A/N: Please try to spare your time to try and read this...just tell me something I don't know about this, the one that most people here refer to as Reviews...
Chapter 1:Trying to Think
The rain poured heavily from the gray sky hovering Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village. Everyone was safely tucked in their warm homes and was finally resting with their families…except one. A girl, fairly known as the Fifth Hokage's second apprentice and as the girl born with natural pink hair, was walking slowly down the streets. Her head was bowed down and her green eyes were downcast, staring at the cold, wet pavement below her.
She was literally deep in her thoughts. She finally reached her home, hesitating before placing her index finger over the doorbell and pressing it gently to let its residents know of her arrival. Shuffling and muffled noises came from behind the wooden panel before a soft click made its way to the door knob. It swung open, revealing a woman older than her in sleeping robes. The woman had flaming red hair that reached her elbows. She also had bright, blue-colored eyes.
"Sakura…" came her barely audible voice. Her lips were pale and her eyes were bloodshot. She critically needed to get some sleep to fix her dilemma.
"Mother, I'm going to bed…I'm…tired…" Sakura replied, as she raised her right hand over her mouth and yawned.
"Okay, sleep well, dear." her mother said, regaining her normally strong voice.
Sakura's mother closed the door, sheltering them from the infernal droplets of water that tried to pry their way into their warm home. After that, she watched Sakura walk carefully up the staircase to her room and went on her own way to her own room to finally get the rest she much needed after working at the market with dozens of overtimes to fill their everyday needs. She reached her room and shut the door tight and drifted to sleep.
On the other hand, our little cherry blossom locked her room and went straight to her bathroom to get the stains of mud and other forms of dirt from her body that came from their training today with their Kakashi-sensei. Everything was going fine, until the skies above decided to play with them and get them dirtier than how much they were intended to be.
She wrapped herself up with a fluffy, soft pink towel and placed her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper. Sakura put on her green pj's and started brushing her pink hair. She finished untangling her locks and put down the wooden brush she used. She stared at her reflection for a while, as if asking it questions she couldn't answer. She suddenly remembered something and rushed to the clothes basket. She took her dirty clothes and dug her hands into its pockets, in search of an object. Her eyes widened as she found the object and clutched onto it tight. She walked slowly back into her room and sat on the edge of her bed to start examining the piece of jewelry that was hanging freely under her fingers. It had a black string that contained the silver, circular pendant where a hemisphere of a precious crystal orb was attached to. The crystal was rapidly changing colors as she stared into it.
"So pretty…" she commented as she tilted her head to the right, still looking at the fine object.
"Should I? Or should I not? This is so HARD!" she screamed, obviously very frustrated and annoyed. Good thing her room was shut tight and far from her mother's room, or she would've had a fit and have lectured her on toning her voice down since it was very unladylike…not like she wouldn't yell her insides out at the same time, too…of course, where'd she think Sakura got her attitude from…
Sakura dropped the necklace into her new clothes' pocket and laid flat on her back on her bed. She thought things over, but never got her answer. She eventually fell asleep and decided to just let fate take control, letting a single word before drifting to unconsciousness…
…Sasuke-kun…
The birds chirped and fluttered its wings, away from the branch of a Sakura tree planted near our pink-haired nin's house, beside her room's window. The sun shone brightly above the sky and reflected on the kunoichi's face, staring into the wilderness while rested on the window's ledge in her room. Her head resting on the wall behind her, her left leg stretched out while her right arm placed over her bended right leg.(confusing, ne? If not, good. If it is, I'll post a picture resembling this scene somewhere...help? I kinda need a site for pics…Or not…he he…I get lazy…anyway, Arigato! XD)
It had been three years after Sasuke's departure.
NOTE: If you read the manga, you'll know this part, but if not these are some spoilers for you…but, OH WELL! It's up to you! I made some things up though, heh! Why would this be a fanfic if I don't make my own stories, ne?
Naruto came back half a year ago with a whole new look and they both were immediately assigned to a mission. After that mission, they got another mission minus Kakashi, because of his using of his left eye, the Sharingan, he had to rest. They were ordered by Tsunade to go on a mission with this new, mysterious kid named Sai. The mission was successful and fortunately for them, Sasuke was unknowingly there, watching their fight with Orochimaru and had seen Naruto's transformation.
Orochimaru was obviously losing his fight with the nine-tails demon. He was close to chakra depletion and his body was battered and bloody all over. Gathering his voice to reach his lips, he screamed for Sasuke to appear and help him.
"SASUKE-KUN!" he yelled in total desperation. "Help me and fight the Kyuubi with all your might! Use what I've taught you!"
A young man, fourteen years of age, messy raven hair, deep black eyes, clad in black, a katana safely tucked behind him, dozens of weapons intelligently hidden in his clothes. The Uchiha Sasuke, has arrived…
The seven chakra-formed tails (I made him reach seven. In here, their Yamato-sensei wasn't able to make the jutsu for calming or whatever they do to the Kyuubi in Naruto) of Naruto miraculously died down. Out came the real Naruto. His claws retracted, teeth back to normal, lines streaked on his cheeks lessened its visibility and his flaming red eyes returned back to its beautiful baby blue shade.
"S-s-sasuke-teME!" he screamed shocked at the sight of his long-lost friend.
Sakura, with their Yamato-sensei, watched the scene behind Naruto. Yamato watched, amazed at the sudden retreat of the burst of chakra in Naruto known as the Kyuubi. Sakura had a shocked and saddened expression on her face. She felt like there was a huge lump stuck in her throat that she couldn't seem to swallow. Her face paled and her green eyes looked like they were going to burst a flood of water any minute, but she held them back. She just curiously looked over Naruto and Sasuke's confrontation, in other words, a battle was surely about to happen if one of them won't do anything to try and stop it.
Sai sought Kabuto and when he found him started a battle(In here, Sai won't be going with them...He's still with Konoha here, I'm gonna change his story…). They kept their distance from the five that were residing on the bridge. Kabuto had no time to defend his 'Orochimaru-sama', since he was too busy defending himself from Sai's attacks accompanied with his lions and tigers. Sai continued attacking him, paying no mind to the outgoing scene, saying it would be better to just see the outcome. Watching them would take too long to muster.
Sasuke didn't see Sakura since she was behind Naruto. Sakura kept her silence. He kept quiet the whole time, while giving Naruto a piercing gaze, as if trying to dare him to make a move.
Naruto's was different though. His eyes held sadness and anger. He couldn't speak properly but managed to say something.
"Y-y-you-YOU! I-i c-c-can't believe you're still working with that teme! You sh-sh-should have l-le-left him! A-a-are y-you se-seriously g-go-going to fight me!"
Sasuke seemed unaffected and remained silent, stoic and unmoving. He was, as if, waiting for Naruto to make his move to start their bout.
"Y-you d-didn't get to kill your stupid brother didn't you n-now?" Naruto tried to engage him in a conversation, that turned out to be a monologue, since he's the only one doing the talking. He was literally shaking in anger and despair.
The dark-haired teen seemed to narrow his eyes, at the talk about his older brother. This urged Naruto to continue his said monologue to try and convince the guy to finally leave the limp-bodied snake freak and go back to Konoha. It's been two and a half years for Heaven's sake! Everyone in Konoha knew he won't go anywhere near his goal, since Orochimaru will eventually just use his body as a stupid container for his ugly self.
The said 'traitor', knew of Orochimaru's plans. Several times the sannin already told him that and promised he would still fulfill his goals for him when the jutsu was completed. He stupidly believed the words of the weirdo and decided to come and become the guy's gopher. But, Naruto and Sakura knew more than that. With Naruto's new-found confidence he began his next statement.
"You knew from the beginning that the freak's just going to use you as a container, right? He must've promised you that he would fulfill your goal for you, for you to just agree to his terms didn't he? If you wanted so much for your revenge to be done, I thought you wanted to kill your brother, to be able to feel you've avenged your clan. To be the person to get to end the life of the person you've hated the most in your life. Now you're just letting that guy do it for YOU! You disappoint me, Kakashi-sensei and most of all, Sakura-chan…If you told us that you would let other people kill Itachi, we would've done it sooner for you, us, together with everyone in the village, would've tried to help you…
Sasuke gritted his teeth, seeing that the dobe actually had a point. He stared at Naruto and shifted his gaze to the snake sannin. Orochimaru nodded in return, thinking that they both had the same thoughts, fighting Naruto and the others. Unfortunately for him, Sasuke had other thoughts in mind.
Because of what was offered to him before, he thought it would've been the best offer he could get for power. He was probably too obsessed at the thought of killing his brother at once to even think clearly.
"How do you expect someone like Orochimaru-teme, someone who can't even defeat your own brother help you defeat him? Yeah, he could say that you have what it takes, and not him because of his lack of the Sharingan, but couldn't you just ask any of the teachers in Konoha to help you. I mean, their just the same as him, strong, haven't defeated Itachi and doesn't have the Sharingan. If you really wanted to be strong, why not continue training under Kakashi-sensei who even has the Sharingan, a better prize than the snake!"
That did it. Sasuke finally made his decision. Who knew that it would take this long for him to understand that? Silly, everyone thinks of him as a genius, I guess anger and hatred can really make anyone blind.
The prodigy raised his right hand and reached for the silver katana's hilt. He slowly pulled the sword to fully remove it from its blue scabbard lying on his back. He stared at Naruto for a while, but shifted his gaze to Orochimaru. The snake sannin gave him a knowing nod, thinking that they had the same thoughts. Unfortunately for him, they didn't.
"I don't need you anymore…I'm done with you…" he whispered, but the wind took it to everyone's ears to hear.
With his eyes widening and the black slits in his golden eyes narrowing, the silver blade made its way to his heart, thus ending his being. The katana was slowly being pulled away by its owner, dripping darkened blood on its way. The dark-haired Uchiha gave one clean flick with his katana, removing the blood, and returning its shimmer.
Sasuke turned to them while returning his sword back to its rightful place. He finally spoke with his full voice to them and said,
"Alright, let's go."
Now that, Naruto and the others didn't expect. Everyone was too shocked to move.
Shifting to Sai and Kabuto, Kabuto stared at the corpse of his defeated master. Sai took this chance to get things done and kill the guy. The gray-haired subordinate was too distracted to notice the death-bringing attack of Sai.
He was finally dead, with one swing of a kunai through his neck. His body falling lifeless on the grass, bloodied with his own. His head falling into the river beneath the bridge. Sai decided to throw the body to go with its head, ending the medic's story. (a bit disgusting, ne? Too bad he had to die in my story, in a very disgusting way too…hmm…I'll probably do something about this…he he)
Back to Sasuke and the others…
"What?"
"Are you sure you're Sasuke?"
Naruto was literally looking at him close with narrowed eyes, suspecting his shocking behavior…
BAM!
"ITAI! ITAI! What'd you do that for TEME!"
"Dobe…Let's just go now…"
"First, you leave us and betray us for that snake freak. You then make our whole team suffer and now you just want us to take you home and welcome you! Did something got stuck in your brain that mind processes don't work well in that thick skull of yours!" (Okaaay…very un-Naruto-like, very un-Naruto-like…)
"Aa"
"ARRGH!" (WoW! That was annoying…)
Naruto was clutching his head and started screaming like crazy! He was absolutely confused of what's currently going on.
"Are we going or not? If what you say is true, then I'll just continue getting supervised by Kakashi-sensei."
"…"
"AHHH! Okay! Okay! Let's go!"
The blonde teen definitely had no more options to choose from. Might as well start with this crap and start explaining stuff to Tsunade-no-baa-chan.
"HEEYYY! TRASHMOUTH! Get your dirty self here 'coz we're going back to the village!" The kid screamed making the two people behind him wince at the high decibels formed by his outrageous yell. Yamato didn't have time for discussions about talking to your comrades properly, meaning not to call them names. While Sakura…well, let's just say she isn't like that, so…
BAMM!
"ITAI! Sakura-chan that hurts! You really shouldn't use your monstrous strength on me you know!"
"I would if you could stop acting like a child at a time like this!"
"A time like this? A time like what?"
Oh! Ignorance truly is bliss! Phfft! Too bad Sakura didn't think so…
BAMM!
"AHHH!"
"Let's just go and explain everything to Tsunade-shishou…I wanna go home."
Naruto finally got it and decided to just agree to what Sakura said and go home. Sasuke was watching the whole scene and couldn't help but smirk, well on his mind since he clearly has no intention to make it visible to them. At first, when he heard Sakura's voice he was a bit stunned, he really didn't expect her to be on a mission like this, too dangerous and important, since it's connected to Orochimaru. He only had a glimpse of Sakura's hands and arms because, well Naruto was covering her form. And he, of course really didn't expect her to be the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage.
Yamato saw that it really was right for them to finally leave. He told Sakura to call Sai so that they could go back home to Konoha.
"HEY SAI!" Sakura yelled, full volume. "Come here! We're going back home!"
In a blink of an eye, Sai came and landed next to Sakura, behind Naruto. Sasuke saw Sai and immediately, they made an intense glaring contest. Hah! Let's find out who wins this ever-so-long fight. Naruto didn't want to get hit again, so he decided to be the one to end this silly game these silly little kids love to play.
"Oh yeah, we forgot to tell you, this is another teme appointed by obaa-chan to join us in this mission. His name's Sai!" Naruto gave a very wide grin while pointing at the said dark male behind him.
"So you're the traitor…" Sai said or rather whispered to himself.
"Hn." was all Sasuke let out from the hole he rarely used, that could pass of as a mouth, just because he uses it to eat food and survive life.
"Okay, okay cut it out people. Let's just go." Yamato interrupted, to just end this thing and go home.
"Let's go." he repeated. Yamato left in a second and Sakura was the first to react. So she immediately left the same way their sensei did. Naruto started complaining with a set of yells and stuff and started on his heels and pulled the two Sa's with him to the village.
Sakura couldn't help but feel a little pained when she remembered the time Sasuke finally saw her and how she changed. When they returned to the village, they went to the Hokage's tower first to tell the whole story to her Tsunade-shishou. Their Yamato-sensei went in the Hokage's office and told her to stay outside and just wait for the others to arrive.
Naruto and the two Sa's arrived. As usual Naruto greeted her with great enthusiasm with his 'SAKURA-CHAN!' Sai just stared at her and Sasuke…he just looked at her with a bored look on his face.
"Uh…Yamato-sensei asked me to stay here and wait for you guys. He asked us to wait here until he finishes explaining things to Tsunade-shishou." she stated with an uncomfortable air around her. She felt her heart being stabbed by a gazillion knives, because she saw that Sasuke still had no intention of talking to her. And the way he looked at her right then and there seemed to hold some sort of angst and disgust. It was like telling her to leave. She just calmed herself by swallowing hard and taking a deep breath.
"Oh great, stuck with the traitor and the little prick with no balls!" Sai then smiled his usual fake smile.
"AGHH! Will you stop calling me that? I'm seriously gonna make you pay!" Naruto was pissed and Sakura decided to intervene again like before and stop this nonsense.
"Stop it now. Remember Naruto, calm down, calm down. Breathe in, breathe out."
Sasuke leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. The two continued to bicker and Sakura concluded that this probably won't stop until they hurt each other. She went beside Sasuke and initiated a conversation to start with him.
"So…um…Sasuke, how have you been?"
"…"
"Uh…Oh…what happened to you during those two years with the Sound?"
"…"
"What I wanted to ask was…why did you…um…thank me when you left."
"No reason."
"Come on, why don't you talk to me? Did you learn anything interesting from them? Huh? Talk to me…" tears started gathering into her eyes and flowed like there was no tomorrow.
"WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! You are just like before! Annoying as usual! Phft! Just when I thought that you have finally changed and come to your senses. You are so emotional that it's annoying the hell out of me!" Sasuke snapped at Sakura. The other two stopped bickering and started staring at the two. A steaming Sasuke and a hurt Sakura who took a step back.
Sakura decided to just keep quiet and go back to her position before ─ in front of the door to the Hokage's office. Sai leaned against the wall like Sasuke. Naruto, decided to yell at him but stopped, he was matured enough to know that whatever he might do, Sasuke would never listen if it's about Sakura. So he just sat on the floor and minded his own business.
The kunoichi's mind was swirling and a headache was creeping its way to her. Her chest seemed to tighten by every second and her breath seemed to constrict. She was feeling the pain. It came in late, but it was there. Slowly giving its effects and making her want to cry again. And she did.
"Uh!" Sasuke rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Hey dobe! Tell your temporary sensei and the Hokage that I'll be staying in my old apartment. I can't stand it here."
Without another word, he left and made his way to his so-called 'home'. Sakura was silent though soft sobs came from her. She wiped her tears away with her right arm and faced the two males behind her. She flashed them a fake smile, a smile that perfectly hid what she truly felt, but Naruto knew what was behind that smile of hers.
"Naruto, Sai, please tell Yamato-sensei and Tsunade-shishou that I'll be going home now." she gave them a small wave with her left hand and left.
That night she cried and cried. Her mother was asleep and since she wasn't a ninja, she didn't know of Sakura's arrival when she decided to enter by the window.
Tsunade decided to have Sasuke interrogated about what happened in Sound. He seemed to answer them with no trouble at all. So after that, she had Kakashi lead team 7 again with the addition of Sai, just to make sure that his coming back is not out of a plan made by Orochimaru. She was surprised that Sasuke actually killed Orochimaru with his own hands so she was suspicious. She assigned them usual missions and stuff, even D-ranked ones were given to them. This continued on for half a year, which means its already been three years since Sasuke's departure, and half a year since his arrival.
During those months, Sakura remained the same, even after Sasuke's words. She continued asking him on dates as usual. She did it out of joy and tradition. She clearly missed the old days and was desperately trying to get those back. Sakura was really happy of his return to Leaf and she didn't really hold any grudge or pain when he snapped at her. All that mattered to her was that he was back. He has returned to leaf…returned to her.
Only, that something happened the day before that made her want to do something for him…
"OHAYOU SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura greeted with a very happy smile on her face.
Sasuke didn't even flinch nor glance at her. He acted as if she didn't even arrive…or exist. The smile on Sakura's face didn't fade, it just stayed there as she leaned on the railing of the bridge, right beside Sasuke. Minutes passed, but Naruto still wasn't around, so she decided to break the silence and start talking.
"You know Sasuke-kun, I'm really happy today!" she stated with a wide smile gracing her features while facing the said boy. The problem was, he didn't seem like he was listening, but Sakura knew that having sharp senses would make him able to hear him, no matter what he does so she decided to continue, without waiting for a response from Sasuke.
"Well, it's because I'm finally able to see you everyday! I was so sad when you left and felt like everything around me was going to fall apart. You were gone, and because of that I decided to go train and become strong – just for you – under the Fifth Hokage's guidance. This morning I just started thinking about these and –"
"What is it with you with these stupid feelings? You said you knew all the rules by the book of the ninja and still you can't seem to follow that ONE single rule. Shinobis are supposed to be void of emotions to be able to be successful in their missions, you, however do not seem to understand this condition." Sasuke interrupted her, quite rudely.
"I know…but…these emotions make people feel alive and make them feel that the world is here and their standing on it, waking up every morning knowing that these things are going to make them feel good." she replied to defend herself from his belief.
"…It's been a long time since I ever felt alive…" Sasuke whispered to himself, but wasn't able to escape the kunoichi's ears.
"You're stupid." Instead of saying what he really felt he let foreign words to flow from his mouth.
Sakura saw that somehow, Sasuke missed the feeling of being…happy…the feelings that make people feel alive. She saw that he was still in pain, always pondering ways to kill his brother and avenge his clan. He…LOVED…his family that much and she felt his anguish.
There was silence.
The wind howled.
The leaves of the trees flew past them, following the wind's direction.
She was looking straight at him.
He was looking deep into the flowing water beneath the bridge.
She was trying to decipher him.
He was thinking hard.
POOF!
Their very much known sensei, Hatake Kakashi, has arrived. This was clearly unusual. He arrived BEFORE Naruto came. The world is probably nearing its end…And the last word that would be heard within its boundaries would be…
"Yo!"
Nice…
Sakura immediately turned into her jolly old self in front of their teacher. Sasuke being his normal self…brooding (poor kid). The jounin seemed oblivious to what was happening, started explaining his UNUSUAL appearance.
"Well, apparently Naruto, accidentally ate something other than ramen this morning…which led to some rare sickness…and as sad as this may seem, he won't be able to join us in our training."
"So…we'll be trying several drills, new ones, I might add. I've already assembled a place for you, just two kilometers from here. First, you'll be climbing a wall using ropes, instead of your chakra, as you should know, obviously this is physical training without chakra. Next, you'll be doing some crawling under barb wires, which are extremely sharp. Then, you'll be…"
Kakashi continued, stating other forms of drills. The second part was the time when it started to rain, getting them dirtied with mud. No words were exchanged from the two during their training. They just trained and trained. At least their sensei raised their spirits by telling them that Naruto would be doing the same training, a harder one, and other than that, during his training, they would just be watching him. Oh the joy!
Still Sakura's head was still filled with confusion of what to do. She was thinking hard about Sasuke. After a few more moments of thinking, she was able to make a decision…
"I'll do it."
A/N:Hey, about my other fics, I know I should be concentrating on those but I wanted to try something new. I also can't continue writing fics without some sort of inspiration...
Sorry about that! Just try to understand...I'm already crazy and my life's crazy as it is! he he
Please review, I don't know if I should use this kind of style on my other stories - a.k.a the silly products of my freakingly weird imagination. I write stories but I just can't seem to get the story in my head right in my writing...
Please...just review. I think I'm getting a headache...