A/N: I don't think I've gotten so many good reviews.... EVER. Thanks!
I just realized that the scene changers aren't working. Bleh. Stupid new rules. I've fixed
that, so don't worry, it won't seem so choppy now. If I ever get the time, I'll go back and
fix the others as well.
Well, here's Part 4!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, never have, never will. I only own this story and its
specifics.
ARCHIVE: Go ahead, just drop me a line.
GUIDE
"Blah" - spoken
Blah - thoughts / emphasis
Blah - emphasis in a thought
-Blah- - sound effect
------------ - scene change
..::::.. - flashback
Part Four: The Ascension
Sakura gasped.
"Sa... Sakura?" said Naruto. His face lit up. "Sakura!" He raced over to her and
hugged her, swinging around in his arms. If it had been anyone else, she would've had
him on the floor crying for his mama. But this was Naruto.
"Naruto! I've missed you!" she said, hugging him back.
"You have...?" he said, stopping and looking at her with shock. She punched him
in the arm.
"Of course I have!" she said. He smiled that old fox grin of his, and a rush of
memories came back to her. She glanced over to Kakashi and Sasuke a moment, before
rushing over and hugging both of them. "I've missed you guys, too."
"Same here," Kakashi said, giving her a light hug back. Sasuke smiled-- WOAH,
both Sakura and Inner Sakura (yep, she's still around) thought-- and nodded his head in
agreement.
"I hate to break up the happy reunion, but you do have business to tend to, don't
you Sakura?" Anko said from across the room. Sakura blushed.
"Oi, what is she talking about?" Naruto asked. Sakura backed up from them and
gave a polite bow to the three of them, as well as the rest of the squad.
"Thank you for coming. I am Haruno Sakura, your commander," she said, before
straightening. She couldn't resist sending a smug look to her three former (and now
current) teammates, who's jaws were on the floor. Maybe her mother was right; she did
act just like her grandmother.
"You're our commander?" asked another member. It was Inuzuka Kiba.
"Got a problem with that?" she replied, full Inner Sakura attitude in place. He
grinned, showing his fangs.
"Hell no! I heard what you did to that jounin! Totally kicked his ass!" Kiba said.
She blushed again and shrugged at Kakashi, who's one visible eye was as wide as she had
ever seen it.
"I kinda did," she told him.
"Kinda?" said another voice. It was Lee, another member of the squad. "Forgive
me, my dear Sakura, but you almost buried him-- literally!"
"I think this is a story we should hear," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow and still
grinning.
"Another time. Like Anko said, there is business to attend to," she said. She
walked over to where a map had been spread out on the table. Kurenai and Anko left; this
was not their mission.
"There has been a lull in the war, and the tide is slowly turning in our favor; that is
why the three of you were finally able to return. However," she said, "our forces out there
are tired and worn. Supplies are running low, and even with rationing they will be gone in
two weeks. Our mission is to bring in fresh supplies and fresh nins, and perhaps, even
liven the spirits that have undoubtedly fallen."
"Is there high activity in the area?" asked the last member of her team, none other
than Hyuuga Hinata. She was their med-nin, one of the few left in the village.
"There have been small skirmishes with the squad we are going to help, but they
were nothing more than rogue nins looking for easy pickings." She smiled. "They
underestimated our resilience."
"How long are we to remain there?" Kakashi asked.
"Possibly until further notice," she replied. Not long, her mind told her. She didn't
speak it aloud. "Any other questions?"
"Are we there just to resupply, or are we going to join in the fun on these
'skirmishes'?" Naruto asked.
"Technically? Just to resupply. But with good ol' Team 7 involved, we'll most
likely end up have some sort of 'skirmish' ourselves," she replied. Lee, Kiba, and Hinata
looked at her and the others, confused, but they shook their heads and it was dropped.
"Any more? No? Well, then, let's get going!"
Everyone filed out of the room, eager to get a move on. Sakura breathed a sigh of
relief and closed her eyes. It hadn't been as hard as she thought. That was probably the
easy part. I just hope I can keep my wit out there. She sighed again.
"What do you want?" she asked. Someone had stayed behind. She didn't need to
open her eyes to know who it was.
"What's with the get-up?" Sasuke asked. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
He hadn't changed much; he wore an outfit similar to Kakashi's, as did Naruto. His hair
was still that odd chop-style, a mix of short and long. His eyes were the same, a biting
Uchiha glare only a heartbeat away at all times.
"Get-up?" she repeated. She walked up to him. "Get-up? Just wait; you'll see just
what this 'get-up' is," she told him, before walking past him. "C'mon," she called over
her shoulder, "you don't want to be dead last!"
------------
Sakura didn't relax until they had reached the camp. Five days they had walked,
alternating between guiding the cart, scouting, and walking along beside, keeping alert for
any sign of an attack. Even when they reached the camp, she had wired for so long she
was wondering if she would ever unwound.
"Haruno," a low, emotionless voice said.
"Why, Neji, fancy seeing you here," she replied. He gave her a smirk.
"Bribe the commander into letting you tag along?"
"Well, gee, Neji, I didn't know one could bribe one's self," she replied. The smirk
vanished and she was given a glare that could rival Sasuke's. "Look, pleasantries over,
we've brought supplies for your squad, as well as possible backup."
"We don't need backup," he hissed.
"Aw, lay off, Neji," said the only person in the world who could and not get the
crap beat out of them. "So you did make it, Sakura."
"Of course, Tenten. Did you expect anything else?"
"I heard about what you did to that jounin. Please, teach me that sometime, it
could come in handy," she said, looking directly at Neji, who was ignoring her.
"Some other time. Right now, and I think I speak for all of us, I want some dinner
and some place to sleep," she told the brown-haired girl. Her teammates nodded.
"Hey, got any ramen?"
------------
Sakura sat straight up. It was pitch black out; there was no moon tonight. She
wasn't sure, but it looked to be in the hours just before dawn. Her heart was racing; the
wind was blowing outside the tent. She crawled out and stood, letting the wind flow
around her. It was trying to tell her something.
She closed her eyes and focused. She could just barely catch it, but she couldn't
make it out. She focused harder, but it didn't help any. She remembered her teachings,
and backed off. Just let it come to you, she told herself. The wind was urgent and worried;
something wasn't right.
What is it? she asked.
It's coming! it whispered.
What is?
The battle! It's coming!
That was all she needed to hear. She ran to the guard on duty, Shiranui Gemma.
She told him that something was coming. She lied and said she had seen someone in the
shadows outside her tent; she hadn't wanted to, but she knew there was no time to waste
arguing. He nodded and they began rousing everyone in the camp.
That task finished, they escaped into the forest, away from the area she had "seen"
the shadow. The could smell the sea air where they hid, and wondered just how close they
were. It was impossible to tell in the darkness. They waited for what seemed like an
enternity, but she knew it had only been moments.
"Were you sure?" a voice whispered to her. It sounded like Shikamaru, but she
wasn't sure. She was sure, however, of her answer.
"Yes," she replied. Another seemingly eternity passed. A scout, Aburame Shino,
was sent out to inspect to camp. He returned.
"We could find no signs of an attack," he replied in his ever-present monotone.
Glares were sent her way; she didn't need to see them to know that. Great, she thought,
now they'll never believe me. The wind does not lie; there is a battle coming. I can almost
taste it.
They returned, against her protests, to the camp. She trudged along behind them,
taking up the rear. This is one nostalgia I could do without, she thought bitterly. They
were almost to the camp when it hit her.
DUCK!
"DUCK!" she screamed, and thankfully, everyone listened. Several Fuuma
Shuriken flew over their heads, slicing tree trunks like they were butter. Everyone ran in
different directions. "Wait! Don't!" she called out, but it was too late. The forest was too
dark; they needed light.
Sakura made a mad dash to the camp. She grabbed everything she could and
threw it in a pile. While doing so, she ran into someone, and instincts had her driving a
kunai to whoever's throat when her sense kicked in. She stopped just in time, picking up
on the rhthym.
"Sasuke! Light! We need light! Set that pile on fire, now!" she ordered. A few
seconds later a stream of fire came out of Sasuke's mouth, lighting the pile into a bonfire,
and illuminating the entire encampment.
Sakura could see the results of battle already; chakra signatures were everywhere,
and the trees were laden with shuriken, kunai, and various scorch marks. She needed to
create some kind order, or else there was a chance they could be defeated. She needed to
get everyone's attention immediately. She couldn't call out, or the enemy would hear as
well. C'mon, Sakura, think! she ordered herself. She looked at the fire, then straight up.
"Sasuke, watch my back," she said.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, on guard.
"You'll see," she told him. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them,
revealing the wildfire spirit within. "Sakura Style, Invisible Cherry Blossom Flare!" she
whispered.
It worked. Streaks of pink fire were sent out, finding each teammate and lighting
the path back to where she and Sasuke stood.
"Won't they see it, too?" he asked. She smiled.
"They can't. It's visible only to our side," she replied.
"Not bad," he said. Closest thing to a compliment she had ever received from him.
"Yeah, for a minute there I didn't think I'd come up with anything," she replied.
He looked as if he was about to say something, but just then several kunai went whizzing
by their heads.
They both jumped into battle, but made sure they remained in the bonfire's light.
Sakura caught glimpses of her teammates appearing into the light as well. There were
yells of jutsu names, crackling flashes of chakra, the sounds of steel slicing through the
air, the scent of blood on the air; Sakura couldn't believe that she found her blood
singing. She fought, pulling out all the stops.
This was a foolish ambush, she caught herself thinking as her opponent fell,
several thorns sticking out of his chest. They underestimated us. There are several
geniuses here! We have two Byakugans; two Sharingans; a deadly taijutsu expert; a
man-demon; the Ino-Shika-Cho combo; a cocky, but tough jounin; a weapons expert;
heirs to both the Aburame and Inuzuka clans; and me. It's like Konoha Dream Team.
Another attacker tried his luck with her. She grinned at him, the bonfire flickering
in her eyes. She didn't dare try to open up the earth, not with her teammates at possible
risk of falling in. Instead, she decided to introduce this guy into some Haruno Clan
trademarks. The flew through the seals effortlessly.
"Haruno Style, Wicked Garden!" she shouted. Cherry blossoms shot out from her
hand, whirling around the nin before knitting together and fading into dust. He looked at
the pink dust, then to her, and laugh. "Go ahead and laugh. I will when you discover that
all of tenketsu are blocked."
"What?!" he said, and began to brush the dust off. Sakura had to hurry before he
was able to get too much off and regain use of his tenketsu. She formed another set of
seals, and this time, only whispered the words.
"Haruno Style, Paradise Lost!"
The earth tore open beneath him, covering him completely and dragging him
down into itself before he even had a chance to scream. Sakura pushed the image out of
her mind and looked around her. The tide was definitely turning, alright. Out of the corner
of her eye she caught movement, and looked to see Sasuke chase one of the nins into the
dark forest.
"Sasuke! Don't go into the dark!" she called out, following him. She raced
straight ahead, feeling his rhythm in front of her somewhere. It was weak, and that's what
worried her.
Where is he?! she mentally screamed. Luck was with her, she decided, because
the darkness was starting to fade. Dawn was near. She raced through the now dim forest,
trying to find him. She could still feel his rhthym, but it was growing fainter. She was in
full panic mode now, and just trusted her feet to find him as she ran along.
Once again she could smell the sea air; it called to her, and she kept running
towards it. How far had he gone..? It doesn't matter, she thought, I have to find him. She
raced along, and she could feel the earth's rhthym matching her pounding heartbeat. The
wind ran past her, pushing her further on. Her blood-- her spirit-- was alive and pulsating
with every step she took.
Up ahead, the wind whispered.
She broke into a clearing, and there was Sasuke, beaten and bloody, hanging limp
in an equally conditioned nin's grasp. Hanging... over a sheer cliff... that dropped right
into the sea. Sakura screamed, running towards them, but the nin holding Sasuke's barely
concious body let go, and Sasuke began to fall.
"NOOO!" Sakura screamed, and without thinking, she dived off the cliff.
Sakura... a voice said. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. She
reached out for Sasuke. Sakura... your blood is singing, do you hear it? Your blood is
singing, you have the strength.... Remember, Sakura...
..::::..
She was back in her grandmother's attic, pulling out the scroll that had been
hidden in the lining. She carefully opened it, and began to read.
"And like a hawk after its prey, she fell screaming from the sky at the enemy,
slashing her katana through their flesh. Her wings of snow spread wide, her green eyes
ablaze with fury, she came down upon them like the angel of death. We all could hear it
in our hearts; her blood was singing! Singing to us to go and fight! It was singing with
victory! She was singing to us, her blood was singing to us!"
Wings...?
..::::..
With a sudden force that nearly took her breath away, she was thrust back into
reality. She was only a few feet from Sasuke... she had to reach...
She stretched her arm out to its fullest extent, the space between them closing
rapidly. Finally, she was able to grab ahold of his shirt and pull him towards her,
wrapping her arms around his waist protectively. She heard a roaring in her ears, growing
louder and louder. Finally, she couldn't take it any more. She let the roar out.
Her blood was singing...
Without warning, she felt herself began to rise. She opened her eyes-- when had
she closed them?-- and saw herself gliding over the sea. She looked to her sides, and
there, stretched out to their fullest extent, were snow white wings. They weren't pure
white, though; the end of each feather was tinged pink.
Higher, she thought, and soon they were soaring up and up into the air. Dawn had
finally come, and shone its brilliance across the sea. She was in heaven and didn't want to
leave; but as she hugged Sasuke closer, she knew she still had a job to do. She banked,
turning around and heading back to land.
She flew past the nin who had dropped Sasuke; he stumbled and fell. She swung
down, just barely clearing the trees. She saw the smoke from the still burning fire. Sakura
thought, Slow down. Stop here, and soon she had landed in a high, sturdy branch. She
gently laid Sasuke down. He wasn't too badly injured, but did have a rather nastly looking
cut on his head. It was probably what had caused him to pass out.
After checking to make sure he'd be okay there, she leapt off the branch and
pulled herself higher into the air. She passed over the clearing, and saw that there was still
some fighting going on. She looked to her right, where the forest continued before
thinning out into fields.
More are coming, she thought. She knew, and soon was diving down, flying faster
than she could ever move on the ground. She passed over the band of reinforcements,
startling them. She ignored their calls of 'What was that?!' and banked, ready to dive
right in. I have no katana, but I think this will suffice, she thought, making the seals as she
dived down towards them.
"Haruno Style, Blood Song!" she called out, passing over their heads. Feathers
fell from her wings, instantly replaced by new ones. The became blades in the air,
rocketing down towards their targets.
There would be no more of them.
She regained some height and began to fly back towards her teammates, though
albeit at a slower pace this time. She couldn't resist doing a few tricks in the air, either.
After all, she did have a victory to celebrate.
And her blood was singing....
A/N: Okay, okay, so Sakura is a little all-powerful like, but take a step back and think
about it. She sacrificed a lot to be this strong, and is going to continue to do so if she
wants to keep her dream. So... no excessive flaming, okay? ::hopeful grin::
Ah, jutsu info. Here we go:
Invisible Cherry Blossom Flare: Thin air, and yes, I know, it's pretty unlikely. ::shrugs::
Hey, she got a compliment from Sasuke because of it! So... yeah. ::blushes:: Don't hate
me.
Wicked Garden: Okay, this isn't an "all powerful" tenketsu blocker like the Byakugan.
It's more like a buyer of time, since all you have to do is brush it off. And yes, it's an
extension of the Pollen Dust from last chapter.
Paradise Lost: Thin air, but once again, a sort-of dedication to Naraku from Inu Yasha.
Blood Song: Kind of metaphorical for me; something so delicate is also extremely
deadly-- like Sakura herself. (So, did ya like the 'wings' part? ::grin::)
Now, reviewer responses:
cuito: Here you go!
Maya Amano: ARIGATOU! ::big grin:: ::blushes:: Aw, shucks.
Shiroi Hikari: Yeah, I was watching Wolf's Rain while I wrote that part of the chapter.
::grin:: And thanks.
Miszy-Anne: Here it is! I'm glad you like it. ::thumbs-up::
animEvivvErz: OMG! THANK YOU! ::cheshire cat grin::
GeshronTyler: Err... well... I did overdo it a bit, didn't I? I tried not to, but it got away
from me.... And besides, Naruto and Sasuke appear "all powerful", but we know they're
not, so I guess I applied that to Sakura. (In other words, I overdid it. ::shrugs::)
Solita (Alone: Here it is, hope you like it.
Poison Death Tree: Thanks, and double thanks for being one of my most avid reviewers.
::grin:: You make my day, sometimes.
And don't worry folks, there's an epilogue. I'll get that up in the next week, I promise!
I just realized that the scene changers aren't working. Bleh. Stupid new rules. I've fixed
that, so don't worry, it won't seem so choppy now. If I ever get the time, I'll go back and
fix the others as well.
Well, here's Part 4!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, never have, never will. I only own this story and its
specifics.
ARCHIVE: Go ahead, just drop me a line.
GUIDE
"Blah" - spoken
Blah - thoughts / emphasis
Blah - emphasis in a thought
-Blah- - sound effect
------------ - scene change
..::::.. - flashback
Sakura gasped.
"Sa... Sakura?" said Naruto. His face lit up. "Sakura!" He raced over to her and
hugged her, swinging around in his arms. If it had been anyone else, she would've had
him on the floor crying for his mama. But this was Naruto.
"Naruto! I've missed you!" she said, hugging him back.
"You have...?" he said, stopping and looking at her with shock. She punched him
in the arm.
"Of course I have!" she said. He smiled that old fox grin of his, and a rush of
memories came back to her. She glanced over to Kakashi and Sasuke a moment, before
rushing over and hugging both of them. "I've missed you guys, too."
"Same here," Kakashi said, giving her a light hug back. Sasuke smiled-- WOAH,
both Sakura and Inner Sakura (yep, she's still around) thought-- and nodded his head in
agreement.
"I hate to break up the happy reunion, but you do have business to tend to, don't
you Sakura?" Anko said from across the room. Sakura blushed.
"Oi, what is she talking about?" Naruto asked. Sakura backed up from them and
gave a polite bow to the three of them, as well as the rest of the squad.
"Thank you for coming. I am Haruno Sakura, your commander," she said, before
straightening. She couldn't resist sending a smug look to her three former (and now
current) teammates, who's jaws were on the floor. Maybe her mother was right; she did
act just like her grandmother.
"You're our commander?" asked another member. It was Inuzuka Kiba.
"Got a problem with that?" she replied, full Inner Sakura attitude in place. He
grinned, showing his fangs.
"Hell no! I heard what you did to that jounin! Totally kicked his ass!" Kiba said.
She blushed again and shrugged at Kakashi, who's one visible eye was as wide as she had
ever seen it.
"I kinda did," she told him.
"Kinda?" said another voice. It was Lee, another member of the squad. "Forgive
me, my dear Sakura, but you almost buried him-- literally!"
"I think this is a story we should hear," Naruto said, raising an eyebrow and still
grinning.
"Another time. Like Anko said, there is business to attend to," she said. She
walked over to where a map had been spread out on the table. Kurenai and Anko left; this
was not their mission.
"There has been a lull in the war, and the tide is slowly turning in our favor; that is
why the three of you were finally able to return. However," she said, "our forces out there
are tired and worn. Supplies are running low, and even with rationing they will be gone in
two weeks. Our mission is to bring in fresh supplies and fresh nins, and perhaps, even
liven the spirits that have undoubtedly fallen."
"Is there high activity in the area?" asked the last member of her team, none other
than Hyuuga Hinata. She was their med-nin, one of the few left in the village.
"There have been small skirmishes with the squad we are going to help, but they
were nothing more than rogue nins looking for easy pickings." She smiled. "They
underestimated our resilience."
"How long are we to remain there?" Kakashi asked.
"Possibly until further notice," she replied. Not long, her mind told her. She didn't
speak it aloud. "Any other questions?"
"Are we there just to resupply, or are we going to join in the fun on these
'skirmishes'?" Naruto asked.
"Technically? Just to resupply. But with good ol' Team 7 involved, we'll most
likely end up have some sort of 'skirmish' ourselves," she replied. Lee, Kiba, and Hinata
looked at her and the others, confused, but they shook their heads and it was dropped.
"Any more? No? Well, then, let's get going!"
Everyone filed out of the room, eager to get a move on. Sakura breathed a sigh of
relief and closed her eyes. It hadn't been as hard as she thought. That was probably the
easy part. I just hope I can keep my wit out there. She sighed again.
"What do you want?" she asked. Someone had stayed behind. She didn't need to
open her eyes to know who it was.
"What's with the get-up?" Sasuke asked. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
He hadn't changed much; he wore an outfit similar to Kakashi's, as did Naruto. His hair
was still that odd chop-style, a mix of short and long. His eyes were the same, a biting
Uchiha glare only a heartbeat away at all times.
"Get-up?" she repeated. She walked up to him. "Get-up? Just wait; you'll see just
what this 'get-up' is," she told him, before walking past him. "C'mon," she called over
her shoulder, "you don't want to be dead last!"
------------
Sakura didn't relax until they had reached the camp. Five days they had walked,
alternating between guiding the cart, scouting, and walking along beside, keeping alert for
any sign of an attack. Even when they reached the camp, she had wired for so long she
was wondering if she would ever unwound.
"Haruno," a low, emotionless voice said.
"Why, Neji, fancy seeing you here," she replied. He gave her a smirk.
"Bribe the commander into letting you tag along?"
"Well, gee, Neji, I didn't know one could bribe one's self," she replied. The smirk
vanished and she was given a glare that could rival Sasuke's. "Look, pleasantries over,
we've brought supplies for your squad, as well as possible backup."
"We don't need backup," he hissed.
"Aw, lay off, Neji," said the only person in the world who could and not get the
crap beat out of them. "So you did make it, Sakura."
"Of course, Tenten. Did you expect anything else?"
"I heard about what you did to that jounin. Please, teach me that sometime, it
could come in handy," she said, looking directly at Neji, who was ignoring her.
"Some other time. Right now, and I think I speak for all of us, I want some dinner
and some place to sleep," she told the brown-haired girl. Her teammates nodded.
"Hey, got any ramen?"
------------
Sakura sat straight up. It was pitch black out; there was no moon tonight. She
wasn't sure, but it looked to be in the hours just before dawn. Her heart was racing; the
wind was blowing outside the tent. She crawled out and stood, letting the wind flow
around her. It was trying to tell her something.
She closed her eyes and focused. She could just barely catch it, but she couldn't
make it out. She focused harder, but it didn't help any. She remembered her teachings,
and backed off. Just let it come to you, she told herself. The wind was urgent and worried;
something wasn't right.
What is it? she asked.
It's coming! it whispered.
What is?
The battle! It's coming!
That was all she needed to hear. She ran to the guard on duty, Shiranui Gemma.
She told him that something was coming. She lied and said she had seen someone in the
shadows outside her tent; she hadn't wanted to, but she knew there was no time to waste
arguing. He nodded and they began rousing everyone in the camp.
That task finished, they escaped into the forest, away from the area she had "seen"
the shadow. The could smell the sea air where they hid, and wondered just how close they
were. It was impossible to tell in the darkness. They waited for what seemed like an
enternity, but she knew it had only been moments.
"Were you sure?" a voice whispered to her. It sounded like Shikamaru, but she
wasn't sure. She was sure, however, of her answer.
"Yes," she replied. Another seemingly eternity passed. A scout, Aburame Shino,
was sent out to inspect to camp. He returned.
"We could find no signs of an attack," he replied in his ever-present monotone.
Glares were sent her way; she didn't need to see them to know that. Great, she thought,
now they'll never believe me. The wind does not lie; there is a battle coming. I can almost
taste it.
They returned, against her protests, to the camp. She trudged along behind them,
taking up the rear. This is one nostalgia I could do without, she thought bitterly. They
were almost to the camp when it hit her.
DUCK!
"DUCK!" she screamed, and thankfully, everyone listened. Several Fuuma
Shuriken flew over their heads, slicing tree trunks like they were butter. Everyone ran in
different directions. "Wait! Don't!" she called out, but it was too late. The forest was too
dark; they needed light.
Sakura made a mad dash to the camp. She grabbed everything she could and
threw it in a pile. While doing so, she ran into someone, and instincts had her driving a
kunai to whoever's throat when her sense kicked in. She stopped just in time, picking up
on the rhthym.
"Sasuke! Light! We need light! Set that pile on fire, now!" she ordered. A few
seconds later a stream of fire came out of Sasuke's mouth, lighting the pile into a bonfire,
and illuminating the entire encampment.
Sakura could see the results of battle already; chakra signatures were everywhere,
and the trees were laden with shuriken, kunai, and various scorch marks. She needed to
create some kind order, or else there was a chance they could be defeated. She needed to
get everyone's attention immediately. She couldn't call out, or the enemy would hear as
well. C'mon, Sakura, think! she ordered herself. She looked at the fire, then straight up.
"Sasuke, watch my back," she said.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, on guard.
"You'll see," she told him. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them,
revealing the wildfire spirit within. "Sakura Style, Invisible Cherry Blossom Flare!" she
whispered.
It worked. Streaks of pink fire were sent out, finding each teammate and lighting
the path back to where she and Sasuke stood.
"Won't they see it, too?" he asked. She smiled.
"They can't. It's visible only to our side," she replied.
"Not bad," he said. Closest thing to a compliment she had ever received from him.
"Yeah, for a minute there I didn't think I'd come up with anything," she replied.
He looked as if he was about to say something, but just then several kunai went whizzing
by their heads.
They both jumped into battle, but made sure they remained in the bonfire's light.
Sakura caught glimpses of her teammates appearing into the light as well. There were
yells of jutsu names, crackling flashes of chakra, the sounds of steel slicing through the
air, the scent of blood on the air; Sakura couldn't believe that she found her blood
singing. She fought, pulling out all the stops.
This was a foolish ambush, she caught herself thinking as her opponent fell,
several thorns sticking out of his chest. They underestimated us. There are several
geniuses here! We have two Byakugans; two Sharingans; a deadly taijutsu expert; a
man-demon; the Ino-Shika-Cho combo; a cocky, but tough jounin; a weapons expert;
heirs to both the Aburame and Inuzuka clans; and me. It's like Konoha Dream Team.
Another attacker tried his luck with her. She grinned at him, the bonfire flickering
in her eyes. She didn't dare try to open up the earth, not with her teammates at possible
risk of falling in. Instead, she decided to introduce this guy into some Haruno Clan
trademarks. The flew through the seals effortlessly.
"Haruno Style, Wicked Garden!" she shouted. Cherry blossoms shot out from her
hand, whirling around the nin before knitting together and fading into dust. He looked at
the pink dust, then to her, and laugh. "Go ahead and laugh. I will when you discover that
all of tenketsu are blocked."
"What?!" he said, and began to brush the dust off. Sakura had to hurry before he
was able to get too much off and regain use of his tenketsu. She formed another set of
seals, and this time, only whispered the words.
"Haruno Style, Paradise Lost!"
The earth tore open beneath him, covering him completely and dragging him
down into itself before he even had a chance to scream. Sakura pushed the image out of
her mind and looked around her. The tide was definitely turning, alright. Out of the corner
of her eye she caught movement, and looked to see Sasuke chase one of the nins into the
dark forest.
"Sasuke! Don't go into the dark!" she called out, following him. She raced
straight ahead, feeling his rhythm in front of her somewhere. It was weak, and that's what
worried her.
Where is he?! she mentally screamed. Luck was with her, she decided, because
the darkness was starting to fade. Dawn was near. She raced through the now dim forest,
trying to find him. She could still feel his rhthym, but it was growing fainter. She was in
full panic mode now, and just trusted her feet to find him as she ran along.
Once again she could smell the sea air; it called to her, and she kept running
towards it. How far had he gone..? It doesn't matter, she thought, I have to find him. She
raced along, and she could feel the earth's rhthym matching her pounding heartbeat. The
wind ran past her, pushing her further on. Her blood-- her spirit-- was alive and pulsating
with every step she took.
Up ahead, the wind whispered.
She broke into a clearing, and there was Sasuke, beaten and bloody, hanging limp
in an equally conditioned nin's grasp. Hanging... over a sheer cliff... that dropped right
into the sea. Sakura screamed, running towards them, but the nin holding Sasuke's barely
concious body let go, and Sasuke began to fall.
"NOOO!" Sakura screamed, and without thinking, she dived off the cliff.
Sakura... a voice said. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. She
reached out for Sasuke. Sakura... your blood is singing, do you hear it? Your blood is
singing, you have the strength.... Remember, Sakura...
..::::..
She was back in her grandmother's attic, pulling out the scroll that had been
hidden in the lining. She carefully opened it, and began to read.
"And like a hawk after its prey, she fell screaming from the sky at the enemy,
slashing her katana through their flesh. Her wings of snow spread wide, her green eyes
ablaze with fury, she came down upon them like the angel of death. We all could hear it
in our hearts; her blood was singing! Singing to us to go and fight! It was singing with
victory! She was singing to us, her blood was singing to us!"
Wings...?
..::::..
With a sudden force that nearly took her breath away, she was thrust back into
reality. She was only a few feet from Sasuke... she had to reach...
She stretched her arm out to its fullest extent, the space between them closing
rapidly. Finally, she was able to grab ahold of his shirt and pull him towards her,
wrapping her arms around his waist protectively. She heard a roaring in her ears, growing
louder and louder. Finally, she couldn't take it any more. She let the roar out.
Her blood was singing...
Without warning, she felt herself began to rise. She opened her eyes-- when had
she closed them?-- and saw herself gliding over the sea. She looked to her sides, and
there, stretched out to their fullest extent, were snow white wings. They weren't pure
white, though; the end of each feather was tinged pink.
Higher, she thought, and soon they were soaring up and up into the air. Dawn had
finally come, and shone its brilliance across the sea. She was in heaven and didn't want to
leave; but as she hugged Sasuke closer, she knew she still had a job to do. She banked,
turning around and heading back to land.
She flew past the nin who had dropped Sasuke; he stumbled and fell. She swung
down, just barely clearing the trees. She saw the smoke from the still burning fire. Sakura
thought, Slow down. Stop here, and soon she had landed in a high, sturdy branch. She
gently laid Sasuke down. He wasn't too badly injured, but did have a rather nastly looking
cut on his head. It was probably what had caused him to pass out.
After checking to make sure he'd be okay there, she leapt off the branch and
pulled herself higher into the air. She passed over the clearing, and saw that there was still
some fighting going on. She looked to her right, where the forest continued before
thinning out into fields.
More are coming, she thought. She knew, and soon was diving down, flying faster
than she could ever move on the ground. She passed over the band of reinforcements,
startling them. She ignored their calls of 'What was that?!' and banked, ready to dive
right in. I have no katana, but I think this will suffice, she thought, making the seals as she
dived down towards them.
"Haruno Style, Blood Song!" she called out, passing over their heads. Feathers
fell from her wings, instantly replaced by new ones. The became blades in the air,
rocketing down towards their targets.
There would be no more of them.
She regained some height and began to fly back towards her teammates, though
albeit at a slower pace this time. She couldn't resist doing a few tricks in the air, either.
After all, she did have a victory to celebrate.
And her blood was singing....
A/N: Okay, okay, so Sakura is a little all-powerful like, but take a step back and think
about it. She sacrificed a lot to be this strong, and is going to continue to do so if she
wants to keep her dream. So... no excessive flaming, okay? ::hopeful grin::
Ah, jutsu info. Here we go:
Invisible Cherry Blossom Flare: Thin air, and yes, I know, it's pretty unlikely. ::shrugs::
Hey, she got a compliment from Sasuke because of it! So... yeah. ::blushes:: Don't hate
me.
Wicked Garden: Okay, this isn't an "all powerful" tenketsu blocker like the Byakugan.
It's more like a buyer of time, since all you have to do is brush it off. And yes, it's an
extension of the Pollen Dust from last chapter.
Paradise Lost: Thin air, but once again, a sort-of dedication to Naraku from Inu Yasha.
Blood Song: Kind of metaphorical for me; something so delicate is also extremely
deadly-- like Sakura herself. (So, did ya like the 'wings' part? ::grin::)
Now, reviewer responses:
cuito: Here you go!
Maya Amano: ARIGATOU! ::big grin:: ::blushes:: Aw, shucks.
Shiroi Hikari: Yeah, I was watching Wolf's Rain while I wrote that part of the chapter.
::grin:: And thanks.
Miszy-Anne: Here it is! I'm glad you like it. ::thumbs-up::
animEvivvErz: OMG! THANK YOU! ::cheshire cat grin::
GeshronTyler: Err... well... I did overdo it a bit, didn't I? I tried not to, but it got away
from me.... And besides, Naruto and Sasuke appear "all powerful", but we know they're
not, so I guess I applied that to Sakura. (In other words, I overdid it. ::shrugs::)
Solita (Alone: Here it is, hope you like it.
Poison Death Tree: Thanks, and double thanks for being one of my most avid reviewers.
::grin:: You make my day, sometimes.
And don't worry folks, there's an epilogue. I'll get that up in the next week, I promise!