AN: Hey Y'all, this is my first real Fan fiction, so go easy on me!
If there any sort of factual errors, or anything of such. Let me know, and I'll be sure to try and fix them. I appreciate any and all reviews!
This story is a team seven bonding story, with SakuSasu flavoring. I want to broaden my horizons on Sakura. So, if you don't want to hear much about Saku-Chan, read someone Else's story.
Trust me in this, Sakura is soon going to have a whole new perspective soon, on everything.
Chapter One: Reconciliation
Sakura could see wave after wave of vicious, frothing water in the brief flash of lightening that seemed to light up the entire ocean before her eyes. Even though it was only early evening, the sky was pitch black with thunderous clouds that the roaring wind brought in.
She gripped onto the quarterdeck's rail of the boat, eyeing the view of giant wave after wave coming towards them. They threatened to knock her off the boat, and she knew without a doubt that her chakra induced feet wouldn't help her survive this time. "Naruto!" she screeched wildly, when the ship tipped on a particularly sickening angle. She could practically reach out and touch the water.
"Sakura – Chan!" Naruto bellowed, "the seal! Now!" His voice came from the dark depths of the waves, and for a moment Sakura was frozen in awe. How the hell was he managing to stay afloat in this?? She gritted her teeth with envy and threw herself into forming the proper seals and leveling out her Chakra. The boat rocked and threw her on her side, but not before she felt the seal snap into place.
The water Nin that had been furiously attacking them instantly began to sink as the seal kicked in, sealing away all of their Chakra. The rain that had been previously pelting Sakura in the face and making it nearly impossible to breathe instantly subsided, and the clouds all but evaporated, leaving a sense of strange peace. The sunset shone on the boat as it rocked vicariously in the waves that would not subside until they settled themselves.
Sakura hopped onto her feet, slipping crazily on the wet deck before gripping the railing again. She hollered victoriously, even though the waves still crashed up against the boat. The Water Nins were helpless now; Kakashi and Sai took them out without any more trouble. Naruto drove himself off of the ocean and onto the ship to give Sakura a Gai like grin and thumbs up. She smiled weakly; the ocean really wasn't her thing.
Hours after the fight with the Water Shinobi, the team settled on the deck of the boat. Each with their own sigh of relief as the waves settled, leaving them to finally be able to wring out their clothing and shake the water out of their hair.
"Phew!!" Naruto exclaimed, "that was a close one, did you see the size of those waves?? Those jutsus' were crazy!!" he waved his arms in the air for emphasize and nodded at Sakura, "Right, Sakura- Chan??"
"Um,"
"Maybe for you, idiot." Sai jumped in to save her, "whose only a chuunin, I guess those jutsus would seem pretty scary." He grinned at Naruto's gaping face then promptly continued to assault him with a barrage of insults that would make the kindest of people want to break bones.
Sakura shared a bemused glance with Kakashi before she hopped down to the lower decks to hang her clothes, in her room. She pulled off her red Haruno vest and black shorts, throwing them over a line that was tied from one wall to another. She sighed despairingly at the lack of her medic Nin skirt, which was torn off by a particularly vicious wave earlier. To make matters worse, her boots were so wet she was sure she'd have to go in spare sandals for a while; which she hated, because her boots were neat and comfortable.
She pulled her shoulder length hair into a tight ponytail, getting the sopping wet strands off of her neck. With a quick changing of underwear and thankfully, a clean and dry bra; she hopped onto her bed and wrapped herself up with a warm blanket.
Team Seven, formerly three pre- chuunin, and a Jounin, had come a long way. The team that started out seven years ago as three young kids, and a lazy sensei were now one of the most known groups in all of Konoha. The boisterous Naruto, who never gave up on anything. The sharingan using copy Nin, Kakashi. The ass-kicking medic Nin; trained by the Hokage herself, Sakura. Lastly, the top-secret root member, Sai. Of course, also known as the team who lost their teammate, the last surviving Uchiha.
Sakura grimaced tightly, remembering the last time she had to speak out loud about him. It had nearly torn her and her sensei apart. The memory was still fresh, and so was the pain.
--
"Haruno Sakura, don't you dare act like this has no effect on you." Tsunade admonished, pulling her face to face with her angry mentor by a tight grip on her red vest. "You've been distracted during training, at the hospital, and even during mission debriefing. A good ninja doesn't do this to themselves!" she claimed.
Tsunade couldn't be deterred from what she needed to say, even though she knew it was going to break the icy composure her student had so perfectly put together. She wasn't meant to be cold, not the blazing Sakura with bubble gum pink hair and the Haruno color of fiery red. "Sasuke is as much a part of your past as Orochimaru was mine, " she added quietly, as if in after thought.
Sakura inhaled sharply and shook her head, she didn't want to read into that too much.
"Shishou, please. I'm not trying to act like he never existed, but this…" She was cut off by the wave of Tsunade's perfectly manicured hand.
"You can't even say his name," Tsunade accused, her eye's flashing with barely contained anger. "This will be good for you," she asserted.
Sakura shook her head slowly, " I refuse, I .. I don't want to be a part of this mission, to retrieve ..Sasuke." her voice caught on her name and she inwardly cursed at the weakness he still brought out in her. Damn him, damn him! She thought bitterly. Days after they had found Sasuke in Orochimaru's lair, and Sasuke promptly decided to kill Naruto (and probably her), she had laid in bed and cried her last tears for him. She swore she wouldn't let him get the better of her heart, but here she was, years later with stinging eyes and trying desperately to get away from fate.
"So," Tsunade's tone was deceptively light as she released Sakura's vest and made her way back to her chair. "You're telling me that you finally have the chance to be reunited with your teammate, and fill that gaping hole in your heart," Sakura flinched but steadily held her gaze, she would not back down.
Tsunade continued.
"You refuse to accompany your former friend back to his home country, refuse to assist your team on a truly harrowing mission, and ..you call yourself a ninja?" Tsunade's hand slammed against her desk, causing hairline cracks to spread out like a spider web.
Sakura jolted upright, not completely from surprise, her chest was twisted with guilt and shame. "Not for Sasuke," she whispered quietly, adamant to never let herself hope for him again.
"If I had that chance, when I was your age..." Tsunade whispered, her mood switching to reflectively painful. "If I could have brought back Orochimaru, before he did anything evil, before he became so twisted I could barely recognize him… what I would have done," she leaned her chin in her hand.
Sakura lowered her head; eye's stinging. "Shishou! He tried to kill Naruto. He left us! He made his own team after he killed …" she paused, not wanting to remind her that the death of her former friend was on Sasuke's hands. She inwardly cursed as one single tear slid hotly down her flushed cheek, and then another followed. "He didn't bother coming back after he supposedly gained his power, he didn't want us!" she cried softly. She inhaled deeply and scrubbed viciously at her cheeks, "Don't you remember how he infiltrated Konoha, attempting to kill Danzou?" she asked.
"With good reason." Tsunade muttered.
Sakura gasped, unsure what to say. Danzou was a known evil in Konoha, shortly after Sasuke failed to get to him, Tsunade called in team seven and explained the circumstances as to why Sasuke wanted to kill him, and as to why she couldn't let that happen right away. Sakura had been both awash with anguish at what had happened to her former teammate, and filled with vicious jealousy that he would use his team instead of asking them for help.
"What would you have done?" Tsunade asked quietly, "if the circumstances were yours?"
Sakura couldn't answer, the only thing she could think of was when she was stupid enough to tell Sasuke he was lucky not to have parents. She still felt a twinge of shame every time she remembered her ignorant child self-saying those words.
"Why?" she finally whispered, "why do I have to do this?"
"To learn," Tsunade explained to a befuddled Sakura.
"You have no right…." Sakura whispered quietly, her chest twisting with beginning twinges of pure fury.
"I have the right of the Hokage!" Tsunade snarled, instantly smothering Sakura's temper with her own, she slammed a stamp down on a piece of parchment and shoved it into Sakura's hand. "Be at the briefing tomorrow, you have no other choice, no get out of here before you disappoint me anymore!!"
Sakura all but tore the door off the hinges when she slammed it shut behind her, but not before she heard her teacher muttering 'she needs this.'
Sakura wrapped her arms tightly around herself, the tumultuous memories weighed heavily on her; she had lied to Naruto the next day, claiming that she was coming along because she wanted to see Sasuke as much as he did. She had felt the need to lie because she was ashamed of herself, and Tsunade let her get away with it. She knew Naruto wouldn't understand the need to give up, not on anyone or anything.
When she was briefed for the mission, her knees had wobbled with disbelief. Tsunade carefully informed them that Sasuke himself chose to return to the village, and would hand himself in if he was given permission to destroy Danzou. It was time, her Shishou had said, to get rid of the skeletons in Konoha's closet. No matter how much Sakura fought it, a part of the emotions that washed over her was hope.
Now they were two months into the mission, half way to the Country of Demon; the place of the Shadow – far past water and moon country- and they were gaining attention. Water's curiosity had been sparked when four Leaf Nin had stopped off at the shipping yard to gather food and supplies.
They made it close to Moon's border, Far East of Konoha, before water rogue Nin attacked them. Apparently, to Kakashi's observations, the rogue ninja wanted to make a name for themselves by taking their heads. What better than to have blood of Hatake, Uzumaki, and Haruno on their hands? Sakura sometimes wished they weren't so unique, not including Sai with his usual dark hair and pale skin. She herself had her bubblegum pink hair, Kakashi had his Sharingan and silvery spikes, and Naruto with his, well, huge Naruto personality.
Hunted or not, they were headed due south to land of Demon's shores. The country consisted of Shadow village, and Wolf village. Sasuke was nearly in-between; bordering closer to Shadow. The country was a place to be feared, a place full of cold-blooded killers and any other criminals that fancied anonymity.
To survive in Demon country, one had to know what they were doing. They could either use their stealth to stay as far away as possible, or they could be bat shit crazy and take out a gang leader, hoping to make a name for themselves. Sakura assumed they would follow the first idea.
Three days after the water attacking incident, the team set foot in Demon's borders. The place seemed to consist mostly of hard jagged rocks, and huge roiling volcanoes. The sky was black with soot and clouds. There was no wonder to Sakura why the place was called Demon, considering it was hotter than hell and more treacherous than one of Orochimaru's lairs.
When they were in the town, she had to constantly break fingers that inched towards her backside. Many times Naruto was offered money, so that they could "borrow" her for a while. She opted to break their noses and borrowed one of Sai's longer black shirts, and Kakashi's Jounin flak vest to cover her. Her shorts covered most of her legs, and the rest was covered by thick mesh, than her boots. Naruto was reacting violently to the surroundings, constantly baring his teeth at any men who neared Sakura. He kept twitching and glancing behind his shoulder, shaking his head at the pure murderous intent. For the most part, Sai and Kakashi tried hard to ignore it, and simply kept watch for any threats.
Sakura was unduly relieved once the buildings of the city started becoming sparser. They were nearly on the border, which meant they were almost nearly finished the mission. The only thing that kept her from jumping for joy was the fact that she'd have to go through Sasuke to get home, it kept her quiet and in a dark mood for most of the way.
Even Naruto became unusually quiet as they neared the destination point. His eyes gleamed with barely concealed stress, and what Sakura assumed was determination to bring his friend home. A part of her was glad that he could finally fulfill his promise, even if she didn't want him to anymore. She knew he would feel better, and that would make her feel better as well.
When they finally arrived at the meeting point, Sakura couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She wrung them in her black shirt, wiped them on her shorts, played with the zipper on her borrowed vest until Sai had promptly told her that she looked like a nervous idiot, and that portrayed a weakling.
She had growled something incomprehensible and let her hands fall to her side, flashing a vicious glare at Sai. As if he would know how much she suffered right now.
They strode forward into the dark creepy old house, which stood three stories tall. She absently wondered how he kept the house without some criminal trying to kill him for it. It was kind of nice, if you squinted to cover up the dilapidation and that it reminded her of one of those old haunted Victorian houses she used to read about. The backdrop didn't help much either, cliffs upon cliffs of jagged rocks. Lightening flashed in the distance, causing her to shudder.
Sakura gritted her teeth as they stepped through the open door and into dark musty hallway. Naruto instantly perked up as he "accidently" slammed the door behind them. She didn't have to guess why he was perky; she could feel it to. Sasuke's Chakra sent tingles up and down her spine, making the hair on her arms stand up on end. She vaguely wondered if he still wore that stupid purple rope.
"So, they sent you "
Sakura jolted, her head snapping upwards at the sound of his deep voice. He was standing at the foot of the stairs, not more than two meters away from her. For a second, all she could see was the outline of his body. It seemed he still wore the same haori and dark, straight pants. Only now, the rope was missing. She wondered if that was a sign that he wasn't with Orochimaru anymore, or if it just got destroyed in some random encounter with an enemy. It was almost funny, how once a ninja chose their fighting clothes, they hardly ever changed. Maybe it was a comfort thing.
"Sasuke??" Naruto took a quick step forward, his hand seemingly to rise of its own accord.
"Naruto," Sasuke intoned, sounding bored already.
Sakura blinked hard, and glared at the outline. Slowly he came into focus as he lit a spare candle on the wall. No, no, no, Sakura thought to herself firmly. She refused to look him up and down to see how much he changed, and purposely she made herself over look the small changes in his appearance. It was obvious that he filled out, and there were a few more creases in his face, but she forced herself to look away. No. She told herself firmly.
As if he read her mind, his eyes flicked in her direction, looking her up and down slowly. He apparently had nothing to say about her change of attire, or her still short shoulder length hair. Sakura willed herself to look away and stare blankly at a cobweb near his head. This wasn't turning out the way she had planned, from the minute she saw him, her heart's icy exterior began to falter. If only he hadn't done what he had done a few years ago, she thought sadly, then maybe she could at least trust him as a friend.
Sasuke's brow drew downwards minutely, not pleased apparently. He turned to Kakashi and held out his hand, "the papers," he asked sharply.
Kakashi shook his head slowly, and before Sasuke could open his mouth, he pointed to Sakura, "She's in charge."
Sakura wanted to mention that it was probably out of spite from Tsunade herself, but stopped herself quietly. Why be modest to somebody who probably thought she was worthless?? She clenched her jaw and pulled the death certificate from her vest pocket, "It's not dated, "she said coldly, staring somewhere around Sasuke's forehead, "you get to choose the date." She added.
Sasuke held the paper for a moment, his eyes closing briefly. It seemed like a sense of relief washed over him before he flicked his eyes open and nodded once, "understood."
"So you're coming back with us!?" Naruto hollered, his voice harsh with barely contained excitement.
"Yeah"
Sakura's hands went numb.
There we have it. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope you're curios to see what happens next. I know it's short; by the way, I just wanted to see how this is going to be received before posting longer chapters.