The Flower that Blooms in Spring
Chapter 1 – Ten Years Later
The rain poured heavily upon him, indicating the most crucial part of his life. Why had he done this in the first place? It's been far too long…almost ten years now. He hasn't seen EITHER of them for a long time, but this wasn't the time to ponder such things.
He had a goal to set, a race to finish, and two figures to run away from. He glanced over his shoulder as the first shinobi jumped from behind the bushes. Quickly, he clapped his hands together and disappeared, much to the shinobi's surprise. The second shinobi appeared a few seconds later, startled to see his companion just standing there, looking around.
"What are you doing? Find him!" he hissed.
The shorter shinobi glanced at him, annoyed with the fact that his taller companion was spitting orders at him, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. "He disappeared!" he hissed back.
The taller shinobi sighed and looked up. "Heh. Looks like he's decided to come home after all," he said, nodding towards the trees.
"What's there?" he asked.
He stared at the shorter shinobi and sighed. "You really ARE a newbie! Just beyond those mountains is the hidden village of Konoha."
"Konoha…" The shorter shinobi stared at the mountains and turned back to glance at his companion. He was shocked to find him walking back. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry about him anymore. It may be his home, but that place is where he'll mostly likely get killed. Let's go!" With that said, he disappeared behind the bushes once again.
"D….demo!"
"I said let's go!" the voice called out, interrupting the already annoyed shorter shinobi. Without another word, he turned and followed the taller shinobi back to their village.
"Can this day get ANY boring?" Once again, their sensei was late for their final training as Chuunins. Naruto pressed his back against the tree and sighed, folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.
Sakura looked up from staring at a single flower resting in between her feet on the ground. It was the second day now that Kakashi-sensei has been late and it STILL didn't make up for the other late days he's had for those past ten years. The pink haired girl looked up to glance at Sasuke sitting far away from them on a bolder, just thinking about his life. She couldn't help but notice how he's grown quite handsome in the ten years they've been together (although she's noticed that since they were kids). Much to her relief, after coming back from seeking Itachi, he came back alive, but was badly wounded. He never really said anything about their conversation they shared before he left Konoha, but Sakura knew better than to mention something that personal to him after just killing a member of his family. Plus, she felt quite awkward about it after, since he just said thank you in return and put her to sleep.
"He must be getting old!" Naruto commented, laughing maniacally. This sudden outburst, removed Sakura from her reverie.
"Who's getting old?" a voice appeared from behind them.
All three looked up to see Kakashi jumping down from a tree branch. Sakura didn't really care anymore whether he was late or not, since she was used to that habit already, except maybe for Naruto who STILL held a grudge against their silver haired sensei even after ten years of being together. Sasuke…well he never really cared about it in the first place. He probably thought more about how to surpass his older brother than getting angry at a perverted Jounin who loved to read "Icha-Icha Paradise."
"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto's eyes were about to jump out of their sockets as soon as he noticed it was their sensei. He angrily shook his fists in the air and began to shout obscene words, adding "you're late AGAIN!"
A vein popped out of Sakura's temples. "NARUTO!" She shot a fist in the air towards Naruto, giving him a bump on the top of his head. "Urusai! You're STILL the loudest person EVER! MOU!"
Naruto crouched low and began to whimper, feeling abused by his 'Sakura-Chan.'
"My, you are so very kind to defend me, Sakura-chan!" Kakashi commented, with what he called the 'charming smile.'
To Sakura it was more like a perverted, child-pornography smile. "Who said I was defending you, baka no sensei?" She jerked her eyes towards Kakashi. "You're late AGAIN and you STILL haven't learned to be ON TIME for ten long years!" Okay, so she too was holding a grudge against him. Who can blame her?
Kakashi nervously rubbed the back of his neck and then followed a VERY silent environment around them. No one said a word, except maybe for Naruto whining about the bump in his head Sakura gave him.
"Sensei," Sasuke voice pierced through the silent air.
"Hm?" Kakashi turned his eyes towards Sasuke.
"What's the Jounin exam going to be like?"
Kakashi made a thoughtful look. "It's like going on a mission, to test your skill on how you handle situations well. The missions however are a lot more dangerous and require a lot more logic and stamina in order to reach a higher level as a shinobi." He circled the three of them, his hands clasped behind his back.
Sasuke stood up, stuffing his hands in his now long pant pockets. Sakura examined him, noticing for the first time how much he's changed. He was no longer that stubborn boy she knew a long time ago, but he still held a frown and refused to smile whenever she tried to make him smile. He has gotten a lot taller and muscular and was sporting an outfit unlike the one he had before. He no longer wore that shirt that went around his neck like a funnel, but instead it was replaced with a regular sized black shirt. Underneath his shirt, he wore a white, long sleeved shirt, long enough to cover his hands, but short enough to see them every time he moved his arms. His cargo pants were black and the only thing that remained true to the old Sasuke, were his slippers. It still fit him, much to her surprise, but then she remembered that she was the one who bought those slippers in the first place for his birthday last year. She blinked and looked at him. He looked at her, but did not flinch.
"Okay, so!"
"Kakashi," someone called.
All four looked up. A woman with long blond hair tied up into a ponytail approached them. Following behind her, was her attendant, Shizune, who was four years older than the three of the training Chuunin. The usual pink piglet that hung around her arms was walking beside her, big and fat. Sakura's surprised that they have kept the pig as their pet instead of eating it for its meat.
"OH! Tsunade-obaachan!" Naruto called.
Sakura admired Tsunade for putting up with Naruto through all these years. She has learned to tolerate Naruto calling her 'granny' all the time. The blond woman looked up and stared at Sakura. "May I speak with you for a moment, Kakashi?"
The pink haired girl blinked. It seemed she was talking to her, but not really, which confused Sakura the most. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to notice this. "Sakura? Wasn't she looking at you when she asked Kakashi to talk to her?" Naruto asked after watching the whole scene and after Kakashi left to speak with Tsunade.
Sakura didn't know how to answer that. How was she supposed to know the answer to that question? She was as confused as he.
"Dobe," Sasuke suddenly said.
Naruto's eyes bulged in annoyance. "Nani?" He jumped around to face Sasuke and threw angry fists in the air. "Say that again Sasuke! I'll kick your ass!"
Sasuke just stood there, which annoyed Naruto even more.
Meanwhile, in the other side of the room, Tsunade, Kakashi and Shizune were in a small circle, talking amongst each other. Shizune glanced over at Sakura, who was watching them intently. "Hokage-sama…"
"Don't worry about her, Shizune," Tsunade spoke. She turned to look at Kakashi. "Kakashi, he's come back."
The silver haired Jounin blinked in surprise. "He has? You mean…" He turned to look at Sakura. "My, isn't that a perfect timing and on her birthday too."
Tsunade sighed. "Now is not the time to make jokes, Kakashi. He's come back injured and is asking for her. His wife has seen him already, but now he wants to see his daughter. Frankly, I do not approve of him seeing her."
"Hokage-sama? Doushite?" Shizune asked.
"I've seen him work, Shizune and if we continue to keep him here, he's going to endanger not only his family, but all of Konoha as well. He'll spark a war between Konoha and Mist village."
"Demo…what did he do?"
Tsunade glared at Shizune. She wasn't the type of person to answer so many questions from the same person. She turned back to Kakashi. "You have been much of a father figure to Sakura than that man, so if you don't mind keeping this to yourself…"
Kakashi lifted up a hand and nodded. "Of course, Hokage-sama." Unlike Shizune, he knew what was going on. He has spent ten years taking care of Sakura and when Akano Haruno was hit with a temporary illness, he offered her a home, while her mother recovered in the hospital. Eventually, Akano recovered and Sakura was once again brought back to her old house. Sasuke and Naruto never knew about Sakura's mother or Kakashi now being her legal guardian and he would rather keep it between himself and his 'daughter.'
"Good, now comes the hard part." Tsunade took a deep breath. "He has asked to be escorted back to Mist Village after he has recovered. He plans to speak with the Elder there and re-negotiate his 'situation.'"
Suddenly, Kakashi's face turned into a serious frown. "And might I ask WHO he has asked to escort him?"
Tsunade glanced over her shoulder towards Sakura.
"I disagree," Kakashi suddenly said, after realizing who it was she was looking at. "Why are we sending one of our own to escort who was once one of our own back to the place where he's supposed to belong? You said so yourself, Hokage-sama…he is a danger to our village and to his family."
"If he does not get escorted back to Mist Village, then he refuses to leave the village," Tsunade simply replied.
"Gomen nasai, Hokage-sama, but I would have to refuse. You're telling me to send Sakura, to escort him and ONLY Sakura?"
When Tsunade was about to say something, all three of them were startled when they heard a deep voice behind them. "I will go with Sakura," that deep voice said.
Sasuke stood there now, his hands stuffed in his pant pockets, his forehead creased with worry. Everyone was surprised at this request. Naruto appeared seconds later, annoyed beyond heck, wondering what was going on. "Sasuke! What are you babbling about? Where are you going with Sakura-chan!"
Sakura stood there, her eyes widened in shock. Kakashi stared at her. Has she heard the whole thing? "Sakura…."
The dark haired Chuunin glanced at her.
"Where is he? Where is otousan?"
But before Kakashi had a chance to protest, Tsunade took a step forward and said, "I'll take you to him."
"Nani? Nani? Nani? Sakura-chan? What happened to your otousan?" Naruto was immediately pounded in the head by Sasuke, who was getting a lot more irritated than he already was at the blond Chuunin.
Sakura did not answer instead she followed Tsunade and Shizune back towards the village. Sasuke watched her leave, wondering how she was feeling about this whole thing. What did her father ever do? What happened those last ten years? "Well, why don't we just continue with our training, hm?"
"Demo, what about Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi placed a hand on Naruto's head and petted him like a dog and smiled at him innocently. "Naruto! Naruto! Don't worry about Sakura-chan, she'll be fine! She'll be back, but right now we need to focus on you training, ne?" He let go and straightened up. "Follow me."
Naruto and Sasuke glanced at each other and then followed their sensei towards the opposite direction where Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura went off to.
The hospital was quiet, except for the occasional screams from patients in pain from severe wounds. Sakura never liked hospitals, even though she's spent most of her time visiting some of her comrades in the village who have been injured and she too had fallen victim to staying one night in the hospital. She had fallen three stories from a building after a thief came into their house and tried to steal some valuables. At the time, her mother was still recovering and Sakura had to come back and pick up her stuff while she stayed with Kakashi-sensei. At that time, she was still too young to stay by herself, so Kakashi-sensei offered her a room in his apartment. She was just going into her room when she heard a crash from her kitchen. She fought against the perpetrator, who tried to steal her mother's most treasured possession and after a scuffle, ended up falling out of her window and into the ground. Kakashi-sensei was there to walk with her to his apartment and had seen the whole thing. If she had fallen further more, she would have died instantly, but she only received a temporary spinal injury on her back and it was healed quickly by Hokage-sama.
Sakura was led by Hokage-sama towards another hallway, one she hasn't really had a chance to explore. This particular hallway was located on the very first level, one that she heard from the nurses that wasn't used all that much. She was told it was only used for the most 'criminally insane,' once with no hope of ever recovering.
They had reached the end of the hallway now and finally, after a few minutes, Hokage-sama stopped and turned to face the pink haired girl. "He's in there," she said quietly. The blond woman stepped aside, while her attendant opened the door for Sakura.
Shizune gave her an encouraging smile, in which Sakura returned with one of her own as she took a step forward inside the room. The door quietly closed behind her and she was greeted with a call from a feminine voice from across the room. "Sakura," the voice called.
Sakura immediately recognized her mother's voice. "Okasan?"
A lamp across the pink haired girl suddenly flicked on, revealing a middle aged woman sitting on a chair beside an occupied bed. She could see a lump underneath the blanket of the bed and this told her that someone she knew was laying there, waiting to see her. "He's…he's come home."
Her mother stood up and in seconds, had wrapped her arms around her daughter in a tight embrace. "He wants to see you, Sakura. I…" She was crying now. Sakura could tell by the way she was breathing. "I…I was so shocked to see him. It's been…ten years."
Ten years…has it been THAT long? She couldn't believe it herself as she glanced over her mother's shoulder towards the figure lying on the bed. The figure moved so that his face could be seen from underneath the light that escaped from the small lamp. Could this really be her father? The father who abandoned his family for ten long years?
He gave a smile, but Sakura only returned it with a frown. Why had he come JUST now? "Sakura," he called. "Wow, you've grown. Look at you." From where she could see, Haruno Jounichi was injured badly. His left eye was battered and his nose looked broken. The pink haired girl examined him for a while, noting the white bandage wrapped around his torso.
She gently removed herself from her mother's grasp and approached her father cautiously. Sakura couldn't understand it…WHY was he here now? WHY had he come now? She wanted to know. She wanted HIM to explain EVERYTHING! "Where have you been?" was all she could ask. Her courage had suddenly left her.
Sakura doesn't know much about her father. He was a famous negotiator around Konoha, adored by his friends and loved by his family. For twelve long years, Jounichi Haruno knew the difference between what to ask and what not to ask during dangerous missions. He was Konoha's super weapon in time of war and was the brains in Hokage-sama's palace. People knew that Sakura's intelligence and cunning ways came from her father, but her weakness during a fight also came from him. In the long line of the Haruno family, there has been only ONE fighter amongst them, with the name of Akito Haruno. Other than that, the Haruno children were only known to have logical attributes rather than physical attributes.
Jounichi said nothing.
The pink haired girl took a step forward. "Why won't you answer me? Where have you been all this time! Why are you here now? Why did you make okasan wait THIS long?"
This time, Jounichi turned his eyes away from her. "I wanted to protect my family, so I left. Don't worry, once I've recovered, I'll be out of your life for good."
"That's not…" Sakura clenched her fists at her sides. "That's not what I want! I want my father back! I want him to stay! His WIFE needs him!"
Akano placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Sakura…"
She closed her lips. She didn't want to talk anymore. If she continues to speak, then she won't be able to stop the emotions that she has been holding in for so long. If only he hadn't left…if only he had told his family what he was up to, then she wouldn't be having these emotional problems. "Fine… You want to leave so much… I'll agree to escort you back to Mist Village."
"You don't understand! I…"
"Then MAKE me understand because I REALLY don't!"
"This is only for you and your mother's protection…as well as the village's…I hope at least THIS you can understand…" Jounichi looked up and stared into his daughter's green eyes. She had his eyes…a bright emerald green.
Sakura had enough. She turned around and headed for the door without another word, leaving her mother and her father speechless.
The rain had already fallen.
A single tear escapes and falls on a puddle created by the clouds.
"Sakura?"
She could hear someone calling her name, but she wasn't turning her head towards that voice. She really didn't understand anything anymore. All she wanted was to be happy…but now he's come back. Ten years…she thought he had died, but it turns out, he wasn't dead. He was alive and now he was going to go back dead to her again. She has this chance to be with him after being away for so long, but that chance would soon be gone after Jounichi Haruno recovers from his injuries.
"Sakura!"
She could hear the voice getting closer now as she shivered from the cold rain. She could feel her clothes soaking from the rain, but Sakura would not move from her spot on the boulder.
Then she felt someone putting a jacket over her shoulders.
Sakura looked up. For a while, the figure was blurry and she was unable to recognize the face staring back at her, until her ears could hear clearly his familiar voice. "Sakura! What are you doing? Do you want to get yourself sick?"
"Sa…Sasuke-kun?" Yes…it was him. She recognized his deep, deep voice.
Sasuke sighed and offered a hand to her. "You should get inside…you'll get sick if you stay here." He studied her for a minute. Something told him, she hasn't even reached the front steps of her house and that she has been sitting on that piece of boulder that decorated the front yard for God knows how long.
The pink haired girl looked up and stared at Sasuke's hand. She hesitated for a bit, but then she took it and was helped up on her feet. Shivering, the dark haired Chuunin led her at the front steps of the Haruno house. Sakura, with shaking hands, reached for her keys from inside her bag and unlocked the door, having to put so much effort in it since she was already wet and freezing cold.
Once they were inside, Sakura, with her feet soaking wet, removed her shoes and dumped them just beside her wet coat, in which she just hanged at the coat hanger beside the door. "Come in," she mumbled to Sasuke.
Sasuke was hesitant at first, but he went inside anyway, closing the door behind him gently. He watched as Sakura marched heavily towards a small hallway, where three doors were located, two beside one another and one across from the other two. The pink haired girl went to the left side of the door and at once Sasuke heard the door close behind her.
Seconds later, Sakura was dressed up in her pajamas as soon as she left the room. Just as he suspected, they were pink and he had to admit, the pinks roses that adorned the attire suited Sakura very well. Sasuke didn't know what to do at this point, except stand awkwardly by the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"What are you doing there? You're welcome to join me for some coffee," Sakura said quietly. The whole house was quiet, as if the pink haired Chuunin has been alone all her life. She went over to the kitchen and prepared two mugs.
This gesture told Sasuke that he had no choice but to take off his shoes and coat and hang his black coat where Sakura hanged hers. He joined her in seconds, unsure whether it was appropriate for him to sit down right away while she was still standing making the coffee.
Without looking back, Sakura suddenly said, "I won't bite, Sasuke-kun." She turned and smiled at him. "Daijoubu! Why don't you sit down?"
Sasuke nodded and picked the nearest chair to him and sat down.
After that, everything was silent, except for the sound of the spoon banging against the ceramic mugs as Sakura mixed the coffee and water together. When she was done, the only sound was her walking over to the table and placing his mug in front of him and her pulling up a chair opposite of him to sit down.
For a moment, they sat in silence. Sasuke sipped his coffee, which was a lot bitter than he imagined coffee would be, while Sakura stared at hers.
"Sasuke-kun?" The silent air around them had suddenly been broken as the pink haired girl spoke.
The dark haired Chuunin looked up from his coffee. "Nani?"
Sakura took a deep breath and stared straight into his dark eyes. "You and I never really talked about what happened ten years ago when I…when I said THAT to you. You came back and…and…you acted like nothing happened..."
It took a while for Sasuke to register the whole information in his memories before he slowly nodded. He didn't understand why she was mentioning this all of a sudden, when she had OTHER things to worry about. THAT, meaning her declaration of love for him ten years ago before he left to fight with Itachi. He didn't know how to respond, so he kept silent for a while.
Sakura blinked and tried again. "How did you feel about what I said to you?"
How DID He feel? How DOES he feel now? He came back asking the same question and for ten long years the same question still plagued his mind. This girl, who had declared the most honest thing in his life to him, was sitting right in front of him, wanting to know what HIS honest answer was. He didn't know how to answer that either. "I….I don't know how I feel, Sakura. I'm sorry, I just don't know." This was ridiculous! He shouldn't be here in the first place. He didn't want to feel awkward than he already was. "I think I should go." Sasuke stood up. "Thank you for the coffee. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids." God he was sounding like a mother! He turned to leave, but a hand on his arm had stopped him abruptly. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Sakura who looked like she was about to cry.
"A…arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you for helping me out of my thoughts, or else I would've been badly sick."
Sasuke nodded.
"Gomenne…" Sakura let go of his arm and looked down at her half empty mug. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him to comfort her, but she knew she couldn't force him to do whatever she wanted him to do. This was Sasuke for crying out loud! When was he EVER the type of guy to listen to a girl's cries? She was silly to think that Sasuke would EVER fall for her…she was silly to think that she was still in love with him after ten long years of being comrades in the battle field.
The dark haired Chuunin looked at her. Why on earth was she apologizing to him? He noticed a small glint in her eyes and after a few more seconds, a single tear came streaking down her cheeks.
"I…I must look pathetic to you crying like that," she whispered, mostly to herself. Afraid of crying more, Sakura wiped her tears away quickly with her arms and mindlessly twirled her mug in between the palm of her hands. Suddenly, she began to laugh bitterly.
Sasuke lifted up a single eyebrow curiously.
"This is some birthday present I've got from a man who was never there for me," she said quietly, lifting up the mug to her face and began sipping her coffee. "Happy Birthday to me!" She gave a long sigh before downing the last drop of her coffee. Sakura didn't care anymore what Sasuke thought of her or how she was acting. Her father…her mother…Sasuke…They were the type of people that have hurt her for the last couple of years. Her mother's sickness, Sasuke's annoyed looks of her and her father's return…they were all just too much for her.
Without thinking, she laid her face on the table in front of her, her left cheek cold against the wooden furniture built by her father all those years ago. To her mother, it was the fondest memory she had of him before he left and so she chose to keep the round table to where it originally was. She closed her eyes and only meant to sleep for a little bit, to give herself time to think but ended up falling asleep right there.
Sasuke stood there awkwardly, watching her eyes close into a deep slumber. He didn't know why, but he found himself mesmerized by the way her hair glowed under the moonlight that was peeking through the kitchen window. He didn't realize how long her hair had gotten…REALLY long, now reaching past her waist. He sighed, realizing that Sakura had indeed fallen asleep. He knew he couldn't leave her asleep like that…he JUST knew. The dark haired Jounin-to-be turned and walked over to where Sakura was and looked down at her. "You really are pathetic…" He paused and brushed the back of his hand gently against her exposed cheek. Sakura was indeed attractive, though weak, but she was quite astonishing and she didn't have to lift a finger to do so. He was wondering in his mind whether she noticed how pretty she looked. Sasuke blinked. Did he just give a compliment about Sakura's looks? He shook his head in disbelief and took a long deep breath before lifting up Sakura's body gently into his arms and carried her to her bed.
GoodGurl: WOW! That was a REALLY long first chapter! I'm sorry, don't worry I'll tone it down a bit….; Anyhoo, please please PLEASE review! I want to hear from those SasuSaku fans out there! See you on the next chapter!
