"What if...": Konoha bent the rules? (Like they ever followed them in the first place.)
Characters: Tsunade, Naruto Uzumaki, Shizune, Sasuke Uchiha (mentioned)
timeline: post-war, anniversary of the war's end. Naruto's appointment with a certain someone.
(followed by a requested short starring Sakura. suggested/inspired by KARASU25)
The sounds of men shouting and of hammers connecting with nails echoed throughout the gradually reappearing streets on a daily basis. The Fourth Great Ninja War was over and "Operation: rebuild" was making considerable progress. Luckily, Konoha had been spared. Half the buildings were still practically brand new from the rebuild after Pain's rampage but, for the most part, complete, and so Tsunade had sent out parties of civilians and shinobi to help the rebuilding processes elsewhere, especially those shinobi who had developed love interests from other villages.
However, today was almost unbearably quiet. The sounds of construction were temporarily put off–no claps of the hammer or dull growls of the saw. The chatter of voices remained in the air, but there was a sort of tension and seriousness that kept too much cheer away. For the most part, Konoha was quiet, for today was accepted as an off-day to remember those who had served and died during the war. After all, today was the day the war ended only a year ago.
A few of the chuunin and jounin were away on missions, but most of the ninja force stayed within the village to mourn or out to see loved ones. There were not many missions because of the maintained relationships between the big five, but there were some and– well, somebody had to take them.
At the top of the Hokage tower overlooking the village, Tsunade drummed her fingers to an unknown beat atop the railing as she scanned the (small and short) mission list for the day, eyebrows knit together in concentration. Humming, she picked up her writing utensil, twirling it between her fingers before scribbling some notes in the margins. Her heels tapped back to the desk set nearby. She had wanted a change in scenery, and it was much too nice of a day to waste inside when she could be down the street drinking to her heart's content. With the small amount of missions all assigned, she glanced to the side as her fingers began to inch towards the drawer in which her toxic obsession lay. Her hand jerked away from the drawer when she heard the footsteps behind her and feigned nonchalance when Shizune appeared on the rooftop, Tonton in tow.
The hokage's kohai, friend, and sometimes-caretaker gave Tsunade a raised eyebrow and frown of disapproval before shaking her head. With practiced ease she transferred the "tower of doom and bane of Tsunade's existence," as the Hokage herself often referred to it, to the center of the desk.
Shizune's frown deepened when Tsunade turned to look at her, grinned good-naturedly, and smoothly push the menacing stack to the right side of her desk. "Tsunade-sama, you will have to do it eventually."
"I'll get to it eventually."
Shizune sighed heavily. "Of course that would mean I will do my 'half' of the work," she thought to herself. But before she could say anything about it (and not for the first time), Tsunade spoke up.
"I specifically said that we would not be accepting any missions today, but I can't help that some are still out there finishing up their missions. And I have to send another team out today..." she crossed her arms across her chest. "It can't be helped."
Shizune stood by quietly, realizing her shachou's struggle. Tsunade had wanted leaf ninja to be able to remain in the village today. Many brave shinobi had lost their lives during the war and every village–even those other than those involved in the Shinobi Alliance–was holding memorial services for those who perished. "Well," Shizune remarked quietly to herself, smiling, "of course Tsunade-sama granted passes earlier this week for those few leaf shinobi who had found love from another village..."
Amidst the silence and murmur of the village, a shadow appeared in front of Tsunade's temporary desk.
Tsunade straightened in her seat slightly.
A shinobi with jagged, cropped hair and inking utensils strapped to his person stood from his respectful stance. "Tsunade-sama."
"Ah, perfect timing..." Tsunade glanced at her paper. "I'm sorry but I need you to pick out two more of the Anbu, Root members if you prefer, but not Uzumaki Naruto. Go find them and bring them here for a mission briefing."
"Hai." the young man took his leave.
Tsunade sighed, not for the first time that morning, and turned in her chair to stare at the faces carved into the cliffs overlooking Konohagakure.
Shizune slid the paper Tsunade had been scribbling on from under her shachou's hand. Ignoring the doodles in some of the corners, she scanned the list and turned towards the daydreaming Hokage. "Ano...Tsunade-sama? Why did you exclude Naruto? He's been asking you for a mission like this."
"No," Tsunade murmured.
Shizune gave her a quizzical glance.
"That hyperactive ninja has an...a personal appointment to make."
"Appointment?"
Farther away, the aforementioned ninja raced through the trees, eager to reach his destination. His heart beat loudly and quickly in his chest from the exercise, but also with anticipation and nervousness. Small waves of nostalgia hit him as he passed sections of the forest –this is where Chouji, Neji, Kiba and Shikamaru fought against Orochimaru's Sound subordinates. It's been years...– The trees were re-growing gradually, but quickly enough that the battlefields were nearly unrecognizable. Naruto ran across the grass field where he had been saved time by Lee when he almost had to fight Kimimaro.
A rush of adrenaline led the anxious blonde to get to what he knew would be just beyond this last stretch of forest. The trees parted suddenly, just as they did before more than five years ago, (maybe a bit faster than before), and he came face to face with the decently-sized, relocated and secluded, Uchiha complex. Not much of a complex really, but more than enough for the sole survivor who lived there.
Shinobi from various villages appeared out of nowhere, tense and ready, but slowly relaxed as they recognized the infamous blonde and chakra signature. Inside, a pair of *black eyes slid to the front door.
It was bittersweet. Konohagakure at least was spared annihilation, but Sasuke's sudden declaration of his intention to become Hokage put the Hidden Leaf Village in an awkward fix. On one hand, he could be trusted to not destroy the village. Probably. His aid on the battlefield had been the vital turning point. If not for him, Obito probably wouldn't have been taken down and the world would have been plunged into an infinite genjutsu. Maybe. But he was also responsible for assassinating Danzo, though most people didn't like the old man anyway, and attacked the kage meeting, trained under Orochimaru and was the source of many troubles to multiple people after he went rogue. Putting him to death didn't seem like quite the right sentence for someone who may as well have provided the power to end the war with the Alliance as victor despite his past. Yes, he was extremely dangerous, but if he at least had Konoha's good intentions in mind, for the most part, then…
Naruto placed his hand on the seal on the imposing double doors. This specific seal was the newer, advanced version. It was designed to recognize the chakra signals it was supposed to, and reject any signals it didn't. The elders may not approve Naruto's meeting with Sasuke, but he didn't give a shit what they thought and the rest of the guards didn't mind. It was Naruto after all.
The blonde pushed open the doors and let his eyes adjust to the darkness as they closed behind him. Flames burst in the candleholders embedded in the walls, leading his gaze down the depths of a hallway.
Author's note: *"black" eyes are not possible. only dark, very dark brown. Perhaps they can be "black" in the ninja world, but– it's just a big pet peeve of mine...
(The Sakura short, as promised last time, is after this little note.)
I'm more into the "implied" speculation, so I may or may not actually continue what Naruto and Sasuke are actually doing in the above scenario. I guess that depends on whether or not I receive verbal preference :0
"What if: Sasuke was awake when Sakura found team 7?"
Characters: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki (present/mentioned)
POV: alternates between Sakura and Sasuke, Sakura and Sasuke, delineated by line-breaks
Based off of: Chapter 1-"What if...": Naruto and Sasuke battled it out at the conclusion of the war as promised?
timeline: around the end of the war
recap:
Sakura was about ready to bust a mountain. It was just like in Konoha against Pain. She could only watch Naruto suffer and try to beat someone she almost considered unbeatable. She was angry at herself. Was she so weak that she couldn't jump in and lend a hand? No, she had promised Naruto she would leave Sasuke to him. But that didn't lessen the pain in her chest. And she still couldn't make her body move towards them, even if she was not a burden any longer.
Calm down, she breathed in and out. Focus on healing everyone else. Conserve chakra so she could rescue her two idiots from death if need be.
She was so focused that it was some time before she realized that the gigantic explosions had ceased. "Sakura-san. They're finished," the slug from her shoulder offered. With a start, Sakura sprung from her seated position only to trip over herself. She hadn't noticed that the circulation in her legs was cut off either. Scowling and impatient, Sakura used her hands to spring herself through the air, furiously pumping what chakra she could spare into her numb and aching legs as the scenery flew by…
Sasuke stubbornly fought against sleep but eventually let his eyelids droop. So maybe he had been wrong all this time. Sasuke had been so sure of everything, especially after he revived Orochimaru and redefined his purposes and refocused on his goals. How was it that someone so stupid could so completely tear at and destroy every wall Sasuke had set up. (Well, not every wall, but I digress.) Maybe this was something he should have seen coming as soon as he and Naruto exchanged their first blows in their battle. It was almost as if Sasuke was destined to change his mindset again. If Naruto could overcome Karuma's hatred, the demon fox spirit that almost breathed hatred before he allowed Naruto into his life (pun and irony itended), he could overcome Sasuke's own hatred developed over only a portion of a lifetime and not centuries of resentment.
He would never forgive himself and never orally admit that Naruto had saved him from himself. It hurt his pride too much. And maybe when he came to...his eyelids twitched...maybe when he came to, he'd already be in the next world. After all, the orders for everyone else was to kill Uchiha Sasuke on sight, probably despite his aid on the battlefield. And with that lost thought, the rogue shinobi's lips quirked into a weak smirk before–
The sound of a weight scraping against gravel and then the taps of rapid strides overrode the sound of Naruto's snores. For some reason, he felt like he should know what he was hearing, but his mind was tiring and slowing down. And then there was a flash of pink and Sasuke knew.
I was practically tripping over myself in my own fatigue. The adrenaline from earlier was wearing off, and my legs were protesting with each leap I took. I skidded sloppily down into the crevice that my teammates had carved into the ground and saw them lying side-by-side in the center. My breath got caught in my throat and it was all I could do to stop from screaming. I may have been hyperventilating. I don't know anymore.
Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I shot over as rapidly I dared, collapsing on my knees between them. I quickly checked Naruto's pulse and when I stopped breathing so loudly I could hear his snores and I just wanted to hit him right then and there but–
There were eyes on me.
I froze, Naruto's pulse beating steadily against my clammy fingers. He was watching me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
And I put my fingers under Sasuke's jaw, just to be sure. His half-lidded eyes bore into me and I wanted to look at him but I just– and I couldn't–
A particularly loud grunt came from my right and I turned back to my number one knucklehead. I parted his jacket and checked for any particularly deadly wounds, but found none. A small but loud voice entered my head and assured me that Naruto was healing quickly and was not in any real danger. I took Karuma's words as truth, though a bit uneasily, and turned back to the Uchiha on my left.
Unlike Naruto, Sasuke didn't have an automatic healing pact with the Sharingan and he hissed when I prodded his nastiest wound in the middle of his chest. Several fractured ribs. Torn stomach muscles, a punctured lung. It was a wonder he could even breathe somewhat properly. I tried to steady my hands over him, but I had to settle for a bit of trembling. The diamond that had been on my forehead was dissolving. I was healing Sasuke with the last of my chakra and I briefly wondered if it was alright like this. I made the mistake of looking at Sasuke and our eyes met. Somehow his gaze was as intense as usual even as he fought against the fatigue, and I began to wonder why he was fighting it off so stubbornly.
I tore at the sudden connection between us and tried to focus on healing him. It definitely was not going well. With every second, more and more blood was leaking out of him. I couldn't move or bandage him, not while he was like this and hardly able to get any air. Darkness was beginning to creep into the edges of my vision. I knew by now that popping a few army pills would not help me any. I'd had so many I'd lost count. Taking more might be more harmful than helpful.
Chakra signals. Voices. They were getting closer. My breath caught in my throat and I ignored the embarrassment that coursed through my veins as Sasuke saw me panic. Exhausted, I began to fear that someone would try to take advantage of Sasuke while he was in this condition. No. No, no, no! Over my dead body, I yelled weakly in my mind. It can't end like this I- I'm not finished- not weak anymore- no!
I began to sway slightly, unable to force my body to be more cooperative. Staring down at my trembling hands, I smiled weakly and wondered briefly if I would die this way. Just as my chakra was about to run out, hands grabbed at my shoulders and tried to push me gently onto the ground. Someone was calling my name and I was resisting, trying to say something that actually made sense, trying to tell them not to kill him. With the last of my strength I shoved whoever it was away and lurched onto my knees, hovering over Sasuke's outstretched body. One hand remained in it's green aura over his chest, and the other shook violently in the dirt by his shoulder.
Another set of hands shoved their way into my vision over mine- they were saying something to me. I knew it. What were they saying? I realized I was crying, but I was so dehydrated that nothing was coming out. Is this what dying fee- Someone grabbed my chin and poured water down my throat. A risky move, my brain automatically recognized by habit. I almost choked and managed to get most of it down the right pipe, but still refused to budge.
After what felt like a lifetime, my hearing came back to me briefly in time to hear a jumble of nonsense, but enough that I knew Sasuke was no longer in danger and I gave in, blacking out before I was turned over and lowered between my teammates.
It didn't bother me so much that I could potentially die. If I did, it may be for the better. It didn't bother me so much that Sakura seemed to remain just as I remembered or that, despite the similarities, she was also different. It bothered me instead that all the activity, and the fact that I was still cared about, didn't make me feel anything at all when perhaps I should.
Sasuke ignored the people swarming around him and instead let himself slip into unconsciousness for perhaps the last time.
Author's note: wow, so long...I really can't keep anything too short, can I? Sorry bout the longer wait. Hopefully the "Sakura short" doesn't seem too rushed...and hopefully the POV switch wasn't too confusing.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
Next time: The Sixth Hokage {subject to change}
[technically, Danzo was only the candidate for the position. I'm assuming that Naruto (or Sasuke) won't be too keen on remembering the fact that Danzo was supposed to be Hokage.]