Thanks to ForeheadKAT, joker4u, SasuSaku453, TrinityFire13Guardian137, hinako89, MyExodus90, Linnorria, AnimeFreak94, Taijiya Hatake Uchiha, Uchiha Sakura Blossoms, roxchck760, bernadette, elmo-x-takumi, sakura-negi, chibi-tori12, fire-rose18, Sakura-Girl 2005, kyuubi-lover, Kurenai Chinoumi, Jellybean89, daydreamer53221, Anime/Manga Fanatic, azn-gurly, lyricalgurl, Arche-chan, Rosemary, Animerocks101, and Reiyuka Yumikoto who supported me in my somewhat time of need! Here's Part 2.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. I also don't own the song First Love. Utada Hikaru does.
First Love
By Kunoichi Blossom
Part 2
-
Her stealthy hands worked over the wounded areas of her patient, chakra steadily flowing into their body, healing it. She focused completely on her work. She could feel her chakra depleting as her body weakened. After a while, sensing that the job was done, she picked herself up from the kneeling position she was in.
"Ugh." Sakura moaned. 'Kneeling down and staying in the same position for almost about half an hour just has to take a toll on your body. I should have listened to Tsunade-sama and take her offer on that stool she was handing to me. She knows better. I'm so stubborn.' Sakura blabbed in her head.
She stretched out her stiff muscles and let out a long sigh. She then overlooked her patient who was now breathing evenly and sleeping. She smiled slightly with satisfaction; to think that they were close to death.
Sakura had grown a lot over the years; not only in strength and knowledge, but appearance too. She had grown into her forehead, which was never really that large to begin with, and developed curves in all the right places. Her skin seemed to be flawless with its pale color. Her hair grew back, but she preferred to keep it at shoulder length, continuously cutting it. And her eyes; they hadn't changed much. They were still full of emotions and bright with life. No man could deny she was beautiful.
Sakura finally looked up and noticed the time shown on the clock. "I totally lost track of time! Crap!" She mentally slapped herself. She quickly checked over her patient one last time then left the room. She strode down the halls and soon arrived in front of Tsunade's office. She knocked with urgency.
"Come in."
Sakura opened the door and entered the room. "Tsunade-sama, I'm leaving now for the day. I'm supposed to meet up with Naruto and Kakashi at Ichiraku soon. And I still plan to do my daily training. Although I might not have as much time as I'd hoped I would." Sakura informed to her sensei.
"Very well. You may go." Tsunade dismissed, motioning her hand towards the door. "Before you do, I want to add one more thing." Sakura stood in place. "Take it easy when training. Don't push yourself over your limits okay?"
Sakura could sense the concern lingering in her sensei's voice. She smiled slightly. "Okay Tsunade-sama." With that said she left.
Tsunade let out a long sigh as she went back to her paper work. 'I worry about her...' she thought sadly.
-
Sakura made her way swiftly out of the hospital. Once out, she started off at a jogging pace towards her usual training area, a large clearing in the middle of Konoha's forest. Everyday, no matter what the weather was like or what condition she was in, she would go to that area and train for as long as she could.
Nearing her destination, she quickened her pace to running. She jumped off the ground using chakra to heighten the jump. While in mid air, she took out eight kunai, gripping four in each hand. Making eight random trees her targets, she threw the kunai, each one heading towards its own target. They gained momentum as it neared the trees, their speed matching a bird diving head on towards its prey. Finally making contact, the kunai seemed to embed themselves into the thick trees rather than just hit them.
Sakura landed calmly in the center of the clearing. She scanned the area and went over to scrutinize her targets. Satisfied with her hits, she went back to the center and sat down, legs crossing over the other. She let out a content sigh and took out her pocket watch.
"Hmm... I'll just train for a little bit more. After I'll go back to my apartment and freshen up for the meeting." Sakura planned. She uncrossed her legs and picked herself up. She then did some simple stretches, warming up for more intense training. Straightening her body, she brought her hands close to her chest and pressed them against each other, closing her eyes. She took in deep, slow breathes and centered herself. She then concentrated on molding chakra to her hands.
-
Sasuke continued to jump over roof after roof, soon coming to the outskirts of Konoha's forest. He suddenly stopped, sensing a familiar chakra nearby. 'It's coming from in the middle of the forest.' Sasuke concluded, looking into the vast, lush environment before him.
He entered the area and soared through the trees, making his way towards the familiar presence. "It's been a while..." Sasuke smirked, "Sakura." He stopped his search when he came to a large clearing that lay right in the middle of the forest.
-
She could feel the chakra molding steadily, collecting into her hands as the tips of her fingers began to tingle. She opened her eyes, sensing she had made about enough. She brought one of her hands up and balled it into a tight fist. She then let out a loud cry, bringing her fist to the ground and made contact with it.
"AHHHH!"
The impact was huge. It looked as if a giant meteor had been there. The hit churned up all the hard compound soil in a mile range from all directions of the area. If you were to run your hand through the soil, it would feel like loose sand. Even giant rocks were converted to little pebbles. The trees surrounding the perimeter were uprooted and had been knocked down completely. The trees past the perimeter and in a mile range were now leaning at a forty five degree angle.
"Hmm..." Sakura looked around, "I think I may have over done it just a little bit." Sakura let out a weak laugh and then took out her pocket watch again. 'That's enough training for today.' She thought, 'I'm going to go back to my apartment now and freshen up.' She dusted herself off a bit and jogged out of the clearing.
-
Sasuke was gob smacked.
Earlier he had been in one of the trees surrounding the perimeter of the clearing. He had started to go back the way he came from thinking that Sakura wouldn't and couldn't do much. He was only a few trees away from where he had been when Sakura had finally made her hit. If he hadn't done what he did, he might've been caught and probably badly wounded.
He finally came back to his senses. 'She's changed a lot.' He thought, 'She's become stronger. She's no longer that girl I knew from two years ago when I left Konoha.' Sasuke paused, 'She seems like a whole different person now.' Dusting off his clothes, he began his way back.
He smirked. "It's time to go watch their meeting."
-
Sakura finally made it back to her apartment. She rushed into her bathroom and took a quick shower. Coming out, she dried herself off and went into her bedroom. She took out a pair of dark green hugging shorts from her drawer and a deep red colored tank top with the Haruno crest stitched into the back from her closet. She put her shoes back on and then quickly headed out the door.
She began at a jogging pace towards Ichiraku. As she continued on her way, she took out her pocket watch and read the time. Sakura's eyes widened. "I'm going to be late!" She quickened her pace, "That is if I don't hurry!"
She finally reached Ichiraku and ran a little past the flaps of the entrance. If it wasn't for Sakura's fast reflexes, she would have run straight into Kakashi, but she didn't.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards her and brought her into a big bear hug. "You made it just on time!" Naruto grinned.
Sakura sat down with them and smiled slightly. "That's great Naruto."
"Can you believe it! Kakashi actually came early!" Naruto blabbed, "It's probably a sign that the world is going to end soon!" Naruto waved his hands around.
Kakashi looked up from his precious book and looked at Naruto. "Stop exaggerating. It's not that big of a deal."
"It is! I mean you're always late!" Naruto said, "Don't you think so too Sakura-chan!" He looked at her and blinked. It didn't seem that she was paying attention at all as he noticed her staring off somewhere else. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out to her, waving one of his hands in front of her face.
"What?" Sakura blinked, "Oh. Yeah. Sure."
"You seem distracted Sakura. What's on you mind?" Kakashi asked finally putting down his perverted novel.
She hesitated a little, "When I training earlier, I couldn't help but get this feeling someone was watching me. I couldn't really sense their chakra, I think they were trying to hide it, but I could sense their presence." She paused, "They felt familiar, like I knew them, and yet at the same time they didn't." Sakura looked up, as if thinking.
"Ahh! Sakura-chan!" Naruto's eyes widened a bit, "I think you may have a stalker!"
"A stalker?" She blinked.
"Yeah! Someone who follows you around everywhere you go and watches you constantly! Creepy huh? The person must be a complete wacko." He shuddered at the thoughts.
"Yeah. Creepy."
"It could be one of your many fan boys. There are a lot of them you know." Naruto looked up thoughtfully and tapped his chin. "Some of them are pretty weird."
"You got that right. They're annoying too!"
"I guess you know now how Sasuke-bastard felt like before!" Naruto chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Uhmm... yeah..." Sakura said as she looked away.
"Naruto-" Kakashi started as he gave him a stern look.
"It's alright Kakashi. I'm fine. Really." Sakura smiled, but both men knew it was fake.
Naruto sighed as he frowned. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan."
"Don't be." Sakura said, "Now let's order some ramen. I'm getting hungry."
Naruto brightened up a bit. "Okay! I'm already starving as it is!"
They ordered their food and Sakura paid for it, even though it was Naruto's idea to meet with each other and go out. They ate their food as they caught up with each other. They talked about things that weren't really of importance, but they didn't care. They just enjoyed each other's company. It really had been a while since they had been together.
Little did they know they really were all together...
-
Sasuke was staying up in a tree, near Ichiraku. He had a pretty good view of his old team and was in good ear-shot of them. He might as well have been at the meeting itself. He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted to be there with them too, enjoying their company. He knew he couldn't though. It was driving him kind of crazy, being so close to them and yet at the same time not. It'd been practically two years. Who could blame him?
Sasuke recalled back to what they had said earlier. "Sakura couldn't sense my chakra, but she could sense my presence? How though?" Sasuke thought for a moment. "She must be highly-skilled. That's the only fitting explanation there is."
Other thoughts entered his mind. 'Naruto!' Sasuke thought angrily as he clenched his fists tight and narrowed his eyes, 'I'm not a stalker or a complete wacko!' (KB: Thankies Kurenai Chinoumi for pointing that out!)
He stayed where he was, still watching and listening to the meeting. Nothing seemed to attract his full attention though so he just leaned down against a branch. As he lay there, he remembered noticing something peculiar that had happened when they were talking before. Sakura became saddened by the very mention of him. This made Sasuke feel kind of guilty. 'Does she still have feelings for me, after all this time?' Sasuke thought.
-
"It's getting kind of late you guys. It's already pretty dark out." Sakura said, "And I'm also already feeling tired from today's events." She stood up and stretched herself out a bit, stifling a yawn. "I think I'm going to head back to my apartment now."
"Want for me to walk you back?" Naruto asked.
"No. Thanks anyway." She answered.
"Okay. Bye then Sakura-chan!" Naruto practically yelled and brought her into another bear hug like before. Sakura smiled as she returned the hug. "Get in here Kakashi!"
"I don't really hug." Kakashi answered.
"Nonsense! Everyone hugs!" Naruto smiled as he dragged Kakashi in. Sakura giggled as she saw Kakashi's uncomfortable look plastered on his face as they all hugged each other.
"Okay. That's enough of that." Kakashi said as he slightly pushed away from the hug. Naruto laughed and Sakura just giggled again.
"You're so stiff Kakashi!" Naruto said. Kakashi just sighed and sat back down, too lazy to argue back.
"Bye you guys!" Sakura called to them as she left Ichiraku, starting her way back to her apartment.
"Bye Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled back to her as he waved like crazy.
-
"Huh?" Sasuke said as his thoughts were interrupted. He looked down at them and saw Sakura walk out. He looked back at Naruto and Kakashi who were now ordering some more ramen. 'Who should I follow?' He thought as he looked back at Sakura. He smirked.
-
Sakura took her time walking back. 'Today was nice.' She thought, smiling. 'It's been a while since we've done anything together.' She sighed as she remembered Naruto mentioning Sasuke earlier. "Sasuke..." She thought at loud, her gaze reverting to the ground.
Every time she heard about him, talked about him, or even thought about him, she became saddened. He had caused her so much pain. The man she still loves doesn't love her back, or so she thought. Any mention of Sasuke always made her think about this one song. She would always sing it to cheer herself up. As she slowly continued walking back to her apartment, she began to sing.
She sung the song with so much emotion and passion as if it was coming straight from her heart. She involuntarily swayed her body as if there was music playing, but in reality there was none. It was like she had been pulled into a blissful dream. She had blocked out everything around her.
(KB: I took the lyrics out. One of my FF Friends, RedLotusNin, informed me about a rule of FF that says putting in lyrics of a song you don't own in your story is not allowed and that anybody caught doing it will be banned and their story will be removed. I put this AN in here because the rule isn't on the front page anymore and I want others know about the rule.)
She ended the song with a soft hum. Surprisingly, the song hadn't cheered her up. In fact it did the exact opposite. Nothing seemed to be different this time though when she sang and yet this happened. Sakura sighed as she felt a faint stinging sensation coming from her eyes. She brought her hands up to her face and realized she was crying. She was already close to her apartment so she dashed off for it. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry over him anymore!" Sakura stated as she opened the door to her apartment, went inside, and slammed it shut.
Sasuke, meanwhile, had witnessed the whole thing. He'd been captivated by Sakura's voice as he listened to the lyrics. It was a sad and very emotional song, but none the less beautiful. He was slightly disappointed as it came to an end. He frowned as he saw what had happened to Sakura. 'She always cries because of me.' Sasuke thought bitterly. 'One day, I'll change that.'
He took out his pocket watch and read the time. 'Orochimaru's going to punish me," Sasuke said, "But it's worth it." A small smile found its way onto his face as he began his way back.
I hoped you enjoyed it! Please review! I worked harder on this one, if you didn't notice. I'm really sorry for the very late update. It seems my summer was very busy during the first few weeks. I barely had any time to write. Plus, to tell you the truth, I had lost some inspiration for writing in general. Now I've come back with a whole new attitude.
I have a question. Would anyone like me to write a sequel?
Kunoichi Blossom