The Calling
By ShinobiSpirit
[ ] - Inner Sakura
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Early morning set in with the steady serenade of blue birds' song. The sun wasn't quite up yet, leaving Sakura humbly asleep as her stoic comrade rummaged around the camp site for various items. Some of which included his shirt, sandals, and forehead protector that he had discarded during the night; the curse was bothering him again.
Usually he dealt with it by simply sweating the fever out, wearing a thick woolen sweater while he trained. Now, previously proven last night, it was no longer becoming an effective course of action to counter it. He wasn't sure what that meant, or if he should be concerned, so he shrugged it off; if it became a problem, he was more than capable of dealing with it.
After finding all of his articles of clothing, Sasuke crouched down beside the sleeping pink-headed girl, gently shaking her shoulder. In an instant the girl's eyes fluttered open, followed by a groan and a broad yawn.
"Morning, Sasuke-kun.." She said tiredly, rising into a sitting position on her sleeping bag while rubbing at her eyes.
"Aa.." Sasuke replied, slinging his shirt and forehead protector over his shoulder as he stood. "I'm going for a swim." He said, turning on his heel and disappearing through the parted bushes.
Sakura blinked slowly, her eyes still focused on the area from which he departed. 'Despite the events that have occurred, he's still himself..' She thought, a small smile tugging at her lips. 'I should get breakfast started! I bet Sasuke-kun'll be hungry after his swim!' [Okay!]
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Blue. Deep blue. That's all Sasuke could see under the surface of the cove's natural crystal springs. The cold water was relaxing against his heated flesh, distinguishing the fire embedded in his shoulder. Perhaps the devil within him was more persistent than the Hokage had anticipated, or maybe he himself was seeking it's power--it was hard to say for certain.
Though he hadn't mentioned it to his comrade's, even after the Hokage's sealing of the curse, he still felt it's tantalizing call in the back of his mind. He still had nightmare's of his childhood, and he still was more aware of Orochimaru's presence than anyone; he wondered if he had intentionally done such.
With a quick kick of his feet, Sasuke came shooting up out of the water, crystals of liquid tumbling down his pale skin as his feet touched down softly on a large smooth rock in the center of the cove. A single hand came up to wrestle with his silky wet strands of hair before he lowered to sit Indian style on the slick surface of the rock. His hands instinctively came together in front of his masked face and he closed his eyes, drying out under the warmth of the summer sun in peaceful silence.
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Back at camp, Sakura sat on the cushion of her sleeping bag, delicately molding and mending rice balls into the perfect shape. Despite the cause for alarm, she was actually very much calm--maybe even a teensy bit happy--save for the thought of her two missing comrades. She could only imagine what it'd be like right now if Naruto and Kakashi were still with them.
'Naruto would probably be drooling over my shoulder..' Sakura thought, her eyebrow twitching at the familiarity of it. 'And Kakashi-sensei.. he'd be reading his nasty book..' [Dirty old man!!] Being so angered by her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed that she crushed the rice ball in her hand. A sweat drop appeared on her forehead. 'Whoops..'
Hurriedly, Sakura forced the rice ball--as best she could--back into it's original shape. Once finished, she opened her hands and examined it. It was completely amorphous. If she hadn't been the one to make it, she would have thought it disgusting. 'Damnit! Oh well, it's just one.' She thought, tossing that one aside and starting with another.
Suddenly, the bushes behind her rattled, causing her to startle and nearly drop the rice ball on the ground. Laughing nervously, she turned and smiled with her hands held together behind her back, as if she were a child who had just gotten caught sneaking into the cookie jar.
"Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed happily. "How was your swi.." Her voice caught in her throat in shock, and she froze, unable to get a single coherent word out. So she opted for the next best thing: Scream.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
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Sasuke's eyes shot open, his peaceful serenity shattered with the echo of a feminine voice he knew all too well. 'Sakura..' Quick to his feet, Sasuke hurled himself forward, focusing his chakra at the soles of his feet to give him extra leverage as he landed on the bank of the cove. Once firm on the ground, he shot off like a bat out of hell, dashing in and out of tree's as fast as his legs would go.
There was no way he was going to let the culprit escape without having a taste of the Uchiha name.
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"L-Lee-san?!" Sakura stuttered, taking a few steps back from the thick eye-browed boy. "Wha.. What are you doing here?" As she asked this, however, Neji and TenTen emerged from the bushes in the same fashion as he had. Only, Neji's attention was focused off to the side of her. Which was good, because she hated the feeling of him looking right through her.
"Sakura-san!" Lee said happily, giving her a thumbs up and a toothy smile to show off his pearly whites. "I'm glad to see you! Let's go dating, huh?"
Both disgusted and chilled at the same time, Sakura simply stared at him with beady eyes. "No way.."
"Buh.. Sakura-san." Lee's expression dropped into a sad frown, and rivers of tears flowed down his cheeks. Sakura looked at him blankly. 'Ewww!' [They wiggled! They WIGGLED! AHHH!!]
"Lee." Neji muttered, giving his comrade a serious look. "We don't have time for this." He tilted his chin down and grinned. 'Uchiha Sasuke.. is near.'
In an instant, a blurred image of a body slipped within Sakura's line of vision, causing her to rear backward with her arms raised in defense. She was almost certain that something had passed by her, but what? Slowly, Sakura opened her eyes, and a gasp escaped her lips as she realized who it was.
Sasuke stood firmly in front of Sakura, his arms confidently hanging by his sides as he glared at the intruding enemies under his damp bangs. A tuft of dirt and dust circled around his feet, giving him the sense of unbelievable power. "Why are you here?"
Neji stepped forward, his cold, empty stare matching Sasuke's. "I could ask you the same, Uchiha Sasuke." He grinned triumphantly at the man who proved worthy of his enemies list, but sensed something was out of place. "Where's the annoying blonde one?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that question. 'So, they don't know where he is..' Slowly, he allowed the tension throughout his body to relax a little, no longer seeing them as a threat. "He's missing, so is our sensei."
Neji's eyes widened, suddenly being hit with a realization, not to mention a terrible dread. "Yours is missing, too?"
"Wait.." Sakura said, peeking over Sasuke's shoulder at the three other Genin. "So, both of our sensei's are missing.. but, you guys are still together, and one of our comrade's is missing." She looked thoughtfully at the ground, trying to piece things together. "So that means.."
"Naruto did something foolish." Sasuke finished, obviously irritated with the blonde-headed boy. 'Damnit.. that idiot.'
"Where were you guys headed?" Sakura asked skeptically, positive she knew what their answer would be.
"The Gatsua.." Lee answered, now on the same mind track as his beloved Sakura. TenTen would have sighed had she not been so mesmerized by Sasuke's presence.
Sakura looked at Sasuke tentatively. "Sasuke-kun.. may I see the map?" The black-haired boy nodded, shoving his hand in his pocket and retrieving the item in question, he turned his body toward her and extended it forward.
"Thank you.." She said sincerely, unwrapping the scroll and examining the map carefully. Whatever was going on, she knew that the rumors and history of the Gatsua Islands were more than just legends passed on from elder generations.
Using her vast knowledge, she vowed that she would solve this mystery; for herself, and for her friends.
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A pleasure, as always.
SS
