PIONEER - [pahy-uh-neer] - a person who is among those who first enter or settle aregion, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.
PIONEER
Sakura's POV
The sun is shining brightly with the autumn wind blowing through my hair. I quickly made my way to the Hokage tower after I received an urgent message from the Hokage, her sensei. She greeted the guards outside and knocked on the door of Tsunade's office. The guards already knew her because she was Tsunade's apprentice so they really bother her anymore. She could hear loud voices inside the office, one of them was her best friend, Naruto.
"Come in," a exasperated Tsunade said.
"Good Morning, Tsunade-shishou!" she greeted.
"Sakura-chan! I haven't seen you in a while!" Naruto beemed.
"That's because you just got home from a 2 week mission,"
Naruto and I are now both 19 years old. Naruto has risen the the ninja ranks to ANBU. It's funny that one of the Academy's dead last is now a member of ANBU. I'm now Jonin and a doctor at the hospital; I'll be taking the ANBU exams after I complete the number of missions required for it.
"Exactly. Now get some rest Naruto!" Tsunade shouted.
"But ba-chan! I'm alright! I want another mission!" Naruto argued.
I could see Tsunade's patience waning so I decided to help her out, "Naruto, why don't you spend some time with me instead before going into another mission? We haven't talked in a while."
"That's a great idea Sakura-chan! Let's go to Ichiraku's!" Naruto said.
I swear he's a big ball of energy. I mean seriously, he's so hyper at this time of day and just after he came home from a mission.
"I'll meet you there after I talk to shishou then,"
"See you there, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted excitedly as he left the office.
I heard Tsunade groan and mumble, "Good riddance".
"Yes Sakura. Good timing. I have a mission for you," Tsunade sighed, "The Land of Waves' daimyo Yama Sokaro's son and heir has an unknown disease. He requested for my services but since you are my student and one of the best medics in the village, I'm sending you."
"When will I leave Tsunade-shishou?"
"The Land of Waves is 4 days away, you'll be leaving tonight,"
"Hai."
I left the tower and headed to Ichiraku's. I could hear Naruto's loud voice from a mile away.
"Hey Naruto," I said as I entered the ramen stand, "You gonna treat me?"
"Sure Sakura –chan!" he said as me motioned me to sit beside him, "What did ba-chan talk to you about?"
"Just a mission in the Land of Waves,"
"Who're you with?" he asked as he slurped away his ramen.
"No one. It's a solo mission." I answered as Ayame handed me the pork ramen I ordered.
"What? But but but that can't be!" he shouted spewing bits of ramen everywhere, "You can't be in a solo mission! What if you got hurt?"
"Naruto. I'm a kuniochi very capable of protecting herself. Besides, I'll just heal the daimyo's son,"
"Oh. When will you be leaving?" he said sadly.
"Tonight." I said quietly.
"But I just got back! How long will the mission take anyway?"
"The travel's 5 days, so it might take 2-3 weeks tops I guess,"
He sighed and said before he hugged me tightly, "Alright. Well, good luck to your mission. I missed you Sakura-chan,"
I hugged him back as tight, "I missed you too."
I packed my medical kits, some notes and some herbs I might need for a medicinal cure. It was midnight already and so the streets were silent. The only sounds were the insects in the trees and the sound of her sandals as she walked towards the village gate. The moon was shining brightly, illuminating her path. The wind is cold so she shrugged on her black hooded cloak.
When she reached the village gate, she stopped by a bench. A very horrible bench. It's not that it's ugly or anything, it's just that…it was the same bench he laid her she got knocked out. She could never forget that cold feeling of waking up and realizing that the person whom you cared for deeply is gone. She continued to walk outside the gate but stopped when she sensed a presence behind her.
She didn't turn her back because she knew who the person was.
"What are you doing here so late, Naruto?"
"Just seeing you good bye,"
I turned around and waved at him, "Go get some rest. I bet you'll be training first thing in the morning,"
"You bet! I'll be waiting here always, waiting for you to come back," he said quietly.
I smiled and continued to walk the path outside the village.
After 5 exhausting days of travel, I finally arrived at the Land of Waves. I asked a passerby to where Daimyo Sokaro's house is, he pointed me towards the tallest house at the center of the village. When I got there, I introduced myself and showed them my mission scroll. After they verified my scroll, they led me to the daimyo.
He looked old. He had long white hair that is tied in a low pony tail with a long beard to match. He wore an expensive looking kimono. He may look old but the look in his eyes says otherwise. He had an intense look in his eyes. Relaxed but at the same time alert.
"You are the medic-nin, the Hokage has sent?" he asked.
I bowed as a sign of respect, "Hai, Sokaro-sama. My name is Sakura Haruno,"
"Hmm. Are you really competent enough? Why couldn't she send that famous apprentice of her's?" he scowled.
"I AM that apprentice, Sokaro-sama,"
"You? You're a child. How can you be a medic-nin of Tsunade's caliber?"
"I assure you that my skills are not mediocre," I said kindly, trying not to lose my patience.
"We shall see," he said as he led me towards another room, "My son, Rin, has been sick for weeks. Of course I've called a lot of medic-nins from nearby villages but they were all useless."
I didn't say anything but proceeded to check his son's symptoms. He had high fever, chills and from my interview with his father, nausea, frequent vomiting and nosebleeds.
I immediately started to take blood samples to find out what's causing his son's sickness.
This is gonna be a long day.
I was completely exhausted coming from Sokaro's house. His son's disease isn't getting better and she still doesn't have a cure or any idea actually of what Rin is dying from. I sat in a nearby bench trying to clear my head. This village doesn't have lots of street lights so this part was actually pretty dark. The moon light shining upon me. The moonlight casting shadows from the trees and buildings. The stars are hiding behind the clouds so I wondered if it's going to rain any time soon.
I don't like rain. I always feel sad whenever it rains. It's like the skies are crying and I can't do anything about it. Maybe it's the departed souls who are weeping.
I don't know.
..
..
I couldn't care right now actually.
..
..
.
I'm so tired.
..
..
..
.
This bench looks so comfortable.
…
…
...
...
...
Then there was a shadow beside her. A shadow of a man. Like the shadow was standing in front of me. I looked around and saw no one. I tried to sense any chakra but no one was around.
She must really be tired because her mind was playing tricks on her. I've been seeing things since this afternoon. I also thought I saw a light shadow by the window when I went to check up on Rin. I thought it was just a trick of light or something. I should probably get some rest now. I sighed and reluctantly stood up and walked slowly towards the inn I'm staying at. After a couple of steps, I looked back at the bench and wondered what that shadow I saw was.
Hmph.
Bench.
I'm not exactly fond of benches anymore. Ever since he left me on that bench 7 years ago. I can still remember the same chill in the air all those years ago. The same aura and presence of that person. Maybe I'm too attached to him even now. I feel such an idiot. He's still probably with that snake bastard Orochimaru never having thoughts about his former life. But no matter how hard i try to forget about him...i just can't.
"Sasuke.." I muttered to the wind.
Where are you now?
ASDKFJAKLDSJF's POV
I've been wandering from village to village and it's really getting tiring. I've seen so many things from crimes, death, war and plague in just a couple of years. Sometimes I just feel like giving up on humanity. It's like they never learn and they're doomed to repeat history.
The village I had the liberty of staying at is in the Land of Waves. A small village where the daimyo is living in. It looked boring, typical, and annoying. It's like the other countless villages I've been in and this will just be the same. I'll still be alone.
Since I have nothing else better to do and the sun is still up I decided to just walk around before leaving….again. Nobody notices him anyway.
"Did you hear? The daimyo's son is getting worse!"
"What? But I thought they've already seeked Konoha's help?"
"Yeah but it wasn't the famed medic who came. Just an apprentice I think,"
"Yeah and I hear she's got ugly hair. I mean who's got pink hair? Seriously?"
Pink hair? This sparked my interest and decided to eavesdrop on the conversation of the villagers. Apparently the daimyo's son and heir is sick with an unknown disease and has gotten help from Konohagakure. Could it be her?
I decided to go pay a visit to the daimyo's house which is pretty easy since it's the most extravagant and tallest building in the whole town. He slowly walked into the home, the guards not noticing him. There was a man with white hair standing near the doorway which I presume is the daimyo because of his garish clothes. He was talking to a servant boy before leaving. He passed by me, almost hitting me by an inch.
I tried to walk around the house. It took some time to find his son's room since it's such a big house and when I finally find it, I didn't know what to do. I hesitated even though I shouldn't. I mean, it's just her right? And she won't even notice me. Why am I doing this?
I slowly went inside the room, taking in my surroundings. It was empty except for the sleeping boy in bed. There was a lot of medical stuff scattered around the room. I walked over the window to look at the view. It was nice. Peaceful I guess. I could see the mountains surrounding the village with its lush leaves comforting its viewer. Then suddenly there were voices outside the room and the door was opened.
It was her.
I couldn't do anything but stare. I haven't seen her in such a long time. She's a woman now. Then she looked at the window. Where I was standing. For a moment, I thought she was looking straight at me and so I panicked and repressed myself.
She still has feelings for me? Of course she does, she told me she loved me didn't she? But I thought it would be gone by now. It's been so long.
After that encounter in the room, I sat on the roof the daimyo's house. I watched as the sun goes down and watched the people below. They're small. In this big world, people are so small. Insignificant. Like ants.
I must've fell asleep for hours since when I woke up it's already night time. The moon shining brightly above me casting dark shadows below. I saw a flash of pink below me and so I followed her. I jumped from building to building, trying to follow the pink-haired woman. She seemed exhausted since her walking is sloppy and because she sat down in one of the benches and looked like it was going to be her bed for the night. I looked at her carefully from a far and just looked.
I'm a rational person but this is one hell of an idiotic move. Without thinking, I went down the building to get near her. I was almost in front of her when she felt my presence. I immediately backed away and melted with the shadows. She was leaving already then she stopped and looked at the bench again. It must've triggered some sort of memory for her since she looked at the bench thoughtfully.
I started to walk away from her already feeling content. Content, knowing that someone still has feelings for me. Hopeful that i she won't condemn me.
I won't be lonely anymore.
Then I heard her say my name.
"Sasuke.."
A/N
Hello! Please be nice and review my story please :) This is my first one and I'm really excited for this story. I already have the story plotted out in my mind so it's only the matter of putting that into paper :D