Chapter 1: Against the Cold

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Even after three days, the rain did not seem to want to cease.

Ever since she cast a final glance at her hometown and turned around to leave, reminding herself of Sasuke, the tears of heaven had fallen. Not even once had the sun broken through the heavy dark clouds. It was as if the sky shared her sorrow – but she was better at hiding it, she thought. She had promised herself to stay strong.

She did not really know where she was headed. All she knew was that she had stumbled across a lone cave in the outer area of the Fire Country, and she had sought shelter there after more than one day in the cold rain. Using her skills, she had managed to keep herself warm, well-fed, and hygienic for the few days she had stayed there. Her only problem was the loneliness. But as it was now, not even Konoha could solve her problem. She was not lonely because of the lack of company; she was lonely because of the loss of her friends. Staying in Konoha where all their memories were would merely worsen her situation.

For once, she wanted to be free; she needed to be free. She needed to be the independent woman she had brought up to be. For once.

A moderate sized fire crackled at her socked feet, warming her partly. She shuddered by the cold winds penetrating the cave now and then, and she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, wishing that it had been a real living person instead of a mere piece of fabric.

When she looked out through the cave entrance she could see the chain of small mountains that separated the temperate Fire Country from the subtropical Wind Country. In between the two major ninja countries was the smaller and rather insignificant River Country, in which Sakura once fought and killed the Akatsuki member Sasori. The memories brought a wry smile upon her face.

River Country was also where the Akatsuki had had one of their main bases, but it had been discovered and destroyed years ago. Now, she doubted that any of the still living former Akatsuki members wished to be there. They, too, must have had memories that they wanted to get away from.

All thoughts about the Akatsuki slipped away when the flames were blown a bit too close to her feet, surprising her with their unexpected warmth. She drew her legs closer to her body and hugged her knees, resting her chin on her kneecaps.

Should I proceed through River Country and into Wind Country? I need something to do, and the best choice for me would be to seek out medical jobs. I need the money. And, after all, I prefer saving people to killing them, she thought and ran a hand through her semi-dried hair. And I really long for warmer temperatures. This is killing me.

Small rumbles emerged from the dark roof of clouds, and Sakura decided to wait with the travel until the weather became at least a bit better.

Clearing her mind of all thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.

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Sakura opened her eyes instantly the moment she felt a presence.

Said presence, however, was not what she had expected to see. On the other side of the dead bonfire, a fox with its two cubs was sniffing through her food bag. Sakura remained silent and observed the animals. The fox seemed to try and open one of the cans, oblivious to the fact that it was being watched by human eyes. The cubs were tense and followed their mother's movements intensely.

At first, Sakura was smiling; a thing she had not done in a long time. It was unhygienic and unpractical to let wild animals search through her food bag, but she liked the scene. Sometimes, she thought, everything would be better if she had always just been a primitive animal without the sensitive human feelings and bonds. Without the ability to feel sorrow if her relatives were killed or lost.

The fox pulled out a can of mackerel and stubbornly tried to bite it open. It was almost amusing to watch. Perhaps it was not so easy being primitive after all, her mind added. The cubs joined the 'fight' against the can, and they jabbed it softly, taking turns. They reminded her of cats playing with a ball, not really knowing what to do with it.

Her smile faded. They also reminded her of Naruto.

Without thinking, she moved, her mind telling her to stand up and help them. She had helped Naruto with so many various things through the years that helping him with opening a can would not have surprised her much.

The foxes noticed her immediately. One cub almost yelped in surprise. They disappeared out of the cave incredibly fast, and Sakura, whose instincts told her to say something, stopped in her track. She was yet again reminded of her loneliness and of how she would never be able to help Naruto with anything anymore.

I must not cry, she told herself sternly and stood up. Even though it is hard, this was the first rule we learned in the Ninja Academy. I have to learn it.

Sometimes, being hard with herself helped her. It reminded her of her reality, and of how this was something she had chosen, herself. Already from the beginning, she had been told the consequences of the ninja life. Death could not be avoided, ever.

Sakura picked up the slightly tattered can and opened it. She poured the mackerel bits out in a groove in the flat stone just outside the cave entrance. When the foxes would come back – if they ever would – they would not have to chew in the aluminum can anymore. Its sharp edges could tear their tongues or palates open. She wished not to be the person behind such accident.

The empty can was folded once and thrown into a garbage bag that she carried around in her belt. Then she poured some water onto the still slightly smoking embers and killed the heat entirely. Rolling her blankets together, she stuffed them on to her backpack. She strapped on her ninja sandals and a few other equipments, shouldered her bags, and left the cave nearly as natural as she had found it.

The weather was better than it had been in days. The sun was still out of sight, and the sky was like a grey blanked draped over the world, but the temperatures were not so cold, and at least it had stopped raining. When she would arrive in Wind Country, she would never have to worry about too much rain again. In River Country, however, she should not expect only dry weather.

Double-checking that both her backpacks were fastened, she started running.

She had to get farther away from everything that reminded her of her past, if she were to survive the post-war period.

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Sakura had almost forgotten how nice it was to finally challenge one's endurance after years of mourning and inactivity. She found that she thought less depressive thoughts when she had to put all her focus into avoiding obstacles, avoiding falling, or just keeping the right direction in the hurry. Being in such hurry reminded her of the social and carefree days of her past, but without reminding her that her life was not like that anymore. It was a way of deceiving herself. She liked it.

The sun was setting slowly behind the mountains in the horizon; the mountains that separated River Country from Wind Country. As it seemed now, she could reach Suna in less than two days, however only if she took a good rest between each day and kept up the speed from today. It would be tough on her, but as a ninja she needed to be in shape. She would not let herself fall behind anymore. It was a part of her past that she had promised herself to never return to.

Sakura had slowed her pace. The landscape had turned from forest and rivers to mountains. She had to cross a chain of mountains to continue. However unpractical for the inhabitants of River Country, the chain of mountains dividing the land also helped keeping enemies away. Shinobi from flat countries had very little expertise in mountain climbing, which could result in loss of ninjas when crossing the mountains. Sakura, however, though still from a rather flat land, had travelled a lot outside the Fire Country and had crossed dozens of mountains. She was beyond danger.

The mountain she was climbing now was a rather small one, with a secure path leading all the way to the other side. Back in their genin days, Naruto had had a mission here with Team Nine regarding some troubles in a gold mine in the village Katabami Kinzan. Gai, having travelled to Wind Country more times that one could count on both hands, had discovered this certain route and had recommended it to everybody crossing the River Country's mountains. Since Naruto and Team Nine had returned rather unharmed from their mission, Sakura had noted this certain route as the one she preferred.

It took her half an hour of climbing upwards before she saw the first sign of a village. A small inn located by the path had its windows lit up by lamps, and a tempting smell of food was spreading from the open window in the front. This was her chance to eat something else than can food. She needed the strength, the kunoichi justified, but there was nobody than herself she needed to persuade. Nobody would judge her for eating and resting in an inn. Not anymore.

She turned off the road when she reached the inn. The wooden front door creaked warningly as she entered.

"Hello," called Sakura in a friendly tone. "This is an inn, right?"

A low, round woman with grey hair and glasses popped her head out from the kitchen. Her eyes almost lightened up in bliss by the sight of the visitor. She greeted Sakura with an eager handshake while almost pulling her further into the inn.

"Welcome, welcome, my child! Come inside and have something to eat, hm? My name is Sanshou."

Sakura could not help but smile. When was the last time she had experienced so much happiness in another person? She could not recall.

"My name is Sakura."

She was placed by a large table, and her backpacks placed by a wall. The old woman returned to the kitchen.

"It is a very long time since I have last seen a Konoha ninja," she spoke from the kitchen while rummaging through some drawers. "Since the War, not many of you leave Fire Country. Which is understandable, of course, but most of my former customers were from Konoha. I can feel the changes the War has brought with."

She returned to Sakura with a tray with chopsticks, a small cup of saké, a cup of tea, and a glass of water. Sakura was overwhelmed by the amount of drinks, and thanked politely.

"Yes, we have lost many. The remaining shinobi and citizens are all helping to rebuild Konoha as it was before the War. It looks promising." She wanted to seem strong. She could not expect Sanshou to know that Sakura's generation was the generation with most sacrifices; that Sakura was one of the people with greatest losses.

"I still do have one regular customer from Konoha. Perhaps you know him? His name is Rock Lee," the elder spoke with a special tenderness that surprised Sakura. "He used to come visit me once each month. But ever since the War, he has only been here a couple of times. He says that there is still a lot of work to do."

Sakura nodded and sipped at the saké. It was warm and spicy in her throat.

"I do know him, yes. He is a friend of mine."

"Ah, would you like something to eat? My specialty is the Curry of Life," offered Sanshou proudly. "Perhaps you have heard of it from Lee?"

"Oh, that is very nice of you. But my stomach is not very good with curry," Sakura refused politely.

"It works amazingly against the cold," persuaded Sanshou.

"No, thank you, ma'am. I am more of a rice and fish type. It is a tradition in my family. Do you have fish?"

"Of course," answered the lady and disappeared into the kitchen once again. This time, she rummaged through the freezer.

"Salmon or tuna? No, wait, we have run out of tuna…" came her muzzled voice from the depths of the freezer.

"Halibut?" replied Sakura.

"Oh, yes yes, I have some halibut here!" She tugged out the frozen lump of fish and let it defrost in the microwave. Then she popped her head out from the kitchen. "Damped with parsley or roasted with root vegetables?"

"Damped, please," the kunoichi answered and stood up. "Do you have a toilet I may borrow?"

"Of course. Down the hallway to your left. If you wish to take a shower as well, use the room next to the toilet. And please, take your time. I will finish your fish meanwhile."

"Thank you," Sakura said and retrieved a few things from her backpack before striding down the hallway.

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The water was not as warm as Sakura had hoped, but it was definitely better than bathing in a small pond in the outer area of Fire Country. She took the opportunity to rinse her hair very thoroughly. Her pink locks had lost their colourful gleam and become grayish during the days she had travelled. The rain and dust from the cave had sunk into her hair and made it dreary. Just like her skin. The water by her feet was slightly dirty, but not for a long time.

Soon, she was clean and smelled nicely of apricot conditioner. She turned off the shower, wrapped herself in a towel and stepped out of the shower cabinet. She could smell her supper through the door, and she noticed how hungry she was.

Some real food will do good, she told herself and praised herself lucky that she had decided on visiting the inn. She had never imagined such hospitality from a stranger, but she supposed it was because she was a friend of Lee.

She quickly got dried and dressed, and she cleaned up after herself before leaving the bathroom.

"It smells delicious," she said when entering the small dining hall.

"What?" asked Sanshou from the kitchen. "I think I am going deaf."

"I said, it smells delicious," Sakura repeated, now a bit louder.

"Ahh, thank you! My uncle used to make a lot of fish dishes when I was young. He taught me some tricks before moving to Wind Country." Sanshou came out and placed the laden dish on the table, and Sakura was led to her seat.

"Now, Sakura, please eat up. I see you need the strength," smiled the elder and sat down on the other side of the table.

"Do you mind if I sit here meanwhile?"

"Of course not," Sakura answered with a smile and started eating. She found the fish very delicious.

"I used to run the inn with my grandson, Karashi. But when he heard about the War, he was determined to join. I could not persuade him into staying here with me. He wished to help his friends in Konoha. He said that they helped him years ago, and that this was his chance to repay them. I respect his determination. He reminds so much of his father," Sanshou told.

Sakura had stopped eating without noticing it, her eyes full of worry. The lady was lonely.

Sanshou continued her story: "I was so happy to hear that he survived the war, along with Lee. Karashi sent me a letter, telling me that he also wished to help rebuilding Konoha. He does not know when he will be returning, however. But he sends me a letter every now and then, keeping me updated on the situation in Konoha. And the few times Lee has come visiting me, he has brought me something from Karashi. Then I use to ask him to bring something back to Karashi. Since I have not seen Karashi for years, I really enjoy company. So I am very happy that you will be staying here, even for a single day or just an evening."

The old woman was smiling with tears in her eyes. It almost shocked Sakura. She had never imagined that someone would appreciate her company that much. It gave her a feeling which she had not felt in a very long time; the feeling of being needed, appreciated.

"When you say it like that, how can I travel on tomorrow without getting a bad conscience?" Sakura asked with a sad smile. Sanshou chuckled lightly.

"Oh, do not feel bad about that, dear. He will return one day, I am sure of it. And I suspect Lee of visiting me again soon. I will manage until then. As long as Katabami Kinzan is close, I will never be completely alone. Sometimes, some of the miners come here to eat some Curry of Life. Most of them are nice men. One of them even knew my son, Yuiyou. Karashi's father. I talk to him a lot. He always tells me funny things that he and Yuiyou did together when they were younger. And when he does, it feels like Yuiyou is right here, laughing with us."

"I am glad to hear that," Sakura replied with a smile.

"Anyway," Sanshou said and stood up, "Eat up, dear. You will need the strength tomorrow. The worst part of the mountain still lies ahead."

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The night had been cold. Sakura knew that, firstly, it was because of the temperatures in the mountains, and secondly, it was because winter was nearing.

She had woken up and packed her things, dressed warmly, eaten some rice and eggs and drunk some green tea with a spot of saké in. Now, she was about to leave the inn and continue her journey.

Sanshou led Sakura to the front door and disappeared for a moment, returning with a bundle in her hands. The bundle was pressed into Sakura's arms. The kunoichi looked at the mysterious lump of fabric and then at Sanshou who had a warm smile on her face.

"Against the cold," she said.

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Thank you for reading this far! You have no idea of how happy it makes me ^_^

(And if you don't know, review and I will show you how happy I am 3)

I promise you will see some Itachi X Sakura in next chapter (or, something that makes MY inner ItaSaku fangirl squeal, at least!)

Take care!

Love,

MangaAnimeLover 3