I bet you're all thinking 'Not another cliché sasusaku!' Hopefully I will make some more fans and please all of those who've given me such kind words for all my other fics. So please, enjoy.
-ciao
Infernos
Chapter 1
Life was a word that the people of Konoha came to find was very precious to them. It meant home, and love, and family. But the day that Pein destroyed life as they knew it, it was a day never to be forgotten. And for one, once sunny woman, it was also the day that she officially declared, 'Life sucks…'
It was the day that he came back and everyone was so fucking shocked. Too shocked to do anything about it except to muster up some energy to arrest him. That is…until he had evaded the weakened Shinobi and disappeared once again, only to show back up again with some of their own declaring that the Uchiha had saved Naruto from Nagato, resulting in the new and powerful enemy's death.
And what had Sakura had been doing while her male friends had gone off and followed after Naruto, while the bastard Uchiha was making himself a hero? Why, she was saving her peers from mortal wounds and trying to heal the true blood of Konoha, the shinobi.
But nobody had paid any attention to her or her team as they worked tirelessly. They'd all walked past to find food and rest as she struggled to save another life with the her small team, which included the weakened Hinata at her side and TenTen nearby trying to help as best she could.
A commotion ahead had them looking up, and the three of them watched in shocked awe as the Uchiha walked toward them, supporting the weakened and nearly unconscious Naruto at his side.
Her anger pushed aside, Sakura rushed forward, with Hinata following despite her recently healed injuries. Without a glance up at Sasuke, the medic-nin took over Naruto's weight easily, though she had to pull a little to get the Uchiha to release him.
Hinata had tears in her eyes as she ducked under Naruto's other arm to help Sakura. With pride welling through Sakura at her friend's sudden lack of a fainting, she began barking orders at her medic team, not worrying at how crudely the group of people had been formed together.
"Iyashi get a table cleared! Ino get water as fresh as you can find." she shouted, and together she and Hinata moved Naruto carefully to lay him on a desk that looked suspiciously like Sakura's from her office in the hospital. She wouldn't be surprised if it was. They'd been forced to find whatever wreckage they could that survived the brutal attack on their village to lay the injured shinobi…or bodies.
Sakura worked quickly, trying not to be distracted by the dark aura that would not step away from her back. "Hinata I need you to stand across from me. You'll need you to donate some blood for Naruto."
At the look Hinata sent her, and the heady blush that accompanied, Sakura nearly laughed aloud. "You've got O type blood, so I know he'll take it. Just get a needle ready! You can pass out when you've been stuck and he's got a flow going to him."
Sasuke watched stoically while his ex-team member worked like a demon to fully stabilize Naruto. Hinata did not pass out, but TenTen had come by with a cold towel to place on her face and a chair for the Hyuuga to sit down.
He watched Sakura though. How she meticulously worked, kept a clean and organized place at her side despite the chaos around her and a cool grasp at authority as she directed her team. "Iyashi get him a shot of morphine, he's coming to again." She muttered and finished sealing the open wound on her friend's stomach.
A movement out of the corner of Sasuke's eye had him look up to see Hinata shyly reach up to brush some blonde hair out of Naruto's face, and she placed her own cold towel on his forehead.
Sasuke wondered suddenly if Sakura was getting jealous by the display, because he knew she saw it, but when he got a profile of her face, she was grinning. So she was not intimate with the dobe. However, when she accidentally glanced up and met his eyes, she became cold again and returned to her work.
TenTen looked up suddenly and gasped. "Tsunade-sama."
Sasuke felt a strong hand land on his shoulder, and he glanced over to see Tsunade's hard eyes meeting his own. "You're going to come talk to me when he is alright." She said and left to take care of her village that had become nothing but shambles.
Sasuke turned back to see Sakura's emotionless eyes boring into his own. She held his gaze and he finally noticed her messy hair, her tired eyes, and how depleted of chakra she was. But he also noticed her. She'd long since taken off her over shirt to reveal a black tank top that hugged her tapered waist, and the skin of her shoulders and arms were lightly tanned.
Before he looked further, she had turned and told Iyashi with a strict order to do something for her. Two long hours later, Naruto was in a natural sleep and Sakura finally wiped her brow. She looked down at Hinata who was asleep on her chair, her hand holding Naruto's softly.
A small smile lit her face before she heard a voice she'd rather not have.
"You don't seem to smile often anymore." He said, and she finally turned to face him. "Then again, you've yet to say anything to me, let alone smile. You've changed." He said finally and locked his dark eyes with her own wizened ones.
"I don't need to smile for you. Besides there are few reasons to smile anymore. That's what happens when you have to grow up fast." She replied and he frowned, the only emotion she'd seen from him in years. "But of course you'd know what it's like to grow up pretty quick, don't you?" She knew her tone was mocking and that she was pissing him off, but she never expected him to retaliate.
In a flash, she found herself against a nearby pole that supported the makeshift medic tent, his furious eyes upon her surprised face. "You're so fucking annoying." He snapped and she glared right back.
"I'm far from annoying, I'm a fucking thorn in your ass!" she snarled right back. With fury greater than his own, she pulled chakra into her leg and hurled it into his side, sending him easily out of the tent and crashing out into the dirt outside. "Fuck you!" she shouted and woke Hinata with a start. "You're the worst thing that's ever happened to this village!" she howled and turned back to Hinata. "What? You've never yelled at anyone before?"
The Hyuuga shook her head innocently, and tried to become the size of a mouse as the furious medic stomped away.
Hinata turned her eyes to the Uchiha outside, and she was visibly shocked to see him off the ground, dusty and battered only to be…smirking.
...
Tsunade sat on the lone chair in her dingy tent, just like all of the others in her village were doing if they had a moment to rest. They all knew how hard they would have to work to rebuild.
All the destruction was immense and it could take years to have everything that they once owned restored. But how to begin?
We'll have to see if any homes or buildings have survived, she mentally ticked off in her mind.
Tsunade looked up when one of her Anbu opened the flap to her tent and in stepped Sasuke Uchiha. She smiled then when she saw his state and laughed into her glass of water as she finished it off.
"I see that you said something to piss off my Apprentice. Though I suppose she's not an apprentice anymore if she can do that to you so easily." she said, quickly sobering. "But, I didn't ask you to come here so that I could reminisce with you, she said. I wanted to know why in the hell you decided to show up and help Naruto."
Sasuke sighed, showing emotion finally, and sat on the dirt and grass. Once he was leaned as comfortably as possible on the nearest pole, he began. "I followed him there. I no longer trusted Akatsuki and they were beginning to piss me off with how they thought they could control me. So I followed to take an opportunity. I hadn't expected Naruto to do so well before…the tables changed and he almost died."
Tsuande nodded. "The village elders are dead, just so you know. I know about your vendetta against them and the terrible decision's they made those years ago. So now I alone am the deciding factor in the outcome of your life. It seems a little strange to sentence you to death, seeing as there are now so many ghosts around us." She said sadly and looked into her empty glass, wishing desperately for sake to take the sting of despair from her throat.
"But you must understand, that if you ever betray us again," she began and looked up to him, eyes lethal. "Sakura and I will personally track you down and kill you most ruthlessly, beginning with pulling your spine from your body."
Sasuke did not doubt the look in her eyes. She would succeed if she had too, and Sakura already hated him enough to go through with such an order gladly. "I understand. You're granting me life and only a fool would not take it."
"Sasuke you are sentenced to stay within the borders of Fire country, as close to what is left of Konoha as possible. You will help us rebuild and, overtime, concentrate on repopulating this village." She said, and Sasuke's sudden smirk took her aback.
"You will have no problems with me." He said, "But just for clarification, how soon are you planning on beginning the repopulation?"
"Well, as soon as the women have helped as much as possible and the men can take over. Then I will be asking every unwidowed and single woman of appropriate age to find a man she'd find worthy enough to…well to breed with." She said, a little bit of distaste in her mouth, but knowing that she'd never force the women of the village. They must be willing.
Satisfied, Sasuke nodded and bowed, excusing himself immediately.
Tsunade felt as if she'd just made a mild mistake, but she only sighed and poured herself another cup of water.
...
His body was weak and painful as he began to wake from his foggy sleep. It was horrible!
But a warm hand was on his face and the clean scent of lavender was like heaven compared to the smell of blood and sweat that he'd remembered. Slowly Naruto opened his eyes and met the soft pearl eyes of Hinata. It took her a moment to realize he was awake before she started and her head leaped up off of the blanket. "N-Naruto! I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
"Yes." He said simply, watching her with a smile on his face.
But when she blushed furiously and backed away from him, he frowned, missing her warmth on his face. "No! I meant to say I woke up to your smell."
If she was blushing before, than he didn't know what to call the cherry-red of her cheeks right then. "Ah…Naruto, d-do you feel alright?"
"Yes. Hinata why did you move in front of me during the battle? I thought you were dead. I was so damn worried about you!"
Pleasure fluttered in her stomach at his words and she smiled, blushing a soft pink and hiding her face. "I'm sorry Naruto, I-I didn't mean to worry you, I just…I couldn't live if you were killed."
Naruto watched her with a small smile and realized that he had been missing someone very special in his life. "So…you saved me because, you care about me?"
"I care very much for you Naruto." She whispered, and held his gaze, though her shoulders began to tremble.
"Oh, Hinata are you cold!?"
She looked down to see her shaking hands and back up to shake her head, but instead she found herself being pulled up onto the desk from the chair with him. In a swift move, Naruto had whipped up the covers and snuggled up with Hinata in his arms.
Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh my god!
Hinata began to really shake, until she felt a calloused finger lift her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet with burning ice. "Don't worry Hinata, I'll keep you warm and safe." He said, and she sighed despite her body trembling with happiness as his arms held her close and he snuggled into her soft hair.
Oh I give up…in the words of Sakura, 'Fuck it!' she thought and giggled lightly, causing Naruto to hold her closer and make her feel even happier.
---
Sakura frowned as she picked her way through the rubble of their once beautiful home of Konoha. She was not the only one; others were doing the same as she, searching for homes that had been destroyed.
She recognized the Ichiraku sign standing up from out of some rocks and knew her home was still further down. She spotted Ino and her mother near their flower shop, tears flowing down their faces, and Sakura tore her eyes from the sight. She was only so glad that her own parents had escaped the tragedy and had been living safety in the afterlife for a year.
Sakura sighed and thought that the gods were at least a little merciful…
She moved down the road careful not to fall, and she finally found her home. It was damaged beyond repair, but after a little while, she managed to find a way in. Her meticulously organized sanctuary was in ruins, the furniture of her parents in splinters.
Her soft futon could be salvaged as well as her clothes so she mentally kept that in mind as she moved on. She continued to look through the house, nervous at the ominous creaking above her head.
Frowning, she moved over to the corner where she kept her medical scrolls and tools. She found her duffel bag and stuffed anything that meant something to her inside it, for she knew desperate villagers would search through her home, but she didn't mind as long as her valuables where safe with her.
While she stuffed her favorite sandals into the bag, she heard the clink of broken glass and she lifted up a broken photo frame. She knew which one it was before she turned it over. She'd cried into the used wood more than she could count.
Debating for a moment, she quickly ripped the photo out angrily, cutting her hand and thrusted the photo over her shoulder without looking at it. She went thirty seconds before she spun around to pick it up again, her eyes latching desperately onto the smirk of the boy she'd fallen in love with seven years before. He was much different now…
Sakura frowned deeply and placed the photo in her bag, before she continued getting her valuables. She stuffed her clothing in, her toiletries and a brush. She raided her food cabinet for anything that was still good, especially the chocolate. She noticed with happiness that Tsunade's birthday gift that she'd stored away was still safe, so she grabbed the expensive bottle of sake and carefully placed it in her bag among the clothes.
Satisfied that she'd grabbed all she wanted, Sakura went to her futon and the spare nearby for any friend that might have come over back in the day, and she rolled the blankets and pillows within them. She lifted the load over her shoulder with ease and grabbed her bag to leave. She hoped that some of the more needy villagers would find her parent's extra futon in the closet and the clothing she had saved of theirs as well.
She exited her ruin of a home and the full light of the moon hit her sorrowful face. With one last look at her childhood home, she left it without turning back; without regret. She was going to stay with Tsuande tonight and mourn Shizune's lost and very young life.
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I hope you liked it, I didn't know where I was going with this when I started, but now I've good a decent picture in mind. Please review and thank you
- ciao!
