(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?
Minoru sat on a sleeping couch. His sleeping couch, for that matter.
A gentle knock came at the door, which jerked him out of his trance. "Come
in," he said.
The door opened, and an elf strode in. His hair was a straight, nearly-white
mane, and the facial features were rather grim. "Minoru, we need to talk,"
the tall being intoned.
Minoru sighed. "Yes, Father. If it's about my flight from this village,
then I am willing to tell you all the reasons."
"That's not necessary," the older one replied. "That I already understand."
Minoru frowned, distrustful of his father. He had to keep himself from
sneering. Understand? That was a simple word the older elf chanted out
to remain civil. At least his father still knew the ancient spell for keeping
peace: manners.
"You understand?" the son asked quietly. "Strange, how I wasn't allowed
to watch over Sakura and Potamos the previous night."
"Your brothers are serving them a full breakfast, in response to their
good behavior," the elder replied. He looked out the window. Not facing
Minoru, he continued: "I want to ask you, as a father to a son: what is
your relationship to the rose-haired child? She is human."
Minoru lightly raised a halting hand. "Please do not jump to conclusions,"
the blond said in a low tone. "I care for her, and I want her to be happy
— but not necessarily in that way."
"And yet you are trying to do a terrible crime, for her sake," the ancient
elf said, his voice like silk. "I saw what kind of enchantment you did
with the mirror last night. And it was certainly not a communication spell
to Angel Salvia."
Minoru stiffened. He turned around, glaring at his father. "What I do
with magic: that is none of your business."
"If you go on doing this, the result is far worse than murder," the
father shot back. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for what Minoru would
say at his next comment, which was very harsh indeed: "You are only trying
to do justice for Emerald, when she is already passed."
Minoru turned away. A mixture of grief and anger was in his face. "What
do you know about justice? How dare you speak of your only daughter like
that?!" he argued. He rubbed his blue eyes, acting as if it were only drowsiness
that made his eyes crunch shut. "Just because we were not related does
not mean..."
The father sighed. "You know well that I loved her as equally as your
brothers. I still miss her gentle smile. But both she and your mother would
grieve if they knew what you were doing. A man on Earth once said, 'the
highest
justice is the highest injustice.' You must let go of the past, Minoru."
"For an elder of this village, you are well acquainted with the history
of human thought," Minoru coolly replied. "But I can rival that. Another
man said, 'Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat itself.'
I have my own history — I've lived it, witnessed it — and I will certainly
not allow the same thing to happen to Sakura-san."
"Your way is not the right one," the elf explained, with a sage-like
wisdom that was both firm and sad. "You are little over a century old,
and you still act like a spoiled child. If you do not stop, you will fall
into —"
"I am doing it for Sakura's HAPPINESS," Minoru resolved. He then could
not resist the next comment: "Besides, Father, what would you know about
love? Mother left us."
"ELF OF THE VINES!!!" the father said in a rumble, which caused Minoru
to flinch. "Listen to me for once, before you ruin your forged friendships!
I know how Emerald died, so do not question my knowledge about love!!"
Minoru blinked. His sapphire eyes seemed to turn hollow and dead as
he stared up at his father. "How... she died," he repeated. "Emerald."
"Yes, I know," the older elf continued, his voice growing calmer by
the second. "I used a scrying spell right after that battle, to at least
understand why you left us. It did not give me all the details, but it
was enough. As for your work with the mirror: I am giving you a final warning
to cease those activities, before Sakura finds out."
"You wouldn't dare," Minoru hissed. The nervousness and anger oozed
out of his voice, like dark molasses.
"Oh, no," his father replied with sigh. "I will not tell the child anything.
Instead, you will stop on your own — or she will find out by herself. I
foresee it."
Without another word, the father left. His robe brushed up a swirl of
dust from the floor.
Minoru sat, rooted to his bed. His eyes lingered on the dust, wafting
into a swirl until it settled back on the ground.
The elf tightened his lips. His cerulean eyes turned steel cold. Minoru
had only one way to channel his bitter memories away, and it was simply
too convenient. 'Father has no RIGHT to tell me what to do. I am not a
child anymore; this wristband proves it!'
'Besides,' Minoru reasoned, 'my victim is a lost cause. He's no more
useful than a toy.'
Sakura yawned as she walked through the forest. She was with the party
of Minoru, his father, a healer, and four guards of Frida Village. Naoharu
was among the soldiers.
Sakura latched onto Minoru's sleeve, tired. This walk was boring without
Potamos around. The water-demon had been excluded, as bringing her into
this sacred area was also against village law.
" Sakura-san," the elf mumbled in a low voice. "I know that you are
still weary from yesterday's fiasco, but this is the sacred tree of our
guardian spirit. At least try to appear awake."
"I know," the kunoichi murmured. "It's just so tempting to let my guard
down when I have all these beautiful, strong people around." The girl lifted
up a sweet smile to Minoru. "I feel like a princess!" she giggled.
The elf raised an eyebrow — and poked Sakura in the waist. She yelped.
"Sakura-san, you let your guard down. And you're supposed to be a ninja!"
he teased. "You may know a pressure-point or two, but I know all the areas
of ticklishness." Sakura gave him a mild smack on the back of his head
with her palm. "Hey!" he exclaimed.
Minoru's father gave a smile as he observed the scene.
The group stopped at a large, brown wall. As Sakura looked up, she realized
that it was the trunk of a massive tree. Instinctively, she reached for
the bundled unicorn horn in her cloak.
Potamos sat Indian-style in the grass. She was totally bored.
"You'll catch cold if you sit on the grass without a blanket," one guard
pointed out.
"I'm a water-demon; my body's a little different from yours," Potamos
replied cheerfully.
After a minute, she got up. The girl looked at a tree, and decided to
sprint up the trunk. Once she was in the foliage, she looked around the
landscape, or at least as much as she could see.
She caught sight of some gold hair below. "Mino-chan!" she exclaimed.
Sure enough, the blond elf walked out, with Sakura and the rest of the
group following.
Potamos carefully jumped down the trees, and landed in front of Minoru
and Sakura. "Well?" she asked.
Minoru's face was grim. Sakura looked downcast. As for the elfin guards
— they looked normal.
A look of frustration passed the demon's face. "Oh, no, don't tell me..."
"It worked," Minoru sighed.
A weird pause ensued.
Minoru's face cracked into a grin, and Sakura burst out laughing.
"Frida Village will probably hold a celebration tonight," Minoru's father
said. "And, Water-demon, we'll hold part of it outdoors, so you'll be able
to join us."
Potamos looked stunned for a moment — and then clapped her hands together
in glee. "GET READY TO PARTY!!" she exclaimed.
Minoru reached into his cloak, and pulled out a thin object. He displayed
an energy-collector to Potamos, which was full of a greenish ether. "Look
what else we've got. The Energy Spring of Dryad was not far from the Tree
of Life." The elf tucked it back in his pocket, and then began to walk
away from the group.
"Minoru, will you be attending the ceremony?" Minoru's father asked.
"Only for a sort while," the son answered. "I'm not fond of parties
except as a ritual."
A raven-haired boy crouched down. There was blackness everywhere.
"Sasuke-kun?" a hesitant voice echoed.
Sasuke moaned an incoherent answer in the dark. His voice was full of
pain. Unintelligible. Pitiful.
The boy sat in the corner, trying to comprehend what was going on. It
was pitch dark; he was not able to see anything. The only thing he knew
was that something hurt. It hurt terribly; he could not help but groan.
The feminine voice sounded gentle — so familiar.
Sasuke felt a soft touch on his back. He turned around, and saw Sakura
grip the fabric on the back of his shirt.
That's right. Sakura stopped him from going berserk when his curse first
acted up — only that it was more intimate when she hugged him back then.
Not this lax tug. Why was that? Moreover, why did he notice this shift?
"Sasuke-kun?" she repeated.
The answer was pretty much automatic by now: "Don't bother me."
Sakura smiled wryly, and let go of him. "Sure," she replied, backing
away. The young man was rather surprised, but relieved that she understood
the concept of 'personal space'. Actually, she learned it long ago, especially
after that battle with Gaara...
(( "...Sasuke-kun... thank you. You saved me again that time, when I
was trapped by the sand."
"...No," Sasuke answered.
"Huh?"
"...The one who saved you was Naruto." ))
The girl kept walking away, the pink hair swirling around her neck.
As she was the only source of light around, the darkness began to swallow
the raven-haired boy again. The pain was growing back.
"Um, wait," Sasuke mumbled. He realized that she paid him no heed. "Wait!"
he repeated. He stumbled up, and ran to catch up with her. "Sakura!"
Sakura ran faster. It was as if she wanted to get away from him.
The kunoichi tripped over something. She turned to look at her leg.
A rotten, bony hand grasped around her ankle. A look of horror passed her
features, and she kicked it away.
Sasuke's breath seemed trapped in his throat. A mob of corpses drifted
out the darkness, aiming towards both of them.
The boy snarled, punching and kicking away the undead puppets. He ran
towards Sakura — it was sort of an old habit of his in dreaming. Forget
about strategy and all that. He reached her, grabbing her hand.
At that moment, an incoherent exclamation passed Sakura's lips. Her
brilliant green eyes widened for a moment. The girl coughed out a mouthful
of blood.
A bloody, gnarled hand stuck out of her chest. A corpse was holding
her from behind. Its skull grinned in triumph next to her paling face.
It proceeded to pull her back. Sakura's eyes closed in rest. Her body fell
into the darkness, joining the dead.
The raven-haired boy collapsed onto the cold ground. There was a long
silence. Loneliness, nothingness, emptiness.
Sasuke broke the void with a yell of pure agony. He couldn't do anything:
he was too slow, too weak.
Curling up into a fetal position, the once-proud Uchiha sobbed. He couldn't
cry in real life. But he could in his dreams. How strange.
Maybe it was a good thing that he never remembered dreams when he woke
up.
"You pathetic wretch," a mellow voice laughed.
A sound of shattering echoed — and the dream warped out of existence.
Minoru pulled his hand away from the mirror quickly. His spell was interrupted
by a sharp noise. This was the first time his enchantment broke from an
outside influence. The elf turned around to its source.
Sakura stood at the mouth of the door. Spilled wine, with the remains
of a crystal glass dotting about, lay in a splattered mess at her feet.
On the human girl's face was plastered a look of horror. "Minoru-san..."
she croaked out.
The elf closed his eyes. "Sakura-san... I can explain if you calm down."
"Go ahead, then," Sakura answered in a quavering voice. She first came
into the room to give Minoru some wine from the party, as he did not show
up. He was not exactly the one for social occasions, but Sakura felt inclined
to give him something. But instead of meeting his warm face, she found
him standing in front of a mirror, his hand imbedded in it — the surface
had an image of Sasuke clutching his head, screaming in pain.
"You've been giving Sasuke nightmares," Sakura whispered.
Minoru gave a sad smile. "You understand that much. I presume that Naoharu
told you about the deformity in my elfin sense."
"Deformity, like hell!" Sakura's voice escalated to a scream. "It's
given you an advantage more than anything!! Not only can you sense other
people's feelings, you can reach into the subconscious and TWIST it!"
Minoru bowed his head. "I do not deny it," he answered quietly. Sakura
was right — for the most part. He used his psychic ability to delve into
Sasuke's dreams, yes. "But if only you knew —"
The elf halted mid-sentence: Sakura had walked out the room; he felt
it without even looking.
'I just have to give her some time to cool off,' he decided. 'I'll explain
the full details when she's in a calmer mood.'
How very wrong he was.
"Potamos!"
The water-demon glanced around. "Hiya, Sacchan!" she chirped. Her good
cheer began to fade away as she saw Sakura's pained and angred face. What
alarmed her further was when her pink-haired friend grabbed her hand, and
dragged her out of the festival. "Hey... wait, where are we going? Is there
something special ta' see?"
Sakura pulled the water-demon into an empty corner of the village walls,
and faced her. "Potamos, we have to get out of here," Sakura mumbled.
"But I haven't tasted the punch yet!" Potamos whined.
"I mean that we have to LEAVE, NOW," Sakura urged. "The two of us have
no more business here: the Tree of Life is beginning to heal again, and
we have Dryad's energy. The best time to slip away is when Frida is distracted
with this evening celebration."
"We're ditching the party?" Potamos asked in awe. She squealed, excited
with Sakura's little rebellion. Then she blinked as the words fully sunk
in. "...Wait a minute... The TWO of us?" the water-demon asked.
Sakura wiped the remains of a few tears from her eyes. The kunoichi
then exposed the inside of her cloak to Potamos, revealing several items
she stole from Minoru's room: the map of the Rifts, a plotter, and the
case of energy-collectors. "We don't need Minoru anymore," the kunoichi
stated. "Besides, you're the superior of him when it comes to handling
dark beings."
"Halt!!!" a voice shouted. Sakura and Potamos glanced to the side. A
lone human soldier had his sword drawn at the pair. "Sakura-sama, I will
not allow you to leave this place at night! Especially with that demon!"
Sakura's green eyes creased in fury. She had never felt so angry in
her life. Besides, she herself had some demon-blood. What did he know about
their kind?
In an instant, the young kunoichi pulled out Tennyo. A shot of air flew
at the guard — the force blasted him, armor and all, a good twenty meters
back.
The guard did not even scream when his body slammed against a tree trunk.
"Right. That should take care of him," Sakura huffed. Potamos' yellow
eyes glinted.
Notes:
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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