Series: Blue
Author: Juniper11
Pairing: SuperSakura, mentions of SasuSakuNaru
Rating: T
A/N: This was actually 2 stories in one. I combined them because otherwise I would have been considered evil. I am, but not all the time.
She was at the Watchtower again. Superman had been taking her there a lot recently, but she didn't mind it. She loved being able to look down at the Earth. There was something surreal about the whole experience. It made her happy.
Sakura slightly turned her head as she heard footsteps approaching only to see the Amazon Princess. Sakura inclined her head in acknowledgment when Diana reached her side. They had been training an hour or so ago—and Sakura had her ass handed to her which only infuriated her.
Being able to fly was cheating. She wished she had an affinity for wind then she'd even up the score. Naruto did have an affinity for it. She bet he could come up with a doozie of a jutsu to counter Diana's flight.
Sakura chuckled bitterly causing Diana to give her a worried glance. Sakura waved her hand at her dismissing her troubling thoughts and said, "What's going on?"
"Superman says you need a secret identity."
Sakura raised a brow and looked at Diana. "Do you have a secret identity?"
"It isn't necessary for me to have one. I'm not the one living with Superman." Sakura scowled. Clark's paranoia about people finding his identity and now hers was going to drive her batty. She knew this had something to do with his past and he was scared she'd up and die on him, but it seriously irritated her that he had problems acknowledging that she could take care of herself.
He was trying. Sakura told herself. He really was.
She had no idea it was going to be this difficult for him.
"I don't need a secret identity. Very few people even know what I look like." At Diana's confused glance Sakura explained. "I use a very specific genjutsu on my appearance. The only people that can see what I truly look like are you, Clark, Batman, and the Flash. Everyone else sees what they want to see."
"You didn't show Green Lantern, Shayera, and J'onn?"
"I really don't know them that well, but I get the feeling that even with the genjutsu that J'onn knows."
Diana didn't argue since she knew Sakura was probably right. "Still, Sakura you can't continue to use the same name you use when you fight crime as when you're living with Clark."
"I don't." Sakura replied, trying to hold back her smile.
"Sakura at the Planet they call you by your name."
"They call me by my first name. My civilian last name is Naharueno."
Diana blinked for a few seconds, then shook her head. "You are Tsunade's disciple."
"Did you doubt it for a second?" Sakura laughed, but inwardly she thought that if Clark's disguise could be his stupid glasses (and no she was never going to let that go) then her last name could be Naharueno. She actually picked it the same day she found out about Clark's 'other life'.
"Actually, yeah. I did."
"We should go drinking, then you'll know for sure." Diana laughed.
"I know better than that." The ladies lapsed into a comfortable silence that Sakura finally broke.
"Diana, how do you do it?" Diana looked at Sakura quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean a relationship? How do you and Batman work out your relationship?"
"Sakura-"
"I mean it's like the two of you have almost perfect harmony with each other. I've never seen a couple work so well together. How do you balance your professional life with your personal one?"
"Sakura...Batman and I aren't a couple."
Sakura blanched at her open mouth insert foot moment. "I'm sorry, Diana. I didn't mean any harm."
Diana chuckled. "I know you didn't. You aren't the first person to make that mistake."
"So, if you don't mind me asking, there's nothing between you two?"
"I don't know if I would say nothing. I think the better question is will it ever become anything?"
"I know what you mean." Diana arched a brow.
"Oh?"
"Mmm." Diana stared at Sakura wondering whether or not to press or stay silent. The option was taken out of her hands when Sakura decided to keep speaking. "I'm very..fond of Superman."
"He endears himself to people rather easily."
"Yes, I've noticed." Sakura fell silent and Diana decided to press.
"Are you falling in love with him Sakura?"
"I can't fall in love with him." It was obvious that she felt that way and Diana felt bad that was how she felt about the matter, however, she had to give credit where credit was due. Superman was a good man to fall in love with.
"But are you doing it anyway?"
Sakura sighed. "I really don't want to think about the answer to that question. It is so damned complicated."
"It is only as complicated as you make it."
"I can't start anything with him until he knows my past."
"Did he tell you that?"
"No. Diana I don't want him to think I'm someone that I'm not. I don't want him to have this ideal of me that I fail to live up to. I don't want to hurt him like I hurt..."
"Naruto?" Sakura blinked, surprised that she knew the name.
"How did you...?"
"Tsunade told me a few things." Sakura sighed, unable to muster up the energy to be angry.
"Did she...did she send any news about them?"
Diana placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Wait here." She said and disappeared only to come back with a few letters in her hand. She pushed the letters to Sakura and said, "You have a right to know what I know." Sakura grabbed the letters and clutched them to her chest.
"I'll leave you alone."
Sakura is like a daughter to me. However, Naruto is like a son. When the two of them got together, I couldn't have been happier until I found out it wasn't just the two of them.
Naruto was devastated when he found out she had left. I've never seen him so lifeless before.
He never did anything but hurt her and yet she still continued to love that damned Uchiha blindly. Although I use the word love loosely. Love isn't blind. Infatuation is.
I hope Sakura is doing well in your care. There wasn't much I could do for her except to let her go. Watch out for her, my friend. Be there for her since I cannot.
He asks for news of her. I tell him everything you tell me about her training. Should I say nothing? Am I prolonging his agony? I don't know.
When Sakura finished going through the letters she was in tears. She didn't mean to hurt Naruto the way she had. She felt so helpless. He was hurting and there was nothing she could do to help him. How could she even think about moving on when she knew he was home miserable?
Maybe it was time to go home. Maybe Sasuke was right. If she just pretended to love him, then maybe one day she'd fool herself into believing it.
Superman chose that moment to make an entrance. He took one look at her face and frowned. She almost made a move to hide the letters, but knew well enough that if he wanted to read what was written she wouldn't be able to hide it from him. So instead, she clutched the letters to her chest and looked at him with her heart in her eyes.
Superman took a guess. "News from home?" Sakura nodded. "Are you leaving?"
Sakura opened her mouth to say yes, but when she looked into his eyes she couldn't. She didn't want to say yes because she wanted to stay. Sakura wiped the tears away from her face and gave him an honest answer. "No. I'm not ready to go home yet."
Clark smiled slightly. "Would it be wrong if I said I was glad?" Sakura made a face at him.
"Yes." She replied, but laughed anyway. "So I hear I need a secret identity." Clark had the decency to look sheepish. "You know, it's kind of funny that the strongest man in the world sends a woman to do his dirty work for him."
"Sakura, that's not what it was."
"Mmm-hmm. So why didn't you come and tell me yourself?" Sakura really enjoyed teasing Clark. It was one of the things that made her day great. It turned him into this adorable little boy and made her just want to place kisses all over his face.
"I was going to speak to you about that, but Diana must have gotten to you first."
"You're a horrible liar."
"So sayeth the pot." Sakura laughed, but Clark plowed onward. "Sakura, I just want to make sure you're safe because-" Sakura held up a single hand.
"Not another word. You've already dug this hole already. Are you ready to jump in again?" Clark smiled and Sakura had the feeling that he was using that smile to get himself out of trouble.
It was working.
She wondered when she had become such a sucker.
"I am not getting a secret identity. I've already taken the necessary precautions in order to safeguard myself." Clark opened his mouth to say something else, then closed it seemingly changing his mind before saying, "I want you to come to Smallville with me." Sakura tilted her head to the side. She was certain she'd heard him mention Smallville once or twice, but she honestly had no idea what was so special about it. Truthfully, it didn't sound like there was much there.
"What's in Smallville?"
"My parents."
Sakura's heart stopped.
Sakura had no idea why she agreed to meet Clark's parents. It wasn't like she had any experience on the subject. Naurto's parents died heroes protecting the Village from the Nine-Tailed Fox while Sasuke's parents were killed in the massacre at an age where he hadn't even begun to think about dating.
Now, years later, she understood Naruto's discomfort and Sasuke's downright hostility at being pushed into that endeavor. She silently said an apology to both of them as she gazed into the warm yet curious eyes of Martha Kent.
"Ma, Pa this is Sakura."
Martha had no idea how long it had been since she had seen her son so fidgety. She wasn't sure what to attribute it to so instead she focused her attention on her new visitor. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the little girl who obviously knew her son's secret identity—since there was no car in the yard. They had to have gotten to the farm somehow.
"Always thought Wonder Woman would catch your attention first." Jonathan Kent said with a chuckle.
"Pa!"
Sakura turned her head and raised a brow at Clark then drawled, "I didn't know you had a thing for stars and short shorts Clark." Clark's face turned red and Martha decided then that she liked this girl who had brought life back into her son's eyes. He stood close to her as if he wanted to wrap his arms around her but thought better of it. She wondered if it was because he was in front of her and Jonathan.
Clark raised a hand and covered his face in an obvious display of embarrassment. Which was normal since he was getting it from both his father and his new lady love. "Come on, son, I need help with a few things in the barn."
"And you," Martha said, drawing Sakura's attention to her, "can help me prepare dinner. We weren't expecting company."
Sakura and Clark exchanged looks that said 'help me' before they both smiled and looked away.
"Sorry to drop in unannounced Mrs. Kent."
"It's not a problem. We actually expect it with Clark."
Martha led her into her kitchen talking along the way. "Clark's favorite food is peanut butter and jelly." Sakura giggled since she knew that well. "But that boy of mine has never been able to resist my fried chicken."
Martha then proceeded to show her exact way to make her famous fried chicken. "If you use this recipe—he'll give you whatever you want afterward."
Sakura laughed. "Should you be showing me how to take advantage of your son?"
Martha clucked her tongue. "My son is probably listening to every word we're saying right now and he should know he's never too old to be punished."
Clark stopped listening.
Sakura howled.
"So, how long have you two been dating?"
Sakura blinked. She didn't know why she didn't expect that question. If Clark had been her son it would have been the first question she asked. The woman had admirable restraint. Not to mention there was something about the woman that lured her into a sense of security. She would probably make a good interrogator if she put her mind to it.
"We're not dating Mrs. Kent."
"Nonsense. Clark wouldn't have brought you here if there weren't something between the two of you." Sakura's heart leaped and she barely managed to tap down on her blush and keep her poker face. She wasn't ready for a relationship. Her past one was still haunting her.
"We're just friends."
Martha looked into Sakura's eyes and noted the unease there. In fact, she wasn't sure if it were more fear than unease. Martha dropped the subject.
"So, where are you from?"
Sakura relaxed slightly. "From Konoha—the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
"Oh, and how did you end up here?"
"My Master sent me here to train with Diana."
"And you ended up helping the League." Martha finished. "You must be a superb fighter."'
Sakura blushed. "I do well enough—although if you asked Clark I should be put in a box of fragile items and kept far, far away from any dangerous dealings."
"He is a mite overprotective."
"A mite?" But Martha ignored her words.
"Who is she son?" They were the first words out of Jonathan Kent's mouth as soon as they were out of earshot of his son's friend and Martha. He was aware that Clark knew better than to endanger himself, but he had been different since Lois died and frankly, he and his mother had been worried about him.
"She's a friend of Diana's."
"An Amazon?" She was sort of short to be an Amazon.
"No, she's from another world or dimension. I'm not sure which." Which sent alarms off in Jonathan's head. A woman from an unknown world with a presumably unknown purpose.
"Can you trust her?"
"I trust her with my life." Which was evident by the fact that he brought her to his parents in the first place. Jonathan relaxed a little. Clark's tone said a lot more than 'I trust her'.
"You're in love with her." Clark sighed which told his father that she wasn't giving him an easy go of it. That in and of itself amused him that the girl knew who he was and didn't fall into his arms. "And she's one tough cookie."
"Pa, I don't want to love her and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to love me either."
"Love isn't something you can control Clark."
"I know. I'm just-" A lost look settled over Clark. Jonathan placed a hand on Clark's shoulder.
"Clark, it's alright to be afraid sometimes. Sometimes fear makes you appreciate what you have more."
"Pa, what if I lose her too? What if-"
"Life is full of what ifs. You can't let them stop you from living, though. If you want her, grab her and hold on while you can. Because if you don't in the end all you'll have is regret."
Clark fell silent and Jonathan sought to alleviate some of the turmoil that his son was embroiled in. "Tell me, what do you like most about her?"
Clark smiled slightly. "That to her I'm just a man."
"So...what do you like most about Clark?" Sakura was certain that by the time she left the Kent residence her face would be permanently red. The first thing that popped into her mind was: I like the way he looks in his tight tight Superman uniform. She never thought she'd have such a thought after knowing Gai and Lee, taijutsu specialists from the leaf, for so many years, but she now had a new appreciation for form fitting clothes.
Still, that didn't really answer the question anyway.
"You know, Mrs Kent. I'm not sure. Every time I think I've stumbled across something I really like about him I find something else that eclipses it. Sometimes it's like he has my mind in a whirlwind." Martha chuckled. "But he drives me so crazy. He's not pushy and I really don't know how to deal with that. I'm used to being overwhelmed by the men in my life. It's like he trusts me to make my own decisions. It's like he cares about what I think and feel and it makes me want to do everything I can to make him happy and when he smiles at me-" Sakura broke off realizing that she was talking to the man's mother. Her eyes widened in shock and her mouth clamped shut.
"Don't stop on my account." Martha said, reaching out and squeezing the girl's hand. "You look like you need to speak out loud to sort it all out."
She did, but there was no way in hell she was going to do that when all Clark had to do was focus and hear every word she was saying. Thankfully, Clark and Jonathan chose that moment to walk back into the kitchen.
Clark walked over to his mother where she was finishing up cooking and reaching to steal a bit of food, but Sakura, who was nearby and knew exactly what he was going to do, smacked his hand.
"I'd hate to throw you out of the kitchen Clark." Sakura said, amused at the pout he threw her way.
"I couldn't have put it better myself." Martha replied and shooed the men out of the kitchen.
After Sakura and Clark left Martha and Jonathan sat on the porch talking quietly to each other.
"They're from two different worlds."
"Martha, that would be the case even if she was from this dimension."
"I know that. It's just that she wants so badly to make him happy, but she can't give him the one thing that would make him the happiest."
"You mean her love? It's far too late for that. He already has it."
"You mean-"
"She's fighting it tooth and nail, but it's too late. You can see it in her eyes. That gal loves Clark fiercely."
"I thought so too, but Jonathan...she's so scared and I don't know what of. It can't be that's she's afraid of love. It's such a beautiful thing."
"Tell that to Clark." Jonathan and Martha exchanged looks both knowing how broken their son had been after Lois' death.
Martha sighed. "Sometimes I wish he had never fallen in love with Lois."
"Mmm."
"Do you think he'll bring her by again?"
"She'll probably insist that he do so." Martha smiled. "Good. Those two look like they need all the help they can get."
Dinner was enjoyable and Sakura told Clark so.
"I like your parents." Clark merely smiled as he gathered her into his arms and prepared to go home. "Especially your mother. She would have made the best interrogator back home."
"Interrogator? My mother?" Clark said nothing about the fact that she talking about interrogation so easily that it disturbed him.
"Yeah, she has talent that Ibiki would die to have under his tutelage."
"Who's Ibiki?"
"The head of T & I. My best friend Ino works with him."
"T & I?"
"Torture and Interrogation." Sakura supplied.
"You torture people?" Sakura missed how deeply disturbed he was by that information.
"Me personally? No. I don't have the talent for it. My team is mainly muscle. We're on the front lines for any battle. At least we will be until Naruto becomes Kage."
"Who is Naruto?"
"He's my-" Sakura broke off realizing how much she had been talking. She almost said the word 'lover'. Something about being around Mrs. Kent relaxed her and loosened her tongue. She silently swore to herself about giving away so much information. "Teammate." She finished finally seeming as though Clark was waiting for her answer.
Sakura wasn't a fool. She knew that something about her words shifted the dynamics of their relationship, but she wasn't sure how. Although she foolishly thought that he had seen through her lie that all Naruto was to her was a teammate.
The rest of their journey was finished in silence.