(Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Wedding Peach.
I do not own any great quantity of money or property. I'm a STUDENT; that's
why I'm poor, okay?
Author's Notes: We got a new computer. Faithful readers, rejoice!
About my sequel: I am trying to figure out who is going to star in in
it, besides Sakura. Of course, Sakura will be ONE of the main characters,
but I plan to make her more mysterious. I think someone else should be
in spotlight, too. I need suggestions!
I looked at Maya Amano-san's reviews, and I was so touched. So many
questions! Well, all of them will eventually be answered as the story progresses.
I know, right now it's kind of going slow...
I also took note of Lady Light-san's review, and now that I think about
it, I agree with her. That last line in the previous chapter did not make
sense. So I worked extra-hard on this chapter to make it realistic. (Even
though this fic is already outrageous, I still want psychological realism
going. Thank you, Lady Light-san, for you helpful comments. They really
make me think more over how I can make the story better.)
(((Flashback to two months ago)
"It's good that you have control over your different auras," Scarlett
said. "So far, nobody has noticed the uniqueness of your blood, because
it is undetectable. Remember the doctors who gave you a genetic test? They're
keeping it confidential, for your safety."
"I don't understand why it's forbidden for a demon and angel to have
a child," Sakura stated. "I mean: I survived, right? Angels and demons
are both classified as celestials, and it's not as if I'm a real threat
to anyone."
"This is the thing Sakura..." Scarlett gave a sigh. "You see, there
is a prophecy saying that if a child is born from an angel and a demon
— death, suffering, and rebirth shall come to all the realms."
Scarlett read the mortified look on Sakura's face. "Take it easy, Sakura.
We cannot jump to conclusions about your destiny just yet. Myths have their
own truths, if you look at them in sociological terms."
"...Sociological?"
"Think about it, Sakura," Scarlett nudged on. "Demons and angels have
been warring for centuries in this dimension. Both races are very proud
and patriotic. Minerva is one of the few points in this universe where
demons and angels can live together in civility. The majority of celestials
stay in their own realms, never setting foot in the other — never seeing
the other types except through pictures and their own imaginations."
"What about Momoko and Yousuke, though?" Sakura insisted. "They seem
to have it all right! It's because of THEM that there's a truce between
angels and demons."
"Because of them, yes," Scarlett answered. "But also at the cost of
millions of lives on both sides. There is peace — yet bitter feelings die
hard." The red-haired angel meditated on a nearby painting. "For your safety,
as well as the safety of others, keep your blood quiet. For now. But continue
to develop your chakra in secret. Oh, and Minoru already knows."
"Minoru-san knows?"
"Yes. He will help you in getting to the energy springs needed to go
back home. Still, do not hand this information out to anyone — just because
Minoru and the doctors are fine with it does not mean the rest of the population
is." Scarlett sighed. "Your case is a touchy issue. It was fortunate that
you learned how to control your aura perfectly in the Shinobi World — because
of that, you were able to reach into your celestial aura during the junior
tournament, without actually revealing its true nature."
She looked seriously into Sakura's green eyes. "I believe you are destined
for many great things, Sakura. But not here. Not in this dimension. So
for now, keep things secret. Do you understand?"
The pink-haired kunoichi gulped. She could feel the sweat forming on
her brow.
(End of Flashback)))
Sakura felt terrible. 'I broke my promise to Scarlett-sensei. I had
no idea that Potamos would realize it on her own...'
"Sacchan, that is so COOL!" Potamos exclaimed. "I thought that this
was impossible!" She started pocking Sakura's arm, as if she were some
sideshow freak.
Sakura blinked. "You... you don't hate me?"
The water-demon rolled her eyes. "Why should I?"
Sakura thought of possible answers. 'I am a medical miracle.' No; she
wouldn't get it. 'Um, well, lots of people would not like the thought of
angels and demons copulating.' Yeesh, absolutely not. "Oh, a prophecy says
that my existence is supposed to bring death and destruction to this universe
as we know it!'
"Well... um..." Sakura had no idea what explanation to give. She was
confused — yet again — with Potamos' unusual reaction. 'She must not know
of the prophecy — or if she does, she doesn't believe in it.'
"Damnation!" Minoru hissed. He was debating with himself, just how to
handle the water-demon. 'What to do, what to do... I never expected that
Sakura would get a full awakening, much less go ahead and let the devil-child
witness it! This means that she probably is REQUIRED to come with us...'
"Alright," he resolved. "I suspect that this is the only way." 'Without
getting killed by Sakura-san,' he mentally added. The elf pulled up his
left sleeve, revealing a golden wristband with emeralds. Whispering some
words, he slid his right-hand index finger over it.
The bracelet glowed. The elf looked intently in the water-demon's yellow,
cat-like eyes. "Potamos, you want to keep Sakura-san safe, right?"
"Of course!" the water-demon exclaimed.
"Then do a blood-pact on the secret. My magic will act as a witness."
Sasuke pricked his finger with the tip of a kunai. He saw the red dot
seep out, and he spread the liquid on his fingertips in a series of hand-seals.
'Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Sheep... Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!'
A loud 'POOF' sounded out. Sasuke looked at the result.
A snake — with the thickness of a pencil — wiggled on the ground.
Orochimaru laughed. "Not bad for your first try, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke growled. The snake disappeared in a poof of smoke. Obviously,
it was not wanted here. Sasuke began to mold chakra again.
Orochimaru walked away. "I'll leave you to work it out. You have the
most... uncanny ability to develop things on your own." He gave a mocking
grin to Sasuke before he walked off. Sasuke glared at him from behind.
'Sick freak,' Sasuke thought. 'I'm not even sure about your gender,
with your experiments and the way you talk!'
Sasuke hated doing the calling spell. Not only because it was hard,
but that it was so obvious that his rival back in Konoha could do it perfectly.
A toad that was at least a hundred meters in height was proof enough.
Sasuke grit his teeth. 'And within one month, too! That... Naruto!!
Well, two can play at that game.'
"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!!" Sasuke yelled out for the fifth time.
POOF.
A foot-long snake appeared at his feet. It looked dead.
Sasuke stared at it. What good would it do to yell at a creature? Instead,
he picked it up to check for vitality signs.
"HEY!!" the snake exclaimed. In surprise, Sasuke dropped it.
"Jeez, I didn't ask to be dropped. Neither did I ask to be woken up
from my nap, and get picked up like a common rock." The snake lifted its
head, and flicked its tongue. "Stupid human."
"Aren't I supposed to be your master?" Sasuke coldly asked. It was more
of demand than a question. Still, he had to be careful when talking to
them.
"Yeah, yeah, the contract," the snake complained. "At least you seem
more reasonable than the other two. A little puny — but reasonable."
A nerve popped out of Sasuke's head. He desperately wanted to throw
an insult at this creature — but Orochimaru told him that this species
was very difficult to control when insulted. Besides, was he going to sink
so low as to argue with this little reptile?
"I have no time to chat. I'm just practicing this calling jutsu." Sasuke
paused. "Wait a second... other two?"
"You're one of the three humans alive that can call snakes," the little
one explained. "Didn't you see the scroll? Before you, it was... Anko,
and before that was Orochimaru. He dumped her, but her name is still in
the contract."
Sasuke furrowed his brow. 'I had my suspicions at first, but her handwriting
rivaled that of a doctor. So it really was that creepy woman who proctored
the Chuunin Exams... That means that she was once Orochimaru's student...'
He suddenly found the snake's tiny head next to his ear. It was fast.
"Something else is on your mind, isn't there?" it asked in a whisper. "You'll
never get Manda-sama at this rate. Not that he would obey you, even if
you could call him..."
The raven-haired boy scowled. Animals.
"Look, kid, you've got some potential," the snake continued. "I can
even help you a bit, if you want."
Sasuke remained silent.
The snake sighed, although it was more like a hiss.
"Neither you nor Orochimaru have any idea what you will be going through
in the next couple of years." He curled around Sasuke's arm, and gave it
a squeeze. "If you need any help, just call."
It disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Sasuke rubbed his arm where the reptile had just been. 'I'd better try
some other snake — preferably a bigger one, and one that doesn't talk as
much.' His hands performed the order. 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!'
Indignation and fright rose in Sakura. What was Minoru thinking, asking
for a blood-pact? The kunoichi jumped from her branch, landing in front
of Potamos. She faced off against the elf, guarding her purple-haired companion.
Minoru and Potamos stared at Sakura — the former in front of her, the
latter behind.
"Minoru-san, I don't like how you're treating Potamos," Sakura stated.
"She doesn't need to make a blood-pact!"
The water-demon wanted to cry — not from sadness or fear, but from joy.
NOBODY stood up for her like that. "See!" she insisted. "Sakura trusts
me to keep secrets."
The elf looked at Sakura. He was both touched and saddened at her naivete,
her trust in a demon. He then looked straight at Potamos, who was making
faces at him behind Sakura's shoulder.
"From what I've heard from the others of the Ninja Mansion, you blabber
out every item of scandal the instant it reaches your ears," he said, ignoring
her childish behavior. "You are one of the worst secret-keepers of the
academy — quite possibly the entire city."
Potamos glared at him. "Na-ah! I never told anyone that my homeroom
teacher is having affairs with three different people!"
A long silence ensued.
Potamos winced. She then bit her lip, and sighed. The water-demon took
out a kunai, made a shallow cut on her palm, and stuck the wound in front
of Minoru's face. "Remember, I'm doing this for Sacchan's sake — NOT because
of you."
"Well, at least you are cooperative," the elf said as he took the offered
hand. The aura from his wristband poured into Potamos' wound.
"Is that safe?" Sakura asked with worry.
"Perfectly. Once it is made, she will not say anything about the selected
information — whether she is carelessly gossiping, or under heavy torture."
Minoru took care to emphasize the last two words. "The piece of knowledge
will never escape her tongue, until I release it. Now, Potamos, repeat
after me..."
Momoko and Yousuke lay in bed together. The pink-haired angel sighed
as her nose touched the side of his cheek.
"Darling... Do you ever have the feeling that we should just let Sakura
stay here? If she wants to..."
"If she wants to, yes, Momo-P," the half-demon murmured. "But we have
to let her decide. We don't even have to worry about her accidently using
magic — as Scarlett said, her aura control is impeccable. And Minoru made
sure that Potamos' mouth was sealed; thank god. Hopefully, we'll open the
wormhole to find the Shinobi world still in one piece... And Sakura will
be strong enough to help it."
Yousuke began to caress his wife's beautiful legs. She shivered, then
resumed the conversation.
"I understand," Momoko insisted. "I do hope that the Shinobi world is
handling itself — once I saw that she was still alive, I did not want her
to die." She nestled in Yousuke's arms. "You notice... how Sakura has become
part of our family. She had a tough time at first — she was not used to
handling so many kids. But now she takes care of them, especially Umi...
It's not blood that ties her with us. It's her soul."
"Yes," Yousuke said, continuing to stroke her. "I love her as much as
you do. She's different from what I imagined her to be — but I like her
all the same. Therefore, we should give her what knowledge she needs, and
then let her decide what to do with it. She's been extremely reasonable
for all these months."
"I know that, but — " Momoko gave muffled exclamation, as she found
her husband on top of her. His hazel eyes gazed deeply into her blue ones.
He planted a tender kiss on her lips, and made his way down.
"Let's not worry about that now, I just want you to relax..." Yousuke
started to lick his wife's neck, and she moaned in pleasure. 'Yes!' he
rejoiced inside. 'I got her!'
"...Yousuke?"
"Mmm?"
"Do you think that if Sakura chooses to go back to that horrible place...
she will find someone over there... like you?"
Yousuke stopped, and thought for a moment. "You mean, a total jerk who
can't see common sense, until it's beaten into him? Of course! There are
plenty of the male species of that type, especially those of her age."
"No, silly! I mean, one that will make her happy... the way you've made
me happy."
Yousuke's heart melted at these words. That was it: he had to have her.
"Darling..." he asked huskily, "are you talking about us, or Sakura?"
"Well--"
"Actually, love, scratch that. Let's not talk right now; we'll do that
later."
And indeed, they did.
Notes:
About Sasuke's insults to Orochimaru: Orochimaru's speech does lean
toward the feminine way of speaking, ending sentences in "ne" and "yo".
Seriously, Orochimaru does talk that way in Japanese! Jiraiya speaks like
an old man.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me! If
I suck, by all means tell me. In an intelligent manner.
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