Chapter 1 - A Betrayal?
Thunder clapped. Those emerald green eyes did not be shooken by the loud crackle of the thrunder strikes. The shoulders that the soft pink hair rested on were tensed up.
How could he do this?
Her soft hands were clenched as fists, grasping onto the soft fabric of her white sweatpants. Not even the soft fabric could release her tension. The thunder struck again.
What was his motive?
Her once clear windows were now covered by the rain pouring down hard onto the strong village. Her shoes rested on the mat by the front door covered in mud. Her bottom rested on the large furbished chair facing toward the kitchen while the couch faced the window. The kitchen was dark and cold while the living room only had one small light by the couch turned on. Lightning flashed and lit up the small dark room.
Who was he against?
A young man sat on the couch next to her chair. His arms were croseed on his chest. The girl's emerald eyes squinted to the bright light.
Where did he get the idea to do this?
Her tear ducts couldn't take it and reacted to the dark aura of the girl. Those emerald eyes were filled with clear water. Her silent sobs could be heard by the man.
When did he plot to do this?
His voice was muffled out by her ears. Another loud boom came from the dark clouds in the sky.
Why would he want to do this?
The man sighed. He raised from the cocuh. He was a tall and muscular man. He placed a firm grip on both of the woman's shoulders. He kneeled down to look at her face.
The 5 W's and 1 H... He did it...
"Sakura... Sakura... snap out of it," the man said.
Th girl looked up to see the face of the man who was with her at that very moment. He was the one that rescued her.
The man that haunted me for all those years...
"Naruto," she said, biting her lip. She tried to stop those flowing tears.
Those red eyes... They would never go away...
"Sakura, he will be hunted down. You won't have to worry," the blond haired man said with his fox grin. Sakura lightly smiled.
Uchiha...
"He will be hunted for what he has done. He cost the village a lot of grief," the man said. Sakura nodded. The scrape on Naruto's arm was visible. He saved her. He saved Sakura from that blow the Uchiha unleashed.
Uchiha...
"What was his motive?" Sakura asked to herself.
"I think it is because of your mask,"Naruto said, pointing to the mask that was split in half. That wolf mask now rested on the floor of the small apartment. It was split in half by the same blow that got Naruto. The mask of an...
Uchiha...
ANBU Captain, captain of all ANBU of the Konoha Village. The leader of all ANBU teams and assignments. There in the room was the strongest female in the village, and she was also the ANBU captain of Konoha. Haruno sakura, the cherry blossom of Konoha, was no longer a fragile flower.
"He might've targeted me for that. He saw my face, and he left the moment he saw it, but what reason would he have to target the ANBU captain and not the hokage?" the 19 year old Haruno said. She looked at the scrape on Naruto's arm again. She grabbed Naruto's right arm and took a quick look at the scrape. Her eyes widened fear.
Uchiha...
"Ne, Sakura-chan. What's wrong?" Naruto panicked. He acted like he did back when he was 12 when he first got poison when he was at the mission for the bridge builder.
"The wound is poisoned," Sakura said, stunned that he would do this. He meant to kill her. If the blow didn't kill her, the poison would. Naruto would die if she didn't get him to the konoha hospital. She was a trained medic nin, but she didn't have the supplies to successfully remove the poison. Naruto eyes were wide as dinner plates.
"S-Sakura-chan, can you remove it now?" Naruto asked. She shook her head and looked into Naruto's eyes. "Damn that bastard..."
Uchiha...
"It's not the time to fool around, Naruto. Let's get you to the hospital," Sakura said. She felt guily this was happening to Naruto. It was her fault Naruto got hurt. The man she once knew a was a cold blooded killer.
"Don't feel guitly, Sakura. It's the bastard's fault, not yours. I was only protecting you like I'm supposed to," Naruto said. Sakura squinted her eyes.She worked so hard so that she wouldn't have to be protected anymore, but she let her guard down. Naruto had to protect her that very moment. When her eyes and those glowing red eyes met, she was in shock. As that wolf mask split in half and slid off her face and onto the ground, their eyes met, and he vanished without a trace.
Uchiha...
She rose from that furbished chair that faced the kitchen, and she placed Naruto's hand in her own.
"Ne, Naruto. There's no time to waste. Let's get going," she softly replied to Naruto's worried look. Those eyes appeared in her mind again.
Uchiha Sasuke...
The lightning flash again in that small livign room. Sakura saw a glimpse of a person in the corner of her eye. She quickly turned. No one was there. The glimpse had vanished the moent she turned. The light quickly left the room.
"S-Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto said, terrified something worse was happening. Sakura let go of Naruto's hand and walked over to the broken glass mask. The white paint made the attacker unabkle to see unless the mask was removed. Purple paint lined against the cheek and turned into purple swirl right on the cheek. The Konoha smybol the mask was split in half. Pink lining went along side on the farther part of the two eyes, and the half lips was once a bright red paint. The wolf nose was painted black, but was now split by the shattering mark of the Uchiha's sword. She picked up the 2 pieces of her mask and studied them for a moment.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. She woke out of her stare and looked to Naruto. Her eyes became blurry with the clear liquid in her eyes.
Sasuke tried to kill me...
"Sasuke-kun..." she whispered, sobbing to herself. Naruto's eyes looked disappointed. Sakura still remembered that man's name. Pain suddenly striked in Naruto's arm. A burning pain shot into the scrape. Naruto cried out at the sudden pain.
"NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura called out, rushing to his aid. Sakura didn't realize she used the suffix kun on Naruto's name. That was the first time she ever did that called eith a suffix. It could've been a mistake after saying Sasuke's name with the suffix. Was it really a mistake or a friendly getsure? She had no time to think about it. She draped an arm around Naruto's upper back. Naruto holded onto the scrape on his arm. His face was scrunched with pain. Sakura walked at a slow pace with Naruto. Sakura slid the 2 halves of her masks under her shirt so that it wouldn't get wet. She slowly slid on her muddy shoes and opened the door. She grabbed a jacket for Naruto and put it around him for while walking him to the Konoha hospital so he doesn't get freezing cold from the pouring rain. Sakura made sure the hood was on Naruto's head, and they slowly walked out the door without an umbrella. Thunder shook the sky again and lightnign brought light to the dark streets.
Sakura... Who's side was Sasuke on?
Sakura forgot about herself and didn't bring a jacket. She kept her body close to Naruto's for warmth. They slowly walked down the streets like an old married couple.
"Sakura-chan... You called me kun," the blond haired ANBU squad leader said, grinning proudly. Sakura took this in as a shock. She never realized it. She continued to slowly walk forward with Naruto, looking at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Her eyes were bulged out, surprised at her actions before.
"I guess... I'm giving up on Sasuke a little, but you're still my friend you know. I want you and your fiance to get together no matter what," Sakura said, looking over to Naruto's engagement ring with hapiness for a split sercond. She then look at her own hand. Her hand was bare with some dirt in her fingernails. Naruto beamed with hapiness. The woman who had admired him for so long in the shadows had finally gathered enough courage to ask him out on a date her 4 years ago, and now the young couple was happily engaged. Naruto never knew that such a woman existed. A woman who had always cared for him in any way possible. Hyuuga Hinata, the Hyuugan heiress was engaged to marry the village kucklehead, Uzumaki Naruto. Of course, Hinata's father was against it, but Naruto and Hinata would marry each other even without her father's consent. Sakura was believing that there will never be a ring on finger.
Ino and Shikamaru were currently dating. Just like Asuma-sensei wished the day he died, for Ino to win in love, but that relationship is off and on. Shkamaru is questionging himself if he should pop the question to Ino. He already went to the jewelry store for a gorgeous diamond ring with Naruto when Naruto was looking for Hinata's engagement ring. Due to not having much money, Naruto bought her a gold band with a small, tiny diamond on it. Hinata cared nothing about the jewelry, but she cared for the symbol that the ring represented.
Neji and Tenten were already married. They married 2 months go. Word is that the 2 are acting like a normal newly wed couple that argue over every single thing. During an occasional girl hangout a couple days ago, Tenten squeeled with joy when she revealed she was 1 month pregnant. She was preparing to tell Neji that she was pregnant sooner or later.
Temari and Chouj have considered dating and are dating at the moment. The 2 started dating a blind date when Ino brought Temari and Shikamaru brought Chouji. The 2 have been getting along very wonderfully.
Shino seems to have met a nice girl who is a non ninja, but a very beautiful girl who lives up to her duties.
Kiba... The guy hangs out in the strip club...
Kankuro... Sakura had no care for him and igonred the possibility of Kankuro dating a sand girl or any girl. Sakura chuckled to herself when she imagined a puppet dating him.
And Gaara was betrothed to a young girl who happens to be a young ANBU Sqad Leader.
Lee somehow managed to find a girl, wihich made Sakura curious. Rumors spread that he's changed. He shaved off parts of his eyebrows, lost the green suit, and got a nice spiky haircut, but Sakura has yet to see that change, since she hasn't seen Lee for 2 weeks since she sent him off on an S-Class mission with his squad. It is possible that the girl is a member of his squad.
Sasuke... He and me are left out...
"Sakura-chan, the hospital is right there," the knucklehead said, looking towards the yellow, red, and green lights. Sakura ligthly grinned at Naruto. They made it just in time. Sakura noticed that he was clutching onto his wound even more.
"Let's get you inside, Naruto. I have to report this to Tsunade and ask her to make me a new mask," Sakura said, lightly chuckling from nervousness with a small sweatdrop on her forehead. The broken mask was still under her shirt. She made sure it didn't slip out. The rain continued to pour, and Sakura and Naruto were already soaking wet. Sakura was more soaked because she didn't have a jacket.
She slowly reached the hospital's doors while still holding Naruto up. A bunch of nurses were huddled together with clipboards. Hinata was one of them. She voluntairly works as a nurse when she is needed. She nodded as they discussed the patients. Those white eyes suddenly turned to the 2 shadowy figures outside the hospital door.
"Tuki-san, there are some people outside the door," Hinata said to the head nurse in that group. Tuki nodded.
"Victoria, please go open the door and lock it again. Don't want the wind to force it open and bring in rain again," Tuki said to the working nurse. Victoria nodded and walked over to the door and opened it. Thunder and lightning struck when it became open. It made Sakura and Naruto look like ghosts. When the lightngin disappearred, the hospital lgiths showed Sakura and Naruto's face.
"Sakura-sama! Naruto!" Victoria quickly said, bowing to Sakura. Hinata saw her fiance and quickly ran up to the 2.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, noticing that Naruto was holding onto his arm.
"We were attacked, and Naruto got hurt. His wound is poisoned," Sakura explained to the 2 nurses. Hinata nodded. Naruto took support form Hianta and was carefully walked to room 5. Hinata stared at her fiance.
"Ne, Naruto-kun. What happened?" the loving and caring woman said.
"I'll tell you when we're alone," Naruto explained the Hyuugan leader. she nodded and looked back at Sakura Sakura was removing the 2 halves of the maask from under her shirt. Sakura stared at the two fragments. Hinata's eyes widened when she saw the ANBU Captain's own mask split in half. She knew it must've been something if Sakura's mask was split.
"Tuki-san," Sakura called for the head nurse.
"Yes, Sakura-sama?" Tuki-san replied with her hands clapsed together on the pelvic bone while looking at Sakura, showing respect for the head doctor and ANBU Captain.
"Where's Hokage-sama? I need to report the attack to her," Sakura asked the woman. A nurse who sakura did not know brought a towel and a blanket to the head doctor. The pink haired woman nodded to the nurse and took the towel and dried off her air and much of her as body as she could.
"Yes, she is in your office signing all her paperwork," Tuki said while Sakura dried herself off. Her pink hair was still drenched, but it suited that it won't give her a cold. Another nurse brought some new sweatpants and a large Tshirt. Sakura nodded and took the clothes. The 4 nurses in theat hallway bowed to her. She gave them another swift nod and turned on her heel.Her feet guided her towards the stairs. She walked up those tall 4 stories up to the private floor where her office and some other offices were. She noticed the light coming from her own office. She heard grumbling and mumbling of impatience and boredom. She knew it was Tsunade complaining about the paper work. The young Sakura fidgeted the mask in her hands. She was afraid what the Hokage was going to say. The ANBU captain had actually made a mistake. She kept the blanket and dry clothes close to her so that she can change into them soon when she gets the chance. She placed a hand on that cold golden doorknob. "Haruno Sakura, Head Doctor" was labeled on the door window. The label ran through her mind. She wasn't only a doctor. she was also the ANBU Captain. She turned the doorknob and slowly walked in while shutting the door behind her. Tsunade swiftly looked up from her paperwork to the girl who was once her student. Realization hit Tsunade. She pointed to the blue leather chair in front of the desk.
"I knew you would come, Sakura. I heard rumors before you even got here," Tsunade said, placing her head on her hands while her elbows rested on the mahogony desk.
"Naruto is getting treated right now," Sakura explained to Tsunade, moving towards the blue leather chair in front of her own desk. before sitting her bottom on the rather comfortable chair, she placed that borken wolf mask on the mahogony surface of her desk. Tsunade's eyes traveled towards the mask. Her eyes showed some shock that such a mask could be shattered.
"You are the best ANBU captain in the history of Konoha, but you let your guard down, didn't you?" Tsunade asked, making Sakura felt guilty. Sakura clenched the fabric of her wet sweatpants once again. Her face scrunched up from disappointment in ehrself. sakura had failed what she worked so hard to get to.
"My senses were not up that time. I was recently training the new ANBUs. I had used a lot of chakra beign fustrated by the students small lack of control. When me and the Squad Leader of Team 2, Uzumaki Naruto, we were chatting on how the students' progress was. Naruto suddenly sensed the huge amonunt of chakra that came towards us. He quickly ran in front of me and was hit by a sword that came down diagnolly in the air. The sword cut right through the mask that I was wearing on my face and also hit Naruto arm. I reacted quickly and took out a kunai. I was shocked when I saw his face, the s-class missing nin, Uchiha Sasuke. Both of us made eye contact for that brief moment. He disappeared the moment my mask hit the ground. The sword.. if it didn't kill me, then it would poison me, but since Naruto got hit by it, he got poisoned by the sword. I found the poison after going to my apartment to recollect what had happened," Sakura said, giving her full report. Tsunade was stunned when she heard Sasuke's name. Uchiha Sasuke had actually entered the town and even attacked one of the most powerful leaders in the village. The ANBU captain wasn't able to defend herself quickly enough.
"Don't be so disappointed in yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, even Ninja Leaders and Hokages. None of us are perfect Sakura, not even the best ANBU captain," Tsunade said, trying to make Sakura lose her guilt trip.
"I couldn't even sense a huge amount of chakra like Sasuke's," Sakura said, clenching her teeth. She looked up form her hands to Tsunade with strong eyes. "I will learn from my mistake!" the cherry blossom fiercly said. Tsunade was glad that Sakura accepted her mistake.
"Good, Sakura. I wouldn't want you to be upset over something like that. You're like a daughter to me. I want you to be happy and strong. Now... I'm sorry I must take your office while signing the paperwork. It was my office before I was promoted to the head of the hospital. You can go change in the private bathroom. You don't want a cold, now do you?" Tsunade said, noticing that Sakura was now shivering from the coldness of having wet clothes on when it is chilly ouside. Sakura nodded, rising from that comfortable chair. She turned on her heel and headed towards the door of the private bathroom. "Drink some hot chocolate, Sakura. Doctor's orders! And also... Relax!" Tsunade told her student as Sakura touched the handle of the door. Sakura grinned the same grin Naruto would always flash as she looked at The Hokage sitting in her own chair. Tsunade smiled that sakura was the same bright student as before. Sakura opened the private bathroom door and walked in, shutting it behind her. Sakura removed the damp shirt from her skin. It peeled off her skin like a sticker off a sitcker pad. She revealed several past scars even the one that she recieved from the atasuki member, Sasori. All these scars were from battles. One was particulary most visible. It was the horrible scar she recieved after fighting a peticular Atasuki member, the same man who brothered the man who attacked her today. The scar slashed across her back with burn marks on it. These scars were all memories to her. They reminded her how strong she got. she beat an atasuki member and also survived a fight from the great Itachi. Although it made her skin look ugly, the scars made her look like a war hero. She still had soft skin that surrounded all those scars. She removed the damp pants also after remvoign her soaked shes. They were no longer muddy. They were more soaked now due to the heavy rain. Her damp pants hit the floor and landed on top of the shirt, making it look crimson and black like bloodstains on black clothes. Sakura turned on the shower for hot steam in the air. It helped her relax as the steam touched her skin. She breathed in the warm air, not caring if she coudln't see the walls of the room. She took a big whiff of the steamy room. Sweat drooped down her forehead. She slowly pullled up the dry sweatpants the nurse gave her. She moved the soft fabric so that it would comfort her. Sakura wiped her sweating forhead wiht the back of her hand and made her way over tot he showerhead. She placed her hand on the large shower handle. The water slowly decreased as she turned it off. She slipped on the huge white TShirt which left complete comfort as she moved and stood. She slipped her blue ninja shoes that dry dirt stuck on the soles. The steam cleared up. The lightning struck again and lit up a small part of the room since the window was too small to see through. Sakura wrapped the extra towel in the bathrrokm on he rhair. She looked straight foward and saw somethign form the corner of her eye again. She looked towards the shadow.
"Sasuke-kun..."