A/N: Thank you guys for all those wonderful reviews, it really cheered me up. Well here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. What will be Kakashi's reaction? Read and find out ^^ enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Chapter 11:
When he'd heard her voice, he thought his mind was playing with him. That voice that would haunt him forever, twist his heart into knots for the rest of his life, the voice he thought he'd never hear in the waking world ever again. But then he heard the soft gasps of people standing around him, he looked up, his eye widening greatly at the sight, his heart racing so fast it felt like it would burst from his chest, while he stared at the woman standing behind the memorial stone. Her form was still shadowed by the tree itself, but when the figure walked forward, his breath stuck in his throat.
This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be true… Could it? They'd searched the entire area for her and found nothing but her mask and a bloodied kunai. It could be an illusion his mind had thrown up, attempting to trick him with, but he could feel her faint chakra signature and besides, the other people all around could see her to. It was Sakura alright, the pink hair was a dead give away. But what shocked him the most was how she looked. Covered in blood, cuts and bruises, blood still trailing down her skin and the dark circles under her eyes indicating she hadn't slept properly in a while…. she looked like a walking corpse. She spoke again, but what she said he couldn't recall. He kept staring at her mouth, relief washing over him while the rest of him clenched painfully at the terrible condition she was in.
A soft thud was heard, pulling him out of his trance and he looked now at the fainted form of the Hokage. He raised an eyebrow confused, but it was to be suspected he supposed. Tsunade had been repeatedly blaming herself for her former apprentice's death, she hadn't slept well, and had taken to completely drowning herself into sake, worse than before while she kept on clinging to the hope that Sakura would somehow still be found. But three weeks later, only evidence that Sakura had died had come back, tearing the little hope she and everyone else had held onto into shreds. And now the girl was standing there in front of her, smirking while she was drenched in blood as if nothing was wrong.
Sakura looked at her former shishou's form confused. Well that wasn't what she expected. Her eyes lifted and looked now at the crowd gaping at her. She lifted her arm in a greeting, her mouth turning into a small smile.
"Heya."
Ino was the first to come out of her trance, removing herself from Daisuke's embrace and running towards her friend. She threw her arms around her neck, almost strangling her with the strength she held her with. She cried her heart out while she tightened her hold on the pink haired shinobi, afraid that if she let her go she would vanish into thin air once more.
Sakura hissed at the aggressive hold Ino was hugging her with, her wounds protesting loudly and screaming at her to break free. Biting her lower lip she tried to hold in the scream so full of pain that threatened to erupt. She really wanted to push Ino away from her, but the way she was crying, holding on to her as if she were the most precious thing in her world kept her from doing so. Instead she threw her arms around her in a comforting embrace, stroking her blonde hair soothingly while she let her best friend cry it out.
The whole village kept staring at the two young women, not caring that their leader was lying on the ground unconscious. Shizune was the second to break out of her trance. Sakura was still heavily injured and god knows how long she'd been travelling with those wounds. Even though Sakura was an excellent medic herself, she couldn't have healed all those wounds. Although she was still standing and conscious, it would only be a matter of time until she fainted from blood loss and Shizune knew all of this only to well.
Walking towards the pink haired woman, she carefully pried her out of Ino's embrace, giving her a soft smile.
"I'm glad you're back alive Sakura, but as a medic I want you in the hospital right away."
Ino wiped away her tears, still not believing that her best friend was still alive and well, well for the most part. Taking a deep breath, she tried to stay her voice.
"I'll bring her to the hospital." Ino said having already taken hold of Sakura's hand, transported them both away before Shizune could react.
Shizune smiled at the spot they had been standing on a minute ago before turning around to face the frozen form of Sakura's mother. Placing her hand on her shoulder, she gave her a soft squeeze. The woman blinked with her green eyes, turning her head towards Shizune while her long black hair fell over her shoulder with the movement.
"Why don't you go to the hospital yourself Hanu-san?" The woman nodded weakly and Shizune signalled Renge to bring her. Turning around to the crowd she shooed them back home before turning towards the limp form of her master. She shook her head smiling, holding in a laughing fit.
"Kakashi-san would you be so kind to bring her to the hospital?" Without waiting for an answer she transported herself to the hospital, walking fast through the halls to tend to Sakura's wounds herself.
When Tsunade woke up her nose twitched at the scent that typically swept through every hospital. Opening her eyes she saw the white painted ceiling. She wondered briefly why she was lying here. What happened? But then it came back to her with full force. Sakura's funeral, her speech followed by a bloodied Sakura walked into the clearing and then nothing.
Knitting her eyebrows together she thought back, this couldn't be the real Sakura right? No… It must just be her imagination playing up. The sound of a page flipping over caught her attention, and turning her head she looked straight at…Sakura. She was sitting in a chair next to her bed, her legs crossed while she read a book.
"Took you long enough Shishou," Sakura said, not looking up from her book.
Tsunade gasped, her eyes widening again at the sight of her. Is it really her? It must be her because she felt Sakura's chakra signature, very weak but still there none the less. She felt light headed again and flinched slightly when a hand touched her shoulder.
"Don't faint on me again Shishou. Is it really that hard to believe that I'm back and alive?"
Sakura had already placed her book on the table next to her, her eyes holding the honey ones hostage while her bandaged hand touched Tsunade's shoulder to keep her from fainting.
"How?" Tsunade breathed out, wanting to know what the hell happened while she was away from the village.
"Dumb luck," Sakura snorted, pulling her hand away while she stood up. Turning her back towards the fifth Hokage, she opened the window for fresh air. Folding her arms before her chest she stared out towards the village, while silence crept between them.
Sakura closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze hit her skin. She was still figuring out what happened to her herself. A little girl with black hair and violet eyes came up in her memory. She smiled when she thought back at her. How kind an attitude she had, she'd reminded her of her younger self. So much had happened, she didn't know where to start explaining, hell she'd just come back, was still recovering from the wounds she got one week ago.
Tsunade kept looking at the woman standing before the window. She couldn't help but noticing how different Sakura had become since the last time she had seen her. She stood there with confidence, strength radiating off her even though she was pretty heavily bandaged up. But she had a glow around her, something she couldn't explain but she looked as if she was at peace. The silence was killing her, but she didn't want to rush it either. She knew Sakura would tell her what happened in her own time.
Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, Tsunade stood up. Regaining her balance she walked over to where Sakura was standing, her eyes were still closed and she looked tired. Most of the cuts on her form were already healed, the dried blood which had been sticking on her skin earlier was gone, and bandage was wrapped around her upper body stopping at her waist. Her right arm was bandaged from inches off her shoulder and reaching her hand, while on her left arm the bandages wound from her lower arm and stopped at her wrist, her ANBU tattoo sitting proudly on her left bicep and for a moment Tsunade wished that she hadn't placed it there. If she wasn't ANBU, this wouldn't have happened, she wouldn't have almost died. But then again, Sakura probably would have found another way to get higher up in the ranks. If she had her mind on something, she would go for it and nothing could stop her, Tsunade knew this all to well.
"You need to rest Sakura, you need to recharge your chakra. You can tell me another time what happened."
"Can you at least give me permission to go home?"
"I'll take care of that, but please get some rest."
Sakura nodded, finally turning around to face Tsunade. "Thank you, I'll come to your office tomorrow to hand in my report."
Sakura brushed past her mentor opening the door before she stopped as Tsunade spoke up.
"Welcome home."
"Thank you. It's good to be home."
Sakura walked back towards her own room where Ino was waiting together with her mother. They both looked up when they saw her enter the room, both smiling and the relief radiating off of them in big waves. Sakura smiled inwardly, they really were happy that she was back. Grabbing the shirt Ino was holding out to her she smiled gratefully before putting it on.
"Let's go home."
"I've waited three long weeks to hear that coming out of your mouth Forehead," Ino said smiling. She gave her best friend a hug forcing the tears back which were threatening to fall. "But it was well worth the wait."
Her mother also stood up, smiling at the two girls before her. When Ino let her daughter go, she hugged Sakura herself, her hand stroking her long pink strands of hair while she rested her chin on top of her Sakura's head. She closed her eyes and she felt her daughter relax in her embrace, her arms was wrapped around her middle while her face was pushed into her neck. Her daughter's arms lost their strength and when Hanu pulled back she saw with surprise that her Sakura had fallen asleep.
Shaking her head smiling softly, she stroked her thump against her cheek. Kissing her on her forehead, she placed her arms under her shoulders and knee's before tilting the girl up. Ino opened the door and walked out after Hanu had passed.
Arriving at the Haruno compound Ino opened the door for Hanu to let them in. Laying Sakura down in her old room, Hanu and Ino started to undress the girl before tucking her in bed. Ino decided that it was good for Sakura to stay with her mother for awhile since she still had to work at the flower shop for her parents. Hanu also invited Ino to stay, since they still had a guestroom. Ino happily complied since she really wanted to be close to Sakura while she was recovering and she could still easily get to work from here, as well as be right by Sakura's side anytime she wasn't working.
The next day Sakura showered with the help of her mother before getting her back bandaged up. Dressing herself she grabbed the report she had written yesterday evening before kissing her mother goodbye and walking out the door. While she passed through the streets, she got greeted by everyone that passed by. "Good to see you back Sakura-san"or"Welcome back Sakura-san." Inwardly she smirked, die almost one time and suddenly you're the most popular woman in the village.
Greeting the guards by the Hokage tower with a wave she walked in, knocking on the door and walking in when she heard the grumbled sound of "Enter."
"Good morning Tsunade-sama."
Walking towards her desk, she gave Tsunade the scroll before sitting down in one of the chair's standing before her desk. Tsunade smiled at the girl, lying the scroll down before her and leaning back in her chair.
"I know it's all in the scroll what happened, but I want to hear it from your mouth."
"Of course but before I begin, Daisuke, Renge and Nami are sitting by your opened window. They would be more comfortable on the couch since it will take a while," Sakura said smiling, she had crossed her legs, one arm resting comfortably on her upper left thigh.
The soft sound of "Shit how did she know that?" reached her ears. Shaking her head with amusement she watched her ANBU team climbing into the office and taking their places on the couch behind her. When the office went quiet again Sakura took a deep breath before starting.
"After I used my genjutsu, the one who calls himself Tobi was dead, but the leader Pein was still alive. Since I figured out that I couldn't take him out in my condition I tried get away. He found me though and I lost my mask there. I summoned my last bit of chakra and teleported a few yards from the sight. Can't remember what happened after that but when I woke up, a girl named Akira had taken me into her home. She had taken care of most my wounds and helped me to recover. She told me I'd been unconscious for two weeks. I stayed there for awhile to recover my strength but Pein found me five days after I'd awoken. I killed him though and after that I came here. The rest of the details are in the report."
Tsunade nodded, she grabbed the medical report Shizune had left here earlier on her desk. Scanning through it she sighed before she closed it again. 'She won't like this.'
"I'm taking you off active duty for the next two weeks for your back to recover."
Sakura sighed, already thinking that it would be that way and she began to protest. "But Tsunade-sama.."
"Complain and it will be a month." That kept Sakura's mouth shut.
Turning her attention to the other occupants of the room Tsunade spoke up again. "You three however will be placed under the command of Tenzou. He's waiting for you in the mission debriefing room for your next assignment."
"I'm not going to leave Captain's command," Nami protested. She didn't really like the idea being under another captain.
"Don't worry Nami, it's only until I'm enough recovered. It's only tempory," Sakura spoke up. "Besides I know the new team leader of yours. He's good trust me."
"If you say so Captain," Nami muttered, still not liking the idea. Sakura was her first captain and she felt as if she were betraying her if she was under the command of another captain. But when Sakura placed her hand on her shoulder with a reassuring smile on her face she smiled back. Knowing that when she got back from the mission she was to be going on, Sakura would be right there waiting for them.
Sakura watched while her team walking out of the room before she turned around to face her mentor again. "Anything else you need me for?"
Tsunade shook her head. "No you can go just don't forget the check up with Shizune over two days for your back."
Sakura nodded, saluting before walking out of the office. The day was still young, no upcoming missions for the next two weeks and no team she could torture with training. Sakura sighed, she didn't mind having to relax from time to time and she didn't really mind a break right now.
Teleporting to the memorial stone she kneeled down before it, her eyes following the list of names before she stopped at the one she was searching for. With her thump she traced the letters Hikaru Haruno. She'd always wanted to revenge his death and now she had finally done it, she'd killed the man who took her father away from her.
She stared at the name for awhile and came out her trance when she felt him standing behind her. She didn't want to talk to him but she didn't really have a choice, she knew he would find her some day, it had only come sooner then she wanted that was all.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
Sakura stood up turning around to face Kakashi. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For every time that I've done you wrong. You almost got killed because you wanted to save us."
"I was following orders nothing more." Sakura said coldly.
"Still I'm sorry."
"Whatever," Sakura said and wanted to walk away but Kakashi's hand grabbed her, stopping her from leaving.
"I know that we hurt you really bad when we left you behind. I don't know why it happened but it did. First I thought that it wouldn't matter but the team just doesn't feels right without you. I need you Sakura. I realise that now."
Sakura yanked her arm free and glared coldly at the man before her. "What do you want me to do? Leave my own team to join yours again?! You left me Kakashi and I don't need you anymore… any of you! I won't leave my team just because you want me back, forget it!"
"Just give me another chance to be friends with you again."
"And be walked over again?" Sakura huffed, "no thanks!"
"Please Sakura give me another chance to make it up to you," Kakashi pleaded with her.
"Do you know how much it hurt when you three shut me out? Do you? I nearly killed myself because it hurt so much. I loved you guys with all my heart and gave you all everything I had only to be walked out on! Now guess what Hatake, I'm walking out on you!" Sakura spat angrily before she disappeared in a swirl of petals.
Kakashi stood there frozen. He knew Sakura would be angry but this wasn't what he had in mind. It pained him that he had driven Sakura so far and brought her so much pain that she'd almost killed herself. He really wanted to make it up to her and even though she'd just disappeared on him, he wouldn't give up. He'd already walked out on her before but that wouldn't happen again. He made himself a promise to get Sakura back in their lives, and if Sakura thought he would leave her alone, she was seriously mistaken. 'I'll get you back Sakura, if you want it or not.'
To be continued…
