A/N: AHHH! Starts crying I'm so sorry guys...I completely shoved fanfiction to the side, my life just got worse right now, but, luckily I found time to update a chapter! I'm so sorry, I'm such a slowpoke with this story! Well...hopefully you guys will like this chapter...
Chapter 3-One Night's Events
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"I had hoped that you had matured Sakura, but, now I see you're still just a child."
This thought ran itself over in Sakura's head as she walked toward the flower shop located a few blocks from her house, feeling like she had just been hit by a train, she slowly mulled over the earlier morning events.
"Hey Sakura "
'It just got worse.'
Sakura turned around only to be caught in Sasuke's warm embrace.
"Sasuke...you didn't call me last night...I was worried after you left so suddenly...is everything alright?"
The look in Sasuke's eyes frightened her, his expression bent with doubt as she questioned him with her eyes.
He finally gave a small gulp and looked down at the ground, "I'm...being recruited by ANBU Sakura, I won't be coming back to Konoha for some time..." He paused to look up at Sakura, whose green eyes were flooded behind a veil of tears.
After a few minutes, Sakura forced the lump in her throat down enough so that she could speak, "Umm..how long, is.. 'some time'?"
Sasuke paused, and took a sharp intake of breath, "About a year or so, it's really not that bad, I mean-"
Sasuke's words were suddenly muffled when Sakura's lips contacted his with a sharp tinge of anguish and sorrow. His arms found a way around her shoulders in a soft embrace that sent shivers up Sakura's spine as she released her binding kiss. Their heads pressed against each other as Sakura's playfully teased Sasuke's hair.
"Sasuke...I...I don't want you to go, please don't go. It's going to be too much for me to bear, can't you tell Tsunade-sama"
"-I can't...Sakura, I'm under strict orders from both her and the village, they need all the help they can get, they need me...Orochimaru is still on the loose, I need to help us win this raging war, Konoha is one of the few villages that he hasn't trampled...yet."
"-But, I thought you had everything fixed with the cursed seal...you said that everything was-"
"I know..what I said Sakura, and I'm sorry...but this is something that I feel that I must do. Please understand..." With this last remark, Sasuke kissed Sakura gently on the forehead as he walked off in the direction of the Hokage's office.
As Sakura watched Sasuke walk away, her legs on impulse followed him, speeding up by the second as she struggled to catch up with him.
"Sasuke! Sasuke wait up!"
Sasuke's feet pounded the ground faster than Sakura could keep up with, even with her training, she was still no match for him.
Sakura could feel her eyes burning as she no longer felt herself struggling to cry, the tears found themselves flowing down her cheeks as she could no longer see Sasuke in sight. Exhausted, she stopped and looked up at the sky, allowing her vision to become blurred as the clouds grew dark and a thunder clap rang clear across the air. It was at that point, the raindrops began to fall.
"Damn you..." Sakura choked as she lowered her head, clenching her teeth as a huge bolt of lightning lit the sky, causing the light rain to turn into a downpour, drenching Sakura as she stood her ground, not know how long she had been there, letting her anger build.
'I...I can't take this anymore...'
"DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL! WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE SASUKE? HE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS! Sakura screamed...her body trembling with power as her thoughts clouded with confusion.
'What about Sasuke...he didn't even...'
"He didn't even tell me goodbye...he just left me here, he just ran off, he couldn't have at least walked me home or...or...god...I can't take it...I can't..."
Sakura closed her eyes as she collapsed on her knees and bent her head back letting the rain cry for her.Opening her mouth she let out a series of raging screams that seemed to echo off of every building in Konoha. All of the energy completely drained from her body, Sakura found herself veering to the right as her body hit the soft muddy street while her vision fell to darkness.
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Sakura stirred in her sleep, tossing from one side to the other, finally sitting upright as her eyes fluttered open.
'What?'
Sakura rubbed her eyes slowly as she took a swift glance at her surroundings.
"Woah...where the hell am I?"
She found herself staring at an old clock, a calendar with a naked woman posing, clothes everywhere on the floor...and even a strange bed.
'Wow, what's going on? I can't even remember what happened over the last 24 hours. Let's see, this is obviously some guys bedroom...what could I have been doing in some random-'
Her eyes suddenly went wide with shock.
"Oh...shit."
'This is Naruto's bedroom...isn't it?'
'Naw...really sherlock? You couldn't tell by the bright orange walls?'
'Shutup.'
'Or the fact the smell of pork ramen is filling the air?'
'Shut it...'
'Or the face that Naruto's name is printed on the DOOR?'
'That's it, I've had it, I'm going to-'
"Sakura...you're awake..."
Sakura's head spun in Naruto's direction, her eyes wide, her head...confused.
"Naruto...what am I doing here?" Sakura looked around as she swung her legs over the bed to stand up.
"Sakura...I wouldn't advise trying to stand up yet...you're still-"
"Ahh...!" Sakura winced in pain as she fell back on the bed, clutching her face, which was strangely warm.
"-Recovering..." Naruto finished his sentence as he ran over to Sakura, putting covers over her.
"Oww...what the hell? What's happening to me?" Sakura cried out in pain as she continued to wince.
Naruto's eyes fell over her, concerned, a side that Sakura had never seen before.
"You were found outside last night, lying down in the middle of the street in the pouring rain..."
Naruto turned and placed a bowl of ramen next to her on a table. "It's still hot, so, wait a little bit before you try it."
"Naruto...what was I doing outside in the rain like that?" Sakura's eyes were cloudy...and for some reason, they hurt a lot.
"You tell me...Kiba brought you over here last night, he's the one that found you...him and Akamaru were running some late-night errands, he said you were just laying there in a puddle of water, curled up in a ball, apparently you looked like you cried yourself to sleep."
Sakura concentrated hard on what Naruto was telling her, searching, for some sort of link that would unravel what had happened, but nothing had come to mind.
"Do you remember?" Naruto prodded her gently, his hand on her shoulder.
"No...for some reason, nothing comes to mind...nothing within the last 24 hours..." Sakura shook her head, stupified at her own disoriented state.
Naruto looked down and to the side, "So then, you don't remember me coming to your house yesterday morning, and sitting in your kitchen.."
Sakura lifted her head. "Nope. Why?"
"Nothing, nothing. It was just, something I said yesterday that.." Naruto looked at a puzzled Sakura, her eyes searching for answers. "...Nevermind, it's...not important. Get some rest."
Naruto turned to leave, Sakura's mind racing, or was it not her mind...?
"Naruto..."
Naruto stopped as he was about to open the door, he turned slowly and faced her with a questioning sorrow.
"Naruto...you've uh...you've, been really kind to me lately, I just wanted to say, thank you."
Naruto released a small smile, not showing teeth, but just lifting up the corners of his lips slightly. "You're welcome, Sakura."
With one last glance, Naruto swifly closed the door leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts...and a bowl of hot ramen.
Hey guys...that's chapter three...things kind of took a little bit of a twist...but, it's all for the better anyway. I'm so so so sorry about the lateness guys, I don't know what life's going to throw at me next, so, I'm going to try to get chapter 4 up as quick as I can..thanks. Read and review...thanks.