Summary: She had given up on the idea of being anything more than a friend to him, concentrating more on her training than him. During the course of her training, he had begun to realize that what he felt about her was past peripheral vision. Sasuke/Sakura.
Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.
Past Peripheral Vision
Chapter Eight – Mission Completed
The sun hadn't risen yet when she woke up, and it still had yet to rise now that she ready. She left a note on the small table nearby, saying she was already on her way to rescue Mika from her kidnappers and that they needn't worry about her. With the information she had acquired the night before, she had enough right to say that they wouldn't pose too much of a threat to her. If she managed to get caught, she could always cut the bindings with the kunai she had hidden in her clothes. She would come prepared. With one final check, she made sure she had her equipment. She hadn't moved a kunai or a shuriken from their respective holsters and her Crescent Blade was on her back already, still wrapped in a flimsy white cloth, just to keep it from slicing anything as she moved.
Silently, she made her way outside of the house, her eyes seeing to make sure she was going towards the right direction. She would blindfold herself when she had gone past the vicinity of the village, studying the map for most of the night. At best, she had gotten around two or three hours of sleep but she was used to it. Passing through the gate, she paused and wore her hitai-ate. She would just have to go all the way north, avoiding any obstructions in the way. The cave of Akuma had hardly any distinguishable marks, seemingly a cave found in the environment if one didn't inspect it at a much closer range. Leaping from branch to branch, another plan began formulating in her mind. She could simply bust in and make her way through without hardly any trouble at all but she didn't want to risk any casualties. If she had to, she would. While she had a choice, she'd refrain from that.
A frown made its way to her face as she continued moving silently, the birds flying around, hoping to get an early start on whatever it was that they had to do. A nagging voice thrummed through the back of her mind as she tried to shake it off. Memories of a mission from before flashed through her mind. She had hardly been any help then, simply standing before their charge in an attempt to protect him, or at least show she was doing something. She had failed miserably. All she did there was stand there, holding a kunai with an intimidating pose as Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi fought the enemies that had assaulted them. It was what she always did in missions when they were still Team Seven. She had definitely grown from then and was now currently on her third solo mission.
"Mika-chan, stay strong," she whispered to the wind as she continued moving forward, a determined look etched on her features, "I'll be there soon enough." According to her calculations, the cave in which Akuma had made their headquarters wasn't too far from the village, only an hour away. By the time she arrived, the sun would have just started to rise or would start in a matter of minutes. They wouldn't expect an attack so early in the day and only from a solitary intruder thus their defense wouldn't be as strong as it usually was compared to the rest of the day. She could feel the cold wind brush against her skin, involuntarily shivering at the contact of the icy air. Pushing herself, she moved at a quicker pace. She wanted to see, or sense in her case, a smile on the faces of Touya and Chiharu. They were good people and she wanted to bring Mika back safely. She was too young, in her opinion, to go through such an ordeal.
Some fifteen minutes since Sakura had left, Touya woke up. He was always one to wake up early. His wife was still asleep as he focused his milky white optics on her sleeping figure, most likely rising a few minutes later. With a slight smile on his face, he got out of the bed and made sure the blanket was around her body, secure to keep her warm. It was always cold in the morning, the temperature growing hotter as the sun continued to rise. Exiting their room, his feet padded softly against the wooden flooring as he made his way towards Sakura's room. He had hoped to talk to the Chuunin about the situation of Mika before she left, or at least plead to her to leave as soon as she possible could. Lifting his hand, he knocked against the wooden frame that sealed the shoji door against the wall. Hearing no reply, he knocked once more. Silence met him.
"Sakura-san, I'm coming in," he called out as he slid the shoji door open. He couldn't feel the presence of another person, or hear her moving about. It was unlikely she was asleep. Striding over to the small table, instinct told him to sit down and feel about for something that was off. His slightly calloused fingers met the slight crunch of paper as the skin of his fingertips brushed against the dry ink. "A note," he murmured absently as he picked it up. He assumed she had just left a note to say that she was out for a bit of training or a walk before coming back to the house. Looking up, he heard his wife's breathing. "Could you read the note Sakura-san left?" he asked as he handed her the white sheet.
"Okay," spoke Chiharu softly as she took it from his hands. Her face blanched as she realized what it read. Touya had a look of slight confusion written on his face. "Anata, Sakura-san is gone," she murmured as fear painted her eyes, "She left already to assault Akuma by herself and she said she'd bring Mika-chan by noon." Touya's hands gripped his wife's shoulders nervously. It was dangerous to assault Akuma alone, even if she was a kunoichi and used to much more dangerous scenarios than this. "The note reads: Touya-san, Chiharu-san, by the time you read this, I'll already be on my way to Akuma. Please don't worry about me. By the time it's nearly noon, wait outside the village gate just north of your house. I'll be arriving with Mika-chan. Until then, please don't worry. Sakura." Chiharu bit her lower lip in nervousness as she dropped the paper to the floor. Now she was even more worried, worried for the life of her daughter and worried for the life of the one trying to save her daughter.
Inside the Cave of Akuma
"I wonder when Konosaki is going to bring the ransom money?" asked a guard as he looked at his companion. The second one shrugged as he leaned against the spear he was holding. The boss of Akuma had always said to come prepared so whenever they were on guard duty, they had to carry a spear with them, or at least a weapon to safeguard them from any intruders. "It better be soon," he growled in irritation as he shifted his weight from one foot to another, "I don't think the boss is willing to be patient anymore." His companion nodded once more, barely managing to stifle a yawn. Opening his mouth to speak once more, his eyes widened as he eyed who was in front of her. "Back up! We need back up!" he shouted as he positioned his spear into a jabbing position. His partner nodded as he ran in the opposite direction.
"Now, no need for that," said the intruder as she inched her way closer to the guard who had remained there, "I mean, I'm just one and you're probably going to call what, ten, twenty people to back you up? I'm just a little girl who stumbled her way to this cave." Her lips were dangerously close to his as he managed to suppress a blush, her rosy tresses partially shielding her green eyes. Loud rumbling of padding feet resounded through the small corridor as a look of irritation made its way to her face. "Shit," she cursed as she backed away from the guard in front of her. In a matter of moments, she was surrounded. Creasing her brow into a frown, she fell into a fighting stance. "Damn it!" she hissed as she weaved through them back and forth. On a one-on-one fight, she had the clear advantage but she was easily outnumbered and was in a rather constricted place. Her chances of winning were much higher if she had more room, even if they were the same in number.
An onslaught of strikes and blows, cuts and scrapes rained down on her as she narrowly managed to avoid the fatal blows. She didn't see fit to kill at the moment, merely stalling them. However, the small area she was in, she could do hardly anything. If the area was bigger and even if they were the same in number, she would have had an easier time. She could have busted the ground and caused her opponents to collapse on their weight. She could have performed a high-level elemental jutsu to attack but the lack of space had not allowed her to. Even using exploding tags wasn't an option, as she herself could get harmed with it exploded. It was hard to weave her way out of such a tight knot in such a tight space. Her last conscious thought was hoping that they wouldn't discover her hidden kunai.
"Bring her to the boss," commanded one of the higher-ups, a tone of authority in his voice. The men ambled around before one of them finally picked up her unconscious body and began making his way towards the main room. "You call yourself men," he muttered as his footsteps made heavy sounds, "Letting a mere girl get you all so riled up." They all muttered their apologies as they averted their gaze, remaining where they were. "Well, go back to your posts!" he barked as he looked back. Standing upright, they all stammered their responses before rushing off. "Useless, just useless," he mumbled as he continued walking, shifting Sakura's body on his shoulder to a more comfortable position for him, "Getting riled up by a weak-looking girl." If she was awake when he said that, she would have beaten him mercilessly into a bloody pulp.
Consciousness started to take over her as she lifted her head, still unable to see. A fat, balding man; his right fingers adorned with countless rings, which looked to be cutting off the circulation to his fingers, stood there. Beside him was a much more refined looking man. With the way things look, he was probably the assistant to the boss, the much more refined man beside him. Or that was the way the stereotypical mafia went about. "Where am I," she murmured as she kept her head straight. She heard a throaty laugh escape the lips of the stout man, the faint scent of alcohol lingering in the air. She hated that smell. It reminded her of when Kakashi was all depressed about the situation of Sasuke and Naruto. Feeling a bump, she picked her kunai and began severing the ropes that bound her hands together.
"Well, little missy, do you think you can handle all of us all by your lonesome self?" he spoke. Sakura's nose scrunched up at the smell of alcohol. His yellowing, crooked teeth formed into a cheesy smile. "You know, your life can be spared if you just give up and play with me," he suggested, perverted thoughts entering his mind. Sakura snarled as she slapped his hand away, the same hand that was nearing her rear. "Why you little…!" he hissed as he forced her to look at him, not that she could see him to begin with. She didn't want unnecessary blood to be shed. She could have easily slain everyone in the room within minutes but she was no murderer. She preferred not to kill but if she had to. Soon enough, her kunai cut through the rope binding her hands together. In a flash, she quickly formed hand seals and let her hand brush against his forearm. Screaming in pain, the leader of the small mafia pointed an accusing finger at her as he felt searing heat on his skin, like acid. "Seize that bitch!"
"Where's Mika-chan?" she asked as she held a kunai to the throat of the stout man, aware of the fact that she was surrounded once more. However, a room definitely had much more space than a corridor and there were surprisingly only three or four people within the room. She had expected a lot more. Faint gagged cries reached her ears, towards the far end of the room. "What did you do to her?" she asked, her voice coated with annoyance and danger. The man motioned for the others to attack her, even if she was just another girl. "I'll deal with you later," she growled as she turned around to face those who were closing in on her. "It's rude to interrupt when one is talking you know," she said plainly as she let her arm hang limply at her side, "Especially when you're dealing with a Konoha Nin." Their eyes seemed to disregard that fact as she dropped the kunai and drove her fist into the ground, letting out an explosion of her chakra mere seconds later.
"Wh-who the hell are you!" demanded the short man as he pointed a chubby finger accusingly at Sakura. She paid no attention as she drew out a kunai from her holster and began fighting off those who remained standing even after that impact. Most of them were already down and unconscious but there were a few who refused to back down. "Fujikaze, I order you to take her down, even if she is a girl!" he commanded as he faced the male who had been standing there. With an air of laziness about him, the man named Fujikaze began walking towards the rosy haired kunoichi. "That ought to take care of you," he said in a smug tone, "No one has defeated Fujikaze in a duel before."
"I advise you to step aside, miss, if you don't wish to get hurt," spoke Fujikaze as he stopped, a meter short away from her. Sakura turned to face him, the Konoha symbol engraved on her hitai-ate directly in front of his line of vision. Suppressing an involuntary shudder, he continued. "It's for your own safety, as well as the brat's," he said as he remained stationary. He knew of that symbol and he knew better than to tangle with one from the shinobi village of the Country of Fire. She made no motion to back down from her current stance. "You leave me no choice," he said with a somewhat sad tone as he fell into his own stance. It was his policy to not fight against females unless absolutely forced to. Now was one of those cases. Casting her hitai-ate aside, she focused her jade green eyes onto his sharp hazel ones.
In a quick flurry of hand seals, she began gathering chakra as she remained where she was. Confusion found its way to Fujikaze's face, unused to the fact that Sakura was using hand seals. He usually fought people in physical brawls, never ninjas. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" she shouted as a wave of power hit Fujikaze, rendering him paralyzed. The male struggled to move as he looked at her for an explanation. "It's a paralysis jutsu," she explained as she began making her way towards the stout man, "I refuse to kill if I have the choice not to. It'll wear off if either you or I cancel it but the likelihood is that it will wear off when I choose to cancel its effects on you." Glancing at the stout man, she flashed a wicked smile. "By order of the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, you will be brought to the country's capital for trial," she intoned as she drew out a kunai from her holster, "You, Inoue Enji are accused of smuggling, murder and kidnapping." In a flash, she drove her knee to his stomach and knocked him unconscious.
When she had finished her work, binding the mafia's leader and gagging him, she made her way towards Mika, a sincere smile on her face. Sakura whistled a happy tune in order to soothe the young seven year old, her hitai-ate laying forgotten on the ground. "Onee-san came to save me?" asked Mika weakly as she was finally able to talk. Sakura nodded as she began doing a customary check up on the hostage. It looked like she had been starved since she had arrived, of course not fully. They gave her the bare minimum to keep her alive and say she had been fed but she needed more food. A frown found its way to Sakura's face when she had discovered this. "Is anything wrong, Onee-san?" asked Mika as she clung onto the pink haired Chuunin for support.
"Nothing at all," said Sakura as she picked out the radio Shizune had given her. Though it was a solo mission, there would be back up lingering nearby if the mission proved to be too dangerous for her. "Haruno Sakura reporting," she spoke into the radio. A voice rumbled a reply as a faint smile found its way to her face. "Anko-san!" she said as a slight grin found its way to her face. She was the Jounin much like Naruto only older and a female. Her addiction was with sweets instead of ramen, however. "I have to bring Mika-chan, the hostage, home. The main people in the yakuza are all in the main room," explained Sakura as she picked the girl up and walked out the door, "It's the room all the way at the end." There were no other hallways in the cave, surprisingly modern despite its rugged exterior outside.
"Okay kid, we're on our way," said Anko as she ended the connection. Signaling to the three Chuunin nearby, the Jounin began moving towards the cave. In the back of her mind, she knew that the Godaime was really worried for Sakura, as she was one of the Godaime's favorite students, if not the most favored. She was standing on top of a nearby tree branch when Sakura had gotten out of the cave, a frail looking seven year old clinging onto the Chuunin. A frown found its way to Anko's face as she looked at the state of the girl. She was malnourished and weak, deprived of things a growing girl such as she needed. "Okay, time to bring in the trash!" ordered Anko as she jumped down, Sakura already moving towards Kaen Village, sporting her fare share of cuts and bruises.
Kaen Village
She was only a few minutes away from the village, the young girl struggling to remain awake. The people were crowding outside, as if hoping for some sign. It seemed that Touya and Chiharu had announced of her plan to assault Akuma alone, as what had been originally planned to begin with. The visit to Kaen Village was really just a stopover, to inform them that Konoha had answered their request and had sent a capable shinobi to do the job. Her muscles were strained, from moving with hardly any rest. She was partially drugged when she had been caught, only able to counteract the effects of the drug with a simple antidote. She would need time to prepare something that would effectively remove the toxins from her body. Bringing Mika back to her parents was a priority over her personal safety, she believed. She was nine years wiser of the world. Mika had hard much less chances to see the beauty of the world compared to her.
"Sakura-san!" said Chiharu breathlessly, tears forming, as she rushed towards the somewhat battered Chuunin. A faint grin found its way to Sakura's face as she shifted the half-asleep Mika on her back, handing her over to her mother. "Dear Lord," gasped Chiharu as she broke down in tears, just hugging her daughter, "Mika-chan! Mika-chan! Thank heaven's you're alright!" She didn't care that she was creating such a sight. She didn't care that she was kneeling on dirt. She was far too happy at seeing her daughter once more. Tightening her hold on her daughter, Chiharu just continued to sob tears of joy and relief. The villagers had gotten teary-eyed at the reunion of mother and daughter. Touya had walked towards Sakura and hugged her as if she were his own daughter, a couple of tears falling to her shoulders. She could feel the sticky liquid drop onto her bare skin.
"Thank you," he murmured after pulling away. Sakura smiled sheepishly and said it was nothing. It was her mission to bring Mika back and that's all that she did. "Our daughter means the world to us," said Touya as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Sakura nodded, understanding their feelings very well. Her own parents thought the world of her, their only daughter. She was the only one they could ever have, implications on her mother's reproductive system playing a role in her mother's infertility. "You see, Chiharu has always had problems in her reproductive system," explained Touya as he struggled to keep composure, "And we were lucky to even have Mika-chan. I thought Chiharu wouldn't survive when she was in labor. I'm very lucky to have them both with me." Sakura's heart tore at what she heard. Their predicament was similar to her parents' own, with the exception of Mika most likely not becoming a kunoichi. They didn't live in Konohagakure after all. Her family, however, did.
"It's an honor to have served you for this mission," said Sakura with a polite bow, her rose tresses shielding her watery eyes. Touya smiled and shook her hand, thanking her once more. "I, for one, am glad I was assigned this mission, two months after my own training," said Sakura with a slight tone of sadness coating her words. Touya opted to ignore that. "Anyway, I'll just prepare an antidote for myself and I'll be off. It's nice to have met you, Chiharu-san and Mika-chan," said Sakura with a polite bow. Excusing herself, Sakura made her way towards the village, passing through before making her way back to her own home. When she arrived, she'd treat her parents out to dinner with money she had earned herself the next day. After meeting Touya and his family and hearing of their similar predicament, her love for her own parents ran even deeper. "Okaa-san, Otou-san, I'll be home soon." Her words were carried by the wind with her hoping against hope that it would somehow reach the ears of her parents.
Tsuzuku…
And thus… chapter eight. I hope my description of the mission is reasonable enough. If there are any complaints, please feel free to tell me. Just… be tactful about it and somehow write it in the form on constructive criticism, not a flame. That's all I ask.
Oh! And have some evidence/proof to back up your claim. If there's anything I hate more it's when you make an accusation without solid proof to back yourself up. I mean, what's the point if you don't prove your cause, right?
On a lighter topic, this fanfic now has one hundred and sixteen (116) reviews! I give special mention to Only Secret for being the hundredth reviewer for this fanfic.
See you all next week for another installment of Past Peripheral Vision!
Next Chapter: Chapter Nine – Their Reunion
Chapter Preview: Whistling a happy tune, Sakura made her way towards the bridge that she had always stood on when she was younger. She felt nostalgia come over her senses when Kakashi had asked to meet her there, training of some sort. She hadn't trained under the Jounin in years, especially since she had been under the direct tutelage of the Godaime four years back. A silly grin found its way to her face when she remembered the days she and Naruto would shout at him for being late, Sasuke merely shooting a glare towards the Jounin. When he had given his useless excuse, they'd both shout 'Liar!' with so much force that it could topple down Hokage Mountain! Sasuke had snorted at this and turned his head away. When she had reached the bridge, she bit her lower lip in worry. She didn't expect to feel their chakra when she had arrived. She didn't expect them to come as well. She still felt awkward around him even if it had already been a week and a few days since the hospital incident. Forcing a smile, she walked up to them. "Naruto, Sasuke-kun! What a surprise to see you here," she greeted warmly.