I know everyone's wondering what happened to Sakura after the fire. Well here we go. Just a warning ahead of time, I'm not really sure how the Kumo ninja actually act, so this is the basics. Killerbee is kinda hard for me to write with him rapping all the time, so i let him talk properly in my story, with a bit of rapping here and there. Enjoy and don't forget to review at the end.
Sakura Kiss
"Sakura!" Ino cried out as she ran to Neji and Sakura. She noticed that Sakura's skin was bright red and was covered with ashes. Naruto and Shikamaru followed after helping Killerbee.
"I'm good, yo." Killerbee said as he shrugged the boys off him. He soon looked at Sakura. "Tsk. She shouldn't have done that."
"How dare you say that?" Naruto growled as he punched him in the face. He quickly grabbed his shirt. "She pushed you out of the way of danger! What happened to the sempai I respected?" Naruto said in a volume only the two could hear.
"Shut up. You don't think I've known that." Killerbee said. "She shouldn't have done that. It makes me feel guilty for beating her up in the first place. She was like a little sister to me. She was a better gang member than you and I put together. You did know that she's the infamous leader of the Red Scarves, right?"
Naruto nodded as the ambulance finally arrived and prepared to help Sakura. One of them was scared to help Killerbee. He shook his head indicating he didn't need to go to the hospital. He quickly got up, dusted himself, and began to walk away. Karui, Fuu, and Yugito quickly followed after him. Omoi stayed back for a bit as he walked with the guy that had Sakura on the stretcher. Ino, Tenten, Temari, Hinata, and Gaara glared from the sidelines.
"You have no right to be here." Gaara snapped. Temari quickly got a grip of her brother.
"Gaara, don't. He's not worth it right now." Temari said with venom in her voice. Her eyes were sharp as she glared at Omoi. "The thing we need to worry about right now is Sakura." Her eyes grew soft as she stared at the ambulance that carried her best friend away.
"P-Please leave right now." Hinata asked politely while looking at her hands.
Omoi seemed to have gotten the message as he sighed and pulled out a lollipop. Placing it in his mouth, he began to walk away. "At least tell me how she's doing later."
"Why would we do such a thing?" Ino screeched. "Don't you eve-"Tenten quickly covered Ino's mouth with her hand as she shook her head.
"Alright." Tenten said, shocking everyone except Shikamaru, Naruto, and Neji.
"Thanks…" Omoi said with an indifferent look. With that, Omoi went to catch up with his gang. When he was out of hearing range, the gang chose to share their thoughts with Tenten.
"What the hell Tenten?" Gaara asked angrily.
"Why would you say that to the bastard?" Temari added.
"I-I hate him!" Hinata frowned.
Ino was muttering colorful words under her breath. Tenten sighed as she placed her left hand on her hip. "He showed me he was truly worried for her." Tenten said.
"Um, excuse me." Naruto began to say. "Why do you guys hate Omoi?"
Gaara remembering that Naruto was in the gang scene once chose to stand quietly as he looked at the girls to see if they were going to say something. They weren't.
"Omoi was Sakura's ex-boyfriend." Gaara said as he brushed his fingers through his red hair. "We trusted him with her and he hurt her. Since then we hated him."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this new information. Neji, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the walking silhouette when he heard that Omoi hurt his mother.
"How did she end up with someone like that guy?" Neji asked.
"Let's go to the hospital to check up on Sakura-chan." Naruto said, changing the subject. "Ino, find a way to contact Sasori. I'll contact the others at home."
"I'll inform Shizune and Kakashi." Shikamaru said.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Sai couldn't wait to get to Sakura's recovering room. The moment Naruto had called their house and informed them of their mother's condition, you could say he had a heart-attack. Just what the hell happened earlier? Sasuke and Shino were quickly following after him. The three quickly dodged nurses that were telling him to stop running in the halls. When they finally made it to the room, they frowned. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji looked from their seats as the remaining sons entered the room.
Sakura was resting on the bed. Sai took in the first degree burns on her arms. They were bright red against her creamy skin. There were bruises here and there and a large cut under her left eye.
"How did this happen?" A voice asked. The sons turned to see Kakashi entering the room with a worried Shizune.
"Poor Sakura…" Shizune frowned as she went up to Sakura and brushed away from of her bangs from her face. Sakura still made no movement.
"She hasn't awakened up since I saved her from the fire." Neji said as he looked back down at his hands.
"Well, she did go up against the leader of the Lollipops." Ino said entering the room with a bouquet of flowers. Hinata, Tenten, Temari, Gaara, Chouji, and Lee followed after with even more bouquets. Everyone was silent as they watched Ino go up to Sakura and gave her a truly worried look.
"What is Sakura's connection to him?" Sasuke asked.
"She was part of a gang…just like I was." Naruto spoke up. Everyone was silent as they waited for Naruto to continue. "Like you guys know, us brothers didn't have a good childhood. I fell into the darkness and joined the 9-tails and became famously known as the Kyuubi. Gaara was a member too and was known as Shukaku. Killer Bee was one of the oldest members there and was known as Hachibi. Fuu back there was known as Shichibi and Yugito was known as Nibi. There were four more members but we disbanded due to a power struggle. We were soon on our own. Killerbee created his own gang called the Lollipops and Gaara joined him. Yugito helped create The Ladies and Fuu joined right when it was established. I left the gang life for an important person." Naruto said looking at Hinata, who blushed. "Roushi, known as Yonbi, died of old age and Han, known as Gobi, had settled down with family."
"Utakata was Rokubi and hasn't been seen in a while. I don't know if he's still in the gang scene or not. Same with Yagura, who was called Sanbi, I haven't heard from him either." Gaara said with a frown. "Sakura is connected to this because she is the only person who has ever been recruited by the Ladies' second leader, Yugito. She became second-in-command in a few months. She was only 11 at that time. She was the one who saved me that night when I left the 9-Tails."
"What happened to the first leader?" Neji asked.
"No one was sure." Temari spoke up. "Rumor had it Sakura and the leader battled for her to become second-in-command and Sakura won. The original leader wasn't seen since. It was said Sakura killed her and that gave her the reputation as the Shinigami since she came back from the battle covered in blood. She was offered the position of first leader. She declined it and gave the position to Yugito and started the Red Scarves. Killerbee heard about her and became his favorite when he saw her take on a whole gang by herself. He treated her like his sister."
"A whole gang?" Shino asked. "That's impossible."
"That's why she was known as the Deadly Cherry Blossom/Shinigami. She can kill people easily." Tenten said as she watched Ino pat Sakura's head motherly.
"You seem to very close to Sakura." Kakashi commented as he watched Ino's gesture.
Ino gave a sad smile. "Of course. All of us are. If it wasn't for her, I'd have killed myself already." At this statement, everyone's eyes widened as Shikamaru looked at Ino in confusion.
"Heh." Ino began to say as she closed her eyes. "I first met Sakura when we were in elementary school. She used to get picked on by Ami and the others because her hair was pink and she had a large forehead back then."
"Is that why you call her forehead-girl?" Naruto asked. Ino cracked a mini smile.
"I hated Ami as it was and seeing her pick on Sakura was pissing me off. So I dumped ants in her pants as I told them to leave Sakura alone." Ino closed her eyes trying to remember.
Flashback
"Look at her. She's a freak. Who the hell has pink hair?" Ami sneered as she pushed Sakura to the ground.
"She's ugly." Another girl laughed. Soon the whole group laughed as Sakura brought her hands to her face and began to cry.
"She's beautiful!" Ino came in with something behind her back.
"It's Ino-chan." One of the girls said. Ino smirked as she went up to Ami and dumped what was in her hand into Ami's pants. Her purple eyes widened when she realized that Ino had dumped ants on her. Ami let out a screech as she ran to the teacher. Her friends followed after her. It was soon quiet as Ino could hear Sakura trying to stop crying.
"How long has this been going on?" Ino asked as she crouched down next to Sakura. Sakura said nothing. "Hey aren't you the girl they're always teasing because you have such a big forehead?"
"W-Who are you?" Sakura finally spoke.
"Who me? That's easy, I'm Ino Yamanaka. Who are you?" the blond girl asked.
"My name is…Sakura…" the girl muttered as she began to hiccup.
"Huh? Hello! I can't hear you. Let's try that again okay? Who are you?"
"My name is Sakura!" the girl shouted.
"That's better" Ino grinned as she poked the girl's forehead. "So this is the famous forehead, huh? Whoa, it is kind of big, so that's why you hide it with your bangs?"
Little Sakura began to cry as Ino moved her bangs away. "Well, that's dumb! That just makes it worse. It makes you look like a sheep dog. Sakura, huh?" Ino dug into her backpack to take out a red ribbon. She began to fix it into Sakura's hair. "There see? What an improvement! You look a lot better. You can keep the ribbon"
"Oh…um thanks" Sakura began to say. "But…"
"But what?" Ino asked.
"But my forehead!" Sakura blushed.
"I'm telling you!" Ino said pointing a finger up. "The more you try to hide it, the bigger of a deal you make it. Your face isn't even that bad. It's a cute face! You just got to be more confident."
"T-Thank you…" Sakura said softly. "Does this mean we're friends?"
Ino's eyes widened before she grinned. "We're the best of friends."
"We hung out for a month until Sakura had suddenly withdrawn from the school without a word. Rumor had it that her parents had died and she and her brother had to go away. I was sad about it but I had Shikamaru, Chouji, and Haru to cheer me up. But then…"
Ino's eyes widened when Shikamaru had ripped the marriage papers in front of her and their parents.
"I won't marry Ino. It's too troublesome." Shikamaru said as he walked away from the room.
"Hey! Shikamaru!" Yushino called out from her seat. "I'm sorry about my son's actions."
Ino held in her tears. Shikamaru didn't want her. He didn't want her. Was she not pretty enough?
"I began to worry about my looks even more to the point where I became anorexic. I wouldn't eat much and if I did, I'd only throw it all up at the end. I soon couldn't take it anymore. My parents were fighting a lot at home as well. I went to the top of a building as I was on the ledge of it. I was going to commit suicide. Sakura was the one who saved me that night."
Ino wiped her tears as she looked down from the ledge. The pretty lights of the street down below made her feel sick.
"Are you going to jump or what?" Ino looked to the left and saw another 12 year old girl looking at her from corner of the roof. She didn't even see her there. She took in the bright red scarf tied around her neck. She looked deadly. The girl was smoking. Ino's eyes widened when she saw how familiar the girl was. When she saw the red ribbon tied to her hair, she remembered.
"…Sakura Haruno." Ino said hesitantly.
"Do I know you?" Sakura asked as she took a hit of her cigarette.
"I'm the one who gave you that ribbon back in elementary school before you moved away. We were best friends." Ino said sadly. She went back to face the front. "Don't stop me. I'm going to jump. I can't take it anymore."
Sakura frowned as she got close to Ino. She quickly grabbed Ino's left hand and pushed her off the ledge. Ino screamed as she was carelessly hanging many feet in the air. She began to panic as Sakura didn't seem to want to pull her up.
"Please don't drop me. Don't drop me!" Ino cried. Sakura sighed as she easily lifted Ino back up on the roof. Ino fell to her knees as she began to cry. Sakura crouched in front of her.
"See. You didn't want to die. Life is beautiful and so are you. Don't give up like that, it just makes you ugly." Sakura smiled as she moved some of Ino's bangs away from her face. "You are beautiful."
"He doesn't want me…" Ino cried as she began to shiver from the cold.
"How can he love you if you don't love yourself?" Sakura asked as she got up and took off her jacket. Placing it on top of Ino's head, she turned her back on her. Ino took in the bandages that covered her chest down to her waist. She noticed it was soaked in blood. "There must be something wrong with that boy of yours if he doesn't like you. Your face isn't even that bad. It's a cute face! You just got to be more confident." Ino's eyes widened. Those were the words she said to Sakura when she was being bullied. Now, she was tough and dangerous. What happened to her? Ino looked up to see that Sakura was gone from the roof. The door to the staircase slowly closed. She had left.
End of flashback
"We met once again and became even closer through Hinata since I was a family friend of the Hyuga's." Ino looked at the sons to see they were surprised.
"I-Ino, I-"Shikamaru began to say.
"It's alright." Ino smiled. "It really is. I have you now."
"Man, Ino. Your story sounds more interesting than mine." Chouji said finishing his last bag of chips.
"How did you meet Sakura?" Shikamaru asked his best friend.
"I can relate to Sakura with the teasing. I still don't know why those girls would tease her. I thought Sakura was beautiful with her pink hair and her forehead was fine to me. It just meant she was smart. I was also another victim of Ami because I was fat."
Flashback
It was almost the end of Kindergarten. Shikamaru, Ino, and Haru were nowhere in sight. He had to do this alone. Taking a deep breath, Chouji marched up to Ami and her friends as he presented her with a flower.
"T-This is for you Ami. I like you!" Chouji confessed. Ami gave him one bitchy look before she took the flower and ripped in front of his face. He fell to his knees as his eyes got watery.
"Are you kidding? I don't date fat ugly boys like you." Ami laughed as she pushed him on his back with her foot. Her friends laughed as Chouji was about to cry. Before he knew it, a mud pie hit Ami straight in the face.
"Leave him alone. You have no taste buddy. Ami will make you sick if you stick around her too long." His pink heroine said.
"H-How dare you!" Ami screamed. "Iruka-sensei!" She cried. "Sakura threw mud at me!" Her eyes widened even more when she realized there were worms that had just gone down her shirt.
"Haruno!" Iruka said as he went to the kids.
"Oh no. Got to hide!" Sakura said as she was about to make a run for it but stopped and helped Chouji onto his feet.
"I'm Sakura. What's your name?" Sakura asked.
"Chouji…" He said nervously. Usually girls don't talk to him besides Ino.
"Chouji huh? That means butterfly child." Sakura grinned. "You'll become a wonderful person. Don't let Ami get you down." With that said, Sakura ran away as Iruka went after her. Chouji watched quietly as he blushed and smiled. Maybe not all people will judge him for his appearance.
End of flashback
"Ew, you had a crush on Ami?" Ino said shocked. Naruto acted like he was going to throw up. Sasuke and the others looked at him as if silently asking what was wrong with him.
"Hey, I was little." Chouji defended himself. "I didn't know better."
"What about you five?" Kakashi asked Gaara, Temari, Tenten, Hinata, and Lee.
"It's kind of embarrassing really." Temari blushed as Tenten awkwardly laughed along beside her. "My story actually involves Tenten a lot. You see, Tenten and I were Yankees in the past. We weren't loyal to any gang groups. We'd roll with the Yellow Scarves and Blue Squares up in Ikebukuro. (A/N: Durarara) Tired of the scene over there, Tenten and I went down here to Konoha. We were known as the Twin Dragons."
"I went to Leaf Middle School for my last year while Temari here went to Suna Academy as a second year. She was staying with her brothers at their dad's mansion here. He had died just the year before and left the house to them in his will. I stayed with my grandma who was getting old and needed someone to take care of her." Tenten said. "We met Sakura through the gang life, but we hated her." She finished, surprising her listeners.
"You guys hated Sakura?" Neji asked. He soon looked over to Tenten. "But you three are so close."
"Heh…that's why I said the story was kind of embarrassing. I was saved by a girl three years younger than me." Temari grinned with admiration. "Let me tell you how it went down between us three."
Flashback
"Run it Tenten!" Temari said as she and Tenten ran like the wind.
Tenten giggled as the two jumped over a fence, making their escape. Tenten did a flip as she shot her targets straight in the chest. The two had a run in with the Yakuza and stole some of their money. The two quickly stopped when they spotted a fight nearby.
"Do you see that Temari?" Tenten asked as she snuck to a bush nearby. Her comrade followed after her. The two were surprised to see a small girl with long pink hair. She seemed to be no younger than 11. She wore a red ribbon around her forehead as she wore a white jacket with the Japanese characters "Fighter" on the back. She wore a black mesh top with a black wide leather strap on the top that covered her chest parts and see-through fabric from the torso down. She wore dark green cargo pants and combat boots.
Around the girl were bodies, knocked out or dead, the girls didn't know. The girl had wacked her weapon to the side as blood flew to the ground. Tenten's eyes widened when the girl looked over at the bush. "Come out. I know you two are hiding there."
"Heh, you think you're so tough. Do you know who you're talking to?" Temari called out.
"I'm Sakura Haruno." The girl introduced herself. Tenten frowned. She didn't seem to notice that Temari was picking a fight with her or she knew and didn't care. Cocky bitch.
At that Temari stopped with shocked. The person in front of her was the infamous second-in-command of the Ladies. She was youngest second-in-command in history.
"I want to fight you!" Tenten said.
"I don't want to fight you." Sakura said as she picked up her weapon that was on the floor and began to walk away.
"Why the hell not?" Tenten screamed. The nerve of that bitch.
"It would be an unnecessary battle." Sakura said.
"Excuse me?"
"You'll lose." Sakura said before she turned the corner. Tenten growled as she chased after the pink haired annoyance.
"BITCH!" Tenten shouted. The girl had disappeared.
"Tenten and I never hated anyone this much. When we bumped into her in the streets, we did some pretty fucked up shit to her. Surprisingly, she still didn't put up a fight. She just gets up, smile, and walk away. It annoyed us to no end. We took out our anger at other people. One day, it got out of control and Tenten and I got jumped. I swear I thought we were going to die."
Temari hissed in pain as she landed on her elbow. 'This is it' Temari thought as she closed her eyes. Tenten was getting kicked in the stomach by two other members. Before the person in front of her could do the finishing blow, a soda can hit the person with dangerous power, throwing the person off his feet. Everyone stopped and looked to see Sakura standing there with one leg parallel to the ground. That indicated she was the one who kicked it.
"Oops…" Sakura said in a monotone voice.
"I-It's you." Tenten weakly said. Sakura began to walk towards the people that attacked Tenten. She soon sprinted and punched the two hard in the gut. They fell over to the ground as Sakura quickly helped Tenten up. Temari weakly got up and went to where Tenten was.
"Leave this to me please." Sakura said as she turned her back to them and faced the whole gang. Tenten and Temari estimated that there were at least twenty of them. How the hell was this girl going to take them all on if the two of them couldn't handle.
Before they knew it, Sakura moved through the crowd easily. One by one, they fell to the ground. Blood had gotten on her as she began to crack up evilly. She showed no mercy. The aftermath was a massacre. The girl wasn't bluffing when she said that they would lose if they fought her and these guys were three times her size. Once Sakura had finished her last opponent, she fell to the ground trying to catch her breath.
"Cherry!" A voice said. A boy with dark skin and short, spiky white hair came running to the girl. Another guy came. He had pale blond hair and wore sun glasses. He was super buff. He was clapping his hands.
"So this is the strength of The Ladies' second-in-command. I'm impressed. She flies like a butterfly yet stings like a bee like me."
End of flashback
"That how we met Killerbee and Sakura's ex-boyfriend. She was taken to the hospital after that. We were surprised that the people in the hospital knew her. She must have gone there a lot for her wounds. Since then we've stayed with Sakura through thick and thin. She risked her life for two girls who went to make her life miserable. She earned our respect and we joined her group as soon as she was out of the hospital. She soon left The Ladies and created the Red Scarves." Temari smiled. "She's really tough. Don't let her appearance fool you. She became our Banchou."
When Temari noticed the expressions on the boys', Kakashi's, and Shizune's face, she frowned. "What? Don't tell me you guys didn't know Sakura was an ex-gang leader."
"That would explain the cigarettes…" Shikamaru muttered.
"What about you Gaara?" Naruto asked. "How did you become so close to Sakura-chan?"
Gaara had turned as pink as Sakura's hair as Temari snickered.
"Sakura yelled at him after his fight with you and Sasuke." Tenten confessed. "He fell in love right after!" This caught the attention of Sai and Sasuke.
"Tenten…" Gaara growled.
"And he let her?" Sasuke asked. He remembered how Gaara was before. He had only cared about himself and loved only himself.
"He was too shock to respond." Temari grinned. "No one ever had the guts to go up against Gaara."
"If you give them a flashback, I'll push you off the window." Gaara threatened. Temari knew her brother wasn't serious. She rolled her eyes.
"Fine."
"My turn! My turn!" Lee said excited as he shined his teeth. Everyone quickly covered their eyes. "Sakura-san was like an angel sent from heaven. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been where I am in life." Tenten smiled as she knew the story. "This is how I met your mother!"
Flashback
"Lee, I'm sorry, but you don't have what it takes to join any of the sports." The coach from his middle school said. "You should just give up."
Depressed, Lee went to a nearby park to train.
"Don't have what it takes? If I can't do 400 push-ups, I'll hit the dummy 800 times! If I can't hit the dummy 800 times, I'll do 2000 jump ropes! If I can't then I should give up."
"If you can't do 1,000 push-ups, you still shouldn't give up." A voice said that startled him. Lee looked up at the slides to see a girl with pink hair looking down at him. By looking at her outfit, you could tell she was part of a gang. So what was she doing talking to someone like him?
"Who are you?" Lee asked.
"Sakura. Sorry, I couldn't help but watch you train. I saw what happened back at the middle school. Your coach is a douche bag."
"You were watching me?"
"Ah. Why do you try so hard?" Sakura asked him as she slid down.
"I-I want to be able to catch up to my class. Unlike everybody else, I don't have enough stamina. I wish to be able to join the Olympics. But my coach said to drop out." Lee said as tears were coming to his eyes.
Sakura frowned. "Then prove him wrong. You have potential. I can see that. You know, I know someone who is actually looking for a student to take on for the Olympics. Meet me here tomorrow at this time. Don't make me wait." With that, the girl walked away.
"I wasn't sure what to expect, but I came anyways. There was a man with her this time."
"ALRIGHT! You must be Lee. The name is Gai Maito. Sakura here has told me about you. I like your spunk kid. We will embrace your internal youthness and allow it to expand!" Gai cheered as tears rolled down his cheeks.
"G-Gai-sensei!" Lee cried.
"Lee!" Gai cheered.
Sakura rolled her eyes as an image of a sunset and waves were behind the two. "Geez…" Sakura couldn't help but smile. "Good luck Lee. I'll continue to check up on your progress and Gai, if you turn Lee into another you, I'll kill you."
"That's the spirit Sakura!" Gai smiled as he shined his teeth. Sakura snorted before she walked away in the sunset. Her short pink hair blew in the wind.
Lee blushed as he watched her walk away. "Sakura-san is so cool."
"As the years went by, I got stronger by hard-work. Gai had become my inspiration. I got the same hair cut as him and everything. That, however, caused Sakura to give Gai a good beating. Gai-sensei had taught at a middle school close by. That's how I also met Tenten and Neji. They were also training with Gai."
"Why do you train so hard?" Tenten asked Lee as the two were sitting down under a tree. Lee knew that Tenten was part of a street gang and how she rolled with Sakura. Neji was sparing with Gai at the moment.
"I want to show I can be a splendid athlete as well even if I don't have much strength and stamina like others ... I want to prove it to the whole world!" Lee smiled.
Tenten smiled back. "Even if you're not a genius like Neji?"
"A genius, huh? What does that mean? 'Genius'? So I was not born with a whole lot of natural talent, not gifted like Neji ... but I work hard and I never give up! That is my gift; that is my ninja way!" Lee grinned.
Tenten laughed as she took the moment to hold his hand in hers. "You're not even a ninja Lee. But I believe in you!" She gave his had a squeeze.
"So do I." Neji said softly. It seemed as if Gai and Neji had stopped training.
"You have the gift of perseverance, and that's what makes you a genius too! Don't let anything stir you up the path you have drawn for yourself! Forge ahead in the end! Stick to it Lee! Make me proud! Be everything you can be. Run ... run towards the setting sun! But don't mess up your hair!" Gai cried.
"The four of us had become close. These three had also believed in me like Sakura-san. Everything was going alright. I even made it to the Olympics. It was obvious that I could win the whole thing, and no one liked it. They felt inferior and did a horrible thing to me and it cost me my future as well as my hard work."
Lee was walking down the street as he was heading back to the Olympic Games. Before he knew it, a large screech was heard behind him. He turned to look and saw a large car heading towards him with no intentions to stop. He was hit. When he woke up, he was at the hospital. It was Tsunade who was treating him.
"How are you feeling Lee?" Tsunade asked.
"N-Not so good." Lee said weakly. His eyes soon widened. "THE OLYMPIC GAMES! I have to go!"
"Lee, I'm sorry, but it's been over for a week. You were badly injured. It was a hit and run. It seems like someone was trying to sabotage you and it worked. Your right arm and leg had been crushed. You may not be able to walk again." Tsunade said as she patted his head. "I'm really sorry Lee. There is an operation I can do for you, but it's pretty risky. The rate of survival is really low." Tsunade bowed as she left the room. A couple minutes later, running could be heard in the hallways.
"Lee!" A voice called out. Lee was surprised to see Tenten and Sakura in the room. The girls were out of breath.
"Tenten! Sakura-san!" Lee said with tears forming in his eyes. "Lee…" Tenten began to say as she went up to him and held his hand. She was crying. "I heard what happened from Gai-sensei. Neji is comforting him back at school. I'm sorr-"
"No, I'm sorry." Lee said. "I-I wasted everyone's efforts. It wasn't meant to be. I was a failure. I should have just given up in the beginning. What was my purpose in life? I shouldn't live anymo-"
"SHUT UP!" Tenten and Lee both tensed up at the dark voice of Sakura. She was leaning against the door frame as she glared at Lee. She went up to him and grabbed him by the collar. Lee winced with the pain of his arm.
"Banchou! You're hurting him." Tenten began to say but stopped when she noticed the tears forming in Sakura's eyes. Lee felt them hit his skin. He looked up to see Sakura crying.
"Don't you ever say that again Lee! You didn't waste anyone's efforts yet! If you give up, then you will. You're not a failure! What's your purpose in life? YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE IS TO BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE AND TO BE MY FRIEND!" Sakura shouted. "Goddamn it! You have people that care about you. Don't degrade yourself. When I saw you at school, I thought you would just go home and cry like a little bitch. You didn't. Instead, you continued to train. You showed me the potential you have. You inspired me to become someone greater. Your old coach said you can't do anything. But you made it to the Olympics Lee. You made it through hard work and determination. You know what? Here is what I believe. There are two different kinds of people. Those who are born with a natural talent and do not have to work at it. And those like you! The ones that have to train every day of our lives! And preferable, I'd like people like you."
"But aren't all the efforts pointless? With this surgery, I might not even survive." Lee frowned.
"You're right; all the effort is pointless... if you don't believe in yourself." The three turned to see Gai standing there with tears in his eyes. "You worked hard Lee, there's no doubt in my mind the surgery will be a success. You have the power to shape your own destiny. And on the one-in-one thousand, no, one in a million chance something happens to go wrong, I will die right along with you. Since the day I met you, my nindo has been to train you to become the most splendid athlete possible. That's a promise. Besides, the lotus of Konoha blooms twice!"
"That's right Lee. Like I told you before, I believe in you!" Tenten cried.
Sakura smirked as she wiped away her tears and poked Lee in the forehead. "So do I. So don't disappoint me Lee. Give it all you got!"
End of Flashback
"I owe Sakura-san my life." Lee smiled. "I took the operation and it was a success. Though I couldn't perform like I could in the past, I was okay with it. Sakura and Gai-sensei helped me open the Youthful café. Sakura was still homeless and was living in the park close by. When I heard of her predicament, my new goal was to help Sakura-san any way I could. The others joined my café to help her as well."
Soon everyone looked over at Hinata. She was the last one to tell her story. She blushed due to all the attention.
"I-I met Sakura back when I was 6." Hinata began to say. "I was admitted to the hospital because I was born very weak. The doctors thought I was going to die because I had a weak heart. One night, someone sneaked into my room. It seemed like she was trying to escape. She used my room to go out the window."
Flashback
Hinata opened her eyes as she felt a light breeze enter her room. She looked at the window on her right to see a girl just about her age if not older. She had long pink hair that reached down to her waist and beautiful emerald green eyes that stared back at her in surprise. Hinata gasped as she saw that the girl was about to jump off her window.
"H-Hey don't!" Hinata called out as the girl jumped. Hinata quickly got up from her bed and ran to her window. She was surprised to see the girl had landed safely on the ground and was making a run for it.
"Since that night, I was wondering what had happened to that girl. I was finally healthy enough to live out of the hospital. My mom had died five years latter due to smoking. My dad and the elders were arguing. I locked myself in my room crying. It was then we happened to have met again."
Hinata tried to stop her tears, but they just kept on coming. Why did her mom have to die? Soon she heard the sound of someone coming from her window. Terrified, she covered herself with her thick blanket and stayed quietly in her bed. The window opened as a familiar girl with pink hair entered her room. Hinata's eyes widened. It was the girl from the hospital five years ago. She took in the cuts and bruises the girl had on her body.
"W-Who are you?" Hinata asked as she popped out of her blanket. The girl couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"You look like a turtle!" She said. "The name is Sakura Haruno. Let me hide in your room for a bit. I ran into a few enemies and manage to escape without hurting them too much."
"I-I'm Hinata Hyuga." Hinata said softly.
"Holy shit. The Hyuga Heiress? My dad knew your dad." Sakura said. "I was the Haruno Heiress." Sakura winced as she held to her side. Blood flowed through her fingers.
Hinata gasped as she immediately ran to the bathroom with Sakura in tow. "W-W-We need to t-t-treat your wounds."
Sakura's eyes widened before a genuine smile appeared on her face. "Thanks Hina-chan."
"Since that night, Sakura would always come over and hang out. She was the one who brought me out of my shell. I cried to her all my family problems and she never once got annoyed of me. In return, she'd tell me everything she went through. I found out her parents died and her brother had abandoned her. She found comfort in her gang. She was creating a new gang called the Red Scarves. I didn't judge her for being in a gang and she told me she appreciated it. Since Ino was a family friend of mine, I invited her as well to hang out. I was surprised to know that the two had already met a few times before. We three became close. I even invited Sakura to one of our family parties. She found out that Neji and I played the violin and she came to watch me perform. My dad knew about her but didn't know she was part of a gang."
Sakura blushed as Ino and Hinata was leading her around the party.
"I'm not used to wearing outfits like this." Sakura muttered. Hinata smiled gently. Sakura was borrowing her dark purple dress with matching flats. Sakura was a bit shorting than her and Ino, so they had to bobby pin some of the fabric together.
Sakura watched as Hinata went on stage with her violin. There was a boy with her with long brown hair. She thought he was pretty cute. He, too, had a violin. Ino had informed Sakura that that was Hinata's cousin Neji. The two began to play beautifully as Sakura smiled. It reminded her of Sasori and her when they were little. He would always play the guitar and Sakura would sing along. When they were done, Sakura went up to Hinata and patted her back.
"You were awesome Hina-chan!" Sakura grinned.
End of Flashback
"As time flew by, Sakura introduced Ino and me to Tenten, Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, and Lee. We introduced Chouji to them as well. We didn't judge them, and like Sakura, they too had appreciated us and protected us. We protected them as well. They thought of us as their two little Princesses because we're the heiress of our family. And then…" Hinata looked over to Ino who looked down at her feet like they were the most interesting thing in the world. The Hyuga Heiress soon looked over to Tenten hoping she'd tell the story.
"Sakura…Sakura, she…" Tenten tried to talk but lost her voice.
"What happened to her?" Naruto pressed on.
"Omoi and Sakura were dating during the time she met Ino again." Gaara said with venom in his voice. "When she became close to Ino and Hinata, the rest of the gang realized that their leader was becoming soft. That was looked down upon in the gang life. We expected Omoi to help Sakura when things were getting rough. Instead, he slept with Karui and helped Samui gain control of the Red Scarves. Sakura asked to leave the gang life. Everyone was furious."
"Was she-"Naruto began to infer. Gaara nodded. "She was beaten up by Karui. For some reason, Karui was so pissed off about Sakura leaving. She let her emotions get in the way and hit Sakura with no hesitation. Sakura didn't even fight it. Tenten, Temari, and I wanted to leave as well and had to get the punishment."
"But that idiot offered to take in our punishments as well." Temari cried as she clenched her fists. "She took in all three of our beatings for us to leave. Each beating took half an hour. So in total Sakura took a beating for two hours. We were held back and couldn't help."
"I never felt so pathetic in my life." Tenten said with tears in her eyes. "Sakura had done so much for us and yet we just watched her get beaten up. She just kept coming back up and asked Karui to continue. Yugito and Fuu screamed at Sakura to take back what she said. They wanted Sakura to say she was joking. Yet, Sakura just smiled and said that she wanted to be in the light."
"That little bastard of an ex-boyfriend didn't even help." Gaara frowned. "He just watched in the sidelines. I've known Omoi for a few years. He's a very cautious person and likes to think things through before acting. He is more level-headed than Karui. He didn't help in fear that he too would get beating up. Karui finally had enough and let Sakura go. Everyone left her in the ground as Omoi said he had called in an ambulance already and they were on the way."
"She was covered with so much blood." Temari said as she looked at her hands. She could still remember the feeling of Sakura's blood on her hands. She was shaking. "I will never forget that night. It showed how much Sakura would go through for a comrade. She is the definition of a true leader, a true Banchou. She was hospitalized for three months. Once she was out of the hospital, we thought everything ended. But it-"Temari was interrupted with her story when Sasori had rushed into the room with a worried Deidara and Konan.
"Sakura!" Sasori said as he was by her side in an instant.
"What happened?" Konan asked.
"She saved me and Hinata." Ino cried. "We were held hostage by the Lollipops, Red Scarves, and the Ladies."
"Those are dangerous gangs!" Deidara said shocked. "How the hell did you get mixed up with them?" Everyone was silent as they looked at Sakura.
Konan tried to put everything together. "She was part of one of the gangs, wasn't she?"
Sasori's eyes widened as he looked back at his sister. His sister was part of a gang?
The sound of Sakura awakening focused everyone's attention on her.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
I slowly opened my eyes as I tried to get used to the white light. I was surprised to see so many familiar faces surrounding me. I tried to remember what happened. I was fighting Killerbee and I pushed him out of the way of danger. I was hit with one of the woods of the ceiling. Neji carried me out of the house. I must have been in the hospital.
"S-Sakura." Hinata cried as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "Thank goodness." I weakly patted the top of her head.
"Hina-chan…" I said I allowed Hinata to cry on the crook of my neck.
"Forehead!" Ino said as she went to my other side. "Don't you ever do anything stupid like that again!"
I just smiled as I suddenly felt awkward when I saw my brother and his friends in the room along with everyone else. I could see Kankuro, Kiba, Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo come in as well.
"Isn't it past visiting hours?" I asked trying to break the awkwardness.
"Tsunade allowed us in." Shizune said.
I nodded as I took a look at myself. I was bandaged up. I looked like a mummy. My body ached as I tried to get up. Sasori quickly went to assist me as I thanked him.
"Is Killerbee okay?" I questioned as I looked over at Naruto.
"He's fine. You know how he is." Naruto said with a small smile.
"What the hell happened?" Karin asked with a frown. "I get a phone call from Suigetsu that you were in the hospital. You don't know how worried I got!"
"So you do care about me!" I said as I wrapped my arms around her as she got close. Karin turned pink as she tried to push me away.
"What's wrong with you!" Karin said embarrassed.
"Ahem." A deep voice said. Everyone looked to see Hiashi coming into the room with Hanabi by his side. "May I have a word with Sakura…alone." My friends began to leave the room. "Neji and Hinata, you two stay." The cousins stopped as they silently sat on the chairs. Hinata sat on the chair across from my bed as Neji chose to sit on the bed with me. Hanabi closed the door and said she'd guard it from outside. With the click of the door, the awkwardness came back.
Hiashi turned to me. He surprised the people in the room as he was suddenly on his knees and bowed to me. "I am forever in your debt, Haruno-san."
"Sakura is just fine Hyuga-san." I said embarrassed. I looked over at Hinata as she gave me a look telling me she didn't know why her dad was acting like this.
"Then call me Hiashi as well. Not many people would have done what you had for my family. I was quick to judge and that was my fault. Anything you wish for, I'll make it happen." Hiashi said. I realized it took all his pride to bow to a girl like me.
"Then tell Neji what really happened that night he caught you and your brother in that room." I said. I felt Neji tense next to me. Hinata looked confused. I held on to Neji's hand as Hiashi lifted his head up.
"I loved my brother. He found out that he had a disease that would destroy him inside out. As the disease would progress, the outcomes were not good. He didn't want his son to see him this way. So while he still looked fine, he was planning to kill himself. We are twins and were very close. I sensed something was wrong and went to check it out. He had already pierced himself with the family sword. I pulled the sword out and tried to stop the bleeding. I was calling people to get help. He told me to protect Neji since he wouldn't be there for him. He wanted to apologize for being a coward. Hizashi wrote a note for you, Neji, tell you everything." Hinata's father pulled out a note and handed it to Neji who took it cautiously.
Everyone was silent as Neji read the note. I watched as tears slowly dropped on the paper. He was crying. I felt tears form in my eyes as well as I wrapped my arms around him for a motherly embrace.
"I-I'm sorry." Neji said. Hiashi got up as he hugged his nephew.
"I'm sorry as well." Hiashi said. Hinata wiped the happy tears from her eyes as she went and joined the hug. "Will you please come back home where you belong?"
My eyes widened as I tensed up. Neji, leaving the Namikaze household? I didn't want that.
Neji slowly released the hug as he smiled at his uncle. "I'd love to come back to the household." I frowned as I let go of Neji. But he quickly put a hand on my head as he ruffled my hair. "But as you can see, I am where I belong. By my mother's side. She needs me." My eyes got watery as my nose began to sting.
"N-Neji…" I began to cry. He was alarmed.
"Why the hell are you crying woman?" Neji asked.
"This is the first time you acknowledged me as your mother with such happiness." I said trying to wipe my tears away.
"Why are women so emotional? Shikamaru is right, you are troublesome." Neji said. I let out a laugh
"Shut up!" I said. I soon looked at Hiashi. "Sorry, but Neji won't be going home with you." I was a bit scared of what he would do as a response. Surprisingly, he just smiled.
"If that what it takes to make you and my nephew happy, so be it." Hiashi said. "Just promise to come and visit."
"Speaking of which, what about your home?" I asked worried. I felt bad that it was caught on fire.
"They're fixing it as we speak. They said it would be done in a few hours. We have the money anyways." Hiashi said as if it was nothing.
I slumped. I forgot. These were rich people I was dealing with. Damn rich bastards!
After a bit more talking, Hiashi left with Hinata and Neji. I sighed.
"Mother goal 7 has been completed!" Shizune said as she appeared by my side. I jumped.
"How the hell do you do that!" I asked her. She just smiled.
"Are you ready for your next mother goal?" She asked.
I sighed. "Give it to me."
Shizune held out a scroll as she opened it. "Mother goal number 8: Get each son's hand print and frame it in the living room once you finish."
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "That sounds fairly easy."
"You have to do it without them knowing though. They cannot know this is a goal or else it will become invalid and we have to add two more goals for you." Shizune grinned.
"You and Kakashi are the evil duo, I swear…" I rolled my eyes.
"Well, get better. Everyone was worried about you." Shizune said as she hugged me gently. She walked out of the room as the door closed behind her. Just when I thought I was going to get some peace and quiet, Naruto decided to come barging in with my sons.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked.
"They had to leave. Sasori said he'd come back tomorrow to visit you with his friends. Ino will come back tomorrow as well." Shino answered.
"You were so cool!" Naruto said with stars in his eyes. "The way you were acting so tough against Killerbee! It was like 'Come at me, Bitch.' And then he charged at you like whoosh, and then the way you took out your sword and was like cling, cling, and then and then, you were like 'you guys leave everything to me.' And then…" Naruto tried to catch his breath as everyone looked at him like wtf. "Yeah…you were just really cool." He finished with a blush. I giggled at his actions.
"Thank you for coming back for me." I smiled at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji, causing them to blush.
"So you were a gang-leader huh?" Sasuke inquired. It was my turn to blush.
"How much do you know?" I responded.
"How you met everyone." Sai said with a fake smile. "I would have never expected."
"It's tough to leave your gang. I've been through that. But to take on Tenten's, Temari's, and Gaara's punishments as well, that's crazy!" Naruto exclaimed. Something told me they didn't know what happened after that. Especially since Neji wasn't all over me if he did.
"Sorry to break up this family moment." Kakashi said coming in. "I'd just like to remind you of your final for this semester that's coming up this weekend. Once that's done, you have your winter break with the school field trip to the snow resort. So you guys better study, especially you Naruto. The room you will be testing in will be posted tomorrow. So drop by at school tomorrow." Kakashi soon left the room with a wave as the door closed behind him. At that moment my sons and I looked at each other.
Everyone's eyes widened. FINALS? Do you guys understand what that meant?
F- FUCK
I- I
N- NEVER
A-ACTUALLY
L-LEARNED
S-SHIT
FML…
Haha poor Namikaze family. Finals are coming up in a few days. How are they going to prepare for that? The person that should really be worried is Naruto. We'll see how everything goes. More of Sakura's past has been revealed. The story between Sakura, Ino, and her father will come out soon. Please review everyone.
-Kumiko
