A/N: Just wanted to let you know that this is my first fanfic and that I am not Japanese nor am I a man and so I could not possibly be the owner of Naruto. But if I was... * cue evil laugh and dark menacing aura*
So tired.
This is the first thought that came into the mind of the pink-haired kunoichi as she woke up. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the warm sunlight filtering in through the window. A cool breeze seeped in through the opening.
I have to get up now or else Tsunade-shishou will scold me for being late. Again.
She kicked the comforter off and did her utmost best to pick herself up and trudge towards the bathroom. She went into the shower, cleaned and clothed herself without putting much thought into the chore. Her mind keeps on straying to those thoughts. Thoughts that make her want to just sag on the floor and give up on everything. But, she pushes those thoughts aside almost violently.
I am strong. I am worthy.
She tells herself these words every day. Whether it be during the mornings when she goes off to work and faces the task of healing and saving others, or at night when the frustration and hurt creeps in without warning and without mercy. These words are what keeps her together, it is what staves off the feeling of desperation and utter loneliness.
Finally ready to head towards the hospital, she locks her apartment door and went down the two flights of stairs. She is living on a three-floor apartment complex owned by a simple man who owns a bakery down the street. He may be a civilian but he is not ignorant of the bloody and gruesome life that a shinobi leads nor is he ignorant of the reasons why some shinobi seek apartments that are only good for one person.
A life of a shinobi entails many hardships and sacrifices. Loneliness and grief is a constant company.
As she walks down the street, unbidden thoughts and memories come into the surface of her mind. These thoughts she will not push back. Instead, she beckons to them as if a child beckoning the warm embrace of a mother.
"Sakura-chan", the little five year old pinkette looks back at her mother as she brushes her daughter's hair. She saw her mother, with her light brown hair illuminated by the moonlight streaming in from the window and viridian eyes so much like hers full of light and love, and she thought that Haruno Mebuki is the kind of mother she aspires to be in the future. " You are precious to me and your father. You are our bundle of joy and love whether it is when you were an infant or when you turn into a 40 year old". The little child pouted cutely at her mother's teasing tone. " Our love for you will never fade, Sakura-chan. You are strong and you are worthy. Worthy of so many things. Worthy of a wonderful life whatever path you may choose in the future. Don't ever forget that no matter what others tell you. Do you understand Sakura-chan?"
" Yes, mother", she smiled brightly at her mother. " I am strong and I am worthy and I will never forget it". Her mother smiled back at her. "That's all I ask from you, my little Sakura-chan".
The pinkette smiled, partly sadly and partly warmly at her reminiscence. Memories of her mother and father are all she had of them now. And it is and will always be her greatest treasure. As she glanced forward, she caught sight of a familiar long-haired blondie walking on the same direction as her. " Ino-pig", she called towards her best friend/ long-time rival. " Hey forehead", Ino said with a wave towards her. The terms they used were not meant to insult but rather an endearment. Well most of the time it's like that. "So you headed to the hospital as well huh?" "Yeah, Shizune-senpai said she needed some help with the annual physical check-ups 'cause there's bound to be an influx of patients later in the day. "Oh, I forgot that it's that time of the year already" the pinkette scratched her head with a grin. Ino couldn't help but be reminded of a certain blockhead with the same expression. "Sakura has been hanging out with Naruto way too much" the blonde thought.
"Aren't you forgetting something else, forehead?"
"Huh?"
"Weren't you supposed to meet with Tsunade-sama like 10 minutes ago?"
"…"
" Damn it, I have to go. See you later Ino-pig", the pinkette said over her back while dashing off towards the hospital.
"How troublesome", she sighed
"….."
"Maybe Sakura's not the only one spending too much time with her teammate"
As Sakura reached the door to her shishou's office, she became a bit apprehensive and a bit scared. She has a right to be since her mentor is a terrifying woman. Not because she's the Hokage of this village nor is it because she is the head of this hospital. No. It's because her shishou can crush boulders with just the flick of her pinky and with merely any thought. She is a force to be reckoned with and she especially despises it when somebody is late for an appointment.
And right now, that somebody is ME.
" Help me", she mumbled lowly as she opened the door. She approached her slowly as if placating a wild animal. When she finally gathered the courage to look at her shishou, she noticed the vein throbbing wildly on her forehead. Her eye was twitching as well and it looked to her as if one slight push from her will detonate her shishou.
" Good morning, Tsunade-shishou". No response, just more twitching.
" Ahem, sorry for being late…I kind of….ano…hehe". Even more twitching.
" Sakura".
"Yes, shishou?"
A deep inhale of breath was heard on the unbearably silent room.
" I want you to accompany me during my rounds, alright? So that you are updated with my patients' condition and can therefore tend to them when I am unable to do so"
Sakura kept silent and just stared at her. Isn't she supposed to be murdering me right now, denouncing me as her student, lecturing my butt off? Anything?! Alas, nothing happened so she kept on staring.
"Shizune threatened to destroy all my stock of sake if I break one more of my desks or if ever she hears that I've been on a rampage again, so be thankful to her".
" 'Cause I certainly am not" the Lady Hokage mumbled to herself. She cleared her throat. "So let's head off now".
Sakura nodded and followed behind her mentor. As her shishou proceeded with the check-ups and medical procedures, Sakura couldn't help but remember back on her genin days when she pretty much was useless in combat. She may have had an affinity for strategical approaches and calculations of vectors and distances but her physical strength was lacking and a disadvantage during missions. She couldn't help as well when a tinge of bitterness and loathing for herself crept on the edges of her heart when she remembered all those times that she had to stay back and watch her two teammates do all the work. All she could see during her genin days were the backs of Naruto and Sasuke while she lost herself on the darkness of the shadows that those two cast upon her.
But, she strived hard and fought back. I am strong and I am worthy. All her abilities now, her efficiency and excellence in medical ninjutsu and her monstrous and earth-shattering strength that could be on par with the strongest of men could only be attributed to the long and hard days she spent training with the Lady Hokage herself. She was now the person she longed aspired to be when she was a genin: strong, competent and compassionate. And no one can take that away from me.
As they finished with the rounds, Tsunade voiced a question that made Sakura freeze momentarily.
" So, how is the Uchiha brat? Is he making any progress?"
The pinkette thought for a moment then said, "I guess he's doing fine Tsunade-shishou. I haven't really seen him that recently". Tsunade examined her student momentarily, noting how she seemed distressed and evasive when the Uchiha brat was brought up. She does not show it but she is concerned for her student and thus has been keeping tabs on her ever since the Uchiha decided to join the Alliance and aid them in the Fourth Shinobi War. That was six months ago, and since then the pinkette seems to still be uncomfortable in the presence of her ex-teammate being back here in Konoha.
" A shinobi endures, Sakura. This is not only true in the battlefield thus in life as well. But, shinobi are human too and they can only endure so much".
Sakura looked at her mentor. She can see the sadness and regret in her amber eyes, but they were gone in the next second. Tsunade-shishou is old. Not so much in the physical sense but her emotions and experiences makes her seem wizened and…..so….. old and tired. Her mentor stared at her as if she wanted to say more but then she turned around and walked off without another word.
Since she did not have to be at the hospital this afternoon, the pinkette found herself with free time and nowhere to spend it. So she decided to enjoy the slightly warm but nonetheless refreshing day by taking a walk around Konoha. An hour passed and she was beginning to get a bit bored and tired from the walking, not to mention her stomach was grumbling so much it was borderline embarrassing. And so, she found herself looking for a place to eat. Suddenly, she heard a familiar obnoxious voice shouting something from his all time favorite place, The Ichiraku's Ramen stand. I swear Naruto's gonna get kicked off of this village if he does not learn to tone down his voice. It won't matter whether he's the hero of Konoha or not by then.
Irritated by the fox-boy's voice, she stomped over totheramen stand to give the boy some deserved lecturing.
" WHAT DID YOU SAY TEME? LET'S HEAD OFF TO THE TRAINING GROUNDS RIGHT NOW. I'M GONNA KICK YOUR….OOOUUUCCHHH…..WHO DID THAT….AAAHHHH SAKURA-CHAN, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
The pinkette had snuck up on Naruto and smacked him upside the head, with the aid of a tiny bit of chakra mind you, in order to shut the boy up. Her ears were ringing from his constant shouting and not just from his recent shouting but from all those years that they've been together since they were genin.
"Because you need to learn how to use your indoor voice Naruto. Did I not to teach you about this already? Should I teach you again?" she said this while cracking her knuckles menacingly.
Her "teaching" is something that Naruto will never forget. It consisted of a lot of threats, smacks and punches on Sakura's part and a lot of tears and begging on his part. NO. He does not want a repeat of that. EVER AGAIN.
"Sorry Sakura-chan. I'll use my indoor voice from now on I promise". He gave Sakura his biggest, most shit-eating grin ever, complete with a raised hand and all to complete the effect.
" You better" was all Sakura said. Then her stomach growled loudly causing Naruto to chuckle lightly. She glared though half-heartedly at her teammate.
"Are you hungry, Sakura-chan?" the pinkette nodded "Ne, Teuchi-san one pork ramen for Sakura-chan please". The old man nodded and proceeded towards the back kitchen immediately. In all of the commotion between her argument with Naruto, Sakura neglected to notice the presence of another person in the ramen stand. A darker, quieter presence that was coincidentally sitting right next to her.
" After you eat, why don't you join us for some training Sakura-chan? Oi teme, don't you think she should join us?"
The said teme just glanced at her momentarily and voiced his oh so ever famous "Hn".
" I don't know Naruto . I think I'm just gonna head home and read some book or something"
"But, Sakura-chan don't you have the afternoon off today?"
Sasuke have been noticing snippets of how close Sakura and Naruto had been ever since he rejoined Konoha. And Naruto knowing Sakura's work schedule is just one more proof of that.
"Yes, but this is also the only time I have to relax myself. Sorry but some other time I guess"
"Okay, if you say so Sakura-chan but I'm holding you to your promise of "next time"" This statement made the pinkette chuckle a bit. He sounds like a 5 year old. But you can't fool me Naruto. I know that you've matured now in actions and in thoughts.
As Sakura finished off her ramen she stood up and thought of how Team 7 as of now in the present is far off from the Team 7 of the past. It's a sad thought but it is reality.
"Alright. See you later". She smiled at Naruto and gave a slight nod at her other teammate. Sasuke couldn't help it when an unbidden face came into his mind, a flash of a smiling 12 year old pink-haired kunoichi as she blushed lightly while saying her goodbyes to him.
That evening her mentor called to inform her that she was to have a day off tomorrow since she has been working too much and that it was an order so no "buts". She was honest enough to say that she had been overworking herself lately. Occupying her mind with various methods to cauterizing veins and arteries to stop hemorrhaging and the various methods to inhibit blood agglutination due to poisoning are very effective methods to distract herself from thinking about her estranged ex-teammate, or should she say soon-to-be-reinstated-teammate since it was well known that although Sasuke left Konoha for his revenge, he did aid in the war and in the elimination of the threats to Konoha thus granting him a considerably lighter punishment for his actions. He was successful in attaining his revenge but he does not radiate that " I am happy and content that my goal was fulfilled" kind of aura that he should've had. Now, she does not know what is going on in his head nor does she know what his plans are anymore and this just makes her even more doubtful and apprehensive about his presence here in her home village. If she were to be even more honest with herself, she is confused for what she feels for him. She cannot readily admit now that she loves him with all her heart for she does not know if it is still true. And, the biggest problem of it all is that she is too scared to find out what is in her heart. She does not want to experience the crushing pain when he left again nor does she savor the drowning disappointment she felt when she heard about him being classified as an S-class criminal. She just does not want to feel like that again. Loving him one more time puts her at risk for being a whirlwind of emotions once more. And so now, she is ever more cautious and careful in sharing her heart.
And so with an uneasy heart but with a new resolution, the pinkette closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
As the pink-haired kunoichi strolled down the slightly crowded streets of the Konoha market, she noticed the mop of dark-hair of her unhealthily pale teammate. He should really eat more iron-rich foods but I doubt that would help his complexion at all. "Good morning Sai" she greeted the artist. "Good morning to you too hag", he replied with that fake smile of his. Although, lately she has been noticing that his smiles where becoming less manufactured and more natural and this made her even more fond of her teammate although his constant use of inappropriate nicknames still makes her pissed off as hell.
" Where are you off to Sai?"
"I am looking for art supplies since I'm almost out. But nevermind that, shouldn't you be more concerned with the fact that your ugliness is causing an unpleasant effect in this wonderful area of Konoha, your manliness is certainly off-putting and might I say offending-"
"SHANNARROOOOOO".
And in the far off distance we can see the form of the artist launched God knows where by Sakura's monstrous kick.
As she neared the bridge where Team 7 always used to meet, she noticed the forms of her two teammates. Both were badly bruised and worn-out but not enough to cost them their lives. Must have gotten carried away with training again. She is not as brutal as others, mainly Naruto, portray her to be and so she approached them with the intention of healing their wounds.
" Hey there Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted cheerfully while Sasuke just gave her a nod. "You two" she growled. " I swear, the next time that I heal you I should demand for payment. I spend more time healing you than my patients in the hospital!"
"Ne, don't be like that Sakura-chan. It's 'cause we're your favorites that's why you can't resist to help us" yet another one of those grins of his were present.
"Whatever". She then proceeded to heal them but not without admonishing them for being too into their training. After Naruto's wounds were healed, she then approached Sasuke and assessed him.
Hm, not gonna take too much time to heal these. " Show me your arm" she said to dark-haired boy.
As Sakura proceeded to heal him, he could hear her mumble medical jargons that he himself could not understand. This just shows him how much this Sakura is a far cry off from the Sakura that he knew during his genin days. She does not giggle much anymore nor does she follow him around with her puppy eyes and never ending invites for a date. Somehow, this unsettles the Uchiha. It is as if he feels like he is missing something though he does not know what exactly. He thinks that somehow he expected that when he came back everything will be back to what it used to be. But then, his mind flashes back to the Land of Iron and the actions he wished undone and the words he wished unsaid. He concludes that no, the things are not the same and he is not sure if it ever will be again. But. He does not like it whenever Sakura avoids him most especially when she gives him that fake smile of hers. It just does not belong in her face. It's just so not….Sakura. He does not know when this feeling started but ever since he joined the Shinobi Alliance, it's as if whatever feelings he harbored for his team before where slowly starting to resurface again. He thought that those feelings where long gone and swallowed up by the bitter hatred and loathing he had accumulated during his dark days as a nukenin but it seems that he is slowly but surely starting to grasp the concept of precious persons again. He is not a sap, by no means is he a sappy person but in his entire life there have only been a handful of persons he could call precious. And he does not know if he can handle anymore the tremendous loneliness he feels whenever he thinks of his massacred clan.
You're not alone, you've got Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura with you. Even that creepy Yamato guy and his weird replacement is an acceptable acquaintance.
That's another thing he gained during his return to Konoha. A nagging voice in the back of his mind that keeps on urging him to venture out of whatever hole he has been hiding himself and his heart in, urging him to try and rebuild his bonds once more. He thinks it's annoying but he cannot deny the truth behind its words. And little by little, it's wearing down his walls and strengthening his conviction. His conviction to repair the bonds he bent, just bent because they could never be destroyed, and reconnect with them. Again, he is not a sap but he is also human and so with these thoughts he came up with a resolution. A resolution to heal and to try. That's what his aniki would have wanted him to do.
Sakura then chooses that moment to look up and announce that she is done. His wounds were healed and he should rest for a couple of days, she said. But both know that he will not do that since training to him is equivalent to that of breathing, it is essential to living. He gives her a mumbled "thank you" and stares at Sakura. There were so many emotions playing in his eyes that Sakura was slightly taken aback. She could not identify all the emotions in his gaze but he could see the most predominant one, fondness. Sasuke then says louder and clearer and with much more depth and meaning than ever before, " Thank you Sakura" before he walked off assumedly to go home and rest.
Sasuke did not notice that his pink-haired teammate had frozen upon his words both in hurt and in pleasure. Those words he uttered were the same words he whispered to me when he left. But, he voicing his gratitude for healing him was a pleasant surprise as well. I guess, maybe, the 12 year old Sasuke I've once known is not completely lost yet. And his eyes, there was so much warmth in his eyes.
Her mother's words came back to her then. "You are strong and you are worthy. Worthy of so many things. Worthy of a wonderful life whatever path you may choose in the future. Don't ever forget that no matter what others tell you. Do you understand Sakura-chan?"
"Oi teme where are you going? Oi!"
Naruto turned to thank his pink-haired teammate but then he said in his uncharacteristically serious tone, " He's coming back around Sakura-chan. Slowly and surely he's coming back to us". She could not help but feel her heart tug at the watery smile he gave her. It filled her with warmth to see Naruto so hopeful and so like himself again. He finally had his brother back.
Naruto then chased after Sasuke and proceeded to annoy the dark-haired teen as they both walked away.
Sasuke's life has been unfair. He has been deprived of love and light for such a long time that he became twisted and dark. But, there is hope for him yet.
I am strong and I am worthy.
And I think Sasuke is too.
Worthy of so much love and friendship no matter what anyone else says.
"Sasuke" she called after her teammate. The said boy turned to look back at her and waited for what he had to say.
She smiled brightly at him.
And Sasuke thought that maybe, just maybe there's hope for him and Sakura yet because that smile she gave him was a little less fake and a lot more genuine.
Another A/N:
I've just finished writing my first ever fanfic, yey! And I'm not really sure whether it's good or not. I have a new found respect for all authors out there. I've just written a 4k word fanfic and it really took a toll on my mind. I can only imagine what toll it takes to the minds of those who write fanfics in multi chapters let alone those who write a novel..
yeesh..this was also my first time to actually "write" a story since any story I make up mainly stays a thought in my mind. I have always been more into reading than into writing. But, I think I'll continue to write and I'll even be more fired up if reviews are received.
Heh.. so what did you guys think? Please let me know through your reviews.
If I were to be the owner of Naruto then: I'd definitely make an episode dedicated entirely to Sasuke wearing a green jumpsuit.