Author's Note from Panda: Woah Momma, 2 chapters and over 100 followers and favorites in about 2 weeks. That is incredible to us.
Sorry about the long gap between updates. When he noticed how popular this story had become we had to rewrite this chapter to better fit the new narrative. And after that we had another story idea that we just had to work on which we hope to post soon.
Anyway, thank you all for reviewing, following, favoriting, and being patient. Here is your reward.
Five days since Sakura arrived at the Village Hidden in the Leaves…
knock knock
"Enter." Minato said as he sat at his desk in the Hokage office. Probably the last year he will have sitting in that office.
The door opened to reveal Sakura and Tsunade.
"You...said you wanted to see me?" Sakura asked meekly.
"Ah, Sakura. Yes, please come in." Minato greeted with a smile.
Sakura and Tsunade entered the office, closing the door behind them. Minato pointed to a pair of chairs that were placed in front of his desk. They walked over and sat across from him.
"A few days ago, I met with both the Shinobi council and Civilian council. It didn't take much to get the Shinobi council to agree to let you in, even with the knowledge of you being a Jinchuriki. The Civilian council was a lot harder to convince, but thanks to Tsunade's testimony, they agreed to let you live in the village as a citizen and are allowed to apply for a position amongst the Shinobi ranks."
"Awesome." Sakura smiled.
"However. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any opening in Genin squads to put you with shinobi in your age group. I'm afraid for the time being I'll have to place you in our reserves division and have you work side by side with Lady Tsunade and Shizune at the hospital." Minato said.
"Oh...well, that's okay for now I suppose." Sakura said in dejection.
"There is a silver lining though." Minato said as he pulled out a squad file with the designation: Team 7, on the cover. "One of the recently promoted Chunin in this year's rookie batch filed for transfer to a higher ranking Chunin squad. It being his right to do so." Minato pulled out a photo with the ninja's personal information:
Sasuke Uchiha
Age: 13
Rank: Chunin
Etc...
He had dark hair that was spiky and sticking up in the back like a duck's behind with a mature and serious kind of face that made him look handsome and emotionless.
"Once he leaves in a month or two after the paperwork has gone though, there will be an opening in his squad." Minato said as he pulled out two more ninja information pages.
Ami Umi
Age: 13
Rank: Genin
Etc...
A purple haired girl with an asymmetrical hair design and brown eyes that didn't strike Sakura as all that friendly.
And finally, a face that made Sakura wanna leap for joy.
Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze
Age: 12
Rank: Genin
Etc…
"I get to be on Naruto-kun's team!?" She squealed.
"Not officially for a month or two. But I can request that Kakashi take on another student to let you get a feel for the team before you join. Do some training together, go on some missions..." Minato said as Sakura seemed to being crushing the file in a death hug. "But I need to advise you of something. If, or when you two decide to start dating, your primary focus must be on the mission at hand and keep any 'lovey dovey' emotions or actions to a bare minimum. I say this to all squads that have both male and female teammates."
"Yes, yes, I promise. We will be completely professional." Sakura swore.
"Good to hear. I gave Naruto the same talk and he understands...I think."
flashback
"Who would I start dating, dad?" Naruto looked confused at his father who tried his very best to keep a straight face.
'We dropped him on his head.' Minato thought. 'We did it so many times that I blocked it out. That's gotta be it.'
flash forward
"Yup."
"Well, okay then." Sakura smiled.
"Speaking of that...how is that coming along if you don't mind me asking?" Minato smiled.
"Well...I was gonna talk to him about it later today, but he's on a mission. Or so I've heard." Sakura sighed.
"Oh yes...B rank to another village. He should be back in a few days."
"Can you tell me what his mission is or is that top secret?" Sakura asked.
"I can't tell you the specifics because you're not a Shinobi yet." Minato stated.
"But, what is he doing?" Sakura pressed.
"A B-Rank is generally an escort or aid mission to another village. Risk is moderate generally. That's all you need to know." Tsunade stated.
"But, which village did he-"
"Sakura, that's enough." Tsunade silenced.
"Aah...alright..." Sakura pouted.
"If you would like to know, they went to the Hidden Rain Village. And, if I'm not mistaken, it's actually near your home village; The Hidden Star Village. Or...what's left of it anyway." Minato said.
"It's okay. As cold as it may sound, I was only a baby when it happened. It's just the name of a place."
"But it's still where you were born." Tsunade reminded her. "What happened to Star?"
Minato sighed heavily as he pulled out the file in regards to the Hidden Star. "Let's see...About 2 years ago, it met an unfortunate end to a gang of rogue S-Class ninja. They all but demolished the place. We sent help, but there was only so much we could do."
"Oh my...do you know who exactly were the rogue ninja?" Tsunade asked.
"Sadly, no...but we think Sound had something to do with it." Minato stated.
Then Minato found another part of the file that made his eyes go wide. "Oh...I didn't see this beforehand..."
"What?" Sakura asked, growing worried.
"Oh boy..." Minato sighed. "Sakura...it turns out, you did have more family in Star. Grandparents and an aunt and uncle. But according to my reports, they were killed during the raid 2 years ago."
"Oh..." Sakura said. "Well that's..." She said, not sure what to make of that information. Was she supposed to be sad about people she had never met? Was she insensitive to not be feeling anything?
"So...even if Lady Tsunade didn't take you in and seal the 6 tails inside of you, there is a strong chance that you would have perished in the raid as well. So, Lady Tsunade adopting you actually saved you."
"Well I was already grateful for her taking me in and raising me." Sakura said.
"Right." Minato nodded before closing the file folder and putting it back in his desk. "So, here's another thing. I learned that it could be several months before you can find a place of your own. we currently have no vacant apartments available and we don't know when one will be available. But you are more than welcome to stay in my home as long as you wish. I'm certain that will make Naruto very happy."
'This is a dream come true. Never mind the cute boy we get to live with. We get to keep living in a mansion.' Sakura thought.
"That's generous of you, but I must decline." Tsunade stated.
'WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!?' Sakura exclaimed. What was Tsunade doing? Didn't she know this was Sakura dream she was turning down? To live in a mansion with all of her family and a cute, sweet hearted boy. How could she do this to her?
"Any reason why?" Minato asked.
"I'm really not one to live in the lap of luxury. It's just not my thing." Tsunade waved off.
"I see...I can see about putting you up in a hotel until an apartment is available." Minato offered.
"That'll be fine." Tsunade nodded before hearing a sniff from Sakura. She turned around to see that she was almost on the verge of tears and smirked. "However, if Sakura wants, she can take you up on your offer."
Sakura looked up to her master with hope in her eyes. "R-r-really...?"
"Yes really. I don't want to pull you two lovebirds apart." Tsunade said simply.
Sakura pounced her master in a big hug. "Thank you!" She cried. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Not a problem, Sakura. Just don't forget about me and Shizune and be sure to visit us every once in a while." Tsunade smiled.
"Yes of course I will!" Sakura smiled.
"Good. Cause eventually you will move back in with us until you are of age to do so. I don't wanna hear any whining then."
Sakura sniffed. "Yes mom...I promise..."
"Wow, you haven't called me that in a while." Tsunade smiled.
"Well you're totally acting like one. Not letting me live with a boy."
"What parent wouldn't? Adoptive or not? When you're 16, you can do whatever you want."
"And our home will always be open for you." Minato smiled.
"Could...I at least be allowed to stay over on weekends?" Sakura asked.
"Hmmmm...I dunno...what do you think Minato?" Tsunade asked.
"I'm not sure I can trust my son if he's having a pretty girl over at his house on the weekends." Minato teased.
"Ah, yes. you do have a point there." Tsunade played along.
"I-I wouldn't let him do something like that! And he would never-"
"You know, I did hear about your punishment game in detail." Tsunade smirked.
Sakura just blushed very hard.
"Hmm...well...I think so long as you keep a clean Shinobi record and work well at the hospital, I don't have a problem with it. Just keep your interactions at a PG level. Understood?"
"Yes, that means none of that punishment game. In fact, I'm going to hide that game since it's technically an adult game. Why I let the Daimyo's kids bring that I'll never know. It also means that neither one of you are to be in each other's rooms alone and that when using the bathroom, you LOCK your door." Minato lectured.
"And that also goes during the time you're living there until an apartment becomes available." Tsunade said motherly.
"And please don't stand naked in front of Naruto." Minato added.
"Yea, that was covered with the Punishment game." Tsunade reminded.
"Well I'm saying in general."
"Right."
"And don't have him stand naked in front of you." Tsunade added. "Don't be playing 'doctor' with him."
"Yes, exactly. Is that understood?" Minato asked in a very father like tone.
Sakura's face was so red, you couldn't tell if her skin was part of her shirt or not. "Y-yes...I understand..."
"Good. But, if I hear anything about you going against what we agreed upon, you will not be spending another night in the same house as Naruto until you two are at the proper age. Is that understood?" Tsunade said firmly.
"And I will be telling Naruto the same thing as well." Minato added sternly.
"R-right...I understand..." Sakura said nervously.
"Remember, a Shinobi is only as good as his word. If you go back on your word, then who would trust you on a battlefield?" Minato lectured.
Sakura steeled herself with a newfound sense of duty. "Then I promise on my life to never go back on my word."
Both Minato and Tsunade smiled at that. "And that attitude right there, is the start of being a great Shinobi." Minato said.
Sakura smiled brightly at the praise. "Thank you, sir."
"Now then. Your employment at the hospital is going to be a little bit delayed as it's currently overstaffed. Tsunade can attest to that."
"Yes, and I'm currently weeding out those I don't need by separating those who are willing to change vs those who aren't. I expect positions to be available in about...2 or 3 weeks." Tsunade confirmed.
"Okay, good to know." Minato said. "If you are looking for immediate employment, I know that the Yamanaka Flower shop is looking for help and the weapon shop could use a strong hand in the warehouse." Minato stated. "At least until I can get you trained as a reserve Shinobi."
"Yamanaka? Is Ino there?" Sakura asked.
"Yes, she typically runs the shop for her mother, but they act as a mother/daughter duo. But I spoke with Inoichi Yamanaka and he said that due to his wife being pregnant-"
"Wait, how far along?" Tsunade interrupted, now in full medic mode.
"Uh...about 6 months." Minato said.
"Alright, have her come see me at her leisure. She may need to be on maternity leave."
"Inoichi is already talking about putting her on Maternity leave, but I'll be sure to do just that." Minato agreed. "Anyway, due to Ino's mother being pregnant, work is piling up and they need help badly."
"How badly?" Sakura asked.
"Bad enough that I had been putting Genin teams on D rank missions to their shop to help them. Almost daily now."
"Geez...that is pretty bad." Tsunade said in awe.
"Yes. Mind you, they are very particular on who they bring in, however it was Ino herself who requested you specifically to help them out and her parents agreed." Minato said to Sakura.
"Well so long as I'm being paid I'll be glad to help." Sakura said.
"They can't afford to pay you much, probably about 800 Ryo a week. That doesn't go far if you were living on your own, but at least you get to meet new people and you would be helping them greatly."
"Money is money." Sakura shrugged.
"Alright. If you can start today then that would be a big help."
"I'm on it." Sakura said.
"Alright. With all of that said, you are dismissed. See you for dinner."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Sakura bowed.
10 minutes later, at the Yamanaka flower shop.
"Ino! I need you to move these pots!" Ino's mother called out.
"One minute. I'm still sorting out these wilted flowers." Ino called back.
"I need these taken care of ASAP! I have about 50 orders that need to go out by the end of the day!"
"Oh my god...this is nuts..." Ino sighed.
"Geez, you really do need help." Came a voice behind her that sounded like an absolute godsend to her.
"Sakura?! Oh thank the sage...my mom is in the back, go see her and she'll get you started." Ino sighed in relief.
"On it." Sakura said as she rushed into the back. Sakura walked into the back room to see a middle-aged woman with black hair with a very swollen belly.
"Mrs. Yamamaka." Sakura greeted.
Said woman turned around and almost cried. "You must be Sakura, right? Thank you so much for coming dear. You have no idea how badly we need your help..."
"I can imagine. Just tell me what to do." Sakura said.
"Alright, first things first. Those stacks of pots I need potting soil put in each of them and petunias planted in each one. Do that and I will instruct you further."
"On it." Sakura said as she got right to work.
Meanwhile, a few days run from the Leaf village.
Team 7 was working a protection detail, escorting one of the minor Lords of the Land of Fire and his family on a trade mission to the Hidden Rain Village.
"How much further do we have?" Ami asked.
"I'd say another 4 hours before we reach the village." Kakashi replied.
"Hmm..." Sasuke said, as always adding his valuable insight.
"And so you've always got to have the strongest Kage cards to win at Duel Ninjas. Like the Kazekage for desert battles and Raikages for hilly battles. You also want to fill your deck with ninjas from the same village to get the +20% moral boost cause if you have a Mist ninja fighting alongside a Tsuchikage well that's just asking for trouble. You know?" Lord Isono's son Isobo was explaining to Naruto.
"Oh I know..." Naruto said in a bored tone as he walked next to the Lord's carriage with the window open so that Isobo could explain in great detail about the strategy he had discovered from playing Duel Ninjas, the hottest new card game for kids, for about two months.
"Of course you do. You can still fight with say a Kazekage and some Leaf ninjas, but they won't have the same effect. Although Cloud ninjas aren't as effected by the Land of Earth's status effects as the other shinobi. But whatever you do, don't send out Mist Ninjas onto a desert battlefield. They will get obliterated. That's how I beat my servants. I give them a Mist deck and when I use my desert battlefield, even without pairing it with a Kazekage and Sand ninjas, I can still trounce them..." Isobo blathered on.
'God, does this kid ever shut up?' Kyuubi groaned.
'No...no he does not...' Naruto thought miserably.
'I can't take another 4 hours of this kids stupid card game...' Ami thought.
'I so wanna kill this kid...' Sasuke thought.
Kakashi paused when he sensed someone approaching the carriage.
'Oh thank the Sage.' He thought as he shut his book just as an arrow came whizzing out of the forest and embedded itself right on the frame of the carriage window, right by Naruto's face.
'Oh thank God!' Naruto thought as he slammed the window shut. "I'M GONNA HAVE TO CALL YOU BACK!" He shouted at the family as he readied himself for an-
"AMBUSH!" Kakashi yelled to alert his team. The two Genin and the one Chunin took a defensive position around the carriage.
"Sasuke. Can you spot anything?" Kakashi asked.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan and quickly scanned the forest. Nothing he could notice except for some trees, a few geckos, and- 'There!'
"A bunch of thugs. Axes, clubs, and 2 bows and arrows! 3 o clock!" Sasuke reported.
"Alright, Ami, on me. You boys protect the carriage." Kakashi ordered as he took off into the trees.
"Sasuke. You still have that thing I gave you?" Naruto asked, still maintaining a defensive position.
"What thing? That frivolous kunai?"
Naruto nodded. "Keep that close in case we get separated."
"Don't give me orders, Namikaze. Just make a wall of your Shadow Clones and wait for Kakashi to finish off the thugs." Sasuke ordered.
"It wasn't an order." Naruto said simply before creating a wall of Shadow clones. "It was a suggestion."
"I don't need your suggestions for a gang of dirt stains. Whatever illusions you had about us being equals must surely be gone now. Genin." Sasuke said as he kept his Sharingan fixated on Kakashi wiping out thug after thug while Ami dealt with one.
"Oh, I'm so gonna miss this when you're gone. Please stay on the team." Naruto fake pouted.
"The further I'm away from you the better." Sasuke spat.
"On that, we can agree on." Naruto grumbled as he heard something and moved his head out of the way at the last second to dodge an incoming arrow.
"Which way did that come from?" Naruto asked.
"The opposite from which it's pointing." Sasuke pointed out, his finger tracing from Naruto back into the forest, the opposite direction of which Kakashi and Ami had headed.
"Is it just one or is there more?"
"Just one."
"You know, whenever you feel like being a team player, I'll be ready for you." Naruto snapped. Naruto nudged a couple of his clones to go take out the archer, to which they took off and Naruto created two more to take their place.
"The day I want to be on the same team with you again will be the day I give up my dreams." Sasuke spat.
"Besides being a stuck up prick with a pole stuck up your ass? Because you're living up to that dream quite well."
"Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke said.
"Yes, sir." Naruto saluted with his middle finger.
'Grrr, smartass.' Sasuke thought as he didn't dignify Naruto's provocation.
"Sasuke-kun! Are you hurt?!" Ami called out as she came rushing back out of the woods. Followed behind by Kakashi carrying two heavy thugs on his back.
'And then there's the fangirl...another I will be glad to be rid of.' Sasuke thought. "No, not that it's any concern of yours."
"Aw, you're always such a kidder, Sasuke." Ami laughed as all the men in her squad sighed. One day she would take the hint.
"Anybody hurt?" Kakashi asked.
"No one is injured." Sasuke reported.
"I sent a couple of clones to deal with an archer off in that direction." Naruto reported as one of his clones emerged with a wounded archer.
"What about our precious escorts. Lord Isono! Is your family okay?" Kakashi asked.
"We're good!" The Lord's son called back.
"Perfect. You okay, carriage driver?" Kakashi asked the gruff old man who sat a top of the carriage.
"Mmmm..." The old man muttered.
"I take that as a yes." Kakashi sighed before addressing his team. "That was perfectly executed. Absolutely flawless, good communication, smooth execution and nobody got hurt. You three have learned a great deal in such a short amount of time. I doubt that other Genin teams in your age group have excelled as well as you three have. I'm proud of all of you."
To hear such praise from their sensei was completely inspiring to them all. Even Sasuke couldn't help but crack an arrogant smile.
"You really mean it?" Ami asked.
"Yup." Kakashi said with his trademark eye-smile. "Now let's continue-"
He stopped himself when he saw something horrible, to which his other teammates caught onto as well. An arrow from seemingly out of nowhere and protruded from the carriage wall, just grazing Ami's cheek and drawing blood.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi called out.
"Right!" Sasuke responded before activating his Sharingan and spotted the archer almost immediately. "There!" He pointed to the direction of where the arrow came from.
Naruto then threw his three-pronged kunai in that same direction. The archer paused when he heard a kunai landing with a thump again the tree trunk where he was perched and the next thing he knew a blond kid in an orange jacket appeared in front of him and punched him square in the face.
"Target down." Sasuke reported.
"Oh Sasuke-kun! You saved me!" Ami exclaimed as she jumped onto him for a hug.
"Technically, Naruto did." Kakashi pointed out as soon as Naruto returned with the unconscious archer. But Ami wouldn't hear any of it and kept clinging to Sasuke. As far as she was concerned. Whatever role Sasuke had in saving her was the biggest role.
"You can let go now..." Sasuke grumbled.
"Oh...right..." Ami said sheepishly. 'Damn it, that was so close to being a new record for how long I held him.' Ami cursed in her head.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Sasuke asked.
"Because we're soul mates Sasuke-kun." Ami giggled. "Even if you don't realize it yet. I can feel it in my heart."
"No we're not. The sooner you realize that the better." Sasuke spat. "Let me make something perfectly clear to you. I. Do. Not. Like. You."
"Oh Sasuke-kun, you're such a kidder." Ami giggled. Sasuke just groaned, there was no arguing with her. The sooner he left this team of losers and fan girls the better.
"Is that all of them, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.
Sasuke did one last quick scan of the area and found no more baddies.
"All clear." Sasuke reported.
"Very good." Kakashi said as he knocked on the side of the carriage. "All clear!"
The boy in the carriage opened the window back up and Naruto groaned mentally when he saw him with that damn deck of cards in his hand.
"Did you kill them?" He asked gleefully.
"We captured them." Kakashi stated.
"Aww, I wanted to watch you kill them." Isobo pouted.
"Isobo, sit down!" His mother shouted at him
'The sooner this mission is over the better.' Team 7 all collectively thought.
Back in the Leaf. In the deepest...darkest... darkest dungeon. An old ally of Team 7's was being interrogated.
Kabuto hadn't seen daylight since his capture by Tsunade and her allies. Ever since he had been undergoing the worst possible nightmares imaginable to the agents of the T&I department.
The steel doors to his cell swung open and two agents in black trench coats stepped in. One of them carrying a bucket of ice cold water.
"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bake-y!" He shouted before dousing Kabuto with the icy bucket that smelled.
Kabuto coughed and hacked after being nearly drowned by the sudden splash of ice cold water.
"Except...oops, I'm sorry Kab-y, we don't have any eggs and bake-y for you." The interrogation officer said as he flipped over his ice bucket, slammed in on the ground with a loud bang, and sat down on it while his supervisor stood in the corner behind him.
"I'm sorry that we got your hopes up, Kab-y. Truly I am." The man smirked.
"Kiss my ass you Leaf prick..." Kabuto spat.
"Whoa, whoa, rude!" The T&I officer said with a hand over his heart. "And after I promised you eggs and bake-y."
"Yes, keep up with the false bravado...I will piss on your body after Lord Orochimaru kills you." Kabuto spat with an arrogant smirk.
"Kind of like I did when I threw that bucket of your own cold piss on you?" The officer asked innocently.
"Alright, let's move this along." The other man started. "Kabuto, you can make this so much easier on yourself if you just cooperate."
"Fuck you..." Kabuto cursed as he tried to shake off the piss that had already seeped into his clothes.
"Oh don't be like that, Kab-y." The younger officer said before snapping his fingers. "I know what'll cheer you up. A special guest has come to visit you. He's an important guy too, real sophisticated. He'll appreciate your attire of shit stained rags covered in piss." The officer smiled as a tall figure stepped inside from behind him. A blond man with spiky hair wearing a Jounin vest with a white trench coat with red flames sewn on the bottoms.
"So...the slug bitch saved you after all..." Kabuto spat.
"She did. And she spared your life when she decided to bring you to us as a prisoner, rather than a head we could send back to Orochimaru." Minato said as the senior officer brought him a chair to sit on. A nicer and taller chair than the one Kabuto was sitting in.
"What do you want." Kabuto spat.
"Everything you know about Orochimaru and his operations. The location of his bases, the strength of his soldiers, any experiments he is working on, what his favorite breakfast cereal is, and anything else that comes to mind." Minato said straight up.
"No." Kabuto said simply.
"You sure you don't want to cut a deal with us? We could get you reduced jail time, add a few luxuries to your cell, let you take a bath that wasn't made up of your own urine with ice." Minato offered.
"I would sooner die...you think you have me backed into a corner? I've lived through far worse than your pitiful excuse of interrogators have put me through thus far. You won't get me to crack...you will never find out the secrets I know." Kabuto grinned a sinister grin. "The Leaf village will soon fall to its knees. One way or another, everyone in the Leaf shall perish...including your two Jinchuriki."
"Wait a minute, two?" The younger man asked.
"Oh, so you don't know? The Leaf recently took in a pink haired girl who Tsunade trained. She is the 6 tails Jinchuriki and has unimaginable power. And you thought you only had to worry about the 9 tails..." Kabuto sneered.
The young man turned to his leader. "Lord Hokage...is this true?"
"It is...however, unlike Naruto, she cooperates with her tailed beast and has control over the power she has." Minato explained.
"Huh, and is she as good of a prankster as Naruto is? Your kid cracks me up." The younger officer smiled, making Kabuto frown. His once chance at sowing doubt into the ranks of the his captors was snatched.
"I don't know yet, honestly. But I know the two are quite smitten with one another. I'm sure in time she'll get in on it as well. But boy does she have a temper." Minato chuckled.
"Oh joy. Ya hear that, Kab-y? In a couple of years were gonna have little jinchuriki babies walking around with their little feet. Maybe we'll send them out to the Sound village and have them unleash their demons. Get little demon babies the size of houses stopping on Sound ninjas. Destroying whole communities. You of course can prevent this by telling us what you know. Think of all the lives you'll save..." The officer spoke.
"You think I or Lord Orochimaru care what happens to them? They are cannon fodder, disposable soldiers. We don't care what happens to them." Kabuto sneered.
"So you don't care about your life and you don't care about the life of your men. What do you care about?" Minato asked.
"My Lord's success in his plans. That is my only goal. To serve him and to aid him in his agenda."
"And what if we told you that you telling us what we want to know would help Lord Orochimaru with his plans?" The senior officer asked.
"What if in one hand and shit in the other. Which one fills up first?" Kaburo sneered. "Nothing will get me to reveal my secrets. I will take them to my grave." He said finally. He would speak no more.
"Oh damn, you foiled us." The younger officer sighed. "We had this whole great plan figured out too. You were going to ask us what we were talking about, then we'd have a line saying that you were upside down, and we had this audio genjutsu that would make you think that you were upside down, and you'd be all like whaaaaaat? Until you did believe that telling us would help your boss. But you just wouldn't play along, would you Kab-y? You're too smart for us." He fake pouted.
"Looks like we'll have to use the less fun method." The senior officer said as Minato gestured for the next man to come in. A shorter figure wearing an ANBU outfit and a weasel mask.
Kabuto said nothing as the man removed his mask.
"Itachi. Find everything you can about what Orochimaru's plans are." Minato ordered.
"Will do." Itachi said as he activated his Sharingan, only for Kabuto to shut his eyes and look away.
"Ibiki...would you be so kind as to have our guest look this way?" Minato asked.
"Of course, sir." Ibiki said as he leaned close to Kabuto's ear. "Open your eyes."
Kabuto refused, so Ibiki grabbed his head and forced open his eyes.
"No! I'll cooperate!" Kabuto pleaded. Hoping he could buy time with some lies.
"We gave you an out. Now you no longer have a choice." Minato stated.
"I mean, to be fair, we were gonna do this anyway." The younger officer said. "The last few days were just your chance to cooperate."
"NO PLEASE! NOOO!" Kabuto screamed before his gaze finally met Itachi's and he froze.
His eyes drooped and his mouth hung open as he fell under the trance.
"Kabuto, can you hear us?" Ibiki asked.
"...yes..." Kabuto replied listlessly.
"Do you know where you are?" Ibiki asked.
"...no..." Kabuto replied.
"Where do you think you are?"
"Underground in one of the Leaf's T&I interrogation rooms, although I am uncertain which one or even if I am still in the Land of Fire..." He responded.
"He's ready. I can begin the questioning." Ibiki said. "Tetsuo, take five." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." The young interrogation officer nodded before walking out.
Minato nodded at Ibiki before following behind Tetsuo.
"Where is Orochimaru?" Ibiki started.
"...I don't know..." Kabuto said.
"Where do you think he is most likely to be?"
"At his main base near Bargallona village in the Land of Sound, formally known as the Land of Rice Patties..."
"What are his plans?" Ibiki asked.
While Ibiki continued the interrogation, Minato followed Tetsuo out to the break room for the officers.
"Officer Tetsuo." Minato called out to make the Interrogation specialist stop in his tracks.
"Listen, about Sakura..." Minato began
"Respectfully sir," Tetsuo interrupted. "I meant what I said. I've got nothing against your son or your wife. They're both good people and I'm sure this Sakura girl is too. But I don't trust jinchuriki the same way I wouldn't trust a time bomb..." Tetsuo spat as he poured himself a cup of coffee. The memories of that night 12 years ago making him shake.
"I can assure you that Sakura has far more control with her tailed beast than Naruto does. I have seen her using Saiken's power. Completely calm and level headed, yet she can outmatch just about everyone here. Plus, she's a medic trained by Lady Tsunade."
"So, she's taken an oath to do no harm to the innocent then..." Tetsuo mused.
"Yes...however, she has had moments where her rage has gotten the better of her. Lord Jiraiya wants to take both her and Naruto on a training trip to learn how to better control their tailed beasts. I give you my word that neither Sakura nor Naruto will do any harm to our village."
"I already told you that I don't have any problems with them. Unlike those asshole civilians, I know what the difference is between a jinchuriki and a demon is, and I'll never trust a demon." Tetsuo said. "Respectfully sir, again, you'd be better off unsealing them from those two and sealing the demons away deep underground. No matter the consequences." Tetsuo said, making Minato shake at the suggestion of what that meant.
"And if I could do that without killing them I would." Minato said. "But I can't."
"Well then we are at an impasse..." Tetsuo said as he chugged his coffee, not caring for how hot it felt going down his throat.
"If you excuse me sir, there are a few other prisoners I need to get to today."
"Of course." Minato nodded.
Tetsuo headed out the door, leaving Minato alone in the break room to stew in his thoughts.
A few days later, team 7 arrived back at the village gates, their presence known by Ami's loud and obnoxious ranting.
"I can't believe that brat tried to propose to me!" She complained to her teammates.
'I can believe it.' Naruto thought to himself. 'Wanna know why? You've told us about it every hour since we've left so I've got no choice but to believe you.'
"Yea, I will agree with you there. That was weird." Naruto agreed.
"Ditto." Sasuke mumbled.
"Well, that's in the past now. Now we can chill out for a while." Kakashi sighed.
"Awesome! Now I can hang out with Sakura-chan." Naruto beamed, earning quizzical looks from his teammates.
"Who the heck is Sakura-chan? This imaginary girlfriend you keep telling us about?" Ami sneered, taking a break from trying to make Sasuke jealous by repeating on about her proposal from the 9 year old Lord of North Eastern Providence of the Land of Fire.
"She's not imaginary! She's real!" Naruto snapped.
"Yea, right." Ami scoffed.
"Actually, he's right." Kakashi stated.
"Oh come on, Kakashi-sensei. Not you too." Ami said.
"On the contrary, I've seen her myself. She's Lady Tsunade's student." Kakashi reaffirmed.
"ACK! THE Legendary Sannin Tsunade?!" Ami exclaimed, knowing about the Sannin completely as she is a fan of hers.
"The very same. Maybe you'll get to meet her." Kakashi shrugged.
"NARUTO!" Came a voice from the distance. Team 7 looked over to see a cheery pink haired girl waving enthusiastically at them from a ways down the street.
"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered before running in her direction.
"Holy shit she's real..." Sasuke said in shock, his eyes wide with shock.
"I told you." Kakashi said simply as he watched his student and Sakura wrap each other up in a hug, the latter giggling with joy that Naruto had come back.
"Well I'll be damned...for once he wasn't telling us a story." Ami said in awe.
Naruto finished spinning Sakura around and placed her back on the ground.
"Sorry about having to run out on you. Ya know, duty calls and all..." Naruto apologized.
"It's alright Naruto, I get it." Sakura said playfully.
"Yeah, well we can still catch that movie if you want. Popcorn is on me." Naruto offered.
"You got it. Oh and get this! Lady Tsunade and Shizune are moving into a Hotel for a while, but I get to stay with you." Sakura beamed.
"No way. It's gonna be like a sleepover that never ends." Naruto beamed back.
"Well...the thing is...we have to abide by certain stipulations and Lady Tsunade said that I can only stay until an apartment becomes available."
"Such as...?" Naruto asked.
"Um...well..." Sakura stuttered, a little embarrassed.
"Ahem." Ami coughed.
Sakura noticed the voice she heard and turned to face a purple haired girl, a black-haired boy with an attitude, and a tall man with silver hair.
"Um, hi." Sakura greeted, a little nervous.
"So, this is the famous Sakura that everyone has been talking about?" Kakashi asked.
Sakura blushed at the praise. "Oh...I wouldn't say famous..."
"Really? You're all the Dobe has been talking about since our mission began." Sasuke said.
Sakura had a tick mark form on her forehead. "What did you call him..." She growled.
'She's got Lady Tsunade's temper, that's for sure.' Kakashi thought.
"I said he's a Dead Last idiot." Sasuke confirmed.
Sakura snorted. "You're right, Naruto. He is a stuck up bastard who has a ducks ass for a hairstyle."
A tick mark now appeared on Ami's forehead. "You take that back!"
"I will if he does." Sakura said simply.
"I'm not taking back the truth." Sasuke stated.
"And yet he's a far better person than you'll ever be. Especially if that asshole father of yours is anything to go by." Sakura said.
"You take that back about my father! What do you even know about him?!" Sasuke snapped.
"Well based on our interaction when I first arrived, trying to bully his way into Naruto's house and harass his sick mother, I'd say that says a lot about him really. And honestly, I have no use for stuck up assholes."
"My father makes the point of treating all criminals equally. Even medically ill ones." Sasuke stated.
The kids started arguing back and forth and Kakashi couldn't help but feel embarrassed by proxy.
'Great. This is exactly how I wanted my morning to go. Listening to brats.' He thought as a little bird landed on his shoulder with a note attached to its ankle. Kakashi took the note and fed the bird some birdseed he kept in one of his pockets. He unraveled the note and read... 'Jounin Kakashi Hatake, but order of the Fourth Lord Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, you are hereby designated Genin Sakura Haruno to be your temporary fourth subordinate in team 7. Until Chunin Sasuke Uchiha's reallocation to his new squad is finalized...' Kakashi read.
Kakashi crumpled up the strip of paper. 'And this is my life now... I am in Hell...'
As he looked up, Ami took a swing at Sakura. 'Oh no...' He thought, but then widened his eyes a little bit when Sakura blocked it with just her index finger, effortlessly.
"I'm sorry, was that supposed to do something?" Sakura smirked.
Ami then kicked Sakura's shin when the pink medic wasn't looking, getting a good hit in.
"Aaah, bitch!" Sakura snapped as she hopped on one foot. She slammed her foot with he hit shin on the ground, causing it to shake and crack under the pressure.
"Damn that hurts..." Sakura muttered, only to see extremely shocked and terrified faces from Ami and Sasuke.
'And she's got Tsunade's strength...' Kakashi sweat dropped.
"What are you, a monster?" Ami asked.
Sakura's eyes turned dark. "Do you wanna find out?" She growled quietly, making the poor girl sweat.
"Alright, that's enough you four." Kakashi called.
Sakura looked over at Naruto's sensei as he walked up to the group.
"So...I just got word that Sakura will be joining us as a 4th member of the team until Sasuke's transfer goes through, where she will fully take his place." Kakashi announced.
"Are you kidding me sensei!?" Ami exclaimed.
"Nope. She needs to get a feel for how we shinobi operate and since we will be down a man when Sasuke leaves, she is going to be trained to replace him. Plus, she is a medic." Kakashi confirmed.
"Sasuke, please stay! You can't leave me with these two losers!" Ami begged.
"Then I would be staying with 3 losers." Sasuke bit. 'But at least this Sakura isn't a fangirl...' He mused.
"Oh screw you." Sakura said as she took Naruto's hand. "Come on, Naruto. Let's go to the movies!" She snapped as she pulled him away.
"Actually, I think it would be a fantastic idea for all four of you to go to the movies together." Kakashi said. Causing Naruto and Sakura to stop in their tracks.
"You cannot be serious." Naruto said.
"Very serious. You all need to relearn to be a team it seems. Even you Sasuke. You're going to need to learn this quickly if you want to join another team. Chunin teams aren't exactly friendly to newcomers and you acting like a hardass isn't going help you either."
"No." Sasuke said simply.
"You'll do it, or you'll all join Gai's team for taijutsu training for a week. Either way is fine with me." Kakashi stated. All of the veterans of team 7 shuttered in the memory of the man.
"Gai? Who's that?" Sakura asked.
"A physical fitness nut." Naruto said.
"He's a Taijutsu master and so is his 'star pupil.'" Kakashi clarified.
"Really?" Sakura asked with genuine curiosity. "I'm always looking to test and/or improve my Taijutsu."
'This...is a brave girl.' Kakashi thought in awe. 'Either that, or she's just as stupid as Naruto.'
"Sakura..." Naruto said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, just no..." He begged.
"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." Sakura scoffed.
"Trust me. Even Sasuke-Teme over here would rather go to the movies than do that training. And he's all about growing stronger." Naruto said.
"It's true, I would… Dobe." Sasuke replied.
"Yeah. Let's just go to the movies." Ami chimed in. 'It'll be like a double date with Sasuke-kun.' She squealed to herself.
"I didn't want to go because there was nothing playing I wanted to see." Sasuke admitted. Then he thought about something. "Sakura. You've been here. Did that Sci-fi movie come out while we were gone?"
"Uh...what's it called?" Sakura asked.
"The Martian." Sasuke said.
"Oh, yea I do remember seeing that on their sign board."
Sasuke shrugged. "I'm game then."
'Sasuke is a sci-fi fan? Why?' Ami thought in confusion. She hated sci-fi movies.
"Don't you have a theater in your basement, Naruto-kun? Why not just watch it there?" Sakura asked.
"I don't have the most recent films. It hasn't come out on DVD yet." Naruto said.
"Oh...I thought you just get copies of the reels. Never mind then." Sakura shrugged as the group of 4 walked to the movies.
"Wait, Naruto has a home theater system?" Ami asked.
"And a full arcade and a pool." Sakura added.
"You didn't know this, Ami?" Sasuke asked.
"No, I didn't." Ami admitted.
"Well he does." Sasuke said.
"Wow..." Ami said in awe.
"Come on, I don't wanna miss the trailers." Sakura said as she pulled on Naruto's arm.
"Alright, we're coming." Sasuke sighed.
Team 7 made their way down to the theater near the bustling market Square in town. Thankfully the owner didn't feel strongly one way or another about demons or jinchuriki. So long as you paid.
"You kids enjoy the show." The owner said as he handed them their tickets.
The four of them stopped to get some snacks, Naruto getting a huge bowl of popcorn with extra butter for him and Sakura to share as well as two large soda's. Ami did the same for her and Sasuke since he really didn't seem interested in getting her anything.
They all made their way into their room as the first trailer began to appear. The theater seemed kinda empty for some reason so they all sat in the back row, which was only four seats. Interestingly enough, Sakura and Ami sat in the outer seats while Sasuke and Naruto sat in the inner.
The first trailer played with an epic score with several edits of fast moving scenes, followed by characters dramatically turning their heads toward the camera as their dialog played in the background. More edits followed by fighting scenes, and then a big old shot of a spaceship with a saucer design hurling towards a planet's surface. The screen went to black and the title appeared.
STAR TREK: BEYOND
"Hey I could go see that." Naruto said, making Sasuke smirk.
"Seems we can agree on something." Sasuke said.
"Are you both crazy?" Sakura asked, frankly disgusted by what she saw.
"What? It's just a movie." Ami said.
"It doesn't have the same morals the original story had, which was about making peace with your enemies. All it is, is an over glorified CGI film with over use of lens flares,, poor character portrayal, terrible ship design compared to the original, the plot is garbage, the reason for the plot is ridiculous, it might as well be a Star Wars movie made to look like Star Trek and a poor attempt at it as well. This coming from a Star Trek girl who has seen all 10 of the movies and every episode since the pilot episode that aired in 1966." Sakura ranted, making Naruto and Sasuke go wide eyed.
"Well it's still just a movie. Who cares?" Sasuke stated.
Sakura's left eye twitched.
"Wow, Sakura-chan. I didn't know you were such a fan." Naruto admitted.
"What can I say? I love the storyline. I have all of the movies and season boxsets in a storage scroll." Sakura shrugged.
"Awesome..." Sasuke muttered in awe.
"What's that Teme?" Naruto asked.
"I'm a big fan of Star Trek too. I used to watch it with my big brother all the time..." Sasuke said before growing quiet.
'What?!' Ami shrieked to herself. She had no idea Sasuke was such a nerd. 'Oh man...I didn't know he was such a nerd...'
"Well then maybe you'd like to come over and watch them with us sometime?" Sakura offered, trying to salvage what little hope there was at becoming friends with at least one of them.
"Like I'd ever be friends with a loser like him." Sasuke said.
"Yeah, right back at you. Not gonna happen." Naruto said firmly.
Sakura just sighed heavily. "Well...thought I'd try..."
"Wow. You really don't know anything about Sasuke-kun. Don't you, Billboard Brow." Ami smirked.
"What the fuck did you just call me you plastic bitch."
"What? It's a compliment. I bet you could take notes on that thing." Ami smirked.
"Ami, enough." Naruto snapped.
"Why?"
Ami looked over to see Sakura's eyes change from green to...some kind of shape she didn't recognize.
"Because she could kill you without even giving it a second thought or trying, that's why." Naruto warned.
"Oh like she'd be stupid enough to try that. She'd be tried for murder like everyone else."
"Just enough." Naruto said to the both of them.
"Technically, you would be the cause of it since you seem to love instigating her." Sasuke spoke up.
"That doesn't give her the right to attack me." Ami said.
"Just everyone shut up and watch the movie." Sasuke said.
"Pfft...whatever..." Ami scoffed. The four of them ended their conversations on a sour note and sat in to watch the movie.
2 hours later...
"But consider this..." Matt Damon's character said, for Naruto couldn't remember his name. "I'd get to fly around like Iron Man..." Matt said.
As the character was picked up by the other astronauts, the movies credits began to scroll upwards, signifying the movie was over.
During that time, Ami had fallen asleep, completely bored out of her mind.
"That was pretty good." Sakura commented as she stood up and stretched her stiff back.
"Definitely. I almost cried when he finally got into space." Naruto said.
"It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but it was good." Sasuke commented.
"Ah, you're just sad that it didn't have a romantic subplot or whatever." Naruto said.
"Hm..." Sasuke mumbled before turning his attention to the sleeping Ami. "Wow...she fell asleep."
"I'd say that's an insult considering she wants to date you." Naruto said.
Ami started to stir after hearing that.
"Like she ever had a chance. Even if there was a part of me that liked her like that, it's gone now." Sasuke said harshly.
"Wow. Aren't you just a ball of sunshine." Sakura said.
"Yea...that's Sasuke for you." Naruto said simply.
"Screw you both." Sasuke said as he stood back up. He looked at them both and his eyes rested on Sakura. "You might be alright." He said before looking over at Naruto. "And you are still a Dobe." Sasuke said before shaking Ami awake.
"I was already awake..." Ami said softly, having heard Sasuke's harsh words.
"Then let's go. I'll walk you home." Sasuke offered.
"Y-you will?" Ami asked.
"Yup. It's getting late and my mom said it would be rude not to offer." Sasuke said.
Ami's face lit up like a hundred-watt bulb. "Thank you!"
That was when Naruto thought about something before turning to Sakura. "Sakura-chan?"
"Mmm?"
"Was...this technically...a date...?" Naruto asked sheepishly.
Sakura blushed but smiled. "Do...you think it was?"
"Well...besides Ami and Sasuke...yea, kinda."
Sakura just smiled brighter. "Then...this is a date."
"Gag me..." Sasuke grumbled.
"Oh relax, Teme. We're just friends." Naruto said.
'Not for long.' Sakura thought.
"Yea, 'Just friends' don't go on dates." Sasuke pointed out.
"Says you. When's the last time you went to the movies with friends?" Naruto said.
"Who says I want friends?" Sasuke scoffed.
"You're right. It might cut into your 'my clan is so great' contemplating time." Naruto said.
"Careful on using such big words there Dobe. You wouldn't want your brain to overheat." Sasuke snapped.
"Naruto...he...does have a point." Sakura said.
"About my head overheating?" Naruto asked.
Sakura sighed. 'God he's such a twit...' "We'll talk about it when we get home."
The group left the theater, Sasuke walking Ami home while Naruto and Sakura walked back to the Namikaze estate.
"That was fun. Don't think I've ever had a team building exercise with Sasuke and Ami that was so civil." Naruto said as he and Sakura walked through the streets.
"You'd call that civil? I was ready to throttle that bitch." Sakura huffed.
"Yet you didn't. Civil." Naruto said as they passed by kids running through the streets after dark.
"Yeah...any reason that your teammates seem to hate you so much?" Sakura asked, feeling that it was better to pull the pin on the grenade now while there was time to recover.
"I honestly try not to think about it too much. Out on missions, during a fight, we all work together well. Which is all that matters if you think about it." Naruto shrugged.
"Well yeah, but that just begs the question of why they treat you like that? Is it because of your...friend?" Sakura asked.
"Because of the Kyuubi? Who is not my friend. No. They both know and they don't care. They hate me for other reasons." Naruto grumbled.
"Such as...?" Sakura asked, afraid of the answer.
"Well Sasuke's family and my family are rivals. So there's that." Naruto said. "It's pretty recent too. None of those thousand year long stalemate rivalries you always hear about. His dad is a prick to my dad who thought pairing us up on the same team would bring our families together. It didn't work. And Ami is one of the many Sasuke fan girls from back when we were in the Academy together. She puts me down to stay on Sasuke's good side." Naruto explained.
"Oh...so that's what it is...but, wait a minute..." Sakura began to think. "Sasuke, despite our first encounter, seems to be warming up to me albeit slowly. Yet he despises Ami. Do you think it's because Ami is just smothering him with unwanted affection yet she's too dim and love struck to realize it?"
"I have no freaking idea and I don't care. Ami wasn't any kinder to me before she developed her crush on Sasuke. And I don't expect that to change once she gets the memo that he is just not that into her." Naruto said as they arrived on the road that led to the compound.
"And why is that?"
"I might have stolen her first kiss back in Kindergarten and ignored her for the rest of the school year. So when she said that she was dating the Hokage's son and I didn't back her up, she was made a laughing stock till 2nd grade." Naruto admitted.
"Ooohhh...now I get it..." Sakura realized. "She doesn't really have a crush on Sasuke at all."
"Oh she does. She's told me about it every chance she's gotten."
"And that just confirms it. Do you know what that really is? It's a jealousy tactic."
"That she kept up for 7 years?"
"Girls are fickle, Naruto. She's trying to make you feel jealous so you can fight Sasuke for her."
"That's never going to happen." Naruto stated.
"I didn't think it would. But, now I understand them better."
As they walked, they found themselves hit with the overwhelming smells of freshly baked sweets. Sakura's head snapped to the source the like a bloodhound and her eyes sparkled at the sight of the glowing red neon sign reading Shisui's Dango.
"Oh my god! Please tell me that Dango shop allows you to be there! I love Dango!" Sakura pleaded.
Naruto smiled. "Sure does! You wouldn't believe who runs it."
"Who?" Sakura asked as a young man stepped out of the shop to get some fresh air.
"Hey Shisui!" Naruto called out to the man with short, spikey, dark hair.
"Well hey there Naruto. Come on in! I just made a fresh batch." Shisui smiled.
"Sweet. Gonna need some of your best for my friend Sakura here. Newest addition to my team." Naruto introduced.
"You two on a date?" Shisui teased.
"No, just as friends, big bro." Naruto waved off as Sakura got a good look at the man. His dark hair, onyx eyes, and his subtle facial features led Sakura to realize one thing.
"Hi, I'm sorry, but are you...an Uchiha?" Sakura asked.
Shisui looked amused at the young girl's question. He let his activated Sharingan do most of the talking. "I don't know. Is that a problem?" He asked politely.
"N-no...uh...it's just that...you seem very kind compared to the Uchiha's I've already met." Sakura admitted.
Shisui laughed. "Don't let those Uchiha you've met hear you say that. They wouldn't be happy being compared to me at all." Shisui said as he began preparing Naruto's usual order.
"And another thing." Sakura said, being her usual nosy self. "Why did Naruto call you big bro? I thought there was a rivalry going on between his family and your family...uh, sir?" Sakura said, trying to be polite, while earning another laugh from Shisui.
"Well you see, funny you should mention that. Cause it all relates back to one long story." Shisui said as he hoisted up his leg and Sakura could hear the clang of metal as his prosthetic leg stood up on the counter. "And it more or less ends with me losing this leg right here. So understand if I don't feel like recounting it to a stranger at the drop of a hat." Shisui said as he put his leg down and started cleaning off the counter.
"Oh my...do you have any residual pain?" Sakura asked. "I was trained as a medic by Lady Tsunade."
"No, I've got no pain. Thank you though. But Lady Tsunade you said? Wish she was back in the village 5 years ago, she could have done something about it then. Of course, then I wouldn't have this reminder for myself." Shisui said.
"Let's see...5 years ago, where were we..." Sakura muttered as she tried to remember. "Oh! I remember, we were in The Hidden Cloud. The Raikage's brother was ill."
"Well then there was no helping it. Not that you being in the Land of Fire would have done anything otherwise." Shisui said.
"I see..." Sakura said sadly.
"No worries. Do you see anything you'd like, or would you just want another one of Naruto's orders?"
"The same as Naruto please." Sakura smiled.
"Sure thing. You two paying separate or together?" Shisui asked as he made another bag full.
"I got it." Naruto said before pulling out his wallet.
'Date?'Shisui mouthed to Sakura.
Sakura blushed, but nodded. 'He hasn't caught on yet.' She mouthed back.
'Give it time.' Shisui mouthed back as Naruto finished fishing the necessary cash out of his froggy wallet.
"So...what is your usual, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Some berry flavored ones and a few chocolates with one cake and one maple bacon one." Naruto said as he took a blueberry dango and plopped it into his mouth.
"Maple...bacon...? I don't think I've had that one before."
"I usually save it second to last. It's sinfully good, just not something you want for an aftertaste." Naruto said, explaining the finer culinary points behind eating junk food.
"Huh...alright then. Thank you." Sakura smiled.
"Sure thing, Sakura-chan." Naruto smiled before taking his bag and heading for the door. Sakura looked back at Shisui.
"Thank you for the dango." She said as she took her own bag of dango.
"No problem. And Sakura…"
"Yeah huh?"
"Good luck." Shusui smiled, alluding to her getting thought to Naruto. To that, Sakura blushed and held her bag of baked treats close to her chest.
"Thank you." She squeaked before running outside to join her wish-he-was-my-boyfriend-friend.
"Ah...young love..." Shisui sighed before getting ready to close up for the night.
"Hello Shisui." Came a voice from a masked figure entering from the shadows.
Shisui saw the weasel mask and smiled. "Hello Itachi. You're home early."
"I finished up early. Good thing too. Big things are about to happen." Itachi said.
"Oh? Like what?"
"Nothing I can tell a civilian I'm afraid." Itachi said as he helped Shisui close up the shop.
"Oh right...does it involve what I think it does?"
"I don't know what you think it does." Itachi said.
"I have a feeling that it involves Orochimaru." Shisui said.
"And where would you get an idea like that?"
"I don't know...it just feels like that's what it's about. You know how I am about my gut feelings."
"I do. And if you weren't just a humble dango store owner I'd love to tell you how you hit the nail on the head."
Shisui let out a shaky sigh. "So...I was right..."
"That's all I can say. But this is big. Like, I couldn't risk it on the off chance our house was tapped by spies." Itachi said as he closed the shutters and locked them for the night.
"I understand...in which case, I wish those who are involved good luck. If you're one of them...stay safe my friend."
"Don't worry, cousin. I will." Itachi promised.
As they two Uchiha outcasts finished locking up for the night, the two Jinchuriki outcasts were enjoying a brisk stroll through the secluded streets of the Leaf and the last of their purchased dango sweets.
'Okay, so what if he didn't ask me out yet and this isn't technically a date? We're still friends and this is still fun.' Sakura thought to herself. No need to press the issue and make it weird.
'Hey, if you're happy, I've got no complaints. Wouldn't kill you to get to know Naruto more before actually dating him.' Saiken thought.
'Right.' Sakura thought. "So, Naruto. How was your mission? I don't think I asked."
Naruto looked up from his dango, having spent the last few moments in oral bliss. "Hmm? Oh, the mission. It was pretty good I'd say. We had to protect some minor Lord and his family. The bandits didn't give us too much trouble, if anything the son was the most annoying."
"How so?" Sakura asked.
"Oh my Sage. He was like this 9-year-old kid that just had a million questions about us ninja. He had this romanticized impression of ninja too. Probably because of that damn card game he wouldn't shut up about either." Naruto said.
"Card game? Which one?" Sakura asked.
"Oh you know. That one card game, I think it's called Shinobi Wars. The one with all the famous ninjas in it. You've got cards for Kages from all the different villages and you've got regular troop cards which are just used as pawns I guess." Naruto explained. 'Oh God, I've become just like that kid.'
"Oh right. I used to play that with Shizune." Sakura said. "Only it's called Duel Ninjas. Common mistake."
Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "You're kidding me."
"Nope, dead serious. We were always in between towns so we had to do something to pass the time." Sakura shrugged.
"You still play it?" Naruto asked, curious.
"Eh...not seriously if that's what you mean. Like I said, I played it just to pass the time."
"Hmmm, you know come to think of it. I don't think it's allowed in this village." Naruto said, remembering something from his time in the Academy.
"It's not? Why?" Sakura asked.
"If I had to guess, it's because it had all the different Kages available in the game. This being a ninja village and all, you wouldn't want young ninjas to think that the Raikage or the Kazekage were cooler than the Hokage."
"Aah...loyalty thing. I gotcha."
"Yeah, I just remembered a time back when I was really young. I saw some kids in class bring in some Shinobi Wars trading cars. The instructor flipped out and snatched the cards away from the kid. I think his parents were called." Naruto said as he resumed his walking. "We then had a few days' lecture on the many accomplishments of all our Hokages."
"Yup...loyalty thing. Well hell. My deck is just sitting in my bag doing nothing. If ya see that boy again you're welcome to give it to him." Sakura shrugged.
"I don't plan on it. And if my team ever has to protect him again, I think Ami will kill him."
"Ah...well, I don't know her well enough to agree or disagree with her so."
"You never had to deal with annoying kids on your travels? No stuck-up lords or ladies who employed the service of the great Princess Tsunade?" Naruto asked.
"No, mainly because Tsunade refused them." Sakura shrugged.
"Why is that anyway? She's supposed to be the best medical ninja in the world. What made her give up medicine for so long?" Naruto inquired.
"She...doesn't like to talk about it..." Sakura said hesitantly. "Basically, she had witnessed a traumatic event involving someone close to her and she developed a fear of blood because of it. It's a very sensitive subject."
"Ah, I see. Forget I asked then." Naruto said, knowing all too well about taboo subjects. "Still, she's pretty impressive. How many years of not being a doctor and she jumps right back into it in time to save my Dad when no other doctor could." Naruto put his hands being his head.
"Yes, and I thank her for that with every second goes by." Sakura stated.
"You do? What for?" Naruto asked, curious.
"Um...well that she was able to pull it together to save your dad. I mean, I know what its like not having parents. Lady Tsunade is all I've had since I was born. But I have seen families torn apart from loved ones dying and I wouldn't want to see you go through that."
Naruto was a bit astonished at her answer. It seemed so genuinely heartfelt, he couldn't help but blush. "Wow, thanks Sakura-chan. That's really sweet of you." He smiled his huge smile with his eyes closed.
Sakura smiled. "Don't mention it."
The two of them walked past a trashcan and threw away their garbage. They had unknowingly been walking around the edge of the main city and we're right on the edge of the forest where all the training grounds were located. Sakura stretched her arms over her head. The movie and the dango sweets had left her feeling a little sluggish.
"Oh hey, we're right by my team's training grounds." Naruto pointed out. Not even noticing that they were heading in that direction.
"No kidding? Why don't we go there and spar for a bit?" Sakura suggested, she desperately needed a work out after all that junk food.
"I don't see why not. You're gonna be a member of Team 7 soon, right? Might as well introduce you to our private training grounds." Naruto said before leading Sakura into the woods. They traveled maybe 200 yards before coming across three wooden beams in the ground that looked to be the recipients of a lot of punches, kicks, and sharp throwing objects.
"What are those for?" Sakura asked.
"Oh those? They are the unofficially named Loser Stumps." Naruto declared as he pounded on the middle stump with his fist three times.
"And they're called that why?"
"Because whomever fails to get a bell in the Bell Test gets tied to the stump." Naruto said, earning a look from Sakura that demanded that the young ninja elaborate. "See, in order to graduate from the Academy, three Genin get paired up into a squad with one Jounin leader and he is supposed to test to see if you're ready to become a ninja. Kakashi-sensei tested us with the Bell Test in order to test our teamwork. Basically, we had to steal two bells from him in order to not be sent back to the Academy. Anyone who failed to not get a bell before lunch time got to be tied to the stump and watch Kakashi the rest eat their lunches."
"Geez...sounds like a horrible punishment."
"It was actually all a trick to make us selflessly sacrifice ourselves for the rest of the team." Naruto said.
"Oh I see. So, who got tied to the post?" Sakura asked.
"Believe it or not, Sasuke and Ami." Naruto replied.
"Oh really? You never once got tied up, huh?" Sakura smirked.
"Nope. Pervy Sage was giving me private lessons before I graduated and he told me about the secret to the test. Sasuke didn't want to work with me no matter what I told him and Ami went along with Sasuke. I thought for certain that we were going to fail so I offered the two of them my bento if they agreed to work together with me in order to graduate. And wouldn't you know it, that ended up being the thing that made Kakashi decide to pass us."
"Well, how about that..." Sakura said in mild awe. "So, it's a teamwork exercise. Sounds simple enough. Even I know a ninja team cannot function without proper teamwork."
"Well I think on some level Sasuke knew that too. He's not an idiot. He just couldn't stand the thought of having to be on a team with me. So, he figured that if he got a bell all by himself, it would prove his skills and he could request a transfer to another squad." Naruto clarified.
"And Ami?" Sakura asked.
"Again, she was hoping she could work alongside Sasuke and stay on his team no matter what. Or at least get him to agree to a date."
"I don't know why she chose him to make you feel jealous, if that's what it is." Sakura sighed. "He just seems like an arrogant punk."
"He's dark, brooding, and mysterious. Isn't that what all girls love in a guy?" Naruto asked.
"Maybe the blind ones. Not me...I like guys who are...well...like you, in a way." Sakura admitted with a blush.
Now Naruto was blushing. "Like me in what way?"
"Dedicated, compassionate, kind, easy going, funny, considerate of others..." Sakura listed off.
"Oh come on, you're exaggerating." Naruto rubbed the back of his head.
"Nope. Not in the slightest." Sakura smiled. She knelt down and tightened her boots while Naruto stood dumbfounded at her high praise.
"So, how do you want to do this spar? Strict hand to hand taijutsu? Go all out with ninja tools and jutsu?" Sakura asked.
"Huh? Oh...um...well, my dad wanted me to test you so all out I guess."
"Good. It's been a while since I was able to cut loose." Sakura smirked as she readied herself.
"Let's stick to our own chakra though. No demon chakra." Naruto said as he zipped up his jacket. No need to have it flapping around.
"Doesn't matter to me. You're still gonna lose." Sakura smirked.
"I think you meant to say win." Naruto smirked back as he performed some quick stretches. Getting himself nice and limber.
"I meant what I said. It's time to see which Sannin trained the best pupil." Sakura smirked.
"Yeah, the one who's been a wandering rogue for twenty years or the one who's been the village spymaster for twenty years?" Naruto smirked.
"On your go." Sakura said.
"If you insist." Naruto said as he dropped into his basic ninja stance with his knees and elbows bent, his right hand hanging right over his kunai pouch. As fast as Sakura could blink, he threw two shuriken and one kunai at her head while he charged right behind them. Sakura ducked below the shuriken, but her instincts noticed something about the kunai. She reached up and snatched it out of the air and felt its awkward handle.
'Naruto's fancy kunai.' Sakura thought right before Naruto appeared right behind Sakura, his hand clutching the rest of the kunai handle.
'Crap.' Sakura thought. She let him get behind her so easily.
Naruto having the initiative, threw his elbow back to knock Sakura on the head. The kunoichi remembered her vital points though and had her forearm up to block the strike. Naruto kept up his momentum and pushed his left heel in between Sakura's legs to break her balance.
With no room to maneuver, Sakura concentrated her chakra into her entire legs, cementing them to the ground via the tree climbing technique and turning them as solid as a knotted old tree. Naruto landed several quick pointed strikes, but he could not knock her down, only back.
'He's quick and nimble, like air.' Sakura thought as she countered with her infamous chakra enhanced punch, only to have Naruto roll with the blow and escape unharmed.
Sakura threw another punch, but Naruto simply ducked underneath it and crouched down like a loaded spring. Faster than Sakura could react, he sprang up, stretching out his entire body to hit Sakura with two open palms right in the belly. Sakura couldn't handle the strength of Naruto's entire body and was sent sailing through the air.
Sakura got the wind knocked out of her, but she was used to such things. She focused through the pain and righted herself to land on her feet, her boots skidding against the loose dirt of the training grounds.
Naruto instinctively hopped to the ground after his attack, giving away the origin of his move. For a split second, he squatted like a frog before standing back up.
Now Sakura really was impressed. She had never seen moves like that before. Much less with someone her age.
"Dang. Nice moves." Sakura complimented.
"You're not bad yourself. But I think we can skip the warm-up now." Naruto said.
"Wait... Warm-up? You knew I was holding back?" Sakura asked.
"Well yeah. No way I could take you down so easy. You're better than that." Naruto said matter-of-factly.
"You're right I am..." Sakura smirked as a small, purple diamond started to appear on her forehead. "It's time for you to see just how much better I am."
She tightened her fists and raised up her right foot like she was about to push off the ground and sprint right at Naruto. Even he expected a frontal assault but instead she slammed her boot heel right into the ground, shattering the very earth like glass. Naruto actually flinched when he felt the ground shift and become jagged. Which gave the pink medic just enough time to leap at Naruto with her leg raised over her head.
"Shannaro!" Sakura shouted as she brought the full might of her chakra enhanced strength down upon the poor blond.
'Crap!' Naruto thought as he leapt away at the last second. Sakura's boot heel skimmed right past his nose and buried itself in the shattered ground, knocking up huge chunks of earth.
'This chick is gonna kill me...' Naruto thought in fear.
Naruto flipped and landed on the top of a treetop, feeling like he just shaved 10 years off his lifespan. But Sakura wasn't done with him yet. She grabbed at the nearest chunk of rock with her scary strong fingers. They actually indented themselves in the rock like bowling ball holes. She yanked the refrigerator sized rock out of the ground like a carrot and twirled around to gain momentum. Once that was done she let it fly right where Naruto was crouching.
'Oh fuck me...' Naruto gulped.
Unknown to either of them, two figures were watching them from the trees.
Several minutes previously, in one of the apartment districts of downtown Hidden Leaf, Sasuke Uchiha had finished escorting Ami home and had politely refused her offer to join her family for a late dinner.
"But Sasuke-kun, my mother could make tomato salad, your favorite." Ami insisted.
Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed. This was what he gets for mentioning that he likes tomatoes one time in class. His fangirls caught wind of it and now every single time they offer him a bento box it has tomatoes in it.
"No, I really need to head home." Sasuke said, trying to nice.
"Oh please stay..." Ami tried one last time before Sasuke walked away.
"Good night, Ami." Sasuke said with his back turned.
Ami's face lit up like a red balloon. 'He said good night to me! He really does care!' "Goodnight! Sasuke-kun!" Ami waved furiously from her front door stoop.
'Tch...This is really starting to annoy me.' Sasuke thought.
Sasuke then immediately turned the corner at the first possible alleyway to get out of sight of his fan girl. He needed time to think and cool off before he headed home. If his father catches him in a stink, then he'll take it as a personal attack and Sasuke didn't need his father's crap tonight.
Truth be told he always ended the day in a foul mood whenever he had to deal with his teammates.
Ami and her fan girlishness was part of it, sure, but he could never bring himself to really hate her. He didn't hate any of his fan girls, truth be told. They all annoyed the crap out of him, but they were just trying to express their love as his mother would tell him.
No. What really never failed to tick him off was the son of the Hokage. The golden boy Naruto.
'Naruto...' Sasuke growled to himself.
No matter where he was, Sasuke didn't have to travel far to find people who hated Naruto. The Son of the Demon Fox as the ignorant civilian villagers called him. All because Naruto was used to seal away the demon fox on the night that it broke free of his mother, unleashing its destruction upon the Leaf. Killing thousands and leveling half the town. If Sasuke were to wander over to the poorer districts in the Leaf he could still see the scars from that night.
Yet neither Sasuke nor the Uchiha clan feared the demon or his container. They had been blessed with the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths. Together, they could control the beast with their genjutsu.
Sasuke did not hate Naruto for being the 9 Tails' Jinchuriki. He hated him for a far more personal crime.
Sasuke punched the nearest concrete wall as the memories flowed back from that fateful night. He was only 8 years old...
flashback
Sasuke was returning home from target practice late. The full moon was out, not a cloud could be seen in the sky.
'Aw man, mom is gonna kill me for being out so late.' Sasuke thought to himself as he ran down the sidewalk and into his clan compound. Half a dozen city blocks all dedicated to the Uchiha clan exclusively. All the Uchiha and all the Uchiha businesses ran in this one private corner of the Leaf. Like their own private mini village inside the Leaf village.
'What the heck? Why is everything so dark?' Sasuke thought to himself as soon as he noticed all the shops along the street seemed to be closed early and everyone had turned off their porch lights. Only the city street lights remained on to illuminate Sasuke's path.
'What is going on? It's not that late, is it?'
The boy headed straight home, keeping to the sidewalks instead of any alleyways. Something didn't feel right. 'Where is everybody?'
Sasuke rounded the corner to the Main House where his family lived and low and behold there were lights shining out from the windows where the meeting hall of the clan was located. From the opposite end of the street, Sasuke could hear adults arguing inside the hall.
Sasuke dashed to his front door and opened it up to see the shoe rack absolutely filled with sandals, boots, and high heels. Sasuke had never seen the hallway so filled with shoes except for the family Christmas party.
'Is there a party going on?' Sasuke thought as he slipped off his own ninja sandals.
The arguing only seemed to grow louder as Sasuke made his way down the hall. Finally, he opened the sliding door to the clan meeting hall and saw every adult Uchiha sitting together and shouting one thing or another.
"Traitor!"
"Blood traitor!"
"You've screwed us you damn upstart!"
Sasuke couldn't believe some of the nasty things he was hearing. He could see his uncles and cousins all standing up, looking livid, his aunts sitting down and crying about something. Sasuke was flabbergasted. Everyone acted like their homes were on fire.
His young eyes darted around the room until finally resting on the back of the room. There he could see his mother sitting in one corner, crying and trying to hide her face. And Sasuke father and big brother Itachi having a shouting match in front of the entire clan.
Were he a bit older, Sasuke might have understood what was being said.
"You dare sell us out to the Hokage? Accuse us of plotting a coup?!" Fugaku roared.
"It's hardly an accusation, father." Itachi spat. "I saw what you did to Shisui when he was ready to tell the higher ups about your plan. After I fished him out of the river and brought him to the hospital."
"That was not us! How dare you accuse your own family members of assault?" Fugaku spat.
"Drop the act, father. Shisui woke up hours ago, he's fine, save for his leg, and told the Hokage and his advisors everything. The ANBU already have the names of five other Uchiha. Uncles." Itachi spat, his eyes trailing towards each of the accused.
"Damn it, Itachi. It's not too late. Help us carry out our plans. You could be named the Fifth Hokage within a fortnight. I only wish to see this village saved from lighthearted foolishness." Fugaku stated.
"You wish to take what you think you deserve, but my loyalty is not so easily bought, father. It is to the village and its people. Had you any sense at all, your loyalties would be the same."
"Loyalty to the village that ostracizes and belittles us? US!? The great Uchiha clan who founded this village! 100 years ago, our clan was a clan of conquers. We were feared across all provinces. We were not guard dogs meant to serve the ungrateful citizens who fear us and accuse us of bringing misfortune upon the village!" Fugaku ranted, stirring up the crowd in his favor.
"The rumors surrounding our clan are unfair, yes. But if you go through with this foolish plan, you will prove every one of them right. You will throw the ninja village, our home, into chaos. Making us vulnerable to our enemies. Even if you win, all you will do is sow further dissent against us for the villagers that remain." Itachi argued, making a few of the Uchiha clansmen whom only worked in shops and not a part of the ninja core mummer in agreement.
"Father, please. Lord Fourth has agreed to drop all the charges of treason if you would just meet him at the table. You could negotiate for better conditions for our clan and no one would ever have to know of your treachery. He has assured me of this." Itachi begged.
"You would have me beg and squabble in front of that weakling like a dog?" Fugaku spat. "I would rather have our family turned to ash so that we may go out in a blaze of glory!"
"Then you will not drag me down into your suicidal inferno! I will leave this retched family and fight alongside my true brothers!" Itachi stood up.
"You would renounce your own blood? You truly have fallen, Itachi." Fugaku spat.
"No father, it is you who have fallen." Itachi stated, he drew his sword, for at that moment he noticed his five accused uncles rushing towards him with red in their eyes. Itachi's own Sharingan were spinning, expecting to fight.
"BROTHER, NO!" Sasuke cried out, his shriek piercing the shouts echoing through the room. At once, the clan all stopped, Itachi had just unsheathed his ANBU blade and stared at his younger brother. All eyes were upon Sasuke; some blood red, and the rest onyx.
"Sasuke-kun." Mikoto whispered at she spied her youngest son. The youngest Uchiha then pushed his way through his seated kin and made his way up to the front of the meeting hall.
"Big bro, don't go..." Sasuke cried out, his eyes misty from all the yelling, even if he didn't understand why. "Please..."
"Sasuke-kun, go upstairs to your room." Mikoto begged, she didn't want her son to see this, but Sasuke wouldn't budge.
"You see what you do, Itachi?" Fugaku spat. "You betrayed everyone. Including your little brother."
"Big bro, is this true?" Sasuke asked, not understanding how Itachi betrayed Sasuke, or anyone else for that matter.
Itachi looked at Sasuke with a pained expression. His face looked angry, yet his eyes were filled with sadness.
"Is this how you do things, father? You hide behind your own son to try and guilt me?" Itachi spat. "I'm surprised you'd sink that low. Then again, you do let those rumors of Naruto being a demon spread freely among the lower class. I shouldn't be surprised." Itachi sheathed his sword, feeling the tense in the room calm down to a dull roar.
"I'm leaving, father. I would take Sasuke with me, but I could never tear mom away from her only other son." Itachi stated, looking over at his mother who knelt behind Sasuke, pathetically holding onto Sasuke's arm while the rest of her family fell apart at the seams.
"So, you officially side with Minato Namikaze over your own father?" Fugaku spat as he moved to stand between Itachi and Sasuke.
"Minato has been more like a father to me than you ever have. He talks to me about my day instead of how I am working to better the standing of the clan. He treats me like a son, not a pawn."
"Then leave. Go back to your "real family". Go be a big brother to the demon brat Naruto." Fugaku scoffed.
"What? No! Itachi, don't go!" Sasuke cried out. He tried to run towards his brother but his parents held him back. Itachi didn't even try to step towards Sasuke to help him. Instead he turned his back on Sasuke and walked out one of the side doors before shutting it behind himself for good.
The arguing picked up again in the meeting hall once Itachi left. Sasuke tried to thrash against his parents, but they easily overpowered him and forced him out of the meeting room. From there, Fugaku returned to deal with the clan while Mikoto escorted Sasuke up to his room. He shouted at his mom for the first time ever that night and yet she wouldn't give him a straight answer. She shut the bedroom door in his face and Sasuke tore his room asunder in rage.
What was going on? Why was this all happening? What happened to his big brother?
Sasuke cried himself to sleep that night. A small part of him hoped that all would be back to normal the next morning. The world would make sense again.
To his despair, the following morning the sun rose and yet there seemed to be no sunshine in the Uchiha compound.
Sasuke's father and brother were missing during breakfast. His mother simply made for him some buttered toast and sent him off to school. The bright, cheerful air surrounding his mother seemed to have vanished.
As Sasuke walked to school, the sun was shining, yet the youngest Uchiha could swear it was cloudy everywhere he went. He stepped inside the Academy in a trace. Everything looked so surreal, like he was finally seeing the world for what it was. He took his assigned seat in his classroom as his classmates all screamed around him. They were all so loud. He just wanted them to shut up.
"Naruto Namikaze?" The instructor called out, taking roll call.
"Here." Naruto grumbled, snapping Sasuke's attention to the blond son of the Hokage.
The dark-haired boy looked at Naruto like it was the first time he had ever seen the boy. That stupid expression on his face. Those irritating whisker marks on his cheeks. His messy blond hair. It all pissed Sasuke off just to look at the kid. And his name. Namikaze.
All throughout class, Sasuke couldn't stop staring at Naruto as he doodled with his pencil, failed to take notes, and basically acted like nothing mattered in the world. He could just be a goofball and get away with it.
This continued all throughout the morning until the kids were set free by their instructor to have lunch wherever they want on Academy grounds. Without a word, Naruto stood up and walked outside with his fancy bento. Sasuke shoved past his fan girls and followed after him.
He cornered Naruto in the woods right outside the playground. The blond was sitting down with a bento in his lap while Sasuke stood over him.
"What do you want, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, as annoyed by Sasuke's presence as Sasuke was by his.
Sasuke tightened his small fists. His last twelve hours had been a whirlwind typhoon and Naruto was going to scoff at him?
"Give me my brother back, Namikaze." Sasuke demanded.
"Huh?" Naruto asked, not knowing what the most popular boy in his class was going on about.
"Don't Huh me! Dobe!" Sasuke shouted. His rage bubbling up the surface. "You and your dad stole my brother! Now give him back!"
"Get off of me!" Naruto cried as Sasuke grabbed the Hokage's son by the collar. He started grabbing Sasuke by his own collar, which turned into shoving, which turned into fighting. The two boys had to be pulled off of each other by their instructor when he found them after lunch was over.
Both boys were taken to the Principal's office. Sasuke didn't pay attention to the lecture that followed and he didn't care.
His distraught mother picked him up before the Uchiha heir could see whomever picked Naruto up.
Sasuke's mother lectured him again when he got home. Again, Sasuke didn't care to pay attention to her words. He just ate his light supper and went to bed.
The shops in the Uchiha compound didn't open that week. Or the next week. Everyone seemed to stay indoors. Sasuke thought he lived in a ghost town for a while. He would see his mother every evening for a quiet dinner then be sent to his room to play with his toys while Mikoto sat quietly in the living room.
A few nights, Sasuke's father showed up for dinner. One time even for breakfast. Yet Itachi never came back.
On the nights that Sasuke's father ate dinner with them, Sasuke always could hear his parents arguing after he went to bed. He cried some more and held the stuffed dinosaur her outgrew when he was five.
A month later, things seemed to return to normal. The shops in the Uchiha compound all opened up. Mikoto started humming again while she cooked Sasuke's breakfast. Even Fugaku read the paper in silence at the breakfast table just like he always had. It was like Sasuke had awoken from a dream. Yet his big brother still hadn't returned.
The clan heir didn't dare bring up the subject less he brings back the dark clouds. Instead he took his lunch bag and headed off to school like always.
For the rest of the school year, the instructor made sure to keep the Namikaze and the Uchiha on opposite sides of the room. Which suited Sasuke fine. He was seated closer to the front, so he didn't have to look at Naruto's stupid head as he was seated in the back.
The school year passed by. No one in the clan ever talked about Itachi, Shisui, or that night in the meeting hall. Fugaku started taking a greater interest in his younger son's studies. He taught Sasuke all sorts of Fire based ninjutsu known only by the Uchiha. He even taught him how to better use his Sharingan. It was only during these training sessions that Sasuke even realized that he had unlocked his clan's kekki genki thanks to his father noticing.
Of course, soon all that quality time with his father soured as Fugaku expected more and more progress from Sasuke with each passing day. Progress that Sasuke couldn't always keep up with, earning his father's scorn.
Fugaku was now training his son for greater things. He would reach new heights that his clan could only dream of before. Thanks to Fugaku's talks with Minato.
The years passed and all Sasuke had to convince himself that his brother wasn't a figment of his imagination was the photo of him in his bedroom. All the other photos of Itachi had been taken down from the fireplace mantle. Sasuke's disdain for Naruto and the Namikaze clan also dimmed, but was never snuffed out. Even now as he walked along the concrete path, his irrational hated for Naruto still burned bright.
flashforward
"Shannaro!" A girl cried out into the night, jolting Sasuke awake from his trip down memory lane.
"What in the..." Sasuke wondered before he felt the ground shake beneath his feet.
'Is this an earthquake?' He wondered as he leapt up into the tree branches, searching for the source of the voice. He stopped a hundred yards into the forest where he could observe the scene from a distance. Who did he see, but the pink haired girl from earlier.
'It's that nomad girl...But what is she-WOAH!' Sasuke thought in astonishment when he witnessed her lift up a refrigerator sized boulder up and toss it like it was nothing.
"Sweet sage...This girl is deadly." Sasuke said to himself as he watched the refrigerator sized boulder crash through the tree where Naruto once stood.
Naruto was standing on top of a tree at the time she threw that boulder
Naruto jumped out of the way at the last possible second, landing on the next tree over just in time for Sakura to send another boulder hurling towards the poor ninja. This time the massive boulder found its mark, but Naruto made sure to be hit by the Boulder feet first. He was sent sailing away with the rick, but managed to scramble over the massive hunk of stone just to enough to let him toss his special kunai back into the arena. Naruto reappeared, crouched over his kunai just in time to take a cannon ball sized rock to the chest, smashing him against a nearby tree trunk.
Even Sasuke had to flinch at that one.
Yet somehow, Naruto managed to roll with the hit. After he hit the tree and slid down the trunk, Naruto rolled along his side and tossed some more shuriken at Sakura.
Sakura was caught off guard and deflected the projectiles with her next handheld boulder. While Naruto clutched his ribs, and ran a zig zag towards Sakura.
'My god...I've never seen anyone with that kind of strength. Wait a minute, didn't she say that she was trained by that Sannin Tsunade?' Sasuke thought as he continued to watch Sakura lay the smack down on Naruto. Just watching this girl create craters the size of fishing boats and lift up more brick shithouse sized boulders like they were made of pillows pretty much confirmed that for him.
'And she's supposed to replace me? Damn...I kinda wanna stay now.'
"RASENGAN!" He heard Naruto shout at the top of his lungs.
He saw Sakura try to dodge and get clipped in the side by the spiraling chakra sphere, knocking her to the ground and clutching her tummy, yet she still stood up. Ready for more.
'She's tough...and strong...' Sasuke thought. 'I could use her on my team. Better her than the Dobe and the fan girl.'
That's when he noticed another figure out of the corner of his eye and turned to face it.
'Sharingan.' Sasuke thought as his onyx eyes turned bright red with two spinning toes each. The world shifted in color and Sasuke could clearly see a third body of chakra hiding in the tree next to his. Judging by the flow of chakra, he/she didn't notice Sasuke was there, and was too busy spying on the two Jinchuriki to care. When Naruto took another clean hit, the mysterious figure's chakra grew nervous.
'Her.' Sasuke realized exactly who the other ninja was.
'What is she doing here?' Sasuke wondered as he slowly started to move in closer.
He grit his teeth. He knew exactly what she was doing here. One again the lavender haired princess of the forbidden Hyuga clan was stalking the golden boy son of the Hokage.
'Fucking Naruto.' Sasuke thought.
Meanwhile, the two Jinchuriki's had broken off their long-ranged attacks and were now in the middle of an intense match of taijutsu. kicks and punches were flying rapidly as they blocked, dodged or landed blow after blow. However, Sakura had a slight upper hand on Naruto thanks to her chakra enhanced strength Even still, she couldn't deny that Naruto had been trained better, specifically in combat, while her time was split between combat and medicine.
They charged at each other to deliver one final blow. Sakura got in a hard-left hook to his face, while Naruto delivered a hard-left hook to her face. The resulting impact knocked them both back and on their backs.
Hinata Hyuga flinched when she saw her long-time crush fall flat on his back. He looked beaten to Hell and completely exhausted. The romantic in her wanted to leap out of her hiding spot and throw herself upon her love's weary body. To sooth him with her touch and her voice. Yet it was not to be as Naruto and the pink haired brute began to laugh.
"That was awesome!" Sakura laughed as she began to sit up.
"Damn straight!" Naruto chuckled. He couldn't remember the last time he had a fight that was so invigorating. "Wheeeehee...oh man, where did you learn to throw rocks like that? I thought I was done for." He asked as he sat up, feeling sore all over.
"Lady Tsunade, of course. She taught me everything I know." Sakura stated proudly before hocking out a wad of blood and phlegm from her mouth. "What about you? That was one mean left hook you gave me."
"Frog-Fu. Courtesy of my Sannin tutor Pervy Sage." Naruto said as he cracked his neck.
"Toad style, huh? Not bad...ow..." Sakura grunted as she cracked her back.
"Don't tell me your style is Slug Style." Naruto grunted as he reset his dislocated pinky from punching Sakura. "You seemed to solid to be like a slug."
"No, it's not. It's a style Lady Tsunade invented all on her own."
"Solid as a rock. Or some really sturdy tree. It's a miracle I could knock you off balance at all." Naruto praised.
"Hey you weren't bad either. I haven't had a good working over since Lady Tsunade's brutal training."
"Ugh, same." Naruto said as he clutched his bruised ribs. "Pervy Sage has been taking it easy on me ever since my Dad went into a coma."
"So, you're rusty is-ow... is what you're saying." Sakura said as she started healing her broken collar bone.
"Nah, just needed a good work out. So thanksssssss." Naruto hissed as soon as he lowered his hand to cover his bottom right rib and found that it was indeed broken.
"Yea, but I think we overdid it a little bit..."
"I thought it was a good show." A familiar voice said behind Sakura.
Kakashi. He isn't going to be there long so no worries.
Sakura turned around to see the silver haired masked man who would be her Jounin sensei.
"Yo." Kakashi greeted. "You really surprised me. That's some talent you've got."
"Thank you, sir. It's all thanks to Lady Tsunade's training." Sakura said.
"I'm sure it is. Say, we have a B rank mission coming up in a few days. How would you like to join us? Lord 4th already cleared you." Kakashi offered.
"What's a B rank?" Sakura asked.
"Less dangerous than an A rank, but more dangerous than a C or D ranked mission." Kakashi explained. "Expect to fight some lesser rogue ninjas and/or protect someone with a title."
"Oh geez...let me guess. It's the one with the kid with the cards..." Naruto groaned.
"No, not him. Something else." Kakashi said, not wanting to spoil the surprise.
"In that case, I'm all game!" Naruto declared.
"Sure! I'll go along." Sakura beamed before wincing in pain. "Once I'm healed that is...ow..."
"Well if you are anything like Naruto it shouldn't take you longer than a single night's rest." Kakashi said.
'Like Naruto? what does that mean?' Sasuke thought.
"Well, Saiken heals me a great deal, but it takes longer than Kurama." Sakura informed.
'Excuse me? I can heal you just as well as Kurama can. Hell, I can do it better since I actually care about my host.' Saiken thought, offended.
'Oh relax, I'm just joking.' Sakura teased.
'Saiken? Wait a minute...heals her just like...' Sasuke paused when he realized just what she is. 'She's a Jinchuriki...that explains a lot. This girl just keeps getting more and more interesting.'
"In any case. We will meet tomorrow in the Hokage Tower for our mission assignment. I trust Naruto will be able to guide you there." Kakashi said.
"Leave it to me." Naruto declared.
"Will do, sir." Sakura nodded.
"First rule...Sakura was it?" Kakashi asked, Sakura nodding. "Right. First rule in my squad. Don't call me sir. You can call me Kakashi or sensei. I don't like that formal junk."
"Okay, sensei." Sakura replied.
"Second, and most important." Kakashi stated. "Those who break the rules of ninjas are lower than trash. However, those who do not care for or support their fellow ninjas, are even lower than that."
"I've never heard that. Lady Tsunade always told me to take care of myself."
"Well that won't fly here in this team. If you want to be a ninja, you will have to look out for the well-being of your squad mates before yourself. If you can't do that, I will kick you off my team." Kakashi warned.
"Right, I understand." Sakura nodded.
"Good. I'll see you both tomorrow, bright and early." Kakashi waved before vanishing into thin air, leaving behind only a pile of leaves.
'Bright and early. Yeah right.' Naruto and Sasuke both collectively thought.
"Bright and early, huh? Like how early?" Sakura asked.
"He told us 6 once, but then we waited until 10." Naruto explained.
"Ah...so he's not the punctual type I take it."
"That would be the running joke, yes." Naruto said as he dusted off his pants.
"Well I'm gonna show up on time. Gotta make a good first impression ya know."
"Hey, I'll be there with you. Just bring a book." Naruto said as he walked over to pick up his shuriken and kunai.
Hinata watched Naruto complete his task, still completely hidden from view from the two she was spying on, thanks to her Byakugan. 'Damn you, Sakura. Naruto will be mine.' Hinata thought.
'That Sakura is actually kinda cool...' Sasuke thought. 'Maybe I'll ask her out...I bet Naruto would get a kick out of that.' He smirked.
As Sasuke was thinking up his terrible plan, he failed to notice another pair of eyes watching over him from the next tree over. A pair of onyx eyes hidden behind a porcelain mask. He had technically been off the clock for the past hour but as soon as he noticed his baby brother passing by he couldn't help himself.
'Sasuke...' Itachi thought as he watched his brother from afar.
Meanwhile, across town, a father stared at the picture of his son. Fugaku sat at his desk in his private study in the Main House. He always came here when he wanted to think or to remember the simpler times. He held up the framed picture of himself and Itachi, taken when Itachi had just become a Chunin. He was so proud of his eldest son. Just six months from his graduation from the Academy at such a startlingly young age. The future of the clan seemed so bright back then. Itachi shaping up to be the greatest heir their clan had produced in generations. Until Minato had corrupted him against his own family.
'Itachi...you could have been my successor. Our clan's greatest leader in its history.' Minato thought sadly as he placed the photo back in its locked compartment of his desk. Just in time as well, he sensed his contact outside of his window.
Fugaku stood up and unlocked his window, letting the man dressed in black slip into the room as befits a ninja.
"What do you have for me, Tetsuo?" Fukagu asked the Interrogation Officer he had working as a double agent within Minato's ranks.
"You mean besides the fact that Namikaze brought in another Jinchuriki into our village?" Tetsuo spat as he dusted off his jacket. It still made his skin crawl having to keep up that act that he was understanding of the Jinchuriki. The lot of them needed to be wiped out or sent to die on some far-off island. That's what the young ward of Ibuki thought.
Fugaku raised a curious eyebrow. "A second Jinchuriki you say?"
"Yes sir. A young girl with pink hair said to be the 6 tails Jinchuriki." Tetsuo reported. "She came here with Tsunade Senju and is believed to be trained by her as well."
"I knew that much, but to have her being a Jinchuriki. That is news to me indeed." Fugaku stated as he rubbed his chin.
"Yeah, that's not what I came here to give you though. I've got those files you requested." Tetsuo pulled the out a thick yellow folder from his jacket and handed it to the Uchiha clan leader and Chief of Police.
Fugaku opened the folder and skimmed through a few of the pages, his evil grin growing wider with each page. "Excellent..."
"Everything we have after interrogating Kabuto." Tetsuo said. "You should probably know that your son gave us the bulk of the information."
Fugaku grimaced, but sighed. "No matter. Even without knowing it, he still serves the Uchiha."
Hey all, cmartin here. I wasn't sure if this chapter matched up well, so if anyone sees anything out of place, let us know and we'll correct it.
As for the absence...well...I've been dealing with a lot of personal shit lately as well as working on other things. Including attending a EMT refresher class to get recertified. Anyway, Star Trek is the next to get updated so stay tuned for that.
