important notes to read before beginning: This chapter will primarily focus on Sasuke Uchiha, I know I know, it's a pro NaruSaku story,
so what's Sasuke doing here and why does he get an chapter that is 90% dedicated to him?
Quick answer: He's always some douche bag in the NaruSaku fandom, but here I give him an entire different personality and you'll see why,
hell you might even like this version of Sasuke, KEEP AN OPEN MIND WOULD YA
Chapter 2: Reborn
- Konoha Maximum Security Hold -
- 4 months ago -
Sakura walked through a cell door in an underground prison facility,
the facility was especially designed for Sasuke Uchiha,
Hōzuki Castle was the original choice to hold the outlaw,
but a meeting between Feudal Lords,
Leaders of Shinobi Nations and their advisors decided that a new specially designed facility built deep underground would be best to contain someone of his nature,
Kakashi was assigned as the warden of this one man prison due to his sharingan eyes that would be able to see through any high level of genjutsu Sasuke might have tried to use to escape, (many precautions such as this were taken),
Ninjitsu sealing traps were placed all over the facility in case Kakashi failed to contain an attempted breakout,
Naruto would be plan b,
to which he profusely protested,
claiming Sasuke wasn't a threat anymore,
if not for Naruto's objection and vouch for Sasuke Uchiha,
they would have executed him the day Team 7 brought him back to the village.
Sasuke sat in a cell, his eyes were covered by a blindfold, his fingers were 'split' by a ninjitsu prevention mechanism so to speak,
his ring and pinky were pulled down,
a small metal bar was tested between his index and middle,
preventing any type of chakra build up,
his feet were chained together, and a special prison jacket was wrapped around him with a seal,
there was also a seal on his body,
the many seals were created by the famous Hōzuki Castle warden: Mujō, all the seals were created by his Hidden Fire Release Jutsu.
Sakura saw Kakashi standing in front of the cell staring at Sasuke,
seeing his former student sitting quietly without moving a muscle,
Sasuke came to the team with a sorrow that no one could relate too,
if it weren't for his bond with Naruto, Sasuke would have drowned in misery,
in the end, this was the best route,
the alternative would've been death.
Sasuke wasn't an evil person,
he was just afraid, the fear of being weak, but his greater fear, was being attached to anyone, caring about someone,
gripped his heart, controlled his decisions his decisions for the longest,
it caused him to be distant with those he cared about, and through hell and high water,
Kakashi was under the impression he would stay at a distance for a while longer, but not out of fear, out of regret for his actions.
"Kakashi Sensei" Sakura said, Kakashi turned, his eyes went from a lowered expression to a more pleasant one,
"Ah, we've been expecting you" the copy cat ninja said,
Sakura held two onigiri in her hand, a gift for Sasuke of course, Kakashi simply stared a it,
"Sakura?" Sasuke asked quietly,
"Hi...Sasuke, I thought I'd drop by and"-
He immediately cut her off,
"And what, ask how I'm doing?" He asked,
Sakura's hopeful expression dropped to a more sad one.
There was a pause between the the of them, Kakashi looked at Sakura, and then to Sasuke,
"I'm not looking for any forgiveness or sympathy" he said in a cold voice,
Sakura stared at him, her legs began to shake up a bit, she looked at the stone floor,
"Sasuke, I just"-
"I'll tell you the same thing I told Kakashi, I have no reason to love or be loved...by you, or anyone for that matter...I'm not Naruto" he said,
Kakashi stared at Sasuke with a light glare,
"Sasuke, don't you think that's goings bit too far?" He asked,
Sakura's nose sniffled, the hands that held the onigiri close to her chest dropped to her sides,
"No, Kakashi Sensei...he's right" she said, her sensei looked over to her, and what he saw was something unexpected,
Sakura's expression was one of anger, alike a fire that started in a forest, her eyes fixated on Sasuke with an incredible intensity,
the entire room boiled from her rage, Kakashi stared at her red eyes, his own eyes had widened somewhat,
"...He could never be anything like Naruto" she said, Sakura turned around and began walking out,
Kakashi watched her leave, the anger that filled the room slowly faded away with her,
the steel door slammed shut so hard that a few large iron nails popped out along with some debris,
Sakura stood outside of the prison cell entrance, she took a deep breath,
What is it that makes you like this...Sasuke...why can't you just...
Kakashi stared at Sasuke,
"Why did you do that? As far as I know, She's cares about you more than anyone else in the village" he said,
A smirk went across his old student's face,
"I can't be the person Sakura wants...when my sentence is over, I'm going to atone for my sins, the journey I'm going to take has no room for anyone other than myself, besides, the person she wants me to be is right here, in the village, and he's always been there for her" Sasuke said,
Kakashi sighed.
Your delivery definitely needs work...but it's nice to see that you do in fact care, and your hearts in the right place...Naruto and Sakura huh? Never gave it much thought...the more I think about it, Naruto is sure taking on this Hokage thing seriously, reminds me of you... Sensei...and Sakura, with that temper, it... does reminds me of Kushina in ways...who knew...
Kakashi smiled under his mask, he then sat down on a wooden bench,
took out Make Out Tactics, and began reading, Sasuke wouldn't admit it,
but he enjoyed his sensei's company a lot more than he would ever admit,
after only a month or so of isolation, he felt stir crazy, he had lost count of the days, the hours, and even the minutes,
Naruto and Sakura visited him as often as they could,
which was honestly a rarity, the two weren't allowed to see Sasuke together,
but this was actually seen as a positive viewpoint for Sasuke,
he and Naruto would converse about the new industrial / technological improvements that were being made on a global scale,
it was probably Sasuke's favorite part of the day,
even if Naruto couldn't explain it in full detail,
when Sakura came to visit, it was a very motherly approach,
she asked if they were treating him good, she'd also bring him rice balls and various small snacks,
overall, he appreciated Sakura,
but as he learned how Naruto still felt,
the memories of what he had done to Sakura came to him,
he quickly decided that he was undeserving of her love, and that he would try and help Naruto get the chance he has longed for since they were genin,
hence the harsh words she had been receiving from him as of late,
but it was not without cost, she rarely came to see him after that day,
he'd beat himself up over it from time to time,
but he owes Naruto a great deal of gratitude and debt for sticking up for him from beginning and unto the end,
whenever that might be.
Sasuke leaned back against the cold walls of his cell, it has rained recently, and cracks in the ceiling permitted droplets of water to seep through,
the droplets echoed throughout the cell,
it brought him comfort from the silent life that he had almost adjusted too,
he had forgotten the sounds of wind, rain, thunder,
the warmth of the sun,
the light of the moon, and the many voices of the Village Hidden in The Leaves,
but there was one thing he hadn't forgotten...
Kakashi heard a stomach causing in uproar coming from the cell, he lowered his book,
"Sounds about right...I could use a bite to eat too, I'll order some" he said.
- 1 week to Release Day -
Sasuke heard the sounds of multiple footsteps approaching his cell, it was Kakashi, several Anbu members including Sai, and Mujō,
Mujō was the new warden at Hōzuki Castle, he wore brown boots, purple suit like attire with a trench coat over it,
his hair was grey, but it was not from a sign of old age, he had very clean facial hair, he had light bags under his eyes,
likely from staring over data on a computer screen constantly.
"Sasuke Uchiha, having almost served your time in full..it's been decided that.." Kakashi began to say,
Sasuke stayed silent, His former sensei continued,
"...Due to the lack of recreational freedom and time being allowed outside this very cell, we are going to assist you in a daily rehabilitation until your release, Sai here has carefully selected an elite team of Anbu to..watch over you...isn't that right Sai?" Kakashi asked,
Sai nodded,
"This squad is composed of Hyuga, Yamanaka, and Nara clan members, all three of these clans would certainly stop - if not make things incredibly difficult for you should the need arise" he said with an innocent smile,
"Mujō of Hōzuki Castle is also here, he designed seals around the facility" kakashi said,
Mujō glared at Sasuke with an animosity,
"The seals were made with ink that is mixed with your DNA, so they'll affect you when activated, they also detect chakra build up" he explained,
Should've been executed...the prison warden thought,
"We'll start by letting you walk around an area that was designed just for you, until we get there, you need to do everything we say without question, understood?" Kakashi asked,
"I understand" Sasuke said,
"We're opening the cell, don't move" Kakashi said,
Sasuke heard the cell door open and the sounds of foot steps moving to the end of the cell,
Sai stood in front of the cell entrance,
Kakashi stood at the end against the wall with Mujō, who was ready to activate the seal without hesitation,
"Stand up" Sai ordered, Sasuke did as he was told,
"Turn right until I say stop"
...
"Stop" Said said,
Sasuke now faced the exit of the cell,
"Take five steps forward and then stop"
The tensions were as high as it would ever be,
the Anbu observed his every movement carefully and not without paranoia,
He was viewed as criminal scum, an outlaw, someone who should be executed.
Kakashi and Mujō stood closely behind Sasuke, Kakashi held a relaxed posture,
His confidence in Sasuke's turnaround wasn't without merit,
Sasuke felt excitement surge through his bones, he hadn't been outside since he was placed in that cell,
they would bring buckets that would serve as a toilet, he was spoon fed meals by Kakashi,
he reminded himself to focus and stay cautious, these Anbu were elite killers, and if he made a wrong move, that was it.
"Now, I'm going to remove the blindfold from one eye, if I see red, I will not hesitate to kill you" Sai said,
Sai moved the blindfold somewhat, though the prison level was considered dark to many,
Sasuke's eye squinted from the brightness of the cell, his eye slowly opened,
the first person he laid eyes on since he was in that god forsaken place was Sai, it was strange,
Sasuke had almost forgotten how a person's face could have such a unique structure,
"'che"
One of the Anbu readied his sword, Sasuke's eye quickly shifted to the right,
"Relax" Kakashi said, the Black Op Ninja looked at his Lord Hokage for a moment,
Was this a sensei who loved his student, or the copy cat ninja making a keen observation,
The opinion of this Anbu didn't matter, Lord Hokage gave him an order, and he was bound to his duty,
the Anbu relaxed his weapon, Sasuke's eye shifted forward, it widened a bit as it adjusted to the low lighting,
"Keep eye contact until we reach the first door" Sai said, an Anbu ninja walked to Sai's backside and put his hand on the artist's shoulder.
"Only take steps after I do, understood?" Sai asked,
"I do" Sasuke said.
Rogue ninjas are very dangerous, they often trade secrets to gain power, and are usually executed when they are caught,
Life sentences are given to those who defect,
only in the upmost circumstances do rogue ninjas get released from prison,
however when they do, they are on parole and monitored by the Anbu for years.
The group walked up a flight of stairs, the steps seemed to echo for quite a while,
A faded light could be seen from the top,
Sasuke attempted to look down as it caused his eye some pain,
"Keep eyes on me" Sai said,
Sasuke looked up at Sai, he was beginning to not only get tired of his escort's face,
But rather irritated at being told what to do.
"Stop walking" Sai said, they came to a door that went to the outside,
there was a boxed window that was too bright for Sasuke to see through,
Sai turned his head slightly,
"open the door" he ordered,
the Anbu opened the door slowly, a bright light from the sun chiseled away at the darkness as the door slowly opened,
a different kind of sound filled his ears, it was quite loud,
Birds could be heard chirping, fresh air quickly rushed in to embrace him,
it wasn't a cold embrace, it was somewhat warm and encouraging,
Sasuke's eye felt a burning sensation, he could not see anything beyond the light's power,
Sai noticed the pain in his eye,
"Step forward" he said,
Sasuke stepped forward, he couldn't help but tilt his head a bit downward,
he felt the texture of the ground change from a cold hard stone floor change drastically,
the ground now felt soft, his feet weren't fought against, the ground now embraced his steps,
"Stop" Sai said.
Kakashi walked around to Sasuke, he saw that his eye was closed and his head was tilted towards the ground,
Sasuke...they really should've put a sunroof in there..
"Welcome to your first day" Kakashi said,
Sasuke's eye slowly opened, the bright light slowly faded to a more tolerable tone,
He stared in silent at the grass, the individual blades were swayed by the wind, he slowly raised his head.
Sasuke saw many beautiful green trees and lush bushes, he raised his eye to see Kakashi, smiling,
he looked up to the sky, his widened eye lowered a bit,
A glass dome covered the entire forest like area,
"You get six hours a day, and over there..." Kakashi began to say as he pointed in a direction,
Sasuke turned his attention to a wooden bench resting under the shade of a tree,
The smooth polished wood was made of oak,
a vase set in the middle held a bright red anemone coronaria,
the flower held a symbolic meaning: 'protection against evil and ill wishes'
"...Is when either Naruto or Sakura come and visit you" Kakashi said.
Sai gave an order for the Anbu to disperse and man posts around the dome, Sasuke turned to his former sensei,
"you're free to walk around, but be careful, these Anbu have been selected because they're efficient at observation and...taking out their assigned target, and I get the feeling they might be looking forward to you causing trouble" Kakashi said,
Sai chuckled,
"of course they are Lord Hokage, Sasuke here has killed many shinobi, it would certainly boost the notoriety of any one who 'puts an end to the most famous criminal' Sasuke Uchiha" Sai said with a smile, Kakashi and Sasuke both stared at him,
He still doesn't really have a grasp on how to make jokes yet,
Kakashi turned to Sasuke and scratched his cheek,
"aha...so...anyways, six hours a day, if I were you, I'd save them for visitation day, but...as you get closer to release day, you'll be given more hours, when you're ready to head back in, let me or Sai know" Kakashi said,
Sasuke nodded,
"I understand"
For the next months until release, Sasuke would be granted recreational time and visitations within the dome,
he enjoyed the wind brushing up against the tree leaves, the birds that chirped,
the sun bursting through the clouds to warm his body, taking away the cold from the cell deep in the earth.
- Present day Konoha Village -
The moon nestled itself up high surrounded by clouds, it's light shinned on the village, giving a dark bluish hue, for the most part, the village was peaceful, the only sound that could be heard was the wind that traveled through much of the streets.
The moonlight pierced through an open window, the curtains moved gracefully as the wind caressed them constantly, a young adult laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling, kept up by the silence around her room, and the thoughts trapped inside her head.
- Haruno Residence -
Sakura's lowered eyes gazed at the ceiling, she had yawned several times,
but could not find an inch of sleep to grab onto,
it must have been a few hours already,
she tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable position to try and relax.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, her body faced upwards towards the ceiling once more,
Sakura rubbed her eyes with the top side of her wrist,
"Ughh..." she muttered.
These past few days had been emotionally harrowing for her, she had eagerly awaited Sasuke's release,
the minute he stepped out into the village,
he quickly made the decision to leave and go on some journey of atonement without hesitation,
it saddened her greatly that she was rejected once again, but her forehead being tapped...
that meant quite a lot to her, but the more she thought about it, the more it clouded the meaning became.
Was it a sign of returned love, or just a friendly way of rejecting her advances?
Sakura's thoughts on the matter became more muddy as the sun had set,
then there was Naruto.
Sakura smirked as she looked at the ceiling,
it didn't seem like a day went by where he wasn't trying to ask her out on a date,
or to go with him to the yearly festive activities in Konoha,
she always rejected him at every attempt, much like how she felt with Sasuke,
but there was a period where Naruto had left,
she was all alone, training under Lady Tsunade, she missed Sasuke of course, but...
when Naruto came to mind, she missed everything about him,
even the small moments in which he would tick her off, and finally with a bit of surprise even to herself,
his genuine smile whenever he'd see her,
in fact,
that was the most she missed about him, and ever since the day he returned from the village,
he was different while somehow being the same.
Sakura's expression then dropped however, the memory of Tenchi Bridge flooded her mind,
Naruto had become possessed by the Nine Tails Fox,
all she could do was sit on that bridge and hear the sounds of explosions in the distance,
as Naruto was impaled against their side of the bridge,
a overwhelming feeling of fear gripped her,
this monster had taken Naruto away,
as Orochimaru had taken Sasuke, she felt her chest tighten,
The moment Kabuto mentioned Naruto's conviction for bringing back Sasuke to her,
she acted and spoke without thinking,
Sakura's tears were like waterfall as she ran to him, shouting,
"Naruto, it's okay! I'll save Sasuke for you!"
Sakura sat up in her bed, she began to bury herself in the memory of that day,
again giving another 'fake' confession,
telling Naruto something she thought he wanted to hear,
another half truth so to speak.
But in truth, strange sensations had sparked within her in those moments in which she'd shed tears for Naruto,
it wasn't just some family related bond, there was something else that she ignored or shoved aside,
she remembered one conversation in particular with Captain Yamato,
"the only things i can ever do for Naruto, are the little things anyone can do" she softly,
the tone of her voice was as broken as her heart,
Captain Yamato then said something strange that,
"...I can tell, just by watching you Sakura, just how much you - "
Sakura looked out the window, she brought her knees close to her chest,
that day stuck with her since the day it happened,
Even Captain Yamato could see that I was starting to like?..Naruto?...
The front of her brows raised upwards, the ends of her mouth shook a bit,
Ughh it's only been a day! How can something like this move so fast!
Sakura suddenly through her arms and legs out in a tantrum like fashion,
she then raised her arms and made a corner-less box gesture with her hands,
an image of an older Sasuke appeared in her mind, and next to him, was her, suddenly, the image changed to Naruto,
she shook her head quickly and her arms dropped,
they extended themselves towards the opposite ends of the bed, gripping the mattress, she groaned,
her face had a blank expression for a moment, she took slow breaths.
Sakura raised her hands again, and made another corner-less box gesture with her hands,
as she looked through the box,
Sasuke was not first one she saw...
it was Naruto...and her, with big goofy smiles stretched across their face,
Sakura smiled, her cheeks turned a rose color as the next image popped up,
this time her arms slowly came down,
Calm down Sakura...Naruto still hasn't talked to Hinata, and...I don't want to hurt her.
Sakura's eyes eventually became to heavy for her, they covered her beautiful jade green eyes and thus drifted into sleep.
- 2 weeks later -
Lady Tsunade sure kept Sakura busy,
the training for her job meant she had to supervise up and coming medical ninja that focus on organ transfers should regular medical ninjutsu fail to heal any of the presumed problems, it was also required of her to give a list of medical ninja that would be approved for testing to Kakashi,
this meant going from the hospital to Hokage's office every so often should an examiner not meet the requirements that Lady Tsunade drafted,
and boy were there a lot of failures.
Deep down however, there was a sense of gratitude from Lady Tsunade failing so many applicants,
she got to interact with Naruto...that is, if he was ever present during her application drop offs,
Naruto was on his way to becoming Hokage, this meant being Kakashi's shadow,
but mostly running errands around the village that Kakashi otherwise couldn't do due to important meetings,
given Konoha's rapid expansion, the amount of meetings Kakashi had been summoned too felt nearly infinite,
anyone could tell he was 'over it' at this point.
Sakura entered the Hokage's office, she noticed the pile of papers that grew over time,
the pile had gotten nearly twice her height,
"Afternoon Sensei" Sakura said with a pleasant voice as she knocked on the open door,
Kakashi looked up at her,
her green eyes quickly scanned the room as she slowly approached the desk,
she didn't see that Kakashi noticed,
"Greetings, Sakura, lemme guess, more applicants that Tsunade is going to reject" he said,
"Looks like it" she said,
he sighed.
"Naruto is off running more errands huh?" Sakura asked,
Kakashi nodded,
"Sakura... have you heard of a...burger?" he asked with intensity, Sakura looked at him strangely,
A what? she thought,
"Nnnno, I don't think so"
Sakura wondered what he was talking about, the seriousness of his eyes said it was something serious,
"It's the strangest thing...like a sandwich, but the bread is different and the meat is just a bit thicker, it's apparently really popular in the west" he said as he read the document,
Sakura sighed,
"oh...haha" she said, she placed the papers on his desk,
"Naruto is off running more errands huh?" Sakura asked,
Kakashi nodded,
"He's dealing with the village part of my job, meanwhile I'm stuck signing contracts from big business trying to move in to Konoha, which is why I asked you" he said,
"He sure is responsible these days" she noted,
Kakashi acted as if he was reading the document, but he began to inquire about her upwards consistency in talking about Naruto,
she sure has been mentioning Naruto more lately, looks like you were right on the nail, Sasuke.
"Okay, well, I got to get back to Lady Tsunade, nice seeing you sensei" Sakura said
As Sakura turned around to leave, but something stopped her in her tracks,
"S...Sasuke?" she managed to say,
the one and only Sasuke Uchiha stood in front her,
"Greetings, Sakura" he said.
Her heart suddenly fluttered.
- End -
Note: I'm going to start putting links to music that helped me write certain parts of the story, just to share the mood, ex:
- Song: watch?v=lK_mT-XKe48 -
Question: I'm trying to keep these chapters under 5k words, or is 5k too much? let me know if you make this far. Lol
Where was Naruto!?:
Woah! Where was Naruto? Don't worry, the first few chapters deal with developing Sakura Haruno's feelings towards Naruto,
I can't just flip a switch and make her like him! That's bad story telling imo! hahah, Naruto will appear soon, I promise.
Notes on Sasuke Uchiha: the reason why this such an explored aspect of Sasuke's life is the simple fact that it wasn't,
There is no prison sentencing in the manga, and I found that odd, at least the anime showed he spent time in a cell,
but for how long I don't know.
One of the many things that intrigues me about the Sasuke we see in Boruto is how he's always on the road,
this to me, gives the impression that he has become a vagabond of sorts,
from there I decided to give reason for his nomadic like behavior,
Making him spend year(s?) in maximum solitary with no contact with the outside world would've driven him mad if not for Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi,
This really solidified his reaction to seeing anything related to the outside world,
the dome's architecture is very forest like,
this is taken from the end of (Naruto or Boruto can't remember tbh) when we see adult Sasuke in the forest,
he likes the soothing sounds of nature over city like provinces, he's also taken the personality of Itachi much more,
we see this when he interacts with Sakura while he's in the cell, just like his brother (in a way),
he negates how he feels for the betterment of the person he cares about,
There will be more of Sasuke in the future, but not to the extent such as this, after all, it's in the title!
Notes on Sakura Haruno: Sakura is definitely hitting peak levels of being confused on who she likes,
her feelings for Sasuke are still strong, but Naruto is inching himself right in front of him, almost like a race,
The next chapters exploring how she'll handle her rising emotional feelings for Naruto during her life as she works, does chores, socializes n' what not.