Disclaimer: I only own the writing. All characters and villages belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Quick info on Ages:
Gaara- 21
Sakura- 20
Kakashi- 34
Tsunade-58 (Thank you to JiraiyasGirl for letting me know Tsunade's age! .)
-I know there are lots of flashbacks, please bear with me here.-
"OUT!" A booming female voice suddenly yelled, an empty sake glass hurtling through the air. The sake glass shattered, but not against the object the woman had been expecting. Blond pigtails swung as the woman's head quickly came off of the desk she had been using as a pillow. Even through slightly blurry vision, amber eyes could see the swirling mixture of wind and cherry blossoms swirling around her. She was suddenly wide awake as she performed an unknown set of seals to release the hidden report. "Hello Tsunade-shishou! The marriage is going well and no problems have occurred. The alliance is going well also, no known threats have been heard of between Leaf or Sand shinobi. Let everyone know that I love and miss them. With all my love, Sabaku no Sakura." Tsunade's old student's voice filled the air and Tsunade suddenly remembered when she had first told her student of the mission.
Flashback:
"Tsunade-shishou you must be joking." The masked figure in front of the current Hokage was standing with their hands on their hips. It was easy to see the figure was a female if you hadn't already noticed the long pink hair pulled up into a bun on the back of her head. "Sakura, I understand how you must be feeling right now-" Tsunade was interrupted before she could finish. "Understand how I feel? UNDERSTAND HOW I FEEL? You set me up for a marriage with the Kazekage of Suna without notifying me of anything!" An edge of hysteria was making her way into the pink-haired woman's voice. "Sakura." There was a hint of warning in the older woman's voice. "This is to strengthen the alliance between Konoha and Suna. You are given a choice to decline, however I would prefer to have your answer after a week. This will give you time to think everything over." A simple nod was all Tsunade got as she looked into hard emerald eyes. Rejection was clearly written in the ANBU Captain's eyes.
End Flashback
Sakura had just suddenly turned up two days after being told of the mission. Tsunade had never quite known the exact reason why her student had accepted the mission, though she had a pretty good theory. Tsunade could clearly remember when she had accepted the mission.
Flashback:
"GET OUT!" An empty sake bottle came soaring through the air. Glass shards hit the ground as the bottle hit a black gloved fist. "Sakura?" Amber eyes locked onto determined emerald eyes. From taking a simple glance at her student's reddened eyes Tsunade could easily tell that her apprentice had been crying. "I accept." It was then Tsunade took in Sakura's appearance. The familiar ANBU silver ninja chest armor was in place, revealing a turtleneck-looking crimson shirt beneath the armor. Silver armor on the female's arms peeked out from under the cloak that was pulled on her body as well as over her head. The next article of clothing Tsunade noticed was the black pants with a bandaged area on her thigh that strapped a kunai pouch in place. Glancing even further downward, tips of crimson colored knee-high boots could be seen beneath the long black pants. A billowing cream cloak was dancing behind the woman, just barely showing the outline of a katana on the ANBU Captain's back. She was ready to leave. "Are you sure about this, Sakura?" Tsunade once again glanced at the woman standing in front of her. Their eyes met, emerald eyes looking out from behind a fox mask with red swirling around the eye holes as well along the outer edge of the cheek. "No doubt."
End Flashback
A cloud of smoke came from the open window overlooking the colorful village of Konoha. "Kakashi." Tsunade greeted calmly, pulled out of her reverie. "Hokage-sama. I have the report you asked for. Sorry it took a little longer than expected." 'A little longer? His mission was supposed to take two weeks and it took three months!' Tsunade thought angrily, and then went back over the Copy-Ninja's words. The sharingan user's usually calm voice was too calm and Tsunade picked up on the male's eyes scanning the room. Worry flashed across the man's masked face. It wasn't very hard to tell what the man was thinking about, or more specifically… who. After all, Kakashi and Sakura hadn't tried in the least bit to keep their relationship a secret. A sudden thought flashed across the Hokage's mind. 'Sakura left the day after Kakashi left on his mission.' It wasn't a surprise. Almost everyone in the town had heard the argument the two had.
Flashback:
Tears were glistening in emerald eyes while looking up into a set of angry mismatched eyes. "Maybe you should accept the mission after all, Sakura! I'm sure that the Kazekage would be a wonderful husband! Suna seems like the perfect paradise too!" It was very rare that the Copy-Ninja, Hatake Kakashi, lost his temper. Now seemed to be one of those rare times where he lost his temper and also spoke without thinking. "Maybe I should! I'm sure that Kazekage-sama and Suna would be better than staying here with you!" Sakura had screamed in anger, tears finally pouring over the rims of her eyes. Sakura hadn't cried since she had become ANBU four years ago at age sixteen, but this heartbreak was too much for her. She turned on her heels with pink hair swinging and walked back down the dark sidewalk, the moon shining down on the fading figure with gravity-defying silver hair. They had both walked away with broken hearts thinking two different things. 'She's not really going to accept the mission. I'll come back from my mission and by then things will have cooled down.' The other was thinking differently. 'I'm not going to take this anymore. By the time he gets back, I'll be gone. I'm accepting the mission.'
End Flashback
"Hokage-sama!" A male voice broke Tsunade out of her trip down memory lane. "Yes?" She replied calmly, looking back at the shinobi standing in front of her. "I asked; where is Sakura?" Tsunade's face suddenly became solemn as she realized that Kakashi hadn't heard of the news yet. Kakashi didn't take the solemn look as a good sign. "I'm sorry, Kakashi. Sakura's not here." Tsunade was desperately hoping that Kakashi would understand what she was saying so she wouldn't have to explain. "…When will she be back?" The hesitance in his voice was very obvious. "The day after you left for you mission, Kakashi…" Tsunade started, seeing understanding flash through the visible dark eye. She continued anyways. "Sakura's not coming back. She accepted the mission." 'She. Accepted. The. Mission.' The words echoed in his mind, taunting him. Kakashi only knew one thing at that single moment. His world had officially ended.
A/N: This is my second fanfic. Yes, it is a oneshot again. I would write longer stories if I had the time, but right now I simply don't have the time. I tried to work slightly harder on this one, but I am still not fully content with the final outcome. If anything, I will probably rewrite and edit after getting some Constructive Criticism. Flames are still unwelcome. After all, if you don't like the story then why are you reading it? o.o' Read and review please!
-Silver-