Twists and turns! Let this story take you on an emotional roller coaster ride as Sakura tries to find out who she is destined to be with. Sakura is forced to review her situation with Sasuke. Will this couple have a happy ending or will someone else steal Sakura's heart. SASUSAKU MAYBE.
Warnings: The characters have grown up (mentally and psychically), thus a bit out of character. If you haven't read my other stories here is a heads up: I have a reputation for making my stories very romantic. I'm not saying that this story will have the same (fluff) level, but be warned. Also this story is not completely in line with the storyline of the manga or the anime.
Disclaimer: I do not own the manga/anime Naruto (Do I really have to say this every time?)
"talking"
"thinking"
Chapter 1 Reunion
"Sakura what's wrong?" He whispered.
Sakura had a bewildered look on her face. She looked straight into the eyes of Neji and wondered. She wondered why he had just kissed her and why she kissed him back. The kiss was brief and gentle and she enjoyed every short second of it, but at the same time she felt scared. Scared of losing the feeling she had in her heart for so long. The love that lingered for Sasuke. Scared of loving someone else other than him. She was scared of loving Neji. She wondered if what they or rather what she was doing was right. Was it okay for Sakura to forget about Sasuke? And what if she decided to try and forget him and later on she would find out that she couldn't completely do that. What if her love for Sasuke will always remain in her heart? What then? Would she be able to hurt Neji who over the last few years became one of her closest friends?
"Sakura?" Neji asked her again.
Sakura kept staring into his eyes. She saw his worried expression. She gently caressed his cheek. "Will I ever be able to get over Sasuke?" She thought to herself. She slowly moved towards Neji, she closed her eyes and softly kissed him on the lips. Suddenly the words 'Thank you' came to her mind. It was Sasuke's voice. It were the words he said to her the night he left. She opened her eyes and pulled away from Neji. A tear fell from her eye.
"Sakura?" Neji asked again with a concerned tone in his voice. He reached out to wipe away the tear, but she moved away from him before he could do so.
"No." Was the only thing she said. She saw that Neji did not understand why she said that. She quickly stood up and left, leaving a speechless Neji behind.
It has been a long time since Sasuke left Konoha village. Konoha ninjas have gone on numerous attempts to bring Sasuke back, but they failed every time. They were however successful in stopping Orochimaru from absorbing Sasuke. The fight would go on long enough so that Orochimaru was forced to retreat and absorb someone else. Somehow Orochimaru always managed to escape. But the Konoha ninjas did everything in their power to stall Sasuke's retreat. This way Orochimaru could not absorb him. And so they prevailed and hindered several attempts of Orochimaru getting the power of the Sharingan. For these very dangerous missions some of the strongest of Konoha were recruited. It was necessary to do so in order to stand a chance against Orochimaru and Sasuke at the same time.
Naruto and Sakura were forbidden to take part in these battles. The Hokage decided that they were not strong enough to face Sasuke, Orochimaru and his minions. In addition she thought that their emotions would get the better of them and it would cloud their judgment. That could endanger the mission and the team members.
Years have passed and things have changed. Naruto and Sakura have matured and have devoted most of their time to training. Tsunade now believes that it is time for Sasuke's old friends to go on another attempt to bring him back. She had a feeling that things would go differently this time…
Sakura was now in her twenties, just like most of her friends. She was sitting on the bench where Sasuke placed her after he knocked her lights out years ago. It was 2 o'clock at night. She had her head in her hands and she was crying uncontrollably. She kept remembering Sasuke's face and his expression. At that time when he ran off she felt so lost. She somehow thought that it was her fault that he left. She hated the fact that she couldn't stop him. All these years she made it look like she was over him, but deep inside her heart the love for him was still there. Even though she did not want to feel this way. She didn't want to feel this love… This pain…
Naruto was taking a midnight stroll through the village. He could not sleep, because he was too excited for the mission planned for this morning. Somehow he ended up at the location where Sakura was. He saw her sitting there crying and felt sorry for her. He knew what she was crying about, though it still surprised him. She had been acting tough all these years, not shedding one tear for that guy. He was wondering why she was sitting there, but then he remembered Sakura saying something about this place. It was where Sasuke and Sakura said their last goodbyes. He walked over to her. "It has been a lot of years." Sakura swiftly looked up. He smiled at her. "Time flies."
She hadn't realized that he was standing there. She looked at him with teary eyes. "Naruto? How long… Err, what are you doing here?" She quickly wiped away her tears.
"I was just passing by. I couldn't sleep." He sat down next to her. They sat there for a while, in silence. It was a beautiful night. There were a lot of bright stars shining down on them. A warm breeze passed by waving Sakura's hair in the air. Her hair had grown back over the years, it became long again, just like how it was before. But she cut it and now it has a shorter length than how it used to be when she graduated from the academy, because she liked it better that way. Her pink hair was hanging loose, just over her shoulder.
Finally Naruto spoke. "You know… in just a couple of hours were leaving to go on the mission."
"Oh really? What mission would that be again?" She asked him like there was nothing wrong with her and that just a moment ago she was not upset at all.
"Did you forget already?" He grinned. Sakura looked at him confused. His face turned serious now. He placed his hand on her hand and whispered in her ear. "I promised you that I would bring him back and I plan to keep that promise."
She remembered his promise he made to her when they were young. In addition she remembered the briefing they had with Tsunade not too long ago. Today was the day that they were going on another attempt to bring Sasuke back. All these years, Sakura and Naruto were forbidden to go anywhere near Sasuke and Orochimaru. But not this time. Naruto and Sakura were part of this mission. It was one year ago that ninjas were sent to battle Orochimaru. It wasn't time yet to stop another absorbing attempt. But even though three years had not passed since the last time, Tsunade felt that it was time to try and persuade Sasuke to come back with words. She had a feeling that he would listen this time, because they had all matured. Sakura smiled vaguely, remembering the promise Naruto made her. She replied with a determined look. "And I said that I was going with you."
He smiled back at her. "I remember." He kissed her on her cheek and stood up. "We'd better get some rest." Sakura nodded and stood up as well. Naruto looked at her. "Are you going to be ok?"
Sakura gave him a warm smile. "I'll be fine." She hugged him and they said their goodbyes. She watched him leave as he walked towards the Hyuuga residence. She remembered the day when Naruto met Hinata's father for the very first time. He was so nervous, that he became so clumsy. He broke a lot of things that day. She chuckled. Luckily for him, Hinata's dad still accepted him in the family as Hinata's boyfriend. It took a while but eventually Hinata's father liked him so much that he even offered Naruto a place to stay at their house, so he wouldn't be so alone. He has been living there for quite some time now. It has become his home. Naruto sees the Hyuuga family as the family he never had. He has grown so much in many different ways. He has a place to call home, a wonderful girlfriend and a lot of friends.
While thinking about the Hyuugas she thought of Neji, who helped her a lot all these years. She knew he tried to help her forget about Sasuke although unknowingly he wasn't very successful. Neji and Sakura became very close. They spent a lot of time together when he wasn't on some mission and she wasn't training. He took her to festivals and they went shopping together. She remembered the night they kissed. That was a very confusing night for Sakura, because deep down she knew she still loved Sasuke. Yet she allowed herself to take it one step further with Neji. She never told him why she ran away from him after kissing him on that fateful evening. The following day, Sakura found out that Neji went on a mission and when he came back a few days later, they both acted as if nothing had happened. They started to spend less time together and Neji started focusing on his missions more and Sakura on her training. They still saw each other sometimes, but things were never the same.
She thought of Naruto again who had grown up so much. "It's time for me to grow up as well." Sakura said out loud. "It's time for me to move on. I am going on that mission tomorrow, not to bring back a lost love, but a lost friend." She tried to convince herself. She went home.
As soon as the sun touched the horizon, the ninjas assembled at Konoha gate. They were all there, The Konoha eleven and their senseis.
(Author's note: The Konoha eleven consists of: Naruto - Sakura, Shikamaru - Ino - Chouji, Hinata - Kiba -Shino, Neji – Tenten - Lee.)
But not all of them were going on this mission. The only ones going on this mission were Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru as team 1 with Shikamaru as the leader. And Shino, Neji and Lee as team 2, with Neji being second in command and leader of team 2.
Naruto was talking to Hinata, when he noticed Sakura standing all by herself, seemingly nervous. He walked over to her. "Sakura?" She looked at him and gave him a quick smile. He was a little bit worried about her. Suddenly he said. "I'm sure he will be happy to see you."
She was surprised to hear him say that and laughed. "I doubt that. He wants us to leave him alone and we are deliberately going against his wishes…again."
Naruto did not respond at first. He just stared at her. "I know he will be happy to see you. Who wouldn't be? I mean… It might not seem that way, but he really does care about you."
Sakura frowned a bit. "Yeah right. How would you know?" She turned around to walk away.
Naruto stopped her by grabbing her wrist. Sakura turned to face him again. He gazed intently into her eyes. "I just know. Remember what he told me the day we fought and he left. He called us his friends." He smiled at her with his usual bright grin. But there was another reason why Naruto believed that Sasuke was going to be happy to see her. Actually he was not sure at all. But he wants to believe that he would. Because if he wouldn't be happy, then their mutual friend is too far gone to be saved. He returned to Hinata's side.
Sakura watched him leave. She had a surprised and confused look on her face. Not really sure why Naruto told her that out of the blue. She sighed. "Thank you Naruto. But I'm not so certain about that." She thought to herself.
Shikamaru spoke. "Ok people it's about time for us to go. This is your last chance to say goodbye to everyone. I know its troublesome, but just do it, otherwise you'll regret it." With that said Ino pulled his ear.
"So you think it's troublesome to say goodbye to your girlfriend huh?" Ino spoke with a threatening voice.
Shikamaru winced in pain. "No, of course not." He laughed nervously. "What I meant to say was that it's hard to say goodbye, because I will miss you so much Ino." He grinned.
Sakura looked at Shikamaru and Ino arguing. She smiled. Ino always bossed Shikamaru around. Who would have thought that Shikamaru could fall for such a troublesome woman, because lets face it Ino can be a real pain in the ass. In addition, who would have thought that Ino could fall for someone other than Sasuke? Sakura remembered the conversation she had with Ino about that particular subject. When Sakura asked Ino about why she's not in love with Sasuke anymore Ino told her that she gave up on waiting for someone who was not the one for her. She told Sakura that if Ino and Sasuke were to end up together, fate would have made it so that they ended up in the same team together in the first place, so that they would have become friends and more. But they didn't. Ino took it as a sign that it just wasn't meant to be. It took Ino a while to realize that. It also took her some time to realize that true love was right in front of her. Sakura was really happy for Shikamaru and Ino when she found out that they were a couple. They were an inspiration for her to start dating. They made her grasp the notion that there is a chance that she could find love elsewhere other than with Sasuke. Unfortunately for Sakura each one of her relationships turned out bad.
Her first sort of boyfriend was a guy named Rai, who left her for another girl. She got over him real quick, she used extreme violence as therapy. She put the poor guy in the hospital, which was one of the reasons why he broke up with her in the first place. She was too strong for his taste.
Then she started dating a guy called Shinchi. He was really nice, but somehow Sakura could not see him other than a close friend so she broke up with him. He really loved her or so she thought. The day after she broke up with him, she saw him walking with two girls, one on each arm. And he was acting completely different, he even changed his style of clothing and hair. When she asked her best friend Ino about it, Ino told her that Shinchi can appear to be very nice and loyal, but in truth he's a huge player. After scolding Ino for not telling Sakura this before she went out with him, she put Shinchi in the hospital too.
This of course gave her a reputation of a scary girl. Even though she was very pretty and popular, boys were now afraid to ask her out in fear of pissing her off.
Then there was Kenshi. He was absolutely perfect for her. He was sweet and thoughtful. Extremely hot and the best thing was that he only had eyes for her. She met Kenshi when he was in Konoha on a mission. He was the bodyguard of one of the leaders of his village who was visiting Konoha at the time, to discuss a couple of important things with Tsunade. They both knew that when the one he was protecting was going back to his village they would end their relationship. But that didn't stop them from enjoying every minute they spend together. So after what to them seemed to be two very short weeks they said their goodbyes and she never saw him again.
Every time one of Sakura's relationships ended, her heart would ache for Sasuke again. And every time Neji was there to cheer her up. He was there for her when Rai broke up with her, Neji was there for her when she broke up with Shinchi and he was there for her when Kenshi left. She didn't know what she would do without Neji. She needed him, more than what she was willing to admit. But she liked the way things are between the two of them now. Her distancing herself from Neji and the whole dating scene gave her room to grow as an individual. All the trails of her past made her who she was now. She was now less dependant of people. She was stronger.
Ino let go of Shikamaru's ear. She looked him in the eyes. "Just promise me that you will return safely." She said with a worried expression.
Shikamaru saw how concerned she was. His mood changed from joking around to serious. "I can't promise you that." He said seriously.
Tears started welling up in Ino's eyes, knowing that Shikamaru was right. She knew that they would probably have to face Orochimaru and his minions, which is not a risk-free thing. She approached him and whispered. "Then promise me, you'll try. How troublesome it may be."
Shikamaru caressed her cheek. "I promise." He kissed her gently on the lips. They hugged. She didn't want to let go. She was holding onto him with a tight grip. He softly kissed her in the neck and then on the cheek and lastly on her forehead and let her go. He went to stand next to Shino who already said his goodbyes to everyone.
Sakura's gaze went from Ino and Shikamaru to Tenten and Neji.
Tenten hugged Neji firmly. Tears were falling down her cheek. She wanted to go with him, but at the briefing Tsunade told everyone that only two teams were available to go on this mission and Shikamaru was in charge of picking out the members. Too bad for her he didn't pick her, not because she isn't strong, but because she had to go on another mission, just like the other members of the Konoha eleven.
"Ssh, it's ok Tenten. I'm sure everything will be fine." Neji tried to calm her.
"I know… I know. It's just that… You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Who knows how strong your opponents are. You might get hurt or worse. I can't help but be worried." She said sobbing a bit.
Neji stroke her long hair. He stopped hugging her and faced her. He placed his hands on her face and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Tenten, I'll be back before you know it." He kissed her on the forehead, and then briefly on the lips. "You too, good luck with your mission." He saw by the look on her face that she still wasn't satisfied with him going on this mission. "I'll be fine. And when I get back, you and I are going on a short vacation, ok? I promise." He said as his last attempt to lighten her up. She sighed. "Come on princess, smile for me." He said with a loving smirk. He saw a small smile appearing on her face. He kissed her, longer this time. He then joined Shino and Shikamaru.
As Sakura was watching Neji and Tenten say goodbye to each other, she thought to herself that it must be wonderful to love someone that truly loves you back. She bit her lip. Suddenly a wave of regret came over her. Although a lot of people did not expect Neji to be a loving boyfriend, he is. And she blew her chance to be with him. Sometimes she wishes that he would give her another try. But then she immediately regretted thinking that, because Tenten is her friend and she deserves to be with someone as caring and loving as Neji. And besides she was still not over Sasuke and it would be unfair to Neji if she was his girlfriend when she likes someone else too. She closed her eyes and brushed away her thoughts of Neji, she needed to focus on the mission. Persuading Sasuke, her first love, her friend, to come back.
When she opened her eyes she noticed that Neji was looking at her. He smiled at her. She shyly smiled back at him. She noticed that he somehow seemed a little bit disappointed. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as her. Maybe he regretted the fact that he didn't pursue her more. Maybe what Sakura was thinking right now was just wishful thinking. She gazed over to where Tenten was standing. She saw her say goodbye to Lee. She felt a strange vibe coming from those two. It was a little bit awkward to look at them.
Lee was in love with Sakura for quite a while. Even though she did not love him back they became very good friends. One day he confided in her by telling Sakura that he was falling in love with Tenten. She encouraged him to tell Tenten how he felt, because they both sensed that Tenten had the same feelings for him. Over the years Tenten and Lee became very close and went one several dates. At one time Tenten even told Sakura that she admired and loved Lee's strength and perseverance. But Lee never got the chance to declare his love, because unexpectedly Neji and Tenten became a couple.
Sakura saw Tenten hugging Lee and she saw that Lee had a sad expression on his face. She was convinced that he was thinking about the times he spent together with Tenten and that he regretted not telling her how he felt. When Tenten let him go Lee did not want to give her the impression that he was sad and smiled at her. Tenten kissed him on the cheek and he then went to stand next to Shino, Shikamaru and Neji. "Poor Lee." Sakura thought to herself. Her gaze turned to Naruto.
Naruto was holding hands with Hinata. He looked at her soft hands and gently caressed them. He then softly spoke. "Hinata, tell your father that when I get back we are going to throw a big party, ok?" Hinata nodded. "Don't forget." He added as a final note.
"I won't." She whispered. They stood there in silence for a few moments.
"Naruto/Hinata" They said simultaneously. They laughed nervously. "You go first." Hinata said.
"Ok." He smiled. "Hinata? You know I love you right?" He said seriously, still holding her hands.
"Yes I know." She stared at the ground.
"Well… As long as you know that… then…" He leaned in forward and let his forehead rest on her forehead. He didn't finish his sentence.
"I love you too." She replied with a soft voice. Their hands were now entangled with each other. She placed his hands on her hips. He pulled her closer. They embraced. They looked in each other's eyes. Hinata was trying real hard not to cry.
"I don't think you realize how much you mean to me, Hinata." He said still gazing into her eyes. "You…"
"Ssh." Hinata interrupted him. "Don't tell me how much. Show me when you get back." She smiled sadly. Naruto nodded. He kissed her and she kissed him back. It was a soft yet intense kiss, brief but to them it seemed like forever. He stopped and looked at her. Hinata still had her eyes closed. She bit her lip. He tenderly touched her cheek and walked away.
Sakura was still standing alone. She hadn't said goodbye to anyone yet. She was just standing there, the whole time, quietly staring into the distance. Shino approached her. "Sakura?" She looked at him and smiled. "We have to go now." He said to her.
"Oh right. Go. We have to go. Go get Sasuke back. Err… ok let us… go." She stuttered. She walked over to Hinata and gave her big hug.
"Please watch over Naruto for me." Hinata whispered into Sakura's ear.
Sakura smiled and whispered back. "Don't worry. I'll make sure that he will safely return to you." She was about to let Hinata go, but she felt Hinata tighten her grip.
"Please Sakura." Hinata spoke again. "Please, whatever happens… make sure he comes back to me." Hinata slowly loosened her grip.
Sakura let Hinata go to look her in the eyes. She got a bit worried when she saw how concerned Hinata was. She smiled at her friend. "No matter what, I will do my best to return Naruto to you." Hinata smiled back at her and nodded.
Sakura walked over to Ino and gave her a warm embrace. They let each other go and gazed into each other's eyes. Ino stroke Sakura's hair. "Sakura?" Ino softly spoke.
Sakura smiled and nodded. "I know what you're going to say. Take care of yourself. Don't do anything stupid. Blablabla. I know. I know." Sakura chuckled.
To Sakura's surprise Ino shook her head. "No sweetie." She replied. Sakura looked at her confused. Ino sighed. "Sakura. I know I'm going to regret saying this but… If you are planning to tell Sasuke that you love him again, make sure that you show him how much."
Sakura laughed. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to tell him…"
Ino interrupted her. "Show him. He needs proof. Look at what his brother, a person that supposedly loved him did to him. You have to show him how much you love him. Give him a reason to come back." Ino spoke with deep concern.
"Why are you saying this all of a sudden?"
Tears started welling up in Ino's eyes. "Because you're my best friend and I want you to be happy."
"Ino…" Sakura hugged her.
Ino held back her tears and whispered into Sakura's ear. "And if Sasuke is truly the one that can make you happy, you deserve to be with him. Even though he's the biggest meanie and loser I've ever known." They both laughed. They stopped hugging each other and Ino faced Sakura again. "If your dream comes true and you finally become a couple, I'll accept him and I will respect your relationship. But if he breaks your heart, I'll be there for you to pick up the pieces… and break his legs of course."
Sakura smiled at her best friend. "Thanks Ino." She hugged her one more time. When she let Ino go she went to say goodbye to Tenten. She stood in front of her friend and felt a bit awkward. Both Tenten and Sakura smiled nervously at each other. Finally Sakura hugged her. "Take care Tenten."
Tenten hugged her back. "You too Sakura." Sakura let go, but Tenten pulled her back into the embrace. "Sakura?" She said in her ear.
Before Tenten could say anything else Sakura let go of Tenten and looked into her eyes. "I know Tenten. I know. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure that he's safe." Tenten nodded gently verifying that that was indeed what Tenten was going to ask her. Sakura smiled at her. Tenten knew all about Neji and Sakura's past. She knew that Neji once loved Sakura and that they had kissed. She also knew what happened after that. Even though she knew all this she still accepted Neji into her heart and they had a loving relationship ever since. Despite of their history Sakura remained one of her closest friends.
"I trust you Sakura." Tenten softly spoke while still looking into Sakura's eyes. "You know why?" She smiled. Sakura smiled back at her waiting for Tenten to tell her the reason. "Because I know you love him." She unexpectedly said.
Sakura was surprised to hear Tenten say that. "Ha… err what? What? Why? Who? No, of course not. I mean yeah, but not… You know." Sakura stuttered.
Tenten laughed. "It's ok Sakura. Because I know that you love him, I know that you will do anything in your power to make sure that he comes back to me." She smiled. "I trust you." Before Sakura could reply to what Tenten just said she heard Shikamaru's voice telling her to hurry up. "You'd better go." Tenten gave her a quick hug for the last time.
Sakura walked over to others. She quickly hugged Chouji and Kiba, pat Akamaru, waved to the senseis and the two teams left to commence with their mission.
After traveling for a day they were getting nearer to what seemed to be the place where Orochimaru resides. Sakura was getting more and more nervous. She hoped that Sasuke wouldn't be mad when he sees them, even though she knew that he'd probably be pissed. On the way over there, Neji and Sakura had a few awkward moments when they caught themselves staring at each other. When they arrived Shikamaru signaled Neji to use Byakugan to scan the area for enemies and Sasuke's location. Neji whispered that there were three guards protecting what seemed to be the entrance to Orochimaru's home. He saw that Sasuke was taking a bath near a waterfall, not far from where they were now. Sakura's eyes widened the second Neji mentioned Sasuke's name. She was glad to hear that Sasuke was doing okay. Neji also mentioned that there were only two guards protecting Sasuke.
"Ok here's what we're going to do." Shikamaru took in all the information they had so far and already came up with a plan. "Team 1 goes after Sasuke. Team 2, you secure the home base of Orochimaru. Quietly, so you won't alarm other ninjas. Make sure that you won't alarm Orochimaru either, so once you've taken down the guards, put their clothes on. Luckily, they are wearing masks now. Therefore Orochimaru won't recognize you if he comes out of his house to check up on security. Stay here until I give the green light to leave." They all nodded in agreement to what Shikamaru was saying. "Neji, one last thing. You're in command now. Make the difficult decisions necessary to safeguard the health of your team. If something goes wrong, retreat to the woods and stay there until we pass by to pick you up. "Ok let's get to work." The teams went their separate ways. Sakura saw that Neji gave her one last look before he went on his way.
Team 1 quickly arrived at the scene where Sasuke was taking his bath. They spotted the two men guarding Sasuke. Shikamaru ordered Naruto to take one down and he would take the other one. Sakura was ordered to make contact with Sasuke. She protested at first, but Shikamaru then made it clear that there was no time for arguing.
"Don't be so troublesome woman. Would you just go to him already? We'll catch up with you as soon as we have taken these guards down."
"But!" She tried one more time.
"Look, we are going to be a couple of hundreds meters apart. If something happens we will be able to hear you. Now just go." Shikamaru urged her.
"Remember what I said Sakura. It's ok. Just go to him." Naruto softly spoke, reassuring her that everything was going to be fine.
"You heard the man, now go." Shikamaru pushed her.
She nodded and left unwillingly.
Sakura slowly reached the waterfall where Sasuke was. She jumped from tree to tree. She put to use her best stealth skills. She spotted him swimming around in the lake. Diving and then coming up again. She moved in closer. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him a bit closer. She blushed. She almost forgot how handsome he was when they were younger. She still couldn't see him clearly so she moved in closer, carefully planning her steps as she went. When she stopped at a place where she should be able to see him better, she was shocked to see that he was not there anymore. She quickly glanced around the area. He was nowhere to be found. Suddenly she felt something cold against her neck. It was a knife. A low, threatening voice spoke to her.
"Don't move." The voice said. Sakura slowly raised her hands. "Get up." She heard the person behind her take a few steps back, still aiming the knife at her. She could feel the point in her back. She started to stand up. "Slowly." The dark voice ordered her. She stood up and the unidentified person turned her around. Sakura faced him and was looking straight into the eyes of a surprised Sasuke. "You?" He mumbled. Sakura quickly observed him and saw that his hair was longer. He had it in a ponytail and he had a few strands of hair in front of his face. He kind of looked like his brother, only sexier. He has gotten taller too. No surprise there since he's also in his twenties now.
Sakura blushed when she noticed she was looking at his abs and shyly waved at him with her hands still in the air. "Hello Sasuke. Long time no see."
"What the hell are you doing here?" He said with a raised and aggravated tone of voice.
Sakura rolled her eyes and let down her hands. "Well Naruto you were wrong about him being happy to see me, although this was also not the reaction I was expecting." She forced herself to smile at him. "Err… look before you get mad…"
"I'm not mad. I'm furious." He said with his usual cold and dark voice. "Now answer my question, what are you doing here? Trying to commit suicide in an inventive way or something?" Sasuke hissed at her.
"Sasuke would you just listen to me for a sec!" She unexpectedly shouted at him.
"Keep your voice down, I don't want Orochimaru's minions to find out that you're here." He gazed around the area to see where the guards were.
"Why do you care?" She said sarcastically.
He turned and faced her again. "Not much, so don't push it."
She raised an eyebrow. Looks like Sasuke's appearance may have changed, but on the inside he was still as cold as ever. "Anyway, I did not come here alone. Two teams of Konoha are present here at this time."
"What?" He said even more irritated. Sakura could see that he was really pissed off. "It has not even been three years yet. I told those ninjas from last time to leave me the hell alone, otherwise I would come to Konoha myself to kick the Hokage's ass personally."
"Calm down Sasuke." Sakura tried to soothe his temper.
"You." He pointed at her with the knife and then he put the knife back in his pocket. Sakura saw that he was pondering about something. "You can't stay here. You have to leave." He said with a resolute tone of voice.
"What?" She said surprised. She did not come all the way here and risk the lives of others just to be dismissed as easily as that. "No! I'm not going anywhere. Sasuke the only thing that is here for you is death. Come back to Konoha and I promise you, that you will get the strength that you've been looking for." She pleaded with him.
He walked over to her seemingly ignoring her comments and grabbed her by the arm. He started pushing her towards the forest where she came from. "You don't understand. Just go and don't ever come back."
"Well well well Sasuke, is that how you treat a guest?" Naruto came out of the forest together with Shikamaru. Sakura assumed that they got rid of the guards.
Sasuke sighed. "Not you too. Leave. All of you."
"See Naruto. I knew that he wasn't going to be happy." Sakura said breaking free from Sasuke's grip.
"That's bullshit Sakura. He is happy. Can't you tell? Why else would he overreact like that?" Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "He is just trying to hide his joy that's all." Naruto smirked.
"Shut the fuck up Naruto." Sasuke had an evil expression on his face. "Either you leave now. Or Sakura won't leave here at all."
This comment surprised the three. Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other with a questioning look. Or Sakura won't leave here at all? Did she hear him correctly? Why would he say that? What is he talking about? These questions ran through Sakura's and everyone's mind when they heard Sasuke say those words. Sakura wondered what he meant.
"What the hell are you talking about Sasuke?" Naruto questioned him a bit irritated.
Sasuke sighed aggravated. "Look, I don't have time to discuss this with you all. You don't understand. I wasn't kidding when I told you to leave me alone." He started to walk towards the direction of the two guards.
Shikamaru stopped him and stood in front of him. "I think it's you who does not understand." He said with a very serious tone. "Our orders were to escort you back." He stared at him. Sasuke sighed annoyed and looked away. "To be honest I didn't even want to come on this mission. I'd rather be at home spending quality time with my girlfriend. But you are one of Konoha's children, with a bloodline limit, which if fallen in the wrong hands can create a very troublesome situation. That is why I can not let you go." Shikamaru waited for his response, but Sasuke just stood there silently. "Plus I do not want to report another failed mission under my leadership to Tsunade-sama." Sasuke still remained silent.
Finally Naruto spoke. "Do you even comprehend what Orochimaru is planning to do to you? You won't even exist anymore to complete your revenge."
Sasuke made a fist and frowned. "I am well aware of Orochimaru's plans and I do not care about that. I can take care of myself. So you can tell your Hokage to stop sending ninjas after me."
Sakura gritted her teeth. "You keep saying that you don't care. You don't care if Orochimaru absorbs you. You don't care if you're not around anymore to have your revenge. You don't care if you die! How can you say that! Are you just going to take Orochimaru's word for it when he tells you that you'll have your revenge after he takes your body. How could you trust him to do that? You don't know if after he absorbs you he will go after Itachi. So stop saying that you don't care, because you do care! You cared enough to leave us for your revenge! That's all you live for right! How could you live for it if you die!" She yelled out of frustration.
"Calm down Sakura." Shikamaru tried to shush her.
"No, Shikamaru. I will not calm down! Sasuke made a stupid trade. He will give Orochimaru his life if Orochimaru gives him strength for his revenge. But he won't even be around anymore to see his revenge. We have to make him see that Orochimaru is selfish and could not care less about his stupid vengeance." Sakura angrily said to Shikamaru. "We have to make him realize that he made a mistake and what he is doing is wrong." She turned her attention back to Sasuke. "Can't you see that?"
Sasuke obviously irritated gazed back into Sakura's eyes. "Do you really think that I'm just going to let him do that to me? There is one thing Orochimaru forgot when he gave me power. And that's the fact that I'm now strong enough to kill him. What kind of fool do you think I am? I'm not stupid unlike you people. I never trusted Orochimaru. He was foolish enough to trust me. Too bad for him, he underestimated me. If he tries to absorb me I'll kill him." Sasuke smirked.
Suddenly Sakura slowly approached him. "Sasuke-kun." She had a sad look on her face. She sighed. Sasuke looked at her. He saw her expression and his smirk vanished. He wondered what she was thinking about.
-Flashback-
"Anko sensei!" Sakura shouted and ran over to the purple-haired sensei.
Anko turned around and smiled. "Aah, Sakura. How are you?"
Sakura smiled back at her. "I'm fine thank you. But there is something that has me worried a bit. I've been doing a lot of research on the cursed seal Sasuke has and I found out that there isn't any information on the long-term effect of the seal. I was wondering if you knew something about that, since you have the seal as well.
Anko showed the spot where the seal was, only it was not there anymore. Sakura's eyes widened. "I found a person in the sand village who has a lot of experience with these kinds of seals. I couldn't approach her before, because the sand and the leaf had an unstable relationship with each other. But after that was settled I paid her a visit and she helped me remove the seal. She also told me that I only had the level one seal. And now comes the interesting part."
Sakura listened very carefully.
"I am lucky that I didn't advance to level two, because the level two seal…"
-End flashback-
Sasuke still stared at her. He had a confused look on his face. He could not pinpoint what Sakura was thinking while staring at him like that. Sakura noticed that he was getting impatient. So she spoke. "I think it's you who underestimated him." Sasuke wondered what she meant by that. All eyes were now on Sakura. Shikamaru and Naruto knew what she was talking about. She had told them at the briefing.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke calmly questioned her.
She stared at the ground. "Anko told me…" She paused. She saw that Sasuke was getting a little bit annoyed so she continued. "The level two seal enables the one who cursed you with it, to control you as they please after a period of time." Sasuke eyes widened. She looked up from the ground. She continued talking. "It might already be too late for you. You might be under his control as we speak."
Sasuke shook his head. He had a hard time understanding what Sakura just said to him. His mind was blank at first but then all of a sudden all these thoughts came rushing in. "Under his control? What does that mean? Does it mean that even though I'm so powerful now, I can't use my strength the way I want to?" Sasuke's head was racing with thoughts. He could not believe it. All this time Orochimaru fooled him. How could he have been so blind? "No it can't be true." He thought to himself. "No, that's impossible." He said out loud.
Sakura reached out to touch him, to try and calm him. "Sasuke."
Sasuke brushed her hands off. "No. That's bullshit. I am not under his control. I am fine. Once I'm satisfied with the strength that Orochimaru has given me, I'll leave. I'll get my revenge on my brother and I'll…"
Suddenly they heard an explosion. They all looked at the direction where the sound came from. They saw smoke. "Neji." Sakura whispered. Sakura immediately thought of him, since the smoke was coming from where they left Neji and his team. They all hurried in that direction. Sasuke followed them.
When they arrived they saw Neji, Shino and Lee fighting a couple of ninjas of the sound. They quickly hid behind a couple of trees. Orochimaru was watching Neji and the rest of team 2 together with Kabuto. It seems that they discovered the imposters. Sakura looked closer and she saw that Neji and Shino were badly injured. They were still fighting though. Lee was using his speed to confuse the opponents, although he was a bit slower, since he was also hurt. Their opponents were also badly injured, but Orochimaru ordered them to keep on fighting, as if it was for his own amusement. He had an evil grin on his face. Suddenly he spoke. "Did you really think, that I am so stupid that I would not notice you Konoha assholes?" He laughed.
Sasuke made a fist again. "Shit." He moved away from behind the tree.
Shikamaru tried to protest. "Sasuke. Where are you going?" He whispered, but it was already too late. Sasuke had already reached Orochimaru.
"Aah, there is my trustworthy pupil." Orochimaru grinned. His smile quickly changed into a serious and dangerous glare. "Did you have something to do with this?" As soon as he said that Kabuto pulled out a kunai and aimed it at Sasuke.
Sasuke looked at Kabuto. "Put that thing away before I break your arm." He said with a low intimidating voice. Kabuto smirked. He looked at Orochimaru. Orochimaru nodded and Kabuto put his kunai away. Sasuke faced Orochimaru. "No I didn't." He said with his usual calm. "Why are you letting this continue? Let them be, let them return to their village. I'm sure they've learned their lesson and they will not come back here again."
Orochimaru put on his evil grin again. "I'm not so sure about that and besides I want them to be an example for other Konoha ninjas who want to attack this village." He looked over at his ninjas fighting the three intruders and gave them an order. "Kill them and return their bodies to their village. Hang them up at the gate of Konoha as a warning sign."
Sasuke quickly responded. "No. That won't be necessary." His eyes sparkled for a fragment of a second. Long enough for Orochimaru to notice it.
Orochimaru looked at him suspiciously. He closed his eyes and thought for a second. He opened his eyes again and stared directly into Sasuke eyes. Sasuke did not move an inch, putting up his cool and cold exterior as always. Surprisingly Orochimaru answered. "Yes, you're right. That won't be necessary. We can use them as leverage. I am positive that Sakura will comply then."
Sasuke widened his eyes. "Oh no." He quickly thought to himself. "He noticed, shit."
Sakura, who was observing and listening closely to the conversation, was surprised to hear her name. "I will comply? What is he talking about?" She thought to herself.
"Won't you Sakura?" Orochimaru looked directly at the tree Sakura was hiding behind.
Sakura's heart skipped a beat. How did he know that she was there? There was no point in hiding anymore. She took a deep breath and slowly appeared from behind the tree.
Sasuke made two fists this time. "Shit. This is bad. I have got to get Sakura and the others out of here." He quickly thought to himself.
"Oh wow. You really are here." Orochimaru laughed. "Lucky guess."
"How did you know?" She asked him.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Orochimaru smirked. Kabuto appeared behind her and forced her towards Orochimaru. Orochimaru grabbed her chin with his hand and forced her to look into his eyes. "I could see it in his eyes. They sparkled." He pushed her onto the ground. Sakura angrily gazed at him. He walked over to Sasuke, who was still acting cool. If he made a wrong move his former friends would be killed and that is one thing he chose a long time ago not to have on his conscious. Orochimaru stood behind Sasuke and whispered in his ear, but loud enough so that the others could hear it. "His eyes always sparkle…" Orochimaru roughly pushed Sasuke towards Sakura, which made him fall and land on top of her. They looked each other in the eyes. "…when we talk or when he thinks about you." Sakura was in shock when Orochimaru finished his sentence. She stared at Sasuke. She had a questioning look on her face. She did not comprehend what Orochimaru just told her. Sasuke turned his head away from her and for a second Sakura thought she saw an embarrassed look on Sasuke's face. Sasuke lifted himself off of Sakura and stood up, as did a confused Sakura.
"You might as well all come out if you value your lives." Orochimaru raised his hand ordering his ninjas to stop fighting. Naruto and Shikamaru emerged from behind the trees as well. Neji, Shino and Lee fell onto the ground exhausted. They were breathing heavily. Shikamaru and Naruto walked over to them and helped them to sit up straight.
Lee whispered in Shikamaru's ear. "I guess they were stronger than we thought."
"Ok Orochimaru. I give in. What do you want from Sakura?" Shikamaru questioned him. After quickly having analyzed the situation he decided to play along for now.
Orochimaru laughed. He looked in the direction where Kabuto was standing, who then started laughing as well. He then faced Shikamaru again. "YOU FOOL!" Orochimaru screamed furiously all of a sudden. "I WANT BACK WHAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME BY YOUR IDIOTIC AND STUBBORN THIRD HOKAGE!" He shouted ferociously. He immediately calmed down again and regained his posture. "Not so long ago, my dear subordinate over here found out that Tsunade trained this beautiful and petite girl over there." He pointed at Kabuto and then at Sakura as he was speaking. "I figured if Tsunade is training her then eventually she must be able to heal my arms as well. That foolish Tsunade did not want to do it. She even tried to trick me. But I am sure her student is not that stupid, because she values her life and that of her friends." He smirked at Sakura. "And that of her precious first love Sasuke." He said sarcastically. "That is how I knew you would eventually come here." He mocked her. "This coward over here." He pointed at Sasuke. "I ordered him to bring you to me, but he refused to. He made up an excuse that you would not accept him back in your life, let alone go with him somewhere, because he hurt you." He said with a mocking tone in his voice. "But I knew better. You're still in love with him, aren't you? How sad." He laughed. He then whispered something that Sakura could have never even consider to be true. "And the saddest part is… that for some reason he loves you too."
Sasuke glared at Orochimaru. Sakura started to feel faint. She was feeling so weak. Orochimaru was throwing all this information at her and she did not know how to cope with it. She did not even know if what he was saying was true. She glanced over at Sasuke. He looked agitated. She then looked over at Neji to see his reaction, but he was showing no emotion. She decided not to think about what Orochimaru said. About Sasuke being in love with her. She figured that he was lying to confuse her. She quickly remembered something else Orochimaru had said about Sasuke. Sasuke did not do what Orochimaru ordered him to do. That must mean that Sasuke is not under his control yet. This gave her hope and strength again.
Orochimaru looked back at Sasuke. "Don't be mad that I told her Sasuke. I'm sure you're wondering how I found out. It was easy." He grinned. Sasuke gnashed his teeth "There is this jutsu, which Kabuto can use to find out what's inside people's heart. Their deepest desires, fears, secrets. He used that jutsu on you when you were sleeping. It's quite easy actually, anyone can do it. It's a similar jutsu to the one interrogators use to retract secret information from spies. He just had to place his hand on your heart, concentrate, center some chakra in the palm of his hand, create a special chakra link from your heart to his ears and eyes and observe. Your heart is saying a lot of interesting things. He had to dig deep, but eventually he found your most inner feelings. He told me everything. The hate and distrust you have towards me, the oh so great love you have for Sakura, the cherished feelings for your precious friends and even… the secret, caring feelings you have for your brother."
With that said Sasuke charged at him. He rapidly grabbed him and held Orochimaru in a strong grip and a knife against his throat. Orochimaru laughed. "Ooh I pushed a button there. Are you angry, because I discovered your feelings, or because I told your friends, or maybe because I found out your feelings before you realized you even had them." Sasuke tightened his grip. "Tell me something, my valuable pupil. Because there is one thing I don't understand." He said sarcastically. "I can understand that you hate me, because after all I AM the so-called bad guy." He smirked. "I can understand that you care for your friends, even though they are a dull little bunch."
Naruto gritted his teeth. Orochimaru saw this and found it to be very entertaining. He continued provoking Sasuke. "I can even understand why you love Sakura." Sasuke tightened his grip even more. Orochimaru ignored him and continued talking. "I mean, look at her. She is a gorgeous, little girl isn't she? Well… Not so little anymore." He laughed softly. "But please tell me, explain to me. How is it that after all the things Itachi did to you, you still care about him, even though it's just a little bit?"
Sasuke ignored his question and pushed the knife a little bit into his flesh. "Don't push it Orochimaru. Don't you know I could kill you right now if I want to?" He whispered on a menacing tone.
Orochimaru had an evil grin across his face. "What is stopping you?" He provoked him.
Sasuke saw this as Orochimaru's death wish and wanted nothing else but to grant it. But something was stopping him. All of a sudden he could not move anymore. Sakura saw Sasuke's eyes turn blank. His face showed no emotions at all. Orochimaru slowly moved away from Sasuke. He smirked. "The poor bastard. He really thought that I could not control a very powerful weapon like him. It took me a while, but now he is finally under my complete control." He turned and faced the Konoha ninjas. He saw that Sakura was speechless and about to cry. Her hope of Sasuke not being under Orochimaru's control was completely demolished in just a few seconds. He grinned. "Kabuto, you could not ask for better entertainment than this can you?"
"You are right sir." Kabuto smiled.
Sakura's eyes were becoming watery. She glanced at her friends. They were all helpless to do something. Sasuke was under Orochimaru's control. She felt so useless. She started to feel angry, she did not like to feel powerless especially when it comes to the safety of her friends and family. With a burning rage she charged at the one responsible for this mess. Kabuto stopped her from hitting Orochimaru. He grabbed her arms and then her waist. He lifted her of the ground. She struggled, but it was hopeless. She could not think straight anymore. She started crying even though she knew it wouldn't do her any good. She just could not help herself.
"Calm down little girl." Orochimaru said seriously. His mood changed from messing with peoples minds to frightening them. "Sakura you have a choice to make here. Either you give me what I want or watch everyone you love die." He was not being sarcastic this time. He was dead serious.
"No! Sakura! Don't do it!" Naruto desperately shouted at her.
Sakura looked at Naruto with tears in her eyes. She broke free from Kabuto's grip and thought for a moment. She gazed at Sasuke. Her heart broke in two when she saw him like that. A lifeless body under the control of this madman. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his face. A few tears fell down on the ground. "Sasuke." She whispered sadly. "I am so sorry, I should have never come here, then we wouldn't be in a situation like this. I should have listened to you. But you can't blame me for trying to save you. For trying to make you come back to me." She paused for a second. She looked at Naruto. He was looking at her with a miserable face. She knew he felt helpless, but there was nothing she could do about that now. The Konoha ninjas could not get close to Orochimaru to kill him, because then his ninjas and Kabuto would be in the way. Not to mention Sasuke, who would probably protect him even though he did not want to. She thought of what Hinata said to her right before they left to go on this mission. She promised Hinata that no matter what, she would make sure that Naruto would return to her safely. Then she thought of Tenten. Sweet innocent Tenten that trusted her completely to return the one she loved back to her. She saw no other option. She had no choice. She looked over at Neji who shook his head, it was his way of saying don't do it. She ignored him and faced Sasuke again. "I am sorry Sasuke, for what I am about to do." She removed her hands from his face and turned to face Orochimaru. She stopped crying and glared at him. "I'm sorry everybody, but I have no choice." She thought to herself. She wiped away her tears and she spoke. "Fine, I will do as you ask, as long as you swear to let my friends go. After they have safely returned to Konoha village and I've received confirmation that they have, I will heal your arms."
"No Sakura! Don't!" Naruto pleaded with her. Sakura ignored him.
Orochimaru looked at her suspiciously, but he could not sense any tone of betrayal in her voice. "It's a deal." He smirked. "You!" He pointed at Naruto, who could not believe what Sakura agreed to. "Take your friends and leave. Now!" He ordered them.
Naruto kept staring at Sakura, who had her back towards him. "Sakura." He whispered.
"Go!" She shouted back at Naruto without looking at him.
"Come on Naruto. You carry Shino. I'll carry Neji. Lee can you walk?" Shikamaru asked him. Lee nodded. Shikamaru had to make quick decisions if he wanted to return safely with his friends and retreat. He promised Ino that he would try to make it back to her and right now this was their only option to go back to Konoha. Naruto slowly got up and did as he was told. Shikamaru watched him. He saw that he was in shock and acting on automatic pilot. He could not imagine what Naruto was feeling right now. He came here to return a lost friend, not to lose another. Shikamaru took one last look at Sakura. "I hope you know what you're doing Sakura." Sakura nodded at him as if she read his mind and they started to walk away.
Sakura took one last look at Neji who had a very worried expression on his face. She gave him a soft smile. It was her way of saying that everything will be all right. Neji did not want to leave her alone, but he had no choice. They left.
As soon as they left Sakura fell to her knees, exhausted from this emotional experience. She placed her head in her hands and cried. "I'm sorry everyone. I'm so sorry."
"Kabuto. Show Sakura to her room and let her rest." Orochimaru ordered him. "I want her to be acting normal and mentally stable, when she heals me. I don't want anything to go wrong this time."
"Yes sir." Kabuto helped Sakura off the ground.
Orochimaru walked over to Sasuke, who was still like a mere puppet. He stared at him and smirked. "Oh Kabuto, better yet. Let her stay in Sasuke's room. They will share a room. This way they can work their feelings out. I love the sound of arguing voices. Maybe they'll even try to kill each other." He laughed. "I hope not. At least not until she has healed my arms." He softly laughed again at his own twisted joke. "Besides when she finds out how Sasuke truly feels about her, she will be even more motivated to heal my arms in order to preserve his and her friends' well-being."
"Yes sir." Kabuto replied once more and showed Sakura to her room.
Orochimaru released his control on Sasuke. The second Sasuke came to his senses he charged at Orochimaru. "Calm down my pet. You should thank me that I haven't mentioned your diary in front of all those people." He smirked. Sasuke looked at him, surprised to find out that Orochimaru somehow knew about the diary he kept since the day he arrived here. "I don't think you have anything to worry about. That pink-haired beauty probably thinks I was lying about you being in love with her. Maybe I should just tell her about the diary anyway." Sasuke raised the knife and was about to stab Orochimaru. "Now, now Sasuke. Don't be hasty. If you kill me, Kabuto will kill Sakura." Sasuke immediately backed off. "That's a good slave." He mocked.
"Where is she?" Sasuke asked him. He was definitely pissed off now.
