GOOD NEWS!!! EXAMS ARE OVER!!!
OTHER PIECE OF GOOD NEWS!!! I have found a plot! It's not perfect...yet, but I'm hoping you guys will like it -- I tried so hard not to make it cliche, but maybe I took the wrong direction? Only one way to find out -- KEEP READING (insert evil laughter here)
COMMENCE: CHAPTER THREE!!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto TT^TT ... I own this cookie though xP
~ChApTeR 3: ThE ReQuIrEmEnTs~
"I can't believe you're doing this Forehead!" Ino ranted, pacing up and down her room, "For one, you've gotten Sasuke back to the village – in a very warped form as well may I add, that's already enough to make the fan girls want to tear off your head, and now, you want to take revenge? Are you sure you want to do this?? A wanted poster with your face on it is going to be posted on every corner! Do you want that?"
I chuckled before lying back on Ino's ridiculously pink bed, "I don't care about the fan girls." I turned on my side, before looking Ino in the eye. She sighed, obviously giving up on what seemed like a lost cause, before leaning in towards me, and looking very serious.
"You know that as a best friend, I have the obligation to support you in whatever you do right?" She asked, fingers pinching her nose, "This is what you want to do?"
I nodded, she sighed before grinning.
"Fine, it's not like I'm really unwilling either," She admitted, before quickly backtracking, "Oh no, don't get thoughts Forehead. I'm so out of love with Uchiha, it's just, revenge is sweet huh?"
"So, how do you propose I should do it?" I asked slowly, twirling a lock around my finger. Ino gave me a smile; I knew I was treading on thin ice now. No doubt the next thing out of her mouth would be something completely elaborate and out of my reach.
"Sakura," she grinned, "What is it now that you have that you didn't have before?"
I stared at her before shrugging, eyeing her suspiciously, "Medical skills?"
She blew out of her nose, exasperated, "No you baka! You're feminine charm!"
I almost choked on my own spit, "Feminine charm?" I managed to splutter,
"Hell yeah," Ino tapped the side of her head – reminding me of Kankuro funnily enough, except I certainly wasn't liking the way she was thinking – "Seduce him. Then, break his heart!" She grinned, as if it was the most satisfying plan in the world.
Me? I was too busy trying not to gag, "I have no feminine charm! Nor do I intend on getting any. And plus, this is Uchiha we're talking about, he has no heart remember? You can't earn a heart when there wasn't one to start with!"
Ino cackled, "You're too cruel Forehead. But it's true." She stretched, "I dunno then, that's the best thing so far. So, if you don't mind, I want to go to sleep now."
"Ino," I glanced at the clock, "It's eight-thirty."
"So?" She feigned her innocent look – a look I might have fallen for if I hadn't known her, "I'm tired."
I shrugged, and left through the window. But I didn't really leave at first. I stayed in a distant tree, masking my chakra. After all, it's always good to know what your best friends are up to. Just in case they're meeting, say, a stalker, that wouldn't be too good. Oh alright, I was partly in for it to use as ammo in future conversations which may need bribes or blackmails of sorts – not like she never does this to me.
Ino peeked through her window, but luckily not spotting me – she would literally go drown me in a lake if she caught me spying on her. Very quietly, she jumped down from her window and started strolling to the left. I noticed how she had put on her good skirt and a dab of make-up. She knocked on a door, which looked vaguely familiar, whose house was that again?
As the door opened, I was already gone.
Very interesting.
"Hey Naruto-kun!" I smiled, as he opened his door, "Care for a little spar? Winner gets treated as much ramen as they want tonight!"
To be honest, I was slightly worried that Naruto was mad at me over Sasuke, but he seemed as bubbly and hyper as normal.
"Okay Sakura-chan," Naruto grinned, "I'll have you know, that missions have gone down lately, so froggie is kinda empty. I won't lose to you!"
He made the seals for a Bunshin no Jutsu, his trademark technique. Before I knew it, I was buried under a sea of orange. Taking a deep breath, I focused quite a bit of chakra towards my feet before stomping hard on the ground. A large wave rippled through the rough soil and I was thrown up along with most of the clones, quickly, I flicked my wrist, sending out shruikens. The bunshins disappeared in a poof of smoke, except for one, which I did a roundhouse kick on, smashing Naruto onto the side of a tree, or rather, through the trees.
"Not bad Sakura-chan," Naruto huffed, wiping his mouth as he picked himself up, "But what was with those weapons?"
"You don't train with Tenten without learning a few things," I replied, before creating my own Bunshins. The first one ran up to where Naruto was, aiming to do some damage with the kunai in her hand, but she was intercepted and stabbed in the stomach. The rest tried the Naruto move, pouncing on him, smothering him. I saw this as my opportunity before kicking off from the ground.
Soon enough, my bunshins were sent flying in all sorts of directions. I somersaulted forward, gathering momentum. When Naruto looked up, I made sure he had the perfect view of a fist, ready to be brought down.
The impact shook the entire training ground, a deep fissure opened up in the middle. Yet, I had missed; he had managed to get away at the last minute.
Damn it. I looked at the fissure; Tsunade is not going to be happy with this.
Where was Naruto? I closed my eyes and listened intently, a slight change in the wind told me he was coming up behind and fast. I instinctively put up a hand to block as I turned, barely managing to catch the ferocious punch.
Remember your training with Lee. I chided myself heatedly; those bone-breaking lessons shouldn't be for nothing! After Sasuke left, I made it a point to keep training to with Lee to keep up my taijutsu ability. He was insanely fast, and I had to be alert at all times if I wanted to get away with minimal injury.
Perhaps that was the reason Naruto's attacks seemed slightly slower than usual, but only by a margin. He punched straight forward aiming for the jaw; I deflected while bringing a leg up to catch him around the neck. But a one second delay, and I had missed him entirely, he had crouched, swiping a leg in a circle around the floor. I allowed the leg to knock me down, feeling his slight moment of surprise.
"Always remember one thing Sakura. In a battle, hesitation is what a Haruno lives for."
I grinned at the memory, otou-san had always given the most brilliant advice. Executing a flip to get into position, I grabbed his left leg and flipped him, his arms flailed out; trying to touch the ground to reposition himself, one Neji-like palm to his stomach sent him flying back, skidding painfully along the dirt. I didn't even see him get back up, a blur and he was gone, a heavy fist knocking into the back of my spine, I heard a few bones crack as the wind tore at my face. I felt a sickening crunch as my head made contact with the trees. Naruto was coming up fast, I could see it.
I sent waves of chakra, urging them to repair the damage. By the time I was done, Naruto was less than a kilometre away, I had to try the thing least expected. In this situation, what would be expected? Me, with my back to a tree and a charging ninja up ahead? The logical thing would be to dodge of course. But the unexpected thing would be a full frontal attack. I squirmed as if I couldn't get out of that position. He was fast approaching, now!
I ducked quickly, Naruto's fist passed through the top of my head with just an inch to spare, smashing the trunk to smithereens, I quickly gave him a chakra-loaded fist to the stomach, watching him fly back the way he came, just as rapidly.
As I got up, I winced, feeling how the splinters had pierced the back of my shirt, causing numerous blood spots to appear. I didn't notice as Naruto did a roundhouse kick to the side of my head causing the world to spin for a couple of minutes, before finally refocusing itself. Blood trickled out of the corner of my mouth. I lunged for him, sending a mild chakra wave into his head. For a few seconds, as he remained still, I kicked him off his feet, hoping he would stay down.
But he obviously didn't. His Kyuubi dispelled the headache I had placed in exactly thirty seconds, causing him to come charging back up towards me. I readjusted my stance. His fist came down and so did mine. Right on each others face.
Déjà vu – This was result was just like chuunin exams with Ino all over again.
I swaggered a little, my cheek feeling impossibly numb; I could barely open one eye. Naruto wasn't in a better state, staggering around like a drunken fool. We both collapsed on the ground, side by side, arms spread out.
"That was something," Naruto wheezed, blinking furiously.
My own vision was filled with pretty spots, "Yeah," I managed to choke out, wiping the side of my mouth. I took a glance at him. His entire cheek had swollen up, a bit of his hair had been ripped out during the fight and his orange jumpsuit was completely covered in mud. I started laughing, it just came up, and I couldn't help myself. Unfortunately, every second felt like someone was plunging a knife into my stomach – must have broken some ribs, but I continued all the same… It felt really good.
"You look so funny!!" I hooted, "You just got wasted by a girl!"
"Hey!" Naruto rasped, chuckling a bit, "I did not lose to a girl! You are treating me to ramen tonight!"
"With the amount you eat? I'm obviously in a better condition than you!" I coughed, "So, I think I'm the one getting treated."
Naruto painfully turned to one side, his face scrunching up as he scrutinized me, "The future Hokage cannot lose," he said proudly, "Why don't you ask Sasuke then? He's standing right there!"
I froze, itching to stand up and zoom away. Leaning on my good left arm, I turned my head to see the said Uchiha leaning against one of the few trees standing, arms folded, hair still resembling a chicken nest.
"Still trying to look cool huh," I murmured angrily, glaring daggers at him, "Stupid Uchiha."
"Oi! Teme!" Naruto hollered, gesturing wildly and enthusiastically, "Who won?"
Uchiha simply stared at us before turning and walking away. Naruto frowned slightly, face falling.
"Oh, that baka," He muttered, before sighing and lying back down. I watched the Uchiha walk away, the trees slowly swallowing him.
"Sakura-chan?"
"Huh?" I turned back to look at Naruto, who was staring at me, eyebrows knitted together.
"What's up with you and teme?" He asked, sincerely confused, "I don't get it! I thought you would be all over him! What happened?"
I exhaled through my nose before running a healing hand over Naruto's hair, restoring a patch of the yellow, "For a while I thought so too," I admitted, "But, things have changed. I can't be in love with someone who won't return it forever. Things are just…different."
Naruto grinned his 'Good guy grin' at me, "Well, whatever went on, I hope it'll get solved soon! I can't wait for the three of us to eat ramen at Ichiraku, just like old times!"
I could never understand how Naruto could forgive someone so easily, but I admired him for it. I lay on my back again, watching the clouds slowly roll on by, without a care in the world. I didn't have the heart to tell Naruto that that might never happen.
"So." Tsunade yawned, waving her hand, "The reason why I've called you the three of you here today is to discuss Sasuke's sentence."
"Neh?" Naruto asked, "Why am I here then?"
I felt myself sitting quite tense, Sasuke being too close for comfort on my right. Sure, it was about forty-five centimeters difference, but I would have prefered two metres or even better, ten kilometers. Anything was better than this.
"Because!" Tsunade gritted, "You're his teammate! Kakashi is of course, late as usual. You have a right to know about the punishment, which is to be three years long," She turned to look at him, "You will be watched over every minute of it."
His eyes were narrowed dangerously, but voiced no complaint.
"Aa." The sound was stoic, meaningless almost.
"You will be prevented from going on missions," Tsunade continued, "as well as clan meetings, the Uchiha compound will be barred off for the time being, you are not to enter. And, the Council has ordered you to have a tracking device implanted into your bloodstream; I myself will be responsible for that operation." She drew in a deep breath, before looking almost apologetically at Sasuke, "Uchiha, this is the lightest punishment we can give to you, when you left the village; you knew that the consequences of being caught were very severe."
Sasuke stared at her with his pitch-black eyes, unrevealing any secrets, "I knew," he answered, "Is there no way I can shorten my sentence?"
This was the most Uchiha had talked since he got back, which probably meant he was desperate to shake off his spies.
"I thought you might ask that," Tsunade smiled, a smile I knew too well. She was about to give an ultimatum, and knowing the Uchiha, there was no way he would refuse.
Naruto and I exchanged nervous glances before turning our attention back to Tsunade.
"There is no way for the sentence to be lifted completely," she stated, still looking at Sasuke very carefully, as if she would expect him to get up and try massacre us right now – an understandable thought, as my own fingers were twitching to reach into my weapons pouch. "But, we can shorten it considerably, to say, about one year?"
I felt my eyebrows collide into a V, what would the catch be? Naruto whistled lowly beside me.
"However, for us to be convinced enough to do that, you'll have to reprove your devotion to the village,"
I felt myself smirk and lean back, closing my eyes and listening.
"This will be done through the Jounin exam." She finished, my eyes flew open in shock, and Naruto spluttered uncontrollably, Sasuke's eyes had a flash of shock, before his stoic façade erased that.
Just as Tsunade was about to speak again, a puff of smoke announced the arrival of Kakashi, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
"Uh, sorry I was late," he said, cringing under Tsunade's glare, "I couldn't find my lucky boxers and –"
"Liar," Naruto muttered darkly,
"Just sit down Kakashi," I sighed at the same time.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Kakashi took the seat next to me, "What'd I miss?"
"Sasuke just got owned by the Council," I said out of the corner of my mouth, "Shishou's giving him a ultimatum – try out for Jounin ranks or be stalked for three years."
Kakashi sucked in, before rubbing his hands together as if it were some sort of movie.
Tsunade slammed her palm onto her desk, glaring at us all, "Anyway!" She barked, daring us to say another word, "Sasuke is technically still a genin, as he failed to pass the chuunin exam before he left. But the council is willing to let you jump the levels straight to Jounin. You do realise that taking the Jounin level will be pledging yourself more seriously to the village, so consider your options very carefully."
"And, if I do that, my sentence is shortened?" Sasuke folded his arms, as if it couldn't quite be that easy.
"Shortened yes, but the extra years will be added on to your community service." Tsunade leaned back into her chair, fingers intertwined before her,
Sasuke gave her a cold, calculating look, "I accept."
I was not expecting such a straightforward answer, neither was anyone else, as Tsunade leaned forward and looked him in the eye,
"You have all week to decide." She pointed out,
"I decide now. I want to accept." The Uchiha stared back, unflinchingly.
I was surprised that he had given such a definite answer, Naruto's jaw dropped, and even Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly – something he only saved for Icha Icha Paradise books.
Tsunade sighed heavily, waving a hand, "Your choice. The rest of you out, I want to talk to the Uchiha about the arrangements."
"Baa-chan –" Naruto whined, before he was silenced by the furious glower on Tsunade's face. He quietly got up without any complaints and left, Kakashi tailing closely behind. I had just risen out of my seat when Tsunade waved me back down,
"Sit Sakura," She said impatiently, "You're his watcher for now, so you must be present too."
"Because Sasuke is not yet trusted enough on his own," her eyes flickered to Sasuke before landing squarely on mine, "The Council has decided that the two of you are to move in together."
She looked dead serious, she sounded dead serious. I groaned. Way to drop a bombshell shishou.
~NeXt Up -- ChApTeR 4: UnBeArAbLe CiRcUmStAnCeS~
Okay, and that is CHAPTER THREE complete! *Yayness!!!* Exams are over, results are out -- can't say I love the look of them, but, they could be a WHOLE lot worse!
Time to chillax for the remainder of the year!! Which probably means: MUCH MORE UPDATES!!! About that (see to the left) not sure whether it's a good thing or bad thing.
Feel free to voice whatever criticism or comments in the reviews, I'll be looking forward to them!! xD
Hyponess is AWESOME!!!
~Candy~
