miyukihoshi:

The Cherry Blossom Dream

For @snowrabbit2018

– Sorry, but I don’t think I could write some smut but I hope this one makes up for it. Keep safe and dry dear, mabuhay ang mga waterproof!

@laine-o

– Hoping that you’d write another fic because you don’t just draw well – writing may be something you would enjoy too because I definitely enjoyed that fic you posted.

* Entry for sasusaku Month 2018, Day 23 – New Dream

** Brace yourselves for a mental image of a singing and dancing Sasuke. (Happy Birthday! More babies please?)

*** I do not own Naruto and its characters.

This is the story of how I died.

Don’t worry, this is actually a very fun story and the truth is, it isn’t even mine.

This is the story of a girl named Sakura and it starts with the sun..

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Kami, I don’t know why I ever climbed that tower.

sigh

That stupid dog Akamaru acting like a royal horse had me running, stumbling and falling. All I wanted was to lose those two ruffians so I could live my dream. A dream that will only come true once I’ve managed to sell the crown.

Who knew that deep within the forest, lies a tower with a well hidden secret?

I’m sure you never knew. Because if you did, you might have known about it. You knowing about it would mean that I may not have been the one telling this story.

After getting hit by something and losing consciousness, I found myself wrapped (?), tied (?), surrounded (?), by a lot of hair. When I say a lot, I’m saying several feet of hair that should not have been possible. That’s not all! The hair I’m talking about was pink. Not just your regular pink, but bubblegum pink! I mean, have you ever met someone with a bubblegum pink hair?

I don’t think so.

To get back my satchel, I agreed to take her to see the lanterns. But she doesn’t know that I am not gonna do it. Seeing the floating lanterns would mean that we have to get close to the castle and I’m telling you, the castle and I are not exactly friendly with each other.

Hence, my current predicament.

With almost all the menacing ruffians surrounding me while hanging on some coat hook, Pinkie, I decided to call her, captured their attention that got one of them singing about his dream:

“ I’m malicious, mean and scary

My sneer could curdle dairy

And violence-wise, my hands are not the cleanest

But despite my evil look

And my temper and my hook

I’ve always yearned to be a concert pianist”

The song went on with someone else’s dream being told until I think, almost everyone’s turn was finished.

“Sai would like to quit and be a florist

Yamato does interior design

Shino is into mime, Choji’s cupcakes are sublime

Neji knits, Kiba sews

Kankuro does little puppet shows

And Gaara collects ceramic unicorns…”

Naruto, the one singing and playing the piano, with a hook instead of a hand, then turns to me, “What about you?”.

“I’m sorry, me?” Does this usuratonkachi mean me? The pretty boy those palace guards can’t get the nose right on those posters?

“What’s your dream?“, said another thug.

No way. “No, no, no. Sorry boys, I don’t sing.”

Several swords threaten to harm my smoldering, onyx eyes made me decide to go for it. Standing on top of the bar, doing a tap dance, I sang:

“I have dreams, like you, no, really

Just much less touchy-feely

They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny

On an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone

Surrounded by enormous piles of money”

Ahhh.. My dream! Yes! The crown which I can only retrieve once I take Pinkie to see the lanterns is the key to success. Much to my relief, they continued singing, chanting about dreams. All thanks to her charm. Wait… No, no, no. I do not find her charming. She’s underdressed, a little bit clumpsy, she’s got pink hair and, her eyes are green, jade ones filled with wonder, eyes that can see right through the soul. *ehem*

We were interrupted by the doors opening so loud that I took us into hiding behind the bar. I heard the guard captain Kakashi yelling “Where’s Senju? Where is he?! I know he’s in here somewhere. Find him and turn this place upside down if you have to!”.

Really, now is not the time to get caught. I haven’t lived my dream yet! And what about Pinkie? Her mother Kaguya will kill me before the guards do if she finds out I was the one who got the looooong haired girl out from that tower. Yikes!

Naruto then flips a switch, opening a trap door to a secret passage. “Go, live your dream.”

Grateful for letting us escape, I thanked him. “I will.”.

“Not you,” he replied, “Your dream stinks. I was talking to her.”

Shame. To think I thought I’ve warmed up to him after all those singing and dancing.

Now, did I tell you what kind of girl Sakura is? Nope? Well, she is kind and sweet. Right after thanking Naruto for everything, she kissed the thug on his cheeks.

*****

Entering the tunnel was a bad idea. We were chased by the guards and those thugs Orochimaru and Kabuto. Almost drowning and dying, her voice broke and her eyes were moist with something else – tears. “This is all my fault. She was right. I never should have done this.” She started to sob which I found nearly heartbreaking. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry Senju…”

Almost drowning and dying, I decided it wasn’t a bad idea to tell her who I really am. Senju Tobirama? No, that wasn’t my real name. “Sasuke.”

Her puzzled face urged me to go on. “My real name is Uchiha Sasuke. Someone might as well know. ”.

“Hmmm.. I have magic hair that glows when I sing.”

“What?” From sobbing, she then had that look in her eyes that told me she might be delirious. She suddenly became excited. “I have magic hair that glows when I sing!”

The thing when you’re about to face death, your life flashes before you. At times you panic, desperate to fight for your life. There are times too, when you start blabbing total nonsense like this pinkette here. In her case, she chose to sing, just like how she sang her heart out when several blood thirsty thugs were about to poke me with their swords.

“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..”

The dark tunnel turned bright when her pink hair glowed. This must be a dream! Maybe I haven’t gone with those two snaky, sneaky thugs to steal the crown. Yeah, that must be it! Maybe this was just a premonition of some sort telling me not to set foot on that tower.

*

Her pink glowing hair had another story to tell.

It appears that Sakura’s hair can heal wounds too.

She wrapped my wounded hand with her hair and sang a special song and voila! My hand looked like I have never gotten that wound in the first place. It didn’t even leave a scar! She told me not to freak out but who does not freak out with a pink glowing, magically healing hair?

Two things played inside my head at that moment.

She said that because her hair had some magical powers, people tried to cut it and wanted it for themselves that’s why her mother kept her in that tower to protect her gift. No wonder the idea of getting out to see the lanterns excited and made her sad at the same time. Staying meant she can never live her dream, leaving meant she’ll break her mother’s heart.

I felt bad about her situation. Compared to the grandiose that was my own dream, hers was not too much to ask for. Sure, she needs protection because her hair looked like it had a neon sign saying “odd”, but seeing those lanterns intended for the lost princess seemed like it meant the world to her. What would I not give to see happiness reflected on those beautiful emerald eyes?

It was settled right there and then.

No matter what it takes, I will help her dream come true.

Oh, she said she liked the name Uchiha Sasuke better than Senju Tobirama.

Awkward, I guess? I left her alone so I could “gather more wood for the fire”. When I came back, she had that gloomy look in her eyes and it bothered me, a lot. “Hey, uh… can I ask you something? Is there any chance that I’m gonna get super strength in my hand because I’m not gonna lie. That would be stupendous.”

It may not have worked so I may have to say something stupid in order to change that. “Hey, are you all right?”

“Oh! Sorry, yes. Just, errm, lost in thought, I guess.”

“I mean because here’s the thing. Superhuman good looks, I’ve always had them–born with it, but superhuman strength? Can you imagine the possibilities of this…?

*

With Akamaru falling for her charms, we managed to enter the gates of Konohagakure undetected. The entire kingdom prepared for the day’s festivities, the birthday of the lost princess. Someone I know bumped people and animals because her hair was stuck. Good thing there were little girls who were braiding each other’s hairs. With my brilliant mind never running out of ideas, I whistled to attract their attention and pointed out Pinkie, whose hair they happily braided and adorned with flowers.

I knew it’s the enemy territory. The danger of me getting caught was present with all the palace guards roaming the area. But my desire to see a certain someone happy was too strong. For the first time in my life, I wanted to do something that was not for myself and my heart seemed to beat faster than it should. There was something in her, the magic she wields perhaps, that got me thinking twice about my priorities in life and the truth was, she was becoming a part of it.

It was almost dark when the people were asked to proceed to the boats. While she was busy painting the streets, I managed to rent a gondola that would take us to view the lanterns. We left Akamaru behind with a bag of apples for him, a way to thank him for helping me let Sakura enjoy today. It was her birthday afterall.

“Where are we going?”

“Well, the best day of your life, I figured you should have a decent seat.”

She gave me a smile that made my heart skip a beat. If she was having the time of her life now, I on the otherhand, am living to see that smile.

The sea was so still you’d think it also yearns to find the lost princess. Everything went silent as all the men and women waited for the first lantern to light up the sky. It has been 18 years and yet, the princess is still a lost one. What should have been a celebration turned into a heartbreaking moment when she was taken away. Who did it, no one knew. Until this day, every soul hoped that she would one day, find her way home.

“Hmm.”

Sakura was once again lost in thought. “You okay?”

“I’m terrified.”

“Why?” My onyx eyes sought hers, hoping to find the answer.

“I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it’s not everything I dreamed it would be?”

“It will be.”

I tried my best to reassure her. To let her know that it’ll be okay. She took a deep breath and seemed to ponder, “And what if it is? What do I do then?”

“Well, that’s the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.”

In my case, I’ve found mine – her.