Reflection
[Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor any of the characters… Kishimoto is the God.]
Chapter 2: Convenience
"She still hasn't come back yet?" Sakura re-entered the lounge, expecting neither Shizune or Tsunade to be present, but to her dismay Shizune still remained in the exact same spot and position to which she first entered upon, working as busily as ever.
"I'm afraid not, Sakura. Something isn't right. It shouldn't be taking her this long to journey from here and back. Maybe the injuries were actually more serious than I had anticipated." Shizune let out a sigh of frustration, fighting strongly against the will to just randomly scream out at the top of her lungs and go chasing after Tsunade herself.
After completely shutting the door, Sakura asked "Who's taking her position in giving out missions right now?" and headed over to the compact kitchen corner where the typical job conveniences such as cheap coffee beans, tea bags, and sugar cubes were stashed.
"Sasuke. After the storm eased up, he came and complained about not being assigned any missions today, so I chose to assign him the mission of assigning missions to others. He wasn't too happy about that either, but I suppose he accepted it because he was able empathize with the other ninjas." Shizune's tone was distracted as she was constantly sifting through the wads of papers.
Sakura grinned. She could just imagine Sasuke sitting hunched over in the overly large blue chair, handing out S-rank missions to rookies, with a mean, pouty look on his face. "Hmm… interesting." Sakura drawled thoughtfully as she sucked on the sugar cube she had abducted from the round glass jar.
"Look, Sakura," Shizune began as she abruptly snapped out of her focused daze on the paperwork. She whirled around in her seat to look up at Sakura from over the back of the chair. "Would you do me a favor?" She clasped both hands together, giving Sakura the most pleading look she could.
"O-Of course..." Sakura muttered bewilderingly, having been caught off guard by Shizune's sudden diversion.
"Perfect. Would you go over to the Aviary and attach this note—" Shizune turn back quickly to shuffle through the papers in search for something specific. The instant she found the small sealed envelope, she spun back around to face Sakura, stretching her arm out toward her, note firmly in hand. "—to one of the messenger falcons, and send it to the base camp Tsunade is at?" Shizune asked; her face already seeming to brighten a little. Just a little.
Sakura was a little hesitant at first, but she reached out and grabbed the little envelope anyway. "Um... are you sure about this? I mean, she's been gone for two hours, I'd like to think she should be back any minute now."
But Shizune shook her head. "I don't care, it's just in case. It's not too much to ask, is it? I could always get someone else to do it... I just figured maybe you'd want to get out for a little bit."
Although, Sakura didn't mind, she actually appreciated that Shizune wanted to give he a small break from hospital work. She only wished she could return the favor. "No, it's fine. I'd be happy to do it. I'll report back as soon as I'm done." And with that, Sakura gave Shizune a curt wave and headed for the doorway.
"Thank you so much, Sakura! Again, I really appreciate it." The woman cheered gratefully as the girl exited the room.
Sakura hated that feeling when exiting the cool air-conditioned, fluorescent-lighted building, only to be greeted with wet, murky streets. The sun was hiding behind gray clouds, so even though it was mid-day, it felt like a somber evening. As much as the environment put her down at times, she had tasks to attend to, so she steadily began making her way toward the Aviary. Thankfully, it was just a block away. But in Konoha… even within a block, chances are you'll end up seeing at least one individual you're acquainted with. In this case, it was two.
"Oh, hey! Sakura! Over here!"
It was one of her closest friends, Ino; along with the shadow-user, Shikamaru. There was nothing 'official' between the two yet, but Sakura could sense something was cooking, as the two had been seen spending a lot more time together than usual, lately.
She walked toward them. "Oh, hi guys. You heading for a mission, or just... 'hanging out'?" That was her alternative way of asking if they were on a date. But she wasn't as obnoxious as Naruto, so she wasn't going to embarrass them by popping the question bluntly.
"We have a mission in an hour, but we decided we'd just hang out for a bit beforehand." Ino responded innocently, sending the girl a beaming smile. "What are you up to on this god awful day?" She asked, smile turning upside-down as she glanced disdainfully up at the darkened sky.
"I'm helping Shizune run some errands. Tsunade's out of town."
Ino looked back at Sakura, a bleak smile now apparent on her face. "Right... Of course." She sighed, nodding her head in moderation. "I should have guessed. You're always working. You have no life."
Wow, low blow.
Sakura retaliated with an offended eyebrow-raised, mouth-dropped glare, and placed her hands on her hips with attitude. "Uh, I do too have a life. Just because I work to support my lifestyle, doesn't mean I have no life. I don't still live with my mother like you do, so it's natural that I have to work more. It's not a lifestyle I regret."
Ouch. Regardless of the fact that they've reunited their bond of friendship, they had become so accustomed to bickering over the past years that they couldn't quite shake it completely.
Ino merely rolled her eyes. "Whatever, forehead. Just like you, I don't regret my lifestyle either." And after she said that, she sent a quick side glance at the boy next to her, a small smile making its reappearance on her face.
"Whoa, okay, okay, let's find a compromise here..." The shadow-user boy finally cut in with a sigh. "I have an idea. Since we're going to the bar tonight to hang out with some of the others... right?" The boy glanced at the blonde next to him to seek clarification. "Well, how about Sakura comes along?" He averted his attention back to the pink-haired girl. "Would you be interested?"
Sakura more than appreciated his invitation, but she just wasn't quite sure if she'd be available to go. She hadn't received any information or updates on Tsunade's situation, so until she learned more, her schedule would have to remain closed. "I don't know, yet..." Sakura started, eyes shifting downwards. "I mean, I'd kind of like to hear back from Tsunade first. Her situation was a bit of an emergency, so when she gets back, it all depends on whether she'll need my help or not." Sakura stated honestly.
Ino made a little 'pfft' sound with her lips. "Right, whatever. You keep telling yourself that. But I agree with Shika, I'm willing to have you tag along if you want. I mean, really, how difficult is it to take a break for one night?"
Sakura's eyes rose to reunite with Ino's. "I'll think about it. Thanks for the offer, anyway."
"Alright, Sakura. Well, have fun doing... whatever you're doing. If you change your mind about tonight, we're all meeting up around 8, so if you come to my house beforehand, we can go together." Ino informed her with a light shrug of her shoulders.
"Okay. Whether I see you guys later or not, take care." Sakura gave them a quick wave before taking off on her previously set route.
"See you." Both Shikamaru and Ino waved back at her, then continued on their own merry way.
The rest of her journey to the Aviary was pleasant. No more interruptions. Although, after her little banter with Ino, she couldn't help but ponder over her current lifestyle. She wasn't lying when she said she enjoyed it. She loved her life, very much so. However, Ino made it very clear that Sakura was in fact a work-a-holic and never really did get out much or find time for fun. That was the whole reason she'd hung out with Naruto last night after so long. She didn't avoid him on purpose, she just never really had the spare time to 'hang out'. She spent way more time in the hospital than her own home. She was open for changes and maybe getting out a little more, she just had to approach it gradually. She'd been so obsessed with working that it would be too dramatic of a change were she to just drop it all and go enjoy herself. Not like she could even afford that, in the first place.
Sakura arrived, not much later, at the Aviary. Upon entering, the place was pretty much deserted as usual; only the guards remained standing around, with the exception of about two ANBU ninja. But that was just in the registry area; the room she was destined to enter was the main room with all the falcons. When she entered that room, it was a tad more busy… and noisy.
She quickly made her way past all the squawking and feather-spurting bird cages over to one of the dispatching windows, where a tall male stood with shaded glasses covering his eyes. He had short stubble growing on his face, and his brunette hair was in a mass of messy locks. He looked very scruffy.
Sakura couldn't help but find him quite attractive.
"Yo, can I help you?" He asked in a deep, yet monotone voice.
"U-Uh… um, bed—I mean, bird… yes, um… I need a bird… to, uh, send a message to the west ANBU base…" Sakura stuttered, fighting the urge to ask this man of his particulars.
"Uh, yeah… sure…" He answered wearily as he gave his stubby brown beard a quick scratch. "I'll be right back." He told her before disappearing behind the cages.
Only then when his sight was not blinding her vision did her senses return. She smacked her head from the epiphany of stupefaction. She needed to recollect herself. She didn't know when this thing started, but for quite a while now whenever she was in the presence a hot guy, she would stutter and lose her cool. Maybe it was because she never really had a legitimate boyfriend. Sure, that certainly accentuated Ino 'no life' theory.
"Will this one do?" Scruffy Boy asked as he reappeared from behind the cages on his way back to Sakura. The bird stood perched on his lifted bent arm.
"Yes, that's excellent. Thank you." Sakura thanked as he transferred the bird over onto her arm.
After that, Scruffy Boy was gone.
Sakura decided to pay no more attention to the thoughts of the boy, and instead tied the mini letter to the plastic-textured ankle of the bird.
After triple-checking that the letter was completely secured, Sakura leaned over the window sill and swung her arm out to allow the falcon to take off and soar away. For some reason, Sakura ending up standing there for an extra couple minutes, watching the falcon steadily recede. Once it was completely out of site, Sakura finally left the building.
On her way back to the hospital, Sakura had a sudden idea. It was as she was passing by the largest building in Konoha – the Town Hall – that she recalled what Shizune had mentioned earlier about Sasuke distributing missions at the Missionary. Considering the Missionary was located within the large circular building and it was on the way back anyway, Sakura decided it couldn't hurt to pop in for just a second to give her dear friend a visit. She couldn't remember when she last saw Sasuke... she had a mission with him five days ago, but their team consisted of 8 people, so she didn't really get much of a chance to interact with him. Before that, most of the occasions she saw him were merely pass-by's. Both were very busy individuals, and although Sasuke was now back in good books with everyone, she still didn't have the same type of bond with him as she did with Naruto. He was a lot more laid back, since he'd gotten his revenge and no longer had much to really be stuck up about it, but a lot of his old traits still lingered, such as being anti-social, quiet, and apathetic. That's the way he's always been, and Sakura had a feeling that that was the way he would always be.
Sakura climbed the spiral staircase all the way to the top of the building, until she appeared before the door leading to the Missionary room. She leaned in slightly before entering, to listen if there were any occupants in the room other than Sasuke. She did in fact hear some mumbling coming from a few various different voices, so she decided to wait momentarily until they exited. From her acute hearing, however, she couldn't help but catch a few of the phrases being exchanged between the voices; "But Sir... my students have only done two missions before. I'm not sure they're quite prepared to tackle an A-rank mission." "So you'd rather me just send them out to the battlefield now and skip the essential training? Because all D-rank, C-rank and B-rank missions are worthless. They won't get you anywhere in this world. It's not an easy one-ticket trip. You have to live and learn the hard way. If you're not prepared to do that, then you should just give up your headbands right now." Sakura recognized the voice immediately as Sasuke's. Even if she didn't recognize the voice, she certainly recognized the cold, harsh mannerisms. That was the thing with Sasuke, he figured that anything he did or could have done... anyone else could just as easily do. He just couldn't seem to realize that most people weren't quite as special as he was. He would be the worst sensei.
There was just a little more dialogue exchanged between the occupants before silence befell. Then many footsteps could be heard ascending toward the door Sakura stood before. Sakura backed up a bit to allow the sensei and his three students to exit the room once opening the door. The sensei acknowledged Sakura and gave her a curt bow before directing his three students down the hallway toward the staircase. Sakura could see on all three of the little faces the look of shame and sadness, one even looked like they were on the verge of bursting into tears at any moment. Sakura released a sympathetic sigh, but paid the team no more attention as she glanced up through the now-open door at her old teammate. And he just sat there staring back at her through hard, black eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He asked bluntly.
Sakura walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. "What? Is it wrong of me to want to give my friend a visit?" She asked innocently as she made her way over to the large desk and the grumpy boy sitting behind it.
Sasuke merely grunted and shrugged. "I don't care. Just as long as you're not here to make my day any worse. Not like I see how that could even be possible."
Sakura didn't know whether to consider that a compliment or an insult. She supposed it could go both ways, so she just decided to ignore it. "Well, anyway, aside from today... how have you been?" She started with an open question, expecting nothing positive in return, regardless.
Sasuke sighed. "Fine. I guess." He wasn't much of a small-talker and his elaborating skills were certainly nothing to boast about.
"That's good. … I guess." Sakura added, a very slight hint of mockery in her tone. There was about a 10 second moment of awkward silence, and then Sakura's recent encounter suddenly came to mind. "Oh, yeah... were you invited to hang out at the bar tonight with a bunch of people?"
"No." Sasuke responded quickly. "Who's going?"
"I'm not exactly sure. Ino just invited me today..." She then paused for a brief moment, before continuing, "I'm still not sure if I'll be able to make it, but if I can... would you want to go too?"
"No." Sasuke quickly responded, again.
This bummed Sakura a little, but it came as no shock. "I wish you would have said yes. If I go... I have a feeling Ino will be all over the place, so I'd just be sitting alone. If I had you there, at least I wouldn't be."
Sasuke just sighed again and closed his eyes. His elbows were propped up on the table in front of him, fingers interlocked. "Sakura... going to the bar would be a waste of my time. They're at war out in the fields, so it's our job to support them in any way we can. Going to the bar and getting drunk... how is that supposed to help?" His eyes re-opened and he stared at the girl with a very direct, serious look.
But Sakura couldn't meet his gaze, she just stared at the desk. "I know that... trust me, of all people, I know. And just what do you think I spend all my time doing? It's not like I waste my whole life away without contributing anything. I learned today that it's O.K. to take a break now and then. So, if it turns out I've got nothing too important on my plate, I'm seriously considering going." And finally she looked back up at him, returning the same stare. "You should too."
But Sasuke shook his head and still he refused. "Sorry, Sakura. You go have fun, but it's just not my sort of thing."
Sakura glanced down at her fingernails and waited a moment before replying. "Alright, I respect that. I just figured I'd ask out of consideration, anyway." She really had expected nothing more from him.
"Well... thanks." Sasuke said, just to be polite. He didn't really mean it.
Sakura remained in the office for a few minutes longer, continuing her (essentially) one-sided conversation with the raven-haired boy. She proceeded to ask him questions about what he'd been up to, what missions he'd done lately, if he was ever going to start looking for a girlfriend... things like that. Sasuke mostly responded with short one-sentence answers, but on certain others... he just glared at her. Luckily, a knock on the door came to Sakura's rescue. She may not have realized it, but if she continued much longer Sasuke might just have decided to start practicing his Goukakyuu no Jutsu right then and there. What appeared to be another Genin team was entering to receive their mission from the boy. Sakura glanced over her shoulder at the team as they politely entered after Sasuke welcomed them in, but turned briefly back to Sasuke before they could reach the desk. She leaned towards him slightly, and cupped one hand on the side of her mouth to imply privacy. "Don't be too harsh... They're only Genin. Can you at least do me that favor?" She whispered to him.
Sasuke merely sighed and folded his arms. "Whatever."
But that was a good enough answer for Sakura. It certainly beat a 'No' by a long shot. She smiled at him and gave him a short little wave. "Alright, Sasuke, well it was nice seeing you. I'll catch you around later." She began heading toward the doorway as she said her farewells, the entering team proceeding forward to take her place in front of the desk.
"See you." Was all Sasuke said as he watched her leave.
After shutting the door behind her, Sakura left the building and began making her way back to the hospital. She hoped, by the time she arrived, that Tsunade would be back.
As the outline of the hospital building came into view, Sakura couldn't help but have this intuition that something was a little off. Her eyes narrowed, she wasn't quite sure what the feeling was, but it was strong, so she began walking at a much faster pace along the stretched fence toward the gate entrance. Her mindset was in a bit of a trance as she focused on whatever it was that she was feeling. What was strange was that the closer she got, the stronger the feeling got, too.
Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a fleet of ANBU ninja, medics, and her blonde, large-breasted sensei busted out from one of the side streets and rushed straight through the hospital gate and into the building doors.
Sakura halted the instant she spotted the crowd, knocking her completely out of her trance. Her breath got caught in her throat the moment she spotted Tsunade. Hurrying. It was very rare for Sakura to ever see her sensei in such a manner. Sure, the woman hurried all the time, but hardly ever this much.
Upon this sight, it was only common sense to Sakura that the situation was very dire and that she may be needed. Even if she wasn't, Sakura was always quite the nosy one… and she was very curious as to what was going on.
So, before receiving the opportunity to think twice about her decision of action, Sakura took off in a quick sprint after Tsunade and the rest of fleet in the direction of the hospital.
She busted in through the double doors after them, and saw them immediately heading for the ER, so she quickly followed. On their way, Shizune must have heard all the commotion, because as Sakura ran past the lounge, Shizune came popping her head out of the door to see what was going on. Immediately spotting Sakura, Shizune followed suit.
"What the hell is going on?!" Shizune questioned as she finally caught up and ran on par with Sakura.
"That's what I'm here to find out." Sakura answered, giving Shizune a quick glance before averting it to the backs of the fleet, her expression suddenly dead serious.
Then, the fleet separated. A whole segment went into one room; another went down a different hallway; the other into another empty room; etcetera. But Sakura didn't care about all them… her focus was set on Tsunade. Wherever Tsunade went, Sakura wanted to follow. Apparently Shizune did, too, as she followed Sakura into the room Sakura followed Tsunade into.
Tsunade still wasn't alone, though. She was probably accompanied with the most medics; it was hard enough for Sakura to squeeze herself into the room, with the addition of Shizune.
She couldn't even see any of the patients… from what she could see, she analyzed that there were probably two or three patients being attended to, but she really couldn't tell; it was so chaotic. She would probably have to wait a little while before she even saw or figured out all what was going on.
"Haruno!"
… Or maybe not.
"Y-Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura questioned as loud as she possibly could over all the noise. She was surprised Tsunade even noticed her... and so quickly, at that.
"Get your ass over here!" Tsunade yelled, sounding pretty damn serious. And scary.
Sakura made no hesitation in shoving her way through the crowd of medics. It was a real struggle, and took her a little while to finally get through, but she did it. She made it to the one patient that Tsunade was currently attending to. She couldn't see who it was though, exactly, since he or she was covered with a white blanket.
"Who—" Sakura didn't think it'd hurt to know who it was, so she lifted her hand towards the top end of the blanket – about to lift it up – when suddenly Tsunade's hand quickly grasped Sakura's wrist firmly, completely immobilizing it.
"Sakura. Are you prepared for the worst case scenario?" Tsunade asked as she stared down at Sakura with an extremely intense gaze.
Sakura looked worriedly up at Tsunade. At the mention of 'worst case scenario', Sakura's heart could only start racing miles. This was serious. This was fucking serious, and here Sakura was panicking and wishing it wasn't too late to back out. Whoever that person was, they had to be extremely important in order for this to be a 'worst case scenario'. There was no way that it was just something very gory or whatever… Sakura's been through plenty of those before where Tsunade's never considered them 'worst case scenario's.
Over her increasingly sped up heart beat, Sakura could barely think properly. But what time did she have to think? She had to stop thinking about seeing somebody important in such danger, but rather how quickly and effectively she could help them.
Quickly averting her gaze down to the blanketed figure's direction, she put on the most bravest and serious look she could and clenched her fists tightly with an extreme amount of anxiety. "Show me." She demanded.
And then in one quick sweep, Tsunade tore the blanket away from the silhouette.
Hatake Kakashi's silhouette.
A/N: So, made a lot of new edits on this one too. Please read/re-read it, also. (Actually that pretty much goes for all the chapters...) If you didn't catch my message on the first chapter, I've made some important changes that will affect the whole storyline, so that's why it's important to re-read.
Look forward to the next chapter, Sakura and Kakashi actually get to interact! Hooray!
As always, please review. :) Much appreciated, especially since I want feedback on all my edits.
