DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. They are the sole property of my idol, Masahashi Kishimoto. I do however, humbly own what little plot, storyline, and development in this fanfiction. :)
Catcher of Dreams
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By: animeanne
Chapter 1
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The letter arrived as Sakura set out to meet Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi for Monday morning training. It was in one of those large yellow envelopes, and it felt heavy in Sakura's hands. It was addressed from the Mist Institute of Healers, the oldest and most prestigious of all medical facilities in all of Fire Country. The Fifth Hokage herself had spent many years training at the institution, and it was under Tsunade's instruction that Sakura had, on a whim, decided to submit her name for consideration. Out of the hundreds of thousands that applied each year, the MIH accepted just under 10 students each year. And at only 15, Sakura would be the youngest in history to be accepted to the program.
Before Sakura even touched its seam, she already knew from the sheer heft of the package, what was in it. Acceptance.
But unlike the elation that most people felt when they were handed such a valuable opportunity, Sakura felt quite the opposite. Sakura put the package on her coffee table, unopened, and walked out the door.
She had made a promise to team 7. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura—they were the golden trio, the inseparable three, the triumphant triad. Throughout the years, they had gathered a few nicknames, albeit corny ones, for themselves. They made a promise to each other to become ANBU next year; their test was in a few weeks, and they had worked hard to prepare for it. Nothing was going to separate the three of them.
Sakura made a commitment to ANBU and a commitment to Team 7, so why did she end up applying to MIH? Sure, it was partially to appease Tsunade and her nefarious temper, but in the back of Sakura's mind, Sakura had always had doubts about ANBU. She never quite had the same talents and the same confidence in herself as Sasuke or Naruto.
Both those boys were beyond gifted—Sasuke would be carrying on the Uchiha legacy and come to master the all powerful Sharingan, while Naruto would come to master his monstrous chakra of the nine-tailed demon fox. Compared to them, Sakura paled in comparison. She graduated second (to Sasuke) from her class; she was smart, she was quick, and she was eager. But she didn't have a crazy eye or a monster alter ego to help her out when she was in trouble.
Sakura sighed. Even now, she knew Sasuke and Naruto had waited for her to become strong enough so that they could take the ANBU exam together. Even though Sakura couldn't ask for better friends or companions, she felt inferior to them, indebted. Would there be a time when she could have the luxury to stop and wait for them?
Sakura walked through the meadows and towards the main gate where Team 7 was to meet. She knew she was early so was not surprised to find that no one was there yet.
Just as she was about to take a warm up jog, she saw a strange silhouetted figure in the distance near the main gates. The figure was large, and hunched, and looked like it was breathing quite heavily.
Sakura squinted, trying to better make out the figure. Now, who was that?
As the figure got closer, Sakura realized it was not a single figure, but rather three—one man was carrying two bleeding teammates on his back.
"Oh my God…" Sakura uttered as her eyes widened at the sight. She immediately ran towards them, the medic in her kicking into high gear as she recognized all three figures as Konoha ANBU from their porcelain masks to their twisted tattoos that were etched in black ink on their arms. The one carrying the two others wore a black birdlike mask.
Sakura immediately took one of the men off of his shoulders. The man was bleeding from his abdomen, while his arm was bent in a strange way. Sakura took the man's pulse, and checked his chakra levels. Too low. His chakra flow was all wrong.
"What do you think you are doing?" The man in the bird mask more stated than asked. "We need to get them to the hospital now."
Sakura continued to examine the second man as she replied without pause,
"I'm a trained Konoha medic. The nearest hospital is 15 miles away, and though an average shinobi can make it there in less than 5 minutes, I'm afraid we don't have that kind of time. Your men have been poisoned, and they have less than that to live."
Sakura glanced at the only conscious man in front of her and took in his breathing and body appearance before continuing,
"And given your unfortunate state of health, and lack of chakra, excuse me for saying that there is no chance in hell that you would make it there in time. The poison has infiltrated their body's defense systems and has taken a toll on their chakra systems as well. I need to extract the poison now or they will not live. Do I have your permission to proceed?" Sakura paused. "Sir?"
Sakura stared at his mask, unable to make out his eyes through the impenetrable porcelain. The man stood still, looking at Sakura intently. Sakura's temper flared. Every second this man spent thinking was one less second for his team to live. Who did this guy think he was? What the hell was he contemplating? Did he not trust a girl with pink hair? Well screw him!
Just as Sakura was going to open her mouth to cuss him out, he replied,
"Do what you deem necessary for their recovery."
Those were the only words that Sakura needed. She immediately set to work, concentrating at the task in hand. Sakura had seen this poison only once before. It was a deadly poison that could only be made from a nearly-extinct species of frog found in Leaf. There was only a single antidote for the poison.
And Sakura didn't have the antidote on hand.
But that didn't matter. She would simply extract each molecule of poison in their blood stream and channel it into her own. It would be painful, but alas, it was the kind of sacrifice that every medic made on the job.
Ever since taking her apprenticeship with Tsunade at the tender age of 7, Sakura, like her mentor had built her body to become strong internally. For every poison or disease she encountered, she created antibodies that would defend against it. Her own body was like an extensive catalogue of diseases that could automatically recognize and defend itself from its miniscule but deadly enemies. Every day Sakura put small doses of obscure poisons in her body and trained herself to respond to them effectively. The first law for a healer, so her Shishou dictated dozens of times, was to keep herself alive in order to help others.
Sakura would extract the poison from the two men and neutralize it with her own body. It had been awhile since Sakura had done a poison extraction, especially one of this scale.
It took an immense amount of chakra control to carry the poison into her own body and channel her healing chakra into the two shinobi, but Sakura did it flawlessly.
She didn't know how long had passed when she felt the last of the poison seep into her own body. All she could feel were the symptoms spreading and taking over her body—the pain, the haziness and blurriness in her vision, and the slight deliriousness. She knew the pain would be gone in only a few minutes—but an excruciating few minutes it was! She grimaced in pain as she toppled over onto the grass. Just stay still…it'll be gone in a few moments…
The masked ANBU touched Sakura tentatively on the shoulder.
"Medic." The ANBU lifted Sakura gently from her prone position, supporting her by her upperback. "Are you trying to kill yourself?" He deadpanned as his mask obscured the sun from Sakura's face. Sakura felt hot from the fever overtaking her body and found comfort in the feel of his cool fingers on the jugular of her neck.
"Just…stay….still…" she said too tired to make some acerbic reply that was just on the tip of her tongue. She stared at the porcelain mask of the man in front of her—a raven. Something about him struck her as oddly familiar, but Sakura couldn't quite place it in her current condition.
Finally she felt the symptoms subside, her mind regaining its prowess, but leaving her body still somewhat woozy. She released herself from the man's grasp and tentatively stood up.
"We'd better get them to Konoha hospital." Sakura said once she gained steady footing. "The poison's out of their system, and they aren't in fatal danger anymore but they'd need to see to their injuries." She picked up one man on her shoulder and hauled him onto her back.
The ANBU was staring at her again; Sakura felt it even through his mask. He gave a slight nod, and copied her actions with his other teammate. The pair took off and headed to the hospital.
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"You'd better get checked out too." Sakura said as she glanced at the masked ANBU before her. She was tired. They had carried his two teammates back to the hospital at top speed and put them in extensive care.
"That isn't necessary." He answered
Sakura frowned.
"But your wounds—"
"They'll heal, I assure you. I wasn't nearly as careless as my teammates were."
The man leaned casually against the window ledge. He didn't show an ounce of care for his teammates nor did he even bother to thank her. Who did he think he was? Sakura's scowl deepened. Sakura didn't like this man one bit.
"Are all ANBU as arrogant as you are?" Sakura snapped.
His tone was amused as he answered,
"No, I'm fairly certain that I trump other ANBU in both ability and countenance."
Sakura stepped closer to the arrogant ANBU man as she felt a headache setting in. This banter was not helping one bit either.
"Forget I asked." Sakura said as she rolled her eyes. She paused as the floor began to spin strangely. Side effects of poison extraction usually left the healer woozy for at least a few hours, but Sakura rarely showed such effects. "I don't even know why I want to become an ANBU like you anyway…" Sakura muttered. She jabbed her finger at his chest. "And YOU need to at least get a check up before you leave. Its medic policy…you know…
Her sentence trailed off as Sakura felt herself tip forward slightly, her vision becoming blurred and indistinct. Maybe if she just took a quick nap…on that nice shoulder…
Looking into his mask, she muttered,
"I'm sorry…" before she promptly blacked out.
The man caught her before she hit the ground.
"What kind of medic is she?" He muttered to himself. He had worked with many medics before and though this one's skills were technically flawless, he couldn't help but be surprised by how unaware the girl was about her body's limits. For a girl so young, He was impressed by the chakra control she had used—he was not easily impressed either. The man in the raven mask couldn't tell if the girl was highly self-sacrificing or just plain stupid. Right now he was leaning towards the latter.
He studied her sleeping face. Pink hair. Something about her seemed familiar, was she one of his brother's petty friends? He was rarely home as it was. The ANBU took off his mask, and hauled her on his back.
Just as he was going to carry her to the nearest hospital room, Tsunade stormed down the hall towards him, her eyebrows drawn into a dark scowl as soon as she saw him.
"Uchiha Itachi! Not only did you nearly KILL your two teammates on an S-class mission but what in seven HELLS did you do to my favorite student?"
From the killing intent in Tsunade's eyes, Itachi Uchiha figured this was not going to be the best of days.
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"Alright Uchiha, report." Tsunade sat grumpily at her desk, and even after Itachi, Captain of ANBU had taken a great deal of pains to explain exactly how her pupil had fallen unconscious in his arms, The Hokage still looked like she wanted his head on a silver platter.
Itachi had been sent on an S-class informational mission in the Hidden Mist with his two teammates for the past month.
"Hidden Mist is experiencing some bouts of instability. A new Mizukage has been elected after the previous one was mysteriously assassinated—
"MYSERIOUSLY ASSASSINATED UCHIHA? Are you telling me that one of the best ANBU teams in Konoha spent the past MONTH of their time gathering information, and couldn't come back with an ounce of information that I don't know already?" The pulsing vein in Tsunade's forehead threatened to explode.
"Well that depends Hokage-sama." Itachi smirked slightly. "Did you already receive word of who the assassin was?"
Tsunade paused for a moment. Her temper was appeased, if only for the moment.
"Please. Do enlighten me."
"Let's just say that our conversation a few months ago was confirmed."
Tsunade's eyes widened. "Really? That bastard. What is he up to…" The gears in Tsunade's head were visibly turning.
Itachi continued after a beat, "Did you also already receive word on the identity of the new Mizukage?"
Tsunade leaned closer, suddenly extremely interested. "Well, Itachi. Was our hypothesis correct on the subject?"
"I cannot completely confirm its validity given the short period that we spent there. However, we did receive a clue that you would find most valuable."
"And that would be, Itachi?" Tsunade arched her perfectly plucked brow.
Itachi pulled out a single neatly wrapped scroll and handed it to the Hokage.
Tsunade untied the ribbon and scanned the scroll at a lightning pace, her eyes widening at the information it revealed. No, it couldn't be. Madara Uchiha?
"We only managed to abscond the first of three scrolls, and when they find that we have taken it, I'm sure some of their plans will change. But its contents does confirm one thing—the identity of their new leader."
"A-are you sure this is correct, Itachi? Madara Uchiha is alive? You of all people should have doubts about this."
Itachi's face set into a grim countenance. He replied heavily after a pause.
"I cannot doubt the truth Hokage-sama."
Tsunade looked at the ANBU captain. If Itachi was one thing, he was honest.
"Very well, I'll need some time to think about our next plan of action." Tsunade paused before continuing, "Danzo wanted to meet with you some time this week. Remember what we discussed." Tsunade looked at Itachi meaningfully. "You're dismissed."
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Sakura woke up from her deep slumber with a feeling of panic as if she were forgetting something. Sakura groaned as she looked out the window—the sun was setting. A wasted day. She couldn't afford to miss those training sessions especially with the ANBU exam coming up—she couldn't afford to be the weakest link of their team.
She hopped out of bed, and slipped out of the hospital window. Sakura knew where they'd be. Naruto made it a daily routine to go out for ramen after a hard day of training. A bowl of ramen a day keeps failure away, Naruto had proudly said.
When she reached Team 7's favorite ramen shop and stepped into it. She heard them before she even saw them.
"YEA RIGHT, SASUKE. I can kick your ass any day of the week! I'm going to be Hokage one day, and YOU'LL have to be the one who takes my orders. MUAHHA."
The recognizable loud voice made Sakura smile.
"Hm. Naruto, you can't kick my ass, if you can't even touch me."
"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"
"Oh no, I don't want to hear you guys bragging until we've actually eaten our ramen. I'm starving!" Sakura said as she plopped down next to Naruto.
"Sakura!!" Naruto said happily. "Where were you today??? You missed the worst training session EVERRRR!"
Though Sasuke stayed quiet, his eyes revealed that he was equally curious at Sakura's answer.
Sakura sighed. "It's a long and annoying story. I got to the gate early this morning to wait for you guys, but then I ran into some trouble with a few ANBU."
"But what happened??? You were gone the WHOLE day. We all thought something might have happened to you, but Grannie Tsunade sent a messenger over and said you'd have to miss practice."
"Yea… this one ANBU team was severely injured, and I had to perform a poison extraction. I had to do it by myself, and on two people at the same time, so I guess the after-effects hit me like a couple of sake bombs."
Naruto laughed loudly, "We all know how you are with alcohol, Sakura-chan! Remember that one time when you completely vommed on—"
Sakura blushed brightly as she bopped Naruto on the head, "Can we NOT go there, please?"
"OW…" Naruto winced, "I think your punches are getting too strong for my hard head."
"I don't think anything is more dense than your head, dobe." Sasuke deadpanned.
"Yea………. Maybe not…." Naruto paused thoughtfully. "Heyyyy! Was that an insult???" Naruto scowled as Sakura giggled.
"Anyway, this one guy on the team was so ridiculously arrogant. He wore this bird mask or something. He didn't even care about his teammates at all. Ugh. Its people like that who really makes me question my desire to be in ANBU." Sakura said as she frowned.
"A bird mask?" Sasuke asked, slightly surprised.
"Yep a black raven of sorts, I think."
Sasuke looked as if he wanted to ask something else, but Naruto interrupted, his voice quite serious.
"But SAKURA-CHANNNNNN, you're not having second thoughts about ANBU are you?"
"No way! I'm not letting one guy ruin my life-commitment to team 7!" Sakura replied enthusiastically.
Naruto cheered up at that. Team seven sipped happily on their ramen, as they chatted away into the night.
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Itachi hopped across the familiar rooftops of Konoha. No matter how long he was away, Itachi always appreciated how little Konoha changed. Home would always be home.
On this particular journey home, Itachi's mind kept wandering back to a certain pink-haired kunoichi he had met earlier that day. He frowned, what was it about this girl that was so intriguing to him?
Well for one thing, there was no doubt that the girl was skilled. That poison had completely knocked out his two teammates with a mere scrape of a kunai. She had made the diagnosis within seconds, and if she had been any later in her actions, his teammates would probably have been dead right now.
Then, there was the way that she stared at him with those lucid, sea foam eyes of hers. He was used to stares from women. Most, apparently, found him a highly attractive member of the opposite sex. This girl however had only shown purely concern—for him and for his teammates. There was no wishy-washiness in the way that she worked and concentrated at her would investigate her identity later, it could come in handy if he needed her skills at another time.
Most of the windows in the Uchiha complex had been dimmed. Itachi could hear the chirps of the summer cicadas in their garden. He opened the shoji door to his room.
A shadow flitted past. Itachi knew the familiar presence and was not aback by its sudden appearance. In fact, he had expected it.
"You can show yourself…Madara." Itachi whispered seemingly to himself.
"Ah, my favorite relative of all." Madara replied wryly as he stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight, his figure clad in all black, with an untamed mane, and a strange swirling porcelain mask covering his face.
He continued with an edge of malice in his voice, "The mission did not go as plan. I presume?"
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
Madara scoffed. "Why the fact that your two idiot teammates are alive, of course. How did you manage that?"
Itachi paused for a moment as he took off his holsters. "A girl got in the way."
There was a moment of silence before Madara gave a bark of a laugh that contained no mirth.
"Ha! A girl stopped you? I really do give you too much credit, Itachi. Why didn't you just eliminate her?"
Itachi had thought about this question ever since this morning. He could have very easily put her under the spell of the Sharingan, or perhaps tightened his hand around her delicate, pale neck as she laid there in his arms when she was recovering from the poison extraction. But that would not do.
"It would have been suspicious to turn up with three dead shinobi in my arms, Madara. My chakra reserves were low in order to fake my exhaustion, and provided a bit of an alibi. Certainly, I could have fabricated some lie, but Tsunade is not as dense as you seem to think, and I didn't want to risk our greater mission objective."
Yes, he had only spared her life on pure logic. He only did what was the most necessary. It would not do for Itachi to base a decision on what most people would call compassion.
Madara nodded slightly, tentatively accepting his explanation.
"And? Was our greater mission objective accomplished?"
Itachi smirked, his red pin-wheel eyes twirling. "You have doubts of otherwise?"
"Certainly not." Madara paused. "Any otherwise, and you might not be here…in front of me.
A ghost of a smile passed Itachi's face at the thinly veiled threat. "The Hokage devoured the information you delivered."
"Ah, take some credit, Itachi. For it was from your hands that the Hokage took the scroll…and the other assignment, Itachi, has it begun?"
"It will take a little more time." Itachi's voice tightened slightly.
"The mangekyo will come in no other way…power comes only with great sacrifice. And peace can only come with power."
Madara paused as he watched a candlelight flicker in a window.
"Well, I'd better take my leave, we don't want to wake the whole Uchiha family with this rather rowdy family reunion." Without warning Madara aimed a kunai at Itachi with the intent to kill. Itachi calmly dodged the attack before Madara disappeared like a flitting illusion of the eye.
"Light on your feet." His voice echoed wryly into the lonely darkness behind him.
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Itachi stood still for a few moments, looking into the night. He heard gentle, hesitant footsteps coming from behind him.
"Cousin, were you talking to someone?" The meek voice came from a woman, dark-haired and pale. Her eyes were just as black and as dead as charcoal. She was beautiful, but cold, in the same way that all Uchihas were. She carried a single candle that illuminated her china-like face.
"No, it was just the wind, Amaya."
"You are back from your mission? Was it successful?" She asked quietly.
"Yes." Was the only word that came from Itachi. Amaya waited, hoping for more, but the silence filled the space between them. Her betrothed was never one for words, his reticence was not something that was easily broken.
She watched Itachi's moonlit profile. So cold, so impenetrable. How she yearned so much for his intimacy, but it was always the awkward silences. She hesitated for another moment, before saying,
"Will you come to bed, cousin?"
He didn't answer. And just as Amaya felt that he wouldn't answer, he did.
"A." Itachi walked crisply into his rather sparse room, leaving the shoji door open. Amaya blushed, and was thankful that the darkness hid both her happiness and her embarrassment.
She entered his room, never meeting his eyes. She closed the screen door behind her with a delicate click, and blew out the candle.
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AN: I thought I wouldn't post this until I was halfway done with the story...but *sigh* u_u I got too excited about it. I always do this...x_X hahah. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!!! :))))