*speaks shyly* Hiiii peoples ^^" How you been? heh heh.. sorry about being so late, scratch that - so extremely late- there thats better ^^ I had moved and then I lost my notebook that had the story in it o.o" but everythings okay now..I hope.. well Im sorry for being so late and leaving you with a cliffy ""
Arigato Gozaimas!!!
Bloodygirl:::::: xD lolz! it seems you enjoyed the last chapter blood ^^ lolz Im glad you liked it. Well it's Sasuke here, you can't really expect much out of him but Im trying to get him to open up little by little and I'm sorry but I dont think the truth will happen just yet ^^ there are still some things Im writing about that I want to finish, and lolz dont worry about the rant, I enjoyed it and thanx for being such a loyal reader
Gothic-Dei-Fan11:::::::: lmao you've lost it you know that? yosh!! =o no more type-o's I ish trying on that very hard. Lolz you know you luuuuuv meh cliffies....I think o.o..i dunt know anymore!! but now I shall be more evil to you!!! e.e
Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto in any color, shape, form, or figment of my imagination. All credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto sensei...darn you Kishimoto sensei!!!
Anywayyyys... ON WITH THE STORY!!!! (sorry once more ^^"")
Recap
I finally gave in completely as I tightened my grip a little and closed my eyes as I leaned my head against his chest. We stayed that way, embracing each other for a few moments until I heard a loud knock on the door.
I pulled away from Sasuke and looked over at the door wondering who it was. Another loud knock brought me out of my thoughts and I began to walk over to the door.
"I'm coming.." I said as I reached the door and slowly opened it to reveal a chunin standing at the door looking quite tired.
"Haruno san!! I'm glad you're here! I've been searching everywhere for you and Sasuke san." He said hurriedly.
"What is it?" I asked him a bit worried as Sasuke stood behind me, gazing at the chunin.
"The Uchiha clan, they've all been murdered!!"
Curse Marked Love
Ch 8
A New Mission!!
My eyes widened at the last words that the chunin had said as I stood behin Sakura, staring into nothing as my mind replayed it.
"The Uchiha clan, they've all been murdered!"
"…they've been murdered!"
"…murdered!"
"Sa.. Sasuke kun I'm-" I ran past Sakura at full speed and exited the house. I heard her call my name but I continued to run. 'They can't be… I have to see them..' I told myself over and over, trying to convince my mind that it was just a lie, some sort of cruel joke Tsunade decided to play on me for payback for leaving the village those 6 years ago.
"Sasuke kun!" I heard Sakura call out once more but I ran and pushed myself even harder when I entered the Uchiha District. My eyes narrowed as I ran down the blood covered streets decorated with lifeless bodies of members of the Uchiha clan.
I finally reached my house and stopped in front of the gate. For a while I just stood there and stared at the blood coverd shoji screen and windows that had been tainted with the crimson liquid from the inside.
I felt a chakra stop a few feet behind me and instantly recognized it as Sakura's chakra but she just stood there for a while without doing anything. I began to take steps forward as I felt my hard pounding harder. I could feel every pound in my chest and hear them as if they were holding my heart to my ear.
"Sasuke kun… we shouldn't…this could-" I looked back at Sakura from the corner of my eye as I stopped right in front of the shoji screen, my hand placed on the wood covered edge for me to slide it open.
"Sasuke kun…Onegai.." she pleaded as she walked towards me and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"I have to." I responded as I slid open the screen that would confirm those horrid thoughts I tried to convince myself as lies, Sakura reluctantly following me in. My eyes widened as soon as I entered as I saw Sakura tense right beside me.
The room had spattered blood in every inch along with several kunai and shuriken lodged into the floors and walls. I stared at everything until my eyes drifted to my father's lifeless figure, laying on the floor with several kunai in his chest and a hole in his back.
My eyes kept wandering until they reached my mother who was several feet away from Fugaku. Her hair was completely cut off on one side and under her head was a pool of blood.
"Mikoto.." I heard Sakura whisper beside me as I continued to look around until reaching the corner of the room. Against that corner in a lifeless sitting position was Itachi, a deep gash on the side of his abdomen, blood still slowly seeping out as if there was only so little left inside his body.
There was a trickle of blood from the side of his head along with blood coming from his eyes. I clenched my fists as I shut my eyes tightly and grit my teeth.
"Sasuke kun.." I snapped my head towards Sakura and glared at her intensely though I didn't mean to.
"We should get out of here Sasuke kun.." she said as she gave me a concerned look. "I'm not going anywhere." I replied through grit teeth.
"But Sasuke kun, we have to-" "I said I'm. Not. Going. Anywhere." I cut her off abrasively as I glared at her once more. She held her hands to her chest as she looked down.
You, you got me, thinking it'll be alright…
You, you told me, come and take a look inside…
"Everything's gonna be alright… I understand Sasuke kun, I know how you feel but-" "No you don't. Nobody knows how I feel right now Sakura."
"But Sasuke kun-"
"No buts Sakura! You wouldn't know what its like even if you wanted to!" I snapped at her. Her eyes widened as she took a small step forward and her grip on my shoulder tightened. "Sasuke.."
I pushed her hand off my shoulder "Go home Sakura." I told her in a cold tone as I roughly pushed past her and ran out.
You, believe me, every single lie..
But I, I failed you this time..
I ran past several houses and shops and pushed through everyone and everything as I made my way to her office.
"Uchiha sa-"
"Shut up." I cut in as I glared and pushed past a jonin. I slammed the door open and stopped right in front of her desk.
"What is it no-" she stopped her complaining as she spun around in her chair and saw me standing before her.
"Sasuke, what-" "Who did it." I asked her in a demanding voice. She sighed as she closed her auburn eyes and placed her chin over her folded hands.
"I have reason to believe it was the Akatsuki." Tsunade replied slowly as she stared at me intently.
"Why." I asked her as I clenched my fists at my side. "Look Sasuke, you're not-" "Why." I demanded once more. She sighed as she put her hands down
"They were after the sharingan. They originally offered Itachi to join to use the sharingan to help them in the quest for the nine bijuu. He refused to join them so they attacked him. As you already may have figured out, he couldn't do very much to defeat them or hold them off long enough for backup to arrive."
I narrowed my eyes at her and turned around as I made my way out. "Where do you think you're going." she demanded from behind her desk but I continued to walk out.
"Sasuke!! If you even think about going after them without it being an order, I will go after you myself and be sure to give you a hard and cruel punishment along with putting you in solitary confinement for a few months and stripping you of your ninja title."
I stopped walking and glared at her from behind my shoulder.
Meanwhile…
" Has it begun…" came a voice from the corner of the room. Zetsu nodded.
"It is in process and phase one is almost complete."
"Good… then begin phase two as quickly as possible. And make sure to stay hidden, do not let them see you."
"Alright… I'll do my best." said Zetsu as he left the room. Pein then turned to the injured ninja in the corner of the room.
"I see that the woman got close enough to wound you." He closed his eyes as he scowled softly and ignored the akatsuki leaders words.
"Were you able to at least complete the purpose of the mission." demanded the orange haired ninja as the Iwa nin nodded.
"Good..now out." Pein watched the young ninja leave out the door then closed his eyes as a wicked grin took over his lips.
"This plan will be successful now that I have found her.. I will have that secret now, no matter what."
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
Sasuke PoV
I closed the door silently behind me and took off my shoes. I walked to the fridge and grabbed a tomato as I sat down on the couch. I looked around the room as my mind made some calculations.
'No dinner…' I looked to the table beside and in front of me, 'No scrolls…' I looked over to the door once more, 'No shoes… she's not here yet. Where could she have gone.. I told her to come here before I left.'
Right at that moment I heard a soft click and my gaze shifted upwards as I saw the door open. "…stay over Sakura chan." said Naruto as he came in with a bag in his hand with Sakura following closely behind.
"Dobe.." I greeted him as he came in and set his bag down on the floor near the door. He looked up at me, gave me a cold, lifeless stare and ignored me. I raised a brow at him 'what the..?'
"I'll take these up for you Naruto. You already know which room is yours, ne?" asked Sakura as she bent down and grabbed his black bag. "Of course Sakura chan, I've stayed here plenty of times." he replied grinning as she smiled and went upstairs.
"What are you doing here dobe?" I asked as he sat down on the couch next to me. "I forgot to pay the rent and got kicked out, so Sakura chan took me in..again…" he replied as he smiles sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.
' Again?..' I thought as I raised a brow at him. "Plus, I found her at the our old training grounds and she looked kind of upset."
" About what?" I asked quickly…apparently a little too quickly since the dobe gave me a questioning look.
"Someone told her something about not understanding what it's like to lose her parents." he replied as he narrowed his eyes until they reached an all-knowing glare.
I narrowed my eyes slightly as I pressed him on "And why would she be upset about something like that?" Naruto intensified his glare towards me and took a quick glance at the stairs.
"They were in a three man squad and Sakura was an anbu at the time and-" "Anbu?.." I cut in.
"Yeah, after that mission we withdrew from the anbu.. Decided we weren't ready for it yet.." 'we?..' I asked myself but decided to let him continue.
"…anyway, she was the anbu assigned to that mission to move her parents to Sunagakure and they were disguised as jonin." he explained as something in my mind sparked.
"Wait, what did Sakura's uniform look like?" Naruto sighed as he looked up at the stairs again
" Her uniform was different, unique and made especially for her fighting style just like Neji's. Her uniform had five things that made it different, she had a short, skintight navy blue jumpsuit that came mid thigh, over it she wore the white vest but it was in the same style as her jumpsuit. It was white, skintight and short and it tied on the front from top to bottom.." I continued to stare at Naruto as everything in my mind connected.
".. she had long white boots up to her knee and navy blue gloves up to her elbows along with her mask. Her and Neji's anbu uniform were the only ones that were specially made to give them an advantage because their fighting styles were so different from the rest. We were all on the same team.. We were the only squad that Tsunade allowed to be made up of anbu captains because we worked so well together and complimented each other's strength and strengthened the other's weakness.."
Flashback
"Sasuke kun.. I can sense three chakra coming ahead."
"How close are they." I asked her as we stopped on a branch.
"Wait.." Karin whispered to me ".. 3,2,1.." I looked down as I saw two jonin and an anbu stop in the field below us. 'leaf..' I thought to myself as I recognized the colors and mask though the uniform was different.
"I know you're up there.. So come on out." she stated. I narrowed my eyes and jumped down to a lower branch as Karin and Juugo jumped down in front of her.
I sat against the trunk of the tree with one of my legs dangling in the air and the other bent up. 'guess I'll just enjoy the show..'
"New uniform eh? Like that'll do you any good.." said Juugo as Karin took out two kunai and threw them at the anbu. She pulled out a kunai and deflectd them with her own as she turned to the jonin.
"Go!!" she yelled out as she ducked down and swept her legs under Juugo's. Karin ran at the jonin and pulled her fist back, suddenly the anbu appeared before the jonin and blocked Karin's fist with her own but surprisingly, Karin was thrown back.
I narrowed my eyes slightly and took a little more interest in the anbu.
"You now the mission, I can handle this so go!!" she yelled out again as she threw two explosive kunai at Juugo and jumped away from him. Karin came from behind and landed a kick at her side as the anbu let out a soft grunt.
"Go dammit!!" she yelled again as she blocked a kunai from Juugo and grabbed Karin's fist in her hand. "But Sa-"
"Shut up!! Just go will you!!" she yelled out as she punched Karin into a tree and knocked her out.
"Suigetsu.." I said above a whisper as he appeared next to me on the branch. "Finish the jonin.."
The anbu dodged a kick from Juugo and pulled a kunai out of nowhere and plunge it into his right arm as Juugo grunted. I saw Suigetsu appear behind the jonin, pull out Zabuza's sword and kill them without mercy or giving it a second thought.
The anbu turned around and froze as she saw the two jonin fallen with Suigetsu standing above them with a bloody sword hanging loosely in his hand. "No.." she whispered aloud.
Juugo smirked as he watched her. "Some ninja you are, aren't shin obi never to show emotion? Especially an anbu from the leaf…" said Suigetsu smirking. "Guess I'll finish this.." said Juugo as a kunai rapidly flew past him and cut his cheek as he barely managed to doge it.
"Get away from her!!" yelled out an anbu that appeared before Juugo with blonde hair. I inwardly frowned as I realized who it was behind the mask. 'The dobe's and anbu..'
"Don't come any closer.." said another voice from beside the female anbu. I turned my gaze toward the source of the voice to see another male anbu with a different uniform that resembled the kunoichi beside him.
I glared at him though he couldn't see me when I saw the design of the Byakugan on his mask. 'Hyuuga Neji…Uzumaki Naruto… who's the kunoichi though… no matter, I'll figure it out sooner or later..'
I got up and let out a burst of chakra to signal our leave. The last thing I saw before I disappeared was the Hyuuga activating his Byakugan, Naruto's eyes widening and the female anbu look toward my direction.
End Flashback
I stared down at the floor as Naruto kept glaring at me. "You killed them.." he spat at me, his voice full of venom.
"I didn't kill them." I replied to him in a low tone. Naruto narrowed his eyes further and gave me the deadliest glare he could muster.
"Maybe, but you let it happen and probably ordered it too 'cause as far as I know, you were the leader of .." Naruto stopped mid sentence and snapped his head towards the stairs.
"Sakura chan.."
Naruto PoV
I snapped my head towards the direction of the stairs as I heard a slight noise. I knew it was her and I didn't need any stupid byakugan or sharingan to figure that out.
"Sakura chan.." I whispered aloud as Sasuke whipped his head toward the stairs as he heard me pronounce her name. I quickly ran up the stairs and into Sakura's room to find her sitting on her bed looking down at the floor with her bangs slightly shielding her face from view.
"Sakura chan.." I slowly sat beside her and lightly pulled her towards my chest. " I'm sorry Sakura chan.. I shouldn't have even mentioned it.." I whispered to her as I stroked her hair softly.
" It's ok Naruto.." she said as closed her eyes and buried he face into my chest. I sat in silence, comforting and soothing her as her breath began to draw out evenly. Soon enough, I felt her go slightly limp in my arms, indicating that she was asleep.
I carefully moved into a better, more comfortable position on her bed and laid her head on my chest.
I looked out to the window and watched the snow fall silently, carefully, delicately, gracefully, and pure… 'just like Sakura chan' I thought to myself as I looked down at her and smiled softly.
I soon got caught up in the purity of the snow and drifted to sleep along with Sakura, not realizing I had left the door open and a silent Uchiha standing outside the door watching as we both slept peacefully.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes unintentionally as he reached the door to Sakura's room to find her asleep in the dobe's arms. Over the years of his absence they had gotten very close, he noted.
He softened his gaze at his two ex-teammates and then let his gaze linger on the pink haired medic. 'You lost so much time with them, with her.'
He closed his eyes and left for his room, 'But you'll recover the time you lost when you were away from her and make everything even better than it used to be.'
He noticed how this time his mind had said her and not them he shook his head lightly and closed the door behind him.
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
"Goooood morning Konoha! Today's Monday, a white winter day so-"I sighed as I hit the snooze and mumbled incoherent thoughts aloud before lying back down and pulling the source of warmth closer to me chest. '……warmth?'
I quickly snapped open my eyes to find myself sleeping against Sakura. I smiled at how peaceful she looked and hated myself for what I was doing next.
"Sakura…psssssst Sakura chan, wake up…we have to go to the academy.." I whispered to the dormant kunoichi. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she smiled at me with half lidded eyes.
"Ohayo Naruto.." she whispered as she yawned lightly, I smiled softly at her ruffled pink locks and disheveled appearance.
"Ohayo Sakura chan.." I replied as my eyes drifted past the open room door but quickly looked back to see Sasuke, looking at us from the middle of the hallway.
I saw his eyes narrow slightly before he turned back and left and I vaguely wondered why he had narrowed his eyes at us. Then my mind finally registered why as it fully woke and took into consideration the position Sakura and I where in.
1) I was sleeping with Sakura chan in her bed.
2) She was lying on my chest while I was wearing nothing but pants that reached my ankles.
I closed my eyes and gave an exasperated sigh as Sakura got up in a sitting position beside me. "Nani?..Is something wrong Naruto?.." She asked as she observed me in a perspective manner. "Iie Sakura chan, nande mo nai.."
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
I grinned and quickly rose to me feet as I felt the pulsation of chakra. I reached my locker in a short period of time and released some chakra into the lock as it opened and I threw in it all of my scrolls.
"Hello Naruto." I slammed the door shut to see Neji opening the locker beside mine with his byakugan. "Hey Neji! Ready to go to the courtyard for some training?" I asked as I drew out an excited grin. He nodded as he closed his locker and deactivated his byakugan.
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-..""*""..-
"I wonder…where… Sakura chan is.." I said as I was dodging Neji's palms. I jumped back and threw a couple of shuriken as he deflected them with his kunai.
"She's with Sai." said Neji as he sped forward and landed his gentle fist to my shoulder. I winced as I stumbled back a little and aimed a punch a punch at him.
"That emotionless jerk?! Why would she be with him?" I landed a punch to his stomach as he turned to wood. 'Damn..'
"They've been dating." Neji replied calmly as he appeared behind me and blocked a chakra point in my arm. I grunted in my throat as I felt the chakra being cut off from my arm. "She's ending it right now." he said as he lunged at me again.
I made an 'o' shape with my mouth and let my guard without noticing as Neji's gentle fist connected with my stomach. I doubled over to gasp for air, when I finally caught my breath I looked up at Neji and smiled.
"Alright, you win today." He smirked slightly as he held out his hand and pulled me up. After a few minutes of resting against the tree, I heard some footsteps along with Neji's voice.
"Uchiha" he said as I opened my eyes. "Hyuuga" replied the young Uchiha prodigy as I grinned at their antics. 'Hey! Maybe I should join in, this could be fun..'
"Dobe.." greeted Sasuke as he stopped beside Neji. "Teme" I mimicked as he rose a brow at me and gave me a suspicious look as I saw Sakura approach us.
"Sakura chan!" I greeted smiling broadly at her. The teme nodded in acknowledgement as Neji smiled faintly. The emerald eyed girl smiled as she stood beside me and I noticed Neji give her a somewhat questioning glance.
She nodded slowly and looked down for a moment but the pearl eyes man gave her a reassuring glance and she smiled softly. I cleared my throat as I saw Sasuke switch his gaze between the two of them.
"So I was talking to grandma Tsunade-" "Oh that reminds me!" Cut in Sakura as I let out a soft sigh. "Sorry Naruto, but we've got a mission, all of us."
Sakura PoV
I sighed as I closed the door and dropped the keys on the small corner table. "Sakura chan! Where'd you put my clean boxers!?" I turned around to see Naruto wearing nothing but a skimpy towel that barely made it to is knees with the ends of his hair dripping water onto the floor and waving around clothes in his hand.
I smiled lightly and stifled a giggle. "They're on my bed Naruto. Your pile has the orange and yellow on top and Sasuke's are the blue and black, so don't get them mixed up." Sasuke turned to face me from where he sat on the couch, holding the onigiri in front of his slightly open mouth and Naruto gave me a worried yet inquisitive glance.
"What?" I asked as I rose a pink brow at them. "Sakura chan.. Why do you have mine and the teme's boxers in your room?" inquired the blonde worriedly. I narrowed my eyes slightly as I saw Naruto tense under my gaze.
"You idiot!! I was separating them before giving them to you when I was doing the laundry!!" Sasuke closed his eyes as he turned back to whatever it was he was doing and continued to eat his onigiri.
My gaze turned to Naruto who rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin before darting up the stairs. I pulled out a small pan after I had walked into the kitchen and gave it a quick rinse as I felt Sasuke's stare linger on my back.
I tried to ignore it as I set the pan down and took some fish from the fridge. I sighed softly as I set down the fish and turned to face Sasuke. "What?!" I snapped as I placed my hands on my hips.
He calmly bit his onigiri as if I hadn't said anything and continued to gaze at me. I narrowed my eyes slightly as I opened my mouth to speak again.
"We're eating out today." he cut in before I could snap at him again. I relaxed a little as I put my hands down and gave Sasuke an inquisitive look. "how come?" The raven haired boy continued to eat as he stared at me and closed the book on his lap.
"Ask the dobe." As if he was on cue, Naruto came rushing down the stairs and stood behind the couch Sasuke was seated on. "Let's go Sakura chan! Time to eat!!"
"Naruto, where are we going?" I asked as I walked into the living room. "I invited Hinata chan and Kiba to Ichiraku's to eat dinner with us you know, catch up before the mission?" he said as he gave his fox like grin.
"Why didn't you invite Neji?" she asked softly as I noticed Sasuke narrow his eyes slightly. "I tried to, but he said he wanted to get ready for our mission." I nodded in understanding as he put up his fox like grin.
"C'mon c'mon!! Let's go eat already!!" I sighed in defeat as the kyuubi boy pulled me off the couch and out the door along with the raven haired Uchiha.
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
"H-Hello Naruto kun.." greeted Hinata shyly with a smile on her face. "Hey Hinata chan!!" said Naruto as he approached her smiling.
"Where's Kiba Hinata chan?" said Naruto as he peeked over her shoulder. Hinata blushed as Naruto grabbed onto her shoulders as he looked for Kiba behind her.
"K..Kiba is inside, saving us someplace to sit.." replied the Hyuuga heiress as she stuttered.
"Oh okay then" replied Naruto as he let go and grinned at her. The midnight haired girl shifted on her feet as she put her curled up hand in front of her mouth shyly. "I..I'm glad you were able to come Naruto kun."
"Thanks Hinata!" Sasuke rolled his eyes lightly as he scoffed softly beside me. "dobe.." I smiled faintly as he watched the enthusiastic blonde run inside Ichiraku's dragging along a very flushed Hinata.
"What is it Sasuke?" I asked as I tugged softly on his sleeve. "The dobe's an idiot." I couldn't help but giggle slightly as Sasuke smirked. "You mean about Hinata right?"
"Hn." he gave a short nod. "Well it is Naruto we're talking about here." Sasuke smirked faintly once more as we entered and sat on one end of the table.
"I already told you Naruto!! There's no way you can eat more ramen that me!" said Kiba as he downed a bowl of ramen in one rapid and breathless gulp.
"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that, dattebayo!" shouted the blonde as he slurped the soup from the ramen. I sighed as I turned to the somewhat elder man that would always make our ramen.
"One miso please." he nodded kindly at me as he turned to Sasuke. "And you?"
"Pork" he said plainly as he closed his eyes.
I heard Hinata giggle and turned to see her staring at Naruto who was downing another bowl of ramen.
"Sasuke?" he opened his eyes as he turned to face me. "Do you want to go out for a walk?" I whispered softly to make sure the others didn't hear us.
"Why? Aren't we eating?" he asked me curiously. "We can get something to go or I could make you something when we get home."
I hinted over to Naruto who was smiling at Hinata. Sasuke glanced over at them before he rose from his seat and let me out after him.
"Eh? Where are you guys going?" muttered the blonde with a mouthful of ramen. "Sasuke and I are gonna get some ninja tools ready for the mission tomorrow."
I lied convincingly…or tried to better said since I noted Kiba's grinning features from behind his ramen bowl. The brown haired boy rose from his seat and made his way towards the exit.
"The Hokage said she wanted to tell me something later, cya guys tomorrow." he stated as he ran off. Sasuke resumed walking until he made it to the door and turned to look at me.
I ran towards him as I felt Naruto and Hinata watching us from their seats. "See you at home Naruto!" I said as I left with Sasuke.
"Well, looks like it's just you and me Hinata.."
Sasuke PoV
"Do you think it'll work Sasuke kun?" I shrugged lightly as we stopped at the old bridge we would usually meet at when we were in our genin days. I leaned my back against the rail and propped my elbows onto it as Sakura leaned on it as well but facing the river under it as she let out a heart filled sigh.
"Things have changed since then.." she said as she stared out into the horizon. "Hn." I stood beside her and watched the sun set, granting the sky an orange and pink glow.
"Remember how Kakashi sensei would always be late?…and then he'd come up with some lame excuse?.." I saw her smile faintly as she brought up old memories I had thought long gone.
"I remember once..Naruto and I had met up here to train after I had passed the chunin exams.." I turned my gaze to her fully and watched as she looked down smiling.
"When I got here..he was holding this huge white bear. It was a present he had gotten me to congratulate me on passing the exam along with a bracelet..It had cost him everything he had in his froggy wallet…" she giggled softly as she fiddled with a silver bracelet on her wrist I hadn't noted there before.
"..I felt bad but he didn't let me pay him back. Nor did he ever regret it.." I looked down at the still river under the bridge as I tried to imagine that day.
"And one time..Naruto and I had played matchmaker here.." I fixed my gaze onto her as she fidgeted with the small bracelet between her fingers.
"Naruto had encouraged Shikamaru to "man up" and finally tell Ino how he felt about her while I reassured her that he did feel something towards her.." I gave her a questioning glance as I noticed the sky begin to darken into a navy blue. "So they're.."
"Mhmm.." she nodded as she smiled sweetly at me. "They're engaged now but Shikamaru is usually away on missions and Ino sometimes works at the hospital or she's on missions so we don't get to see them around much." she said as she turned and looked up to where the sun had been moments ago.
I gazed up at the dwindling stars that began to appear one by one, slowly illuminating the dark infinite sky. "I missed out on a lot didn't I." I turned my gaze to look at the pastel haired kunoichi who was looking at me with an almost invisible trace of sympathy.
"Everything changed drastically while I was gone." Sakura shook her head as she looked down at the bridge below us. "Things always change Sasuke, but when we're not around to see them grow and develop..the changes seem drastic."
I grunted softly as she stood up straight and walked a few steps ahead of me. "We should go home and pack Sasuke kun.." I nodded shortly as I caught up and walked silently beside her.
She was right actually, things always changed if you like it or not, and when you're not around they seem so drastic and unbelievable. Everything around me had changed the village, the hogake, the people..everything. They all changed and they did it for the better.
All the changes had surprised me to say the least when I had come back ten months ago, but something that really caught me off guard the most was her. I cast her a sideways glance as we passed by the hospital.
She had trained under the godaime and many said that she had surpassed her in both strength and beauty as a result she got many fan boys. She had gone up the ranks in a flash and had even become anbu in my absence, but she had demoted herself back to joinin along with Naruto and Neji.
When I returned I was expecting her to burst to tears, hug me, tell me how uch she missed me but none of that happened. In fact, she had been me nurse at the time. She welcomed me with a smile and usually just went on with her job without speaking much to me.
Yeah, she hadn't dropped the '-kun' suffix but she didn't have the fan girl thing in her anymore and that relieved me to a point. She would keep her distance when I got out and speak occasionally but she had matured in more than one way.
I guess you could say she grew up or something like that… Her attitude and behavior had changed along with her body. She had gained curves in the right places and you could tell her body was well toned, with more muscle now due to her training I suppose.
Though a lot of her changed she still had those same viridian eyes that had that joyful glow when were in our genin days, but her hair.. I glanced at her cotton candy locks as we continued to walk in silence.
She had kept it short from that day in the chunin exams..I looked at the ground in front of me as an image of when I awoke in the first stage of the curse mark and saw her bruised up with short, choppy hair come into my mind.
I had been so angry when I saw her, I lost all control over my actions and went on a rampage and took on the three sound ninja she had been facing earlier on her own.
I scoffed softly as I noticed we walked past the bench I had left her on four years ago. I was angry every time I thought that something would happen to her or Naruto, so why did I leave?
They had meant to most to me for a long time and I always helped and protected them and worked together, yet I left them, fought against them, and almost killed them more than once.
I had left them to gain power the only way I thought I could, but when I return, they've excelled, grown stronger and all made it to much higher ranks than I thought they could… and in the end-
"We're home!" I awoke from my daze as I noticed we had made it to Sakura's house and she closed the door silently as I stood still in the middle of the living room.
"I guess he's not home yet.." she whispered aloud as she removed her shoes and sighed quietly. "What do you want me to make for you Sasuke, you must be hungry since we didn't get to eat anything.." I shook my head as closed the fridge and nodded.
"Well then, I'm just gonna go to sleep..goodnight Sasuke kun." she said as she began to walk up the flight of stairs "Sakura.." she turned around and gazed at me curiously from the middle of the stairs.
"Nani?.." she asked innocently as her emerald eyes locked with mine. "I..sleep well Sakura.." she smiled softly as she closed her eyes and whispered, "Hai.. You too Sasuke kun.." I felt the corners of my lip turn up slightly as I watched her go up the stairs.
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
"Alright Kyden, are you ready?"
"You bet Miyazaki chan, just let me know.." Sakura turned to Neji as she gave him an inquisitive stare. They young Hyuuga nodded as he deactivated his byuakugan.
"Alright, we're clear on this end."
"Yeah! We're going in!" Sakura closed her eyes as she made a series of hand signs and her blossom appeared. I narrowed my eyes slightly as I awaited for her signal. The wind blew silently with an occasional soft whisper, making the leaves ruffle with the ones beside it.
The sky was crystal clear except one cloud roaming in the empty peaceful space. I watched her finish her hands signs and adjust her gloves slightly then I heard a soft, almost invisible word that we had been waiting so eagerly for.
"Iku."
We separated in different directions, searching every room, every box, every corner. Moving about stealthily, looking for something, anything that could aid us in our mission. Nothing.
"There's nothing here Kyden." I heard Sakura say as we joined together in the kitchen. We all exited the abandoned base without a sound, Neji searched around with his byakuan.
"Alright, it's safe Seiji." informed the Hyuuga prodigy as he deactivated his byakugan.I turned to the empty base and set it on fire making sure to leave nothing of it behind.
"Nice job Seiji, Kyden how are things on your end?" questioned Sakura into her microphone.
"Akito and I got rid of the base just now. There's nothing there so we're gonna set up camp now." replied Naruto as he sighed quietly in the mic.
"Alright, we're out." replied Sakura as she pulled the speaker off.
--xoxo--
-xoxo-
--xoxo--
I finished lighting the fire so I sat down beside Sakura as she pulled off her mask sighing silently. "Good work today Seiji." she whispered as I pulled the mask off.
Flashback
"I'm glad you could all make it here, this mission is of utmost importance, due it somewhat involves the Uchiha massacre." She paused for a moment as she directed a gaze my way and I gave her a short nod.
"You six are to scout surrounding countries for Akatsuki hideouts, after you have made sure nobody's there, if nobody's there, you are to enter and search it for anything that could become an asset to konoha. Afterwards, you are to destroy each and every base you come across."
"Excuse me Lady Hokage, what if encounter enemy shinobi." questioned Neji in a respectful manner.
"If you are to come across an enemy ninja, get rid of them by any means necessary. We don't want anyone to know of this mission, so we can't afford any mistakes." she explained as she peered at us over her desk.
"This mission is an S rank mission and the time period is from one week to two months. If in that time period you are unable to complete the mission, I will send word for you to return to Konoha immediately."
She motioned at the two scrolls sitting at the edge of the desk. Sakura nodded as she stepped forward and took hold of them.
"There's one more thing.." said the hokage before dismissing us.
"The mission is risky but also extremely helpful to the village hidden in the leaves, and that is why during this mission you will be undercover."
"As what Lady Hokage?" asked Hinata speaking up for the first time since the meeting had begun.
"You will be taking two different garments to help you out on your mission. One will be Yukata and Kimonos to help you all investigate the whereabouts of the Akatsuki hideouts and the other are anbu uniforms due it's too risky for anybody to recognize you." We all gave her questioning glances as to why we would need the yukata and kimonos.
" Sakura, Neji, Naruto you already have your uniforms though you do not use them, I have already sent genin to deliver all of your garments along with everyone's uniforms." Hinata nodded as she waited for the hokage to finish.
"The yukata and kimonos are for you to use them as a disguise as a family and a wealthy couple." I froze instantly and I felt Sakura tense beside me, along with Neji and Kiba narrowing their eyes slightly.
"W..what do you mean Lady Hokage?.." asked Hinata, her face flushed lightly and Tsunade cleared her throat as she rose to her feet.
"There will be two squads of three for this mission. Sakura, you are captain of squad one along with Sasuke and Neji. Naruto, you're captain of squad two along with Kiba and Hinata." she said as she picked up a sheet of paper and began to read out loud.
"Kiba, for this mission you'll be known as Akito Kindaichi, Naruto as Kyden Morikuzu and Hinata, you'll be Ayame Miyuki, soon to become Ayame Morikuzu." Naruto's eyes widened as I saw Hinata flush a deep red.
"But grandma Tsunade! That means that for this mission Hinata will be my fiancée?" asked Naruto with a nervous undertone to his words, I smirked softly.
"Yes Naruto that's exactly what it means. Kiba, you will be Hinata's cousin for this mission, understood?" All three of them nodded and I saw Naruto and Hinata exchange glances with small smiles playing on their lips. I rose a brow and stored this picture in the back of my head.
"Alright then Neji, you will be known as Sosuke Hoshimaru, Sasuke as Seiji Hatsuharu and Sakura as Miyazaki Hatsuharu." I grit narrowed me eyes as I saw Sakura's fists tighten but now it was Naruto who I saw smirking.
"Neji you are the councilor from the village that Sasuke and Sakura are lords from." Neji gave a respectful nod as Kiba smirked beside him.
"Dismissed."
End Flashback
I put the mask I held in my hands on the floor and watched as Neji finished putting up the tent. I heard a ruffle of paper and looked beside me to se Sakura reading over the scroll. I saw as a small frown took over her features when she reached the end of the page.
"Miyazaki, is something the matter?" asked Neji as he approached us and saw her frown. She held out the scroll as she sighed and Neji took it gently from her hands and began to read aloud.
As you may have already figured out by now there are only two tents per group. The reason for this is to ensure that the "couples" spend more time together to get their roles to seem more convincing.
I expect you all to follow these rules and don't let me down for I have trusted you all with this mission.
Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure, Tsunade
Neji closed his eyes as he let out a soft sigh. "Which tent would you like to occupy?" I nodded to the tent on the left as Sakura took the scroll back and rolled it up.
"Alright then, Goodnight Miyazaki, Seiji." he said as he left quietly.
I knew from the beginning that she had planned this whole thing out. She had intentionally paired me with Sakura and knew that Neji and I would sleep in the same tent to allow her some privacy.
"Seiji kun?.." I turned to where the kunoichi's voice had come from to see her standing in front of the tent holding the flap open for me to come. I followed her inside and zipped it shut when we had both entered.
I heard a ruffle of clothes and turned to see Sakura pull off her jumpsuit like vest along with her elbow length gloves and long boots, staying in nothing but her skin tight, navy blue -not to mention short- jumpsuit.
I ignored as she combed her hair with her fingers and began to remove the white vest along with my ninja sandals, gloves and shirt that went under the vest, leaving on my navy blue pants.
If it were anyone other than Sakura or I in this situation it could've been awkward, but the emerald eyed girl and I had been living together for almost a month now. It had been a short period of time but we had gotten accustomed to act normal in front of each other, no matter the situation.
I ran a hand through my now longer, ebony locks as I turned around and scoffed lightly with what my eyes came in contact with.
"Is something wrong Sei…oh.." Sakura cut herself off as she turned around and saw only one sleeping bag with two pillows and a small set of sheets folded in the corner of the tent.
"We could make a bed out of some extra clothes that I brought just in case." I shook my head shortly as I moved over to the sleeping supplies.
"That won't be necessary." I said as setup the sleeping bag and laid down. "But Seiji-" I cut her off by simply moving over and giving her a very serious stare and motioning to the space beside me.
She gave me an incredulous look as she glanced to the space beside me and then to my face. "Miyazaki, come to bed." I said after a minute if her staring. She slowly crawled in beside me and laid down.
I draped the sheets over her shoulder and closed my eyes to try to gain some sleep. After a few moments of silence I felt Sakura shiver beside me and I turned my gaze to her.
My eyes met her back for she was facing the other way and I noticed how the sheets were much too small for us to sleep with at least an inch of space between us.
I moved over to my left a little and slipped my arm under her shoulders, pulling her next to me. She opened her eyes and gazed at me in a confused manner. "You're cold Sakura."
"We're not suppose to use our names, you know that." she said as she stared up at me. "Nobody will hear us, now stay still, you're shivering." she gave a soft smile as she tried to move away again.
"I'll get warmer soon Sasuke." I grunted softly at her lame excuse. "The sheets are too small Sakura, you won't get warm." I pulled her closer as she laid her head on my chest and I felt her cold skin against mine.
"Arigato, Sasuke kun.." she whispered after a moment. I opened my eyes and looked down at her on top of me chest.
"Hn." I grunted as I felt a faint smile take over my lips.
Wooots!!! Did you enjoy it?? Did you like it?!?!? I tried to make up for my lateness and ended up with the longest chappie yet!! I hopes you alls enjoyed it cuz I know I enjoyed writing it!! If you have any questions or observations let meh know ~//^ and please review!!!