So sad, but true. Chapter 1, luck is hiding behind every corner.
Another day at the hospital, Sakura thought, and walked through the white corridors. She didn't like hospitals. She knew that for some people, it was hope; here, they could be saved.
But for Sakura, it was the same place where Death was hiding behind every corner. She had seen more people die here than survive.
She was met by Shizune while walking to her mentor's office.
"Sakura-san!"
"Shizune. What's the hurry?" Sakura continued to walk alongside the stressed medic-nin, who didn't even have Tonton with her. Sakura thought if she had dropped him somewhere while stressing around in the hospital.
"As usual, someone's dying." She said, somewhat sarcastic but still with a nice tone, and noticed that Sakura started to walk a little faster. "But don't worry, Tsunade-sama is already taking care of it. Sakura-san, you are needed on the second floor."
"What is it I'm supposed to do on the second floor?" Sakura asked as she thanked one of the other nurses for taking care of the books she carried before meeting Shizune.
"I think I heard something about Naruto, but I am not sure. Oh, and then a man that Tsunade-sama are supposed to talk to are up there, so –"
"Bye, Shizune!" And Sakura ran away, passing children with flu or a broken toe, smiling sweetly to each one of them.
Sakura sighed; she liked Shizune, she really did, but she was so slow.
"Just let me talk to Tsunade no baa-chan, she'll understand!"
"How can you say something like that?"
"Because, I am Uzu-"
"Naruto!" Sakura ran and practically threw herself into Naruto's arms. It took a moment for Naruto to re-attain his balance, but when he did, he grinned to the medic in his arms.
"Sakura-chan, if Hinata comes in right now, you knows what happens, right?"
"I'll have to explain to her for twenty minutes that I am not in love with you, and that you are not in love with me." Sakura smiled, and let go of him.
"Great." Naruto grinned, but his face expression changed when he saw the Jounin standing right next to them. "Sakura-chan, explain to this guy who I am."
"He doesn't know? Wait, are you from the Mist?" Sakura glanced at the shinobi's hitae-ite who was hidden among his white hair. He looked at her with quite interest. He nodded, and then started to talk again.
"Yes, I am from the Mist. I am here because I am supposed to marry someone. And, then this guy showed up, talking about missions and Uchiha Sasuke. I thought he was in league with him."
"And I tried to explain, Sakura-chan, that I WAS in league with him a long time ago, and now he thinks I am a traitor!"
"Well, Naruto, it does sound like that when you explain it like that." Sakura then explained their situation, their relationship with Uchiha Sasuke and that they once were teammates. The Jounin didn't seem to buy it at first, but after another explanation from Naruto, and a couple of "dattebayo"s, he seemed to calm down.
Sakura looked at the name-less Jounin again. He had shoulder length hair, white as snow, with piercing blue eyes. She could barely see his hitae-ite, since it was hidden behind his hair, but he had the Jounin clothes that resembled the Mists.
"You said you are going to marry someone, and I am sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Sakura asked, now curious. He was a strong man, you could tell, and he probably was going to marry a kunoichi. She knew the names of almost everyone, at least of them in her own age, but he was about in his early twenties, so she didn't know.
Maybe Shizune... she thought, only coming up with one name of a kunoichi that probably was the only one that fitted him in age.
"Yes, I haven't seen her yet, though. And, my name is Hatakiri Shinri."
"And you were going to talk to the Hokage first, yes?"
"...Yes, since she was the one that recommended her."
"Then, I'll show you the way to her new office. She is my mentor, after all." And Sakura gave him the sweetest smile she could manage.
"I am Haruno Sakura."
"Interesting... and this is Uzumaki Naruto? Well, well..."
Sakura had a feeling that she would like and dislike this man.
"Naruto! Back from the single mission so soon? We hadn't expected you for at least another week." Tsunade exclaimed, as she stared at the orange-clad shinobi in front of her.
He grinned at her. "Well, I hurried a little..."
"A little?" She smiled at him, and started to look for a paper on her desk where she could write down his report.
"Well, it was so boring up there; you wouldn't believe it, Sakura-chan!" As Naruto continued to explain the situation for Tsunade, Sakura started to wonder how she got dragged into this conversation.
"Um, shishou?" Tsunade got Sakura's attention as Sakura pointed towards the man behind her.
"Oh, there you are. So, Hatakiri Shinri, was your journey easy and without troubles?"
"I wouldn't say that, Hokage-sama." He raised a white eyebrow as he glanced at all the sake-bottles that were standing at her desk.
"Oh? Did something happen?" Tsunade asked, as she finally found the paper she was looking for, and didn't expect that something extra ordinary happened to the man.
"First, a man appeared in front of me – I was walking to get here, and he was clad in this... dark robe." Tsunade looked at the Mist Nin.
"With red clouds?" She asked, hoping for a 'no'.
"How did you know that?"
Tsunade looked horrified. "The Akatsuki..."
Sakura and Naruto exchanged looks. "But, shishou, it wasn't a long time ago that we received news about Deidara. And, without people like Sasori, Hidan and Kakuzu, shouldn't they be recruiting people to make them as strong as possible?"
"Maybe that was what they were doing..." Tsunade looked at Shinri, who at this point was quite scared.
"B-but, aren't they like S-criminals? I have to say that I am not that strong, I am only Jounin, after all." He said, with a rather shaky voice. Sakura rolled her eyes at his panic, and Naruto mouthed something like 'idiot'.
"Well, to continue this, how did the man look like?"
"I am sorry, but I cannot remember that." He answered, now calmer.
"Well, except talking more about the details later, we should bring your fiancée in, right?" Tsunade smiled, and was ready to call Shizune in so she could find the girl, when Shinri interrupted with a loud cough.
"Well, can I go see her myself?" After seeing the confused look at the Hokage's face (and the suspicious ones on Naruto's and Sakura's face), he laughed nervously.
"I really think it's best to meet her myself first, right? Actually, I don't even know her name yet..."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "I told your sister to tell you; didn't she do that?"
"Apparently, she didn't." He smiled at her.
"Oh, well, Naruto, you can bring him there." Tsunade said, and waved her hand as in saying 'go on, go on, I do not have time with you anymore'.
"But, Tsunade no baa-chan, I do not who this girl are!" Naruto waved his arms in protest, but Tsunade snickered.
"Of course you know. You know her little brother, as far as I know. He's on the same team as your girlfriend, remember?" Tsunade explained.
"...wait, you're either talking about Shino or Kiba..."
"Shishou, I can take him, if you don't mind. Kiba and Naruto always had a... special relationship..." Sakura smiled; they had fought and called each other names as soon as they saw each other, but in reality, they were really close.
Kiba is quite over-protective over Hinata too, like that they had to make Kiba stop following them whenever walking together. Sakura remembered, as Naruto and Hinata started dating first.
"No, no, no, no, Sakura-chan, I will see him!"
"Naruto, you won't. I will take Shinri-san here, and you'll go to the Hyuuga mansion to see Hinata-chan, okay?"
Naruto broke into a big smile. "Smart, Sakura-chan! But, I never knew that Kiba had a big sister..." He then started thinking again, and Sakura rolled her eyes.
"Naruto, you have the permission to go now. Say hi to Hinata-chan from me!" Sakura managed to tell him before he sprinted away to see Hinata.
"So, Hatakiri-san, you'll be going with my student here. Sakura, make sure to hurry a bit; I am sure that Hatakiri-san wants to see his fiancée as soon as possible, right?"
"I am sorry, Hokage-sama, but I didn't catch the girls name..." Shinri said before leaving with Sakura.
"Oh, sorry, her name is Inuzuka Hana. A part of the Inuzuka clan, since you said you are a fan of animals, right?"
Something in Shinri's eyes darkened. "Inuzuka... Hana?"
"Yes..." Tsunade answered slowly, her eyes narrowed, "Inuzuka Hana. Any problems?"
Shinri seemed to lose balance for a second, Sakura dully noted, but then found composure again.
"No, it's just that I've heard about her, and wow... I am getting married to Inuzuka Hana."
If you are as goofy as you seem, she will kick you out of her house before you can say 'Inuzuka'. Sakura thought, as she noticed that this man changed personality for every passing second.
"It is quite unbelievable..." He started to say, but stopped talking when he heard Sakura clear her voice behind him. "We will be going now." He said, bowed for Tsunade, and then walked out, following every step Sakura took.
Yes, isn't it... Shinri thought, it is quite unbelievable to see my old teammate again.. Uchiha Itachi turned around to face the shark-man. "I can't sense him." "He's from the Mist." Kisame explained, just like that would explain everything. As he saw Itachi raise his eyebrows, Kisame grinned. "I can sense chakra's from the Mist extra good." "Well, don't kill him," Itachi said, but when noticing Kisame's stare, he sighed ", not yet. He may say something useful." "But, Itachi-san, according to his chakra signature, he's not that strong. A Jounin, perhaps. But, ya know, my sword needs refilling." Kisame once again grinned, and patted his dear sword. "He's coming closer..." Itachi explained, as he now could sense the man's chakra. Kisame was right; he was indeed nothing special. "So, what should I do?" Kisame asked, impatient as usual. "Capture him. And, Kisame, don't let your sword touch him." "Ay ay, captain." And with that, Kisame was gone in a couple of seconds. Itachi sat down to think. He and Kisame were ordered by Pein to look after people they possible could force to join Akatsuki, or just a person that was strong. What was this person doing near Konohagure? Because, near their camping, the port to Konohagure was placed. Itachi didn't mind going near his old village, but with Kisame as a partner, you never knew. But, he understood that Pein was desperate; they had lost many people now. Sasori was history now, but people like Deidara was now dead. They hadn't heard anything from Kakuzu and Hidan for a long time now, so they were assumed dead. "Itachi-san! Here he is; without any scratches. Almost." And Kisame placed the Nin in front of Itachi. Itachi looked at the Mist Nin. He had white hair, and since his eyes was half-open, he could note that he had light blue eyes. He was a Jounin, as suspected, but it looked like he hadn't put up any fight with Kisame. Itachi quietly muttered 'kai', freeing the man from the genjutsu which Kisame trapped him in, and soon, the man opened his eyes. "Where... where am I?" The man had a deep, masculine voice, and Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" He asked, wanting to know if this man was important or not. "Wait..." The man clutched his forehead, which made Itachi stare at Kisame, who waved his hands in defense, saying that he didn't do anything special. The man looked at Itachi again. "Who... are "My name does not matter. I wish not to repeat my question, so will you answer it or not?" "Ugh, my head hurts..." The man said, completely ignoring Itachi. "Oi, just talk! We need you to talk. Do you get it?" Kisame was clearly pissed off. The man now stared at him. "You... you!" He pointed at Kisame, and lazily stood up. "You were the one who attacked me!" "Should I be honored that you remember me?" Kisame grinned. "You threw sand in my face!" Itachi raised an eyebrow at the statement, and Kisame rolled his eyes, as in saying 'you said that I couldn't use my sword, what else could I do?'
"Itachi-san, it is coming a man this way, should I take care of him?" Kisame asked his companion, as they had stopped for setting up a camp.
"Let me repeat myself; who are you?" Itachi once again asked.
"Me? I am Hatakiri Shinri! I am from the Mist, and you two... shit, I am in a hurry!" Shinri now started to walk away, completely unaware that he was dealing with two S-criminals and members of the Akatsuki (well, they weren't wearing their cloaks, but still...) Kisame and Itachi disappeared, and re-appeared in front of him, much to Shinri's surprise. "Why are you in such hurry?" "I am supposed to meet a girl I am marrying. So, if you don't mind," "In Konohagure?" Itachi asked, as he watched Kisame lick his lips. Itachi focused his attention on Shinri again. "Yes. She lives there." "Then, it's all settled. Kisame, knock him out." Before Shinri could react, he fell down, unconscious. Itachi watched Kisame as he slowly put down his sword after using it. "It feels good to use this sword on Mist Nins, you know." Itachi's inner self rolled his eyes, and Itachi felt that he didn't want to hear a speech from Kisame about his past. "Listen; I will transform into this man, and so, I can sneak into Konoha." "Why would you do that?" "First of all, I can look after some information about people we may need for our mission. Then, Uzumaki Naruto lives there, one of our old missions we had. And, lastly..." "..." "It's good to see if the old Konoha has changed." Itachi explained. "I won't stop ya. What will I do during the time you are gone?" Kisame asked, now with Shinri thrown over his shoulder. "Look after this man. And, look after other persons that possibly could join." "New mission accepted. We will meet each other in about... five days, yeah?" "We'll say seven. I may find something interesting." And, with some handseals, Itachi no longer had black hair and onyx eyes, but white hair and blue eyes. "Do not get lost in your past, Itachi." Was the last thing Kisame said before he saw Itachi leave. Itachi didn't turn around, but muttered a quiet 'Aa', before leaving.
"This is just great..." Kisame said after a couple of minutes. "That bastard left me alone to clean up our camp."
AN:
An ItaHana story that was supposed to be a SasuSaku SLIGHT ItaHana, but that suddenly changed after some time.
This is the short part of the story. This was actually an oneshot from the beginning, but then decided to split it up in two parts, since it is so much better for both me and you readers.
It all started with focus on Sakura, but then it turned into only an ItaHana. But I had troubles to get the SasuSaku in this, but well well...
The next part for this will be up the same day, so do not worry!
Oh, and some explanations for things happening here will show up in the next chapter.
So, review if you want too, or just skip to the next chapter, and review THERE.
(tee hee, I love flashbacks!)
Huuuugs, Nazzy.