This is an eventual SasukexSakura. Rated M for descriptions of violence and language. Very little graphic sexual content.
The story is accurate up to chapter 238 of the manga and contains spoilers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will.
*I have posted this chapter again because I updated late last night, and you probably did not get a chance to see the message before others started flooding your inbox. I apologize. For those who have already read it, it contains the same content so you do not need to read it again.*
OOO
Naruto mulled over his paperwork, feeling his eyelids droop. Ah, such was the life of Hokage. Boring, endless, needless paperwork. With heavy eyes, Naruto examined the hands on the clock.
It was almost midnight. He had been up for over twenty-four hours. "Terrific," he muttered to himself. "I could DIE of happiness." He continued to work for twenty more minutes before he heard the door click.
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked quietly, the only other person left in the Hokage Tower. "Are you still here?" Naruto looked up wearily at her.
"Hinat. Whayoudohar?" He was so tired that most of the words that came out of his mouth were unintelligible. Even he wasn't sure what he was saying.
Her eyes immediately flickered with worry. "A...are you all right?" she inquired, rushing to him and examining his state. She softened. "You should get some sleep, Naruto-kun. This isn't g-good for your health." He nodded halfheartedly, still wanting to finish the paperwork so he could work on meaningful things the next day. Hinata pulled up a chair. He looked at her oddly.
"What are you doing?"
"I'll help," she stated gently. However, her eyes gave away that she would not take "no" for an answer. The blond Hokage smiled.
"Fanks, Hinat."
OOO
Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he had dreamed of his family. In fact, it had probably been five years since he had even thought of thinking of them, honoring their memory.
"Sasuke!" a woman's voice called out cheerfully. "It's time to wake up! Oh, and don't forget to tell your brother that breakfast is ready."
Sasuke groaned as he shifted in his blankets. They were tossed about due to his restless sleeping. He rubbed his eyes, hard. He finally felt somewhat awake. He hopped down from bed and opened the door silently, wincing as sunshine decided to inflict itself upon his eyes. He squinted the whole way down the hallway to the yard. Opening the tatami doors, his face brightened.
Itachi was meditating.
Making sure to keep his energy calm and noises low, Sasuke crouched down to stare at his brother. Every muscle was hardened with work, every brain cell was functioning to its full capacity.
Itachi was the epitome of perfection.
And Sasuke wanted to be just like him.
Uchiha Mikoto smiled at her son as she bandaged his rolled ankle. Elevating it on a pillow, she placed some ice on the swollen limb. Sasuke gasped.
"Mom, that's really cold!" he said, unconsciously shivering. His mother chuckled.
"That's the whole point, Sasuke." She poked his little nose, her whole form betraying tenderness.
Sasuke had forgotten all about them. Rather, he forced himself to forget about them. He couldn't help but feel that they hadn't fought hard enough for their lives. Now, Sasuke couldn't help but feel that his family had willingly abandoned him.
He wasn't young and foolish, seeking revenge just for his family. Sasuke knew that this was the next step to ultimate power, defeating Itachi. Itachi, the strongest. Itachi, the murderer.
Itachi, his brother.
OOO
Naruto clasped his hands together. In front of him were the batty, old coots.
More commonly called the council.
Meh, he sneered. Same, diff. They were so old now, but none of them were willing to relinquish their positions of power. The greedy bastards.
Naruto sat up straight, intending to intimidate the elderly with his strained posture. Feh. Most of them were hunched and ready to keel over and die anyway. He couldn't wait.
However, even with Shikamaru at his side, he felt nervous. Twitchy. He could feel his bottom eyelid going up and down, up and down. Constantly. But for Sakura's sake, he had to do this. If all else failed, he would open a new council and shut the old one down, claiming that all of them were stricken by insanity (which would be mostly true). Tapping his foot impatiently at the old lady attempting to sit down without assistance, he finally decided that assistance was not an option anymore. The problem was quickly resolved.
Clearing his throat, Naruto stood before the council. "I would like to send a retrieval team for Haruno Sakura," he said with authority. The woman shook her head.
"What is the reason for this?" she inquired.
Naruto held Sakura's last letter to him. "She has not given me a report in two months. Sakura does not get careless with things like this." He chuckled to himself. In fact, I'm sure that Sakura would even TELL me that she was becoming a missing nin if it could happen.
Danzo murmured, "Hokage-sama, the woman is not worth it. What could she do to benefit or harm this village?"
"She has Haruno Kenji with her," Shikamaru interjected. "Many are after the Uchiha bloodline right now, especially since there is a price on Kenji's head. Also, we have gotten reports from the Mizukage that she saw Sakura and that she was possible in danger. There's that." He snorted almost condescendingly.
The council dismissed Naruto and Shikamaru so they could discuss and come to a decision. Thirteen minutes later, they called for the two again.
"Very well," the bearded man said. "You will send a four man team out to either retrieve Haruno Sakura or, at the very least, relocate her to a safer location. Adjourned."
Naruto let out a victory whoop.
OOO
Sakura sat cross-legged on her bed.
Stockholm's.
Sakura had been sitting up all night, sure her brain would burst from all the incoming thoughts. She knew that Sasuke had been somewhat kind for the past few weeks, but still, it was no excuse for her to start feeling attached again. His behavior in the beginning had been excusable. Now, it was dangerous to try to escape again. If it failed, Sasuke might decide to have a change of heart and kill Kenji. So it needed to be thought out strategically. It had to be in a situation where Sasuke could not lash out in any way, and it had to be detailed to the planned to the very last moment. Sakura felt the tiny scroll she had hidden inside her bra padding (hey, push-ups had more than one use now.) and grimaced. The Mizukage had actually given her a reverse summoning scroll; meaning that if she smeared her blood on it, she and Kenji would be taken some place who knows where, but it was the only shot she had left now.
She turned her gaze to Sasuke's face.
God, she forgot how much she hated him.
He was intelligent, unfortunately. He had probably planned for her to develop Stockholm's, regaining her old feelings for him. Stupid lust. Stupid, beautiful face.
Why couldn't an elephant just stomp on it and disfigure it for the rest of his life?
OOO
I am so, so sorry! Life caught up to me these past weeks, and I've been having many troubles with my friends. :( But I am extremely sorry that I did not update as soon as I said I would. Thank you ALL reviewing~! I got over 60! Good work, guys! Keep it up.
*For all intents and purposes, Danzo and others are alive in this fic.
Anyways, some of you had some questions, and I'm going to answer them.
1. Isn't the Great Fireball Jutsu a kekkei genkai exclusive to the Uchiha clan?
No, anyone can do it. The Uchiha just have an affinity for fire.
2. Why can't Sasuke tell that Kenji is his son?
Kenji only looks a little like Sasuke right now. He looks mostly like Sakura.
3. Is Sasuke aware of the truth of the Uchiha Massacre?
No, he is not.
4. Why is Sasuke so warped and mean?
He's a bit out of touch with his feelings. Maybe a bit of a sociopath.
5. Could you describe Kenji's phyical features a bit more?
He has dark red hair (that might look even a bit maroonish), and a cute button nose. His eyes are big and black, and his hair is starting to stick up a little, creating a messy look. For y'all's information, he's around six/seven years old, so he's not very tall.
6. What is Stockholm's?
Stockholm's Syndrome is a psychological condition in which a hostage starts to feel compassion or love for his/her captor. The hostage often confuses the absence of direct violence as a form of kindness from the captor.
7. When are you going to update?
I do not know.
A'ight. Peace.
