Chapter 4
Tsunade and Shizune stared at the black-haired head sitting on the floor of the Hokage's office in shock. "S...Sasuke..." they said together, their voices dead.
Tsunade turned to Shizune, her eyes showing her dread, though her voice was even. "Shizune, gather the teams, they deserve to be told about this. I will speak to them all soon," she said. Shizune, her own eyes full of pain, nodded and left. Tsunade then turned to Gaara, sitting heavily in the Hokage's chair. "All right, Gaara, explain," she said, her eyes leveled at Gaara.
Gaara looked at a chair and spoke. "May I?" he asked. When Tsunade nodded, he sat, his exhaustion obvious. He then looked up at the Hokage and took a deep breath. "Well, as you know, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba, along with their sensei, Kurenai, were sent to my village to deliver a proposal for a Kazekage selection tournament." Tsunade nodded. "Well, they made it there easily and stayed at my home for the duration of their stay; on leaving, they brought an entourage of fifty Sand ninja with them, myself included, intending to accept said proposal."
Tsunade smiled briefly. "Good. I'm glad some good will come of this," she said. Gaara nodded in return.
"Anyway, we had traveled a day back toward here, when we came across a rather idyllic clearing and began to set up camp for the night," Gaara said, his voice as level as before, though it was obvious he wasn't happy with what he had to tell Tsunade. "We had been in the clearing for mere moments when one of our group tripped a trap, which set off a small explosion. No one was hurt, but we were all distracted a moment. Then," here he gestured to the head, "he came from nowhere and spat a fireball at us. I erected a sand wall to defend our group, but his fire was so hot it melted the sand and turned it to glass. A large chunk of glass fell. Two of our group were unable to dodge it, and these two," here he gestured to Matsuri and Hinata, "pushed them out of the way, at the cost of getting hurt themselves."
Tsunade had to smile. "Too kind for their own good, aren't they?"
Gaara chuckled wryly. "Indeed. Anyway, he tried another fire jutsu, which I blocked with sand; this one was much less intense, so no one got hurt by it. He then threatened that he would kill my people if I didn't stay out of the fight, so I just stood back. Naruto, who was by then in his three-tailed form, attacked Sasuke. His Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori fought for dominance, and Naruto won, depriving the traitor of one of his arms. Naruto then slammed a second Rasengan into Sasuke's stomach moments before passing out from chakra exhaustion and pain, as I'm sure you gathered." Tsunade nodded; she'd noticed that when she examined Naruto. "Anyway, I had been directing my sand during that, so when Sasuke moved to kill Naruto, I encased him in sand. He gave me his last words, which I will deliver to the one for whom he intended them, and then I did that." Here he gestured once more to the head. "His body was crushed and became part of my sand, so you need not worry about anyone stealing secrets from it."
Tsunade folded her fingers together under her chin. "First off, what were his last words?"
Gaara sighed. "He said to tell Sakura he was sorry."
Tsunade nodded. "You can do that, I suppose. It might be some comfort to her. As for the rest...here," she said and handed Gaara an envelope. Opening it, Gaara found a voucher for several thousand ryo in it. He looked at Tsunade questioningly. "Your reward for killing a rogue ninja from this village, one Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara nodded and pocketed it. No more would ever be said about that.
"Anyway, after that, I formed a sand cloud and brought these three here as quickly as I could, knowing that they needed treatment, and that you and Shizune were the best for that," he finished. Tsunade nodded.
"Thank you, Gaara," she said. "For helping my ninja, I thank you sincerely as Hokage. For helping Naruto, I thank you as his godmother."
Gaara gave a small smile. "You are most welcome, Lady Hokage," he said simply. "Just know I didn't do it for you, I did it for Naruto, my friend."
Tsunade chuckled. "I figured as much," she said. "Though I must say I'm surprised you'd be so candid as to tell me so."
Gaara shrugged. "Just don't want you to be confused about my motives," he said. Tsunade nodded, granting his point. "Anyway, is there a place I can rest? I've got a lot of chakra left, but this has been a trying day, and I am exhausted."
Tsunade chuckled. "I think we can manage to get you a place to rest. SHIZUNE!" Shizune opened the office door and came in.
"Yes, milady?" she asked.
"Could you see to it Gaara here has a place to rest, please?" Tsunade asked, her tone making it clear this was an order, not a request.
"Of course. Gaara, you are here for the tournament, yes?" Shizune asked. Gaara nodded. "All right. We already have rooms reserved for you all at the Okamai Hotel down near the village market. If you'll follow me." With that, the assistant and the jinchuriki turned to leave the Hokage's office. "Oh, milady, the people you requested are downstairs, shall I send them up?" Shizune asked just before she left.
"Yes, please do, Shizune," Tsunade said, her head bowed and buried in her hands. Once Shizune and Gaara were gone, she resealed Sasuke's head in the scroll Gaara had brought it back in and hid it in one of the drawers on her desk for the time being. She didn't think Sakura in particular would take it very well if she saw that.
Next, she moved Naruto, Hinata, and Matsuri onto three couches in the room, then sat down to wait for the rest of the remaining members of the Konoha Twelve to reach her office. After a few moments, a knock sounded. "Come in," Tsunade said, forcing her voice to remain calm.
Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Sakura all strode into Tsunade's office, looks of bewilderment and curiosity on their faces. Tsunade sat behind her desk, face buried in her hands. No one spoke for several moments. None of the younger ninja knew why they were there, and Tsunade couldn't come up with the words to break the news to them.
Eventually, Sakura couldn't take the awkward silence any longer. "Lady Tsunade?"
Tsunade looked up at the ninja who occupied her office, her face grim, and began.
xxxxxx
Tsunade looked at her ninja and waited. She had finished explaining the circumstances and outcome of the battle so far as she knew them, so now she was waiting for their reactions.
Ino was the first to react. "So...Sasuke's dead?" she asked. Tsunade nodded. Ino tried to not show it, but she couldn't hold back for long; she burst into tears. Surprising everyone, Choji pulled her into his arms and just held her. No one said a word, and Ino didn't object, she just sobbed into Choji's chest.
Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag," he commented. "This is going to cause all kinds of issues, isn't it?" Tsunade gave a wry smile to the genius and nodded. Shino remained silent, thinking along the same lines as Shikamaru. Tenten simply nodded, her face grim.
"What of Naruto and Hinata?" Neji asked. His face clearly showed barely controlled rage. "Are they all right?"
Tsunade pointed to where the three wounded ninja were resting. "See for yourselves," she said back. Everyone but Ino, Choji, Sakura, and Lee went to check on their wounded friends. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at Sakura. "Yes, Sakura?"
Sakura's eyes were slits, her fists clenched, her mouth a hard line. "Naruto," she said, her voice cold. "He broke his promise to me. He swore he'd bring Sasuke back, and he broke his word." She turned and made her way toward her injured ex-teammate. Glaring at him, she drew back a fist, obviously intending to hit Naruto.
Lee saw what she was doing. "Sakura!" he yelled and moved quickly to block her move. He barely got there in time. Sakura struggled in vain to get out of Lee's grasp. Suddenly, Lee remembered something Naruto had told him Kakashi said. "If abandoning your comrades makes you worse than scum, what are you if you attack your comrades, Sakura?"
Sakura froze, Lee's words hitting home. She went limp, and Lee's grip loosened on her. She burst out of his hands and out of the Hokage's office, tears streaming from her face as she ran for her home. Lee looked at his hands, seemingly surprised to find them empty, then around at the faces looking at him. He looked confused. It seemed that the words he spoke had hit home to him as well; he was now wondering what he'd ever seen in Sakura to begin with. One thing was for sure: he knew now he didn't love her.
Slowly, the young ninja made their way out of their leader's office. Ino and Choji left together, followed by Shino and Shikamaru, who were talking quietly about what they would need to do in the near future. This left only Team Guy in the room. Neji gestured for his teammates to leave; he wanted to speak to the Hokage alone.
Lee and Tenten left. Lee got a surprise when Tenten gave him a one-armed hug before sprinting off. Lee grinned. "So, it's a chase you want, eh, Tenten?" he said. "All right then, I will use the power of my youth and catch you!" Tenten giggled, and Lee took off after her, silently thanking her for the distraction.
Neji sighed. "Lady Hokage, I trust you have healed my cousin and Naruto, but I do have one question I would like to address to you if I may," he said. Tsunade nodded for him to continue. "Who actually killed the traitor?"
Tsunade took a deep breath. She'd kept this information back on purpose. "Gaara of the Desert performed the execution, as it were," she told him. Neji nodded; he was relieved he wouldn't have to talk to Hinata about taking a life just yet. He turned to leave, but Tsunade's voice stopped him. "Neji?" He turned and looked at her, questions written on his face. "Tell Hiashi that Hinata will be needed outside the compound for the next two weeks to complete this mission, please." Neji nodded that he would, bowed, and took his leave of his leader.
As he made his way out of the tower, Neji heard Lee and Tenten laughing and knew Tenten was doing everything she could to distract Lee from both the loss of Sasuke, whom Lee often wanted to fight, and the disillusionment he had experienced regarding Sakura. Neji allowed a small smile. "Perhaps Sasuke's death was the best thing that could have happened for this village," he mused to himself.
xxxxxx
Sakura sat on her bed, her eyes misty, distant. "What have I done?" she asked herself. She'd heard Lee laughing from outside as she sat in her room. It was somewhat forced, but she could tell Lee wouldn't be coming around her for a while, if ever again. She'd tried to attack Naruto, which she knew Naruto would find out about one way or another. In essence, she had ruined any chance she ever had with either Naruto or Lee in one fell swoop.
Inner Sakura stomped her foot. "Why did you have to do something so stupid?" she yelled at Sakura.
Sakura just sighed, having no answer even for herself as to why she had done that. She sighed again. Even Kiba wouldn't look at her now, what with how much he valued loyalty and all. She doubted Shino would ever forgive her; she knew he had a tendency to bear a grudge. Choji had Ino now, and Sakura had to admit to herself she wouldn't do anything to come between them. Shikamaru wasn't her type, and Naruto would likely soon have Hinata, if he didn't yet, and to make things worse, Sasuke was dead.
Sakura's scream of frustration was heard in all corners of the village. Only three of the Konoha Eleven didn't hear it: Kiba, who was outside the village at the time, and Naruto and Hinata, who were both unconscious. "Sasuke," she said to herself. "Why did you have to die? Why couldn't you have just stayed with me?" She burst into tears. No one came to her, no one comforted her, no one even knew she was crying. It took almost an hour, but soon enough Sakura felt as if she had no more tears to cry. She looked around her room. Everything she saw in some way reminded her of Sasuke. That just wouldn't do. Her eyes became hard and cold again as she rose from her bed.
xxxxxx
Naruto opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing. "Where am I?" he thought to himself. Then he remembered what had been happening when he lost consciousness; he'd been fighting Sasuke! He sat up quickly, then immediately regretted it as he felt as if his head was being squeezed in a vice.
"Oh, Naruto, you're awake," a voice said. Naruto turned toward it as best he could and found Tsunade smiling at him. He tried to speak, but Tsunade gestured for him to stay quiet. "Don't talk, you're fine. We're in my office right now, you, Hinata, and Matsuri are all fine, and the rest of the delegation from Sand should be here soon."
"The rrrrest?" Naruto asked, his tongue sluggish.
Tsunade chuckled. "Gaara brought you, Hinata, and Matsuri here so I could treat you. Everyone else should be here soon. Get some rest, I'll explain everything once you're all awake." Naruto nodded and was back asleep within moments.
xxxxxx
Sakura looked around her room. Everything in the room was now white. Her bed had plain white sheets, her walls were white and bare, she'd even torn out her old carpet and painted the floor white along with the walls. The effect was startling and more than a little glaring. Sakura sighed as she sat on her bed again. This time she laid down and fell asleep almost immediately.
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter this time. Next chapter will be Naruto and Hinata finding out about Sasuke and will be quite fluffy to make up for this one. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and sorry if not, I really wasn't feeling this one.
