Behind
Premise: Sasori was a puppeteer, a manipulator, that's why he could see right through her the moment he met her, "Sakura, join me and the Akatsuki. We can promise you something your teammates never could…to never be left behind."
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 28: Good-bye
"Sasori," Sakura whispered as she held one of Sasori's hands tightly in both of hers. The moon was still shining brightly down on them as dawn quickly approached from the far east. But for now the darkness, the coolness, the stillness was all there was for the couple that stood in the middle of a giant field.
Sakura brought his hand up to her cheek and allowed for his cool fingers to brush against her warm skin. Sasori's fingers caressed her lightly as a spark of chakra was exchanged between the two.
The wind rustled the long blades of grass and whistled through leaves of the trees standing on the edges of the field. The breeze threw up a cascade of petals that had fallen long before and allowed them to dance once again in the night air before disappearing again in the tendrils of grass. The birds had long gone to sleep and would not wake for a little while longer while the insects had fallen silent due to the radiating presence of the warriors.
Green eyes shone up to brown eyes as the orbs of unbidden emotion clashed in the darkness. "Sakura…" Sasori mumbled as he pulled the girl in front of him closer. They did not lose eye contact as her palms let go of his hand in favor of resting on his chest. He didn't fully allow for the movement as he brought his other hand up to one of her and guided the fingers to his mouth. He delicately ran his lips over her knuckles as her lips quivered in the night air.
"I'm so sorry," Sakura mumbled as she finally drew her eyes away from his and rested her cheek on the smooth plane of his torso. He tightened his hold around her waist as he flickered his gaze towards the moon. Her hand softly dropped from his and grasped tightly onto his Akatsuki cloak.
Sasori took in a deep breath before turning his eyes back to the top of Sakura's head, "Some things, you can never see no matter how perceptive you believe yourself to be…"
"You probably never expected this to happen," Sakura laughed bitterly as she turned her face into his dark cloak and buried her nose into his scent. "You never expected that the little girl you had fought over a year ago would turn into the girl standing before you now."
"No. I had no doubt in my mind that you would turn into the girl you are now, I just did not expect for you to be in my arms at the end of it all," Sasori replied as he ran his fingers through her short pink locks of hair. Tilting his head down, he buried his nose into the pink strands and inhaled. He couldn't really smell her, but at the same time he could. It was the change that took place in his body every time he inhaled around her; it was the thumping of his non-existent heart. What he didn't know, his body did know. "But I also did not think that I would be able to feel again nor that I ever wanted to."
Sakura laughed, her voice muffled by the swirling red clouds before she pulled away from him once again and moved her hands to wrap around the back of his neck. Her fingers also fiddled with the ends of his hair as a comfortable silence engulfed the both of them. "I'm still so very sorry Sasori, because I know you know. If Itachi knew, then surely… surely you must too."
"Indeed," Sasori murmured.
Sakura smiled up at him, her eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Did you used to always say 'indeed' Sasori, before you met me?"
"I do not suppose I did. But it was something that happened after meeting you. You said that word the day you met me."
"Did I really?"
"Indeed."
Sakura's laugh filled the air as the wind, for just a moment, grew silent in the field, "And Itachi always told me that I sounded like you when I said that word."
"Well, no man can know all," Sasori stated as he gently guided her head back to rest on the plane of his chest. Sakura closed her eyes and fluttered her eyelids as comfort and belonging ensnared her. She wondered if she would ever be able to feel like this again.
"I'm sorry." Sasori frowned as Sakura pulled away once again just to speak to him.
"You must stop apologizing. Confrontation was imminent either way, if not because of you than because of some other quest," Sasori whispered, "And I much prefer it this way over chasing some impossible dream of the Akatsuki's."
Sakura smiled and nodded as tears began to prick at the corner of her eyes, "Sit with me Sasori, until Kisame or Deidara calls for us. After all you are positioned close by."
"Of course," Sasori said as he pulled the girl in his arms down to the ground and continued to encase her in his embrace as the tears in her eyes began to cascade swiftly down her face. "I am glad that everything had turned out as it has," Sasori murmured as he gently nuzzled her neck, "Although forever would have been even more pleasing."
Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the smirk that crossed his lips. The joyful sound mixed with her silent tears caused her to hiccup before the salty droplets disappeared from her face and Sasori smiled down at her once again, "You won't ever let that go will you?"
"I do not believe I will," Sasori murmured, "But for now it will suffice to simply have you here right beside me."
"That's what I'm supposed to say. You stole my line," Sakura pouted as she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at the puppet master.
Sasori merely chuckled at her reaction, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
"What are you going to do once this is all over?"
"I do not know."
"You never did care about escape… that's right."
"There is only one escape for me."
"Would you be displeased if I told you that I would rather you be trapped?"
Sasori paused, "Yes and no. Life will continue on, but meaning will disappear once again. I have felt and it has affected me. Nothing can return to how it was moments before."
"That barely answered my question."
Sasori smirked, "I never intended it to do so."
Sakura continued to pout as she leaned back into his touch and gazed at the endless sky above them. "You were the light that lit up the night of my life," Sakura whispered suddenly as she traced her finger towards the moon. "You reflected all of the sunshine in the world and shone it all down on me…"
"You are being dramatic."
"Shut up and let me continue," Sakura squealed as she playfully smacked him on the arm, Sasori smirked again before leaning back on one arm and continuing to hold her with the other. He turned his head up to the sky as well, watching as Sakura continued to trace the heavens, "And once I saw the light of the moon, I couldn't help but see the stars as well. Itachi, Deidara and Kisame made my darkest nights all the better, all the more breath taking. But you Sasori, were not only the moon but you were also the North Star, you were the beacon that guided me back to where I belonged."
"Simply adding on to your explanation because you have flawed logic I see," Sasori could help but murmur, "The moon would have sufficed, I am after all cold and unfeeling, not radiating any warmth of my own."
Sakura smacked him on the arm again before giggling and shifting so that she would be held deeper into his embrace, "And then when I was once again faced with the direct rays of the sun, it felt as though they were too much, too soon..."
"But once in a while you still miss the warmth," Sasori murmured quietly as the wind whistled and tousled her hair so that it brushed gently against his nose.
Sakura turned to face him hastily, "Sasori…"
"I see everything Sakura, you should know that by now."
Sakura bit her lip, "And as much as I want to leave that warmth behind…"
"You cannot…"
"I can't. I can't kill them. I can't kill the sun, not Naruto."
"That is because you radiate your own warmth. You too are a star that lights up lives and in the night sky there are many more than just four to accompany you in your loneliness. You do not need to worry so much about weakness Sakura, I know you."
Sakura relaxed in Sasori's light touches that danced across her skin as she hugged him tightly around the waist. "Sasori… I didn't think that you would ever play along with my metaphor."
"Ridiculous things sometimes pass from you to me. Sakura, although I do wish that I was the only light that you have ever needed, but that is asking for too much, is it not?"
"Sasori…"
"Ah?"
"I…"
"Oi bitch, come in! God damn it, what a stupid piece of fucking crap. Just because this is the last time we are using this things doesn't mean you should shit this much on the quality. Bitch answer me damn it!"
Sakura twitched as she pulled away from Sasori and tugged at her screeching and static filled radio, "What the hell do you want you fucking fish?" Sakura scowled as she threw her gaze back and forth between Sasori's eyes and the ground. Sasori merely chuckled at her reddened cheeks and her tone of utter frustration.
"First one of your little Konoha lackeys is here."
"Only one?" Sakura asked surprised.
"Yah, no one else seems to be with her or following her."
"What does she look like?" Sakura asked hastily as she dug her fingers into the ground. Sasori lifted her hands away from the dirt and brushed away the soil gently.
"Some blonde girl with long hair, lots of purple on her figure…"
Sakura froze, "That bloody Pig!"
"Uh… do you call everyone by some sort of animal?"
"No, no I mean she's Yamanaka Ino…"
"Want me to stop her then?" Kisame cackled from the other end of the line, his voice mixing in with the buzzing static, "We've been out here in the dark for hours and I want to shed some blood. I mean you and Sasori might be having your own little fun but…" More cackling sounded from the other side of the static.
Sakura scrunched her nose as she shook her head furiously. Sasori pointed at her radio with an amused expression as she laughed nervously with shaking hands and pressed on the button, "No, let her get through to me. Did you hear that as well Deidara?"
"Yeah, all clear as a foggy day," Deidara mumbled obviously not enjoying the overly loud static on his end.
"Thank you," Sakura mumbled as she began to stand up. Sasori followed her movements all the while not releasing his hold on her, "If she's here the others won't be that far behind. Watch yourself Kisame."
"Sure thing bitch. I'll see yah."
"Bye Kisame."
A pause, "Bye… Sakura."
Sakura scowled as she released the button on her radio and scrunched her nose again before she turned back towards Sasori. "What was I saying before the loud and stupid interruption?"
"I do not know, you were only just beginning," Sasori replied with a wide smirk gracing his lips.
Sakura's eyes narrowed, "You know don't you."
"Of course I do, but even so I wish for you to say the words of your own accord without my assumption hindering the meaning."
"You barely ever have to assume Sasori, especially when it comes to me," Sakura scowled.
"Ah, and how the mood has been broken." Sakura laughed as Sasori chuckled once again. He brought his other hand up to lift her chin and stare directly into her emerald green eyes, "But honestly, I am sure you remember what you were about to say."
Sakura nodded with a bounce of her hair. The wind whistled loudly in the field for the last time in the night, swaying all of the blades of grass and allowing the petals to dance once again. Orange suddenly flooded into the sky above them and mixed with tendrils of yellow and red. The colors casted a pink glow down on the couple as Sakura leaned up to the man in front of her and spoke confidently yet softly, "I love you Akasuna no Sasori, with all my beating heart."
Sasori allowed himself to truly smile down at the girl in front of him and flickered his eyes towards the tree line. Sakura shook her head at him while fluttering her eyelids as she brought her hands up to his face; he allowed his gaze and whole entire being to once again be encompassed by her. "I find saying that 'I love you too' to be much too mundane for a once unfeeling puppet. But I will say it anyways for lack of better words to express how I feel for you. I love you as well Haruno Sakura."
Tears once again gathered at the corner of Sakura's eyes as she said and heard the words for the first and last time in her life for and from the man she loved. She leaned up the last span of distance between them and Sasori gracefully connected their lips in a searing, passionate but simple kiss. Sakura held onto the man for dear life as he tightened his hold on her and only when she had run out of air did they part. "Y-you should go now Sasori…" The tears had once again broken the dam as she wiped them away with the sleeve of her shirt.
"Indeed…" Sasori murmured as he touched her pink locks gently, "Good-bye Sakura."
And as she watched the man she loved let go of her, brush his fingers out of her hair, turn away, all the while still looking back at her and quickly disappearing into the distance, she couldn't help but whisper the final words as well, "Good-bye Sasori…"
The wind howled as the puppet master disappeared from sight and into the trees across the field. Sakura didn't even move when she heard the rustling of leaves and parting grass. She didn't move when she heard a young woman gasp for air behind her. She didn't move as the last tears she would ever cry for love dried up on her face.
"S-Sakura…"
"Ino…" Sakura turned on her heel and met with blazing, tear ridden blue eyes, "It has been a long time."
"Y-you…" Ino muttered bitterly as tears cascaded down her face, "You FOOL!"
"Whatever ever do you mean Ino?"
"Leaving us because of something that!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed as her stance tensed at Ino's accusatory pointing finger that followed the path of the puppet master, "Because of what, Ino?"
"I thought you were above it all by now Sakura. I thought that we were both above it by now!" Ino shrieked as her fists clenched. Ino's face was screwed up in pain and longing as her eyes tightly shut with the clutching and squeezing feelings pressing down on her rapidly beating heart. Sakura continued to gaze at the girl in front of her silently as Ino continued her accusation, "Staying in the Akatsuki for a boy Sakura…"
Sakura's nostrils flared, "What?"
"Wasn't Sasuke-kun enough? Didn't we learn our lesson with him? He tore us apart and nearly destroyed Konoha in the process!"
"Ino, be silent!" Ino shivered as she closed her lips, she had seen Sakura mad before, she had seen Sakura furious, insane, at her worst and utterly pissed off, but never had she seen Sakura so absolutely livid. "You think that I joined the Akatsuki because of a boy?"
"What other reason would you have for joining the organization that killed Asuma-sensei?" Ino shrieked, "Why ever would you…"
"What about the fact that I didn't 'join', but that I was recruited?" She had also joined the team before the Akatsuki had killed Asuma-sensei; she had also joined the team that would not be considered part of the Akatsuki after this day was done.
"Impossible."
"Of course Ino," Sakura laughed, tilting her head back as she clutched at her forehead with her thumb and forefinger, "I should have known. You're just like the rest of them. You never really cared, you never really understood, you will never understand!" Sakura bellowed as she took a step towards the Yamanaka. Sakura had had the thoughts a million times before, that Deidara and Ino were alike. Sure, they had similar physical features, but no… they were nothing alike. Sakura recalled her good-bye with her real best friend and resisted the urge to cry again.
Ino, despite herself, took a step backwards only managing to elicit a darker laugh from Sakura. Ino was feeling the change in her childhood friend; she could feel the darkness permuting the air, resonating through her soul. She didn't know why the feeling was so familiar. "Sakura… you can't possibly… either way… the Akatsuki are evil!"
"Evil? The Akatsuki is evil? Then what is evil, Ino-chan?"
"They killed Asuma-sensei, they killed Lee…"
"I killed Lee."
"No you didn't!" Ino cried in denial, "You couldn't have killed Lee, they did something to you Sakura, they've totally made you lose it. But we can help you Sakura; we can help you! All you have to do is come back to us!"
"You didn't answer my question Ino? What is evil?"
Ino's lips quivered as Sakura's green eyes darkened a shade as she took another step forward. Ino once again backed up, realizing that she couldn't discern Sakura's movement at all despite the long grass surrounding them. The blonde racked her brains desperately knowing that there was a person… "A-Asahashi Yukari-sama…"
Sakura's eyebrow rose to her hairline as a smirk plastered itself across her face, "What about that man?"
"He was good man," Ino murmured. Sakura resisted the urge to scoff, "He supplied money to Konoha and funded the Fire Country's defenses. He even began funding the hospital and all of our operations…" Ino remembered now, the feeling that she was feeling now was that exact feeling that she had had all those months ago when she had been sent on that mission to retrieve his body. It was the bloody crime scene that had Shikamaru questioning her mental health, the scene that had preceded her outburst at Naruto.
"I remember Asahashi Yukari," Sakura grinned as she tilted her head and tapped her lip, "Oh I remember him very well. He used to be the man who roamed around the tower, talking to Shishou, flaunting his money in our faces and declaring how he was going to help us…"
"Well the Akatsuki killed him Sakura! I was the one who found his body after the massacre of his city. There was no one left within the city limits and all of the money had been taken! Buildings had been burnt down casting this unnatural smog into the air. Asahashi Yukari-sama was maimed and killed in his office with no one to help him. There was blood absolutely everywhere, it was brutal, it was unsightly and it was in no way human. The Akatsuki are evil people that killed this great man Sakura…"
"I killed him."
"What?" Ino's blood ran cold.
"I was the one who made Asahashi Yukari bleed," Sakura smiled as she locked her eyes with Ino's stark blue ones, "I was the one that kept him conscious and in pain as the blood drained from his body. It was my jutsu that ended his life."
"No…"
"So what now Ino? You're either going to now have to accept that I'm evil all by my lonesome, so twisted that I would do that to a man without any purpose, or that I am part of the Akatsuki and that they gave me a definitive reason to kill the man."
"You couldn't have. No I don't believe you!"
Sakura grinned darkly, "Do you want a demonstration Ino? I can give you a very personal one," Sakura murmured as she raised her hands and began to perform the seals.
"No!" Ino cried as she backed away several more steps upon seeing three of the seals, "No…" Ino shook as she pulled out a kunai from her pouch and held it out in front of her.
"Then you do believe me…" Sakura whispered as Ino choked on her sobs and hugged herself tightly with one arm, "I'm not the same Haruno Sakura that left Konoha one year ago."
"Sakura…"
"No. I'm a better Haruno Sakura now. I'm not the girl who was so worthless that she could have been thrown behind like a piece of trash, I'm not the weakling who could do nothing for her teammates in a time of need, no. I'm definitely a better Sakura now."
"I don't believe that!" Ino chucked the kunai at Sakura and Sakura deflected the weapon with a kunai of her own. Ino jumped back slightly as she pulled out several more kunai and hurled them at Sakura. This time it didn't even look like the pink haired girl had even moved as the kunai buried into the ground. Ino pulled out one more kunai as she saw Sakura smile.
"Believe what you want to believe Ino-pig. I don't care about you anymore. After all we have already established that you are one of them now… and I could care less about them."
Ino shook as her stomach contracted him pain. Tears continued to trace down her beautiful face as she looked into the cold green eyes of her best friend. "Sakura I… I truly believed that you were still in there. That killing Lee had been an accident…"
"It was."
"What?" Ino asked as she looked up in shock. That was the one answer that she had not been expecting, especially after all that they had just been through. She watched as emotions flittered through Sakura's eyes before the green orbs turned dark once again.
"I had no reason to kill Lee as I had reason to kill Asahashi Yukari or my old genin team and yet I did kill him… and not Sasuke, Naruto or Kakashi-sensei. It was an accident, bloody rivers would have come to be otherwise…"
Ino's mind blazed back to life as she stared at the girl in front of her. Ino's blue eyes cleared for just a moment as she realized that her old Sakura was still there. And then suddenly static filled the air. "Oi bitch! I'm about to have some fun, this useless thing is going bye, bye."
Sakura grinned and gently pressed the button on her neck, "How many people are there?"
"Less than ten after I get my fight."
"Have fun then Kisame."
"Oh I will."
"S-Sakura… I don't understand…"
"I don't expect you to Ino-Pig."
"Sakura…" Ino whispered and reeled back in shock when she saw that Sakura was no longer standing in front of her. Pink strands of hair tickled her face and green orbs were suddenly the only things she could see, "Thank you Ino… for everything…" Sakura whispered before she let the seals fly. Ino launched her arm out to try to deflect what she thought would be a physical blow. Sakura grabbed her wrist and wrenched it back. Ino screamed. The seals were completed so quickly that Ino realized she couldn't see any of them.
Ino's mouth opened as though she had wanted words to come out before her body loosened and collapsed in Sakura arms.
"Hey Sasori no danna, four of them are heading your way," Deidara stated fuzzily through the radio as a loud boom sounded in the distance. Sakura assumed that the man had then discarded his contraption as well. They had already all said their good-byes.
Sakura grunted at the sudden additional weight in her arms before throwing her oldest friend over her shoulder like a sac of potatoes. She walked to the other side of the large field, a place she knew that no one was going to touch during the battle and set the girl down, "I can't say sweet dreams Ino, because I'm not kind enough to send you into that world after everything that has been said and done, but at least you will still be alive at the end of the day," Sakura muttered as she stood back up.
A black blur raced past her and Sakura let out a long sigh as her hair settled back in place. Sakura reached up to her neck, "Itachi…"
"Thank you Sakura…"
"I hope… that your life was good Itachi."
"It… was only as I made it to be."
"Good-bye, Uchiha Itachi."
"Good-bye, Haruno Sakura."
Sakura blinked steadily as she walked back to where she had started and only looked up when she heard the cry that had changed her life one year ago and would change her life once again.
"Sakura-chan!"
Good-Bye
"Move faster!" Shikamaru shouted as the Konoha retrieval team veered off the main road and dove into the forest. The eleven bodies behind him followed his lead without hesitation as the undergrowth scratched at their faces and hindered their movements only ever so slightly. "How far is the river Kakashi?" The sun rose behind them and casted light and shadows into their path. Shikamaru hoped that he wasn't too late to save Ino like he had been for Asuma-sensei.
"At the rate that we're moving we should be there in less than ten minutes," Kakashi replied. Some of the group behind them was already beginning to slow down from the exertion that the team leader was putting on them but they went on without any complaints.
"Shikamaru, you're being reckless, we're going to be too tired for a battle if we continue on like this," Shino stated as he noticed the slightly labored breaths of his two teammates. Even the slightest disadvantage would cost them a life and Shino wasn't the type to lose one of his precious friends just because of the recklessness of others.
Shikamaru scoffed in distaste as they only slowed down ever so slightly, "We can't waste time. What if Ino never makes it to Sakura? What if Sakura kills her like she killed Lee."
The silence was choking. The speed of the team picked back up again.
Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi tensed at the statement, Naruto was the only one who could work up a defense after several seconds, "Sakura-chan will never be able to kill us; she's our Sakura-chan." A clamor ensued after Naruto's statement as the other shinobi started muttering.
"You're being self centered," Neji snarled, "It's only your three that she won't kill." Gai-sensei placed a hand on Neji's shoulder and nodded at him to calm down. Neji bit his lip and snarled, but said no more.
"She let us live when she had every chance to destroy us," Sasuke stated brusquely to once again silence the noise. Confirming it was better than denying it.
He knew that he wouldn't be facing her again this time, he knew because he could sense that Itachi was near and Itachi was more important to him at the moment than the pink haired girl who had loved him in their youth. After all, she still had Naruto and Kakashi fighting for her, she would be all right without him. He dearly hoped that was the case at least.
"I still can't believe that Sakura killed any one at all," Genma murmured as he bounded from tree to tree beside Kakashi. The copy nin merely nodded his head in response and Genma let out a sigh of pity. His brown eyes turned towards his friend and he shook his head, "It's not your fault Kakashi."
"But it is."
"You could have done nothing about it and don't you dare fight me on this. I've learned how to catfight like the best of them," Genma snickered trying to lighten up the mood that had fallen on his friend.
Kakashi gave him his signature eye crinkle before swinging on another branch to land on the ground. "Everyone stop!" Kakashi shouted as he held out his arm in order to stop the onslaught of shinobi that followed after him. Shikamaru stood beside him on one side and narrowed his eyes; Genma stood behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder in reassurance.
Kiba landed right beside the two jonins and lifted his nose up to the sky, "Do you smell that too Akamaru?" Kiba asked quietly as the large, white dog beside him growled in an affirmation. "I remember this smell, it was from the battle field where we encountered Sakura's scent."
"Then this really is Hoshigaki Kisame," Kakashi snarled as a wall of water suddenly grew over them and came crashing down.
"Move!" Shikamaru shouted as the eleven shinobi and one dog back pedaled back into the trees. "Damn it! They positioned him near the river. Hoshigaki Kisame has an affinity for water element jutsu!" Shikamaru shouted out coarsely as he scanned the group. Every single one of them had been able to avoid the attack with little damage.
"The copy nin once again," Kisame grinned as he appeared on the far outskirts of the damage that he had caused. The water resting on the soil began to flow back into the large lake and river that was sitting behind him. "I've been waiting for this particular rematch Hatake Kakashi."
Kakashi's eye narrowed as he was about to reply but Neji and Gai jumped in front of him and spoke before he could, "Well too bad, your opponents are going to be us Hoshigaki Kisame," Neji snarled, "I'm going to kill you for being a part of the death of Rock Lee and injuring Tenten, since I can't get my hands on the murderer herself."
"Hoshigaki Kisame, I, Maito Gai, will be the end of you!"
Kisame stared at them before grinning, "Ah, the little boy that the bitch killed. You two must be the ones I was fighting last time," Kisame grinned, "Are you sure you want to face me again?" He was pleased, he could fight them again, though he would have preferred the copy nin, but he already knew that Sakura's sensei would try to get as close to her as he could.
"For destroying and taking youthful young lives, you will pay the ultimate price," Gai stated as he shifted his stance, "Kakashi, this is the time for you to continue on and find your youthful, female teammate. Go!"
"Looks like we won't be getting our rematch Kisame," Kakashi stated as he waved at the rest to follow; he blinked when Genma shook his head.
"Go on ahead of me. I'll stay here and help Neji and Gai. Both of them are close ranged fighters and I'm long range, I'll be a better help here than I might be somewhere else," Genma replied as he bit on his senbon, grinding his teeth on the metal; he smiled ruefully at his friend, "Get Sakura back and remember what Shizune gave you. And if this doesn't end well…"
"It will end well."
"But if it…"
"I will go before you."
"You'll never die Hatake."
Kakashi nodded as Shikamaru took off with the rest of the group, "Thank you friend."
Genma burst out into a chuckle from the title he had been given before waving for the copy nin to go on. Turning back to the enemy he approached Neji and Gai, "So, Hoshigaki Kisame eh? I don't like the fact that you've corrupted my precious student." The senbon between his lips shot at the sword wielder and Kisame shifted slightly to the side.
Kisame grinned, "So you're the reason why she was relatively fast."
Genma grinned, "You're dead."
Kakashi easily caught up with the other eight as they dove through the trees and away from the river where rumbling and explosions could already be heard. "Oi, Shikamaru where are we going?" Naruto shouted, "You don't know where Sakura-chan is going to be!"
"Tch, troublesome," Shikamaru scowled, "Kiba, can you lock onto her scent?"
"No, Akamaru's and my nose can't smell anything but smoke and clay at the moment."
"S-smoke and c-clay?" Hinata murmured, "Isn't that the t-trademark of…" She was interrupted as a loud explosion came from her left. Hinata flipped in the air and landed on her two feet with both of her teammates by her side within moments.
"Yeah, you shouldn't be worrying about getting to Sakura-chan right now," Deidara teased as he called down from his large soaring bird, "You should be worrying more about me, yeah." The wind blew through his hair as he smelled freedom.
"Don't you dare call her Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled as his nails dug into his flesh. Deidara merely laughed as his bird circled the group.
"Damn it," Chouji growled, "Shikamaru, go on ahead to find Ino, I'll stay behind and knock that dumb grin of his face!"
"You can't be the only one to stay Chouji…"
"We'll stay with him, you four continue on to find Sakura and Ino," Shino stated as he lowered his glasses ever so slightly allowing them to flash in the still rising sun. Hinata and Kiba nodded beside the bug user as Chouji turned back to his teammate. "If anyone can do it, you four can."
Taking a hand to Shikamaru's shoulder Chouji gave him a nod, "Be careful Shikamaru and find Ino without hurting yourself, okay? We can't afford to lose the genius of the generation."
Shikamaru nodded as one tear ran from his eye, "Don't you get hurt either Chouji." Chouji nodded with a grin on his face as another explosion sounded behind him.
"Now get going!" and with a push Chouji turned back behind him and dived into the fray.
Shikamaru nodded as he jumped off with the remnants of Team 7. Kakashi gave him a reassuring nod as the one tear dropped from his chin. Chouji large size could now be seen above the tree line as he grew to pat down the explosive's user. Deidara cackled in delight as his creations appeared one by one, disappearing the next moment in the beauty of his art.
Naruto and Sasuke were in front of Shikamaru and Kakashi yelling at each other over the sound of the explosions about Sakura and Itachi's locations when two puppets tore through the undergrowth and pinned the two young shinobi to the ground. "Damn it," Kakashi growled as he pulled out a kunai and charged it with his lightening chakra. Throwing it into the distance he temporarily severed the chakra strings that connected to the puppets to allow the two boys to escape. "We have less people than we originally planned Shikamaru," Kakashi shouted as he jumped back before another puppet could aim its sword at him.
Shikamaru scrunched up his face as he peaked over at Naruto and Sasuke who were prepared for another attack. "Puppets equal…"
"Me." The four men turned towards the sound and spotted the puppet master standing high in the trees. His brown eyes gleamed in the sunlight as a smirk graced his lips. "I finally get to meet Sakura's old foolish teammates and you…" Sasori muttered as he turned his eyes to Shikamaru, "… are the man who saw Sakura at the festival. She had told me that you are the genius of the lot, that you would be the strategist of the onslaught… I can already see that you are nothing compared to Itachi or I."
Shikamaru gritted his teeth as Sasori passed his gaze over the Nara as though he was nothing.
"Where's Sakura-chan you bastard!" Naruto bellowed as he bounded into the tree and began to climb the trunk. Sasori flicked his fingers and sent Naruto down to the ground once again with a volley of senbon imbedded into his thick orange jacket.
"Take that off you dobe before the tips touch your skin!" Sasuke shouted as Naruto hastily threw off the old garment with a curse. Sasuke took his place beside his best friend as the two nodded at each other and casted their gazes towards their former sensei. Kakashi let out a sigh of relief as he patted one of the pockets on his vest, something not quite wasted.
"Shikamaru," Kakashi murmured quietly, "I know that you want to be the one who finds Ino, but you and I know that I won't be able to…"
"I know…" Shikamaru scowled, "I know damn it! Naruto go on ahead and find Ino and Sakura. You're the only one that can bring Ino back alive, so you better do it Naruto! I won't forgive you if you trade up Ino's life for your own selfishness!" Shikamaru shouted as his fist clenched. Kakashi nodded at him gratefully as Shikamaru's teeth grinded together again. He wanted to smell the billowing smoke of his old sensei again; he wasn't the peace and serenity that had only existed way back then.
Naruto looked up at Shikamaru with blazing blue eyes before nodding in reply, "I'll bring Ino back alive, it's a promise! Come on teme!"
"You don't need to tell me twice," Sasuke muttered as he bounded away with the kyuubi. Sasori watched them leave with calculating eyes before turning back to the two men in front of him. Two boys against Sakura and Itachi was nothing and the number hadn't mattered since the very beginning. It would all come to the same result for the two members anyways. But for once in his life, Sasori had no idea what to predict for his own future. It had clouded up a little over a year ago when he had first met the pink-haired kunoichi. Before it had been about being eternal, which in every way he was… but she would not be with him forever and just like how she could never let go of the blazing warmth of the sun after she had felt it, he could not let go of her.
Kakashi's eyes widened, "He didn't try to stop them…"
Shikamaru crinkled his nose in distaste and scoffed, "I know…"
"I am honored to be facing the two people that Sakura had such high praise for," Sasori stated as he flicked his fingers. Two puppets rose out of the shadows and lingered in front of the two brilliant shinobi, "Let's see if that praise was garnered."
Kakashi tensed as the shadows around him increased exponentially. He looked up to the puppet master, whose grin was now down right sinister. Sasori's cloak was slightly parted… enough for a hundred chakra strings to be seen flowing down into the trees. "Shikamaru…"
"We're getting out of this alive."
Kakashi grinned, "I don't have the ability to die."
"Teme I know that you want to find Itachi, but Sakura-chan…"
"Naruto…" Sasuke began, "If there is anyone who can bring Sakura back to us, it's you. I don't think there will be any problem with Ino. She might have killed Lee, but that had never been her intention or purpose. That antidote that she gave to Tenten says everything that we need to know. She truly only wants us."
"But teme…"
Both of them stopped abruptly and slid across the forest floor as Sasuke took both of Naruto's shoulders into his own hands, "Someone is going to have to face Itachi either way and you and I both know that it will be me. You and I also know that despite Sakura's old feelings for me, you're the only one with even the remotest of a chance in getting her back, so believe dobe, Shikamaru has, Kakashi has and so have all of the others."
"Thank you… teme," Naruto grinned as he nodded.
Sasuke backed away from his friend and activated his sharingan. Red bled into onyx as he scanned through the tree. "Sakura's just up ahead in the clearing, I can feel her flaring chakra signature. Ino is still with her but it doesn't seem at though she's conscious. Itachi is only a little more away after her."
"Y-yeah!"
Sasuke smirked and held out his fist. "Good luck dobe, get her back."
"Good luck teme," Naruto repeated as he bumped his own fist with that of his best friend's. Sasuke nodded one last time before running off into the nearby field. Naruto could glimpse Sasuke running past a figure in the distance and then he watched as the figure turned to approach him.
Naruto walked forward, out into the sunny field and swallowed hard trying to get rid of the lump in his throat. Tears sparkled in his eyes as he saw the bright pink strands of his last teammate glowing in the sun lit sky.
"Sakura-chan!"
Next Time on Behind
"Sakura-chan, I'm here to bring you back home."
"Wouldn't you rather I hate you?"
"Wh-, if… you become the Hokage Naruto… if again comes the time when you have to debate if you truly will do anything for your village, remember me… okay?"
"Impossible… the rasengan?"
Secret's Corner
This chapter has a lot less physical cut offs than there really are in the second part... but putting those between would have made it too choppy and it was more dramatic the way it was. So if you found it a little confusing, that was a tiny bit intended...
I will admit, that this was supposed to be the second last chapter... but I think I will be cutting the next one in half due to its massive and ridiculous length and content and then there will also be an epilogue. Originally I was going to put the epilogue up as a vote... but I think I have to do the epilogue now that the story has turned out as it has.
I hope you guys enjoy!
