(A.N.: Naruto and his gang are about twenty or so (8 year time jump from Sasuke Retrieval Arc). This fanfic is completely "what if" based in an A.U. and would never occur in the real Naruto universe. So…
"What if Sasuke escaped Orochimaru's plans for him by killing the sannin, becoming the leader of Hidden Sound and one of the Legendary Three? What if the rest of Team 7, and Konoha for that matter, assumed him dead, until eight years later when he reappeared to be judged as a class-S missing-nin and traitor to Konohagakure no Sato? No real pairings: One-sided NaruSaku, SakuSasu, and maybe SakuNaru later)
(Disclaimer: For all you troublesome lawyer types, I do not own Naruto. All characters, countries, and jutsu pertaining to the Naruto world belong wholly to Kishimoto Masashi. In no way am I trying to claim ownership of Naruto, it is merely a basis for this story.)
Heart's Choice
Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm
"It's been eight years."
"Yeah."
"That's all you can say after all that time we've spent looking for him."
"What else is there to say? It was his choice to become a nukenin." The ANBU speaking leaned against the window sill of the Hokage's office. He had his red and white mask on so that the other three in the room were unable to read his face.
"You still have feelings for him, don't you Sakura-chan?" Blonde hair illuminated by the sun filtering through the glass, the shinobi turned his painted kitsune mask towards his old teammate and crush.
"What does that matter? It's still Sasuke, he's still part of Team 7." The pink-haired medic-nin snapped back at him.
"Was," Naruto stated blatantly as he looked back out the window at the calm of Konoha which would presently be broken, thus signifying his departure from the conversation.
"You're the one who found him. Wasn't it your team that brought him back to be condemned?" Sakura let her anger and disgust of the blond pour into her words. "Oh, wait. That's right," She added in a sarcastic, contemptuous tone she knew would reach him. "It was you're duty as Anbu captain."
"Now, Sakura," Kakashi looked up from the latest addition of the Come Come Paradise series: Make-Out Heaven. As usual, he had his mask on and his hitai-ate leaf headband over his left eye. Continuing in his laid-back tone, the elite jonin hoped to calm his former student. "In his condition, Sasuke would have died had Naruto left him there."
"Kakashi-san is correct, Sakura-chan," Tsunade was eying the bottle of sake that she knew would relieve her of her worries for a time. "At least now he has a 10 chance of living. Perhaps more, considering that the council is quite unwilling to permit the bloodlines to die."
"Hey, obaasan," Naruto turned from the window and headed for the door. "If Sakura wants to blame me, let her. At least I fulfilled my promise to her." There was biting quality to his last sentence and slamming of the door which followed, both of which were directed towards the moody Haruno.
"Naruto!" The Godaime yelled after her Anbu captain, "Dammit. I didn't dismiss you, insolent brat!"
Tsunade irritably turned back to the remaining two members of Team 7, one engrossed in his book and the other in her thoughts.
"He still loves you, Sakura-chan," the hokage said slowly and quietly after a moment of silence. "That's why he brought Sasuke back. For you."
"What does it matter? When Naruto brought him back he brought him back to face his death." The medic-nin stood up and took her teammate's place at the window. "Naruto was his best friend. He should have let Sasuke-kun die in peace. It would have been better that way."
"Is that what you would have wanted, Sakura?"
"Yes," the pink-haired jonin snapped back at the sannin. "Anything would have been better than watching him die slowly, watching him live out a meaningless life until the end of his days."
"Is your love so great that you could have stood in Naruto's shoes and watched as Sasuke died in a pool of his own blood?"
"I am not Naruto-baka, Kakashi-sempai. Nor would Sasuke have passed on were I the one who had found him."
"Enough. Both of you are dismissed."
"Tsunade-hime." Kakashi closed his book and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"I am not going to clear you for full combat, Sakura. At least not for now."
"Hmph," Sakura left, and slammed the door so hard that the entire building shook. The bottle of sake that Tsunade had eyed so eagerly shattered as it reached the floor, but it would soon be forgotten in the storm to come.
(A.N.: Yet another story that I started writing before the next chapter of Greek Fire comes out. Heh…Well at least this one was started before the other one. In some ways, I like working with the twenty year old versions of the characters because I can change their personalities a bit.
Please R&R, Shinobi over and out!)