Shout out to :
Dandilionx for the amazing cover, for always commenting and voting. You are the best!
Kenzielumbra for always commenting! Your comments are so motivational!
Hungryposting for always inspiring me to write!
the_pegasisters_18 for joining the seven year ride with us. :D
and to everyone that has voted & added the story to their library! Thanks so much :)
italics = memories
07. Forget Me Not
You were taking a stroll through the temple after HOURS of meditation. Of course, clearing your mind wasn't an easy task. Every now and then your mind would wander into a beautiful field of memories. Memories of Neji, Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, hell you even had memories of Sasuke Uchiha.
"WOW! It's Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed with eyes of hearts as the golden boy entered the small classroom. He closed his eyes and lets out a small tsk. Not again, Sasuke thought.
"He's so cute!" Ino squealed loudly, having a total fan girl moment with every other girl in the classroom.
You glanced from Sakura to Ino. They were both equally pretty girls in your opinion. Ino's blonde locks was long and luscious. She obviously took good care of her hair. Sakura's hair was breath taking and it reminded you of the annual cherry blossom festival in Konoha. Not to mention their eyes. Not every kunoichi in Konoha had green or blue eyes.
"SHUT UP INO-PIG HE'S MINE!" Sakura barked aggressively at her rival, slamming her huge forehead into Ino's. They were always competing for Sasuke and you wondered who Sasuke would end up with in the long run.
Sakura and Ino were your friends. Sure, Sakura could be a know-it-all and Ino could be materialistic but they weren't bad people. They were nice to you when they weren't arguing over the Uchiha.
You only wished they were nicer to Naruto.
You smiled, wanting to join in on the fun," wow! It's Sasuke Uchiha!" you agreed, pretending to fan girl over Sasuke. Your eyes began to twinkle as you stared at him in amazement.
"SHUT UP DOOKIE!" Ino and Sakura turned to shout at you in unison.There were enough girls cat fighting over Sasuke, they didn't need another competitor!
"But he IS cute," you gestured at the boy with the raven black hair and onyx shaded eyes. There was no denying it, Sasuke was good looking. He had won the lottery in the sexy genes department. His handsomeness was both a blessing and a curse. He attracted too many unwanted attention from crazy girls.
"Keep your paws to yourself Dookie!" Ino snorted at you whilst folding her arms across her chest," men only want attractive girls such as myself!"
But you had already race to take the empty seat beside Sasuke. He was resting his chin in the palm of his hand, trying to ignore all the lovey dovey voices ringing through the room that morning.
"Hey Sasuke!" you exclaimed, giving him your toothy grin," I'm [name]!"
"Whatever loser," he muttered his usually catch phrase. He rolled his eyes, he knew your name, you were in his class after all. Did you think he was an idiot?
"I have a secret I want to confess to you," you whispered loud enough for all of your girl friends to hear. They were biting their nails nervously and glaring daggers into your back. You knew you had their attention.
"You'd better not confess to Sasuke!" You heard Ino threaten you below her voice.
"Hn?" Sasuke's antisocial self asked, pretending to be uninterested in this so called 'secret'. But he was a bit intrigued. No one ever spilled their secrets to him before. Not even his own fan girls.
"I actually have..." you shuffled closer and blushed slightly as you thought of Neji," a boyfriend."
"YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs for the whole entire academy to hear," BEFORE ME?!? THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US ABOUT HIM?" Ino grabbed your shoulders, shaking you violently," WHO IS THIS GUY? IS HE HOT?"
"HE'S SUPER HOT! Like HOTTER THAN THE SUN HOT!" you grinned, noticing Hinata laughing behind her hand and then you winked at her. Neji is so hot.
You would purse your lips together, trying to contain your chuckling in the quiet room. Kin was oblivious to your laughing, he was too lost in his own thoughts to notice (literally). He never stirred during his meditation. It's like his soul had left his body and he had became a rock. he would not wake up even if you were banging pots and pans in his face.
You paused, admiring the forest view from the windows when you heard footsteps rushing at you from behind. You whirled around just in time to dodge a fist flying past you. You grabbed the girl by her arm and slammed her into the stone wall.
"What the hell?!" you squeaked at the girl whose hair was as blue as sapphire. From her appearance she was no older than you were. The girl adorned a matching red shirt and pants like you so you figured she was also a student at the temple.
She glowered at you in hostility, struggling against your hold on her," what are you doing here?!"
You blinked, dumbfounded by the question,"well I was just staring out the window until you tried to kill me."
"I mean at the temple! Why are you here? You shouldn't be here!" she was directing all of her anger at you. She was really mad but you didn't have a clue what you had done to anger her," and I wasn't trying to kill you!"
"Training," you tried to answer, loosening your grip on her.
"Did they tell you?" she yelled, bringing her face close to yours," did they tell you everything?!"
"Tell me what?"
She gritted her teeth together, her eyes flinching in fury," they didn't tell you. If they did, you wouldn't be here!"
"What are they suppose to tell me!?"
"There's nothing you can do now," she pushed you out of her way and you stumbled back by the force," it's too late!"
She looked at you once more before rushing away, tears falling from her sun-kissed face. You watched her, attempting to run after her when a had squeezed your shoulder. You halted, recognizing the presence.
"Kin," you breathed," what the hell was she talking about?"
A shadow fell over Kin's face. You had never seen such a look...a look of doom. Kin whispered," fire is a symbol of destruction."
Destruction?
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?"
His emerald eyes shifted to the floor below and he sighed, looking paler than usual.
"I'll tell you when the time comes."
You shook his hand roughly away from your shoulder and backed away in confusion and rage. That was such a vague response, even vaguer than Neji's replies. How could Kin bring you here and not tell you whatever he was suppose to tell you? What the hell did destruction have to do with this place? And who was that girl?
The only way to know was to run after her. So you turned sharply on your toes and dashed in the direction she had vanished.
It wasn't hard to find her. She was sobbing loudly in a janitor's closet, filled with buckets, mops, and other items used for sanitation. You poked her head and she sat up abruptly.
"What do you want?!"the girl screamed, wiping her eyes rapidly with the back of her hand.
Instantly, you sympathized with her. It was obvious she wasn't mad at you, she was actually mad at the monks,"I want to help you."
"THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO," she spat.
"You're right...but I can always try," you responded tenderly, walking into the closet and shutting the door behind you. The floor was soaked with water spilling from a yellow bucket but you sat down beside her nonetheless.
The girl blinked, she'd never met anyone who was willing to sit at the bottom of a janitor's closet with her nor has she ever met anyone who wanted to help her.
"So, what's your name?" you asked, hoping you could lighten up the mood a bit.
She sniffled," Scorpio."
"Why don't you tell me about yourself?"
"There's nothing to tell, you'll forget about me anyways."
You smiled, tilting your head to the side meaningfully, "I don't forget my friends."
Scorpio trained her eyes on you with a deep sadness resting at the pit of her lavender iris," I'd rather hear about you."
You grinned, nodding your head ecstatically and spitting out the first thing that came to mind,"I have a boyfriend!"
"Really?" she responded in awe. Scorpio has never had a boyfriend but she wished she did. She wanted someone to tell share all her secrets with, to hug and cuddle with, to cry and laugh with.
"Well he doesn't know he's my boyfriend yet but, one day!"
She chuckled softly, that was the strangest thing she has ever heard," do you think he...feels the same way about you?"
"I think he does...but at the same time I hope he doesn't," you said it so quietly Scorpio almost didn't catch the sentence. To tell Neji about your condition, about your expiration date, it would be too much for him. It would solidify his belief of destiny and you didn't want that. You didn't want the already broken Neji to suddenly shatter and disperse.
He had already lost someone precious to him.
And for him to be in love with someone who was slowly dying...it was truly a tragedy.
Scorpio could sense the internal struggle wafting from your body and wondered if it was too personal to intrude on your thoughts.
Gulping, she dared herself to ask," why?"
You opened your mouth to reply but instead, you let out a terrifying scream of agony, your hands flew to grab your head as you collapsed to the ground, writing and screeching in pain. The pain, like a knife stabbing you multiple times in the back of your skull. One after another after another. You couldn't hear anything, you couldn't hear Scorpio as she pleaded for help. You couldn't hear your thoughts. Couldn't hear footsteps echoing against the floor.
"Sasuke!" you yelled. You were running after Sasuke after school. He had been trying to get away from you but you had managed to catch up to him.
Sasuke sighed, looking more or less annoyed by your appearance," what is it?"
"I came here to tell you another secret," you said, catching up to the duckbutt and falling into steps with him. He arched an eyebrow at you.
"Is it another pathetic one?" he asked, rolling his eyes. He was taking the long road home so there was no one else in sight. It was the perfect time to tell him.
"No, the secret is..." you leaned in and murmured into his ear,"I'm dying."
Sasuke suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. One glimpse at you and he knew you were being serious.
"You're....?" he couldn't even finish the sentence. Couldn't even say the word," why are you telling me this? Did you think it'll make me go easy on you during tomorrow's spar?"
"No," you smiled, shaking your head," it's because I want you to take me seriously. To fight me as a fellow ninja and not as your fellow classmate."
For once, since his family's assassination, Sasuke grinned," then I won't be holding back tomorrow."
"And I'll be looking forward to it."
You could barely pry your eyes open but you managed to see Scorpio sitting beside you. You were in your room on your futon and she was on the floor. She was holding a bunch of tiny blue flowers with long green stems. You recognized them as Forget-Me-Not.
Tears trickled down her puffy cheeks as she stuck them one by one into a clear vase, unaware that you were awake.
"Everything comes with a price," she muttered darkly," it's not fair. It's not fair at all [name]. They didn't tell you...that by entering the Fire Temple, you will be placed under it's curse. The curse...everybody that knows you, everyone that has met you, everyone that loves you...their memories of you will be erased when you die... that is the price we pay...."
Forget-Me-Not: A flower that was the symbol of true love, but they were also a symbol of something just as important as love. It was a symbol of remembrance.
"[name] I will miss you. I will miss you even when I forget you."
Perhaps, you thought as sleep gradually over took your body, perhaps forgetting you was for the best.
---
Sorry for any mistakes...I will revise and edit when I finish the book >:)
" The choice was once
your choosing,
before loosing
became my lost.
I was there in
your forgetting-
until I was forgot."