Chapter 1

The Beginning

...

Thump thump...

Thump thump...thump thump...

She thought the war was over...

Everything was at peace:

Sasuke was home, safe and sound.

Naruto was alive and well.

The village was safe, nobody in danger.

We did not have to fight, we did not have to fear...

We did not have to say goodbye's...

Or so she thought.

...

Then one day leaves rustled in the breeze
Sensing that a storm was about to brew.
Though filled with disappointment and anxiety
I faced the reality of the storm anew.

Dark clouds appeared on the horizon
That moved across the sky so blue,
Obstructing the rays of the golden sun
On all of the succulent highlands too.

The trees swayed in the intense wind
Against a dismal and weeping sky.
Lightning cracked and thunders rumbled
As the ferocious storm went ravaging by -
Ending the serenity of this summer day.

Joseph T. Renaldi

The two men appeared out of nowhere, only a few feet apart from the thick, wooden double doors that lay shut before them.

For a second, they both stood perfectly still, their eyes regarding the other with equal caution. Turning away, they stepped towards the locked opening, and gripped the cool metal handlebar in between their cool fingers. In a flash, the door swung open and the pair wordlessly crossed the threshold and into the cool embrace of the ancient building.

The men's long cloaks flapped about their ankles as they briskly made their way towards the second set of double doors. Neither hesitated as they pushed open the heavy barricade, both silently noting the chilling change in atmosphere.

"I assume you caught one?" asked the taller of the two.

"But of course." sneered the other, his eyes sliding to the moving bundle in his left hand. They kept their hurried pace as they silently rounded a corner, again noting the growing darkness pressing in. "And it is only too live and well." Atsuo continued, a knowing smile tugging at his thin lips.

Masao nodded. Atsuo cast a brief glance towards his partner. Knowingly, Masao raised his hand above his hand, allowing the sleeve of his cloak to droop past his elbow. There, across his forearm, sat the clear glass tube, strapped securely against his pale translucent skin. The research has taken a toll on him, it seems.

"You look like death." Atsuo commented.

Slowing their pace, Masao felt his lips tug into a sincere smile, his eyes glinting in the shadow of the corridor. Making a left, the couple stopped at the third set of engraved double doors. Atsuo paused, perspiration sliding along the sides of his head. Masao pushed open the doors, and immediately light flushed into the blackness behind the lone couple.

"Idiot," Masao replied bitingly. "I am death."

Inside, the pair stepped forth towards the seated figure before them.

His face reflected the glare of the sun in its moist folds, making the skin look waxy. His eyes, opening at the sound of hushed footsteps, now glinted in expectancy as he watched the medic nins drop onto their knees at the grace of a shinobi. Draped in the elegance of silk and satin, the figure stood to acknowledge the two men before him, casting a small glance towards the wriggling bundle on the smaller man's left. Addressing them, the elder man said, "Welcome."

Watching the two stand up, the elder man looked expectantly at the pair. "Well?" he asked in slight annoyance. Masao stepped forward, pulling out the clear vile, holding it in front of the Minister with pale, delicate fingers. "It is completed." he said.

The Minister's face lit up. Taking it carefully in his hands, he held the glass vile up towards the lone slit in the ceiling, allowing the pale sunlight to gleam mercilessly on the capped container. He watched as the liquid gleamed, smiling. It looked just like water. Opening the cap, he wafted his hand over the top of the vile, inhaling. His eyebrows arched in pleasure; no scent as well. How perfect. Turning back, the Minister handed the vile back to Masao.

"Tell me, Masao, Atsuo- How well does it work?"

At the mention of the effectiveness of the solution, Atsuo bit the end string of the bag, withdrawing a rather large black Raven. The minister drew his eyebrows in at the creature, his form seeming to sink further into the shadow, his face contorted in irritation. Surely they didn't really have the nerve to show him the potency on such an insignificant creature.

"No." the Minister whispered, eyeing the pair carefully. "I want to see the results on a shinobi." Snapping his fingers, the pair of medic nins watched as two guards left the Minister's throne to disappear behind a back door. There was screaming, the scuffling of footsteps, and then nothing.

Atsuo glared, releasing his hand on the raven. Everyone watched as the black bird flapped his wings angrily, squawking, before finally taking flight into the air. Circling, the bird suddenly landed atop the knob on the minister's throne. Atsuo narrowed his eyes. Dumb bird.

Masao watched with calculated eyes as the guards returned with what appeared to be a young man. The guards dragged the shinobi out from under the shadows, arranging him in the brightest ray of light in front of the throne so as the audience may have a better view of what was to come. The minister sat himself down, eyes gleaming with unmistakable grim amusement as the nin tried in vain to jerk away from the two guards grip.

In the light, Masao noted the color of blonde atop the mans head, the silvery strands seeming to become one with the dim rays. But even more so than that: There, strapped across his forehead, sat the headband of the Rain.

Masao felt his lips tug in mild astonishment. At the signal of the minister, the guards grabbed the top of the blonde's downy hair, pushing him hard on his knees. The shinobi let out a sharp groan, but refused to cry out. His green eyes remained fixed on the narrow sun-slit before him, blood slowly dripping off the edge of his chin to rest on the floor. Suddenly he jerked, but the guards held fast. Beside him, Masao heard the Minister's sharp chuckle fill the enclosed area around him.

Nobody missed the sudden drop in temperature.

Tilting the vile down, Masao inserted the thin needle of a syringe into the clear liquid, drawing out the fatal virus into the back of the thin tupe. The nameless shinobi now had his eyes glued to the dripping needle in his hand. Masao turned toward the rain nin, now beginning to slowly make his way towards his fellow shinobi.

Oh, the irony.

The blonde, now realizing what fate lied ahead for him, yelled with a fury through the cloth over his mouth, jerking and thrashing in all directions. The grip on his head slackened, but was soon returned with a vengeance

The youth moaned aloud as a thick arm wrapped around his neck, pulling his upper body further, and further back with pinching force. It felt to him as though his skin would split in two at any second. Masao looked down at the bare, pale skin of the man's flesh, smirking. Locking eyes, he gazed into the glassy reflection of the blonde's brilliant green orbs; tears, he reasoned, that were being held back. Keeping his face blank, Masao said, "You are going to die today." Another jerk; another cry.

Without further hesitation, Masao jammed the full needle into the man's flesh. A large cry erupted from the shinobi's mouth. The Minister suddenly stood, his eyes alight with excitement. All watched as the blonde's green orbs suddenly dialated. Minutes passed by, and the gurads went back to their posts, allowing the man to roll on the floor.

Clothed in a cold sweat, the blonde tried to hoist himself up. Masao frowned in disgust. "The more you fight, the faster you die." Masao commented, his face as blank as ever.

Suddenly, the youth was on his knees, reeling over as a pool of blood erupted from his mouth. Another small shake took over, and the man's eyes dimmed as he left this world into what Masao believed to be another. The minister watched with baited breath as the youth collapsed on his side, twitched once, and then went still. Seconds later, the guards were back by his side, hoisting him up as they dragged his body back into the buildings depth.

The Minister smiled, pleased. "How will it spread?"

"What, exactly, did you have in mind?" Masao asked. The Minister scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I believe," the Minister began, a small, slow smile pulling at the edges of his lips, "that we have much to discuss. Come. We will discuss the matter over dinner.

Without another word, the pair slowly began to follow the Minister and his guards as they made their way to the back, making sure to keep clear of the fat trail of crimson liquid running along side them.

The bird, having stood quietly in the background, now hopped from foot to foot in displeasure. Taking flight, the raven landed on the ministers shoulder, settling down in contentment. Atsuo blinked. "It appears the bird is grateful towards his savior."

Masao grunted, giving a slight shake of his head.

The irony indeed.

Sasuke sat perched on the limb of one of the many trees over looking Konaha, wearing his usual white, thin shirt with his dark blue trousers. Below him, children ran laughing while holding up little sparklers in their tiny hands, lighting up the fast approaching darkness. Its been nine months since he returned to Konaha; and still Konaha looked as different as ever.

Everything felt calmer; more stable. A burning feeling began to unfurl in Sasuke's gut at the thought, though he didn't know why. Peace was something he never really knew; never really experienced. In a way, it felt only too good to be true.

Putting the thought behind him, Sasuke closed his eyes in contentment at finally having the luxury to sit alone without having eyes tailing after him. For six months, Tsunade forced Sasuke to endure the ever annoying and ill comforting feeling of being watched by analytic eyes. No place was sacred; not even the bathroom.

A strong scowl pulled at his mouth at the memory. But that was behind him now. And in any case, he had no right to complain.

Anything was better than death. Truthfully, Sasuke didn't know what to expect when he got back. The furious wrath of Tsunade was a given, as well as his two year sentence- six months being watched, six months on being on house arrest, then an added six months on being permitted on low ranked missions, followed by the release of his house arrest, and then finally, he would be permitted to join Naruto and Sakura on their missions.

Then there was the hostility he received upon the village's realization that he, the notorious Uchiha, would soon fall back into Konaha's ranks; another given, as well as the vast amount of tension among the other shinobi's.

What he did not expect, however, was the awkwardness of being around Team 7. He thought he would feel indifferent, which for the most part he did, aside from Naruto always pestering him and Sakura always wearing her fake, plastered smile.

Thinking about Team 7 brought memories of Sai, to which a bitter taste began to leak into Sasuke's mouth. To say he didn't like him would be an understatement.

Another unexpected realization that soon dawned on him upon re-entering Konaha was the bitter feeling of home-sickness.

He hadn't realized how much he actually missed his home. But that feeling quickly passed over, as expected. From then on, Sasuke remained stationary in his apartment, not feeling right about moving back into his child-hood home. He only ever left to grab the basic necessities of food and other similar items.

But even more unexpected than that- Sakura. She surprised him the most, though he would never admit it. Half expecting her to cling to him every where he went, Sasuke can't say he acted kindly towards her in the beginning. But it wasn't long before he began to pick up on the indifference she carried around with him. Sakura wasn't cold towards him- but there was something different about her nonetheless.

Perhaps it was the fact that she didn't treat him any different than she would with Naruto or Shikamaru, or maybe it was the realization that Sakura grew up; it was quite apparent that she had a position to fill at the hospital, and unlike the genin days, she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

In any case, Sasuke felt himself watching her more and more- waiting for her to suddenly drop the i-don't-like-you-like-that act, but she never did. Maybe never would.

Sasuke's mood suddenly darkened, his eyebrows twitching in irritation. No. Konaha was very different than what he remembered it to be.

But somethings would always stay the same. Like Kakashi and his obsession over those perverted books of his.

"Hey teme!" called a faded voice,"Get down here!"

Like Naruto's horrible timing, which for Sasuke, happened more often than not. Glancing down, Sasuke watched as Naruto skidded beneath the shadow of the tree, Sakura trailing behind him. They were both dressed in their casual attire: Naruto in his khakis, wearing one of his favorite orange T-shirts, and Sakura, in her navy skirt with the khaki colored sleeves and red fitting top.

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke looked back at the people crowding around the bare, grassy hill tops. He had forgotten about the celebration of the village's many victories that year.

Naruto growled at him. "Baka, get your ass down here, we're going to miss the show!"

Sasuke scowled. Spend the rest of the evening watching fireworks pop in the sky like a little kid...

...

He'd rather pass.

But on the other hand, he had nothing better to do than people watch, to which he had spent most of the day doing, thanks to his house arrest. A change in scenery wouldn't be unpleasant. Besides, Naruto would only throw a hissy fit, which would inadvertently cause a scene in front of the entire village.

Sasuke could not permit that.

With an irritated twitch to the brows, Sasuke gracefully slid down from the tree, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Naruto grumbled something about him always showing off, but Sasuke paid him no heed.

Turning his head at the pinkette, Sasuke watched as Sakura suddenly grabbed the back of Naruto's jacket, pulling him back. "Shut it, Naruto. I've had just about enough of your complaining."

Naruto's face twitched, but wisely held his tongue, mumbling, "Alright, alright."

Sakura let go, beginning to say something, but was unceremoniously cut off by a great 'POP' in the sky. Sakura jumped at the sound, clearly not expecting it, while the others glanced up just in time to watch the colorful red sparks fizzle out of existence into the darkened sky.

Naruto suddenly let out a large groan, hopping impatiently from foot to foot while his hand continued to point at the sky. "Damn, damn, damn!"

What happened next came in an unexpected blur. Naruto glanced between Sasuke and Sakura, reluctantly pulling his hand down as if without him continuing to point upwards, the others would forget that they were missing one of the most celebrated festivities in all of Konaha. Then, without further notice, Naruto turned on his heel, leaving a trail of dust in his wake as he sped towards the grassy hills.

Turning back, Naruto said, "Sorry guys, I'm supposed to be sitting with Hinata- i'll see you later!"

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled, but was once again cut off by another large 'Pop,' followed by the cheers and whistles of the civilians next door.

Sasuke blinked, his face the perfect picture of 'What-the-hell.'

Sakura moaned, clearly annoyed by the unexpected departure of their blonde 'knuckle-head of a shinobi' team member. Turning around, Sakura began to say something when it finally dawned on her that Sasuke was no where to be seen. Twisting her head, she caught sight of the back of the spiked Uchiha's head walking in the opposite direction, hands stuffed in his pockets. She watched him, wanting to run after him, but feeling held back by some invisible force field.

What was Naruto thinking? Ditching her like this, with Sasuke, nonetheless, who still regarded her with little acknowledgement. Sakura turned her head upwards, watching as two more fireworks lit up the sky. Just great. Shaking her head, Sakura began to jog after Sasuke, pushing her irritation aside.

As much as she wanted to walk in the other direction, she knew that Sasuke would only go home and brood in his apartment, to which Kakashi and Tsunade alike had said it was starting to be a habit for him. And so what if it was?

She let the thought slide away as she passed one of the entrances to a neighborhood. Something had suddenly caught her attention. Turning her head sideways, she stared into the flickering light of one of the many houses in Konaha. She stood still for several seconds, allowing her eyes to scan over the deserted area. She could have sworn she head muffled voices...

Another 'Pop' brought here attention away from her thoughts. Remembering Sasuke, Sakura turned her head just in time to see him jumping over one of the wooden fences- a shortcut to the hills, she knew. With one last look at the deserted neighborhood, Sakura leapt after him, slightly confused at his change in route.

Landing with a soft thud, Sakura turned her attention to the mass of people before her. Scanning her eyes, Sakura once again found the back of Sasuke's head, seated in the most isolated area there was.

Sakura blinked at him in astonishment.

"Hey! Who are you looking at?"

Sakura jumped at the unexpected voice, whirling around to face an amused Ino. Shikamaru strolled up next to her, sighing. "Ino," he began in a warning tone, allowing the rest of his sentence to be conveyed through his eyes. Ino blinked innocently at her boyfriend. "What? I was only asking a question!"

Shikamaru sighed, mumbling "troublesome" under his breath. Ino beamed. Sakura turned her attention to the Nara genius as he said, "Sorry Sakura, but apparently there's a medical emergency over at the hospital. They need your assistance."

Sakura suppressed a groan, disappointment now beginning to pool inside the pit of her stomach. What a wonderful night this was turning out to be.

"Oh don't worry Sakura!" Ino started, waving a hand dismissively. "You'll be in and out in no time. They've probably already got a handle on the situation."

"Yea, maybe." Sakura replied. Turning back towards the fence, Sakura called back, "Ill see you guys later."

With that, Sakura quickly made her way towards the hospital, using the rooftops to her advantage as she pumped chakra into her legs.

Whatever the medical emergency, it had better be good.

Continue?

Reply and tell me if it sounds like a worthy story to write,

The plot is figured out, I have some very cute SakuSasu moments in mind, and the next chapter is on its way (:

-Colani