primavera + peter parker

Don't You Know Me By Now?

It was like watching two different movies in a split screen. On the left, a pink-haired girl. On the right, one with dark brown hair. Their surroundings seem to blur. Sakura can only see the back of each girl's head, both of which seem to move in unison as a hand appears despite the blurriness.

Both of these happened at the exact same time: The pinkette gurgles out a scream as the hand goes through her stomach, while the brunette lets out a gasp as her head hits the floor. They fall simultaneously. Blood drips down at the same pace.

Everything seems to spiral. The images of both girls are sucked into what seems to be a black hole and everything succumbs to darkness.

The mirror image of Sakura materializes in front of her. She drinks in the appearance of the other Sakura, noting the blood that stands out in contrast to the black and white coloring. On the other Sakura's forehead is a set of characters that reads "Inner Sakura" - a name that sparks recognition.

"Who are you?" The world is quiet except for her whisper.

Inner Sakura replies, "I am you."

She raises her hand and Sakura involuntarily mirrors this action. When they clasp hands, Sakura sees. Her knees tremble as her heart beat rapidly in her chest, the sound only becoming louder as a voice - her voice - echoes everywhere. Like an endless bucket filled with water, memories pour over her and flood into the space around her. Wherever she looks, a different memory plays out for her.

When the water reaches her chin, she tilts her head back. Suddenly, the water seems to defy gravity as it is pulled into the black sky. Time stops and each memory is presented to her as frozen drops of water.

Inner Sakura lets go of her hand, but the effect on Sakura lingers. "Don't you know me?"

Stiffened, Sakura doesn't answer. Inner Sakura repeats herself: "Don't you know me by now?"

"I don't understand. Why am I here?"

Something pulls her to one particular drop. She touches it with her fingertip. Colors are brought to life, almost blindingly bright.

This is what she sees:

She sees herself - her brown-haired dainty self - enter the cafe alone. She walks up to the counter and orders two cups of cappuccino. She sits down at a nearby table and fiddles with her phone as she waits for her name to be called out. Just as she sends a text ("Hey, I'm here. Where are you?" She thinks for a moment before adding a smiley emoji.) to someone with the contact name PetPark, screams slice through the air inside the establishment. She finds herself instinctively dropping to the floor as a masked man brandishes a firearm to the barista paralyzed in fear.

"Open it up," he hisses. He points the gun to the cash register. The barista blubbers but follows his command. Body shaking, the barista pushes the necessary buttons. The masked man keeps the barrel pointed at her.

He looks around the cafe to see all but one on the floor. An old man trembles as he tries to slowly lower himself. The masked man growls, and swings the gun to aim at the old man.

The people in the cafe cry out in protest, but one look from the man shuts them up. Sakura grits her teeth. Despite her fear, she stands and picks up the chair she was sitting on. A logical person would have stayed put and called 911, but Sakura was incapable of thinking logically for the only thing she could think of is how that old man could be anybody's grandfather.