder to breathe, and he wonders to himself if breathing is worth the pain. What would happen if he just stopped? He'd die. That wasn't so bad, was it? It takes too much energy to keep his eyes open, his lids are a burden, he resists the comfort of closing them, and wills himself to focus on Sakura.

He can make out pink, green. She puts her hand on his cheek, and out of the corner of his eyes he makes out red as well, bold, red letters.

Uchiha Sasuke.

If he could, he would have laughed, he doesn't, he can't, because suddenly, all there is, is darkness.

Tch, so unfair, after all.

==============================================================

This story was designed to break your heart, if it did then I've succeeded and I make no apologies, :p

So, what did you think? Oh, in case you haven't noticed, it's written almost entirely in present tense, I've always been a staunch opponent of present tense narration on principle, I don't know, it always feels moviescript-ish, but I've been reading some awesome material narrated in present tense lately (Kuriquinn, if you haven't checked her out already, do it, you won't regret it.) and it inspired me to try my hand at it, let me tell you one thing, it is hard, very hard, and even as I was typing it, I did get some move script vibes, but I wanted to challenge myself so I kept going, I don't know, I didn't feel like I got as deep into My 3rd person POV as I like to, anyway, let me know how I did, concrit is always welcome.

Also, I will be publishing this on my tumblr, which I created years ago, but only started using now, it's coccinellebleue dot tumblr dot com, I feel like tumblr offers a more communication friendly platform, so feel free to ask me about anything, and I'm even considering requests for short one shots, anyway let me know.

I guess, that's it for now, feedback is very welcome, so please review.

ps. I know it's very long, and some people might find it hard to read it in one go, but it didn't feel like two-shot material to me.

Also, Sasuke's disease is based on a disease that actually exits, where the immune system confuses the cardiac valves for the bacteria that fixes itself on them, it attacks the whole thing leading to scar tissue, fibrosis, which makes them rigid and less functional, endocardiatis, anyway, I just played with that idea.

Oh, and the title is a rip-off from a goodreads historical romance shelf.

Much love

#otp prompts #soulmates #unrequited love #naruto #sasuke #sakura #soulbonding #otpprompts #otpprompts writing

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