Sara Pov
'What to do now?' I thought sadly as I stared at the sky while sitting on the roof of my house '6 years as a shinobi and I was useless during the fight with Kimimaro. My kekkei genkai is one of the things I rely the most on and now I don't even know how to use it.
I was even struggling to use my chakra, and my jutsu wasn't at its usual power'
'You should get going anyway' Emi told me.
It was three days later since that mission, during the day. Just a day ago did Sakura and Naruto leave on a mission, Choji and Neji were conscious and recovering okay. Even Shikamaru was back to his usual self.
I was wearing my casual outfit as I jumped down, from the roof and waited outside the house door, till Yoshio and Kohana came out ready.
We headed through the village and got flowers on our way to the graveyard. When there Kohana went towards her father's grave while I led Yoshio to our parent's.
"8 years today" He said sadly as we both placed the flowers on each of mom and dad's graves.
"It's so long ago but feels like just yesterday" I said guiltily crouching
"To me it doesn't feel so long ago" He said chuckling "I might have not even known, if it weren't for you" he ruffled my hair making me smile sadly.
'Mom, Dad!' I thought 'I brought him back, but I lost my friend to the same person. So one mission down and another one to replace it.'
The wind blew through the silent graveyard, each of us lost in thought.
'I need to get stronger' I thought 'But I am not even sure how I am gonna do it. But I am not gonna give up! Everyone is going to be working hard, I am not going to be an exception. Also I was promoted to jounin, so I need to work harder than everyone! Just watch over us.'
Time skip…
"That's right!" I said remembering "I haven't told you Yoshio! I was promoted to jounin!"
We were walking to Ichiraku to have dinner, when I told him.
"What?!" He looked at me shocked "When did that happen?"
"While you were on your mission" I told him "And don't look so surprised"
He griped me in a hug, while ruffling my hair.
"Oh! My little sister is all grown up and became a jounin" He said cheerfully chuckling.
"Stop it!" I shouted trying to get out of his grip while I could hear Kohana laughing at me.
He finally let go and I adjusted my hair again.
"This calls for a celebration" He said cheerfully.
"No parties!" I said crossing my hands in an x and causing Kohana to pout.
"Why?" She said pouting and giving me the puppy dog face.
"Not gonna work" I told her.
"Let's settle for one with the three of us and uncle Hideo, Ok?" Yoshio intervened between us.
"Fine" Both of us said.
"Okay you two go ahead to Ichiraku and I will go get Uncle" He told us as he ran off.
Time skip…
The celebration earlier that night was pretty nice, it got my head off of lots of things. I was resting on our house roof watching the stars.
'I need to get stronger' I thought thinking of earlier tonight with a smile 'To protect my family' My thoughts turned to my friends and all that happened since I joined team 7 'to protect my friends and get that idiot Uchiha back' I thought of what happened eight years ago and what happened in Heiwa 'and to protect my home'
I closed my eyes concentrating till I was inside that white room.
"Emi" I called to her as she stood in front of me "I need your help, Please, teach me to use my Naikai! Please!" I was bowing to her.
She was quiet for a while before answering.
"Fine" I looked up to see she was smiling "But know that I am not going to go easy on you"
"Hai!" I told her we were then taken by surprise by a chuckle.
We looked at the source to find Lady Susumu leaning on her stick and chuckling at us.
"Lady Susumu!" I said shocked "How…? Why are you here?"
"Lots of reasons, one to see little Emi" She answered.
"Little Emi?" I questioned quietly as I looked Emi who looked beyond furious.
"I am not little anymore" She told her causing her to chuckle as Emi looked away flustered.
"Another reason is to tell you something Sara" She told me seriously as I gave her my full attention "I want you to come to Heiwa and stay there for almost three years"
"Three years?!" I looked at her shocked "But I can't, I need to be in the village here in case…"
"Don't worry" She calmed me down "Nothing will happen in those three years that will harm your friends or village including your Uchiha friend"
I was still a bit confused and perplexed.
"Coming to the village will help your friends there" She explained to me "And will help you as well to achieve the goal you have your mind set to"
"Help my friends?" I thought as I remembered that they said they wanted to come to Konoha someday.
'Am I supposed to help them train?' I thought
"Well training in your kekkei genkai will be better there" Emi stated "Being closer to the stone I mean"
I thought hard about it, 'Is it really better to go?' I wondered 'There I won't have sensei or Yoshio to help train me, Can I do it on my own?'
"You're not going to be on your own" Lady Susumu told me "You have one week including travel days to come to Heiwa"
"Is that an order?" I asked her
"We both know what decision you'll end up taking" She said smiling.
The Next Day…
"Take it" I told Yoshio pushing my Katana at him while he pushed it back.
"It's yours, I am not taking it" He replied.
"You're better at using the katana than me" I told him pushing it back "And you lost yours back then"
"I will just get one at the store" He retorted.
"It won't be as good as something owned by our family" I replied "I don't use it that much any way it will get rusty if it stays with me"
"What's is this really about?" He asked me crossing his hands "You've been acting weird all morning"
I sighed.
"I am leaving the village" I explained "I am going to Heiwa to train there"
He was startled.
"Why Heiwa?" He asked me.
"You won't believe parts of it if I tell you" I told him
"Try me" He retorted.
'Emi I am telling him about you' I told her
'Fine' She replied.
I told him about Emi and I explained everything that happened last night.
"Well, I don't know what to say" He said chuckling "It's hard to believe. Any way mom always did what Lady Susumu told her to do, so I will trust in that. Still doesn't explain why you want to give up your katana?"
"I told you it's getting rusty with me" I explained "It's true I think it's better in a more capable hand"
"Fine" He gave in and took it from me "I will take good care of it. What are you going to tell Kohana?"
"Still thinking about that, it's a school day thankfully so I have time to prepare" I told him. "I still have lots of things to do so I better get going"
"Okay wait" He went to his room and came back a few minutes later holding one his two sided kunai, it was like the regular Kunai but instead it had two blades, one on each side with the handle in the middle. "I just received them yesterday and I already put the seal on them"
"Thanks" I said taking it "So you're going to work on that jutsu again?"
"Yeah" He told me "But to be on the safe side I will train with it for a bit first"
I smiled looking at the kunai.
Later…
"Hey Choji, Shika" I greeted as I entered the hospital room "Doing better Choji?"
He was still thin looking but not as before and was recovering at good rate.
"Never better" He told me cheerfully "I just need a quick visit to Yakiniku Q for some BBQ meat"
"We'll just have to get Asuma to pay for it" Shika said mischievously.
"I pity Asuma" I said chuckling. "Anyway I wanted to talk to the both of you"
"What about, Sara?" Choji wondered while Shika narrowed his eyes.
"It's nothing bad" I said laughing before continuing quietly "I just wanted to say a proper goodbye this time"
"What?" Shikamaru said shocked while Choji frowned.
"I am going to train in Heiwa" I explained to them "For three years"
"But why there?" Shikamaru asked me still looking shocked. "And what about Sasuke? Retrieving him might happen during the three years."
"I have information that Sasuke is going to be okay for those three years" I told him quietly "And training there is better it's a chance for me to learn things I can't learn here"
Shikamaru looked frustrated, while Choji smiled.
"I guess everyone is excited for training after that mission" Choji said smiling "When are you leaving?"
"The day after tomorrow" I told him quietly.
"I guess I can't be out of the hospital by then" He said sadly "Be careful and watch yourself and be sure to eat a lot"
"Well do" I told him "Shikamaru?"
He didn't answer.
"I should get going, Lots of things to take care of" I said with a nervous smile "Bye you two"
Once outside I dropped the smile.
'Of course not everyone would be okay with me leaving' I thought sadly 'But I am still going'
I walked away making my way to Neji's room.
Time skip…
That day I visited Neji and ran into Lee, Tenten and Guy in his hospital room, I also Saw Hinata, Shino and Kurenai at one of the training grounds, Kiba and Akamaru were there too but they were only watching since they were still recovering, Shino was pretty upset about the fact that he was the only guy that didn't go on Sasuke's rescue mission. I saw Ino at the flower shop working there and ran into Asuma while walking through the village.
When I told them my plan they accepted it well, although Hinata was a little upset but she said she understood why I wanted to do it, she even encouraged me to do my best and that she will try her best to become stronger too.
It was near noon when I finally found Kakashi and Hideo sensei at the memorial stone.
They noticed me as soon as I stepped into the training ground, it wasn't like I was trying to hide myself.
"I have been looking for the two of you the entire day" I told them frowning "You have been going on missions nonstop lately, you should consider a proper rest"
When I said nonstop I meant it, they just came back this morning from another mission that they left for two days earlier.
"Is that why you were looking for us?" Sensei said chuckling "Who's supposed to be the adult here?"
I could see Kakashi was smiling.
"You can be the adult when you start taking of yourselves properly" I lectured them grinning. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. I am leaving for Heiwa the day after tomorrow, I plan to stay there for about three years for training"
"That's pretty sudden" Kakashi said "Why there?"
I told them about Lady Susumu although I left the part about Emi out for now.
"I see" Sensei said "Then I expect to train really hard there, I will test your how your training went when you come back"
"So you're second one to decide on that" Kakashi said making me confused so he explained "Naruto is going to leave with master Jiraya to train for three years when they comeback from their mission"
"I hope they come back before I leave" I said "I won't be seeing them for a while"
"Good luck on your training" Kakashi told me "And be sure to take care of yourself"
I just grinned.
Time skip…
"But…" Kohana said sad after I told her my plan "Why? You can just train here like you always had, right? Why do you have to go?"
I was during dinner when I came home and told her. We were in the living room, I crouched to her level putting my hands on her shoulders.
"Kohana" I started gently "I need to train harder so I can protect you and everyone I care about"
"But…" She started "Why do you have to be the one to protect us? You're always leaving on missions and you end up in the hospital a lot, why do you have to?"
"That's the life of a shinobi" I told her "It's not an easy one, but someone have to do it"
"Although from what I heard, Sara does have a knack for going to the hospital more than most shinobis" Yoshio said chuckling.
"Not helping" I told him giving him an annoyed look.
"Just lightning the mood a bit" He said "Kohana, is that how you really feel about Sara being a shinobi?"
"I just don't hate to see her keep getting hurt" She said quietly.
"Then you should understand where she's coming from" He told her as she gave him a puzzled look "The reason she wants to get strong, because she would to see the people she cares about getting hurt, there's lots of reasons people work hard or fight, one of those reasons is to protect the bonds they have. You'll understand it better when you're older though"
I smiled at him before turning to Kohana.
"Look I am not the only that's going to be working hard" I told her "By the time I come back you would have become a genin, so you'll need to work hard to reach that, right?"
"Yeah" She told me still sad, she then hugged me hard "I still don't want you to go"
I hugged her back, before I had thought.
"You know what then, I am going to give you something precious so it will be just like I am here with you" I told her as I broke the hug and took off my choker, she gasped. "You know how important this is" I put it around her neck "Now it's yours"
She touched gently before hugging me crying.
"I am going to take care of it really good! I am gonna miss you so much!" She said while crying as I hugged her back "I am going hard, so I can make you proud!"
"I am okay with just you being happy" I told her ironically I was the one making her cry.
The next day was time to get everything official first I went to my clan's elders to inform them, before making my way to the hokage too and talking to her.
"But why Heiwa?" Lady Tsunade wondered as I told her.
I explained about Lady Susumu, she said she had heard of her before from mom, so convincing her wasn't hard.
"It's approved" She told me "When are you going to leave?"
"Tomorrow" I told her "Lady Tsunade, do you know when Sakura and Naruto are coming back from their mission?"
"They came back this morning" She informed me sighing "Naruto is in the hospital again!"
'Looks like I am not the only one with a knack to end up in the hospital' I thought holding back a chuckle.
"Thanks!" I told her bowing before leaving.
I made my way to the hospital and asked about Naruto's room at the front desk before making my way to it.
"I am coming in" I said as I knocked and went inside Naruto was sitting up in bed with his hands all wrapped up in bandages and Sakura was sitting on chair beside his bed. "Hey, how was your mission?"
"It went great" Naruto said grinning.
"So great I nearly lost your hands?" I asked him with crossed hands as he just laughed nervously, I looked at Sakura she looked lost in thought. "I guess I am lucky that you guys came back so fast though, I have something important to tell you."
"Something important?" Sakura said seeming to snap out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, I am going to Heiwa to train for three years there" I informed them
"You're leaving?" Sakura wondered sadly.
"Yeah tomorrow" I told her.
"That's just great" Naruto said grinning "I am leaving with pervy sage too to train for three years too"
"We'll just have to see how strong you get in those three years" I told him "I might fight for the hokage position" I teased him
"Yeah right" He told me "I am going to be the hokage"
I chucked a bit.
"You're going to be training too" Sakura told me as Naruto was saying something about how he's going to starve "Take care ok?"
"You too" I said as Sakura got up and headed for the door.
"Sakura?!" Naruto wondered.
"Sorry, Naruto" She apologized "you may have to wait for me a little bit. But next time, I promise I won't be dead weight"
She finished as she closed the door behind her.
"Looks like the mission really did go great" I said smiling at her determination. "Bye, Naruto"
Time skip…
Later that day, I went to the lake I liked to stay at. I had finished packing all I needed after visiting Naruto, I was ready to go tomorrow. But I won't have much of a goodbye committee, Yoshio ended up going on a mission this morning and so did sensei and Kakashi.
Everyone else is going to be having some sort of training, while some were having their own for of recovery like Choji going with Asuma and Ino to Yakiniku Q. I haven't seen Shikamaru since that day though.
'I can't believe I am leaving with things like that' I thought sadly as I sat beside the lake. 'What can I do?'
I narrowed my eyes in thought.
'You know what?! I am just going to go talk to him' I thought determined 'I don't want a repeat of eight years ago'
I summoned Miyuki so she can help me find him, we walked around for a bit till we found him coming out of the hokage building.
I walked up to him with crossed hands, he froze as soon as he saw me.
"Can I know exactly why you're mad at me?" I asked him "I don't really understand, I am not the only one leaving for training and this time I am not just disappearing, so can you explain it to me?"
"Can we talk somewhere private?" He said with a hand on his face as I realized I was shouting at him in front of people, I was probably red in the face like a red light.
"F-fine" I said stuttering.
Time skip…
"I am sorry" I apologized, I led him back to the lake "I shouldn't have shouted at you like that"
"I am to blame too" He said "I am sorry, I shouldn't have acted that way back at the hospital, I don't know what over took me back then, you're free to do what you want and as your friend I should have supported you"
"Then we just forget all about it" I said smiling "I am leaving tomorrow; I didn't want to leave with us fighting like that"
"So you're really doing it?" He asked hands in his pocket
"During the Sasuke mission, I realized that despite everything, I still have ways to go" I told him "I can't just sit back and watch, If I am going to become better going to Heiwa for now is my best option"
Shikamaru looked a bit conflicted like he was holding back something.
"Is something wrong?" I asked him, He stayed quiet for a bit before sighing.
"Just take care and don't push yourself too hard" He said smiling before noticing something "You still have it?"
I realized he was talking about the necklace he gave me for my birthday, since I gave the choker to Kohana, I have let this necklace show instead of hiding it under my cloth.
"Of course I do" I told him smiling "I am keeping it forever"
I thought I noticed him blushing but it could have been just my imagination.
Next Morning…
I had my back bag on and was wearing my shinobi outfit as I walked to the gates of my clan compound.
It was early in the morning, the sun barely up, I wanted to leave before causing more ruckus.
'It was one hell of a year' I thought thinking of the day I joined team seven and everything that happened till this point. 'Things changed in this year more than it did in the seven years before'
'Things tend to change more, when you decide to start taking action' Emi told me 'Sitting in self-pity wasn't doing you anything, so things were just passing you by'
'I guess' I thought smiling 'And it's going to change even more from now on'
I used the summoning jutsu to summon Sadao.
'That's to be expected' He told me 'It's a god change so far, hopefully it continues like that'
'Not all is going to be good' I thought to him as I smoothed his feather before getting on 'But we'll just have to stand up to the bad and take It on'
'It sure took you a long time to realize that' Emi thought to me.
'It sure did' I thought as Sadao took off, heading into Heiwa's direction.
THE END
