- - -
Scattered Clouds, Disappearing Mist
Konoha
- - -
Kabuto Yakushi slid down the wall, a trail of blood oozing off of the blade held tightly in his fist. He hit the floor and leaned back, gasping for breath, his black eyes fixated on the figure barely still standing in the candle lit room.
Sakura was standing before him, not two yards away, bracing herself up against the stone snake head coming out of the wall; one hand on the serpent's nose, the other clutching her bleeding stomach tightly. Her clothing hung off her body in ripped tatters, and it was by some unseen miracle the bonds around her chest were still in place as she breathed in and out deeply, sweat dripping off her temple. Kusanagi rested behind her, standing upright in a pile of bloodied clothes and ruined flesh, slowly staining the floor a violent black and scarlet.
"You ok, Sakura-chan?"
Empty emerald locked onto onyx, and the medic-nin merely smirked at her, entranced with her fearless gaze. After a few moments of silence, those eyes rolled, and she looked back at the serpent, slowly standing upright and stepping back.
He could see her legs visibly shaking as Sakura bent down to wrench her katana from the pile of once-human, wiping the steel on her garters.
"Betrayal is a funny thing, no?"
Sakura gave the silver-haired shinobi a level look at his words, unemotional as she sheathed her blade, wordlessly giving him permission to continue.
"You came to him for power, and now, having reached your potential, you literally stab him in the back, recruiting the help of an Uchiha nevertheless…"
Her eyes flickered dangerously in the candlelight, her hand on Kusanagi's hilt tightening.
"Just what are you trying to say, Kabuto?"
The venom of her voice made shivers go down his spine, his smirk disappearing as emerald gleamed to deadly slits.
"I'm just saying that it's strange all the choices you keep making." His eyes fell to the lifeless remains on the floor at her feet. "We've killed Orochimaru-sama – you because he tried to take your body; I because your friend threatened me with blackmail – but instead of you just returning to Konoha, you choose to join them."
Silence.
Kabuto sighed, his fingers deftly removing themselves from the hilt of the dagger, and rubbed his eyes underneath his round spectacles with his other hand.
"I understand why you came here. You came to protect Uchiha Sasuke from Orochimaru-sama. But now that threat to him is gone, and you go to Sasuke-kun's brother instead-"
His voice died in his throat as Kusanagi was suddenly unsheathed and press against his neck, the sharp steel cutting into his skin.
"Do not speak familiarly of Sasuke-kun in front of me Kabuto. Ever. I will not allow such filth to say his name."
A broken smile flittered across his bloody mouth.
"I understand Sakura-sama…"
The blade eased a bit, but remained pressed alongside his skin. Small trickles of crimson oozed from underneath the unforgiving metal as it slowly slid over his flesh.
"Will this seal hold?"
He looked up into distrusting cold eyes, and merely nodded.
Sakura's free hand was still clutching her wounded stomach, black swirls barely visible underneath her red stained fingers.
"I will not give you my thanks, because I know that as soon as I leave, you will use whatever you can salvage of Hebi-sama's remains and stand against me."
"You predicted my reasoning to help you?"
A ghost of a smirk, pure contempt, pure loathing.
"I know scum when I see it."
Kabuto smiled at that, a confident smirk that belied the urgent warning in his gut.
"Until we next meet then, Sakura-sama?"
"Hm."
- - -
Sasuke Uchiha twirled the kunai in his hand thoughtfully, his onyx eyes closing in sweet relief as a calm breeze swept over his bangs, cooling his sweaty brow. All around him dark grasses of the training area swayed in the wind, tickling the fingers of his other hand as he rested on the hill over looking Konoha.
He's late. Again.
The kunai went flying into a target against a tree, the lazily thrown weapon hitting dead center.
Onyx opened to stare at his home, alighted by the summer sunlight, thankful that for the peace and quiet he felt all around him as he waited patiently – Naruto-dobe, you have five minutes to get here – for his teammates to show. The blonde had gone to the Hokage's office with Sai, to debrief about their failed mission to retrieve Sakura. The base had been blown to bits, Sakura had disappeared, and Sai was a suspected shinobi now.
A frown slid across his lips as Sasuke thought of his newest teammate. It was true that the pale ANBU had had orders to kill Sakura, but after some questioning by a less than furious Naruto – being held back firmly by an equally livid but more passive Sasuke – found that Sai had had no intentions of following those orders.
He, like everyone else, had let the dobe grow on him, and after witnessing the kitsune's unrelenting loyalty to a comrade, who wanted nothing more to do with him or Konoha, sought to know the true meaning of friendship. He insisted that he merely tried to restrain Sakura but only found an exploding doppelganger, to prove his loyalty to his new team and hopefully walk away with Team Kakashi as a friend.
And knowing the dobe, he couldn't say no to an offer of friendship…
Sai was growing on him too, having been forced to help Naruto teach the emotionless shinobi how to express his feelings – Sasuke still didn't understand why he had to help with this, knowing he had the same problem – and how to be more social with the other members of the village. Just yesterday they had found the dark haired youth in the library, reading books on proper etiquette and mannerisms.
Sasuke had to hand it to the ANBU, he was trying, though his take on honesty was less than nice – No Sai-baka! You can't call her ugly! Do you know how many girls will kill us if they heard you?! – having the uncanny ability to say exactly what was on his mind, with no thought to the consequences. Sai had got to calling Naruto "dick-less" for reasons unknown to either of them, and Sasuke "chicken-ass". Of course, Sasuke didn't care as much about the name as his blonde teammate, but when Sai had gotten the nerve to refer to Sakura as "ugly" well…
Sasuke was still sure the dirt road just outside of the village still bared a small crevice in the middle from where Sai had skid down the road after one of Sasuke's fists slammed into his cheek.
He'll be fine, just as long as he doesn't call Tsunade a hag or something.
With a sigh, Sasuke leaned back against the grass, his tense body relaxed against the plush green tendrils caressing his skin. The welcoming breeze once more wafted over his skin, gently brushing his bangs against his face, as gentle as a lover's caress.
His hand absentmindedly reached to his neck, his quick fingers effortlessly finding the silver chain and pulling it up above his face. Onyx drifted over the small circle of white steel, traced the tiny embedded emeralds that aligned the center of the pendent, the Haruno clan symbol gliding smoothly against his calloused hands.
Sakura…
Sasuke fisted his hand around the circle as his eyes fell closed…
He threw the kunai against the breeze, aiming for the bull's eye. The weapon hit squarely, joining the other just outside the red circle. With a curse, he tried to calculate again, drawing another kunai from his belt. It sang in the air, landing on red, just next to the others.
Dammit. My calculations are off… where's Sakura?
Sasuke turned his head around to look for his pink haired teammate, and breathed with relief as he spotted her just outside the training grounds, garbed in all black and sitting alone on a stone bench. Silently wondering if she was ok, he made his way over to her, slightly surprised she didn't respond to his presence until he cleared his throat.
Her big eyes snapped up to his, slightly watery.
"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed, quickly running her hands over her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there… do you need something?"
Sasuke stared at her, not answering.
Why isn't she trying to drown me in hugs? Why wasn't she squealing in delight at the sight of my face? Wait… why do I care?
"Um, Sasuke-kun?"
Suddenly aware he was staring, he looked away. "Sorry. I was wondering if you can help me with some calculations…"
"Oh, ok…"
She stood up and fell into step beside him, not making any move to grab on tightly to his arm and hang there furiously…
Weird.
They approached the target and he aligned himself like before, wary of her eyes on him not in want but in mere observation.
"The wind is throwing me off. I try to calculate in relation to the distance and size of the target, but I keep missing where I'm aiming."
Sakura nodded, then fell silent, her emerald gaze sweeping over the target.
"Sasuke-kun," she said finally, her voice thick with concentration, "you need to think of this in three parts, not just two. You're judging the ratio of the target size and the distance from where you are from it, and you're considering the wind as an element, but underestimating its strength."
Sasuke stared at her as she locked his gaze, a sad smile suddenly on her face.
"Think of it like our three-man training cell. Naruto is the target, you are the distance to him, and I'm the force of the wind. You know the distance for sure, and you're confident that you can hit Naruto with your kunai. But when I throw a kunai at yours, even if I miss, the force of wind caused by my attack will throw yours off. Yes, you may strike Naruto, but not where you wanted to. You can't underestimate the strength of my attack." (A/N: Catch the irony of that? XB)
She pulled a kunai from his belt and stepped up next to him, focusing on the target.
"Your strength behind your kunai is not enough. The wind is an unpredictable force at best. But if you learn to respect it, the wind can actually help you hit your mark."
Sakura threw the kunai, her initial aim far from the target. He watched, amazed, as the kunai was slowly turned in the wind until it struck the board, hitting the middle of the red circle.
With a smirk he nodded then pulled out a kunai, preparing to do as she had done. Her gentle fingers grasped his own and helped him aim the knife correctly, and then they fell away as he hurled the weapon. It too turned and struck the target, embedding itself deeply next to hers.
"Do you understand now Sasuke-kun?"
He turned to her, suddenly feeling awkward around her for the first time in his life.
"Yes. Thank you… Sakura…"
- - -
Tenpin no Juugo glanced around him uncertainly as he followed Sakura out of the North Base. His amber eyes closed tightly as the harsh sunlight overhead glared down onto his face, and his grip on Sakura's hand tightened, seeking reassurance as he followed her blindly out of the underground tunnel and away from his cell. The sounds of birds singing and forest trees rustling reached his ears, drowning out the rasping metal of his ball and chain around his ankle dragging on the ground and just beyond that…
The sea…
He opened his eyes and looked out over the large walls of rock surrounding the tunnel, the faint white and blue of the ocean stretching out over the horizon.
It was just as beautiful as he had been led to believe.
"Sakura-hime! What the hell?!"
Juugo's attention went to the white haired youth forming from the shadows of the forest, his purple shirt only intensifying the strange aqua color of his wide eyes. A large sword was strapped to his back, the tip dangerously close to impaling the ground as he jumped backwards in shock, pointing an accusing finger at the pinkette, his wide mouth flashing his pointed teeth in his absolute shock.
"Oh, get a grip Suigetsu-baka! He's not going to kill you!" Sakura retorted almost jokingly as she gestured for Juugo to sit on a welcoming, smoothed over boulder. The amber haired man obliged her willingly, lowering his large six-almost-seven foot frame down where she indicated.
The young kappa-like youth came to stand behind Sakura warily, gazing uneasily up at their new large companion.
"Sakura-hime, the reason I asked you to get this sword was because of this guy!"
To Juugo's surprise, Sakura's face lit up with laughter, and he could've sworn her smile reflected the sun itself.
"Sui-kun, the only reason you wanted me to get Zabuza's sword was so you could kill Kisame with it, baka!"
"Hey that's not true hime!"
"Uh-huh, sure it is…"
Sakura giggled as Suigetsu sputtered indignantly behind her back, ignoring her companion and turning instead to Juugo. His amber eyes watched her uncertainly as she kneeled down and observed the steel cuff around his ankle.
"Let's get this off now, shall we?"
She smiled at him pleasantly, as though he were a small child, not Orochimaru's monster.
He stared at her in disbelief.
"But… what if I…?"
A hand on his own; soft, warm, and comforting.
"I'm not afraid of you Juugo-san."
"I am!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at Suigetsu's comment but remained focused on the shy man now holding her hand.
"I know you don't want to kill anyone intentionally, which is why you purposefully locked yourself up in here. Kimimaru-san was the only one who could tame your rage, and he became your friend. I want to help you Juugo-san, because that's what friends do, right?"
"You think of me as your friend?"
Emerald sparkled with her smile, a small grin of his own answering.
"Of course I do, Juugo-kun."
His eyes widened at her words, stunned. Suigetsu too stared at her in disbelief, but a somber grin was beginning to spread across his face.
"You're such a softy Sakura-hime."
He ruffled her bangs almost affectionately, gaining a playful swipe from the pinkette.
"Alright. Time to get this hunk of junk off."
Sakura's hands began to glow a fierce blue as she gripped the cuff in her hands. She began to pull apart the metal, her jaw clenching. The skin tightened down her arms as they shook with the effort, and her eyes closed under the strain.
"SHANNARO!" (1)
With a great grinding noise the cuff split open and tore in two, ripping under her hands like paper. She flung the pieces aside and stood, raising a hand to wipe her brow.
"There you are Juugo-kun. You're free now."
Juugo stood and lifted his foot; amazed at the ease he was able to do so. The sensation was new to him and strange, but he smiled down at his companions, the first genuine smile he had given to anyone.
"Thank you… Sakura-chan."
Sakura nodded then wrapped the black cloak on her shoulders around her more firmly, her gaze drifting out towards the sea, going farther.
"So, what to now Sakura-hime?"
She smiled then turned to them, her eyes regarding them with somber happiness.
"Now I keep my promise to the both of you. We'll travel as far as we can and rest tonight."
Sakura started away, heading into the forest. The two followed without thinking, falling into step easily with her.
"Tomorrow… we'll be in Konoha."
- - -
(1) Shannaro! = Cha! or Hell yeah! X3
- - -
(A/N: Woot! Another done! I personally love this one. Juugo and Suigetsu equal love! How can you not love them?! Anyways, I don't think anybody even reads this so eh, I'll just go now – if you do though, write ZMOG Sui-kun in your review, just for kicks. XB Until next time! R&R plz!)