RAG DOLL SAKURA
_
Lucy in the sky
I'm whisky frisky
Lady Jane, Marry Jane
Drive me rocked out
No pain, No delight
Get me dry high
Number 24
I need X
_
0.1
…
…
… can you hear me?
Green eyes shimmered in the darkness.
…
…
Sasuke-kun…?
0
She blinded me…
1
She knew nothing about Destiny or what they call Gears of Time. All she knew was she was made, not born.
She floated inside a tall transparent tank with various wires attached to her body. A respirator tightly clamped on her mouth, her body naked. Her thick bangs hung around her eyes and her hair curled around her body.
…
…
A girl—a five or six years old—was having the best time of her life under the cold rain. She had no umbrella, and it was okay. She twirled and danced, her pigtails moving with her every spin. After a few spins— some graceful, some clumsy, grudgingly, with a pout, she left her favorite place—the cliff with a Cherry Blossom tree, a swing attached to it.
She was smiling a silly grin, enjoying the weather when—
SPLAT!
A shriek came out from her and a boy with dark spiky hair and sharp features looked up at her in alarm.
"WAAAAAAAAAA… MY DRESS!" she cried out, staring at the mud-splattered white knee-length dress.
"So what?" The boy scowled, shrugging. "It's just a dress."
"Just a dress…?!" She repeated, eyes wide. "You're so heartless! This dress is from my father!"
The boy ignored her pointedly, his back on her. She huffed, pouting. Curious, she peeked over his shoulder.
"What are you doing, hmm?"
He looked over his shoulder, their faces in close proximity. A faint blush colored his cheeks. Quickly, he moved his face away and stepped away. "Nothing,"
The girl frowned, recognizing the small crater. "You're digging? For what…?"
"Stop asking."
"Then start answering my questions!"
The boy threw her a sharp glare before snapping a reply. "My puppy died." He saw her eyes widened, and to his horror, they became filled with tears. "Wha—you're crying! Oi!" He lifted his hands in front of his her face, confused. Girls are weird.
And this girl was probably the weirdest.
"But it's so sad. Dying is so sad. When someone dies, it felt so lonely. My mother is dead… when I was born so Father, he was sad. He cried a lot, he said."
"Whatever." He said and continued digging. After that, he put his dead puppy on the little burial place. His eyebrows furrowed when girl placed a branch of fallen cherry blossom atop the grave. His frown deepened when she clasped her hands together.
"What are you doing?"
"Praying,"
"Dogs have no souls, you know."
"All the things have souls and hearts. Don't you know? Your puppy loves you."
"…?"
"Didn't your dog become angry when someone hurts you? Didn't your dog cry if you're sad and lonely? Didn't your dog become so happy when you're happy, too?"
The boy became silent.
"You're sad. But…be happy maybe he's gone but he lives in your heart."
He shook his head. "You're weird."
The girl steamed. "What did you say?"
"Whatever." He stood up and began to walk away.
"Chotto matte…!" the girl cried out and strode beside him. "Let's walk together." She grinned and looked up, lifting her small hands in the air, as if catching raindrops. "I love it when it rains!"
"Hn. It's so annoying when it rains."
"Annoying?" she looked revolted. "I can't believe you! First, you believe dogs have no souls and now you say it's annoying when it rains!" she shook her head, her short hair tied in pigtails was already soaked and few strands stuck to her pink face.
"We are so different…"
He snorted.
"When it rains, my sadness disappears because rain washes away my sadness."
"Weird," he mumbled. She tackled him. "Whoa!" She was on top of him and tickling him.
"Haha! I discovered your ticklish areas already!" she exclaimed happily.
"STOP!" he ordered while fighting her fingers and not to laugh. He can't believe he can laugh when it's raining! They were laughing and chasing after each other. They didn't realize they had reached seashore.
"The seashore…!" The girl exclaimed, grinning. The boy stood next to her.
"You also loved seashores?"
"Hai!" she replied and started running towards it even though it's dangerous because of the rain. The tide was high. They chased after each other and when the boy caught her, he threw her in the waves, laughing loudly.
"Haha! I got you! I won!" he waited for her to resurface but she didn't. "HEY! STOP PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK ALREADY!" But she didn't appear. The rain got stronger and he began to get worried.
"Where are you? This is unfair!!" He yelled, frustrated as his worry mounted higher and higher. He started to tremble in fear when the girl's head popped out.
"H-HELP…! I don't know how to swim!!" She screamed, genuinely scared.
The boy didn't think twice. Even though he didn't know how to swim too, he dove to the tossing waters and swam to her. He reached her and put his arms around her. It seemed that she stopped breathing. He dragged her to the shore and laid her on the wet ground. The rain was going strong, winds howling above them. He waited for her eyes to open as he shook her shoulders.
"Wake up! Wake up! Don't put a joke on me!" He yelled. "Wake up!"
"Don't shake me too hard!" The girl whispered and sat. "You're shaking me way too hard!" she whined and glared at him. "You know—" she didn't finish her sentence when the boy hugged her tightly and trembled.
"H-hey… What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. But the boy hugged her even more.
"See? I'm okay!! Let's play again!"
"You're so stupid…" he whispered hoarsely.
"WHAT! You have some—" but she stopped as she saw his face as he pulled back. Tears are cascading down his pale cheeks and his dark eyes were so frightened.
The girl was sad because he was crying. "Please don't cry. I don't want you to cry!" She cried too and threw her arms around his neck. "I don't want you to be sad." The boy was shocked. He sniffed and pulled away from her.
"From now on, I don't want you to be sad. You will not cry again! Promise?" The girl said. The boy nodded and rose to his feet. He helped her get to her feet.
"I will protect you forever." The boy promised. The girl smiled.
"No." She said and took his hand. She put it on her chest and closed her eyes.
"I WILL PROTECT YOU."
She promised.
2
I WILL PROTECT YOU.
She knew she must. And she will do exactly what she had promised. But the question is: who is that boy? Who is the one she must serve and protect?
She had waited for so long…so long to meet him…to protect him…she wanted to fulfill that promise and she will do. When would she meet him? When? The time was up and he must find her. Or should she be the one to find him? But she can't find him. She can't do such thing. She was imprisoned, locked, and sealed away. Because she's…what is she? What was about her that she must be imprisoned? Alone here in the darkness, full of gears and apparatus that was making her alive and breathing.
…
…
"What's your name?" she asked as they lay on the wet sand in their sides, facing each other.
The boy frowned. "Is it important?"
"Of course it is! I want to know the name of the person I'm going to protect with all my life!" The girl said.
The boy frowned harder. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "Let's go."
"No! Not until you tell me your name!" she whined. The boy just snorted and walked away. "Hey, wait up! Tell me your name!" The boy ignored her and continued to drag her. "AGHH…! You are so careless." The girl snapped. She yanked her hand free and about to strangle him when the boy murmured,
"Mother…"
Instantly, the girl gazed up to the woman under a big black umbrella. Her jaws hung open as she stared at her. The woman smiled and the girl blushed.
"Wow! You are so beautiful…" she whispered in awe, her eyes twinkling. The girl turned to him and elbowed him to the ribs. The boy winced. "No wonder why you are so pretty!!! Your mom is so beautiful…"
The boy scowled. "Pretty…? I am pretty?" he asked incredulously, annoyed. But the girl continued to gaze up to his mother with a dazed look in her face.
The boy got irritated. "Stop staring!"
The girl blushed, and then looked at him, smiling. "I'm sorry."
"It is raining so hard and you two are out to play. You will get sick." The woman said gently.
The boy shook his head, spraying water to the girl next to him. "YATTA!!! You are so careless!" she complained.
The boy stuck out his tongue. The girl glared but smiled so sweetly when an idea popped out in her mind. "Tell me your name."
He glared. The girl was doing it again. She knew he could not refuse knowing his mother was present. "Shut up." He mouthed. But the girl continued to smile in a wicked way.
"What is your name?" she asked loudly, her eyes gleaming. The boy gritted his teeth. She was deliberately taking advantage!
As expected, his mother looked down at him and said. "Why did you not tell her? You two are already friends and playmates, you should tell her."
The girl grinned triumphantly then mouthed: "See? I won!!" she began to skipped around. She abruptly stopped when his mother looked up again but still, there's a grin in her face.
"What is your name?" she enjoyed teasing him especially the way his beautiful eyes sparked in annoyance.
He grunted.
"Hey, I didn't catch it!' she exclaimed and leaned closer, smiling widely.
He was irritated. She played a trick on him. He looked at her and lifted an eyebrow when he saw the almost genuine sincere innocent smile in her face.
"Tell me your name…"
"Uchiha." He grunted.
The girl frowned then smiled again. "That is not your first name." she said, trying not to laugh at the expression on his handsome face. His cheeks were red and his eyes were so narrowed that she could not tell whether he was sleepwalking or just narrowing his eyes. But he was still very cute.
Uchiha-san cleared her throat as the two looked at each other, glaring at the part of his son.
"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." The boy finally said slowly, hoarsely.
The girl smiled sincerely, very pleased. "Ah, Uchiha-kun. Sasuke-kun…" She smiled again and skipped back. She turned around and skipped a few steps before turning around to face them.
"I'm so happy!!! Thank you! Bye-bye, Sasuke-kun!!!" she waved her hand, and then bowed her head as a respect to the woman. "Ah, goodbye!"
She skipped away when the boy just realize something. He took steps forward. "Hey! What yours!?" he called after her. But the girl just smiled at him and waved. She blew a kiss. The boy blushed.
"You are unfair! Tell me your name!" he roared, ignoring the rain.
"Bye-bye, Sasuke-kun!" she yelled.
"Oi! OI!"
3
And yet her name means nothing.
She was nothing.
She had nothing.
Not even a memory.
…
…
The boy remained there as long as he could see her skipping. "Sasuke-kun…lets go."
He spun around and obeyed. She put a jacket around him. She saw the scowl in his face and smiled.
"She's so unfair." He gritted and pulls the jacket around him tighter.
"Sasuke-kun—"
"She nearly died." He cut off briskly.
"Died?"
He nodded. "Yes. She nearly drowned…because I throw her in the waters. It's my fault…" he said. "And I… I…c-cried."
She smiled gently. "You…cried."
Sasuke nodded. "I…I was so scared. I cried…then I promised her…" he looked directly in his mother's eyes. "I will always protect her."
"You do?"
"Yes." He answered firmly. She smiled. "But she rephrased it." He added curtly, stubbornly. He was scowling.
It was her turn to frown. "Rephrased it…?" she has a weird idea about it. The child nodded.
"She said: she will protect me." He said tersely at the same time blushing. He looked up at his mother and found her smiling widely. He blushed even harder. "But I know it was not that way, Mother! I can look at myself and it was not a girl should do! Mother—she's just—!"
"Hey, it's a very nice promise though it was unusual. But you are so lucky that a girl had promised you something like that. It's very rare that boys get promises like that from girls." His mother explained.
4
The Machine beeped and the vision blurred. It was having a hard time to perform its task. Even though it possessed such Intelligence beyond Human, it still found the job hard. Maybe because it was really hard, maybe because the Machine was lazy. Maybe the Machine found conscience.
No, it can't be. It must do what it was tasked to do. No matter how inhumane it was, no matter how hard it was, no matter how painful it would be…and no matter who would take the blame.
…
…
They were playing around the tree when her father approached her, told her he had something to tell her. The little girl nodded and told Sasuke to wait for her. She followed her father in one corner away from the kids. She saw from the corner of her eyes that a blonde girl and blonde boy approached Sasuke-kun but the dark-haired boy waved them off.
"Listen to me."
"Hai, otoosan."
"You will leave…Leaf today."
Her eyes widened. "I…I will l-leave Leaf…today?" Her father nodded determinedly. "But…" She began to tremble. "N-no…I…c-can't! I CAN'T!" she cried, her fists clenched in her mouth. "I…can't! I can't…leave Sasuke-kun!"
"You have to! I know it's hard…but for the sake of… Please, listen to me. If you love Sasuke-kun…you'll leave Konoha."
The girl looked up, round-eyed.
"For the sake of the person you love…you'll leave Konoha." Her heart pounded. No…I can't…
"For the sake of the person you love…you'll leave Konoha."
But…She trembled. "F-for the sake…of the person…I loved the most…"
"…"
"…I will leave Konoha."
5
And the gears of destiny moved at last. The girl took her destiny even though it will cost her very life…leaving everything…losing everything… including…
Her memory.
…
…
She slowly walked back to her playmates. Sasuke immediately ran to her side and took her hand.
"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered tearfully. She looked nervously around and saw Jounins surrounding the place. A blonde man with very blue eyes looked at her and nodded.
"Sasuke-kun," she turned to him. Children were beckoned to leave. They were left alone except the ninjas surrounding them… her. Sasuke frowned. Ninjas were everywhere, his parents…the special Jounins…her father… the blonde man…
The blonde-haired ninja with blue crystal eyes was approaching her. She panicked and faced Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun…I… will leave Konoha today!" She said hurriedly, as if telling him so fast will decrease the pain she felt. "I… I want to say goodbye!" she said, grasping his hand.
Sasuke grasped her back. "What are you saying!?"
"I…I'm going away from Konoha." Her tears streamed down her cheeks.
"NO! You can't!" Sasuke snapped angrily, panic in his voice. What the hell was she saying? Another joke? Another prank?
"Sasuke-kun… do you remember my promise? No matter what happens…I will fulfill it…I promise." The girl whispered.
"You can't…" Sasuke croaked, grabbing her hands.
"I have to leave Konoha for the sake of the person I love…"
"NO!" His grip tightened that it almost crushed her hands. His eyes glittered.
Sasuke glared at her. "You…promise me…how you could fulfill it if you're going to leave Konoha?" he asked scornfully and pushed her hand away.
"Sasuke-kun…" she bit her lip. "I will come back…I will find a way to come back to you." She said.
She whirled around and ran to the blonde-haired man but Sasuke caught her arm and hugged her. "You can't leave…!"
The girl cried and pulled away. "I have to and always remember…I will come back!" she took his hand and placed it on her heart. "I will protect you…I promise." Tears spilled down in her cheeks and smiled.
"Remember me…Sasuke-kun."
A ninja appeared behind Sasuke and tried to pull him away from the girl but the boy gripped her hand so hard. The girl started to choke with controlled tears as the blonde-haired blue-eyed shinobi pulled for her, too.
"S-Sasuke…kun…"
"LET GO!!" Sasuke hollered and gripped her tighter. His father sighed and approached his struggling son. He nodded to the ninja, took his son's shoulders and pulled.
"Sasuke,"
"LET GO, FATHER! NO!" His grip slowly broke. "NO! Tell me… Tell me your name!!"
"SASUKE-KUN…!" She screamed, reaching out to him.
"WAIT! NO! Otoosan, let GO!" His dark eyes widened as a large red frog with a pipe materialized in front of them, the blonde ninja taking the girl to the creature.
"NO! YOU…you haven't told me your name!" He shouted, struggling angrily. "LET GO!" he roared so viciously that his father finally let him off. He fell hard to his knees. Ignoring the bruising pain, he ran towards the giant frog, shouting.
"Tell me your name! TELL ME!"
"Sasuke…kun!"
"Tell me…tell me your name! What's your name!!??" The frog gave him a bleary look and took off. "NO! Don't take her away! STOP!" he ran after the creature but in a flash, the frog was gone.
"NO! Give her back to me!" but the creature can no longer hear him.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME??? TELL ME!!" he shouted angrily.
…
"I hate you!" he fell hard to his knees, panting, and his eyes wide.
"Sasuke-kun," he looked up, saw the hem of the Hokage's clothes. I am an Uchiha! I shall not show weakness! NO! He stood up rigidly and glared. This is the man…he took my hime-chan away.
"Someday, you'll understand." The Hokage said, raising his hand to the boy's forehead. "And someday, you'll see each other because if you really mean a lot to her, she'll come back." Sasuke felt the strange coldness in the Third Hokage's fingers.
"Because if you really are part of her dream or IS her dream, she'll come back one day."
That girl…
He closed his eyes and the coolness engulfed him.
"All the things have souls and hearts. Don't you know? Your puppy loves you."
"I WILL PROTECT YOU."
"I have to leave Konoha for the sake of the person I love…"
"I will come back…I will find a way to come back to you."
"Remember me…Sasuke-kun."
Goodbye.
6
Can you hear me?
…
…
Sasuke-kun…?