A/N: Special thanks to Kaelin, DeadlySilentAnimeLover, Konnichia yoshi-chan, Tiger Priestess, PropsAD, EveryDei, and Sakura8D. Also, I need to thank PropsAD for helping me decide on an idea that I had been toying with, but didn't know if it would have fit the story. Included must be WhenDragonsRoar for slipping me a few tips. And finally, to answer your question, Kaelin, this is not going to be that kind of story. And I doubt it'll actually turn into a romance. I'm just trying to write this story to get it done and show how different people overcome problems. I hope you enjoy.
Sakura turned to face the titanium blond woman with a slight cringe. The wrath of the hokage was something to be afraid of, and she sounded a bit irritated. However, Tsunade was staring past her to Sasuke. The pinkette girl didn't have to turn to know that her former teammate and mentor were staring each other down, fighting for dominance. Finally, Tsunade spoke, breaking the tension. Sakura silently sighed in relief. "Sasuke Uchiha, as a traitor to this village, I will place you under arrest. Until we can deal with your betrayal, you will remain in the custody of the ANBU," she said evenly. Two of the masked ninja led the raven away, but the other hestiated, glancing uncertainly at the three members of team Taka. Tsunade had her eyes centered on her pupil with a steady look, the others forgotten.
"Milady," the person asked, voice slightly muffled through the mouse mask. The hokage swung her amber colored eyes to the ANBU member. "What about these three," she asked, gesturing toward Juugo, Suijetsu, and Karin.
"Place them under arrest as well and I'll get to them. When I don't have a headache," she grumbled to herself. The woman nodded and led the others out of the clearing. Sakura could feel her mentor's heavy stare.
"I'm sorry milady," she apologized, unable to stand the silence.
"What happened?"
"Karin was-" she searched for a word "-berating me for the way I acted towards Sasuke. When he finally joined in, I couldn't take any more. I snapped." Another span of silence.
"That's it?"
"Yes," the girl replied, feeling slightly ashamed now. Tsunade's voice softened, and she seemed miles away as she spoke.
"Sasuke Uchiha is the final Sharingan user. We can't have him killed with such a valuable bloodline." Sakura dipped her head.
"I understand milady. My apologizes."
"Just understand where my thinking is coming from Sakura." The pink haired kunoichi didn't reply and eventually Tsunade left.
"Sakura?" She turned to face Naruto. He looked concerned and she shook her head.
"I'm fine Naruto. Don't worry about me."
"I managed to do it though," he replied, confusion written all over his whiskered face. "I thought that was our goal: to bring him home."
"It was. And I'm proud of you," she told the fox carrier. "I just…" She shook her head. "Never mind. Let's get going."
"What was it?" She turned her face to hide the sudden tears that sprang up unbidden. She fought to keep her voice from quivering.
"Nothing. Let it be." He grabbed her arm as she tried to twist away.
"Did you not want him back?" the tears were threatening to spill over when she shoved him off of her and sprinted off. The thud of him falling followed her as she tried to outrace her tears. She couldn't cry. She wasn't the same weak girl. On her way past a tree, she punched it, leaving a noticable dent, but continued on. She would continue on until she could go no longer. Then, she would apologize to Naruto.
She sunk to her knees, sobbing as quietly as she could. She couldn't fight them any longer. Naruto's words wormed their way into her head once more. She glanced around, the speech so clear it almost seemed as if he was there beside her. She briefly wondered if he'd hate her, but disregarded the thought. He wasn't that type of person. She would be forgiven for her sin. The sound of his voice resonated in her mind time after time, even after she had pulled herself together. "I don't understand how he could betray our trust in him, and you just accept him back with open arms. He tried to kill you, on more than one occasion. And you just act as if nothing has ever happened. We were a team. We were supposed to be able to count on each other, no matter what. But he decided that the team wasn't important." She climbed to her feet and wiped her face, glancing back the way she had come, her jawline set. "I won't be like that. If he does manage to escape the death penalty, then so be it. I will not accept him though. I will not let him hurt me again." She raced off toward the village.
"Naruto!" The blond headed jinchuriki turned to face Sakura. He quickly noticed the red streaks on her cheeks, evidence that she had been crying. However, he wisely shied from that subject.
"You should have been here for some ramen, Saku-chan." One corner of her mouth curled up in a smile, then immediantly curled down as he started walking away. She stood there, looking after him like a lost puppy until he glanced behind him, calling out "Come on!" She jogged to catch up.
"I didn't mean to push you that roughly Naruto. I just couldn't stay there." She kept her eyes centered on the dirt underneath her feet.
"It's ok Sakura. I know you didn't mean to. Sometimes those things just happen." She slipped in front of him, blocking his path.
"How can you do it Naruto?" Confusion. That's all she saw."How can you bring him back and treat him as if nothing has changed?"
"Nothing really has."
"He's tried to kill you multiple times," she said, her voice rising in disbelief. Naruto shrugged.
"But he didn't. He showed me my areas of weakness. In a way, he was helping me to become stronger. And he is our former teammate, and my friend. I can't desert him when he has no one left." Sakura's mouth dropped open and hung there. Surely he was trying to get himself killed. He was crazy!
"But what if he leaves again, or manages to kill you the next time?" The shoulders came up again.
"If he leaves, I hunt him down once more. If he kills me, I die. I can't help that. Now come on, we're going to be late."
A/N: yeah, I know. Probably not very Naruto-like to be all wise, but I don't know how to make him kinda stupid looking. I kinda like this Naruto. It shows he can think, but that he rarely uses it. Which is what I believe Naruto is. And I must apologize for it being late. Computer crashed. Actually I had to crash it myself, but still… It crashed. And amazingly, I have a friend that decided to help me with my writing. Please tell me if you see any difference. I do sorta, but it matters to the readers if they see an improvement or decline in the style.
