#ssm15

SasuSaku Month 2015

Week 5: In Another Life Day 29: Superheroes

It’s an eerily quiet night, something he’s not used to. He much prefers the loud noises, the cries for help, all of that help him takes his mind off his own demons. His fists are itching for a fight. He passes a hand through his hair as he looks down the alleyways of Konohagakure from the top of an apartment building.

The past week has been slow, painfully so, and his long nights have been rather boring. He’s inwardly complaining until a loud scream tears him away from his thoughts.

So he does what he does so well, he runs and he listens. In a mere couple of minutes he’s there. He wastes no time in accessing the situation before he’s on them. His fist connects with a face and satisfactions surges through him in waves.

The two attackers are on the floor, bloodied, bruised, and unconscious and in a second he’s bored again.

He turns and is met face to face with a woman, just about his age, green eyes and pink hair interesting enough for any attacker. There is fear in her eyes but also gratitude. “Thank you.” She says, in a voice so relieved it almost takes him off guard, she has no idea she does it for himself.

“Can you stand?” He finds himself asking as he picks up a white doctors coat from the ground, already stained with mud. He turns to see her standing to her feet with much difficulty.

“I thought I was a goner.” She says, a sigh of relief leaving her lips as she slides her back against the concrete wall behind her. Too trusting. “You’re my hero.” She tells him with a large smile as she takes the coat from his hands.

“Tch.” He scoffs, not bothering to correct her. He’s as bad as her attackers, a maniac behind a mask itching to hurt. He walks away without another word and when he’s a good distance away he looks back and there she is still smiling at him.

.    .    .

The next time he encounters her she’s not in danger. He wears no mask, on that occasion he’s just a man who has been drinking a little too much and getting in one too many fights. He spots her in the distance through a glass window in the hospital, she sits beside a crying child.

The child looks pale, his remaining days could probably be counted with a single hand. He watches her as she consoles a crying, dying child with her words and her smiles. Soon the child wipes the tears away and she wraps her arms around him holding the child to her chest in an embrace.

He knows that for that child, that woman was a hero, he knows because once upon a time he needed one.

She had been born with pink hair and green eyes; they said it was because she was the reincarnation of the Goddess of Spring. They named her Haruno Sakura, and people came hundreds of miles to bask in her divine presence. Her parents had been honored when the priests came to take her to be raised at the temple. There the mortal goddess could grow and mature peacefuly, and be protected from those wishing to use her holy power for themselves. The clan intrusted with the temple’s guardianship were called Uchiha.

It had begun due to something as simple as curiosity.  What’s out there?  NASA and other similar agencies began efforts to make contact; various songs, speeches, messages, and other recorded items began to be continually broadcast from the Earth into the vastness of space.  It was a half-hearted attempt, but an attempt non-the-less; time passed and the program was forgotten.  Three-hundred-forty-two years nine months, and twenty-eight days later they arrived.

The sky burned oceans evaporated and cities fell.  It took them less than a day to conquer the Earth, and diminish the human population by seven eighths.  Survivors found themselves slaves – forced to toil endlessly striping their world of any and every conceivable resource for their new overlords.  Once Earth had no more to offer the human slaves were left behind to slowly die with their once beautiful planet.  The knowledge of the Earth’s decay weighed heavy, and the survivors fell into a state of chaos never before conceived.

Two factions were quick to emerge as powerhouses amongst the constant skirmishes over what little remained capable of supporting life – The Senju and the Uchiha.  Usual small settlements were formed for a few different families to support one another in their struggle for continual life, but the Uchiha worked alone; the survivors of the family being (somehow) numerous (A man, his wife, their young and toddler sons, his young nephew, his cousin, and his grandfather) , and strong enough for outside aide to be considered unnecessary.  The Senju on the other had were a small family consisting of three survivors (a grandfather, his brother, and his granddaughter) that had arisen to lead three other families; the Uzumaki (two toddler cousins), the Sarutobi (a widowed wife, her new-born daughter, and her husband’s infant nephew), and a single toddler Haruno. The four Uchiha adults and four Senju adults were quick to clash, neither faction willing to surrender any resource that could be used to provide nourishment or care for them or the children under their care.

Years passed, resources grew even scarcer, and the children grew.  Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke were both twelve the first time they met; both had been sent out to collect sustenance from a small apple tree that had miraculously born fruit neither faction believed the task to require more than a single person, and thought the child safe (as safe as a child living upon the decimated Earth could be) due to the fact that tree in question was in a very secluded area that was a bit difficult to get to.  Sakura was the first to arrive, and as she carefully began placing the green fruit into a borrowed knapsack Sasuke found himself reaching his destination.  For half a moment the boy found himself startled at the sight of long pink hair, before the realization that another person was taking the food his brother had entrusted him to gather.  A small knife was pressed to the girl’s throat before she even realized she was no longer alone.

“Leave the apples and I won’t have to hurt you.”  He could feel the softness of her hair, as the breeze carried it to brush against his skin.

Sakura was taken by surprise to say the least, but she was the adopted daughter of Senju Tsunade, and she refused to bring shame to the elder woman’s teachings. “I was here first, if anyone should be leavening it should be the guy trying to steal apples that have obviously already been claimed!”  A hard jab of her elbow and she was free, a single small scratch upon her neck from the knife.  Onyx clashed with emerald, both children mildly shocked over the exotic appearance of the other.

“Those apples are for the Uchiha!  You, whoever you are, have no right to claim them.”

“Just because you want something doesn’t make it off limits to others.  You want them, but they are in my possession.  The only person with a right to them right now is me!”  As she spoke Sakura kicked up some dirt into the boy’s face, while he jumped back she deftly snagged her full basket into her arms and began to run.  Unfortunately the boy was agile and she was swiftly tackled to the ground.  “You jerk!”

“I already told you that the apples were for the Uchiha!”  Sasuke straddled her and pined her flailing arms down.

“And if you would look at the damn tree you’d see that it’s full of more!”

A quick glance to the side revealed the tree in an angle he had been unable to see upon first approach – an angle that showed dozens of apples hanging from the branches.  Black and green eyes met again, and Sasuke had the decency to blush.

“D.C!”  Sasuke Growled.

“Marvel!”  Sakura hissed.

“How the hell is Marvel better than D.C!  Batman, Superman, the freaking Justice League!”  He scoffed.

“Keep your D.C shit we have the Hulk, X-men, and the Avengers!”  She sneered.

“Wonderwoman is totally hotter than Black Widow could ever be.”

“Steve, hot-as-all-hell, Rogers, and that’s without needing to be in a fuckin’ bathing-suit like your damned Amazon princess!”

The hour’s long debate between the raven-haired boy and pink-haired girl had reached the point in which the two found themselves millimeters apart as they screamed in the other’s face.  Emerald eyes clashed with onyx, and breaths were harsh.  “Do you want to make out as badly as I do right now?”

“Hell-fuckin’-yeah!”  The girl replied before the argument became something decidedly different.  They parted for air breafly, “I swear if you’re still thinking about Wonderwoman...”

“Please, comic book art has nothing on you Sakura.”

The Uchiha mansion was over a century old, and contained many priceless artifacts; it wasn’t exactly the best place for a high school party to be thrown, but Sasuke was determined to get Haruno Sakura into his home by any means necessary.  Everyone in town knew that the pink-haired overachieving nationally rated boxing captain was itching for a good party to celebrate her hard won championship, so when the rumors began about Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto going out of town for the weekend, and Itachi over-nighting at his lab partner’s house to study for an upcoming final at his university she was actually rather excited.  Sure she and Sasuke hadn’t really spoken to one another since he had transferred to Konoha High’s rival school Oto Academy to champion their Kendo team, but that was more due to Sasuke’s intense new training regime under Coach Orochimaru than Sakura actively avoiding him (although she had turned down several phone calls to visit with her former classmate – it wasn’t like she was afraid he’d realize how much his departure from their school had depressed her, she really missed seeing him every weekday in classes). Besides, Sakura figured that with a house full of partying teens it was very unlikely that she and Sasuke would come face to face with each other.  If the girl had known that the entire reason for the party was so that the young Uchiha could lure him to his home, and subsequently get her alone for a nice long chat, she might have reconsidered.

Sasuke knew Sakura had every right to be upset with him; he had after all abandoned her and his other friends from Konoha in favor of joining up with a school that had cheated (literally, several investigations were pending) them out of more than a few championship title.  The Uchiha however, needed the girl in his life; a startling realization had occurred to the boy upon her first declined phone call – she wasn’t just his friend, she was the girl he liked.  He missed her, and no matter how much he could get his best friend, Naruto, to keep him updated on Sakura’s activities, he wanted to bask in her presence once again.  It was for those reasons that Sasuke became determined to get her to his home so that they could have a heart-to-heart, even if his home was destroyed and his parents killed him upon their return.  When the night of the party arrived the boy ignored his guests (and the destruction they wrought) in favor of keeping his eyes peeled for shining pink hair and flashing emerald eyes.

When his target finally entered his sights Sasuke was quick to take firm hold of her hand and drag her into one of the unused upstairs bedrooms.  “What the hell Sasuke-kun!?”

“We need to talk.”

“You’re damn right we do, what are you thinking dragging me around!”  The pritty green eyes he liked so much were narrowed in anger.

Sasuke stood to his full height and met her gaze with his own dark orbs, “Stop avoiding me Sakura.”

“I’m not av-“

“Bullshit!  You aren’t returning my calls, and you’ve stopped coming over to hang out.”  He would have continued if the door to the room didn’t begin opening at that moment.  A reasonable rational boy would have simply asked that whoever was entering find another room to do whatever it was they wanted to do, but the strain of going so long without the pretty little woman at his side and the anger he felt over her avoidance of him shot his rationality to hell.  He was once more pulling Sakura behind him before the door was a quarter open – this time into the antique wardrobe.

“I’m not about to make out with you while Sai and Ino out there getting it on...”

“I didn’t pull you in here to make out Sakura.”

“Damn, and here I thought I was dreaming.”

“What?”

“Errr...  Nothing?”

Sasuke blinked through the dark at the girl before shrugging, “You dream about making out with me?”

Her blush was so bright Sakura was certain that he could see it in the dark, “I plead the fifth...”

The sons and daughters of the Uchiha had been schooled at Konoha Academy for seven generations – their family was in fact counted amongst the founders of that prestigious school.  One of the academy dormitories (the nicest of them no less) even bore the family’s red and white crest.  It was only natural (so it seemed) that those bearing the name Uchiha be awarded prominent positions above their fellow students and peers, so it was of no surprise that as soon as one Uchiha Itachi graduated the academy at the age of 18 his younger brother, Sasuke, was elected student body president at the tender age of 13 (the academy encompassed years six through twelve).  The older students were not particularly fond of one of their juniors holding that coveted position, but he was an Uchiha – and despite his age he wielded his authority nearly as greatly as Itachi (the most celebrated student body president within the last two decades) once had.  Young Sasuke had always been quite a popular presence due to his phenomenal grades, dark looks, and intense personality, so it was little wonder that after becoming president he was the most sought after male within the academy.

He ignored his female admirers for the most part – far more concerned with his own grades and new responsibilities to the school, but there did occur some occasions in which the young Uchiha needed to devote some attention to his classmates of the opposite sex.  One such occasion was when one Uzumaki Karin refused to vacate his personal space for the better part of a day; if Sasuke had not threatened the red-haired young lady’s cousin, Uzumaki Naruto, with the closure of the school’s popular ramen stand the president would have been forced to lay his hands on the girl in a less than gentle manner to remove her from his presence.  Luckily Naruto was more than willing to stop cackling at the situation long enough to yank his family member away and drag her off to her classes once the threat had been given.  Before supper that evening Sasuke had given Karin a call in which she received a firm lecture in regards to proper behavior, boundaries, and the necessity of attending her scheduled classes instead of invading the student council room during an emergency meeting to discuss a broken water heater in one of the dorms.  The lecture did nothing to dissipate the Uzumaki girl’s infatuation with him, but she did adopt a more respectful behavior towards him; although they would never become friends – let alone lovers – Sasuke was capable of tolerating her afterwards, and even gave her a position as a part of the disciplinary comity in recognition of her superb ability to ‘sense’ when students were in places they shouldn’t be – she caught more boys and girls skipping classes or trying to sneak around after hours than any other D.C. member (earning the both affectionate and begrudging nickname ‘warden’).

Another incident in which Sasuke’s hand was forced in regards to the young ladies of Konoha Academy was when a group of delinquents from a nearby public school snuck onto the grounds and began harassing the students.  Apparently the group had become enraged with the Academy after Sasuke had sent a note to their student council requesting that the other school’s students cease entering the property in order to visit the dining hall and buy food that was meant for academy attendees only.  The delinquents had intended to storm into the student council room where Sasuke was attempting to convince his best friend (and self-appointed ‘Fun President’), Naruto, to ‘wake the hell up and participate in the meeting, damn it’; when the group of intruders had found themselves unable to locate the student council room they had settled instead on attacking – verbally and otherwise – anyone they could hoping to convince them to lead them where they wanted to go.  One Haruno Sakura had been running an errand for the council when the delinquents spied her. When their orders to take them to the ‘fucking son of a bitch president’ failed to faze the young woman the group had began to make good on their threats.

Several of Sakura’s friends had attempted to help the pink-haired girl, but failed to distract or deter the group enough for her to make an escape. The young Uchiha, who had grown impatient with both his blond best friend’s refusal to wake up and waiting for the documents Sakura had been sent out to collect had by this time vacated the student council room in an attempt to expedite things.  When he heard a loud commotion it was only natural that he, as the student council president, head for it to put an end to it; he had never expected the sight that greeted him as he rounded a corner.  A few of his class mates were spread about a small court yard in various states of injury while a group of unknown intruders were viciously beating the very girl he had been looking for.  A good amount of Sakura’s lovely hair that had reached down to the small of her back had been chopped away, her uniform was torn and dirtied, and every bit of skin visible was either bruised or bleeding.

Uchiha Sasuke had never before been enraged so greatly as he was in that moment; not even a the amount of time between heartbeats passed before he was amidst the group of delinquents separating them from Sakura by any means necessary.  He was in the middle of snapping the arms of one of the boys when thin trembling arms wrapped around his middle, and a soft voice pleaded with him to stop.  Sasuke had not even realized what he had been doing up until that point – his mind was so filled with the sight of Sakura’s injured face that he had been unaware of everything.  “Please Sasuke-kun you’ll get in trouble if you continue!  Please let’s just get a teacher!”  The student council president accompanied his female class mate to the school’s infirmary and remained with her until the attending nurse deemed a trip to the hospital unwarranted.

Rating: T (for Kakashi’s potty mouth)

Summary: Kakashi watches his brats mature.

He was too fond of the little brats already. They’d barely even been a full-fledged team for a month, and already he knew he’d die for those runts. It was something about the way they treated each other. The love in their eyes. Especially the pink-haired one. She loved both of her idiot team-mates unconditionally. Kakashi sighed and turned a page in his book. Maybe one day they’d understand her love for them. One as a brother, the other a lover.