** DISCLAIMER - I do not known Naruto nor any of the characters in it... blah, blah, blah...
** Author's note - This story takes place shortly after Sasuke joins with Madara. I don't read the manga and only watch the anime, so if there's any discrepancies between now and the future, please ignore it in the spirit of storytelling... BTW, this story is rated M for MATURE, i.e. 18+. If you are mentally not familiar with the birds and the bees, I ask that you turn your tooshies around as I will not be responsible for explaining how babies are made, and I refuse to let your parents be angry with this site. If not, you may proceed at your own caution... - iloveneji44
Inspired by a true story...
The hot summer sun came down with such a sweltering heat that the faces of the Hokages carved into the mountainside seemed to sweat as if they were alive. The dirt surfaces of Konoha's streets were radiating waves that threatened to cook any foot that dared to walk upon them for more than a minute. Though the rooftops of the marketplace reflected the sun back towards the sky, the roads that laid between them were still a battleground for the weak as the cicadas sang down to them their lamenting songs. Braving the summer's cruel touch, customers who had no choice but to make their daily rounds weaved in and out of the shade to avoid such untimely deaths.
The merchants that stood with towels draped around their necks tried hard to fight the sleepiness that was threatening to overtake them with exhaustion. Swaying in dreamlike states, they forced themselves to assist their customers but could barely recount as to how many had passed through. They wiped the sweat from their brows and drank from their water bottles as half of it spilled down their heated throats to cool their chests. Keeping to their stools as if it were a clutch, it was not until a figure floated silently by them that they perked their heads up to take in the strange happening.
Walking down the very center of the road was someone who didn't seem to care how hot it was, in fact, it didn't seem that she even noticed that the sun was hitting her at all. As people watched her pass, they could see that she was shinobi, but her clothes told them that she was off-duty. The boots that she wore were covered in a film of dirt as she marched through the dust, and her pink hair lay loosely upon her shoulders dipped in sweat. Looking at her in curiosity, they had no idea who could stand such a heat.
Sakura paid no attention to the onlookers as she continued on with her eyes on the ground. Her head seemed to be in a fog of her own thoughts as she picked through the events that caused her so much grief. When she finally hit the end of the road, she stopped to look left and right, not knowing which way she was going to go.
Sighing deeply, Sakura pulled her normally free-flowing hair into a ponytail before putting her hand up as a visor to see what lay down each path. After a short moment of deliberation she decided to go left.
"Sakura! Sakura!" she heard a familiar voice yelling to her from behind.
"Shoot," she whispered as she ignored the call and turned right instead.
"Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto as he turned the corner. "Are? Where did she go?..."
Looking down the road, Naruto found that the only people gracing the area ahead of him were civilians going about their daily business. Scratching his head, he was pretty sure that he had just seen Sakura turning there.
"Oi! Naruto!" came a friendly shout before a slap hit him on the back.
"Ah, Kiba, what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.
"I'm here to pick up Akamaru's food," Kiba grinned as he patted Akamaru's back. "He eats a ton, so I make him carry the bags back as part of his training."
"Ah..." Naruto mumbled, looking back down the road to see where Sakura had gone.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
"I thought I saw Sakura-chan turn this way, but I don't see her."
"Well she's not down that way."
"Huh?"
"We just passed her back there. Uh, Naruto, it's a bad sign when women try to lose you..."
As Kiba chuckled to himself, he soon stopped once he saw that what should have been an angry look from Naruto, was instead a distant stare.
"I was only kidding," Kiba tilted his head in worry. "You okay? Is it the heat?"
"Why would she double-back?" Naruto asked himself, completely ignoring Kiba's question.
"Is everything alright?"
Waking out of his trance, Naruto finally noticed that Kiba was still there.
"Gomen... Sakura-chan has just been weird since we got back."
Kiba's happy features began to soften as his thoughts drifted back to two nights ago. He was walking down the street with Shino and Hinata when they had gotten the news.
Did you hear? Chouji shouted as he ran past them. Naruto's team has returned with Sasuke!
Stunned at the news, everyone from Naruto's year had run to the front gates to see if it was true. Upon their arrival, silent smiles were waiting among the crowd as Tsunade stepped forward to extend her welcome to Sasuke and his new team.
Kiba stood behind the spectacle as he always did, separate from everyone else whenever he found himself in a crowd. However, as Tsunade began her talk, Kiba noticed that he wasn't the only one who decided to distance themselves from the fray.
Standing ten feet away from Kiba was Sakura. Her eyes were cast elsewhere as her facial expressions showed that she was disturbed. As his eyes lowered to her fists, he could see that they were tightened as if holding back something. He had wanted to ask if she was alright, but speaking at that moment would have drawn what he knew would have been unwanted attention.
As soon as Tsunade gave her dismissal, Kiba watched as Sakura then turned inconspicuously away from the crowd and make her way silently down the street. At a loss as to what to say, Kiba stared after her until she disappeared around the nearest corner.
You can tell how sad someone is by the way they look from behind, Kiba remembered Kakashi saying as he came up beside him. It's probably best to just leave her alone, for now.
Kiba's heart ached when he thought of how Sakura must have been feeling. After all, they all knew she was in love with Sasuke before he had left, and she and Naruto had worked so hard to bring him back. For all he knew, she probably didn't expect it to be like this.
"Did she mention anything?" Kiba asked Naruto as he pulled himself back into the present.
"No... but I'm going to find out right now."
A soft warm breeze whispered through Sakura's hair as she walked slowly up the cliff's stairway behind the Hokage's office. With her hands in her pockets, her feet were like drones that rhythmically tapped without a misstep. When she had reached the mid-landing she felt compelled to turn around and face the images of the Hokages carved into the mountainside. One by one she traced their features over with her eyes until they finally landed upon the most familiar.
The curves of Tsunade's stone face were a testament of her knowledge and experience. Even the soullessness of her eyes seemed to speak volumes of what her shishou had endured, the coldness of war and its neverending tide of despair. To have lived through it all was such a great feat for someone of her age, and Sakura in a way envied that the same had not happened to her.
It was true that nobody liked war and what it did to everyone around them, but somehow Sakura found herself longing to be pushed to the limit, to see what she was truly made of, and to experience these things that could only make her tougher in the world that she lived in. In fact, Sakura envied her shishou as she stared upon her likeness, wishing that she too was like her in so many ways. To have already found that place where you belong and where you are needed must be the most happiest moment of all, and Sakura did not know if she'd ever find hers.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura brushed the hair out of her eyes before turning around to continue back up the stairs. Just as she was about to reach the threshold, the wind blew the bare backs of the her thighs giving her goosebumps as she searched for a good tree to sit under. Picking the one that stuck furthest out on the cliff to catch the wind, Sakura silently walked over before putting her back against the trunk and slid down with a thud.
Sakura unzipped her boots and slid her bare feet across the grass. The cooler temperature was just what she needed to let out that relaxing sigh she had been searching for all day. Shutting her eyes, she let her thoughts drift to wherever they pleased, but found that she could not help but come back to the source of her problems.
Images of a young woman with red hair and black-rimmed glasses suddenly floated across Sakura's mind. In the first moment that they had met, the hostile looks that Sakura was given immediately told her that jealousy over Sasuke was the issue. Though Sakura did nothing in response, it still stung her that she was looked at in that way. Perhaps this girl Karin knew more of her history with Sasuke than she let on, and it wouldn't be surprising after all the time that they had spent apart. Still, Sasuke wasn't the kind to kiss and tell.
Sakura's brow furrowed as she churned through old memories. Everything back then seemed so petty and foolish now that she thought about it. To put it plainly, it disgusted her to think how she used to be, always falling over Sasuke and being nothing but useless on missions. How she let herself be that way she could not explain except to say that she was young and foolish. Never again would she allow herself to do such a thing.
Tiny spurts of light tickled Sakura's eyelids as the branches above her gave glimpses of the sun's rays, and she took in another deep breath in an effort to wipe out all negative thoughts as she tried to get one moment of peace. Seeking refuge within the tree's grasp, Sakura imagined that its branches were wrapping around her like the arms of a lover, forever protecting her from any harm that came her way. As she felt her body soften between its imaginary limbs, she felt a shadow pass over her just as she was about to find a smile.
"What is it, Naruto?" she asked.
Sakura did not open her eyes as her ears followed the sounds of Naruto's footsteps leading him to the tree beside her's. When she heard the thud of his butt landing on the earth, only then did she venture to peek open her lids and tilt her head slightly towards him. Seeing that he did not want to speak just yet, she once again closed her eyes and let the breeze do the talking for them.
"Sakura-chan..." said Naruto after a while. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"You've been acting weird. Does it have to do with Sasuke?"
Sakura took an irritated breath and opened her eyes to the world below. There were so many things she wanted to say, she didn't know where to begin.
"If you think I'm in love with him still, you're wrong," Sakura spoke solidly. "I'm just..."
Sakura tsked in anger as she clenched her fists upon the ground. It seemed that finally putting it into words only added fuel to the fire.
"I'm just pissed, that's all. I mean, what the hell do we do now? Sasuke's back so we don't have to chase him any longer, but what about everyone else? What about Sai? Do we just let him disappear back into ROOT after he stuck by us for so long? Does Yamato-taichou go back to pushing the hard life with ANBU? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy he's back, but I just think a tiny 'thank you' would have been nice..."
Sakura was so surprised as to how she had managed to put together everything that she was feeling. In the end, it had all boiled down to losing her new found friends and the lack of a "thank you." After all of their heated efforts to bring Sasuke back, never once did he ever stop to say that he was sorry and that he was appreciative of their efforts. Who cared about it not being in his personality? What mattered was that he got over his conceitedness to do it.
Naruto looked over to Sakura who instinctively turned away to hide her face. He sighed as he picked up a leaf that had fallen onto his leg and began to twirl it by the stem. He too became frustrated as deep down he felt the same way. No one knew what this meant for the team, and Naruto really didn't want to lose Sai as a teammate even though Sasuke was back. They all didn't get along smoothly, but then again, neither did the original Team 7 when he came to think of it.
"Not even a single 'sorry'..." Sakura whispered. "Not one..."
It was evident to Naruto that this kind of talk was much better suited for someone female, like Ino. Although he knew what Sakura was saying, he just didn't know the right words to respond. Tossing the leaf in his hand aside, Naruto looked out over the village below as the sun slowly began to fall in the sky.
Naruto and Sakura sat at the edge of Konoha for several hours until twilight had struck. Not a word was spoken except for heavy sighs that told eachother that the mood had not changed. When the lights of the homes began to number in the fifties, Naruto got up and extended his hand out to Sakura's solemn face.
"Come on, Sakura. I'll walk you home."