A/N: Gratuitous Iruka-sensei references for...me. I'm too old to squeal like a fan girl but...ah, screw it. ::fangirlsqueal::
Sorry. This chapter kind of has a lot of disjointed parts. Bear with me...
I get it- you guys want Sasuke back...hopefully after this chapter you can see how he'll come back in the picture :-)
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The meeting with Lee had left Sakura with a warm feeling in her heart. Her nerves were calm again and she was glad that she no longer felt like the lost child of the past few days. Things seemed to pick up their habitual rhythm again. In fact, it felt just like any other day she had free to herself. But before she retired to her apartment, she had gone to see Ino, who had returned to work at the flowershop after a hard day at the academy.
"Ino-pig, did you miss me?" Sakura asked as she poked her head into the flower shop.
Ino looked up from the papers she was writing on behind the counter.
"Ah! Who's this lady with the wide forehead?" She said with a broad grin as her gaze met her familiar pink haired friend.
Ino left the stool and met Sakura midway through the flowershop with a welcoming hug. It was tighter and lasted longer than their usual friendly embrace.
Ino withdrew with her hands still on Sakura's arms.
"You sneaky girl, you did this on purpose didn't you? What, was Lee not giving you enough attention? You had to go and get yourself lost and worry the whole village?"
Sakura smiled guiltily.
"Tsk tsk." Ino clicked disapprovingly while she shook her head and let go of Sakura. She turned and walked back to her stool.
After a moment, Sakura followed Ino and asked, "What are you working on?"
"Oh, just some papers Iruka-sensei told me to grade," Ino replied, resting her cheek on a hand while tapping a pen on the papers in an uninterested way.
Papers? Sakura thought.
"Right!" Sakura remembered aloud, "how is that going?"
Ino threw her pen down and sighed, "The kids are such brats, Sakura! I don't remember being that way- do you? I can't believe how Iruka-sensei deals with it! I have half a mind to strangle some of them!"
"But you wanted to teach!"
"Yeah, well, I'm beginning to think that was a bad idea." Ino sighed again and slouched while crossing her arms in front of her. "It doesn't help that I work here either," she complained, "My students have no respect for me! They come in knowing that I have to be polite to them, just testing me to see if I'll yell."
Sakura was relieved that their conversation was centered on the so-called "brats" Ino was teaching and not her own mission.
"Well, you could do anything you want, Ino," Sakura said while bending down to examine the flowers in the buckets. "You don't have to be stuck as an academy teacher. You can still take the jounin exam. Maybe ANBU or hunter-nin is a better fit." Sakura pulled out a few daffodils.
"I have a little more sense of self-preservation than to do that. I'm not planning to die anytime soon you know? Not before..." Her voice drifted off. She paused.
"Not before what?" Sakura teased, "Before you marry Shikamaru?"
She moved her head suddenly to avoid the flying pen that was thrown her way.
"I'm not marrying that bastard, Sakura!" Ino's cheeks were hot.
"But you're dating him..."
Clearly, it was an unusual relationship.
"Yes...well--" Ino's voice broke off, frustrated. She huffed before regaining her composure and realizing that two could play this game. "Well, how are you and Lee?" she prodded meaningfully, her voice artificially sweet.
It was Sakura's turn to blush as she turned her head away from her friend's gaze.
"What about us?" Sakura stood up with the bunch of daffodils in her hands, still averting her gaze from her friend's insinuating look.
"Come on, I know he was glad to see you. You guys have anything special planned tonight? Dinner by candlelight, or a cozy evening at home?"
"It's not like that," mumbled Sakura as she brushed her hair back.
Ino sighed and shook her head slightly. Then her voice grew more serious. "He really cares about you, you know."
Sakura's expression. looked a little hesitant when she turned to look at Ino again. Then her eyes lowered as she twirled the flowers in her hands.
"I know."
"Do you care about him?"
The answer was simple. "Yes, of course."
There was another pause.
"He would do anything for you." Ino continued gently, giving Sakura's forearm a squeeze.
Something about her tone made Sakura look into Ino's deep blue eyes.
"You deserve someone like that."
Her voice was soft, but Sakura felt suddenly uncomfortable and threatened. She stared at her friend, wondering if Ino could somehow see through her thoughts. What she had spoken...it was almost as if she were comparing Lee to him...
Ino sensed her discomfort; she didn't know why her friend seemed to fall suddenly into a trance. To break the awkward silence that lasted for far too long, Ino cleared her throat loudly and said brightly, "So! Sakura! Do you know what you're going to wear to the festival yet?"
Sakura's eyes blinked a few times while she came back to her senses.
"What?"
Ino sighed and folded her arms again in mock disappointment, "I know you were gone for a few days, but you haven't forgotten have you? The festival? This Saturday?"
"Festival...," Sakura searched her mind. "Oh!"
"Yes," Ino said, exasperated.
Sakura's throat was suddenly dry. The last thing on her mind had been the annual Konoha festival taking place this weekend. "No, I have no idea what I'm wearing."
"Well, neither do I. I was searching through my closet yesterday and it was so depressing. You want to go shopping sometime?"
"Yeah...um, sure." This conversation was getting more confortable.
"How does tomorrow afternoon sound?"
"Hmm...I have to check tomorrow for missions, but Tsunade-sama probably won't assign me anything so soon. And all the shinobi will get Saturday off for sure. So...yeah, I guess tomorrow afternoon is fine."
"Guh, I'm so excited. It's always fun to see everyone dressed up, don't you think?"
"Right," Sakura raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Especially..."
"Don't start with me again, forehead girl!" Ino warned.
Sakura shrugged and sighed. Deciding she should get going, she reached into her back pocket for money to pay for the flowers.
"Now you're trying to make it up to me with money! I'm not taking it Sakura!" Ino affected a pout.
"Ino, I didn't pay for my last flowers. I should at least—"
"Just get going would ya? I've got some papers to grade." Ino turned immediately to the stack of exams in front of her.
Sakura smiled at her friend warmly. Ino had a strange way of showing her affection, and Sakura suddenly felt very sorry for Shikamaru. Dating her best friend was probably the most masochistic thing she could think of, especially for someone with such a low tolerance for troublesome behavior.
"I'll treat you to dinner sometime," Sakura turned her head as she prepared to leave the shop.
Ino waved her off, her gaze still fixed on her papers.
Sakura suppressed a laugh as she exited into the warm afternoon sun on her, clutching her late offering for the memorial.
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That night, Sakura found it hard to sleep. This marked the first time she was alone in her bed in more than a week. Her body felt tired, but her mind kept running over the different events that occurred that day. Everytime she tried to block thoughts out of her head and concentrate on her steady, rhythmic breathing, some memory would make its way to her consciousness. The morning with Hokage-sama was especially upsetting; it felt like it happened so long ago, but she could easily recall the burn on her cheeks during the whole meeting.
Sakura, resting on her side, stared at the clock on the wall. 12:00 midnight already. She sighed and drummed her fingers on the mattress.
After some time, she shifted to sit up, her white bedsheets rustling nosily in the silence of the night. For awhile, she debated what do to. Try to sleep again? Read? Go bother Naruto? Suddenly, she shivered.
Tossing the covers over, she scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up with some effort. She gathered her hair to one side and rubbed the sides of her arms. The night air blew in through the open window, and her white tank top and pink shorts were thin protection from the chill.
Sakura reached outside the window to grab the panels to shut it, but she paused for a moment. Though it was cold, she noticed that the air felt fresh against her bare skin and the sensation wasn't unpleasant.
The mountains in the distance looked like ominous, dark masses and for awhile Sakura just stared at them. It had only been last night that she had collapsed hard against the rock. She recalled the intensity of her emotions then and felt an uncontrollable pain start growing in the pit of her stomach. Sakura shivered again, but it wasn't because of the temperature.
She closed the panel quickly and returned to her position on the bed.
She didn't want to think about him.
You're supposed to forget, right? She scolded herself.
Sakura let herself fall back onto her bed, causing it to shake slightly under her weight.
She stared at the ceiling.
Festival, huh...
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The next morning Sakura went through her plans for the day. First a trip to the memorial, then a stop at the chuunin office, followed by some free time and a nice afternoon shopping with Ino.
As she walked down the streets of Konoha, she noticed people setting up decorations and cleaning the streets for the festival tomorrow. There was always some sort of parade in the afternoon, but the real activity began at night. The shops would be open late and packed with their best products, delicious food would be prepared in stands right before their eyes, and different activites for children and adults would be set up for everyone's enjoyment. And of course, there would be more than a few parties. Sakura looked forward to it enough- this was a time shinobi could just be normal citizens, participating in the gaiety of celebration.
The sound of a crow cawing over her head disrupted her thoughts and made Sakura shift her gaze to the sky. She squinted in the morning sun, but sure enough, she could make out the image of a crow circling above her. This could only mean one thing.
I wonder what the Hokage wants from me now...this early in the morning?
She sighed and concentrated the chakra to her feet. She jumped to the rooftops and began traveling steadily toward the government building.
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"Come in," the strong female voice said.
Sakura opened the door and walked in, expecting to see Tsuande sitting behind her desk shuffling papers. Instead, she was surprised to see Tsunade standing up, leaning her weight on the front edge of her desk. Next to her stood an ANBU nin; they had been talking.
"What's going on here, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asked, confused. "You sent for me?"
She carefully made her way to where the other two stood.
"Ah, Sakura-san. I am happy to see that you made it back safely," said the ANBU nin. He was wearing a white cloak.
The voice sounded familiar.
Sakura recognized him now as the captain of her last mission- the same one that had given her the uniform and set the signal for the attack that damp night in the forest. So much had happened since then, and she tried to control a shudder.
The ANBU captain continued, "We wanted to speak with you about a few things."
Sakura looked from the ANBU to the Hokage and dropped her eyes.
Not this again...
"What did you want to say?" She cleared her throat, preparing herself for a barrage of questions.
"The two of the ANBU that night suffered third degree burns but are alive. The other, your partner that night, was also injured severely, but he currently is undergoing surgery to replace the tendon."
His sentence didn't sound finished.
There's more...
There was a pause before the captain spoke again, "We were curious, however, why you were practically untouched."
Sakura's face was turned down so he could not see her discomfort..
"I'm not sure, but..." she replied softly. She heard the Hokage shift. She continued, lifting her head and trying to keep the sadness out of her eyes, "If you didn't know, we were once teammates..."She added, her voice stronger now, "...but that was a long time ago."
"I see," the ANBU said calmly.
"So, for the duration which you were kidnapped, he didn't hurt you?" he asked again.
"No."
"Is there any chance he would want come back? Either for revenge...or to see you?"
Sakura's head fell again. She closed her eyes momentarily.
"I'm sure there isn't." Her voice seemed to convince her own self of this fact. It squashed any remaining hope that she would ever see him again. Then she realized who was watching her- the leader of her mission and the Hokage- and she stiffened.
She couldn't betray that she wanted anything to do with Sasuke. It pained her to say so, but she felt like she had to.
"We didn't part on the best terms...He made it clear he didn't want to meet me again and...well...I don't want to see him either. He is nothing more to me than a stranger now."
The Hokage raised an eyebrow, but thought that perhaps Sakura had finally come to her senses and gotten tired of unrequited feelings.
"If there is a risk of him coming back to bother you, Sakura, we can have two ANBU escort you in public if you like," she said.
The ANBU captain cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary, Tsunade-sama."
The Hokage looked at the masked man. "Why?"
"Those needles that I wrote about in the mission report. They..." he paused, "they were coated with strychnine."
Both women's eyes widened.
Sakura grabbed the back of the chair to steady herself.
What...? What is he talking about?
"Our teammate was sure he got a hit, maybe even at the brachial artery. The symptoms take a few days to settle in...so right about now, he should start feeling the effects."
Sakura now felt as if the ground supporting her had crumbled. She summoned all her strength to steady the racing of her heart in front of her company. She gave a deep breath and closed her eyes, but her insides felt sore and tense.
"Most likely he would try to draw out the blood, but for this particular poison that only spreads its affects to other parts of the body. Our enemy doesn't know that the only antidote is here, and only our medical shinobi know how treat that wound. In the unlikely event that he figured this out, it would be too late for him. Most likely, he couldn't travel here in his condition," the ANBU continued.
Sakura felt a scream build up in her core.
It's not true...it can't be true...
"If that is the case," Tsunade-sama said gravely, "I'll dispatch hunter-nins in the next few days to search for his body."
The Hokage sighed and shook her head.
"It's unfortunate," she stole a meaningful glance at Sakura, "but it had to be done."
Sakura felt a surge of anger and disbelief and thought she would explode. She had to get out of this office as soon as possible.
"If that is all, Hokage-sama, I should get going," Sakura said with a bow, in the calmest voice she could muster in this condition.
Tsunade put a hand on Sakura's arm and gave it a squeeze, which surprised the younger woman. Sakura met her gaze. The brown eyes were warmer now.
"Try to enjoy the festival, Sakura."
"Hai."
She gave another low bow to the Hokage and then to the ANBU captain before she walked out of the office, artificially trying to mimic a normal pace.
When the door finally shut, Sakura's shoulders fell and her eyes closed. Her whole body ached with an incredibly sharp pain.
He said he would kill me. So...why? Why do I still care?
Sakura grabbed her chest with one hand.
Because...
Before she found the reason why, she felt the tears start welling up in her eyes again. She quickly brushed them aside. But her body wasn't satisfied. Sakura felt the rush of emotions sweep over her, trying to find an outlet. The only thing she could think of was to run.
Sakura ran out of the hallway, down the stairs, out the building, and through the streets. She had no idea where she was going, but she felt compelled to keep moving. Unwittingly, she came to the grassy field where the shinobi memorial was.
She sprinted right up to it and suddenly stopped.
No one was here now, she had it all to herself.
She felt her eyes water again but she let the tears fall this time. After kneeling slowly down into the grass, she bowed her head. She felt her racing pulse start to slow down.
He was the only person she could talk to now.
Kakashi-sensei...
What am I going to do...
What can I do?
Her only answer was the morning breeze that rustled the branches.
Please tell me...
Sakura wondered why she expected a response, but suddenly she was angry that she didn't. With the palm of her hand she slapped the cool marble in frustration and gripped it in pain when she felt the sting.
This had been the place where team 7 first trained. It was the bell snatching trick, and they failed miserably the first time around. They had each attempted to steal the bell individually, when all along the answer was teamwork.
Teamwork.
Sakura closed her eyes and traveled back to that moment in her mind. Her sensei had said something back then. It was something like, "Those who fail the mission are worthless. But those who betray their friends...they are worse than trash..."
It had meant little to her at that time, but now, that was the only statement of his that she remembered. Sasuke had been her teammate once; he had saved her life countless times on missions in the past. She couldn't let him die, not if she could do something about it.
Sakura paused for a minute, and then stood up slowly.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she whispered aloud with a bow.
She had made her decision, and with each passing moment she was more and more convinced that it was the right one.
Her brow furrowed. She would be no use to Sasuke if she just sat and cried. She had to help him, somehow. Now was the time to make the plan.
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A/N: Strychnine works on the spinal cord and causes convulsions and muscular hyperactivity; all muscles are excited and contracted maximally which leads to an instant, painful death. It's also easy to detect (think rat poison). So, obviously, my story isn't exactly accurate! But Sasuke will have some of these symptoms- crippling cramps in his arms, spreading to the rest of his body maybe. Just wanted to have a name of a toxin in there, and just so happens I found one in my school notes.