A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews. :) It went from a 7 to a 17. A whole 10 reviews! The hits on this story also went to a new high. When I saw how high it was, I just sat there staring at the number for a moment before it registered. Hehe…my mind sort of froze for a second…
A question was asked about Itachi and Kisame and how they'd be able to sense Sakura's chakra when (in my previous chapter) they didn't. I know that these two have enough power to do such a thing, but keep in mind I was focusing mostly on Sakura. She wouldn't be able to tell if they knew she was there or not. But for now, my answer to the question is that I did that intentionally because I'm planning to use that piece of info in the near future…the very near future (if that wasn't a big enough clue, please think harder…).
There was also a bit of advice given to me about Deidara's open personality. Let me just say that I'm not well acquainted with Deidara's attitude or the way he acts. It makes absolute sense for him to be secretive and I portrayed him incorrectly in the last chapter. I apologize for that. The only thing I know for sure about Deidara is that most of the time he'd add 'yeah' to the end of his sentences. But other than that and the way he looks, I'm at sea (if that made any sense). But yeah…I apologize for that piece of info. I'll be sure to make him a bit more "tight-lipped" as they'd say (and if you don't know what that means or you haven't heard of that expression before, then just know that I might be going crazy).
In Chapter Two we found out that Naruto had been sent on a mission to find and, if seen, retrieve Sakura. His companions are Hyuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru, the very same people who had taken Sakura to her assigned job a year ago. Meanwhile Sakura is having a pleasant evening with her new friend, Deidara. She finds out that he is part of Akatsuki, the group that had captured her friend Ayame. By now, in another country, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru have finally reached the Mishigaki manor and found Sakura's room. Upon breaking and entering (regards to Naruto), they find something rather shocking…
This is the chapter after a rage building cliff hanger. Ehe…this way I know you'll review. ;D So yeah…you know the routine. Read and review, both are important and require a balance. If you read, you must review. But if you review, you must have something to review about. So if you read and don't review, then where is the fairness, balance, and equality in that:D Anyway yeah…point is, RR, and most of all, have fun while doing so!
The Promise to Protect
Chapter Three
If You Value You and Your Friend's Life…
Sakura tossed and turned in her comfortable bed that night. The nightmares that haunted her switched randomly between important events in her life such as the time she was assigned with her teammates of Team 7, telling Sasuke about her crush on him, Sasuke leaving, Ayame being kidnapped…it all varied. But the ones that flashed into her mind the most were the ones that caused her to feel horrible. Sasuke leaving and seeing Ayame taken away from her were the main ones that kept returning back.
The thin bed-sheets suddenly became too hot so she kicked it off her body and tried to let any cool wind breeze blow past her. No such event occurred so she stood up and walked toward the window, opened the curtains, and let the window fly open. The icy chill of the midnight zephyr met her face and she welcomed it with a small ghost of a smile.
Feeling refreshed, she turned around to head back to her bed to get a good night's rest. She lay in her bed, desperately trying to catch the sleep that so cunningly eluded her. The pale moonlight shone through the open window, casting an eerie glow on Sakura's bed. It seemed so peaceful…
Suddenly everything around her faded from her vision and was replaced with a black void. Sakura, at first, thought it was sleep finally coming to her, but then she noticed that she was truly awake. This greatly disturbed her, especially when she began to hear Naruto's voice echoing all around her. She also heard Shikamaru and Neji's voice, calling out her name. She began to scream out their names in hope of being found. But like the moment she was under Itachi's genjutsu, she found that she couldn't mutter a word.
'W-what happened to my voice?' She thought frantically, thinking that Itachi had been up to his tricks again. But he couldn't have. He didn't know she was there! Or did he…?
Brushing the possibility away, Sakura focused on finding her friends. The voices were coming from all around her. Neji's voice would come from her left while Shikamaru's came from her right. The one voice she tried to follow was Naruto's for he was her closest friend. But his voice was the hardest to follow for it came from all over. This was also because he seemed to be screaming the loudest, effectively lessening the volume of the other two.
Then, as if an answer to a silent prayer, three lone figures emerged from out of the darkness, the outline of their bodies clearly visible in the dark environment. Sakura knew and recognized the silhouettes and ran to them excitedly. She waved her arms frantically in hopes of calling their attention, but they gave no clue to show that they'd seen her. They continued to walk and call for her.
Sakura felt the immediate urge to sprint toward the three familiar people, but her feet felt glued to the floor. She tried to move, but she couldn't no matter how hard she tried.
The darkness surrounding her then cleared up and showed a scene of a snowy forest. The trees were bare due to the weather, their branches barely supporting large amounts of the snowflakes. Cold, grey clouds covered the usually blue sky. No sunlight shone through the leafless treetops as the snow continued to fall.
There she stood in the middle of a well-trodden path, staring far into the distance. She attempted to move, but Sakura found that her feet still refused to move. Her mind was brought from her pointless efforts to the voices of Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji. She looked up and nearly cried out in glee when she saw them running down the road she stood on. They seemed to be running toward her, so she cracked a smile a waved her hands in greeting.
Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly in disappointment when they acted as though they didn't see her. She frantically gestured to them, but they still didn't see her.
"Sakura-chan, wait! Stop running!" Naruto screamed and doubled his speed, Neji and Shikamaru following suit.
'What the…? Stop running? I'm standing right here…' She thought confusedly.
A rush of wind blew past her as she looked to her right. She saw a blur of black, red, and pink rush by. Her eyes widened when she recognized the colors. She looked behind her to see where the person had gone, trying to confirm her suspicions. The figure had stopped not too far from where Sakura stood. There, under a straw hat, a flash of vibrant pink locks revealed itself in the snowy land. The person still had their back facing the direction Naruto and his companions were coming in, but Sakura already knew who it was.
Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru had finally caught up. They stood in a row beside Sakura, facing the person garbed in a black cloak with crimson clouds here and there on the cloak. The straw hat omitted any visibility of the face, giving the wearer an air of mystery. But Sakura didn't need to see the face to know that it was her beneath that hat. Sakura decided to just watch things unfold; hoping that the unvoiced questions zipping through her mind would be answered.
A growl emitted from Naruto's throat as he saw how hard it was to bring his friend back. "Sakura-chan, please return to Konoha. We're all very worried about you!" He pleaded desperately.
A long, awkward silence followed, neither person wanting to say a thing…yet. Still shielding her face with her straw hat tilted forward, Sakura opened her mouth to reply, "It cannot be done, Naruto. I am still on a mission in which I must complete. You will all see that I am not a failure, a person who needs constant protection from the outside world. That's why you three are here, to bring me back to the secure environment of Konoha."
"Sakura-chan…"
"No, Naruto! I will come back when I'm ready to come back." She barked and began to sprint away from the sight, applying chakra to her feet for an extra boost of speed. But just as she was about to reach a good distance from them, she couldn't move…again. Looking down she saw that her feet were standing apart and that there was a long black shadow reaching out from across the ground.
Shikamaru…
But, how could he be doing it? There was no sunlight…
A small cloud slowly dissipated, letting the hidden glory it was obscuring for so long to shine through. Surely and steadily the snow that blanketed the forest began to disappear as well.
Sakura tried moving her head to catch a glimpse of the people trying to bring her back against her will, but Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique) was holding her securely in place. She tried to growl, but it ended up sounding like a whimper.
Naruto shook his head and began to approach Sakura's still form, Neji following a few paces back. But just as they were about to reach the roseate kunoichi, another blur of black and red slipped by Shikamaru and Naruto, sending them to the ground, unconscious. The hold that was fastened on Sakura loosened and eventually let go, enabling her to move again.
Neji, however, with his powerful Byakugan, lasted a bit longer before he too fell to the ground.
The assailant was nowhere to be seen after that. But just as soon as she thought she was safe, she was whisked away by the same assaulter and was forcefully pulled into the depths of the deep forest.
The real Sakura still stood in her spot on the middle of the road. She glanced at the bodies that lay unconscious on the floor, eyes widening in questioning. 'I turn against them? I turn against the people from the village I love the most? What has gotten into me?' She thought confusedly.
Reality snapped back into her mind as she thought of helping her fallen friends. She was, however, pulled out of the world and landed in the one that was harsh and familiar. There she lay on her bed, contemplating the chain of events that had just appeared before her own eyes. She would betray her friends. She would betray Konoha. She would betray Naruto. The final thought involved a certain raven-haired boy in whom she'd fallen in love with all those years ago but she dismissed it quickly, trying her best to not think about him.
Sakura sat up from her bed, a cold sweat upon her brow. What was that dream she'd just witnessed? Was it even a dream? Perhaps it was some form of a premonition where you only had the visions during your sleep. She thought about it…Nah, it seemed utterly ridiculous. What kind of psychic are you if only received your visions at night in your sleep? A thought entered her mind and she squashed it like a bug. There was no way she'd call it intuition.
The window that she'd opened last night was still ajar, wide enough to send a gust of wind sailing through. While looking out the window, Sakura noticed the environment outside. There was still snow outside on the trees, but there was also sunlight, a sign that the clouds in the sky were slowly starting to disintegrate.
She strode toward the window and indulged in the beauty of the scenery. Eyes half lidded with the feel of fresh sleep, Sakura made her way back to the bed, intent on sleeping her way through the rest of the morning. The moment her head hit her pillow, the door to her room slid open with a loud click. She turned to see who'd invaded the privacy of her room, a death glare already in place. But it vanished when she saw who was standing at the door.
"Hey Deidara." She spoke groggily and proceeded to continue her sleep.
The blond man gave Sakura an I-can't-believe-you're-still-going-to-sleep look and sauntered over to the edge of her bed and roughly poked her on the shoulder. He snickered slightly when she rubbed her sore shoulder. He went on to poke her elbow. This caused her to try to alleviate the acute pain by once again rubbing the spot.
'One more time, and she'll be up…yeah.' Deidara thought mischievously. His hand went to her mid-riff and he jabbed his index finger onto her stomach, pulling back only when she sat up, eyes full of momentary anger.
She grabbed on of her stuffed pillows and flung it forcefully at Deidara's head, sending him flying to the ground due to the impact. "Okay! I get it. I'm up. 'Ya happy?" She snapped in mock anger. In seconds she was chuckling lightly at the sight of the fallen blond.
Deidara sat up, his one eye gleaming. "Wow…you know me pretty well. I didn't say a word to you, yet you knew what I wanted." He stood up and brushed himself off, seeing the tiny dirt particles still clinging to his entirely black outfit. "But I woke you up to tell you that my friends and I will be leaving today."
Sakura stared at Deidara with a bit of confusion filling her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"We're leaving, as in going to another land…yeah…"
Alarm filled Sakura's senses as the information finally processed into her mind. What should she do? Going any further into another country would take her farther from Konoha's reach, possibly eliminating any form of assistance on her part if she was found out. She was already a good distance away from the Leaf Village. Any sensible and knowledgeable shinobi would head back to the village and have a failed mission instead of following a group full of missing nin to a land where Konoha was millions of miles away. Doing the latter would mean certain death and the person trailing the dangerous group must've been suicidal.
But Sakura knew her limits. She is a powerful medic nin with a large amount of chakra to back her up in times of trouble. She wasn't known as Tsunade's top student and successor for nothing.
She nodded, completely understanding the words her friend had spoken. "Okay. Which land are you heading to now?"
"The Land of Thunder, yeah."
"Thunder?" She exclaimed softly, the shock still coursing through her veins. "Why are you guys heading to Thunder?"
Deidara chuckled. "We have our reasons…yeah…"
"But that's so far…" Sakura whispered, hoping that he didn't hear what she'd just stated.
Unfortunately for her, he did hear comment. "I know. It's quite a ways from your village of Konoha, eh, Sakura-chan." He spoke quietly, a mysterious air taking over the once comfortable atmosphere. His voiced changed in tone too, as if he knew something and was going to reveal it to her. "Why are you really here, Sakura?"
Sakura recalled last night's conversation and stood up from her bed. She suddenly felt like a caged animal, fearful of the one who had caught her. "I-I already told you, Deidara. I'm here on a mission." She backed up ever so slowly to the medium sized window.
Deidara's eye narrowed unnoticeably as he focused on her face, checking to see if she had anything to hide. "What sort of mission?" He asked and began to advance in her direction. He had also strangely dropped his adverb that usually tagged along at the end of his sentences and in doing so, his character changed a bit.
"To watch over someone, you know…the usual." She spoke nervously and froze when she felt the cold wall flat against her back, preventing her from backing up any further.
"Yes…you're the one who's supposed to be watching over the young lady we have in our captivity, yeah?"
What was the use in hiding the facts when it seemed as though he already knew? She saw no reason in keeping it a secret any more, so she nodded her head in confirmation.
By now he was already well into her personal space, standing less than a foot away from her. He leaned in, his face inching closer to hers. "Why is a little kunoichi like you following missing nin when your mission is obviously dangerous?"
Sakura gulped. She hadn't expected such a question from him. Shock still flowed through her, so she never gave a reply due to her frantic nerves. She didn't like how close he'd suddenly come.
One hand was pressed up against the wall to support him while the other hung limply at Deidara's side. His head tilted to the side a bit and he regarded the kunoichi with an amused gaze, bluish-green eye beaming malevolently. "You don't have to tell me. It's all right, Sakura-chan," he whispered suddenly in her ear. "But it'd be best for the life of you and your friend if you'd stop your eavesdropping and stalking antics."
Emerald green eyes widening in surprise, Sakura stared at the missing nin with a look of disbelief written all over her face. "How'd you know I was listening?" She asked, her voice amazingly coming out.
Deidara chuckled slowly. "You should know by now that all Akatsuki members are exceptionally powerful missing nin. What kind of person, or group, would we be if we couldn't do something as simple as sensing another ninja's presence and chakra power?"
"But I couldn't feel any of yours!" She protested weakly.
"But of course. Why should we make our presence known to the enemy?" He paused, stood up straight, and straightened his slightly rumpled clothes. The moment after he did this, a crisp knock sounded at the open door. Standing just outside the threshold stood the strange shark-man Sakura had seen before. "Ah, Fish Man, it's time to go already?"
The man nodded. "We leave now, Deidara." He rasped demandingly, beady eyes slightly vexed at the name he'd been given by the blond.
Deidara beamed boyishly. "Of course, Fish Man," he spoke kindly and turned back to Sakura. "Remember, Sakura-chan, that if you value you and your friend's life, you'd cease following us…yeah."
He gave her a knowing look and slowly stalked off to follow the tall man who still remained at the door. "Were you guys waiting long, Kisame?"
"Shut up and walk." Kisame snapped and stalked off behind Deidara.
Sakura still leaned against the wall, feeling terribly uncomfortable. She went over everything that had transpired and slid down the wall, arms placed lifelessly to her sides. She curled up her legs and assumed the fetal position. She buried her head in her knees and shut her eyes. When had making decisions become so hard? Why had she been so careless as to let Ayame get captured in the first place? What made Sakura so dull, dense, and dimwitted? The kunoichi had no clue…
She gave a sad laugh, disappointed at her for failing once again. But now she had to make a vital decision. Would she or would she not go? This posed as a problem, especially since Deidara had given that warning that meant only one consequence if it went unheeded again…
Letting her head rest against the wall again, Sakura let out a dejected sigh, still contemplating on whether she should go… vaguely, in the back of her mind she wondered how Naruto and the others were doing.
Naruto gaped at what he saw in Sakura's room. Things were as neat as ever, papers neatly stacked, bed made, no dirty clothes pile…but, there, beside the full bed was a large, gargantuan hole. It completely contrasted with the tidiness of the room, marring its simple cleanliness. The edges of the puncture were still a bit jagged and rough, but the gap was nonetheless perfect in shape and enormous in size.
He stepped slowly toward the hole and changed his gawking expression to one of seriousness, penetrating blue eyes narrowed in concentration and concern. Only one person could've made a hole of the magnitude. He silently wondered why she hadn't taken the whole entire wall down and had settled with just a large circle. He voiced his question to the other two.
Shikamaru nodded, intrigued as well. The gears in the genius' mind had just begun to spin when he'd thought up of his answer. "It's obvious; she didn't want to demolish the whole building. This place is of great importance to her."
Neji nodded, Byakugan still activated. He searched about the room for any significant clues that might've led to Sakura's whereabouts. When he found none, he deactivated hi kekkei genkai and looked at the other two. "She must've befriended her charge." He concluded quietly.
"That makes sense. Her friend must've wanted this building to stay up." Shikamaru agreed.
They continued to discuss the possibilities as time around them flew by unnoticeably. It was then that Neji and Shikamaru had figured out that she might've found the scroll of Konoha. Why else had she gone missing? Someone must've stolen the scroll and had taken Sakura's charge along.
"She's being too loyal." Neji spat, crossing his arms and glaring at the gigantic opening in the wall.
"Sort of…how troublesome of her…" Shikamaru concurred.
Naruto clenched and unclenched his hands in trying to control his anger. Why had she left? She could've gone back to Konoha and asked for assistance from other Chunin, especially if the kidnapper had the scroll of Konoha. If not, then why did she endanger her life by following the assailant?
'She should've gone back home and failed the mission.' Naruto thought irritably. 'It's better than losing your life over someone you don't know that well!'
He pushed himself off the side of the wall that was still intact. He folded his arms in the same manner as Neji and with his authoritative manner in effect, he snarled, "Well, why are we still in this place? Let's leave! We need to follow her!"
"Don't be foolish, Naruto! Hokage-sama had instructed us to look around and if we found her, we'd bring her back. We cannot go after her. Whoever captured Sakura's charge must be powerful. Sakura is strong, but for someone to take a person of endearment from her would most likely be powerful," said Shikamaru. "Don't go through all that trouble. You could possibly end up dead even with your large amount of chakra, or maybe worse…"
The jinchuriki's face darkened to a certain degree. "What could be worse than death?" He growled questioningly.
Neji shook his head and sighed. "There's not enough time for explaining that right now. If you want to rescue your friend, then we're going to have to go back to the village to ask Hokage-sama for permission to arrange a search party. The less we argue, the quicker we leave. The quicker we leave, the better the chances of possibly getting other chunin to join."
Naruto's face brightened up a bit. "Is that so? Awesome! We're going to find her, you guys! Believe it!" Naruto declared and enthusiastically leapt out of the hole Sakura had made days ago.
"N-Naruto, you have to wait for your teammates before you leave!" Shikamaru cried and followed Naruto's example, Neji imitating move as well.
But his words were lost on the Kyuubi's container's ears as Naruto dashed away from the premises. 'I'm going to find you, Sakura-chan. Just you wait and see. I'll find you.'
"Good job Kiba and Shino." Tsunade beamed at the two. At the sound of Akamaru's booming bark, Tsunade rolled her chocolate brown eyes and smirked. "You too Akamaru," she acknowledged reluctantly.
The two Chunin boys sat in Tsunade's office, awaiting their next mission. They'd just completed an A-Rank mission and were working hard to becoming a Jonin. They had just completed sixth mission that month. It was one of the most tiring missions they'd received, but they'd rested overnight and the next day they were ready, once again, to face another mission.
Akamaru's nose twitched slightly as a peculiar scent wafted into his nose. He whimpered slightly and covered the top of his head with his two paws as though he were to block a blow to the skull.
Kiba noticed this in his closest friend and instantly checked on the canine. "What's wrong, Akamaru?" He asked, concern lacing his boyish voice. That's when he picked up on the scent too. At first he narrowed his eyes in a manner similar to vexation, but then it turned into an annoyed frown. "Oh great…" He returned to his seat and crossed his arms, slouched lazily in his seat, and sighed.
Shino had witnessed the whole event from the moment Akamaru had covered his head to the time that Kiba had sat back down. Knowing the worried look on the dog and the nonchalant expression on Kiba's face caused Shino to wonder a bit about what they'd sniffed. Tuning his hearing senses and sending a small amount of insects to spy on the building, Shino soon discovered that there was a small commotion ensuing on the first floor. The moment his insects came back, Shino viewed everything that they'd seen. A sigh escaped his lips and he inwardly laughed at what he saw.
'Darn it…why is it so hard to pick a difficult mission for these two? It's their seventh now and they're still ready for more missions!' Tsunade thought frustratingly. She was too caught up in various thick folders to notice the rise in chakra from a certain shinobi on the first floor. "Hm…what should you guys do next?"
Akamaru shifted uncomfortably while Kiba and Shino sat there, trying to ignore the slight tremors coming from one of the floors below them. Those tremors slowly grew in magnitude and force, causing the building to shake intensely. Tsunade still, to Kiba and Shino's surprise, acted like she had not noticed that her whole office had shaken violently. Some books on the shelf nearby clattered to the floor with a loud and noticeable thump.
"No! You're going to let me through! I don't care if she's in a meeting! This is important, so unhand me!" A muffled voice cried. A second after the voice was heard a loud crash and another tremor reverberated throughout the building.
Kiba and Shino silently chuckled at the sound of their good friend's voice. From the distance of the sound and tremors, both could tell that the loud-mouthed teenager was just outside the door. He was yelling at the two guards that stood outside in the hallway, guarding the entrance to their precious Hokage.
When the two guards refused, a short scuffle took place. There were many shouts and bangs on the door that had voices that told of the pain they were experiencing at that moment.
Tsunade looked up from her work with an annoyed frown gracing her features. Her brown eyes had a look of absolute indifference. She looked at Kiba and Shino, concluding that they'd known long before she had. "It's Naruto, right?"
Shino and Kiba could only nod.
"Let that be a lesson to you two that you shouldn't mess with Uzumaki Naruto! Next time you do, you're going down all the way!" Naruto screamed at the retreating guards. He turned back to the door and kicked it down, receiving the same reaction from the door similar to the door he'd physically abused back at Mishigaki's house.
Once the door was down, he pointed directly at Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, you are going to send out a search party, right?" Naruto half-asked, half-demanded emotionally.
With a hand propped up to support her youthful face, Tsunade glared at Jiraiya's successor. "What are you talking about, Naruto? Why would we need to send out a search party?" She asked monotonously.
"Because, Tsunade-sama, Sakura-chan has gone missing!" Naruto replied and walked up until he'd reached the desk and glared at the leader of Konoha.
Tsunade's eyes widened a considerable amount and moved her face from her hand. "So that report was true? She is truly missing?" She asked, her voice suddenly small and thin, not willing to register the fact that her star student was somewhere in the dangerous world traipsing about many evils.
Naruto nodded and proceeded to give out the information when Shikamaru and Neji crawled in.
"N-Naruto! We… told you… to… wait for…us!" Shikamaru gasped and gulped down a colossal amount of air.
"What the heck…is wrong with…you? We don't have as much…chakra or stamina as you…" Neji spoke semi-exhaustedly. He clearly had more control on his breathing due to all of his training.
The Kyubi container waved his hand at them as if to say 'whatever'. He turned back to Tsunade and gave the facts that she had to hear. Shikamaru and Neji, once they'd recovered from their lack of breath, added tidbits of data Naruto had forgotten.
The Hokage listened intently, eyes shut in concentration. When they'd finished their report, she looked at all of them, a vexed look upon her face. "Alright…I'll send all five of you on a search party. Naruto, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru, and Kiba," She paused when she heard Akamaru bark again. "Six of you including Akamaru, will go on a mission to find and retrieve Haruno Sakura. If anyone gets in your way, don't kill them. You know the rules…" She spoke quietly and turned around in her swivel chair to look over the grand village she governed.
The six of them all stood in a straight line; awaiting the moment she'd say they'd begin their mission. Their eyes held no hint of uncertainty or fear, just seriousness.
"Tomorrow you shall leave for this mission. Let Neji and Shikamaru rest more…"
"But-!" Shikamaru nearly protested.
"Then you will all report back to my office so I can officially start you on your mission." She spoke calmly and said nothing more.
The five of them took this as their signal to leave, so they did, Akamaru following suit.
All of them were back in Tsunade's office bright and early before the sun had splashed their part of the world with its morning glory. They twitched when they saw their leader with her head on her desk, sleeping. They didn't want to disturb her in fear of her using her superhuman strength on them, so they woke Shizune up from her peaceful sleep.
"Tsunade-sama, Tsunade-sama, please wake up! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried. She eventually had to resolve to violently shaking the blond lady.
Soon enough the Hokage awoke. She sat up and looked around. "Wha-?" She asked confusedly.
"Tsunade-sama, don't forget our mission." Naruto spoke impatiently. He told himself not to scream at his mentor's close friend for having a sheet of paper attached to the side of her cheek.
"Oh…that's right…" She said groggily. She peeled off the paper and rubbed her cheek. Shizune supplied the Hokage with a small, wet towel to wipe her face and make her presentable.
"Okay…are all of you ready?" She inquired kindly, still partially asleep.
The five Chunin boys nodded. Akamaru barked.
"Alright then, go on and begin your mission. Bring back the scroll of Konoha and Mishigaki-san if they are spotted as well." She instructed and watched them disappear before her eyes. She looked out her large window and spotted their silhouettes leaping over buildings large and small, and out into the distant lands awaiting them.
Long flowing black hair tucked behind her ear, Sakura eyed her reflection in the mirror set up in the room. Shiny brown eyes gleaming, she smiled mischievously. She'd purchased a wig to hide her natural, yet unnatural, hair color. With a simple genjutsu she'd changed her eye color. Now she looked more like an ordinary girl. She'd also bought different attire and stuffed her old one in her backpack.
'Does Sasuke like ordinary girls?' She thought carelessly and immediately regretted doing so. Memories flooded her mind as she saw his face twisted in pain, anger, loneliness…most of them, she'd noticed, didn't have any smiles. The things she'd seen that were ever close to a smile were just cocky smirks that were directed at Naruto.
She desperately tried to push Sasuke to the back of her mind, but she found out that she couldn't. The feelings that she'd bottled up before were unleashed and now were coming at her with full-power. Unable to feelings and memories all at once, the rosette haired kunoichi crumpled to the ground and let out one short sob. No tears, however, poured from her eyes. She believed that she'd gotten past crying for him. She was stronger than that.
There it was again, that word…stronger…the word echoed in her mind as she tried to recollect herself. Thinking of the word repeatedly only help her to recuperate and stand up once again to face everything.
She would be stronger one day and on that day, she'll stand strong and proud, glad that she could conquer anything. But for the time being, she focused on fixing her slightly disheveled look.
A few minutes after her self pep-talk, she walked out of the hotel she'd been residing in for the past few days. Her mind was made up. She'd continue her mission and retrieve Ayame, and more importantly, the scroll of Konoha.
A/N: Well, there you have it! Chapter 3 of The Promise to Protect. It's longer than the first chapter. :) Cheers for that!
"Well, why are we still in this place? Let's leave! We need to follow her!"- You won't believe how many obscene words I could've fit in there! I was going to, but decided against it since I'm not the type that curses frequently. Ehe…yeah…just wanted to share that with you readers.
So, what'd you think? Like I said earlier, I'm not on a person who's well acquainted with Deidara's traits. So if you think he was acting a bit too strange earlier in the chapter, then I apologize in advance. I don't like to redo my work unless it's absolutely dire and important. But if you have pointers on Deidara's character, please tell me so that in later chapters I can characterize him differently!
Basically the same as always! Review!
-BlackFrost