**SPOILER WARNING FOR THE MANGA(IF U HAVEN'T READ IT THEN THIS WON'T MAKE ANY SENSE U PESTS) {k? thanks "^^)
Following Masashi Kishimoto-san's manga, the story roughly begins ensuing the time of Orochimaru's death. Whoopee.
Background(for those who actually care):
While reading this story you may notice some vague similarities to something you perhaps read several months ago. Put simply, I'm re-writing this story… I was about 8 chapters into the original when I tired of and dropped it. Because I'd only begun writing it on a whim of boredom/for stress-relief purposes, I hadn't really bothered to so much as reread and edit what I'd written. Thus, the spelling and grammar, the conflicting storylines, even down to the characters themselves were, well, a little flawed. Thus, my unmotivated self and the lack of motivation from the lack of reviews resulted in—my disappearance. Yes, cruel though it was, I was unfaithful to the few people who actually did review, and completely abandoned the website as well as this story.
However, several months later(during which I received virtually no reviews), I was messaged a detailed critique from an authoress by the name of honeybee. Her words helped to motivate and inspire the story's continuation, and after a good two weeks of lazy deliberating, I finally decided to return and rework the basics into the story you guys are miraculously reading today.
Quite a history, huh? X)
So yah, lolz, I admit I haven't completely changed my lazy ways(I'm searching for a beta 2 fix them... if ur willing to help plz let me know). Though the he basic framework hasn't changed, pretty much everything's been given detail and reworded and I do put a reasonable amount of effort into it, so I hope you'll enjoy and support my work :) (hint: you can do this by leaving a review ;D)
Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing of Kishimoto-san's works and materials, because if I did, I would be rich and not spending my time writing fanfics on the web. This is a fan-based story for those who wish to read it, though I do my best to follow the basic framework of the manga. All opinions and criticisms are largely appreciated; Flames are galling.
Now: Plz enjoy :)
"This is not remarkable, for, as we know, reality is not a function of the event as event, but of the relationship of that event to past, and future, events. We seem here to have a paradox: that the reality of an event, which is not real in itself, arises from the other events which, likewise, in themselves are not real. But this only affirms what we must affirm: that direction is all. And only as we realize this do we live, for our own identity is dependent upon this principal."
–Robert Penn Warren
Part I
Sakura almost felt guilty as the discarded book plummeted to the floor with a final puff of dust, its unremarkable color camouflaging with the masses around it. Another one down. Having memorized her newest set of medical textbooks, Haruno Sakura could now proudly claim to expertise in neurology, anesthesiology, cardiology, and, her newest addition, ophthalmology. Certainly the more uncommonly studied, but for her line of work, such degrees could easily define the line between life and death, and besides, they were by far the most interesting sbujects to study.
Perched comfortably at the foot of her bed, the busy-body medic found herself stuck with a luxury she invariably tried to avoid… time. Rather than bother with a clock, Sakura could tell from a glance that the sky would soon give way to daybreak. Eyes drinking in the scenery, Sakura marveled at the unusual backdrop change. A lustrous haze of mist hung about Konoha's trees in place of leaves, shading the domelike sky and silhouetting the kunoichi's room in darkness. The frail tint of moonlight basked her room with a milky aura, her sole light source save for the sputtering candle on her nightstand.
The moonlight went unfelt, but not unappreciated, and for just a moment, the kunoichi broke a rule she had long past forbidden… she allowed her walls down and her thoughts free, a well-needed nourishment for her mending soul. As insifnificant as she felt, sitting here like this and gazing at the stars the kunoichi could at least feel connected to the world… a strange condolence for a shinobi of her rank, but a comfort nonetheless. Come to think of it, the only reason she'd managed to take her first steps down that 'seperate path' sasuke had spoken of and chosen to pursue her path as a medic was because it gave her existence a purpose, gave her a meaning. Well, the girl reasoned bitterly, at least to some people anyway. Where as thought of her nukenin teammate had once been tabboo, over the years he'd become a regular haunt to her inner thoughts,
Sighing wistfully, the kunoichi's eyes fixated momentarily on her candle, watching the tiny ember struggle for life. No matter how insignificant, if the right conditions were met, that same flame could potentially light an explosion or start a wildfire.. but of course, the possibilities of such were paradox, the medic chided herself. With a wave of her hand, the flame dispersed, leaving the girl alone in the darkness. Every night. Sasuke-kun must have felt this darkness every night too... no, scratch that last part. It wasn't just Sasuke; In her heart, the medic knew that Team 7 was the mistake... It was why Kakashi had chosen them as his team, and it was why Naruto tried so hard.
Sakura was tired, but the idea of sleep was unbearable. How could she sleep with that face in her mind's eye? Awake or in dreams, why the did that haunting face persist even though he'd stolidly abandoned both!? Relenting to another sleepless night, the kunoichi curled back against the corner wall facing the window, waiting. Still waiting, forever waiting.
Their meeting at end, nine Akatsuki members sat together in isolation. Darkness caved in with the silence, hemming the group in the malignant doldrums. No one dared move, save for Tobi's uncomfortable twitch from the seat beside him. Already sensitive to Tobi's imbecility, Deidra chanced a sadistic knee-jab to his partner from under the table. Given the inflammating ache left in his knee, the blonde was sure he'd made contact, but oddly Tobi showed no physical signs of response. The other Akatsuki members acted likewise, ignoring Deidra's action so entirely he questioned if he'd imagined it and banged his knee against the table… but on the plus side, at least Tobi had shut up.
Like the quiet before a strom, the dormant silence quickly regained domanance, and as the minutes lagged Deidra almost began to regret putting a stop to the entertainment Tobi provided. Thankfully, however, leader-sama grew bored and rose to break the peace before such could happen. "The first steps have been fuffilled, and it's dawning close to that time…" he informed his crew, eyes trailing over each of in turn, searching. After having scanned and confirmed that all were stable, Leader-sama dismissed them with a wave of his hand and a final threat. "Don't screw this up."
Part II
The medic lingered there daily now, reclining against that familiar wooden railing. The bridge where they used to meet, the bridge where everything began. The sunny climate of Konoha rarely saw snow, but today soft sprinkles of ice showered in place of the falling leaves in the peaceful green village… and now, just as Sakura was released from her shift at the hospital, the snow had implacably stopped. Gone again, not to be seen for another few years of so… It had been 3 years now since he'd left too, almost without a goodbye.
"Sakura-chyaaaan!" Naruto, half-drowned and tumbling over his oversized boots, skidded into view. Sai, also dripping with cold mush, followed close behind, cold fingers fighting the buttons on his heavy purple coat. They were quite a site.
But still… something was off. Sai didn't insult her on site and looked away from her gaze, staring dully at his feet, while Naruto, still panting in the snowy terrain and at a loss of breath, glared up at her with hurt. Sakura frowned, chiding, "What's with the sour face? Those wrinkles will stick, baka." Naruto only winced in reply, gingerly brushing snow from his cast. "And wh—Naruto!! I told you to rest that arm! I can't believe you've been off playing in the snow all day while I've been stuck in th--"
Like a newly-blown balloon released of its air, Naruto's breathe returned in one great foosh as he indignantly bellowed, "Why!!? Why Is Granny Tsunade sending us away on Christmas! And…and more importantly, why are you supposed to pair up with him!?" Naruto finished with a rude gesture to Sai.
Sakura blinked twice, sizing up the urgency in his voice while processing the solemnity of the information. They were leaving for a mission now? Leaving on the holidays with Naruto's arm still bandaged? But regardless, when Naruto put on that face, it was difficult to stay in soggy humor, and Sakura's frown soon cracked into a laugh. "Jealous, Naruto?"
"Why would he be jealous?" Sai questioned reasonably. "Nobody would want to be with you, ugly." The ignorant boy soon found himself in the snow beside Naruto, a fist in his face. As his vision cleared and the pain resided, he caught the pinkette smiling that suspiciously fake smile as she sauntered away.
"See you at the bridge at four—and don't be late this time."
Part III
4:00.
4:02.
4:08.
4:15.
4:23.
Sakura's eye twitched, and she unconsciously clenched her small hand into a fist. Neither Sai nor Naruto had yet made their appearance… she should have known. For a moment, the kunoichi deliberated scoping them out.. until that scent hit her nose.
With the nerve to try and slink right past her stood her teammates, Sai in his usual emotionless cloud and Naruto with that familiar sheepish grin. The kunoichi remained still, staring them down as them as they passed. "Sorry, Sakura-chan! We were held up for a last stop for ramen before the holidays and--"
It was suddenly too much… this scene was too familiar. They just too closely resembled Naruto and Sasuke from their gening days. "It's alright," she excused them quickly.
"Sakura-chan?" The blonde blinked. Just now… why did her face seem so… sad?
Sai obliviously cut in. "It's a good thing Ugly wasn't there. The ramen would only have made her fatter." All Sasuke-resemblance forgotten, a sinister smile flashed across the medic's face, and a paling Sai found a needle embedded in his calf. The panic-stricken victim hurriedly tried to scamper away, and Sakura followed closely in pursuit.
"How come Sai was able to make her laugh," Naruto muttered enviously from a corner.
4:30
Sakura lead the treo, a wincing Sai and dejected Naruto at her heels. The medic exhaled deeply.
"Neh, Sakura-chan, who's the team captain?"
"Didn't you read the folder?" A deafening silence greeted her, though she managed to maintain her smile. "Okay then, Sai, you tell him." More silence.
"Idiots!" the kunoichi complained. "Kakashi-sensei is--"
Having controlled himself for such an extended time, Naruto's loudmouth energy returned doublefold. "Nande!!? Where is that perverted--"
"Naruto! Are you trying to alert the next few villages we're coming!!" the medic snapped frostily.
''Oh… sorry, sakura-chan," the blonde apologized, staring at the ground in shame.
Unfortunately not so easily distracted, Sai persisted, "Kakashi is leading this unit?"
"He had someth—well, he just …actually, we sort of lefthim backinKonoha…" the Kunoichi rushed, her voice trailing off at the end.
Naruto and Sai stopped. "What?"
"Actually, I…" the kunoichi laughed cheerily. "He'll catch up!" Sakura resumed traveling, though Sai lagged behind, looking unsure.
Leaning close to his friend, Naruto explained, "She just wanted to teach that perverted old man a lesson. He's always late, and I think it really--"
"Old man, you say?" a dangerous voice challenged behind them.
"Ah! See!! He didn't even deny the perverted part!"
"Sensei, you made it!" Sakura beamed.
Sai merely blinked, observing these new feelings… emotions were so difficult!
(A/N: sorry guys, I really just can't help but write comedy when I'm with these characters... we'll get to sasusaku soon, I promise.)
Part IV
Beneath the dome-like sky, beneath the starlit heavens, Sakura, Naruto, and Sai, glared at Kakashi. The rough ground, suffocated beneath the ice, was no appealing place to settle for a night's sleep.
Re-reading his favorite book by candlelight, make-out paradise 3 special edition, it took him a while to catch on before he finally looked up. "Hm?"
"If Captain Yamato were here, he could make us a house," Naruto childishly seethed.
"We can't light a fire in this mushy mess," Sakura chorused curtly.
"How inconvenient..," Sai sighed.
Kakashih sweatdropped. Those guys… since when they first met, had they really grown at all? Wait, no, he hadn't known Sai for that long… back then, their third member was--
---
"Sasuke." The snake-saanin hissed his dying breathe. The Uchiha noiselessly stepped over the body, away from that vile stench.
From behind the door's frame, Kabuto stepped out, obviously fighting to keep control of his face. "J-just which one are you…Orochimaru-sama, is the transformation complete?"
"See for yourself," the missing-nin cockily replied, boring full sharingan into the elder's eyes. Kabuto's jaw opened in shock, but no scream came out. Locked in denial and streaming silent tears, not for his late master but for his own loss of power, the Uchiha left the snake sanin's hideout without a backward glance… less than he'd given Konoha.
Chapter 1: End
Kazzam, first chapter.. complete!! -celebrates-
Now, for those of you who skipped the summary above, I'll try to condense it here. Particularly to those of you who put this on your story alert and forgot about it as the months rolled on and I didn't update, I'm rewriting the story a bit. Thus, I'm deleting the other nine chapters(though their reviews still seem to be stuck there) and will be starting back from square one. However, because it's been so long since I've updated, I'm sure none of you will remember where the storyline was and won't mind waiting while I edit the other eight chapters before we see something totally new.
That said, if I could possibly request a bit of feedback on whether I've improved, whether there's too much detail or too little action, or really just whatever flaw you'd like to comment on or rant about, please consider sparing my soul [in-need-of-motivation] and leave this authoress a review.
--Rima--