Ch. 4
"Only a few more hours and we'll be back at the village!" Naruto announced boisterously as he ran ahead of everyone. "I can't wait to get some ramen!"
"How does he have that much energy?" Sakura asked flatly to the older ninja walking at her side. She was exhausted.
"He has unbelievable stamina, and an excessive amount of chakra." Jiraya answered with a proud smirk on his face. "He is going to be an unbelievably powerful ninja one day."
"If he ever matures…" Tsunade said shaking her head with a small smile gracing her beautiful face.
Sakura watched the boy hop from tree branch to tree branch easily like they hadn't been traveling for a week straight. She had to admit she was impressed with the obnoxious idiot.
"How am I ever going to catch up to him?" Sakura asked sighing.
Tsunade turned to look at her. "Sakura, you have already showed tremendous growth in the short week that you have been with us. You'll catch up sooner than you think, especially with me as your master." Sakura smiled up at her mentor. "However, don't expect me to go easy on you. Everyday will be painful. You will sweat, you will bleed and you will be tired. You are my apprentice now, and as such I expect a lot from you." Sakura's smile vanished and was replaced with a look of seriousness.
"I will train with all that I have, master" Sakura said tightening her right hand into a fist. "I want to become strong, and bring my family honor."
Tsunade had to admit that she liked the look in her young apprentice's eyes. She reminded her of herself at the age of fifteen. Stubborn, driven and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Sakura ran ahead yelling to Naruto to slow down and walk with them.
Jiraya laughed as they watched Sakura bop Naruto on the head for frightening her as he dropped down beside her. "She is so much like you, Tsuande." Tsunade couldn't help but laugh with him. "And Naruto is just like you."
Jiraya smiled a toothy smile. "We found some amazing apprentices, didn't we?"
"Ah" Tsunade said as the pair watched the young boy and girl laughing and talking ahead of them. "And I won't be surprised if they surpass us both one day."
As the sun was setting, the group arrived at the gates of Konoha. The ninja guarding the gate welcomed Tsunade, Jiraya and Naruto back to the village and Tsunade explained that Sakura was her new apprentice.
"Best of luck to you, miss. I hear she's a brutal teacher!" One of the ninja called from behind them as they walked. Tsunade rolled her eyes. "As can be expected from the previous Hokage!"
"What's the Hokage?" Sakura asked looking at Tsunade in wonder.
"EEEHHHHHH?!" Naruto said jumping in front of Sakura and grabbing her arms. "The Hokage is the leader of the village! They are the most powerful and awesome! They take care of the entire village like their own family!" Sakura had to admit that the amount of respect she had for Tsunade grew ever larger the more she learned about the woman.
Sakura glared at Naruto as he shook her arms in his excitement. "Okay, okay. I get it!" He released his hold on her arms and smiled at her, pointing a thumb into the fabric of his chest. "I am going to be the next Hokage, dattebayo!"
"Not if you don't stop goofing around and neglecting your training." Jiraya said putting a large hand on the boy's spiky hair and ruffling it. "You and I leave for training in three days time."
"How long will you be away this time?" Tsunade asked. Sakura felt her heart sink when she realized that her only friend in the village would be leaving.
"Two years." Jiraya said. "I already talked to Kakashi about it." Tsunade nodded.
"Two years, Ero-Sennin?" Naruto asked. "But I only just met Sakura-chan! I want to get to know her bett—."
"—And what do you think Sakura will be doing for the next two years?" Tsunade interrupted irritably. "She won't have the time to slack off either. She has two years to catch up, so by the time you return, you can be on a team together."
"AHHH! Hear that, Sakura-chan? We're going to be on the same team!" Naruto said happily. Sakura was happy, too. As obnoxious as Naruto was, she couldn't help but feel fondness for him.
She smiled warmly at him. "I hope I can catch up to you, Naruto!"
"I know you can, Sakura-chan! I can't wait to be teammates! We'll get to train together and go on missions!"
"Thanks, Naruto. I look forward to it, too."
After Naruto made Sakura promise to get ramen with him the next day, they all had said their goodnights and Tsunade led her to her home. Sakura noticed that there were two buildings next to each other that were connected by wooden walkways. She also noticed a large herb garden and was eager to see what was growing in it.
"This is where I hold my healing practices" Tsunade said pointing at the small building as they passed it. "And this is where I live." She said unlocking the front door and sliding it open. Tsunade lit the light just inside the door and locked the door behind them. Sakura was surprised at how spacious the house was. It was simply decorated with a few feminine touches like a beautiful fan with graceful cranes painted on it that hung on the wall, and a few vases of flowers on tables.
Sakura heard shuffling and looked up to see a woman with dark hair coming out of a back room with a lantern. "Welcome home, Tsunade-sama."
"Ah, Shizune. This is Haruno Sakura." Sakura and Shizune exchanged bows. "Can you please show her to her room?" Tsunade asked grabbing a bottle of sake off of the living room table and heading towards what Sakura guessed was her bedroom. "Hai, right this way."
Shizune led Sakura up a flight of narrow stairs and slid open the first door on her left. "This is your room." Shizune lit the lamp on the small table. The room was small and plain, but Sakura noticed a beautifully painted scroll of a cherry blossom tree hanging on the wall and red cushions under the small table. "Sorry if it is a bit dusty. It has been a while since we've had anyone stay with us. I cleaned it before you came of course, though! There is fresh bedding and a futon in the closet." Sakura thanked her. "I will let you know when the bath is ready, I'm sure Tsunade-sama is in there now."
Sakura laid out her futon and unpacked her bag. She hung up her clothes, and neatly organized her healing supplies and herbs on the table she sat at. When Shizune came to get her, she gathered her jasmine scented soap and fresh clothes and went downstairs to the bath. Sakura washed herself off before climbing into the deep tub. She was so thankful to be clean after a weeks worth of traveling.
Sakura reflected on everything that had happened in a week. She thought of Kazumi, and how she was training to be a ninja. She wondered how her parents were doing and decided she would write them a letter after her bath. She scooped handfuls of water into her palms and watched as the water escaped through her fingers.
Her mind wandered again to the mysterious man in the woods. She couldn't help but hope that their paths would cross again one day. Flashes of obsidian eyes, dark hair and the red and white fan on his back flashed through her mind. She never did get a good look at his face, he had been moving too fast. Sakura couldn't understand why she had such a strong desire to see him again. He seemed like a very dangerous man to get involved with and could be a criminal for all she knew.
"Uchiha…Sasuke…" she whispered to herself.
She wondered if he would follow through with his promise to her if he hadn't already. She couldn't help but wish she could be with him to carry out that promise and help get her revenge on the men who murdered her best friend. In order for that though, she knew she had to get stronger and take her training very seriously.
After her bath, Sakura changed into the plain white robe Shizune had provided for her and made her way back to her bedroom. There she found the ink and parchment she had asked for at her small table. She gathered the lantern close as she sat down to write.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I have made it to Konoha safe and sound and am staying with Tsunade. It was a very long journey, but I have met some very nice people so far. There is a boy my age named Naruto who is very funny and energetic! Tsunade promises that there are other teenagers my age that live here as well. I hope I make a lot of friends! There weren't many people my age in our village.
She paused trying to think of the best way to bring up the next subject.
I am sure you have heard by now, but my companions and I found Kazumi who was murdered by bandits. I am still in shock and grieving, but I am trying my best to cope. I hope her family is doing alright and that they can find her grave easily. Please offer them my condolences. She did not deserve what happened to her. She was one of the sweetest people I have ever known. Please leave her some flowers from me too if you visit her grave.
I am going to be training really hard for the next two years, Tsunade says. So far I have learned about chakra control and am going to be learning how I can heal with chakra! Isn't that amazing?
I miss you both so much and I hope you are doing well!
Love,
Sakura
The wind whistled in his ears as he swiftly and silently jumped through the dark forest. He was utterly disgusted with himself. Why should he care about some annoying little girl? He was currently heading in the exact opposite direction he should be traveling in and knew it was much too risky to be heading into a ninja village. For some very foolish reason, he just had to know that Haruno Sakura was safe. He didn't understand himself or why he was doing this, yet there he was scaling up the high walls of Konoha village. It had been years since he had attempted anything this moronic.
He slinked past the guards effortlessly and felt for her unique energy. Soundlessly, he leapt from tree to tree and building to building like an owl hunting for it's prey in the night. He 'tsked' impatiently searching for her through the masses of ninja that lived there. Finally, he was able to focus in on her soothing chakra in a house near the wall he had snuck in from. He moved towards the house on impulse. He was surprised when he found that feeling her alive wasn't enough, he wanted to actually see her to verify that she was safe.
He landed on the branch of a large maple tree next to the home and peered inside the open window of the top room. He could see the pink-haired girl asleep at a small table with her head cradled between her arms. In the flickering of the lantern that was burning low, he could see traces of tears on her cheeks and a letter she must have just finished writing next to her. He thought of his bizarre and impulsive promise to her. What was he thinking? Uchiha Sasuke did not make promises unless it was the promise of taking your life. He glared at the sleeping girl. Why was she any different?
He tried to ignore her long, pretty lashes that were splayed against her cheeks, her slightly open pink lips and her long pink hair that draped down to the small of her back. She looked so peaceful and innocent. That's when it suddenly made sense to him. He wanted to protect her because he wanted her to keep that innocence. She looked so very fragile, like a porcelain doll. He wanted to help her seek her revenge so she wouldn't fall into madness like he once had. He didn't want to see the light in her green eyes, so full of life, fade to nothing.
Most of all, he was worried that her pink hair would make her a target. He had seen it a lot in his travels. Pretty girls plucked from their homes- brutally raped, beaten or murdered. Girls stolen from their families and sold like cattle at a market into a life of satisfying men's pleasures. It made him sick. He had been given jobs taking down kidnappers and slave traders, and when it came to ending the life of those bastards, he never felt any remorse. Sasuke tried to shake his negative memories away. She was here, safe, and in a village full of trained ninja. It couldn't get much safer than that.
Tentatively, after seeing Sakura shiver, Sasuke made his way in through the window, blew out the lantern and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. He saw her smile contently as she unconsciously snuggled into the blanket. He couldn't help but smirk at the annoying girl as he quietly closed the window down to a crack behind him as he left.
"Great, now I'm going soft." He whispered to himself and sighed. He made his way back over the wall and back into the darkness of the forest beyond.
Little did he know he had been watched.
Jiraya had witnessed the scene from his position on a nearby roof with suspicion at first when he had felt the dark man's chakra enter the village, but when no harm had seem to come and he saw the man cover Sakura in a blanket and leave, the scene left him feeling quite inspired. He giggled gleefully as he wrote down everything he had just witnessed. A dark brooding samurai, an innocent young woman…sneaking into her bedroom. His nose started to bleed.
"A forbidden love!" Jiraya shouted out in his excitement. "Ohhh the possibilities!" He ignored all of the cursing ninja yelling at him to shut up. He hadn't been this fired up for writing in a long time.
This was going to be his greatest story yet!
Sorry it's such a short chapter but I was traveling all last week. However, I'm almost done with chapter 5! Hope to have it up by the end of this week. :) 'Till then! Thank you for reading!