Author's Notes

A little longer than I orginally wrote, but last chapter I said this one was going to be longer! Turned out it was shorter!
So I added some stuff. :) See how much I love you guys! :)

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO, NOR WILL I EVER, IF I DID WELL, LET'S JUST SAY A CERTAIN SOMEONE WOULD HAVE DIED ALREADY. :)

Edit1(Monday, April 29)


Chapter 2: Village Hidden in the Clouds

When we all cleaned ourselves up. Adjusting our Flak Jackets, we all looked similar, now I always wore my jacket since I was promoted to Jonin. I tied my maroon forehead protector in it's usual spot. We wore the usual blue long sleeve shirts, but Shikamaru's was black with the protector sown into the sleeve. Kiba however had to be different and didn't wear the blue undershirt at all. He just wore a short sleeve fish net and his jacket. We left the building all ready to either go to sleep or eat. Kiba went with Hinata and Shino for ramen and Neji went to find TenTen, since we would be leaving again tomorrow morning and she was leaving again during the night.

We were always so busy. It wasn't just us anymore, I myself haven't seen TenTen in months. Every so often us four would have barbeques with all our friends and family if they wanted to come, but that long stopped over five months ago. Shikamaru set off to the cemetery, somewhere he went before and after a mission. When I asked he shook his head and never answered the question. It was obvious that he went to see Asuma and his dad he just never wanted to talk about it. Those days I felt distant with Shikamaru like he wouldn't open up to me. We were best friends ever since our team started but never did he talk about their deaths. Not once. Not even a hint he wanted to talk about it. I always talked about my parents, openly even. But I just left it at he didn't want to talk about it, and that was that.

I decided I was going to go home. It was so empty, the house that I inherited after my parents died a couple years ago. Now since I couldn't afford it myself, I had Shikamaru, and Kiba live with me. Neji used to too, but he moved in with TenTen a month ago. I entered the large house's living room to be greeted by empty bags of chips and candy bar wrappers. It was all of ours we just never cleaned it up because we never had any time. I sighed. Might as well. Someone had to do it. I pulled over the garbage can from the kitchen and put in empty chip bag after chip bag and there must have been over twenty candy bar wrappers. In the broom closet I pulled out the vacuum that hadn't been used in months and vacuumed the living room. It sucked up all the crumbs, dirt, and god knows what else from the rug. I heard the noise of it sucking up all that nasty stuff from the rug and went over the places to vacuum not once but twice.

I finally could now see the floor and picked up the pillows that were tossed in the corner sat them on the couch and began to dust the pictures that hung on the wall. The pictures that hung on the wall were mostly family, and people that have passed, who were in our lives. Shikaku, was dusted first, a picture of Team Ten was next, the Third, my parents, Kiba's older sister, and Kiba's father. They all now looked spiffy.

I moved into the kitchen. Mopped, cleaned out the fridge of all the spoiled food and things that just looked like you would get some form of disease if they were eaten. And before I noticed it the fridge was completely empty. I washed off the table, the fridge and cleaned the counters. I put all the dishes and glasses in the dish washer and switched it on, to clean all the dishes. All off that took two hours. And no one even came home yet. I had nothing to do with myself now. So I dragged my body up the stairs and into my bed.

I didn't know what time it was in the morning, but I quickly got myself up from the bed and went to the small dresser across from my bed. I quickly put on an old jacket that I used for the cold mornings and nights. I went out of my room, it seemed no one was awake yet. I was a little sleepy, but knew I wouldn't get back to sleep, so I went downstairs and decided to make some breakfast for the rest of them. Something was off. The air was awkwardly cold and damp. Downstairs the walls had a weird red color that wasn't there when I went to bed. Blood. The smell of decay was everywhere. The cold eerie feeling stayed lingering in the air and the three bodies on the ground barely recognizable. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai. Three of my teammates dead. In my living room. It was unbelievably scary. My body went cold and I covered my mouth muffling my scream. "Hello Sakura." said a voice behind. I turned horrified to find Sasuke there, holding his sword in hand bloodied with three different types. I screamed.

"Shhhhh, Sakura, it's me. Shhhhh." it was Shikamaru. He ran into my room wearing nothing buy pants. His hair was in his ponytail still but it was all lose and wasn't in its regular spot. Shikamaru's room was down the hall. Kiba's was downstairs next to the kitchen. Hopefully I didn't wake him up too.

Shikamaru was next to me now sitting on my bed. I was a sweaty mess no doubt my hair was all over the place. Shikamaru, was somehow always here for me. He replaced the empty part left behind from over five years ago.

My heart was shattered and he fixed it again. He laid me back down in the bed and he laid down next to me. He brought me close to him and I was sucked into his warmth. I felt safe every time he would hold me like this. After every bad dream. I slowly drifted into sleep. Shikamaru was already asleep and I was becoming accustomed to his breathing pattern, the up and down of his chest seemed almost relaxing, it was nice.

The morning shone through the white curtains in my room that were pulled together. The room was cold and so was I. I moved my arms around and stretched out. Shikamaru was gone, and the bed almost seemed empty without him there.

After a quick change of clothes, we left for the gates of the village we always met there no matter what. We still had to wait for Shikamaru though, he was at the cemetery still. For the average ninja it would take two weeks to get there. For us only a week.

The first two days went slow. We would take turns filling the canteens, and on hot days we moved during the night and slept during the day. The forth day took the longest and now we had to go on a path for now because the forest was not privatized by a near by village that was not very friendly with shinobi in their territory. The past was a longer way to the ocean, we would end up at a dock to get on a boat to get to the village that seemd even more further away from when we started.

Neji made the meals, I healed small scrapes, and sometimes Kiba would go crazy and make Neji summon his hawk to get us there faster, which happened more than once. When we got to the dock there were three boats there we had Kiba go over to the dock worker and have someone take us there because we didn't know the way of the water to the village and it would be simpler. We didn't want to get lost.

"Sorry, don't have a boat for ya'" said a man with a beard. He was dirty, not to mention was doing the whole lumber jack look.

"HA! That is such a lie, there are three fine looking boats right over there! Now give us a boat, seriously." Kiba said starting to get pissed off.

"Sorry, I'm all outta boats." said the man, he made a grunting sound and mumbled something under his breath that sounded a little like "God damn kids" he began to walk away towards a shed. "Come back tomorrow."

"What the hell did you say to me!" Kiba yelled. He was stomping his foot now and his hands on his hips. "Listen, we need a god damn boat, and it seems that you, are the one that has these boats! So we want a stupid mother fucking boat!" he yelled throwing his hands up in the air.

"Well, I don't have anymore, ya' shoulda' got here earlier." the man said walking into his little shed that he used as an office.

"Kiba, we can just use Neji's hawk to get us there." Shikamaru said. "There's no need to be causing all this trouble." Shikamaru didn't notice Neji's facial expression when he said this. He was exhausted. We ran for three days straight because of the soldier pills the affects were beginning to wear off.

"No! I will not let him win this!" Kiba yelled. Shikamru rubbed his temples. "Besides look at Neji! I bet he couldn't even summon a baby bird rather than a hawk to carry four people!"

Half an hour later we were soaring over the ocean with a not so happy Kiba, Neji who looked like he was on the brink of death and the hawk wasn't looking so great either.

We arrived at the village a day later, we came near the tallest gates any of us have ever seen. They opened when we stated our business and we entered into the village. The tallest buildings made from stone towered over us and the clouds touched the tops of the building. The air was a little hair to breathe but we got used to it. No one was there to meet us or escort us to where we were supposed to go so we quickly dashed towards the Kage building that stood tall in the center of the village. We were tired and all we wanted to do was sleep.


Hmm. Exceded Expections. Not bad. I think this was a success. And I'm falling in love with Kiba again.