SasuSaku Month 2015
Day 13 - 2 am
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Title: The Darkness of the New Day
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Summary: Sakura is traveling towards her future new home but, in the middle of the night, the girl receives a grumpy visitor.
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A/N: this summary is terrible guys XD if I write a good one, then it will spoil the whole thing.... Okay, this is probably my favorite theme so far and that's why I made sure to make it a good one. I just love the idea of things happening in such hours of the day... It makes everything more... Mysterious... And it reminded me so much of a music I love so much! Well, I hope you like it.
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Never had the skies been so dark like on that time in the woods. The night had been submerged into the deep silence of the stars, where opening or closing the eyes wouldn't make a single difference. The moon, for fearing the upcoming storm that had been announcing itself; had decided not to show up on that night, leaving whoever had dared to enter the darkness more than just simply lost. Those who had had the misfortune of being stuck in the middle of that pitch black eternity, would have to blindly face fear. They would have to fight against their own tricky imagination and, for sure, against the real dangers that would be hiding in the forest at such hour of the night. They would have to be brave. They would have to embrace the shadows. They would have to have the eyes that could see through the darkness of the world. And he who had those eyes, would use them to find the one who had stolen his heart under the bright sun light. She was there too. She was there surrounded by the darkness of the woods.
The winds that were blowing were the main tellers of what was happening in that infinite shadow in which that forest was trapped. They would bring the news from all over the places, while traveling as a spinning ballerina and exploring even the quietest of the places. Their voices would sound a lot like a man's last breath and, as the poor soul slowly died, the last whispers of his dead body would travel around haunting anyone who heard them. The winds were untraceable even if they would make sure to leave deep scars on the tree trunks as a clear evidence of their existence. They would invade houses through the most sealed of the windows, forcing them to be slammed continuously until they finally reached the ears of a poor resting soul. They would try to wake her up but, for the winds' disappointment, on that night and in the middle of that forest, there was a girl who wasn't afraid of such deadly whispers. She wasn't afraid of the night or of the forest. She wasn't afraid of the darkness. In fact, she could even say she had once fallen in love with it.
Refusing to sleep and refusing to keep her eyes opened, the only pink haired girl of Konoha was clearly unaffected by all of that mysterious atmosphere where she could be found. Ever since she had left her beloved village in that diplomatic mission, Sakura couldn't help but to feel as if she was slowly getting lost in that ninja path she had chosen to follow. The girl was being escorted by four foreign guards that had the mission to take her safely to a big village in the Land of the Sky that was about to start a conflict against Konoha. As the chosen one by the leaders of the Sky, Haruno Sakura would act as an ambassador in order to maintain the peace between the Leaf and the village with one of the strongest clans in the world. She would make sure no battle started. She would make sure to protect her hometown and, of course, she would prevent the destruction of her future home.
The deal that was set in between the villages was mostly a peace agreement based on the marriage between two important people of both villages. For Konoha didn't have any royalty and the village in the Sky had a young prince, the council decided that the war hero and one of the prettiest girls of the village, Haruno Sakura, would be the chosen one for such a cruel and crucial mission. Even if the Sixth Hokage had been against it and if all of her friends had tried to change the council's mind, nothing worked and Sakura, as a ninja from the hidden Leaf, proudly accepted her mission. Her positive reaction shocked everyone at first, for they all knew how much she had always been against arranged marriages. She was known by all of them as the one who would defend love by any means and she just wouldn't forgive anyone who dared to corrupt such pure feeling. The pinkette did believe in all of that mutuality between feelings and would never stop believing in love. Yet, when the council told her that, if she declined another girl would be chosen in her place, her heart almost broke as it imagined the scene of another love being destroyed. She couldn't pass that responsibility. She couldn't let another young girl suffer in her place. And, for that, Sakura decided to accept the mission. She was going to get married and become the princess of a prince she didn't love. Of a prince she didn't even know. All in the name of the love she always had but never saw flourishing. All in the name of a love story with a happier ending than her own. However, what she did not know, was that her love story was still not over.
It was only when her ears captured the hoot of an owl that her mind stopped wandering around the early memories of her 12 years old self. Even if she was certainly enjoying living that phase of her life by their side again, Sakura knew that an owl wouldn't simply hoot for anything. The girl knew the meaning of that hoot. He had once told her so after experiencing some years in the forest and, indeed, he was right, as always. The hoot of an owl is like a denounce. They do this kind of noise whenever there is something wrong going on. Whenever someone who shouldn't be awake is walking around. Whenever there is a strange walking around. And, for having such big and precise eyes, owls hardly make any mistake. They can see a mouse from miles away and they can certainly see a ninja who wasn't really trying to hide in the darkness of their forest. For knowing so, the future princess of the Sky decided not to wait in bed for whoever could be after her.
Throwing the covers aside to set herself free, Sakura quickly grabbed her kunai from under her pillow. Her bare feet met the cold wooden floor as she went towards a side table, where a candle was resting. She knew the guards had told her not to leave the room but, as the stubborn girl and the ninja she was, the pinkette decided to ignore the orders. She decided to follow her own instincts and ignore the orders of those who thought that knew her. Those who just saw her as a merchandise. A concubine for the prince. A woman who would give him his heirs. And Haruno Sakura was none of that.
Carefully, the pinkette opened the door, preventing it from making that agonizing sound as it opened. The dim light of her candle created a thin veil of light around her, helping those emerald eyes of hers to identify some of the objects that were left behind in that abandoned cottage in the middle of the forest. The wooden shelter had been forgotten by its original owner in in between the tall trees; and all of its original furniture and even the oldest of the ornaments were left behind. Old carpets and destroyed couches and even a chime that was about to strike 2 am. All of that reunited in a two floor dark and cold cottage. The place surely had its classical and vintage charm, yet, from the painful steps of the creaking stairs, the pinkette knew there was something. Something really wrong.
Even with practically all the lights off and those shivers dancing around her spine, Sakura kept following her path until she was on the first floor of that cabana. She couldn't feel any of the guards surrounding her and she couldn't hear their breathing. It was like they had disappeared in the middle of the darkness and left her alone to find her way home in the next day. It felt as if she had been swallowed by that terror and that fear that was coming from the forest. It felt as if she was alone in the world. But she wasn't even alone in that cottage.
As her naked feet attentively danced around that moist floor, Sakura kept the grip tight around her kunai. Her eyes were effortlessly looking around as she directed herself towards a small table that was placed in front of her. The pinkette knew that if she showed her visitor that she was about to go to a dead end, then he or she would have no other choice but to show up, at last. She wanted to confront that person. She wanted to know who he or she was and the reason behind such a strange visit just some seconds before the second hour of the day was announced by the chime. Sakura wanted to act as a bait. She wanted to draw his or her attention by making the person feel as if she was the one being drawn by the oldest trap in the world. Haruno Sakura was about to pretend to be afraid. But she wasn't. She didn't have to be.
The clock hit 2 am just after the pinkette placed the candle on the table. The strong and terrifying sound resonated through the whole cottage and, as soon as it stopped, the girl could feel that the temperature around her had considerably dropped. She could feel a blade standing just some inches away from her neck and she could feel a cold air tickling that exposed skin. She could smell the scent of dew and, at the same time her skin felt cold, she could feel the insides of her body getting extremely warm due to the presence of his body behind hers. A body she knew so well. A body in which she had even implanted an arm. The body of Uchiha Sasuke. And, once again, he had made another one of those great entries of his.
At the moment she recognized him, the grip around her kunai loosened and, since her life was no longer at risk, her mind allowed her to focus on some important things that had accompanied her through all her trip until that point. She needed to know if there was blood in his hands. She needed to know if he had killed someone.
"... Have you killed any of them?"
" no. Just knocked them out... What great guards those people have found for you..."
Anger and irony were certainly present in his voice and, even if they had just met, Sakura could already tell he was in a terrible mood. He was right to be, after all. And going against his opinion would be of no help, she knew it.
"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" She sighed, closing her eyes in defeat.
"... Shouldn't I be asking you the same question?"
" this is not what you're thinking. This is-"
She tried to turn to face him but, in a rough move, the Uchiha pressed her against the table where she had rested her candle. His hand had crossed her body from the sides and was resting just some inches from the light source. The fire had already melted its outside and the wax was slowly sticking on the wooden material. The smell that came from it was calmly spreading through the cottage and filling the air in between those two. Two ninjas. Two comrades. Two lovers. But they weren't sure about the last one yet.
" what is it then!?"
" ..."
" why did you agree with this? Why did you agree on getting married to a guy you don't even fucking know!?"
".... I am doing this in the name of my village. I'm a ninja of the Leaf and I'll make sacrifices for my home."
The rage was slowly taking over his body once again as his ears captured her foolish explanation. The same one he had once heard from his brother when he claimed to be Itachi of the Leaf even after his death. Sasuke was certainly tired of that stupid explanation and he just couldn't even listen to that any longer. He didn't want another person he loved sacrificing their happiness and their life for the sake of the village. He didn't want them to sacrifice themselves anymore. He wanted her to love whoever she wanted and he wanted to see her pink hair walking around the streets she has ever walked around. He didn't want her to leave to a foreign country. He didn't want her to marry a stranger. And you bet he wouldn't let her.
" for the sake of the village... And what about your own sake?" He said, leaning closer to her ear and whispering his words tenderly, causing shivers to run down her bones. If she was going to be so stubborn, you bet he would play all the cards he had.
"... What about your own love? Doesn't it matter, Sakura?"
" Sa-Sasuke..." She blushed, feeling her heart beating faster as he leaned even closer, burying his nose on the crop of her neck. That boy was really playing dirty.
" have you already forgotten everything?"
" of course n-not! Just... Just try to understand..."
" understand what?"
" that I... That I have to go..."
At the sound of such sad and destroyed voice, Sasuke forgot that she was a girl for a moment and abruptly turned her body around so she was facing him. Her sad and empty emerald eyes were faintly illuminated by the candle light and his dark ones seemed to be burning in rage. No matter how she tried to explain or how many times she told him it was her mission, the Uchiha wasn't ready to give up and let her go. He wasn't ready to lose her for a stupid prince from the Sky. He wasn't ready to see her love destroyed like that.
" Sakura!" He placed both of his hands on her shoulders. His eyes hungrily devouring hers. " this is insane! Marrying two strangers for peace?! You would have never agreed to that!" He tightened the grip around her.
" y-you're hurting me..."
" What happened to you!? Acting as a weak girl in front of those old people from Konoha!? Since when have you become like this!?"
" it hurts..."
" Since when have you decided to stop fighting!?" He said, looking deep into her eyes, condemning her with his darkness. She could not hold back any longer.
" stop it!"
The scream that escaped her lungs ended up releasing all of the other feelings she had caged in her heart ever since she had accepted that mission. With those eyes of his pressuring her that much, it suddenly became impossible to hide the truth from him any longer. She had never lied to him before and, apart from always treasuring her honesty towards him, those deep dark eyes that she loved so much were the main cause for that. She just couldn't lie to his darkness. Sakura was going to tell him the real reason behind her acceptance. She was going to tell him the words hidden in her own winds.
"..."
" they... They were going to hurt you..."
" what?"
His eyes widened, his heart skipped a beat and her head lowered. Those rebel pink locks of hers, even if tied up in a kind of ponytail; still managed to set free and cover her emerald eyes. Eyes that were, slowly, getting soaked in her own tears.
" the Sky council... The Sky Prince... They all threatened to kill you while you were out in your journey...."
" t-those bastards! But why did yo-"
" they said I could save you... By marrying the prince, I could save you... And so I accepted it... I didn't want your journey around the world to be filled with war and blood... I didn't want you to get hurt... And that's why..." She looked at him, with tears rolling down her cheeks and the most painful smile he had ever seen in that porcelain face of hers. " that's why I accepted. I accepted it for the village... I accepted it for the one that I love... I accepted it for you, Sasuke-kun..."
" Sakura..." His heart was hurting like never before. Looking at her like that was simply killing him from inside. He could not just keep watching without doing anything. Without saving her.
" S-So please... Let me finish my mission... Let me save you, please..."
"..... No."
" uh?"
In a gentle move, the Uchiha pulled her close in an embrace until her head was resting over his chest. He placed his hand on her hair, caressing it slowly as she silently dropped from her eyes the world in form of tears. He could feel his chest getting soaked but he did not care about that. He did not care about her mission or about his journey or about that Prince. He cared about her and only her. The most beautiful flower he knows. There was no way he would let her belong to someone else.
" Please, Sasuke-kun..."
" stop being so stubborn... Have you forgotten who I am? I'm not gonna be killed by a bunch of idiots from the Sky... I won't be killed before returning home for good... I told that I would come back for you, didn't I?"
"...."
" Hn, I won't let you get married... I won't let them take you away... I am the one who will be taking you away."
Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed madly. What on earth did he mean by that? What was he trying to say? And where was he taking her? The last question didn't really matter for her, to be honest. As long as they were together, she didn't mind going anywhere. No matter at what time, no matter when, going with him would always sound like the best of the ideas.
Sakura slowly lifted her head so her eyes could meet his. She wanted to see what he really meant by that. She wanted to know what his eyes would be truly saying. She wanted to know what he was truly feeling.
" what do you mean by that?"
" exactly what you've heard... I'm taking you away with me... Now."
" but what about the Sky? What about the marriage? What about yo-"
" none of it matters... If you're worried about Konoha, then we can leave a message saying that I kidnapped you. I kidnapped the future princess of the Sky. I would do anything for her..."
" But wh-"
" no buts... You have no saying here." He smirked. " I'm taking you away and it can be in the good or in the bad way. You choose."
"... This is ridiculous, Sasuke-kun..."
" ridiculous? Ridiculous is going to be when I walk away carrying you on my back."
" you wouldn't dare..."
" try me, Princess." He smirked and, at that moment, she chuckled for the first time in what felt like years. Being kidnaped had never seemed so right.
" I'm not a princess... And I won't be one, right?"
" you can bet on that..."
" but... What about Konoha? What about Kakashi-sensei and the others? They are counting on me..."
" Hn, who do you think told me where to find you?"
"..."
Her eyes widened in a happy expression while he, gently, wiped her tears away. Apparently, her friends had decided to use their last resort to bring the girl back and, as already predicted, it had worked. It had worked perfectly.
" Hn, let's go already... There is a storm coming..."
The Uchiha looked deep into her eyes and offered her his hand. The hand that had killed people and that had almost killed her. That calloused hand of his that she had dreamed so much she could hold it one day. That was the hand of her beloved person. Of the only one she would ever love and, for an instance, she didn't really know how she had dared to accept that mission. Sasuke knew how to take care of himself. He would never lose to a clan from the Sky. He would keep his promise with her. Forever.
"... Okay."
The duo then left the cottage with their hands enlaced and leaving a letter behind. They would have to face some good hours of darkness until the sun could finally rise. Hours of a comfortable darkness that had already entered their hearts and made all of their demons fall in love. None of them minded the shadows. None of them minded the terror. None of them minded the howl of the dawns.
BONUS
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In the letter written by the Uchiha:
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To the Sky Prince.
I, Uchiha Sasuke, have kidnapped your future princess. Come after me if you have the courage and I'll teach you never to touch her again.
Don't mess with what's mine.
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In the forest...
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" I can't wait to return to Konoha!"
" Konoha? And who said we are going back to Konoha?"
" aren't we?"
" I'm kidnapping you... I'm not giving you back unless they offer me something really good... You're staying with me until then, Sa-ku-ra."
I have this headcanon where Sasuke and Sakura sometimes wake up in the middle of the night just to sneak a look at each others sleeping faces. I feel like Sakura does it more often cause she sometimes can’t believe that she’s with Sasuke and that she gets the feeling that he might leave again. There’s supposed to be a prequel to this, where it’s Sakura who wakes up before 2am to look at Sasuke sleeping lol.
Long overdue SS comic for SasuSaku Month.. OTL It’s 6am.. Time to sleep LOL.
this mini fan comic was supposed to be uploaded on the 13th of july, but it came out really really really latee. Im so so sorry TT^TT but i really want to participate. anyways, enjoy! the prompt is haircut. the setting is in chuunin exam, after they fight dosu and the gang.
Title: Home
Prompt: 2 AM (Day 13)
Theme: Interlude (adolescence / young adulthood)
Notes: suuuper late, i know; i just hadn’t had time to write until now!
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The full moon is high in the starless sky when you suddenly spot her sitting on a bench – the bench.
You halt, the sound of your sandals against the cobblestone dying. “What are you doing here?”
She looks up from her lap and, as if a fire had been lit within her, her eyes light up and her lips pull into a gentle smile. Under the moonlight, she looks even more beautiful, which you'd think is impossible. Her silky pink hair falls loosely upon her shoulders hidden under her dark cloak. She calls your name, slowly stands up, and approaches you.
You are filled with an unearthly peace as soon as you have her right in front of you, close enough to feel the warmth of her body in the coolness of the night. You smile slightly, unconsciously, and her own smile grows at the sight.
“I've been waiting for you.”
You close your eyes briefly, relishing on the sound of her voice and on those few wonderful words she's uttered. You once thought there would never be someone that would tell you that, that would do that – wait for you. You once were hopeless and resigned to live a loveless life, in utter solitude and quiet despair. Yet... here she is. Here she's always been, really. And here she'll always be.
“It's late,” you say quietly, teasingly. “You should go home.”
You open your eyes again. She's still right here. Were you afraid she'd suddenly disappear? Perhaps. Yes. Yes, and you'd always be, deep inside. Because things this good – they can't last forever; not for you. It seemed unlikely, at least in your damaged mind.
You hope you're wrong.
“Home?” she echoes, her voice tinged with amusement. One of her hands reaches for yours. Her touch, warm and soft, make you exhale in relief. “But I am home. If you are here, Sasuke-kun, this is definitely home.”
“Me?” you question, your fingers instinctively tightening around her slender fingers.
She nods. “Wherever you are, I want to be. Wherever you belong, I do.”
Oh, you wonder, why does she think that way? Doesn't she see she's wrong? Doesn't she see it's the other way around? Where she is, you want to be – you ought to be.
She is your home.
Her smile becomes a grin. “Come on, Sasuke-kun,” she laughs. “Quit fooling around. We should go soon, before the sun comes up.”
“It's only 2 AM,” you inform as she pulls on your hand and you let her guide you towards the gates.
“The sooner we begin our journey, the better!”
She is excited. She is joyous. Seeing her like this makes you feel... genuinely happy. The last time you felt this good, you were barely a child on your older brother's shoulders. You've been empty for so long that you'd almost forgotten how it felt to be the opposite. But now, you've been reminded, and you've come to love this feeling again – to love it so strongly that you vow to allow it to stay with you forever.
Sakura is your home, and now that she will be traveling with you, you will be at home all over the world.
2AM
Summary: Sometimes people with the worst past, end up creating the best futures.
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There is a place in most of us where the rain is pretty much constant, the shadows are always long, and the woods are full of monsters.
When you lose everything you’ve ever known, everything you’ve ever loved and cherished, at an impressionable age, when you’re still waiting, hoping, struggling to be the best possible version of yourself, the monsters never truly go away. Not really. The terror never truly go away.
And occasionally, Sasuke found himself trapped in a never ending loop of the past, repeating every single mistake he’d ever made—mass graves, genocide, and a murder of nightmare ravens. He’d wake up in a tangled mass of sweaty sheets and trembling arms and a fierce embrace and the warm tears of the one single person who’d loved him unconditionally, throughout.
Not this time.
This time he woke up in the dead of night on the futon to a fierce shaking of his frame and a small voice calling on him—“Papa, wake up, wake up, Papa”—again and again.
Sarada crouched at his side, chin wobbling dangerously, fists clenched in his shirt and a sheen of unshed tears in her eyes.
“Did I—“ he gasped, reaching out uncertainly.
She shook her head and caught his hand in both of her’s. “Papa!” she cried and two fat tears dropped onto her cheeks. “Papa!” she gasped, sobbed and hurled herself into his chest. He caught her, held her close, grit his teeth against the anger—of the unbridled rage at himself, of letting his daughter see the worst parts of himself, recoiled at the fear of her reaction.
“Papa,” she gasped against his neck, voice small and cracking, fighting so hard to control herself. She held him tighter, and he fit her small frame more snugly against him. “Aa,” he said, “I’m right here.”
She sniffled and it took her a few moments to catch her breath. Then, “If anyone ever hurts you, Papa,” she said, “I will not let them live.” Her arms were impossibly tight around him, as was her love.
Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers. His chest was tight with feeling. “You won’t have to do that. I promise,” he said quietly, but there were thunderstorms in his voice.
She sniffled once more, and finally let off her hold on him. Sasuke held her in against his chest. “I’m sorry you had to see me that way, Sarada.”
She burrowed deeper in his embrace, like, he thought, Sakura did, sometimes. “One day,” she croaked, her voice hoarse with tears, “when you’re—when I’m ready. When we’re both ready, would you tell me what happened to the rest of our family?”
He let out a surprised breath, didn’t—couldn’t—say anything for a while. Then, slowly, he laid back on the futon, Sarada in his arms, and said, “Aa.”
She nodded in his chest, and as seconds turned into minutes, they fell asleep. That was how Sakura found them, in an awkward heap of arms and a blanket, sleeping soundly.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except for the undying love for this ship, my OTP.
AN: Sorry I’m late (again)! I was out of town yesterday to get my documents to the uni… YES, I GOT IN! :3 In October, I’m going begin the tough but wonderful road with studying medicine! I’m super excited and hyped up! :’D Anyway, regarding the story – this one’s a continuation for the chapter for Day 14, so if you care about sticking to timeline, please read the next one first. Enjoy!
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Day 13 – 2AM
Sasuke wakes up suddenly, having the weirdest feeling that something is not how it’s supposed to be but also like it were finally how he’s waited for it to become for the longest time… He’s feeling calm and it’s a sensation he hasn’t had in his heart for the great part of his life, as sad as it is. The man finds himself in warm, soft sheets. The room is dark and only dim rays of moonlight shine lightly at what his eyes learn to mark as the skin of his chest, after a few moments of getting accustomed to the night. And when they regain their power to its fullest possible level at this late hour (what time is it? 3AM, 2AM?), another shape’s presence gets to him and every single moment of the last evening hits him all at once.
The aching desire of two, the mutual fight for release, the bliss of the ultimate reunion…
His sharp, dark eyes soften while Sasuke watches Sakura’s back move slowly with her peaceful breathing. The light plays in the pink wisps of her hair, messy and scattered all over the pillow. Shadows highlight the beauty of the shapely curvature of the back and the side of her body, the beauty he was given permission to hold close, to worship as his for he, and him only, was granted the chance to explore and map it in the sensible dance of closure…
But it’s not her looks that make him look at the woman as if she were the most precious thing in the entire universe. It’s every feeling he has for her. The gratitude for her faithfulness over all those crazily difficult years. The acknowledgement of her admirable strength and having become the person she is today in spite of the picture of weakness she once was. The warmth that quiets down cruel storms inside of him, whenever he feels like he’s never going to belong anywhere, anymore. The feeling… The feeling of having found home once again, with her.
Sasuke smiles delicately and gently kisses Sakura’s shoulder, careful not to wake her up when he locks her safe in his loving embrace once again. He buries his face in her hair and closes his eyes, for once sure of the morning he will wake up on to be good… He is where he wants to stay. She is here with him.
Maybe he’s bad with words and can’t quite comprehend the whole of his feelings himself but this one heat in his heart he is sure will always stay the only thing he’ll ever need.
