Author's Notes: Well… I'm surprised so many of you stayed with the story. I doubt I'll ever have 72 reviews for another chapter again. Thank you all for your wonderful support. ALSO: I am sorry if my updates after this are crappier or are even longer in wait. I recently went through a terrible break up with someone I had hoped to spend my life with… so I am not in the best of emotional attitudes. I need some time to heal. Thank you for your understanding.
Sacrifice: Wilted Blossom of Spring
Chapter 9: Self Verve
"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto whined. "This is stupid. Why are we doing this again?"
He clenched his fists. This was the sixteenth time Naruto had asked that question since they'd begun the trek up toward the Hokage's office.
"Because Naruto, if anyone can convince Sakura to come back to service, it's the Hokage. It was your idea, remember?"
He grinned. "Tsunade-baa-chan can talk anyone into anything! She's sneaky with her words… sometimes I wonder if she lies straight out. She's as bad as ero-sennin!"
Closing his eyes, Sasuke turned away from Naruto and continued walking up the stairs. Neither one of them had seen Sakura in over four days. She had disappeared from the view of the village and all her friends within it. He sighed. There were many times he'd stopped outside Sakura's door, trying to gain the courage to walk back in and try once more to convince her to remain a kunoichi. Somewhere deep inside, he was scared to face her again. The pain she'd gone through had frightened and hurt him.
To put it frankly, it was pissing him off.
"Sasuke-teme, if you keep walking you'll run into the door!"
Jolted out of his brooding, Sasuke stopped mere inches from the Hokage's door. Without hesitation, he swung the door open and marched inside, Naruto by his side. Lying quite ungracefully upon her desk with a bottle of sake still within her grasp, Tsunade snored and then jostled until she finally blinked awake. She leaned back, stretching her limbs and titling her chair toward the window. Allowing a smile to grace her face, she slammed her elbows against the wood of the desk, and a loud crack resounded throughout the room.
"Do you enjoy just barging into my office, Uchiha? You seem to be making a habit of that as of late." she grumbled, glaring at the two familiar faces. "I was doing some intense work."
"You were sleeping!" Naruto whined. "And we're actually here for something important, Tsunade-baa-chan!"
Her eye twitched as she controlled her rage. "And what would this important thing be?"
Sakura sat on her bed, positioned so her face peered toward the window. The wind billowed her curtains, folding them with intensely gentle fingers that kissed her skin. Knees drawn up tightly toward her chin, all of Sakura's focus was on the methodical movements of her drapes. They were almost dancing with the wind, waltzing a romantic tune that couldn't reach mortal ears.
Next to her window sat the burlap bag filled with her kunoichi memorabilia. Despite her attempts to toss it out, she hadn't the strength to throw away her past. The past four days had been spent staring towards the window, then towards the bag in a never-ending cycle of mental destruction. She was picking at herself piece by piece, trying desperately to find the resolve to finally detach herself from the fear and anxiety that filled her. Strings attached her to the past, and despite her attempts at severing them, they remained fixated from her heart to the memories.
With a sigh, Sakura relaxed her pose and allowed her eyes to droop. She was shoving herself in directions she couldn't go and the affect was mentally and physically exhausting. Her answers continued to elude her, and with a sigh, she resigned to try again another day. Having once been a medical ninja, she understood and was capable of evaluating her limits; she had reached them.
Just as she stood up, a loud rapping came to the door of her apartment. She jumped, covering her head with her arms in an attempt to hide from the assumed adversary. The knocking continued in a constant stream, finally edging her from a protective stance into a cautious trek toward the door. Each beat on the wood became louder, giving them an urgent tone.
"Sakura-chan!" came the voice. "Please open up; it's very important that I speak with you!"
"Shizune-san?"
Reaching the door, Sakura unlocked it and let the door open to see Shizune in a deep sweat with Tonton in her arms. The creases in her face told of how urgent her race there had been. Worry began to fall into Sakura's stomach. Was she needed at the hospital for a mission that went terribly wrong?
"What is it, Shizune-san?"
She caught her breath while leaning on the door trim. "Tsunade-sama needs to see you right away! It's extremely important, she was going to come here herself!"
"What's wrong?"
"I'm not sure, but I've never seen her like this before; I know it's immensely serious." Shizune responded. "Please, follow me!"
Folding her hands together to rest her chin upon them, Tsunade's hazel eyes interrogated the wall in front of her. How much longer was Shizune going to take? There was no way Sakura would take this long to come if it was an urgent call, irregardless of the present situation.
"Stay out of here Naruto!" Tsunade screamed, watching the door close off her view of the boy she had just injured. "Treat me with some respect and then maybe I'll listen to your claims!"
Sasuke waited patiently for the Hokage to seat herself once more. After a swig of sake and a small fit of rage upon her desk, Tsunade turned her attention to the Uchiha heir. His posture was the same as always; stiff and disciplined. It was his eyes that had her worried. For a man who was supposed to have no true attachment to anyone or anything, the emotions in his eyes were swirling at an alarming rate.
"What do you need?" she asked, huffing out her question.
"I need you to assign Sakura to a mission."
Tsunade's eyes fell toward the desk. "I can't do that. She's no longer a kunoichi of Konoha."
"We need to force her." He reasoned. "You know Sakura—you need to throw her into a situation before she understands it."
"In my opinion, she's not ready for a mission, even if I force her into it."
"What if you request it?"
Raising an eyebrow, she watched the boy in front of her wearily. "What are you getting at?"
"Sakura needs a mission, to open her eyes."
Tsunade shook her head. "I can't do that. Her situation is too fragile."
"What if I was on the mission with her?" he suggested.
"A confidence boost from you protecting her without her knowing it isn't going to be the only thing she needs to get over this." Tsunade reasoned. "I'm assuming you know what happened to her."
Sasuke's eyes continued to stare in the same direction, the emotions still floating within a visual level. The debate within himself was becoming more apparent.
"I don't want her to give up."
Taking a long look at the only remaining Uchiha, Tsunade began evaluating the situation. When had Sasuke become so concerned with Sakura's well being? Why was he trying so hard to get her back into a situation that could either cripple or rescue her? Was it worth the risk?
A member of the ANBU squad appeared at Tsunade's side.
"What is it with people just popping into my office today?" she grumbled. "Do you have something to report?"
He turned toward her ear and began to whisper the message. Tsunade's eyes grew into saucers, then she slammed her fist onto the desk. The ANBU member stepped back and disappeared just as quickly as he had come in. The look of shock on the Hokage's face was enough to send a chill down Sasuke's spine; something was definitely not good.
"You have your mission with Sakura!" Tsunade shot up in her desk. "I'm sending you out for Ino and Shikamaru! Report back here as soon as you find them! Go!"
He didn't have to be told twice.
"Shizune!"
Tsunade drummed her fingers against her temple, fighting within herself to regain her composure. She had to be patient. Shizune would be bursting through the door with Sakura any moment now, screeching to a halt and then race down toward the hospital to tend to the recovered wounded.
The door to her office creaked open. "Tsunade-sama?"
Her heart jumped. "Sakura…."
Stepping into the room cautiously, Sakura closed the door behind her and set her gaze upon the floor. She had seen enough of her mentor's face to understand how grave the situation was; something was not right in the land of Konoha. What would she need her for?
"Sakura… please… I have a favor to ask of you." Came the voice. "Please… become a kunoichi once more for Konoha."
Author's Notes: Well… that's all we get for this chapter. There will be more in the chapter to come. And trust me… there will be a SasuSaku moment of greatness to appear!
Love you all!
Crystal Renee