Hi Everyone. I just wanted to say a huge thank you and welcome to the new followers, I hope you enjoy this new revision of A Shattered Secret.
Please enjoy :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its spinoff Boruto.
It was a record-breaking storm that crashed through the village hidden in the leaves and the surrounding areas. All non-mandatory missions were on hold until the flooding and the lightning storms let up.
This was what led Sakura to feel a sense of unease seeing as how her 14-year-old daughter was out there somewhere. Sure her legend of a father was with her but still it was in Sakura's job description as a mother and a wife to worry, especially since the Hokage issued an emergency weather warning.
Now Sakura was feeling a little foolish as she sat across her friend worrying about her family out in the storm and her companion was, putting it mildly quite annoyed.
"C'mon Sakura this storm ain't nothing, Naruto had to issue the emergency just to save his ass. Besides Sarada is with Sasuke so nothing bad will happen. Got it?" The blonde woman said as she glared at the woman in front of her.
If Ino knew that Sakura would be a debbie downer throughout this whole lunch she might as well have canceled.
"Ya I know, I just can't get over this overwhelming sense of dread Ino, as if something bad is about to happen." Sakura sighed as she stirred her tea for the tenth time in the past 10 minutes.
"Look Sak, Sarada and Sasuke will be home in no time. Besides if something was delaying them Sasuke knows to get in touch with you through the Hokage so there's nothing to worry about. No news is good news, right? Ino smiled as she reached for her friend's hand in comfort.
"Yeah. You're probably right." Sakura smiled as she agreed but as far as Ino could tell her friend was not as convinced as she might think.
"Hey, why don't we do something tonight, like what about a girl's night out?!" Ino suggested with the amount of enthusiasm as one might expect from the blonde.
"Ino… because of the storm all of the restaurants and bars are closed." She replied with an exasperated sigh.
"Oh right…" Ino blushed as she sat back down. "Well, why don't we have a girl's night in hmm?"
"Maybe another night Ino," Sakura replied as she got up out of her seat and grabbed their dishes from their lunch and placed them in the sink.
After she was done cleaning the dishes and putting them away Sakura leaned against the countertop staring into the clean sink.
"Look Sakura, what is it that's really bothering you. I know that it's not just that you're worried about Sasuke and Sarada. So what is it." Ino asked softly as she approached her despondent friend and touched her shoulder.
"I don't know Ino… I wish I did. I just have this horrible feeling that something terrible is coming and since I have no idea what it is I have no way of preparing for it…"
"Sakura, the war is over we are in peaceful times. You're just feeling this way because you are worried. Nothing is happening right now besides a storm, sure it might be the biggest one on record but it's still just a storm." Ino said trying to comfort her closest girlfriend. But this time Sakura didn't respond.
"I think you should start to head home Ino, Sai will start to get worried. It's nearing sundown and the storm picks up after the temperature lowers." Sakura said after a long pause.
"Sure Sak. Just know that if you need anything I'm here." Ino said as she patted her friend in a farewell.
"Keep your chin up, and don't forget to lock the windows. Apparently, Temari had her backroom flooded just because she forgot to latch the window." Ino called out as she closed the front door behind her.
After Ino left for the night Sakura decided to make use of her restlessness and the quiet to fix up the house a bit before her family returned.
As Sakura predicted the storm got significantly worse after nightfall just as it had ever since the storm started. While Sakura was getting ready for bed she could hear the windows rattling throughout the house thanks to the heavy winds and remembering what Ino said earlier she thought to go around her house, to every room to make sure that she wouldn't wake up to her house submerged in water.
Just as she was returning to her bedroom she heard a different type of rattling, curious Sakura decided to check it out. At first, there was nothing, thinking that she was imagining things she was about to turn around as something flew directly at her, well at her window. Startled, Sakura needed a moment to collect herself. Once she regained some composure she opened the window to see what flew at her. Looking down she saw something she did not expect. Sasuke's Hawk.
Once she brought the startled bird inside and out of the nasty wind it started to relax. Curious as to why her Husband's hawk showed up here at the house as opposed to the Hokage she checked to see if there was something attached to its talons and sure enough there was.
As soon as Sakura untied the bindings from the bird it flew over to its perch in the corner of the master bedroom which was conveniently closest to the heater she had brought down from the crawl space. Shaking her head at the bird's antics she looked down at the parcel and once she realized that it didn't have any seals she realized that it was meant for her in the first place.
Hardly containing her excitement she opened the scroll eager to see what it held.
"Dear Mama,
During our last stop on the way home, we heard that the land of fire was in the middle of a horrible storm that's been going on for the past week. Papa said that it would be best if we stayed here for a few more days just to be safe. I hope you are doing well Mama, Papa has shown me so many amazing places, some I've never even heard of. Amazing how closed off the village is from other areas. I can't wait to return home and shove it all in that dobes face, and more importantly, I can't wait to tell you all about it. I hope you are doing well Mama and I will see you soon.
Love Sarada,"
Ps. I was able to get father to write a little something on the back! Don't overwork yourself, I want to show you what I've learned.
Smiling at the enthusiasm in her daughter's letter Sakura was all the more convinced that this long trip with her father has done Sarada some good. She was glad that the father and daughter were able to spend some much-needed time catching up.
Remembering what Sarada has said about Sasuke's note on the back of the page she flipped it over and read what it said.
The first thing that came to mind when she saw the note was the grand difference between handwriting and that true to her husband's demeanor, the letter if you could call it that was very short.
"Sakura, I have put our return trip home on hold for the next few nights. I would not feel comfortable traversing the terrain with Sarada without knowing the exact conditions. We shall be returning shortly after you have received this letter.
Sasuke.
Even though Sakura was grateful to know that Sasuke had his daughter's well-being in mind she was almost as grateful to hear that they will be home shortly.
With the relief she felt after hearing from her family Sakura fell asleep faster than she has ever since the storm started.
As Sakura was deep in peaceful sleep her dream of sunny days and long nights turned into one of pure darkness, a darkness that chilled her to the bone.
As her subconscious was looking for a way out of the frightening darkness she realized she could start to hear faint voices.
"Are you sure about this plan of yours my lord?" A quiet voice Sakura could not quite recognize called out from the darkness.
"I still have my reservations but there is no going back and shall I have the need to do it again I would." The second voice seemed more familiar to Sakura but almost as if she hadn't heard it in a very long time.
"I hope you are right. A lot is riding on this. I just hope we are doing the right thing."
"As do I."
Before Sakura could delve more into the dream a massive bolt of lightning struck the house jolting her awake in a cold sweat. As Sakura wiped the sleep from her eyes she looked outside and realized that although the sun was up the storm outside still raged on.
Deciding that there was no way she was going to return to bed she got up, fed Sasuke's hawk, and got ready for the day.
As Sakura was going through the house making sure the rooms were swept, cleaned, and dusted she heard a knock on the front door. Dropping what she was doing she ran towards the door, hoping that Sasuke was true to his word and that they had arrived ahead of schedule she threw open the door but was stopped in her tracks when she saw the somber look on the faces of two of her closest friends.
"Naruto? Kakashi?" Sakura asked a little perplexed.
"Sakura." Kakashi greeted as he tilted his head. Still holding on to that dismal expression.
"What's up?" She asked a little worried.
"We have some bad news Sakura," Naruto replied a little more low-spirited than usual.
"Wait. What bad news?" She asked getting more worried by the second.
"Can we go inside?" Kakashi asked as he looked around at the scenery around him.
"S-Sure," Sakura said as she opened the door wider to allow the men to enter.
"What's going on…"
"We-We got some news from the border…" Naruto said as he took a seat at the dining table.
"Border?" Sakura asked perplexed.
"Yes. Turns out there were two bodies found on the outskirts of town." Kakashi said solemnly.
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed in pure panic.
"Sakura please relax," Naruto said as he stood up placing his hands on the panicking woman's shoulders.
"We have confirmation on the bodies…" Kakashi said as he took a deep breath. "I'm Sorry Sakura but..."
"As soon as the names of the confirmed deceased were spoken Sakura tuned out everything else Kakashi was saying.
'No...no...no' Sakura kept chanting over and over in her head. 'Not them, not them…'
And Scene…
Thank you for reading my revised story of A Shattered Secret. I have a feeling this version will be far better. Please let me know what you think if you feel so inclined.
And as always my inbox is always open.
See you soon.