Cherry Blossom – Sakura no Hidensho
Chapter 1
A sunny sky welcomed Naruto, Sai and Sakura back to Konoha. Two years had passed since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the last great conflict the world had witnessed. After that, the hidden villages came back to fulfill missions to assure the protection of the people and to guarantee the balance between the nations. The Team 7 returned from a mission so tiring that now all they wanted was to relax a little. Excited by the idea of soon eating a lamen, Naruto smiled and turned his face to Sakura. She was beautiful, although her body was covered by the dust from the road and her face looked tired.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, "why don't we go to a bath house and relax a little? You and I could…"
Before he could end the sentence, Naruto was thrown to the ground by a blow.
"Shannarō!" Sakura said, hitting a punch on his head. "You are being too naughty!"
"But I said nothing naughty, Sakura-chan!" He complained, massaging the top of his head. "We're all very dirty, we could use a bath!"
"I'd like a bath," Sai said, enjoying the conversation between his team colleagues, "but only after we see Kakashi-sensei."
"Let's go now!" Naruto yelled.
"You're such an idiot, Naruto!" Sakura snarled. "You forgot we have to make a report to Hokage about our mission?"
"This sucks", Naruto grumbled, trying to get up. He had never gotten used to Sakura's incredible force.
"It's our obligation, Naruto," Sai said, reaching out and holding Naruto's hand. "But one of us is enough. I'll report to the Hokage and you two can go and have some rest."
"That's wonderful! Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled, jumping to the top of a building. He seemed to be completely recovered from the punch. "See you around!" he said, vanishing among the villages rooftops.
"Can I go with you, Sai?" Sakura asked. "I'm not exactly in a hurry to meet my parents. Besides, I need to talk to Shizune-san. We were supposed to meet before the mission, but I didn't have the time."
"That's ok, I can go alone. Keep me company until the Hokage's office, then you go and look for Shizune-san." Sai hesitated a little. "But before that, I want to ask you a question."
"What?"
"When will you stop beating on Naruto?"
"When he stops being such an idiot!" Sakura answered, causing Sai to flash a shy smile.
They kept talking until they reached the building where the Hokage's office was. In the entrance, they saw a person carrying a pile of papers so tall that the face was hid. Some of them escaped the pile and flew everywhere. When the person came closer, they recognized Shizune.
"Sakura-chan, what a good surprise!" she said.
"I was on my way to meet you, Shizune-san" Sakura replied. "I owe you a visit since before my last mission. Did something happen?"
"Yeah—Tsunade-sama is in the village and she's driving me crazy! She's been all around, from bar to bar—she wants to get drunk, but no bar is accepting her because her debt is too high. Look at all the bills I'm having to pay!"
Sai and Sakura were flabbergasted by Shizune's answer. They expected something worse, tough.
"Well, if that's all, I'll leave you to meet Kakashi-sensei. See you later," Sai said, walking into the building.
Sakura said goodbye to her teammate and looked back to her friend, that still looked upset.
"Let me help you," said Sakura, taking some of papers from Shizune's hands. "Was it all that you wanted to talk to me?"
"And is it not enough? Tsunade-sama warned me she would come to Konoha before you left on a mission. As her disciple too, it's your duty to help me."
Sakura looked at the papers she had in her hands. Most of them described expenses with alcohol and illegal gambling, but one of them had a list of names: Konoha's renegade ninjas. Among them, she recognized a familiar name.
"What's that, Shizune-san?" she muttered, showing Shizune the paper.
"Let me see. That's weird, this paper doesn't belong to Tsunade-sama. Maybe it's Hokage's. I took the pile from his desk, because Tsunade-sama hasn't changed the billing address yet. By the way, I think she did this on purpose so that she won't be found easily."
Sakura barely listened to the end of the phrase. Simply reading that name awakened a series of old feelings. Overrun with anxiety, she ran to the Hokage's office. When she was close enough to the door to hear what was being said inside the room, she recognized Sai's voice, probably making the report of the mission. She was about to enter the office when she heard Kakashi say the same name she had just read.
"Sasuke is in danger and I want you to offer our help, Sai. This mission is secret."
Sakura stopped, surprise. Kakashi was a strong ninja, he wouldn't be easily scared by an opponent. Besides, he knew that Sasuke was very powerful. If, nevertheless, he had concluded that the renegade ninja was in danger, the enemy should be strong. Trying not to be uncovered, Sakura suppressed her own chakra and leaned against the office's door. Now she wanted to hear the whole conversation.
"Do you want me to go after him?" Sai asked.
"For now, just send one of your birds with a message. We don't know how Sasuke will react to our help offer. It's essential that this mission remains secret, especially to Naruto and Sakura. If they find out that Sasuke is in danger, they'll want to interfere with it, and I don't want this two falling prey to the enemy too. One impulsive action of any of them could endanger the village, and I won't risk it, not even for Sasuke."
Kakashi's words hit Sakura's heart. If the enemy was capable of threatening Sasuke to the point of preoccupying Kakashi, they couldn't be ignored.
"Where do I send my bird to?" Sai asked.
"Sasuke was seen in the area of Kawaguchi two days ago."
"Then I just wait for an answer?"
"Yes. If it doesn't come in three days, go after him. The enemy is moving fast and maybe he'll reach him before us."
Not before me, Sakura thought to herself, and ran to her house. The place was empty, her parents should had left to the market. She went to the kitchen and took some food and medicine pills. Then, she went to her bedroom and took some sharpened kunais that she kept on a shelf. She also took some money, in case she decided to rest on a lodging somewhere. She checked if she had forgotten something, then opened the room's window and jumped outside.
Suddenly, while she was still on the air, she felt her right arm being pulled backwards. Instinctively, Sakura put her left hand on the bag where she kept her kunais, wrapped around her thigh, and took one of them, bringing her straight to the assailant's throat.
"Kakashi-sensei — but what —"
"I know you've heard my conversation with Sai," Kakashi said, landing on the rooftop of the building across Sakura's house, while guiding her to do the same. "I'm afraid I can't let you go."
"But Sasuke —"
"He's very strong. Stronger than us both. If you go, you'll put yourself in danger, and Sasuke will think you're being a burden. As Hokage, I'd rather you stay in the village."
Sakura lowered her eyes, hurt by the truth on Kakashi's words. Several times in the past, she had been a nuisance to Sasuke; in others, she had saved his life. Whichever experience had stayed in the renegade ninja's mind, unfortunately, she could imagine. When he saw the sadness that overtook Sakura's face, Kakashi put his hands around her shoulders, to comfort her.
"Cheer up, Sakura-chan! Sasuke knows how to take care of himself. Sai told me that your last mission was very tiring, and now you'll have some days off. Why don't you get some rest and try to have a little fun? Take this time to do something you want to do."
"On my days off, do I have your permission to do whatever I want?"
Kakashi could guess what she would say next. Sakura pulled away from the Hokage's hands.
"I can't stay here while he might be suffering. I need to go after him. I'll use my days off," Sakura said, smiling confidently. "I promise you I'll be back before the next mission, safe and sound."
Kakashi looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and admiration. After all those years, the love she had for the renegade ninja continued to be so strong as it was when they were only child under his supervision. He thought for a minute, then decided that he didn't want to stay on her way.
"In three days, if you don't get in touch, I'll send Sai after you," Kakashi said, watching a smile grow on Sakura's face. "A ninja keeps her word. Go, and come back safe."
"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed and jumped across the wall that surrounded the Hidden Leaf Village, disappearing among the threes on the forest.
