Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or In the end by Linkin Park
A/N: This is a multichapter sequel to I should go which is a sequel to White flag.
Song: In the end by Linkin Park
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Breathe into me
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Chapter one: In the end
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
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Three Konoha chunin were sitting in a cozy teashop eating lunch. They stopped in Sakazaki, a border town of Fire Country as they were heading back to Konoha. They weren't really in a hurry as the mission they had was a failure, so they decided to take a break.
Kyo, Shin and Nori stared at the nameless people coming in and out of the small shelter. Outside, the snow was simply flowing and they were beginning to think that they should look for an Inn because with their luck, a blizzard was sure to come along.
"Well I'd be damned… Isn't that Haruno Sakura?" Kyo, the leader of the team whistled as he saw a beautiful pink haired woman walk in the shop.
Sakura was wearing a simple, black cape coat that reached her mid tights. Her slender, but muscular legs were dresses in a pair of simple black pants, lacking the kunai holster that kunoichi usually had strapped on their leg. Her black boots were covered in snow, which signaled that she had been walking for a while.
"Didn't you study with her, Nori?" Kyo asked the medic-nin of their team, without taking his eyes off the infamous woman.
"Yeah, I did. She's a legend."
"Nori, why don't you call her over?" Hyo said with a sly smirk on his face.
"W-Well, I-"
"She's the Godaime's apprentice and the future Rokudaime's best friend. Not to mention she's tight with Uchiha. What makes you think she'll want to talk to the likes of Nori?" Shin, the third member of their team, cruelly asked.
"I don't think she would want to talk to Nori, I, however, am a totally different story."
"She was a respected jounin and head of the hospital before she disappeared. You barely passed your chunin exam. And she's two years younger than you."
"Shut you trap, Shin. Nori, call her!"
Said boy did as he was instructed and called her by the usual 'Sakura-sama'.
The woman was deciding which food to order from the menu when she heard someone shouting her name, with the suffix "-sama" no less.
Turning around she spotted a familiar man, a face she knew from long ago, but couldn't quite place. Then she saw their forehead protectors and decided that they must know her from when she was still a kunoichi. For her it seemed that Konoha was just a dream, or another life. It was somehow there, but not really.
It was in the past.
She didn't really want to acknowledge them. It may seemed arrogant that she would think so, but really, she was a woman with self respect and was used to people coming to her when they had something to say. Not to mention that she was probably a much better shinobi then they were and had no reason to feed their male pride by running to them like a lost puppy.
Though that was not the main reason why she wished to avoid them. No, the main reason was that she had had enough of ninjas for a lifetime.
But then again, maybe they just wanted to say 'Hello' and she couldn't really blame them for that.
She slowly made her way toward them, not only because she was polite, but also because she wanted to ask them to keep her whereabouts a secret.
"Hello! It's nice seeing Konoha Shinobi again."
"Sakura-sama! I am Nori. I was your student for that three months class you held. These are my teammates, Kyo and Shin."
Sakura had indeed held a class that lasted for three months after the war in order to help medical ninjas become better at their job. At the end of those three months, Sakura could say that she felt better about herself. She taught them a lot of tricks that would one day come in handy. Even though three months was nowhere near enough to learn, at least she gave them a place to start.
Nori had been a good student but without hard work, his talent would be lost. She told him that then, but wasn't sure if he heeded her advice.
"Ah, yes, Nori-san. It's nice to see you. And it's a pleasure, Kyo-san and Shin-san."
While Shin had answered respectfully, Kyo had taken her hand and kissed it like it were some fragile jewel. Maybe she should have been flattered by his gesture, but seeing as they were all ninja, she preferred a strong handshake to such frivolous things.
To tell the truth, Sakura was used to be treated like a lady, since she worked as a doctor in Sakazaki, but whenever she meet shinobi, she made sure to not betray any weakness. She didn't have a reputation for nothing. She worked hard for it and was to be treated with respect.
But she let it slide, simply because she would need to be nice in order to convince the three to keep silent about Sakazaki.
"So what are you doing in Sakazaki? I doubt you have a mission in such a peaceful town."
"Oh, no. We're just passing by. Our mission was to infiltrate in a fortress in Sound." The one known as Kyo said with a smug smirk, as if it were such a difficult thing to do.
"I take it your mission is a success?"
"Ah, we're getting there."
The leader said, thinking of a way to change the subject. The mission was not a success. They had been discovered and had barely managed to get away in time. Had they not been so fast to run, they would be dead, as they couldn't fight the army of ninjas that resided in the fortress.
"So what brings you here, Sakura-san?"
"I am laying low for awhile."
"Really? Because you have been doing so for quite some time. We haven't heard of you in ages."
"Actually, it's classified information that only the Godaime and I know, so I would appreciate your discretion. I'm sure you know what that means, with you being such reliable shinobi of Konoha and all. Also, Tsunade-shisou would be very mad if anyone were to find out."
It didn't hurt to lie a bit, just to make sure they didn't spill.
"I heard that the last person who saw me here is still doing D-rank missions."
Sakura added hiding her smirk as she saw a flash of horror pass through their eyes. At least she wasn't the only one who had unpleasant memories from her genin period.
"Of course, Sakura-san. Our lips are sealed."
"I'm glad you are sensible men. Now, if you would please excuse me, I have some errands to run." Sakura said as she paid for the takeaway food the waiter had just brought her.
"Why don't you eat with us?" Kyo insisted.
"I would, but I am short on time."
"That's a pity. Especially since we are looking for an Inn and we thought you could recommend something for us."
The young woman looked at them and thought that it wouldn't hurt to lead them to a nearby Inn on her way home. They were, after all, citizens of Konoha.
"I'm afraid I don't have time, but if you wish to come with me, I can show you the best Inn you can find in Sakazaki"
"We'd be forever indebted to you."
The four walked out of the teashop, leaving the warm atmosphere that reigned there, only to be welcomed by a raging snowstorm. The blizzard was insane and most people had already taken shelter somewhere.
They, however, were shinobi and a little snow wouldn't bother them.
Or so Sakura thought, because the minute they stepped outside, Kyo started complaining about the weather and how they should have remained inside but didn't all because Sakura had been too stubborn.
This got on her nerves, but she didn't get a chance to tell him to fuck off as she was interrupted by a kunai that she barely dodged. She had let her guard down and almost paid the price for it.
Before anyone realized what was happening, Sakura silently picked out the kunai and swiftly landed a hit on the amateur shinobi who thought he could best her.
Sakura wanted to interrogate him, but Kyo already knew what was happening.
"The sound-nin! They found us!" He said in a panicked voice.
"What are you talking about?"
"We were discovered back at the base and we had to flee since there was an army of them and only three of us. We thought we lost them, but we were wrong." Shin explained, as Kyo was too frightened to utter a word.
The woman understood exactly what had happened. The idiots failed the mission and on top of that led the enemy exactly to Sakazaki and to her. If they were to capture her, Orochimaru would be over the top. Sure, he said something about him being a changed man after the war and not holding a grudge against Konoha anymore, but she didn't believe a word of it. Though that wasn't such an important matter.
"We need lead them away from here. People will die if we don't."
"No, it's too dangerous! We need to run!" Kyo found it in him to respond.
"Then we at least need to evacuate the town."
"No, we need to flee."
"Coward! Don't you see that you can't run? And even if you could, what about all these people you endangered just because you were reckless?"
"I don't care about these civilians! Nori, Shin, let's go!"
"Goodbye, Sakura-sama!" Nori said, wile Shin nodded his head, both of them disappearing after their leader and leaving Sakura alone in the middle of the road.
She couldn't believe they would just run like that after creating such a mess. They were Konoha shinobi and whatever things she held against them, she would never thought she would see a ninja run for his life, leaving innocents who couldn't defend themselves to die.
As if on cue, screams and panicked cries of help rippled through the town and Sakura wished she could use Naruto's jutsu and make a hundred clones. Unfortunately, she didn't have the Kyubi's chakra, but what she did have was perfect chakra control and so she made a total of fifteen clones.
It was the best she could do. After the huge wave of chakra that swept through her, she lost her balance, being caught by a clone.
"I'm fine. Evacuate everyone!"
The other Sakuras nodded and went to work while the original was left to deal with all the attention her jutsu has attracted.
She was surrounded by five bloodthirsty sound nin.
The fight was gruesome.
Sakura could barely breathe. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She wasn't supposed to fight again. Never again. It was all just another nightmare. She was trembling with fear, getting closer to death as each second passed. She had minor cuts covering her arms and the hot blood flowing on her ice cold skin made her helpless.
They attacked and she dodged. Even though she was pretty good at avoiding hits, she sustained a little damaged.
The kunoichi knew that she couldn't keep that up for much longer. With every kick and with every punch dodged, she knew she was to be defeated if she didn't act quick.
Taking in a deep breathe, she reminded herself that she was Haruno Sakura and that name held weight in the shinobi world for a reason. Maybe she wasn't of Naruto and Sasuke's caliber, but she certainly wasn't like that coward, Kyo. She would stay and fight for the people who welcomed her in their town, in their homes, simply because they needed her.
Haruno Sakura would never go down without a fight.
As fast as she could, she punched the ground to distract their attention. She needed to use ninjutsu in order to emerge victorious from the fight. It was a good thing she was a water type because there was snow all around, which gave her a huge advantage.
While they were all searching for her chakra, which they would never find because she managed to hide it very well, Sakura made the hand seals for a complex jutsu, which she developed in the years she spent away from Konoha, being inspired by Haku's technique. She never quite managed to forget the boy and his loyalty to Zabuza.
He was not so different from the Sakura who used to live in Konoha. She too had been ready to give her life up for Sasuke, a person who would never think of returning the favor.
But this new Sakura, the one she so carefully worked on, would never do such foolish things again. She would never love the way she did before, though she was still capable of sacrifice. She would help the people of Sakazaki even if it were the last thing she did.
She had grown but she was still human, maybe even more so.
With that thought in mind, the female ninja pushed her palms forward in one swift motion, gesturing toward the enemies. Four of them were caught by the deadly ice. They were dead in an instant. Their heart was instantly transformed into a piece of ice and blood just froze in their veins.
Talk about frozen hearts.
The jutsu was fatal for those who weren't fast enough to escape, which most shinobi weren't.
Some would say that the technique was heartless, but Sakura wouldn't really agree. There were more gruesome ways to kill a person, like the flames of Susanoo. At least her method was painless. They wouldn't even know what hit them.
But Sakura's problems were far from over. She needed some time to recuperate from the extensive use of chakra and she still had one enemy to deal with. A very fast one at that.
He didn't leave her time to catch her breath as he kicked her in her side, cracking a few ribs.
She cursed her luck. She had trained and developed herself, of course, but she wasn't ready for something like this. She couldn't defend a whole town on her own.
She started running to put some distance between herself and the enemy to buy some time in order to come up with a strategy. As she was running, she felt something akin to pain come to her, like a ghost, like distant memory. One wave to her head and the other to her heart.
Two of her clones were taken out. That was just great. At least Sakura found out that people started to move. They were running as fast as they could as far away from Sakazaki as possible.
She just had to buy them more time.
Maybe it was time to cause a ruckus and distract the ninja's attention from the civilians. With that thought in mind, Sakura gathered chakra to her forehead and broke the seal.
Suddenly she felt a strong wave of energy flow through her. She felt invincible.
A number of new techniques she had developed while in Sakazaki came to mind, but it was nothing like brute force that caught one's eye.
Drawing in a deep breath of fresh, ice cold air, Sakura started attacking mercilessly for the first time since the war.
The sound shinobi, no matter how fast, were no match for her, once the buildings also came tumbling down from all sides. The snow and dust covered his vision. The only reason Sakura escaped the scene was because she used Kakashi's teleporting technique.
As expected, more enemy ninja came but Sakura was already on rampage.
She didn't know what she was doing anymore. She didn't care who she was hurting. She just saw blood everywhere and it was war all over again. Only this time, she was alone. That didn't matter, though. She would win because she was thirsty. She was thirsty for revenge, for victory and for blood.
The once peaceful maiden who placed bandages on scrapped knees and helped young woman give birth to bundles of joy was no more. In her place stood a monster. One who would not stop until all foes were defeated.
It was no surprise when the shinobi started running from the scene. They weren't really strong. All their force stood in numbers. And their numbers were running very low, very fast.
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Crushed ice, beaten snow and ruins of the buildings surrounded Sakura as well as many lifeless bodies. Sweat was dripping off her and plastered her pink hair, now free from the once neat ponytail, to her bare neck and shoulders. Her cloak has been discarded sometime during the fight and her shirt was ripped so that her toned abdomen was exposed. Dry blood colored her messy hair in red.
Her clones had been taken out one by one but they had been sufficient to distract the enemy and kill off some of them as the inhabitants of Sakazaki escaped.
The last of her clones disappeared just as Sakura's breathing evened, but something was wrong. She was trying to save an old lady, Kumo and her granddaughter, Yuki from two shinobi who wanted to rob them.
Sakura ran with full speed, hoping she could get there before the defenseless woman and the child were killed. Kumo was the only one who knew of Sakura's past as a ninja because the medic had used her chakra to relieve the pain of her dying husband. Yuki came to visit just a week prior. She was the sweetest little girl. She had light, green eyes and jet black hair and aristocratic features. Like a goddess in miniature. If not for the color of her eyes and her cheerful, sweet personality, Sakura could swear she was Sasuke's kid.
As the man was preparing to finish Kumo off, Sakura took a kunai and slashed his throat with such force that the almost separated his head from his body.
The other ninja was bleeding profusely from her clone's attack and Sakura finished him off with a fast ninjustsu that stopped his heart.
"Sakura…"
"Kumo-san, hold on! I will heal you."
"T-take Yuki to her parents…i-in Tomori."
"Don't talk, Kumo-san."
"Sakura…It's no use…"
"No!"
"Yuki, dear…"
The brunette little girl who was no older than five neared the bed, even though she was scared as hell of Sakura.
"Go with Sakura."
"H-hai…"
"Be a good girl for your mother, will you?"
"Hai…" Yuki said as her eyes welled up in tears and her lower lip started trembling fast.
The old woman gave her last breath and Sakura could feel her just slipping through her bloodstained fingers.
She wanted to scream and cry but found that she couldn't. She was feeling as if everything became clear. In the deafening silence, she could finally hear her thoughts.
Tomori was not very far away. If she traveled at full speed, she could get Yuki there in two hour tops. The girl was terrified and she needed her parents. Sakura knew what she had to do as she slowly neared the girl, careful not to make any sudden moves, not wanting to scare her more than she already was.
"Yuki…We have to go to your parents… It's not safe here, ok?"
The girl was sobbing uncontrollably.
"Your grandmother, Kumo-san, wanted that. You promised her."
"O-ok."
"I'll take you into my arms and we'll run really fast. Don't be scared, ok? We'll get you to your mom really soon."
The child nodded through tears and Sakura felt her heart clench in her chest from seeing her so defeated. Where was the little person who was always laughing and picking up flowers, making bouquets for her grandmother's friends like Ino and her had once upon a time done? Would she ever be the same after all this?
Those were the thoughts that were running through Sakura's mind as she was running through the woods like the wind.
She had to use chakra to keep her balance as the weather was merciless, and even though Sakura felt like her muscles were being ripped away from her bones, the trembling girl in her arms reminded her that she could not stop, nor was she allowed to slow down.
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It was midnight when Sakura returned to Sakazaki. She had gotten in Tomori very fast and took the girl to her mother. The woman had been devastated, yet extremely grateful to Sakura that she had brought her child back. Sakura only stood there half an hour to make sure the girl was safe and then left accepting only an old large coat from the woman.
Walking through the ruins, Sakura scanned the area for any signs of life, yet she found none. It was as if she was waking through a ghost town.
Or like she was walking through Konoha right after Pain's attack. Then she had cried and called out for Naruto. Now, she looked around terrified, knowing that most of the destruction was her fault. She collapsed in the middle of the road laying on her back with her hands by her side as if she was falling into an endless abyss and a single, lone tear dripped off her check.
She knew she had internal bleeding. Her body had already started healing on her own and chakra warmed her so that she wouldn't die from hypothermia. It was a wonder she still had some chakra left, though. Maybe she didn't really deserve it.
As Sakura lay in the fresh, soft snow, she figured that it was unfair. Innocent people had died while monsters like her and some of the attackers that managed to escape, were alive. They were living to see another day, to cause more pain.
Earlier that day her fury got the best of her. She went on rampage and didn't think about anything. Her PTSD wasn't an excuse for what she had done. Nothing could justify her actions.
In the end, when the only thing that was left ragging was the blizzard, Sakura couldn't chase away the thought that had been eating her heart ever since she came to her senses.
Out of all the dead civilians, how many were killed by the Sound-nin and how many by her own bloody hands?
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A/N: Et voila!
The sequel to I should go which is a sequel to White flag.
Kinda complicated, I know, but at least this is a multichapter, so probably no more sequels.
I want to ask a couple of things.
First, how were the fighting scenes? I'm more into writing about emotions so I'm not quite sure. I would appreciate your opinion.
And second, what do you think about the songs? No one said anything about them.
Please review!
Marie Blubert