Summary: 10 years after the Fourth Shinobi War, the 6th Hokage still tries to forget their true love. NaruSaku
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
A/N: Summary sounds sad, I know, but I promise an eventual happy ending. I'm not an expert on ninjutsu and Japanese words, so if you're picky about that, you won't find it here. As a heads up this preliminary chapter is mostly background, so it might go a little slow. Also since manga hasn't really finished the war, the references to the final battle will not be canon. Oh, Sasuke plays a pretty minor role in this story as well bc c'mon, it's a NaruSaku fic.
Chapter 1 - Memories of Somebody
A team of genin feverishly runs through the streets of Konoha to retrieve a runaway cat, and the village bustles with activity - dango vendors yelling for business, parents picking up their children from the ninja academy, and multiple explosions shaking the training grounds. It has been ten years after the Fourth Shinobi War, and while Tsunade retired two years ago, the 6th Hokage still feels a mix of unworthiness and honor at the same time.
"Rokudaime, the Kazekage has sent you a correspondence. He asks that you get back to him as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Yumi. I'll get those done in the next hour." The Hokage gives the secretary a cursory glance and turns back to the window, robes rustling with the quick movement.
Aware that the Hokage is in a mood, the secretary places the papers on the desk and leaves the room. She knows to avoid the ruler during these times.
Sighing, the sovereign picks up the letter from Gaara and wonders what is so urgent.
Hokage,
The supply chains for raw materials to go between our two villages are developing smoothly. I can not say how grateful I am on behalf of my village as you know that in the desert there are not many raw materials to be had; thus, I hope you can understand that I feel my village is a burden.
Previously, we have discussed allowing genin from the 5 villages to learn skills from various neighboring villages that would develop teamwork and trust for future generations, ensuring the alliance between the 5 countries stands for years to come. While Suna has nothing to offer materially to Konoha, we hope we can offer some of our ninjutsu specialties to your genin - perhaps puppetry or jutsu that we specialize in. There will be a screening, of course, to protect our village's secrets. You know by now that I hold you in the highest esteem, so the secrets between our villages grow less and less. What do you think of my proposal?
Keeping this between us, I acknowledge that we are in an alliance with the rest of the hidden villages, but I consider our two villages, Konoha and Suna, to be sibling villages. I can't help but pick favorites with our history. I do still owe you my life.
Lastly, remnants of Akatsuki supporters are still about. They were last seen in the outskirts of the Land of Sound and possibly the Wave. Suna had a minor skirmish with them a month ago, but do no worry. They pose only a minor threat. Their bark is worse than their bite. However, getting rid of these nuisances is better sooner than later. I'd like to send a team from Suna and a team from Konoha to scout out these areas and take care of them.
Regards,
Gaara
Pondering the letter, the hokage weighs the merits and consequences of such proposals. These deals are so much trickier, considering the politics and the strong friendship between the two villages and then the troublesome council here in Konoha as well. Plus, there is the problem of those pesky Akatsuki supporters. Anger boils under the surface at their existence. "Hasn't the world suffered enough from the hands of Akatsuki?" The Rokudaime thinks bitterly.
Leaning against the window, the Hokage whispers quietly, "What would you do? You would know what to do if you were here...and alive. Kami, I miss you."
Not wasting time on unnecessary moping and tears, the Hokage finally sits down and pens a quick response to Gaara and ends the letter with -
We should meet soon, Gaara. It will be good to see you again, and we can talk about our plans in more detail.
Haruno Sakura
"Yumi, please come in and send this out to Suna right away. Thank you."
Popping into the office at the sound of her name, the woman replies. "Of course, Sakura-sama. Anything else I can do?"
Waving her off, she dismisses her. "Please don't disturb me for the next two hours."
"Hai, Sakura-sama."
Rummaging through one of her drawers, she finds her stash of sake for days like this - days where she is reminded of him because the sun shines a little too bright in Konoha. It takes a simple glance at the Fourth's face on the mountain for her to want a drink, and at times her own office makes her sick. On these days, she thinks of quitting because she can't stand this feeling of self-loathing, but his voice rings in her mind.
"I believe in you, Sakura-chan!" Then the ache hurts a little less. It was strange that the idea of him could make her want to quit and at the same time, be a better Hokage.
She took this job to honor her teammate's memory, but what she realized too late was that she could never really measure up to a certain blond Uzumaki - at least that's what she told herself. The Savior of the shinobi world was supposed to be alive. He was supposed to be in this chair.
It was his dream.
Slamming her fist against the table, she has the same thought for the thousandth time in the last two years. This was HIS dream, and she took it. She had never wanted this. When she thought of the future, it was always at his side. Yes, she had survived the war, but she didn't move on or live her life because she was living his.
Laying her head on her desk, telling herself she'd work harder after this pity party, she falls asleep with three words on her lips, entering one of her memories.
"Naruto, I'm sorry."
Using the campfire as a light, she sits on a rock, doing inventory on all her medical supplies. She hopes she won't need them on this mission since it's simply reconnaissance. The woods are comforting with the crinkling of the fire and the sounds of crickets, but a frown appears on her face at the constant sighing nearby that is disturbing the peace.
"Neh, Sakura-chan, what are you doing?" After setting up his roll, the blonde is bored, poking the fire with a stick he found.
"Just making sure I have enough medical supplies." Humoring him, she asks with a glint in her eye. "Want to make yourself useful?"
"Yes! What can I do, Sakura-chan?" Excited to do something, he tosses his stick to the side.
She stops doing inventory and digs into her pack, grinning. "Why don't you cook us dinner, eh?"
Immediately, a grin appears on the Uzumaki's face, growing with each word from his mouth. "Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" He eagerly grabs the two instant ramen containers from her hands and gets to work. "Sakura-chan! You're the best!"
The kunoichi hums pleasantly in response and continues to organize her supplies, contemplating, "It's too easy to make you happy, Naruto. I'm glad I can do this one little thing for you."
Curious, the blonde asks, "Neh, Sakura-chan, how'd you know to bring ramen?" Now with a full belly, sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, setting down his bowl, he admits, "I used all mine up back home."
"I just had a hunch, Naruto." She absently replies, eating her ramen slowly instead of inhaling it like her teammate.
"Sakura-chan…"
His seriousness startles her, her green eyes shooting up. They catch each other's gaze across the campfire, and then, his voice husky with emotion, he says, "Thank you."
Her eyes widen. Taken aback by the amount of emotion, she holds in the immediate urge to wave off his thanks with a punch and avoid his response. The pink haired kunoichi sometimes forgets that little gestures like this mean a lot to the blonde.
Sakura gets up to pack her things away as if dismissing his gratitude, and blue eyes dim slightly at her casual movements. She notices.
Hurt, slipping on a detached expression, he watches her, while she nonchalantly puts her things away but then starts to move toward him. She puts her left hand on his shoulder and squats down to eye level. "Baka," Sakura says almost endearingly, swatting his head lightly with her right hand, "Don't thank me. I just wanted to do something for you, that's all." She grins and squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. "You're my teammate."
The grin on her face turns into an intake of air. As she was about to get up, the blonde grabs her hand that swatted him, holding her palm to his cheek, and stares at her, their faces inches away from each other. They can feel the warmth between them, their breath intermingling in the cool air. The wind makes the ends of her hair tickle his face, and she can feel her heart beating faster.
He breaks eye contact, looking away, as if contemplating something. Sakura watches him steel himself as a blue-eyed look of determination returns.
"Am I justyour teammate?"
Shifting between her feet, still squatting and swallowing nervously, she asks, " What brings this on, Naruto?"
"Don't run from the question, Sakura-chan." Pressing her palm against his face a little harder, he looks at her and murmurs, "Please."
"Answer me first. Why now? Why are you asking this now?" She had been dreading this question since he came back from his training journey, and she still wasn't ready.
"Ever since my battle with Pein, I-I have this feeling that something big is coming, maybe a war. I don't know. I just - I just wanted to know, ya know, before everything happens. I know I haven't brought Sasuke back, " With each word, he starts to grip her hand even tighter as if he is afraid she is going to leave. "...but I will complete my promise of a lifetime. No matter what happens. I will bring Sasuke back home if it's the la - "
Stopping him with a finger to his lips, she hushes him. "We've talked about this, Naruto. We're going to be bring him back together. There is no doing this alone. He was our friend, so we both share the burden of Sasuke, not just you. You hear me?" She raises her eyebrows, expecting compliance. He nods unconvincingly, but she takes it.
With a deep breath, she continues, "Naruto, as for the other thing…" She desperately wants to run. She has no idea what to say, yet he has this earnest look that she can't ignore, blurting out anything and everything. "I-I don't know. I've been trying to sort out my feelings for months." She suddenly pulls away, pacing and rambling, biting her lip, the sudden cold giving her a startling awareness of just how close they were just now.
"I mean how is a girl my age supposed to know what love is. We're only 16! I'm not even an adult, and real adults like Tsunade-sama just figured it out!" Eyes widening, she realizes her rant. "I mean - I don't - this doesn't mean I love you. I'm not saying that. I don't even know if I really loved Sasuke. He's been gone for so long, and you're here... I know it's obvious, but Naruto, you're here right in front of me. You're around all the time, and … I just - I'm really confused, and saying all these things outloud made it even worse." Sinking to the ground, she sits with her legs under her in defeat, her hands covering her face and muffling her groan.
Feeling guilty that he put her in such a state, the blonde slowly walks toward her, squats down, and pulls her hands away from her face, holding them in his, their eyes connecting, hers beginning to look a puffy red color. He knew just the way to calm her.
"You and Sasuke are both important to me, and even though I don't know if it's love, Sasuke does have a part of my heart." Naruto looks away, tensing, afraid to listen. "Hey, hey. Naruto, don't look away when I'm not finished." Sakura calls out softly, her hand under his chin, meeting his eyes again, her thumb lightly brushing against his jaw.
"While Sasuke has a big part of my heart...you have a part of my heart too, and whether I want it or not, you keep taking up more of my heart and stealing the parts that used to belong to him. Naruto, I -"
She stops due to shock. The blonde leans up to kiss her forehead and then slowly moves down, their foreheads still touching. It's the first time anyone has kissed her forehead. It feels exactly how she thought it would, except it's not the lips she always pictured, and the scary part is - she likes the difference.
"You don't need to say anything else." Their noses brush, and she thinks, "He's too close. He's way too close, but with just one movement, I could maybe…" His breath warms her face and breaks her out of her thoughts, and she catches his eyes glancing down at her lips for a quick second, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Both of them had thought the same thing.
Naruto desperately wants to kiss her. It's all he's wanted to do since he got back from training, but he holds himself back. Her semi-confession has to be enough for now. He mentally sighs and reflects, "This is for your own good, Sakura-chan. You're not ready yet, and I don't want to be one of your regrets."
Breaking the spell, he caresses her face, and her guilty eyes shoot up from his lips and back to his eyes. "I'm going to get more firewood." He whispers, leaving abruptly, scolding himself mentally for getting too close to her.
She watches him walk away with longing and once he's out of sight, mutters aloud, "What the hell was that?"
Ten Years Ago - Fourth Shinobi War
Uchiha Madara and Naruto fought for hours.
Bloody with chakra burns all over his body, Madara cackled loudly, "I haven't felt more alive since my fight with Hashirama! What a challenge this is!"
All the Kage were on the verge of running out of chakra, and all they could do was watch from the sidelines with the rest of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Madara and Naruto traded blow for blow, jutsu for jutsu, and the longer the fight went on - it seemed as if Naruto was losing. The blonde could no longer hold bijuu mode and had no time to gather natural energy. He was running out of options.
Yet, somehow, the number one unpredictable ninja as always found an opening. Slamming two fuuton rasenshuriken into Madara's body, the Savior was about to end the Uchiha, but the Sharingan user had one last jutsu up his sleeve.
Right before Madara was hit, looking Naruto in the eyes with his Sharingan, he enacted his last jutsu, and Naruto suddenly disappeared, his futon rasenshurikens still hitting their mark.
After Hinata reported that Naruto had somehow disappeared, Sakura rushed to the battleground and let no one get in her way.
It was a disturbing sight.
Somehow still alive after the rasenshuriken barrage, Madara was lying on the ground, his chest bouncing as he laughed and coughed up blood. Visually scanning his body, Sakura could tell that he was about to die and had no chakra left. He sensed her presence and look at her with a crazed grin.
"I may have not enacted my infinite tsukuyomi , but I won. Hahaha, I won! I won!" He kept repeating the phrase with each weaker breath.
Picking him up by the neck, Sakura tightened her grip on his neck slightly and calmly asked, "What do you mean - you've won? Where is Naruto?"
He stopped laughing and looked at her quite seriously. "Girl, your precious hope is gone. That brat is dead!"
"Why should I believe you, pyschopath?" She controlled her anger by a thread, wanting to tighten her grip on his neck even further.
"You can choose not to, but you will never find him." Almost dead, he had the gall to smirk.
With disgust, she threw him to the ground as he eerily started to chuckle while one of her hands began to glow a deadly green. She hovered her hand over his heart and leaned close to his face, seething.
"One last time! Where is Naruto?"
With a smile, he replies, "Dead and gone."
Her hand about to cut his aorta, Madara grabbed her wrist to stop her and glared at her with killing intent, his black eyes staring at hers, whispering in her ear.
"Your hope is gone, and all that awaits is pain." With those words he slaps Sakura's hand against his chest, killing himself. It happened so quickly that Sakura couldn't stop it. It was finished, and Madara died with the last word. Yet, to her, his words felt like a curse.
The war ended that day, a bittersweet victory for the Allied Shinobi forces. For six years, Sakura left Konoha on various missions to search for Naruto or clues of his existence, chasing down any lead. She and the rookie nine left to scour different countries, and as the years went on, less and less people went on these "Find Naruto" missions until it was just one pink-haired kunoichi, stubborn and in denial. Her friends looked at her with pity as the one who couldn't let go.
Then one day, seven years after the war, she gave up. It's a choice that crosses her mind almost everyday. She knows he would have never given up if the roles were reversed, but he was gone.
Her hope was gone, and she gave into the pain a long time ago.
