Fallen
Chapter 37: I'm Back.
Sasuke's POV
After some urging, we finally got Sakura to walk out of the cave.
Naruto sent me a 'what should we do now?' look.
I understood how he felt: we didn't know how Itachi would react when we left, or if he would let us leave at all. If we lingered, then more Akatsuki were bound to come.
Naruto's POV
That's when I got an idea. Why hadn't I thought of it sooner?
I released my Rasengan and made six shadow clones. Together, they made three Rasengan.
Each of them were held an inch away from Itachi, making his clothes flap all over the place.
"Let's go," I said to Sasuke.
He nodded, but didn't release his Chidori until we were both safely out.
We began heading back.
Sasuke's POV
"I have to admit," Naruto said as we jumped from branch to branch. "I didn't expect Sakura-chan to say that."
He was smiling in a way that really pissed me off for some reason.
"Hn," was all I answered.
To tell the truth, I felt the same way. I'd expected her to leave without a word, but instead she'd said: "Hey you two! I have a lot of questions for you, so you better not die. Got it?"
Actually, it really reminded me of Tsunade. It just seemed like something she'd say to people who she might never see again.
"We'd better pick up the pace," I said, and I took my own advice.
Naruto followed suit. "Yeah," he agreed. "Sakura-chan must be worried."
Sakura's POV
It was quiet as the ANBU squads and I moved along together through the woods. Which I'd expected: somehow, casual conversation didn't really suit them. Especially in the middle of a mission.
And I was too busy thinking to bother with talking.
I hadn't worried about it before, back in the cave, because I had a lot more to deal with. But why did Sasuke-kun and Naruto know who I was? How long had they known? How had they found out? What did they know about me?
It was all so confusing. But there would be time f or that back in Konoha. Right now, the priority was to get back without any casualties.
About halfway back, Sasuke-kun and Naruto caught up with us (thank God!) in one piece.
By the time we'd reached Konoha, a whole day had passed (we'd decided not to take brakes in case my good old buddies caught up with us). I was completely exhausted, but didn't complain. It was better than sitting in a dark cell all day. Back then, they didn't even have the courtesy of giving me a damn harmonica!
We went up to Hokage tower immediately.
"You're back," Tsunade-sama observed. She was drinking sake (again) and her cheeks were flushed, but she was still steady.
"I'm back," I said.
Her eyes softened. "I'm sure you're all tired, but we have to talk."
I'd been expecting that.
"Saori Aero, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha," she looked at each of us in turn as she said our names. "Stay. You may leave. I'll call you back later," she said to the ANBU.
And they were gone.
"How did it go?" Tsunade-sama asked us.
Naruto and Sasuke-kun talked about their side of the rescue, giving every detail they seemed capable of remembering.
When they'd finished, she nodded.
"Alright. Thank you. You may go," she said.
We all made to leave, but she stopped me. "Saori," she said from behind her desk. "We still have to talk."
I nodded. The door closed behind Naruto and Sasuke-kun.
"Tell me your side of the story. Everything," she said.
I hesitated, wondering if I really should tell her everything. But suppose she had a right to know.
"I understand," I said. "But one thing, please?"
"Yes?"
I met her eyes for the first time since we'd arrived. "Don't think too badly of me."
Naruto's POV
"I wonder what they're talking about," I said.
"Dobe," Sasuke said.
I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Should we wait for her?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "She'll probably go strait home."
And with that, he left.
Sakura's POV
I hours past. And finally, I finished telling her everything that had happened.
She was silent. She rested her chin on her hands, which were clasped together, and appeared to be thinking.
I waited patiently.
"I see," she said after a while. "So that's what happened. It was strange..., how they'd died…but now it all makes sense. Thank you, Sakura, for telling me."
I choked a bit on the words before they came out. "Are…are you mad at me?"
She looked surprised. "No," she answered. She didn't look like she was lying.
It was my turn to be surprised now. "But…but I killed them! I killed them…even though they never even did anything to me, it's my fault they're dead!"
Tears burned in my eyes. It was my fault that I didn't have a family. I knew it, and now she did too. But why was she so calm?
"Yeah, you did," she agreed. "But it's not your fault. Not really. It's not like you could control your powers. At least it won't happen again, since it was their awakening, right?"
That's when it hit me for the first time.
It would happen again. Inner me had said that after I died, I would reincarnate. And so didn't that mean my powers would awaken again? And every time they did, anyone and everyone around me would die. By my hands.
I shook my head. "It will," I said. "It will happen again. When I reincarnate."
"I think you should go home and calm down, Sakura," she said with a touch of gentleness in her tough voice.
I nodded and left.
The next morning, I woke up and went straight to the normal meeting place after freshening up.
None of my chakra points were showing anymore, to my relief.
When I got there, both of the two people who I'd wanted to see the most were standing in front of me.
"Good morning!" I said, smiling.
"Hn," Sasuke-kun replied.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto returned my greeting. "Kakashi-sensei says that we don't have to do anything today, since we just got back from a tough mission and all."
My smile got wider. "Great! Let's go get some ramen for breakfast, then!" I hadn't eaten at my house because I'd wanted an excuse to be at a good place for conversation.
"Alright!" Naruto punched the air happily.
Sasuke-kun rolled his eyes, but came along anyways.
Over my ramen, I asked *cough-interrogated-cough* them about what they knew about me.
Sasuke-kun explained how he'd recognized me during the Chunin exams because of my necklace.
I knew someone would see it! I thought, angry at myself.
According to Naruto, though, I acted a lot like I had when I was a kid so I reminded them of myself as Saori anyways.
They didn't seem to know too much about my 'special abilities', so I let it go and asked them if they wanted to play.
"Play?" Sasuke-kun repeated, as if not sure he'd heard right.
"Yeah," I said. "Let's play."
I gave him a winning smile, and he rolled his eyes.
Naruto was all for it, and so we all headed to the park.
"Alright!" I said excitedly. "Hide and seek!"
We decided to bend the rules of hide and seek to include ninja skills. In a way, it was a fun version of normal training, except we weren't aiming at targets or sparring. By spending time with Naruto and Sasuke-kun, I managed to let go of all of the bad feelings that had accumulated in the past few days.
The time flew by, and before we knew it, night rolled over day, and our stomachs growled under a crescent moon.
"I'm going home," I said. "Bye guys!"
It's true that things were different without Inner me making sharp comments in my head and with my memories (although for some reason, I couldn't remember the day that I'd killed that other angel, which was strange, because I remembered the rest from my life as a winged dude. I wonder why…), but I wasn't lonely. I still had Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, and everyone else here with me.
I had friends and a future ahead of me. Where that future was headed, who knew? And being reincarnated and killing people wasn't exactly something to look forward to…but maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to avoid it next time.
My time in Konoha (excluding the killing, capturing, lies, horrible memories, and losing Inner me) was the best part of my life. And the best I could do at the moment was keep on living it.
A/N: That's the end of that chapter!^^ Aren't you glad she's back home? XD Watch out for chapter 38.^^ See ya~! Please review!