Lonely Footsteps
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto because if I did, I would change narutos' name to vupix and everytime he went kyuubi, he would evolve into nine tails.
A/N: Here is chapter two! WOOOOO. Be aware. This is a filler chapter. hurhur. I needed something to fill in the blank before the team bonding chapter which is next. Please, enjoy.
"People change, people move on. You don't belong here anymore." Sakura remarked before walking out of his house, slamming the door behind her. Hurt flashed through Sasuke. His lips pulled down in a frown, head ticking back slightly. He didn't belong here anymore? Her last sentence replayed in his mind over and over again.
"What the hell." Sasuke cursed under his breath. What did she mean he didn't belong here? Wasn't it her who wanted him back? Was all her fighting for nothing? Sakuras' comment affected him more than he would have liked. He wasn't sure why he felt hurt. He didn't want to come back here and he thought he could destroy all the ties between him and the village. Sasuke knew the village wouldn't accept him with open arms, he knew that. He just would have never thought, Sakura, of all people, would blatantly cast him out.
"That could have gone better." Sasuke turned to see a cat sitting on his counter pawing at the bags Sakura left behind. "A fierce one, isn't she."
"Hn." Sasuke grunted, walking over to the counter to put away the groceries and other necessities in their rightful place.
"The Uzumaki boy is at your doorstep." The ninja cat purred before leaping off the counter and walking out the back door.
"Oi, Sasuke-teme! Open up." Naruto hollered banging on Sasukes' front door. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He was at his daily quota of visits from old teammates. Maybe, if he ignored him, Naruto would go away.
"Teme, I know you're in there. S'not like you can leave, anyways." Naruto let out a whooping laugh. "Hurry up and let me in." Sasuke grunted. But none the less made his way to the front door.
"Dobe." Sasuke said while opening his door.
"Teme." Naruto replied pushing Sasuke aside and walking in. "I went to go see Tsunade obaa-chan about Sakuras' mission that she didn't tell me about. She always tells me when she has a mission. But she seemed really upset with me, Teme. Tsunade said Sakura is your errand girl. Can't believe she was assigned to a lousy mission as an errand girl. She should be getting A-ranked missions not some genin ranked ones for stupid temes." Naruto ranted, flopping down on the couch.
"A-ranked?" Sasuke questioned. Since when was Sakura able to take on A-ranked missions.
"Yeah, teme. A-ranked. Sorry to burst your bubble but Sakuras' got more strength than you and I put together. Those tiny little fists of hers could create giant craters in the earth. Ask Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with verdict, nodding his head.
"Yeah, right." Sasuke replied, sitting down as well.
"It's tru-" Naruto was cut off by a bang and a cloud of smoke.
As if on queue, Kakashi had poofed into Sasukes' living room. "Yo."
"Kakashi-sensei! Look what I dragged in!" Naruto shouted, pointing to Sasuke.
"Hn."
"Well if it isn't Sasuke." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask, he visible eye crinkling at the edge.
"Kakashi."
"Kakashi-sensei. Sakura is mad at me." Naruto said solemnly. "I saw her at the market to tell her to come see Sasuke with me and she yelled at me. She told me I left without her. That she should have been with me to get Sasuke back."
"Well, you did leave her, Naruto." Kakashi replied, pulling out the infamous orange book.
"But-it's not like I meant to. We had a lead on Sasuke and I had to hurry." Naruto defended himself.
"Tsk, tsk. Naruto, what did I teach you about teamwork." Kakashi turned the page of his book.
"But, Kakashi-"
"Naruto, don't you have somewhere to be?" Kakshi questioned, cutting Naruto off. "Like, I don't know, apologizing to a certain teammate."
"Who? Sai? Hell no. He ought to apologize to me. He had the nerve to call me dickless again after I told him countless times I wasn't!" Naruto yelped clutching his head. "What was that for, teme?"
"He means Sakura, idiot." Realization shown on Narutos' face and he leapt to his feet.
"Oh, right. Sakura. Heh, I'm going to go see her and apologize. Teamwork, yeah." Naruto stammered while clambering out of Sasukes' front door. As soon as Naruto left, the room fell into a silence. Sasuke simply stared out his window, waiting for Kakashi to talk. Kakashi always did this when he wanted to talk. He would sit there and read his book and when he finally knew what he was going to say he would put the book away and ask some cryptic question.
True to Sasukes' words, Kakashi sighed and put the orange book back in his pouch. Sasuke smirked internally. Sometimes, Kakashi could be so predictable.
A sudden poof noise made Sasuke whip his head in the direction of Kakashi. And where Kakashi once sat, was nothing but a cloud of smoke.
"What the hell?" Sasuke spat out, surprised etched on his face. Sasuke stared at the spot that once was occupied by Kakashi. His dark eyebrow arched and he sunk back into his seat. Did Kakashi- Why did- What? Sasuke was thoroughly confused. Frowning, Sasuke got up and decided he needed to clear his head and a walk would do just that. As he walked to the front door, realization hit Sasuke like a storm. He wasn't allowed to leave the house. He. Was. Not. Allowed. To. Leave. Growling under his breath, he turned on his heels and went to go sit back down on his couch.
"This is going to be a very long year."
Sakura stomped out of Sasukes' house. She needed to leave, badly. As soon as she shut the door behind her, she let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Saving herself the walk out of the district, Sakura made hand signs to transport herself out instead. With a poof, she ended up in her office at the hospital.
Shutting her eyes and inhaling deeply, Sakura felt herself calm down. She slowly let out the breath and opened her eyes. She stared at her cluttered mahogany desk. She forgot about the paper work she had to do. Looking to her left through the corner of her eyes, she noted to herself to buy another bookshelf. Her other ones were getting increasingly filled and books were piling on the floor.
Looking forward towards her desk once more, Sakura calmly acknowledged the presence sitting on her leather couch. "Kakashi." Sakura heard a book close and a jingle of kunais told her he was putting it in his pouch.
"Sakura."
"Is there something I can do for you? I'm sort of busy with paperwork."
"A considerate amount of paperwork."
"Really, sensei. Is there anything I can do for you?" Sakura asked again, walking to sit in her chair behind her desk.
"Naruto didn't mean to leave you behind, Sakura." Kakashi rose from his spot on the couch. "I know how you feel about being left behind."
Sakura raised her chin, "You taught us teamwork, apparently, it didn't get through to Naruto." She began filing through the paperwork on her desk.
"Don't be too harsh on him, he's been through just as much as you." Sakura heard a poof and looked up to see Kakashi gone and left behind a cloud of smoke. She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. Kakashi was being cryptic, again. His damn "look underneath, the underneath.", crap.
She knew Naruto had been through a lot. She knew how he could be when he got excited, especially when it came to Sasuke. Sakura was angry that he couldn't have waited for her. There he was, racing forward to get Sasuke. They were suppose to retrieve him, together. But once again, she was left behind. She was left behind when Sasuke left. She was left behind when Naruto and his team went to get Sasuke. She was left behind as Naruto left to train with Jiraiya. And once again, she was left behind when Naruto left to get Sasuke. She was always left behind. Sakura felt as if all the training she went through with Tsunade was nothing. She was strong. She was a well respected kunoichi and medic-nin. Sakura shouldn't have been left behind. She should have been there with them.
Sakura shut her eyes, a furrow in her brows. When will she not be left to watch and wait? When will she be able to find side by side with her teammates.
"Sakura-chan…" A voice she knew all too well startled her and her eyes flew towards the door to her right.
"Naruto."
"Look, Sakura-chan." Naruto started.
"Save it. I don't want to hear it." Sakura clipped out.
"Look, Sakura-chan, I know you're mad at me and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have forgotten you. I should have come to you as soon as I found out about Sasuke. Maybe if you were there, we wouldn't have been so beat up that we had to practically drag each other back to Konoha." Naruto swiftly confessed, sounding out of breath from talking so fast. "Sakura-chan, I'm really sorry. You should have been there."
Sakura sat rigid straight in her seat. She shut her eyes once more, taking a deep breath and releasing it. She relaxed her posture and sunk into her chair.
"I should have been there, Naruto. You of all people should know why I should have been there. That hurt, you know. I had to find out from Shikamaru that you left to get Sasuke. I should have been the first to know and the one to leave with you to get Sasuke." Sakura whispered.
"I know and I'm so sorry." Naruto whimpered. No matter how angry she got at Naruto, it was quite impossible to stay mad at him when he sounded so dejected.
"Make yourself useful. Get me a bookshelf like the others and stack my books on it." Sakura stated, pointing at the pile of books on the ground. Next thing she knew, her vision was obscured by a head of blond hair and Naruto held a look of pure innocence. His smile was one of a child who was just forgiven for breaking a lamp.
"Anything for you, Sakura-chan." Naruto declared, making his way back out the door but suddenly stopped. "Ano-sa, am I using my money or are you giving me money?"
"Naruto…"
"Hai, hai. My gift." Before walking out the door completely, Naruto looked over his shoulder, "Sakura, I'm visiting Sasuke tomorrow for lunch, please come with me."
For a moment, Sakura wanted to say no, but she knew Naruto was just trying to make her feel better. She finally answered with a yes and told Naruto to hurry up with her bookshelf.
Bored was an understatement when it came to Sasuke. He was still seated on his couch and for the past four hours he has done nothing but sit there and do absolutely nothing.
"Dear Kami, I am so bored." Sasuke let out. Sasuke wanted to do something. But he couldn't leave. He wasn't allowed to train, either. Tsunade had stopped by earlier, personally, to seal away his chakra and take away all weapons he possessed. He was basically a civilian. Of course, he saw that coming, but he had nothing to do. He didn't want to eat because at that very moment, he wanted tomatoes which a certain pink haired teammate didn't buy. The dobes' presence was looking more and more appealing. He shuddered at the thought. Maybe, he could pick a fight with one of the anbu watching him, but that would land him in jail. He'd be even more bored there.
Jumping up, Sasuke walked towards the mantel in his living room. Looking at a vase placed upon, Sasuke couldn't remember his family ever owning one. Was it his mothers'? Maybe it had always been there and Sasuke never noticed.
"Jeez, don't burn a hole in the vase. It hasn't done anything to you." Sasuke recognized the grating voice and gave an irritated snort. Internally, Sasuke was grateful that Naruto came back. But, he was never going to admit that out loud.
"Don't you knock?"
"Don't you ever stop having a stick up your ass?" Naruto retorted. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and Naruto burst into a fit of laughter.
"Teme, let's go train, like old time sake."
"Can't."
"Why? Too scared to get your ass kicked by me again?" Naruto burst out laughing again.
"No, that fight was a tie and you know it." Sasuke clarified, to hell if Naruto thinks he won that fight. "The Hokage sealed my chakra and took my weapons."
"What? Baa-chan did that? It's okay, you still have taijutsu." Naruto reminded Sasuke. Realization clicked in Sasukes' head. He completely forgot about taijutsu. A smirk crossed Sasukes' face.
"Alright." Sasuke answered, walking towards his backyard with Naruto following.
Sasuke signaled to one of the Anbu's crouching in a tree in his yard.
"Did you need something?" The Anbu asked, suddenly appearing in front of the pair.
"Taijutsu. Am I allowed?" Sasuke asked curtly. When the Anbu didn't answer, Sasuke began to think he wasn't and felt his last shred of hope of not being bored begin to wither.
"We will intervene if necessary." Then the Anbu disappeared back into the shadows of the tree, leaving Naruto and Sasuke staring each other down, both crouching into fighting stances.
"Bring it, teme."
"Hn." was all Sasuke replied with.
And the spar began.
"Lady Tsunade, I really don't think you should be playing with Sasukes' sword. You should be doing the paperwork still sitting on your desk." Shizune advised.
"Oh, loosen up a bit, Shizune." Tsunade replied, balancing Sasukes' kusunagi on her index and middle finger. She took noticed of how the entire blade and handle were perfectly balanced. She nodded her head in approval. With a flick of her wrist, she sent to sword flying in the air, only to catch it by the handle when it came falling back down.
"Shizune, how much would people pay for Sasukes' sword." Tsunade questioned, a smirk reaching her face. "I bet they'll pay a lot. This blade is impressive and made perfectly." Examining the sword closer, "Not a single scratch. Impressive."
"Lady Tsunade! We will not be selling his sword! Now, please. Continue the paperwork." Shizune yelled.
"Sometimes, I think you should have been Hokage." Tsunade said dryly, sheathing the sword and returning to the paperwork piled on her desk.
"I'll say." came a monotone voice.
"Well if it isn't the copy ninja in the flesh." Tsunade remarked, letting sarcasm into her words. "You've got some nerve, Hatake. I've been looking for you for sometime, now."
"Hmm" Kakashi hummed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I've been…busy."
"My ass you were. As you are aware, your student has returned. I'd like you to talk to him. You know, the whole psychoanalysis deal." Tsunade turned to her desk to begin the paperwork.
"And is there a reason you chose me?" Kakashi inquired. He already knew but of course, he liked to be reminded.
"Because I'm the Hokage." Tsunade raised a eyebrow and turn to look at Kakashi sitting on the window, reading that damn orange book.
"When are you gonna stop reading that smut?"
Kakashi sniffed, "My apologies my Lady, but this "smut" happens to be great literature."
"Yeah, sure. Now get the hell out of my office and do what I asked you do before I burn your precious literature." Tsunade deadpanned. She heard him sniff again and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Really, Kakashi can't even take the stairs. He just transports everywhere." Tsunade ranted to herself. "Shizune, I want you to find me Kakashis' Make out tactics books and bring them to me. I'll be the judge of this literature."
"H-hai, Tsunade-sama." Shizune said before leaving the office to find the books Kakashi read and and man-giggle over.
Outside of the Hokage window, a certain masked copy ninja smiled under his mask and finally transported himself to his next destination.
A/N: How was it? Bad? Good? Let me know by reviewing. Like I said, it's more of a filler chapter. I don't really like this chapter but I wanted something out and about before I got into the team seven bonding lunch date. Thank you for those who reviewed, favorited, and added it to their alerts. I might go back and change this chapter around once I get out the bonding chapter. Till then, I bid thee adieu.