Chapter 14: Correcting Mistakes
Recommend Song: Footprints in the Sand by Leona Lewis
(Toboe's POV)
I could faintly hear someone shouting my name. Ah, I know that voice. That soft, familiar voice that I've come to adore. Sakura. I hope her and Kiba are happy together, Kiba better make her happy or I won't forgive him. I forced my eyes open and I saw the sight of Sakura crying, while pleading for me to stay with her. Didn't she know that crying only made me feel sad? I focused on maintaining my human form and I reached up to touch Sakura's cheek, she placed her hand on mine.
"Toboe, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, please forgive me!" she cried and I mustered up all the strength I had to smile at her. She really did look better when she was smiling, not crying.
"Sakura, don't cry", I whispered and the man, Quent, touched Sakura's shoulder. Sakura shook him off and hugged me, regardless of my bloodied state.
"Sakura, I'm tired", I whispered in her ear and I could feel silent sobs rack her body. Sakura, don't cry. I hate it when you cry. Please smile.
I could feel a warm sensation fill me and I closed my eyes, everything seemed to fade away. Sakura's voice seemed to fade away and I felt a small smile form on my face, she would be okay I just knew it. I'm happy that my last moments are with Sakura. Sakura, take the pack to Paradise and be happy.
(Sakura's POV)
Toboe's body went limp in my arms and my eyes widened as I looked at his young peaceful face, almost as if he were sleeping. But, I knew that he wasn't sleeping. Toboe slowly reverted back to his wolf form and I balled up my fists in his fur. He couldn't do this to me, to the pack. Toboe wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead! Pops pulled on me to try to move me away, but I wouldn't respond.
"Hubb, look at what you did!" shouted the woman named Cher and I looked back to see her red-faced shouting at the man with the gun.
I felt sick when I saw the gun; in Konoha we didn't use such weapons. We didn't see a need to, but now I realize just how effective those things are. Sure, when I got hit it hurt like hell, but it healed. Toboe has been shot in the chest, he wasn't going to heal. I slowly stood up and glanced at Toboe's motionlessly body on the snow covered ground. I looked up at the sky and not much to my surprise, it began to snow.
"C-cher, I just reacted. I didn't mean to", Hubb tried to explain, but stopped short when I walked up to him.
"Why did you shoot?" I asked quietly and Hubb looked a mixture of terror and remorse, which I decided to ignore. He took a step back and I watched him closely, noticing that he had yet to release his grip on the gun.
"I really didn't expect to see a real wolf, it caught me off guard. I'm sorry", he pleaded with pure sincerity in his voice and I closed my eyes, fighting back tears. I couldn't stay mad at Hubb even though he did shoot Toboe, I just couldn't.
I fell to my knees and balled up my fists in the snow, crying my eyes out. I didn't want this to happen; I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Everything was my fault; it always ended up being my fault. Kami, had to be testing me because I don't remember ever doing anything in my life to deserve this much heartache and pain. I heard Pops gasp and I lifted my head to see him staring at something in the distance. I wiped the tears from my eyes so I could see clearly and my heart seemed to stop when I saw who was running toward us. Darcia.
Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji and Kiba all stood in front of the Hokage with similar anxious expressions on their faces. Sarutobi and Tsunade gazed at the young genin with blank expressions on their faces. Tsunade handed a scroll to Shikamaru and watched as he clutched it in his hand.
"You were all gathered here to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. Do whatever it takes but do NOT kill him, are we clear? Shikamaru is your squad captain, and I expect you to listen to him. This mission is A-ranked at best, so I advise you all to be prepared. Be ready to leave within an hour, if don't have any questions, you are dismissed!" stated Sarutobi and the five genin all chorused with a loud, "Hai!"
The genin all left the tower, well everyone except Shikamaru and Naruto. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at the two, but didn't say anything. Sarutobi sighed and pulled his pipe away from his lips, before nodding at Shikamaru and Naruto to speak. He had a sneaking suspicion that he knew why they were there.
"Oi, Baa-chan when will we go after Sakura-Chan?" asked Naruto in a low voice and Tsunade sighed, along with Sarutobi. Sarutobi would be lying if he said he didn't see that one coming.
"Naruto, you have to understand that we don't know anything about the whereabouts of Sakura. And, even if we did who's to say that she would even want to come back", Tsunade tried to reason, and Naruto opened his mouth to say something but Shikamaru beat him to it.
"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama it is you who does not know Sakura like the rest of us. Sakura wouldn't betray Konoha, she wouldn't leave her family and friends behind", said Shikamaru coolly and Tsunade's eyes widened along with Naruto's. It seemed that the entire Konoha 12 weren't going to give up on Sakura.
"I see. I'm sorry if I have offended you, we will talk about the retrieval mission for Sakura Haruno after you finish this mission. Are we clear?" spoke Tsunade in a strong voice and Naruto and Shikamaru both nodded. Without a doubt, Tsunade would make a fine Hokage.
Cheza screamed. Tsume was abruptly woken out of his peaceful sleep, when Cheza screamed. Blue was on her knees in pain and was covering her ears, but Hige looked sick. Cheza continued to scream and Tsume wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her, but nothing seemed to be working. Hige stood up on shaking legs and he looked at Tsume, with a pain stricken face. Blue looked at Hige and touched his arm in a show of support.
"I smell Toboe's blood and there's a lot of it", spoke Hige in a grave voice, which a huge difference from his usual loud and humorous self. Tsume's eyes widened and he glanced at Cheza, who had stopped screaming but was still crying.
Tsume stood up and picked up Cheza bridal style. Without a single word Hige took off running in the direction of Toboe's scent, with Blue at his heels. Tsume kept pace with Hige, not once faltering in his step. Icy wind whipped their faces, but they didn't care and soon they noticed another familiar scent mixed with Toboe's. Tsume growled deep in his chest and glanced down at Cheza, who looked sick.
The scent of a traitor, which was all Tsume's mind, could focus on. The other Flower Maiden that had left for unknown reasons, the Flower Maiden that could very well be the reason behind Toboe's death. Tsume didn't care what Kiba's feelings for the other Flower Maiden were, all he knew was that if Toboe was hurt. Sakura would very well pay, with her life.
(Cheza's POV)
This one felt sick. This one knew that the time was coming, that this one was going to have to open Paradise soon. This one knew that Toboe was gone, this one was very sad and this one could feel the others pain, especially Tsume's. This one hoped that Tsume wouldn't do anything rash; this one doesn't want to see Tsume hurt. This one knows that Tsume blames the other one, the different one. This one knows that it wasn't the other one's fault, but even if this one were to tell Tsume, he would not listen to this one.
"Tsume, I bet he's okay. I mean the kid's pretty tough and he wouldn't just give up like that, plus he looks up to you. He wouldn't want to disappoint you like that", spoke Blue in a hopeful voice, but this one knew that she didn't mean what she said. She knew that Toboe was gone, as well.
This one looked up at the gray sky and then at Tsume's face. Tsume looked so lost and confused; it hurt this one to see Tsume like that. This one reached up and touched Tsume's face, but he flinched away at this one's touch. That hurt this one, but this one didn't say anything. This one managed a weak smile at Tsume, before closing this one's eyes and relaxing against Tsume's strong chest. This one could hear Tsume's heartbeat, strong like he was.
"The scent is getting stronger, can you smell it?" asked Hige and Tsume nodded, along with Blue who looked ill. This one felt the same, this one wanted to scream and cry, but this one refrained from doing so, because this one didn't want to hurt the others. This one wished to just open Paradise and escape this world.
Sakura watched as Darcia ran towards them, and it felt like the world had stopped. The wind caused her hair to brush wildly against her face, but she didn't seem to mind. Quent looked at Sakura's frozen form and he turned in the direction she was looking, only to see another wolf running towards them. This one didn't look friendly, nor did it seem familiar to Quent. Sakura looked at Quent and hugged him quickly, before running off in a direction away from him and the wolf.
Sakura knew Darcia would kill Quent and the others without a second thought, so she ran. She stumbled at first, but gradually picked up her speed. She could hear Quent's voice calling out behind her, but she didn't stop running. She wouldn't risk anymore lives; she wouldn't have any more people die because of her. Sakura glanced back just in time to see Darcia leap up at her with fangs gleaming dangerously.
Sakura's eyes widen and she took a step back, only to have the ice break beneath her. A giant hole formed and Darcia bit deeply into Sakura's shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain as they both fell black into oblivion. Sakura instinctively wrapped her arms around Darcia's neck and looked up at the hole's opening, where she heard many voices shouting. A howl with angst sounded through the night and Sakura closed her eyes, with a bitter smile on her face.
(Kiba's POV)
I watched as Darcia and Sakura fell into the unknown, my heart felt like it was being ripped into two. I watched as the old man, Quent, cried softly to himself. I turned to look at the corpse of one of my fellow pack mates and once again felt the feeling of loss wash over me. I lifted my head and howled in pain and sorrow, I hadn't been fast enough. The woman, who had once studied Cheza, turned to look at me and her eyes widened. The man beside her seemed to go pale, but I paid him no mind.
I looked towards where Sakura and Darcia had fallen; there was a small chance that Sakura and Darcia had survived. Even though the chances were slim, I had to be certain that she was truly gone. I focused on retaining my human form and I heard the woman gasp in shock, but I ignored her. I started to walk towards the hole, but Quent grabbed my arm. I started to growl, but stopped short when I saw his expression.
"Bring her back, no matter what. I don't care if it's just her corpse, bring her back", he pleaded with me and I stared at him, before nodding once. He let me go and I began to run towards the hole, no matter what happened to me, I would bring her back.
I ran as fast as my human body would allow me and I jumped through the hole, with determination in my heart. Sakura was alive. She just had to be, because I had promised that we would go to Paradise together, and that wasn't a promise I was ready to break. Sakura, just wait a little longer for me.
Sakura was floating in a dark space going nowhere, but at the same time seeing everything. She could see Konoha, she could see Freeze City, she could see Naruto, and she could see Kiba. Sakura could see her past life and the life that she could've had. Sakura could see it all and it left her feeling hollow and very alone. Sakura closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself in a sad attempt for self comfort.
"Are you really just going to give up?" asked a voice and Sakura opened her eyes only to see an exact replica of herself. The other Sakura was frowning lightly at the real Sakura, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Sakura stared at her doppelganger before looking at the scenes of her life once more. She watched the scene where she and Toboe were playing tag and Toboe had tripped falling against her, causing them both to fall with Toboe landing on top of her. The real Sakura laughed softly to herself at the nice memory, before turning to her doppelganger.
"I don't deserve to see them. All I've done was cause them pain and trouble. I'm more of a burden here than I was in Konoha, maybe I'm not needed anywhere. Maybe, I am just a waste of space", whispered the real Sakura and the other Sakura shook her head, sadly.
"If you truly believe that then you're more of a baka than Naruto is. You are needed more than you think, trust me. I know, because I'm you. I'm the Inner you, the you that you hide away due to fear of rejection. Sakura you are very important to everyone you meet, you affect people in ways that isn't humanly possible", spoke Inner Sakura with a hint of pride in her voice. Sakura smiled at her Inner, before looking at another scene of her life.
Sakura was sitting with Team 7 in Ichiraku Ramen, where Naruto was promptly inhaling bowls of ramen. Sasuke was glaring at Naruto in disgust, while Kakashi simply read is book with an amused expression on his face. The real Sakura smiled as she watched the scene fade only to be replaced with a scene with her and Kiba in it. Inner Sakura smiled in accomplishment as she watched the real Sakura reach out for the memory of her and Kiba kissing.
"I don't want to be a burden to anyone. I want to be strong, so I can protect my precious people. I want make up for my mistakes, I want to be someone who that everyone can be proud of", spoke the real Sakura with determination in her voice.
Inner Sakura grinned before taking the real Sakura's hand. Sakura looked at her Inner and wore a matching grin, suddenly the scenes of Sakura's life seemed to speed up to the point where they became blurs. Sakura and Inner Sakura both looked up at the scenes of their lives that sped by.
"Time to go back, Sakura. Make everyone proud, become stronger", spoke Inner Sakura as the real Sakura began to blur just like the scenes of their lives. Sakura smiled and nodded, while closing her eyes. She would become stronger, not just for everyone else but for herself as well.
Author's Note: (IMPORTANT!)Sorry for the late update, but I didn't forget about this story. Actually, I'm close to finishing it, still debating whether or not to make a sequel, but whatever I'll you all decide that, 'okay. Summer break, that means I'm going on vacation. Vacation + Me = No computer and/or Internet access. Sorry, people. Anyways, thanks to all of you who actually review. Your opinions make me happy and I'm glad that you like this story. Anyways, enough with my rant. Please review and if you feel the need to flame me and/or my story, well then GET A NEW HOBBY!