-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?
Okay, here comes the chapter a lot of youse were waiting for! After this chapter, it's good-bye Sakura and hello Hinata! But for those of you who are anti-Sakura fans, she ain't dying, got that? She's just . . . not going to be with Naruto anymore. Hinata, on the other hand… Well, you'll see! The next chapter will be more NaruHina, but this one is just Sakura saying good-bye to everyone, 'kay?
Thank you and please enjoy!
Episode Three
~Her Good-Bye, Her Replacement~
"Can we trust it?" Tsunade asked her apprentice after receiving the new information. "What if it's a trap? With Orochimaru as bait, the Akatsuki could be lying in wait for Naruto, their target, at Tenchi Bridge."
"If it's a trap then I believe Naruto will fight!" Though she was worried, Sakura's voice was unwavering. Naruto was her teammate, and she knew him enough to say that he wouldn't go down without a fight! "He won't be taken down by those people! He'll continue fighting for what he believes in!"
"You say Naruto will fight, but Kakashi won't be able to leave Konoha for at least three months as he's under observation for using that new sharingan of his… Not only that but you'll be gone as well." Tsunade explained, chuckling wryly. "Naruto will have to break in a new team and, knowing him, it might take weeks!"
"In that case, you should send in a different team," Shizune suggested. "Even if we send our strongest shinobi, you must leave Naruto out!"
Sakura stared at the woman. She knew Shizune was worried, but for her to suggest such a thing… Didn't she know she'd just cause Naruto pain? For him to be left out on a mission to retrieve Sasuke… She didn't even want to think of that. She herself was already left out. She needed to know Naruto was there. If not then…
"Shizune," Tsunade started, "Sakura is like you, one of the few people I trust. And she trusts Naruto. Even though she's not going, I'm definitely sending Naruto."
"Then wouldn't it be the same if my team went?" Shizune asked.
". . . No, it's not the same. Both Sakura and Naruto are desperately chasing after their old teammate, Sasuke. They strongly believe more than anyone in rescuing him… Those strong feelings will bring the mission to a success… That's why you and Sakura are different."
Tsunade shifted her weight, leaning against the railing. "Now . . . with that said, Sakura…"
"Hai?"
"Only Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi know of your mission. It's up to you whether or not you'll tell the rest of your friends. However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Naruto needs a team, and you know Naruto more than anyone. He needs someone to watch over him, to make sure he's alright, and to make sure he doesn't rush into things. Which kunoichi do you think will be the best candidate for your replacement?"
Sakura smirked. "Hinata," was her answer. "Hyuga Hinata."
✿。.:**:.。✿
"So . . . will that be okay for you guys?"
Kiba thought it over for a minute and shrugged. Sakura's suggestion and proposal seemed full-proof, and there was really nothing wrong with it. It was just a small alteration of teams. That was it.
And when Akamaru gave an approving bark, his answer was locked in. "Well, since it's you who recommended her then why not?"
"It'll certainly do her some good to expand herself in terms of her teammates," Shino said, seconding Kiba's respond. "And since it's Naruto, it'll certainly help her."
"Daijōbu, Sakura." Kurenai smiled at the kunoichi. "Naruto needs her more than these two do. Of course, we'll agree to this especially since you need to help Tsunade gather information."
The cherry blossom's smile was almost larger than her face. "Arigato, Kurenai-sensei!" Sakura bowed. "Now all I have to do is break the news to both Hinata and Naruto!" And with that, she ran off to with those two.
"Heh, I wonder how Hinata will take the news." Shino said.
"She'll probably faint!" Kiba laughed. "But she's been full of surprises lately. Who's to say that she wouldn't jump with joy?"
✿。.:**:.。✿
"So," Naruto said, stuffing his mouth with ramen. He swallowed his food before continuing. "What's the deal, Sakura-chan?" he asked. "There has to be a reason why you're treating me to ramen and spending everything in your wallet on me. What's the catch?"
Sakura giggled. "Nothing's up, Naruto. What? I can't have a nice relaxing lunch break with my teammate who had left to train for two years? Wow, you are so mean!"
"I didn't mean it like that, Sakura-chan!" Naruto quickly tried to come up with an excuse before he was presented with a black eye. "I just . . . just . . ."
"Oh, Hinata-chan!"
Naruto let out his held breath. Whew! Saved by the Hyuga heiress… Wait, Hyuga heiress?
"Oh, hey, Hinata-chan!" he said as the girl came over. He looked her over. Wow, she had gotten prettier… He noticed she had let her hair grow out, and everything else was just . . . wow! He couldn't think of a better word. "I haven't seen you since I got back! How are you?"
"Na-Na-Naruto . . . kun?" Hinata could feel her face redden. She had thought Sakura had invited her for lunch for some girl talk or something related to that, but never in her years did she think Sakura would set her up with Naruto like this!
I heard he was back, but . . . what do I do…? I'm not ready… I haven't seen him in almost three years! She started to fidget her fingers. What do I say? Oh dear…
"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto was suddenly right in front of her. His face was so close to hers too… "Why are you so quiet?"
"Anoo . . ."
"And why are you so red? Are you sick or something?" He placed his hand on her forehead. And then…
Bam!
"What? Hinata-chan! Why did you faint?"
"Naruto! What did you do?"
"Sakura, I swear I didn't do anything!"
✿。.:*Minutes later, after Hinata is conscious again*:.。✿
"Geez, Hinata," Sakura said, "If you keep doing that around Naruto, how am I supposed to trust you as the kunoichi on his team?"
"What?" This had caught both Hinata's and Naruto's attention but for different reasons. Naruto was just as shocked as Hinata not because of the fact that she would be on his team but because of the fact that Sakura was leaving him! She was abandoning him! First, Sasuke; now, her? Why was she doing this? And to him? How could she?
Hinata, on the other hand, was just shocked that she was going to be on Naruto's team. Wh-wh-what happened to her team? Did they ditch her? Did they just throw her away? But all that was just small matters because now she was going to be on Naruto's team! Oh, god! She felt as though she'd faint again.
"Okay, calm down you two." Sakura said. "Naruto, stop thinking that I've abandoned you. And Hinata, don't you dare faint again! Let me explain and you two will understand." She cleared her throat once she knew she had gotten their attention. "I'm going to be leaving soon, and . . . I don't know when I'll be back—"
"WHAT?" Naruto's screams were so loud that everyone on the streets stopped what they were doing and just stared at him. "YOU'RE LEAVING THE VILLAGE? WH-WH-WHY?"
"Naruto, just listen, okay? I'm leaving because I have to visit some family members, and apparently they don't all live in Konoha nor do they all live in the same place, so I'll be travelling a lot." Sakura explained. "Naruto, as much as I want to, I'm afraid I won't be going on that mission with you anymore. I'm sorry. This just . . . it just came up, you know?"
Naruto, though saddened by this fact, tried to smile. "Daijōbu, Sakura-chan… I understand. It's okay."
The rosette smiled a bit and then turned to the Hyuga. She held the girl's hands. "Hinata, now I know this is sudden, but I do need someone to take care of Naruto in my absence on any future missions. Your team has already given their approval. All I need now is yours, and it's all set. What do you say?"
"Well…" Hinata really didn't know what to say. She was so happy, but she was also sad that Sakura would be leaving. What was she to do?
"Please, Hinata?" Sakura pleaded again. "Naruto's a reckless, stupid, and loud fool."—she ignored the "Hey!" that came from the knucklehead's mouth—"I really can't stop worrying about him unless I know that you'll be watching him for me. You're the only one I can trust with him, so . . . please? Oh, won't you do it?"
"W-w-well…"
"Please?" This was when Sakura turned on her puppy-dog eyes.
"If . . . if you s-say so, Sakura-san."
There was a squeal. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Hinata!" Sakura had thrown the Hyuga into a tight hug. "You don't know what this means to me!"
"You're . . . you're welcome…" Hinata's face was completely red now. Just the thought on being on Naruto's team…
"When are you leaving, Sakura-chan?" Naruto's question threw the girl's out of their happy moment.
Sakura released Hinata then. She hated it when Naruto looked like that. He had even stopped eating his ramen! Oh, god, that's why he needed Hinata, and that's why she chose the Hyuga heiress in the first place. Hinata was really the only choice (and the only one who could probably deal with him).
"First thing in the morning," she answered. She took his hands. "But I'll write to you every day! And I'll send back some new ramen flavors for you to try! I promise I will!"
"Mm…" Naruto still pouted. "Fine…"
But Hinata just watched this scene with her own sad eyes. Even new ramen flavors couldn't snap him out of his sad trance. And rather than a thousand of letters of love, he'd still rather have Sakura by his side… She knew she couldn't take Sakura's place, but still . . . she hoped that she could find some way into Naruto's heart. And maybe, just maybe, she hoped she could change his feelings for her into love…
✿。.:**:.。✿
"So . . . you're leaving on a recon mission under the cover that you're going on a vacation?" Ino asked. "Gee, Forehead, you're kind of lucky in some ways and unlucky in others. I wish I could go goofing off…"
"Yamanaka, don't think that way!" Tenten snapped. "Though it may look like a vacation, she'll have to embark on a dangerous journey for who knows how long! It's just plain unlucky! She'll be away from her home, her family, and her friends! Plus, she'll be all by herself!"
"Yeah, yeah, but at the very least she could have some fun!" Ino said, almost day-dreamingly. "I would give up my whole wardrobe to have that mission!"
"Alright, alright, I get your point, Pig!" Sakura was finally fed up with her friends' separate opinions. She had already agreed to the mission much to Naruto's dismay. She didn't need anything else to help her stray from her path. "Just give me my order of flowers!"
"Oh, right, here you are!" And as Ino handed her the bouquet, she couldn't help but ask, "So who are they for?"
"Kakashi-sensei, duh! He's the one in the hospital, remember? He can't see me off tomorrow, so I'm planning on seeing him today."
"Oh, I knew you had a special purpose for choosing them." Ino said, almost proud of herself and her detective work. "Bluebells symbolizes gratitude, daffodils for respect, pansies for being thoughtful, and sweet peas to say sayonara."
"Yep," Sakura smiled. "He was my sensei. I should at least give him something before I leave."
"It's a good idea," Tenten nodded her head. "But did you tell Lee that you're leaving yet?"
"Oh, I knew I was forgetting something!" Sakura could hardly believe herself. How could she have forgotten about the guy who had given his undying love for her? "Hey, Ino, you got any flowers to say 'thank you'?"
"No, but I do got some azaleas. You could thank him for being modest." the blonde suggested.
"It doesn't really matter, Sakura." Tenten said. "Even if you give him a rock, he'd still be grateful for it."
The redhead giggled. "Well, I guess you're right about that!"
✿。.:**:.。✿
So, after Lee had thanked her for the flowers by declaring that he'd always love her and only her, Sakura finally made her way to Kakashi's hospital room in which he was reading the book Naruto had given him days before.
"I see you're up and doing fine."
"Ah, Sakura, I've been expecting you." Kakashi said, actually putting down his book. "My, what beautiful flowers! And I take it that they're—"
"For you?" Sakura finished his sentence. "Yes. I wanted to thank you for being my teacher and to say good-bye."
"Well, I expected this much since Naruto had come stomping in just an hour ago, sulking about you leaving tomorrow." Kakashi groaned as he sat up straighter. "I'm sorry that I won't be able to see you off tomorrow morning."
"It's okay, sensei. I understand."
The jonin nodded his head. "Sakura, after you leave, you're not just some regular kunoichi or chunin anymore. You'll be a hunter-nin, you understand? The first hunter-nin in Konoha history! Whatever you do, make sure you put on a mask and try to hide your hair or at least put up some kind of disguise and never give your real name. Your enemies will be stronger than anything you've ever faced before, so you can't let them know your identity or else you'll be in danger, understood?"
"Hai, Kakashi-sensei."
"Good but, before you leave, I've got a present for you." And he started making the hand signals for the summoning jutsu.
"Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't—" But when she saw the puppy-like Akita Inu, she was completely won over. "Aw! She's so cute!"
"Yes, her name's Kiki, but apparently that's as big as she'll get. And you'll find that she has a personality similar to Naruto's, so you shouldn't miss him all that much." Kakashi explained, a smile on his face when he saw Sakura's. "She'll stray from you most of the time, but you just need to whistle, and she'll come right back to you. Plus, she's portable. You can keep her in your supplies bag for a secret attack."
"Arigato, sensei! I promise I'll take care of her!"
"Well, actually, I wanted it the other way around…"
"How can a dog take care of me?"
"Well, Pakkun is in care of taking care of her, so he just pops up randomly whenever he wants to check up on her."
"Oh, wow, won't that put a dent whenever I'm trying to commence a sneak attack?"
The jonin just shrugged. "Just pray that you have good luck!"
"Kakashi-sensei!"
✿。.:**:.。✿
That night, regardless to say, Sakura could not fall asleep. Tomorrow would be her first day as a hunter-nin, after all… The first day she'd start her killing spree… It didn't help her at all that her victims were S-ranked criminals. They were still human, after all… Well, most of them. And she was a medical nin! It was her job to save people, not kill them!
Oh, god… she thought. How will I bring myself to overcome these feelings? I have to kill them before they kill anymore… But emptying the Bingo Book's impossible! Some of those people aren't even criminals! The Elders just want me gone to spite Tsunade. But still . . . god, what am I going to do?
For a while, she went over her opinions. She could always go back to her memories with Team 7, no? Nah, they would bring her to tears. Then again . . . she could always remember when Naruto and Sasuke were always arguing or she could go even further back to when they were first put into teams when those two kisse—
Oh, god! Wrong picture! Wrong picture! Yeah, maybe that would work…
But then again, she could always enjoy the letters Naruto would send to her. However, there was the fact that she hated reading his handwriting.
God! What was she to do? What could she do?
And it turned out that not even a whole night could give her an answer. Konoha's first hunter-nin… Wow, she had come a long way since her academy days… But had she grown stronger? For that was the question that really ran through her head.
✿。.:**:.。✿
As the sun rose, Sakura made her way to the village gates. It was a quiet walk, nothing much to see since she already knew the village by heart now. She looked into her purse. Kiki was sleeping peacefully. Well, that makes one of us… At least I won't be alone… I wonder if that was what Kakashi-sensei was really trying to do when he gave her to me… She glanced up at the sky. Well, at least, it's a nice day to set out on a journey…
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the gates. She had only thought her mentor and Shizune would be there to see her off. She hadn't expected this! Everyone from Konoha 11…
"Why…? Why are you guys all here?" she asked as she ran up to them.
"Well, Forehead, we all heard about your new puppy dog Kakashi gave you, and we all thought 'If the perverted sensei's giving her something then why not we all pitch in and give her something more useful than just words?' And so, here we are!"
"Okay… But Ino and you all, you didn't have to—"
"My youthful cherry blossom!" (Guess who?) "You have given us wonderful memories! You must let us give you something in return to remember us by!"
"Yo, Bushy Brows, I think she gets the idea!" Naruto retorted.
"So, Sakura, here… From both Shizune and I." Tsunade said, handing her a smaller version of Katsuya which left Sakura pretty confused.
A slug? Surely, you can do better than that! I can summon these, you know?
"Just say the name of who you want to talk to and she'll connect with another version of herself, and you'll be able to talk to that person."
Oh… I get it now… It's kind of useful… "Arigato, shisou."
"And now from all of us…" Naruto said, opening his fist to show Sakura a beautiful bracelet; a black gem sat right in its focus. And as he slipped it onto Sakura's, he explained. "Though it doesn't look like much now, it contains all of us's chakra. So if you have any trouble, you can use this extra chakra supply to help you or you could use any one of our jutsu. Or if you can't use your hands, it'll create a barrier around you to protect you and—"
Sakura threw her arms around him before he could continue on with his rambling. "Arigato, Naruto… Thanks for everything." And when she released him, she bowed to everyone there. "Thanks you all… I won't forget you guys, I promise you that much."
"Oh, and one more thing…" Hinata stepped out of the crowd. She handed Sakura a small card. "I . . . I . . . I promise I'll t-take care of Naruto-kun for you! But if you're st-still worried, all you need to do is add . . . add chakra to this, and you'll be able to see wh-what we're doing… Not . . . not only that but, if you want, it can also sh-show you memories…"
"It was Hinata's idea," Shikamaru yawned.
"Took us the whole night to make too," Choji added as he stuffed some chips down his mouth. "It'll show you anything you want to see, you know?"
Sakura could feel tears coming to her eyes. "I don't know what to say… I don't even think I deserve such good friends… What did I do to get you guys to love me so much?"
Naruto shrugged. "It doesn't matter cuz we're all friends here! And we'll be waiting for you to return! Plus, I'll make sure the Teme's here waiting too! Dattebayo!"
Sakura couldn't help but giggle. Glancing at her friends and mentor, she couldn't help but feel proud of herself. Even if she wasn't as strong as she wanted to be, she could always say that she had friends to back her up. That was more than some people had, and that was all she was thankful for…
Hai = yes
Sayonara = goodbye
Bye-bye, Sakura-chan… Oh, god, she's gone… Oh, well, here comes Hinata! I hope you guys liked the chapter! Oh, and by the way, I used the Japanese language of flowers for the flower meanings. Thank you for reading and please enjoy!
