Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters from said story.
Sightings Chapter 2- Blowing In an Imaginary Wind
By Onyx angel
Exactly two years, nine months, two weeks, and one day had passed since the last time Sakura had seen Sasuke, on her 16th birthday. A memorable occasion to be sure, but the memories of which, she would prefer to store in the very back of her mind.
She worked so hard to bury the memory in fact that it became a piece of stored information. Not her own recollection of events, but knowledge of what had occurred. When it became like that she found that it wasn't so hard to just bury the memory away with all the other useless knowledge she had acquired over the years.
And she did think it was useless because it would never bring Sasuke back, and she wasn't sure she wanted him back in the first place.
Not after what he did.
"Neji-san, Lee-kun!" She waved flamboyantly at the pair, panting as she caught her breath; it had taken longer then she'd thought to jog to the Konoha gates, and she left later then she had planned.
"Sakura, glad you could join us," Neji frowned at her, more annoyed than angry by her unusually late arrival.
"Hai! Gomen nasai! But I'm only 5 minutes late." She bobbed her head in a quick apology.
"Sakura-san I express extreme sadness for your apology! As my return to your apology I will run even faster than Neji-san!
"Uh, thanks Lee-kun but that's not really….WHAT THE HELL?"
Sakura gasped and screeched loudly as she was suddenly flattened by a massive weight on her head. She promptly fell to the ground and continued to be crushed by whatever the source of the weight was.
She was at a loss as to its source until she heard a familiar and entirely unwanted voice.
"Lee, Neji! I have come in order to protect and nurture your growing spirit on this perilous journey! Let us rejoice!
"Oh, Gai-sensei!"
'Oh hell.'
Sakura did not enjoy being squished but the joyous reunion between Gai and Lee was making the situation particularly unbearable.
As soon as she heard the voice Sakura had realized that the enormous weight currently suffocating her was Ninkame, the ninja tortoise, with Gai on his back.
Apparently no one had noticed Sakura disappearing beneath the backend of a tortoise, but she had an idea of how to effectively alert them to her presence.
Grinning as much as she was able, she slowly gathered chakra to her fist. She quickly pounded the ground with her elbow, creating a shallow hole, and giving that arm some area to move around. Pulling back, she thrust her arm forcefully upward until it connected with something solid.
Even she was surprised at how far the tortoise, along with Gai, flew.
"Uhh, hello Sakura-san." Lee spoke tentatively and backed away a step or two from the fiery girl.
Oh, how she loved reaping the benefits when people observed her monstrous strength. It was one thing to hear about a petite girl creating earthquakes and quite another to witness it in person.
Sakura was a bit surprised when Neji smirked and chuckled a little. It took her a moment to realize that he probably thought Lee and Gai's reunions were as stupid as she felt they were. He also had to put up with them more, so seeing one such reunion forcefully put to a stop was probably something of a reprieve.
"You never told me Gai-sensei was coming!" The kunoichi grumbled without much real anger.
She was mostly just pouting because she had been impolitely sat on.
"Sorry Sakura-san, I too was unaware that Gai-sensei would be joining us on our journey.
"Eh, whatever. Is Neji-san still mission leader?"
"Yes! Neji has shown amazing growth and as such has taken over as leader for this particular mission. It is obvious his youth has blossomed with the spring!" Gai burst into tears, simultaneous with his declaration, while Neji rolled his eyes.
Sakura rolled her eyes too, highly amused.
Neji hastily took control in an attempt to dispel the ridiculous atmosphere that was inevitable around Lee and Gai.
"I spoke to Tsunade-sama. We are to travel without stopping until we reach the first village on the Earth Country border. Speed is imminent because, for all we know, the Akatsuki could already be gone."
When Neji finished his speech Gai looked at each of them in turn. "Okay! Everyone ready?"
"Move Out!"
By the time the team had reached the border, Sakura was tremendously tired. Gai's team had always been designed for speed, and she simply lacked the stamina to keep up with them.
She pressed her lips tighter together in a firm resolve to keep going, without complaint. She found, however, that no matter how strong her resolve she couldn't push herself past her body's limit.
This theory was further proven when she slipped on a rough branch.
Her firm tenacity was good for something at least and when she fell she forced herself not to make a sound. She grasped for something to clutch onto as she fell. Her efforts were in vain however, as she seemed to have fallen in the only branchless area of the forest.
'Dammit, this forest must really hate me!' She kind of hated herself too at that moment because she was showing weakness, something she had vowed not to do: She would be a strong kunoichi!
Frustrated the falling girl pivoted her body in mid air. She was annoyed beyond common sense now and tired so she didn't think when she gathered large amounts of controlled chakra to her leg.
"Tsutenkyaku!" She hit the ground hard on impact and simultaneously released the chakra in her leg.A huge groan was heard around the area of the forest and almost immediately trees began to fall and cracks split in the earth throughout.
Sakura panted as the dust cleared, noticing vaguely that she was standing in the middle of a large crater.
"Heh, oops guess I overreacted a bit," She grinned innocently and scratched the back of her head in a Naruto-like gesture.
She wasn't sure what exactly had made her so mad 'But,' She thought absently, 'At least now we can travel without the annoying forest getting in our way, and I do feel better.'
She glanced around in search of her comrades and found them an average distance away from the crater she had created.
They all had slightly awe-stricken expressions on their faces and in another situation she might have laughed, but now she was feeling rather guilty for her rash actions. She hoped she hadn't endangered the mission in any way, though from her calculations she hadn't, and travel would be easier now.
Tsunade might be mad at her when she returned to Konoha though. Shinobi were generally not encouraged to destroy national vegetation unless absolutely necessary and she had just demolished over half of an entire forest.
Also Tsunade had been the one to teach Sakura that technique which would not reflect well on the Hokage.
"Darn, oh well can't be helped now I guess," She mumbled as she dusted off her shirt and proceeded to exit the crater.
She looked down guiltily when she arrived where her teammates were standing.
Rock Lee was the first to speak but he didn't sound accusing, in fact his tone held a hint of the pride he felt for her.
"Wow Sakura-san that was amazing! I commend your remarkable skill!"
"Uh, thanks lee-kun and I'm sorry, I just overreacted because I was tired. It was entirely inappropriate of me. Gomen." She bowed her head.
Neji observed her silently than sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped, though that was completely unprofessional. You have an obligation to inform your team if you are tired, especially if exhaustion will hinder your performance as a ninja."
Sakura nodded at his scolding and mentally berated herself as well.
"We may as well camp here. The nearest Earth Country village is still miles away. Also it is a relatively safe area and normally secluded so there is little chance of seeing other ninja. Besides we must sleep to regain our strength. We cannot burst from youthfulness if we need sleep. So sleep, my students, sleep!"
Gai promptly grabbed Lee by the shoulders.
"Yes Gai-sensei, we shall!"
"That's the spirit Lee!"
Student and teacher then began to sway in an imaginary wind while Sakura looked away.
She was already weirded out that he had included her when he had referred to them as his students. She liked Gai-sensei but if there were a line to cross he had flown over it with flamboyance. She also wanted to avoid hitting them and if she kept looking at them, she was sure she would be unable to resist. Besides she had used enough chakra today.
"Don't worry they'll calm down soon enough," Neji said as he looked at his comrades.
"I hope so," Sakura replied, doubtfully.
The imaginary wind seemed to have picked up and the swaying was only becoming more animated.
Eventually though, to Sakura's surprise, they did calm down somewhat and they were able to find a relatively comfortable area to camp for the night.
Sakura began to unpack the gear she would need for the night, producing ramen and a sleeping bag.
She yawned and gave an experimental sniff of her shirt. Apparently the day of traveling had made her smell horrible as well as tiring her out.
Sakura mildly detested bathing in lakes and fresh water rivers when she was on mission but often she had no other choice, and she refused to smell like a pig. She was a kunoichi but she was still a woman.
"Lee, I'm going to get clean, okay? Can you tell Neji-san and Gai-sensei when they return?"
Gai and Neji had gone to gather firewood not long ago. Not that the task would be hard since there were plenty of broken trees where she had preformed the painful sky leg.
They had chosen to camp in the part of the forest Sakura had not demolished and, since the forest was vast to begin with, they still had ample foliage surrounding them.
"Of course, Sakura-san. I will be at your side in an instant if you encounter danger!"
"Thanks, but I'm sure I'll be fine." She waved and jogged off to the lake she could sense was nearby.
She was not the best of ninja at dissecting clues but often as a medic nin she had to sort out what the injured person's problem was without outside help, as a patient was often unconscious. Also a medic nin needed a keen eye for detail, to see and dissect every visible nerve.
She had more than the knowledge necessary to notice the little details that meant a lake was nearby.
At the small lake she quickly stripped off her clothes and dove in, gasping at the remarkably cold temperature.
She soon relaxed and splashed about a bit as she played in the water.
'Nice, relaxing and quiet.' She sighed in contentment and rubbed casually at the dirt on her skin. She had forgotten to bring soap so for cleaning her bare hands would have to do.
'I wonder what Kakashi-sensei is doing right now.'
Sakura rarely thought about Kakashi on missions. She saved thoughts of him for quiet moments like this when she could really miss him like he deserved.
She knew that she didn't love him. But it was possible that she was falling in love with him.
She groaned loudly in annoyance. She wholeheartedly agreed with Kakashi on the concept that when she was a kid, things were a hell of a lot easier. Maybe not as fun though.
She thought back on her most recent night with Kakashi, as she dressed.
'Nope, definitely not as fun!'
She was significantly relaxed when she arrived back at their camp. The day had become dim and a cool night was setting in.
Rock Lee was building a fire and Neji and Gai were sitting by, eating ramen out of a cup.
It looked to her like Neji was trying to ignore Gai as he made a comment, but failed miserably as his face contorted slightly into a light grimace.
She laughed lightly and sat down next to Lee, grabbing the proffered cup of ramen. She couldn't help but smile as she observed the three ninja.
Maybe this was what it was like to be in a real team, one where there was no betrayal and the rivalries were healthy rather than dangerous.
Gai was giving a lecture about something and Lee was drinking it in like life's essence. Neji was half-listening but his mind was more on the fire and he seemed happy enough despite the slight grimace that marked his face whenever Gai made a particularly unusual reference to youth.
Sakura herself was happy enough to just sit silently, observing and eating her meal. She decided that she would enjoy the time she had with her temporary team and not dwell on the mistakes of her previous one. Just for a little while.
Sakura was tired when she finally retired into her sleeping bag. Despite the hard ground she was looking forward to getting some rest. The painful sky leg technique she had used earlier was, apparently, good for letting out ones frustrations but it also used up a tiring quantity of chakra.
She was just falling into dreamland when she heard a most terrible sound.
It was coming from two directions, to her immediate right and in the same direction a little farther away.
She crawled out of her sleeping bag, sad because of the loss of warmth but firmly set on the idea that she would not get any sleep if the loud sounds she could hear were not silenced.
She noticed Neji eyeing her as he sat by the fire, their watch for the night. She shrugged off his stare and sidled up to the noisy lump on her right.
'It's just Lee and Gai-sensei? How is it humanly possible to make that much noise when you're sleeping? More importantly how is it that, as ninja, they haven't been located and killed by their snores alone!' She heard Neji snort when her mouth dropped in awe.
Intensely wanting to wake the loud sleepers, but reluctant to do so because rested shinobi generally preformed better than ones who'd been awoken during the night, Sakura retreated to her sleeping bag in defeat.
She put her pillow over her head in a fruitless attempt to drown out the sounds and once again attempted to fall asleep.
She was just about to succeed in that endeavor too when a particularly loud snore jolted her back into consciousness.
Annoyed, she groggily sat up in her sleeping bag. "Neji-san why are they so loud!"
He turned to her as he replied and his voice was thick with sarcasm, poking the fire with a stick to keep it alive. "Can't sleep?"
"No. I don't know how you manage, what do you do?"
He shrugged nonchalantly but bristled as she continued to stare at him. "What? Stop staring at me like that!"
"Huh, oh sorry it's just I really am surprised that anyone could sleep through that racket! You're amazing!"
He had the decency to blush, if only a little, and she would have to, had she not been groggy and half-asleep.
"Did your teammates snore?"
Sakura was caught off guard by the question because she and Neji had never really talked. About important things, like missions, yes, but never about conversational, inconsequential details that you discussed just because you could.
She rather liked discussing unimportant things but he had broached a sore topic.
She sighed and got out of her sleeping bag, crawling on hands and knees to sit beside him by the fire.
"I don't know. Well I do, but I don't like to remember. It's just hard you know?"
He was silent for a moment contemplating her answer. "I think that to regret the past is pointless and to cower from memories that have no power over you is fruitless. In life everything happens for a reason. If you face your fears and talk about them it usually helps."
She looked up at him surprised and he stared down at her, a slight smile on his lips. "You don't agree?"
"Well, I guess I do, but I never thought that I'd hear it from you. I can't imagine "the great Hyuuga Neji" opening up to anyone."
He shrugged "Maybe I should take my own advice."
"Yeah….but you're right you know. I have been running away form the memories, of my parents, Sasuke, team 7. I guess I'm just scared, but than I've always been that way, always scared of being left behind, sacred that I wasn't good enough."
It was a moment before she recognized the salty liquid running down her face as tears and she hid her face in shame at the realization.
"I'm sorry," She choked out, "I promised I wouldn't cry after Sasuke left."
Neji was silent for a long time as he let her cry. The only indication of his presence was the comforting hand on her back, rubbing calming circles.
"It's okay; I feel the same way, sometimes. We all do, some people are just better at hiding it."
She sniffed softly, "I think I want to remember the good times with team 7, but I also want to face the bad ones because those helped mold me into the person I am today, right?"
"Yah."
Sakura smiled up at Neji and he smiled in return, a gesture she would not expect from the stoic Hyuuga.
"So, did your teammates snore?"
"Well Naruto did the most and Sasuke kind of rumbled while he was sleeping. The rumbling was actually more annoying than Naruto's snoring, now that I think of it."
"He rumbled?"
"Yah, heh, I don't know what else to call it, it wasn't deep enough to be a purr but it was too consistent to be a snore."
He just half-smiled at her description and dug in his pockets for a moment. She was ecstatic when he produced a set of effective-looking earplugs.
"Earplugs! So that's how you tone out the snoring!"
She clapped at the discovery, almost burning her foot on the fire.
"Yeah, Tenten uses them too. You can borrow mine tonight, since I'm on watch."
"Well thanks, but you know you could have just given them to me straight out if you had them all along. You don't have earwax do you?"
He looked at her strangely. "What kind of Jounin are you?"
She winked back at him, happy despite her earlier outburst, "Definitely the best kind!"
When she finally crawled back inside her sleeping bag she was content and the snoring that had previously prevented sleep was pleasantly dulled.
That night Sakura fell asleep to dreams of team 7 and her parents. Some of them were good and some made her clench her fists and grind her teeth, but ultimately they were dreams that, in the morning, she did not regret.
Chapter 2- End
Thanks for taking the time to read the second chapter of Sightings! The plot of this story is still under revision but I'm enjoying writing it, so updates will likely be one week at the most. I am also considering the pairing for this story. Originally it was supposed to be just kaka/saku but then I decided I would put in a bit of sasu/saku too. Now I kind of want to put in neji/saku as well. I guess I'll leave the final pairing as a surprise but there will definitely be more kakashi, because I love him! (Don't we all?)
Au revoir,
-Onyx angel
Also- Sasuke should be appearing soon if I can fit him in! (May not seem like much but is very exciting for the authoress!) Yes, yes I need to get a life….