Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor will I ever.
Summary: AU Sakura always had lived by her own principles and rules. When, she finds a wounded missing nin by the name of Naruto, her stable world of rules starts to collapse, piece by piece. Rewrite of Principles
Pairing: Naruto and Sakura
Upload Date: March 28, 2009
AN: You see, I was looking at my old version of this story, but I've found that I managed to dig myself into a hole I couldn't quite climb out. The best method for me was to start over. I'm really sorry to those who was waiting for an update. Instead, I hope that you'll find this version just as entertaining. (I changed the plot quite a bit)
Our Beliefs
001
---
In different circumstances, Sakura-san and that person would have fallen in love long before this…
A rich crimson liquid flowed through the gap in his chest. The fluid reached a point where, instead of staining his jacket, it began to drip to the dirt.
He noted in his mind that he was dying. It sounded simple enough, when he repeated it enough. The redness of his blood was probably as bright as his blond hair, he figured. Though he clawed his nails at the dirt and tried to lift himself up from the ground, it was no use. He succeeded in falling back onto the dirt ground and widening the hole in his chest even further.
His eyes, despite his keen efforts to stay awake, closed.
The rain began to fall.
Seventeen year old Haruno Sakura clutched her basket of herbs carefully, not wanting to drop it again. It made little sense in her mind that one of Konoha's best medic could manage to drop a basket of herbs that easily. She stared at her hands. Was it because of her natural clumsiness, or was it because of her mind's ability to wander off without a second thought?
The rain began to fall.
The pink haired kunoichi covered the straw basket with one arm and her head with the other. It was just her luck to be in a rainstorm while gathering herbs.
It was always her kind of luck.
Kakashi-sensei once told her that in the ninja world, sometimes a little luck is needed to win.
Except that her luck sucked.
She shook the water from her hair, frantically running around the dirt ground. No matter where she looked, there was nothing that would shelter from the rain. Her body shivered once more when she spotted a small stream of blood race down the dirt road, actually landing inches away from her sandals. She backed up instinctively, if for a second. Then her medic instincts took over, willing her to run uphill, to the source of the blood.
Sakura let out a yelp as she tripped over a tree root, dropping her basket as a result. She groaned. Mud and blood seeped into her mouth; her stomach twisted. She coughed and wiped her lips, trying her best to rid her tongue of that wretched taste.
There goes the herbs…
Sakura grabbed her gloves from behind her waist, urging to clammy hands to wear them. It would serve to provide some warmth, and it would prevent her hands from being further scratched. She looked at them, her shaking hands. White scratch marks presented them in straight lines across her palm.
She sneezed, despite her best effort. When she reopened her eyes, she spotted her target.
She halted.
The blond hair looked surprisingly familiar; the color of skin pleasantly matched the image that flashed in her mind.
He was that missing nin. She had seen his photo so many times; it was a wonder that she didn't notice it was him from five feet away. With no further thought, she brought out a kunai. Sakura felt her heartbeats quicken; it was almost as if she had ran a marathon. She pulled closer to the wounded blond, hesitating when she brought her hand to his chest. His face was as white as snow; his body shook ever so often. Then there was that huge hole in his chest, apparent through the rip in his jacket.
But, on his forehead, shone the Konoha seal perfectly, slashed.
Despite everything, her hands activated her green chakra as she began the process of healing.
No one should die such a horrible death. Her chakra flowed through, repairing the hole in his chest.
The wound is so big…but it's healing so fast…so naturally…
Sakura coughed and widened her eyes, realizing she had lost a huge chunk of chakra trying to heal him. With a soft huff, she fell on the fallen missing nin, sleeping serenely by his side. The rain in the sky continued to fall.
And so the comes the first fated meeting…
She was sitting peacefully by the river, with a single pink cherry blossom in her hair.
"You're leaving," her dream-self chocked out. Her face had a look of melancholy.
"Bye and sorry…"said the silhouette.
The scene dissolved into darkness…
Sakura was at the hospital with her body in bed, unable to move. The world circled around her in hues of color. There was also a heart monitor, beeping consistently. A red light flowed around…it felt like chakra, only more demonlike. It crept closer and closer to her until…
She opened her eyes and got up quickly, looking down at her clothes. They were drenched with his blood. She moved her hands to her forehead and found it wet as well.
Was it blood or was it rain?
Truthfully, she didn't know.
The blonde's wounds were almost healed, meaning he would wake up soon and most likely kill her.
Shinobi Rule: Eliminate all potential threats.
Yes, she knew all that. Clutching her head, she sighed.
"Forgive me…," she whispered softly as the wind overpowered her voice. She activated her chakra and began the process of sealing his chakra. When he awoke, he would find himself unable to use any chakra, until she decided to unseal her seal. The seal literally blocked the chakra points, similar to the Hyuuga's technique except that it was more lasting. With that done, Sakura was more assured that he would not be able to kill her. After all, no one could beat her at taijutsu except maybe Tsunade-sama.
But Sakura-san forgot about the red chakra…
She edged closer to the ninja, his face filled with grimaces of a lonely life. But at the same time, he looked peaceful, sleeping through the loud rain and through death. She lifted her hand and reached for his headband, fingering the huge slash in the middle of his headband.
"Who are you?" she murmured, inspecting his body for wounds. There were cuts all over, but no life threatening. She came across a black necklace chained with a green ornament. Sakura fingered around the ornament. This was strange…Tsunade-sama's pictures…the necklace…
"You're awake," she stated, as if it was an ordinary fact. She pulled back her hand swiftly.
His eyes opened first, revealing a deep cerulean. Slowly, his gaze was focused on her entirely. "You saved me."
Like a shy little girl she once was, Sakura could not speak, choosing only to nod.
The two remained silent, with the rain raining down heavily, drenching them wet.
Drip drip drip…
"Who are you?" She looked straight at him. She noticed the faint marks of whispers on his cheeks.
"Nobody of interest," he answered, turning his glance away from her. He tried to stand, but failed miserably into the mud.
"You're not healed, though your wounds are closed."
Some part of her wanted to help him stand, but the other part resisted and thrashed about.
"Never mind," she stood up. "My work as a medic is done. If you die, you die." Her tone came out more bitterly than she wanted it.
He didn't answer, failing another attempt to stand properly.
"Who are you?" she repeated. "I saved you. You owe me a favor, missing nin."
He lunged towards her, or rather, tried. He succeeded in grabbing her neck, but quickly, his hands slipped and they landed around her waist. "Banished, not voluntarily." She saw red slits as his eyes. A second passed and they were back the bright blue she found to be so enchanting.
"It still doesn't answer my question." Her voice remained strong, despite having an unknown stranger holding her waist. It was to her relief that he released his hold and slumped to the ground before her. Dealing with S-Rank ninjas in the past had certainly helped her gain experience…not that she had wanted all of that. What she wanted was a peaceful life, to grow up happily with her friends, to get married with a nice husband, to have a normal life, all the things that would not happen to her.
Curse her luck.
"I'm nobody."
He promptly fainted after that.
Sakura-san could have chosen to walk away from that person, but she didn't.
She had been lucky to find dried firewood when she escaped into that cave. It was assumed that the previous people had left it there. For once, luck had proved to be on her side, allowing her to both find shelter and warmth. She smiled miserably. Not. It would have been better if she didn't find a cave. If that ninja died…she'd be free of responsibility…
The medic tapped absentmindedly at the cave wall. The sound of thunder and tapping echoed through the cave.
Imagine a S-Rank ninja sitting next to you…Sakura laughed inwardly at that thought.
"What's your name?" she asked. No response. The sound of thunder was the only noise.
"I know you're awake." She chose to look at the cave walls instead, which was better than staring at his eyes. It was like drowning in a lake of pain and loneliness every time he met her glance. It made it harder for her to be mean; she needed a valid reason, not simply because he was declared "missing" by the Council.
No response.
"Can't you at least tell me your name?"
"No." The reply was curt, but not cold. "Leave me alone, Konoha kunoichi." His eyes never opened and he remained laying on his side.
"I can't leave until I know that you will not be a threat to Konoha." The words were standard. Any ninja would have been able to spit out these words.
"Then why rescue me?"
She fought for an answer, but found none that even resembled an answer. After all, she had asked herself that same question, various times.
"If you don't even know why you rescued me, what right do you have to ask about me?"
"I-It was a spur of the moment, you ungrateful twerp. If I had known—
"You did. You knew before you decided to rescue me." His voice was so tired, but Sakura failed to notice any of that.
"You're right, and I regret doing so now."
"Are you going to kill me then?"
"What?" His last statement caught Sakura off-guard, apparent in her stumble in words.
"You stated that you had to ensure that I would be of no threat to Konoha. I was only confirming your decision."
"Look," her voice was tired beyond belief. In her mind, there was no way another seventeen year old could handle the amount of pressure that was placed upon her. "If you would be polite enough to tell me more about yourself, it would make things easier."
"How would that be?" His eyes were open now, and he sat up, leaning against the cave wall for support.
"Does it matter if I answer your question? You don't seem to intend on answering any of my questions anytime soon."
He stayed silent.
She turned away and lay down on the ground, closing her eyes. There was little use to try and talk with someone who was so firm about not asking any of her questions, despite the fact that she had rescued that very person.
Then she drifted off in deep slumber. When she awoke, the fire had been put out and not even the wisp of smoke remained. The rain had stopped and the sun had arrived.
But he was gone. Sakura bit her lips; her breath quickened. It should have been alright; she had disabled his chakra system after all. There was no doubt that he would find out soon enough. But that wasn't her main worry. But what if, what if he found out it was she who did it?
He would come after her.
The Konoha kunoichi stood and ran, quickly. There was nothing more in her than the desire to race back to Konoha and be safe, safe in the arms of her friends.
Sakura-san's fate was sealed that day, with a horrible ending.