WARNING: The story may seem a little slow at the beginning. And it is intentional. I don't want to rush to the main plot. Let me shape the characters first. So enjoy it. Let it just take you with it in its own pace.
P.S. if you like the cover photo—it's just something I put together! (And obviously the original images are not owned by me)
THE OTHER SIDE
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Summary: War is brutal. War is blood. "If we do this war is upon us." "The world has been in a state of war since forever. We're just gonna point it out." "That's some deep s***." War is the only option we could come up with every time. But maybe it is the only solution this time. "Today we set things right."/ "Stand down Uzumaki, Uchiha and Hyuuga. You're under arrest. All three of you!"/"She is dead. She's dead and I couldn't save her!"/"This ends now."/"Haruno Sakura betrayed the Hokage."/"I will not miss this time Haruno!""Go on then!" May be we're all doomed. But maybe not for forever. "War is now."
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Episode 1- Homecoming.
"One. Two. Three. Four. Five…" She swiftly turned left and kept walking, her pink hair tied in a ponytail and emerald eyes cast downwards. "…Six. Seven. Eight. Nine…" A variety of looks were passed towards her as she reached her destination. "…Ten." She knocked on the door and waited. "Come in." A woman spoke from the other side of the door. Gently turning the door knob she entered the principal's office. "Good morning ma'am." "Sakura. Close the door please. And didn't I ask you to call me-" Sakura nodded and interrupted while closing the door behind her. "Master, yes. I'm sorry. I forgot." The principal's eyes flashed with sadness but she quickly blinked it away. "How are you now?" Sakura pursed her lips "Fine." She sounded distant, still unsure of the decision taken by the woman in front of her. Tsunade Senju was the principal of Konoha High and also Sakura's mentor from the past two years. And from the past two years Sakura was home schooled in the outskirts of her hometown-Konoha, cut off from the world except a few trusted people. And now suddenly Tsunade thought that Sakura should attend a normal school.
"I know you are not that confident about my decision Sakura but you need some—" Tsunade pondered at the choice of her words "—normalcy in your life. Trust me." Sakura looked at her feet and nodded with an unsure 'okay'. Tsunade smiled and continued "It won't be that bad. You'll find all your old friends here and of course I encourage you to make some new friends too but—" Tsunade's speech was interrupted by a knock on the door, making her frown. Sakura stood at a corner as a man came in and asked her mentor to sign some papers. Sakura thought of her old friends. She loved them. It had been two years since she last saw them all. And now that she was going to see them she realized that she wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to answer their worrying questions. But she had no choice. She knew Tsunade was right. She had to go out and live again. Sakura started counting in her head again. 'One. Two. Three. Four...' She was ready. 'Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine…' She was ready to move forward. 'Ten.'
-x-
Naruto threw his fist in the air as the ball collided with the net. They had won. Again. Grinning widely, he accepted the oncoming pats on his back and congratulatory remarks. "Good game man." A guy with thick eyebrows came with an intention to hug. Rock Lee. "Thanks bushy-brow." Smirking he ducked under his hand and ran "But I still hate hugs from guys." 'Especially you!' He added in his mind. Walking over to the benches he saw a familiar black haired girl and grinned. Ruffing up his own blonde hair, he went to greet her. "Hey, princess!" The girl smiled shyly and waved "Hi Naruto!" She looked at his blue eyes and blushed "Uh. Congratulations for the game." Naruto flexed his muscles and grinned. "Thanks! So, what are you doing here?" The girl stood up and stumbled over nearby bags "Oh!" She huffed as Naruto caught her. Blushing even more she quickly straightened herself and apologized. Naruto scratched his head "Man Hinata. You can be really ditsy sometimes. You know that?" The girl, Hinata, blushed and nodded "Uh. Yeah. Well I—"
Hinata didn't know how to tell him. Closing her eyes she just blurted out what came to her mind first. "Sakurasack." Naruto blinked, confused at the muffled words. "What?" Hinata hit herself on her head and sighed. "Sakura-is-back." Hinata spoke, punctuating every word for Naruto. Naruto stood there frozen as an image of a pink haired girl with emerald eyes conjured in front of him. "Sakura is…" Hinata looked at the boy and held her breath. When she had first heard the news she was beyond happy. She was ecstatic that their friend is coming back from wherever she was from the past two years. But then she felt worried as to how Naruto was going to react. So she wasted no time in telling him too.
Few minutes later Naruto and Hinata waited at the entrance of the academic block for her. And as seconds ticked by both of them could only hope that she was still their Sakura. The same positive reinforcement they both used to have for a friend. Another minute passed as Naruto started fidgeting again, with Hinata clutching her own hands for dear life. It was then they saw her. Her pink hair tied in a ponytail and eyes glued to a piece of paper in her hand. They saw her head suddenly jerk up—as if catching on an old scent and that was it. That was when she locked her eyes on them.
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She had reached fifty in her counting when she felt it. The familiar warmth of her two friends. Looking up from the map she found them standing on the porch of the building, their eyes already on her. All her doubts melted away as her eyes started watering. What was she thinking? How could she ever deny herself the pleasure of being with them? She scolded herself for being such a wimp and took a step towards them. They must be as desperate as her as she saw them pushing forward through the crowd. And as she felt them wrap their arms around her, she knew she had come home. Her home.
-x-
Sakura laughed as Naruto blabbered about the things that had happened in Konoha in her absence. "And I thought how poor Hinata was scolded because of me and…" Hinata shook her head and blushed "Yes that is all very well but—"She looked at Sakura and smiled, her pearly white eyes twinkling with earlier shed tears. "He hasn't changed a bit you know." Sakura grinned, her muscles a bit tight because of less use and spoke "Yes, I can very well see that!" And she laughed again, with Hinata joining in after her. Naruto rolled his eyes and frowned when the bell rang, signaling the start of another set of classes. Naruto scratched his head and groaned "Man! I've got Anko. I don't wanna attend—" Hinata scowled and interrupted him "No! You have to. She was pretty angry the last time you went and—" Naruto raised up his hand and backed away "Okay, okay! Jeez, Hinata. I'm going." Naruto grinned and poked at her cheeks, causing her to blush deeply. Sakura laughed and waved at the retreating for of the blonde. "I see you have changed." Sakura spoke, smiling broadly at the pearl-eyed girl. Hinata blushed and nodded "Is it good? The change." She asked hopefully. Sakura smiled again and nodded a 'yes'. They passed a few lockers and heard a voice. "Oi! Oi!" It was shrill and feminine. But sort of soothing too. "Sakura!" Sakura immediately recognized the voice and turned to see a girl running towards them while dodging the few lingering students. Her icy blonde hair and baby blue eyes were matched perfectly with fair complexion—Ino Yamanaka had changed a lot in Sakura's eyes. As Ino stopped in front of them and panted, Sakura smiled again "Ino!" Ino closed her eyes and launched a hug to the pink haired girl. "Wah! Finally girl! You're back. You're back. You're back. Oh my god! And look at you! You've cut your hair!" Sakura laughed tracing her tied chin length hair and nodded. "And you've grown it!" Ino jumped up and down clapping her hands and hugged her again. A few minutes later the trio walked with only Ino chatting nonstop with an occasional response from Hinata and Sakura. Sakura pursed her lips at Hinata, who chuckled nervously. 'She's still the same. Always the gossips and—' Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when her shoulder collided hard with a body. An apology already forming on her lips she turned to see the person she had bumped with. She blinked fast and mumbled a feeble sorry. A name came to her mind—Sasuke Uchiha. She had read about him in the papers. He had arrived in the town just a year ago and had already made a name for himself. Everyone called him 'the King'. Every student that is. She didn't care.
"Hn."He ran his hands through his jet black hair and nodded. His black eyes scanned the girl before him. She was thin but not skinny. Fair complexion with a too unique pink hair gave her an innocent form. But what drew him in was her twinkling green eyes. Like spring in winter. Before he could walk away he saw another girl jump in between him and the green eyes. His eyes twitched in annoyance as he saw her—Karin. Another fan girl of his. The only reason he tolerated her was because she was okay in combat and a good healer. Good enough. He was going to ignore the oncoming ruckus when he noticed the pink haired girl's lips moving. She was counting. Blinking in confusion he looked at her face closely. She was annoyed. 'OCD?' he thought as the girl tried to walk away.
Sakura took a step back when the red head launched in between them. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Sakura knew what was coming. She immediately started her counting. This time on her lips. "One. Two. Three. Four…" She turned to leave only to be pulled back by the red head. "Where do you think you're going? I need an apology!" The girl spat "Don't you know who he is?" Sakura opened her mouth to speak but Hinata interrupted from behind her. "She apologized to the one she was supposed to. Now please leave her alone, Karin." Sakura gaped at Hinata. She had definitely changed. She had become so bold but still retained her usual politeness. Sakura resumed her counting in her head.
The girl, Karin, gritted her teeth and spoke—spat. "Shut it Hyuuga!" Sakura reacted instinctively and frowned. "Don't talk to her like that." Karin turned to her and smirked "Oh and what will you do? Huh? Go and complain to the teacher? I know all about you-Sakura Haruno!" Sakura blinked rapidly at her knowledge of her name. "The principal is so kind to allow the likes of you into this school."
'One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven…' "I bet you're using that tragedy for your own good, huh?" '…Eight. Nine…' "Poor little Haruno! Pity her. Pity the little baby—" '…Ten.'
Sakura inhaled slowly as her hand stopped an inch from Karin's cheek "And that is why you should know your limits." She spoke through her smirk. Of course she had wanted her hand to land but unlike the redhead she knew her constraints. Karin had turned her head away in reflex. Sakura retracted her hand and looked outside to the window. To her surprise it had started to rain. Looking around she noticed that quiet a crowd had gathered around them. Sighing inwardly she spoke to Hinata and Ino. "Can we go?" Hinata and Ino nodded, both a little pale and nervous.
Apparently Karin had not finished. Because the next thing Sakura saw from the corner of her eye was a fist coming towards her. She dodged it just in the nick of time and gritted her teeth. 'I don't need this right now.' As Karin continued trying to land a hit on her Sakura suddenly found herself admiring her attacker's moves. 'She doesn't move like an amateur fighter. She's trained.' As Sakura dodged another one she smiled slightly but froze as she collided with someone. Again.
Turning around slowly, with her back still pressed to the person she bumped again Sakura inhaled. It was the Uchiha again. And he was looking at her too, with his arms holding her waist lightly. Sakura found herself getting lost in the depths of his onyx orbs and blushed. Sasuke on the other hand was amused. The way this girl, Sakura, dodged Karin's punches—it looked like it was too easy for her. And when she collided with him, he found himself wondering how perfectly her body fit into his arms. He once again found himself staring into her eyes. So green and full of life like the spring. He tore his gaze from her when he heard another shout "Get away from him!" Karin was trying to punch her again. He sighed and pushed Sakura to the side, gently. Catching the girl's hands he spoke in an annoyed tone. "Enough." Karin gaped and blushed. "But she didn't—"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and squeezed her hands in a threatening gesture. Letting go of her hands like they were acid he walked away, secretly wishing to meet the pink haired girl again. While Karin threw one last glare to Sakura and followed him. Sakura groaned and turned to Hinata and Ino. Ino blew a whistle and chuckled awkwardly "That was—" "Unnecessary." Sakura interrupted her. Hinata nodded in agreement and they walked away with Sakura wondering about the Uchiha.
-x-
Sakura raised her eyebrows at Ino and shook her head "I thought you said you were in a relationship." Ino was eyeing a group of boys in front of her and at Sakura's interjection shrugged. "I'm just looking at them." Sakura laughed as Hinata pursed her lips. Ino had told them about her relationship with a college boy. His name was Sai and he was pursuing arts. Ino had told them how he called her 'beautiful' when they first met and how he gave her a few portraits of her afterwards. Hinata had been awed by this but Sakura had just laughed.
Sakura looked at the sky and frowned. "Oh, no." Ino stopped her chatting and looked at her sulking face. "What?" "It's gonna rain." Sakura spoke massaging her forehead. Hinata stared at the sky and frowned "Oh no. How're you gonna go now?" She asked as she diverted her gaze to her face. "I don't know. I guess I'll take the bus." Both Ino and Hinata looked uncertain as Sakura dug in her bag. "Are you sure? I could ask Naruto to drop you. I mean you do live pretty far away…" Hinata sulked, already knowing the reply. "Nah! Thanks. I'll be fine. I'll take the bus and then walk. It's just two blocks from the bus stop." "I thought it was four." Hinata frowned at Sakura's old habit of denying help from anyone. Be it her or even Naruto. Although it made her happy that she still had her old habits. "Ah! I don't know. I'll call you when I get home!" Sakura grinned and rushed towards the arriving bus. Screaming a bye to both the girls she jumped on the bus as it stopped. Five or so minutes later, Ino and Hinata watched the bus leave. Ino smiled slightly and spoke to the black haired girl beside her "She hasn't changed, has she?" At this Hinata sighed and answered "Not one bit." And then she smiled too.
Sakura on the other hand pondered over how much things had changed around here. How much people had changed too. Ino was in some ways more mature and in others still the same. Naruto was a heartthrob and the second most popular guy in the school—first being the Uchiha guy. Hinata was now a bit more open with people than before but still was polite and soft spoken. She too had a number of boys after her. She didn't get to meet any of her other friends though. Like Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Kiba etcetera etcetera. Sakura looked outside the window and smiled. Her day had passed in a blur. It had a bit of drama at first but then bliss. She had enrolled herself in a club too. Though it was hard to choose only one from all the variety. There was the music club which Hinata was part of, the cheerleader club Ino was a part of, the chess club, the football club—yes Naruto, the karate club, the kendo club and so on. Sakura had chosen the dance club. She loved to dance and two years of only training and education had left her with little chances of enjoying this hobby. Still she would sometimes lock herself in her room and dance to her favorite tunes just to keep up with her talent. Stuffing her ears with earphones, Sakura played her current favorite—Endlessly by Muse. Murmuring the lyrics to herself, she got down from the bus.
"…If the moment ever comes…" Sakura cursed loudly as rain started pouring on top of her. Ducking under the nearby tree, Sakura groaned. Hoping that the thick foliage would protect her from the water droplets, Sakura shoved her phone and earphones in her bag. "Out of all the time this could have happened. Just four blocks away." Sakura cursed again as a car zoomed by and then another and another. "Guess I will have to wait it out." She mumbled and groaned as a few droplets fell on her hand. Scooting further into the tree Sakura looked hopefully as a car slowed down in front of her. The latest Acura model. Probably. She didn't know much about cars. Sakura bent her head as passenger seat's door opened. Looking at the driver Sakura took an uncertain step back. It was Sasuke Uchiha. Sighing loudly Sakura dashed inside the car and closed the door.
"Thank you." Sakura mumbled as he started the car again. "Hn. Which way?" He asked in a bored voice. Sakura told him the name of her building and blushed. "It's just four blocks away." As they turned they saw a barrier and a few policemen stopping the cars ahead of them. The road was blocked. Sakura frowned and slapped her head. "For god's sake!" Looking at the policemen and then at Sasuke she sighed "Alright. I guess I'll get off and—" "I'll take the other route." Sasuke interrupted her, already backing the car away. Sakura gaped and shook her head "It's an half an hour ride! Honestly, I'll be fine. They're letting in pedes—" "You sure talk a lot." Sasuke spoke in an amused tone. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth, but then closed it again.
"By the way, it's an hour ride. And the rain's not going away soon." Sasuke smirked and turned the wheel. Sakura rolled her eyes, unable to control her urges. "Well if you have so much free time you might as well drive me to London." Sasuke raised his eyebrows and smirked again. "May be not. But I can pick you up tomorrow." Sakura looked at the boy as if he was demented and snorted "Really, now? Are you trying to flirt?" Sasuke glanced at her and shrugged "Name's Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura sighed and relaxed into the seat. "Sakura Haruno. But you already know me." Sasuke smirked and nodded "And you knew my name?" Sakura nodded as a 'yes'. "Then you must know my deeds too." "Meh! I don't care about a few headlines and nametags."
Sasuke was taken aback by her response. "You don't believe the rumors?" Sakura chuckled and shook her head. "I believe what I see." "And what do you see?" "A flirt and a free driver." Sakura stuck her tongue at him and winked. Sasuke shook his head and drummed his fingers on the wheel. A moment of silence passed and Sasuke found himself turning up the volume of the music player. 'We're riding down the boulevard. We're riding into the dark night, night. With half the tank and empty heart. Pretending we're in love, when it's never enough. As the silence filled the lonely air. Oh, they can hear now now now baby. We see a storm is closing in. Pretending we're escaping…'* Sakura found herself singing the song quietly and relaxed into a comfortable position. Sasuke glanced her way and smiled slightly. She was starting to relax in his presence. Something he found himself doing too. With them almost approaching the destination, Sasuke frowned. "What did you mean when you asked me that I was trying to flirt? When you put special emphasis on 'you'?" Sasuke asked in a presumably bored tone. Sakura did not miss the undermined curiosity in his question and laughed. "Well you seemed a little stoic when I saw you in the morning. Sort of a person who would never put his foot forward."
Sasuke raised his eyebrows and frowned. But then smirked "May be it's you." Sakura looked at him and then at the approaching building. As the car stopped in front of her destination Sakura opened the door and got out. Bending down again to pick up her bag she smiled. "May it is me." And with that she waved and ran inside the building, leaving the boy smirking.
Sasuke turned the wheel with his left hand and dialed a number with his right. As the receiver picked up the call he spoke in a commanding voice "I need Sakura Haruno's number—by tonight." And before the person could ask of his motives he disconnected the call and threw the phone to the passenger seat. As his car sped up he smiled. "One day I'm gonna marry her." 'But for now let's be the annoying flirt.'
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*The song is Ocean Drive by Duke Dumont.
And that's that. Tell me what you guys think about it. An author in progress can always use a few critics. So please don't shy away from telling me your thoughts.
NLP
