Hey all, first fic here, and a short chapter of which hopefully many more to come, but I'm not quite confident with my writing, so if anyone has any tips, please let me know, Thanks and please enjoy.
"Good morning….Sakura-chan" said Naruto in a miserable tone.
"Morning Naruto" replied Sakura with a grin on her face sounding much more cheerful than Naruto was. He was slumped up against the bridge they always met at, just staring into the ground. "Is something wrong Naruto?"
"….."
"Naruto?"
"Nothing, really, it's just well...This might be the last-"
"Yo." Said the 3rd member of team seven. No one said anything, and Kakashi looked at his students and knew that he'd interrupted something. A perverted grin shot up his face. Haha those two look serious, Sakura almost looks like she cares…No way, are they?...Hehe.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something? Do you two need some alone time?" Sakura blushed and started cursing at Kakashi, but Naruto just stood there, staring at the ground, not showing any emotion. Kakashi just shrugged Sakura off and remembered what he was there for.
"Now that Sasuke's gone…" Kakashi trailed off as he noticed Naruto tense and clench his fists. Heh, so it's a Sasuke problem eh…but why?
Sakura didn't hear Kakashi's comment because she was still cussing at him, but she heard the next.
"We need a replacement team member; Hokage-sama has given us a free choice at whichever genin we want…As long as they are willing that is."
"Hold off on the replacement, Kakashi-sensei" said Naruto, with a serious expression over his face.
"Nope, not going to happen, Hokage's orders, we need to have a decision by noon, which is half an hour away" looking up at Sakura who looked like she was about to cry. Well only a week after he left, I should've known it'd be a touchy subject. But she'll get over him eventually…I hope.
Still with no change of expression, "I don't think you understand Kakashi-sensei, I said, hold off on the replacement" said Naruto almost forcefully.
Sakura was shocked, never has she seen Naruto act like this. Something's wrong…But what could it be? It wouldn't be Sasuke, they didn't get along, maybe he didn't get his ramen this morning? Sakura giggled, but the other 2 seemed lost in thought.
"Arrange for Sakura to join Team 10, taking Shikamaru's place, since he's chuunin now, problem solved."
"OH HELL NO YOU WON'T" yelled Sakura. "DON'T THINK YOU'RE PALMING ME OFF TO INO-PIG'S TEAM."
"No it's not. (Clearly ignoring Sakura) Where are you going to go, Naruto?" asked Kakashi, afraid of the answer.
"That won't be a problem for much longer, it doesn't matter."
Pretending to ignore his comment, Kakashi said "Well, think about it and meet me at the Hokage's office at noon, ja." And in a puff of smoke the grey haired ninja disappeared.
How much longer will it last? Thought the real Naruto who was approaching the border that separated the Country of Fire from that of the Wind. It's already been 2 days, and I haven't experimented with how long kage bunshins last outside of combat. Hopefully it will last long enough.
Knock knock
"Come in" Boomed a voice from the other side of the door.
In walked the remaining 2 members of Team 7. "Ah, Sakura and Naruto, have you reached a decision yet?"
"Good afternoon Tsunade-sama" said Naruto, being quite polite, which was unusual for the blonde genin.
"Shizune! Check this boy for illness please."
Tsunade's aide looked at Naruto puzzled and said "Why Tsunade-sama, he looks fine"
"Ah, so he does, sorry, the respect must have thrown me off" Said Tsunade as she poked her tongue out at the genin. But to her surprise, he didn't react, he stood there waiting for the Hokage to finish her taunts.
"Tsunade-sama, I Uzumaki Naruto request that Haruno Sakura be placed on a different team, perhaps Team 10 as there is now a vacancy"
"Uzumaki, you are a fine ninja, no doubt about it, but there are no 'one genin' teams', your request is denied, now, who have you chosen to replace the Uchiha brat"
Sakura winced at that statement still having feelings for the 'Uchiha brat', but Naruto wasn't finished, "I understand that Hokage-sama, but my position is no longer an issue, as soon as a position for Sakura is allocated, you shall hear my reasoning"
All present stared at Naruto in awe, who was this new Naruto? It wasn't an imposter, that much they knew, so the change is a natural one. "Negative, you will explain yourself now"
"Not until something is set for Sakura, she needs a place somewhere, once this is organised, I'll talk."
"Fine, Sakura, there are no available teams; But I believe you would do well in the medic field, if you so wish, you will become my apprentice."
Sakura was shocked, there was something weird going on with Naruto but now she was being offered the chance of a lifetime "Yes, of course Hokage-sama, I would be honoured."
"Uzumaki."
"Thank you Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, would you please enter through the window now" Making it sound like an order rather than a request.
Flashback:
Kakashi didn't know what to think after examining this new Naruto. Something isn't sitting right though, perhaps I should tell Tsunade-sama.
"Kakashi…What can I help you with? Is there a problem selecting a new member?" asked a fairly groggy Hokage.
"No, Tsunade-sama, there's an issue with an existing team member."
"What, is another one of your team going rogue-nin?" asked Tsunade in a sarcastic manner.
"That's kinda what I'm afraid of."
Tsunade looked taken aback "What exactly do you mean?"
"Naruto's acting weird-"
"Hah. Isn't weird actually normal for him?" Said Tsunade back with her sarcastic tone.
"That's what I mean, he's almost acting like Sasuke, in comparison."
"Maybe he's just filling the void that the brat left? Thank you for the information, I shall observe him later, but for now, I must get back to my 'paper work'" Said Tsunade with a smirk across her face. Kakashi bowed before leaving through the window out of the Hokage's office.
End flashback.
So this is what he meant about acting weird. She thought as Kakashi stepped through the window and walked over to stand with Sakura who was still staring at Naruto in awe.
"After the recent failure on the mission to retrieve Sasuke." So that's what was bothering him. Thought Kakashi, Sakura and Tsunade simultaneously. "I realised I need to become stronger to fulfil my promise to Sakura-chan, to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. I've been acting like an idiot for my whole life, while Sasuke trained to become stronger, if I want any chance at bringing him back, I need a fresh start, and to start training with no distractions. This will also divert Akatsuki's attention away from Konoha." Everyone in the room just stared at him speechless.
"I thank you Kakashi-sensei, who has trained me this past 8 months; I also thank you for passing me off to train Sasuke, because without that, I never would have trained with Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi felt a twinge of guilt, at those words that were too true to bear. "Please forward my thanks to Jiraiya-sama. I also thank you Tsunade-sama, for letting Sakura become your apprentice, and for the many other things you have done for us since becoming the Godaime Hokage. Last of all, I thank you Sakura, without you, I don't think I would be as strong as I am today. I'm sorry that it's come to this but this where I must say goodbye, and temporarily leave Konoha, with the intentions of returning, my return will not be welcomed I understand that, but I'm willing to face that when and if the time comes."
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?" yelled Sakura "YOU AREN'T LEAVING ME, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME, NOT YOU TOO. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PROMISE, JUST DON'T LEAVE ME…..please…" She was hysterical, and breaking down.
"Shizune…Fetch a squad of ANBU, lock him up." Said Tsunade, sounding disappointed.
Shizune was shocked. "You can't do that!"
"You know the rules Shizune, if a ninja threatens to leave the village without consent, they're imprisoned…"
"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama." Naruto said with a bow. "But there's no point in imprisoning me, again thank you, and good bye. Sorry Sakura-chan" and the shadow clone disappeared…leaving a scroll on the ground.
Kakashi, still shocked by his student's actions, was the first to notice the scroll, seized it and peeled it open.
"Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-sama and Sakura-chan.
I'm sorry that I left the way I did, but it was something I had to do, and I knew if I told you earlier you would have talked me out of it. This is something I need to do, and although no one would care enough to pursue, don't come after me.
By the time you get this I would have been gone a couple of days and almost through sunagakure (Hidden Village of Sand), so even if you follow, you won't catch me, I'm sorry, but until I have Sasuke, and when I'm strong enough to take the Akatsuki, I won't be back, until then, ja."
"Baka." Kakashi mumbled
Tsunade snapped back into reality, took the scroll from Kakashi and furiously started reading through the scroll. "Baka." Tsunade reiterated, "Shizune, round up all the ninja you can find, we're in pursuit of a missing-nin inbound for the country of sound."
"Of course Tsunade-sama" and Shizune rushed out the door.
"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry, but this is all for you, I want to see you happy, but I can't stand to see you upset." Mumbled a saddened Naruto after seeing what his kage bunshin experienced. 2 and a half days, not bad, but I suspect it could've lasted a while longer. Oh well, it served its purpose. Maybe I should go see Gaara, and stock up on more supplies while I'm there.
First stop Gaara's house. With the first smile he'd had in a couple of weeks, maybe this break from Konoha is exactly what he needed.
Well that's chapter 1, Next chapter should be up fairly soon, but I'm hoping people actually read the first one, please review, I don't need them, but they would be appreciated, as short as it is. Until next time, ja.