Chapter Three

48 0 0
                                    

3.

[A few months afterward...]

Kyoto, 2011

Oh, my beautiful life...

What else could I ask for?

A gorgeous boyfriend who was a human rights lawyer, one of the top graduates from one of the most reputable universities in the world, Oxford University, who gave me a total of seven hours of wonderful shag five times a week.

A wonderful career in the best Japanese television: CBS Entertainment, which was so dangerous and so important.

A fabulous sexist boss who always cursed at my ass for not doing things as he wanted

And now, I was standing 6000 feet above the ground, forcing myself to do live coverage about the fun of skydiving without any proper training.

A total dream come true, indeed.

And nothing in the world can spoil it.

"Well, almost nothing," I muttered to myself.

"Haruno Sakura, what the fuck are you doing?" bellowed my boss, Deidara, his voice crackling through the earpiece. There I stood, teetering on the edge of the helicopter.

"I, I can't see anywhere safe to land," I stammered, my fear of imminent death very much on display.

"How about on your ass?" Deidara's retort was as sharp as ever. "Sakura, unless you want to find yourself unemployed at 6,000 feet, you'll be taking the plunge in exactly three seconds," he warned with all the charm of a sledgehammer. "Three, two, one... cue Sakura!"

"Skydiving, a perilous menace to the countryside and a headache for emergency services, or an exhilarating pastime?" I tried my best to conceal my nervousness as I faced the cameraman, my heart pounding like a drumroll. Deidara, on the other hand, was not in the mood for subtlety.

"GO! JUMP!" He shouted angrily, his voice ringing in my ears like a thunderclap. I remained frozen on the edge of the helicopter, silently pleading with Mother Mary to spare me from this insane leap.

"For Christ's sake, move!" Deidara's anger escalated. I had no choice but to jump.

As I hurtled through the air, I let out a blood-curdling scream, half convinced I was trapped in a ludicrous dream. The scream, shrill and undignified, echoed through the vast emptiness below.

"Unit Two, do you have her?" Deidara's voice crackled in my earpiece as the cameraman followed suit, leaping after me with the grace of a beachgoer.

"We've got her," the cameraman responded, his tone oddly relaxed for someone hurtling through the sky nearly 6,000 feet above ground.

"Sakura, open the chute!" Deidara's command snapped me out of my panic-induced stupor. I couldn't think clearly, so all I could manage was more screaming.

"Open it!" Deidara barked again, but my brain felt like mush, and all I could muster was a goat-like bleat.

"Open your fucking parachute!" Deidara's voice became frantic. "Pull the cord or you'll be a pancake!" he yelled, his own panic now evident.

Amidst my ongoing screams, I finally managed to deploy the parachute. A rush of relief washed over me as I realized that, at least for now, I wouldn't be meeting my demise in a free fall from the sky.

Honestly, forget just one teeny, weeny detail, and suddenly everyone treats you like an absolute idiot. As I descended peacefully onto the barren green landscape in the middle of nowhere in the remote village of Kyoto, my mind couldn't help but wander to a certain someone. Uchiha Sasuke, that's where I was. The question is: what happens after you walk off into the sunset?

THE EDGE OF REASON (SEQUEL OF THE GIRLS WANT EVERYTHING)Where stories live. Discover now