Hey guys. Sorry for the long break. Things have een complicated but I'm back and with a new edit of this story. I felt like it needed more so I changed some things up and made it longer. Let me know what you think :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...unfortunately T_T
-Chapter One-
It was a gorgeous day in the village of Konohagure. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping their melodic songs, and the sound of metal clashing and earth breaking brought peace and prosperity to the members of the prestigious village.
CLASH! SMASH!
"Umph!"
"Ha! Gotcha Kakashi-sensei!" The gray-haired ANBU went flying into a tree, bringing down several others and leaving the training grounds in craeters.
Shaking his head and looking up at his former students standing before him, his visible eye crinkled as he re-examined their growth.
The blonde, kyuubi-container, who was once known as the "knuckle-headed ninja of the Leaf", was now one of the Hiddens top ninja, not only over-powering the copy-nin himself, but also almost amounting to the strength of the former Hokages. He had grown taller, standing at 5'11, and lost his boyish features, leading him to appear as not a nineteen year old boy, but a nineteen year old man. Blonde spikes still protruded from his scalp, but they were now shorter and more fitting for his long, tanned face. Broad shoulders and well-defined biceps emitted strength from years of hard training to all who saw.
Though he was still loud and as hyper as always, the villagers hatred and annoyance for the jinchuuriki developed into love over the years, making Uzumaki Naruto into not only a great ninja, but a respected one. Something Hatake Kakashi could not have been more proud of.
His gaze then shifted to his raven-haired former student, who after completing his goal of avenging his clan and taking down Orochimaru, returned to the village for reasons unknown. The also nineteen year old boy had been back in the hidden leaf for a little over a year now and had developed into a very powerful ninja as well. He now stood at 6'1 with very defined bisceps and chest, his jaw strong and firm. Eyes that once held nothing but darkness and hatred now slightly brighter. Even though his vocabulary had not changed much, you could manage actually getting full sentences once in a while.
Another noticable change was not physical but mental. The boy was now allowing the bonds between him and his teammates to form and not pushing them away. This gave Kakashi hope that one day, his formly ice-cold student would open up and be truely happy.
Last, but certainly not least, he gazed at the youngest member of the team. The silly, love-sick girl who cared more about what outfit she was going to wear than what she was being trained was completely gone. What stood in the middle of the trio now was a strong kunoinchi with the firery passion of knowledge and strength in her emerald green eyes. She had let her hair become long again, reaching to about her wiast, grew maybe a foot and a half, now standing at 5'5, and her body curved and lumped in all the right places, turning her from a little fifteen year old girl to an eighteen, soon going on nineteen, year old woman. She was pronounced Konohas' top medic a little after the new year. Her improvement over the years was indeed the most astonishing in her former sensei's eyes.
The pinkette was a beautiful, strong, elegant leader now, training harder and longer than any other kunoinchi. Her shifts at the hospital consisting of her saving the lives of hundreds of shinobi and villagers everyday.
Haruno Sakura was by far the most kind and respected kunoinchi in the Land of Fire, and he was proud to have been her sensei.
"Hm. So it seems you, indeed, have found me." The medic cracked her knuckles and smiled. Tsunade-shishou had tought her many things over the years. The ability to easily find someone hiding underground was just one of the spectacular abilities she had inherited.
"Alright Sakura-chan! That was freaking awesome! You have to teach me that!" The raven-haired shinobi looked over at the appalled blonde, then over to his female partner. Since he had returned he had noticed the changes the emerald-eyed girl had made. She no-longer clung to him like the obsessed, little girl he remembered. In fact, when he had first came back, it took all of his, and the dobe's, efforts to get her to even talk to him!
He let his obsidian eyes roam her newly formed body. Her arms were tight and toned, as were her stomach and legs; her creamy skin now slightly scarred and tanned. Her once round, heart-shaped face became elongated and older-looking.
All in all, the girl had grown, in more ways than one, and he was begining to respect her more and more as a kunoinchi by the day.
"Alright guys, I think this old man has had enough beating for one day. Take the rest of the day off and do whatever it is you kids do now-a-days." Cheers from the jinchuuriki could be heard and a sickening punch followed.
"Ow! Sakura-chan! What the hell was that for!"
"Because your yelling is splitting my, and everyone else in the Fire's, eardrums in half, baka!" The blonde rubbed his jaw sheepishly and the pinkette giggled at his childish antics, concentrating her chakra to her right hand and placing it on his injury to heal it. Sasuke just smirked and closed his dark eyes.
"So, you wanna go get some ramen?" Naruto asked his teammates excitedly.
"I don't think so. I think I'm gunna stay and train a little more and push some of the land back together, give the feild workers a break. But I'll see you guys tomorrow morning, ne?"
"Aw!" the kyuubi-container pouted and he raised his fist in protest,"But Sakura-channn! You're always training! Take it easy for once! Lay back, eat some ramen, then maybe we can go back to my place an-OWWWW!"
"Dobe." It was the Uchiha's turn to give the boy a smack upside the head and the medic laughed at the scene.
"Ja ne." With that, the three headed in their seperate directions.
-Later That Night-
Rather than spend the entire night training, the kunoinchi had decided to quickly clean up the training grounds to the best of her abilities, then headed over to pick up an extra shift at the hospital.
Now it was about a quarter-to midnight and the tuckered out girl was slowly sauntering back to her apartment building about two blocks from her work.
Coming around the corner, Sakura looked up to her apartment window and immediately took to the roof-tops, anger and annoyance boiling inside.
I know I shut the lights off. Who in their right mind would dare to break into the Hokage's apprentice's apartment! Shannaro!
Her stealthy and quick-paced footsteps brought her to her apartment door ten minutes faster than it would have if she were able to take her time. By now she was seething, her petite form shaking with anticipation.
I swear, whoever is in here is going to get their ass kicked when I catch them!
Masking her presence expertly, the medic concentrated a small amount of her chakra to her left leg and with one, not-so-powerful, kick, sent the door flying off of it's hinges and across the room.
"Woah! What the hell! Sakura?" Said girl's emerald eyes widened at the figure that had leapt off of the couch and was now in a fighting stance in the middle of the living room.
"Karin?" What the hell was she doing here?
"What? Not happy to see me, little sister?" The pinkette's eyes widened in shock. Her sister just stood there, a smirk plastered on her pale face. Sakura found herself at a complete loss for words.
"N-no! I'm very happy to see you. It was just a little...-"
"Unexpected? Yea, I know. I was on my way back from a mission and figured since I have a week or so to report I would drop by and check up on my baby sister!" The red-head re-took her seat on the couch, picking up the cup of tea that was set down on the adjacent coffee table.
Finally getting the feeling back in her legs, the medic kicked off her boots, easily placed the door back on it's hinges, and took a spot on the love-seat across from Karin.
Silence filled the air around the sisters uncomfortably as they sat in the younger of the twos' living room. The owner of the home gazed at the elder, taking in her appearance.
Karin's hair had gone from being bob-cut into shoulder-length, bright-red hair. She had grown to stand at approxiamately 5'8, and had traded her contacts in for a pair of stylish, black, thin-frammed glasses.
The sibling closed her sharp-red eyes as she raised the cup resting in her lap to her lips, taking a gentle sip of the hot liquid. Sakura noted how most of her sisters' looks had been inherited by their father, unlike her own, which were given to her by their mother. The only thing the two sisters had in common was the shape of their faces, oval. Though the also had a similar body shaping, Karin had not curved and developed as much as her younger sibling had.
The kunoinchi's emerald eyes glazed over as unwanted memories of her sisters' sudden disappearance forced their way to the front of her mind. It had taken place shortly after their parents had been brutally murdered by some low-ranked rogue-nin. That had been a few years ago, a few months after Sasuke had left the village in his hungry search for power.
"Why?" Red eyes flashed with curiousity at the question directed at them,"Why...did you leave?" The elder sighed, placing her mug on the coffee table.
"After we found Kaa-san and Tou-san, I just couldn't bare to be here in Konoha any longer. I had to leave, the pain was just too much," Emerald eyes lowered to the floor. Sakura had never thought she'd actually get the chance to as her sister these questions, seeing as for all she knew, her sister had been dead too.
"Then...why didn't you take me with you? Why did you just leave me all alone?"
"Because, you were meant to be in Konoha. I could just tell you were going to progress far better here then I ever would have, though I was always the stronger one. Still am the stronger one." Karin smirked and the medic let out a snort, knowing her sister could never hold a serious conversation and had absolutely no idea who she was talking to, but was pleased with her answer, knowing she was right about one thing. Konoha was, in fact, her home. Leaving was just an unthinkable question.
"So," the pinkette continued," I'm guessing the mission was a success?" the red-eyed kunoinchi scoffed at her younger siblings question, then in a sudden excitement, jumped up from the couch, squealing and scaring the other.
"Speaking of the mission...I got you a little...present." Running quickly into the kitchen, she soon returned, hands behind her back and a grin almost wide enough to rival her blonde friends,"Okay, now close those pretty, big eyes of yours," Sakura couldn't help but snort at her sisters' request, but, none-the-less, did as she was told,"Alright, now open!"
The emerald eyed kunoinchi gasped as she was met with the most breath-takingly beautiful pieve of jewelry she had ever laid eyes on. It was pure twenty-four carrat gold, spiraling downward with three gorgeous diamonds on one side leading to encase an extravagant emerald rock.
"Oh my Kami...Karin! Where did you get this! How were you able to afford this!" the elder smirked, walking behind the amazed girl and wrapping the delicate chain around her thin neck.
"I spotted it at a stand in a village near-by on my way back from my mission and I thought about how it matched your eyes. As for expense, don't worry about it, it just took some...bargaining." Sakura squealed with delight, engulfing her sister in a rib-crushing, bear-hug. She couldn't believe that her sister still thought about her after all these years!
"Well, dear sister, I think I'm gunna crash. Been a long day. I put a pillow and blanket on the couch for ya. Ciao!"
The pinkette waved her sister goodnight and set her place on the couch, laying down and adjusting the blanket around her small frame. After closing her eyes, it only took a couple of minutes for realization to dawn on her, her eyes popping open wide.
"Hey! Wait a minute! This is my apartment! Why the hell am I the one on the couch!" When she felt for her sisters chakra to be sure she wasn't just simply being ignored, Sakura knew it was a pointless battle as the chakra was already calm, meaning that Karin was already fast asleep. The kunoinchi returned to her position, a large grin lighting up her features as she stared at the ceiling. She couldn't help the giddy feeling flooding through her veins that her sister was alive.
-End of Chapter One-
A/N: So what do you guys think? I like this one much better. Not alot has changed, but enough for me to like it alot better than the other version. I'm already working on Chapter Two as I type so let me know what you think! TTYL :)