The air was soft in humid sadness… flower petals fluttered by in slow motion… trees swayed back and forth in cozy solitude...
The flowers were crying.
Their petals dropped tiredly on her lap, soothing sobs and cleaning tears. Pink sighs colored the skies and piano-music hypnotized her mind.
Things went by… the sun rose to its highest temple, and fell down to kiss the moon goodnight. The trees turned yellow, and the grass died out. The flowers shivered in hopelessness, and gray pictures crawled inside her heart. Time flowed by…
September… October… November… December…
Running around in circles. Chasing after an unreachable dream. What was she doing? Why couldn't she stop? It was a never-ending pattern of sorrow; deception-filled ideas. Heartbreaking thoughts. It was self-inflicted loneliness relinquishing her soul.
Echoing dreams clinging for hope, crying flowers dreaming for more.
She didn't want to sleep.
She didn't want to let go.
She didn't want anything but him.
Only him.
Broken images displayed in the distance… her childish fantasies… absorbing all happiness…
The scenery left, the colors faded away, and she was still sitting there, listening to the piano-music play her song.
Things changed, but she was stuck.
The breeze rocked her hair, and she continued to stare out, because she was rooted to this spot in time. She was lost inside this warping world. Drowning in this intoxicating and delicate exile; her fabricated isolation…
It fulfilled her needs, fed her wishes, and finalized her destiny. Made her enjoy the sadness. Let her memorize the pain. Turned her into a colorless flower, because she was not worth it… because she couldn't reach it…
The sky was too far away and too cold today…
Sasuke-kun…
*
Exile
By Saori-Hime
Comments: Sakura's interlude!
Warnings: Sakura-centric chapter… there will be, of course, no Sakura bashing.
Disclaimer: It belongs to our dearest Kishimoto-san who is probably laughing at our faces for being so obsessed with his little drawings… How evil!
Flashback
Chapter Three – Disturbed Emotion
Yamanaka Ino was Konoha's number one female rookie. She was also the prettiest Gennin in town, and without a doubt, she was the best-suited girl for Uchiha Sasuke.
That's what she liked to think sometimes anyway.
She walked quietly towards the hospital, chewing absentmindedly on a dry flower stump, and thinking of ways to hurt Shikamaru for being such a lazy ass. Ino blinked when she came near team seven's meeting place. The red bridge was as quiet as ever and she would have passed by unaware of anyone there if certain hair-color hadn't caught her attention.
"Well if it isn't Forehead Girl," Ino chimed in a bittersweet tone as she walked closer to the lonely ninja. "Um?" She was expecting some type of angry retort or murderous glare, but Sakura didn't even move. She just continued leaning on the bridge as if Ino hadn't spoken at all.
"Hey… Sakura?" Ino tried again, wondering if the other girl was trying to ignore her. She slipped the dry stub off her mouth and leaned closer to the bridge's edge to peek at Sakura's face. Ino's curious lips twirled into a grin, "Ah… she's asleep." She propped one elbow on the bridge and rested her head on her hand gingerly, waiting for Sakura to open one eye and tell her to go away… but it never happened.
"Geez, how can she sleep standing up and out here on top of that..." Ino looked around, wondering if Sasuke-kun would be coming since Sakura was obviously waiting for her team.
Konoha's placid air rocked the evergreen trees around them and the soft murmur of running water was entrancing. Today's weather was solemnly nice as well… this peaceful atmosphere could soothe anyone to sleep if they… didn't have a lot to do…
Ino blinked back the drowsiness threatening to overcome her and she decided quickly that she needed to do something more motivating.
She used her dry flower stump to tickle Sakura's ear.
Sakura's shoulders twitched in irritation and her hand reached up to brush the annoying thing poking her ear. She cracked one eye open forcefully and lifted hear head to search for the ominous pest. Her unfocused eyes settled on the grinning face of a well-known blonde.
"Good morning, Sakura." The girl cooed from beside her.
"Ino…" Sakura whispered in recognition, and the blonde opened her smiling eyes to greet the half-awake kunoichi, "Hey… don't you have a bed and a house to sleep in?" Sakura's face colored red when she understood what she was talking about. She pushed her tired arms off the bridge, feeling her neck cringe at the unwanted movement, "I was just closing my eyes for a second…" Sakura lied as she blinked away the weakness she had previously been so comfortable in.
Ino poked her forehead, "It's going to be hard erasing that!" Sakura frowned and her hand reached up to touch her forehead, wondering what exactly she meant by that. Confused fingers traced the bridge's outline on her skin. Wait, that wasn't supposed to—her eyes widened in understanding and her cheeks burned red with embarrassment.
Ino turned away from her and crossed both of her hands on the bridge, admiring the place as if it had been the first time she was here. Sakura thought she would continue mortifying her with jokes about how exceedingly huge and red her forehead must appear at the moment… but instead she just smiled placidly and watched the bridge's fauna in silence.
"Ah… isn't it pretty?" Ino finally spoke up, baby blue eyes motioning to their surroundings, "Until after the attack… I never realized how peaceful Konoha is… or how much I enjoy this type of places…" She turned to look at her questioningly, "What do you think?"
Sakura was silent.
Ino looked at her ex-best friend's puzzled expression and turned back to her relaxed position on the bridge, "Well, I wish I had noticed that earlier, you know. It would have brought me happier memories—"
"What are you doing here, Ino?" Sakura interrupted, not understanding what Ino was trying to tell her. Ino's arms dropped down beside her as she stood up once again, "Just passing by actually… but I had to stop to make fun of you, Forehead Girl," Ino replied, sounding too rehearsed, "Wait 'till Sasuke-kun sees your big forehead!" Sakura glared at her and tried to rub off the embarrassing evidence, "Shut up, Ino-pig! Why did you come this way, anyway, your house is in the opposite direction."
"Hey, you say it as if I didn't know that already," Ino glared back and started walking past her, "I'm going to the hospital for your information, Big Forehead—"
"Hospital?" Ino cringed; she had just screwed up her plan. It was kind of embarrassing the reason why she was going there… but it wasn't like she would tell Sakura about it! She'd just keep on walking and no one would ever know, especially not Sasuke-kun.
"Ah…" Sakura said in her oh so sweet I-have-just-figured-out-the-way-to-ruin-your-day voice, "You must be going to visit Shikamaru."
"Guu…" Ino's face twitched and Sakura smiled knowingly at her, "I saw Chouji yesterday, Ino-pig-chan, so he's the only other person you could be visiting… and this early in the morning too… that way no one will know you are actually going out of your way to visit him, am I wrong?" Sakura pointed at her ex-best friend in mild amusement, and Ino glared at her rival in annoyance.
"I'm just doing him a favor! He is such a lazy bum, if I don't do something… he'll probably take to living in there…"
"…were his injuries that grave?" Ino blinked at Sakura's sudden change in attitude. She looked serious, almost apologetic, maybe she felt bad because Shikamaru had helped get Sasuke-kun back… but it wasn't like Shikamaru did it out of his good and hard-working heart. Ino finally shook her head, "That Shikamaru was the less injured of the group."
"What… then why is he still in the hospital? Everyone else has been let out, even Hyuga Neji…"
"Isn't it obvious? He is just wasting time in there, dragging out his recovery until they kick him out for being such a lag…"
Sakura's sweatdropped and Ino sighed.
"He'll never change… I knew something was going on for a while now… but it has been a week. He needs to get over it."
"Why would he stay there, though?" Sakura asked in skepticism.
"Sakura, unlike your team, my team is made-up of two useless idiots, you only have one, and Shikamaru would do anything to stay in bed all day." Ino closed her eyes, remembering the reason Shikamaru gave her when she asked him that same question…
"I'm just taking my time here, it's too troublesome going out there and putting up with that new Hokage. Tch…Geez… the type of missions she gives me… it's easier to watch the clouds from here."
Ino looked up at the sky and the wind waved her blonde hair in front of her face, "But… I'm beginning to think Shikamaru feels bad—for everyone..." Sakura's eyes widened, "He acts as if he didn't care… and he is the laziest idiot I've ever met, but… he is capable of doing a lot of amazing things when he tries. Maybe he feels his best effort wasn't good enough…" Ino's gaze dropped down, "He really is an idiot…" Her baby blue eyes turned towards her best friend who was staring at her in awe. Ino blinked.
"You know your team pretty well, Ino…" Sakura murmured, looking away and resting her hands on the bridge one more time. Ino wondered what that was supposed to mean.
Well… now that they were on topic…
"How are things going with your team? I heard Sasuke-kun is staying at Kakashi-sensei's place…" Ino drifted off and Sakura gazed down to look at the cool transparent water flowing below them, "Unlike you… I feel like I don't know them anymore, they aren't the two people I used to know…" Sakura commented, her tired voice making Ino frown, "It has been a week since Sasuke-kun… came back… but even after Naruto woke up…things haven't gotten better. On the contrary, sometimes I think… they've only gotten worse. I can't understand them… they—they can only pick fights with each other now. It's like they can't be near each other..." Yesterday was a good example…
Sakura ran towards their usual meeting spot, angry with herself for waking up late. She looked up, expecting to see everyone there, but to her surprise she could only recognize an orange figure standing at the bridge. Naruto… she frowned, was he talking to someone?—her eyes widened when she spotted Sasuke-kun in front of him.
Naruto turned around when he heard her closing near and his face lighted up like a star, "Good morning Sakura-chan!" She wondered what had him in such a great mood today, but whatever it was, it was getting contagious. She smiled, "Naruto, you are here early, that is so unlike you…eh? And Kakashi-sensei?"
"He came and then left! Hey, guess what Sakura-chan!" Naruto said excitedly, walking towards her in a hurry. Sakura blinked and her eyes traveled behind her blonde teammate to see Sasuke's still form leaning back against the bridge. His arms were crossed and his face was hidden by his bangs. Sakura frowned. He seemed angry.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, grinning madly, "You know what…" Sakura turned her attention to Naruto in annoyance, "What…" She asked obviously not interested in him, "Sasuke can't leave cause I'm here." Sakura stared at Naruto dumbfounded, and Naruto laughed as if he had said something funny. He turned to look at Sasuke, who had obviously heard the loudmouth moron, and Sakura understood why Sasuke looked so ticked off.
Naruto's mocking laughter persisted and Sasuke's frown deepened. "Yeah, he can't even take one step forward… ain't that right, Sasuke-chan?"
"Naruto!" Sakura found her voice again.
Heavy anger zipped off Sasuke's cool exterior, fueling Naruto's silent challenge. He turned towards Naruto and glared at the blonde heatedly. Naruto matched his glare with an unaffected smile.
The spot where their gaze met sent shock waves of terror down her spine. Sakura saw it coming—she could feel it coming—
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!" She said nervously as she stepped in front of Naruto in one swift motion; she was trying to cut the hostile link between the two.
If Sasuke had plans of walking near Naruto and jamming that smile down his throat, they had been ruined. He caught sight of Naruto's narrowed eyes—that taunting grin—and he felt his pride boil in response. Now if only Sakura moved out of his way—
"Sasuke-kun!" She couldn't even try to look up at his eyes—Her body would start shaking any second now—but if she didn't stop him—if she didn't do something… the clash between Naruto's straightforward provocations and Sasuke's forbidding rage was too much—
"Please…" She whimpered, not really knowing who she was trying to reason with, or maybe not even aware that she had spoken. One thing was sure though, neither of them was listening to her—
"Hey Sho-kun, I'm back."
If she had ever loved one man more than she loved Sasuke-kun, it would be Kakashi-sensei.
"You are late, again!" Naruto yelled instantly, sounding cheerful and childish, as if he had forgotten about the careful resentment he had displayed before. Sakura's wide green eyes turned to look at him in reproach, but the blonde never noticed. Sasuke turned away; putting his hands inside his pockets while Sakura was left standing there flabbergasted. Had she dreamt this? Why were they acting as if nothing happened? Was she the only one who thought things were wrong? Very wrong and out of balance? She stared at no particular spot in the air.
"…That will be today's mission, and I wasn't late, I had to go back to make sure I didn't leave anything behind." Naruto didn't buy anything of it, "…Sakura, is everything okay?" She looked up at her teacher dully, "Ah… yes…" Naruto's raging speech about how awesome he was followed after, and like always, Sasuke-kun never met her gaze.
Sakura was silent for another minute, trying to regain her track of thought, and then she continued, "They used to fight and quarrel before, but it's not the same. I know it's not. They are too angry… sometimes they… scare me…" Sakura looked down in shame.
"Have you… tried talking to them?"
"Ino!" Sakura snapped, outraged and frustrated. Had she tried? Was Ino making fun of her? "Well have you?" Ino frowned seriously at her and Sakura glared back stubbornly, "Of course I have! But Sasuke-kun doesn't—"
"What about Naruto?"
Sakura was at a loss of words, and Ino turned away convinced, "I thought so…" Sakura was not ready to accept defeat, "How can you suggest speaking to Naruto? He is so unreliable, and he—on top of that he is acting weirder than Sasuke-kun! It's like… I don't know!"
A heavy silence enveloped the two and one fact was obvious to both of them: Sakura had never tried talking with the hyperactive blonde. Why? Because no one else did, so why should she? The truth was that Ino didn't blame her. No one really liked Naruto. He didn't have friends either. How weird… she never realized how—
"Do you know something?" Ino blinked at the interruption. "Something must have happened between them, maybe… maybe Shikamaru knows. So I was thinking that you might…be able to help me, tell me something I didn't know." Sakura pressed, trying to tie strings, or get a hold of something that could help her. Anything. Ino was taken aback by the desperate look in her eyes, and after a second, she had to shake her head…
"He hasn't told anyone anything that goes beyond his mission report… not even the Hokage was able to get him to go into detail about their fight against those Sound ninjas…" She paused, knowing that Sakura wasn't satisfied, "If you are wondering if I asked him, I have to admit I did… but he said it was too troublesome to explain it to me." Sakura's hopeless look made her add, "But he says that to me every time I ask him something, so don't worry too much…" The empty silence was upsetting, "I suppose Sasuke-kun hasn't told you anything either…" Sakura nodded slowly, that same tired-expression on her face, "I asked Kakashi-sensei… but he told me not to worry…" Sakura's jaw tightened. That was exactly what he had said last time. She was tired of being lied to, tired of not being taken seriously. She was really tired… of many things…
"But what happened, Sakura, why did Sasuke-kun leave?" Ino said in frustration, her mind swirling with hypothesis and incomplete ideas.
"It wasn't his fault!" Sakura retorted and Ino was surprised by her reaction, "He is in a terrible situation… he forced him…"
"Uh? What do you mean? Who forced who?" Sakura looked up and her mouth opened, but the words never made it out. "I-I can't tell you…"
"What?" Ino said, feeling somewhat betrayed, somewhat insulted…
"I can't, I was sworn not to tell anybody else about Sasuke-kun's condition…" Ino's eyes widened and Sakura looked down, "I'm sorry… Ino…" The blonde-haired girl was quiet and Sakura wondered if she offended her with her secrecy.
"Must be hard for you…"
"Huh?"
"To keep all that stuff to yourself…"
Sakura looked at her friend's baby blue eyes in shock.
Ino looked down, a sad smile playing on her lips, "All for Sasuke-kun…" She said it as if she had repeated it many times before and turned away slightly, maybe waiting for some type of reconciliation, maybe just used to this type of conversations with her ex-best friend. "…Sometimes I wonder if it's really worth it…" Ino murmured to no one in particular and started to walk away.
Sakura watched her retreating back with sad eyes, too immature and too stubborn to say anything else, "You know, Sakura…" She was surprised by Ino's voice, "Your team is really amazing…but my team is not that bad." She tilted her head back to grin at her, "Bye Big Forehead!"
Sakura stared at her friend's fading figure, and a small smile crossed her lips. She had to acknowledge that talking to Ino had eased her mind… even if it was only for a little while.
Loud-footsteps brought her out of her reverie, "Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled and Sakura whirled around, blinking in surprise, "Naruto… you usually come from the other side of the bridge!"
"Huh…" Naruto looked at her in confusion, his steps shortening as he got closer, "I never noticed… hey, what's the difference?" Sakura sighed, "Never mind… why are you late anyway?" Naruto put a hand behind his head, "Why? Did you miss me—"
"No!" Sakura yelled angrily, and Naruto pouted, "I think I woke up really early this morning, but I must have fallen asleep somewhere because when I woke up I wasn't where I remembered and I must have gone the wrong way so—"
"Naruto." His babbling has cut short by Sakura's serious face, "Today… don't upset Sasuke-kun." Naruto blinked at her ingenuously, "What? But I—" Sakura glared at him, "Just don't!" She paused, trying to be less demanding with him, "Do it for me… I don't… like it when you two pick fights." Naruto watched her quietly, lips quirking down, "I didn't know…" He murmured, not really understanding why she was so sad…
He didn't like it either.
"Hey Sakura-chan," He began a bit uncertainly, "Do you hear something?" Sakura blinked and looked around, thinking that maybe Ino had hid somewhere just to look at Sasuke-kun, but even after scanning the place thoroughly she couldn't feel anyone around.
"What are you talking about?" She asked and Naruto turned his head, as if he was trying to listen in on something. Sakura frowned at him, but decided to listen in as well…just in case…but she couldn't hear anything else besides the gurgling water below.
"Naruto… if this is another of your jokes—" She paused, feeling rush of adrenaline make her heart speed up. Green eyes skimmed the place one more time, trying to pinpoint where this tension was coming from. Her eyes fell on Naruto and she scrutinized him in confusion—something about him… the way he felt was upsetting her. It was a dreadful feeling, something she'd only felt a couple of times in her life—very scary times in her life.
Naruto turned his back to her, his posture tense, as if he was facing someone—but Sakura saw no one there. She frowned deeply, her senses screaming at her to flee. Why? What was happening—her heart drummed in her ears—
"Good morning, Sho-kun!"
Sakura screamed and Naruto whirled around with his extended finger, "You are late!… Kakashi-sen...Sakura-chan?" He blinked at her and Sakura blinked back, the uproar of emotions exploding within her was gone like the scream in her lips.
"Eh?" She stared at Naruto in confusion and Naruto duplicated her expression perfectly. She blushed, closing her eyes in annoyance, "You idiot! Don't scare me like that!" She smacked him on the head, sending the blonde sprawling onto the ground. He could have just said he heard Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun coming!
Sakura turned to look at her teacher, or more likely, the boy standing beside him. Her body flooded with relief, thankful that Sasuke-kun was not staring at her weirdly for acting like an idiot. Her relief turned into sorrow when she realized he wasn't even looking her way.
"Sakura, is everything okay?" Sakura had to restrain the urge of glaring at her teacher. How many times was he going to ask her that? She was not the one going insane here! "Yes, I was just surprised…" She said bitterly, "You are always late." She added for good measure.
"Today you better give us an extraordinary mission, Kakashi-sensei! I've been saving up my energy for today! I'll complete it so fast you will have to give me another awesome mission, hey! Kakashi-sensei! Is it an A-class mission? Or maybe a—"
"Yes… yes…" Kakashi drawled out, used to Naruto's hyperactive morning rituals, but getting annoyed by them still as easily, "However, today we will be doing the same missions we've had so far."
"WHAT!" Naruto screamed, and Sakura would carry out her murder plans for Naruto if he screamed one more time. "Now Naruto, Hokage-sama requested for our team to help out with the reconstruction projects… Chuunins are only allowed in the area we will be working on today. Her recommendation of our group should mean something to you." Naruto's dark pouting and his raging murmuring about ugly old ladies didn't seem to upset Kakashi's curving eye.
Sasuke smirked. They were being assigned these stupid missions because the Hokage wanted to have him surrounded by Konoha ninjas. Kakashi seemed to disappear after leaving them to their task… probably busy with real missions outside of the country… but he couldn't bring them along because of Sasuke's 'situation'. Today must be a long mission for Kakashi—and that is why they would be in a Chuunin-only area... extra-guarding just in case Kakashi took longer than necessary.
They were still afraid he'd decide to leave the village again, but if Sasuke really wanted to escape, he would have done that a long time ago. They were pathetic.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked, the most practical out of three, "What exactly are we going to be doing?" Kakashi reached for his back pocket and pulled out a scroll, then proceeded to extend it in front of them. The scroll had the city's map printed on it. "This circled part here will be your duty."
Sakura's jaw fell, Sasuke frowned, and Naruto tried to make sense out of the map with his eyes closed. He wondered why it was so hard. "But those are the boundary walls of Konoha!" Sakura tried to reason with her teacher, "Sensei! That's crazy, those walls are at least 100 meters tall, and they stretch out for miles! That circled part itself looks well over 10 miles long!" Kakashi stared at her with his half-closed eye as if she was talking about Naruto's favorite food item.
"For that same reason we are going to help with the project, Sakura. Don't be so alarmed; you three won't be the only ones there. I already explained you'd be helping out the other Chuunins in that area." That was reasonable, but that still didn't appease the mortified girl. Think about the terrible damage her growing hair and beautiful nails would have to go through! Sure she was over the I-must-look-beautiful-for-Sasuke-kun stage, but she was still a girl.
"Well if there aren't anymore question, lets get going." Two of his students grunted noisily, not happy with the mission, and the other just glared at him, but he was used to all of that, so he just smiled behind his mask, and moved along.
***
Everyone was entitled to rest once in a while. She didn't object to that. Everyone deserved to have two or three days off after a well-done job. She accepted that. However, no one was allowed to spend more than a week in the hospital for minor injuries while everyone else had already left. It was embarrassing!!! Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance.
"How long were you planning on faking your injuries?" Ino said irritably, "I'm surprised you haven't been degraded back to Genin!"
"It's so troublesome having you around Ino, I could have spent another week in there if you had left me alone."
Ino glared at him, hurt by his last remark, "They would have found out sooner or later, don't blame me for it."
Shikamaru wondered why she was getting so pissed at him all of a sudden, and Ino wondered why he was being such a jerk all of a sudden. Both were in very bad moods all of a sudden. They made it out of the hospital without saying anything else.
Shikamaru turned the opposite way, deciding to head towards his house through the crowded streets in order to get away from any sort of troublesome birds, which always happened to carry bothersome messages coming from the Hokage.
"Shika…" Ino called, catching his attention before he forgot he had been walking with her, "There was… something I wanted to ask you before you left." He turned to face her, hands in pockets and looking kind of tired. Ino wondered how the hell he managed to look tired if he hadn't done anything for a whole week. That damned lazy bum. She could feel her eyebrow start to itch with anger. Shikamaru stared at her for another minute, wondering if she really wanted to ask him something or just wanted to stall him here so he'd end up with a bird perched on his shoulder.
She sighed and walked closer to him, to his growing curiosity. When the distance between them was reduced to a minimum, he began to get nervous. "You have to answer me this honestly," Ino said to him in a hushed voice and Shikamaru stared at her in confusion. "Why are you whispering?" Ino gritted her teeth and pulled Shikamaru back towards the hospital. The baffled Chuunin was dragged to a secluded spot near the hospital's wall, and any outside watchers would have prodded their companions and look at each other with secret smirks.
But this was Ino and Shikamaru we were talking about.
"What's wrong with you today, Ino…" Shikamaru protested, not enjoying the strange feelings that seemed to nudge at him when he was this close to her, "I'm just making sure you don't have any type of lame excuses that can help you get away." She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him in all seriousness. "You have to tell me exactly what happened the day you left to rescue Sasuke-kun."
Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow… this looked too much like his Mom forcing his dad to tell her where he had spent his last mission's money. "Geez, this is so troublesome…" He said honestly, not liking Ino's attitude one bit, "I already told you, why should I repeat myself…" He looked away, half-closed eyes fixed on anything but Ino's face. She was quiet… which forced him to glance her way, just to make sure she was still there. To his disappointment, she still was.
He frowned, "Ino… what makes you think I'm going to tell you something as troublesome as that." Ino's eyes opened a little, in surprise he thought, and she looked down. Shikamaru felt odd things churn inside him, odd-enough to make him want to apologize. He was loosing it.
"I'm asking you for Sakura…" Ino finally spoke up, "She's been having problems with her team lately… and she asked me—you know what she said! She said I understood my team quite well, but I don't understand you at all. You are always complaining about everything, and you are never willing to help me. This one time I thought it would be different, after all those favors I pulled off for your sake, but this is what I get!" Ino was glaring at him now, feeling distressed by the whole conversation. Why was she so angry with him anyway?
He stared at her blankly and Ino was about to turn away when his lips stretched up into a smirk, "So you need my help because your so-called genius can't solve his own problems?" Ino stared at Shikamaru in shock. He held her gaze for a second longer, and then looked away, "Geez, if it means that much to you—I'll tell you." Ino couldn't be less surprised. She stared at his frowning profile in wonder, a bizarre feeling making her want to—
She smiled warmly, looking down just to distract herself from any silly thoughts. Shikamaru felt something spreading through his face… but he decided to ignore it, for the sake of his own sanity. "Just don't go telling the whole village, otherwise that Hokage will have my head…"
"Fine…" Ino said, her smile never disappearing. "Well, you already know that we were helped by the Hokage's reinforcements. I believe it was someone named Shizune who came to aid Chouji and Neji. I don't know what happened to Kiba after we got separated…" He looked a bit disturbed by that, "But I was having difficulties of my own. I suppose the same ANBU who helped me helped him, but the Hokage didn't send her to aid us, it was just someone who had luckily passed by at the right time." He still had his doubts about that, but Ino didn't need to know it.
He glanced down at her, feeling somewhat proud that he had all of her attention. He looked away immediately, before any more weird feelings decided to make an appearance, "She ordered me to go after Sasuke… and this is where it gets complicated. I say that because when Naruto and I got separated, he was chasing after a new enemy, an enemy who I never saw again. In fact, I had passed the Fire country limits and I still didn't see anyone. I was going to start heading back, thinking that I could have made an error in my direction—" Ino knew Shikamaru was never wrong. He must have been very tired to actually doubt himself, "—but before I had time to react, someone was pulling me along at full speed." Ino's eyes widened, "It was Naruto."
Shikamaru paused, not knowing if he should tell Ino all of this after all. Ino waited patiently for him to continue, and he pouted silently, cursing his mind for getting into something as troublesome as this. "I must make something clear before I finish… remember the weird markings we saw in Sasuke's body during the Chuunin exam?" Ino nodded, "I did some research on them and those aren't any regular marks. They are spreading seals, which contaminate the body. It is a type of forbidden Jutsu which undermines the body." Ino was stunned, "Once those seals have reached certain stage, the Jutsu is irremediable…" Shikamaru looked away, his head bowing a little in remembrance.
"…The first thing Naruto said to me was that Sasuke wasn't a Konoha ninja anymore."
"After that, I was pushed out of the way because Sasuke was closing in on us—he looked…" Shikamaru paused, "Really angry…" He wasn't about to try to describe his appearance to Ino since she wouldn't believe him anyway. "Naruto looked pretty bad, and at the speed Sasuke was charging in on him, there was no way Naruto would have been able to avoid the hit. I had to use the remaining of my Chakra to try and stop him, but I knew the Kage Mane No Jutsu wouldn't be strong enough to hold him back… as I expected, his momentum allowed him to break free and he managed to strike Naruto with the Raikiri." Ino gasped.
"It wasn't fatal… but Naruto should have been able dodge it completely with my intervention... unless I made a miscalculation." Shikamaru looked down, and Ino's eyebrows slanted in worry. She could tell he was still shaken with the results of the mission.
"Don't ask me how… but the Jutsu affecting Sasuke reversed after his attempt to kill Naruto… and the most surprising part of everything… was that Sasuke himself was the one to help carry Naruto back to the village." Shikamaru was just stating the facts, "Sasuke never spoke a word to me or anyone else. He probably never noticed I was there. He just kneeled down, picked Naruto up and headed for the village..."
"Actually, the most surprising part of my first mission is… that Naruto made it back alive…"
***
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled from above, "Can you hand me that bucket with paint?" Her voice sounded loud to her ears, but down below, it seemed like a hushed scream.
Naruto laughed mischievously as he tagged the wall with words like Jiraiya is a pervert, or Tsunade is fifty years old, but the one that really got him good was his last one… it said in red bold letters: Sasuke is gay.
That cracked him up so bad!
"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, startling the boy bellow. She watched him spill the paint all over the floor. She wondered why she was stuck with such a reckless guy like him. "Can you hear me, Naruto? I need the paint bucket!"
Naruto squinted his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of his pink-haired goddess. He could see her bright hair from all the way down here! He grabbed the paint bucket and stared at the wall for another five seconds. Deciding what he should do…
Sakura wondered if he had forgotten what he had to do…
Sasuke walked by with a paintbrush in his hand then, and the air around them electrified in repulsion. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and Naruto was silent. The moment Sasuke disappeared from his sight everything seemed to go back to normal. Naruto sighed, that was a close one… he grinned widely, revealing his tagging penmanship… Sasuke was such a bastard. He deserved this and more! Naruto's grin faded a little… feeling empty inside.
Sakura had observed everything from above and an uneasy sweat droplet accumulated by her temple…
"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled from below, his voice sounding miniscule and childish, "Catch!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, swinging the bucket with all his strength. Sakura's eyes bulged and she yelped back as she watched it whiz by. The first thoughts that registered in her mind contained all types of thanks for not getting killed by a paint bucket and the other were censored adjectives describing Naruto's intelligence. After that first shock came the dawning realization that whatever went up, had to come down.
"AH!" Sakura cried out as she extended her hands, trying to catch the bucket without falling off the edge, loosing her balance, or worse even, missing the bucket and letting it drop down—now if it landed on Naruto's head and killed him—Sakura closed her eyes, hoping for the best…
She waited… and waited… and finally decided it was enough waiting and she should open her eyes. When she did she was more than surprised to see the bucket in her hands. "Eh…" How in the world did she… her eyelids half-closed in understanding.
"NARUTO YOU IDIOT, THIS IS EMPTY!"
Naruto cringed below, one hand touching his head lightly… he hadn't meant to spill all of it on the floor… but Sakura-chan had distracted him, and well… Sakura peeked angrily by the edge of the wall, "What were you thinking! And for a moment I thought I was going to get killed!" She raged, pink hair flowing down her shoulders wildly as she threw all sorts of stuff from above the wall.
Naruto tried to take cover, but somehow he wasn't succeeding. "But—Saku—ouch! You said!—"
"I said hand it to me, as in walk-up here and give it to me like any other normal person would!" Well, as normal as a ninja who could walk-up walls would… but that was beside the point! She sighed, her tantrum finished as she sat down near the edge, hands supporting her body from behind. She waited for Naruto's tiny and childish voice to start apologizing, then hear his loud-footsteps walking up the wall, then he would hand her a new paint bucket so she could finish this horrible mission, and if she was lucky, he would say he had to go because he had to help some unfortunate Chuunin somewhere really far away. Then she would be able to concentrate on getting close to Sasuke-kun… Sakura blushed as her mind continued to babble on...
She paused in mid daydream, where was Naruto with the paint bucket anyway?
She poked her head out to spot Naruto sitting with his arms crossed and looking lost in thought. A little voice whispered in her mind that maybe she had been too harsh with him…
He got up suddenly and started to walk away, paintbrush and bucket in hand.
Sakura watched him go in growing anguish; she didn't really mean the last part of her daydream! "Wait Naru—" She was cut off by the blonde's form rushing back towards her direction.
His foot displaced off the floor and his knee lifted his leg up towards the vertical wall and then—
A loud BOOM resonated throughout Konoha.
***
Naruto dug himself out of the mess he had made, coughing deeply and feeling the burning in his lungs. "Shit, shit…" He coughed again, hands reaching out for an exterior aid. Everything was so damned heavy—he wanted out!
A hand pulled him out completely just when he thought he'd be left there to die. Naruto squinted his eyes up, trying to regain his numbed senses back. His ears were still buzzing from the loud explosion. What the hell happened? The shadow above him kneeled down and put a hand on his shoulder, "Naruto, are you okay?" His eyes widened, "Iruka…sensei…" Naruto coughed, staring dumbly at his face, which was shadowed by the sun looking down on them. "Is everyone okay?" Iruka asked as he looked around, spotting two of his other former students not too far away.
"Sakura… let go." Sasuke said coldly, disengaging himself from the pink-haired girl. Sakura had to reluctantly let go of her savior, but she was still blushing from the close contact she had just experienced… one moment she was falling down, and the next… she was being saved by Sasuke-kun. It had been a fairy-tale moment! Sakura looked down, a shy smile on her face.
Iruka helped Naruto stand up, even though his previous-student refused obstinately to be helped. "I'm fine, Iruka-sensei." Naruto winced, one arm folded over his stomach, "But what… what happened…" Iruka didn't have an answer… actually he hoped Naruto could fill him in concerning that matter.
"Don't worry about it… this part of the wall was made while it was raining… it must have been very fragile to… fall apart like that…" Iruka said, but if he didn't know better, he'd say it was blown away. Naruto eyes widened when he noticed the size of the hole that had been made. It was pretty huge…
"Hehe… it's a new entrance, Iruka-sensei!"
Other Chuunins got closer to the scene, and they watched as Iruka chatted with Naruto as if they were having a picnic. Sasuke glanced at them with curiosity, wondering what it was that they were murmuring under their breath…
"Geez… this will never be finished at this rate…" Iruka said tiredly, he was tired of his alternate teach-then-repair job Anko-san had suggested in his case. "Since you are here, I should make you do it…"
"Eh! That's unfair! It wasn't me! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto pouted! He hadn't used Rasengan or anything! But Iruka-sensei wouldn't believe him! What a jerk! He pouted more…
Iruka sighed, a tired smile playing on his lips, "You know what… we haven't had any ramen together in a long time…" He said casually, scratching his chin with his finger.
Naruto's eyes sparkled, "Are you inviting me for ramen, Iruka-sensei?" The older man smiled, "Only after you help me repair this." Naruto's face fell, he knew there was going to be a catch, Iruka-sensei was such a cheapskate sometimes. He would get ramen though…
"Just don't get in my way, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said as he rolled up his sleeves, "I'll finish this in no time and then we can go!" Iruka smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair with his hand.
***
The stars twinkled above Konoha… and the cosmic line of milky celestial objects traveled for infinity. There weren't any clouds covering the sight tonight, and Iruka was glad for that…
Beside him sat Naruto, slurping his ramen happily, oblivious to anything else in the world. It was okay, because it was moments like this one that made the blonde Genin enjoy the life he was given. Even if they were short… and maybe meaningless… he was still happy to be here, eating ramen, and sharing the joy of an accomplished job with his teacher.
No matter what happened.
As long as Naruto believed… everything would end up going back to normal.
Yeah, he believed.
***
Everything was so quiet… Sakura sat up and looked around her room slowly, feeling alien to it, as if she was misplaced. She lowered her eyes, tired-phobias accumulating in the darkest corners of the room. Another gush of wind glided inside, combing her hair into knots and making her body shiver. She turned back to the window and pulled it down shut. Her eyes widened at the sight.
Long white wings tattooed onto the window, moving slowly up and down. What a beautiful butterfly…
Her fingers stretched out to touch the cold surface of the window, knowing that on the other side the butterfly lay still. She moved closer, curiosity making her wonder. "How strange… Konoha is not in its butterfly season…" She traced the pattern of its wings with her finger, watching in it tentatively as its wings breathed in and out. This wasn't the first time she'd seen one of these…
She was escorted inside the Hokage's office, and when the door opened, the person she had been praying for—anguishing over—was right there! Sitting in one of the room's chairs.
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura tried to hold back the heart-wrecking sob forming in her throat. His head turned towards her direction, but once he recognized her, he looked away. Eyes never meeting hers…
She could feel hot tears welling up in her eyes. She had to get closer to him… she—
"Don't."
He said it so softly… that she would later ponder if she had heard it at all. She paused, her trembling feet giving her little support as she stared at the boy of her dreams in hollow sadness.
"Please sit down, Sakura." The Hokage spoke up, making her presence known to her for the first time. "Hokage-sama…" Sakura said hoarsely, taking the nearest sit next to her before her legs gave up under her. "I called for you because I knew you would wait outside until they arrived." The Hokage watched her with gentle eyes, "You can see for yourself that Sasuke is back in the village, and you don't have to worry about his condition anymore, I will be taking care of that today."
Sakura smiled, tears streaming down her face in relief, "…I'm glad…" She whispered, looking thankful that it was finally over. She glanced towards Sasuke, who seemed as disturbed as she was, but doing a better job of hiding it, "Kakashi will return from his mission soon, he will be in charge of Sasuke's custody, that way you can feel safe that nothing will happen to him." The Hokage informed her and Sakura nodded, "But Sakura… I will have to ask you to refrain from speaking of Sasuke's cursed seal to anyone else." Her eyes widened, "It is for village's sake…" Sakura was about to nod when Sasuke's dull voice intercepted their conversation.
"Why did you tell Naruto about the mark?"
Her eyes trembled, "I… I'm sorry…"
"I told you to stay out of my business."
Sakura looked down, "I had to tell him… because… because he didn't understand—"
"And you think you understand?"
Sakura held back a sob, but Sasuke continued ruthlessly, "You are always more burdensome than that idiot."
She clutched the ends of her dress, "But… I had to do something… I was worried—you are everything to—"
"This has nothing to do with you."
Sakura bowed her head in defeat, and a melancholic silence filled the room.
"Because of you—Naruto is dead."
Sakura's eyes widened and Tsunade's patience had long been exhausted, "Naruto is in the hospital. I have already tended his wounds… he is coming along fine." She said the last word almost bitterly and Sasuke smirked behind his bangs. Tsunade's eyebrows knitted in anger, but she refused to play his game. She turned towards Sakura, who was looking down and trembling in disarray.
Tsunade sighed, "I can tell the position you are in isn't one of the best ones, Sakura…" She started, feeling the burden of the day taking a toll on her, "But… you must be strong. There are times when things don't look very bright… but—things will get better. Sooner or later…now I want you to get some rest, tomorrow we will be able to talk a little longer."
Sakura got up from her chair and headed towards the door. She paused, turning to look back at Sasuke, "I'm sorry… Sasuke-kun." She whispered as she went out the door. She closed it behind her, and bit her lip to keep the tears from coming down.
A hand landed on her shoulder lightly and she looked up startled, "Things will go back to normal now Sakura…"
Kakashi-sensei…
She saw him open the door and go in, and she stood there
motionless, her mind completely blank.
When she finally stepped out the building, the first thing she saw was a white butterfly circling around in the darkness…
Sakura almost screamed as a knock on the door startled her.
"Sakura!" Her mother called from the other side and Sakura closed her eyes, her heart berating her for being so restless. She sighed… what bad timing!
"Sakura, I know you are still awake! Close your curtains and go to bed, no more staying up late young lady!"
Sakura turned back to the window, remembering her strange stalker. It was gone. Had she imagined it?
"Sakura!"
Green eyes shot towards the door in disdain, "Leave me alone!" She yelled, "Just go away, I don't need you to tell me what to do! I'll do what I want!" Sticky-anger dried up her throat, making it hard to breath, to think even. "I just want to be alone!" Her voice rang in her ears, and her breathing accompanied the hallow air in the room.
There was no reply but the simple footsteps walking away…
Sakura sat on her bed… and shivered, not from anger or sadness—but from the cold. She wrapped her arms around herself, and rubbed her hands on them to keep warm.
"…"
TBC…
Comments: This chapter was pretty straightforward, maybe because I've been reading too much Naruto Primer, or because I felt it was necessary to be less redundant and more helpful with the plot (Yes… must have a plot…) I hope this chapter satisfies some of your main doubts! Aren't Shika and Ino just so cute together!!! *squeak* hehehe
Thanks to all of those who reviewed chapter 2!!! I'm flattered with all of your nice comments…*happy-warm-fuzzy-filled-tears* Thanks guys! T_T *takes out handkerchief*
Erm… I procrastinated big time for this chapter…that's why it came out this late… and like always, I take a million years revising it! I was so angry last chapter! After I uploaded it, I noticed a lot of silly mistakes that I just wanted to hang myself! *sigh* Now I understand why beta-readers were created!
-Saori