Disclaimer: It really shouldn't come as a shock to you that I don't own Naruto…
A/N: Trying to add some depth to the plot line here…..once again, bear with me….
Tsunade glanced around at the ninjas assembled before her.
"We have an impending threat from the coming from the Rain village." she informed them. Her words were met with a barrage of questions; she raised her hand to silence them.
"We don't know what they want. They only asked for a surrender of Konoha. I'm not about to let that happen." Tsunade continued. A few voices began to respond, but she carried on "We must prepare to fight, and perhaps die for our village! For so long as I live, this village will not be defeated! I swear it!"
She glared at the faces staring back, as if daring them to argue. No one did. The fifth Hokage drew herself up to her full height, drew in a breath, and began to bark directions. The jonin obeyed at once, scrambling off to fetch chunin, make teams, and look after the genin. There was so much to do, that in the scramble, everyone forgot the little pink-haired medic named Sakura. Indeed, it would be a while before anyone thought of her.
Tsunade and the rest of Konoha waited offered no surrender. Instead, they lay in wait for the enemy's attack, and sure enough, Konan came through. Late one night, an unseasonably cold wind brought dozens of paper scraps through the village streets. Those who happened to looking out their windows toward the Hokage office would have seen those multiple sheets come together to make a solid form. Even before her feet were fully reconstructed, Konan was adjusting the ornament in her hair. She was inside enemy walls.
Though was cloudless, a gentle rain began to pour. Perhaps no one would have been too alarmed with this, if the puddles had not shifted and contorted into Rain ninjas. Just as suddenly as they had come, Konoha was under attack.
Tsunade woke when a panicked Shizune burst into her room.
"They've come!" she cried. Tsunade did not need to ask who she was talking about. Without so much as pausing to change out of her sleeping attire, Tsunade hurtled out of her bedroom and up the stair to her office. She arrived just in time to blood splatter the window overlooking Konoha; she could only hope that it hadn't come from a Leaf ninja.
For days afterwards, the battle raged. There were casualties on both sides, and Tsunade found that all her attention was required by the hospital. Each time there was a lull in he war and it appeared that Konoha would reign victorious, something began to gnaw at the edges of Tsunade's mind. But before she could figure out what it was, there would be another casualty and the Hokage would find herself occupied and unable to think of anything else.
It wasn't until that chilly morning when Sakura and Deidara were waking after discovering a new kind of love that Tsunade came to an important realization.
Tsunade's hands glowed with a green light as she sat inside a healing seal in one of the intensive care rooms. Various healers, including Shizune, were seated around the room, straining frantically to hold on to Konohamaru's life. Years of experience had shaped the Hokage's medical abilities well, and she felt it immediately when the boy's life began to quietly fade.
"NO" she roared. She could not allow the little genin to die. Then again, her own powers were not enough to save him, and the other healers in the room were exhausted. There had to be another person that could help…there it was again, that little nagging train of thought. She was trying to push it out of her mind but it would not go. That thought was a person…..someone who could help…. but there was something wrong.
"SAKURA!" she screamed. Sudden power shot from her palms, coursing through the seal, through Konohamaru. And before she knew what was happening, Tsunade had fallen face first onto the floor.
When Tsunade opened her eyes, she was lying in a cot in her office. Shizune's worried face looked down at her. Instantly, the fifth was p and moving. Sakura. She remembered. Sakura should have been back weeks ago. What had happened to her? Tsunade had no question that Sakura could defend herself from enemy forces. Perhaps she had heard of the war and had remained in the sand village until could get more details of the situation. That had to be it. And her messages must have been intercepted my enemy ninja. Right. That left her no choice. Tsunade would have to go get Sakura.
"Master Tsunade?" Shizune asked warily as her companion headed for the door. Tsunade did not offer an explanation, but simply replied, "I'm going to get Sakura."
Shizune stared at the door for several long moments after it closed, then sighed. There would be no stopping her once she had made up her mind.
Dawn was coming when Tsunade darted through the old tunnels in the rock face. Cool night air stung her cheeks at the end of the passage, and the quiet rustle of leaves was the only sound that announced her journey through the dark woods. She was taking a wild rote through untamed forest, and the animals of the night were her only companions. After a time, she decided that the moths were her favourite. The way they twisted and fluttered, it was beautiful… but there seemed to be more and more of them. And they were all headed in the same direction.
Tsunade's eyes scanned the scenery, and sure enough, far away in the distance was a flickering light. This didn't make sense; the rising sun was behind her. She had no choice but to investigate; it could easily be an enemy campsite she was looking at.
Sakura looked down at Deidara's sleeping face. Each line had been smoothed out, and a gentle smile tugged at the corners of his lips. She would have been content to sit there and listen to his slow, deep breaths, but it was cold and she wanted him to dress so they could go and find Itachi in time for breakfast. Her fingers stretched out and gently brushed aside a stray lock of blonde hair caught in his eyelashes; her touch caused him to stir, turn over and then finally open his eyes.
"Un." He complained. She simply giggled and persisted in her efforts to wake until he complied. Deidara grinned, then pulled his covers up self-consciously and began to look around for his robe. He managed to locate the discarded cloak, carefully place his eye scope and slip it over his head, then pull on his standard white stirrup pants. Sakura stopped averting her eyes and had just eased into a gentle kiss when the tent flap flew open.
Tsunade burst into the little tent, kunai in hand ready to fight – then nearly dropped her weapon. The first thing she took in was her little apprentice Sakura. A familiar pattern of red clouds on a black background assaulted her eyes; then she realized what she was seeing. There stood Sakura, locked in a passionate embrace with one of Konoha's most wanted enemies. Tsunade's reaction was instinctive.
"Get away from her!" she shouted, tearing them apart and crouching in from of Sakura protectively. Deidara gazed bewilderedly at the blonde woman's raised kunai. This woman had obviously come to protect Sakura. Had she truly betrayed him?
"Tsunade, what are you doing?" Sakura demanded. This time Tsunade whipped her head around at her apprentice.
"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm saving you from being attacked by this Akatsuki!" she spat, turning to snarl at Deidara upon saying the name of his organization. Then Deidara understood. Tsunade was the name of Konoha's Hokage, and Sakura's master. She had come of her own accord to save the girl; his love had not forsaken him. But he hardly had time for relief. What were they going to do?
"You don't understand." Sakura insisted, stepping out from behind Tsunade and moving to Deidara's side, "I love him!"
The words echoed through the tent, and Deidara cast a quick glance at the girl beside him. After all they had been through, everything they'd done, no one had worked up the courage to say those three little words out loud. The notion had gone unspoken between them, but now it was in the open.
"I love her too." Deidara declared. Tsunade's eyes flared in rage. How dare they fall in love! In a swift motion, she wrenched Sakura down by the wrist and slapped her soundly before throwing her to the corner of the tent, where the canvas buckled with her limp form. Then Tsunade went for Deidara.
The young man panicked. There was no technique in his bomb arsenal that he could use without harming Sakura.
Tsunade knocked the boy over and stoop over him, kunai in hand. She could see no choice but to destroy Sakura's love. No bond could exist between a promising young medic and a wanted S-rank criminal. Sakura's career could not end like this. She prepared to strike her blow. Deidara's eyes were wide, etched with fear, and strands of blonde hair fell into his eyes, stirring Tsunade's memory.
Suddenly Tsunade found herself back in another small tent. A different young man lay flat on his back in front of her, that same fears of death written in eyes partially obscured by silver hairs. A young girl looked on helplessly as her love was about to be taken away from her. But this girl was not Sakura; it was Tsunade herself, years ago, watching her young love leave the world. Anguish rolled in waves over her; Tsunade knew she could not take his life when it meant so much to Sakura.
Her kunai lodged itself in the dirt next to Deidara's head. Blue eyes blinked up at her, confused. Tsunade looked at her teary eyed apprentice crumpled in the corner.
"I shall spare this boy's life for you. But you two are to never see each other again!" Tsunade roared. A kick planted itself in Deidara's side, "Get out of here. You must never see her again!"
Blue eyes pleaded with watery green ones, and Sakura nodded. Deidara rose, and fled the tent, leaving Sakura in tears.
"You'll get over it. He's just a criminal. And besides, at least he's alive." Tsunade murmured. Her only response was the sobs of the pink-haired girl curled up on the ground.
Outside, Deidara was flying away on a majestic clay swan, tears drying on his cheeks in the wind.
A/N: Finally, chapter 9 is done. I've had to wait for the new manga chapters to make my depictions of Konan and Pein as accurate as possible. Anyways, chapter 10 shouldn't take too much longer…hopefully it'll be up in the next week or so…
As a side not, I've received ridiculous amounts of story alerts on this, for which I am thankful. However, I've gotten a limited number of reviews. Go ahead, write me a review and tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate it!
