The Calling
By ShinobiSpirit
[ ] - Inner Sakura
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Author's Ranting #2: I finally got the time to actually sit and sort through all my reviews, so I'll try to respond to the main ones. I can see that a lot of you are ready for some action between Sasuke and Sakura. As a writer and devoted fan of Naruto, so would I. But I think that's a big, big mistake with some SasuSaku writers out there--they jump head first into the relationship without considering Sasuke's mindset. Which, let's face it, he's not exactly the most romantic guy. His ambition and need to avenge his clan are pretty much his top priorities, so even with his emotions for Sakura, he'd probably do his best to ignore them until after his mission was completed.
Mostly, I'm aiming for a bond between them in this part of the series. As the summary says, 'Team 7 learns things about themselves they never thought existed.' Sakura's learning to be more confident in herself. Sasuke's learning about his emotions. Naruto.. well, I haven't gotten to him yet (Someone said I give Naruto a hard time. They're right! It's fun! *Evil laugh*). Kakashi? He is apart of Team 7, I guess.. need to think of something for him.
And for those of you who didn't get it, Kakashi used kawarimi no jutsu in the last chapter. I thought it was hilarious, but that's just me.
Anywho. Thanks very much for all your reviews. Being new to this particular fanfic site, I didn't think I'd get so many so fast.
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It was late at night by the time Team 7 reached their 'resting point,' as Kakashi had put it. Naruto was already fast asleep, sprawled out on his futon next to the fire. Kakashi was elsewhere, doing lord knows what--he hardly ever slept near them. All that left was Sasuke and Sakura, who were sitting facing the fire, staring into it's flames with a lack of anything better to do.
Sakura felt a little uneasy tonight for an unknown reason. It might have had something to do with the fact that her dream's plagued her the night before, but she doubted it. Having Sasuke near made her feel more secure, though. Now looking at the stoic boy, she noticed how intense his eyes were as he stared into the fire. The orange glow's dance of flames reflected off his onyx black orbs--giving him an eerie sort of look-- reminding Sakura of sharingan, in a strange sort of way.
"Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke looked up from the fire, glancing at the girl to his right with a 'What do you want' kind of expression.
"Uh.. well.. Do you want to go look at the stars with me?" She asked sheepishly, blushing a little while she wrung her hands together in her lap.
He observed her silently, thinking her request was silly--stars were stars, there was nothing special about them. Yet, he didn't want her wandering around the foreign forest all by herself, knowing he'd end up having to come save her from something eventually. So, without a word, Sasuke rose to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets all in one motion, looking at her expectantly.
Sakura blinked at the boy's reaction. 'No way?! Really?' [HELL YEAH! Love prevails!] The pink-headed girl squealed in delight and she hurriedly got up onto her feet. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" She said with her hands clasped together in front of her face.
He simply grunted in response and looked off to the side, hiding his blush. To say he was embarrassed would have probably been an understatement, had last night's events not occurred.
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After wandering aimlessly around the depths of the forest, the two finally came to a spot that wasn't shrouded by the limbs and leaves of the forest's tall tree's. Sakura sat peacefully on a small rock, gazing up at the blanket of stars covering the twilight sky. Sasuke stood beside her, making sure there was enough distance between them to where if he reached out his arm, he wouldn't be able to touch her. He, too, gazed up at the stars, still thinking it rather silly.
Sakura sighed in relaxation, blushing as she reminded herself that she--Haruno Sakura--was actually looking at stars--alone--with Uchiha Sasuke. Ino was never going to believe this! "They're beautiful, aren't they?"
"Mn." Was his only response, having a lack of anything else better to say. Why was he doing this again? He felt like a complete fool.
There was a long period of silence, neither knowing anything to converse about. Which wasn't much of a difference--the only time they actually had a normal conversation was either when they were discussing missions, or when certain things needed to be said.
"Sakura." Sasuke mumbled, looking at the girl out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
He examined her a moment, choosing his words carefully. "It's late." He began, turning his back to her. "We should head back."
Sakura nodded, taking the time to look at the red and white symbol of his clan imprinted on the back of his dark blue shirt. After one final glance at the stars, she stood and followed him back the way they came, hoping he remembered where camp was--she had forgotten long ago.
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As the two stepped foot onto the cleared grounds of their camp site, they noticed right away that a few things were misplaced--and Naruto was gone. Sakura felt a jolt of panic run up her spine. Their things were scattered all over the place. Cups knocked over, sleeping bags ripped and thrown in random directions. The place was a complete disaster.
"W.. What happened?" Sakura asked timidly, looking horrified. "Where's Naruto?"
Sasuke had no answers to her questions. He had no answers to his own. If Naruto were in trouble, certainly Kakashi would have sensed it and come to save him. Was this a test? "Sakura. Don't let your guard down."
"Huh?"
The boy cautiously approached the area which Naruto had been sleeping, crouching to examine it carefully. In the dim light of the fire he could just make out claw marks dug into the ground. From what he could tell, it was a quick downward thrust from above. There were tiny particles of the futon's fabric sticking out of the ends of the markings, suggesting that Naruto woke up in time to roll to the side and avoid the attack.
"Sasuke-kun.."
He stood and walked over to gather their things. Something was terribly wrong here, but he couldn't help but feel slightly interested as to the outcome. Moving back over towards his only remaining teammate, he held out her bag to her as he slung his own over his shoulder. "Here."
Sakura took her yellow sack, thanking him solemnly. Sasuke waited until she was situated before he began. "You're familiar with the maps, right?"
"Yes.." As she said this, she reached behind her and pulled out a blue colored scroll. "I've been pin-pointing our routes for Kakashi-sensei." She held the scroll out to him. "Here.."
Sasuke reached out and grasped the scroll, nodding his thanks before turning towards the fire and flinging the scroll open, examining their current location and how far away their destination was. "If we travel for 14 hours instead of 10, we should be able to get there in less than two days." He thought aloud, doing the calculations in his head.
"14 hours?" Sakura's face took on a weary expression. 'I can barely keep up for 10.. 4 more?!' [Damn it!] Shaking her head and taking a deep breath, she stabilized and smiled at her stoic teammate with determination blaring in her jade eyes. "No problem! Let's go, Sasuke-kun!" [I'm going to dieeeee!]
Sasuke looked at her blankly. 'What's wrong with her..'
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I'm out.
SS
