Mᴀᴅɴᴇss | Sᴀsᴜᴋᴇ Uᴄʜɪʜᴀ

Chapter Two

"But Sakura-chan... I'm confident in my words," Naruto's loud and annoying voice reached Sasuke's ears and he winced in annoyance. The boy crossed his arms on his chest and looked away at two annoying people in his life. It has been three months since the three of them started training together and none of them progressed much at all, especially Naruto. Sasuke eyed the blonde from the corner of his eyes before rolling them and turning away. Deep in his though the raven-haired buy did not notice as the voices of his teammates quit down. He blinked and looked around searching for the two with his eyes. Funny, just a moment ago, he turned away not wanting to see their annoying appearances and now he was actually searching for them.

"Look it's her." Sakura's loud whispered allowed him to find them fast. "Sasuke...Sasuke!" She called, signalling for him to bend down like she was doing. "Kneel down, or the witch will curse you." she hissed loudly pointing at the girl not too far from where they were.

She stood next to a large tree, which made her petite figure look even smaller. One of her hands rested on the tree itself, while the other one was hidden behind her back. Long black hair with two highlights, one on each side, framed her pale face, making it look even paler and a pair of intense green eyes watched them intently. She was quiet and didn't say a word even when she heard Sakura's whisper, nor did she try to approach them or prove her wrong. She just watched them with the same intensity. Her long deep green dress covered her feet, but somehow Sasuke was sure, she wore no shoes. He couldn't sense any danger from, not even a hint. Yet there was a change in the atmosphere, but it took him some time to notice what it was. It was a scent of wildflowers in air. It tingled his senses; Sasuke blinked and turned completely to the stranger.

"SASUKE-KUN, PLEASE DON'T LOOK HER IN THE EYES," once again whispered the pink haired girl. "SHE MIGHT CURSE YOU!"

"What are you talking about Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in confusion. "She's just a girl, not older than us." He smiled widely and ran closer to the girl. "HI! I'M NAURO UZUMAKI, AND I AM GOING TO BE THE NEXT HOKAGE, REMEMBER THIS!"

"IDIOT!" Sakura yelled grabbing him by his collar and smacking him hard on the head. "DON'T TALK TO HER!"

Sasuke could see the girl wince lightly as she heard Sakura's voice. She tilted her head slightly, looking at Sasuke with her eyes wide open, as if asking if he thought of her the same way. Yet all she saw was his emotionless gaze. A small smile crept on her lips and she quickly turned away and walked into the opposite direction.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan? She was just a girl..." Naruto tried to start a conversation but was interrupted by the pink haired creature.

"A witch! She is a witch!" she corrected him.

"A child?" this time it was Sasuke. He eyed Sakura with clear annoyance.

"Sasuke-kun...let me explain." She started sweetly not wanting to aggravate him even more. "From what I know, she does not have parents, some say they were murdered on a battlefield, some say for black magic. She had no siblings except her grandmother, who was a witch. People say she taught this child black magic. It was said that when she cries, it rains, and when she smiles the sun shines. Her grandmother died not long ago and after that it rained for seven days..."

"I think I remember that time..." Naruto said thoughtfully but they ignored him.

"Do you believe in the nonsense you are saying?" asked Sasuke. His voice was serious and it took Sakura aback. She bit her lower lip and looked away.

"We...well, I'm just saying what I've heard. I didn't say I believe it."

"But Sakura-chan, it really did look like you afraid!" Naruto inserted his replica.

Sakura glared at him her fist quickly landed on the blonde's head, causing him to groan with pain. The two continued their usual arguing not bothering looking at Sasuke, whose eyes once again travelled to the place where the girl stood.

"Witch?" she said aloud to no one in particular.

"Don't make me laugh." He leaned on the tree and closed his eyes, bringing his thought back to his original plan. Revenge.

***

Sasuke's thoughtful face made her chuckle. "I see you've remembered." She said, as she stood up and took the dirty plates to the sink. The young man nodded slightly, almost invisibly to her eye, yet she caught a glimpse. Another smile appeared on her face. Frankly, Mei did not understand why she was smiling so much around this gloomy person, yet she could not help herself. The fact that he remembered who she was made her happy; she quickly washed the plates and dried them. It was a fast procedure and in a couple of minutes she was done and sitting at the table opposite him once. Sasuke did not speak nor looked at her. His feelings were mixed up and confused. Subconsciously he knew that it was time to leave, if not he would soon call trouble upon her peaceful existence.

Sasuke stood up and nodded a thank you. His wounds almost did not hurt and if they did, he did not care. Karin should be able to fix him up nicely.

"Not so fast." She said but did not stand up. "I have something I need to talk to you about. That is," she smiled almost nicely. "If you value your life."

Sasuke froze.

"Sit down." She said sounding almost cold, yet not cold enough for him to dislike her tone of voice. With a small hesitation he agreed and once again took his place opposite the girl. She did not rush, as if trying to find the right minute to break the news. He waited patiently yet his patience was quickly wearing out. He tapped his fingers of the table hoping she would get the hint. Mei covered her lips with one hand to hide her smile. Sometimes observing people was fascinating yet too predictable.

"When I was treating your wounds," she started quietly. "I found rather an interesting hint of a disease."

Sasuke sent her a look of curiosity but did not ask anything, just allowing her to continue.

"I've examined it further and it turns out that you have a rare type of blood infection." She explained shrugging. "It is rare and from what I am aware of, appears in about one in a million."

"Is it fatal?" there was no worry in his voice or on his face. In fact, it was almost as if he did not care, and he did not; his thoughts were occupied with all the things he still needed to do and did not do. Would he have enough time? It bothered him.

"In your case," she continued. "It is still at the early stage, but it's progressing faster than it should be. If it continues in such a way, the results won't be any good."

"Am I going to die?" Sasuke asked in annoyance. It seemed like she was avoiding the question. Mei ran her fingers through her hair and pushed it back, completely opening her face to his gaze. It was the first time he noticed her aristocratic features.

"At first you will feel sharp pain in various parts of your body, and then a part my part your body will stop working. First the legs, in your case, left one first. You will not be able to move it, then your right arm – beyond repair. Bit by bit your muscles with atrophy to the point where you will not be able to move your body even an inch. And in the end, your whole being will be paralysed; even talking will never be possible again."

He listened carefully feeling fear rising in his body, yet the reason behind it was – inability to fulfil his plans, his wishes...it was worse than death. Sasuke stood up abruptly, knocking down a vase. He swiftly turned around and marched to the door. *Karin...must know something about this.* he thought almost desperately. *She should be able to do something, but what if...* his thought were interrupted by Mei's calm voice.

"If you'll need any help, you know where to find me."

The door was slammed causing a couple of small objects fall from the shelves. Mei leaned on the chair and sighed. Uchiha's temper was disappointing. "I guess I can't blame him." she shrugged once again. "Who wouldn't be worried? Right?" the last question was addressed to the cat. It watched her with its big yellow eyes, not blinking.

Mei closed her eyes. She felt a small ball of fur landing soundlessly on her lap. She smiled placing her hand on the cat's head. "He will be back." she said. "You know that, right?"