Note from the Author:
Hello, and thank you for reading my first fanfiction in several years! I previously have written several stories on here for a variety of series, including Naruto, and I did not think I would return anytime soon once college and a husband took over my life. And yet here I am! The call of fanfiction was too great, apparently. This will be the only author's note in the whole story (barring any important announcements and such), and I hope that you enjoy the story and please review and/or favorite the story. I can't promise that I will get a chapter out as frequently as I hope but I will most definitely try my hardest to provide you with a quality fanfiction that helps further flesh out the characters that you have come to love in the Naruto series. Please enjoy this story, and if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave a review!
Luca Kerberos
Title: And Then There Was One
Rating: M for violence, language, sex, etc. I will provide a warning up top for any graphic chapters
Pairings: Sakura x Itachi; Sakura x Kakashi; Sakura x Kiba; Sakura x ?
Setting: AU Non-Massacre; The whole story setting is pulled from different periods throughout the series and contains mostly non-canon content and characters with only mentions of canon events
Summary: The last thing that Haruno Sakura needed in her life was an overbearing brother who showed up out of nowhere to take control of her love life. Sakura x Variety
Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters, settings, etc. belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I do not claim ownership to any of them, and only claim ownership to this original story and any original characters, settings, etc.
And Then There Was One
Chapter One
The evening breeze ruffled through the village of Konoha, carrying with it a shadow that silently sped towards the top of the Hokage Monument. The darkness of the new moon brought forth a blackness that allowed no visibility. At the top of the monument, perched upon the Third Hokage's head, a second shadow figure sat and waited, tapping a foot impatiently as it grumbled under its breath.
"I apologize for the wait. Have you prepared everything?" The first shadow figure had finally appeared and gave a stiff bow towards the figure sitting on the Third Hokage's head, his deep masculine voice permeating the darkness around them. The second figure gave a nod and then slowly stood and crossed its arms over its chest.
"About time! Yes, I have all of the information you'll need to get you started. The rest of it is up to you. Do you think you can manage this? It will be quite the shock for the village, let alone for her. Can I trust you to accomplish this mission?" There was evidence of worry underneath the irritation that plagued the second figure's voice, which was distinctly feminine.
"Yes. You have my word that I will succeed. Konoha's citizens will not even know what hit them. And it will not be traced back to you." The first figure gave a nod of thanks before taking a small scroll that the second figure held out to him.
"Good. Now get going!" The male figure left in a 'poof!' of smoke, leaving the female shadow figure standing alone, gazing upon the village beneath her, an aura of concern surrounding her.
"I hope we made the right decision…"
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Haruno Sakura sighed as she sucked absent-mindedly on a piece of hard candy that she had grabbed from the bowl at the nurse's station, her butt precariously perched on the edge of the counter. The Konoha Hospital was awfully quiet today, and it was starting to get to her. Sakura hated being bored, and she had already completed her list of backlogged duties that had been neglected for several weeks now. As she finished the candy off, she stood up with a sigh and stretched her arms above her head, her spine popping slightly into place.
"Sakura-san, I believe Tsunade-sama would like to see you. She is in her office now." An office aid had appeared in the doorway, and Sakura was glad for the distraction. Perhaps Tsunade had a mission for her. As much as she loved the hospital, she was itching for some time away from it all. She hadn't hung out with her friends in weeks, and all the time spent in the hospital was severely hurting her love life, or lack thereof. Sakura hadn't had a steady boyfriend in quite some time, and had been barely satiated with quickies with random visiting ninja from other villages, usually while they were confined to the very hospital she worked in. She hadn't had a proper date in months.
Of course, Sakura could not blame her work at the hospital as the sole reason for her lack of love. It was her excuse. In reality, she hadn't really been trying to date anyone, and not for a lack of suitors. She knew that Inuzuka Kiba was interested in her, as her best friend Ino constantly reminded her, and her longtime friend Rock Lee was always professing his love for her. But Sakura was suffering from a lack of self-esteem and instead of using proper psychology to help her get over those issues, she instead pushed herself into her work and training and effectively ignored her need (and want) for a boyfriend.
As Sakura shuffled along towards her teacher's office, lost in her thoughts, she did not notice that there was a second chakra signature in the office of the Hokage, nor did she notice how eerily similar it was to her own…
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Uchiha Itachi was not having a good day. Granted, you could not tell from the stoic look on his face, but he was most definitely not in a good mood. That bad mood probably had something to do with the tall, muscular man currently talking his ear off next to him, spouting some nonsense about matchmaking while the breeze rushing through the open-air noodle stand ruffled his dark red hair, his green eyes shining brightly. His chakra signature felt vaguely familiar, but Itachi could not place it.
"So, do you agree? I believe that you would make a most suitable match for her. She's really come a long way from the whiny genin you first met." The man's voice had a deep baritone to it, and exuded masculinity. Itachi had no idea why the man had started talking to him in the first place; all Itachi had been trying to do was enjoy his noodle bowl in peace as he relaxed before heading to Tsunade's office to turn in his latest mission report. Obviously, that was not going to happen.
"Who are you, again?" Itachi asked, his deep voice quiet and powerful. If you paid close attention, you would notice the slight wrinkle beginning to form as he ever so slowly began to furrow his eyebrows in annoyance. The red-headed man paused his speech and gave Itachi a big grin.
"My name is Haruno Daisuke. I am Haruno Sakura's older brother." And with a cheeky grin, Daisuke watched as the gears began to turn in Itachi's head and a slow look of understanding dawned on the Uchiha heir's face.
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Hatake Kakashi slowly shuffled through the streets of Konoha, his nose deep in the latest issue of Icha Icha Extreme. He had the day off, and he was thoroughly enjoying it by reading his favorite book and strolling through the fresh air. He easily ignored the dirty looks people were giving him for having said book, but that did not damper his good mood. The man that just stepped in front of him, however, would quickly dampen the copy-ninja's mood.
"May I help you?" Kakashi drawled lazily, his eye still glued to the book in front of him. He quickly did an assessment of the mystery man's chakra and was slightly perturbed by the fact that it seemed eerily familiar to a chakra that Kakashi was VERY familiar with…
"I am conducting a mission as to help my sister find the love of her life and, potentially, a husband. I feel that you meet the qualifications and can adequately provide for her. What do you say?" The man, who had dark red hair and green eyes, chirped quite happily, oblivious (or perhaps just ignoring) the look of "Are you serious?" slowly spreading over Kakashi's face, whose attention was now fully on the stranger, his book dangling from his hand.
"I'm sorry? Who are you, anyways? Do I know you?" Kakashi was not normally surprised or weirded out, but if he were being honest with himself, the situation that he was in now may very well be one of those rare situations.
"My name is Haruno Daisuke, and I am asking for you to begin courting my sister, Haruno Sakura."
Kakashi's book dropped from his hands.
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Inuzuka Kiba yawned widely, his fangs poking out from underneath his upper lips. His ever-faithful canine companion, Akamaru, let out a low bark. Kiba smirked and scratched the big dog's head, which got him a sigh of happiness from the beast beside him.
"I know you're bored, boy. Missions have been slow-coming these days, huh? Hopefully it will pick up soon. Until then, let's go stuff our faces!" Akamaru let out a happy howl as Kiba stood up and stretched before hopping aboard the big dog.
"Let's go, Aka-" Kiba's voice was cut short once he caught sight of the strange man currently standing in front of Akamaru. Kiba blinked before lowering his face into a scowl. Akamaru let out a small whine, unsure of who the man was, but not sensing any ill will from him.
"Hello! I like your dog. I'm sure my sister would, too. Would you care to date her?" Kiba's jaw dropped as he gazed stupidly at the man with the impish grin who was now scratching his dog under its chin. He had never heard anything so absurd in his life…well, apart from the occasional random nonsense that came out of Uzumaki Naruto's mouth.
"What the hell? Who the hell are you? And who's dating who?" While Kiba did not particularly like having some strange man stop him from getting to a nice meal (if you can call bowls full of meat a nice meal), he was slightly intrigued about the man's proposition. Hell, Kiba was not one to turn down a date, especially if it led to sex afterwards.
"My name is Haruno Daisuke, and I think you display great qualities as a mate for my dear Sakura-chan…" Kiba's thoughts stopped in their tracks as soon as the words left the strange man's mouth.
"Did you say…Sakura?"
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As soon as Sakura opened the door to her teacher's office, she would quickly wish that she had never stepped foot into the office that day.
"Ah, Sakura. Thank you for joining us. Meet your brother, Haruno Daisuke." Tsunade's voice echoed throughout the suddenly tense atmosphere.
Sakura was pretty sure the entire village of Konoha could hear her jaw hitting the floor.
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END CHAPTER
