Chapter 2: Sasuke likes who? Sakura is crushed!
The next morning, Sasuke went out of the village into the forest to train. As he trained, he gets the feeling someone was watching him. In the middle of his training, he quickly takes out a kunai and strikes the tree branch on his right.
"Why are you hiding?" he asks out loud.
Senko appears before him with her hands in her pockets.
"I wanted to see what you are like when you're alone," she answers him.
"What is it about me that you find so interesting?" interrogated Sasuke.
"… You fight for revenge," replies Senko.
Sasuke creases his eyes at her response. How much does she know about him?
"I can see it in your eyes," explains Senko. "Something terrible happened to you and you want revenge for what you've lost."
"In some ways," began Sasuke. "You and I are similar."
"How so?" asks Senko.
"My entire family too was also killed by my older brother," answers Sasuke. "He kept me alive so I could grow up all alone. I want to kill him for that."
Senko looks at him with apathetic eyes.
"So what happens once you actually do kill him?" she asks curiously.
Sasuke turns his eyes to the ground. He never really thought of what he'd do after he avenges his family.
"Why don't you just move on with your life instead of thinking about the past so much?" sighed Senko.
"How can you say that?" growled Sasuke. "Don't you want revenge for your family?"
"I did a long time ago," replies Senko, lowering her eyes. "After my village was destroyed, revenge was all I could think about."
She looks up at Sasuke.
"But after wandering around for two long years, revenge gets sort of tiresome," she added.
"What?" exclaims the genin in surprise.
"All I want to do right now is become one of the strongest ninjas around," she tells him.
"But what about your family?" he asks her. "Don't they deserve some justice?"
"Their justice will be served once I revive my village and bring it back to its former glory," she answers sternly. "I don't need to follow my brother around just so I can kill him. It's a waste of my time on this earth."
Sasuke was struck speechless by her response.
Revenge is a waste of time? he thought.
"I realized something when I was training to avenge my family and my village," said Senko. "If I'm only training to kill one person, I'll never get stronger."
"Why is that?" asks Sasuke.
"Just think about it," said Senko. "You're training hard only to get strong enough to kill one person. You will never get stronger if you focus on getting rid of one person. A mindset like that will only hinder your potential. To get stronger, you need to think big. Like Naruto with his dream of being Hokage."
Naruto? thought Sasuke.
"With a goal like that, the possibilities are endless," said Senko. "That's why I've thrown away my desire for revenge and replaced it with a desire to become stronger. Besides, it's easier to make a person suffer while they're still alive."
She looks over at Sasuke, who had his eyes toward the ground.
"Don't you have a rival or something?" she asks. "I'm sure you do, being strong as you are. Why not spend your time getting stronger than your rival instead of focusing so much on revenge?"
She sees him react to this question with a glare.
"Sasuke," she says. "We were both young and weak. We cannot change the past but we most certainly can change our future. Getting revenge will only leave you empty and unhappy. Just be glad that you at least have a home to go to."
Sasuke's eyes became gentler upon hearing this. It's true he still has a home to go to, and though his family is dead, he still has his friends.
"You should feel lucky you're not alone," added Senko.
With that, the young kunoichi disappears in a blur, leaving Sasuke to contemplate on her words.
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Naruto wanders the roads of Konoha aimlessly. He was bored out of his mind with Kakashi out on a jounin mission and nothing to do for the day.
"Kuso!" he curses out loud.
"You really shouldn't be cursing so loudly."
Naruto jumps at the introduction of a bodiless voice and lands to find Senko standing near him.
"Oh, it's you Senko," he exclaims.
"Want to fight?" offers the young ninja.
"Sure," grins Naruto. "But I'll let you know beforehand: I'm really strong."
"We'll just see about that," replies Senko.
The two of them head into the rocky areas outside of Konoha, where they pick a suitable battleground for their fight. Taking their places in a large flat clearing, the young ninjas shake in anticipation of a great fight.
"Hey," spoke up Naruto. "Before we begin the fight, can you do me one favor?"
"What is it?" asks Senko.
"Could you flip your forehead protector plate around so I can see the symbol?" requested Naruto. "I want to fight you as if we're truly ninjas from different villages."
"I don't know…" said Senko hesitantly.
"Please?" encouraged Naruto. "You can still keep your promise to yourself. This is only a one-time thing."
Senko lays her fingers on the blank plate on her forehead, contemplating on what she wants to do.
"Allright then," she exclaims after a few minutes.
Naruto jumps for joy as Senko takes off her forehead protector to reverse the metal plate. Putting the clothed headband back on, she stands up proudly with her village's swirling flame symbol gleaming upon her brow.
The two young ninjas grin as they both went into their fighting stances. They simply stood there facing each other until a leaf blows by in a breeze. Using this as the initiation, the young ninjas dash towards each other exclaiming their battle cries.
"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" shouts Naruto "Shadow Clone Technique!"
In seconds, the blonde ninja multiplies into twenty solid replicas of himself and attacks the kunoichi. Reaching her hands behind her waist, Senko pulls out two kodachis and immediately takes out five of the replicas. Withdrawing her kodachis, Senko leaps up behind the replicas as she performs some hand seals.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" she cries out. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
She puts her index and thumb before her mouth to blow out a large ball of fire, taking out another six Naruto replicas. She lands softly on the ground and surveys the Narutos before her.
I've already taken out eleven of them, she thought. There should be nine left.
Senko counts the Naruto replicas and opens her eyes in shock to find only seven. Suddenly, a shout sounds from behind her and she turns her head to find a replica kick her upwards. As she flew up, she watches as the other Naruto replicas surround her in midair. One by one, three of them kick her further upwards until a fifth one comes down on her with a kick. She crossed her arms in front of her chest just as the kick drives her downward fast into the ground with a great crash, creating a pit in the earth.
"Uzumaki Naruto Rendan!" cried out Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto Combo!"
He lands on the ground along with his replicas around the small crater he just made with Senko's body. For a moment she just laid there, seemingly unconscious. Naruto leans over, curious to determine if she was knocked out. Suddenly, Senko jumps to her feet and performs a few hand seals, ending with the tiger seal.
"Katon: Faiawooru no Jutsu!" she shouts out. "Fire Release: Firewall Technique!"
Instantly, a wall of intense fire whirls around Senko and strikes out at anything outside the wall. The rest of the replicas along with Naruto were struck by the flaming inferno and sent flying back into the ground. The blonde ninja groans from the burning pain as Senko steps out of the pit.
"Give up?" asks the kunoichi.
"Heh, you wish," replies Naruto as he got up. "This is only the beginning."
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Sakura browsed the shops of Konoha as she tries to decide what to do on her unexpected day off.
"What to do on such a nice day," she says to herself.
Just then, she meets up with her former friend Yamanaka Ino, now her rival for Sasuke's affection.
"Sakura," greeted Ino. "What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Sakura replies sharply.
"Baka!" cries out Inner Sakura. "Why can't you just accept the fact Sasuke will like me better since I'm on his team! You don't stand a chance!"
Suddenly, the two girls spot the handsome Sasuke running towards them. They stand their ground, eager to see who he'll run up to. To Sakura's utter surprise and happiness, Sasuke came up to her.
"Yeah! That's right!" cries out Inner Sakura upon seeing Ino's disbelief face.
"Sasuke," exclaims Sakura.
"Sakura, I need to ask you something," panted the boy.
"What is it?" wonders Sakura.
"Yatta!" shouts out Inner Sakura. "Sasuke's going to ask me to be his girlfriend. This is the best day of my life!"
"Do you…" he began.
"Yes?" said Sakura with a smile.
"Do you… know where Senko is?" asks Sasuke.
"Senko?" repeated Sakura, twitching her eye.
"What the hell do you want with her!" screamed Inner Sakura.
"Yeah," replied Sasuke. "I need to talk to her. Have you seen her around?"
"Uh, nope," answers Sakura. "Not at all."
"Why do you need to talk to HER?" screamed Inner Sakura. "What's so special about HER?"
"Hmm, I thought I saw her go back into the village," contemplated Sasuke.
With that, he runs off, leaving Sakura and Ino with disappointed faces.
"Ugh, this has got to be the worse day of my life," groans Sakura.
"Same here," added Ino.
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A/N: Katon: Faiawooru no Jutsu (Fire Release: Firewall Technique) is a jutsu I made up on my own. If it appears in Naruto later, it's strictly coincidental.
All Naruto techniques referenced from Wikipedia search for Naruto jutsu.