Disclaimer: Again, I don't own any of the characters from Naruto, even
though I really wish I did. Oh well. So without further adieu, on to the
story.
Kyubi Unleashed
By DigiScanner-Shonen
Chapter 3: "Can You Forgive Me?"
Haruno Sakura had been locked up in her room since coming home from training with her teammates. She had been crying into her pillow, remembering all that Naruto had told her. She meant everything to him and to hurt him so deeply...
Sakura turned over on her bed and looked out the window. The brilliant sunset coloured sky outside to her was all in shades of grey. Maybe she could apologise to him again? No, he'd still be bitter after what she did. Could she just leave him with that big a wound inside him?
"Sakura," a voice came from downstairs, "Can you get the door? I'm busy cooking dinner."
She really didn't feel like it, but Sakura got up off of her bed and went downstairs to get the door, only to please her mother. She was greeted with a darkening street, nightfall was almost here. Lamps were starting to light Konohagakure and people were heading home, but Sakura didn't notice them. She looked around for the knocker, but there was no one. She was about to close the door when she found a shuriken with a note lodged into the middle of the door.
She took the shuriken off, headed upstairs to her room and read the note quietly.
"Sakura," it began, "I know its been tough for you today, after what was told to you. If you want to know if he's still bitter, go to the park at midnight tonight. Wait on the bench underneath the trees. Everything will make sense when you do this. He'll wait for you."
There was no signature. Who would know about what Naruto told her besides her? She hadn't told anyone. But she planned to follow the instructions and go to the park at midnight. She'd wait on the bench underneath the trees.
She'd see who this mystery note sender was.
*~*
The lamps lit the path in Konohagakure Park with a yellow glow. The sky was clear and you could see all the stars. Leaves rustled as a light wind grazed the trees. It gave off a kind of eerie feeling. Between this and finding out who the mystery note was from, Sakura was very uneasy. She sat on the bench, slightly shivering from the cold.
Her knees were shaking with anticipation and her stomach twisted in anxiety. I should have brought a coat, she shivered as she looked up at the stars. She had always liked looking at the stars on clear nights like this. They were so beautiful, each and every time she saw them. Her father once told her that the stars wrote destinies within their patterns.
Was it written in the stars that she would scar Naruto with her words and she'd later regret it after knowing that he loved her with all his heart? Sakura thought. Maybe it was also written in the stars that she'd never find love.
Sakura returned to earth and looked down at her own two feet. She shivered again and wished this mystery person would hurry up and reveal himself. The cold was getting to her. Maybe the person was chronologically challenged...
She felt sudden warmth as a jacket covered her shoulders. She turned around to find the person who put the jacket on her. There was no one. She took off the jacket and tried to identify it. It was hard to tell what colour it was since the lights gave off a yellowish kind of tint. What she did find was that it had a furry collar. And it had on the left shoulder a spiral symbol. From her guess, the jacket was also yellow. This jacket could only belong to...
"Hey Sakura."
Sakura turned to her right and was greeted with the sight of Uzumaki Naruto, without his jacket. It seemed now he was the one shivering. She motioned to give back the jacket, but Naruto motioned for her to keep it on.
"Cold, huh?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah," Naruto replied, teeth chattering.
There was silence between them, neither quite knowing what to say to the other. They'd been through a lot together as a team, but not as individuals. The stars twinkled above the pair as Sakura drew in a breath to talk to Naruto again.
"Naruto, I truly am sorry for what happened yesterday. I never meant to hurt you, but my obsession with Sasuke-kun..." she talked quietly, "I just hope you can forgive me for what I said to you. Can you forgive me for what I did?"
"No, Sakura," Naruto shook his head and Sakura felt that he'd never forgive her ever, "I'm the one that should be asking for forgiveness."
"What?" Sakura wondered.
"I lashed out at you after what happened and told you how you were my whole world. It was too much, too fast for you, I think. I never should have made you feel like a heel when I said that. Especially since you were trying to apologise to me. I'm the one who should be asking 'Can you forgive me for what I did.'"
They both looked into each other's eyes and saw what they both felt. Embarrassment. Sadness. Joy. And forgiveness. It was Sakura who answered first.
"Of course, I forgive you, Naruto," she grinned, "How can I stay mad at you when you pour out your heart to me?"
"Yeah. And I forgive you for saying all those harsh things to me," Naruto smiled back, "Well, now that that's over and dealt with..."
Sakura put her head on Naruto's shoulder. They looked up at the night sky together. What she thought she felt with Sasuke was now with Naruto. She felt happy and safe in his company. Sure he was rude, loud, obnoxious and self-centred at times, but he was also kind, determined and empathetic as well. She had only hated him because everyone else did and to impress Sasuke. Now she didn't. She couldn't understand why everyone in Konohagakure didn't see the other side of the blonde shinobi.
"Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Why does everyone in the village hate you anyway?" Sakura asked, "It seems to me that everyone hates you for no particular reason. Is there one?"
Naruto pulled back and looked down to the ground. Sakura felt ashamed now. Did she just hurt him even more after they just patched things up?
"I don't want to tell you. You'd just shun me like everyone else does," Naruto told her quietly, "And after we just forgave each other, if I told you, you might hate me again. And I don't want that, not after everything I said to you earlier."
Sakura put a hand on his cheek and drew his face to look at hers. "I could never hate you again, Naruto. You've just shown me that there's another side to you that everyone else just doesn't see. And I like it."
Naruto smiled and blushed a little. So did Sakura. They seemed to lean inwards toward each other. As they got closer, their eyelids closed. They were almost at the point that their lips would meet...
"Hey! What's going on over there?" A voice yelled. There was some barking from where the voice came from.
"Crap! I forgot about the village's new security!" Naruto cursed under his breath and he and Sakura moved into the trees, "Let's move this somewhere else."
They sat in a small bush to hide themselves from the guard and his dogs. It seemed to pass over them, leaving them.
"Now, where were we?" Naruto asked.
"Um, I think I better go home," Sakura admitted slowly as Naruto cursed under his breath again, "It IS late."
"Yeah," Naruto whispered sadly, "But will I see you again tomorrow?"
"We've got practice together idiot," Sakura gave him a playful punch, "Of course we'll see each other again."
"Great! See you in the morning then, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at her.
"You bet on it, Naruto," Sakura started, happy that Naruto was calling her "Sakura-chan" again. She then moved slowly to his ear as if to whisper something. She finished with, "...-kun."
She kissed his cheek and ran off for home. Naruto stared in the direction she went, eyes wide. He slowly raised his hand to the place where Sakura kissed it and moved his hand down it slowly.
"Naruto-kun..." He could hear Sakura still say in his mind. He could still feel her lips pressed against his cheek. He was about to burst with joy.
"YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!!"
"What's going on over there?" The guard's voice came again as the dogs' barking grew louder and louder.
"Dammit!"
*~*
It was three days after the Hokage had sent the ninjas who came to her house to the Land Hidden In the Clouds that a report was sent back. The report was with one single ninja, heavily injured on the brink of death. Tsunade and the Konohagakure Council were in the hospital room. Tsunade used her healing powers to try and help him talk and feel batter, but the wounds were fatal. He wouldn't last long, even with Tsunade's ability in medical ninjutsu.
"Now, what happened?" One of the council members asked, "And where are the other two?"
The ninja breathed heavily. He moved a half-open eye around the room, the other was permanently shut. His body had large bruises, gashes, scrapes on it and Tsunade tried her best to keep him alive long enough for him to tell everything. He coughed up blood before he began speaking.
"Three days ago...Land Hidden in Clouds...cough...investigation of disaster that Hokage sent us to...look at...pant...arrived at a destroyed village...wheeze...buildings demolished, blood spilled, bodies everywhere...dear Lord...asked survivors where disaster was...sniff...don't hurt me..." the ninja tried to explain.
"What's wrong with him?" another council member interrupted.
"Remember, he doesn't have much longer to live," Tsunade told the Council, "He's doing his best to tell us what happened."
"...tracks found in ground...large...trailed after it...followed tracks...no...stopped halfway in the desert...sob...ambush...gigantic...tried to flee, oh Lord...tried to flee...other ninjas, killed...barely made it back...cough...it was terrible..."
"What was it?" Tsunade asked.
"It was...it was..." the ninja tried to tell them, but his strength was fading, "...horrible, huge...slaughtered...no...sob...it was...it was..."
"What was it?" Tsunade asked again. But the ninja could tell no more.
"WHAT WAS IT?" A council member demanded.
Tsunade bowed her head in silence, shedding a few tears, then recomposed herself to talk to the Council.
"Well, we have some information on what it was, but it's still not enough!" The Head Councilman said, "We need MORE information. We can't just deal with a force that we don't even know is!"
"Well, what do you suggest?" Tsunade asked.
"Another information gathering mission. Those three were Chuunins, am I right? Send a Jounin. No wait, in fact, send Jiraiya. He'll tell us exactly what we want to know about this disaster."
"What disaster?" came a voice.
It was Jiraiya, standing in the hallway, watching all that happened, somewhat bemused. "There's been a disturbance in the Land Hidden in the Clouds. Our only clues don't fit," Tsunade filled him in, "We need you to go and see exactly what's going on there."
"What's in it for me?" Jiraiya asked, "I'm kind of busy right now. I was going to take Naruto away for some more training in the woods in a couple of days."
"You'll be next in line for Hokage," the Head Councilman said.
"WHAT? That pervert the 6th Hokage?" Tsunade expressed her discontentment.
"Nope," Jiraiya shook his head and Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.
"You'll have done the country a great service."
"Uh-uh."
"We'll make you an Official Council member."
"Don't want it."
"Fine," the man sighed, "We'll allow you to peek at the ladies all you want and grant you pardon for every occasion."
"Consider this assignment taken care of! I'm off!" Jiraiya cheered as he vanished to begin the mission.
"He never changes," Tsunade smiled and shook her head.
"Let's hope he makes it against this mysterious foe and gathers the information we need," a Councilman said.
"Hey, he's one of the Three Legendary Ninjas of the Leaf. If anyone can survive and give us info, it's him," Tsunade replied. She was sure he could do it.
At least, that's what her head told her.
*~*
A day later, he was in the Cloud Country, following the trail of the disastrous mystery.
Jiraiya didn't want to face the same fate as the Chuunins, but he was sure he could handle it. After all, he WAS Jiraiya of the Legendary Three. He'd get to the bottom of this. Tsunade would be so happy when he'd report the information. Maybe I'll score some points with her to boot, he thought, and then perhaps we'll go a little further, heh heh.
The tracks had gone farther since the attack on the Chuunins. It had stopped to destroy a couple more villages, but other than that it kept on moving. It was almost at the border of the country and was posed to step foot into a neighbouring country. Unless Jiraiya could accurately gain information to help stop it soon, the whole world could be like this.
Fresh marks were made only an hour ago, Jiraiya noted as he ran alongside them. The tracks darted off to the side and then stopped. Strange, thought the white-haired ninja of legend. Why would they just stop suddenly? Especially when they were just made?
He then heard a sound. Normally it would be impossible for ordinary shinobi to hear something like it, but Jiraiya was sharply trained for it. It sounded like a large, angry growl. And judging from the volume and distance, it was behind him, about a kilometre off. Jiraiya could only imagine what it came from.
He turned around and saw a speck on the horizon. And it was getting bigger and bigger with enormous speed. As soon as the speck got to a decent size to see what it exactly was, Jiraiya was shocked, yet amazed at the same time. There was no way that that was...
But yet it was and it was still heading for him.
Okay, if that's the way you want to play it, Jiraiya thought as he prepared himself for battle as the mysterious disaster that arrived only a few short days ago charged toward him and Jiraiya sprinted equally as fast towards the thing, Let's see what you got.
And all at once, it began.
TO BE CONTINUED!
As always, please review. I appreciate reviews for the story. Next chapter equally as good as this one. Look for it soon! Oh and please check out my other Naruto story, "Wind". Yes, it's based on the song from the first ending of the show. I'm planning on redoing it soon, so read it now in it's first form!
Kyubi Unleashed
By DigiScanner-Shonen
Chapter 3: "Can You Forgive Me?"
Haruno Sakura had been locked up in her room since coming home from training with her teammates. She had been crying into her pillow, remembering all that Naruto had told her. She meant everything to him and to hurt him so deeply...
Sakura turned over on her bed and looked out the window. The brilliant sunset coloured sky outside to her was all in shades of grey. Maybe she could apologise to him again? No, he'd still be bitter after what she did. Could she just leave him with that big a wound inside him?
"Sakura," a voice came from downstairs, "Can you get the door? I'm busy cooking dinner."
She really didn't feel like it, but Sakura got up off of her bed and went downstairs to get the door, only to please her mother. She was greeted with a darkening street, nightfall was almost here. Lamps were starting to light Konohagakure and people were heading home, but Sakura didn't notice them. She looked around for the knocker, but there was no one. She was about to close the door when she found a shuriken with a note lodged into the middle of the door.
She took the shuriken off, headed upstairs to her room and read the note quietly.
"Sakura," it began, "I know its been tough for you today, after what was told to you. If you want to know if he's still bitter, go to the park at midnight tonight. Wait on the bench underneath the trees. Everything will make sense when you do this. He'll wait for you."
There was no signature. Who would know about what Naruto told her besides her? She hadn't told anyone. But she planned to follow the instructions and go to the park at midnight. She'd wait on the bench underneath the trees.
She'd see who this mystery note sender was.
*~*
The lamps lit the path in Konohagakure Park with a yellow glow. The sky was clear and you could see all the stars. Leaves rustled as a light wind grazed the trees. It gave off a kind of eerie feeling. Between this and finding out who the mystery note was from, Sakura was very uneasy. She sat on the bench, slightly shivering from the cold.
Her knees were shaking with anticipation and her stomach twisted in anxiety. I should have brought a coat, she shivered as she looked up at the stars. She had always liked looking at the stars on clear nights like this. They were so beautiful, each and every time she saw them. Her father once told her that the stars wrote destinies within their patterns.
Was it written in the stars that she would scar Naruto with her words and she'd later regret it after knowing that he loved her with all his heart? Sakura thought. Maybe it was also written in the stars that she'd never find love.
Sakura returned to earth and looked down at her own two feet. She shivered again and wished this mystery person would hurry up and reveal himself. The cold was getting to her. Maybe the person was chronologically challenged...
She felt sudden warmth as a jacket covered her shoulders. She turned around to find the person who put the jacket on her. There was no one. She took off the jacket and tried to identify it. It was hard to tell what colour it was since the lights gave off a yellowish kind of tint. What she did find was that it had a furry collar. And it had on the left shoulder a spiral symbol. From her guess, the jacket was also yellow. This jacket could only belong to...
"Hey Sakura."
Sakura turned to her right and was greeted with the sight of Uzumaki Naruto, without his jacket. It seemed now he was the one shivering. She motioned to give back the jacket, but Naruto motioned for her to keep it on.
"Cold, huh?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah," Naruto replied, teeth chattering.
There was silence between them, neither quite knowing what to say to the other. They'd been through a lot together as a team, but not as individuals. The stars twinkled above the pair as Sakura drew in a breath to talk to Naruto again.
"Naruto, I truly am sorry for what happened yesterday. I never meant to hurt you, but my obsession with Sasuke-kun..." she talked quietly, "I just hope you can forgive me for what I said to you. Can you forgive me for what I did?"
"No, Sakura," Naruto shook his head and Sakura felt that he'd never forgive her ever, "I'm the one that should be asking for forgiveness."
"What?" Sakura wondered.
"I lashed out at you after what happened and told you how you were my whole world. It was too much, too fast for you, I think. I never should have made you feel like a heel when I said that. Especially since you were trying to apologise to me. I'm the one who should be asking 'Can you forgive me for what I did.'"
They both looked into each other's eyes and saw what they both felt. Embarrassment. Sadness. Joy. And forgiveness. It was Sakura who answered first.
"Of course, I forgive you, Naruto," she grinned, "How can I stay mad at you when you pour out your heart to me?"
"Yeah. And I forgive you for saying all those harsh things to me," Naruto smiled back, "Well, now that that's over and dealt with..."
Sakura put her head on Naruto's shoulder. They looked up at the night sky together. What she thought she felt with Sasuke was now with Naruto. She felt happy and safe in his company. Sure he was rude, loud, obnoxious and self-centred at times, but he was also kind, determined and empathetic as well. She had only hated him because everyone else did and to impress Sasuke. Now she didn't. She couldn't understand why everyone in Konohagakure didn't see the other side of the blonde shinobi.
"Naruto?"
"Yeah?"
"Why does everyone in the village hate you anyway?" Sakura asked, "It seems to me that everyone hates you for no particular reason. Is there one?"
Naruto pulled back and looked down to the ground. Sakura felt ashamed now. Did she just hurt him even more after they just patched things up?
"I don't want to tell you. You'd just shun me like everyone else does," Naruto told her quietly, "And after we just forgave each other, if I told you, you might hate me again. And I don't want that, not after everything I said to you earlier."
Sakura put a hand on his cheek and drew his face to look at hers. "I could never hate you again, Naruto. You've just shown me that there's another side to you that everyone else just doesn't see. And I like it."
Naruto smiled and blushed a little. So did Sakura. They seemed to lean inwards toward each other. As they got closer, their eyelids closed. They were almost at the point that their lips would meet...
"Hey! What's going on over there?" A voice yelled. There was some barking from where the voice came from.
"Crap! I forgot about the village's new security!" Naruto cursed under his breath and he and Sakura moved into the trees, "Let's move this somewhere else."
They sat in a small bush to hide themselves from the guard and his dogs. It seemed to pass over them, leaving them.
"Now, where were we?" Naruto asked.
"Um, I think I better go home," Sakura admitted slowly as Naruto cursed under his breath again, "It IS late."
"Yeah," Naruto whispered sadly, "But will I see you again tomorrow?"
"We've got practice together idiot," Sakura gave him a playful punch, "Of course we'll see each other again."
"Great! See you in the morning then, Sakura-chan," Naruto smiled at her.
"You bet on it, Naruto," Sakura started, happy that Naruto was calling her "Sakura-chan" again. She then moved slowly to his ear as if to whisper something. She finished with, "...-kun."
She kissed his cheek and ran off for home. Naruto stared in the direction she went, eyes wide. He slowly raised his hand to the place where Sakura kissed it and moved his hand down it slowly.
"Naruto-kun..." He could hear Sakura still say in his mind. He could still feel her lips pressed against his cheek. He was about to burst with joy.
"YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!!"
"What's going on over there?" The guard's voice came again as the dogs' barking grew louder and louder.
"Dammit!"
*~*
It was three days after the Hokage had sent the ninjas who came to her house to the Land Hidden In the Clouds that a report was sent back. The report was with one single ninja, heavily injured on the brink of death. Tsunade and the Konohagakure Council were in the hospital room. Tsunade used her healing powers to try and help him talk and feel batter, but the wounds were fatal. He wouldn't last long, even with Tsunade's ability in medical ninjutsu.
"Now, what happened?" One of the council members asked, "And where are the other two?"
The ninja breathed heavily. He moved a half-open eye around the room, the other was permanently shut. His body had large bruises, gashes, scrapes on it and Tsunade tried her best to keep him alive long enough for him to tell everything. He coughed up blood before he began speaking.
"Three days ago...Land Hidden in Clouds...cough...investigation of disaster that Hokage sent us to...look at...pant...arrived at a destroyed village...wheeze...buildings demolished, blood spilled, bodies everywhere...dear Lord...asked survivors where disaster was...sniff...don't hurt me..." the ninja tried to explain.
"What's wrong with him?" another council member interrupted.
"Remember, he doesn't have much longer to live," Tsunade told the Council, "He's doing his best to tell us what happened."
"...tracks found in ground...large...trailed after it...followed tracks...no...stopped halfway in the desert...sob...ambush...gigantic...tried to flee, oh Lord...tried to flee...other ninjas, killed...barely made it back...cough...it was terrible..."
"What was it?" Tsunade asked.
"It was...it was..." the ninja tried to tell them, but his strength was fading, "...horrible, huge...slaughtered...no...sob...it was...it was..."
"What was it?" Tsunade asked again. But the ninja could tell no more.
"WHAT WAS IT?" A council member demanded.
Tsunade bowed her head in silence, shedding a few tears, then recomposed herself to talk to the Council.
"Well, we have some information on what it was, but it's still not enough!" The Head Councilman said, "We need MORE information. We can't just deal with a force that we don't even know is!"
"Well, what do you suggest?" Tsunade asked.
"Another information gathering mission. Those three were Chuunins, am I right? Send a Jounin. No wait, in fact, send Jiraiya. He'll tell us exactly what we want to know about this disaster."
"What disaster?" came a voice.
It was Jiraiya, standing in the hallway, watching all that happened, somewhat bemused. "There's been a disturbance in the Land Hidden in the Clouds. Our only clues don't fit," Tsunade filled him in, "We need you to go and see exactly what's going on there."
"What's in it for me?" Jiraiya asked, "I'm kind of busy right now. I was going to take Naruto away for some more training in the woods in a couple of days."
"You'll be next in line for Hokage," the Head Councilman said.
"WHAT? That pervert the 6th Hokage?" Tsunade expressed her discontentment.
"Nope," Jiraiya shook his head and Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.
"You'll have done the country a great service."
"Uh-uh."
"We'll make you an Official Council member."
"Don't want it."
"Fine," the man sighed, "We'll allow you to peek at the ladies all you want and grant you pardon for every occasion."
"Consider this assignment taken care of! I'm off!" Jiraiya cheered as he vanished to begin the mission.
"He never changes," Tsunade smiled and shook her head.
"Let's hope he makes it against this mysterious foe and gathers the information we need," a Councilman said.
"Hey, he's one of the Three Legendary Ninjas of the Leaf. If anyone can survive and give us info, it's him," Tsunade replied. She was sure he could do it.
At least, that's what her head told her.
*~*
A day later, he was in the Cloud Country, following the trail of the disastrous mystery.
Jiraiya didn't want to face the same fate as the Chuunins, but he was sure he could handle it. After all, he WAS Jiraiya of the Legendary Three. He'd get to the bottom of this. Tsunade would be so happy when he'd report the information. Maybe I'll score some points with her to boot, he thought, and then perhaps we'll go a little further, heh heh.
The tracks had gone farther since the attack on the Chuunins. It had stopped to destroy a couple more villages, but other than that it kept on moving. It was almost at the border of the country and was posed to step foot into a neighbouring country. Unless Jiraiya could accurately gain information to help stop it soon, the whole world could be like this.
Fresh marks were made only an hour ago, Jiraiya noted as he ran alongside them. The tracks darted off to the side and then stopped. Strange, thought the white-haired ninja of legend. Why would they just stop suddenly? Especially when they were just made?
He then heard a sound. Normally it would be impossible for ordinary shinobi to hear something like it, but Jiraiya was sharply trained for it. It sounded like a large, angry growl. And judging from the volume and distance, it was behind him, about a kilometre off. Jiraiya could only imagine what it came from.
He turned around and saw a speck on the horizon. And it was getting bigger and bigger with enormous speed. As soon as the speck got to a decent size to see what it exactly was, Jiraiya was shocked, yet amazed at the same time. There was no way that that was...
But yet it was and it was still heading for him.
Okay, if that's the way you want to play it, Jiraiya thought as he prepared himself for battle as the mysterious disaster that arrived only a few short days ago charged toward him and Jiraiya sprinted equally as fast towards the thing, Let's see what you got.
And all at once, it began.
TO BE CONTINUED!
As always, please review. I appreciate reviews for the story. Next chapter equally as good as this one. Look for it soon! Oh and please check out my other Naruto story, "Wind". Yes, it's based on the song from the first ending of the show. I'm planning on redoing it soon, so read it now in it's first form!