Attention readers: I'm so sorry this took me so long to update! I also wanted to post this a few days ago, but fanfiction was being crazy and was not letting me upload new documents. But, on the bright side, it is really long, right? Also, on an even brighter side (for me), I was reading the reviews under one of my favorite stories that I'm currently reading, and I saw that Soul-Jazz, one of my reviewers, had recommended my story to the author. I nearly had a heart-attack (after squealing and then nearly fainting). Thank you! I feel so loved!!! So anyway – enjoy the story!!!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 10 – Moving On
Dawn was just breaking over the eastern horizon of the country, and the few, but bright, rays of sun shining in from the window slowly reached Naruto's sleeping face. He was currently snoring loudly as he slept on the comfortable bed, his covers thrown about haphazardly and a bit of drool escaping from his mouth and staining the pillow beneath his tousled hair. The sunlight beamed over his eyes, and he unconsciously yawned before tossing again, this time nearly throwing his body half-off of the bed.
A few more moments of that fitful line between consciousness and dreaming, Naruto finally managed to slowly open one of his bright blue eyes. A loud yawn escaped as well as he realized that the sun seemed to be rising faster and faster. There was a light rapping sound at the door, almost sounding urgent, but then again, Naruto was still tired, and was prone to imagining things that weren't there.
Groaning, Naruto began muttering to his best friend, who he assumed to be impatiently knocking on the door to get him to get up.
"Yeah, yeah, teme," Naruto called, throwing the pillow over his head. "Just five more minutes, okay?" The light knocking continued again, a bit unsure this time. Naruto groaned.
"Damn it, just open the door if it's so important!" Naruto spat, absently tossing a pillow towards the door. There was a pause of silence, a shuffling of indecisive feet, and then the door slowly creaked open. Naruto, who despite his bright optimism, was not much of a morning person like his best friend. Sasuke was usually up long before the sun rose, while Naruto enjoyed sleeping in as late as he could.
So, naturally, Naruto assumed that it was Sasuke at the door, commanding him to "wake his lazy-ass up." What Naruto was not expecting, however, was to lift his head groggily toward the direction of the opening door, and instead of a scowling man, to see a worried-looking girl with long violet hair.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelped, just before promptly falling off of the bed with a thump. He embarrassedly shook his head, ignoring the bump that may have just formed, and asked nervously, "What are you doing here?"
Now, Naruto was never known as the most observant or keenest person. It was his loyalty, bravery, and determination that earned him a spot as the Prince's chief guard. But for some odd reason, Naruto had decided to pay close attention to his surroundings that particular morning.
Naruto was wearing only long sleep pants, and had opted to sleep without a shirt on the night before. Something like that would have normally made Hinata blush profusely, but there was no tint of red on her cheeks whatsoever. Instead, there was hesitation in her eyes, and worry written across her face. She had barely even noticed when Naruto had violently tumbled out of bed. That's when Naruto concluded that something was wrong.
"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, rising to meet her as she slowly approached.
"I…I can't find Sakura," Hinata whimpered, looking into Naruto's eyes with concern.
"There are a lot of times that people can't find Sakura-chan…" Naruto reasoned, trying to make the dark-haired girl feel more at ease. But Hinata only shook her head, holding back a few unsure tears.
"No, Naruto-kun," she answered with conviction, "she should have been here this morning. She no longer has to sneak out just to attend training, because the King and Queen support her now. Lady Ino went home the day after the ball, so Sakura couldn't be with her, and Lord Etaku is still sleeping in his quarters. I was hoping to find Sakura trying to talk to Sasuke – maybe to make amends over whatever they're going through – but Sasuke wasn't there either, so I figured that I would check with you, but she obviously isn't here, either…"
Naruto grabbed Hinata by her upper arms. "Did you say that the Teme wasn't there?" Hinata nodded once, and the wheels in Naruto's head began turning. Naruto knew Sasuke would get up before dawn in the mornings, but usually he would spend the morning brooding in his own room, or working out. But for both he, and Sakura – who was not a morning person in the least – to be missing at dawn: something had to be wrong.
Naruto rushed out of the room, completely forgetting that he wasn't even wearing a shirt. He frightened a few maids beginning their work as he ran across the hall and into Sasuke's room, only to find it indeed empty.
But that was what worried Naruto even more. Naruto's eyes swept over the room quickly, taking in the neatly-made bed and the dark curtains that Sasuke had undoubtedly closed himself the night before. Most of Sasuke's things seemed to be missing, and Naruto cursed before running back to his room. Hinata was still standing there, quite unsure of what to do.
"What are we going to do?" Hinata asked as Naruto threw on a shirt and jacket.
"We're going to find them," he answered confidently, tossing Hinata one of his cloaks. "You check around the castle gardens. I'll go out by the pond and woods."
Hinata nodded, and they parted to go in separate directions, but in a flash, Naruto turned around and gently took Hinata's hand in his own.
"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," Naruto comforted in his most sincere voice. We'll find them. Believe it."
* * *
Naruto jogged out towards the woods. The pond seemed eerily quiet in the morning air, and Naruto couldn't even hear the familiar sound of chirping birds. All signs of life or movement were nowhere to be found, save for a lone hawk circling high overhead.
The foreboding atmosphere convinced Naruto to keep searching in the area, and he breathed a sigh of relief a second later when he caught sight of pale pink hair not even fifteen yards away. Naruto jogged over, taking in Sakura's appearance. The dark wood was behind the girl – the rays of the sun not strong enough yet to penetrate through the thick foliage – and Sakura's face was downcast as she sat motionless on the bench.
"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan," Naruto called out, despite being only a few feet away. There was a slight shift in Sakura's face, as if she was acknowledging his presence, but her hunched form did not falter. Her hands tightly grasped some small object that Naruto couldn't see.
Bending down in front of Sakura, Naruto tilted her chin up to meet his eyes. Sakura's own green eyes were shining with moisture, and a faint trail of tears was now disappearing past her chin. Her skin was unbelievably cold, and Naruto didn't miss the absence of her cheerful smile or the sparkling glimmer that usually resided in her eyes.
"He's gone, Naruto," Sakura sniffed, her voice fragile in disbelief. Naruto forced her to focus her eyes once more on him.
"What? Who?" Naruto asked, feeling the sinking suspicion in the pit of his gut beginning to grow.
Sakura looked down, and Naruto noticed that her hands were trembling as she spoke. "I can't believe he just left…"
Naruto felt an uncontrollable, angry intensity grow inside of him. He didn't want to think that his suspicions were real.
"Who's gone? What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?"
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted quickly, meeting Naruto's eyes in sadness, trying to tell him everything without words. It was now difficult for her to control herself, and fresh tears made their own shiny paths down her fair cheeks. "He's gone, Naruto, gone!"
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, hesitant to hear what he already knew to be true.
"He...I…I saw him walking during the night," Sakura managed to explain, calming herself down considerably for a moment. "I came to talk to him, but he had already made a decision to leave, Naruto!" Sakura's hysterics picked up again, and there was no stopping the stream of tears that escaped her eyes. "He's gone, and it's all my fault!"
Naruto opened his arms as Sakura fell into his embracing hug, his arms wrapped tightly around her in protection. It was hard to see his friend like this – a girl who was so independent and strong, suddenly brought down to practically nothing because she blamed Sasuke's departure on herself.
"What?" Naruto asked incredulously, trying desperately to calm the weeping girl. "No, Sakura-chan, it's not your fault. It's the teme's fault. He shouldn't have left."
Sakura only seemed to cry more, and she buried her face against Naruto's jacket. "Yes it is, Naruto. I wasn't strong enough to make him stay…"
Anger boiled inside of Naruto as he listened to Sakura degrade herself because of Sasuke.
"No, Sakura-chan. You look at me," Naruto ordered firmly, yet friendly, as he once again tilted her face to look at his eyes. Sakura momentarily stopped crying to listen to Naruto finish.
"Sasuke left because of his own selfish, twisted reasons. Knowing Sasuke, he just felt pressured and confused. He's always done that – whenever he was confronted with emotions he didn't want to acknowledge, he'd just run away from them. He's always been impulsive, that bastard."
"But, Naruto, I…I couldn't stop him…"
"I know, Sakura-chan," Naruto responded, pulling Sakura into another hug and letting her calm down. "Whenever I see him I'm going to beat him up for leaving you alone on a bench like this…I'm sorry he hurt you, Sakura-chan…"
Sakura finally pulled back, and Naruto watched as she slowly wiped the tears from her eyes. Managing to bring a thankful smile to her face, Sakura nodded her head, silently promising Naruto that she would be strong.
"Thank you, Naruto."
* * *
Sakura slowly walked behind Naruto, his large strides overshadowing the quiet footsteps of Hinata and herself. She barely noticed the maids dusting off elaborate woven tapestries, or the distant tinkling of chimes from a garden, or the shiny reflection of the golden decorations. Her thoughts revolved around only one person – the boy with the dark, dark eyes she couldn't help but get lost in; the boy with the attractive smirk that made her giggle and go weak at the knees; the boy with the dark hair that swayed gently in the breeze; the boy with the witty comebacks and sarcastic jokes; the boy who made her world turn upside down – Sasuke Uchiha.
The reality of his departure was really just now beginning to sink in. And Sakura didn't mind admitting to herself that she was struggling with that. She couldn't understand why he had left, and why he had given her that ring. What the hell was he trying to tell her? That ring was reserved for the person he really loved. So did that mean…?
But Sakura believed it couldn't possibly be that. She shook her head in frustration, attempting to clear her clouded thoughts. Maybe Sasuke had really, truly left because he wanted to. Maybe it had nothing to do with her. He was headstrong and impatient, and even Naruto knew that Sasuke was impulsive. Maybe he really didn't want to be around her.
After all, Sakura thought, now it would be much easier to follow through with the original plan. Sasuke would probably be much happier now. The arranged marriage would finally be called off, and both of them had their freedom.
So why was there such an intense feeling of emptiness within?
* * *
"What do you mean, my son ran away in the middle of the night?" King Uchiha roared, abruptly rising from his seat around the tea table where he and his wife and the Haruno's were seated. "What's the meaning of this?"
Sakura stood before King Uchiha, and despite her normal confidence when talking to others, she found herself trembling in his presence. Maybe it was his piercing gaze; maybe it was his commanding voice; or maybe it was just because Sakura still felt partially guilty about practically being responsible for the disappearance of his youngest son.
She tried to compose herself, but it was hard to form the right words. Queen Mikoto looked heartbroken and on the brink of tears, a feeling Sakura could sympathize. Sakura's own parents looked aghast, completely shocked and confused by the news. Itachi stood in a corner, observing silently and sullenly with unmoving eyes. Even Kitsune, who was normally very composed, fiddled with her glasses uncomfortably. Sakura just couldn't find it in her heart to search for the words to explain, and seeing this in her eyes, Naruto placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"Sir," Naruto began, clearing his voice, "I found Princess Sakura this morning alone on the outskirts of the woods. She revealed to me that last night Sasuke left in order to rejoin the League. He has no apparent intention of returning to us, as much as I hate to admit it."
Everyone in the room turned to look at one another in shock, and Kitsune shuffled her feet apprehensively. They seemed to be struggling to figure out what to do about not only the marriage, but with Sasuke as well. Queen Mikoto excused herself, no longer able to hold back her tears, and Queen Haruno and a group of maids scurried after her. Both of the Kings looked at each other, and as if communicating silently, they came to a decision.
"I guess this leaves us no choice but to disband the arranged marriage," King Uchiha announced, standing up and using his most controlled voice. "I'm sorry, King Haruno, for the trouble my son has caused your family, especially your daughter," King Uchiha added solemnly, bowing in respect. "We'll prepare to leave at once." Itachi slipped out of the room, completely unnoticed.
"Please, King Uchiha, take your time," King Haruno responded, standing up as well. "I, too, am sorry for all the trouble this marriage has been. I wish you luck in finding your son."
King Haruno nodded once more, and he and King Haruno shook hands amiably before he spoke again.
"Thank you. I wish you luck in finding a more appropriate suitor for your daughter than my son was."
Everyone made their exits, leaving Sakura standing there in disappointment – Naruto and Hinata each placing a comforting hand on her shoulders. Sakura hadn't noticed Lord Etaku, who had entered the room just moments before Sakura and Naruto had come in. He slipped out of the room thoughtfully.
Sakura stood there, her thoughts solitary and distant. She felt that if her entire world had disappeared in the blink of an eye. But then again, she and Sasuke had just officially succeeded in making the arrangement a disaster. They had won. So…why did she feel like she had lost?
***
That night was one without much sleep for Sakura. She ended up wandering outside of the castle, and had walked all the way to the spot where she and Sasuke had watched stars just over a week beforehand. Her heart felt shattered, and each star in the sky seemed to represent one of its many broken fragments. She cried until she could cry no more, wishing on shooting stars and dreaming of false hopes. Fireflies lit up the night sky, but they held no magic anymore in Sakura's eyes.
As the next sunrise first revealed the soft orange and pink glow of light, Sakura rubbed her eyes, and did her best to clear her thoughts. She stood up, making a resolve to try her best to move on…
* * *
It was the next morning in the castle, and despite what everyone else assumed, Sakura was working really hard to seem cheerful within the castle. However, there was still no happy glimmer in her eyes, and most knew that it would never return again. But Sakura had managed to compose herself, especially as she walked with conviction down the sunlit halls of the castle.
Forcing a timid smile to grace her features, Sakura lightly knocked on the door to Etaku's room. She carried a small china tray in her left hand, complete with an expensive tea set reserved for the most illustrious of guests. In the other hand, Sakura toted a simple bag of medical supplies: bandages, antiseptic, and assorted medicinal herbs. Sakura's knock was answered by Etaku's strong voice.
"Ah, Princess," Etaku greeted, opening up the door himself, He had requested that he have no servants while he was a guest there, as he wanted to be treated as an average guest and not the great lord that he was. Despite his power and high prestige, Sakura could still tell that the man was humble. "It's so nice to see your lovely face once again."
Sakura found herself wishing that it was Sasuke saying those words, and not the man in front of her. Although, with Sasuke, it probably would have been some snide remark to cover up his emotions instead of a flirty compliment. She blinked once, trying to clear her head. She couldn't think of Sasuke any longer.
"I'm just here to make sure your bandages are taken care of, and to offer you some tea, of course," Sakura answered brightly, following Etaku as he pulled out some comfortable chairs for them to sit in.
Sakura had to admit, Etaku wasn't bad-looking. He was a young, tall man, and now that the wounds were cleaned and his dirt washed away, his brown hair was oddly homely, yet dashing, and his light gray eyes sparkled in the light. Etaku's shoulders were very broad, and unlike Sasuke and Naruto, who were thin yet still very fit, the muscles in Etaku's large arms were enormous. Sakura reckoned that he had one hell of a punch beneath his gentle, compassionate exterior. And even though his build was all muscle, he was still quite handsome.
Sakura set the tea tray down on the small coffee table in the room, and waited for Etaku to take his own seat before she knelt at his side to re-bandage his arm.
"Your wounds are healing remarkably well, Etaku-kun," Sakura commented, already fast at work wrapping a new bandage. Etaku glanced down briefly and chuckled.
"I'm sure that has much to do with your excellent medical capabilities, Princess Sakura," he said, winking playfully at her. She blushed, but continued her work nonetheless.
"Yes, well that means that it won't be long before it will be time for you to return to your home. You must be excited to go back to your people," Sakura continued, keeping her eyes focused on his other arm.
"Well," Etaku answered thoughtfully, "I am excited to be able to return to my people. The thought gives me great joy, but however, I'm sure you know that there have been several intense battles within my country. My people need me, but after this disappearance, I'm sure they think that I'm long dead."
"But they'll be happy to know that you're doing well," Sakura offered, trying to brighten his mood.
"Yes, yes, that they will, once I do get back. I heard a rumor that some of the higher officials in my country have hired some outside help, and I also hope to speak with your father about creating an alliance. I want to avoid more bloodshed, and I'm sure with a strong country like Earth behind us, the war will quickly dissipate."
Sakura knew that the "hired help" was that of the League – a secret organization of fighters who settled things any way possible in return for a large sum of money. It was the organization Sasuke had left for.
Forcing back unwanted tears, Sakura offered Etaku a bright smile and kind words as she sat across from him in her own chair. "I'm sure that my father will be willing to work out some sort of agreement, and then you'll find peace with your people once more." Sakura sipped her tea, at least attempting to appear refined. She didn't know why, but she couldn't quite find the spirit to continue fighting anymore.
"And you know," Etaku continued in a rather hinting manner, "I've also considered marriage in order to help my country."
"Is that so?" Sakura asked cordially.
Etaku nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Sakura's face. "Yes, yes. I think it would be a good idea to have a marriage to strengthen the bond of my country with another. I'd have to marry a princess, of course…as is the tradition. Plus it will also set me at ease – I'm the last heir in my family, and I have no relatives left alive. But my parents always hoped that I'd find the right girl one day."
Sakura smiled absentmindedly, trying to force the thoughts of Sasuke away. She focused her eyes on the beautiful crimson color of the curtains, and the golden carpeting of the floor, just to look at anything that would draw her thoughts away from the missing prince. It seemed that fate wanted to suggest otherwise, however.
"What about you?" Etaku asked, setting down his tea cup and folding his arms across his lap. "I know I may be out of line, and perhaps I sound a little presumptuous, but what was your relationship with the Uchiha prince?"
Sakura nearly choked on her tea. Dejectedly, she hung her head, letting her eyes rest on her slightly trembling hands, hoping that Etaku wouldn't notice. He didn't seem to, something Sakura was thankful for. However, Sakura knew Etaku's question was innocent enough.
"He…he…he was my friend," Sakura answered after several moments of silence.
"Just your friend?" Etaku pushed, obviously hoping Sakura would elaborate. Sakura nodded.
"We were supposed to be married in a week," Sakura explained, her voice distant. "It was a marriage arranged by our parents, and neither of us wanted it. So we tried desperately to end it. It didn't seem to be doing much good, though. All it did was make our parents more stubborn, and as a result of all the hardship Sasuke and I placed on each other, we eventually became really good…friends."
"What about now?" Etaku asked, and Sakura didn't realize how much she didn't want to answer that question until Etaku had actually said it.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura answered as confidently as she could. "Prince Sasuke left during the late hours of last night, in order to rejoin the League. He's miles away from here by now, the marriage has been called off, and neither of us has to deal with each other again. We can both move on," Sakura finished, struggling to keep her voice from trailing off in the last sentence.
Okay, so I actually have a ton more written for this chapter, but it just kept going, so I cut it off here, and this is now Chapter 10. So I hoped you liked it! Nothing extremely major – but there was a lot of Naruto, whom I love, and I kind of tied together a bunch of lose ends. But it was still awesome, right? Of course it was. The rest of the chapter should be out by tonight, and if not within the next few days. I have to fit in studying as well. And the next chapter is even better. So review, and tell me what you think! Peace ;)