THE DANCE OF THE LIFETIME
by: thespis
CHAPTER1:The Rarest Flower
The autumn winds blew softly, and the leaves danced in gentle grace. She smiled peacefully. This is how she wants Konoha to look before she dies. Peaceful, prospering. Behind her she felt her former teammates, each leading a life of his own. Progressing... towards the fulfillment of their dreams.
"Is there anything important you need to tell us?" The impatient query halted her from her dream-filled reverie. She knew that voice too well. And loved its owner too deeply. She smiled serenely against the slowly setting sun.
"The sun sets so slowly, and majestically, a mere mortal could be but brought down to his knees in humble reverence," she whispered softly.
"I beg your pardon, I'm due to meet the Hokage in thirty minutes. Could you hurry and spit out what you're trying to say?" It was his voice again. The voice of Uchiha Sasuke.
"Patience is a virtue you need to learn, Sasuke-kun," she mockingly said, yet a gentle smile belied her sarcasm.
"Ne Sakura-chan, I'm getting hungry. Could we get on with this now?" Naruto whined. She smiled sweetly.
"Just a moment, Naruto, we have to wait for Kakashi-sensei."
"Why are doing this again?" The blonde asked Sasuke as they stepped away.
"No idea."
It took Hatake Kakashi one hour before showing up, as usual. She could only smile as her eyes were greeted by a familiar smoke to reveal the unpunctual jounin. "I'm sorry I'm late guys, I had no idea changing diapers could take one hour." Once again, he had an available excuse. "What is this meeting for again?"
The three men looked up to her expectantly. She grinned despite herself. Only she had the answer. "The Godaime is giving us an A-rank mission," she started.
"Shouldn't she be the one to debrief us?" Sasuke asked pointedly. He didn't want to go, she could tell.
"Well, no. She asked me tell you, as we're to leave early next morning, at 200 hours sharp," she said. "Anyway, Shizune-sama is debriefing us."
"That was all!" Naruto asked dumbfoundedly."You had me waiting for an hour just to tell us that dumb thing?"
The smile she gave him was feral." On the contrary, this dumb thing is most essential."
It was already dark when she made her way along the winding streets of the district, silent as a cat. Her destination lay no farther, she could already see the gates to the Hokage's Tower. She knew the Godaime would still be there, despite the odd hours, finishing some papreworks. Swiftly she walked inside, and found herself standing before the double oak doors. She knocked thrice.
"Come in," one voice said. A voice she knew so well. The voice of her mother-figure. Without hesitation she pushed open the doors, and entered.
A look of surprise crossed her mentor's face upon seeing her late-night audience. "Shouldn't you be in bed, preparing for your mission?"
She had to smile. "It's no use anyway. I'm... I'm... I'm scared, shisou. What happens if I survive this?" Tears threatened to spill. She raised her face to the high ceiling above, to stop the tears from falling. "I feel alone, shisou. They hadn't even noticed. And... and... what if I fail?"
The Godaime stopped in her paperworks. "You'll never fail," she said softly. "And you're never alone."
She failed to meet her teacher's eyes. "I am. Alone." She forced a smile to cross her lips, and ran her hands across her hair. "It doesn't matter anyway."
She was gone in a flash, leaving the sagely woman smiling sadly. "It does matter, Haruno Sakura."
At precisely two o'clock in the morning, four figures stepped up to the borders of Konohagakure. Yes, even the notoriously late Hatake Kakashi arrived on time. Shizune was there, four sets of gadgets in hand. She gave each of them one and a pouch of gold to Kakashi. He looked at her questioningly. "Tsunade wanted to give you allowance, a token of thanks for your service."
"Exactly what do we have to do, Shizune-nee-chan?" Naruto asked carefully. Somehow he didn't like the idea of Tsunade's token. It gave him the creeps, a bad omen. Shizune frowned at Sakura.
"You haven't told them yet?"
"Chill out, sheez. I didn't know how to tell them," she replied off-handedly. "Matters like this are difficult to handle."
The Hokage's former apprentice heaved a sigh. "There is this girl who contracted a rare disease," she began. Naruto began to listen with avid interest as Sakura wandered off. "Now this girl has done services to Konoha, and Godaime-sama wishes to repay her kindness. She seeks to treat this girl. Now your mission is to find the rarest flower."
"Wait a minute, that is hardly credible," Sasuke said in annoyance. "We're wasting time here."
Sakura, who was returning, heard Sasuke's annoyed remark. "Only the sage of the Lightning Country knows where the rarest flower could be found," she said in sing-song tone. Sasuke glanced at him sharply.
"That's enough," Shizune admonished. " Hatake Kakashi, You are being assigned to captain this mission. Now go. The book says that the flower lives only for a short time." With that she vanished with a puff of smoke, leaving the four to begin their journey.