Fallen Petals
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 12

"Oww!" the white figure cried out in pain as it staggered backwards.

Sakura blinked. 'Since when do ghosts talk?'

A white sheet fell on top of her head and her cries were muffled. Sasuke gasped for breath since he was being suffocated when the wind blew the sheet off the clothesline and landed on him.

Sakura fell down on the ground with her eyes peeking out from underneath the white sheet. "What were you doing? Trying to scare me half to death?" Sakura yelled out as she stumbled back onto her feet.

"Hn."

Sasuke turned around and walked back inside the house. Sakura, while grumbling, followed after him after she placed the sheet back onto the clothesline.

"I'm leaving so I'll be back tomorrow for your check-up."

Sasuke nodded and stepped inside his room.

Sakura sighed. "Good-bye to you too."

She walked outside and was lost in thought when she thought of what she was going to make for dinner. She crashed right into Rock Lee.

'You really need to pay attention and watch where you're going!'

Sakura groaned as she rubbed her forehead. She looked up at the person she bumped into so she could apologize.

"Lee-san! I'm sorr-"

Lee grabbed her two hands and clasped them tightly within his own. He knelt down and looked up at Sakura with his eyes which were sparkling like little gems.

"Oh, Sakura-san. It must be fate that we were brought here together on this very fine day and we must surely be meant for each othe-" Lee said but was cut off when Sakura's hand came out of his grasp and knocked him upside the head.

Lee bent down while he clutched his head in pain.

"Stop doing that!" Sakura barked at him.

"Doing what? Expressing my love towards you?" Lee asked.

Sakura sighed. "You still haven't changed." She smiled and extended her hand out to help him up. Lee took it and flashed her his signature smile. Sakura sighed.

Lee and Sakura started to walk together as they talked.

"So, Sakura-san, are you still training under Tsunade-sama's guidance?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes. I'm going to go over there and study for a bit."

"I would be honored to fight with you sometime Sakura-san."

Sakura grinned. "I will accept your request but I promise you that I won't go easy on you."

Lee smiled. "I'm glad you won't."

Lee stopped and thought for a minute. "So now that Sasuke-kun is back, what is going to happen to us?"

Sakura's eye twitch. "What do you mean by 'us'?"

Lee grinned. "You know…"

Sakura raised her hand to hit Lee for that comment but stopped when she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, sorry Lee-san. I just remember I have to go."

"Uhh…ok Sakura-san."

"Bye Lee-san," Sakura called out as she ran towards the training grounds where she usually trained. Lee waved good-bye to his pink-headed friend.

Sakura stopped when she reached her destination. 'For some reason, I feel like I'm suppose to be here.'

Sakura walked around aimlessly, trying to rack her brain as to the reason why she came here. A sudden noise made her stop in her steps. She narrowed her eyes.

"Who's there?" she called out.

There was no response but crickets chirping in the distance. Sakura proceeded slowly to the center of the open grounds and closed her eyes while trying to sense the presence.

'Whoever it is, they are good at concealing their chakra presence.'

"If you won't show yourself, then I'll just have to do it for you," Sakura called out loudly.

With a raised fist, she concentrated all her chakra to the fist and then brought it down to the ground. The ground erupted as rocks and dirt flew up into the air. Deep cracks ran along the ground as Sakura destroyed the whole area. A dark figure leaped out from their hiding place as the ground they were standing on started to crumble. He flew up from behind the trees and landed in front of Sakura.

"Very good. You were able to sense me and then reveal me too," he said.

He stepped closer to Sakura, showing his face to her.

Sakura squinted. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"That's for me to know and you to never find out." The figure drew out a long katana and aimed it at Sakura's throat. Without flinching, Sakura acted as if the sword wasn't even there.

'For some reason, it's as if I seen him somewhere.'

Sakura closed her eyes. She opened them after a short period of time and looked with determination at the man. "Don't be so over-confident with that katana of yours."

The man smirked. His black eyes glinted with a look of pure evil. He swung his katana hard at Sakura's neck and it cut right through.

"Got you," he said with a smirk. He drew his katana back and placed it behind him.

A laugh could be heard as it surrounded the man. "Oh really?" Sakura's voice echoed.

The man whirled around to see Sakura standing right behind him. Sakura's green eyes glinted in the sunlight.

"What?" he cried out. He turned his head to see that his katana had hit a log instead.

"Dammit. You used Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)?"

Sakura smiled. "You don't have time to look over there. After all, the real one is right here," Sakura said as she threw several kunais at the man while jumping back in the air.

The man tried to dodge the kunais by blocking with his katana but some managed to escape past the barrier and landed on him. He winced in pain when they hit him and blood came gushing out.

He snarled at the pink-headed girl when he noticed something caught on his arm. Sakura smirked. There were exploding tags attached on the kunais. 'Dammit.' he thought. He shook his arms to get rid of the kunais but it was too late. Sakura closed her eyes shut as the tags started to explode.

She landed back on the ground on her feet and stared at the smoke emerging from the explosion. When the smoke finally cleared away, she noticed that the man was missing.

'Dammit. Where did he go?'

Sakura jumped back to conceal herself but was caught in midair.

Sakura turned her head and gasped when she saw the man holding her tightly around her waist. She shut her eyes as he squeezed her harder.

"Heh heh. I got you now. You think you can defeat me with some silly play toys and a few papers with scribbles on them?" he taunted.

He squeezed her harder and Sakura gasped for air. She tried to struggled out of his strong hold but he wouldn't let go.

'At this rate, I'll collapse from lack of air.'

"Why? Why are you attacking me?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Because, I wanted to see if the Haruno's prized daughter can fight."

Sakura's eyes widened. "My parents?" she said weakly.

"Hn. You're just like them. Easy prey to kill."

Sakura tried to wriggle out of his grasp. "Don't-Talk-About-My-Parents-"

She grabbed the man's arm and with all her strength, she tossed him over her shoulder and slammed him against the ground. "-LIKE THAT."

Sakura's shoulders heaved up and down as she gasped for breath. Her chest started to hurt. She clutched the amulet that hanged down from her neck.

The man started to slowly get up as he looked at Sakura with pure hatred. Sakura could only stare with an emotionless expression across her features.

'Did he? Is he? The one who killed them?'

All of a sudden, the man came up behind her. It happened so quickly that Sakura didn't have time to react. He placed the palm of his hand on her back and pressed hard. Sakura cried out in pain. She could feel her chakra being sucked out of her.

"Your abnormal strength must come from your chakra. Without your chakra, you would probably be reduced to nothing," he said with a smirk. "So, you must be the apprentice of the Hokage that everyone's talking about. The one who might surpass even her own teacher. If I had known earlier, I might not have tried to kill you. You would have made a nice wife for-"

"Shut the hell up."

"What did you say?"

"I said shut up!"

Tears fell down Sakura's face. "Stop talking to me like you know me. I have nothing to do with you." Sakura looked down at the ground. Her power was being sucked out of her and she felt numb already.

Her hands dug into the ground tightly, never letting go of her grasp. She felt like if she let go then it would be all over and that she would no longer feel anything.

'But if I can't feel anything, then I can't feel pain either, right?'

The pain. It was shooting up her arms and she was numb all over. Everything she saw was a blur and her chakra was slowly seeping out of her and into the hands of the man who stood towering over her.

'He's going to kill me once he drains me of all my chakra.'

'Sakura. Hang in there.'

'I can't. I can't feel anymore. Everything feels like nothing to me. I'm going to-'

'I said hang in there!'

Sakura nodded slowly and then shook her head to clear away the feelings of drowsiness. She moved slightly as she tried to get up but the man's hand pushed her back down.

"Heh. You are really a stubborn gir-" the man said but was cut off.

Two kunais from out of nowhere came hurtling at the man's back. Surprised by the sudden attack, he let go of Sakura and Sakura crumbled onto the ground.

'Is someone there to save me?' she thought as her eyes started to close. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was a figure hovering over her. His dark hair was being gently stroked by the wind as he slowly cradled Sakura in his arms.