Sakura opened her eyes. The white light blinded her and she squinted. She could hear voices around her but could not make out what they were saying. Something about chakra depletion, was it? Lucky to have only fainted and not come even close to death? Who the hell were they talking about?
"You can't still want to make her go!" said a loud male voice. Too loud. It made her head hurt.
"There isn't much choice," said a female voice, in forced calm. "The team needs the best medic we can afford to send."
"Exactly!" said the loud voice again. "Afford to send. Can't you see your best medic is hurt, not to mention unconscious?"
"She is not hurt," said another male voice. Deeper. Calmer than the other two.
"Yes, but that's only because she's lucky enough to be even alive!"
"You sound like you want her to be hurt," said the deep voice, sounding almost threatening.
"How could you even say that? Shouldn't you be concerned, too? Oh, but I suppose you are just concerned in the sense that if she doesn't go, you won't have the best medic in your team," the loud, obnoxious voice finished sarcastically.
There was the sound of loud hurried footsteps, followed by growls.
"Don't even go there," said the deep voice, now really threatening.
"That's enough!" said the woman's voice.
Sakura forced open her eyes, lifting her head and propping herself up on her elbows. The sight she beheld was enough to make her fully awake. There, at the foot of her hospital bed, stood the Hokage, glaring at two young men, who were apparently in the middle of a heated argument which was about to turn into an ugly brawl. Hyuuga Neji held a fistful of Naruto's shirt, roughly pulling it slightly upwards. Being taller than the blond, Neji caused Naruto to have to stand on tip toe. They were nose to nose, both baring white teeth and snarling, as blue eyes stared into pearl grey.
No one seemed to have noticed that Sakura was awake. So she threw aside the white covers and got out of the bed and began to make preparations to leave the room.
"Sakura! You're awake!"
Within seconds, Tsunade had her apprentice in a bear hug, causing the petite kunoichi to be squashed against her full bosom. She let Sakura go soon, only to give her a resounding slap across her cheek instead of a smile.
"What on earth did you that for?" Tsunade exclaimed, an angry look now on her face. "Do you know what could have happened to you? You could have died! Died, Sakura! Died! Is that what you wanted? What the hell did you have to do that for?"
And Tsunade enveloped her apprentice again, sobbing in relief. This time, Sakura returned the tight hug.
"Gomen, shishou," whispered the pink haired kunoichi.
The moment Tsunade had let go of Sakura again, Naruto pulled the girl into a tight hug, holding back a sob with great difficulty. "Sakura-chan!" Sakura eagerly returned the gesture, saying, "Yeah. I love you too, Naruto."
When the blond had let go of her, Sakura looked around the room. Hyuuga Neji was gone.
"Tsunade-shishou, I guess I should go home and get ready for the mission, ne?"
She saw Tsunade glance at the Uzumaki before saying, "If you're up to it, Sakura. You are more important than this mission, you know."
"Thank you, shishou," said Sakura. "But I think I'm alright now. Besides, it's my duty. I have to go."
"Sakura-chan," said Naruto, grabbing her elbow. "You don't have to go."
"Naruto, I know you care. Thank you. But I'm fine now, really. Come on, I'm a medic after all. You don't think I would have done what I did if I didn't know I was going to survive it, now, did you?"
The Hokage and jinchuuriki smiled at her.
"Okay," said Naruto.
"Your clothes are in the cupboard over there, Sakura," said Tsunade, pointing to a small cabinet against the far wall. "And so is your pack, vest and mask. You get yourself out of those hospital robes and get ready. I'll sign for you. You have little over an hour before you're due to leave."
Sakura nodded and Tsunade and Naruto left the room. Locking the door, Sakura retrieved her possessions from the hospital cabinet and redressed. She pulled on her vest and was about to put on her mask when she heard a noise at the window. Instinctively, she drew a kunai and turned around.
"Easy, Haruno," said a smooth voice.
"Taichou, what are you doing on the window ledge five floors above the ground?"
"Ah, I had to make sure my best medic was in a fit condition for the upcoming mission."
"I see," said Sakura as Neji jumped to the floor and pulled off his ANBU mask.
Sakura gazed at him uncertainly. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably and she fought to keep herself from biting her lower lip. Then …
"I'm glad you're okay, Haruno." And Neji was out the window and gone.
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Sakura arrived at the North gate minutes before sunrise and consequently had to wait for her team members to arrive.
Hyuuga Neji arrived first, followed by Shikamaru and Ino, then Rock Lee, and finally, just before the edge of a whitish disc began to appear in the distant horizon, Uzumaki Naruto.
"All here, Captain," said Shikamaru when Naruto landed in front of them.
"Alright, our mission objective is to intercept the Uchiha on his way to this village. According to the squad that went out last night, Uchiha Sasuke was still close to the borders but intends to make headway for Konohagakure once the sun is fully up. That inadvertly means he could be on the move right now."
"And what happens once we 'intercept' him? I doubt very much he will gladly come quietly with us, Hyuuga-taichou," said the strategist.
"I think you know that words will do no good when it comes to Uchiha Sasuke, Nara. I should think that our options are quite clear and require no further elaboration," Neji replied.
"Right," said Shikamaru. "So that means, in crude, simple words, we find him, engage him – since talking's no good – get beaten up while trying to beat him up, and then, depending on the outcome, drag him bodily back to Konoha. Is that it?"
"More or less, yes. Any more questions?"
There was silence. Neji glanced at the blond.
"Naruto?"
The Uzumaki shifted his blue gaze to meet the pearl eyes of the ANBU captain. "No."
"Good," said Neji. "Let's get going then. Formation: Naruto and Lee up front followed closely by Yamanaka and Haruno; Nara and I'll watch the back. Make sure no harm comes to the medic especially or we're all done for. Without Haruno, we've got no chance against the Uchiha."
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Sakura felt nervousness I her abdomen as the six of them raced through the trees. Neji's words rang through her head over and over again: Without Haruno, we've got no chance against the Uchiha. No chance without her? Sure, she was the medic in their team – not to mention the best medic in all of Konoha. But surely their combination of power, wit and skill even without her was more than enough to take on one man? But then again, Uchiha Sasuke was more powerful than just one man. He defeated Orochimaru – a feat even Tsunade had not been able to accomplish. Then again, he had betrayed the snake. He had gained the sannin's trust first, then turned on him and disposed of him and his underlings once he had gained enough power from him and felt him useless. Still, it was all unsettling.
"What are our bearings?" Shikamaru asked.
"We're not far from the border. Another three or fours hours, I should think. But I don't sense him yet," Sakura replied.
"I'm not surprised," said Neji. "The Uchiha was always one able to conceal his chakra from unwanted detection."
"Do you think he will avoid us if we come close to his path?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, probably not," said the Hyuuga. "I should think he is looking forward to the inevitable encounter."
"Inevitable?" said Ino.
"More or less, yes," said Neji. "He is supposedly heading for Konoha, but for what? It's only us he's after. If he hears, or more like has heard, that we are on our way to him, I am of the opinion that he will gladly meet his 'welcome committee'."
Sakura saw Ino throw her an uncertain glance, but Sakura chose to ignore it and not meet her eye. She was getting confused. As a little girl, she used to obsess over the handsome Uchiha Sasuke. Then he had turned traitor and left to train under the snake-sannin. She had dwelt on it for a time, but then, they had all moved on. "Uchiha Sasuke" was still a taboo subject among the rookie nine, especially Team Seven, but Sakura no longer felt the need to go on hoping and praying for his ultimate return. All he was now was a friend gone astray, a friend she once obsessed over, a friend she had once cared about but now could not help. He was part of her past, no longer of her present, and she hoped he would never be a part of her future. She had plucked up her courage in the past few years and allowed herself to heal. She had even recently, in the last year, allowed herself to be attracted to a member of the opposite sex again – in fact, she was glad she did. The young ANBU captain she was quite interested in – she wouldn't say attracted to, not that way yet, but she was got pleasant butterflies whenever he looked at her – was actually very handsome; not to mention much more intelligent and skilled.
Sakura fought back a sigh. It would not do to look weakened or distracted now. She was sure, though, that there was something her team members knew that they weren't telling her. Neji had always been rather edgy about the medic in his team – after all, if a medic went down, who would heal the injured members of the party? – but never had he spoken about her in the manner in which he did today. There was a secrecy in his voice. Half of Sakura was angry and wanted to know what it was they were keeping from her. The other half of her, however, knew that she would probably be much better off not knowing any bit of it at all.
"Damn all this," said Inner Sakura.
Damn this is right, thought Sakura. Just when I thought my life was falling into place and everything was going to be fine and happy, this happens.
"Yeah. That teme always spoils everything that's good in Konoha."
Don't say that. He's got his own painful past; and that is something neither of us have gone through – except Naruto, perhaps – so we can't judge him. But I think all this desire for revenge is what may have begun to drive him over the edge.
Sakura had accidentally heard Tsunade and the rest of her team talking before she had entered the Hokages's office the night before. They had been talking about Sasuke's mental state. And the fact that they seemed to have evidence that Sasuke was becoming mentally unstable, quite frankly, scared her.
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Not very far away, a man clad in off-white robes, carrying a long sword, sat on the branch of a tree, seated in a meditation state, eyes closed, his face lined with concentration. He opened his eyes. Onyx eyes stared into the dark green all around him. A smile crossed his face. Not a nice smile. Not nice at all. There was no softness in it, no goodness at all. It was more of a smirk, an evil smirk.
"I've found you," he cooed to the wind. "Come, I've been waiting. I've been waiting too long, it hurts."
The face contorted as if in pain and a pale hand reached into the pack that held weapons and pulled out a kunai. The left sleeve was pulled away. Then there was blood as the sharp knife sliced across the equally pale upper arm, close to the shoulder. The crimson blood dripped down the arm to the fist, pooling around the soft object trapped inside. The white fingers parted and the onyx eyes turned red as they stared at the blood covered hand.
"Come to me."
There lay a cherry-blossom, covered in his blood.
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--Gloria.
