We could see the bottom of the whirlpool all black with sand and mud, and the (girl was at her) wit's ends for fear.
If Sakura had been expecting the road to be hard, well, it was much harder than whatever expectations she'd had as she first set out.
It was vastly different, traveling by one's lonesome when she was so used to having a full team with her. Nights alone in the huge forests of Fire Country were eerie, and she jumped at nearly every little noise she heard. Normally, Naruto's loud mouth kept all the wildlife away—though, she supposed with a sad smile, she'd always bickered back and forth with him, adding to the noise. Sasuke's presence had ensured she was concerned with the way her hair looked or if the latest pimple on her forehead had yet vanished, but without him there, she could forget about those sorts of things. That was a comfort enough, but one that was quickly overshadowed by the lack of Kakashi. His presence had ensured they were well protected, and in his absence, she felt horribly lonely and vulnerable.
Every hour, she stopped to cover her tracks with a genjutsu she'd been studying in a book she'd packed away in her bag. It was extremely low-level, she knew, but it helped ease her frantic thoughts. Marginally, at least, because she was sure any chuunin could see right through it. But Sakura was nothing if not meticulous, and she always gave her best, even when it came to her stupidest decisions.
She knew little of Sound Country—or was it the Village Hidden by Sound? She frowned, tightening her hold on the straps of her pack. It was north, of that she was certain, but just how far north? She'd brought enough food to ration through four days, and she was versed enough in hunting to get her through however long she'd be out here. Well, she hoped it wouldn't be for so long, because she hated killing animals. If she was honest, she figured she'd rather starve to death than be captured by enemy nin and tortured, or outright killed. So far, the only people she'd seen on the road were civilian travelers. At least she'd been smart enough to hide away her forehead protector in her bag once she was clear of Konoha's immediate vicinity, drawing away as much attention from her status as a shinobi as possible.
What had Sasuke's plan been? She thought hard, trying to pick out pieces of overheard conversation from her last day home. It wasn't easy to think back, but she'd heard some valuable snippets, like how some Sound nin had been waiting for him and transported him through some means. So he hadn't even had to walk that far, she supposed, the jerk. For all he'd struggled in life, some things just seemed to come so easily to him!
But she pursed her lips, disappointed in herself for thinking such a thing. She was supposed to love him and support him, and of course he'd had it hard, way harder than anything she'd had yet to go through. With a shudder, she hoped she never would. Already she deeply missed her parents, and many times she fought the urge to turn back. It could still be explained, she told herself, that she was just out on a trip to clear her head after something so stressful. She had no ties to Orochimaru or anything nefarious, and the plan had been hatched in the span of a few quick hours; not like anyone knew what she was doing.
There was that nagging understanding, though, that newness seeded there in her heart and growing by the day. There was something wrong with Konoha, and she would never be strong enough to overcome it and save anyone else if she stayed there. Inside of its walls was nothing for her, and the farther she walked, the more she knew there had never been much there for her at all.
Naruto and Sasuke-kun, as long as they had each other, would be fine.
Kaka-sensei would have his hands full with the two of them, but he was already a legend in his own right. She was sure that he would not worry himself over her absence.
It hurt to think of Ino, but that was mostly because they'd only just started to make up. Because of Sakura's stupidity, their friendship was in a sorry state. Leaving her behind, well...there was little love left to be lost, wasn't there?
And so it remained her parents' memory that kept tugging on Sakura's heartstrings, and more than once she stopped along the road or on the tree floor or nearby a river and sank to her haunches, sobbing. Surely she could go back and seek out someone like the Hokage's assistant to train her. That woman had been nice enough, right? Maybe, if Sakura had the guts to do something like this, she had the guts to march right up to Lady Fifth herself and ask to be trained.
But there was no guarantee she'd be accepted, and if Sasuke decided again to leave the village, she didn't think she could bear such a thing. At least this way, she would have no way of knowing and worrying over what was going on in Konoha. If he did leave again, perhaps she had a chance of intercepting him before he made it to Orochimaru—or even train under the sannin together with him.
Maybe, though, her being there would be enough of a deterrent to keep Sasuke on a decent path. Naruto had dragged him back home, saving him in that Naruto way of his. Now Sakura would ensure their battle hadn't been in vain, and would make sure Sasuke stayed safe—her way.
But...she realized there was no guarantee she'd be accepted by Orochimaru, either, and in a panic she worried what she would do if he turned her away. Killing her would be simple enough for her, because then she wouldn't need a damned plan, but if he laughed and sent her on her way? Would the higher-ups in Leaf know, then, that she'd made contact with him and still brandish her a traitor?
With every new thought, she understood more and more just how in over her head she was. Her heart did not calm, and her mind wandered now beyond her control. She wondered if he'd take her and use her for screwed up experiment instead, and that thought was enough to make her stop walking. But just before she could spin and take her scrawny ass back to Konoha, she spied a deep outcropping in the forest floor ahead, outside of which stood two men.
She froze, her eyes going wide as a chill shot down her spine.
One stood with a hunch, wrapped in bandages beneath a simple kimono and supported by one arm on the arms of the other man, with sickly grey hair and large-framed glasses who she recognized as the traitor from the chuunin exams, the man who'd supplied Team 7 with those informational cards.
There was no time for her to react, because they'd already glanced up and locked eyes with her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and though she did not know how she knew, she understood that the man with the shaggy hair and head-to-toe bandages was Lord Orochimaru himself.
The mere sight of him made her stomach flip, soured immediately from her morning's sparse meal. This man was powerful; this man was dangerous. Vividly she recalled him weaving through the Forest of Death and marking Sasuke with that horrible symbol , cursing him for who knew how long. He was even the one who killed Lord Third, for God's sake! What the hell was she thinking, coming here, doing this? Stupid, stupid, stupid!
It felt as if her blood had frozen over, and the only evidence she had that her heart was still working as intended was the fact that she could hear it pounding in her ears, so hard she worried it might explode out of her chest. The men turned and made their way towards her with excruciating slowness, and she had the passing thought that they seemed an awful lot like a father and son as the man with glasses guided his master hand in hand down the forest path.
"State your business," called the man as they came to a stop a healthy few yards from her. "Why have you come to us by stealth?"
There was no way in the world she could speak; her voice was lost somewhere deep in her throat, so greatly intimidated was she. But birds chirped overhead, and the clouds were puffy and lazy above the rustling leaves, and she was not dead yet. She took in a breath, and addressed his second concern first, because she had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
"I—I, um, stealth, sir?" Well, hopefully they could decipher her meaning through her nerves.
"Don't treat us like fools, kid," the man with glasses spat, his temper flaring obviously. "Someone concealing their chakra signature so heavily is no friend of ours, even if they're as doe-eyed as you."
His attitude struck at something within her, and her inner voice began to talk smack.
Look at this, Four-eyes has some balls after all. Who knew!
Across the space between them, Orochimaru shifted to watch her curiously. She trembled, stuffing down her urge to yell.
"N—No, I wasn't. I don't even know how to do that, but I was—um, I was using a genjutsu so I wouldn't be followed."
Four-eyes sneered. "Yes," he said, "it's sloppy work."
Ass. "Don't you recognize me? From Konoha?"
"I don't make a habit of familiarizing myself with the faces of children. Though, I suppose, your hair does ring a bell."
The nerve of this jerk, sizing up a kid like us as if we could do anything!
"So I ask you again to state your business."
She swallowed. "You—you wanted Sasuke-kun. He's...not coming. Naruto brought him back to Konoha."
Four-eyes glanced at Orochimaru, who shut his own eyes. Surely, though, this was not news to them, as whatever ninja had been sent to escort Sasuke likely did not ever report back. When the men did not say anything more, she gripped the straps of her pack so tightly she thought they would tear.
"Um," she stammered, getting their attention again, "I know you were expecting someone better but he's—he...the truth is, he wants to stay in Konoha." She bit the inside of her cheek, hoping they would buy her total fabrication. Of course she had no idea how Sasuke actually felt about all of this. She bowed low, bending at the waist to hide both the growing flush on her face and to show her respect and seriousness. "It was foolish of him to throw away your offer, so I've come in his place."
When she straightened, both men were regarding her seriously. Her eyes were still wide, and she hoped they could not read through her fear and into her lies. She had sought them out, yes, but if her end was to benefit the Leaf, she could not well let the truth of that slip into the means.
Four-eyes' tone was indignant when next he spoke. "You've really perfected that vacant look, haven't you?"
It felt as though something inside of her snapped, and before she knew it, her anger erupted from her so quickly that her voice sounded strange to her own ears. "Yeah, excuse me for looking like this, but I didn't exactly have the welcome wagon you so graciously laid out for Sasuke. I walked here, you know!"
At this, Orochimaru laughed, and it was not maniacal or insidious like she might have guessed it would be. Rather, the sincerity of it shook her to the bone.
"I like this one," he said weakly, then his eyes warmed with a smile. Even beneath his gauze he seemed transformed by its honesty, in stark contrast with the forced ones she was accustomed to getting from Kakashi. "Girl, this is the first I've felt your chakra. What promise that you're able to control it so well. Though I must ask, do you know what I intended to do with your Sasuke-kun?"
She swallowed again, her fury blown out like a candle to be not only addressed by him so directly, but complimented by him, too. "No, sir."
"I've been after the body of an Uchiha for some time, now. Awful turn of events, the massacre, so you can imagine my disappointment to hear he won't be joining us."
What the hell did any of that mean? "I—I'm sorry, sir."
He gave another chuckle. "No need to be quite so polite. 'Orochimaru' will do."
Sakura did not miss that Four-eyes bristled to hear that.
"Now that you know this information, girl, will you choose to stay? Kabuto has already taken the liberty of setting up one of the rooms for a long-term tenant, you know. Just know, you'll have to work hard to prove to me your worth, if you're taking the place of someone of such...unique talents."
She could not believe what she was hearing. "You'll—you accept?"
"Heavens," he said, giving Kabuto one last glance. There was a sparkling to the sannin's eyes that was almost mischievous, and if Sakura didn't know better, she might have mistaken him for some wisecracking grandpa. "Don't look so surprised. I was ready to take on an apprentice, and I've never been in the practice of letting good potential slip through my fingers." Beside him, Kabuto softened ever so slightly. "Won't you tell me your name, child?"
She stared dumbly. How had this worked? Potential? There was no way he was serious. "Ha—Haruno Sakura."
"Well then, Sakura-kun," he said as he extended his free arm toward her. "You're in good company. It's impossible for a flower to blossom if it's suffocating under the heel of a hidden village, after all."