Chapter 1: lost and found
The onyx eyes belonging to the infamous Itachi Uchiha gazed down upon a well lit-up Village, searching for something he seemed to have lost. It had been years since he left Konohagukure, but as he observed closely, nothing had changed other than the Slug Princess' face of Tsunade carved into the mountain side overlooking the home he had long abandoned.
Though the city was busy and full of life, it felt dead and broken to him, his dark eyes scanning for what he had lost and left behind. A wave of guilt and sickness overcame him and he forced himself to look away, onyx orbs converting to a crimson red. It had been a nice relinquish from the constant plaguing pain of the Sharingan- the signiture trait of the Uchiha clan-but the heavy sensation seeped back into his head.
A noise from behind pulled his attention away from the busy city, an eyebrow raised in curiousity as the sound continued. Relentlessly, he added. It was too late for anyone to be outside the village gates, subsequeuntly he spiked an interest and shifted from his position to head towards the sounds. At first he had figured his monthly routine was finally discovered, but immediately dismissed the assumstion when he evaluated the sounds to be stationary in one specific spot. A spot, he unvield, to be a training ground for two Shinobi going toe-to-toe with each other.
He was able to recognize them easily as two Leaf nin, specifically, ex-teammates of his younger brother. A silver-haired Jonin known as Kakashi Hatake who concealed half his face behind a mask squared up against a young konoichi with uniquely pink hair. He had studied the entire squad they formed and learned their information by heart; their strengths, weaknesses, mentors and even their bonds. The two before him could provide even more useful information, especially the lone female of the group, considering since he hadn't seen her in combat. He knew about her successful skirmish with one of Akatsuki's own, Sasori, however he wanted to witness for himself what she was capable of. The Uchiha had doubts as he focused on the duo.
"Faster Sakura!" Kakashi coached, arms up in defense as her attack was blocked.
"You're the one that needs to keep up old man!"The girl mocked as she relentlessly threw a barrage of punches and kicks, forcing the man backwards. The Uchiha could tell they were well evenly matched as they back and forth equally between offense and defense, however as he continued to analyze the konoichi he realized she was holding back. But for what? He couldn't figure out.
His crimson eyes followed Sakura's movements as the two continued their friendly bout, noticing the grace and speed she possessed, as if she were performing a dance. As he gauged the man she sparred with, he noticed that his left eye gleamed red with the Sharingan, leaving the bystander puzzled with yet another question. Why use a bloodline in a strictly taijutsu battle, even he could predict the next attack the konoichi planned.
However as he continued watching, he understood why the jonin did such as the konoichi's stance and battle tactic changed. Her movements became unpredictable, not wild, but carefully calculated in a manner that seemed crazed and uncontrolled. She acted as if she were going to swing with her left, which the jonin predicted, but at the last possible second feigned and hit with her right, successfully landing a blow. Kakashi winced and was pushed backwards a few feet. If it were anybody else, they wouldn't have noticed anything in particular, but oth of the men caught it. It was faint, but held with perfect percision was a chakra enhanced fist, enough to cause sufficient damage, but not enough to be noticed as a threat.
As he examined her further, her expression remained blank and unreadable, however her emerald eyes held a playful and sly look. Under the mans mask lay a smirk, clearly impressed by his student's improvement over the years. However, that didn't mean he was quite finished.
The jonin recovered from the blow and flipped backwards, his hands forming signs faster than her eyes could follow. A huge ball of fire appeared and raced towards her, eyes widening a fraction of an inch. She recovered smoothly, quickly forming signs of her own, two identical entities of herself summoning on each side of her. The Uchiha watched the girl as she carefully calculated the attack, her hand diving into her weapon pouch andpulling out a sharp kunai with a pink tag attached. One of the clones jumped in front of her as she threw the weapon into the inferno, the high temputure accelerating the burning of the paper. The ball imploded and exploded, knocking the silver haired man into a tree, nearly splintering the trunk. The clone Sakura had made protected her from the blast and immediately she was upon her mentor, kunai held to his throat. Her back pressed against her second clone whose weapon clashed against one belonging to a clone Kakashi had managed to makeAt the last second.
"I win" she said triumphantly, releasing her hold. Both clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke, her mentor ruffling her pink hair playfully.
The man in the shadows sat amused in the darkness, clearly impressed. The night had turned out better than he thought as he uncovered useful bits of information. The sole female of Team 7 who was thought to be the weakest link, had proved herself a worthy opponent of the Sharingan. Her persise chakra control and hawk like intelligence was a deadly combination alone, and he now understood why Sasori had succumbed to death by her delicate yet strong hands.
"the paper bomb was a nice twist." kakashi Added, pulling the Uchiha's attention back to the duo. He was hoping to pull more useful information from the konoichi.
"Always think quick on your feet sensei. I was well to learn that while sparring with you" she replied giving him a Coy look. He scratched the back of his head in guilt, remembering their previous sessions.
"Yes, well, it seems I have taught you a valuable lesson." he said pointedly, sitting down cross legged, beckoning her to do the same. She did so, directly across from him, clearly grateful for the time he had again and again sacrificed for her.
" would you reconsider your previous answer sensei?" the girl asked, almost in a whisper. Itatchi's attention perked up at the change in mood, wondering what their past conversation had been about.
"Sakura..as much as you have grown, I am still inclined to say no." her mentor replied, the girls shoulders droppinslowly slightly as she tried to control her posture.
"Sensei, I am not going to stop improving, no matter how hard it gets, I am never .falling .behind .again. I refuse to do such." she said, voice on fire. " the only reason why I want you permission is because you are important to me and I wouldn't be able to do it knowing you weren't behind me every step."
Kakashi had looked at her sadly, seeing the determination and desperation in her emerald eyes. She was pleading and crying out, yet some part of him still wanted to refuse her, to say "no", to preserve her innocence. The Uchiha sat in anticipation as the jonin stared at the girl whose fists were balling up and turning white.
"Don't be like him." he said sadly, causing the konoichi to tense up immediately. "don't seek the same thing as he did, don't ruin and corrupt yourself as he."
Itachi stared, trying to figure out whom made the dangerous woman he had witnessed earlier turn into a shaken and frail girl. Suddenly she was up in a flash, the anger pouring into a vicious cloud around her, eyes ablaze, the woman from before taking over control.
"I will never be like him. I do not seek the same as him, and if you cannot see that then you are not who I thought you were." she seethed. Both men knew she felt hurt and abandoned, tears threatened to spill, but she held them at bay as she continued. "There is no harm in wanting to be better, but in the way we chose to."
"How do you chose Sakura?"
"I only want to be accepted."
Kakasi stared up at her angry form, searching her hurt eyes, silence engulfing the grounds they stood on, even the Uchiha remained still.
"i never want to look at a fellow shinobi's back ever again. I want to be by their side as an equal and nothing more." she stated staring into the mismatched eyes of her mentor, which gleamed for a split second. He had realized his student had grown into a mature woman, one that understood and shaped the importance of everything he had taught her And protected it. If he could say which of his students had grown most, not just in strength but in maturity, it would have been her. Which was why he swallowed his fear an stood up, ruffling her pink hair once more, ever so softly.
"Sakura, I now see you are no longer my student.." he said in a gentle voice and she peeked up from her tossled hair, confused until he continued. " but as an equal, you have my permission."
Itachi watched as the konoichis eyes lit up with joy before hugging her mentor tightly, who returned the gesture. He was still left slightly confused and interested in what the permission was for, and whom the man was that had shaken the Leaf girl up. He had concluded that he had to figure out these two answers in order to exploit more, for he felt that they were two very dangerous factors. From what he had examined before, the girl was already dangerous enough,anything more and she would be a major threat.
The man left in a swirling wind, determined to keep the information he witnessed to himself, at least until he could figure out the missing pieces. Maybe, just maybe he had found what he had left behind when he abandoned Konoha; hope.
Authors note: I know it was short and slightly confusing, but I had the idea when I was at work and I really have a plan for it c: btw, sorry for the spelling errors, I'm typing this on my iPad and it is being extremely difficult...
Anyway reviews are always welcome
Stay Classy Guys