Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters relating to the Manga or Anime series, all I own is the original plot and all characters that are not mentioned in either series.
Naruto
Chapter 22: It's Not Like I'm Dead
Saga: Death and Rebirth
Her arms bent back, crossing themselves behind her head as she laid back. Her eyes closed as memories from the day before flowed into her mind.
Sighing deeply she opened her eyes.
And they're off…
"I'm not going to apologize for letting him leave," Sonki said staring a hole at the floor at her feet, her hands forming into tight fists. "And don't think you can guilt trip me about it. I've done what I've done and I don't regret it."
"I wasn't going to do anything of the sort," Tsunade said smiling, amused at Sonki's actions. Her hands were arched in front of her face as she looked across her desk at the fearful looking Shinobi. "But you don't honestly think I can let your bad choice go by unnoticed… can you?"
"Are you going to exile me? Revoke any privileges I've gained from becoming a Shinobi?" Her eyes hardened, her knuckles becoming white. "What can you possible do to me that anyone hasn't already done to me!"
"What happens next?" Tsunade questioned, ignoring the question. "What happens after Sasuke leaves?"
Sonki blinked, then let a smile slide onto her face as she looked up at the Hokage. "If I'd never come here Sasuke was to leave of his own accord. Naruto and the others would then go out after him, only to fail, barely grasping onto their lives. But since you have the unfortunate event of my arrival in your World, I surely did alliterate everything that was supposed to take place."
"So even you are now in the dark on the events that are hence forth going to take place?"
Sonki looked up to her right. "Who's to know? All demons containing one to nine tails exist, so who's to say that the future events have been altered that greatly? Sasuke will be coming back. And it wouldn't surprise me if the Akatsuki just showed up on your front door steep. They already have Gaara of the Sand."
Tsunade flinched, her brow creasing. "How do you know this? Are you that positive?"
She shrugged. "Just a guess."
"'They already have'… That sounds sure enough to me." She frowned. "Do you know where the Akatsuki are?"
"Some big spooky cave? How should I know?" She laughed. "But when the Akatsuki come calling for me I'll make sure to send you a postcard."
She stepped back, heading towards the door, her hands now in her pockets, her face blank of any emotion.
"Are you leaving then, without hearing your punishment?"
"What is it that you're sentencing me to then? I didn't need to waste half of my day talking idle chatter with you. Being the Hokage and all I'm sure you have more important matters to attend to, after all, all of the lives in this village rest in your hands."
"Lecturing me?"
Sonki stared back expressionless with no reply.
"You're not to take any missions until your team comes back from the one they are currently under. I should strip you of all the rights you were granted when you become a Shinobi, but I'm feeling a bit generous, these times aren't going to get any better. We may need you."
Tsunade's hands dropped as she stood up from the desk.
"When that time comes are you going to be willing to fight?" A frown creased the Hokage's face, her features gaining at least ten years.
"Your going to use me?" She took another step towards the door, her hand now on the handle. "Or at least the demon inside of me?"
"Naruto would help, even if we were as you say… using him. He'd know this was about the village… this village that he wants to rule over."
The door slammed shut as Sonki exited.
you
Sonki opened her eyes slowly, yawning as she sat up, her hands stretching above her head.
It's been two weeks, you're not honestly going to continue doing nothing are you?
What else is there to do? I can only wait for my team to come back… And obviously they haven't, otherwise I would be out there…
She never said you couldn't leave the village. You could leave and go in search of that boy for yourself. You don't have to stay here and waste away like you choose to.
I'm not wasting away, I'm resting, thinking… If Sasuke shows up now…
If only he would… At least then I would have some entertainment. I do not wish to sit around doing nothing anymore.
You're not the one in control are you? So instead of complaining just live with the situation you've been placed in. It could be worse…
Nothing could be worse than this… Nothing can amount to the suffering I've endured just by being stuck in your wretched mortal body.
Whatever… Just stop complaining… You're stuck with it and there's nothing you can do. So just shut up already.
She swung her legs of the side of her bed, yawning again as she stood on her feet.
"Eh?" She rubbed her eyes, turning her attention to the furious raid of knocking that was protruding from her door. "What the Hell could want to talk to me this bad…"
She walked towards it, pausing as she reached out for the handle. Maybe I should just pretend I'm not here… Just go back to bed…
"OPEN UP!" the voice screamed from outside. "OPEN UP NOW!"
Sonki flung the door open, the first smile appearing on her face in over two weeks.
"Naruto!" she cried out, practically dancing with joy. "What are you…" She blinked, the smile sliding off her face. "He isn't…" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"We found him." The smile remained on his face. "We actually found him."
"How did you… You didn't run into the Akatsuki did you!" Her face welled up, tears still in her eyes. She glanced over Naruto's shoulder. "Where's Sakura! She isn't… She isn't dead is she!"
"Calm down!" Naruto answered frowning in confusion. "What are you getting so worked up about? Just calm down alright!"
"What happened…" She took a step back, tears now running down her checks. "You found him… You really found him… How? Where?"
"Do you mind if I come inside? We just got back this morning…" He grinned at her nervously.
"Yeah…" She nodded her head.
"So how did it happen? How did you find him if you didn't run into the Akatsuki?" She leaned on her arm, which was propped up on the table.
"At first we were just running of leads when we came back to the Village of the Sand. We'd just been traveling to places he was rumored to be been seen in, you know… stuff like that…" He frowned. "Finally we came to a dead end, there was nothing left to go off of…"
Sonki frowned, nodding her head to signal for him to continue.
"When we returned to the Village of the Sand the whole town was in an uproar, he'd come back while we were away searching for him… He just showed up one day and went to his father, demanding his position."
"What did his father say?" She stared at his confused features.
"He gave him the position. Gaara's the Kazekage now… He's in charge of that whole village, just by demanding it!" He frowned, his hand curling up into a fist. "Can you believe that!"
"I'm sorry." She sighed lowering her head. "I'm sorry Naruto."
"Huh? For what?" He blinked, looking taken back. "You didn't do anything…"
"You must be mad right? He got the position that you've been working towards as far as you can remember right? Even if it was just for his village he still accomplished it so easily, yet you've been working at it… Dreaming about it, right?" She gave him a week smile.
"It doesn't matter." He shook his head, smiling back at her. "I'm doing what I want to do. I'll become the Hokage when it happens. Even if it's twenty, thirty years from now it'll happen…"
She sat up, hooking her arms behind the chair as she let out a sigh. "Better outlook that I could have mustered up. I would have been infuriated…" She closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair. "So where is he now?"
"He's in his village… He wants to talk to you… You're all he talks about now… He's been asking for you ever since he got back…" He laughed to himself. "But weren't you guys mad at each other? Didn't he do something to make you upset?"
"Yeah…" Her eyes opened to slits.
"What'd he do to make you so angry?"
"He murdered my sensei right in front of me… Kisei, he cold heartily killed him… Right in front of me, ignoring my pleas for him to stop."
Naruto gulped, his breath caught in his throat as he stared at her motionless body across the table. "Are you still… Are you going to get… revenge?"
She let her chair fall forward, opening her eyes fully as she looked into his own. "No. I could never, even if what he did was horrible. It's not me who has to live with the guilt, it's not me who has to live in a never ending horrible nightmare."
"Will you go see him?"
She shrugged, standing to her feet. "I don't know. If I feel like it I might, but then again that may not come anytime soon." She grinned. "Maybe even twenty thirty years from now."
Naruto grinned back at her.
Sonki tapped her finger on the counter she was seated behind. Her head rested on her open palm as she looked head.
"Do you always have to be so boring?" Shikamaru asked at her side, watching her finger. "And stop that… It's annoying, you act like you've got better things you could be doing."
"I might," she answered grinning. "And what do you mean boring? I'm not the one who spends their day staring up at the sky for hours on end…"
"At least I can release my frustration instead of keeping it locked up inside of me."
"I wasn't aware that you cared about me so deeply…" She turned to face him just as the ramen was placed before the pair. "Don't tell me you still have that little crush on me…"
He blinked at her, his eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"
"Men…" She sighed, turning to the food that was in front of her. "Though thank you for dinner… Everyone's probably noticed I haven't been out for a while…"
"You know the whole time that you were restricted to this village I was here right, for the most part I wasn't assigned to any missions… You could have came out to have at least talked with me or something… A game of Go even…" He poked the carbohydrates in the bowl. "You didn't have to stay locked up to yourself the whole time…"
"What does it matter now? It's over with…" She continued to smile. "Next time I'll put it into thought alright… I won't be so… antisocial?"
He shrugged. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks…"
Sonki slapped him on the back of his head, causing the ramen in front of him to be upturned by his hand, spilling in his lap.
"Dammit! What'd you go and do that for!" Shikamaru screeched out jumping to his feet as he wildly been to slap at his pants, the broth burning his skin where it had soaked through, through the material.
"Picking on girls just because you like them isn't any way to show signs of affection…" She stood to her feet, throwing a couple of coins on the counter. "Since I managed to knock yours over I'll pay for that to, and I'll even take you out to dinner sometime if I get around to it…"
He narrowed his eyes. "Promise?"
"Course." She turned, walking away.
"Where are you going! I still want to talk!" Shikamaru called after her.
"Home?" She looked over her shoulder at him. "I've got things I need to do before I head out of the Village tomorrow for a while… We'll have more time to talk when I get back."
Shikamaru sighed as she faded into the darkness, his hands in his pockets.
Heading out of the village? Going to see the boy from the Sand?
Course I am stupid… Not like I have anything else to do… Besides if what Naruto says is actually true… I really do need to go see him… I can't have him calling my name forever…
You miss him… Don't you?
I don't know…
Sonki stood at the entrance of the Hidden Sand, a forced smile on her face. She let out a sigh, stepping forward.
"How long are you going to be gone?"
"As long as it takes."
"What took you so long?" the blond headed teenager asked, a frown on her face.
"Oh! Temari!" Sonki shouted out smiling at her awkwardly. "You've been expecting me?"
"Not I…" Her hands were on her hips as she walked towards Sonki. "Gaara's been expecting you ever since he got back. He's been asking for you night and day."
"Why?" She raised an eyebrow. "Naruto also told me he's been asking for me… but why?"
"Who knows…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Does it really matter? You've already come so obviously you're going to see him, right?"
"I am here…" She sighed, the palm of her hand running down her face. "But then again I wouldn't have a choice on the matter, would I? Just walking around in these streets taunting him would be too much…"
Temari grinned at her nervously. "You weren't actually thinking about doing that… where you?"
She shrugged. "A passing thought."
Temari frowned at her, her hands still remaining on her hips. "What do you plan on doing at the moment?"
"I was actually wondering if you would waste your time taking me to him. Since as it seems I'd rather not walk in by myself."
"Scared?"
"You wish." She grinned at her.
"So how are you?" Sonki asked, sitting down in a chair across from Gaara, who was behind his desk.
Gaara grinned at her. "What took you so long?"
"That's what Temari asked me…" She leaned back in her chair, her arms enter locked behind the chair as her eyes met the ceiling. "Were you really calling out for me when you got back?"
"What do you think?" A smile was playing across his face.
"How should I know… I don't have the slightest clue as to who you are anymore…" She frowned at the ceiling, her eyes never leaving the same spot. "You've changed so much that I can't possibly keep up anymore."
"Changed?"
"Did you call out from me Gaara?" She rocked forward, all four legs now on the ground as she stared at him wide eyed, innocent. "Have you been asking for me since you got back?"
He stared at her unblinkingly. "I would go as far as to say I called out for you. I asked for you. I just wanted to see you… I want to know how you're doing."
Her face twitched, rage building.
"Bullshit!" she screamed on her feet, the chair on the floor behind her. Her hand were pressed flat on his desk, her face enraged. "That's a lie and you know it! You don't gave a damn as to how I feel! If you did you would have never killed him! YOU KILLED HIM RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! IF THERE WAS ANYTHING HUMAN LEFT IN YOU, YOU WOULD HAVE AT LEAST LISTENED TO MY PLEAS! I DIDN'T WANT HIM TO DIE!"
"He was using you, he wanted you become of the demon you possess inside of you." He sucked in a sharp breath, trying to keep his anger stilled.
"MY VILLAGE IS USING ME! ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ALL OF THEM TOO!" Her eyes were bulging out of their sockets. "TELL ME! ARE YOU JUST GOING TO KILL ANYONE THAT YOU THINK IS USING ME GAARA! WHAT HONESTLY GIVES YOU AUTHORITY TO THINK THAT YOU CAN CONTROL MY LIFE! I DON'T NEED ANYONE LEADING ME AROUND BY THE FUCKING HAND!"
"I'm doing this for you!" His face was now hidden in his hands. "I'm doing this for you!"
"You're doing this for yourself!" She fell back into her chair frowning, though her anger had not been subdued. "How can you say you're doing this for me!"
"You've lost your way. You need someone to guide you."
"I don't!"
"You can't live on your own. You've already proven to me just how lonely you are." His face was still buried in his hands.
"I'm not lonely! I have Naruto and the rest of my team!"
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"
"Ah…" She stopped herself, staring at him surprised, unsure. "I'm… convincing you."
"You're so hesitant. This just proves how far along this small road you've already traveled. You need me." He looked up at her, his face wincing up.
"What about you? You've been telling me how much I supposedly need you, when honestly I think it's just you trying to say that you need me." She frowned.
"I do need you."
She blinked.
"I came back for you, you who'd thought I'd been captured by the Akatsuki. You who'd already lost all hope in me."
"What can you expect! If I already know what's going to happen I can't help but follow along that train of thought! You were supposed to get captured by the Akatsuki… But it just seemed that they'd caught you a bit sooner than I'd expected…" Her face welled up as she looked at him. "I couldn't help but give up home…"
"You were worried about me?"
"How could I not be!" she cried out, tears now in her eyes, sorrow over whelping her. "You told me that you loved me!"
"I do."
She shook her head viciously, tears streaming down her face.
"You cry so much lately…" He stood up from his chair, walking around his desk so he was in front of her. "Is it because I'm around you?"
"What do you think?" she snapped at him, choking back sobs.
"I'm sorry," he said softly, his hand caressing the side of her face.
"But your not!" she shot back.
He pulled her head forward, meeting his lips.
Slowly he pulled away, looking into her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry to have ever bothered you."
She stared back into his eyes, tears falling more freely down her face. She gasped out, her hands now clutching his shirt as she buried her face into his chest sobbing.
Sonki rolled over, staring out the window across from her bed, the sky was still dark.
"If you want… I'll stay with you tonight. So you don't have to be alone."
She heaved out a sigh, pushing herself up from the bed she walked over to the window, looking down at the empty streets below.
"Somehow it's hard to imagine that no one would be out… Even if it is this early in the morning." Her eyes narrowed. "Even in Konohagakure some people were out at night…"
The door slammed behind her as she darted out of the room.
She was gasping for air as she slowed down along the sidewalk, her hand gripping a brick wall. She raised her head, her eyes narrowing.
"I was right…" Her eyes met those on a dark voidless pit. "What are you doing here Sasuke?"
"What do you think?" he asked grinning at her, his hands dug far into his pockets as he eyed here. "You know why I'm here don't you?"
She pushed herself up straight, frowning. "When and where?"
"Now and here…" He looked down at the sidewalk, bored. "No use putting it off."
"Fine." She nodded her head.
A/N: I didn't forget, I just procrastinated, which was not the best of idea's to put into use at the moment, but that's just how it goes. I've decided I could end it in another chapter and that's what I choose to do. So as my writing spirit gets sucked back into my being the next chapter should be extra long and might take me a while to get posted, but it will be worth it, so if you can keep enough interest stay tuned.