Thursday, September 09, 2004
Opens Your Heart
Prologue
I can't help but wince as the full force of my weight comes down on my injured ankle. One thing is sure: I certainly managed to do a number on myself last night. Physically I'm not in very bad shape - a sprained ankle, broken wrist, gashed shoulder, and what feels suspiciously like a cracked rib, in addition to the usual scrapes and bruises - but I'm impossibly exhausted. My skin is raw, as though someone just got finished rubbing sandpaper over it. I can hardly keep my eyes focused.
But, I say inwardly as my bleary gaze travels over the street, I'm still a lot better off than most of the other villagers are. All I lost last night was chakra and some blood. They...they lost brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, sons, daughters...everything. It pains me immeasurably to see a genin team - or rather, what's left of it - weeping over their fallen comrade's fresh grave.
I look discreetly away and blink furiously. It doesn't help much, but at least I'm not crying outright. A brief flash of fury rises in my throat, directed at the Hokage - how could he opssibly be so cruel as to send new, inexperienced genin into battle?! - but the feeling dies almost instantly as I remember that he had no choice. The attack last night was rivalled in bloodiness and anguish only by the one three and a half years ago, when the former Hokage's young daughter was among the many slain.
I shake my head to clear it. No point in dwelling on that now, I tell myself sternly. Just you get to the Hokage and find out where to go help. Ignoring the pain in my foot, I hasten onward.
I don't get far.
Long-trained instincts tell me exactly when the street goes silent, and I stop in my tracks, ears pricked for danger. It takes me a moment to realize what the pale, tear-streaked faces are staring at. Even I have to make an effort not to gasp.
The road I am standing on intersects another larger road, which leads by the village's sole ramen shop in one direction and the Ninja Academy in the other. To my left - towards the ramen shop - stands a tall slim man with hair the color of midnight. his dark slacks and t-shirt are rumpled; there's a rip across his side, and I think the discoloured blot beneath it is actually a bloodstain. Fresh, if I'm not mistaken. His eyes are locked on something far past me.
I follow his gaze and find myself staring at Konohagure's one and only Lady Sakura. her uniform is also rather the worse for wear, which surprises me - Lady Sakura is always meticulous about her appearance in public. But what really floors me is that her shoulders are stiffened in a singularly instinctive defensive posture. I have never seen her show that much surprise.
Even the wind has hushed now. My heartbeat - somewhat irregular now that I know Lady Sakura is so close - rings far too loud in my ears, and I wonder that she can't hear it. It is as though time has all but stopped. I think if someone pulled out a kunai right now, they could slice out a piece of the air and stuff it into their pocket.
I bring my attention back to the left just in time to see the man's lips quirk in something that could almost have been a smile. Then the moment is broken as both he and Lady Sakura continue their separate ways with steady, measured treads. The rose-haired ninja ducks around the corner and nearly collapses against the wall; it is only now that I realize her emerald eyes are swimming in tears.
"Sakura," I murmur, stepping toward her. She looks up, but it is obvious that she does not see me. Her legs do not seem to be working properly, and I blink as she stumbles into my arms.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Chapter One
Uchiha Sasuke took three long deep breaths and released each more slowly than the previous, willing his heartbeat to slow to normal. His hands clenched as though they embraced the well-worn handles of his kunai.
"Go easy there, son," the grey-haired nurse chuckled. "You're not going into battle."
"No. If I was, I wouldn't be this terrified." His nearly emotionless tone was negated by the wry smile that played across his face.
The nurse struggled to suppress a loud guffaw. When he'd finally regained control of his laughter, he said, "Ah, but just look at it this way. If you've survived this long, then you've already faced the worst of it. After this you can always call a baby-sitter."
"True..."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Konohagure Hospital was no different than any other hospital Sasuke had ever seen. The chairs were the same hard plastic; the air was still ten degrees below zero; the walls were the same flat white. And in the maternity ward, even the sounds were identical. The young man winced as another agonized scream ripped through the air. It sounded as though another unsuspecting husband was recieving the same treatment he'd been given.
The door nearest him swung open, and the elderly nurse stepped out. He looked a little haggard, but still managed to smile reassuringly at Sasuke as he said, "I think your wife will see you now."
Not even eleven years as a top-level juunin could keep the spark of fear entirely out of his eyes.
Sakura gave him a wan grin when he entered, and he relaxed a bit. It looked like the nurse had drugged her. He tried not to glance at the metal sidebar that was now bent nearly in two and discarded on the floor. As much as he loved her, his wife truly did scare him sometimes.
Fortunately, it was an easy birth, and only a few hours later they were the proud parents of a new baby girl.
"So, what are you going to call her?" the nurse asked. He was letting the higher-level professionals run the last round of tests in the background and devoting his full attention to taking snapshots of the infant in her father's arms.
Sasuke blinked. Come to think of that, what were they going to call her? They'd always assumed it would be a boy, so they hadn't settled on any female names beforehand.
"Naruta," Sakura suggested.
Sasuke shook his head negatively. "Sakura, that's...too close. You know I have problems with that."
"Something completely different, then?"
"Well..."
The nurse cocked his head to the side. "You're naming her after that demon Naruto?"
Sasuke's face went stony. His fingers twitched as he fought to keep them away frmo the pouch at his side, where he habitually kept his shuriken.
"Narika," Sakura said quickly, attempting to dispell the tension before her husband turned murderous. "What about Narika?"
With visible effort, Sasuke turned his back on the cowering nurse and forced a smile. "Yes. Narika."
It took two hours, three pills and a long hot shower for Uchiha Sasuke to calm down that evening.
[To Be Continued...maybe]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[A/N] ...yeah. Randomly inspired semi-songfic that I came up with...oh, I don't know, four months ago now? The song, by the way, is "Opens Your Heart" by The Billys. You can look it up, or e-mail me and I'll send you the lyrics. maybe I'll post 'em here, who knows.
Don't expect this to move real fast. (A) I haven't got the time to really sit down and write it, and (B) I really don't have the inspiration right now. I just wanted to get what I already have written down up and posted somewhere, so I don't lose it again *sweatdrop* More coming as it gets written...
Random Quote:
Life's greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.
- Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), Les Miserables, 1862
