Author's note:
Thank you for choosing to read my newest story. I know it's been a while since I wrote anything, and I'm trying to get back into the game. If you have any thoughts on how my story is going, please, review. I love reviews. Always have. I think they are great, and I appreciate constructive criticism.
I realize nowadays that not everyone does disclaimers, but I did when I first started writing, and I will continue to do so. Sorry if it's annoying. I'm an old ass lady who is stuck in her ways, and I'm not planning on changing any time soon.
Now, without any further ado, please enjoy Petals in the Past.
Petals in the past ch. 1
The sight was bleak. Thick gray overcast and the ever present mist put a shiver through Sakura as she stood alone on a rocky cliff side overlooking the abandoned village.
Amegakure
That was what this place had been called before the war had ravaged it. The thought made her frown, for she knew all too well how many lives had been destroyed by that cataclysm, and it's following fallout.
The village hidden in the rain had always been a war torn place, originally being made up of survivors of the third great shinobi war. They were no strangers to suffering and sadness. Death was nothing new to them. However, even these hardy people were not prepared for the one man wrecking ball that was Sasuke Uchiha.
The death of Itachi Uchiha could be seen as the first chime of the bell of destruction that would be Sasuke's quest for revenge. It was a well known event in the ninja world, as the two had been on a collision path for some years. Sasuke's self imposed excommunication from the Leaf village and the events that led him to work for Orochimaru all pointed to Itachi. His countless hours of training, both mind and body, all to overcome his elder brother and avenge the death of his entire clan. And yet, when they finally met on the battle field, the victory by Sasuke had felt hollow. His brother, for all intents and purposes, seemed grateful when defeated. As if, his soul had been cleansed. Sasuke hadn't understood at the time, but it was said that when the masked man Tobi revealed the tragic and selfless full story of Itachi, Sasuke was so shocked he didn't move for days.
But when he did, the world felt it.
That burning hatred for all living things. It emanated from him like a visible essence. No one who dared to face him survived.
The tensions between nations had already been high, as the repeated attacks by the Akatsuki on strategic targets worked to weaken alliances and boost their strength with the power of the tailed jinchuriki. Konoha did it's best to hold together a united front with the other major powers, but the traitorous Kabuto worked against them with his forbidden jutsu Impure World Reincarnation. It was then that the long dead heroes of many villages were brought back and made to fight their younger generations, with some shinobi fighting mothers, fathers, and siblings.
Sasuke was no different, and he eventually came into contact with the brother that he killed.
Many think that Itachi's second death is what finally cracked Sasuke's mind. After Itachi's resurrection he dropped his cold, hardened facade, and revealed his inner compassionate nature. Sakura had read the reports from ninja who had met him in the field, and all of them had the same recollection. He was genuinely concerned about others, and had done all that he could to help, even bandaging a Suna kunoichi's leg when she had broken it on a recon mission out of Otokagure. The speculation was that he used his advanced Sharingan to withstand the controlling nature of the Resurrection jutsu, and it seemed that he was doing everything he could to use his second chance at life to combat Sasuke's destructive behavior.
Itachi eventually tracked his younger sibling, and they spent some time holed up in a mountain. No one knows what happened, as the recon on the area gave little clues, however, it appeared that Itachi had died again. His cloak and effects were found near an impassable cave in, and it was assumed that he had caused it before he could expire after a fight with Kabuto. As for the Sound ninja, his body was found mangled and displayed in the outskirts of the forest surrounding the Leaf village, presumably by Sasuke as a message of his rage.
From there, it was attack after attack, each onslaught strategically set against the Leaf village itself. It's allies worked to prevent it's fall, but eventually Leaf lost support as Sasuke pulled attacks from every surrounding village, with the promise that they would remain untouched as long as they retreated from it's treaty with Konoha. Many did. And in the end it didn't matter. After he defeated Naruto Uzomaki in a head to head duel, he systematically dismantled everything that was once a part of the Leaf village. The remaining survivors, like Sakura, had been forced to live like rogue nin, constantly moving from place to place, always on the look out for Sasuke and his ever growing army.
The allies that had abandoned Konohagakure in it's hour of need fell next, as nothing seemed to quell Sasuke's quest for bloodshed. There seemed to be no hope in this world, least of all for Sakura, who had lost her family and friends all in a matter of months. The loss of hope around the world was almost a tangible thing, as skirmishes and famine swept the lands. Within a year of the start of the war, victory was nowhere in sight, and suffering seemed the only thing to strive.
So Sakura really didn't have anything to lose when a mysterious message found her in the outskirts of the village hidden in the stone. It told her that someone was desperate to meet her and needed her to travel south into the territory of the village hidden in the rain. That details would be provided when she arrived, but that she needed to get there immediately.
Sakura POV:
'I can't believe I'm doing this. It has to be a trap, but I can't help this damned curiosity.'
The tattered note in my hands was most likely the final nail in my coffin, but I have to know. Who could possibly be alive still that want's to see me.
Could be Sasuke, finally coming for the last member of Team 7
My inner so isn't helping right now. My nerves are about as frayed as they could be, and I haven't even gotten there yet. But the last two months have been hell. I'm so fucking lonely, I don't think dying would be so bad.
Hey, that's all well and good, but I live here too. I like living, you know.
I can't help the wave of depression that I can feel clouding my mind. Do I like living? I'm all alone, all the people I love are dead. My best friend died giving me and my squad time to escape. Always protecting me.
The rage is real in me. Swirling inside like a great storm. How could Sasuke murder him like that. We both would have done anything for him, and he turned on us. We didn't have anything to do with his brother. He knew that! But did he care? No.
No, he didn't. And we could stand here all day thinking about how he be is an empty shell who cares about nothing but revenge. Or, we could go down there and face whoever went through the trouble of tracking us down. Your choice.
I let out a loud sigh. As usual, my inner voice is right. I need to get a grip. I came all the way here, I need to see this thing through.
The wind whistled past my face as I jumped off the cliff. Even short, my hair whipped behind me, and for just a moment, I felt totally weightless. Too soon though, the unforgiving ground came into view, and I focused my chakra to the surface of my skin, creating a protective layer as I landed and rolled to distribute my weight.
Standing, I brushed the dirt from myself, and looked around. Nothing but burnt out houses, but the faint pulsing of a weak chakra signature caught my senses. Cautiously, I approached it, and soon found myself outside of a semi-habitable hut. The roof still remained, though the walls seemed to be about to collapse into rubble at the slightest provocation. A dark cloth hung over the doorway, concealing inside.
Here goes nothing.
I swallowed nervously, and pushed it aside to enter.
Inside smelled of damp earth. My eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness, alighting on a huddled figure in the corner, wrapped in cloth.
"Who are you, and why have you brought me here." I say, trying to imitate a sense of fearlessness.
The covered figure shifted slightly, and I was stricken with the sight of two ebony eyes looking back at me. Panic shot through me as I immediately thought Sasuke had come for me, but it faded when the man made no move to attack me.
Pushing back his hood, Itachi Uchiha eyed me with interest. "Sakura Haruno, I need your help."
If you liked this so far, please drop a review. I am trying to update as soon a possible, but sometimes writer's block hits me like a ton of bricks. Until next chapter!
-Kurohime1024