11/15/07
Title: The Road Less Traveled
Rating: T
Summary: Left foot, then right foot, as we learn to walk again. Nothing is as it seems in a world where enemies are friends in disguise.
Pairing(s): Will be AkatSaku (AkatsukixSakura), and a one-sided SasuSaku.
Disclamer: I do not own Naruto, nor am I making any profit off of this fanfiction.
Author's Notes: I wish to thank my amazing and lovely sounding board/beta, IvyAdrena, for being a generally awesome person and friend, and for helping me; without her, this fanfic would never have seen the light of day. xD I would also like to thank CalicoKween on dA for providing me with motivation and support. Thank you both so much!
This is my first multi-chaptered fanfiction, and I hope to do wonders with it. I have many talented writers to look up to and draw inspiration from here.
I'm being too formal/serious. xDD You'd never guess how excited I am about posting this story.
Sakura's thoughts
Inner Sakura's thoughts
Left foot.
Right foot.
Left foot.
Right foot.
Left.
Right…
Sakura hated traveling through the forest; she'd traversed through the trees countless times, and dodging awkward branches and other obstacles had become second nature long ago.
The good thing about that, however, was that it gave her time to think about the upcoming task. It was pretty simple, as missions went: locate and retrieve a rare scroll while making sure that it didn't fall into enemy hands. The only thing that made it complicated was him.
Sakura glanced at her teammate, the infamous Uchiha Sasuke.
About six months ago, he had returned to Konoha with his team in tow, requesting a formal pardon and permission to return to the home he'd abandoned as a child. Tsunade-sama let him return to Konoha, albeit reluctantly. [Privately, Sakura thought it had more than a little to do with the potential resurrection of a certain nearly extinct doujutsu (not to mention the amount of begging Naruto had done.)
This was Sasuke's first mission since his return, and Sakura could not help but feel slightly apprehensive [about being alone with him/her former friend/comrade. Tsunade-sama's warning rang clearly through her mind: "Sasuke is not as he once was; we still don't know his true reasons for returning to Konoha."
It also didn't help that he still wore his old Sound uniform. She didn't really know why; either he wanted to remind people that he wasn't to be taken lightly (since he did kill Orochimaru, weakened or not), or he just had an odd fetish for ass-bows.
When he came back, things hadn't fallen back into their old routine, as Naruto had hoped. Rather, it was much like when Team Seven had first formed, with Sasuke keeping everyone at arm's length and being stoic and untouchable as ever. The resulting mockery of their childhood made something in her chest ache.
The only thing that had changed was that Sakura no longer pined after him. After Sasuke had betrayed them, she had begun to see things differently. She realized that her happiness was determined by her own choices and actions, and if she let the wrong people influence her, she would always be miserable. So she became comfortable with herself, and started acting the way she really felt. Probably because of that, nowadays, her Inner Self rarely made an appearance-- although she still popped up once in a while, much to Sakura's chagrin. Soon after that revelation, she apprenticed herself to Tsunade-sama, and became one of the most powerful, respected, and skilled medic-nins in Konoha.
As for Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin, the trio was being closely monitored by ANBU, until Tsunade-sama figured out a way to cure Juugo. She still had not decided what she would do with them; since it was assumed that they were still loyal to Sasuke, she was wary of their true intentions, and didn't give them much freedom.
Despite the obvious mistrust shown by most of Konoha's population, the former Team Hebi (excluding Sasuke) tried to integrate into Konoha's society as well as they could; it was the only place willing to give them a second chance, and they all knew that.
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as they reached the area where the scroll was supposedly located.
"I think we should split up; it'll be easier to find the scroll that way." Since whoever hid it was a paranoid freak, obviously; but then, what shinobi isn't?
Just as she was about to start searching in of the opposite direction of Sasuke, he suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
"There is no scroll."
"…Huh?" Ohshit.
The world tilted as pieces abruptly fell into place, though the puzzle was still incomplete; this was clearly a fake mission to draw her away from Konoha, but…
"Why me?" It's not like he ever thought I was useful before now.
Sakura drew kunai from her pouch and slid into a defensive stance. It would be a bit more difficult fighting him, since she wasn't wearing her gloves, and she somehow doubted that he would give her the chance to, considering what an absolute gentleman he was.
"You are simply the means to an end; nothing more, nothing less," Sasuke replied, the metallic shing grating along her nerves as he drew his katana.
What end could I possibly help him achieve?
After staring at her for a brief moment, he brought his katana up over his right shoulder, and then swiftly lunged forward. The blade cut soundlessly through the air, the dull edge of the blade aiming straight for her neck.
She blocked with her decidedly inadequate kunai and used a substitution jutsu almost immediately afterwards, leaving him faced with a log instead of his intended prey.
Sasuke neatly sliced the replacement in half, eyes already tracking around the clearing.
He must only need me unconscious instead of dead, since he didn't try to make Sakura-kabobs, the rational part of her mind noted.
He's not even trying. He could have knocked you out ages ago.
Then why is he stalling? It makes no sense.
To you, maybe. It makes perfect sense to me.
Then tell, or go away. I don't want to die because of you.
Don't you mean because of yourself? And no, I'm not telling.
Seeing Sasuke approaching her position in the trees, she realized that he was relaxed…as if he fully expected to win. That infuriated her. I'll show him.
Gripping the kunai handle in her mouth, and she quickly slipped on her gloves. Without hesitation, she immediately created three Kage Bunshin, and instructed them to surround Sasuke, but not to reveal their positions.
She knew intellectually that he would win this fight. Sasuke was out of her league, especially since she did more work as a medic than as a normal field ninja; healing was her specialty. But she would damned well still try, even though a part of her was curious as to why he needed her, and to what end. Maybe I'll make it easier on him. I may not be able to win now, although I could injure him pretty badly; even if I lose now, it wouldn't be in vain if I find out information about what Sasuke is really up to. Might even learn something valuable about some of Konoha's enemies.
Sasuke was right below her now. Gathering chakra, she jumped down and swung her fist towards Sasuke. He dodged, of course, and gave her that infamous little smirk of his as he jumped out of the way of her attack, and consequently, the chunks of earth she sent flying.
She growled and launched herself at him, the kunai that had been held in her mouth now gripped firmly in her hands and aimed straight at his face. He chuckled and blocked her attack with the sheath of his katana. Taking advantage of his better leverage, Sasuke leaned into it as he overpowered her, managing to propel her own kunai back into her face; her nose broke with a sickening crunch.
Ignoring the blood streaming from her face, Sakura finally signaled her Kage Bunshin. They instantly jumped out of the trees and attacked Sasuke, causing the distraction she needed. Hands coming together into a seal, she poofed a few meters away, out of sight. Quickly crouching down, she wiped at the blood from her nose, and cast about for a suitable course of action. Just as she was about to start healing herself, however, she sensed Sasuke's chakra signature directly behind her.
"That's enough playing for today," Sasuke murmured.
Sakura whirled around, but a swift blow to her neck knocked her unconscious before she could raise a hand to block.