Mission Oruma

Chapter 1: It Finally Ends

In a village hidden in the leaves, on the streets of the sandy roads, people stood looking around with remorseful eyes at the many corpses that littered the roads of Konoha. Atop the Hokage Monument, stood several figures.

"He's dead. Orochimaru is dead." A blonde-haired man whispered, clenching his fist. The man beside him with black hair laid a hand on his companions shoulder.

"He won't be able to harm anyone anymore, and it's all thanks to you, Naruto." His companion spoke. A pink-haired and light green eyed woman stepped forward, joining her team-mates.

"Everything is thanks to you. Some of the world's most dangerous criminals are gone, thanks to you." She whispered. The blonde smirked, slowly turning around and shaking his head.

"No. It's thanks to all of us. But so many people died." Naruto said, clenching his fist tighter and hanging his head. A soft, dainty footstep was heard, and a long, blue-haired female walked to him with silent, confident, and graceful steps. Her small, pale, and fragile-looking hands gently lifted his sculpted face up.

"The people died for something they believed in. They died for their loved ones, for their home. They put their trust in you, and the only way you would ever betray that trust is to give up on life." She said softly, smiling at him. His eyes blinked in mild surprise, which soon disappeared to be replaced by happiness.

"Konoha can begin anew. The buildings will be rebuilt; everything will be better then ever. Sometimes the only way to a new beginning, is the sacrifice of something else." Tsunade said wisely, stepping up and smiling at Naruto. "The people closest to you are the most important. If you don't tell them how much they really mean to you, they'll be gone before you know it."

"Then I guess now would be as good a time as any."

Everyone turned to look at Sasuke, who was smirking. He turned to Sakura, his hands reaching out to grasp hers softly.

"Sasuke?" She questioned as he laced her fingers with his. His eyes turned to look deep into hers, and he smiled genuinely.

"Sakura, I love you."

There were gasps, and tears glittered at the corner of her light green eyes as she choked back a sob. She stepped forward, her body falling against his. His arm wrapped around her waist, supporting her.

"Forever." She sobbed. "I've been waiting forever to hear those words."

As their lips met in a sweet kiss, clapping was heard. However, the sentimental moment was interrupted by Konoha's Number 1 Unpredictable Ninja.

"Sasuke-teme! You're trying to gain all the attention again! I'm not gonna be outshined by you!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the Uchiha. Sasuke sighed, shaking his head.

"Naruto that's not-," He was cut off.

"Hinata-chan! I love you!" He cried, before delivering a swift kiss to her rosy pink lips. The kiss was broken by a very powerful punch that sent him skidding away, courtesy of one Haruno Sakura.

"BAKA!!! DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HINATA JUST TO BEST SASUKE!!!" She screamed at him. Hinata blushed red, touching her lips with her fingertips. Naruto groaned, sitting up and rubbing his cheek.

"But I wasn't taking advantage of her! I really do love her!" He cried. Sakura blinked, dumbfounded. There was a chuckle, and everyone turned to Shikamaru.

"Naruto played another prank on you. He used Sasuke's moment of truth as a chance to confess to Hinata. Troublesome." The Nara muttered, until a light blonde-haired woman smacked his shoulder.

"Even though it was slightly mean, at least he confessed in a partly romantic way!" Ino said, defending the act of romance. Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder, scowling. Chouji was standing behind them, absentmindedly munching on a bag of chips.

"I give him props for taking Sakura's punch." Kiba said, Akamaru barking in agreement to his comment. There was a nod of agreement from Shino, who stood beside the canine user and his dog. Sakura's eyes lit up with fire, and she made a fist with her hand, the other one grabbing the opposite upper arm.

"Would you like one too? It's free of charge." She growled menacingly. Kiba gulped and stepped back, his hands up in surrender. Akamaru whined, hiding behind Kiba's legs. There was a snort from their right.

"Morons." Hyuuga Neji remarked, turning his head away from them. Tenten grinned from beside Neji, and she put her elbow on his shoulder, leaning her face towards his.

"Be careful what you say Neji-kun. Sakura might just decide to turn to you next, but then again I'd get to you first." She teased. Neji turned his head to look at her, smirking.

"There's no doubt about that Tenten." He told her, before wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her. She was surprised at first, but soon melted at his touch. Lee was ecstatic from beside them.

"THE JOYS OF LOVE!!!" He proclaimed, tears running down his face. Gai joined him in spouting random sentence about "fountains" and "youth".

"I'm so glad I got the latest Icha Icha Paradise book from the bookstore before they destroyed it." Kakashi said, reading his book gleefully. Kurenai punched the back of his head, snarling at him.

"Just wait until I tell Rin you dirty-loving pervert!" (1)

"Too late."

The two women teamed up on the crying man as his precious book was ripped away from him. Jiraiya was happily looking around at all the loving couples, taking small notes in his book of "research".

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she looked around.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

A/N The first chapter is OUT!! Ah BOO YA! Okay, so I only have about 2 and a half chapters finished, but then again I won't be focusing on this story as much. It's kinda like a side-project. Please bear with me though! Anyway, this is just a prologue. I'll get into the real plot at chapter two. Anyways, please R and R, I'd appreciate your comments!

(1) - For those who don't know, Rin was Kakashi's teammate way back when Kakashi just graduated from the academy. She has pink hair like Sakura, and markings on her cheeks (like Kiba). But unlike both of them, she's quieter and more reserved. She had a crush on Kakashi, but was very secretive about it (unlike Sakura).

Japanese Glossary

(Name)-teme: Roughly translates to bastard. Also a rude way of addressing someone.
Baka: Idiot, stupid.