Okay just to make one thing clear before this story begins: This is also on wattpad on 's profile. That is me. I just don't want anyone to think someone stole the story and posted it to a different site claiming it as their own, this is my story. Everything is mine except of course the characters and anything that relates to Naruto, that all belongs to Kishimoto. Anyway, just wanted to make that clear before I began the story. Enjoy:)
"Haruno Sakura, report." The advisor spoke sharply, summoning the pinkette into his office. She appeared from seemingly nowhere, her new mask attached securely to her hip, the colors bright and unscathed.
"The mission is on the desk. Confidentiality is key." He said. She stepped forward and lifted the file, opening it.
Target: Uchiha Sasuke. S-ranked criminal. Crimes include: assassination of Danzō Shimura, Alignment with the organization Akatsuki, multiple attempts on the downfall of Konohagakure. Assumed rank: Genin
Next to his name was a photo of him from their Genin days, she felt a sharp shooting pain in her chest.
"Understood." She said formally, placing the file back on the desk, before she exited without a word.
Quietly leaving the village she began her hunt for her former teammate, a sickly feeling drowning in her chest.
"Sasuke.." She muttered, initially searching for a clue to know where she could find him.
Throwing the hood of her cloak up, she rushed through the area of trees and rocks out into the open field just outside her home village. Walking through the field she thought silently about how she would kill him. If she could kill him.
No, I can't chicken out of this. I'm strong enough. I need to do it, there's no way around it. Sasuke..I'm done chasing you.
Walking into a small town on her fourth day, she walked into a small weapons shop.
"Excuse me.." She said walking up to the front counter. "Has this man been through here?" She asked, sliding a photo of him to the man behind the desk. He scratched his salt and pepper beard, eyeing the photo thoughtfully.
"Hm, I don't believe so. That's the Uchiha survivor, ain't he?"
"Yes. Do you have any ideas as to where he could be? Any information is very helpful and greatly appreciated."
"Hm, well there was a red-headed girl in here a few weeks ago talking about some Uchiha. Or was it Uchiko? Either way she said something about a northern hideout." He said after a minute's thought.
"Is that all she said?" She pressed, squeezing as much information from him as she could.
"That's all I remember, I'd certainly head north if you're looking for this Uchiha."
"Thank you for the information. Have a nice day." She said, the front bell tinkling as she left.
North. She could go north. She'd ask in every town she went in if they knew anything about him. She kept moving and following where she was lead another 3 weeks.
"Have you seen this man?" She asked a bartender. She seemed flirtatious and dim, it taking her a moment to notice Sakura's photo.
"Oh yeah! He's right there babe- in that booth." She said, leaning on her elbow and pointing behind. She turned her head and saw the familiar spiky style of his dark hair, quickly turning back.
"Thank you. Can I get a grape soda?" She asked.
"Sure thing sweetie! Y'want a shot of something in there too?" She sprayed the soda into a glass filled with ice.
"You know I don't think I should take one right now haha, thanks though." She said, knocking back a couple gulps of the drink. A little while later she noticed the people at Sasuke's booth get up, specifically a redheaded girl.
A minute after the foursome left, she payed the tipsy bartender.
Spying the familiar redhead from before, she lifted her hood and followed at a safe distance behind, the girl leading her to Sasuke within seconds.
"Sasuke-kun." She said. He looked to her, his eyes cold and expression hard.
"Hn." Some things never change..
"Someone's following us." Shit. She stopped dead in her tracks, hiding in the leaves of the branch she was on. She was silent as she pulled a kunai out of her pouch and a vile of poison. Being ever so careful to let the deadly substance coat the tip, she listened carefully for what was being said below.
"Hm?" She could tell how he was intrigued by the redheaded's words though the 'word' he said never changed.
"Someone with strong chakra. Just a few feet behind us." He looked up at the tree Sakura stood in, raised his hand and sent a lightening bolt towards her. Evading just seconds before he struck her, she moved to another tree on the other side of the group of four.
"Did you see that?" A man with a sword on his back asked, whipping around to where Sakura hid.
"Hn. Who's there?" Sasuke asked. Sakura's heart pounded and anxiety rose in her chest as she thought about life with him dead. She dropped down after securing her mask on her face.
"Uchiha Sasuke." She said, staring straight at him, thankful that he couldn't see her face even if her hood was down. These masks came in handy.
"Hm?"
"It is my mission to annihilate the last of the Uchiha for the safety of my village." She spoke as if she were reciting words she'd been told, which quite frankly she was.
"So I take it you're an anbu from Konoha, hm?" He said, crossing his arms and walking towards her.
"This is certainly no time for small chat." She said, clutching the kunai in her fist, close to her chest, blade pointed down. She had no idea he immediately recognized how she held the blade, or the way that her hands were clearly tense with nerve.
"Ha, you think you're strong enough to kill Sasuke-kun? Don't bite off more than you can chew." The redhead made a snarky reply.
"I certainly know exactly what Sasuke is capable of."
"That makes two of us..." Sasuke said, pausing a moment. "..Sakura." Her heart dropped. There was no way he knew it was her.
"Hm?" She asked. "Care to explain that assumption?"
"It's obvious it's you. I had a hunch from the formalities, she only does that to make things easier on her. It's clear you're uncomfortable with your mission so you're speaking as professionally as possible. Your kunai however confirmed my suspicions, Sakura's the only person I've ever met to hold her blade like that."
"Hm, you're correct about those assumptions, those are both things she's done. However I can confirm that I am not Haruno Sakura." A playful smirk tugged at Sasuke's lips, making her heart race.
"Well, if you're not Sakura...then I suppose you'd have no problem poisoning me." He said, his voice low as he spoke her name. In the way he knew she loved, had loved since they first met.
Would always love. The way only he could say it.
"That would be correct." She said, praying that he couldn't hear the tension in her voice or how shaky she was.
He stretched his arm out to her. "Why don't you prove it then?" She looked at her kunai, then up at him.
"What are you planning...there's no possible way you would just allow yourself to be killed." She said. "Doesn't take a former teammate to know that." Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Had she said too much?
"So you know Sakura and I were once teammates."
"Yes, along with Uzumaki Naruto trained under Hatake Kakashi. That's not secret information."
"Hm, well I suppose you're right." They both stopped for a long minute.
"You still haven't scratched me." He said, putting his arm down. Her face turned hot. "Any reason to that?"
"No." She said, flipping the knife in her hand ready to fight.
"So the fights begun, eh?" He asked. He was toying with her. She knew in her heart and mind he was toying with her. Somehow she didn't care, she was at least talking to him.
They jumped back as the fight began, colliding as they jumped to each other.
Dodging a punch from her, Sasuke twisted around and drop kicked her on the back. Landing on her hand she spun up, kicking to her feet.
He wove hand seals quickly before breathing out a fireball, making his team jump.
"Hey! Watch it Sasuke!" The swordsman yelled. Sakura rolled underneath the flames and landed a square punch to his back, throwing him forwards. He twisted and threw a few shuriken towards her, scratching her arm.
The fight continued, Sakura impressed by how well she was holding up against him. She could tell he was shocked at how well she was doing.
After a while of fighting their breath grew heavy and it was obvious they were both tired.
"Well you've put up quite a fight, I suppose you aren't Sakura." He said in between breaths. She fought back a smile under her mask, feeling fluttery and flattered.
"Though it does peak my interest as to who you actually are." He said, catching his breath.
"That is confidential information." She said between gulps of air.
"Well you must be someone I've known, you clearly know my fighting style."
"Well," she began, still gasping for air. "It works towards my advantage if I know how my opponent fights, doesn't it?"
"Still working with the formalities I see. You're making it quite hard to think you're not Sakura."
"Sakura isn't the strongest physical shinobi, or have you forgotten that?" She asked, remembering just how useless she once was.
"Oh I remember, she was annoying and useless. Now, this is starting to get on my nerves." He walked towards her, and she knew he was going for the mask. She knocked his hand away from her face.
"Sasuke-kun, can we hurry it up please?" The redhead whined.
"Karin be quiet." He snapped, going for the mask again. Sakura knocked both of his hands away and slammed him into a tree, pinning his arms next to his head.
"I'm done playing around." She angrily snapped, her voice low and harsh.
"I'm not." He said, throwing her backwards and falling on top of her. She twisted underneath him, throwing him off. As she reached her feet her mask went flying and shattered against a tree a few feet away. Tugging her hood up over her face, she knew this had to end quickly.
"I hope you've had your fun Sasuke." She said, pulling out the purple tipped knife.
"Hn, you think it's that easy to take me down?" He said, lunging towards her. She kept her head down and jumped back, trying to keep him at bay.
Before she could catch her breath his hand was wrapped around her throat, slamming into a tree trunk. Her hood fell backwards and she reached to yank it back over herself. He grabbed her hood and she threw her head to the side, looking down to try and keep him from seeing her. Seconds later he yanked back the hood revealing a tumbling mess of pink hair falling to just above her shoulders. He grabbed her jaw and forced her to look at him.
"Hn, Sakura.." He said, forcing her to look him in the eye. His eyes weren't cold as she'd expect, but they weren't kind.
"Sasuke." She said, her voice soft and sharp, losing her breath. He loosened his grip on her.
"They sent you to kill me? Never would've guessed that."
"Yeah well, I'm the only one who knows how to fight you."
"Tch, is that so?"
"Well I've watched you for enough time. Plus you sure as hell weren't gonna expect me to put up any sort of fight."
"Well you've got a point there again."
"And if you still think I'm too weak to do it, you don't have a clue." She breathes heavily as she shoved his hand off her neck.
"Well if you're taking me down.." He pulled her body up close to his, their chests pressed against one another's. "...then I'll just have to take you down with me." He finished, his face millimeters away from her's. She could feel his breath on her face and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
/o..I can't do that. This has to end. Now. She grabbed his wrist and yanked him away from her.
"Well then. I guess this is the end." She said, forcing herself to look him in the eye.
She slammed him into the tree behind him and pressed her poisoned blade to his throat.
"Getting it over with quickly eh? Care to share how this poison works?"
"Gladly. It'll work it's way into your bloodstream and into your lungs before finally reaching your heart. Really you should be dead in 15 minutes, giving you as long as possible."
"Well then, I guess I don't see a point in fighting any longer." He said, just as she heard birds chirping behind her.
"Chidori." She breathed. She felt the hot lightening begin to burn her back as she pressed the blade harder, right on the verge of cutting his throat.
He pressed the chidori into her back, pulling her body into his, pressing his mouth right to hers as the knife cut his skin. He held her for as long as he could, his lips connected for as long as possible.
"I've given you 15 minutes." He breathed as their legs crumpled and they fell to the ground, landing side by side.
"It burns." She said, her eyes welling with tears.
"Don't cry." He said. "Am I supposed to be going numb?" He asked, his voice breaking from lack of air.
"Yeah..it's gotten into your muscles." She said, blood dripping down her mouth.
"Come here before I can't feel my arms.." He said, pulling her onto his chest.
"Sasuke! Here let me help you!" Karin yelled, as Sasuke's three teammates ran up to try and help him.
Sasuke felt tears drip onto his shirt. He'd been in pain before, in emotional torture, but he'd never experienced anything that would ready him for the pain that would befall him now.
"No..don't..." He said, losing his breath faster and faster. His hands rested on her back, his mind only partially aware of the warm liquid dripping down their sides.
"Sakura..." He said, his breath choppy and voice breaking. "I'm so sorry." He stared up at the sky, crystal clear and filled with stars that gleamed. It reminded him of her eyes.
"Sasuke-Kun..thank you.." She said.
Less than a minute later their eyes fell shut. Sakura's grip on his shirt loosened and you could no longer see the rise and fall of Sasuke's chest.
Sakura's mission had been a success, but it had come at a cost. One she was all too willing to pay.