Here's the short introductory chapter to something I've been meaning to write for a while now. It takes place in a world where the Uchiha massacre did not take place, but other than that detail I'm going to be keeping things as close to the same as I can. This story is intended to be ItaSaku, so for those who are strictly here for that pairing, don't be thrown off at first. Haha. And I rated it T for now but the rating may go up later. Fair warning.
Anyways, I don't own Naruto. On with the show.
xXx
Sakura threw herself to the ground just as three kunai whizzed by, the air surrounding them thrummed with the subtle static of electricity. Rolling to her feet, vivid green eyes searched the surrounding area and thick canopy above for her assailant. Shadows danced among the leaves, stretching with the dying light of the day, but she could discern no other movement. Cautiously straightening, her hand grasped a kunai for defense as she sent out a surge of chakra to pinpoint the rest of her team and obtain some hint of how they were fairing.
It was just her luck that Team 7 would be ambushed by Kumo nin right before they crossed the border from Lightning Country into Frost country. Tensions were high between Konoha and Kumo these days-talk of war circulated often, but nothing concrete had been declared as of yet. They had strict orders not to be seen or identified while in Lightening Country, which meant this fight would end with only one team walking away.
It would be Team 7 who walked away, of course. They were notoriously known across nations and earmarked in bingo books. The Powerhouse Unit of the Leaf. Whoever her teammates were facing now, they would soon come to realize their fatal mistake in engaging them. The shinobi that targeted her had bombarded her with blasts of lightening, initially forcing her back to retreat further into the thick line of trees. No doubt to separate her from the others and take her out. It was a common strategy. To target the medic of a team. To take out the weakest link first. And she was the weakest- she knew that. Next to the Kyuubi Vessel, an Uchiha prodigy, and Sharingan Kakashi, who could she kid?
But just because she was the weakest didn't mean she was weak.
She was determined to prove that she could handle her own.
She would not be some damsel in distress like the old days.
Satisfied that her teammates' chakra were steady and strong, fluctuating normally as they battled against their own opponents, she brought her attention back to the trees surrounding her. They didn't need her medical expertise at the moment, but all the same she should try and finish this as soon as she could to preserve her reserves in case things on their end took a turn for the worse.
Lifting a leg, she sent a wave of chakra from her core through the appendage as she slammed her foot into the ground hoping to shake a few apples from the trees. The forest floor shook violently, the towering trees swaying dangerously. A thunderous crack sounded somewhere to her left, indicating one tree couldn't stand against the brunt of the attack. The noise almost overshadowed the light thud to her 4 o'clock, and she turned in that direction in an instant, eyes flashing in the twilight, to meet her enemy's kunai with her own. The metallic ring was soon followed by the shrill chittering of electricity, but she felt the burn enter her hand from her kunai before the sound even registered. With a low yelp, she released her weapon before more of the kumo nin's elemental affinity could be pumped into her, and swung her left leg in front of her hoping to create some distance. To her dismay, she connected with the man's sternum, only for the solid body to erupt in a surging current of more electricity.
'Raiton Bunshin!' Emerald eyes widened in surprise as she redirected some of her chakra to her lower body to help redirect the electricity coming from her left leg into her right leg and channeled it back into the earth she stood on. Her legs were throbbing in pain, and she could see light wisps of smoke emanating off the bare skin on her legs, but it was enough that she caught it in time before it could course through her entire torso instead.
"Dammit." She uttered lightly as she began to produce healing chakra throughout her legs. She needed to stop them from shaking if she had any chance of defeating this guy before one of her teammates came and did it for her.
'I can't let that happen.' The thought flitted across her mind, and worry flashed through her eyes as she searched the area with anxious vigor.
This guy was good. His electric affinity was one of the most impressive she had ever come across- barring Sasuke-kun, of course. She was actually mildly impressed with herself for thinking quick enough on her feet to redirect the previous attack back into the earth.
'I wish Sasuke-kun had seen that.'
But she couldn't let anymore Raiton jutsu hit her- there was just too much danger and possible side effects it could have on the human body.
If only he would actually face her long enough for her to get one good hit in…
The hair on the back of her neck tingled, and she lunged forward into a cartwheel just as she heard a kunai whizz by her ear. She snapped back around just in time to see a few whisps of pink tendrils waft their way to the forest floor, but her enemy was still nowhere to be found. She couldn't even use his chakra to locate his position- every time she tried to sense it, she could feel it's traces all over the field.
'It must be a jutsu he developed to aid him in his cloak and dagger type of fighting style. The coward.'
She dodged to the right as another kunai whizzed past her, then again as two more came from the opposite direction.
Movement flashed from the corner of her eye, and she turned to see her opponent had appeared not 7 feet from where she stood.
'Finally.' She smirked in satisfaction, chakra already channeling into her fists in preparation for hand to hand combat. Her upturned lips faltered however when more movement came from both the left and right to her as well, and a quick glance confirmed that there were four more copies of the Kumo nin standing around her. At the ground in front of each of them she noticed the array of kunai that he had been lodging at her throughout their battle. They formed a near perfect circle.
'I fell into a trap.' She couldn't help but think in dismay.'How embarrassing.'
She had enough time to feel the brief sting of self-depreciating disappointment before a shrill shrieking pierced the air around her, and the trees surrounding her disappeared in a white light. She brought her hands up in a last ditch effort to form the seals for any jutsu that may aid her, but her mind came up blank and her hands froze midair as electricity entered her body from all directions. She could feel the energy searing through her blood stream like lava and her body convulsed as her muscles tensed and spasmed without mercy. At her core, where her chakra coils had begun to disperse chakra for her jutsu, there was an intense burning as if she had swallowed the core of the earth itself. She felt as if she was catching fire from the inside out, and a sweeping wave of panic began to seep in when it felt like it wouldn't end. Like time itself had stopped to revel in her agony. There was a sharp metallic taste in her mouth, and all at once she was released from the prison her body had formed around her and hit the ground hard.
She was distinctly aware of the scent of burning meat, and could see the smoke rising off her chest, but a buzzing in her head was loud enough to drown out everything else. Although there was a strange sensation of intense tingling in her limbs, the sharp discomfort of pain was no longer there. She had a distinct feeling of detachment, like she was no longer inhabiting her own body. Her eyes rolled lazily upwards to take in the sight of the bright twinkling stars above her.
'…But the sky wasn't visible through the trees…' She thought, as the stars continued their colorful vivid dance. And then a darkness engulfed them just as suddenly as they appeared.
She briefly thought she heard her name being called in the distance before she succumbed to the embrace of emptyness.
"You could have at least brought her flowers, Teme." Naruto's scowl was one for the books as his dark haired teammate entered the small room and walked around to the other side of the still figure on the small hospital bed.
Dark eyes rolled in response but the Uchiha didn't deem it necessary to actually respond to the blonde sitting at the opposite side of the room.
"Even Kakashi-sensei brought her flowers." He waved a hand to absentmindedly and dark eyes followed the movement to the corner of a small table. Sasuke nearly scoffed at the single sunflower that was wilting dangerously over a vase- it looked like it had been snatched directly from one of the weedy fields south of the village.
"It's still an effort." Naruto rebutted, reading Sasuke's less than impressed expression perfectly. He had a lot of experience with having to pick up on micro expressions and body language when it came to his dark haired teammate. In their youth, Sasuke had been a lot more outspoken and expressive. But after training for two years with his older cousin outside the village on some extended mission, he came back more stoic than Naruto remembered.
He couldn't understand how that could have even happened- after all, he thought Shisui was a riot. Sasuke's extended exposure to him should have helped him develop a sense of humor, if anything.
But he supposed this change could have just been a sign of maturity in his friend. Even if he missed being able to rile him into fights like back when they were kids.
"Has she woken yet?" Sasuke asked, bringing the attention to the reason both young men were in the hospital in the first place.
"Not yet. Tsunade Baa-chan says there's a possibility that there was a lot of brain damage… " He looked at his feet, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. "We shouldn't have let them split us all up like that."
Sasuke didn't say anything, deeming instead to stare at the sickly sunflower. There were a couple ants making their way over the brackish bright petals. Definitely not store bought.
He could feel bright blue eyes boring into him, trying to determine if his feelings of guilt were on par to that of Naruto's.
"You know… you could visit her more often." Naruto shuffled uncomfortably before continuing. "I mean, I make sure to come every day- I don't want her to be alone when she wakes up. And I'm not even her boyfriend…" He trailed off.
"Jealousy is not a good look for you, Naruto."
The blonde scrunched his face up, about to retort when Sasuke continued.
"Besides, Tsunade assured us we would be notified as soon as she wakes up. Unlike you, I have a lot of clan responsibilities I need to attend to."
He leaned back in his chair, propping up a leg in the process. Naruto took in his calm countenance, his serene features giving away nothing as he looked back at him impassively.
"But it's been three weeks… aren't you even the least bit worried?" Naruto asked, his chest constricting at the thought that maybe they would never get the notification of the pink haired woman's return to consciousness.
"Of course I am." At the blonde's dismissive glance, the Uchiha continued. "She's strong. She'll pull through, Dobe."
Naruto was silent, seemingly deep in thought.
"Maybe… you should kiss her?"
"….what."
Sasuke's deadpan tone made Naruto backtrack.
"I just mean, you know… like all the fairytails or whatever…"
"You believe in fairytails. You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm not saying I believe in them! I'm just saying Tsunade Baa-chan has already tried everything else and she hasn't woken up. Like it doesn't hurt to try, you know?"
"I'm not going to kiss my comatose girlfriend, Dobe. Especially not in front of you. It seems spending all that time with Jiraiya has turned you into a voyeur as well."
The sound of a chair screeching loudly against linoleum echoed throughout the sparse room.
"I'm not-! I wouldn't-!"
"Um… excuse me?"
The quiet, raspy voice startled both boys, and two pairs of eyes turned to meet emerald.
"I don't mean to come off as rude but…. Who are you?"