G'day all! Here's the next chapter! (Time skippy!) Yay! Happy Dances ...You should be happy too! That was a pain to type up! Lol! Only jokin'! One again thank you to all my reviewers who are extra lovely this week:D Sorry for any mistakes! I havn't had much time to proof read! Enjoy! xx
p.s. Again here with the songs! Lol! This time it's Paramore - Let the flames begin!
Disclaimer: Heehee! Unfortunately (again ): ) I am not involved with nor do I own Paramore or Naruto:(
CHAPTER NINE - CALL IT MURDER, CALL IT REVENGE
One year later…
Sakura sat between Sai and Sasuke with Naruto and Hinata to Sai's right also; overlooking the stadium below. Genma stood between two grinning, determinded looking genin. "Match seven! Kimini Shoji vs. Fujoka Yukito. Begin!" The two swiftly formed various hand seals while springing away from each other.
"This should be interesting." said Sai smirking.
"Mh!" agreed Naruto enthusiastically. "I wonder if Sasuke's training with Shoji will better Kakashi-sensei's with Yukito."
'Deja vou!'
'Heh. I know. I only hope Miya won't get in the middle.'
'Don't change the subject! You gonna tell him?'
'I will…'
'When?'
Sakura didn't respond, but turned bright pink at her thoughts.
"Sakura? You ok?" asked Sai taking her hand, noticing the sudden rush of colour to her face. "I'm fine!" she said a little too quickly.
Sasuke glanced sideways at the extra pink kunoichi; and her hand enclosed in Sai's. The jealousy rose within him; he couldn't let her go but he quickly looked back to the match, feeling the said girl's eyes on him.
Sakura yawned widely and her eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier. "Don't yawn Sakura-chan, you'll make me-" Naruto said but cut himself off with his own yawn. Hinata's own eyelids started feeling heavy and by chance caught Sakura's glance. Two pairs of eyes snapped open in sudden and terrified realisation.
"Dispel!" yelled the two kunoichi; and the sudden exhaustion was gone.
"Sai! Sasuke!" yelled Sakura shaking them both slightly. "Nani?" they asked loudly, waking up.
Sakura was about to say something but before she could, the ear-splitting sound of a nearby explosion met their ears.
"Tsunade-danna!" shreaked Sakura already racing toward the now smoking Hokage's balcony.
"Not again!" yelled Naruto running after her. A shuriken whirled right by his face making him stop dead in his tracks. A shinobi he had never seen before appeared before him. Naruto's eyes shot to the nin's forehead protector. "Sound nin!" he yelled.
"Kabuto!" Sasuke whispered speeding after Sakura, leaving the others to fight the growing number of sound nin.
"Sakura!" he shouted. But she either didn't hear him or was just ignoring him.
'What is it with these assholes and the chunin exams.'
'SHUT UP!'
Sakura ran as fast as she could, he throat grew dry and her legs cramped, but she just disregarded it. "Tsunade-sama!" she rasped.
"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled still not managing to catch her. The way Kabuto was now, with what remained of Orochimaru inside of him, she didn't stand a chance. But the stubborn kunoichi kept running.
Around them shuriken an kunai flew in all directions and several other leaf nin had been woken up and were fighting as before, so many years ago. Gai, Kurenai and Kakashi battled with at least three sound nin each, throwing kicks, punches and weapons reverently. Below in the arena Genma had managed to usher Shoji and Yukito out and get them to alert any other usefull shinobi.
"Sakura stop! You have to think this through! It's gonna be Kabuto up there. You saw yourself what he's done to himself! Fall back, you don't have a chance!" Sasuke yelled over thecomotion of the nearing balcony.
"I have to try!" she breathed before running and jumping up and onto the outside wall so as to have better access to the balcony. She ran along it with impeccable balance and Sasuke followed her still shouting. "Sakura please! I don't want to loose more precious people!"
"Neither do I!" she snapped, finally silencing him. "If you don't want to loose anyone, help me."
Sasuke caught up to her completely. "I'm with you."
"Good."
They continued running flat out. "No!" Sakura screamed suddenly.
"Nani!?" Sasuke asked looking up, but he needed no reply from Sakura. Creeping black walls were growing around the balcony ; an old trick of Orochimaru's. They jumped down onto the large platform behind the balcony and made a run for the rapidly shrinking gap between the ground and the wall.
"Sakura!" she heard Tsunade call.
"Tsunade-sama!" she screamed again. "No!…No! No! No!" She thumped the sealed walls with huge force in anguish at missing her opportunity to get by. The walls ripped with what appeared to be electricity with every punch. "No!" she continued to scream.
"Sakura stop!" Sasuke shouted, grabbing onto her arms to prevent her from hurting herself. With no way now to hit the walls, she used Sasuke as a balance, leaned back and began kicking the walls.
"Ugh." came the muffled voice of Sasuke as he struggled to pull Sakura away. "Stop! Stop! Sakura, look at your hands, damn it!" She looked down at her hands, the knuckles of her gloves were in tattered ribbons as was her skin; and blood ran down her arms, soaking into her sleeves.
"Sasuke, what am I gonna do?! What are we gonna do?!" he voice was cagey and hysterical in her desperation to reach Tsunade.
"Right now, you're gonna heal your hands and I'm gonna take care of these bastards closing in on us." he said looking up. "Then you're going to help me. Ok?"
"But, Tsunade-"
"She's strong, Sakura. Don't forget it!"
"But I've bettered her in a fight!…A few times. And you said that I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Just do what I said ok!?" he said gruffly. "I promise you, we'll find a way to help her."
She nodded weakly and began forming seals. "Wait, Sasuke!" she called, suddenly realising something. "Where's Shizune? She would have been here with Tsunade-sama!"
"That's probably-"
"How he got to her…Sasuke, she could be really hurt! Or…"
"Don't think of that now! Help me, for God's sake!" he yelled as no less than eight nin closed in on him with more on their way.
"Fine." the rantings of her Inner finally taking root. "Sasuke, duck!"
Sasuke did what he was told without question; Sakura ran up behind him and using him as a beam, planted several spinning kicks on the surrounding opposing nin.
"Nice." smirked Sasuke but Sakura disregarded this and any other attempt made at speech or conversation. She was focused completely on getting the job done and getting Tsunade out of her prison.
The last of that group of sound nin made a dive at her, she ducked quickly and rammed a kunai up through his abdomen while he was still in mid air. He choked out a cry but Sakura had already hoisted his body out of the way.
She glanced around quickly for anymore enemies; seeing none she formed some hand seals as fast as she could manage. "Chidori!" she yelled slamming her alight right arm into the murkey wall. Nothing happened except an extra large ripple of electricity through it.
"Fuck!" she shouted.
Sasuke stared at her in disbelief.
'Oh yeah! We know shit too!' cried Inner Sakura, seeing his reaction and delighting in it.
"How many hits?"
"Three."
"Lets go then!" he said preforming the same sequence of seals.
"Chidori!" they both yelled running their hands into it.
Nothing.
"Fuck!"
"Shit!"
"Kaze no Rasengan!" hollered a familiar voice. Blonde and orange flew past their eyes and a gust of wind swept by them. Naruto shot the whirling ball of wind and chakra into the wall which smashed into tiny pieces and disappeared. Sakura watched and felt in slow motion so as the horror and despair she felt seemed to last forever.
"Here's one I stole from Naruto." said the Hokage calmly as Kabuto's katana sliced through her abdomen. She grabbed hold of his hand, holding onto it with her remaining strength; and produced an odd purple chakra that enveloped her hand and touched it off Kabuto's chest, where his heart should have been; stopping it. Kabuto made an odd gurgling, wretching noise as he tried and failed to make one last grab at Tsunade's hand which seemed to be fused to him.
Kabuto fell, dead, still clutching the katana drawing it out of her as he neared the ground. Tsunade fell also but Sakura was already there to catch her, lay her down gently and shoot through her healing jutsu seals.
"Sakura…."rasped a deteriorating Tsunade, Sakura continued her hands now glowing green. "Sakura stop."
"No." she said firmly laying her hand on the open wound on the blonde Hokage's torso. Sakura gasped but then just seemed more determined and the chakra surrounding her hands grew in volume.
"Sakura, I told you to stop! You're just wasting you chakra, other's will need your skills." Tsunade panted. She gasped suddenly in pain; the blade had been poisoned.
Tear slipped down Sakura's face and the healing jutsu she had conjoured disappeared and her hands fell helplessly beside her.
"F-find Shizun-ne" she said. Sakura nodded.
"Thank you, Sakura." she whispered and forced her tired face to form a smile. Sakura smiled back waterily and Tsunade's eyes closed for the last time.
Sakura sobbed as she leaned over the body of her teacher and dear friend. Tears spouted out of her eyes and fell onto, soaking into the blode's signature green jacket. She felt a hand on her back and turned to see Sasuke in his attempt at consolation. She saw Naruto, his head bowed in the attempt to disguise the tears that were adimate on flowing. Hinata had appeared also and was holding onto one of his shaking shoulders and petting his head sweetly.
"Naruto…Where's Sai." she asked, feeling Sasuke's hand fall from her back.
Naruto's head shot up, obviously having just realised that Sai wasn't there. "Naruto…" she growled. "Where is Sai!?…Hinata?" They remained chillingly silent.
"Naruto, you are such a fucking idiot!" she shouted jumping down off the dreaded balcony and began running faster than before, back to where they had been sitting.
Sai came into view, he was standing just a few feet away from where they had been sitting just moments ago.
'Thank god, he's ok.'
But she had spoken too soon; from behind, Sakura could see him fall to his knees and collapse. Infront of where he had stood was a figure with a mop of red hair and whose glasses reflected the sun so no one could make out her eyes. She was cut and bleeding and had to lean over with pain and exhaustion.
Sakura didn't even need to check if Sai was ok; she took a running jump, sailing over him and caught Karin by the neck, hoisting her up.
"Sakura…"
The kunoichi looked around, tears fresh in her eyes and stared at Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata behind her. "Put her down, she's not worth it!" Naruto half begged, at the front of the group.
"Check Sai." she snapped as Karin clawed at the hand that was choking her. Sakura watched Naruto bend down to the motionless Sai and take his pulse, he already knew. He stood back, his eyes closed and Sakura felt her stomache hit rock bottom. But instead of crying like she usually would have done, anger bubbled within her and her grip tightened on Karin's neck.
"Saku-"
"Shut up!" she jut across, her grip tightening even more and Karin face turned a deep shade of purple.
"Sakura, you're killing her!"
"I've killed many." she said eerily calmly. "As have you."
"Then it was to defend a client or ourselves…or our village. That is just cold-blooded murder!"
Sakura looked at the desperate and crazed expression on the other girls face…Sai's killer's face.
Sakura squeezed her neck and moved her hand sharply.
Snap.
"Call me a murderer then." she said, her voice cracking. "Or call me an avenger." She glanced at Sasuke who gained a guilty look and turned away.
She cast Karin aside and fell to her knees by Sai's side. "Sai!" she whispered "Sai, please wake up!"
"Sakura-" Naruto began but Hinata hushed him. "Not now Naruto-kun. Let's go."
Naruto made to follow his girlfriend but paused to take a final look at one of his closest friends; she wasn't crying, but somehow that was far worse. The look on her face was just of a broken inside.
He walked by Sasuke and gave him a questioning look, asking him whether he was coming or not. He shook his head slightly. Sakura needed someone to watch her, god knows what she would have do otherwise.
The kunoichi formed her infamous hand seals and her hand grew alight with the healing chakra. She began to close up all the little scrapes and cuts on his handsome face and the many larger ones on his pale body.
She felt a little light headed but brushed it off, that was the least of her worries.
Beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead but she discredited it.
She finished healing him and looked into his face that seemed to be sleeping; she leant down and kissed him. She stood up and made a small choking noise. "Sasuke…he's…cold…" she whispered so quietly Sasuke was amazed he could actually hear her. She attempted to walk forward but collapsed into Sasuke, who caught her easily and picked up her unconscious body.
Walking out of the blood-drenched stadium, all around him people were waking up to the shock and stench of death and blood everywhere. He didn't want to stick around for when the civilians found out their Hokage was dead, and right now his beloved kunoichi needed a medic herself.
As Sasuke walked through the tunnel that lead outside into the main street of Konoha he felt Sakura stir in his arms. "Sakura…?" he whispered softly. She opened her eyes slightly but couldn't see well, even discounting the poor lighting in the passage. She looked up and her eyes made out the hazy image of a tall, pale guy with dark hair and eyes. "Sai." she mumbled happily, cuddling into Sasuke's chest and slipped back into unconsciousness.
Sasuke felt a tug on his already heavy heart. "I'm sorry, Sakura." he whispered, hugging her smaller frame close. "So sorry."
Tada...T'is longer than the last one...Lol! Hope you liked it! Next chapter will be out pretty soon aswell:D R&R
(I made up the "kaze no rasengan" stuffs...I think it should roughly translate to "Rasengan of the Wind"...forgive me if its wrong...but hey! T'is fiction and all! Lol!)
xx