I am bam smack in the middle of my main exams so I hope you appreciate the fact that I am writing when I really should be studying
This piece of work is called Mistakes (This doesn't fit into my other piece of work) Once again I have taken the idea from a TV series that I watch ('Scrubs' this time…yes, I like Medical comedies) This isn't going to be a long one (Four chapters?) but I hope it will entertain you WARNING, Character death. Please read until the end, I beg you
Disclaimer: I own many things, "Naruto" is not one of them
Mistakes
Part one
It has been seven years since Sasuke joined with Orochimaru; four years since his capture, two year since he was trusted to rejoin team seven and one year from the beginning of the campaign to bring down Akatsuki once and for all. While still officially ranked as Gennin they are considered among the strongest of all of Konoha's forces.
The mission to capture Sasuke four years prior was a joint effort between Gennin teams seven, eight and ten, each were volunteers in the mission, each wanting to "rescue" their comrade. The only help they received on that mission was Kakashi, every other Konoha ninja decided that it was a waste of resources, it was a mission unofficially sanctioned by Tsunade. She did however give a discreet nod of her approval, the village elders were the ones who decided that the capture of Sasuke was unworthy, for Tsunade to go against the unanimous decision of the council would risk her removal as Village leader. A risk that was too great.
The mission itself was simple enough, the standard of Sound ninja was far below that of Konoha, that the sound were all but overwhelmed. Thanks to the mission, Sasuke was dragged –almost- kicking and screaming back to Konoha, and Orochimaru's name was crossed off the S-rank criminal list thanks to Kakashi –and a little help from Orochimaru's disgruntled employee, Kabuto, now leader of Sound.
Once he was dragged back to Konoha, he was put on trial for his crimes against Konoha. There was also a formal hearing for Kakashi who was held responsible for the Gennin who went against orders. The charges that were brought against him were dismissed in light of his actions in the sound village.
Sasuke was stripped of his status as a ninja, and was thrown into an isolation cell. Even although Sasuke committed high treason against Konoha, the death sentence was spared given the possibility that the curse seal could have affected his judgement. For a full year, Sasuke sat in an empty under-lit room, having contact with nobody. From time to time, Sasuke would pass out without warning. This was the actions of the guards men. To ensure that Sasuke would remain in total isolation, he would be knocked out through the use of a jutsu. Then he would be transported to a medical facility for examination and research into the curse seal. This happened every two days, during this time, he is fed intravenously, so that he cannot simply refuse to eat and starve himself. It was worked that for one complete year, Sasuke would have to sit in the cell alone, for one year he was to have no contact with anyone, he could not even hear footsteps outside his room. For a year, he was alone.
On the day, precisely one year after he had been put in the cell, Sasuke woke up to find that the ache in his shoulder was gone and his mind clear. He removed his filthy top and looked at his shoulder under the dim artificial light,
It was gone
Sasuke laughed, a high and mighty laugh with his raspy throat that had gone unused for a year. The smile faded as he thought back to his time with the sound, how many people he killed. A sickening sensation pounded into Sasuke's stomach: guilt. With in a minute the face of everyone man women and child that had died by his hand flashed through his mind, the empty cell spun, tears were streaming down his face, Sasuke was weeping but he himself did not notice. He was clutching the sides of his head in an attempt to stop himself from thinking. He collapsed, his head bounced off the stone floor -once again- this went unnoticed. Vomit spewed out across the floor. Sasuke curled into a ball and began rocking himself. The sick sensation had died down, the burning taste of vomit lingered, and the pain was still there as were the tears.
The door opened, there stood Tsunade, flanked by Kakashi and Naruto. Sasuke could not and would not look up. The light spilled into the cell, it burned Sasuke's night conditioned eyes.
"Somebody order room service?" Naruto's bright and ever-cheerful voice caught in Sasuke's ear. Kakashi swiftly elbowed Naruto in the ribs. Naruto took note of the vomit and the emotionally crippled boy who had broken down on the floor of the cell
"I was afraid of this" Tsunade said as she bent over to examine Sasuke "…but it's also a good thing. The curse seal dulls remorse, that's one of the reasons why Orochimaru controlled his people to do unspeakable evil, they would feel no remorse from it"
Tsunade stood back up and poked her head out the door and signalled for the medical team. They quickly arrived with a gurney. They carefully put Sasuke on it and wheeled him off to the hospital. Tsunade followed, as did Kakashi and Naruto.
"You think he'll be alright" Naruto asked. Kakashi smiled
"I'm sure he's just lost on the road of life" Kakashi said
"You don't fill me with a lot of confidence" Kakashi continued to smile
One Year LaterFor the next year, Sasuke was put through mental recovery. All the "Rookie Nine plus three" came to see him, all except for one…Sakura. Time after time, Naruto would beg her to go visit him. She simply replied that he wasn't worth her time.
It was confusing for Naruto; he thought Sakura loved Sasuke. She was even on the rescue team to get Sasuke back. Naruto noted a change in Sakura at Sasuke's trial as he calmly and unemotionally told the courtroom exactly what he had done under the command of Orochimaru. Sakura changed her opinion of him on that day. She never spoke of him again unless directly questioned.
No matter how much Naruto tried to get her to visit him, no matter how much he told her that Sasuke was a different person, she wouldn't listen. At the end of the year, Sasuke was a completely different person, he kept his emotions near the surface, he laughed, cried and even yelped in surprise every so often. It was deemed that Sasuke was to be reintegrated into the life of a Ninja. As such, he was returned to his team at the request of Naruto and the no-comment from Sakura.
When Sasuke arrived he greeted them both with a good morning, Naruto returned it but Sakura kept her back to him. Naruto could sense the tears that were welling up in her eyes. The smile faded when Sasuke got no response.
Just like old times, team seven was stuck doing the tedious jobs for the benefit of Sasuke. He was happy as it was…until they came.
Akatsuki attacked. Like last time, it was Itachi and Kisame, But, this time they slaughtered a percentage of the population, including the council. Sasuke came face to face with Itachi. He showed anger towards his brother
"Foolish, weak-minded brother. You cannot kill me" Itachi declared. Sasuke showed fear and anger at his brother
They left shortly thereafter, there reasons for coming to Konoha were a mystery as was the reason that they left without finishing the job.
The entire incident hit home that the Akatsuki were a major threat. One that had to be eliminated. An intelligence team theorised that Akatsuki attacked to weaken Konoha, that the next target would be the sand so to drive a wedge between the allied nations. Potentially, if the sand was attacked in Konoha's weakened state, then the treaty could be rendered null and void because Konoha did not lend aid or assistance. War. Akatsuki could use this to their advantage. Tsunade took the theory under advisment and began the campaign that would bring down the Akatsuki once and for all. The following year saw the death of many ninjas, sand and leaf alike. Rather than drive the two countries apart, it brought them closer together, they fought side by side against the Akatsuki. The year saw the Akatsuki wither. It's members were brought down to Itachi, Kisame and the leader, even the hundreds of subordinates that supported them were annihilated.
Team seven had been the main asset to the effort, it was they who fought in every battle, every skirmish. While Sasuke was performing his duty as a ninja, he could never bring himself to kill anyone, an aspect that neither Naruto nor Sakura found useful. Naruto had as always the cheery exteriour and Sasuke said little to nothing and it was only directed at Naruto. Sasuke never ceased trying to reconcile things with Sakura, but she just turned a deaf ear. She was being stubborn, she could see he was a different person, but it went deeper than that, Sasuke had hurt her and she was unwilling take give him another opportunity to do so.
Later That Year
The year was drawing to a close…the three remaining nins of Akatsuki had been cornered by none other than team seven. Sakura had opted to fight Kisame. It went without saying that Sasuke would fight his brother, Naruto was unconfident that Sasuke would have what it would take to kill his own flesh and blood, Naruto was still haunted by the image of Sasuke on the floor whimpering "What have I done?" one year ago
The fights began
Naruto looked to his left: Sakura was exchanging blows with Kisame's sword, occasionally she would land a direct hit, she was too fast for swordsmanship.
He looked to his right, Sasuke was in conflict with himself whereas Itachi just looked at his brother
Finally he looked ahead. The self-declared leader of what once was the Akatsuki. He was a small man, no taller than Naruto. He wore no hat, his black and red robes lay at his feet. He looked directly at Naruto, right into his eyes. Naruto looked back, he had completely black eyes, not a trace of white, his hair, equally dark, it was parted down the middle the ends grew down to his jaw line on either side of his face. Naruto chuckled slightly when he saw the black lipstick…big mistake. The small man disappeared from view and reappeared in front of Naruto his fist embedded in Naruto's stomache. He didn't even realise until he looked down. Naruto crumpled down to his knees
"Pathetic", the dark, ominous voice sounded. A wrinkle of thought appeared on his forehead as he felt a spike of chakra coming from Naruto
"you know how long it takes for me to get him asleep?" Naruto's soft voice sounded. A smile curved the leader's black lips
"Kyuubi" no sooner had he said that, crimson chakra surrounded Naruto and began changing him into the form of a fox
Naruto swung to his feet, his face was different, his nose was elongated, his eyes were blood red, the whisker-like marks had grown and nine tails were waving frantically
"Hello…you want me, come and get me" A deep, dark voice that rivals that of the Akatsuki's leader "…you die now" Naruto disappeared. The Akatsuiki leader was being batted around. This was the reason that Akatsuki wanted Kyuubi, they did however, as the leader would confess…bit off more than they could chew. The leader was becoming more and more bloodied. Kisame had fallen by Sakura's hand. Itachi was watching the Naruto battle with disinterest. Sasuke could not bring himself to fight his brother. Itachi turned around
"Where are you going" Sasuke asked in a shaky voice
"Clearly Akatsuki will fall this day…I am free" Itachi said, he began to walk. Sasuke was confused, bewildered even
"Farewell brother, may we meet again" Itachi said before breaking into a run and disappearing. Sasuke was left for speechless. He sunk to his knees. If he were his old self he would not have let him get away, he would self-righteously avenge his clan. Not anymore, he now devoted his life to good, not to some ambition that the costs outweigh the gain.
The leader was now a bloodied body on the ground. A fresh hole gaping through his chest. Naruto sunk to his knees, the fox features disappearing, leaving the boy that was Naruto
"It's over. So fast. All I had to do to defeat him was to call on the fox? That cant be right, can it?" Naruto mumbled to himself
"Naruto?" Sakura's voice called to him. Sakura walked up to him "…the other's are here" Naruto cast a glance over his shoulder. Team eight were surveying the scene. Kiba was sniffing the air, Shino was using his bugs to destroy Kisame's body. Hinata was coming over to Sakura and Naruto. Hinata had become one of Konoha's finest field medics, clearly she was making sure everyone was alright. Naruto smiled at seeing Hinata. The smile faded, his eyes returned to the now standing form of the Akatsuki leader. His hands were forming a black ball of darkness
"You…will…NOT…get the last laugh" The leader said. It was clear what he was about to do, the dark energy was coming towards Naruto and Sakura, it was a safe bet that it wouldn't be pleasant. Sasuke had since gotten to his feet. The energy approached, Sasuke stood between it and his team mates
"Shit!" Naruto jumped to his feet "…Sasuke!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulders harshly in an attempt to pull him away. Sasuke tried to push him away.
When Naruto lunged forwards, he pushed Sakura off her feet. As she fell she saw the struggle between the two. Her head hit off a stone when she landed, knocking her out. Her consciousness faded in and out. She could see blood everywhere, the world faded out, she could see two motionless bodies the world faded out, she could see Hinata over one of the bodies screaming her lungs out as she performed some medical jutsu
The world faded out.
She began to come too, she awoke in a hospital bed, voices beside her.
"We couldn't save him, He took the brunt of the attack" the doctor gestured to a body lying in a blood soaked bed. "…time of death: eighteen-fifty hours" Sakura saw the face of the body
"What about the other one?" another voice asked
"He's fine…" Sakura stopped listening as she began to cry.
"Lets get him down to the morgue" Sakura could hear the bodying being wheeled away. She was alone in the dark hospital room. She was divided from the rest of the room by a screen, it were as though she was on an island. She sensed something above her, she looked up someone was standing by her bed looking at her
"Hi Sakura"
"H-Hi…Sasuke"
Authors Note: For my second fic I do not expect as good reviews as for my first fic. If you have read this far then you might as well read until the end. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE read until the end. At least leave a review