The Glow of Fate: Chapter 1

The Glow of Fate

-SleepyArcher

Chapter 1

The Red String of Fate.


Binding two people destined to meet and share a life path, often as lovers. The string may get twisted leading to complications and obstacles in the path but ultimately the two would meet each other and share a deep connection. Each and every single human being has a fated person that destiny will make them meet one day.


It was one of the most romantic beliefs prevalent throughout the ages and even in the current times, many hid a secret dream that one day they will meet their destined person. The string would supposedly become visible and glow a bright red, illuminating the connected fingers of the two and the twists and turns that have finally led to that coveted moment. Once they recognize their soulmate, the two souls would not be able to keep away from each other and their connection would only flourish and deepen from that point onwards. The stories of the red string have been popularised all over the world and adapted in numerous forms of media. However, one thing got lost as more and more adaptations appeared over a long passage of time. Each and every string was unique and the way one recognized their soulmate was unique for each pair.


As a child who faced bullying at school and had no friends, Sakura had spent much of her free time with a storybook and the stories of soulmates finding each other had filled her with hope more than anything else. Lonely and too young to understand the romantic implications, she had dreamed of finding a person who would be her and only her best friend and they would always play with each other. Soulmate equalled best friend in her mind then. She had hoped for the dream to come true with such desperation that the universe had made part of it come true. She and Ino may not have a red string tying their pinkies but the bond tying their hearts together was no less magical. Her friendship with Ino was magical in more than one way. Ino’s great-grandparents were soulmates whose red string glowed the moment their eyes met. They originally had an arranged marriage but fate turned it into one of love and destiny. Both Sakura and Ino had listened to the story so many times that they could recite it word by word. Ino was just as enthused about the red string fate as Sakura was.


Time passed and as she reached teenhood, her idea about soulmates changed. Adolescence brought a fresh breeze of romance, and neither Sakura nor Ino were immune to its effects. These effects compounded when she changed schools and came upon Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura didn’t have any problem admitting that she fell first and hard. Even if there was no red glow instantly and visibly connecting their fingers when they first made eye contact, Sakura believed herself to be deeply in love to forgo the instant appearance of the cherished red string of fate. Somehow, she ended up becoming classmates and close friends with him and the class clown, Uzumaki Naruto and thirteen-year old Sakura was the happiest she could ever hope to be. While her heart mourned a little at not getting immediate evidence of sharing a destined relationship with Sasuke, her logical side told her that the string only appeared when all the obstacles in the path of union had been removed and surely her deep feelings for Sasuke meant that they had a shared fate. Once they overcome all the obstacles, the red string would glow a vibrant red.


The only downside was the deterioration of her friendship with Ino. Ino had joined a different school but had happened upon Sakura and her new friends at the cafe near her home. One look at Sasuke and she was smitten. Ino had taken no time to loudly declare her crush on Sasuke and did not hold back on trying to cozy up to him albeit with no success. She was as determined as Sakura to prove that Sasuke was her soulmate. She even accused Sakura of going behind her back to steal Sasuke from her. It ultimately led to a period of almost no-contact between the two and Sakura felt vicious happiness when Sasuke rejected Ino point blank. This happiness lasted for a few months till she confessed her feelings to him and he replied with a gentle “Thank You”. Neither acceptance of her feelings, nor an outright rejection. He kept her in limbo - which was way worse in hindsight - and left the city.


She and Naruto tried desperately to catch-up with him whenever they could but Sasuke, already reserved by nature, became more and more taciturn. He had a new group of friends who were vastly different from Naruto and Sakura. A few years later, they ended up with a new friend of their own. Sai was weird, rude and had absolutely no-filter on his speech but was a loyal friend and an excellent artist. The three slowly became friends after they managed to gain some form of immunity against his speech. It was different from their bond with Sasuke but they had their own unique dynamic.


Sakura was slowly starting to heal her bruised heart as well as mending her friendship with Ino and was busy preparing for medical school when it happened. Ino called just as she was about to turn off the reading light and go to sleep. Sakura burrowed herself into the covers securely before answering.


“Sakura! I saw it!” She paused in her goal of making herself comfortable, her name indicating that something was wrong. Ino seldom started a conversation, especially a late night one with her name. It was almost always “Forehead” to which Sakura responded with “Pig”. The use of her actual name suggested a serious topic.


“Saw what?” Sakura shifted the phone to her other hand and turned off the speaker.


“My red string on the finger of my soulmate!” Ino squealed. Sakura flinched and took the phone from her ear, staring at it in disbelief. Between the two of them, Ino was the first to give up their childhood fantasies about red strings and soulmates and pursue more “real” relationships.


“Hold up,” she finally responded, “start from the beginning.”


Ino complied. In the next two and half hours, Sakura learnt about every single detail about how Ino’s first date with the guy she met on a dating app went and how their eyes meeting and the red string snapping into existence happened in sync. She also learnt about Ino’s soulmate in detail. His name was Sai.

***

Hindsight showed that Sai and Ino hadn't really met. As the pressure of school work increased and hard decisions regarding their next steps in life loomed nearer, Sakura and Ino met less and less. When they did meet, it happened at their homes for staying a night-over. Back when they first changed schools, they had introduced their close classmates to each other and sometimes the gang of 9 teenagers did hang out but Sai was neither one of these nine, nor did he go to the same school with any of them. And once Sasuke left, Naruto and Sakura hadn't really been in the mind set to introduce him to people from other schools as their new friend. It wasn't as if he was a replacement for Sasuke.


Sakura was happy for her friend and wished her all the happiness in the world - after she talked Ino down from getting married at the age of 19 years - but the absolute adoration in both her and Sai’s eyes whenever they were in each other’s vicinity - which was a lot - made her a little desperate each time she saw it. She threw herself into research-mode, scrapping the internet for any information on how to find and correctly identify one's soulmate. Countless websites poured their version of facts that fueled her desperation till it led her to one of the most humiliating moments in her life, asking Naruto out on Christmas Eve.


And Naruto, the guy who asked her out at least twice a week without fail since they met, rejected her with a sheepish “I am seeing someone, Sakura-chan.”

Sakura walked back home through snow and spent both Christmas and New Year in bed, down with a cold and her heart (and a tiny bit of her ego) wounded. Ino wanted to come but she managed to avoid her with a fear of catching cold (and spreading it to Sai).

***

As time passed, Sakura slowly came to the glum conclusion that love and marriage were not in the cards for her. The fact that red strings truly existed and yet she could not manage to get even a stable, non-destiny-touched relationship meant that the gods had a good laugh looking at her romantic fate. After wallowing in gloomy thoughts for a while - thoughts that started to affect her work and brought a harsh round of scolding from her mentor, Tsunade - Sakura made a decision to stop pursuing love, especially the romantic kind, and put all her focus on building a stable career. Not everything is meant for everyone, she told herself. I have a relatively good life, friends who cherish me and an opportunity to build an amazing career. I don’t need to disregard all these by chasing a love that may not even exist yet. And the red string implied shared destiny and deep connection which may be romantic but was necessarily not so, she reasoned with herself. Childhood fantasies were one thing and the stark reality of adulthood was another.


She stuck to this decision. It didn’t mean she eschewed dating completely. She went on dates, had hookups, much to the consternation of Naruto - his determination to remain friends had ensured that they moved past the disastrous confession - and generally had fun but she didn’t mistake them for a grand romance that would sweep off her feet. As her daily working schedule became more and more hectic, dates and hookups started to become synonymous. This brought a gentle frown on her favourite senior, Shizune’s face that she pretended not to see. Tsunade didn’t seem to particularly care as long as she wasn’t messing up in her professional life. It was not like she had any place to complain about her, Sakura thought irritably after the former recommended a number of edits on her thesis. Tsunade had entered the hospital smelling heavily of alcohol so many times that it was a miracle she still had her license. To be fair, she had never appeared drunk or failed any tests but the heavy scent of alcohol was often hard to ignore. If she wasn’t as talented and skilled as she was, there would have been whispers that it was the Senju name that was protecting her from certain disgrace. Compared to her, Sakura dating around in her free time was not even worth much of a mention in the gossip mill.


It was worth something to her mother who sent long texts with religious references to show her disapproval for her actions after Sakura stopped picking up her calls. But unfortunately for Haruno Mebuki, Sakura had long learnt to ignore those messages.


What she couldn’t ignore was Ino sitting on her couch in her living room when she returned home after a particularly long shift. Sakura took one look at her, another at her bathroom where her newly-installed bathtub waited, took another look at Ino to guess the level of determination in her eyes and sat down on the couch with a long-suffering sigh. Her best friend nodded regally and rewarded her wise decision with a cup of coffee. Sakura took one large sip and sighed again, this time from pleasure.


“So Pig, where’s your emotionally-constipated half?” Ino ignored the jibe.


“Shikamaru is engaged. Th-”


“Shikamaru engaged?” Sakura scoffed. “It’s an arranged marriage right? No way that slacker actually managed to get into a rela-” This time, it was Sakura who got cut-off from her rather Naruto-like rant.


“He found his soulmate.” Ino snapped and regretted it instantly. Sakura’s face lost the impassioned look and for a few seconds, all Ino saw was the shy, young girl before she had saved her from the bullies. Then a mask slid into place, a mask that has been perfected over the years. It hurt Ino to be the cause of Sakura donning an expression of polite interest but Shikamaru was her close friend too. She, Shikamaru and Choji had been friends since childhood as well due to their parents being friends. They shared a unique bond and Ino was truly happy for her friend getting his own chance at happiness. Despite finding her own soulmate at just 18 and finally marrying him - not getting married at 19 was truly the wisest decision both she and Sai had made - in late twenties, Ino knew they were a rare case. Many failed to meet their soulmate in a lifetime. They go on with their lives, even settle down with long-term relationships but there remains a faint sense of emptiness in their soul, the red string unable to find its other end. Some met their soulmate only when they were nearing the end of their life, the joy of union overshadowed by the grief of the inevitable parting. Some met their soulmate without the red string appearing and them remaining ignorant of the truth. Very few met their soulmate at the right time, in the right place. So, it would not be easy for Sakura, who had dreamed of meeting her soulmate since they were kids, to learn that four of her friends have found their soulmates.


“It’s Temari, Gaara’s older sister.” She continued in a softer tone, hoping to smooth over her earlier tone. Sakura nodded, taking another sip of the cup with an air of propriety about her.


Ino continued, “The wedding is next month. Her family is a little old-fashioned so they want to hold a traditional engagement ceremony next week. Temari wants to hold a more casual party after the Yuino for their friends.”


“Yuino next week and wedding in a month?” Sakura raised her eyebrows, “Isn't that a bit too early?” She bit back the ‘for Shikamaru’ part.


Ino's expression changed subtly, her lips curving in a slowly growing smirk. “They found out they are soulmates within minutes of her pregnancy test showing double lines. Apparently, Pineapple-head has a high accuracy rate.”


Sakura snickered despite herself. The idea that the laziest person they knew would be the first one out of their childhood friends to face the joys and the trials of parenthood was nothing short of hilarious. Ino relaxed at seeing her laugh, her own smile softening.


“Since the time is so short, they are going the digital way to invite everyone for the engagement party. Both of them are going to call you by tonight or tomorrow morning at best. I just wanted to inform you earlier.”


“You came just to inform me without Sai tagging along?”


“He is busy with the exhibition!“


“That ended two days ago? Also, don't think that I didn't notice your overnight-stay bag.” Sakura grinned at the glower on Ino's face, who cracked a few seconds later and they ended up cackling.


“Fine, but who else is going to ensure you have something other than scrubs to wear at the party, Forehead?”


“You mean who else you can rant about your hubby's latest faux pas, Pig.”

***

Getting a leave to attend the party was laughably easy. The entire staff agreed that Sakura was a workaholic who needed to be able to take a break and Tsunade kicked her out of the hospital right after she approved of the leave.


Sakura decided to travel by train to reach Suna where the engagement was going to be held. The hotel rooms had already been reserved and all she had to do after reaching it was to change into her dress and get her make-up done (by Ino) and then leave for the party. A plane would have taken her earlier but with the time available, Sakura went for the visually more appealing journey. The lush and vibrant greens of Konoha slowly shifting into the shades of golden yellow and deep browns of Suna were always a treat for the eyes.


Sakura spent the first half of the journey taking pictures of nature outside, cute selfies, posting them on social media and doom scrolling. But as the scenery outside changed, her mind slowly wandered to the moment Ino had shared the news about the wedding. She was not unhappy about them finding their red string. She wanted the very best for both of them with their baby, she just felt hurt at the universe at large. Before she made the decision to stop searching for her soulmate, before logic had taken over, Sakura used to rely on her instincts. Those instincts had saved her from extra bullying at the hands of classmates. They had deepened her friendship with Ino, and told her that Naruto and Sasuke were precious to her. The same instincts had convinced her that her soulmate was out there and she would be able to meet them, in this lifetime for sure. It had become an absolute truth to her and led her to getting her heart broken over and over again. And, even after she stopped listening to her instincts on this matter, it hurt when others’ easy success at finding the ones sharing their red string fate highlighted her own failure at doing so.


This was something she had never been able to share with anyone. Her parents either did not share a red string, or the string hadn't yet become visible. They were supportive but didn't really understand her search for the red string or why she gave up on finding a long-term relationship at all. With Ino, she had hesitated because the entire thing sounded crazy even in her head and then she found Sai and Sakura did not want to burden Ino with her complicated “sixth sense”.


Sakura leaned her head back against and closed her eyes. What's done is done, I will just have to show my sincerity in wishing the best for them; was her thought as the softly playing music in her earpods lulled her to sleep.




She took another careful step, the shifting sand underneath her feet making fast walking near impossible. She has lost track of how long she has been walking, her only guide the distant red glow. She looked around again, hoping to get a clue about where she was but the landscape remained unchanged. Except for the red glow, everything remained a shade of monotonous grey. Sometimes, she suspected she had lost all colour as well and had become a part of this unchanging world.


The glow suddenly started turning brighter, staining the path crimson. She raised an arm to shield from the glare of the light, her already measured pace slowing down further. Then, a pull inside her chest yanked her towards the light. She opened her mouth to scream…and woke up to the announcement that the train had reached Suna.

***

The party was surprisingly more fun than she expected. Temari had demanded that alcohol be served to all the guests so that she could live vicariously through them. She looked stunning in a purple dress and light make-up accentuating her sharp beauty. Shikamaru also cleaned up nicely. The subtle joy on both of their faces made them a gorgeous pair.


Sakura entered with Ino and Sai but slowly shifted towards one of the balconies with a drink in hand after they had greeted the engaged couple. Ino was busy socializing with her friends from college. Having dealt with too many people at the hospital all week, Sakura didn't find it in herself to interact with more people unless it was an emergency, the medical kind. She prayed there won't be one. It occurred to her that she was becoming as taciturn as Sasuke and a faint smirk appeared on her lips as she imagined Naruto's reaction to such an occurrence.


She sat down at one of the seats, and was about to take another sip of her drink when someone else approached the seat at the other end. Sakura looked up, the glass in her hands tilted towards her lips, and met the taupe eyes of the newcomer.


The world exploded. A churning mix of emotions and flashes of memories that she did not remember experiencing took over her mind with such intensity that her vision blurred. The very last thing she was before losing consciousness was the bright glow of a red string connecting her finger to the finger of the hand reaching out towards her.

***

In a different lifetime, a slight twitch of his fingers and scores of strings would have attached to her body and pulled her from slumping headfirst onto the table. In that different lifetime, they had danced on the battlefield against each other, his sword piercing her and her fist breaking him apart. In that lifetime, he had accepted defeat at her hand and death at his parents’ hands wielded by his dying grandmother. The red string had remained hidden. He had been brought back briefly after death and still the string remained invisible to both of their eyes.


In an older lifetime, his dagger had stabbed right into her heart and in an even older life, her poison had claimed his breath. That's how it had been for them. Soulmates taking each other's lives. The red in their red string fate had come from their life blood.


The faint memories of these past lives flashed through his mind as he reached forward to hold her with one hand, the other straightening the flute before it spilled the drink. His movement threw the now fully visible and glowing red string into sharp relief, the red glistening like congealed blood. Despite seeing it throughout his life, this was the first time he saw the string was glowing.


Sasori looked at the woman slumped against his chest, her eyeballs moving rapidly underneath the closed eyelids, the only evidence of the chaos that had caused her to faint. He set down the glass on the nearby table, picked her up in his arms and started walked towards his room.

***

Note: This was supposed to be a oneshot and frankly went through a lot of changes from the original idea. In fact, it was Sasori's side that underwent the most change.