Sakura went to the past and changed it. She should have known that messing with things that were fated to happen, would leave dire consequences. But she never dreamed of this. Warning: Spoilers!
Fated
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This story is being completely rewritten. Sorry for the inconvenience. But life, at last, is not fair, and as such, I have been away from Fanfic too long to remember what I was doing with this story because of shit happening.
And so I have rewritten it. (Not so much this chapter tho)
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If she could run anymore, her body wasn't telling her it could.
Her body felt like it had just taken a Katon jutsu to every nerve ending in her body. Most noticeably her lungs; and she had long since ceased breathing, because it hurt too much. Thank Kami that her earlier years at the Academy had taught her how to hold her breath for long periods of time.
But now her lungs felt they were going to burst if she didn't gulp in more air. If she did that, she would loose her footing, and then the lethal ninjas behind her would strike. She could not let that happen.
She glanced behind her, and though sweat had already mixed with the rain and blurred her eyes, she could see the familiar red starring at her and her surrounding area. She gulped. If that didn't get her to move faster, she didn't know what would.
At that thought, Sakura Haruno propelled her self off another tree branch, and tightened her grip on a scroll she had in her hand. She wanted to drop it and leave it there, but it was her mission to see that it made its destination. Besides, if she left it, how was she supposed to explain to her, oh-so-understanding "client" that she had failed? My Kami, he would kill her.
The jerk would probably enjoy it too.
She propelled herself, ignoring the stabbing pain in her side, and legs, and chest…and entire body; and flew to the next tree with the grace one would expect from a kunoichi. She snorted mentally. She hadn't had grace since Tsunade taught her. Hell, for a while Tsunade wasn't even sure if Sakura was a tom boy or still that love struck girl that she had met.
Her frown increased, and with that, so did her speed. Ah, so if she thought on this subject, she would go faster? Damn, that looked like it was the only option.
How long had it been since she last saw Tsunade? She was sure it had to have been at least a couple of months, if not half a year already. The last time she had saw her was at the Konoha hospital, and they were saving the life of yet another brave shinobi.
Sakura almost sneered at the thought. She was still in denial that she had been so naïve. How anybody of her status could have been so stupid as to believe what she had, was beyond her.
Sakura glanced behind her and saw she was a little bit farther from the red eyed man, than she had been minutes before. This time, she let out the breath that was threatening to collapse her lungs. It felt wonderful to actually have some fresh air in her lungs. Actually, she noted grimly, it felt too good and now she was getting dizzy. Ah great. The red eyed man would kill her if she lost her footing.
Stupid Uchiha's and their arrogant pride!
She was losing speed again, and with an angry burst, she thought of Konoha.
After Sakura had been trained by Tsunade, she spent most of her time in the hospital, or tracking Sasuke. She had long since let go of her crush for the Sharingan user. Did she love him? Of course, she would always love him! He was like a brother to her in a sense; one of those older siblings that was "allergic" to his younger siblings (I.e. Naruto and Sakura.)
Sakura began to see Team Seven as a bit of a family. Even though Sasuke was gone, she would always see him as a brother. Sai was the annoying step brother, Naruto was the younger brother that always got on everybody's nerves, Kakashi was the father, and Yamato was the step father that took over the family when Kakashi was away. (Even though they knew he was there under ANBU orders, calling him Touzou was still weird, and so they continued to call him Yamato-sensei)
Sakura felt her heart drop. Thinking of "her boys", as she so opted to call them, left a bad taste in her mouth. She ran faster, if only to get the taste out of her mouth via the rain splashing her face.
It was probably the entire reason that she was here at this moment because Team Seven was the best, and simply that. Sakura was the best medic under Tsunade, not to mention that she had a wicked left hook. Naruto was a Jinchuriki, energetic and skilled at wind based attacks. Kakashi was the Copy nin, and no words could do justice to how completely skilled he was. Yamato was the "clone" (As Naruto so jokingly called him) of the first Hokage. Sai was a ROOT member, (even though the rest of Team Seven pleaded ignorance of this when Danzou was around), they knew he was skilled at killing because of his earlier training. From what she had seen in reports, Sasuke was skilled too, and when he would come back to Konoha, she would see to it that he was placed back on their team, and be the best of the best.
Team Seven would be legendary (not that it wasn't already.)
Sakura sighed inwardly. That was her dream, like it was Naruto's dream to be Hokage. Deep inside of her, she knew that was just wishful thinking. She would like to think that she could make Team Seven come back together again. But even when she had tried, disaster had struck.
And here she was.
Running.
In the cold rain.
From ninja that want her dead.
Yeah, she thought sarcastically, she was definitely on her way to doing just that. As soon as she figured out how to escape these damned people that just wouldn't listen!
Sakura knew she shouldn't complain. After all, it was really her fault to begin with. She didn't have to be a kunoichi. No, she stuck herself in this path, even though her parents had told her early on that they didn't mind if she was a kunoichi or not. For a while she wondered if she really did want to be a kunoichi. A civilian life would be nice too.
But she saw that the number of kunoichi was diminishing every year, put two and two together, and decided she would do something to help. After all, with the number of kunoichi dropping every year, it would be harder to kill S-class and missing nin. The kunoichi would make that easier, she remembered reasoning with herself, if she could climb into bed, and kill them while they were… distracted by other things.
She really couldn't complain, if she looked at it that way. Sakura had chosen this path.
And look where's it's gotten me?
Not for the first time, did Sakura feel herself become jealous of the shinobi in her village. If she was Shikamaru, she could think of a clever plan to get out of this mess. If she was Naruto, she could attack head on with a quick and witty shout, and quickly heal thanks to Kyuubi. If she was Neji she could see behind her and not have to guess where her enemy was.
Oh Kami, why couldn't I have been born to a clan?
Sakura willed herself not to laugh. Laughing would slow her down, and that would be a bad idea.
Haven't we been here before?
Sakura smiled though; she had, had this train of thought before. And it always lead to the came conclusion. She was glad she was not born to a clan. The Uchiha's were all massacred. The Hyuuga's were self righteous (thought Hinata could be exempt from that category.) The Inuzuka were all loud, and full of them selves. The Akamachi…she didn't even want to go there. The Abruame scared the crap out of her, and their personality could rival that of a rock. The Nara were a bunch of lazy bastards. She could go on and on about how dysfunctional each clan was.
And yet, she still loved all of them.
Sakura wouldn't live for them, because she would die for them. It killed her inside when she saw the pain and suffering of her friends. When she found out what Naruto had sealed inside of him, she had cried for hours, at how terrible she had been to him. Shikamaru lost his best friend and teacher along with Ino and Choji, (though Shikamaru had taken it harder than the latter two.) Neji and his seal on his forehead. Garra and his demons (And she didn't just mean the one sealed inside of him) Sasuke and his family. Itachi and his. Hinata and her father. Her Shishou and Orochimaru's betrayal.
In a way, Konoha was one big fucked up community (with Suna thrown in there for twist)
The pain in her chest became unbearable again, and she wondered for a second, how much time had past since she started reminiscing.
Right. Ninja's behind you that want to kill you. Distraction would be bad.
Sakura ground her teeth together and crouched low on the tree branch that she had just landed on. She jumped off, using as little chakra as possible, and forced herself forward. She sucked in another breath of air.
My Kami, how long had she been running? It felt like days, but in reality is was probably only a day, maybe a little bit less.
Don't they ever give up!
No, they were trained killers, and they wouldn't stop until she did. Sooner or later, they knew she would, and when she did, they would strike. She guessed it would be sooner, rather than later, considering that she was running out of chakra.
Ah, my bodies not meant to take this much strain!
She knew grumpily that she was falling into their trap. Run her ragged, wait till she's low on chakra, then attack. She knew that's what they were doing, because that's what she would do. The bad part about it was? It was completely and utterly working.
She bit her lip, and braced herself as; a mossy tree branch came into her line of sight. If she landed on that wrong, that would be it. She would die. She clutched the scroll, her hands gripping that plastic that covered it to protect it from the rain.
She landed sliding on it and pushed off before she lost her balance completely.
That was easier said than done…
She breathed out again, to calm the burning in her chest. She looked behind her. Itachi jumped on the branch perfectly, and jumped off, landing on the next branch with ease.
Show off…
She faced forward again, the rain slamming against her harder. If the rain got any heavier, she mused, it would be like swimming in a never ending lake. She could feel the rain everywhere on her. She even felt it in places she hadn't known existed. Her skin was a light purple from the cold, with her hair clinging to her face and shoulders. Her clothes hung to her skin. The friction from rubbing her thighs together, mixed with the rain, was leaving a rash in between her legs. And by Kami, did it hurt.
I swear when I'm done with this thing, I'm taking a year long vacation!
She continued running, and to her horror, she noticed that moss began to cover most of the trees. Moss mixed with water was never a good thing, no matter how skilled you are. She knew that if she wanted to continue going at the same speed she had been going; that she needed to apply chakra to the soles of her feet.
Great, that meant she needed to use more chakra. She had to do it. It was that, or slip all the time, risk getting caught, and also risk smacking her head against the trees.
Yeah, smacking her head on the tree did not sound like a very good idea to her.
She looked behind her at Itachi, he was moving with such grace, that she knew he had chakra on his feet too. She grumbled something intangible that she had learned from Tsunade when Jiraiya had tried to cop a feel on her.
Sakura had no choice but to force chakra into her feet. Anything to stay away from those killers was good enough for her. Even though, a voice in the back of her head (That she told frequently to "stuff it") told her, that she was just prolonging her death.
I can make it, damn it! That one guy -oh what was him name?- told me if I could reach the border, than I'd be safe. I must be close to the border now!
She knew that as soon as she reached the border that everything would be okay for now. They would come after her later, yes, but for now she would be safe. She could rest and recuperate, though she doubted whether she would go near water again after this chase in the rain.
My Kami, how do people in Amegakure deal with this much rain?
Sakura continued running, pumping her legs, which were screaming in protest. She idly began to wonder how much further until she got to the boarder. She had to be close now, and as soon as she crossed the boarder, she was safe. Nothing could get her.
Her chakra was running dangerously low, and she could feel the fatigue pressing against her eyes. She searched herself. One calf bleeding, one sprained ankle, fatigue, hypothermia, chakra exhaustion, and a broken finger which she set, against the scroll; though for a while she was running blindly, unable to see through the tears. Oh yeah, when she returned, she was smacking somebody.
Hard.
She ground her teeth together, feeling the salty rain seep in through them. She was close to the boarder, and the ninja behind her knew it. Faintly, she could feel their chakra burst. Ah, so they were going to take her now. Well, she would give them a run for her money. If they got her to stop, she just knew, she wouldn't be able to move for a long time. That would leave her free for attack.
There was no way in the seven hells she was going to allow that.
She pumped chakra into her leg and feet, and burst forth, shattering the tree branch she had just been on. Her speed increased, and she could tell, with that, so did her pursuers. She looked behind her at Itachi. He was closing in on her.
She ran faster, clutching the scroll hard, the adrenalin making her forget the searing pain in her finger. She was so close!
In the distant she could see blurred lights marking the town she was suppose to rendezvous at. How could she could see the lights in this much rain, was beyond her. She shrugged it off, and quickly felt Itachi's chakra gaining on her.
Right, pursuits…worry about lights in rain later when I'm no longer being targeted.
She could feel her chakra draining, and began to breathe heavily. She began to chant over and over in her head that she was so close to the boarder. Her heart hammered in her ribcage with excitement. She could almost feel the freedom awaiting her.
Ah, please Kami! Let me make it! Let me get there in time!
Her head began to clear. She only had less than ten kilometers to go. If she could make it within two kilometers, she would be okay. They would come to her and save her if she raised an alarm. She could feel the chakra infused flare digging into her leg. She could light it, and they would come. Granted, she would have to hold a battle for the few minutes it took for them to get to her.
But she could do it. She had to. There was no, "if" "ands" or "buts" about it. She had to get there. Her friend's lives depended on it. Her life depended on it. The future depended on it.
She could feel the weight of this statement on her shoulders. She had been chosen to bring about a better future. And not for the first time did she wonder if the Gods had picked the right person. There were so many other people out there more qualified than she was to change the world.
A utopia was how he described it.
Sakura would bring a utopia. No more did she have to watch her friends die, no more would innocent blood be shed. No more.
That was enough to get Sakura running faster.
She looked behind her and saw that Itachi was no further behind her than the last time she looked. Her mind began to scream. If she was running faster than she had a few seconds ago, that meant she was losing momentum.
Again, she was jealous of the shinobi. If she was Naruto, her chakra would not deplete so easily. Hell, Naruto could probably run to Snow Country and back and still fight Orochimaru to his full potential.
Ugh! Why couldn't I have been a guy! Then again, if I was a guy, I wouldn't be in this mess either. Whoever is up there, either love me or hate, not both damn it! It's confusing!
8 kilometers left…
She looked behind her and could see Itachi's face now. It was the same cold dark façade she had always seen on his face. His eyes locked firmly on her and her surroundings. She felt a shiver run down her spine.
She turned back around, again chanting in her head that she was so close. She only had a little bit to go, just a little bit. No way would they pass over the boarder with all the skilled shinobi that would attack in her defense.
7 kilometers…
The trees became mossy again, and she swore out loud. This would only hinder her, not help her. If anything, it helped her enemies. She was losing too much chakra, and guessed she only had about 11 percent of it left. It would become deadly if she hit five percent.
Still, Sakura had never been this low before. The lowest she had ever been was 22 percent. And the fact that she hadn't eaten in almost three days, nor slept in that amount of time, wasn't helping her.
They'd better have ration bars, or I will throttle somebody.
6 kilometers…
Itachi was closing in on her fast. She was losing speed again. She wasn't meant to do this much manual labor. She was a women after all, granted she was also a kunoichi. But this kind of work was meant for shinobi.
Kunoichi were taught to be lady like, which didn't include running in the forest from someone that wanted to kill you, while in the soaking, cold rain, in the middle of winter. No, that was a man's job. They could do this. They could, but Sakura couldn't.
She sped up, if only because Inner Sakura (who had been cheering her on the entire time), told her that she could fit in with anybody if she wanted to.
5 kilometers…
Now she only had three more to go if she wanted to live. She was grateful for the bastard who created water proof flares.
Run now, think later.
So she continued running, gulping in more air. She was going to cause permanent damage if she continued on like this.
Those bastards better be lucky that I'm doing this for them. I should throw this scroll in his face when I see him next.
Sakura snorted out loud. She frowned, and continued running.
4 kilometers…
Something began to appear in the distance that mixed in with the light, and with a mental "hurray!" she realized it was buildings. She felt like crying. Never before had she been so happy to see inanimate objects before.
She turned around to see if Itachi noticed them yet, or couldn't see because of his diminishing eye sight.
He was speeding up- How much chakra does he have!- and Sakura sighed. Yep, he could see the buildings. And if he could see the buildings, that means they were really close. Had she been off a kilometer?
For the first time in a long time, she hoped and prayed that she was wrong.
Her pursuers were coming in close.
Too close.
A kunai shot out at her, but passed her and imbedded itself in the tree she was on, instead.
They were getting restless.
She continued running.
3 kilometers…
The wall surrounding the city came into view. She sighed grateful. Her chakra was at 8 percent now. She could feel her body protesting.
Please not now! Please, I won't ever work you this hard again! Just please expand some energy! Kami, please!
Forget hitting her client. If she saw his face again, she would kiss it, because at least she was alive!
Come one…only a few more-
Her thoughts were cut short as a Katon jutsu exploded the area. She jumped, avoiding the deadly flames and turned around, grabbing a kunai from her weapons pouch and threw them at the source of the jutsu.
She continued running, though that fucking voice in the back of her head, told her they had caught up to her, meaning she could no longer out run them. She politely told her voice to go screw itself.
2 kilometers…
She gave a strangled cry of happiness and pleasure. She was safe! Well, as safe as one could get considering she still had people after her to try and kill her. But she was safe!
She fingered the flare.
Bad move…
A shuriken shot out and caught her shoulder. She could tell it had caught muscle. It would be sore in the morning; if she survived that long, she added grimly.
The shuriken did its job thought. It distracted her long enough so that her chakra faltered. It just had to be an extra wet, extra mossy branch that she landed on next, too.
She gave a short cry of shock and horror, before her body slammed into the branch, and flipped over, causing her to fall to the ground with and "omf" that knocked the air out of her lungs. Stars burst in front of her eyes, and she could feel tears start to stream down her face.
She could see Itachi land at the side of her vision.
Sakura was right when she predicted that she wouldn't be able to move once she stopped. Her body was no longer following her chain of commands.
Move you stupid piece of flesh! They'll kill you! Don't you care if you die!
Her body protested, but she stood up slowly nonetheless. She faced Itachi, his face reading no emotions. Her hands shook from holding the scroll, and her other hand inched closer to the flare.
He stared at her before reaching out quickly and pulling a shuriken from his holster. He threw it, aiming it at her face, and her eyes widened. Her body had ceased all movement! She couldn't dodge!
She felt her body collapse, and she fell to her knees. Someone behind her groaned, having taken the blunt of the shuriken in her place. Itachi moved in closer, grabbed her collar and lifted her to her feet.
This is it… I'm done…
The place was instantly surrounded by ANBU and Hunter nins. Itachi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Sakura smirked. He glared at everybody around him. There were easily about twenty or so (minus the one that had taken the shuriken to their shoulder)
"Uchiha Itachi," Someone said, though their voice was muffled by the rain, "You are under arrest by the Konoha ANBU! Resistance is futile, you are completely surrounded. Come with us now, and we will escort you back to Konoha for trail and debate on your punishment, for the following reasons: murder, treason…"
The list went on, but Sakura wasn't listening. She was busy watching Itachi and she could tell he was weighing his options at this point. Why? Of course he wouldn't go that easily. Her hand rested on the flare.
"Haruno Sakura," The same voice said, "You are also under arrest by the Konoha ANBU! Resistance is also futile, you are completely surrounded. Come with us now and we will escort you back to Konoha for trail and debate on your punishment for the following reasons: attempted assassination of the Hokage, treason, murder, aiding a wanted criminal, theft, and arson."
Sakura swore loudly.